FLIGHT OF THE HALBERD: PART 1

The Halberd Hijacking

It was a beautiful and sunny day out in San Diego, California, where me and my teammates, the Sonic Heroes, were on vacation for the summer. Sonic and I were tanning on the beach, Tails was surfing, Knuckles was sparring with Shadow, and Silver and Ty were building a sand castle. "Sighhh…this is the life Sonic," I began to say. "Laying out on the beach, no bad guys to fight, hanging out with our best friends,…it doesn't get any better than this." "Amen to that, man! I wish this would never end!" Sonic replied.

But before we could say anything else, Tails surfed near the shoreline, with a HUGE wave coming behind him. We peered out of our sunglasses to check it out, and all we could do was watch as the giant wave crashed into the sand. Tails came to a stop and came over to us, and when he saw what had happened, he froze up. All of us stared angrily at Tails, especially Ty, whose sand castle was completely demolished. Tails turned red in the face with embarrassment and said, "Heh heh…my bad guys…"

Sure, it sounds like we're having fun on the beaches of San Diego, but we didn't realize that there was an evil plot about to unfold…a plot so sinister that it would threaten the fate of the entire world.

MEANWHILE…

At the base of our sworn enemies, the Black Hole Army, things were really, really boring. Evil Bomber (Bomberman's ex-nemesis) was sleeping, and Meowth, who had left Team Rocket for better work, was surfing the Internet. In the main control room, our sworn enemy Razorbeard was researching new tactics to forever destroying us. After almost 10 years of fighting us, the Black Hole Army has NEVER defeated us, although I'll admit, sometimes they've come really close. As Razorbeard was looking stuff up, he found something that really caught his eye. After further investigation, he decided it was time for action.

"MEOWTH!! EVIL BOMBER!! GET IN HERE!!!!!" Razorbeard snapped. They rushed into the control room with no hesitation. "Hey boss, what's up? Did you find us another evil scheme?" Meowth questioned. "As a matter of fact, I have!" Razorbeard replied. "Here, check this out. According to my data, the one and only Sir Meta Knight has finished repairing his old battleship, the Halberd. It appears to be stationed out in some abandoned warehouse in Pasadena, California. Check out these modifications he's made on it!"

Apparently this new version of the Halberd had more turrets around the perimeter of the ship, a combo cannon, and tons of new weapons. Then Evil Bomber exclaimed, "Oh and look, it's got cup holders!!" The others stared at him confused. "Sorry, go on."

"Okay, so we've got all the data we need, so here's the plan," Razorbeard said. He brought the guys into a huddle and gave them the sinister plan. "All right, you guys understand?" Razorbeard questioned. "Sir, yes sir!" they quickly replied. "Hehehehe, excellent. Well then, if there are no further questions, we're off to Pasadena! Let's move out!!!" And with that, the Black Hole Army was off to put their evil scheme into action.

IN PASADENA…

At the Halberd air base (abandoned warehouse), Sir Meta Knight's troops were putting the finishing touches on the battleship. "Meta Knight, sir! The Halberd is almost ready for launch!" one of his flunkies reported. "Good work," Meta Knight replied. "Tell everyone that we will be launching in 10 minutes." The mysterious warrior paced the floor, concocting plans to reclaim his lost empire in Dream Land. He thought to himself, "Soon the time will come when I return to Dream Land, and all will be as it once was."

All of a sudden, an explosion rocked the warehouse and tore up the roof. Three figures flew in from the fiery smoke and landed with a deafening THUD. Meta Knight flew into the air to avoid the chaos, and after landing back on the ground, he took a hard look at his attackers. The smoke cleared, and the attackers' identities were revealed.

"All right, listen up jerkwads! We're the Black Hole Army, and we're taking over your battleship!" Razorbeard ordered. "You and what army?" Meta Knight snapped. "What army?" Razorbeard replied back. "What army?! THIS ARMY!!!" At that moment, loads of Black Hole Army troops (consisting of Covenant forces and Razorbeard's robots) stormed the warehouse and took out all of Meta Knight's men. At the same time, Evil Bomber, Meowth, and Razorbeard took no time beating up Meta Knight. With his army vanquished, Meta Knight was backed up into a corner.

Razorbeard approached the defeated warrior and said, "So, Meta NAUGHT, who's gonna stop us from taking over your ship now?" He couldn't answer, because he was too weak to do anything. "Troops! Load up the Halberd and prepare to launch!!" Razorbeard commanded. It took about 20 minutes to get the ship ready, but the Black Hole Army was finally set.

"Okay everyone, are we ready to go?" Razorbeard questioned over the Halberd intercom. There was a consensus of "Sir, yes sir!", followed by Meowth giving the thumbs up for launch. "We're all set, boss!" he exclaimed. "Excellent!" Razorbeard replied. "Fire up the engines…and…" After a few seconds of the engines warming up, the command was given… "IGNITION!!!!" The Halberd lifted off the ground and flew out of the warehouse doors. It seemed as if the Black Hole Army's plan was getting off on a good start.

Meta Knight, though weak and in pain, wasn't about to let his precious battleship get away. In a desperation attempt, he hurled his sword at the Halberd's left engine, making a direct hit. Right after he threw the sword, he fainted from exhaustion. Inside the cockpit, alarms went blaring like crazy. "Meowth, what the heck just happened?!" Razorbeard fumed. In shock, Meowth replied, "Well, it looks like Meta Knight's sword has punctured the left engine. I don't think he wants us leaving with his ship." "Grrrrr…this guy is getting on my nerves…" Razorbeard said to himself.

The Black Hole Army was forced to land the Halberd at an abandoned launch base nearby. Razorbeard got back on the intercom and said, "Attention troops of the Halberd! Commence with repairs of the left engine and report back to me when you're finished. During that time, we'll be looking for spare engine parts, so we'll be back shortly. Now get to work!!" Razorbeard, Meowth, and Evil Bomber then got out of the ship and started looking for a nearby town.

Back at the warehouse, Meta Knight regained consciousness and looked around at the wreckage. He then gazed into the sunset among the horizon, and thought to himself, "I can't believe after all this hard work, these villains came and robbed me of my greatest weapon. Now that it's in their hands…the world is in great danger…"

With the Black Hole Army in control of the Halberd, things aren't looking very good right now! But it's only a matter of time before the Sonic Heroes find out about this dastardly plot and put a stop to it!...or at least we hope. But what will come of the Halberd and Meta Knight? Don't miss the next exciting chapter of this thrilling adventure!!!

TO BE CONTINUED…