Part Three, at last! :D
…apologies if some things are rushed or inconsistent with previous chapters, we're writing on a deadline here!
d~b
Season Finale
Is This Goodbye?
(Part 3)
Last time on Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip…
People went missing, we got a cool cameo, and the guys fell into a secret lab. Seriously, you can just read the last chapter and see everything!
…
Shaggy, Pugsy and Flip gawked, staring at Shawn K., the man they thought was just a celebrity on hiatus- who was now wearing a suit, a fancy wristwatch, and reeked of James Bond-Level Awesomeness.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold it! Are you saying… you're not only a celebrity, but a secret agent too?!" Pugsy sputtered, still registering this twist.
"A S.E.C.R.E.T. agent, to be precise!" Shawn replied, guiding them through the lab. "You're in the HQ of the 'Super Expensive Cartoon Retribution Enforcement Team'." He gestured toward a few screens, showing scenes of recently-apprehended criminals. "See, while the Justice League, 'SHIELD', 'AWACA', and other well-known government agencies go after big-time villains and handle supernatural/sci-fi disasters, we go after the more 'discrete, small-fry' criminals causing trouble.
"However, as of recently, one villain has been slipping below the radar. The other agencies couldn't get a lock on him- we just know he's been building machines, trying to destroy cities, only to be foiled by Sonic the Hedgehog each time… but even the blue hedgehog lost a trace of his whereabouts." Shawn shook his head. "It took us all of last year to track him down ourselves…"
"You're talking about Robotnik, right?" Flip guessed.
"I knew it! I knew that louse-of-a-landlord had been hiding something!" Pugsy sneered, crossing his arms. "'New water heaters', 'furnace problems', and 'electric toilet cleaners', my eye!"
"…Why didn't you call the cops?" Shaggy asked him.
"The evidence kept blowing up,"
"I was just as suspicious as you were… that's why Vincent, Zippy and I have been keeping an eye on Robotnik all year, making sure he was thwarted!" Shawn said.
"Technically, I was doing most of the thwarting," The Black Alchemist spoke up.
"Wait- Vincent and Zippy are in on this too?!" Pugsy questioned.
"That does it for me, fans!" Shaggy cried, slapping his forehead in disbelief.
"That's right," The Black Alchemist took off his mask, showing the trio he was actually Vincent. "Zippy and I got the job, after my dad ran into Shawn K. at his last mission—of course, being a Freelance Police officer, he didn't have much time to moonlight as a secret agent… so Zippy and I decided to take the job,"
"Freelance Police- Sam and Max, you mean?" Flip guessed.
"Yep. Sam happens to be my birth-father,"
Everyone blinked. "But… he's a dog… and you're a human."
"And Jessica and Roger Rabbit are married. Any more questions?"
"Yeah- outside of cartoon animamorphic relationships." Pugsy stated. "Namely, why haven't you arrested Robotnik yet, what's happening now, and what happened to the rest of our friends?"
"Like you said a moment ago- the evidence kept blowing up. Nowadays, it's hard to turn in a criminal if they haven't DONE anything yet," Shawn sighed, looking at the screens showing Robotnik (at this moment, hiding in his basement). "As for right now… it seems we were following the wrong guy, and the REAL culprit is terrorizing the city, abducting people for some nefarious scheme!"
"How could you get mixed up?" Shaggy asked. "The guy's a villain! How many villains have the name 'Doctor Robotnik' in their title?!"
"…Depends on how many incarnations cartoonists come up with, of course some go by 'Eggman'- it doesn't really help lower the confusion much." Shawn replied, clicking a remote… showing pictures of the different styles of Eggman/Robotnik over the years. "Some of them either retired or were rehearsing for a new spin-off, but we were sure your Robotnik was the guy we were after…"
"Up until THIS one kidnapped my girlfriend!" Vincent sneered, taking the remote and clicking it, showing Doctor Robotnik from Sonic SAT/AM.
The trio gave a jolt; this Robotnik, unlike the one they've had to deal with, was larger, fiercer, and looked so diabolical he could make the Top 5 of anyone's 'Epic Villain' list. "Zoinks! B-B-But, I thought that guy was defeated years ago!" Shaggy stammered, leaping into Pugsy's arms.
"So did we, but I guess some people don't know when to give up," Shawn replied. "I don't know what this 'Eggman' is up to, but we're going to get to the bottom of it!" he looked at the trio. "…And we may just need your help."
"US?!" The trio exclaimed.
"Are you that desperate?" Shaggy questioned.
"How can we beat THAT guy?!" Flip added.
"…was the writer eating powdered sugar again?" Pugsy muttered, looking at the script.
"I know it's crazy (and rushed), but we need all the help we can get!" Vincent answered. "The Freelance Police are on Mars at the moment, the TMNT went back to New York, and any other super-spies or superheroes are either already captured, or unavailable!"
"(If not unaffordable)," Shawn added out of the corner of his mouth.
"I don't know, Shawn. We want to help, but… I don't think we can handle this level of danger!" Shaggy pointed out. "I mean, Flip and I have only solved mysteries, and Pugsy- well, most of his life was spent being a werewolf's chew-toy!"
"At least it wasn't spent shaking like a maraca every time there was a thunder storm!" Pugsy retorted.
"I know it's risky, but you're the only ones I can count on right now," Shawn replied, resting a hand on Shaggy and Pugsy's shoulders while looking at Flip in the middle. "I've seen you guys compete in insane game shows in the past. I've heard of all the mishaps you've made it out of- heck, I've seen what you've made it through THIS year! Anyone else would have packed up and left after the first three explosions, but you guys are familiar enough with insane situations to handle them!"
"What do game shows have to do with danger?" Vincent questioned, arching an eyebrow.
Shawn gave him a look. "…You never found out why Triple Trouble cancelled in its third season, did you?"
Flip took a deep breath. "Alright. I'm willing to try. I mean, I don't know much about being a spy, but if my friends are in danger I'm not going to keep hiding while they're being held captive!" he declared.
"Ah, the kid's right… Besides, I'm sick of some creepo causing me misery, count me in too!" Pugsy added.
"Me? A spy?! …well, sounds better than some of the recent movies I've done," Shaggy said with a heavy sigh. "But I expect an invisibility-tool! There is NO WAY I'm going to be a target for someone's death-ray!"
"In that case, let's get you guys some equipment!" Shawn exclaimed. "Vincent, to the third floor! We got us some recruits!"
Vincent nodded, pulling a lever-
*bzzzzzzzt!*
*static*
~Story Interruption~
"What do you MEAN you don't have the training montage ready?!" Mister Cartoon asked ATF, as the writer and co-writer were working in a tiny room where most of the scripts were written.
"Listen, I am under a LOT of stress right now!" ATF stated, sporting five o'clock shadow, his hair was disheveled, wearing a shirt and crooked tie… and his pants were missing. "I have several other stories to finish, I'm working on 'Security Authors: The Movie' during this time, and just became Marcassin's servant in 'Author's No Kuni'! There was no time to jot down a montage!"
"You could have just copied-and-pasted something from several other training montages! Action movies do it all the time, it's practically the same!"
"Then why don't YOU do it?!"
"GUYS!" Flanigan burst into the room. "We need to get on with the scene, the producers want this story updated BEFORE Christmas! …And good grief, man, put on some pants!"
"We're getting to it, Flanigan!" ATF groaned.
"Just hurry up and show SOMETHING! We're on a deadline here!" With that, Flanigan left.
Mister Cartoon blinked. "…since when did we have a deadline?"
ATF sighed, rubbing his temples. "Alright, alright… there should be a scene we cut out that featured Robotnik barricading himself in the basement while writing his final will and testament, just show that instead." He pointed to a reel off to the side.
"It's better than nothing…" Mister Cartoon sighed, grabbing the reel and walking off.
~We Now Return to the Story~
"Welcome back to Cartoon Celebrity Jeopardy," a cartoon version of Alan Trebek was saying. "I would like to take this time to remind our contestants that there are no peanut-vendors working in the audience. As we move on to Double Jeopardy, let's look at the scores…
"In third place with a whopping negative-4700, we have Johnny Bravo,"
"Hey, Mama! Look! I'm on TV again! Tell Pops he owes me 12 bucks!" Johnny exclaimed into the camera.
"…Please stop giving shout-outs to home." Trebek continued on. "In second place with negative-250 points, we have the popular Muppet, Fozzie Bear."
"It's great to be back! Let me tell you this joke-" Fozzie was beginning to state.
"No. Jokes. PLEASE." Trebek, still trying to keep his composure, continued on. "And in first place, we have Sean Connery- and if any of you have seen the SNL parody of this already, you will understand why I'm taking early retirement."
"Aw, don't be a sissy, Trebek! Take it like a man!" Sean Connery chuckled. "…Your mother sure did!"
"…Need I remind our contestants this is a FAMILY oriented show?" Trebek sighed, turning to the boards. "Lets take a look at the categories, shall we? We have… 'Popular Children Rhymes', 'What Color Is The Sky?', 'Sesame Street Characters', 'Cat or Dog', and 'Don't Pick Your Nose'. …Sean Connery, unfortunately you're in the lead, so you get to choose."
"Gimme 'Sees Amy Street Car Actors' for $200," Sean Connery stated.
"…It's 'Sesame Street Characters'!"
"I know how to read, Trebek! And that says-!"
"Never mind. Let's look at the answer," Up came a picture of Oscar the Grouch. "Can you name this popular Sesame Street character?"
*Bzzzt!* Johnny buzzed in. "…Why isn't this thing working?" he wondered, continually hitting the buzzer. "Yo, Trebek! Why isn't this thing changing the channel on those TV's?!"
"For the last time, Johnny, that is your buzzer- and you only hit the button when you have an answer! Unless you can name this character, kindly be quiet!"
"Name what now?" Johnny looked at the screen of the picture of Oscar. "AAAUUGH! It's the monster from under my bed! MAMAAAA!" he then ducked under his podium.
*Bzzt!* Fozzie buzzed in next. "Waka-waka, I know that guy anywhere! Funny story, actually- I ran into him on my way to Denver last week, and I said, 'Hey! Weren't you on TV before?' and he said, 'Probably, but I missed the six o'clock news!' Thank you! Goodnight!" he quipped.
"Wrong. That wasn't even close to being right… OR funny." Trebek deadpanned. The timer went off. "Oscar. This was Oscar the Grouch!"
"A close relative of yours, I take it?" Sean Connery shot.
"Let's just skip to final jeopardy," Trebek sighed, turning to the board. "And the category is… 'The Name of the two main writers of 'Security Authors'. …Who are the writers behind that fan-fic? Write your answer, and what you wager."
All the contestants stood at their podiums, writing down (what Trebek prayed were) their answers. Once the countdown song ended, the dimmed lights brightened.
"Alright, lets see how you disappointed your high-school teachers this time," Trebek walked over to Johnny. "Mister Bravo, for your answer, you wrote 'Call Me'… and wagered your phone number?"
"Just sending a message out to all the ladies out there. Hoo-ha-huh!" Johnny replied, while flexing for the camera. "Sassy!"
"…I can see why you're still single." Trebek walked over to Fozzie. "Fozzie, for your answer, you wrote, 'What do you get when you cross a lemon with a cat?' and you wagered… 'A sour-puss'."
"Waka-waka! I got a million more just like that!" Fozzie laughed.
"Please don't ever write a joke-book." With that, Trebek- hesitantly- walked over to Sean Connery. "Mister Connery, for your answer you wrote… okay, I am NOT saying that on live television."
"Oh c'mon, Trebek! It's poetry!" Sean Connery prodded.
"Dirty limericks do not count as 'poetry'. That's all the time we have for Cartoon Celebrity Jeopardy- someone call my agent, I'm done with this!"
~Er… back to the REAL Story~
(Boy, I can't wait to see how the producers react once this airs…)
Um, anyway!
Shawn and Vincent stood before the trio… who had undergone quite a bit of training since that last scene. And an awesome costume change, now wearing tight black outfits, utility belts, and carrying weapons that suited their nature.
Shaggy held a bo-staff, which could collapse and fit into his pocket. On his belt were also a spoon, butter knife, and fork. "What's with the utensils?" Flip asked. "Are they secretly weapons that shoot lasers?"
"Nope. Just having a spare set in case there's something to be eaten," Shaggy replied with a shrug.
Pugsy was equipped with a pair of brass knuckles and a metal baseball bat. "…Is a baseball bat really that good of a weapon for him?" Vincent asked.
"Considering he was holding one 3 times this season before someone/something was knocked out/broken, I would say it's fitting." Shawn answered.
Flip was equipped with a utility belt, laser-bracelet, and communication gear. Hitting buttons on his belt, he pulled out a magnifying glass that doubled as a decoder, several smoke-bombs, a pair of nun-chucks, and several other fancy gadgets that would take too long to list. "Whoa, how can all this fit in here?" he asked.
"They're special made. Zippy had one too, but switched it for the bottomless-backpack." Shawn answered.
"So we've noticed," Pugsy quipped.
"Well, you guys have undergone some training, have your equipment… now let's find a way to catch Evil Eggman and save the city," Shawn replied, having suited up with his own weapons as well, involving sais, a laser-watch, shuriken, and pepper-spray.
"Are you sure we're ready for this? I mean… what makes you think I can use a bo-staff?!" Shaggy replied.
"Legend of the Phantasaur," Vincent answered. Shaggy gave him a deadpanned look. "Seriously, though, I remember how you were when you wore 'The Mask'. Deep inside you, there's a kick-awesome beatnik just waiting to get loose!"
"Yeah. He's just buried under 53 years of cowardice." Pugsy quipped. Shaggy sneered… then quickly swung the staff and knocked Pugsy's legs out from beneath him! "Hey!"
"What'ya know? Provoke him enough, and he can use it!" Shawn stated.
Pugsy stood up, rubbing his backside while giving a glare. "Whatever. Are we going to save the city or what?"
"Yes… but first, we need to find a way onto that air-ship." Shawn clicked a remote, showing an image of a massive airship hovering over the city. "That's where all the abducted citizens are being taken. I'm thinking we should use bait, lure out one of the drone ships, and sneak aboard it when it's making its move."
"Like, no way! Nuh-uh! I see where this is going!" Shaggy sneered. "There is NO WAY we're acting as bait!"
"Well of course not! That would be too obvious!" Vincent scoffed. "Eggman sees any of our agents pretending to be clueless victims after wiping the city clean, and the whole operation will be blown! No, we need someone that can fall under his radar and hold his attention long enough for us to sneak onto the drone."
"And I know just the guy…" Shawn replied, looking at the screen.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Robotnik sat in his basement, hiding under a fort he built from a desk, a few chairs, boxes, a blanket, some pillows, and was clutching a teddy-bear with a long orange mustache. "Okay, Robotnik, calm down. You've got enough canned food to last you two years, a closet full of heavy artillery in case of attack, your lair is deep enough underground to avoid being scanned, the doors are locked, and you have every episode of Orange Is The New Black downloaded onto your iPod. Just wait until he gets bored with this city, then use the sewers to escape to Canada." He was telling himself while trembling.
There was a beeping sound, and he looked at the monitors that gave a view of the outside; an image of Katrina Stoneheart in a helpless situation in the street appeared.
He gasped. "Katrina! My ex-love interest is out there alone and in distress! I must do something!"
He then clicked a remote, recording it, and broke out some popcorn.
"Ah, yes, nothing like watching your ex get held captive!"
(Outside, the guys were watching from a hiding spot, near a cardboard cut-out of a troubled Katrina. "I don't think it's working." Vincent said.)
The cut-out fell over, and Robotnik arched an eyebrow. "What the…? Oh, I see, it was a trap! Trying to lure me out!" he then shook his fist at the air. "Nice try, you blundering buffoon! It's going to take more than that to-!"
There was a squeak, as a ferret ran through the basement… and began knocking over the canned food, weapons, and stole his iPod! It then ran up the stairs and out the door!
"Hey! Get back here, you wretched weasel!" Robotnik snarled, racing after the ferret.
The ferret dropped the iPod and quickly dived into a manhole leading to the base. "Excellent work, Rodolfo. Now you and Captain Sprinkles keep an eye on the lab until we get back," Shawn replied; he then looked up above, seeing a drone flying down. He spoke into a head-mic. "Everyone, get into position!"
As Robotnik ran out to grab his iPod, Shaggy, Pugsy and Flip were hiding nearby. "I feel bad making Robotnik play the bait…" Flip whispered. "I mean, I know he's the villain, but…"
"Don't worry, we'll free him once we take down the other Robotanik- I want to have the satisfaction of giving him a beating myself, anyway," Pugsy replied. "Shh! Here comes a drone! Get ready!"
"Oh man…" Shaggy gulped.
The drone flew over Robotnik. "Oh… shoot." He gulped as he was caught in a beam while bending over to get his iPod. "I knew technology would be the end of meeeeee…!"
"Now!" Shawn exclaimed into his mic.
Vincent shot his grappling hook up onto the drone, zipping up onto it. Using his Sonic Screwdriver, he pried open the hatch, revealing a robotic pilot inside. The robot aimed a laser at him, but he jammed the heel of his boot into the barrel and shattered it before it had the chance. He then smashed its head and tore it out.
He then flew low, so that Shaggy, Pugsy and Flip could jump in.
"We're in, and we're heading back to the air-ship!" Vincent told Shawn in his mic.
"Good. Flip, once you're inside use your scanner; it'll help give me detailed visuals of the air-ship," Shawn said, walking into the street, hiding his weapons in his utility belt, covering it with his regular attire. He looked up at another drone that was coming his way. "We'll map it out from the dungeons while freeing the other captives; once I pinpoint where Evil Eggman is, we'll infiltrate his lair and subdue him."
"Will it really be that easy?" Shaggy asked.
"Possibly not, but that's why we trained you guys to fight like ninja-thugs versus pirate-rednecks." Vincent replied with a shrug.
Pugsy rubbed his face. "That really boosts the confidence," he muttered.
Shawn was abducted by another drone; however, once inside he remained calm; he used a laser to make a peep-hole into the drone, seeing they were flying towards the air-ship. "Okay, get ready to activate your cloaking devices…"
The guys all had their hands on their belts, as the drones entered a landing-pad inside the air-ship.
"Ready… set… now!"
With a click of the buttons, the guys turned invisible!
Two robots opened the hatch Shawn was in, dragging him off as a prisoner.
In the other drone, Vincent, Flip, Shaggy, and Pugsy climbed out, watching as Robotnik was dragged out. "Let go of me you fools!" he snarled at the bots. "I am Doctor Eggman Robotnik! I will turn you all into scrap metal if you don't unhand me this instant!"
"He shares the name as our superior. What do we do?" The robot asked its partner.
"He is an imposter. Lock him up." The second robot replied as they dragged him away.
Flip turned on his scanner once the coast was clear. Immediately, a blue-print 3D model of the air-ship appeared on a screen in his view. "Whoa…" he whispered. He then poked the hologram-screen in front of him, sending the blue-prints to Shawn and the others.
"Like, how come the kid gets to use the gadgets?" Shaggy asked, realizing they didn't all have the same tech.
"Hey, if our budget covered multiple gizmos, this would go simpler. We chose him because he spent more time with a touch-screen pad." Vincent replied, looking at his watch which gave him a view of the blue-prints. "Alright, there's 3 different containment units. Flip, you follow Shawn and help him free his side. Pugs, you take the second, and Shaggy, you take the third."
"What about you?" Pugsy asked.
"I'm going to go pick up my girlfriend," Vincent replied, looking at his watch, which was giving a pin-pointed location of where Zippy was. "She's in a room in the center of the dungeons. I'll meet you guys there."
"S-S-Seriously?! We have to cause a break-out on our own?!" Shaggy stammered. "Can't we, like, stay together? No one can see us!"
"These cloaking devices only have enough power to cover us for 20 minutes, so we don't have that kind of time. …With that said, let's get moving!" With that, Vincent took off.
"Ugh, there's always a catch. Alright, let's split up," Pugsy said- then bumped into something! "Oof! Shag, go THAT way!"
"Which way?! I can't see where you're pointing!" Shaggy answered.
"Shag, you go left; Pugs, you go right; I'm going with Shawn. C'mon, let's move!" Flip said hastily, then took off next.
The duo blinked. "…12 years old, and already he's acting like a leader." With that, Shaggy and Pugsy quickly made their way to the dungeons.
d~b
Meanwhile, with the [actually intimidating] villain… (Who we will be addressing as 'Eggman' just to decrease chances of a mix-up)…
There were screams in the laboratory of the airship; within various cages, people and animals watched in horror as one of their own was placed in a chamber, agonizing cries shouting out as lights flashed and bolts of electricity surged inside… once the horrifying light-show was over, the creature that had gone in existed no more.
Normally, Doctor Eggman Robotnik IV would take pleasure out of their frightened expressions, smirking as tears ran down their faces and even giving a mild chuckle at the ones that whimpered, feeling ecstasy when one of them would cry and beg as they were hauled to his notorious device next.
…But not today.
Despite his mission was [for the most part] proving victorious, there was one problem he had to deal with. One of their captives was proving quite… difficult to tame. A young boy, it seemed, who showed no signs of intimidation and quite rather took his predicament all-too-lightly, as if the whole thing were a game.
Well. Game over.
Eggman stormed over to his current lackeys, Henchman 21 and Henchman 24, who were in charge of breaking the prisoner. "Dude, I told you this was a bad idea!" Henchman 21 was whispering. "He's definitely going to kill us!"
"Hey, whoa, I TOLD you I didn't want to team up again! I was perfectly fine working as a gas-station attendant after faking my death. But then YOU came along, talked about leaving behind villainy, dragged me into your business, then one horrible night in Vegas later, here we are!" Henchman 24 sneered. "Look, there's no way that guy is going to break, so we might as well just…"
"Might as well WHAT?"
The two henchmen yelped, turning to see their superior standing right behind them! "B-Boss! W-we were just about to come see you!" Henchman 21 stammered.
"You'd better have good news then…"
"Ah, uh, well… we've managed to robotinize 12 more people!"
"What about our… troubling captive?"
"That… is a whole different story," Henchman 24 gulped. "We've tried threats, teasing, tormenting and outdated memes, but nothing's making that kid crack! He's too… too…"
"Psycho." Henchman 21 stated.
The duo paled as Eggman cracked his knuckles, his red eyes glowing with rage as he loomed over them. "Then bring them to the chamber. …NOW!"
Yelping, the two henchmen quickly ran to the controls, hitting a button that opened a trapdoor in any cell, and suddenly the prisoner dropped into a chair in the middle of the chamber with an 'OOF!', sitting up straight as Eggman walked forth.
"I am going to give you one.. and ONLY! One.. warning.." he stated firstly, breathing deeply in between.. "For far too long I have suffered countless humiliating defeats.. along with your irritating errors interfering with my plans.. so... if you disappoint me again, and severely interfere with my plans once more... then I will hold no guilt robbing you of your free will and humanity..."
Henchman 21 and Henchman 24 looked at each other, watching to see what the response of their prisoner would be. There wasn't a soul alive that didn't tremble in the face of such evil…
Finally, the prisoner spoke. "…Dude. You need a breath mint,"
Glaring, Eggman pushed a button. Suddenly a helmet dropped onto the boy's head. "Go ahead and make jokes… you won't have any humor once you're under my control!"
*BZZZZZZZZT!*
As the lights flashed, Eggman smirked to himself, watching the pained expression. Suddenly one of his robotic slaves came up to him, whispering news to him. He turned to his henchmen. "Throw him with the other zombies when he's done. I have a… 'family reunion' to get to," with that, he walked out.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Flip and Shawn made their way into one of the prison chambers. Waiting until the robot guards were out of sight, they hurried over to one cell. Flip took out his wristwatch, using the laser to fry off the lock. "Um, Flip? We could have just pushed the button," Shawn said, pointing to a button on the wall that read 'open'.
"I know, but I always wanted to try this," Flip replied, opening the door.
"Whoa! Who's there?" came a familiar voice.
"Flim-Flam! …Holly! Stanley!" Flip exclaimed, seeing his three friends sharing the cell. "It's me, Flip!"
"And Shawn," Shawn added.
"Okay, a few questions- how are you invisible, can you show me how you did that, and how did you find us?" Flim-Flam asked.
"We'll tell you all about it later. Right now, we have to free everyone!" Flip answered. He looked around. "Where are the others?"
Holly began to tear up. "I don't know… but these robots started taking everyone one-by-one, and no one's come back! The last one they took was Fangs, and that was an hour ago,"
"Not good. Eggman is known for mind-control… if not turning someone completely robotic," Shawn answered.
"If only I had my mask… Those robots took it before I had a chance to put it on!" Stanley stated. "If this Eggman guy gets his hands on it… crud, we may end up going by the comic and putting this story under an 'M' rating,"
"Worry about it later. Right now, we need to get you guys out!" Flip replied. He turned to Shawn. "…How do we do that, exactly?"
"Oh, simple." Shawn reached into his pocket, pulling out a swirling circle. "From the makers of the hole-in-the-wall, may I introduce ACME's new Portable-Portal!" he threw it onto the wall. "Step on through, and it will take you somewhere safe."
"Sweet! …hey, you think you could lend me some of these things? I mean, we're doing a new movie that finishes off the 13 Ghosts series (at long last), and I may need some new tricks-" Flim-Flam was stating.
"GO, Flim-Flam!" Holly sneered, shoving him through the portal. She turned to Flip and Shawn. "What about you guys?"
"We still have 10 minutes left on our cloaking devices. We'll be okay- you just stay safe,"
Holly smiled. "Flip, remind me to kiss you when this is over with," With that, she jumped through the portal.
"…Flip, I can tell you're standing there with a goofy expression. Snap out of it!" Shawn quipped.
"Right! Er, c'mon, we need to stop Eggman," Flip replied.
"Be sure to grab my mask, alright?" Stanley reminded, before jumping through the portal last. It then shrank down into nothingness.
Shawn and Flip then hurried out, coming across a new chamber. Inside, they saw several zombified people. "Hey! Are you alright?" Flip whispered to one person.
"I only respond to Eggman…" the person responded in a trance.
"No good. Everyone here has lost their minds…" Shawn sighed.
"…Hey! Does anyone know the way out of here? (watch it)" came a familiar, slightly panicked voice.
"Fangs?" Flip responded, making his way through the crowd of zombies and finding the red-capped coward against the wall.
"Flip? Where are you?" Fangs asked, looking around.
"I'm right here in front of you,"
Fangs looked. "Where?"
"Here!"
He paled. "Yipes! You're a ghost?! …Oh, poor Flip! You were so young!"
"Shh! I'm not a ghost, I'm just invisible…"
"For another five minutes. We have to hurry and get out of here!" Shawn whispered.
"Shawn's here too? W-What's going on?" Fangs stammered.
"We'll explain later. Right now, we need to get you out of here!" Flip answered.
"Ooh, ooh, that's the only thing I agree with right now…"
They made their way through the crowd of mind-controlled slaves. "Hey, Fangs? How come you're here? You don't look mind-controlled,"
"Is that what's wrong with everyone? …I figured they were our fandom,"
"(One more crack like that, and you can kiss your recurring cameo goodbye!)" Shawn whispered. He cleared his throat. "So why would you be thrown in here?"
"Beats me! Someone threw me into this big chair, then a helmet fell on my head, and suddenly my brain was getting fried! I think I blacked out 15 times! When I came to… I was surrounded by the house of congress here," he looked at the script. "…okay, are there any more 'brain-dead individual' cracks I need to make, or is this the last one?"
"So, Fangs wasn't affected… You think it's because he's-" Flip began to question, until suddenly he was cut off by a loud
*KAPOW! …bszzzzt… sizzle… beep boop thhhpp.*
"What… was… that?" Fangs asked, shaken up.
"Well, Fangs, as the running gag per episode goes, something obviously exploded," Shawn replied matter-of-factly. "Which means security is going to be swarming the place, so we really, really, REALLY need to get out of here ASAP,"
They ran towards the exit, opening the door…
In a flash, Shawn and Flip suddenly appeared. "Oops. Time's up,"
"Intruders…" One brain-slave moaned, pointing.
"Get them…" another ordered.
"I only answer to Eggman…"
"Just do it…"
"Okay…"
"Ummm… RUN." Shawn advised, and they took off down the hall, pursued by zombified prisoners.
"Can't you use another portal-pocket-whatever?!" Flip asked.
"I only carried one! I figured we'd be able to round up… the… others…!" Shawn looked back and gasped.
Coming up the front of the horde were the familiar faces of Cubby, Izzy, Jake and Uncle Ted. "Wait up guys…! Join us…! Ain't so bad not having to think for yourself…!" Ted called.
"Yes! Join us, Shawn! Join our new crew!" Jake hollered.
Flip looked back and winced, but pulled Shawn forth. "Don't look back! Keep running!"
"I'm sorry guys… I'll free you, somehow!" Shawn winced, and they hurried on.
d~b
With Pugsy, he had his own horrors to view.
He snuck through the halls, cutting through a prison chamber- this one holding various cameos. "Change! Ya got any change?! C'mon, change!" Chester A. Bum was shouting.
"Wheeeeeeeeeeeee…!" GIR was exclaiming, running all around his cage.
"No, I don't want to hear it! You tell them that if I have to star in any more of these half-baked crossovers, they're going to get a fist right in the-!" Chris Maclane, who was currently griping to his agent on the cell-phone was stating. "What the…?! He hung up on me!"
"I can't believe I only get 1 other cameo, and it's in a prison cell!" Hulk Hogan was sneering.
"Tell me about it," Swaine, who was sharing the cell with him, grimaced.
"Huh boy, better break 'em free before our budget runs out," Pugsy sighed, looking around before finding a button that said 'Open'. Making sure the coast was clear, he pushed it and opened all the doors. He looked over, seeing a door reading 'Emergency Exit' and flung it open, revealing several escape pods. "Alright! Everyone, in here! Hurry up and get in a pod, and get to-"
*STAMPEDE NOISE!*
…If only Pugsy weren't invisible, otherwise he could have had a chance to avoid being trampled by all the escapees, many of them piling into the pods and shooting off out of the airship to the safety of anywhere-but-this-set.
"…safe…ty…"
*bzzzt!*
In the ongoing trampling, his cloaking device short-circuited, rendering him visible. "Oh, c'mon! I still had 5 minutes!" he sneered.
*KA-POW!* …came the sound of the explosion that happened around this time.
"An explosion? That either means the villain's done something… or…" he headed in the direction of the noise, keeping low and looking into a smoke-filled room.
Inside, Henchman 21 and 24 were laying on the ground. "I TOLD you to shut it off after it started fizzing out…" 24 sneered.
"Is that guy at least mind-controlled?"
"I've got news for you, gentlemen!" came a familiar voice Pugsy, unfortunately, heard too many times. Out of the smoke stepped Zippy. "I'm a girl… and as for mind control- YOU CAN'T CONTROL WHAT'S ALREADY BEEN LOST! AH HA HA HA, HAAAAA! …Bye now!" With that, she took off—
*Squeak!*
…bumping into Pugsy. "Zippy! I should've figured you of all people could make a brain-hacking machine explode,"
"Pugs! …Nice outfit. I take it Shawn filled you in?" Zippy guessed.
"Yeah, yeah, now we need to find the others. C'mon!"
They began to run off… stopping when they saw the path ahead was blocked by mechanized people.
Zippy gasped, looking ahead and seeing a familiar fluffball- now robotisized. "Son of a brat turned my pet-puff into a toaster!" she snarled.
Pugsy looked, seeing that many of the bots struck familiar features. He spotted Melody, now a robot. "Oh man… I wonder if Shag would be okay dating a robot," he whispered. He looked over, seeing an exit. "C'mon, we need to keep moving."
"Rickshaw, you shall be avenged…" Zippy murmured before following him.
They were almost to the exit when…
"STOP THEM!"
The two turned, seeing Henchman 21 and 24 were back on their feet and looking very, very, VERY displeased at being half-exploded.
The robotisized-minions turned, and began to take chase! "Run!" Pugsy exclaimed, and they made their way down the hall.
Alarms started to blare. Their cover had been blown! "What do we do now?" Zippy asked.
"We either see if we can take on 40 robots that used to be our friends or civilians, or we busticate out,"
Looking ahead, they saw some guards coming forth, these ones non-bot. Quickly, they ducked through an open doorway, but found they were trapped in a hoarding space.
Pugsy grabbed his bat, and started swinging when the guards rushed in. Zippy managed to evade most of them, as well as throw them into each other, but they were clearly outnumbered. She ended up slamming into a table, where she saw something lying there.
The Mask!
Without hesitation, Zippy grabbed it. "Desperate times call for desperate measures!" she said, and put it on. "AAAGGGGHHHH- geez this hurts- NNNNNGGGHHH!"
Everyone watched as Zippy tossed, turned, spun and bounced around the room, falling into a closet! "Zippy!" Pugsy called, being held back by several guards.
The doors opened, and out stepped… stepped… a… a… a very… very… hah hah… hamanahamana… HOT BABE!
Pugsy, as well as all the guards, narrator, camera guy, producer, and pretty much everyone who wasn't her brother gawked as Zippy stepped out, looking like a tall, thin, red-dress clad, long-slick black-haired, blue eyed gorgeous super-model of a woman!
"Hello, boys~" She said, her voice soft and silky like that of Jessica Rabbit's.
All the guards' jaws dropped. Suddenly they began howling, whooping, and slamming their heads on the walls in a cartoony manner at how drop-dead sexy Mask Zippy was!
Pugsy looked around. "Am I the only one stunned by this result?" he asked.
Mask Zippy walked over to the guards. "How about you studs clear the way, so me and my friend here can… take a walk?" she asked, her tone lined with seductiveness.
"Ma'am yes ma'am!" The guards said, then quickly split a line, allowing her to walk out, her arm hooking around Pugsy's as she led him out.
"Now then… where's the exit?"
"D-Down the hall, to the left, three doors d-down, miss!" one guard stuttered.
"Thank you. Ta-ta now~"
The guards all waved and hollered as she left, walking with Pugsy. "I never knew you had it in ya," he quipped.
"Inside every tomboy is a beauty-queen waiting to get out," She rubbed his chin, before rubbing his bangs back, sliding his hat back a bit as she did. "Speaking of getting out, why don't we hurry up and bust out, bara-boy?" With that, she hurried forth.
Pugsy stood there, albeit confused. "Bara-boy…?" shaking his head, he hurried after her.
Once they were in a clear space, she pulled off the mask, returning back to her… *groan* short, boy-like, non-sexualized self. "…Where was I the last five minutes?" she asked, blinking.
Pugsy's communication device beeped just then. "Pugs! It's Flip! Where are you?!" Flip asked.
"I'm over by the exit. I found ZIP and managed to free a few captives… but, half of them got robotified!" he said.
"Hurry and get out!" Shawn's voice cut in. "Our cover's been blown, we need to evacuate!"
"What about Shag and Vince? What about the other captives?"
"We'll get them… as for the captives, well we managed to save a couple… Hurry! There's no time to lose!"
There came sounds of mechanized footsteps, as a horde of robots were coming their way.
Pugsy sighed, turning to Zippy. "We gotta go,"
"Wait, my boyfriend's here? No way am I leaving him behi-HEY!"
Pugsy picked up Zippy, carrying her over his shoulder. "No arguing! C'mon!"
Quickly, they ran out the door marked 'Exit'…
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUGGGHHHHH!" both screamed
…not noticing the sticky-note above the sign that read, 'Not really'.
The door turned out to lead to the outside of the airship… causing the two to drop from 10,000 feet! They fell through some clouds…
*Fwoosh!*
…ending up soaring over buildings on a hang-glider. "Glad I never leave home without this thing!" Zippy sighed in relief.
"Yeah, sure… just please land safely," Pugsy stated in caution.
Zippy blinked. "…you mean… without crashing?"
"ZIP!"
"Kidding! I'm kidding!"
Touching down, they landed on a hill, looking back up at the airship. "…I hope everyone gets out alright,"
Zippy crossed her arms. "So do I… But! I have faith things will be alright. I mean, what could-"
*CLAP!*
Pugsy clapped his hand over her mouth, shaking his head 'no'.
d~b
Robotnik was furious, frightened, and flabbergasted as he stood before Eggman. "So, 'brother'… having fun pretending to be a villain?" Eggman taunted.
"I AM a villain, you heinous dolt! Just because you apparently kidnapped an entire city doesn't make you a supreme overload of evil!" Robotnik snarled.
"*sigh* Humorous dialogue again? This is why you were never seen as a threat. Easily beaten with Looney Tune tactics, each plan more idiotic than the last… why, even your drones were idiots! Now look at you, working with those two stupid robots and two common pick-pockets, not even coming close to success- even more humiliating, the failure came from your own incompetence rather than a blasted hedgehog,"
"Shut up!" Robotnik threw a punch, but Eggman caught his wrist.
"Pathetic." Eggman then shoved him back, his brother crashing into some robots who were working online to see if anyone remained in the city.
One robot's hand ended up slipping and clicking a link to Youtube, pulling up a pop-song.
"GAH! TURN THAT BLASTED THING OFF!" Eggman roared, smashing his fist onto the platform and causing the screen to go blank, the air silent. "I told you fools! Those sounds could destabilize the technology!" as if to further emphasize, he tore off the robot's head and slammed it into a wall, making it shatter into pieces.
"…I see someone isn't a fan of music," Robotnik scoffed.
Suddenly, alarms started to blare. "Sir! We've gained reports that security has been breached!" a robot informed. "Countless captives have escaped, the mind-control machine has blown up, and there's been reports of four men, a boy, and a woman who looks like a boy running loose!"
Eggman gripped the robot by the throat. "Then see to it they're all killed on sight!" he snarled.
"Ha! Here you are, pointing out my flaws… and yet someone managed to invade YOUR ship and release YOUR captives- and none of them are hedgehogs!" Robotnik taunted.
Eggman sneered and smacked him across the face. "Take him away, and lock him up! I will show you how being merciless works later…"
Immediately, Robotnik was thrown into a chute that shot him into a cell. Crossing his arms, he grimaced. "Hmph. Just jealous because mother liked me more," he muttered.
d~b
Shaggy had been in a chamber, watching in horror as someone was thrown into a chamber and coming out as a robot. Using his invisibility to his advantage, he quickly unplugged the machine before it could be used again. There came an explosion within the moment, and the robots left the chamber to investigate.
The reason he remained still for so long was because he saw the last victim had been Melody…
He didn't realize his cloaking device wore off until one of the other prisoners noticed him, and everyone began begging him for his help. Quickly, he saw a button that opened all the cages and released them.
The problem: now he was surrounded by people, and had no idea what to do next.
Just when he was about to contact Shawn for help, Vincent dropped in from the vents. "Darn it, wrong room," he sneered, checking the map-outline. "I knew I should have turned right…"
"Vincent! Nice timing, I could use some help here," Shaggy said, motioning to the freed captives. "We need to get these people out of here!"
Vincent looked at his tracking device; according to it, this was the time Zippy and Pugsy eluded the guards. He tapped it, bringing up a list of escape-routes. "Quick, to the launch bay- we can hi-jack a drone and take them to safety." He turned to the crowd. "Is anyone here a pilot?"
A hand held up, belonging to Launchpad McQuack. "I'm a pilot!"
"Can you get everyone to a safe location- WITHOUT crashing?"
"Hey, I've been flying better since Darkwing Duck and the new reboot,"
"…Fair enough. Let's go!"
As quick as they could, they made their way to the drones. It was no surprise there were robots and guards in the area. "Intruders! Exterminate!" one robot, which looked suspiciously like a Dalek, exclaimed.
"I hate these things," Vincent grimaced, charging forth and started smashing robots, karate-flipping guards, kicking and punching his way through, drawing his grappling hook gun and shooting upward, swinging over to a lever that opened the bay doors. "Shag! Get everyone to a drone!"
Shaggy made his way across; thanks to his training, he managed to swing his bo-staff, kicking back guards and elbowing a few in the face. However he wasn't that much of a karate-expert against the robots… thankfully, he had a different plan.
Whipping out ketchup, mustard, mayo and ranch bottles, he sprayed the robots with several condiments, making them short-circuit and go haywire! Once the path was clear, he ran over to a drone and started helping people in, Launchpad taking over the controls. "To anywhere but here, and step on it!" Shaggy hollered once the final escapee was in.
Without hesitation, Launchpad shot off into the skies. Vincent leaped down next to Shaggy. "Alright, now lets find Shawn and-"
"Help!" came a child's cry. The two looked ahead, seeing a little girl running into the bay, pursued by bots!
"Zoinks! We forgot a passenger!" Shaggy yelped.
"Well, c'mon Shag! She can hitch a ride with us!" Vincent exclaimed, and they ran forth.
Once they were close enough, however, they noticed the girl had a mechanized look to her features. A robot! It was a trap! The robots, plus many more, surrounded them. Shaggy whipped out his communication device. "Shawn! We're surrounded in the bay! I could really, REALLY use some instructions right now!"
Shawn, Flip and Fangs at this moment were surrounded themselves. "Bad timing, Shag! We're trapped, too!"
"Hey! Anyone in need of some advice?" came Pugsy's voice on the communicator. "There were some escapifying pods at the end of a hallway- there could be more!"
"Pugs is right!" Flip said, kicking back one drone while pulling up a map. "There should be an escape hatch between here and the bay, right by the stairs!"
"We're going to have to fight our way to it. Shag, Vince, you think you can do it?" Shawn asked.
"Did I play the Spyro: Reignited trilogy for 72-hours straight?" Vincent rhetorically asked, using his bo-staff to fend off some advancing bots.
"We'll meet you there! Let's go!"
With that, everyone fought their way through, finding the escape hatch with a pod inside.
The problem?
There was only room enough for 4 people.
And a lot more robots were coming in… and this time, Eggman was with them!
Vincent looked around; throwing a knife, he hit an oil-drum that was stacked with others. He turned to everyone, ushering them into the pod. "You guys get out of here! I'll handle this!" he exclaimed.
"Vincent! You can't take them all on at once!" Shawn exclaimed.
"I know… but my main focus is saving my friends, " he reached around his neck and pulled off a cross-necklace, handing it to Shaggy. "Just in case… tell Zippy I love her," with that, he shut the pod doors and hit launch, ignoring everyone's muted cries behind the door.
Vincent then turned, watching as Eggman approached. "Well, well, if it isn't the Black Alchemist. I've heard talk about you," the mastermind stated.
"Yeah? Well, I'm not here to socialize!" Vincent then drew a gun and shot, igniting the spilling oil!
Fire spread quickly, all the robots and guards scattering to avoid the oncoming explosion as the flames spread towards the bay; he made his way around the chaos, leaping into another drone…
Unfortunately, so did Eggman, who grabbed him by the throat. "That… was a very stupid mistake," he hissed, throwing the Black Alchemist out.
Vincent rolled across the floor. Looking forth, he saw Eggman's drone shoot out! "Shawn! Eggman escaped! He-" he began to state, but was cut off.
d~b
*KA-BOOOOOOOM!*
"Jumping ignorpotomases!" Pugsy gasped as he and Zippy watched as a large part of the airship exploded, flaming debris raining from the sky as the ship began to go down.
"Here they come!" Zippy exclaimed, looking through a pair of binoculars, watching as the escape pod landed nearby. Quickly, she and Pugsy rushed forth.
"Are you guys alri-" Pugsy began to ask.
"PUGS!" Fangs shouted, leaping out and hugging his best friend. "Oh, thank God! It was horrifying! We were sucked up into the sky, then thrown in a cell, then I got electrified, and then we were chased by robots and zombies and.. and… oh man, am I glad to see you- in spy getup?"
"Vincent…? Come in!" Shawn was saying into his communication device.
"W-What's going on?" Flip asked. "What did he say?"
"He said Eggman escaped…"
"But… wait… you're saying…" Zippy sputtered, in shock. She looked at the explosion. "No… no way, please tell me he escaped too! There's another pod coming, right? Right?!"
Shaggy rubbed the back of his neck, handing her a necklace. "He… said that he loves you…" he whispered.
Zippy stared, tears forming in her eyes as she fell to her knees. "Vincent… no… first my dog… half my friends… now my boyfriend… no… please tell me it's not true…"
Shawn looked over at the city, once thriving but now a ghost town, destroyed. Worst, yet, the mastermind behind the mayhem had gotten away. He watched solemnly as the airship crashed down, another explosion erupting from it. Beyond the red, smoky skies, he saw a drone flying off, practically hearing Eggman cackling at the destruction he's caused.
"We've failed," Shawn sighed. He looked at everyone. "Back to the base… we can't do anything now,"
Flip looked at everone. Shaggy and Pugsy were at a loss for words, Fangs was clinging to his best friend, and Zippy was in tears. She looked once more at the flaming city…
"VINCENT…!"
d~b
A/N: Wow, ended on a sad note there… We need something to lighten up the ten…sion… *I pause, seeing Pugsy standing there, angry*
Pugsy: *glare*
Me: (to my co-writer) Let me guess… he looked up what 'Bara' meant, didn't he?
Mister C: Yep.
Pugsy: And it doesn't involve a different country! *smacks me upside the head with the laptop before storming off* Sicko.
Me: *dazed*
Mister C: Well. That killed the tension. Next chapter, the finale… or is it?!
Me: Is it…? I can't remember with this sudden concussion…