This one-shot fanfic picks up where my other one, Diamond City Chronicles #4: Purple Basilisk's uprising, left off, so be sure to read that first. For more details on my DCC fic series, or if you're just curious, feel free to visit my profile.
DISCLAIMER: Contra and Castlevania belong to Konami, whereas Bomberman still remains a property of Hudson Soft as of March 1, 2012. WarioWare and Super Smash Bros., on the other hand, are owned by Nintendo. Final Fantasy is a property of Square-Enix. Any songs "used" throughout the course of this fanfic are properties of their respective owners, in addition to certain other game/movie/TV show franchises that might be mentioned (indirectly or otherwise).
-Contra: Red Falcon redux-
[Opening BGM: Title theme (Mega Man IV (GB))]
BLAZE BOMBER'S P.O.V.
Five years have passed since the Alien Wars. The people of Earth tried our best to forget the damage that Red Falcon caused. They've rebuilt, advanced, and even moved on...but surprisingly, Red Falcon returned to life. Bill Rizer and Lance Bean thought they had killed him, but in reality, they weakened him beyond repair for the next five years. And now, he's returned with his legion of Hate Bombers at his side - though only one of them was actually brainwashed against his will.
The one I'm speaking of is, unfortunately, me. Centuries ago, my home planet was attacked by Red Falcon's invading forces. Then he posed as a false god in order to corrupt me. Since then, I had lived a cursed life as a Hate Bomber until today on Earth. Aaron, Ami, Bill, and Lance of Four Contras infiltrated Dinosaur Land on June 10, 20XX, wiping out Red Falcon's aggressors. They managed to free me along the way, but nearly lost me during an attack by Red Falcon's giant-sized killer robot: Robo-Corpse. Despite all that, we were thankful for Penny Crygor's scientific talent which enabled her to save my life, let alone remodel my artificial body. In return, the Four Contras struck against Red Falcon at his main base and defeated him...just barely escaping with their lives in the end.
However, our victory was short-lived for no more than a whole month. One of Red Falcon's associates, Purple Basilisk, went rogue and proclaimed himself as the new master of Earth, given his status as the only surviving veteran of the Alien Wars. He created five of his own evil Bombermen, the Chaotic Bombers (Warlock, Boxer, Siren, Trigger, and Mosquito Bomber), and sent them after us and our close friends in his act of revenge. It turned out the next day or two, that he was using the attacks on Diamond City and Metro City as a distraction so that he and Warlock Bomber could reveal the ruins of Castlevania, located in the European country of Romania, and unearth the Crimson Stone that was supposedly destroyed for good by the Belmont clan. By the time we found it out, we were too late. Purple Basilisk had already attained the stone for himself, which enabled him to inflict such devastating harm on us all. Before he could deliver the final blow, Red Falcon returned to the surface to apprehend him, while Sniper Bomber and Axe Bomber went on to kill us while we're down. They introduced two additions to the Hate Bombers beforehand, whom they intended to replace me and Arctic Bomber (who got kicked out for her humiliating defeat against us and our friends in Diamond City, including 9-Volt and Phoebe). Said replacements were Volcano Bomber, the Hellfire Fiend; and Metamorph Bomber, the Morphing Terror.
Miraculously, 9-Volt's mother, 5-Volt, used the last of her energy to summon Bahamut - the Hallowed Father to all Eidolons - to rescue us by chasing off the Hate Bombers, just before we all passed out. Though we had lost the battle, we were fortunate that the war was not lost...at least, not yet. We were taken back to Diamond City for medical attention, where Dr. Crygor, Penny, and Mike hired a White Wizard and his female apprentice, a White Mage, to mend our wounds. But even so, Red Falcon and his followers were given time to prepare, ever since they arose back to the surface. It turned out that the "Valley of Red Falcon" underneath Dinosaur Land was just a ruse, to keep us from knowing their real whereabouts: the one and only hellish castle known as Pandaemonium. Now modified for space travel, they intend to use it to pick up where they had left off five years ago...
...Unless we act now. Wario, Mona, Cheerful White, Cute Pink, Bill, Lance, Ami, Aaron, and I would risk our lives to penetrate Pandaemonium, take out the alien aggressors with extreme prejudice, and free our home planet once again. I do not wish to lose my new friends like I lost my people centuries ago; thus, I fight for peace and justice as an honorary Contra.
END P.O.V.
[End BGM]
[Stage BGM: Go Forward Under Fire (Contra III: The Alien Wars)]
July 13, 20XX...
Our wounds from the last battle were healed; thus we were ready to take the stage above Earth's orbit. While the Contra Cruiser can fly up into outer space, it could only fit five people at a time. The CrygorCopter was also out of the question because it was not made for space travel. The only solution for all nine of us would be to take one other experimental vehicle made by Dr. Crygor himself: a rocket ship that Wario once used in a failed attempt to make off with the money without paying his employees after WarioWare Inc.: Mega Microgame$ became a success on Game Boy Advance. Nowadays, the ship can hold up to ten people, but it wasn't built for aerial and space combat alike. Thus, we'd have to be very careful as we took off for the hellish Pandaemonium above our planet's atmosphere. No sooner than we entered the castle did a blaring klaxon go off, but at this point, we weren't surprised. We knew they'd be expecting us to come and kill them, but then again, it's a living when it comes to fighting alien scumbags as a Contra.
Uh, is this thing on? A voice called over an intercom speaker. Good. Now, what was I gonna say...oh yes! Attention, foolish Earthlings! This is Lieutenant Purple Basilisk speaking on behalf of Lord Red Falcon! I'll admit, I was shocked to hear you managed to cheat death even when Warlock Bomber and I almost killed you...but I digress. Anyway, come any closer, and you'll be vaporized into space dust!
"Oh, you better hope we don't find you," said Bill, "because you know damn well we're gonna kick your ass again."
Empty words, Rizer. You forget that I possess the power of the Crimson Stone!
"And yet it bears the curse of a vampire this day," interrupted Lance. "Seriously, that stone will kill you in daylight."
Purple Basilisk scoffed. So? There's always a way for a genius like myself to work around such petty limitations! But enough; the time for talk is over!
Having faced Red Falcon's alien soldiers more than once in our lives, it didn't come as a surprise that hordes of Xenomorphs came rushing by, alongside the humanoid grunts and snipers alike. But even though Wario, Mona, Cheerful White, and Cute Pink had never encountered a Xenomorph in real life before, Wario knew from the Alien movies (as far as Dribble and Spitz told him one time) that you never attack one up close, because of its acidic blood. Henceforth, he punched out some alien grunts and stole one of their shotguns for Mona to use. While he preferred using his own fists, he was careful to grab the Xenomorphs by their tails and throw them around for us to shoot away safely.
The aliens were aided by a variety of demonoids inhabiting Pandaemonium, including Coeurls, Mythril Golems, and even Lamia Queens. The Coeurls were panther-like creatures, notorious for their ability to instantly kill someone with a physical attack on occasions. Lamia Queens, on the other hand, could knock a victim to sleep simply through physical harm, let alone a thrown punch. They could also charm victims into killing each other so the snake women wouldn't have to. Finally, the Mythril Golems are among the strongest of the golems, albeit bearing a weakness against lightning attacks. Wario and Mona took out the Lamia Queens, while White and Pink made short work of more Xenomorphs with their bombs. Ami easily destroyed the Mythril Golems with her Thunder Bombs as I dealt with the Coeurls coming our way. As for Blaze Bomber, he assisted White and Pink in burning the Xenomorphs so the acidic blood wouldn't splatter on their bodies when blown to bits.
"There are too many!" I shouted. "We have to get to the top of Pandaemonium now!"
We continued to fight our way, climbing floor after floor through the use of the teleporters we could find. But as we reached the 9th floor, a voice echoed from across a seemingly-empty hall...
[End BGM]
Aaron...that's enough.
"Huh?" I was confused. "Could that be...?"
There's no need for you to be hurt anymore. No more fighting, okay? It's time to come home...
I could only stare in confusion as the stranger took physical form. "Dad? No...it can't be right."
"Aaron," said Ami, "don't let it fool you. You know your dad is..."
"I know! He'd never tell me to give up, but..."
Blaze Bomber stepped in front of me and Ami. "Something definitely isn't right. Who are you?"
[Alert BGM: Tower of Zot (Final Fantasy II/IV)]
Figured me out already, didn't you? And here I thought you were too weakened to remember a thing. Well, no point fooling anyone now. The stranger changed form into none other than Metamorph Bomber, the Morphing Terror of the Hate Bombers!
"What a surprise, that you'd be able to see through my clever ruse in such a short time. But I didn't come alone..."
Accompanying him was Volcano Bomber, sporting a volcanic top on his head. "You were fortunate you didn't see what Metamorph and I could really do because of that accursed dragon who chased us off! But do you know why his Mega Flare didn't kill us? Lord Red Falcon gave us protection with a dark barrier, so we'd have an easier time killing you."
Then Axe Bomber came forth. "Luckily for you, that attack succeeded in destroying the barriers, but we won't need them to kill you anyway. We'll just unleash our Final Smash transformations on Sniper Bomber's behalf! This time, we'll make sure you never cheat death again!"
[End BGM]
[Boss BGM: Bloody Storm (Contra III: The Alien Wars)]
The three Hate Bombers wasted no time breaking the Smash Balls they held in their hands, enabling them to take the beastly forms representing their powers. Axe Bomber transformed into Armored Axe Tank, while Metamorph Bomber simply enhanced his morphing ability. As for Volcano Bomber, he mutated into a large, rocky monster. He raised a lava pit just beneath the floor in the center of the chamber, and jumped in.
"Feel the deadly wrath of Volcano Golem!" Volcano Bomber shouted. "What are you fools gonna do?"
"What we do best," replied Lance, "obliterating alien scumbags like you!"
"That's a laugh! You'll never figure out my weakness! Go ahead, attack me all you want! You'll only succeed in prolonging the inevitable!"
Axe and Volcano were poised to kill us, but Metamorph Bomber was just getting ready. Concentrating on his enhanced power, he took the form of a large alien tortoise: Slave Beast Taka. He went first by lunging his neck at us, followed by charging up for a laser breath from his mouth. Fortunately, his weak spot hadn't changed one bit; we shot at the "heart" just beneath his head, taking out the first form before things could get out of hand.
"Very good!" Metamorph Bomber commended, taking the form of a large scorpion toad-like monster. "But I didn't plan on limiting myself to only one giant form! Guess my main weakness, if you can!"
"The fearsome Beast Kimkoh!" exclaimed Bill.
Axe Bomber rushed on in. "Let me join in our chaotic fun, Metamorph Bomber! My axes are just itchin' to down some heads! Which reminds me: Chop, chop, down your heads go!"
"I really hate that line," said Ami. "We'll dump you into the lava as we did before!"
"Not if Volcano Bomber has anything to say about it! Face it: you're outgunned, and as good as screwed!"
"We're not licked yet!" retorted Wario. "It ain't over till the fat lady sings!"
"Flattery will get you nowhere, fat man!" hollered Axe Bomber, his tank-like body rushing forth with a pair of axe launchers and an artillery cannon at the ready. Blaze Bomber quickly tossed some power-ups for me, Bill, and Lance to use. I retrieved the Ice Breath and Drill Shot for my Contra Rifle, while Bill and Lance picked up the Crash Missiles and Laser Beam for their M16 machine guns. Meanwhile, Volcano Bomber threw one flaming meteor after another at us. Bill and Lance returned fire, but their weapons weren't strong against them, though I luckily kept the Ice Breath equipped to back them up. I could freeze the meteors, so we could throw them back at Volcano Bomber to inflict damage. The only problem with our strategy was that since he's more powerful than Blaze Bomber, he could recover his life energy just by diving into the lava - and resurfacing shortly afterwards. We tried that strategy, but the end result was as we feared: Volcano Bomber dived into the lava to recover, and resurfaced good as new.
"See?" he taunted. "You're only prolonging the inevitable! My rock-hard body makes me fully immune to lava, allowing me to recover any damage instantly!"
"Not if we can help it!" I shouted. "Your body may be rock-hard, but I have a weapon just hard enough to penetrate it. Ami, give me some cover with your Ice Bombs!"
"I'm on it, Aaron!" replied Ami. She ran around the lava center to provide covering fire alongside Bill and Lance, while I made certain to aim my Contra Rifle at Volcano Bomber's rock-hard chest. By timing the shot just right, I launched one drill after the other at him, eventually breaking part of his body off - and exposing his energy core at the same time! While he could regenerate his health in the lava, he could not regenerate his rock-hard body once damaged enough. All that was left for us was to blast him a few more times; with that, we finally sent the Hellfire Fiend succumbing into the lava. The molten substance seeped into his energy core, causing it to overheat beyond critical levels.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Volcano Bomber screamed, as he exploded into nothing but bits and pieces of rocks, which all sank into the lava shortly. The force of the explosion injured Metamorph Bomber and Axe Bomber, forcing them to stop attacking us momentarily to ease their pain. Blaze Bomber saw his chance and got out one of a few Smash Balls that he and Penny reserved for us, and broke it to unleash his Final Smash. Metamorph Bomber got up to ram into us, but Blaze came crashing down on top of him with his Blaze Meteor, not only destroying his Beast Kimkoh form, but also knocking him off into the lava pit below.
"AAAAHH! Impossible! Sniper Bomber, I leave the rest to you!" Metamorph Bomber exploded upon finishing his last words, and his remains evaporated into nothingness.
"You exploited his weakness, Blaze!" cheered Wario. "So it's just like Terminator 2: Judgment Day, where T-800 defeated T-1000 by pushing him into a vat of molten steel below!"
"No time for movie references," interrupted Mona. "Axe Bomber's still alive!"
"Not for long!" Wario dashed forth with his famed body slam and punched Axe Bomber a few times.
"You can't touch me," taunted Axe Bomber, "but I can!"
But Wario grabbed him instead. "Wasn't even trying!"
"HEY!" Axe Bomber struggled. "Put me down!"
Wario moved closer to the lava pit, just as Axe Bomber jumped off. Unfortunately for him, it was a bad time to do so. Instead of landing on the surface, he plummeted straight into the lava.
"GYAAAAAAARGH!" he screamed. "NOT AGAAAIIINNN!" With his last words, he exploded into molten metal.
[End BGM]
[Danger BGM: Moonlit Army (Contra: Hard Corps)]
"Axe, Volcano, and Metamorph are dead," said Bill, "but we're not done yet!"
"We have to stop Red Falcon and Sniper Bomber now!" added Lance.
We ran as fast as we could, reaching the teleporter that took us to the 10th floor. From there, we took out a stampede of miniature Beast Kimkohs coming our way, just as I quickly switched to the Ice Breath on my Contra Rifle to slow them down. Ami and I recalled from Contra ReBirth, that they were weak but deadly in big numbers. Though they trampled on us, we broke free and blasted them into guts before things could get worse. Then we finally reached Red Falcon, whose earthly body was at last restored with Sniper Bomber and Purple Basilisk's help...or, so it seemed. As ever, though, he bore a resemblance to that of a giant skeletal dragon, much to our surprise. Until now, even Bill and Lance didn't think it was possible Red Falcon could be fully restored in such a short time; Ami and I felt the same as they did. It had to be the Crimson Stone that revived his monstrous self.
"We commend your efforts for fighting hard, but you're too late!" taunted Sniper Bomber. "For once, Purple Basilisk did something right with the Crimson Stone and rejuvenated Lord Red Falcon's body!"
"At last," said Red Falcon, "after all these 5 long years...I LIVE AGAIN!"
"Red Falcon!" Ami shouted. "In the name of our ancestors, we will defeat you again!"
"Oh, but not this time, I'm afraid. You'll have to excuse my appearance, since it seems I'm not fully accustomed to the Crimson Stone I wear on my forehead. Although, it hardly matters now."
Cheerful White and Cute Pink gasped in fear at the mere mention of the accursed stone, but they were not afraid to stand up to him. "We can still destroy it," said White, "if we play our cards right...I think."
Pink added, "Yeah, what he said!"
Sniper Bomber, on the other hand, chuckled deviously. "You pitiful beings can never hope to kill us. You have anger! In fact, you're just as vengeful as we are!"
"Not in the slightest," said Blaze Bomber. "We'll never be like you, because we learn how to control our anger in a heated battle."
"Hmph. I guess there's no need for me or Lord Red Falcon to mention anything else, eh? Fine by me. Consider yourselves dead for real this time!" With that said, Sniper Bomber got out his own Smash Ball and busted it, materializing helicopter blades on his back for his Final Smash form: Heli-Sniper.
Red Falcon hissed in agreement. "Oh, how I've longed to fight you pathetic bipeds again in my earthly body...especially you, Bill Rizer and Lance Bean!"
[End BGM]
[Final battle BGM: Planetary Core (Final Fantasy IV: The After Years)]
As the final battle commenced, Blaze Bomber tossed me a Spread Gun power-up to help compensate for the Ice Breath I lost just now. Red Falcon summoned a pair of monstrous, snake-like arms from his body to antagonize us, followed by calling in another stampede of miniature Beast Kimkohs. Sniper Bomber backed him up by flying around us, switching between his sniper rifle, flak cannon, and even a machine gun on his right arm to bring in the pain. To counteract this, we divided ourselves into two teams: Bill, Lance, Ami, and I would face Red Falcon, while Blaze Bomber, Cheerful White, Cute Pink, Wario, and Mona face off against Sniper Bomber and ward off the Beast Kimkohs.
"Your attacks can't destroy my gun arm while its force field is active!" exclaimed Sniper Bomber. "Unlike Arctic Bomber, I'm capable of learning my lesson!"
Both opposing factions fought hard against each other at their best, hurtling one attack after another throughout the battle. We were injured along the way, but thankfully not anything severe. Either way, we dodged Sniper Bomber's deadly attacks in conjunction with Red Falcon's laser eye beams and fire breath, careful as ever not to get killed. But just as we gained the upper hand by destroying Red Falcon's snake-like arms, he suddenly stopped the fight.
"You're doing well," he began, "but why continue this pointless conflict? We'd just end up killing each other, anyway. So therefore, what better way to settle things than by proposing a great deal to end this cycle once and for all? Don't worry, Sniper Bomber and I won't kill you. We just want to talk things out..."
"What do you want?" I demanded, keeping my guard up cautiously.
"To bestow upon you the power of the Crimson Stone that Purple Basilisk recreated for me, under my supervision. You've shown us your great strength, your pure intellect, and even perseverance. I was indeed surprised to hear you cheated death in order to come all the way here and get me. Why, you merely have the same potential that Axe, Sniper, and I do. Think about it: we could rule the universe together, and none shall ever think about killing you anymore, let alone stage a petty rebellion. With the Crimson Stone to keep us invincible, we could become gods of planet Earth. Take it in your hands, and you'll have everything you've ever dreamed of: power, riches, an eternal life in paradise..."
"An eternal life in paradise with the likes of you?" Pink scoffed. "As if!"
"She's right. It's obviously not what 9-Volt, Phoebe, and all our close friends would have wanted," agreed White.
"You would dare to decline what the Crimson Stone has to offer? You two are obviously not born on planet Earth, but think of it this way: you and your friends could live forever, and not worry about anybody coming to kill you, much less slit your throat."
Mona shook her head no. "That stone is evil. It offers nothing but the curse of a vampire. Mathias Cronqvist let himself be swayed by the power he created to have eternal youth, and became Dracula willingly so he could curse our Heavenly Father for 'stealing' his beloved Elisabetha from him. It wasn't just the Belmont clan and their blessed Vampire Killer that did him in time and again; it was also his own twisted delusions that led to his repeated downfall. Even his own son, Alucard, disagreed with his plans to cover our world in eternal darkness."
"In other words," said Wario, "you can take that stone and shove it where the sun don't shine! We don't trust you and your bullcrap!"
Red Falcon grew impatient, suspecting we were on to his ruse. Apparently, he wanted us to touch the stone so he could make undead servants out of us with its unholy curse rather than continue the fight as normal, but we weren't buying it. "What ails you?! Have you no ambition?! Your own people selfishly start wars, you kill each other just to show the world your self-proclaimed godly power! You even lie, cheat, and steal all the time! Because of everything that's happened, your pathetic kind have grown sick of what your planet has become today. Take the Crimson Stone that Sniper Bomber and I intend to share only with you now, and we'll change everything by building a new world where crime, poverty, pollution, and all such heresy no longer exist."
"That may be so," said Bill, "but unlike you and your scumbag followers, we humans are capable of learning from history overall, so that we wouldn't repeat the potentially devastating mistakes we might have made years, decades, even centuries ago."
"What we're saying is," added Lance, "we'd rather destroy the Crimson Stone than join the likes of you. I mean, that's why you always lose. You don't want to unify Earth, you want to conquer it!"
With that said, Blaze Bomber handed out two more Smash Balls reserved only for us. Ami and I busted them to ready our Final Smash attacks: the Charge Shot from my Contra Rifle, and the Holy Bomb from Ami's Bomberman Watch.
"No! Wait! Hold on!" Red Falcon panicked. "It's cool! Everything's cool! Th-think about what you're doing!"
"Just the right thing," said Ami, "and that's by destroying you, Sniper Bomber, and the Crimson Stone!"
I stepped in to call out, "Bill, Lance, on three!" We Four Contras counted from one to three, as Sniper Bomber flew in to gun us down once more. Unfortunately for him, White and Pink blasted him with some cartoon bombs, intent on slowing him down. Finally, Ami and I unleashed our Final Smash attacks as Bill and Lance fired their Crash Missile and Laser Beam power-ups simultaneously. Red Falcon attempted to counterattack with his fire breath and laser eye beams, but neither one matched our joint attacks.
[End BGM]
"NOOOOOO!" Red Falcon cried out. "DAMN YOU, CONTRAS! I...WILL...NOT...DIE!"
The monstrous leader of the Red Falcon Empire was blasted along with Sniper Bomber, his earthly body crumbling into space dust. His big, one-eyed brain was all that remained of him. It bulged violently, releasing a round sweep of laser shots as a last-ditch effort before it finally burst into guts, killing Red Falcon for good. Though we were unavoidably hit by surprise, we didn't suffer any last-second casualties on our part. As for Sniper Bomber, he was sent hurtling towards Purple Basilisk, Warlock Bomber, and the rest of the rejuvenated Chaotic Bombers. The impact caused them to crash into an escape ship, which Sniper Bomber accidentally set to blast off as he struggled to get up.
"We'll get you for this, Contras!" snarled Sniper Bomber. "Especially Blaze Bomber, if it's the last thing we do!"
[Ending BGM: Free World (Contra ReBirth)]
Without Red Falcon and his dark power to keep Pandaemonium alive, it began to crumble while we made our escape. Despite having used up most of our energy for our Final Smash attacks, Ami and I kept going so we could catch up with the others. We traveled from one teleporter to the other, finally returning to the 1st floor, and got inside our rocket ship just in time. As we blasted off, the castle self-destructed into pieces, its debris eventually burning up in Earth's atmosphere upon reentry. The same happened to our ship, but fortunately, we survived reentry as it plummeted into the sea at the coast of Diamond City.
"It's finally over..." said Cheerful White. "But man, I can't believe I'm still breathing!"
"Yeah, me too, White..." agreed Cute Pink. "I wonder if we really defeated the Red Falcon Empire forever?"
"We have," I nodded, "although Sniper Bomber got away with Purple Basilisk."
"Oh, they thought they did," said Ami. "but not without banishing themselves somewhere in outer space."
Lance walked closer to Ami, patting her shoulder affectionately as if he were her father-figure. "True. They'll be back as soon as they recover, but we'll be ready for whatever they can throw at us."
Bill nodded in agreement with his red-clad buddy. "And look on the bright side: at least we won this time to make up for what happened back at the ruins of Castlevania. Now let's head on home and forget we ever heard what Red Falcon said about the Crimson Stone offering eternal paradise and all that crap..."
THE END
(Ending Credits)
Aaron (me) – MYSELF
Ami – JANICE KAWAYE
Bill Rizer – BOB BUCHHOLZ
Lance Bean – SYLVESTER STALLONE
Blaze Bomber – SCOTT MENVILLE
Cheerful White – TARA STRONG
Cute Pink – JANICE KAWAYE
Wario – CHARLES MARTINET
Mona – LESLIE SWAN
Red Falcon – RICK MAY
Sniper Bomber – SCOTT MCNEIL
Axe Bomber – ALVIN SANDERS
Metamorph Bomber – STEVEN JAY BLUM
Volcano Bomber – SCOTTIE RAY
Purple Basilisk – STEVEN JAY BLUM
[End Credits]
[End BGM]
"Contra" is the name given to those elite warriors with an indomitable spirit and superior guerrilla tactics.
TO BE CONTINUED IN DIAMOND CITY CHRONICLES #5...
And there you have it! It sure was long for a one-shot fic, but at least it wrapped up DCC #4: Purple Basilisk's uprising as I intended. Without further ado, see you next time!