Hey! Sorry for that unnecessary delay (although I can't promise everything). DeviantART, occasional job search, and even Thanksgiving as of last month's update.
DISCLAIMER: Contra is a property Konami, whereas Bomberman is still owned by Hudson Soft despite Konami's permanent takeover; the Mario and Wario franchises belong 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 4: A sudden change in Blaze Bomber's personality
[Interlude BGM: Rukifellth's Theme (Bomberman 64: The Second Attack!)]
Meanwhile, deep below Dinosaur Land, there was a meeting with the newly-revived Sniper Bomber and Axe Bomber, along with two new figures: a tall, purple-skinned, humanoid snake…and a dark-armored being with a red cape, and sinister-looking horns atop his helmet. Attached to his forehead was the all-too-familiar Red Falcon insignia.
"So," said the dark-armored figure, "Arctic Bomber has fallen for the first time in five years since the Alien Wars. How typical…but, it seems that Bill Rizer and Lance Bean – along with their new allies – are probably already figuring me out for who I really am. At this rate, I can no longer maintain my secret identity as 'Malicious Bomber'…"
The purple humanoid snake spoke up, albeit the lack of any snaky sounds in his voice. "Well, clearly, secret identities are made to be discovered at some point in the near future, if not too soon."
"Just indulge me, Purple Basilisk…seeing that you're the only surviving veteran of the Alien Wars, not to mention the fact that you did help me build my loyal generals' new bodies."
"I mean, since Bill and Lance are still alive, their assumptions that you're not really Malicious Bomber at all are becoming more clear, just by looking at the insignia on Arctic Bomber's forehead – or, so the reports indicated. It's just plain obvious!" Purple Basilisk paused to raise his hands in frustration. "They know we're the Red Falcon Empire to begin with, and not some generic terrorist organization no one has ever heard about!"
The dark-armored fiend sneered. "If that's the case, then somebody had better shut them up before they learn the truth, let alone spread it! I took the name 'Malicious Bomber' so that nobody would suspect my real intentions until I fully regain my true body! But, I digress."
Sniper Bomber then spoke to his leader. "Blaze Bomber's in Vanilla Dome, but I doubt he'll make short work of those meddlesome Contras. He's been acting…well, not so pyro-maniacal ever since his first death back in the Alien Wars. I should've just killed them myself rather than rely on him to do so."
"Rest assured, my loyal second-in-command, that's exactly what I was hoping for. But then again, it never hurts to have a backup plan in mind, which I intend to put to use when the time comes…" The sinister leader then cackled with three of his followers.
[End BGM]
[Stage BGM: The Dungeon is Full of Monsters (Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars)]
Mission 3: Vanilla Dome
We, the "Four Contras," are officially reunited shortly after Ami eliminated Arctic Bomber and returned Donut Plains back to its original state. Our next stop was, without a doubt, Vanilla Dome.
June 10, 20XX
3:30 PM
Back on the surface, we had stepped through an open gate, leading us inside a huge cavern. Yoshi became scared of what was to come, but Ami assured him not to be afraid since there were still some friends of his, that needed to be rescued. Suddenly, a group of vampire bats came swooping down on us.
"Swoopers!" I shouted. "Get down!"
We crouched downwards to avoid getting bitten by the Swoopers, while Yoshi jumped in shock, inadvertently stomping on the bats' heads in the process. The moment he knocked them out, we got up and thanked him for overcoming his fear of scary creatures inside caverns. Unfortunately, the situation attracted the attention of patrolling robot soldiers, each armed with a laser pistol.
"It had to be the laser pistols," I said, "but then again, we've seen worse."
"I hope you guys don't mind if we borrowed one of those," said Bill, shooting up the hostile robots with his AK-47. Then he grabbed one of the laser pistols to give to me, while the dead robots coughed up a Fire Flower. I immediately picked it up, giving me the ability to throw fireballs.
"That should even up the odds a little," said Lance. "But where do we find the next castle?"
"If I remember from Super Mario World," suggested Ami, "there's a big lake we gotta swim through…and yes, make our way through a Ghost House, where the Boos live."
When Yoshi heard the words "Ghost House," he freaked out and buried his head on the ground. "Yoshi, it's okay! I know haunted houses are scary, but we just have to face our fears, like it or not." Ami patted Yoshi's head soothingly, until he relaxed and got himself out of hiding. "Trust me, I know that feeling. I don't like having to go through haunted places, but I'll do it – especially since we're on a quest to save your kind from the evil forces of Red Falcon. In fact, your friends are also our friends."
"Ami's right, Yoshi," I added. "We're in this together, and we'll get all your friends back to Yoshi's Island, safe and sound. That's a promise."
For the next 30 minutes, we swam our way across the Cheep Cheep-filled lake, dodged the Rip Van Fishes that stubbornly gave chase, and got off at the foothold for climbing up a mountain to reach the Ghost House. On our way up, we were intercepted by a sentry UFO that fired missiles at us. I helped Bill and Lance destroy the missiles with my laser pistol, while Ami threw her Thunder Bombs at the UFO to dismantle it. We kept moving in case we didn't shoot down the missiles in time to avoid injuries. Yoshi, on the other hand, pulled one of the missiles into his mouth with his tongue, and spat it back out at the UFO, destroying it in the process. However, upon its destruction, it flew towards us in a suicide attempt to take us with it. We reached the top prior to going prone, letting the downed UFO pass through us before it crash-landed and exploded, thus causing heavy damage to the Ghost House.
"Wow…" I stared in awe. "I don't remember that happening in Super Mario World, but at least we won't have to worry about facing the Boos for a while."
[End BGM]
We were now 30 minutes in, having reached the end of our trek to the top of Vanilla Dome's interior. We fought our way past the robotic versions of the Chargin' Chucks, and reached the third castle. Inside, we came face-to-face with another Hate Bomber, who Bill and Lance instantly recognized as Blaze Bomber.
"It's the Pyro-Maniacal Fiend himself!" shouted Bill. "Everybody duck before he incinerates us!"
Blaze Bomber, on the other hand, was confused. "I'm sorry? I was the 'Pyro-Maniacal Fiend' during the Alien Wars, before you and Lance destroyed me in combat. As the years went by, I gradually become less pyro-maniacal."
"Your wordplay will not trick us, Blaze Bomber," warned Lance. "Now where's another of Yoshi's captured friends?!"
The not-so-evil Bomberman got out the egg, and gave it to us. "Right here, safe and sound…but I torment no imprisoned victims. You see, I follow a moral that disallows killing people, especially when they're unarmed and helpless. I…I was brainwashed against my will, many years ago. The villain you seek isn't who you think he is, like Arctic Bomber claimed…but he's trying to regain control of me. He wants me to kill you, or else he would kill me. You must defeat me again, if I am to regain my freedom that I long for!"
Blaze Bomber began feeling pain in his head, as if an evil force were beckoning him to put aside his moral and kill us. "HRRAAAAGH! Ah, ha ha ha! Morals mean nothing, only destruction to all organic life forms! I still remember the time you killed me, Bill and Lance! Just for that, I'll incinerate you both, along with your newfound friends!"
[Boss BGM: GTR Attack! (Contra: Hard Corps)]
Then he stopped being hostile momentarily. "No…I won't kill anymore! I refuse to fight for evil any longer…!"
Despite having tried his best to fight the evil within, he attacked by unleashing a streaming jet of flames from both his hands. We quickly ducked beneath the hot flames, while Ami got out her Ice Bombs to cool down the fire – and inflict damage on Blaze Bomber. Suddenly, the holy power from her bombs caused the Hate Bomber to wince in pain. "Urrrgh…at last, after all these years, a worthy opponent with the power to smite the evil within…" Before he could finish, the evil force within him regained control, forcing him back into hostility. He generated a flaming aura around his body, and flew his way across the castle to inflict burning damage on us, incinerating the laser pistol I was holding. Then he followed up by punching and kicking us into the ground before regaining his consciousness.
"Rise, Contras! Rise! Only by defeating me with the power you seem to inherit from the ancient warriors – who fought hard to banish Red Falcon into the netherworld – that I would be free."
"You mean, like…" I asked weakly, "we're descendants? I don't understand."
"Me neither," said Ami.
"You'll find your answers when the time comes. But right now, let me fall before you in battle. Do not let me transform! Honor…let me keep my honor!" At that point, Bill and Lance began to believe Blaze Bomber's words.
"So our assumptions were clear after all," said Bill.
"Malicious Bomber is Red Falcon," said Lance, "but that still doesn't explain how he came back from the dead long after we killed him."
Meanwhile, I called out to my pink-haired best friend, "Ami, only your Ice Bombs can cool his jets. I'm beginning to see the truth about him."
Ami nodded, and got out an Ice Bomb to pump up by focusing her energy. "I'm sorry, Blaze Bomber…but if it's the only way to end this madness, I'll do it." Then she sidestepped to dodge more of Blaze Bomber's flamethrower, and the Molotov cocktails that were thrown at her. When the time was right, she threw her Ice Bomb with amazing grace, eventually stopping all of Blaze Bomber's flames and defeating him at the same time.
[End BGM]
The moment that battle was over, the structural damage from all of Blaze Bomber's attacks caused the castle to collapse. We grabbed the unconscious Bomberman, and ran outside the castle before it crumbled to the ground. Then we took a Warp Pipe, which led us to the top of Vanilla Dome's exterior, nearby what we recognized as the "Twin Bridges." Ami and I put Blaze Bomber down, and waited for him to wake up.
[Redemption BGM: Stage Select (Bomberman 64: The Second Attack!)]
"Wh-where am I?" he asked. "And what have I been doing all this time? Oh…and thank you for setting me free…Aaron, Ami, Bill, and Lance. If you're worried about your dino companion's other friends, don't be. They're in the other castles at the moment, but you have to rescue them before it's too late."
"Blaze Bomber, what really happened to you?" asked Bill.
"Please…" said Lance, "tell us the truth."
Blaze Bomber closed his eyes in sadness. "Long ago, but sometime before the year 1603, when your ancestors fought hard to banish Red Falcon and his followers, he attacked my home planet and my people that lived there. He, Sniper Bomber, and Axe Bomber spared no one. They just killed, with no remorse whatsoever. I was the only survivor, but Red Falcon insisted that I become one of his four generals by brainwashing me against my will. He masqueraded as a false god in order for that to work, and unfortunately, it did. I've lived a cursed life as a Hate Bomber, until now. As for Arctic Bomber, she was the only one in the group who was hired as a mercenary – paid to be one of Red Falcon's generals."
"In short," I summarized, "you were never evil to begin with. But, when we defeated you, we weakened Red Falcon's control over you."
"And now, you're free." Ami smiled.
Henceforth, we went for a walk across one of the bridges, which Ami and I identified as the Cheese Bridge. The one on the left, however, was called the Butter Bridge. Suddenly, something emerged from a lake below, identified as Soda Lake, and managed to climb the mountainous Vanilla Dome onto the bridge.
[Interrupt BGM]
[Alert BGM: Threat of War (Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn)]
Immediately, the giant-sized being, approximately ten or so stories high, revealed himself as the same blue skeleton-like robot that Bill and Lance destroyed five years ago, during the Alien Wars.
"Aw, crap!" Bill exclaimed. "It's Robo-Corpse!"
Lance joined in. "But, how did you get so tall all of a sudden?"
The evil robot snickered in response. "Lord Red Falcon modified me for the following five years, as of the Alien Wars. You could say I was this tall to begin with, or he increased my size, so I could even the odds. But here's the best part: I'm fully reinforced with titanium, and you don't have a chance at destroying me this time!" Then he looked at me and Ami. "So, these are the two I've heard about recently, ever since your arrival on this pitiful island. I must commend your efforts for coming this far. Oh, and as your reward for discovering that 'Malicious Bomber' was indeed Red Falcon…"
The titanium-reinforced fiend paused in mid-sentence to raise his claw, and slashed the weakened Blaze Bomber with ease, inflicting near-fatal damage upon him!
"AAAAAACK!" screamed Blaze Bomber, who dropped face-first to the ground. We immediately returned fire by shooting at Robo-Corpse's head, only to realize that he was right: his head and body were indeed reinforced with titanium.
Then he taunted us with no remorse. "You could say we've learned a most valuable lesson: never brainwash anyone who might eventually break free in due time. But, I digress. And as for you pitiable Contras, you have your own problems!"
At that point, we Contras became angry at Robo-Corpse for what he did to our newfound ally. I was the first to speak up, "You son of a bitch! You killed Blaze Bomber!"
"Yeah!" Ami exclaimed. "What did he ever do to you monsters before your leader wiped out his people, and brainwashed him against his will?!"
"Sticks and stones, human scum," said Robo-Corpse, preparing for an all-out assault. "Anytime you want to join him in hell, just feel free to ask. Either I kill you, or Sniper Bomber and Axe Bomber will finish what I started. Still, it's pointless to resist me!" He finished up by breathing fire, setting the Cheese Bridge ablaze. We were then forced to put aside our vengeful thoughts and run for our lives.
As for Robo-Corpse himself, he pulled the Butter Bridge off from the land to use as his makeshift nunchuck, and walked across Soda Lake to ensure our untimely demise. We needed a plan if we expect to stop him, much less work around his titanium alloy.
[End BGM]
TO BE CONTINUED…
It looks like Robo-Corpse, the third boss in Contra III: The Alien Wars, has returned with a vengeance! As always, reviews are appreciated, and I'll see you again soon! Hopefully, I'll find enough time to finish DCC #1: Super Contra World before Christmas season.