"I just don't understand anything anymore!" Ike shouted.
The heroes were once again trying to convince Ike about his real past and how he came to lose his memory and powers, but he wasn't buying it.
"Look, all of you" he said. "I appreciate what you've done for me the past few days but I just don't fit in here. You all have awesome powers or special talents and I...well, I don't even know who I am! I think its best if I just leave. I don't belong with you all".
He began to walk out the door and the heroes looked on in sadness. Derpy tried to run to him but Rarity held her back.
"Let him go, darling" Rarity said. "He just needs to be alone for a while".
"I hope he stays safe" the pegasus said sadly as everyone watched Ike walk alone into the distance.
Meanwhile, over at the villains' HQ, the Joker was becoming impatient with the lack of evil schemes the villains came up with.
"This is ridiculous!" he shouted. "You mean to tell me that none of you can think of anything? What kind of villains are you?"
The other villains looked around the room nervously, trying to avoid eye contact with the Joker. Eventually, The Lobe spoke up.
"Well, you see Joker, we're kind of out of ideas at the moment".
Joker walked over to The Lobe and grabbed him by the shirt.
"Out of ideas? What do you mean you're out of ideas? Maybe I should knock some ideas into that oversized head of yours!"
He was just about to punch Lobe in the head when Discord called out to them from a window.
"Hey, fellas, come take a look at this!"
Joker dropped Lobe and walked over to the window where Discord was. The other three joined them. As they looked out the window they could see Ike walking alone, his hands in his pockets and his head looking down.
"What in Arkville is that one doing wandering around alone?" Eggman asked. "I heard he went through some kind of regeneration where he lost his memory and powers, but I thought the heroes would have taken him in after that".
The Joker's eyes widened as he turned to Eggman.
"Hold on a second" Joker said as a smile began to form on his face. "I think I may have the perfect plan! Since that Ike fellow down there still has no memory and he's not with those blasted heroes, maybe we could...persuade him to join our team. Get where I'm going with this?"
The other villains thought for a minute but then nodded their heads in agreement.
"Okay then" Joker chuckled. "Let's go pay a visit to our dear old friend, Ike"
He laughed evilly as the villains went to confront Ike.
Ike continued to walk alone until he heard someone calling his name. He didn't recognize it as any of the heroes, so he was confused as to who it could be. He turned around and saw the villains standing a few feet away from him, smiling.
"Oh, Ike!" The Joker said. "Thank goodness you're alright. We thought we had lost you for good!"
Ike looked around confused.
"Who are you guys? And what are you talking about?"
The Joker pretended to look shocked.
"Why, you don't remember us, Ike? We're your friends!"
Ike was even more confused now than before.
"But, those other guys said that they were my friends. They seemed like nice people".
Joker walked over to Ike and put his arm around Ike's shoulder.
"Oh, those guys? No, no, no, those were villains, Ike. You see, you used to fight side by side with us, the heroes, but a few days ago those terrible villains captured you and erased your memory and took away your powers. Then they must've treated you nice so that you would be convinced that you were one of them. But now that we've found you, you can rejoin us heroes and take revenge on the villains that tried to corrupt you! So, what do you say?".
Ike scratched his head and then grew angry.
"If what you're saying is true, then those other guys...those villains...need to pay for what they did to me. I can't believe I trusted them!"
The Joker smiled and patted Ike on the back.
"Hey, don't worry about it. It's not your fault they took away your memory and powers. Now, are you willing to fight those villains to get your memory back?"
Ike thought for a second and then turned to the Joker and said,
"I'll do whatever it takes".
Joker smiled evilly and turned to the other villains.
"Send a letter to the cartoon force saying that we have Ike" he wispered to them. "Tell them if they ever want to see him again, they will come to the abandoned cave in the northern part of Arkville. Tell them to hurry, too. Don't want this little show to take all day".
Joker then turned back to Ike and said,
"Don't worry, Ike. You're back with us now, and you'll have your revenge"
Ike smiled and cracked his knuckles. Doofensmirtz wrote the letter and delievered it to the heroes HQ as the villains and Ike went to the abandoned cave to prepare for what was to come.
"Guys, we have an emergency on our hands!" Sonic said as he rushed into the room holding the villains' letter. He gave it to Batman, who told the others that it was a ransom note for Ike.
"Oh, I knew we shouldn't have let him go out there all by himself!" Derpy said worriedly.
The heroes got themselves ready to fight and traveled to the abandoned cave. When they got there, they entered it and saw it was very large and dark. Twilight Sparkle used her horn to create light, but as soon as she did that, bright lights all around the cave switched on, revealing the villains.
"What have you jerks done with Ike?" Rainbow Dash yelled.
The Joker pressed a button on a small device he had and a large cage descended from the cieling, trapping the heroes.
"Oh don't worry" Joker said. "You'll see him soon enough. Oh, Ike! Come and see your 'friends'".
The villains laughed as Ike emerged from the shadows and walked up to the cage where the heroes were.
"Ike!" Pinkie Pie yelled happily. "Thank goodness you're safe. Now, would you mind getting us out of this cage? It's kinda cramped in here..."
Ike glared at all the heroes and said,
"I'm not doing anything you villains say to me anymore! You all lied to me. You claimed you were my friends when in reality you're the ones who took away my memory! Now, give me back my memory and my powers or I'll personally destroy each and every one of you!"
The heroes were shocked.
"What are you talking about, Ike?" Phineas said. "We are your friends! Those other guys are the villains! They must've have brainwashed you into thinking that you were one of them!"
"Shut it!" Ike yelled. "Obviously you're still sticking with your lies, so it seems like I have no choice but to destroy you".
He motioned for The Joker to take one of the heroes out of the cage.
"Which one do you want to destroy first, Ike?" Joker asked, smiling.
Ike looked at the heroes and then pointed at Derpy. Joker pulled her out of the cage and threw her in front of Ike. He then gave Ike a small gun, and Ike pointed it at Derpy.
"Please, Ike" Derpy pleaded. "Don't do this! You're not like those villains! You have to trust me. You're my friend, Ike. All of us are. I know you don't remember anything right now, but I'm positive that all your memories are still in your head somewhere. You need to think hard, Ike. Try to remeber all the good times we've had together! Please, just try!"
Ike continued to point the gun at Derpy as the villains yelled to shoot her. His hand shook and he began to sweat as he held the gun.
"I...I...I don't know!" he yelled.
"Yes you do, know!" Derpy said to him. "You can remember, I just know it! I believe in you, Ike!"
Ike dropped the gun and grabbed his head. He shouted in pain and then whispered,
"I remember"
Suddenly, a huge flash of light exploded from Ike, just like when he first regenerated. When the flash subsided, Ike was still standing. He rubbed his head and turned around to the villains and smirked.
"Hello, villains! I'm back!"
"Uh oh" Doofensmirtz said nervously. "This isn't good".
"So!" Ike said. "You thought that it would be a good idea that while I had no memory you would try to convince me that I was one of you. Not a bad plan, but you made one huge mistake. You pitted me against my friends, even going so far as wanting me to kill one of my best friends, Derpy here. That's a big no no in my book. So, I'm gonna give you exactly thirty seconds to run away back to your HQ or I am gonna bring a serious world of hurt on the five of you. So basically..."
The smirk wiped away from his face and he began to form his energy in his hands.
"Run."
Four of the villains took off as fast as they could out of the cave as The Joker ran after them, yelling,
"You pansies, get back here and fight like real villains!"
Ike's energy subsided and he turned around just as Derpy jumped up to hug him. He happily returned the hug and unlocked the cage that the heroes were in. All the heroes jumped on Ike in a massive group hug.
"Wow" Ike said. "I had no idea you guys missed having the real me around!"
"You have no idea" Derpy smiled. "But it's good to have you back, Ike"
Ike winked and said to the others,
"Alright, guys, lets get the heck outta this creepy place!"
Everyone agreed and they began to walk to the exit of the cave. Just as they were about to leave, Ike stopped and looked up at something right above the exit of the cave.
"Twilight, shine your light up there for a second" he told the unicorn.
Twilight did as she was asked, and it was revealed that there was writing in Latin.
"What do you think it says?" Jenny asked.
Just then Ferb pulled out a small device and began to type the words into it.
"Oh, yeah" Phineas said. "I forgot Ferb always carries a multi-language translator with him. What does it say, bro?"
Ferb handed the device to Phineas who read the translated words.
"Apparently the writing says, 'when the man in the blue box arrives in Arkville, he will bring with him an army, and the end of the cartoon universe will begin'".
The heroes looked around confused.
"Man in the blue box?" Applejack asked. "What in tarnation does that mean?"
"Ah, it was probably just written there by the villains to try and scare us" Ike said. "I wouldn't worry about it too much".
The heroes shrugged and continued back to their HQ. As they were walking, Derpy looked back at the cave nervously. She knew something didn't seem right about that prophecy, but she couldn't think of what.