A little side-note before I begin: I originally had Yuffie sit out this mission when I first wrote this fanfic to post on DeviantART back in Spring 2012, mainly because I had Sakura Kinomoto (from CLAMP's Cardcaptors) around. However, since I don't use her anymore, I'm having Yuffie take her place for the remainder of this fic and my revamped/retooled DCC series in general. Personally, I like Yuffie as a character, even though she's from Final Fantasy VII and the Kingdom Hearts series (the latter which I never got to play back then).

Side-notes aside, let's begin the next chapter as our heroes take the fight to the jungle of the Galuga Archipelago.

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 13: Welcome back to the Jungle

[Interlude BGM: Final Confrontation (The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Ages)]

So...they failed to crush all hope for the future of mankind on Earth, eh? Red Falcon thought, as he reluctantly worked on Crasher and Blaster's surgery. "Still, I did get what I wanted from the Contras. Threatening their little friends' lives to crush all hope was only the beginning, but if things go exactly as planned, I'll be back in full power even without the Crimson Stone to keep my earthly body intact. In the meantime, many of Aaron and Ami's allies are temporarily out of action, which shouldn't prove too much of a hassle for Brain Bomber..." The alien warmonger continued working around the clock to ensure that Crasher, Blaster, and even their secret weapon are extremely difficult to kill.

"Sooner or later," said Sniper Bomber, "the Death Falcon will be complete. The conversion from a battleship into a moon-like reincarnation of Pandaemonium has been on schedule throughout the entire month as planned."

"Taking advantage of the Contras' desire to fight was the most brilliant scheme we've ever cooked up!" boasted Axe Bomber. "But, we gotta get on with creating our own secret weapon, should they get lucky enough to kill Brain Bomber and come all the way up here!"

"You're absolutely right, Axe. Little do they know the Crimson Stone still lives, albeit not in physical form. Either it consumes them, or we will. I'll admit, we never thought about it five years ago when we took Diamond City, Neo City, and even Tokyo by storm during the Alien Wars."

"I know, right? But now that we got ourselves involved with the Crimson Stone fiasco, though it was Purple Basilisk's doing when he mutinied us like a crazy jackass, the meddlesome Contras will soon be no more! Them and their merry friends, too!"

Laughing evilly in unison, the two Hate Bombers walked away elsewhere, intent on preparing themselves with some new tactics they had yet to unleash against us long ago, not giving a care as to what would become of Purple Basilisk and the Chaotic Bombers at this rate. Should we make it all the way there for real, Sniper and Axe thought, they'd be happy to oblige Red Falcon by finishing the job themselves once and for all.

[End BGM]

Mission 6A: Galuga Archipelago
With only "Delta Blue" standing as part of Delta Force, the Four Contras lead the way to rescue the last of their captured friends. In the meantime, we've officially confirmed Brain Bomber's base of operations: hidden within the Galuga Archipelago, off the coast of New Zealand.
September 1, 20XX
9:29 PM

[Stage BGM: Jungle 1 (Contra 4)]

Meanwhile, down on Earth below the atmosphere, we Four Contras led the way to New Zealand the next evening. We were glad that Ami, Mona, and Cute Pink helped Yuffie save 9-Volt and Phoebe's lives. Though they were hurt from the electrical injury, we were thankful neither one was killed. Ever since, Arctic Bomber had begun pondering over the times she's caused trouble for 9-Volt. She may have been a bully back then, but she never dreamed of going that far. She was pissed now, and swore that she would fight her former masters to the bitter end. In fact, she mentally added Crasher and Blaster to her kill list. Even so, she knew one other reason as to why Bill and Lance were assigned as her watchdogs to begin with: so that she'd prove once and for all never to harm another innocent child again as long as she lived.

"Now I know how 9-Volt felt when I picked on him every so often," murmured Arctic Bomber. "He was nearly killed because of Crasher and Blaster."

I looked at her in response. "Hmph. Now you know why child endangerment is against the law, much less child abuse."

"Thankfully," added Ami, "he's in good hands with Phoebe, Cute Pink, 18-Volt, and his mom at his side. Right, Mona?"

The redhead nodded. "Right. All that's left for us to do is save his best ninja pals: Kat and Ana."

The ex-Hate Bomber cracked her knuckles, her mind filled with revenge. "Not to mention your boyfriend, Wario. Anyway, if I ever see Crasher and Blaster again, I want their heads on a plate! Aaron and Ami, you two fight Red Falcon alongside Bill and Lance, while I deal with Crasher and Blaster personally!"

Bill gave her a stern look. "Arctic, I know you're angry about that near-death pain Crasher and Blaster inflicted on 9-Volt and Phoebe earlier, but we can't let ourselves be consumed by anger and vengeance. I think that's what Red Falcon wanted from us when his intergalactic henchmen almost killed them."

"The one silver lining," said Lance, "is they, along with all our other friends, are safe from further harm. We must fight hard, but most importantly, we mustn't lose our cool during such dire situations."

"Yeah," agreed Yuffie. "So in the meantime, we should be focusing on defeating Brain Bomber and his minions first. Not by anger, but through the power of justice and positive feelings."

Arctic Bomber stood from her seat, holding on tight so she didn't fall over. "In other words, we give 'em hell, Contra-style!"

"That's the spirit, Arctic," I said. "Okay guys, are you all ready? It's now or never."

Ami explained, "While we trek our way throughout the jungle and possibly the waterfall, Mad Dog and Scorpion will pilot two of our remaining helicopters with their men to cover us."

Mona added, "But chances are, we'll have to take out any anti-air cannons we see along the way. Let's do it to it!"

We hopped out of the chopper to do battle Contra-style, while Mad Dog took our place (and putting Scorpion in charge of the chopper he just got off) to provide covering fire and some useful power-ups for my Contra Rifle - along with Bill and Lance's machine guns.

"This brings back memories of Contra 4, doesn't it?" wondered Ami.

I nodded with a smug grin. "Yep. Only this time, we're fighting for our lives. By the power of justice and positive feelings, we'll kick the last of Red Falcon's goons out of our planet!"

Without delay, we rushed forth, bellowing "FREAKIN' YEAH!" along the way. Ami and I led the way with our holy weapons' 5-hit barrier systems turned on; Bill and Lance followed suit with their own. We took care to watch out for the ground turrets hidden by the grass, while dodging every bullet coming from the snipers. Then we came to the lake with enemy hovercrafts coming our way. We shot the alien mooks off, and hijacked their hovercrafts to make our way to Brain Bomber's hideout. According to our soldiers that are still alive and well inside our two helicopters, the hideout is straight ahead at the waterfall. Unfortunately, though, the anti-air flak cannons at the top of the waterfall gunned down one of our choppers with Scorpion inside!

[End BGM]

AAAHH! Mayday! Mayday! We've been hit! We've got to get out!

"Hang on! I'll try and stop the explosion!" Before Yuffie could even cast Blizzard to put out the fire, the flak cannons blew up the chopper. On the other hand, only few of the US soldiers made it out alive, though Mad Dog felt otherwise.

Scorpion! SCORPION! Those vile savages killed my best friend! He dodged the oncoming fire from the anti-air flak cannons, and blew them up with ballistic missiles. Brain Bomber! Wherever you and your men are cowering...this ain't over! You hear me?! THIS AIN'T OVER!

"We're going ahead to climb up the waterfall!" said Bill. "Can you back us up?"

I will do what I can...that evil bastard's days are numbered!

[Stage BGM: Waterfall (Contra 4)]

Upon reaching the waterfall, we got off the hovercrafts, and Arctic Bomber blew them up with her Bowling Bombs. She was not going to let Brain Bomber get away with blowing up another of our remaining helicopters. The US soldiers that followed Scorpion's lead swore to avenge him, and followed us to the bitter end. As for Mad Dog, he provided me, Bill, and Lance some useful power-ups for our rifles through the Crygors' teleportation device. I acquired the Ice Breath and Homing Missiles, whereas Bill got the Spread Gun; and Lance picked up the Laser Beam. For right now, I switched to my Homing Missiles, knowing I will need the Ice Breath later. As we continued jumping from platform to platform, we took down the wall-mounted turrets, along with the scuba divers hiding within the waterfall. Knowing what they do in both Contra and Contra 4, Ami and I took care to make sure they didn't shoot grenades at us by surprise.

Arctic Bomber waved her hand in our direction. "C'mon, fellas! The evil cowards await us at the top! I see a large elevator just above us!"

Mona nodded. "That should take us to the entrance overhead."

As soon as we jumped onto the elevator, it powered on and took us up. Along the way, Bill killed the alien snipers and grenadiers with his Spread Gun. Within a minute, we reached the top where Brain Bomber waited for us. Unsurprisingly, Warlock Bomber and Boxer Bomber stood alongside him, poised to end our heroic careers in cold blood for real.

[Interrupt BGM]
[Alert BGM: Black Shudder (Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow)]

"Back for more beatings from the Black Wizard of Destruction, I see," said Warlock Bomber.

"Don't forget me, foos!" added Boxer Bomber. "You thought your ninja friend could blow us to pieces, did ya?"

Brain Bomber walked forth. "I didn't expect you'd come this far. However, we don't have time to deal with you...but..." With a snap from his finger, a large alien monster with scythes for arms came out from behind the base. "Feel free to be killed by Lord Red Falcon's gargantuan minion, the Waterfall Alien!"

Boxer Bomber, on the other hand, grabbed Yuffie, whilst Warlock Bomber confiscated her weapons. "Now step this way, if you will!"

Yuffie screamed, "YEEEEK! Let go of me, you pervert! Guys, help me!"

Warlock Bomber laughed heartily. "Your silly tricks can't save you or your friends now!" Then he left with Boxer and Brain inside the hidden underground base, much to Arctic's anger.

"HEY! That's 9-Volt's bodyguard you're kidnapping, you evil bastards! I'M GONNA KILL YOU ALL!"

Mona held her back by the shoulders. "Save your vengeance, Arctic! That giant monster looks hungry enough to eat us alive!"

[End BGM]
[Boss BGM: Bloody Storm (Contra III: The Alien Wars)]

The Waterfall Alien, which Ami and I really recognized from Contra 4, roared as he readied his scythe arms. He had a lethal tail on his back, for its sharp end could open and close like a deadly pair of scissors. Before we were ready, the monster smacked us away, taking away the power-ups on Bill and Lance's M16 machine guns, as well as my Homing Missiles (but not my Ice Breath). In the meantime, Mad Dog flew by to assist us.

Aaron! Ami! Are you and your friends okay? We're here to back you up! He fired some missiles from his helicopter, while his men followed up with machine gun fire. The Waterfall Alien was hurt, but angry enough to destroy the chopper with a large-sized laser beam from his mouth! AAAAHH!

The communication was cut off with Mad Dog killed, leaving Arctic Bomber completely agitated. "NOOOO! Grrr...THAT'S...IT!" She angrily swiped Bill and Lance's machine guns, albeit feeling a bit of pain from their holy power, given her impure heart.

"It's high-time I went...how do you say...Rambo! HEE-YEEEAAAARRRRRGH!"

In her blind rage, the Mistress of the Cold shot around like crazy, not caring where she was aiming at. The Waterfall Alien burned the remnants of Mad Dog and Scorpion's men with purple fireballs from his mouth. Arctic shot the monster in the face, and blew open the gate with her Bowling Bombs in order to go after Brain Bomber. She ran inside like crazy, with Bill and Lance's guns blazing wildly in the hopes of annihilating Mad Dog and Scorpion's killers.

"Arctic, no!" shouted Bill. "Come back!"

"Dammit! She's gone rogue!" cursed Lance.

I tightened the grip on my Contra Rifle. "Ami and I will distract him. Mona, you go with Bill and Lance to find Arctic Bomber. We can't afford to have her actions jeopardize our mission!"

Mona nodded. "I'm on it! But, aren't Bill and Lance's machine guns infused with holy power now?"

"They are," said Ami, "but chances are, she might inadvertently blow up the whole base before we've secured our friends! Aaron and I will be fine; just go! Please!"

"Don't you two go dying on us, alright?"

Ami reassured Mona with a warm smile. "Hey, even at this moment, we Contras still don't plan on dying. We've felt worse."

Bill, Lance, and Mona went inside the base to chase after Arctic Bomber, whereas Ami and I were left to fend for ourselves. She blasted the Waterfall Alien with more of her Fire Bombs, while I shot him up with my default machine gun - and still keeping my Ice Breath in reserve for later. The monster grew angry, and attempted to stab us to death with his sharp tail. He even followed up with his scythe arms, but luckily, our 5-hit barriers protected us from certain death. We dodged as best as we could, with sweat coming out of our heads. Eventually, we managed to beat him, with green blood oozing out of his body...but he wasn't done yet. Of course, we expected that to happen since we've dealt with him before in Contra 4. He smashed the elevator platform real hard with his scythe arms, damaging it beyond repair. It began to fall, with us plummeting towards the bottom of the waterfall! The Waterfall Alien then climbed down after us with his scythe arms, ready to fry us with his laser breath and fireballs.

"I hope the Ice Breath can stop him in his tracks!"

Ami nodded in agreement. "Same with my pumped-up Ice Bombs!" In our last-ditch effort, we used our ice weapons to freeze the Waterfall Alien. He screeched as he was frozen solid. "We did it, Aaron...but now we're gonna die!"

"We're not licked yet," I said. "Quickly, your Wind Bombs!"

Ami snapped her fingers in response. "Oh, right!"

As we fell further and further down towards the bottom, Ami quickly got out her Wind Bombs, pumped them up, and threw them downwards. The bursts of wind slowed down our fall until we landed safely on the destroyed elevator platform. Just then, the Waterfall Alien broke free of the ice, but not without losing his scythe arms in the process. In his own last-ditch effort to kill us, he shot out one last laser beam from his mouth. We scrambled and got out of the way just seconds before the beam obliterated the severely-damaged platform beyond all repair.

[End BGM]

Finally, the Waterfall Alien crashed-landed onto the bottom, dead. We ran to a secret entrance to avoid a debris of bones flying out of his dead body and stopped momentarily to catch our breath. Had we been a second late, we would have been crushed to death by the creature's corpse.

[Victory BGM: Stage Clear (Contra 4)]

"Whew..." I paused momentarily to gather my thoughts. "Oh man...that was a close one!"

"I know..." said Ami, "but hey...we made it out alive."

[End BGM]

We were glad to be alright in the end, for once more, we cheated death. However, we needed to keep moving, since there's no telling what became of Arctic Bomber on our part for the moment and no way of contacting anybody else. Thus, our only option was to save ourselves until we could rendezvous with Bill, Lance, and Mona once again.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Galuga Island's exterior is devoid of enemy presence, but its metallic interior has yet to be cleaned out. Can our heroes make it in time before Arctic Bomber gets herself killed?