Hel-loooo. Time to chase after these baddies! Here we go! (Oh, and to that anonymous person, you ought to log in so I can properly reply to you.)
Chapter 11: The First Born Caught
Team Brotherhood's ship
"BIII! BIII!" the Forest Spirit shook and shook, trying desperately to shake away from Elijah and Jeremiah's grasps.
"Gah, hold still, you whiny baby!" Jeremiah shouted.
"These brats are supposed to be the ultimate power?" Elijah asked. "Who the heck comes up with this crap?!"
"You're holding him wrong." April said, taking the child spirit from them. "You're supposed to do it like this." She lightly rocked the fairy spirit in her arms, and Celebi calmed down.
"Awwww!" Leo cooed.
"Reminds me of how Victoria rocks Leo to sleep." Danika said.
"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" her brother shouted.
Nolan smirked as he tossed the Spirit Ball around in his hands. "This is too good. Already the start of the quest, and we kidnapped the Firstborn right from under them!"
"It's like taking a really tasty candy from a bunch of babies!" Leo exclaimed.
"In other words, taking a candy from Leo." Matt remarked.
"HEY! !"
"Gary, Dan, get Darth Genious on the line. I want him to see this." Nolan ordered.
"We're on it." Gary replied, pressing some buttons.
A TV screen sparked to life on the wall behind Nolan and showed Brain's image. "Ah, my new operatives. Have you accomplished your mission?"
"Did we ever." Nolan said, proudly. "Behold…"
"One real-live Firstborn!" Danika exclaimed as April held the child up.
Brain, however, didn't seem too amazed.
"And now, for the finishing act." Nolan began, holding up his Spirit Ball. "Go, SPIRIT BALL!" With that, he tossed the spirit-made Poké Ball at Celebi's head, bouncing back to his hands, and the spirit became engulfed in light before being sucked into the sphere, with Nolan closing it tight.
They all watched anxiously as the ball made a beeping sound and shook, trying to hold Celebi in. At that instant, the ball shot open, a light energy beam forcing Nolan out of his wheelchair and into the wall behind him before the light formed back into Celebi, who groaned as she barely stayed afloat in the air.
"Errr…" Nolan groaned, holding himself up on his arms. "What happened? ACKK." Brain's dome became green and his eyes red as Nolan was suddenly levitated in midair, choking as Brain held him by the neck with his psychic.
"You fool. The Firstborn can only be captured by their respective Guardian. Any other who uses the Spirit Ball, and the Firstborn will be rejected."
"Argh! Ack…" Nolan tried to speak, but Brain kept choking him, his face turning red.
Danika and April looked worriedly at each other. "Hey, let him go! It's not his fault he didn't know." April shouted.
"If you kill Nolan, I'll kill myself." Danika swore, a serious look in her eyes.
Brain's lights immediately went off, and he released Nolan from his grasp, the former sector leader dropping to the floor. Danika helped him up back into his chair as Brain spoke, "Just make sure the Guardian captures the Firstborn. And do not fail me again." With that, the screen switched off.
"Phew… thanks, Danika." Nolan sighed.
"Gee, how did you know that would work?" April asked.
"I don't know. Sometimes when I'm desperate, I say really random things. I just…", Dani looked away in embarrassment, "wouldn't know what to do without Nolan. He's my best friend."
"Uh… eh hehe." Nolan chuckled and blushed.
"Heeheehee. Someone's in wooo—OW!" Leo yelped when Matt smacked him.
"Still, it sure sounded like Brain really didn't want you to kill yourself." Matt said. "I wonder why he would care?"
"Maybe he's got a spot for you!" Dan the Stormtrooper joked and laughed.
"Aw, shut up, Dan." Gary said. The then turned around in his seat to ask them, "So, you guys want us to turn back or-" As he spoke, a shadowed figure was flying toward the windshield, behind the Stormtroopers, and the others' eyes widened.
"BEHIND YOU!" Leo yelled.
"Huh, what the- AHH!" Gary ducked when the figure smashed through the window.
"YOU!" Nolan shouted accusingly.
"Well, if it isn't the little legless boy." Plank 2x4 spoke in his high British accent, attached to the end of Johnny's mop-staff. "Having fun being half-empty toothpaste?"
"Heeheehee! Good one, Plank!" Johnny laughed.
"Ugh, you again." Danika sighed as they readied for battle.
"Alright, you two: time for you to get lo-" Before Nolan could finish, a couple more Plank Troops broke in through the door and blew stun darts at them, making them faint.
Gary and Dan put the ship in autopilot and tried to shoot them, but Johnny flipped behind the Stormtroopers and whacked them beside the head, knocking them out as well. "Men: grab the Firstborn." At Plank's order, the Plank minions bounced on Nolan's chair and fired a net at the Firstborn, zapping her again.
"BIII!"
Plank hopped off Johnny's staff and walked over to the fairy. "It pains me to do this to you, my dear. But once we're done here, this world will be repopulated by the Wooddom you so helped create." He turned to his assistant. "Johnny: take us back to base."
"Roger that, buddy!" Johnny exclaimed, sitting at the controls. "But what do we do about these guys?"
"I have a plan for them. Just take us back to HQ first. And send the Plank Troops back in the forest in case we're followed. All-powerful Forest Spirit gone missing, the forest media'll be all over that."
"Will do, Plank!" Johnny cackled evilly as the ship sped away from the forest.
Forest of Light; back with the others
The Sonic and KND gangs awakened shortly after falling at the hands of the knock-out gas. "Oh… what happened?" Tails moaned, rubbing his eyes.
"Those guys came and took the Firstborn." Sonic reminded.
"I remember them." Cosmo said. "That goth chick and the handicapped guy tried to capture us before, and we even saw them at the Brotherhood Base."
"I wonder if Gary's with them? There's a few words I wanna say to that guy!" Annie yelled, still angry about Gary tricking them and nearly getting Emily killed.
"If they have the Firstborn, they might have unlimited power!" Tails yelled.
"I don't think so. Without the Guardian, the Firstborn won't cooperate very well." Misty said. "But they could still FORCE her to work."
"Then we have to go after them!" Cosmo exclaimed.
"The Blue Typhoon might not be fast enough." Tails said. "And it'll take a while to run back to it, anyway. …Except for Sonic, but he still can't fly good." The hedgehog shot him a glare. "What do we do?"
Just then, the large mosquito from before; Moskito, flew and landed beside Cosmo and Nova, gesturing for them to get on his back. "I guess he wants us to ride him." Cosmo guessed.
"Okay, you guys can ride him, and I'll go ghost and carry Annie and Zuri after you." Emily said.
"Oh, great. More ghost flying." Annie complained.
"Zuri…" Zuri agreed.
"We'll try and meet up with the rest of you later." Emily told Team Sonic, who nodded.
"Good luck, you guys!" Amy cheered as the aliens got onto Moskito, and Emily became a ghost, grabbing Annie and Zuri.
"Hi-ho, mosquito!" Nova exclaimed, and they all took off. (Play the "Moskito Ride" Theme from Rayman 1!)
Forest of Light, Act 2
The two aliens held tight as Moskito quickly carried them through the Forest of Light, after the villains' ship. Some Plank minions were floating down with little leaf petal propellers, but Moskito spat spit wads and knocked them down. Some missiles were being fired at them, but Moskito sucked them in and spat them back at the Plank Troops.
The aliens flew in a large spider web, but Emily fired ecto blasts to get them free, and Moskito fired at any more webs they came to. A swarm of Beedrill was approaching them, but Moskito blasted them and flew through a hole under a tree, dodging when a family of Ursaring swiped their claws at them. Some Plank Troops on the ground started shooting them with stolen B.E.A.R.-H.U.G.G.A.H.s, hiding behind boulders so Moskito couldn't hit them, but Moskito spat at tree branches above the minions, and the shots bounced off and hit the troops.
"Ugh. Can't this bug go any faster?" Cosmo complained.
"Now, Cosmo, don't be so mean to him." Nova said.
"Bzzz? Bzzzt!" the mosquito buzzed.
"WHOA!" The mosquito suddenly flew at rapid speeds, and the forest rushed by the aliens quickly.
"Hey, wait up!" Emily shouted, flying faster to keep up.
Moskito made several turns, dodging trees and rocks, and the aliens had to duck incoming branches. Some Plank Troops ahead were cutting down trees, but Moskito still dodged the falling wood, even knocking over two troops. "Well, Mac… we sawed our own kind for nothing…" the troop said to the other before fainting.
Up ahead, some Plank Troops were closing the gates to the forest. "They're closing us in!" Nova exclaimed. Moskito flew even faster, determined to make it through, and when the gate was inches from closing, the three shot through, blowing the Plank Troops away.
As the minions recovered, they saw Emily fly over them, holding Annie and Zuri. "Even if that worked, we coulda just flown over." Emily told them as they followed their friends.
Before they knew it, the aliens and Moskito were flying over the ocean, drawing farther away from the great forest. "There they are, we're getting close." Cosmo said as they caught up to the villains' ship. The vessel launched missiles at them, but Moskito sucked them in, blowing them at the engines. Some Plank Troops flew by on 2x4 jetpacks and tried to hit them with stolen G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A.s, but Moskito spat and knocked them out of the sky. He sucked some Plank Troops in and spat them at the ship's engines as well.
"Bah… curses." Plank said as they felt the ship rumble.
"Cosmo, what's it doing?" Nova asked when the ship extracted a large laser turret, which locked on.
"It's a laser cannon! Watch out!" Startled at the massive laser, Moskito narrowly dodged when it fired. It locked once more and fired, but Moskito dodged again. The ship launched a few more missiles that Moskito sucked in while the ship was charging a homing laser. Before it could fire, Moskito shot the missiles back, destroying the large cannon.
"All right!" the operatives exclaimed.
"NO!" Plank shouted. "Get us away from them, Johnny." With that, the ship sped off over the horizon.
"Hey! Get back here!" Cosmo yelled, flying after them faster. (Stop the music.)
Peach Creek Cul-de-sac
Soon, the ship landed in the cul-de-sac, and Johnny stepped off, carrying Plank and Celebi. Some Plank minions walked out, dragging the Toxic Four and Team Brotherhood, as they followed Johnny and Plank into the tree stump that led to their secret lair.
Inside Plank's Lair, they threw the seven villains into what seemed like an old refrigerator, closing it and turning a dial. They woke up just in time to see where they were. "Whuh…what's happening?" Nolan asked.
"Oh, so you're awake." Plank said, hanging onto the small window on the machine to look at them.
"Plank! Where are we? !"
"You're in my secret lair. I am about to unveil a taste of Celebi's power, but first I need to dispose of you. Right now, you are in the Eds' pathetic excuse of a time machine. They once tried to fool us into thinking we've been sent to the dinosaur era by that thing. Only THIS time, it WILL work. You see, not only does Celebi rule the forest, she is also a time spirit. Once Celebi's power over time has been added, the lot of you will be sent so far back, you'll never stand in my way again."
"You seriously think this thing'll work?" April asked.
"We'll soon find out, won't we? And if it so happens to explode from the energy, you will be exterminated regardless. Connect the power source." A couple Plank Troops placed the still-weakened Celebi onto a platform, shocking the spirit as it absorbed her energy, which flowed through some cords and into the time machine.
"Bring us back a fossil!" Johnny exclaimed. "If you ever get back, that is! Mwah ha ha ha! GO!" With that, Johnny slammed the red button, and the machine erupted to life.
The seven Brotherhood villains shielded their eyes and screamed as the light engulfed them. It erupted a flash that nearly blinded everyone, and once it vanished, the Planks saw that the machine was gone along with its seven passengers.
"Where'd it go?" Johnny asked.
"If my calculations are correct, much like my beauty…" Plank began, smiling in his handheld mirror, "the machine has taken them back to the Jurassic Era. Or it could've just exploded. Either way, those fools are gone. Now it is time for Celebi's grand debut of her power. Grab her."
Outside
Cosmo and Nova soon reached the cul-de-sac, waiting for Moskito to land before stepping off. "Thank you for your help." Nova said to the large bug before he took off. Emily, Annie, and Zuri landed soon after.
"Oh… I'll never get used to that." Annie groaned, as did Zuri.
"There's the ship!" Cosmo exclaimed, pointing at the ship they were previously chasing.
Nova noticed the tree-stump entrance, which was still open. "They must've headed in there."
"We'll check the ship." Emily said. "You guys look down in there." The aliens nodded and jumped down into the open stump.
Emily, Annie, and Zuri ran onto the ship and gasped when they saw Dan and Gary knocked out. "Ohhh…" the soldiers groaned, weakly recovering. "What? You?" Gary noticed.
"Nice to see you again, too." Annie replied, glaring.
Plank's Lair
Cosmo and Nova landed and dashed into the underground wooden hideout. Cosmo knocked out Plank Troops with his bo staff while Nova shot them with a 20x40 gun. "They have to be in here somewhere." Cosmo said.
"In there!" Nova pointed to a room where a dim light shone from. After knocking out a few more troops, the two stopped before the door and peeked into the auditorium, slowly sneaking in behind some trashcans as Plank and Johnny stood on stage, overlooking the soldiers in the audience.
"My fellow hunks," Plank spoke in his British accent, "after many annoying encounters with our fleshed adversaries, the moment for conqueration is nigh!"
"YEEAH!"
"Minions… I give you: CELEBI!" The aliens gasped as Plank threw open the curtains, revealing the Forest Spirit trapped inside a capsule in the core of some machine. There were cords linked to the capsule, connecting to a helmet. "The foolish Darth Genious sent his minions after the spirit to capture it, and they did. But thanks to MY genius, and Johnny's agility, we stole the Firstborn right from under them! And now…" He hopped over and used his tree-branch arms to place the helmet on his head. "It is time to-"
"STOP!" Cosmo shouted as the aliens ran forward.
"Release the spirit NOW." Nova demanded.
"Oh, well it seems we have a few more loose ends." Plank said. "No matter. You'll be done with soon enough."
"What is that thing?" Cosmo asked, indicating the machine.
"This is my Florestation Prototype. A device meant to harness the power of the woods and grant me power almost EQUAL to Celebi's. It will grant me the power I need to RULE this pathetic planet, and dominate ALL with glorious plant life! Johnny!"
"Heeheehee!" The gourd-wearing boy dashed over and flipped a lever. (Play "The Encounter" Theme from Kingdom Hearts 2!)
"BIIII!" Celebi felt immense pain when the machine erupted to life, transferring her energy to Plank's helmet. The wooden genius levitated to the air as power surged through him. He unleashed green psionic waves from his helmet, zapping the Plank minions and giving them their own branches, which took the form of sharp swords and other weapons. He then levitated a bunch of acorns from Johnny's pockets and shot them into his mouth.
The human assistant cackled maniacally as roots started spreading around him, the aliens gaping as he grew bigger with muscles. Johnny's muscles became hard as tree-bark, and leaves and branches emerged from his ears and nose. "RRRAAAHHH!" the boy ripped off his shirt, revealing his now half-tree body.
"Johnny has embraced the power of the forest, much like we have. Now… FINISH THEM."
"You said it, Boss! Mwah ha ha!" Johnny saluted in a deep voice.
Boss fight: John Wood and Plank 2x4
Plank used his power to raise the machine and the stage up, away from the aliens as John Wood jumped down, landing so hard, he broke the floor and made them fall to the room beneath, which was just a large and empty wooden room. Cosmo tried to jump and whack the beefed-up Johnny, but the metahuman swatted him away. Nova backed away in fear as Johnny approached her, smirking, but Cosmo jumped onto his head, trying to shield his eyes.
Nova's eyes perked when she felt like she heard something beneath the floor, bending down and pressing her ears to the wood. She gasped and said, "Cosmo, make him break the floor!" Cosmo did as told and hopped in front of the monster. Angered, Johnny tried punching him, but Cosmo dodged and made him break a hole in the floor, revealing swarms of termites down below.
"TERMITES?" Johnny shouted in fright. Nova used her powers to call up the termites and attack the large mutation of John Wood. "Hey! Get off me!" Johnny then gripped the edge of the hole they fell through and hauled himself up. Cosmo and Nova grabbed on, getting pulled up as well.
Once back in the auditorium, they fought back Plank soldiers that came to attack them. Cosmo clashed with some Sword and Spear Planks while Nova shot the ones with 2x4 weapons. Nova used her power to call up the sea of termites, and the two aliens then started climbing up the risen stage as the termites flooded the room, narrowly dodging as Plank launched energy balls at them. Once at the top, Cosmo whacked the floating piece of wood a few times before Plank finally flew down to the termite ocean (still wearing his helmet).
Plank yelped in pain as the termites bit him, jumping around and trying to get away. Eventually, he used his new powers to levitate in the air and unleash a psionic blast, making the termites flush back down below, then sealing the hole in the floor where they came from. He went back over to the stage and reattached the cords to his helmet, then blew Cosmo and Nova back to the lower room. John Wood hopped back down there as well.
"Minions: after them!" At Plank's command, some teeter-totter Planks jumped down and started flinging large boulders and bombs at them. Other Plank minions with 2x4 weapons and branch-attached weapons leapt down, attacking the aliens. Cosmo stole a G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A. from one of them and shot at others. Nova stole a water gun from one and used it to wash their drawn faces off. The now-blinded soldiers just walked into each other aimlessly and fell down.
Johnny then started trying to stomp them again. Cosmo ran around him, but Johnny kicked him away. Nova screamed when he grabbed her by the hair, held her by his face, and said, "You're pretty!" Nova just squirted water in his eyes with the water gun, making Johnny yelp and go crazy, punching a hole in the floor again.
Nova once again called the termites up, making Johnny grab onto the hole above and pull up, Cosmo and Nova holding onto him. Plank surrounded himself in a green barrier as he made circular platforms rise from the ground, then made wooden spikes rise from the rest of the floor. Cosmo and Nova carefully jumped the platforms, dodging as minions blasted 2x4 weapons at them, but Cosmo jumped and kicked them over. Johnny landed on one platform, trying to block their way, but Cosmo spat in his eye, making him back up and fall on the spikes.
Nova used her power to summon up the termites again, and the aliens climbed their way up the stage as the room flooded, reaching the top, but Plank was still protected by a barrier. Cosmo dodged as Plank fired energy balls at him, while Nova looked worriedly at Celebi, still in pain. "Celebi!" she shouted, running over and banging on the glass.
"Bii!" Celebi yelled back, forcing out more energy. Then, the glass started to crack.
Plank was about to zap Cosmo when he felt his barrier disappear. "…HEY! GET AWAY FROM THERE!" he yelled to Nova, but Cosmo already batted him down to the termites. Plank yelped as the many bugs nibbled his wooden skin, but finally made it back on stage, reattaching himself to the machine. He blew the two aliens into the termite sea, at the very other side of the room, where they tried to swim.
"Johnny! Finish them!" With that, Plank launched another psionic blast into the sea of termites.
"RAAAHHH!" Johnny roared, shooting up from the termites, bigger than before. The aliens tried to swim their way through while John Wood splashed termite waves at them. The area shook when Johnny punched the wall, trying to hit them, leaving dents.
Cosmo ran up Johnny's arm, trying to poke his eyes with his staff. Meanwhile, Nova made it up to Plank's stage, looking to Celebi. "Don't worry, Celebi. I'll set you free." She ran over to the lever and tried to pull it, but jumped when Plank fired a blast.
"Oh, come now, dear, you really think Celebi would listen to you? A being of flesh with no true knowledge of the forest?"
"I may be made of flesh, but you have even less knowledge of the forest, Plank." Nova yelled back. "The forest may be powerful, but it also gives life, to plants AND animals. True, humans DO cut down trees for their own desires, and some of them don't understand the true importance of plant life… but they really don't mean any harm. And if they knew what purpose the forest gives, they wouldn't hurt them as much. Still, you shouldn't need to hurt them back."
"Ah, and the humans WILL know the power of the forest, once we've dominated each and every one of them! AHH!" Nova dodged another psionic blast.
She recovered and saw a dial on the side of the machine, which seemed to be different power levels. There was 'Low', 'Medium' (which it was set to), 'High', 'Very High', 'Intense', and 'You do not wanna f**kin' be doing that'. Nova's eyes became serious as she turned to Plank. "Very well. If you want power, you can have it."
"What are you-" Before he knew it, Nova ran up and turned the dial to the highest setting. "NO! IT ISN'T SUPPOSED TO GO THAT HIGH! Oh, why did I put that setting on there?"
"BIIII!" Celebi released more power than ever.
"NOO!" Plank's helmet started to electrify, immediately blowing up. "Whoooaaaaa!" Plank was blown over to the other side of the room, with Johnny watching him. Cosmo hopped off the mutated boy as Johnny looked to the machine, wide-eyed as it unleashed a powerful green laser.
"WAAAHHHH!" Johnny screamed when the power was absorbed from his body, the boy shrinking to his normal form before he fell into the termite sea. (Stop the music.)
The termites then began to drain out as the risen stage sunk back down, the spike floor clearing up as well. Nova ran to Cosmo and helped him up, and he brushed himself off as they examined the ruined room of knocked-out Plank Troops and the dizzy forms of Johnny and Plank.
They gasped back at the overloading machine, which immediately shut off when Celebi broke the capsule, weakly levitating off the stage and landing on the ground. Nova glanced beside her and noticed the Spirit Ball on the ground, walking to pick it up. "The other villains must have dropped it."
"What did that spirit girl say?" Cosmo asked.
Celebi then started glowing, making a quiet ringing sound. Nova felt the Poké Ball doing that as well, looking at it in her hands. "I… think I catch her."
"How?"
Nova's face became serious as she looked to Celebi. "Eeee-YAH!" She tossed the mysterious ball with force, hit Celebi, and watched the spirit become light as it sucked inside, the sphere closing tight. The aliens watched as the ball shook and made a beeping sound. Nova slowly walked over and picked the ball up.
The ball stopped shaking and beeping. It made the same ringing sound and hovered in the air as it erupted in a bright green light. The top half was now dark-green while the lower half was bright-green. The sphere lowered itself back to Nova, who smiled and held it. She spun around and held the ball in the air in victory.
Nova caught a FIRSTBORN! Only 7 more to go!
"Hehe!... Good going, Nova!" Cosmo congratulated.
"Thank you!"
"No problem! But what's supposed to happen now?"
"I'm not sure… Misty said the Guardians would eventually bring the Firstborn together. I guess we have to wait for them…"
"But how long will that take?"
"I guess we'll find out. But there's something else I want to know…" With that, she walked over to the barely conscious form of Plank 2x4.
"Ohhh…" he groaned when Nova picked him up.
"Plank, what happened to the others that took Celebi? The ones you stole her from?"
"Oh…" He opened his eyes weakly to face her. "I used Celebi's timebending powers to have them banished to the Jurassic Era. They're now millions of years back from us, where they'll likely be eaten."
"Well, at least there are SOME problems taken care of!" Cosmo smiled, victoriously.
Nova didn't feel as victorious. She didn't feel it was right to forget about them. "…We have to help them."
"What?"
"They may be evil, but they don't deserve to die now. Everyone has good in them somewhere."
"Even Dimentia?"
"Well… maybe… but we have to help them anyway!"
"And just how do you plan to do that?" Plank asked. "The machine vanished with them. And it won't work without Celebi's power. Also, the-"
Just then, the Spirit Ball shook, and Celebi was suddenly free, smiling as she appeared better than ever. "Celebi! You're healed!" Nova exclaimed.
"Bi! Bi bi!"
"Huh?" Cosmo asked.
"She said, 'A Poké Ball gives a Pokémon a vision of its natural environment, and also helps them slowly heal. And the Spirit Balls do that with Firstborn.'"
"Bi. Bi bi bi."
"'But its powers for that can only be activated when that Firstborn's Guardian has truly awakened their self.'"
"You can understand her?" Cosmo asked.
"I can now, I guess."
"Bii! Bi bi BI!" Celebi exclaimed, doing flips.
Nova gasped happily. "She said she can go back in time and rescue them!"
"Are you sure? What if they just decide to catch you afterwards?" Cosmo asked.
"Bi… bi bi, bi bi."
Nova turned to Cosmo and smiled. "'Like Nova said… everyone has good in them somewhere.'"
"Mmm…" Cosmo just shrugged, unsure about rescuing their enemies.
"Okay, Celebi, go and help them!"
"BIII!" With that, the cheerful spirit opened a Time Gate, and warped back in time to help the villains.
FINALLY! ! Oi, that took me forever. It's hard to find inspiration. Well, we finally have the first Firstborn! The next ones won't be so easy! Next time… we'll see where we go. Later!
…
Spoiler alert: Plank won't be the only villain obsessed with trees and plant life.