Back at Wingel City's mall, a Koopa wearing a gray helmet and a blue cape was laughing evilly as he stood at a cashier's desk. He held up a laser gun as he laughed evilly.
"Mwa ha ha ha ha ha ha! At long last! I, Kojo Pete, ruler of all cities, shall get my vengeance against those Dayzeeflower Girls! …And also get rid of that little pale green fool that sent me all the way here. Ugh… He's going to pay for this! But now that I'm prepared, I shall destroy him!"
"Sir… That laser costs 430 coins." a female Toad wearing glasses and a green vest informed. "You must pay for that if you want to use it."
"Oh, right. Sorry about that." Kojo took out his piggy bank and dumped 430 coins onto the desk. The salesclerk's mouth dropped upon the pile of cash. "Now, then! Give me my laser so I can do some world-conquering! For world-conquering is the biggest importance to villains! So if you were to address my motive, it would be to rule the world! I, Kojo Pete, which is what you shall call me by, for it is the correct name, will be victorious over the Dayzeeflower Girls, for they are my greatest enemies! If you were to know my enemies, they would be Dayzeeflower Girls, as I, Kojo Pete, are their greatest enemies! And soon they shall be defeated, as this laser will finally rid of them and that freak! To know why I have bought this weapon, it would be to eliminate my enemies! I, Kojo Pete, will use this laser to-"
"Yeah yeah, good for you," the clerk said, cutting off Kojo Pete's monologue. "You're holding up the line."
Looking back, Kojo noticed a bunch of angry Goombas, Toads, and Koopas that were impatiently waiting on line.
"I suppose you're correct. There are some things I need to do, after all." Kojo left the mall as he cackled and looked at his laser. The first thing he decided to do was break into a Wingel's house. There was no need to pick the lock, as the laser had done the job. "Now, I shall finally rob this house of their goods and use it to get money! For gaining money is the way to make up for spending it! And to spend means to lose! Which is why I, Kojo Pete, must gain! By stealing, I will gain! Gaining is what I desire! The desire is what I wish for most, and getting what I want most is the biggest priority to-"
"OK, show's over. You're under arrest."
Kojo turned around and saw two Wingels in sun glasses and cop hats approaching him with handcuffs.
"What is the meaning of this?" Kojo exclaimed. "For what are you trying to achieve with those handcuffs?"
"Uhhhh... We're going to arrest you!" one Wingel cop answered. "It's against the law to destroy people's property! Sorry, but we gotta put you in the slammer for that."
"But... But... I was just getting to world-conquering! For conquering the world is what will get me what I want! Wanting everything is something I must have! For getting what I want will help me in my job in world-conquering! It will also help get the Dayzeeflower Girls' attention so I can defeat them! This laser is what I need to stop them, and getting their attention means I can blast them! I, Kojo Pete, will not be humiliated by them as usual, as humiliation is unacceptable! To have something unacceptable would mean to-"
"We hate to interrupt your monologue, but you can tell that to the judge if you want," the other cop said, putting the handcuffs on him.
As the cops took him to the slammer, Kojo narrowed his eyes angrily.
"Curses..."
Near the Night Palace-
As the Hurricane got closer to the Night Palace, the sky had become much darker and starry. Fireworks had also appeared in the sky, as if there was a party going on. The largest part of the palace was not only at the top, but also at the back of the palace. Two towers also stuck out as well. Thankfully, for the two, the ride went much smoother ever since the X-Nauts tried to attack them.
"This looks like a really cool palace," Chopper remarked. "I can't wait to set foot on this place!"
"I've never been here, so this might be interesting. Once we land this thing, then we can-" Flyer paused and realized one thing, making him gulp. "Uh oh..."
"What is it?"
"Ummmmmmm... There's one small problem to this transformation..."
Chopper raised an eyebrow. "A problem? What would that be?"
As the Hurricane got closer to the Night Palace, Flyer answered, "While this transformation is meant to be useful in battle, I didn't install a landing gear for it. That means this landing might be a little bumpy. Brace for impact, Chopper!"
Chopper held onto the Hurricane as tight as he could as the plane crashed onto the floor. Thankfully, it wasn't too damaged, but there was no way they could fly out of here without any repairs.
"Oh, crud... I'm going to have to fix this thing." Flyer groaned, taking his cube out and storing it back inside. "Thankfully, I can repair this thing while it's still in the cube!"
As Flyer put the cube away, Chopper looked down at the shiny, lavender floor that showed a slight reflection of himself. "Wow! This place really looks cool! It's much more interesting than that stupid mansion we had to go through. Too bad my friends aren't here to see this..."
"Hmmmmm... Maybe while I'm fixing the plane, I can also try to put in an add-on that can help them travel with us! Though, I don't expect it to be perfect..."
"How come?" Chopper asked.
"Well, that would take WAAAAAAAAY too long to do. I might just put in one, small installation that will probably be enough. Maybe when our hunt is done I'll do something like that."
"OK... Well, I guess we better check this place out." the antennae hero turned his attention to the staircase ahead.
"Careful, Chopper… I can see some Aliebits around here and they don't look friendly…" Flyer warned, taking notice of a few Alieparas flying over the palace, along with at least two Aliebits patrolling the area. There were at least two Aliebit statues that had a railing leading into one of the palace buildings.
"A couple of Aliebits around here? No problem!" Chopper aimed his bow at an Aliebit and prepared to fire.
"Chopper! Don't!"
"Huh? Why?" he asked, turning to Flyer.
"This place is a heavily guarded, and if we were to simply fight, it might make this place even harder to progress. We need to think of a plan..."
"Awwww... But I want to fight these guys!"
"Chopper, we can't just go out in the open and fight! I thought you knew about thinking of a strategy against your foes?"
Chopper paused for a moment and turned to Flyer. "Yeah... I guess you're right. I guess we might as well do that."
"If we're going to sneak past them, we'll have to use the rails that go over those enemies and to the door. Thankfully, I can fly you across!" Flyer explained as he grabbed Chopper's arms and flew him up to the statue. He let him go, and he landed on the rail. Thankfully, the Aliebits didn't bother to look up at the railing.
"So, what are you plannin' on doin' tonight?" an Aliepara asked.
"Oh, not much," the Spiky Aliebit answered. "Though, I know we're goin' to be listenin' to the Mighty Penguinator's speech a little later. It's somethin' we can't miss! It's going to be the speech of the century!"
"Oh, yeah. I remember that! Maybe we can impress the Mighty Penguinator by showing our magnificent spears! He'll definitely know we're ready for action!"
"Hmmmmm... We might as well. I don't like guarding this place anyway." With that, the two Aliebits made their way up the stairs and through the doorway leading into the palace's interior. With the coast clear, both Chopper and Flyer jumped off the railing and landed by the doorway.
"Well, looks like the coast is clear!" Chopper smiled. "I guess we should-"
Just as they were about to set foot through the doorway, a gate had come down and blocked the way.
"Oh... I guess we can't go through here." Flyer said in a disappointed tone. "This is a shame..."
Before Chopper could give up hope, he noticed on one side of the staircase was a large, Metal Block. Smiling, he leaped down and twisted his body to perform his Ultra Hammer attack on it. It broke, revealing a hidden ladder leaning against the wall.
"Huh... So there was a ladder hidden here..." Flyer trailed. "My guess is that it will take us to the top of this building!"
"Time to see what's above!" Chopper exclaimed, climbing up the ladder. For Flyer, he simply flew up to the top. The center of the area was large and square-shaped, while the left and ride side were a bit narrow. Some Alieparas and Aliebits were on the thick wall, and they happened to spot them.
"What the... We've got some intruders in-"
Many arrows were fired in their direction, and a couple of tornadoes were shot as well, eliminating the enemies. Chopper and Flyer smirked, but they were interrupted when an Aliepara rammed into Chopper, knocking his Angel ability away. To get back at it, he leaped in the air and struck it with a Jump, and then Flyer finished it with his Flying Attack.
"That takes care of those goons," Chopper stated. "Though, it had cost me my Angel ability..."
Flyer spotted some binoculars nearby and decided to take a good look at them. He decided to check the top of the palace at the bright light coming from the window. His reaction, however, was more disgusted than happy.
"What in the world?!"
"Huh? What's wrong, Flyer?" Chopper asked.
"I don't think you wanna know..."
"But it might be important!"
"Is seeing that penguin shaving his back something important?"
"...Shaving? What do you mean by that?"
Giving up, Flyer stepped aside and let Chopper see for himself. His expression changed from curious to disgusted. "That's not a pleasant sight..."
"I know. Now let me get back to using those. Maybe I can try to see what he has to hear with this." Flyer took out a communicator-like device and fired it straight by the window King Bebe was at. With that, he started to listen in on him.
"Boy… That party is going to be starting in an hour and a half. I'm feeling nervous right now! I don't know what they'll say to me!" King Bebe exclaimed nervously, struggling to shave one section of his back. "Come on, already! I need to get my back shaved! I don't want to have a hairy back, you know!"
He used his other arm to shave and succeeded. With that, he tossed his razor, which accidentally went into the toilet. King Bebe quickly changed into his robe and grinned.
"Well, then… I have a speech to deliver! Heh heh heh heh… Maybe then I'll show off that Sky Star to everyone! I was so lucky to get away from that robot and get it here! Those alien freaks will be so proud of me! He, especially might be happy to see this!"
King Bebe pulled out the Sky Star and looked around nervously. "I just hope he isn't watching me at the moment... I really don't wanna know what would happen if he was not pleased with this star.
He took a deep breath, put the star away, and started to exit the bathroom and into the hallway. A couple of Aliebits stepped out of the way as he approached a few of them.
After listening in, Flyer pressed a button to retrieve his device and stepped away from the binoculars. "So we need to get to the whole party if we're going to find the Crystal Star." Looking up ahead, he noticed a large door. "My guess is that that large door will take us to our destination!"
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Chopper leaped off the wall and onto the other side. There were two towers that were right next to the staircase, with one to the left and the other to the right. The tower to the right had a gate in the way, preventing anyone from progressing. However, there was a small amount of space underneath the gate.
Looking behind them, they found a doorway leading to the wall's interior. They checked inside and saw a bright light on the ceiling, but the room itself was not very wide. It was rectangular, with the end of the northern section having a small opening. Two Aliebits were in the room, and they started charging at them. A fireball and another tornado did away with them.
Flyer flew over to a switch on the wall and pulled it down, opening the gate once again. "Well, this should help us in case we need to get out of here."
Chopper looked over by the small opening to the north and started to ponder. This was something he remembered seeing before. Obviously he knew he had something that could help him!
"Chopper, what are you doing?" Flyer asked, approaching his friend. "We can't go through that small opening!"
"I think we can," Chopper assured, turning into a tube and rolling through the opening. He came across a small, square-shaped room with a chest and a Shine Block. Inside the chest was a badge called a Hammer Toss. With this ability, Chopper could throw his hammer and deal a large amount of damage, at the cost of not being able to use his hammer for three turns. He found this too risky of a move and put it away before hitting the Shine Block to obtain a Shine Sprite and returning to Flyer.
They headed back to the previous area and walked up the staircase leading to the large door. Unfortunately, it appeared to be sealed off by a large, angry block. However, the difference was that this one appeared to be a rainbow type rather than metal or stone. Chopper knew what to do and twisted his body to smash it with his Ultra Hammer.
Unfortunately, it hardly did a thing.
"Crud! My hammer doesn't do a thing!" Chopper groaned. "I need my Diamond Hammer for this!"
"Diamond Hammer? Is that a stronger version of your Ultra Hammer?" Flyer asked. Chopper turned his head to him and he nodded.
"Yeah, the Diamond Hammer can smash these blocks easily. Unfortunately, I don't have it with me, so we're not moving anywhere. Do you have any ideas?"
"Well, we can't go to the tower that's to our right…" Flyer trailed, looking at the tower to the right, then he looked over at the left tower. "The tower to our left, however, is not being barricaded. I suggest we go there before any Aliebits get to us."
Chopper agreed and they walked over to the big tower to the left after clearing through two Aliebits guarding the door. Thankfully, the door wasn't locked, so they were able to enter with ease. Inside, they found the floor and walls to be a much brighter color than outside due to there being light in here. Along with that, there were cloud paintings on the wall too.
"Huh… So this is what the tower's like, huh?" Chopper saw stairs circling around the small room, along with a door to the right. They walked through there first to find something rather familiar. At least, in Chopper's eyes. He sighed, "Oh, goody… I was wondering when I would see this thing again…"
"You've seen that chest before?" Flyer asked, noticing the black chest nearby.
"Huh? Is someone in here? Can you hear me?" the black chest wiggled around in the small room. Chopper and Flyer walked over to the wiggling chest and it stopped and looked at them.
"Yeah, we can hear you loud and clear," replied Chopper with a nod.
"Really? Interesting… So that means you're the legendary hero that can stop it. But, looking at you, you remind me of my apprentice."
"Apprentice? What the heck are you talking about?"
"Hmmmmmm... If I'm correct, perhaps this apprentice he speaks of could be an ancestor of yours!" Flyer remarked.
"You really think so?" Chopper turned back to the chest. "So... I'm guessing you must know something about this guy who looks like me then, right?"
"Correct. I was his mentor." the chest answered. "I'm the one who taught him how to use a sword. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see him that much because the king thought he was the one that kidnapped his daughter. I guess that winged one was correct about you being my apprentice's ancestor..."
"I...guess."
"I can tell by your looks. Except… You don't have yellow eyes or blonde hair. You have two antennae instead…" the chest trailed. "Not something I'd expect from a descendant... But, anyway, let's get back to the important topic here. I've been stuck in this chest for thousand of years, and I can't get out of here. I need your help."
"Why would I help you?" Chopper gawked. "I don't even know you! Besides, I've seen four of you chests and all you've done was curse me."
"And not to mention it's not a smart idea to trust a black chest," Flyer added.
"What are you talking about?! A curse? …Though I am an honest person, I can say this: I'll give you an ability that will help you on your journey. The other chests also gave you a useful ability. You would expect me to do the same thing."
"…Yeah, this chest is stating the truth. The other chests that 'cursed' me actually gave me some pretty helpful abilities. I won't deny that." Chopper recalled. "But… To be honest, I know you're just going to do some weird cackling and act like it's bad. We'll go get your stupid key if you want."
"Wait, Chopper… You really think we can trust this chest?"
"It's pretty much our only option," Chopper shrugged. "We just need to find a Black Key and use it to unlock this chest."
"Yes. Make sure you come back with it." the chest demanded while it wiggled. "It's getting very cramped in here..."
"Hmmm... All right, then." Flyer nodded, following Chopper back into the previous room. "I think it could be on the upper floor of the tower, so those stairs might help us."
When they reached the top of the circular staircase, they found a pink door. The room they entered was small and contained four pink lights on each corner.
"Yuk yuk! I've been waiting for you, Slick!"
Chopper looked around the room for the voice until he noticed a rocking chair near the upper left corner of the room. Sitting there was a familiar figure.
"Doopliss..." Chopper muttered.
"So… You finally come here, huh, Slick? I bet you're surprised to see someone such as myself here!" Doopliss smirked, staring at the two with his orange eyes. "Well, it wasn't easy, that's for sure. But my shape-shifting skills sure can come in handy at times! I decided to use the rest of my time to wait for you!"
"So a Duplighost has been waiting for us? Strange..." Flyer trailed.
"You know about these guys?" Chopper questioned.
"Well, I've been studying a few things in the past. Goombas, Koopas, and even Duplighosts were among them! Obviously this one sounds like an enemy of yours, Chopper..."
"Yeah, he is..." the pale green hero turned to Doopliss and got in a fighting stance.
"Hey, where'd your other friends go anyway? Did they decide to run off?"
"No. We couldn't take them with us to this palace..."
"Oh, really? Yuk yuk yuk! Then this might be fun! Without your friends, you can't do much to stop me!" Doopliss rushed toward Chopper, but he ended up bumping into the wall for a brief moment before getting his act together.
Tattle: Of course, we see Doopliss again. He's just what he usually is. Max HP is 120, Attack is 10, and Defense is 0. He'll use his usual shape-shifting abilities on you just like the last time and, well, you know the rest. To be honest, there really isn't much to this guy other than his Head Missile and shape-shifting. I think you'll have no problem beating him, Chopper! Also, I wonder why Doopliss is here and not with Beldam. Well… At least it's better that he's not being punished by her. I mean, you know what happened with Vivian!
Ready for action, Chopper leaped in the air and performed a jump attack on Doopliss, dealing a good 8 damage to him. When he returned to Flyer, he gave him the cue to attack. A Flying Attack was all he needed to deal 9 damage.
"Oof! Say... You seem to have gotten a bit stronger, Slick! But that won't save ya when I decide to use your abilities on-"
"Yeah yeah... You're going to turn into me. Just do it already." Chopper cut in, getting a bit impatient.
Doopliss changed into a form of Chopper and used his jumping to hit Flyer, who cringed in response. "Ouch! I didn't think your jumps would hurt that much, Chopper!"
"Same here," Chopper walked over to Doopliss and this time he did a stylish flip and stomped on him with a Fire Stomp, leaving him scorched and also with a burn status. "That'll help us a little bit by slowly damaging him!"
Flyer knocked Doopliss back with another Flying Attack. He ended up flying across the room and hit one of the lights. Obviously he had a much easier time telling which one was the real Chopper.
"Urgh… All right, Slick! You're playing hard? Well I'll play hard too!" Doopliss walked over to Chopper and brought his hammer down on him. Luckily, Chopper held his hammer up to guard the attack, but he ended up taking 9 damage.
"I'd use my hammer… But it's not as tough as my stomping…" Chopper remarked, hitting Doopliss with another jump after he took damage from the burn. Flyer reduced him to 68 HP with his Flying Attack. "It's been about three turns, and you're already down to 68 HP!"
"Argh... I'll get you, Slick!" Doopliss turned back into himself and then turned his attention to Flyer, in a puff of smoke, he transformed into him and put his attacks to good use. An arm cannon materialized on his right arm, and then he fired a shot at Chopper. The attack was Superguarded, aggravating him even more. "What?! What ever happened to playing fair, Slick?!"
"Well, this is part of fighting, Doopliss. Say... Wanna see my Wall Jump technique?"
"Wall Jump?"
"Lemme show you," Chopper jumped off the wall and then came down on Doopliss with a jump and then a much faster stomp that dealt 18 damage.
"Oof! Crud, that REALLY hurts!" Doopliss cringed. Flyer smirked and struck him with another Flying Attack, leaving him with 40 HP. "I think it's time to change things around. Unfortunately I'm getting nowhere because of this."
Doopliss changed back into himself and floated up and hit Flyer with a Head Missile. His attack was Superguarded, making him lose 1 HP in the process.
"Nice try, but your attack needs a bit more effort into it," Flyer remarked, hitting Doopliss with a Flying Attack. Chopper's Spin Jump was able to deal 12 damage rather than the normal 9 this time. Now he was down to 18 HP.
Grinning, Doopliss transformed into a frying pan and managed to smack Chopper in the face, leaving a red mark on his cheek. Once Chopper hit him with another Jump, Flyer finished the fight with his Flying Attack, causing the Duplighost to collapse from exhaustion.
"Aw, crud…" Doopliss moaned, dropping 32 Star Points for Chopper to retrieve. Though he was weak, he had enough energy to get up. "Crud! And here I thought my plan would've worked!"
"Well obviously it was a failure," Flyer remarked. "So what do you plan on doing now?"
"Well... I have enough energy for at least one last thing..." Upon hearing that, Chopper and Flyer held their guard up, preparing for the worst. Instead, Doopliss turned away from them and jumped out of the tower through the window, followed by jumping off the floating palace. The results, of course, were rather painful for the poor Duplighost.
"Well, that was odd. He just ran away like a coward..." Chopper trailed.
"Hey, Chopper! I think he dropped some kind of black key." Flyer informed, noticing the Black Key lying on the ground.
Chopper looked over at the key and gasped. "Hey... We need this for that chest!"
"I was just thinking about that... So, should we trust that chest?"
"I suppose so," Chopper answered, picking up the key. "Though, I suggest you just play along with what he says. I think it'll go much smoother."
"Play along?"
"You'll see..."
The duo left the room and headed back to the room where the black chest on the bottom floor. Upon seeing them, it began to wiggle.
"Ah, so I see you've returned…and is that the Black Key?" the chest gasped, seeing the Black Key in Chopper's hand. "Oh, thank goodness. I can finally be free from this chest."
"Well... Here we go!" Chopper put the key in its lock and twisted it, unlocking the chest. Of course, the expected happened.
"WHEEE HEE HEE HEE HEE! FOOOOOOOLS!"
The chest opened up, and as usual, Chopper's surroundings had changed to the usual when a black box was free.
"Oh, you just HAD to listen to me! What a stupid little kid you are…" the curse remarked. "You should know better not to talk to strangers! It won't help you in the near future... Of course, I am a warrior that keeps my word, and because of that, I WILL spread an evil curse upon you!"
"Ummmmm... This is probably the fifth time this has happened to me, and you've said the same thing as the other curses..." Chopper trailed. "Can't you think of anything original?"
"Hmmm... Perhaps that is something I should've thought about before escaping that imprisonment. But when your trapped in a box for many years, you don't care about original speeches! You know how cramped it is in there? Well, you probably have no idea because you were never stuck in a black chest! But not it's time for me to finish this job and place the curse! Take THIS!"
Many bright flashes emitted from the area, and Chopper felt a surge of a curse enter his body.
"Wheee hee hee hee hee! Now you're cursed! …Of course, I need to explain how this curse works. It can be helpful…when you want to be a lazy couch potato! If you hold both the R and L button at the same time, you'll end up lying flatly on the ground as if you're asleep! I want to see you try it. NOW!"
Chopper suddenly found himself lying flat on the ground like a piece of paper upon using the ability. Though he wasn't able to move quickly, he was able to inch around like a caterpillar. The curse couldn't help but find it hilarious.
"Oh, look at that! You see yourself right now? Now THAT looks humiliating! Lying on the ground makes you feel like an ordinary piece of paper, and it will surely make you feel unpleasant! Just look at the expression on your face. Priceless!"
Chopper got back up, shaking himself. "This seems more helpful than harmful. Why would you say that this is a horrible thing? You even said yourself that this would be helpful. So… Thank you very much for your help!"
"So you understand how it works, don't you? Then it looks like my job is done here! WHEEE HEE HEE HEE HEE! So long, fool!" the curse cackled, only to remember something. "…Wait, before I go… I must tell you something. Watch out for the darkness… If the entrance opens, then nobody knows what might happen…"
And, just like the other curses, the cursed background crumpled up and disappeared from the room. Chopper looked at the walls and then at Flyer, who looked just as confused.
"Wow, I don't know what to say… But I think whatever that...whatever it was gave you, it should be pretty helpful." Flyer remarked. "Let's get out of this tower. There isn't much else around here..."
"Agreed," Chopper and Flyer walked out of the tower and over to the gate blocking the other tower.
"All right, time to put my new ability to use! Just watch what I do, Flyer!" Chopper fell paper flat on the ground and crawled under the gate, since the gate wasn't connected to the floor. Flyer had managed to do this as well and got under the gate as well.
"Wow, Chopper! That move really IS helpful!" Flyer smiled. "I'm sure this will be something we can use in case if there's something like that!"
"Well, all we can do is go to the next tower! Let's not waste any time and get moving!" Chopper rushed over to the tower, clearing through the Aliebits guarding and reaching the door. After exchanging nods with his friend, they headed inside.
Expect to see a couple of returning things in the next chapter... :D