In You're Nightmares, The Demons in the Night
By: TheSilverHyena
WARNING! Contains:: Strong Language, Violence, Graphic Description of Gore, and Moments of Sheer Stupidity That you Would not Believe.
*Sometime Later in the Night, Tiff's and Kirby's Room*
Tiff couldn't sleep. All she did was toss and turn, thinking of what she could have done. If only she were paying attention! Finally, Tiff couldn't take it anymore. The girl got out of bed, put on her mage robes and snatched up Wicked from the bedside table. She looked down to see Kirby, cuddled up in his blankets, though with an understandably grim look on his face.
"I'm sorry, Kirby." Tiff sighed heavily.
She knew what she had to do. She had to make things right. Geoffrey shouldn't be the one out there risking his neck for her mistake.
"I'm the one who has to do this. The Warp Star is my responsibility!"
Tiff gently tucked the covers more firmly around Kirby before contemplating her next move. Kautounie was on watch downstairs, and even with Unnoticeability, she didn't want to risk being caught sneaking out by the senior mage's keen senses. So, that left one other option. The window. Tiff knew that the seal Neo and Kautounie had placed was to protect from intruders coming in, not going out. She took in a deep breath, knowing she'd deal with any reprimands from her teammates later. The girl slowly opened up the window, praying the loud creaking wouldn't wake up Kirby or alert Kautounie downstairs, then climbed out.
It was a bit of a challenge getting down, but Tiff was always a good problem solver. She found her way down safely, then took off before anyone would realize she was gone. The streets were empty and most of the lights were off. This was a good thing, as it provided more places to hide. Geoffrey had mentioned going to the airfield, and since that was the one place the people of Harmony didn't want any of them to go, that's where Tiff figured she'd start looking for Kirby's Star Piece. While she moved, the girl quietly cast Unnoticeability on herself to lessen the chances of being spotted, by friend or foe.
Tiff paused, then ducked into the shadows of a nearby building when she heard someone coming down the street behind her. She looked a bit confused. What were Mildred, Marshal, and Daisy doing up at this hour? Curious, Tiff decided to follow them, from a safe distance of course.
With her spell's effects, the three of them didn't know that they were being followed. Oddly enough, the trio was headed straight for the airfield. Well, that's where Tiff was going anyway!
Large flood lights illuminated the dusty tarmac, making hiding in the cover of darkness difficult, if not near impossible. Thankfully, with her spell protecting her, Tiff wouldn't need to worry to much. Then, much to her surprise, the gates opened in response to a flick of Marshal's hand. Strange; he never let on to being a sorcerer, and he certainly did not look the type.
Tiff had to break into a run to make it inside before the gates closed and locked themselves. Mildred looked over her shoulder, having thought she heard some footsteps. Her piercing eyes landed right on Tiff for a split second. But, having not noticed the girl, Mildred followed after her daughter and husband. Already Tiff's heart was pounding. Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea.
"What's wrong, hon?" Marshal whispered.
"I can't help but feel like someone is followin' us." Mildred whispered back.
"Don't worry bout' it, ma, Ronic's two sweetie pies will take care of everything." Daisy said, quietly.
Unfortunately for Tiff, she was to far away to hear what they were saying. She followed them as they went into the hanger bay and closed the door behind them. Much to Tiff's dismay, the door had been locked as well.
"Urg!" Tiff grumbled in annoyance.
She took out Wicked, the proceeded to do some more looking around. There were no windows, and only the one doorway in. She could make out a few parked vehicles in the back, but nothing of interest to her. But, on her way back, Tiff had quite a shock. There, in front of the hanger doors, were none other then Sword Knight and Blade Knight! She covered her mouth with her hand to prevent herself from screaming. She had been worried sick about those two. They appeared to be in good health, but Tiff quickly took notice that something wasn't quite right with them.
Meta Knight had mentioned seeing Sword earlier that evening and Kautounie claimed that she saw Blade. But Tiff's relief was quickly turning into worry when the the two knaves looked right at her, then drew their swords. It was then that Tiff remembered that Unnoticeability was not completely infallible. After all, Riley had seen right through it.
Sword and Blade could see something flickering, and were unsure of what it was. But it looked to be a person from what they could make out.
"We know you're ere', show yourself!" Sword Knight ordered.
Now Tiff knew something was very wrong. It was Sword's voice, alright, but it lacked all personality. For a moment, she thought about showing herself. But then she remembered; if Tuff simply stole the Star Piece from her, what would these two be willing to do in their current state?
Suddenly, a decision was made for her. There was a brilliant flash of light, that momentarily blinded her, and frantic shouting.
"After her, boys!" Marshal shouted from the Hanger doorway.
It was then Tiff realized that she no longer had the protection of her spell. Marshal must have done something to forcibly remove it. She had seen him cast magic of his own not moments before this mess began. But before she could ponder the mystery or even clear her eyes, two sets of hands grabbed her roughly and threw her to the tarmac.
Tiff stifled her pained cry, then attempted to fight back. She was about to cast a Fire spell using Wicked, but stopped once she remembered that it was Sword and Blade! Her hesitance cost her the fight before it really even began. Just as Tiff's vision was clearing up from the bright flash, Sword Knight butted the hilt of his sword against the girl's head, momentarily stunning her. Blade took this opportunity to tear Wicked from her hand while Sword forced her hands behind her back. Once she was subdued, the two knights bound her impossibly fast. As soon as Tiff began to question why they were doing this to her, one of the two silenced the mage by putting a gag over her mouth. Sword and Blade were quick to disarm their prisoner of her other weapons and belongings, including her knives and spell book.
Before she could fight back by kicking, the two knights picked her up and hauled her towards the Hanger. Tiff glared up at Marshal as she was dragged past him, but could not voice her displeasure with her mouth gagged.
"Mph! Mph-ou!" Tiff grumbled through her gag.
"Stupid girl! You've seen too much now! Take her down to the master, boys!" Marshal instructed, laughing to himself when Tiff squirmed futility in Sword's and Blade's grasp.
Why were they attacking her? What in the world was Marshal up to? Was he controlling them this entire time? And just who was this master? Some of these questions, Tiff didn't want to know the answer too, but she was going to find out, whether she wanted to or not!
*Geoffrey, Scouting Mission*
At the start of the night, Geoffrey quietly crept his way around the perimeter of the airfield. The human could seamlessly blend into the shadows and was near impossible to spot with the untrained eye. He stopped at the gates, taking another quick look around to make sure no one had seen him. Inhaling a deep breath, Geoffrey took his lock picks out of his coat and began to work on the lock.
Suddenly, a noise from the nearby warehouse, the one he, Meta Knight, and Neo had been poking around in earlier that day snapped the thief eyes away from his work and towards the direction of the sound. He couldn't be certain, but it was almost like an electric shock. Geoffrey stood up, pocketing his picks for now and silently slunk along the fence line and towards the warehouse.
"What the hell?" he mouthed quietly to himself.
Now that he could clearly see the building, Geoffrey could also take notice of the bright flashes of light coming through the window that was paired with the electricity. When the rogue chanced a peak inside, this is what he saw.
It was not at all like when he and his friends were there earlier. The once empty center of the room was taken up by a large, complex machine, the likes of which Geoffrey had only seen a few times in his life.
"A monster transporter? Where the hell were they hiding that thing?" he muttered to himself, silently cursing for having not noticed it before.
But if one thing could make him feel better, Meta Knight had failed to find it either. However, Geoffrey could not help but think that this was the reason Daisy was so quick to shoo them out. Her performance was more or less bordering on what he liked to call 'hammy'.
The rouge quickly ducked out of sight when one of the men inside, who was in fact one of the townspeople he had spoken too earlier that day, turned to look out the window.
"Shipment delivered successfully! Unit is safe for demon beast transport!" the man announced, unknowing that someone else was listening in.
"Perfect, delivery will be shipped tomorrow, 6:00am sharp, your time!" said a disembodied electronic voice Geoffrey did not recognize.
'Hmph, no demon beasts round' these parts my ass!' Geoffrey thought to himself.
He had seen enough, and it wasn't safe to linger in one spot for too long. Geoffrey had considered just shooting the man then and there, but a trail of dead bodies at this time wouldn't lead to anything good.
'Only in self defense!' the rogue mentally reminded himself, 'Or if they really piss me off!'
At least he had a real juicy bit of info to bring back for the rest of the team. Geoffrey slunk away from the warehouse and back to the fence, careful to avoid the flood lights that illuminated the tarmac. He took out his lock picks yet again and navigated his way back to the gates and set about showing himself in.
Once inside, Geoffrey shut the gates behind him as quietly as he could manage, then proceeded down the tarmac and towards the hanger bay. The rogue stopped about half way and crouched low to the ground to avoid being seen. He glanced around nervously, having sworn he could hear footsteps in the distance. Then Geoffrey saw the doors the the hanger open, and who should step outside? Why, Sword Knight and Blade Knight, of course!
"Sir Meta's boys in green armor. Well I'll be." Geoffrey muttered, a small smile forming on his lips.
But it was short lived. Suddenly, the two knaves' attention shifted elsewhere, and Geoffrey could now see something flicker against the light.
"No, no, it can't be! Tiff?!" Geoffrey groaned, "What the f*** are you doing out here?!"
The rogue stayed where he was at this moment. He couldn't afford to give away his position, lest he get noticed too. Then again, maybe he was just being paranoid. Perhaps Sword and Blade saw Tiff and were simply going to tell her they were okay... er... then again, they wouldn't really need their weapons out to do that!
"We know you're ere', show yourself!" Geoffrey could hear Sword Knight order.
"Shit..." the rogue whispered to himself.
Then Geoffrey could make out the gruff form of Marshal coming out to see what the problem was. Any hopes that he would put an end to the misunderstanding were dashed once Geoffrey witnessed the old man summon a bright flash of light from his hand and send it in Tiff's direction. The human had to cover his eyes for a moment, but when he looked up again, he could see Tiff standing there, clear as day, her Unnoticeability removed.
"After her, boys!" Marshal shouted.
Geoffrey thought about jumping in. Heck, two bullets to the head would solve the problem fast. But at this time, he was too far away, and Sword and Blade closed in on Tiff so quickly, he couldn't get a clear shot. The rogue already had his pistol out, and heavily considered firing anyway, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Those were his friends! They can't have been doing this on their own free will. Someone must have been forcing them to do this!
The two knights restrained Tiff and dragged her into the building. Marshal said something, but Geoffrey couldn't quite make it out. Once Sword, Blade, Tiff, and Marshal disappeared inside the hanger, the thief got up from his hiding place and sprinted, surprisingly quietly, across the runway.
"Why didn't you stop them when you had the chance?!" Geoffrey whispered, cursing to himself, "Because they would have seen you too, idiot! Oh Tiff, I'm sorry!"
Geoffrey began work on the hanger door lock, though he couldn't help but notice just how lax the security was, all things considered. Despite that little show Sword and Blade put on with Tiff, the locks were not that high of grade and there were no security cameras. (At least none that he saw, anyway.) Plus there wasn't very many guards out front. But what could you expect in a town with a population of 24.5?
Finally, the lock on the doors clicked open, and Geoffrey was inside. It was a single, open room, with a small scout ship parked in the center. He was completely alone, and since there was only the one way in, that anyone could see, that must have meant there was a secret door somewhere.
The human balked for a moment; any pilot that kept their hanger in this condition was truly criminal. Tools lay about in disarray, oil and other flammables left out in the open, and the entire space was a mess! It was a crime against mechanicians everywhere!
"Who are these people?" Geoffrey muttered in disgust.
He checked the surrounding walls, coming up with nothing in his search, then looked at the grit covered floor. The rogue knelt down, examining the muddled footprints. He followed them, all the way to the base of the scouting ship, then they vanished. Geoffrey snickered to himself. Trap doors and secret passageways! Go figure. It was well hidden, Geoffrey would give them that. The rogue opened up the hidden trap door, (with some difficulty, I might add) and looked down into the stairwell. It was dimly lit, and he could hear voices, but they sounded quite far away.
Taking in a deep breath, he descended downwards. It was the oddest feeling. The stairs didn't really go down that far, but the place was much bigger then anyone would perceive. At the bottom of the stairway, Geoffrey found himself in a much bigger hanger bay, that, much to his dismay, was brightly lit. Thankfully, since the stairwell was quite dark, no one had seen him as of yet, since most of their focus was on their new prisoner.
Geoffrey could not believe his eyes, yet there it was. The Halberd! In all her glory. He had to contain any excitement for his find, before he himself was found! The human scurried out of the stairwell, taking cover behind a support beam, breathing heavily. He could hear familiar voices, one of them unmistakably Daisy's.
"Oh, good job Sword and Blade, sweeties!" Daisy congratulated.
"That bimbo is in on this whole thing too?" Geoffrey mouthed to himself, unbelieving.
And to think he was worried about her safety!
It's sad, but true. That perfect little family were showing themselves for what they really were! Every one of them, giving praise to Holy Nightmare. Geoffrey chanced a peak, and could still see Sword and Blade holding onto Tiff. Then, the ringleader of the entire operation stepped into view. Geoffrey had seen him before, in the footage Garna had sent.
"Ronic..." he muttered, quickly ducking behind his cover again.
His heart was near pounding out of his chest. Excitement, adrenaline, anticipation, all of these things coursing through his body at once. He steeled himself, donning his clawed gauntlets and drawing both handguns. He had to get in, grab Tiff, get out, and tell the others what they were into. This entire time, they were right on top of an entire nest of Nightmare worshiping occultists!
*Tiff and her Captors*
Tiff continued to struggle against Sword's and Blade's hold. Then her eyes fell on the Halberd. (Granted, you'd have to try to miss it!) How did they capture that thing in the first place?! But, her built up anger only burned more fiercely when Mildred and Daisy joined in with the demon beasts that surrounded them.
"Oh, good job, Sword and Blade, sweeties!" Daisy giggled.
"Them boys caught this sweet little thing wonderin' about outside!" Marshal added, earning another vicious glare from Tiff.
"These are her weapons." Sword said, handing Daisy the wand, spell book, and knives.
"Oh, I had you pegged for a spell caster, darlin'! Wizard and a star warrior, huh? Honey, that might be just what the boss needs!" Daisy giggled.
Before Tiff could rebel against her captors again, everyone silenced. Laughing softly and heading towards them was that small halfling, clad in black, the one Garna had warned the team about earlier when she sent that transmission; Ronic. Tiff's face visibly frowned. This guy didn't look very threatening, he was only about her height! But, the hulking beast following him was quite terrifying. Tiff had seen Masher more times then she would care to admit, and it wasn't difficult to identify.
"Hmhmhm! I see that you have fallen into my trap, my dear, so that I might have my way with you!" Ronic began, though his voice was in a laughably forced low.
"Ronic, darlin', you're tryin' way to hard." Daisy sighed.
"Awwww... DAMN IT, BITCH! Now you've ruined my fantasy! Holy Nightmare damn you to hell, woman!" Ronic snarled, his voice going back to grating and obnoxious, "Chew your gum, or whatever it is you hot, sexy ass teens do!"
Daisy rolled her eyes, waving her hand in the air and sighed.
Ronic, still pent up and hopping mad, regained his composure, then approached Tiff, standing about a foot or so away from her. He snapped his fingers, and then Blade removed Tiff's gag.
"URG! Who are you and what have you done to Sword and Blade?!" Tiff screamed.
Ronic only chuckled and smiled, one Tiff longed the slice right off his face, "Ah, so you know these two then? I'll admit, their loyalty to another master made them difficult for me to... condition." he began, "Like what I've done to the place? Sorry we didn't have much time to tidy up, but we weren't expecting guests quite so soon, cookie!"
Tiff leveled her indignant glare to the mad halfling, "How did you get a hold of the Halberd? What have you done with my family and friends?!"
"To many questions!" Mildred sighed, "Put that gag back in her mouth already."
Ronic rolled his eyes, glaring daggers at Mildred, "Do you mind, woman?!"
Satisfied, the insane halfling continued, "It wasn't easy, I'll tell you that much, sweetheart!"
He snapped his fingers again, then, to Tiff's horror, she saw King Dedede, Escargoon, Tuff, her mother, father, and an assortment of Waddle Dees and Cappies that the Halberd rescued from the remains of Cappy Town before leaving Dreamland. Ronic had King Dedede tap dance, Escargoon lie down on the floor like a dog, and Tuff started worshiping Ronic! Every one of them obeyed that insane halfling without question. Tiff was beyond mortified.
"See there, cookie? That's total control. I can have them do anything I want. But you don't help the overlord of the universe take what's rightfully his by having you're slaves perform party tricks! I'll tell you that much, sweetie cakes! Naturally, the Masher here helped out a little." Ronic explained, "Not to mention that lout Bruno... hey, where is that armored land mass anyway? Anyone see him? Anyone taller then me?" he asked, getting horribly off subject.
Daisy and the rest of her family shook their heads, as did the rest of the workers. Even Masher put in his two cents.
"Fine! Anyway, where was I? Nabbing the Halberd, yes! Alright, Masher and Bruno got rid of most of the problems, but the biggest problem of all, these people. But people are worth more to me alive then dead, you see. That's why I didn't have Sword and Blade just kill you on the spot! Besides, then I'd actually have to pay my clean up crew!" Ronic bragged, "You see here, you fashion queen, I have a special gift for spells that control the mind. That's why these two and the rest of them obey my orders without question!"
"What about them?" Tiff snarled, gesturing to Marshal and his family as best she could with her hands tied, "Did you ensnare them too?"
"Nah, I didn't have to! They were already worshiping Holy Nightmare when I got here!" Ronic snorted, waving his hand and turning his back to Tiff, "Go on, let her in on it."
"Let me in on what?" Tiff asked, growing worried.
"Tehe, whether you know it or not, you're quite well acquainted with my sister... half sister, actually." Daisy explained.
"What are you talking about? I've never met your half sister!" Tiff shouted.
"Yes you have, girlie!" Marshal grumbled. "Her name's Riley Prescott!"
Tiff froze, nearly feeling her heart stop for a moment. This couldn't be true! It just couldn't be! To think that she, Kirby, and the team were trying to keep these people safe! And all this time, they were related to Riley?!
"You-you mean you're-?" Tiff stammered.
"Yup, I'm Miss Riley's daddy, Marshal Prescott!" Marshal laughed, grinning when he saw the look of disbelief in Tiff's eyes.
"Okay, okay, that's enough!" Ronic announced, "Now then, time for you to join your friends and family, cookie!" he added, grinning with evil delight at the frightened look on the girl's face.
The more she struggled, the harder Sword's and Blade's grip became. Tiff cursed herself for being so stupid! She never should have taken off on her own. What would this madman have her do to the rest of her friends?
"No! I wont become one of your slaves!" Tiff screamed.
"Hmhmhmmmm! That's what they said!" Ronic mocked, pointing to Sword Knight and Blade Knight, "Cookie!"
He circled his frightened captive, snickering all the way, "What made you come all this way to me? Was it my charm? Was it my irresistible evil-?"
"Hmph! You wish!" Tiff snarled.
"Or was it this?" Ronic asked, taking the Star Piece from the satchel at his side.
Tiff only saw it for a few seconds, but it appeared as though another piece had been added onto it. Of course! Masher never was Riley's next general, nor were the other Prescotts. It was Ronic!
"Pleased to meet you, cookie!" Ronic purred, "The name's Ronic! Ronic Shadowchoker!"
*Geoffrey*
Geoffrey had seen and heard enough. After witnessing Ronic display his slaves like trophies, the rogue took in a few deep breaths. Get Tiff, bugger out, get the team, return and storm the joint! A simple plan, but by no means easy. He'd have to avoid Sword, Blade, and the rest of the Halberd's mind warped crew, as well at the Prescotts, Ronic, and the countless number of demon beasts, including the Masher! Yup, much easier said then done.
"Oh this is so stupid, what are you thinking? Here goes-" Geoffrey muttered.
He suddenly felt his heart sink as a massive shadow loomed over him, then his eyes met up to the large man standing in front of him. Well, met up to his armored chest, anyway. Geoffrey slowly looked up to see the clueless, slack jawed face that could only belong to that walking landmass named Bruno.
"Nothin'..." Geoffrey slowly finished, a nervous smile on his face.
Bruno, thankfully, didn't appear to be angry; just curious, "What are you doing here, little guy? Are you new here?"
Thinking quickly, Geoffrey answered, "Yes, I am! Sorry, I was just a little bit nervous, what with it being the first day on the job and all." he said, slowly hiding his guns behind his back.
Much to his surprise, Bruno nodded in understanding.
"Hey, please don't let them know I'm here. You see Ronic and I... we go back a ways and I wanted to surprise him." Geoffrey whispered.
"I see, well, good luck on your first day!" Bruno said, mimicking Geoffrey's quiet tone.
The rogue let out a sigh of relief once the hulk left. Boy was Garna right, that guy was just about half as smart as an ox, though just as large! He couldn't cling to the hope that the plate mailed gorilla would keep his word, nor did he expect him too. The guy did work for Nightmare, after all.
Geoffrey caught the tail end of the now revealed Prescott's and Ronic's bragging, then could hear the halfling start up another one of his shouting rants.
"Bruno, you tin-plated continent of flesh, where the hell have you been?!" Ronic shouted, "You missed my gloating session!"
"I was just speaking with the new guy hiding right behind that support beam over there!" Bruno explained proudly.
"Shit..." Geoffrey whispered to himself, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth for a moment.
"Bruno... we're not expecting any new recruits at this time." Ronic began, calmly, "Did it ever occur to you that this... new guy is actually a Star Warrior spy?! SHMUCK!" he shouted, his anger escalating.
"No, not really." Bruno answered.
"Actually, that's a good question, how do you know?" Tiff asked.
"GRAAAHHHHHH!" Ronic snarled.
Geoffrey knew that the odds were against him, but he didn't have much of a choice now. He had often preached that he despised fair fights. The rogue smirked to himself, then leaped from his hiding spot, guns blazing. Mildred screamed, then took aim with her rifle, firing a shot. The bullet grazed Geoffrey's shoulder, though he knew it could have easily gone through his neck.
"Geoffrey!" Tiff screamed, kicking against Sword and Blade as the two knaves dragged her away.
"Get him, get him!" Ronic shouted, "Shoot him, hurt him, do something! Earn your damn paychecks for once!"
Geoffrey didn't have a lot of time to think. This fight was escalating out of hand before it even got started. He took aim and fired at Mildred, nailing the old woman with a shot to her withered gut.
"Ma!" Daisy screamed as the old woman collapsed.
"Mildred! Why you son of a-!" Marshal began, only to be silenced with a shot to his right between the eyes.
"You better not say bitch, because my mom is a dog!" Geoffrey finished for him.
Daisy was now beyond infuriated. With two shots, both her mother and father were dead! With one hand, she drew the pistol at her hip, and with the other, she sent a wave of magic missiles straight for Geoffrey. The rogue doubled over from the pain and dropped to one knee.
"What are you waiting for?! Get in there!" Ronic shouted, at both Masher and Bruno, "You too... your highness!" he added, gesturing to King Dedede.
Geoffrey unloaded both his guns at the Masher and Bruno, only to realize that they weren't even scratched. The Masher 2.0 and Masher just kept coming, causing the smaller demon beasts to scurry away and out of the fight. Then there was also a very pissed off Daisy to contend with along with King Dedede.
"Just don't wreck my equipment, we may not be-" Ronic began, just as Masher's flail crushed a computer console when Geoffrey rolled out of the way, "Insured..."
The battle was quite short. Geoffrey would get in a shot here or there, and he took out a few of the minor fiends plus he sent Ronic scurrying for cover, (and by the intensity of the foul language, he must have nailed the little bastard), but he quickly found himself overwhelmed by Masher and Bruno alone, then put Daisy's spells on top of that. A well shot blast of fire momentarily stunned the thief, leaving him prone for King Dedede to relocate his ribs with a swing of his hammer.
"Holy shit!" Geoffrey choked out, this being the first time he had been struck with King Dedede's massive hammer.
He struggled to his feet, barely getting there just before Bruno grabbed hold of him. Geoffrey may have been slippery, but he wasn't getting out of the plate mailed ox's grip any time soon. He feebly scraped his clawed gauntlets against the knight's armor, but to no avail.
"Hey, you're not a new guy! You lied to me!" Bruno whined, "That wasn't nice."
"Figured that out all on your own, did you?" Geoffrey snorted.
Tiff had nearly managed to squirm out of her captor's holds, right up until Sword and Blade had enough of her and kicked her in the gut. She coughed violently, even spitting up a little blood.
Daisy stormed past Masher and Ronic, straight to Geoffrey and Bruno. Now Geoffrey knew where he had seen that look. He had seen it one to many times, usually with every meeting he and Riley had. Now that it was out in the open, you could tell that those two were related.
Daisy pressed her gun to Geoffrey's forehead and pulled back the hammer.
"Head or gut first, you sand snake? You're gettin' one in each after what you did to my ma and daddy!"
Geoffrey only laughed, "Sand snake? What happened to sugar and darlin'? Or gentleman?"
Daisy only became more enraged. Her finger slowly began to squeeze on the trigger.
"NO! GEOFFREY!" Tiff screamed.
"Stop!" Ronic ordered.
"I'm not one of your slaves, Ronic! This here boy killed my ma and daddy!" Daisy insisted.
"He's worth nothing to me dead. Drop the gun you wild bitch!" Ronic shouted.
Daisy looked like she wanted to ignore Ronic and just put a bullet in Geoffrey's head anyway. But, once the Masher stepped forward, flail ready to swing, Daisy lowered her weapon.
"Hey, you could have shot me too, you know." Bruno pointed out.
"Fine! But you better have good reason for keepin' that one alive, darlin'!" Daisy glowered at Ronic, holstering her gun.
"No 'buts' in my occult, honey buns! Unless of course you're talkin' about yours or Riley's of course!" Ronic cackled, rubbing his hands together, "Now then, time to welcome two new team mates into the fold! Hehehehehahaaaaaaa!"
The halfling motioned for Sword and Blade to bring Tiff and stand beside Bruno so he could get to work.
"No, you can't do this to us!" Tiff screamed.
"Who's gonna stop me, cookie?" Ronic snorted, "This battle was already won the moment you set foot in Harmony!"
"We'll see!" Geoffrey challenged, "Just wait until my sisters get their claws on you, shortie! You better pray Sir Meta Knight gets to you first! He'll make it clean and quick. My sisters will make damn sure you suffer."
"Oh, I can't wait to see them try!" Ronic cackled, "I think I shall start with you, wall flower, first!"
Smirking and his face full of confidence, Ronic began weaving his sorcery. Tiff and Geoffrey were resisting as hard as they could at first, but it was quickly becoming overwhelming. Eventually, the last thing the both of them remembered was Ronic casting his spell, then everything went black.
"Get the troops ready! It's time to do this war thing!" Ronic cackled.
*Back at the Inn*
Kirby was having a difficult time getting comfortable. It was very cold in his room. The little pink warrior blearily opened his eyes. Then he saw the problem. Someone had left the window open. Sleepily, Kirby untangled himself from his blankets, jumped up on the windowsill, and closed the window. It was almost sun rise, and Kirby could see the first streaks of sunlight breaking through the dark of the early morning hours. He let out another tired chirp and took a quick look around. Something was missing, and he quickly figured out what, or rather, who it was!
"Poyo, Tiff!" Kirby cried out.
The pink puffball tore out of his room, opening each door to see if for some reason Tiff was in a different room, though at the same time, disturbing any occupants.
"What's the matter with you, Kirby?" Knuckle Joe moaned sleepily.
"Tiff, Tiff's gone, poyo!" Kirby chided, anxiously.
Now Knuckle Joe looked more awake. The fighting elf tossed his covers off and followed Kirby to wake up the other members of the group.
Meanwhile, Kautounie paced around the downstairs, keeping both an eye and an ear out for Geoffrey to return. It was taking way to long! He should have been back by now. The zwetoock groaned, yawned loudly, and continued keeping watch until such time when Knuckle Joe was supposed to come down to relieve her. Hmph, he was probably still sleeping!
Something wasn't sitting well with her. No, not just because Knuckle Joe was already half an hour late. She could hear noises ringing through the night. For a moment, she thought about investigating, but didn't.
"Damn it, Geoffrey, what is taking you so long?" Kautounie muttered, flicking her ears.
She paced a little while more, tail swaying slowly behind her. Her eyes fell on the spell book laid out on the table that she had previously been going through, but she was finding it difficult to concentrate. Then her ears caught several noises coming from upstairs. Kautounie was about to investigate, only to find she didn't have to. Kirby and the rest of the crew were coming down to her. Well... most of the crew, anyway.
"Ummm, where's Tiff?" she asked.
"Funny, we were gonna ask you the same thing!" Knuckle Joe grumbled, combing out his messy blonde hair with his hand.
"Tiff has gone missing, and Geoffrey has yet to return, it seems." Meta Knight observed.
"Apparently." Kautounie growled, running her hand through her pink mane.
Kirby began babbling incoherently, stopping only when Neo began massaging the sensitive spot on his shoulders to calm him down. Gently, the younger Redsun plucked up the little guy and held him in her arms.
"Easy now, Kirby. Just tell us slowly." Neo instructed.
After regaining his breath, Kirby began, "Tiff... the window in our room... left open... Tiff sneak out!"
"No wonder I never saw her leave." Kautounie muttered, "Must have been downwind too, never caught a whiff of her."
"It is quite possible that Tiff set out to reclaim the the Star Rod shard on her own." Meta Knight deducted, "She has been the guardian of Kirby's Warp Star for years."
"Poyo..." Kirby sighed sadly.
Kautounie thought for a moment, then grabbed her hoodie off her chair and tied it around her waist. Next, she began loading and checking all of her weapons.
"We know for a fact that someone around here works for Nightmare Enterprises! If they've done anything to Geoffrey or Tiff-!" Kautounie snarled.
She stopped suddenly and twisted around, growling. Neo, who had been comforting Kirby, gently set him down beside Knuckle Joe and Meta Knight. She too was growling. The sisters' ears flicked forward and their eyes stared straight ahead, like wolves that just caught wind of their prey.
Now the three Star Warriors could sense it too. Knuckle Joe and Kautounie both had that look, the look they got before a fight began.
"Poyo, poyo! Look!" Kirby cried, taking a peak out the window.
Several figures, some dressed like average citizens of the town, others dressed in blue starry robes and leather armor with spaulders were quickly approaching, all carrying torches and assorted weapons. The smell of sulfur and smog followed them. Then Kirby could see the hell hounds and other demon beasts mixed in with the mob of occultists. There were certainly more people then were previously thought!
"Enemies of the true master must surrender or die! Holy Nightmare shall rule this galaxy and all others beyond!" was being chanted over and over again.
"Not just one person it seems, rather the entire town!" Meta Knight snarled, his eyes flashing red, drawing Galaxia.
Kautounie took Matilda off her back and Neo drew her 44 Magnum revolver. She got a bit of joy, seeing the surprised look on Knuckle Joe's face.
"A gift from Geoffrey." Neo explained.
Knuckle Joe smirked and nodded, readying himself for a vast array of martial arts attacks. Kirby meanwhile, closed his eyes and concentrated. (Remember that little gift Dr. Knarks gave him?) Kirby's form shifted as he rejoined his companions, turning bright acid green, with a crown of smoke and toxic fumes adorning his head. In the gem on the center of the crown was the bio-hazard symbol.
"Poyo! Poison fumes and smog! Toxic waste, not what you'd think!" Toxic Kirby announced.
Meta Knight smirked beneath his mask. Kirby's relatively new Toxic ability was quite devastating. He and the others would just have to be careful not to get caught in the blast.
He quickly snapped from his thoughts when the stomping of many boots began trampling up the stairs reached his ears along with many shouts and death threats.
"Lets do this shit!" Kautounie snarled, ears pinning back against her head.
Kautounie, Neo, and Kirby stepped in front. Toxic Kirby opened his mouth, forming a wispy projectile of poisonous matter in the back of his throat, while Kautounie summoned a fuchsia colored ball of flame in her free hand, and Neo, a bolt of lightning. The cat was out of the bag now, no sense in worrying about property damages!
The three of them let their attacks and spells fly. Just as some of the occultists began to break through the windows and climb in, Kirby's toxic projectile knocked down the door of the inn, along with it's hinges, and exploded, furthermore enhancing the strength of Kautounie's fireball, as the fumes burst into flames once the zwetoock's spell had been released. Neo's lightning bolt was able to take care of any leftovers and hell hounds that were immune to the fire. Once their first attack was complete, there wasn't much left of the front of the hotel. But there was a nice, big open hole now!
"Well done, but this is only the beginning!" Meta Knight warned, leaping into the air and summoning his sword beam.
With the way temporarily cleared, the five of them rushed outside into the streets and surveyed the situation. Naturally, those caught in Kautounie's fireball were fried crispy, and the ones stewing in Toxic Kirby's poison gas were not faring much better. There were a few charred patches on the road from where Neo's lightning bolt had struck some hell hounds.
Then, more occultists could be seen, some coming out of nearby buildings, others sliding from the shadows.
"Holy Nightmare protect us, Holy Nightmare defend us!" could be heard being chanted, "Lead us to victory in your name, great and Holy Nightmare!"
Neo narrowed her eyes, then took a shot at the closest one with her revolver. Apparently the dead body of their fallen comrade did nothing to quell these lunatics. They simply trotted over the corpse like it was a mildly annoying obstacle.
"It seems there's only one thing these weirdos will understand!" Knuckle Joe shouted, "Smash punch, Spin kick!"
The five of them battled their way through the seemingly endless torrents of Nightmare worshipers. Sometime into the battle, over the sounds of war cries and monster snarls, Neo and Kautounie both picked up on what sounded like neighing and hooves pounding on pavement. Apparently during the chaos of the brawl, the horses had broken out of the poorly constructed stable and were making a break for it.
Kautounie, after shooting an enraged occultist in the face with Matilda, gave a sharp yip and a howl, "Diesel!"
The huge gray stallion broke off from running with the other horses and towards his mistress. Diesel galloped right over two men and several hell hounds that got in his way, though he very carefully leaped over Meta Knight as not to hurt the star warrior. Kautounie smirked, then jumped onto the Percheron's back as he stopped in front of her. Even with no reins or saddle, she could still ride Diesel just as well as if she had them. While Meta Knight, Knuckle Joe, and Kirby took out their enemies in bulk, Kautounie would run over or shoot any stragglers.
Toxic Kirby's poison had done a good job clearing out occultists and demon beasts alike. Even hell hounds with their natural smog that follows them, withered from the toxic fumes before they could belch flames of their own. With weakened howls of defeat, the hell hounds ignited in their death, giving further fuel to Kirby's poisonous attacks.
"Way to go, Kirby! Keep it up!" Knuckle Joe shouted, while he lobbed a few more smash punches into the fray.
"Poyo, Joe!" Kirby responded, right before breathing a massive cloud of black smoke at oncoming attackers.
Neo stayed at a distance, firing her magnum or using a group heal spell when her companions appeared to be weakening. With Tiff gone, she was the only team medic, and Sundar knows they would need her!
"Sundar, protect us in battle!" Neo howled.
Soon enough, Meta Knight's second sword beam cut a trench right through the road, entrapping those caught in the path to their fate and effectively ending the brawl. Then things became deathly silent.
"Nice sword beam, there, Sir Meta Knight!" Kautounie commented.
"Thank you." Meta Knight said, flicking some of the blood off his golden blade.
"Lets go wipe out the rest of em'!" Knuckle Joe shouted.
The team made their way through Harmony, alert for any dangers that could be lurking. So far, nothing was trying to stop them.
"This doesn't feel right! There is something else, I'm sure of it!" Meta Knight warned.
"Whatever gave you that idea?" Kautounie asked, trotting beside the elder warrior on Diesel.
"Poyo." Kirby sighed, letting a small puff of toxic fog escape his mouth.
Then Kirby heard something, like an electric shock. He knew that sound, and apparently, so did Meta Knight. Kirby anxiously tugged on his mentor's cape, resulting in Meta Knight's coughing and covering up his face with the other half of his cape. The little warrior backed away with a nervous smile. He had to be more careful with his toxic ability.
"You hear it too, young one?" Meta Knight asked, once he stopped coughing.
"I hear it, sounds like something electrical." Neo mentioned.
"Poyo, monster transporter! Poyo, Medi Kni!" Kirby chided, pointing towards the direction that the noise was coming from.
"You sure?" Knuckle Joe questioned.
"Oh yes. It's a very distinctive sound!" Meta Knight insisted.
Kautounie rode in front of Meta Knight and Kirby while Knuckle Joe and Neo watched the flanks and rear. Perhaps those creeps fled to replenish their demon beast troops. Well, they could have picked a better spot, that's for sure! They were alongside the airfield, heading towards the two warehouses outside the fence, one of which was generating all sorts of zaps, shocks, and roars.
"I knew there wasn't something right with that warehouse!" Meta Knight grumbled.
"Told ya something in there smelled funny!" Neo snorted.
"Poyo, toxic fog!" Toxic Kirby announced.
Kautounie trotted off to the side while Meta Knight and Kirby charged forward. Toxic Kirby leaped into the air, belching out a blast of black smoke, letting it seep through the poor wood and broken windows. Shortly after wards, three occultists and a panicked wolfwrath stumbled out. The occultists, two woman and one man, were busy hacking and coughing, while the wolfwrath took this opportunity to flee, heedless of any extra injuries he caused to his handlers. Meta Knight twisted around to use a sword beam on the beast while Knuckle Joe used a smash punch. Much to their dismay, the fiend ignored them and jumped over the fence and into the airfield, even as Neo emptied the last of her magnum bullets at the wolfwrath.
"Damn!" Knuckle Joe cursed.
They could go after the demon beast later! Right now, there was the matter of the three occultists, who, although burnt, scratched up, and suffering from poison, were reaching for their weapons.
"Surrender!" Meta Knight ordered, "And be spared!"
"Go to... -cough- Hell, Star Warrior!" choked out one of the females, as she raised her handgun, giving Meta Knight no choice but to kill her.
The other two were given the same offer and chose not to take it. Although that was just fine with the Redsun sisters, Meta Knight wasn't entirely happy about it. He didn't like killing prone targets in this way, he felt it went against his honor. But, in the end he justified that the galaxy was now rid of three Nightmare worshipers.
Kirby and Neo took a look inside the warehouse, and low and behold, there was a monster transporter inside. It was a complex machine that must have taken a lot of time to build, not to mention hide.
"Where the hell did they hide this thing?!" Neo asked.
"It must have been here this entire time, right under our feet. Perhaps that's why Daisy was so eager to get us to leave!" Meta Knight remarked.
"Medi Kni, you think she's... she's in on it, too?" Kirby questioned.
"Well, the rest of the town seems to be!" Meta Knight grunted.
"Meta Knight, Kirby, Neo, get out here!" Kautounie called.
The three of them left the monster transporter alone for now. If things went well, they could always investigate later. But then again, things didn't look like they were going to go well at all! On the other side of the fence, at the far end of the airfield runway, Nightmare's occultists rallied, though to be fair, they were having some difficulty with the wolfwrath that was still running around. But that wasn't all. At the front was unmistakably Geoffrey and Tiff! At first, the Redsuns, Meta Knight, Kirby, and Joe felt relieved, but then quickly realized that something wasn't right.
Before they could pinpoint the exact problem, an explosion coming from the main hanger grabbed everyone's attention. Kirby and Knuckle Joe both stared in shock, when out of the smoke and rubble, the familiar form of their old nemesis stepped out, spiked flail in hand. Two large mechanical wings unfurled from the great monstrosity's back. Then, the massive fiend's soulless red gaze turned to them, it's sights set on Knuckle Joe in particular.
"Masher 2.0!" Knuckle Joe growled, "Finally!"
Diesel reared up and kicked his front legs in the air, snorting angrily. Neo and Kautounie both summoned their bolts of lightning, knocking down a good portion of the rusty chain link fence. Well, this was the moment Knuckle Joe had come all this way for, and he wasn't about to let it pass.
"Ready, Kirby?" Knuckle Joe asked, quivering with adrenaline.
"Poyo! Kirby shouted.
Meanwhile, hiding amongst the smoke and rubble created by his "over-glorified garbage can", Ronic watched from a safe distance while his minions battled. Bruno and Daisy were on either side of him, standing guard. Suddenly, there was a stray blast of fire from the fight, causing the three of them to scatter. Ronic glared upwards, and saw the fuchsia pelt and yellow eyes that belonged to wolfwrath.
"Okay, who ordered the damn wolfwrath?!" Ronic grumbled.
"Ummm... you did, actually." Bruno answered.
"Grrrrrrrr..." was all Ronic managed to get out, then set his sights back to the fight unfolding before them.
Kautounie lined up with the two star warriors, putting Matilda away and taking out her Defender swords instead. Neo and Meta Knight decided that they would fend off the rest of their attackers and see about rescuing Tiff and Geoffrey while Kirby, Kautounie, and Knuckle Joe dealt with Masher 2.0. This was it, now or never. Heavily outnumbered and with the odds against them, yet filled with fighting spirit and determination, Kirby and his team charged.
Author's Notes:: Okay, 24 is up! Yay me! This one has a lot of focus on Tiff and Geoffrey, as they're the ones sneaking and skulking about. We also finally get to really witness just what Ronic is capable of and why he is so dangerous... plus how dumb Bruno is. (And to think, that wasn't one of Geoffrey's good lies!) Anyway, Tiff and Geoffrey have been placed under a powerful mind controlling spell, Masher has been unleashed, and the secret of the Town of Harmony has been spilled. How will Joe and Kirby defeat the Masher 2.0 this time, and what will the team do when pitted against their friends? Now the battle has truly begun!
Disclaimer:: Kautounie, Neo, Geoffrey, Riley, and all OCs, and World of Horva are © to me.
Kirby, Meta Knight, and all related characters © Nintendo and HAL Laboratories.