(I explain to everyone Romeo's involvement with Infinite last night)
Sonic: You're kidding. Infinite had Romeo steal the Chaos Emeralds?
Me: Unlikely, but if Infinite's involved, I'll bet Eggman's got another scheme lingering in his head.
Silver I can't believe Eggman would go this far to do such a thing!
Blaze: Once we see him, I will personally give him a hot foot!
(My Shen Gong Wu tracker goes off)
Me: As much as I want to teach Eggman a lesson, he'll have to wait. A new Shen Gong Wu's revealed itself.
Connor: Let us come too.
Me: Fair enough. Let's visit the monks at the temple first.
Heroes Unite!
Chapter 35: Sugar Crash
Our heroes, joined by the amnesiac Keyblade wielder Mason, search the Sugar Rush castle for any clues on the Foundation Element. They spread out so they could gather whatever they could find. When they reach the throne room, they find the Sugar Rush racers, Sour Bill, and a handful of citizens. They see that some of townsfolk look nervous. Some of the racers are trying to calm them down.
"Geez, what's going on here?" Spiral asked.
"I was just asking the same thing." They hear Crumbelina DiCaramello speak.
"Crumbelina!" Sofia greeted.
"Long time, no see, Sofia." Crumbelina greeted the Ever Realm Protector.
"Same to you. Do you remember what happened?" Sofia asked.
"My friends and I were just finishing another Random Roster Race." Crumbelina explained. "We were psyched for tomorrow."
"Next thing we know, this old man came along and sent hordes of these strange shadow creatures to attack us!" Rancis added, approaching the party. "We were lucky to have escaped here."
"Those creatures are called Heartless." Anakin spoke up.
"Heartless?" They hear Gloyd Orangeboar speak up.
"Creatures that are born from the darkness in people's hearts." Scarlett explained. "The greater the darkness, the stronger the Heartless."
"That explains a lot." Crumbelina deduced.
Mason kneeled to their eye level. "Rancis, Crumbelina, this old man, did he have a Keyblade like this one?" He shows them his Sleeping Lion Keyblade.
"Now that you mention it, he did have a creepy-looking Keyblade." Crumbelina remembered. It didn't take long for Scarlett to put two and two together.
"Xehanort."
"You heard of him?" They hear Swizzle ask them.
"We just met him in the main hall." Obi-Wan explained. "He almost attacked us, but Mason came and saved us."
"It's a good thing you did." Rancis spoke with a confident grin. "We sure missed seeing you guys here. And I'll bet you missed us."
"Speaking of people we missed, did anyone see Vanellope here recently?" Sofia asked.
"Right here." They hear a voice they were hoping to hear. The heroes spot the raven-haired racer among the group. "I wasn't expecting you to come here."
"I wasn't expecting the Heartless to attack a place this colorful." Cyli spoke.
"Well, by the time we did, it was too late. Most of the townsfolk were taken away somewhere. Others just… vanished, never to be seen again." Vanellope said mournfully.
"I'll bet they were turned into Heartless." Scarlett said.
"By the way, were you in the Random Roster Race by any chance?" Pac-Man asked.
"No, I actually came to watch." Vanellope said.
"You came here to watch the race?" Sonic asked. "I always imagined you participating in it."
"While you guys were gone, a part on our game's cabinet broke and they had to unplug it." Crumbelina explained.
"To save the game, my friend Ralph and I traveled to the wide world of the Internet to get the required part." Vanellope continued. "Of course, the part itself was not cheap."
"Hold on, you actually traveled into the Internet?!" Rocket asked.
"Yeah. Anyway, while we were there, Ralph and I had a falling out after he let loose a virus and caused a game called Slaughter Race to slow down. The virus then created clones of Ralph that chased me through the Internet until the real Ralph apologized and made them disappear." Vanellope finished.
"And that's when you decided to move into Slaughter Race?" Knuckles asked her.
"Yeah. It was sad to say goodbye, but I know that we'll always be friends, no matter how far away we are." Vanellope said with a sad smile. She then showed them a half of a heart-shaped cookie medal around her neck. "And this half of a medal I made is proof of that."
"Vanellope, I have a request." Fox spoke up.
"What is it?" She asked. As Fox explained the situation, Tails heard rapid beeping coming from his scanner. He ushers Anakin and Sofia behind the others.
"Remember what I said earlier, about the Foundation Element consisting of two parts?" Tails asked.
"Hold on, are you saying that Vanellope's half of the medal is one of them?" Sofia asked.
"That's what the scanner is saying, yes."
"I think it'd benefit us if we got that piece of the Element." Anakin suggested.
"Yeah, but I feel like she won't give up something important to her so easily." Sofia whispered. But what she heard next surprised her.
"If it's that important, I'd be happy to give it to you."
"Huh?" Was all Tails could mutter at that.
"Are you sure about this, Vanellope?" Sofia asked. "What would Ralph think if he saw you without it?"
"Like I said, we'll always be friends, no matter how far away we are. I'm sure Ralph will understand my reasons." Vanellope said before she takes off her medal half. "Besides, I feel like I still have a home here."
"That you do, Vanellope. That you do." Scarlett smiled. But before she could be given the medal half, a Sorcerer Nobody steals the medal half using a magical cube.
"What the?!"
The cube hovers to the top of a stained-glass window, where a tan-skinned man in a black coat stood. He stares at the heroes with his gold-colored eyes. His layered, messy silver hair reached down to his mid-back, some of it falling over his shoulders. The magic cube dissipates, dropping the medal half in his hand.
"I must say, Ms. Von Schweetz, you made our efforts in obtaining the Element a whole lot easier, wouldn't you agree?" He spoke with a voice that could send a chill down anyone's spine if they hear it enough times. Mason recognized the man with a scowl.
"Xemnas!" Mason glared, brandishing his Keyblade.
"Well, if it isn't the amnesiac Keyblade Wielder and his pathetic friends." Xemnas greeted them with a smirk.
"How did you find us?" Obi-Wan asked the Organization member.
"It's easy to draw out the Foundation Element when you cause a bit of panic in a place like this." Xemnas spoke.
"So you sent the Heartless to attack us after the race!" Rancis shouted.
"In a manner of speaking, yes." Xemnas smirked.
Tails' scanner started beeping again. The twin-tailed fox pulls it out. "Huh? The signal is detecting both pieces on Xemnas, but how? Vanellope only had her one piece."
"I'm glad you asked, my twin-tailed friend." Xemnas chuckled before pulling from his coat pocket the other half of the medal. Seeing the other half in Xemnas' possession shocked Vanellope.
"That's Ralph's half! How did you get it from him?!" Vanellope said.
"Ah, your friend put up a good fight, but my Heartless dispatched him easily."
"Why, you…" Vanellope seethed before Rancis stopped her.
"Easy, V. Ralph's tough. We'll find him. That's a promise." Rancis assured her. Vanellope takes a deep breath after hearing her boyfriend's calming words.
"Thanks. That makes me feel better."
"How touching. Now, if you'll excuse me, there is an important delivery I must make." Xemnas said before disappearing.
"We got to get those pieces back from Xemnas." Star-Lord said.
"How?! We're not equipped for fighting Heartless, you know." Jubileena Bing-Bing speaks.
"That's where you're wrong, Jubes." Vanellope corrected the cherry-clad racer. "Everyone, follow me."
Vanellope leads the heroes and her friends down to a hidden stairway that leads to a large futuristic door.
"What's all this?" Arbiter asked.
"You'll see." Vanellope said. She approached the terminal and checked some markings on her left arm. They read as follows: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start. She types the code on the terminal and the door opens, revealing a layout of different weaponry, ranging from candy cane rapiers to jawbreaker cannons. The heroes are astounded.
"Everyone, I present to you my wall of weapons."
"When did you put all of this together?" Gamora asked.
"I had this idea lingering in the back of my mind some months after King Candy, or rather Turbo was killed." Vanellope explained. "I figured if something like this happened, I'd grab something from here and deal with the emergency."
"Vanellope von Schweetz, I like your style." Rocket Raccoon smirked. Among the weapons on the wall, Obi-Wan noticed 15 lightsabers mounted. Each one is marked with a sticker of different colors, to easily identify which one belong to who.
"I didn't know you still have those." Obi-Wan spoke, referring to the lightsabers.
"Yeah, we've had them since you trained us back in Coruscant. We save them for emergencies that require a little more force, so to speak." Vanellope said. She grabs the lightsaber with the teal sticker. "This one here is mine."
She then walked to face everyone. "Listen, I don't know why Xemnas wanted those medal pieces, but they mean something to me, and I will never forgive him for taking them from me. I made that medal to show Ralph how meaningful our friendship is. He and I may be different, but that's what makes our friendship unique. Whatever happens out there, we must do everything we can to get those pieces back, stop Xemnas and save my home!"
The denizens of Sugar Rush cheer for their ruler. She eyes Rancis among the crowd, giving her a warm smile.
"Alright, let's suit up." Vanellope said before everyone prepares themselves for the battles ahead.
(We fly over to the Xiaolin Temple)
Amaya: Wow! This looks amazing!
Me: I know. I'm friends with the monks that train here.
Greg: I sure want to meet them.
Kimiko: Archer!
(I turn to see the monks and Dojo)
Me: Hey guys. What's new today?
Omi: Before we tell you, care to introduce your new friends to us?
Me: Sure. Monks, Dojo, this is Connor, Greg, and Amaya.
Connor: Nice to meet you.
Me: These are the Xiaolin Monks. Omi, Dragon of Water.
Omi: I am most honored to make your acquaintance.
Me: Kimiko, Dragon of Fire.
Kimiko: Hello.
Me: Clay, Dragon of Earth.
Clay: Howdy!
Me: And their leader, Raimundo, Dragon of Wind.
Raimundo: What's up?
Me: And this is the temple's guardian and Shen Gong Wu seeker, Dojo.
Dojo: Hey there. Anyway, our new Shen Gong Wu is called the Tempest Trident. Whoever possesses the trident will have the power to control a mighty storm.
Me: Kind of like Aquaman.
Dojo: Let's not beat around the bush. Let's get going!
Me: Gotcha. You know what to do here, readers. Excelsior!
