The Mii Fighter Chronicles

Chapter Fifty-One: The Strategy

Villager and Jazz crouched around the fire with Alex Kidd, Joe Musashi, and the cavepeople Tom-Tom and Tina. Prince Igul was still passed out on the floor. Outside, the sound of Opa-Opa flitting around had died down. "So, who are these two anyway?" Villager asked. "I'm not familiar with, um, Tom-Tom."

"Or Tina for that matter," Jazz said.

Alex leaned back against the wall and rubbed his brother's shoulder. "They're from an old game called Wonder Boy," he said. "Have you ever heard of the Adventure Island games?"

Villager tried to sift through his knowledge of video games. "Is that the one with Guybrush Threepwood?"

"That's Monkey Island," Jazz said. "Speaking of which, when do we get to meet him?"

Alex and Joe stared at the pair for a moment, then glanced at each other in confusion. "Anyway," Alex said, "Wonder Boy was a precursor to the Adventure Island series. They're not technically Sega, but the game was on our system. Tom-Tom and Tina must have hidden out in this cave when the crash happened and survived thanks to our defenses."

"Yes, yes," Tom-Tom said, nodding. "Tom-Tom and Tina hide in cave. Tom-Tom and Tina survive."

"Well, a lot of good that did you, thanks to these two," Joe said testily.

"Enough, Joe," Alex said.

Joe leered at him. "Enough? Our world and everything we fought for is going to be destroyed just like every other video game world, because of them, and you're acting like they're the victims in all of this."

Alex rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Look, can we just get back to planning? That's the only way we're going to stand a chance against these glitches."

Joe grumbled. "You're the leader," he said.

"Thank you." Alex said. He pointed down at the world map they had drawn on the floor. "The castle is here," he said, pointing to a spot at one end. "And we're over here. The glitch so far has Gilius, Opa-Opa, and the Altered Beast, as well as several of Igul's men from the castle. There's not much between here and there, so on the plus side, their numbers probably haven't grown, but on the other hand, it means that we don't have long until we have a lot more company than Opa-Opa to worry about."

"So what do we do?" Jazz asked.

"Well," Alex said, "Thanks to Tom-Tom and Joe here, we know that we can knock the glitch out of the host by defeating them the way they die in the game."

"We know that from Bubble Bobble, too," Villager said.

"Both Gilius and Altered Beast went down in a couple of hits in their games," Alex continued. "As did Opa-Opa. As for Igul's men, they're all just basic mooks. One hit should do it. The only trouble is hitting them before they get us. As you may recall, Opa-Opa's lasers have a pretty wide range. We're going to have to be sneaky about this."

Joe scoffed. "I'm a shinobi," he said. "Being sneaky is what I do."

"No, technically, being a straightforward beat-em-up is what you do. The stealth factor in your games is basically nil." Joe's eyes narrowed. Alex ignored him. "Either way, I'll bank on the hope that you actually do have the fabled shinobi stealth skills. At least you don't wear a bright orange jumpsuit. Villager, Jazz, how's your stealth?"

Villager and Jazz looked at each other and wiggled their hands in the air in front of them. "Our games don't really have much in the way of stealth either," Villager said.

Jazz pointed to her wings. "These are still here," she said. "So I probably have the best chance against Opa-Opa."

Alex sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Where's Snake or Ezio when you need them? Alright. Tom-Tom, how about you?"

"Tom-Tom did sneak up on sneaky shinobi," the young caveman pointed out. Villager and Jazz chuckled. Joe growled.

Alex grinned. "Fair point," he said. "And Tina?"

Tina gave Alex an incredulous look. "No, no, no. Tina no fight. Tina stay here. There reason Tina not playable in game. Tina let boyfriend fight for her."

Tom-Tom nodded. "Yep, yep."

Alex and Villager sighed. Jazz leaned in to Tina. "You realize you're putting our whole gender back about a hundred years, right?"

Tina shrugged. "Several thousand years forward for caveperson," she said. "And Tina don't care. Tina safe in cave. Tina look after unconscious prince boy."

Jazz rolled her eyes. "I guess that leaves us with five then," she said. "The real question is, assuming we get Reset out of his hosts, what do we do about him after that? I don't think any of us have actually seen them truly fight without a host yet. They might be as impervious as the m . . ." Jazz paused. She squinted and worked her mouth. "What was I about to say? I feel like it's something I should remember."

Villager stared at her in concern. She shook her head. "Never mind. It's not important right now. Either way, how do we destroy a glitch?"

"Download a patch?" Villager suggested, cracking a small smile. Jazz, Alex, and Joe stared at him. Jazz smacked him on the shoulder. "Kidding," Villager said. "I guess we'll just have to wing it," he said. "Play it by ear."

Alex nodded. "It's the best we can do for now." He got up and walked over to the cave entrance, pulling aside the vine cover. He peered out into the sunshine to see Opa-Opa skim by overhead. "Still looking for us," he said. "Jazz, you and Tom-Tom go for Opa-Opa. You've got wings, and his hatchets have the best range. Joe, Villager, and I will head out to meet the army. Villager and I will take them straightforward, give them a target to focus on, and Joe will sneak around and take them from behind, got it?"

Jazz got to her feet, wings fluttering. "Sounds good to me," she said. "How's your throwing arm, cave boy?"

Tom-Tom pumped his arm. "Tom-Tom's arm very strong," he assured her.

Jazz stepped up to the mouth of the cave and glanced out. "We'll go after he passes one more time," she said. Villager stepped up beside her, and they grasped each other's hand. "Stay safe," she told Villager, her eyes still scanning the treetops.

"You too," Villager said.

A large shape of red and yellow whizzed past overhead. "Come on, Tom-Tom," Jazz said. The pair tossed aside the covering and dashed out into the trees. Jazz placed her hands under Tom-Tom's arms and took off into the air with him in tow. They flew low and out of sight, but keeping good pace behind Opa-Opa.

"Come on," Alex said. He motioned to Joe and Villager, and the three stole out of the cave and into the underbrush. They crept up to a small ridge from which they could see the large grassy field between them and the castle. Only two figures appeared close to the edge of the forest, one in green and carrying a large axe, the other in a shredded purple tunic. "Only Gilius and Beast?" Alex asked. "What about all of Igul's men?"

Villager shrugged. "Maybe Reset can only spread himself so thin," he suggested.

Alex scratched at his head. "That doesn't seem right. All the glitches I've seen can spread themselves across an entire game if they want to." He peered out across the grassy field. Off in the distance, several faint shapes lay sprawled in the grass. "I think . . . I think they were already attacked. By someone else."

"Who?" Villager asked.

Joe nudged them. He pointed up to the sky, where Jazz and Tom-Tom were rapidly catching up to Opa-Opa. Tom-Tom was just raising a hatchet to throw when a spinning blue ball burst from the trees and slammed into Opa-Opa from beneath. Another blue orb, this one smaller and slightly lighter in color, shot out from another tree and struck the winged spaceship from behind. Opa-Opa tried desperately to focus on one enemy, but the two orbs zipped around him at lightning speed, striking again and again. Finally, the larger orb dealt one last blow and a spray of pixels burst from the ship. Newly freed, Opa-Opa lilted and fell into a tailspin, crashing down into the trees below.

Alex sighed in irritation. "Ladies and gentlemen," he said. "The royal showoff himself has arrived, multiplied by two. I give you Sonic the Hedgehogs."