Chapter 25: Taking Action
"You called me this whole time just for an issue like THIS?!" Maquano roared, successfully opening the pickle jar and giving it to Camikon. He decided to sit back down on his throne and look away from the old wizard.
"Well, sire... It's just that... I do not have the strength to open these jars." Camikon explained. "I'm too old for this kind of stuff!"
Maquano looked back at his sidekick with a glare. "Then why didn't you go ask one of my soldiers to do the job for you?"
"The other soldiers would just break the jar with their claws! Only you would be able to do something like this with ease!"
"Camikon, I was THIS close to eliminating that boy!" Maquano explained, showing his thumb and pointer finger close to each other at Camikon. "You told me there was an emergency, but all this time you wanted me to open your pickle jar. If you ask me, you're pathetic."
Camikon grumbled at him as he began to grab a pickle. However, Maquano was not done there. He pointed his finger at the jar and made it shatter, destroying the pickles in the process.
"Lord Maquano! My pickles!" Camikon gaped.
"That's what happens when you interrupt my job," Maquano stated, turning away from Camikon and making a dark orb materialize in his hand. "Now, let's see what that brat is up to..."
Through the crystal ball, he discovered Chopper flying through the air and approaching another continent. "So, looks like he's going to the next continent... Well, looks like Poisna failed to beat him after all! ...Wait, what?"
"Oh, yes... I forgot to inform you of the princess's defeat..." Camikon sweat dropped. "It seems Chopper must have froze her to the ground and left her. ...Or did she throw him out?"
"And you didn't tell me this, why?" Maquano wondered, glaring at Camikon once again.
"Well... I suppose my old brain forgot."
"Typical... Well, seeing that kid defeat Poisna is a bit of a shocker. She was, after all, pretty powerful compared to the others..." the Demon Knight stood up from his throne. "I guess there's one thing left for me to do."
"And what is that, Lord Maquano?" Camikon wondered.
"Better go destroy that brat so it'll be much easier to destroy this planet. And hopefully this time, there will be no distractions."
Just as he was about to go, however, two figures had made their appearance in the room near his throne. He happened to hear them and turn around to see Morzard and Shanine standing by Camikon.
"Oh. It's you." Maquano said bluntly.
"We heard you wanted to go after that kid, right?" Morzard recalled. "Well, you probably have other things to do. Why don't you let us handle it?"
"No, I'm not busy at all. I'd rather do the job myself, because I'd be more successful."
"Well... You're the big bad! You're supposed to send out minions to do the job for you! Why don't you relax for a change?"
"We must let ourselves shine in the light," Shanine added.
"Last time you tried to fight that boy, you weren't very successful. Neither was your little dog friend." Maquano informed. Just as Morzard was about to answer, another figure entered the room.
"Ah! Robo Chopper returns!" Camikon said with glee, only to look disappointed at Robo Chopper's damaged body. "Though, I suspect he, too, had lost to him..."
"CRITICAL DAMAGE RECEIVED," Robo Chopper stated. "REPAIRS AND IMPROVEMENTS ARE REQUESTED."
"What exactly do you want improved?" Maquano asked.
"I HAVE ENCOUNTERED PROBLEMS WITH HEAT. IT APPEARS I CANNOT SUSTAIN FIRE, OR ELSE MY BODY BECOMES OVERHEATED. PERHAPS MY DESIGN IS FLAWED."
"See, Lord Maquano? I told you there would be some issues..." Camikon trailed.
"Yes, perhaps I was wrong about that," Maquano pondered. "Well, we'll have the engineers fix you up. Disposing you would be pointless, as there is a chance to identify what types of powers Chopper has."
"Uh, ahem? What about us?" Morzard interrupted, trying to get Maquano's attention. "Why pay attention to that piece of scrap metal when you have the Master of Disguise here, along with his trusty shadow canine, Shanine?"
"I HAVE EVERYTHING CHOPPER POSSESSES, AND EVEN MORE," Robo Chopper replied. "THE TITLE 'MASTER OF DISGUISE' DOES NOT INTIMIDATE ME."
"Well the name 'Robo Chopper' is not that original either."
"DO YOU WISH TO BE ANNIHILATED?"
"Bring it on!"
Maquano was starting to get a bit annoyed at their arguing and fired two balls of dark magic toward both Morzard and Robo Chopper. While it didn't hit them, it was enough to make them step back. Both of them appeared shocked at their leader.
"Consider that to be luck," Maquano hissed. "If you keep arguing like this, I'll eliminate both of you, understand?!"
Morzard and Robo Chopper slowly nodded, the latter having more of an issue due to being damaged.
"Now, Camikon, take Robo Chopper so he can be repaired, and Morzard... Get out of my sight."
"Wait, what!?" Morzard gaped. "But what about Chopper? Send me out to do the job!"
"I was thinking for a moment, and now that I think about it, I don't feel like going back to go after Chopper. I'll do that some other time. I think I'll send someone else to go after him."
"You serious? Who in the world would you send out?"
Maquano snapped his finger, and soon another figure had burst through the door.
"What is it you need, Lord Maquano?"
"Brute, you remember our little friend Chopper, correct?" Maquano asked, slowly turning to the Tartara Brute.
"You mean the one I found in those mines?" the Tartara Brute wondered. "So, you want me to go after him, right?"
"Exactly. He should be going to the next continent. It's the cold one, for your information... Go find him and eliminate him. Failure to do so will... Actually, hold on." Maquano snapped his finger again, and a Tartara Grunt walked into the throne room to approach its leader.
"What is your desire, Lord Maqua-" the grunt had barely enough time to speak, as it was instantly disintegrated by Maquano's dark magic. Morzard, Shanine, and the Tartara Grunt found themselves gaping.
"See that, Tartara Brute? That's you if you don't come back with an eliminated antennaed freak." Maquano stated, making the brute, Morzard, and Shanine shrink in their place.
"O-OK... I'll do as you say!" the Tartara Brute agreed. "At Saccharine Snowland, correct?"
"Yes. Go there immediately."
The brute finally nodded and scurried out of the room before Maquano could do any harm to him. At the same time, however, it couldn't help but grin, realizing that it would finally have a chance at defeating the antennae boy.
"Well, let's see how tough this boy is! He won't stand a chance against me!"
"Good. Now that that's settled..." Maquano slowly turned to Morzard and Shanine. "You two get out of here. Now."
"Of course," Morzard nodded, not wanting to get on Maquano's bad side. "Let's go, Shanine."
"As you wish, Master," Shanine complied, following his master out of the room.
Maquano crossed his arms and looked over at Camikon. "You're still here? I thought I told you to take Robo Chopper to the engineers?"
"Yes, of course, Lord Maquano," Camikon nodded. "But I must wonder... Are you starting to feel a little bit worried now after Poisna had lost to Chopper? Not to mention she just sent him to where the next Planet Star Piece is!"
"I'm hardly worried," Maquano assured with a smirk. "He hardly stood a chance against me when he tried to face me, and Poisna is not even CLOSE to being stronger than me! So... Yeah, I'm hardly worried. ...Though, the fact that she basically LED him to the next Planet Star Piece is what angers me. That Planet Star is the only thing that can stop this planet from being destroyed!"
"Hmmmmm... Well, Poisna isn't the smartest bulb on the planet. She cares more about her jewels than that Planet Star Piece! However, it was probably your fault for making her obsessed, sonny! If you hadn't given her that scepter, then she wouldn't be turning people into jewels! She even turned her PARENTS into jewels!"
"Yeeeeeeeah... I don't care. She's already beaten, so there's no use in trying to use her again. My last three elite minions should keep their Planet Star Pieces nice and safe."
"So he's going to be going up against Icing, right?"
"Yes..." Maquano groaned. As much as he needed someone like Icing, he couldn't help but find him the most annoying of his minions. It wasn't because of his obnoxious voice or the fact that he wouldn't shut up most of the time, but mostly because...
RING RING!
"I AM PICKING UP COMMUNICATIONS," Robo Chopper sensed.
Maquano took out his communicator to see who it was. "Speak of the devil..."
"Ah... So he's calling you right now." Camikon grinned.
"Camikon, go take Robo Chopper to the engineers now. But, wish me luck on this, for I know what I am to expect..."
Camikon agreed and quickly got out of the room with Robo Chopper, knowing what he was expecting from the call as well. With him gone, Maquano answered his communicator and saw the image of a strange being made of ice that wore a blue and white robe, an icy crystal crown with red rubies embedded on them and had yellow eyes on his face. He didn't appear to have a nose or even a mouth. An icy wind appeared to surround him, though.
"Icing..."
"Lord Maquano..."
"What do you want?"
"Well..." Icing began, his serious look soon changing to a happy one. "I just wanted to tell you about my ice carnival I've put up near my cool fortress! I'll admit it feels pretty ice-solated from the rest of Saccharine Snowland!"
Maquano let out a groan and face palmed. "Ugh... My brain... That is the last thing I want to hear from you."
"Well, that was cold."
"Please... Enough with that. THEY'RE. NOT. FUNNY."
"Says you. They sound pretty cool to me."
"Ugh... Look, Icing, I don't care about your little carnival. Nobody's going to show up for it when it's in a cold area. Not even I care about that place."
"Who said I was making it for others to come in? There's a reason why it's so ice-"
"Get to the point already," Maquano growled.
"Well, you told me about that Chopper kid, so I decided to put a carnival in the way of the fortress, 'cause, y'know, kids love carnivals, right?" Icing asked.
"Hmmmmm... Well, that doesn't sound like a bad idea. Though, I don't see it succeeding."
"But it's certainly a place for him to cool down for a moment after traveling!"
Maquano was about to groan again, but he was practically used to this and ignored it. "You do realize that this boy is coming your way, correct?"
"Wait... He is already?" Icing gawked.
"Yeah. Poisna was foolish enough to send him your way. You better be ready to stop him if he shows up. You and the other two are the only ones I have left to stop him, and you're all no pushovers. Be on the lookout."
"That, I can do, Lord Maquano!" the ice king assured. "I'll become the ice age and destroy him like he is a dinosaur! Let me assure you that there will be a lot of ice kicking going on here."
"Good. Maquano out." Maquano said, shutting off his communicator and letting out a huge sigh of relief before sitting back down. "FINALLY... I didn't know how long I could take that! I almost regret making him join me! ...Then again, he is golden compared to another annoying idiot I had to deal with before..."
"I can't believe he just kicked us out like that! Of all the lousy, good-for-nothing..." Morzard rambled as he walked across the dark field away from the castle. The sky was filled with a swirling darkness, and there were some pools of lava down some hills. Currently, he and Shanine were taking their leave on foot.
"I understand your pain, but Lord Maquano does know what he is doing," Shanine stated, only for Morzard to turn to him with a glare.
"You said you could handle that kid on your own in Toxic Forest. Yet... You fail to beat him. What makes you think that Maquano knows better? I mean, I'm one of the stronger minions! I should've been one of the people to hold a Planet Star Piece! I'm MUCH better than Trinado, Stoneard, Steelfoot, Poisna, and Icing!"
"Master, it is not wise to be jealous. By doing so, it can lead to unnecessary drama and cause a ruckus to Lord Maquano."
"Well, whatever," Morzard pouted, aiming his wand at the lava to make some shoot upward. "If we can't take that kid on, maybe we can have a little fun with him! Remember back at Aqua Island?"
"Do you suggest something like that?"
"Maybe... I'm hoping you didn't tell Chopper that we were in disguise..."
"Negative."
"Good. However, I was thinking that maybe we should try ticking him off this time! Seeing someone rage can actually be pretty funny! Especially with their video games!"
"But won't rage make things worse?" Shanine asked.
"Naaaaah... We'll be fine!" Morzard assured. "Come on! Let's go find him and see him have a temper tantrum!"
Turning into a bat, Morzard began to fly off. Shanine did the same and was soon following his master into the sky.
If you like bad puns, you're probably going to love Icing. If you don't, then you're probably not going to like him. Even his name is a pun! :P
Expect the next chapter to be a little cool, if you know what I mean. *shot*