Bomberman was jolted awake by a sharp smack to his head. As he drifted between consciousnesses, he heard the clinking of glasses and the laughter of two drunken men coming from somewhere above him. Groggily, he sat up and shook his head to clear his mind a bit. He was in what looked like an old, dilapidated jail complex. There was an empty jail cell next to his own, some rusty pipes snaking along the walls, and a stairway going up.

...a stairway?

"Hah!" Bomberman exclaimed. "That's my ticket out of here! But first...gotta bust out of this joint."

He wiggled the bars of his cell. Stuck tight. He tried the door. Locked fast. Looking down, he saw that some of the lower bars in the door were knocked away, but the space was too small for him to fit through. Bomberman tried to think of every TV show and movie stunt that heroes used to escape from these types of situations, but since he didn't watch a lot of either, he was at a loss. "Well, looks like I'll just have to blast my way out, then," Bomberman said cheerily, smirking.

He focused his chi on his right palm, forming the glowing mass into a spherical shape that took on the stereotypical image of a bomb. He set it down by the door, and stepped back to prepare for the ensuing blast.

BOOM!

The bomb exploded in thick smoke and a burst of heat.

Bomberman waved away the smoke...and saw that the door was still intact.

He blinked.

He created another bomb and tried again.

BOOM!

No effect.

Panicked, the bomber searched his clothes pockets.

The Fire Stone, a stone he had received from Bomber Base that increased the firepower of his explosives, was gone.

Bomberman immediately regretted passing up all the special training sessions at Bomber Base, trusting instead that he'd always have the stone with him. Sometimes the extent of his own stupidity and complete lack of foresight scared him. Now what should he do?

Before he could sink any further into his self-pity, Bomberman heard a tapping noise behind him. Turning around, he spotted the egg that he had brought with him from Ksa2. "Well, at least someone was 'nice' enough to let me have the egg," he remarked, stooping over to pick it up."

The egg twitched and shook in his hands.

Startled, Bomberman abruptly dropped it onto the ground.

CRAACK!

He winced at the harsh sound of eggshell pieces skittering across the dusty cement, and braced himself for a smelly, sticky mess.

Instead of yolk, however, there was a round, brown creature with floppy ears who looked very puzzled. "Myu," it whimpered, seeming a bit disoriented. It rubbed its head with its ball-like pink paws. "Hey, this isn't where Pommy fell asleep! Where is Pommy?"

Bomberman stared at the "Pommy" for a while. Pommy was about a foot tall, and eerily resembled a video game character called Kirby, who looked almost identical to Pommy except he was pink, shorter by four inches, and didn't have floppy dog ears. A living marshmallow, Bomberman thought greedily. I'll roast him over a campfire as soon as I get out of here!

Pommy suddenly noticed the presence of Bomberman. "Hey!" he screeched. "Where is Pommy?"

"Um...well..." stuttered Bomberman. "You're here with me. In, um...an old jail."

"And where's this old jail?"

"Uh...inside a black hole."

"A black hole?" Pommy was frantic now, hopping up and down in short spurts. "How did Pommy get inside a black hole? Pommy remembers getting tired, so Pommy went inside Pommy's egg for a nap, so how did Pommy end up here? Huh? Huh? Huh?"

The creature's unbridled hyperactivity was quickly tiring Bomberman. "Th-that was kinda my doing," he said, yawning. "I was on Ksa2, and a girl gave me your egg as a gift, so I took it on my spaceship."

"Stupid girl," muttered Pommy. "Why'd she have to go and do that? Didn't she know that Pommy was inside the egg?"

"I guess she didn't," Bomberman answered, surprised at Pommy's comment about the girl. Who knew marshmallows could be so vindictive?

Pommy stomped up to Bomberman. "Well, now Pommy wants to leave, and you're going to help him leave!" he commanded, earning another astonished look from the bewildered bombardier.

Bomberman took a moment to recover from Pommy's bold demands. "I'd help you," he said dryly, "but I'm missing something important to me, and I need it back."

"Would that thing important to you help us get out of here?"

Bomberman nodded.

Pommy paced back and forth, lost in thought. Was he (it?) even capable of that? "Well, there's a space in the door, but you can't fit through—you're too big!"

"Is that all you can come up with?" Bomberman asked, a bit irritated at being told the obvious. His stomach grumbled in response.

"Myu! Don't hurt Pommy!" Pommy carefully inched over to the door, but not without giving Bomberman's stomach a second glance. "Pommy can fit through, so Pommy can get out and find your important thing so we can both get out. Okay? Don't go away!" And he hopped through the gap and skipped up the stairs.

Not like I can actually go anywhere, Bomberman thought glumly, sitting down and wondering if the end of his young life was near.

B-O-M-B

Pommy landed on the top step with a loud thump, startling the two soldiers in the room. "Myu!" he growled. "Beware the righteousness of Pommy, the greatest hero in the universe!"

One of the soldiers glared at Pommy with bloodshot eyes.

Pommy took a tiny step backwards. "Myu? Why is the scary man looking at Pommy like that?"

"Whaddya want, you mangy mutt?" the other soldier snarled, smashing his sake bottle on the edge of the table. Glass shards flew everywhere. "We ain't got any dog biscuits for you!"

Pommy flinched, barely avoiding being grazed by a glass fragment. "Myu! P-Pommy...Pommy only wants whatever...whatever...you stole...from..."

The other soldier arched a brow.

Pommy gasped and cowered under his ears. "Oops! Pommy forgot to ask the guy his name and what he was looking for! Oh, no..."

From somewhere down below, Bomberman swore wildly.

"It's a friend of that guy in the cell!" exclaimed the first soldier. "After it!"

"Myu!" Pommy performed an about-face and ran down the stairs, the two soldiers following him.

B-O-M-B

Bomberman was more than slightly annoyed when he saw Pommy scampering down the staircase less than a minute after he had left, with two very angry-looking soldiers on his tail no less. "What the hell are you doing, marshmallow?" he shouted.

"Quiet!" screamed one of the soldiers, pointing his laser gun at Bomberman. "We're just taking care of your little friend!"

"Then you're not doing a very good job," Bomberman remarked. "He seems rather unhappy."

SPANG! A bright blue laser bullet whizzed past Bomberman's ear, sailing into the stone wall behind him. "Shut your trap, boy," the soldier spat, running to join his partner in chasing after Pommy.

As the soldier passed by, Bomberman stuck his foot out of the gap in the door, tripping him. "Alley-oop!" he said.

"Wah!" The soldier flailed and slammed into the ground.

SMASH!

From a pocket fell a glowing, orange gem—the Fire Stone.

"All right!" Bomberman cheered. He quickly reached through the gap to grab it, and felt its power immediately surge back into his body. Before the soldier could recover, Bomberman plopped a bomb by the door.

KA-BLAM!

The blast blew away the door and knocked the soldier unconscious. Without a second glance, Bomberman shot off after Pommy and his pursuer.

He rounded a corner and found himself on an upper level of the prison that overlooked an open first floor. There was no sign of either Pommy or the second soldier. Looking down from his position, he saw two more soldiers patrolling the area, and the only way out was a door on the lower level. Not wanting to deal with any more trouble than he had to, Bomberman charged two explosives and tossed them over the edge of the railing. The resulting confusion and smoke cover allowed him to get to the other door.

Bomberman wrinkled his nose at the stench of stale sewer water in the air—he'd entered a passage leading to the sewers of the prison, apparently. However, he refused to let it deter him, and he continued his quest. He made his way down a staircase, and found a few burn marks scattered on the concrete walls. He could hear two faint voices in the distance. One of them was distinctively high-pitched. "The party's not too far away," Bomberman muttered, wading down into a shallow pool of water. He kicked away a grate and followed the open tunnel to a long, narrow waterway, at the end of which he could see the back of the other soldier and the frantic floppy ears of a newly escaped prisoner.

"Damn blasted sonuvabitch can't stay still!" the soldier cursed, firing off a volley of laser shots.

"Myu!" Pommy was oddly agile for such a round creature. He hopped up to avoid one shot and bounced to the side to avoid another.

Bomberman broke into a run. "Hey, loser!" he yelled. "Pick on people your own size!" He shoved a foot into the soldier's spine.

"Ugh!" The soldier fell face-first into the murky liquid, stunned.

Bomberman used the guard's exposed back as a stepping stone to a higher ledge, where Pommy was currently cowering. "C'mon, puffball, let's beat it before the guy wakes up and figures out what hit him."

Pommy nodded, and the two skittered to an entrance nearby. Fortunately for them, there were no live guards around, only discarded piles of robots and three functioning robots, which Bomberman quickly took out with a few well-thrown explosives. After shoving the mechanical carcasses off to the side, they took a rest, leaning against some crates filled with more robotic parts.

There was a small silence as they caught their breaths. "Myu," started Pommy, "did you ever get your thing back?"

"Yeah." Bomberman briefly took the Fire Stone out of his sweatshirt pocket.

"Okay." Pommy looked down. "Pommy's sorry that Pommy couldn't get that back for you."

Bomberman waved him off. "It's fine. At least you tried."

Pommy jumped up. "Oh! Pommy hasn't introduced himself yet!" he yapped, eyes shining and ears flopping. "Pommy's name is Pommy!"

"Yeah, I kinda figured that out by now," Bomberman responded, looking amused.

"Well, now Pommy needs to know your name!"

Bomberman stood up to stretch. "My real name is Shiro," he said, brushing some dust off his clothes after stretching, "but everyone just calls me Bomberman."

"Hmm..." Pommy scratched his head with one of his ears. "Pommy thinks that 'Pommy' is a better name than either 'Shiro' or 'Bomberman'!"

Bomberman shot Pommy a murderous look.

"What?" screeched Pommy. "Pommy's only telling his opinion!"

Bomberman didn't answer. "Heads up," he said, tossing a low-power bomb at the crates.

BOOM!

The crates splintered with the explosion, causing mechanical parts to spill everywhere. Pommy was swept off the ground with the wave of rusted metal. "Myu! What did Bomberman do that for?" he demanded.

"Hang on, I'm looking for something." Bomberman climbed onto the pile of junk and rummaged through the debris, tossing some large pieces of wood away. After a few minutes, there was a triumphant cry, and Bomberman came up, clutching a small black remote in his hand. "Yes! Victory!"

"What's that?" Pommy asked.

"A cherry-flavored lifesaver," replied Bomberman, smiling gleefully.

It was now Pommy's turn to give Bomberman a strange look. "But aren't lifesavers round?"

Bomberman ignored Pommy and concentrated his mental energy on the remote in his hand. One of his abilities that came from being a bomber was the ability to configure almost any mechanical device (depending on the bomber's skill level) into a remote control for his or her explosives. It was a difficult technique, and not often used because it required a fair amount of chi energy and a good handling of chi. However, in this strange, foreboding, and unfamiliar place, Bomberman decided that the benefit of being able to control his explosives outweighed the drain on his chi. He could regain the energy with some rest and a good meal, anyway. The former would come easily, but the latter...well...time would tell.

At the thought of something to eat, his stomach grumbled, temporarily interrupting his train of thought. Bomberman had forgotten that he had a hankering for some ham, or any sort of edible item. "Eh, crap," he muttered. This was going to bother him for a while...

"Is Bomberman all right?" Pommy asked, concerned.

"Yeah." Bomberman finished up the configuration of his remote, and heaved a weary sigh as the effects of the technique caught up to him. He really did regret bypassing those training sessions at Bomber Base; he'd have to work his ass off to get his abilities up to par. "You mind if we rest for a while before we go on?" he asked. "I'm tired as hell and both of us just got off a wild goose chase."

"Myu, Pommy doesn't mind."

"Good. Nice to know that you're a flexible...um...creature." Bomberman leaned against the wall, closing his eyes. He could feel Pommy snuggling up next to him, and the next thing he heard was a string of squeaky snoring. Damn, he changes gears faster than a bicycle, Bomberman thought, mildly entertained by this comparison.

B-O-M-B

Later, in another part of Alcatraz...

"We're sorry, Master!" came the whiny voice of an Alcatraz soldier. "I don't know what happened! We had it right there, and...and...and the next instant—"

"A living blob of mochi goes and makes fools out of both of you?" growled an angry, hoarse voice. Its owner was hidden in darkness, sitting in a chair with his back to the soldier. "You two really are pathetic. I can't believe I entrusted you to keep it until I arrived."

"S-sorry, sir!" another soldier whimpered.

"You should be sorry, indeed," answered the voice. There was a snap of fingers, and then the screams of the two soldiers as they went up in dark, red flames. Only ashes remained where they once stood, and amused laughter resounded through the room.

On one of the walls, a TV screen flashed on, showing the snoozing figures of Bomberman and Pommy. "White-haired mortal," spoke the voice, now in a more normal tone. "What secrets do you hide, that you have possession of such a powerful item?" Another laugh. "Well, whatever they are, I'll find out soon. After all, I am the greatest genius in the universe!" The sound of furious typing came from red-gloved fingertips. "Let's see if you are worthy of my company!"