Chapter 48
"Okay, maybe some of us can sneak in, probably the smaller characters," King Dedede suggested, his Southern accent thick. His eyes fell on a group of Toads, Toadettes, Roll, and Gretel.
"I hope he's not talking about us being in front," Gretel said, glancing around for other shorter characters. She darted a glare at the enormous penguin afterward.
"Just throw the little guys into the fray." A Toad's voice dripped with sarcasm.
"Look, I think we should put together a plan that makes sense." The Dream Land King tried to defend himself, nervous glance pointing at the Mushroom Kingdom attendants, Gretel, and Roll.
"If you hate us so much, just hammer us to death already, okay?" A Toadette chimed in.
"Okay, yeah, I hate ya'll," he admitted, trying to swallow a nervous lump. "But ya'll have the advantage in speed. If you get caught, you can run away, unlike us big guys."
"I still don't buy that," Roll said, folding her arms.
"I think he made his point clear." Calhoun nodded. "Now stand down, runts."
The Toads, Toadettes, Gretel, and Roll sighed and backed away.
Calhoun rallied the troops once again the next morning at the crack of dawn. She'd had a hard time waking up a few of the underaged characters, wanting them involved as well. She did need all of the firepower she could get, after all.
"Now, while I agree with the plan, there are holes in it, Dream King," said the sergeant.
"And what holes are those?" Dedede questioned, hands on his hips.
"In other words, your plan sucks!" Bowser cut in.
"Why don't I show you a good plan...to come over there and kick your..."
"Guys!" Adorabeezle's voice halted the potential discord between the two villains.
Everyone drew their attention to the popsicle racer running up to the gathered characters.
"You're late!" Bowser growled. "Did you sleep in like some of the other losers?"
Ignoring the Koopa King, Adorbeezle continued. "Snow and that Taku girl are gone!"
"What?" Calhoun blurted out.
"Ginger's missing?" Bowser asked.
"Takuya's missing?" Mignogna jumped out of her sitting position in a corner with a trio of Kritters, and Adorabeezle nodded. "I gotta go, guys!" The brown-haired siren started to leave their shelter.
"Are you asking to get killed, demon?" One of the Kritters stopped Mignogna before the siren even took a step. "You can't just rush out there with no plan!"
"But my sister's out there!"
"And Snow's out there, too!" Adorabeezle added.
"No one's leaving until we establish a plan!" Calhoun commanded. "We can't afford to lose anyone else!"
"But I have to go save Snow! She's my friend!" Adorabeezle pleaded.
"Same goes for Takuya..." put in Mignogna, "and Koji."
"And the answer's still no!" An edge of finality lied in Calhoun's voice. "It won't do any of those prisoners good out there if you're killed while trying to save them. We need to brainstorm here. Now, I suggest you join the discussion or you'll be staying here and out of our way when we fight."
Sighing, Adorabeezle and Mignogna joined the circle of characters, Mignogna steaming like a pot boiling over and Adorabeezle glancing forlornly at the floor.
"Now that that's taken care of, anyone else have any ideas?" The sergeant returned her attention to the other characters. "The penguin has thrown in his hat already. Anyone else have a suggestion?"
Sudden screaming was heard from the corridor where Adorabeezle had come from.
"What now?" Bowser roared, as he and the others turned to see Lucas and Ness scrambling into the meeting area, the blonde psychic boy panting.
"Looks like I'm going to have to teach some of you ladies about punctuality," Calhoun scolded. "What excuse do you two have?"
"Bad...really...bad..." Lucas breathed in and out rapidly.
"Whoa, kid, catch your breath." Bowser turned to Ness. "You explain yourself, instead."
"Okay. So..." the other psychic began.
But he was cut off by a group of characters bursting into the room, consisting of a few Koopas, Ike, Mega Man, and Mega Man Exe. Koopas Shell Tossed the free characters, Ike swung Ragnell, and the Mega Men fired their Busters. All of them were glitching with red pixels and sporting red eyes. Some of the free characters ran and ducked in corners, while others formed groups to protect one another, with a few characters using their programmed abilities to defend against the sporadic, unfocused characters.
"What the hell's wrong with them?" Bowser dove for the floor, narrowly skirting past a round of Mega Man's shots. He crawled next to Ness, who was curled up in a ball.
"I don't know. They started glitching and then they suddenly attacked," Ness replied.
"I think I smell that bat slut." Calhoun joined the two characters positioned in an army crawl.
"That was my first guess." Mignogna kissed the floor in front of them. "Now T.K. can take control of anyone she doesn't touch with her virus?"
"We don't know," said the sergeant. "And that's another question we'll have to answer, but first we need to figure out how to stop those pod characters."
"We can't kill them!" Ness pleaded.
Calhoun regarded the other three. "Do any of you know any abilities that can just put them out of commission?" She then hazarded a glance upward to see the other characters in the room. Some, such as Robin from Fire Emblem and Adorabeezle, were holding their own against the glitching Koopas, Ike, and Mega Man Exe.
"I can probably sing to them to put them to sleep," Mignogna said. "But I can only focus on one at a time for the full effect."
"And most of mine are offensive moves," Ness added. "I just have PK Flash, PK Thunder, PK Fire, and PSI Magnet. The last one is only for defense."
"And you can forget about me, because I'll just burn them to crisps," Bowser put in.
Mignogna sighed. "If Takuya were here right now, maybe I would be able to put them all down."
The group caught sight of Robin capturing Mega Man Exe in his Nosferatu, sapping the Net Navi's vitality to the point of fatigue and eventually unconsciousness.
"Okay, that's one down," said Bowser. "We just have...I don't know... a dozen of my subjects, the big sword-wielding moron, and the little blue pain in the ass shooting at us." But then the Koopa King noticed King Dedede knocking Ike out with his hammer. "Correction: the pain in the ass shooting at us and my insubordinate minions."
"I'll take care of the robot now," Mignogna decided. "You guys get those turtles in check."
Nodding, Calhoun, Ness, and Bowser crawled under Mega Man's mini onslaught over to the mob of Koopas who were harassing Adorabeezle, a band of Shy Guys and Toads.
Mignogna finally focused on the Capcom Good Guy, whose scarlet gaze fixed into her emerald one with confusion. He was a bit dazed as he continued to shoot at the siren, who regained her footing and prepared to defend herself. She called earth. Luckily, the tunnel floors were concrete and slight dirt, allowing her to summon roots from the ground and sent them to fix themselves tightly around Mega Man's arms and legs, pulling the arms down and immobilizing him. It also prevented him from firing at Mignogna. She maintained her gaze on Mega Man, gradually dropping into a seductive posture as she closed the distance between her and him.
You will stop attacking, she sang, her stare never leaving Mega Man. You are growing tired, wiped out from the virus that's consuming you.
The Capcom Good Guy's eyelids began to feel heavy, along with his body, which started to match the weight of anchors on a ship. He reeled back and forth.
You're falling asleep, Mignogna crooned, caressing his cheek. It was working, showing in Mega Man's toppling back and forth like a domino. You want to sleep for a long time. And at that final push, the blue robotic hero nodded into a slumber, now harmless. He was still tied up in the roots, and the siren decided to keep him there for a while.
Mignogna, when she was positive Mega Man wouldn't awaken, noticed some of the Koopas Calhoun and the others had been fighting were frozen by Adorabeezle's power, some tied up in a rope the sergeant possessed in her arsenal, and others unconscious. Tamora was recovering from the fight, with Ness and a few other characters on their knees panting and Bowser trying to recover.
"This has got to be T.K.'s doing," Tamora said, rising slowly to her feet and taking deep, though angry, breaths. "And if I'm right, then that means she's somehow spreading her virus and infecting everyone one-by-one."
"But how is it reaching us?" Bowser wondered. "Cause I don't want to turn pod! If I want to kidnap Peach again, I want to do it fairly. I already want to Bowserize this bitch for killing Mario! Nobody attempts to beat Mario but me!"
"Calm down, Your Dramatic-ness," said Mignogna, approaching the trio. "You'll get your chance to burn T.K. We all will."
"And we don't know how it's reaching us," added Calhoun. "But I'm sure it has something to do with her absorbing that key or whatever. Still a few unknowns, but at least we have a general idea of what we're up against. In any case, we need to come up with a plan. Today. Then move out and execute it tonight." Tamora turned to Adorabeezle, Ness, and a staggering Lucas. "You three spread the word to anyone still deep in the tunnels. We're going to need everyone now. That's an order."
The popsicle racer and the two Earthbound boys saluted, then started off for the back of the tunnels, with Adorabeezle checking the other tunnel across from the one they were in, and Ness and Lucas checking the one they were staying in.
…
Takuya was wrestling with the chains connecting her to one of the legs of T.K.'s finished thrones, yanking against the strong metal like a crazed dog chained to a fence. She'd been fighting against her prison ever since T.K. and Ralph caught the siren and Snow sneaking up behind them in the arcade's main code room. After Snow's death, T.K. had dragged Takuya to her throne and chained her around its leg, with Ralph keeping watch.
"How long will you keep doing that, Taky?"
Takuya looked up at T.K. flying to her throne, Ralph and the siren and landing in front of her. The succubus held a numb expression and cocked her head. Takuya only glared at T.K. in response.
"So it seems you're not going to admit I'll win?" T.K.'s face closed the distance between them. "You know you alone can't stop me. You know that trying to break your leash is pointless; I swiped it from one of the Chain Chomps. They'll hold you for a while."
You're not getting away with this! Takuya mentally fired that message into T.K.'s mind, pouring a large amount of spirit into it. The succubus winced against the energy gripping her head. Takuya added a little more into the power, nearly to the point where T.K. stumbled to her knees. You think you've won? You think you have power over this arcade? Well, you're wrong. You're nothing but spoiled. A brat who's pissed because she didn't get what she wanted. You're no ruler of the arcade!
Those remarks earned her a lashing across her face, causing blood to run down her left cheek. Takuya recovered from the blow to see that T.K. had managed a little of her willpower, enough to whomp the siren across the face. The succubus' emerald eyes flashed with fury.
"Look, you little bitch..." T.K. hissed, gripping Takuya's chin as if the siren were a child. "You will not talk down to me as if you're wise! You may well have been a mere fledgling in seduction before you met me! I taught you everything you know, not the other way around, so understand your place!"
Takuya retained her crimson glare, refusing to back down and give T.K. power over her. She was no longer that shy person who needed others to fight for her. She couldn't wait to see T.K. fall, and the succubus would, she was sure of that.
"Mistress!" Takuya looked over T.K.'s shoulder to see an infected character – Star Force Mega Man – run up to them. He bowed before the succubus, who turned to regard him.
"What is it?" T.K. sighed.
"I just want to let you know that Surge is coming along nicely on distributing these viruses, but..." Star Force Mega Man paused.
"Yes, spit it out. I've suffered one incident already today, and now you have an English problem!"
Star Force Mega Man jumped at the outburst. "We don't know whether or not it'll work because we haven't found the runaways. Everyone out here, including most of the ones in the cages, are starting to suffer, but the escapees are another story."
"I don't care if you haven't found the cowards at this point if what you're telling me is true," said T.K. "That Surge is moving along smoothly in implanting the virus into everyone. The runners will start looking for me and decide to serve me the second they've felt my malware...after they've attacked their friends, of course." The succubus smiled wickedly at that, in turn causing Star Force Mega Man to smile in relief.
"Also, Surge would like to know why some Penelope didn't get infected," Star Force continued.
T.K.'s smirk faltered at that, realizing who he was talking about. "I'm sorry?"
"Um, yeah..." Star Force scratched his head sheepishly, all satisfaction vanished. "Surge said he's been trying to infect Penelope, but her panel rejected it every time. He's wondering what gives."
"What?" T.K. shrieked, causing Star Force Mega Man to wince. "Vanellope's panel? Rejecting my virus? Why? How?"
"W-We don't know, Mistress. That's what he's trying to find out." Star Force Mega Man took a few slow steps back. "We could ask a few caged fools if they know. Surely one of them will open up."
"And one of them will." T.K. glanced up at the caged Vanellope above her. "I knew she'd be a problem. Now she's promoted herself to a threat. A threat I'll soon find secrets behind."