CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
奇妙な付き合い！KilaとHeartwingの態度を取る！
Strange Bedfellows! Kila and Heartwing Take A Stand!
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"Associating with the enemy? How DARE you, 453. Master let you in on this thinking he could trust you and you stab us in the back?" The attacker remarked angrily. He was a tough-looking experiment with spiked ears and a small green eye in the center of his dark grey fur. There was a stripe around each arm, beginning at the center of his palms and ending at his shoulder. The left was white, the right one black, and he had hooves instead of feet. A right fang was sticking out of his mouth…and he had big, black eyes.
"It's really unwise to go against the master." He went on. "The Master of Shadows is far more powerful than you Ovni. You'll have to be punished."
"Wait…you guys trashed Ovni? WOWWW." The other experiment said, standing next to the first one. "Rouge, these guys are something, huh?"
This one was a female. She was wearing goggles on her head and a labcoat. She had teal fur and a light teal stomach and chest, with a pretty big nose and some long and thick strands of dark hair sticking out at the top of her head. She had a reptilian tail, strangely alluring dark gold eyes and was looking them over intently.
"104…Rouge…" Ovni panted. "And 630…Kila…"
"MORE of Jumba's creations working for Master?!" Nick remarked. "Wait…did you say 630?"
"630's from another realm of existence…from another time and place. She was sent from a different dimension to join in the fight." Ovni explained to them. "In that dimension, the Jumba you know made some more experiments after 626, 630 here's one of them. But she got turned into a pod and was unable to return not only to her own time or world, but to her own dimension...what's more, her book owner has remained here for years."
"Her book owner?! Who's he?" Nick demanded.
Then, before their eyes, the book owners came forth. One was a man with spiky black hair who stood by Rouge…he had a red t-shirt that read "Nuke" on the front and looked vaguely punkish. The other was…a robot. A square-shaped golden head, treadmills instead of feet, a squat, cylindrical body of white with a strange insignia on the front, and purple gloves. His golden head was "floating" in a big capsule that was attached to the body, and he had big yellow eyes that looked like the end of flashlights.
"That's XR. My book owner." Kila said, gesturing at the robot. "He was chosen from some good friends of Jumba to look after me and he did great originally. Now he just follows my spell orders." She said quietly. She seemed to not be much of a people person, and her voice was slightly annoying, yet there was an unmistakable sadness in it.
"We've got to run, guys!" Nick insisted.
"RUN? Run where?" Rouge asked, pointing to his third eye as it glowed. "We're blocking the only exit, human. And you can't exactly FLY away out of the terrace…"
"PACCHIRI!" His book owner yelled.
His eye glistened and it was like something from science-fiction…it scanned something into existence like a super-laser-printer, dots were popped into life before their eyes, then slammed together, forming a large green orb that was spiked. The spiky orb whizzed at them at full speed…
THA-WHOOM!
Chopsuey stopped it in its tracks with his body, growling angrily.
"How intriguing. You have strength. Nobody's been able to stop it with their bare hands before." Rouge admitted.
Kila frowned, crossing her arms. "They've used up all their reserves." She realized.
"I…I'm fine!" Chopsuey insisted, throwing the orb away as it slowly vanished. "But I dunno how many more of those I can take!"
They suddenly saw Kila hold up her palm…
"IGNIS!"
FWOOM! A large fireball began to form in her palm.
"We're beginning to…hot up!" She wisecracked.
She flung it through the air and…
FA-WHOOOOSH! It struck the wall, opening up a HUGE "window of opportunity" for our heroes. They could escape out this way!
"You missed." Rouge remarked.
"OOPS." Kila said, rolling her eyes. "Did I do THAT? How stupid I can be sometimes. I'll try again. XR?"
XR held the book up.
"Oh no! Guys, run!" Nick yelled.
"IGN-" XR stopped in mid spell. Rouge, who had been looking back at the interlopers, frowned. "Why isn't he finishing?"
He got his answer when he turned and looked at Kila, who was pointing her fiery palm at HIM. "What do you think you're doing?! You're not really betraying us too, are you?" He asked.
"Just like I thought, XR's programming won't let him say spells if I try to attack one of my "allies"." Kila said in a proud tone. "Well, what are you dummies staring into space for?!" She asked, annoyed with the others. "Go and run through the wall, get outta here."
"I should have seen this coming." Rouge said, holding up his arms.
"TOBIISHI!" His book owner hollered.
Rouge's stripes LIFTED up and flung themselves at the heroes, hissing like snakes! But Kila suddenly jumped up, and bat-like wings sprouted from out of her lab coat as she whizzed through the air with XR, getting in front of the group and holding up her palms.
"I can't "ATTACK" but I can "DEFEND"!" She guessed. "XR?"
"FLAMA-PARIES!" XR cried out.
A wall of flame arose from the ground, stopping the stripes, which hissed and began slashing at the flames over and over. Kila frowned in annoyance and frustration.
"I dunno how much longer I'm gonna last!" She yelled. "It's no good…our hearts are connected like they used to be!"
"Wait…you mean to say that…" Nick began.
"Even I know what we're doing is wrong." Kila insisted. "Now come on, get going!"
"I won't let you hurt my friend!" Ovni shouted, rushing at Rouge with the intent to stop him…
But he didn't count on the book keeper having a knife. Before Ovni knew it, he was stabbed in the arm and he went down with a scream. Heartwing sobbed as he saw "Nuke" lift Ovni's book up and light it on fire.
"421! I'm asking of you…be strong!" Ovni yelled out. "Everyone said the 400 line was a series of failures…PROVE THEM WRONG!" He cried out as his body vanished. "I'm begging you!"
And with that…he was gone. Nick felt horrible…Ovni had been a truly good person with noble goals, somebody who'd wanted to help them and who had tried to save them. He had been sent back too soon…
And Heartwing felt something inside him burn…
Chops turned to Kila. "I can understand why Ovni helped, since he wasn't a fanon line experiment, but aren't you afraid of being turned into a pod again?" He wanted to know.
"Yeah, Rouge might go tell Master, but I don't give a damn." Kila said quietly. "We fanon experiments…WE'RE the ones at fault, not YOU guys…"
Chop's eyes went wide…then he nodded. "Spud, Yuuku, take your partners and go!" He insisted.
"Alright dude…but you'd better not die on us!" Spud insisted.
"Here…"
Nick tossed Crystallene Chops's book. "If you keep it safe, Chops will be just fine." He said happily.
"You want it, you got it!" Crystallene insisted, clenching her fist. "Let's go, Yuuku!"
"We'll be back!" Morpholomew yelled as he and the others ran.
"If you think I'd LET you leave, you're not as smart as I had hoped…" Rouge remarked coldly, raising his hands…but just then Chopsuey kicked him square in the face and he was sent flying back, hitting the ground hard. Chops raced back over to the others, smirking at Rouge.
Heartwing looked over in amazement as they ran off, then turned to face Kila, XR, Nick and Chopsuey. Then he growled and clenched his teeth, holding his head as he quivered.
"Heartwing, leave this to Nick and I!" Chops said. "You can't do anything…I'm surprised you followed us here knowing that…"
"Heartwing…I think I understand." Nick said quietly, turning to face him. "I know you hate fights."
Heartwing looked up, lip quivering as if he was going to cry.
"I know now. You're a kind person. You don't like me because I'm a book owner that makes Chopsuey fight so hard…isn't that right?"
Heartwing blinked slowly, then looked away.
"Hey, what do you mean by all that, Nick?" Chops asked.
"Gecchouseki!" The book owner of Rouge announced as Rouge stood up.
"We'll have to talk later…look." Nick said, pointing forward. Rouge's body was being covered in strange, green light. It was like digital armor was surrounding him, made of tiny 1's and 0's. He smiled at them in a confident fashion.
"Go quickly, Heartwing…and thank you for everything." Nick said gently.
"…gi…gi…GIIIRIIIIII!!!!" He howled, rushing as fast as he could into the hallway that the others had run into.
"If you think I'd just let you WALTZ away, you're quite wrong!" Rouge announced, rushing forward and flinging a punch.
"Chops, throw me!" Nick yelled.
Chops grabbed ahold of Nick and tossed him through the air. Rouge turned around just in time to see Nick strike the book from Nuke's hand. Growling, Rouge ran as fast as he could after the book, jumping up through the air and grabbing it. "Hmph!" He said, touching back down on his hooves. "Don't play around with me." He said, turning around…
Only to find nobody was there. He frowned. "Where'd they go?"
Outside, on a ledge beneath the terrace, Nick, XR, Gash and Kila were sitting.
"Allright…we can come up with a plan here." Nick panted, whispering.
"Yeah, but…why'd you say that Heartwing hates you because you're a book keeper?" Chops asked.
"It's simple…" Nick said. "Heartwing's a child, isn't he? He hates fighting. I've never seen him really get mad at somebody or snap at them or even chase after a bird. He's pacifistic."
"…I see…" Chopsuey said quietly.
"And also, I saw Heartwing searching for a book owner out on the streets whenever I'd go out shopping." Nick said. "I thought he was trying to find his book owner, but then I noticed that he'd try and talk to people who were smoking, and then after that, people who were all alone, or who looked tough…people who might have lighters. They didn't do anything for him though." Nick sighed. "He thought they'd burn his book so he could go back home and not have to fight, and he approached me that time, hoping I'D burn the book because I would want to get rid of competition." Nick said quietly.
"He must be so SCARED of fighting…" Chopsuey thought out loud.
"Yet he followed us this far…" Nick mused. "He doesn't want to fight, but he wants to help his friends so badly…his two strongest desires are clashing…"
"YOU'D BETTER COME OOOUUUT!" Rouge yelled. "IF YOU DON'T, I'LL GO STRAIGHT TO TELL ON LITTLE KILA! THEN SHE'LL GET TURNED INTO A POD AGAIN!"
"I don't know if it'll work, but I DO have a plan…" Nick said, smiling. "Now here it is…"
…
…
…
…Rouge crossed his arms, his body still covered in 1's and 0's as he saw Kila look him over.
"You have been…very naughty." He remarked, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "I'm going to have to punish you…" He told her, re-opening them…
To see she was pointing a fiery palm at him.
"What do you think you're doing? You know your powers wont' work on a fanon-" He began.
"IGNIS!"
FA-WOOOM!
Nick grinned. He and Chopsuey were RIGHT behind Rouge…they'd snuck up on him without him noticing! Now the attack could…
He ducked to the side. He was…faster than…they thought…
They barely ducked to the side in time. Kila rolled her eyes. "Told you it wouldn't work. Be glad I used my weakest spell."
"Didn't…think…he'd be that fast!" Nick moaned.
"Idiot. Never presume." Rouge remarked, stepping towards them.
"I can take him!" Chops growled.
"No you can't, not in your current state!" Kila said, rushing forward and throwing her hands in front of them.
"FLAMA-PARIES!" XR cried out. The wall of flames arose…
"That won't work anymore." Rouge said calmly, thrusting his arm forth.
PA-POW!
The flames were dissipated, Kila and XR hit the ground and Nick and Chops along with them.
"Damn it…I underestimated them…this is…it? We're…gonna lose HERE?" Nick thought.
Kila looked them over, then slowly stood up, dusting herself off and walking in front of them.
"Rouge, wait." She said quietly. "Take me to the Master of Shadows or do whatever. Just let 'em go." She said, spreading her arms.
"Kila…" Nick muttered.
"I knew you couldn't finish things…dummies. But still…I'm glad, even if only for a little while…to have met such interesting guys like you." Kila thought.
"Hmph. Naivety does not become you, Kila." Rouge remarked. "I'll break every single one of your limbs and serve you all up on a platter to Master."
He lunged at her…
"NOOOOOOO!!!"
They all turned their heads in surprise.
"Heartwing…can speak real WORDS?" Nick gaped as he saw the little dragon standing there.
"EVIL…EVIL…EVIL!" Heartwing gasped out, panting heavily as he stood by a…a HUMAN! One with long hair and surfer-style clothes.
"You're…you're 421's…book master?" Nick gasped.
"Come on, dude! Let's show him our strength!" The long-haired man said. He had a dark blue surfer-style shirt, cargo pants that were dark khaki in color, and was wearing sandals. He had on a shark tooth necklace and was definitely a native Hawaiian. "Insons!"
The dragon rose up into the air on it's taloned feet, stretching it's arms out. Suddenly it was covered in a white aura, and a beautiful golden halo arose around it's head. The aura draped over it's body, changing into a tunic, and his wings grew slightly larger. Golden rings appeared around the dragon's wrists, and the heart insignia on it's chest glowed brightly, showing off a little red cross in the middle.
"Don't be afraid, little dude." The man insisted. "Don't be afraid…"
…
…
…
…He had hated the book keepers and the experiments who did evil things. But most of all he was scared. Scared of the fighting.
He didn't want to fight. He thought it was horrible. Turning nice people into dangerous warriors that would crush people in a moment's notice. It seemed too cruel…
Then one day he'd met somebody who had changed his opinion of what a "book keeper" truly was. He'd been showing off his book in the middle of Kokaua town and for a brief moment his mind drifted to the idea of simply burning his own book when…
"RAR!"
Aw, a doggie!...
Big…doggie…
CHOMP!
BAD DOGGIE! It had taken his book! He ran after it, waving his hands above his head. But he hadn't even gone two blocks when a man appeared…
The man smelled kinda musty and looked dirty…but then he'd patted the dog right on the head. "Hey, that book ain't yours. Drop it."
The dog had obeyed and hand walked off. The man had promptly given the book back to him. "This is yours, right little dude?"
Then he'd looked INTO it. "That's odd. I can't read most of it, but those words are really clear…so you must be 421."
He smiled. "Groovy! I'm Dude, little dude. And you already know the doc, right?"
Dr. Rupert appeared behind him with Page. "Yes, this is experiment 421. 421…meet your book owner."
"Zan-zan-zan…" Heartwing muttered.
"Hey…I get it." Dude told him, patting his head. "You're scared of fighting, huh?"
Dr. Rupert blinked. "You…could sense it? His pacifistic nature?"
"The little guy's scared. But listen little dude…I'm not gonna force ya to do ANYTHING. You wanna do something, you do it because YOU wanna do it…alright?"
"..." Heartwing nodded slowly.
"You're a special man." Dr. Rupert admitted. "Perhaps you've had a "spiritual awakening"…something within you can see what lies within another's heart."
"Yeah, he saw through your fib about being a great sushi chef right away!" Page laughed.
"And you weren't fazed at all when I explained the experimental contest that was taking place here on Earth." Dr. Rupert went on.
"I'll be waiting for you." Dude said. "Dr. Rupert wants you to drop this letter off in Nick's mailbox…it's got plane tickets that'll take him and his friends to the Andes, where the 100-year-old experiments are. I'll go there too, I LOVE vacations." He laughed. "But I'll be waiting. If you make the decision…if you choose to fight…I'll wait outside of town, in the dandelion fields, okay?"
"…" The little dragon was quiet for a few moments. Then he spoke.
"Oh…kay…"
…
…
…
"So…you wanna do this thing, little dude? You ain't got the shakies anymore?" Dude asked as he stood in the dandelion fields.
Heartwing nodded. Even though tears streamed from his eyes, he nodded. "GOOD." He said.
"Yes, helping your friends IS good…and you've got good eyes, y'know?" Dude said happily. "I like that. Now…" He grinned. "Let's DO THIS!"
…
…
…
…"You can do it, Heartwing! GO!"
"HAAAAAH!" The little dragon yelled, rushing forward through the air.
"HA! So you're fast, dragon! However I have speed too!" The experiment laughed, jumping to the side…
"Ha-HA!" Heartwing laughed as he suddenly swerved behind "Tubby".
"What the? You got behind me in my digitized Battle Mode?!" Rouge gasped.
Then Heartwing did more than just laugh. He SLAMMED his head into the experiment's armored chest with a cry…
Silence. Then the experiment sneered. "Power's still my forte!" He raised his fist and slammed Heartwing away. The little dragon fell down, but jumped back up, growling and slamming into the same spot again.
"No matter…"
WHAM!
"How many…"
BAM!
"Times you…"
WHAM!
"Hit me…"
BAM!
"You can't WIN!"
SLAM!
Heartwing was sent to the ground, gasping in pain. He crawled back up, his angelic little toga battered, panting with every breath. Rouge laughed coldly. "Now I'll just finish you-"
CRICK.
He looked down at his chest. "Wh-what?!" There was a HUGE crack in his armor. "You actually?! Not possible!"
"It's more than possible! It's groovy, dude!" Dude laughed, flipping his book back open. "Insons-Draco!"
Heartwing's body was covered in a white aura once again, and his halo glowed more brightly than before…but now the rings around his wrists were glowing brightly as well. He flew forward at full speed, and SLAMMED into the experiment…
KRAK-KRAKOW!
The armor was blown into chunks! The experiment fell back, grabbing his chest. "You…little! Take THIS!"
He jumped forward and punched the ground, then kicked a chunk of ground that was sent flying up right at Dude…
But Dude just ducked and snapped his fingers, grinning. And just like that, Heartwing twirled through the air, striking the experiment's legs. He went bowling over! Then Dude called out "Rock and Roll" and Heartwing jumped on top of the experiment. Then Dude smiled.
"Nice."
Turning around and smiling for a brief moment, Heartwing then ROLLED the experiment right into the wall, then leapt off of him. KA-BOOOM! The wall and the experiment collided, and the "poor guy" was covered in stone. Groaning, he tried to stand up.
"This…is…not…over! I am still capable of…using…using spells…" Rouge gasped out.
"Stick a fork in ya, you're totally DONE."
The experiment gasped as Dude held up the book that was HIS. "My book!" Rouge growled. "How'd you?!"
"Little dude's smile told me everything. I knocked out the book owner while you weren't looking." He held up a lighter. "Normally I use this for my bong, but I think it's good for burning more things than weed. You've lost."
He tossed the burning book into the air and turned to face the others. "Groovy, huh?" He asked as Heartwing hopped over to him.
"How did you do all that? How did you communicate without talking?" Nick wanted to know.
"How'd you even understand his speech?" Chopsuey asked. "It's so strange…"
"I listen to the thought BEHIND the voice, man. Do that, and you can understand what ANYBODY'S saying."
"Really?" Chopsuey asked.
"Yep." Dude insisted.
"Bon-bon-bon-BON!" Heartwing said enthusiastically, waving his hands in the air.
"You want cake? Sorry little dude, I'm outta cake!" Dude said.
Heartwing's head sunk to the ground. "Ohhhh…"
"Let's try gestures!" Dude said. "Rock and roll!"
Heartwing pointed at himself. "Bon-bon!!!"
"Your name is Heartwing? I already knew that!"
"…ohhhh." His head sunk even lower. Now he was curled up in a fetal position.
"Try again! Rock and roll!"
Heartwing got an idea and began to curl his body in different positions. He was actually spelling out the characters for what he wanted. Unfortunately…
"Cleaning? I've got nothing to clean with." Dude said sadly. "I've got some brownies if you're hungry, but uh…you shouldn't really eat them. Cuz…uh…chocolate's poison to dogs, y'know."
"GAAAWWWW!" Heartwing moaned, rolling around on the floor.
"Uh. You guys…" Kila thought as she walked into the room. She held up a small, glowing little ball. "Here…this will help. Eat it."
Nick did so. It tasted like a gummy snack with sugary juice inside. In a few moments, the pain he felt was gone…and he felt much stronger!
"Woah! What is this?"
"Destiny drop. These were used to free us from the pods."
Nick gasped. "So THAT'S what he was talking about back in the fight before…please, tell us what you know about it!"
"Well, I dunno much." Kila admitted, shrugging. "The book owners for the fanon line carry drops to recharge their energy. As for where it came from, there's a HUGE crystalline thing that's got light energy sloshing around in it…that's what was used to free us. It's located at the top of the castle, and not only does it heal wounds, but it heals your heart energy as well. Furthermore, if we don't occasionally come back to bask in the thing…"
She sighed. "Apparently we'll turn back into pods. Which sucks. But…" She smirks. "I take little pieces of the thing that the Master calls the "Destiny Crystal" and stick 'em in here…" She held up a jar filled with energy drops. "You can have these." She insisted. "I've got two jars of the stuff and I don't need an extra one lying around. Besides, you gotta get moving…there was a team sent out into town…they've brought along Snafu."
"Snafu? That little tentacle guy?" Nick asked.
"Yes, he happens to be very good at finding other experiments…he'll lead his team right to your friends, so you should probably go help them. The more the merrier, right?" Kila asked.
"Thank you Kila." Nick said, nodding.
"You're a sweet dudette. Hope we meet again!" Dude said. "Let's go, Heartwing! INSONS-DRACO!"
Heartwing was covered in the angelic tunic again and his body pulsed. "He's strong enough to carry us three, so let's get moving!" Nick said. "Bye Kila! We'll come back!"
"Yeah, yeah…" Kila said, waving nonchalantly as they whizzed out the nearest window. "…I'll be…waiting." She said softly.
…
…
…
…Crystallene, Yuuku, Spud and Morpholomew were all relaxing on the balcony of the hotel they had reached in town. They turned to face their host, who smiled at them.
"Thanks for coming, Mr. Pleakley." Yuuku said. "I'm glad you were here to help."
"It's no problem at all!" Pleakley insisted, smiling at them. "I'm always happy to help!"
"But Nick said that you had a partner, where is he?"
"Well…look, I'd…I'd really rather not talk about it…" Pleakley said softly, sadly. "But…" He looked into her eyes. "You look really worried, Yuuku…"
"It'll be fine!" Crystallene insisted, clinging to the book. "As long as I've got Chopsuey's book he won't vanish!"
"Besides, Heartwing and Nick are with him too. They'll be alright." Spud agreed. "They got mad skills. MAAAAAD-"
"SPUD!"
"Sorry. Couldn't resist." Spud laughed.
Meanwhile, from far away and up above, Snafu was riding on top of Bloodfang, an incredibly huge griffin fanon experiment with blood-tipped wings. Smirking, the teal experiment pointed down from the griffin at the hotel.
"There they are! Hee-hee-hee! I knew they wouldn't be far away!" He laughed. He was riding along with several other experiments, all ready to "have some fun".
"Uh oh!" Pleakley yelled. "LOOK!" He shouted, pointing upward into the sky at the approaching experiments. "They've found us…RUN!"
The others turned to run…too late!
THA-WHOOM! A blast sent them plummeting to the trees below. Groaning, they slowly crawled out of the trees and to the ground below.
"Is everyone alright?" Pleakley called out, concerned.
"How intriguing." Snafu remarked as the griffin touched down and allowed Snafu and the others off. "You're not using any spells?" He grinned. "The humans must be buck tired!"
"Grrrrr…you creep!" Crystallene shouted. "They entrusted this book to me…I'm GONNA protect it!" She yelled, running off.
"CATCH HER!" Snafu yelled, ordering the experiments to grab her.
"I'm not letting you!" Spud said, leaping in front of them with Morpholomew by his side.
"Pfft. It's no use, little human!" Snafu insisted. "I've got VERY powerful friends…there's no way you can win!" He crowed as Crystallene felt one of them grab her by the neck…
"THEY'VE GOT FRIENDS TOO!"
"KAUNTA-PANCHI!"
A mighty fist sent the experiments close to Crystallene flying back. She looked up to see a female experiment with a light brown body, reddish-brown locks and bright green eyes smiling at her, bouncing back and forth in a battle stance. She was wearing a white t-shirt over her chest and pants with alien script running up and down them as she stood by a girl with a sleek black shirt, pants and beautiful red hair.
"Who…are you?" She asked.
"I'm Trainer." Trainer said, smiling. "Remember me, Crystallene?"
"You're…Trainer? Wow, you look so different with those clothes on!" Crystallene said. "But I'm glad to see an old friend! Do you know Chops?"
"Chops and Nick helped us before. You're safe now!"
"HA! We still outnumber you!" Snafu laughed as the experiments regrouped.
"Not for long! CANTANCION!"
A musical blast sent the experiments flying back as a pink experiment with a tutti-frutti hat and HER partner appeared. "Jenny and Carmen at your service!"
"Si! Gonna wipe the floor with choo bastardos!" Carmen crowed.
"And we're here too!" A voice shouted.
Dr. Rupert and Page appeared. Crystallene blinked at the sight of the little rabbit.
"What the heck? Not YOU again!" Snafu muttered angrily.
"That's right!" Dr. Rupert crowed, posing. "It is I! DR. RUPERT! The amazing doctor who knows absolutely everything!"
"Grrrrrr…you're annoying!" Snafu mumbled. "Fine then…I'll just have to take a hostage!" He snarled.
Before they could do anything, Bloodfang descended from the sky, grabbing Crystallene in his claws and pulling her up.
Snafu laughed over and over. "Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!! How do you like THAT!" He crowed.
"Damn it!" Dr. Rupert growled. "You cowardly little octopus!"
"Ha-ha-ha! Better not try anything!" Snafu snickered, covering his mouth.
"Yeah, stand back or you're gonna have a…SQUASHED TOMATO!" Bloodfang sneered.
"Damn it!" Crystallene thought. "They entrusted me to hold the book…I can't let them touch it!"
She held the book up. "GUYS! Quick, catch the-"
"CRYSTALLEEEENE!" Page shouted, jumping up through the air, wings beating quickly.
"…Page…" She gasped.
"I'LL SAVE YOU!" He cried out to her.
"Correction…"
They all gasped.
"WE'LL ALL SAVE YOU!" Nick, Chopsuey, Dude said, all riding on top of Heartwing towards her.
"Take my hand!" Chopsuey yelled.
"He's…here…" Carmen thought to herself.
Quickly, Chops tugged her free and Bloodfang snarled as they landed down to join the others.
"Oh I'm SO scared!" Snafu growled. "We can still win as long as we all work together!"
"Oh no you won't…because I called in a very SPECIAL member of the Majestic Twelve!" Dr. Rupert laughed as a familiar woman with VERY big…er, headlights…appeared from behind a tree to join them.
"WHAT? Big Boing? What on Earth is SHE going to-" Nick spoke up.
"Now, Big Boing…BOING CHOP!"
"Ha-HA!"
TOKA-TOKA-TOKA-TOKA-TOKA-TOKA-TOKA-TOKA!
"Gaaahhh…" One experiment remarked, his purple, smooth-chested body frozen still.
"Woaaah!" Another one said, his metallic, armored body frozen as well.
"What…the?" Another one gasped, her three eyes going wide.
"All riiiight!" The fourth said, smirking as he rubbed his hands together…all six of them.
"…this…is…" Snafu spoke. "Just…"
What they DIDN'T notice was that Page had gotten behind them.
"VOTIUM!" Dr. Rupert howled.
BA-BOOOM!
The experiments were sent flying, their books turning into cinders. Snafu gasped, then turned to Bloodfang.
"Uh…let's scram!" He finally suggested, leaping on the griffin, who tore through the air, getting away.
"Good riddance to bad rub-" Dr. Rupert began.
Then he was grabbed by his tail and swirled around in the air by Nick like a shot put on a chain. "YOU-PERVERTED-LITTLE-FREAAAAAK!" He yelled.
"PUUUUT MEEEE DOOOOOWN!"
"I WILL PUNISH YOU IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT'S GOOD AND HOLY!"
"I KNOOOOW WHOOOO MASTER IIIIIS!"
Nick stopped. Dr. Rupert hung, upside down, in front of Nick's face.
"Y'do?" Nick asked.
"Mmm-hmm." Dr. Rupert said, nodding. "Now…put me down."
Nick let him go and the doctor brushed himself off. "His name is SHADOW, experiment 086. He is a cunning, diabolical experiment who has incredible power…I learned about him from experiment 561 and his book owner, Haley. We met them in the mountains…they had just beaten an opponent…but they wouldn't join our group. However they did tell us his true name and that his power."
"EXPERIMENT 561!?!" Chops gasped. "That…one?"
"AAA!" Morph screamed, diving underneath Spud's legs. "I feel like wetting myself just thinking about that psycho! It's amazing he didn't kill you!"
"What's so special about this 561?" Nick asked.
"There's not a single experiment that doesn't know him. Jumba's so scared of him he just calls him HE, because he's too afraid to refer to him by his real name!" Page told Nick. "He's got so much dark energy in him, but he…he is capable of caring. He's bonded closely with Haley, I can tell. I thought perhaps…perhaps he'd put his own ego aside to help others, but I guess I was wrong." He said, hanging his head sadly.
"I think I was more scared of the girl than the dragon." Dr. Rupert sheepishly admitted. "But in any case…we must prepare…tomorrow…we attack at DAWN!"
…
…
…
… "Hmm?"
086 frowned as he saw a form come whizzing through the air.
"They couldn't possibly be this stupid…could they?" He thought. "Taking an airplane?"
They were! It was coming right for the ruins. Rolling his eyes, 086 hovered through the air, then raised his claws up, firing off a pyrokinetic blast that whizzed out…
THA-WOOSH! The plane went up in flames and crashed down into the jungle. 086 smirked. "Idiots." He laughed as he watched the plane slowly, slowly burn. He stood there, laughing all the while…
Therefore, while he was laughing, he didn't notice that the others had ACTUALLY come in from hang gliders on the other side of the ruins. Landing on a raised platform, everyone raced into four separate hallways, deciding to split up…
But this would prove to be a bad idea in hindsight…
Author's Note:
Bloodfang is Stitchfreak626's creation and 086 belongs to Launcelot du Coudray...wait, why didn't he spell his name right? Shouldn't it be LANCELOT? Oh, whatever! Rouge belongs to Nukerjsr and Kila the super-fantastic-and-awesome is Alohilani's creation. I simply HAD to include her and make XR her partner. They're PERFECT for this. Please review...and enjoy this preview!
Dr. Rupert: Who on Earth are you?
???: I am one of the Four Legendary Beasts!
Spud: That sounds important...
???: Please perform something for me, I've been bored outta my skull for years!
Carmen: Choo want it, choo got it!
???: What proof do ya have that you stand a chance against me in a fight?
Page: You don't need PROOF when the Good Lord fills your heart with faith! As you'll all see next time on "Alternate Fate, Fantasy"!