Note: HOLY CRAP, I am very sorry for this update taking so loooooooooooooong. Y'know, life getting in the way, getting ready to move off to college and whatnot. Anyways, I didn't mean for it to take so long. What's it been like, over six months? Geez... Well, I'm not dead, which is always a plus. And I've been rewriting a draft for Max's plot over and over and over again to see what works, and I'm having one hell of a time. I've been splitting time between this 'fic, and another new Bomberman-esque 'fic that I've been working on, which I might eventually post here. I haven't stopped working on this one, although it seems like I have, and I promise, quicker updates in the future! -sighs-

In other Bomberman-related news, Bomberman LIVE for the Xbox Live Arcade is to be released on Wednesday, so I'm pretty psyched about playing that online. Yippee!

Author's Notes: Sora G. Silverwind - It's a shame BMJ's over, (and been over since my hibernation back in the Arctic the last few months). And I'm glad to see you updated your "Fateful Meetings" 'fic. I'm a huge fan of that one thus far, and I can tell you're pouring a lot of blood and sweat over that one. And as soon as I'm done here, I'm reading your latest in "Plundered Hearts;" me likee the Lili/Ruki pairings. As with Mighty, I was going to do something with that, but when I finally saw BMJ52, I was like, crap, gotta completely rewrite this, move that, get rid 'o that, and so on. Still, it's all in good fun, right? ...Right?

As for a scene with Bomberman vs. Reggy-boy, well, can't reveal too much about that, but I'll say something between those two is going to take place. And man, will it be gritty. Or was it pretty? Don't remember much these days.

Dantaron - Yeah, sorry about some of the corny-ness I put in here. Can't help myself sometimes. I was implying that Rukifellth detected the enemy ship using the Noah's long-range capacity, but I guess I just suck at description. Sorry 'bout that.

As for the bombs, some types like the Hyper Fire Bomb are my own creation. If you've seen the Bomberman Jetters anime, Bomberman always seems to use techniques like Burning Fire Bomb, Sunrise Thunder Bomb, and a few other ones, and I thought that since he's older and more advanced in this 'fic, he'd have some stronger attacks. But he'll just use them in spur-of-the-moment situations, to keep him from playing the God-mode role.

As for the Astral Knights, well... I have plans for some of them appearing, but that's all I'm going to say.

-- -- -- -- --

Chapter Six: Assault on the Engine Room

"So, who exactly are these guys?" Orion tapped his foot impatiently, staring at the monitor in front of him.

The giant warship was traveling towards Planet Bomber, its mounted cannons ready to fire at anything that didn't look friendly.

"The Warship Noah," Regulus answered, folding his arms. "Piloted by the infamous treasure-hunters Rukifellth, the Messenger, and Lilith, Scourge of the Spaceways."

"Aaah," Orion looked over his shoulder. "So these are the hosts to the angels that thought they had you under their control, huh?"

Regulus nodded. "Precisely." He zoomed in on the image of the ship. "He was once known as the 'Dark' Messenger, but I assume he renounced that part of his title. And be careful when dealing with them; they are much stronger than they appear."

Orion nodded. "I'll send a fleet once they're in range," he walked over to the door. "It's suicide, otherwise."

Regulus nodded. "Understood." he switched monitors. "Oh, and check on the prisoners. I have a feeling that princess can tell us more than just her name."

Orion smiled. "Want her number? You sly dog…"

Regulus rolled his eyes. "Just get to it."

"Alright, alright, geez…" Orion stepped out into the hall. "I'm gonna grab somethin' to eat really quick. Want anything?"

"No. And hurry up."

"Suit yourself. I'm thinking a triple-bacon deluxe—"

"Just go."

"…Alrighty, then. That time of the month already, huh? I'll leave you alone, then."

Regulus sighed as the door shut behind Orion.

-- -- -- -- --

"Dammit…" Gangu muttered.

The small robot was floating above his massive friend, Bongo, who stood looking up at what was ahead.

"This isn't good, bongo…" Bongo sighed.

The east section of Blue Resort was completely destroyed, bodies of both civilians and terrorist soldiers lay scattered across the ground. Bongo started down the road as Gangu followed behind, his satellites rotating in circles. Buildings were on fire, flowers had been trampled, trees had been burned; it was a disaster. A long stairway appeared that lead higher above the area, but the road continued ahead; charred soldiers were lying all around the trail ahead.

"White Bomber's got that area covered," both Bongo and Gangu sighed.

They headed up the stairway, climbing rather quickly in fear of anyone spotting them. A straight path soon appeared, leading them over the city to an even higher section.

"Holy--!!" Gangu froze.

"What is it, bongo?!" Bongo frowned.

Gangu pointed out to the sea, and Bongo froze as well; the enemy ship was huge.

"Bongo! Gangu!" someone shouted ahead.

They turned and saw Shaut running towards them.

"There you guys are!" she breathed. "I was worried…"

"Why'd you call his name first…?" Gangu muttered.

"Good to see you're safe Shaut, bongo." Bongo smiled. "Where's Birdy, bongo?"

"He went off to investigate someone we believe to be a third-party." she answered.

"I see…" Bongo sighed. "Well, we'd better get moving then, bongo."

"Yeah," she shrugged. "Let's go."

The trail continued over the city, the dark sky casting shadows of doubt all around them. Everything was quiet; the place seemed empty of all life.

"Look!" Shaut cried, pointing off in the distance.

They saw Bomberman dashing up a stairway, trying to avoid the group of soldiers chasing them. Bongo quickly grabbed Gangu, and transformed into a small missile launcher.

"Why do you abuse me so?!" he cried, his head taking the form of a rocket launcher's barrel.

Shaut aimed her pistol at the group, and she and Bongo began to fire. Come on, White Bomber… she aimed as steadily as she could, trying to keep a lock on them. The soldiers kept firing at the two runners, ignoring Shaut and Bongo's fire. Bomberman had set a Big Bomb at the roof, and disappeared with Pommy; Bongo quickly took advantage of the moment, firing a missile at the Fire Bomb.

BOOM!!

The explosion obliterated all soldiers but one, who managed to fall back. Shaut took a breather as Bongo tinkered with Gangu, transforming him back to normal.

"Shiro must've gotten onto the enemy ship," she finally said. "We'd better hurry."

A few minutes later, flashing red lights began to emit from all over the ship; the boys had been discovered.

"We'd better hope Max has gotten there before us, bongo." Bongo said.

Shaut took off running down the trail, Bongo and Gangu close behind.

-- -- -- -- --

"This place gives Pommy the creeps…" Pommy muttered.

"You're telling me," Bomberman replied, looking around him. "And this is just the entrance, too."

A dark corridor laid out the path in front of them, a giant steel door at the end. A small keypad hung on the wall to the right, obviously needing verification to open the door.

"What are we gonna do, Bomberman?" Pommy mumbled.

"Stand back," Bomberman said, summoning a Magma Bomb.

He grabbed Pommy by the ears and dashed back.

Boom!!

A stream of intense lava formed a cross on the ground in front of them, melting the hinges on the door; the fires that followed shattered it completely. Bomberman threw a quick smile at Pommy, then stepped through the smoke. They stood in a small hallway with many doors on either side; a holographic map stood in the middle of the room.

"Where to, Bomb?" Pommy asked, staring up at the map.

Bomberman studied the map for a moment, tapping his foot.

"We're gonna blow the engine out," he finally said.

"Won't that put the prisoners in danger?"

"That's why we're only going to destroy one," he answered, turning to face his small friend. "One engine can't possibly be enough to hold a ship of this size, so they'll be forced to land it somewhere on the surface. The Jetters can secure the prisoners from there, while we go and destroy the rest of the ship."

"Bomberman thinks of everything, doesn't he?"

"I do what I can." he winked.

Pommy followed Bomberman to the room just to the right of them, staying close behind. A giant computer room stood in front of them, a door on the wall above them. Apparently, no one had yet known of their entrance; no alarms were going off, and no one was at post.

"How convenient," Bomberman muttered as he began to search the computers. After a few moments, he groaned loudly in frustration.

"I can't find anything to drop a path up to that—"

Pommy jumped on a big red switch on the wall next to the entrance; a ladder lowered itself down onto the wall ahead.

"Isn't Pommy great?" he smirked.

Bomberman rolled his eyes. "C'mon…" he muttered.

Pommy jumped and grabbed Bomberman's thin tassel as he started to climb, swaying back and forth. The door ahead opened as Pommy lead the way, his ears flapping beside him. A thin, steel railway lead them down the ceiling of a large room, as many weapons filled the floor below them.

"Whoa…" Bomberman gazed over the rail. "Missiles, warheads, plasma cannons… these guys have it all…"

Pommy ran down the rail, stopping in front of the next door.

"We'd better go and get 'em now!"

"Right," Bomberman nodded, sprinting for the door.

A long stairway spiraled down to the dark depths below; Bomberman threw a Flash Bomb.

"No traps here," he said, heading down the stairway.

"Pommy doesn't like dark places…" Pommy trembled, his voice bouncing off the walls around them.

They started down the path, trying to keep the clanging of the metal beneath their feet as quiet as possible.

"Warning. Warning."

A female voice echoed throughout the compound.

"Intruders have penetrated the ship's security. Maximum security has been deployed. Warning. Warning…"

"No!" Pommy shouted.

"Crap!" Bomberman rubbed his brow. "I guess those soldiers who chased us up here dodged our bomb…"

The door above slammed open, and the sound of multiple footsteps could be heard, boots clanging on the floor beneath them.

"There's that damn Bomberman! And his pet, too!"

"Myu!" Pommy quickly hopped down the step. "Pommy is not Bomberman's pet!!"

"C'mon!" Bomberman shouted. "You run ahead!"

Pommy continued down the twisting stairway as Bomberman turned and charged a Fire Bomb, simultaneously kicking a Light Bomb. The Light Bomb slid up the bulky steps, knocking a soldier to the ground while he dropped the Big Bomb and dashed down the steps.

Boom! BOOM!!

The Light Bomb exploded, damaging and blinding the soldiers, while the Fire Bomb engulfed the area in flames. Bomberman and Pommy ran down the remaining flight of stairs, pushing down the metal door at the bottom together; it burst open, and they stumbled inside. The room was dark, the only source of light emitting from the giant, whirring object in front of them; it was one of the engines.

"There it is!" Pommy jumped. "Hurry up and destroy it!"

"Yeah," Bomberman nodded.

Pommy watched as Bomberman stepped closer onto the railing between the two turbines, charging a Fire Bomb.

"Burning… FIRE BOMB!!"

The Big Bomb was immediately engulfed in flames as he held it above him.

"Bomber… SHOOT!!"

The flaming ball slammed into the engine ahead, exploding on impact. The area grew red as the turbines began to explode, chunks of debris and metal flying everywhere, leaving a trail of smoke in their path.

And Bomberman fell to the ground.