The door up on the fourth floor opened up and everyone was thrown out of the pipe. They found a large hallway with a dark blue floor with the X-Naut symbol plastered all over. The walls had windows on them, allowing the group to get a glimpse of some other planets. One certain one had caught Chopper's attention.
"Wow, I can't believe I can actually see my home planet from here," Chopper gasped, gazing at his home planet in the distance.
"Home planet? I gotta see!" Scrub got a glimpse of the planet through the window, along with a couple of others. "Whoa! Now that looks pretty cool! That planet with the different continents is yours?"
"Yeah. You like it?"
"Uh huh! We oughta go there sometime!"
"Actually, I'd like to see your home planet too," Berry added.
"Maybe some day..." Chopper trailed, walking away from the window, only to accidentally bump into an X-Naut Hunter holding its weapon out. He turned around to face the hunter, making his eyes widen. "Uh oh..."
"Well well well! What do we have here?" the X-Naut Hunter grinned, aiming its weapon at Chopper. "Looks like today's my lucky day, isn't it?" the hunter prepared to fire, but its weapon had suddenly melted. Gawking, it noticed Vivian with a raised finger. "Whoa… What a finger you got! There's no way I'm gonna stay here! ...Wait, hold on a sec! I shouldn't be acting like this! I was TRAINED to do stuff like this!"
The X-Naut Hunter got in a kung fu stance and charged straight at Chopper.
"I don't think so!" Chopper spun his fists and performed a Rainbow Spin attack on the hunter, knocking it by the window. This knocked it out, but Chopper wasn't so sure and poked at the X-Naut.
"We might as well leave this guy be," Sonic suggested. "There's no point in attacking him now, right?"
Everyone agreed and they walked away from the knocked out X-Naut and continued their way through the hallway. There wasn't anything too special around, no other doors for them to explore the place. However, there were still some X-Naut Hunters that were trying to shoot at them, so they took their time in defeating them.
At the end of the hallway, they saw a locked door and an unlocked door to their north. Having not much of a choice, they took the northern hallway to a door straight up ahead. It led them into a room with an electric floor and a couple of batteries that were on tiles that didn't contain electricity.
"Hey... This room looks awfully familiar..." Chopper pondered, recalling seeing a room similar to this. "Wasn't there a room with an electric floor and some stick figure being resistant?"
"I think so," Flyer nodded. "He seemed to be resistant with some sort of electrical power surging in him."
"Oh! I think I see it now! Watch this!" Chopper changed into his Plasma ability. and when he stepped on the electric panels, he was not harmed by it. Now he looked over at the machine to his left, which had two batteries missing. Flyer flew over the panels and started to help him look for the batteries in the big room.
"I found a battery!" Flyer grabbed the battery on a non-electric panel and he flew over to the machine and he placed the battery in it. Chopper noticed another one and threw it into the machine as well.
"So… Now what?"
"We wait, maybe?" Flyer shrugged. Chopper shot a Plasma Needle at the machine, but it didn't do much. However, it did make the machine run a little, which gave Chopper an idea. He began to slide around on the panels and then shot a stronger plasma shot at the machine.
"Strange… You can make your plasma attacks stronger when you move around? That reminds me of static electricity." Flyer remarked, though he pause when the machine began to shake. The only thing it seemed to let out was a puff of smoke.
"Poyo? (That's it?)" Kirby gawked.
"No... That can't be right." Bombette said in bewilderment. "We did that for nothing?"
Surprisingly, a Shaman in a gray robe, a white mustache that was almost shaped like an L, and black shoes was shot out of the machine. He was in this electric-proof bubble that came rolling on the panels, causing them to light up when it rolled.
"What in tarnation just happened?!" the Shaman asked, looking at his surroundings. "Hold on... Am I out of that blasted machine? Oh thank goodness! Curse those freaks for trapping me..."
"Wait a second… I remember seeing someone that looks a lot like you." Chopper realized, getting a better look at him. "…Well, except for that robe. It looks a lot different. Are you…Merlo?"
"Hrmmm… I believe you're talking about a relative of mine." Merlo answered. "There are many Merlons and Merlos around these parts of the world. We Merlos are brothers to the Merlons. If you've been to Rogueport, you would've met my brother, Merlon.
"Yeah, we met him before," Flyer confirmed. "Anyway, what are you doing here?"
"Nautina is the moon where I reside on. Unfortunately, some alien freaks had came here and built this fortress over my home. I had put up a barrier to protect me from them. Unfortunately, all they did was throw me into that machine, since I was invulnerable to attacks. I thank you for getting me out of that machine."
"No problem," Sonic assured, giving a thumbs up.
"Though, I think I might need some more help..." Merlo trailed.
"What do you need?" Chopper asked.
"Well... You see, while this bubble protects me, I made it so I couldn't get myself out either. However, this bubble can be destroyed if the attack is strong enough. Maybe if you had someone with incredible strength, they could bust me out of here. Thankfully, those freaks had nothing that could break me out of here."
"Sounds like I can smash that!" Tamber grinned, crossing his arms. "Hey, Gumball! Bring him over here and I'll smash that bubble!"
Chopper nodded and rolled the bubble off the electric floor. No longer needing his ability, he removed it before Tamber smashed the bubble with one punch. It had turned into sparkly dust, and now Merlo was free.
"Ah! Finally! I'm free from that accursed bubble!" Merlo cheered. "It's been so long since I've been out of it! Now I can finally teach those freaks a lesson for what they did!"
"I think you mean the X-Nauts," Chopper corrected. "We're trying to find the Crystal Star in this base, so maybe you might want to hold off trying to teach them a lesson.
"Crystal Stars, you say? Hmmm… So you're collecting them. Well, if you plan on continuing your way through the base, perhaps I can give you a hand! You see, one of those X-Nauts had dropped a key leading into the coaster room, and I happened to have gotten it!"
"The X-Naut Coaster? Wait a second… They have a CARNIVAL set up?" Bombette gawked.
"Absolutely. Just follow me, and I'll unlock the door." Merlo pulled the key out, and the group followed him to the hallway where the locked door was. He unlocked it, leading to a large room with a huge glass dome surrounding the ceiling. There were many different rides in this amusement park-like area such as a roller coaster, a Ferris wheel, and even a Merry-Go-Round. "Well... I wish you all luck. If I can't give those X-Nauts a lesson, then surely you can do it for me."
When he left, the heroes took the time to gape at the entire room. There were many different colored lights on these rides, which fit very well with the spacey sky.
"Wow… Since when did Grodus set up a whole amusement park?" Chopper gawked.
"He must've had a big budget," Flyer deduced.
In the center of the carnival was another pipe, but it was hanging over the top of the glass dome. Thankfully, it was over a gray lift that could bring them up to it. They decided to take that, and it had brought them up to the sixth floor, to their surprise. The first thing they noticed when they reached the sixth floor were the windows on each side of the room, and the small plants in the corners. In front of them was a large door with the X-Naut emblem.
"So, this is the sixth floor, right?" Bombette asked.
"Looks like it," Shadower nodded. "I guess we can finally confront Grodus."
Chopper approached it and attempted to open it, but it was unfortunately locked. He tried bashing the door open too, but that had not worked either. "Crud... This door's sealed.
"Gaaaack ack ack ack! Really, now… You honestly think you'll be getting through this door?" Grodus cackled through a loudspeaker. "I came prepared, you know. Your chances of getting through here are slim! You might as well give up while you can!"
"Well we'll find our way through here," Chopper looked at the door and spotted an x-shaped opening. "Ah! There's something! We just need to find a key for that thing! So 'Gaaaack ack ack ack' to you, Grodus!"
"Yeah! You're going to get it now!" Scrub added.
They returned to the fourth floor and prepared to explore the carnival area, but they had noticed that many X-Nauts had come in and went on the rides. Well, at least a few of them.
"Well, well, well! If it isn't the hero himself, Chopper! We've been waiting for you, you know! Buh! Buh! Buh huh huh!"
"That sounded familiar..." Berry trailed.
Standing in front of them was Lord Crump and an army of X-Nauts ranging from normal, elites, scouts and hunters.
"So, how do you like this big park? Looks cool, huh?" Lord Crump grinned. "Yeah, it was all my idea. Grodus didn't like the idea, but I was able to convince him to do it."
"By begging?" Chopper wondered, angering the X-Naut commander.
"No! The great and mighty Lord Crump does not BEG! People beg ME, not the other way around! And soon, you people will be begging me for mercy!"
"Are you serious?" Scrub snickered. "You've challenged us before, and all that's happened in the end was you getting some serious butt-kicking!"
"All right, I'll admit, you've managed to pull some decent moves against me in the past, but I'm new and improved! Wanna see?"
Mario: All right..."
"OK, then! IT'S GO TIME!" With that, the army of X-Nauts got ready on Lord' Crump's command and surrounded the group. "GO GET 'EM!"
All of the X-Nauts leaped in the air and began to jump on the heroes one by one. But, since there were so many, they couldn't tell whether they were attacking Chopper or another one of their squad. That easily gave the eleven the opportunity to sneak away without anyone noticing.
"Wow... Is it just me, or are those X-Nauts not good at paying attention?" Berry asked.
"Who cares? Let's get outta here before they spot us!" Bombette suggested. Everyone agreed and ran as far from Lord Crump and the X-Nauts as possible.
"Buh-HUUUUUH?!" squawked Lord Crump, noticing the disappearance of the group. "STOPPP!"
All of the X-Nauts obeyed his order and stopped. With the area around him clear, Lord Crump took a look around him and found no sign of Chopper and his friends..
"Uh oh… Where did those punks go? Hey, you! Did you see where that antennae kid went? D-Did anyone?"
X-Nauts: ?
"Aw, crud! We gotta go after him!" Lord Crump turned around and saw the group fleeing. "He's right there! Get him!" he shouted, chasing after the group. Sadly, they were much slower than the heroes, who had easily outran them.
"Keep running, guys!" Chopper was prepared to move faster, but he stopped when he found an elevator up ahead. "That looks like a different elevator!"
They entered the elevator and were taken up to the fifth floor of the palace. The hallway resembled a hotel hallway, having a carpet with many X's and no windows. They were safe. For now.
"Whew! That was a close one!" Sonic sighed.
"That was the largest army of X-Nauts I've seen in such a long time," Vivian remarked.
"Well, anyway... I guess we should explore this place." Chopper suggested. He looked up ahead and caught a glimpse of a door, but there were words written on it. When they approached the door, the words "Lord Crump's Room" was plastered in big words.
"Lord Crump's room?" Scrub gawked. "That chubby commander got his own room?!"
"Well, he's second-in-command of the X-Nauts, so it would make sense," Shadower noted. "Though, I am curious about what's in there..."
"Let's check it out!" Chopper smiled, kicking the door open. Upon entering, they saw a bed, a black floor with a white X on it and purple walls. There were also blueprints on one of Lord Crump's tables as well.
"What in the world?" Flyer took the blueprints and began to inspect them. He saw a robot on there that was meant to look kind of like Lord Crump, but with the number 3 on the body. "Take a look at THIS, Chopper!"
"What is it?" Chopper took the blueprints and studied them. "Hey, this robot looks kind of weird, but it looks a bit scary... Anyway, we should check this room out. There might be something-"
"You mean something like this?" Tamber asked, holding up an X-shaped key.
"...Where did you find that?" Flyer asked.
"In the drawer."
Mario: Well that was easy.
"Well, I guess you should hold onto it for now," Chopper suggested. "That will help us get to Grodus's room! Though, that might not be easy at the moment. Lord Crump and his goons are after us!"
"Are we SERIOUSLY going to run away from some fat guy and some X-Nauts! No way! We can take them on! My fists are ready for ANYTHING that gets thrown at me!" Tamber declared. "Don't be a wuss!"
"Fine... We should go back there and kick some butt."
"I guess we don't have much of a choice..." Vivian trailed. "But, before we go… We should probably check Grodus's room."
"Grodus's room?" Bombette gawked. "Where is it?"
"I think I saw it in the opposite of Lord Crump's. Follow me." the Shadow Siren led the group to the left of the hallway, where they found a door labeled "Grodus's Room". Entering it, they found a black carpet with a large X-Naut emblem, a king-sized bed suited for a ruler, and a small aquarium with robot Piranhas. That, and there was a laptop at his desk.
"This room is definitely much bigger than Lord Crump's," Chopper commented. "It's even bigger and rounder!"
Vivian approached a chest that was in the corner and pointed at it. "Look over here, Chopper."
Chopper zipped over in response and opened the chest to find a yellow Shroom with bananas as polka-dots. He gazed at it for a moment and gaped at the Mushroom. It could recover 75 HP, but for him, it could recover 125.
"YESSS! A BANANA SHROOM! I can't believe they even make these things!" Chopper cheered as he put it away safely. Afterward, he hit the Heart Block instead and walked back into the hallway. "OK, if Crump wants a piece of us, then we'll go down there and kick his butt! Let's go!"
"Yeah! I'm interested in fighting this Crump!" Sonic agreed as they headed over to the elevator and began to descend to the fourth floor. One thing for certain was that they were all ready for another battle with the buh.
Fourth floor-
"All right, where'd those punks go? He's hiding around here somewhere…" Lord Crump pulled out his metal bat as he scanned the park for them. "Come out, come out wherever you are!"
"Yeah, we need to give you one heck of a beating!" an X-Naut Hunter shouted, holding his rifle. They all stopped when they heard the elevator from the fifth floor coming down, and standing on that platform were Chopper and his friends.
"Whuuuuuuh? He's coming back! Get ready, X-Nauts! We're gonna get him this time!" Lord Crump declared.
When the elevator opened up, Chopper and his friends ran toward Lord Crump and the X-Nauts, making them all ready themselves for battle.
"Let's do this!" Sonic exclaimed.
"Buh! Buh! Buh huh huh huh! Oh, MAN, have I been waiting to get back at YOU, Chopper!" Lord Crump smirked. "It's been a long time, my friend! And this time, you're toast!"
"Pbbbbbbth! Look at this guy, thinking he can take us on!" Tamber scoffed. "Well, you obviously don't got the muscle to take us on!"
"Oh, yeah? Well I've got a little something else! X-Nauts! Form up!" Lord Crump whistled, and X-Naut Scouts got in a football position. "Now! Let's show these eleven no mercy! We can't fail Sir Grodus!"
Tattle: Ugh! This guy again? He just never learns to quit, doesn't he? Max HP is 100, his Attack is 13, and his Defense is 0. Yeah, this doesn't sound bad, does it? He'll attack you with simple body slams, as usual. His X-Nauts can be a little bit of a problem, however. The have 30 HP, an Attack of 12, and a Defense of 0. They'll be the ones that annoy you the most. But, even if you were to take them out, Lord Crump would just summon more of his minions to help him. I would recommend taking Lord Crump out, because those X-Nauts can't do anything else without him.
"So, what kind of moves are you going to use against me? My guess? You're probably going to use some kind of bat against me!" Lord Crump scoffed. "Pbbbbbbbbth! Like you can even do anything to ME!"
"Oh, yeah? Well watch this!" Chopper jumped straight onto Lord Crump's head and pulled of a stylish command after his first jump. He performed another stylish after his second stomp, taking 8 out of him.
"Whoa… Since when did you even get a stronger jump? Wait, why am I being so scared? I'm the BUH!" Lord Crump raised his fists up, but he was punched in the stomach by Tamber.
"Man, you really ARE chubby! You should seriously lose some weight!" Tamber mocked.
"No way, man! I'm already in shape! Like I need to listen to a fur ball! I'll even prove it! Get 'em, X-Nauts!" Lord Crump whistled, and the X-Naut Scouts charged at Chopper and tackled him, taking 12 away from him. "And here comes the Crump-a-bomb!"
"Crump-a-bomb? What kind of move is that?" Flyer gawked.
Lord Crump rushed toward Chopper and jumped to unleash his body slam upon him, but Chopper Superguarded the attack and managed to deal 1 damage to the X-Naut commander.
"Oooog… How on earth did you do THAT? My body slam was…Superguarded?!" Lord Crump gaped, left in shock. Chopper smirked and spun around with with rainbow energy in his hands, striking Lord Crump with his Rainbow Spin. He fell over on the X-Naut Scouts, who helped him up, but he got struck again by Sonic's Spin Dash, making him fall over on the X-Nauts.
"Lord Crump, sir... Could you please get off?" one X-Naut Scout moaned.
"Yeah, yeah!" he groaned, slowly getting himself up. "Argh... These pests are becoming a pain on my side!"
"Might I suggest we all dog pile on him, sir?" another X-Naut Scout asked. Lord Crump nodded and gestured to get Chopper. The scouts all obeyed and tackled Chopper, only for it to be Superguarded.
"Ha! Try that on for size, Lord Crump!" Chopper smirked, only to get body slammed by Lord Crump. When he managed to stand back up, he got his hammer out and brought it down on him.
"He's only got a maximum of 100 HP, so this shouldn't be so bad," Chopper told everyone. Vivian shrugged and she punched Lord Crump with her Shade Fist, scorching him in the process. At this point, he was more than halfway defeated, having only 47 HP left.
Lord Crump whistled and ordered the X-Naut Scouts to get in a mob. They all formed up into a ball and Lord Crump used them to roll over everyone. Unfortunately, the attack was Superguarded and no one took any damage.
"Crud! Looks like I have to try something else for size…" Lord Crump ran toward Vivian and used his body slam to take 13 HP away from her. Despite this, he did manage to get hurt from the burn left by her.
"Take this, Crump!" Chopper shouted, creating an electric ball and tossing it at Lord Crump, electrocuting him in the process. Berry attacked next, bringing her hammer down on Lord Crump.
"Grrrr! Why won't you just give up already?" Lord Crump growled.
"Why should we give up when we're winning the battle?" Bombette shrugged.
"Oh, fine, I got a better idea… X-NAUTS! ATTACK!"
All the X-Naut Scouts began to bounce on Chopper, but he guarded their attacks and took only 6 damage. Lord Crump made his attack next, but it was guarded by Scrub, who then attacked him with his Ground Pound. Once Chopper used a Wall Jump, Lord Crump was down to 4 HP.
"Uh oh… This isn't good! Excuse me for a moment…" Lord Crump whistled and all of the X-Nauts broke up and split. Lord Crump, on the other hand, made a run for it and went behind the stage to recover all of his HP.
"What a cheater!" Chopper frowned. "He did this exact strategy before! You can't just heal before a battle! That's just wrong!"
"Well, considering that other enemies have done that, it's not too much of a surprise," Shadower remarked, just as Lord Crump returned with all of his injuries healed.
"All right, X-Naut Hunters! Come out here and gimme a hand! We're showing them no mercy!" Lord Crump shouted. A huge amount of X-Naut Hunters came in and formed into a tower. "Now! X-Naut Hunters! On my command… FIIIIIIRE!"
The X-Naut Hunters fired at Chopper with their guns. The attack was pretty strong, being able to take 14 HP away from Chopper. Lord Crump's attack, however, was Superguarded with ease.
"Is that the only attack you've got?" Scrub scoffed. "'Cause it STINKS!"
"I think I should heal myself," Chopper sighed as he pulled out an Ultimate Shroom and ate it to recover 100 HP. Tamber decided to bring Lord Crump's HP down with a single Power Punch.
"X-Nauts! Get that furry tulip...thingy!" Lord Crump demanded.
"As you command, Lord Crump," one X-Naut Hunter replied.
The X-Naut Hunters aimed at Tamber and shot him with a blast. Lord Crump ran toward him next and hurt him with a body slam. When he stood up, Chopper had managed to strike him with his Rainbow Spin, causing him to get sent flying back to the X-Naut Tower.
"I LOVE this ability!" Chopper cheered. Shadower helped bring Lord Crump to 71 HP with one Shadow Punch.
"Buh huh huh huh…uh, crud… This isn't good. You guys should be down by now! Oh, well, I guess I can test out my new bat against you!" Lord Crump commanded the X-Nauts to attack in unison, and, together, they leaped in the air and fell on Mario, dealing 14 damage to him. Meanwhile, Lord Crump got his steel bat out and hit Chopper with it.
"Ow!" Chopper cringed, changing to Plasma Chopper and using a Plasma Needle attack on Lord Crump to electrocute him. Bombette attacked with her Bob-omb Blast, sending the hunters falling, along with dealing 10 damage to Lord Crump.
"Hey, I think that attack just stopped those X-Nauts from attacking!" Bombette realized. "I think that should help prevent us from taking more damage!"
"Well, I know I'm not gonna give up just yet!" Lord Crump brought his bat down on Sonic, only for him to guard it. Since he was left open for an attack, Mario hit him with his Jump.
"Heh heh heh! Now we're bringing you down, Lord Crump!" Chopper smirked, shooting a bolt of lightning at Lord Crump, leaving him sizzled for a brief moment.
"I got a good idea! Take this!" Lord Crump threw the steel bat at Chopper and knocked his Plasma ability away.
"Hey! You...cheater!"
"Oh, cry me a river! It ain't cheating!"
Chopper clenched his fists and ran toward Lord Crump, hitting his face with a Rainbow Spin. Scrub brought him down to 29 HP after hitting him with a Ground Pound. Lord Crump got a chance to body slam Chopper easily without his Plasma ability getting in way. Chopper brought his guard up and managed to take less damage.
"OK, let's finish this up! Two more turns and this fight is OVER!" Chopper brought his hammer up and struck Lord Crump. Flyer made his move next and brought him down to 12 HP.
"OK, you've got some pretty good moves, I'll give you that. But, having only 12 HP won't stop me, Lord Crump! COME ON OUT, X-NAUTS!" Lord Crump gestured the X-Naut Hunters to make a tower, and they shot a projectle at Chopper, and then Lord Crump attacked afterward. "Buh! Buh! Buh huh huh! You're going down!"
"No, I think it's YOU who's going now!" Chopper clenched his fists and charged at Lord Crump with full force. His Rainbow Spin had brought his down to 4 HP - enough for anyone to finish the fight. Mario volunteered to make the final move and decided to put his Hammer Spin to good use. He struck Lord Crump and sent him flying into the X-Naut tower. This caused the tower itself to lose its balance and eventually fall over...on Lord Crump
"Uh oh…" Lord Crump gulped as a large amount of X-Naut Hunters had fallen on him, defeating him and the army of X-Nauts. Chopper received 43 Star Points and a level up. He went with upgrading his HP to 85.
Mario: We did it!
"Yeah... We sure showed him." Sonic smirked.
They turned their attention to the pile of X-Naut Hunters lying on the floor. They appeared to be shaking somewhat, and before they knew it, Lord Crump had gotten out of the pile and landed in front of the group. Though, he looked too exhausted to continue fighting.
"Buh… Grodus, WHY? WHY didn't you give me anything to destroy Chopper? Just… WHY?" Lord Crump complained. "After all I've done to help you… Now what excuse am I going to give now?" he stopped for a moment and pondered. His complaining had then changed to laughter. "…Hold on, if Chopper beats him, then I don't have to worry about a punishment!"
"What are you talking about?" Chopper asked.
"Oh, nothing. I'm done with you guys for now. I'm going back to my room. So, with that... Pow! I'm gone!" Lord Crump walked off past the unconscious X-Naut Hunters and Scouts and headed back to the elevator going to the fifth floor.
"Well... I guess we should just go to Grodus's room and get that Crystal Star..."
The group all nodded in agreement and headed to the lift leading up to the pipe. Before they knew it, they were returning to the sixth floor to confront Grodus.