No, I'm not gonna write out a fight for EVERY operative! I don't have that much strength!
Mt. Malladus
Veins of magma flowed down the surface of the volcano, an unusual sight given that it was supposed to be dormant. There was only one other time where it even erupted, and it was due to supernatural activity. This time would be no different. Perry, Kent, and Jolene traveled up the first segment of the volcano, the former expecting to see the giant any second. The same monster that turned Sector GT's farm into a lava land. He'd only seen its upper torso in silhouette, so Perry couldn't imagine what the whole thing would…
"I'm so glad you could make it, Kids Next Door~" A raspy voice broke the relative silence. "How unfortunate that you must face such an overwhelming foe." A short, long-earred figure with blue skin, a purple robe and hat with yellow edges, and red orbs on the hat and collar. "I am Grisor of the Elite 10 Mamodo!"
"…" The three stared silently. "What? What's wrong?"
"You're not what I expected." Perry answered.
"Just what WERE you expecting?!"
"I dunno… someone taller? More awesome-looking?"
"I didn't come all this way to be judged by some scrawny brat! If you want a sample of my power," a flame brimmed in Grisor's hand, "then taste-" Kent punched a stone fist and blew him back. "OW! THAT REALLY HURT! You shouldn't punch someone when they're giving a demonstration!"
"I'm getting hooooot…" Jolene moaned. "My clay's all moldy…"
"Jolene, you can step back and head down if you want." Kent said. "Just call the others 'case things get bad."
"That's good, 'cause my undies can't handle this much liquid…" Jolene returned downward. (Play "Boss Gohma" from Wind Waker!)
"So, you underestimate me that much, eh?" Grisor sneered. "Fine! I'll just skip to the GOOD PART!" The Mamodo flipped off his hat, exposing what looked like a small round mirror attached to his forehead. The mirror shone blindingly, the boys frantic as they felt an immense rise of energy.
"KENT, GET BACK!" They raced partway back downhill, the magma veins flaring. The impish Mamodo evolved into a giant, armored skin with spiked shoulders, wild brown hair, and roaring through his sharp teeth.
"GROROROROROR! Impressed now, you little weaklings?!" His deeper voice befit the transformation. "And you only have two of you, hahar! This will be so EASY!" His right arm reached skyward, a greater flame igniting as he tossed it down. Kent stomped up a magma wall and hardened it, but some flaming rubble blew off from the impact, Perry raising his shield to block one. Kent bent a lava stream at Grisor's knee, but the giant was unfazed as he raised his foot over Kent. Upon dodging, Kent turned that spot into a deep puddle, sinking Grisor's foot and molding the molten rock around the ankle, hardening it. While Grisor tried to pull it out, Perry drew the Hookshot and latched Grisor's knee, pulling himself atop it. A surprised Grisor tried to smack him, but Perry dodged up the leg and leapt on the hand. Grisor reactively tried to shake him off, but the leader clung tight. Grisor stopped shaking and tried to burn Perry, but he hurdled the Hylian Shield before dropping off.
"AGH!" The shield slammed into the forehead mirror, and Perry chased to recover the shield. Grisor reeled back, his glare following Perry as he stomped the ground and split a magma river open toward Perry. Kent launched himself with a Rockapult, landing beside the river to stop its progress. Grisor stomped once more and crumbled the ground beneath Kent, but as he fell toward the lava, a quick surge of chi through his legs hardened the rock for a safe landing. Grisor blew a massive fire breath at the hole, but Perry jumped in the way and blocked with his retaken shield. Fire still spread around it, but once Kent had time to rise out, both boys ran backward. Kent bent up a small magma string and flicked it up toward Grisor's mouth like a bullet. The beast choked for a second before channeling a wave of flames along the ground.
"Kent, grab me!" He hugged onto Perry, who threw his sail upward, jumped, and allowed an updraft from the flames to carry him. Grisor swiped his leg, but the boys bent their legs up and glid to an area without fire. Upon landing, Kent ran for Grisor, dodging his punch and thrusting up a magma fist to punch his pelvis. Grisor barely winced from the damage, but in his hunched-over position, Kent bent the ground beneath Grisor's feet, causing him to tumble forward. He landed on his hands, but Perry shot his Hookshot up at the mirror, pulling himself up to land a swift strike. "OW!" Grisor smacked him away afterward, Perry crashing into a stalagmite.
"NOW I GOT YOU!" Grisor crawled with the intent to smash Perry with his fist, but the aching leader raised his shield to negate the damage. Still, the impact and pressure dizzied Perry, leaving him open for another punch, but a lava stream burned Grisor's eye and caused him to miss. The beast glared at Kent, while Perry pulled himself up and wearily hurried away.
"Dude, you okay?" Kent asked.
"I'm fine… just gotta shake the shock off…"
"Perry, just fall back for now!" Kent supported his leader in dodging another wave of fire, retreating a safe distance. "You already had a busy day."
"Huff…I can't let you fight him alone…"
"I'll be fine. All I have to do is keep hitting the mirror and he might go down."
"And I'll make sure it's broken…" Perry pushed off of Kent, standing firm on his own. "I'm not leaving… without a certain victory. If we can make things just a little easier for ourselves… I have to fight!"
"I guess Spike ain't the only stubborn guy around here. Just don't get burned." Kent began to stomp and thrust in rapid succession, sending small meteors at Grisor's head. The beast smacked them away and ripped a chunk of earth out of the ground, chewing it in his mouth. His lips puckered as he spat rounds of meteors with faster speed. Kent used bending to redirect them away while Perry dodged and kept his shield raised. He performed a Shield Bash to bounce one away; of course, he couldn't perform his dad's technique to launch the meteor straight back, yet. Another meteor struck his shield and knocked him off guard, but Kent saved him from a third, applying force to freeze the meteor in the air. With a thrust, Kent shoved the meteor back at Grisor, who blocked his face—Kent launched Perry with a Rockapult, flying above the giant, who realized too late as the leader slashed the mirror.
Perry kicked off, but Grisor grabbed and tried to burn him. With his sword hand still free, he stabbed straight into the wrist. "Hah! That barely tickles!" Grisor laughed. "I'm immune to lava, boy, you think that puny sword is gonna-" Kent hammered a boulder down against the sword's hilt, puncturing a small layer of skin. "OW!"
Grisor reactively dropped Perry, the boy flipping back to Kent, who kicked more boulders at the head. Grisor blocked, stood, and backed up a safe distance. "Heh…y'know, for a so-called Elite 10, he's a little sensitive." Perry smirked. "When someone undergoes sudden gigantifying, they move slow. He's been pretty slow, so I feel like he's not used to being giant. I was already certain that mirror isn't a natural part of him."
"So, you're saying he's like a big fake? You'd think people would notice such an obvious weak spot."
"Maybe he's never had to worry about it. But I think we got his number."
"HNNNNNN!" Grisor's entire body ignited and seemed to turn orange. "I'M NOT LEAVING ANY GROUND FOR YOU TO STAND!" All the surrounding earth began to crumble and melt, but Kent willed the area around them to stay solid, left as a floating platform. Grisor splashed a magma wave to wash them away, but Kent fought to hold it back. Grisor cast a wave of fire to circle around the wave, completely surrounding them in heat. Kent forced the wave to bend the other way and mustered strength to harden it. He connected it to their platform, stepped back, and gave the wave-wall a good shove, causing them to fling forth and surf along the lava. Grisor raised his fists to slam the rock, but Kent quickly broke that piece off and pushed back, defending them from the splash that resulted. When Kent hardened that splash, Kent gave Perry a little bounce to fling him atop the splash, which Kent then punched to spring him upward. Perry held his sail aloft while Grisor was ready in defense. However, Kent repeatedly threw his arms up to make a lava geyser lift his foothold, getting high enough to mold and swing a magma fist in an arch, crashing into Grisor's mirror.
"AAAAAAHHH!" This was the last impact needed to crack the mirror. "NOOOOOO-" It shattered, shrinking Grisor back to his impish size, "-oooooo…" (End song.)
Kent quickly hardened a platform for him to land, along with Perry. …However, there was a 4th person among them: a similar-looking imp with orange clothes. "Augh…no! My mirror!" A panicking Grisor picked up the shattered pieces.
"Goodness me! I'm finally free!" The twin exclaimed.
"Free? You mean… you were trapped in that mirror?" Perry asked.
"Yes! He captured me just to borrow my power. M-My name is Rosirg."
"Rosirg? …Grisor… Are you his Negative?! Just what WAS that mirror?!"
"I-It's a special relic from my world." Grisor said. "It's able to trap a person's 'opposite' and allow you to 'fuse' with them. He was an earthbender, and it meshed with my firebending pretty well, so…"
"So, you weren't an Elite 10 after all! You were just a big cheater!"
"Look, my firebending isn't that strong on its own, I had to do something to get into the Mamodo Tournament! Besides, aren't Negatives just another part of you? United as one, I wound up being one of the strongest! Please, you have to put it back together, or I'll wind up a laughing st-"
Kent bashed him with a rock and KO'ed him. "Maybe after you'd have your nap. I still need to fix this place." He set to work in solidifying the lava around the area.
"Anyway… I don't suppose you'd be willing to help us?" Perry asked Rosirg.
"Nappy nap sounds nice, snoooorrre…" But, he was already fast asleep.
"Sigh…'course it is. …Yawn…" He couldn't really deny it… Perry worked too hard today, and right now, all he wanted was…
"Whoa, dude!" Kent caught him just as he passed out. "I wanna sleep, too, but let's go somewhere cool first. Say… the moon."
With Spike
Eshros forced stone spikes to erect around the ground, Spike dancing backward in evasion. A spike was launched straight at him, but Spike kicked straight forth: the impact of the spike to his sole shattered the rock without leaving a prick. Spike firmly stomped the ground and crumbled the spikes into pebbles, followed by a thrust of his arms to pummel Eshros with the pebbles. Eshros bent up four stone cannons and blasted rocks at high speed, Spike punching some away en route to his foe, but tanking some rocks to the face and stomach. Spike swung fists and kicks at the air and launched small rocks to hit Eshros' face and knees. Eshros threw more forceful punches, pushing Spike back with stubby rock jabs until he was knocked onto his back. "That's more like it, loser!" Eshros flapped up twin walls.
Before Spike could be squished, Robi flew between and pushed the walls apart. "You sure you don't want help, Spike?"
"Just sit back and take care of Tiny Softy, Softy." Spike converted the walls into sand, Robi plopping to a sit. The sandbender formed giant fists and swiped them against Eshros, who encased himself in a rock sphere.
"Hehehe!" Lily approached Robi, climbing on his finger. "Robi, you know better than to take a fun fight away from Spike! When he's all sweaty and covered with dirt and bruises, he's having the most fun of all! Oh, I hope I see a tooth fly out!"
"Heh heh…" Robi would only wince while watching brutal fights. He couldn't imagine being Lily's size and watching a mountain-sized brawl, let alone enjoying it.
Spike ripped open the shield, but instead of Eshros, there was a hole. "?!" A pair of hands reached from the ground and grabbed Spike's ankles, tugging downward and nearly ripping Spike's feet off. Before the pain worsened, Spike sandified that spot, but Eshros sprung up and socked him upside the chin. Another punch sent Spike spinning onto his front. Eshros stomped a stalagmite from beneath him, but Spike rolled aside and punched the ground, thrusting a jab into Eshros' pelvis. Eshros split the ground into segments and rose them to different levels. He made stone snakes gnash out to bite Spike's legs, the boy breaking them off and jumping to higher segments. Spike closed his eyes and rested his feet calmly, using Seismic Sense to feel the surface around him. He saw where the spikes and snakes would spring up and stomped to counter them.
Spike sensed where Eshros hiding inside a tall segment. Spike jumped his way to and grabbed the segment, dissolving it into sand and compressing it to crunch Eshros' bones. "RAAAAH!" Eshros flew out of the sand, donned in a snake helmet and lunging for a headbutt. Spike flipped backward and dug his head into the ground, yanking it out into a spike helmet. Both helmets collided, but Eshros slowly plowed down Spike's spikes. "What's your beef anyway, Snakeboy? You just followin' Milord-whoever's orders? Or you just like a good fight?"
"I just like beating up pathetic losers like you!"
"Hey, same here!" Spike stretched his sandy spikes through the snake's mouth and stabbed Eshros's eyes. He CLAPPED the snake and crushed Eshros's head inside it, stomped the ground, and half-submerged the Mamodo. "Ever bury a loser in the beach and KICK HIM like a ball?!" Spike formed a giant sandy foot over his own, spun, and lay a solid to Eshros' head. His half-buried body hung limp, unconscious. "Hah…hah…" Spike bent and stretched his limbs to relieve the stress. "Top that, Jason."
"Way to go, Spike! That was great!" Little Lily excitedly hopped on his foot, bouncing in glee.
"What'd you expect, Beetle Girl?"
Robi used his bending to restore the risen ground back to normal level. "We better check up on Perry. …Wait, that's them now!"
A giant, clay-made whale signaled the arrival of Jolene, carrying her friends and the KO'ed Mamodo atop its back. "Hey… looks like you guys wrapped up, too." Kent panted.
"Is Perry okay?" Robi asked. "He looks hurt!"
"He just got a little tired." Kent smiled. "Dude spends most of his time at the desk, he prob'ly didn't expect to work so hard today. We'd better get up to Moonbase."
Twoson
Kagura was supposed to clock out a half-hour ago, the parking lot's lamp posts activating when night fell. If there was a bright side to dragging out this battle, she was in for some overtime. That said, it would suck if she'd have to spend it on a hospital bill, bleeding from the face and feeling several broken bones. Tsao-Lon lodged his staff into the ground and did a swinging kick, Kagura ducking and batting her umbrella upon his rebound. Tsao landed on his feet and stretched his staff into her stomach, the Yato hacking blood out. "You had potential at first, but something is holding you back. You lack the resolve to face me seriously. And an unserious opponent is a boring one."
"Oh, you want serious?!" Kagura straightened herself, fists balled firmly. "I haven't begun to show you my true power!"
"Then show it!" Tsao began to twist his staff around him. "Show me what you can really-"
Kagura was spinning three hula-hoops around herself. "I may not dance with long sticks, but I'm sure as heck good with hoops!"
"Where did you even get those?!"
"FROM THE HARDWARE AISLE!" Kagura spun them off into Tsao with great force, the Mamodo reeling back and leaving him open to a kick to the hip. Tsao crashed into a corral, picking it up to swing into Kagura. She swat the corral off course, but Tsao suddenly lunged and slashed his staff diagonally, knocking Kagura into the ground.
"Enough jokes. What's the real reason you hold yourself back?"
She needed to catch her breath before answering. "Because my people… did enough fighting…"
Tsao-Lon cocked a brow, looking the downed girl in the eye. What did she mean by that? Either way, it reminded him of the Mamodo. "So, that's it… you just don't have enough pride." The warrior surveyed the area. Police and citizens surrounded them, engaged in the show. "The KND should've shown up by now. I guess they're not here." He turned to leave.
"Hey! Where're you going?!" Kagura stretched up in a limped way, holding her right shoulder. "You messed the lot up big time! You better get to work and start cleaning this place up!"
"Thanks for the decent fight. If you know anyone stronger… send them my way." Tsao-Lon stretched to the sky via his staff and flew away. Kagura, with no strength to chase him, fell onto her front.
Quahog
Aria ordered Ness, Lucas, and Charmy to back up Chuko and Veronica, but she kept Ness's phone. "The spiky guy just flew away." Tracy called. "They're putting Miss Kagura in the ambulance. She was bleeding a lot, but she didn't act like it hurt that much."
"I'm glad she's okay, but where is that guy going?"
"Dammit!" Karma stomped. "Why didn't we just go back to help, this frickin' monkey show didn't go anywhere!"
Tattsun was literally singing the opening to a monkey-themed Electro Ranger season, and the frightening, mummified giant remained enthralled. "MUMMYMYMYMYMY!" Belgim E.O. laughed. "These Electro Rangers are masters of music! True maestros! Another! Sing to me the next sonata!"
"Huff…huff…" Tattsun had fallen to all fours, robbed of breath and hydration. "I can't…I can't make it through another opening… Can't we just… watch my DVDs?"
"SING TO ME OR I DESTROY!" Belgim flicked his wrists as giant yo-yos flew at the operatives, brimming with spirit flames. Aria used Protego, but the yo-yos shattered the magic shield and blew Aria back.
"THAT'S IT!" Karma leapt and flew to Belgim's face, his foot stamping the mummy in. He smirked at his own tactic, but lost that smirk as he felt energy well up from inside Belgim. "MUUUUUUUU!" A blast of ghostly flames exploded from Belgim's lungs, Karma suffering a burn before he could kick off in time. Karma endured the pain, dodging Belgim's Gho-Yos and leaping to kick Belgim's left knee. Belgim seemed to wince from the impact, though it didn't seem to hurt as much as Karma would like.
"Karma, move! I'll burn his wrapping to cinders!" Aria blew a cyclone of hot wind with a Fire Spell attached. Belgim roared out in pain as guns extracted from his shoulders, unloading a volley of bullets at Aria and Karma. Both used natural speed and reflexes to evade, and yet the bullets that had punctured them didn't seem to leave any wounds. Pain still coursed through them regardless, causing them to falter in their movements.
"Stop, stop!" Tattsun pled. "Okay, I-I'll start the next song! J-Just stop shooting…"
"IT'S TOO LATE."
"WHAT?! You mean you're already sick of Electro Rangers?! I knew I should've switched between other series!"
"NO… my time limit is almost up." Belgim saw his pointed shoes already turning to stone. "GORM! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
"(I'm up here!)" A black portal opened on the roof of a ruined shop, their eyes drawn to the source of the buggy voice. "(Why haven't you destroyed any of them, yet? Were you goofing around again? Gettin' funky?)"
"I haven't had a good jig in 1,000 years, amigo! Now I need to go back and get my Moonshine, and I'm takin' my new buddy with me!"
"AAAAAH!" Tattsun was snatched firmly in Belgim's hand. "NO! I'M NOT AN ACTION FIGURE!" Gorm jumped down to Belgim and expanded a great portal. "NOOOO!" Tattsun tried to electrify himself, yet the mummy was unfazed.
"HEY, LET HIM GO!" Kansai whacked a baseball at Belgim's orange-gloved fingers, but the damage to the mummy was minimal. Aria and Karma tried to chase, but Gho-Yos were lashed at the MG ops. Belgim steadily receded into Gorm's portal, leaving no hope for the squirming Tatts-
Until a pigtailed girl on roller-blades came flying from over the roof, slashing her skates against the wraps of Belgim's arm. As they ripped and hung, Belgim's grip loosened. "You are SO lucky I decided to check on you!" Suna Strongarm grabbed Tattsun and kicked away from a protesting Belgim. A blast of air on Aria's part forced Belgim all the way into the closing portal.
"SUNA!" Tattsun screamed, grabbing the dark-skinned skater in a hug. "Thankyou thankyou thankyou! I almost became a mummy monster's dance toy!"
"Yeah, I wouldn't want to either, buddy." Suna patted his blue-haired head, both in comfort and to push him off. "I kept Moonbase updated about this mess. They're saying a bunch of sectors are gettin' attacked by these Mamodo things."
"We were just called about an attack in our town." Aria replied. "Whatever that 'time limit' was, I think we lucked out. But who knows if they won't come back…"
…
Before she and Chuko left in search of Momon, Veronica cast Engorgio on Lucas, growing him a few meters taller than the chubby dragon Mamodo. Though his movements were slower, he countered the dragon's fire with Ice Spells. The knight Mamodo, Ganz, enlarged his fist and hurdled a punch at Lucas, but Ness defended his big buddy with a magnified yo-yo. He shrank and reeled the yo-yo back, spun, stretched, and enlarged it into Ganz, blasting the knight several yards. The purple centipede, Mukaron, was in a brawl with a giant boxer sheep conjured by Charmy. "Look at these big, tasty monsters! We're gonna eat tonight, boys!" the dwarf proclaimed, drooling at the notion.
"Can't I just stick to the usual menu…" Lucas whimpered, his stomach already sick from enlargement.
Close to Moonbase
"This is Sector W to Moonbase." Kent called. Their ship resembled a horizontal, sand-colored castle with a big "W" attached. "Perry is unconscious and needs treatment. We also have two Mamodo prisoners. Well, I guess three."
"Ay, at this rate, we're gonna need to hire more doctors." Jasmine sighed. "You're lucky we saved room for him. We 'ad a feeling he'd try to bruise himself some more."
"If you call mild lava burns bruises, I guess. …Hey, since when have we had a V-shaped celestial body?"
"What kind of random question is that?" Frasmine asked. "…Wait, wasn't one of the Mamodo a-"
"VICTORY KICK!" The W-Castle was sent into a backward flip, the children bouncing and tumbling in their stations (with some upchucking on Jolene's part). "VAVAVA!" laughed Victoream, the V-shaped Mamodo-bot. "The 'W' must stand for weakling! You'll neVer return to your base so long as I'M here! Victory Beam!" Kent quickly twisted the ship in evasion, but a tip of the 'V' scratched the back-left engine.
"Uh, Kent? I think the ship is bleeding." Jolene pointed at the digital blueprint, the left engine highlighted red. "We need some alcohol, and a Band-Aid. But don't drink the alcohol, or you'll get dizzy and puke. …I know I just puked, but I promise I didn't-"
"Jolene, shut up for once and help us shoot lasers!" Spike demanded.
"It's hopeless!" Victoream lashed buzzsaw yo-yos at the fleeing craft, dodging and enduring the lasers shot back at him. "A 'W' is one 'V' too many! Only one 'V' is needed for absolute Victory! Now, Vanish! Be Vanquished in the Vacuum of space!"
"Moonbase, if you have backup, feel free to send it!" Kent yelled. "And… hold on." Another peculiar 'celestial body' shone beyond his windshield. "Is than an 'M'?!"
"Another letter-shaped Mamodo?!" Frasmine exclaimed. "They're on their way, Kent, just hang in… there?"
The "M" flew close enough to become discernible… as a weirdly-shaped cow. It was thin and angled just like an 'M,' the udders hanging from the middle. "A 'W' is only as weak as a cow on its back! But once its back on its udders, you're in for utter defeat!"
They only knew one kid with that comical tone of a Tom Kenny voice. "MAX?! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Jasmine screamed.
A brown-haired boy with a red shirt and blue jeans mounted himself atop the cow. "Your 'victory' is about to be flipped, V-bot! And a 'V' upside-down is just an 'A' without a bridge! How d'ya plan to cross yourself like THAT?!"
The cow fired a glob of milk at Victoream, spinning him wildly until he floated upside-down. "MWAH?! How dAre you tAint the greAt victoreAm so?! No! The wrong letters Are cApitAlized!"
"A capital idea, I'd say! And with no bridge in your 'A,' your only option is to climb the treacherous peak!"
A troupe of mini Victoreams struggled to climb the slope of their upturned original. Trouble arose when they reached the incline of the bigger and smaller V's. "Captain! We've reached a ceiling! It's too flat! There's no way around it!"
"Can it, Voltron! Any mountain can be crossed with a continental missile handy!" The captain casually drew out a giant missile.
"DON'T SET THAT OFF ON ME!" Victoream screamed. "You'll blow yourself up if you—AAAAAAAAh!" The explosion sent him spiraling vertically. He stopped sideways, with his open part facing the W-Castle. "Now I'm a greater-than sign!"
"And it looks like our 'W' is greater than his 'V'!" Kent exclaimed. "Now's our chance! FIRE!"
"VAAAAAA!" Victoream suffered under the volley of lasers, swallowed in a cloud of smoke. Sector W quickly turned and continued to Moonbase. "I won't be a less greater-than than you!" Victoream rocketed toward Max, his buzzsaws extended. "I'll skewer your cow into beef!"
The gruesome sight of the cow's segments being severed had to be blocked from the kids' eyes. "Or should I say, a CHECK MARK!" That was all that remained of the cow. "No seal fits more for my Victory!" However, the appearance of a giant paper cut his victory short, the check mark cow merging with it. "Wait, what's that?"
"A divorce form!" Max affirmed. "You've checked to give your wife all of your Wii games."
"I don't have a wife! And what the heck is a Wii?!"
"THESE GAMES STINK!" Mrs. Victoream chucked the Wii straight at his face. "All you have are platformers, where are all the sports games?!"
"That's it!" Victoream recovered and unloaded a flurry of small V's, pummeling the joker. "I don't know how you're pulling these tricks, but I won't lose to them! That's not what my letter stands for!"
"On the contrary!" Max performed a Goron Roll toward and grabbed the robot. "If you bend a 'V' in just the right way," he mustered the strength to bend Victoream's sides, "it becomes an 'L'!"
"NOOOOOO! How couLd I have missed such a weakness?! GET OFF!" He whacked Max away. "I must correct this!" He rotated upside-down. "Hah! Now I'm a 7! A Lucky number befits my status!" A star sticker latched to him. "Eh? What's this for?"
"It means that I need seven Power Stars to open this door." Max stated. "'Course, a progress barrier means nothing… to a speedrunner! Super Fist of the Kidder, Wall-Breaching Long Jump! YEYEYEYEYEYEYEYEYEYEYE…" Max performed the motion of leaping, but receding with an impossible speed. "YAHOO!"
"AAAAAAHHHH!" Facing the impact of the jump, the universe around Victoream spiraled out of control. "D'OH!" And the robot crashed in the middle of Paroa Island.
"Whoops." Max said. "I long-jumped him back into a previous chapter. Still haven't gotten the hang of that technique."
"You sure that won't have drastic effects on the timeline?" Jasmine asked.
"No worries! These chapters don't have a strict order. So, while he's busy climbing back up the castle, we gotta get things ready before Perry wakes up."
A recap for newcomers: Max uses an ability called Bo-bobo Kempo, an art where one shuts their mind off from the concept of Law and becomes able to attack opponents with comedic gags. The gags are usually illusions designed to psychologically damage foes and will usually disappear after some time.
Moonbase; a couple hours later
"Yaaaawn…" It was both refreshing to wake up in a decent bed and to be out of his ragged clothes, wearing clean hospital garb.
"Goooood mornin', Supreme Leader!" cheered a pigtailed girl in a country accent.
"Huh?" Perry recognized the few other child doctors around him. They were Moonbase staff, but the D's on their hats defined them as the Dimalanta Disciples, a group of apprentice doctors trained by Haruka herself. "W-Wait! It's already morning?!"
"Ha ha ha, just kiddin'! It's evenin', darlin'! A buncha sectors checked in around the same time you did. I think everyone's kinda waitin' to hear from ya."
"Hey, Sis, he's finally awake!" Frasmine announced as both twins entered.
"How're ya doin', Perry? Most kids don't do so hot after fightin' a volcano monster." Jasmine smiled wryly. "But we patched you up the best we could."
Perry pulled off the covers and got to his feet. "Well, now I just feel stiff… but it doesn't hurt too badly. So, how are the other sectors?"
"Come and ask them yourself."
The twins escorted Perry to the bridge. He was taken aback by the amount of operatives present and coercing, almost like it were a party. "Hey, look!" Robi pointed. "Perry's awake!"
"Perryyyyyy!" Nora danced over and hugged the smaller boy. "Erin was super worried about you, and it made me worried, too!"
"Hehe, yeah!" Erin grinned, her head bandaged. "I wouldn't last 10 seconds in a volcano, so when I heard you were in one…"
"Hey, if I can survive a volcano, so can Shortstack." Christina pushed Nora off and choked her cousin in a neck hug. "Ain't that the truth?"
"Christina! Sector V!" Perry acknowledged the top sector. "And… RALPH!" Beaming at the sight of his bandaged buddy, Perry jumped to hug his squishy, pudgy frame.
"Yowch! Yeesh, no rest for the weary!" Ralph hugged him back.
"I'm just glad to see you all walking!"
"We still need a bit of rest." Laruta replied, sitting on a cross-legged Mali's lap. Both had their own bandages. "But we didn't wanna greet you in hospital beds! We thought seeing us up and at 'em would pump you up!"
"Hahaha!" Jason laughed, pointing at his rival. "Look at you, Spike! You look like you got beat up bad!"
"HEY! You can't laugh after you've been in a hospital!" Spike snapped back.
"We bashed out quite a handful of those Mamodo as well." Veronica boasted. "A shame that portal monster made off with their bodies."
"Even that stupid bunny got away!" Chuko stomped her feet. "UUUUUUGH!"
"But we've got several of them secured in the prison hold." Kent said.
"Honestly," Mika Gilligan followed, "I had a harder time with that timebender villain! I think we got an easy batch of Modos."
"Speak for yourself." Snap snapped.
"Heh heh…" It wasn't all the sectors, but Perry was happy to see them all in bright spirits. "You all did great. I'm sorry I wasn't able to call any of you. These monsters showed up out of nowhere, and I couldn't issue any orders…"
"Geez, someone's arrogant." Mack remarked. "You may be the boss, but we know how to figure things out for ourselves."
"Yeah, you sure thought how to break those glasses, nerd." Christina retorted.
"THINK FAST!" Spike pushed Mack from behind. "Ha ha ha!" The scientist growled at the sandbender and tried to push up, but Spike jumped and kept Mack down.
"Did you learn anything else about these Mamodo?" Ichigo asked, sat while his friends occupied his lap.
"Yeah… I think we have a lead on their base." Perry recapped his meeting with Leila and what she confided.
"So, this Milordo is making them think they're still working for the Irkens." Erin repeated. "And he's using a Moon Stone to keep them awake and keep them in line. Are you sure we couldn't convince some of them to help us fight him, so we can get the stone?"
"That would be an ideal approach."
"I checked on the captured Mamodo." Laruta said. "They seem to be in some sort of comatose state that they won't wake up from. If what Leila said is true, they should become stone at some point, right?"
"I doubt some of the Mamodo will comply with us," Gabriel reasoned, "out of fear of losing their freedom. Though, if Leila's on our side, maybe she's working to convince other Mamodo to help us. She must know a few she can trust."
"Unless the whole thing is a big a hoax." Snap said.
"What do you mean?" Rudy asked.
"Leila could be trickin' Perry for all we know. Probably took him for a big softie."
"I mean, he is." Christina agreed. "I remember that one time I squished a fly and he yelled at me, haha!"
"Grrrr!" Perry flushed. "Well, I'm positive she was being honest. She was crying, and nervous, and… that wasn't the face of a liar."
"Hehehe!" Isabelle giggled. "Sounds like Perry fell in love again~"
"We ain't gonna catch you kissing her, are we?" Ralph asked.
"Can we just stay focused?! Sigh…Snap is right, though. Even if we can trust Leila, there's still a lot we don't know. I was thinking we could send a few spies in to scout the area, and the base. Joto, you seem okay. Are you up for a little fly spying?"
"Sure, but not with Chris around."
"Watch yourself, Fly Devil." Christina clapped in a loud, swatting fashion.
"I'll volunteer as well." Pochi offered. "I've got some stamina back thanks to Aria."
"Does that mean we're gonna invade them?" Lucas asked timidly.
"What'd you expect, whiny?" Spike remarked.
"I want all of you to get more rest after this. I want to attack the base tomorrow afternoon. I don't know what Milordo is planning or why he's trying to hurt us, but we can't let him divide us, anymore. We're gonna take him down together, no matter how many Mamodo we need to fight through. We already beat one of their Elite 10; though he wound up being an Elite Fraud in the end. That just makes nine officers we have to worry about."
"Make that seven, sir."
"?!" The crowd divided to reveal the leaders of Sectors IC and SG; Ruford Stork and Serena Beatles.
"Serena!" Veronica lit up seeing her purple-haired cousin. Trella expressed her delight with silent cheers.
"Hi, you two!" Serena waved. Though she and Ruford were ragged and panting from fatigue, their smiles shone with pride. "Sorry we're late…huff… my throat hurts…"
"What happened? Where's your sectors?"
"They're frostbitten and tired… but they're fine." Ruford huffed. "We…cough, we beat… two of the… Elite 10…"
A tan-skinned boy with white hair in dreads hauled in a black, horned horse, riddled with cuts, and plopped it on the floor. "You guys…" Loki slapped a hand over Serena's shoulder, "are SO lucky… my mom brought me to your concert… to bug that monochrome girl."
"And you, are so lucky, we beat that horse thing, without you." Ruford said. "And it's because you helped SG that we ain't gonna punish you."
"Amen to that, brother." A Hispanic boy in cowboy clothes, Rango Drilovsky Diaz, dragged in a white-robed Mamodo with a huge gold ring, appearing just as torn up as he was slapped on the floor.
"All in all, it was a close shave." Serena sighed. "So… what's next, Perry?"
"Heh heh…" Perry felt a wave of joy wash over his heart. His emotions had been in a maelstrom of good mood, bad mood, good news, bad news… and now the current had swerved a good direction. He wondered if it would last long, but he would enjoy this good feeling. Enjoy basking in the pool of positivity his operatives provided. "Well, first lock those Mamodo up tight in the prison hold. I'll try to wake up and talk to the other ones before I check in. Then, I want everyone to get some sleep. The spies will have to wake up early to start reconnaissance, but I'm sure we'll all be recovered by the afternoon. I recommend we stay in the Slumber Party Quarters. We're finishing this business tomorrow. Don't go if you don't feel well by then… but if you do, please don't let me go there alone."
The kids shared a laugh. "You can count on us, Captain!" Jason grinned.
"Let's see how Kagura's doin'." Karma suggested, walking to the medical wing.
"You go ahead." Aria replied, walking to Sector JP.
"What's up, Ari?" Joto greeted. "Not gonna challenge us to baseball when we're bruised up, are you?"
"I wanted to tell you about the Mamodo we fought. I think it was a Ghost-type."
…
Perry, Erin, and Laruta traveled down to the prison wing. The fallen Mamodo were still in their cells. They opened Purio and Zaboron's and checked their pulse. It was faint. Laruta sprayed some reinvigorating gas on them, but they wouldn't move. "I'm not sure what's wrong with them."
"H-Hey, guys." Erin spoke up, pointing at the opposite cell. "That one's… still breathing."
Perry and Laruta joined her: the clown, Alm was weakly breathing through his sharp teeth. "Keh…shit." Alm rasped. "Hoped you wouldn't… notice."
"It's one of the two Silica and Shimmy fought." Laruta remembered. "You were still awake, huh?"
"I refuse to pass out… I don't want… to become stone."
"You'll become stone if you pass out?" asked Perry.
"Well, of course…huff… just look at… all the others…"
"…They're… stone…?"
"What's it… matter, anyway… my time's almost up… If you kids are gonna beat Milordo-Z… will you… let us be… free…"
Alm finally passed out. The three were left standing in confusion.
Near Milordo's Lair
A monstrous giant hauled a satellite up against a machine. Wires and TV cameras were attached. "Ah, thank you, Demolt." Milordo sung, rather tiny compared to the beast. "I love having a pair of big, strong arms to help~"
"Thanks, My Lord…" His voice was dark and raspy. "I love destroying puny brats. I just wish I had better game than those small fry…"
"I like to play things cautiously. It's faster to have my strongest Mamodo wipe out the weaklings. Unfortunately, a few of the Elites failed, but I doubt those sectors are standing well after that. These KND will soon be finished… but we'll find plenty of prey for you, yet."
"Thanks, My Lord… I look forward to serving the Vilga-… I mean, the Irken Empire further… ha ha ha…"
Demolt and his master shared a raspy, menacing laugh.
…
Within the castle, Leila met with Pamoon in private. "It's too late, Leila. Most of the operatives have already been destroyed."
"No they haven't." Leila glared. "I know… you didn't try to kill them. Even Gorm didn't check if they were dead."
"Even so… many of the others will still oppose the KND. The KND won't be able to handle them. And neither of us want to return to stone. We may not want to kill… but we have to fight."
"I…" Leila bowed. "I guess you're right…"
Little did they know a little frog listened in. "Leila… conspired with the KND? I better let Zofis know…" Byonko hopped away.