Everybody's been taken prisoner, but don't count the Four Contras out yet...
DISCLAIMER: Contra belongs to Konami, whereas Bomberman still remains a property of Hudson Soft as of March 1, 2012. WarioWare, on the other hand, is owned by Nintendo. Any songs "used" throughout the course of this fanfic are properties of their respective owners, along with any characters that aren't within the three franchises listed here, unless stated otherwise.
Chapter 2: The break out!
[Stage BGM: Moonlit Army (Contra: Hard Corps)]
The following weeks had passed since we lost to Sniper Bomber and Axe Bomber. We were supposed to have done damage to them, let alone Sniper Bomber, by now. But instead, it seemed as if they became invincible; they knocked us all out in one fell swoop. When I woke up, I found myself chained to an uncomfortable folding chair...in a prison cell. To my right was a calendar mounted on a wall, with a writing on the last week of this month; it was now August 28, officially five years since the Alien Wars. Taking a closer look, the writing on the calendar read that it was time for my interrogation. Then I looked up front, eyeing two of Red Falcon's alien soldiers poised to interrogate me. One of them was doing all the talking, while the other stood still, as if to observe the process of interrogating prisoners.
"Heh heh heh..." the interrogating soldier began, "well, if it ain't Aaron, one of the so-called Four Contras!"
"What've you done with my friends, much less Ami, Bill, and Lance, for that matter?!" I was quickly cut off by the soldier, who merely poked my neck with his finger.
"We could tell you, but then we'd have to kill you." The enemy soldier chuckled deviously at his own remark. "What, you were expecting me to say something else? No matter, because you and your fellow Contras will end up dead anyway. You still wanna know?"
I muttered in response, "Damn right I do..."
The interrogator taunted me again. "Heh heh heh...you've got guts, mister. But who cares? We'll just have to show you what happens when people like you defy our Lord Red Falcon!"
I thought momentarily, about how an unfortunate incident like our losing battle against the two Hate Bombers had happened. "I don't understand...we should've been able to inflict damage on Sniper Bomber and Axe Bomber by now! We had the holy power within our weapons...it's supposed to penetrate dark forces."
The interrogating soldier just laughed at me remorselessly. "You don't get it, do you? We saw Sniper Bomber's reports: you and your friends were able to destroy Lord Red Falcon and his men, let alone inside the hellish Pandaemonium up in outer space, because your holy power was the Crimson Stone's bane. But we no longer need such an ancient gem, for we found ourselves an even stronger source to render all weapons - even your pathetic holy gadgets - useless! Speaking of holy gadgets, you're probably wondering how we could have taken them away without hurting ourselves since no force of darkness can dare touch them. The solution was simple, actually: we forced some captive civilians to take them away, or else we waste them. Just face it: without your fancy gun or that pink-haired girl's bombs, you'll never be that good again!"
The other soldier, still quiet, clasped the interrogator's mouth shut with one hand, using the other to stab him in the back with a combat knife, then shot him to death with a rifle before revealing himself to me as a human police officer. In fact, he was holding my Contra Rifle and Ami's Bomberman Watch.
"I'm here to help you, Aaron," he explained. "I heard all about you along with your friends and the WarioWare staff. I am Sergeant Billy 'Droidman' Hill, undercover cop on behalf of the Diamond Police." He took the dead interrogator's keys, undid the chains around me, and handed me my Contra Rifle and Ami's Bomberman Watch. "C'mon! Their reinforcements will arrive soon!"
"What about my best friend, Ami?" I questioned with concern.
"The cute-half of the famous Puffy AmiYumi? She's in grave danger," replied Sgt. Hill. "but I'll take you to her. We have to hurry before the bad guys spot us."
As we left the cell, Sgt. Hill explained to me what had been going on since I was taken prisoner. Between August 10 and now, Sniper Bomber and Axe Bomber led their men to kill people and wreck some buildings. The WarioWare staff, on the other hand, were unharmed but still taken prisoner. On top of that, all of my friends (along with Ami's bandmates of Puffy AmiYumi) were imprisoned in many enemy bases built all over the world. Meanwhile, the two remaining Hate Bombers gave our city to one of the Five Dastardly Bombers, known as Magnet Bomber. I was shocked to hear about the Bombers' return, but sadly, it was true. The Red Falcon Empire had indeed brought them back to life.
With us imprisoned, Magnet Bomber killed the mayor of Diamond City, and took complete control of it without delay. Many survivors were then forced into hard labor: building a lot of statues of himself all over the streets and Pearl Square. He must want to build a dynasty of his own with that kind of labor, and eventually rename our fair city as Magnet Metropolis. Those unworthy of serving him against their will are being sentenced to death at no more than five prison camps, including the one Ami and I were trapped in. Bill and Lance are said to be held prisoner at the building called MagnetBase, but that was the least of our concern right now. The important thing was setting me and Ami free, even at the expense of Sgt. Hill's life. Just then, we heard footsteps approaching.
"Crap! They know we're here. Quickly, hide in the sewers below! You've got to find Ami and set her free! It's all up to you!"
I gasped quietly, worried about the sacrifice he was about to make. "But I can't just leave you to die!"
"I'm sorry, but we must part ways." The undercover cop sighed painfully, but continued, "If I don't make it, then I've done my duty, because I want you and Ami to live. Free the prisoners in this death camp first, then reunite with Bill and Lance if you find them. Now go save us all." He handed me the keys for the interrogation room Ami was kept in.
"...Okay." With that said, I immediately opened the manhole, and went underground before closing it, only seconds before the reinforcements showed up.
"So," said an enemy guard, "we have a spy in our midst! You must have seen the man known as Aaron, leader of those so-called Four Contras..."
The other guard demanded, "Where did he go?"
But the undercover sergeant stood silent, so as to not give away my presence. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Tell us where he is!"
"I'm serious! I haven't a-" Before Sgt. Hill could finish, the enemy guards cocked their AK-47 machine guns. "Wait! No!"
The guards killed him without delay, and began alerting all of the alien soldiers. "Guards! We have a runaway prisoner, thanks to this undercover cop we shot! Find him, and kill him!"
Oh, crap! I thought. They might kill poor Ami along the way! I've gotta save her!
I held onto my Contra Rifle and Ami's Bomberman Watch, as I walked carefully along the sewers. Running would alert the guards with the splashing sounds, and eventually lead to my inevitable death. Fortunately, though, Penny modified Ami's Bomberman Watch weeks ago with a "compass" feature, in which if lost or stolen, it would lead me back to its owner (in that case, Ami). Due to its holy power, if an evil-hearted being attempted to use it in any way, it would stun him or her with an electric shock. Eventually, I followed the watch's "compass", got out of the sewers, and found Ami's cell. Lucky for me, it was next door to the shower room. I made sure there were no guards in sight, and stealthily cleaned myself - while still in my clothes - in the shower. Once I was done, I left the water on, wiped myself dry with a towel, and threw it into the shower to make it look like one of the guards dropped the towel while taking his shower. Knowing my cover would not last very long, I went back to Ami's cell without delay, and unlocked the door with the key Sgt. Hill swiped from the alien interrogator earlier. I closed the door upon entry, and saw Ami being chained to the folding chair; her mouth was even covered with duct tape.
[End BGM]
"Ami! Hang on, I'm gonna set you free in a jiffy." I undid the chains around her, before removing the duct tape from her mouth.
"Domo arigato, Aaron-kun! Now we can bust on outta here!" Ami hugged me tightly, and took back her Bomberman Watch to activate it.
"I don't know if our weapons will work against the guards on our way out. We saw what happened with Sniper Bomber and Axe Bomber nearly a month ago."
Ami nodded. "That may be so, but we never know until we try."
[Escape BGM: Bombing Mission (Final Fantasy VII)]
Mission 1A: The break out
Aaron and Ami Onuki of the "Four Contras" suspected in their escape attempt from one of Magnet Bomber's five death camps. With Sergeant Billy "Droidman" Hill dead, it was all up to them to find Bill Rizer and Lance Bean, destroy Magnet Bomber, and free Diamond City.
August 28, 20XX
3:00 PM
Before we could arm ourselves for the escape, the same guards that shot Sgt. Hill came in.
"There's our runaway prisoner!"
"He's set the girl free! Kill them bef-"
We kicked the alien soldiers in the crotches, and swiped their AK-47s to return fire. "Turning their own weapons against them does work wonders," said Ami. "Now let's blow this door open!" She threw her Fire Bomb at the cell door, blowing it off its hinges; we jumped through the blast in dramatic fashion, while a blaring klaxon went off.
"FREEDOM!" I bellowed.
"Let's take 'em together!" Ami added.
Just then, an intercom speaker sounded over the blaring klaxon. The prisoners have escaped! Kill them! KILL THEM ALL!
The RF soldiers charged forth, yelling in unison, "Glory to Lord Red Falcon!"
"We are Contras!" Ami and I shouted simultaneously.
In just seconds, the entire prison camp erupted into a firefight between the two of us, and Red Falcon's soldiers. We did not stop for a moment to figure out whose voice it was on the death camp's loudspeakers, as we had to stay focused on saving ourselves firsthand. This was unlike our previous adventures, if not the one that took place inside Pandaemonium. In fact, this wasn't even Call of Duty either, where player characters possess Wolverine-like healing powers. This was real life, for in the midst of a war zone, one must know when to open fire, and when to take cover. In our case, the RF soldiers will kill us without delay, and absolutely no remorse whatsoever. As far as we know, they are like cold, soulless, killing machines who know no duty, morals, or even fear; rather, they know evil. During our break out, Ami tried throwing one of her Fire Bombs at the RF soldiers, incinerating them in the blast instantly.
"Aaron," she called, "our holy-powered weapons can still work - just not on the evil Bomberman-like androids we've ever faced before!" That's when we put away the AK-47s, and switched to using our Contra Rifle and Bomberman Watch. I immediately powered on my gun's 3-hit barrier system to provide temporary protection, until we could leave the death camp and stop by Crygor Labs for help.
"No alien bastard kills the good mayor of Diamond City and gets away with it!" I shouted.
"We'll worry about who killed him later," said Ami. "Right now, we must free the prisoners, and destroy this death camp!"
Shortly after getting closer to the death camp's control room, the entrance was blocked by three RF soldiers on exosuit cargo-loaders. Chances are, their mechs were probably reinforced just like the Hate Bombers are, so we switched back to the AK-47s and shot at them. The damage was done just a bit, but I had a better idea. With careful approach, we swerved around the blowtorches, pulled the RF soldiers out of their cargo-loaders, and threw them across the hallway before hijacking the cargo-loaders in the end. Using the pincer-like claws as makeshift fists, we busted down the gate to the control room, where the mastermind of this death camp was hiding.
"There's the so-called king of 'Magnet Metropolis'!" I pointed at just the guy in the center.
"Magnet Bomber," said Ami, "one of the Five Dastardly Bombers!"
The blue-clad fiend yelped in surprise. "AAH! Busted! I don't know how you got here, but I'm not letting you leave this place alive! We now serve the mighty Lord Red Falcon, thanks to master Purple Basilisk's efforts in our resurrection!" He furiously typed in a bunch of keys, and pulled the big red lever to his right, setting off another blaring klaxon. Then he continued, "Let's see you save your people of Diamond City now! Your hometown belongs to me! So long, suckers! Ah, ha ha ha ha HAAA!"
With that said, he pressed a button on his seat, transforming it into a rocket ship. "Think of this as your final Test of Speed!" Then he blew up the controls with his Magnet Bombs, and flew off through the roof.
"Dammit!" I cursed. "He's totaled the controls!"
"Not to mention triggered the self-destruct mechanism!" Ami withheld an urge to pound the floor in frustration. "We can't let him beat us now!"
"I think we can still free the prisoners. Look!" I pointed at the emergency switch that wasn't destroyed.
"Maybe this controls all the cell doors! Good thinking, Aaron!"
We got off the exosuit cargo-loaders and pulled the emergency switch, unlocking and opening all of the cell doors in the death camp. Every prisoner immediately ran outside their cells, each yelling "FREEDOM!" along the way. They swiped the RF soldiers' AK-47s and began returning fire without delay, albeit a few casualties in the process. Ami and I eventually joined the fight, as we led the citizens to the exit. As soon as we reached the exit, Ami blew the gates open with her pumped-up Fire Bomb. With less than 30 seconds left to spare, we evacuated every last prisoner, and followed them afterwards to a minimum safe distance. The moment we stopped to catch our breath, the death camp exploded in a large ball of fire.
[End BGM]
[Victory BGM: Stage Clear (Contra 4)]
"We've escaped from certain death!" I said.
"And freed just about every civilian in there!" Ami added.
[End BGM]
Knowing Magnet Bomber would call in for more reinforcements from within the MagnetBase, we walked the civilians all the way to Crygor Labs, where they will be safe until we free Diamond City of Magnet Bomber's cruel reign. 45 minutes since Sgt. Hill did his part to set us free, we visited Crygor Labs to get help. Dr. Crygor, Mike, and Blaze Bomber were not present, but fortunately, Penny Crygor was. She was glad to hear we got out of the death camp alive.
[Reunion BGM: Dr. Light's Lab (Mega Man 8)]
"Aaron! Ami! I was worried you might've died at one of those five death camps." She hugged us warmly.
"Don't worry, Penny," I said. "We've been through worse...and I guess you could say we cheated death once more."
"Right now," Ami began, "we need your help. When we fought Sniper Bomber and Axe Bomber three weeks ago, we couldn't even dent through their armor-like bodies."
"Yeah. I always thought for sure our weapons' holy power could pierce the forces of darkness, but it seems Sniper Bomber's reports came true after all...at least that's what the alien soldier said before he tried to kill me."
"But aside from that, we couldn't even do any damage to the two Hate Bombers. Wasn't holy power from my bombs and Aaron's Contra Rifle supposed to work wonders?"
Penny thought momentarily. "It should be, but the problem was that they've gotten better defense now. Over the last couple weeks, I've analyzed whatever those alien robots had, that kept your holy-powered weapons from doing anything, even if they weren't heavily-armored. As it turned out, they've all been reinforced with alien material which render our weapons useless. Purple Basilisk must have found it out, and made use of it to install on all the alien robots, let alone the Hate Bombers and the Five Dastardly Bombers."
The granddaughter of Dr. Crygor turned on the computer, and showed us the results. "According to my analysis, it's titanium. However, this kind of titanium is not of our world. It appeared to have been mined from a distant planet in space. They call it the Super Titanium alloy, which is so durable, not even the strongest armor-piercing weapons on our planet can penetrate it. Anyway, the Red Falcon Empire had been doing a lot of damage over the weeks, since the second day of August. When they came to Diamond City, we were captured and separated all over the world, but luckily, Blaze Bomber was able to get me to safety despite the damages done to him."
"I see. Then...what else happened?" I wondered.
"After you were imprisoned, Sniper Bomber and Axe Bomber gave control of our city to Magnet Bomber, one of the Five Dastardly Bombers. It's possible they, too, were reinforced just like the Hate Bombers are. Magnet wasted no time killing the mayor of our fair city, while his men built the five death camps as quick as they could. In such a short time, he became dictator from within the mayor's office, and enslaved many of us to his service."
"Sergeant Billy 'Droidman' Hill, the undercover officer on behalf of the Diamond Police, told me just that before the prison guards killed him. Go on."
"Magnet would then have Diamond City renamed Magnet Metropolis, or 'Magnetropolis' for short, with statues of himself littered all over the streets and our fair Pearl Square!" Penny dreaded the thought of Magnet Bomber ruling all of Diamond City with an iron fist.
"Unless we can stop him!" Ami acknowledged. "But...how?"
Penny had an idea. "Luckily, Blaze Bomber and I managed to find and keep an Invincibility Star for just such an occasion. Thanks to my detailed analysis, we now know the one thing that can penetrate the Super Titanium alloy! With careful enough experimentation, I've converted it into Star energy, which should do the trick! Here, give me your Contra Rifle and Bomberman Watch, so I can fuse the Star with the holy power inside..."
[End BGM]
And so, we did as told; Penny worked for about 15-20 minutes infusing the Star energy within our holy-powered weapons. Afterwards, we were finally given the one and only thing capable of penetrating through Super Titanium alloy. On top of that, our defenses were upgraded - in which both my Contra Rifle and Ami's Bomberman Watch have the barrier system that does not take 3 hits, but rather 5 hits now. We both thanked Penny for a job well done.
[Tutorial BGM: Navi Customizer (Mega Man Battle Network 5: Double Team DS)]
"It works!" Penny cheered. "Now the two of you have better protection from mortal damage, along with something super special!"
"What is it?" I questioned.
Penny explained, "The ability for your barrier systems to take up to 30 hits for you! But, this requires using a lot of energy like with your Final Smashes. Once you activate that super ability, they'll last until you take 30 hits; afterwards, they have to shut down for 30 minutes to recharge. On the positive side, that doesn't affect your weapons themselves. Still, even with that on, don't get too carried away. It's awfully easy to lose track of how many more hits they can take before wearing off. I strongly urge you to use them in the most dire situations."
"In other words," I said, "only as a last resort. Can we still use our Final Smashes, even with our 30-hit barriers on?"
"No, and that goes double for the recharging process. Whether you've used your Final Smash or the 30-hit barrier system, they still have to recharge before you can even utilize the Smash Ball's power again. It's a fail-safe mechanism I built in to prevent overcharging, which could cause your Contra Rifle and Bomberman Watch to explode."
Then Ami asked, "What about the standard 5-hit barriers?"
"Can't do it either," answered Penny. "Fail-safe mechanism."
Ami nodded. "Okay. We'll keep that in mind, especially during intense situations. How do we activate our super barriers?"
"The two of you, along with your Contra Rifle and Bomberman Watch, must be in perfect balance. Focus deeply, and say the following words after me. Aaron: up, up, down, down." We all paused momentarily to gather up, and clear our minds of anything around either of us.
"Up, up, down, down."
"Ami: left, right, left, right."
"Left, right, left, right."
"And together: B, A, Select, Start!"
Ami and I said as instructed, "B, A, Select, Start!"
In just seconds, our Contra Rifle and Bomberman Watch responded by providing us the 30-hit protection with their improved barrier systems. Pondering this fact, we recognized that as the Konami Code for getting 30 lives in Contra on the NES! Though the code first appeared in the NES version of Gradius, it was famous for being the 30 lives code in Contra. Like with the normal 3-hit barrier (now upgraded to take 5 hits), the force fields themselves were invisible to the naked eye. One last thing Penny told us, was that only the pure of heart who carries the Contra bloodline can utilize the magic within our Contra Rifle and Bomberman Watch. Afterwards, we were then ready to save our friends, the world, and ourselves. Before we left, we gave the two AK-47 machine guns to the rescued prisoners for them to use, just in case Magnet Bomber's reinforcements busted on in while we're out. The time had come to free Diamond City of Magnet Bomber's reign of terror, and even rescue Bill and Lance while we're at it.
Penny had but one last thing to say: "If you recover Bill and Lance's M16 machine guns, be sure to bring them back here so I can upgrade them like with your Contra Rifle and Bomberman Watch. Good luck, and be careful!"
[End BGM]
TO BE CONTINUED...
The battle to free Diamond City has begun, but Bill and Lance are still held prisoner at MagnetBase. Can the Four Contras reunite with one another?