Having been delayed long enough, the Contras are forced to evade the oncoming meteors, and eventually arrive in Egypt...
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 8: Crisis in Cairo, Egypt!
[Overworld BGM: Flying Battery Zone Act 1 (Sonic & Knuckles)]
Mission 3B: Europe and Africa in danger
We've just discovered the flaming meteors are coming from GolemBase in Cairo, Egypt.
Though only one meteor is coming out at a time and does not pose much of a threat, we fear something far more dangerous in store once 6 hours have passed...
August 30, 20XX
7:41 AM
We were again flying in the CrygorCopter towards our next destination, this time in Egypt. Following behind are the other helicopters from the US Army; this squad was identified as the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, or Delta Force. For years, they were known for countering terrorism - in that case, the invasions by Red Falcon and the Five Dastardly Bombers. While they did help out during the Alien Wars 5 years ago, they were eventually forced into a tactical retreat, all while Bill and Lance picked up the slack and finished off the rest of Red Falcon's alien army.
Nowadays, Delta Force was ready and willing to assist us in any way they can, despite the lack of the Star energy Blaze Bomber, along with us Four Contras, now possess. In fact, Ami and I learned that while we were temporarily out of action, Penny modified Bill and Lance's M16 machine guns with Star power, so they'd function the same my Contra Rifle and Ami's Bomberman Watch does. Now we all have 5-hit barrier systems within our holy weapons, along with the option to activate the Konami "30-Hit" Barrier. Despite having to make sure we're in perfect balance, the ability doesn't technically apply to all four of us at once. In other words, while it only requires a certain pair of people descended from our ancestors that banished Red Falcon centuries ago, Bill and Lance can still back me and Ami up with their own Konami Barriers - just in case ours runs out.
The moment another flaming meteor flew by, we put aside our trains of thought and dodged oncoming fire. Unfortunately, one of the Delta Force helicopters wasn't so lucky. The moment it was struck by that meteor, we were shocked so see that happen, worried that Cheerful White, Cool Black, Yumi, Ashley, and Red were probably aboard that helicopter.
Mayday! Mayday! We're not gonna- The radio signal ended abruptly as the helicopter exploded in a ball of fire.
Lieutenant Tommy, do you copy? Mad Dog's voice called. Lieutenant Tommy, do you copy?!
Freakin' hell! cursed Scorpion. We lost contact with him! He and his team have pretty much been killed already!
"What about our friends we've rescued," asked Blaze Bomber, "or even Cheerful White and Cool Black?"
They're with us at the moment. The one silver lining is that they, along with you guys, are okay. Mad Dog breathed a sigh of relief.
We will mourn our finest lieutenant later, came Scorpion's voice. We must infiltrate GolemBase and destroy it now!
The two sergeants hung up their communicators, breaking contact. Penny, however, called us next. Blaze Bomber, this is Penny Crygor.
Blaze Bomber nodded. "Go ahead."
I've just finished analyzing GolemBase further. According to what I've found, the meteors that have been coming out one at a time aren't entirely deadly. While it would take about a week for Golem Bomber and his loyal followers, including Volcano Bomber, to incinerate all of Europe and Africa...
Bill interrupted, "Wait, Volcano Bomber's back, too?!"
Lance shrugged. "Not surprising that Red Falcon revived him as well. You were saying, Penny?"
The real reason why I said we have less than 6 hours - right now, it's about 4 hours left - is that they've been stockpiling illegally-modified ICBMs! That's short for intercontinental ballistic missiles: long-ranged, greater than about 3,500 miles, and armed with one or more nuclear warheads! Fascinating at first, but downright dangerous.
Blaze Bomber shuddered at the thought of stolen weaponry. "Yeesh...Purple Basilisk just plain refuses to stop stealing Earth's military technology, does he? First, the BTR-80s Bill and Lance told us about, and now the ICBMs!"
Penny continued, I'm afraid that's what he does best besides building a bunch of evil Bombermen and women. But aside all that, you've got to dismantle those ICBMs and destroy GolemBase before it's too late!
"I know," I acknowledged. "The destruction this large could contaminate the entire planet with nuclear radiation in a matter of days, and that'd be the end of life as we know it!"
Ami patted my back reassuringly. "We'll stop the evil within Egypt at once before a single ICBM gets out!"
Bill turned his attention towards Arctic Bomber. "Now do you know why it's wrong to commit war crimes, let alone on a populated planet such as Earth?"
"Yes, yes, I get it already," whined the ex-Hate Bomber. "Look, I freakin' kept my word when I said I'd stop coming after Aaron or bullying 9-Volt anymore, okay?! All I did was go on a small adventure of my own to Hollywood, take a magic lamp from some self-absorbed rich guy's castle, and use it to create my own crystal castle that got melted! Calls himself King Billy Bling, if you ask me, but that's not the point!"
"You broke into a rich guy's castle? You do realize that's a felony, right?"
Arctic Bomber snapped, "Hey, I am not going to jail for you nor anybody else, Rizer! I had to start somewhere, thank you very much! It's a long story, which I'm better off saving for some other time..."
[End BGM]
Although we did arrive in Egypt, we had to land at the safest spot possible - in town - due to stray meteors coming out of GolemBase. Once we got off, Blaze Bomber pulled out three golden beacons, each mounted on a metallic pole. He kept two of them inside our helicopter, while he put the other one out in a good enough spot. Once he turned it on, it generated a barrier large enough to protect all of the choppers within. "Since my good flames won't work wonders inside the fire-themed base itself, I'll stay here and refuel all our choppers. Meanwhile, you need to move fast and stay sharp, because each Star Beacon Penny designed for us can only generate its barrier for an hour before it wears off. In other words, you'll have three hours before the choppers are rendered defenseless."
Mad Dog saluted in response. "Understood, Captain Blaze."
"Please, call me Blaze Bomber, or Blaze."
Scorpion nodded. "Alright, Blaze. We'll consider our job done!"
Mona, 5-Volt, 9-Volt, Phoebe, and Cute Pink stayed behind for safety reasons. "I'll help Mona and Blaze Bomber refuel our copters," announced Pink.
[Comfort BGM: Rydia (Final Fantasy IV)]
Mona added, "And 9-Volt, it's best if you stay here with us."
9-Volt nodded. "I know, sis. It's far too dangerous, but what if our Star Barriers run out of energy and we die?"
"Son, don't say that," said 5-Volt. "It's gonna be fine. With Aaron, Ami, Bill, and Lance around, we'll stop all those evil ICBMs from killing off the two neighboring continents."
"But what about Pink's other best friends, Cheerful White and Cool Black? Their bombs can't penetrate Super Titanium alloy!"
Phoebe smiled warmly. "Not if they've got some Star Drinks to power up their bombs with, which they do."
Cute Pink agreed, "So do I, just in case. Now relax, and rest with Phoebe."
"But-" Before 9-Volt could say something, Pink hushed him soothingly, and kissed his cheek.
"Calm down, sweetie."
"Your guardian angel's right. We don't want you to get all worked up, especially when you're exhausted. We're all exhausted from our long trip, but we're doing what we can." Mona hugged him in a motherly manner. "As for Siren Bomber and her trickery she pulled on you, she's fooled others a lot worse. But nobody impersonates your mom in front of you and gets away with it."
"Thanks, you two," said 9-Volt, turning his attention toward Phoebe and his mom, while Mona and Pink went out to help Blaze Bomber. "I'm sorry...I just wish I wasn't so gullible when I fell for Siren Bomber's ruse, but she brainwashed me and..."
Phoebe hushed him soothingly. "Shhh...it's okay. Like we said before, it's not your fault. You're just tired from our long trip, that's all. We're not gonna die, not while I've got my Super Scope and its enchanted bowling balls to protect you with. Besides, we did kick Siren's butt when we set you free, didn't we?" She removed 9-Volt's helmet, and cuddled him warmly. He nodded in agreement, before closing his eyes for a snooze.
"That's right, sweetie," said 5-Volt, "that's right. We aren't gonna let anything bad happen to you."
Phoebe closed her eyes too, still holding 9-Volt closer to herself affectionately with 5-Volt watching over them. Meanwhile, Mona smiled, and returned to assisting Cute Pink and Blaze Bomber.
[End BGM]
[Stage BGM: Sandopolis Zone Act 1 (Sonic & Knuckles)]
Far from our temporary sanctuary spot, we Four Contras led Delta Force across the desert. Before that, we made a quick stop in Cairo to ask one of the civilians about GolemBase's location, whilst turning on our translator devices by setting them to translate from Arabic.
"أنا سمعتها من صديق كان الحظ قد هربوا. يمكنك السفر إلى الجنوب من هنا ثم غرب نهر النيل. هناك ستجد الهرم قاعدة يسمونه جوليم"، بل هي في جميع التكاليف. قليلة جدا وقد هرب العدو القبض على حياتهم. (I overheard this from a friend of mine who was fortunate to have escaped. You'll have to travel south from here, then west from the Nile River. There, you will find the pyramid they call GolemBase, but be real careful at all costs. Very few have evaded enemy capture with their lives.)"
After thanking the civilian, we took our leave to save Egypt. Because it was too hot to travel on foot alone, we had to rent some abandoned halftracks belonging to the enemy. While we weren't surprised that the halftracks were likely based on stolen technology, we were indeed surprised to see the enemies commandeering these halftracks were actually undead soldiers. In fact, their outfits appeared to be similar to the ones worn by German soldiers during World War II.
"Seriously?" Arctic was baffled. "Undead soldiers in German uniforms?"
"Not just the undead soldiers," Bill concurred. "They represent the German Africa Corps, or 'Afrika Korps' in terms of popularity."
"The questions are," Lance wondered, "what are they doing here in the daytime, and how did they come back from the dead?"
"I think Golem Bomber has something to do with it," I said. "Whenever he transforms into Golem Phantom like from Bomberman Tournament, he can summon the undead."
"Yeah," concurred Ami, "but those soldiers aren't the evil Bomber-zombies he brought up during that boss battle. Might have something to do with Red Falcon's DNA..." Eventually, the undead Afrika Korps spotted us. They roared, and charged forth.
"WHOA! I think this calls for a big strike of a lifetime!" With that said, Arctic Bomber pulled out a Bowling Bomb, activated its internal fuse, and bowled it at the zombies.
"Here it comes!" The zombies were quickly blown to bits by the fiery blast, prompting the ex-Hate Bomber to cheer. "STEEERRRIKE! Ha ha ha! See, Aaron? You DO need me as your Bowling Queen after all!"
Bill prodded her in the back with the butt of his M16. "Ow! Ugh...you're welcome! Boy, that's gratitude for ya..."
"Don't push it, Arctic," warned Bill. "You're not his Bowling Queen, and he's not your Pin King either. You're on probation, remember?"
Arctic Bomber scoffed. "Yeah, yeah, I know that!"
"You say you know," said Lance, "but your actions say otherwise. Now c'mon, we need help against those undead soldiers!"
The odds appeared to be stacked against us, but like with Final Fantasy and some other video games, the undead are weak against fire, and not just holy power (i.e. the Cure spell). Ami blew the zombies to bits with her Fire Bombs, whereas the Delta Force operatives followed up with their flamethrowers. The battle was long and brutal during our long drive to GolemBase...and as soon as we finally reached it, two hours had passed. To make things worse, a few stray meteors struck the halftracks, forcing us to bail out before they exploded. Mad Dog quickly pulled out his communicator to report the damage.
"Capt - I mean, Blaze Bomber, sir! The enemy halftracks we hijacked in order to reach GolemBase have been destroyed! Luckily, we escaped just before the flaming meteors detonated on them!" The African-American sergeant handed his communicator over to Scorpion.
"How are things on your end?" he asked.
Not good, said Blaze Bomber. Two of our Star Beacons have just run out of energy, and we're down to our last one. You've got to destroy GolemBase and the ICBMs within!
Ami spoke up, "Hang in there, Blaze! Tell Mona, 9-Volt, Phoebe, Cute Pink, and also 9-Volt's mom not to worry!"
Alright, but try not to die this time! Those ICBMs could spell the end of mankind!
As soon as we hung up, a large stone golem came out of the volcanic pyramid wall above the entrance, and jumped down on us! It was a giant, stone statue of Golem Bomber, brought to life! "Evasive maneuvers, everyone!" warned Bill, immediately prompting us to get out of the way just before the giant statue landed on us.
"We need to get inside GolemBase!" shouted Lance.
"Red and I will help Delta Force hold it off," said Ashley. "The rest of you have to stop those hellish ICBMs!"
Cheerful White nodded. "Okay! C'mon, fellas!"
Bill, Lance, White, Black, and Arctic Bomber followed me and Ami inside GolemBase, but the statue blocked our way.
"I don't think it plans on letting anybody in," said Yumi. "Okay, Delta Force, let's show that giant stone statue who's boss around here!"
"We're with you, Yumi!" acknowledged Mad Dog.
"I don't know who or what brought it to life," said Scorpion, "but we're crushing it anyway! Let's move!"
The Golem Bomber statue launched its fists like missiles at our group, bashing us in but not badly. The fists then retracted back to the statue's arms, before it lifted its left foot to stomp down next. Arctic Bomber blew its left leg off with her Bowling Bombs, but the statue managed to regenerate its damaged leg with ease. Everyone tried destroying the statue with everything at their disposal, ranging from RPGs to C4s...but the story was the same. That's when we realized...
"Wait a minute..." wondered Yumi. "That's almost like that stone statue from Sonic & Knuckles on Sega Genesis! It could only be defeated by making it jump into the quicksand!"
"I see a large quicksand nearby," said Mad Dog. "What's the scoop?"
"Obviously, anyone who's heavy - man or robot - can't jump from a quicksand so easily!"
"In other words," summarized Scorpion, "if we lure the large statue there, it won't be able to get back out if it jumps into the quicksand."
While being cautious as to not accidentally step on the quicksand, the group lured the giant statue away from the entrance. It shot some laser beams from its visor to inflict damage, but the group ignored the pain and stood tall. The moment the statue made a big jump, Ashley, Red, and Yumi led the others out of the way. Eventually, the Golem Bomber statue stomped onto the quicksand, causing it to sink. That's when Ami finished it off by blowing its head off with a pumped up Thunder Bomb. As its head was sent flying off, it fired one last laser beam not at the heroes, but at its now-headless body - accidentally. The resulting damage blew up the entire statue, reducing it to small pieces of scrap metal and rocks.
[End BGM]
"Whatever that thing was," said Mad Dog, "it's nothing but scrap. Good work, ladies and gentlemen! Aaron and Ami's crew will be dealing with Golem Bomber inside that pyramid of his."
"Meanwhile," added Scorpion, "we'll need to stay outside and take out the rest of the undead Afrika Korps."
[Boss BGM: Magnus von Grapple Battle (Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door)]
Suddenly, a giant mech came crashing down on the ground in front of the entrance. It was ten feet tall, with retractable arms and legs, and spiked balls for hands. Sitting atop its torso was none other than Purple Basilisk. Of course, we weren't too surprised to see him again. "What, nothing to say? I was hoping you'd compliment on my Spike-o-Tron, but I digress."
That mech looks like the one Deadeye Joe used in one of the boss fights back in Contra: Hard Corps, Ami thought.
"Then again, I didn't expect Mosquito and Siren to completely annihilate the lot of you, since their main objective was to slow you down. And they played their parts just right, so now it's my turn to take the stage! All I gotta do is slow you down till the nukes come home, and nobody - that's right, nobody - is allowed inside GolemBase without beating me first. That stone statue of Golem Bomber was only a prelude compared to me. Anyway, I'd also say 'you gotta catch me', but I won't need to. Oh, and don't bother trying to fight back; my Spike-o-Tron is reinforced with Super Titanium alloy!"
"Not if any of us has Star power, whether from the Four Contras' holy-powered weapons or our Star Drinks," said Arctic Bomber. "Let's see you and your buttinski Chaotic Bombers try and land me in jail again!"
"Now what kinda retort is that?! No matter, you're just as stubborn as ever, Arctic Bomber..."
"Pshhh! More like ready to kick your ass!"
The Spike-o-Tron began jumping around in a frenzy, and did a little cocky dance with its arms up high. "Look, Contras! I'm standing around like a blithering idiot! Shoot me!" Bill, Lance, Ami, and I ran up close and fired away, but Purple Baslisk's mech jumped away at the last second. Then he wound up its left arm and swung it down the ground at us, followed by the right arm, only he swung it in midair when we jumped over the left arm, knocking us over.
"That's right! Feel the true power! The Four Contras went down the Sahara Desert, to fetch a pail of pain!" Purple Basilisk backed up his taunt by flinging spiked bombs from his Spike-o-Tron, and slamming both its spiked-ball hands down on the ground. We were hurt once more, though we shut our eyes quickly before the sand could blind us. As he focused on Yumi, Ashley, Red, and the Delta Force soldiers (who were busy killing more Nazi zombies), we attacked him from behind with our guns and Ami's Thunder Bombs. Arctic Bomber followed up by climbing on top, and repeatedly punched Purple Basilisk until he shook her off. She wasn't intending on kicking him off his own mech; she merely delayed him long enough for me, Ami, Bill, and Lance to blow the Spike-o-Tron apart.
"Hey! Do you have any freakin' idea how much it cost me to build that?!" Though the mech was reduced to a torso with its arms and legs blown off, Purple Basilisk made the best of it by hopping up and down in hopes of crushing us flat. We couldn't afford to let this fight drag out any longer since its purpose was to waste the time we had left to dismantle Golem Bomber's illegally-modified ICBMs. Thus, I borrowed Ami's Thunder Bomb, while she froze the mech with her pumped-up Ice Bomb. Having predicted that Purple Basilisk would hop his mech up and down just to break free of the ice, we waited for just the right moment. The exact second the Spike-o-Tron's torso broke off the ice, I hurled the Thunder Bomb like a baseball as hard as I could, finally destroying it in the ensuing electrical explosion. Purple Basilisk quickly hit the eject button, flinging himself out of the exploding mech with his seat as a makeshift jet pack.
[End BGM]
Despite losing the battle, he cackled anyway. "How predictable, and yet you insisted on scrapping my Spike-o-Tron in the first place. My incentive, as I said before, was to waste your precious time! This was all part of the act, which I played just right! In short, by winning this battle, you've lost World War III! I'd bail out and hide under a big rock if I were you, because the nukes are about to take off in less than...oh my, that's not a lot of time for you, is it? A bit less than 2 hours are all you get, thanks to Mosquito Bomber, Siren Bomber, and me! See you in hell!"
Thus, the crazed lieutenant teleported himself out of Egypt, whereas we returned to our original plan: Cheerful White, Cool Black, Arctic Bomber, Bill, Lance, Ami, and I entered GolemBase at last, while the rest of our allies would do what they can and destroy the rest of the Nazi zombies. However, should our time reach its deadline at 1 hour remaining, Yumi, Ashley, and Red have permission to call Blaze Bomber in for evacuation...
During that time, we'd need to move fast and avoid as many random encounters as possible in order to reach Golem Bomber's lair alive, or die trying.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Time grows short, for the artificial volcano itself is about to erupt in a couple more hours!