Alice sat cross-legged on the cot inside one of the carrier's sleeping quarters assigned to her and her team, eyes closed and breathing even. She was the only occupant in the room because she had returned to the room shortly after breakfast. Her teammates were still down in the mess hall. She had left them early so that she could practice the meditation skills Jack had imparted on her. Every morning and every night she would clear her mind of everything but the imaginary wall that kept Fuse out of her mind. She hadn't felt his presence since the night Jack taught her, and this gave her the peace of mind and confidence to stay in the Darklands and trim the number of monsters that roamed the jungle ground.
Her peaceful solitude was interrupted by the door swishing open and Junior stomping inside. The boy made a beeline for his cot and collapsed onto it with a loud groan.
"Aarrgghh!" Junior complained. He threw an arm over his eyes, knocking up his glasses. "This is absolutely stupid! If I have to fight one more Triceraclops or Triceraclaws or whatever the Tartarus they want to call themselves..." Junior let the threat hang in the air.
Alice opened her eyes at the intrusion and frowned at the boy's complaint. It wasn't like she wasn't sympathetic, but she had her own opinions on what they were doing in the Darklands.
"But Mr. Jack needs us here," Alice pointed out.
"We've been here for four days!" he snapped. "All we've done since then is go out and kill the mobs in Forsaken Valley and Dinosaur Pass. Stuff that Lance and Ilana has been doing since before we even showed up!" He pushed himself up and leaned on the back of his elbows so he could look at the two girls in the room with him. "We should be out in the rest of the island doing actual work!"
"Have you asked Mr. Jack about going elsewhere?" Alice asked patiently.
Jack's red tinted face paled at the mention of the samurai. Jack had been the one to keep the team in the confines of Forsaken Valley and its neighbor Dinosaur Pass. He stated his reason was that he didn't think the team was prepared for the monsters that existed past the Dinosaur Graveyard, a fact that angered Junior. Suzy and Alice were fine with staying in the local area and trimming the mob numbers, but Junior was itching to go into the rest of the Darklands. He never dared disobey Jack's orders, though. Like everyone else on the air carrier, he was intimidated by Jack. It was nothing that Jack himself consciously did. The samurai was amicable and respectful whenever someone entered a conversation with him, but it was the way he carried himself that produced this intimidation. There was an aura to him that reminded all that Jack was a trained fighter and could easily best any one of them in a battle. So Junior only ever voiced his complaints in the safety of the room assigned to the team.
"Even if I did, he'd probably just say something like 'no, you're still not ready' even though we're still number one on the team list," Junior answered. "Doesn't that count for something?"
Alice kept her mouth shut. It wasn't that she didn't want to do more on the island, but she respected Jack and his wisdom and was content to do what he asked. If he was keeping the team in the jungle area, then it was for a good reason.
She was saved from giving him an actual answer by the sudden chiming of their NanoComs. In unison, the two looked down at their NanoComs to see what had been sent in. Junior's eyes widened behind his glasses, and a grin slowly spread across his face.
"Now, we're talking," he said happily.
It was a bright and sunny day when Alice and Junior stepped onto the air carrier's deck. Jack and Tetrax were at the edge of the deck like they always were, already accompanied by Suzy. Lance and Ilana were up in Huntor's Crest on a request from Tetrax while Octus was remaining on the air carrier. Doctor Holiday was somewhere to the west of the Dinosaur Pass. Apparently, there was something she wanted to test out. An associate of hers, some man known only as Agent Six, was supposed to be meeting her out in the forest.
"Good, the gang's all here," Suzy declared when Alice and Junior took their place next to her. "I've been talking with Tetrax about what Jimmy sent us."
"I get new Fusions are bad but what's so bad with Fuse copying Kevin?" Junior asked. "Doesn't he just absorb material or something?"
"The Fusion isn't just a copy of Kevin, unfortunately," Jack replied, crossing his arms so that they were hidden in the sleeves of his kimono.
"Fuse made a copy of Kevin's monstrous form," Tetrax clarified, and while his face remained passive, his tone clearly belied how troubled he was over the news. "In this form, Kevin had the abilities of a Tetramand, Pyronite, Petrosapien, Lepidopterran, Kinceceleran, Vulpimancer, Piscciss Volann, Galvanic Mechamorph, Ectonurite, and Galvan."
"I recognize none of those words except Ectonurite, but I get the idea that having a Fusion copy of this monster form isn't good," Junior stated.
"Not at all," Jack agreed.
"And the bigger issue is that not only is this thing a reality, but Fuse is trying to make more than one of them," Suzy continued.
"An army," Tetrax clarified. "If Fuse is capable of making such an army..."
"He will win," Alice surmised, looking troubled by the prospect.
"Finding where Fuse is making this army is a high priority," Tetrax informed the team seriously. "We cannot allow Fuse to gain the upper hand."
"Not a chance," Suzy agreed. "Jimmy's email mentioned a possible base of operations in the Fireswamps, so we'll go down and check it out."
Jack's eyebrows furrowed slightly at the mention of the swamps, but he didn't voice a complaint. Instead, he dipped his head in agreement.
"The Fireswamps are dangerous, but I believe you are ready to venture beyond. However, do not go too deeply just yet," Jack warned.
Junior frowned, looking ready to argue that he and his team were ready to deal with anything the Darklands threw at them, but Suzy successfully intervened before the boy could even open his mouth.
"Of course," Suzy assured him, smiling at him with her signature smile. "We'll be as careful as we always are."
Junior stretched his arms over his head and released a contented sigh. For once, he was leading the group as they passed under the large skeletal remains of a dinosaur that acted as the archway between Dinosaur Pass and the Fireswamps.
"Freedom," he sighed. "Finally."
"You would be at home in a fiery landscape," Suzy teased.
Junior craned his neck over his shoulder so she could see his annoyed look. "First of all, shut up," he said.
Nothing else followed, leading Suzy to chuckle. Alice smiled lightly as she looked around the new area. The environment was completely different from Dinosaur Pass. The jungles of the valley and pass gave way to open fields. The greenery changed to red, and literal flames sprouted out from the ground. The heat in the air increased, and it became apparent to Alice that this was where the warm air came from. There was a lack of Fusion Matter on the ground, which was surprising since Forsaken Valley and Dinosaur Pass had patches of Fusion Matter here and there. There was an encampment of tents protected by some fences to the right of them, and the only occupants of the encampment was a girl and a Dexbot. Upon seeing the team passing by, the girl raised a hand over head and waved wildly.
"Hey!" the girl called, getting the team to stop. "Can you come here real quick?"
"What's the matter?" Suzy asked as the team approached her.
"Are you heading deeper into the swamps?" the girl asked.
"Sure are," Suzy answered.
"Great, can you keep an eye out for some Planeteers? They went to get my Bonkstick back, but I haven't seen them for hours," the girl explained. "I know they're Planeteers, but this area isn't safe to just be wandering around."
"You sent off Planeteers to get a weapon?" Junior asked incredulously.
The girl's eyebrows dipped down in a show of annoyance. The tone she used matched the emotion on her face.
"It's my only weapon. Without it I'm defenseless," she said, raising her hand to gesture at something behind the team. "The monsters here are vicious and without it I can end up like those fellas."
The team looked behind them to see what the girl was gesturing to. Alice's eyes widened in shock when she saw pieces of DexLabs and Mandark Ind.'s battle droids littered along the ground. Some looked like their tops were separated from their bottoms, and others looked like they'd been ripped apart, piece by piece. Its gruesomeness reminded Alice of a war film.
"What happened?" Alice asked, turning to look back at the girl.
"Like I said, the monsters are vicious. They like to get as close to camp as possible. This was a result of a big battle between the two sides; luckily the Planeteers were here to help turn it in our favor, but the damage is still done," the girl explained. "DOC-27's already reported to Dexter and Mandark about replenishing the robots, but that might not be for a while. In the meantime, if another wave of monsters decides to hit, I'm without a weapon, so I really need you to look for the two Planeteers and tell them Peggy Danger needs her Bonkstick back." The girl blinked and then put a hand to her chest. "By the way, the name's Peggy Danger. Should have started with that."
"Nice to meet you, we're Team Super Stars," Suzy introduced.
"Wait, Team Super Stars?" Peggy repeated. "As in number one on the Leaderboard Team Super Stars?"
"Team Super Stars is indeed number one on the Leaderboard," DOC-27 supplied, speaking up for the first time.
"That's us," Suzy proclaimed proudly.
"Whoa," Peggy said, sounding impressed. "Haven't seen you lot out this way before. Did you just get to the Darklands?"
"No," Alice answered. "We've been here for almost a week."
"We've been stuck in Forsaken Valley and Dinosaur Pass thanks to Jack not thinking we're ready to tackle this area," Junior complained, crossing his arms in his frustration.
"Well, that's fair," Peggy said with a shrug. "Like I've said, the Fireswamps are dangerous and it's not safe to just let anybody in. But you guys should be more than prepared for what moves through here."
"Well what we're looking for may be more dangerous than we're accustomed to," Suzy replied, "but we've come up against worst and survived."
"What are you out here for?" Peggy asked, curious on what the team could be searching for.
"A Fusion," Suzy answered vaguely.
"Oh, those creeps," Peggy said in disgust. "I haven't seen any around lately, but I also don't go out of my way looking for them. Supposedly, one of Fuse's generals is out somewhere in this area running experiments. Stay safe."
"We should probably be telling you that," Suzy pointed out. "Do you want us to stay here until the Planeteers bring back your weapon?"
"It's a nice offer, but no," Peggy declined. "You're on the search for a Fusion, which is more important. I'll be alright, and if another set of monsters show up, I'll just take DOC-27 and run off to the S.A.C.T. agents over by the graveyard."
"If you're sure," Suzy said, her voice indicating she was giving Peggy one last chance to take the offer. "We'll be heading out then."
Peggy grinned and waved her hand. "Don't worry about me. You getting rid of a Fusion is a major help to this area." She held up her thumb and added, "Good luck out there."
"Thanks," Suzy said. "Stay safe."
"You too."
The team left the camp and continued further into the heart of the Fireswamps. They passed the debris of the destroyed robots, noticing how many were destroyed and how far they went into the land. The most noticeable thing that put the team on edge was the lack of Fusion Monsters roaming the fiery fields. Alice's senses didn't register any monsters within range, and Nano Raj's Mappy! powers didn't indicate any Fusion Monsters in their immediate area.
"This doesn't feel like the set up to a horror film," Junior commented.
"I think Mountain Zombies of Scab Lagoon had a scene similar to this," Suzy commented. "Aside from the fire fields."
"Please do not speak of horror films," Nano Raj begged, laying himself on Suzy's head. "Especially that one."
"Awh, it's okay little guy," Suzy cooed at her Nano, giving him assuring pats on the head.
Alice's NanoCom suddenly chimed to life, spooking Nano Raj and getting a shriek out of him. Alice smiled apologetically at the Nano while Suzy went about consoling him.
"It's Courage," Alice announced, looking at the screen in surprise.
"Is something going on in Nowhere?" Junior asked.
Alice read over the message and shook his head.
"No, nothing wrong in Nowhere," Alice answered. "But apparently some monsters stole Courage's bone and Alan followed the monster until the ocean, which means the monster is somewhere out here."
"They stole his bone?" Junior asked in a deadpan.
"Awwwh, poor Courage," Suzy said. "Does he know which monster did it?"
"He says it's either a Magma Hulk or Miasma Hulk," Alice answered. "He couldn't tell the difference."
"That definitely puts it in this area," Suzy said. "We'll keep an eye out for it."
"We're seriously getting him a bone? Can't your aunt go and get him a new one?" Junior asked.
"I'd like to help him," Alice spoke up.
"So would I," Suzy added. "Courage is a good boy and we are absolutely helping him." Her tone left no room for arguments.
Junior looked annoyed for a moment to be put on a bone retrieval job - a low level job when compared to stopping a Fusion army - but he sighed and nodded his head.
"Alright," he agreed. "We're already out here anyways, we might as well go get a bone."
Alice smiled, pleased that she would be able to complete the request for Courage. Like Suzy said, Courage was a good boy. Between dealing with the strange anomalies of Nowhere and the monsters that populated the desert, he was a big help in Double D's search for the Crazy Brain Candy. Helping retrieve Courage's stolen bone was a good way of thanking him for his help.
Alice was jolted by the sudden sense of Fusion Monsters rushing their way. The numbers were low, but they were moving fast. Nano Raj picked up on the signatures as well, immediately perking up with his eyes opening wide in panic.
"Fusion Monsters incoming!" he declared.
Alice spun around, sensing the monsters rushing from behind her. From the brush rushed out six Lizard Queens, using their four legs to cover more ground. Alice prepared to fire off a crescent energy blast to throw the Lizard Queens off balance so her team could rush in for a divide-and-conquer technique. She paused in the motion of throwing her arm in an arch motion when she heard a voice give out a command from behind the team.
"Wind!"
A powerful gust of wind hit the six Lizard Queens and pushed them back, throwing them off their feet. They were on their backs, wiggling around in an effort to get back on their feet when a new command was given out.
"Fire!"
A spiral of flames shot and hit the unsuspecting Lizard Queens in a wave of fire. The monsters screeched at the scorching heat until the screeching ceased all together. When the flames died down, there were no Lizard Queens remaining. The Fusion Matter that was pooled lifted into the air and was sucked into Team Super Stars' NanoComs, leaving no trace behind of the Lizard Queens' attempt at a sneak attack.
"You'd think some lizards out in the Fireswamps could handle a little heat," a Brooklyn accent mocked.
"Hah! You believe it was your fire that stopped them?" an Eastern European accent contributed. "Wrong, Yankee. I softened them up for you."
"Whatever you say," the first voice replied.
"Argh! Typical Yank attitude!"
The owners of the arguing voices belonged to teenagers older than the team, one a redhead boy and the other a blonde girl. The emblems on their shirt indicated them as the Planeteers Peggy Danger had sent out to retrieve her stolen weapon. At the moment, the two were busy bickering to notice that Team Super Stars was watching them.
"Are we interrupting a lovers' quarrel?" Junior asked.
He meant for it to only be heard by his teammates, but the two Planeteers heard him and immediately reacted. They turned as one to look at the team, the girl's eyes a little wider in surprise than the boy's eyes.
"Nyet. We are not lovers," the girl - Linka - protested with her cheeks tinted a bright pink hue.
"Aww, you're breaking my heart, babe," the boy - Wheeler - teased.
"Wheeler!" Linka hissed, raising a threatening finger to his face.
"Alright, alright." Wheeler raised his hands in surrender, a smirk on his face.
"Listen, if we are interrupting, we can just go," Junior mentioned. "We're kind of busy."
"Busy with what? You know the Fireswamps are pretty dangerous," Wheeler said.
"Yeah that's what we've been told," Junior griped.
"Actually, we could use some help," Suzy put forward.
Junior shot her a confused look, but it went ignored. Linka looked eager at the opportunity to be of assistance, while Wheeler looked reluctant. When neither Planeteer offered resistance, Suzy continued.
"You see, we're out here looking for a Fusion Portal," Suzy explained. "Have you spotted any?"
"Fusion Portal?" Linka repeated, putting her hand to her chin as she thought about the question.
"Haven't seen any of those in this area," Wheeler answered. He hooked a thumb and pointed over his shoulder. "You'll probably find one up in the Firepits, though. Saw a Fusion hanging in that area, so there's gotta be one for it there."
"What did this Fusion look like?" Suzy inquired.
"Like a girl," Wheeler answered. "Couldn't get a detailed look 'cause she was too far away, but the shape was a girl."
"And you saw this up in the pits? Not here in the swamps?" Suzy asked.
"Wheeler is right," Linka answered. "We have been in the swamps for some time now, and we have not come across these portals you ask about."
"If there's no portal, then where would Fuse put his factory?" Junior asked his teammates.
"A factory? Whatcha looking for exactly?" Wheeler asked.
"We've got information that Fuse is setting up a factory here in the swamps," Junior answered.
"He's planning to copy a single Fusion into a giant army," Suzy continued.
Wheeler whistled. "That's some Fusion."
"Unfortunately," Alice agreed.
"It's why we need to find where the factory is being hidden and destroy it before the Fusion army can be built," Suzy explained.
"We definitely don't want a whole Fusion army on our hands since we got our hands full with monsters already, but if it's a Fusion Portal you're looking for, it's just not here," Wheeler said.
"We would like to help more, but we must return to Peggy and deliver her weapon," Linka said. "She is in need of it."
"It's alright. We'll handle things from here," Suzy said to the Planeteers. "Thanks for sharing your information."
"Our pleasure," Linka said in parting. "Good luck with finding the factory."
"So what now?" Junior asked once the Planeteers were gone. "Do we keep searching?"
"Should we call Tetrax?" Alice suggested. "Let him know what we've learned and go from there?"
Suzy thought over the options for a moment before she came to a decision. With a nod, she pulled her NanoCom back up.
"Yeah, I'm going to call up Tetrax and see what he wants us to do," she informed her teammates. "Keep an eye out for monsters, Nano Raj."
"It's literally what I do," Nano Raj pointed out.
"And you do such a good job of it," Suzy cooed, pinching the cheek of her Nano.
Nano Raj squirmed out of her fingers and rubbed his hands against the pinched cheek. Suzy giggled before turning her attention back to her NanoCom. She held it flat on her palm, allowing the holographic display to shoot up. It took only a second for the call to go through, but it wasn't Tetrax who was looking back at them on the projected screen; it was Octus.
"Greetings, Team Super Stars."
"Octus?" Suzy said in confusion. "I swear I called Tetrax."
"You did. However, since I was in need of calling you, I intercepted the call."
"Why do you need to call us?" Junior asked.
"Is something wrong?" Alice added on.
"Nothing is wrong here at the research station," Octus said, reassuring the team in that manner. "However, I was calling to inform you that you need not search for the facility in the Fireswamps."
"You know about that?" Suzy asked.
"Tetrax informed me about the matter and I looked into it myself. I did a scan of the Fireswamps area and found no trace of a hidden factory under the ground," Octus stated.
"Are you sure?" Suzy asked. "This is where the information sent us."
"I am aware this is what was told to you. However, I have the sense that Kevin gave an incorrect statement," Octus replied. "No doubt a remaining side effect from when he was under Fuse's influence."
Alice frowned in distress at Octus' statement. It was only recently uncovered that Kevin had been under Fuse's influence after he had gone and absorbed some Fusion Matter from a fallen monster. Kevin had the ability to absorb matter and use it as his own, a highly useful skill when he was absorbing metals like iron. Unfortunately, absorbing a living organism proved to be a costly mistake. While under Fuse's influence, Kevin installed a device to the side of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends that absorbed the imaginary energy and transferred it to somewhere in the Darklands. Frankie had called Dexter about the device since she had a bad feeling about it, and after he found the large amount of imaginary energy sent to the Darklands, Dexter sent down one of his employees to install a device that would shore up the energy flow. Kevin had been furious about this and went back to the house to destroy Dexter's device. Frankie called again mentioning he was in the house and because she was close by, Kiva went up and literally beat some sense into Kevin. The transducer Kevin had put on the house could not be taken off without seriously harming the Friends that lived there, but he was able to lock the controls and bring the energy intake to a trickle.
Despite the guilt he felt over the matter, Madame Foster had forgiven him and was willing to let the whole ordeal pass without a single mention of it to the public. Unfortunately, Bloo had heard about the whole ordeal and made a big show about it on the news in order to get his fifteen minutes of fame. Harangue, of course, jumped on the story and omitted how Kevin had been put under Fuse's thumb unwillingly, turning the public against the teenager. It became so bad that Kevin was forced to head into the Wilds and was currently helping Gwen out in Haunted Ridge. Having nearly gone through a similar ordeal with Fuse, Alice was incredibly sympathetic towards the teenager. He hadn't absorbed the Fusion energy with bad intentions, but the fallout was more than even he had bargained for.
"Do we have an idea of where it's at?" Suzy asked.
"I am scanning, but I am unable to pinpoint directly," Octus replied. "I know it's somewhere deeper in the island, but that's all that is known."
"So we're basically done here?" Junior asked, looking none-too-pleased with the prospect of having to return to the earlier areas.
"Ideally, yes," Octus replied.
"We'll be back later, Octus," Suzy said. "We've learned there's another Fusion in the area, so we're going to go and handle that. Letting those things run around is just bad news, ya know?"
Octus was silent for a moment. "Yes, you are correct. I shall inform Jack of your delayed return. Stay safe."
"We always do," Suzy said, saluting the robot before she signed off.
"Seriously, what is Jack's problem? He's motherhening us," Junior complained.
"He's worried," Alice defended.
"Well, he needs to stop," Junior said.
"After this, he probably will," Suzy said. "Everything out here is tougher than on the mainland. If we take out a Fusion, he'll know we can handle anything this island throws at us." She grinned even brighter as she added, "Even Fuse."
"Okay see that talk right there is probably why Jack won't let us out of his sight," Junior said. "But taking down a Fusion will definitely make us look better in his eyes."
"Alright, time to seek out a Fusion," Suzy declared. "Wheeler said it's up in the Firepits so we'll go and seek out a Fusion Portal." She turned to wink at her Nano. "You're still on Fusion Monster duty, got it."
"Of course!"
"Alice, you'll be able to sniff out the Fusion's energy signature, right?" Suzy asked her fellow female.
Alice nodded with a look of determination. She wasn't as eager to prove herself to Jack like Junior was, but she didn't want a Fusion to be free to cause terror. And also, there was still the matter of rescuing a stolen bone.
Alice rolled up her shrug's sleeves, feeling only a slight relief from the extreme heat. The Fireswamps had been warm, but the Firepits were down right scorching. Alice glanced over at Suzy and Junior to see how they were fairing in the heat. Suzy seemed to be sweating like Alice, but Junior looked perfectly content with the weather, even in his sweater and pants. Being a child of the Center of the Earth, it probably made sense that the heat from magma wouldn't prove to be a bother.
The majority of the Firepits was holed up in the DexLabs issued force field, keeping the worst of the infection behind protective walls. That didn't mean that the area wasn't affected by magma; active volcanos populated the border of the pits and the swamps, leaking out magma that turned the ground red. It reminded Alice of Monkey Mountain. Luckily, the team could avoid the red-hot ground by flying over it or riding over it in the hover vehicles. It made travelling faster, and brought some relief to the heat, but not enough to be comfortable. She felt like a cookie baking in the oven; the sooner they fought the Fusion and grabbed the bone, the sooner they could get to the cool air of Mandark's air carrier.
Alice's senses were leading the team to the east side of the land, not too far from where the Dexbot waited patiently for Fusion Fighters to enter the Inferno Fields Infected Zone. Lizard Kings patrolled the area, keeping watch over the Fusion Portal tucked up against the mountain range. Unfortunately for them, Alice and her friends were well-trained in Fusion fighting, and masterfully took of the reptiles. Without its protectors, the Fusion Portal was left unguarded.
Travelling through a Fusion Portal was always a strange feeling, probably because it wasn't something Alice did every day. When the team turned up in the underground, the air was considerably cooler. It wasn't a lot, but it was a nice reprieve from the oppressive heat up on the surface.
A Miasma Hulk spun around and growled at the intruders. It was the last thing it did before getting stabbed in the chest by a black tentacle and then being shocked into a puddle of Fusion Matter.
"Well that one didn't have a bone," Suzy commented, resting the back of her hand on her hip. "How many are down here, Alice?"
"Ten," Alice answered. "Eleven if we're counting the Fusion."
"Do they lead to the Fusion?" Junior questioned.
"Yes," Alice replied.
"Good, then this will be a two-for-one deal," Suzy said. "Let's light 'em up."
Suzy stepped off the pad and led the way down the rocky underground labyrinth. Since the path went a single way, Suzy was able to guide the team easily. Alice warned her friends of when they were coming up on a Miasma Hulk so that they always had the element of surprise. Four Miasma Hulks went down and not a single one had Courage's lost bone. When the path channeled into the large opening, they encountered two Miasma Hulks walking around in a circle. The two attempted to attack the team, but went down by Alice squashing them with her force field. When the puddle was sucked up into the NanoComs, there was a bone left behind on the ground. Alice bent over to scoop up the bone, but paused inches from the material. Her eyes widened as she looked at it.
"What's the matter?" Junior asked in confusion.
Alice encased the bone in a small force field sphere and raised it upward, allowing her friends the ability to see the problem. Ninety percent of the bone was covered in Fusion Matter goo, tainting the white bone green. Junior released a puff of air as he crossed his arms.
"So it's contaminated now? Great. That's a waste of our time," he complained.
"Junior's right about this one," Suzy agreed. "Though not the waste of time part. But it is contaminated. We're going to have to destroy it. There may be a lava pit somewhere in here that we can throw it into."
Alice frowned at the suggestion, giving the bone a concentrated look. Junior and Suzy were right that it was contaminated. There was more green than white, and giving it to Courage would just impair his health. She couldn't do that to the dog, but the thought of destroying it illed her. Courage was so looking forward to this bone; it didn't matter if he had others, this one was his. She couldn't just destroy it and tell him it had to be destroyed. There had to be a way to make it right. She dropped the force field around the bone and then tapped her NanoCom, letting the device suck the bone into her inventory. Her friends looked surprised by the action.
"What are you doing?" Junior asked.
"I won't destroy it," Alice answered.
"It's infected," Junior pointed out, burrowing his brows together in confusion because he knew she had seen that.
"Mandark's company has been working with Imaginary Energy, and he's found that it has some effect on Fusion Matter," Alice replied. "It may be able to decontaminate the bone."
Junior and Suzy shared a look, both of them still surprised by Alice going through with keeping the infected bone. The moment passed and Suzy nodded at Alice.
"Mandark has been making strides with his Imaginary Energy work," Suzy conceded. "It may be the cure."
Alice smiled in slight relief and nodded. Even if her friends didn't agree with her decision, she still would have found a way to reverse the effects, but it was nice to have her friends backing her up. She couldn't let Courage down after he was relying on her to retrieve his stolen bone.
"So now that we have the bone, can we go after the Fusion?" Junior asked. "It's what we came here to do."
"You got it," Suzy said. "Alice, mind levitating us over to the Fusion?"
Alice nodded and placed her friends in a protective sphere. She lifted them and herself above the rocky terrain, bypassing the remaining Miasma Hulks patrolling the lair. She flew in the direction she sensed the Fusion, heading towards the back of the lair. The back of the lair was the typical stomping ground for Fusions, and this one was no different. They came upon the hills that overlooked the Fusion's space. Alice stopped over the hilltop and placed her friends on it next to her, dropping the shield so they could move around. Instead of immediately going down and striking the Fusion, the three of them assessed the situation from above.
"Whoa," Junior said in surprise. "They made a Fusion copy of her?"
"You know her?" Suzy asked.
"Yeah. I mean, not the Fusion itself. But it's a copy of Ray Ray's sister, Juniper," Junior explained. "She's kind of a big deal in the magical community."
"I thought you were part of the demonic community," Suzy pointed out.
Junior shrugged. "They run around in the same circles."
"What's it doing?" Alice asked, drawing their attention onto the Fusion's actions.
Fusion Juniper was standing over a simple chest, closing it and slapping a lock on it. Alice hadn't been able to see what the Fusion had put in it, but Alice figured it had to be important if a Fusion was going to the trouble of locking it up. Suzy's burrowed eyebrows indicated she was thinking along the same wavelength.
"How strong is Juniper?" Suzy asked their male friend.
"Pretty strong," Junior replied. "I don't know how much of that was copied onto the Fusion."
"Okay, so it'll probably keep us on our toes," Suzy hypothesized out loud. "Alice, I want you to snag whatever's inside that chest. I don't want that Fusion able to use it in the fight."
"I got it," Alice agreed.
"Let's go kick some Fusion butt," Suzy said, elbowing Junior in his side.
Before Junior could retaliate, Suzy hopped over the edge and slide down the side of the hill, dispelling any attempt for a surprise attack since Fusion Juniper swung its head in Suzy's direction. With the Fusion's focus on Suzy - and Junior, once he decided to jump over the side of the hill and flung his black tentacles at the Fusion - Alice flew down to the chest the Fusion had just been at. Swiftly, she raised her palm and fired off the lock with a quick energy blast. The noise went unheard by the Fusion, so Alice continued with her break-in.
Alice lifted up the chest lid and looked inside, surprised to find it empty except for two objects that looked like primitive totems. The objects were made of stone and were the same in height, just tall enough to not touch the sides of the walls. The only difference between the two objects was the different writing on each of them, written in a language that was alien to her. She reached in and grabbed the two objects, feeling a hum of power emanating from them. Alice quickly stowed them away in her NanoCom on the chance Fusion Juniper Lee would notice it was being taken.
She stood back up from her crouched position and spun around to see how the fight with the Fusion was going. It was still standing, but it looked like it was being worn down by Suzy and Junior's efforts. Deciding to stay close to the chest, Alice raised her palm and fired off a beam of energy at the Fusion, striking it in the back. The Fusion cried out at the hit, stumbling forward with the momentum. The Fusion spun around on its heel to snarl at Alice, and was rewarded with a whack to the face by Suzy's Camp Oar. The Fusion was stunned by the hit, giving Suzy more opportunity to strike at it with her melee weapon. After five more unguarded hits, Fusion Juniper released one last howl as it succumbed to its injuries and dissolved into a puddle of Fusion Matter. A lock of pink hair was left behind when the puddle was vacuumed. Suzy swiped the lock and held it up.
"Sweet, a chance for a new Nano," she cheered. "Any takers?"
"You got first and last hit. It's yours," Junior conceded.
Suzy looked over at Alice for her take when the girl joined the team, but Alice shook her head. She already had three Nanos; her friends only had two. Seeing that the Juniper Nano was to be hers, Suzy grinned and put the lock of hair in her NanoCom.
"So, what treasure was in the chest?" Suzy asked her blue-haired friend. "Stolen gold coins?"
"I don't know what they are, but they were written in an alien language," Alice answered.
"Fusion language?" Junior asked.
"I don't think so. The language was different between them," Alice replied.
"Well they're alien," Suzy pointed out. "Let's head back to Tetrax and see what the big guy knows."
"This is the Totem of Vladats and the Totem of Thep Khufan," Tetrax explained as he held the objects in his palms; one in each hand.
"Is that bad or something?" Junior questioned.
"In Fuse's hands, absolutely," he said. "These totems make the fifth found since Juniper found the Totems of Ectonurite, Loboan, and Transylians."
"Does something happen if they're all together?" Alice asked.
"I am unsure of that. I only know that the totems have immense power," Tetrax stated. "Juniper is currently holding onto the other three totems, but I will ask her to send them to Max Tennyson. I will be sending these two as well to further learn what he knows about these totems."
"If Fuse intended to use these totems against us, then it is possible we can do the same in turn," Jack mused. "You did a fine job thwarting the Fusion from having the chance to do so."
The smirk on Junior's face was dripping with smugness, but was wise to keep his thoughts to himself. Telling Jack "I-told-you-so" would be a sure-fire way to keep the team in the Forsaken Valley area.
"So for now we're just waiting for information on what these totems can do?" Suzy asked.
"That is correct. I will keep you updated on the matter," Tetrax answered.
"And what about the Fusion Kevins?" Suzy continued.
"The trail is cold for now," Octus answered. "I am running continuous scans for its location. When it has been discovered, we will plan a strike against it accordingly."
"You don't have any clue of where it's at?" Junior asked, fishing for more information.
"At this moment in time, no. All that is known is that it is somewhere past the Firepits," Octus answered. "I will be keeping a very close eye on the matter."
The team looked at each other and shrugged. It was the best that could be done at the moment, especially if the factory was hidden underground. It wasn't like Fuse was flashing big neon signs directing anyone to it. For now, they'd just have to put the matter to the side and focus on other things.
"Well, if that's all, I've got a new Nano to make," Suzy announced to her team. "Meet you in the mess hall for lunch."
Junior and Alice agreed, although Alice didn't immediately head into the interior of the air carrier with Junior. She broke away and went off to speak with first Mandroid she could find on the air carrier.
"What do you want, human?" the Mandroid, designated M-49, questioned.
Alice didn't bother correcting the Mandroid; she didn't think the robot would even care. Instead, she jumped into her question.
"Mandark has been studying the effects of imaginary energy on Fusion Matter, correct?"
"That is correct."
"Can imaginary energy reverse Fusion Matter infection?"
"That is correct."
"Has Mandark been able to find a way to use imaginary energy against Fusion Matter infection?"
"That is correct."
Alice smiled at the answers. "Thank you. I only have one last question..."
Courage sat in the attic at the family's old computer, tapping away at the keyboard with his paws. Unbeknownst to the owners of the house, the computer was actually sentient; Courage was the only one who knew full well that their electronic device had a mind of its own and regularly interacted with it. No matter how much familiarity the two had with each other, Computer still went out of its way to mock him. Didn't matter that Courage was a trusted ally for one of the guides, or that he'd been instrumental in stopping a planetoid from crashing into the Earth's surface, or that he'd helped thwart a war in the Catacombs between the Chickens from Outer Space and the Mutant Eggplants. As far as Computer was concerned, he was just a twit.
"Hey, Courage~" Alan called, popping his head inside with a big ol' grin on his face.
Courage looked up at the call, tilting his head to one side in an inquisitive manner. It wasn't uncommon for Alan to come check in on him, though never with such a look on his face. It was like Alan was holding himself together before he could burst like a pinata.
"You got a special delivery," Alan continued, lifting up a hand he had been hiding behind his back, "from Alice."
Courage's eyes widened in a comical manner at the sight of the white bone. Computer typed out something insulting about Courage succumbing to his basic state, but the dog wasn't listening. In a fluid motion he was off the chair and running for the bone. He hopped up on his hind legs, arms waving back and forth in an effort to retrieve his precious bone. Alan gave a brief laugh at the dog's excitement and then handed the bone back to its rightful owner. Courage released a gleeful cry at being reunited with his beloved bone and nuzzled against it, rubbing his cheek up and down it.
Alan watched with a pleasant smile as Courage happily gnawed on the bone. He raised his communicator and snapped a picture, firing it off to Alice. Courage would send her an email later, maybe even find a way to call her using the house phone, but Alan wanted her to have the photographic evidence of how happy Courage was to be reunited with his bone thanks to her. Alan'd be lying if he said he didn't feel some guilt for letting the bone be taken in the first place. He had done all he could to stop the thief, but in the end the monster had gotten away. Courage had been depressed by the theft, but he had forced himself to work. It had been a rather pitiful sight, so seeing how happy Courage was to have it back lifted Alan's spirits.
Retrieving a stolen bone wasn't the most glamourous job out there; even Alan could admit that if he had been given such a request, he may have turned it down. Compared to finding missing heroes or uncovering mystical candy, it wasn't important. But it was important to Courage. It made Courage's day to have his favorite item returned to him, safe and sound. Maybe it did nothing to turn the tide in Earth's favor, but it wasn't a waste of time. Not when it brought so much joy to someone.
By now you shouldn't be surprised I messed around with the mission details for the Nano Mission. I wasn't sending the team back to Monkey Mountain to deal with a Fusion, so Fusion Juniper Lee was set to wander the Swamps/Pits. Also, I didn't want to rely on the totems she had since I already mentioned she was rounding up the three alien totems back in Chapter Twenty, so I decided to add two more. Since the Ecotnurites, Loboans, and Transylians (referred to in game as Viktor) all had rep, it makes sense to add in the Vladats and Thep Khufans. Now the Anur System is represented, and it's a nod to the big members of Universal's Classic Monsters: Dracula (Vladats), Frankenstein (Transylians), The Mummy (Thep Khufans), The Wolf Man (Loboan), and the Phantom (Ectonurites - yes I'm counting it, even if the Phantom is a human and not a ghost, he played off that he was and most mediums like Ghoul School and Monster High treat him as such). Also, this is a nod to the girls from Miss Grimwood's school in Ghoul School.
Jack not letting the team go deep into the Darklands until they proved they were ready is a nod to Jack saying the player wasn't ready to confront Demongo in the guide mission "Horrordactyl Hunt." The Team tackles one of Ben's guide missions "Sinister Plans." In doing research for the various guides and their stories, I realized that Ben's goal changes four times, having four different arcs. Here is the start of the Fusion Kevin Army arc, which the team has a hand in thwarting since Ben is their guide giver. Courage also sends them out to retrieve his bone from "Monster Mash." Despite being a guide mission to help "train" the player before they continue for Fuse's lair, here it's more or less a side mission.
Wheeler and Linka are the newest additions to inhabit the Darklands. Wheeler's fire ability makes the Swamps/Pits the best choice for him, and Linka's along to make sure he does nothing stupid. Them retrieving Peggy Danger's Bonkstick is from the Dexter guide mission "Friend in Need."
The mention to what Kevin did to Foster's Home is from the mission line "Kevin Help Us." I'm 100% headcanoning that while he had been under Fuse's control, that's what gave the warlord the bright idea to create a whole army based on his mutant copy because he probably saw the devastation and power of Kevin 11 when viewing Kevin's memories.
Mountain Zombies of Scab Lagoon was the movie shown in Camp Lazlo's "Movie Night." Was going to use another horror film (which there is a lot of them across the CN Universe), but since Nano Raj was out, I figured referencing the movie his counterpart saw - as a Nano, he has his memories.
Courage's assistance in the war is a reference to the "Tracking a Fusion" and "Avoid the Planetoid" storylines from the Planetoid arc and the "Mutant Eggplants Attack" and "Chickens from Outer Space" storylines. The Catacombs are in Courage's backyard, so I figured he could have a hand in thwarting the war between them.
This is a Planeteer Alert to remind you to do your part in keeping the Earth clean. Recycle your cans and plastics, pick up trash when you see it, and don't litter. The power is yours!