Pre-chapter Conversation
The earth, peaceful and blue, rotated ever so serenely in the inky black darkness of space. Its only company was the moon and stars that floated around it, making things seem less lonely for the planet many called home. In fact, the whole solar system can be compared to a giant school dance. The stars were the numerous extras in a cheesy teen romance movie while the earth and moon were the main attraction, two star crossed lovers that met halfway across the cosmic dance floor. They all danced around the disco ball known as the sun.
…Weird, isn't it?
Anyway, the blue planet and natural satellite were about to get some rude party crashers.
About a thousand miles away from Earth, a large explosion rocked the nearby stars as a giant wormhole appeared. The inside of the massive portal was flashing in multiple colors and hues. Lightning was crackling all around the opening. Soon, dozens and dozens of vessels could be seen exiting the wormhole. They ranged in size from small, fighter plane-like cruisers to titanic carrier ships. The flagship was about three times as huge as the biggest carrier. The giant metal birds were a dull, industrious brown with green thrown in some places. The gun turrets on the carriers and flagship made them all look intimidating and quite formidable.
Inside the flagship's bridge, a huge hulking figure watched over its fleet. Most of the alien's features were hidden by the metallic suit it was wearing. At first glance, one could mistake it for a robot with a squid for a head. Its sickly green head was bald and covered in black spots of various sizes. There were also tentacles where its mouth should be, hence the previous sea animal based metaphor. It must've been a good ten or so feet tall, about twice as tall as an average human. Its metal hands had three fat, slab-like fingers. If it wasn't for the fact that you could see its neck go into the suit, it'd appear that the head was the whole being. Its red eyes glared at the planet that was pictured on the ship's view screen.
A clanging was heard as another alien approached the leader. It looked just like the previously mentioned alien except its head was a lighter green.
"War master," He began, pounding his chest as a form of salute. "We are within range of the earth's atmosphere."
The leader's eyes flickered towards the subordinate in annoyance. The slightly shorter alien stepped back in fear of the other.
"I can see that, you twit." The war master said in a throaty male voice. He stood from his seat, which was fashioned like a throne, and held his right hand to the planet displayed in front of him. He then made a fist with his fat fingers. "That Zallamee is a fool and a waste of life. He just had to drag all of us into this because he couldn't leave two pathetic earthers alone. If he wasn't my commanding officer, I'd crush him with my own two fists."
The subordinate remained silent. As a Glorft, he knew all too well what happens to those that back sass their superiors.
"Lieutenant, prepare our ground forces for invasion." The war master said, turning to the other Glorft, who stood at attention. He then delivered what appeared to be a smirk. "I will personally oversee the attack. I want to see the desperate look on Zallamee's face when we rescue him. If we do not return in three of their earth hours, use the…"
The camera zoomed up to his face as dramatic music played in the background.
"Main cannon."
The numerous aliens working on the bridge gasped in response to that order. They all looked at the war master like he was crazy. The lieutenant gulped and attempted to speak.
"S-s-sir… If we fire the main cannon, it'll destroy the planet…"
The war master glared at him.
"I am well aware of the main cannon's capabilities, Lieutenant! I designed it myself, after all. I doubt it will take long to deal with those earthers, thanks to Zallamee's report. We have what we need to defeat them. And if it takes longer than three earth hours to complete the mission, I don't deserve to be the war master of this fleet. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes sir!" The Lieutenant saluted before leaving to carry out his orders. The leader turned back to the view screen with a malicious chortle.
"They won't know what hit them."
Outside, two carriers and several cruisers broke off from the armada and took off towards the planet.
Meanwhile, on good ol' planet Earth…
It was a peaceful day in Ocean Shores and the adjacent Rocket Power fan village. Seagulls and various species of birds flew in the calm yellow sky. All the citizens went about their business without a care in the world. The many stores and services were bustling with their usual customers. Authors, some with their fan character(s), others without, were going into one of the many movie theaters to catch showings of the newest fics as well as updates to their favorites. Other, much younger, authors were just walking out of fic writing school, happy to be freed for the day. Judging by the huge grins on their faces, they couldn't wait to get home to play with the characters they created.
The peace wouldn't last long.
A huge, dark shadow loomed over the village, almost completely covering the sun. All activity grinded to a halt as the citizens looked up at the source of the shade. Most if not all of the people gasped in horror, shock, and confusion at the sight of the overwhelming danger flying overhead.
Elsewhere, a certain quartet was walking inside the No Worries studios. They were just minding their business and having fun. Yep, two hedgehogs and their baby penguins, the latter two of which were playing a little game. Not a single care in the world.
…What? What other quartet would I be talking about?
"Hmph! How long do you think it'll be before the boss updates again?" Izzy asked, strolling with his arms behind his head.
"Hmmm…" Iggy held his chin as he looked up at the clear sky. "I'd say it'll be four months, two weeks, and three days after the last update before Daddy updates."
The older brother gave his sibling a strange look.
"That…was oddly specific of you…and kinda redundant…"
The younger furry turned to him with a wide grin on his face.
"Why thank you!"
Izzy sweatdropped and cringed at the bright and cheery look on his brother's face.
"Yah…"
"Cheep, cheep!" Chirped one of the penguin brothers. It sounded more like a giggle than an actual sentence, given the fact that clapping was heard as well.
"Hm?" Both boys turned and found a rather humorous sight.
Tux was walking around with his arms behind his head. An uncharacteristic scowl was on his face as he chirped in a deep sounding, cynical tone. Judging by his chirps, he was asking a question. To which he replied in a cheerful, slightly more hyper than usual tone. He then put on an exaggerated look of confusion before chirping deeply again. Edo was literally rolling on the floor laughing as his brother faced him with a huge, bright grin and shouted.
"…" Izzy gave his oldest a quizzical look. "What on earth…?"
"Awwww!.!.! Isn't that cute!.?.!" Iggy squealed, holding his hands together. "Lil Tuxie's imitating us!.!.!"
"Hmph! So I've noticed." The taller hedgehog crossed his arms with an unimpressed look.
"Cheep! Che chi cheep." The penguin squawked, imitating his "mother's" movements. Edo clapped at the scene.
Izzy noticed this and smirked at his son. "Heh, not bad. Think you can do this?"
The furry did a handstand, which Tux mimicked almost perfectly. Izzy then stood up and hopped like a bunny around Edo and Iggy. Tux tilted his head in confusion before chirping and hopping along behind his "mom." The hedgehog picked up the pace but the little bird was able to catch up easily. Soon, they were going so fast that Iggy and Edo's eyes couldn't keep up with their brothers. They became one big purple and black blur, causing their younger siblings to fall over in dizziness. Iggy and Edo managed to get back on their feet a few moments later just in time to see Izzy and Tux doing jump kicks in the air!
'Wow! Tuxie ain't half bad!' The elder hedgehog thought as he flipped and prepared for another jump. Tux was proving to be one agile penguin. He was actually able to stay in the air for a full five seconds before coming back to earth. 'I wonder how far he can go.'
"Hey, those karate lessons you and Tux took really paid off, huh?" Iggy said to Edo.
"Cheep, cheep!" Edo agreed with a nod. The young hedgehog smiled as he turned back to the "battle."
"Heh, I better make sure to thank Rod next time I see 'im! This is so fun!.!.!"
And so the game continued for another five or so minutes. Izzy made Tux do all sorts of silly things in an attempt to mess him up. Making funny faces while belly sliding, performing scenes from a couple of Shakespeare plays while occasionally sticking their tongues out at the audience, and of course, juggling fish while singing Mary had a Little Lamb. Needless to say, that last one was the penguin's toughest challenge yet. The sight of all that fish flying before his eyes and in and out of his flippers was enough to drive any penguin insane! He was practically drooling as he sang! When they finished juggling, both players were out of breath. They both sat down on the concrete with their backs to each other. While Izzy was panting, Tux was chowing down on some of the fish from the last challenge. Satisfied that the impromptu "fight" was over, Iggy and Edo made their way to the tired duo.
"That was pretty fun, Tuxie…" Izzy breathed to his companion. "We gotta do it again sometime, ok?"
"Mmmph! Cheeph!.!" Tux replied, turning to his "mom" with a full mouth. The hedgehog chuckled and put an arm around the bird who went back to eating.
"Wow! That was some match you guys!" Iggy commented. "Next time all four of us gotta play! Right Eddy?"
"…" Edo didn't say anything. He was too busy enjoying what was left of the fish. The two purple brothers simply laughed at this display of cuteness.
"Ugh…" Izzy grunted as he stood up and stretched. He then picked up the babies, who amazingly disposed of the fish in record time, and faced Iggy. "C'mon, it's burning out here, let's get—"
°BOOM!.!.!°
Everybody jumped and turned towards the fan village. Multiple explosions were going off all over the place! Great billows of smoke rose into the air as hundreds of screams were heard. The quartet put on looks of fear and confusion. Tux and Edo trembled and sunk as far into Izzy as possible. The furry looked down at the penguins before facing the carnage.
"What in the world is going on!.?" He shouted over the noise.
"I dunno! But we better get outta here and find Daddy!" Iggy replied.
"Oh please!.!" Izzy snapped. "What can he do that we can't!.? And by 'we,' I mean me!.!"
"…Whatever." The younger sibling rolled his eyes. "All I'm saying is if anybody knows what happened, it's Daddy. Who knows what caused those explosions!.?"
"…" The elder one looked away and made a disgruntled noise. "Good point… What did cause those explosions? Think we should go check it out?"
"WHAT!.?.! Are you nuts!.?" Iggy paled at the very suggestion. "We can't go over there! What if something really creepy and dangerous is over there!.?.!"
"Hmph! What a baby."
"Hey!"
"Well it's the truth." Izzy smirked. Iggy growled at that one.
"Look, would you really wanna put Tux and Edo in danger!.?"
All the color drained from Izzy's face as he looked down. The terrified chicks were staring right back at him with looks that bordered on appalled and disbelief. He sweatdropped and chuckled nervously as he turned back to Iggy, who was smirking at him while crossing his arms. He sighed disdainfully.
"Alright, alright. We'll hide out in the studio til the heat blows off."
"That's better." Iggy said with satisfaction.
The hedgehog brothers started walking towards the commissary when…
"Hold it right there, earthers!.!.!" A deep voice roared. Izzy and Iggy paled as a sinister shadow loomed over them. They turned and felt their eyes go wide. Tux and Edo trembled even more if that was possible.
"…Aw crap…" The "mother" groaned.
Meanwhile…
(Crowd of readers: Get to the freakin' chapter already!.!.!
Me: Don't worry, it's coming! Just give me a few more minutes!.!.!
Crowd: Hurry it up!.!.!)
Inside the Rocket Power temple, I was standing in the middle of the great hall, looking in amazement at the thrones located underneath the statues of Otto, Twister, Sam, and Reggie. A piece of paper was in my left hand. I read over the words again just to make sure I wasn't dreaming and grinned. I took a couple of steps towards the thrones.
"Woah… It's beautiful… And oh so shiny…" I said, trying to control my drooling.
Among the original three thrones for most words, most chapters, and most reviews in a fic was an entirely new one. This fourth throne was made out of platinum and was positioned about half a foot between the silver and gold chairs. It, like the other three thrones, shone in the sunlight coming in from the windows, making the cavernous hall glow with a gray, silverish light. A toothy grin appeared on my face as I ran towards the throne.
"The throne for the longest-lasting, never-interrupted, and most action-filled story, and it's mine, all mine!.!.!" I excitedly shouted. A few seconds later, I blinked, skidded to a stop and turned to the camera. "Of course, I mean it's mine for the moment, not for good. Heh, heh, heh…" I rubbed the back of my head and closed the distance between me and the thrones.
"It's so awesome… I can't believe they actually did something like this…" I continued my fawning as I began to ascend the stairs. "Now let's see what this bad boy can—"
°KA-BOOOOOOOOM!.!.!°
As soon as that sound was heard echoing around the temple, the whole chamber began shaking! I clenched my teeth and struggled to keep my balance. My arms flailed around as I fought my hardest to remain standing. Augh! I was quickly losing my footing!
"Woa...WOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAHHHHHH!.!.!"
I finally lost it… I feel backwards… My body bounced on every step on the way down. The pain was so horrible that it felt like an eternity before I finally landed face down on the polished marble floor.
"Ouch…" I moaned as the rumbling ceased. I slowly stumbled back on my feet and looked around in confusion.
"W-w-was that an explosion?.?.?"
My question was answered as another blast was heard. This one was much closer than the last one. The intense rumbling of the temple told me that another one might cause some serious damage to the interior. I clenched my teeth and made a run for the door. I didn't want to risk getting trapped in there or worse… But still, what on earth caused those explosions!.?
"Whew! Made it…" I said as I reached the door. "I better find Izzy, Iggy, and the babies. I just hope they're alright…"
I grabbed one of the handles with both hands and pulled the massive door open.
I quickly wished I didn't.
I gasped in horror when saw the village in ruin. Several buildings were on fire and people were running for their lives. The sky above was bathed in a fierce orange. Strange considering sunset wasn't for another few hours… Confusion and fear came over me as I saw the cause of all the explosions. The alien spaceships were truthfully quite the sight to behold…if they weren't blowing up the place that is… I sighed with relief after I took everything in.
"Heh, at least now I know Izzy's not the one behind this little bit of chaos… But what's with all the aliens? I thought the Rocket Power dimension was one of complete and absolute reality. Things like an invasion from space shouldn't be happening…"
I held my chin at this question and tried to think up a logical answer. But nothing was coming up. Eventually, I simply shrugged and started towards the edge of the mountain, where the path to go down was. I was almost at the beginning of the path when I heard something approach me from behind. By the sound of it, there were two things. Both of them were heavy, way too heavy to be humans. I also heard clanging, as if they were robots or something similar. I stood still and grabbed my mallet as the clanging grew louder. Sweat dribbled down the side of my face as I allowed whatever was causing that clanging to catch up to me. I gulped and began to tremble a bit as I wondered what was coming towards me.
Soon, the clanging stopped and heavy breathing was heard mere inches away from me. Finally having enough of this tense moment, I turned and faced my pursuers.
That was the second thing I regretted doing that day.
Standing before me were what appeared to be two members of the Glorft species. I dropped my guard for nearly a second before I again picked up my hammer in a defensive stance. Unlike the Glorft I knew to be my unwilling servants, these Glorft were wearing a greenish, almost camouflage-like armor. Zallamee's troops wore red armor. I studied their angry expressions for a moment before I snickered.
"So, the rest of the Glorft finally arrived to pick up their comrades?"
The aliens blinked and turned to each other. The one on the left faced me.
"How'd you—?"
"Pffft!" I scoffed. "It's all Zallamee's been going on about for the last couple of months. I finally got tired of shocking him, so I let him and his goons yak on and on. Ya wouldn't believe how long it takes that windbag to shaddap!"
The two Glorft growled at me for that one. I blinked, realized what I said, and slapped my head.
"Ugh… That's the third thing I'm regretting today… I'm really on a roll…"
The aliens had enough and pulled out a couple of staffs. This wouldn't have been too threatening had the ends not sparked to life and crackled with a lethal blue energy. I got back into my defensive pose and pulled out a battle chip from the pouch hanging from my waist.
"Don't try to fight us, earther!" The one on the left shouted.
"Yeah! Resistance is futile!" The right one added. I merely rolled my eyes at that one.
"Boy, where have I heard that one before?" I then glared at them as I prepared to insert the chip. "You bums don't scare me one bit! Spreader battle chip in! Download!"
As soon as the chip entered my mallet, it glowed a bright white before turning into a gun of sorts. There were multiple holes in the front while the rest of it looked more like a super soaker than an actual gun. I smirked evilly as I prepared to fire. Strangely, the two aliens made no effort to defend themselves. I paid no mind as I let loose my attack! A short burst of light came from the gun then quickly disappeared. Seconds later, an explosion was seen hitting the Glorft on the left. Other, smaller, explosions went off all around him, engulfing his partner as well! They were heard screaming and moaning in pain. I grinned in triumph, having bested the extraterrestrials.
That is, until I heard their laughter filling the air.
"What the…?.?.?" I blanched in fright.
The smoke from my attack faded, revealing the aliens standing there without so much as a scratch on them!.! They were surrounded by a yellowish barrier. The energy flowed around them for a few brief moments before fading. I glowered at them while trying to keep my cool, but it was getting exceedingly difficult.
"How can this be? I didn't know the Glorft were so cheap as to resort to shields."
"Hmph! What do you know of our proud race, earther?" The alien on the right grunted.
"Heh, I know they're all brutes." I smirked at their reactions. "Though I had no clue they were smart enough to make some pitiful shield."
"Pitiful?.? You're one to talk!" The left alien retorted. "These shields are strong enough to block any and all of your pathetic attacks."
I paled at that comment, but I made no effort to run. I had to learn more about their barriers.
"Hmph! You may have stopped some weak attack from getting through, but how do you intend to block my more powerful moves?" I challenged.
"Our barriers can block seismic energy, which is what your so-called weapons run on!" The right alien gloated. "Anything you try will be negated before it can so much as harm us."
"Seismic energy?" I blinked and looked at my hammer. "Ugh, of course! It's so obvious!"
I reached down and grabbed a couple of chips with my free hand to make my escape. I just had to learn one more thing though.
"So I suppose you'll be taking me away then?"
"You suppose correctly, earther." The left Glorft said smugly. "I don't know why the war master won't let us destroy you right now, but we'll have our chance soon enough after we take you to your studio."
"The studio?"
"Ugh! You ask too many questions!.!.!" The right one groaned, grabbing his head.
I smirked as I prepared myself. "Let's just say we're an inquisitive species."
"In any case, that's where your friends are being held captive. Now let's go!" The left one ordered as he and his companion advanced with their staffs.
"Thanks." I said, raising the chips above my head. "Now I know where I need to go, suckers!"
"Why you—!.!.!"
The Glorft made to knock me out, but I jumped away, nearly avoiding them. I may not be as agile as Izzy and Iggy currently are, but I made up for it in brainpower. The right alien moved in for another strike when I jumped right at him, holding my hammer above me with both hands. When I was close enough, I swung my hammer down. As expected, his shield activated, causing me to bounce right off of him. I was sent flying back towards the temple entrance. I made to land, but since I didn't have the same physical makeup as the two hedgehogs, well…
°CRASH!.!.!°
"Owwww… That wasn't one of my best landings… Ugh…" I groaned, trying to get up.
"You won't escape earther!"
"Wa-oh!" I gulped as I grabbed the two chips I pulled out earlier. The Glorft were practically on top of me as I made to get outta there. "Mini-Boomer and Drill Arm battle chips in! Double download!"
The end of the mallet opened, dropping what looked like a blue ball with green stripes on it into my hand. As my weapon began to change shape, I held the bomb above my head and tossed it at the aliens. It exploded, blinding them and giving me enough time to get away. My mallet had turned into a large drill with bike-like handlebars, so I hung on tight and drilled right into the side of the mountain, disappearing from view.
As I finally left the area, the smoke cleared, allowing the aliens to see that I had fled the scene. The extremely loud roar of the drill could still be heard, though it was quickly getting faint. They took one look at the hole I had made and groaned.
"The war master is going to have our hides for this…" The first alien spoke.
"Curse that earther!" The second one cursed. "We better go report this…"
Elsewhere, deep underground…
"Pfffft!.!.! Ack! These rocks keep getting in my eyes!" I shouted over the noise of the drill. With my eyes still closed, I turned to the camera. "Well, as you know, aliens have invaded our fair planet, apparently as an act of revenge against Izzy, Iggy, and me!.!.! Ugh!" I spat out a bunch of pebbles. "While I try to figure out how to rescue my characters, let's move on to the chapter!
"For this update—pfft!.!—we're covering Team Lars as they explore the dangerous and ghost-filled realm known as Hang Castle! Where will this stage (and the next one) take place!.? Can they make up for their loss against Team Rocket and make it through the night alive!.?.! Read on to find out!.!.! Gaaaaaggg!.!.! That one got in my throat! Owwww!.!.!"
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Rocket Heroes
Chapter Thirteen
The Scariest Place on Earth
Part One-One
"...In other news today, after a tense couple of days of looking for any trace of the twelve heroes that are presumably fighting the nefarious Dr. Coconutman, we finally found some downed trees, upturned earth, burnt patches of forest, and startled animals down in the Florida Everglades. It is presumed that these are traces of more of the brave kids' journeying. This hypothesis was made by local officials when they found the swamp's main pathways littered with dozens upon dozens of robot parts.
"Among the debris, forest rangers found the swamp's main attraction, a giant alligator named Vicious Joe, trying to—erm…'gum down a dozen crawdads like it was going out of style…' as officials commented. Well, I guess they'll have to rename their main attraction Gummy Joe! Heh, heh, heh…"
The news reporter blinked at the camera for a few seconds before glaring at it.
"Hey! I didn't make this crap up! That's what it says on the paper!" She shouted before clearing her throat. "It's assumed that one of the four teams somehow ripped out the gator's teeth, but any and all investigations proved worthless, especially because the poor thing couldn't talk to the forest rangers that examined him. The world's best veterinarians are looking into making Gummy—err—Vicious Joe a set of dentures… Wha?.?.?" She read over the script again and looked off-screen.
"How the hell do you make dentures THAT big!.?.!" She looked at the camera again and put on a bashful look before clearing her throat. "In any case, we have our technicians looking into inventing a way to keep track of the teams. We'll keep you informed as more details come in."
The anchor shuffled through her papers, looking for the next story to cover. She was about to speak again when she was handed a piece of paper. She read over it for a few moments before her eyes widened and she gasped in horror.
"This just in! At the world famous Walt Disney World, ghosts have rampaged the theme park! The specters scared the millions of park visitors out with their horrible antics and utter disregard for the safety of their victims! And to make matters worse, they completely transformed Cinderella's castle—At least I think that's her castle…—into something out of a 1920's horror movie! Oh it's horrible! I was gonna take my kids down there this summer too! I already paid for the plane tickets and the deposit on our beach house! WAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!.!.!"
She sniffled and looked up at the camera, struggling to recompose herself.
"Anyway… This is Liz Cortez, reporting for CNN—"
°Click!°
"Hmph! Poor people… They ain't gonna get their money back…" A man grunted, turning away from the TV, which was just changed to a baseball game.
The camera panned around a dimly lit diner. The partially open blinds revealed that it was dusk outside. Low country music played from the jukebox in the corner. It was serene scene (Hey! I made a rhyme! And did some sweet alliteration! XD). …Well, it was serene if you didn't count the various sounds coming from the many truck drivers in the restaurant…and I don't mean just from eating either…
In one of the booths, Team Lars sat, licking their wounds and grumbling about their latest loss. Or at least Lars was. Despite being flattened by the robot of the group, he actually didn't have much damage. He just had a bandage wrapped around his forehead and a band-aid on his left cheek. Pi was merely trying to conserve his energy while his diagnostic systems repaired his body from the inside out.
Reggie wasn't even paying attention to the hateful scowling and muttering her leader was making or even the slightly annoying whirring sounds coming from her metallic teammate. She was too busy thinking about Sam, wondering where he was, what he was doing, and if he was taking care of himself and his team. Although she highly doubted it due to the fact that he was traveling with her brother and Twister, two animals that didn't care one bit about safety, theirs or anybody around them. She sighed wistfully. She desperately wanted to spend more time with the kitsune of her dreams. Especially after what happened in the Everglades…
"Hey! Have you been listening to me!.?" The hedgehog she had the misfortune of adventuring with broke into her thoughts.
"Wha?.?.?" The bat said, startled by the sudden intrusion. Lars made a grunt of disgust before chomping into his hamburger. He washed it down with a sip of soda before glowering at her.
"I said we gotta get back at those Rocket dorks for doing what they did to us!" He shouted, banging the table. He nearly spilled his and Reggie's drinks on their respective meals. "I can't believe they just beat me and Pi like nothing! They didn't even move! I was so close to getting their emeralds!" He glared at Reggie, who was eating her seafood salad without even batting an eye of concern for her leader's ranting.
"And where were you while all this was happening!.?.!" He demanded. "You completely disappeared after we all separated! And then after an hour of looking, you so conveniently show up, telling us ya found the way out of the woods!.!.! Without even telling us what you were doing the whole time!"
Reggie slurped her drink and wiped her mouth with a napkin before finally giving an extremely red and angry Lars the attention he wanted. She smirked at him mischievously.
"Well, like you said, I was looking for the way out. That's all. I already took care of Sam and I figured you had those other twerps dealt with too." She lied with a shrug. She then winked. "Don't tell me you honestly lost against those two. I thought you and Pi were better than that."
She resisted the strong urge to grin as Lars flat out lost it.
"You're lucky I still need you on this team!.!.!" He roared, standing straight up. "Otherwise, I woulda kicked ya to the curb long—"
He was interrupted by a sudden glow emanating from his Chaos Emeralds. He pulled them out and studied them. An evil smirk appeared on his face when he realized what it meant.
"Alright! Another emerald is nearby!" He told his teammates as he leapt out of the booth. "Let's go!"
"Affirmative." Pi complied, following the hedgehog.
"Ugh… I can't believe we're going to go emerald hunting after not only a fight, but after we just ate…" The bat groaned, getting to her feet.
"Hmph!" Lars grunted, crossing his arms. "One little screw up ain't gonna stop me from getting all the emeralds. Now let's move!"
"Not so fast!" A voice shouted, stopping them in their tracks. The trio turned to face the chef. He was a huge hog. His apron and uniform were covered in grease, mold, and other remnants of food. His chef's hat was slightly torn due to the size of his immense head. He fixed the crew with a sharp glare. "You're forgetting your bill. Ya better pay if ya don't wanna have trouble with ol' Betsy here."
With that, he pulled out a large cleaver! It was at least half as big as Pi! Reggie gulped and scrambled to pull out some money. Lars, meanwhile, smirked as he cracked his knuckles.
"Heh, heh… Well, I could use a little exercise…" He said, charging towards the chef.
"Why you—!" The pig roared, raising the oversized kitchen utensil. "Take this!"
It was over in less than a minute. The chef swung first, bringing his huge blade down. Using the lightning speed granted by his air skates, Lars dodged the attack easily. The cleaver crashed into the floor, sending shockwaves that brought everyone else to the ground. The hedgehog was the only exception. He managed to jump before he can be affected by the attack's side effect. Before the pig can get his weapon ready again, Lars spun into a ball and rammed into him! The chef was sent flying back into the kitchen with a crash! The leader unrolled and landed flat on his feet with a snicker.
"Hmph. And your burger was lousy too!" He shouted, leaving the restaurant. Glaring after him, Reggie got up and left, followed by Pi.
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Later, after speeding all over the Sunshine State, the trio was skating/hovering along a strangely empty highway. Not a single car, truck, or bus was to be seen. An eerie feeling was in the air as they traveled towards their next destination. This feeling was further increased by the chill that was extremely odd, not to mention impossible, for this area of the world and the fact that the moon was covered by dark clouds.
This didn't matter to the group though, for they had other things to worry about. The flying member of the trio seemed to be having another one of her usual fits. And as usual, Lars had to entertain her while Pi merely watched. Like always, if the bot was capable of emotion, he'd have a pained expression on his soulless face.
"I can't believe you did that!.!.!" The bat scolded. "We had plenty of cash on hand after that little trip in Las Vegas! Ya didn't have to beat up that guy!"
"Man, don't you ever shut up?" Lars muttered to himself. He then looked back at his current annoyance, who was now flying, having gotten tired of skating. "Give me a break! He was asking for it!"
"You're so childish!" Reggie shouted, crossing her arms and looking away as she flew. "You just wanted to fight him so you can feel better about getting whomped by Otto and Twist!"
"Listen you little pest!" The hedgehog countered, now skating backwards. "I've told you a million times ever since we started this thing! I can do whatever I want while we're out here! And no one, especially you, is gonna tell me different! Got it!.?"
The bat looked ahead and smirked.
"Oh really?"
"Yeah!" Lars bellowed.
Reggie's smirk turned sinister as she prepared to speak.
"So if told you to look out for the toll booth ahead, you wouldn't turn around and stop?"
"Hell no!.!.!" The hedgehog roared. "Lars Rodriguez doesn't follow directions from anyone!"
The other furry shrugged nonchalantly. "Ok, if you say so…" She said with a sigh as she stopped.
Lars scratched his head while fixing her with a quizzical look. "Huh?"
"Danger!" Pi alerted, trying to stop himself. Lars turned his body around and gasped when he saw himself heading towards a toll booth!.!.! It was far too late and he was going too fast to stop himself!.!.!
"AHHHHHHHHHHH—"
°WHAM!.!.!°
Reggie cringed as the hedgehog crashed face first into the booth. Lars removed his arm from the tiny building, grabbed his quills, and pulled his head, freeing himself from it.
"Ugh… Well, at least that was all that happened."
°CRASH!.!.!°
Pi collided with him seconds later. The only female of the group was beside herself with laughter as the robot stomped away from the toll booth, allowing Lars to float to the ground, flat like a piece of paper. Pi then picked him up and snapped him as if he was a towel in a locker room. With a pop, he reinflated and landed face first on the ground. After getting up and getting his bearings back, he faced the bat, who was still roaring with laughter. He was about to let her have it when there was glow coming from his nonexistent pockets. He pulled out his emeralds and yelped when he noticed that their light was even more intense than before.
"We're here!" He told his subordinates.
"But where's here?" Reggie asked, landing besides the hedgehog and robot.
The black clouds high above moved, revealing a strangely blood red moon. The odd natural satellite illuminated the area in front of them. They turned and saw quite a frightening sight. The whole place looked like a giant, haunted castle. The bricks were a dull gray. Turrets and towers were everywhere. The trio saw many loops, ramps, jumps, and other matters of insane tests of speed. The entire area was fenced off by a brick wall. The large, wooden gate in front of them bore the silhouette of a mouse with huge ears.
"…It looks like a PG-13 version of Disney World!" Reggie shouted.
"Or R even!" Lars supplied. The bat slapped him upside the head. "Hey!"
"Sensors indicate large amounts of paranormal energy inside the complex." Pi explained.
"Huh?.?.?"
°SLAP!.!.!°
"Ow! What'd I do!.?.!" Lars protested, rubbing his already sore head.
"He means ghosts, lame-o!.!.!" Reggie shouted, retreating her hand again.
"Ohhhh…" The hedgehog turned to Pi. "What about the emerald? Is it in there too?"
"Affirmative." He nodded."I also sense a huge energy signature equal to those emitted by the Chaos Emeralds."
"Well, it's time to get going." Lars said, clenching a fist. He started walking towards the spooky castle. Pi followed close behind.
"What!.?.! We're actually going in there!.?" Reggie demanded. The leader turned to her with a weirded out expression.
"Yeeeeeessssss… That's where the Chaos Emerald is. Didn't ya hear him!.?.!" He pointed at his metallic counterpart. The bat glowered at him.
"I know that! …But—"
"But what?"
"Doesn't it feel like we're betraying our network to go into the theme park of our rival channel?"
The hedgehog blinked at that.
"Yeah… You're right! …As weird as it is for me to say that…"
"Hey!"
"Anyway, we can't go in there! We're not traitors!" Lars crossed his arms.
"Yeah!" Reggie added, doing the same.
"Indeed." Pi agreed, crossing his arms as well.
(Me: What the!.?.! What're you guys doing!.? You're supposed to start the stage!)
"Duh! We're not going into Disney territory!" Reggie protested. "Don't ya know what'll happen if that mouse catches us in there!.?"
Lars gulped at the thought while Pi merely said, "Gulp."
"That type of thing may fly with the Rugrats crew, but not us! We're better than that!"
"Yeah!" Lars supplied.
"You go, girl." Pi added. The furries sweatdropped and looked at him strangely. "…What?"
"Ugh…" They slapped their heads.
(Me: o.O …Ok… Anyway, newsflash: Disney isn't your rival…or at least not so much nowadays, I think… Cartoon Network is.)
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhh…" The trio nodded in understanding.
(Me: -.- Yah… And another thing, you are aware that Nickelodeon practically doesn't give a damn about you guys anymore, right? As sad as it is for me to say that…)
The bat and hedgehog sighed while Pi said, "Sigh…"
"Yeah…"
"But they can always take us back, right?" Reggie asked.
(Me: °Shrugs° It's a slim chance, what with those other crappier Nicktoons around and all… But one can always hope, right?)
"Yeah!.!.!" The group cheered.
(Me: Now get in there and complete that stage!)
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!.!.!" They all shouted their battle cries as they charged towards the gate. The ghastly doorway opened wide, allowing the trio entrance. Once they passed it, it slammed shut, trapping them inside. A weird bit of cackling can be heard as the screen fades to black.
Stage Eleven: Hang Castle
Mission: Get to the center of the creepy castle!
The screen irised in on the team speeding down a spiral in the haunted park. When they reached the bottom, they were sent along a small straightaway before hitting a jump pad. The machine propelled the crew over a small gap to a platform containing the entrance to a building. After skating up a small incline, they skidded to a stop. Ahead were three coconut pawns. All three of them were carrying lances. They seemed to be guarding the entrance to the building.
"Ugh! More robots!" Lars grunted as the automatons charged towards them.
"Guess Merv's behind this place's transformation!" Reggie shouted, kicking one of the bots into the huge double doors ahead. It broke to pieces instantly. "Yah!" She jumped away from another one.
"How could the doctor have done this?" Pi questioned, pulling the robot away from the bat. He tore it in half as if it was a piece of paper.
"He must've made a deal with the ghosts around here somehow!" The hedgehog answered, grabbing the last coconut pawn and throwing it over the edge of the platform. The doors ahead swung open with a creak. He dusted his hands off as he rejoined the others. Reggie looked around the area.
"Man, this place gives me the creeps…" She commented.
Spires with strange ghostly faces on the roofs surrounded them. The sky was pitch black unlike before entering the castle. Then, it was just a dark bluish gray due to it only being a few moments after sunset. The only bit of color was the strange red clouds in the horizon. Scarlet flags flew in the eerie sky. On them was a single eye surround by an odd yellow pattern. The bat turned to the building to find two columns on either side of the double doors. Torches were burning atop them. Skulls were sculpted into them, only adding more to this scary situation. She shivered before facing her teammates.
"Anomaly detected in surrounding gravity field." Pi told the two animals. "Area unstable."
"Hmph! Like I care!" Lars crossed his arms as he walked forward. "There's an emerald in here and I'm not leaving until I get it! Let's go!"
Pi and Reggie nodded before following the hedgehog. Inside the building was a single room. It was a small courtyard full of the strangest plants ever seen. The grass on the ground was brown and dried up. The bushes were also brown, but they were sticking up in odd patterns. A single tree was growing near the eastern wall. Its leaves were a purplish blue. The trunk was the same color, only darker. And at the far end of the yard was a strange object. It was a single sphere floating inches above the ground. Runes and other unknown symbols decorated it. It was glowing with a bluish white light.
"Weird…" The bat said upon seeing the sphere. "Is it some kinda switch?"
"Affirmative." Pi nodded. "Sensors confirm that it is a switch. Use unknown."
"Heh, guess we'll just have to see what it does." Lars said with a smirk.
He took a step forward when…
"WOAH!.!.!" The hedgehog yelped, jumping back. Two ghosts just appeared right in front of him! They had no arms or legs so they were floating in midair. Their bodies were wrapped in a black cloak, though you could see the bluish (Heh, we're loving this word, aren't we? XD) cores. They also had Jack-o-lanterns for heads.
"Wooooooo… Leave this place at once…" The specters warned. "Leave or be trapped in our realm for all eternity…"
"What a baby…" Reggie sighed exasperatedly, looking at Lars, who had hid behind Pi. "How are ya scared of a couple of rejects from a haunted house!.?"
"Erm…" The hedgehog turned red in embarrassment.
"Ugh… Just take care of 'em and save what little dignity you have left…"
"Uhhh… Right."
Lars walked around from behind the robot and swung at the ghosts. They disappeared instantly in a puff of blue smoke. The sudden vanishing act caused the hedgehog to trip and land face first on the ground.
"Yoooooooou were waaaaaaaaarned…" The phantoms' voices hung in the air for a few moments. The trio was left to contemplate their words.
"Trapped in their realm for all eternity?" Reggie held her chin. "What does that mean?"
"Ugh… Stupid ghosts…" The leader's voice was muffled. He got back to his feet and dusted himself off. "C'mon. We wasted enough time already!"
He and Reggie continued towards the switch, but stopped when they noticed Pi moving towards a crack in the western wall.
"What're ya doing Pi!.?"
"Item detected nearby." was all he said before reaching back his fist and punching the wall. It crumbled, revealing an alcove that contained an orange power core. The robot grabbed it, allowing him to level up.
"Aw! I'm supposed to level up first!.!.!" The hedgehog shouted, stomping the ground. Reggie sweatdropped.
"Am I the only normal one in this fic?" She asked, shaking her head.
(Me: Most likely yes.)
She fell over after hearing that response.
"Ok…" She said weirdly as she stood. She turned to Lars, who was starting to calm down. "Mind if we continue?"
"Yeah, fine." The leader replied with a nod.
The trio moved over to the switch and touched it. Seconds later, there was a blinding flash. A great rumbling sound was heard. For a brief moment, they felt like the entire castle was moving, but that couldn't be. An entire stage can't just move… Just as fast as it started, the rumbling ended. The light vanished too, returning everyone to the darkness they were once in. The trio looked around. It didn't seem like anything happened…
"What the!.? That thing was a dud!" Lars shouted.
"That's strange… I feel like something did change… But I don't see anything different…" Reggie added.
"Minus gravity detected." Pi said.
"Minus?.?.?" The others gave him a strange look.
"That doesn't make any sense." The bat said. "In order for there to be minus gravity, we'd have to be falling. And we can't be falling because we're standing—" Her eyes widened in shock. "Oh crap…"
"What?" Lars asked. He blinked and allowed his own eyes to widen having realized what was going on. They both turned to the camera.
"WE'RE UPSIDE DOWN!.!.!"
The camera flipped vertically to show that they were indeed correct. Somehow, the whole world turned upside down! The ground was the sky and the sky was the ground! Everyone looked down—erm…up? Or Down? No wait! Definitely up! Uhhh…yeah… Anyway, they all fell.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!.!.!" The organisms screamed. A recording of a screaming woman from a random horror movie came from Pi at top volume.
°CRASH!.!.!°
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh…" Lars and Reggie groaned painfully. The trio was in a pile on the ledge they landed on. The hedgehog in particular was in the most pain having been on the bottom of the pile. Pi landed on him shortly after while Reggie, being on top, wasn't in too bad shape. Lars shakily looked up at the bat with a questionable look.
"W-w-why didn't ya just fly away…?"
To that, the bat blinked and rubbed the back of her head.
"Whoops! I guess I forgot to…" She replied sheepishly.
Lars sweatdropped and put on a look of annoyance while propping his head on his right hand. He drummed the fingers on his left hand while contemplating whether to hurt his companion now or later.
"I shoulda known… Now, could you GET OFFA ME!.?.!"
"Affirmative." Pi obeyed, standing up and making Reggie fall off him instantly.
"Ugh… You could've given me a warning…" She growled, rubbing her butt as the robot pulled the leader to his feet.
"Whatever." The hedgehog said, dusting himself off. "Let's go."
After getting their bearings in this mixed up realm, the trio move forward. They hopped up a couple of ledges and found themselves on a straightaway. Upside down Torches and flags floated above their heads. In front of them was a cage that was guarded by a new kind of robot. This bot looked like a coconut pawn, except it had no legs, was wearing a witch's hat, and had what appeared to be a magic wand in its hand. There was a hint ring nearby, so Reggie grabbed it and read the comic that appeared in her hands.
In the first panel, Team Lars, who was drawn with crayons, was on the left side of a battlefield, staring down three coconut pawns and the witch bot. In the second one, Reggie and Pi were drawn with happy faces while Lars, as a ball, bounced off one of the robots. That pawn had swirls for eyes and was in a dizzy-like pose. In the final one, the team was shown gaping while the witch bot raised its wand. A yellow line was drawn around it, signifying that it was casting some kind of spell. The coconut pawn that Lars had attacked was also glowing yellow. It was grinning as well. The bat put down the paper and turned to her teammates.
"According to the hint, that robot can heal any other bots in the immediate area!"
Lars smirked. "Heh, that may be a cheap trick, but it'll make things interesting."
"Even me?" Pi asked, facing Reggie. "Repairs still haven't been completed yet."
"…" She shrugged. "Couldn't hurt to try, I guess."
With that, the group charged towards the robot. But before they can reach it, there were three flashes of light. Once they disappeared, a trio of coconut pawns appeared. Like the first bunch they came across, these were carrying lances. Also in their hands were shields.
"Ha! Bring it, ya walking pieces of scrap!" The hedgehog shouted, throwing back a fist.
His hand collided with the closest pawn's shield, having no effect. Smirking, Lars tripped it with a sweep kick. The sudden shock caused the robot to drop its shield. It still had its lance though, and it swung, trying to hit its adversary. Naturally, he dodged it effortlessly and chopped its arm off with a quick downwards karate chop. By this point, the robot was crackling with electricity and threatening to blow up on its own. Lars was about to make the final strike when the coconut pawn suddenly glowed a gold-like yellow. Seconds later, it had a brand new arm where the original was!
"What the—!.?.!" He gasped in shock. Before he could do anything, the robot punched him away! He tumbled along the ground for only a second before springing back to his feet. He rubbed his fist against his lips and sneered. "So that's the way it's gonna be, huh?" He ran towards the bot again. "Let's go! Round Two!"
When he was close enough, he jumped and spun into a ball. He then sped towards all three pawns.
"Dark Twister!" He roared.
He spun around the trio and caught the air around them. He then spiraled upwards, allowing him to toss the robots in a massive tornado. He then rolled into the funnel and destroyed them with split second kicks, punches, and chops. When the attack finally ended, all that was left of the coconut pawns were fragments that were somehow still functioning.
"Jeeze, save some for us." Reggie commented, crossing her arms.
"Heh, ya gotta be quick, dork." Lars said coolly. The bat growled at him and raised a fist to attack.
"Alert!" Pi called.
"Huh?" The furries turned to him. They noticed him pointing towards the witch bot, which was getting ready to cast a spell on its comrades.
"Oh crap!" The flying member gasped.
"Stop 'im, Pi!" Lars ordered.
"Understood!"
The robot stormed towards the witch bot, which was raising its glowing wand. Before it could heal the coconut pawns, Pi stood in its line of vision, causing its spell to work on him instead of its intended target. In an instant, all of the damage the human-turned-robot sustained in his battle with Team Rocket was healed, and as a nice bonus, the ammo for his machine gun was restored. The witch, who was sweatdropping, backed up slowly as Pi readied his gun.
"Thank you." He said monotonously before blasting the opposing bot. As soon as it blew up, the cage fell, freeing the switch inside.
"It's about time we got through this part!" Lars shouted, flicking the switch. A trail of rings appeared. It led into an upside down tower straight ahead.
"No kidding." Reggie agreed, sighing. "And it was only the beginning of the stage too… I wonder if we're gonna have any more huge pit stops."
"We must continue." Pi said. The others nodded.
"Get behind me you guys!" The hedgehog ordered, getting ready to move. The rest of the team got behind him, allowing him to use his light speed dash to run along the golden trail.
When they entered the tower, they found another cage. This one contained a switch just like the first one that changed the horizon. They were immediately ambushed by two coconut pawns, which they easily dispatched. To Lars' extreme displeasure, a yellow power core popped out of one of the robots. Reggie grabbed it and felt her abilities increase a bit. The hedgehog stomped the ground in anger.
"Augh! How much longer before I get to level up!.?.!" He complained.
"Oh stop it, ya big baby!" Reggie scolded. "You'll get a stinkin' level up sooner or later! Now move!"
"Y-y-yes ma'am…" He shuddered, looking out from behind Pi. The bat rolled her eyes before moving to the switch, which was just released. She hit it, causing another bright flash and the odd noise of the castle moving.
Once the light vanished, the trio found themselves falling towards the tower's floor. Luckily for Lars and Pi, it was a short drop, so they were able to land on their feet with no problem.
"Guess this is gonna be how we'll get through." The bat said once she floated down. "We're going have to flip the castle every so often."
"Ugh… Whatever. As long as we get the emerald and get outta here as fast as possible, I don't care." Lars said, skating towards the nearby exit.
"Wait for us." Pi added, hovering after him. Rolling her eyes again, she followed.
To be continued…
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Mid-chapter Conversation
Part One
The scene opened in No Worries Studios, which was overrun with tons of alien goons! Gorilla-like giants lumbered about carrying materials of some sort with only one hand. In their other hands, they were dragging hammers that easily dwarfed mine, Izzy's and Iggy's. Let's call them brutes. Also on the ground were more Glorft soldiers. They all looked vicious and hungry for carnage, namely the execution of the human and two hedgehogs responsible for their being here…
In addition to the already intimidating ground forces, other, nearly more terrifying, aliens inhabited the studio's rooftops. Large bird-like creatures surveyed the entire area from their perches. They were flightless, but the sniper beam rifles they were toting, plus the speed granted to them by their strong legs more than made up for it. They practically teleported from building to building as they made their rounds. A laser shot was heard mere seconds later. It seemed that a fly got in one of the sentries' way. Now it was a black speck on one of the walls. These sharp eyed beasts were known as jackals.
And speaking of bugs, the other species of airborne extraterrestrial was a very large insect called a drone. They were at least three feet tall. Girls, you may want to hang on to your boyfriends for this one. These bugs were pretty much a horrible mix of wasps and moths; a truly lethal combination. Their bodies were a twisted green with black stripes. Also, green ooze would dribble out of their suction cup-like mouths every few seconds. It didn't seem dangerous; it wasn't acidic or anything. However, by the looks of it, they were marking their territory with the liquid. Numerous buildings were covered with the stuff!
All of this was being observed from a hill overlooking the invaded studio. Several figures were watching the aliens work and patrol the area. There must've been at least twelve of them. Well, fifteen if you count the Chao, Pikachu, and Meowth in their ranks. All four teams were there, trying to think of a way to defend their planet and take back the two towns. It seemed that not only the fan village was attacked, but Ocean Shores as well.
A certain yellow, two-tailed fox was looking over the ridge with a pair of binoculars. His eyes were heavily magnified due to not only said implements, but his own glasses as well. All you could see were two giant dots covering both lenses! If it wasn't for the fact that he had to blink, you'd never be able to tell those were his eyes.
"Well? What's the word, Squid?" Otto asked, breaking the tense silence. He was talking with all the other actors, trying to come up with a game plan.
"Not so good, Ottoman." The fox replied, still looking. "They've got the whole studio covered. We can't get in without attracting attention."
"Pika…" Added the yellow mouse perched on Sam's left shoulder.
"So what!.?" Lars grumbled, walking up. "We got all we need to get in there and whomp those dorks!"
"Please!" Reggie shouted, rolling her eyes. "Can you for once think things through!.? If we charge in there blindly, we'll get thoroughly whomped!"
"Besides, we're not going in there just to rescue those guys and their adorable penguins." Clio stepped up, squealing at that last part. Needless to say, the guys and Reggie cringed at the sugary sweetness of her voice. "We gotta get those aliens off our planet!"
"Yeah!.!.!" The other furries in the group cheered, punching the air.
"Still…" Sam said, returning his attention to the studio. "We have to figure out where they're being held." He was silent for a moment as he surveyed the area for the third time. "Now where are—Aha! Found them!"
"Where!.?" The red hedgehog exclaimed. Sam handed him the binoculars.
"There. By the water tower." He pointed towards the symbol of the studio as Otto looked through them.
The hedgehog blinked and adjusted the binoculars' focus. The first thing he saw was the top of the water tower. The smiley face pictured on its side did nothing to alleviate the seriousness of the situation. He looked downwards toward the ground and saw what Sam found. At the base of the tower was a large rectangular force field. It was a yellowish color just like the smaller seismic shields the Glorft and, presumably, the other aliens were sporting. At each corner was a metal post that stretched up at least twenty feet.
And contained within the barrier were none other than Izzy, Iggy, Tux, and Edo. The penguins and their uncle were sitting a leaning against the force field. Tux and Edo held on to Iggy, who put an arm around each of them to protect them. They were all dirty and looked miserable. Or perhaps bored was the right word to use. On the opposite side of their prison was a dangerously ticked off Izzy. He looked far worse than his children and brother did. He was covered in burns, scars, and various scratches. His face was a fiery red and geysers of steam were coming out of his ears. His teeth were clenched tightly as were his hands around his mallet.
The violet hedgehog was relentlessly pounding the wall in a blind rage. Despite his strongest efforts, however, the shield remained standing. He didn't give up though. He used nearly everything he had in his disposal. He ran straight at the barrier and jumped. He then rolled into a ball and spun right into it while holding out his hammer. No matter how fast or how many times the weapon hit, the wall stood strong. Growling, Izzy unrolled and landed on the ground. He then pulled out some of his most destructive battle chips. With a roar that easily made Tux and Edo shrink more into Iggy, the dark furry fired multiple cannons, stabbed and slashed with swords of differing sizes, power, and elements; struck at the barrier with fire, water, electricity, earth, and ice; and finally, resorted to bombs. But nothing worked. Even when he used a program advance to form a giant time bomb, the force field refused to so much as crack!
Blackened, but still just as livid as before, Izzy coughed out a cloud of smoke and hissed at the wall. An equally darkened Iggy babbled dazedly about overkill. Tux and Edo meanwhile were crying softly. Hearing this, Iggy shook his head and consoled the chicks.
"Don't worry, you guys, it'll all be ok." He said. He then blinked when he noticed the soot and small scratches all over them. He pulled out his hammer and a chip of his own. "I better heal us up. Grab on, you two."
With that, he placed the handle of his plastic mallet on the ground. Following his direction, the tearful chicks leaned over and each placed a flipper on the handle. Iggy raised his chip above his head.
"Recover one hundred twenty battle chip in. Download."
After inserting the chip, Iggy's mallet glowed pink. Shortly after, small sparkles spilled out of the top, landing on the babies and their uncle. Tux and Edo looked up and giggled as they tried to catch them with their free flippers. As the tiny stars began to disappear, the trio's wounds healed and the dirt on their bodies cleared up. Finally, the tears on their clothes patched themselves up. When the shower ended, they were fully healed. Despite the current situation, Tux and Edo just had to dance in celebration.
Meanwhile, Izzy was huffing and puffing as he grabbed his own recovery chip.
"Recover…three hundred…battle chip in… Download…"
After recovering his energy the same way Iggy and the babies did, the hedgehog stood straight up and grabbed one more chip.
"Folder Back battle chip in! Download!"
After putting the chip in, his mallet glowed brightly as the side of the head opened. Every chip Izzy used to try to break open the barrier came pouring out, ready to be used again. The hedgehog closed his eyes and breathed deeply as he put the chips back into his pouch. He reopened his eyes and gave his alien captors, who were sitting on a pair of thrones before the force field, a sharp glare. He then held his mallet to them as if it was a sword.
"I swear, if I ever get out of here, Zallamee, death will be the least of your concerns!.!"
"Pah! You'll never kill me, even if you did get out of there!" The Glorft in gold armor gloated.
'Yeah right…' The war master thought, rolling his eyes. 'If he had the controls for your collar, you'd be dead on the spot.'
Izzy smirked as he readied his mallet for another round.
"Why don't you let me out of here so we can put that to the test?"
As expected, a round of laughter came from Zallamee and the numerous aliens guarding the two pairs of brothers. The furry didn't let it faze him as he went back to attacking the barrier.
Back on the ridge overlooking the studio…
"Hmph! That kid's a fighter, I'll give him that." Otto said, handing the binoculars back to Sam. Everyone looked at him as he paced around. They gave him a few minutes before someone decided to speak up.
"Err… So what's the plan, bro?" Twister asked.
"…" The red hedgehog sighed and gave the group a shrug. "There's nothing we can do. We gotta find the author. It's the only way we can stand a chance."
"Woah… That doesn't sound like Otto at all…" Reggie commented to herself.
"Are you crazy, Rocket-Dork!.?.!" Lars roared getting in his face. "We don't need 'im to deal with those aliens! Like I said before, we got all we need! Squid rewired that laser one of them dropped!"
"I may have reverse-engineered one of their lasers so that it'll disable their seismic shields," The fox started, pulling out a small handheld laser blaster. It easily resembled a light gun from one of those arcade shooting games or the Zapper from the NES era of video games. "But it hasn't been tested yet! I have no clue if it works or not!"
"Well now's the perfect time, brah!" Keoni made his voice heard. "We gotta get down there and free them before those aliens kill them!"
"Meow, meow!.!" Sadie agreed.
The rest of the group gave them a knowing look. Both cats sweatdropped at that and shrank back.
"Are you sure this doesn't have to do with a certain pile of pineapples and the fact that you really, really love your master…?" Clio asked.
"…" Keoni and Sadie blushed before looking away and saying "Nooooo…" (In Sadie's case, it was "Meeeoooooow…"). Everyone else rolled their eyes and went back to the task at hand.
"…Anyway, that's why we can't go bursting in there! We'll be pounded!" Otto shouted to Lars, who promptly grabbed him by the scruff of his near nonexistent neck.
"Not as pounded as you'll be if we don't get in there soon! Who knows how long it'll be before the author gets here!.?.!"
"Uhhh… Not long at all, apparently…" Sam said with a somewhat irritated voice. He was again looking through his binoculars.
"Huh?.?.?" The two leaders questioned. The fox merely pointed towards the studio again.
Everyone looked towards a couple of the buildings as a rumbling sound was heard. The patrolling aliens snapped their heads in the direction of the sound. As the sound grew louder, the guards readied their weapons. Their eyes narrowed dangerously as they took aim.
"Aw crap! He wouldn't!" Otto yelled with a gasp.
"Don't worry, bro! It's probably a mole or something." Twister reassured. Everyone else turned and gave him a weirded out look. Cheese and the pokémon looked about ready to slap him upside his head. "…WHAT?.?.?"
…In any case, the ground by one of the buildings exploded shortly after, sending rocks flying all over the place. The guards' seismic shields activated, preventing the broken concrete from hitting them. The aliens looked towards the dust cloud caused by the explosion and waited for something to come out. To the aliens' great fortune and the RP crew's displeasure, the dust settled revealing…
"Ugh! That's the last time I travel underground!" I shouted, coughing and gasping for air.
I was standing inside the waist deep hole, covered in dirt, worms, and various subterranean creatures. A family of moles was nestled in my crown for crying out loud! I had to admit they were kinda cute though… Anyway, my hammer-turned-drill was behind me as I shook the pebbles off my head (after letting the moles climb off me, of course). It flashed white and turned back to normal as I hit my ears to get rid of more rocks. After shaking the dizziness from my head one last time, I blinked and looked around my surroundings.
"Hey! I'm in the studio!" I cheered as I started to climb out of the hole. "Now all I gotta do is find Izzy and Iggy and—"
"Stay right where you are, earther slime!" A voice roared at me. I looked in the direction of the sound and sweatdropped.
About a dozen aliens were surrounding me, getting ready to fire their weapons. The Glorft that called out to me was one that I recognized as one of Zallamee's goons. He even had the electric collar around his neck. It was apparent he really had it in for me, Izzy, and Iggy! I readied my own weapon and pulled out a couple of chips when I remembered the barriers they were equipped with. I wouldn't be able to make a dent on them! I sucked on my teeth and glowered as I put away the chips and tried to think of something.
"Just great! If I attack, those shields of theirs will just absorb whatever I throw at them. If only there was a way to—I dunno—blow them off or something…"
I blinked at that last statement.
"Blow them off…" My eyes widened as I let out a gasp.
"Open fire!.!.!" The Glorft that stopped me earlier ordered. I stepped backwards and grabbed a battle chip as the rest of the guards prepared to attack.
'I only have one copy of that chip on me so I gotta put it to good use.' I thought as I raised the chip above my head. 'That means I gotta find Izzy, Iggy, Tux, and Edo while fighting through these…things without using my hammer for offense! I just hope it works when I do use it. If not…'
I turned to the camera with a smirk.
"To quote child genius Dexter, 'I like them odds!'" I turned back to the aliens. "You'll never catch—"
I was cut off by laser fire coming from all directions! I panicked as I broke into an impromptu dance number.
"Woah, woah, woah!.!.!" I screamed as I raised my arms above my head. I gritted my teeth as I fought to insert my chip while moving my feet as fast as humanly possible. My feet were starting to get very, very hot as my arms drew closer to each other. The pain was becoming unbearable! …But I had to hang on for Izzy, Iggy, and the babies!.!.!
Just as the hand holding the battle chip and the one holding my hammer were within inches of each other, I heard what sounded like the cocking of a gun. Call it E.S.P, instinct, Spidey Sense, the Sixth Sense, whatever! All I know is that I heard a gun somewhere nearby. Almost as if it was…
I shot my head up and saw a jackal pointing its beam rifle at me!.!.!
"Oh hell naw!.!.!" I roared, practically jamming the battle chip in the mallet. "Area Steal!.!.!"
As soon as I shouted those words, the bird-like beast fired at me. Thankfully, the chip kicked in at the right moment. Quickly picking a place far away from these guys, I teleported out of the area in a heartbeat.
…Unfortunately, "out of the area" meant a good twenty or so feet from my previous position. When I reappeared, I was right on top of one of those brutes!.!.!
"Get 'im!.!.!" The Glorft ordered, pointing at the huge gorilla. Everyone else turned to the target and aimed at his head. Confused, the giant grunted and pointed at himself questioningly. The squid-faced one slapped his head.
"No, not you! The earther on your head! Just stand still a moment." He turned to his subordinates. "Don't just stand there! Fire!.!.!"
With that, the aliens opened fired on me. Smirking, I grabbed another Area Steal chip from my pouch and disappeared before the laser bolts can hit. The monster screamed in agony as he tried to shield himself from his comrades' attack. Needless to say, the huge brute ignored all of his military training and retaliated, whaling on his own side with an animal-like rage! The other aliens fought back to get the brute under control. However, it seemed hopeless. It was like a Primeape (a monkey-like pokémon); once ya get it agitated, there's no calming it down. Also, the relationship between all four species of aliens was shaky if not completely nonexistent already. And that was before the hedgehog brothers and I came into the picture.
I reappeared several yards from the new battle and watched the carnage with a look of extreme satisfaction. I almost felt bad for the red Glorft, who was trying to bring order to the situation and pointing at me like a total nutcase. Almost.
"Ahhh…" I sighed, holding my left hand in the air. "I hate when things remain completely unsettled…"
I snapped my fingers, causing the still active electric collar around the Glorft's neck to activate, shocking the fool into submission. It was at that moment that something strange happened. As the twenty thousand volts of electricity zapped every inch of his body, his seismic shield was going crazy. It kept flickering on and off for a few moments before finally shattering into hundreds of pieces and vanishing for good. I raised an eyebrow as the charbroiled alien fainted.
"D-d-did the shield just…?"
"DESTROY THE EARTHER!.!.!"
My eyes went wide with fear as the aliens ended the brawl and came after me again!.!.! I turned and hightailed it towards the center of the studio.
"Hopefully, I'll find Izzy and Iggy sometime soon! Yeow!.!.!" I shouted to myself as I jumped to avoid a laser blast. "It'd be really nice if reinforcements come soon!.!.! Yikes!.!.!"
Back on the ridge, the RP gang watched with shocked expressions as I ran away from my pursuers, dodging laser fire all the while. They all faced each other with wide eyes, trying to find some way to assess the situation.
"D-d-did he just take on that whole squad of guards and won?.?.?" Lars questioned.
"Technically, he didn't win." Pi answered. "He merely provided a diversion and ran away."
"I know what I saw, ya dork!.!.! He went through those guys like they were nothing!.!.!"
"So? Of course he took care of them with no problem. He used his author powers, duh!.!.!" Reggie shouted. Clearly she was unimpressed by the show.
"I…don't think he was using his abilities as the author, Reggie." Sam spoke up timidly. The others faced him, causing him to blush at all the attention. "W-w-well, if he did use them, why didn't he turn the aliens into something harmless instead of fighting them?"
"To take up a good thousand or so words?" Trent suggested with a shrug. Everybody thought over his answer for a moment before nodding in agreement.
"Yeah, that sounds like something he'd do alright…" Mackenzie grunted.
"Uhhh guys, shouldn't we go help Mr. Author out before those bad aliens get him?.?.?" Little Scotty shouted. The others gave various responses of agreement.
"Ok let's go guys!" Otto began to the other furries. "It looks like the author gave us an important clue on how we can beat those kooks from space!"
"Huh?" Twister asked, scratching his head. "What clue?"
"Ah I get it, Rocket Boy!" Reggie said, punching her left palm. "We got the exactly what we need to whomp them!"
"An excellent suggestion, leader of the light." Eddie cackled, drawing his cape around himself. "It seems quite simple to bring them down now."
"Wha?.?.? How?.?.?" The clueless echidna tried again. However, he was ignored again.
"I saw it too! We have all we need to take them out now!" Sam cheered before giving a sigh. "If only I knew before I reverse engineered this thing…"
"Don't worry about it, brah! As long as we have what we need to save Izzy and the others, we'll be fine!" Keoni encouraged him. He then faced Sadie with a glower. "We may be rivals, but for now we gotta work together to save him. Truce?" He held a hand out to the Meowth by his side.
"Meow." Sadie nodded, holding out a paw. "Me, meow mew meowth."
"Oh you know it." Keoni replied, shaking her paw. "Once this is over, it's back to square one."
"Oh well…" The fox sighed again as he picked his Pikachu off his shoulders. "You'll help us, won't you buddy?"
"Pika!" The mouse nodded with a determined look. The two pokémon faced each other with strong glowers. It was clear that they knew exactly what to do. They both gave each other a nod, confirming their plan.
"WHY WON'T SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON!.?.!" Twister screamed. Clearly, he was getting fed up with being left in the dark.
"Well come on you guys! We better hurry down there before that author gets axed!" Otto called, already getting a head start. He hopped off the side of the cliff and ran down the sharp ninety degree angle en route to the studio.
"Hey!.!.! Wait for us, Rocket Dork!.!.!" Lars yelled, using Chaos Control to beat him to the bottom.
Needless to say, a huge argument was heard echoing off the cliff face. The two leaders were clearly fighting over who got to the bottom first. Everyone else rolled their eyes at the hedgehogs' immaturity (well, except for Twister, who was still trying to figure out what everybody was talking about!). They then made their way down the cliff. Soon, Twister was the only one left. He was in a thinking pose, trying to discern the whole conversation. After about two minutes he shrugged and finally made his way down.
"Man… Why does no one ever tell me anything?" He was heard grumbling.
To be continued…
(A/N: Hey there! Sorry for leaving you guys with not only a cliffhanger (literally!), but two to be continueds!.!.! X.X!.!.! It was the only way I can get this update completed before I go on my big trip to Florida to attend my new school! Hopefully it won't take another four months, two weeks, and three days to get the next update up! Heh, for that matter, I hope I'll even be able to remember what's going on! XD Anyway, see ya next time! With any luck, I'll get as many reviews as I've been getting hits for this fic! °Crosses fingers°)