Chapter 9

Ripple Field. Enemy-occupied coastal industrial area. Currently preparing for another assault by Poponian naval forces.

Ripple Field, Float Islands, 1400 hours

Pinkobashi felt two pairs of muscular arms grabbing him as he was marching through the hallway. He felt the arms of Waddle Dee troopers grabbing them as they shuffled through a corridor. The soldiers pointed and heartily laughed at them as they shuffled into the chambers. He struggled to order them to unhand him. Unable to shake them, he tried to struggle, but eventually grew tired and weary. He must have been restrained somehow. Soon they were all thrown into a cage-like jail cell with a red laser shield projector that reinforced the bars. Upon hitting the ground, the pink warrior decided to rest and remain occupied by his nightmares.

Pinkobashi was being surrounded by darkness. However, the warrior was floating. He felt as if he were drowning in deep water. There was no way to see any light in the abyss, with no other puffballs to help him. He could feel his air supply quickly diminishing, already panicking when he felt the bends. He could see dead bodies of Poponian troopers floating up and down on the water, the corpses blanched after hours of being washed at sea. The horrific look of the pale faces and hollow black eyes were horrifying sights to behold. He quickly moved to the surface as fast as he could. He was starting to black out but was able to reach the surface. He discovered that he was already near a large tropical island. Pinkobashi walked forward and immediately froze when he could hear a female voice that seemed rather familiar calling out his name. It seemed like that of Hikariowataru from the accent but it could be anybody.

He awoke in his slumber upon him sensing a foul odor in the air permeating the base. He was desensitized by his surroundings. Those fumes must have filtered through the churning industrial machinery below them. He could hear the dripping water falling from an empty spicket. The floor was rather dirty and reeked of animal droppings.

"Pinkobashi." He heard Ruby's words echo off the walls as he struggled to get up on his feet.

"Pinkobashi. You're up. You've napped quite a while there lad." Jack uttered to him.

"What the hell! Where the hell are we?! Let me out!"

"Calm down Pinkobashi! We've been captured by the enemy!"

"You bastards!" He screamed and frantically shook at the bars while no one answered. He tried to calm his temper.

"I recommend that we stay low for a while. Maybe this time we won't have to deal with enhanced interrogation today."

"It's hopeless. We can't be rescued...They took our copy ability weapons...we're utterly useless without them" Blaze was busily surmising over his last cigarette, flicking it on the ground for someone to step on.

"What about Splash? Where is he!" Pinkobashi shouted.

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot about him!"

"We can be saved after all!"

"I'm afraid that we will have to wait this one out."

"How long have we been inside here!?"

"About 30 minutes." Isha responded while busily scanning the interior of the base, pondering a plan to escape. There was no way for them to shatter the steel restraints. She was interrupted when she heard a noise. Her heart throbbed at the soft sound of the boots.

Suddenly, they heard the giant steel door creak open and bright light fill the room, through which a menacing black shadow appeared flanked by two Waddle Dee commanders that were recognizable by their red pauldrons. The troopers quickly slipped through. They reached the center where they found the captured puffballs. The one shadow looked like a Waddle Dee with a crazy black beard and funky black spiral-shaped glasses, seeming that he was somewhat aged. He possessed a long scepter-like cane adjoined by a red glowing jewel. The scientist rubbed his whiskers cackled as he addressed them, throwing his hands about as if he were unhinged and dramatic. His lab coat was disheveled from hours of work at the base. His white gloves were stained with blood of his most recent victim, not bothering to wash afterward. His skin was bleached white from hours in the lab. The scientist was not well.

"Ha Ha Ha! I am Deerex! One of the smartest most brilliant tactical minds of all of DeDenidea. Chief leading member of the Blood Moon project. Welcome to my fortress!" The mad scientist gloated in front of them as he strode close to them.

"You six are rather interesting specimens…." He straddled around the cell wall, inspecting them, prodding them and poking them in a condescending manner as if they were animals. He did not care for germs. The group was offended by their treatment.

"It doesn't seem that bad at all!" Pinkobashi remarked and spit at his face.

"Have at you, you pink cur!" His strong arm gripped him through the bars with extreme force, almost choking him. After letting him go, he sulked back near the corner to avoid being grabbed again. Pinkobashi did not expect the scientist to muster the strength to harm him.

"I have studied your progress in battle against our forces to the finest of details. Your copy ability weapons acquired by my associate have given me great insight into your capabilities."

He pressed a remote to open a hidden television screen of twelve screens within the wall and activate the screen to play the real-time footage of Galaxy Squad on six television screens documenting the Battle of Green Greens that resulted in a major defeat for the DeDenidean military forces. Pinkobashi was hypnotized by the imagery and mesmerized by the impact of the footage. The memories of hell were flooding back to him. There were hours of footage recorded on the videos at once at different times playing at quick speeds. One showed Jack firing off a Homing Spark and downing a Bronto Burt fighter plane in midair. Isha freezing two Dee troopers to death with her Ice Gun and kicking them around. Ruby was shown taking aim at an enemy position and opening fire on a tank's weak spot. Aisha fired off some explosive cutters to eviscerate through a group of enemy infantry. Blaze could be observed unleashing his flamethrower and incinerating a pair of unsuspecting enemy Waddle Dee troopers. The last video showed Pinkobashi charging and launching a final shot of his Beam Heavy Machine gun at the Waddle Dee experimental tank. The destruction of the gigantic tank was viewed from multiple angles. As soon as the superweapon vanished into oblivion, the video ended.

Pinkobashi remembered suddenly being watched by a hidden camera around one of the enemy bases. Pinkobashi felt violated by being exposed like that. He had no idea that the enemy was scrutinizing his every move. He paid attention to the enemy as he was stalked.

"Now I have acquired all your copy ability weapons, we understand everything there is to know about you! We can best any of you in combat! You're nothing without those weapons. You will all be shipped off to DeDenidea soon! Your kind will face oblivion!"

"You're not taking us there!" Ruby shouted. "Over my dead body!"

"We are on the cusp of the next stage in our species evolution! Our ability will be advanced beyond that of the puffballs! We Waddle Dees will be the dominant species on this planet! We Dees are not the ones who waddle around all day but are truly the most productive! You puffballs will be history! The nation of Poponia will be reduced to a mere colony by our will!" The corrupted mindset had gotten to him.

"You imperialist!" Isha spit back at them with harsh venom.

"I know of your tricks, petulant child! You have much to learn! I am well aware of your intellect. But my intellect is clearly superior to yours."

"These machines we have can have a better application than just war, you know. We can use them to serve all of the Poponian kind. Not for your designs of conquest."

"Conquest is only the first step. You jump to conclusions too easily. This scientific discovery can revolutionize our very society itself. The foresight that went into planning this was excellent. Only such a dastardly mind could devise such a deadly contraption...a Dee mind…."

"Deenon!" The commander blurted in response. He knew it was to be true.

"I knew everything about that man. It was the trademark of Deenon! I know! He was my associate!"

"Then why did he break away from DeDenidea!? He was responsible for your Blood Moon project."

The angry scientist slammed his fist at the wall without feeling any pain. "He did none of that! That bastard took everything from me! My precious research! I had the Blood Moon hypothesis! He stole all my designs and took all the credit! I should have received all the glory! Instead he used his research to benefit some unfit suckers like you!"

Suddenly, alarms blared throughout the base. Lights with alerts flashed by the group. The commanders readied their rifles at once.

"OH SHIT!" The scientist spasmed and threw his arms down on a panel in the rest of the group

"Master Deerex! A carrier plane has penetrated our airspace and is flying over the main island. A black P-32 with the markings of a terrorist group called Nebula Squad. A Poponian strike team is approaching the island. They must be joining with a second invasion wave."

"All soldiers! Battlestations!" On the leader's command, the two other Dees saluted and armed themselves to join their Dee platoons in battle. They could hear the sounds of cannon fire.

Pinkobashi thought to himself about the Nebula Squad. He has not heard of them.

The scientist retreated into the door and slammed the door to keep the area secure in his area. He readied his phone to his ear and ordered his command to shoot down the enemy plane making its approach and force his troops to search for any other enemy forces into position in the anticipation of a possible diversion.

At above 1000 feet in midair, one lone carrier plane was flying above the sands amid the cannonfire and missiles. It was emblazoned along its blood tray a cluster of stars and comets. The sky was filled with smoke and ash, already compounded by the factory residue. The sounds of fighter aircraft taking off from the hangars and soaring through the sky were very noticeable. Float Islands had descended into chaos once again.

The enemy had not known that the strike team was deployed by a carrier in a nearby fleet that was approaching the area. They were the diversion to a stronger attack that was ready to deploy once their objective was complete.

Onboard the plane, six powerful puffballs recounted their orders from command. They had the colors of pink, blue, red, green, yellow, and shadow. Each of them were heavily armed and highly dangerous. The members of the group were more than ready to engage the enemy.

The commander of the brave legion, a grey bald-headed puffball known as Phillip, call sign Echo, addressed the group while they were loading their guns and preparing for battle. Phillip was an excellent warrior.

"Alright, Squad! Your mission from high command is to get to that main factory base up there and secure the area. We lost contact with Galaxy Squad about two hours ago and need to recover them. We also have to search for any Blood Moon depots. There's one underground near the facility. Your main objective is to destroy their latest naval superweapon that they have deployed. We will all be facing heavy resistance from the enemy! Show no mercy and we'll all get back home in one piece!"

"We need that thing destroyed if we want to win this war!" One of the younger ones, the close quarters expert, spoke up.

"Another one bites the dust!" The team explosives expert, being the wisecracking badass, joked.

"Get ready to deploy! Now!"

"Hooh-rah!" The rest of them all shouted in unison as they readied for the low-altitude jump.

All six of them jumped off the rear end of the plane and puffed up like parachutes at low altitude in the harsh winds, slowly descending against the forces of nature to the hardened ground. They could not be touched. As soon as they perceived a cannon opening fire on them, they pushed out of the way to dodge the fire. They skydived in a close formation as they fell on the enemy location. Once they landed, they were immediately surrounded by at least a hundred regular Dee soldiers outfitted with numerous deadly weapons.

The group opened fire with their regular machine gun arms before they unveiled their special weapons. A dozen Dees were decimated with multiple holes in the opening salvo alone, yet they just kept coming in the hope that sheer Deepower in a wave rush formation in a densely packed area would overwhelm them into submission. Then the enemy sent in a large tank battalion after the troopers. They expected that opening fire on them with their main guns in a show of force would overwhelm the opposition. However, that strategy was a total failure.

Phillip reminded them all to 'bring out the big guns', and they were unique in their own way. Copy ability weapons! The latest in Poponian engineering! All were of different properties, specifically designed to fit their specific talents. All six of them opened fire on the enemy forces. They ignored the bloodshed as they slaughtered the opposition.

The Rocket Hammer, wielded by the heavy, could wreck steel blocks as if it were nothing and make quick work of infantry and enemy tanks. He swung his hammer, propelling two targets into the air. The heavy engaged a single tank with his brutal weapon. He battered the cannon with two swings, rendering the main gun inoperable, before crushing the gas tank and blowing it up. Another tank opened fire on their position. He planted the hammer on the ground with the hammer faced up, with one of the sides opening to fire heat-seeking missiles that rained hell on the enemy position. He performed a titanic flip, which lit his hammer on fire and swung to incinerate enemy forces effortlessly. He blasted them out of his way with the force of a rocket. Whenever he ran he was able to spin with his hammer, barreling the enemy troops into the air and crushing their bones with intense force, the impact killing them. Their joints were limp and paralyzed from the assault. Their brains were reduced to a red bloody mush. Gravity did the rest.

The team sniper utilized a Needle Rifle which gave the user the ability to fire various types of needle weaponry. The hardened armor of high-ranking Waddle Doos were no match for the caliber of the bullets that could even tear through solid steel. He could change the weapon to fire like an assault rifle, firing a dozen hardened needle-like projectiles that could ignite upon impact, burning the targets alive. The tanks were left as sitting ducks when their armor plating was bored through like paper and pierced by the explosive bullets. Snipers were trying to pick off their targets but were unsuccessful. The Rifle could also provide a steel ball-like encasement as defense whenever the user got overwhelmed from enemy fire.

The team demolitions expert possessed a Wheel Launcher send rolling wheel-like bombs at their enemies with intense force. Firing them at the enemy could enable them to spin and build up precision and speed. They locked onto their targets and zoomed toward the tanks without stopping, detonating them as if they were grenades. The wheels could accelerate once they located and recognized patterns to avoid being hit by oncoming projectiles. The launcher could also double as a rolling shield that could absorb the impact of long-range weapons. He could turn himself into a wheel and also use the weapon as a vehicle, acting like a smaller, more nimble Wheelie Rider that could travel just as fast at its top speed. Whenever the soldier got close to moving vehicles he used his sidearms to score hits.

The team spy acquired a Laser Blaster, a ray gun copy ability weapon that could fire reflecting lasers and travel from target to target at extreme speeds. He readied his beam from a visor covering his eyes targeting the enemy. His arms and hands acted as the weapons, with the beams coming out of his arm as if he were firing explosive ki blasts. The tanks and their internals were perforated by blue beams of amplified light. The intense jumping of the beams from two of them punctured several hard points. The tank crews were unable to focus as they were being incinerated. After ten seconds, both tanks sparked and exploded. Several chunks blasted off the armor and flew in multiple directions. He fired a charged beam at an oncoming tank, the laser beam drilling through the middle. After a few seconds, the heat turned the tank into a volatile pressure cooker, blowing it up. The steel beasts had met their master. In spite of the advanced targeting system, there was no way for the spy to engage the enemy in the air. One beam ricocheted off a cliff face and hit the engine of a trailing jet, blowing it up in midair. The chaotic explosion that downed the enemy aircraft forced the others to change formation and open fire.

The team close quarters expert employed the Stone Cracker, a hardened shotgun-like weapon that could launch giant hardened stones on enemy targets. Infantry were crushed when he could turn into a heavy stone, utterly invincible to enemy heavy fire. He was able to shield himself from tank rounds by turning himself into a living projectie, the target boring through the enemy forces. The tanks were crushed and flattened, the smashing pressure of 100 tons atop their gunners and main guns crushing their occupants and igniting their fuel tanks. The close quarters expert could also fire rocks that could spread out and ricochet at extremely fast speeds with his weapon, the blast knocking the enemy infantry out cold when struck at the head. They were easily overwhelmed when a well placed attack on their battle group caused them to break their ranks and crumble, losing their morale. They chose not to retreat only to have their ambitions crushed in a matter of seconds.

Phillip as Nebula team leader was granted arguably the most powerful of the experimental copy ability weapons. Known as the Tornado Cannon, it was outfitted with a devastating sonic cannon that could annihilate anything in its path by launching mighty tornado projections at foes. Those tornados could kill enemy troopers and redirect enemy projectiles. The weapon was also able to provide a barrier against enemy projectile weapons. He personally christened it the Ancients' Vengeance. The weapon was incredibly useful against all types of enemies. The tanks were quickly trying to open fire on them but he was able to send their missiles off course and spin them toward the enemy. Several explosions blossomed over the battlefield. He could fire it at the oncoming jets, the impact of the winds knocking them off course and causing them to crash into their formation. The pilots quickly figured that they were stripped of their wings and still met their bitter end falling to the ground. The last two tanks were dispatched by Phillip firing two rounds in quick succession, the miniature maelstroms massacring the military menace. The electronics of the tanks were compromised and disabled, ready for a shot to stop the tank crew from ever bringing the power back online.

After the enemy was already massacred, Phillip readied from his cell phone relaying the coordinates as he observed the wreckage. "Enemy forces have been eliminated in the area. Send in the ground troops!"

"Roger. Deploying heavy tanks and infantry!" In about a minute, a whole invading army of a few hundred men was descending on the island, running and grouping together to receive orders from high command. Several battleships were nearing the island, opening fire and barraging enemy bases with rockets and gunfire from several hundred meters away. Waves of Poponian regular forces were marching off of amphibious landing craft guns blazing. DeDenidean aircraft were heading in the direction of the ground troops for Poponian fighters to intercept. Explosions and gunfire were over the beaches. Machine guns and grenades and cannons tore everything to shreds. One Poponian trooper was shown to be gravely wounded by enemy grenade fire, trying to relay a message to high command. They were pinned down and requested immediate assistance. They needed reinforcements immediately. Nebula Squad reckoned that they needed help, yet the team still had to complete its mission, and they kept moving forward.

Eventually, they came across a particular somber swordfish swimming in a nearby water. They were reminded by the fish to find his friends. Apparently the fish was supposedly left for dead. They substituted their weapons for their underwater gear and quickly dove in after Splash.

Deerex the scientist was glancing at observing his watch as he heard the Shotzo artillery guns open fire on the enemy position in the horizon. It was time to leave the facility immediately. The sounds of the booming cannons were resounding through the hallowed halls. As the Waddle Dee scientist was racing through the hallway to gather the Copy Ability weapons along with his men, he barked on his cell phone to his superiors that were warning them that they have copy abilities too. They had entirely different types of weapons at their disposal. His intellect enabled him to engineer them for weapons of war, perhaps strengthen them. He was superior to the charlatan Deenon, the traitor to his kind who chose to side with those who plotted the extermination of his race. Deerex sacrificed his very decency and sanity to enable this mad dream of his to become foreseeable. Mass-producing these weapons of war could enable their massive military to gain total control over their enemies and turn the tide in their favor. He delighted in the fact that the destructive capacity of these almighty weapons were soon to fall in the hands of the most capable Dees instead of those overgrown pieces of gum. Unfortunately, fulfilling that dream would have to wait.

"Master Deerex! Our forces are being overwhelmed!"

"Impossible! What the hell are they doing!?" The smartalec lost control of the situation.

"Master Deerex, we're taking heavy casualties! The terrorists of Nebula Squad are joining up with a massive invasion force! They're heading this way!"

"Damn! Copy-ability weapons! Fall back! Protect the main fortress!"

"Get the guns ready!"

"Ready my ship! I will deal with them." Two high-ranking courageous Waddle Dee troopers saluted their master and ran in the opposite direction.

"Prepare the submarines! Launch more aircraft! Get the battleships ready! Deploy the Blue Giant! Crush all of them! Sink those enemy battleships! Shoot their jets out of the sky!"

"Yes sir!" The mad scientist ended the call and went to join the enemy forces amassing a defensive line. He only had a few hours to get to the location. He still had a backup plan. All the copied files were sent to DeDenidea to analyze the newly-acquired weapons and mass-produce them for battlefield use on a massive scale. Even if he were to lose the Copy Ability Weapons or get captured or even perish in the process, Deerex still had a backup plan.

The mad scientist was approached by the mysterious masked assailant dressed in black, holding a powerful black energy sword. The weapon possessed a metallic hilt that could absorb the shock. The person was able to single handedly engage the dreaded Galaxy Squad in combat and devastated them one by one, but oddly chose not to kill them in response. The weapon was a black sword that could generate plasma sword beams. The scientist addressed the hired mercenary in a simple way.

"We praise you for your service in crushing those cursed little whelps…"

"My pleasure…"

"We have some more unwelcome guests…"

"I'll take care of them….personally….farewell…." The menacing warrior in black disappeared out of sight, vanishing without a trace. A phantom had left the room. The scientist just knew that he had a final weapon in his possession that would put them all out of commission.

The situation would only be getting worse from there. Nebula Squad was able to swim through the enemy-occupied area with ease, with Splash as their humble guide, without much trouble. They thankfully did not face any enemy troops along the way. After a few minutes of swimming, they surfaced at an undisclosed location, but immediately triggered the alarms when they were caught off guard by an enemy Bouncy drone alerting them to the presence of the entire base. The welcoming committee came in the form of several highly-trained Waddle Dee lieutenants and at least one main battle tank. The tank opened fire with its machine gun, forcing the team to run in the opposite direction. Nebula Squad's close quarters expert fired off a round of the stone cannon to splatter one of the enemy Waddle Dees against a wall single handedly, the impact killing him instantly. The enemy tank was quickly destroyed by a well-placed strike of the Rocket Hammer when the heavy charged at the target and spun with his attack. Three powerful swings launched off several armored plates before the machine crashed into the wall. The explosion from the casualties shook the walls on the floor above them. The running scientist nearly tripped when he felt the impact, fearing for his life. He made it to the emergency exit area and unlocked the door with his secret access pass.

The alarms from the enemy base were too intense for the members of Galaxy Squad to handle, the screaming noise ringing in their ears.

"Make it stop!" Pinkobashi howled. They could hear the voices of Waddle Dee troopers mobilizing, running through the hallways with their heavy machine guns and opening fire on the intruders. The echo of the firing quickly stopped.

Suddenly, the alarms stopped sounding. They were all disabled somehow.

They heard the screams of Waddle Dee troopers and a giant explosion engulfing the door. The blinding flash. The giant door was primed to explode with a pair of charges that could stick and affix to the door. Smoke and ash filled the room. Both guards were dead. The members of Galaxy Squad were coughing and trying to shield themselves from the smoke. The commander announced his presence to the group.

"Galaxy Squad...this is Commander Philip of Nebula Squad...we're here to rescue you!" The purple fellow addressed the team and shook the hand of Commander Alexander before they both performed the Poponian royal salute.

"It's been a while since we last spoken…" Alexander joined in

"Thank the gods!" the team sniper was rather relieved.

"We don't have much time!"

"Where are the reinforcements…"

"They're already raiding the very island as we speak!"

"Great news! Those DeDenideans will get what's coming for them!"

Galaxy Squad then went to meet the rest of the mighty team of Nebula Squad.

"Where are our copy ability weapons?…"

"We don't have them...but I have an idea of who might have them!"

"Who are you guys?"

"Attention!" They all lined up one after the other. He inspected the six troopers.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves...Nebula Squad assemble!" Phillip announced to his teamt.

"This is the heavy weapons guy….he wields the Rocket Hammer…" He pointed to the yellow muscular puffball whose prowess impressed Jack. He smiled as he proudly held his weapon.

"Pleased to meet you...I've gotten my workout in..."

"This is our sniper….he wields the Needle Rifle…." He gestured to the male red puffball. Pinkobashi noticed that he was originally assigned that weapon, but the weapon was better suited to not be controlled by him. It was still now much stronger than it was previously used before in the battle of Green Greens. The technology was in better hands.

"This is our spy, she is a master of the Laser Blaster…." The spy with glasses looked stylish and impressive with that powerful visor weapon that was highly advanced.

"Such ingenious weaponry….precision will allow us to allow certainty…."

"This is our team explosives expert…he uses the Wheel Launcher". The explosive expert held his weapon and loaded the wheel-like grenades inside the ammo cartridge.

"Let's keep moving...we have to get to the base itself...I know someone who knows a shortcut!" The lone swordfish was presented to them.

"Splash! You're okay!" Ruby shouted with glee. Pinkobashi wanted to run out and grab him.

"We have to go..."

They kept moving. The base alarms suddenly sounded again. They kept moving through the sector, surrounded by enemies on all sides. Waddle Dee troopers were entering the base.

As they were racing to a safe spot, the spy was asked by Ruby about where the copy ability weapons were located.

"Chances are these weapons are not in one location, but are moving away from here…we haven't tracked them...but we were able to hack into the base's security systems and find that they are being held by that mad scientist who was monologuing about his master plan…."

"Let's hope we're not being drawn into another trap…"

As they raced past the water, they tried to stay low as the base was on high alert. Bronto Burt aircraft were flying low searching for survivors. The Poponian invasion force was still there.

They could hear the VTOL jets taking off from the islands and racing into the sky. Glunks were still in the water.

"Keep moving…"

Two large white Squishy octopi surprised the two teams after they jumped out of the water, their tentacles thrashing about once they propelled them out of the water.

"Squishies! Take them out!"

Alexander sliced and diced one of the creatures. Pinkobashi, using his recently-acquired cutter ability, tore the other squid to shreds. Purple blood filled the water in a gruesome fashion.

"Excellent work…"

The Nebula team heavy, after crushing another barrier in their path, found upon some entrance to another underwater cave.

"Pinkobashi...let me amplify use your power and follow my lead…."

"You heard the fish…" Phillip advised.

Pinkobashi got inside Splash's mouth and the two jumped into the water. They jumped out of the shallow water onto dry land, with Splash hopping on the land just fine even with him putting on some extra pounds. They found another series of three abandoned pipes where a single landborne dark-topped eel known as an Eileel was jumping out at them from the pipes, trying to bite them with their sharp teeth or pull them into the water. The water snake recognized the smell of the fish and was drawn by its odor, ready for a meal. The eel were easily cleaved apart from the cutter attack as soon as it popped out. The pair then came across four more pipes of the same look inhabited by the carnivorous Eileel. The creatures had nowhere to hide even if they were trying to peek and harass their prey before killing it. The challenge was quickly surmounted. An enemy Rocky soldier near a shallow pit that granted access to another section of the cave was surprised by the attack and planned to crush them beneath his feet, but the cutter blade attack was able to withstand and crush his heavy armor with tremendous force, knocking the enemy's dead body in the water. The team was able to catch up with Pinkobashi and Splash by that point.

Both teams gathered up their copy ability equipment and swam after the pair. The currents coming from the submerged pipes were pushing them forward in their favor. Pinkobashi fired off some of his powerful cutter rounds to obliterate the oncoming Blipper fish swimming in the narrow cave. They did not want to waste time assaulting the fish only if they got in the way and were trying to attack them. As soon as they found an area near a beachside from which to surface they still did not find any sign of their missing copy weapons. They could see several sinking metal hunks that were once mighty Poponian battleships massacred by enemy naval forces. Another active destroyer was heavily damaged and slowly trying to fire back at something that was approaching them. It was practically defenseless against the wrath of the oncoming cannon fire.

They could make out a large metallic fortress heading in their direction getting closer.

"The Blue Giant is here! It's heading this way! Get out of here! Abandon ship! AHHHH!" Commander Phillip could hear one of the captains panicking over the coms link before the final message crackled and faded away in a giant explosion that engulfed the bridge of ship, the blast near the ammunition causing it to shatter in thirds and sink to the bottom.

"Blue Giant?!" Phillip seemed confused by the name.

"That thing!" Aisha pointed toward the massive warship reloading its many cannons and rockets before searching for more active targets while traveling at full speed.

"By the ancients!" He was awed by its numerous weapons aboard its deck as it started to slow down.

Eventually, the teams knew where they found the copy ability weapons. Deerex was holding them all in his backpack, laughing maniacally as he held them in his arms. Only this time he was aboard the massive Blue Giant battleship itself, commanding the beast directly as it was situated a few clicks north from their position on the beachhead. The radar picked all of them up. All of its guns were pointed right at both teams and opened fire, raining hell on their positions. Several missiles were launched from the vertical launch center and sent soaring toward their position. Both squads were completely outmatched against a state-of-the-art warship.

The opening salvo of the thundering rockets flew in multiple directions, the explosions leveling the ground with the impact of furious winds. The firing cannons were belching numerous explosive projectiles into the air, buffeting the environment.

"We're taking heavy fire! We need to get to cover immediately!" The heavy called out to the group. The Stonetosser used his barrier power to shield the team from the blasts.

"We're pinned down! We need air support!"

"Believe me, we won't need it for this battle!"

Pinkobashi felt disoriented from the intensity of the assault as the cannon fire continued to fall on their position.

"I have an idea! We know what to do! Let's go Splash!"

"Wait Pinkobashi!"

The spy quickly fired off a few of her Laser cannons at the oncoming rockets with pinpoint accuracy.

"I pray that he has it covered!"

"Wait for us!" Jack ran after them in the water.

"Cover us! Okay!"

"We got it!" The Nebula Squad team leader relayed the order.

They were eventually going head to head with the mysterious masked assassin, drawing her large blade to strike them with a large plasma barrage. At least half of the party had copy ability weapons with them. Now they had bigger problems to handle with.

They ran in and joined in the fray. Pinkobashi ordered Splash to duck from the heavy cannons and missile fire that were flying straight over them. Waddle Dee troopers were running to their landing craft aboard the ship to secure the beachhead.

Splash with Pinkobashi's cutter ability fired off several cutter rounds under the water. They dodged the blasts. One well-placed cutter blast attack blew up a sinking depth charge, giving the enemy the impression that the enemy submarine was destroyed, but the massive warship kept firing on the beachhead. They lept out of the water and jumped onboard a low platform.

Galaxy Squad did the same a few minutes later wielding their conventional standard issue weapons.

"Give me a safe position! Cover me! Watch this!" Phillip ordered his team before he held the trigger down and watched him aim at the middle of the battleship as it was turning around. He launched off several rounds from his Tornado Cannon at once, the swirling impact of a few large electric tornados shredding through a large chunk of the conning tower and the hull itself, the perforation being the spark for a massive fire that engulfed much of the entire battleship's platform. Nearly half of the entire crew was annihilated in a giant burst of flame. It appeared as if a Crash Bomb had just gone off over the vessel itself. The mighty ship was now reduced to that of a floating wreck, stripped of many of its onboard weapons. The Waddle Dee crew were already abandoning the ship, leaping out of the vessel into the water.

"We need to get on that battleship! And fast!" Blaze argued for the next course of action.

"Quick! Our weapons are onboard the ship! I have detected one life sign! And our weapons are right next to it!" Isha noted the movement of the troopers.

Isha engaged the tracking device on their weapons and located them at the conning tower.

One angry Deerex immediately finished climbing out of the metal scrap heap, watching cannonfire decimate. He pressed an active big red button that looked like a black outline of an angler fish as a last resort.

"Commander Merlin, What's the sitrep?"

"Blue Giant has sustained heavy damage! Repeat! Blue Giant has sustained heavy damage!" They heard the communications link of the crew of the Poponian Royal Navy destroyer.

"Keep firing men! I want that ship destroyed!"

"Captain! You're not going to like this! Enemy submarine approaching! It's right underneath us! It's opening fire! It's using some kind of directed energy weapon!"

"All hands, evasive maneuvers!"

"How is that possible!? What the hell! AAAH!"

Suddenly a gigantic electrical plasma flare surging from underneath the water caused the Poponian destroyer to vanish in a giant explosion and send it sinking in less than a minute. As soon as the ship was destroyed, another ship a few clicks northeast met the same fate. In seconds another destroyer was decimated, the blast tearing its stern asunder before annihilating the bridge and masts. The entire crew disappeared from radar before disappearing from sight. The Poponian invasion fleet's strength was quickly weakening.

"What is going on over there!? Some kind of submarine?" The team scout listened to the talk.

"That's no submarine!" The water started to rise and a large plume spouted over the beachhead with the breaching of a dorsal fin, sending gallons of water into the sky. The team knew it was Sweet Stuff, but its outward appearance was the complete opposite under the water, a harrowing sight to behold.

One giant brown ugly looking angler fish with its glowing yellow lure leapt out of the water. Its pair of demonic eyes watched them above its razor-sharp teeth. Its giant yellow lightbulb-like lure of luminous flesh dangled near its snout searching for prey. It quickly disappeared.

"We can't reach that thing!" The close quarter's expert lamented.

"We need to sink that creature before it decimates our fleet!" Alexander alerted the teams.

"Splash! Pinkobashi! New orders!" The commander relayed the order.

"Roger that!"

Splash and Pinkobashi quickly ran and dove under the water in a thrilling chase. Eventually they followed the shadowy mass into a deep trench that was noticeably darker than before. Eventually the beast became more clear to them in all its horrifying glory. Its mouth and sharp jaws nearly engulfed them. They swept out of the way in a quick dodge before looking the creature in the face.

BOSS BATTLE!

Sweet Stuff circled in front of them, bobbing backwards while keeping an eye on them and opening its jaws. Its yellow fins on its sides were flopping constantly as it tried to push itself through the water. The irises were expanding and contracting in a sickening matter, as if the creature were rabid, always ready to attack. The angler fish, despite being large, was incredibly agile, being able to dart around the abyss with ease. They dodged the lunges and bites with ease, nearly being swallowed by the hungry animal each time. Even with Splash's legendary speed the creature could still catch up with them and try to make them into another meal, charging at them with extreme force.

Two one-eyed Tincell starfish floating from further through the abyss were slowly swirling toward them, firing small electric bolts that could home in on their target. They ascended and descended while watching their movements and opened fire. Pinkobashi's cutter ability destroyed all of them by splitting them in half. After the flying projectiles exploded, bursting forth blood and guts, the remains sank to the bottom before decaying in the sea.

Two star-shaped spinning projectiles appeared again for the pattern to repeat itself

Two Squishies were darting through the caverns, homing in on the pair. Pinkobashi fired one cutter rounds, eviscerating the white torpedo-like squids in seconds and burning their insides.

The beast then immediately lunged right for them with its mouth agape, attempting to swallow them whole. They quickly descended. Its powerful lure brightly glowed yellow and fired off a series of arrow-like electrical bursts that consisted of two projectiles. The creature fired them at the bottom, the middle, and the top of the cavern in quick succession. The bolts appeared to go through the rock crevice itself. They immediately dodged the attacks, weaving through each volley of energy. The explosions crashed against the undersea floor, leveling the area and causing the cave to shake. Since a few of those powerful blasts in a single volley could decimate a warship on the surface, the magnitude of the power was still a force to be reckoned with. Pinkobashi could feel the intensity of the water pressure sparking.

More Tincells that were heading in their direction met the same fate as the others.

With every shot that Sweet Stuff endured the large fish became more erratic in its behavior.

It fired off several blasts of energy again, the explosions knocking Splash around. Pinkobashi aimed his cutter weapon and fired off more rounds. After being fired at with several shots, the giant creature glowed shortly before the ensuing detonation. Splash tried to swim out of the way but the blast was far too strong. Pinkobashi could feel the water surrounding him, braving the blast that followed by the large searing flash. Everything blacked out for him as the bubbles continued to rise and heavy rocks fell from the top of the cave.

A giant explosion leveled the ocean floor, enveloping a good part of the surface in a flaming bubble. Once the creature was supposedly dead, the team watched in shock and hoped that they could find Splash and Pinkobashi, frantically searching for life signs as they headed for the water. They saw Splash and Pinkobashi immediately surface as soon as they could see a bunch of bubbles at the surface.

"Are you guys alright?" Isha asked.

"Never been better!" The young warrior responded as he was spitting out water.

"You made a meal of that big fish lad!" Jack commented on their success.

"Sweet Stuff is KIA!"

"Hey Galaxy Squad! You've got your weapons back!"

"We sure did! The mad scientist must have left them when he vanished from the ship….We found him dead by a sword slash...His bloodied backpack was tossed away with all six of the weapons. They were completely intact." The members of Galaxy Squad held out their weapons. Pinkobashi was glad to be handed back his Beam Heavy Machine Gun by Blaze.

"Great!" He responded triumphantly.

Galaxy Squad could receive the rewards of their mission with a congratulations from high command.

"I'll miss you, Splash!" Pinkobashi ran out to shake Splash's fin.

"You're welcome. Catch you later!" The swordfish smiled before he dived down again and the rest of the team waved after him.

They eventually paid their farewell to Nebula Squad while their respective carrier transport planes descended on their position, waving as the engines ignited before takeoff. Galaxy Squad could watch the reinforcements heading for the main base and the enemy retreating from the island. All was going well for their side so far. Unfortunately, their chances of further searching the undersea compound, and with it the Blood Moon deposits in the area, were already sunk. The hope of securing an advantage over the enemy that was already a few steps ahead of them was quickly slipping from their grasp.

Pinkobashi could only focus on what happened to that dead body of the scientist. He could make out a voice in his head of the contemplating victim and the killer as they tried to talk over one another, the victim not seeing the betrayal behind his back. The killer was speaking with an aggressive masculine tone as he insulted his victim. "Remember this! It is not the weapon that makes the warrior! It is their fortitude alone!" The mysterious warrior impaled the weapon right through the sinister scientist's black heart, leaving a gruesome and bloody mess that could not be described in words. The murder looked like that of Galaxy Squad, specifically Alexander with his giant sword copy ability weapon. There was no way to tell.