Time sure flies, doesn't it? Well, despite both my usual personal life outside the Internet and large activity on DeviantART, I'm trying my best not to lose my interest in rewriting my Diamond City Chronicles series on here, and to not let the writer's block prevent me from doing so. I can't promise everything, but it doesn't mean I won't do what I can to make my stories understandable and enjoyable.

DISCLAIMER: Contra is a property Konami, whereas Bomberman is still owned by Hudson Soft despite Konami's permanent takeover; Super Mario World belongs to Nintendo. Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi is owned by Renegade Animation. Any songs "used" throughout the course of this fanfic are properties of their respective owners.

Chapter 2: Return of Arctic Bomber

[Stage BGM: Jungle 1 (Contra 4)]

Mission 1: Yoshi's Island
Bill and Lance, after having deduced the possibility that Arctic Bomber was behind the kidnappings, had decided to explore Yoshi's Island.
However, it is unknown as to whether Red Falcon really came back to life or not, just because the Hate Bombers were sighted.
June 10, 20XX
2:30 PM

"So, where do we start?" asked Bill.

"Maybe the Yoshis would know…if we ever find one," answered Lance. "Didn't Bowser stuff them into these spotted eggs in Super Mario World?"

Before they could finish their conversation, they were attacked by a pair of robot thugs, each armed with a machine gun. Since Bill and Lance didn't bring their M16 machine guns along for the vacation, they'd probably have to swipe the ones from the thugs. The only downside is: unlike their own machine guns, the thugs' assault rifles were just plain ordinary. In other words, Bill and Lance wouldn't be able to acquire any fancy power-ups from the Contra series like they normally could. That meant no Spread Guns, no Laser Beams, etc., even if they do come across some power-up pods within Dinosaur Land.

"Hey! Don't you muscly misfits know that this is mistress Arctic Bomber's territory?" demanded one of the robot thugs.

Rather than feel threatened, Bill replied sarcastically, "Oh, we're so sorry, we didn't know that." Then he grabbed the thug by the gun, and threw him across the field. Lance did the same for the other guy. Afterwards, they both swiped the machine guns, and shot the robots up to pieces.

"Nice snarky comeback, Billy," said Lance. "These AK-47s should be useful for us."

Just then, Lance stopped what he was saying, when he saw a rather large egg that the two robots coughed up after they exploded. The egg hatched, unveiling a green Yoshi. The moment the two Contras asked him about the situation at hand, all he could say was "Yoshi." Apparently, his kind didn't speak English, although they could write it out in order to translate for visitors. Bill handed him a notepad and a pencil; he then wrote what he was trying to say:

"Hi! Thanks for rescuing me from those nasty robots. My name's Yoshi. I went out earlier today to try and save all my friends who were taken prisoner by a dark-armored robot named Malicious Bomber, but I got defeated along the way and had been trapped in this egg since."

Upon reading the words "Malicious Bomber", Bill and Lance became confused. "I don't remember us facing off against Malicious Bomber," said Bill. "But even if that were true, that still doesn't explain why the Hate Bombers – let alone Arctic Bomber – came back from the dead, 5 years after we killed them."

"Maybe Red Falcon's got some identity issues," said Lance, "But anyway, we gotta get moving. We won't find our answers just by standing around. I just hope our buddies aren't hurt…"

With guidance from the green Yoshi, Bill and Lance hiked their way throughout the grassland and a nearby lake, eventually stopping at a small castle by a bridge, which connected from Yoshi's Island to the majority of Dinosaur Land. Near the entrance to the castle was a sign, which read:

Are you single? Handsome? Need a girlfriend? You've come to the right place! I promise I won't bite…maybe!

~Arctic Bomber, Mistress of the Cold

After reading the sign, Bill and Lance became crept out, especially if it were talking about me. Yoshi, on the other hand, was somehow afraid of creepy-looking castles, and decided to wait outside. The two Contras thought it to be the sole reason why Yoshis were unusable in such areas back in Super Mario World, and didn't blame Yoshi for his phobia. Henceforth, they entered the castle, made short work of the robot soldiers and snipers along the way, and reached a room with a tilting island-like platform on a pool of lava. Arctic Bomber was standing on it, with Ami tied up in a ceiling-mounted cage.

[End BGM]
[Boss BGM: Koopa Kid Battle (Super Mario World)]

"Well, well," said Arctic Bomber, "I didn't expect to see you two again after these 5 years. You might be wondering: why did I kidnap that pink-haired friend of yours instead of the guy with glasses. Here's the answer: I did capture him, too, but since he rudely refused to become my boyfriend so I'd free her, I had him locked up in my other castle!"

"You…deluded bitch!" shouted Lance. "Where'd you lock up our friend, Aaron?"

"I'll never tell! If you wanna find out that bad, let alone save Ami, then you'll have to fight me for it!"

The Mistress of the Cold attacked by jumping around the rocky platform to tilt its sides, hoping that Bill and Lance would lose their balances and fall into the lava. She followed up by firing some ice shards from her hands, hurting the Contras a bit. They retaliated by splitting up to cover each side of the platform, eventually cornering Arctic Bomber. Bill grabbed her by the shoulder, while Lance came to him in order to weigh down the side of the platform. Then Bill let go of the deluded ice princess, causing her to fall on her rear end. When the edge of the platform touched the lava, Arctic Bomber yelped in pain as it burned her a bit.

"YEOW!" she screamed. "MY BUTT!"

The rogue Bomber-girl ran around the platform, conjuring up an icy wind to cool down her now sore bottom. She stamped her feet in a temper tantrum, and jumped off the arena to make her escape.

"Round 1 goes to you clowns, but I still have Aaron as my prisoner! You'll regret the day you humiliated me!"

"Not if we have anything to say about it!" shouted Ami, as she broke free of the ropes and blasted the cage open with her Fire Bombs.

[End BGM]

Despite Arctic Bomber's escape, Bill and Lance were happy to have rescued Ami, along with a large egg that held one of Yoshi's friends captive. They made their way back outside the castle, and came across a magic plunger. Ami jumped on it, setting off an explosion that destroyed one of Arctic Bomber's two castles. The group would then cross the bridge to the next destination: Donut Plains.

However, their trip was going to be a cold one in a matter of minutes. If Ami, Bill, and Lance could defeat Arctic Bomber for good and rescue me, everything would be just fine for the time being.

TO BE CONTINUED…

You can probably tell the next chapter's gonna take place in a winter wonderland of what was Donut Plains to begin with. However, I think I ought to wait until after the end of October, since it's already close to Halloween as we speak; not to mention the story's not even horror-themed to begin with. :3

Either way, reviews are appreciated as always!