Chapter/Tale 6: Musical Rhapsody: Act 4
Author's Note Intro:
SANS IN SMASH! YEAH! Oh, hey guys! Sorry about that, but I just couldn't help myself- who wouldn't after seeing Sans in Smash?! Makes me think he may be an actual fighter later on and the costume and the remixed soundtrack of Megalovania was only phase one. Other than that, we're getting more fighters, so everyone has another chance of getting in! So enough of that, how did you like the last chapter so far? By now, that code there must be tricky to you, right? Well, it won't be too long before you find out the purpose of the algorithm, but right now we have to see the others through the end of this. Anyway, enjoy this chapter!
Kailaine's POV: Gambling Groove- It Somehow Fits
Level Four Act One: Retro Rock Rhythm (Rock Club- Scott Pilgrim VS the World: The Game)
A bustling city stood from a landscape view, at least it seemed from our standing point. I could see faint lights shining from the roots of the buildings below and it became somewhat visible as the virtual sun begins to set to allow nighttime to rise soon. It must be approaching night in the real world too. Of course, a rock club never starts out in the broad daylight anyways. Neon lights poked out from the city like a needle ball in a bubble, and all the building lights were on like it was a casino city. Soon, I heard music.
After getting off the train and watched it take its leave for us to the end of the area, we now stood right in the middle of the stage- the city itself. Cyborgs, assuming they're other players, were bouncing to the beat as if they were programmed to do so, many other robotic species were driving cars or were attending casinos and such. Trekking through the busy streets, I found it hard to walk even a few feet forward without nearly running into something since the scenery's appeal kept me locked in a gaze.
The vibrations were really nerving, you could feel the beat in your heart if you were near loud speakers or if the volume was cranked up to max. My body could take it even if it treated the beat like a disease contracted and still be immune until it leaves. And that fact alone drives me to the edge mentally because we had no idea where exactly it was coming from, or in short terms- we're lost. Maybe intentionally blocked off, to be exact. We've encountered roadblocks through the city, forcing us to take constant detours without a specific possession or requirement to pass through. So we're stuck in the middle of this busy city with no idea on how to reach the end.
"How long have we've been going in circles?" Aege huffed, completely exhausted from walking around. "Flying up is a ridiculous waste of time, and every section and area has been blocked off or it denied us access on the spot!"
"We won't get anywhere at this rate, the orb piece has to be somewhere here," Karly speculated. "Maybe those areas won't open because the orb piece is in range lying somewhere in the city; that could be the condition we have to clear."
"Guys, I found something," announced Kazela, pointing her gaze at a building that was like a casino. "Casinos offer prizes and money, right? It must be in there if we're talking about a set condition. Might as well check it out while we have the chance." She's not wrong there, it would make sense if there was a casino in a rock city somehow, and perhaps it's like a city in the real world that's full of music, shows and casinos at once. Kazela took off before us, and we had to follow her inside.
Starlight Casino (Road Less Taken- Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth)
Coin slots. Cards. Pool Tables. Darts. Roulette Wheels. You name it- it was all in there. High and low, everything was rolling. In a hotel or on a cruise, there's always a floor dedicated to gambling. And smoking; robots don't smoke, right? Either way, a place like this is a double-edge sword- you win some, you lose some. But this is a place you don't want to actually be in, because gambling is addictive, driven by greed, a quality of the devil. It may sound nice, but only a few in a million of people actually hit the jackpot. You'd have to win by pure luck to even get something worthwhile than nothing to go home but an empty wallet. Also, almost everyone here is underage. Don't let that greed take over- that's no good.
Regardless, this has to be the only place where the orb piece lies in wait. Walking through the area that was infested with poor souls that were soulless, it reeked of overnight gamblers and that sweet yet overdose scent of peppermint alcohol filled our noses. Most people were playing craps or poker, betting their chips for one big win. Not one paid any attention to their outside surroundings as they played.
All I could think about was just getting out of this place with the last orb piece in hand. The area itself wasn't making it any easier for us in a maze of slot machines and whatever else there is to cause further delay. Even so, it could be anywhere for all we know. I could get the feeling everyone else had the same vibe as well.
"What now? We've been walking for a painful couple of minutes and it's even worse than before!" Aege complained. "How are we supposed to find that stupid fragment at the way we're pacing at the moment? All I've seen is the same thing everywhere we go! Plus, if we don't hurry up…"
"We know that, and we're going as fast as we can," Sirica sighed. "It won't be long to find it or do whatever it takes to get it. But without any idea of where it is, that's going to make this search almost impossible by then."
"Found it," announced Kazela. Directing her finger, it was targeted at a yellow fragment encased in a display case. Visibly, anyone could see it was auctioned as a prize in a bid. Seemingly, all around the machines were playing to get the prizes that were also alongside the orb piece because of their worth. "Oh, but there's no way it'll be that easy to get. In order for us to get it, we must meet the prize's value set by playing the casino games available to us. That's what it says here." She was reading off a digital board that was jotted down with the rules.
"That doesn't seem too bad, we can win this in no time," Karly shrugged, then looked like she would regret saying that. "Right?"
"Of course," answered Kazela. "And for the affordable price of- 1000000 Points for the Orb Piece."
"ARE YOU KIDDING US?!" We sweatdropped and fell on the floor in response to a ridiculous situation.
"Affordable, my ass!" Aege shouted. "We don't have that kind of money on us! I'm dead broke after Dinah made me spend all of my cash on her personal needs! And now they expect us to rack up that insane amount of money when anybody's chances of hitting a jackpot are extremely slim?! We'll be here all day!" I think all of us can agree with that.
"Not actual money, they meant game points we need to acquire of that amount. Of course we can use the machines and play other games, but without some kind of luck, we have no chance if it goes downhill."
"Isn't there a way we can reach that quota without having to waste our time gambling in one shot?" I asked. "Maybe the gambling part is inevitable, but at least a game that we can win at?"
"Hmm… ooh, how about this one? This one seems to be new," Kazela spotted a game on the board and read it out. "Rhythm Revolution: Strike the Beat. A special game that will have you on the dance floor and show off your stuff. There are 3 rounds of play, Stamp on the Ground, Karaoke Hero, and Dance to your Doom. Your earnings will be based on your performance in each round; aim for an S-Rank by performing flawlessly and receive 250,000 points in total! Reach the last round, win, and you claim all the prizes there is to offer! We must warn you though- this game isn't a cakewalk, for there are major risks as the downside. You must stake something in return as one of them- choose wisely, because if you fail, you lose your bid and then some more. Other than that, have fun!"
"Basically Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero in a nutshell. Oh man, those were my drugs back then," Saito summarized. "All we have to do is dance or sing and we win! Not to mention the last round is worth 500,000 points, right directly on a million! Is there anything else we need to know about?"
"Nope," Kazela shook her head. "That's everything. But I'm still curious about the last round, what could that possibly mean? I don't like the sound of that, but we should be fine. That means we have to decide who will compete in every round; actually, only one person is allowed for those three. Should something happen to the person, someone will take their place."
"Then, I guess it's time for me to step up to the dance floor and-!" Kirby declared, only for others responses to be-
"No, Kirby." Karly, Meta Knight, Adeline and Sirica answered.
"Then, what about the final round?"
"NO." They interjected again.
"Ooh, I could do Karaoke Hero! You have yet to witness the sheer awesomeness of my-!"
"HELL NO!" They jumped him with a loud shout, seemingly of worry and precautionary measure as well when the quad scolded the pink hero. I wonder what that was all about.
"Aw, come on! Why not?!" Kirby whined, looking down and turning to me, dumping his head in between my chest like a boy crying to his mother. "Kaila, make them stop the discrimination! They're just jealous I've got better moves than them, and they had the gall to call me out! Oh, the irony! You understand, don't you, princess?!" He kept whining through the sound delay as he droned on.
I didn't know what to do. "Um, everyone? That might've been a bit cruel," I hesitated to say. "Honestly, I don't see the problem with Kirby-!" And that was when a memory stood in my tracks, reminding me of the time before I was kidnapped; well, the night before it happened when I was talking with Karly.
"Oh… on second thought, never mind that. I can see why you were against it," I tapped out my previous sentence.
"Why are you so cold to Kirby, you four? Ah, come here, Kirby," Niva intervened, swiping him from my breasts and snuggled him against her own. It wasn't even a minute, she could wait her turn. Hey, don't get the wrong idea, okay?
"Well, someone has to do it if it ain't gonna be Kirby," Kazela reminded us. "I don't suppose you lot could do better than him, could you? Don't worry about me- I have a beautiful voice that'll put everyone who hears it in uncontrollable tears!" Wait, really?
"I suppose that's true, but for Kirby… wait, maybe things could be different this time," I thought. "Since he's human, it could affect his ability to sing if he was terrible as they claim he is. His vocals might improve dramatically if he attempted to do so. Either way, we don't know for sure unless he tries."
"Everyone, let's give Kirby a chance here," I announced to them. "Things are different now ever since you became human, and it will affect the function of your body internally. He should be able to sing decently now, added with the fact that he has incredible lung capacity as well. You won't know unless you give him a chance. But, if you're still hesitant about that, then I'll take his place instead."
The four against Kirby huddled up to discuss their thoughts, and after constant whispering, they have reached a conclusion. "Alright, we'll give him a shot for the time being if you claim so. But just for the insurance of our eardrums, he'll be on guitar for now."
"Glad that's settled. Now we need to get ourselves onstage and win us some moola!" Saito said. "Come on, we don't have time idle any longer!"
Agreed. Any longer than that and it would've been for naught even hanging around here. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure it would be by force if the possibility arises. It may turn out bloody. Still, this is our only chance of even moving on to our next task at hand.
Without further delay, I soon found myself onstage in the blink of an eye, in an awkward setting. First of all, it appeared to be a live version of an arcade dance game, the floor below me had four square panels which had the up, down, left and rights arrows on each one. Up and Down were blue, Left and Right were pink, and the square that I'm standing on was plain silver. A screen was projecting the options for the round as in what track I want to play. And if that wasn't strange enough, it was the fact that females dressed in bunny outfits were hosting this event. Whatever the case, I agreed to do this and I can't back down now. One of the bunny girls, before I was standing in position of the playing step, came to demonstrate the rules of the game.
"Alright, here's how you play round one!" She explained energetically. The screen showed a demo run of the game as she moved herself to the beat, her sexy heels rhythmically tapping the tiles as shown. "Up there will show the buttons you need to press! Dance to the beat by tapping your foot on the blue and pink tiles below you to rack up points! Doing stylish moves while you strike the beat will increase your score and your gauge to reach Fever Mode and an S-Rank! You have a gauge meter that'll fill up when you do so; if that depletes, it's game over and you lose whatever it was you staked on! This is round one, so you shouldn't have any problems! Those are the basics, now off you go!" She hopped off as the demo run ended, returning to the main menu. "The first song has been chosen for you, by the way!"
Stepping back on, I could see the others sitting near the stage and they waved at me, and I waved back. The screen turned black before reappearing as the main event, displaying a model dancer avatar while horizontal input keys connected to the tiles were pinned to the high left. Soon, the beat was engaging. Okay, I can do this, I thought.
Round One: Rave Rhythm Revolution! Ready… GO!
(Stamp on the Ground- Italobrothers)
Both blue and pink tiles light up to the beat. Arrows started to fly upwards to the markings, almost making me panic. The first arrow to appear was up, so waiting for it to reach the mark directly at once, I stepped on the forward tile once it matched up. It said "Perfect" upon contact, giving me my first initial point. The next arrow was down, and I tapped the down tile as I stretched my foot backwards to reach it. I got another "Perfect", filling up the gauge. Left and Right arrows came at the same time, and I spread my legs to touch both tiles at once. Points for that too. And then Up and Down arrows came at the same time; scored another "Perfect". It repeated in that pattern the second time.
I could hear the vocals as well starting up. It was repeating the exact name of this round: Stamp on the Ground. More arrows came my way as the music kicks in with the lyrics. Forcing my body to work faster, my legs maneuvered themselves to match the pace of the game. Like a workout routine, I was really feeling it, but I found it to be fun. I've never played a rhythm game before, and to think I was nailing any of this on my first try… I was surprised by myself in a way as I found myself dancing to the music without any worries. Tapping my feet musically on the tiles and scoring every "Perfect" rating without trouble makes me think that I was a natural one-shot at this.
At one point, the gauge reached its max capacity, and Fever Mode initiated. Points were doubled for every tile you match, and combos were chained and linked, adding onto the current score. Moves performed during that triples the amount of points you get for each action done. I danced through it like it was nothing and I was enjoying myself too; strange it is that I don't remember the last time I did dance before. For the first time, I felt free from all of my problems. Of course, it was temporary as the song had to come to an end for me to end it with a bang.
Nearly out of gasping breath physically but not mentally, striking a final pose, the other members cheered for me, drawing a crowd to add in that compliment. The bunny girls then came up to the stage as the results pop up on the screen. "What a surprise! Player Kailaine has cleared Round One of our special game! And her score is… Incredible! She scores a perfect run without any errors! That brings her to an S-Rank! She defeats our first round in a flash!" Everyone cheered at that moment, and I kind felt a bit embarrassed then, but I'm glad I won.
Round One Complete! (Stage Results- Sonic VS Darkness: True Nightmare Revived)
You scored 250,000 points in total of getting an S-Rank!
You got a new ability, Chakram! 7/12 abilities collected!
Gambled Item Maintained! Chance/Luck increases by 20%!
"Alright! Kailaine moves on to the second round!" One of the bunny girls announced. "Here, being able to sing the lyrics onboard while being able to play as well with be your do or die moment! If she wishes, she can have a partner assist her as she plays this round! You must be able to sing the song without any mistakes to get an S-Rank this time and match the colors on the instrument at the same time! The same goes for Player Two as well! Together, you'll rack up another 250,000 points if performed flawlessly! Fail, and you lose it all! The difficulty's set higher, making it fairly beatable depending on how the player does on it! Since Kailaine accepted this round with a partner, it'll be a duo this time!"
"That's me!" Kirby shouted, eagerly hopping onto the stage without any further hesitation, and that worried the others that were against him doing this. He gave me a thumbs up and a carefree smile. I slightly smile back, unsure if we were really gonna be okay. One of the bunny girls handed Kirby an electric guitar and he was told to stand next to me while another girl handed me a microphone.
"Good luck! No pressure!" I can feel the pressure pressing down on me already.
The song had been selected for us, and Kirby doesn't look nervous in any way. It does seem he was sorta down that he was stuck on guitar for the time being. I'm not really that confident in my singing ability, but I have sung before and many were really fond of it, hopefully not being only a little kid was the reason for that. Regardless, paired up with Kirby once again cliché, I have to do this because there's no way I'm gambling with other games. The round was about to begin as they confirmed a Player 2- Kirby. Once the screen appeared, I prepared myself; well, here we go again.
Round Two: Karaoke Hero! Ready… GO! (1/6 out of the Gravity English Cover- Project Diva: Hatsune Miku)
Lyrics flashed onto the screen the first thing; I quickly acted, but sung calmly. My voice matched the pitch of the first few notes, capturing the tone of some kind of space theme. With retro keys and a feeling of sadness in the mix, the beat kicks to a guitar intro solo when the colors descended this time. They were tapped on in a perfect manner by Kirby, falling rapidly like raindrops splashing on someone's head. I was surprised to see Kirby played them all since it was fast; he played it again, and soon the lyrics appeared again as well as more notes.
I let my voice play along to the melody, syncing with the tone. I wasn't sure how I sounded myself as I sang the lyrics on beat, at least I think that. The lyrics that I was singing caught my attention the most, and the guitar added to the tone of the song itself. As I can tell, it was about someone who wanted to help the person whom they loved that had a lot of bitterness inside them. They wanted to take them to the moon because the gravity is cut by 1/6, hoping to reduce the weight on their heart. Space was unattainable, so they take them to the top of the highest tower with that hope of doing so. For some reason, that struck me hard emotionally as we went to the chorus, singing our hearts out. That got us "Perfect" marks.
Spectators were marveled by our duo. I could hear Kazela shouting our names probably the most. Kirby was really killing it with the solo at the end of the chorus; I didn't know he could play a guitar at all. Wouldn't that be kinda hard to do with stubby little arms, though? He certainly is a mystery, everyone's mystery; his naturalness added with his ability to make others happy certainly reduces any weight on anyone's heart, especially mine. Now that I think about it as the song continued and we continued to get "Perfect" marks, I'm sure everyone can relate to this as they all had some kind of bitterness in their hearts, and someone like Kirby managed to reduce that sadness, even if it's just a little bit. Somehow, I felt that way even right now.
Kirby's solo came, rocking those notes, his fingers strumming the strings and pressing the buttons. The meter reached its max, going into Fever Mode in the process. Kirby grinned at me, and I smiled back. Once the chorus came, I gave it all I had with Kirby. The crowd roared and cheered as we reached the end of the song, with Kirby finishing his end solo. We were both out of breath, and the results appeared on the screen. "That's game! Let's see how they did this time! And would you look at that! Kailaine and Kirby clears this round with another S-Rank!" Everyone cheers again, and I felt another relief flying off my back.
Round Two Complete! (Stage Results- Sonic VS Darkness: True Nightmare Revived)
You scored 250,000 points in total of getting an S-Rank!
You got the Suplex ability! 8/12 abilities collected!
Gambled Item Kept! Chance/Luck increases by 30%!
"Incredible! They defeated Round Two just like that!" The bunny girls announced. "And that means they get to challenge the Final Round: Dance to your Doom! This will be their toughest bout yet as the last round is the hardest of them all! So now we'd like to introduce you all to the special guest for today! Here comes the boss of the Final Round!"
"Boss?" We both looked at each other.
Flames appeared and popped in the middle of the stage. A cyborg appeared from the pyro smoke; a big black puffy afro, black shades, silver disco clothes and white shoes. That person struck a pose after spinning around, capturing the screams of all the fangirls; that person looked somewhat feminine.
"What the-?" We say.
"FIRE! IT IS I, THE MARVELOUS DANGER AT YOUR DISPOSAL! GET READY FOR SOME OF THE WONDERFUL DISCO!" The person introduced himself. We sweatdropped, not taking him seriously. "Ah, so these are the ones who cleared our special game, honeys? Very impressive! It takes a good spirit to be able to groove through a challenge such as this!"
"Er, thanks… I guess?" I replied awkwardly.
"What's the gimmick of this round now? I don't get the "Doom" part of the name anyway," asked Kirby.
"Simple, really- It's a Dance Battle against yours truly! Of course, you can't have doom without dancing for your life at stake! That was the agreement, was it not? Sorry, but if you want those prizes especially my precious gold fragment, you can think twice, darlings!" Disco taunted.
"And you're gonna stop us?" I asked.
"Yeah," Disco replied in a deep tone.
"How?"
"Dancing, of course!" He struck poses again to the beat this time of the music called Boogie Wonderland. We looked at each other for a moment while he posed some more with a few cameos and Jojo References that could be televised without our consent. Soon, the beat of the music was pretty catchy; Disco points at us at the same time as the beat kick, definitely feeling the groove of it.
"Hey, this might be easy after all- ack!" Kirby groaned when he got cut off with a thrown rock to the gut and a major nosebleed to the face, causing him to fall down in pain. "S-spoke t-too soon…! What was that?! You don't throw stuff at other people if we're supposed to be dancing!"
"What's the big idea?!" I shouted.
Disco laughed. "Nuh-uh! This is a dance battle and that means you must take me down if you wanna win with your own move busters! Fighting allowed; all you have to do is land one hit on me! Do that, and you win the special game! You may have a chance if you can time your hits along with the music for bonus points and vice versa! Now, grab your boyfriend off the ground and let's get this party started! Catch me if you can!" The crowd went crazy. Blushing, but not moved I remained there and sweatdropped.
"With pleasure!" Kirby bounced off the ground, wiping the blood from his nose. "Don't doubt us, for you have not seen our moves like any other! Kaila, he seems confident enough to allow us a single hit, and that's because he can back that claim up if he constantly dodges all the time. Don't let your guard down; we're going defense to find out his skills and dance and dodge all the way until we find an opening. First, we have to make him attack before we go on defense." Kirby whispered the second half to me.
"I see… alright, I got it!" I grunted in a resolve.
"Are both players ready?" The bunny girls asked and we nodded. "You heard Disco- land one hit on him and you win! If he beats you, everything you earned will be all for naught and then some more! Hope your performance helps you here and now because the audience will bet on which one of you will win, so I hope you didn't stake anything valuable if you were to lose! But beating Disco will not be a cakewalk! Good luck!"
Disco smirked. "Alright, shortcakes! Time to tango with Starlight's very own Casino Dancer, Neon Disco!"
Dancing to the Disco Danger- 31st Boss Battle
Kirby and Kailaine VS Neon Disco (Death by Glamour- Undertale)
Boss Description: Lights, Camera, Action! Time to boogie and dance all night! That's the motto of Starlight's famous dancer, Neon Disco! He may seem like a harmless person, but the reality of it is that he invented Dance Battles; Disco can beat his opponents without taking a single hit! For him to allow you one hit proves he's tougher than nails. Find an opening in his moves and show him how you do it now!
Disco gets ready to dance! Time to kill the dance floor!
The crowd looks riled up and excited as I glanced upon the onlookers. Kazela was jumping up and down for us, while the rest were waving. Soon, the music kicked the drum and bass, and Disco was posing some more to the beat; grabbing our attention while tapping his foot, he surprisingly rushed forward, slightly revealing a demonic robotic eye.
"Here he comes!" Kirby shouted.
As Disco did, he spun like a tornado, sniping blows without warning. We evaded, and Kirby struck first; he attempted a spinning kick, and Disco only dodged it and the incoming fire that came with it. I dashed from behind for a pincer attack. The dancer swiftly dodged by ceasing the tornado move and doing the limbo while we ended up crashing into each other. Sensed groans were heard from the crowd. We quickly recovered.
The dancer skated around without wearing any skates at a speed too fast for eyes in time with the beat. Suddenly, he appeared from midair, diving straight at us directly. Dodging again, Disco then at the same time we did evade performed a headspin, spinning his legs to sweep us up in one scoop and to throw us aside on the stage. Recovering again, the crowd was getting antsy, maybe because of the fact that we just got dominated in the first few minutes.
"Kirby, the crowd isn't too happy," I told him. "We have to do something quick! But with the way things are going right now, it's heading real south. How are we supposed to beat him just by dancing and fighting alone? Can we really beat him at this rate?"
Kirby shrugged. "Don't worry, we'll pull something out of our backsides soon enough. But I think we should shoot him down instead! There's no rules against the forms of fighting, right? Just to test out a theory…" He morphed his hand into a blaster and tried to blast holes into Disco. Just as expected, he swiftly evades the bullets while fabulously posing at the moment, capturing the audience.
"… I thought so."
"What's the matter, you lovebirds? Am I just too much for you to handle?!" Disco sneered and teased. "Of course! I haven't even broke a sweat yet and I'm not even using my full glory! So I'll just give you a bit of motivation then! Girls! Break out the Disco Ball! Set it to MAX!"
"Yes sir!" At once, the ceiling shifted, lowering a giant disco ball that glittered and spun around to reflect vivid colors on the dance floor and everywhere. I didn't feel anywhere near motivated, but the lights were displayed a bit weirdly in my opinion. It looked like it was about to crash on us any time… wait a minute, what's with it shaking?! That's when I realized it.
"Kirby, dodge!" Instantly, the ball exploded, shooting large fragments honing straight at us.
Me and Kirby were forced to dodge and evade the bullet hell attacks, but in the way we did so was like a couples dance on a live dance competition, trying to keep each other from falling. Even though the attack ceased for the moment, our last dodge ended with a striking pose that captured the audience's hearts; they went crazy for that skit of a dance. Ratings went up, and Disco was pleased. He went in this time along with the falling disco balls.
More shards flew our way while Disco charged in at the two of us. I rolled to avoid a fall of shards, Kirby got thrown back but jumped in time before the flying shards swooped in to get him. Disco commanded them with the poses he made, and everybody made supportive cheer sounds in the meantime as we dodged and somehow in a way danced through the danger. We could feel a bit of the jeers from the crowd as in we haven't been able to get Disco.
"The crowd doesn't look happy… what do we do now-?!" I got axe-kicked with Kirby in the second we were distracted by Disco. Another disco ball was sent to fire again.
"Ugh, not again!" I groaned, evading the attacks barely and with close calls. "We'll never reach him at this rate if he's owning us right now! And the crowd that bet on us are dwindling fast! If only he wasn't overconfident to even think about what would happen to his afro for example…! I mean, you could punch a few holes in that wig, shave it bald and everybody would make fun of him!"
Kirby's eyes lit up. "Inspiration! That's it, Kaila! You know what they say, if you can't beat them, join them and then trigger them instead! I've got an idea! Kaila, stall him while we dance!" No one says that; still, his point stands. We decided to play along and focus on riling up the crowds instead, even though I had no idea what kind of crazy shenanigans of a plan that boy came up with this time.
"Alright, let's go!" I ordered my body to perform, having it adjust to the music and the next thing I knew, I was already getting my groove on. Kirby got a headstart before me as he was moonwalking like he was the king of that; now he was doing the robot- no, seriously. He was doing the robot when he already is one- well, technically we're cyborgs, but who really cares about that? The audience loved it, and our chances of winning skyrockets!
"Ooh yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about, darlings! You gotta be one with the beat and let it do the talking for ya!" Disco complimented as he decisively joins in with our dance. Maybe we were going to fight back, but the music took over for us, and that's how we found ourselves jamming all together in sync even though no one attacked each other then. It was actually fun, honestly. I've never danced like this before in my life, way before I sunk into despair after 8 years ago. To be relieved of that, even if it's just temporary, what a feeling that would be.
Too bad that means I have to fight for it!
"Now!"
Once Disco was distracted, I unleash Crystal Blade and lunged forward at Disco, who was almost caught off guard, but he still evaded in the end. Just as planned. He surprisingly countered with mics in his hand as swords, so it became a fight between blades and mics in that sense, a sword/mic dance fight, I suppose. Who would've thought a dancer knows how to swordfight with microphones? At one point, the audience was nail-biting between the struggles of who would win; they did bet their money on the winning side after all. Unfortunately, Disco manages to knock out my blade instantly, pushing me back and somehow cornered.
"Ooh, so close honey! That was a close shave, but I must admit, you were the only ones who were able to make it up to this point! Sadly, I must bid you adieu! Any last words before you get shaved by my fabulous glamour?" Disco laughed again. "Like my afro for instance?"
I looked at him in a deceptive look of confusion and surprise because that whole line he said was completely ironic. "Yeah… did you mean all of that in a literal sense? Because I think I speak for everybody when I say that… your afro didn't make the cut and got cut- well, whatever's left of it."
The audience agreed and gasped along with the bunny girls. Our party, it was evident that someone had a case of the giggles as soon as they howled in laughter- that was Aege, by the way. Like a disease, the laughter infected everyone in the crowd. Disco scratched his head to figure this out, until he realized he had no hair to scratch on- again, whatever's left of it.
"WHAT?! MY HAIR! MY FABULOUS AFRO BUDDY! KEVIN, NOOOO!" Disco cried out, making it impossible for everyone to stop laughing- it only intensified. "OH, THE IRONY! I AIN'T READY FOR THIS! QUEEN ESPERA SAID ONE DAY THAT I'D LOSE HIM IN A WAY I WOULD'VE NEVER PREDICTED! KEVIN, FORGIVE ME!" He did his moves in a sad manner to emphasize the… loss of his best buddy… that's even more embarrassing, yet it's so hilarious not to laugh about!
"You… are you okay there, Disco?" I asked. He was too distracted to even pay attention; not even the bunny girls did anything when I awkwardly glanced at them, they shrugged. I sweatdropped. "Well, if there's one thing I have to say, I guess it would be-!"
"YOU'LL NEVER SEE IT COMING!" Suddenly, Kirby appeared, sliding right into Disco hip/butt first while singing those words with a microphone and a pair of headphones that seemed like it was made to fit him. Before anyone knew what was happening then, the only thing they knew was that a victor has been decided; all bets were settled once and for all the moment Disco crashed into the ground because he took one hit. By Kirby. Wearing a pair of headphones and a mic. Singing.
Only that the ironic twist is that his voice actually nailed the song perfectly. "YOU'LL SEE THAT MY MIND IS TOO FAST FOR EYES!"
"What the-?!" Everyone gasped.
"YOU'RE DONE IN BY THE TIME IT HITS YOU-!"
"I've never heard such a lovely voice in my entire life like that before!" I marveled.
"IT'S YOUR LAST SURPRISE- Eh?" Kirby stopped shaking his butt off dancing when dead silence filled the air and noticed Disco on the ground. "He's… down. Did I do that? And what happened to his afro buddy? So… he's down. And since that was in one hit… does that count? I mean, if he's willing to allow it... once he wakes up, that is."
The bunny girls glance at one another, indecisive about what to do but eventually reaching a consensus. "Well, you did have to hit him once, which was a clean one as well. And there's no way he'd back out of a rule he made himself. Of course he may act that way, but he's a man of his word and likes a fun and fair dance or fight. So… you know what? Ladies and gentlemen, we have made our decision! The winner of our special game is… none other than the famous Princess of Crystal Star, Kailaine and the Hero of Popstar, Kirby!"
The audience erupted with relief and high pitched cheers. Kirby moonwalked as he did a victory dance, and I just ended up joining him in the 8 second finale dance. "And that is how we roll!" Kirby smiled.
Disco has been discontinued! You've beaten Rhythm Revolution! Victory!
You gained 2100 experience points! You are now Level 34!
Health has extended to 1150! All stats rose by 130!
Perk Discovered: Breakdancer! Received 40 Code Crystals each!
You got the Mike ability again! Make your foes' ears bleed in one shot with your "beautiful" singing! 9/12 abilities collected!
Next Level in 2150 experience points.
"Congratulations on beating our special game, you two! That brings your total up to the required quote of 1000000 points! As promised, you receive any prize in that range of points, including this rare item as well! Here you go!" One of them hopped onto the stage with the Orb Piece in hand and hands it to us.
You got the last piece of the Thunder Orb! The Chamber awaits you! You also obtained new gear and alternative costumes!
Kaila got the Bunny Girl costume! (Exp 2X/Atk/Def/MP/Luck/Agl/OD/Attractiveness Boost!)
"Oh, wow! Thank you very much!" I blushed. "It was really fun! You should do this more often! And by the way, are you sure he'll be fine with us taking the win?" I pointed at the unconscious Disco.
"He'll be fine, we know him well enough that he'll allow this one to slide," They replied. "But nonetheless, we hope you had fun and we wish to see you again! Thanks for playing!" With that, the game came to an end with the crowd cheering on for the both of us. I also got alternative outfits as a bonus for winning, like a bunny girl costume such as the ones from earlier before. I guess that was a complimentary gift to the girls who played this game; how sweet of them!
Kirby, still with that rock star look, was actually helping Disco recover after managing to redo his afro and left him in the care of his bunny assistants. "Sorry about that. Hopefully you understand our reason of getting that orb piece soon enough. But I do wish to go against him for fun sometime, so tell him that once he wakes up, and thanks for the help, girls."
"You're welcome! Come again soon, you cute couple!" They said together with a bit of a tease. "Be careful out there!" I blushed again as Kirby went over to me and smiled to leave the casino and meet up with the others.
Act One Complete!
Everyone was busy complimenting us about our little performance back there as we walked through the city. Surely that was enough for a way out to open, I assumed. And that seemed to be the case. There was an area from before that was now accessible; perhaps getting the orb piece opened the path for us. Nonetheless, we venture forward into that area with the fact that it led to the outskirts of the city through a pitch black tunnel. Something felt off, like the space and time of this digital reality glitched, and it grew into a plane of turbulence until all of us entered inside; I saw a door opening, revealing the light ahead. It took a while, but as soon as we reach the exit, I knew we were led to an entirely different area.
Level Four Act Two: Chamber of the Retro Classics- Main Hub
It was a massive hall filled with columns and a gold carpet rolling out, and there was some sign of habitableness as well. However, the vision I see warps sometimes, and I may just be imagining things, but I don't know why. Yet, I could sense a familiar aura just beyond the halls. Kazela seems to have honed in on the energy too.
"Woah, what is this place?" Sirica asked. "It feels like a resting place of some kind of deity that was sealed here for some time."
"This aura… it smells just like those Gem Spirits that we had to search for!" Kazela answered. "No doubt about it… that must mean that pathway led us to the Jewel Chamber of the Gem Soul Spirits!"
"Really? So they were here the entire time…? What a relief," I replied.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure we told you this yesterday, Kaila," Saito corrected. "We did, didn't we?"
The others gave that some thought and shook their heads no. "Really? Oops, my bad. Wait, actually, I'm pretty sure you never knew about what happen to them afterwards, right? If that's right, then no one would blame you if you didn't know their disappearance took place right after you left. I guess even they had a backup plan at the moment."
"Maybe so…" I sighed.
We kept walking over through the hall until we reach a strange pedestal standing a decent distance away from a huge double door with a hole in the middle. The pedestal had multiple stands that seemed to be made for the pieces we've collected. As if it was on cue, the fragments floated over to their respective spots, hovering in place until all four were in position, then suddenly drawn in together to reform itself into one complete orb again. It flashed the thunder symbol as it glowed once and emitting a laser light that sniped us all through the chest, granting us some new skills.
Kirby learns Genocide Bloodlust! (Increases Party Attack for Five Turns)
Karly learns Divine Defender! (Increases Party Defense for Five Turns)
Kailaine learns Bejeweled Chainsaw! Kazelaine learns Hypersonic Howl!
Meta learns Void Force! Sirica learns Megilodyne!
Adeline learns Cursed Canvas! Jodie learn Blade Rusher!
Aege learns The World Stops! Saito learns Astral Lance!
Dylan learns One-Strike Snatcher! Dash learns Kill Claim!
Niva is granted with Re: Zero! (A spell only used by Clockwork Stars- revives all party members after complete wipeout with all stats restored, whether on standby or on the front line. Takes effect even if not activated; using this spell on the first turn is highly recommended if you have Niva in the front line.)
Tactic usable for all- Steal! Guess what? You'll get that item for free from others. Are you proud of yourself? Of course you are! Remember, never go back to the shop you stole from, or you'll pay the ultimate price! Not that you'll care anyway. Besides that, you can also steal items or anything else that may be protecting an enemy in battle and then some, if you catch my drift.
Ability Scrolls Retrieved!
The next thing I knew, the orb flew into the keyhole itself, therefore unlocking the tumblers in the door and making it fly open. "Well, beyond that door is the spirit that came from your home, you two," Karly spoke suddenly. "Maybe you should probably take a moment or something."
"What are you talking about? We'll be fine; I'm not that emotional and we shouldn't be while we're racing to save our friends who could be in critical danger as we speak," I quickly interjected. "Like I said, we'll be fine, so quit worrying and let's see the spirit now."
"You sure about that, Kaila?" Kazela teased. I glared at her, making her shrink back but not completely enough to faze her. "I was just kidding, geez. You think I'd forget how tough you are, even after gaining only half my memories?"
"See? She's amnesiac and she gets it," added Niva. "I'm sure that she even knows how much you like-!"
"We're going now!" I cut her off, walking towards the open door after stepping through a Star Point.
Would you like to save your progress? Yes.
Now Saving… Save Complete! Showing Results…
Current Results:
World 6, Level 6-4: Retro Chamber
Lives x 60
9/12 abilities collected so far.
Current Level: Level 34. Next Level in 2150 experience points.
Party: Kirby, Karly, Kailaine, Kazelaine, Meta, Sirica, Adeline, Jodie, Dylan, Dash, Aege, Saito, and Niva (13 marked as 12)
Current Location: Jewel Chamber- Entrance to the Spirit Arena
Now Exiting…
After that, the others were behind as I boldly entered into the body of darkness first, with the door closing from the backside once the last person went inside.
Jewel Chamber- Spirit Arena: The Gem Soul of Retro
"Ngh… what's with the pitch black darkness here? I can't see a darn thing here, and it feels like I could run into anything at the moment- ooh, I think I've found something! It does feel like- aw, never mind, I think it might be someone's back or something," Kazela said, ceasing her hand even though I can't see it.
"That was my belly," Niva meowed. "And it felt really nice, did you have to stop?"
"Excuse me, but I can't even see anything but- hey look! Shiny object ahead!" Kazela got excited.
A dim light drew our attention and in the middle of it, encased in light, was a golden jewel that was shaped like a crescent moon pendant, one that I recognized immediately because it came from our home planet. To see it there made me run over to it, like finding a memory of your past and reclaiming it for good. I approached it closer and reached out to claim the pendant.
A surprise it was that it vanished the moment I was that close to touching it. I jump back in surprise, darting around for the perp. "What the-?! It vanished! Kirby didn't mention that to us- wait a minute, where is he? Where are the others?!"
"Hey, hey, no need to be excited there. It's really a bother, if you ask me. So it's about time you all finally arrived here, you really know how to keep a spirit waiting." A voice echoed.
"You were the one who made us get them outside! Of course it'll take us some time!" Adeline argued. "And besides, what were you thinking when you decided to do that?"
"Geez, can you not get so angry over that? You do realize we didn't have a choice in how we did things around here? It was basically against our will in that sense and, er, it's a security measure that I honestly think is somewhat helpful but pointless at the same time and… it's a pain to even explain any of this when someone should've told you this before…" The voice complained. "Forget this, can we just get this over with?"
"Get over what?" Niva asked.
"Wow. You really are a clueless lot. Fine, I'll just make this easier to understand. You need that jewel and my help to break the barrier, so if you want it that badly, then get your butts ready for another round!" He snapped his fingers, illuminating the area and ridding it of the darkness completely with a ball of light. Around us, an arena appeared that displayed a scenery of a rift as if we were in another dimension. The only ones with me were Adeline, Niva and Kazela. No sign of anyone else.
"W-what is this? A space from that other Dimension?" Adeline gasped.
"Well yes, but technically no. You're in a recently made subdivision of that plane of the same matter as that of the main Dimension Rift. They don't form entirely at first unless a portal is open through different kinds of worlds, whether it's another planet or even fictional worlds or any kind of accident that may occur to open the rift. However, with those occurrences, they attract luminescent creatures that resides in those spaces, monsters like this one." That same ball of light reformed itself, radiating electric energy all the while until it transforms into a sphere-like creature that resembles a bird; the skin of it was red-yellow-green-blue while baring many teeth and long fangs, two silver eyes and a pair of wings, long spikes on its head and 15 feathers on the underside. A digital halo was visible over its head, glitching with small algorithms of codes momentarily along with the rest of its body. It flapped its wings to present itself to us.
"A dimensional spectral bird?" Kazela guessed. "That's the monster said to live in the rifts? It doesn't look that intimidating."
"No, Kazela! That's a Doomer, a race of luminescent creatures and by far the only kind that is known to live in the rift spaces of those dimensions," Niva answered. "And they're extremely driven by energy to that of any kind, often tearing holes in reality of any realm. It'd make sense if one were to appear in this game, especially since that's a Grand Doomer in front of us."
"Looks like you know your stuff, huh? That saves me the trouble of an explanation. Well then, let's just get this over with and eradicate the evil and save Citrine. Don't make this boring while you're fighting against the Gem Soul of Thunder, Terabyte or Teravolt if you prefer." That voice sounded like someone who really couldn't give two craps about anything as it roared within the doomer.
"Fight him and we win, huh? I'm more focused on where exactly did they get these monster bodies from, or maybe I was hoping somebody would eventually acknowledge this a bit earlier. Nothing to do but fight our way out of this one again," I shrugged.
"Finally, some excitement for once. You four girls better not be boring or I'm gonna be very disappointed!" The spirit shouted.
Duel with the Spirits- 32nd Boss Battle
Kaila, Kazela, Adeline and Niva VS Retro-Terabyte (Vs Sphere Doomers- Kirby's Return to Dreamland)
Boss Description: In the events of Return to Dreamland, the current four of the Star Allies had to collect 120 Energy Spheres to repair the Lor Starcutter. Two can be found in pockets of another dimension by Super Abilities and are held captive by creatures known as Sphere Doomers, who are drawn to sources of energy like the Energy Spheres. This one is huge- it's a Grand Doomer, the leader of the Doomer clan. It emerges from one huge rift, and as long as this virtual world exists linked with the space of their home dimension, Doomers will certainly rise to the occasion when the opportunity arrives at the time when it's most convenient for them.
Retro-Terabyte challenges you to a duel! Fight on!
"Let's see what you got! Digeath Doomer roar!" Terabyte roared within the giant doomer. I assume that's short for Digital Death if that's the case; cool wordplay, I suppose. Anyway, Digeath Doomer flips backwards in place and flew in for a dive attack. We dodged it at once.
"So what's the deal with this creature?" I asked, dodging another dive from the doomer.
"It originated from Another Dimension, back when Kirby and the others went to find Energy Spheres to rebuild the Lor Starcutter," Niva answered. "Those Doomers feast on energy made by the Energy Spheres itself which had created tears in reality. I suppose as long as a rift is made, they'll always appear. He shouldn't be too hard to beat." She bounced straight at the Doomer and dunked it with her rod, followed by a series of combo attacks that led to a meteor smash to the ground.
Digeath Doomer warped instantly and reappeared again, firing electric spheres that exploded on the ground at a fast rate, forcing us to go airborne and it warped at the same time. Reappearing again, it spun itself and hopped from place to place while dropping sphere bombs above us, where they triggered a flash bang and exploded when one fell in the same range as us.
Adeline quickly acted, using her new move which sucks in any attack inside a quickly-made canvas frame as a counter defense measure. Landing on the ground, Digeath Doomer warps again and plunges into the ground, forming a dark rift to appear, moving across the floor back and forth rapidly until it came to a sudden stop and flies right out of the rift, missing completely and punished by Kazela instantly by the time it emerged with a hard kick, knocking it off balance.
It shook the hit off and warped away again. As it reappeared again, it fired spheres again but it fired in a spiral pattern and did it in all axis. I jumped out of the way and kicked one of the projectiles back at the Doomer. While it was momentarily stunned, I shot Platinum Laser at it while Adeline shot some Crayon Daggers along with the lasers.
Kazela quickly jumped and backflip kicked Digeath straight to Niva who returned the serve like it was volleyball. Digeath vanished in time, and reappearing again, it flapped its wings as hard as it could, dropping feather knives from its wings at a firing rate of a sniper, a barrage of them as well. We barely went through without getting shot at least once.
The same applied to the Doomer the instant I threw a formed Crystal Blade straight at it, lodged in its forehead. It flipped backwards in place, did it again into the background and dove straight to ram us before it flew back to the arena.
"Kehehe, that was certainly interesting," Terabyte snickered within the Doomer. "Let's have some real fun! Just keep it coming, because I was just only using 1% of my power! Show me what you really got!"
Phase Two Activated! (Grand Doomer Ultra RMX- Super Kirby Clash)
"Time for a very shocking revelation!" Terabyte cackled. Digeath Doomer surrounded itself with electricity, spun itself horizontally as it pulls itself backwards, then it zooms across the arena, leaving a trail of electric waste to spread on the floor. Multiple rifts appeared in the background while the attack occurred, and Digeath somehow appeared out of them, charging to make us dodge again.
I ducked that one time to stab it at the right moment when it was that close to me. It vanished again, now furious and spread its wings as it appeared in the background, summoning electric sphere orbs and multiple of them around it like a spinning saw trick, then it gaped its mouth open and rapid-fired a barrage of spheres that were flung across the floor, forcing us to jump.
Once airborne, Digeath fired the spheres surrounding it earlier at us by surprise, taking us down one by one, pinned to the ground. We recovered quickly after that, just in time to evade the incoming thunderbolt flashes that nearly skewered us.
Backdashing away, Niva, with Adeline's help, got a boost straight to launch in the air, flying through the hail of thunderbolts to pounce at Digeath Doomer, thus tackling it against the wall while it flew out of control in all sorts of directions. She swerved the Doomer to crash into the ground and bounced away from it.
That's when it got into defense and covered itself behind its wings after springing quickly from the ground. But it vanished instantly with electricity as its trail. Next thing we knew, all we saw was nothing but streaks of lighting ricocheting around the arena like a bullet. It was impossible to know when it'll strike at this rate as it exchanged blows to each one of us unexpectedly.
"Alright, I had enough! Everyone, cover your ears!" Kazela's eyes turn bloodshot devil red, taking a stance that doesn't seem to be an inhaling stance.
All hell broke loose once she exhaled a bloodcurdling scream, loud enough to make someone's ears bleed. She was using her new move, and luckily, the sonic waves can cancel any kind of charge taking effect; it also put Digeath Doomer into a screeching halt as it paralyzed it on the spot and to crash into the ground by force.
"Egh, what the-?!" Terabyte groaned.
"Now's our chance! Let's get him!" Kazela shouted. And of course, by now, imagine a group of four girls mercilessly ganging up on a creature from another dimension in an All-Out Attack. Eventually, we all dealt the finishing strike, and without a guessing effort, it was through.
The Digeath Doomer was shot into the air, covered in a blanket of explosions everywhere and rapidly until it stopped. The halo glitched and shattered to digital shards, then the feathers and the wings, and finally the main body was impaled with light from inside, right to the point where it popped like a balloon with a bomb in it into stars.
"GUWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" The spirit yelled, defeated.
"Yay, we did it!" We cheered together.
Retro-Terabyte has been defeated! Victory!
You gained 2150 experience points! You are now Level 35!
Health has extended to 1200! All stats rose by 135!
Perk Discovered: Fatal Blow! Received 50 Code Crystals each!
New Magic Attack: Godspeed Kilovolt!
You got back the Laser ability! You also got a new ability, Chainsaw! Slaughter your foes in half like it was Friday the 13th! 11/12 abilities collected!
Next Level in 2200 experience points.
With that, the arena battleground reverted into a chamber-like state as it was supposed to be, signaling no signs of any other tricks ahead. A ball of light then flashed, morphing into the form of a puffball like Kirby. This one had a visible robotic eye on the left of his yellow body, hair that sometimes or often glitches green and yellow, mainly light yellow, his right hand was a robotic stubby arm while his yellow left foot was also robotic; the rest of him, his eyes were blue-green and the body was citrus.
"A shame… can't believe I got own by four girls, two of which looks awfully familiar. Nonetheless, that was definitely the thing I needed to get me out of that shut-in neet situation, and that was the most fun I've had in a little while, so who am I to turn down what I promised?" Terabyte shrugged. "You all earned it." He snapped his stubby fingers and out popped a golden luna-shaped jewel that floated in our hands.
Now we're talking! Another Luna Soul Jewel gained! You're almost there!
"Wow, thanks Terabyte!" I smiled. "Say, where are the others?"
"Right here, princesses!" It was Kirby's voice as he approached us with the rest of our party. "You four girls were amazing out there. Sorry we made you worry. We were just the spectators for this one round only. Besides, I think it was important for you guys to fight this one yourselves anyways."
"Oh, nyow I see what you mean," Niva continued the streak. "That spirit doesn't even recognize the two of them even though he was around them this entire time, I think?"
Terabyte turns to us, inspecting us closely. "Hey, wait a minute! Princess Kailaine?! You can't be-!"
"And me," added Kazela.
"Seriously?! Kazelaine too?! How?! What?! Who?!" He gasped in surprise. "So you really are alive and back from the clutches of Dark Matter! But the last time I ever heard from you was when that disaster struck… so how did you manage to… ah, I see. For now, I'll just assume those Star Warriors had something to do with it until after this mess is sorted out." Terabyte calmed himself down. "Speaking of which, I do believe one of the warriors in your party went to the last level of this game where the Thunder Princess is, right?"
"Knuckle Joe!" Sirica exclaimed. "I suppose you don't know how he's holding up?"
"Him? Oh yeah, he's definitely fine… that is if he doesn't croak. From the looks of it, he's up against the demi-virus and the mother computer of this game, using the princess as their soldier. But something is definitely strange about this game, like the fact that this world felt too real even without the game mechanics and VR features. After all, you did enter this game through those dimension rifts, maybe that's a factor of it… but I'm starting to think it's that mother computer."
"Actually, now that you mention it," Kirby spoke. "That strange talk about the mother computer we heard from an NPC at the town resort really bothered me, especially when she was aware of their reality. She was talking as if the world of Starlight was actually real like an Isekai anime plot… could it be the MC or the Dimension Rifts that triggered this? Or maybe… could that have been a result of HWC's takeover itself? I've got a bad feeling about this."
"Either way, whatever the scenario is, they're the key to figuring that out. But it doesn't change the fact that even if the barrier's broken, the seal won't open until we kill the last boss of this game, if that does seem to be the case," Meta Knight stated. "There's no time to waste! We must hurry to Knuckle Joe's aid! And then we'll crush that secretary to scrap metal!" Everyone sweatdropped.
"You need to calm down right now, you're scaring me," Kazela shuddered.
"So it's settled then! Allow me to do the honors," Terabyte volunteered, fake spitting his hands, pulled back and chanted the magic words. "Open the door or I'll open fire through your window, you dumb HIYAH! The deed's done."
"Uh, what the fu-?"
Terabyte broke the Dark Barrier surrounding the rift! You can reach there through the Act One dungeon!
"What are you guys standing around here for? There's a train that awaits our arrival here," Terabyte snapped his stubby hands, revealing a hidden path that was unbeknownst to us. It unveiled the train that we rode on the entire time from Neon Laboratory, and the maids were standing there casually this whole time.
"Welcome back, everyone!" They greeted us casually. "You all did an excellent job back there!"
"You mean…" Aege stuttered. "The train was here in this chamber the whole time while we gambled on Dance-Dance Revolution? How conveniently cliché. I'm not even gonna question it at this point."
"Good for you, cuz we're leaving right now!" Sirica urged us onto the train. "As much as I can say KJ can take care of himself, I'm still worried he might not pull through with the fact that he gave his brain a knuckle sandwich! Let's go already- to the impossible level!"
"Don't worry so much, Sirica," I intervened. "I am worried for the both of them, but I'm sure they'll be able to pull through. In fact, by the time we get there, they might be working together to hold off the demon beast on their own, who knows?"
"I hope so, princess," Sirica sighed. After the last person hopped on the train, the doors closed itself, thus another door unlocks from the chamber walls automatically, and our express followed its course on the tracks leading ahead by default, taking us straight out of the chambers.
Level Four Act Two Complete!
Outside we were as the scenery it is we pass by at a rapid speed. Nighttime finally began to take its toll as the virtual yet realistic moon rises into the air, turning into a dangerous night setting. It fits well for the last level of this game as we proceed ever closer to Paradis Tower, where the ultimate awaits us as dark clouds strolled in around the peak.
Expected as a result, Espera called in. "Looks like the game's set; you all made it through the levels so far, and you got the Gem Soul Spirit too! With that, your last stop is up ahead in a couple of minutes! Anyone who needs to drop out if they're tired can do so; prepare yourself for the dangers Paradis Tower has to offer."
"What kind of dangers?" Karly asked.
"That is to say, er… um, say, how do I put this? It's running hell, to say the least. You're just gonna have to find out the moment you step foot there yourselves. One thing we can say is that it was originally made to reflect the years and advancement of recent gaming and animation into that one tower. Simply put, you get to the top by passing through areas that escalates up the timeline ladder of each media. It doesn't matter where you start, just know this- enter one wrong room and you have to start over from the last point you saved at. I can imagine that gimmick was altered in some way."
"That's it? I was expecting a code of some sort was needed in order to reach the top," Adeline said, suddenly checking her submenu for a notification. "Huh? What's this?"
"Oh yeah, that reminds me! Remember that magazine you got from Monokitsune and the code we got from it? Well, I was hoping that maybe any of you might make something out of it," Espera answers.
"Really? Well, let's what this code's all about," Kirby replied. The code that was sent to us appeared on the screen of our point of view. Here's what the code reads:
Code 1: M-O-R-P-R-A-G/E-X-E.
Code 2: M-E-D-R-A-T-A-R-S-L-O-U-S-E-M-L-R-E-T-Z-O-E-R-R-E.
"Strange… that's the code? I was expecting something more complex, but this one seems easy enough. Code 1 alone, that is. I think we're supposed to rearrange the letters to form a secret phrase. The first one seems to spell out: P-R-O-G-R-A-M.E-X-E. In other words, "Program & E-X-E" something!" Kirby answered. "Yeah, that has to be it! Our real problem is the second code, which I can't really arrange at the moment; it could mean anything at this point."
"Interesting; nice one, Kirby!" Espera replied. "So far, that second code left me stumped, so I'll keep trying to figure that one out. If you do happen to figure it out by some chance, let me know. Otherwise, just focus on reaching the top of the tower and hope you make it up there in one piece and just in time to help those two there. The rift to the headquarters of HWC won't open until you defeat the boss of that last level- the demi-virus and the mother computer linked to the headquarters directly. Well, I've done all I can; the rest is up to you. Good luck guys!"
"Thanks for everything, Espera!" I smiled.
With that, the call ended. There was no going back for us at this point. Evident it was as we escalate towards the tower while the clock ticks. Only a certain few were able to reach the top, but at the cost of not returning, never to be heard from again. Who cares about what makes a place so dangerous if you know someone's life is in jeopardy over there? It may be tough, but taking that risk is better than doing nothing about it.
I know Zea, as I like to call her sometimes, well enough to know that her susceptibility to mind control varies, but she's strong enough to fight against it mentally. And from what Sirica had claimed, Knuckle Joe is a powerful fighter, but the real question I'm sure he's asking himself is how long can he hold off for help to arrive? For him, it's all or nothing on this one.
Just a little longer, hang on, you two… we're coming!
"Attention, everyone. We will now reach our final destination in a few moments shortly- Paradis Tower. This is the last level of the game, known for its level of challenging difficulty every step of the way. The princess and the warrior was last seen here, and we've managed to confirm they're on the top floor of the tower. See to it that you destroy the demi-virus and the mother computer at once and save Starlight. We wish you the best of luck."
At the same time…
"Despicable… those primitive lower lifeforms actually made it through. And now they're heading to the last level," The secretary snarled, but suppressed it into a mere chuckle. "Exactly what the doctor ordered. Time to go fill in the void of that old man of mine as soon as possible. Everything is coming together, although I didn't anticipate the use of Fatal Success by her before then. No matter, our VR Project is underway and to near installation. The Mother Computer of Starlight and the plot of that game's story makes excellent resources on par with Popstar's abundance to rebuild it again that easily. A little longer and it'll be complete."
The secretary gazed at an encased dome containing an experimented project for some lifeform. In her hand was a crystal, a spectrum crystal, which originates from Skylight Star. This crystal had belonged to an infamous warrior who was then sealed for reasons unknown years ago. Before Planet Robobot events happened or rather on its way to happen, Skylight Star actually had a secret that was not mentioned in the Chapter 4 arc.
"It's strange; I didn't expect this galaxy to have iconic places that resemble those of Popstar- their relationship? Certain places were remnants of the Ancients, civilization and all. Whatever's left of it, I guess? Celestial Lighthouse and Sky Tower of Popstar, they're definitely one of those remnants, a spiral of ancient technology made to create Angeloids and Beast Knights. Turns out that's where the data for the lost mother computer was made too, in an incomplete state, encased with that same code that made those creatures go haywire upon the knight's reawakening. And the blueprints were somehow made in the same manner as well. Must be where he found it."
She tilts her head slightly. "That knight… Peganoa, was it? Sealed in a crystal for unknown reasons, perhaps in a fashion similar to the strongest warrior in the galaxy at some point in the timeline. Nonetheless, Celestial Lighthouse had a knack for seals and reorder, and placing him in that state set off a fail-safe system of a sort. Someone just had to break the seal on him- the first Angelmon Princess Deva. Of course, the rest follows. Who would've thought that they've implanted that same data into the MC itself as the same as using it on the Pegasus knight?"
One of the robots interfered. "Ma'am, they're ready- the Mother Computer is complete from retracting the resources in the game, including our arsenal of Robobots again and the helmet as well. What shall we have them do?"
"Perfect," She smiled, clapped her hands once. "With Espera so focused on the heroes in the game, there's not even another genius with her to fill in for her once we set her in a perilous position. Since they're ready, you know what to do. SEIZE THEM."
"No!" The silent voice cried out. "You can't do that!"
"I think you'll find that I can and I will! Can you even call those band of misfits your associates after all the crap you put them through, even the masked swordsman? He's still pissed at you, by the way. No matter, all the pieces are set in place: half of our enemies in the game against the boss of the last level, not to mention the three captives and one of them is a Nova, and while the busty professor is too busy, she won't be able to do anything once we send those minions to play! So much for wishing on a DREAM, and yet no STAR machine of any kind will give you what you want. This is the reality that we suffer, and I'll see to it that it must be eliminated!"
"That's enough- KYAH!" The voice experienced a harsh mental shock that silenced her, and the parallel basked and enjoyed the sound of her despaired screaming in her head to the stifling sobs; a SOUL MELTER, to be exact. "W-what i-is t-this…?"
"Punishment, that's all. Now quit complaining and watch the show unfold! I'll turn this planet into a makeshift virtual reality with the ZERO of the Mother Computer- RE: Mastered once again! Only then will fantasy, fiction, make-believe, and all non-existent dreams become reality for everyone! Starting with this! All units, seize the nuisances at once!"
"Damn it!" The voice silently gasped and groaned. "Everyone, you better hurry quickly! Espera, I'm sorry! I couldn't do anything about this… wait, what about that robot? Maybe if I could just manipulate her direction unconsciously… yes, that has to work! Espera has to know!"
Looks like the time that was looming in wait was now. While that was taking place, at Paradis Tower, the battle still rages on between Knuckle Joe and Zeta. The virus watches in amusement, smirking to itself.
After a period of fighting, they both seemed to be at their limit. Knuckle was exhausted but maintained his energy as to not exhaust it at once, the same went for Zeta. Her energy was at low, so she had to conserve it as much as possible. "This wasn't going too well," she thought. Actually, her conscience of her former self thought of that as she attempted to escape her mental prison.
Knuckle Joe had nearly pushed his limits, unsure of the outcome that could follow. There had to be some way to break the mind control, but it doesn't seem like there's anything about her that could be a potential control device. Maybe there is something, he just needed to use his head and think it through. Suddenly, his head latched onto an idea. Since this world is a game, they always have something to counter every status aliment they have to offer. Surely they came up with something for mind control.
An item popped on his point of vision, revealing an item known as an Electro-Hacker. "Man, I should've thought of this earlier, but better late than never. If this works, all I have to do is make direct contact with her and blast her with it. I've only got one chance and that's it!" With that resolve and conclusion, the rowdy Star Warrior placed himself in a position to act on this thought.
"Fool, have you decided to surrender? You know your primitive and limited body can't compare to mine, a demi-cyborg," Zeta declared. "Can you even see for yourself the outcome of this meaningless fight? I suggest you give up before you waste yourself so I can make your dirt nap quick and painless."
Knuckle rubbed under his nose. "I suppose you're right. I really am an idiot for trying to reach the top here. Too bad I didn't regret doing this!" He rushed forward suddenly with the Electro-Hacker in hand before Zeta could even react. In those seconds unpredicted, the match was decided the moment he managed to make direct contact with her.
A burst of shock rippled from the item, paralyzing her body and causing her to fall on her knees as rippling sparks circulate inside her head. Knuckle pulled back after this; witnessing the cyborg trying to kill him malfunction on the spot, and he surely wasn't expecting that to actually work. Eventually, she stopped altogether, leaving only silence in the way.
And just as unexpected, the cyborg came back up, seemingly to have been rebooted. Her eyes flashed a glowing blue with the power button sign and circled around for a few seconds until it indicated a total completion of the reboot, and her eyes reverted back to her electric golden color state once again. The cyborg slowly got up and looked around her. "Strange, how did I get here? This is the top floor of Level 5, correct? Then, where's that demon beast I was hunting down earlier? And mind I ask who you are?"
"Finally came back to your senses, huh?" Knuckle replied. "It's kinda funny, I'm also after a demon beast here. The name's Knuckle Joe, one of the last remaining Star Warriors. Honestly, it's a long story, but-!"
"Insolent cyborg. You really think that it's the end? I was certain she would finish you off, yet such a lower lifeform such as you used such a dirty trick to undo the strains on her. Truly that was not to be expected. I see now it was rather a state of pointlessness after all; I had everything under my control, and it was trampled by only two resistant lifeforms for about two years. My plans… it has come so far, and it will not be stopped that easily." A demonic voice boomed robotically. "I shall now reduce you to scrap metal. Engaging Demon Virus/System Call- Engage Battle Protocol: Materialize Demon King Overlord- Mecha Edition."
A screen maximized to form itself into its core being on the dot. Starlight was known for dealing with insane abominations; this was no different, Zeta knew that herself. The screen transformed into a heavyweight figure of some sort, but it resembled an android. Once done, it appeared as a mechanized version of a demon king- it had tons of gold, shiny armor around the body from top to bottom, a helmet with twin horn arcs crossed together on the helmet's forehead and a golden spike, the helmet's opening being void black while the shoulder pads were black and red. The chestplate had an X symbol and a rainbow core smack in the center of it. A golden cape was attached to the shoulder pads and a jetpack was hidden behind it. Finally, a weapon that was a golden spike mace with a chain and a Nunchuck were gripped in its hands. It didn't look so much like a demon king, but you know damn well it's a demon beast, and going by this description, you probably know which one was revived again, and Knuckle Joe knew who it was- how could he forget?
"M-MASHER?!" KJ cried out. "How the heck is that bolt bucket still alive?! And that's the boss of this game too?! It must be the virus that's plagued this game!"
"Speaking in that manner, yes. However, I converted that matter into a virus, thus forming a demi-virus at my disposal, and now it is able to perform total control on reality shift within its own form or of reality itself as it wishes. You have no chance of standing against me, the Mother Computer! Prepare for mass destruction, mortals!"
"This isn't supposed to turn out this way, but we'll make do with this," Zeta speaks, using a healing spell on both of them, rejuvenating their injuries. "Knuckle Joe, was it? I'm known as Zeta by my friends; forgive me for earlier."
"No problem. Right now I know a few people who're on their way here as we speak and they might be close, so we just gotta buy some time while we're at it. You think you can do that?" Knuckle smirked.
"With pleasure," Zeta smiled. "Let's eliminate this virus!"
"You ignorant lifeforms are inconceivably impossible to deal with. Agreed, then shall we eradicate the two of you primitives at this very moment? Destroy them, Demon King Mecha Masher Jevangelion!" The computer roared. Masher, as we'll just call him obviously, swung his mace around in a circle to intimidate the two warriors that were just trying to kill each other against their will a few moments ago.
"We're not getting out of this one anytime soon! Let's do this!" Knuckle shouted. And that's how the exciting battle unfolded, only as a diversion of that sort. The company entrance can only be open if they defeat the last boss of the game standing before them and hopefully buy enough time for the other group of players to arrive on the scene in time and save their butts. It won't be an easy task, that's plain to see.
As if that wasn't a major problem to deal with, just take a look at what's happening at the laboratory.
Knuckle Joe and Zeta have joined your party!
The Laboratory…
"Well, that seems to take care of that," Espera sighed. "Everything's all set at this point, everyone. All we can do is hope that they'll make it through the "impossible" level now and shut down the mind control implanted in the game." She backed away casually from the computer and turned to the group of allies left behind.
"Hopefully so. I'm still worried since this is a game, after all," Adena exhales. "And I'm just glad it's just that we're dealing with."
Callie quickly shushed Adena once again. "What did I just tell you, girl?! You shouldn't be saying cliché stuff like that or else something cliché will happen."
"Oh yeah? Can that secretary really do anything to us if she's so focused on the others in the game to even do anything drastic?" Adena retorted. "What can she do in that state anyway?"
Fololo and Falala was the first to answer that question as they gazed out the window together. "How about an army of gigantic robots parading through the city or at least on their way to the city, flooding straight from the HWC area in growing numbers as we speak?" They also quickly backed away while they had the chance as far as possible.
"See? Nothing harmful to us at- wait, giant robots, you say?" Adena choked on her words.
"Well, is it me," pointed Dedede. "Or is there a giant hand that looks an awful lot like Master and Crazy Hand approaching the window and coming our way fast-?!" The next thing anyone knew, there was the sound of a glass window shattering, followed by a blinding flash bang that struck afterwards. Once the light ceased, Espera lowered her eyes that were shielded only to witness a crime scene, not to mention that the others who were just with her were suddenly gone!
"ESPERA! HELP US!" The cries of her spy's allies boomed and were trailing away when she ushered to the edge of the broken window to witness the allies in the grasp of two sentient hands carrying them away to the HWC, or so it seemed at the moment.
"NO!" Espera shouted. "DAMN IT! I LET MY GUARD DOWN FOR ONE MOMENT AND THIS HAPPENS?!"
This is bad, Espera thought. So that was her whole aim- to burden her with a problem that she can't multitask at once by herself. With a whole robot army coming to Haltonia City anytime soon, the players dealing with the demi-virus in the game, and now with all of the allies captured on the spot, how could one person deal with three things at once?
Unexpectedly, a Robobot Armor landed straight in front of her by surprise, and she jumped back and prepared herself… to receive that alone and a digital notepad with a type-written message. As she took it gingerly and took a gander at the code of the message, the sight of it was just that shocking to her. That really uncovered the gimmick of what the secretary's planning; suddenly, everything became clear to Espera- if she was lucky, she knew exactly what do to. But only if-
"E-Espera…" Mackenzie's voice echoed with Maddie. Yep, she was lucky- those two girls hid just in time before the flash occurred somehow! Espera wasted no time rushing to their aid and comfort. "What just happened?! Why did those hands take everyone?!" They were still just kids, what do you expect? Fear instilled in them, of course.
"Calm down, you two," Espera presses them between her breasts like a single mother caring for twin children. "It's gonna be okay, I promise. Listen, I was not expecting this to happen at this point, so there's gonna be a change in plans from here on out, so listen closely because we don't have much time and it's a hell of a gamble, so I need your help since I've uncovered all the info I needed about their plans."
"And what is this plan of yours?" Maddie asked.
"You'll find out soon, but first," Espera turn over to the assistants in the background as extras. "Everyone! Prepare the Daemon Breaker at once for combat! This is an emergency; don't unleash until the players confront HWC themselves! Send out the warning to all the spy districts ASAP!"
"YES MA'AM!" They shouted in response and got to work immediately.
"Get ready, you two. We're not gonna act until they beat the game level's boss, so we shoulder our attention to them first unless they happen to take care of it themselves!" Espera commanded. "Just follow my lead, okay?"
"What are you planning to do?" They both asked.
"You'll see soon enough," Espera chuckled.
In other words, this means war.
Now Saving… Save Complete!
We'll be right back with Kirby and the Legendary Crystal Princess!
End of Chapter 6 Act 4!
Author's Note Summary:
TERRY BOGARD! SANS! OH MY GOD! YES! HECK YEAH! WHOOOOOOOOO! MORE DLC! BANDANA DEE FOR SMASH-! *Knocks over the Camera*
*Take 2*
*Ahem* Sorry about that folks and I know I'm late because I haven't updated in a while, but you've obviously seen the direct and you know it's a good year to be alive, ain't it? But enough of that nonsense, let me just clarify something important here. Due to the school being a dumb Poyo with their crappy Wi-Fi errors, Fanfiction couldn't connect at all on my laptop, but luckily I have a certified class that allows me free access with a very special tool, so thank god I took that class two years ago and thought ahead. Nonetheless, I've learned it's the servers that's causing the problem, so it will take a while to fix that, so it won't be in the school I post chapters or update. It'll be at home until further notice. Sorry about that, unless you know of a way to get pass it, that is… heh-heh-heh.
Anyway, moving on! This one was kinda hard for me to come up with in terms of the plot layout and sequence of events which I didn't plan out. I wanted to do a dance fight sort of ordeal, and in the form of casino and gambling, although it's not as good by your standards anyway. The real challenge of this was deciding which track to use, DDR and all on the second round in Karaoke Hero. I had a lot to pick, but I eventually settled with 1/6 out of the Gravity by Hatsune Miku. I thought it'd be more fitting for some reason.
The last round was inspired by Frisk VS Mettaton animatic by SpectroliteAAA, so check her out sometime! Also, a bit of DJ Grooves from A Hat in Time was in there, so yeah. Anyway, after the dance battle ended in a way you never saw coming, they get the last orb piece and Kaila gets something much appealing- a bunny costume, inspired by Jade from Dragon Quest 11 aka Best Girl. Fight me. So, with that, it takes us into the second act of the level, the Jewel Chamber. Here, they get new abilities and some may stand out more than the others, like Niva's Re: Zero ability. You know, from the anime called Re: Zero.
They fight against Terabyte or Teravolt if you prefer, inside a Sphere Doomer known as Digeath (short for Digital Death). I tried to connect their biology and origins to the fact that Starlight is affected by their dimension plane as you may know of that. It might not be all great, but I did do my best at trying to make this fight entertaining at the moment, even if it was a bit short. Leading into Terabyte's short reunion with Kaila and Kazela, they depart for the final level in mere moments before they arrive. By the way, you're having a hard time cracking the code, aren't ya? Well, too bad! I ain't making it easier for you to handle, so you're gonna have to think big on this one!
The rest of the story follows. Writing this part when I'm dealing with the problems listed at the start of the summary is a real pain in the butt crack. I never had to deal with that crap the past 2-3 and a half years, so why now they decide to be a douche about it? I have no idea either. Regardless, that won't stop me. So further news about this, if you go back to the start of the previous chapter arcs, you'll see that there's different anime openings; I wanted each arc to have themes to represent the arcs at its best, and so let me know what you think of some of them and if you know a better one to replace a few. Ending songs as well, if you know any good ones. And the boss of Level 5 is none other than Masher, but I'll get into that the next chapter. Before I forget, along with the anime openings, I've added each chapter a title name at the beginning of each chapter to represent the main idea of each arc; see if it's to your liking! I can always change it if you want. If there's more than one of them, you can just choose which one you want to listen to, by the way.
I suppose that's all for the time being. Next time, the plot thickens as it starts with the battle against the Mecha Demon King Masher while the party ushers and rushes to the top of the impossible level. Meanwhile, Espera will have to deal with a deadly situation somehow as the others were kidnapped on the spot until the others reaches the company and shut down the mind control. As usual, R&R and let me know what I can improve on to make this better. Make sure to check my profile as well. That's all and see you all next time!
… I think not too long.