Chapter 1: Sector W7
Summary:
The first story of the Big Mom Saga, the Sector W7 Arc. This arc introduces Sector W7, whom are crossovers from the One Piece anime, featuring their daily lives and their backstories. There's a one-shot dedicated to each of the six members.
Chapter Text
Hello there, everyoooone! You’ve briefly been introduced to them in Viridi’s Last Stand… but NOW it’s time to officially meet Sector W7! They’re some of my favorite children from One Piece, plus one OC! ;) This story is also the first of my new saga, called the Big Mom Saga!
Chimney, Dreamer of Trains
Bathhouse Factory
Mechanical pumps were the only thing heard in these vast, hollow halls. The only beings that roamed the halls of this base were robotic ducks, armed with bathing supplies. Kids were tied within the center of this factory, trapped in bathtubs as mechanical arms forcibly bathed them. Mrs. Dirt watched this from her control station, a wicked smile on her face. “YOU kids should’ve thought TWICE before refusing to take your daily baths! You’ll be scrubbed so clean you’ll NEVER get dirty again!”
Hidden from her vision, behind one of the tubs’ legs, a very small girl, only 3 inches tall, had her back pressed against the leg. She had grass-green hair, midway to her elbows, an orange shirt, aqua-blue vest, an orange patterned skirt with dark-green stripes, long orange socks, and blue Mary-Janes. “We’ll see WHO thinks twice about something.” she said, her black eyes glaring. She looked at her wristwatch communicator and spoke, “This is Numbuh 76.2, I’m close to the control room. Going in.”
Spy of Sector W7, a Lilliputian
AEINCHA
A shadowed girl, with a wide grin on her silhouette, spoke, “Oi, Aisa-chan. How many are there?”
“Gyom-gyoooom.” Her bunny companion said.
A girl in a brown, raggedy dress, angel wings, a white hat, and bare feet, closed her eyes as visions of robotic ducks and bathing children appeared in her mind. “There’s 30 Duckbots. …Oh, make that 29. One of them died of a stroke. And there’s 40 children.”
Mantra Specialist of Sector W7, a Shandian Nimbi
AISA
“Can we take ‘em?” another girl asked.
“Yah… we can!” The leader declared with a smirk. Immediately, the Duckbots jumped with a start when three garbage cans shot up, and the three girls wore them as separate pieces of armor. “Sector W7! THRASH ‘EEEEMM!” Numbuh W473R, aka Chimney, the team’s leader and pilot, exclaimed.
“Gyoooom!” Her rabbit, Gonbe, followed.
Chimney ran first, swiftly jumping around and bonking all the robo-ducks with her trashcan armor. Five ducks were charging at Aisa, but she held up a rope, tied around a big, dark-green pumpkin, and swung the iron-hard pumpkin around as it bashed all the Duckbots away.
Numbuh 777; Apis, the team’s Animal Telepath, a girl in a mustard-yellow dress and pointed, white hat, closed her eyes and spoke to the rats within the walls. The rodents came pouring out, climbing up and entering the openings on the Duckbots to chew them out from the inside.
The three girls ran forward as Chimney spoke into her wristwatch, “Oi, April-chan! Are you in position??”
Somewhere else in the base, in another bathing room, Numbuh 7-Strokes stood in the room’s doorway, looking at the trapped kids with an expressionless frown. “I’m here.” She spoke with no emotion. “I can’t free these kids with the water still running.”
Artist of Sector W7, a German human
APRIL GOLDENWEEK
“Don’t worry! We’re going to shut it off!” Chimney assured.
“Gyooom!”
They turned down several more halls as Chimney jumped and kicked all the robotic ducks. “These things aren’t the best defense, huh?” Apis asked.
“Mrs. Dirt’s in the room down on the right!” Aisa spoke.
“Let’s KICK HER ASS!” Chimney yelled determinedly.
“Gy-o-o-o-o-om!” Gonbe looked frantic at what she said.
“Uhh… don’t tell Granny Kokoro I said that.”
The three (plus one) soon reached the metal door as Chimney kicked it open, and the girls rolled in. “OKAY, Dirt O bāchan! Time for you to-” Chimney was blasted with a hose and pushed away.
“YOU Kids Next Door brats aren’t getting the dirt on me!” the old woman exclaimed, armed with a shower hose and a belt of soap bars. “But I think a FEW of you could use a scrub. YOU, young lady!” she pointed at Aisa, who flinched. “Those feet of yours must be FIIILthy! HAVE a SLIP!” She hurled a soap bar at Aisa’s feet, making the Nimbi slip and fall on her face. Apis tried to leap at her, but Mrs. Dirt blasted her away with a shower blast.
“Ouch-ouch-ouch-ooouuuch!” Apis shook frantically, her skin burning.
“AYAAAAAAAHHHH!” Chimney shook around even more.
“Gy-u-u-u-u-uh!” Gonbe was afraid to attack the bath-themed villain.
“Awww, what’s wrong, Little Bunny? It’s just a shower. If your kind had more of these, YOU WOULDN’T HAVE FLEES!”
“Gyooooo!” Gonbe shielded his eyes from the incoming boiling spray. But when Mrs. Dirt tried to fire, nothing came out.
The robed woman looked at her shower confusedly. “HUUUH?!”
“Hey, guys, I did iiiit!” Mrs. Dirt turned around, her eyes widening at the tiny girl that stook out from a slot on her control panel. “I disabled their water flow from inside!”
Aisa spoke in her communicator, “Now’s your chance, April!”
In the alternate room, April Goldenweek began to paint blue paint marks on each of the tied-up kids. The children felt incredible strength as they broke free of their bonds, confident smirks on their faces.
“Aaaaahhh-AAH!” Chimney ran forth and kicked Mrs. Dirt against the controls. She turned the woman over, holding her fist back. “And FYI: bunnies don’t get flees!” With that, Chimney’s fist was the last Mrs. Dirt saw before she blacked out. “…Do they?” Chimney asked. The girls shrugged.
They all gathered outside of the mid-ocean base where Aaron and Rhilliane Doblemitz guided Mrs. Dirt onto the S.P.R.A.Y.S.H.I.P.. Meanwhile, the imprisoned kids were speaking to Sector W7. “Thanks for the save.” A boy said. “My hands were getting so soapy, I couldn’t hold a game controller again!”
“It’s all in a day’s work!” Apis said brightly.
Aeincha was seated on Apis’s shoulder when a whiff fell in her tiny nose. “Ewwww!” she pinched it shut. “You kids stink!”
They all blushed. “Uwuh, take a bath when you get home! At least it ain’t against your will!” Chimney stated.
“Gyom-gyom.” Gonbe agreed.
“Anyway, we’ll be happy to take you home on our R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N.!” Apis smiled.
“Cool! Thanks, Sector W7!”
Downtown Water 7
After bringing the kids home, the girls and rabbit had returned to the island town of Water 7. It was a big, bustling town, built around an enormous water fountain. There were no roads, only canals, and people got around on horse-like fish called Yagara. Sector W7’s treehouse was built atop the gigantic fountain (but no one noticed it but the children for some reason).
“WOOHOOOO!” Chimney cheered, raising fists in the air. The Sector W7 Leader wore her usual orange-and-red-striped dress with a yellowish-white, open blouse over it. She wore brown sandals with red straps, and had her large blond hair in frizzy pigtails that stuck up diagonally. As always, she sported her huge grin of bright white teeth. “That Dirty Baasan didn’t stand a chance! We BLEW her bath salt!”
“Gyom-gyooom!”
Leader and Pilot of Sector W7, a 1/4th mermaid
CHIMNEY
“Oi, why they giving me the introduction now?” she asked.
“Still didn’t give mine.” Apis said.
Animal Telepath of Sector W7, an Arceist
APIS
Gonbe looked at the camera with annoyance. “Gyoooom…”
Pet of Sector W7, a cat—I mean, rabbit
GONBE
“Gyom, gyom!” he nodded.
“Now let’s celebrate with ice cream!” Chimney declared.
The five kids and rabbit approached an ice cream stand and ordered their favorite flavors. Chimney got vanilla, Apis got blurpleberry, Aisa got chocolate, April got cherry, and Gonbe got carrot. Chimney also bought a strawberry one, and as they sat at a table, Chimney set the strawberry on the table for Aeincha. “And Aeincha gets an EXTRA big one!” she grinned. “We won the mission thanks to you!” (“Gyom-gyom!”)
The Lilliputian laughed sheepishly. “Oh, come on, guys. You could’ve done it without me. I mean, April’s the one who freed the kids.”
The 12-year-old girl quietly licked her ice cream as she painted on a canvas. “I was just doing my job.” she said simply. April had a doll-like appearance, with blushed cheeks, and her dark-red hair tied in braided pigtails. She wore a wide pink hat, a dark blue T-shirt with the word “Golden” written in orange, a sky-blue overshirt with a cloud pattern on it, a maroon-colored skirt, and blue-striped stockings covering her legs. She also had big, red shoes with white soles and stripes. Being the oldest of the team, she seemed to stand out the most, even though they all had something unique about them.
“Since that crazy business with the Viridi War, these everyday villains are a walk in the park to us.” Aisa said. “The REAL villains are people like Viridi, not your everyday dentist or lunch lady. Don’t you think?”
“It’s true.” Chimney frowned (but still grinned). “These Akuyaku-sans are jokes. Why is it the Kids Next Door evolved but they don’t?”
“Maybe if you all were as big as me, it’d be more of a challenge!” Aeincha beamed. The kids (except April) exchanged laughter.
An alarm went off in Chimney’s phone. “Oi, I have to go now.” she said, standing up. “Granny Kokoro-san wants me to help load coal on Puffing Tom.”
“Are you delivering to Santa Claus?” Apis grinned.
“Hahahaha! See you later, Sector-chans!” Chimney waved as she walked away, followed by her pet rabbit. (“Gyooooom!”)
Puffing Tom Station Blue
Chimney trudged into the train’s boiler room, her skinny arms hauling an enormous sack of coal, as big as a bed as she only inched a little at a time. “GYUH!” she finally stopped to catch her breath, sitting with her back against the sack. Eventually, she stood up and began to toss coal into the boiler with a shovel. This lasted for several minutes until she stopped. “Oiii… that’s more exercise than the missions.”
“Gyoooom…” Gonbe panted as well.
Chimney shot him a glare. “You didn’t even help, don’t give me that crud.” (“Gyom…” Gonbe was ashamed.)
The girl then entered the engineering room, looking at the empty seat. Her eyes wide as always, Chimney jumped in the seat, viewing the wide expanse of the endless sea, and the underwater tracks that stretched across. She gripped the train’s lever and screamed with excitement, “Attention all passengers, this is your captain Chimney speaking, we’ll be departing Water Seven in 3 minutes, please fasten your safety belts as we head for Kamabakka at ELEVENTY KAJILLION MILES PER HOUR!!”
“Gyooooooooooom!”
“Chimney-”
“GAAAAH!” Both kid/rabbit fell out of the seat. Chimney jumped to her feet, seeing her old, chubby grandmother in the doorway with a wide smile similar to Chimney’s.
“Chimneeeyy… you weren’t driving unauthorized, were you?” She had a drink of rum.
“Ohhhh Granny Kokoro-san! I wasn’t really driving it!” Chimney yelled with her hands up. “I was checking the ignition thingymawhatsit!”
“Nyah, ha ha ha ha ha ha.” She had another drink. “Okey-dokey, Chimney.” The old woman approached the windshield and stood by her granddaughter as they stared at the sea. “So, Chimney… how are things with you and your friends?”
“We’re doing just fine, Kokoro-san!” Chimney grinned.
“Gyom-gyom!”
“I heard you kids got in a war recently.”
“Yah, but we beat ‘em bad! That Viridi furīku-san’s factory didn’t stand a chance against our R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N.!”
“That is a pretty impressive train, Chimney. And you built that all by yourself?”
“Yeah, yeah, I did! Don’t you remember, Kokoro-san?”
In fact, Kokoro did remember. Chimney’s been into trains as long as she can remember. …She can’t remember too far, but it was enough.
Chimney lay on her belly, her feet in the air as she wore a bright smile. The 2-year-old girl was happily drawing in her sketchbook while Kokoro sat at her control panel, guzzling down rum. “Chimney? What are you drawing?”
“I’m drawing my own train, Kokoro-san! I’m going to make it myself, and I’m gonna drive it!”
The woman approached her ecstatic grandchild and peered down. It was a silly, little kid’s drawing of a train, choppily scribbled with grey coloring. “What are those things on its sides?”
“Oh, those are rockets! I’m naming it Rocket-train! It’s gonna fly, and drop people off anywhere they want!”
“Nyah, haha hahaaa! You’ve been drinking too much soda, Chimney. Trains don’t fly.”
Chimney jumped to her feet with a frantic, furious look. “Says who, Kokoro O bāchan! I gonna make it fly ALL through the sky!”
“Neeeee hahahahaha! Only someone drunk with too much soda would say that! After all, I was drunk enough to pilot a Sea Train.”
The drunken woman led her granddaughter beside the windshield, where they stared into the bright, open sea. “Chimney… there’s no limit for how far your imagination can stretch. If a great man can make a train that drives along the sea… someone just as crazy can make a train that drives in the sky. Chimney… I want you to make a train like that. Set your dreams high… and make a train like no other.”
Chimney’s wide, vibrant face filled with even more wonders.
And even today, her face looked no different. “Granny Kokoro… I’m gonna build the bestest, most epicest train in the whole universe! It’ll fly in the sky! And go underwater! It can BREAK through anything! And it’s indestructible! YEAH!” She stood upon the control panel with a determined grinned, raising a fist. “And I’m gonna PILOT that train! I’ll make it go super-ultra fast and I can take anyone anywhere! EVEN to the other side of the UNIVERSE!”
“GyyyOOOOOoooommmmm!” Gonbe declared.
“Naaah ha ha! I knew I shouldn’t have given you that much soda as a baby. Anyway… we need to deliver the rest of this coal. How would you like to drive the first stretch, Chimney?”
“AWESOOOOME!” Chimney eagerly hopped down and onto the seat. The excited 9-year-old started to fiddle around as the train started up. The Puffing Tom sped along the track in minutes, set on its straightforward path along the ocean tracks. “By the way, Kokoro-san. How did you move here from Oceana again?”
“Oh, Chimney. Do you ever get tired of this?” (“Gyoooooom…”)
Aeincha, the Lilliputian Who Was Equal
Sector W7 Treehouse
The sun was rising over the town of Water 7, and its morning rays sparkled off the enormous fountain. Aeincha was up early, dressed in warm white pajamas as she tiredly trudged down the halls of their base, rubbing her eyes. At her size, it took a lot longer to get down the halls of the treehouse, but she still managed to make it to the kitchen. The tiny girl gripped and climbed one of the cabinet doors and made it onto the counter. From there, she looked at the top of the fridge and took out a grappling hook, launching it to the top. She held tight and climbed her way up, then threw her grappling hook to open one of the upper cabinets. She threw the hook to the cabinet’s ledge and climbed inside.
There, she found a cereal box of Rainbow Munchies that was three stories high. She threw her hook to pull the box over, and a bunch of the colorful pieces poured out. She picked up one and munched away. That was all she needed. With that, she jumped her way down, and once on the floor, she stared up at the towering refrigerator, as high as a skyscraper. The massive door was shut tight, and was very heavy to the tiny Lilliputian. She would struggle greatly trying to pry it open. By then, she would be too tired to get what was inside.
“AEIN!” Aeincha screamed. A terminal on the fridge’s door beeped and accepted the passcode. It immediately came open on its own. She smiled brightly and began to climb her way up the fridge’s many platforms. She reached the glass of milk that was twice her size, with a bendy straw sticking up. She jumped and gripped the edge of the milk glass, climbing up to reach the straw. She opened her mouth very wide to fit the entire end of the straw inside. She inhaled with all the strength in her little lungs, and the milk slowly rose up. It was able to reach and enter her mouth, and Aeincha felt her head swell, closing her mouth tight as some milk spilled out. She fell on her back on the fridge’s shelf, and the huge swell of milk forced down her tiny throat, and into her tummy. “Hoooo…” She sighed in relief.
With that, she jumped out of the fridge, and yelled, “CLOSE.” The door snapped shut. “Ahhh… well, that’s my daily exercise!” She beamed. She began to walk to the couch to watch some TV when she felt some light quaking. She looked right, seeing her leader, Numbuh W473R Chimney, bare feet, raggedy clothes, and eyes shut with tiredness. Aein sported a smile. “Hi, Chimneyyy!”
“Hey… Aeincha.” She spoke very groggily, but her wide grin still showed. “You need help getting breakfast?”
“I got it by myself!” she grinned.
“Oh… yaaaaawwwn. You could’ve asked me for help.”
Aeincha looked curious. “Chimney… your hair.”
Indeed Chimney’s pigtailed hair was unraveled, revealing her hair as extremely disheveled and unkempt, so big and puffy that it was almost as big as her. “Ahhh… I took off my braids last night. I don’t have a comb.”
“Ha ha ha ha! I’ll braid it for you! Lie down!”
Chimney lay back on the couch with her head hanging over the right armrest. Aeincha lifted a giant comb with both arms, using all the strength in her tiny arms to pull the right half of Chimney’s hair over to its side. Once finished, she dropped to the floor and tossed her grappling hook up over the combed-down hair. Still holding one end, she climbed up the hook’s end, and began to wrap the rope around the thick, strong hair. Once it was scrunched enough, Aeincha grabbed a group of bands and walked to the end of Chimney’s pigtail. She struggled to pull the bands around the huge hair and pull them back to their proper spot. She repeated this with the other bands until Chimney’s right pigtail was puffy like it should be. She proceeded to repeat this entire process with her left pigtail.
When Aeincha finished, Chimney still had her eyes closed, her mouth hung open in tiredness. As Aeincha stood on her face, she sported a humorous smile. Chimney’s mouth was so big and wide, she was always worried about falling inside. Chimney could swallow her whole. Of course she wouldn’t do that.
Aeincha hopped over the giant mouth and approached her friend’s feet. Chimney’s toenails looked very dirty, and Aeincha could pick up the smell. “Your toes can use some work, too!” she beamed. Aeincha went to grab a file, still having to lift with both arms as she began to smoothen Chimney’s toenails. She also got a can of nail paint, carefully painting her friend’s toenails a shiny red. Afterward, she stared at her reflection in the shiny, red nail, giving another smile. “Good as new!”
Apis, Aisa, and April were up shortly after, rubbing tired eyes as they walked in. “Hey, what’s going on?” Apis asked.
“Oh… Aeinchan’s just fixing my hair.” Chimney said tiredly.
“Do you guys want a pedicure, too?” Aein asked.
“Sure!” The girls (minus April) grinned.
Apis, Aisa, and April all sat on the couch as Aeincha began work on all three. She washed Aisa’s messy red hair, scrubbed the bottoms of her dirty feet, painted Apis’s fingers white, brushed her hair, wrapped April’s pigtails, and patted her dolly face with powder. “Hm hm hm!” Apis laughed. “You’re really good, Aeincha!”
“Thanks!” the girl beamed, starting to paint April’s nails blue. “I’ve been thinking of going to beauty school when I get bigger.”
“Oh?” The girls looked baffled.
“Um… older.” She corrected. “For some reason, I’m just really into appearance.”
Apis looked a little concerned. “Um… that’s great, Aeincha. But don’t you think you’re a little… small?”
“Hm?” Aeincha looked up. “Well, I was never too small for our missions.”
“I know… but, I mean, you being your size, it might be hard to fix so many big peoples’ hair or nails, and you might get tired.”
“Well, that’s why I practice with you guys!” Aein smiled. “So I’m ready for it!”
“But-”
“Besides, at my size, it’s easier to see the messy marks, so I can get every single detail! I wanna take cosmetology to brand new heights, despite my size.”
“Well, if you wanna follow Kweeb.” April said simply.
“Aaaahh! Aeincha’ll do just fine, on’nanoko-chans!” Chimney assured, making Gonbe roll over for a carrot. “If Aeinchan wasn’t tiny, she wouldn’t be special. She’d be just like any other boring on’nanoko-chan.”
“Gyom-gyom.” Gonbe nodded, successfully earning his carrot.
“Hm-hm-hm! Thanks, Chimney!” Aein grinned.
Chimney looked confusedly as Gonbe ate his carrot. “I still don’t see why a cat likes a carrot.”
“Gyom.” Gonbe shrugged.
Suddenly, the treehouse flashed red as alarms blared, and the tiny Lilliputian fell over in shock, her tiny ears taking the impact the worst. “Oiii! What does Cheren-chan want??” Chimney exclaimed, running to the TV. Larry MayHence’s face appeared onscreen.
“This is Moonbase calling Sector W7. There is a KND shipment of candy under attack by Candy Pirates close to your sector. You are ordered to fly out and stop them ASANow.”
“Oi, give us a little warning when you’re gonna go all blare like that!” Chimney shouted angrily.
“Gyom-gyom!”
The transmission ended as Chimney faced her team with a serious look. “Let’s GO, Sector-chans!” The other girls got off the couch, and Apis carried Aeincha as they followed Chimney.
Middle of the ocean; candy shipment
The R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N. came speeding toward a pirate ship and 4x4-tech ship. The pirate ship had candy decorations and a Jolly Roger of a pirate skull with big lips, surrounded by candies. Chimney set the train on autopilot as the five operatives + rabbit leaped out and landed perfectly on the KND ship’s deck, with Aeincha hanging onto Apis’s shoulder. “Oi, kaizoku-sans! Better step away from the candy or else!” Chimney exclaimed as they all glared.
“Gyom, gyom!”
“Oi, is this wot the Kids Next Door have for backup??” one of the candy-crazed pirates asked. “I’s just four wee tykes and a rabbit!”
“HEY!!” Chimney screamed. “Gonbe’s a cat, and you mean FIVE wee tykes!”
“Wot? Five?...” The pirates looked down, and finally spotted the Lilliputian on Apis’s shoulder. “Ohhh, look a’ that, lads! It’s an even WEE-ER tyke! This’ll be easy!”
“Says you!” Aein yelled, leaping off her friend’s shoulder and dashing to bite the pirate’s leg.
“Yooo-owch!” Chimney then leapt to kick the pirate in the face, flinging Aeincha off as Gonbe jumped up and caught her. Aisa pulled out an Impact Dial and aimed at some incoming pirates, pressing the button to blast a series of rapid gumballs as if it were a G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A.. April dodged as some pirates tried to whack her with candycane swords, slipping behind and painting pink symbols on their backs. The pirates began to feel weak, falling to their knees in depression.
Apis looked up and saw a flock of seagulls overhead. Using her telepathic abilities, she called the birds down, and they began to swarm and peck the faces of the pirates. Aeincha was surrounded by a group of towering pirates, but kept a confident look as she ran and jumped, avoiding their sword-swings and stomps. With that, she ran and leapt onto Gonbe’s back, riding the rabbit horseback style as she made Gonbe pounce and kick off the pirates’ faces.
Chimney knocked the leader of the bunch down and grabbed his shirt collar, readying her fist. “Send our message to Stickybeard-san!”
“We don’t WORK for Stickybeard-” Chimney punched and knocked him out.
“Ohhh… B-Boss…” One of the fallen pirates groaned.
The battle was watched by a large figure from the other ship. Suddenly, a very fat pirate, with black hair, a big mouth, and exposed belly took a mighty leap and quaked the KND’s ship upon landing. “Arrrr, what’s the rest of you lot doing, ahhhh?” he asked with sort of a lazy, out-of-breath tone.
“Oi, who the heck are you, Fat-san??” Chimney questioned.
“Gyon, gyom?”
“I be Commander Fat Jack, ahhhh, and Ah think you little munchkins needs a wee tutorial.” He took another mighty leap, creating a shockwave that knocked the children over. Aeincha was the first to recover, feeling the quakes strongest as Fat Jack stomped her way. Chimney ran forth with an aerial kick, her foot coming in contact with the pirate’s big belly only to bounce her way. Aisa aimed her Dial and launched a barrage of gumballs, but they had no effect on the squishy belly as Fat Jack leapt in attempt to smash her, running away just in time. April ran to try and paint something on his belly, but Fat Jack released a “BUUUURRRP” of dark green gas that swallowed April’s face. The 12-year-old coughed and was punched away by the fat pirate.
Gonbe ran forth, carrying Aeincha on his back as the rabbit leapt and bit his buckteeth through the pirate’s belly. Aeincha began climbing the squishy substance, going to Fat Jack’s face and tossing her grappling hook to his eye. “NNN!” The pirate smacked her off, then grabbed and threw Gonbe away. Aeincha landed on her front, trying to recover, but the enormous pirate stomped forward and squished her tiny legs beneath his boot, and her tiny bones cracked like sticks.
“OOOOOOOOOWWWWWW!!” Aeincha’s never felt more pain in her life.
“AEEEIINCHAAAAAN!” Chimney screamed, mouth wider than ever.
“Hnn-hnn-hnn.” A wicked grin appeared on the commander’s face. “Sorry. I’s means to squish the rest of you.” He lightly raised his boot over the rest of Aein’s body.
“AAAAHH!” Chimney leapt forward, full of rage, and kicked the pirate dead in the nose, knocking him backward slightly.
“Oi, Boss, we got the load, so let’s go!” a pirate yelled from the ship.
“Arrrr, this be the end you’ll hear from me for now, ahhhh.” And the pirate mightily leapt to his ship, making it shake. Sector W7 only watched as they sailed with the candy.
Aeincha lay on the deck as her four towering friends stood around and looked down with saddened eyes. “Aeinchan?” Chimney said, still grinning even though she was sad, as she bent down and scooped her friend in her hands. Aeincha’s legs were squished flat, and blood dripped. She was unconscious as the friends exchanged worried looks (but April looked the same as always).
Moonbase Hospital
Aeincha was lain on a hospital bed as doctors tried to fix the tiny girl’s legs, having to use magnifying glasses to do so. They also invited Melody Jackson and Haruka to help. Melody helped to ease the pain with Water Healing, and Haruka stuck her fingernails into Aeincha for a Healing Sting. Since Aein was so small, a regular dose of Haruka’s poison was more than enough for effective results. The rest of Sector W7 stood by the entrance as Chimney clutched a doctor’s coat. “Oiii, Numbuh Medical-Jargon-chaaaan! Is Aeincha-chan gonna be okay?? Is she gonna live the rest of her life like Mr. York-san?!”
“Gyom-gyom!”
The doctor pulled Chimney’s hands off and said, “Your friend will be fine. Thanks to these two, we were able to treat her legs just in time and she’ll be on her feet again in a couple days. Just give her bones time to heal up.”
The doctors proceeded to wrap Aeincha’s legs in bandages; or tape. Whatever they used for her. “Well, I guess I have tonight’s headline.” Melody said.
Haruka spared her a glare before lightly picking up Aeincha in both hands and setting her in a tiny wheelchair. “Here you go, Aeinchan!” she said positively. Haruka knew about Aeincha’s dream of being a cosmo, even though she was so small, and Haruka could relate to that. Haruka wanted to go in the medical field and use her poisonbending to treat people. Although if it wasn’t for Lee, she wouldn’t have decided this.
Haruka carried the tiny child and carefully placed her in Chimney’s hands. “There you go. Just let her rest up!”
The three girls and rabbit (not April) smiled at their sleeping friend, feeling extremely thankful.
Sector W7 Treehouse
“Mmmmm…” The sun was setting over Water 7 as Aeincha began to awaken. When her tiny eyes opened, she found the enormous, smiling faces of Chimney, Aisa, and Apis looming over her (and April’s frowning face).
“Oi, Aeinchan’s awaaaaake!” Chimney exclaimed.
“Gyoooom!”
Aeincha sat up and found herself on the living room’s couch. She felt a numbness in her legs, and found they were wrapped in bandages. “The doctors said your legs would be fine after a few days.” Apis explained. “That was a close call though!”
“We’ll file the mission report about this Fat-san later.” Chimney said. “But le’s watch some TEEEVEEE!”
“Gyoooom!”
“Chimneeeeyy!” Aisa yelled. “Aeincha probably wants some peace and quiet! You feeling okay?” she asked her friend.
“Hm hm! I’m fine!” she said with a light smile. She looked away and frowned. “Actually… I’ve been thinking.”
“Mmmm?” Chimney moaned as the girls looked curious.
“Well… I almost died today. I could’ve been killed. And, well, I haven’t really been the most helpful in fights. Maybe…Maybe I shouldn’t go into cosmetology.”
Needless to say, the girls were surprised (even April, though she didn’t show it).
“I mean, not like this. Maybe I could do things better if I was bigger. I’d be able to fight better on missions and you guys don’t have to waste time carrying me around.”
“But… Aeinchan. You’re our tiny spy.” Chimney said. “How you gonna be spy if you’re not tiny??”
“Gyom-gyom!”
“I’ll just spy the normal way! I’m already agile enough!”
“But who’s gonna help fix our train??” Chimney questioned.
“We could always train hamsters. …Do we still use those?”
“No no no!!” Chimney shook her head furiously. “We can’t be Sector W7 without our Tiny Spy!! YOU’RE STAYING tiny!!”
“Why not?!” Aeincha yelled. “You guys always insist on helping me get breakfast! And you didn’t even think I could GO into cosmo! Me getting bigger would change everything for the better!”
“But… it just wouldn’t be the same if you were bigger.” Apis said. “I mean, it’s just…”
“Well, I know I’ll be bigger than my parents and everyone else… but, it would just be hard to fit in in this world. It’s like when people who move to America have to learn English. If I’m bigger, you guys won’t have to worry about me. If we go to Mrs. Chariton’s…”
“NUH-uh!” Chimney shook. “As your leader, I ORDER you to stay tiny!”
“You can’t order me to do that!”
“Can too! I’m BIGGER than you!”
“CHIMNEY!” Apis and Aisa shouted.
“You wouldn’t be ANY good to us if you were bigger!!”
“What?!” Aein screamed, suddenly hurt.
“The reason you’re cool is BECAUSE you’re tiny! It’s what makes you special and THAT’S why we’re Sector W7!”
“Whaddyou mean?? How can I be any different if I’m not tiny?? Except being less of a burden!”
“We never thought of you as a burden.” Apis told her.
“Yeah. You’re actually pretty fun.” Aisa said.
“I don’t care. Lilliputians don’t have that Kateenian pride. We were supposed to stay hidden from the world to begin with. And maybe this is why. If I stay part of this sector, I need to get bigger.”
“If you get bigger, you ain’t gonna be IN this sector!” Chimney shouted, becoming more angry while her face grinned. “I’m kicking you OUT if you do that, Chan!”
“Why would you?!”
“Because you’d be going against your LEADER! I won’t accept you if you’re any bigger than my face! YOU’RE STAYING TINY!!”
“Gnnnn!” Aeincha was getting more angry. “Why can’t you just understand?!”
“Why can’t YOU?! The ocean’s always been blue, but it’s never changed! Trains are powered by coal, why should that change?! YOU’VE always been tiny!! And you’re NOT GONNA CHANGE!!”
“YOU’RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!!”
“Are you not listening?! BAKA-CHAAAAN!!”
“Gyooooom!!”
Apis got between them and touched fingers to both their mouths. “Both of you stop! You two are best friends! You shouldn’t fight like this!”
“She is not sounding like my best nakama now!” Chimney shouted.
“Well, I’M getting tired of your big mouth!” Aein shouted.
“Uuuugh!” Apis groaned. “Sigh… I think we all need a while to calm down. Aeincha… I’ll take you to your room.” With that, she lightly gripped the tiny child and carried her away.
“Fiiine! Baka on’nanoko-chan!” Chimney yelled.
“Gyoooooom!” Gonbe was still furious. (End song.)
Aeincha’s Room
Apis set her friend on her giant (regular sized) bed and pulled the covers up over her. “You needed to rest, anyway.” She said.
Aein lied back on her huge, thick pillow and sighed.
“I’m sure Chimney didn’t mean what she said. She’s just… I mean, we’re all so used to you being small… it’s hard to see you as otherwise.”
“Well, if she isn’t worried about my safety!” Aein yelled.
“It was just one mission, Aein. Everyone gets in accidents like these. Even Fybi, remember? You don’t have to change your life.”
“Why is the whole thing such a big deal, anyway??”
“Hmmm… to be honest, I’m not sure. When we first met you, Chimney didn’t even KNOW you were tiny! Remember?”
“Hmmm…”
“Anyway… whatever decision you make, I’ll go with it. But… you should still think about it.” And with that, Apis left Aeincha in her room in the dark.
Aeincha rolled to her side and tried to clear her mind. This whole event put a lot of memories through Aeincha’s head. When they first came here from Lilliput, she didn’t have friends for a while.
Aeincha was 2 years old when her family sailed from the Bermuda Triangle on their toy-sized boat, made of whatever scraps they could find. The whole journey, Aeincha’s head rested in the window, staring wonderfully at the vast, endless sea. She wanted to reach out and touch the huge waves, but was far too short. And if she got in, she wouldn’t be able to swim.
They landed at an old scrap yard on the coast of Water 7 and settled into a gap within the wall, having enough space to set up a bed, kitchen supplies, anything they needed. “Welcome to your new home, Aein!” her father smiled.
“How come we moved again?”
“The economy in Lilliput is running down. That’s why we’re taking the simpler life as Borrowers. We’ll acquire only what we need and be able to survive.”
Aein couldn’t help but stare at the thousand-foot tall fountain in the distance, and the huge, bustling town built around it. “Can we make new friends here??” she asked excitedly.
“No.” Aeincha frowned as her father led her away. “Humans wouldn’t take well to seeing people like us. Borrowers need to stay hidden.”
Aeincha entered the entrance gap of her new house, head down in sadness. She heard someone walking, turning around as she spotted a human girl, about her age, with pigtails, sandals, and a wide grin on her face, walking with a little blue rabbit. The human girl had a huge mouth. Huge enough to swallow Aein whole. Do all humans have a mouth like that? Is that what they’re for?
Aeincha stepped a bit closer as the girl dove into a pile of rubble, only her bottom half sticking out as she shuffled around. She came out, holding an old train lever. “Aaaahh! This should work!”
“Gyooom!” the rabbit agreed, and with that, they walked away. Aeincha remained hidden as she watched them leave.
Aeincha lived on Water 7 for 2 years. She found out the girl’s name was Chimney, and she had a friend named Apis. Whenever her parents were out borrowing, Aeincha would sneak out and look for these two. They usually hung around the scrap yard. Every time they came, Aeincha would hide and watch them play. The two had lots of fun together. Aeincha wished she could join in that fun. She didn’t have any friends to play with since she moved, and she wanted to play with them. But she felt what her parents said might be true. They were so big compared to her. She wouldn’t fit in right with them. They wouldn’t accept her. But they looked so nice. And Aein really wanted to play with them.
“Oi, Apis-chan! Are all our crates loaded??” 4-year-old Chimney asked, pretending to drive a small train made of stone and scrap.
“Our crates are just fine!” Apis smiled.
“Greeeaat! Let’s haul these doggies to Candy Land nooooww!”
“Gyom-gyoooom!”
Aeincha watched again as the two pretended to pilot the train. Every time she watched them, it made her hurt that she couldn’t have fun with them, too. Aeincha finally wanted to do something about it. She couldn’t stand seeing them have fun and not have fun herself. She wanted to take a chance and be friends with them. But she was still afraid they would say no. With a deep breath, Aeincha summoned the courage to walk out and approach them.
“Gyuh-oh!” Chimney exclaimed. “The wheels’ malfunctioniiiinng! We’re getting BUMP-py-y-y-y-y-y-y!”
“WhoooOOOaa-oooOOOOaaa-oooOOOOAAAA!” Apis wobbled around on one leg.
“Um… EXCUSE MEEE.”
The girls immediately ceased playing, looking for the source of this voice.
“OVER here.”
Chimney and Apis looked down and finally spotted the voice’s owner. Chimney hopped over the wall of their train, her bare feet landing flat on the ground, and approached the small girl, bending over as she stared questioningly.
Aeincha felt so nervous. This was the first time a normal human’s noticed her, and it was her first time being so close to one. She had no idea how they would react. She was afraid they wouldn’t accept her. She struggled to bring up the words… but she did. “Um… I was wondering… can I play with you guys?”
There was no answer right away. Chimney and Apis remained silent, looking at each other questioningly. Aeincha already felt she knew their answer. Her head faced down, disappointment and sadness on her face. She knew she wouldn’t be accepted. She was far too small. She could never fit in with them. It would never work out. She felt stupid for even trying. Because of her size, they would never accept her like-
“Okay! Sure!”
Aeincha’s head shot up in surprise. She couldn’t believe her ears. Suddenly, she was lifted lightly in Chimney’s hands, the pigtailed girl running around and back onto her pretend-train. Chimney set Aein down by her feet, under the fake controls. Aeincha remained confused as Chimney returned to “driving” her “train.” “EAAAHHNN! The tracks are ending!!” Chimney screamed. “We’re gonna drown!! Apis! Activate the brakes!!”
Apis pretended to pull on a lever. “It’s no use! The brakes are broken!”
“Gyaaah! Quick! Repair-person! Hurry and fix the braaaakes!”
“Huuurryyyyy!” Apis wobbled as the train “sped faster”.
“Gyooo-o-o-o-o-o-o!”
Aeincha shook back to reality. Apparently she was the repair-person. “R-Right!” she turned and bent down before the wall, pretending to crawl through a tiny opening and repair broken wires. “…Ahhh, here’s the problem! Someone left chocolate in here.”
“Daaah… that was me.” Chimney admitted.
“Okay! The brakes are fixed!” Aein announced.
“Apis! Hit the brakes!”
Apis nodded seriously, pulling as hard as she could on the fake lever. Chimney shook from the imaginary force as the “train” was slowly screeching to a “stop”. “NYUUAAAHH!” Chimney was blown back by the force, knocking Apis over. Aeincha held tight to the floor to avoid blowing back as well.
The “train” was mere “inches” from the broken “ledge”, but it “stopped” just in time. Chimney and Apis recovered, shaking their heads and smiling brightly at their “success”. As Aein opened her eyes, she was grabbed in Chimney’s hands as the hyper girl raised her in the air. “WE DID IIIIT!”
“YAAAAaaaay!” Apis raised her arms in victory.
“Gyooooooom!” Gonbe was just as excited.
A bright, excited smile appeared on Aein’s face. As Chimney kept her sky-high, she stretched her arms and legs in victory. “Yaaaaay!”
That was the day she first met Apis and Chimney. The first time she spoke to normal humans. They were so big. She was nearly 2 inches tall. But they accepted her as if she was as tall as them. They didn’t seem to take notice in her size at all. All they saw was just a new potential friend who wanted to play with them. …In fact:
“Oiii! That was FUUUN!” Chimney exclaimed as the three gathered off of the pretend-train.
“GYoOOOOoom!” Gonbe exclaimed.
“I thought we were gonna CRASH for a minute!”
“Good thing we had our trusty repairwoman!” Apis beamed, smiling down at Aeincha. “Ooh?...” A look of realization appeared. “I’m sorry! I don’t think we got your name!”
“Yeeaaah! What is it??” Chimney grinned.
“Gyoooom!” Gonbe followed.
“I’m Aeincha!” Aein smiled.
“Hi, Aeincha!” Apis greeted. “I’m Apis! This is Chimney, and her cat, Gonbe!”
“Uh… cat?” Aein looked questioningly. “It… looks like a rabbit.”
“Nnn… rabbit?” Chimney was confused.
“Gyoooom…”
Aein laughed, “Ha ha ha! Anyway… it’s nice to meet you all!”
“So are you new here?” Apis asked.
“Well, kind of. My family moved here from Lilliput. It’s an island of little people, like me. My parents say there’s a lot of us around the world. But we mostly stay hidden from regular humans.”
“Nnn? Little people?” Chimney kept her excited grin as she and Gonbe looked closer at Aeincha. There was something different about her. Something Chimney hadn’t noticed before. But she couldn’t put her finger on what. She stared harder and harder at the green-haired girl. And Aeincha smiled back. …Finally, it dawned on her. “AAAAHH!!!” Chimney screamed in utter panic, and Gonbe mimicked. “Y-Y-You’re… TIIINYYYY!!”
“Gyom-GYOOOOM!...”
Apis and Aein stared disbelieved, anime-sweatdrops appearing on them. “Chiiimneeey! Of COURSE she’s tiny!” Apis pointed out. “She’s nearly ANT-size! She’s no bigger than your pinky-toe!”
“Aaaah! You KNEW?! ?” Chimney took Apis’s dress, looking furious. “Why didn’t you tell me?! Look at her! She’s so tiny! I could’ve stepped on her with my feet! How could you, Apiiis!” Aein giggled happily at their antics.
“Ah ha ha!” Apis laughed. “But I thought you knew! I mean, why else would you make her a repairman?”
“It’s just a JOB no one had yet! We needed one, and SHE came along! NO ONE told me she was TINY-”
“AAAAHHH!!” Aeincha screamed, shivering with utter fright.
“What? What is it??” Apis asked as they looked down at her in surprise.
“Y-You guys are…” Aein shivered, pointing at them fearfully, “GIAAANNNTS!!”
“AAAAAAAH!!!” This news took Chimney by great surprise. “I’M GIAAANNT!”
“Gyooooom!” Gonbe was equally surprised.
“APIS!!” she took her friend by the shirt again, “WE’RE GIANTS!! We might STEP on people! AAAAH!” Chimney looked down frantically, stomping her feet about aimlessly. “KOKORO-SAAAN!! Are you THEEERRE?? I THINK I STEPPED ON YOOOOUU! AAAAAHHH!...” Chimney began to run around the field uncontrollably. She stopped when she collided with a wall, and fell flat on her back, alongside Gonbe. Seagulls began to flap over their faces, as Apis and Aeincha burst into laughter.
That memory put a smile on Aeincha’s face. Back then, Chimney didn’t know she was tiny. …Well, she acted like she didn’t know. She never understood Chimney sometimes.
Aeincha knocked on the door to her house one day as her parents answered, looking worried. “Oh, Aeinchan!” her mother exclaimed, bending over. “Where were you??”
“‘Hoy, Misses Aeinchan!” a voice said from above.
The parents looked up, and- “AAAAAHHH!!”
Two human girls, one with a huge, wide grin, and one with a thick mustard-yellow dress, towered over them. Aein’s father stepped back in fright while her mother quivered. “Mom, these are my friends!” Aeincha smiled. “Chimney and Apis! Oh, and Gonbe!”
“Gyooooom!” The blue rabbit opened his mouth wide, startling the parents more.
“It’s okay! They’re nice! They’re really fun and they took me around the city!”
“Are…Are you… sure…” her father stuttered.
“Calm down, Dad! Tomorrow, they wanna take us to try Grandpa Banban’s super salty meat!”
“It’s so SAAALTYYYYYYY!” Chimney screamed.
“Gyooooooom!”
Chimney really scared her parents. They were more comfortable around Apis. They’ve both been really great friends since then, but Chimney especially. She remembers when they went to Arctic Training, and met Aisa.
Sometime after they entered Arctic Training, they met with a barefoot girl with a brown, dirty dress and wings. “Hi there!” she greeted back. “Who are you guys?”
“I’m Chimney-chan! This is Apis, and Aeinchan!” the grinning girl introduced.
The winged girl looked more closely at the shivering, tiny girl on Apis’s shoulder. “Ohhh! I thought you were a parrot!”
“Mmmmm!” Aein shot her a playful grumpy look.
“I’m Aisa! I’m a Nimbi!”
“Nnn? A Nimbi?” Chimney questioned.
“Gyom-gyom?” Gonbe asked.
“You know! A sky person!”
“But why are you here??”
“LINE UP, troops!” the Drill Sergeant thundered, and all cadets lined up in a straight row, standing straight, and Aeincha hopped off Apis’s shoulder and did the same. “It’s your first day of training.” He spoke as he slowly paced and studied his cadets. “When you graduate from here, you’ll hopefully be full-fledged troops, good at combat, spying, or whatever field befits your…” He noticed an empty spot in the line up, looking down and spotting a very tiny girl. “What the?! Who the heck is this?!”
“M-My name’s Aeincha.” She spoke with a frown. “I’m from Lilliput.”
“You can’t be in the Kids Next Door like that! Adults will waste you in centiseconds!”
“Heeeeyy!” Chimney shouted. “Who says she can’t be in here??”
“I do.” He stated. “She wouldn’t last in the big field. I’m taking her to transport and having her sent ho-”
“NAAAAAAAAAAAA!” Chimney furiously tackled the older boy, shaking him by his shirt collar. “AEINCHA’S STAYING HEEEEEERRRREE! SHE’S STAYIN’ SMALL AND KICKIN’ YOUR TUSHIIIIIIEEEEEE!”
“Ack-ack-ack!” he choked. “Okay okay, fine!” He pushed Chimney off. “See how long she lasts!” he yelled, standing and brushing himself. “Don’t whine to me if she gets stomped!”
“YAAAAAAAHHH!”
Aeincha was able to use her tiny size to her advantage. She easily dodged the training robots’ shots and crawled into their circuitry to disable them. When her team battled other teams, she was able to best the opponents by sneaking up, and tickling them from under their clothing, getting them distracted so the others could run and attack.
In the end, she was allowed in the KND, Sector W7, as Numbuh 76.2. Chimney raised her high as they all cheered in victory.
About a year as a team, a girl named April joined, because her team had been decommissioned. But for the next 2 years, Aeincha had fun with her new friends.
Aisa held her little friend and ran around the treehouse, and Aeincha screamed as she felt like she was flying like an airplane. She was then seated on Gonbe’s back, holding on tight and riding him like a horsie. Later, Aeincha sat on the lap of Apis’s dress as the religious girl held her copy of the sacred texts open in front of them, reading a page. April was later bent over, looking closely at Aeincha’s feet as she carefully painted her toenails different colors. Chimney was then eating popcorn, and when she got a kernel stuck in her teeth, she put Aeincha inside her gaping mouth so she could get it out.
Finally, all five friends and rabbit were riding down one of Water 7’s many waterslides, from the top of the fountain, zooming at high speeds toward the ocean. April was in the back, the only one not cheering, Apis in front of her, then Aisa, then Gonbe, then Chimney, with Aeincha seated on her lap. They zoomed straight into the water below with a great splash. Unfortunately, Chimney was the only one who could swim, but they came out okay.
These memories made Aeincha realize: maybe she reached this conclusion too quickly. It was only one mission, and it apparently wasn’t fatal. She had so much fun with her new friends, and her small size made it better. It really wouldn’t be the same if she was bigger. Her friendships were practically founded because of her smallness. She wouldn’t wanna change that. And Chimney didn’t want that to change either. She decided… (End song.)
Later
After an hour passed, the W7 team came into Aeincha’s room. “Oi, Aeincha-chan…” Chimney spoke first. “About what I said in there… I’m sorry-”
“Don’t worry, Chimney.” She stopped her. “I’ve been thinking… maybe I overreacted. It was only one mission. And my legs’ll be fine in a few days. If I wasn’t small… maybe I wouldn’t be any good.”
“Oiii, I didn’t mean that!” Chimney shouted. (“Gyom-gyom!”)
“I-”
“Hm hm hm! Don’t worry, Chimney, I know what you meant! I mean… this is why we’re Sector W7! We all have something that makes us different! Chimney’s half-mermaid, Aisa’s a Nimbi, April’s 12, Apis is an Arceist, Gonbe’s a weird cat-”
“Gyom.”
“-… and I’m really tiny!” she smiled brightly. “I don’t really care if I’m too weak to fight now. You guys accepted me even though I was small. I can’t get rid of what made me different. …I’m staying tiny!”
“That’s our Aeincha-chan!” Chimney exclaimed as she raised her friend high.
“Aaaaahhh easy, Chimneeeyy!”
“And if we ever see that fatty again, we’ll pop him like a balloon!”
“I’ve got a new idea for a picture now…” April said.
Somewhere on the sea
The pirate ship sailed into the sunset as Fat Jack munched and chewed on a big, red lollipop when his phone rang. He answered, “Hello? Oi, Captain.”
“Did you obtain the sweets?”
“Yeah, Mama, ahhhhh, I got ‘em right here. Ah’m bringin’ ‘em in.”
“Was there any trouble?”
“No, Mah, it was jus’ some pesky kids.”
“Hmmm… interesting. Well, as long as they get to me shortly. You did well, sweetie.”
“Mmmm, thanksh, Mah. Ah’ll see you in a bit.” With that, he hung up, and proceeded to eat his lollipop.
Aisa, the Nimbi Who Could Fly
Sector W7 Treehouse
Another peaceful morning over Water 7. It had been 3 days since Aeincha’s injury, and the Lilliputian’s legs were healed. Already, she was trudging down the hall in her pajamas, rubbing her tired eyes on her long journey to the kitchen, to begin her morning exercise. When she arrived at the living room, she caught notice of a familiar, white-capped barefoot girl sitting on the balcony, on her knees. Aeincha quietly approached her friend Aisa, who stared dreamily at the white, puffy clouds in the heavens.
Aeincha sat down beside her friend’s left foot and spoke, “Hey, Aisa!”
Aisa flinched lightly and looked down behind her left. “Oh, hey, Aeincha. I never hear you there!” she smiled.
“That’s why I’m tiny!” she grinned. The two friends exchanged in laughter. Aeincha then asked, “So, whatcha staring at?”
“Oh… just the clouds.” Aisa said, staring back up at the sky. “Aeincha… ever wondered what it looks like above the clouds?”
“Well, I wouldn’t know. I’m not the one with wings!” she beamed.
Aisa looked at her with a frown.
“Oh…” Aein frowned, “That’s right… you can’t-”
“Yeah.” Aisa looked away. “I don’t really get it either. I was born here on Earth, but my parents told me we were Nimbi. But I was told that all Nimbi are born airbenders… so if I’m a Nimbi, how come I’m not an airbender? Why can’t I fly? I’ve always wanted to see what it was like above the clouds…”
“Well, you don’t need wings to fly, Aisa. The Kids Next Door has plenty of jetpacks.”
“It doesn’t work that way, Aeincha!” Aisa looked at her with furrowed eyes. “Ever wonder why airplanes or helicopters could never see Skypia? The only way to find Skypia is to use wings or take the natural entrances. And most of the time, you need airbending for that, anyway.”
Aeincha stood up and gave a smile. “Well, let’s try to make you fly! Come on, I’ll help you!”
“Don’t you think I tried?” Aisa asked, standing up.
“It doesn’t hurt to try some more. Come on!” she ran off excitedly, and Aisa rolled her eyes.
“Aaaaannnnd GO!” Aisa began to dash hurriedly around the couch, not stopping for a second as she tried to gain speed. Her bare feet quickly became sore, but she needed as much momentum as possible. “Aaaannnnd FLY!”
Aisa turned, ran toward, and jumped off the couch, frantically flapping her arms in midair. “OOF!” In the end, she plopped to the floor on her front. Aeincha approached her giant face with a sheepish smile.
“Heheh, heheh. Ooookay. Maybe you don’t need a running jump.”
Later, they were in Aisa’s room, and Aeincha sat on her nightstand, her head moving up-and-down as her Nimbi friend bounced and bounced on her bed. Since running speed wouldn’t get wind under her wings, they decided to try jumping. Aisa seemed to get slightly higher, as Aeincha yelled, “Okay! NOW you can try it!”
With a few more jumps, Aisa took a mighty leap forward. “OOF!” She plopped down on the floor with a thud. Aeincha grinned sheepishly at Aisa’s dizzy face.
They decided to try a more gentler approach as Aisa was bent over on all fours while a box-fan was blowing forcefully against her, forcing Aisa to squint. Aeincha could see her wings blowing slightly, and she suspected her friend would have liftoff. “Maybe just a BIT more…” With that, Aeincha turned the fan’s setting from “High” to “Supah Crazy.” The fan blasted wind with incredible force, and she was forcibly pushed backward, going out the window and plopping onto the balcony below.
This gave Aein an idea, and Aisa was now backed against the living room wall, upside-down as the top of her head touched the floor. The blood was rushing to the uncomfortable Aisa’s head, and in time she would be lightheaded, so maybe that would enable her to fly. After a while, she got up, and was feeling quite dizzy. Aeincha stood on the floor and watched her friend with excitement, hoping she may fly. But as Aisa wobbled her way, she turned and dizzily fell back, crushing Aeincha under her rear. She was too dizzy to feel her friend’s squirming.
Later…
“My head hurts…” Aisa said.
“Let’s go to the bathroom, I’ll wash your hair.” Aeincha offered, hopping off the couch.
They were later in the bathroom as Aisa sat in a chair, backed to the sink as she bent her head back into the sink. Her cap was off, so her hair was under the faucet as Aeincha turned the hot water on. She climbed onto the soap bottle and jumped on the lid to squirt the substance into the sink. Afterwards, she got down, gathered some soap in her tiny hands, and began to scrub Aisa’s scalp as hard as she could. It helped to relieve the pain on Aisa’s head, even though she could barely feel Aein’s scrubbing. “Siiiigh.” Aisa breathed. “Maybe my wings were never cut out for flying.”
“Maybe you’re an earthbender!” Aeincha beamed. “That’s why you’re barefoot!”
“I tried earthbending already. That didn’t work either.”
After Aisa’s hair was washed, Aeincha was seated on her shoulder as Aisa walked through the living room. “Maybe your wings are just stiff!” The Lilliputian figured. “Bend over, I’ll try to flap them!” Looking unsure, Aisa bent over, and Aein got on her back as she gripped her left wing. The tiny girl tried to haul her wing up and down, but it was surprisingly heavy. At one point, Aeincha tried to forcefully tug on it, and-
“AHHH!” Aisa screamed, quickly standing back straight as Aeincha flung off.
Aeincha got up and rubbed her head. “Okay… you can still feel your wings.”
“Siiigh. Maybe it just isn’t in Shandian blood. But thanks for trying to help, Aeincha.”
“You’re welcome.” Aein frowned, standing and brushing off. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help.”
“It’s okay.” Aisa smiled as she picked her friend up. “Why don’t we grab a bite at Grandpa Banban’s?” She set the Lilliputian on her shoulder and approached the balcony.
As they were about to walk down the balcony stairs, a chilly wind suddenly came by and blew past their hair, and Aeincha had to hang tight to Aisa’s dress. A bright smiled appeared on Aein’s face. “That’s it!”
“Hm?” Aisa looked curious.
“Maybe the reason you haven’t flown is because you never bonded with your natural element!”
“Hmmm… well, now that you mention it.”
“Come on: let’s try ONE last time!” she gestured Aisa to head back up, and she did so.
The Shandian Nimbi now stood before the balcony’s railing, eyes closed and her arms spread out as the peaceful winds chilled her skin. “Aeincha… I don’t know. I mean, it’s too dangerous to jump-”
“Quit worrying.” She cut her off, seated on the railing with a smile. “And you’re not gonna jump. Just clear your head of worries, get adjusted to the air, and when you feel the motion in your wings, that’s when you fly.” Of course, Aeincha just based all this from how she thought elements work.
Aisa just stood there. The wind continued to blow her hair and dress. It was a good feeling, hearing only the sounds of wind and the streaming of the massive fountain’s water. Their treehouse was stationed directly on top the fountain, and the view of the expansive city was marvelous. Hundreds of miles above the ground.
Aeincha nodded, feeling that her friend was getting it. In only a few moments, she would be off her feet. However, another forceful wind suddenly came by. “Whoooa-oo-oo!” The Lilliputian lost her balance on the railing. Aisa shot her eyes open wide. “Aaaaaaaaaaahhh!”
“AEINCHA!” Aisa’s friend went falling over the balcony to the hundred-mile drop. The Nimbi immediately jumped off, arms stretched directly downward. “UNGH!” She successfully gripped her falling friend, but she herself was about to come in contact with the ground below. Aisa held her friend close and shut her eyes tight. The drop seemed inevitable.
But just before she fell past the buildings’ roofs, she felt a sudden brush of air, and she continued to fall. Aisa squinted her eyes open, but was surprised when there wasn’t ground up ahead. Instead, the ocean’s great horizon was drawing closer. She looked down, seeing the town underneath, and looked back, seeing the great fountain draw further from beyond her feet. She faced ahead again, and a wide smile appeared on her face. “Hahaha-HYEAAAAHH!”
As she stretched her arms, still holding Aeincha in her left, the Lilliputian opened her eyes as well. Powerful winds brushed past their hair as she saw the city passing by from below. She turned around, seeing Aisa’s whole body, from her head to her feet, touch nothing. Aeincha stretched her arms, and she felt the sensation, too. “WAAAHOOOO!”
Aisa set Aeincha on her back, and the Lilliputian held tight as her Nimbi friend soared excitedly around the air. She did a few spins as she soared down just above the rooftops, then back to the sky. They both looked back, seeing the water town draw farther and farther away. They faced ahead again, and the puffy clouds were drawing closer. In seconds, the two were above the clouds, and both their minds were filled with excitement and wonder.
Aisa’s smile couldn’t be more wide, and her eyes never much joy. It was incredible. “I…I can’t believe I’m flying!”
“Seeee?? You can do ANYthing you set your mind to!”
“Ha ha ha ha!” Aisa flew down and blew through some clouds, getting herself and Aeincha wet. “I don’t understand… how did it happen?”
“I don’t know!” Aein said, holding both arms straight out. The tiny child has never felt this much excitement. “Maybe it just happens when you’re in danger! …WAAAAHEEEEEEYYYY!” Aisa did a few more twirls through clouds, but her little friend stayed on her back.
“But this… I’m flying!” Aisa couldn’t find the words. “It’s just!... so… great!... It’s the most wonderful feeling in the world!”
“Well, where you gonna fly TO???”
“I…I dunno!” Aisa began to look worried. “If I land… what if I can’t fly again??”
“Don’t show fear!” Aeincha cheered. “Just keep flying!”
“Says the girl who’s relying on me not to drop her!”
The two continued to fly for several more minutes. The only sounds were that of the wind blowing against their faces.
“If you can only see Skypia if you have wings, shouldn’t we be seeing it?” Aeincha asked.
“I dunno. Most clouds in the sky are just plain Island Cloud. There could only be so much in the White Sea.”
Eventually, the Nimbi child soared to a random cloud, taking a soft land on her feet. She wiggled her toes on the soft, white substance and bounced a little. She’s never felt anything more soft. Feeling clouds under her feet was much more relaxing than earth, or any other solid substance.
She proceeded to walk forward, Aeincha seated on her shoulder as they looked around with wonder. Almost every direction was pure white with cloud, except the bright blue sky above them with the sun lighting up the sea of clouds. They never imagined being up this high; not counting in their ships. Aisa was afraid of stepping into an opening and plummeting both of them to the great sea below.
“Oh?... What’s this?” Aisa perked when they found an opening inside a small mount of the cloud. They exchanged curious looks, and Aeincha jumped off her friend’s shoulder to go in first. Aisa crouched down and crawled after her, watching as her friend jumped down a series of small footholds. They entered a dark cave inside the Island Cloud, and Aisa watched her little friend run toward a set of ruins. Aisa stepped next to her as both girls looked around marvelously. They didn’t expect this to be inside any Island Cloud.
“It’s… old ruins.” Aeincha spoke. The stone carvings were ancient and withered, depicting images of an Indian race, with wings. There were also writings below the images, in a strange language. Aeincha approached the symbols and studied them closely. “Is it… Skypian?”
“It’s Ancient Skypian…” Aisa studied as she stepped forward and squatted down to study the markings. “But I… can’t read it.” It was too bad, thought Aisa to herself. These images looked so familiar. They seem… like her. …Aisa flinched, suddenly feeling a nearby presence. Her attention directed to the entrance. “Someone’s coming!”
“Oh?” Aisa snatched her friend in both hands and went to hide behind a ruin. Aisa sat with her back against the monument, clutching a hand over Aeincha’s tiny mouth while squeezing her own lips shut. A figure was climbing down the entrance, walking across the soft cloud floor in only sandals. In their right hand, they were clutching some kind of rod. The cave was still too dark to see the figure clearly, but it was a girl, a Nimbi. The girl stopped before the monument and began to stare at the images. Aisa and Aeincha carefully turned around to peek behind. They recognized the girl.
“Hey… it’s Jesbi! Supreme Skypian Leader!” Aisa whispered.
Hearing a sound, Jesbi looked to her right. “Prithee, what hath been spying on me?”
The girls flinched slightly, so Aisa put Aeincha on her shoulder as she walked out. “Sorry…” she said. “I was just… flying by and-”
“I am aware.” She cut off. “Pray tell… dost thou know the story behind yon carvings?”
The three looked at the images again. “Uhhh…”
“These be the ancient Nimbi race called the Shandians. They were a race of Indian Nimbi whom were bound to the earth, rather than clouds. They made their home on what is now known as America. But ‘twas fair Shandia in their time. Alas, British settlers come and banish fair Shandians from the land. ‘Twere forced to find a way and make a home in the sky.”
“Wait… you mean the Indians that lived in Old America were Nimbi?” Aeincha asked. “How come that wasn’t mentioned in the history books?”
“‘Twas mentioned at first, but across time, none ever believed men with wings ever existed. So the books were changed. But when the Shandians moved to the sky, they were shunned by the Nimbis of the air, too. So, they were ordered by yon king to live in Skypia’s outlands. Soon, matters settled below on the earth. Some Shandians chose to remain below, while others in the sky. They mated with various peoples. Some Shandian descendants take the form of humans, while others hold Nimbi wings. But ‘tis a shame, really. To be hated by thine own kind. I, myself, am part Shandian. I do not know wherefore such past hatred for other beings hath sparked. Mayhap the disappearance of the fair Skypian princess, long long ago. Sparked a great hatred and distrust of beings not of the air. Things are not entirely different now, but ‘tis better. Thou art lucky to have friends like thine. From girl of dolly size to one of giant mouth.” Aisa and Aeincha exchanged sheepish grins.
“So… is that why I couldn’t fly?” Aisa asked. “But how did I fly now?”
“It is said that the blessing of Goddess Palutena enables the power of flight in Nimbi. In ancient tales, Shandians art otherwise flightless. Yet, even the goddess’s powers bare limits.”
“Then… can you help us?” Aisa asked. “I wouldn’t wanna risk Aeincha’s life again.”
“I shalt supply you. Let us leave hither.” The Nimbi leader walked out first, and Aisa followed.
They climbed out of the cave, and Jesbi handed Aisa a pair of conch-shells with holes like shoes. “These art Jet Dials.” Aisa slipped the shells on her feet. “They wilt function like fair jetshoes and allow thee to fly without wings. ‘Tis not as satisfactory as unleashing yon true Nimbi spirit, but rather than yon land-dweller jetshoe, it leaves a trail of cloud, not smoke.”
Aisa tapped the buttons inside with her toes, making the shoes thrust her forward a little. “Well… they’ll come in handy. Thanks, Jesbi.”
“My welcome to thee.” And with that, Aisa soared away using her new rocket shoes, leaving a trail of clouds as Aeincha held onto her shoulder. Jesbi watched until they were behind the clouds, and flew away.
Sector W7 Treehouse
Aisa came in for a calm landing on the balcony, then pulled her Jet Dials off as she walked in. “They’re not so bad. Pretty fun.” Aisa said.
“It isn’t the same as flying normally, is it?” Aeincha said.
“No… nothing will be the same as that. Oh well… at least these Jet Dials will be helpful. Come on, let’s go see what everyone else is up to!”
She took a few steps forward through the living room when the rest of Sector W7 ran in. “Oi, there you are!” Chimney exclaimed. “Where the heck were you on’nanoko-chans??”
“Gyom, gyom!”
“Hm hm hm!” Aeincha smiled. “We were just out!”
“You can say we had our heads in the clouds!” Aisa beamed.
“Oi, head in the clouds?? Wha’does that mean??” Chimney asked.
“Oh, Chimney! Don’t act so paranoid!” Apis grinned.
“Who wants to go down to Grandpa Banban’s??” Aeincha exclaimed.
“YAAAAEEEEHH!” the girls (except April) cheered ecstatically and scampered down the treehouse.
April, the First and the Last
Sector W7 Treehouse
Another peaceful day on Water 7. Man, this town is nice. It was noon as four of the team members, plus Gonbe, stood together and posed, while April Goldenweek studied them and carefully painted on her canvas. They’ve had a good past few days, so Chimney decided they should have a group photo. But who would want that if they have their own professional painter? Normally, it’s a process that would take hours or days, but April only started a few minutes ago, and she was close to done.
A few minutes more, April painted the last whisker on Gonbe’s face. She turned the canvas around, and the sector beamed, wide eyes and mouths, at their beautifully painted selves. “OOWAAAAAHH!” Chimney’s eyes sparkled. “IT’S SO LIFELIIIIKE!” (“Gyom-gyooooomm!”)
Aeincha was impressed as well, but after a while, she frowned. “Uhhm… there’s something missing.”
The others’ smiles faded, as they noticed as well. There was only four of them, plus Gonbe. “Oiiii! April-chan’s not in this picture!” Chimney exclaimed. (“Gyom, gyom!”)
“It’s okay.” April said, no emotion like usual. “You guys have known each other longer.”
“But we’re Sector W-Seveeeeen! You should be in it, tooooo!”
“Are you sure, April?” Apis asked. “You’re part of the team, too.”
“It’s no big deal. Besides, adding extras to it will make it less of a masterpiece.”
“…Well, you’re the artist…” Apis figured.
“Ahhh, you’re a baka-chan. Oh well, le’s watch some KNN news!” Chimney grinned.
“Gyom, gyom!” The rest of the kids hurried excitedly to the couch, while April walked over less ecstatically. Chimney grabbed the remote and switched the TV on, and Melody and Danny’s images were shown.
“And so ends the tale of the silly chipmunk who tricked a corporate businessman into signing away his rights to the sock-sewing company.” Danny spoke. “Well, there’s our random story conclusion for those just tuning in, you Mel?”
“Um, thank you, Danny, in other news, there has been a recent increase in assaults from Candy Pirates on unsuspecting Kids Next Door candy shipments. A report from Sector W7 cautions everybody to be on the lookout for notorious pirate, Commander Fat Jack. Rumored to be extremely dangerous, obsessed with candy, and very mean to tiny people. …In unrelated news, Sector I sees its last few days as their second-to-last teammate has gone rogue, and is scheduled for decommissioning.” This caught April’s attention, but her expression didn’t change. “The remaining operative will be temporarily moved to a new sector.”
“Awww. Poor guy.” Apis frowned.
“Gyom, gyom.” Gonbe was just as sad.
“It’s so sad when friends have to part ways like that because they get too old.” Aisa said.
“Good thing WE’RE not growing up for four more years! Even MORE!” Chimney exclaimed.
“YAAAAY!” the girls, except guess-which-one, cheered excitedly.
“Oh!” Aeincha’s smile vanished, remembering once again. “Except…”
The kids looked at April with sad, apologetic looks. “April… we-” Apis tried to speak.
“It’s okay.” she said, still not changing her look. “Our time still has to come eventually. You guys will be just as good without me.”
“‘ey, whatchu talking about, anyway?” Chimney asked. “You don’t get decommissioned just for turnin’ 13, anymore, you gotta turn traitor! You ain’t gonna turn traitor, are you?”
“Um… I-”
She was interrupted when the alarms suddenly rang. Panini Drilovsky’s face appeared onscreen. “This is Moonbase calling Sector W7. There are some Teen Ninja warships passing close to your sector, and they’re loaded with boxes of sick chickens. They might be trying to use them for a new Chickenpox Cannon. Ya have to stop them.”
“Oi, we can’t ever have a day off here.” Chimney said exhaustedly. (“Gyom-gyom.”)
“Alright, team! Let’s goooo!” The rest of the team hurried off excitedly. April looked at the screen for a few seconds, lost in thought, before chasing after them.
Warship squadron, middle of the ocean
Indeed, the Teen Ninjas were sailing off to whatever destination, carrying loads of bawking chickens. Nya LaMar and Hoagie III were in the control room of the flagship, staring out at the sea.
“Ugh! I can’t beLIEVE that Maddy brat kept us in her toy box for three weeks!” Nya shouted in anger. “What took Shade so long to come get us, anyway??”
“Why you so mad, Nya? I kind of liked being an action figure.” Hoagie III said coolly.
“Ugh. Well, as soon as we power up our cannon, HER neighborhood is gonna be FIRST to go.”
One of their monitors started to beep all of a sudden. “Unknown vessel coming from the south.” a girl reported.
“It’s those KNDorks!” Nya concluded. “Ready the bikes! Oh, and DON’T touch my CDs!”
The R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N. was zipping toward the warships at high speed across the water. The ships began to blast their cannons, but the train swerved around and dodged before shooting to the sky, going just above the ships’ towers. The teens got in bikes and started to fly after the sector, but the train endured the laser strikes as they kept flying. “Oi, time to drop in, chans!” Chimney exclaimed.
“Remember, we gotta get the chickens onto our train and take them to be treated.” Apis reminded.
“Yeah, yeah. LE’S GO!” Chimney set the train to autopilot as the five girls and rabbit dropped to the decks of individual ships. Chimney whipped out some M.A.R.B.L.E.s and started to throw them around her ship, bombing holes in the floors and cannons. Aisa whipped out her Conache Pumpkin, tied to her rope, and hurled it forward to bash a row of Teen Ninjas. Another ninja tried to grab her from behind, but she jumped back and bashed the iron pumpkin at his face.
“OW! How do you people EAT those-” Aisa bashed him again and knocked him out.
On another ship, Aeincha stood confidently as a group of Teen Ninjas surrounded the tiny child. “Ugh. We have to put up with THIS again?” Tracy asked. “All right, Teens: don’t show ANY mercy.” They all drew out lasers and took aim.
“GYOOOM!” Gonbe jumped on Tracy’s head and bit on her nose, making her shoot her laser upward aimlessly. When the teens were distracted, Aeincha ran and climbed up one’s body, going to his chest and pressing the switch on the right nipple. His armor deactivated, so Aein got inside his clothes and began to crawl around. As the ninja tried to grab her, Gonbe jumped over and bit hard on his ear. The other ninjas chased him and tried to help, but Aeincha slipped out of his clothes and grabbed on to another one.
Coincidentally, April Goldenweek landed on the flagship. As she broke into the storage, gangs of Teen Ninjas began to swarm her, but she swiftly dodged around and painted black marks on their armor. They looked confusedly, and were about to attack again, when- “Don’t help bring those chicken crates onto our train.” April said. Against their own will, the ninjas stopped attacking and began to haul the crates away.
“Guys, what’re you doing?!” a female ninja yelled, who wasn’t hypnotized. “Don’t help them!!” The ninjas worked harder to carry on their task, and April proceeded to hypnotize this girl as well. With that, the 12-year-old decided to head to the upper floors.
In another ship, Apis was surrounded by more ninjas as she looked to the crates of chickens. She closed her eyes and spoke telepathically, and the chickens suddenly broke free from the crates and began to tackle the teens, forcing them to catch chickenpox.
Meanwhile, Aisa was using her new Jet Dials to fly as she held the Conache Pumpkin down and bashed the heads of the Teen Ninjas that were hit. Suddenly, Aisa was kicked down to the floor by another ninja, recovering to see it was Shade. Aisa glared and got up, aiming to throw her Conache when- “Straight throw, then left swing.” Shade dodged the predicted throw, and when Aisa swung leftward, Shade attempted to jump over and kick her.
Aisa gasped, sensing Shade shooting upward and shooting down, knuckles first. Shade stopped mid-kick, shot upward, and shot down to strike with her knuckles, but Aisa dodged right right away.
“Huh?” Shade was a little surprised. She began to run around and around Aisa in circles, going faster and preparing a strike. Aisa sensed Shade coming from the left, so when the ninja attempted the attack, Aisa swiftly turned and flipped backward and avoided. Shade’s eyes widened, and she felt she understood. “So, you know Observation.”
“Huh?” Aisa asked.
“But I believe you Skypians call it Mantra. Perhaps a true test is required.” Shade zipped to the other side of the room and extracted a series of lasers from under her armor (how do they fit all these weapons?). They looked around aimlessly, ready to shoot in random directions. With that, they let fire, and the room was storming with lasers. Aisa sensed where each shot would be, and she moved quickly to avoid the ones coming at her. She dodged her way over to Shade and swung her pumpkin, knocking the ninja upside the head, and backward. Shade got up as her lasers retracted. “Hmmm. Seems yours are enhanced. I shall see more later.” The ninja threw a bomb down that flashed and blinded the whole area, and when the light faded, she was gone, leaving a confused Aisa.
April made her way to the control room on the flagship. Nya and Hoagie stood in the center as some ninjas tried to attack, but she dodged and painted pink on them, forcing them to become sad. “I won’t hurt you if you choose to surrender.” she said to Nya and Hoagie.
“I give.” Hoagie raised his hands. Nya immediately bashed his head. “Oww!”
“Say… how old are you, anyway?” Nya asked April, raising a brow.
“I’m… 12.” she answered. “My birthday is in six months.”
“I see…” a witty smile appeared on Nya’s face. “So, let’s say I let you catch me. After six months, you won’t even be recognized for it. You’ll be hanging with us and kids will think of you as ANOTHER smelly teen.”
“It happens to everyone eventually.” April said.
“DON’T you have any EMOTION, Girl?? YO’ friends won’t care about you anymore and they’ll be forced to attack you. That’s what happens with ALL 13-year-old operatives. Your friends today become enemies tomorrow.”
“Sunni and Marcus are thirteen years old. They were allowed to stay.”
“That’s because they still acted like brats. Look at yourself. You don’t even SOUND like a kid. You ain’t whiny like yo’ little teammates. And HOW many kids would rather PAINT instead of eat ICE CREAM?? …Besides the French.”
“Painting is an enticing and concentrative sport.”
“Right. You ain’t cut out to be a kid, Kid. Why don’t you just ditch yo’ lame friends and hang with us? That’s what Ms. Abrams did when she was young.”
April stared at her for a few seconds. Her frowning, toneless expression didn’t change. “GYAH!!” Suddenly, Chimney bursted through the door, startling April and the teens. “Oi, April-chan, I got finished early!! We takin’ these pizza-sans down??”
“…Right.” April nodded and immediately slid over and painted yellow on Nya’s and Hoagie’s chests.
“PAAAAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!…” The two were forced to laugh uncontrollably, and couldn’t focus. Nya fell to her hands and knees as April looked at her with her usual frown. As Nya wiped a tear from her eye, she fell to her front as she held a small, folded paper at April’s feet.
“HYAAAHH!” Chimney jumped high and stomped Nya with great force, knocking the teen out as the smile stayed on her face, but some of the paint began to fade. “Oi, what a saiko-chan. April, can you paint them so they lose their dumb teen brains? Or, do they need NEW brains.”
“…” April stared at Nya for a few seconds. “Let’s leave them be. Without the chickens, they won’t be very much.”
“Ahhhh. If you say so, Chan. Le’s go home.” With that, Chimney walked off.
April bent down and picked up the tiny slip. She stuffed it in her pocket, sparing one last glance to the ninjas before walking off.
Sector W7 Treehouse
“HOOOO-yah!” Chimney sighed in exhaust as they returned to the treehouse, the sun setting over Water 7. “Those chickie crates were HEEEAAAVY.” (“Gyom, gyoooom.”)
“I’m glad we didn’t catch chickenpox.” Apis said. “Who wants to watch Avatar?”
“You guys go ahead.” April said, walking off. “I’ll be in my room.”
“Doing WHAT, April-chaaaan?” Chimney yelled.
“Just to mellow out.” And with that, she was gone down the hall.
The four kids and rabbit looked at each other curiously.
In April’s room
April closed her door and went to sit on her bed. She would normally use her alone time to paint… but she didn’t feel like it. Her head was clouded with thoughts and memories. Deep down, she was secretly worried she would be decommissioned, and never get to play with Sector W7 again. It’s just like with her old sector… (Play “Chopper’s Sad Theme” from One Piece.)
Several years ago
Sector GD, stationed in Gobi’s Desert. That was where April was stationed. A team of five: Numbuh 5-Kegs, Trenton Boom. Numbuh February, Selina Valentine. Numbuh 1-1, Paula Doublefinger. Numbuh 11-Long, Dazun Sclice. …And then there was April.
Trenton was the team’s weapons expert. He was mostly into bombs and blowing things up. Wasn’t really right in the head, but he was still a good kid. Selina was a rather cheerful girl, the combat specialist, and probably the light of the team. She was very swift and nimble, not to mention really thin. Paula was pretty goth and tomboyish. She wore a spiked black jacket, which could shoot actual spikes. And Dazun was the big, strong leader. He was the oldest, and he was skilled with swords. Then April, she was the Artist and Hypnotist, and the youngest of the team. But they all seemed pretty old, even before decommissioning.
On a regular spring’s day (though they couldn’t tell seasons in the desert), April was happily painting a portrait of her team, a smile on her doll-like face. The four members were bunched together, making their own poses, as April carefully painted their images. It didn’t take long before she was finished, and she turned the portrait around to show them.
“Hey, not baaaad!” Selina beamed.
“Hm. Pretty slick, Girl.” Paula said.
Trenton frowned, noticing something. “Um… ain’t there someone missing?”
The others frowned, noticing as well. April was absent from the picture. “You… didn’t paint yourself.” Selina said.
“Well, I wasn’t standing there.” April said, still keeping a smile. “An artist has to paint what they see.”
“But you’re part of the team…” Selina spoke once more. “All of us should be in it.”
“It’s no big deal.” April shook. “Painting the four of you is just as good.”
“Hm. You’re way too nice.” Dazun said coolly. “Care about yourself every now and then.”
“Hm hm hm, okay.” April laughed. “Let’s do something else.”
“Ahhh, anyone wanna go to the pool?” Trenton asked, the African-American boy picking his nose. “These desert climates ain’t doin’ it right for me.”
“I rather like it.” Paula said with a smug look. “The idea of dehydrated organisms baking in the heat, their bones rotting away for hundreds of years.”
“How dark.” Trent remarked.
The alarms suddenly blared across the treehouse. The Moonbase Missions Debriefer appeared on their TV. “Listen up, guys, there’s a rogue teen operative by your area. Our Decommissioning Troupe is too preoccupied, so we need you guys to stop him.
“Kids Next Door, LET’S GO!” Dazun cheered, and they all hurried off.
They hurried to the nearby desert town, where a renegade operative, turned 13, was frantically sneaking around. As he hid behind an alleyway, he flinched when someone spoke from behind. “Hands in the air, Teenager, it’s time for decommissioning.” Numbuh 11-Long said as Sector GB stood, ready for battle.
The teen hurled M.A.R.B.L.E.s at them, blowing Paula and Selina back. Dazun zipped forward, swiftly swinging blades, but the teen hurriedly dodged his attacks and countered with a metal staff. He eventually jumped back, but Trenton hurled two bombs by his sides, exploding and blowing him further. Through the smoke, Selina flexibly flipped over, leaping behind the teen as she caught his head in her legs. The teen bashed the girl with his metal staff and escaped, but found April standing behind.
“Heh. What’re YOU gonna do, Painter?” he said smugly.
April zipped over and quickly painted a pink mark. The teen fell into depression. It was hopeless… he would be captured either way… what life is there without the Kids Next Door, anyway… there was no point in running… it was over.
With the teen defeated, Sector GD brought him to Moonbase. There, the Head of Decommissioning led him to the chambers. The sector only watched with pity, emotionless looks as the plunger device sucked away everything he ever knew.
“Thanks for the help.” The Decom. Head congratulated. “Sorry we had to drag you in our business, but… what can you do with so many rampant teens.”
“Yeah, yeah, no prob.” Trent said. “‘ey, le’s go down to Spiders’ Soda Shop!”
“YEAH!” the sector (except April) cheered and hurried off. April stayed to look at the memory-washed teen before following them.
They went to the Spiders’ Soda Shop, to have drinks of their favorite brews. “Ahhh… someday, I wanna OWN this joint.” Trent said, kicked back on his stool as he clutched a glass’s handle.
“That’ll cost ya quite a few Pokémons.” The owner, Spider Nickey, replied.
Dazun Sclice chugged a whole glass of soda in one round before noticing the still-full glass on the counter beside him, seated before a frowning April, her head down. “What’s wrong, April?”
“…When we get too old… will we end up like that teen?”
“Man, relax, April. You know there’s still TND.”
“But… we can’t hang out together… can we?”
“Well, not usually. But… not all friends can hang around together all the time. Sometimes… we’re forced to go separate ways. But we’ll still always be friends. You know that, right?”
April looked up at him with a light smile. “Yeah… I guess you’re right.”
“That’s more like it.” He slapped her back. “Come on, just drink yo’ soda. Can’t be a kid if you don’t like soda.” April did so and drank, but only lightly. Part of her still felt upset.
Three months passed. Daz’s 13th birthday had come. The sector stood before him in the living room, sad looks on all their faces. “We’re really gonna miss you…” Selina said.
“It’ll be a’ight. If I’m lucky, I’ll remember not to attack you guys too much.”
“Too bad our success rate isn’t the highest.” Paula said. “You coulda been a TND.”
“Well… not everyone can reach the stars.” Daz said. “But it’s all about the journey. …A’ight, let’s go. Better off ta save them decommissioners’ trouble.”
And so, they flew up to Moonbase, and calmly walked to the Decommissioning Chambers. Daz willingly sat on the chair and strapped on. The Decommissioning Head was ready to push the button as he spoke, “Any last words?”
“Yeah…” He looked at April, who only frowned. “I just wanna say… don’t worry about the future. Live in the moment. …Got it?” he winked.
April’s emotionless expression didn’t change. But she was sad deep down.
Without another moment, the operative pushed the button, and Daz’s memories were sucked away. The friends knew it wouldn’t be the same.
“You sure you wanna be leader?” Selina asked Trent once they arrived back at the treehouse.
“Yeah, it’s a’ight.” he said. “Ah mean, Ah’m just a boom guy, but it shouldn’t be too hard, right?”
“Well, then don’t whine to us.” Paula remarked. “Besides… it won’t be too long.”
In reality, Trenton’s birthday was only four months away. They seemed to have gone by TOO fast. Trenton was always a good kid. He liked to make fireworks and launch them as victory for their missions. He knew how to be creative and colorful with them, always making fancy shapes. Of course, he had help with the colors using April’s paint. When they lit a firework show in the sky, April memorized the patterns quick, and painted them. She had quite the collection. And one time, Trenton blew himself up while being a daredevil, and the result was rather silly. April giggled as she painted his goofy, soot-covered form.
Sadly, due to unexplained reasons, Trent decided to turn traitor, going to attack another treehouse with his bombs. Trent’s decommissioning time came, and his pleasant memories were lost from his mind. Selina was the most upset, it seemed.
“Well… who’s gonna be leader now?” Selina asked when they returned home.
“Well, I don’t wanna do it.” Paula decided, even though she was the oldest.
“I’m not cut out…” April already knew.
“Well, girls, I guess we’re going leaderless.” Selina figured. “Ho well… why don’t we go get some drinks.”
They never did pick out a leader, and their success rate dropped lower. Without the two boys, things weren’t the same. In two more months, it was Paula’s birthday, choosing then of all times to attack a popular toy store. April heard it was something about her family needing money. It was her turn for decommissioning. April remembered coming to Paula’s house often. They shared a lot in common. Her goth theme was something April was into, painting Paula in so many dark, freaky poses, some of which involved her spikes. It was good practice for April painting pointed objects. And they liked to think dark, depressing poems or haikus.
When Paula was decommissioned, April was sad they couldn’t do that stuff anymore. Still… at least she had Selina.
April spent almost every moment of the next three months hanging out with Selina. Her positive attitude brought some light to April’s heart. In the old days, Selina taught April some yoga, of course the blond, thin girl was more flexible than April was. Instead, April mostly painted images of Selina bent in different angles. It wasn’t uncomfortable at all. The blond gymnast always put a smile on April’s face.
“Sigh, well it was now or never.” Selina said when decommissioning time had come. She hadn’t gone traitor, but she claimed she wanted to enroll in this fancy cheerleading school that would take up too much of her time. April couldn’t understand why, for a couple reasons.
“I’ll miss you…” April frowned at her taller friend.
“Hmhmhm, it’s okay!” Selina put on a grin. “Remember, April: keeeep smiling!” Still keeping her bright smile, Selina sat on the chair and was strapped on. Even after the plunger finished sucking her memories, she still kept her silly smile.
Finally, April was all alone. She was 11 years old… her birthday was six months away, and then it’d only be a year left. Her room was stashed with so many paintings of her friends. Looking at them over and over, only made April feel more sad. So many memories from so many moments… April wished she could make more. She wanted to keep her collection going.
Being only by herself, April didn’t receive any missions for a few days. In time, she was called to Moonbase, where the new Supreme Leader, Cheren Uno, met with her in his office. Cheren spoke professionally. “April, there can’t be only one person in a sector. I’ve decided to relocate you to Sector W7, in Water 7. We’ve arranged for your family to move there, wink-wink. You’ll have one day to get your stuff together, and the next, you’ll be moving.”
April turned away, not changing her frown. “I’ll get prepared, then.”
Cheren frowned, feeling April’s sadness. He stood up and put a hand on the tall girl’s shoulder. “April… your sector was one of the nicest. I know how it must feel for you… but they would want you to keep going.”
“…I want to leave my paintings in the treehouse. …I don’t want anyone coming in.”
“…Okay. I’ll mark it as off limits. And set securities around it, just in case.”
April returned to the treehouse and had finished gathering her things. Her paintings were left piled in her room. She looked at them for several minutes. Dust began to form on the dried paint. The treehouse was dark, almost all power was off. April was hoping it’d stay this way. She’d want no one tampering with her history. She debated whether or not to take her paintings with her. She decided not to… it was too painful to even touch one.
The following day, April and her father moved to Water 7, much to his chagrin. Her mother died a few years ago, so it was just the two of them. They weren’t close at all… he was pretty mean and self-centered. They weren’t rich. Her father worked as a sculptor, so that’s the closest they are, their interest in art. But April felt like she was closer to her cousin, Mary. Her parents were rich, but they refused to lend April’s father any money, due to bad tension. April always loved playing with Mary, but they didn’t see each other much since April joined the KND, and without her friends, April felt more alone.
As their small family settled into their new home, Cheren had brought April up to the treehouse atop the enormous water fountain. “Everyone, this is April Goldenweek. Her sector was recently decommissioned, we had to relocate her. I’m sure you’ll all get along nicely. April… good luck.”
“OI, a new FRIEEENNND!” Chimney screamed as the girls and rabbit immediately ran to greet her. (“Gyom-gyoooom!”)
“Hi!” The very tiny member smiled and waved. “I’m Aeincha! I’m from Lilliput.”
“I’m Chimney!” Chimney grinned. “These are Aisa, Apis, and my cat, Gonbe!” (“Gyom, gyom.”)
“Isn’t he a rabbit?” April asked.
“Nnn? …Rabbit?” Chimney and Gonbe looked confused.
Chimney was pretty clueless, April observed. She spent the next year, hanging out and playing with them. They were such fun kids. Chimney liked to pounce on her shoulders and ride her whenever they had victory. She painted Aisa’s dirty fingers and toenails. She used different color symbols on Aeincha, making the tiny girl dance and do all sorts of fun stuff, which the girls giggled at. She painted pictures of Arceus and other religious references for Apis. And in general, she painted many pictures of them.
Chimney sitting at her control station, a wide grin on her face. Aeincha peeping out of April’s big shoes. Apis, eyes buried in her Book of Arceus. Aisa, holding a bow and posing like cupid as she stood along the shore, with the skies in the background. Chimney about to stuff Aeincha inside her big mouth. Apis on her hands and upside down, while Aisa stood on the soles of her big shoes. Aisa giggling at Gonbe trying to eat a Conache Pumpkin. Apis and Chimney both making wide grins, trying to mirror the other. And not a one had April herself…
April had so much fun with her new friends. They were so energetic. So carefree. …But April couldn’t feel that way. Soon, she would be getting decommissioned as well. Her good times with Sector W7 would end. She would be leaving them, and another stash of paintings would lay and gather dust. She didn’t want to forget them. She didn’t want to forget her friends. If her memories were gone… it would just be her and her dad. She would forget all the nice people she ever knew. Her heart would always have an empty spot inside. Dazun… Paula… Selina… Trenton… Chimney… Aeincha… Aisa… Apis… Gonbe. So many spaces… empty.
Current time
April strongly resisted the urge to cry. She didn’t want to leave her memories behind. She wanted to keep remembering them. There was only one way to…
April unfolded the paper and studied the map with a circle on one spot. Without a second thought, April stood and headed to the hangar. (End song.)
Unknown forest area
Stars lit up the blue night sky. April took Sector W7’s backup S.C.A.M.P.E.R. and took land in the dark woods. She studied her map as she walked several yards forward. It wasn’t long before she found Nya, Hoagie, and their Teen Ninjas, standing in a clearing with some ships.
“Awwww. You decided to come after aaaaall.” Nya cooed.
“Yes… I’ve decided to join you. But on one condition: your ninjas won’t attack Sector W7.”
“Alright, fine, we’ll let your bratty friends go. It’s just GREAT to have you along, April! And have WE got a surprise for YOU!”
One of the ships’ hatches opened, and a gang of teenagers stepped off, dressed in armor. Their helmets were off, and April’s face was stricken with horror. They were Dazun, Selina, Paula, and Trenton, in Battle Ready Armor and looking like your everyday teens. Trenton nodded his head to some music in his headphones, Selina smiled as she texted mindlessly on a cellphone, Paula had a cigarette in her mouth, and Daz looked bored as he was munching on nachos.
Seeing her old friends hurt April greatly. She couldn’t believe they were with the Teen Ninjas. The ones she spent her greatest moments with, the ones she loved, were enemies of the Kids Next Door. April wonders how much crime they’ve caused against the KND. How many times they avoided arrest. They barely looked the same anymore. They looked like the lazy, disrespectful teens the KND, and even adults, hated so much. They didn’t look like they engaged in childish activities, the activities that filled them with spirit. They were… old.
“It’ll be just like old times!” Nya beamed. “Sector GD is BACK again! Fightin’ for the GOOD team this time! And with their good ol’ hypnotist, the teens’ll be STRONGER than ever! We can force ALL the brats to spill their secrets! And some upgrades for OUR side wouldn’t be bad, either! So COME ON, April! GET IN and let’s go for a pizza!”
April wanted to spend more time with her friends… but not like this. She didn’t want to do… smelly TEEN stuff. No playing Frisby or splashing in the pool. (Even if April didn’t swim.) …Not like Sector W7.
“OIIII!” April gasped and turned around with a start. There stood Sector W7 their selves, all looking angry and serious. “April-chaaaan! Don’t GO with THEEEEM!”
“Gyom-GYOOOOooom!”
“How did you guys…”
“Ahem!” April looked down and saw Aeincha holding the heel of her left shoe. “Good thing there’s so much room under your nose!” she smiled.
“She stowed away on your S.C.A.M.P.E.R. and we tracked her.” Apis explained. “April, don’t join them! You don’t know what you’re getting into!”
“I don’t care!” the artist shouted. “It’s better than forgetting all the good times I had with you all! Besides… I’m just not right for your team. I already feel like a teen myself. I’m just… not as excited as you four are. Knowing I have less time than you, I should join them and get it over with. And at least this way… you guys will be safe. I won’t have to fight you.”
“I DON’T CAAAARRRE!” Chimney screamed, angrier than ever. “YOU ARE still part of Sector W-SEVEEEENN! YOUR LEADER didn’t dismiss yoooouuu!”
“April… we know you’re not as enthusiastic… and you’re older… but you’re still our friend.” Aisa said. “We wanted to spend the next six months playing with you, too. It wouldn’t be the same.”
“FRIENDS STICK together, APRIIIL! Are you our FRIIIEEEEND?” Chimney screamed.
“Uh… I-” April felt conflicted.
“QUIT WHINING, kiddies!” Nya shouted. “April’s practically a teen now! SHE belongs with her REAL friends. Come on, April! We had a pizza party all set up for you!”
“April, YOU’RE still a Kids Next Door operative!” Chimney stated. “YOU’RE a kid-chan! Do you wanna stay with us and go down supah big water slides?? Or you wanna listen to loud cruddy TEEN music?!”
“APRIL!” Nya shouted.
“April!” Chimney yelled.
“Gyom-gyom!” Gonbe shouted.
“April!” Apis shouted.
“April!” Aisa yelled.
“AAAPRIIIIL!” Aeincha screamed.
April fell to her knees, gaining a headache. If she stayed, she would forget everything. If she went, it wouldn’t be the same. Her old friends had changed. She would abandon her new, energetic friends. She was so upset when Sector GD left. Sector W7 helped to fill up their void. She loved being an operative… going on missions and fighting villains with her friends. She never wanted to be against them. But Sector GD… wasn’t Sector GD anymore. But Sector W7 would still be her friends for 6 more months… and even beyond then, they would still be her friends. She knew it.
“April!” Daz shouted, happy to see his friend.
“April!” Selina exclaimed.
“Yo, April!” Trenton greeted.
“Hey, April!” Paula greeted.
“Apriiiill!” she heard Aeincha say.
“HOAGIE!!” Hoagie III exclaimed.
April stood up confidently, clutching her paintbrush as she raised her arm in defiance to Nya.
“I’m staying with Sector W7.” She stated.
WHHHHHAT?!” Nya looked furious. “After ALL this crud we set up… you’re STAYING?!”
“I’m sorry. But… you guys stink.”
“GrrrrrRRRRAAAAHH!! Teenagers: ATTACK THEEEEM!” Before their eyes, swarms of hidden Teen Ninjas flew out from beyond the bushes. They swooped down, blasting lasers, but the sector was quick to dodge as Aisa whipped out her Conache Pumpkin and swung it upward to knock some ninjas out of the air. Chimney jumped and landed on a ninja’s back as she flew it around and rammed other aerial ninjas. Some ninjas landed and tried to step on Aeincha, but the girl dodged and jumped onto Gonbe’s back as she rode him and made him bite their noses.
“Grrrrr!” Nya grumbled, looking at Sector GD, who were uninterestingly carrying on their own business. “DON’T just stand there, TAKE those kids out!”
“Siiigh.” Daz sighed, putting his nachos aside. The decommissioned team finally jumped in and began to battle the operatives.
As Aeincha hopped off of Gonbe, she turned when Trenton Boom suddenly appeared behind her. “Hey.” He smiled and waved before trying to stomp on the tiny girl. She dodged and attempted to climb up his leg, but he was able to swat her away. He pulled out a few simple firecrackers and chucked them at the Lilliputian. Since the bombs were much bigger at her size, the small explosions were deadly, so she ran quick to avoid.
Apis saw her friend trying to run, so she spoke telepathically with Gonbe, and the little rabbit nodded and ran to her aid. He helped Aeincha on his back as the two ran to avoid firecrackers. Gonbe grabbed one of the explosives in his mouth, and Aeincha yanked his fur as he pounced over to Trenton. The rabbit leapt and shoved the firecracker in his mouth just as it popped. Trenton frantically tried to shake the burn off, but Aeincha leapt off Gonbe’s back and onto Trent’s hair, then hung upside-down as she threw her grappling hook into his mouth, down his throat. She dropped down and hung as Trent coughed, making him aimlessly rush forward, and bash his head into a tree.
Apis smiled, but suddenly encountered Paula. The goth teen extracted spikes from her armor’s knuckles and started trying to punch the Arceist, but Apis was quick to dodge. Apis quickly spoke to the nearest animal, and a squirrel came charging from a tree to crawl up to and around Paula’s head. The girl frantically tried to shake it off, and when she tried to grab it, she accidentally scratched her face with her spikes. She was able to shake it off and run at Apis, aiming to punch the child, but Apis ducked, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her forward, making the teen stab her spikes into a tree. She struggled to pull herself free, so Apis was able to jump over and kick Paula’s head against the tree, knocking her out.
Aisa faced Selina Valentine, glaring up at the teen, while she gave a snarky grin. Aisa swung her Conache, but Selina dodged nimbly as she landed on the pumpkin, jumped, and kicked Aisa in the face, knocking her backward. Aisa wiped the blood from her nose and became more serious, knowing to make use of her Mantra. She got up and put on her Jet Dials, flying around the air as she pulled out her Impact Dial and shot gumballs at Selina. Selina evaded the bullet gums as she hopped on Aisa’s cloud path and chased after her. She swung her foot, but Aisa ducked and flew downward, causing Selina to fall, but she landed on her feet. When she turned around, she was too late to dodge as Aisa rammed her from the air.
Selina got up and growled, deciding to use her armor’s jetpacks to fly instead. She swung her feet at Aisa as the two engaged in aerial combat, but Aisa swerved and dodged on her Dials as she flew circles around Selina. The thin teenager was tangled in the twin cloud paths, making her fly uncontrollably as she collided with the ground. Aisa shot down from the air and rammed her, knocking the girl out.
Next, Chimney faced Dazun Sclice. The buff ninja whipped out his blades and swung down, and Chimney yelped in fright as she narrowly avoided. Daz chased as the pigtailed girl ran, slicing several bushes as he did so. Chimney then ran up the tree and kicked off, kicking both feet against his face. Daz was barely fazed as he ran after her again, but Gonbe leapt in front of him as Aein jumped off and grabbed his face. The huge teen grabbed the doll-size girl and pulled her off, but Chimney ran over, carrying a heavy discarded tree branch as she bashed Daz’s head and knocked him back.
April smiled at her friends’ success. Suddenly, the 12-year-old was punched by Nya from the side of the head, knocking her into a tree. “NO ONE double-crosses Nya LaMar and gets away with it!” April weakly recovered and looked at her. “I’m takin’ that little dish and makin’ you eat PAINT.”
April stood up and glared hatefully. “You can attack us as much as you want… but you’ll NEVER get me to turn against my friends. An artist paints what they feel. Their emotion is expressed through their work. The pain I endured, watching my old sector’s decommissioning. The void that opened in my heart. It’s time you see it with your own eyes.” And April put her paint dish away, and pulled out a new one with black, purple, and other dark colors. The artist zipped around Nya, painting the ground in various dark colors. Nya only watched confused as the ground around her became black and purple.
When April stopped, Nya suddenly found herself in a terrifying realm of evil and darkness. It was an endless black void, and anyone who’s fallen in is destined to drift forever. A purple tentacle lashed out from the void and took Nya’s right wrist, and she struggled to pull it off. Another tentacle from the left, and her left wrist was binded. Soon, her ankles followed, and her limbs were stretched away as a terrifying demon of darkness made itself known. Nya’s eyes widened with horror. This demon fed off the evil and hatred that lied within peoples’ hearts. …And it was hungry, for Nya.
“AAAAAAAHHHH!” Its jagged, black teeth gnashed, and she was swallowed into its vortex.
Sector W7 only stared as Nya lay knocked on the ground, face frozen with fear. They spared a glance to the only teen remaining, Hoagie III. Hoagie’s face sparked with remembrance, and the boy fake-hacked and did a fake-stroke before making the gesture of hanging himself, and falling down.
A clap was heard behind them, and with a start, they jumped around to see the recovered Sector GD. “Nicely dooone!” Selina beamed, clapping.
“Man, who knew little people hurt so hard?” Trenton said.
April’s mouth dropped slightly. “Uh… guys?”
“Nice to see you again, April.” Daz smiled.
April couldn’t find the words. They… remembered. “You are…”
“Yeah, we’re TND.” Paula replied, blowing out smoke. “Apparently you don’t need good mission success, so long as you go willingly. …Oooorr, maybe they just thought we were nice.”
Tears began to form in April’s eyes. “Guys!” she dropped to her knees.
“Hey, don’t cry.” Selina smiled, getting to her knees and touching April’s shoulders. “None of us could ever forget you. Even if we do smelly teen stuff, we’re still the same sector.”
“You see, April?” Daz spoke. “Everything always gets better so long as you keep moving forward.”
“Thanks to this little bitch, we’re a team again!” Trenton followed. “And none of them even know!”
“But you’re handling pretty fine without us.” Paula observed.
April turned around, seeing the smiling and waving Sector W7. She looked back at Selina, still crying. “I’ve never forgotten you! I’ve thought about you guys every day! Ever since you…”
“Calm down, April.” Selina smiled. “You could never leave our hearts. Even when we’re teens… we’re still a team.”
“Yeah.” Trent nodded. “And maybe when yo’ time comes, Nya’s gonna wanna put you with us.”
“And having those brats in in a few more years wouldn’t be bad.” Paula said.
“But until then, you need to KEEP smiling!” Selina grinned.
“Just keep hanging out with your friends for now, and we’ll see you in maybe a few months.” Daz assured.
And for the first time ever, Sector W7 saw April smile. Selina kept her grin as they both stood up. “Well, we should probably bring these pizza-heads back to headquarters.” she decided. “All Nya needs is a little cocoa.”
The sector approached the fallen Nya and Hoagie, as Hoagie got up slightly. “Am I still playing dead?” he whispered.
“Yeah.” Selina said. Hoagie went back to being unconscious.
Daz put Nya’s arm over his shoulders while Selina held up Hoagie. “We’ll see ya later, April.” Daz told her. After gathering the rest of the ninjas, Sector GD boarded the teens’ ship and were flying off, disappearing into the night.
As April watched them leave, the smile stayed on her face. “Oi, April-chaaaan!” Chimney exclaimed. “We still gotta watch Avataaaahh!” (“Gyom-gyoooom!”)
April turned to them, still smiling, and nodded. “Yes. Let’s go do that.”
“OOOOYAAAAHHH” As Chimney raised her arms in victory, the team of five plus one rushed back to the ship.
Sector W7 Treehouse
Upon their return to the treehouse, Chimney went to get the painted portrait of her and her team. Using some paint of her own, she added April Goldenweek to the picture. She then showed it to April herself, and the 12-year-old giggled at how choppily drawn she looked, compared to everything else. Her beady black eyes were different sizes, she had a silly smile, and she had short, stubby arms holding a brush and paint dish. April grabbed a nail and hung this painting in the living room. This would always be a reminder of their friendship.
Unknown Location
A shadowed man sat alone in his dark office, a lollipop in his mouth, when his phone rang. He reached for it on his desk and spoke, “Hello? …What? You got beaten?? D’oh, whaddo I pay you ninjas for?? Ahhh, just return to base, we’ll get more chickens later. You still got those CDs, right?? Hnnn-niiiiice! A’ight, I can let this one go. Later.” With that, he hung up. The buff teenager stood up from his desk and went to stare out his wide windows, overlooking the peaceful ocean under the blue night sky.
“Hnnn… those Kids Next Dorks have gotten stronger. Too strong. We’ll need to step up our game if we’re ever gonna beat them. Heh… good thing I have just the plan. The perfect, unstoppable team of assassins.” The teenager, Eldwin, spun around and pointed a finger. “CP10!”
There stood a group of seven figures in dark, hooded robes. Their faces weren’t shown, at the moment… but Eldwin had total faith in them.
Gonbe: Little Wanderer
Sector W7 Treehouse
Another peaceful morning on Water 7. Just like always. Chimney was peacefully at rest in her room, a blindfold over her eyes and a smile on her face. Asleep on her belly, her loyal cat Gonbe, who was actually a rabbit. The sounds of a train’s horns echoed from the distant station below, so far away, but the sound reached Gonbe’s ears nonetheless. His big ears perked, and he awoke first, eyes and smile as wide as his master’s.
As he awoke, Chimney also sat up, removing her blindfold to reveal her wide, wakened eyes. “Uwwwaaaaahh!” she stretched her arms, and her mouth grew wide. “Another DAAAaaaay, GonBEEEEHHH!”
“Gyom-gyoooooom!”
Gonbe hopped off the bed to let Chimney throw off her covers, the girl hopping off and slipping on her sandals. A grin on her face, she walked out to the living room, alongside her bunny. “HEEEY, Sector-chaaaaans! What’s new today??”
“No new missions, yet.” Apis responded. “Oh, and Chimney: your grandma called and said she needed help loading coal again.”
“Ahhhh.” Chimney sighed in exhaust. “Oi, I’m comin’ Kokoro-san. Gonbe, watch after the on’nanokos.”
“Gyom-gyom.” Gonbe nodded. Still wearing his grin, he watched as his master left.
Of course, almost instantly, Gonbe became bored. Normally, he would always stick by his master, but he wouldn’t go against her orders. He would stay and look after the girls. But they barely needed looking after. They were just doing whatever like usual.
He decided to approach Aisa first, and the girl was currently organizing different-colored apples at the kitchen table. He climbed onto the table and pointed at the apples. “Gyoooom?”
“Oh?” Aisa looked at him, then smiled. “Oh hi, Gonbe! These’re Skypian apples! They’re supposed to be magical and each has a special effect. I’m thinking of trying them.”
The one that caught Gonbe’s interest was the orange one. In his eyes, the orange apple looked like a big, juicy carrot. ...He wasn’t sure why he liked carrots, being a cat. Regardless, he snatched the apple and gobbled it in his huge, wide mouth. “Oh, Gonbe, be care-” Aisa tried to say, but Gonbe was already chewing.
“Gyo?” They looked as a mustache suddenly appeared on Gonbe’s upper lip.
In seconds, Aisa began to giggle. “Hehehehehahahaha! You silly rabbit! ...Cat. Thing.”
“Gyo-gyoooo!” Gonbe angrily ripped the mustache off. He looked around, and decided to approach Apis, who was once again reading her Book of Arceus on the couch.
“...” Apis peeped over the book and noticed the rabbit grinning at her. “Hm hm hm! Hi, Gonbe! What’s new?”
“Gyom, gyom.”
“Hahaha! Good point! Nothing’s new that we don’t know! ...You probably feel lonely, with me being the only one that understands you.”
“Gyom, gyom.” He shrugged.
“Yeah, I guess it doesn’t matter. I mean, we’re all different, right? And we’re still friends!” she grinned.
“Gyoooo, gyo!”
“Uh, huh!” she agreed. “Anyway... wanna hear a few passages?”
“Gyo, gyo.” Gonbe shook his head. “Gyoooo...”
“I guess some people wouldn’t find it exciting. Well, have fun!” Apis waved as Gonbe walked away.
Gonbe then approached April, who painted on her canvas from the corner of the room, eating a rice cracker. The painting was of the current scene itself, with Sector W7 doing their own thing. April looked down and noticed the grinning rabbit. The 12-year-old smiled and said, “Hey, Gonbe. Wanna be in a picture with me?”
“Gyoooo, gyo!” he agreed.
They went to April’s room where the girl stood before a mirror, with Gonbe rested happily on her head. April carefully painted the image, and every now and then, she gave light chuckles. This is the first time she’s painted herself in any of her pictures. It was a warm feeling. Painting a picture of herself with a friend. She wishes she’d done it more often.
Soon, April finished the portrait, and she held it up to show Gonbe. “So? How does it look?”
“Gyoooooom!” Gonbe really liked it.
“Hm hm hm! I think I’ll hang it up here. Come and see it again if you want.” With that, Gonbe hopped off April’s head as she hung the painting on the wall.
Gonbe returned down the hall, and on his way, he ran into Aeincha. The tiny Lilliputian smiled and waved at the huge rabbit. “Hey, Gonbeee!”
“Gyo-gyoooo!” he grinned and waved back.
“Hm hm hm hm! Got anything to do today?”
“Gyoooo… yo.” He shrugged.
“Oh. …Wanna go for a ride??” she asked excitedly.
“Nnnn…nya?” He asked. Aeincha grinned.
“WHEEEEE!” Moments later, Gonbe was scampering excitedly throughout the treehouse, his tiny passenger on his back as she raised her arms in the air. Gonbe scampered into the living room, where he pounced on Aisa’s head and made her hat slip off, but she slipped it back on. He then jumped onto Apis’s lap, startling and making her drop her book. As April was walking down the hall, Gonbe came charging by, running around the girl’s long legs before speeding further down the hall. Gonbe then went into Aeincha’s room and started bouncing and kicking off of almost everything. The whole world zipped before Aeincha’s vision as he did so, bouncing up-and-down on his back, and her excitement grew and grew.
Eventually, Gonbe stopped for a rest, lying on his front on the floor while Aeincha lied on his back. The soft, warm, furry back of the tired rabbit was more comfy than any bed (or pillow at her size), and his soft purring eased her mind. “Hehehehe! You’re really soft, Gonbe! Like a stuffed bunny-kitty!”
“Gyoooo…” Gonbe was still too tired.
“You know, Gonbe, when I first saw you, you looked kinda scary. I mean… big cats eat little people. Er, and big rabbits, too. But you’re really fun, Gonbe! And SOOPER cuddly!” she hugged the giant rabbit tight.
“Gyo-gyoooo!” he blushed.
“Anyway… yaaaaaaawwn… I woke up kinda early… I think I’m gonna sleep a couple more hours… yaaawn.” And the Lilliputian was fast asleep, feeling warm and cozy on the rabbit’s soft back.
Gonbe turned his head back, smiling at the tiny, peaceful Lilliputian. The bunny crawled onto Aeincha’s bed and gently set her before the pillow, pulling the huge blanket over her form. “Gyo, gyo…” He patted her head lightly with his paw.
Gonbe returned to the living room and stepped out onto the balcony. He rested his head on his arms as he lay on the breezy balcony, staring at the great horizon in the distance. His huge ears picked up almost every sound from the town below, from the happy, laughing children, the neighing of Yagaras, and the ringing of bells. The rabbit was slowly drifting to sleep from the calm wind blowing through his fur. Even without his master, this was such a great day. Chimney really cared about her friends… and Gonbe could see why.
“Ha ha ha ha!” came Aisa’s joyous laugh, seeing the mustache grow on Gonbe’s face.
“Hm hm hm hm!” Apis smiled at the rabbit, sitting with the Holy Book on her lap.
“He he he!” April chuckled, painting the picture with Gonbe on her head.
“WHEEEEeeee!” Aeincha screamed with joy, riding Gonbe’s back.
“Gyoooo…” His master had such great friends. He loved playing with them. But neither of them compared to his master herself. He hoped she would be back soon. Then maybe, they could all play together. Until then, Gonbe would rest peacefully, and awaken at the sound of his master’s footsteps, and the shout of her loud voice.
Gonbe’s ear shot up, catching another sound. Gonbe sat up and looked around frantically: it was the sound of the Puffing Tom’s horn. He looked past the balcony’s fence, seeing the smoke rising from the train in the distance. “Gyom, gyom!” Gonbe felt excited as the train sped toward the city. Was his master coming back?? Was she home?? Gonbe hopped on the fence, squinting his eyes hard, desperate to see if Chimney was crossing through the distant town.
A strong wind suddenly blew, and Gonbe lost his balance. “GYO-O-O-O-O-O!” The rabbit went tumbling over the edge, taking land on one of Water 7’s many gigantic waterslides, which came from the giant fountain. The rabbit went zooming down the slippery slide at high speeds, going faster and faster as he would soon shoot into the ocean. Gonbe nudged his way to the right of the slide, and took a mighty leap, landing on one of the smaller slides as he zipped around, narrowly dodging Yagaras that were passing by.
After zipping around a few more turns, Gonbe was thrown over the slide’s ledge. Meanwhile, as Grandpa Banban was cooking fish at his floating boat restaurant, the old man was startled when something crashed through his roof, knocking down a pile of barreled supplies. The man jumped around, still shaking with shock, when Gonbe rose up from the pile, looking dizzy. “Gyooooo…”
The man stopped shaking and sighed in relief. “Aaahhh… just you.”
The rabbit grinned as he shook his head and hopped out of the pile.
“Hmm… where’s your master, anyway. She didn’t throw you out, did she?” he asked.
“Gyom-gyoom!” he shook his head.
“Ahh… well, anyway… here’s a fish for the road.” He tossed the rabbit one of his cooked fish. “Still don’t get why a rabbit likes fish…”
“Nnnn… gyo-gyoooo.” He shrugged and hopped out of the restaurant.
The little rabbit went to an alleyway corner to begin munching on the tasty meat. His ears perked, hearing another sound. He abandoned his tasty fish and walked around the building, finding a group of six kids, three on either side of the river, kicking a ball to each other. A brown-haired girl on the farthest side from Gonbe got the ball, and after a few kicks, she sent it flying straight over to Gonbe, bashing the rabbit in the face. “Gyoooo…”
A boy went over to retrieve the ball, but- “Huh?” took notice of the dizzied rabbit. The rest of the gang hurried over to see what their friend found.
“It’s a rabbit.” A girl observed.
“Aww, you knocked him out, Abi!” another boy shouted at the brown-haired girl.
“Ayako’s the one who didn’t catch it!” Abi yelled.
“Gyooo…” Gonbe’s vision began to fade.
“Oh no! You probably gave him brain damage!” the other girl yelled.
“Don’t be silly, Yoko!....” In seconds, the world went black around Gonbe.
Sunset…
Dusk was falling over Water 7. When Gonbe finally came to, he found himself on a soft blanket in a basket, inside someone’s house. “Gyom-gyoooom?” He hopped up and curiously walked through the open door. There was a rather obese woman with orange hair, cooking at an oven. She turned around and smiled at the rabbit.
“Oh, helloooo! My, you sure can sleep a while!”
“Gyom-gyooooom?”
“My kids brought you here after they knocked you out. It’s why I keep telling them to be careful.” She turned around to resume her cooking. “I sent them out to get some groceries a while ago. I hope they didn’t get lost.” A thought occurred, and she turned and smiled at the rabbit again. “Perhaps you could go out and look for them for me!”
“‘yoooo… Gyo, gyo!” Gonbe smiled and nodded, hopping out of the house.
“Hm hm hm! What a sweet rabbit!”
Sector W7 Treehouse
“OOOLAAAAA!” Chimney screamed, kicking open the door to the living room. “I’M BAAAAACK!”
“Hi, Chimneeey!” Apis cheered as all four girls smiled at their leader.
“Oi, why does Santa Clause send so much coal?” Chimney said exhausted, falling back on the couch as her sandals slipped off. “Heeeey… where’s Gonbe?”
“Hmmm. I haven’t seen Gonbe since this morning.” Apis said.
“Last I saw, he was giving me a piggy-back ride!” Aeincha cheered.
“That is what he was doing.” Aisa remembered.
“Nnnnn. Where’d that neko-chan go?” Chimney asked.
Water 7; close to the shoreline
Nighttime soon came over Water 7. Gonbe continued to search for the kids, but had no luck. The alleyway he was in was nearly pitch-black, and the rabbit was becoming terrified. “Gyo-o-o-o-o-o!” he shuddered.
A sound reached his ears, and he kept following the path. He soon reached one of Water 7’s shores, where strange men dressed in yellow protection suits stood on the deck of a ship. Gonbe stepped closer, and his eyes widened in shock: those men were leading the children onto the boat.
“But Mister, I don’t feel sick.” The girl, Yoko, said.
“Can’t we say ‘bye’ to Auntie first?” Ayako asked.
“It’s too dangerous, kids.” One of the men spoke. “Unless you wanna infect her, too.”
The children and men were soon all on the ship, and Gonbe hurried over quickly. Before the ship’s plank was lifted back up, Gonbe hurried on and made it on the deck. The rabbit hid behind some crates, gone unnoticed by the men. He turned around and peeked past the fence, as Water 7 drew further and further away. “Gyo… (Chimney)?”
Unknown Laboratory
A woman stared at the tiny monitors, watching as the ship returned from Water 7. She stepped away.
In the darkness of a lab, several glasses of potions and chemicals boiled on a table, releasing steam that poured and spread along the ground. A scientist experimented with the chemicals closely, and he himself was emitting a strange, pink gas that spread along the ground and mixed with the steam. The woman walked in, and spoke quietly. “Shipment 4 is back. And they’ve brought the kids.”
“Mmm, from Water 7, yes?”
“That’s the one.”
“Make room in the Biscuit Room! I’ll get the candies ready…”
“Will do… Master Caesar.”
“Shurororororo!” The scientist held a tiny piece of wrapped butterscotch, and stared closely through his goggles.
Sector GD are based on the members of Baroque Works, Mr. 1, Miss Doublefinger, Mr. 5, and Miss Valentine. I actually took both of April’s name variants, Ms. April Fool’s Day and Miss Goldenweek, and came up with April Goldenweek. Also, introducing my own OC, Aeincha, because I just love little people. (Now that I realize, Aeincha kinda looks like Ain from Film Z.) Oh well. No relation. So, which one-shot was your favorite? Mine was April’s, ‘cause it’s more sad. :P Second, Aeincha, third, Aisa. Anyhoo… this was the start of the Big Mom Saga. Next time, the Christmas story of my series, Operation: FROST. See you in December.
Chapter 2: Operation: F.R.O.S.T.
Summary:
The 2nd main story of the Big Mom Saga, and the Christmas Special to the Gameverse, also called the Christmas Arc. It's almost Christmas, and Suki Crystal is very excited for the holiday. As Santa and his elves are preparing for it, Dr. Nefarious and Rumpel Stiltskin form an alliance to ruin the joyous holiday.
Chapter Text
Hello, guys! Welcome to the second story of the Big Mom Saga! This is also sort of the sequel to Operation: SCARY! Introducing a new character to my series, although she actually had a cameo in Operation: MASKED.
Now loading…
Kids Next Door mission…
Operation:
F.R.O.S.T.
Freaky
Robot
Outlandishly
‘Stinguishes
Toys
Loading transmission…
‘Twas the night before Christmas. And all through the world. Children were rejoicing, from little boys to teenage girls. This holiday is time for laughter, great time for joy. Everyone eagerly waiting to get a new favorite toy. Snow covers the lands, turning the ground into bleach. Except in the warmer areas, where they’re still partying on the beach. Houses warm with fireplaces, lit colorfully by blinking lights. Brothers and sisters share gifts, and avoid their usual fights. …Well, maybe not officially. Even so, this holiday was happy as ever. To think that anyone was sad, they would never! As they celebrate, Santa’s elves are hard at work. Preparing toys and wrapping presents was their quirk. This night of nights, Santa sails the stars. Delivering presents to kids of all shapes and sizes—even ones on Mars! A tradition that’s gone as long as we can remember. Nothing could take it away… even THIS endeavor.
The skies above the northern icecaps were filled with sparkling stars. The one that stood out the brightest was the glittering beauty of Polaris, the Ice God peacefully gazing over his frosty realm. In one particular region of the white fields, bright, vibrant colors reflected off the snows. These colors came from a red, green, and white village of happy Elfin children and adults, forming snowmen, throwing snowballs, and going down snow hills on sleds. In the center of this village, a factory stood, one that was as vibrant as the village, with smokestacks designed like candycanes, and red and green smoke rising from them. (That won’t be good for the atmosphere.)
Inside, the elves were hard at work, sewing stuffed dolls, hammering model trains or planes; with toy hammers, forming tasty candies, and other such chores as they sang with joy.
“Rainbow Christmas, Rainbow Christmas, oh so very wild and filled with Children! Toys off to GO to girls and boys, Naughty naughty kids don’t get no TOOYYYS! Oh SILVER and GOLD… and REEED and WHIIITE! Rainbow Christmas, Rainbow Christmas, IS! TO! NIIIIGHT!”
“HO HO HO!” Santa laughed jollily, overseeing his operations. “I’m glad we settled that affair with the Rainbow Monkey Corporation! Since that nice Sanban girl took over the company, she’s let me use their song! Heck, I can’t afford a lawsuit! It’s CHRISTMAS! And after all…
“Here it is, the HOLIDAY that comes just once a yeeeaaar. A time of laugh, a TIME of fun, a time of cheer, a TIME of light! All this happy singiiing… just gives me happy CHEER and—All I really want for Christmas… is heeeerrrreeee.”
Mrs. Claus twirled in, holding two plates of cookies. “Here it is, that SPECIAL time. My husband rings his SPECIAL chime, of happy jingles ringing, bringing cheeeerrr!” She slipped a few elves some cookies and sang more. “My husband flies from night to day, dropping presents down ALL the way, ‘cause ALL we want for Christmas… is heeeerrrreee!” She danced to her husband, and the two nuzzled their noses.
“Briiinging GIIIFTS to GIRLS and BOYS. Eeeeveryyy one muuust geeet aaaa toy! EXCEPT those naughty rascaaals! So we’ve baked some nasty COAL and, give them what they get! This! YEAR!”
Unfortunately, things weren’t all happy in this happy-go-lucky factory. In the dank, cluttered rooms of the back of the factory, Rumpel Stiltskin, Koume, Kotake, and Rumpel’s witches were hard at work fixing toys, cleaning shelves, and dumping old candies. Rumpel was dressed like all the other elves as he sang.
“How come WE have to be in here?”
“I’d rather BE in Underworld Jail.” Koume sang.
“Rickety boards and NAILS!”
“Well, no one WANTS ta hear you WAIL!” Kotake plopped a box of stuff in Rumpel’s arms. Rumpel threw the box down and began to walk around in frustration.
“AUUGH! Ever SINCE my dear Lucinda went and bit the DUST,” he kicked some dropped toys away, “we’ve been locked in here to slave away!”
“With not even a bit of fluff!” Koume followed.
All three of them chorused, “Smelly-old candies and yesterday’s toys! Not even the slightest fraction of joy! While ALL those elves get to sing, not at all angered ‘BOUT a thing! All this fun and cheeeeer… gives us all a HEADACHE and-”
“I hope that Santa dies. This. YEEEAAAARR!”
The happy, carefree elves continued to dance and fix toys. One of the elves took a model train and model plane and stared at them before chucking them both into a green and red machine. The machine roared and shook before it shot something from an upper slot. It was a mix of the plane and train, with wings on each car, and wheels on the bottom.
“Ho ho HO! With our new Mergifyer, we’ll be able to make a wide assortment of toy combinations! Children will love them!” Santa exclaimed.
An elf held a candycane and a Santa cookie and curiously approached the machine. He tripped on a toy car and suddenly flew into the machine. Screaming was heard inside as the machine shook, and out came a huge candycane cookie with the elf’s face in the middle.
“Uh-oh. Ummm, we’ll fix him up later.” Santa said. The elf looked annoyed as other elves began to eat him.
“Yo, Santa, we got another shipment.” A squeaky-voiced elf said as he hauled in a huge sack of toys.
“That’s funny. I don’t recall ordering more supplies.” Santa approached the sack and curiously opened it. Suddenly-
“HO HO HOOO! MERRY Christmas!” A familiar, skinny skeleton in a Santa suit popped out with a present.
“JACK SKELLINGTON?!” Santa screamed.
“You can take the day off, Sandy! This time, I’m SURE I have it right!” He ripped open the present, revealing a doll with a wide, open mouth. “Behold: a baby that burps out, not just gas, but all your favorite drinks! Check it out!” He pulled a string in its back, and the baby burped a Pawtucket Patriot Beer can in Santa’s hand. The jolly bearded man gave Jack a glare. Jack Skellington put on a sheepish look and said, “Ummm… my father was using it before I came.”
“Grrrr!”
“Come on, Sandy, can’t we cut a deal?” Jack asked as Santa dragged the skeleton by the legs across the floor.
“For the hundredth time, Jack, I can handle Christmas just fine!” He stuffed the skeleton into a red-and-white-striped cannon, aiming it straight for the starry heavens. “Stick with your own holidays!” The cannon puffed, and released a loud BOOM!
“WHOOOOOOOOooaaaa!” Jack was gone into the heavens.
“Hoooo…” Santa sighed in exhaust.
“I-SA wanted ta help, too!” Santa jumped when Jar Jar popped from the sack, dressed like Santa.
“JAR JAR?!”
“Look-see! I-sa brought-a Legy along, too!” He held up Legion’s headless body, which had a snowman head rested on it. “Awwww he dinks he’s a Frooostyyyy. …WOW!”
Santa grabbed the Gungan and shoved him in the cannon, along with Legion’s body. The cannon puffed, and the two were sent flying. “WHYEEEEEEEEE HEEHEE hee heeeeee!”
Santa sighed again. “The only thing that makes my day stressful is when people try to do it FOR me! I appreciate their help, but I’m the only one who knows how to do it right! If it weren’t for the one and only Santa, Christmas would fall into ruin!”
“Oh, Honeyyy.” Mrs. Claus comfortingly led him away. “Let me make you some hot cocoa.” They walked by Rumpel Stiltskin, who carried the box of toys.
“Hmmmmm.” Rumpel put a finger on his chin in thought.
Uno Household
It was still daytime in other parts of the world (assuming time zones exist). The Uno Family was just as excited for this holiday as they set up Christmas decorations.
“Pokémon A and B would be good for me.” Aurora sang.
“New sunglasses wipe so I can see.” Chris followed.
“So what I’ll really want for Christmas: is heeeerrre!”
“ New training swords for me and my son.” Rachel sang. “And a new oven, that’s the one. ‘Cause SOME boys in this house can’t controooolll!”
She looked to Nigel, beside a burned oven, and Cheren, holding a broken wooden sword, as both boys grinned and blushed.
Gilligan Household
“New material for all our stuff!” Artie began.
“More rubber bands and balls of fluff.” Haylee followed.
“We really need better stuff. Ya heeeeaaaarr?” Harry looked disbelieved as Haylee and Artie held up choppy material, like paperclips and staples.
Chariton Household
“Peace and quiet would sure be nice.” Sunni chimed.
“I would just like some new rice.” Rainier said.
“Earplugs, so peaceful dreams is all I heeeeaaarrr!” Mika exclaimed.
“…Um… didn’t they just rhyme using ‘hear’?” Rainier asked.
“We’re across the world, we can’t tell.” Mika said. “Besides, the budget was low.”
Sector W Treehouse
“Extra-long yo-yo’d be lots of fun!” Sally hummed.
Anthony: I really hope we see the sun.” Anthony said. “‘Cause my feet just can’t stand, all this cooooold!”
Aranea and Fybi were setting up a Christmas tree, setting angels and bells on it. Aranea sang, “Angels FLY out to the bells! Deee-liii-verrr-IIING God’s wiiiill!”
“Stars are LIT up in the sky! The air hath turned to frost and chiiiill!”
EiznekCm Household
Lehcar EiznekCm angrily stood on the porch of her house, looking spitefully at the happy children and Christmas decorations. “Keep that stuff away from me. All that crap just makes me pee! WE PREFER the Ganonist route this YEEEEAAAR!”
She slapped an upside-down cross on her door as she went inside and slammed her door shut. Nerehc was approaching his house, holding all sorts of Christmas stuff, but put on a grumpy look when he heard his mom. He dropped the stuff and kicked it.
York Household
Dillon and Vanellope excitedly ran out of the house and began to have a snowball fight. Dillon’s mother watched them from the doorway with a light smile.
“Suuuuch aaa looovely tiiime ooof yeeear. Although it’s NOOOT my taaaaste. It’s sad my HUSband can’t be here, his Sandman thing’s an eeend. Leeeess. Raaaaaaace.”
At this time, Nolan was rolling out of the house with his Sandman getup. “Nolan, can’t you take a Christmas off for once? You already miss Halloween a lot with your son.”
“Danika, I-”
“NO! NO!” Peter Griffin suddenly came, pointing an accusing finger. “We are NOT having any more bonding stories between you and your son! We ALREADY get your relationship with your son is crap! You are gonna GET in your house, spend TIME with your son, and STAY outta this story!”
“Okay, okay, geez!” Peter forcibly shoved Nolan and Danika into their house and shut the door.
“Siiiigh.” Peter looked at the camera and said, “Sorry for all the singin’ crap, everyone. Let’s meet the REAL hero of this story!”
Iceland
The children of Iceland joyously dashed out to the snow, immediately engaging in games. George and MaKayla King exchanged excited glances, throwing on coats and running out to throw snowballs at each other. Lola excitedly skipped out, followed by a frowny-faced Terry Stork. Their mother, Virginia, stood in the doorway, the slim, goth woman wearing no protective coverings as she watched her kids and smoked a cigarette.
Miyuki walked out in the snow as well, wearing a dark-grey coat similar to her usual dress, and white earmuffs. Her younger sister, Suki Crystal, stuck her head out the doorway, her vibrant face sporting a wide smile as flurries fell from the sky. The child jumped and flipped out the doorway, taking a firm land as her small feet sunk in the snow. She looked down and wiggled her toes between the whiteness. She joyously ran about the neighborhood, her happy eyes taking in all the frosty sights. She wore no coat, just her usual brown-orange dress, and orange bow. However, her socks and shoes were absent, and she scampered about the fluffy ground leaving a trail of tiny footprints.
“The stars are bright, the GROUND is white… As everyone can seeee! The air is cold, but KIDS keep warm, except for little meeee!”
As she sung, she suddenly sprouted from a pile of snow between some kids, the snow forming around her body to make her look like a snowman; surprising the kids. She jumped out of the snow, and began to dance in place, using her icebending to make the snow fly and dance around her.
“JAAACK FROOOST! Is looking DOWN! Making SURE that I. DON’T. FROWN. His COOOLD… WARMS my SKIN… as water DRIPS from my nooose! I CAN’T feel my toooees!”
She created a path of ice that surfed across the air, skiing across as the cold wins and flurries pounded her face; and her joy grew as her face became more cold. “To-NIIIIGHT is when Santa Claus GIIIIVES us all his gifts! ALLLL I want, he already gave, an ice-cold CHRIIISTmaaaas!”
Santa’s Factory
Elves were riding on toy trains, sliding down hills of presents, and diving into piles of Christmas decorations. They continued to wrap presents and supplies as they erupted into chorus.
“These haaappyyy feeeelings eeeveryyy yeeeeaaar… bring jiiingle tooo theee beeeells. An-gels SING up to the stars! As GOD’S warm heart, reeeaaach…eeeesss…. faaaaarr!”
Iceland
“Whhhheeeeeee!” As many children skated across a frozen lake, Suki Crystal slid faster than all of them. Suki then crashed into a mound of snow, poking her head out as she shook the snow off, still wearing her happy smile. She hopped out and fell on her back, beginning to make a snow angel while Sector IC watched her.
“Ahhh, Christmas.” George King sighed. “The holiday that puts other religions out of business.”
“Hehehe! It’s fun to watch her get like this every year!” MaKayla laughed.
“I’m surprised she hasn’t caught a cold by now.” Terry said with a smug look.
“Duuude! She’s an icebender!” Lola reminded. “Getting cold like this makes her stronger.”
“She’s kind of like Michelle.” MaKayla noticed. “Her mom even thinks she’ll be at the Logia level pretty soon.”
“But that means she’ll have to stay out of hot places more often.” George joked. He, Kayla, and Lola laughed, Miyuki made a light chuckle, while Terry didn’t laugh.
“I don’t see why we need to hang out with her every Winter.” Terry said. “All she does is run around, play in the snow, and surf on ice.”
“Suki has spirit.” George told him. “Something a few of us need. I just wish we could have her on our team.”
“Miyukiiiii!” The cheerful icebender dashed over and took her older sister by the wrists. “Come up and climb Oil Ice Mountain with meeee! Pleeeeaaaase?” But before she got an answer, Suki was already sliding away.
“Hm hm hm hm hm!” Miyuki smiled warmly. The white-haired girl decided to follow.
“Siiiiigh.” Terry sighed in exhaust. “The ways you try to ‘help’ us, King.”
“Heh heh heh.” George laughed. “Hey, it might not be bad. We need more adventures like this.” With that, the four friends followed the girls across the snows.
A teen with snow-white hair watched them walk toward the mountain
Santa’s Workshop
“Hoooohh…” Santa sighed in exhaust. “I wish I had more time to write a better song. But the world’s population just keeps growing. I had to dedicate more time to getting ready.”
Mrs. Claus walked up to his desk with some cocoa. “Are you sure you can handle flying out there all night? Why don’t you use the Reindeer?”
“I DO use reindeer!”
“No, I mean the Reindeer. You know… the magical one?”
“Ohhhh, that!” Santa sparked in remembrance. “No, I can’t use the Reindeer! I realized a long time ago, that thing is FAR too dangerous. Even with my power. But I couldn’t just throw it away either. So… I’ve locked it inside an impenetrable safe. No one can ever get to it now.”
Unbeknownst to them, Rumpel’s big ear was pressed to his office door. The devious little elf began to think intently…
Unknown Laboratory
Zach and Maddy were also excitedly celebrating this holiday, engaging in a snowball fight with Dillon and Vanellope. Their actions were shown through a monitor, and a certain robotic scientist watched their playful games with rage.
“Impudent, incompetent IMBECILES! Watching them all day! Frilling, frolicking NEANDERTHALS! Not giving me a BREAK! I HATE this Christmas holiday! Always every year… I get coal and USELESS items, even from ONES I hold dear.
“LAWRENCE!!” he angrily yelled at his butler, who was right next to him.
“Ahhh, ‘tis the season for your garish hollers.” He said.
“No thanks to YOOOOUU. All I got was a BOOK from you last Christmas!” He threw a big, heavy book at Lawrence. “A BOOOOOOOOOOK?!?”
“Keep it down or you may disturb the Earthlings of their peaceful holiday.”
“BAH! When I’m done, my shouting will be the LEAST of their problems! I am NOT going to stand by and do NOTHING this holiday! THIS Christmas is going to be a liiiittle bit different.” He grinned deviously, fiddling with his fingers. “May I introduce you TO:” he stepped over to a tall, wrapped, rectangular green present and yanked off the lid, “RRRROBOT SANTA CLAAAAUUUS!” Inside was a metallic Santa, with metal clothes painted red, greyish-blue skin, red eyes; which were half-circles facing upward as if he was happy, sharp teeth in his open mouth, and the ball on his hat was spiked.
“My. It looks… just like him, Sir.” Lawrence remarked sarcastically.
“Thank you, Lawrence! All we have to do is fly down to the North Pole, persuade Santa to take the day off this holiday, let THIS bucket of bolts fill in his place, and I’LL be running Christmas this year! MWAH HAH HA HA HAA HA!”
The Robot Santa’s happy eyes turned upside-down. As the scientist continued to cackle, Robo-Santa’s eyes glowed with rage.
Oil Ice Mountain
“Wheeeee! Woooo! Wahaaaa!” Oil Ice Mountain was the coldest mountain in all of Iceland. In Wintertime, it was absolutely freezing. There was a minor blizzard taking place on the mountain. But this didn’t matter to Suki Crystal. She loved this cold. Sector IC watched as she ran and hopped up the snowy mountain, light as snow on her feet. The team trudged after her through the deep snow, unfortunately not as fast, or immune.
“H-h-h-h-h-h-hu!” Terry shivered. “Why can’t M-Miyuki just w-watch after her herself?”
“Because as Kids Next Door operatives, it’s our job to keep her from slipping and breaking her neck.” Lola replied.
“Come o-on, you know she’s not gonna slip.”
“Hey, if we die, maybe we’ll become spirits!” MaKayla said spiritedly.
Suki jumped her way to the top of a high cliff, planting her feet firmly on the tip of a boulder as she overlooked the distant town below. Miyuki was the first one to join her. “SUKIII?” Miyuki yelled through the blizzard. “Didn’t Mom want us to help her make dinner later?”
Suki spun around, still wearing a wide smile. “Don’t worry, Miyuki! We’ll go down! I just wanna try and see Jack FROST from here!”
The other kids joined them. “Jack Frost?” George asked.
“Ya SEE what ya get us in, George??” Terry shouted, still freezing.
“Suki, you might FALL.” MaKayla yelled.
“Don’t worry, guys!” Suki turned and leaned forward, squinting her eyes. “If something bad happens, Jack Frost will help us! He’s the Spirit of Winter! And he--WhoooaaaaaOOOOHH!” Suki began to wobble, falling from the rock and over the ledge.
“SUKI!” Miyuki immediately ran and dove down to grab her, followed by the rest of the sector as they all grabbed one-another. All of the members ended up falling, screaming down the snowy chasm.
The boy with the white hair gasped, immediately sliding over. Before the kids collided with a jagged rock, he created an ice path and allowed them to slide across. “WahaHAAAAAA!” Suki was back on her feet, sliding in front of them joyfully. The path curved, and they were about to crash in another wall, but the teen swerved the path again, and they turned in an instant. They slid off the path and were now sliding down the snowy slopes. They came to a field of jagged rocks, but the boy made the ice slide them leftward, then right, then straight again. A series of trees stood in their way, but the teen once again redirected the ice to slide them around the trees.
The kids went up a ramp and were flying over the snowy field at the mountain’s base. The mysterious boy raised and twirled a wooden cane staff, and a mound of snow formed up to break their fall.
George poked his head out first, followed by MaKayla, Lola, Terry (still grumpy), then Miyuki. “YAAAAY!” Suki popped out from the top of the hill, knocking snow onto George and Terry. “See, guys? I TOLD you it would be fuuun!”
“Wow, Suki!” MaKayla beamed as they climbed out of the snow. “That was great icebending!”
“Huh?” Suki looked baffled. “Oh, I didn’t do iiit! It was Jack Frost! Didn’t you see him?”
“Jack Frost?” MaKayla questioned.
“Yeaaaahh! He was right there! He protected us ALL the waaay!”
The five kids looked around. “I don’t… see anything.” MaKayla spoke once more.
“I TOLD you this kid was crazy.” Terry said.
“But I SAW hiiiiim!”
MaKayla laughed. “Suki, you really ARE catching frostbite!”
“Come on, let’s take you home.” Lola said as they began to walk away.
Suki nimbly jumped off the hill and landed lightly on the ground. “But… he was THEEErrrrrree.” She looked at the mountain with a confused frown. As she walked after her sister and her friends, the mysterious boy smiled and watched them.
Santa’s Workshop
Things continued to flow within the workplace of Santa’s factory. While the jolly red man was going over his incredibly long list, he was approached by Wintergreen of the Elfa Strike. “We finished patrolling the Pole, Sir. No signs of any trouble.”
“Ohh, very good, Travis. And did the reindeer get their dinner? Rudolph’s nose needs to be extra bright tonight.”
“Yep, it’s bright as Knightbrace’s teeth. Or what used to be of his teeth. Heheha!”
“Wonderful! Now just get the rest of the presents finished and I’ll be good to go!”
BING… BONG…
“Hoo, now I wonder who that could be?” Santa asked as he made his way to the front door.
Santa answered, finding a slim man (Dr. Nefarious) wearing a hat, mustache, and business uniform. “Ah-he-hem, HELLO, Good Siiir! I am a humble sales human from, uuuumm, the SOUTH Pole! And I was wondering if you might per take of this lovely product I am, ummm, selling. Behold!” He reached to the side and pulled over the Robot Santa Claus. “This robotic android is an exact duplicate of, well, you. Programmed with enhanced list-checking abilities and nice/naughty verifications. With 250 mega-checks per second and 500 air miles per hour, this robot is the PERFECT fill-in for any jolly red elf man in need of vacation.”
“I don’t need any robot filling in for me!” Santa refuted.
“Oh, but do not be so HASTY, good sir! As this robot comes with sky camouflage protection, and ensures an extra happy Christmas for ALL bratty little fleshiiies.” He said that part with a glare.
“Saaay! I know who you are!” Santa immediately ripped the man’s hat and mustache off. “AHAAA! Arthur Nefarious. As despicable as ever! Ever since you were six years old, you’ve plotted to RUIN Christmas, and failed!”
“Well it’s YOUR faaaauult for not getting what I ASKED fooor! All I wanted was one simple doomsday device, but NOOOOO! Well, you KNOW WHAT, Sandy Man?! KEEP your cruddy toys, because I got ALL the technology in the world! …BAH!” He slammed the door in Santa’s face (even though it was Santa’s door) and stomped away in anger, bringing his robot.
Nefarious walked back to Lawrence a few yards away. “Mmmm, shall we return for hot tea, Sir?”
“I haven’t given up YET, Lawrence! That Santa WILL be forced to buy my robot!” He turned away, folding his hands evilly. “All he needs is the right motivation! I just-” Nefarious was instantly hit with a snowball in the back of the head. “LAWREEEEENCE!!” He shot around and yelled furiously at his butler. “How DARE you hit me with a snowball!”
“Oh, please, Sir. But I would not dare to engage in such… frilly activities.”
“Then WHOOO-” He was hit with a snowball in the face. “WHO’S DOING THAT?!” He yelled in the direction it came from.
“Psst.” A tiny arm stuck out from behind a small mound of snow, its index finger gesturing to come forward. Lawrence and Nefarious curiously walked over, peeking behind the mound. “WAHEEEY!” Rumpel Stiltskin jumped out happily.
“Oooohh! It’s one of Santa’s little elves!” Nefarious grinned deviously. “Let’s hold him up for RANSOM and-”
“No no no no!” Rumpel raised hands. “Don’t be so hasty, Arthur! See, I’m actually on YOUR side! I want that jolly fat bastard dealt with, too!” he grinned evilly.
“Hmmmm, DO you now.” Nefarious tapped his chin. “Then I assume you have a plan?”
“Why of COURSE I do!” Rumpel perked. “As it turns out, I swiped this handy little copy of the list from Santa’s office!” he held the list up. “I also learned that Sandy Man is powered by the happy energy of children everywhere; just like the Star Kids! His list contains general info on each and every kid! If these kids feel negative feelings, Santa becomes weaker, and it generally makes it harder to fly around and give presents! On Christmas Eve, this energy is TRIPLED!”
“Ohhhhh! So what YOU’RE saying is, if children throughout the world feel MISERABLE, then SANTA won’t feel very strong, and HE’LL be forced to accept my HELP!”
“EeeXACTLY! And I know just the kids to do!” Rumpel grinned deviously at the Uno Family’s names.
Outside Uno Home
Cheren and Aurora left their house and were currently walking together down the street. “Good thing we finished helping Mom with ornaments.” Aurora said. “Ready to head down to the candy store and see their new Gingerbread Town?”
“Um… I’ll catch up with you, I need to phone Moonbase real quick, ‘case Larry has anything.” With that, Cheren turned down a corner and hurried behind a fence.
“Um… okay.” Aurora looked confused.
“Pssst.”
Aurora looked around, hearing a strange hiss. “Over here.” She looked behind and saw an arm stick out from behind a trash bag, its index finger luring her in. She decided to walk over, and found Rumpel Stiltskin. “I’ve been doing the stealth thing a lot, just so ya know.” He grinned smoothly.
Aurora’s eyes furrowed a little. “Whaddya want, Rumpel? Nice getup.”
“Siiigh, I’ve been forced back into slavery with the elves. But here’s what’s important: recently, I’ve been placed in charge with reviewing Santa’s list. And after a few quick skims, I discovered some important things you may wish to hear:” He gestured to come closer, so Aurora bent down as Rumpel wrapped an arm around her neck. “Your little Cherry bro’s not who you thought he was.” He said quietly.
“What?”
“He’s joining over to the Dark Side. Right now, he’s making a call to some supervillain.”
“Are you crazy?” Aurora looked disbelieved.
“Hey, I’m not kidding! He’s been planning this for a while. I mean, you’ve seen how he gets, right? What with the fire and stuff? Even when the slightest thing gets him peeved?”
“Hmmmm.” Rumpel was right about that, Aurora thought.
“And don’t you remember how he so MERCILESSly killed Viridi without even a glimmer of remorse?”
“Weeell…” Aurora recalled this.
“And he never DID talk about his victory over MAJORA, DID HE?”
“Hey… yah, he didn’t! At the time, he said he was too tired!”
“That’s because they’re PLOTTING!” Rumpel yelled furiously.
“What??”
“It was all part of a deal! Cheren would join over to MAJORA’S side if MAJORA let Miyuki GO! Majora filled his end of the deal, and is now residing in someplace SECRET while Cheren fulfills his DIRTY work! It may not be long before KND’s lookin’ up a NEW Supreme Leader. THEN who’s wearin’ the mask, AAAAH??”
They looked back as Cheren was starting to walk back. “But ya didn’t hear it from meh.” And with that, Rumpel disapparated.
Aurora stood up when Cheren returned. “Turns out, it was just a few broken terminals.” Cheren reported. “Were you talking to somebody?”
“Um…no. Let’s go.” With that, the two began their walk to the candy store, and Aurora felt suspicious of Cheren the whole way.
Rumpel hid atop a roof, grinning mischievously. “Oh, this is too perfect! That girl totally fell for my trick! And I have a few others on my list, too!” Rumpel snickered to himself maniacally and disapparated.
Near Beatles Household
“Your mom was hoping for someone to talk to, and, well, that’s why she doesn’t hang out with you much. You disappointed her.” Rumpel explained to Kirie Beatles. The mute girl began to feel sad.
Chariton Household
“You were actually born with a brain deficiency.” Rumpel told Sunni Chariton. “Your mom didn’t wanna tell you so you wouldn’t feel horrible. It was a sweet gesture, but the truth is, you’ll never be a terrific psychic.” Rage began to fill Sunni’s mind.
McKenzie Household
“Men in your family actually get feet too big for shoes,” Rumpel explained to Anthony, “and some colleges don’t accept that. That’s why women in your family only get anywhere in life. You’ll fall short to your sister forever.” Anthony’s positive mood at the time was gone.
Other places
And so this went on for a while: Rumpel studied various children around the world and went around, filling their heads with all sorts of bad news; most of which was false. The only one getting happy was the devious elf himself. After a while, Rumpel began to sing:
“This Christmas is LOOKIN’ up because it’s looking baaad! After-time around the globe is the GREATEST time I’ve had! So many children runnin’ ‘round, turmoil in their hearts! Let’s turn their smiles UPSIDE-down and BEGIN a sad new start!”
He joyfully danced his way to a random kid. “YOUR MAMA DON’T LOVE YA!” Then to another. “Your head looks like a SQUAAARE!” Off to another. “What are you a LUGNUT?” And then one more. “DENY ME if you DAAAARE!”
“It’s-time-to-take all these smiles! Say ‘Bye, Crocodile!’ All these children: lookin’ sad! DAMN, it’s good to be bad!”
Egyptian music started to play: pharaoh paintings were in the background as Rumpel dressed like a pharaoh, and began to do the Egypt dance. “When I first joined Sandy’s force, MAN was it a bore! Fixin’ up these cheesy presents couldn’t BE a lamer chore! But now I see! What it means. My true Christmas cheer! Hurtin’ kids! Watered eyelids. You want MORE, I HEAR?!”
He danced to another kid. “YOU’RE super ugly!” Then there’s another. “Someone ain’t passin’ FOURTH grade!” Aaaand there’s another. “YOU smell like DUNGLY!” Now I think that’s it; oh! There’s another. “WITHOUT YOU: your PARENTS’D have it MAAADE!”
“All these children: lookin’ sad. MAN, it’s good to be bad!” Rumpel jumped and slid down a snaky, spiraling slide into a cave of darkness. “Those Kids Next Door: GETTIN’ TOO FAR. THINKING that they’ve WOOOON. Well, WHEN I’m through, I’ll GO TO A BAR! PARTYING in the SUUUN! So many smiles: rarin’ to go. But hey, I’VE got all niiight! No matter what, I won’t slow, un-TIL I’ve won this FIIIGHT!”
He danced over to Kimaya. “You’re GONNA live poor!” Over to Rupert Dickson. “Yo’ dad’s gonna ‘bandon you!” To Haruka Dimalanta. “You ain’t GONNA be a doctor!” Next, to Dillon York. “And YOU: YOUR dad don’t-”
“NO! No!” Peter Griffin walked over and stopped him. “NO Dillon/Nolan!”
“Okay, okay, sheesh!” Rumpel stomped away angrily.
“This Christmas: LOOKIN’ down! Because it’s looking bleak! I’m checking twice for EVERY frown! That’s SAD on every street! And the only smile: FACIN’ UP… It lies on this old cad! Everything I DO! For reason: IT… IS… MOTHER… FREAKIN’… GOOOOD TO BEEEE… BAAAAAAAAD!”
Crystal Household
The house was quiet as Olive Crystal calmly stirred the soup boiling on her oven. She looked to her daughter, Suki, hanging onto the windowsill as her eyes peeped outside. “Suki, I’m sure what you saw was just your imagination.” Olive smiled.
“But I SAW him, Maaaaa!”
“Hm hm hm!” Olive laughed. “You probably just wanna play outside some more. You can go out, but be back in 5 minutes.” She smiled warmly.
“Okaaay! Just wait, Mom, I’ll show you!” With that, Suki was already fast out the door, running out into the snowy fields. The little girl began to search intently for her spirit friend, and the further she got from the house, the more it faded into the darkness.
The blizzards came faster, and soon, she could barely see a few feet in front of her. “HELLOOO?” she called out into the grey mist. All she heard were the cold winds of the winter snows.
“Grrrrr.” A growl was heard behind her. Suki turned, feeling afraid as the red eyes glared at her from the darkness. “BARK!”
“AAAAHH!” Suki ducked before the White Wolfos could gnash at her. The barefoot girl was surrounded by the hungry, white-furred demons. She shut her eyes when they came, and expected her end. Suddenly, the first wolf was hit with an ice blast. The other wolves looked around confused, and that’s when the white-haired teenager landed in front of Suki. He had deep blue eyes, a blue sweatshirt, long tan pants, and bare feet.
He looked fiercely at the growling angry wolves, holding a wooden cane in his right hand. Another wolf jumped at him, but he bashed its head, and it ran away in defeat. Two more jumped, but he ducked and shot an ice blast, scaring them off. The last wolf surprised him from behind, but he kept it back using his cane, twirling his cane and flipping the wolf. The wolf got up and ran into the endless mist.
Suki’s eyes were still shut tight as she gripped her head and was bent over. She heard a pair of footsteps step through the snow. “It’s okay. They’re gone.” She opened her eyes, seeing a pair of boney feet in the snow. Her head slowly looked back up, examining the tall, skinny body. When she looked all the way up, she found the handsome, snow-haired boy smiling at her with his charming blue eyes.
The little girl’s smile grew wider than ever. She couldn’t feel more happy. “Jack FROST!!!” Her little arms wrapped around the boy’s legs. “I KNEW you were real!! Wait until my MOM sees!!”
“Heh heh heh!” the boy chuckled, patting the girl’s hair. “I’ve always been here, Suki. You don’t think Polaris makes all this snow himself, do you?”
“OF COURSE I didnnn’t! Come oooon! Let’s go show my frieeeends!” She tugged his arm excitedly and began to run off.
“W-Wait wait, wait!” Jack stopped her. “Heheh… I know you’re excited… but you’re the only one that can see me.”
“Oh?… How come?” Suki frowned.
“Well, because you’re the only one that believes in me. You see… some spirits can’t exist physically unless someone believes in them. You might be able to talk with me here… but all everyone else sees is empty space.”
“Awwww.” Suki frowned. “But you saved me and my friends up there just now.”
“Heh heh heh. A spirit can affect the area around them. It’s their job to ensure hope for mortal people. I’ve been doing it for ages… but no one ever questions it. They all think Jack Frost to be… just a superstition.”
“But it HAD to come from SOMEwheeeeerre!”
“Ha ha ha!” Jack laughed again. “I’m just glad I have someone like you to talk to. Anyway… wanna come to the North Pole?”
“HUH??” Jack began to walk away, keeping his charming smile.
“The North Pole… I brought a train.” And before Suki’s eyes, through the snowy mist, bright, yellow lights broke through the darkness. A train’s horn echoed in the distance as smoke could be seen, rising from a chimney.
“AAAAAAALLL ABOOAAARRRD!” Suki’s young mind filled with more and more wonder. The legendary train stretched across the endless snows. On its front, its name was written in gold letters, within a red arch. The Polar Express.
Mr. Dru’s Candy Store
Cleveland’s candy store was crawling with excited kids and filled with colorful Christmas decorations. Since it was nearly Christmas, it was having a sale on candycanes and gingerbread men. Cheren and Aurora had just arrived, and Panini immediately ran over to greet them. “There you are, Cheren! Anothuh 5 seconds and Ay wouldn’t have saved yer spot.”
“Almost surprised you did.” Cheren smirked.
“So where’s the Gingerbread Town?” Aurora asked.
Francis approached them and said, “It’s over here, come on!” And they hurried over.
A bunch of other kids like the Gilligans and Dimalantas were standing around a huge, round table covered with a green curtain. Cheren and his friends squeezed through the crowd. Their eyes were wide with wonder: it was a great, expansive town made of gingerbread. There were tiny gingerbread men “walking” about the streets, and also in little candy cars. There was a robber gingerbread man being chased by police, and around the fountain square (of chocolate water), there was a carnival taking place.
“Coooool!” Timothy Gilligan drew out with awe.
“Wow, Mr. Dru!” Aurora said to the candy man as he approached the crowd. “This must’ve taken days!”
“Boy, do I have the strong desire to eat it.” Cheren said, unable to bear staring at the tasty town for much longer.
“Heh, and Sigmund said I was lazy.” Mr. Dru laughed. “I mean, it isn’t PERFECT, but I figured it was now or never.”
“Why’s that?” Aurora asked.
Before she got an answer, the doors to the store were kicked straight open. Panini looked up first, then tapped Cheren’s shoulder. “‘ey, Cheren, guess who.” He and everyone else looked up. In stepped the smooth, grinning man from Goofy Goobers, the toothpick in his mouth and the nickel flicked up and down in his hand.
Mr. Dru perked with slight fear as he and his buff guards walked in. “Ahhhh, don’tcha just love the holidays?” the man asked slyly. “Spendin’ time with the ones you love and seein’ their happy faces when they receive yer gifts? I was just here to finish my Christmas shoppin’. I wanted to buy Mama the best of gifts… and low and behold, there it is.”
“Yer not thinkin’ of TAKIN’-” Panini was about to yell.
“Okay, step aside, kids.” Mr. Dru shuffled the crowd away as the men stepped forward. “All yours, Sirs.”
“WHHHAT?!” Panini screamed.
A bunch of the men took the table from different angles, lifting and carefully carrying it off. “Just carry that haul out through the garage.” The slim man spoke. “I don’t wanna wreck any walls, it’s the HOLIDAYS-”
“Hehehaha!” Hikari Gilligan was joyfully running down an aisle, carrying a string of wrapped lollipops. “Ooof!” The 5-year-old bumped into the man’s legs, falling to her bottom. She looked up, seeing the man’s creepy grin peering down on her. Timothy gasped when the man raised his leg, and the boy quickly ran to shove his sister out of the way before the man kicked down.
They both looked up, seeing his expression hasn’t changed. “It’s the holidays, kiddies, so Ah’ll let it slide. But remembuh this: name’s Nickel Joe.” He flipped his coin. “And seeing as yer minds aren’t fully developed… I should let ya know: lots of the world is all about business. Oft times it’s best not ta bother people in their business.” He held his right, nickel arm out and took aim at a shelf, getting ready to flick. Still keeping his grin, he flicked the nickel like a bullet, and the shelf exploded on contact.
The two kids shielded their eyes, then reopened with wide gapes, seeing the ruined collection of candy. Nickel Joe reached in his pocket, pulled out a wrap of nickels, and picked one out, beginning to flip it. “This business was a pleasure.” He said as he started to walk out. “For the Missus.” He flicked Mr. Dru a nickel, which landed in his palm.
“Uhn; thank you, Sir.” Dru nodded. With that, Nickel Joe left.
“Uuugh… I can’t STAND that guy.” Panini yelled.
“What’s up with these guys, anyway?” Aurora asked.
“I wonder if he’s connected to that pirate that attacked Sector W7.” Cheren thought aloud. “Now that Viridi’s over… I should look into these guys more. I’ll get on it after the holidays.”
With no more else to do in the store, the four friends began their walk home. “Siiigh, well I’m glad we came while we could.” Panini sighed. “Ay KNEW I should’ve looked at it before Cheren!”
“Yeah… hey, you guys go on.” Cheren told them. “I need to grab something real quick.” He ran down another road in a hurry.
“What’s up with him?” Francis asked.
“I’d like to know…” Aurora spoke. She didn’t wanna tell them about what Rumpel told her. “I should watch after him. You know… brothers.”
“Aye. Brothers.” Panini nodded.
“Sisters.” Francis remarked.
“Thank you!” Pan smiled.
“Hm hm hm!” Aurora laughed. “Catch you guys later!” With that, she ran off.
The Polar Express
Suki and Jack Frost had boarded the mystical train as it was driving at high speeds on its course to the North Pole. Suki sat on her knees on the red, velvet seat as she stared out the window, the snowy scenery whipping by with the sounds of the rushing wheels heard from outside. Jack Frost walked down the red carpeted aisle to see the curious girl, eyes glued to the window. “Not much to look at, is it?” he said with a chuckle.
Suki turned and plopped to her back, looking glum. “It’s boooooriiiiing. There’s no one else on here and it’s too WAAARM. My feet’re hooooot.”
“Heheheh. Maybe you’d like a seat on the… upper floor.”
And so, Jack and Suki were now on the roof of the train. The wheels were heard louder, smoke flew over their heads from the chimney, and the cold was even colder as Suki gave a wide smile. “This is greeeaaaat!” She squealed, twirling on her left toes. “I’m NICE and chilly!”
“Yeah, I like it up here, too.” Jack chuckled.
Suki fell to her back, spreading her arms and legs in the roof’s snow. “Hey, Jack? How come no one else is on the train?”
“Well, it used to get more passengers. But people just haven’t been that into Christmas lately.”
“But a LOT-a people I know are happy for Christmas!”
“Well, maybe. But a lot of kids are mostly into getting what they want. They don’t have the kind of spirit you have. And it’s because of that that Santa isn’t as strong as he used to be.”
“Whaddyou mean?”
“Well, Santa kinda gets his power from positive feelings. It’s what gave him the strength to use the Reindeer. …Um, the magic Reindeer I mean. But the happy feelings he gets from kids from how they are now is enough for him to fly around on his sleigh. It isn’t very efficient, but as long as-” The train suddenly shook just then, making the two wobble.
“Yuh-oh! We have a problem!” the Conductor yelled from inside the train. “Someone must’ve taken our tracks! Aw, and always when we’re driving over the frozen lake.”
The tracks were coming to an end as the train drove off and began driving hazardously and zigzaggingly across a slippery, frozen lake. Jack and Suki kept a tight stance as they watched the ice begin to crack below. “Well, this complicates things.” Jack said. “Stay here, Suki.” With that, the boy flipped off and began swiftly sliding across the icy surface. He glided to the back of the train where some of the ice began breaking, but he was able to freeze it up quickly.
Suki looked directly ahead, seeing a chunk of ice collapsing in the distance. She looked back, seeing Jack too busy fixing other gaps. With a determinate look, Suki ran off the roof, and began to slide swiftly on her feet. She waved her arms quickly to ski faster, getting ahead of the train as quick as she could as she zipped across and froze the gaps just in time. She kept sliding the opposite direction of the train, seeing gaps appear on its left side. She shot toward the train and froze the gaps, but before she crashed in the train, she jumped and created an ice path, sliding sideways beside the left of the train. Jack Frost kept freezing gaps as he kept up, and when he looked up, he watched in amazement as Suki slid over the train on her midair path.
Jack smiled to her as both were on opposite sides, freezing any crack or gap they spotted. But when they looked ahead, they saw the train was about to collide with a huge, jagged boulder at the lake’s edge. They skied to the front of the train quickly, grabbing tight to the bottom front with one hand and aiming their other hand at the ice ground. They launched a ray of ice directly down, forming a path as they went and catching the wheels. They pulled their hands upward to make the path rise, and for the train to drive up, avoiding just inches from the boulder’s tip as they made it away from the lake.
They saw the tracks continuing down below and carefully allowed the train to lower and get back on. After finishing, the two decided to head inside, where they met with the Conductor. “Well, kids, I say that was a VERY risky move, but I suppose I’ve seen my share of that. Now sit down! The North Pole is only minutes away!”
North Pole Station N
The Polar Express soon came to a screeching stop inside a bright, colorful station. “Ah-hem, attention lady and gentleman, we’ve officially arrived at Station N!” the Conductor announced. “Of course, up here, the only station we have IS N! Oh HO ho ho ho ho! Please take all personal belongings with you and be extra cautious when stepping off the train!”
The moment the two left the station, Suki once again filled with wonder and glee. The Elfin village was so beautiful. The streets were filled with frolicking Elfin children, making snowmen, sledding down snow hills, or simply wrapping colorful Christmas lights around their colorful houses. In the very center of the town, a huge Christmas tree towered over everything, its star at the top rivaling that of Polaris’. “This village was actually made about 18 years ago.” Jack explained. “When the Elfin Forest on Avalar was blown up by the Big-o-Blaster, they all had to relocate here on Earth. Some elves moved back to the forest after it grew back, but some liked it here better.”
“Hey, Jack? How come some of the tracks weren’t finished?” Suki asked as they walked down the street.
“Remember when I said that Santa was powered by positive energy? Well, the same goes for a lot of things up here; including the Polar Express. We share a lot with the Star beings of Galaxia. If there’s negative energy, the train tracks disappear. But just a while ago, the tracks were just fine. Something must’ve happened…”
“Maybe they forgot to restock on joy!” Suki cheered.
“Heheheheh! We’ll ask Santa Claus about that!”
Santa’s Workshop
“Huuurr. Hurrrrr…” Santa groggily wobbled to his sleigh, slumped over as he held his back.
“Honey!” Mrs. Claus yelled worriedly. “Are you okay? Why don’t we send Elfa Strike to deliver presents?”
“Ohhh, I’m fine.” Santa lied, standing up straight as he rubbed the side of his sleigh. “Just need to see if the sleigh is steady. Gonna be a loooong night.”
“Honey, I really don’t think you should fly out there in your condition.”
“Someone has to do it. Santa takes… no winter vacations.”
“Hey, Santa, we got a problem.” Wintergreen yelled, hurrying over. “Jack’s back.”
“Ohhh, that wretched skeleton…” the jolly man mumbled.
“No, not that one. It’s Jack Frost.”
“Jack FROST?!”
Outside, Jack Frost and Suki finally made it to Santa’s factory. Jack knocked the door with his staff, and a little elf answered. He gasped in his squeaky voice. “Jack Frost?! What are YOU doing here?! And Merry Christmas!” He smiled happily.
“Heheh. Well, I-”
“JACK FROST!” Santa shoved the little elf aside, looking furious. “WHAT are you doing here?! And who’s this little girl??”
“Calm down, I just felt like showing her around.” Jack argued angrily. “Not like you HAD any visitors in a while.”
The bearded man bent down and studied the child. “Say… you’re Suki Crystal! Decided not to wear your shoes again, eh? Hooo, you really set some bad examples, Jack.” He shook his head.
“SANTaaaaa!” The 7-year-old cheerfully hugged the large man. Her tiny arms didn’t wrap around him very well.
“Ho ho ho!” Santa patted her head. “Ahhh, it has been a while.”
“Santa? Are you mad at Jack?” She looked up curiously.
“Ahhh, it’s a long story. Why don’t you two come in.” Santa led the little girl inside, followed by Jack as he shut the door.
“Three-hundred-twenty years ago, Jack was a rich child that lived in a palace, but he was killed by an avalanche.” Santa explained as they walked. “His family were renowned icebenders, so Polaris decided to make Jack an ice spirit, and let Jack roam the worlds to ensure kids’ protection in Winter.” As Jack followed, a couple elves stopped him and demanded he put on shoes. Jack shook his head and kicked the shoes away. “Granted, he does a rather fine job at it… but he oversteps his boundaries. He made it snow around a school for a week after summer ended, and when this one boy got in a fight with his sister, Jack froze the sister solid. A spirit is only supposed to come out when they’re needed, but Jack feels like jumping out whenever.”
“Awwww, he’s just having FUN, Santy!” Suki beamed.
“Too MUCH fun. A couple years ago, he made it snow so hard in one town, that when I flew OVER there, I ended up crashing, and it took me 5 hours to gather all the reindeer and rewrap some of the presents! That lousy Jorgen was all set to steal my holiday again, too. But HO HO no! No one steals Christmas from me!”
“Hey, I swiped 20 cookies for you!” Jack argued.
“I don’t NEED any more cookies! All I need is for Christmas to go without any hitches!”
“Is it HARD being Santa Claus, Santy?” Suki asked.
“HO ho ho! I’ve done this job longer than I can remember! When you’ve been my age, the years and the work just breeze by!”
“Even so, I STILL wish you’d take the year off.” Mrs. Claus spoke as she approached them.
“Mrs. CLAAAUUUUS!” Suki jumped with joy.
“You have millions of presents to drop and your BACK suddenly hurts.” Mrs. Claus tried to reason.
“This back pain is just a MINOR setback.”
A few feet away, an elf grinned and made a drum solo at the pun.
“The funny thing is that he was fine a few minutes ago.” Snow Angel explained.
“Aerrrrr. In fact, EYE just got a CALL from the ConDUCTor.” Nutcracker explained in his creepy voice. “The TRAIN tracks were missing on the LAKE.”
“Then there IS something going on!” Santa concluded. “I wonder what.”
“Sandy! SANDY!” Rumpel Stiltskin frantically hurried over, a panicky expression on his face.
“Rumpel?”
Jack whispered to Suki, “And Santa thinks I’M a troublemaker.” Suki grinned.
“Sandy!” Rumpel stopped before him, panting. “I was checking the terminals! A bunch of children suddenly became upset!”
“Hwhhaat?”
“I was in the camera room checking the terminals, and when I turned them on, I saw a bunch of kids began to feel really upset! A lot of them think their parents don’t care about them, and SOME don’t think they’ll get what they want for Christmas!”
“LET me see!” Santa demanded, stomping toward the elevator.
They all went to the monitor room, where Santa originally sent presents to kids using his Reindeer. He pressed a button on the sleigh, and the buhmillions of terminals sparked to life. Indeed several kids, like Kirie, Rupert, or Haruka, were sitting in their rooms in depression, and other kids were yelling at their parents. “My, what could’ve happened?” Mrs. Claus asked with concern.
“I have a few ideas.” Wintergreen said, glaring at Rumpel and aiming his candycane claws. “What’d ya do, Rumpel?”
“Hey, don’t look at me, I was only cleaning up and I saw them!” the elf raised his hands in defense.
“I would say Rumpel hacked it… but this negative energy is coming from somewhere.” Santa spoke. “Hmmm…let’s see how things looked beFORE.” Santa pushed a Rewind arrow, and the scenes began to roll backwards. Santa stopped them when the children were happy, a few minutes before. Everybody watched intently, while Rumpel felt nervous. And finally, the culprit appeared. Santa gasped. Mrs. Claus gasped. Elfa Strike gasped. Rumpel gasped more quietly. Jack Frost gasped in horror and shock.
The person delivering all the bad news to the children was, in fact: Jack Frost. “Ho ho HOOOOH! So THAT’S your game, JACK!” Santa yelled accusingly. “Too upset about ME hogging all the stardom this month, you thought you could ruin me!”
“Wait a second!!” Jack yelled. “Suki’s the only human that can see me! How WOULD I talk to all these kids??”
“If I may speak,” Rumpel spoke, “I’ve been developing a new potion that allows one to see invisible spirits. When drunk by spirits themselves, they can be seen to anyone. But recently, I’ve noticed my potion went missing.”
“That doesn’t make any sense!” Jack argued still. “Why would I care about what RUMPEL’S doing?”
“I don’t see your magic stand.” Rumpel mumbled.
“All that matters is it’s YOUR image on those screens.” Wintergreen said with a glare. “TAKE him outta here, Elfa Strike!”
The spirit boy was immediately grabbed by Nutcracker and Coniferous. “I didn’t DO anything!” Jack yelled, trying to shake free. “Let GO!”
“Tell it to Polaris.” Wintergreen said coldly as they led him out.
When everyone else had gone, Rumpel stayed and smirked at the ceiling above the screens.
Behind the many terminals, Koume and Kotake had fiddled with the wires. “Our Photoshop skills have improved, Koume! Ho ho ho!”
“Why yes, they HAVE, Kotake. Eee hee hee!”
“Rumpel’s plan should carry out soon.”
“And ensure SANDY Claws’ doom.”
“Let’s see what plan the man has now.”
“To soar in the sky?”
“OR COME ON DOWN!” they both yelled. “EEEE HEE HEE hee hee!”
At the entrance
Jack was forcibly shoved out the front door, landing in the snow. “Now GET your frostbitten butt out of here BEFORE I make you a double-spirit!” Wintergreen threatened. Jack glared at him with hate, proceeding to walk away in the snowing fields.
“Waait!” Suki tried to run to him, but Santa kept her back. “Jack Frost wouldn’t do anything baaaad! He MUST be innocent!”
“Suki, I admire your spirit, but you’ll just have to accept.” Santa told her. “Jack Frost isn’t who you think he is. He may be a spirit, but he’s still just a depraved troublemaker. Just like a LOT of those teenagers. Now, come on. I’ll drop you off at home when we deliver-”
“NO!” Suki’s tiny arm slipped from Santa’s mittened hand. “I know Jack Frost is innocent and I’m NOT gonna leave him!” The child tried to run, but Coniferous grabbed her.
“El SNOOZO!” Rumpel launched a spell and put the girl straight to sleep.
“Siiiigh.” Santa sighed with regret, lifting the child in both arms. “I really hate when this happens. Seeing the disappointed faces on little children when they find out… Ooooh.” He reached his right arm behind and rubbed his back.
“It’s one hour before you hit the first town.” An elf reported.
“Halright, then. Wrap up the last bit of presents and line up the reindeer.” Santa ordered, carrying Suki away.
“Honey, I really don’t think you should go out in your condition.” Mrs. Claus said, still worried.
“Yeah, Santa!” Wintergreen perked up. “We can handle it just fine! And we’ll get the kid back, too!” The Elfa Strike members made poses.
“I can handle it just fine.” Santa insisted, continuing to the sleigh’s launch room.
“But Honey-” Mrs. Claus spoke.
“Don’t try to stop me.” He grunted. “There’s only one Santa Claus.”
They all felt worried as they watched him leave. Except for Rumpel, who gave a witty smile.
Downtown Cleveland
The town had become darker as night came, and the streets had mostly cleared. The only soul roaming these streets was Cheren Uno, looking around carefully to make sure he wasn’t followed. A tiny fly buzzed around the cold, keeping quiet and staying out of his sight. That fly was secretly a tiny spy cam, and from her treehouse, Aurora Uno could watch Cheren’s movements on her computer.
As Aurora watched her brother quietly, carefully driving her fly, Chris Uno walked in. “Are you STILL spying on Cherry? Since when do you trust Rumpel anyway?”
“I don’t. I just… well, it doesn’t hurt to make sure. You know?”
“Okay. Just come down soon.” With that, he walked off. Aurora went back to spying.
Cheren eventually turned into an alley, and the fly-spy followed. Loitering in the darkness of the dead end was a man in a hood. Cheren approached him quietly, then stood in place. A few seconds passed before the hooded man turned to acknowledge his presence. They stood quietly for several more seconds. Aurora patiently watched them, very eager. Cheren’s eyes were very serious, as was the man’s glaring red eyes. After a while, Cheren nodded.
The man pulled off his hood, revealing his horns. Aurora gasped, seeing he was a Bulblin. The demon reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded paper. He gave it to Cheren, who opened it, seeing a map of the area. A circle was drawn around the beach, and a date and time was labeled, January 5, 7:30 pm. Cheren folded the paper and reached in his own pocket, pulling out a wrapped, round object and giving it to the demon. When Aurora zoomed in, she recognized the package’s shape. It looked like the Code Module.
Aurora looked with horror when the demon took it. Without another word, he disappeared through a gap. Cheren unfolded the map and studied it again. The serious look remained on his face. “I’ll see you, too… Majora.”
Aurora gasped.
Close to Uno home
After Cheren’s secret meeting, the boy was on his way back home, having to stuff hands in his pockets for warmth. Just when he was two houses away from his own, Aurora jumped out from behind some bushes and tackled him to the street. “Aurora- MMP!” She punched across his jaw.
“WHY’D YOU DO IT, Bro?!” she yelled, punching him more.
“What are you talking about?!” Aurora then threw him against some trashcans.
“You GAVE away the CODE Module!” Aurora pounced onto his back and punched the back of his head.
“W-WHAT?!”
“Don’t lie to me!” Another punch. “I was spying on you! You traded the Code Module with a DEMON in exchange for a MAP! What’re you meeting MAJORA for, HUH?!”
“Aurora, that WASN’T the CODE MODULE!”
Aurora stopped punching. “Huh? Then what…”
Somewhere in the Underworld
The demon returned to his rundown apartment, looking both ways as he set his parcel on his bed. After making sure he was alone, he unwrapped the package, revealing it to be a round bottle with some kind of drug. The demon plucked the cap off and whiffed the drug directly over the hole. He then guzzled some of it down before putting the cap on. His pupils turned black and grew as his body became 3-D. The dungeon-escape music from Rayman Legends started to play as the demon started to dance to it. His arms and legs were the only body parts moving as he danced in place, and his night became a lot more exciting.
With Cheren and Aurora
“…Oh.” Aurora stood and helped her brother up. “Sorry… about that.”
“Siiiigh.” Cheren brushed off.
“…But… what were you doing? What’s with that map?”
Cheren decided to pull out the map and unfold it for Aurora to see. “The story is… Majora sort of disappeared after I defeated him. Five days after I got back, I had a dream telling me to meet a Bulblin in that alleyway on Christmas Eve, who would tell me where to meet Majora; and that little drug was meant to be my sign. I couldn’t really pass it up, so… I took it. The only other person who knows is Larry; that’s why I had him get me the drug.”
“Phew… well, at least I know you’re not a traitor. But… why didn’t you tell us?”
“Well, you… kinda worry a lot. I didn’t want you to over-react if you knew I was meeting with a demon.”
“Heh heh, I think demons need to be worried about you. But… I’m sorry for attacking you.”
“It’s all right.” Cheren smiled. “Why did you suspect me, anyway?”
“Well… it was Rumpel. He sorta came and… told me you were joining the Dark Side. It’s what I get for believing him.”
“Why would Rumpel trick you to attacking me? He doesn’t usually do this stuff unless he has a motive. …Well, scratch that.”
“It does feel kinda strange, though. I mean, is it a Christmas tradition for him?”
“We’ll ask him later. Let’s just go home. In case Santa gets a little evil tonight.”
“Ha ha ha!” With that, the two returned home.
Santa’s Workshop
The jolly red man carefully lied Suki Crystal on the seat of his sleigh, the little girl still fast asleep. The elves had hauled the sack full of presents onto the sleigh as Santa took his seat and gripped the reindeers’ reins. “You really think you can last out there, Santa?” Wintergreen asked.
“You might freeze before you even leave the North Pole!” Snow Angel yelled with concern.
“I’m not letting… a few frowny faces… keep me down.” Santa panted, a fierce look in his eyes as he clutched the reins tight. “Christmas will… continue… as always.”
“Hmmmm…” He’s done this for so long… he doesn’t want anything to change. Even though… Mrs. Claus thought to herself sadly.
“Okay! On Dasher! On Dancer! Prancer! Nixon—I mean! Uuuumm… OH, just lift off!” Santa lashed the reins as the gates opened, and the reindeer began to charge down the runway. The elves watched from outside as the sleigh shot up the ramp, and flew off to the cloudy heavens. The elves wanted to feel excited… but knowing Santa’s condition, they couldn’t.
The blizzards came harder than ever as they flew across the icecaps. It was hard for Santa to see, even with Rudolph’s light leading the way. He was actually almost tempted to turn back… but he looked down on his right, seeing Suki Crystal’s peaceful, sleeping form. If anything, he wanted to fly to Iceland and return her home as quickly as possible. He wishes she was awake now… her positive energy might give him the strength to keep flying. She was always so joyous this holiday. More than anyone. It’s why he hated to see her hear the truth about Jack Frost.
Unbeknownst to him, a robot watched him from the field below, locking on with a missile. His target locked tight, the robot fired. The roaring sound caught Santa’s attention as he turned around, seeing the missile on his tail. “HOOOH!”
The missile collided, and a bright explosion lit up the sky.
Santa’s Workshop
In the distance, the elves could see the flashing light in the distance. “What was that?” Mrs. Claus asked.
“Didn’t we tell GUN not to set up that military base??” Wintergreen asked.
There was forceful banging on the front door, and all the elves directed their attention there. Suddenly, the door flew open as Dr. Nefarious kicked it, the maniacal robot walking inside with a grin on his face as Lawrence followed. “HELLO, Elves! Feliz Navidad! Upside-down exclamation point and all that.”
“What are YOU doing here?!” Mrs. Claus asked hatefully.
“To celebrate CHRISTMAS, of course! What better place than where it’s really HAPPENING?”
“Yes, it’s become sort of a Christmas tradition to want to dispose of Santa Claus.” Lawrence mentioned.
“WHAT’D you do to Santa?!” Wintergreen demanded.
“It’s come to my attention Santa has gotten a LITTLE too old to be delivering PRESENTS! A fate to be expected from a mere SQUISHY. So that’s why he deserved to go out with a BANG!” They all gasped. “But DON’T worry! I’ve developed the most WORTHY replacement! BRING HIM in, BOYS.”
A group of Nefarious Drones floated in, pulling the robotic Santa Claus. “This robot can get things done a MILLION times faster than that overweight OAF! Same goes for these ROBOTS. From now on, this factory will be under the care of my DRONES.”
“Not if WE have anything to say about it!” Wintergreen declared as Elfa Strike readied for battle.
“STUPEFY!” Rumpel immediately threw a spell and knocked Nutcracker out. A squad of witches soared out, throwing sharp-toothed metal pumpkins at Coniferous, slicing up his thick pines. Koume unleashed a fire spell at Snow Angel while Kotake froze Wintergreen in ice.
And just like that, the Elfa Strike was out of commission as Rumpel stood victoriously atop Wintergreen. “And I will be serving as their sponsor.”
“R-Rumpel… Stiltskin?” Snow Angel spoke weakly.
“I knew… you were… behind this…” Wintergreen grunted.
“Explicitly.” Rumpel looked as smug and witty as ever. “After all, I wouldn’t sit idly by forever, you know that.” He jumped off and walked to Nefarious’s side, hands folded behind him. “It shouldn’t be so bad. After all…” Rumpel turned, showing his know-it-all appearance, “this robot knows. More than anyone…”
Iceland; Crystal Household
Olive Crystal had finished making dinner as her husband and oldest daughter were already seated around the table. As she set the soup and turkey down, she only felt worried. “Suki sure has been gone a while. I wonder where she went?”
“Maybe she’s at one of the other’s houses.” Yuki said.
“I called them, they said she wasn’t there. What if she climbed Oil Ice Mountain and she SLIPPED?!”
“There isn’t really oil on that mountain, is there?” Yuki asked.
“Yukiiii! Our daughter could be HURT!” Olive yelled.
“I don’t really sense us going to a funeral.” Miyuki told them glumly. “Not until May, anyway.”
“Ooh!” Olive face-palmed. “Well, unless some explanation decides to DRIVE UP down the street, you two-” She stopped when the house began to rumble tremendously. Bright lights were seen outside, followed by the deafening roar of a train’s horn. The lights whipped by as a long, tremendous object screeched to a halt outside their house.
The family walked outside, seeing it was a huge train parked on the street. The King and Stork families, as well as many others who lived on the block, stepped out and stared with curiosity and confusion. The train’s Conductor stepped off just then, looking frantic. “Is ANYONE here acquainted with Suki Crystal?!”
Suki’s family exchanged quick, worried glances, as did their friends. “Um, we’re her family.” Olive told them.
“Suki is in trouble, and so is Santa Claus!” They all gasped. “ANY friends of Suki, come with me at once! Sorry, but only kids are allowed.”
Miyuki looked up at her mom. “Should I get on?”
“Well, normally I wouldn’t trust strangers, but, if he’s the only one that knows.” Olive nodded. “Don’t worry, we’ll hold off on dinner ‘til you get back.” Miyuki ran on the train quickly.
“What?? Won’t our dinner get cold?” Yuki questioned.
Olive walked in and snapped her fingers, smiling as she froze the dining table in a Time Stop. “Now it’ll be like they never left!”
“Siiiiigh.” Yuki sighed with annoyance. He really wanted to eat.
Just as well, the other parents nodded to their kids, and George, MaKayla, Lola, and Terry hurried onto the train. The Polar Express took off down the street at high speed, watched by the parents and the other neighborhood kids. “Awwww I wanna ride the traaaain!” a boy yelled.
“Son, those families are weirdoes, just because their kids got on a stranger’s train, doesn’t mean you should.” his mother told him.
“I’ll show YOU who’s weird, bitch…” Virginia mumbled, blowing smoke from her cigarette.
Santa’s Workshop
Things were much different in the elves’ colorful factory. Their happy smiles had turned into frowns as robots forced them into labor, to make more toys. But these weren’t your everyday model train sets or game consoles. They were weapons of mass destruction. Missiles, machineguns, bombs, and ducks that electrocute you in the bathtub. And already, Santa’s robotic replacement was seated in the terminal room, scanning each and every kid on his list.
“Now… let’s look at who’s been NAUGHTY… and who’s been naughty…” Robo-Santa pressed a button, showing Kimaya Heartly’s image. “Oooh, Kimaya Heartly! She’s been a very disrespectful girl. Oooh, naughtyyyy.” He pushed the button and showed Kami Heartly. “Aha! And this mother doesn’t respect her daughter’s freedom to be disrespectful. Naughtyyyy.”
Downstairs
“REDUCTO!” Rumpel blasted another door down with his magic as he and Nefarious stepped through.
“Ohhh, how can one have so MUCH in one CLOSET?!” Nefarious shouted.
“Haven’t you read Narnia?” Rumpel remarked. “Anyway, it’s right over here. Behold!” Sitting on the farthest end of the room was a small safe, with thin green and red drawings, and a slight green glow around its lock. “Santa’s almighty safe he used to store his even MORE mighty Reindeer! Ho ho, but he’s NOT so MIGHTY now! This barrier used to be much bigger, but considering all the negativity lately, it’s SHRUNK! All it needs is just the slightest bit depressed wail, and it’s ULTIMATE power! For example…” With an evil grin, Rumpel conjured an anvil above Nefarious’s foot, and it came down to crush it.
“YYYOOOOOOOOOWWWWW!!!”
At that instant, the tiny energy around the lock disappeared. Rumpel aimed his wand at the lock and said, “Alohomora,” and the safe came open. Still smirking wittingly, he reached inside and pulled out the sash of jingle bells. “For you.” He gave it to Nefarious.
The red-eyed robot stared confusedly at the jingle bells. “THIS is the ultimate POWER?! They’re just little BELLS!”
“Au contraire! This is the ultimate technology in terms of teleportation. Santa once used this contraption to transport presents ALL around the world! But he’s gotten so old lately, even HE can’t control it without succumbing to its strength! But I’m certain, a strong robot like your creation shall be MORE than enough to give those kiddies a Christmas they’ll NEVER forget!”
“I’LL be the judge of THAT, Rumpel!” Nefarious stated suspiciously as he marched to the terminal room.
Terminal room
“Oh, SANTAAA!” The evil robot turned as his creator marched in. “I have a GIFT for YOOOOU!” Nefarious tossed Robo-Santa the Reindeer. “With this handy device, you can spread chaos from JUST this one room! Or so I’ve been told.”
Robot Santa studied the jingle bells closely, his evil eyes and wicked grin unchanging. “Ho ho HOOOO! I can sense tremendous energy in these bells!” The robot sat on his sleigh and faced the terminals. “We’ll see if those kids choose to be naughty… after this.”
Around the world…
The skies above the world never looked so bleak. Bombs began to appear all around the skies, raining over neighborhoods and exploding. Nefarious Drones were warped to the neighborhood of Sector V, rapidly blasting machineguns to every house, ruining windows and roofs. Missiles appeared in the skies over the Philippines, coming down and blowing away more houses. People all over the world were happily enjoying Christmas, opening presents and spending time with families. But things easily turned into ruin and despair. No one knew what was happening. But everyone’s happy feelings were replaced with fear, and everyone prayed it would end soon.
And Robot Santa ensured all this misery, his form glowing a devilish red as the power of the Reindeer surged through his form.
Somewhere in the Frost Fields
Snow was pouring fast as Suki’s body lay unconscious in the fields. The 7-year-old weakly woke up, moaning as she tried to stand. “What… happened…”
She heard footsteps stepping through the snow, and turned around to see Jack Frost. “Oh, good, you’re awake…”
Suki’s bright smile returned. “Jack FROST! See, I KNEW you weren’t EVIL!” She wrapped her arms around his legs.
“Heheh… come on.” The spirit boy led Suki into a nearby cave.
Inside, the child found Santa Claus unconscious in the corner. She immediately ran over and tugged his beard. “Santaaa! Wake uuuup!”
“He’s out cold.” Jack told her. “You only survived because… well, you don’t have to depend on Christmas spirit.”
“Whaddyou meeeeaaan??”
“I mean that there’s so much negativity, Santa’s lost the strength to go on. He wanted to hope that Christmas could be just as joyful as it’s always been… but his hope wasn’t enough.”
“Is THAT why he crashed?”
“No… I think someone just didn’t want Santa to do his thing. But it WASN’T me.” He stated angrily.
“I KNOW it’s not you, don’t yell at meeee!”
Jack sighed. “Sorry… Hey, let’s sit down. I was able to freeze some caribou for you. …They’re the non-magical kind, hehe.”
The two sat along the wall close to Santa as Suki began to eat the frozen meat. She had second thoughts about eating reindeer, but as long as they were cold, it’d fill her up. “You know, ever since I was made a spirit…” Jack spoke, “I always thought there was a special place for me in the world. I thought I could… be more than just a prankster.”
“But JAAAACK! You PROTECT kids during winter! You’re the reason kids are always so HAPPY for Christmas! Thanks to you, they get to miss SCHOOL and play in the snow ALL daaaay!”
“Yeah, but… no one thinks the person ‘Jack Frost’ even exists. You hear kids excited for Santa Claus visiting their houses, and the Easter Bunny laying eggs in your backyard… and not the bad kind of eggs. But no one looks at Jack Frost as some… Spirit of the Winter Season. They just look at him as some… natural phenomenon that happens to… well, happen. I don’t wanna be looked at as just some… superstition. I wanna do something people will actually… remember me for. And… believe I exist.”
“Jaaaack!” Suki’s smile was wide as ever. “You don’t need people to believe in you! You should be HAPPY being who you are! Aren’t you glad that children get to have FUN in the snow thanks to you??”
Jack smiled and chuckled. “That’s what I always admired about you, Suki. You’re so… carefree and… full of energy. You’re not even a spirit, and… you’re more spirited than I am. If people like you ran the world… there wouldn’t be any trouble.” Jack gave a light smile as he looked at Santa. “Heck, your spirit alone might be all Santa needs. If only we could let everyone know he’s all right.”
“How will there be Christmas without Santa Claus??” Suki yelled with a sad frown.
“I don’t know…”
CHOOOOOOOOO…
Suki’s ears perked. Both she and Jack curiously walked out of the cave. In the distant darkness, they could see a pair of lights drawing closer. CHOOOO. The horns were joined by the sounds of rushing wheels. Suki and Jack stepped back into the cave when the Polar Express came to a screeching halt, forcing the two to shield their ears and shut their eyes tight.
Suki’s wide eyes opened to see a door on the train slide open. The Conductor stuck his head out to see them. “Ah ha HA! You were right! She WAS here!” And Suki’s mouth became a wide smile when Sector IC stepped off.
“Suki!” MaKayla exclaimed.
“GUUUuuuyyys!” Suki cheered and jumped with joy.
“How did you guys find us?” Jack asked.
“Actually, she’s the one that told me your location.” The Conductor answered, pointing to MaKayla.
“MaKayla?” Suki looked confused.
“I just… knew!” The blue-eyed girl smiled.
“Hmm… HEY, everyone! This is Jack FROST!” Suki smiled again, throwing her arms to Jack Frost.
The kids looked to their right as Jack Frost waved. …They didn’t see anything. “There’s… no one there.” Lola said.
Suki frowned, looking at Jack. The spirit boy gave an ‘It’s okay’ smile. “Oh… well, never mind.”
“Hey, who’s that?” George asked as they approached the man in the back of the cave.
“Ooooohhh…” The bearded man was still very weak.
“Frosty’s nose, that’s SANTA!” the Conductor exclaimed.
“SANTA??” Lola questioned.
“Are you kidding?” Terry asked disbelievingly.
“YES, it’s HIIIM!” Suki whined. “We were flying on his sleigh, and we got shot and feeell!”
“What shot you?” MaKayla asked.
“I don’t knooooww!”
“It’s actually all the negative energy that makes him weak.” Jack said.
“Negative energy?” MaKayla replied. “Hmmm… Miyuki, can you do something?”
“I guess I can-… Wait, how did you know about negative energy?” Miyuki questioned.
“Oh! I think I just… heard it.” MaKayla said lowly. Jack stood behind her, eyes widened in surprise.
Miyuki knelt down before Santa and touched a finger to his forehead. She closed her eyes, beginning to channel her timebending as memories flowed through Santa’s head. (Play “Gold and Oden” (the first part) from One Piece.)
The old days were peaceful… there wasn’t much technology in the world… the kids weren’t so desiring. Everyone was so happy for Christmas. Playing out in the snow… drinking warm cocoa inside… and spending time with friends and family. And then at night, they’d go to sleep, awash in dreams… that was how it was back then. And he’d always feel so happy… seeing their sleeping, dreaming faces. Believing Santa was coming down their chimney… ensuring them a happy Christmas. …And then their parents would wake up, accuse Santa of being a burglar, and chase him out.
All the kids had back then were dreams. Dreams that Christmas would be warm, and the future would be warmer, no matter how cold it seemed. And there were magical beings like Santa Claus, who watched over and protected them. And by simply giving them a toy train, a yo-yo, or a tiny stuffed doll… they knew their dreams had come true.
But as time passed… people evolved… things changed. Kids became adults, and by then, they thought Santa Claus to be just a fairytale. There was no such thing as Santa. That phrase became more and more frequent. All these gifts were just from relatives. Their dreams… faded… as time went.
And as kids grew older, so did technology. There was so much cool stuff being created… in this newest generation of kids, you hardly see anyone who doesn’t want a new videogame or an iPhone. In this new age… no one saw Santa as a magical spirit that gave the world peace. They saw him as hope: hope they can get what they want, satisfying their everlasting needs. They hardly ever got what they want, but Christmas was the one time they could get stuff. They didn’t care from where; whether it was from Santa or the store. As long as they had it… that was all.
Almost no one truly believed in Santa Claus’s existence in the future. Their happiness only came from simple desires. Because of this… Santa was too weak to use the Reindeer. He returned to the traditional way, flying with reindeer and dropping into people’s houses. The kind of happiness the kids had, with only getting what they wanted, was enough to allow him to do this. But this wasn’t the only reason. He returned to the traditional way… because he hoped, things could go back to the old ways. He hoped kids could have those same dreams again.
But they didn’t… and every year Santa went flying, he felt himself growing weaker. People were concerned for him: Mrs. Claus… Elfa Strike… even Jack Skellington. They weren’t affected like Santa was. They didn’t feel this energy… they couldn’t lose it. They could deliver the presents no problem. But Santa knew… only he knew how to do it. He was the one kids believed in. If there were still kids out there who believed in Santa… if anyone saw anyone else in his place… they would know, all their dreams weren’t all they expected. If Santa didn’t have the strength to do his job… what hope would they have. If Santa could die… so would their dreams. That’s why… no one else could take Santa’s place. (End song.)
Miyuki took her hand off and stood up. Santa remained asleep… peacefully… “Well?” MaKayla asked.
Miyuki remained turned away from her friends. “He was… so desperate… to keep Christmas alive.” She turned, showing everyone her saddened face. “Seeing kids happy… on Christmas Day. That was all he cared about. He… wanted to keep it going. Even on his last breath… he wouldn’t stop until he saw kids happy again. The kind of happy… that gave him strength.”
“And now there won’t be any Christmas… if he’s like this.” MaKayla said, looking at Santa sadly.
Suki’s young, vibrant eyes became serious. The 7-year-old stomped out of the cave, facing the toy factory in the distance. This was all someone’s doing, she knew. Someone shot them out of the sky… someone framed Jack Frost. She didn’t know who… but she couldn’t let this happen. “SOMEONE’S trying to ruin Christmas!” she announced. “We HAVE to get to Santa’s house and STOP them!” She jumped in front of the Conductor and yelled, “Mr. Conductor Man, TAKE us to the factory!”
“I’d love to, Kid… but Santa ain’t the only one who needs good feelings. This train used the last of her strength gettin’ DOWN here without tracks. You kids are gonna have to go on FOOT.”
“Siiiigh, great. MORE following Suki across a slippery field.” Terry moaned.
“Come on, you guuuuuys!” Suki whined, already going ahead. “We gotta go STOP theeeem!”
“We’re with you, Suki!” MaKayla said as they all gave serious nods.
“Well, JAAAAACK?” she whined again.
The spirit boy helped Santa up and took him into the train. “The train may be stopped, but it’s still probably warmer than outside. I’ll help look after him… you guys get going.”
“OKAAAAY!” And Suki scampered away, the others following.
MaKayla walked beside Suki as the child skipped happily, and the older girl whispered, “I saw him, too.”
“Oooh?” Suki looked at her with wide, curious eyes.
“Hm hm!” MaKayla smiled.
“…HA HA!” And Suki’s smile was wide again.
“Am I missing something here?” Terry asked.
“Hm hm, it’s nothing, Ter!” MaKayla winked. (Play the “Tundor Wastes” theme from Ratchet: Going Commando.)
Stage 1: Frost Fields
Mission: Get back to Santa’s workshop.
The six children began their venture across the fields, going down a short hill. The factory was miles off in the distance, but the vibrant color had already faded from it. They weren’t sure what was going on, but they had to get there quick. The six reached a small field at the base of the hill, where some yeti jumped out from the snow. MaKayla ran forward and dodged when a yeti chucked its large snowball at her, leaping and dealing a series of kicks against its face. Lola became a bat and flapped high overhead to avoid another’s snowball, then flew down to bite its nose.
Another yeti threw its snowball at Suki, but the icebender caught it in midair and sent it back to knock it out. Miyuki did the same, using timebending to catch a snowball and Rewind it back at the yeti. Once they were defeated, the kids continued up another frosty hill, reaching a chasm with very sharp icicles down below. Suki simply conjured an ice path, allowing the group to cross safely. They reached a small enclosing where a cave’s entrance rested atop a ledge above them. There was a long, thick icicle sticking down, so they just had to clutch to it and climb up (of course, Terry and Lola chose to fly up, since they could).
They entered a narrow cave that was almost perfectly round, as if a worm dug through it, with some icicles hanging on the ceiling. As they passed through, the icicles came down, but George and MaKayla froze them midair with timebending. They slipped down a small slope into a wider part of the cave, where Armos Freezards stood guard around the area. Terry used Shadow Veil and slithered to the first Freezard, but when he popped up, the ice statue immediately froze him solid.
“Can’t say I didn’t expect THAT to happen.” Lola remarked as she flung Spanking Hands at the Freezard, smashing him to pieces. Suki went over to unfreeze Terry, but that’s when an icicle fell from above her. Suki sensed and quickly grabbed the icicle in midair, then sent it at another Freezard. They decided to abandon the last Freezard and hop up some ledges. They found one more Freezard stationed between some walls, but George froze him in time and allowed MaKayla to punch and kick it to pieces. The next ledge was too high, and the parallel walls were too far for a Wall Jump. Suki simply made some huge icicles emerge from the walls, close enough for the group to jump their way up.
They found another narrow tunnel, but a Nefarious Drone was watching them from halfway through. The robot shot a missile at the tunnel’s ceiling, and the passage was immediately covered with snow and icy debris. MaKayla and Miyuki stood together and combined their timebending to Rewind and fix the tunnel back to normal. By that time, the Nefarious Drone had gotten away, so they proceeded to pass through the cave anyway. The cave made a right turn before they were led outside to a vast, expansive snowfield, where yetis roamed around and made giant snowmen.
Just as well, the Nefarious Drones came and placed mechanical hats on the snowmen’s heads. They sparked to life, turning into evil Frosty’s. The first one hopped its way toward the kids and tried to smash them, but they ran separate directions and avoided. Suki used icebending to form her own big snowball and throw it at its hat, knocking it off and making the snowman immobile. A yeti charged over and grabbed Suki in its hand, but Miyuki froze it in time and used Rewind to make the yeti a smaller baby.
They hurried toward a ledge on the far side of the field as another snowman attacked them. MaKayla flipped swiftly above it and kicked its helmet off, and it flew to a yeti behind it. The helmet landed on the yeti’s head, causing the yeti to shake crazily and throw large snowballs at other yeti. The yeti then charged toward the ledge and rammed headfirst, causing a pile of snow to fall down and bury it. The kids were able to use this pile to climb to the short ledge. There, more yeti rolled snowballs at them, but Miyuki used Rewind to send one of the snowballs back.
From the next ledge, a yeti was throwing snowballs down, but Terry used Shadow Veil to slither up behind the yeti and kick him down. The kids then used the creature as a bounce pad to bounce up the ledge. They entered another cave, which was wider than the previous cave. Yetis were still rolling giant snowballs, which Suki caught and rolled back. Two snowballs were rolling at MaKayla, but she froze them in time and ran between them. She jumped and kicked off the two yetis’ heads as they ran forward and turned right down the cave. This part of the cave seemed a lot more empty, but when they took the first steps forward, the cave shook when a giant seasnake burst through the left wall, chomping its teeth before going back.
The six kids looked freaked out, running forward quickly before the snake came back. Another seasnake burst from the ceiling, chomping at the ground, and the kids stopped inches before it as they watched it retreat. They ran further, and the tunnel seemed to go on for several more miles. The cave shook greater than ever when an even bigger seasnake emerged from the other side, chomping its mouth furiously as it slithered toward them. The kids looked around frantically, seeing nowhere to go; and the snake was coming too fast to turn back. However, Suki looked down and noticing a floor below the ice. The girl jumped and shot down with force, breaking the ice as they all fell through, just before the eel munched on them.
The kids sighed with relief before hurrying down this new hall, which seemed to get progressively darker as they went. They ended up walking onto a slide and slid down the slippery substance. When the floor became flat again, things became pitch-black as they walked forward. Things still seemed pretty normal, but the hard ice ground suddenly became squishy, and Suki felt something warm and moist under her bare feet. The kids froze with fear when the “cave” shook, emitting a roar.
A gigantic seasnake had lured them into their mouth, standing up straight again after catching his bait. However, his eyes widened when Lola Stork had bitten his uvula with her bat teeth. He turned around and spat the kids out, sending them flying miles across the fields. They screamed as they soared across the snows, thankfully crashing into a huge pile of soft snow. They poked their heads out and shook the snow off before stepping out.
“Since when do SEASNAKES live in the North Pole??” Terry questioned.
“Well, at least he blew us closer to the factory.” MaKayla noticed.
“Let’s get going.” George told them seriously.
The six took a narrow path downward between some walls, and were led to another pit of icy spikes. Suki held her hands open and began to freeze another ice path. This pit was longer, and Suki had to make several turns as they went around the walls. There were Ice Keese flapping over the pit, so Suki had to throw quick ice blasts at the bats while still holding the path up for them to go. They eventually made it onto a safe path, following the snaky pass between more walls before reaching a slight open area.
Nefarious Drones ambushed them and began to attack. They blasted laser guns, but George froze the blasts in time as MaKayla ran and started flipping and kicking them. Suki slid over and froze their arms before Lola jumped and kicked their domes. The six jumped up some steps and cut through a narrow path to another small open area. There were snowmen; smaller than the previous ones, wearing mechanical hats that brought them to life. The bottoms of these snowmen had icy spikes, as they held their selves up with their stick-hands and aimed their bottoms to fire icicles at them.
Suki grabbed the icicles and tossed them back, sticking them into the snowmen’s bodies. Miyuki caught them in a time grip and easily Rewinded them back into snow piles. They kids followed more narrow paths, having to walk around very spiky crystals. At one point, Terry slipped and his butt was spiked by a crystal, and the boy whimpered as he rubbed it.
Finally, they made it out of the passage, and Santa’s factory sat just over a huge chasm. The kids carefully jumped their way across small, slippery platforms. A few of the platforms were giving way and falling, but George and MaKayla combined their timebending to hold them in place. They were able to make it across, jumping up a few ledges before they were at level with Santa’s workshop.
“YAAAaaay! We MADE it!” Suki jumped with joy as she ran ahead.
“Huff. Glad that wasn’t long.” Terry said in exhaust.
MaKayla walked by him and caught a whiff. “Sniff-sniff. Did you step on a fish when we were in that thing?” She walked ahead as Terry reached under the back of his coat.
“Oooohh…” Terry looked disgusted as he pulled out a dead fish. He dropped it and hurried after the others. (End song.)
Santa’s Workshop
The elves were still hard at work as Nefarious Drones oversaw their forced operations. Everything was normal as always… well, normal since Nefarious took over the place. But the peace was disturbed when the front doors suddenly blew down, blowing away the two robots standing guard. When the smoke cleared, everyone saw Sector IC with serious expressions. The team charged in as MaKayla began jumping and kicking the first set of Nefarious Drones. The robot raised guns and shot the kids, but George used Time Stop to freeze their bullets in place, and then Rewind them at the robots.
Miyuki caught the robots in her own time grip and sped up their ages so they would rust. Lola became a bat and flapped to some robots, using her teeth to pry open their control panels and then rip up their wires. Terry stood in front of a robot, totally unguarded as he wore his usual frown. But when the robot aimed to shoot, Terry’s shadow, Tael, grabbed the gun of the robot’s shadow, forcing the robot to aim at himself. The robot didn’t understand what was happening, but was too late to find out as it shot itself.
As her friends battled the robots, Suki swiftly skied over to the elves and blew ice onto their shackles, freezing them solid. With a wide smile, she lightly flicked the ice with her fingers, and the shackles broke instantly. “YAAAAY!” the elves cheered.
“Can you tell us what’s going on here??” MaKayla questioned.
“They’ve got a Robot Santa Claus sending weapons at peoples’ houses!” an elf yelled in a squeaky voice.
“He’s using the Reindeer to warp weapons all over the world!” another yelled.
“The reindeer can WARP stuff?” MaKayla asked.
“No, not the reindeer! The Reindeer! …The magic one!”
“Oh yeah… Dad told us about it.” George remembered.
“Well, where is he?” MaKayla asked.
“On the top floor, take the elevator!”
“Got it!” The six kids immediately headed for the elevator.
The elevator brought them to the room just before the terminal chamber. A group of Rumpel’s witches threw spells at them, but they dodged as Suki shot iceballs at them, freezing their heads. “Let’s go!” George yelled as they charged for the steel door.
Once the doors slid open, they watched as the robotic incarnation brimmed with red energy, sending weapons all around the world with his Reindeer. “Santa, STOP!” MaKayla cried. The energy faded away as the robot turned and glared at them.
“WHAT are you kids doing here?! Shouldn’t you be at home with your families?? That’s VERY naughty!”
“Oh YEAH??” MaKayla looked strict. “You destroy ANYthing you deem to be naughty, don’t you? Well, I propose that YOU are naughty! And therefore you MUST destroy your SELF!”
Robot Santa was silent. It was beginning to process what MaKayla just said. Instantly, his head began sparking, and in a few seconds, the robot exploded into pieces.
“YEEAAAAHH!” The kids cheered in victory.
“Dude, that was awesome!” Lola cheered.
“What c’n I tell ya? I know my paradoxes.” MaKayla smiled proudly.
“Not so FAST, kiddies!” They looked up as Nefarious hovered above them using rocket shoes. “Take a LOOK!”
Their mouths dropped when the Robot Santa’s pieces formed back almost instantly, glaring at them with its new head. “HUH? …But-” MaKayla tried to speak.
“YOU won’t best him so easily, kids! I built this robot with PARADOX-absorbing chromosomes!” Nefarious exclaimed. “He’s indestructible! Which is more than I can say for YOU kiddies! If you would do the honors…”
The operatives glared furiously at the robot, not focusing behind them. “STUPEFY!” A group of Rumpel and his witches blasted the operatives with spells, turning their bodies stiff. “Quick, get the chi-blocking cuffs on them!” Rumpel ordered. The witches quickly held the kids up and fixed the cuffs over their wrists; and Suki’s bare legs. “AAAAHH HAHAHAHA HAHAHA!” The evil Elfin cackled wickedly. “Kids pick up the WORST things from their parents, don’t they?” He walked over and pinched George’s cheek tauntingly. “It’s really a shame. The newest generation is the worst, huh?”
The villains brought the kids into the factory room and sat them against the wall. The Stupefy wore off, and Suki frantically tried to shake the cuffs off her ankles. “Let us go, you meanies! Quit ruining Christmas!”
“Ahhh, put a SOCK in it.” Nefarious demanded, bonking the child’s head. “Well, you don’t exactly HAVE any socks, but… the point is, CHRISTMAS is going down, and there’s NOTHING you can do about it!”
“Whaddo YOU got against Christmas?” MaKayla asked.
“I’m SICK of Christmas! All the caring and sharing and happy FEELINGS you humans have! No one ever cared or shared with ME as a kid! WHY SHOULD YOU ALL?! It’s always been my dream to take over Christmas, AND I HAVE!” Nefarious marched over to his Santa robot. “With THIS lovely creation, Christmas will come to be IN MY OWN IMAGE, and I’ll have SANTA disposed of FOR GOOD! RrrrrRIGHT, Sandy?” He grinned eagerly at his robot. “OOMP!” Immediately, the robot clutched Nefarious by the neck and tossed him headfirst against a wall. “GrrrrRRR!” Nefarious stood up, enraged. “How DARE you attack ME! WHAT’S WRONG with you?!”
“Abusing a defenseless little child… I’ve never SEEN anything more naughty! Iiii’m going to punish SO bad, Nefarious.” Robo-Santa’s eyes looked furious.
“WHAAAAT? LISTEN here, YOU. I created you, and I can-” The robot gripped Nefarious by the chest with force. “WAAAH!” He hurled the skinnier robot into a rectangular, green Christmas present that was Nefarious’s height. Robot Santa placed a lid over his creator and sealed the box with red ribbons.
“Mmm-mmmm? MMMMPH!” The present box shook.
“I’ll come back for you after I’ve dealt with every other naughty little pesk.” The terrifying robot turned and glared at the trapped kids and elves. “And as far as I can tell, you have all been VERY naughty. …Except for you, Lawrence!” He turned to the frowning robot butler. “You get a present!” With that, he handed him a scooter.
The glum butler got on his scooter and said with an emotionless tone, “I shall cherish this always, Sir.” With that, the butler rolled out of the building on his new toy.
“Ahhhh, creators.” Rumpel shook his head, beginning to pace before the cuffed operatives. “They make the most powerful of things, and have no sense to control them. Even Sandy couldn’t maintain the power of his Reindeer. Even this robot had more gut.”
“You’ve been very naughty, TOO, Rumpel.” Robo-Santa glared accusingly.
“Yeah, yeah, give me the nuclear missile later. JUST go back to bein’ Santa so we can WRECK this-…” The factory began to shake, and everyone looked around confused.
…CHOOOOOOOOO! The Polar Express burst through the factory walls, screeching to a halt. The door opened as the Conductor wobbled out, hanging onto the side handle. “We-ell! I’ll have to ask Santa for a train door!” he joked.
“MR. CONDUCTOOOR!” Suki cheered.
“Hey, HEY! What’s the big idea?!” Rumpel shouted.
“It turns out, reindeer make good mechanics!” the man smiled. Everyone looked to the train’s windows, seeing the smiling reindeer wave. “Sorry, we didn’t mean to intrude… but someone had to stop here to get something.”
Their attention directed toward the train door, hearing the sound of tired panting. Santa Claus exhaustedly wobbled out of the train. He had almost no strength left… but he looked so desperate. “Santa!!” Mrs. Claus gasped with worry.
Santa struggled to wobble to Robot Santa and Rumpel. He faced them with a distressed look under his brows. “You won’t… huff… deliver… huff… another… present…”
“HO ho ho! Sorry, has-been. Leave the job of Santa to someone more physically functional.” The robot glared.
“You are not… SANTA!!” The bearded man leapt at the robot, and both locked hands with each other. The robot was strong, but Santa did his best not to budge. “Huurrrr!…”
“EXPELLIARMUS!” Rumpel threw a spell that broke Santa’s hold on the robot. The metal monster grabbed the chubby man and threw him against the wall. (Play “Difficult” (the first part) from One Piece.)
“SANTAAAA!” Suki cried.
“AAAAHHH HA HA HAAAA!” Rumpel cackled away. “You old FOOL!! You actually thought you could win? Ha HA!! Christmas is OVER, Sandy Claus! FACE IT! Things will NEVER be the same as in the old days! You can whip your reindeer ALL you want, but all kids will ever care about is TOYS and GAMES! The ERA of Santa Claus is over! You might as well just lie there and ACCEPT your fate!”
“Ooooohh…” Santa groaned with pain as Rumpel stepped over him, smirking wickedly.
“Well?… WHAT’S WRONG with you? You’re gonna go down because of a few sad faces? Ha HA! To THINK that kids depended on you for Christmas CHEER!” He kicked Santa’s face. “YOU were never cut out to BE Santa! Relying on silly DREAMS for your power! EVERYONE knows that dreams are meant to die SOMEDAY! And THESE little kiddies, with easily-manipulated minds, were BOUND to forget you! The past is GONE, Sandy! THIS is a NEW era!” Rumpel danced atop the Santa robot. “This robot will SYMBOLIZE Christmas’s grand change, from being the most joyous holiday ever, to what EVERYone FEARS MOST! And in time… NO ONE will remember how Christmas was! This will become a holiday that EVERYONE WILL REPENT! MWAH HA HAH HA HA HAAAAA!”
“Nnnnn!…” Santa desperately wanted to stand… but he couldn’t. He just didn’t have the strength, anymore. Rumpel was… right.
Suki’s face never looked more furious. “Psst… Suki.”
“Oh?” Her eyes perked, seeing Jack Frost knelt down behind her.
“Suki… you have to do something.”
“Nnnnn!” The child tried to break free of her cuffs. “I caaaan’t!”
“Yes you can.” Jack said softly. “Remember what I said? Your Christmas spirit is stronger than anyone’s. You believed me when I was framed. Now you have to believe in Santa. Believe like you’ve never believed in him before.”
Suki looked at the weakened old man. Santa and Jack Frost were her favorite holiday figures. Every year, Santa gave every ounce of his strength to give children their presents. It must’ve been the hardest job in the world… but the only reason he could keep it up was because kids believed in him. It was good to have people believe in you… Jack was right. Suki shut her eyes tight, and, with all her might, yelled louder than ever. (End song.)
“I BELIEVE IN YOU, SANTA!! CHRISTMAS ISN’T OVER!! I BELIEVE YOU CAN STILL MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY!! GIVE EVERYONE THE HAPPIEST CHRISTMAS THEY EVER HAAAAAD!”
“Ohhhh SHUT. UUUUUP!” Rumpel yelled with rage. “Don’t you GET IT?!” The angry elf stomped furiously toward the girl. “LOOK AT HIM!!” He grabbed Suki’s hair and made her face Santa. “He’s washed UP. He can’t DO IT, anymore!” He then picked Suki up by her hair, yelling in her face, “Oh, but YOU think a few simple WORDS are gonna CHANGE that! Well, I AIN’T hearing any JINGLE bells, YET! … …”
Ching-ching-ching-ching-ching-ching
Rumpel’s ears perked at the sound of jingling bells. He looked at the factory’s entrance (broken by the Polar Express) with a mix of shock and horror.
“HO HO HOOOOO!” A pack of skeleton reindeer sped into the factory, coming to a stop as Jack Skellington hopped out of the sleigh, holding a sack over his shoulder. “MERRY CHRISTMAS to ONE AND ALL! And HAPPY, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!”
A voice from his sack spoke, “Leeeet’s geeeet-” immediately, Jar Jar Blinks shot from the sack, looking very frantic, “HAPPYYYYYYY!! !” (Play “Can’t Escape, Fight!” (the second part) from One Piece!)
The Nefarious Drones took aim at the two, but they leaped high and dodged. “Ho ho HO!” Jack Skellington tossed Present Bombs at the robots, blowing them away.
Jar Jar landed on his feet and whipped out a bottle of eggnog, guzzling away. “Whoooo’s goooot NOOGGYYYYYY?? ?” The Gungan scampered as fast as a cheetah, kicking the robots too fast for them to see. “AYE-YE-YE-YE-YE-YE-YE-YE-YE-YE-YE-YE!” Before the robots could understand what happened, they fell to pieces. “Uwwwaaaaahh.” He faced the trapped operatives, readying a kick. “HI-YAH HI-YAH.” He swiped his legs lightning-fast, and their cuffs were broken.
The kids smiled as they stood, rubbing their wrists. “Nice going, Jar Jar!” MaKayla congratulated.
“It’s my Eggy-Noggy Kempo.” Jar Jar told them. “It’s-a eggy-noggy!”
“NOW we’re in business!” MaKayla exclaimed, the operatives facing Rumpel and Robo-Santa with battle-ready looks.
“Nnnnn!” Rumpel looked frightened. “WITCHES!!”
Koume and Kotake came soaring into the factory, followed by Rumpel’s witches on their broomsticks. “NYAH!” Kotake launched an ice spell at MaKayla, but the thin girl swiftly flipped and leaped up, kicking the witch off her broom. Koume aimed her wand as she released fire at Lola, who flapped around as a bat and avoided. Terry used Shadow Glide to float above Koume and dropped down on the witch, bringing her to the floor.
A squad of witches had Miyuki surrounded, but the gloomy girl did a twirl and called, “Agify,” catching them all in a time grip and transforming them into babies. MaKayla flipped over to a barrel of long candycanes and pulled one out, twirling it like a bo staff. The witches came, but she spun the cane rapidly and knocked them all away.
“Grrrrr! DO something, Sandy!” Rumpel ordered.
“Hooo!” The Robot Santa raised his magic Reindeer. “I’ll bury you kids in the blackest mountain of coal you’ve ever been buried in-”
But that was before a giant snowball blasted the back of Santa’s head with great force, the robot falling over as the Reindeer slid to George’s feet. The kids looked and smiled widely, while Rumpel looked with fear. “ELFA STRIIIKE!” Suki cheered.
“Jack Frost came and freed us before he talked to ya.” Wintergreen smirked. “‘Guess we owe him one.”
“Pay me back later.” Jack Frost remarked.
“Anyway… we got gifts to deliver. And first on our list is Team Rumpel, who asked for a royal butt-kicking. GET ‘EM, guys!” The elves ran in and began to fight. Coniferous grabbed some witches and forced them against his pine skin. Nutcracker rapidly warped and confused three witches before catching their heads in his big mouth. Snow Angel bended the snow in from outside and formed a giant fist to squash five witches.
Robot Santa glared as Wintergreen faced him. The evil robot blasted fire breath at the elf, but the Wolverine lookalike evaded and punched the robot across the head, afterwards kicking up and knocking him on his back.
George bent down and grabbed the Reindeer. “I got the Reindeer!”
“Hooo.” Robo-Santa stood up, stretching his neck. “Baaah. I don’t need that tool. I’ve got a BETTER plan.” With that, the robot began to run away.
“After him!” Suki yelled as the kids chased him.
“WINGARDIUM Leviosa!”
“Hey!” George yelled when the Reindeer suddenly flew out of his hand. The magic device landed in Rumpel’s.
“SEE YA!” the elf exclaimed as he ran.
“George, you stop him! We’ll get Robo-freak!” MaKayla ordered.
“Right!” George hurriedly ran after Rumpel to the next room.
The evil Elfin grinned giddily as he raised the Reindeer in victory, still running. “NOT SO fast, Rumphead!” Wintergreen declared as Elfa Strike gave chase beside George.
“STUPEFY!” Rumpel threw a spell and almost hit Nutcracker, but the big-toothed elf warped above the evil elf and stomped down, taking the Reindeer.
“We got ze REINDEER- OH!!” Kotake swooped by and swiped the sash from him.
“AH HA ha ha!” the witch cackled. “WHOA!!” She was suddenly caught in a flying mound of snow, as Snow Angel flew by and took the Reindeer back.
“I’ve got it!”
“Don’t lose it!!” Wintergreen yelled.
“WHOA!!” Snow Angel was instantly hit with a blast of fire, blown away as Koume took the Reindeer.
“Never play with fire, kiddies!” she cackled.
“Hurry UP, Koum’!” Rumpel demanded, jumping and waving his arms.
Koume was about to throw him the jingle bells, but- “WAAH!” she rammed into Coniferous, who took the Reindeer.
“Over here!” Wintergreen called as he ran to his teammate. Coniferous tossed the Reindeer, as Wintergreen prepared to catch it, but-
“HA HAAA!” Rumpel leaped and caught it instead.
“HEY!”
“Stupefy!” Rumpel zapped and stunned Wintergreen. “Now it’s time to-”
“Stop!!” George demanded as he ran for Rumpel.
“DISAPPARATE!” Rumpel flicked his wand, but George had already dove for him, and they both warped together.
They ended up in the factory chamber, rolling along the ground as Rumpel accidentally threw the Reindeer onto a treadmill of weapons. Rumpel looked up and- “Ahh!” quickly ran onto the treadmill. He smiled in relief as he picked the device up, but-
“GRAH!” George immediately tackled him off of the treadmill, making Rumpel drop the Reindeer onto it again. They both wrestled on the floor until Rumpel stood and kicked George forcefully in the nose. The elf ran onto the treadmill, looking frantically for the Reindeer.
“Huh!” he gasped, seeing the Reindeer rested over a machinegun as it drew closer to the treadmill’s end, which led into the chomping, flaming mouth of a machine. He hurriedly ran along the treadmill, kicking down any weapons in his path, desperate to grab the powerful device. “Almost…” He was only a few weapons away from reaching it. Rumpel quickly did a belly-slide and successfully, “GOT IT! HA HA haaaa!”
George King finally stood up, eyes widened as he saw where Rumpel headed. As the elf lay on his back, raising the claimed Reindeer in victory, a strange chomping sound fell in his ears. “Nn, eh?…” The elf rolled on his front and looked ahead. His face was stricken with horror as the chomping, flaming mouth drew closer. “AAAAH!-”
George shut his eyes tight, looking away. When he squinted open, he saw that Rumpel and the Reindeer were no longer there. He glanced both ways, hoping no one saw, as he pulled out his communicator. “Uhhh… I beat Rumpel.”
“Great, George! Now come on, we’re in the launch room!” MaKayla spoke.
George frightfully looked both ways before running to find his teammates.
…
The Sector IC team fought past the last group of Nefarious Drones before searching for Robo-Santa in the launch-off room. “He couldn’t’ve gotten away that fast!” MaKayla yelled.
“Hey, what’s that?” Miyuki asked, noticing part of the ramp; and the floor it was stationed on, move to the side. Another floor and ramp rose up, and Robot Santa was seen seated on his own sleigh, tied to two rows of robotic reindeer.
“HO HO ho!” Robo-Santa’s eyes were giddy (meaning they were upside-down). “We had this DEATH Sleigh created JUST in case! My sack is fully loaded with the deadliest weapons of mass destruction!” They saw the red sack in his sleigh. “I’ll fly around the world and see that NO naughty child has a chance to be naughty AGAIN! NOW: on Reindeer Unit 001! On Reindeer Unit 3.56! On Call Responder 568! On Reins Responder 601! On Master Reindeer 700!” Calling that reindeer made all the others activate. “Should’ve did that from the start. Aaaand… MUSH COMMAND 6.0!” He lashed the reins as rockets activated from the back of the sleigh. The robotic menace took off for the heavens with the robo-deer pulling him along.
At that moment, George King hurried in. “What’s going on?” he panted.
“He’s going to attack houses the traditional way.” MaKayla told him. “Did you get the Reindeer? Where’s Rumpel?”
“Oh, uh… let’s just say they’re both disposed of.” George told them, rubbing his head nervously.
“Oh… Well, that Reindeer might’ve helped us.”
“If kids see that evil Santa, they’re NEVER gonna like him!!” Suki exclaimed sadly.
“Relax, Suki, we’ll catch him.” MaKayla assured. “We just need to think of how.”
“Did someone call for a SLEIGH RIDE?!” They looked to the room’s gateway as Jack Skellington flew in from outside, his skeleton reindeer screeching to a halt and turning around to face back at the launch ramp.
“Not… exactly.” Terry said.
“Well, you know. Unfortunately, I can only carry one of you.”
“Of course.” Terry eye-rolled.
“I can do it!” Suki cheered, already leaping into the sleigh. “I gotta SAAAVE Christmas!”
“You sure you can handle it, Suki?” MaKayla asked.
“Of course!” she smiled brightly. “After ALL: I got JACK by my side!”
“Well, thank you.” The skeleton smiled.
“I think she meant Jack Frost.” MaKayla said with a disbelieved smirk.
“Oh…” Jack frowned. “Well, no matter!” he smiled again. “On Skull! On Boney! On Crany! On… um, I’ll think of other names later LET’S GO!” He lashed his skeletal reindeer, and they began to fly off after Robot Santa.
The Sector IC team heard stomping behind them, and when they turned around, they were stricken with fear and shock. “Is…Is that-?!” MaKayla exclaimed.
(Play “Carol of the Bells (heavy metal)” by August Burns Red.)
Boss fight: Robot Santa Claus
The snows were calmer as they flew across the night sky. Jack Skellington’s eyeless sockets focused on the path ahead, while Suki searched over the side. They searched worriedly, afraid that the robot may’ve gotten too far already. The skies were quiet except for the jingles from the bells. …Wait… Jack realized his sleigh didn’t have bells. The two faced ahead, seeing a bright object coming fast their way.
They gasped in surprise, dodging to the right just before the missile rammed them. A fleet of robotic reindeer came flying at them, using their red nose bulbs to shoot lasers at the sleigh. Jack Skellington swerved around and dodged, trying to keep on the trail as the robots still attacked. A reindeer flew on Jack’s right, so the skeleton grabbed a Present Bomb and threw it to knock him away. “Suki, help me out here.” Jack ordered, throwing more presents.
On her left, Suki began to throw iceballs, freezing the robots’ heads, but they melted their selves free using their noses and tried to shoot the girl, but she ducked. A reindeer gripped the edge of Suki’s side and peeked over as it charged to shoot the girl, but she flipped over and landed on its back, blowing ice on its neck to freeze it, then break its head off, hopping back to Jack’s sleigh afterward. Two more robo-deer were coming, but Suki mended some of the falling snow into a huge snowball, throwing at one reindeer and sending it falling. The second one activated rocket boosters and shot at them, but Jack dodged the sleigh up, making the deer crash into another.
Jack squinted his eyes as he scanned the distance ahead of him. His eyes widened, and he pointed forward, “Look, Suki! There he is!” The girl turned and looked ahead with wide eyes. They were gaining on the Robot Santa in his sleigh.
The evil robot turned and saw the two on his tail. “Ohhh, can’t a Santa go around and slaughter children in peace? Very well: You want your presents early?! I was saving this for Timmy, but you’d make an excellent test!” He stood up and faced them, aiming a missile launcher from his sack.
“Look out!!” Jack screamed, dodging before the missile exploded. The robot continued to launch more, but Suki conjured iceballs and hurled them to blow up the missiles, but they still had to dodge around the resulted smoke. Robo-Santa turned and pressed a button, dropping mini bombs from his sleigh. They flew straight back, damaging the skeleton sleigh a little as some of the skelo-reindeer lost body parts.
“Whoa… that slowed us down.” Jack said, hanging onto his Santa hat as he recovered.
“Come oooon! Go FASTER!” Suki whined.
“I could, but it’s not easy to get close with all his attacks! If only there was some way…”
“…Suki.”
“Huuuh?” Suki looked around confused, then saw a familiar white-haired spirit flying along their left side, giving a cool smile. Suki’s smile widened. “JAAACK!!”
“Yes?” Jack Skellington looked at her, surprised. “Oh! Hello, Jack Frost!”
“‘kay, we’ll call you Jack S., I’ll be Jack F..” Jack Frost decided.
“Works for me!” Jack S. agreed positively.
“Anyway, Suki, I have an idea how you can catch up to Robo-Santa.” Jack F. explained. “Spirits can overshadow mortals’ bodies and enhance their abilities. Especially if that spirit and mortal share the same powers.”
“Oooooh!” This made Suki very curious. “Like a ghost??”
“Well, not exactly like a ghost. That just gives them a temporary body. In this case, if I stay in your body too long, you’ll die.”
“EEP!!”
“Unless of course you know any good intersecting spirit portals we can touch.” He smirked. “Which I highly doubt.”
“Uuuuhh. Noooo?”
“Didn’t think so! Anyway, our combined ice powers can let you surf the cold fast enough to reach him. You’ll have a whole minute to get to him, then attack him, then you’ll have to wait 3 minutes before I can possess you again. ‘Course, time seems to move rapidly fast in this universe anyway, so you think you can do it?”
“Uh-huh!!” Suki smiled with excitement.
“Okay… get ready!” And with that, Jack Frost shot into Suki’s body, the girl feeling immense internal pain as a snow-white aura appeared around her. The pain eventually stopped, and Suki’s serious eyes glared at Robot Santa. She swiftly flipped off her sleigh and skied across a conjured ice path at rapid speeds. Robo-Santa saw the girl coming, glaring as he tried to shoot the ice with the missile launcher. The path exploded behind Suki, sending her flying off, but she regained composure in seconds and skied after him more. She drew closer, and when Robo-Santa destroyed her ice paths, she began to jump and dodge swiftly, and soon skied right under his sleigh.
The robot looked ahead as the glowing white girl leaped high above him. Suki rapidly spun and twirled her arms, forming a bunch of snow into a huge, curved board. She planted her feet firmly on the board as she shot down and slammed Robot Santa’s face, causing him to dizzily drive out of control. She floated in place with a stern face, spinning and swinging her legs as she sent giant snowflakes at the robot. They came fast and damaged his sleigh, also freezing his rocket boosts a little.
But sadly, Jack Frost was forced to leave Suki’s body, and Jack S. caught her on his sleigh again. She was on her back as her eyes closed in dizziness. “You all right, Suki?” the skeleton asked.
“I… think so.” Suki moaned.
“Sorry about that.” Jack Frost said, flying beside them again. “It’s hard to get used to. Hopefully, we won’t need to do it long.”
They flew after Robo-Santa in their sleigh again. More robo-reindeer came, but Suki hopped off and landed on one, holding tight to its back as she flew around and made it shoot other reindeer. She decided to fly after Robot Santa and shoot his own sleigh, while Jack Frost froze other reindeer that were trying to stop her. As Santa felt the sleigh shake from damage, he looked back and saw her riding the deer. “Ohhh, you won’t get the drop on me THAT easy.” He pushed a button, and Suki’s reindeer’s nose began beeping. She jumped back quickly before the deer exploded, landing back in Jack S.’s sleigh. At that moment, three robo-deer swooped from the side and rammed the skeleton reindeer, knocking their parts off.
“Ohhhhh. Now we’re moving even slower.” Jack S. moaned.
“Jaaaaack!” Suki yelled to the spirit. “Um, F.! Can’t you possess me soooneeerrrrrr?”
“I could, but then you’ll have even LESS time.” he told her. “Just wade it out for one more minute.”
More robo-reindeer came, so the two icebenders frantically threw ice beams and knocked them away. A reindeer appeared above them and dropped a time-bomb in their sleigh (guess how), but Suki blew ice on it and froze it before its 5 seconds were up. She saw another reindeer come and threw the frozen bomb to bash it, and when another soared by, Suki hopped on its back and froze its legs to break them off. She jumped back to the sleigh as another reindeer latched to the bottom using its legs, preparing to explode, but Jack Frost broke its legs off himself, sending it falling to the darkness as it exploded.
“Okay, that should be long enough.” The spirit figured. “Get ready.” He shot into Suki’s body, and the child felt the incredible surge again.
“Br-r-r-r-r. Whe-en you do-o-o th-a-a-at… I fe-e-el so co-o-o-old.” Suki shuddered.
“Is that a problem?” Jack F. smirked.
Suki smirked, too. “Nnnnope!” With that, the child leapt off and surfed to the Santa robot, who had gotten a further distance away. Seeing the girl catching up, Santa stood and rapidly fired his machinegun at her. Suki surfed around in circles to avoid his shots, creating a spiraling ice path as a result. When she was closer, Suki began zipping left and right, bouncing off conjured ice platforms, before shooting above the robot, but he dodged right before she came down.
Suki glared at the robot as she surfed on his left, and Robo-Santa returned the glare as he pulled out another missile launcher. “Ho ho ho! You’ll never escape my heat-seeker!” The robot fired as the missile flew straight for Suki. But just before it struck her, the missile began to fly around her aimlessly in circles. “Whaaat??”
“Heeheehee! Shoulda asked for a COLD-seeker!” Suki smirked as she flew ahead, the robot chasing. “By the way, I wouldn’t DO that!”
Santa looked as the missile locked on to his sleigh’s rockets, and was after him now. “Oooh, cursed thing. Sorry, Call Responder 568. Looks like you have to sacrifice.” With that, one of his robo-reindeer broke free and flew behind the sleigh. The missile destroyed him as a result, leaving Santa safe.
Suki leapt off her ice path and ran across the other reindeer as Robo-Santa raised a buzzsaw. He lashed it at her, but she jumped high and landed on his head, clasping her feet to both sides of the head and beginning to freeze him. However, the child began to flash as she shook with pain. “Suki, I have to leave you now.” Jack Frost told her.
“Noooo! I almost GOT ‘iiiim!”
“I’m not gonna risk it. We’ll get ‘im later.” With that, he jumped out, and Suki fell off Santa’s head, on the seat beside him.
The maniac robot grabbed the girl by the leg and held her upside-down. “Playing in the snow without protective coverings, AND attacking Santa! If you want cold, I’ll give you all the cold in the WORLD!” He immediately threw Suki into the chasm.
“AAAAAHH!”
“SUKI!” Jack S. shot straight down, reaching his long arm out to catch her tiny arm. “Gotcha!”
“So do I!” Robo-Santa grinned, locking on with another missile. He fired the projectile, and before Jack S. could pull up, the missile hit the back of his sleigh and BLEW it up. “HAAAA HA HA HA HA!”
“AAAAAAAAHHHH!” Suki and Jack, along with the skeleton reindeer, began to fall fast to the cold, endless darkness.
“MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL,” Jack cried, “AND TO ALL A GOOD NIII-” But another sleigh shot by and caught them safely.
“What?!” Robo-Santa screamed.
Suki’s eyes were shut tight as she felt herself land in something warm. She didn’t know what this soft substance was, but she clutched to it tight, hoping it would keep her safe. Her big eyes peeped open to find Santa’s fluffy, white beard. Her eyes and mouth became wide with joy as she saw the real, flesh-and-blood reindeer pulling his sleigh. “SANTAAAA!”
“I TOLD you! NO ONE does Santa’s job BETTER than Santa!”
Jack Skellington was clutching the present sack with one hand while he flew like a flag behind the sleigh, holding his hat down with his other hand. “I’ll never doubt you again, Sandy!”
“Hasn’t that old sack of dust had enough?” Robo-Santa asked. “We’ll see how he handles the latest in child-harming technology!” He pulled out another missile launcher and fired, but Santa Claus shot his sleigh upward and dodged, flying to the robot as Suki wore a confident smirk.
“Technology only gets you so far, if you don’t have the soul to use it!” Santa exclaimed as his sleigh zipped past Robo-Santa’s, scratching the side of it. Robo-Santa recovered and started to blast the jolly man with his machinegun, and Jack Skellington yelped as the bullets nearly hit him. Santa pressed a button and activated a red, magical barrier around his sleigh, causing the bullets to bounce off and damage Robo-Santa’s reindeer. “But I must say, those reindeer ARE impressive! Let’s see if any of them can do THIS! Oh, Rudooolph!”
Santa’s leading reindeer smirked and nodded, beginning to channel energy in his glowing red nose. The glow became bigger and brighter, and Rudolph unleashed a storm of red lasers, too fast for the robo-reindeer to dodge as they were all blown away. There was nothing pulling the Robot Santa’s sleigh as he was sent falling. “YAAHAAAAA!” Suki and Jack S. jumped for joy.
Robo-Santa was still seated tight in his sleigh, his expression unchanging, upside-down as he fell closer to the snowy ground. “You think I needed those rust-buckets? THESE rocket-boosters aren’t for show!” He pressed a button and switched on the sleigh’s rockets, flying right-side-up again as he soared close to the ground.
The others shot down in Santa’s sleigh as the reindeer flew even faster, desperate to catch the robot. “Ho ho hooo!” Robot Santa laughed again. “By the time you catch me, Christmas will be done! Ohh, I feel so jolly today, I can just- WAAAH!” He suddenly crashed into something’s mouth. (End song.)
“What the-” Santa and the others looked surprised, but their sleigh was immediately knocked away by the huge entity, the group falling into the snow. Robot Santa tried to shake away, but this strange creature munched and crunched the steel metal in its sharp teeth, and the robot was swallowed whole.
Santa Claus shook his head from the impact, helping himself up. “Aaaahh! Next time I’ll order my steel FRESHLY-HEATED!”
Santa’s face froze with shock. “R…Rumpel?” (Play “Giant Oogie Phase 1” from Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie’s Revenge.)
There was Rumpel Stiltskin, smirking down at the little group from his two-story height. The Elfin had become a giant incarnation of metal and presents, and only his head somewhat maintained his natural look, except his teeth were sharp, his skin was metal, and his hair was a devil-red. His arms and body was very buff, and the knuckles on his fingers were made of jingle bells. His chest was made from an oven as a fire burned brightly, and the group watched as Robo-Santa’s metal, spiky hat appeared on his head. “THANKS to your MARVELOUS invention, Sandy, I’ve become the most POWERFUL present EVER constructed! With the powers of your Mergifyer, the Reindeer, and ALL the weapons I’ve been fused, I’ll destroy ANYone that EVER BELIEVED IN YOU! And who better to start with, than…” his eyes directed at the glaring Suki, “SUKI CRYSTAL!”
“AAAH!” Rumpel shot over and punched the tiny girl forcefully, sending her flying several feet.
“Hooh!” Santa ran to help the girl, but Rumpel immediately smacked him away.
“Ahh-ahh-ahh!” Rumpel wagged his finger. Santa growled in anger and ran to Suki again, but- “No NO no!” Rumpel bashed him away. Santa tried to stand up, but- “Merry CHRISTMAS!” Rumpel smacked him away again.
Jack Skellington hurried to Suki and called, “Don’t worry, Sandy! I’ll tend to her!”
“Ahhh, forget them.” Rumpel waved the skeleton off, focused on Santa. “You know, I could never IMAGINE having your job, but now it don’t feel so bad! ‘Cause now I can do THIS!!” Rumpel glowed a devilish red as energy sparked from his jingle bell knuckles; the Reindeer. He sent the energy to the heavens as missiles emerged and flew around, blasting bullets as if they were machineguns. “Cool, right?? And wait’ll it goes GLOBAL!! Then we’ll REALLY be fired up, wah HA HA HAAA!”
Santa got back up, a more fierce look behind his beard. “That’s it, Rumpel. I’ve tried to get through with you… but if you won’t learn from coal… I’ve no other CHOICE! AYAAAH!”
Boss fight: Rumpel’s Finale
Santa leapt at the monstrous elf and punched him in the face, making Rumpel wobble back. Rumpel glared and threw punches at Santa, but the jolly man kept his fists back and threw a punch at Rumpel’s crotch, knocking him to his back. Rumpel shot to his feet and grabbed Santa when he jumped at him, sending the man flying. When Santa got up, he saw Rumpel leaping to him, preparing to smash with a punch, but Santa dodged away just in time. “Raaaahh!” Rumpel took a breath and started spitting a barrage of coal at Santa, who ran sideways of Rumpel and avoided the shots.
Rumpel jumped and tried to punch down again, but Santa avoided and slipped behind Rumpel, throwing a punch at his rear. Rumpel wobbled as he turned around, heating the fire inside his oven. Rumpel inhaled through his nose, his skin turning red as he unleashing a mighty breath of fire, spinning and melting the snow around him as he tried to approach Santa. Santa stayed further from the flames and waited for them to stop, then quickly ran at Rumpel to jump and throw more punches at his face. Rumpel recovered and grabbed the spirit man, spinning around and around before chucking Santa all the way across the field.
Santa got up as Rumpel unleashed missiles, the man hurrying away as they locked on. The missiles exploded a few feet behind Santa, knocking the man across the air a few feet. Rumpel stomped over and leapt high again, bringing his metal fist down on Santa’s jolly body. Rumpel jumped away as Santa weakly recovered, the elf’s knuckles opening as more missiles launched. Santa quickly dodged the projectiles as Rumpel leapt high again with a punch, but Santa jumped back and engaged Rumpel in a fist fight.
Santa was able to punch Rumpel’s fist upward, then deal a punch to the elf’s chest, pushing him back. “You know WHAAAT?” Rumpel shouted. “Why haven’t I been using THIS more often?” Rumpel’s devilish smirk returned as the red energy sparked from his Reindeer knuckles. Santa ran at him as their hands linked, trying to push the other back. However, Rumpel’s strengthened fists proved stronger as he lifted and hurled Santa away. Santa stood up, feeling even weaker, as Rumpel charged and shot him with an electric blast, knocking him back again.
“Ohhhh.” Jack S. moaned with worry, shaking Suki desperately, though lightly. “Come on, Suki! Sandy’s in trouble!”
“Mmmmm-mmmm…” The young child tiredly opened her eyes, seeing Santa knocked down and Rumpel looking evilly. She woke up fully, eyes more serious. She hurriedly got up and dashed to Rumpel as fast as she could.
“Hey you Rumpel Stinky!” Rumpel looked up from approaching Santa with a quizzical look. A familiar tiny redhead was running toward him. “Leave Sandy alone!” With a wave of her arm, she threw a snow wave at Rumpel, which he only jumped and avoided. Suki did a twirl and sent an Ice Beam at Rumpel, but he blew some fire breath and easily stopped the ice.
“Is it getting CHILLY in here??” he yelled cockily. “Here, Suki! Lemme warm those little FEET up!” He zipped forward and leapt, bringing his huge metal fist down, but Suki dodged right and threw more ice blasts at his face. Rumpel took the hits before grabbing Suki and throwing her across the field. As she saw him coming down with a punch, she spun to her feet and slid away, sliding across an icy path as she shot icicles at him. Rumpel jumped in her way and destroyed her ice path, spitting fireballs that Suki quickly dodged.
Rumpel brimmed with energy as he charged his Reindeer, throwing electric blasts that Suki narrowly dodged. Sadly, one of the shots took her as she fell to her knees, and Rumpel leapt over and clutched her in his left hand. Suki was doll-size compared to Rumpel’s hand, too tiny to shake free as he pressed her to his oven-chest. “You’ll be NICE and warm by the FIRE!”
Suki’s bare legs were pressed to the fire, too, and she was quickly feeling the heat. “AAAAAAHH!”
Meanwhile, Jack Skellington carried the sack from his own sleigh over to the unconscious Santa, digging around in it. “Good thing Sally packed me some Frog’s Breath. Nothing wakes people up better than Frog’s Breath.” He pulled the greyish frog out and aimed it at Santa’s face, as it released a gassy “BUUUURRRP.”
“Ohhhh LOOOK!” Rumpel cooed, seeing the two. “It’s your two FWIEEEENDS! Let’s watch ‘em DIE together, shall we?” Rumpel grinned evilly as he aimed the knuckles on his right hand, sparking with deadly energy.
“Nnnn-nnnnnnn!” Suki tried harder to shake away.
“Tonight I FINALLY get what I want for Christmas! ADD THAT TO YOUR LIST, Saaaannndyyyyyy! AAAAHH HA HA HAAA!”
Just then, a car pulled up, and King Sandy stepped out. “WHAT IS IT?!”
“NO, NOT YOU!” Rumpel yelled.
“Well, BE MORE SPECIFIC!” With that, Sandy drove away.
“Nnnnn!” Suki still couldn’t budge, and she wanted desperately to get away from the heat. “JACK FROOOST!”
“Yeah?”
Suki’s eyes shot open, seeing Jack Frost with his cool smile. “…Ha ha!” Suki’s bright, wide smile shone again.
“Heheh. Let’s make this quick.” Jack shot into Suki’s body, and the incredible energy began to flow. Rumpel looked down in surprise as Suki broke from his grasp, brimming with white, frosty energy. Suki held her right arm out as Jack Frost’s staff formed, and she clutched it tight. Rumpel gritted his teeth and jumped to punch Suki instead, but she shot back, gliding faster than ever across the ice. Suki swung her staff and sent fast ice blasts, pelting Rumpel’s face. Rumpel began to counter with fireballs, but Suki raised a snow barrier and blocked his attacks.
Suki began to twirl her staff as many snowballs lifted from the ground and shot at Rumpel’s oven chest, slowly shrinking the fire as Rumpel felt weaker. “Graaahh!” The fire brimmed to life again as he blasted powerful flames, but Suki flipped to her left and swung another ice blast which Rumpel blocked.
“Gnnn!” Suki shook, falling to her knees.
“Suki, if I’m in you for 20 more seconds, you’ll die.” Jack told her.
“No! …I can… beat ‘im!…”
“Aww, what’s wrong? Things suddenly too COLD for you? Well, LEMME warm things UP!”
Suki got back to her feet, looking more fiercely. Even with all this power too much for her little body, her determination was strong enough to hold it in, for now. Suki dodged the flames and formed a giant snowball, chucking it at Rumpel and knocking him back. Suki performed little twirls as she punched and kicked, sending more snowballs to push Rumpel further. Suki rapidly began to twirl her staff as snow spiraled around her, and Rumpel’s eyes widened as the combination of snow grew bigger. The snow formed into a giant fist as Suki leaped high in the air, controlling the fist with her own right arm. Rumpel raised his arms in defense, but Suki shot down with great force and smashed the metal machine on his back.
Rumpel opened his eyes, seeing Suki hovering high above him. With a final twirl of her staff, she held the cane side straight down, her hands and feet clutched tight to it as she shot directly down to Rumpel’s face. “RAAAAAAAH!” The wooden staff stuck into Rumpel’s open mouth, stopping completely.
Rumpel glared as he stood up, holding the staff in his mouth as he shook his head, making Suki fly off, and Jack Frost fly out of her, both landing in the snow. Rumpel looked at the cane in his mouth and proceeded to munch it like a candycane. Suki shook her head as she stood, her childish eyes widening with curiosity as Rumpel transformed again. Rumpel watched with interest as well as his head became solid ice. He studied as each part of his body became ice, down his arms, his legs, his back, and even his oven-chest, in which the fire still brimmed.
When the transformation finished, Rumpel was very impressed. “AWWWW, looook… you gave me an UPGRADE! THANK YOU, Suki Crystal! You’ve been a real good GIRL this year! You deserve the ULTIMATE present:” Suki only glared as the monster stomped closer. “ETERNAAAAL PEACE!”
Suki stood in place firmly. A victorious smirk was on her face.
“What are YOU smiling at?! WELL?! Huh?? …” Rumpel started to feel a warmth in his chest. His eyes directed downward… and his face became stricken with horror. “…Whuh… whhhhHHAAAAAAAAHH!!” The fire burning in his oven-chest was still active. But his chest, and his whole body, was made of ice. “Oh my GOD! I’M MELTIIING!! WHAAAAAAARRRRH!” He unleashed a powerful breath of fire, but his icy body continued to drip. “Oh God! OH GOD!!” The monster ran around frantically, shaking desperately to knock the flame out, but it was useless. “OOOHHH what a world, what a world! What foul, DESPISEABLE GOD made it so that FIRE MELTS ICE?! Is this my punishment?! Hast the angels finally taken their toll?? Am I truly to be BURNED, by the flame that BURNS within my HEEEART?! Are we NOT ALIT by the passion that keeps our hearts BEATING?! WHAT have I to believe in NOW? If God chooses to PUNISH us for our PASSIONS?”
Suki only rolled her eyes, hoping he would just melt already.
Rumpel’s eyes widened, seeing his body was nearly liquidified. “Ahhhh! I’M GOING! NOO!” He raised his arms and cried to the heavens. His despair echoed across the poles. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH… …” As his screams faded, the only sound heard was the ringing of jingle bells. Through the mist that became of his body, he could see the heavenly angels descending, and the heavenly lights beyond them. The jingles slowed more and more… until they came to a complete stop. (End song.)
Eventually, the flame died away, as Rumpel’s body became a puddle of melted mush. A slight cloud of mist formed, and as it disappeared, Suki approached the puddle that formed, soaking her feet in the substance. “That’s why I prefer cold over WARM!” she beamed. “Heeheeheehee!”
“Hu-CUAFH, huah, HAAAHCK.” Suki looked over as Jack S. and Santa Claus approached, the bearded man coughing from the stench. “I will never understand how Frog’s Breath is so appealing to you!”
“Saaantaaaaa!” Suki jumped with joy as Jack Frost approached them.
“Well done, Suki! Thanks to your unbreakable spirit, Christmas is saved. …’Course, it seems your spirit wasn’t the only one! I owe you thanks, Jack.”
“It was my pleasure to help, Sandy!” Jack S. bowed.
“Oh, um, I was talking about Jack Frost…”
“Oh…” Jack S. frowned.
“Heheh.” Jack F. grinned.
“But YOU too, Jack! If it wasn’t for either of you, Rumpel would’ve burned me into Christmas crisp! That elf’s always been more trouble than he was worth.”
“Ooh! But Christmas isn’t saved YET, Santaaaa!” Suki remembered. “You gotta deliver all the PREseeeents!”
“Oh ho!! That’s right! It’s almost Christmas, and I still have 400 buhmillion presents to deliver! And with the Reindeer melted, that makes things complicated.”
“Is there still time??” Jack S. questioned.
“Of COURSE there is! True, Rumpel’s done quite a bit of damage to the minds of children… BUT, that shouldn’t matter! Sometimes, just one big smile’s all you need.”
“Ha ha ha!” Suki gave her big smile again.
The reindeer hurried over to Santa’s side, still attached to the sleigh as Santa hopped in. “One more time: On Rudolph! On Prancer! On Dixon! On… um… OH, forget it, just go!” He lashed the reins as the elves took to the sky again.
“Sandy, WAAAIT!” Jack S. yelled. “How will Suki get home??”
“Take the Polar Express!” Santa echoed from the heavens. “Old Jimmy doesn’t get enough work!”
Choooooo!
The Polar Express came speeding down the snowfields before it slowed to a halt. The door opened as Sector IC hurried off. “Suki!” MaKayla exclaimed.
“Guuuys!” Suki waved. “Where’ve ya been??”
“Rumpel got the jump on us.” MaKayla responded. “But I…” she looked to the puddle of water, “guess he got burned.”
Suki saw the Conductor behind them and asked, “Your name’s JIMMY?”
“Well, of course! Like ‘chimney’! Pretty funny, eh?” He winked.
“…” Sector IC only stared as a cricket chirped somewhere. …The cricket then froze solid ‘cause it was too cold.
The man frowned. “Just get in the train.” The kids did so and got back on.
“Suki.” Suki stopped before going, turning around at Jack Frost. “I just wanted to say… thanks. I thought I didn’t have a purpose before… but now I think I do. I need to keep kids happy during winter so Santa will be able to do his job. Just like I did with you.”
“Ha ha ha!” she smiled again.
“And I also need to protect kids, too. If there’s gonna be people like Rumpel in the world, I’ll need to help put a stop to them. Still…” Jack smiled sheepishly, “merging with you, Suki, really did a lot. I wish I could bond with you longer. We’d be able to do a lot.”
“Is there a way we can be bonded forEEEEVERRRR?”
“Heh heh heh. Actually, there is. But Harmonic Convergence won’t be for another 50 years. So maybe I’ll hold you up on it ‘til you’re 57.”
“Hehe! OKAY!!”
“Heheh…” He loved seeing her smile. “Well… I gotta go ask Polaris for a new staff. Catch ya later, Suki.” And with that, Jack became a white light and soared away.
Suki kept her bright smile as she waved, watching his light vanish over the horizon. “Hey, Suki, you comin’?” She turned, seeing George.
“Okaaay!” she smiled, hopping onto the train excitedly.
As they took their seats, George asked, “So who was your friend?” And Suki’s shocked face remained frozen the whole ride home.
Chariton Household
Sunni’s arms were folded in anger as she sat on her bed, watching snow pour fast outside. She heard her door open, and her furrowed eyes glanced to see her mother. “Hey, dinner’s all ready.” Mika told her, smiling warmingly. “Don’t you wanna eat?”
“Hmph.” Sunni looked away.
Mika sat beside her daughter. “Sunni, what’s wrong?”
“Mmmm…” Sunni mustered the courage to say it. “Why didn’t you tell me my brain was messed up?!”
“Huh??”
“Don’t try to lie to me! One of Santa’s elves came in and told me I had a BRAIN deficiency, and THAT’S why I’ll never be good at psychicbending. No wonder you always act so nice even though I screw up.”
“Sunni, who told you this?”
“One of SANTA’S elves! I think his name was… Grumpel?”
“Siiiigh.” Mika eye-rolled. “Sunni, I can’t recall one thing that guy said that was truthful.”
“Huh?”
“Honey, there is nothing wrong with your brain.” Mika smiled, ruffling Sunni’s hair. “You have one of the brightest minds I know. And you’re a great psychic, too. You just… need to control better.”
“But… I’m not stupid?” Sunni asked, tears beginning to well up.
“Of course not! I would’ve told you if something was wrong.”
“Promise?”
Mika hugged her daughter close. “Promise.”
McKenzie House
The same thing was happening at Anthony’s as Angie had her arm around her son’s head in comfort. “Anthony, even if you don’t wear shoes, it doesn’t mean you won’t get anywhere. I mean, I went to college.”
“Yeah, he said that only GIRLS get anywhere!” Anthony yelled.
“But I never wore shoes the whole time.”
“You didn’t?”
“Yep! And they were just fine with that! …It’s all a matter of finding the right one. And even if you don’t go to a college, you’ll be a great person, I’m sure!”
“You really think so, Mom?”
Angie hugged her son close. “I know so.”
York Household
Dillon and Vanellope finally went back inside. “Hey, Dad!” Dillon greeted.
“Hey, Son.” Nolan waved back.
“So, you’re staying home this Christmas?”
“Uhhh… I guess so.” He shrugged.
“Great!”
… …They both glanced at the window, seeing Peter Griffin. He nodded in approval before walking away.
The next morning…
The children abandoned their negative thoughts throughout the world, and their returning positive energy gave Santa more strength. By morning, he had finished visiting all of the houses, and everyone began to open their presents.
Kirie opened a purple wrapped box, smiling wide at a brand new Rainbow Monkey.
Rachel was happy to have new training swords, and also a new oven. She scolded Nigel and Cheren to be careful with them.
Emily Garley got a brand new magnifying glass, looking through as her eye appeared very wide on the other side. …She was going to go to Mike’s later with her shrink ray.
Sector W7 received their presents, too: Aeincha got the new Barbie beauty spa, Aisa got a bow-and-arrow, Apis got a stuffed Santa, April got new paint… and Chimney got a stuffed Gonbe doll, while said rabbit was still missing.
Santa even visited the EiznekCm house, as Nerehc got a new skull belt, Arorua got some black lipstick, and Sirhc got a tiny teddybear. Yllaw was also happy to have a Rainbow Monkey doll, as Lehcar annoyedly tossed her Satanist stuff aside.
They looked to a big present box along the wall as it shook, and Koume and Kotake came tumbling out, dizzy and exhausted. Lehcar smiled to her former mentors and took them to the guest room.
Murphy Household
And just as well, Zach and Maddy couldn’t wait to open their presents. Zach’s interest was caught by a long, green box lain under the tree. The boy hurried over and ripped the red ribbon off, and his face brightened when he found a blue, man-sized robot inside. “Coool! I wonder what this is!” But at that instant, the robot punched Zach and sent him across the room, as Maddy and their parents looked with surprise.
“BAH!” Dr. Nefarious got to his feet in a rage. “This is the LAST time I do anything on Christmas! I’ll stick to Robanukah, thank you.” The robot stomped toward the front door, bypassing the confused family. He walked by Sparky on his way out and said, “Oh, hello, Sparky.” With that, he left without another word. Outside, they could hear his angry shout. “CURRRSEEEEEEEEES!”
KND Moonbase
And sho… Chwistmas was a happy day, for leetle kiddies of every age. Everyone gets their gifts so cool… and Rumpel turn into deh pool.
The Kids Next Door had all gathered onto Moonbase to celebrate the rest of this joyous holiday.
And ash we closhe thish show for ‘nother day, we only have ONE ding to say!
Everyone faced the camera and screamed, “MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!-”
Jar Jar popped out from a present, dressed as Santa and holding eggnog, “-and to ALL a GOOD… NOGGY-WOGGY-WOGGY-WOGGY-WOGGY-WOGGY.” And he frantically ran around as kids tried to control him.
Ahhhh…and so…it’s done. Rumpel… is dead. Wow, can you believe it, folks? It’s like the end of an era. Jack Frost is from Rise of the Guardians. No, not the one with the owls. XP I based the beginning song from a mix of Family Guy and the snow music from Kirby Epic Yarn. Lol I really liked writing Suki, she’s one of my favorites! Hehe, you can’t feel sad next to a girl like her! XD Anyway, next time we’ll continue with the Big Mom Saga, in the story, Operation: RECLAIM, starring Kirie Beatles and the next member of Team Gnik! (You know, Kirie’s minor conflict in this story didn’t get resolved, like the others. ((; ) In fact, that story will foreshadow quite a few things, it’s kinda major. But first, here’s a bonus!
Headache
Miyuki Crystal lay sloppily on her bed, her head throbbing. Earlier today, the white-haired child caught a terrible headache, and she lost the strength to do anything. She doesn’t know what caused it, but it was unbearable. She tried to lie down and sleep it off, but she couldn’t. Her pillow felt too lumpy, and no matter which position she lay in, the pain always returned.
“Miyuki-chaaaan!” Her younger, joyful sister Suki ran in excitedly and bounced on Miyuki’s bed. “You wanna play with meeee?”
“Mmmmm… not now, Suki…” she moaned in the most exhausted way.
“Oooooh? What’s wrong?” Suki frowned.
“Mmmm… my head hurts… and it feels so hot in here…”
Suki touched her sister’s forehead, and upon feeling the heat, she quickly took her hand off. It wasn’t extremely hot, but Suki didn’t like to feel any kind of heat. “Awwww. Are you okay?”
“Y-Yeah… I’ll just sleep it off… it’ll go away eventually…”
“Mmmmm.” Suki stood up. “Let me help you!” And with a wide smile, Suki closed her eyes and channeled a spiral of ice in her hands. She opened her vibrant eyes and released a wave of ice into the air. The ice broke into calm, light snow and began filling Miyuki’s bedroom.
Miyuki shut her eyes as the cold air touched her skin, the pain in her head fading away. The air suddenly felt so nice. Her eyes began to grow very weary. She grew a light smile and sighed peacefully. “Mmmm… thanks, Suki.”
“Mmmmm!” Suki lay down beside her sister and hugged her tight. “I love you, Sister-chan!”
Chapter 3: Operation: R.E.C.L.A.I.M.
Summary:
Kuki Beatles is the new President of Rainbow Monkey Co., and she has little time to spend with her daughter, Kirie. However, Mr. Mogul has returned from suspended animation, and he wants his company back. He has joined forces with Specter to accomplish this and bring Kuki down.
Chapter Text
Hey, guys, welcome to Number 3 of the Big Mom Saga. Starring, YOU guessed it, Numbuh 3! …Or at least… who WAS Numbuh 3… now she’s…well…you know… Numbuh 227 thought of the acronym, by the way.
Now loading…
Kids Next Door mission…
Operation:
R.E.C.L.A.I.M.
Reclaiming
Enterprise
Causing
Life-threatening
Accidents
Intending
Murder
Loading transmission…
Beatles Household
“Jonathan, put a hold on the coffee, I won’t be able to have it until 3. Jeremy, are those forms ready, yet? No, Donavan, we decided against that brand of strings, you know those never hold good.” Kuki Beatles had one phone pressed to her shoulder and two more in her left hand, while her right hand pulled a briefcase, the businesswoman bypassing Joey Beatles, who was playing with blocks in the hall.
This was a daily thing in the life of Kuki Sanban-Beatles. She wasn’t the happy, cheerful girl everyone remembered from 20 years ago. In her early 20s, she got a job working for the Rainbow Monkey Corporation, which had long since lost its original president. Her love and new ideas for Rainbow Monkeys had earned her the title of President itself. Since then, she wasn’t the same. The happiness and freedom that once made her soul had been abandoned. The strict, humorless aura of a businesswoman overcame her. After all, someone of an important position and power doesn’t have time for games when there’s so much work to be done. …She had a lot of her mother in her.
“And Jon, I hope you did something about that Noid.” Kuki told her assistant sternly. “I dunno WHERE that thing came from, I dun’ care, just get rid of it.”
Her husband, Wally walked by her as she entered the living room, and said quickly, “Hope ya have a great day, Ho-“
“Yes, thanks, Wally, hold my dinner, I won’t be home ‘til 8.” She walked by without giving him a chance to kiss her. “Yes, thanks, Jer, see you at-“ Kuki stopped when her 10-year-old daughter, Kirie Beatles, ran and blocked her way to the door. “Siiiigh. I have to go, guys, something just came up.” She hung up and asked in a dull tone, “What is it, Kirie?”
Kirie began to make signs with her sleeved hands, saying, Mom! Mom! Can we play with the new Rainbow Monkey I got for Christmas?? I’ve been waiting to play with you for like, ever! Well, actually it’s been 11 days since Christmas, but who’s counting!
“Kirie, Dear, I don’t have time to play, we sold a lot of Rainbow Monkeys on Christmas, we need lots of time to restock, so play with Joey, ‘kay? Later.” And she walked out the front door without another word.
Kirie frowned in sadness as she trudged down, sitting on the floor beside her 5-year-old brother. “Let’s make another fort, Sis!” The younger child said happily. Kirie began to drearily stack blocks together, still upset about her mother.
Downtown Cleveland
“NEW SHOOOES! Hello? NEW SHOES! Come on, fellas, this is a once in a lifetime deal. You don’t get decent footwear this often! New shoooees for only $29.95! Sound good? NEW SHOES!” Things were not so successful for Mr. Sebastian Mogul and his assistant, Simon. Once the President of the Rainbow Monkey Corporation, he was stripped of his title during his 20-year period of being frozen in liquid nitrogen. And Rule #83 of the Corporation Handbook reads that a president can easily lose their title if they spend too long frozen in liquid nitrogen. Just like Walt Disney. Now the two former businessmen were reduced to selling shoes on the street. “Come on, Simon! You’re not waving that sign enough.”
“Uh, yessir.” The assistant waved a wooden sign that read ‘New Shoes’ in thin, light-green marker.
“NEW SHOOOES!” As Mr. Mogul shouted again, a chubby man in a brown trenchcoat approached him.
“Where’d you get these shoes?” he asked suspiciously.
“Nnnn, that’s none of your business, do you want these shoes or not?” Mogul glared.
“Yeah. I don’t think you got ‘em legally. ‘fraid I’m gonna hafta confiscate him.”
“Ho ho! What are you? The Shoe Police?”
The man smirked coolly and reached under his coat, pulling out a badge. “Yeah.”
SHOE POLIIIIIICE!
Seconds later, all the ‘New Shoes’ were taken and stuffed into the man’s car. “See ya down the road.” With that, he drove away.
“Uuuugh. This is no good, Simon. We haven’t made any money since we entered this shoe business.”
“Um, but we’re not officially a business, we got those from-“
“Silence, Simon!” he bonked Simon’s head. “I haven’t eaten anything decent since that dumpster sandwich. We need a way to make MONEY! There must be something we could do.”
Right away, a white convertible-limo came and parked beside the villains. Mad Mod was driving it, and Mumbo Jumbo, Killer Moth, Johnny Rancid, and Master of Games were with him. “’ey! Don’t you blokes wanna come to Brotherhood Base? We got enough free food to last ya ‘til yer 90. And by free, we mean stolen.” Mod smirked.
“Away with yooou! Weee don’t need pity from commoners.” Mogul stated.
“Aaaaah, your loss. Orright, boys, le’s get back, round up the poker table, ‘oever loses hauls the load in our next steal.”
“YAAAAAAH!” With that, they drove off.
“Hoo-oo-oo-oo!” Mogul shuddered with anger. “If I hadn’t been frozen, I’d still be buhmillionaire! But thanks to those lousy Kids Next Door, my precious corporation was robbed right from under me! Ooooh, if I ever found out who’s responsible…” his fist trembled.
“Oh, it was that Sanban girl, Sir!” Simon responded.
“Say what??”
“Just look in the paper.” He held up a newspaper, showing Kuki Beatles’ serious image.
Mogul snatched it and stared closely. “’The Rainbow Monkey Corporation, biggest breakthrough in 20 years. All thanks to the leadership of Kuki Jin Sanban. OOOOHH!!” He shook the paper, becoming more angry. “I knew that girl was no good! I could’ve forgiven the fact she ruined my plans to-“ he whispered something in Simon’s ear, “-those Rainbow Monkeys. But after stealing my corporation, my pride and joy, and not to mention my number one money-making business!” A spiteful look burned in his squinted eyes. “I must take my revenge on young Ms. Sanban right now. Simon! Hand me by eyewash!”
“Uhh, y-yessir.”
Unknown Location
A white-furred ape sat on his floating chair in a dark room, his uncovered red eye staring at the screen before him. His henchman, a green-skinned ape in a purple cape and taller, dome helmet, spoke as he presented images of the Rainbow Monkey Factory, and happy children playing with Rainbow Monkeys. “As you can see: analysis of this human-owned factory suggests they sow stuffed, colored monkeys, with rainbow heads, which are then distributed to little human children, who in turn play with these stuffed monkeys, therefore triggering the adult humans to produce MORE of these toys, to sell more to kids, which will cause the adults to make MORE, which will make the kids BUY more, which will further ensure production of-“
“Okay, I get it.” The white ape, Specter, cut him off. “Once again, you’ve made your point most redundantly, Mojo.” He spoke with a toneless voice. “Still, you are right. Children already seem to adore and worship these monkeys.” Specter smirked. “Perhaps they are the key in bringing down Adams Tech Co., and furthermore, conquering the world. Our first priority would be to locate someone with intel on this company.”
Their monitor showed the front of the factory as Mr. Mogul and Simon approached with cartons of eggs. “Hmmm… they should help.”
Specter kept his smirk as the former businessmen began chucking eggs at the building.
“Huuu! Take THAT! This, too! Oh ho ho! Are you ready to give up, Ms. Sanban??” Mr. Mogul had enacted his grand scheme of bringing Kuki down: chucking eggs against the left wall of her building, leaving it covered in the gooey, scrambled substance.
“Um, Sir, I-I don’t think this method is the most efficient way of-“
“Silence, Simon! And keep throwing eggs! The gooey mess of her building will ultimately convince her to quit and give the job back to me!”
They kept chucking eggs as Kuki decided to look out her window, from her office near the top-most floor. (You can tell this factory is going to be the action stage, just like that.) She looked down at the jobless businessmen, her emotionless, serious face unchanging. “Siiigh… every day with this. SECURITY, we got two hobos throwing EGGS outside.” She yelled, walking away.
The two threw more and more eggs until a group of security guards came. “All right, you two, drop the eggs, let’s getcha outta here.”
“EEE! Reinforcements! Run, Simon!” the two dropped the eggs and hightailed away as the guards chased. “Quick! We shall escape them, by making you look like a-“ Suddenly, a trapdoor opened, and the two fell inside.
“WAAAAAAaaaaahhhh-“
“Silence, Simon!”
“Yessir.”
Underground hideout
“Oof-oah-ow!” The two rolled and thudded at the slide’s bottom. The two got to their knees, finding themselves in a pitch-black chamber. Lights flashed on, startling them into shutting their eyes.
“Apologies for my rude invitation. But I was dying to meet you.” (Play Specter’s Theme from Ape Escape.)
The two squinted their eyes open. The room was still dark, except for the group of spotlights shining on a figure in a floating chair, and a taller, shadowed figure beside him. “Friends… my name is Specter.” The person in the chair said. “How convenient you two ran where I set up that trapdoor. Might I ask what you were doing at that lovely vicinity?”
“Ho ho ho! I should be asking you that.” Mr. Mogul glared. “Who authorized you to set up secret hideouts underneath my factory?”
“Your factory? Hmmm… that is curious. You see, we moved into this sewer for the purpose of studying this place. I have a special fascination with monkeys, you see, and have always wondered, why humans find these colorful toys so enjoyable. I have been aiming to get into this business… but my ideas would not bode well to the factory’s heads, I don’t think. But during my research, we have deduced that that lovely lady with the hair-bun runs this factory… is this not so?”
“She does NOT run this factory! She froze me with a sooper freezer-doodle and stole this factory from meeee! It’s bad enough that she ruined my plan to-” he whispered something, which Specter didn’t quite catch from his distance, “-but why did they ever let a child work in this place ANYWAY?”
“Actually, the paper said she was in her 20s when she-”
“Silence, Simon!” Bonk.
“Yessir.”
“I see…” Specter’s hands were folded. “Well then… I believe I have a proposition for you, Mr. Mogul. You see, I am also in the business, and am under the employ of someone of the highest power.” The deviousness in Specter’s red eye was the only thing that shone on his shadowed body. “And I assure you… my employer is a man that can make anything happen. It’s in my best interest to serve him… but how can I… when my resources are so very limited.” His eye squinted slightly, his smirk growing. “That is why… I need your help. More specifically, your factory. I wish to combine your resources with my own. With peoples’ ever-expanding need for Rainbow Monkeys, your company has the capacity to dominate the world. Someone like Ms. Sanban would never allow it… but under your command, the business can become a true power, with my employer as your sponsor. And I will be willing to get your factory back… if you would permit me?”
“Yoooou wish to use my business in your selfish quest for world domination?? …” Mogul grinned approvingly. “You are a good man indeed, Mr. Specter. And your employer has my regards. It would be an honor to work with you.”
“I’m sure it is. Just tell me what you would like me to do, and my associates will comply…” (End song.)
Kuki Sanban’s Office
Kuki sighed as she placed a hand over her forehead, returning to her desk. Her eyes directed to the small photo frame sitting on her desk. She and Wally were happily smiling with their 5-year-old daughter, Kirie Beatles. She looked a lot happier in that photo… it made her sad, wondering where all those good memories had gone.
HOOONK
She flinched when her PA speaker gave a screech, and a woman on the other end spoke. “Ms. Sanban, Stan and Dan would like to see you about their new invention.”
Kuki sighed in annoyance as she pressed the button. “Yes, Leslie, I’ll be right down.” She spared one last, depressed glance at the picture before walking out of the office.
Downstairs; factory
The colorful factory was bustling with workers doing various jobs as Kuki walked through nonchalantly. She walked alongside a blonde secretary with glasses, a red jacket, light-blue shirt, and holding a clipboard. They began to talk to each other very fast, “Leslie, is my meeting still scheduled for Thursday?”
“Yes.”
“At what time?”
“Five o’clock.”
“Reschedule for 8, I have a product examination.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“And what’s the status of The Noid?”
“Working to catch him in the Munchies Wing, Ma’am.”
“And did we agree to remove that secret product from the Munchies?”
“Already taken care of, Miss.”
“That’s good, Leslie, and how’s the husband?”
“Ohhhh you know, the usual.”
“Wonderful, now let’s see this new invention.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
The two entered a small room where two bald, chubby, nerdy men; with huge, puffy beards and mustaches (one orange, one black), awaited them before a machine. The machine was a huge, purple chamber connected to several cords in the back, and had a chair inside. Directly above that chair, in the middle of its ceiling, was a ray device, and the chamber’s roof had six rods laying horizontal like a propeller.
“Sigh, hokay, Stan and Dan, what’ve you got for us today?” Kuki asked uninterestingly.
“Zis is ze breakzrough of child entertainment technology!” the orange haired; Dan exclaimed.
“This better not be another shrink ray.” Kuki stated in disbelief.
“No! Ve call it ze Heart Bringer!” the black-haired, Stan exclaimed.
“Ve place a Rainbow Monkey inside, and eet BRINGS it to LIIIFE!”
“Observe!” Stan grabbed a purple Rainbow Monkey and eagerly sat it on the chair in the machine. They pulled a lever, and the six-rod propeller began to spiral around as energy surged. The laser inside the chamber zapped the stuffed toy with a blinding light.
When the light faded, they looked to see the purple monkey still sitting still. But after 5 seconds passed, the monkey suddenly shook its head and bared a vibrant smile. “Hi!”
“HUUUH!” the scientists gasped widely, and even Kuki and Leslie looked impressed.
The Rainbow Monkey hopped off the chair and approached Kuki, still smiling. “Will you be my friend??”
“Awww, isn’t it adorable, Miss?” Leslie smiled, squatting down to pet the monkey.
Kuki studied the device. “Hmmm… it is impressive. But I wonder if-“
“HUHUHU HA! HUHUHU HA! HUHUHU HA! HUHUHU HA!” At that instant, a short creature in a red jumpsuit and rabbit ears shot in and started bouncing rampantly.
“Miss, watch out!” yelled a man with a net as he and his partner came in.
“He’s lost his mind!!” the partner exclaimed.
“Isn’t he always?!” Kuki yelled.
“HUHUHU HA! HUHUHU HA!” The two men hurriedly swung their nets, but The Noid was quick to avoid. He jumped between the two, tricking them into catching each other. “HUHUHU HA! HUHUHU HA!” He jumped into Stan and Dan’s beards before leaping to the lever, pulling it down, then hopping into the chamber. “HUHUHUHUHUHU HA!” It sat on the chair, still smiling psychotically, as the laser zapped down. Immediately, the creature hopped around too fast for their eyes to keep up, and he looked impossible to catch.
The Noid bounced around and around the walls, forcing them all to duck. As he shot at them again, his eyes widened at something. “Huh? OOOH!” Leslie swung her leg fast as lightning, sending him against the wall. The Noid now lay defeated, his tongue sticking out.
The four men looked at Leslie impressed as she stood with a fierce, battle-ready pose. “MISS LESLIE! THAT WAS AMAZING!” the men yelled with heart-shaped eyes.
The assistant walked over to pick up the fallen Noid and toss him to the net men. “Make sure he’s sealed with two straightjackets, maybe three.”
“Well… at any rate…” Kuki spoke, readjusting her glasses. “The machine feels a little controversial.”
“Huh?” Stan inquired.
“What do you mean?” Dan asked.
“A machine with the potential to, not only bring toys to life, but also add extra energy to already-living beings. I can already sense several things going wrong with it.”
“But zis vas research in the planning for MONTHS!!” Stan cried.
“And, uh, I must remind you, the Corporate Presidents For Children’s Entertainment are expecting ze grand unveiling of a new product in zree days.” Dan reminded.
“He does have a point, Miss.” Leslie followed. “We’ll need to have a product to present to the Heads.”
“Cancel my meeting with the Heads.” Kuki ordered. “Until we have another new product to present to them.”
“Understood, Miss.” Leslie wrote it on her clipboard.
“YOU CAN’T JUST DO THAT!!” the scientists yelled.
“Look, I’m the president of my company, I’ll decide when to meet with corporate bigheads.” Kuki stated simply. “Now shut that thing down and get to work on something less, well, generally threatening to the human race.”
“Awwwww!” the nerds slumped in sadness.
“Hiii!” Kuki looked down, seeing the smiling, happy Rainbow Monkey doll clutching her legs with its soft, stubby hands.
Kuki gave a light smile and bent down to pick up the toy. “Buuut… I suppose it’s not TOO bad.”
“Haaaa!” the monkey sighed and hugged Kuki happily. With that, the woman carried it back up to her office.
Soon, everyone else left, and two monkeys peeked out from behind the door. They were kid-sized, and had brown fur, yellow shorts, and had strange helmets on their heads with red, spiraling lights on their tops. “Ay-eee!” They faced the machine with excited expressions. They then faced the two men carrying The Noid away and gave a nod.
Uno Household; 6:30 p.m.
Cheren stared intently at his clock. 6:30. He’s never been so focused on the time before. This was because he had a special date tonight. No, not a date with Panini, Nebula, or any other girlfriend he has. It was a date with a certain, special someone.
Cheren’s sister, Aurora walked in his room as Cheren stood up. “Well, I guess I should get there early.” He said. “Wouldn’t wanna keep him waiting.”
“Cheren, are you sure about meeting him?” Aurora asked. “The last time you met was when you nearly killed him. What if he’s trying to trap you?”
“Relax, Aurora.” Cheren smirked. “I’m packing the treasures, just in case. I also got a tracker in my pants. Hehe. Besides, this guy might know something important, so I have to know what it is.”
“But you’re already worrying about these random candy mobsters. Wouldn’t you rather have a little on your shoulders at a time?”
“Ahhh, don’t worry. If anything, it’ll involve another random quest to find some collectibles and save the world. Nothing we aren’t used to, right? It’ll be fine.” And with those words of sureness, Cheren left the home and began his walk down the street.
“Okay…” Aurora chose to trust her brother’s instinct. But she was worried, not just if this was a trap, but for her brother hearing something he wouldn’t be able to handle.
Cleveland Beach; 7:00 p.m.
January 5… 7:00. That was the date… this was the time. And this is the place, too. Cheren studied his map closely, and this location was marked. He stood impatiently as he stared at the distant, setting sun, the waves washing calmly over the beach. He folded his arms and tapped his foot. He checked his watch. 7:02. Cheren released a light sigh. If it wasn’t for the peaceful sounds of ocean waves, he would probably go crazy. When was this guy going to appear??
A whirling sound was heard behind him, as a dark portal rapidly opened and closed. Cheren whipped around, seeing the very person he was waiting for seated on a rock. “Sorry I’MM late.” The familiar gray-skinned person, with thin orange horns, a black shirt with a purple heart symbol, and purple cape on his back. “It seems I was accounting for Termina times.”
The Thief of Heart, Masked Demon
ZANIFR “MAJORA” MIMCHI
Cheren approached him calmly, his eyes furrowed. “Hm… well, better than half an hour from now.”
“That’ll MMake Link jealous.”
“…I wanted to give you something, by the way.”
“MMmmm?” he raised a brow.
Cheren stepped closer, still with a calm aura. In just a flash, Cheren’s fist flew and PUNCHED the creature upside the jaw. Purple blood flew out as he fell off the rock, front-first in the sand. “I just wasn’t satisfied.” Cheren remarked.
Zanifr rubbed his jaw, still looking at Cheren with toneless, half-closed red eyes. “I anticipated as MMuch.”
“Yeah-yeah, boy. Now, come on. I came here for answers, I want ’em now.”
Zanifr climbed onto the sharp boulder and sat gently. “MMy name is Zanifr MMimchi. I was born before your universe even had a timeline. I and MMy race of trolls lived on Alternia, the central planet of the First Dimension. Our world was destroyed, by the Apocalypse, and we were granted the task of creating a brand new world. But we were forbidden to enter that world… so the God of the Universe, Arceus, locked us away. I and MMy friends were ordered to create a world in our own image… but it seemed I had MMy own image. MMy personal fascination was with MMonsters and demons… I designed the ones that would one day rule the Underworld.”
“So, you’re the demons’ true creator?” Cheren asked.
“Yes. But I wanted for demons to run the whole universe… not just the one world. I opposed MMy former acquaintances and tried to attain MMy goal. Unfortunately, they would not have it. And I was stopped by MMy MMoirail, Sanula. He had created a MMask for me earlier, one shaped from MMy very soul. In the end, it was used to imprison MMy soul. And through the will of the Zoni, he was able to bring MMe to your dimension.”
“Who are the Zoni?”
“The Zoni are the gatekeepers between worlds. They decide who can come, and who can’t. Whom they decide, is usually based on the Will of Sixes.”
“Will of Sixes?”
“It is a strange will, regarding the Apocalypse. According to legend, those that have six letters in their name are plausible candidates for the creators of the New World. You have six letters in your first name. So does Nerehc. I, MMyself, have six letters in MMy first and surnames, so MMy inclusion was sealed. I believe this will is derived from the Six Guardians of Alternia. The ones who have ensured MMy stay in that MMask.”
“The Giants.” Cheren knew.
“Yes. They were spirits of positive feelings, and their energy was MMeant to keep MMe imprisoned. When they relocated to Termina Earth, they were forced to submit to the feelings of the MMortals. MMy MMask, on the other hand, was entrusted to the Royal Shadow Family. If I were used six times, for each time, the spell from each of the Giants would break, and I would be free. It happened over 6,600 years ago, but I was stopped by MMy own MMoirail… who used the Fierce Deity MMask.”
“What is the Fierce Deity Mask?”
“MMy MMoirail MMakes MMasks of souls he’s MMet. If those souls are close to their end, he plays a special song to bring them peace, inside those MMasks… which were formed from his fondest MMemories of those people. I believe he has one of MMario, of the MMushroom Kingdom. But… the Fierce Deity was MMade from a dangerous being… it contains the Negative of your ancestor, Link.”
Cheren flinched in shock.
“MMore specifically, his first life. It was a terrifying warrior with incredible dark powers. You have experienced this yourself… until you combined its dark MMagic with the light feelings of your other MMasks. But it seems that Link’s own soul kept you, and himself, in balance.”
Cheren shook this idea off. “Just tell me what you were doing in Termina.”
“I was awakened again… when MMiyuki; or rather, you, put MMe on her face. I once again enacted mmmy lifelong goal… returning to MMy world of Alternia. Unfortunately, there were only two ways back: the Time Gate, which has long been sealed, preventing entry. The only other way in… is the Space Gate. Which only opens on the Apocalypse, and can only be triggered within the Termina Dimension. You see, as time goes, the darkness that lied within the MMoon would grow. And when it MMatured, the MMoon would crash into the Earth, bringing an end to all who weren’t chosen, and the ones who were worthy would be instantly warped to the Alternian Lands.”
“So, you used Miyuki to make the Apocalypse come FASTER!” Cheren yelled accusingly, suddenly angry.
“Yes. And I did the same years ago, when I possessed the Skull Kid. Using Link’s own Ocarina of Time, which housed incredible timebending energy, I MMade the Apocalypse come, thousands of years before it should have. But the Giants serve another purpose: they MMake sure the MMoon stays in place, if any interference should MMake the Apocalypse happen early. During both of MMy attempts, I had to keep the Giants at bay. You MMust know the rest.”
“Yeah… I know.” Cheren nodded, still angry.
“Anyway… when I came back to Termina… I became acquainted again with an old friend of MMine, Vriska, who possessed a Zoni to aid in MMy quest. Before MMy banishment, she agreed to watch after MMy dream self… so when the Apocalypse came, I would be safe. You and Nerehc came to MMe in your own dream bodies… and ultimately killed MMy other self. But what you didn’t know, was I convinced you to kill MMe on MMy Quest Bed. By doing so, I was able to abandon MMy two MMortal bodies, and finally achieve God Tier. And then… by playing the Song of Healing for MMe, the song MMy MMoirail once played for MMe to keep MMe calm, I was able to be free of MMy MMask.”
“So, if I freed you… why haven’t you done anything else?”
“I did not feel the need to anymore. The MMask has tainted MMy soul. But… do not think it MMeans I am sorry for MMy actions. Those were just. Even so… I will simply wait for the Apocalypse to return home. After all, I’ve waited this long. I’ve even adapted to human language.”
“Not really. What’s with that thing you do with your M’s?”
“It is MMy Trollspeak. All of MMy people have a particular style. It is not great, but… it is MMine.”
“Right…” They were silent for a while. The brushing waves were the only sound. Cheren and Zanifr stared out at the horizon as the sun's fading rays shone from beyond. Cheren felt goosebumps on his skin from the chill of the calm wind. It was the best thing to have in awkward moments…
“There’s one thing I forgot to MMention.” Zanifr spoke again. “Unlike Link’s ocarina, MMiyuki’s timebending was undeveloped, despite MMy enhancements with MMy darknessbending. She could fast-forward the MMoon’s years… but she could not go MMuch farther than one year."
Cheren felt an uneasy feeling suddenly rise in his chest. What once was a calm chill, became one of fear. “Meaning?…” (Play Majora’s Theme from Majora’s Mask.)
Zanifr’s emotionless face and half-closed eyes seemed a lot more bleak. “She did not have to MMove time far… for the Apocalypse to happen.”
Cheren’s eyes shrunk in fear.
“Before too long… the Apocalypse will happen… and your world will end.”
“…Well then… we’ll schedule an evacuation.” Cheren stated, trying not to sound worried. “Yeah… there’s a hundred planets up in Galaxia! We’ll get a bajillion spaceships and…and haul all the humans up to other planets!”
“You don’t understand. This cataclysm will affect so MMuch MMore than a single planet. It will spread across the entire cosmos. Only ones chosen by the Will of Sixes… can be safe.”
“…But… how do we stop it?”
“You don’t. There is nothing that can stop it. The Apocalypse will happen… you MMust only hope you are lucky. Those of the Will of Sixes are almost guaranteed… but not all have to follow it.”
Cheren could already think of a few who might be safe. Aurora… Panini… Sheila… Haruka… Rachel… six letters. But that would still be too few. He wanted to bring more. “But there has to be SOME way.”
“No… all you will get… is the chance to create a brand new world. But how that world comes… depends on another legend.”
“What?”
“Before the Apocalypse comes, there is supposed to be a pre-Apocalypse, created by Arceus. One that is supposed to be safer, and actually fixable. When that Apocalypse ended… the true one would be on its way. The legend says… that there are Twenty Keys who would unlock the door to the New World and all its wonders. Thirteen of them are Dark… while Seven of them are Light. But the hidden powers inside these 20 would only be found, after the respective goddesses of these powers returned into being. Thirteen years after the pre-Apocalypse… the Goddess of Darkness would awaken. Seven years after that… the Goddess of Light. And then, both goddesses would engage in the fight to find these Twenty Keys… and the one whose influence is strongest, would determine the fate of this New World.”
Maddy Murphy tried to swim to the surface, but was pulled underwater by the evil woman’s snaky hair.
Fybi Fulbright’s jetpack was destroyed as she fell below the clouds. But a ray of light shone, and she flew back up, with brand new angel wings.
Cheren took a moment to process this. “…Twenty… years…” He did the math. “Huh!” he gasped. The images of Arceus’s terrifying wrath flashed in his mind. While he wasn’t there himself… he remembered his parents’ stories all too well. “Then the pre-Apocalypse… was the Scattered Realms!!”
“Yes. And your parents know, what hell that was. The true one, however, is unavoidable. Some will survive… MMost, will not.” Zanifr hopped off the rock, landing on his feet. “Tell MMe, Cheren…” he approached him slowly, “if you knew you were going to die one day… and there was nothing you could do to save everyone… nothing at all… would you still fight?” Zanifr raised a brow.
Cheren really was scared deep down. Even if he survived… he had so many friends he was worried for. So many lives… would be lost. He couldn’t stand to see that happen.
But it was then that Sheila Frantic’s excited grin flashed in his mind. Panini Drilovsky’s smirking, conceited face and laugh… his sister embracing him in hugs and his brother punching his shoulder… Sector W playfully tackling their leader, Anthony… even Merida’s smiling face was in his mind. So many happy faces… they filled him with delight.
Cheren sighed and turned away, looking down. His fear was subsided. “You won’t scare me.” (End song.)
Zanifr stared at him inquisitively.
“If the world’s gonna be destroyed… I’ll fight like I always have.”
“…Hmmmm. I expected as MMuch. …When your time is near… all you humans wish to do is spend time with your fellow wrigglers. Hmm-hmm-hmmmmm…”
“No. That’s not it either.”
“Hmmmm?” He raised a brow.
Cheren turned and faced him with determination in his eyes. “I’ll stop the Apocalypse from ever happening.”
“…” Zanifr sported a thin smile. “Hmm-hmm-hmmmm. I can understand the human desire to accomplish anything you set your MMind to. But humans set their goals too far, it seems. Even you MMust know, there are some things humans can’t do. Everything… MMust have its end.” ovMvo
“I stopped the Apocalypse once before, from you. My parents and all their friends stopped it 20 years ago. Twice. …Even Link stopped it.” Cheren smirked, suddenly feeling confident. “We’ll stop it all over again. We’ll do it together.”
“Hmmmm. This is not some poor soul wanting to achieve some hopeless dream. This was something planned before you were born. It is a force of nature, even you can’t poison with demonic drugs. It will happen. And this time, the Giants will not do anything. Even they know… the fate of this world.”
“Well, I know that no one knows their fate. And I don’t care what you say. I’ll find these Twenty Keys myself… and with their help, we’ll stop the Apocalypse. And if we ever see your people again…” his confidence burned brighter. “You can tell them… you met the human race. …Oh, and pass the word for my alien friends, too.” And with those final words, Cheren walked away.
Zanifr smiled still, his eyes still half-closed. Everything Cheren said just now… Zanifr just found it so… humorous. “I will remember those words…”
Beatles Household; 8:30 p.m.
Kuki Beatles finally returned home at the promised time… plus half an hour later. “There’s my Kooks!” Wally beamed as he walked over to hug his wife and kiss her cheek. “I thought ya’d be late, so I kept yer dinner nice ‘n’ warm!”
“Sigh, not now, Wally, I’ve filed a lot of paperwork, I need a shower.” Kuki spoke glumly as she proceeded upstairs.
As she walked through the second-floor hall, she passed by an intricate archway that was created from Joey and Kirie’s blocks. When the older Beatles child noticed her mother, she excitedly stood up and hurried to her. A wide smile on her face, the mute girl rapidly signed, Mooom!! Now that you’re home, we can play Rainbow Monkey Sugar Race, and the prize can be-
“Sweetie, I really don’t have time for sugar parties, now if you don’t mind…” Kirie frowned as her mom bypassed her and entered the bathroom.
Kirie sat back down beside her brother, while Joey kept his carefree smile. “Come on, let’s try and make a statue!” He pulled out more blocks.
Kirie signed, Siiiigh…
“What’s wrong, Sis?” he asked, noticing her frown.
Since Joey didn’t understand sign language, Kirie decided to grab some available blocks and spell out her sentence. Mom used to be so much fun, but when she got that promotion, she hasn’t played with me SINCE. Do you think she cares about me, Joe?
“Sure she does, Sis! Why wouldn’t she?” he asked vibrantly.
Kirie made the blocks spell, Well, I thought so too, but back on Christmas, this little elf man came and told me Mom wanted a daughter who could talk. I didn’t wanna believe it, so, I’ve been trying to get her to play with me more and more. Siiigh… I’m beginning to think it’s true. She probably thinks her job is more fun.
“Well, those monkeys are pretty colorful.” Joey smiled. “Oh!” he suddenly perked. “Maybe you could ask Mom to take you to work tomorrow!”
Kirie perked, smiling as she formed a new saying. Hey, yeah! We can talk about different RAINBOW Monkey ideas, and; and she can spend time with me and STILL work at the same time! She spelled more blocks before standing up, Thanks, Joey! Mwwwwah! She kissed Joey’s cheek before skipping to her room.
“Bluch! Sister germs!” Joey whined, wiping his cheek.
Wally and Kuki’s Room; 10:30 at night
The house was pitch-dark except the parents’ bedroom, but it was only kept lit by a dim lamp, which Kuki was using to read a newspaper. She was mentioned again… hooray…
The toilet flushed in their next-door bathroom, and Wally walked out with a relieved smile. “Ahhh, havin’ your own bathroom is great.” he sighed, lying beside his wife. “Ya don’t have ta fight with your kids over it.”
“Brilliant, Wallace…” she looked disbelieved.
“Eee-yup.” He lied back with his head rested on his hands. He opened his left eye and glanced to his wife, “So how was work, Kooks?”
“Wally, I’ve told you a hundred times not to call me that, I’m not a kid anymore…”
“Ahhh, come on, Kooks.” He sat up and put an arm around her, still with a cool smile. “What about stayin’ a kid at heart? Ain’t that what we promised Numbuh 1 before he left?”
“There are some adults who have the freedom to do so, but there are some with very important positions and duties that do not. You’d understand too if you had the knowledge and competence to lead a major corporate industry. No offense.”
“Awww, but ya used to be so carefree, Kooks. Remembuh back when we were young? Always singing on missions, annoying me with hamsters or Rainbow Monkeys… and you used to dress me up in that Huggy-Whoever outfit. But now I bet you ‘aven’t seen one Minish since you got your promotion!”
“Wally, even you don’t believe in the Minish.”
“Ahh, but you do. That’s my point.”
“Wally, the fact is, that point in my life is over. It’s a brand new chapter, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. As president, it’s my job to ensure production of Rainbow Monkey material, and tomorrow, I’m gonna keep doing so.”
“Siiigh… alright, Sweetie. If that’s how you wanna do it…”
“Thank you. Good night, Wallace.” With that, Kuki switched the lamp off and lied down on her side.
Wally lied down as well, facing away from her. “I always knew these Rainbow Monkeys were trouble… and I was right all along.”
Rainbow Monkey Factory
Everyone had gone home. The factory was pitch-dark. All of the machines sat where they had been left, completely still. The only souls stirring about… were the twin helmeted monkeys. The only lights in the factory came from their flashing red helmet lights. The monkeys wore evil smirks in the darkness as they roamed about the factory, using wrenches and other tools to tinker with the machines. They entered a chamber where The Noid was imprisoned behind an energy barrier, and tinkered with the terminal that kept it locked.
Finally, the apes entered the chamber of the Heart Bringer. They finished their routine by hacking into the machine, and changing its programming. They looked at each other and “Ay-yee!” nodded as they hurried outside.
Washington D.C.; the next day
“Is this thing for real?” Mason asked as he, Sheila, Lee, and Leanne walked down a bustling downtown street.
“Yeah!” Leanne beamed. “It was recovered from King Tutsipoppin’s tomb a few days ago! It was so rare, they had to put it in the Mintsodium Museum of Candy History!”
“Whoever thought about doing a mural on a lollipop?” Lee asked.
“Someone with a more messed up mind than Mika’s, that’s for sure!” Sheila exclaimed.
“How do you think it tastes?” Mason asked.
“Like history.” Lee said. “In other words, really really raw.”
“Raw or not, I need to see it.” Leanne stated as they stepped up the museum’s stairs. “I heard just looking at it makes anyone’s mouths water.”
They reached the lobby room of the kid-owned museum, where swarms of kids were already gathered around a pedestal in the center, which was covered by a red curtain. “Alright, alright, settle down, everyone.” The curator told them all. “Ahem… ladies and gentlemen… we give you… a Sundae Afternoon!” He threw off the curtain, and everyone’s eyes sparkled with wonder. It was a huge lollipop that was twice their heights, with the image of happy boys and girls frolicking in a field of ice creams, wide smiles on their faces as they devoured the variety of flavors. The ice creams had syrup, cherries, sprinkles, and many tasty decorations. In the center of the mural; far in the background, stood a mountain of the Fourth Flavor.
“Whoooaa…” Needless to say, a lot of mouths were watering.
“It’s like a portal to another world…” Leanne gaped.
“Where do Ancient Candy Egyptians come up with something like this?…” Mason asked with wonder.
Sheila zipped to the front of the crowd and climbed onto the pedestal. “Oi bet this thing’s made o’ all SORTS of flavuhs!” she stuck her tongue out to lick…
“DO NOT lick the art.” The curator stated, whacking her.
“Oi, gee…” Sheila rubbed her head.
At that instant, the museum doors were kicked open. The children whipped around, and there was no need to point out who it was that kicked them open. …But I will, anyway. Nickel Joe walked in with his usual sly grin, toothpick in his teeth, and flipping a nickel. “Myyy, my… that is a marvelous piece. Mind if we have a lick?”
“Heeey! Adults aren’t allowed in here!” a boy yelled.
“True… but I’m sorta funding for this place.” The man remarked as he and his henchmen stepped through the crowd. “You don’t think a couple-a snot-nosed kids could pay for this place with their itty-bitty allowances alone. Uhhhn?”
The curator did nothing as the guards stepped onto the pedestal and gripped the huge lollipop carefully by its stick. The crowd erupted with protest when they proceeded to carry it out. “Hey!” Sheila ran off the pedestal and through the crowd, stopping in Nickel Joe’s way. “What the crud is with you blokes, anyway?! ‘o says you can take all our candy?!”
“Ha ha ha.” Nickel Joe laughed calmly. “Look, Kid, I c’n see you’re too young to understand…” he patted Sheila’s head, making the raccoon girl’s eyes furrow, “but some things are more important than little kiddies’ whiny requests. A very special day is comin’ up. Our Mama’s birthday. So it’s only fair she gets everything she could ever want. Don’t ya agree?”
“Mmmmm!” she growled.
“Load ‘er up, boys,” he told his henchmen as he walked away, “nice and tall. Make sure it don’t bump around too much and let’s get ‘er back, safely. After all, such exquisite art don’t come around often.” The men stashed the Sundae Afternoon in their truck before driving away, the kids stepping outside and watching as they vanished down the street.
“Siiigh… man, every time.” Leanne said angrily.
“At this rate, we won’t have ANY candy left.” Mason figured.
“Boy, Panini’s gonna blow when she hears about this.” Lee knew.
“We oughta call her, just ‘cause.” Mason replied.
“I KNEW YOU WERE COWARDS!!” Sheila screamed in the men’s direction. “Afraid to fight ol’ Sheila, eh?! IIII KNEW IT!! Don’t evuh come back here again IF YOU DON’T WANT SOME O’ THIS!!”
KND Moonbase
Cheren flew up to Moonbase to begin another day of Supreme Leadering. Already, he saw Panini at her Global Tactical station, and the Drilovsky girl was fuming. “Uuugh… I can’t BELIEVE this!!” she stomped.
“What happened?” Cheren asked.
Panini faced him, “Those mobster guys stole the new Sundae Afternoon attraction from the Mintsodium!! I was waitin’ to go there after the CROWDS died down!! If Ay ever meet who runs their joint, Ay am gonna give SUCH a poundin’!…”
“Man… bad luck.” Cheren could only say. “I’ll send some spies out to try and search for them. They are getting pretty annoying.”
“’Annoyin’’ isn’t the word… more like… um… aggravoyin’.”
“Hah ha!”
“So, what’s new? Ya do anything yesterday?”
“Oh… just the usual.” he said nonchalantly.
“Ahh…”
“Well… call me if anything happens.” He said as he entered his office.
“Okay…”
Cheren sat at his desk and released an exasperated sigh. He couldn’t get what he learned from his meeting out of his head. He was pretty sure about what he said… but he was worried how everyone else would take it. He figured he would keep it to himself… until the time was right.
Beatles Household
It was 8:00 in the morning and everything was peaceful. While Wally was cooking breakfast in the kitchen (hey, someone has to be the chef around here), Kirie and Joey were in the living room. The older Beatles child was lonely playing with her Rainbow Monkey while Joey sat on the couch and watched Nickelodeon. A commercial was playing, in which Miranda Cosgrove was singing a song.
Eeeeverybody’s DANCIN’ DANCIN’ crazy
And we neeever stop… we NEVER STOP!
“Ahhh, those were her golden years.” Wallabee sighed as he walked out with two plates of bacon and eggs. “You know, before Jennette McCurdy overshadowed her.”
“Good-bye, Wallace, I’m goin’ to work.” Kuki said quickly as she stepped down the stairs. “As always, don’t expect me at dinner, because I-“ Kirie dropped her monkey and quickly ran in her way. “Sigh, Kirie, you know I don’t have time for any-“
Kirie hurriedly signed, Mom, Mom! Can I go with you to work today??
“Wh…What?”
I wanna come with you to work!! she grinned vibrantly. I mean, you spend so much time there, I wanna see what it’s like!
“Heh heh heh.” A rare sight for Kirie, Kuki sported a half-humorous smile. “Sweetie, it’s really not as glamorous as it seems, you’ll get really-”
No I won’t, I promise! Pllleeeease, Mom? She knelt down and grabbed her mom’s legs, shaking frantically, Please please please please please please pleaaaaseeee!
“Aww, why don’t you, Honey?” Wally asked smoothly as he set Joey’s breakfast on the living room table. “After all, she’s just as crazy as you were for Rainbow Monkeys, maybe she can get in the business!”
Kuki looked down at her daughter’s pleading, mismatched eyes. If anything, this was just an excuse for her to hang out with her mother. …But deep down, Kuki actually wanted this. Before her promotion, she’s always loved playing with her daughter. She was so much fun, even if she was silent. …It would be difficult, seeing as she had jobs to do, but maybe it wouldn’t hurt. “Sigh… very well, Kirie.”
Kirie’s smile grew very wide, and she danced excitedly, YYYYES!! YES YES YES YEEES!!
“Alright, alright, keep it down, Kir.”
Questions marks appeared over Wally and Joey’s heads.
“Well, take care, you two.” Kuki waved to the boys as Kirie already dashed out to the car. “It’s a girl-free day today. See ya.” She left and closed the door.
“Awww! I wanna go to the Monkey Factoryyy!” Joey whined.
“Don’t say that, Joe, I need someone to share my hate in Rainbow Monkeys!” Wally yelled. He then realized he was still holding Kirie’s breakfast. “Ooh! Well, if Kirie won’t have breakfast, guess I…”
Kirie hurried back in the house, grabbed her plate, and ran back outside. Wally frowned grumpily and said to Joey, “I don’t suppose you…” but when he turned around, he saw that Joey had already formed a huge wall of his letter blocks. Only his eyes peeped through the opening, but Joey filled that spot up. “Siiigh…”
Specter’s Hideout
“Hoo-oo-oo-oo! Have they finished yet, Mr. Specter?” Mr. Mogul eagerly asked his new partner.
“I believe they have.” Specter replied, his form still shadowed. “Ms. Sanban has a very important meeting today. When the inspectors see the faulty equipment of her factory, her reign as president will near its end. When it does, you’ll be able to-“ there was a faulty beeping sound, and a collar around his neck started to sparkle. “D’aww, dang it!” Specter whined, his deep, mysterious voice having suddenly become nasally. “Why can’t this thing-“ he tinkered with the device, and it stopped sparking. “Phew… well, at any rate.” He continued, his voice back to its previous tone. “As soon as Ms. Sanban becomes downsized, you’ll be able to move in and take your job back. After all, I’m sure the Heads will be fascinated to see the company return to its original roots.”
“I will be fascinated as well! To have a closer look at that marvelous machine.” Mogul said evilly.
“Oh, you mean the one that gives life to Rainbow-“
“Silence, Simon!” Bonk.
“Yessir.”
“I have had the apes tinker with that device as well.” Specter smirked. “I’m certain you’ll be pleased with the results.”
Rainbow Monkey Factory
“Now, Kirie, it’s not like I bring you here every day, so I expect you to be on your best behavior, okay?” Kuki asked her daughter as they pulled into the factory driveway.
Kirie smiled widely and nodded.
“Even though my first time here wasn’t the greatest, but that was when it had an evil president.” she remembered. “Hooo well. We shouldn’t need to worry about anything like that.”
They stepped into the factory lobby as Kuki continued, “I guess I’ll start by showing you- What?” she discovered Leslie awaiting her, alongside three men in sunglasses, fedora hats, and suits.
“Ahh, Miss, you’re finally here.” Leslie stated.
“Um… yes. Who are they?”
“These are the Inspectors For Children’s Safety, sent by the Heads themselves. They were scheduled to come here to… inspect our factory to ensure our products are safe for children. Don’t you remember, Miss?”
“Oh yes… I forgot.” Kuki looked glummer. “Well, I guess I was giving a tour either way. I hope you don’t mind, but I brought my daughter here.” Kirie grinned and waved. “She wanted to… see what work was like.”
“Well, I suppose SHE will be the judge whether your equipment is faulty or not.” The tallest inspector stated gruffly. “Nnn but then again, children have always had bad taste.”
“Yes…” Kuki agreed sarcastically. “Now what should we look at first, gents?”
“Nnn, the biggest problem with stuffed toys, nnn is the stitching. You don’t know how many children choked on eyes that just popped out of their dolls, you know.”
“Well, then let me show our means for that. Come along, Kirie.” They all followed Kuki into the massive factory chamber, with Kirie happily skipping the whole way.
Kuki brought them to a long machine with a treadmill, in which several contraptions took turns in sewing parts of a Rainbow Monkey. “As you can see, the stitching is done using foolproof machines, operated by workers since you can never trust machines to do everything on their own.” Two mechanical hands gently placed a pile of fluff over a purple raggedy mat. “The stuffing is carefully placed onto the would-be Rainbow Monkey before the toy’s outer covering is wrapped over, and begins to sew.” The hands wrapped the mat over the stuffing, shaping a purple Rainbow Monkey as they proceeded to sew. “We wrap each part individually before they are sewed together.” The body was separate from its head and limbs at this point, until the machine sewed the parts together. “It’s programmed so not a single thread is left unaccounted,” the machine used scissors to slice off a loose thread, “so every piece is finely-“
Kirie was already bored out of her mind. When she came to the factory, she just wanted to have fun with Mom, not listen to boring lectures with a bunch of businessmen. Of course, she promised not to complain to her mom. So instead, she walked around the back of the machine to see how it worked. She entered one of the chambers to see a chubby man with a bald head operating controls. She approached him with a smile and tapped his shoulder. “Oh?” he turned and noticed her. “Well, hello, Little Girl! Um, are you, on a field trip?”
She shook her head and signed, I came here with my mom!
“Oh… are you deaf? I don’t… understand…”
She looked in disbelief as she grabbed a nearby clipboard and wrote down her saying, showing it to him.
“Oh… well, where is your mum?”
She pointed outside the window, toward the president herself. “Oh! You are… Miss Sanban’s daughter!” she nodded proudly. “Well, ah, this is the Stitchomatic 3000. It’s run by employers in different chambers. I control the part that sews the eyes into the dolls.”
At this time, Kuki led the inspectors over to this part. “The eyes are given the similar treatment, except sewn together extra tightly to ensure all Rainbow Monkey Hugs go extra well. …Without, you know, any eye-popping-outness.”
Inside the chamber, “The point of having us workers activate the machine is because we’re better at telling stuffed dolls apart from, well, little kids or animals that wander onto the machine. Haha.” The man said simply. “It’s nothing too complicated. All I have to do is hold down this lever…” he held down a left lever, which brought down a mechanical hand beside the Rainbow Monkey, “pinch to grab.” He pressed a button on the lever that held the monkey in place. “Then I take this one,” he held down a right lever, lowering another hand in front of the monkey. “THEN I press this button, and it sews the eye in automatically. You know, like an arcade game.”
But the minute he pressed the button, the controls started to spark. “Um… something is wrong.”
The five businesspeople immediately looked up when the robotic arms shook frantically. The arms at Kirie’s station grabbed a handful of beady eyes and began to rapidly chuck them at the inspectors, directly into their mouths as they began to choke. Kuki and Leslie performed heimlichs on them, but the malfunction was spreading to other parts of the machine. The hands reached in, grabbed one of the workers, and began stuffing fluff into his mouth, and afterwards sewing his mouth shut. He tried to scream, but his mouth was stitched tight, and the hands hurled him away. Afterwards, the hands took the sewing needles and began chucking them around the factory, forcing Kuki and her group to duck beneath the treadmill.
“Gaaahh!” the man who Kirie was with screamed. “The machines! They have betrayed us!!” He and Kirie aimlessly pressed buttons to control it, but- “AAHHH!” The controls exploded.
At that point, the whole machine shut off, and the five businesspeople stood back up. The inspectors looked furious as they wrote something on their clipboards. “WE ah deDUCTing points!” the shorter inspector; with a big orange mustache, yelled. No one could see his mouth, but his mustache moved whenever he spoke, flapping up-and-down like wings.
“I-I don’t understand!” Kuki said frantically as they walked to the back of the machine, where an explosion was heard. “What could…”
They watched as Kirie Beatles walked out, covered in slight soot as she pulled the unconscious worker out. “Kirie?!” she looked up at her mom’s shout, the president hurrying over worriedly. “What were you doing back there?! You weren’t distracting Mr. Bee, were you?”
Kirie dropped the man and signed quickly, I didn’t do it!! He just pushed the button and it went all zappy, then the machine-
“Okay, okay.” Kuki stopped her and sighed with annoyance. “Just… stay with the group. And don’t touch anything else. Okay?”
Kirie frowned sadly as she and the others followed her mom to the next room.
From behind some equipment, Mr. Mogul and Simon peeked out and watched them, dressed in ninja outfits. “Hoo-hoo-hoooo!” Simon laughed quietly. “I say, Mr. Mogul, seems that girl is taking the blame for the malfunctions!”
“Silence, Simon!” Bonk. “That’s no good! We need the inspectors to believe Kuki did it, if they’re ever to expel her.”
“Ahh, but you know, Sir, often times children are reflections of their parents. Perhaps if the inspectors believe, if Ms. Sanban hasn’t a responsible child, she could never be a responsible president!”
“I see. Ho-ho! Let’s put my new plan into action.”
“Um, your plan, Si-“
“Silence, Simon!” Bonk.
“Yessir.” With that, they sunk back down.
As Kirie followed the others from behind, the two ninja-dressed businessmen peeped out from behind a trashcan. “Psst. Heeeey Little Girl!” She stopped and turned around, her green and purple eyes curious. “Wannaaa help us with a project??”
Kirie signed, My mom says that I’m NOT allowed to talk to strangers.
“Ehhh… what?” Mogul was confused.
“She said that she isn’t allowed to talk to strangers.” Simon translated.
“Ho-ho-ho! But we aren’t strangers, Little Girl! We’re from the, um, animal preserve! A-And we would like you to help us liberate an animal, um, being held here!”
“Y-Yes!” Simon nodded. “Let us show you.”
The two ninjas led Kirie into the nearby room where The Noid was trapped behind the energy barrier, in a straightjacket. “You see, Little Girl,” Mogul began, “this factory’s scientists have been extracting, um, Happy Matter from this creature, to use in their Rainbow Monkeys!”
They HAAAAVE? Kirie signed.
“Exactly!” Simon beamed. “Erm, but it’s programmed so only members of the president’s family can punch in the code! Just walk up to it, and type 3-3… um, what were the numbers Specter told u-“
“SILENCE, Simon!” Bonk. “Ho-ho-ho I believe it was 3-3-3-3, of cooouuurse!”
“Y-Yes! Now go on and punch in, Little Girl, go on!” Simon encouraged as he nudged Kirie forward.
The mute child first had to consider this, but when she looked inside the cell, the rabbit-earred creature looked so sad. She didn’t think her mother was responsible for this… it was probably the scientists’ idea. With a warming smile, Kirie walked up and punched the 3-3-3-3 into the terminal. The Noid perked when the barrier suddenly switched off. “Uhn?”
Kirie smiled as she walked over and helped the smiling creature on its feet. She proceeded to use her fans’ flower petals to cut the 3-pair straightjackets off. The red-jumpsuit creature studied his form with enthusiasm.
Mr. Mogul walked in and put a hand on Kirie’s shoulder. “You did a marvelous thing for us, young lady. Now go on, join your mother, we’ll take care of the rest.” She nodded happily and skipped away.
Kuki had led Leslie and the inspectors to another factory where materials were dumped into a machine to make Rainbow Munchies. “Here is our alternate factory we use to make the acclaimed cereal known as Rainbow Munchies. Obviously, we stopped taking Nurse Claiborne’s route in using old Rainbow Monkeys, and instead use sugar, spice, and we also have an according with the Fruit Loop company to use their cereal as well, creating a variety of colorful, rainbowy tastes.”
“We have also ceased using a certain special ingredient to go the traditional way.” Leslie mentioned.
“Reallyyyy? And wot WAS this secret ingredient?” the third, medium inspector asked.
“Chemical X…” Kuki stated sternly.
Immediately, the walls near the ceiling burst open as a group of five girls shot in, flying uncontrollably and making colorful light paths in their path. “YAAAAAY!” They shot through the ceiling and soared to the skies.
“…We’ve hired GUN to track them down and give them antidote.” Kuki stated. “Oh no.” She looked around frantically, suddenly realizing, “Where’s Kirie?!”
Moooom! Kuki turned around, hearing this sign (wait, what?), and spotted her daughter running toward her.
“Kirie!” Kuki was slightly angered as her daughter stopped before her, panting. “Didn’t I tell you to stay with us?!”
Mom, it’s okay! I was just helping these ninjas rescue an animal!
“Animal? What animal?”
Some kinda rabbit! I think it was-
“HUHUHU HA! HUHUHU HA!” Immediately, The Noid came in and started bouncing wildly.
“The Noid!!” Kuki screamed.
“HUHUHU HA! HUHUHU HA! HUHUHU HA!” The Noid climbed onto the machine and dove into the pool of Rainbow Munchies, popping up and throwing them everywhere before diving beneath and likely tarnishing them. He hopped onto the duct where the sugar was poured into and, “AaaaaaCHOO!” released lots of snot. It kept laughing and climbed onto the duct the spice was poured into, proceeding to let some fall into his mouth. His mouth snapped shut as his cheeks puffed, skin turned red, and eyes watered. He unleashed powerful flames from his mouth and began flying around like a rocket. He zoomed all around before taking land inside a crate with bottles of black liquid.
They all watched curiously as the box began to quake. It POPPED open, and The Noid came shooting out, flying frantically after being powered by Chemical X. It zipped all around, in and out of the walls, leaving several holes and knocking several workers off their high stations and to the floor. “HA HAAAAA!” He shot through the ceiling and was off to the sky.
Kirie helped her mother up as Kuki readjusted her glasses. “Kirie, you didn’t free The NOID, did you?!”
B-But it wasn’t my fault!! There were these NINJAS, and they-
“Ninjas?! Is that your best excuse??”
“Ah-HEM.” The taller inspector coughed. “As far as I can see, this factory is just one big safety hazard. Nnnn this makes me ALL the more concerned if this property is appropriate for children.”
As Kuki smoothed her hair back, she refuted, “I’ll have you know my factory’s been in top-running condition since my promotion!”
“Hoo-hooo, it’s true!” the shorter inspector perked. “She’s been in ALL the papers! Her products are among the most popular demands next to Sassy Cats! It’s that child who’s been causing all the ruckus.” He pointed at Kirie, who immediately perked.
“Even if it was,” the taller inspector spoke, “it was Ms. Sanban’s fault for not educating her on how to use equipment properly.”
Mr. Mogul and Simon peeked out to watch this, grinning and snickering quietly at their apparent success. “Silence, Simon!”
“Yessir!”
“She has done a poor job of teaching her child manners, she does not know to stay in place.” The man continued. “Besides, it was her decision to bring the child along, she cannot be deemed responsible either. Perhaps it would be best if we-“
“H-Hold on, hold on, allow me to explain.” Kuki told them half-panickingly. “The truth of the matter is… Kirie is not a bright child.”
Kirie’s heart was immediately struck.
“You see, I’m always away at work, trying to provide for the family, because my husband’s a dimwit, so he can’t work, and he can’t teach my kids right from wrong. And because Kirie’s a mute, she’s always ignored a lot, and she’ll do anything for attention. I honestly brought her along out of pity, and I tried to tell her not to, but, what can ya do? She probably hears as well as she speaks.”
Kirie’s mismatched eyes began to water.
“Anyway… I realize my mistake now, and I plan to fix it.” She grabbed Kirie’s sleeved hand and began to lead her off. “Come on, Kirie, I’m taking you ho-“
Kirie instantly pulled away, eyes filled with rage behind her tears. She signed quickly, I can walk home mySELF! I’m smart enough to do THAT! And the mute child stomped away, tears still dripping from her eyes.
Already, Kuki felt regret in what she said. She was about to go after her daughter… but she had to finish this inspection. She sighed and turned back around. “Well, perhaps I spoke too soon.” The taller inspector grinned evilly. “Shall we continue to the next room?”
“Siiigh…”
As Kirie stomped down the hall, she encountered a little purple Rainbow Monkey doll, which stood on its own and looked at Kirie with a wide smile. “Hiiii!”
Her eyes widened, surprised at its appearance. But for once, she was too sad to be joyous, and the monkey frowned as she bypassed it. “Oh?”
“Now, I believe you were slated to present an invention to the Corporate Presidents this Tuesday?” the tall inspector asked.
“I cancelled that meeting.” Kuki responded simply. “The invention I had prepared was very-“ They stopped when they encountered the living Rainbow Monkey.
“Hiiii!”
“What is this?”
“This is…” Kuki bent down and picked up the talking doll, “a Rainbow Monkey that, um… Stan and Dan brought to life.”
“Oooo! How?” the short inspector asked curiously.
“Um… right this way.” With a worried look, Kuki led them off.
Mr. Mogul and Simon peeked out from the same trashcan, and the assistant looked worried. “Oooooh it didn’t work! What shall we do, Sir?”
“Silence, Simon!” Bonk. “It’s not over yet! I have o-o-o-o-o-one last plan!”
Kuki led the four of them to the room with the Heart Bringer, still holding the Rainbow Monkey in her arm. But before they could enter, a skinny, nerdy man hurried over. “Uh, M-M-M-Miss Leslie? There’s a phone call for you in your office.”
“Ahh. May I be excused, Miss?” Leslie asked Kuki.
“You may.”
“Thank you, Miss.” With that, the assistant hurried away. But when she left, Mogul and Simon peeped out of hiding again.
“Anyway, this is our laboratory, where our Heart Bringer currently rests.” Kuki explained as she stepped into the dark room first. “However, I ordered the immediate shutdown of it. You see, it was designed to-“ There was a bumping sound behind her, and she turned to see the inspectors have fallen unconscious, with strange needles in their necks.
“Wh…Whuh-“
“Nooow, now! Please do not be so HASTY, Ms. Sanban.” She looked up, seeing a chubby ninja and a skinny ninja. “After all…” the chubby ninja grinned behind his mask, “we’ve developed NEW uses for the machine.”
“Oh?” the Rainbow Monkey became worried.
Downtown
Kirie had to cut through town on her way home. Her head was down the whole way, and all the people passing by just ignored her. She glanced left when she passed by a construction site, where carpenters were hard at work. One particular worker caught her attention, a female worker as tall as her, whose back was turned so Kirie could see her long brown ponytail. She was sawing a wood plank in half when Kirie approached. The mute girl tapped the worker’s shoulder, and she turned around to show her familiar face.
“Hey, Kirie!” Haylee Gilligan greeted perkily.
Hayleeeeee! Kirie signed happily. What’s goin’ on??
“Remember that Career Exploration program we had at school a few weeks ago?” Kirie nodded. “I was given Bob the Builder as my instructor. I had so much fun, well, after it ended, I asked if I could keep working, and, he said yes!” She clutched her wrench excitedly. “I have my own part-time job! …That probably goes against Kids Next Door protocol, but, you know! So whatchu been doin’?”
Kirie frowned and signed, My mom took me for a tour of the Rainbow Monkey Factory. But well, the thing is… Haylee watched carefully as Kirie signed her story. When she was done, the Gilligan could only look with sympathy.
“Wow… your mom really said that?”
She nodded.
“Oh… You’re sure you didn’t randomly walk in on her at the wrong time?”
She shook ‘No!!’.
“Oh… that’s just awful.”
“Well-p, here’s the next load!” exclaimed a short man with blue overalls, a red-and-orange patterned shirt, and yellow carpenter’s helmet, holding a pile of wooden planks. He plopped the hunks down and took notice of the Beatles girl. “Oh! Is this a friend?”
“Yeah, this is Kirie!” Haylee grinned. “Kirie, this is Bob! The Builder.” Kirie smiled and waved.
“Well, it’s nice to meet ya! You here to learn about carpentry, too? I just finished talking with a colleague, so I’d be glad to show you the ropes!”
“Actually, she was just passing through.” Haylee explained as Kirie frowned. “She went through… sort of an ordeal, and she wants to get home. …Oh! Maybe YOU can take her home!” Kirie looked up, curious at this statement.
“Well, I could give it a whirl! How far does she live?”
“Not far, just outside town about one block from the big treehouse.”
“Well, that’s just dandy! We’ll be there in two shakes of a lamb’s tail!”
THAT statement made Kirie confused.
“Hop aboard now!” Bob said encouragingly, bending frontward. Still very confused, Kirie proceeded to climb on his back and sit like a horsie. “Alright, hold tight now, it might get wild!”
WHEEEEEEE! Kirie sign-screamed with excitement as Bob suddenly LEAPT to the building tops and began zipping over the city at high speed. He stopped every few seconds to make another jump for extra momentum, and the wind rushed past Kirie’s hair as they were soon flying over the suburbs.
Kirie pointed the direction of her house when they passed by Sector V’s treehouse. Bob landed them before the house in seconds as Kirie stepped off. Thanks for the ride, Bob!
“No thanks are necessary, I’m glad to help out a friend of my favorite worker! See you on down the road!” And faster than she could realize, Bob leaped his way back to the city.
Kirie waved him ‘bye’, but her frown returned as she glumly entered her house.
Cleveland Beach
A lively day at Cleveland Beach. The sky was bright, and the beach was filled with many happy, frolicking kids. Timothy and Hikari Gilligan were casually building a sandcastle. But unbeknownst to them, a huge, chubby man was stomping forward in light-brown boots. He STOMPED the two’s tiny castle and kept walking like no-one’s business. “Heeeey!” Timmy whined.
Zanifr Mimchi was still seated on his rock, keeping a hood up to hide his horns. The chubby figure stopped a few feet away, and Zanifr turned around. It was a man with long, messy black hair, a thin white shirt, and a 5-o’clock shadow. The man held a cherry pie in his left hand as he grinned at Zanifr with a mouth missing several teeth. “Hey, Mr. Big-Boots-Stompyhead!” Timmy whined as he stomped up to the man. “What’s the big idea, SQUISHIN’ our sandcastle? Oh-!” As a response, the man grabbed the child forcefully and hurled him against the remains of the sandcastle, much to Hikari’s surprise.
“Hmmmm… aren’t you supposed to be down in the Underworld?” Zanifr asked.
“Zeeehahahahahaha!” the man laughed. “My new friend managed to pull some strings! After all, a pirate can’t spend his freedom in prison!”
“Hmmmm… better than being cramped in a MMask. I suppose MMedusa sent you?”
“That’s right! She doesn’t like you turning your back on her! After all, it was thanks to her convoluted scheming that allowed you to BE free!”
“Hmmmm. I’ll believe it was her plan when the Apocalypse becomes delayed. For now, I don’t trust her judgment.”
“You can choose not to believe it or not. Now if I were you I’d be a good boy and come with me.” He still grinned evilly.
Zanifr swiftly whipped out his dual whips and called, “Strife Specibi! WHIP CYCLONE!” He spun fast as a tornado and whipped the man across his hairy belly, leaving several red scratches.
“YOOOOOWWW!” The surrounding kids, including Timmy and Hikari, watched confusedly as the man rolled around on his back, holding his stomach. “Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!”
“For a Logia-type, you’re not very strong.” Zanifr remarked.
“Grrrr.” The man got back up, looking furious. “I’ll show you Logia! DARK VORTEX!” The man brimmed with dark energy as a pool of pitch-black spawned below his feet, and spread along the beach. Everyone within its radius screamed as they sunk into the darkness. And when the pitch-black vanished, the whole beach had been cleared of visitors, umbrellas, or anything else they brought.
“Hmmmm.” Zanifr didn’t look afraid.
“Dark Human CANNON!” An enormous black hole spawned above him, and all of the beach-goers and supplies came flying out at Zanifr, with Timmy and Hikari first. Zanifr clutched his whips tight, and as fast as they came, Zanifr caught them all with his whips and hurled them behind him. Timmy and Hikari were the first to run away, and everyone else soon followed, desperate to get away from this chaos.
“Zeee ha… you’re good.” The man acknowledged. “But you know what’s better than being the world’s greatest darknessbender?”
The man raised both fists and SLAMMED the sandy ground, creating a tremendous wave of sand. “It’s being the world’s greatest EARTHbender, TOO!”
Zanifr conjured a dark barrier to shield himself. “Strange… the chi you possess is unfamiliar to MMe.” Zanifr observed.
“I’ve always been a special guy! But I believe it’s time for your long-deserved coffin.”
The man charged forward, channeling massive energy into his fists, but Zanifr mustered all of the darknessbending he could. His fists came into contact, but Zanifr raised a powerful darkness barrier to defend himself. “Hnnnnn!” The tremors radiating from his fists were quickly breaching.
“Zehahahahahahahaha!”
Cleveland Beach had never been so chaotic.
Rainbow Monkey Factory
“Ohhhh…” The three inspectors woke up from their unconsciousness, readjusting their hats and sunglasses as they tried to recall what happened. “What happened?…” See, like that.
“Ho ho, my dear gentlemen! How awful that must’ve been for you.” They turned around, seeing Mr. Mogul and Simon with their usual grins.
“Ooooo now who might YOU be?” the short inspector asked.
“Ahem: I am Mr. Sebastian Mogul.” The former president spoke professionally. “After taking an overly-extended business trip to, um, Africa, it seems I let my factory fall into the wrong hands.”
“Mr. Mogul, HMMMmmmm?” the medium inspector inquired. “I say, gents, this old fellow was the corporation’s FIRST owner!”
“Hooooo, yes!” the short one remembered. “Wasn’t he the one who tried to-” He whispered something that the others didn’t quite hear.
“Hoo-o-o-o-o yes.” Mogul replied. “Oh, but how painful it is to see what conditions my factory has fallen to. I do hope you gents are okay.”
“Nnnn, what WAS it that happened to us?” the tall man asked.
“When Ms. Sanban attempted to demonstrate the machine’s function, it blew a fuse, and you all were electrocuted. You endured some slight short-term memory loss, but it wasn’t too serious. Ms. Sanban, however, being the activator, ho-ho! She was sent to the infirmary.”
“Hmmmnnn… well, it’s clear by now Ms. Sanban ISN’T the type to be running such a major industry…” the tall inspector decided. “If anything, the company was much nicer around its original roots. …Perhaps if Mr. MOGUL were to return to his office-”
“I WILL!” the businessman frantically shook the inspector’s hand. “You shan’t be disappointed, Mr. Gruffelman! I can assure you, by tomorrow, this factory will look GOOD AS new! By which I mean good as old! Ho ho!”
Mr. Gruffelman pulled away. “Hmmm, yes… we’ll postpone the inspection ‘til tomorrow. I expect great things from you, Siiir…” And with that, the three inspectors showed their selves out.
The two businessmen waved ‘bye’, still grinning. “Well, that was most MAGNIFICENT, Sir! To think Ms. Sanban would be that easy to dispose of!”
“I know, Simon! And silence!” Bonk. “Soon, it will be time for Specter to move in! Ahh, but first we must test the machine’s other functions. Hoo-hoo, and Specter has just the right Rainbow Monkey we could use!” He folded and rubbed his hands evilly.
Beatles Household
After her exciting ride from Bob the Builder, Kirie entered her house with her head still down in depression. “Hi, Sis!” her brother called perkily from the couch. “Are ya back, already??”
The older girl ignored him and walked slowly up the stairs. “…Sis?” Joey frowned.
Kirie slammed her door shut and plopped onto her bed. Her room was pitch-dark as she stared up at the ceiling. Even though it was still broad daylight… she wanted to sleep. But she couldn’t.
She remembers when she was younger… she and her mother spent so much time together. Kuki was the one who learned sign language, and first began teaching it to Kirie when she was 3, so she could speak to people better. She was able to get a good grasp of it pretty quickly. At the time, Kuki thought her daughter was… smart.
She doesn’t know where those good times had gone. Kuki used to do everything with her. She allowed Kirie onto her back as Kuki pretended to be a pony. They went to the park and played in the sandbox, working together to make a Rainbow Monkey sandcastle. Then they went to the swings, and Kuki would always push her higher and higher. Then Kirie would leap off and try to glide with her sleeve-hands. And whenever they drove somewhere, Kirie would stick her head out the car window like a dog, and Kuki would laugh and pull her back in.
But as Kirie got older… everything began changing. Kuki got her promotion, and Kirie started seeing her less and less. Kuki lost the vibrance she used to have. She started to show much less interest in Kirie. When Kirie graduated from CND Training, she excitedly wanted to tell her mother… but she wouldn’t listen. When Kirie made a great project for school, she wanted to show her mother… but she was too busy. When Kirie won the butt-busting contest, she wanted to show her mom the trophy… but she didn’t care.
She’s rarely spoken, er, signed to her mother much at all. She was always so busy. But despite this… Kirie always thought her mom still had her love and care deep down. She still thought Kuki missed the good times, too. But after hearing what she said… it all became clear. Kirie’s mom was gone. All there was was just a cold, heartless businesswoman. No love or interest in anything… except her business. The president of all Rainbow Monkey products. But such a job was the only profession… that reQUIRED love and care. That’s what Rainbow Monkeys were about. Maybe that’s why all the machines malfunctioned, maybe that’s why the factory was in ruin. Kuki was an irresponsible president. How could one make so many rainbows… when their heart has no rainbows from which to work with. All that factory could possibly be… was gloom.
Kirie stayed in bed and didn’t come out for the rest of the day. She didn’t even notice her Rainbow Monkey was missing.
Rainbow Monkey Factory; that night
“Sincerest apologies for the inconvenience, Miss Leslie; so glad you understand.” Mr. Mogul smirked evilly.
Leslie glared at the man as she sat tied to a chair in the closet, beside the unconscious Kuki Beatles as Mogul shut the door. He brushed his hands before walking out to join Simon. “Hoo-hoo, you handled that beautifully, Sir! Now we just wait for Specter and move to Phase 2!”
“Hoho-ho! Silence, Simon! Now that all the other employees have gone home, Specter is free to come in here!” The two perked when they heard a door creak open in the distance. “That must be them, now. COME, Simon!” They excitedly ran off.
The doors to the factory chamber opened as Specter floated in on his chair, joined by Mojo. (Play Specter’s Theme from Ape Escape.)
“Hello, Mr. Mogul.” Specter greeted.
Mogul and Simon looked confused. “That voice …You’re Specter?”
“But you’re just a monkey.” Simon noted.
“Indeed I am.” Specter smirked. “But I am far more advanced than the average simian. I was able to develop remarkable intelligence, with the powers of this Peak Point Helmet.” He pointed to the helmet on his head.
“The Peak Point Helmet?” Simon questioned. “Wasn’t that a device in the making by Adams Tech Co.?”
“Twenty years ago, it was. But the device was fully developed, thanks to one Kimberly Adams, the company president’s daughter. In their quest to test the helmet on an ape, I was brought back into commission. And now, we’re going to make more. Is the Remote Rainbow Monkey Machine operational?”
“Hoo-hoo, why yes it is!” Mogul perked. “But may I ask what you plan to do with such?”
Specter snapped his fingers, and his two monkey henchmen walked up. One held another helmet, similar to their own, and the other had Kirie’s green and purple Rainbow Monkey. “You see, because of my actions,” Specter explained, “further development of Peak Point Helmets has ceased. I was only able to recover these less-formidable copies. But using your Remote Monkey Machine’s duplication function, I will be able to make more, and build a new army of apes. By which, I mean, these very Rainbow Monkeys.”
“Hmm, yes, yes.” Simon nodded. “And, how would that benefit for us?”
“Silence, Simon!” Bonk.
“Yessir.”
“Ahh, I couldn’t simply leave you gentlemen out of the deal.” Specter assured. “After we create our intelligent army of dolls, there will be no need for human workers. We can have the perfect empire both of us desire. You have Rainbow Monkeys, I have apes. We will send our brainwashed, living Rainbow Monkeys out to attack and enslave children of the world. And, after we test the Heart Bringer’s second function, we’ll bring them here.”
“Ahhhh… your evil mind never ceases to intrigue me, Mr. Specter.” Mogul sighed. “Perhaps we should test the second function, right now.”
“Agreed. But first, place this Peak Point Helmet into the duplicator.” The monkeys handed the men the helmet. “We’ll take care of the rest.”
“We’ll count on you, Mr. Specter, ho-ho!” With that, the businessmen left, and Specter’s group left to the laboratory.
Specter placed Kirie’s Rainbow Monkey into the machine’s chamber as Mojo began to program it. “If our device works… I will be rid of a vast majority of the human population.” Specter smirked still. “And once we’re done here… Adams Tech will be our next objective. Hm hm ho ha ha.” (End song.)
Inside the cereal room, Mojo Jojo walked up to the crates of remaining Chemical X and studied the potions. He gathered a few in his arms and walked away.
The Underworld; Underworld Prison
A quiet night inside the dark, gloomy, dusty prison of demons. The warden sat at his desk, quietly filling out papers with a pointy bone pen. The warden was a tall bat demon with sharp teeth, horns, huge black bat wings, and a big black trenchcoat. The nametag at his desk read ‘Magellan.’ “Hmmm?” he looked up when an echoing knock was heard at the building’s door. Magellan stood up and stepped slowly toward the door, his huge form making little quakes with every step.
Magellan creaked the metal doors open slowly, looking around for the visitor. He looked down, and finally spotted something: Zanifr Mimchi’s body, tattered and leaking with purple blood. Magellan spotted a white, folded paper beside the body. He bent down and grabbed it in his huge hands, unfolding it. It showed a picture of a pirates’ skull, with evil eyes, and a black beard. Magellan read the note that came with it, before folding the paper up and dragging Zanifr inside.
Beatles Household; the next day
It was 10 in the morning, and Kirie was still in bed. She had woken up hours ago, but she just didn’t have the strength to get up. That was when Wally Beatles barged into the room with a concerned look. “Oi, Kirie, your mum didn’t come home last night. Where do you think she is?”
She signed angrily, still facing the ceiling, Probably getting ANOTHER new promotion and deciding we don’t matter.
Wally looked at her confused (and not because he didn’t understand; which he could). “…Are you alright, Kirie? You’ve been locked in your room all day yesterday, soon as you came home. …Did something happen between you two?”
Mom said I was a dumb child, and she said I didn’t have friends, and she was being real mean, all because I made a few mistakes!
“Ehhh, she was probably just upset. A lot of businesspeople get that way.”
Well, that doesn’t excuse her for being so mean!!
“Sweetie…” Wally sat on his daughter’s bed and put a hand on her shoulder, “I’ve known yer mum longer than you have… so you can take it from me, she’s a real crazy sheila when she’s upset. But deep down, she’s still the same little airhead she was as a kid. Kuki will pout over a little thing, but then she’ll get over it. Trust me.”
No… it wasn’t like that. Kirie looked sadly. Mom cared about what those businesspeople thought… more than me. Her job is her only life now. She’s just like all those other bigwigs.
“Siiiigh…” Wally wished his daughter wouldn’t think that way. He knew Kuki better than anyone… she wouldn’t really change. She was the sweetest girl anyone ever knew. He wanted to believe, deep down, she was still the same. And she would never say that about her daughter. Himself, maybe. But not her…
“Hey Dad, hey Dad!” Joey exclaimed as he ran and stopped beside Kirie’s room. “There’s a package for us!” He excitedly ran back down.
Kirie and Wally curiously walked downstairs to find a package at their doorstep. Joey pulled it inside as Wally proceeded to open it. It was an ordinary purple Rainbow Monkey. “Awwww. See, Kirie? Your mum probably stitched this up as an apology.” Wally assured. “She probably sewed it last night at work and was too tired to come home.” But that’s when the stuffed toy shook its head and stood up frantically.
“Hu-hu HU-hu! Hu-hu hu-hu!” It waved its arms.
“Whoa!!” Wally jumped back. “It talks… sort of!”
“But what’s it saying?” Joey asked.
I know, I know!! Kirie cheered. He’s saying-
“Hold on!” Joey spoke up, running to get a notebook and pen. “You’ll have to write it for me…”
Oh yeah. Kirie remembered Joey couldn’t understand her, so she began to write. Anyway…
Rainbow Monkey Factory; two hours earlier
“Ho-ho-ho-ho! Is everything ready, Simon?” Mr. Mogul asked as the Rainbow Monkey watched from behind a machine.
“I’ve double-checked, we’re all set for our plan! And the inspectors should be arriving right… oh, there they are!” he perked as the three gruff inspectors marched through the factory’s doors.
“Nnnn we have returned.” Mr. Gruffelman stated gruffly. “Are your preparations all done?”
“Ho-ho! Yes! As you will see, we have fixed up and retouched every machine in the factory, and have ensured safe production for our workers AND consumers!”
“Don’t forGET, the Corporate Presidents are expecting a marvelous invention tomorrow!” the short inspector, Mr. Perkyman reminded.
“The Heads are very high up in political power, you know, second only to the World Government Heads.” The medium inspector, Mr. Britishman followed. “‘Twould be wise not to keep them waiting.”
“Our scientists have already prepared a WONDERFUL invention, I’m sure you will like.” Mogul smirked. “Behold!” He threw an arm behind, to a set of garage doors along the wall.
They watched as the doors slowly opened, and there stood squadrons of Rainbow Monkeys wearing mechanical helmets with red lights on them. The monkeys stepped out in perfect rows, marching like soldiers in the army. “With our lovely invention, the Heart Bringer, we’ve brought SWARMS of Rainbow Monkey dolls TO LIFE! Now, children will be able to interact with their favorite toys, instead of just… well, pretending they’re alive.”
“Ooooo it IIIIS a marvelous invention!” Perkyman exclaimed.
“Nnnn yes… but it seems a tad controversial.” Gruffelman observed. “Are living toys really… safe for kids?”
“Hmmm, but perhaps not.” Britishman contraired. “If you recall, Doflamingo Incorporated makes the same brand of living toys. And they seem to interact with people pretty well. Are you, perhaps, sharing an alliance?”
“Ho-ho-ho, not quite!” Mogul perked. “It may SEEM like the same brand, but you’ll find my brand has a slight… difference.”
“Mmmmm?” they cocked brows.
Simon whipped out a remote and pressed a button. The helmet lights flashed red as the stuffed toys ran about and began to tackle the workers and tie them up. “What is going on?!” Dan yelled as he and Stan backed into a corner. “This wasn’t supposed to go… AAAHH!” They were soon overcome.
“MISTER Mogul, what is the MEANING of this?!” Perkyman exclaimed.
“Ho-ho-ho-ho! I have no interest in children’s safety, Inspectors For Children’s Safety! You may not have seen it, but MY business resides in making little kiddies miserable! Now that I’m back in business, I’m SEIZING the opportunity! I’ve got a lovely sponsor, you see, and he will help me to bring ORDER to the children of this planet!”
“You’re a MONSTER!” Britishman accused. “I am writing you up for endangering- H-Hey!” He was about to write on his clipboard, until a swarm of monkey dolls overpowered the inspectors.
“The only thing YOU’LL be needing to write is your WILL! Ho-ho!” Mogul laughed as the men were dragged away.
“Ho ho, we DID it, Sire!” Simon laughed. “Perhaps we should have the monkeys-”
“Silence, Simon!” he bonked him and took the remote. “We must continue with Specter’s plan! We must ship them to the houses!” He pushed a remote, and the monkeys immediately began to grab some packages.
The apes all helped their selves into the packages as other monkeys closed them and had them loaded onto trucks. The purple, unbrainwashed Rainbow Monkey gave a serious look before hurrying to one of the packages. He offered to take the place of the previous monkey, who shrugged and allowed him to do so, closing the purple doll’s package. The brainwashed monkey had the package addressed to the Beatles house and loaded it on the truck.
Beatles House, present time
“Whoa… how did you understand that?” Wally asked his daughter.
Mom taught me how! Kirie beamed. She taught me all types!
“But did you hear that?!” Joey panicked. “Somethin’s goin’ on at Mom’s factory!”
Come oooon, it’s probably not THAT bad! Kirie smiled assuringly.
“Ahhhhhh!” They heard screams from across the street, and looked across to many other houses to see Rainbow Monkeys terrorizing kids in the windows.
“Her mother’s optimism, I see.” Wally noted.
“Heeeeelp!” the Exposition Guy ran by their house and said, “Mr. Mogul came back and he’s taken over the factory! All of the workers are in real trouble!”
“Oh no!!” Wally exclaimed. “He must’ve escaped same time as those other villains did! …Ehhh. But why’re you telling us?”
“Are you guys the Canadian police?”
“N…Noooo…” Wally was totally baffled.
“Oh… which way is Canada?”
They all pointed straight up. “Thanks!” And with that, the man squatted down, and jumped straight high into the sky.
“….So where were we?” Wally asked, not going to question that.
We have to go to the factory and stop Mr. Mogul!! Kirie signed frantically.
“Right!” Wally declared. “Come on, kids, in the car!”
“Let’s go, Mr. Rainbow Monkey!” Joey said happily as he grabbed the living doll. They hopped into Wally’s truck (‘cause he much prefers trucks) as he drove downtown at high speed.
Outside Rainbows Factory
Wally parked just outside the factory’s gates, and received a ticket from a pursuing cop for reckless driving. “You have a good day, Sir.” The man said.
“You, too.” Wally nodded. With that, the cop got in his car and drove off. “Siiigh, well, Kirie, the rest’s up to you. I’d come in with you, but… I promised myself I’d never step in this place.”
It’s okay, Dad! Kirie smiled as she stepped out the car. You can COUNT on me!
“Hold on!” Joey exclaimed, jumping out with the Rainbow Monkey. “I wanna save Mom, too!”
She wrote down, Joeeeyy! This is a mission for a BIG operative!
“So?! Michelle gets to go with ANTHONY on missions! Besides, haven’t you seen my blocks?”
“It’s true, Kirie.” Wally assured. “Li’l Joey can build a whole BUILDING out o’ blocks! I mean, YOU played with him, haven’t you?”
Oh yeah… But Kirie only knew from having to play with Joey in place of her mother. But she had to admit, his blocks were impressive.
“Alright, kids… good luck. And bring your mother home safely…” With that, Wally drove off.
The kids hopped across the gate and calmly approached the factory’s doors. “You think Mom is okay?” Joey asked.
Well, I hope so… but I’m STILL pretty mad at her! She frowned grumpily.
“Oh well, Kirie. I just can’t wait to see the factory!” Joey bounced excitedly. “Let’s go!” (Play “Specter’s Factory” from Ape Escape.)
Stage 2: Rainbows Factory
Mission: Save Kuki Beatles and reclaim the factory!
Kirie and Joey bypassed the lobby and charged straight into the factory. There, they found several Rainbow Monkeys in Peak Point Helmets running amuck, with some of them wielding weapons. Kirie whipped out her Japanese fans and made a fierce pose as a few monkeys already ran for them. Kirie swiftly twirled and kicked and smacked the stuffed toys, sending sharp flowers from her fans to cut the helmets off. The monkeys recovered and were still acting wild without needing the helmets, so Kirie was forced to slice the dolls up. It dealt her great pain on the inside, having to hurt such precious creatures, but she had no choice.
A squad of Rainbow Monkeys were gathering to attack Joey, but the 5-year-old began to build a towering block wall using letter blocks from his sleeves. Despite being made of individual parts, when Joey pushed the rectangular wall down, the monkey dolls were crushed flat. Joey gathered his blocks back as he and Kirie hurried to the Stitchomatic 3000, where more Rainbow Monkeys were hurriedly sewn to be brought to life. Joey tossed blocks at some of the patrolling monkey guards while Kirie ran into the individual control slots on the machine. Kirie took out the monkey doll in each station and shut the machine down.
With this room secure, the duo took notice of the laboratory. They hurried into the room to find several Ninja Monkeys manning the Heart Bringer, and Stan and Dan tied in the machine’s chamber. “Nooo! No, please!” Stan pleaded.
“You vere supposed to be huggable! NOT HURTABLE!!” Dan exclaimed.
Kirie and Joey quickly began to take the monkeys out before they could do anything. Some of the ninjas started to leap around the room and toss shurikens, but Kirie swiftly dodged and tossed her sharp fans at them to slice them. Joey also used blocks to defend from the shurikens, and when the shurikens stuck to the blocks, Joey tossed the blocks at the monkeys to have the weapons slice them. Afterwards, Kirie proceeded to cut Stan and Dan free with her flowers.
“Hooo, thank you.” Dan sighed in relief.
What’s going on? Kirie signed.
“Vhat’d she say?” Stan asked.
“Mm-mm.” Joey shrugged. “So what’s going on?” Kirie looked disbelieved.
“We designed this Heart Bringer to give Rainbow Monkeys sweet, happy souls.” Dan began.
“But Mr. Mogul came back, and he reprogrammed it to give zem EVIL souls!”
“Now the Rainbow Monkeys go wild, so they use those helmets to control them.”
“But what were YOU two doing in there?” Joey asked.
“We don’t know how, but they also reprogrammed the Heart Bringer to steal PEOPLES’ souls, TOO!” Stan exclaimed.
“They’re capturing workers and moving their souls into the bodies of Rainbow Monkeys!”
You mean EVERYBODY’S turning into RAINBOW Monkeys?! Kirie signed wildly. She and Joey looked very excited.
“YAAAAAY!/YAAAAAY!” They both cheered.
“Vhat??” the adults yelled.
Um, I mean… we better stop them! Kirie signed.
“You two have to STOP them!” Dan yelled.
Duuuh! With that, Kirie hurried behind the machine and proceeded to slice up the wires.
“Yay! Now they can’t make anymore bad Rainbow Monkeys!” Joey beamed.
“Our invention…” :( Stan and Dan began to weep.
Ahhh, don’t be BABIES. Let’s go, Joey!
“Wait! Take this key before you go.” Stan handed Kirie a key. “It’ll take you to the hallway.”
Kirie and Joey left the room and hurried to the door on the other side of the factory room. They unlocked the door and entered the hallway that would lead to the cereal room. Along the way, there was a Super Sumo Rainbow Monkey guarding the hall. The giant monkey saw them and prepared to charge, so Joey quickly built a block wall. However, the monkey managed to break through and knock the kids back. Kirie ran up the right wall and tossed her fans at it, but the huge doll blocked with his big stubby arm. Kirie landed behind the creature as it turned around, still grinning evilly.
However, it didn’t notice Joey Beatles forging a rectangle cannon out of Legos, and when the sumo turned around confused, Joey shot it with a giant block from the cannon, knocking the huge toy away. Kirie grinned in gratitude as Joey stuffed the cannon away. They found the elevator along the hall’s left wall and tried to take it, but it seemed to be disabled at the moment. They decided to continue to the cereal room, where harmful ingredients were being put into the cereal now.
A bunch of the surrounding monkeys were wielding machineguns (let’s hope they weren’t from the factory), so Joey quickly formed a block wall when they began firing. Joey removed a few blocks, leaving square openings, which Kirie used to toss her fans through and knock some of the monkeys out. With that, she quickly burst through the wall and ran to take out the other monkeys. Afterwards, they hurried to a stairway that led to the main control station of this room. At the top of the stairs, an orangutan Rainbow Monkey was throwing barrels down, forcing Kirie to jump on her way up. Joey took the hit from one of the barrels and was knocked back down.
Kirie managed to make it up and take out the Rainbow-rangutan before taking out the monkeys in the small control station. She ripped off their helmets, and the monkeys revealed to have workers’ souls, shaking their heads from the dizziness and thanking Kirie. The girl studied the controls and was confused as to how to shut the machine off… but something suddenly burst through the ceiling and started zipping around aimlessly, leaving a trail of light. “HUHUHU HA! HUHUHU HA! HUHUHU HA! HUHUHU HA!” The Noid zipped around faster than the eye could follow, and in his wake, he destroyed the entire cereal machine. “HUHUHU HA! HUHUHU HA!” The Noid shot through the wall and was gone from the factory again.
Kirie shrugged, figuring that worked, before hurrying down to join her brother. They were about to take the stairway that led to the second floor, but they found that The Noid destroyed a chunk of the stairs. Instead, Joey formed a tower of blocks that would make stairs at the top, fixing the path and allowing them to make it up. This next floor had a series of Peak Point Helmets going across a treadmill over a chasm of electricity, the treadmill was protected in a glass wall. There was no way across, but they noticed a red switch high up on a wall on their right.
Joey simply formed a staircase using his blocks and walked up to press the switch. A row of floating hooks on propellers lowered down, forming a path across the chasm. Joey whipped out his Legos and created a small whip out of them. He used this whip to latch the hooks and swing his way across. On the other side, he pressed a switch that activated a row of fans that was down in the chasm. Kirie took a few steps back, then ran off, flapping her sleeved arms and gliding across. The wind kept her light form afloat as she safely made it over to Joey.
This next room had a long treadmill along its left side, behind a glass wall, but an opening was right at the start. On the right side beside them, there was a huge ray gun, which had a label, ‘Company shrink ray, because you can’t have a factory without shrink rays.’ They saw that there was a tiny passage within the left wall of the treadmill, leading all the way up to the next door. Kirie and Joey nodded at each other as Kirie stood on the small pad the ray pointed to, and Joey activated the device to shrink his sister to 2 inches tall.
Joey gently carried Kirie to where the passage away began, and the mini mute girl started to make her way through. However, she reached a slight dead end at an area where a square platform lifted up from below, then went back down, but it only stopped at level with her, and the path was still too high. Joey watched this, and had no choice but to get on the treadmill, which moved further down the room into a dark pit. Joey hurriedly formed a high-enough block-stair to run up and slip a block into the passage’s opening, onto the mini platform. Joey jumped off his foothold as the blocks moved along the treadmill, eventually into the pit. The block gave Kirie an extra boost as she stood on and was lifted to the path’s next floor.
This pattern repeated as Joey had to form more quick staircases and run up to slip blocks in the openings for Kirie to stand on, and but she was able to Wall Jump in areas where the walls were too close. He eventually had to add more blocks for her to stand, and his own stairways got longer as Kirie got higher. Finally, Kirie made it at the top, and a pad was there to restore her normal size (apparently factory workers designed that path to be used). She pressed another switch to make a set of stairs stick out from the treadmill’s end, for Joey to hop his way up.
The next door led them onto an outside balcony, where the duo had a lovely view of the city. Brainwashed Rainbow Monkeys were floating around in little pods with cannons, which they used to shoot at the kids. Joey formed Block Barriers to defend from the shots as Kirie jumped out and tossed her fans, knocking the monkeys out. They hurried up some stairs as two machinegun monkeys guarded the next stairs, rapidly firing their weapons. Kirie was able to gracefully twirl and dodge the shots as she made her way over, swiftly leaping, kicking the left monkey, and then the right, before they continued upward.
On this next floor, three more Sumo Monkeys crashed down and aimed to charge at them, but they dodged separate directions. Joey whipped out his Block Cannon to shoot the monkeys, but they seemed to be wearing protective padding, and were only being pushed around. Joey figured the only way to beat them was to shove them over the edge, so he ran around so that the balcony’s ledge was behind the monkeys. He shot more blocks at them and sent them falling below. He high-fived Kirie before they hurried into the next door.
This next room was expansive, and had towering platforms with containers of toxic waste, which huge stirring devices were churning. “HUHUHU HA! HUHUHU HA! HUHUHU HA!” The Noid came flying in and started wreaking havoc around the chamber again. All of the waste containers came tumbling down and started to flood the room as Noid flew away. Kirie and Joey had to quickly hop their way up the resulted fallen platforms, and Joey had to use his Lego Whip to latch the fallen, but still spinning, churners. Kirie held onto his legs as they spun, the two releasing and flying onto safe footholds. (For the record, if Kirie’s hanging onto Joey, then they can’t swing and jump together.) Joey had to also form Block Stairs at some parts, but before the waste reached them, they were able to reach the highest part and enter the door.
This next room was packed with small gears, and over a dark chasm, the treadmill of Peak Point Helmets was still moving along (they honestly couldn’t understand the structure of this factory). There was another shrink ray, so Kirie ran up to activate it, and got down with Joey as they shrunk down simultaneously. They got on the gears and carefully made their way up the spinning platforms. There were some moving hooks small enough to jump on, which carried them partway across the chasm, but they were dangerous jumps. They managed to make it, and the Growth Pad restored them to normal.
The made it outside in an enclosed area among the rooftops, where the smokestacks’ smog covered the sky. There were Rainbow Monkeys around that wield flamethrowers, and the blasted fires straight upward. This caused explosions to erupt in the heavens and for little meteors to rain down. The kids quickly dodged the fires and took out the Rainbow Monkeys on the way. One of the monkeys waited at the top of some stairs and blasted flames down, but Kirie used a nearby trashcan to jump to the ledge and take the monkey out.
They entered the next door and entered room where Rainbow Monkeys were operating a machine, which seemed to be generating the Peak Point Helmets as they moved along the treadmill. The dolls took notice of them, and the Ninja Monkeys began to jump around and throw shurikens. Kirie smacked the weapons away with fans, but a Sumo Monkey charged over and pushed her away. Joey whipped out his Block Cannon and tried to shoot, but some Gun Monkeys started to shoot him, so he had to avoid. He quickly formed a Block Wall to block the monkey’s shots, then proceeded to knock the sumo away with the Block Cannon.
With the sumo down, Kirie was able to grab the ninjas’ shurikens and throw them back, slicing their heads off; much to Kirie’s dismay. Afterward, she launched her sharp flowers from her fans to take out the Gun Monkeys. The Sumo Monkey helped itself up, fuming with anger as it charged to ram Joey. The 5-year-old smirked and aimed his Block Cannon, pushing the huge ape straight into the Peak Point Machine. The machine was destroyed, and the treadmill stopped as a result. THAT’LL stop those mean old MONKEYS! Kirie sign-exclaimed.
With that, they went up some stairs into the next door, and were led to the hallways of the company executives. They seemed empty, but as they passed through, Rainbow Monkeys jumped out from random doors and shot them. With a start, the kids were able to avoid and quickly fight the monkeys back. They decided to check inside random offices to see if their mom might be in them, but no luck. After battling through more Rainbow Monkeys, the duo made it to Miss Leslie’s office. They skimmed around the office, and saw she had a Miranda Cosgrove poster on her wall. She must’ve been a fan.
“Huhuhu ha! Huhuhu ha!” Hearing this familiar cackle, they looked out the window and saw The Noid zipping around. “HUHUHU HA! HUHUHU HA!” he SMASHED through the glass, holding a bottle of Chemical X and shaking it wildly. “Nnnn-nuh!” he tossed the bottle at Joey, and it landed directly in his mouth top-first.
The Noid flew out, and Joey felt the incredible surge as the potion flowed into his throat. He dropped the bottle, as his body began to shake. With a burst of energy, Joey shot into the air and started flying around outside at high speed. He faced the frantic Noid with a glare, and both engaged in a light-fast midair clash. The light-red and green lights clashed and clashed, their bodies too fast to be seen. Finally, Joey shot high into the heavens and charged incredible momentum. He shot down like a meteor and RAMMED The Noid, the crazy creature unable to recover as he was forced against the ground, making a crater.
Joey hopped off as a GUN truck suddenly came. Soldiers hopped out, grabbed The Noid, and stuck him with a syringe. “Nyyyuuh-nnnnyuh.” It fainted.
“HUP.” The soldiers tossed him into their truck, then saluted to Joey. “HUP HUP HUP HUP HUP.” They drove away.
Joey smiled in victory, still floating, but another GUN truck came from behind as a soldier shot a dart at him. “Ohhhh…” Joey was drained of his power, and fell to the ground.
“HUP! HUP HUP HUP HUP.” They drove away.
Inside the factory, Kirie made it to the small room just before Kuki’s office. A group of four Rainbow Monkeys fell from the ceiling. Three of them had hats and beards/’staches, but the center one, colored purple and green, caught her attention: it was Kirie’s Rainbow Monkey from Christmas. Angered, the child ran around and kicked the mustached monkeys, knocking their helmets off as they fell unconscious. Finally, Kirie grabbed her present monkey, smashed its helmet against the wall, then threw the monkey toward the door. It got itself up to look at her surprised. Kirie ran to attack it again, but-
“WAIT, Kirie, it’s me!” the doll exclaimed. (End song.)
Kirie froze in place immediately, her face stricken with confusion. That monkey spoke with a familiar, half-toneless voice. …Mom?
“Sigh, I’m not really sure myself. One minute, these two ninjas show up and knock me unconscious, the next I wake up, I’m in this… doll. Which, ironically, I’ve always dreamed of this since I was a child. …What’re you doing here, anyway?”
Kirie turned as the purple Rainbow Monkey walked up. “Hunu, HUnu!” it said.
“…Huh. That thing turned out to be useful after all. It doesn’t have anyone’s soul, does it?”
Well, it has more soul than SOMEBODY I know! Kirie looked angered.
“What does THAT mean?”
You know, you don’t DESERVE to be in a Rainbow Monkey’s hugalicious body! They’re sweet and LOVING and CARING and SHARING… and they’re COLORFUL, unlike YOU! It’s bad enough Mr. Mogul made Rainbow Monkeys evil, but putting someone like YOU inside one of ‘em is the WORST!
“Oh…” Kuki realized, remembering yesterday. She released a regretful sigh, “Kirie, I really didn’t mean what I said. I-”
Then why’d you say it?! Kirie was on the verge of tears. The way you were trying to get on those inspectors’… SIDES! I thought you were a KID at heart! You wouldn’t’ve… cared about those businessmen’s opinion over your DAUGHTER! I love Rainbow Monkeys, but…but I love YOU more. And I thought YOU felt the same, but…
“Kirie, I…I was just angry. Okay? I overreacted and I…I really didn’t mean to hurt you.” Kirie could hear the regret in her toneless voice. Was she actually… truthful? “It’s true, I do love this job… but only because I want to support our family. I mean, Wally didn’t do that well in Harvard… you know?”
Kirie nodded, disbelieved at that thought; she had to agree, her father isn’t smart.
“But I guess I HAVE let it take control of my life. Even though I told myself I wouldn’t care about these businessmen’s approvals. To tell the truth, I miss the good times we used to have together, too. That’s why I decided to let you come here. But those inspectors got in the way. …I’m really sorry, Kir.”
Kirie’s tears faded fast, and she made a wide smile. You know what YOU neeeed?
Kuki looked up in surprised. “You don’t mean?…”
Kirie made a wide grin as she held her arms out. A FRIENDLY friend Rainbow Monkey FORGIVENESS huuuug! And she embraced her mother-monkey-doll in a tight, warming hug.
“Oh, Kirie…” Kuki smiled humorously. She may’ve been in a doll’s body… but she could feel her heart warming from her daughter’s hug.
“Ohhh… I say…” The two turned and saw three other Rainbow Monkeys, with familiar mustaches, recovering.
“And speaking of which…” Kuki said as the two looked disbelieved.
“Nnnn this has been a most unpleasant experience…” Mr. Gruffelman moaned.
“Hoo-hoooo! But my, MY, I feel ever-so colorful now!” Mr. Perkyman beamed.
Where are your bodies?? Kirie asked.
“Locked in that closet.” Kuki pointed. “Leslie’s tied in there, too.” They walked over as Kirie opened the closet, seeing Leslie having fallen asleep on her chair, still tied. “Hey, Leslie, wake up.”
“Snooore… hm, huhn?” the secretary woke up groggily.
“Don’t worry, my daughter’s here to rescue us.” Kuki explained. “She’s cleared up most of the guards outside. Right?” Kirie nodded.
“Ho, finally.” With that, Leslie stood up as the ropes fell off.
“YOU COULDA DONE THAT ALL ALONG?!” they all screamed (Kirie signed).
“I felt a little lazy.” She said. “So, what’s going on?”
“Sigh, we’ll explain on the way.” Kuki answered. “Right now, take our bodies down to the laboratory. We can probably use the Heart Bringer to switch us back.”
Well, I kinda shut it off, actually. Kirie mentioned.
“Ehh, we’ll have Stan and Dan fix it, they’re pretty fast.”
“Hnnn!” Leslie grunted as she struggled to lift Kuki’s and the inspectors’ bodies, moving slowly as she trudged out.
“We’ll leave Mr. Mogul to you.” Kuki told her daughter. “Good luck, Kir.” With that, the stuffed dolls hurried downstairs.
“Huff, huff, huff…” At this time, Joey finally made it back to the top floor, and was totally worn out. “I had to… huff… make it all the way back here… myself… pant…”
Come ooon, pant LATER, Joey! Kirie sign-yelled. We gotta go stop Mogul! The mute child hurried ahead, while Joey tiredly trudged behind.
The two siblings finally entered Kuki’s office, finding it totally deserted. The two searched every corner of the office with confusion, but found no trace of the corrupted president. “Hey, Kirie, look!” Kirie turned to Joey as the excited child bounced before a portrait of the man himself. Joey pulled the picture off, revealing a secret passageway.
Kirie looked with wonder and curiosity as she approached it. She jumped in first, followed by her brother as they began to crawl through. They had to make a few turns in the dark, dank tunnel before they suddenly fell into a hole. EEEEEEEE! If Kirie’s screams could be heard, they’d be as loud as her mother’s. Uuf! Her silent screaming stopped when they collided with a floor in a larger, bright-gray room.
“Ho-ho! I see you kids have made it!” (Cue Specter’s Theme.) The kids looked up surprised, seeing Mr. Mogul seated atop a machine. “Sooo, Kirie… you are lovely Miss Sanban’s dear daughter. How excruciating it is to meet you. Hmmm… and judging by your brother, I’m assuming she got married to the STUPID one!”
Heeey! You can’t call my daddy stupid! Only WE can call him stupid!
“Ho-ho-ho! I have no idea what you said. But THAT doesn’t matter! Because you’ve officially signed your last sentence!”
What about this one?
“Er, that didn’t count.”
This one?
“Nnnn, STOP SIGNING!!” Mogul fumed. “Hoo-o-o-o-o-o. Huff… anyhow, it’s time I put an end to your interfering. SAY HELLO TOOOO… THE HEEEAART GOLIATH!” They finally noticed that Mr. Mogul sat atop a huge, robotic Rainbow Monkey, with a chamber inside its chest similar to the Heart Bringer.
GAAAAASP! Kirie was shocked.
“Just how long do you think Stan and Dan have been in my business? They built this lovely automaton before I even joined the Brotherhood! This was the very FIRST Heart Bringer, constructed in this secret laboratory you stand in now. And I only just remembered it when I moved back into office. Ho-ho-ho-ho! You may have disabled the current Heart Bringer, but this Heart Goliath shall be the end of ALL children! It enhances the strength it gives to Rainbow Monkeys! And who better to test it out on than you.”
Grrrrr! YOU WON’T GET AWAY WITH THIS, Mr. Mogul!
“Ho-ho-ho-ho! Speechless as usual. Let’s end this enemyship once and for all! SIMON!”
The scrawny assistant popped up from behind the goliath. “Y-Yessir?”
“Put the plugs in, you fool, we have to start this baby up!”
“O-Oh! R-Right away, Sir!” With that, Simon frantically began to place a series of many plugs into the wall. Plugs connected from behind the Heart Goliath, as well as its sides. When all plugs were in, the robot began to shake to life, an evil smile on its face. A tube also connected on the robot’s back as the first of many Rainbow Monkeys slid in and landed on the chamber’s seat. The Heart Goliath brought the stuffed doll to life, and it looked fierce as it jumped down and faced the kids. Kirie and Joey whipped out their fans and blocks as the two readied for battle. (Play the “First Specter Battle” from Ape Escape 2!)
Boss fight: Heart Goliath
The giant automaton roared to life and sparked with electricity as it already sent more living Rainbow Monkeys at them. The goliath punched the ground and sent electric shockwaves, forcing the two to jump while they fought off the Rainbow Monkeys at the same time. Kirie tossed her sharp fans at the cockpit, but the robot’s arm defended Mr. Mogul before swinging and sending an electric wave from its arm. Kirie kept the Rainbow Monkeys away while Joey began to create some block stairs that would lead to the cockpit. He succeeded, but as Kirie hurried up, the robot simply swung its arm across the block stairs and knocked them all down.
Geeeeehh! Kirie growled mentally. That robot’s stronger than Rainbow Monkey Kong! What’ll we do about it?
Joey looked around and took notice of the wires connecting the robot’s sides and back. “Hey, Sis! Let’s do something about those wires!”
“Oh no you DON’T!” Mogul defied, punching more shockwaves at the ground.
The two jumped the waves as Kirie took out more Rainbow Monkeys. “Follow my lead, Kir!” Joey perked as they ran to the right side of the room. Mogul watched as the 5-year-old began to build a huge block wall dividing both sides of the room. As he made his way to Mogul’s right side, he noticed Joey’s wall made a curve towards him, likely making a passage toward the wires.
“Nnnn not so FAST!” the goliath punched the wall and sent it toppling down, knocking the child over in the process. However, Kirie appeared to be missing. “Huh? Wheeeere did she go??”
He didn’t noticed that, when the goliath knocked the wall down, Kirie was able to run behind the robot’s LEFT side, and she began to slice the wires with her fan’s flowers. “Gyuuuuh!” Mogul yelped when his robot began to malfunction. The machine roared in despair before toppling front-first to the ground. With that, Kirie quickly ran over and proceeded to lay kicks and fan-slaps against the businessman, since he was close enough to the ground. “Nnnn! Simon! Fix the machine and saaave MEEEE!”
“Uh, y-y-yessir!” the skinny assistant ran behind the goliath and hurriedly tried to fix the wires. He managed to do so, and the monkey robot sparked to life. It helped itself back on its feet with Kirie holding onto the cockpit, but the huge machine shook its head and sent her flying.
The goliath surged with more energy and began to jump, slamming the floor with its bottom and sending more shockwaves. It also sent more Rainbow Monkeys, this time ones with guns. Kirie gracefully twirled and jumped to avoid their shots while launching bladed flowers. The Heart Goliath launched forward slightly and punched her toward the back of the room, then kicked Joey before jumping back. The kids recovered and quickly dodged before more Rainbow Monkeys shot guns at them. Kirie launched flower petals to slice the dolls as Joey hurried over to begin setting up another block wall.
Mr. Mogul wasn’t going to fall for this, so he had the Heart Goliath constantly punch down the wall before Joey was even halfway across the floor with it. Joey kept trying and trying to set up his wall, but the goliath kept bringing it down. However, Mr. Mogul was too busy breaking the wall, he didn’t notice that Kirie had run behind the robot anyway, and proceeded to slice the wires up. “Gyaaah!” Mr. Mogul yelped when the robot began to power down. “Hnnnn not so fast! Power or not, this baby’s STILL standing!”
Kirie ran to the front as she and Joey looked up, seeing the robot still standing tall. “Doesn’t mean we can’t go up THERE!” Joey exclaimed as the boy ran to the middle of the room, and from there, proceeded to form another huge stairway of blocks. Kirie ran up the narrow stairs, careful not to slip off, and successfully made it to Mogul’s cockpit. She began to attack the businessman some more while Simon was frantically fixing the wires. When he succeeded, the Heart Goliath shook Kirie off and bashed the block-made stairs down.
The automaton roared with anger and power as it butt-slammed the ground and made more shockwaves. “Want to touch my wires? Well, TOO BAD! It’s time I severed the bonds of battle!” And with that, the floor between the kids and the goliath suddenly slid open, creating a huge chasm of electricity across the floor. It was much too far for Kirie to glide, and if she could, Joey’s wall would be set up too far to distract him. “Ho-ho-ho! Stumped now, aren’t ya? And now for the BIG ones!” Mogul pressed a button and sent in some Sumo Monkeys from the back tube. The sumos were brought to life and sent at the kids.
Kirie leapt to kick one, but it easily bounced her back, then Joey ran to punch its leg, but he was never strong enough to begin with as it kicked him back. Joey remembered how they defeated them before and dropped his Legos out of his sleeves, beginning to form his Block Cannon. However, the Heart Goliath launched electric waves and forced Joey to jump back, and he struggled to charge a shot to push the sumos back.
Kirie tossed her fans toward the cockpit to distract Mogul, but he easily evaded and kept throwing shock waves at Joey. “Hoo-hoo-ho-ho! This time, I’ve finally stumped you kids! It must be quite a SHOCK that you couldn’t find a way to beat me!”
“Hoo hoo hoooo! A-NOTHER good one, Sire!” Simon laughed.
“Silence, Simon! Once I defeat these kids, the rest of them will follow shortly after!” Unbeknownst to him, the purple Rainbow Monkey was climbing up the robot’s back. “THEN I’ll head to Rainbow Monkey Island, and REENACT my special plan to-” he whispered something that they didn’t quite catch from that height, “-then I’ll care to share with you a full helping of-” Angered, the Rainbow Monkey hopped up and grabbed onto Mogul’s face. “Ho-ho-ho HEY! I’ve gone blind! Ahh! Simon! Do something!”
Now that the robot was out of commission at the moment, Joey leapt back, charged his cannon, and BLASTED the Sumo Monkeys with the big blocks and sent them into the electric chasm. With that, the 5-year-old was able to use his Legos to make a tightrope across the chasm. Kirie stood on her tippy-toes and carefully crossed the chasm, making it behind the robot and slicing up the wires again. The robot shut down again, but it was still on its feet. Kirie quickly made it across the Lego tightrope again as Joey started to from another staircase, starting from near the other side of the room and ending before the chasm.
Kirie dashed up the stairs as Mogul was still trying to throw the living Rainbow Monkey off. The stairs ended far from the cockpit, but they were at a much higher level than Mogul. Kirie leapt off the top and flapped her sleeves to glide to the businessman. “Grrr!” Mogul finally threw the stuffed toy off, but- “Daa-aah!” Kirie landed on the cockpit and dealt more forceful kicks across his face. Kirie ended the round by leaping up and kicking him backward, and the chubby man fell back on a big, red button.
“Warning: Self-destruct in 3 seconds.”
“Huh?? Ho-ho-hoooo, whoooo puts a self-destruct button right behind the SEAT?! Those lousy scienTISTS!!” The Heart Goliath exploded to pieces, making the block-stairs topple as Kirie fell back to the center, and Mogul flew to the other side of the room. Joey walked over as Kirie shook her head and got back up, and Mogul was back on his feet as well, wielding a bazooka. “Ho-ho-ho! It’s not over until the mute girl is silenced! …Eh, MORE silenced! If I cannot flatten you like a pancake, I’ll blow you to smithereens AS WELL!”
The chubby man launched a series of fast missiles which Kirie was gracefully able to dodge, spinning left and right as she made her way to Mogul. Mogul failed to hit the swift girl as she was just inches away from him. The mute child leapt into the air and KICKED the man across the face, knocking the weapon away and knocking him to the floor. (End song.)
“You!” They turned around, seeing an angered Simon. “That’s as far as you go, children! I may just look like a whiny assistant to you, but I’ve taken 3 years of taekwondo, so ya BETTER-” But at that instant, one of Joey’s blocks came down and bashed his noggin. “Ohhhh…” He plopped down and fainted.
The 5-year-old smiled proudly while Kirie grinned. “Hm hm hm hm. Well, well… this was quite a surprise.” They looked around in surprise at this echoing voice. (Play Specter’s Theme.)
They watched as the floating white-furred monkey appeared a few feet away in midair. “Ho-ho-ho! Why, Specter…”
“I’m afraid I have bad news, Mr. Mogul.” Specter told him as he and Mojo approached. “I’m afraid I have to bring our mutual alliance to a… close. You see, I’ve already acquired enough of the resources I need, and I can make plenty more on my own terms. Quite a shame… I honestly would’ve loved to keep our partnership going… but seeing how you fair against two simple children… fills me with doubt. And I could never have worked with a man who would take poor, harmless monkeys and have them skinned for fur coats and rugs, while their remains are used to make luscious colorful Rainbow Meat.”
“You mean THAT’S what he was gonna do with ’em??” Joey exclaimed. “Yuuuuck!!”
“Yes… yuck indeed. Anyway… our partnership was fun while it lasted. But I have other matters to attend to. The business world never leaves one open, you know.”
Wait a minute!! Kirie signed up. Just… who ARE you?
“Hm… someone you haven’t seen the last of. That’s for sure. I’m afraid I’ll neglect to tell you much… but I will share this: Beware… of His Lesser Lordship.”
Whuh??
“Hmm, good-byyye… ha… ha ha HA HA ha!” And before their eyes, the ape expanded a blue psychic bubble from his helmet, encasing himself and Mojo. Mojo disappeared first, then Specter. There was not a trace of them left behind. (End song.)
“Hmmm… whaddyou think that was about?” Joey asked.
Kirie only shrugged.
Specter’s Hideout
“Well, this certainly was a fun place…” Specter smiled in remembrance. “But I’m afraid it’s time to move out soon.”
“It should not matter long, because with these bottles of Chemical X, we can create STRONGER soldiers, and then I; Mmmoooojo JOJO, will SHOW those fools what happens when they defy us, because we are POWERFUL, and they are WEAK, because THEY do not-”
“Yes, yes, rant, rant.” Specter stopped. “We still have one more important order we have to make. I have yet to acquire some fresh Vita-Z Bananas. There’s only one person I can rely on to get me such. Let’s phone him in right-” He stopped himself when his collar began to short-circuit again. “Ooof!” he yelled in his nasally voice. “And get this modifier fixed, too!”
Back in the factory
“Well, I think the lot of us can agree, that was quite the experience.” Mr. Britishman said. “Hwuite.”
“So Mr. Mogul was responsible for those incidents all along!” Perkyman deduced. “Oh, we owe you big thanks, Ms. Sanban!”
“Well… don’t thank me.” Kuki smirked, back in her normal body. “It was thanks to Kirie and Joey, my kids.” The two smiled proudly. “And we were pretty dumb to blame them.”
“Hnn, yes… but there’s still the matter of your inspection.” Gruffelman spoke. “Seeing as you had to rely on a couple of snot-nosed kids to fix everything, perhaps you are not a very responsible president after all.”
“You know, you can say what you want,” Kuki began spitefully, “but my kids are incredible, and they’re my biggest accomplishment, not this presidency. I’d choose them over this place anyday.”
“Nnnn so I suppose you’ll be stepping down then.” Gruffelman deduced.
“…No.” This made the men surprised. “I would step down, but after seeing what Mr. Mogul almost did, I couldn’t let this factory fall into wrong hands. I may be an adult, but I’m still a Kid Next Door like Kirie, so it’s my job to ensure this factory makes safe products for kids. And I won’t take crud from lousy adults like you or those Corporate Presidents.”
“Miss Sanban, that is quite enough.” The gruff inspector said smugly. “Relinquish your position now or face dire consequences.”
Kuki just gave a sly smile.
“Ooof-ooof-OHH!” In seconds, the men were sent flying out the door, bruised and tattered.
“That was… unfortunate…” Britishman moaned.
Dizzied, Perkyman followed, “That woman certainly hits hard… hoo-hoooooo…” they fainted.
“Brilliantly done, Miss…” Leslie smiled half-humorously.
“Thank you, Leslie.” Kuki smiled. “Perhaps they will pass the message to the Heads.”
“Ohhh, but how sad our Heart Goliath would return to HAUNT us!” Stan exclaimed.
“Ve built it a long time ago for Mr. Mogul, but feared its power!” Dan followed. “Ve shut it down as soon as Mogul vanished! Ve made a lesser model of the machine; without the giant robot, and even THAT backfired!”
“It’s all better now, boys.” Kuki assured.
Kirie smiled as the little, living Rainbow Monkey walked over with a smile. “Huuuu!” it hugged Kirie happily.
What’re you gonna do with the machine, Mom?
“Hmmm… the machine is still far too dangerous. It’s best to shut it down… later. …But that little guy would make a nice factory pet.”
“Yaaaaay!” the monkey cheered.
So; Mom, now that it’s over… you wanna hang out? Kirie signed hopefully.
“Hmmm… I’d love to, Kirie… but I still have some work to do. …For now, I’ll drive you home, but I still have to clean things up. But I’ll come home later… I promise.”
Okay… Kirie frowned doubtfully.
“Hey, Kirie!” Joey perked as they began to walk off. “You think I can join the Kids Next DOOR now??”
Hmmm… I’ll think about it.
Beatles Household; an hour later
Kirie was back at home, mindlessly playing with Joey’s blocks in the hall. She heard the door open and slam downstairs, and was surprised at whose voice it was. “Now WHERE’S my favorite daughter?” Kirie looked up, surprised when Kuki came upstairs. “I got something for you, Kirie…” She smiled as she held out a green-and-purple-wrapped present.
Kirie took the box and quickly unwrapped it. She made a wide smile, seeing it was the Rainbow Monkey she got for Christmas. “Merry late Christmas, Kirie.”
The mute child hugged the stuffed doll tighter than she’s ever hugged one before. Oh, Mom… what’s this one called, anyway?
“The Mother-Daughter Making Up Bonding Rainbow Monkey.” Kuki replied simply.
Awwwwwww! She hugged it even tighter.
Downstairs, Joey was playing Rainbow Monkey Tea Party with the purple living Rainbow Monkey. “More tea for YOU, Misses Lovedale!”
“Awwww!” the monkey smiled and drank the invisible tea.
“Ehh… you aren’t seriously PLAYING with that, are you?” Wally moaned. “Boys aren’t supPOSED to have TEA parties!”
“Mu, MU MU, mu, mu MU MU, mu!” the toy yelled.
“What??”
“She said, ‘You’re just a big, mean, meaniehead!’“
“Oh, don’t tell me you underSTAND it??”
“I do! Mom and Kirie taught me how to speak Rainbow Monkey!”
“NnnnAAAAAAwwww!” Wally cried in despair.
“Oh! I think I hear our guests at the door!” Joey perked as he walked behind a chair. “OHHH! HERE they aaaare!” He brought over two more Rainbow Monkeys, a dark-blue one with a tiny black mustache, and a light-blue with an orange mustache and glasses. “You almost MISSED it! Don’t worry, I’ll bring out the seconds!”
Joey set the stuffed dolls at the table and ran off as Mr. Mogul and Simon sat grumpily. “Hoo-o-o-o. Reduced to mere child’s toys, Simon. I can’t imagine anything worse.”
“I’m baaaack!” Joey cheered as he brought his teapot, pouring more fake tea. “You guys are so cuuute! I can’t wait to have parties with you EVERY daaay!” And the happy 5-year-old hugged the two lovingly.
“Awwww! This reminds me when I was a child,” Mogul smiled, “when I got my very first Yipperman Double-”
“Silence, Simon!”
“Y-Yessir.”
Cleveland Pier
The coastside had become much calmer despite what happened yesterday. The worker of Goofy Goober’s; nicknamed Mac, assisted Nickel Joe and his henchmen with loading crates onto their ship.
“Well-p, that’s the last o’ the Chocolate Mountain Supremes.” Nickel Joe proclaimed. “Ya’ve done us a real good favor, Mac.”
“Heh…heh…” the man panted tiredly.
“Now let’s call Mama and tell ‘er we’re on our way back.” Mac perked up at that statement, backing away in fear.
As he reached for his phone, Panini Drilovsky peeked out from behind one of the pier’s poles, her green eyes furrowed. One of Joe’s henchmen looked out to the intersecting beach, seeing the region in ruins. “Deeehh, what happened out there, Boss?”
“Who knows, probably just some knuckleheads.” Joe assumed as he finished dialing the number. “Yo, Ma? It’s me.”
“There you are, Joe. I’ve been expecting a call for days. What are you doing out there?!”
“Relax, Ma, I’m on my way home! I’ve made all final preparations for your special day.”
“Then hurry up and return here. The more you stay there, the more you’ll draw attention to our-”
“HEY! YOU!!” Panini immediately ran up and YANKED the phone away. “So, YOU’RE the crazy lady who’s been takin’ all our candy!” she yelled directly into the phone. “Well, listen up: if Ay ever see yer boys around here again, Ah’ll come down to where ya live and KNOCK YOUR TEETH OOOOUT!!”
Nickel Joe and his henchmen’s eyes and mouths dropped, all color falling from their faces. Mac stood in place, feeling more afraid and frantic than ever. Panini slammed the phone back in Nickel Joe’s hand and stomped off without another word. “SO ya’ve been warned!” …Except for those.
Somewhere else in the world, a tremendous woman was fuming with rage.
Somewhere in the sea
Candied Island: a legendary, sugar-filled paradise sought by candy-lovers everywhere. Towering mountains covered the island; they were enormous cakes with delicious frosting and candles on them, and the candles’ smoke filled the sky with dark pink clouds. The night was peaceful on this island… except there was a party taking place within the mountains. The Big Mom Pirates were gathering to celebrate their captain’s special day. (Play “We Will Rock You” by Queen.)
The south-east doors to the meeting room were kicked open, and in stepped the slim, sleek man in the tux, grinning and flipping his nickel. His two buff guards stood by his side as he stepped toward the table with his smooth expression.
Chief Negotiator of the Big Mom Pirates
NICKEL JOE
The south-west doors came open next. In stepped a group of your traditional Candy Pirates, and in their center, a very fat pirate with black hair and an open white shirt, letting his big hairy belly hang out as he slopped on a big lollipop.
Chief Candy Supplier of the Big Mom Pirates
FAT JACK
Next were the north-east doors. While one expected big, burly men surrounded by guards, instead, it was three babies with very cool expressions. A peach-skinned, football-headed baby in a yellow jacket, black shirt, yellow pants, and holding a teddybear. On his right, a brown-skinned 5-year-old with a black afro, blue T-shirt, dark-blue shorts, and sunglasses as he made “Rock-and-roll” fingers. And the last baby, a yellow-skinned girl with spiky hair, a pacifier in her mouth, wrapped in a blue blanket, and a fierce expression as she held a gun. There was also a weapon sash around her blanket.
Deadly Baby Trio of Big Mom Pirates
STEWIE GRIFFIN (scientist) – RALLO TUBBS (rapstar) – MAGGIE SIMPSON (assassin)
Finally, the north-west doors opened. In stepped a very familiar pirate with a yellow mustache and beard. However, he wore a huge, round hat with a red-pink feather, a very large, red coat covered with many lollipops, blackish-purple boots, and walked with a candycane.
Vice-Captain of the Big Mom Pirates
BLACK JOHN LICORICE
The six crew members sat at the round table on their respective sides. Once all were gathered, Rallo shut off the music from his boombox. (End song.)
“Ahhhh rap.” Stewie smiled. “The music that put James Moses Johnson outta business.”
“Friends… crewmates…” Nickel Joe spoke with a warming tone. “We are gathered here, on this day, for a very special occasion. Taday… is February 15th… our Mama’s birthday. Bring in the cake, boys!”
A couple of Joe’s men hauled in a huge, colorful birthday cake with many candles, and had it set on the table. “Our Mama should be in ’ere ANY moment. …Oh! There she comes now!”
The chamber quaked just then as they all looked anxiously to the northern-most doors, which were the biggest of all of them. Every few seconds, the chamber quaked, and they could hear its source drawing closer from the other side. They came slightly faster. From how they sounded, it was as though a dinosaur was stomping its way toward the room. No natural person could pack that much force in their stomps.
The quakes stopped as two pirates used all their strength to shove the doors open from the other side. The two were a long-legged pirate and some kind of humanoid lion. The minute the doors opened, an eerie wind blew and put out all the candles, making the room very dark. The stomps started again, and their massive source filled up the entire doorway. All they could see of the fat, gigantic woman was her enormous, grinning mouth, and a pair of ravenous red eyes that made the pirates shiver.
Captain of the Big Mom Pirates, one of Four Pirate Emperors
CHARLOTTE “BIG MOM” LINLIN
Rallo’s face was lit with amazement as he whistled. “You lookin’ FIIINE, Mama!”
“Nnnn, happy birthday, Mama, aaaahhh.” Fat Jack sighed.
“Nyaaaah.” A stream of drool spilled from the woman’s gigantic mouth, and it looked as though her drool burned like acid once it hit the ground. “I’ve been dying for this party for three months now.” She licked her teeth with her massive, moist tongue. “Where’s my caaaaake?”
“Heh, here ya go, Mama.” Nickel Joe said, a hint of nervousness in his voice. “The tastiest birthday cake known ta man. And a gigantic, bubbly soda to wash it down.” Another group of pirates brought in a gigantic soda bottle, about Mama’s size. “We very much hope ya like it.”
“Maaaamaaaaa.” The woman reached and grabbed the whole cake in her huge, husky hand. She shoved it in her mouth and munched sloppily. “MAAAAAHH!” The woman screeched and spat the sloppy remains of the cake in disgust, covering the pirates and the whole room. “This cake does not satisfy me. I am not satisfied! I CANNOT be satisfied! Knowing that brat is still out there.”
“It was just one kid, Mama, ha ha.” Joe chuckled nervously. “There’s a jillion of ’em. What can ya do?”
“If one kid is able to slip away from me… ALL of those tasty candy-holders will. I want to EAT ’EM ALL. …I want to eat NOOOW-”
“Aaaa-AAAAAH!” An unfortunate Candy Pirate was grabbed by Mama, and met his end inside of her mouth.
Big Mom licked the taste off her fingers before speaking again. “I must control the world’s entire production of candy. I must have ALL the candy in the world. Candy enhances my blood-sugar levels and makes me strong. By controlling business owners with fear, I can have ALL the candy. But if they decide to rebel against me, I won’t get any more. Whoever that child was that spoke out of term, MUST be PUNISHED.”
“Well, I guess she’s goin’ the way of Mr. Burns, eh Mags?” Stewie glanced at his assassin ally.
“Mw-mw.” Maggie still looked fierce as she sucked her binky and loaded her gun.
“Yo ho hoooo!” Black John laughed. “Ay wouldn’t be rushin’ into this too fast, Captain. Methinks I know where the young wench comes from: it be the Kids Next Door! Why, they be daring for a group o’ snot-nosed munchkins. It was they who defeated Davy Jones!”
“Nnnnn?!” Big Mom’s bloodshot eyes widened. “THEY defeated Davy Jones?! My closest rival?! His salt opposed my sugar to no end!”
“And correct me if Ah’m wrong, but I think it was they who showed ol’ K. Rool the door, too.” Joe grinned.
“They defeated two of the Four Pirate Emperors.” Big Mom was intrigued. “Then they pose a threat to my empire. If I am going to possess the strength to defeat them… I must devour the most succulent sweet that’s ever been sugared.”
“But Mama.” Nickel Joe grinned. “There was nothin’ sweeter than that tasty cake. We got that recipe from one of the most successful bakers ever known. It came from the recipe book of Benedict Uno Jr..”
“Maaaa…” Drool fell from Mama’s mouth and burned on the ground. “That cake was inferior. The only cake that truly satisfied my taste buds… was when I was a little girl. It was a cake… so succulent and enticing… I would never want to taste anything else. It was my grandmother’s… Beth Linlin… of the Annoyingly Cute Triplets Who Lived Upon The Hill!!”
The crewmembers looked at each other, surprised. “But Mama…” Nickel Joe spoke. “That recipe’s been gone since the 19th century. No one in this time could know it!”
“So let’s ask someone not from this time.”
The pirates looked to the northwest door at this thick, Hispanic voice. A teenage, silhouetted boy stood in the doorway, a lollipop clutched in his fingers.
“Nnnnn! Who, Augustus??” Big Mom asked.
The boy’s sunglasses sparkled. “His name is Rick Strowd.”
That’s right, folks. Big Mom… is Monty and Father’s… cousin. She is… Nigel and Yin & Yang’s relative. The descendant of the final Annoying Triplet has been revealed. Ahhhh why is the Uno Family always so mean? Man, I didn’t think I’d get the stage and boss done in one night, but WOW! There’s Specter, from Ape Escape, another member of Team Gnik. I kinda just realized Stan and Dan kind of resemble Numbuhs 71.562 and 74.239. ^.^ They’re actually based off those nerdy men from “Operation: S.A.T.U.R.N.”. Leslie comes from WordGirl, and she’s actually the second WordGirl crossover in my series (the first being Exposition Guy). And yes, Bob the Builder from Bob the Builder, he’s gonna appear later, too.
Chapter 4: Operation: F.A.I.L.
Summary:
Sector RZ is a slumping sector, mainly thanks to Lee Andrew's constant slip-ups. But things only become crazier after rescuing a mysterious blue-haired girl from captivity.
Chapter Text
Hello, everybody. This story will introduce a major side-character for the Seven Lights Saga, and we’ll have development for Sector RZ. What, you don’t know who those guys are? EXACTLY!!
Now loading…
Kids Next Door mission…
Operation:
F.A.I.L.
Feeling
Absolutely
Incompetent
Lee’s
Loading transmission…
Rozeland Elementary
Normally kids would say “I hate Mondays” at the start of a new week… but none ever thought they’d hate Wednesdays this much. ’Cause no one likes having their school commandeered by crazy people. “PARENT TEACHER ORGANIZATION OF ERADICATING YOUNGSTERS, GIVE these kids a day of school they’ll never forget!” exclaimed the PTOOEY’s leader, the Principal.
In the gym, a boy was tied to a punching bag as Mad Dad was mercilessly punching the snot out of him. “COME ON, YOU LAZY BRATS! Don’t ya know how ta punch?!” He beat away without rest, the other students looking with worry and helplessness. They had no intention of punching their friend, but what could they do?
Meanwhile, Midwestern Mom was occupying the cafeteria, forcing tables of tied-up students to stuff their face in apple pies. “OHHHH YEAH. GRAMMA STUFFUM AIN’T THE ONLY COOK ’ROUND THESE PARTS. Y’all’re gonna finish yer pies and be DERN grateful yer mom works this hard!!”
“But I feel siiiiiiick!” a girl moaned.
“DON’T TAKE THAT TONE WITH ME, YOUNG LADY,” she smacked her with her purse, “now GET TA EATING!”
In the library, children were tied at tables with iPhones strapped to their eyes, pages of online books scrolling before them. “You kids don’t like reading books the old-fashioned way? Fine! You’ll read those eBooks until your eyes go blurry!” the Terrible Tutor threatened.
Above the school, Heli-Teacher flew around on her flying chair, keeping watch. “No sign of those KNBrats yet. Guess they’re too busy fighting gods or something.”
“Then we Parent Teacher Organization will finally have victory!” Principal declared, in the teacher’s lounge with the school’s real, tied-up teachers.
“I wonder though, Paul… is what we’re doing even considered ‘evil’ anymore?” Heli-Teacher asked via communicator. “I’ve been doing my research, and a lot of villains these KNBrats face nowadays are really somethin’. It makes us Brotherhooders seem… washed up.”
“Oh, quit worrying, Maya! Sure the KND got a lot of superpowers now, but we supervillains still have!-”
“H-Hey! What’s going—GAAAAH!”
“Hnn?! Heli-Teacher! What happened?! Where are you-”
A crash was heard across the hall. They all raced to the cafeteria, seeing Heli-Teacher on the floor, having fallen through a hole on the ceiling. Standing above that hole was a shadowed figure alit with flames, and an evil smirk. “Is…Is that-”
The girl jumped down and revealed to be Diwata Uno, joined by the other 4 members of Sector RZ. “Parent Teacher Organization of Washed-up Villains, prepare to be defeated by Kids Next Door’s Sector RZ!” exclaimed Numbuh 2.3, Leanne Andrea Grayson. She had long brown hair with bangs covering her green eyes, wearing a red sweater and blue skirt, matching her rubber shoes. Her long socks were striped red and green, she wore a red colander helmet with “RZ” on the forehead, and a green pocket belt around her chest.
“…PHEW.” The villains sighed with relief.
“For a second there, I thought it was Sector V!” Mad Dad smiled. “I don’ wanna deal with that raccoon chick! You hear what she did to Cuppa Joe the other day? Just for dumping his coffee in the sea??”
“Forget about Sector V! WE’RE the real deal TOO.”
“Yeah, so give us back our waffles!” Denny Whitby demanded. A peach-skinned boy with brown hair and black eyes, he wore a black sweater, yellow pants, brown boots, and a red football helmet also with “RZ” pasted on it.
“And our pancakes!!” exclaimed Lulu Whitby. Denny’s sister was brown-skinned and chubby, her brown hair in pigtails, and she wore glasses. She wore dark-green tights and a light-blue sweater, as well as a red hat resembling an artist beret.
“I think you’re missing the point.” Lee Andrew Grayson said. A rather short boy, he had sandy-blonde bowl-cut hair nearly covering his robin’s egg-blue eyes, a gray sweater and pants, and brown military boots.
After Heli-Teacher recovered, Principal announced, “Parent Teacher Organization, SCATTER!”
“Sector RZ, BATTLE stations!” At Leanne’s command, the five split up to go after a certain villain.
Mad Dad and Denny engaged in a fist-fight using both their punching gloves. Their fists clashed with equal force, but Mad Dad sent Denny away with a headbutt. “You call that a headbutt?” he retorted, fixing on his football helmet. “I’ve bashed with bulls who hit harder!” He charged headfirst at the hot-headed parent and sent him flying to the wall with a stronger headbutt from his helmet.
“You think your pies are any good?” Lulu said to Midwest Mom. “You haven’t seen my Pancake Karatay!” Using a 4x4 gun, she fired dough balls in the air and blasted them with a S.P.I.C.E.R., cooking them into pancakes in seconds. As they came down at Midwest Mom, who readied to knock them away with her purse, Lulu shot her with a syrup gun so the steaming pancakes would stick to and scorch her sticky form.
“Aaaaahh! What ‘n’ tarnation?!”
“Dern tootin’!” With that, Lulu slid butter cups across the floor so Mom would trip and fall.
As Terrible Tutor was trying to pile Diwata with books, the Uno child punched flames in the air to burn any that came. “You know, books are not just spare firewood, young lady! If you knew how much trouble authors went through to get them published, you’d be a little more appreciative!” He suddenly had all the burned papers surround and swallow Diwata, eventually trapping her in a paper ball. She tried to alight with flames, but the papers became too thick.
“Huh huh ha haaaah! Try to catch me, Kids Next Door!” Principal taunted, flying circles above Leanne. Leanne sent her shadow, Ash up to try and catch the villain, but he evasively flew away. “Ha ha ha! You kids are nothing compared to—DUI!” While looking behind, he slammed into a ceiling light and fell.
“Nothing compared to having a useless power.” Leanne smirked.
Finally, it was Lee Andrew facing Heli-Teacher. “He may be dumb enough to crash, but I’VE got my eye on you, brat.”
“Heh, that may be so.” Lee smiled coolly, clutching his G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A., “but try to keep an eye on hundreds of gumballs coming your way! I’ve modified this G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A. to fire three rounds of multi-directional gumballs at once!” Indeed, his weapon’s turret was aimed up, down-right, and down-left. “And when my shadow, Damien faces a different way,” his shadow aimed to Lee’s left, “it’s double the triple! Ready, Dami?”
“Um, Lee, are you sure you tested that-?” Leanne tried to say.
“FIRE!” The sextuple round of rapid gumballs bounced furiously around the lunchroom. The tied-up children screamed in agony as they took hits, as did Lulu, Denny, and Leanne, even Lee himself. He was forced to stop firing, but- “WHOA!” Heli-Teacher had him binded in ropes while the others took the other operatives hostage.
“HAHA ha ha!” Heli-Teacher laughed. “You shoulda just stuck with your silly powers, ‘cause your weapon’s as useless as-”
“HEY, GUUUUYS!” Three familiar, hated villains burst into the room.
“Oh, geez!” Mad Dad cried. “It’s the Toiletnator, Dr. Light, and-”
“THE BOX Ghooost! Whose introduction will not be slandered by some drunk guy in underwear!” the blue ghost announced.
“WHAT’RE YOU nitwits DOING HERE?!” Midwestern Mom screamed.
“We heard you were invading a school, so we thought we’d drop in!” Lou perked.
“And we thought we’d help you, with our NEW invention!” Dr. Light smirked.
“BEHOLD!” Box Ghost threw off the curtain covering the device, “Our new box-shaped Toiluminator!” It was a square-shaped toilet with a lightbulb on its back and a helmet hanging above the seat. “Kids must always think about work or school while attending to their defecating desires. The helmet will read their minds to see if they do as such, thus the lightbulb will glow, but when they don’t, they get SQUARE-SHAPED SWIRLY!”
“But what if they just have to pee?” Heli-Teacher questioned.
“Um…we couldn’t make the helmet stretch that far yet.”
“Here! Let me show you how it works!” Toiletnator excitedly plugged the toilet into an outlet. It began to shake uncontrollably as the lightbulb and helmet sparked. “…Uh-oh.”
From outside the school, one could see an explosion of water emerge from above where the cafeteria is, and a square-shaped toilet fly beyond the front gates and smash into pieces.
Minutes later…
Aaron and Rhilliane Doblemitz arrived to guide the eight villains onto their S.P.R.A.Y.S.H.I.P.. “When does a TOILET get plugged in ANYWAY?” Heli-Teacher questioned.
“If you ask me, RZ just got lucky.” Aaron said to his brother as they climbed in the cockpit. “If those bozos hadn’t shown up, they probably wouldn’ta beat them.”
“Why’d Cheren call them, anyway? Sector V’s just a few miles away, they coulda done it much easier.”
“You know, seeing as they’re the kids of Sector Z, you woulda expected more from ‘em.” And with that, Sector RZ watched with negative looks as the guards flew away.
“Well, that’ll look great in the mission report.” Leanne said sarcastically. “Next time, Lee, just leave the 4x4 to Lulu.” She passed her brother without a glance on the way back into school, as did the others. Lee held his head down in shame as he followed Lulu, the carefree girl munching a pancake.
Sector RZ Treehouse
“That test was HAAAAARD.” Diwata whined as they returned home tiredly. “Why couldn’t we just let those villains stay for a while longer?” Sector RZ’s vice-leader had long blonde hair and brown eyes, wearing a green sweater with a brown utility belt, orange skirt, green socks, and purple shoes. She also had pearl earrings.
“Toiletnator woulda come anyway.” Leanne noted. “But I heard adult schools make it way worse than us. Relatively.”
“Hey Lulu, where’s our afterschool hotdogs, I’m starving!” Denny demanded.
“You’re only getting a raw one, Denny!!”
“Ooo-ooh! I’ll take mine raw!” Diwata jumped. Lulu tossed her a raw hotdog, which she simply singed with firebending and munched away.
Leanne and Lee sat on opposite sides of the couch, elbow rested on the armrest with their head in their hand and one leg lain across the couch. “Next time you wanna try and help, Lee, do it in a fashion that doesn’t endanger your fellow operatives?”
“Well, it’s not like YOU did much EITHER!” he snapped back. “The Principal only knocked himself out!”
“Still didn’t endanger my fellow team.” Leanne said with a casual face. “The fact is, modifying weapons just isn’t your special skill.”
“Well, it woulda helped to get a one-shot about it.”
“Sorry, reserving it for someone else.” Diwata said.
“It’s sure gonna put a dent on our ranking, though.” Leanne sighed, folding her arms behind her head. “That makes the 3rd accidental mission success this month. Next to 4 failed missions. Then they send Sectors V or W in our place.”
“If those guys are so great, why don’t they just send ‘em first?? Let THEM mess up!” Diwata whined.
“If those villains are so smart, why can’t they keep their evil plans a secret from us?” Lulu questioned.
“Well, it’s not like they could.” Leanne replied. “Moonbase has a special team of sensory psychicbenders who sense any active evil auras around the world. Then they send some shadowbenders to investigate what this evil aura’s doing, then beam the info to Global Command, who then send the nearest or most fitting sector to complete the job. They were also gonna use fearbenders as an interrogation squad, but then we decided that was too cruel.”
“How the Kids Next Door has evolved.” Denny sighed in mock reflection.
“But compared to what other sectors deal with lately, we’ve been getting the easy tasks, and failing almost every one. We’ve got the lowest success rate.”
“What?! You mean we’re worse than all those sectors no one cares about?!” Lee exclaimed.
“No, just the lowest of the Top 10.”
“Dat, dada daaaaa!” Lulu presented a chart revealing the 10 listed sectors.
- Sector RZ
- Sector R
- KND Bike Hub
- Sector L
- Sector Q
- Sector IC
- Sector W
- Sector W7
- Sector DR
- Sector V
“The heck does the Bike Hub do?!” questioned Lee.
“They get some pretty awesome stages.” Denny said.
“It’s still a pretty good rank.” Lulu commented.
“Yeah, but back in our parents’ day, they had Number 1 spot, with Sector V almost tying.” Leanne said sadly. “How could we slump so much?”
“Because Lee keeps messing everything up!” Lulu said perkily.
“What? I do not!”
“Kinda do.” Leanne replied. “Remember when you tried to make a real volcano for your science project?”
They recalled the image of their school burning in magma.
“Or Slip Soap Mountain!” Denny perked.
They saw hundreds of kids on stretchers to the hospital.
“Heh heh! I still remember that time he tried to make a gum-puffing trombone!” Lulu laughed.
They saw Lee blowing full force into a trombone that puffed an expanding gum, attempting to cover the Food Patrol, but when he sucked in more breath, he sucked the gum straight back and puffed his head, causing him to drift upward.
“Remember when he tried to karate-chop Cheese Shogun, then he slipped, flipped, and chopped his own head??” Diwata exclaimed.
“Or when he tried showing off to Haruka by spinning real fast on those spinny thingies at the park, and he slipped outta his pants!” Denny yelled.
“One time, he made a pencil stand straight on the teacher’s chair so he’d sit in it, but when he wanted the apple on his desk, he sat on the chair himself by accident.” Leanne followed.
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” The four members had a great time recollecting.
“Ha ha ha, heh… hey, where did Lee go?” Leanne asked, the four looking around.
“Probably to the bathroom.” Denny figured. “Yo Lulu, where’s my hotdog?” At this, a frozen hotdog flew and hit his head.
“Tell Miyuki’s sister to cut it for ya.”
Sector IC Treehouse
“Aaaaa…choo!” Miyuki sneezed, sucking the snot back in. She sat between George and Terry, who were playing a game. “Suki, could you please tone it down…”
“Yaaaaayy!” She skied joyously on her ice path.
Grayson Household
“HA HA HUAH HAH!” cried Ashley Grayson, furiously swinging her Wiimote. “AAAAAHH… YAH!” With a forceful down-thrust, the battle was won. “YEAH!! Think you’re gonna kick MY butt, King Fatblin?? Ashley Sommers RULES Hyrule Warriors 2!”
Her husband, David came in with a disbelieved smirk. “Weren’t you over your cutting streak after you cut down that bounce house with an umbrella?”
“Hey if I rest now, I’m gonna lose my edge. I need to keep my arms MOVIN’. MY BLADE FRESH!! I used to be able to cut solid wood with my umbrella!”
“Right.” A sweatdrop. “And now we’re gettin’ kicked out of parties. I’ma go eat fruitcake.”
As David walked away, leaving Ashley to swing her virtual blade, she was approached by Lee Andrew. “Hey Mom… can I play?”
“You sure about that, Lee? Last time, I totally smoked you.”
“Come on, I can still fight!”
“Yokay. Grab a Wiimote and join in.” Lee grabbed the other Wiimote and switched it on, choosing to play as Fi. They picked the Lanayru Desert stage and began fighting their way past Technoblins. Lee was already getting his butt shocked by their electric swords. “You know you have to equip Wooden Shield against them, right?”
“Fi’s made outta diamonds, she should handle it!” he yelled aggravated.
“Not in this game. It’s like how in Mario & Sonic when Eggman runs faster than-” A crashing sound. “…You fail.”
Lee threw his controller on the floor and plopped on the couch. Ashley slayed the 30 Technoblins real quick before sitting beside him. “Did something happen today, Lee?”
“I messed up another mission.” He replied angrily. “Just like the last one. And a few before that. And all the others do is make fun of me. Why am I so bad at everything? I’m only half as good at shadowbending as Leanne, and look how much Haruka’s improving at her healing. Other operatives keep saying… how we make Sector Z look bad. And it’s because of me…”
“I don’t really care that you fail, Lee. Except in school, maybe. But failing is a part of life, everyone does it. Doesn’t matter how often. And one day, your friends will accept that.”
“Sure. But until then, I’d rather hang with Sector W7.”
“Aw, Lee. Just try to make amends with them, play some games or somethin’. Even if they always beat you, at least you have someone to play with.”
“…” Without a word, Lee slowly trekked back to the treehouse.
“Siiigh, well that’s enough Zelda. …Maybe I’ll play some Yoshi’s Story.”
She loaded the game on her Wii U II and chose the first level. The happy, casual music played as Ashley made Yoshi hop through in this kid-friendly game. “…GAAAH! DAMMIT YOSHI, I wanted you to eat the SHY GUY, NOT THE FRUIT! AAAAAAAHH!” She slammed her controller on the floor. “Stinkin’ lousy Virtual Console remake of N64! Available at the Wii Store for only $4.99!!”
A picture of the Yoshi’s Story cover was shown. Virtual Console! It’s a few microbytes worse than the original!
Remakes suuuuuck!
Sector RZ Treehouse
“HELLOOOO? Guys? …” Lee called around the living room confusedly. He then found a note on the couch. “‘Dear Lee, went to get more food. Woulda asked you to come, but you probly need cool-down time. Love, Leanne.’ …Right.” Tossed it away. He then plopped on the couch and grabbed the remote. “Wonder if anything decent’s on.”
He pushed the button, and immediately the treehouse flashed red, Lee jumping at the screeching alarm. Numbuh 65.49 appeared onscreen. “This is Moonbase calling Sector RZ, do you copy?”
“Uhhhh… this is Sector RZ. What’s the emergency?”
“Numbuh 3.2, where is the rest of your sector? I at least need to brief the Sector Leader.”
“Look, the others are out, just pass me the message. Leanne’s my sister, I’ll get it to her.”
“Sigh, look all our shadowbenders are busy, so we needed someone to infiltrate this weird base we’ve just picked up in Black Acropolis, Alaska. We’ve determined it’s the same base Dr. Eggman used 20 years ago, but there’s suddenly been activity in there again. I’m sending you the mission specs, so get ‘em to 2.3 as soon as possible. And DON’T mess this up!”
The transmission ended as Lee rolled his eyes, and the tiny strip of paper began to print off. He took the specs and was about to go find Leanne… until he stopped to look at them himself. After today’s mess-up, they probably wouldn’t bring him anyway. Would serve them right if he brought back info all by himself. …
Black Acropolis, Alaska
Lee’s S.C.A.M.P.E.R. was speeding quick across the snowy skies, swerving uncontrollably. “Ugh, I can’t make out a thing! Why is it so dark?!”
“Maybe because you forgot to turn on headlights, Master.” Damien said.
“…” Lee blushed, “Oh, right, hehehe.” He turned them on. “Phew. Now I can see that mountain—AAAAAAH!”
His S.C.A.M.P.E.R. crashed the very tip of the mountain and sent his ship flipping, bouncing furiously across the ground until it stopped completely and sent him flying out. He landed and scraped across the snow before helping himself up, holding his head. “Owwww.”
He couldn’t make out anything in this blizzard. Just endless white, wherever he looked. He would never notice the duo of shadows lurking up behind him. Shadows that were growing bigger as they were hopping closer. Lee shuddered for warmth as he trudged across the snow, hoping he landed close to this base. But his journey wouldn’t be a peaceful one before the shadows tackled him. “AAAAHH!”
“Look, Donna! We got ‘im, we got ‘im!” jumped a brown-haired boy in a green coat and hood.
“Yeah! We did, Sonny!” cheered a twin girl in a light-yellow coat.
“Ow, ow!” Lee yelped as the twins jumped on. “The heck are you, get off me!”
“We’re the Ice Climbers!” They jumped off, letting Lee stand. “I’m Sonny!”
“And I’M Donna!”
“AND TOGETHER WE’RE… THE ICE CLIMBERS!”
“You just said that.” Lee sweat-dropped.
“We were exploring the snow!-” Sonny began.
“-when a chilly wind blow!” Donna followed.
“And a weird ship-”
“-fell down below!”
“WE CAUGHT A SKY YETI!”
“I am not!! My name is Lee and I’m from Sector RZ. I’m on a mission to research some mysterious base.”
“Your name is Leeee?” Donna queried.
“From Sector R-Zeeeee?” sang Sonny.
“IT RHYMES!”
“WOULD YOU KNOCK IT OFF?! Anyway, I think I know you guys. Sector IC’s parents were friends with your parents. But I thought you lived in Iceland.”
“Sure we do!” sang Donna.
“We go everywhere!” followed Sonny.
“‘CAUSE WE’RE EXPLORERS OF ICE!”
“WhostealKNDships.” Sonny said fast.
Lee sweat-dropped. “That explains it. Look, maybe you guys can help. There’s a base somewhere around here and I have to see what it’s about. I don’t suppose you guys…”
“A base, you say?” Sonny asked.
“We’ll LEAD the way!”
“But you’ll go OUR way.”
“THE ICE CLIMBER way!”
“Uhhhh…”
Before he knew it, Lee was frozen as the Ice Climbers rode him like a sled across the snows. “YEEEAH!” Over a trench. “YEEAH!” Between two boulders. “YEEAH!” Over a loop. “WHOO-OOOAAAA.” Down a very steep mountain.
But soon enough, they came to a very calm halt. Sonny and Donna hopped off and broke Lee’s ice cube with their wooden hammers. “Huhuhuhu. Brilliantly done. …” The blizzards began to clear as Lee walked forward, overlooking the dark, dim base from atop a hill. Searchlights were active and skimming around, but it didn’t look very populace. “Okay, stay here, you two. I’ma go see what’s up.”
Using his Shadow Veil, Lee was easily able to sneak around the vacant base. There were some old Eggman robots still on guard, but sneaking by them was no hassle as Lee made it to the base’s center. The first thing he noticed was a girl sat cross-legged inside a glass capsule, a calm, but worried look on her face. She wore a dress of yellow and blue stripes, a white bow on her chest, and brown Greek sandals with white feathers at their base. What really stood out was her ocean-blue, elbow-length hair, pointed ears, and blood-red eyes.
Lee then saw the back of a chubby man in a white coat. With his brown hair, slight beard, glasses, and maniacal expression, Lee recognized him as Professor Bob. “Nn he ha ha. Finally.” He rubbed his hands evilly. “After 5 months, my new Weatherator is almost ready to activate! Those Kids Next Door had the gall to trap me inside a freezing base for 20 years and not bring me cocoa?! Well, once my device is completed, they can ALL freeze, in my ETERNAL BLIZZARD!”
Lee exchanged a nod with his shadow. Damien took their M.A.R.B.L.E.s and flew down the hall and threw the explosives around to fill the hall with smoke. “HUH?! What’s going on back there?!” Professor Bob was quick to act, not seeing Lee behind his control panel. Bob searched around, but Damien was quick to evade his sight, slyly tying his shoelaces together. “Those lousy robots are gonna- WAAAH!” He tripped.
“Hehehehehehe!” Damien cackled.
The blue-haired girl gasped when Lee ran up to her capsule. “Stand back!” She backed against the cell, still very worried. Lee threw a M.A.R.B.L.E. and blew the glass open. Alarms immediately began to blare across the base. “Come on!” Lee took her hand and began to dash across the hall.
As Professor Bob tried to untie his laces, the two zipped by him. He jumped to his feet- “STOP THEM- WHOOA!” and fell.
Robots appeared and blasted lasers at their feet, Lee hurriedly dodging while pulling the girl along. “Once we get to the yard, we’ll be good from there.”
They made it to the outer yard and ran for a wall on their left, evading the searchlights’ machineguns as they sunk in Shadow Veil and slithered up the wall. They simply ran across the roof afterward as Lee searched around for the Ice Climbers. “There they are!” The duo was building snow sculptures of their selves standing victoriously atop Lee’s body.
Lee Shadow Veiled them to the outer fence and hurried up the slope. “I’m back.” Lee huffed, releasing the girl. At this time, the clouds had cleared away, letting in the sunny sky.
“HE DID IT HE DID IT!” Both jumped. “Whaddid he do?” Donna asked.
“I rescued this girl!” He smiled proudly.
“WHAT GIRL?”
“…” Lee turned around, finding small, empty footprints. “..! HEY!” The mysterious girl was rushing across the snowfield at whipping speed. “WHOA she’s fast!!”
“Super FAST, SUPER FAST!” The Climbers hopped around joyously. “Like Sonic!” said Sonny.
“Come on, let’s go after her!”
“Leeet’s GO!” Both took Lee’s hands and created an ice path to ski at great speed. They tried their best to catch up to this girl, but in time, all they could make out was a shrinking blue dot. “Whoa, she is fast!” Sonny frowned.
“REALLY fast!” gasped Donna.
“I THINK SHE MAY BE THE FASTEST THING ALIIIIIVE!” the twins sang.
“It doesn’t MATTER how fast she is, we gotta ask her why she was in that base!”
“Uhhh… it might matter now.” Sonny pointed. In 10 more seconds, the girl was out of sight.
“Siiiigh… darn. Well, so much for not messing up a rescue.”
“Awwww you rescued her, didn’t ya?” Sonny said comfortingly.
“Yeah! Be PROOOOUUD!”
“Heheh… yeah, I guess you’re right.” He smiled. “Well, let’s get back to my S.C.A.M.P.E.R.. Runaway or not, that’s one less kid held against her will!”
They eventually made it back to the snowy field where the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. was in sight. “Hey, that’s…” The blue-haired girl was rushing from the field on their right, going straight for the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.. “HEY!!” Lee tried to get there first, but she was already inside and roaring the engines to life. He could only stop and gasp for breath as his ship flew beyond the horizon. “GREAT.” He plopped on the snow. “There goes Leanne’s S.C.A.M.P.E.R.. What was that girl’s problem?!”
“Ohhhhh. Poor Lee-Lee.” Sonny frowned.
“I know! You can use our S.C.A.M.P.E.R.!” perked Donna.
“Huh? You guys?”
“Well, sure! We said we steal KND ships!” Sonny smiled.
“Because it’s FUUUN!” Donna cheered.
“And convenient when ya need one.” Son winked.
“And we can come, too! You live in someplace snowy?”
“No, I… live in Rozeland.”
“Oh, LAAA-AAAME. Just drop us off in Iceland.” Son sighed.
“We’ll just go sledding down Oil Ice Mountain!”
“Well… okay… Hopefully Leanne won’t realize her real S.C.A.M.P.E.R.’s missing.”
Sector RZ Treehouse
After dropping the Ice Climbers at home, Lee returned to Sector RZ, parking the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. in its place like nothing happened. “THERE you are.” Leanne immediately greeted when Lee entered the living room. The others were watching TV. “Where have you been, Lee?? Moonbase called and said they sent you mission specs!”
“All taken care of!” he stated proudly, planting the specs in her hand. “Just saved a kid from a crazy adult in Alaska! Yo Den, anything good on?” He walked to the couch.
“Well, they’re playing Casper again, not that Halloween’s coming anytime soon.”
Leanne skimmed the specs. “Lee, it says you were supposed to study the base and bring back info, did you?”
“Well, not exactly, but this kid was trapped there and I saved her, then I, uh, brought her home! Heheh.”
“So where does she live?” she asked with a suspicious glare.
“…New Jersey.”
“Incoming transmission from Moonbase.” Their show was interrupted when Cheren’s face appeared onscreen.
“Sector RZ, our flight radars show one of your ships flying in the middle of Pacific Ocean and just, crashing. We’ve also picked up a ship belonging to Sector IC inside your hangar. Care to explain?”
“…” Everyone’s glares were focused on Lee. “Eh heh heh…” Lee scratched his head. “Okay, so maybe I didn’t bring her to New Jersey…”
“Siiiiigh. Well, I’m afraid I’m gonna have to mark you guys for letting your ship fall to unauthorized use. And for taking the ship of another sector without permission. Watch yourselves, guys. And bring IC’s ship back.” Transmission ended.
“Lee, you don’t even have a S.C.A.M.P.E.R., whose did you take?” Leanne asked.
“Yours. I knew the passcode.”
“Well, did you remember to reset the passcode after you landed??”
“…Oh.”
“Siiiiigh. Halright, guess we’ll take Sector IC’s back. Lulu, follow me in yours so I have a ride back. Just stay here Lee, we won’t have time for any sidetrips.” With that, they marched to the hangar, leaving Lee behind. The boy returned to the couch and slumped in depression.
Nighttime
A calm, breezy night over Rozeland. The starry sky was clear and the full moon shining bright. “‘OOOWWWWWWWWWLLLLL!” howled Diwata Uno on the roof of her house.
Her mother, Luna peeked out the window. “Dee-Dee, I know the moon’s pretty, but why do you have to act like a werewolf?” she chuckled.
“I just get so happies when I sees the moon! GOOO MOOOOOON!”
“Well, come in soon!” her father, Bruce yelled, “It’s getting windy and you might fall off the roof! You won’t be able to howl with broken lungs!”
“Bruce, why you always gotta be like that?” Luna questioned.
“‘OOWWWWWLLL!”
Grayson House
“Come on, Lea, I said I was sorry. Doesn’t the fact I saved an innocent kid make up for it??” Lee tried to reason as they walked upstairs.
“Well, the reason shadowbenders don’t do the missions their selves is ‘cause they don’t know all the details, so they have to gather info. You weren’t even sure if this kid was some, crazy robot or something, and he was trying to confine it. I just hope we aren’t blamed for the destruction of several KND treehouses tomorrow morning.”
“If she was a robot, why the heck would-”
“Look, after today Lee, I need a refreshing bath. I don’t want you breaking the faucet or anything, so I’m going first.” And so, she marched to the bathroom.
“Siiiiigh.” Lee annoyedly walked to his room. “Break your faucet. Stupid blue-hair girl.” Opened the door. “Next time I see her, oughta give her a punch in the-” The blue-haired girl looked up from digging around his mini-fridge.
A sweet bun was in her mouth, but it fell out. Both of them stared blankly with wide eyes. Light-blue eyes met sharp red. Both mouths in a tiny “o”. A few blinks as the camera narrowed closer. It changed position quicker, blinking closer to their pupils. The silence was broke by Lee.
“MOOO-!” The door slammed shut by a sudden gust of air.
“Ssssss!” She forced her hands over Lee’s mouth. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry I stole your ship! I-I thought you were going to kidnap me, I-I-I-”
He smacked her hand off, “Why the heck would I wanna kidnap you, I was tryin’ to SAVE you, duh!”
“I know—I panicked—I’m sorry—I should’ve known—I didn’t mean to—please don’t be mad—I’m really-”
“OKAY!!” He sighed stressfully. “Just… go over it slowly. Why was Professor Bob holding you hostage?”
From outside, one would see two shadows chatting in the second-floor window.
“Ooookay then… so you were actually an airbender Bob wanted to power his weather machine, that’s why you run Sonic speed, and you flew our S.C.A.M.P.E.R. over the ocean before you jumped out and attempted to fly on your own? Don’t you need wings to be able to fly?”
“Y-Yeah, but… I read the story of this airbender who could fly without wings, and, well, I thought if I got enough wind under me…”
“Wait, if you crashed in the Pacific Ocean, how’d you get all the way back here in only a few hours?”
“L-Like you said: I use Sonic Boost. I-It’s kind of a special move. I-I think Sonic was the only other airbender to have it.”
“Wait a second, don’t tell me you’re Sonic and Amy’s daughter?!”
“N-No… actually, I-I don’t know who my parents are. They dropped me at an orphanage when I was little, and all they gave me were these shoe feathers and my name. Wendy. I always thought they left me, because of my curse.”
“Curse?”
“W-Well, kind of…” She looked down sadly. “My airbending chi is unnaturally strong, so everywhere I go, wind is always blowing, and sometimes, this eventually starts a storm. I’m always running around so I can escape this wind, but it never works. Even when I’m inside; I always blow food around at a restaurant, make trashcans fall over, and I can’t even go to school ‘cause of blowing all the papers around. …Then before I knew it, I was kidnapped by Professor Bob when he needed a power source for his weather machine. He sounded like he wanted to hurt people with it, but I thought if he absorbed my chi, maybe the wind would calm down, and I…”
“Well, lending your power to someone who would DEFINITELY use it for evil is no good, it’s better in your hands.”
“I-I know—I’m sorry—I wanted to escape, b-but I-”
“Sheesh, lay it with the apologies! Hmmm… but I still can’t figure you out. Those hair and ears make you look like Sonic… but you don’t even look Mobian, so you can’t be their daughter. And… what’s with those red eyes?”
“I-I don’t know. I’ve always been afraid to talk to people ‘cause I look like this. I-I don’t creep you out, do I?—I’m sorry if I do-”
“CAN YOU SAY ONE SENTENCE WITHOUT SAYING ‘SORRY’?!”
“I’M SORRY!! –Mmmp!” She clamped hands over her mouth. “Siiigh… I just… I’m not good around other people. I’ve been looking everywhere to find people who might look like my parents, but, well, no person I could find has blue hair, pointy ears, or even red eyes. I’ve always thought my parents were airbenders of some kind, and they can help me control this wind curse. And, then…then I wouldn’t make a storm everywhere I go, and mess up peoples’ stuff…”
“…” Now that Lee thinks about it, he and Wendy have a similar dilemma. “…Well, I’m not sure who your parents are, but maybe I can help you work on your airbending.”
“I’m actually really good at airbending. It’s just hard to control this wind.”
“Well, then, I’ll help you control it. …” To tell the truth, Lee wasn’t good around new people either, so he was a little slow where to start in helping with a problem. “Meet me on the hill behind the school tomorrow at 4, we’ll work there.”
“O-Okay…” She was about to hop out the window.
“Hold on!” She stopped. “…How did you know where I lived, anyway?”
“It was written in your ship’s computer… I wrote it down, and, well, I wanted to apologize to you for-”
“Yeahyeahyeah, I get it now. Just don’t turn into Wilt, okay?” He winked.
Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends
“Achoo! Sniff.” sneezed the tall, red Imaginary Friend, Wilt. “Huh… must be a flu bug goin’ around.”
Lee’s Room
“Mmmm… Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t ask your name.” Wendy recalled.
Lee smirked and winked. “It’s Lee Andrew.”
“Oh! Cool name!” She smiled and blushed. “Lee is easy to remember. N-Not that I’m saying that’s a bad THING, but-”
“Yokay, good-bye.”
“YAAAAH!” He shoved her out the window.
Leanne barged in Lee’s room, “Lee, shut the window, we’re turning on the heat. Huhuhu, I feel the draft from downstairs.”
“IT WAS THE BLUE-HAIR GIRL!!”
“The blue-haired girl? Fff.” She scoffed. “Now you’re just using her as an excuse. Lay it off Lee, you aren’t Kaleo.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be taking a bath?”
“I got sidetracked by other stuff…”
“Pfft. Girls.”
Black Acropolis, Alaska
Professor Bob followed the long trail of footprints all the way to the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.’s landing place, finding simply a snowy crater where it ended. “No… no! Have they taken her?!”
He heard a sound that resembled digging through snow, and looked left a few feet to see a shovel emerge from the white blanket. “HUUUUFF.” Toiletnator, Box Ghost, and Dr. Light (we’ll call them Team Failure :P) emerged. “Siiiiigh.” Totally exhausted.
“You know somethin’?” Box Ghost inquired. “Why didn’t I just fly and phase us away from the prison? Instead of dig a hole from Antarctica all the way to Alaska.”
“That… would’ve been good to consider.” Dr. Light said, tired.
“Oh, of all the help to…” Bob moaned, “Oh, get up, you three, I need your help! A very important test subject escaped my grasp, and I have to get her back soon!”
“Why, what’s the problem?” Lou asked.
“Not only is she a vital subject, I am under direct orders to keep her incarcerated. I can’t explain all the details, so we must find her now!”
“But how can we-” Light began.
“Wait!” Lou perked, looking at the footprints that came after the crater.
“You recognize them?” Light asked.
“No! But somebody peed in them!” The three froze in disgust as Lou approached a print with a yellow puddle. “If I analyze it carefully, I should be able to track its origins back to… sniff-sniff-sniff.” He licked, and their color faded, “Iceland!”
Dr. Light’s eye twitched. “How…How do you know that?”
“Oh, I’ve studied urine and dung variants since I was 20! And waste has many different smells and tastes depending on the nation. LET’S GOOOO!” Toiletnator zipped into the distance. The three villains stood frozen (Box Ghost listed up and down) for a few minutes.
“I need to brush up on my toiletry.” Light said.
Windy hill outside of Rozeland Elementary
School ended at 3:00, so Lee ran home real quick to drop off his things and do some homework. He got done at 3:45, so he decided to rush to the hill, kick back, and relax on its cranium. After a day’s boring work, it was nice to just feel the gentle breeze and watch the clouds roll by. He checked his watch after awhile and read 3:55. It was then the patter of rushing feet crushing the grass was heard from below, drawing closer in seconds before Wendy came to a sudden stop at the hill’s top.
“Oh!! It’s not 4 already, is it—I looked at a clock in a restaurant—I’m sorry I’m late, I lose track of time easily-”
“Alright alright, calm down! You’re early.” He helped himself up. “Sooo… you have a wind curse that you can’t control, but you’re a good airbender… huh…”
“Do you know airbending, too?”
“No, I’m a shadowbender. I don’t really… know anything about Air, but, well I can help.”
“That would be really great of you!” she beamed.
“Hehe…” Lee blushed. “Umm… ever try sucking the wind in and swallowing it?”
“Ummmm…” With that, Wendy decided to inhale a huge gust of air, making her cheeks inflate along with her belly. She tried her best to swallow, but this overabundance of air actually made that difficult, her face becoming blue as her hair. “FOOOOOOOOOOOO.” She released it all in a powerful gust, then gasped for breath. The gentle breezes continued.
“Umm, okay, ummm… just waving your arms a lot and blowing air ‘til you run low on chi?”
With a more fierce expression, she began furiously waving her arms and blowing air all around. She started waving at rapid speed with Lee having to crouch with the forceful wind. “HAAAAA-AAAAAAAH!” After a few more minutes, her arms grew weary, and the wind slowed to a stop.
“So did it work?”
“…” It wasn’t long before the winds returned again. “Nooo…” She frowned.
“Siiigh.” Lee lied down in defeat.
“I-It’s not your fault, Lee, I mean, if you had a problem with shadowbending, I probably couldn’t help you either, since I don’t know shadowbending—not that I’m saying you’re stupid or anything—I’m sorry if I implied-”
“-No… it’s my fault. Siigh… I wasn’t the right person to help, I should’ve sent you to Fybi at Sector W. I just didn’t because… well…”
“Huh?”
“Sigh, you’ve heard of the Kids Next Door, right?”
“Uh-huh…”
“Well, I’m in Sector RZ and our ranking is low because I always mess up missions, then they send one of the better sectors. That’s why I tried to save you by myself, which I did, then you went and stole our ship so everyone blamed me-”
“I’m sorry!—I didn’t mean to get you in-”
“‘t’s alright, sigh… the point is, even though it wouldn’t help our rank, I just wanted the feeling of helping someone with something, that’s why I wanted to help you out. Sigh… but I guess I was bound to fail again.”
“Well, m-maybe your suggestions actually work—I’m just not doing it right.”
“My instinct tells me it’s the former…” Lee got up, “Anyway, let’s go to the treehouse and we’ll fly you to Sector W, there’s an airbender there that could help you. ‘Course, my friends’ll probably take you there their selves.”
“That’s really nice of you, Lee, but, I don’t think I want to go to Sector W. I kind of want to hang out with you more.”
“Huh?”
“You’re the first person to ever try and help me, and, you’ve been really sweet, so…” She shifted back and forth on her heels, hands folded behind her. “I mean, if you don’t want to hang out, I guess you got other plans…”
“…” Lee made a light smile, “Nah, not really. Sure I’ll hang out with you!”
“You will?!” she smiled brightly. “You won’t be bothered by my wind?”
“Are you kidding? This feels really nice! Hey, no need for a fan when we got THIS gal!”
“Ha ha ha ha!”
“…So, um… how fast are you?” Lee asked, trying to find someplace to start.
“…Got a skateboard?” (Cue “City Escape” from Sonic Adventure 2!)
Downtown Rozeland
“WHOOOOAAAA!” Lee and Wendy shared a single skateboard rolling at high speed to the town. Wendy’s stance was firm, turning or guiding their path using only the wind, while Lee crouched and held tight to her legs. They sped down a street and swiftly swerved around cars, then brushed past the sidewalk and surprised many people with the sudden gust. Wendy drifted and rolled them to a parking garage, speeding all the way to the top before skating to the edge, eyes locked on a next-door rooftop. “Um, Wendy, you aren’t gonna jump, are you??”
“Uh-huh!” A smirk on her face.
“WHOOA!” She forced a gust downward, propelling them over the rail and onto the roof as they began skating and hopping the tops of skyscrapers. Lee kept his grip, but lost balance when Wendy suddenly halted them and changed course directly down a building’s side. She ran down herself, holding Lee by his shirt while he held the skateboard, and Lee gained the sensation he would splat upon landing. It was amazing how fast the building’s top drew away from them. But to Lee’s relief, Wendy blew a gust of air that pushed them from the building, landing them safely on the umbrella of an outdoor café. They rushed through the café, blowing a few tables down, and headed away from the larger city area.
“Huff, huff.” They gasped after finally stopping for a breath. “Well, thanks for a straightforward answer.” Lee said.
“OH, LOOK!! A MALL! You got any money?” Wendy beamed.
“Just a few BAAAAAHH!” Wendy was already rushing them over.
They zipped by several customers as they kept their clothes on from the gust, Wendy zipping up the down escalator and finding the clothes store. Lee watched over and over as Wendy went in the closet and came out with a new outfit and pretty pose. The first was a Sailor Moon outfit, second was a quizzical Sakura Haruno, third was a bashful Orihime, ending with a spunky Nami.
“No matter where she’s from, it’s always a thing with girls and clothes…” Lee sighed.
“I’m sorry.” Wendy frowned. “I should only take one anyway, so it’s just hard to choose. …Oooh! Maybe this one!” She went in again and came out, dressed in a forest-green patterned dress, with lines dividing it in many green diamonds, with the top part leading into three striped points, with yellow on bottom, light-green in middle, and blue on top.
:o Lee perked at the outfit. “I love it! Wear that!”
“Hehehe ha!”
“WOOOOHH!” With her new outfit, Wendy took Lee and sped across the mall, into an arcade. They plopped on seats and engaged in the game Sugar Rush, where Lee raced as Candlehead and Wendy chose Vanellope. Lee tried his best to keep up, but the spotlight was not on him as usual. But Wendy was smokin’ the others, and would cross the finish line before long. When she came in first place, she threw her arms upward, kicked legs forward, and blew herself back against another machine. She blushed.
In a flash, they were out of the mall and speeding to the skate park. They got on a tall ramp that some kids were using, and when Lee took his turn, he slipped and fell at the bottom, earning laughs from the kids. Wendy took the skateboard for her turn, and the kids had doubts this girl in her pretty dress would be any good. But she zipped down at great speed before their eyes, and upon shooting up the other side, she flew high high high above the sky. Their mouths fell wide open, and Wendy came shooting down like a comet, along the ramp, up the starting side, and landing back perfectly, earning many cheers.
They then rushed to the school’s playground, where kids were freely hosting a butt-busting contest. Wendy viewed this with mixed thoughts, but watched as Lee got on the swings and swung back and forth before launching high. He slammed his butt on the concrete and gained .01 micro millimeters. He blushed in embarrassment, then watched as Wendy ran far away from the playground, suddenly too embarrassed to be near him. But right then, she came running back at faster speed, going straight at the swing and swinging around and around, shooting straight to the sky, and coming down rear-first with a forceful impact. “SEVEEEEEN METEEEERRRS!”
Once again, kids were praising Wendy, the girl blushing at the sudden attention. Although Lee totally embarrassed himself to her, he was never more happy that it happened. (End song.)
Back at the windy hill
Lee and Wendy rested on their backs as the fluffy clouds rolled by. “Ahhhh… that was way more fun than going on missions. I’m glad you got me in trouble, Wendy.”
“Heheheh…” Wendy blushed. “You were really fun too, Lee. E-Even if I did most of the running.”
“Eh, we can’t all be Sonic.”
“Ha ha ha! …” She frowned, viewing the approaching clouds. “Lot of clouds coming in…”
“If you stay too long, a storm will come, huh?”
“Yeah. …” She was saddened.
“Don’t worry about it. It’ll turn out fine!”
“Huh?”
“I actually have another theory about this curse. Maybe… it’s a reflection of your inner turmoil. You have a hard time talking to people and you’re really shy, so you’re stirring up a storm in your own heart. If you tried making more friends, it might go away.”
“You really think that?!” She smiled brightly.
“It wouldn’t hurt.” Lee winked. “You should join the Kids Next Door, Wendy. We’re always looking for new members. It would be cool if you got added to our sector, too.”
“Y-Yeah! And maybe… they can help me find my parents.”
“A girl with blue hair or guy with pointy ears shouldn’t be TOO hard to find. But now that I think about it, you could’ve been left here by aliens. You actually look like a character from Zelda with those ears.”
“I’ve heard of that game. Is that what people look like?”
“Yeah. They made a fighting game of it recently, but, it just don’t work out. …” A while of silence, “So Wendy, can airbenders really fly without wings?”
“I heard a story of this legendary airbender that could, but it takes a lot of meditation and work. When you think about it, it’s a lot easier to just buy a glider and, make it work, huh?”
“Heh heh heh. That’s what I would do. …So, um, whaddyou wanna do now?”
“I dunno… go get ice cream?”
Ri-i-ing ri-i-ing ri-i-ing. Before Lee could answer, his communicator rang. He walked a few feet away and answered Leanne. “Lee, where are you, come on. Got another mission, so let’s take advantage of Global Command’s generosity.”
Transmission ended. “…Sure, let’s get ice cream!” Lee said to Wendy.
“Ha ha ha! Okay!” Wendy ran ahead slowly as Lee followed with a calm smile. “They don’t need a Leo in their group.” He thought aloud.
Quahog Park
Kaleo Anderson stared quizzically at a boulder as his cousin, Dillon walked by. “Hey Kaleo, I read an article online that said stupid people can’t get sick. You think that’s true?”
“Aaaahh…aaunooo.” Kaleo’s mouth was as wide as the boulder he tried to swallow.
Sector RZ Treehouse
“Ugh… what is taking LEE so long?!” Lulu whined, tapping her foot impatiently.
“Look, we can’t wait any longer or we’re gonna be late. Let’s go, we can do it!” Leanne insisted. They all gathered in Lulu’s S.C.A.M.P.E.R. and flew off to their destination.
Three shadowed people rose up from the bushes. “Zey’re gone. All ships, move in.” The leader said in a French accent.
Downtown Rozeland
The skies became much more gray and cloudy, an eerie wind blowing as Lee and Wendy happily walked down the street, licking their chocolate and vanilla ice cream. “So who was that calling?” she asked.
“Eh, nothing important. Boy, sure has gotten windy though. …Hey, that’s your name! Wendy!”
“He he ha ha! Wow, I never noticed that! How could I be so silly.” she blushed.
“You sillacious, Wendy!”
“Ha ha ha! YOU sillacious, Lee!”
“Why thank you, Missee.” He bowed.
“HE HE HA!”
“Heheh! …” Lee’s heart never felt more full of spirit. He then looked in the sky and noticed a group of ice cream truck airships flying overhead. “Huh, speakin’ of which…”
“OWOOOOHH!” Wendy cried, gripping her head. “Brainfreeze! Brainfreeze!” She shuddered.
“It gets the best of us.” Lee licked his casually.
“Hehehehe.” Wendy grinned, still shaking. “Ye-eah. . .”
It eventually wore off as Wendy looked around. “Hey, look!” she beamed, pointing at an Eye Care shop. “I wonder if that store has any contact lenses?”
“You’re nearsighted?”
“N-No, but… I’d like a contact lens that could alter my eye color, so it doesn’t look… creepy.”
“Huh.” Lee frowned. “You shouldn’t try to hide your eyes. They’re pretty.”
“They just… feel so unnatural. Don’t they scare you?”
“Well, not exactly… I mean, they’re strange to look at, but I’ve seen scarier things. N-Not that YOUR eyes are scary, just…just saying.”
“Hm hm hm!” She smiled slightly. “I guess so. …Whoa!” She gaped at more truck ships flying overhead.
“Hey, are those flying to our treehouse?”
“Are they?!” Wendy gasped worried.
“Something’s not right… Wendy, let’s go!” He grabbed her arm and ran quickly, the two dropping their ice creams.
Sector RZ Treehouse
Dozens of ice cream ships were swarming the treehouse. Guards were stationed at every entrance or exit, and in the living room stood Ice Cream Man leader, Chef Pierre. “I knew creating a false alarm vould drive ze Seczor RZ out. Our intel shows zis is vone of ze Top 10 best sectors. But by stealing zeir technology und resources, perhaps we may have better chance at finding ze lost Mountain of Flavors. Und taking vone of zeir treehouses is a step in victory too, no?”
“Hey, Boss! There’s somethin’ comin’ toward us!” a guard yelled.
Dashing to the treehouse was Lee Andrew riding on Wendy’s back, the latter using her Sonic-like speed and wearing a serious glare. “Go for that window, Wendy!”
“Right!” So with a mighty leap, the duo flew to one of the lower floors, though still substantially high, and Wendy kicked into the window, blowing the guard away with an air blast. Lee landed on his feet and whipped out two G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A.s.
“Ze Kids Next Door!” cried Pierre. “Fire!”
“Don’t you mean ice-?”
“MAKE ZAT JOKE AGAIN UND YOU’RE FIRED!”
“Gaaah!” The Ice Cream Men frantically started blasting ice cream.
Wendy nimbly flipped and dodged on her air-like feet, kicking air gusts to blow the soldiers back, but force their guns to her hands. Two more ran at her, but she swiftly spun on her head and kicked their weapons away, flipping high overhead and behind them as she blasted them with the previous’ guns. Several Ice Creams ran at Lee, who simply stood in place and sent Damien around to knock them all out. “All right, Dame, time for Plan Scare!”
Damien whooshed around and turned off all the lights, Lee pulling out a flashlight and shining shadow puppets at the wall. With the enhanced shadow source, Damien used it to increase his own size, wearing a terrifying grin and eerie, screeching cackle. While the Ice Cream Men shuddered at this, some Ice Cream Ninjas dropped from the ceiling and caught Lee. “Lee!” Wendy gasped, but she was captured as well. The soldiers turned on the lights and made Damien shrink.
The Ice Creams pulled Wendy’s arms and legs behind her and binded them. “Vell now… I don’t seem zou remember YOU as part of zese hooligans.” Chef Pierre observed, standing over Wendy. She looked up with fright as he held an ice cream gun. “But I’m afraid ve don’t need anymore of zem. Enjoy your first brainfreeze, newbie!” He took aim.
Wendy’s pupils shrunk in fear.
The image of a dark room flashed in her mind, a pitch-black being in a blowing cape and single red eye standing over her.
An old, wooden wand took aim to the right. “Avada Kedavra!” A green flash of lightning shown from it.
“Nnnn- nnnnnnOOOOOO!” Wendy glowed with a whitish-green aura, blowing all of them away with a shockwave of wind. Her ropes untied as she floated off the floor, a dark breeze blowing. The fierce wind blew in from the windows and other doors, forming a tornado around Wendy. The Ice Cream Men and Lee were sucked inside, blowing around and around, their screams barely heard by the strong winds. The tornado started moving around the living room and other rooms, sucking in the couch, tables, whatever was lying around, and leaving a trail of ruin. Wendy seemed totally mindless to the destruction around her, her eyes baring only a glowing light. The tornado spun faster and faster ‘til it scattered away.
Several minutes passed, and the Ice Creams groggily recovered from the attack. They jumped to attention when Wendy began to regain herself, eyes half-open. “Sacrebleu! Ze Sorceress! Retraite, mes amis!” And with that, Chef Pierre and his henchmen cried and made their retreat.
“Mmmmm…” Wendy held a hand over her left eye, watching the villains cower away. Her attention was then drawn to Lee, beaten and moaning on the floor. “Ohhhhhh…”
Wendy shuddered with the greatest terror. Her eyes teared as she stared at her hands. She did this, she could tell. The treehouse walls and floors ruined, debris lying everywhere. And worst of all, she harmed the first friend she’s ever had. All the apologizing in the world wouldn’t make him forget this. “I’m sorry!” And sooner than soon, Wendy was rushing for the exit, running miles away from the treehouse.
After 10 more minutes, the Sector RZ members returned. “Uuugh! Can’t believe it was just an invite to stupid Rainbow Monkey Land!” Leanne exasperated.
“Well. Look on the bright side!” Diwata perked, holding four steaming corndogs. “Free corndogs upon entry—WOOOOHH!” Upon leaving the hangar, their precious living room was in ruin. TV cracked, couch sliced in half, food splattered from the fridge.
“My…My oven!…” Lulu spoke out of breath.
“Who could have DONE THIIIS?” Denny cried.
“Uhhhhheeee…” Lee limped out, holding his head. “Uhhh?” He looked up.
“LEEEEEEEE!!!” Their screams echoed beyond the treehouse.
“Lee, what HAPPEEENED?!” screamed Leanne.
“Ehhh, g-guys, I was hanging out with the blue-haired girl, and the treehouse got attacked by Ice Cream Men, but-”
“Okay, I can believe the Ice Cream Men, but lay it off with the blue-hair girl! The fact is, you were goofing off and not showing up when you were called, and when you finally have a chance to stop a surprise attack, you totally mess it up! UUUUUGH! Now we’ve gotta check around to see if they took anything. If Cheren ends up demoting us because of this, we’re not sharing game time with you!” And so, they stomped off to review the treehouse. Lee didn’t bother to stay and walked downstairs.
Nighttime
A dark and dreary night over Rozeland. The sky was black and cloudy, and a cold, howling wind rustled the trees. “Ahhhhhhhwwwwww! Come on, you stupid wind, move outta the way! I wanna see the moon!” cried Diwata, sitting on her roof. “Moon moon moon! Waaaaaaaahhhhhh!”
Lee sat on the front porch of his house with his head in his hand in boredom. His mother walked out and sat beside him. “Br-r-r-r-r-r it’s chilly. You know, Lee, if you stay out here too long, you’ll start sneezing like Michael McDonald.”
Somewhere else
Michael McDonald was on the couch in his room when he felt a sneeze coming on. “…HAA…Haaa…aaa…haa-aaa…aa-aaa-AACHOO-ooooo!” he sneezed in a sing-song tone.
Back with them
“I don’t care.” Lee replied. “The cold never bothered me, anyway.”
“THE COLD NEVER BOTHERED ME, ANYWAAAY!” Ashley jumped at this sudden vocal. “THE COLD NEVER BOTHERED MEEEEE-”
“DAVID!!” she screamed. “TURN THAT BOOMBOX OFF OR I’LL HIT YOU UPSIDE THE HEAD WITH IT! Sigh…” Sat back down. “So what’s bothering you, Lee? Another mess-up?”
“Well, yes… but there’s something else, too. Wendy just up and vanished and I don’t know where.”
“Wendy? You mean your imaginary friend?”
“She’s NOT imaginary, she was real and I was trying to help her and NOW she’s MISSING!!”
“Okay, okay! Well, why do you think she would leave?”
“…I guess…I guess it’s ‘cause she went all crazy with her power. But she chased out the Ice Cream Men, that’s all that matters! I don’t care if I got hurt in the process! It wasn’t her fault… it’s not HER fault she was born with powerful chi. Why should she hate herself because she isn’t GOOD at something?!”
“It’s not easy to feel strong over our mistakes. But it might mean something if she heard it from you. Maybe you just need to tell her…”
“…” Lee stood up, “All right. I’m going to find her then!”
“Right now? But it’s 8p.m., and you don’t even know where she went.”
“It’s still Wendy out, so she—I mean, WINDY out, so she has to still be close. I have to try, I’m gonna find her!” He rushed inside. In what felt like seconds, Lee was zipping out the door and toward the town on his skateboard. “DON’T WAIT UP FOR ME!”
“OKAAAAY!” Diwata waved happily. “BRING BACK A SOUVENIR, LEEEE!”
Oil Ice Mountain, Iceland
Box Ghost carried Dr. Light and Toiletnator this time, landing them at the base of the mountain as Lou led the way. He held a cup of the pee found in Alaska, sniffed it, and began sniffing around the mountain. “I’m picking up a source of urine that matches this one coming from this mountain. If we’re lucky, it should lead us to the girl Bob is after!”
“I’m still a little stuck on the fact that… you can do this.” Light said.
“The advantage of being a plumber.” Box Ghost said.
“It’s getting stronger! And if I’m right… the source should be right over… THAT hill!” He pointed just ahead. Lou eagerly hurried up and… “WAAAAAHHH—oof, eek, ooo, AHH, ow, GAH, D’OW!” went plummeting down a cliff and bouncing down the icy rocks before splashing headfirst in a small, yellow puddle. He glanced up, finding twins in green and yellow coats standing over him. Shortly after, Box Ghost carried Dr. Light down.
“Hey, old man? Why are you swimming in our pee puddle?” Sonny asked.
Lou jumped to his feet, “I FOUND yoooou! Thought you kids could hide your scent from the… TOILETNATOR?!”
“WE DON’T KNOW YOU!”
“D’awwww.” His head slumped.
“Then perhaps you know… the BOX Ghoooost! Whose terror is unknown by NO kiiiid!”
“A BOX GHOST? COOOOL!”
“Enough! Listen, you little snots.” Dr. Light stated. “We are tracking a peculiar figure, some child with blue hair. Know anything of the sort?”
“Blue hair? Why does that sound familiar, Donna?”
“I dunno, Sonny? Maybe it’s ‘cause…”
“WE PLAY SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!”
“NO!!” Lou anime-dropped.
“Come to think of it, that sky yeti we found rescued a blue-haired girl.” Sonny recalled.
“Sky yeti?” Lou asked.
“Yes! He said he was LEE! Of Sector R-ZEE!” sang Donna. “He saved a blue-haired girl, and then… SHE FLEE!”
“Sector RZ, you say?” Light smirked, having met this group recently. “And is this girl, per chance, with them now?”
“I dunno. You’ll have to ask Leanne for that. She owned the S.C.A.M.P.E.R..” replied Sonny.
“Not that you’ll catch ‘er! ‘Cause sheee gooo FASTER!” cheered Donna.
“Maybe… but perhaps this ‘Lee’ fellow will possess some solution.” Light thought. “We should head back to Rozeland now.”
“No problem! I swiped some pee from one of the school’s bathrooms in case we had to go back!” Lou perked, making the villains freeze in disgust. “TOILETNATOR AWAAAAYY!” He dashed off.
“I’m bathing after this…” Light said.
Rozeland, Virginia
Lee was hurriedly rolling to town on his skateboard. He didn’t skate himself, but rather had Damien do so while Lee looked for Wendy, aiming a flashlight at the ground so his shadow was able to work. “Master, are you really sure Wendy is still in the area? We don’t know how long the wind stays here after she’s gone.”
“She has to still be here, she’s just gotta be!” Lee insisted. “You think she would at least leave an apology note. I just…I just CAN’T accept that she’d just run away!”
Lee passed the street with the ice cream stand and Eye Care. The ice cream was closed, so he rushed into the Eye Care. “Hey, did a girl with blue hair and long ears come in today?” he asked the lady at the register.
“No one by that name works here, you’ll have to make an appointment.”
“I’m not MAKING an appointment, I just wanna know if you’ve seen her!”
“Office hours Monday-Friday are 8a.m. to 9p—…p—…p…PEEOOOOO.” She suddenly blacked out.
A man walked in and opened a hatch on the back of her robotic head. “We’re trying to get the newer model. We’ll just be a minute.” He dragged the robot to a back room.
“Siiiigh.” Lee walked out and skated further into town. “WENDYYYYY!” he screamed to the heavens. “WENDY, WHERE ARE YOOOOU?”
“YOU’RE LOOKING FOR WENDYYYYY’S?”
“NOO. I’M LOOKING FOR WENDYYYY.”
“THEY HAVE A FRISCH’S A FEW BLOCKS OVER.”
“NO!! I AM LOOKING… FOR-”
“I’LL tell you where Wendy iiiiiiis!”
“REALLY? WHERE?”
“It’s ‘Wendy’ EEEEEEVERYWHEEEERE!”
“HAAAAAA!” Every other person within earshot laughed.
“AAAAAAUUUUUGH.” Lee stopped and sat on the sidewalk. “What’m I thinking? Even if she IS still in town, I’ll never find her! She’s probably a hundred miles away by now.”
“Aren’t you giving up too easily, Master? I would at least look for a silver lining before you do.”
“Silver line, shmilver line. It’s practically 40 degrees, probly gonna STORM, and all this wind ain’t helpin’ for… Wait…” He immediately jumped up, “The wind! Man, am I stupid!” He slapped his forehead. “The wind’s probably blowing where WENDY is!” He exclaimed with a bright smile.
“I thought that was obvious, in more ways than one.”
“Pssh, YOU woulda told me if YOU did.”
“Would IIII? Hee hee heeee!”
“Siiigh. Come on, let’s just follow it.” He got on his skateboard again and followed the wind, rolling out of town.
Lee was soon passing his neighborhood and headed for the outskirts of town. He knew he might be out for a while, but he wasn’t going to abandon his friend, yet. Besides, he certainly knew the others would never-
“LEE!!”
“Ahh!” Lee slipped and fell, his skateboard flying in the air.
“There you are!” Leanne stated, looking scoldingly with her teammates. “Lee, whaddo you think you’re doing?! We gave you enough time to cool down, but you gotta come help us fix the TV.”
“No, I gotta go find Wendy.” Damien brought back the skateboard as Lee got on.
“Lee, will you just give this imaginary girl a rest, why can’t you just admit you messed up like you always do?”
“Especially when it’s YOUR fault the TV got broken, how’re we gonna look when Moonbase calls?? I ain’t taking the blame for that.” Lulu stated.
“Yeah, Dumb-Dumb, so help us fix it so we can watch some cartoons.” Denny told him.
“WENDY is NOT imaginary, she’s the REAL DEAL, and a WAY better friend than ANY of you.”
“Lee, just come back to the treehouse and let’s just-” Leanne tried to say, taking his arm.
“GO TO HELL!!” He pushed her away, much to their shock. “Okay, so MAYBE I don’t know her very well, MAYBE she’s a bad guy leading me into a trap, but I don’t care anymore! If I’m gonna mess something up anyway, at least I would’ve known that instead of feeling guilty about leaving a friend. Not that YOU guys care, you guys probably just want me around to LAUGH at. ‘Oh, didju see when Lee scraped his knee on the swing, did you see him trip on the stag beetle, look at Lee totally fail at Guitar Hero, MAAH-MAAH-MAAAAAAHH.’ As far as I know, Wendy’s a REAL girl with REAL troubles she’s trying to deal with, and she was a MILLION times nicer than ANY of you. So I’M going to find her, and you guys can just SUCK off!” And with no hesitation, he skated away—“WAAAH!” He slipped ‘cause he wasn’t using Damien. “…You guys are the worst.” So he skated away with Damien’s help.
“…Where did THAT come from?” Lulu asked.
“Siiiigh. He won’t get far. Come on, let’s fix the TV.” Leanne said, leading her friends back home. Diwata looked to Lee’s direction with worry before joining her friends.
A few miles away from Rozeland
Wendy had seated herself on a lone rock near a countryside road. No one had any interest of traveling on this cold, windy dark, so she was the only soul in the darkness of this grassland. Just as it was from the beginning. Just her and the cold wind that followed her. Howling through the night, the sounds of her sobbing gone unheard, her dress soaked with her tears.
A peaceful stroll on Niagara Falls, the wind blowing Wendy’s hair as she viewed the miraculous, roaring falls. She stood on the railing and embraced the wind and sunny day, smiling at the beautiful expanse. But a rather sudden gust came and caused a tourist to lose hold of his camera, letting it fall in the chasm. “Oh, man! 50 dollars gone just like that! Stupid wind, that weatherman didn’t know jack!” Wendy frowned in shame.
Wendy sat upon a narrow cliff on the Rocky Mountains, viewing the rugged expanse, the breeze strong as ever. On the path below, a group of hikers trekked up, each carrying heavy backpacks. A sudden gust, and- “WHOOOA!” One of the men slipped off the edge.
“JOHN!” His friend got down and grabbed his hand, John’s bags having slipped off his back. It was a miracle he managed to help him up. “You okay?”
“Yeah… ugh, the radio said it wouldn’t be windy, where do they get their info?!” Wendy was already gone.
Wendy was passing through a town along a restaurant street. “MMM-MMM, MMMM!” Unsuspectingly passing an alley, a mugger jumped out and cupped a hand over her mouth, pulling her in.
“Ahright, Girly, where’re your parents ‘cause they giving me your allowance.”
“MMMMMM!” Wendy’s eyes brimmed green, the mugger blown away by her sudden wind. She levitated in the air as a tornado spun around her. The mugger was sucked inside as Wendy started moving around the street, sucking in many restaurant-goers, passerby, and even flinging cars upside-down. Wendy floated up several blocks before the wind finally died. Wendy landed on her feet, seeing many downed townsfolk. Shuddering at her own power, she hightailed away from town.
She cried still. “Why…Why can’t I make any friends?! Why was I born with this curse? Sniff!” She wiped some tears. “No one wants to hang out with me… because of this wind. I end up making a storm… and ruining everyone’s day! Sniff! Then finally… someone tries to help me. He wanted to hang out with me… and then…then I…” She buried her eyes in her hands and kept sobbing. “Am I… not allowed to have friends? Was I meant to be alone… forever and ever? What did I do to deserve that, sniff! I wish there was something I could do…”
“Is that so… little one?” Wendy gasped and looked to a nearby tree, almost totally shrouded in darkness. A being in a blowing white robe and straw hat stepped out.
“Who are you?!”
“I am someone that seeks souls in need. I am that which wishes for light to return to this world. And contained inside your body… is a great deal of darkness.”
“D-Darkness? What kind of darkness?”
“A kind of darkness that was defeated some decades ago… but has risen again in your form.”
“I-Is that what’s causing my…my wind curse? …” After seconds of silence, Wendy got to her feet, “Please! Tell me what’s wrong with me! What is this darkness?!”
The cloaked man stepped closer. “Let us gaze into your memories…” He tilted his head up, revealing the flashing colorful ‘8’ underneath his hat. The minute it flashed in Wendy’s eyes, she was awash in memories.
A blue-haired baby, newly born, cried upon entering this world, wrapped in a blue blanket. The shadowed mother held her to her face as tears dripped. Just then, the mother was running down a hall. “Let her go!—AAAAAHH!” followed by a flash of green. The baby was then placed inside a basket, on a pedestal surrounded by candles.
“It took me—23—years to make it this far. There can be no mistakes this time.—()#!” said a pitch-black being with only a sharp red eye the only color on him.
“You leave my daughter out of this!!” another shadowed man yelled.
“Oh, you should be delighted.”—The man’s red eye narrowed, an evil grin on his dark face. “By making y—ou—r daughter a Horcrux, she cannot be killed by normal means. And neither can I…—=--! & *” The memory flashed after nearly every few words.
Flash, “You’ll NEVER get away with this—&*^% LO—RD VOLDEMORT.”
“AVADA KEDAVRA!” The man was destroyed by a green flash.
Half of the red-eyed man’s body, or rather his spirit, seemed to split away from his body and enter the baby’s. Her blood-red eyes peeped half-open. “Aww, look… she has my eyes—*&^now. …”
Wendy backed away and rubbed her eyes. All that flashing was gonna make them burn for a while. “Do you understand now?” asked the robed man.
She stopped rubbing. “Th-That baby… was me?”
He said nothing.
Wendy confirmed that as a yes and thought further. “I’ve heard of this… Voldemort. B-But… I read that he died in ’98. How could he…”
“It seemed that way… but he has arisen somehow. And YOU…” He slowly raised an arm and pointed a finger, “you are one of his HORCRUXES.”
Wendy’s pupils shrunk. Her knees shuddered with the greatest fear and realization. Was that really the truth behind her endless wind? The source of her endless storm?
“The fact is, you were born an airbender of exceeding expectations… and he knew that. He knew you were the perfect vessel… to carry his soul.”
“No!” She fell to her knees and gripped her head. “This CAN’T be true! It just can’t! I never wanted to hurt anyone! I never wanted to bring danger! SO WHY DO I HAVE A MAN LIKE THAT INSIDE ME?!”
“Perhaps… you should ask him yourself.”
She gasped and looked up.
“The man who created this curse, Lord Voldemort himself… has tracked your whereabouts. At this moment, he awaits you in Professor Bob’s laboratory.”
“But why is he waiting there?!”
“It appears he intends to punish him for trying to harness his sealed energy. If you return there… you may be able to keep the worst from happening. After all… the two of you are connected now. He cannot survive without you… and perhaps… he may be able to help you.”
“Whaddyou… mean?”
“He is the only being whom you couldn’t make suffer with your wind curse. He is the only being that could teach you to control the power which belonged to him. He is the only one… that can call himself your father now… Wendy.”
The only one that could be her father… but he was a terrible man. He killed hundreds… and never apologized. Wendy would never want to be related to someone like that. …But it appeared she didn’t have a choice. The two of them were already connected… and the way she is, she could never make any friends. But as long as she could never hurt anyone… maybe it was for the best. She stood up with a serious look in her eyes. “Mm-hm.” She nodded. “Okay. I’ll return to him.”
“I’ll show you the way.” He revealed his flashing ‘8’ again, and at that instant, a glowing green path spread across the landscape, miles across the world. Knowing that was her way, Wendy treaded the earth at Sonic-like speed. The mysterious figure flashed his ‘8’ again before disappearing.
“Caw…caw…” A lone crow within the tree flapped its wings and flew away.
Sector RZ Treehouse; the next day
The wind had died down, but the sky was still gray, and the air cold. “Huhuhuhu. I wish Spring would hurry up already.” Denny shuddered, entering the living room with his friends. “Lulu, hurry and fix the oven so we can eat something hot.”
“Siiiigh.” She begrudgingly went to do so.
“Diwata, go wake Lee up, he’s probably in his room.” Leanne assumed. “Probably too prideful to admit this blue-haired girl’s a fake, so he snuck into the treehouse after we went to sleep.”
She and Denny went to sit at the couch, the former grabbing the remote. “I dunno, he seemed pretty steamed last night.” Denny said. “What if he ended up getting kidnapped? He might be a shadowbender, but he still ain’t very good.”
“Please, he probably didn’t run that far. He’s stupid, but he’s not THAT stupid… sorta. So after he gets out of his room with Dee-Dee, why don’t we agree to say nothing and let our lives go on peaceful.” She pressed the remote to switch the TV on.
And almost unexpectedly, the alarms blared and 65.49’s image appeared onscreen. “This is Moonbase calling Sector RZ. Supreme Leader requests your attendance. So get up here ASAN. …That’s ASANow.” Switched off.
“GUYSGUYSGUYS!” screamed Diwata frantically. “I CAN’T FIND LEE ANYWHERE!”
“What?!” Leanne jumped from the couch. “But he wasn’t in OUR house!”
“LEE GOT EATEN BY OGRES!!” Denny cried. That’s when the phone rang, and he answered Shrek on the other line.
“Just so ya know, we prefer our children with a little more growth, and a wee less in the nostrils, he he.” Hung up.
“Well, maybe that’s what Cheren wanted us for, he probably went to Moonbase.” Lulu assumed.
“Sigh, guess we don’t have time to search. Lee, you BETTER not screw us up!” The four hurried to the hangar.
KND Moonbase
The team took land and made their way to the bridge, where Cheren waited beside Larry. “Glad you could make it, Sector RZ.” Cheren spoke. “In case you aren’t aware, you and another sector are currently competing for 10th place in the Top 10 sectors, a place which you currently hold, but are steadily losing. We’ve picked up a series of evil auras in various locations, so we thought we’d send both of you to certain ones and send mini hover cameras to monitor your progress and use of teamwork and skills. We’ll assign one to each member of your team,” Larry held out a plate of tiny drones, “so the other sector gets 6 while you get…” Upon closer inspection, they had one extra drone out of 5. “Um, RZ? Where’s Numbuh 3.2?”
Now is when they were caught off guard. “Oh, Lee… uhhhh…” Leanne tried to think.
“Oh!” Dee-Dee perked. “Well, Lee went looking for this imaginary blue-haired girl, so we went to find him, which we did, and told him to come home, but he wanted to find her, but Lulu said it’s his fault the TV’s broken, and Denny called him dumb, and Lea told him to admit he messed up, then Lee said that we’re bad friends and we suck, and the mystery girl is way better, so he ran off, and Lea said he’d come back, but he got eaten by ogres, so he didn’t, and then YOU called us to Moonbase and asked where Lee is, and then I said-”
“THAT’S… enough, Dee.” Lea said.
“Soooo if I heard it correctly… Lee is resting in the bellies of ogres because you got in a fight?” Cheren queried.
“Well, the ogre part is conjectural, but… everything else, yeah.”
“Siiiigh.” He pinched his nasal bridge. “Larry?”
“Yokay. Hey!” Larry perked, clapping his hands. “Come on, boys! Come on!” The tiny drones flew around him as he led them away. “Come get treats, boys! Come on!”
Cheren faced the team more seriously. “Sector RZ, a sector isn’t just given points based on their mission success rate, but on their ability to work as a team, too. And you guys kept your place because you all seemed to work well together, but lately, I’ve been noticing rocky tension between you. But based on what I’ve heard today, you’ve given me no choice. …You’re being ranked down to 11th place.” They looked away in shame. Cheren looked to their left and said, “Sector KB, you’re in 10th place now.”
“WEEEEEEEHOO!” cheered Numbuh 2=1, the sector’s leader. “THIS calls for a little MIIIIAMI!” Disco lights kicked on and made the Moonbase colorful. “Every Time We Leave” started to play, the six members of Sector KB dancing with the greatest enthusiasm. Their moves were in sync as they performed the Egyptian walk, followed by a variety of nimble dances. The team partied ’til they just couldn’t party anymore, and they deserved it. They earned 10th place on the sector roster, and it was thanks to the efforts of their wonderful teamwork. All they could do now, was dance the day and night away.
Depressed and defeated, Sector RZ walked away.
A few miles from Rozeland
“Snoooore…sigh…snooore…nnn, eh?” Lee had passed out beside a rock near a countryside road, waking up to a gray cloudy sky. “Oh, man…” He got up, “I got tired and took a short nap… then I guess I fell asleep.” He searched around for any signs that his friend was near, but the wind was very gentle now. “Siiigh… it’s no use. Wendy’s definitely gotta be gone by now… I’ll never be able to face the others.”
“You tried your best, Master… perhaps they’ll understand.”
“My butt. Sigh…” He sat on the rock. “I almost feel like Wendy was imaginary… she came so fast, then… she left so fast. …I really wish I could’ve helped her… I wish there was some piece of evidence that… she was really here.”
“Wooooo-ooooohhh!” The sound of a whirring, speeding plane sounded in the distance. But when Lee looked up, he saw not a plane, nor a bird that made that kinda noise, but the Box Ghost speeding down with his Team Failure allies, quaking the ground upon impact. Lee shielded himself before slowly approaching the crater. He stared for a few seconds before Lou hopped out.
“BWAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA. Sector RZ member, ‘Leeeee’, you will face the unending wrath of the TOILETNATOR, unless you IMMEDIATELY HAND OVER… uh… whaddid he say her name was?”
“I think it was Maddy or somethin’.” Box Ghost said.
“I’m pretty sure it was Arby.” Light followed.
“Hardee?” Lou asked.
“Wait… you mean Wendy??” Lee asked.
“WE SAID IT FIRST!! BEWARE!” proclaimed Box Ghost.
“Wait, why are YOU guys looking for Wendy?! Did Professor Bob send you??”
“Funny, we never SAID her name was WENDY!” Lou smirked.
“Yes you did.”
“Uhhhh… we did?”
“Yeah.”
“When?”
“Once upon a dream.”
“REALLY?” They queried.
Some music played as Lee danced calmly and gracefully. “Yoooouu toooold me, you did it so once… UPOOON a dreeeeam. YOOOU TOOOLD ME, you mentioned it ONCE… UPOOON A DREAM.”
“Ohhhhh! Well, that makes sense!” Lou beamed.
“Anyway, you’re too late, she’s already gone. She’s probably over in Australia by now…”
“Ahhhhh. But I’m TIIIIRRRRED.” Box Ghost whined.
“I could call my Australian cousin, Dualnator.” Lou said.
“Hold on… take me to Professor Bob.” Lee requested. “I wanna know how he found out about Wendy to begin with. Did he just stumble upon her, or…”
“HA! And what makes you think we’d take you?” Light glared.
“Well, I… am actually one of Kids Next Door’s most valuable members, and I’d fetch a really high bounty in the villain market. And if Wendy finds out I’m captured and comes to rescue me, you can catch her too and get a biiig promotion.”
“HMMMMMM…” It really was something to think about. “Are you REALLY a top operative?” Lou queried.
“Oh, I’m top somethin’, all right. The fact is, both of us want to find Wendy, and Professor Bob is the key to doing that.”
“I’m still not sure.” Box Ghost said.
“If you do, I’ll let you borrow my sister’s toilet-themed lunchbox that glows in the dark.”
“A HOSTAGE IT IS!” They grinned.
“Positively delightful…” Lee smiled coolly.
Black Acropolis, Alaska
It might’ve been miles across the world, but it only took 10 hours with Wendy’s breakneck speed. “PROFESSOR BOB!” She leaped over the base’s roof, dropped to and ran across the central yard, and into the base’s center. “Please, don’t hurt ‘im!” She couldn’t be in a bigger rush. A life was at stake, and she had to do all she could to prevent it. “LORD VOLDE-…”
There he stood, back facing her. Pitch-black robe, skeletal fingers clutching a wand, and clear, bald head. Wendy approached him cautiously, his very presence making her shudder. This was the man whose presence lay within her. The man who was the source of her darkness. This was… “L-Lord Voldemort?”
The wizard turned around, sporting an extremely happy face, wide red eyes and wide grin exposing many rotten teeth. “GREETINGS! I am VOLDEMORT! Would you like to be my FRIEND?!”
“U-Uhhh-h-hhh…” He was scarier than Wendy perceived.
He embraced her in a very tight hug. “I LOVE YOU, CINDY.”
“I-I-It’s Wendy!…ack…” She felt like a balloon going to burst.
“DANCE with me, Beauty!” Mariachi music played as Voldemort tap-danced with light-fast feet, making Wendy dance with him as she twirled around. “Whooooaaa!”
“So nice that you two are bonding so well.” Wendy looked as Professor Bob walked in, the girl still forced to dance.
“P-Professor Bob! Why is he…”
“Come now, you didn’t think the REAL Lord Voldemort would care for some snotty girl?! He died 34 years ago! Thankfully, Eggman left a few of his clones before he left the place.”
“So he was NEVER here?! But the man in the robe said…”
“I don’t know who THAT is, but you came here of your own free will oh so helplessly. Now my Weatherator will FINALLY have a perfect functioning power source!”
“I WON’T LET YOU USE ME!” She was about to rush out the exit.
“CRUCIO!” Voldemort aimed his wand.
“AAAAAHHHHH!” Wendy fell in horrible, unimaginable pain. She couldn’t stand, she couldn’t fight it… she felt like an insect being steadily crushed by a giant sneaker.
“Now, child, there’s no reason to cry. You’re about to become part of science! Finally, a use for that overbearing chi of yours! Be happy that you’re finally doing someone a favor, instead of ruining everyone’s fishing day!”
How could I be so stupid?! Wendy shook from pain. I can’t believe I fell for his trick!
“It’s a momentous day, Wendy!” Professor Bob turned on his machine. “Time to MAKE IT SNOW!”
Dr. Facilier’s Voodoo Emporium
A calm, casual morning in the witch-doctor’s emporium. Since he doesn’t get customers in the mornings much, he could sleep peacefully on his chair, top-hat covering his eyes. Knock-knock-knock-knock.
“Mmmm…nn…”
Knock-knock-knock-knock.
“Mmmm…eh?” He lifted his hat up. The door was totally still. For a second, he got the strange idea he had a customer.
At that instant, it flew open, letting in a furious wind that blew out his candles. “Ahhh!” He tried to keep his hat on, and held some of the items on his table. Several items on the shelves threatened to fall, so his shadow flew around and hurriedly put them all back. “Yo, close the door, you’re gonna mess up mah shop!”
The dark, shadowed being walked in, the wind blowing his cape. “…!” Facilier gaped, “It…It’s you!…”
KND Moonbase
The four members of Sector RZ were the only ones in the vacant cafeteria, save for the sweeping janitor, looks of boredom and depression on their faces. “Siiigh… kind of expected this.” Leanne sighed.
“And to make things worse, we got beat by One Piece characters.” Denny sighed.
“Actually, only 2=1 is the One Piece.” Lulu noted.
“I dunno, guys… maybe Lee was telling the truth about this girl.” Leanne said. “He’s never bothered thinking up an elaborate lie to cover his mistakes up ‘til now.”
“If she’s real, then why hasn’t Lee introduced us?” Lulu questioned.
“Because we’re bad friends, duh.” Denny stated.
“Maybe we are…” Leanne sorrowfully agreed. “If this girl was in trouble, we should’ve gone to help him. That’s our job as operatives, anyway. But he left his wristwatch behind so, it’s not like we can call him…”
“If he didn’t come home last night, I wonder if he was camping?” Diwata smiled. “I would looooove to go campiiiiing under the stars and mooooon.”
Leanne stood, “Let’s go back home and look for him. If anything, we should let our parents know he’s still missing. Sector RZ, let’s move out!”
Black Acropolis, Alaska
“K- K-K-K…KILL Harry Potter! K- K-K-K…KILL Harry Potter!” sang the Voldemort Clone, wearing sunglasses and a backwards cap as he scratched the records. “K- K-K-K…KILL Harry Potter! 8D …” He smiled widely and whipped his fingers to his left, to his Palpatine Clone ally. …He drooped in depression, for his ally wasn’t really there. “I miss Palpy-Walpy.”
“Hah ha ha. Ohhhh, I missed playing with these things.” Bob smiled.
“I don’t understand!” Wendy yelled, trying to break free of the cuffs strapping her to a metal platform on the wall. “Was that story a trick?! Am I a Horcrux or not?!”
“I don’t know if you are or aren’t, and I don’t care! All I want is your superb airbending, and whoever that freak in the robe was cooperated swimmingly! With your powers, my Weatherator can spread to all ends of the globe, and freeze those Brats Next Door for 20 years, even MORE! They’ll finally know what it’s like to miss 20 years of history, missing all the newest games and shows while everyone ELSE knows EVERYTHING that happens! They’ll be so out of the loop, IT’S LAUGHABLE! Ha ‘a ‘a ‘a ‘a ‘a ‘a ‘a!”
“But won’t everyone else be frozen, too?!”
“Of course not! Using its built-in Google Map, I can target multiple specific areas at a time, and let the endless snows bury them! So I’ll target the treehouses’ towns, and bury every single one! And as for the other people in those towns, well, at least they’ll have each other.” He shrugged casually.
“Those people didn’t do ANYTHING to oppose you! Why would you include them in your revenge plan?”
“It isn’t just about getting revenge, it’s about showing the world the power I can control! It’s about showing them how I can rule everyone… and that’s just what he’s looking for!!”
“What WHO’S looking for?!”
“Enough! This energy ray will drain the chi from your body as you produce it!” He indicated the huge laser device aimed at Wendy. “So the only matter how much you’re willing to produce at a time. Thankfully, I have the solution.”
Two robots brought out a bowl of dark-green, gooey potion, which bared oozy white lines reflecting the light. “This potion will immediately force you into Fury Mode and release your chi at its fullest potential! When that happens, I’ll have more than enough energy to spread my Weatherator far and wide! Now if Voldy here would do the honors-” Bob flinched when he found the Voldy Clone directly beside him, sporting his usual childish grin.
“I smell honeydogs, guys.”
“Ummm… just give her the potion.”
Voldy pulled out his wand and waved it around. “Wingardium Levioso, Wingardium Levioso, Wingardium Levioso-” Nothing happened.
“Don’t you mean Leviosa?” questioned Bob.
“Can’t I just find a Latias?”
“Just say the spell!”
“Will you give me cookcakes?”
“Sigh. Sure.”
“Wingardium Leviosa!” The oozy substance rised into the air as a long blob, which Voldy divided into several pieces. Wendy tried harder to shake away, but the cuffs binded her tight as the pieces seeped into her arms, legs, mouth, and stomach.
The world around her became blurry, vision dizzy, and everything seemed to become red as her eyes. She looked to a fallen broken robot on the ground, which morphed into Lee’s bloody body. “Some friend you were… when will you learn to control yourself?”
She looked at the Voldy Clone, which morphed into Ed. “I smell ditzy lizards! And WHOOOOLE mounty scones of eggon and cheese. Would you flingborm by armpitstare?”
Then watched as Professor Bob grew into the towering pitch-black entity that plagued Wendy’s dreams. “It doesn’t matter where your origins lay… the fact stands you are a monster. And monsters… must serve their worth if they wish to stay.”
“AAAAAAHHH!” Wendy’s eyes flashed bright green as her hair blew distortedly, the room becoming incredibly windy. Bob tried to stand his ground, and Voldemort’s cloak blew far behind him, exposing the dark-pink bikini underneath, the robots quickly pulling his cloak back down.
Grinning wickedly, Bob pressed the button to activate the laser, connecting it with Wendy’s body to steadily drain the chi from her body. “Hnn hnn ha ha EXCELLENT! Such marvelous power! What a fine young lady you would blossom into, dear girl! That is, if you can SURVIVE that long!” He pulled a lever.
“AAAAAAHHH!”
A hatch on the ceiling opened to allow a massive satellite to rise above the roof. “To believe the elements of weather could be manipulated with mere technology… ‘tis when what’s natural and unnatural come together to form the ultimate power. A real scientist’s dream! And who better to be the first to see such power…” He zoomed in on the Google Map, “than good old Rozeland, Virginia!” He marked the city and set his device to work.
Rozeland, Virginia
“…” Sector RZ was baffled.
“Uhhhhh?” drew Leanne.
A blanket of snow covered their city, and the children were joyous to run around and play. It was Christmas all over again, even though it was late January. “SNOOOOOW!” Lulu jumped in a pile constructed by two kids, who became angered.
“I HATE snow!” Diwata huffed.
“I don’t understand. The weather said it would be sunny, but one minute it’s cloudy, then it snows??” Leanne questioned.
“If weather could talk, I’m not sure it would be very honest, anyway.” Denny remarked.
“I dunno, guys. Something isn’t right about this weather. We’d better find Lee fast and try to-”
“Wheeeeeeeeeee!” And it was then a S.C.A.M.P.E.R. came crashing from the sky, exploding a few meters away. Sector RZ approached the flaming cra- “YAAAAAAY!” until the Ice Climbers hopped out and ran to play in the snow.
“Lee said that there was no snow!” Sonny beamed.
“But WE saw that there was YES snow!” Donna cheered.
“PEOPLE CAN’T BE TRUSTED WITH LIABLE INFORMATION!” They high-fived.
Leanne sweat-dropped. “Smart little duo, aren’t they?”
“Hey, how do you guys know Lee?” Lulu questioned.
“Lee was a sky yeti!” Donna grinned.
“Who got ‘imself ready!” Sonny followed.
“TO SAVE SOME UNGRATEFUL BRAT!”
“Wait… you mean the blue-haired girl?” Leanne asked.
“Oh, it was blue alright.” Sonny confirmed.
“Blue as Ocean Earth.”
“LIKE SOME GUY WE CAN’T QUITE RECALL.” They wore quizzical faces.
Denny sweat-dropped. “Somehow I think that’s inaccurate.”
“Where did he save this girl?” Leanne asked.
“Up in Alaska, duh!” answered Sonny.
“Where we met Lee!”
“AND MADE HIM OUR PET!”
They all sweat-dropped, “Yah, maybe he should.” Lulu remarked. “Hey, did you guys make all this winter happen?”
“Huh, but we just got here.” Sonny frowned.
“We didn’t know it was snowy.” Donna followed.
“We only came ‘cause those three guys were looking for Lee.”
“And one of them sniffed Sonny’s pee.”
“THE BOX GUY WAS COOL THOUGH.”
“Pee… Box guy… they must mean Toiletnator and Box Ghost!” Lulu realized.
“You don’t think they kidnapped him, do you?” Denny asked.
“But why?”
“HE BE MAKIN’ GOOOD PEE, I GUESS.” the Climbers commented.
“Well, whatever the reason… let’s fly to Alaska and see what they’re doing down there.”
“‘kay, but, just for the record, whose S.C.A.M.P.E.R. was that?” Lulu asked.
“We stole from IC.” Sonny smiled.
“Not that THEY see!” Donna grinned.
“’CAUSE WE’RE ICE CLIMBERS!” High-five.
“All-rights-of-any-stolen-material-to-their-respective-owners.” noted Sonny.
“Good, ‘cause we aren’t liable.” said Lulu.
“Let’s grab one of ours and fly down there.” Leanne decided. “We’re solving this mystery once and for all. And finding out the truth about this blue-haired girl…”
Black Acropolis
“AAAAAAAAAHHHH!” Anyone who could hear Wendy’s screams wouldn’t want to imagine the pain she’s in right now.
“Hm, maybe I should have got those earplugs.” Bob thought aloud. “But merely a small nuisance to endure as my plans go into fruition! My only real concern is the longevity of the potion’s effects. Only a small dose would be enough to force the chi out at its fullest potential, but absorbing the whole thing may force it out until it’s all gone. Then we know what happens then. So the question is how long you can stay alive. Assuming you were a Horcrux, that would be indefinite. So I guess that long-awaited answer will come to pass, but whether that life is limited or not, it will be one of pain and suffering. But that’s what science is, my dear, so enjoy it while-”
“PROFESSOR BOB, Professor Bob!” He turned to the entrance as Toiletnator and his team ran in with ecstatic faces.
“We’ve got something to shoooow yooooou!” sang Light.
“BEHOLD!” Box Ghost held Lee by the waist, binding his arms. “An operative from Kids Next Door! Whom we know from once upon a dream.” He smiled goofily.
“What?! You brought a Kids Next Door operative HERE?!”
“UUH!” Lee broke free and landed on the floor. “Alright, Bob, I wanna know what you know about…!” He looked up and spotted the girl in question, “Wendy!”
“Don’t even try to save her!” Bob stated. “Already, her energy’s being absorbed to power my Weatherator. Even if you managed to free her, the potion I gave her will continuously unleash her chi in an unending storm, one even SHE is unable to control! She’ll tear you to shreds with the least amount of realization.”
“Why couldn’t you just leave her alone?! She never had control over her power to begin with, she didn’t need YOU making her a million times worse! How did you even get ahold of her anyway, how did you FIND her?”
“Since you insist, child, I’m not the one that wanted her disposed of. It was the request of someone much higher up.”
“Who?”
“It was only a month after the Brotherhood was finally freed, and we started wreaking havoc like the old days. But as fast as we came, the Kids Next Door came too, to STOP US. We were weaker than we were 20 years ago, and 20 years out of practice. In my quest to find old memories, I stumbled upon this abandoned base, and rebuilt my Weatherator here. It was nearly perfected, just like last time, but the range only went so far. So I knew, I needed a perfect power source, but where to find one? The answer came to me… on my computer.
“While searching a solution on weathermachines-dot-com, my computer caught a strange virus. I didn’t know what it was, but somebody got in contact with my Skype. He spoke with the most charming voice… he said he knew about the Brotherhood’s return, and would soon face destruction, for a much higher power controlled the world now. But he knew of my research, and wished to save me from such destruction. So he wanted… to make me his apprentice. All I had to do… was find a little girl. One with hair blue as the sea, eyes like the blood in our veins, and ears sharper than paper. He didn’t give me a picture… but the way he described her, so smoothly, I could somehow picture the girl in my head. So I set out to find her, and wouldn’t you know it, the image in my head was exactly how she looked… but with clothing.
“He explained her incredible airbending, so I thought, I could kill two birds with one stone. I could use her airbending to power my Weatherator… and once I was finished, I could destroy her. Just like he ordered me to.” Lee grinded his teeth. “I don’t know why he’s so concerned with her, but if it would help me complete my goals, I wasn’t complaining. By joining with this man… I knew I wouldn’t need the Brotherhood anymore. I would be under the wing of someone who appreciates my genius! And live the rest of my life in solitude!”
“Yeah, solitary confinement.” Lee eye-rolled. “You’re trusting some complete, total stranger to save you from some kind of, ‘destruction’. Destruction he might not even protect you from!”
“If I am to be destroyed, let the world first know my power.” He marched back up to the control deck. “I will suck Wendy until she’s dry and wrinkly, her body slim and shriveled like a skeleton with flesh! …His descriptive powers really got to me.”
“NO YOU WON’T!!” Lee rushed up the stairs to stop him, but was instantly blocked by the Voldemort Clone.
“Hello, Friend! I am Voldemort! Would you like to be my friend?!”
“Grrrrr GET OUTTA THE WAY!” He tried to go around him, but Voldemort kicked him to the bottom and jumped after to pin Lee under his knees.
“We’re like snuggle buddies! I’m on you, and you’re under me. And we laaaaaugh.” Voldy grinned.
“A valiant effort, young man, but it’s too late now.” Bob grinned. “You and your meddlesome Kids Next Door will meet a frosty end. I’ve already got Rozeland snowbound… next I’ll do Cleveland, Louisiana, Philippines, Washington-” As he marked all these locations, the machine started to sparkle, “-something’s wrong.” He pressed buttons half-panickingly, “What’s happening?! It can’t have absorbed this much chi already. She’d have to be dead by now. Unless…” He looked at Wendy with a look of fear and wonder.
“AAAAAAAHHH.” As fast as her energy was absorbed, it seemed to grow. As did her agonizing pain. “AAAAAA-AAAAAAAAHHHHH! UUUUUUAAAAAAAAHH…” The wind spiraled so fast, it became sharp, slicing her cuffs clean off. Finally free, Wendy flew around the room and laid a path of ruin, afterwards flying out of the hatch on the ceiling and across the snowy wilds.
“Ohhhh…” Bob was left weakened on the floor.
“WENDY!! Come on, we gotta go after her!” Lee told Team Failure rushedly.
“Well, why should we help you?” Box Ghost questioned.
“You want my sister’s glowing toilet lunchbox or not?”
“OKAY.”
“Team Failure,” Lee pointed at the sky, “let’s MOVE OUT!”
The three villains were ready, with looks of determination, until they realized- “WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL US?”
“Oh! Uh, that’s kind of our nickname for you guys, so…”
“That’s hurtful.” Light said.
“LET’S JUST GO!” Their determined looks returned as Box Ghost carried Lee and his friends, flying out of the building and after Wendy.
A tremendous whirlwind of snow blew in the distance, and in its glowing center floated Wendy. Box Ghost dropped his allies a few feet away before they chased it on foot, Toiletnator using his waterbending to form a water barrier to shield them. “Finally, put that bending to good use!” Lee remarked.
“I pretend it’s a giant toilet.”
The center of the cyclone was more clear, but still very windy as Lee squinted his eyes, looking up at the glowing green that surrounded his friend. “WENDY! CAN YOU HEAR ME?! IT’S ME, LEE!”
Her mouth was wide like an ‘O’, eyes totally white, glowing, and blank. “I’m not sure if she heard you.” Light said.
“Well, pull her down!” Dr. Light launched light beams from his wrists to clutch Wendy like hands, struggling to pull her down while Wendy tried to stay levitated. “Whooooaa!” Light was pulled off his feet and flown around and around with the cyclone, eventually forced to let go of Wendy and thrown outside.
“Send me up there, Boxy!” Lee yelled, hopping on a cardboard box as Box Ghost sent it flying up to Wendy. “Nnn!” Lee jumped and wrapped his arms around Wendy’s waist. “Snap out of it, Wendy! Don’t let some lousy potion control you! You’re a sweet girl, and a really sweet friend! I’d call you strong-willed, but, I think I should get to know you a little better first before I make assumptions… b-but you probably are anyway—JUST ignore that part, you know I’m not good with helping people! But I still wanna help you, so…SO JUST COME BACK TO YOUR SENSES FOR ME, OKAY??”
“Nnn!” Her eyes flashed on and off, allowing Lee to see her red, tearful eyes. “L-Lee…”
“Ha ha!” Lee smiled brightly. “There you are, Wendy! I knew hearing a familiar voice would snap you back to-”
“AAAAAHH!” Her eyes flashed on again, blowing Lee to the snowy ground. “Uh… go… away… I don’t want to… hurt anyone… I’m just… a monster…”
“I don’t CARE that you hurt me, Wendy! It was just a mistake, everybody makes them! You’re still a nice girl, and I could never stay mad at you! And I still wanna help you control your power!”
“Uhhh, I’m still not sure if she’s listening, Leee-eee.” Toiletnator struggled to stand his ground.
“Ugh, this Fury Mode’s getting too out of control. Lou, try to freeze her, that might stop her storm for a bit.”
“You got it!” Toiletnator grabbed a bunch of snow with his bending and melted it into water, sending it to Wendy and spiraling around her before trapping her in an ice cube. The ice fell to the ground as the snowy cyclone came to a stop.
“It WORKED!” Lee beamed. He hurried over to Wendy’s frozen body as Toiletnator melted the head free. “Wendy… it’s gonna be okay. We’ll find a cure for the potion and you’ll be good as-”
“AAAACHOO!” She blew several meters backward at whipping speed, falling off a cliff as her ice smashed on the tip of a small peak. She regained composure and ran down the rest of the mountain, zooming across the fields with a cloud of snow at her back.
“DANG IT!” Lee ran after her, the villains following. “Team Failure, LET’S MOVE!”
“WILL YOU PLEASE STOP CALLING US THAT?!”
Box Ghost grabbed the trio and flew down the cliff and after the cloud of snow across the field. She shifted direction to the right, allowing the three to cut the corner she created and catch up faster. Wendy swerved around a series of turns along a snaky path between mountains, the four staying outside of her snow cloud as they were about to fly beside her left. “Okay, freezing her seemed to work, so why don’t we just leave her nose free, then we might be able to keep her still. So let’s get close and—UUH.”
An energy blasted sent the four flying several feet back. “There’s one crucial component you haven’t added to the equation.”
Lee looked up and gasped. “BOB!”
“That I am not out of the game YET!” Standing over them appeared to be the laboratory itself, but with long, steam pipe-like legs and a cockpit where the professor controlled it. “And my Mobile Weatherator will exhaust every bone in its metallic body until all your treehouses are good and FROZEN!”
“Hasn’t anyone noticed this saga’s had too many snow levels?” Light questioned.
“Well, there wasn’t a stage here, so…” Box Ghost noted.
The base’s front-left leg rose up and stretched, clutching Wendy in its claws. “AAAAAHH!”
“Nne he ha ha, the legs are programmed to suck the energy from you themselves!” Bob snickered. “Try and overpower them as much as you want, I’ll STILL freeze all the operatives on this planet!”
“INCLUDING THE ARCTIC BASE?” The four asked monotonously.
“! …” His eyes widened. “Uhhh… didn’t think of them. Or Moonbase. …Oh well!” Bob’s grin returned as he pulled a lever and swatted the heroes/villains away with the other leg.
“WHOOOA!” Team Failure wasn’t flown too far, but Lee ended up plummeting down a nearby cliff. “LEE!” Lou cried.
“Waaah!-” Before Lee fell too far, a mittened hand grabbed his. Lee glanced up to see his mysterious savior.
“The Ice Climbers to save the day!” Sonny beamed.
“Before Lee goes falling ALLL THE WAAAY!” Donna sang.
“Guys!” Lee smiled as the twin climbers helped him back to the ledge. “How’d you guys get here?”
“We go wherever there’s trouble!” Sonny smiled.
“In treacherous ice lands!” followed Donna.
“WHY ARE PEOPLE SO CLUMSY?” They smiled.
Sweatdrop. “Well, that answers that. But how did you get here?”
“Oh, your sector brought us!” Son replied.
“Huh?” That’s when a S.C.A.M.P.E.R. zipped overhead, flying to Bob’s fortress.
“Is that the girl Lee was talking about?” Leanne asked, seeing the girl trapped in the base’s claw.
“Not at all, I’m sure there’s tons of blue-haired, pointed-ear girls living around here.” Denny retorted.
“Diwata, lock onto its wrist and get ready to shoot.”
“Ayyyyye SIR!” Diwata did as told and locked on target, blasting lasers at the arm’s wrist and breaking Wendy free.
“CURSES!” Bob screamed as Wendy hightailed across the field. “You aren’t getting away from me!” The robot furiously stomped after her.
“Come on, we’ve gotta catch her ‘fore he does!” Lee told the Climbers. “Think you can catch up?”
“Well sure we can do such!” Sonny assured.
“It’s all part of our job!”
“Upon the softest blankets of snow.”
“And slipperiest of ices!”
“FOR WE ARE ICE CLIMBERS!” High-five.
“Notheldaccountableforanyaccidentsofothersduringscaling.” Sonny said fast.
Sweatdrop. “Insurance at best. LET’S GO!”
“RIGHT!” The twins took Lee’s hands and formed an ice path as they skied along.
“We’ve gotta help, too!” Toiletnator declared. “We’ve gotta save Wendy from Bob!”
“Yeah! Let’s-! …Wait, I thought we were on Bob’s side?” Box Ghost queried.
“Well, Bob attacked us, so I assume he doesn’t really care…” Dr. Light recalled.
“’Course, Lee promised us a cool lunchbox, so, we can still take him up on that offer.” Lou said.
“You think we can trust him?”
“Good enough. Let’s do it!”
Soon, everyone was after Wendy, with Sector RZ in the front, Bob’s lab behind them, Team Failure using Box Ghost to fly, and Lee and the Climbers skiing in back.
“…Hu hu hu, hu hu hu, hu hu hu, hu hu hu!” The Voldy Clone was the farthest behind, his upper half angled back with his arms loose behind him, running and giggling in a fashion similar to Ed.
“Lulu, do we have the extendable net?” Leanne asked.
“Yeah, I’m gettin’ ready to drop it.” she replied. “Let’s hope her speed doesn’t break it open, then we-” But that was when Bob’s laboratory leaped up, clutched their engines in his claw, and crushed them, causing them to lose altitude. “Crud! Guess we’ve moving to Plan B!”
“What’s that??” Denny questioned.
“Ge’ down there and GRAB that girl!” Leanne yelled.
The S.C.A.M.P.E.R. skidded along the ground before the four hopped out and ran after Wendy on their own. Sadly, Professor Bob was the likeliest one to catch her, and after taking a tremendous leap with his base, he managed to reach and clutch her in its front-right tentacle. “It’s time you learned your place, Girl. A little shock therapy never fails in that genre.”
“AAAAAAAAAHHHH!” The tentacle induced Wendy with a painful shock, her energy flowing into the machine.
“STOP, YOU MEANIE!” yelled the Ice Climbers, making it beside the base and shooting ice beams to freeze the tentacle.
“Oh yeah?! How about a little HEAT, kiddies!” Bob aimed the Weatherator’s satellite and released a heat wave that quickly melted the ice. “Careful, because there’s a storm coming!” He aimed the satellite to the heavens and forced the clouds to spiral together, causing lighting to strike around the field. “WOOOOH!” The lightning struck before Team Failure and blew them back.
“GO, LEE!” Lee jumped on the Ice Climbers’ hammers as they sent him flying up to Wendy. He made it partway, but used Shadow Glide to float up and grab his friend’s legs.
“Nnn!” He managed to climb to Wendy’s head and tried to reach below the claw and pull her out. “Hold on, Wendy! Nnnnn I’m getting you out! AAAAAHH!” But Bob electrified the claw again and made Lee fall.
“Lee!” Leanne and the others hurried to their friend, but Bob stomped one of the base’s back feet in their way.
“You really thought you could save her, Boy?! You, with only those pea-brained imbeciles to back you up?”
“HEEEEY!” Team Failure whined.
“Why would you want to save her, anyway? This girl is nothing more than a weapon, dying to unleash its power to the world, sleeping in the form of what appears to be an innocent child. Even if she doesn’t want to, the power inside her just WAITS to cause destruction wherever she goes, bringing death to those around her! You experienced this power… and yet you STILL think of her as an actual person. Are you really this dense? Just how much do the KND value you, anyway? You had no friends to back you up, forced to team up with jokes of supervillains, I would mistake you as Numbuh 4’s child with that hair. You’re just as reckless, and just as stupid! All you’ll ever be good at is failing the simplest tasks, and making things more troublesome for everyone you work with. Why don’t you make like every other disgrace in this world, crawl back to your room and never show yourself again, because the only help you’ll be able to give to this weapon is-”
“HEY!!”
“What?” Bob turned the base to find Leanne glaring at him, eyes brimming with rage.
“You have NO RIGHT talking about Lee like that! SURE he’s a failure, who can never remember where things go in the fridge, and barely maintains a C in school, not to mention couldn’t tie a shoe to save his life… but no one’s great at everything, and Lee doesn’t have to be! He’s a really sweet kid, he’s funny, and a loyal friend! He’s sweet enough to wanna help a stranger with a problem, because all he wants is to make a new friend! And the Kids Next Door’s job is to help kids everywhere, whether they’re 1-year-olds forced to go to school early, or girls with really crazy air powers and creepy glowy eyes! Even if Lee messes up every mission we’ve been on, he never forgets his number one cause: friendship takes priority over perfection! …Or something like that.”
“What kind of nonsense is that? No reasonable being wants the assistance of someone who is utterly useless. Wendy is in my grasp, and there is nothing you or that snot-nosed failure can…” He turned his attention back to… an empty, human-shaped crater in the snow. “Where did he go?”
“Looking for me?” Bob turned and found Lee standing in the center of the lab.
“What do you think you’re doing in there?!”
“I might not be any help to Wendy or anyone, but the closest thing I can do is get her away from you. And if there’s one thing I learned from watching my mom play Zelda, giant monsters are always weakest on the inside!”
“It took him AGES to figure out how to beat King Dodongo.”
“THANK YOU, Denny. Anyway, I may not have any bombs, but nothing steadily tears down a fortress than an endless array of gumballs!” He shipped out his three-way G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A.. “And with my shadow adding a second set of gumballs,” Damien aimed a different direction, “get ready for a REALLY gummy day! Readyyyy…” He aimed forward, “aaaaaim…” finger ready on the trigger.
“If you think that measly toy can damage my fortress, you really don’t know a THING about-”
“FIRE!!” In half a second, gumballs and shadow gumballs were flying everywhere. Lee flinched and ducked, being pelted with a storm of his own gumballs, but stood his ground firmly. Bob also shielded himself on his post in the cockpit, and would never see the hundreds of gumballs sticking into the many gaps of his machine.
“Gnnnn, STOP THAT you annoying brat! You can fire as many gumballs as you can produce, my invention is FAR superior-” One of the gumballs forced his lever to ‘Max’ level, and the sky was soon roaring with Wendy’s screams from the incredible shocking. “But may I just say, THANK YOU for the sudden boost in energy! Sadly, I can’t leave it on that setting, or else it’ll-” But in his attempt to pull it back, a gumball had clogged the other end’s gap. “W-What?! NO!” He desperately tried to pull it out. “GET OUT OF THERE, YOU STUPID-”
“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!” The leg clutching Wendy shined as blue as the sky. “GYAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”
“Emergency. Overload. Shutdown imminent. Emergency-”
“NOOOOOOO!” Bob frantically pressed a series of buttons, but the energy was incredible. The base of the tentacle exploded and- “EAAAAAAHHH!” the electrical impulse came right back at Bob. The entire Weatherator sizzled and sparkled, all monitors switching off and the satellite drooping down. Smoke puffed out from all areas, and in 5 more seconds, the legs gave out, the walking laboratory plopping to the ground. The only function that gave one last push- “GAAAAAH!” Professor Bob’s built-in spring seat. “OOF.” His head was then buried in the snow.
“LEE!” Leanne and Sector RZ hurried inside the lab, finding their friend on the floor.
“Owww…” Lee helped himself up, holding his head.
“Are you okay?”
“Y-Yeah, no big deal… come on, let’s go help Wendy!” He ran outside.
They found Wendy in the snow beside the fallen tentacle, barely able to hold herself up as her eyes still flashed. “What’s wrong with her?” Leanne asked.
“Bob said she drank some kinda potion. We have to do something fast, she might not last!”
“HEY! IT RHYMES!” sang the Ice Climbers.
“NOT IMPORTANT!!”
“I’m not sure how long she’ll last before we get to Undersea Base.” Lulu said. “And we still gotta fix the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.!”
“I can help!” someone exclaimed from behind.
“IT’S VOLDEMORT!!” the kids screamed.
“No it’s not, it’s just a clone!” Lee yelled. “H- Wait a minute… Voldemort, YOU can help her! Use a magic spell, o-or something and get rid of her potion!”
“Oh, silly Lee-Lee.” Voldy patted his head. “There’s no such thing as magiiiic.” He said with a childish, playful grin.
“YOU JUST SAID YOU COULD HELP!!”
“Sure I can! By providing you with car insurance by switching to GEICO!”
“The hell with GEICO, JUST FIX WENDY!!”
“What’s the magic wooooorrrrd?” :3
“Uh, I dunno… Wingardium Leviosa?”
“Nope!” ;3
“Um… Potiono Dispello?”
“Nope!” X3
“Fury Getridofo? Power Shrinkdowno?? Glowyeyes DISAPPEARO?! Ai-”
Diwata cupped his mouth shut. “Pleeeeeeaaaaase, Voldy-Woldy?” She spoke with the most adorable brown eyes.
“Awwwwwww. Okay, little girl.” He patted her head. With that, Voldemort pulled out his wand, performed a small wave, and “Anapneoloso.”
Wendy stopped struggling as she lied on her back peacefully. Her eyes half-closed as their glow finally faded, revealing Wendy’s tired red eyes. Lee lifted her head in his arms and stared longingly at her eyes. “Lee… what was I doing…”
“Uhhhh kinda going crazy and making a snowstorm.” Leanne said sheepishly. “Thank goodness you were or we never woulda found Lee.”
“So… you’re Lee’s friends?”
“We sure are!” nodded Sonny.
“FriendIES to the END!” smiled Donna.
“WE’D LIKE TO CALL IT OFF EARLY!” They kidded.
Sweatdrop. “Shut up, guys.”
“Lee… I’m really sorry. I came back here ‘cause… I thought I could finally find a way to heal my curse. …I should’ve seen this coming. I fell for Bob’s trick like…like an idiot. …I just didn’t wanna hurt anyone.”
“Wendy, I’ve known you long enough to know you would never hurt anyone on purpose. No matter what it is… these’re just honest mistakes. We all make them. You shouldn’t feel sorry for yourself just ‘cause you do. …And you shouldn’t keep yourself from having friends. Because real friends would understand your problem. And they’d still love you for who you are.”
Wendy couldn’t believe his words. She hurt him, got him in trouble… and he still wanted to be her friend. And Lee messed things up just as much as she did… and he still had his friends beside him. Whether it was because of the potion or not… she felt as though the storm in her heart began to clear. “Thank you… Lee…”
He helped her to stand as they began to walk away. “… …!” Professor Bob’s eyes cracked open, the man fuming with rage. “It’s not over, yet!” Wendy gasped and whipped around as he got up and aimed a gun. “Even if I cannot have your power, I will still have the honor of DESTROYING you!” He cocked the gun.
A rubber gloved hand immediately stretched from the distance and punched the man away. He got to his knees and crawled around to see his assaulter. “! You!” He gaped. “Y-You’re…”
A pair of black high-heel boots stepped across the snow. “Plan to continue zat notion?” It was a sleek woman in a black trenchcoat, red lips, and long raven hair smoking a cigarette.
“MADAME ROUGE?!” RZ exclaimed.
Team Failure whipped to attention and sat on their knees. The woman stood over Bob with a hateful glare. “Vord has reached you are vorking behind ze Brotherhood’s back. Vhat vould Revan say?”
“Revan is dead! The Brotherhood was getting nowhere! I had to take this job! I HAD to-”
Rouge punched his face, broke his glasses, and knocked him out cold and bloody. She pulled her hand back and smoked. “How dare you betray your brethren.”
“A bit overbearing, don’t you think?” Another man walked out of the shadows. A brown-skinned, slim witch-doctor they all knew and loved.
“Uncle Facilier!” Diwata perked.
“Long time, no see, kids! And you too, Wendy…” The girl gasped quietly. “I think we have a lot to talk about.”
“What are you two doing together, anyway?!” Leanne questioned.
“What? Ain’t you kids hear the news?” Facilier grinned. “We’re MARRIED!” They locked hands, revealing the gold, diamond rings on each of them.
“…” They were nearly speechless. “Wait… so THAT’S who he was marrying?!” Lee gaped.
“Told you ve should have wrote the one-shot.” Rouge said.
Minutes later…
Everyone marched a good distance from the fallen lab as Rouge dragged Bob’s unconscious body. “Here.” She tossed him beside Sector RZ. “Do vhatever you vish vith him. Zese three vill be coming back to base.”
“YES, MA’AM.” Team Failure bowed.
“I still can’t believe that you’re on OUR side now.” Leanne said.
“Vhat. Can’t I play the antihero?” Rouge asked, blowing a smoke.
“I-I don’t understand. How do you know me?” questioned Wendy.
“Well, the truth is, Wendy… y’all weren’t really alone.” Facilier explained. “I was asked to watch you since you were born. By yo’ father.” Wendy gasped. “‘Course, runnin’ around everywhere didn’t make my job easy, so Ah called a few friends. Then Madame Rouge helped, since we ‘came married.”
They watched as Rouge shrunk into a crow. “Caw. Caw.” She grew back to normal.
“But…But why didn’t you tell me?”
“Let’s just say, yo’ daddy made a big name for himself. And people knew you were his daughter, and I couldn’t seem affiliated with him. But now it’s finally time… ‘cause we got a heapin’ birthday present for you!” With an eager grin, Facilier gave Wendy an envelope. Wendy ripped it open and read the letter written in the most elegant cursive.
“‘Dear Ms. Marvell, you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You are required to bring’… wait a second, I’m a wizard?!”
“The real thing, kid.” He smiled. “Y’all 11 years old and finally proper age! Aside from teachin’ you magic, they even got programs for element benders, so they can teach you airbendin’!”
“This is so amazing!” Wendy smiled with the greatest joy. “I can’t believe I’m actually gonna learn magic!”
“It’s all happening so fast!” Lulu wept. “I didn’t bring enough hankies for this!”
“Oh! And they got you this, too.” Facilier pulled a small white box out of his hat, tied with a thin green ribbon. Wendy unwrapped and opened the box, finding a birthday cake with yellow icing outline, and mostly icing as blue as her hair, and pink writing that read, ‘Happy Birthday, Wendy’, with two ‘1’ candles. “We’re gonna take you to the school on our ship, so… say anythin’ you need to.”
“But… I can always come back, right?”
“‘Course you can! What good’s bein’ an airbender without freedom?”
“WE WANNA COME, TOO! WE WANNA COME, TOO!” Sonny and Donna cheered. “WE’LL becoooooome: ICE WIZAAAARDS!”
“Heh heh heh. Well, join the bender programs, I guess.” Facilier chuckled. “Five minutes, Wen, we ain’t got all day.” He and Rouge walked ahead.
“Well, I guess this is good-bye for now, Wendy.” Leanne said.
“I guess so… but, it’s not forever!” Wendy smiled. “Lee… thank you for everything, though. Even if you didn’t know what you were doing… I’m really grateful that you tried to help me. And I really enjoyed our friendship!”
“Eh heh heh…” Lee blushed, scratching his head. “Ah, it was nothin’. Any kid coulda saved you.”
“Maybe… but one thing I really admire about you, Lee, even if you think you’ll fail at something, you still give it a try. And that’s what I’ll do, too!” Wendy smirked with confidence. “I’ll keep training with airbending and magic until I can control this curse! And once it’s all gone, I’ll enter Cadet Training and become a Kids Next Door just like you!”
“We hope to SEE YOU soon, Wendy!” Leanne saluted, the others following.
“SEE YOU SOON! SEE YOU SOON! YAAAAY!” The Ice Climbers hopped away.
“Here.” Wendy gave her cake to Lee. “The five of you can have it. You all deserve it way more than I do.”
“As much as we’d like to disagree, well… we do like cake.” Lee winked. “We’ll mail you a slice.”
“Okay! I’ll send you a postcard once I get to Hogwarts!” She waved to her friends as she ran after Facilier and Rouge. “GOOD-BYY—WAAAH!” She tripped and fell.
The five friends joined in laughter. “GOOD LUCK, WENDYYYYY!” They still waved.
“Ha ha ha ha!” She got up like nothing happened and kept running.
Soon, Wendy caught up to the Ice Climbers, Facilier and Rouge, and Team Failure. “Um, Mr. Facilier? Am I really a Horcrux?”
“I can’t say for sure, Wendy. But your daddy studied more than his share of the Dark Arts. I still ain’t sure what lengths he would go to…”
“Well, I hope I get to meet him one day. And have some questions answered.”
“Still, I must commend you three for your vork.” Rouge said to Team Failure. “Even zough you vere forced to vork vith ze snotty children, you saw Bob’s treachery before anyvone else and helped to stop him. Perhaps I have misjudged you clowns.” She smirked.
“All in a day’s work!” Lou saluted.
“Huh? But we didn’t know he wa-” Lou nudged Box Ghost’s waist, “Uh, I mean, yeah, BEWARE traitors of Brotherhood, and fear the BOX GHOST and his sleuthing talents!”
“That’s all well and good, but, what’ll we do with him?” Dr. Light indicated the grinning Voldemort Clone, joining beside them.
“I’M VOLDEMORT!”
“Weeeell, Hogwarts can always use more practice targets.” Facilier winked.
Just as well, Sector RZ was following the opposite path to their S.C.A.M.P.E.R.. “So anything happen while I was gone?” Lee asked.
“Well, we’re in 11th place now.” Leanne replied. “But that’s okay, really. Who needs it when we have each other!”
“Says the girl who almost tore her hair out in the bathroom.” Denny remarked.
“Denny, whaddid I tell you about eavesdropping lady time?!” Lulu scolded.
“I didn’t say I eavesdropped. Ha ha ha!”
“Still, I can’t help but wonder who her dad is.” Lee said.
“I bet he’s like filthy rich, and makes hundreds of bucks selling prankster potions!” Diwata beamed.
“In your dreams, Dee-Dee.”
Atop the mountain’s peak above, the black cloaked figure’s cape blew in the wind, watching the sunrise beyond the horizon. “…Achoo.” It was a very beautiful day today.
Wendy’s from Fairy Tail, but her appearance and name has been notably altered from her original self. Was gonna make my own Wendy, but she was pretty much based from her, and I decided to use the crossover. Our next story will be, none other than… Operation: CLOWN.
Chapter 5: Operation: CLOWN, Part 1: Caesar’s Escape
Summary:
The 5th story of the Big Mom Saga, also called the Punk Hazard Arc. Children have mysteriously gone missing all over the world, and when Dillon York and his friends are among them, Sandman is on the case. They venture to Punk Hazard for the elusive kidnapper, Caesar Clown, and on their journey, Nolan may learn a few things.
Chapter Text
WAIT, I just realized there was an “Operation: C.L.O.W.N.” in the actual Kids Next Door series! Heh heh, oh well, ANYWAY, hey guys, welcome to another story, which ONCE again crosses over with One Piece. (Yeah, you know how Kid Icarus was the main crossover of Viridi Saga? Well, One Piece is the central crossover here.)
Now loading…
Kids Next Door mission…
Operation:
C.L.O.W.N.
Looney
Operations
Will
‘Naugurate
Loading transmission…
Chapter 1: Caesar’s Escape
G.U.N. H.Q., around 22 years ago
Nighttime at GUN H.Q.. It was just another ordinary day as Commander Gunkan marched down the halls of his base, his face serious and stern. He approached two soldiers, who saluted, standing on either side of a black-haired man, in sunglasses and a thick white coat. The man spoke in a calm, quiet tone. “Gunkan-san…”
“Evening, General Vergo.” Gunkan nodded. “I assume you’ve brought the prisoner?”
“Yes… he is right there.” His head directed to the doorway.
The doors slid open as a group of soldiers marched in, pulling an up-right stretcher with a man strapped to it. “Shurororororo.” He was a white-skinned man in a blackish-purple jumpsuit, with yellow polka dots. He had short, thick black hair, purple lips, and psychotic yellow eyes. On his head were strange goat horns, and he wore dark-blue gloves with the letters “CC”.
“Shurororororo.” The man laughed wickedly, wearing a wide, crazy grin on his face as the men rolled him down the hall.
“The chi-blocking cuffs are on him, right?” Gunkan asked.
“Yes.” Vergo assured as they walked along. “We can’t have him running loose without them.”
“Heeey, Vergo! How’s the WIFE doing??” The prisoner asked excitedly. “Whoops! Sorry, wrong person! Shurororo!”
The group walked down several more halls as the man continued to speak. “Whoa, I really NEED to get me some new shoooes!” He looked at his dark-blue slip-on shoes and shook his feet. “A new suit, too! And maybe longer hair! I really am a slave to trends, shuroROROrororo!...”
“…and I said, Mark Hamill?? Well, what’s wrong with my JAPANESE voice actor?! I mean, it’s GREAT that I sound like a Joker, but-“
“-…and when did I AGREE to take part in some crummy writer’s fanfic?” He rambled as they finally came to a stop in a small room. “I mean, if this is the crap that PAYS, I demand to see a script first, ‘cause I-“
“QUIET, Clown!” Gunkan demanded with a hateful look. “Now tell me…” Rage burned in Gunkan’s eyes as he held a darksaber to the man’s neck, “How did you manage to produce 10,000 gallons of BANG Gas??”
“Ooooh it’s all part of BUSINESS, Gunny! And a good magician never reveals secrets SHUROrororo!”
“TELL ME who you’ve been selling it to!!” Brett demanded.
“Mum’s the word, Gunny HOOHOO! I wouldn’t dare sell a customer’s private information! There should be a penalty for blackmailing, don’t you think?”
“QUIT kidding around, Clown! There’s one last thing: is there a metahuman ANTIDOTE?”
“ANTIDOTE?! ShuroROROROrororo!” Gunkan gritted his teeth as Clown laughed. “Actually…” Clown looked at him with a smirk, “a certain SPIRIT may be what you’re afterrrr… BUT: you didn’t hear it from MEEEE!”
“Uuuuh…” Gunkan sighed in exhaust. “Then it’s time we ridded YOUR mutated mug from the world as well. MEN: READY weapons.” The soldiers in the room took aim at Clown.
“So I’m GUESSING those swords are just for SHOW then.” Clown guessed.
“On my mark: 3… 2… 1…”
“SURPRIIIISE!!”
Vergo immediately punched Gunkan in the face, knocking him down before attacking more soldiers. The remaining soldiers gasped in shock, taking aim on Vergo and letting fire. “Armament.” Vergo spoke, and the bullets had no effect on his iron-like body. Vergo wiped all the soldiers out in seconds, and he and Clown were the only ones still conscious.
“ShuroROROrorororo!” The prisoner laughed as Vergo walked over with a key, using it to unshackle Clown’s wrists and legs. The white-skinned man stood up, rubbing his wrists. “Well, a little OFF, but… I still give you a 9.5 outta 10! Oh, I KNEW I could count on you, Vergo!”
“Of course… Master Caesar.”
Present time, Uncharted Island, Pacific Ocean
The playroom was packed with frolicking children of many shapes and sizes. No, I’m not referring to their ages. They ranged from the size of pennies to bigger than houses. As for their shapes, there were many races, like humans, Lilliputians, Kateenians, Minish, Gargoyles, Nimbi, even Merpeople. Some of the smaller characters were riding the bigger characters, cheering as the giants ran around. They were also playing hide-and-seek, with the smaller ones hiding, and some giants threw a little ball to each other from across the room.
The doors swung open, and they immediately ceased their activities. A man and a woman walked in, and the man cheered, “HELLO, kids!”
Their smiles were wide. “Master Caesar!!”
There was Caesar Clown, his yellow eyes shining with trust as he gave his wide grin. He looked much different than he did 2 decades ago: his black hair was much longer and wider, and he now wore a yellow jumpsuit with black, diagonal stripes. But it was barely seen, as he also wore a new, oversized, bright-pink open coat, with the word “GAS” written on both sides. However, it emitted a creepy, eerie sound and waved around like gas. That’s because it wasn’t a physical coat, but rather a gas-made coat Caesar conjured up himself.
The kids approached him excitedly as he pulled out a syringe. “Time for your daily blood tests!” He began to lightly extract blood from everyone.
The smaller children were gathered around Caesar’s henchwoman, Monet, a slim woman with grass-green hair, sharp yellow eyes, and bird wings and talons. She wore a green, bellybutton tank-top that read “Happy”. After she extracted blood from a doll-sized Minish (much bigger than their natural size), it lovingly rubbed against her wing. “You’re soft, Monet.” It blushed.
“Can we go for a ride on you?” a smaller Minish asked.
“Hm-hm-hm, maybe later, kids.” The woman smiled as several Minish and Kateenians already began climbing on her. “It’s almost your bedtime… Oh!-“ she perked when a Kateenian slipped down her shirt. “Hm hm hm!” she lightly picked it out, giggling.
“Will we ever get better, Master Caesar?” a human-sized Kateenian asked. “It’s been 5 years.”
“I’m certain it won’t take long.” Caesar still grinned. “But for being so patient, here’s more candy!” His smile widened as he held up a piece of butterscotch.
“CANDYYY!” The children excitedly ran up to grab a piece.
While they did so, no one noticed the blue-and-yellow, confused rabbit walk behind some giant blocks and observe the playroom. “Gyom-gyooom?”
As soon as everyone got butterscotch, Caesar and Monet returned to the hallway. “They’ve gotten so lovable.” The werebird woman said gleefully.
“Yes, but their blood results are all the same. It’s just not enough!” Caesar swung his fists in rage. “I need something that’ll really up my Underground Bang Gas Business! What WE need are BENDERS!”
“Hm hm, the two of us are benders.”
“We’ve already got our fill, Monet, as you can see. We need to collect more! If I could mix bender blood with my SAD, I could develop Bang Gas that actually GIVES people BENDING! Then Caesar will be rolling in the dough, shurorororororo!” Caesar’s devious grin grew wider, “And I think I know just the person to talk to.”
Quahog Bank; 10:30p.m.
Nighttime at Quahog, Rhode Island. Things were peaceful in town, and the bank was totally empty. Of course, anyone that lived here would know that’s never true. A hole opened up on the floor as a squad of shadowed men climbed out. They approached the safe as one of the men bended some water out of a bottle, using it to slice the lock until it was open. Inside, piles of dollars and gold coins sparkled before their eyes, lighting the gangsters up. “They’s enuff dough in here ta last us next year!” The leader of the bunch, a chubby man, said. “Tha’s not nearly enough.” He smirked. “We’ll hit the old rich guy’s mansion, too.”
They flinched when they heard glass breaking in the bank’s lobby. They raised their guard, seeing three figures approach: a slim woman with a staff and purple robe, a blue-robed man in a metal Eskimo mask, and a familiar vigilante in a trench coat, gas mask, and wheelchair. “Lightning Bolt Zolt.” The Sandman spoke with a fierce tone.
“Well, if it ain’t Joe Swanson.” Zolt smiled wittingly. “You oughta be savin’ your cash for new legs, not fixin’ broken windows.”
“His name is Sandman, Zolt.” Wiccan corrected, twirling her staff. “And we only play using justice.”
“Please don’t ever say that again.” Coldman remarked, shaking his head.
“Well, we’re usually gone before they catch us, anyway.”
“Da three of you against all-a us?” Zolt asked. “We ain’t no Triple Threats, pallies: we Quintuple Threats. Get ‘em, boys.” And with that, the Quintuple Threat Triads began to attack the heroes.
An earthbender stomped and flung rocks at Wiccan, which she narrowly avoided as she dodged over and beat the Triad with her staff. Two waterbenders tried to freeze her, but Coldman surfed overhead on an ice path and sprayed them with his ice pack, freezing them solid. Two shadowbenders crept up to Sandman and pulled him in their Shadow Veil, but Wiccan called, “Lumos Harem!”, brightening the place with sunlight and forcing the shadows to come up, allowing Sandman to beat them.
Sandman was caught by surprise when three fearbenders stunned him with a Fear Scream, but Coldman froze the floor under their feet and made them slip and fall. Sandman backed away when three firebenders began to blast them, but Wiccan switched her staff to blow ice as she kept the flames back and froze them. “You know, that’s kinda pointless when I can just freeze things myself.” Coldman commented.
“And what are the odds of you getting chi-blocked?” Wiccan responded.
“Youse guys are gonna regrets doin’ that.” Zolt smirked. “’Cause Ah’m puttin’ you in for a shock.” The man twirled his hands as lightning sparked from his fingertips. Sandman faced him from several feet away, and the crippled man had to dodge his chair left and right as Zolt started to shoot quick lightning bolts.
“Siiigh, no good. Gotta make this quick.” Sandman said. He continued to dodge, his chair making little spins upon each landing, and during one of the lands, it faced up slightly, so Sandman hit the boosts and flung upward, landing forcefully atop the gang leader and knocking him on his back. Nolan kept the man down as he dealt a forceful punch to Zolt’s face, knocking him clean out.
Minutes later, the bank was surrounded by cops as Zolt and the Triads were given chi-blocking cuffs and loaded onto trucks. There was snow falling everywhere, as it was still winter.
The heroes, Nolan, Yuki, and Crystal watched from the rooftops. “I still don’t see why I fly all the way down to Quahog from Iceland every night to help you with stuff.” Yuki complained.
“Because you love us, Yuki.” Crystal winked.
“Yeah, well… I gotta be off now. Later.” With that, Yuki soared away on an ice road.
“Ahhh, always in a hurry.” Crystal sighed. “I would be, too, if I had a family to go to. I don’t suppose you have any more plans tonight?”
“No-pe. Had to miss dinner again… so I should probably head back. Same time tomorrow, Crystal.” And with a wave, Nolan swung away on his grappling hook.
“Siigh, well I may as well watch how this plays out.” Crystal sighed as she sat down, watching the cops finish their business.
Officer Joe Swanson rolled over to observe the broken window, and he yelled, “Alright, WHOEVER broke this, I’m not paying for it!”
“Well, it is a bank!” Crystal grinned as she flew away.
York Household
The minute Nolan York rolled in, Danika was there to greet him. “Ahh, finally, you’re home! Kiiids, wake up, dinneeerr!”
Vanellope was asleep on the couch, but woke up at her adoptive-mother’s call. “Oooh, finally, steak and beans with ketchup!” she cheered as she glitched to the kitchen.
“Oo- Wait- I thought dinner was 2 hours ago?” Nolan questioned.
“That was before I decided to reschedule so YOU could join us!” Danika grinned.
“Good thing shadowbenders are nocturnal.” Dillon said as he came downstairs, rubbing his eyes.
The four took a seat at the table and began to cut their steaks. “So who got busted this time?” Danika asked.
“Ehh, it’s just those Triads again.” Nolan answered. “Bank sure has a lot happenin’, huh?”
“Gotta love how different benders are able to come together.” Dillon commented.
“Hey, Mr. York!” Vanellope perked up. “Can I put on your cyborg body?! Just for a bit!”
“You mean my wheelchair?”
“Oh, is THAT what that is?? I thought you were a cyborg and you take your body off!”
“Ha ha, nope! I was offered to be a cyborg, once.”
“Yeah, but you upgrade one limb, your whole body loses its humanity.” Danika mentioned. “That reminds me… you hear about all these kids goin’ missing lately?”
“Yeah… what about ‘em?” Nolan asked.
“Another bunch went missing from Water 7 several weeks ago. Eva did a news segment about it; apparently her daughter did surveillance there. It’s so weird, though. Whaddyou think’s happening to them?”
“Maybe they’re being abducted by aliens!” Vanel exclaimed.
“Or maybe by that old guy who lives down the block.” Nolan remarked, remembering John Herbert.
“Well, whoever’s doing it, I bet Dad can find them!” Dillon said happily.
“Heh heh, I dun’ think so. I’d rather mind business in my own city.”
“That’s not what Mr. Crystal does!” Vanellope winked.
“The only reason Yuki doesn’t move here is because his daughter’s in Sector IC. But it doesn’t matter… I’m not Superman, so I can’t be a hero in every little continent. I’m just a local hero, you know? We’ll just have to let somebody else deal with it.”
“Laaaazy heroooo.” Vanellope whisper-sang.
“Well, in other news, Leo and Katie are coming to visit for the weekend.” Danika explained. “Which is good because Dillon gets to bond with his cousin!” she grinned. “But… get used to the bad smells, you guys.”
“Ahhhhh.” Dillon slumped his head against the table. He hated random, unfortunate news. Especially when it involved relatives he couldn’t stand.
“Ahhh, don’t worry.” Danika smiled in assurance. “I’m sure you’ll have a great time!”
“Well, there’s always hope for a random adventure.” Dillon said, eating another piece of steak.
Water 7; Sector W7 Treehouse, the next day
Another peaceful day at the treehouse in Water 7. The girls were doing their usual routine while Chimney was on the couch, playing with her new Gonbe doll. They heard a light squeak and looked to the tiny door, installed in their normal door, as Aeincha walked in. “Brr-rr-rr!” the tiny girl shuddered. “Why did it decide to snow in Water 7?? It’s always so warm, but when it snows, it’s so cold!!”
“That’s because you’re so tiny!” Aisa grinned.
Apis walked over with a smile as she scooped her friend in both hands. “I’ll warm you up, Aeinchan!” she said as she pressed Aeincha to her chest.
“I know! You can hug Gonbe!” Chimney grinned, holding up her stuffed doll. “He’s sooper soft and cuddly!”
“Hm hm, thanks, Chimney!” Aeincha smiled. “But I’d like the real Gonbe better. Where is he, anyway?”
“Yeah.” Apis agreed. “We haven’t seen Gonbe in weeks. Is he okay?”
“Nnnn? Whatchu talkin’ about, he’s right here.” Chimney held up her doll. “He’s not as talkative.”
“Chimney… that’s the toy you got for Christmas.” Apis pointed.
“Hnn?” Chimney was confused, but she kept her wide grin. She held the doll in both hands as she stared very, very closely. The stuffed doll was totally immobile. It didn’t move an inch. His grinning expression didn’t change… but his eyes showed no life. …Chimney finally realized: (Play “Escape” (the second part) from One Piece.)
“AAAAAHH!!” Chimney began to freak out. “GONBE’S GOOOOONE!!!”
“YOU JUST NOW REALIZED THAT?!” the girls screamed.
Right away, Chimney frantically scampered about the treehouse, checking every nook and cranny. “Gonbe?!” under her pillow. “Gonbe?!” in the fridge. “Gonbe?!” on the roof. “Gonbe?!” the cereal box. “Gonbe?!” under a discarded bolt. “Gonbe?! Gonbe?! Gonbe?! Gonbe?! Gonbe?!”
She checked under every random object, no matter how tiny, and finally returned to her friends. “Aaaaah!! Where did I leave my little neko-chan?!” she started to pant heavily.
“Calm down, Chimney!” Aeincha yelled. “Maybe we’ll ask around town if someone’s seen him!”
“Or maybe someone caught him and slaughtered him into that doll.” April said with her usual toneless voice, barely looking away from her canvas.
“HUH-“ Just the thought of it made Chimney lose consciousness. The grinning child’s eyes rolled upward as she fell on her back. The others shot disbelieved looks at April.
“…What. Just a thought.” With that, April continued painting a picture of Chimney fainting. (End song.)
Quahog Park
“And then when Beat PUNCHED my face, the boogers got on his fist!” Kaleo Anderson exclaimed before bursting into laughter. “HA HA HA! He looked so gross! Right, Stewie??”
As they listened to this, needless to say, Dillon, Zach, and Maddy were disgusted. “Did we HAVE to bring that guy to hang out with us??” Maddy questioned.
“My mom wants us to bond.” Dillon explained. “I don’t see why. She hates her brother, too. …Except when he almost gets killed by a Vaporian. But we’re pretty much stuck with him this weekend.”
“Well-p: I guess we’re not hanging out with YOU this weekend.” Maddy decided.
“Ahh, why not, Mad?” Zach smiled. “He might be a poisonbender, but this guy’s actually kinda fun!”
“Oh, gee, I wonder why?”
“Hey! Hey guys!” Kaleo perked up. “I can poke my brain! Check it out!” He stuck his pinky finger up his nose, and his left eye puffed like goo.
“EWWWW!” Dillon and Maddy screamed.
“Haha, cooool!” Zach smiled with wonder.
“Hey, Dillon!” The four kids looked over as Haruka hurried to them.
“Hey, Haruka! What’s up?” Dillon greeted.
“My mom took Mason and Dad shopping. I didn’t wanna go, and Lee was busy, so, I’m stuck with you!” she said perkily. “So who’s your friend?”
“Ahem, Haruka, meet my cousin, Kaleo.” Dillon introduced as Kaleo tried to pull his tongue out and stare closely at it.
“Uuuuuhhh.” Haruka looked disbelieved. “He seems… nice. But hey, Dillon, I’ve been working on my Healing Sting!” she exclaimed. “I’ve been trying to build it up so I can fix any sort of injury!
“Cool! Maybe you can heal every metahuman that’s ever existed!” Maddy retorted.
Haruka glared. “Ha. Anyway, I’d like to show you, but, I don’t suppose any of you would be willing to sacrifice a good amount of skin?”
“Actually,” Kaleo began, pointing at his crotch, “I have some kinda condition where-“
“EWWW, NOOO!” all four kids shielded eyes and raised hands in defense.
“Now that I think of it, didn’t someone mention a seagull broke his wing down by the beach?” Zach asked.
“Well, it’s better than nothing.” Haruka smiled. “Let’s go!” she hurried off first, followed by the others.
York Household; sunset
The sun was setting over Quahog. Nolan York saw this from the window as he began to grab his gear. “Well-p, time to go patrol soon.” He said.
“Oooh, can I come with???” Vanellope asked excitedly.
“Heh, maybe when you’re older.” Nolan laughed. “Why don’t you go find your brother, he shouldn’t be out this late.”
“But it’s sunset! Don’t shadowbenders like the sunset??”
“Maybe, but, he’s still in training.”
“Alllll RIGHT, then!” With that, the Program girl jauntily glitched off.
Quahog Shore
“Uuuugh. We’ve been looking for-EV-ER!” Maddy complained as they walked along a rocky shore.
“Yeah, where’s this dead bird supposed to live?” Zach asked.
“It’s not dead.” Haruka corrected. “At least, I hope not.”
“If it is, can I eat it?” Leo asked.
Dillon stopped walking as he looked to the sunset over the horizon. His brown eyes fixed on the beautiful orange skies. “Hmmm… I think I can find it.” Dillon closed his eyes, and sensed the shadows around him. Not far away, he could sense a bird trapped helplessly under some rocks. “He’s just over there!” he yelled and pointed. The kids jumped up a small hill as Dillon moved away some rocks.
There lay an unconscious, battered seagull, covered with dirt. “Awwww. Poor thing.” Haruka said with sympathy.
“Hey, that looks like the bird I threw a rock at earlier!” Kaleo exclaimed. Immediately, he was met with hateful glares. “What?”
Haruka pressed fingers to its chest. “It’s still alive. Well… now or never.” And with that, the female poisonbender lightly stabbed her fingernails into its body.
The others watched with anxiety. Haruka’s eyes were closed, as the girl focused intently. She carefully channeled the poisons around the bird’s body. The seagull began to come to, as a result. It felt strength return to its wings. Its head was feeling less numb.
As Haruka released, the seagull was on its feet, giving happy chirps. “Haaae! Hae! Hae!”
“You did it!” Dillon cheered.
“Whoa! Not bad!” Even Maddy was impressed.
They watched with smiles as the seagull flew off over the horizon. “You did a great thing, Haruka…” Dillon spoke admiringly.
“Yeah…” Haruka couldn’t believe it herself.
Unbeknownst to them, they were watched from alleyways on the shore’s edge. “Yep. They’re benders, all right. Good ones, too, I think. The Master should like ‘em.”
“You know, we should find other injured animals.” Haruka said as they headed back to the pier.
“Well, there’s plenty of rocks back there!” Kaleo grinned. “I can-“
“NO YOU CAN’T!” they yelled at him.
“Hey, kids.” They stopped and looked questioningly: a group of men dressed in yellow protective suits stood before them.
“Ummm…” Dillon stared confused.
“I’m sorry, but the five of you need to come with us.”
“Come with you? Why?” Dillon asked.
“It’s reached our attention you’ve caught a terrible disease. We’re here to take you to a special doctor.”
“You seem to be mistaken.” Maddy spoke. “THOSE three have the disease. Me and Zach don’t.” The benders glared at her.
“Heh heh heh. I wish that were true.”
“But we feel just fine.” Haruka told him. “If we were sick, I would’ve felt it. I-“
“This isn’t something one would normally feel. Even poisonbenders.” Haruka raised a brow. “Look, kids, I know it sounds hard, but, if you return home, your parents would be affected, too. Just get on the boat, and, I promise, everything will be better.”
The five, however, didn’t trust them for a second. Well, except Kaleo. …However, this suddenly fascinated them. They were curious where these men came from. They wondered, did other children fall for their game? And, why did they want them? …Dillon’s mind sparked with realization. He instantly knew, he HAD to go with them.
Moments later, they were on board the transport, and sailed off to the unknown. Vanellope had arrived at the pier as she searched the town confusedly. “DILLOOOON? HELLOOOO? WHERE ARE YOU, Silly Brains? Mario didn’t run OFF again, did heeee? HELLOOOOO?”
Introducing Caesar Clown, aka One Piece’s version of Joker! Which is ironic because, Caesar’s master is Doflamingo, who’s NICKNAME is Joker! XD Ahhhh, isn’t Batman fun to rip off. And SPEAKIN’ of rippin’ off Batman, this is a Sandman story! The Triple Threat Triads are from Legend of Korra. Of course, since there's multiple elements in my series, I renamed them the Quintuple Threat Triads. X)
Chapter 6: Operation: CLOWN, Part 2: Welcome to Punk Hazard
Summary:
Team Sandman learn that Dillon and co. went missing. Their search takes them to Water 7.
Chapter Text
Okay, everybody! Time to start lookin’ for Dillon!
Chapter 2: Welcome to Punk Hazard
Downtown Quahog
Night had fallen over Quahog. Snow was falling fast from the cloudy sky. Nolan York and Crystal Wickens stood perched (sat in Nolan’s case) atop the town buildings. Yuki Crystal arrived shortly after, and all dressed in their superhero outfits. “Ahhh, another day, another bank-rob.” Wiccan joked.
“At least it’s snowy out.” Yuki noted. “Wouldn’t mind any cold.”
“Well, things seem pretty normal so far.” Nolan observed. “Maybe I can actually get home regular dinner ti- wait a second.” Something down the street caught Nolan’s eye. He pulled out binoculars and looked closer. “Vanellope??”
The Program child was currently walking down the street, yelling, “DILLOOON? DIIILLOOOON?” The girl turned in to an alleyway, examining the dark shadows. “You in there? Dillon? Don’t try and scare me now! You- WHOOOAAA!” She was immediately yanked up by a metallic hook.
Sandman hauled Vanellope onto the roof with them, and she screamed, “AAAAAHH ALIEN INVADERS PLEASE DON’T ABDUCT ME-“
Nolan slapped his gloved hand over her mouth. “Vanellope, it’s us.” He pulled his mask off, and Yuki and Crystal did the same.
“Mr. York?! YOU guys are the aliens?!”
“What the- Nooooo! Vanel, I asked you to get Dillon an HOUR ago, what’re you still doing out??”
“I can’t find Dillon anywhere! And Kaleo’s gone, too!”
“You can’t?”
“Maybe he’s at the Murphys’ house.” Crystal figured. “Wouldn’t hurt to swing by, right?”
“Alright, let’s drop by real quick, just in case.” Nolan decided. He held Vanellope as he swung away with his grapple hook.
Nolan’s neighborhood
The four hurriedly returned to the neighborhood, but right away, they found Doug and Gwen Murphy talking to Danika in her doorway. “Huh? What’re they doing?” Nolan questioned.
The group hurried over as Danika noticed and waved at them. “Hey, guys! Zach and Maddy aren’t at their house.” She called. “Are they with Dillon and Kaleo?”
“Vanellope said she couldn’t find them.” Yuki responded.
“I keep telling you guys, the ALIENS are abducting them!” Vanellope yelled.
“ALIENS?!” Leopold stuck his head out the door in a frantic fashion. “THE ALIENS ARE COMING!! AAAAH!-“
“SHUT UP, Leo!” Danika smacked him. “It’s not like aliens are new to us. Siiigh… alright, where were they last hanging out?”
“Hey, guys?” Katie then walked out, holding a phone. “Not to interrupt, but Yin called and said Haruka came over here. She wants to know if she’s staying the night?”
“Uhhhh…” Danika was contemplating what answer to give Yin. She knew how Yin got. “Tell her ‘Yeah’, she’s staying over to, um, practice bending with Kaleo.”
“Okay, but um… she kinda heard you before.”
“WHERE’S MY BABY GIRL?!” the group winced at Yin’s shout. “IS SHE OKAY?! If my daughter is in the hospital, I am docking SERIOUS pay out of you, Nolan York!! DOOOCKIIIIIII-“
Katie pressed the ‘hang-up’. “We’ll call her back.”
“Siiigh, hokay, we better find those kids fast.” Danika suggested.
“You know, I think something like this happened before.” Gwen said, her head down in thought.
“Ohhhh that’s right!” Danika beamed with remembrance. “It was at least 15 years ago… Wally lost his brother.”
“Joey Beatles mysteriously went missing.” Nolan remembered as well. “The police gave up searching… they even got GUN to help, but they presumed him dead.”
“I don’t believe that.” Danika replied.
“Regardless, this is the same matter all over again.” Nolan deduced. “I didn’t want to make it my problem… but since they’ve come to our town, it’s personal. Danika, take Vanellope to bed. We’ll be right back.”
“Hey, why can’t I come??” Vanellope yelled as the three heroes headed for the garage.
“Sorry, Vanel, but this might not be your usual Kids Next Door business.”
“Uh, helLOOOO? There are KIDS going missing!”
“Just… stay safe. Okay?”
“Mmm-mmmmm.” Vanellope frowned grumpily as Dani led her inside.
“So, what’s your plan, anyway?” Crystal asked as they entered the garage.
“You’ll see.” Nolan assured.
Sand Cave
Nolan led them into a secret, underground cave beneath his house, where the lights flashed on and shone on a rotating, shiny, sand-colored vehicle. “Me and Wesley had this cave installed before he passed.” Nolan explained. “This was his old car. The-“
“PLEASE don’t say Sandmobile.” Yuki eye-rolled.
“N…No!” Nolan denied.
“Then what’s it called?” Crystal smirked.
“…It’s the… uhhhh-“ Her witty eyes bore into his skull, her arms folded, “FINE, it’s the Sandmobile! Sigh, just get in.”
DANANANA! A ‘Sandman’ icon popped up from a spiraling background.
Dana-nana-nana-nana, dana-nana-nana-nana SANDMAAAN!
As a simple car was driving down the neighborhood road, part of the road suddenly popped up and knocked it back, and the Sandmobile sped out and shot down the road. “SORRYYYYY!” Nolan called to the driver.
Over the sea
The Sandmobile was conveniently equipped with wings, and was currently flying over the sea at high speed. “You STILL haven’t told us where we’re GOING.” Crystal shouted.
“We’re going to Water 7.” Nolan responded. “Danika said that was where they last struck. Maybe we can find some clues.”
“Yet, we COULDN’T search around your own town first.” Yuki said, annoyed.
“The report says that more children were taken, and it’s a relatively small town, so it should be easier to search for clues.”
“Oooh, Water Seven!” Crystal perked up. “I’ve always wanted to see the giant fountain they have there! It’s so…”
“Fascinating?” Yuki cocked a brow.
“Exactly!”
“Well, we don’t have time to admire architecture.” Nolan reminded. “We need to find some lead on who took the children. Let’s go.”
Unknown Laboratory
When the kids finally stepped off the ship, they found their selves in a long, damp, vacant hallway. “Move along, now.” The suited men instructed. The five complied and walked the very long journey across the hall.
“Whaddyou think this is?” Haruka asked.
“This reminds me of Brain Zombies 2,” Zach began, “when the aliens took the kids to the laboratory to have their brains extracted for coal-mining knowledge, and they were given to the zombies to help mine Xenon for its sugarcane, and-“
“Have you been talking to Mr. Ed again?” Maddy asked.
“What? He’s cool!”
“Yeah, if you like green cheese.” Dillon snickered.
“I LIKE GREEN CHEESE!!” Kaleo screamed.
Dillon winced. “Um… that’s nice.”
The five were eventually led to a laboratory, where a green-haired woman, with bird wings and bird legs, turned and smiled at them, pulling off yellow goggles. “Awww, look, they’re here! Come on down, Master!”
They looked to a door on the left side, hearing footsteps as someone walked down the dark stairway. To their surprise, it was a black-haired man with white skin and goat horns, a huge, wavy pink coat over his form as he bore a wide, trusting grin. “Kiiiids! Helloooo!” He threw his arms out.
“Who’re you?” Maddy asked, creeped out.
“Why, this is Master Caesar!” the bird woman introduced. “You stand before the greatest scientific genius in the world.”
“I thought EGGMAN was the greatest scientific genius?” Dillon questioned.
“Nnn! THAT guy was an amateur!!” Caesar argued. “I am the greatest genius in the world! For YEARS I’ve studied the causes and functions of human and alien genetics! Using my supreme poisonbending, I’ve delved DEEP into the research of mortal sicknesses, and seen UP CLOSE how it WORKS!”
“You’re a… poisonbender?” Haruka asked.
“Nnnn that’s right!” Caesar demonstrated, forming a gas cloud in his hand. “I have spent YEARS developing the art in unforeseen ways! …And that is why… it is my displeasure to tell you…” Caesar walked forward and knelt down, his mouth forming a frown. “Children… you have caught a TERRIBLE disease. A disease that is slowly sweeping many children across the cosmos. I was able to develop my poisonbending enough to be able to SENSE which children had it. And so, I sent my men to go about and bring them to me. But to keep from alarming any of the nearby townspeople, I had you all taken away in private. Your parents shan’t be alarmed! No matter how long it takes, I will keep treating you until I can HEAL this disease!” He grinned with assurance.
“Now, if you all would be so kind, we need a blood sample from each of you!” Monet smiled trustingly, holding up a syringe. She went to Maddy first, bending over and taking her hand in her bird wing. “And what’s your name, sweetheart?”
“Hey, feathers off!” Maddy yelled, whipping her hand back. “If anything, I’ve caught the metacooties.”
“Hm hm hm!” Monet laughed warmingly. “You needn’t fear from that!” With that, she stuck the syringe in and extracted blood from Maddy’s hand.
Caesar knelt by Dillon with his own syringe. “And who are YOU, young man?” he grinned.
“Dillon York! This is my shadow, Mario!” Dillon’s shadow waved.
“Oooh, a shadowbender!” Caesar perked, extracting Dillon’s blood. “And what a FASCINATING name! You come from New York?”
“Heh heh, no!” Dillon smiled. “Quahog!”
“OOOOH, Quahoooog! Cleveland break any good bathtubs lately?” he winked.
“Ha ha!”
Monet then went to collected blood from Kaleo. “And who are YOU, little cutie?”
“Are you going to digest my brain for coal??” Kaleo exclaimed.
“Trust me, YOU wouldn’t WANNA eat his brain.” Maddy remarked.
Finally, Caesar went to get blood from Haruka. “And who are YOU… Dearie?” he grinned.
“My name’s Haruka Dimalanta! I’m a poisonbender, too!”
Caesar’s smile vanished, hearing that name. “Ehhh… Dimalanta?”
“Y-Yeah!... Is there a problem?”
“Just making sure I heard it right!” he grinned, patting her head.
“Great. So what’d you need the blood samples for?” Maddy asked.
“Each person receives the disease in different ways.” Caesar explained. “This usually results in a variety of genetic codes, which all need to be treated in a particular way! It usually requires more than one sample over time, but a cure should come underway before long! In the meantime… here’s some candy for being SOOO cooperative!” he grinned wider as he held up five pieces of butterscotch.
“Oooh, candy!” Haruka exclaimed as she took a piece. Kaleo swiped his and immediately began chewing on it, as did Zach. Maddy, having no trust for this man, merely stashed her candy up her sleeve for now. Haruka didn’t eat hers either, wanting to save it for Lee.
“Now, come along and we’ll show you to the playroom!” Caesar beamed. “Follow me, kids!” With that, the gassy man led them down the hall.
Soon, they arrived at the huge, colorful playroom, and were surprised at how many kids were there as well. The walls around the playroom were painted like a bright-blue sky with many white clouds. “HELLO, everyone! We got five more playmates just READY to have fun!” Caesar exclaimed.
“HI, NEW KIDS!” the children exclaimed.
“Well, isn’t this the carnival of freaks…” Maddy remarked quietly, taken aback by the variety of kids. There were giant kids, Merpeople, Nimbi, Minish, Kateenians… And a majority of them were wearing white shirts, white shorts, and plain white shoes.
“Hey, wanna have a ROOTBEER contest??” a Kateenian asked.
“Okay!” Kaleo exclaimed, hurrying over.
“Hey, who wants to play Sooper Dodgeball?” a giant boy asked, holding up a giant red rubber ball.
“Oooh, this I gotta see!” Zach perked, hurrying over as the giants ran to the other end, creating quakes with each stomp.
“Well, may as well get settled in.” Dillon said to Maddy as they walked forward.
“Hey, look, a bunny!” one of the giant boys exclaimed as some kids gathered around a blue and yellow rabbit.
“Gyom, gyooom?...” the rabbit looked confused.
“Nnn? When did we get a bunny?” Caesar asked.
“I think he showed up when we brought the haul of Water 7 kids.” Monet answered. “I asked them, but they said it wasn’t theirs.”
“Hmmmm… how interesting.” Caesar rubbed his chin in thought, then sported his grin. “Send another shipment out to look for more kids! Perhaps I can find a-“ They turned around to leave, but stopped when Haruka appeared in their way, a bright smile on her face.
“Hey, Mr. Caesar! I don’t mean to trouble you, but, you see, I’m kind of in the medical field myself, and, well, I was wondering if I could help you with your research, and exchange ideas! I’d love to develop my poisonbending skills further, too!”
“Shurororo!” Caesar laughed jauntily, patting Haruka’s head. “I’d love to, my darling! But I’m afraid finding a cure is MUCH too complicated! I need to devote all the time that I can! You understand, right?”
“Um… I guess.” Haruka looked disappointed.
“Great! Well, I’ll see you later!” he waved as they walked out. “And don’t forget to Smile!” he grinned widely as they shut the door.
“Hm…” Haruka looked toward the playroom, smiling humorously. “Who is he, Sheila?...”
While Dillon was off playing with some of the gargoyles, Maddy was simply walking toward the left wall of the room. “Hey!” she looked up when a giant girl smiled down at her, standing behind a slide on Maddy’s right. The girl had messy, bushy black hair, and grayish-purple eyes. “My name’s Mocha! What’s your name?”
“Maddy… you want something?” she asked rudely.
“Me and the girls were gonna braid hair! Wanna join us?”
“No thanks…” Mocha frowned as Maddy went to sit with her back against the sky-blue wall. “I’d rather just wait until Caesar says I can leave. Since I try not to ASSOCIATE with those people, I shouldn’t be long.”
“…” Mocha looked confused. “Okay… but feel free to come if you change your mind.” With that, the giant walked away.
Maddy proceeded to lie down in attempt to fall asleep. From behind the slide, the blue rabbit stared at her confused. “Gyom-gyooom…”
Water 7 (Play “Refusal Will Not Be Tolerated” from Batman: Arkham City.)
The night sky was cloudy and snowy over Water 7 as Sandman, Coldman, and Wiccan finally arrived. They dropped from their Sandmobile and took land on one of the many rooftops. “Hmmm… town’s a little bigger than I thought.” Nolan observed.
“My, but just look at that fountain.” Crystal said, her purple eyes fixated on the tremendous mountain that sat in the city’s center. “…And look!” she noticed the humongous treehouse towering over the fountain. “A Kids Next Door is here, too!”
“Alright, guys, split up and look for clues.” Nolan ordered. “And Yuki… try not to fall in any rivers.”
“Siiigh.” The icebender sighed.
With that, Crystal flew off using her staff and Yuki flew using an ice path. Nolan activated a glider in his wheelchair and began to fly across the rooftops (he would like anyone to keep any comments about ripping off Batman to themselves ;)).
As Nolan soared across this region of the city, he had to admit it had a nice atmosphere. The roaring waterfalls from the giant fountain echoed across the town, easing their minds. Nolan had activated special goggles built into his mask, and was using Detective Vision to skim the town. The people and Yagaras were represented as blue skeletons; it got rather confusing since there were so many. Other objects of significance were represented as orange.
Nolan’s search found nothing so far, until his Detective Vision detected rapid soundwaves coming from a few streets away, and a child’s skeleton was frantically moving about the street. Nolan turned up his eavesdropper to pick up this girl’s soundwaves. “Gonbe?? Gonbe?? Gonbe?? Gonbe??”
Nolan glided over and switched off his Vision, finding a yellow-haired, pigtailed girl rapidly searching under every little box or snow pile. “Gonbe?? Gonbe?? Gonbe?? Gonbe?? UU-“ Sandman suddenly dropped down and grabbed her in his arm, holding her mouth shut as he zipped back to the rooftop via grapple hook. “EEAAAAHHH!!” Chimney frantically tried to shake away. “HELP ME!! HELP ME!! I’ve been kidnapped! AAAAAHH!”
“CALM down!” Nolan demanded, forcefully setting her on her feet. “Now what were you doing out here??”
“OOUUUUH MR. SAND-SAAAN!” Chimney began crying, still grinning widely. “IT’S TERRIBLE! I LOST MY LITTLE NEKO-CHAAAN! GOONBEEEEEE!”
“QUIET!!” Nolan screamed, and Chimney snapped her mouth shut in a second. “Look… when was the last time you’ve SEEN your friend?”
“I just told him to watch the on’nanokos and he was GOOOOOOOONE.” She wept more, putting an arm over her eyes.
“Maybe he was upset?”
“UPSET?!” Chimney leapt onto Nolan’s lap and clutched his hood tight, glaring at his masked eyes with rage. “GONBE NEVER GETS UPSET WITH ME!! NEEEVEEEERRR!” she shook him forcefully.
“OKAY, OKAY!” Nolan pulled her off. “Ugh… alright, I’ll help you look for it. I mean, who knows, it might actually help… what kind of animal is it again?”
“He’s a neko-chan, duuuuh! A cat-san!”
“Oh, a cat! Okay… that shouldn’t be too hard. I’ll look for any clues I find, but why don’t you get home? It’s getting late.”
“Not until you find my neko first!”
“Siiiigh.” With that, Sandman switched on his Detective Mode and started gliding across the city some more. The majority of it was pretty boring. Nothing looked too out-of-the-ordinary. Until he arrived at a vacant canal road and noticed a single object glowing blue in an alley. Sandman glided down and discovered it was a dead, rotting fish. “Whoa. This must’ve been here for weeks.” The Sandman zoomed in and scanned the rotting animal. “Let’s rewind this back to when it was, well, better.”
Nolan continued to scan, and slowly, a holographic vision started to play, in reverse, in which a little rabbit was walking backward with the fish in his mouth. When the projection started playing normally, Nolan observed, “Hmmm… well, it wasn’t a cat… but a rabbit caught this fish from somewhere.” The holographic rabbit set the fish down and started to gnaw on it. “The fish has rabbit-like bite marks, so it would make sense. …But he stopped eating after a few seconds.” The rabbit perked up and walked to his left. “Something caught his attention.” He shut his Vision off. “I have to find out what.”
Sandman decided to scan around the area. It wasn’t long before he discovered a pair of fallen teeth in the clear spots on the ground. Nolan scanned the teeth, and another projection began to rewind. “There were a pair of kids playing a game,” holographic kids were excitedly kicking a ball around, and the ball suddenly came flying at the rabbit, “but they hit the rabbit by accident.” The holographic kids stood over the fallen rabbit for a while before deciding to carry it off. “They took the rabbit away… but I can’t pick up where they went after that.” He switched the projection off. “I wonder if those kids were the ones missing? Maybe I can find more.”
Nolan decided to scan the area further. Along the sidewalk, there were tiny spots of dried blood. “Ahhha. The rabbit bled a little after it was struck. I’ll follow the trail and see where they brought him.” And so, Sandman began to roll along the sidewalk, following the dried blood trail. His path led him into a market street, in which he had to jump a river to follow the trail across, then through another alleyway. His trail eventually led him into a darker, more broken area of the town. He was led all the way to the end of a long alley, where the door to a building sat beside a window with a light on inside.
Nolan gently knocked on the door. A chubby woman with orange hair and a yellow tank-top; with many pink flowers, answered the door with a creepy grin. “Well, hello, theeeere! Another child ready to join my family!”
“Wh-What?! No, I-“
“Come on in, Dearie!” the woman grabbed Nolan by the shoulder and forcefully dragged him in. “Here’s your brother!”
Nolan raised a brow behind his mask. “…Yuki?”
“Yeah…” the Eskimo-themed hero sat at a table. “Kinda got pulled in when I tried to interview her.”
“Boyyys, you’re just in time for dinner!” the woman grinned as she stirred something in her boiling pot.
“Ugh, we don’t have time for dinner!” Nolan refuted. “Look, do you have any other kids?? Do you have a rabbit, maybe?”
“Oooh, I had kids, but they went missing after I sent them to get groceries a few weeks ago. I sent the little rabbit to go find them, but he never came back, either.”
“Didn’t you try to LOOK for them??” Yuki questioned.
“Oh, noooo! But they ALWAYS come baaack! Oooh, I hope they didn’t drown…” she still kept her grin.
“…” Nolan looked disbelieved. “Well, do you have anything that belonged to your kids? I can probably find them.”
“Ohhh, this was Junior’s favorite bottle!” the woman grinned brightly, holding up a baby bottle. “I put soda in it once, and he just couldn’t let go!”
Nolan took the bottle and started to scan it for DNA. “Still fresh, thankfully. I should be able to find where this drool came from.”
Nolan’s communicator rang, and he answered as Wiccan spoke. “Nolan? Yuki? You better hurry to the eastern docks. A bunch of men in… protection uniforms just arrived.”
“Let’s go, Yuk.” Nolan said as he rolled himself out.
“I’ll just stick your dinner in the fridge, deeeeariiiies!” the woman sang.
“Don’t wait up for us, Lady!” Yuki called.
The two hurried and hopped across the many rooftops to Crystal’s location. They found their friend stood atop a roof, and joined her quietly. “Look.” she whispered, pointing over the edge. They peeked over and saw four men in yellow protection suits standing before a boat, guns ready.
“Alright, the Master says there might be more kids here.” One of them explained. “You two spread out and find them, we’ll stand guard.” With that, two of the men walked opposite directions down the street.
“I bet these guys have something to do with it.” Nolan knew. “Yuki, Crystal, take those guys out.” He pointed at the ones down the street.
Crystal hurried across the roofs to the farthest one and dropped lightly on her feet. She walked over quietly before jumping and kicking him to the ground, afterward bashing his protected head with her staff and knocking him out. Yuki quietly approached the closer one, merely touching his shoulder to freeze him completely solid. As for the ones by the boat, Nolan landed behind both of them. He weakly stood up from his wheelchair and held both fists by the sides of their heads. He SLAMMED his fists to both heads, smashing them into each other before they lost consciousness.
With that, Nolan sat back down as Coldman and Wiccan soon joined him. “Heeeeeey!” they looked down the road, seeing Chimney dashing over to them. “Oi, haven’t you otona-sans found my neko-chan yeeeeet??”
“Look, I don’t know where your cat is, but we’ve picked up the trail on this rabbit. We think he’s with a bunch of other missing kids.” Nolan explained.
“And you really should put on some better protection, little girl.” Crystal told her, noticing Chimney’s exposed arms and legs, and wearing only sandals on her feet. “You’ll catch frostbite.”
“DON’T CRITICIZE MY FASHION-SENSE, JOSEI-SAAAAN! And where is my cat?!”
“FORGET about your cat!” Nolan demanded. “And just get home! If your cat is with the other kids, I promise I’ll bring him back, but everyone else comes first.”
“Huff.” Chimney proceeded to stomp off angrily. “I’ll show YOU what comes first, super-saaan!”
“What a nutcase.” Nolan remarked as the three boarded the boat.
“Soooo where are we going again?” Crystal asked.
“I used my Detective Vision to track the whereabouts of a rabbit.” Nolan explained.
“You just looooove ripping off Batman, huh?” Crystal remarked.
“Uuugh. Anyway, then I found the whereabouts of a mom’s missing kids; or at least her baby. We’re going to follow their signal and find where they landed. But for the sake of stealth, we’re riding this boat there, so they don’t suspect. Alright, let’s go.”
And so, the ship began to sail away from the island, across the distant nighttime sea. “Why were those men wearing those things, anyway?” Crystal asked.
“Germ freaks?” Yuki inquired, raising a brow.
“It had to be from something.” Nolan figured. “I wonder where this signal is, anyway.” Nolan looked at his wristwatch terminal, bringing up a map of the region. The location the signal was coming from was marked, so Nolan closed in. “Oh? Hmm…”
“What is it?” Crystal asked.
“Hmmm… I’m not entirely sure on the story. But… we’re going to Punk Hazard.”
...
They’ve been sailing for an hour, but their destination was in sight. “Is…Is that right?” Crystal asked, seeing the island ahead.
“A…ccording to my tracker, yah.” Nolan replied, feeling just as confused.
Directly ahead was an island burning with enormous flames. The buildings around the shore were torn and melted, and the fires burned as if they’ve been lit for generations. They couldn’t even get close to the shore as massive flames blocked their path. “Well, well… didn’t expect our destination to be the Underworld.” Crystal remarked.
“There’s probably some explanation behind this.” Nolan figured.
“Well, whatever it is, it better help my case as an icebender.” Yuki noted.
“Come on, Yuki, you’re not gonna melt.” Nolan assured. “But try and freeze a path for us.”
Yuki sighed as he stepped toward the tanker’s ledge and aimed his hands at the sea. He launched a ray of ice and froze a path across the water, and through the flames.
“That probably won’t hold, let’s go!” Nolan rushed as they hopped off the boat and quickly crossed the ice. They managed to reach the shore just before the ice quickly melted. “Hoo…” Nolan sighed, already sweating from the heat under his coat. “Not the best time to be wearing this… Okay, you know the mission: locate the missing kids, and hopefully, Dillon and the others will be with them. Watch where you step, and be careful not to…” At that moment, Nolan suddenly felt something drop down the back of his coat. He reached underneath, and felt something tiny and squirming. He finally grabbed the squirming thing and held it in front of him, seeing it was a tiny, doll-sized, green-haired girl.
“Aaaaahhh!!” the girl screamed, desperately shaking as Nolan clutched her in his gloved hand. “Heeelp!! Heeeelp!! Let me go, let me go!!”
“QUIET!” Nolan demanded, shaking her slightly. “Who are you?!”
“Ahhhh monster!!” she screamed again. “Aaaaaaahh!!!”
“Oh, for goodness sake, Nolan, you’re frightening her.” Crystal scolded, taking the tiny girl in her smaller, skinnier hand. “There there, it’s all right.” Crystal smiled, lightly rubbing her hair. “We’re not going to hurt you.”
The girl stopped shaking and smiled happily. “You’re nice, Josei-san!”
“Hm hm hm!” Crystal chuckled.
“Uuuugh.” Nolan sighed. “Look, what were you doing in my coat?”
“I’m Aeincha, from Sector W7! My leader, Chimney thought you looked weird, so she wanted me to sneak off with you! But she didn’t say you had such a sweaty coat! She wants you to find her cat, Gonbe!!”
“Uuugh. Look, I’ll find the cat after I’ve found the other children. But it’s too dangerous for you to be here, we need to find you someplace safe.”
“Aw, Nolan, let’s just take her with us.” Crystal smiled, letting Aeincha sit in her open palm. “Statistics say that smaller people have more spirit than normal people, so we could use someone like her.”
“I’m also super-duper sneaky!” Aeincha grinned. “I can hide from big people like you!”
“Siiigh. Alright, but don’t make too much noise. We don’t know who could be lurking.” Nolan told her.
“Okay! Oh, I hope you don’t mind, but Chimney’s sort of tracking my coordinates via communicator.” She showed them her teeny-tiny wristwatch communicator.
At that instant, a huge, gray train came flying over the heavens, swirling out of control. “GOOONBEEEEEEE!” The island shook when the train crashed in the distance.
“Aww GREAT! So much for stealth!” Nolan yelled. “Now everyone’ll know we’re here!”
“Actually, everyone will know THEY’RE here.” Crystal corrected. “Attention will be directed at them, but we’re free to explore the island.”
“You can ALWAYS count on Chimney to make an entrance!” Aeincha grinned.
“Siiigh. Look, let’s just find the kids before anyone notices.” Nolan said once more. “Let’s go.” (Play “Freezeflame Galaxy (Fire)” from Super Mario Galaxy.)
Stage 3: Punk Hazard
Mission: Find Dillon and the kids and get them off this island.
Act 1
Addendum: We’re at the action stage already??
The three heroes started their venture across the flaming wasteland, with Aeincha seated on Crystal's shoulder. A few steel beams fell down from the sides, startling the group and making them stop in place. “Odd that they chose NOW of all times to collapse.” Crystal commented as Yuki blew ice and put the flames out. They crouched under the beams before jumping up some short platforms to atop a small, burned building (yes, Nolan's chair can still jump). They now overlooked a slight chasm of burning rubble, with the following path on the other side. Yuki tried to freeze an ice path, but the ice melted almost instantly.
“Boy, this place IS hot.” he observed.
Nolan noticed a slight, broken wall sticking up from their side, and was parallel to another on the other side. “I have somethin’.” He got between the two walls and sent a zipline to stick horizontally to both walls, forming a tightrope across the chasm. Nolan’s chair was able to zip over on its own, while Yuki and Crystal had to balance across. They hopped down some more stairs and approached a huge gate with a big lock. A big sign on the gate read ‘DANGER. KEEP OUT.’
“Well-p, guess we’re leaving.” Yuki stated as he turned and walked away, but Crystal grabbed his cape and pulled him back.
“I can open it!” Aeincha beamed as she hopped up into the lock, which was big enough for her to fit. After tinkering with the mechanism, the lock fell to the ground and the gate slid open. Crystal picked Aeincha up and carried her as they kept going. They trekked through another field of burning rubble as Red Chuchu emerged and wobbled over to jump at them. They took out the simple monsters before reaching another chasm, where lava burned below and blew up gushes. Yuki shot ice at the geysers’ tips to freeze rock platforms, which they used to hop across.
They reached a wider road with several lava cracks in the ground. Nolan rolled forward first when a flame geyser suddenly sprouted up, almost burning Nolan before Yuki froze it. They passed through carefully until they reached a ledge overlooking a huge lava chasm. Nolan glided to the first, lowest platform, then saw a set of three platforms hovering overhead, each higher than the next as they led to a higher platform. Nolan used his grappling hook to swing across the platform’s hooks. The platforms sunk as a result so the first one was at level with the previous platform.
Nolan pressed a switch on this new platform that caused lava geysers to sprout up between the others and the first platform. Yuki froze the geysers’ tops as they used them to hop across. With that, they used the sunken hook platforms to jump up to Nolan, quickly before the platforms fell completely. Next, they looked toward a further, lower platform with a tightrope connecting the two. Nolan had no need for it and simply glided down. Aeincha jumped off Crystal’s shoulder and easily walked across the thin rope, down to Nolan. Afterward, Crystal and Yuki balanced across one at a time, carefully.
Their next route was a thin, lava river, which they crossed by hopping onto a small stone platform, which began floating down. The lava bubbled ahead of them, and to their surprise, a huge Blargg emerged from the flames, ready to chomp with its wide-open mouth. Yuki fired an ice beam and froze it, then Nolan destroyed it with a missile. Another Blargg popped up from behind them, but the two did the same routine and destroyed it. This time, TWO Blarggs emerged from both sides. Yuki shot the one behind them, while Crystal aimed her staff and fired her own ice rays at the front. Both were frozen, and Nolan quickly destroyed them.
“Hm. And you said my Freeze function was useless.” Crystal smirked. The stone reached the end of the river, so the group hopped off. They then trekked up a thin flight of stairs and reached an old, abandoned metal building. The enormous steel doors were sealed tight, and a sign was stuck on them. DANGER! Do not, for WHATEVER reason, OPEN THIS DOOR!!
“Who else is tempted to open it?” Crystal asked.
“I think we’ve got enough problems.” Nolan said. “Let’s just keep going.”
The group followed a path along the left, along a fairly straightforward path. It went on a while, but nothing seemed to interfere with their journey. Crystal stopped after a while and noticed something in the sky. “That’s odd…”
The others stopped and turned at her. “What?” Nolan asked.
“Those clouds.” Crystal pointed to the clouds in the far distance. “They’re different from the clouds in this area. Like… blizzard clouds.”
“Since when are you a weatherwoman?” Yuki remarked.
“Woman of science, I know these things.”
The four passed around a few more burning buildings and reached the edge of a wide lake. Their eyes widened with wonder and amazement when they saw the other side. “Ummm… can your science explain that?” Yuki asked. (Play “Freezeflame Galaxy (Ice)” from Mario Galaxy.)
Across the lake lay a vast, mountainous realm of snow and ice. Crystal’s observations were true; the previous side of this island had clouds of black smoke, while a whole other region had dark-blue snow clouds. Regardless, this defied all possible reasoning. “An island of fire and… ice.”
“Still got your logic, Crystal?” Yuki asked.
“Reminds me of the Groudon Volcano that Nigel told me about.” Nolan remembered. “Its core had ice inside of it. Hmmm…” he wondered if there was some relation. “Well, at least the air will be cooler. Yuki, freeze us a path.” Yuki did so and made a frozen path along the lake, using it to cross to the frozen wilderness.
A few sharks tried to gnash at them, but Nolan blasted missiles to keep them away. “Careful, Nol!” Yuki yelled, trying to keep the ice path stable. The group managed to reach the frosty shore, and the cold air immediately fell to their skin.
“BRRRR-r-r-r-r-r-r!” Aeincha shuddered. “It’s so co-o-o-o-old!” The tiny girl immediately leapt to Nolan’s shoulder and crawled under his coat. “Mmmm. You’re so WARM, Mr. York.”
“Siiiigh.” The group kept going along the icy landscape as White Wolfos jumped out to snack. Crystal used her staff to keep the monsters back while Yuki launched ice rays. A bunch more were charging from across a hill, but Nolan fired a missile and blasted them away.
“Hey, what was that??” a voice called in the distance. The group flinched and quickly hid behind a mound of snow. They watched as a band of those same, yellow-suited men stepped up over the hill, guns ready.
“It’s those guys again.” Crystal whispered.
“We must be close to their base.” Nolan figured. He tried to launch a missile at the group, but- “Uh-oh. That was my last missile. I forgot to restock.”
“I thought you had, like, an infinite supply of them??” Yuki questioned.
“It’s only as infinite as I can make it.”
“Coincidentally, I think my Hover function ran out of juice as well.” Crystal noted.
“WELL-P, can never make games too easy!” Yuki exclaimed.
“Who’s there?!” The men heard Yuki’s shout and ran toward them.
“I’ll distract them!” Aeincha yelled, leaping out of Nolan’s coat and hurrying toward the men. It was a little hard to run in such deep snow, but the Lilliputian managed. “Heeeey big people-saaaans!” The men looked, seeing the tiny, cheerful girl. “Come catch me if you caaaan!”
“H-Hey! Why aren’t you with the other kids, grab ‘er!” But when they tried, and failed, to catch the quick girl, Team Hero ran out and began attacking the men. A few of them turned and tried to shoot them with guns, but Yuki dodged and threw ice blasts at them. “That guy’s an icebender! Get ‘em in handcuffs!” Yuki threw more ice, but the men swiftly dodged as one held up a pair of cuffs. Yuki raised in arm in defense, but the man successfully cuffed his right wrist.
“Aw, dang it!” Yuki moaned. He tried to throw more ice, but was unable to. “A chi-blocking cuff!”
Crystal knocked out another soldier and said, “Welcome to the party.”
Once they were all knocked out, Yuki checked their pockets for keys, but found none. “Well, this is PLEASANT.”
“Hey, at least you got your pack.” Nolan reminded. “Now come on, we’ll find keys in the base.”
They crossed the small hill and shortly reached the huge, steel building. They stopped by an air vent as Nolan used Detective Vision, seeing a bunch of the soldiers guarding the front door. “Hmmm… well, they aren’t armed.”
“We could draw less attention if we snuck in through here.” Crystal mentioned, nudging toward the vent. Yuki pulled it open and got in first, but Nolan remembered his wheelchair.
“Augh… I can’t really go without my wheelchair. Just go in without me, we can split up and find the kids.”
“You say so.” Crystal shrugged, crawling in after Yuki.
Aeincha peeped out of Nolan’s coat as he asked, “You wanna go with ‘em?”
“Nah. It wouldn’t be fun to be all alone!” she beamed.
“Siiigh… well, you’re right on that money.” With that, Aeincha returned beneath the coat as Nolan rolled toward the front. He approached the men calmly and yelled, “Yo, you looking for me?”
“Who’s that?!” they yelled as they ran to battle the cripple. One tried to punch, but Nolan grabbed his fist and threw him against another one. His chair’s punching glove punched another, and when one of them tried to punch from behind, Aeincha jumped out, grabbed his suit’s glass-window to block his vision, and allow Nolan to punch him before it was too late.
The squad of soldiers were knocked out shortly as Aeincha jumped back to Nolan’s shoulder. “Well, it’ll draw some attention to us, but they might not notice Crystal and Yuki yet.”
“I think they’re still focusing on Chimney and the others!” Aeincha grinned.
“Yeah, good point… we better get in.” With that, Nolan hurried into the front door. (End song.)
Base’s playroom
Things were still peaceful in the playroom, as the many kids were still engaging in carefree activities. Maddy, on the other hand, had fallen asleep along the side of the room, drowning out the noises, as well as the stomping of giant kids. A pair of giant feet stepped over as a giant hand shook Maddy. “Maddyyy? You awake?”
“Mmmm…” Maddy woke up groggily, seeing the giant hand touching her cheek. “AHHH!!” she shot to her feet frantically.
“Ha ha ha ha!” Mocha laughed. “Do you always wake up like that ?”
“Hoo… don’t do that.” Maddy huffed, sitting back down. For a second, she was afraid she shrunk again.
“We’re all gonna play Airplane, do you wanna? My head’s really soft!” She patted her messy black hair.
“I don’t really feel comfortable playing with a bunch of disease-ridden kids…”
“Well, I don’t really think we’re THAT sick. I mean, I’ve been feeling pretty fine. Come on, it’ll be fun!”
“Look, I don’t hang out with mutants, okay? And you giant kids fall into that category.”
Mocha frowned. “Well… what’s wrong with me being giant?”
“What’s wrong is that I’m afraid of getting smooshed. And considering all the tiny people, I’ll be surprised if that’s not a common thing.”
“Well… that’s sorta why we don’t wear shoes when we play. …What’s wrong, Maddy? Why don’t you play with anyone?”
“I don’t like mutants, okay? I think they just like to abuse people. And to be fair, the only giants I know are from Jack and the Beanstalk, and all that one cared about was eating Jack.”
“But the female giant wanted to protect Jack.”
“He put Jack in the oven. HOW was that safe??”
“Hm hm hm! Actually, we’re not really giants.”
“Huh?”
“We used to be normal-sized, but we think it’s part of the disease. Each of us slowly grows over the years, that’s why Master Caesar’s trying to fix us.”
“Sooo… we’re all going to become giants?” Well, better than being small. She thought.
“As far as I know. But we’re still the same as normal kids! And all the other kids like us, too! You’d have fun if you played with us!”
“I don’t know…”
“Sure you will! Like this!”
“HEY!” Maddy was suddenly grabbed in Mocha’s hands and-
“WHEEEE!” –was sent flying into the air.
“Whoooaa!” Maddy landed safely on Mocha’s hands, but the black-haired giant kept throwing her up and down.
“Ha ha ha ha! See, normal humans can’t do this!”
“This! Doesn’t! Prove! Your point!” she yelled with each land.
“Well, maybe this will!” Mocha smiled as she set Maddy on her soft, messy hair. “All aboard the Mocha Plane! Hang on tight!”
“Whooooooaa!” Maddy clutched tight to Mocha’s hair as the giant girl began running around with her arms stretched out like a plane. She was frightened at first… but as her form bounced and the wind brushed lightly through her hair (Mocha’s not as fast as a Nimbi, by the way)… she felt a small rush of excitement. Beside her, other kids were riding the heads of other giants, whom were each trying to outrace the other. Also, a few of the normal kids had oversized Minish and Kateenians on their heads, and those Minish and Kateenians had smaller, normal ones on their heads. Maddy had to admit, they looked cute.
Maddy looked and saw the competitive looks on the other kids’ faces, as well as on the faces of the giants. Riding Mocha’s head, she felt like she was riding a horse around a track, desperately trying to beat the other riders to the prize. Maddy smirked and “HEE-YA!” yanked Mocha’s hair, tempting the giant girl to go faster. Angered, the other kids yanked their giant’s hair to catch up with them. Dillon watched this race from atop one of the slides as he yelled like an announcer.
“Aaaaand Maddy and Mocha are in the lead, followed by Ayako and Tanuki, followed by Yoko and Doran, followed by Sho and Joe, and with only one lap to go, WHO will win, iiiiit’s…” Maddy and Mocha were neck-in-neck with Ayako and Tanuki, the two pairs smirking competitively. In the end, the victor was- “MMMMOCHAAAAAAA!”
“YEEEEEAAAAHH!” Mocha grabbed and threw Maddy in the air as they cheered.
With Sector W7; somewhere else in the base
“Owww…” Chimney moaned as the four girls recovered from the R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N.’s wreckage. “What happened?...”
“Hey!” They flinched and looked ahead, seeing a bunch of men in yellow protection suits. They immediately charged.
“Yuh-oh. YAAAH!” Chimney cried as the girls ran forth and started to battle them. April zipped left-and-right to paint symbols and disable them, while Aisa swung her Conache Pumpkin and knocked them out. They kept running as the men recovered and gave chase.
“Where did we land, anyway??” Apis yelled.
“Somewhere where they’re apparently afraid of germs.” Aisa panted.
“Oi, where is Aeinchan at?!” Chimney yelled.
“I hope she isn’t dead.” April said simply.
“DON’T SAY THAT!!” they screamed.
They kept running down the dank, empty halls, but Chimney’s eyes widened when more men were charging from ahead. “Yuh-oh. This way, THIS WAY!” They dodged down a right hall.
This hall was much shorter and narrow as they were coming to a wooden double-door. “You think we can hide in there?” Apis asked.
“No choice!” Chimney decided. “Let’s go in!”
Back in the playroom
The kids resumed their previous games as Mocha lied back on the floor with Maddy rested on her belly. “I have to admit, Mocha, that was kinda fun!” she smiled.
“See, I told you giants aren’t mean! Well, maybe adult giants, but we’re still kids!”
“Yeah… I guess you are.” Maddy sat up and looked around the room. It was so weird to see… a couple of human kids were playing a friendly game of Truth or Dare with tiny Kateenians and Minish. Some female Nimbis and Gargoyles were complimenting each others’ wings. Some Lilliputians were riding mermaids inside the large aquarium while Minish and Kateenians rode other Nimbis and Gargoyles like airplanes (speakin’ of which). Everyone in here was so different… but they played with each other as if they were the same. This playroom’s diversity could rival that of GKND’s.
Suddenly, the playroom’s doors came flying open when Sector W7 charged in. “AAAHN?!” they froze in shock, seeing the playroom full of diverse kids, large and small.
“Hey, look! Four more kids!” a giant girl exclaimed as all the kids looked toward the operatives. Sector W7’s mouths dropped wide open. They weren’t expecting to see kids of so many different cultures.
“Whoa… where the heck are we?” Apis asked.
“It looks like some kind of multicultural daycare.” Aisa deduced.
“Nnnn?” Chimney looked all around, intent on finding only one thing. “If all these people are here… then where is-?” However, her eyes widened, spotting the very person she was looking for.
Gonbe stepped through the crowd and immediately noticed her. His blond, pigtailed master.
Chimney grew a wide, joyous smile as her eyes watered. Gonbe’s smile grew as well. He couldn’t have been more happy.
“GONBEEEEE!” Chimney ran for her rabbit companion.
“GYOOOOOM!” Gonbe excitedly hopped toward his master.
The two embraced in the tightest hug they’ve ever given. “OHHH GONBE-CHAN I WAS SO WORRIED! I thought I’d never see you again!”
“Gyo-o-o-o-o-o-oooom!” Gonbe wept.
“I thought… sniff.” Chimney wept, too. “I thought you ran away ‘cause you were maaad! I’m sorry for making you mad, Gonbeeeee!”
“Gyoooooo.” He patted her back.
“He said, ‘I wasn’t mad, Chimney. I was just playing with some kids and I got sidetracked!’” Apis grinned.
“Now we can be one happy sector again!” Chimney exclaimed tearily. “Come on, Gonbe. Let’s go find Aeinchan and get off this rock.” They were about to walk away when-
“Waaait!” The five turned around at the call of a brown-haired girl – Abi – who stood by five other kids; one of them holding a baby. “Aren’t you guys from Water 7?”
“Yeeeeah? So?” Chimney asked.
“That’s where we’re from, too!” one of the boys; Ayako said.
“But how did you get here?” Yoko asked.
“We flew in on R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N.!” Chimney exclaimed. “And we’re gonna find our other friend and bring ‘em back!”
“Take us with you!” a giant girl yelled.
“Hnnn? Why?”
“We’ve been wanting to go home for years.” A giant boy said.
“They took us here because they said we had a disease, but we feel just fine.” A normal boy mentioned.
“I want my mom and DAAAAAAD!” a 4-year-old Lilliputian cried.
“Hold it, hold it!” Dillon spoke up, walking to the front of the group. “I thought you kids LIKED it here!”
“Well, we like playing with everyone…” the giant boy mentioned, “but we miss our homes. Master doesn’t let us go, but if these kids got here, maybe this is our chance!”
“Well, maybe he has a reason.” Haruka replied, slightly concerned. “Won’t you guys just keep growing if you leave?”
“Hold on!” Dillon spoke up. “We could bring these kids to the Undersea Lab and have the scientists shrink them with their, well, shrink ray. Then if they keep growing, we’ll try and work up a cure.”
“Well, you have a point… but I think Caesar-“
“Oi, we don’t have time for this!” Chimney exclaimed. “Everyone, come on, let’s get on the R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N. and GO!” Chimney ran out first, and the halls were soon quaking as the giants charged after them.
Mocha held Maddy in her hands as they exchanged confused glances. “Let’s go!” the giant decided, carrying Maddy as she ran after them.
From down the hall, the men were still searching for W7. “I think they went- WHOA!!” The halls suddenly quaked as a swarm of kids were running toward them, mostly giants. The men tried to run, but were immediately trampled by the swarm of multiracial kids, their bones crushed like sticks by the giants. When the dust had cleared, a few Kateenians and Minish were left behind, and they bounced across the squished bodies, making the men wince.
With Crystal and Yuki
The two heroes quietly crawled through the vent before dropping out into an empty, abandoned laboratory. “Phew. Crouching through vents always hurts my back.” The witch said.
“This is the first time we’ve done it.” Yuki noted.
“And first time is enough.”
“Attention all staff!” a voice suddenly yelled throughout the intercom. “The children from the Biscuit Room have all escaped with a group of intruders! Secure the whole building and FIND them!”
“Yes, Master!” The two gasped and crouched when a squad of yellow-suited soldiers charged in the room and began searching. (Play “One by One” from Batman: Arkham City.)
“Crap!” Crystal yelled under her breath as she and Yuki crouched under a desk. The men split into different directions, but some were fairly close together, and they all had guns raised. Yuki and Crystal quietly crept up the stairs, splitting in separate ways on one of the floor layers. Crystal crawled to one of the men as he and a man on a higher layer searched around. When both walked separate directions, Crystal crept up to the man on her floor and started to choke his neck with her staff. She forced him to the floor and BASHED his head to knock him out.
She kept crawling, hoping no one just heard that. She sat before a corner and peeked out to see someone ahead. “Someone’s not RESPONDING down there! You better go see!”
“You heard Master Caesar!” Crystal looked frantic when the man ahead of her was about to run to her corner. Yuki peeked out from his side and saw this, quickly shooting an ice blast from his backpack and freezing that man. “What was that?” The men looked toward their frozen comrade, and briefly saw a figure sink beneath the wall on the second floor-layer. They all hurried over as Yuki tried to crawl away, but a man on the highest layer was coming from the opposite way.
Crystal quickly crawled out, approached the frozen man, and KICKED him out of the ice before knocking him out with her staff. “Oh?!” She quickly ran down the path as the others spotted her. They gave chase and tried to shoot the witch, but Crystal ducked beneath the wall to catch her breath. The men were about to surround her, but she noticed the grating on the floor, opened a hatch, and crouched inside before they could notice.
The men arrived at where she was, but found no trace of her. “Where did she go? !” Her heart still racing, Crystal crawled away as quietly as she could. While the guards were distracted, Yuki snuck up from behind the other corner, approached two of the guards from behind, grabbed their heads, and SLAMMED them into each other. “Hey!!” The others took notice and tried to shoot the icebender, but he flipped over the railing and into the lab area as he slid beneath the desk. The guards hurried down to catch him, but one of them ran over Crystal’s grate, so the witch jumped out and SMASHED him to the ground.
“Oh!!” The last two remaining spotted Crystal and tried to shoot her.
“Ah!” One of the bullets scraped Crystal’s side, making her wince and fall over. The men chased her, but Yuki ran out, grabbed the closest one’s neck, and choked him before punching and knocking him out.
The remaining soldier ran onto the highest layer in search of Crystal, but looked back and saw his partner was down. “Ooooh so you’re the last one! This should be fun, shurororo!”
“Nnnnn where are you?!” The man shook with utmost fear, the gun trembling in his quivering hands. Crystal smirked as she jumped out from her hiding spot, startling the man greatly. “NNNNN!!” he struggled to hold his gun as Crystal ran right for him. “Master!! SAVE MEEE!”
Crystal kicked the man’s stomach, knocked the gun away, bashed his head with her staff, and finally PUNCHED him upside the head, sending him over the railing and his protective helmet flying off. (End song.)
The two approached the fallen, unmasked man and studied him. “He’s a… goat man?” Crystal questioned. Indeed, the fallen man had a human’s head, but with goat horns.
They proceeded to unmask all the others, seeing different horns on all of them. “They all have horns.”
“What kind of people are they?”
“Wonder if this lab has anything?” The two approached the center desk, finding a notebook. Crystal picked it up and studied the name on the cover, written in marker.
“Hmmm… let’s phone Nolan.”
With Nolan and Aeincha
Nolan quietly rolled down the hall, having his Detective Vision on as he skimmed the building for enemies, while Aeincha sat on his shoulder. His communicator rang, so he answered. “Nolan, it’s Crystal. I’m not sure, but we think we found who this building belongs to.”
“You mean the guy on the intercom?”
“Yes. Some fellow called ‘Caesar Clown’. These soldiers were calling him ‘Caesar’ just then.”
The name caught Nolan’s interest. “Caesar… Clown?”
“Yes, and get this: we unmasked these soldiers, they all have horns on their head. I wonder if they’re mutants or something. …Nolan?”
The Sandman was already lost in thought.
One year after the Firstborn Adventure. The day was bright and sunny. Nolan York struggled to stand. He could barely keep his injured legs straight as he faced a simple tree. He raised his right leg and tried to throw a kick, but, “Ow!” the pain came back, and he fell back onto his chair.
“Wellll, it’s a new record.” Wesley Dodds chuckled. “You’re still pretty lucky. Not many have their legs crushed and get them mobile again.”
“Yeah…” Nolan panted and smiled humorously, “Maybe I should’ve betrayed Revan AFTER he gave me those cyborg legs.”
“Heh heh heh! But you know how it goes… upgrade ONE limb, your whole BODY turns metal. It’s not the only time it’s happened.”
“Ha ha, yeah, with Cyborg.”
“Not quite. Have I ever told you about Caesar Clown?”
“Caesar who?”
“Now THAT guy was inhuman as humans got. He was a major producer of Bang Gas and metahuman material. He was able to do so using his amazing poisonbending. You see, before, he was a scientist for G.U.N., but when the military found out what he was doing, he was arrested. But about 3 years ago, he escaped. No one knows where he is…”
“Was he really that bad?”
“Oh, he WAS bad. When he produces his Bang Gas, he distributes it to all sorts of nasty criminals. Of course, he can’t do so legally, so he distributes in the Underground. Only big-time criminals like Brain are able to get connections with him.”
“You mean… The Brain purchased Bang Gas from him?”
“Of course. How do you think Madame Rouge got her power? Caesar channels the Bang Gas into little plants called Devil Fruits, and whoever ate those fruits would gain a certain power. Madame Rouge ate the Goop-Goop Fruit, a rare Logia type. Those are the hardest fruits for him to make. They turn your entire body structure into whatever kind of substance he makes it. And that’s why Logia humans are the hardest to beat.”
“You’re telling me.”
“But that isn’t the worst thing about Caesar. He tested his experiments on KIDS!”
“What?”
“He liked to grab whatever kids he could find and inject them with all sorts of toxins. He likes to give ‘em the same ones over and over and see how they ‘develop’. Most of those kids just… died.”
“Then shouldn’t we try to LOOK for this guy?”
“No… he hasn’t been heard from in years. Except the Underground, maybe. You shouldn’t worry about him. Besides… he’s bound to show himself sooner or later.”
Nolan stared at nothing as he recalled this, and Aeincha looked at him confused. “So… that’s who we’re dealing with.”
“Nolan? What’s going on?”
“Um, I’ll tell you later. But this mission just got an update. We’re going to capture Caesar and bring him to justice.”
“Really? Well, I suppose he IS responsible for this.”
“Yes. But right now, just focus on finding Dillon and the others. According to that announcement, they’re already causing a ruckus. Just try to find them and be careful.”
“Roger, roger.” Yuki nodded, and the transmission ended.
“Why did you space out, Mr. York?” Aeincha asked. “Do you know this guy?”
“Well… yeah… i-it’s like this:” and he began to explain.
Caesar’s Lab
The scientist watched humorously as Crystal and Yuki made fools of the patrolling guards in the lower lab. “Shurororororo! Well, well! Whoever these fools are, they’re quite a wily bunch!”
“They are!” Monet spoke up, reading her newspaper. “I thought those two were familiar. They’re Coldman and Wiccan, two infamous vigilantes from Quahog. There’s also a third one: Sandman. Hmm, but I wonder where he is?”
“He is in the building.” The two turned toward the door, and Caesar made a wide grin.
“VVVERRRRGOOOO!” The clown was joyous. The man in the big white coat and sunglasses stood coolly in the doorway.
“…I have determined Sandman’s identity. His father… was in my battalion.”
Hoo, boy I have had writer’s block on this for a while, but I’m glad this first part’s done. So yeah, got to see some backstory, made a little reveal there, wink-wink. ;)
Chapter 7: Operation: CLOWN, Part 3: Caesar’s Intention
Summary:
When the kids try to escape, the giant children suddenly have a craving for candy. Their uncontrollable rage causes the R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N. to crash.
Chapter Text
Now, everyone, let's board the Rocket-san and get off this island! …If only it were that easy.
Chapter 3: Caesar’s Intention
Punk Hazard; down a building hall
The swarm of kids kept rushing down the hall nonstop, trampling any more of Caesar's minions. "There's the train!" Chimney yelled, seeing the front portion of her train crashed through the wall.
"I hope it has enough room to support everyone." Aisa panted.
"Of course it does, just get everyone on!"
The giants struggled to squeeze in the doorway, but they still managed as everyone piled in. Sector W7 and Dillon's group were trying to keep back Caesar's minions while Apis got in to start the train. "Um, Chimney, we've got a little problem here."
"What is it, Apis-chan?!" the leader yelled.
"The train. The front part's fine, but... The rest of it's dangling over the edge!!" It was true. From outside the building, one could see the huge train dangling from up high over the snowy landscape, with only its front car stuck inside the building. "Everybody's falling toward the back!" Still true, all of the giants and other kids were falling and stacking from the bottom (back) of the train. "If we add more, the whole thing will collapse!"
"Nnnn! Then I'll start it up right now and fly around!" Chimney decided as she hurried onto the train to start it up. The engines roared as she backed the train up, and it fell from its perch.
"AAAAHH!" the pile of kids screamed and clung to each other for dear life.
"HOLD OOOON!" Chimney forcefully pulled a lever, and the train was suddenly flying around the air, becoming horizontal again.
"WHOOA!" The kids tumbled off of each other and rolled along the floor. Some of the smaller kids were crushed under the rears of bigger kids as a result.
Chimney flew the train around the building before coming down to hover beside the hole in the wall, a door open. "Okay! Everyone get on!"
"But we still didn't find Aeincha!" Aisa yelled.
"Isn't she with the kids?" Dillon asked.
"No, she wasn't a hostage! She came here with Mr. Sand-san!" Chimney replied.
"Mr. Sand-san?" Haruka questioned.
That name sounded familiar to Dillon... his eyes widened. "Dad!"
"Oi, you comin' or what?" Chimney yelled as most of the last kids had squeezed onto the train.
"No. I'm going to stay." Dillon decided. "If my dad's here, we should help him."
"I'm staying, too." Haruka followed.
"Oh, gee." Zach sighed, wanting to get off this island already.
"Then I guess we're staying, too." Maddy figured.
"Will you guys be okay?" Mocha asked worriedly as she set Maddy on the floor.
"Yeah, don't worry. We're pretty experienced."
"Well, okay. I'll see you later, Maddy!" Mocha smiled and waved as she hurried onto the train.
"OOLAAAAH! KEEP ARMS AND LEGS INSIDE THE FREEDOM TRAAAIN! HERE WE GOOOOO!" The four kids stood in the open hole as the R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N. soared away beyond the snowy skies.
"Heh… if there was a yelling contest, Chimney would sure win." Haruka laughed.
"Heh, Panini's got competition." Dillon snickered. "Oh no! !" he flinched suddenly and looked around. "Where's Kaleo?!"
"He probably got on with the other kids." Zach figured.
"Well, I guess that's good, but he could've helped. Oh well. Let's go look for my dad." With that, the group hurried down the hall.
Caesar's Lab
The three villains watched on their monitor as the R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N. was speeding away from the island. "They are getting away." Vergo said.
"Shurororo! They won't stay away for long!" Caesar laughed confidently. "Any second now…" his maniacal grin showed as he pulled out a tiny butterscotch from his coat, "they'll be DYING to come back…"
Onboard the R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N.
"Oiii! Apis-chan! Why we no goin' FAST enough??" Chimney shouted, her furrowed eyes focused on the cloudy sky.
"We have too many on here." The Christian replied. "All these giant kids are weighing us down."
"Maybe we should organize a weight-loss program." April remarked.
"You know, I'm not even sure if the Undersea Lab will fit everyone." Aisa said.
"We're just going to drop everyone off at their homes for now." Chimney stated. "Their parents probably miss them. We'll just pick the giants up a few at a time and bring 'em to the lab."
"Well, either way, those kids must be pretty hungry." Apis figured. "I'm not sure what those guys have been feeding them, but, I better bring 'em somethin'." With that, Apis grabbed a little trolley of food as she pushed it down the train aisles.
"Hellooooo!" the Christian girl sang as she moved down the aisles. "Aaaaanything from the trolley! We've got cooked cinnamon rolls and donuts, not much to go along, but, plenty to last!"
A few of the giants grabbed the cooked goods and looked a little concerned. The food looked much too small to satisfy their stomachs, but that wasn't the problem: they were black with soot, like they were cooked in the center of a fireplace. "Ummm… is this edible?" a giant boy; Doran asked.
"Well, I'm not really the best cook, but, they should be safe." Apis said with a frown.
The kids started to eat the baked goods (the giants needed only one bite), and upon consumption, their faces winced. "Ulp! Ooooh…" a few of them held their stomachs.
"They're bad… right?" Apis asked sadly.
"Well…" Mocha began. "They-… OHHH!" Suddenly, she and all the other kids gripped their heads tight.
"Wh-What's wrong?!" Apis asked with concern. "They weren't THAT bad, were they?!"
"N-No!" Mocha yelled, feeling unbearable pain. "I-I…It's… Every day at around this time… Master gives us…"
"What?! Gives you what?"
At that instant, the children's trembling stopped. Their eyes lost all color and became purely white and lifeless. The only image in their heads was that of the butterscotch. "Caaaandyyyy."
"Um… huh?" Apis was horrified by their sudden aura.
"CAAAAANDYYYYY!" Their faces became greedy and monstrous. The carefree auras they once had were long gone.
Apis shuddered with total fear as all eyes were directed at her. The looks on these giant kids, they would tear Apis limb from limb to get what they want. "AAAAHH!" The girl scampered as fast as she could to the front of the train. "Chimneeeey!" She slammed the door behind her.
"WHAT?!" the leader shouted.
"The children are going crazy! They're saying they want candy!"
"Well, don't we have some in reserve?!"
"Gyom-gyoooom!"
"CAAAANDYYYY!" The sector gasped when the door was forced open, and there stood the swarms of multiracial, venomous children.
"Fine, have some!" Aisa yelled, whipping out a G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A. Dial and blasting endless gumballs at the kids.
"EEEAAAAAHHH!" The kids shielded from the gumball bullets and stomped forward.
"AAAAH!" Aisa dodged away before the giants could crush her.
"CAAANDYYYYY!" They all began to pile around the controls, pushing Chimney away as they took hold of the steering wheel.
"OOOLAAAAAH!" Chimney cried when the R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N. began spiraling out of control, flying back the way they came. "HEEEY! LET GOOO!" she screamed as she and her friends were flying around and around. Already, the flying train was on a direct course to Punk Hazard.
"We're about to craaaash!" Apis cried.
"Gyaaaah get to the escape pods!" Chimney ordered.
The four girls and rabbit clutched the walls and struggled to crawl to the pods. They were able to, and were sent flying out over the island's Burning Lands.
"GAAAAAAAHH!" The four pods crashed onto safe areas of the flaming grounds while Chimney's pierced straight through a big, steel door. "Uuuuuhh." She fell unconscious as a result.
The sign that read, 'DANGER! Do not, for WHATEVER reason, OPEN THIS DOOR!!', spiraled around on the ground before falling flat.
Inside the building
Nolan York kept rolling along with his tiny companion on his shoulder. The halls were quiet, and nothing was happening, when the entire building suddenly shook tremendously. "What in the world?!" Nolan exclaimed lightly.
"That sounds like it came from outside." Aeincha said.
Doo… do-do, doo. The intercom speakers made a little jingle before Caesar's voice was heard. (It's the same jingle that's heard in Batman: Arkham Asylum; when Joker speaks.)
"Attention all staff and employees! Well, what's the difference? Just a few moments ago, most of our children residents have boarded a flying train and escaped. However, it seems that due to bad piloting, the train made a direct turn-around back and has crashed into our Frozen Lands. All available troops are ordered to get outside and round up the subje—I-I mean, kids! After all, wouldn't want them to catch frostbite before I can 'test' them, shurororo!"
"Ugh… that guy is all kinds of messed up." Nolan said.
"So, is all that true, Mr. York?" Aeincha asked. "Does he really test experiments on kids?"
"As far as I know. I'm worried about what he might be doing to Dillon and the others. Hmmmm…" He decided to phone in Crystal and Yuki, and asked, "Yo, Crystal, did you read anything in that notebook you found?"
"Yah, we did. All it is is basically a bunch of different date recordings for the blood samples of all the kids. Apparently, he's giving them a kind of medicine called 'NHC10'."
"NHC10? What is that?"
"It doesn't say. But by the looks of things, he gives one to each kid every day, and then he takes blood samples from them after a week."
"Hmmm… I'm gonna look it up." Nolan began to type on his tiny wristwatch computer ('cause he's gotta be high-tech like that X) ). He found a small article on the drug and skimmed it quickly, with Aeincha looking over it as well. Nolan gasped.
"What?"
"Sigh, it's not good, Crystal. Is Dillon mentioned in the book?"
There was a pause as Crystal was flipping through pages. "Yes, he and his friends. Apparently, they were each given the drug a few hours ago."
"Phew, then they shouldn't be too bad… for now. Keep trying to find them. The baby I was tracking previously suddenly changed location; he's outside, probably where the train crashed. I wonder if Dillon's group was with them. The two of you head outside and look for 'em. I'm gonna try and track down Caesar." With that, transmission ended.
Dillon's group; down another hall
A swarm of soldiers scurried down the hall, armed with guns as always. They failed to notice the shadow in the wall as Dillon, Haruka, Zach, and Maddy slipped out. "Hooo. It's hard to hold that many in a Shadow Veil." The shadowbender sighed.
"Ohhhh…" Zach fell to his knees, holding his head in pain.
"What's wrong, Bro?" Maddy asked.
"Ohh… I have a headache. And a… weird craving for candy."
"Well, we still have ours." Haruka mentioned, pulling out her butterscotch.
"I'm not letting him eat that." Maddy stated, still feeling distrustful toward Caesar. "Now come on, don't we need to get outside?"
"She's right, we have to see if Sector W7's okay." Dillon said rushedly. "Come on, let's follow them!" They hurried after the direction the soldiers went. (Play "Subway Thugs" from Batman: Arkham City.)
Stage 3: Punk Hazard, Act 2
The four made it to the second floor of a small room, atop a stairway. There was an emergency exit on the other side, but the room was filled with guards. "Alright, secure the room in case any more of the kids come through here." One ordered. "Master Caesar says one of the kids was a shadowbender, so use the Nightvision Specs."
"Yessir!"
The group crouched and watched through the railing as some of the men skimmed the ground using Dark Lights from their suit's eye-windows. Two of the men stood guard at the door, one facing down, one facing the top of the door. "I'm guessing we're not Shadow Veiling out of here." Haruka whispered.
"That's okay, I'll take care of 'em." Dillon whispered. "I'm not a spy for nothin'." With that, Dillon sank into a Shadow Veil and slithered downstairs. Dillon carefully squeezed under the small table to hide from a passing man using a Dark Light. When he passes by, Dillon slithers under quietly, pulls him underneath the Shadow Veil, and knocks him out before tossing him back up, unconscious.
With that, Dillon slithered back to his friends and re-emerges, watching the men to plan his next move. "Someone's missing down there!"
"You heard Master Caesar!" The kids crawled back when the men all hurried to their fallen comrade (except the two guarding the door). Dillon moved along the right wall using Shadow Veil and got behind two of them. Before they could sense him, Dillon popped up and swiftly kicked the two's heads to knock them down. "There he is!" The others were about to shoot, but Haruka blasted a cloud of purple gas from above, forcing Dillon to hold his breath. The gas didn't affect the men, but it blocked their vision.
They started to use Dark Lights again as Dillon crouched and moved around them. He got behind another soldier, pulled him in his shadow, and knocked him out before throwing him up. Dillon slithered up the ceiling as the men tried to track his movements. The three other kids began to feel frantic when two of the soldiers started to head up the stairs.
"Well-p… now or never now." Haruka figured. With that, the group dropped down the railing and fought the three that were below, doing their best to avoid their gunshots.
"WA-WA-WA!" Zach yelped and began to dance silly when one of the men shot at his feet. Maddy simply knocked him out quickly, but the two men upstairs were starting to shoot them from the railing. Dillon got behind the two as he and Mario shoved them over the railing, and they knocked out upon hitting the floor. The two men guarding the door decided to hurry over and managed to grab Haruka and Maddy.
"Alright, surrender now or these two get it!" one threatened.
"What kind of girls do you think we are?" Maddy remarked as she and Haruka flipped overhead and kicked the men's heads from behind. Once on the ground, the four operatives piled on top of them until they were down. (End song.)
The kids stopped to catch their breath as they brushed their hands off. "Shurorororororo! Really, is that the BEST my security can PROVIDE? Hoo-o-o-o, I knew those protection suits were a waste of money."
"Honestly, I wouldn't mind one of these suits." Maddy remarked.
"Well, your birthday's comin' up, I'll think about it." Dillon replied. "Now come on, let's help W7!"
The group stepped out the thick, steel security door, and appeared atop a tall outer stairway on the side of the building. From there, they could see smoke rising in the distance, from the wreckage of Chimney's train. Dillon, Haruka, and Maddy decided to hop over the railing and land perfectly in the soft snow. Zach, however, fell face-flat as Maddy pulled him to his feet. "Brr-r-r. I wish those guys told us to bring coats before we got here." Maddy shuddered.
"No big deal." Dillon said. "Sector W7 should've crashed a few miles that way. Let's go." (Play "Freezeflame Galaxy (Ice)" from Mario Galaxy.)
The kids began their trek across the shivering landscape as White Wolfos were already popping out. Haruka quickly surrounded the group in gas, making the wolves step back. Dillon slithered over with Shadow Veil and pulled one of the wolves down before coming up, and throwing it into another wolf. Haruka stepped out of the gas and used Poison Whip to whip another wolf, and when one came for Maddy, the Murphy girl flipped over to kick its head.
"Ow-ow-ow, hey-hey!" Zach yelped when a Wolfos was tugging on his pants. Haruka hurried over to shoot Sleeping Gas at it and knock it out. With that, the kids hurried forward and arrived at a chasm of icy stalagmites. There was a small ledge along the left side, but there wasn't much use for it as Dillon could just Shadow Glide over. He took his friends one at a time, starting with Haruka, then Maddy, then Zach. They walked down a snowy hill and approached a tall cliff that curved at the top. Again, Dillon carried his friends up using Shadow Veil until they were all at the top. Boy, having a shadowbender is convenient.
The snowy fields stretched for miles before them as they hurried forward. They expected more White Wolfos, but instead, Ice Chuchu were popping up from the snows. Zach ran to punch one of the ice blobs, but was immediately frozen, so Haruka had to knock them out using Poison Whips. Too many were appearing, so the kids decided to bypass them, even though giant ones were appearing in their way. Maddy pulled Zach's frozen body as they moved along, trying to punch his ice open.
They arrived at another frosty chasm with a set of icy, swervy grind-rails leading across. Dillon and Haruka hopped on to skid across, and Maddy set Zach's frozen body on a rail to let it grind on its own, while she followed it. They landed safely on a narrow path between close walls. There were openings in the walls where Armos Freezards were hiding, blasting ice breaths at the kids when they came by. The group stopped just before the breaths hit, and when they stopped, they decided to punch and break the Freezards.
They shortly arrived at a small chasm with a tightrope leading across. Again, Dillon simply flew his friends across, while Maddy spun Zach around and tossed his frozen form to the other side. They then trekked up a thin, straight slope, but it was too slippery for them to make it up. So once more, Dillon carried his friends up using Shadow Veil. They were back in the snowy landscapes as the R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N.'s wreckage was in sight, set aflame. The four hurried over, worried for the children. (End song.)
"Oh no!" Haruka exclaimed as they arrived at the train. "I hope they aren't hurt!"
"Sector W7! Are you on there?" Dillon called.
A moaning sound was heard from the wreckage, and to their relief, the giants were the first to step off, followed by the other passengers. "Few… at least THEY'RE okay." Haruka sighed.
"Yeah, but where's W7?"
"Caaaandyyyy…" The children moaned.
"Huh?"
"CANDYYYYY!" The craving, lifeless eyes of the children returned.
"Whoa!! You mean THIS candy?" Haruka asked, holding up the wrapped butterscotch.
"CAAAAANNNDYYYYYYYY." Their zombified eyes were all fixed on the tasty treat.
"Aaaaah!" Maddy held Zach's body in front of her and yelled, "Save us, Zach!" She kicked the frozen boy forward as a giant boy; Doran, grabbed him and raised him in anger. He smashed Zach's form against the wrecked train as the ice shattered, and Doran threw Zach to the ground.
"Owww…" The Murphy felt a shadow over him, and looked up with horror. "AAAAAH!!" He dashed like a cheetah just before the giant stomped him.
"CANDYYYYYY!" The four operatives were hightailing down the fields when the kids began chasing.
"Should I give it to 'em?!" Haruka shouted.
"It would save us!!" Maddy yelled.
"What if Sector W7 got eaten!!" Zach cried.
"Do you think THIS is the disease Caesar talked about?!" Haruka asked.
"Who knows!" Dillon yelled. "Ask Caesar if we get back!"
The four slipped down the thin slope into the gorge area and hurried to the tightrope chasm. "Quick, fly us across!" Mad yelled at Dillon.
"No time for all of you!" Dillon yelled as the giants were still on them. "Just balance!"
The four balanced across the rope quickly, but carefully, feeling very nervous. "AAAAHH!" The ground shook when the giants leapt over the pit, and the four immediately dashed forward. They hurried around the close walls, afraid to look back knowing the vicious, craving kids were on their tail, their tremors growing heavier. They made it to the grind-rails and slid straight up, but the giants leapt to their ledge while the normal kids grinded the rails.
They started to cross the field of Ice Chuchu, but bypassed the simple monsters as the giants simply came and trampled them. The four looked up as a Nimbi girl shot down, but they dodged her and kept moving. Maddy looked right as a frantic mermaid girl crawled along the ground like a two-legged tiger, her teeth drooling. She kicked the mermaid forcefully in the nose and kept running.
The kids stopped just before running off the tall, steep cliff. "Uh-oh. What'll we do now??" Haruka yelled.
Dillon looked frantic, knowing he couldn't fly everyone down in time, but looked back at the stampeding, hungry giants. "Jump!!" They jumped off immediately and thudded in the soft snow. They climbed out, looking up frightfully as the kids did the same, recovering and running up the thick snowy hill. They reached the first chasm of spikes, and since Dillon couldn't fly them, they had to sidle along the ledge on the side.
"Whoa! !" Zach slipped and nearly fell, but Haruka grabbed and pulled him up. They kept running as fast as they could as they were almost at the building.
"We can't climb up that fire escape in time!" Haruka yelled.
"Then let's find another entrance!" Dillon yelled as they ran rightward.
They were coming to what seemed like an open hangar area, with a slope leading up to it. They ran up the slope and saw a steel door closed ahead, looking back as the monstrous kids charged after them. "Here it comes!" Zach yelled, shutting his eyes.
Haruka ran to the front and yelled, "Sleeping Gas!!", holding both hands out and blasting a huge cloud of purple gas.
The kids started to cough as the gas filled their lungs. It soon took effect, and shortly, the large and small kids fell to the ground, asleep. Haruka released a sigh, feeling extremely relieved. "Wish I woulda done that sooner."
"I don't understand." Maddy spoke up. "What's so special about butterscotch, anyway? I mean, if they're as dumb as Numbuh 4, but Halloween isn't for months."
"Hmmmm…" Just as curious, Haruka unwrapped her butterscotch. To their surprise, it was a blood-red color, and hardly looked like sweet candy.
"Red butterscotch?" Maddy observed with disgust.
"Probably some kinda healthy candy doctors give us… uck." Zach moaned.
Haruka held the tiny candy close as her midnight-blue eye squinted. She gasped and held it away. "This isn't butterscotch! It's… NHC10!"
"NHC10?" Maddy questioned.
"I read about it in a medical book once. NHC10 is a highly stimulate drug made of all kinds of dangerous chemicals. One of its core ingredients is Bang Gas."
"BANG GAS?!" they all screamed.
"You mean… Caesar tried to feed us MUTANT gas?!" Maddy yelled.
"Exactly." Haruka spoke seriously. "The drug has such drastic results on the human body, it was marked forbidden, and only the top-greatest scientists in only a few selected countries were allowed to use it. It was originally created as a last-ditch medicine to save people from fatal diseases. But its effects on the body structure were too dangerous to be taken more than once. If it's taken constantly, the consumers will desperately crave daily doses, and they won't be able to control their selves!"
"So wait, if it has Bang Gas, does that mean all these kids are mutants?" Maddy asked.
"Would explain why some're giants." Zach noted.
"Kind of." Haruka replied. "But only a little bit of Bang Gas is induced, to help enhance the strength of the other materials. But it becomes so mixed up and tainted by other materials, there's not enough in it to make the users mutated. But having a daily dose of the drugs could really mess up the genes. I guess in this case, the drug has increased the size of the body cells, and that's why these kids are so big."
"So we really DON'T have a disease?" Maddy asked.
"I'm not really sure. But giving us daily doses of this candy is way too unsafe. You guys know what happens when you inhale too much Bang Gas?"
"What?" Dillon asked.
"Well, just one whiff of Bang Gas is enough to alter someone's genes and give them unnatural mutated powers." Everyone pictured Violet McCleary inside the Meta Machine, becoming swallowed in Bang Gas as her nails grew, and cat ears and a tail appeared on her body. "But if somebody sucks in way too much Bang Gas, their internal structure will spin entirely out of control. The gas becomes too much for them, and eventually… they pass out. …" Haruka looked at the candy drug with hate. "This disease BETTER be as bad as Caesar makes it out to be, because a drug this dangerous risks our lives either way."
"SHUUUUrorororororo!" The kids gasped and looked up when Caesar suddenly came floating down. "Whyyy, kiiiids, haven't you taken your candy yet? A disease won't cure itself!"
"Mister Caesar!" Haruka looked fierce. "How could you give kids NHC10?! You know it's dangerous!"
"Shurororo! Anything is worth risking for the sake of SCIENCE, my deeeear! Once you have a taste, you'll see how JUICY it is!" he exclaimed gleefully.
"You're sick! I'm starting to think the only one with a disease is YOU!"
"OF COURSE I'm sick! I'm sick with a lust for ever-expanding knowledge! For years, I've held a curiosity for human and body genes! Why do you think I have all these different RACES here?! Drugs can have all sorts of effects on different bodies! That's why I NEED them! But we ALL know adults aren't dumb enough for this sort of thing, so I have to work with whiny little brats!
"Well, your science experiments end here. For endangering the rights and bodies of innocent children, the Kids Next Door are placing you under arrest."
"Technically, me and Zach are the ones who have authority to say that." Maddy reminded.
"Oh, just do it." Dillon huffed.
"Shurororo! YOU'RE all going to arrest ME?!" Caesar's cocky grin grew wider. "If you wanna play Cop, GO to the playroom with the OTHER kids."
"No big deal!" Dillon smirked. "For kids, nothin' fixes a problem better than beating the crud out of someone! Haaaaah!-" Dillon ran for the white-skinned clown, who only smirked witfully. The boy jumped and threw a kick at Caesar's face, but- "OOF!" he flew right through the face and hit the ground on the other side. Dillon looked up in surprise and tried to jump at Caesar's back, but he flew through his body as a result, coughing the gas up.
"Shurorororo! You'll have to do better than THAT! I'm a LOGIA-type poisonbender!"
Dillon got up and backed up to his friends. "A Logia-type?!"
"What's that?" Maddy asked.
"My dad told me about it. A Logia-type is an element bender who's so in tune with their element, they actually become that element."
"Whoa… is your mom a Logia?" Zach asked.
"Not really, but Ms. Granite is, and a few others. To become a Logia, it usually takes hours of meditation around your element, so that your own spiritual energies merge with those of your element's… or something. And on top of that, you also have to master a lot of abilities with your element."
"But if they transformed into their element, that's the same as mutating, isn't it?" Maddy asked.
"Well… sort of. It's supposed to be the 'natural' form of mutating. But the thing is, there are Logia metahumans, too, like Madame Rouge. She was made of goop."
"You know, Viridi was Logia, too, wasn't she?" Haruka remembered.
"Ha ha, exactly!" As they spoke, Caesar started to become angered. "In fact, I think some of the gods like Hexxus are Logia-types. But most of them actually-"
"OKAY, THAT'S ENOUGH!!" Caesar exclaimed. "Is this whole chapter nothing but explanations?! You know, some readers want more in a story than just DIALOGUE. All in all, though… he's right: I've been around dangerous chemicals and poisons for years, but NONE more than Bang Gas. I'm the only known poisonbender that uses his powers to develop unique ways to CONTROL Bang Gas. And you guys are crucial subjects in my experiments…" his evil grin returned.
"Oh yeah??" Zach exclaimed confidently. "Well, I may not be good in science-"
"-or anything else-" Maddy said.
"-but if there's one thing I learned from failed pranks, it's that GAS IS FLAMMABLE!" And with that, Zach whipped out his S.P.I.C.E.R. and fired a ray of fire straight at the gas-made scientist. "(I wish I remembered I brought this earlier.)"
The flames brimmed in Caesar's yellow eyes as they drew closer, but he still smiled evilly. He waved his arms around, and once the flames came, he held an arm out, hand open, and the flames suddenly disappeared a few inches from his palm.
"Aaah!!" The kids' mouths fell open.
"Shurororororo!"
"But… that's impossible! Poisonbenders can't control fire!" Haruka exclaimed. "And they shouldn't be able to airbend either! They're only supposed to have power over the impure chemicals or materials."
"And fire doesn't fall in that category?" Maddy asked.
"Well…"
"Shuuuurororo! THAT'S the result of YEARS of training and spiritual bonding!" Caesar grinned. "Fire doesn't work, and your NORMAL attacks can't penetrate me! Now I BELIEVE it's high-time for you kids' check-up!"
"Caaaaandyyyyyy…"
"Hnn?" Caesar turned when the swarms of kids began to recover, their faces venomous as before. "Ooooh! Speak of the devils!"
"CAAAAANDYYYYY!" They cried desperately craving the sweet drug.
"Awwww don't worry, kids!" Caesar grinned lovingly. "I'll give you ALL the candy you can ask for! Mmmm-but…" he frowned sadly and pointed at the operatives, "those kids want it all for themseeelves… you'll have to TAKE it from them!" he grinned again.
"CAAAANDYYYYY!" Having no mental consciousness about them, the children charged for the operatives.
"Ahhh!" Haruka yelped, the group terrified by mainly the giants. Haruka hurriedly blasted a cloud of Sleeping Gas, forcing the swarm to stop and cough. "Oh no! They're not falling asleep this time!" Haruka observed.
A couple of Kateenians and Minish were still running for them. Even though she wasn't intimidated by the tiny creatures, Haruka released some gas and was able to put them to sleep. "Aaaaahhh!" The giant kids recovered, however, and kept charging for the operatives in their mission.
Haruka looked down and saw the unconscious Kateenians and Minish, and filled with terror as the gigantic, stampeding feet of the mob drew closer. "GUYS, WATCH OUT!!"
Before their eyes, the tiny creatures were squished like tiny bugs. The four's eyes shrunk, and for a split second, the breath had faded from their bodies.
"CAAANDYYYYY!"
"AAAH!" They were too horrified to move before the giants swarmed them.
"Aaaah! Get off!! Get off!!" Haruka cried as some giants were forcefully tugging her pigtails.
"Aaahh! Mocha! Stooop!!"
Maddy's cries fell to deaf ears as her giant friend clutched her tight.
With Nolan
Things were quiet on the Sandman's end as he continued rolling down the hall. He finally reached a central room that was swarming with Caesar's soldiers. "Intruder!" they all yelled, running for him. These men were unarmed, so Sandman was able to punch and beat them all, while Aeincha helped by blocking their eye-holes and making them punch each other. Two men jumped at Nolan's sides, but he clutched their faces and threw them against two more. Another came, but he used his chair's punching glove to punch his crotch, then dealt the last punch himself. He stood up and dealt a forceful upper-cut against the last one, knocking his mask off.
"Oww." Nolan sat back down as Aeincha ran to him, climbed up his legs, then up to his shoulder. "Boy, if only my legs were normal, I'd be kicking a lot more butt."
"It's okay!" Aeincha beamed. "You kick more butt than me! I'm too tiny!"
"Ha ha!" Nolan chuckled lightly. This girl was kind of growing on him. His serious look returned as he looked to the last man he punched, who was still conscious. He rolled over, grabbed his neck, and held the deer-horn man up. "Now… if you don't wanna find out how a deer feels when his horns are ripped, you should point me to the nearest laboratory."
"I-It's up there!" he pointed up some left stairs. "Please don't hurt me!"
"I didn't say that." With that, Nolan punched his eye and knocked him out. He then used his grappling hook to latch the second-floor railing and pull them up, proceeding to enter the hall. As he moved along, they studied his wristwatch terminal, which showed a map of the building. "By the looks of things, this whole base is made of five connected buildings: A, B, C, D, and R Building." The map showed 5 circles, each representing a building. The biggest was Building B, the smallest was R, which was between D and C. "But it has all sorts of laboratories, and probably each are for different types of research."
"Why do you wanna find a lab?" Aeincha asked.
"Well, it's not the lab in particular, but I'm hoping to grab a sample of that NHC10. Then maybe I could use the materials in the lab to whip up a counter-poison."
They arrived at a door labeled 'COMPUTER LAB' in all caps and decided to enter. "Hmmm… maybe I shoulda been more specific. Well, let's see what we can find." Sandman said as he approached a computer that was already on. "Hey… it's an article on this island's history." The two began to skim it as Nolan read aloud. "This laboratory was established by G.U.N.'s greatest scientist, Professor Gerald Robotnik, in year 2003, shortly after GUN's establishment. His reasons for choosing this location were because of its historical value: he determined that, millions of years ago, it was the battle site for the Gods of Sun and Snow, Solaris and Polaris, to determine the ultimate climate for the planet. Oh!..."
"Oooooh!" Aeincha's eyes lit with amazement.
"Here in this laboratory, research was conducted by top scientists, to study the works of metahuman and alien genetics among other things. The lab was shut down shortly after a terrible explosion of Bang Gas engulfed the whole island. Professor Gerald Robotnik, having been deemed the one responsible, was arrested. However, he escaped before he was given a sentence, using his own Dimensional Traveler to flee to his own dimension. His assistant, Caesar Clown, was mutated in the explosion, but was allowed to stay in GUN for the reason that the fault wasn't his. …Hmmm."
"So?" Aeincha spoke.
"This is an article from GUN's official records. If Caesar worked for GUN… but why-"
"It was not all Robotnik's doing."
Nolan flinched and turned around, while Aeincha hid up his hat. "However, I manage to cover Caesar's tracks."
"Who?..."
"It's been 23 years at least, Sandman." A silhouetted figure stuck out from behind the doorway. "You've grown fast… Nolan-san." he stepped all the way in the room, and the light shone on Vergo's form.
"Y…You…" Nolan was speechless. "General… Vergo?..."
Nolan was 8 years old. He sat quietly on his bed in his room, gazing out the window eagerly. A car pulled up his driveway, and out stepped General Vergo: the man in the white coat he knew as his father's commander. He rang the doorbell as Nolan's mother answered. He told her something that made Kyla York horrified. The general offered his condolences, and left.
Kyla shut the door as Nolan walked downstairs, looking at her with concern. "Mom?..."
"Son… your father isn't coming back."
Nolan still couldn't believe his eyes. General Vergo… after all these years. "Wh…What're you doing here?"
"The answer is simple… I've been working for Caesar… for years."
With Sector W7
"Ohhhh…" The three other girls; besides their leader, finally recovered, carefully navigating the fires to reach the thin stairway.
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" Aisa hopped around, the ground very hot on her bare feet.
"You really oughta consider wearing shoes." Apis suggested.
"I'm not a shoe person…" she said simply.
"Where's Chimney?" April asked, looking to the huge steel door. The girls stepped up the stairs and found a hole penetrated in the door. They peeked in curiously, seeing Chimney and Gonbe slumped out of their escape pod.
"Oooaaaahh…" Chimney moaned, still grinning. "I knew I shouldn't-a drank so much soda 'fore driving."
"Gyom-gyooooooo…"
"You okay, Chimney?" Apis asked as they stepped in and approached.
"Yah… I think so." She spoke, standing up. She looked around and asked, "Oi, where are we?"
"Somewhere cool, I know that." Aisa said, rubbing her scorched feet.
The girls decided to step forward, the huge, garage-like chamber becoming pitch-black as it drew on. "Oi, ain't there a light switch in here?" Chimney asked.
Apis looked to a red button on the wall, which was connected to the huge steel door. "Let's try this." She went to press the switch, and the huge door came slightly open. It didn't open all the way because of the lock still attached to it.
"Oooooo…"
Gonbe's ears perked. "Gyo!!" He looked frightened.
"Oh?" All the girls faced ahead, wondering where the eerie moan came from.
The way ahead was still pitch-black… but in the darkness, a pair of big, glowing yellow eyes met their gaze. "Wwwwwaaaaaaaabbbbb."
Chapter 8: Operation: CLOWN, Part 4: Punk Hazard Explodes
Summary:
A giant toxic blob chases Sector W7 through Punk Hazard. The heroes watch in horror as the blob explodes, covering the entire island in Bang Gas-Z.
Chapter Text
Welcome back, Punk Hazard fans, to this exciting rip-off!
Chapter 4: Punk Hazard Explodes
Punk Hazard; Burning Lands
“Wwwwaaaaab, wwaaaaab, wwaaaaab...” Whatever the sound belonged to, the glowing yellow eyes, and their source, were wobbling in a gooey fashion. Sector W7 only stared as the eyes drew closer. Once the creature was close enough into the light, Chimney's eyes widened. (Play “Mysterious Life Form” from Pikmin 3.)
“AAAAAAAHHH!” She and Gonbe were the first to bolt out of there. “GYAAAH RUN AWAY, GIRL-CHAAANS!”
“Gyoooooom!”
The girls looked ahead and saw the creature was a giant, purplish-red blob made of some kind of toxic waste, its mouth wide open. “AAAAHH!” The girls hightailed away, sliding under the steel door's opening and hurrying down the long, flaming road to the side. They turned and looked back, watching as the toxic creature slithered out of the door, slowly squeezing its whole body through as it chased.
“GYAAAAH HERE IT COOOOMES!” Chimney screamed once more.
Stage 3: Punk Hazard, Act 3
The girls hurried across the straightforward road as the Big Boss Toxichu; which they've named it, wobbled their way. Some burning buildings toppled over and blocked their path, forcing them to run around. The Toxichu also spat Mini Toxichu in their way, but the operatives shot the small Chuchus with weapons before hurrying ahead. However, Aisa stepped in one of their toxic puddles and- “Aaaahh!” held her foot as it burned immensely from the acid. Apis had to run back and put Aisa's arm around her head as she helped her move along.
They were about to make it to the lake, but that was before two flaming buildings toppled over and blocked their path. “Gyaaaaah! This way!” Chimney ordered, hurrying down a rightward path as the girls followed. They had to jump up some stairs while the Toxichu spat mini blobs in their way again. The girls tried to bypass the blobs as they kept running, making it to a fiery chasm with a wobbly, rectangular platform on a post. The girls all jumped to the platform, causing their end to tilt downward. They all struggled to step up to the other side, but this caused it to tilt down the other way, and they were too far from the ledge. Apis and Aisa (who still had to hold onto the former) decided to walk back to the other side, making the floor horizontal so Chimney, Gonbe, and April could make it. Apis and Aisa were still on the other end, which faced down, but Aisa pulled out her Conache Pumpkin, tossed it to the other side, and forced it down, sending the two flying up like a catapult.
The girls kept running and reached another fiery chasm, where they had to jump a series of small, wobbly platforms. They hurriedly jumped across, while Blarggs were also popping up to chomp down on them, but the girls avoided them just before the platforms could sink. They reached a slightly wider platform as their way ahead was blocked by Mini Toxichu which were spat from the Big Boss. Aisa used her Weapon Dial to blast gumball bullets at the Toxichu to disable them, and the girls carefully jumped their remains to reach the next platform.
They hurried down another fiery road as the way ahead was scattered within a flaming maze. They ran all around the maze and ended up lost in their (or rather Chimney’s) panic. Whenever they encountered a dead end, the Toxichu would spit Mini Toxichu in the way they came. Their panic only increased as the giant blob entered the maze and was closing in on them. They frantically tried to find paths that would lead away from it, but in doing so, they managed to find the way out of the maze. They dashed down a long, narrow path that made a snaky turn left, leading the girls to the lake.
“Oi, let’s hurry up and swiiim!” Chimney shouted.
“But we CAN’T swim, Chimney!” Apis yelled.
“Aaaahhh!” The leader looked around frantically, wondering what to do. They looked in the water when some kind of gray fin was speeding toward them. Before their eyes, a vicious shark leapt out of the water, but the girls jumped back. “Fishman Karate!” Chimney exclaimed, performing a series of arm movements as a gush of water flew out and rammed the shark’s side.
“Alright, Chimneeeey!” Apis cheered.
The shark recovered, but the ecstatic Sector Leader hopped onto its back and tried to tame it as it shook around. Finally, she managed to get the shark under control and yelled, “Grab on!”
The girls nodded and quickly hopped onto the shark, riding it across the water before the Toxichu could reach them. “Aaaah!” Aisa cried, suddenly slipping off and falling in the water.
“Aisa-chaaan!” Chimney immediately dove in to grab her friend, while the shark carried the others to the snowy shore. Aisa wrapped her arms around Chimney as the part-mermaid struggled to swim back. More sharks were swimming to snack on them, but Chimney spun and sent more water gushes to keep them back. She kept swimming, but Aisa saw more sharks coming from behind, so she blasted gumballs from her Weapon Dial, giving Chimney enough time to reach the shore.
Still injured, Aisa held onto Chimney as the group hurried to the Frozen Lands. When they ran up a hill, they were instantly encountered by Caesar’s minions. “Hey, what’re you doing here? !” they yelled. April quickly zipped around to paint symbols on them, but their protection suits seemed to make them immune. However, they were distracted enough so Chimney could jump around and beat them all, while Apis held Aisa up so the Nimbi could shoot gumballs. “Not so fast.” The last henchman spoke as he pulled out a gun, but before he could take a shot, Crystal Wickens bashed his head with her staff from behind. (End song.)
“Phew.” The witch sighed as Yuki ran to her side. “Are you guys all right?”
“Oi, yes, but we got no time for that!” Chimney shouted. “We bein’ chased by a monster!”
“Gyom-gyoooom!”
“A monster? What?...” She and Yuki looked across the lake and saw a long path of toxic sludge retreat back into the Burning Lands. They viewed across the distance, and to their astonishment, a mountain of the toxic goo towered as high as a mountain, its glowing yellow eyes peering at them.
The gigantic sludge opened its mouth wide, beginning to spit smaller Toxichus all the way across. The blobs landed beside them and wobbled toward them, but Crystal twirled her staff and launched flames. “AAAH!!” The blobs exploded upon impact of the fire, blowing them all back.
“Ugh, that’s probably not a good idea.” Yuki grunted as they recovered.
“You’re right.” Crystal agreed. “Let’s find a way inside, quickly.” And the two hurried the children along as they ran to the nearest entrance.
A few miles away…
Secretly, from beyond the mountains, two shadowed eyes watched the events unfurl. They were two, extremely tall yetis, with long guns on their backs. The yetis hopped out and began to sing.
Rock: It’s time to get you Yeti Cool oooo’n
Yes, it’s Yeti Cool tiiiime, time to schooooo’!
Scotch: My man Rock here, and my name is Scotch
Yes we’re Rock and we’re Scotch, so sit and waaaatch!
And noooowwww weeeee goooooon’ HUNT some doooooown!
Rock: Nooooow weeeee goooon’ HUNT them kids doooooown!
“WHAT THE HELL are YOU doing here?!” Caesar’s voice suddenly yelled from the speakers. “I fired you two after the ORIGINAL Punk Hazard Arc! GET THE HELL OUT!”
“Awwwwww.” Heartbroken, the Yeti Cool Brothers glumly walked away.
“Nnnnn that’s right. You two bore no significance to the plot whatsoever.”
Inside the base; Computer Lab
“The truth is, I was commissioned by one of Caesar’s customers to protect his business.” Vergo began to explain. “I signed up with GUN for the sake of doing so. Thanks to my protection, Caesar was able to perform his research in private, even from Gerald Robotnik’s view. I framed Robotnik for the Bang Gas incident to have him disposed of. It was shortly after that Caesar began doing business with Darth Genious. They combined their scientific intellect to make a special toxin he called Bang Gas-Z, a Bang Gas that enhances the effects of regular Bang Gas 10-fold. About 23 years ago, Brain and Caesar used this gas to create an army of super metahumans, and started a war against the G.U.N. itself.”
“But… where does my dad come into play?” Nolan asked.
“Your father was a soldier at GUN, too. He didn’t care for their intentions of ending the metahuman population, but like Gunkan and Lyle, his goal was to bring Revan Sidious to justice. He fought in the war and proved his power admirably. But only so with my guidance. Darian encountered Brain in his fortress, and clashed against him. He brought his anti-psychic helmet to protect himself against Genious’s powers. But what he didn’t know, was I programmed the helmet to give him an unbearable shock, upon the push of a remote button. He was forced to remove the helmet, but that enabled Genious to dispose of him, through a simple Psychic Choke.”
Nolan gasped under his breath.
“Unfortunately, Lyle T. Rourke managed to discover Caesar. The former never did have any trust for the scientist. It wasn’t long before soldiers surrounded him and had him in chi-blocking cuffs. Gunkan questioned where Caesar managed to acquire 10,000 gallons of Bang Gas, and when he wouldn’t answer, he was sentenced to death. But before they had a chance, I defeated the soldiers and rescued him. In truth, they never discovered his poisonbending until after the battle, but they didn’t know how profound he was.”
“Hmmm… but what happened to the super-metahumans? Were they arrested?”
“Actually… the Bang Gas-Z was still experimental, and highly corrosive. It gave the mutants unspeakable power, but before the war drew on, their immune systems failed, and their bodies decayed. I rescued Caesar so he could continue his research on Punk Hazard, which had long since been marked forbidden due to the cloud of Bang Gas. Caesar cleared the gas away and made space for him and his mutated accomplices to roam around. G.U.N. has feared to come here because of its landscape and many reactive acids. But across these many years, he’s formed communications with many patrons who desire his knowledge for the mutation gas.”
“Who else besides Darth Genious buys from him?”
“Big names, actually. But that shouldn’t matter. Anyhow… now that you know the truth of your father, I suppose you’ll be wanting to kill me?”
“Hmmm… funny thing is, the pain goes away after such a long time. Of course, I will need to kick your ass for having a role in this whole operation.”
“Hmm… then I challenge you… to come at me.”
“Right then… you said it…” With that, Nolan boosted forward in attempt to punch, but Vergo swiftly dodged to the side. Nolan turned, but- “OOF!” Vergo punched him clear in the face, knocking him several feet away, off his chair.
“It’s fortunate for me you have dysfunctional legs…” Vergo spoke calmly. “Otherwise, you might prove a threat. But no…”
Nolan tried to help himself up, but fast as lightning, Vergo zipped behind him and punched him forward. “OWW!!” He managed to grab his wheelchair and climb back on, turning to face Vergo, but the general kicked his chest and sent him rolling backward. Nolan rolled all the way to the railing in the foyer room, and ended up falling backward, onto the lower floor with a thud.
Nolan could barely hold himself up, his vision blurring as the tall, buff general stepped forward. “Err, you won’t get away with this… Vergo…”
The general stood over him imposingly. “You will address me as Vergo…-san.” And Nolan’s vision blackened when his face met with the bottom of Vergo’s boot.
Caesar’s Lab
The mad scientist wore goggles as he stared closely at a strange, glowing banana. He stuck a syringe of green substance into the banana and smiled ecstatically as he stood up, pulling off his goggles. “At LAST, they’re dooooone! Five, specially made Vita-Z Bananas!” He placed the banana by four other ones. “Now I just need to get these shipped to Specter for ANOTHER satisfied customer! Take care of that for me, will you?” he told a nearby henchman, handing him the bananas.
“Yes, Master!” The man saluted and hurried off.
Caesar then turned and smiled evilly at the group of four glaring kids inside the prison cell; which appeared to be a large, movable box with bars. Dillon and Haruka also had chi-blocking cuffs around their wrists. “Ahhh, kids.” He said calmly as he stepped toward them. “They have their WHOLE lives ahead of them.” He grabbed the cell bars and phased his head through, grinning over them. “Whether it’s 70 years or only a few minutes… shurororo!” He walked back to his terminal and studied the outside area. “Nooow then… let’s take a look at our weather forecast! Today’s calls for a chance of endless snow; oh, that’s surprising, blistering flames around the east, and-… a 50-foot tall mountain of SLUDGE???”
He noticed the towering Toxichu in the distance and zoomed the camera closer. Caesar’s face beamed at the sight of those familiar, glowing yellow eyes. “It’s…” his eyes became teary as he grinned, “Smileeeeyyy, hoo hoo hoo hooooo!”
That’s when Vergo walked in, pushing a wheelchair with someone familiar. “I have returned, Master Caesar.”
“Ha HAAAA, well DONE, Verrrgoooo!!” Caesar yelled perkily.
The four kids gasped with shock when they saw he was pushing an unconscious Nolan York. Vergo opened the cell and shoved the man inside, off his wheelchair as he then shut the door. Dillon crawled over to shake him awake. “Dad! Dad! Wake up!”
“Nnnn, Dillon?” The Sandman looked up, finding his son over him. He realized he was handcuffed and inside a cell with Dillon’s other friends. Except… “Where’s Kaleo?”
“We don’t know.” Haruka replied.
“Shurororo!” They all looked up as Caesar drifted over. “Your daddy wasn’t originally invited to this party, but NOW that he’s here, we can get things started!”
“Where’s my cousin?!” Dillon yelled.
“How should I know?? I just assumed he was on the train with the others. I had Monet guide them back, perhaps I should ask…” The doors slid open again, and they looked to see Monet fly in.
“Master Caesar, hm hm!” the woman giggled. “I’ve found who you’re talking about!” This was followed by the sounds of stomping, and everyone’s mouths widened. In stepped Kaleo Anderson, at least 10 feet tall, as big as the other giants.
“HI, GUYS!!” The giant boy exclaimed, his grin wide as always. “HA HA! You guys look so TINY from up here!! I wanna keep you in a jar!!”
“K…Kaleo!...” Haruka couldn’t believe her eyes.
“Hm hm hm!” Monet laughed. “I found him sneaking our candy out of the supply room! He had a real strong craving for it!”
“Shurororo!” Caesar floated up by Leo’s big head. “Sooo… THIS is the result of NHC10 on poisonbenders! If little Haruka had taken it, the same thing might’ve happened to her! You just missed out on being bigger than all your friends, Deaaariiiiee!” He grinned at the girl.
“I wouldn’t want it either way!” Haru yelled. “Kaleo, you need to stop eating that stuff, it’s dangerous!”
“Owwww…” Caesar smiled still when Kaleo fell to his knees, holding his head.
“Shurororo! You can try and tell them to quit… but kids these days only LIVE for candy.” He said, floating to the prisoners. “And I’M practically candy to these kids! ‘Cause after all…” he stuck his head through the cell, bending down to Sandman’s glaring face, “you REALLY can’t ignore me… can you?” He stood back up and walked to the terminal. “Sooo, kids, you’re just in time for my ultimate show! I was going to send my minions to get it started, but it seems your little friends went ahead and started for me. Take a look at the screen!” They did so and saw the towering mountain of sludge, which grew smaller as it spat little parts at a time across the lake, so it could reform in the Frozen Lands.
“What is that?” Haruka asked.
“A little creature I call SMILEY!” Caesar’s grin beamed. “Because he’s SOOOO full of energyyyyyy!!!” He looked positively gleeful. “So much energy, that… he’s willing to EXPLODE with it!! Hoo hoo! And you can’t have a party without a piñata, right?”
“What are you planning, Caesar?” Nolan asked.
“As soon as the last of him is over, I’ll show you! But first, my test demonstration!” With that, Caesar pushed a button, and they watched as the ceiling opened above their cage. A crane lowered down from outside as it latched the cage and lifted the five into the blistering cold.
The group sat calmly as the rooftop crane turned and brought them over the snowy ground, a little over the roof’s edge. It lowered them so the cage’s back was against the wall, and from their view, they could see the last of the Big Toxichu making its way over, so the slimy behemoth towered as high as the snowy mountains. It viewed around the area in confusion as Caesar’s image appeared on a gigantic TV screen.
“Yoohoooo! SMILEEEEYY!”
The blob looked up at the smiling, joyous scientist. “Wwwwaaabwyyyy?”
“Ohhh, Smiley, it’s been so LOOoooong! I’m so sorry for locking you in that garage, oooohhh!”
“Wabwwwaaaaa.”
“Thaaat’s right, I’M your daaaddyyyyy! And I’ve got you a SPECIAL treat!” He held up a tiny butterscotch.
“Waaaambwyyyyy?”
“Yeeees CANdyyyyy! Enjoy it to your HEART’S content!”
A giant cannon emerged from the distance and took aim toward Smiley. The prisoners watched as the cannon blasted a tremendous, wrapped piece of candy in purple wrapping. Attracted, the Smiley blob wobbled over with its mouth wide open. He swallowed the tasty treat whole, its gooey mouth wobbling as it chewed and savored the taste. However, after a few minutes, it stopped chewing, and froze in place. The group shut their eyes when the mountain of sludge suddenly brimmed with pure white, blinding the whole region. White soon engulfed the whole area when the toxic demon vanished in a humongous explosion.
When the light cleared, their mouths dropped open wide. The monster exploded into a tremendous cloud of thick, purple gas, slowly spreading across the island. “Wh…What is that?!” Haruka yelled.
“It’s Bang Gas!!” Nolan exclaimed.
“SHUROrororooo! At long last, my special Bang Gas-Z is COOOMPLEEETE! In a matter of seconds, ANYONE caught in its cloud will morph into a full-fledged SUPER mutant! I wouldn’t stand outside too long if I were you, booooyyys! Oh, and just ditch those protection suits! They can’t protect you against THAT!”
“R…Right away, Master Caesar!” the men outside yelled, quickly ditching their suits. “AAAAHHH!” They hightailed away before the gas could swallow them.
“Grrrr!” Dillon struggled to force the chi-block cuffs off of him. “If we don’t get outta here, we’re good as gassed!”
“Even if we break away, we’ll never be able to get into an entrance!” Haruka exclaimed.
“Can’t you just poisonbend it??” Maddy yelled.
“I can’t bend Bang Gas like Caesar, it’s way too thick!”
“Well, I guess this is it.” Zach moaned as he shut his eyes in despair. “I hope I at least morph into a Yipper human.”
“Don’t give up NOW!” They looked as Aeincha climbed out of Nolan’s coat, the Lilliputian vibrant as ever.
“Who’re you?” Zach asked.
“I’m Aeincha! I came in Mr. York-san’s coat! It was sweaty!”
“Well, can you get us outta here??” Maddy asked frantically.
“Nooo problem! It’s time for a taste of TEENY power!” She joyfully hopped over to Nolan and stuck her tiny arms into his handcuff keyhole. After fiddling with the locks, the Sandman broke free. With that, she hopped over to uncuff Zach and Maddy’s hands, but she had trouble with Dillon and Haruka. “Uh-oh. These chi-blocking cuffs have some… special security.”
“No problem- Ow.” Nolan grunted as he helped himself up. “I can… get us outta here.” He limped toward the cell door and bumped into it forcefully, several times until it came open. He grabbed the bars outside and climbed to the top of the cage, and Dillon and Haruka held Maddy and Zach as the latters climbed up after. Once all were on top, Nolan proceeded to take out a grappling hook. “Thankfully I had this spare one just in case. Everybody, grab on.”
All the kids held onto Sandman as he took aim at the crane which hung their cage. He launched the grappler and latched the top of the crane, swinging the group across the roofs and into the hatch which they were lifted out of. They recovered and faced Caesar and his henchmen, while Nolan limped over and helped himself into his wheelchair. “Grrrr. You kids ARE troublesome. The TWO of you, leave and see to the rest of the laboratory. I’ll deal with them mySELF.”
Vergo and Monet nodded and left their master. “Come along, Leo!” Monet said caringly as she led the giant, dimwitted child along.
“Shurorororororo! Are you impressed?? At last, my special Bang Gas-Z RISES again! However, there is a distinct difference from the gas from 23 years ago: the mutants infected with it were super, true, but they didn’t last long AT ALL! But now, using all the blood samples I extracted from the children after all that NHC10, my gas has come into PERFECTION! With over 10,000 gallons of this Bang Gas-Z, I will be able to make THOUSANDS of brand new, super-powered Devil Fruits!! All my customers will be filled with glee, and I’ll be SWIMMING in dough!”
“What in the world WAS that blob monster, anyway?!” Nolan demanded.
“Shurororo! THAT, my friends, was once the enormous cloud of Bang Gas that swallowed the island more than 20 years ago! Using my superb powers, I bunched ALL of that delicious gas into a humongous blob of sludge. I kept the little devil inside that garage until the time came to let him out, and my SPECIAL formula was complete. Ahhhh.” He wiped a tear from his eye. “It only seems like yesterday when I exploded him the first time. His gaseous cloud, ENGULFING everything, and making me what I am today.” He grinned evilly. “My skin turned white, horns appeared on my head, and I was FULLY awakened as a metahuman!”
“Oh, I understand.” Nolan spoke up. “That’s your depressing backstory: the gas mutated you and you felt like a freak, so you made it your life’s goal to mutate everything ELSE around you, too.”
“Depressing?! Are you mad?! It’s the best thing to happen to me in YEARS! My own body, genetically altered… it felt like a dream come true. Huuuu.” He sighed grumpily. “Unfortunately, the gas I produced back THEN was faulty, and it wasn’t STRONG enough! All these people, including myself, only developed simple HORNS! No special powers or anything! That’s why… I decided to reCREATE the experiment, with the greatest batch of Bang Gas around!”
“Well, it’s time someone put you in your place!” Nolan declared. “I’m bringing you to justice once and for all!”
“LET’S see you TRY it!”
“You kids stand back, I can take him.” Nolan told the operatives as he fixed his gas mask on. “This takes a little gas vs. gas.”
“We’ll just SEE who’s the gassiest around here!” Caesar declared. “But just ‘cause I’m a good sport, I’ll give you a 30-second head start. Get ready, Nolan! It’s the Sandman vs. the GASman!”
Boss fight: Caesar Clown
Caesar merely stood there smugly as Nolan rolled forward. The Sandman stood up and proceeded to deal the first few punches, but his fists went right through his gassy body. “ShuroROROROROroro!” Nolan angrily kept swinging his fists, but his attacks did nothing. “Well, COME ON! You just gonna swing your fists around aimlessly or are you gonna FIGHT me??”
“Dad, he’s a Logia-type!” Dillon yelled. “He can’t be touched!”
“A Logia?”
“ShuROROrororo! Awww, you spoiled the surpriiiise.” Caesar frowned. He looked at his nonexistent watch, “Ooh! ! Only 10 seconds LEEEeeeeft! What’re you gonna DO, Nolan?...” He evil smile was more witty than ever.
It was then that Nolan remembered one of Dodds’ most important lessons…
Nolan was 18 years old. He threw quick punches against his mentor as Wesley defended, until Nolan kicked his leg and knocked him down. “Hoo…” Wesley sighed as he got back up, and Nolan sat in his chair. “Well, broken legs or not… you’ve really shaped up.”
“Heh, before you know it, I’ll be kicking your butt WITHOUT needing my wheelchair!”
“Almost, Son… but even though you beat me, there’s some enemies that are just untouchable. I’ve told you about Logia humans, haven’t I?”
“Yeah, like Madame Rouge.”
“And she gave you a bit of trouble, didn’t she?”
“Shyeah…”
“In regular circumstances, such people are almost invincible. However… it’s time I teach you a special ability that everyone has.”
“Wh…What’s that?”
“Haki. The art of pushing your own senses beyond their limit. Haki revolves around taking the natural human senses, and enhancing them through your own power. Doing so usually requires channeling your body’s chi, kind of like what the benders do. Here’s an example:” Wesley raised his fist, and Nolan stared amazed as his arm seemed to turn to iron. Wesley ran forward and PUNCHED the ground, causing it to crack.
“Whooooaa!”
“That there was Armament Haki. This is an enhancement of your own physical strength. Making your body seem hard as iron as you deal incredible damage, and shield yourself from other attacks. But it’s not just that: Armament Haki allows one to penetrate the defenses of Logia humans.”
“So I could beat someone like Madame Rouge?”
“Exactly. Next, there’s Observation Haki, the more basic move. This one requires extending the senses, detecting how many living things there are in one area, and even predicting the enemies’ next moves by reading just their movements. This power originated from psychicbenders’ senses.”
“It’s kind of like earthbenders, too.”
“Yes, but they could only see things on the ground. Anyway, those are the two main forms of Haki… but there’s also a third type: Conqueror’s Haki. A very powerful form, found in only a choice few people: it allows one to knock out hundreds of enemies through just intimidation. Of course… neither of us have it. But the first two, however, are found in every being. It only matters whether or not one has the willpower to unleash it. The art of showing no fear… that’s what Haki is.”
“Hmmm…”
“You may take awhile to perfect it… but it’ll come to you in time. Anyway… let’s begin your first lesson.”
And after all this time… Nolan finally needed it. “Five… four… three… two…” Caesar kept counting, still with his cocky grin.
With all his might, Nolan threw his fist, and PUNCHED Caesar upside the chin. The kids’ mouths dropped as the clown flew backward, smashing into a wall. “Ooooww!” Caesar stood up, angry as his nose bled. “Y-You’re a… HAKI user?!”
Nolan stretched his fingers before balling his fist, a serious look behind his mask. “Where’s your Logia now?”
“Hurrrr! I don’t need Logia for YOU!” Caesar blasted a cloud of gas, but Nolan’s mask made him immune.
“Heh!” Nolan proceeded to deal more punches across Caesar’s face, before knocking the scientist several feet to his left. Nolan got in his chair, and Caesar got up and glared as Nolan rolled toward him for more.
“AIRLESS WORLD!” Caesar exclaimed as he slammed his hands together.
“Gu-ack!” Nolan stopped and suddenly couldn’t breathe, falling from his chair as he tried to gasp.
“Dad!”
“ShuroROROrorororo! It’s true, I can’t fully control air like an airbender, but either way you look at it, oxygen is a gas, too! The air is so purified, however, that most poisonbenders can’t control it. But I’ve ascended to the level where I can manipulate it! I’ve removed the oxygen around you, so even your GAS mask can’t give you breath!”
“So THAT’S how he was able to stop the S.P.I.C.E.R.’s flame!” Haruka deduced. “Fire needs oxygen in order to blare!”
“And that’s not the LEAST of it!” Caesar exclaimed as he whipped out a hilt with no sword. They watched as a blue beam of energy emerged and shaped like a sword, and Caesar swung it around.
“He’s got a lightsaber!” Dillon pointed.
“Not quite!” Caesar corrected. “I channel the oxygen I’ve extracted around this lighter, to create my very own oxidized flame! And now it’s time for Mr. York to MEET his destiny!” He raised his lightsaber and was about to bring it down on Nolan’s neck.
Time seemed to stop around the Sandman as the world faded to darkness. A green glow came from his coat, and he reached in to pull out his Gem of Dreams: a gift from the Nightmare Spirit, Morpheus. He clutched the gem tight and closed his eyes.
Caesar brought the flaming sword down, but- “Huhn?!” Sandman’s body suddenly transformed into sand and breezed backward as it brought his chair along. The sand formed onto the chair, and Nolan’s body was back. “Y-You’re a Logia-type SANDbender?!”
“Not exactly. It’s a special power from the Gem of Dreams. It was Wesley’s last gift to me, given to him from the spirit, Morpheus.”
“Ohhh… THAT guy. Siiiigh.” Caesar looked at his “watch” again. “You know, this fight’s slowly losing my interest. I’ve got other things to do, sooo…” He stuck his fingers in his mouth and made a whistle. (Play “You Should Have Listened To My Warning” from Batman: Arkham City.)
The doors opened as a squad of Caesar’s minions scurried in. They felt the ground quake, and the kids gaped as none other than Mocha stomped in, her eyes still lifeless as she craved the tasty sweet. “Caaaandyyyyy.”
“I thought things would be a little more fun this way.” Caesar remarked. “Let’s get ready tooooo TANGOOOO!” And with that, the clown flew away as the group readied to battle the minions.
Sub-boss: Mocha
Nolan and the operatives worked together to battle the underlings, dealing the first few hits against them, but Nolan jumped back when Mocha punched down at him. “Raaaaahhh!” Drooling with hunger, the giant child kept trying to punch him, but Nolan dodged, sped forward, and pushed the child backward, making her fall to her hands and knees. Nolan began to lay a series of punches across her face.
“Dad, be careful, she’s a friend!” Dillon yelled, trying to bash some minions with his cuffed hands. The iron-hard cuffs proved to be very helpful.
“Yeah, don’t worry!” With Mocha dizzied, Nolan grabbed her thick hair and flung himself onto her head.
“Raaaahh!” Mocha roared like a monster as Nolan had her tamed, and as the minions surrounded them, Mocha swung her arms around to swat them away. A squad of minions jumped and grabbed onto the giant, but Mocha charged forward like a bull and RAMMED headfirst into a wall, knocking the minions off as the girl gripped her head. Nolan hopped off and started to beat away more minions. Two tried to punch him, but Nolan grabbed their fists and swiftly flipped over to knock them down.
Dillon jumped off a minion’s head and caught his arms and cuffs around another one’s neck, causing him to choke. Dillon helped himself off as Maddy ran to kick the man’s stomach. Mocha shortly recovered as she stomped toward Nolan, trying to punch down at the cripple. “Heeeey, Mocha!” She looked over as Zach held up a piece of the fake butterscotch. “I have tasty caaaandyyyy!”
“Raaahhh!” Mocha desperately stomped toward the boy and swung her arms aimlessly. Zach ran around a bunch of minions and caused the giant to swat them all away. Zach was cornered against a wall, but- “Too slow!” he dodged between her legs when she tried to grab him. She turned around, but that’s when Nolan sped over and shoved her against the wall, knocking her down. The Sandman dealt more punches across her face before hopping on her head.
He began to control Mocha again as she stomped around and swatted away minions. Some minions that were knocked on the ground, Mocha stomped on them and crushed their bones like sticks. Haruka wrapped her cuffs around another man’s neck as the giant girl stomped toward him. Haruka ran before the giant punched the man against the ground, then shook Nolan off of her head. Nolan was back in his chair as Mocha came for him, but he simply boosted and knocked her down again. Nolan dealt more punches across her face, until finally, “Armament!” he dealt a forceful uppercut, shot into the air, and PUNCHED straight down on her cranium. The giant girl wobbled dizzily before falling to her front, shaking the floor upon impact. (End song.)
“Siiiigh.” Nolan sighed with shame. “I just beat up a little girl… for shame. By the way, why is she giant, anyway?”
“Ever heard of a drug called NHC10?” Haruka asked.
“Ahh. Say no more.”
“We can’t let Caesar give them any more of that stuff!” Dillon exclaimed.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got a plan.”
The doors opened again, and they heard the patter of rushing feet. “Nolan!” Crystal and Yuki came hurrying in the room, followed by Sector W7.
“Crystal! Yuki!”
“Whoa, what happened here?” Yuki asked, seeing the unconscious men and giant girl.
“Long story. Where’ve you guys been?”
“Trying to find Dillon and the kids.” Crystal stated.
“By the way, did you happen to notice the-“ Yuki started.
“-gigantic cloud of Bang Gas that’s filling up the island?” Nolan finished. “This whole situation just turned into something else. We’ll hopefully be safe as long as we’re in the building; but that’s as long as all of the entrances are closed.”
“Didn’t Sector W7 leave a hole in the building with their train?” Yuki asked.
“Oh, crap!!”
“That hole was near the playroom, too!” Haruka yelled. “What if Caesar brought the kids back there?”
Nolan checked his map, the worry rushing in his chest. “It says there’s two entrances to the playroom, a front and back. The train crashed near the front, so; assume that way is blocked by now, and hurry around to the back!”
“But how’re we gonna get everyone out of here??” Dillon questioned.
Nolan skimmed the map, and saw there was a deep, lower floor. “Hey! There’s a group of interconnected tunnels beneath the island that lead miles under the ocean! I bet Caesar uses these to transport his products! We could all probably escape if we took one of them!”
“But what about my Rocket-san??” Chimney yelled.
“Just sacrifice it, Chimney, our lives are more important.” Apis told her.
“Nnnn… I guess.”
At this time, Dillon’s group had searched the unconscious men’s pockets and found keys to unlock their cuffs. “Phew! Now things should be easier!” Dillon said as he and Haruka rubbed their wrists.
“Any for me??” Yuki said as he frantically ran around and checked all the keys that they had. “Aw, dang!!” To no avail.
“Come on, we have to find the kids and get off this island!” Dillon yelled rushedly.
“But there’s STILL the matter of them being monsters!” Haruka reminded. “It might be bad to bring ‘em to the Undersea Lab if they’re like that!”
“Not quite… I have a plan.” Nolan rolled up to Mocha and pulled out a syringe to extract some blood from the unconscious giant. “Do any of you have a sample of the candy?” Haruka held up her saved candy piece. Nolan took it, then rolled over to one of Caesar’s machines. “Since Mocha’s been exposed to this stuff for years, I can probably use her blood sample and the equipment in this lab to whip up an antibody.”
“Since when are YOU the medical specialist?” Crystal remarked.
“Um, Mr. York?” Haruka spoke up. “Do you think I could help make up the cure? I’ve done a lot of studying, and…”
“Yeah, you should!” Dillon perked. “Haruka can heal almost any injury, she’d be a big help!”
“She even helped heal ME once!” Aeincha beamed.
“Well… I guess it’s okay. But; no time to lose! Crystal, I want you and Dillon’s group to find the other kids and lead them to safety; even if they’re monstrified. Yuki, I want you and Sector W7 to find the room where Caesar creates his Devil Fruits, and shut it down. I’d like to kill two birds in one stone on this mission.”
“Oi, why’re YOU giving the orders, adaruto-san?!” Chimney asked hatefully.
“Gyom-gyom!”
“Look, just DO it, okay? If we can stop Caesar’s Bang Gas business entirely, we’ll never have to worry about anyone using this Bang Gas-Z stuff. Crystal, Yuki, I’ve sent the location of the underground tunnels to your cellphones.” The two checked their phones. “Make your way there after you’ve completed your assignments. Now hurry up, and whatever you do, stay AWAY from the Bang Gas.”
The two teams nodded seriously and dashed away, while Nolan and Haruka began to work in the laboratory.
Building R Control Room
Caesar and a squad of his minions watched the monitors as Bang Gas-Z slowly filled up the building. He smiled humorously as the two teams hurried off to complete their assignments. “Shurorororororo! Those fools will NEVER save everyone in time!” He pulled out a communicator and spoke, “Are the two of you in place?”
Biscuit Room
The swarm of multiracial kids struggled to break free as they were trapped inside solid ice. Monet hovered around the ceiling as she caused snow to fall. She spoke into the watch on her wing, “The children are secured nice and tight, Caesar! I can’t wait to ambush those kids if they come!”
Devil Fruit Production Chamber
General Vergo leaned along a railing as he stared at the series of huge containers and machines. He spoke into his phone, “The SMILEs chamber is safe for now. I will exterminate anyone who comes.”
Control Room
“Shurororororo! If those guys want a PARTY, I say we GIVE ‘EM one! Ohhhhh, they’re going to have SO much fun, theeeey’ll juuuuust diiiiiieeee!”
Everyone’s sights were set. Crystal’s focused on the Biscuit Room, where Monet waited, Yuki focused on the SMILE room, where Vergo waited. And once Nolan was done with his projects, he was heading for Caesar. Their missions were set… and so were their battles.
Hoooo. Wow, this chapter actually went a lot better than expected! Earlier, it was so much different; Nolan was actually supposed to fight Caesar later, and we were actually gonna fight Monet, but I like how this turned out better. This way, I think I actually save time. X) But yeah, things are getting pretty rushed here, I mean all this crap is happening, we gotta get the children out, the base is filling with gas, etc.. X) So next time, we will attempt to do all those things and find a way out of this mess. So see you later!
Chapter 9: Operation: CLOWN, Part 5: Mocha’s Sacrifice
Summary:
The heroes struggle to escape Punk Hazard while saving the kids. As Crystal and Yuki battle Caesar's henchmen, a sacrifice is made.
Chapter Text
Okay, everybody, it's time to make like they do on One Piece and GET to rushin' mode!
Chapter 5: Mocha’s Sacrifice
Building R Control Room
"Shurororororo!" Caesar cackled joyously, watching the monitors. "Ahhh, look at those fools scurry like simple rats! I can't WAIT to see how they look as SUPER-mutants!"
As his surrounding henchmen watched the monitors as well, they noticed something very familiar about that Bang Gas. "M…Master Caesar?" one spoke.
"Hmmm? What?"
"That explosion earlier… well… it looks just like the explosion from 25 years ago. The one that mutated all of us."
"Mmmmm…" Caesar tried to think.
"You said…You said Gerald Robotnik caused that explosion… didn't you?"
"…" Caesar could still remember that day.
25 years ago. Punk Hazard was still an active place. And Caesar was much younger. He hadn't created his gassy coat yet, his horns were absent, and his hair was much shorter. He stood before a machine with a container of Bang Gas, staring at the red button with malice. "What are you doing?..." He turned around, seeing the bald man with the white mustache, and blue glasses that was his master: Gerald Robotnik. "You know that thing is experimental. You can doom us all."
But Caesar wasn't scared. He merely grinned maniacally as he declared, "I'm willing to risk ANYTHING for the sake of SCIENCE!"
"Don't people's lives matter to you?! People were never meant to be test subjects! Some things are more important than science…"
"Is THIS coming from my so-called MASTER?! To call you the greatest scientist in the world is an INSULT to us all! One day, I will show the world that CAESAR Jonathan Clown is the greatest genius in the world, and NOT your inferior intellect!"
"Caesar! Wait-"
"In the name of science-" he raised his finger high above the button, "I PRESS THEEEEE!" His finger slammed down, and in just 10 seconds, the island exploded with Bang Gas.
A few years passed before Caesar returned. He cleared the humongous cloud of Bang Gas and stuffed it into a garage in the Burning Lands. He was ecstatic to see what mutants became of the people who remained on the island. To his disappointment… there was little change about them. Well, their lower bodies were those of animals, and they had horns… but they were barely mutated at all.
"Ho-o-o-o, THANK you, Master Caesar!" one of the men exclaimed tearily. "If we can all get home!..."
"HOME?? Do you expect GUN to let you run around with THOSE?!" He indicated their animal parts. "I had only just escaped my imprisonment because I was mutated! I'm a freeeeeaaaak." His face bore a very sad look as he wept. "And they'll treat YOU all the same way, TOO. And it's ALL that Gerald Robotnik's fault! Letting out all that Bang Gas… The only way you'll survive in this world is if you stay with me. GUN will be afraid to come back here because of what's happened… so as long as you stay here and work under me, you'll never have to worry about arrest…" And his evil smile returned.
Caesar's head was down as he sighed depressedly. "I tried to stop him… but he inSISTed on blowing it up. He wanted to do ANYthing for the sake of science. He never cared about the lives of his workers… and because of him, neither of us can ever go home. And the only way to make money is to sell to criminals using this underground business. I'm terribly sorry…" he sniffled and held an arm over his weeping eyes, "I can't do anything more for you."
"Oh, it's okay, Master!" They all grinned. "You saved us all to begin with! We're sorry we ever doubted you!"
"Ohhh… my loyal minions…" Caesar smiled with joy, tears still dripping from his yellow eyes. They all focused on the monitors again, as his tears faded and his evil grin returned.
Crystal's group, down a hall
Crystal and Dillon's group kept running as the former stared at her phone's map. "This way!" she yelled, running down a right hall. The group immediately stopped when the cloud of purple gas was headed their way.
"Wrong way, wrong way!" Dillon yelled as they retreated further down the previous hall.
"Guess we'll have to go the long way." Crystal figured.
"They're closing the doors up ahead!" Maddy pointed as a row of metal doors were closing down the hall.
"Better make a break for it!" Crystal yelled. The woman swiftly slid under the doors just before they closed, followed by the others, and the Bang Gas was shielded for now.
"Phew. Let's hope Caesar isn't planning to open them again." Dillon huffed.
The team of four made several more turns until they finally made it to the back entrance. "This is it!" Crystal confirmed. The witch was the first to burst in as she twirled and aimed her staff. "Children, do not be alarmed. We're here to-" Their eyes widened at what the playroom had become: snow was blizzarding all around, as if the roof had been opened to let in the outside air. The children were frozen solid, still with their ravenous expressions.
"Mm... ha ha ha ha ha!" They looked up as Monet hovered over them, snow falling from her wings. "Well well... I see some people were tardy to the party."
"Who are you?!" Crystal demanded as she aimed her staff.
"I'm Monet Sinclaire. Caesar's secretary. Hm-hm, you shouldn't worry about these children. I can assure you, I'm taking good care of them. Nothing controls their temper better than chilling their bones."
"That's not how you deal with these types of situations." Crystal stated. "And judging by all this snow, I assume you're an icebender."
"Hm hm hm, that's right. But I much prefer snow. It has a much more... angelic feel to it."
"Angelic, huh? What are you, a Nimbi?" Dillon asked curiously.
"Not quite. I ate one of Caesar's Devil Fruits: the Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Harpy. This, combined with my icebending makes me a Bird of the Snow, like Articuno." She winked.
"Well, if there's one thing that's overstayed its welcome, it's all this snow." Crystal remarked.
"I don't mind all these snow days." Zach noted.
"Well, it's not healthy without protective clothing anyway, so-" Crystal blasted a fireball to the bird woman, but Monet zipped down and scratched her upside the head with her talons. Dillon flew up with Shadow Glide and tried to come down on her, but Monet swatted him away with her wings, then Zach and Maddy ran to try and punch her, but she flapped her huge wings and blew them back.
"Looks like she's an airbender, too." Dillon noticed.
"Not exactly, it's really a special power given from the Devil Fruit." Monet smiled. "Likely resulted from harvesting from all these Nimbi kids."
"Hurrrr!" Crystal charged again and tried to whack the bird woman, but she grabbed the witch's staff in her talons and twirled it away from her hands, then forced the woman against the wall. Crystal struggled to stand up, but the bird woman blasted ice and froze her against the wall. She turned and saw the other kids charging for her, so the woman flapped her wings and formed a giant ball of snow above her. She hurled the snow at the three kids and had them buried in an instant.
"Nnnn!" The kids struggled to shake out of the snow. It felt thick as glue.
"Hm hm hm, my snow is as strong as regular ice… except stronger." Monet smirked. "And besides, when one is buried in something so beautiful, who would want to climb out? You'll be frozen ice cubes in mere minutes." She winked again. "It was fun playing with you, but we're on a very tight schedule. But don't worry, we aren't leaving you out of the party. Once I go get the candy, I'll distribute evenly. Hm hm hm!" And with one last wink, the woman flapped out of the playroom and froze the entrance on her way out.
With Yuki's group
"OIIIII! TO VICTORY, CHAAAAANS!" Chimney cried as she ran like a cheetah down the halls.
"Do you even know where you're going?!" Yuki yelled as they struggled to stay after her.
"NO IDEA!" she yelled as she and Gonbe left a trail of dust in their wake.
"You know, I think my foot's starting to feel better." Aisa mentioned as Apis still had to carry her.
"Just in case, we should try not to put much pressure on it."
Chimney and Gonbe made a zip down a left hall, but stopped as the Bang Gas-Z was flowing their way. "GYAAAH BAD IDEA!" They dashed back.
"Gyom-gyooom!"
They hurried away faster while Yuki looked back, feeling nervous at the incoming gas cloud. "Grrrr!" He stopped, grabbed his pack's hose, and began to freeze an ice wall as fast as he could. By the time he finished, only a little bit of gas was able to leak through, so they got away safely. "Wonder how long the ice can hold. Better find this Devil Fruit room fast."
Chimney and Gonbe zipped down another left hall, speeding past a door, before coming back and standing still before the door. 'DEVIL FRUIT PRODUCTION CHAMBER'. "OIII! On'nanoko-chans, I FOUND IIIIT!" She ran in first.
The others stopped before the door as well. "All right!" Apis cheered as they ran in.
The SMILEs Chamber was a huge factory room with many large containers of Devil Fruit substance. They stood on a wide-open balcony that overlooked the chamber. Standing along the balcony's ledge was General Vergo. "Who're you?" Yuki simply asked.
"It's not polite to demand someone's name before giving your own. I am Vergo. Former general in the G.U.N.. I assume you are acquainted with young Mr. York."
"Yah… and how do you know him?"
"I was acquainted with his father. And to be frank, I am amazed… Young Sand-san can feel no anger after knowing I was responsible for his father's death."
"What?!" Yuki suddenly felt furious.
"It seems he really has taken a liking to Batman. He is very close-minded. Not letting himself feel. What a pitiful man…"
"Maybe he just doesn't want his head clouded with negative thoughts. Did you ever think of that?"
"No matter how you look at it, it is a pitiful sight. He only adopted that persona with the hopes of making a difference in this world. In the end… he does not possess the strength. His dreams are only hopeless-"
"OIIII!" Chimney screamed. "Don't say that 'bout Mr. York-san! He may be an ugly adaruto, but he fights 'cause he believes in good and peace! And that's a dream worth fighting for!"
"Hmph… only simple little girls would idol someone for pursuing a futile dream. Only because such girls pursue their own silly dreams."
"What?!" Chimney yelled.
"I've done research on you, Sector W7… do you really believe you'll get anywhere? A train that can go almost anywhere?" Chimney gritted her teeth. "Taking cosmetology to new heights with a small size?" Aeincha furrowed her eyes. "Thinking friendships will last forever?" April kept her emotionless frown, but inside, she was slightly hurt. "Little girls' dreams are just little girls' dreams. They yell all they want… but ultimately, their voices are unheard."
"Grrrr TRY AND UNHEAR THIS, Baka-saaan!" Chimney dashed and leaped to kick the general, but Vergo easily grabbed her foot and held her upside-down.
"Hm… and just as well, little girls' actions mean nothing." With that, he threw Chimney back, the girl sliding across the floor.
"You know, Nolan may not feel any personal grudges, but that doesn't mean I can't be angry for him as his friend." Yuki stated. "I'll kick your ass all by myself."
"Oi! WE'RE helping, too!" Chimney reminded as she got to her feet.
"Hm… a chi-blocked icebender with only a backpack." Vergo looked smug behind his sunglasses. "Though you might fair better if you had this." He held up a tiny key in his fingers.
"Hu?!" Yuki gasped. "That's the…"
"Key to your cuffs." Vergo hid the key back under his coat. "You have no chance at taking it from me."
"Five against one, those're pretty fair numbers." Yuki smirked.
"Gyom-gyom!" Gonbe furrowed.
"Oh, six."
"A-hem!" Aeincha huffed.
"Um… you're kinda small."
"So??"
"Ugh, forget it. I'm taking that key back now. Haaah!" He ran for the general and attempted to throw a punch.
"Armament."
The minute Yuki's fist collided, the icebender felt pain surge through. "…Ooooooww!"
The strong general dealt a forceful punch against Yuki and knocked him back. "Nolan-san is not the only one skilled with Haki. I happen to be quite proficient with Armament Haki. My armor is impenetrable."
"Grrr!" Yuki growled at the man as his nose bled. The icebender got up and blasted ice from his pack, only for Vergo to dodge like lightning and punch him away again.
"You sacrifice so much for your friend. That's why you tirelessly travel between countries to assist him. In the end… this will cause you to die."
Yuki flipped to his feet and blasted iceballs as fast as he could. Vergo stood in place as only his arms moved, punching away each shot before zipping over to kick Yuki's legs. Yuki weakly opened his eyes as Vergo stood over him. "Before your untimely passing, I would like you to address me as Vergo-san. It will ultimately establish my victory over you."
"Oiiii!" Vergo looked over at a furious Chimney. "You'll have to get all SEVEN of us to call you THAT, Baka-san! Let's get 'im, on'nanokos!" Chimney ran at him first, throwing a series of punches and kicks which Vergo easily blocked. He glanced right when Aisa dashed up, wielding an Impact Dial, but Vergo zipped over, threw a punch, only for Aisa to swiftly dodge right. Apis ran from behind in attempt to jump and cover the man's eyes, but when she jumped, Vergo flipped and kicked her away. April ran to try and paint a pink symbol on him, but he gripped her face and threw her back.
"It seems you kids are far from learning true respect. It looks like I must teach it to you… the hard way."
Laboratory
Nolan and Haruka watched as the glass tube of blue potion emerged from the machine. Nolan carefully opened the tube and poured it into his syringe. "This antibody should hold off the effects of the NHC10; but we'll have to rely on the Undersea Lab to cure them entirely."
"I wonder if the Undersea Lab can really handle all these kids." Haruka replied.
"I wouldn't underestimate them. They once cured Heinrich von Marzipan when he was a chocolate monster; in fact, he was a Logia-type. They should be able to heal the kids of their, um, giantosis."
"I hope so." Haruka frowned. "I just can't get over what happened outside. Those giants just… squished those Minish and Kateenians without any thought. I've never seen anything so horrible!"
"Don't worry, this potion should be enough to stop their rampaging. But, I just wanna say… you've been a big help." He smiled behind his mask. "In the future, I think you'd make a great doctor."
"Hm hm hm!" she smiled lightly. "Thanks. Well… we should probably fix Mocha, now." She said as she looked at their giant friend. "It's hard to see her like this…"
"Mmmmm…" The giant girl as mentioned was starting to recover, much to their worry. The two kept their guard up, expecting the worst as she stood all the way up. "Ohhh…" She rubbed her aching head, and when she opened her eyes, the two were surprised: Mocha's gray-purple eyes had returned. They weren't zombified or mad for candy. "What…What happened…"
"M…Mocha?" Haruka spoke.
"Haruka? Where is everyone?" She looked around.
"Are…Are you okay?" Nolan asked.
"I think so… my head hurts for some reason."
Nolan glanced away in a nervous/guilty fashion. "W-Wait… you aren't crazy for candy?"
"N-No… for some reason, I'm over it."
Nolan and Haruka exchanged weirded glances. "Do you think knocking her senseless is what drove her back?" Haru asked.
"I dunno. But honestly, I don't have the strength to beat up a swarm of giant kids. We better use this antidote."
"Huh? What're you guys talking about?" Mocha asked with worry.
Haruka looked up at her with a sorrowful look. "Mocha… there's something you need to see. Come on, we have to find the other kids."
"Take this." Nolan said, tossing her the syringe. "I'm going to skim this place and see if Caesar has any weaknesses. I may need to if I'm to stand a chance against his Airless power."
"But what if the gas comes?" Haru asked.
"I'll pull through. Just get going."
"Okay… Come on, Mocha." The girl nodded and allowed Haruka onto her hands before hurrying down the hall.
Nolan watched them leave with an anxious look before searching the laboratory for clues.
As Mocha carried her friend down the vacant hall, she could only feel worried. Tonight, she was just hoping to have another slumber party with her friends, playing Truth or Dare, Hide-and-Seek, Leap-frog… Why did Haruka look so concerned? Who was that man? Where were her friends? Are they… okay?
Flap… Flap…
"Psst, Mocha, stop." Haruka told her in a hushed tone as they stopped before an intersected, rightward hall. Mocha backed against the wall before the corner as they listened.
From down the hall, Monet held a huge, orange-wrapped candy in her talons as she flapped along. "Good thing I was able to hold back the gas with my ice. If I wasn't able to get this candy, Caesar would've killed me."
"Quick, hide me!" Haruka told Mocha. The giant girl looked around frantically before decided to drop Haruka down the back of her shirt. The Dimalanta held the edge of her shirt and peeped up as Mocha turned to face Monet when she came.
"Oh? Mocha!" Monet smiled. "I was wondering where you were. Oh… and you look…"
"Well… my head hurts." The girl rubbed her cranium. "Monet… what's going on?"
"Hm hm, everything will be fine, Sweetie." She smiled with an assuring, but devious look. "Come on, I'll take you to your friends. Then you can all have delicious candy."
"Mmm…" Mocha nodded, but felt suddenly distrustful toward the bird woman. Monet kept flying along with the candy as Mocha stomped after her.
Monet pulled out her wristwatch (wingwatch) communicator and spoke, "This is Monet. I've frozen the first group and I'm bringing the candy to the kids."
Control Room
“EXCELLENT, Monet! Ohhh, but be careful with that stuff. Thanks to that blasted Kaleo kid, I’ve lost ALL the NHC10 I was going to feed them in the next month. Thankfully, I’ve saved that particular batch you’re carrying just in case. It’s a stronger variety of the substance that’ll last them a whole week. By then, hopefully I can whip up more of the stuff using all the Bang Gas-Z.”
“These children are quite needy, aren’t they, Master?”
“Oh, you have NO idea! I still remember that day, when I had literally created the FRUIT of my research! The Devil Fruit that would surpass them all!”
It was about 15 years ago. A new batch of kids was coming in. Among them, a 5-year-old with an orange shirt, blue jeans, white shoes, blue eyes, and bowl-cut blonde hair. “WELCOME, kiiiids!” Caesar greeted with his usual upbeat tone. “I do hope you’ll enjoy your stay at Punk Hazard! I’ll try to fix you little guys up as best as I can!”
He began to extract blood-samples. “And what’s YOUR naaame?”
“Joey. Joey Beatles.”
“JOEY, what an exotic name!” the clown exclaimed as he jotted it down. “Are you from Australia? Shurororo! Enjoy your stay, HAVE some candy!” He gave the boy the tiny, poisonous butterscotch.
As Caesar went around to take other samples, Joey only looked at the candy with disgust.
A couple days passed. Joey wasn’t enjoying his stay at all. He wasn’t that into butterscotch, and he was already starving. He decided to leave the other frolicking kids as he searched the laboratory for a kitchen or something. He made his way to a storage room, where there sat a pedestal with a curtain over it. Joey approached the stand and pulled the cloth off.
“Whooooaa!” His eyes sparkled with wonder. There sat a big, ball-shaped, green fruit with little dark-green circles. He didn’t understand what it was… but it looked so tasty.
The little 5-year-old bounced up and down before he managed to knock the fruit off its perch. He picked it up and started to munch away, savoring the taste. “Ohhhh…” The tasty sensation didn’t last long. His stomach started to feel really woozy. And his body… felt…
“I guaranTEE you, Doflamingo, you won’t be disappointed!” Caesar exclaimed in his phone as he stepped down the hall. “The Mammal-Mammal Fruit is my greatest work ever! Once you see its power in action,” he opened the storage room door, “you will NEVER want it to leave your sight… IT’S GOOOONE!!!”
Indeed, the tasty fruit was gone from its perch. All that remained were a few tiny crumbs beside the cloth that covered it. “What?!” Caesar dropped his phone and began frantically searching the ground. “Where is it? Where is it? Where IS it?!” He cried to the heavens, “NNNOOOOOO!”
Unbeknownst to him, a tiny, green spider clutched the opposite side of the pedestal.
A few more days passed. Joey remained hidden from Caesar’s minions, in the form of whatever tiny bug he wanted to be. He mostly hung around the playroom, as a fly on the wall as he watched the frolicking bunch. He noticed the giant kids seemed to be getting progressively slower. He decided to buzz around the base and search for Caesar. He spied from outside his laboratory as the clown spoke with Vergo. “How long do you think those giants will last?” The latter asked.
“Ohhhh I’d give about 3 days at best.” Caesar said. “Those kids overstayed their welcome. Which is good because I’ll need to harvest a bunch MORE Devil Fruits to make up for losing that Mammal-Mammal. Speaking of which, WHERE is that Joey kid?! I haven’t seen him in days and he’s LATE for his checkup!”
“Finding him has been surprisingly difficult. I wouldn’t be surprised if he… escaped somehow.”
“Siiigh. Well, with any luck, they’ll kill him if they deem him freaky enough. So anyway, your boss is sending over a new intern, isn’t he?”
“Yes, her name is Monet. She seems eager to work with you.”
“I’m eager to meet her, shurororororo!” And Joey left as quick as he could, becoming a bird and soaring away from the island.
“Hoooo… the Mammal-Mammal Fruit was going to be my prize.” Caesar moaned. “And that DREADFUL Beatles kid stole it from me. Ohhh, he’s probably out showing it off to ALL the ladies.”
"Hm hm, we still don't really know if he did it. Even if he disappeared around the same time the fruit was stolen…"
"Siiigh, no matter. When all this is done, I'll hopefully be able to make something better. So whatever you do, DON'T lose that candy!"
With Monet
"Hm hm, whatever you say, Caesar!" And the bird-woman hung up. Behind her, Haruka and Mocha still looked concerned.
Biscuit Room
Monet unfroze the entrance and flapped into the still-blizzarding playroom. Mocha gasped with horror: all of her friends were frozen and bore monstrous expressions. She saw that Maddy and Dillon were frozen as well. "Hm hm hm, you can rest easy now, kids!" Monet beamed as she flew over to unfreeze their heads. "I've brought your candy."
"Nnnn caaaaandyyyyy."
"Don't worry, you'll get some, but we'll have to distribute evenly. I've only brought so much."
"H…Haruka?" Mocha spoke lowly, horrified at seeing her friends like that. "What's going on?..."
"I'll explain later, but you have to stop her from feeding them those candies!"
"Mmmm…" Mocha watched as Monet set the bundle on the ground and was about to open it. "Noo!!"
"Oh?" Monet flapped up, surprised when Mocha charged over and rammed her friends' ice cubes.
"Don't worry, guys! I'll get you out!"
Haruka hopped out of her shirt and said, "Save them later, Mocha, just get that candy away!"
"R-Right!" Mocha grabbed the bundle in both arms and tried to make for the exit. However, Monet breezed in her way and froze the entrance again.
"Hm hm, now, Mocha, it's only fair to share with your friends!"
"Nnnnn!" Mocha still clutched the candy tight. Now more than ever, she thought it was a really bad idea to let Monet have it.
"Grrrr!" Haruka growled at the bird-woman. She looked to her frozen friends and said, "Don't worry guys, I'll get you out!" She attempted to blow poison gas on the ice, but the blizzarding winds were just too strong.
"Sooo sorry, little Haru." Monet smiled wittingly. "Your friends have a new interest for ice-sculpture modeling. And I must say, they look positively…" However, she noticed something was off: one of the ice cubes were empty, and it was shaped like Zach. "Huh? Where is…"
"Ahhhh, sorry for the disturbance."
"Huh?"
A few feet away, Zach wore nothing but a towel around his waist as he blew-dry his hair with a blow-dryer. "Ahhh, nothing warms after a shower better than a niiiice blow-dry."
"WE DON'T HAVE ANY SHOWERS IN HERE!!" Monet screamed.
"Hm? Oh, I guess my head was a little numb from all the frostbite. Yo, Maddy, you want some?"
He aimed the blow-dryer at his sister and Dillon, and their ice dissolved in seconds. "There's no WAY that thing is hot enough to melt my ice! !" Monet yelled, her teeth becoming sharp.
"Never underestimate my brother when he watches TV…" Maddy figured.
"How're we gonna unfreeze the other kids?" Dillon asked.
"No problem!" Zach assured. "Just lemme get rid-a all this snow."
He turned up a random thermostat, and the snow dissolved into steam. The "Sexy Jutsu" theme from Naruto started to play as Zach relaxed in a steaming hot-tub, wearing only swim trunks as a bunch of pretty girls in bathing suits surrounded him. "Did Ah tell you girls I'm a real pro at Yipper Duels GX Plus?" he spoke in a smooth tone.
Haru and Maddy poked their heads up with disbelieved looks. "I will never understand where my brother acquires these resources."
"Bo-bobo Kempo is truly the whacked-up fighting style that works." Haruka said.
As the song came to an end, the ice holding the hostage kids melted, and they were freed. "Caaaandyyyy."
With that, all the pretty girls disappeared in puffs of smoke. "Hehe! I combined my Shadow Clone and Sexy Jutsu!"
"DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE A NINJA NOW, TOO!" They all screamed.
"CAAANDYYYY!" The swarm of giants and other kids immediately charged for the huge wrapped bundle.
Haruka blasted a cloud of gas in their way and yelled, "MOCHA, get the candy!"
"Right!" The giant grabbed the bundle and bolted toward the door.
"Now if only I can stick this syringe inside them." Haruka mentioned.
"No problem, I'll distract 'em, then you stick it in!" Zach declared.
"How can YOU distract them?" Maddy asked.
"'Cause I've been drinkin' MILK!"
Music started to play as a bunch of cows in tutus twirled into the room, dancing gracefully in a perfect row beside Zach. The monstrified kids stared with confusion as they stopped and seemed to pay no mind to the candy anymore. The squad of cows and Zach made a few more poses before the song "Drink Your Milk" began.
"…CRUD I forgot the words!" Zach said immediately. His friends did the anime-style falling animation.
"CANDYYYYY!!!" The hoard of kids trampled Zach and the cows and bolted after Mocha.
"Oh no!" Haruka ran to try and stick one of the kids, but Monet flapped down and grabbed the syringe in her talons.
"Hm hm hm!" the bird-woman smirked.
"You know, you are REALLY annoying!"
"Sticks and stones don't hurt MY wings-" A fireball suddenly pelted her from the side, forcing her to drop the syringe.
Crystal caught the potion in her hand and aimed her staff at Monet. "You'll not be getting in OUR way anymore."
"Hm hm. Wanna have another go, huh?"
"Kids, here!" Crystal tossed Dillon the syringe. "I'll hold this witch off."
"Come ooon, let's go help Mocha!" Haruka rushedly told them before running off, the kids following quickly.
"You know, you shouldn't rob kids of their candy." Monet smiled at the purple-haired woman. "If they grow up on solely fruit and vegetables, they may turn into very dull people."
"At least they would grow up at all. You're trying to rob them of their lives and I'm going to stop you."
"Hm hm hm… you humans need to know your limits. It's time… I show you what a freak is truly capable of." (Play "Majestic Wings" from Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance.) Monet threw her wings open and unleashed another strong blizzard around the playroom, freezing the exit shut. The werebird twirled and shot beneath the snow, burrowing beneath before popping up behind Crystal. The witch raised her staff to defend as Monet grabbed it in her talons. They played tug-o-war before Crystal yanked the staff back, and Monet flew back. The wereharpy stood and smirked deviously at the witch.
Boss fight: Monet Sinclaire
Crystal twirled her staff and blasted fireballs, but Monet twirled away and dove beneath the snow. Crystal kept her guard up as Monet popped up from her left, the witch jumping back and pelting Monet's face with fireballs. The harpy swatted them away and flew to the air, gracefully gliding around the room as snow fell from her wings. She finally faced Crystal and flapped her wings quickly, her huge wings blowing Crystal back with a strong wind. Crystal stuck her staff in the snow to stand her ground, but when Monet stopped, the harpy zipped forward and scratched her against the chest with her talons.
Monet tried to force her talons against Wiccan again, but the witch jumped left and blasted fireballs at her again. Monet ran along the ground and avoided as she dashed to Crystal and swung her talons to slash her face. Crystal managed to catch Monet's talons around her staff, and she twirled her staff to make the werebird dizzy, giving Crystal the chance to deal a few whacks to the head.
Monet pulled away and drew out dual-swords, holding one in each talon. She clashed her blades against Crystal's staff from midair before flying behind and slashing Crystal's back. Crystal spun around with a forceful swing of her staff, but Monet jumped and attempted to slash her side, but Crystal jumped back. The witch twirled and spun her staff in attempt to hit Monet, but the bird-woman flew overhead and crossed her swords in an 'X' as she came down for a Ground Pound. Crystal was forced into the deep snow, and as she recovered, Monet glided behind her and formed a row of icy spikes from the ground. With that, she hovered in front of Crystal and forcefully flapped her wings again, slowly pushing Crystal toward the spikes. The witch struggled to stand her ground more than ever, glancing back at the incoming spikes. She squinted her eyes to see the dial on her staff, turning the arrow to point at a shockwave symbol.
"HAAAAH!" Crystal leapt high into the air and jabbed her staff down to create a powerful shockwave. The force was strong enough to smash the ice and blow a wave of snow. Monet burrowed beneath the snow and came back up, unprepared when Crystal ran for her and dealt more whacks to the head. Monet flew up and started to run along the walls near the ceiling, jumping at Crystal every few seconds to slash with her swords. This routine lasted for several seconds until Monet shot beneath the snow and popped up beneath Crystal, sending the witch into the air.
Still beneath the witch, Monet smirked and tossed her swords straight up, sticking Crystal to the ceiling by the sides of her shirt. Monet kept her wicked smile as she spun around the snow beneath Crystal and formed a tall, pointy ice-spike. Crystal glanced down, terrified at the pointy ice. Monet flew up and pulled the swords out, allowing Crystal to fall. The witch twirled her staff quickly as she did another forceful smash-down, destroying the huge spike.
Angered, Monet shot down and swung her blades quicker, but Crystal was still able to defend. The werebird decided to burrow beneath the snow again and move around to pop up and surprise Crystal. Crystal blocked from each of her shots, but Monet kept the routine going. Crystal decided to perform another Ground Pound and blasted all the snow away, revealing Monet underneath. Crystal shot more fireballs before Monet defended with swords.
The werebird flapped to the side of the room and shot at Crystal, blades aimed at both sides as she attempted to slice the witch at high speed. Crystal jumped the werebird's strikes, but was slowly running out of breath as she had to keep jumping. She studied Monet's movements carefully to time her attack just right. Crystal made sure her dial was set, before she leaped into the air, and CRUSHED Monet's back with another forceful Ground Pound.
The harpy dropped the swords and stood up, feeling very dizzy. Finally, Monet plopped onto the snow front-first, unconscious. "Hmm." Crystal smiled with victory and twirled her staff once more. "I've been through with bullies like you since high school. Hm… but I never would've been able to get this far without Nolan. Siiiigh." She sighed sadly. "He must think so little of me… well, there's always hope." (End song.)
In seconds, all of the snow in the room dissolved, and so did the frozen exits. At that instant, the Bang Gas-Z started to flow in from the front entrance. "Uh-oh. It's time to leave." She immediately hurried out of the back exit, leaving Monet's unconscious body to be swallowed in the cloud.
With Haruka
The Dimalanta girl started to pant as she ran aimlessly about the halls. She and the others decided to split up to find the kids faster, but looking back, it might not’ve been the best idea. But when she came into a hall which her previous hall intersected with, she saw Mocha run by from the left, still holding the candy bundle. “Mocha!”
“Haruka!” The giant stopped with surprise.
“CAANDYYYYY!” The swarm of starving kids was still after them.
“Ahhh, let’s go!” Haruka yelled as Mocha grabbed and set her on her head, continuing to run.
“Huff, huff! Haruka!” Mocha panted tiredly. “What’s going on?? What’s happened to them?”
“Siiigh… This is what I wanted to show you.” Haruka spoke with regret. “This is what Caesar’s been doing to all of you.”
“M-Master??” Hurt shone in Mocha’s eyes as she kept running. “I thought…I thought he was trying to heal us!”
“There was never anything WRONG with you!” Haruka yelled, her midnight-blue eyes flowing with tears. “Caesar’s been… he’s been using you as test subjects! That candy you’ve been eating is a dangerous drug that hurts your body. And if you keep eating it, you’ll all die!”
“! !” Mocha’s eyes shrunk with horror. “But Master said… we would all get to go home.”
“He was NEVER going to let you go home! He was planning to let you all die!” Every word made Haruka’s tears spill faster. “He’s…He’s a terrible man. A terrible person who treats you all as guinea pigs. Only keeping you alive as long as his experiments would allow. I don’t know HOW many other kids might’ve died before you!”
“Haruka… why are you crying?”
Another sniffle. “If I’d’ve known what was happening… I wou-…I would’ve come here a lot sooner. These kids were all so innocent… they just wanted to live carefree lives. But Caesar came and…and he’s taking it all away from them! Taking away all their futures, all their freedom… I just can’t STAND people like that. That’s why… I joined Kids Next Door in the first place. So I can STOP people like him. But if only I knew… sooner…”
“Are we-…Are we going to be okay? Haruka?…”
Haruka sniffled once more and wiped the tears, her eyes becoming serious. “We will, Mocha. Because that man in there? He was Mr. York. He’s the exact opposite of Caesar. A long time ago, he saved the entire Kids Next Door from someone worse. He’s a great person, and he’s going to STOP Caesar.”
“Do you really think so?”
“I do.” Haruka smiled with confidence. “Mr. York will never let Caesar get away, and he won’t rest until Caesar is defeated. As long as he’s with us… we’re all going to be okay.”
Laboratory
“Hmmmm.” Nolan York skimmed every little corner of the laboratory with Detective Vision, but couldn’t find a thing. “If Caesar is keeping any secrets in here, he’s keeping them good. But I’m not sure if I can last against him with that Airless World thing, so I have to find something. Oh?” His goggles picked up a glowing, orange-door, the closet. Nolan rolled over and opened the door, and his vision marked several rows of spray cans. He took one and studied it. “Explosive Gel? Hm, I wasn’t able to make this yet. I’ll take it… but it still might not help me against Caesar. Oh-?” He turned and saw a faint purple gas leaking under the room’s exit.
“Yuh-oh. Guess the gas finally caught up. Man, I hope the others are safe. If this gas mutates you, do you lose your humanity, too? That’s not worth finding out. I gotta find a way out…” He skimmed the room again and noticed a particular vent leading below the floor, and seemed big enough for his chair. “Well… it’s one way.”
The Sandman rolled over, stood, and struggled to lift his heavy wheelchair above the chute, allowing it to fall in. With that, the half-crippled man climbed in as well, plummeting the long drop. “AaaaaaaAAAHH- UUH!” He collided onto his wheelchair at the bottom. He recovered and sat on right, examining the area. “A garbage chute? Aw, great…” His voice echoed. “Well, this is as good a place as any to search for weaknesses. Let’s see...” He used his Detective Vision again to search the trash piles for clues.
It was difficult getting his chair to move in the rugged trash floor, but he still managed as his goggles finally detected an orange-marked object. “Helloooo.” Nolan pulled it out of the trash and saw it was a small book. “Hey… this is Gerald Robotnik’s diary. But why would Caesar throw THIS away? Curious…” He opened the diary and started to skim the pages. He gasped lightly when he noticed Caesar’s name. “Is…Is that-?” Nolan shut the book gently. “Hmm… so that’s why he hid it. Well then… I guess I better find him.” And with that, the Sandman made his way out of the trash heap.
Dillon’s group
Dillon, Zach, and Maddy continued to run aimlessly about the halls, before the three finally encountered each other in a crossroads of four halls. “Did you find them?!” they all asked. “No! Not yet! Maybe this way!” They all ran down the fourth hallway.
“CAAANDYYYY!” They immediately saw the last of the swarm of kids run by.
“I think that was them!” Maddy remarked as they hurried after.
“CANDYYYY!” The children were dead set on catching the fleeing Mocha.
Dillon raised the syringe as he panted, “They’re moving too fast, I hope I can stick them!” He ran faster and was catching up to some of the smaller children. “Hey, guuuuys! Wait up, you need to take this!”
“AAAAHH?” They looked back, seeing Dillon running with the syringe. In their monstrous eyes, he and his friends took the form of hideous monsters, wishing to feast on their flesh. “AAAAAAHHH!!!” Some of the giants stopped and punched the ground before them, blowing the kids back. “CAANDYYYYY!” With that, they were still focused on catching Mocha.
“Huff, huff, I don’t know, how long I can keep this up, huff, huff.” Mocha panted, becoming more tired by the minute.
“You have to keep running!” Haruka yelled. “I’ll try and hold them off!” She jumped off Mocha’s head and released a cloud of Sleeping Gas.
“Nyyyyaaaahhhh.” The kids stopped and tried to shake the gas away.
“Way to go, Haru.” Dillon panted as the others caught up. “If she can stop them long enough-” However, the ground quaked, and the three looked up in fright as Kaleo Anderson towered over them, bigger than all of the other kids, and his eyes just as monstrous.
“ME no want booboo stick!” The humongous boy exclaimed as he punched down at them, but they jumped back.
“RAAAAHHH!” The kids recovered and charged after Mocha again, and Haruka ducked as the swarm stampeded past her, praying she doesn’t get crushed. “Moooochaaaaa.” The giant girl looked back, frightened at her ravenous friends. “Giiiive uuuus caaaandyyyy.”
“No! You’ll die!” Mocha faced forward and struggled to run faster.
When the stampede cleared away, Haruka was thankful she didn’t get squished. “Are you okay?!” Dillon asked as they stopped by her.
“Forget about me, we have to help her!” she yelled as they kept running.
“MOOOCHAAAA!” The kids were still desperate on catching her. “CAAANDYYYYYY!”
Mocha could almost feel her legs giving out, but she didn’t stop running. She would run as long as she could until her friends were back to normal.
“Hi! I’m Ally!”
It only felt like yesterday since she was brought to Punk Hazard, on a ship with many other kids.
“Hi… I’m Doran.”
They were all so nice… they played together every day.
“Hey! I’m Sind!”
Now it’s like they weren’t even human. She’s never been more afraid…
“Yo. I’m Konbu.”
Why did it all have to happen like this? They all just wanted to go home… they didn’t expect any of this. They put so much faith… in Master Caesar.
“And what’s YOUR name, Little Girl?”
“I’m Mocha!” the young, tiny 4-year-old responded happily. “Do you do TRICKS, Mr. Clown??”
“Shurororo! Well, I’ve been known to have that jokester side!” the scientist grinned as he patted the child’s black, messy hair. “But don’t worry, I’ll have you all fixed and FIT as a fiddle in no time! In the meantime… HAVE some candy!” And he presented the tasty butterscotch with an assuring smile.
Mocha didn’t wanna believe it… but Haruka sounded so truthful in her words. All this time… Caesar was lying. He was using them for test subjects… even though he said all he wanted was to help them. How could he do this to her friends? What did they ever do to deserve this? All Mocha knew… was she had to save them.
“CAAANDYYYY!” The kids drew closer and closer.
“Ahhh!” Mocha came to a flight of steep, wide stairs, tumbling down below and dropping the candy several feet ahead of her.
“Mocha!” Haruka ran between Kaleo’s feet, followed by Dillon as he carried the syringe. Zach and Maddy faced up at the giant as he bent down to clutch the two.
“Raaaah, let me go, gas-freak!” Maddy demanded as they tried to shake free.
“ME WANT teddybear kiiiiid!”
“I ain’t lettin’ you have him!!” Zach refuted. Maddy looked at him with a quizzical look. “Uh, I mean… let us go!”
“BRUUUJAAAA!”
“AAAAH!” The giant hurled the two away, and they took land on Dillon and Haruka, making the former drop the syringe.
“Nnnn, nnnn!” Mocha was desperate to force the kids off of her and reach the candy.
“CANDYYYY!” They all ran at the bundle, but Mocha recovered and was able to grab it first.
“NOOO! If you eat this, you’ll die!!”
“SHARE WITH US, Mochaaaa! DON’T HOG IT AAAALL!”
“STOP STOOOP!” They began to claw at her, trying ever harder to pry it away from her arms.
Haruka recovered weakly, watching as the swarm clawed Mocha desperately. “Mocha! Keep running!”
Mocha wanted to run, but the kids were too strong, and her legs too tired. “I…I can’t!” she began to weep. She clutched the candy to her chest as tight as she could. She couldn’t stand her ground for much longer.
“I’m Ally!”
There was no other way to go… they were gonna die.
“I’m Doran.”
No other way… except..
“I’m Sind!”
If she couldn’t make it… she had no other choice.
“Konbu.”
She was hoping to go home with them… she was hoping she could play with them more… after this. But… they must go… without her.
“Mocha…” Haruka stared confused. Tears fell from Mocha’s eyes as she unwrapped the bundle of candy. “! Mocha!...” Haruka’s eyes widened with horror. Was she… no, she couldn’t! “Mocha, don’t!!”
The horde of red candy lay before her. She didn’t stop… for a second.
“MOCHAAAAAAAA!!!”
But Haruka’s cries were ignored. Mocha scooped all of the poisonous candy in her hands, and munched away. The operatives stared with horror. Mocha munched and chewed the candy in her giant mouth. She glared back at her monstrous friends, tears still in her eyes, and her cheeks puffed from all the candy in her mouth. Haruka began to cry as well. She wanted to stop her… but it was far too late.
Mocha forcefully swallowed the bundle of sweets, as bits of gas leaked from her mouth. She started to gasp for breath as blood leaked as well. “BLEEAH!” She puked blood, and was struggling to hold herself up, her vision fading. Finally, the giant fell back and shook the floor upon landing, her grayish-purple eyes closing.
“MOCHAAAA!” Haruka dashed forth and climbed onto the giant’s chest, tears falling faster.
“M…Mocha?...” The monstrous kids finally stopped in place, their zombified eyes looking surprised.
Dillon recovered and noticed the syringe on the floor beside him. “Now’s our chance!” He zipped around and stuck the needle into the children’s bodies as quick as he could. Slowly, all of the giants moaned as they began to recover.
Haruka still sat horrified on Mocha’s chest, trying to feel around for a pulse. Looking furious, Haruka raised her fingers and did her best to penetrate her nails into the skin. “Grrrr. I wish her skin wasn’t so thick!”
“Wh…What’s going on?...” Doran asked as he and the others recovered.
“Look! It’s Mocha!” Ally pointed. They stared with worry and confusion as Haruka struggled to heal her.
“What…What happened to her?” Konbu asked with worry.
Haruka started panting as she ceased trying to heal Mocha, her skin much too thick to penetrate. “NNNNOOOOO!” They looked across the hall with surprise, seeing Caesar Clown. The scientist’s eyes were welling with tears as he flew over. He stared down at the unconscious giant, and then at the empty candy wrap. “My week’s supply of NHC10 gooooone! I had enough just for everyone, but she and that meddlesome Leo kid TOOK them aaaallll!” He started to weep, too.
Haruka stood up with furious, tear-filled eyes. “Caesar, you’ve gotta fix Mocha before she dies!! If you’re strong enough, you have to use a Healing Sting!”
“WHO CARES about her?! I still needed all these kids’ blood-samples to use in my Devil Fruits! But I can’t DO that without their weekly doses!”
“M…Master…” These words came as quite a shock to the kids.
“Wait… I’VE got it!” Caesar perked up. “I’ll just scoop out the rest of MOCHA’S blood and use them in the fruits! Heck, with all THOSE toxins, her blood must be LOADED! I’ll suck her dry and make the best batch of Devil Fruits EVER!”
“Master, what’re you saying?!” Doran yelled. “Aren’t you going to treat her??”
“Of COURSE not, she’s as good as dead, just ANOTHER waste of space.”
“How could you say that?!” Haruka screamed. “Do these kids really mean NOTHING to you?!”
“WHO CAAARES! They’re all just GUINEA pigs to me! No one will care if HUNDREDS of them die! My research is far more important! Now STEP aside and let me cut this pig open!” He grinned maliciously as he whipped out his lightsaber.
“No!!” Haruka jumped in his way. “I won’t let you hurt her!”
“FIIIINE! Then you can JOIN HER!!” The girl shut her eyes as Caesar raised his saber.
A glider whooshed across the halls, holding a wheelchair, and Sandman dropped from it and kicked the clown square in the face, forcing blood to spill from his nose as he blew backward. “Ga-ack!” He held his nose in anger.
“Dad!” Dillon beamed as the Sandman sat back in his chair, the glider retracting.
“For a guy who’s moralistic, you always seem to risk inducing brain-damage a lot!” Caesar retorted.
“Your brain’s gotten more than its fair share of damage already.” Sandman retorted. “But that didn’t mean you had to do the same to these kids.”
“Ohhh boohoo, CRY me a river.” Caesar whined. “Either way you look at it, the CLOWN has final say in THIS facility!”
“Well said, Clown. If that IS your real name.”
“Hnn?” Caesar cocked a brow.
“Because I… did a little DUMPSTER diving!” Nolan presented the old book.
“TH…THAT’S-” Caesar looked frantic.
“Professor Gerald Robotnik’s diary. And it CLEARLY reveals, Caesar Clown’s TRUE name. And I’ve deduced, that you threw this book away, because you channel your poisonbending INTO your surname, so you didn’t want anyone to figure it out!”
“D’oooohh! I KNEW I should’ve just BURNED it!!”
“And Page 41,” he opened the book, “CLEARLY states, that Professor Clown’s FULL name, iiiis:… Caesar Jonathan DIMALANTA!”
DON! Dillon was shocked.
DON! Maddy’s eyes widened.
DON! Zach was totally baffled.
DOOON!!! The color faded from Haruka’s face.
“Uaaaaackkk!” Caesar choked. “Ohhhhh it’s true, it’s TRUU-U-U-UE! My name is CAESAR Dimalanta! My brother was Jerome Dimalanta, who had a son named John MATTHEW Dimalanta! I’m little Haru’s great-uncle, shurororo!”
“…” Haruka looked like a zombie.
“Ooooh but now that the secret’s out, I can’t use my Airless World any more! But that doesn’t matter! I’m STILL a Logia-type! After all, since I channeled the energy into just my surname, I STILL have plenty of power to spare! COME ALONG, Sandman, I DARE you to face me!” And the gassy clown was soaring down the hall.
“Grrr! You kids, hurry up and get somewhere safe, I’ll stop him!” And Sandman was rolling after him.
“…”
“Haruka?” Dillon looked concerned for his friend.
“….!” Haruka shook out of her trance, bending over Mocha. “Mocha!” She pressed her ear to Mocha’s chest, trying to find a pulse.
“M…Mocha…” Doran and the kids began to weep.
“Is what Master said true?” Ally asked.
“She sacrificed herself to save us…” Konbu wept.
“…MOCHAAAAA!” In seconds, all of the kids began to cry. Some normal kids picked up Kateenians, Minish, and Lilliputians and hugged them to their chests, while the giants picked the normal kids up. They don’t even know what happened… they weren’t sure why the candy was bad. But Mocha knew of its horrors… and she died… to stop them from eating it.
Haruka began to feel hopeless. She could barely feel a pulse in Mocha’s chest. Just one thump… every 5 seconds… she didn’t know what to do… this was Mocha’s end.
“Hey, shouldn’t we go back and check on Ms. Wickens?” Dillon asked.
“Probably…” Maddy said. “You guys should get going. You can take Mocha’s body with you.” And the three kids hurried back the way they came.
Haruka sat up and wiped a tear from her eye. The kids didn’t have the strength to escape yet, still crying for their friend. When Haruka looked up, she spotted a lone door. It was labeled ‘DEVIL FRUIT STORAGE ROOM’. Haruka looked between Mocha’s unconscious face and the room. She just wasn’t sure what to do…
SMILEs Chamber
Yuki Crystal was now on all fours, panting with the greatest exhaust. He bled slightly more as he glared up at Vergo, who didn’t seem to have a single scratch on him. Just as well, Sector W7 was trying to catch their breath, although they didn’t suffer as much damage. “Do you see how much you risk for your friend?” Vergo remarked. “Clearly, Nolan is more trouble than he is worth. It is futile to fight for him… any longer.”
“No…” Yuki weakly got to his feet. “I will… always fight… for my friend…” he faced the general with a deathly glare, “Vergo…”
“I told you… it’s Vergo-san.” (Play “Victory Road” from Smash Bros. Brawl.)
Boss fight: Vergo
Yuki ran at the general again, only to be punched back, followed by Chimney, Apis, and Aisa, but the general spun and knocked away all three girls. Yuki froze the floor around the general, but Vergo merely jumped and zipped over to kick Yuki in the face. Aisa whipped out her Weapon Dial to blast gumballs at him, but Vergo held his arm in defense and used Armament to easily shield the simple gumballs. April snuck from behind to paint a pink symbol on him, but Vergo grabbed the 12-year-old and hurled her at Aisa, who dodged right.
Vergo looked to his left at an angry Apis, who still sat on the ground after being knocked away before. He zipped over, grabbed her leg, and hurled her at Aisa, who dodged right again. “Hmmm.” He shot over to throw a series of fast punches at Aisa, but she swiftly ducked and dodged each one. I see… this girl was born with unnaturally strong Observation Haki. And her training in the KND has likely allowed her to develop this skill. However… he continued to throw punches as Aisa avoided. But he noticed that she slumped a little when she dodged left, looking down at her singed left foot. There is the slightest hesitation.
He decided to throw several punches from her right, forcing her to dodge left. “Nnn!” She grunted, her foot still not having recovered. “AAAH!” Finally, Vergo was able to punch her away.
“Hmm?” Vergo’s left fist was suddenly frozen against the ground, the general looking left to see Yuki running for him. He swiftly flipped, kicked the Coldman away, and broke free of the ice himself.
“Oiii… this adaruto means business.” Chimney said to April and Apis quietly.
“How do you think we can beat ‘im, Chimney?” Apis asked.
“Gyoooom?”
Chimney thought quietly, her grin still not changing despite her serious look. She finally glanced to April, and her mind sparked. “Oi, April-chan!”
“Hm?” The older girl looked at her leader.
“Give us the blue paint, and make us strong!”
“Hmmm. Well, I guess it could work.” With that, April painted a blue symbol on Chimney’s back. The excited Sector Leader felt power surging through her, feeling even more excited to fight.
“Haaaaaahhhh!” Vergo turned, raising a brow at the newly revitalized Sector Leader. “FISHMAN KARATAY!” She began to dash around the general like a cheetah, zipping over every few seconds to throw kicks at Vergo. The general was able to defend, but Chimney was running around too fast for him to keep up. She began to throw her attacks faster every which way, forcing him to always be on guard. “HUAAAH!” Finally, Chimney slipped underneath and SHOT into the air as she kicked him upside the chin.
Vergo was flung upward, but when Chimney shot down for another kick, he recovered quickly and blocked her, landing on his feet. The general and the 9-year-old shot at each other and threw many punches and kicks, the two blocking the other’s attacks before both jumped back. Chimney dashed at him again, but Vergo zipped behind and successfully kicked the back of her head, knocking her forward. “Hm.” Feeling smug as always, Vergo ran to throw her another punch, but- “Huh?” he was forced to run left and punch a painted red symbol on the floor.
“Red, the Color of Bullfighting.” April said simply. “You will always attack that spot.”
“Hmm.” The general glared at her. Yuki smirked and ran to throw a punch, but Vergo simply dodged to a side so that the symbol was behind Yuki, allowing him to punch Yuki anyway. The Coldman got up and growled, but Vergo slipped behind Yuki again and punched him onto the red symbol. The Coldman looked up as Vergo leapt and punched him against the ground with great force.
The force of this punch caused the red symbol to dissolve. “Aaaahh!” Chimney shouted. “April-chan, gimme another blue!”
“It’s not safe to have so many Power Colors, Chimney.”
“I don’t care, just do it!” With that, April hurried over to paint another blue symbol on Chimney. The pigtailed girl felt more energy surge through her as she ran for Vergo again. Fast as lightning, she threw punches and kicks at Vergo, but the general blocked with his arms just as fast before she managed to punch down on his cranium. He looked around when she zipped away again, but the 9-year-old ran from behind and kicked his back, knocking him forward.
“Hmph.” He was able to flip back to his feet easy, facing the Sector Leader. He stood patiently as the girl glared at him, waiting for her to strike, and when Chimney finally zipped, he dodged right and grabbed her right arm. He quickly licked his finger and wiped the blue symbols off before tossing her toward the wall. Chimney tried to stand up, but- “Uuuwaaaaaahhh.” she barely had the strength anymore.
“It seems April’s symbols costed a bit of your own strength. Finishing you should be easy.”
“Not so fast!” Aisa declared as she leapt to kick the general, but he easily grabbed her foot and slammed her against the ground. “OOOOW!” He stomped her right foot with great force, ensuring she wouldn’t be able to stand well. With that, Vergo hurried over to Chimney and lifted her by her pigtails.
“Gyoooom!” Her loyal rabbit friend leapt and tried to bite down, but Vergo raised his Armament arm as Gonbe forced his buckteeth into the iron. “Gyooooo!” The rabbit wept as Vergo tossed him away.
He still held Chimney and said, “Now you understand how little girls’ dreams are just little girls’ dreams. They are trapped in a fairytale land… unable to perceive the dangers of the real world.”
“Hey, Bigface!” Vergo looked right, seeing the teeny-tiny Aeincha with a hateful look on her tiny face. “You put my friend down!”
“Hm.” Vergo decided to drop Chimney, stepping toward the Lilliputian. He was hundreds of feet tall compared to her, but she looked unfazed. “How sad that one goes to such lengths… knowing they can’t possibly win.”
“I’m not scared of you! No matter how small I am, I’ll protect my friends always!” The tiny girl ran at Vergo, but she was immediately pinned under his boot. “Aaah!”
“What a shame. At least Yuki puts up more of a fight.”
“Aaaaah!” Aeincha struggled to break free, but Vergo was adding pressure.
“OIII! LET HER GOOOO!” Chimney demanded, fuming with rage.
“Let it be known… you died at the boot… of Vergo-san!”
“AAAHHHH!!!” In just a second, Aeincha was crushed completely flat, her screaming mixed with the sound of her breaking bones.
“NAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!” Chimney cried with despair.
“Hmph…” Vergo showed no remorse. With that, he decided to walk toward Yuki, who was still weakened on the ground. “What I did to that girl… is just a small example of what’s to become of you. But your bones will feel more like crushing ice. How pathetically weak you were… never coming close to taking this key.” He reached under his coat to present the key, but- “Huh?” it had strangely gone missing. He looked around to see if he dropped it, but heard the sound of a lock turning.
He stared surprised as Yuki’s cuffs came off, thanks to a floating key in midair. It was then that Aeincha’s form appeared around the key, the tiny child grinning as she used both arms to hold it. “Hiii, Mr. Baka-saaan!” She waved happily.
“Oh?” Vergo turned back to ‘Aeincha’s’ squished remains, and realized that what he crushed was just a simple doll made of sticks. “But…?”
“I used my Clear Paint to make Aeincha invisible and unsensable.” April explained. “Afterwards, I took out my twig-doll modeled to look like Aeincha, and painted Aeincha’s features over it to give it life. She was able to climb up your coat and take the key.”
Yuki rubbed his wrist and formed a glowing snowflake in his palm, smiling at Aeincha. “Thanks.” He stood up and faced Vergo with a more confident appearance. “Now, it’s time to heat things up. Or rather… freeze them.” And with that, the icebender began to ski across the floors and walls, leaving a trail of ice in his wake. He skied along the walls over the factory area, performing quick cartwheels and leaving shoe and handprints of ice.
Vergo ran forth and began to jump around the room to catch him, bouncing off the walls and giant containers. Yuki dropped to the floor and swiftly slid under the treadmill of a machine, using his hands to leave parallel ice paths. “UAH!” Vergo zipped from his right and kicked Yuki away. The icebender recovered and skied away again, launching icicles at Vergo as he chased. The general punched the projectiles away before zipping to the side, around the containers, and popping out in front of Yuki to kick him upward, then kick him to the center of the containers.
“Gah!” Yuki coughed slight blood as he sensed Vergo behind him. The general punched down, but Yuki flipped forward and stood below the balcony’s railing, having left an icy handprint in the center between him and Vergo.
“Even with your bending powers, my Haki proves far superior.” Vergo spoke as he calmly stepped forward. Yuki froze ice directly below him to push himself up to the balcony. “It should only take a few more hits… to break an element so fragile. I’ll give you a 10-second headstart… and during which time… I want to hear you say Vergo-san.” (End song.)
As Yuki panted on the balcony floor, he made a smirk. “Fragile element… huh? You wanna… make a bet?”
Vergo stopped just above the icy handprint. “Hm?” he cocked a brow.
Yuki grinned maliciously and formed a hand-sign. “Sickle Growth.”
The print below Vergo suddenly glowed, and his eyes widened as a tall, pointy icicle sprouted up.
Yuki stood with a calm, cool aura, his back turned to the chaos that happened behind him. Icicles sprouted up everywhere he left a print, penetrating all of the containers and machines. In the center of it all, Vergo’s body hung near the ceiling, from the tall icicle that penetrated his stomach. “When I was young… I endured so many struggles…” Yuki spoke lowly. “My soul was lost… until Jagar risked everything to bring it back. He helped me… because I was his friend. And that’s why… no matter how much I suffer… I will always be there… to support Nolan.”
The green substance spilled and flooded the lower floor. The SMILEs chamber fell to total ruin as alarms blared. Vergo was left hanging dry… his shocked expression frozen.
Hoooo man, am I glad all THIS is done. NEXT time, the climactic fight against Caesar. And I was gonna put that Vergo fight earlier, but then I figured the way it ended would make a better end of the chapter. In the original One Piece series, Monet was a Logia snowbender, having eaten the Snow-Snow Fruit, and she got her harpy features thanks to Trafalgar Law's powers. As you can see, this was changed here. Well, next chapter’s the last one… let us have a moment of silence for our friend. :,(
Chapter 10: Operation: CLOWN, Part 6: Escape
Summary:
Nolan confronts Caesar at last! Now it's time to escape the island.
Chapter Text
Last chapter!
Chapter 6: Escape
SMILEs Chamber
Vergo remained on his icicle post as the factory below flooded with toxic substance. His cool look returned as he said to Yuki, “This barely hurts me, you know. My Haki is so strong, my body is practically Armament itself.”
“Yeah, well… I’ll just leave you hanging then.” Yuki remarked as he began to walk away. Sector W7 just stared confused as Vergo hung there, not appearing in any pain.
“Hm… your loyalty to your friend is strong… I’ll give you that. Perhaps I underestimated you.”
Yuki stopped. “Well… if I didn’t have a friend to fight for… you might’ve beaten me. I guess that loyalty gave me strength. Vergo…-san.” And the Coldman continued to the door. “Let’s go meet up with Nolan. It’s time to get outta here.”
“Oh-ahh!” Chimney perked as she hurried after him, followed by the others. Vergo merely lay there on his post and watched them from his upside-down view.
Building R
Caesar Clown escaped to the northern most part of Building R, ending up before a huge, steel door. He gasped and turned around, seeing Nolan York just rolling in from the hall behind. “CAN’T you just mind your own business?!”
The Sandman wore a fierce look behind his mask as he slowly rolled closer.
“What do you think you’re doing?!” Caesar yelled with a fear-filled expression. “Do you know what’ll happen if you lay a FINGER on me?! My business stretches farther than you can imagine! My customers will become VERY disappointed if I’m unavailable.”
Nolan kept rolling forward, unhesitantly.
Feeling angry and nervous, Caesar sucked in some breath and cried, “OXYGEN BEEEEAAAM!” He blew a powerful blue laser from his mouth, straight for Sandman as he stopped and gaped with surprise. The beam brimmed in his masked eyes as it shot past and blew up the hall behind him. Caesar recovered and faced forward, but flinched when he saw that Sandman dodged right.
“Don’t you care about your buddies AT ALL, Sandman?! They’ll ALL get in trouble if you so much as punch me!” Sandman reached the clown, and at that instant, he stood and dealt a series of rapid punches against his face, before finally sending him flying to the left. Caesar landed near the wall and formed a devious smirk. “I have BIG NAMES ordering stuff from me! And if you think of pummeling me, you will FEEL their wrath!” Nolan approached him again, and didn’t hesitate with this next series of rapid punches.
He grabbed Caesar by the neck and tossed him near the middle of the room again. The scientist stood up and faced him with a wicked grin. “So go ahead! KnnnNOCK me around! I’m protected! Some BIG names are gonna come after you! The Corporate Presidents! Brotherhood of Evil! Big Mom! They’ll come to my rescue and demand ALL the stuff from me! After I’m done here, I’ll harvest the energy from your son and MANY other benders to use in my brand new series of Devil Fruits! With Devil Fruits that grant artificial bending, I’ll make MILLIONS! SHURORORORORO-”
Nolan channeled the energy in his Armament fist, and with full force, he dealt another forceful PUNCH on Caesar’s face, knocking him toward the steel door. “Whoever these people are, I’ll break ALL their bones before they have a chance.”
“Gu-ack!” Caesar held his nose as more blood dripped.
Nolan heard the fast clopping of several shoes, looking back as a squad of Caesar’s minions appeared. They wore no masks upon Caesar’s orders. “Master Caesar! Are you okay??”
“Gu-ack… now is my chance! I’ll show you what Bang Gas-Z is really capable of!” He faced up at the ceiling and yelled, “LISTEN all of you in the control room! Open the vents and allow the gas to flow INTO this room from outside!”
Control Room
“But Master Caesar, isn’t that gas dangerous?!” one yelled.
“RELAX, you fools, I’m a GAS-man! I’ll be okay!”
“But what about the men in that room?? Won’t they be-“
“JUST LET THE GAS IN! I’ll sacrifice anything to take this fool down!”
“Nnnnn-nnnn!” The men looked worried. “R-Right as you say… Master.” And with that, they pulled a lever.
Center Room
Two huge vents opened from the side of the room, allowing the cloud of Bang Gas-Z to flow in. “Shurororororo!” Caesar cackled maniacally and used his bending to make the gas spiral around him. “Now then… WHO to use as a guinea pig? How about… YOU THREE!” And he launched the Bang Gas at three random minions.
“Gu-aaaacccck!” They choked as the Bang Gas was forced in their lungs. The men’s bodies swelled and wobbled as they grew to twice their size, their arms and legs growing out of proportion with each other as they turned into hideous, bloodthirsty monsters.
They roared like dinosaurs as they charged for Nolan, but the Sandman dodged right. He started to beat the other minions, flipping away when the Titans charged at him again, tricking the monsters into running over other minions. He boosted his chair into one of them before swiftly flipping up and on its back, using him to swat away other minions. The other two Titans were about to charge, but Nolan charged his Titan as well and rammed the other two headfirst, afterwards flipping back to his chair.
“Shurororororo! Perhaps I should’ve found better TEST subjects! Oh well, I’m feeling lucky!” And with that, Caesar tossed Bang Gas into two more minions, and pain surged through as they transformed.
“B-B-But Master!” one of them exclaimed. “You said you wanted to fix us… Why are you DOING this? !”
“If I wanted you fixed, I could’ve DONE IT by now! You fools were just convenient to have around in case I needed some spare subjects!”
“M…Master…” Their hearts were struck.
“Ugh, I don’t have time for this.” Nolan sighed. He raised his fist and cried, “Armament!”, speeding over to deal a forceful punch against the first Titan, knocking him into the second. They tried to recover, but Nolan rolled over and dealt a series of rapid punches, using his Armament to finish both of them.
“Ohhhh. Why do you ALWAYS have to do that?” Caesar frowned. “Can’t you just let people have fun? You REALLY need to learn how to lighten up, you know. And speaking of lightening up, it feels a little too cramped in here. I think it’s time for some FRESH air! ShuroROROROROrorororo!” The giant steel door opened behind him, revealing a circular platform under a huge elevator shaft. “SHUrororororo!” The ghostly poisonbender cackled on his flight up the shaft.
It wasn’t long after when Yuki and Sector W7 finally arrived. “Hey, Nolan, you’re already here!” Yuki exclaimed.
“AAAHHH, more of the minion-sans!” Chimney exclaimed, ready to fight. “Time to kick some adaruto ass!”
“Gyom-gyoooom!” Gonbe also looked fierce.
“At ease, guys.” Nolan assured them, rolling over. “I don’t think they’ll trouble us any more.” They looked around and noticed their pitiful, weeping expressions.
“Where did Caesar go?” Yuki asked.
“Up there.” He pointed up the shaft. “I’m going to catch him. But I want you guys to run back and see how Dillon and the others are doing. I feel like that elevator takes us to the underground, so if I’m up there, we won’t be able to use it, anyway.”
“But that means we have to rely on you before the gas comes.” Yuki remarked. “But hey, can’t rip off Batman without being a masochist. Or One Piece for that matter. Good luck, Nolan, don’t die on us.” He and most of the operatives ran back the other way.
“Oh, wait!” Aisa spoke up. “If Caesar’s a Logia, you might wanna use this.” She handed Nolan her Impact Dial. “It’s an Impact Dial. It absorbs forces and blows them back when pressed. It’s also got a chi-block symbol imprinted on it.”
Nolan stared at the tiny shell with interest as he stuffed it up his left glove, pressing it against his palm. “This should help.”
“Hm hm!” Aisa smiled. “Just thanks for watching over Aeincha! Anyways, good luck!” The Nimbi waved as she ran off.
Nolan nodded before turning back and rolling onto the huge, round elevator. He felt the air rush past him as it lifted him straight upward at high speed. In seconds, he was lifted all the way outside, several meters above the rooftop. He sat at the highest part of the island as he overlooked the incredible view. There was nothing but miles of purple gas down below, with only the peaks of the mountains sticking up. Caesar Clown hovered several feet over the ledge, and in the air.
“ShuroRORORORORORORORO! Welcome, Sandman, I am pleased to have you here at your final show! Tonight, you will see your end as I demonstrate the FULL force of my poisonbending power!” The gas man waved his arms as a tornado of purple gas rose from below and surrounded the platform. Nolan gasped as the gas came straight down, and Caesar opened his mouth wide as it flowed inside. “ShuROROrororororo.” The gassy scientist grew to two stories tall as his gaseous form turned purple. “SHUROROROrorororo!” His gassy coat became a lot more puffy, his black hair grew out of control, a giant purple crown appeared on his head, and the front of his coat bore the inscription ‘LAND OF DEATH.’ “SHAAAAAHROROROROOOOO!”
“Wow. Way to overstuff yourself with the crazy juice.”
“SHAAALULULUU! Welcome, Nolan, to the PEAK of your existence! Get ready to CHOKE on your own screams as you beg for death inside my gas! It’s a shame you won’t be able to watch me choke your friends afterwards, and know the TRUE might of my poison, SHURORORORORORORO! NOW DIIIE!!!” (Play “You Contract Has Expired” from A Hat in Time!)
Boss fight: Land of Death, SHINOKUNI
The gassy incarnation launched his fists at the Sandman, but Nolan dodged left and right, leaving quick spray-marks on the floor with his Explosive Gel. “The Bang Gas-Z is stronger than regular gas, but it should still be flammable.” Sandman said to himself. “The Explosive Gel doesn’t pack much force, but it should weaken him a little.”
He sat over one of the marks as Caesar threw his fist, and Nolan dodged as he set off the bomb. “SHURORORORO!” Caesar only cackled as his fist exploded. Nolan kept flipping when Caesar swung his other arm across the floor. Caesar was so fast, it was difficult to catch him above a bomb, but he was able to after a few more seconds. “SHURORORORO!” The giant clown spun around and sent a barrage of sludge drops from his body like a sprinkler.
Nolan evaded the drops, but they made less room for him to move around. The toxic drops formed into purple Toxichu-Z, which started wobbling to Nolan. The Sandman stuck spray-marks on the ground and flipped far away from their spots as he lured groups of Chuchu on them, afterwards blowing them up. Afterwards, he threw a Smoke Pellet at Caesar’s face and blocked his vision for the time being. The Sandman rolled over and planted three spray-marks before the gassy entity. When Caesar finally blew the smoke away, Nolan rolled away and set off all three bombs, destroying Caesar’s base. “SHUROOOOOO!” The gaseous clown fell to his front, holding himself up with his injured hands.
Now that his face was close to the ground, Nolan rolled over and turned his fists to Armament as he proceeded to lay a series of punches. He finished by charging an uppercut, punching Caesar upside the chin, and shooting to the air before dropping to the giant’s head and punching his crown. Nolan hopped back to his chair and backed away as the clown shook back to his senses. When Caesar did so, he saw Nolan turned away as he appeared to be spraying the ground. “SHURORORO!” The scientist began to throw his fists again, forcing Nolan to dodge rapidly.
Nolan set off one of his spray-marks and managed to blast Caesar’s right hand. Instead of swinging his left hand, Caesar held it open and launched a ray of gas. The gas didn’t stop for a second and stayed on Nolan’s trail. Since he couldn’t slip under it, the Sandman quickly whipped out his own gas gun and fired back. His green gas wasn’t strong compared to Caesar’s purple, but it held it back long enough for Caesar to finally cease. Immediately, the clown launched his left fist, but Sandman trapped him above a spray-mark and blew it up.
Still wearing a wicked smile, Caesar sucked in some breath and puffed up, releasing tiny puffs of gas with eyes. The Toxi-Gag-Z’s flew at Nolan fast, forcing the Sandman to keep them back quickly with his gas gun. He flipped and left more spray-marks, but it was difficult getting them to fly above and keep away. A few of the Toxi-Gags covered Sandman’s face, but his gas mask managed to protect before he sprayed them away. He used his gas gun to hold them over his spray-marks, quickly detonating the bombs and taking them out.
With the Toxi-Gags gone, Nolan watched as Caesar sucked in another breath, charging his Oxygen Beam. The Sandman charged his chair, and just when Caesar blasted, Nolan boosted forward and avoided the beam. While Caesar was still holding it, he didn’t notice Sandman leaving three more spray-marks before his base. When Caesar finally stopped, Nolan backed away and set off the bombs, causing Caesar to topple over again. “SHUROOOO!”
With that, Nolan rolled forward and laid the second round of Armament punches against his face. After he finished, Nolan gripped Caesar’s face forcefully in his left hand, while he sprayed Explosive Gel with his right. He set off the bomb and gravely injured Caesar’s face, the clown standing back up as he was forced to cover his face. Caesar spent 20 seconds trying to form his face back together, but while he was doing so, Nolan was turned around and spraying Explosive Gel in his left palm. When Caesar shook back to normal, he glared at Nolan hatefully, seeing him spraying something and assuming he was readying more traps.
Caesar started to suck in an even greater amount of breath, and when Nolan heard this, he turned eyes wide as Caesar became extremely puffy. He expected the clown to blast another Oxygen Beam, but as the clown shook trying to hold his breath in, it became clear. “GAS BALLOON!!” The giant clown EXPLODED like a balloon, swallowing the whole platform in Bang Gas-Z.
Thankfully, Nolan used the Gem of Dreams to become sand as he hovered high above the platform, afterwards reverting to normal (along with his chair) and using his chair’s glider to fly around. He watched as Caesar Clown emerged from the resulted shroud of Bang Gas, having become even bigger. Nolan glided around and dodged as Caesar launched his giant fists. Nolan flew straight at the clown’s face, aimed his legs out, and kicked him square in the nose to kick back to higher altitude. Caesar released more Toxi-Gags, but Nolan moved faster in the air and avoided them, flying back at Caesar to deal another Armament kick. Nolan glided up in a loop-di-loop before dropping down and bashing Caesar’s crown with another Armament punch.
Nolan landed back on his chair as Caesar sucked up all of the gas and shrunk back to his previous giant height (not sure how sucking it back makes him smaller XP). Nolan glided back to the platform as Caesar started launching his hands like hammers, smashing the ground in attempt to crush Sandman. He then started to swing his hands horizontally, smashing them against each other, but Nolan still dodged and blew up the left hand with a gel trap. Caesar formed a Poison Whip in his right hand and wrapped it around Nolan, tossing the Sandman far away behind him. Nolan activated the glider and flew at Caesar from behind, using both legs in another Armament kick. Caesar nearly fell over, his hand pressed against the ground, giving Sandman the chance to roll over and blow it up with Explosive Gel.
The clown scientist spun around and released more Toxichu-Z. Nolan did the same as before and blew the Chuchu up with Explosive Gel, but those Chu just exploded into Toxi-Gags. Nolan kept the gas puffs back with his own gas and planted more spray-marks to blow the puffs up as well. While he was busy with them, Caesar was sucking more breath to do another Gas Balloon. Nolan rolled over quickly to plant more spray-marks, backing away and exploding Caesar’s base once again. His face fell near the floor as Nolan rolled over for the third round of Armament punches. He finished once again by doing an uppercut, shooting up, then pounding straight down, destroying Caesar’s crown entirely.
The clown finally became dizzy and passed out with a light thud (he was still made of gas). Nolan approached the giant’s head calmly to see if he was conscious. However, Caesar opened his eyes and grinned wickedly, immediately snatching the Sandman in his right hand like a doll. “SHURORORORORO! You’ve failed, Sandman! My Bang Gas-Z cannot be defeated with simple punches! Now you’ll experience the full glory of being a super-mutant! …Before you inhale too much and DIE that is! SHURORORO! Any last words??” He raised his left hand, ready to smother Nolan’s form.
“Heheh… yeah.” With that, Sandman forced his arms out and removed his left glove, revealing the Dial on his palm.
“Huuuh?! What’s that?”
“Impact Dial. During the battle, I’ve been spraying Explosive Gel on my hand and setting it off, and the Dial absorbed the force. This thing’s packed to the brim with explosive energy, just waiting to blow in somebody’s face.”
“SHURO?!”
Nolan pressed the Dial to Caesar’s face and proclaimed, “And did I mention it’s imprinted with a chi-blocking symbol?? Now you’re basically a mass of solid gas.”
“HUUUUH!!!” The clown was stricken with horror.
The Sandman smirked behind his mask and pressed the Dial’s button, feeling the energy charge. “Remember this, Clown: you touch my son… you’re gettin’ slagged.”
“W-Wait! Sandman! Did I mention you can work for me??”
But the hero didn’t hesitate as the power in his Dial EXPLODED with incredible force. Caesar felt as though a million elephants were stampeding him all at once. He’s never felt more incredible pressure on his face. Finally, Sandman broke free as Caesar was blown over the edge. “SHUROOOOOOO!” He plummeted the mile-high drop and vanished beneath the poisonous cloud.
Down below, the minions jumped with a start as the ceiling blew open, and the giant that was Caesar thudded on the ground. The purple being of gas shrunk back to his normal size, his face totally bloody as all consciousness left him. His pink coat of gas faded away as he lay in his own mess.
The Sandman sat over the edge and smiled down at his victory, twirling and sheathing his gas gun. (End song.)
Dillon’s group
Dillon, Zach, and Maddy met up with Crystal Wickens as the group was hurrying back down the hall. “Are all the children safe?” Crystal asked.
“Well, most of them… except one.” Dillon spoke regrettably.
They scurried down the staircase as they were coming to the horde of children, who were still crying over the loss of their friend. But when the group made it past the kids, what they saw surprised them: Haruka was able to force her fingers through Mocha’s flesh, and they watched as her fingers swelled, appearing to suck something from the giant’s flesh. “Mmmm…” Haruka let go shortly, suddenly feeling weak herself.
The operatives stepped closer as the kids ceased crying and stared confused. Five seconds passed… until Mocha started to moan. “Mmmm…” The giant held her head and sat up weakly. “What happened?...”
“MOCHA!” The kids immediately gathered and embraced their savior in a hug.
“Waaaaah! Heeeey, what’s going oooon??”
“We thought you were dead!” Doran exclaimed
“You saved us, Mocha!” Konbu said.
The operatives hurried beside Haruka as she weakly stood. “Haruka, you healed her??” Dillon asked surprised.
“Yeah…”
“How?” Zach questioned.
Haruka raised an arm weakly and pointed at the Devil Fruit storage. The operatives stepped in, seeing rows of various Devil Fruits. The Bee-Bee Fruit. Chop-Chop Fruit. Mini-Mini Fruit. But there was an empty spot, labeled ‘Parasite-Parasite Fruit’.
“I decided to look in here for a fruit that might help.” Haruka explained. “The Parasite-Parasite Fruit allows me to drain energy from bodies and add it to my own, and also any kind of substance injected in it. I ate the fruit and mixed it with my poisonbending to suck the NHC10 from Mocha’s blood. Thanks to the fruit and my bending, it barely affects me… much. But I can’t suck the poison from these other kids without consequence.”
“So… you’re a metahuman now?” Dillon asked.
“I guess so…”
They walked back out as Mocha was back on her feet. “You know, I actually feel a little better now!” Mocha smiled. “A little woozy… but I think I’m gonna make it!”
“I’m glad…” Haruka smiled, still weak.
They heard panting up ahead and looked to see Yuki and Sector W7. “Oiii, what’re you guys still doing here??” Chimney yelled. “We hafta gooo!”
“Gyom-gyoooom!”
They all looked back as the cloud of Bang Gas-Z was closing in. “Sounds like a good idea.” Dillon said. “Let’s go.” Mocha grabbed and carried Haruka as they all ran ahead.
Building R Center Room
The elevator lowered back down as Nolan rolled off, finding Caesar’s unconscious, bloody body on the floor. A swarm of Caesar’s minions surrounded him as Nolan approached. “That hole’s gonna let in a bunch of Bang Gas soon.” He said. “Listen, we gotta make this quick, you guys have any chi-cuffs??”
“HERE YOU GO!” They all tossed a bunch of cuffs into a pile.
“YOU GUYS came prepared!!”
Nolan grabbed one of the cuffs and stuck them around Caesar’s wrists. “Okay, we need to get into the underground tunnels and get off this island.”
“It’s just down that elevator!” one exclaimed.
“There’s a bunch of cargo trains; we’ll run down and get ‘em started!”
“You guys go, I’m waiting for a few people.”
“HOY!” They all gathered onto the huge platform and rode it straight down.
With that, Nolan focused on the parallel hall and tapped his fingers on his armrest impatiently. “Come on, come oooon…”
The clopping of shoes echoed across the hall, and Nolan was relieved when Yuki, Crystal, and the swarm of kids were charging down, the cloud of Bang Gas following in the distance. “OOWAAAAAHHH FREEDOM HAAAAALL.” Chimney cried.
“Gyooooooom!”
“Great, you guys made it.” Nolan sighed with relief, lifting Caesar’s body over his shoulder.
“Hey, is that?...” Dillon asked surprised.
“Caesar. I kicked his ass.”
“Heh, all right, Dad!”
“Heheh, thanks… Now let’s get outta here.”
The elevator came back up and everyone piled on. The smaller kids rode on the bigger ones so everyone could fit, and the Nimbis and Gargoyles just flew down. Kaleo was too big to fit, so he had to wait for everyone to go down first. The poisonbender looked back with fright as the Bang Gas closed in. “Nnnnn DON’T LEAVE MEEEE!” The giant boy decided to jump down with his rear aimed down.
The elevator stopped at the bottom, and everyone scurried off before Kaleo thudded. They scampered down a short, wide hall before arriving at a crossroads of five alternate hallways. “We opened all the routes, ready when you are!” The minions exclaimed
“Which one do we go to??” Yuki questioned.
They examined the hallways’ labels. They led to Adabat, Uzbekistan, Dressrosa, Bully Island… and Cleveland, Virginia. “Cleveland, Virginia, that’s us!!” Dillon perked.
“Quick, everyone onto that train!” Nolan ordered as they all piled on the various giant carts, with Chimney deciding to pilot from the front. “Let’s ride!” The Sandman declared, and the train began speeding down the tunnel just before the Bang Gas poured in.
Inside the laboratory
From the depths of the gas-filled laboratory, a venomous, winged monster peered through the thick gas with glowing yellow eyes, sensing the location of the team as it sped down the halls.
Transport tunnel to Virginia
The team was able to enjoy the peaceful, quiet ride to Virginia, hearing only the spinning of the train’s wheels. Some of the kids were drawing with marker on Caesar’s unconscious face. “Haaaeee.” A vicious hiss caught their attention, and they stood with a start as they looked around.
“What was that?” Maddy asked. (Play Heavy Lobster’s Theme from Kirby’s Return To Dreamland.)
Everyone looked back down the tunnel as a gigantic, demonic harpy flapped after them. Crystal and Dillon’s team recognized it as Monet, only she was much bigger, with spiky wings, teeth drooling with venom, and fiery yellow eyes. “WAAAAH SCARY BIRD LADYYYY!” Kaleo quivered with fear.
“Uuugh! Leave us alone!” Nolan demanded.
Boss fight: Monet Sinclaire-Z
The wereharpy flew as fast as the speeding train as it hovered above, and SLAMMED down on the back, causing the train to shake. Chimney felt this quake and stepped on the gas to make the train move faster. The operatives got to the back of the train as Aisa blasted gumballs at her, and Zach shot her with his S.P.I.C.E.R.. The birdwoman blocked the attacks and kept flapping, attempting to snap the back of the train with her huge teeth. The other children whimpered and held each other, fearing the worst. Yuki skied to the back of the train and hurled icicles at her to push her back.
Monet recovered and began to dash across the floor, moving just as fast as if she were flying. She leapt and slammed the ground to shake the train, then did so again, causing the bunches to bounce up to the air. A few of the kids fell over the carts’ ledges, but the others were able to pull them up. The train made swervy, wobbly turns around snaky halls, but Monet still kept after them with her pace. The birdwoman spiraled like a torpedo and made ice surround her as she shot forward. She rammed the back of the train and made it shake before she stopped.
They made more turns down snaky halls as Nolan bounced to the back of the train. He sprayed Explosive Gel on the back as Monet spiraled after them with Ice Torpedo. When the wereharpy was close enough, Nolan set off the gel and BLEW it up in Monet’s face, making the harpy woman bounce back. She recovered quickly and dashed after them again, swinging her wings to launch sharp airwaves to damage the train. Yuki shot ice blasts down to block the waves, but they didn’t prevail well.
“Uwaaaah! I don’t think the train can take any more of this!” Chimney exclaimed.
“If I’m lucky, I can probably get another Impact Dial shot off her.” Nolan said, looking at the gloved hand that held the Dial underneath. “But first to stop these air-strikes. Hmmm… yo, Leo, can you help?”
“HAH?” The giant poisonbender sat up with shock. “Well, I’ll try…”
As Monet kept throwing air-strikes, the Anderson boy stood up, back faced toward her as he bent forward in a tight angle. His butt was aimed directly at the wereharpy, and after sucking in a deep breath, the giant blasted a powerful fart and sent a huge, thick green cloud at Monet. The bird monster stopped throwing air-strikes and began coughing from the horrible stench. She flapped her wings to push the gas away and chase faster. But once she regained vision, her eyes widened at the Impact Dial in Nolan’s hand.
“Get slagged.” Nolan pressed the dial, and BLASTED Monet’s face with incredible force. The force was strong enough to push the train down faster, while Monet’s body rolled along the ground and fell unconscious.
“YEEE-EEAAAH!” Everyone cheered.
“Good-byyyyeee, Moneeeeet!” some tiny Minish waved.
“Phew… and from here on, it’s smooth sailing.” Nolan sighed. (End song.)
Specter’s Former Hideout; beneath Rainbow Monkey Factory
“Yaaaaawn…” The lone henchman that delivered the Vita-Z Bananas sighed after waking up in the now-vacant hideout. “Boy, how long did I sleep? Traveling under the ocean in seconds sure makes you tired…” However, he perked when he felt the ground begin to shake. “Wh…Whuh?...”
Above ground
In the streets outside the Rainbows Factory, people were going about their daily business. “AAAAAHHH!!!” The ground exploded when a huge train of giants and other kids popped up from below and crashed on the street, skidding along the ground on its side before it came to a stop.
“YAHAAAA!” Chimney cheered as her friends were dizzied. “THAT WAS THE BEST RIDE EVERRRR!”
“Gyooooom!” Gonbe was just as excited.
“Oi, let’s go again, on’nanokos!”
Sector W7 was still dizzy. “Uhhh… let’s not.” Apis said.
Later…
A few hours later, a squad of big KND ships landed down in the area, as Aaron and Rhilliane Doblemitz guided Caesar Clown onto a S.P.R.A.Y.S.H.I.P.. “Hey-hey-hey, WATCH the horns!” the scientist demanded as he had to duck to fit into the tiny door. “I’m a professional scientist, you know! I NEEEED a more luxurious cell!”
“Yeah yeah, file a complaint to the I-don’t-care police.” Aaron remarked as the twins got in their ship and flew away.
“And so solves the SECOND case of missing children.” Cheren said to the group of operatives. “I must say, much better than the Arlon thing.”
“So do you think the scientists can fix everyone?” Haruka asked.
“Hmmmm.” Cheren studied all the super-sized kids. “Well, the ones that are still short should be easy, but those big ones have probably been taking this stuff for a while. It might even be a challenge for the scientists. And even so, there’s no guarantee we can shrink them back to normal; the lab’s shrink ray doesn’t last forever, you know.”
“Well, we really don’t mind.” Mocha said. “We just wanna go back home and see our parents.”
“Agreed.” Cheren nodded. “You all get on the ships and we’ll drop you off at your houses.”
“Heeeeeey!” Chimney shouted.
“Siiiigh… and we’ll fish the R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N. out of its wreckage.”
“Nnnn!” Chimney nodded approvingly.
As everyone else was boarding the ships to leave, Maddy walked up to Mocha. “Mocha… I just wanted to say… what you did back there was pretty brave.”
“Well, I couldn’t let my friends be killed!” The giant beamed.
“Right… You know, I don’t say this often, but… you should join the Kids Next Door.”
“Oh? That’s where you’re from, isn’t it? You guys protect kids?”
“Mm-hm.” Maddy nodded. “And we couldn’t have saved everyone without you. You risked your life to protect everyone from Caesar. You should think about it.”
“…” Mocha was beginning to consider.
“Come on, we can’t wait for you forever!” Cheren yelled to Mocha.
“Oh, sorry! Well, bye, Maddy!” Mocha smiled and waved as she hurried onto the ship. “It was fun meeting you!”
“Take caaare!” Maddy waved to her new friend as the ship took off.
Onboard Cheren’s ship
Cheren sat quietly in his ship’s control room as he stared at the sky beyond the windshield. He felt the floor shake and looked back as Mocha approached him. “Um… Cheren, right?”
“Yeah?...”
“Um… when’s Cadet Training opening?”
Back with the others
“Hoo… man, what a mission.” Dillon sighed in exhaust. “I’m taking a week off after that.”
“I may need a week to get myself healed…” Haruka followed.
“Sooo, you’re a metahuman now!” Dillon perked up. “That should really help you with healing people!”
“I guess.” Haruka sighed sadly. “But I really didn’t want to be a doctor with metahuman powers. Just my poisonbending. It just doesn’t feel… right this way.”
“Well, if it wasn’t for those powers, you couldn’t’ve saved Mocha. You should at least keep them for now, just in case.”
“Maybe…”
“But did you hear what those guys said? Apparently Caesar’s Devil Fruits are made from demon material, too; hence the name. So people who eat them, aren’t able to swim.”
“Guess I’m not going swimming for a while…”
“Heheh, and Mason used to be the non-swimmer!”
“Hehe, yeah!...” Haruka furrowed her eyes and ordered, “You will NOT tell Mason that I can’t swim now!” She jabbed a finger. “Got it?!”
“Okaaay!”
A few feet away, Nolan was speaking with Caesar’s former henchmen. “Master Caesar told us we couldn’t leave the island because GUN would arrest us. He said he would try to find us a cure while he worked on his Bang Gas business. That’s why we helped him.”
“But… you said that GUN isn’t arresting metahumans anymore?!” one exclaimed.
“No. They aren’t.” Nolan assured. “If you want yourselves cured, you can go to see them.”
“At long last, we can return to our normal lives!!” the men began to tear with joy.
“Thank you, Master Sand-san!!”
The other operatives gathered around Kaleo, staring at the giant boy with worry. “Um… is he okay? We might need another cure.” Maddy said, noticing Kaleo’s zombified eyes.
“Nyuuuuhhh…”
“No… he’s just like that naturally.” Dillon remarked.
“Too bad we didn’t have a ship big enough to carry him.” Zach said.
“That’s okay, his friends hang out around here.” Dillon replied. “Maybe he can find them.”
Kaleo shook to his senses. “Oh yeah! Me and Beat were gonna have a wrestling contest! I should go!” And with that, the giant stomped away, quaking the ground and causing several passing cars to stop in place.
“…How d’you think they’re gonna take it?” Maddy asked.
The Gang’s Hideout
“…!!!” Kimaya, Beat, and Rhyme stared with the greatest surprise. Kaleo Anderson wore a wide, casual grin as he had to crouch down to fit in the hideout.
“HI, GUYS!” the giant waved. “Boy, do I have a story to tell YOU!”
“KYYYAAAAAH!!” Beat screamed. “YO, what the dip HAPPENED, Maaaan???”
“Oh-ho yeah, that! I’m not really sure, but, you ready to wrestle, Beat??”
“I ain’t wrestlin’ with yo’ big ass!!”
“Well, I am a little tired. Also, my stomach feels woozy. Ohhhh…” With that, he released another loud, intoxicating fart. The three punk-kids coughed uncontrollably in the green cloud before fainting from the stench. “Um… guys?” He poked Kimaya’s body. “Helloooo?”
Sector DR Treehouse
The members of Sector DR were calmly relaxing in their living room as the KNN News played. Melody and Danny Jackson were onscreen as the former spoke. “Breaking news today as KND officials arrested notorious Bang Gas dealer, Caesar Clown, who has been exposed for his distribution of metahuman products for over 20 years. Sadly, there were a few casualties, but the remaining children he held as test subjects were brought to their homes safely. Further investigation has-“
“Ooooh! Did you hear that, Boss?” Numbuh Sweetie-1 asked. “Caesar’s been arrested.”
“Hnn-hn-hn-hn.” Don Quixote Doflamingo Jr. grinned coolly kicked back in his chair, a twinkle in his sunglasses. “My dad isn’t gonna like this. I just hope his other patrons don’t find out first.”
And finally… CLOWN is done. I gotta say, this has rapidly become my favorite story in this saga so far; just like SCARY. Sandman is just that awesome. XP Even though this was mostly a ripoff of the real Punk Hazard, I think I added enough of my own touches to make it something. I remade it in a way to make it shorter, for one thing, having excluded several characters from the actual series. XD Anyway, just one month away before my 3-year anniversary. For that reason, the next story in this saga will be NECSUS. I was going to make another story ‘bout Ava and Kweeb, but I figured I’d scrap it, and maybe work it in NECSUS.
np (Guest) on Chapter 3 Tue 26 Oct 2021 08:54PM UTC
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Gamewizard2008 on Chapter 3 Wed 27 Oct 2021 02:25AM UTC
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Epik (Guest) on Chapter 3 Fri 04 Apr 2025 10:24PM UTC
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CosmicFourze, Numbuh 227, and One Earth (Guest) on Chapter 3 Sat 17 May 2025 01:22PM UTC
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Epik (Guest) on Chapter 2 Tue 22 Apr 2025 09:17PM UTC
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CosmicFourze and Numbuh 227 (Guest) on Chapter 2 Sat 17 May 2025 01:09PM UTC
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Epik (Guest) on Chapter 1 Fri 04 Apr 2025 05:51PM UTC
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CosmicFourze (Guest) on Chapter 1 Sat 17 May 2025 12:53PM UTC
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Epik (Guest) on Chapter 10 Fri 04 Apr 2025 10:27PM UTC
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