Alarms blared through Dark Smog's factory as Bolt Senior was altered to a call, answering the line.
"What's happening?" Bolt Senior asked.
"Breach in Sector 4, sir! And Hex-Bolt has gone completely AWOL!" a worker said. "Cricket of the Lost Thieves has been confirmed on site, and he's engaged with Hex-Bolt! He's trying to keep him from some sort of coffin made of solid gold!"
"A coffin? It must be important. Have A.Y.A. and Punke go help Hex. I'll find my son and be there as soon as I can."
"Sir, Punke was the one who informed us of the situation. He said that Hex was trying to destroy the coffin."
"Hm? Why is that?" Senior questioned before what he heard next caused him to adopt an expression of shock. "It's holding who?!"
Back in Sector 4…
Hex-Bolt was going crazy to try and take down Cricket as he bounced all over the area, avoiding any traps the Sub-Leader had set.
"Ah…so this is what a mental breakdown looks like. You really are in quite a bit of trouble now, aren't you?" Cricket said.
"I was so close… so close to finally covering up the truth! But you just had to show up today, didn't you?!" Hex asked as he conjured some tentacles made of sludge to try and bind the thief.
"The truth huh? Allow me to take a guess at what your plan was. You are a being who loves nothing more than to destroy nature, one of the reasons you posed as a human and joined this branch. Then, without anyone knowing, you attacked Dark Forest's branch leader and hid him away so the group could slowly fall apart. The rules state they can't replace their branch leaders unless they are dead. But missing, that's a whole other story." Cricket said. "It would interrupt the line of succession. Then when things were done and settled and Dark Forest tore itself apart, you would step in to fulfill your lifelong ambition…the destruction of the entire Nature Universe. Tell me…did I get that right?" Cricket asked.
"...You know what, you got it right." Hex-Bolt said, suddenly calm. "But there's one thing I believed you overlooked."
"You don't even need to say it. You're gaseous, I know. My kicks won't even make a dent. So all I can really do is dodge." Cricket said.
"That…and I'm fireproof!" Hex-Bolt said as he slammed his hands on the ground, causing a torrent of flames to spout out from the pipes and furnace, drowning the entire room in flames. After a few moments, the flames subsided, Cricket lying on the ground, his body emitting smoke as the robotic shell walked over and held it the downed thief. "Oh yeah, bugs don't do well against fire, don't they? Still, since you're still alive I guess you're pretty resilient. I can fix that."
Hex-Bolt raised his other hand, preparing to unleash a flame blast to finish Cricket off. "Any last words, bug boy?"
"Yeah…did you get all that…junior?" Cricket called out.
Hex-Bolt was confused before he looked out to see Skull and Queen standing with Bolt Junior and Marek.
"So…it's true…it was you. You kidnapped Redwood!" Bolt Junior said.
Hex-Bolt just stood there laughing. "Yeah…I did. But that fact doesn't really matter anymore. He's small potatoes compared to what I'm going to do to the rest of Dark Forest."
"So, you guys know who this bastard really is?" Skull asked.
"Only the most vile being to ever cause harm to the Nature Universe. Hexxus, a living cloud of pollution and destruction." Marek said.
"I see….so that's how it is. Guess we don't got much of a choice." Skull said. "We're gonna have to take him out."
"Leave it to us." Queen said.
"Dad's already been informed of the situation, Hexxus! He's on his way here now with the entire force of Dark Smog backing him. You're finished." Bolt Junior said.
(Cue: Blooming Villain - Persona 5)
"As if I'd let you catch me when my victory is close at hand." Hexxus said as he powered on a few machines, including the incinerator. "I'll see Dark Forest burned to the ground, and if I have to bring Dark Smog down with it, then so be it!"
Black Sheep of the Bolt Family - Hex-Bolt
"He's activated the Incinerator! Redwoods in peril!" Marek said.
Hexxus laughed. "Now what will you do? You can't deactivate the incinerator without letting me go!"
"Then we're just gonna have to smash it to bits!" Skull said as he started bashing on the incinerator with his lead pipe.
"Stubborn boy! I hope you choke! In fact…!" Hexxus said as he blasted a puff of toxic fumes at him.
"Oh crap!" Skull called out as the fumes were coming closer.
"Zorro!" a voice called out as a familiar sword-wielding Persona went and blew the fumes away.
Skull smirked. "Took you guys long enough!" he said as everyone saw Mona, Fox and Panther standing there. "Wait, just you three?"
"We had to split up. No worries." Panther said. "Right now, Emma's heading for the main control room to shut down the boiler and traps."
"You keep smashing stuff, Skull! We'll keep this walking hazard busy!" Mona said as the three of them grouped up with Queen and Skull.
"Careful guys. Fire doesn't seem to work on him." Oracle noted to them.
"Hmm…then if not fire…perhaps ice. Come, Goemon!" Fox said summoning his Persona as a blizzard blew, extinguishing a large amount of the flames.
"Nice work, Fox!" Queen said.
"Now what, though?" Panther said.
"If he's really Hexxus, then he'll be vulnerable in his spirit form. You have to destroy his armor! It must function like a containment suit!" Bolt Junior said.
"Hmm…perhaps his armor is vulnerable to more natural elements…" Marek proposed. "Fox and Mona, was it? I think your skills would be the most helpful here."
"Of course." Fox said.
"Leave it to us." Mona said.
"Goemon/Zorro!" both called out to their Persona's as they bombarded Hexxus with ice and wind attacks as the armor started to crack.
"My armor…!" Hexxus cried, noticing the damage. "You're trying to release my true form, are you? You don't want to do that…"
"We'll just have to weather the fallout!" Queen said as she rushed in and started punching away at the armor rapidly as it was falling to pieces bit by bit until it finally crumbled.
"Oh yeah! That's the Fist of the Phantom Thieves, for ya!" Skull said.
"Don't celebrate just yet, Skull. Look!" Queen said.
The armor began to ooze with oil and poison before a geyser of it shot out from the armor, shaping into the form of a massive, skeletal creature made of oil and poisons, with robe-like forms of sludge, powerfully-shaped arms and clawed hands, and flames burning in his skeleton-like torso.
"Told ya you shouldn't have done that!" Hexxus laughed evilly.
Spirit of Destruction - Hexxus
Hexxus raised his hands, causing toxic fumes to form around the Phantom Thieves.
Toxic Love: Decreases power, increases cost of skills by 50%. Inflicts 100 damage every minute. (Unremovable)
"There, I'd say that about evens things." Hexxus remarked. "Now then, let's end this little tour of yours with a bang!"
"He's right. His body is coated in oil. He'll catch fire just by getting into the incinerator." Queen said.
"Crap, if he jumps in there and blows himself up, he's gonna take us and this entire factory with him!" Skull said.
"Now where's the fun in that? I'd much rather watch you all choke on my secondhand smoke! Then again…I should probably speed the process up!"
Sludge Wave: Deals medium Nuclear damage, reduces speed.
Hexxus conjured up a wave of oily sludge that crashed down onto the thieves.
"We're really in a tight spot here. He's acting like he's got full reign. Though, guess he kinda does." Mona said.
"Not yet he doesn't!" Bolt Junior said as he noticed the holes of boiling water Punke and Volcanion had left behind, then looked up at massive buckets up above. "Hmm…if fighting ahead isn't going to work, then we'll just have to outthink him. Maerk, keep them alive!" he said as he ran to the nearby control booth.
"Yes! Or course." Marek nodded as he pulled out his Staff of Asclepius. "Be healed and cleansed." he chanted as a glowing light surrounded the thieves.
Light of Asclepius: Heals damage, removes debuffs.
"Whoa, thanks man!" Skull said before noticing Bolt Junior working. "Hey, what's the kid doing?"
"He has a plan. Buy him some time!" Maerk said.
"Keep in mind, physical attacks aren't going to hurt him. He's gaseous." Oracle said.
"Right. Blow him apart, Captain Kid!" Skull said as he fired lighting using his Persona.
The lightning hit Hexxus dead on, but did minimal damage. "Ha! Sorry, kiddo, but your lightning's too industrial! Care for a drink?" he asked before he hurled globs of acid at the thieves.
Acid Rain: Deals light Nuclear damage
"So that's it." Fox realized as the thieves managed to dodge the attack. "Only natural elements are able to damage him. That's why the attacks made by Mona and myself worked so well." the artist said. "In that case…we simply need to bring him more at one with nature!" he said. "Goemon!" he called out summoning yet another blizzard against Hexxus.
"Zorro!" Mona called out as the a lot of the toxic fumes were being blown out of the room.
Hexxus cried out as both Goemon's Ice and Zorro's wind damaged him more than Captain Kid's lightning. "You little brats! I'm the result of all you people taking nature for granted! You don't honestly think you can beat me, right?"
"You're correct Hexxus, you cannot be beaten. It is why you were sealed away, or so I've heard." Fox remarked.
"But that doesn't mean we can't knock you around a bit!" Skull added.
"Oh yeah?! Well, let's see how you like it when I turn up the heat!" Hexxus claimed as he gathered flames from the furnace and inserted them into his ribcage, before inhaling.
Deforestation Breath: Deals major Fire damage to all enemies.
"Now Burn, you little-!" Hexxus prepared to unleash his attack, before he was interrupted by a torrent of boiling water being dumped onto him. "Aaugh! What the-?!"
"Just in time, Junior." Marek called to Bolt Junior, who at that moment, was the one who caused the water to dump on Hexxus, drenching him in clean, pristine boiling water.
"Hey, Hexxus! It's bath time!" Junior called, dumping the other buckets of water right onto Hexxus, the flow of water washing his body away towards the pit Punke and Volcanion set up earlier.
"Ah! Boiling water? This is from those stupid traps Punke set up!" Hexxus realized. "That stupid Trainer!"
"Heh…maybe those traps weren't meant for thieves at all!" Junior smirked before Hexxus's body was washed completely into the hole. "The final move is yours, Phantom Thieves!"
"Allow me." Fox said, summoning Goemon once more. "You may have a horrid form, Hexxus… but I think I can turn you into something presentable yet. Goemon, strike! Bufudyne!"
Goemon's powerful ice attack buffeted the oily sludge in the hole, and thanks to being mixed in with the water, his whole body was being frozen over.
"Hah! You think that I'll just-!" Hexxus said before realizing his situation as he was being frozen solid. "Wait… what's this?! NO! NOOOOOOO!" he realized before his whole body was frozen over, leaving him as an overgrown ice sculpture.
"Not my finest work…but I believe I'll remember this one for a long time." Fox remarked.
(end song)
At that moment, the doors to the sector opened, revealing Bolt Senior himself as his troops, and Dark Smog and Forest members barreled into the room to surround the thieves.
"Back away from my son, you thieving troublemakers!" Bolt Senior commanded.
"Wait, Dad, no, it's alright!" Bolt Junior said. "They were helping us! It's Hex that's the bad guy!"
"Hex?" Senior asked, before he noticed Hexxus. "Is that him?"
"It is, sir. In truth, he is known as Hexxus, a spirit of pollution and destruction." Marek said. "He's…He's been holding Grand Arbiter Redwood captive all this time!"
"Did you just say…Grand Arbiter Redwood?" a snow owl asked, a look of shock. "He's been here all along?"
"He must be inside that gold coffin. Hex was trying to toss it into the incinerator when we came in." Marek said.
The Dark Forest members rushed over to the coffin. Pushing a button on the side, steam was released from the coffin as the lid slid right off.
"Grand Arbiter… Is that…really you?" Aslana asked.
Once the steam cleared, inside the coffin revealed the unconscious form of Grand Arbiter Redwood himself, Branch Leader of Dark Forest. He was a middle aged man with thick stubble, strong arms and legs, and brownish-golden hair like autumn leaves. Groaning, the man slowly opened his green eyes as he sat up.
"By Color God Green, it is him!" Bolt Senior realized happily. "Redwood, can you hear me? Are you alright?"
"Ugh…what an unpleasant nap." Redwood groaned as he stretched his arms, before he noticed Aslana. "Oh, hello Aslana, how are-?"
The Branch Leader was interrupted as his second-in-command pulled him into a tight hug.
"You have no idea how hard it has been for us since you were gone." Aslana said with tears in her eyes. "I tried to pull everyone back up as best I could in your stead. We're all just so glad you are back."
"Ah…thank you." Redwood replied in confusion as he hugged Aslana back regardless. "I feel like I missed something important…"
"We'll explain later." Bolt Junior smiled.
"Right…we still need to get at those…" Bolt Senior said before seeing the thieves as well as Cricket gone. "Hey, where'd they go?"
"It looks like they bolted during our reunion." a male crocodile said before turning to Hexxus. "So… What are we gonna do with him? Any ideas, Aslana?"
"As long as he's frozen, he's no danger. We'll have to put him someplace very cold so he doesn't come back to destroy us all." Aslana said.
"Why not put him in my den, then? I can use a statue to decorate the place anyway." the snow owl said.
"An excellent idea, Gloria," Marek said. "We shall leave him in your care then."
"Oh, care is a very strong word for what he put us through." Gloria said with a laugh. "An alternate would have been feeding him to Drahmin, but… I'd imagine he would not taste very good. But to keep him intact until we decide a proper punishment."
All of Dark Forest laughed it off as both Dark Forest and Dark Smog were together once more.
"In any case…Punke!" Bolt Senior said. "I'm afraid you'll have to take over Hex's responsibilities until we can find a new fourth sub-leader. That's not a problem, is it?"
"Of course it isn't, boss. After all, I'm the one who set up those traps that stopped him in the first place." Punke asked.
"Wait, you were planning to double-cross him the whole time?" a monitor lizard asked.
"...maybe." Punke said. "Honestly, kinda wanted to see how things would play out first."
"Well, in any case it all worked out. Gloria, I believe a promotion may be in the works in the foreseeable future." Aslana said.
"You are certain, Aslana? But once we get back, you won't be acting Branch Leader anymore. Would you even have that authority?" Gloria asked.
"I'll allow it." Redwood said. "I'll need to be briefed on what happened, but from what I'm hearing, it seems Aslana has done a fine job in my absence. You may promote Gloria to 4th Sub Leader, Aslana… if you still wish to."
"It would be my honor, Redwood." Aslana said.
"Thank you. I promise I shall not let you down." Gloria said with a bow.
As the two branches celebrated these pleasant developments, Punke looked on with a victorious grin.
"(Hexxus, you crazy bastard you…thanks for helping me look good.)" Punke thought to himself. "(The boss'll be happy that I can bring more to the table…)"
Inside of the camper…
"Well that was a bust. How was I supposed to know someone was inside that thing?" Jack said.
"To be fair, I did say it could happen." Skull said.
"Just glad they were too busy with their reunion to notice us taking off." Mona said.
"Looks like Cricket did the same. Makes sense for the Lost Thieves to want in on the stealing." Joker said.
"So what happens now?" Crow asked.
"Simple…we go on towards our next destination. Dark Future, headquartered in the next site, Future City." Jack said. "They've been developing a whole lot of futuristic inventions straight from the Inventor himself."
"Sounds like fun. I can tell this might be a big score." Skull said.
"For sure! I can't wait to see the tech Dark Future's been working on… and I can't wait even more for us to steal it." Oracle said.
"Yeah…I mean…not like anyone would bother attacking them." Jack said.
Meanwhile, in a distant ship heading for Future City, a small cloaked figure sat in the darkest depths as they waited for their arrival.