CHAPTER 8-5
-Tippi and Count Bleck-
The wind continued to blow through Chopper's antennae in the room at the last area of Castle Tipral, the Inner Sanctum. All that was left now was just Chopper, Tippi, and the rest of the Pixls.
"So, it's just us left now, isn't it? It reminds me of the time we first met…" Tippi remarked, remembering when she first met Chopper back in Trinado's Castle. It wasn't exactly the greatest meeting they had, but she began to trust the pale green hero after rescuing her from the geeky Francis…wherever he may be now.
"Yeah, I remember when we first met each other… That was definitely a big moment…" Chopper trailed.
Tippi began to frown (despite being a butterfly). Chopper seemed to notice her sad look. "Tippi… Is something bothering you?"
"…I'm sorry, Chopper. I promised you that I would help you find your friends… And now…" Tippi sniffled, turning away from Chopper. "All of them are gone forever… You must be pretty mad at me…"
Chopper shook his head. "This isn't your fault, Tippi. You were never the cause of me losing my friends. In fact, you're probably one of the reasons why I'm even in this castle. So, you don't need to cry or anything. …You know, I bet that my friends might still be alive! I just have to believe that!"
Tippi fluttered onto Chopper's finger. "So… You're saying that I'm the sole reason why we've made it this far?" the butterfly asked, genuinely surprised by his response. Still, she couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, Chopper… As for your friends… Maybe you are right and they did somehow survive… They ARE heroes…"
"Uh-huh!" Chopper nodded, but soon remember something. "Although… I'm starting to get a little worried. Even though we've made it this far, I still haven't found Mario or Luigi! I hope those two are safe…"
"Mario and Luigi were involved in this as well?" Tippi perked up. "…Well, I suppose it's true, considering that they were probably one of the reasons why the Chaos Heart was summoned… Hopefully, they're doing just fine."
"You just need to believe, Tippi," the young boy told her. "Believing is something you must…well, believe!"
"I guess you're right. I'm going to believe in them… And… I'm going to believe in HIM…most of all…"
Starting off in this hallway, he noticed that it was a lot similar to the other hallways he was walking in. Although, this time, he noticed some purple Choppa enemies flying around in the room, and even some Ultra Dark Creatures as well.
"Oh, man… Looks like things are going to get a little dangerous now." Chopper gulped, using Tippi's power to investigate the new Choppa enemy.
"That's a Copta, a curious organism that flies through the air...and dimensions... Max HP is 10 and Attack is 4. It's hard to track, as it occasionally flips... Just stay after it, and hit it repeatedly when you can..." Tippi informed.
"A Copta…? Weird name." Chopper stomped on the first Copta twice in order to take it out. It really didn't take much, since he was able to strike the other Copta after performing a stylish move.
An Ultra Dark Soldier tried to fire at Chopper afterward, but he managed to inhale the laser shot and spit it back at the Dark Creature, allowing him to stomp on it a couple of times before defeating it.
"It would've been nice if my friends were here. Taking these guys out would be much easier if that was possible." Chopper brought his hammer down on an Ultra Dark Swordsman in his way, then tossed a couple of fireballs at it to defeat it.
"I'm starting to wonder… Was Dimentio really speaking the truth back there?" Tippi questioned to herself as she fluttered behind Chopper.
"I'm not sure, Tippi…" Chopper replied, hearing her. "But, I'm pretty sure that he's no longer around after what happened back in the other room – despite the fact that I don't KNOW what happened."
He came across a yellow Cursya. Since he never got any information on this monster, he used Tippi's power to investigate it.
"It's a Reversya Cursya. It is a spiteful monster that curses everything it touches. Max HP is 1 and Attack is 1. It can make you move entirely in opposites... If you get cursed, it's best to relax. You will learn to adjust until the effect wears off..." Tippi informed.
"Well, I know how to get rid of this thing," a simple fireball was all Chopper needed to destroy the Reversya Cursya in one hit. "See? All better!"
He saw a couple of Siliams floating around by three ? Blocks. They were a bit high, but Chopper managed to strike the enemies by jumping and spinning his hammer vertically. It was pretty simple for him!
"Man… I can't WAIT to use this on that Count Bleck guy!" Chopper smirked as he struck the three blocks.
"Yeah… I hope so, too…" Tippi trailed. "I don't understand… Why is Blumiere doing all of this?"
Chopper inhaled both Mushrooms, resulting in him recovering 20 HP. He proceeded over to a couple of Coptas, spinning his hammer around to strike each of them in one hit.
"This is actually fun! I like spinning my hammer around!" Chopper smiled as he finished off the last Copta. He proceeded on to a Dark Spiky Skellobit, but it was finished off by his hammer twice.
"I'm honestly wondering why there are Skellobits in this area…" Tippi trailed. "I thought for sure that they would be with Shade…"
"Well, some of them must be different," after Chopper finished off the last Dark Spiky Skellobit, he walked over to the end of the hallway, where he found a door. He checked to make sure there weren't any traps.
"Hmmmmm… Well, I guess it's safe to move on." he opened the door and walked into a smaller room. He only ran for about a second before bumping into a wall.
"Hey, where's the door?" Chopper flipped into 3-D, but he couldn't even find the door around him either!
A Yellow Magiblot appeared in front of him and fired its spell, but he inhaled it and spat it back out at it, destroying it instantly. "I'm hoping that there's a way to get out of this room…"
"Have you tried my powers yet?" Tippi asked.
"Oh… Then I better do that!" Chopper used Tippi's powers to investigate the room. Luckily, there was a hidden door in the room. "Yup! This definitely reminds me of Lineland Road!"
"There's a hidden door here… Let me make it visible for you…"
With a small, white flash, the door was now visible for Chopper, but he had to kick a Yellow Magiblot in the face first before moving on to the next room.
Walking into the next room, Chopper was a bit surprised. The Inner Sanctum actually had some PLATFORMING?! Well, all he could see were these bobbing platforms that were moving up and down.
"This should be easy," the pale green gumball smiled as he jumped on the first platform. As soon as the skinnier platform was close to him, he grabbed a hold of the ledge and pulled himself up.
"Well, looks like I found ya!" a Dark Skellobomber cackled as it tossed its head at Chopper, hitting him in the head. "There's no way you're going to get through here with these bottomless pits!"
"Ummmm… OK?" Chopper wiped the bruise on his head and shot a fireball straight at the Dark Skellobomber, sending it on fire. Two more fireballs did the trick, as it began to disintegrate into smoke.
"That was strange…" Tippi trailed as she followed Chopper onto the next platform. He made a jump to a skinnier platform when it came down for him and then jumped on a thicker platform to find a Dark Spiky Skellobomber flying over the gap.
"Crud… I can't even jump on that guy!" Chopper frowned.
"Actually, if you ride on me and stomp on a spiky enemy, you won't get hurt at all!" Carrie mentioned, nudging on Chopper's arm.
"Yeah, but you're probably going to get hurt as well."
"No I won't! I was made to be immune to spikes! It's really simple! Let me show you!" Carrie scooped Chopper from the floor and jumped straight on top of the Dark Spiky Skellomber, sending it to its doom.
"See? I can take down these spiky guys while in the air!" Carrie let Chopper get off of her as she landed on the next platform.
"Well… I suppose that's a bit helpful! Thank you." Chopper thanked as he jumped onto the next platform, but he noticed he was being blocked by a tall, bobbling platform that refused to move.
"Oh, come on! They're seriously blocking me or something?!"
"You can always flip and see what's around it…" Tippi reminded.
"Oh, yes. I can do that." Chopper flipped into 3-D to find a platform next to him to his left. Upon jumping on that, he jumped onto another platform that was past the tall platform. With that, he went back into 2-D.
He crossed over two skinny platforms and landed on another thick platform with a tall platform blocking his way. But, getting past it was simple. He flipped into 3-D and simply went past it by jumping!
"Well this is pretty easy!" Chopper jumped onto another platform that came down for him and waited patiently for it to go up to a ledge where a door was. With that, he entered the door.
"Another room with platforms? Weird… But, at least the Inner Sanctum has a bit more originality than the other places. I'll give it that." Chopper saw that these platforms were shorter in height, but wide in width.
"Make sure you jump at the right time so you don't fall off…" Tippi informed.
"Right! I just need to… Wait, I already know that!" Chopper jumped on the descending platform in front of him and then jumped across a platform that was moving up like an elevator.
After jumping off the fourth platform, he landed on a ledge. But before he could move on, Tippi nudged him.
"I remember something…" Tippi trailed. "I believe there might be something around here in 3-D…"
"Really? Well, I'll check for myself." Chopper flipped into 3-D to find a small set of stairs to his left. A pipe was settling there as well, so Chopper took the pipe down.
Through the pipe-
"Huh… This is interesting…" Chopper walked out of the pipe and noticed he was in a small little hallway. He didn't find anything in 3-D except for a blocked little path that was tiny. There were three red ! Switchs floating above the floor too.
"Oh, boy… Now we're getting to something annoying."
"Well, then see what's around in 3-D…" suggested Tippi. Chopper did so and noticed numbers on the other side of the blocks. So, he simply punched them in the following order: left, right, center.
By doing this, it created a door right in front of Chopper, causing him to jump up in surprise.
"Odd… I don't think I've seen this door before…"
"Well, time to see what's through here!" Chopper kicked the door open into a room with a caged net. There was a large bottomless pit over by the ledge, but the caged net appeared to go over it. However, instead of Koopa Troopas, there were Koopatrols climbing on it.
"Now this certainly reminds me of something…" Thoreau trailed.
"Yeah, it was back in that castle," Chopper hurled a fireball at a charging Koopatrol and finished it off with his hammer. He then grabbed the caged net and began to climb on it.
"Be careful, Chopper… You may have been able to knock Koopa Troopas off with your feet, but you can't do that with a Koopatrol…" Tippi warned. "Because of the spike, you'll take damage instead…"
"Yeah, I was thinking about that," Chopper punched the caged net as soon as a Koopatrol got in his way from behind, sending it flying off of the net. He then proceeded over the bottomless pit.
"Gotta be careful not to fall off…" he trailed as he knocked a Koopatrol off the other side with a punch. Before he knew it, he was over the bottomless pit and over by a chest with Magiblots of every color guarding it.
"Well, I guess we need to get rid of those first…" Tippi gawked as she looked at the three enemies.
"I'm taking out the Red Magiblot first," Chopper jumped off the caged net and stomped on the Red Magiblot twice, then stomped on the Yellow Magiblot three times while performing stylish moves.
Last but not least, he finished off the Blue Magiblot with one swing of his hammer and two fireballs, defeating them and allowing him to get the Castle Tipral Key from the chest.
"Well it's about time! I guess I'll need this for a door in that other room. Let's go!"
Room with platforms-
"Time for some more jumping!" Chopper clenched his fists and made a big jump over to the platform that was moving down, then jumped on a platform that was moving up afterward.
"I'm not sure where these bottomless pits lead to…" Tippi trailed, looking down below. "Surely they lead you to The Underwhere… But I'm not going to count on that so far…"
"Yeah, it's best not to," Chopper jumped on Carrie and stomped on the Dark Spiky Skellobomber flying over the gap between the moving platforms. He jumped on top of it and landed on the last platform.
Because of that, he was able to get to the locked door as soon as the platform made it up to the ledge. With the key in his hand, he unlocked the door and headed through into the next room.
Walking through the next room, he noticed he was in another similar hallway, like the other hallway where he first started in the Inner Sanctum. But, what enemies he saw were nothing like before.
There were white Muths walking around the hallway. And there was definitely more than three of these Muths, that's for sure.
"What the heck? Those elephant guys remind me of those enemies we saw in Pristine Palisade!" Chopper pondered. "I'm going to find out what these guys are…"
He used Tippi's powers on the Muth and gathered some information on the large beast.
"That enormous white beast is a legendary Mega Muth... They are extremely rare creatures… Max HP is 200 and Attack is 8. They can trample nearly anything... It has a huge amount of HP, so it will be very hard to take down... They are gods among Muths..." Tippi informed.
"200 HP?! Are you serious?!" Chopper took a couple of steps and noticed that a Mega Muth was charging toward him. He simply stopped it by hurling a fireball at the massive beast.
"The best way to defeat it is if you use Cudge or stomp on in a couple of times…"
"Well that stinks! I don't want to have to do all of that! …But I'm sure that these guys are worth a lot of experience points… So, I will try to take these guys down as much as I can without dying!"
He began to bash the Mega Muth as many times as he can before it charged at him. It took him about eighteen more hits to actually destroy this thing, but it ended up dropping a Bone-In Cut.
"Hmmmm? It just dropped some meat?" instead of grabbing it, Chopper inhaled the Bone-In Cut instead, doubling his Attack power. "Well, at least I can deal some heavy damage to these guys now."
Chopper went after the next Mega Muth, striking that monster many, many times with his hammer until it dropped dead and gave him more points.
"For some reason, I feel like this is going to take a LONG time to finish…" Tippi sighed, watching Chopper go after the rest of the Mega Muths.
A couple of minutes later-
"Whew! FINALLY!" Chopper sighed in relief, wiping the sweat off of his forehead as he walked over to the door. "I took some damage from those beasts, but I think I managed to take them all down – even the ones in 3-D."
"I'm glad you finally did that… Now let's move on…" suggested Tippi as Chopper walked through the door, only to be surprised at the room he was now in.
"What in the… This is a weird hallway." Chopper frowned, noticing the Koopatrols walking around here and all of the doorways. However, not all of them could be walked through.
After taking care of the enemies in this room, he flipped into 3-D to find an open doorway. In the middle of the room, to the right, he saw an open one to walk through, then walked through a couple of rooms until he was in a hallway with Goombas and Koopa Troopas.
"…Did I go the right way?" Chopper asked as he stomped on a Koopa Troopa and kicked it toward the Goombas and other Koopa Troopas, knocking them out of the room easily.
At the end of the room, he found a chest that contained a Shooting Star, then he went back through the open doorway, but ended up running into a green Cursya, slowing him down.
"Ugh… I hate that!" Chopper grumbled, but used Tippi's powers to investigate the enemy anyway.
"That's... a Cursya! This spiteful, evil monster curses everything it touches... Max HP is 1 and Attack is 1. This Cursya's curse slows you down temporarily... You should throw something at it or use an item... Jumping on it would be a bad idea..."
"Well, I'm getting rid of it," while he was still slow, he was still able to strike the Cursya with his hammer, disintegrating it into smoke and letting it drop a Poison Shroom, which he grabbed, but soon threw away since he knew it would hurt him.
"And now there are even some Coptas in this room…" he groaned as he managed to stomp on the first Copta, performing a stylish move and then took out the other Copta with two jumps.
"The door's just up ahead…" Tippi informed, fluttering over to the door ahead while Chopper defeated the rest of the enemies in the room.
"Well it's about time!" Chopper kicked the door open, but he was once again in another familiar room. "Are you kidding me? There's more than one of these rooms?!"
"Then we better continue to search this room…"
"Yeah, better do that," the effect from the Cursya wore off and allowed him to flip into 3-D and walk over to the upper left doorway into a hallway with a Red I. Using Flippay, he easily defeated the enemy.
"There's nothing in this room…" Tippi noticed as she fluttered to the end of the room. "We're at a dead end…"
"Bleh. Then we're going back into that other hallway." Chopper returned to the other hallway by flipping and took the lower right doorway into a hallway with some pink fuzzy enemies.
"Meork!" they shouted as they charged toward Chopper, who used Tippi's powers to investigate the enemy.
"This bouncing ball of fur is called a Pink Fuzzy. It lives to endlessly bounce around... Max HP is 10 and Attack is 3. I wonder if it thinks about the color pink all day... You better keep your distance and use ranged attacks to defeat it..." Tippi informed.
Chopper spun his hammer around to take care of the Pink Fuzzies, then he turned to his right and raced over to the chest to get a Super Shroom Shake.
"That was pretty easy, albeit a bit short. Anyway, back to searching for the door." he returned to the previous room and went into 2-D to find an Ice Cherbil, a Poison Cherbil, and a normal Cherbil.
"Ack! Not these butt things!" Chopper tossed three fireballs, which was strong enough to take out the three Cherbils. Afterward, he went into 3-D and walked over to the top doorway to his left into a room with a Hogarithm and a Tech Cursya, which he destroyed with his hammer.
"Huh… So all of the enemies I've previously seen in this castle before are here. I don't think Tipral even told me about this maze either." Chopper stomped on the Hogarithm three times and then proceeded through a doorway with an Iron Pokey and an Ultra Dark Soldier.
"See? What'd I tell you? These guys are here!" Chopper fired a couple of fireballs at the Iron Pokey and finished it off by bashing it with his hammer. He walked over to the Ultra Dark Soldier and took it out with his hammer.
"Man, I'm seriously kicking butt!" Chopper flipped and walked through the open doorway to find a couple of Hooligons around the room. To the right, there was a door.
"Hopefully that door will lead us to that count…" Tippi trailed.
"But first, we need to handle these guys first," Chopper stomped on the Hooligons and then proceeded over to the door. But, once he entered the next room, he was disappointed…again.
"You're kidding me… We have ANOTHER hallway like this?!" Chopper smacked his forehead. "Man… This is probably the most annoying puzzle I've ever had to go through in my whole life…"
"Well, we shouldn't be too far now…" Tippi trailed. "I'm sure we'll be there soon…"
"We better be," Chopper flipped into 3-D and walked over to an open doorway closest to him to his right. Unfortunately, he had to flip back into 2-D because his Flip Gauge was running low.
"Why couldn't I get an infinite time limit on this flipping?" Chopper asked while kicking the ground. "I swear that Bestovius sort of ripped me off…"
A Red Magiblot appeared in front of Chopper and struck him with a spell. But, luckily, he was able to strike the ghostly creature with his hammer to defeat it. He only needed to take it out in one hit anyway!
"Well, I guess I could go back into the other room," Chopper flipped once again and walked out of the room and back into the other hallway. Luckily, he ended up going past a Gawbus.
"Well, that was lucky," Chopper whacked at the Gawbus's tail with his hammer twice to take it out. "I better NOT find any more Mega Muths, or else I'm going to be a bit peeved…"
He brought his hammer down on a Pink Fuzzy ahead and flipped into 3-D to find another open doorway to his right. He took that into another hallway, where he went up and took the open pathway to his right.
"Whoop! There's two Spanias here!" Chopper simply took those two enemies out with his hammer and then proceeded over to the open doorway to his right and flipped back into 2-D to find one of those rock worm enemies.
"Crud… These guys? Ugh… Better use Tippi." Chopper used Tippi's powers to investigate the creature.
"That peculiar creature is a Shlorp. It has a very tough skin and will eat anything... Max HP is ?, Attack is 4, and Defense is ?. No attack will work... It is weaker on the inside than the outside, but it will still take some effort..." Tippi informed.
Chopper shrugged and tossed Hommissile at the creatures and then proceeded into an open doorway down to the left into a room with a chest…and THAT contained a nice Ultra Shroom.
"We can still go down this hallway…" Tippi trailed, fluttering over to the left. Chopper followed her in 3-D and walked over to an open doorway to the right. There was a Spania in the small room, but he didn't care and smashed it.
"Man… There's just a lot through here!" Chopper groaned, walking out of the open doorway to the right into another long hallway. There were a couple of Dark Skellobits around here.
"Hmmmmm… Well, I might as well see what's through this hallway." he stomped on the first Dark Skellobit in front of him three times, but he also seemed to notice some other doors. They looked like rooms for the minions.
"Uhhhh… Tippi? What are these weird doors here?"
"From the looks of it, it looks like these are rooms for people like O'Chunks and Mimi…" Tippi noticed a door up ahead in the end of the hallway. "Chopper! I think we're at the end!"
"Really? Finally!" Chopper ran past the other doors and defeated all of the Dark Skellobits in his path. He was finally led up to a door.
"Here we go!" kicking the door open, he noticed a staircase leading up to a door. There was a ? Block near the door as well.
"Whew… I can't believe we've made it this far…" Chopper walked up the stairs and punched the ? Block. He ate the Ultra Shroom inside of it and walked over to the door.
"All right! I think it's time we kicked this Bleck guy's butt!" he began to crack his knuckles.
Chopper could hear Tippi mutter something to herself. "Tippi… Did you just say something?"
"Well, I… I was just wondering if you really have to end this Count Bleck person's game, that's all…"
"End his game? Well… Let me think." Chopper pondered for about a second. "I remember Merlon said that you need to end the person who has a hold of the Chaos Heart's game. Why do you ask this?"
"Well, it's because of…"
"Wait a minute… Do you actually KNOW this Count Bleck guy?" Chopper's antennae sprung up in surprise.
"Well… Yes…" Tippi turned away from him. "Count Bleck is actually a man named Blumiere… A man that I love and always would… We lived peacefully all of this time, but then Tipral came and attacked us, separating us…"
"So he's turned evil again because of losing you once again?"
"Yes… He once turned evil before when he thought I died because of his father. Merlon founded me and turned me into a Pixl… That's why I came back to him when I was weak from Tipral… He was the only one who could save me. So, at first, when I met you… I couldn't necessarily trust you because of how much you reminded me of Tipral…"
"Ah… So that's why." Chopper frowned. "But, it always seems as if when you look at Tipral, you almost see something in him."
"Kind of… I don't necessarily remember everything in my past, but all I know is about Blumiere's father and what he did to me… So, please Chopper… Just understand that I don't exactly want to hurt him."
Chopper slowly nodded. "All right… I'd rather not destroy this person, but if he tries to hurt me, then I'm going to have to fight back."
He turned to the door and slowly opened it.
Next room-
When Chopper entered the room, he noticed that this room was quite large. It was possibly the largest room he's ever been in so far in this adventure. There were also some colors on the wall besides black and white. Some blue and yellow could be seen on the wall (although it's not bright or anything).
"Wow… So this is the Inner Sanctum, am I right?" Chopper questioned.
"I feel… I feel something very, very powerful…" Tippi trailed. "…Is it the Chaos Heart?"
"Bleh heh heh heh heh…"
"What was that horrible laugh?" Chopper asked.
"I see you have come at last!" Count Bleck was standing on his platform on the far upper right. Nastasia was standing on a platform next to him.
"So YOU'RE Count Bleck!"
"I am indeed Count Bleck!" the count bowed to Chopper. "So you're the new so-called 'hero' of the Light Prognosticus! Count Bleck is sickened for what you've done to my poor, poor Timpani!"
"And why are you doing this?! …And what do you mean by what I've done to Timpani?! She's just fine!" Chopper showed Tippi to Count Bleck.
"What is this?! …Spat Count Bleck. You've tortured her and turned her into a Pixl?! BLECK! Now soon, all worlds will soon end because of your actions, and you cannot stop it either! I suggest you make yourself comfortable and enjoy this one, final spectacle before you meet your end!"
"But… I'm just fine… I don't understand why you're doing this…" Tippi trailed.
"I didn't possess her with anything either!" Chopper retorted, shaking his head. "Is this what you become after losing someone you love?!"
Count Bleck opened a part of his cape. "Thanks to you, Count Bleck does not care about any world! They have all become meaningless to me. Better that the worlds go and stay out of existence forever!"
"But is there any point to destroying all worlds when you can't destroy the one you believe is responsible?!" Tippi exclaimed. "Answer me now, Blumiere!"
Count Bleck's eyes widened and closed his cape. "Sigh… Timpani… There's nothing I can do to stop this… You must understand. The hour has already grown too late for you and me…"
"Blumiere… My love, Blumiere… Or rather, Count Bleck… I can't believe this has happened to us… All I was doing was helping Chopper collect the Pure Hearts. I guess the only thing we can do to stop all this is to defeat you… And that is exactly why Chopper and I have come here… To stop this."
Count Bleck began to cackle. "BLEH HEH HEH HEH! BLECK! Very well! But I will also do what I must! Count Bleck is the deleter of worlds! MY fate is written on the Dark Prognosticus! NOT that dark antennae fool's! Do not think for a moment that I will hesitate to strike you down. ALL NOW ENDS!"
"Blumiere… My Blumiere…" Tippi moaned.
"I don't wish to fight you," Chopper stated, getting in a fighting stance. "But if I have to fight you, then I guess I have no other choice. If you're asking for it, then I suppose I shall..."
"Leave me, Nastasia," Count Bleck ordered, turning to the secretary. "I will deal with this little green boy ALONE."
Nastasia gasped. "B-But…"
"Count Bleck demands it! I will not say it again…"
The secretary let out a sigh and hung her head low. "…Yeah, right away, Count." At that moment, she disappeared in the same way Mimi did.
"Are you prepared, Chopper? Our duel will be worthy of the last clash the world will ever see!"
"All right, let's do this!" Chopper made a leap onto a platform near him and followed Count Bleck to a platform he hovered over to, but when he stomped on him, he noticed that a barrier was protecting him.
"Huh? What the…"
"Bleh heh heh heh! So my barrier is indeed helping me!" Count Bleck grinned, firing a dark glob of energy from his scepter at Chopper. It began to suck the little boy in like a void.
"Ack! What the…!" Chopper was thrown out of the small void and suffered some severe damage. "What was that supposed to be?!"
"I don't know… But it must be one of Count Bleck's attacks…" Tippi trailed. "Listen, Chopper… Don't just let yourself get thrown around. I understand you don't want to hurt him… But like you said before: you'll only fight if you have to do it."
"Yeah, I know," Chopper followed Count Bleck to another platform, this time he tried to strike him with a fireball. But even THAT didn't help him at all! The count simply cackled and knocked him off the platform by speeding down to a platform near the ground.
"I don't understand! I can't hit this guy?!" Chopper attempted to strike Count Bleck with his hammer, but his attack bounce off and knocked Chopper to the ground.
"How laughable!" Count Bleck cackled. "Is that all the heroism you can muster, little boy? Let me show you true power!"
"Our attacks…aren't doing anything!" Tippi gasped.
"Well, of course they aren't! They just…" Chopper eyes widened in fear as Count Bleck summoned an enormous dark void that began to suck him in. "Holy guacamole! That's… That's HUGE!"
Chopper attempted to escape from the big dark void of death, but he wasn't fast enough to escape it. As soon as he was in the center, Count Bleck raised his scepter and struck him with a huge, dark blow that nearly left the antennae hero battered and bruised. It was probably the strongest thing he's ever gotten hit by so far.
"Ugh… That… That was horrible!" he wheezed.
"Chopper! Are you all right?!" Tippi asked worryingly.
"Urgh… I'm…URK…fine. …No, I'm kidding. I'm NOT fine!" Chopper slowly jumped up the platforms and attacked Count Bleck with a kick, but he simply bounced off like before.
"Bleh heh heh! You cannot match the power of Count Bleck's!" Count Bleck cackled as he sent Chopper flying to the wall with one dark flash, leaving him severely injured.
Seeing as he couldn't fight back, Count Bleck teleported high above him, shaking his head in shame at Chopper.
"You can't so much as tug on the cape of Count Bleck! You have failed!"
"Ugh…" Chopper groaned as he slowly got himself up and got in his fighting stance. "I can't believe that my attacks aren't working against this guy! What is there that I can even do?!"
"I'm… I'm not sure…" Tippi trailed.
"Bleck! I expected more potency from the hero of prophecy!" the count raised his gloved hands up as dark energy began to envelope in his scepter. "I will watch your game end, and then your precious worlds will end soon after!"
A large, dark void appeared around Count Bleck, as if it was going to be fired straight at them. All Tippi could do was gaze at Count Bleck in horror.
"Is this…the end? Was this how it was supposed to end for us, Blumiere?!" Tippi cried.
"I can't believe it…" Chopper looked up. "Listen… Grambi! If it is possible… Please… Somebody…help me…"
"What are you doing?" Tippi asked.
"I'm trying to pray for help," Chopper kept his hands together and closed his eyes. "Please… I need the help to defeat this evil count! Anyone! I need your help!"
Count Bleck paused his attack for a minute as he looked down at what Chopper was doing. "Bleh? What is he doing?"
Tippi gawked as soon as Chopper began to glow a white color. When Chopper's eyes opened, he noticed a flash coming from Count Bleck. "Huh…? What's going on right now?"
The eight Pure Hearts suddenly appeared over Chopper as they began to surround Count Bleck.
"The Pure Hearts…" Tippi gasped.
"And I'm suddenly feeling better now!" Chopper gasped.
After a couple of flashes, the barrier surrounding Count Bleck shattered and left him weakened.
"Bleh heh heh heh…huh?! My barrier…is gone?!"
"I don't understand what happened…" Tippi began. "But I think your pray has reached the ears of someone… Perhaps it was the Pure Hearts who listened to your plea for help…"
"But… I don't understand how…" Chopper looked up at the white Pure Heart before they all disappeared.
Count Bleck finally brought his hat down. "So be it…says Count Bleck! But don't you celebrate just yet, Chopper! Your precious worlds aren't safe until my last breath!"
"Well, now that I'm all better, I think you'll be getting your butt kicked!" Chopper smirked, getting in a fighting stance.
The count opened his cape and cackled. "Let us finally end this! Now the true battle begins…with Count Bleck!" with his teleportation, he teleported down to a lower platform.
"Now this is where things get interesting!" Chopper rushed toward Count Bleck and struck him by spinning his hammer around. This managed to hit the count and make him teleport over to another platform.
"Just because my barrier is gone does not mean victory will belong to you!" Count Bleck barked as he fired a dark glob of energy straight at Chopper. Meanwhile, he inhaled the attack and spat it back at the count.
"Oh, I don't think so! I still have the guts to fight back!" he used Tippi to investigate the count, and to also find out what his stats were.
"That's Count Bleck... This dark figure wants to destroy the universe. He was once Blumiere, a man that I loved... Max HP is 150, Attack is 8. He will use all the powers the Chaos Heart grants him. But you can beat him if you give it your all... And beat him you must... For the sake of all worlds... And to save the Blumiere I loved..." Tippi informed with a sigh.
"I want to do that, Tipps, I really do… If that's really your name." Chopper tossed a fireball straight at Count Bleck, leaving a nasty burn on him.
"Bleh! Why do you try to burn the cape…of Count Bleck?!" spat Count Bleck as he teleported behind Chopper and whacked him with his scepter, knocking him off of the platform. He then fired a glob of energy from his scepter at Chopper, successfully striking him and weakening him even more.
"Bleh heh heh heh! You are foolish if you think you can still defeat me!" the count cackled, allowing Chopper to jump onto the platform Count Bleck was on and strike him with a flaming slamming kick.
"Ooh… That seems a bit painful…" Tippi cringed as the count's cape was burnt a bit, angering him as he teleported above him and sped past him, knocking him onto another platform.
"So, I guess this is my fight…" Chopper coughed, wiping his face of any drool left from his mouth after getting hurt. "Hopefully I don't lose my life like the others…or maybe it might be for the better."
"Chopper, please don't think about those… Just focus on defending yourself…"
"Yeah, I need to do that…" Chopper managed to jump on top of Count Bleck, and he seemed to notice that Count Bleck's scepter was what was allowing him to use those dark attacks.
"Hey, I think I might have an idea! Hey, Bleck guy!" the count turned back to Chopper and raised his scepter.
"Count Bleck will not see it that you live!" Count Bleck spat as he waved his scepter a bit. This allowed Chopper to attempt to inhale his scepter to him. "Wh-What are you doing?! …Shouted Count Bleck."
Chopper couldn't talk, but apparently, the count wasn't letting go of the scepter. He had a pretty good grip on it, and it was causing him to get a bit tired. He really couldn't inhale it anymore.
"I guess Blumiere has too much of a grip on it…like it is bonded with him…" Tippi trailed as Chopper was struck by a dark glob of energy the count fired at him.
"Inhaling my scepter will do you no good!" Count Bleck cackled as he summoned another large dark void to suck Chopper in.
"Oh, no! There's NO way I'm getting sucked into that!" Chopper began to race away from the dark void while swinging his arms around. "This ISN'T what I want you doing, Count Bleck!"
Seeing that Count Bleck failed to get him, he began to ponder. "Count Bleck does not understand… How was it that this boy was able to summon the Pure Hearts without the four heroes?! This wasn't written in the Dark Prognosticus!"
"Well, you know, I think THIS should be written on your FACE!" Chopper managed to punch Count Bleck with flames on his fist, sending him flying toward the wall, but managing to teleport away.
"I still don't understand why Blumiere is doing all of this… I know he promised me that he would never do any of this again…" Tippi trailed.
"Wait, what do you mean? He told you that he'd never do that?"
"Yes… But, perhaps his old ways got into him again… Oh, this is horrible…"
"If that's true, then there MIGHT be something wrong with him. You think he's being controlled by someone?" Chopper pondered as he dodged Count Bleck's dark glob of energy.
"I don't believe that… I don't see any strings on him…"
"Well, have you checked UNDER the hat?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Well… I'd rather not do that…" Tippi trailed.
"I don't think I'm actually going to do that," Chopper was struck by the count's dark energy attack, knocking him to the ground again.
"Bleh heh heh heh! Talking won't get you through this, Chopper!" Count Bleck bellowed as he used his magic to make things slow down for Chopper. He could speak normally, but he couldn't move at a normal pace.
"Hey! Why'd you do that?!"
"This makes things easier…for Count Bleck!" Count Bleck tried to fly right past Chopper with blinding speeds, but as soon as he got to him, he was scorched by one of Chopper's fireballs.
"Just because I'm going at this pace doesn't mean that you'll be able to win easily!" Chopper smirked as he jumped on a platform and watched Count Bleck appeared on another platform close to him.
"Oh, but I can do THIS!" Count Bleck unleashed his large dark void attack that began to suck Chopper in. Because he was going at a slow pace, he ended up getting sucked into the void.
"AACK!"
"Bleh heh heh heh! BLECK!" Count Bleck raised his scepter and brought it down to strike Chopper with his powerful attack.
"Ack! That was horrible!" Chopper felt a bit battered up, but even still he refused to give up. Now that he was moving at a normal pace, he jumped off one of the platforms and used a flaming slamming kick on Count Bleck to scorch him once again.
"This doesn't exactly seem like a great sight to see…" Tippi cringed as Chopper managed to find Count Bleck again and strike him with his hammer, making him teleport somewhere else in the room.
"Well, he was asking for it, honestly…" Chopper trailed, looking around the room for the count. "I really DON'T want to hurt him, but it feels like I really have no other choice. You understand, right, Tippi?"
"Yes, I do, Chopper…"
"All right, then let me fight this guy," Chopper scanned the area once again for Count Bleck. Apparently he was charging straight toward him, so he got his hammer ready to strike him.
"You're no match for Count…" Count Bleck was struck in the face by Chopper's hammer, forcing him to teleport away from him like before.
"Look, count… I don't know WHY you're doing this, but if you're being brainwashed or something, then snap OUT OF IT!" Chopper rushed straight at Count Bleck again and struck him with a fire smash, scorching him again.
"I just don't want you to use many fire attacks…" Tippi said worryingly.
"Oh, I see… OK, I'll make sure." Chopper tried to search for Count Bleck once again, but he was suddenly struck by another dark glob of energy. "Man! It's hard to find him when this place is so big!"
"Count Bleck will not let you win, little boy!" Count Bleck roared as he swooped down toward him, only to receive a stomp from the little boy, making him teleport elsewhere in the room.
"If I stomp on him, then it won't be as bad…" Chopper trailed as he ran after Count Bleck again, but was knocked back when the count immediately charged at him.
"Hold on… I should try to inhale some of those attacks!" when a dark glob of energy was fired toward Chopper, he inhaled it and spat it back at Count Bleck.
"Oh, I don't think I can bother to look at this fight now…" Tippi cringed, looking away.
"It's all right, Tippi. You don't have to look." Chopper clenched his fists and attempted to punch Count Bleck, but the count simply blocked the attack by bringing his scepter up.
"You will never defeat me," Count Bleck said in a very dark tone.
"There's obviously something wrong with you…" Chopper tried to grab a hold of Count Bleck's hat, but the count tried to swat him away. "You're definitely NOT going to stop me, Bleck!"
Chopper kicked him in the face and then kicked his hat off. That was when he was immediately caught off guard.
"He's got a Floro Sprout on his head?!" Chopper gawked.
"Bleh heh heh heh!" Count Bleck grabbed his top hat and put it back on. "Now is where it all ends, Chopper!"
"I don't understand… Why is there a Floro Sprout on his head? …So does this mean he wasn't doing this on his own?" Chopper managed to dodge one of Count Bleck's dark globs of energy.
"I guess the only way to stop him is to defeat him, apparently…" Chopper inhaled the dark glob of energy and spat it back at Count Bleck, making him teleport elsewhere in the room.
"Tippi, I know why he's doing this now…" Chopper trailed as he jumped over to Tippi. "There's a Floro Sprout on his head!"
"A Floro Sprout?! You're saying he's being brainwashed?!"
"Yeah, apparently so," Chopper inhaled another dark glob of energy and spat it back at Count Bleck. "I think the only way to get it off is if I defeat him. I think it's the only way…"
"Then I'll stay by your side…" Tippi fluttered next to Chopper as he made a jump toward Count Bleck, who continued to fire dark globs of energy. Chopper, however, dodged it and struck Count Bleck with his hammer.
"He's not far from being defeated… Two more hits should do it…"
"Got it!" Chopper chased after Count Bleck and tossed a fireball straight at him before he could summon his large dark void.
"You're starting to annoy Count Bleck!" spat the count as he managed to catch Chopper into another dark void and deal massive damage to him.
"Bleh heh heh heh! You're almost finished! …Cackled Count Bleck."
"Well, I'm still not giving up just yet!" Chopper managed to jump on top of the count, but he managed to raise his scepter to block his attack and knock him back onto one of the platforms.
Chopper tossed a couple of fireballs at the count, but he even blocked those. "You see? You're no match for me!"
"Well, I still have one last move up my sleeves!" Chopper jumped over to Count Bleck and managed to grab a hold of his scepter and make him bonk himself in the head with it.
"This should do it," with one last jump, Count Bleck started to lose control of the Chaos Heart. He began to float up into the air as the Floro Sprout on him fell off. It seemed as if the dark power was trying to escape from him.
"BLEHHHH!"
Two white flashes came from Count Bleck as the Chaos Heart began to envelope him in darkness.
"What in the world's going on?" Chopper gawked as he walked over to the Chaos Heart that floated to the ground. Count Bleck appeared right next to it. But, this time he looked all battered up with a part of his cape burnt, his monocle cracked and his orange eyes and mouth now a blue color.
"Ex… Excellent…"
"Um… Count?" Nastasia gasped as she appeared right next to Count Bleck.
"What… What have I done?" Count Bleck looked at himself and at the Chaos Heart. "Did… Did I try to use the Chaos Heart's power again?"
"Apparently you did, but you were being brainwashed…" Chopper trailed.
Count Bleck looked over by the dead Floro Sprout. "I don't understand why I've done this… Chopper, you have won the battle, so you must do what you need to do. Finish Count Bleck… Dispatch me and the Chaos Heart will disappear. You can undo the prophecy…"
"Why does it have to end like this…" Tippi sniffled.
"Timpani… When you were gone, I searched long for you through the meadows and dimensions… I never gave up looking… I searched and searched every dimension…" the count shook his head. "But I never found you. Without you, the world held no meaning or joy… But as soon as I was taken back to the castle, I thought I would be able to find you… But I was wrong. I ended up using the forbidden prophecy of the Tribe of Ancients to end all worlds. I didn't want to do it… But I was being forced… I had no other choice."
"That's…sad," Chopper frowned. Despite disliking romance, he definitely felt bad for the count.
"But I am here now…" Tippi said as she fluttered over to her love. "And I'm just fine… No one can keep us apart anymore… Don't you see?"
"It is too late. Count Bleck has done so much evil and suffering… I can't handle it. Just knowing that you are still alive… And knowing that the world you still live in will continue… It gives me peace. I do not have long to live. Chopper, you must end my game before The Void destroys all…"
"But…we're finally together again…"
"So I've come a bit too late, did I?"
"Huh?" Chopper turned around and saw Tipral walking into the room. "Tipral? What are you doing here?! I thought you were dead!"
"I thought the same thing too, but I founded myself right near this room when I woke up," Tipral looked down at Count Bleck. "And YOU'RE the one responsible for taking what I was planning on doing!"
"Tipral, don't! You're NOT going to destroy him! He was being brainwashed this whole time!"
Tipral looked at the Floro Sprout. "Oh, yes… I almost forgot something. I ALSO came here to warn you about…"
"Count, look out!" Nastasia cried. Unfortunately, for her, she ended up taking a hit from a magical projectile.
"What the… What was THAT?!" Chopper jumped up in surprise.
"THIS is what I came to warn you about!" Tipral growled, seeing Nastasia fall to the ground.
"Na-Nastasia!" Count Bleck cried.
"Silly assistant! Absorbing my attack to protect him? What an adorably hopeless gesture."
"That voice... It sounds so familiar..." Chopper trailed.
He was left in shock as Dimentio came into the scene, hovering over the Chaos Heart with that demented grin.