And now, here is the second half into my explanation of what's going on in Dreadzone. Now it's time to reveal more on Gandolfini and what's the madman is up to. In here, you will get to know how Dreadzone started, a little bit on what Gandolfini did with his robotic arm, and... the revealing of the three people that are hired for the mission to defeat the Eds.
Will it happen? Who knows, but I'm going to say...
Legal Stuff: I DO NOT own Ed, Edd n Eddy, Ratchet & Clank or any guest characters. Ed, Edd n Eddy is copyrighted by Danny Antonucci, Ratchet & Clank is copyrighted by Insomniac Games, and whoever is a guest character is copyrighted by the original creator. I do, however own any original content mentioned in this series.
Chapter Twenty-Six – The Chairman Speaks
OOO
The robots runs back and forth, carrying heavy equipment and several papers as they rush to get the latest news show going. Noweg walks up and sits down in his chair, gathering his new report as the robots working off screen gets into position. The director comes up and sits down in his chair, pulling up the megaphone and signaling cameramen to get ready.
"All right, this show's going to be big people," the director shouted. "I want a perfect show in five… four… three… two…"
"Hello again, fellow followers of Dreadzone," the wrecked robot Noweg said. "Welcome back to an all new season and to begin, we're going to present to you with some exciting news!"
The green screen behind Noweg begins to alter, showing a large cartoon explosion with versus in the middle. On one side is the Eds and on the other side is Dr. Nefarious, making the full picture as words appear on the bottom and top of the screen.
"That's right, the Eds of Team Cul-de-Sac are going up against the one and only Professor Treacherous!" Noweg stated. "This will be the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny folks, and we're going to bring the match live, right here on Dreadzone! When will the match air, who knows? All we know is that it's guarantee that the Eds are going to lose this match as soon as they step on the field."
The screen reverts back to normal, and Noweg flips a page in his report.
"As for other news, there have been recent reports of sightings of 'Deadeye' James around the station," Noweg said. "There has been no recorded proof to say that the sightings are true, and we are into searching the cause of these sights."
Some of the robots off camera begin to talk among themselves about actually seeing James walking around the station. The director blares a warning signal from the megaphone and the robots got back to work.
"OK, now it may be true that we may seeing more matches from the Medieval Lombax," the news anchor said. "It appears that he was given a contract to be the Avenger Exterminator, since he has built himself up from when he first started back two seasons ago. His first Exterminator match will be against the best of the Transmorpher line.
"As speaking of the Transmorpher, a whole legion of them is heading towards Ardolis," Noweg continues. "They are there to get things set up for a new campaign that is slated for next season.
"And for the moment you have been waiting for, the latest in Professor Treacherous' killing spree:
"Moki Moki
Ojami
Gorge Button
Seadom Ferring
Hynea Ferret
Jungle Man
Tyranoid
Blitz Girl
And Codemaster"
"Well, that does it for now," Noweg said. "Tune in later today for all new information, all on the afternoon show. I'll catch you then."
As the robots begin to depart, a robotic arm shoots out and latches onto Noweg's neck. The robot is hoisted up and slam onto the green screen, with Gandolfini closing in and pinning in on his right-hand man. Some of the robots came in with stun guns, but Gandolfini rotates his head and lets out a loud roar, scaring all of the robots away from the duo.
"So, you think you get away with your little plan, huh?" the tion asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Noweg said, struggling to get his words out.
"I know what you were talking about!" Gandolfini roars, breaking the screen as he shoves the robot deeper into the green screen. "I overheard your conversation with the humans and Mask Hero, and I know your part in this plan of his!"
"How did you found out?" the right-hand man asked.
"I listened in with a hidden camera," the tion stated. "Mask Hero thinks he can destroy the cameras without having a back-up to film privately? Please."
The tion lets his grip go of Noweg's neck, dropping him on the ground. Then Noweg got up, and as he is about to move, Gandolfini cracks his knuckles, including the robotic hand's.
"Where do you think you're going?" asked Gandolfini.
"Uh, nowhere," the wrecked robot replied.
Gandolfini drills his robot arm back into Noweg's neck and slams him back into the wall. "Listen here, I'm going to obliterate you into a thousand pieces if I find out that you're betraying me," the tion growls.
"Whoa, this is a mistake!" Noweg said quickly. "I'm not betraying you! I was only there to listen in on the plan in person!"
Noweg flinches as his master prepares to throw a punch. He then feels the grip around his neck loosen up and he could feel his feet touch the ground. The robot opens his eye to look Gandolfini staring at him with an evil glare, and both of his hands down towards his waist.
"You better be right about this," the tion said. "Otherwise, this will be your last show."
Gandolfini steps off the stage and heads back to his office. Noweg shakes all over as a producer walks up behind the scared news anchor.
"Are you all right?" the producer asked quietly.
"I'm too shaken to say anything," Noweg replied.
OOO
At the living quarters of Team Cul-de-Sac, the humans are getting themselves busy for the plan ahead. Rolf and Kevin are getting supplies to help them with setting up the explosives, Plank is talking to Jonny about the map in front of them, and the Eds are getting themselves ready for another campaign, if they are ever given one. Eddy looks over the Rank-o-Meter, testing out his lock-on specs in his visor and Double D is helping Ed with keeping his grief under control.
"So how's he doing?" Mask Hero asked, without his mask holder on.
"I'm doing swell," Ed replied.
"Actually, he's doing better than I hope," Double D said. "With the anger management and positive thinking techniques I gave him, he is finally back to normal."
"That's nice to hear," the teen gladiator replied. "I mean, without your best player, I'll say that you guys will have a hard time against Nefarious."
"But the thing is, when are we going to face him?" Eddy asked, aiming a Dual Viper at the head Exterminator's name. "I'm itching to get out of here, and beating him is the only thing standing in our way."
"Who knows how long it'll be," Double D replied. "For all we know, it could be a long time before we see Dr. Nefarious on the battlefield."
"Well, if this doesn't happen," Deadeye James said, "we're going to be pick off one by one."
He tosses down a camera in front of the Eds' feet. Double D picks it up before Mask Hero takes the broken camera from him and places it within his coat.
"I found it while helping the others getting pack," the bounty hunter said. "It appears that Gandolfini has been spying on us, and it may look like your plan is going forth."
"Yeah, but by his terms," Hero said. "We need to be preparing for the worst, even if it means that we stay on the station when it blows."
"Are you sure that this is a good idea?" the smart Ed asked. "I mean, there are other options to extract revenge in a more control way."
"Yes, but we need to do what needs to be done," Hero said. "Once we get everyone off this station, we will detonate the station from a safe location, and we'll have Gandolfini behind bars."
Double D lets out a kind sigh and Eddy lets out a snort. "So what?" the small Ed said. "As long as we're far away and heading back, I don't care what happens to him."
A knocking came out of Kevin's room and the Eds walk in to see Noweg being escorted by fully green D-Z gunmen. The boys know that Noweg is in on the plan, but why are there those gunmen the Eds will find out.
"Attention Ed boys," the wrecked robot said. "Your present is require to be in Gandolfini's office immediately."
The green gunmen, which Double D whispers to the other Eds as Range Strikers, got behind and push the Eds forward. One of the Range Strikers notices the bag of supplies on the table and snipes the stuff gone. The group left the room and Kevin lets out a heavy sigh.
"C'mon Rolf, we got to get more supplies," the boy said.
"Rolf has you know, Kevin, that Rolf cannot be the pack mule for much longer," Rolf answered.
The Eds are push along, shoved down the hall as they are escorted to the tion's office. Noweg deactivates the security system leading to his master's office, clearing the way for the group to pass through. After a minute, the robots lead the Eds up to the door to Gandolfini's office, and Noweg takes the handle to open up the door.
"Sir, the Eds are here," the wrecked robot said.
"Bring them in!" boomed the tion.
Noweg widens the door for all three boys to walk in, and he motions for them to go in. The three of them steps inside of the office and they begin to look around the spacious room. Then they notice the tion sitting his chair, watching different sections of his HoloVision monitor. Gandolfini spins around in his chair, with his hands cup and up to his face, and he places his elbows on top of his desk.
"Well, it's about time that we meet face-to-face, Ed boys," Gandolfini said, almost purring. "I was just counting the days 'til we finally meet."
"Is that really true?" Eddy asked. "Or was it towards the day of our deaths?"
Gandolfini didn't respond to that question. "So, you boys have made it far into the competition," the tion said.
"Yes."
"Well, we don't have any other tournaments that offer anyone anything that gets this high," Gandolfini said. "All that we have is the Renegade rank, but that comes with a price."
"And that will be?" Double D asked.
"You boys have to defeat Dr. Nefarious in a fight to the death, and you three to stay as the first triple Exterminator team," Gandolfini stated.
"We'll do it!" Ed replied.
"Ed, please," Double D said. "We need to think about it before we come to a decision."
"How about a big, fat no?" Eddy asked.
"That's fine," Gandolfini said. "If you three do care about your lives, I will allow you to go."
"But we have to fight the doctor, right?" Ed asked.
"Right."
"I'm getting a bad feeling about this," Eddy said.
"What's so bad about giving you your freedom back?" the tion asked. "All I'm doing is giving you a choice."
"That involves putting our lives on the line, again," the smart Ed said. "I'm sorry, but I got beaten to a pulp in my fight with the Extraterrestrial, and we lost Ed in his fight against the Admiral. I'm afraid that we can't risk any more for this team."
"That's too bad," replied Gandolfini. "You do remember what happens to gladiators that refuse to fight?"
The tion holds up his robot arm and hovers his normal hand over three small buttons. "This here will give you a tasty reminder why you don't disobey the rules!"
"Do what you must!" the small Ed shouted. "Hit me with everything you got!"
Gandolfini looks on Eddy, as the small Ed puffs out his chest. What felt like minutes pass, the tion lowers his hands and places them on the desk. The tion lets out a small, inaudible laugh before refocusing on the Eds.
"Kid, I like you," the engineer said. "But, it appears that your smart member is having second thoughts. I would work on getting with some sort of agreement."
Eddy looks at Double D, and he notices something off. He could see Double D is dripping sweat down his face, not because it is hot but he is really scare. Ed looks in hope to calm his friend, but the tion got up from his desk and walks up to the smart Ed.
"Yes, what a fine specimen," Gandolfini said, grabbing onto Double D's chin. "The wielder of the Telekinesis Gem will definitely bring in the big bolts." The tion then turns over to Ed. "You, now with such anger and strength, you will be perfect for all sorts of challenges I have in mind." And then, he finally turns to Eddy. "Now for you, I can imagine you as the head of all Dreadzone. Yes, with your skills, you will rule all of the gladiators!"
Something inside Eddy's head clicks together. "All of them?"
"Yes, all of them."
Eddy could not believe it. If he is the head of all of the gladiators, he could make more money than what Gandolfini makes. In fact, he will be higher than Dr. Nefarious and that means a lot for the Eds. But then… he knows that even with what they have, they still can't take on the toughest gladiator in Dreadzone.
"Sorry, but no deal," the small Ed said.
"Really? After all I'm offering?" Gandolfini said. "What about I give you a bolt multiplier and double what you guys get on the field?
"Again, the answer is no," Double D said.
"Then what about the upgraded version of all of your weapons?"
"No!" Ed stated.
Gandolfini is getting irritated. He knows that the boys know about him spying on them, and he's trying whatever he can to prevent the boys from leaving the show. The tion reclines back in his chair and lets out a long breath.
"You know, you three drive a very hard bargain," Gandolfini said. "I have work so hard to put you boys into this position, and here you are turning down every offer I am giving you. You boys are really stubborn."
"We're not stubborn!" Ed replied.
"We just want out, that's all," Double D stated.
Gandolfini lets out another heavy breath. "All right, I can't think of anything else to do," he said. "I try, but you three won't give in. All I care about is the bolts, and if you three aren't living to the creed of this show, then I'll be damned if I'm start losing bolts because of you!"
"Oh, look at Mr. Sensitive here," Eddy joked. "You think you like money, do you?"
"Kid, have you ever made a profit before?"
Eddy begins to think, remembering all of the scams that the Eds used to do. Sure, there have been some times that the boys did make some money, but very few times is when they spent it on Jawbreakers, and there wasn't a cent left.
"No."
"Yeah, that's right, you haven't," the engineer said. "You don't truly love money once you have made your first profit. And when you do, it'll be the happiest moment in your life."
"Yeah, that'll be the day," Double D said quietly.
A knocking came from the other side of the door. "Sir, there's someone here to see you," Noweg said.
"I didn't remember calling for anyone else," the tion replied.
"It's someone that personally knows you," the robot replied.
"All right, let him in."
The door opens and Mask Hero came strolling in, with his mask holder on his face. His hands are in his pockets and he is wearing his standard battle armor.
"Hello, Gandolfini," the masked teen said.
"What are you doing here?" Gandolfini replied.
"Why, I was stopping by to have a talk with you," Mask Hero said. "And it's all about what's been going on lately."
The tion stares deeply into Mask Hero, and then to the Eds. He didn't do a thing as Mask Hero makes his way towards the desk.
"Now, this conversation is for all of us," the teen said, "and they want to know everything that has been going on."
Gandolfini waits a minute to respond. "I have no comments," he finally said.
"Well, don't you boys remember all of your campaigns," Hero asked, "from Gravestone Forty-Two all the way to West Sark?"
"How could we forget?" Eddy replied.
"Well, after running everything I can about those campaigns… nearly all of those are rigged. And Gandolfini is the real one pulling the strings, trying to kill you three!"
The room falls silent, waiting for someone to say something. Then Gandolfini got a small smirk on his tion face, let out quiet chuckles before turning the volume on them. The whole room fall victims to the booming of the tion's laughing and the Eds step back in fear as the tion continues to laugh.
"Ah, is that what you think?" Gandolfini asked. "That nearly all the campaigns were rigged for the Eds to come to death? Well, you're right on one part."
"Are you serious?" Eddy asked.
"You see… all of your campaigns were rigged!"
"All?" the Ed shouted.
"That's right! Me! I'm the one that rigged the campaigns! And everything that was meant to kill you was built by me! That's right, I caused the ritual at Gravestone Forty-Two, I'm the one that put that plaque there at Riolo, I'm the one that flushed the sewers, I'm the one that built the Flare Bomb, I'm the one that built the Sarachna, I'm the one that built S.A.N.T.A, I'm the one that built the Transmorphers, I'm the one that built the lightning tower, I'm the one that set up the whole confusion on West Sark, I'm the one that built the Mechanical Reaper, I'm the one that have Captain Qwark fight as an Exterminator and I'm the one that built Lightning Grease and the Admiral!"
The boys fall silent again. They could not believe that a single man like Gandolfini could do all that by himself.
"I'm sorry that you boys have to know the truth," Gandolfini said, "but you three must die, since no one should know the truth. Especially you, Mask Hero!"
"Actually, you are going to spread your anger on a much larger plane," Hero said.
The teen opens up his coat and reveals to the engineer the radio that Hero carries with him. Gandolfini grips onto his desk, cutting holes through it with his nails, but he loosens up as he begins to think deeply.
"All right, so you have publicize me," Gandolfini said. "It's too bad that there isn't a police intercom system."
"Actually, it is."
"What?"
"Gandolfini Birman, you are in the custody of me, James Guns," the bounty hunter's voice said over the radio. "You are under arrest, and anything you say will be used against in a court of law."
"Is that right?" the tion said. "Fine, since you all know what's been going on, I'll make one more statement before you turn me in."
"And that'll be?" Ed asked.
Gandolfini got up from his chair again and he hunches over to prevent the humans from seeing his face. He then jerks back up, with evil written all over his face, and he launches towards Mask Hero. The teen quickly draws his sword as the tion collides with the blade and pushes Hero towards the door. The masked gladiator struggles to fight back Gandolfini, but the engineer is too strong for the young warrior.
"Face it kid, I got more power running through these veins," Gandolfini growls. "I have come from a line of Tigaranous warriors, and my family is the head of the tion clan. I have more strength than anyone else in my family, and I know how to take down an easy prey, even it means that I have to get everything that I want just to do it!"
"A spoiled child pampered with luxury, then turns to the life of building robots for evil desires," Hero said, finally getting the upper hand. He pushes Gandolfini back with his sword and waits for the tion's next move.
"And I could had it all," the tion said. "But my parents chose my sister as the leader of our clan, and she was proven to be a stronger warrior than I once was. She never gave a bolt to me, so I grew jealous of her, and that was when I found my master and begin my life as a robot engineer."
"And then you went and built the Transmorpher program, starting the S.A.N.T.A. pandemic and then creating Dreadzone," Hero said.
"That's right, you got everything right," Gandolfini stated. "And once more, I'm showing the world what DreadZone can do! The last guy before me was corrupt with the retail business, trying to market off his Exterminators like they're mere toys to children! But instead, I follow the ways of only getting rich off of views. The more hits Dreadzone X gets, the more bolts I collect for my final project: the ultimate Exterminator that even Dr. Nefarious can't beat!"
"You're a psychopath!" Eddy shouted.
"I am? Well, tell that to your tall friend there," the engineer stated. "He's more of a psychopath as me when Marsha shot his only sibling! That pure rage, that shows that he's not the one to mess with."
Ed hangs his head low and begins to whimper. The other Eds look upon him and they help calm their friend down. After a few soothing words, Ed picks his head back up and he is smiling like normal. Then Gandolfini picks and elbow up and shoves it into Ed's face but the tall boy catches it and pushes the elbow back.
"Heh, you're still a poor suck-up," the tion said. "No matter, children like you are all suck-ups, and no matter what you throw at them, they suck everything inside of their tiny minds."
"That may be true," the smart Ed said, "but we're much more than 'suck-ups.'"
"Yes. You three are a pain in my ass!" Gandolfini roars. "I have just the thing for you three, and this guarantee to kill you."
"I do not like this," Ed said.
"Oh, you will," the tion replied. "You three will be sent on one final campaign, to the planet Ardolis to run the X Gauntlet, where you will fight thousands of ghosts from defeated enemies and a legion of my finest Transmorphers. Your mission is to get through the Gauntlet alive and back to the station on your own. If you clear, which I know you won't, you are to head for the Battledome and you are to fight against Dr. Nefarious for one final match. Agree?"
The Eds look at each other and begin to huddle among each other.
"OK, so now what?" Eddy asked.
"We can't do anything," Double D said. "We need to accept the terms."
"And risk getting wasted by those transforming robots?" the small Ed said. "Well, it's better than the crazy Exterminator."
"For Sarah!" Ed shouted.
"For Sarah," the others replied, breaking out of the huddle. "All right, we're in," Eddy said.
"Excellent," Gandolfini purrs. "Now, as for you Mask Hero, you are condemned to your quarters 'til further instructions are given. And don't you think you can try blowing up my precious station."
"As long as I have my training, that wouldn't be an option," Hero said.
Gandolfini walks over to his desk and sits back down in his chair. He got himself settle down and places his head in his fist, staring at the gladiators with his cat-eyes.
"You boys now know a lot about me," he asked.
"Yes," replied Doubled D.
"Well, I guess I should tell you about how this whole thing got started," the engineer said.
"It all began five years back, way before Dreadzone was even on my mind, I was currently underway with my Mechanical Construction program. I was pretty broke despite getting large amount of bolts for the robots I build, so I rely on Noweg and my apprentice to collect scrap metal. Now, one day, a radar that I had that picked up on stray scraps targets out a large amount in the Shadow Sector of the Solana galaxy. I sent Noweg and my apprentice out there, and I continued to work on my program."
"And while we were out there," Hero said, continuing on with the story, "we did came across the pile and Noweg spotted the arm that Gandolfini is wearing right now. Noweg got excited by this finding and he puts it inside of the ship we were using. After collecting the metal, we headed back to your shop to allow you get your stuff down."
"Then Noweg came up to me, showing the arm and he asked me to put it on his arm," the tion continues. "I took the arm from him and told him that I'll give it to him once I checked it out. I began tinkering with it, studying how the arm works, and then I made the discovery of my life."
He pushes on a button and a hologram that shows blueprints of several robots and the station.
"These here are the blueprints to the original DreadZone," Gandolfini said. "I went through every file, and found all of these prints fantastic. And then I stumble onto the marketing part of DreadZone and found that part boring, so I deleted those files from the arm and kept these blueprints.
"After I was done, I put the arm back together and a thought shot through my head. Why don't I use this arm for myself? And so, I got myself a saw and hack away my arm, and now here is the arm that started it all. And that's not the end of it.
"You see, this arm was built for only hologram projections, so I reconfigure this so I can give it more punch. And then, I begin to think that I should rebuild DreadZone, since I do have the blueprints after all. Noweg came back and asked why I have the arm on my personnel, but I ordered him to get me more metal so I can begin the reconstruction of DreadZone.
"And now," Gandolfini said, "here we are, at the highest point in DreadZone's history, which we're at the point to where I, Gandolfini Birman, shall turn against everyone in Dreadzone X, and I shall begin on my former apprentice."
"He's your apprentice?" Ed asked.
"You weren't listening to that part of my story," Mask Hero said.
"Now my apprentice… it's time for you to die!"
Gandolfini puts his robot arm forward and shoots his hand out for Hero's neck. The claw on the hand latches onto the boy's neck, preventing him from escaping the deadly grip. Then the tion swings his arm to the left, bringing Mask Hero crashing through the wall and out to the Battledome arena. The masked teen begins to fall, with shattering black falling all over him, and then he pulls his Aerial Mask from his coats. He puts the mask on and Hero saves himself by flying over the crowd and flying down to the battlefield below. He looks up to see that people got out of the way from where the glass landed and he walks off the field, without getting attention from the opposing forces.
"This is perfect," Gandolfini said, snapping his hand back into its socket. "This gives me another traitor to add on my black list." He turns to focus back on the Eds. "Now, I want you boys to head back to your quarters and get ready for departure. You three are going for a ride to hell!"
"But I have been a good boy!" Ed shouted.
Two Range Strikers came into the room and they drag the Eds out of the room. As they left, Noweg slides himself in and looks over to the hole in the glass wall that overlooks the main Battledome stadium.
"Uh, what happen in here?" the wrecked robot asked.
"Oh, just a bit of misunderstanding, that's all," the tion replied. "So, anything about those bounty hunters I hired?
"They have just arrived," Noweg said. "I'll bring them right in."
Noweg steps out of the room and comes back to open and hold the door. A tall, lanky man came striding in through the door, with the long coattails of his brown overcoat breezes as he walks in. He is wearing a brown shirt with black pants under his long brown coat, and there are straps everywhere that contains all sorts of explosives and small electrical devices. On his wrists are two gauntlets that serve like a computer on his wrists, having different buttons on each one. He wears a pair of black gloves that reveal his hands, which they show only bone and nerve. And he wears a wide-brim brown hat over his blue skin face, to cover his plain red eyes and two breathing tubes that are hook to both sides of his jaw.
"So you're the one that brought me all the way out here?" the bounty hunter said, voice a bit robotic. "I heard about your reputation when I first came to this sector. You got a pretty interesting, not to mention dark, past."
"Thank you," Gandolfini replied.
Then the doorway cracks open as a large man comes walking through. The two looks to see two other men standing inside of the office, and the two new men are completely different and the same in appearance. They are both of the same race, with mess-up black hair with long sideburns on both sides of their faces, and they each have pointy ears, yellow eyes with black irises, and they both wear a red suit. The differences come in the size of the men, with one being much larger and the other being small, but not as small as the bounty hunter. There is also a difference in their uniforms, with the smaller man wearing a goldish color work jacket with black stripes running along the edges and the large man isn't wearing a coat but a pair of red overalls. They also wear different hats, with the small man wearing a trucker type hat and the large man wearing a goldish skull cap with goggles on top.
And not to forget things, another similarity these men share is that they are brothers.
"Uh, forgive my brother for causing a minor denture into your doorway," the first brother said in a subtle, deep voice.
"It's all right," Gandolfini replied. "I got hundreds of robots that are design to repair things."
"That's good," the large brother sighs, a bit of a western tone in his voice. "Cuz I don't wanna be paying for something that we haven't received the money for."
"It's all right," the tion said. "It happens all the time."
"So you're the man that's offering us a titanic sum of cash?" the small brother asked.
"Indeed," Gandolfini said. "Now, according to how things stand, I have figure out the exchange rate for bolts for your currencies from where you come from. All right, your reward will be, in bolts, is 750,000,000,000, which in total will be 768,913,211,900 in credit and 667,901,324,000 in weapon upgrades."
"That much?" the bounty hunter said. "That's more than what the Separatists can get their hands on."
"I have never dream of so much money," the large brother said.
"Yes indeed," the small brother replied. "With that of money, we could do whole kind of destruction beyond what we can imagine."
"Of course, but you have to earn it," the tion said. "The reason I have chose you three for this job is mainly in where you stand in for getting the job done. Now, you three counteract each other in certain fields, but then you also are experts in what you do best.
"Cad Bane of the Outer Rim, your expertise in getting the mission done is excellent, not to mention your rank as the best and notorious bounty hunter in the galaxy. Your equipment knowledge and long range tactics make you an excellent candidate for this mission. Stealth is all you're going to need for where you're going.
"Octagon and Rhamboid Vreedle! You two have made yourselves known for being some of the clumsiest repo men I have ever seen. But, you do get the job done, even if it requires using every piece of alien technology you have. Your field of high power guns and close-combat is perfect with dealing with the targets you are going to face, and not to mention that you two good at blowing stuff up."
"Yup, we blow stuff up real good," the large brother replied.
"So you want me to work with these two?" the bounty hunter Cad Bane asked. "You said that these two are clumsy."
"I'll have you know that we are highly regarded as some of the best professional repossession men this side of the universe," the small brother Octagon said.
"And not to mention that we do blow stuff up," the large Vreedle Rhamboid said.
Bane rubs a finger on his chin. "Well, you two will provide something for what I'm thinking of," he said.
"What is it that we have to do?" Octagon asked.
"I'm going to make this into a challenge," Gandolfini said. "You see, you three are in different professions, but you three work for the same cause. The challenge is for either for the Vreedle Brothers or Cad Bane to bring the targets back either dead or alive, preferably dead, to Dreadzone. If Cad Bane does his job as a bounty hunter, he'll obtain all of the bolts, but if the Vreedle Brothers do their job as repo men, then they get the prize."
"But what'll happen if all three get the target?" Rhamboid asked.
"Then you three can keep the prize," the tion replied. "I got enough to split it perfectly with you. But… if you fail this mission, not only will you not receive the bolts, if we find any of you in a hundred mile radius of this station, I will have my best men shoot you out of the skies."
"That's wouldn't be an issue," Bane said.
"Now, for your job. Your mission is to go to Ardolis and to either bring the Ed boys back here alive, or exterminate them on the spot. Is that clear?"
The bounty hunter and the brother repo men nod in agreement, all at once.
"Good. Now do this tion a good favor," Gandolfini said.
The three of them heads for the door, passing by Noweg. The brothers left the room first and Bane steps right behind, allowing Noweg to close the door on them. As the two repo men head towards the exit and to the hanger, they are stop by the bounty hunter.
"Now allow me to inform you that I don't do well with group cooperation," Bane said. "But since you two balance out in what I don't prefer, we have to come up with a strategy to get our assigned targets."
"I don't know about you," Octagon said, hoisting a gun over his shoulder, "but our strategy is pretty straightforward: we just blast whatever gets in our ways, even if it means using whatever he own in our inventory."
Rhamboid opens the door and peeks inside to see the tion talking things with his right-hand man. "Uh, should we tell them that we blew up the guest registration kiosk?" the large repo man asked.
"You two are the strangest repossession men I have ever seen," Bane stated.
"Hey, we are our own take on the demolition men," Octagon replied, laughing. "Come on, we got ourselves a large bounty to possess!"
OOO
Inside the office, Gandolfini goes over the final papers for the bounty hunter Cad Bane and the repossession men the Vreedle Brothers. After signing it, he hands them to Noweg and the robot tucks the papers inside of his suit.
"I give them one hour," the tion said.
"For what?"
"Before the Eds scare them off," Gandolfini replied. "Honestly, those three are perfect, but in the end, the Eds are going to defeat them."
"Shouldn't we send in Nefarious for back-up?" Noweg asked.
"No, we need him here. Besides, the Eds will probably get killed by the Transmorphers."
Noweg lets out a small laugh. "Sir, I know this is not a good idea, but we have been getting phone calls from all over," the robot said. "They want to see you on the HoloVision, and they want to hear you."
"After the publicity stunt that my former apprentice did?" Gandolfini said. "Fine. I'll do it."
"Uh, did you say 'former apprentice?'" Noweg asked.
"Just get the camera ready," the tion ordered.
Noweg walks over to a corner and grabs a camera that is leaning against the wall. After blowing the dust off and getting the stand up, the robot goes through getting the camera on and positions it for filming.
"All right, I'm ready when you are," Noweg said.
Gandolfini gives a small nod and Noweg pushes the record button, beginning the filming process.
"Attention, fellow watchers and followers of Dreadzone X. This is Gandolfini Birman, the head of Dreadzone X and the mastermind behind everything that is going on. Just a few moments ago, I had a team of gladiators joining in my office and one of them have been recording what I have been saying and put it on the air. Now, I would like to come clean of things…
"Yes, everything that I said is true. All of those events that involved the Eds, including some events that were previously used before they premiered, were done by me, and I would like to say that I am not sorry for these events. Though I value our high rank warriors that are part of Dreadzone, I can't allow low life beings getting far in this game. So it came to my part that I set the Eds to an incomplete course on the planet Aldoris for one final campaign.
"If the Eds are successful in their mission, they are to face off against the head Exterminator, Professor Treacherous, in one final battle to the death, determining whether the Eds can go home or will die on the battlefield. If the Eds fail, then we can all rest on the Ed case.
"And then there's the case of the rising Mask Hero. That gladiator is classified as a five-star ranked traitor and when on the field is ordered to immediate execution. To the first one that kills Mask Hero will be the Liberator Exterminator. But be warn: Mask Hero is not a force to be reckon with, and will kill if necessary.
"And as of right now, I am in charge of everything that is going on right now. Before, my robots were in charge of every event here in Dreadzone. But as of now, this here will be under my control and under my rule. No one is allowed to leave unless they beat the Exterminators and no one with the name "Ed" is leaving Dreadzone alive.
"Thank you for your cooperation."
Whoa, I have thrown another Omni-Wrench in this mess. Now that Gandolfini is fully in charge of everything, will Team Cul-de-Sac ever get out alive? Or even, will the plan ever go off? Well, you're going to find out eventually.
Well, Gandolfini is the main focus for this chapter, and we can see that he is finally revealed as the madman in this whole charade. I know that I didn't add much about his past life, especially who he used to be apprenticing for and more about why he left his clan, but revealing that warrior instinct in him and adding the bit of upgrading Gleeman Vox's arm is showing a bit about what's going to happen at the end.
Now, let's talk about the three people I chose for the "Kill Ed" mission. Now, the main reason is that I personally like these guys and yeah I could choose others, but the whole cartoon/anime/manga universe is way too huge for me to explore. Plus, I only go with what I see.
Of course, I did look a bit on Cad Bane, and he's perfect for this since his reputation as the best of the best bounty hunters of all time is something to consider. Plus, having to work with electronics and explosives in a strategic way is going to work out on a mission like this. Not to mention that he prefers stealth over anything, making things perfect for checkmate.
The Vreedles… OK, I'm only adding them because I like them. Not to mention that they have a lot of potentials in their future. But as for what they go for, their strategy is to go for the target and blast everything. Cad Bane is capable of close range fighting, but the Vreedles are more excellent in this field. Plus, having them work like a distraction is also perfect for this, too. While they are trying to blow up the Eds, Bane will come in and capture them.
Will they share the prize? Highly unlikely, but who knows? There may be a chance for the Eds to make it. Side Note: I do not own these characters. Cad Bane is from Star Wars, which is copyrighted by George Lucas, and the Vreedle Brothers are from Ben 10: Alien Force, which is copyrighted by Man of Action.
Once again, I like for all to review, thank you very much. The final planet and campaign will begin very shortly.