Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
A Few Weeks Before Eggman's Invasion
"Now entering: Desert of Nil
City of Nil - Five miles"
"Uh… what?" Felix wondered as he looked at the sign. "We're going to a city that's nonexistent?"
"Probably lost to time." Locus said.
"Well, whatever. I don't think we're going to be seeing anything too weird." He said.
He then turned to Medusa. "Do you have to carry him like that, though?"
"What do you mean?" Medusa asked, holding a small pot with a small Psycho Piranha strapped under her chest.
"It screams "baby on board"."
"What's your problem?"
"...You just don't seem like the motherly type, that's all."
"Nonsense. I can be a mother if I wanted to."
"With those snakes? I'd pity your daughter's date." Locus said.
Medusa smirked. "If I had a daughter, they wouldn't mess with her in the first place. Same if I had a son."
"I don't see you bearing anything." Dry Bowser walked by.
"You have no imagination." Medusa mumbled as they started walking.
World 3-1: Desert of Nil
BGM: Memories of Dust (Nier: Automata)
They walked through the sandy terrain as a dry hot wind pierced the land as the sun bore down on them all. Medusa pulled out a water bottle and poured some water into the pot, much to the Psycho Piranha's happiness.
Acidtail flew above them, providing shade for them all… not that Dry Bowser needed shade as they continued to walk, going over a sand dune and sliding down, only to see tents that have long been abandoned.
"Seems to be some traveling merchants." Locus said as he peeked inside of what was left of the tents, noticing a few skeletons inside.
"Ah yes, because skeletons make great merchants." Felix snarked as they would also see notebooks scattered everywhere as Felix opened it up. "Bah!"
"What's wrong?" Locus wondered.
"Nothing but Greek gibberish!" He said, tossing it behind him as Locus picked it up.
"It's Spanish."
"Meh, to-may-to, to-mah-to."
"Says here this place was considered a paradise. A freak sandstorm came out of nowhere and dusted the land. They've been waiting it out for a long time."
"Sandstorms don't live that long. What the hell happened?"
"Changing climate, possibly."
"Sand doesn't just appear out of thin air." Felix said. "Sheesh, that Skywalker kid was right. Sand does get everywhere. How irritating…"
"Paradise…" Dry Bowser mused. "Fascinating."
"Something ring a bell in that ancient brain of yours?" Medusa asked.
"I remember hearing something about an ancient city that was a paradise back when I was in rule, but that was just a fairy tale from what I've read. Hmm… it appears it's not just a fairy tale."
"You sure about that? Feels very ancient Egyptian to me." Felix said as they walked further along, where they noticed more and more tents as they kept at it, along with a few Pokeys and Sandmaarghs that covered the landscape.
In fact, they were greeted by what appeared to be a farmer's market, harshly dusted by the sand as they saw skeletons up to their shoulder blades in sand with baskets full of rotten fruits.
Dry Bowser pulled a skeleton out, taking notice of the lavish clothing it was wearing. "Rich, full of life, lavish… definitely a paradise at one point." He looked over to see palm trees over a dried up oasis in the distance.
"If this was a paradise, I wouldn't have minded living in it." Medusa said. "The clothing looks rather chic. …Never thought I'd say that."
They walked away from the now-extinct Farmers Market where they climbed over a dune and then noticed several broken down tractors and Harvesters, wheels were either flattened or blown off.
"Can't farm with sand over everything… poor things…" Locus said.
"Eh, I'm sure they can be redone. They look like they can still work." Felix said as they approached one of them as Felix opened up the door to a tractor, which said door fell off and landed in the sand. "Eh, you don't need that one!"
He tossed the skeleton out of the tractor as he spotted the keys in the ignition. He turned the keys as they heard the engine roaring to life. "Ha! It still works!" He said… and then said tractor fell apart within seconds with the engine exploding immediately.
"...Correction. It did work." Felix sweatdropped as he hopped out, throwing the skeleton back in. "Hope you don't mind being a little more toasty." He said as he walked away with a casual whistle.
"I'm not trying out the Harvester." Locus said.
"Good idea. It'll explode the moment you tried to turn that thing on." Felix chuckled as they walked away from the farmland, then noticing a bus stop with a broken down bus, complete with several passengers locked inside with sand over the bus as well.
"You'd think they would have gotten out…" Medusa said.
"They probably couldn't. It probably messed with the technology."
"Well, yeah. Sand's coarse, rough, gets everywhere… of course technology wouldn't survive." Felix said.
"Technology in ancient times?" Medusa raised an eyebrow.
"I've heard that this place was the most technologically advanced area of its time, they had invented lots of machines that only belonged in this area." Dry Bowser said.
"Well, look at the world now…"
"Indeed." Dry Bowser nodded.
They pressed onward past the bus as they made their way past a few Pokeys that seemed interested in them, but were shooed away when Felix fired a warning shot. "Sentient cactus… that's new."
"This world is odd…" Locus said.
"Odd? Yes. Really cool? Also yes." Felix nodded as they walked through a few more market places that were also covered in sand.
"Sheesh, how many market places does this place have?" Felix wondered as Medusa dusted off a carton filled with fish bones.
"Guess this is the fish market." Medusa said as she looked up. "That would explain the cargo ships."
"I suppose we're on an abandoned pier of sorts." Dry Bowser guessed as they walked through where they saw skyscrapers towering over the land. They even saw a sign in front of them.
"Welcome to City of-"
"Apparently Nil was spray painted, It's covering whatever word it was supposed to be." Locus said.
"I'm gonna guess paradise if the clothing we saw was luxurious." Dry Bowser said.
"Welcome to City of Nil - A multicultural smorgasbord of beauty!
Population - 10,000
Enjoy your stay!"
World 3-2: City of Nil
"More like population "zero"." Felix chuckled as they entered the city, where they would quickly see that the city had seen better days.
Broken windows, sand covered vehicles, buildings of all shapes and sizes were broken apart as some lost half of their structure or some caved in. Some stood with broken walls or some stood completely unharmed except for broken glass.
Trash bins littered the area, telephone poles either laid dormant or stood tall with electrical wires dangling from the poles. Trees were barren, a few schools were buried in sand, a hospital that once proudly stood was laid to waste as a Fire Flower sign was on the ground, buried in sand.
A cosmetic department, police station, fire stations, office buildings, an amusement park, banks, restaurants, warehouses, arcades…
What was once a proud jewel in this part of the Mushroom Kingdom was now a sandy shell of its former self. There was even a castle that stood tall and proud, yet worn down from the erosion of the sands.
"Wow… what happened here?" Dry Bowser wondered.
"A beautiful city nothing more than a deserted wasteland… what a shame." Locus said.
"Lost Levels "indeed"." Felix mused. "More like lost to history!"
"I'm curious to see what it was like…" Medusa mused.
Felix walked over to a vehicle, scratching his head. "Geez, this thing lost all its wheels! …Unless…" He opened up the door and looked inside. "It's technologically adva-... wait a moment-" He rubbed some dust off of the ignition.
Ignition
Start
Drive
Fly
"Fly…? …OH MY FUCKING GOD, IT'S A FUCKING FLYING CAR." He yelled as he backed up. "These assholes were so technologically advanced, they had flying cars! What the hell happened!"
"Huh, and here I thought that was just nothing more than fiction." Medusa said.
"Clearly, they've been inspired by Back to the Future! …I don't see a Delorean in sight though."
"Regardless, we need to keep moving otherwise we'll be buried in sand." Dry Bowser said as they walked around the landscape.
"I really want to take this for a spin… aaagh, does it still work?"
"Come on." Locus grabbed him by the wrist and yanked him away.
"Wah! I'll come back for you, beautiful! I'll see you refurbished and will kick everyone's asses with you!"
"That'll be the day…" Locus chuckled.
"Locus. Use some god damn imagination for once."
As they walked, they walked through the amusement park, noticing the thrill rides worn down as water slides were missing several pieces. A Ferris Wheel looked like it was about to fall at any moment. There was even a "Tunnel of Love" in the amusement park that was already dried up.
They would also see skeletons littering the land, some of them hugging each other while some laid on the sandy streets, or sitting on worn out benches.
Either way, the City of Nil was a wasteland.
They eventually made their way to the castle in question. A drawbridge was lowered, but it also broken over a sandy moat. Black flags were either bent or warped from the passage of time as bricks were missing as part of the roof had also caved in.
Walking through, they would see a courtyard… or what was left of it as they walked through the castle. They would see the remains of a peculiar skeleton before walking away without a second thought.
However… this skeleton rose up.
"Qué haces en mi casa?" (What are you doing in my home?)
They turned to the skeleton, seeing that it was an actual skeletal Wiggler wearing a weather, but still regal black and gold robe and matching sombrero with a miniature Trinex poking out from the top.
The Wiggler stood on two legs while the rest were his hands.
"Who are you?" Dry Bowser asked.
"Soy la Oruga de la Cinco Espadas. Pero puedes illarmame El Cinco." (I am The Five Sword Caterpillar. But you may call me El Cinco.)
"English, please?" Felix asked.
"No hablo inglés, nunca lo aprendí, pero de alguna manera puedo entender muchos idiomas." (I don't speak English. I've never learned it yet somehow I can understand many languages."
"He calls himself El Cinco, also known as the Five Sword Caterpillar. And he doesn't speak English because he's never learned it." Locus translated. "Yet he can somehow understand it."
"Interesting… I've never seen a Dry Wiggler before…" Dry Bowser mused.
"Are you the king of the City of Nil?" Medusa asked.
"Correcto, señora. Soy conocido como el héroe de esta ciudad que alguna vez fue orgullosa. Solo mi pura fuerza de voluntad me ha mantenido con vida durante siglos." (Correct, madam. I am known as the hero of this once proud city. Only my sheer will power has kept me alive for centuries.)
"Fascinating!" Felix said once Locus translated. "So, what happened to this dump? It seemed as if it had a story behind it."
"Te lo diré…" (I will tell you…)
End BGM
El Cinco brought out five scimitars.
"Si puedes superarme en combate!" (If you can best me in combat!)
Dry Bowser laughed. "Very well, we'll take your challenge."
"Ten cuidado. No soy fácil de derribar!" (Be warned. I am not easy to take down!)
BGM: The Tumbling (Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep)
Immediately, a whirlwind of sand kicked up as he swung his swords, sending a blast of wind to knock them out of the castle and back into the town.
A dust devil formed in front of them when they got back up as El Cinco walked out of it. They heard a draconic roar as Acidtail was ready to rumble.
"Stand down, Acidtail! We'll handle this ourselves!" Dry Bowser declared as Acidtail nodded and backed away.
El único amigo - El Cinco Espada Oruga
"Goodness gracious!"
Dimentio appeared next to them. "I spent some time looking through the lab and you walked off without me?"
"I didn't even realize you were gone." Felix said.
Dimentio looked over at El Cinco. "A Dry Wiggler, hmm? Well, let's not keep him waiting!"
El Cinco proceeded to swing powerful sword beams where Dimentio swiftly blocked them as he jumped back and used a Ragnarok on him. El Cinco jumped to the side and lunged, slashing Dimentio as he blocked with his Keyblade, but El Cinco parried him and knocked the Keyblade out of his hand, quickly pushing Dimentio away with sandy winds.
Dry Bowser came barreling over and slashed El Cinco, but he blocked with one scimitar and parried him, quickly slashing at Dry Bowser as he blocked with his furry arms and then backhanded El Cinco as Felix and Locus shot at him, only for El Cinco to climb up a building and leapt off, firing sword beams and kicking up a dust storm to block their line of sight.
El Cinco gracefully landed and proceeded to sweep kick Felix, then blasted him away toward the Amusement Park. He turned to the others as Locus charged at him, shooting at him with his SAW as El Cinco deflected the bullets effortlessly and then slashed at Locus, but he backed up and then retaliated by punching him in the face, continuing to attack him in hand to hand as he sweep kicked El Cinco, but he jumped up and slashed Locus away.
"Trinex!" El Cinco called as the Trinex jumped off of his sombrero and proceeded to breathe fire at Dimentio, where he quickly teleported away and fired magic at the Trinex, but it went inside of its shell to protect itself, then spat out a flurry of fireballs to knock everyone back before hopping back on El Cinco's sombrero.
Medusa lunged at El Cinco, summoning a snake sword as she slashed at El Cinco. "If I didn't know any better, that Trinex was a gift from the land of Hyrule!"
"De nuevo, asume correctamente, señora!" (Again, you assume correctly, madam!)
The two of them quickly swung their blades as Medusa's hair lunged at him, but El Cinco jumped back and slashed up, severing the heads as he pushed away Medusa before dodged attacks from Dry Bowser as he threw streams of sand directly at the emperor, pushing him back as he breathed fire, only for El Cinco to duck and slithered underneath before he slashed upward to knock the emperor back.
As for Felix, he rubbed his head groaning. "Ugh… that packed a punch…" He mumbled.
Anomaly detected
"Hmm?" Felix wondered as he looked around, his visor having picked something up. He went over to the source as he went into a broken down carnival ride as his visor gained static. "Gah!"
Anomaly detected
"Yeah yeah, I saw you the first time!" He said as he stepped into a merry go round, noticing something glowing out of the small sand dune. He knelt down and brushed it off, seeing none other than a red Chaos Emerald in front of him.
"What the hell is this?" He wondered.
Warning! Suit overload!
"Huh?"
His suit immediately overcharged.
"Waaaah! Whoa whoa whoa WHOA. I feel like a new man! I feel like I could take on a dinosaur! I feel… hoo wee, I feel fantastic!"
Suit adapting to new levels
Hype Level: MAX
"You're damn RIGHT I'm hyped up!" He declared as he felt a surge of adrenaline go through him as electricity crackled in his other hand.
He got in a stance, letting the Chaos Emerald surge through him. "YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
He immediately took off running, finding himself boosting toward El Cinco who slashed Dimentio down, then El Cinco turned his head… only to see Felix bodyslamming into him, throwing a massive uppercut that knocked him in the air, then he jumped up and punched him down.
He immediately aimed his weapon as it was also overcharged as it fired electrical bullets, hitting El Cinco as he let out pained grunts as Felix shot down like a rocket, flipping over and electrically kicking El Cinco into the ground, creating a small crater as Felix landed on the ground.
"Hoo! I feel like I downed several Red Bulls at once!" He declared.
Suit powering down.
Hype Level: Dying
Suit upgrade permanent.
End BGM
"What was that all about?" Locus wondered.
"He unwittingly harnessed the power of a Chaos Emerald." Medusa said. "It gave him new power. Though I'm curious as to how one was all the way over here."
"Quite simple. I found them all sitting in fox boy's lab, decided to separate them all just for the hell of it. I gave one to Eggboy after his announcement that outted Cinder." Dimentio explained. "Never expected to see one all the way over here."
"Hahahahaha! Oh man, this glowing rock is gonna be SWEET!"
"What glowing rock?" Locus asked as Felix noticed that he had drained all the power.
"...Welp. It's a useless rock now." He tossed it behind him. "Worthless hunk of junk."
Electricity crackled within Felix's hand. "But it's not totally worthless. I gained the power of electricity. Ha. Good enough for me!"
"Me superaste en combate. Bien hecho." (You have bested in me combat. Well done.)
They saw El Cinco emerging from the crater with barely a scratch on him.
"How are you-"
"Soy un esqueleto no puedo morir." (I am a skeleton. I cannot die.)
They all sweatdropped. "I mean… it makes sense." Dimentio said, using Curaga on himself.
"Ahora bien, les contaré una historia." (Now then, I will tell you a story.)
BGM: Holli Jolli Village (Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time)
"Hace mucho tiempo, en la ciudad de Jannah-" (Long ago, in the City of Jannah-)
"Jannah? I was banking on Paradise." Felix mumbled.
"If only you knew…" Locus chuckled.
"La ciudad de Jannah era una civilización pacífica, llena de maravillas, belleza y, sobre todo, un fenómeno multicultural lleno de pasión. Humanos, Toads, Goombas, Koopas, Yoshis, Dino Rhinos y muchos más llamaron a este hogar. Un refugio del duro mundo más allá de nuestras fronteras."
(The City of Jannah was a peaceful civilization, filled with wonder, beauty, and above all else, a multicultural phenomenon filled with passion. Humans, Toads, Goombas, Koopas, Yoshis, Dino Rhinos, and many more called this home. A shelter from the harsh world beyond our borders.)
"A paradise…" Medusa mused.
"Yo era su líder, un alma amable y gentil con el poder de las arenas. Aquellos que desafiaron el desierto encontraron esta ciudad llena de libertad y oportunidades. Gente de todas partes fue recibida con los brazos abiertos. Había un campo de fuerza que bloqueaba los fuertes vientos del desierto y fue reemplazado por vientos suaves y fríos. Éramos la única ciudad conocida por sus grandes avances tecnológicos."
(I was its leader, a kind and gentle soul with the power of the sands. Those who braved the desert found this city filled with freedom and opportunity. Folks from all over were welcomed with open arms. There was a force field that blocked the desert's harsh winds, and was replaced by gentle, cool winds. We were the only city known for its major technological advancements.)
"Dicho esto, yo era un guerrero feroz que protegería a la ciudad del daño. Cualquiera que se atreviera se encontraría con mis espadas, pero fui misericordioso y los dejé vivir."
(That said, I was a fierce warrior that would protect the city from harm. Anyone who dared would be met by my swords, yet I was merciful and let them live.)
"So what happened?" Dry Bowser asked.
"Guerra." (War.)
"War, you say? What happened?" Dimentio wondered.
"Fue una guerra entre el Reino Champiñón y el Reino Koopa. Nos mantuvimos neutrales en esta guerra. Sin embargo, para ganar más poder, uno de los Generales Koopa lanzó una invasión en Jannah. Por lo general, los ataques ocurren en el frente... pero atacaron por la espalda, lo cual era inaudito. Luché contra esta invasión... solo porque unos pocos Koopas vinieron y mataron a mi esposa e hijo."
(It was a war between the Mushroom Kingdom and the Koopa Kingdom. We stayed neutral from this war. However, in order to gain more power, one of the Koopa Generals launched an invasion in Jannah. Usually attacks happen in the front... but they attacked from behind, which was unheard of. I had fought this invasion... only for a few Koopas came and killed my wife and child.)
"Me desesperé. Me dejaron pudrirme en mi desesperación. En mi desesperación, enfurecí... y desaté una poderosa explosión de arena que acabó con el Ejército Koopa. Sin embargo... Estaba increíblemente furioso por no haber sabido el alcance de mi poder. Cuando fui al pueblo... todos fueron enterrados vivos en mi arena. La tecnología también fue eliminada. Yo... me desesperé aún más. Sin darme cuenta, maté a todas las personas inocentes... y fue entonces cuando la barrera falló y una enorme tormenta de arena asoló la ciudad, dejándome solo. Mi corazón se rompió... ya su vez, mi corazón roto acabó conmigo. Sin embargo, mi fuerza de voluntad fue lo que me trajo de vuelta. La árida tormenta de arena devoró mi cadáver hasta que me convertí en un esqueleto... Me desesperé aún más porque estaba condenado a vivir así para siempre".
"I despaired. They left me to rot in my despair. In my despair, I raged... and I unleashed a powerful sand explosion that wiped out the Koopa Army. However... I was incredibly enraged that I had not known the extent of my power. When I went to town... everyone was buried alive in my sand. The technology was wiped out as well. I... I despaired even more. I unwittingly killed every innocent person... and that's when the barrier failed and a massive sandstorm plagued the city, leaving me by myself. My heart broke... and in turn, my broken heart ended me. However, my willpower was what brought me back. The arid sandstorm ate away at my corpse until I was a skeleton... I despaired harder as I was doomed to live like this forever."
So that's what happened to a good chunk of my army…
Realization struck Dry Bowser.
Wait a moment!
Dry Bowser felt all eyes, minus El Cinco's, turn to him as he started to sweat nervously. He looked away while innocently whistling.
"How tragic…" Dimentio said.
You're one to talk! Dry Bowser thought with a stink eye.
"How about you side with us for a bit? We can help you get revenge." Medusa said. "Heard a rumor that the man responsible for the war is out and about as we speak."
Dry Bowser sweated even harder. Whose side are you on?!
"No soy uno para la venganza." (I am not one for revenge.)
Dry Bowser relaxed.
"Aunque si alguna vez veo a este hombre, lo aplastaré." (Although if I ever see this man, I will crush him.)
Dry Bowser stiffened once more with a somewhat nervous look.
"Would you like to come with us?" Locus asked.
"Sigue adelante. me pondré al día Todavía no estoy listo para dejar este lugar." (You go on ahead. I will catch up. I'm not ready to leave this place quite yet.)
"Take all the time you need! We'll be on our way, nice talking to you!" Dry Bowser exclaimed, suddenly pushing everyone away from El Cinco, leaving the Dry Wiggler alone.
End BGM
"Nervous, are we?" Medusa teased.
"The last thing I need is a vengeful Wiggler breathing down my neck."
"Ahahahahaha, my my, I never seen you so nervous before." Dimentio said.
"Relax. He'll never find out… and if he does, we'll dispose of him." Medusa said.
"I hope you're right." Dry Bowser mumbled as they stumbled across another lab as they walked through it out of curiosity.
"Hey, look at that… more notes." Dimentio said as Locus picked the notes up to read it.
"I had just witnessed history. The City of Jannah was probably an incredible era to sit through… but not even that can be immune to war, I'm afraid. Too bad the technology here is toast, otherwise I'd be using it to my advantage. Oh well, I'm sure it's not too bad. Poor El Cinco though… I had never felt bad for a Wiggler before, but he sounds like he's been through the wringer. What amazes me is that my assistant had this creature from within one of these crystalized stars. I didn't know there was something in there, but apparently, there is! Thanks to this… thing… my assistant was able to translate for me.
She's incredible, along with whatever is inside of this crystallized star. I need to study more of this… maybe harness its power and make the lousy scientific community realize that female scientists are just as great as the guys…
Crystallized stars… sounds too much of a mouthful. I wonder if I should call them Diamond Stars instead… - V"
"Hold up, there's a second entry right next to you." Felix said, picking up another one.
"V insisted I write down notes along with her, so I thought I'd give it a go. I don't know what to say though, but V's the greatest. I stumbled upon her in the Great Pipe Maze and we both hit it off. She's way too passionate to listen to me at times, however. I keep telling her they're Crystal Stars, not Crystalized Stars. Eh, I'll get through to her someday.
That said, SQ seems to be familiar with El Cinco once he was alive. I need to inquire more about this one of these days. Regardless, hearing an old friend seemed to have making that Wiggler skeleton… happy. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.
I just wish V wouldn't try to break SQ out with an ice pick though… - M"
"SQ? …Sasquatch? Snow Queen?" Dimentio wondered.
"Who knows, but we have two entries to read now." Dry Bowser said. "Alright, let's go. I'm still curious what the Lost Levels holds."
"We're just gonna leave El Sadnessino behind?" Felix asked, which earned him a punch in the shoulder from Locus. "Ow! What?"
""El Sadnessino" isn't a thing."
"Oh, well, excuse me for not taking Spanish classes!"
"Yes, we are. He'll come when he's ready." Dry Bowser said as they walked out of the lab. "I just hope he doesn't find out that it's me."
"Should we rename you to "Scaredy Bones"?" Medusa teased.
"I wouldn't be opposed to that." Dimentio said.
"Oi! That's enough from the peanut gallery!"
Ibuki: Well, at least we know what we're up against!
Deadpool: Yup!
The plot thickens...