Chapter 37: Grand Dragon Chase
Sadness was all that Chopper was feeling as he continued to walk his way through the rocky path ahead. He wasn't even in the mood to start running after what he had done. The only thing on his mind was what happened to Shanine.
"Did I really do it?" Chopper sobbed. "I mean... I don't remember doing that, but he said I did... All I remember was getting really mad and then...I suddenly feel more tired than before. How come that..."
Chopper had paused for a moment when he suddenly remembered something. Back when he was facing off against that alien in Aqua Island. He swore he remembered getting really mad then... And suddenly, he felt very weak like he was now. The image of encountering that darker version of himself during one of Kutora's training sessions was also in his mind for some reason, but he didn't know why.
Just thinking about this made it difficult for him to focus. Then again, considering what stuff he had done, it wasn't the easiest to stay completely focused.
"I was hoping nothing bad would come out of this..." Chopper trailed, looking at his right, gloved hand. "But I end up doing something that I didn't even want to do! I just wish all of this didn't happen..."
Before he could start brooding like a typical angsty character, a roar echoed through the area. This was enough to leave him startled and to look around to make sure there was nothing.
But the roar did sound familiar...
Off in the distance, a Great Fire Dragon had revealed itself, and Chopper could tell that it could see him as well. One moment later, the dragon had breathed a fireball in his direction. Now Chopper felt the adrenaline back in himself, and he started to run for his life. Luckily, even with his strength low, he didn't have any problems dodging the Great Dragon's projectiles.
But luckily, there was some cover up ahead. The only problem? The rocky floor was thinner. But, cover was cover, so he ran over to the tall, rocky wall and found himself sidling over to the other side.
That was when the dragon stopped.
Feeling that it was all right to keep going, Chopper reached the other side and jumped on a Spring to launch him up to a higher ledge. He found a large hill below him leading to a loop, so all he did was run down to gain some speed and went through the loop and another one not too far from him.
Unfortunately, that was where the large wall of cover had ended, and the Great Fire Dragon had spotted him again. This time, it flew after him, leaving Chopper to try to move faster.
"What did I ever do to this thing?" Chopper complained, only to remember hitting a dragon. "Oh, yeah... But it doesn't look like it's different..."
He looked back at the dragon. A bandage in the shape of an X was on its belly.
"Oh..."
Another fireball came his way, this time it barely managed to get him. Chopper found a rocky hill leading up to another peak, and with the dragon behind him, he wasn't so sure if getting away would be so easy.
Well, until he saw the Dash Panel. That helped him gain a boost of speed to move up. Along the way, Chopper had spotted an Inferno, so he inhaled it to gain the Fire ability. This helped him break through any large rocks that got in his way with his Burn attack.
When he finally reached the top, he found a Dragon Warrior carrying a piece of meat in its hands. Considering what he had done before, Chopper was not against taking the food in his condition. However, it seemed that the Dragon Warrior spotted him first, and it immediately charged. Luckily, all Chopper needed to do was use his Fire Breath to defeat it, then he took the meat and healed most of his health.
Now that he had more energy, Chopper took off toward the path ahead. He wasn't too far from another mountain, and all it took was a jump over the gap to reach it. With his fireball technique, he blasted through Darklings and Martial Mustards that dared to get in his way. Those that he didn't hit got knocked down by the Great Fire Dragon.
Chopper found the pathway leading upward, leading him to be running up the mountain's walls. As he did this, the Great Fire Dragon spewed multiple fireballs behind him. Sensing the danger, Chopper kept moving to the sides to prevent himself from getting hurt.
"Things feel like they're heating up!" Chopper gulped, barely avoiding a fireball.
Unfortunately, it only got worse when a Great Ice Dragon and a Great Thunder Dragon spotted what was going on and flew in to assist the other dragon. Now fireballs, ice shards, and lightning bolts were being fired behind Chopper!
With all the projectiles coming his way, it was difficult for him to avoid getting hit. To his dismay, the Great Thunder Dragon had managed to strike him with a bolt of lightning, knocking away his Fire ability. Chopper would've went back for it, but with the dragons on his tail, it wasn't such a good idea.
However, on his way, he did see some Darklings that were trying to get in his way ahead. Chopper was annoyed at first, but then he remembered something he had done before when he was being chased by one of those Tartara skiffs.
"But I had that one ability on when I was using it..." Chopper thought. "I don't know if I... Wait..."
He wasn't sure if this was a good idea or not, but it was better than nothing. Once he was near a Darkling, he inhaled it and spat it toward one of the dragons. It hit the Great Fire Dragon in the head, knocking it back in the process.
The other two dragons were not a problem to take care of either. Chopper did the same trick as he did before, and they were knocked back as well. Good timing too, as he had managed to reach the top of the mountain.
Relief was what Chopper felt when he landed on the mountain's peak. The three dragons no longer appeared to be on his tail. Looking ahead, Chopper spotted a gigantic mountain not too far with a pathway leading into a cave entrance in the shape of a dragon. The entrance appeared to be in the mouth. Between him and the mountain appeared to be a cloud.
That was when Chopper had to do a double take.
Chopper looked at the cloud, and then he looked up. At the moment, he was getting much closer to a few clouds. Perhaps Ninju's place was high up there?
He decided not to let that bug him, and without thinking, he jumped onto the cloud. Chopper was caught off guard by the fact that he ended up bouncing off of it immediately. But luckily, this extra height helped him get over to the pathway on the large mountain.
As he landed on the pathway, he saw several Dragon Warriors lined up. Right beside him was a Copy Essence of the Wheel ability. Touching it, Chopper had gained said ability and noticed the enemies coming his way. He didn't waste any time and transformed into a wheel. With that, Chopper's Wheel Dash plowed through the dragon enemies and made his way into the cave entrance ahead.
Little did he know of the sign warning people of a dragon in the Grand Dragon's Lair was right beside the entrance...
When Chopper got out of his wheel form, he was caught off guard by the look of the cavern. The narrow pathway he explored was filled with dozens of purple crystals. There were even some small stalactites hanging from the ceiling as well. By looking at one of them, Chopper could see his own reflection.
"Wow, this is so cool!" Chopper exclaimed, his voice echoing through the cavern. He immediately jumped up in surprise by the sound and looked around. "What was that?"
Yet again, his voice echoed through the narrow path. Finding himself unsafe, he decided to move on ahead. Unfortunately, he wasn't truly alone in this lair. Two Kunens were watching a Martial Mustard and Bulley prying some crystals off the walls.
"Just think of the rewards we'll get from Ninju when we show him these crystals!" the Martial Mustard smirked.
"Yeah! I could always use a promotion!" the Bulley grinned, using its horns to pull one off.
"You guys are being fools," the first Kunen scoffed. "Ninju doesn't care about the gems here. If I were you, I'd be more worried about the Grand Dragon. This is its lair, after all."
"But this stuff is pretty valuable," the Martial Mustard pointed out. "Just think of some of the smuggled flowder we could get with this!"
"He doesn't care about flowder either," the second Kunen noted. "In fact, the only thing he wants is for us to find that boy and take him down!"
"Oh..." the Bulley's eyes shifted over to Chopper. "Well, he is here..."
The four turned to Chopper, who had been overhearing their conversation.
"Oh, crud... He must've heard what we said!" the Martial Mustard gulped.
"Huh? But I'm not sure what you were really talking about..." Chopper trailed.
"It doesn't matter what we were talking about," the Kunen cut in, drawing a kunai. "The fact that you're here of all places is not good. The top of Dragon Mountains is not too far up, and with you here, it's not a problem getting close."
"Uhhhh... Why did you tell him how close he was?" the other questioned.
The Kunen realized what it said and found itself smacking its forehead. "Ugh... Well, it doesn't matter now once we destroy you!"
The four enemies charged at Chopper and attacked as quick as they could. Chopper transformed into a wheel and used a Wheel Dash to knock away the two Kunens and hurt the Bulley. However, when he got out of his wheel form, the Martial Mustard fired a wave of energy that knocked away his ability.
"Ha HA! I got him!" the Martial Mustard smirked.
Chopper ended up skidding backwards right by the Bulley. Noticing that it was unconscious, Chopper decided to inhale it in order to gain the Suplex ability. That was when one of the Kunens had dashed toward him to make their move. Unfortunately for them, Chopper had grabbed it first and threw a punch that knocked it into the other enemies.
When the Martial Mustard attacked again, it was caught off guard when Chopper disappeared from its sights. Soon, it and the two Kunens were struck by a diving kick, defeating them instantly.
Relieved to be done with them, Chopper raced on ahead, smashing through some of the crystals blocking his way with a kick. Eventually the area surrounding the rocky path was more open, showcasing even bigger stalactites on the ceiling. Some holes revealed some light as well. Around the pathway were statues of Great Dragons.
As Chopper ran, though, the floor around him began to shake. Up ahead, a section of the floor crumbled and fell into the abyss below. Chopper had come to a halt, barely falling into the pit below.
"That was too close!" Chopper chirped, regaining his balance. He looked down to see if there was anything below. There was nothing. "I...don't think I should fall."
Luckily, the gap wasn't too big, so he was able to jump over it with ease. There were also some other parts of the path that broke off, but like the other, Chopper has no issues jumping across. The path even curved a bit, and a loop had been formed leading to a Dash Ramp. Chopper could see another giant dragon statue with an open mouth. An entry point happened to be right in the mouth.
Just as he landed in the mouth, he found a large gap between him and the pathway ahead. Not only that, but some Great Dragons happened to be flying around in the vicinity, causing Chopper to freeze in shock.
"Wait... These things are in here too?!" Chopper gaped. "Oh, man..."
His voice, to his dismay, was heard by the dragons, and their eyes turned to him. Chopper looked around until he stared at the dragons and weakly waved.
"Hi?"
The dragons started to fire projectiles at Chopper, who yelped and leaped out of the way. Almost stupidly, he jumped forward to dodge one of the blasts. But luck appeared to be on his side. He ended up landing on a Great Thunder Dragon's head, nearly damaging with his jump attack too.
As he landed on its back, Chopper remembered what he had done before with these dragons, and a light bulb suddenly appeared over his head.
"Hey... Maybe I can do what I did before?"
He ran toward the Great Thunder Dragon's tail and leaped off, going toward a Great Ice Dragon. It opened its mouth and prepared to freeze him, but Chopper hit its nose with a diving kick that seemed to do some serious damage. Surprisingly, an Ice Hand had appeared on its back as Chopper landed. He grabbed it, turning his gloves light blue.
"Maybe this'll help me?" Chopper wondered, running toward the tail and jumping off. A Great Fire Dragon was close, and it opened its mouth to shoot a fireball. Chopper fired an ice ball into its mouth, causing it to cough out some ice, and also allowing him to get on its back and reach the rocky pathway before him. "Yay! I did it!"
Wasting no time, Chopper blasted off ahead. He ran through a corkscrew with several crystals until he reached a terrain with multiple rocky ledges. There was one high ledge with some crystals sticking out of the wall. Some Tartara Soldiers were here, trying to pull some crystals out.
But as soon as they spotted Chopper, they had their blasters ready and open fired. Chopper had to use his impressive speed to dodge the shots and grab one of the Tartaras. With an icy kick, he sent it flying into another, defeating them both. The last Tartara Soldier fired a stronger shot, but Chopper had fired a strong ice ball to counter it, creating an explosion between the two and covering the area in smoke.
While it was difficult for Chopper to see, he did manage to hit the Tartara with a dive kick to beat it.
With them out of the way, Chopper used the crystals sticking out of the wall to jump up to the highest ledge. There, he found a Dash Panel up ahead leading to another abyss. Only this time, there were crystals acting like stalactites hanging from the ceiling. Regardless, Chopper used the Dash Panel to leap off, and he grabbed the crystal while spinning around. Despite dizzy, he managed to jump from each stalactites and land on another Great Fire Dragon in the vicinity.
"Uh oh... Not again." Chopper gulped, running toward the tail. Thankfully, there was a rocky path ahead, and he landed on it with no problem. However, there were some Dragon Warriors and Dragon Defenders in the way, along with more crystals. He took them down using his suplex moves, and he raced on ahead toward another large dragon entryway.
But as he ran, two Great Dragons flew in the way, destroying parts of the road.
Chopper frowned, but he realized the amount they got rid of was not too much. In fact, it was just like when the path crumbled around him. So he jumped over the gaps and reached the next entryway.
But when he entered the next part of the lair, he was in shock to see the gigantic area before him. There was one, gigantic area in the center with jagged rocks surrounding it, and in the center was a large, yellow dragon with red spines on its back. However, it appeared to be sleeping, but even then, Chopper was shaking in fear.
"That thing is huge!" Chopper cried, taking a few steps back. Before he could take one more step, he noticed an entryway just past the Grand Dragon. He also noticed tons of crystals around this area, and a group of enemies happened to be trying to steal some. "Hey... There's more people here..."
He jumped down to the lower portion of the ground where the Grand Dragon slept, and he approached a Jutsoo, Bulley, Martial Mustard, and Kunen. A Tartara Soldier was there too, giving some assistance as well.
"I never thought we'd make it this far, but we actually did!" the Bulley smiled. "These crystals are worth tons of Clarins! Much more than the ones near the entrance!"
"I can't believe Ninju doesn't want these," the Martial Mustard remarked. "I mean, do you even know how much you can get with these?!"
"Well, I'm sure Lord Maquano wouldn't mind those," the Tartara said. "They would most likely help him with some of his research."
"Research?" the Jutsoo gawked. "And just what is he researching?"
"It's something he's been trying to get ever since he discovered them nearly a thousand years ago. They're-"
"He's here," the Kunen noted, taking notice of Chopper jumping over to them.
"Argh... If he's here, then he's close to Ninju's battleground..." the Jutsoo hissed, turning to Chopper. "Why don't you beat it if you know what's good for you."
"But I need to get that Planet Star Piece!" Chopper replied. "It's the only way I'll be closer to beating Maquano!"
"Exactly," the Tartara Soldier said, aiming its blaster at him. "And that is exactly why we cannot let you get it."
"I don't feel like fighting right now..." Chopper trailed, looking down at his hand with a sad look. "After what happened before, I haven't been feeling good... I didn't mean to destroy that doggy thing. I didn't want to do any of that ..."
"What? You destroyed Nazado's dog?" the Tartara gawked. "Hmph, I never thought you would be able to do that."
"But I didn't! ...Well, it didn't feel like it was me, but Nazado said I did it. ...I don't know how to feel about this."
"Touching story... Too bad it's not going to give you a free pass from us! Lord Maquano wants you out of the picture, and we plan to do that! Then we'll be taking these crystals too!"
"Wait, you want those? But I didn't have a problem destroying them. In fact, I don't think I had some big issues with the bad guys I had to deal with." Chopper pondered. While speaking, the four enemies's eyes widened when they saw the head of the Grand Dragon right behind Chopper. "Well I don't care what you do with them. All I want to do is get out of this place. I don't really like it..."
"Uhhhh... On second thought, maybe we-we'll just forget about the cr-crystals..." the Martial Mustard decided, it and the others slowly moving over to the entrance where Chopper entered.
"You don't want it? But why?"
"We just decided that we have no interest in them!" the Bulley explained, its face sweating. "Yeah, no interest whatsoever! We'll just leave you here with that dragon!"
"Dragon? But isn't that thing-" Chopper paused when he felt steam coming from the Grand Dragon's nostrils on his head. His eyes widened as he slowly turned around to face the large dragon. Just by looking at its eyes, he could tell that it was not happy.
But there were ways to solve this issue, right?
"H-Hi?" Chopper said, weakly raising his hand to wave.
The Grand Dragon let out a furious roar that was powerful enough to throw Chopper against the wall. It then breathed fire in his direction, but luckily he did got get scorched.
"Eep! I need to get out of here!" Chopper cried, racing over to the entrance he went into. Unfortunately, a large boulder was now in its way.
"Sorry, kid!" the Martial Mustard yelled on the other side. "We don't want that thing coming out! You go have fun with that dragon, OK?! We're outta here!"
"H-Hey! No fair!" Chopper yelled, trying to break the boulder. But even with his kicks and punches, he wasn't able to break it. "Oh... I wish I was stronger..."
While he tried breaking the boulder, the Grand Dragon breathed more fire in his direction, causing him to yelp and move out of the way. It kept breathing more fire at him, but each time it did, Chopper would avoid it.
As Chopper continued to dodge, he noticed the other pathway past the Grand Dragon. There didn't appear to be anything in the way.
"OK... I think I know what to do..." Once Chopper leaped toward the wall, he pushed himself toward the dragon. With ice energy surrounding his feet, he kick the Grand Dragon in the face, catching it by surprise.
With the Grand Dragon temporarily down, Chopper jumped off its body and made a mad race through the large pathway ahead. As he ran, the Grand Dragon finally lifted its head. It orange eyes were filled with fire. Without thinking, it flew into the pathway Chopper was running.
Unfortunately for him, he had noticed the dragon chasing after him.
"Uh oh..." Chopper gulped, picking up speed. A few crystals were in his way, resulting in him either jumping, avoiding them, or destroying them with an icy punch. He also had to deal with the Grand Dragon's fire breath coming behind him.
As this continued, the Grand Dragon decided to form another plan and flew to the side. Now that it was no longer flying on the rocky path, it decided to surprise Chopper by creating rows of fire. This was something he was not prepared for, but then his felt another spark within him that caused him to jump or slide under the flames. This had caught him by surprise.
"Whoa... I didn't expect that to happen..." Chopper mumbled.
Eventually the Grand Dragon had finally revealed its scary face and flew right in front of him. It prepared to breathe more fire, but Chopper wasn't going to let this thing stop him. He hit it with a diving kick, leaving it injured once again. Thus, Chopper was able to take the Dash Panel ahead onto a set of rails. This had brought him into a large area filled with more stalactites and crystals on the wall.
The Grand Dragon was able to recover from the attack and once again was on Chopper's tail. As he moved, the dragon was destroying the rails behind him, preventing Chopper from turning back.
"This is just like that Undertoe..." Chopper frowned. "Why are big monsters always trying to go after me?"
Eventually the Grand Dragon started to make its move. However, instead of breathing fire, a bolt of electricity shot from its mouth at the stalactites. Those that fell had smashed through portions of some rails ahead. Because of this, Chopper found himself switching rails.
Some small holes were just up ahead, and from their size, it didn't look like the Grand Dragon would be able to fit through them. For once, Chopper was starting to smile.
"Oh, boy! I don't think I have to deal with this thing once I get through there!" Chopper cheered.
Unfortunately, fate didn't seem to be on his side once he went through that hole. He heard the sounds of smashed rocks behind him, and turning around, Chopper saw the Grand Dragon still on his tail, with the small hole now being a large one.
"Hey, that's not fair!"
The Grand Dragon was soon getting closer, and it looked like it was ready to burn Chopper to a crisp. But he had other plans. His hand began to glow an icy color, and when fully charge, he fired the attack into the Grand Dragon's mouth. This slowed it down and forced it to cough out ice.
With that out of the way, Chopper looked on ahead and saw a Spring leading toward another entryway. This had led him into a round area with a single firework in the middle. It resembled the ones he used before, only this one had a yellow dragon depicted on it. From the position it was, it was pointing up. Chopper also looked up and noticed a bright light.
"Hey... That must be the way out of here!"
Chopper grabbed the firework, and in no time, it launched him upward. At the same time, the Grand Dragon had arrived and was flying after him once more.
"Why do you still chase me? What did I ever do to you?!" Chopper yelled, frowning at the angry Grand Dragon.
It let out another roar as it began to shoot more fireballs and lightning bolts his way. Chopper tried moving the firework, but he was no longer in control of it. Instead, he started to fire ice balls down at the projectiles and the dragon in an effort to slow it down. And to his relief, this seemed to be working.
Of course, the more he did that, the angrier the Grand Dragon got.
Now the Grand Dragon started to spew chunks of ice at Chopper. However, they were no match for his ice balls, and those that did get close were smashed by his ice kick. One last charge ice ball was thrown at the Grand Dragon, and soon it was thrown back to the bottom.
"Yes! I did it!" Chopper cheered. He looked back up and noticed he was closer to the exit. "OK... I better get ready..."
Once he was outside, he jumped off the firework and landed onto the ground. From where he now stood, the clouds were even closer than before, and from below, there were so many mountains he recalled being at. For a moment, he swore he could see Blossom Hills off in the distance.
"Whoa... This place is really high up." Chopper gaped. He took out the Planet Star and noticed it getting bright. Looking up ahead, he saw two mountains. The furthest one appeared to be closest to the clouds, and he swore he could see some sort of battleground there. "OK... That must be where Ninju is. At least, that's what this Planet Star is telling me..."
He started to approach the rocky platforms leading to the closer mountain, but before jumping, he heard the sound of the Grand Dragon's roar. Chopper turned around and saw it fly out of the hole and appear right in front of him. He could see the damage he did to it, especially on the head, and from what he could see, it was ticked.
"Ugh... Why are you always trying to hurt me?" Chopper frowned. "I never did anything to you!"
The Grand Dragon let out a loud roar in response, but this time Chopper did not shake in fear. He gave a more determined look and clenched his fists, much to the surprise of the dragon.
"I'm not in a really good mood, whatever you are! And if I have to beat you up to make you go away like that Undertoe thing, then I'm going to do the same thing with you!"
The Grand Dragon started to breathe fire, but Chopper easily dodged it due to his impressive speed. He started to run all over the place, avoiding its fire, ice, and electric projectiles until he was finally close. Once in the air, Chopper attacked it with a diving kick that probably gave the dragon a concussion.
To finish off his attack, Chopper made a dash for the Grand Dragon's head, and much like a regular enemy, he grabbed its face. He clenched his right fist and threw a punch that was powerful enough to knock the Grand Dragon off the mountain and send it falling below.
As that happened, Chopper immediately grew worried. "Oh, no! I hope that monster isn't destroyed like that doggy!"
He rushed toward the mountain's edge and looked below. The Grand Dragon had fallen onto one of the smaller mountains, but it didn't look like it was lifeless. In fact, it only looked dazed and defeated.
"Oh... Phew." Chopper sighed. "Well... I guess he...wasn't cold enough to deal with that attack? Is that how I was supposed to say it?"
Aside from that cool pun, Chopper looked back at his bright Planet Star and then at the highest mountain. He regained his determined look and walked over to the tall, think rocky platforms before him. Each time he jumped off of them, the platforms would break off. Then again, it wasn't anything he cared about. He wasn't planning on going back into that lair anytime soon.
When he reached the closest mountain, he found a rocky ledge before him. It was not too high for him, so he jumped and grabbed the ledge. When he pulled himself onto the peak, he noticed a cabin not too far from him. The place looked like a whole training ground, sporting dummies and different kinds of obstacles to overcome. However, what made this off was how out of place it looked compared to the oriental buildings he saw before.
But considering that Chopper was close to Ninju's battleground, he wasn't going to waste any time looking at this place. He looked over at the rocky path leading to the highest mountain and approached it.
"Wait."
Chopper came to a halt from the sound of that voice. It sounded all too familiar to him...
Turning around, Chopper noticed a certain knight walking out of the cabin and approaching him.
"Kuty... I mean Kutora?" Chopper gawked. "What are you doing here?"
"I see you've managed to get past the Grand Dragon's Lair..." Kutora remarked. "That must explain the roar I heard a few minutes ago..."
"Y-Yeah, that was me..." the antennae boy nodded.
"Then you have gotten stronger. Good. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if you're strong enough to take on Ninju."
"Wait... I'm not?" Chopper gawked. "How come?"
"You were not the only one who had taken on that dragon. Ninju too had beaten that monster, but with less effort than you did." Kutora explained, finally stopping. "I believe it only took one punch to beat it."
"What? But how do you know this?"
"I happened to witness it while I was traveling Dragon Mountains. It was definitely one of the biggest highlights of my travels there."
"Oh..." Chopper trailed, looking down at the floor. "I guess I don't feel as strong..."
"Yet," Kutora finished, making Chopper look up at him. "While you may not be strong enough to fight Ninju now, I can help you become even stronger him. However, it would take all day for this to happen..."
"A whole day?! But I need to get that Planet Star Piece now!"
"But if you went there now, Ninju would crush you," the Spectrum Knight pointed out, crossing his arms. "Believe me, it wouldn't be worth it. I suggest that you spend this day training with me. It may cost you a day, but you will get more out of it. I won't be taking no for an answer anyway. I didn't plan to set up this training ground for nothing."
Chopper looked back at the tall mountain and then back at Kutora with a sigh of defeat. "OK... I guess I should."
Kutora smiled under his helmet. "Excellent. Trust me, Chopper. I will make this training session worth it. However, I will not go as easy on you as I did back in Toxic Forest. This training will be much more difficult. Since you have gotten stronger since then, I trust that you will be able to endure my training."
Chopper gave a nod, but it didn't look fully confident. "I-I'll try."
"I hope to see that you actually do instead of try. Anyway, follow me, Chopper."
Chopper obeyed and followed Kutora over to a group of dummies. Most of them resembled Tartaras, but only one had a resemblance to Maquano. Just seeing that one made Chopper clench his fists.
"I want you to attack those dummies, and then attack the one of Maquano with everything you've got," Kutora ordered.
"OK," Chopper looked at the Tartara dummy and charged toward it. With his Suplex ability, he grabbed it and threw a punch that ripped it from its place. Chopper than started to hit the others with diving kicks until he reached the Maquano dummy. This one he started to use many of his Suplex moves, such as smashing it onto the rocky floor, or even punching and kicking it. In the end, the dummy was knocked off the mountain's peak. "I did it! How was it?"
"Well, you did a decent job, I suppose," Kutora slowly nodded. "I can tell you have a bit more control over your abilities unlike before. Of course, you at your state right now won't stop Maquano. Like I said before, only when the Sacred Heart truly accepts you is when you will be strong enough to stop him. You will definitely feel more powerful, and I can assure you that you won't run into any of those issues involving your powers messing up."
"But what about this training? Will it help stop him too?"
"While I can't assure you if you'll be stronger than him, it will definitely improve your powers. However, we won't get to that just yet." Kutora turned his attention to a mountain off in the distance. "You see that mountain there? Use that Ice Hand ability and fire the strongest ice ball that you can make."
"All right," Chopper obeyed, aiming his hand at the mountain. His hand started to glow light blue, and it started to become brighter a few seconds later. When Chopper felt that it was enough, he shot a large ball of ice energy toward the mountain. A hole had been made into the mountain. "OK, I did it. How was that?"
"Hmmmmm... I'm not so sure..."
"Not sure? But I made a hole through it! Can you do any better?"
"Of course. In fact, I was planning to show you anyway." Kutora admitted, walking over to another mountain. Only this time, it was bigger and wider in size. He drew his weapon, and with a press of a button, his Spectrum Sword lit up. "Now watch, Chopper. This will be important to you later on."
He raised his weapon, and soon it began to glow brighter. Sparks began to emit from his laser sword as well. The energy looked as if his Spectrum Sword had gotten bigger in length and width.
Once he was ready, he swung his Spectrum Sword, and a Sword Beam made of spectrum energy had fired out. All Chopper could do was watch in awe.
Not only did Kutora's attack slice the mountain in half, no, it completely disintegrated it! Those that were behind the mountain had suffered the same fate, and Chopper was left wide-eyed and agape.
"The Spectrum Sword is considered to be one of the most dangerous blades out in the galaxy, and possibly even the universe," Kutora explained, staring down at his laser sword. "The blade itself is made of pure energy in the shape of a laser sword. It even has different kinds of powers, such as paralysis, fire, ice, etc., and it can even be used as a ranged weapon too. The Spectrum Sword is especially powerful for those with good in them."
"Wow..." Chopper gaped, staring in awe at the weapon.
"Yes... Well, I am hoping by the time our training is over, you will be capable of such a feat. ...OK, I don't know about wiping out an entire mountain, but destroying half of it is good enough."
"Oh... You really think I can do it?"
"Well, with the training I'm going to give you, I'm confident that you'll be able to do so. Anyway, let's get back to training." Kutora turned off his Spectrum Sword and put it away. This time, he took out his shield and held it in front of him. "Since most of your opponents will be moving, I suggest we take this up a notch. I want you to come at me with all you've got!"
"What?!" Chopper gasped. "But what about you?"
"Do not worry about my safety. This shield is used for defense, so feel free to go all out on it."
Chopper nodded, and upon getting in a fighting stance, he dashed toward Kutora and tried to use his Suplex's ability to grab him, or at least his shield. However, this didn't seem to work, so he resorted to trying to punch and kick it. Not even these attacks seemed to break through the shield.
When he tried attacking the shield again, Kutora had stepped out of the way and swung his shield at Chopper, sending him sliding across the ground and knocking his two abilities away. He slowly got up, rubbing his face from the attack.
"H-Hey! You didn't say anything about hitting me!" Chopper complained.
"In a real battle, you shouldn't always believe what your opponent says," Kutora said. "In fact, if you believe that they won't do something like that, they'll take advantage of your gullibility."
"Oh, man..." Chopper frowned. "But how am I supposed to keep doing this if I have no ability?"
"I've taken care of that already," Kutora assured, pointing over to a group of Copy Essences. "Over there is every single ability you've gotten thus far. You will be using all of those to train with me."
"O-OK..."
With that, their training resumed. Chopper had practiced using each ability, and like before, he tried using them as best as he could to train with Kutora. While most of the time he received many shield bashes from not paying too much attention, he started to get used to training and even surprised Kutora a bit. Of course, those were usually just for a couple of seconds.
Eventually Kutora had Chopper going over to the obstacle courses to test his speed and acrobatics. He seemed to do much better at this, but Kutora had taken out some small drones and tossed them into the air to make them fire. Chopper was forced to dodge them quickly and attack these drones as well. Some he was able to kick away, while others he was able to inhale.
When he was already getting better at these training sessions, Kutora had ordered Chopper to come over to him. Obeying, he ran over to him. Thankfully, he was not feeling too exhausted.
"I must admit, you've been doing a good job with this training so far," Kutora complimented. "I was expecting you to get better in two hours, but I guess I was wrong. Perhaps this is the perfect opportunity to truly begin this training session."
"Wait... I thought we already started?" Chopper gawked.
"We did. But this will truly test your skills as a fighter." Kutora said, one of his hands now surrounded in a spectrum glow. "Those last few hours of training? They were to get you used to how the session would be. It won't be as easy now..."
The energy came out of his hand, and a spectrum energy in the shape of rings were now around Chopper's arms. Both of them seemed to connect together, causing Chopper's arms to move close to each other.
"H-Hey! What are you doing?!"
"Settle down. I'll tell you once I finish putting these on." Kutora suggested as he transferred two more rings on his feet. Chopper tried moving his arms and feet, but it wasn't successful.
"I can't move my arms and feet!" Chopper cried.
"That's because I put on the Energy Cuffs on you," the Spectrum Knight explained. "While it'll be difficult to train with those at first, you will get adjusted to them as you continue to train. Once they're released, you'll be even stronger than before. I can assure you this will be enough to take down Ninju."
"O-OK... I guess I don't have a choice. But how do I get these things off?"
"You have to say the right word in order to release them. However, you should only say this word when you feel that it is time. Otherwise, you're going to have issues. You can do this, right?"
"Yeah..."
"Good," Kutora nodded. "Now let's resume our training."
Kutora walked back to the training area, with Chopper hopping behind.
Their training resumed, but this time, Chopper had started to struggle. He started by trying to attack the dummies, but he had to put more effort into attacking unlike before. With his arms and legs bounded by these Energy Cuffs, he felt like this wasn't going to go so well for him.
When he was dueling with Kutora once more, Chopper couldn't even hit the knight, resulting in him receiving some shield bashes to the face. It didn't help that Kutora had mocked him for this as well. Using different Copy Abilities here was also a big issue with this handicap on him.
Even when he went back to the obstacle course, Chopper stumbled around and even fell onto the ground several times. The drones Kutora sent out each struck Chopper and made him fall over more than before.
Despite these failures, Kutora kept the same look under his helmet.
As time passed, Chopper was getting more adjusted to the Energy Cuffs, and he was doing much better than before. By the time it was sunset, Chopper was already doing better with his training than when he was without the cuffs. Along with that, the Energy Cuffs were slowly materializing when he couldn't even feel the handicap.
As of now, he was using the Sword ability, and his gloves were light blue once more. He had just finished slicing through more dummies, which stood no chance against his sword swings.
"So, it seems you have managed to adjust yourself to those Energy Cuffs completely," Kutora remarked, noticing that they were no longer visible. "Good. Then I think it's time I taught you one last thing. Follow me."
Chopper nodded and followed Kutora over to a mountain. It looked to be the same size as the one that the knight was able to destroy earlier.
"Remember when I destroyed a mountain that size?" Kutora questioned. "I think the time has come to prove to you that this training has not been for nothing! Prepare a Sword Beam right now."
"R-Right," Chopper raised his sword, and he began to store energy into it. A moment later, it was glowing brightly. Unlike last time he used it, its glow was bigger than before. "Wow! It wasn't this strong before!"
"Of course. Now, that Ice Hand ability you have can actually be transferred into your weapon if you focus it. In a way, it'll create something like an Ice Sword Beam. It's much stronger than a normal Sword Beam, but it takes more effort to make, so there are risks... At your level, I think you can do that."
Chopper closed his eyes and began to focus. He began to feel some of the ice power in his hands get transferred into his sword. When he opened his eyes, the sword now had an icy glow to it.
"Rather than resorting to fire or ice kicks and punches, you can also transfer these types of powers into your abilities. For example, your Fighter ability... While it takes less effort than with your sword, it'll help you cause fire or ice damage if you're using Smash Punches or a Rising Break. That, and a Force Blast can be dangerous with fire or ice added to them. Now, swing your sword and unleash your Ice Sword Beam!"
Chopper swung his sword with all his might, and an Ice Sword Beam had fired out. When it hit the mountain, it froze entirely. The upper portion had also been sliced in half, causing it to fall to the side and shatter upon hitting the ground. The lower portion happened to shatter as well.
All Chopper could do was gape.
"Well... I guess you did destroy an entire mountain..." Kutora mused.
"I...did that myself?"
"Yes, you did, Chopper. Do you see what you're capable of now? Just think of the greater power you'd have if you accepted your fate as a hero..."
"Well... Ummmmm..." Chopper trailed, looking at his sword. "I don't know..."
"Well, I should also mention that if you charge energy into your sword, you can do more than just fire a projectile. If you end up spinning it, you have much greater range with it."
"Oh... Maybe I should try it out some other time."
"Right. For now, come, Chopper. I think we've done enough today. It's starting to become dark, and I think now would be the perfect opportunity to get some rest."
Nodding, Chopper followed Kutora once more.
Night had finally come, and Chopper and Kutora were sitting at a campfire with food being cooked up. From all of the training Chopper endured, he had received some bruises mostly on his face and arms, but it wasn't enough to wound him severely. He no longer had his Sword and Ice Hand ability on him either. Kutora seemed a little exhausted too, but not nearly as much as Chopper.
"You did a good job today, Chopper," Kutora commented. "I guess I was wise to train you here. I feel that you'll be ready to take on Ninju tomorrow morning. Just make sure to release yourself from those Energy Cuffs when you're ready."
When Kutora's pink eyes looked down at Chopper, he noticed the look on his face didn't seem as happy as usual. Then again, he remembered that Chopper wasn't looking too happy when he first arrived here.
"Ummmm... Kuty?" Chopper spoke up, not even looking at him. "There's...something I did really bad earlier today... And I think you're the only one I know who will listen..."
"Something bad? What did you do?"
"I... When I was fighting that wizard and his doggy friend, I ended up getting really, really mad. I don't know what happened after that, but that wizard looked really upset. He told me I destroyed his doggy friend... It made me feel bad... Even then, I couldn't tell what happened to him. I don't even know what it looks like for someone to die..."
"Chopper, don't feel bad. Many heroes have probably taken lives more than you ever have. Besides, what about all the minions that got in your way? Didn't you take their lives as well?"
"But... I haven't done that. I mean, I hope I didn't..." Chopper sniffled. "I don't want to be like Maquano."
"Just because you take someone's life does not mean that you are like him. Someone like you destroys someone to save the lives of many. People like Maquano, on the other hand, murders people because they love to cause misery to others."
"I still don't want to do something like that. I think I might've cried when I was told I took someone's life."
"I will admit, when you destroy someone for the first time, it can really change you emotionally. Admittedly, I felt the same way as you when I had done such a thing... But you must know that you'll eventually have to take someone's life on your quest..."
"Oh, no..." Chopper gasped. "I don't want to do that..."
"I know you don't... But it's the only way you're going to grow as a hero. You don't have to take many lives, but if there are those you can't reason with... Well... You get the picture." Kutora explained. "But I am curious... What had made you so mad during that fight?"
"Well... You know that photo you gave me? That wizard ripped it and let it fall off the mountain."
"Oh... I'm very sorry to hear that..."
"Yeah..." Chopper trailed, looking down at the fire. "I don't think I got the chance to thank you for saving me..."
"I was lucky to be able to get to you. It was either him or Starnite. Not even he could get to you and to his ship fast enough."
"Starnite? I know he worked with my mommy and daddy before. Do you know him?"
"Not really... But I know that my parents served him as part of the Star Force."
"Where are your parents?" Chopper wondered.
"Gone. They were unfortunate enough to die. My father died first many years ago. Like yours, mine had died during a fight..."
"I'm...sorry about that," Chopper said, a sad look appearing on his face.
"That was many years ago, Chopper. There's no need to feel sorry."
"Wait... You're not really from here, are you?"
"No," Kutora replied, shaking his head. "Like you, I lived on a different planet, but during a big war, I had left, choosing not to get involved, despite being trained well with a blade. It just so happened that this was the place I ended up going to. I actually had a home here too, but that was a couple years ago. I've left that place, and I'm sure someone else owns the house now."
"Oh... So you must like it here, right?" Chopper asked.
"Clara is a beautiful place, full of many incredible sights. But truth be told... I can't say I'm truly happy." Kutora looked down at the fire. "I'll admit, I have done some things I haven't enjoyed, and as a result, some people actually feared me because of it."
"But you don't seem like a bad person..." Chopper frowned. "You've saved me from that Undertoe and that alien. You even helped me get tougher too..."
"Believe me, there was a reason why I did all of that."
"Oh..." Chopper looked up at the starry sky. "I don't know why, but I like looking up at those stars in the sky."
"You do?"
"Yeah... I think my mommy and daddy told me I came from them. But they never told me what I am..."
"You came from the stars?" Kutora gawked. "I never would've thought of that... But since you came from the stars, I assume you are a star being..."
"Wait, I'm a star being?"
"Yes. You are a being that originated from the stars. I don't know the name of your species, but that is something I can get out from you."
"Oh... OK..." Chopper trailed.
"Perhaps maybe one day you may find out what you really area..." Kutora trailed. "For now, get some sleep, Chopper. You're going to need it to prepare yourself for tomorrow."
"OK..." Chopper nodded, getting ready to lie down on the rocky floor. "Thanks for everything you did for me, Kuty... I think you're the only one I can trust here... Maybe one day I'll save you!"
It didn't take long for Chopper to fall asleep. Despite the floor not being too comfortable, it didn't seem to stop him from falling asleep. After what he endured for an entire day, sleep was something he desperately needed!
"I have to admit, you've worked so hard to get this far..." Kutora trailed, watching Chopper slowly drift into dreamland. "Perhaps you really are the one that will finally defeat Maquano and save both this planet and the universe from his destruction."
The Spectrum Knight finally stood up. "But at this point, you're on your own from here, Chopper. I can't save your life from the Undertoe, the Tartara Brute's vicious attack, the factory explosion, and that alien any more. The only thing I'll do is drop some food by Ninju's Boss Door much like the others. For now, I wish you the best of luck, Chopper."
With that, Kutora began to walk away until he got to the mountain's edge. He looked back at Chopper one last time before jumping off.
By the time it was dawn, the campfire was already gone, and the mountain was left deserted, save for the sleeping Chopper. It was surprisingly calm during this time as well.
Chopper slowly opened his eyes and stood up to look at his surroundings. He looked to his left where Kutora was. To his surprise, he was no longer there.
"Wh-Where did Kuty go?" Chopper stammered, looking half tired. The tiredness instantly wore off on him when he looked back at his bright Planet Star. "Oh, yeah... I need to get to Ninju right away! Hopefully that training did the trick..."
Chopper approached the tallest mountain in front of him, and by jumping on the small, rocky platforms, he was able to reach the staircase before him. There was a Boss Door at the top, and around him were Copy Essences of Fighter, Ninja, and Suplex. There was also a pile of food on the floor. Chopper immediately ate that to fully heal himself.
"I can't believe that even on the floor, this food heals me!" Chopper remarked, now feeling his strength fully restored. He looked at the Copy Essences and decided to touch the Ninja one, giving him said ability.
When he was done, he sped up the stairs and reached the door in front of him. One thing for certain was that there was fog leaking from the door's seams. That, and he could see plenty of tall bamboo too. He wasn't sure what was through here, but from the sounds of a waterfall, it was probably more interesting than the rocky ground he had been around.
"OK... I guess it's time to kick Ninju's butt!"
Wasting no time, Chopper burst the door open with his two feet and entered the battleground before him.
Honestly, I think there's a lot to like about this chapter. Admittedly, I was waiting for this chapter because I feel like it builds up the boss fight that's coming up next.
The Grand Dragon chase was based off of those chases in the Sonic games, but I put a twist to it by having Chopper hurt the enemy. I wouldn't consider it a mid-boss, though. If Sensin wasn't a mid-boss, then the Grand Dragon would be one instead.