Play "Militant Missionary" from Sonic Adventure!

Chapter 13: Flag of Freedom

World Boss: Egg Aegis

The Aegis lashed four large whips in a wild manner. Shulk cast Enchant on his comrades as they all determined the best course. Shulk dealt the first blows to the mech, the Aegis molding its shape with each cut before it broke into matter, flew away, and reformed. Rex was already behind it, using Pneuma's lightspeed, lashing cuts in its back. The Aegis morphed into a skinnier frame with pointed legs and long point in the back of its head. It dodged Rex's next cut and began to match the Master Driver's speed. Its solid arms and legs countered Rex's sword and blew the Driver into a wall, 50 meters away. Eggman's next chop, from that distance, split the floor into particles all the way to Rex, but Pneuma negated the same effect on himself even as the split traveled up the wall.

Jak pulled a sneak attack and sliced off the Aegis's leg, but the other leg bent at an angle to stab him. Jak clutched and forced the leg off, and when Eggman tried swift speed to thwack him from above, Jak grabbed the arm and furiously slammed him around. Jak leapt to stab the Aegis and channel Destruct Chi, but its matter scattered and reformed across the chamber. Shulk was there to strike him during the process, but the Aegis assumed a round, thicker Defense Form. He withstood Shulk's Monado better and tried to whip him with heavier arms, but Shulk found himself unable to back up as Eggman bent the floor up into a wall behind him. Shulk then had a vision of the Aegis flying back and ramming Jak with a headbutt—"AH!" The robot's crystal flashed, stunning Shulk with a daze. "Huh?! I forgot what the vision was!"

"That was my Amnesia attack! Comes in pretty HANDY!" Eggman bent the floor up into solid waves, pressing Shulk against the back wall. The Aegis flew backward, withstanding a flurry of energy swords conjured by Pneuma. The genius instead searched for Jak and quickly dove. Malos tried to shield the surprised Long-Ear, but they both suffered a Zen Headbutt. Eggman flew after to beat them against the ground, in turn pressing them into a crater that he would mold matter over. He was then blown away by Pneuma's Starburst laser, giving Malos time to destroy the ground trapping them. The Aegis morphed back into Speed Form, afterwards splitting pale clones of Deoxys from its being. The clones speedily moved around to strike the Aegis Drivers, but while the clones were easily destroyed, Eggman got the jump on Rex and whipped him away.

Jak leapt and stabbed the ground, exploding a shockwave that blew Eggman down. Enchanting himself with Speed, Shulk raced out and diced the Aegis with Monado Buster. He would retain this speed as Eggman recovered to match it, but would soon have Rex on his back, unable to outrun both. He shifted the Aegis to Attack Form and swung a thousand lashes at the Drivers. Jak took the lead and struck Eggman with vicious ferocity, whittling his thousand whips into fragments. Eggman flew away and ripped out several chunks of the room, turning them into polymorphic shapes. He threw them in the hopes of "sticking" their matter to the shapes', but as Jak swat them away, Shulk had a vision of Eggman blasting a Hyper Beam. "Rex, he's going to fire an energy blast!"

"On it!" The Leftherian kept tabs on the robot as it amassed energy. On schedule, the Hyper Beam fired, Pneuma blocking it perfectly with her palm. She threw it back, but realized Eggman had teleported. The Aegis reappeared above and Ground Pounded, the floor rippling like a shockwave and blowing the Aegises apart. Eggman then shot the rest of his stored Hyper Beam at Jak. He then flew all the way across the chamber and turned the surrounding surface into red particles. "Ho ho! It's no use. Give up." A tidal wave of Splatter Matter washed toward the Drivers. Their combined efforts worked to either block or destroy the particles, but Deoxys' cursed chi was close to overwhelming them.

"Room for one more?!" Miko and Eddy rushed through the storm, channeling Boly's power to stabilize some of the matter.

"Miko!"

"She's not the type to wait around a long time! And me neither! We can't stand long cutscenes!"

"I can bend Father's matter better with Eddy's willpower!" Boly said.

"Interrupting?!" Eggman splashed from the matter and blew the ops into the air. The Aegis molded its arms into saws to slice them, but the swings of Miko's hammer broke them into particles. He tried to crush them with his own hammer after they landed, but when he uncovered, they were nowhere to be found. Miko used the Dottie function to shrink herself and Eddy. Eddy would resize first, grab his partner, and launch her at the Core Crystal with his slingshot. Miko swiftly inflated back to normal, landing a sideways Butt Pound to send the mech bouncing!

"WOO! You just got booty blasteeeed!"

"God, she is just… seriously gross sometimes." Quill cringed.

"MATTER QUAKE!" The Aegis morphed into Defense Form and SLAMMED the ground, causing all their matter to vibrate. While Boly helped mitigate the effect, it had also spread to the surrounding room, its particles already unstable from the previous attack. Ultimately, its particles gave way, the group plummeting to the lower levels. "Eddy, the others!" Miko exclaimed.

"LET'S FUSE!" Eddy grabbed Miko's glove. Their matter combined to become Quester Ediko; they flipped their controller upside-down to make it a slingshot, shooting a larger Spring Pellet to break Sector Q's fall.

"So, THAT'S what it is!" Eggman used a Zap Cannon to stun the group before swatting them apart. By the time the Drivers crashed, their Fury Modes powered off, exhausted in their base forms. "Miko isn't that thing's Guardian! That scrawny boy is! And Miko is just a conduit created from Bolypius' data. Now I know who I have to destroy!"

"Titan's foot!" Rex cursed. "We're out of power already?!"

"How is the bastard that strong?!" Jak growled.

"Just wait for our chi to return." Alvis said. "We can still protect ourselves."

"It's up to us now!" Ediko faced their friends. "Ready to crack this egg?!"

"We can't do SHIT against that thing!" Jenny shouted.

"I can punch a god in Videogame Land, but real life looks way scarier!" Kazuma shouted.

"The rats are out of their league, is that it?" Eggman smirked. "Then what's the use of having you around?!" The doctor fired a laser at the team, but Ediko flew in its wake and pushed it back by button-mashing the controller.

"Pneuma's data has updated the Quester feature!" Boly said.

"Really?! What else can you do?!"

"Channel my power over the others now!"

"IMBECILES!" Eggman ceased the laser, entered Speed Form, and zipped around to lash his whip at the kids. But just as he did, Ediko quickly enchanted them with their power.

Carmine and Quill's matter fused, becoming a giant kangaroo with a racecar engine back, a helmet with goggles, and hands shaped like Quill's Elementors. "I HAVE FEET!" was Quarmine's first reaction, wiggling their kangaroo toes and tapping the floor. "My hands are weird, but this feels great!"

Jenny and Kazuma fused into a tall, skinny Quester with a strong helmet, rabbit ears, large armored fists, and huge shoes with roller-blades. "I'll do the kicking, you do the punching!" Jezuma said (though it was Jenny's conscience talking).

"What are those abominations?!" Eggman sent Deoxys Clones at them, but Jezuma swiftly sped past, punching every clone they could, before landing a fast, flipping, punch-and-kick combo on the doctor.

"WHOOOAA!" Stunned by their own speed, Quarmine's engines helped them boost behind Eggman and briefly freeze him with ice rays. "YAHOOOO!" The kangaroo sprung high into the air and SMASHED him with sheer weight and force.

"The moment Miko joined us is when our quest began!" Ediko destroyed the clones with a quick controller combo. "From that day, we became the Questers! From that day, we were the true Sector Q!" (Play "Vs. Moebius Interlink" from XC3!)

"I've had ENOUGH of dealing with delinquents like you!" Eggman blew Quarmine off of him as his Aegis morphed into a larger, thin, sharp-shouldered version of himself, except with a pointed head. "I will show this planet the true power and terror of Doctor IVO R-R-R-R-Robotnik!"

He first kicked Quarmine away, then threw punches to counter Jezuma's onslaught and break their matter into pieces, but Ediko reformed it into a gigantified foot and landed a powerful kick, sending the Aegis tumbling out of the control center. Ediko shot multiple Spring Pads into the air to help Quarmine bounce after him. They grabbed and threw grenades from their kangaroo pouch, bursting into smaller grenades to form a chain reaction, to destroy the endless tentacles Eggman lashed at them. While the doc was distracted, Ediko flew far to his left and shot String Pellets to lock him in place, allowing Quarmine to pull off a Boost Kick. Combining their racecar speed with their strong feet, the Aegis was forced to the lower levels of the Walrus with incredible momentum, tearing down dozens of buildings.

"BLIMEY, what's happenin' over there?!" Sheila exclaimed. Everyone else on the Titan all drew attention to the Aegis and incoming questers.

"That big one looks like Eggman, but I have no idea what those things are!" Cheren said.

The Aegis grabbed and ripped up Quarmine's matter, then saw Jezuma speed-jumping through the city. He dodged their momentum-powered kick, but Jezuma retracted their wheels, planted their feet against a wall, squat, and sprung at Eggman like a rabbit. They dealt a successful punch that blew him through several buildings. Using Deoxys' bending, Eggman bunched the buildings' remains back together and violently hammered them over the Questers. Ediko used their hammer as a shield, Jezuma punched the buildings toward Eggman, and during the knockback, the reformed Quarmine sped to ram the Aegis. Eggman burst with electricity to stun them, afterwards bundling Quarmine into a ball and throwing them at Jezuma.

Ediko flew at Eggman with their hammer, the doctor clashing it with fists. Both hammer and fists broke into particles, only to have them recovered. Eggman split the fists off into dozens to pummel Ediko from multiple directions, but they projected a spiked barrier and spun to deflect the fists. With the shield still active, they lunged into Eggman with a Spin Dash, combined with Jezuma ramming him from the opposite side. Quarmine still managed to bounce around in their ball form, stretching their limbs back with each bounce. They were finally able to fly into the air and squish Eggman once more! The Aegis became particles and reassembled further away, dismantling the surrounding environment and reforming them into large missiles. He threw the missiles at the Questers directly, the explosion blowing them in separate directions, as well as separating the operatives.

Quill and Carmine uncomfortably tumbled along the ground, Jenny landed her blades along a wall, which bent into a smooth curve as she directed herself upright to the ground, and Miko caught Eddy in her arms and used a Carrie to land smoothly. "OOF!" Kazuma, meanwhile, landed on something soft and fluffy to break his fall. "YOU AGAIN?!"

"Ketchuma, you really need to stop wandering off on your own." Finch said. "Where would you be without old Finch?"

"YOU'RE the one who wandered off this time!"

"Get ready to be skewered!" Eggman shaped his fists into drills and lunged at Eddy and Miko, but a different drill would dig into his arms and force them aside. "What?!"

"Poppi not let new friends die!" the Artificial Blade declared before kicking off the Aegis. When Eggman created 20 laser cannons out of matter, Poppi's drill became a shield to protect Masterpon from the onslaught. Once the lasers were out of power, Tora threw the shield like a multi-directional boomerang, imbued with fire to damage the Aegis. Eggman grabbed and crushed the shield, but the doctor was clonked in the head by another fist.

"What's up, Eggdork?" It resembled the Poppibuster, but was larger, painted blue, and wore a red hat.

"That hat! Are you the Gilligan Triplets?!" Eggman sent Deoxys Clones to push them away, but the Gilligan Buster bashed them away with a giant wrench.

"Just thought we should send Dad's greetings!" Haylee smirked, piloting the flight controls.

"We pulled an all-nighter to build this baby!" Artie declared, manning the arms.

"Rumor has it you ain't a fan of music." Harry said. "Well, have some of this!" Boomboxes opened from the back. Harry rapped a DJ and shot soundwaves to stun the Aegis.

"I'll have you know my father hated music and I've had three theme songs commissioned! But THIS IS AWFUL!" Eggman launched and pushed the Buster into another building, the mech blowing Eggman off with the boombox before bashing him with the wrench. Poppi, in QT form, grabbed the tip of the Aegis' head in her Mech Arms, flipped back, and threw Eggman into the ground. She tossed the arms to Tora, who leapt into a flip before bringing the fists firmly onto Eggman's face! The Egg Aegis broke into pieces that flew around the air, their edges like fluttering particles. The legs spun around the Gilligan Buster to kick from all directions, Tora countered the fists with his own, and the head flew to shoot lasers at Miko and Eddy. The duo were frantic in running from them, but the lasers were fortunately blocked by Sena's shield.

"Come on, Mimi! This is our biggest battle, yet, I wanna help you!"

"Oh, Sena, you're the best first Blade I've ever had!" Miko gave her a big hug. "And hey, with Boly's power, I bet I can make you stronger, too!" Taking hold of both hammers, Boly's power increased them in size as Miko furiously bashed the Egghead. Once it was knocked dizzy, she tossed Sena's hammer to her as the Blade sent it flying with a rocket-charged swing! When it recovered, Eggman was bombarded by a combo of Psy-Spheres and snowy Music Notes, courtesy of Celica and Ursula. The head spun like a drill as he shot toward them, but the duo would dodge as Eggman was then diced up by Nia's Water Slices.

"Grrrr! Traitorous Blades! Come back to my side at ONCE!" An energy wave washed over the Titan, the Blades screaming as Eggman's irises filled their eyes again.

"No! Ursula! Ursula, please control yourself!"

"Agh! I…I feel…" Nia felt sick to her stomach.

"Pandy! Not now!" Zeke pled.

"Hahahaha!" Team Rocket laughed, returning their Pokémon. "Looks like the finale was cut short!" Jessie said.

"That's alright. We have other places to be." James smirked, the team racing back to their Meowth rocket.

"Let's wait for Eggman to finish his gig. Then we'll get that Newborn out of his hair!" Meowth suggested.

"Come on, Sena! Not again!" Miko yelled, clutching her Blade's hands and channeling Boly's power into her crystal. "I know you're better than this! Don't listen to that loser!"

"GUYS, LOOK AT EGGMAN'S CHEST!" Quill screamed. The torso of the Egg Aegis had been flying around and absorbing chunks of the Egg Walrus' particles into its crystal. Once complete, it took to the air and recalled its body parts.

"It's gonna shoot a massive Particle Cannon!" Carmine yelled. "TAKE COVEEEERRRR!"

Locking dead on Miko, Eggman unleashed the Particle Cannon. Miko impulsively turned on Barry to block it, but fortunately, several others already blocked it for her. "SHULK! JAK!"

"I saw the future where you died to this cannon… and have chosen to REJECT IT!" Shulk vowed.

"We will destroy any future where he CONTROLS US!" Malos declared, destroying any particles that crossed his boundary.

Rex and Pneuma took flight above the Egg Aegis. "INFINITY BLADE!" With an extended, holier sword, they stabbed the machine's back, ending the cannon as it crashed into the ground. They could all only wait cautiously if it would rise again.

Boly…Bolypius…

"Huh?" Boly gasped. "F…Father?"

Boly… do not let me be used by this man any longer. The darkness has corrupted me. I cannot control myself. Please… destroy me.

"N-No, Father! There are already so few gods!"

This is our fate. Do not fear, Bolypius. I know you will carry on my data. I know you understand what must be done.

"I…I understand your logic. Following directive." (Play "The Weight of Life" from XC3.)

"Boly, who are you talking to?" Miko asked.

"Malos!"

"What?" The dark Aegis faced them.

"Malos, we must download your data at once."

"I said 'no,' kid. You have no idea-"

"Please, I must! If need be, I will delete it from my databanks afterward. But I must use it just this once! I…I must destroy my father!"

"We're doing what?!" Miko gawked.

"It is the only way, Miko. We must destroy Deoxys and the Egg Aegis in one fell swoop. Only then will this planet be at peace. It may not be enough if only Malos does it. It has to be me… the Program that was born from Deoxys."

"Fine." Malos huffed. "But you better not screw this up."

Miko, swallowing her fears, put her glove to Malos' crystal. "AS IF THAT WOULD FINISH ME!" Eggman was up on his artificial feet, stretching a thousand whips at Miko, but Rex sliced the whips up with a storm of Genesis Sabers. The Gilligan Buster tackled the doctor, stunning him with boomboxes, leaving Poppi QTπ to slice a combo with her Variable Saber. "I am Dr. Robotnik! The greatest scientific genius in the universe!" The Aegis morphed into a ball to bowl the smaller mechs over, changing back and growing cannons to shower them with lasers. "And I'm done letting you snot-nosed worms get the better of me!" With a powerful stomp, the Gilligan Buster was shattered. He quickly shifted attention to Miko and launched forth, but Jak ceased his flight with Monado Cyclone.

"The data has finished downloading!" Boly exclaimed. "We must wait for a good chance to-"

"Whoooaaa, heeeey!" Miko was suddenly levitated by a blue force.

"MIKO!" Eddy jumped to grab her shoes, only for them to slip off her fluffy socks.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Team Rocket cackled. "Great job, Chimecho!" James praised his little Psychic-type. "Hurry! Let's get her away from here before the Aegises catch us!"

"Let my Driver go!" Sena mustered a fireball and batted it directly up at Chimecho. Miko screamed as gravity took hold of her, but Sena ran to catch her.

"Sena! You're in control! WATCH OUT!" They leapt away before Eggman could crush them with an axe, both clashing giant hammers against it.

"Impossible! How could a worthless Commoner defy my control?! Is it bonded to Boly and Miko?! Is that why?!"

"I may be just a Common Blade," Sena smashed her hammer directly into the Core Crystal, "but my duty is to my Driver! I won't betray her! I won't become your puppet!" As Sena mustered a greater fireball, her body began to glow and the fire turn blue. "SO, YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT!" She morphed into a human form as she blasted Eggman away with the fireball.

"MEHMEH!" Tora screamed. "M-Miko's Blade become human!"

"No!" Rex gasped. "It… evolved into a Rare Blade!"

"Huh…?" Sena stared at her own hands in awe, wearing black, fingerless gloves. She was tan-skinned with a short black top, a thin and sturdy body, dark-blue hair with a sapphire, flaming ponytail, and blue lines coursing along her. "I…"

"MY BLADE EVOLVED!" Miko gave her an even bigger hug! "I feel like a proud mama!"

"Hehehehe! I hope this means I get cake! WAH!" Both she and Miko were pulled into the air with psychic.

"You won't outwit us that easy!" James yelled. "Chimecho, grind them into digi-dust!"

"Unhand those women at once!"

Horrified, Team Rocket saw a Homs ship headed straight for them: Colonel Vangarre was armed with an explosive vest. "COLONEL!" Shulk screamed. "What are you doing?!"

"Giving you brats the chance you need… to send these xenos back where they came from! BOMB VOYAGE!"

"YAAAAAAAH!" Team Rocket scrambled to dodge their rocket, but the pink-stached colonel rammed them dead on. A bright explosion destroyed the Meowth rocket, and the agents went flying beyond the dark clouds. "Team Rocket's blasting off agaaaaaain!" ("Wo-Wobbuuuuuuu…") Twinkle.

…

Melia and Vanea closed in on the Titan. "If not for Disney's forces, the Sirens would've been here to assist Eggman." The Machina said. "I suppose we should be thankful for that."

"You are quite right. And sending those robotic children to fight this battle is a strategic method to avoid wasting lives." Gazing through binoculars, Melia watched as Miko recreated Jezuma and Quarmine, combining their efforts against Eggman. "Meanwhile… these children have chosen to risk their own lives to fight for our planet directly. If this is all for a selfish intention, all to decide who is worthy to rule over us… then could they truly fight with such conviction?"

…

Eggman struggled to fend off Jezuma's punch-kick combo, and when Sena slammed her hammer into his side, breaking his balance, Jezuma toppled him right over. "HEY! That's Dunban over there!" Quarmine recognized. The swordsman was dressed in a party hat and yukata, dashing and slicing his blade with such grace that it launched Eggman into the air. Then, Quarmine leapt to smash him into the ground. With that, Miko leapt onto his chest and grabbed the Core Crystal.

"No…no…NO!" Eggman's cockpit as in alert as the data was being deleted. "MY BLADES! MY AEGIS! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!"

"Good-bye… Father." Boly frowned. "…Egg Blade data… deleted."

The crystal burst into dark, destroyed particles, the rest of the machine following suit. "GAAAAAH!" Eggman was quick to launch out of there on his pod. "DAMN YOU ALL! This war isn't over! I'll get my revenge on every single one of you! Bowser will conquer every last-"

"Ya like talkin' to yourself, don't ya?" Daxter smirked.

"WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?!"

"That's a nice sweater Miko wears 'round her hip. Really cozy. And I'm afraid your flight's cancelled." The Ottsel clambered into a gap in the cockpit and began to tear up the wires.

"NO! Get out of there, you little pest!" The pod fidgeted around wildly. "I won't go down like this! AGH! AAAAAHHH!" And it suddenly dumped him out like a spilled bowl, falling directly toward Malos. "BOWSER! AVENGE MEEEE-"

The Aegis's Monado mounted Eggman like a skewer. The last traces of his breath left his mechanical lungs before he hung limp. And with that, Malos whipped his blade and flung the dead egg across the city, his matter dissolving into darkness. (End song.)

The clouds parted, warming the ruins of the Walrus with light. The KND and Mirans couldn't pull their eyes away, their hearts welling up with excitement. Infinite, tired on the ground, looked on in despair… as did Omelette. "D…D…" Omelette raised her comms and projected her voice over the entire Titan. "SEND THIS MESSAGE TO ALL ROBOTS AND TEAM GNAA ASSOCIATES! My dad… D-Dr. Eggman has been destroyed! The greatest genius in the universe, the warlord who terrorized Mobius and other worlds for decades, HAS BEEN KILLED BY THOSE ROTTEN KIDS NEXT DOOR!"

"YEEEAAAAAH!" The announcement was the perfect cue to throw arms up in the air! "WE DID IIIIIT!" Rex roared.

"VICTORY FOR MIRA!" Reyn cheered.

"VICTORY FOR THE KND!" Cheren cried.

"WE DID IT, WE DID IT, WE DID IT!" Miko spun Jenny in a circle, threw Carmine in the air, twisted her fist into Quill's hair, pounded Kazuma's arm, and squeezed Eddy in a hug, followed by a firm peck to the cheek.

"YEEK!" His temperature boiled like a pepper in hot sauce. "Y-You just kissed me!"

"Whoa, haha, sorry!" Miko blushed. "'Guess the excitement just… got to me, but, we won! Hooraaaaay!"

"Hehe, no problem!" As Miko went off to share a celebratory arm-hug with Sena, a lovestruck Eddy lay a hand over his cheek. "It's no problem at all…"

"Ugh…" Kazuma cringed at the moment. …He noticed Finch was right next to him, staring up at Kazuma dreamily. "And what the hell are YOU looking at?!"

Clearing the rest of the Walrus of robots was a trivial task after that. During that period, Cheren and Nebula were approached by a familiar silver-haired girl and her Machina companion. "Pardon me, but… I recall seeing the both of you on the Internet. You are Supreme Leader Nebula, and…?"

"Cheren. Supreme Leader from Earth."

"A pleasure. I am Melia, Queen of the High Entia. This is Vanea, ruler of Mechonis."

"The pleasure's ours." Nebula smiled. "We heard you've… already been acquainted with Sector Q."

"Yes… and we've been made aware of this war. …I want to ask you both personally. Why is it that you fight? Why do you risk your lives for the sake of others? Why did you choose to fight for us?"

"You're wondering if we're going to say 'because we gotta win this war' or 'because it's the right thing to do,' right?" Cheren asked. "In actuality, both things are true… but deep down, I'm fighting for something else."

"And that is…?"

"Whether we earn the loyalty of everyone else or not doesn't matter, as long as my friends enjoy doing what they do. All I really want… is to beat the shit out of everyone who wants us to feel bad for it!" The queens were taken aback by his response. "Which is probably the most unheroic thing for a hero to say!"

"…Hah…hahahaha!" Melia could only laugh. "I've never heard anyone be so… shamelessly honest. Hm…very well." The queen was resolved in her decision. "Kids Next Door… thank you for saving our world."

Gormott's Head (Play "Torigoth Day" from XC2!)

The rest of the Earth KND brought the captured Blades to Mira after seeing Eggman's curse had faded. By the night of May 21, the Miran KND invited all their new friends to a party along Gormott's neck! Yuzu and Megumi worked with Vess and Gorg to cook food for everyone! A pyramid of sodas sat between Mason, Reyn, and Zeke, engaging in a drinking contest! But it was clear Mason was bound to be the winner; by the time the Mirans' stomachs started hurting, Mason hadn't felt tired a bit.

Pyra had invited Malos and Mòrag to her own cooking table, where a fish was lain. "Alright, Mòrag, can you tell Malos the first step?"

"Ahem, yes…" The empress seemed nervous. "We begin by… c-cutting it open… and pulling out the guts."

"Ooookaaay?" The male Aegis carefully lowered a knife. As soon as it made contact—"Gah!" the fish began flailing.

"Mercy! It's still alive!" Mòrag gasped.

"What do I do?!"

"Just hold it down!" Pyra answered.

"If I could get it to hold still!" The fish slipped from Malos' grasp, flipping up to batter him with its tail. "HNNN! CURSED ANIMAL!" He whipped out his Monado and sliced, destroying the entire table. "Heh! I gutted that fish good!"

"You gutted it out of existence!"

"Meh, fish is boring, anyway. Don't you got anything meatier? DAH!" Zenobia suddenly blasted into him at crazy speed, slamming into the cliff.

"ZENOBIA!" Mòrag shouted. "We told you to keep your fight down to the main field!"

"I did! That Maddy packs a mean punch!"

"Don't she though?!" Sheila cheered with a swig of her jug of soda.

"In my whole life," Jataro began, staring at his nails, "I think I clipped my fingers 50,184 times. I always wondered… all those little nails I left on the floor and on the sidewalk… are they still there?"

"I chew my nails off with my teeth." Finch flapped her arms. "Sometimes, they're kinda tasty, but I also choke on 'em sometimes, haha. Hey, Kantmiss, do you ever taste your nails?"

"UGH, WHO THE HELL INVITED YOU?!" Kazuma shouted at Jataro. "Having you both in the same place is makin' my brain cells pop!"

"Sheesh, someone's got a 'tude." Finch said. "I think you're cool, Jatada."

"It's Jataro, but thanks! I like you, too, Fonch."

"It's Finch. Fuh-IIIIINCH! But that's nice of you to say, Jasono."

"It's Jataro, Finny, Jataro!"

"I told you, Jamtam, it's Finch."

"Noooo! Hey, Kazukaze, can you help?"

"AAAAAAGH!" Kazuma ran as far away as possible.

Anthony and Cressidus were having a throwing contest, hurdling boulders as far over the sea as they could. "Oh, that one nearly hit the World Tree!" Cressidus boasted.

"You kidding, my last one was further!"

Fybi was racing Obrona around the Titan, awed as they observed Gormott from many angles. Wendy and Boreas were having their own high-speed race along the Cloud Sea. Electra was nuzzling Aeincha against her cheek; the Lilliputian was worried at first, but she placed faith in Electra's self-control. Afterwards, Aeincha asked to huggle Electra's fluffy hair buns! Weiss and Dahlia practiced Icecraft together while Lola and Vess were weaving gothic dresses, using Haruka as a model. Arianna and Floren decorated the grassland with flowers. Shino and Sharla were having a sniping contest, searching for animals down in the valley to shoot with harmless bullets. Adenine was teaching Goombella the history of Alrest's countries, and also cued her in on the secret library in the World Tree. Sheba seemed to be going around and asking all the female operatives to join her entourage, inviting them to drink tea, go shopping, and most importantly, come bathe with her! Nebula was introduced to KOS-MOS' Driver, Astelle, a brown-haired girl in a light-brown coat and blue eyes behind glasses. Astelle asked Nebula about any cool alien civilizations, but the Zathurian didn't know where to begin.

"Brighid! Aegaeon!"

"Lady Mòrag!" The sapphire-flamed Blade and her waterbending brother were glad to reunite with their Driver. "I'm so sorry… for everything we've done."

"We're a disgrace as royal Blades…"

"Perish the thought. The threat has subsided… but I fear we have not seen the last of it. This Eggman has many accomplices."

"Yeah, but I'm sure they're all busy with their own operations." Melody reasoned. "I'm sure things will be peaceful here for a while, at least."

Ursula had been playing a lively song to keep the party bright. However, she slowed into silence when Sector IC approached them. "Terry! Suki! It's… wonderful to see you!"

"Yeah…" Terry waved halfheartedly.

"Oh, don't just 'yeah' her!" MaKayla scolded. "You asked us to take you here all because you were worried about her!"

"Yeah, Ursula!" Suki twirled. "Terry loves your songs sooooo much! The thought of never hearing them again made him so scared!"

"Sh-shut up, Suki! I just… Ursula didn't deserve any of this crap, so I wanted to make sure no one hurt her too badly!"

"That's very sweet of you, Terry." Ursula smiled. "But I'm just fine. Although, I was tickled pretty intensely."

"Ooooo, Ursula's ticklish?" Suki smirked. "Terry, you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Not really."

"N-No! Suki, please—aaaahh!" She had to surf a Song Road to flee the skiing icebender.

"I'm gonna tickle you, Ursula! You can never escape the ticklllle!"

The IC friends chuckled lightly at their playtime… and even Terry sparked a little smile.

"So, you're NOT coming with us?!" Miko shouted at the Aegises. "Not one of you?! At least let us have Malos!"

"You really want Destruct Chi, don't you?" Quill inquired.

"We're sorry." Rex blushed. "But we can't just leave the planet after all this. What about all the people who were forced to be Drivers, or injured trying? We'll have to help them get better."

"And if this war is really that big, any of Eggman's or Mickey's cohorts could still attack us any moment." Shulk reasoned.

"Yeah, Miko." Cheren agreed. "I admit having their power would be nice, but this isn't their battle. We need to show the universe our own power… and the Newborn's, but sparingly."

"About that though," Eddy began, "we very clearly used Boly against Eggman. So, why didn't we get attacked by, like, a dark Firstborn or something?"

"I don't know. But I'd like to ask Kael about this myself. I wonder if there's a way to talk to him…"

"And let's not forget that floating continent that just appeared." Mythra mentioned. "I can't believe God Deoxys made all that in the middle of his fight."

"Place is probably a mess." Jak figured. "But I wouldn't mind a little expedition."

"'kay, but you're helping out with the packing this time!" Daxter argued.

"Hey, Mimi." Sena spoke up. "I was wondering… Do you think I could stay here and help these guys?"

"W-Why? Don't you wanna be my Blade?" Miko asked with teary eyes.

"No, of course I do! I think you're great! You're so great that… I'm not sure if you really need me." Sena looked down sheepishly. "You've got that Boly's power, and your friends, and you're just awesome on your own. It was great working with you, but I feel like I need to find my own strength. Besides, I kinda wanna explore that new continent, too. Me and it were sort of 'born' close to the same time… so, I feel sort of connected to it! I wanna explore it with them!"

"I can't believe how fast my baby's grown up!" Miko squeezed her once again. "Already ready to be on her own! I'm gonna miss you, Sena! You've made me so proud!"

"Hehehe! You act like you're my mom, but we look more like sisters!"

"HOLD ON!" Sheila sprung up behind Miko. "You're invitin' ME to explore this new place to, right?! I ain't leaving this planet 'til I explore every corner of it!"

"We'll never win this war without you, Sheila." Mason said.

"MASON! As King of the Pirates, I order us all to go on a great big adventure spree after this war is over!"

"Heh heh heh! Aye-aye, Captain!"

Reyn placed a picture of Colonel Vangarre on a table, sniffling as Sharla hugged him. "Colonel… you were a vulgar and abusive old mudder! You were always angry and you always hurt us! But when things got serious, you were always ready! You gave your life for your people! So, despite all you were, you were the best darn colonel I've had the honor of-"

Something came spinning and crashing beside them. "AAAAAAHH!" Vangarre screamed, his body a searing red. "REYN, YOU UNGRATEFUL GOGOL! Find me some Water Crystals and get me healed THIS INSTANT! That Mechon vest barely protected me! I SWEAR, WHEN I FIND THE NOPON WHO SOLD IT!"

"THE COLONEL LIIIIIIVES!" Reyn crushed him in a hug, the colonel crying out in greater agony.

The KND partied the night away with their new friends. Sheila and Maddy joined Sena in muscle training. Cheren sparred with each of the Aegis Drivers. Vweeb, begrudgingly, gave a massage to Jak and Daxter to prove a point to Arianna, who shared a giggle with Floren. As Terry listened to Ursula's soothing melody, the boy began to feel second thoughts about leaving his team. But then Harry and Nia started rapping, and that was annoying.

When Miyuki told Team Torna about her power to see the past, they asked her to try that power on Malos. As Miyuki lay her hand on his crystal, the past beyond the Cooking Fest grew murky and faded… and yet, within that murk, Malos saw himself with a man with silver hair. He pulled that man closer in his arm and whispered in his ear: "Don't forget me…" Somehow, a tear drizzled down Malos' cheek.

…

"People of the world!" Melia's face was displayed in all towns. "I, Empress Melia Antiqua, am pleased to announce the threat of Dr. Eggman is no more! Thanks to the aid of outsiders, the Earth and Galactic Kids Next Door, we have won a difficult battle. They returned our corrupted Blades to normal and in good condition. However, I fear an even greater battle lies ahead. But we will persevere! Should we need their aid, I believe we can rely on the Kids Next Door again… and I, as well, will be there to support them when they need it."

GKND H.Q.

A "Galactic Map," designed like something you'd see in a Nintendo game, appeared before the ops. The map zoomed in on Mira, which had an Eggman flag attached to it. The flag toppled down, and a KND flag flashed in its place! This was followed by Donkey Kong victory music!

"We FINALLY beat the first world!" Miko said with a loud sigh.

"That's a nice Game Map, Carol!" Eddy praised.

"Thanks! I thought it would be a fun way to track our progress! I listed every planet that we know is under control of our enemies. Which one should we click next?"

She scrolled around the map. Mechanos had MomCorp.'s flag. Mobius had Schnee's flag. Etheria had Disney's flag, but Avalar had a far bigger one. Mushroom World had a large Bowser flag, but a smaller Doflamingo flag on its side. Coruscant had the Intergalactic News flag. Poké had a Team Rocket flag. "Man, that's a lot of worlds." Mason said. "Why is the Marzipan's logo in the bottom right?"

"Well, we haven't heard from them in a while, so I listed them as a side story. We oughta click it every now and then!"

"Yeh, we gotta make sure he takes our side." Sheila fist-palmed. "By force if we need to."

"You don't need much excuse." Mason eye-rolled.

"We should put to a vote which planet we'll tackle next." Cheren reasoned. "And which sectors should go."

"I VOTE FOR MOBIUS!" Maria screamed. "We gotta see if Dogmom's okay!"

"To be honest… I wanna go to Mobius, too." Weiss said. "I…I really want to get it over with."

"Are you sure?" Ciel asked. "This is rather sudden."

"I mean, maybe not now… after we go to bed first. A-And if it's alright with you guys."

"I wouldn't mind, but," Carol clicked Mobius, "it doesn't seem like we can."

A message came up: Kokichi must be rescued to access this mission. "Looks like some worlds have prerequisite missions."

"You're the only one who could've wrote that in there!" Dillon argued.

"Eheheheh!" Carol blushed. "Well, uh, we never did get him back after the Moonbase invasion!"

"I completely forgot about him…ugh, do we really have to? I wanna go to Mushroom, see what Doffy's up to." He clicked Mushroom.

Cheadle Yorkshire is required to access this mission. "And we can't go to Mobius to get Dogmom without Kokichi!" Maria gasped. "IT ALL COMES BACK AROUND!"

"Can we at least go to Mechanos?" Artie clicked it. "Yes! Let's just do Mechanos first!"

"I do wonder why Mom's forces didn't come in after Eggman was dealt with." Nebula said. "Did the Sirens already take down most of them?"

"Whatever, let's just find Kokichi tomorrow." Cheren sighed. "Then we'll figure something out…" Internally, many of them wanted to ask what he knew about the Aranea fiasco. "Where is he, anyway?"

"Theoretically," Jerome answered, "at his old school, Towa Academy. Where those juveniles who attacked us came from."