Demon Archives: Robot Devil. The Lord who oversees the robots' Underworld, he enjoys music and opera and loves making deals with people, though lots of his deals backfire on himself. His "Positive" is Robot God.
Part 7: Back to the Past
Ralph's plane didn't pack the high speed of a standard KND ship, but it packed enough juice to carry them across the world and shoot down airborne foes. Christina and Jack flew along the Americas' coast for about a week, making stops to rest when night fell. They would either sneak into nearby, alien-populated towns and buy food, or hunt in any wildlife habitat they landed near.
"'ey, there's a farm!" Christina said during one trip. "I'm hungry for chicken, what about you?"
"NO! NO CHICKEN!" Jack outbursted. "Uh, I mean… it is rude to take their livestock. Perhaps some corn and cabbage."
"Meh, I guess fried corn is good, too."
The two shared stories about their experiences. Even though Jack had several decades on Christina, even he didn't fight such impressive battles in his childhood. Between vampires, animal pirates, or these "Mamodo," Christina was impressive for her age. "In my time, I often heard tales of bands of children uniting to fight great evils." Jack said. "Children said to have come from beyond this world. Always thought it was a fairytale, but hearing the stories in this time and meeting you… perhaps there was more I had yet to learn."
"Good thing you have me to teach you."
They landed on the Mountain of Flavors in Greenland, believing they could make it to Iceland tomorrow. Christina's bending provided a great fireplace even in this cold. "Christina… before we get there, remember there is no promise we will find a way back."
"I heard it before, Jackie-chan. We don't got anything else to do, right?"
"I suppose not…"
"How many time rifts have you found, anyway?"
"I… might have lost count. But every time I did find one… I could never reach it. Either because I couldn't jump high enough, I wasn't strong enough… or even someone's life was in danger and I couldn't leave them behind. But because of my weakness, Aku sealed them all. I believe these portals were brought about as a side-effect of Aku's ability. A natural weakness that he needs to take time to fix."
"I guess he's a pretty strong cookie, huh?"
"Indeed… but what he fears most of all is this sword. This sword was forged from a light spirit said to be Aku's opposite. The spirit didn't have the willpower to fight, but by becoming a blade, a stronger warrior could use it to slay the demon."
"But he didn't seem to show up in my time until recently."
"Before he attacked my people, Aku was imprisoned. I suppose after I was thrown to the future, they must've found a way to imprison him again. But I do not think we can be rid of him until I use this."
"Hmmmm…" Christina remembered a similar story. The first Demon King, Demise, was slain by the Master Sword, until he was reborn as a mortal. If the same thing would happen here, they may not completely be rid of Aku. "Hey, Jack… if there is a way back to my time, are you gonna come, too?"
"I…I don't know. I would still be in a world I do not know."
"It'd be a hell of a lot better than this world, wouldn't it? And I bet our timebenders could send you back to your home, too."
"That is… possible."
"Yeah! So, when we find a portal, you just come with me!"
"If we find a portal…"
"If, shmiff! You just said the portals opened in the first place because Aku threw you here. So, if he threw me here, that means there must be more portals!"
"That is true…" Jack couldn't deny the possibility. Perhaps this was the reason he could never make it in one… why he always hesitated or wasn't good enough. Maybe he was meant to meet Christina… to help her make it home as well.
"Yeah, so let's get back to the past together!" Christina reached a fist to him. "…Oh, this is a knuckle-touch, by the way. You tap your fist to mine."
"Is it a symbol of promise?"
"Yup!"
"Then… it is a promise." Jack knuckle-touched.
They resumed their journey after one last rest. According to their map, Iceland would be just over the horizon, specifically Sector IC's hometown, Reykjavík. While Iceland normally had a warm and volcanic climate, Reykjavík was noteworthy for having the snowy Oil Ice Mountain. …What Christina didn't expect to find was a sci-fi metropolis full of skyscrapers, their tops round with red windows and four prongs. "Well, this place sure has changed."
"It is a city built by Aku's followers! These towns are always infested with criminals… this may be too dangerous."
"There MAY be a reason he had a city built here. There's definitely a time portal."
"Even if there was, Aku would have destroyed it by now. Unless, perhaps… he knows that one will spawn here, but hasn't, yet."
"That's as good as any reason to land."
"We cannot land in the city! They will certainly-"
"ATTENTION! Unidentified aircraft!" A trio of pink helicopters with pig snouts flew toward them. "This is a restricted area! You are ordered to land your vehicle and come with us!"
"Those are the Pigmask soldiers! Since when do they have authority in Aku's towns?"
"Evil types stick together? Let's take 'em down!" Christina shot bullets from the plane, shooting the first copter's propeller and sending it falling. She dodged missiles, flew underneath, and past the copters. Jack about-faced and spun his sword to block their bullets. He leapt toward the left copter, sliced its propeller, leapt to the right one, and did the same before leaping back to Christina. "Not bad, Jackie-chan!"
"Actually, Christina, the term 'chan' applies to young girls. For me, it would be 'san.'"
"I'm trying to make a reference, don't ruin—IIIIIT!"
One of the copters managed to shoot one last missile, destroying the plane's left wing. Christina struggled to stabilize it, leaning right and scraping the right wing against a building. They dropped toward an elevated pathway, crashing and bumping violently along it before the propeller died out. "No! Dammit! Ugh, how am I supposed to fix this?!"
"We may have to abandon it! Look!" Jack alerted her to a horde of Beetle Drones skittering from up the path.
"I guess we'll have to find another ship and steal it. But let's search for that portal first!" (Play "Aku City" from Jack: Battle Through Time!)
Stage 4: Aku City
Mission: Find a way back! Back to the past!
The drones swiped scythe-like legs at the duo, but Jack would slice their legs off and leave Christina to finish them, her fists strong and hot enough to both dent and melt their mechanical heads. It was also easy to just kick them off the walkway. The path would lead to a tunnel through a building, but an energy barrier blocked it. "Up there!" Jack saw another path up to their right. He grabbed Christina and made a great leap to it! "Whoa, dude, you jump good!" Christina beamed.
"Indeed." Jack smirked. The upper path led to an open rooftop armed with Celtic Drones, red robots wielding laser rifles. The bots lined up two at a time and fired. Jack led the way and used his katana to bounce the lasers back, damaging the drones until Jack could get close and scrap them. As the duo fought their way across another bridge, the next rounds of Celtics would charge at them with big fists. Christina met them with her own fists, restraining the bots so Jack could slice them. The bridge would curve rightward, but a further building would shoot missiles to destroy it. Jack grabbed his companion and leapt the missiles, reaching their ledge of origin and slicing the cannons. The Pigmasks patrolling the platform would retreat and pour oil on the path, setting it ablaze.
"Looks like it's time to eat fuel." Christina took a calm breath and drew some of the fire toward her to eat. "COUGH, COUGH! Fuel tastes gross!"
"Perhaps eating the flames of oil is unhealthy. Let me search for safe spots." Jack used his superb leaping to search for safe spots in the flames and would jump them with Chris in hand. Past the burning oil, they would cross a walkway with several flamethrowers burning to block them, but these flames were easy for Christina to hold back. Flamethrowers would spring out of random spots and shoot fireballs, but Christina grabbed and threw them back. The two set foot on a grated floor under a shaft, under which a great geyser of fire began to rise. Jack jumped them up several platforms ascending the shaft, leaping out of it and over the rim before the fire could fully explode out. They landed on a flying car, soaring partway over the city, but before they could hit a laser blockade, Jack jumped onto another car. This one flew to a tunnel, the two ducking until the car stopped in a parking garage.
Hordes of Pigmasks charged in, shooting guns. Jack and Christina divided and KO'ed their own share of soldiers. Chris kicked one to Jack, who bat him away with the back of his katana. Jack then threw one to Chris, who grabbed and smashed him into the ground. Before advancing, they checked on the person driving the car; he seemed to be an ordinary alien ducking and shuddering in fear of the attack. Chris saw a Caged Soul in the back of his car, so she freed it. She and Jack proceeded up the garage's slope, jumping cars that seemed to drive aimlessly down. A chunk of the road was missing, so they had to quickly jump the hovercars to cross.
They found an exit door to a narrow, glass-roofed bridge connected to another building. Christina noticed a vent above that door, which would lead directly onto the roof: she took that route while Jack crossed the bridge normally. The samurai would chop down Akuma that poofed out of nowhere in attempt to strike him and Chris would shoot fireballs at Beedrones that tried to sting her down. Chris's route would lead her to another Caged Soul. She could reunite with Jack in entering a building, gazing up a tall, wide shaft with winding stairs. But as soon as they were partway up the stairs, they turned flat, slopy, and slippery. The two slid down against their control. Looking back up it, there were several "branches" jutting out of the wall going up the slope. Jack used his good jumping to land them on those branches; as each one would snap off after a few seconds, Jack acted quickly.
From the top of the slope, they entered a wide passage with an arched glass roof. Giant mantis drones called Mantoids marched forth and slashed huge blades. Jack leapt to pin down a blade of the first one, allowing Chris to run up its arm, up the back, and jump onto its head before smashing it down with a combo of punches. The other Mantoids tried the other blades over their backs when Christina tried to repeat the maneuver. Pork Tanks drove up the passage afterwards, blasting Ice Bombs designed to cool Chris's bending. She countered them with fireballs while making her way to each tank and pumping fire directly into the cannons, destroying them from within. However, when Christina approached a tank by the wall, the soldier inside hit the self-destruct and escaped. Jack kicked forth and carried Chris out of the way before the tank exploded.
The wall was blown open, revealing another hidden Caged Soul. "Phew…thanks, Jack." After freeing the soul, the duo crossed the rest of the passage, exiting onto a wide, rooftop pavilion with a fountain and tables, open to the sky. (End song.)
Present Iceland
Sector V could vaguely make out the demon invasion from far away, but the red light rising from the mountain was a cause for concern. "Hey, what're the odds that Gap leads to another of Diablo's Pillars?" Ralph asked, piloting their airborne pirate ship, the Young Sunny.
"If this attack was staged by his allies, it's possible." Laruta figured. She raised her communicator and spoke, "Sector IC, come in, Sector IC. This is Sector V, here to lend you support."
"Hi, guys!" Juki responded, casting a wave of icicles that Demongo shielded with a Goron warrior barrier.
"You're not a moment too soon!" Ruford said. "It looks like another battalion's coming!"
"Eh?" Demongo frowned, facing the mountain. "I didn't ask for backup…"
Leading the next troupe of demons appeared to be a woman with standing, wavy red hair. She was pale with red hands and hooves, and had four spider-like pedipalps protruding from her back. "AAAAAHH!" Juki shut her eyes. "SHE'S NAKEEEED!" The female demon had limited clothing.
"ANDARIEL!" Demongo hissed. "What are you doing here?! Mastah Aku ordered you to stay put!"
"SILENCE, Torchlight! Duriel's presence has died… and I want to find the bastards responsible!"
"Did I just hear Andariel?!" Lyserg gasped, listening through the comm. "She's another of Diablo's officers!"
"What? Shouldn't she be hiding in the Underworld then?" Isabelle asked.
"She's Duriel's twin brother. It sounded like she's out for revenge. I'm going to fly ahead. Keep in mind that she's a poisonbender." The spirit abandoned his Gigai and flew.
"A poisonbender?" Laruta spoke.
"Then…then we gots to help." Mali gulped.
"Laruta, you're with me!" Jason decided. "Let's go waste that demon together! Ralph, Bella, try to shoot some down from up here! The rest of you split up and take out the small fry!"
"Aye-aye!" Isabelle saluted. The crew threw on parachute packs and leapt off the ship.
"L-Laru-chan?" Mali stuttered.
"Mali, do you best to help them!" Laruta smiled. "If you get tired, call Ralph to lift you back up! Good luck!"
The giant watched as the rest of her team dove toward the town. "But… I'm a Poison, too. Shouldn't I help…"
"Now, tell me!" Andariel rasped, shooting jets of poison sludge at the timebenders, who tried to Rewind them back. "Who killed my broth-!" Lyserg's Morphine struck her pedipalps at precise angles.
"If you want to know, look no further! Why have you shown yourself up here?! Don't you realize you're endangering yourself?"
"Who's that?" Ruford cocked a brow.
"Who's who?" Hiyuki asked.
"I won't play the coward to a bunch of infantile mortals!" Andariel stated. "I'll slay you all and capture the Uno princess myself! Once I do… Diablo will love me! I'LL become the Demon Queen!"
"MONGOGOGO!" Demongo suddenly poofed above Lyserg, the boy horror-struck as the demon engulfed Lyserg's entire head. "Another soul for my collection?!"
Demongo munched Lyserg's head clean off, melting it into a skull. Lyserg's body became a dark mist and flowed into Demongo's armor. "WHAT the-?!" Ruford gasped. "Yo, Sector V, who was that green-haired kid?! Demongo just ate him!"
"He ate Lyserg?!" Laruta gasped, she and Jason racing onto the snowfield.
"MONGOGO! Let's see how he does!" Demongo threw the skull out and struck it with lightning. Lyserg's soul reformed, eyes glowing blue and possessed. Lyserg rushed toward Jason and Laruta, lashing Morphine in a wild fashion.
"AAH! OI, what's the big idea?!" Jason shouted.
"This guy can eat souls and control them!" Ruford explained, throwing a Chrono Bomb to slow Demongo down after Hiyuki threw her scythe at him and Rewound it like a boomerang.
"Ahhh…more fresh meat!" Andariel approached the V-operatives, forming a Sludge Bow between her claws and loosing arrows of poison, Laruta repelling them with her bending.
"Do as you may, Andy!" Demongo sneered. "As long as I get the souls afterward!"
Laruta rode Jason's shoulders and defended him from further sludge arrows, the Faunus spinning both arms in preparation of a Light Fist. Unfortunately, the darkness of night and the cold of the snowfield made his light less than satisfactory. He arched the first Light Fist over Andariel's head, the demon shooting a sludge shield to block it, but the second fist struck her in the left hip. As the demoness knelt from the attack, she suddenly kicked forth with great force, Jason throwing Laruta away as the demon's hand flew for her. Andariel was able to reserve a pedipalp to slash Jason's shoulder before he could dodge, the boy kicking a Light Foot at her head. Andariel viciously slashed her pedipalps, each one laced with poison, the raccoon struggling to evade in the snow. "Bah, stop it! That hurts!" Jason cried, beginning to well up with tears. "Man, I hate snow… I hate all this demon bologna…" Losing the will to fight, Jason knelt. "Oi wanna go back to the pirate race! Waaaahhh…"
"Jason, what's the matter with you?!" Laruta yelled, using her bending to try and bend the toxins out of Jason's gashes.
"I am the Maiden of Anguish! My poison drives mortals to misery!"
Laruta and Jason were entrapped in Lyserg's Morphine, flapped up, and slammed into the snow. Morphine unwrapped as Lyserg tried to stab them, but a Rainbow Monkey spirit jumped in the way, grabbing the chain. "Lyserg, I thought you were better than that!" Trella's voice reached him from behind. "You're a Divine Angel! How could you let that bully control you?!"
"Laru-chan! Jason-san!" Mali rushed into the field.
"Mali, take Jason!" Laruta rushed back to Andariel. "He's been sickened! Find some anti-depressants on the ship!"
"You won't do so well alone!" Andariel smirked. "I smell depression all over you!" (Play "Majestic Wings" from Kingdom Hearts!)
Boss fight: Andariel
The demon squirted several rounds of poison from her pedipalps, Laruta grabbing and throwing them back. "Fool! I can't be hurt by my own poison!"
"Not unless I do this!" Laruta ran closer and dealt Sludge Slices against the demon, similar to the waterbending technique. However, the technique risked getting closer, so Andariel kicked forth and grabbed Laruta by the ponytail. Andariel tried to stab her, but Laruta used Sludge Slice to cut herself free. She then Gas Rocketed away, but Andariel galloped after her. "EYAH!" A giant weight squashed Andariel from above, afterwards punching her in the head. "Pick on someone your own size! And wear more clothes!"
"MALI!" Laruta exclaimed.
"I got Jason up to the ship with a rescue balloon! I won't let you fight Demon Lady alone! AAH!" Andariel puffed huge gas bubbles from her pedipalps, blowing Mali up to the air before they popped. Andariel jumped away from the falling giant before shooting poison arrows, but Laruta leapt in the way and grabbed them in her own bending. Mali grabbed a can of Purple Flurp from her fanny-pack, squirting the soda into her mouth. Fueled with bubbling adrenaline, Mali burped a barrage of Gas Bubbles that burst against Andariel. In her efforts to dodge, she was sliced by a wheel-shaped Sludge Slice, made that way through Laruta's cartwheel maneuver. The impish gymnast dodged the pedipalps and tried to slice them, seeing Andariel wince from the pain.
Mali charged toward Andariel with a Gas Rocket, but the demon galloped to meet her challenge. Though she was slightly dwarfed by the giant, Andariel was able to shove Mali on her back. She then leapt on Mali's stomach and injected her with poison. Laruta took her own swig of Flurp and burped a Gas Bomb Flurry against the demon. "Boo hoo hoo…" Mali cried. "I wanna go to sleep… Why can't the demons go away…"
"RALPH, throw those antidepressants down here!"
"Shoulda brought them to begin with!" Ralph loaded the jar of pills in a slingshot and fired them down. Andariel clawed the giant, forcing greater cries of anguish out of her, so Laruta furiously shot a huge wad of snot to ensnare her, puffing more snot to increase its size. With Boogwendy to apply her strength as well, both worked to pull Andariel off, the demon howling furiously as she ripped away from its hold. Laruta seized the antidepressant jar in her bending and chucked several pills straight into Mali's crying mouth. Though she still wanted to cry from the pain, her mind was able to focus on what's important. Mali got up, rocket-jumped, and dealt a slam-dunk punch over Andariel's head, followed by burping a Gas Bomb over her.
Andariel arched her pedipalps up and squirted sludge like a sprinkler. They stung like mild bullets at first before the girls held the sludge back with bending, but Andariel suddenly rammed Mali, pushed her down, and bit her right leg. Laruta quickly puffed nasal spray up her nose to increase her snot further, puffing Boogwendy up into the shape of a giant hammer. She bashed the hammer against Andariel repeatedly, but the demon would stick her pedipalps into the snot and pump poison into it. Laruta had to detach Boogwendy from her nose for her own sake, but the sentient booger began to sob from her own depression. Andariel charged toward Laruta, whose only hope of survival was to Gas Rocket skyward. Sadly, Andariel squatted, leapt, and snatched the gymnast out of the air, beginning to squeeze her like a grape.
However, getting an idea, Laruta bent some antidepressants into Andariel's mouth, the demon gagging on the poison and releasing Laruta. Mali recovered and drank two cans of Flurp, puffing a huge Gas Bubble and holding on as it floated to the air. Laruta rushed to separate the sludge from Boogwendy, reattaching the snot mass to her nose. Andariel managed to hack the depressant out of throat, but was met with a combo of Snot Hammer swings. Andariel decided to mold her own toxin into a hammer of her own, clashing it against Laruta's, but after a quick glance up, Laruta retreated. Mali brought the Mega Gas Bubble down and smothered an unsuspecting Andariel, its explosion tremendous as the belching sound echoed for miles. Mali landed on the ground, both girls catching their breath as they hoped the demon was—not finished as Andariel belched her own fountain of Gas Bombs, exploding into a dense cloud as the duo hurriedly bent it upwards.
"Laru-chan, is it okay for me to use the silver one?"
"The Silver Flurp? You never had a chance to practice with—AAH!" Andariel shot a sudden jet of poison straight into Laruta's face. "Ow…it's all up my nose and my mouth… What was I thinking?! We were never gonna beat these monsters! Christina's right, I'm a loser! I train so much and it's all pointless!"
"It is NOT!" Mali drank the Silver Flurp. Her eyes seemed to magnify as sodium coursed through her veins. "YEEEEEK!" She dashed at Andariel and kicked her with enough force to roll the demon back several yards. Mali followed with a barrage of high-powered Gas Bubbles, Andariel running sideways in evasion. The demoness extracted long Poison Whips from her pedipalps and lashed them, but Mali used Kindergarten Karate to dice the whips as she rushed toward Andariel. Once up close, Mali assaulted her with Patty Cake Palm Thrusts, Andariel tanking her forceful assault while scratching Mali's face with her fingers.
"Mali…" As if her depression weighed hundreds of pounds, Laruta groggily reached for her antidepressants. She chugged down the 16 pills left in the capsule. "Huuuuuull…!" Swallowing that many churned her stomach, but it wouldn't be nearly as worse as… "Time… to drink… MILK." From her Infi-Cube, Laruta withdrew thermos labeled, LAST RESORT WEAPON. And inside that thermos was a thinner glass bottle of milk.
Mali seized Andariel's pedipalps in either hand and began to tug them apart. The demon withstood with all the strength in her spine, gouging her fingers into Mali's chest while kicking the child's knees. "AAAH! AAAH! OOOOOW!"
"MALI, I'M COMING!" Laruta dashed for the two, milk raised. "Get ready to hold your breath!"
"LARU-CHAN! IS THAT MILK?!"
"I was saving it as a secret weapon. I hoped I never had to use it, but I can't hold back, anymore!"
"LARU! NOOOOOO!"
Laruta chugged the milk just as she reached them, passing between Mali's feet. Her tiny stomach churned tremendously as her body began to wobble. "What's she doing?!" Andariel gasped. "Gah! Let me go, you wretched-!"
Mali squirted globs of sticky snot to bind Andariel's hooves. "Stay there!"
"HOOOOOOOHHH!"
The cloud of gas expanded like a nuke, blowing away the surrounding snow. The explosion caused a blizzard, brushing over Sector IC and Demongo. "BLAAAGH!" The demon cringed. "What is that STENCH?! ("Stop!" Ruford's voice shouted.) I'm dropping out of this fight!" He poofed high up in the sky, just barely out of the cloud's range… "HUH?! WHERE'S MY ARMOR?!" Demongo realized he was naked.
"HAH! It worked this time!" Ruford exclaimed, having frozen Demongo's armor in midair. "Now, girls!"
Juki and Hiyuki fished their scythes into the armor from either side. Hiyuki tugged the Memory Meister and Juki her Ice Sickle. The armory had already sustained plenty damage during the battle, so the opposite tugging forces were enough to shred it entirely. The result didn't register until the Stop wore off, the armor auto-teleporting back to its owner. Demongo stared confused for a moment… until bright lights shone from his skulls, the armor beginning to rupture. "NO! NO! Look what you've DONE! MY SOULS! MY PRECIOUS SOOOUUUULS!" A storm of spirits came spewing out of the armor.
As the gas steadily cleared, the outcome of the other battle was made clear. Laruta was passed out… Mali was groaning on her back, bleeding… but Andariel's pedipalps were clutched firmly in her young hands. She and Andariel had been blown several meters apart, the demon screaming as she woke to a bleeding spine. "AAAAAHH! THE PAIN! THE PAIN! It's just like… my brother! Damn you, Duriel…damn yooooouuu…!" The maiden collapsed in the snow. (End song.)
"Nnn…uh?" Lyserg moaned, waking in a pair of gentle arms. He looked into the closed eyes of a certain green-skinned girl.
"You okay?"
"I…I didn't hurt you, did I?"
"Not even a little! After I started singing, your attacks were pretty slow!"
"Heh…thinking back, I remember hearing your voice. I think it kept me sane during that…ugh, how could I let myself be captured by that…!" Lyserg whipped toward the mountain.
"What is it?!"
"A presence! A big one!"
"HAAAAAAHHHH…" It seemed that a tremendous black tower rose from the red crater of Oil Ice Mountain. The tower grew four branches like a tree, later to shape the head and face of Aku. "Boy, those angels were hard to shake off. Now, Andariel! Where in blazes did you—WHAT IN HELL'S NAME?!"
The souls of all Demongo's minions lost their dark aura, floating peaceably amidst the town. Laying shriveled in the faint snow was a thin, black mass. "Oh, are you KIDDING me?!" Aku conjured a giant blender. He drew the black figure into his blender as it reformed into his defeated minion. "I gave you ONE job, Demongo, ONE job! You had them outnumbered 100 to 1 and you LOST?!"
"No, Mastah! Please, forgive me!"
"Hmmmmm…" Aku thought contemplatively for a while. "… … … … … … … … No." He flicked the blender on, reducing Demongo to a swirling, dark mess.
The KND were in disgust as the demon drank the remains. "Haaaaah! That's the kick I needed! I should have just enough strength to finish you fools off for good! Now, LEARN the terror that is-"
"A shooting star!" Juki pointed.
"Hey, do not interrupt my spiel!"
"It's flying toward the ship!" Lyserg exclaimed. "I feel… a powerful spiritual presence from it!"
"WHAT THE FRICK!" Ralph was unprepared for this "star" to crash on the deck of the Sunny.
"Ruford's mom?!" Isabelle had to process the woman for a moment. Gold feathers adorned her pinkish-white hair, and a half-tangible, orange outfit with gold diamonds and feathers covered her thin frame, complete with an open cloak of the same design and boots with large feathers. She wielded an orange diamond-topped staff.
"Hehe…sorry for the rude landing." Kayla blushed. "Why are you kids here? It wasn't just to help fight the demons, was it?"
"N-no. Christina was thrown to the future by that Aku guy! We came here 'cause we were hoping the timebenders could help her."
"That's why?!" Ruford gasped. "So, this thing's a timebender, too?"
"I see… This should help narrow down my search." MaKayla closed her eyes. "Yes… there! I think I've found her!"
"Wait, what?! That fast?!" Isabelle asked.
"I'll go get her! Be right back!" MaKayla took off to a certain point in the sky. "I need to be around this position. Let's go… Aku's Future, 100 years!" She tore open a clean rift in time and flew through.
"NO!" Aku morphed into a Chinese dragon and flew toward the portal. "I'll trap you in my future as well! I'll seal that portal-" Rainbow Monkey warriors soared up to strike him with spears. "Flying monkeys?!"
"Fly fly fly!" Trella cheered. "Make the dragon die!" Lyserg flew up struck the demon with Morphine. Aku swirled in the air and struck dark lightning, taking down the monkeys and electrocuting Lyserg, the lightning coursing through Morphine. Ralph and Isabelle blasted cannonballs at the dragon.
"Let's hold him off 'til she brings Christina back!" Jason declared. "Heheh! I feel really good all of a sudden! You're about to feel super depressed, Achoo!"
Future
Christina and Jack rested on one of the benches after reaching the rooftop park. Time barely seemed to pass, even as they watched dozens of cars and ships fly by. "So, if you haven't aged 50 years, does that mean I won't age either?"
"It's possible. Likely another effect of the time travel. An eternity of wandering… and fighting."
"Lay off with the depressing responses, buddy. Sigh…not like we found any sign of a portal, anyway. 'Guess we oughta steal a ship and look somewhere else. Know any place a portal would ap…pear?"
Jack lightly grabbed her arm. Christina glanced left, Jack's sharp gaze forward. There wasn't anything of note in that direction. But after a moment, she realized the subject wasn't forward… but behind them. A person watched them from the opposite side of the park. A woman with purple hair, horns, feathered collar, and black clothes with thick gold rim. Christina cautiously turned further to observe the stranger. "If you seek conflict… you have come to the wrong place." Jack said.
"Oh, we don't have to have conflict." Torrelasell smiled. "I'm just here on some quick business. All I want is the girl."
"For what business?"
"To take her back home, of course! I'm a guardian spirit who rescues mortals who have been lost through time."
"If that is true, why have you never come for me?"
"Well, that's not my fault, it's the office's fault." Torry smiled blushingly. "They're always overlooking things. But I'll happily come back for you after I-"
"You will take no steps further. We shall be on our way now." Jack stood and led Christina away-
Torry was immediately in their path. "I promise to keep her perfectly-" Jack swiftly performed the Mortal Draw, slashing the Daemonis in a streak of light. "Well, you struck first." Torry leapt back and drew twin machineguns, unloading them as Jack spun his katana in defense. Jack took Chris and ducked behind the fountain, guns beginning to reduce it to rubble.
"Hey, I'll distract her while you attack." Chris offered.
"She is after you, that's too dangerous!"
"That's why it might work." Against his concerns, Chris Rocket Jumped up and over the fountain, diving fist-first toward the Daemonis. Torry tilted a gun up and shot, Chris barely shooting out of the way in time. Jack dashed out and kicked forth to grab her, tanking some bullets, but flying close enough to slice the turret off the left gun. Torry leapt back and ripped the gun apart, drawing a sword from it. She maneuvered the blade against Jack's swings, using the other gun to shoot and wound the samurai. Christina flipped around and launched to grab the gun, but Torry threw up her leg and stomped the Uno. Jack spun to slash at her knee, but Torry flipped, grabbed the samurai's head, and pinned him to the ground. She quickly tug her hand into Jack's chest, withstanding the strikes of his blade.
"HEY!" Christina tried to shoot fire over the demon, but was forced to keep her distance as Torry used her free arm to shoot her. "You ripping out his heart?!"
"Not his heart. Just the experience!" Torry ripped an ink-like substance out of his chest. "Fifty years of fighting in this timeline… I bet we can make a great warrior out of-"
"H'OMP!" Christina snapped her teeth over the substance.
"NO!" Torry dropped the gun and ripped the substance out of Chris's mouth. "That's not for you, you little-"
Jack slashed the substance and severed it, grabbing Christina and flipping away from Torry. "Only this much?" Torry stored the substance in a glass vial. Jack and Christina braced their selves for her next trick… until the Daemonis seemed alert to something else. "What's that?" Christina looked up while Jack kept half-focused on her. However, this wasn't just a diversion.
The space near the top of the connecting building ruptured, an orange-gold light falling to their level. Torry jumped before it could crush the ground where she stood, denting a crater… before that crater Rewound and fixed itself. MaKayla's uniform attained better visibility, the inside of her cape depicting stars against a fiery-orange space. Her pinkish hair had turned into an orangish hue, the feathers glowing like the diamond of her staff. "Oh, great! ANOTHER random weirdo in a crazy getup!" Christina exclaimed.
"It can't be!" Torry gasped. "That aura… I expected you to stick your nose in this, Temvum, but I didn't expect you to pick up a host! Who the hell are you?"
"I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually!" MaKayla smiled, twirling the staff. "Until then," she flicked her staff toward Torry, focusing chi over the Daemonis, while stretching her other arm and rotating counterclockwise. Torry Rewound so she would jump back to MaKayla's spot, the timebender batting her up the glass corridor. "Christina! That portal will take you home! Hurry!" She flew up the corridor, Torry riddling her with bullets, but would have to evade as Kayla Rewound the bullets back. Torry charged her directly, dodging her Stop grasp and reaching into Kayla's heart. She searched for traumatic memories in Kayla's past and ripped another inky substance out. Torry threw the substance several feet back as it poofed.
MaKayla recognized her 5-year-old self and her favorite teacher, Mrs. Sheryl. MaKayla, both young and old, were horrified as the mugger stabbed the teacher in the chest three times. "Well, that's something you don't see in school every day!" Torry landed several shots in the torso, afterwards kicking Kayla threw the wall as she fell the thousand-foot drop. "But that child is familiar, actually. …You're the Ghost of Time, aren't you?! MaKayla King, the Keeper of the Great Clock!"
MaKayla recovered herself and rose back outside the passage. "Alright, you figured out fast! You get 2,000 bonus points!" Her swift timebending repaired the wall, but Torry merely blasted through as she flew after the fleeing bender. However, Kayla had expanded an orange bubble over the zone, searching earlier points of time in this area. "Ah! 140 years ago, a helicopter flew by this exact spot." She reverted the space back to that age, a helicopter spawning out of nowhere and nearly sawing the Daemonis. The blades weathered down and snapped off after a few dozen spins, Kayla returning the space to normal. She herself warped back in time to where she would be behind Torry, bashing the Daemonis' head, but Torry would chuck three vials up, covering Kayla in gashes and chopping off her left arm; the one which held the staff.
Torry kicked Kayla upside the head, but she would wind up kicking a Time Clone: MaKayla made a "Save State" and Rewound time to that state. Her "past self" would suffer Torry's kick while her current self would fly down and catch the staff in her teeth. She whipped the staff up toward Torry and crossed her legs, Stopping her. Kayla then Rewound herself to reattach her arm and heal her wounds.
"Christina, who is that woman?"
"I don't really know, but…" She looked up at the portal by the higher roof. "I think we found our time rift!"
"Then let us go!" Jack held Christina, squat, and leapt a greater height! But just before they could enter the portal, a massive black hand swat them back down to the park.
"Once again, Samurai… the way to the past is beyond your reach." That was a voice Jack hadn't heard in years. But that echo, along with the fire-browned visage that came with it, would always be etched into his memory.
"AKU! You've shown yourself at last, you coward!"
"Torrelasell! Destroy them at once! I need time to close this portal!"
"I'm dealing with a bigger problem at the moment! But maybe this will help you." Torry threw a vial with enough force to reach the distant demon, Aku catching the tiny thing in his fingers. "I took what I could of Jack's experience."
"You really should stop wasting money on these assassins, Aku." Jack smirked.
"Bah! I'll tell you what was a waste of money: those useless 'daughters'! But I think I'll have a taste of this…" Aku chucked the vial down his throat. "!" Memories that weren't his own coursed through his malleable veins. "Yes… this will work nicely!" Aku morphed into several animals. "Horse Drinking Water! Flying Eagle! Tiger Claw!"
"You have stolen my Shaolin arts?!" Jack gasped.
"Indeed! Torry has the power to steal people's 'experiences' and give them to others. I'll have to test them after I-"
The samurai flew toward the portal, slashing the demon's wrist before he could attempt to seal the portal. Christina rocketed up as Jack used her as a prop to jump again, but Aku blasted Heat Vision to push him back to the roof. Aku dropped onto the roof like spilling liquid. "Perhaps you are right, Samurai. If you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself." Aku morphed into a muscular humanoid shape equipped with a katana. "It seems I have an ounce of your swordsmanship as well. What better way to end this ancient rivalry at long last?" (Play "Aku Battle" from Battle Through Time.)
Boss fight: Aku
Aku and Jack were matched in the speed of their swings. Aku thrusted, but Jack jumped on the blade to stab Aku's face, the demon bending it back and redirecting the sword at Jack's hip. Jack resumed exchanging blows, but Aku's sword would bend itself around Jack's and strike him. Christina swung a flaming kick at Aku's spine, but the demon spawned a tail to wrap and bash her around the ground. Aku was still able to focus swings on Jack, enduring Chris's burning of his tail, but the Uno spat fire at the back of Aku's head. The repetitive spitwads grew irritating enough to distract Aku, allowing Jack to slice his arms and down the demon's chest. He leapt overhead and cleanly chopped the tail, freeing Christina. Aku slithered away and morphed into a tiger. He would pounce Jack at frightening speed and slash him with claws. "The Tiger Claw technique! But stolen experience will only get you so far."
"I bet I could pull that tech off!" Christina posed like a tiger, shaping fiery claws around her fingers. She lunged at Aku from the side, the demon growing an additional claw. Jack bit the hilt of his sword in his teeth, engaging Aku in the mimicked art. Christina grabbed the extra claw and bit into the wrist, pulsing fire against it. Jack clasped Aku's front claws and slashed his head, but the demon quickly morphed into a puddle and slithered off. The puddle expanded and grew into several Akus, all dividing to slash the two from several directions. Chris punched forceful fireballs at the Akus' heads, lighting them like burning trees, and Jack was able to easily slay them in their distraction. "Where is the real one?!" Jack asked with a glare. "…AH!" He whipped up in realization to see Aku trying to close the time rift. Jack channeled chi to his blade, and as he flew up, the slash of his blade was like that of a cyclone.
The cyclone swept Aku up and cleaved him in a spiral, the demon collapsing to the roof in a puddle. Christina set fire to the puddle, smirking as it melted away. "OW!" A small black scorpion stabbed her foot. Aku grew larger and grabbed Christina, dodging Jack as the samurai slashed a downward airwave. Aku threw Christina off the building, but the Uno used rockets to save herself. Trusting this, Jack jumped and diced the towering Aku into pieces, but those pieces morphed into large crabs with Aku's face. Jack landed in the ruins of the fountain as the crabs scuttled circles around him. Jack slashed the crustaceans with spin attacks, but the real Akrab expanded his claws to trap the samurai. Christina returned to the roof and became a Fire Drill, burrowing through Aku's back until Jack could break free.
Aku turned into an eagle, wings spread majestically before he would flap toward Jack, the beak intended to puncture him. "The Flying Eagle is not to be used so literally!" Jack leapt and pierced downward, but Aku split himself in evasion, afterwards curving his beak in a U-turn to stab Jack's back. The samurai nearly flew off the roof before Chris blocked and saved him, setting Jack down before dashing for the eagle. "I call this, Raging Phoenix!" Chris spread her arms and projected wings with her fire. Aku lunged with the same technique, Chris clapped her hands over his beak while the fire burned his wings. Chris clung on and let Aku carry her forward, while Jack would swing a surprise slash to the right wing.
Aku turned into a man-size mantis, leaping at his foes with his legs cutting like scythes. Jack mimicked the technique with his natural good jumping and slashing. He was able to dice Aku in half, but his front half morphed back into his humanoid shape. He now had four arms with a sword in each, but outnumbering Jack was barely enough to get around the samurai's blade. Christina would then join the fray with extended Fire Daggers, steadily disintegrating Aku's swords. Jack performed a swift, rounded swing and shattered the black blades at last, followed by a direct stab into Aku's chest. The demon flew back and morphed into a dense ball, attempting to bowl the fleeing samurai over. Jack leapt over Aku, buying himself time to catch his breath.
"You may have my Shaolin arts, Aku, but there is one I still remember." Jack squatted and scuttled left and right. "Water Beetle!" Aku growled and tried repeatedly to bowl him, only for the beetle evade hurriedly. When Aku finally managed to crush Jack in his path, the samurai suddenly sprung up and hauled the ball off the tower. Aku was forced to morph into his towering form to climb up, only to suffer a diagonal blow from Jack's sword. Hissing, Aku morphed into a Chinese dragon, ascending to the sky; but not before molding a red barrier over the time rift. "Hmm…makes me wonder if Dashi ever found the dragon he's always wanted." Jack thought aloud.
Aku spun circles around the air and conjured dark clouds, striking lightning onto the roof. Jack and Chris dodged the bolts, angered by Aku's cowardly tactic. "Christina, I cannot jump that high. I may need the help of your fire."
"Then grab ahold!" Jack lifted her in his arm and jumped as high as he could. Christina burned fire straight downward to lift them like a rocket, swerving to avoid the lightning. Once level with Aku, the dragon recycled the Tiger Claw technique as the Dragon Claw, but both Jack and Chris would intercept him with their sword and claw-shaped flames. Aku was able to send both falling, but Jack hurdled Chris back up, the girl spinning with "claws" outreached and slicing through Aku's snout. She landed atop the dragon, raised a fist hardened with slight Haki, and punched Aku's eyes, bobbing his weight downward.
Amidst falling, Jack focused chi to his blade and declared, "Moonlit Strike!" sending crescent-shaped airwaves to dice the dragon. He then turned and slashed against the ground, the force breaking his fall. Christina grabbed Aku's head and rocketed downward, dragging him, but as the dragon reformed his body, he grabbed the girl and tried to twist her neck. Thankfully, he was low enough for Jack to leap up. "RIVER OF SEA!" Jack's airwaves were crisp like the flowing river, dicing Aku in several places, including the claw that bound Chris. The dragon looped back, posed like a bird, and charged with the Flying Eagle technique. Jack, growling like a beast, stabbed straight against Aku's snout with great force. "Canine SCOURGE!" But the force of Aku's flight was enough to match it.
The demon bent the rest of his body over and morphed it into a leg. "Shadowless Kick!" But the shadowy substance merely dispersed and phased through Jack.
"A shadow cannot use Shadowless Kick!" Jack said before redirecting the sword to slice Aku's leg-tail. Christina was there to break her companion's fall, facing the descending dragon with conviction. The beast grew a large sword and clashed with Jack, successfully knocking the sacred blade out of his hand. The dragon dove his head down and snapped Jack's upper half between his teeth. But Jack mustered the strength to push Aku's mouth apart while Chris flew to retrieve the sword. She returned and stretched fire along the blade, slicing Aku's mouth in half and freeing Jack. Smiling at her in gratitude, Jack's hand shared the sword with Christina's.
"Baaaah…" Aku's mouth grew back. "Just what are you?! I have lived for centuries… and you are only 75! Even in that unaging body, how could you wound me so?!"
"Because, you have been sealed for some of those centuries. And even while you were free, you lived relaxedly knowing I was not there to challenge you. And after I arrived in this time, you hid from me in fear, only using hit-and-run tricks. I have been training and fighting nonstop, for over 50 years. I lived with the sole desire to destroy you, Aku!"
"How DARE you talk down to ME!" Aku blasted Heat Vision, but Christina slurped the fiery beams down her gullet. She and Jack clutched the sword firmly as they leapt toward the dragon, but Aku used "Dragon Sweeps His Tail" to swat them away. Christina used Rocket Boost to spin and redirect them back toward the dragon. Aku grew and thrusted his black sword, but Jack landed his feet on the back of it and grinded up the sword, slicing up Aku's serpentine body. "AAAAAHH!"
The barrier holding the time rift dispelled from Aku's loss of concentration. The dragon quickly flew to enwrap the portal, squeezing in attempt to close it. "TORRELASELL! GET OVER HERE, NOW!"
"You are all out of options, Aku!" Jack and Christina leapt toward him once more. Aku slashed his tail like a sword, but Chris's rocket helped them dodge around it, both spinning with a swirling flame stretched out from the katana. The Fiery Ra-Rama sawed through Aku's shadowy being, and they would keep spiraling through the portal. "Perhaps we'll finish this later! Or should I say 'earlier'!"
"SAMURAI! NOOOOOO…"
"Looks like this timeline is finished." MaKayla smirked, having bound Torry in a building repaired by her Rewind. "Whaddya say we hang out and watch it crumble?"
Torry burst free of the wall. "And just how long do you expect to prolong this fight? Your lifespan's short enough as is."
"I can hold out a little longer."
Past (Play "Gang of Straw" from One Piece!)
Defeating Sectors V and IC was simple, being exhausted from fighting Demongo's minions, but those same minions would become a problem: Trella's song reinvigorated their spirits, flying to swarm Aku. His arrival at the time rift was postponed until he could burn their souls out of the sky. "Huff…huff…you brats have been far too troublesome… but I will be delayed no longer!"
"Crud… he's gonna make it!" Ralph panted, the demon soaring to the portal.
"Just… one more… punch!" Jason grunted.
"You'll never see your princess again!" Aku clasped the portal and began to compress it. "And neither may Diablo. After all, his ambition is merely a passing… fancy?"
A shadow began to rise from the portal… and it quickly took shape. "It…it can't be-"
Aku's right shoulder was SLASHED clean off, Jack and Christina zipping like a bullet. Her outburst of fire softened their crash-landing. "CHRISTINA!" Shimmy and Silica screamed.
"C-Chris…" Laruta grunted weakly. "I…is that you?"
"Hello… Aku." The samurai glared. "How long has it been?"
"J-J-Jack!" Aku clutched the severed area, shimmering white. "You're still alive?!"
"Indeed…" Jack and Chris stretched upright. "And you look rather out of shape."
"Oh, I can NOT deal with this now!" Aku turned to fly back to the Oil Ice Mountain. "The hell with Diablo and all these useless demons! I need a blasted drink and then some! I have no time," Jack grabbed Christina and made a great leap, "to deal with the likes of you…YOU CAN FLY?!"
"No. Jump good."
Aku frantically shot Heat Vision, but Christina repelled it, releasing fire to elevate their height at the same time. They reached Aku's head before the demon realized it… and Ra-Rama sawed down him like a gargantuan banana. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO…" (Play "Promise of that Day" from Cold Steel.)
A wave of warm, white light washed across Iceland. The clouds flowed away, gracing everyone with a pleasant night. The tremendous Gap at the top of Oil Ice Mountain closed. Its eerie red light would no longer fill the people with dread. Ralph landed the ship as all the operatives raced out to the field. Samurai Jack remained squat in his slice position after landing… but he calmly stood and sheathed his sword. He turned to Christina, on her back in utter exhaust.
"CHRISTINAAAAA!" Laruta woke with a burst of stamina (and backup clothes), dashing to glomp her friend on the ground. "YOU'RE BACK! I'm so glad you're okay, I thought we were never gonna see you again! Why didn't you just wait for us, why?! Waaaahh!"
"Chrissie-chan!" Mali weakly crawled over. "Chris… me and Laruta beat up a demon all by ourselves. Haha…she was all nakey and gross. And I… didn't cry at all…sniff…waaaaahh…"
"This has been a hell of a day because of you." Silica stated. "I know we aren't done, yet, but can we PLEASE take a break?"
"A day?" Chris replied. "I've… been gone a whole week."
"A WEEK?!" Shimmy exclaimed. "Five hours, if anything! OI, I'M SO FRICKIN' TIRED! Maybe it WAS a week!"
"She did time travel." Ruford reminded. "I guess Mom jumped a little further than when you… WAIT! Where's Mom?! And who the heck is THAT guy?!"
"Huh? Wait, THAT lady was Mrs. Stork?!" Christina realized. "She looked WAY different! Er…well, she was fighting one of Aku's minions, but I guess she… didn't come back."
"Ugh, do we have to rescue her now?" Loki scoffed.
"She's the Ghost of Time." Hiyuki reasoned. "I'm sure she'll make it back eventually."
"Uh, anyway! This guy is Samurai Jack! He helped me!"
"Jackie?" Juki said. "That's my dad's name!"
"Hello." Jack smiled. "You must be Christina's friends. She told me all about you… You look exactly as she described."
"What does THAT mean?" Silica questioned.
"Heh heh heh!" Christina had enough strength to tightly hug Laruta to her chest. "It means you guys are the best! And I…I hope we stay a sector forever!"
"Hee hee hee!" Jason snickered. "Well, that weren't gonna be possible without you around!"
"Heh, darn right it wouldn't. Now, can someone give me a lift? I can't spark another flame… frick, I'm tired."
"I'll bet." Laruta stood in a scolding fashion. "You look like a mess! You smell terrible and… where are your sandals?!"
"Oh yeah." Chris had been shoeless the whole week-long journey. "I think they burned up when I set Ralph's house on fire."
"YOU DID WHAT?!" the pilot panicked.
"Ha ha ha! I owe you one for that plane, buddy! Woulda been a pain to drive in that buggy the whole way. Only had one fricking song on its radio! I didn't wanna listen to 'Back to the past! Back to the past, Samurai Jack' for one more loop."
"You didn't like it?" Jack frowned.
"Hehehe!" Isabelle grinned. "I think we all deserve some R&R after all this. Let's fly back and get bathed ASAP."
"Abso-freakin'-lutely." Laruta sighed.
Jack watched happily as Chris's friends carried her away. "So… what about you?" Ruford questioned.
"I… suppose I should return to my time… somehow. But I think the gods can permit me to wait here a while longer." Jack pulled on his ragged robe. "Have you kids ever heard of a… laundry mat? They are quite a convenient facility in the future."
"Well, this is gonna be fun." Loki remarked.
W-WATCH OUT!
Back to the past! Back to the past, Samurai Jack!