Final chapter's here! And boy, am I glad I managed to finish it after a few or so occasions of writer's block and whatnot. More importantly, I'm finishing DCC #1 before the end of the year 2012. It's just that, the reason I took about a week or two to finish this final chapter is because I was spending holiday season with my family and relatives. As always, enjoy, as in R&R!

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

Chapter 8: Battle in the underworld

[Stage BGM: Go Forward Under Fire (Contra III: The Alien Wars)]

Dinosaur Land was now free at last, with most of Red Falcon's forces swept out of the picture. But only his underworld hideout remained unexplored by the likes of us. In fact, just by looking at a stone statue of Red Falcon's ugly face (located at the center of Dinosaur Land's ocean) gave us further, undeniable proof he was alive…if Bill and Lance ever did see him again in person. All thoughts aside, Bill, Lance, Ami, and I took a quick rest to heal our wounds. Afterwards, we went for a swim towards a sunken ghost ship, while Penny and her grandpa, along with Yoshi, awaited our safe return. Recalling one last time from Super Mario World, only by reaching a green globe-life artifact at the very bottom of the ghost ship would the gateway to the final area open. We had made certain to avoid the Boos that popped in now and then (not to mention find some air bubbles to use so we wouldn't drown underwater), and reached our goal. Upon touching the globe, we were instantly teleported into the underworld itself…

Mission 7: The Valley of Red Falcon
This is it: the final showdown to determine the fate of Dinosaur Land. Needless to say, defeating Red Falcon won't be as easy as it sounds. But, we just might slow down his true resurrection if Ami and I can utilize what we have in store, let alone our holy-powered weapons themselves…
June 11, 20XX
9:45 AM

"Whoa…" Ami wondered. "Could this be what hell really looks like?"

"I know that feeling, Ami," answered Bill. "You see the rocky stalactites on the ceiling far above us? We're looking at hell. Trust me, Lance and I have been there."

"Hell or not," I added, "this has to be Red Falcon's underworld hideout. But needless to say, he and Sniper Bomber are hiding somewhere."

"As long as there aren't any lava pits," said Lance, "we should be okay. However, there are bound to be alien Xenomorphs and the like, that Bill and I fought off 5 years ago."

"That, I'm not too surprised," I nodded. "I mean, the Contra games usually end with an alien-like stage where Red Falcon's demonic minions come out to attack."

We merely cut our conversation short as hordes of Xenomorphs charged towards us in an attack formation. Knowing what they were capable of in the Alien movies, we made sure not to get close when killing them so their acidic blood wouldn't splatter onto our flesh, since we didn't even have body armor to begin with. Then we saw a bunch of mouth-like creatures, known for spitting red, flesh-seeking spiked balls towards intruders. Ami blew them to guts with her Fire Bombs, while I backed her up with my Spread Gun. Bill and Lance, on the other hand, watched our backs and took out the aliens sneaking up behind us with their AK-47s. Elsewhere, a stationary group of alien eggs released some facehuggers, which we made short work of along with the eggs themselves.

Meanwhile, at one of the two neighboring castles, Sniper Bomber was standing on a rooftop with the final Yoshi egg as his prisoner. The moment he noticed our presence, he readied his sniper rifle arm. I suppose even Axe Bomber didn't have the chops to kill the likes of them, he thought. Obviously, if I want the so-called "Four Contras" dead, I'll have to make them dead myself.

Without hesitation, Sniper Bomber opened fire from a long distance. This got our attention; Bill and Lance pushed me and Ami out of the way just before we all took a hit. It was merely a close shave, but we were uninjured. We kept moving throughout the Valley of Red Falcon, killing the aliens and avoiding Sniper Bomber's distant shots along the way. Half an hour later, we reached his castle, but instead of going inside, we climbed the walls to reach the roof. And reach the rooftop we did.

"We've got you cornered, Sniper Bomber!" I shouted.

"You can't run any further!" Ami added.

"I knew you'd say that," said Sniper Bomber. "But even I learned my lesson from my first fight against Bill and Lance!"

He transformed his sniper rifle arm into a flak cannon, and taunted, "Look, I've revealed my right arm's weakness! Shoot its inside!"

But we had a feeling he was up to something, and held back from opening fire. "What?! Aren't you gonna wreck my gun arm beyond repair? Ah, screw it!" He threw a punch at his own arm with his left hand, only to be deflected by a force field. "I suppose you're not as stupid as you look. You see, I installed a force field system on my interchangeable arm, to insure it won't ever be damaged so easily again. However, it has to turn off every time I shoot…but that's all the explanation you'll get from me! You want that last friend of Yoshi's? You'll have to fight me and Lord Red Falcon for it! We've waited close to those five long years for this very moment!"

Then he summoned a big, winged silver dragon-like alien, which looked a bit less like the Xenomorph. In fact, Bill and Lance recognized it as the same creature they fought inside Red Falcon's Hate Nest during the Alien Wars. Sniper Bomber called it the "Metal Alien", and got on its back for a ride. But just before he flew off, we hitched a ride on the Metal Alien's pointy tail, gripping as tight as we could to avoid falling off. Upon arriving at Red Falcon's castle's rooftop, we got off. Then we saw the alien warmonger himself…but not what we would expect. He was wearing a dark, metallic armor with a red cape, his helmet bearing two demonic horns atop.

[End BGM]

[Interlude BGM: Rukifellth's Theme (Bomberman 64: The Second Attack!)]

"Ahh…" greeted Red Falcon. "Bill Rizer and Lance Bean, we meet again after such a long time. And you've indeed brought two of your new friends for my coming-out party! You do remember me, don't you?"

"Yeah," said Bill, "but not like this."

"What's been going on since your demise?" demanded Lance.

"You two did defeat me back then, but you didn't ultimately kill me. I was reduced to my brain-like form, and yet I survived by a miracle when my Hate Nest blew up. For the next five years, I couldn't do anything, until I found Purple Basilisk incarcerated in an underworld cell, which he believed to be your doing."

"Well, we did stop him about a few months after the Alien Wars…He was planning on retribution, but we foiled just that."

"We made a pact with the Devil to make us, the Red Falcon Empire, whole again…but only on one condition: that we conquer the world in his place. Purple Basilisk was then provided the tools necessary for constructing this dark armor you see before your very eyes. Nothing can ever penetrate my armor, except for the one power that resembles the polar opposite of hell itself. Yes…I sense the power you carry in your blood…Aaron and Ami. You, along with Bill and Lance, are indeed descended from the three accursed ancestors of yours, who destroyed my four generals' old bodies and imprisoned me. Don't believe me? You'll have all the time you need to brush up on your own history when you're dead. Once I rule the world, my true body will be resurrected as promised in the pact, and I'll no longer need this armor. We'll become invincible!"

Then Sniper Bomber butted in, still riding the Metal Alien. "You ready, Contras? I've been brushing up on my skills double-time, since Lord Red Falcon used his newly-gained dark powers to revive me and my comrades! Welcome to hell's 9th circle! Population: all four of you, and eventually Blaze Bomber, who I'm sure is suffering for defying us!"

"You leave Blaze Bomber out of this!" shouted Ami. "He was probably wrongly sent there after his first death because he was considered 'evil' at the time!"

I joined in, "And now he's dead again, this time because of you and Red Falcon. We will avenge him!"

"We don't expect you to understand what I told you," said Red Falcon, "so we'll just have to force the issue. When we're through, not a single strand of your DNA will remain! But then again, you're already fated to be dead anyway!"

[End BGM]
[Final battle BGM: Final Boss Fight – Rudy the Clown (Wario Land 3)]

Then he used his dark powers to enlarge his metallic, humanoid armor, until he was ten times bigger than us. Afterwards, he jumped off the rooftop and landed on the ground, causing a shockwave that toppled us over. We got up, and picked up the Yoshi egg before it fell off. While I aimed for Red Falcon's head with my Spread Gun, Ami kicked a barrage of holy-powered Fire Bombs at his body. Unfortunately, the combined attacks only did little damage.

"Are those supposed to faze me now?" taunted Red Falcon. "Such insignificant tactics. You'll have to do better than that to defeat me!"

Sniper Bomber joined in, with the Metal Alien lunging forth and swiping its claws about. "You better think fast, Contras, because here I come!" He fired his carefully-timed shots to inflict pain on us, but thankfully not in the vital spot guaranteed to kill us. With my current power-up reverted back to the default machine gun, I switched over to my Homing Missiles and returned fire by shooting at the Metal Alien's head, while Ami blasted its wings off with her Fire Bombs. It screeched in pain at its wings being burnt off, forced to crash-land on the rooftop, sending Sniper Bomber hurtling towards a wall.

"Grrr!" He glared angrily, recovering from the impact. "You insolent bipeds are gonna wish you hadn't done that!"

"Aaron! Ami!" Lance called out. "Bill and I will distract Sniper Bomber and the Metal Alien. You have to figure out a way to destroy Red Falcon's dark armor!"

I, however, had doubt on what we were to do. "But our holy-powered weapons barely did anything! And holy is supposed to be hell's bane, right?"

"We just have to try harder, Aaron!" said Ami. "We might have to pray for hope!"

"Praying will get you nowhere in this realm!" Red Falcon taunted, launching his fists like missiles. We were nearly smashed against the floor, and the fist returned to its owner. Given his size, one hit from either of his rocket fists would be fatal on our end. Eventually, after a few more turns of dodging rocket fists and trying to inflict damage on Red Falcon's dark armor, Ami and I came to a realization: maybe we can still inflict damage by using his own armor's fists against him. It may not be enough to take out the whole thing, but it just might stun him long enough for us to pray for hope to come aid us. Meanwhile, since Bill and Lance were busy distracting Sniper Bomber and the Metal Alien to the best of their abilities (despite getting injured now and then), Ami and I didn't have too much on our hands.

"Dammit!" Sniper Bomber cursed. "Hold still, so I can kill you!"

Bill smirked. "Well, that's just too bad. Consider your Metal Alien's breakfast skipped."

"Oh, that is so lame. Still, flattery will get you and your buddy nowhere!"

Meanwhile, Red Falcon stayed on the offensive. "How does it feel like to get squashed?" The alien warmonger fired his rocket fists some more, but Ami and I were ready for it. We had gulped down a shared can full of spinach, giving us the Popeye-style strength we need to force his own detachable fists back at him. We grabbed ahold of them, and threw them at his face with all our might, inflicting damage. Red Falcon shook it off, and combined his rocket fists with two other attacks: shooting laser beams from his visor, and launching lightning bolts from the horns atop his helmet. We were hurt (and my Homing Missiles reverted back to the default machine gun), but quick enough to avoid taking more damage. Unfortunately, though, the attacks had destroyed the green globe we obtained from the sunken ghost ship, thus cutting off our only means of escape. While Bill and Lance eventually took out Sniper Bomber and the Metal Alien, Ami and I threw the metallic fists back at Red Falcon once more, finally stunning him.

"Red Falcon's stunned!" said Bill. "Now's our chance!"

But Sniper Bomber got up to taunt, "What can you hope for, if you expect to destroy my leader? Your only way of getting out is gone…but Axe Bomber and I will still be waiting for you in hell…" As soon as he spoke his last words, he shorted out before dying in an ensuing explosion.

I turned to Bill and Lance afterwards. "Thanks for lending us a hand back there."

"Yeah," nodded Lance, "but what can help us destroy Red Falcon's evil armor if both your gadget and Ami's can't do jack crap?"

Despite being at a disadvantage against Red Falcon, we didn't stop ourselves from praying for hope. Eventually, a mysterious orb appeared, floating before us. Recognized from Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a "Smash Ball", it was said to grant anybody who broke it, a "Final Smash" that reflected his or her own personality. Half the time, it took up a lot of energy for its user to unleash a Final Smash attack, for if it was not timed right, the user would be left defenseless for a short period of time in a heated battle. Hoping the orb would make our Contra Rifle and Bomberman Watch stronger, Ami and I broke it simultaneously while Red Falcon was still stunned. We became encased with a rainbow aura-like glow (albeit an unusual case since only one was allowed at a time), and utilized Final Smash attacks of our own without delay.

"Ancestors of us, the Four Contras," Ami's voice echoed throughout the underworld, "grant us the only power capable of destroying this evil being's dark armor!" Then a white-colored bomb appeared floating in her hands, with a golden halo surrounding its lit fuse. "HOLY BOMB!"

Then my Contra Rifle shone brightly, as I called out: "CHARGE SHOT!" At the same time, I fired a large laser beam from my gun, whereas Ami threw her aptly-named Holy Bomb with amazing grace. As we began our combined move, Red Falcon regained consciousness. But before he could attack again, the charged laser beam and the bomb blasted him in the face, engulfing his dark armor in a brightening explosion. A minute nearly passed, as his armor began cracking like a mirror, until it finally shattered apart into nothingness; thus his appearance became reverted back to his giant, one-eyed brain form.

[End BGM]

"URRRRRGH!" Red Falcon grunted. "Argh…you really do maintain your ancestors' bloodline after all, don't you…but it doesn't matter. With that teleportation globe of yours gone, you'll never leave here alive! You four have lost!"

He used the last of his power to cause the Valley of Red Falcon to collapse, before disappearing into another area of the underworld. He would continue his personal vendetta another day. With no means of escape anymore, we could only sit and hold each other's hands tightly, with the Yoshi egg at the center of our circle. Ami and I were breathing heavily due to the Final Smash attacks we just used to obliterate Red Falcon's dark armor.

"I guess this is it…" I said. "It's been an honor fighting alongside the three of you…"

"We're not licked yet…" replied Ami. "I think we can still get out…I see a star-like teleporter at the bottom."

Bill snapped his fingers in response. "Ahh, of course. These Star Roads are said to take people anywhere, via Star World." Not one to leave a fellow soldier behind, he put his arm around my shoulder for support, so I wouldn't fall over during our escape.

"Well then," said Lance, supporting Ami by the shoulder in the same manner as Bill, "let's make one last 'cutting-it-close' departure, posthaste!"

[Ending BGM: Return in Glory (Contra III: The Alien Wars)]

In a last-ditch effort to get out, we climbed down the walls of Red Falcon's castle, and stepped on the Star Road. Along the way, Bill and Lance gave me and Ami support so we didn't fall off. We were all teleported out of the doomed Valley of Red Falcon to Star World just before the teleporter dissipated from the damaging impact. Now on safe ground in this extra-dimensional area, we took a walk towards another Star Road, eventually returning to Donut Plains on the surface of Dinosaur Land. As we returned back to Yoshi's Island, we witnessed the statue of Red Falcon's face crumbling into small rocks. Once again, the Red Falcon Empire was defeated, at least for now…

For the rest of our now-recovered vacation on Dinosaur Land, Yoshi was happy to see all seven of his captured friends, having hatched out of their eggs. Meanwhile, we helped them repair the damage to the Twin Bridges that Robo-Corpse caused the other day, while Penny got to work restoring Blaze Bomber back to life by rebuilding his body. We even got in the act of restoring the Forest of Illusion back to its former glory, making note that while it only takes a short time for a forest fire to destroy the trees, it would take a long time to grow them back. Saving the world is one thing, but more importantly, we'd need to protect the environment for generations to come, even if it meant protecting it from those who would either destroy it by any means necessary, or even abuse its natural resources for their own personal gain.

Although Ami and I discovered our Final Smash attacks, we weren't surprised if Bill and Lance would eventually discover theirs in due time. Perhaps even Blaze Bomber, but for now, we learned that we could only use a Final Smash as a last resort, concluding that doing so in any case shuts off the Contra Rifle and/or the Bomberman Watch in order for either one to recharge. This has yet to be tested in detail, but we could safely assume it's to prevent a possible overcharge, which could cause our holy-powered gadgets to explode.

When the fourth day came, our vacation on Dinosaur Land was over. We bid farewell to Yoshi and all of his friends, whereas they thanked us for saving their home from the clutches of the Red Falcon Empire. We flew all the way back to Diamond City, California (in the United States) via the Contra Cruiser and the Crygors' experimental helicopter. Along the way, we took a glance at Blaze Bomber, who was sitting in the back seat with me and Ami. He was happy to be free from evil's reign over his mind and soul, and willing to repay his debt by supporting us in any way he can. He was no longer a Hate Bomber, much less one of Red Falcon's generals to begin with, but rather a normal Bomberman with fire powers.

THE END

(Ending Credits)
Aaron (me) – MYSELF
Ami – JANICE KAWAYE
Bill Rizer – BOB BUCHHOLZ
Lance Bean – SYLVESTER STALLONE
Yoshi – KAZUMI TOTAKA
Penny Crygor – JANICE KAWAYE
Red Falcon – RICK MAY
Sniper Bomber – SCOTT MCNEIL
Axe Bomber – ALVIN SANDERS
Blaze Bomber – SCOTT MENVILLE
Arctic Bomber – GREY DELISLE
Purple Basilisk – STEVEN JAY BLUM
Robo-Corpse – BRIAN DOBSON
Robot thug – MICHAEL DOBSON

[End Credits]

At the end of our flight back to Diamond City, we landed in front of Wario's house, with Wario and his friends cheering for our return. We assumed Penny called up and told them of our mission to save Dinosaur Land from Red Falcon and his alien army. Bill, Lance, Ami, and I stepped outside our Contra Cruiser to raise our arms in victory, proud to have fought for peace and justice. But, what did happen with Wario and the others while we were gone? Only a few, let alone Penny, were brave enough to tell us the story…

[End BGM]

"Contra" is the name given to those elite warriors with an indomitable spirit and superior guerrilla tactics.

TO BE CONTINUED IN DIAMOND CITY CHRONICLES #2…

Here's to yet another new year, especially on FanFiction. Needless to say, it's better to have gotten a fanfic done a few or so months late than to have never finished it at all...or something like that. I know I can't keep every promise I make, since I'm only an average joe compared to tons of other talented writers on this site, but still. Anyhow, I'll see you next time! =)