Note: Y'know, it's funny. No matter how hard I try to sit down and type, I never seem to have the chance to until a month passes... I've really got to start kicking people off of their computers so I can start typing this more. That aside, I hope everyone had a good Christmas, or Hannukah, or whatever their respective holiday might be, and also a Happy New Year. As for me, well, they're just normal days for me. Anyways, here's to 2007 being better than 2006!
Author's Notes: Sora G. Silverwind - I wish for the best in your Golden Sun opus. (No way in HELL would I be able to do something like that... I envy you.) And having just beaten Twilight Princess, I can tell you it's a very good game, but personally, I'm getting rather tired of the whole "Let's make everything like Ocarina of Time" plot-scenarios... gets old after a while. And I trust you've seen the final episode of Bomberman Jetterz? Holy crap, did that put a tear to my eye... and not for the first time, either. I swear, that is the most emotionally-driven anime I've EVER seen. Or show, for that matter. And yes, Bomberman Wii looks... well, dull, to say the least. The whole reason why I started writing this 'fic was pretty much because of Hudson's latest moves on Bomberman spin-offs (Act Zero and Touch!, wtf?), and not enough adventure titles. Sure, Generation wasn't the best of them, but dammit, at least there was something to it!
As for the Sinister Bombers... well, they're pretty much something I came up with a very long time ago. And for Alya and Shiro; there will be some definite things going on between them. There is a reason why I wanted a bunch of villains to show up, but only time will tell.
Now to find an anime worthy of the Jetterz name! Maybe that Bomberman B-Daman Bakugaiden...? ... Maybe.
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Chapter Five: Black Resort
"Pommy wants to ask Bomberman something," Pommy said, having a slight hop in his walk.
"Shoot." Bomberman replied, crossing his arms behind his head.
"Why does Bomberman wear that badge if he isn't part of the Jetters anymore?"
Bomberman stopped, closing his eyes. "Well, it… it used to belong to my brother… my older brother, Mighty."
"Myu?" Pommy arched an eyebrow. "Pommy didn't know Bomberman had a brother… what happened to him?"
Bomberman sighed. Although he was over the fact that his brother was dead, it still wasn't a subject he particularly liked to talk about. "He died when I was nine… he sacrificed himself to complete his final mission…"
"Myu…" Pommy frowned. "Pommy's sorry…"
"Don't worry about it," Bomberman smiled. "I still think about him from time to time."
The long bridge finally came to an end, a twisted, melted gate marking the other side. The buildings were getting darker and darker by the second, massive amounts of ash covering their once colorful surfaces. A small fountain soon appeared in the distance, filled with disgusting, grimy water, which smelled like it came from a sewer. Pommy stumbled around for a bit, struggling to keep his balance.
"Pommy doesn't like this smell…" he muttered.
Bomberman shook his head. "I know what you mean…"
The path soon widened, leading them down the middle of a small neighborhood. Occasionally looking over at the small houses that surrounded them, they noticed the trees that lined the sidewalks were dark, but fortunately, still alive. To think that just a few hours ago people were living their lives on these roads, caring for one another and-
"Damn it!!" someone yelled off in the distance.
The voice was then followed by a few loud gunshots, echoing throughout the area. Bomberman and Pommy stared at each other, and then took off in the direction of the noise, readying themselves for attack. Another gunshot sounded, the bullet streaming by Bomberman's cheek; he could feel the trail of the shot brush against his face. An arch appeared, looking to be a bridge on the top, and someone was leaning against the wall in front of it.
"Shaut!" Bomberman yelled.
She looked over at him, apparently surprised. "White Bomber! I—"
"Hey, there's that Bomberman guy!" someone down the road screamed.
"Get 'em!!"
"Get over here!" she motioned to the two.
They dashed over to her, leaning back against the wall. Bomberman sidled to the left, and peered over the corner; a group of about five men were running toward them, laser guns in each of their hands.
"That's just perfect…" he muttered.
He looked at the two next to him, and jumped out from the corner and into the middle of the street. Quickly, he dropped an Ice Bomb, and kicked it as hard as he could towards them, simultaneously charging a Fire Bomb. He detonated the Ice Bomb, freezing them all in place, then threw the Fire Bomb as hard as he could.
Boom!
The bodies of the frozen soldiers shattered to pieces after the Fire Bomb exploded; Shaut and Pommy stepped from the corner, looking over at the many crystal shards that covered the road.
Shaut stepped next to him, not taking her eyes off the road ahead. "Well… you've certainly… honed your skills."
Bomberman looked at her. "Anyone who hurts the people of my home are just asking for it." he shook his head. "Hey, where's Birdy? And Bongo? And Gangu?"
"Well, you know how Birdy is," she answered. "We split up a while ago. He said he saw someone sneaking through the back gate of the town and decided to follow him." she frowned. "I don't know where Bongo and Gangu are, though… there's no signal when I try to contact them…"
Bomberman smiled, remembering it was Bongo they were talking about. "Don't worry. I doubt they're in trouble. Trust in your friends, remember?"
She smiled. "Yeah, you're right."
The three of them began down the road in front of them, following it's trail of stone. Dark, grey clouds covered the sky, and with a bolt of lightning, began to pour rain down on them.
"Myu…" Pommy muttered. "Can this get any worse—"
Bomberman quickly swung his hand over Pommy's mouth, clasping it shut.
"Don't ever say that, 'kay?" he said. "When you do, something bad is bound to happen…"
"Ain't that the truth…" Shaut muttered.
A long stairway appeared in front of them, climbing even higher towards the sky; the road continued underneath it.
"I'll go up," she said. "I'll continue to investigate the city. You two try and make your way to the ship."
Bomberman nodded. "Right."
"Y'know," she moved up a step. "I'm really impressed with you…" she slowly made her way up the flight. "You're a lot different than I remember you… Mighty would be proud."
Bomberman rubbed his neck shyly as she headed up the stairs.
"Shaut's right," Pommy said. "Pommy's proud of Bomberman, too."
Bomberman shook his head. "Alright, alright…" he started down the path. "Let's get going before we get all sentimental…"
"Bomberman still doesn't like talking about his emotions?"
He rolled his eyes. "Why talk about feelings when you could be talking about something else?"
Pommy chuckled. "Because sometimes it's good to share a little pain with others."
"… And sometimes it's good to talk about something else… like this mission, for instance."
They continued down the road, taking in all the sights around them. Soon, the standing figure of someone came into view, standing in the middle of the road, his cape blowing in the wind. Bomberman continued toward the man, motioning Pommy to stay behind him.
"Who is it, Bomb?" Pommy whispered.
"I don't know," he answered. "It's too dark to tell…"
As they moved closer, they saw that he was staring up at a giant statue of Bomberman, erected as part of a fountain; it was Mujoe. Bomberman stepped up next to him, not saying a word.
"You're here for the Stone, I assume." Mujoe finally said, not once taking his gaze off the flowing water.
"Partly, yes." Bomberman answered. "But I'm really here to keep my planet safe. At any costs."
"Still as noble as ever, huh?" Mujoe rubbed his large, brown nose. "You know we're gonna have to fight, right?"
Bomberman nodded. After the fight on the Armored Joe a while back, he was ready for anything that Mujoe might throw at him. Mujoe walked a few steps ahead, standing in the middle of the road; Pommy watched as Bomberman did the same.
"You ready?" Mujoe shouted, lifting his muscular arms in the air above him.
Bomberman put his fist out front. "Bring it!"
Mujoe bellowed with laughter. "That's what I want to hear!" he put his fingers to his lips, and whistled loudly. "Come, Beam Machine!"
Suddenly, a giant, circular machine soared above them, landing next to Mujoe, who quickly jumped inside.
"You still have that piece of crap?" Bomberman arched an eyebrow, remembering how Mujoe tried to ambush him with the same machine many years ago.
Mujoe chuckled. "It's been greatly upgraded since then," he pressed a switch. "Like this!"
A hatch opened on the front, and a cannon emerged; a huge beam of energy shot out at Bomberman.
"Whoa!" he quickly rolled to the right, then quickly jumped to his feet.
"See what I mean?!" Mujoe laughed hysterically.
"Sunrise Thunder Bomb!" Bomberman shouted.
A very bright light formed in his hands, taking the form of a bomb. Electricity soon emitted from it as he raised towards the sky.
"Bomber… SHOOT!"
The bomb shot fiercely at Mujoe, leaving a trail of lightning behind it.
BOOM!
Mujoe's control system short-circuited for a bit, but steadily regained control. Another beam shot out at Bomberman, who quickly rolled to the left. Time to show him a new technique…he thought.
"Hyper Fire Bomb!" he shouted, raising his arm into the air.
A giant stream of fire shot down from the sky and into his palm, taking the form of another bomb. The stream of fire continued to wrap around his entire body, building energy around him, then shot up into the bomb, engulfing it in it's flame.
"Bomber… SHOOT!"
"Damn it…" Mujoe muttered, watching the as bomb flew towards him.
BOOM!!
The entire ship exploded upon impact, huge amounts of metal flying everywhere. Bomberman watched as Mujoe stumbled out of the fire, struggling to keep his balance. The pounding rain quickly weakened it to nothing but smoke in a matter of seconds as Mujoe fell to chest, unconscious. Pommy stepped up next to Bomberman.
"Should Bomberman and Pommy just leave him here?" he asked.
Bomberman started moving. "Yeah. He'll be fine; he's Mujoe, remember?" he looked over his shoulder. "He's actually a lot stronger than he looks, I'll give him that."
They continued down the grey path, wondering if that damn fountain was still going to be there once they arrived. They moved up a flight of stairs which lead to the top of a building; a small, park sat on top. They crossed the bridge ahead of them, and saw what they were looking for; the statue of the Goddess was still flowing with water like so long ago, and the bridge was still behind it.
"Myu!" Pommy dashed forward. "There it is! There it—"
Pommy froze, staring off into the distance.
"What's wrong?" Bomberman asked, edging next to his short friend.
He stared at what was beyond the railing, what was floating above the ocean: the enemy warship. It was huge. It had to have been at least twice the size of Rukifellth's ship "Noah." It's jet-black surface glistened over the top of the water, it's massive wings jetting out from either side. A giant 'fin' erected from the top, slicking back into a wicked curve. These guys really meant business, and had the ship to prove it.
"Pommy's scared…" Pommy trembled slightly, grasping tightly on the bars in front of him.
"Well, looks like we'd better find that portal as soon as we can." Bomberman took a few steps toward the stairway, glancing over at the fountain. "Can't let these creeps get—"
"There they are!!"
"Get them! NOW!!"
Bomberman looked over his shoulder, and a group of about twenty soldiers were heading their way. Quickly grabbing Pommy by his ears, he began to dash up the stairs as fast as his legs could take him.
"Myu!!" Pommy groaned in irritation. "Pommy can run by—"
A stream of bullets pierced the ground behind them, bits of concrete flying into the air.
"Don't let go!" Pommy covered his eyes.
The group of soaring bullets could still be heard chasing them as they ran across the rooftop. A flat, rectangular object sat in the middle of the area, blue holograms rising up from its outer shell. Bomberman dropped a Big Bomb behind them, and together, stepped into the portal, not sure what was going to happen next.