Ojamajo Propane 2: Propane Boogaloo

by sonicthegoddanghedgehog

Hank Hill and the Ojamajos return for one more adventure! When Buck Strickland, Hank's boss, discovers an ancient propane tank, said to be the origin of all propane, he plots to sell it for a hefty price. As a result, Hank and the Ojamajos must team up once more to retrieve this ancient tank, to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands and awakening an ancient force...

Ojamajo Propane 2: Propane Boogaloo

"Now, you see, the beauty of this grill is that it uses propane, the cleanest burnin' gas there is, meaning you won't get any smoke tainting the taste of the patty from charcoal, and there is a lower risk of spontaneous combustion at room temperature than if you were using a butane grill." Hank Hill, the definition of the average Texan man, was hard at work, doing what he loved best, selling propane and propane accessories. It was an average day at Strickland Propane, the Texan sun was hazy as it started setting, and Hank was getting ready to pack his bags and head off for home, as another shift of converting newcomers of grilling to the propane religion concluded. Until he heard a voice over the loudspeaker, "Hank Hill, please report down to the head office."

Hank sighed. He immediately had to head down to the head office JUST as he was about to set off for home. But the rules were the rules, and Hank was a stickler for the rules. So off he set anyways. But when he opened the door…

"Hank! Hank! You'll never guess what! This propane tank right here retails for about $200,000,000,000! We're rich! We're rich, I tells ya! Rich! Rich! Rich!"

A fat, old man with grey hair jumped up and down on his desk like an overexcited kangaroo. This was Hank's boss, Buck Strickland, the proud owner of Strickland Propane, and all he was interested in was making the slightest buck for his company, and he had discovered a gold mine. Hank was his assistant manager.

Hank leaned in for a closer look. "Sir, are you sure you really wanna sell this propane tank?"

"Am I sure?!" exclaimed Buck incredulously. "No, I WANT to sell it! This company will be rolling in dough by the end of next year! I'll be able to afford 5000 yachts, you could be feeding Peggy and Bobby for 3 months without workin'!"

The laptop displayed a picture of a gigantic, rusted propane tank. The description read, "ANCIENT PROPANE TANK. WARNING: DO NOT SELL! OR ELSE THE PROPANE GOD WILL WREAK HAVOC IN ANGER. LOCATION: MISORA."

"Sir, it says DO NOT SELL." said Hank. "And second of all, how on earth are we supposed to get to Misora from here?"

"Don't worry, Old Top." Buck attempted to comfort Hank. "There ain't no such things as propane gods or destruction caused by a propane apocalypse. Hell, I even bet that this propane tank here is just a normal propane tank."

"But sir-"

"Hank, as your boss, we are going to Misora to pick up this propane tank and that is that. C'mon, you've sold billions of propane tanks just like it! You're our golden goose at this point and we can't afford to lose you. My yachts would be crying at this."

Hank sighed. "Fine, we're going along with your plan. But where's our transportation?"

They immediately stepped outside, where Buck slapped the roof of Hank's truck. "Well, what are ya waitin' fer, Old Top? Get in."

"My truck? No way! It hasn't got a big enough gas tank to hold enough gas to travel to Misora even if it had all the propane in the world."

"Well, maybe my company ain't big enough to hold a golden goose like you."

Hank then sheepishly climbed into his truck and started the engine.

"I thought so." said Buck, as he also climbed in alongside Hank.

The truck sped off at about 40mph along the Arlen road. It was going to be a long and painful journey, the fate of the world hung in Hank and Buck's hands, and they didn't know how this tale was going to unfold yet. But sooner or later, they would find out that they had been travelling for a really long time down the road, and there was no sign of Misora just yet.

"Are we there yet Hank? Are we there yet Hank?"

"No, we will only be there when we get there. And if you pester me any further, I will surely kick your a*!"

But all the road turned out to be was desert, desert, and more desert. Arlen was now fading within the distance, the Texas deserts were expanding. And if things couldn't get any worse, Hank's truck had screeched to a halt.

Hank looked at his dashboard. The arrow pointed to the letter E rather than the letter F. "Well, looks like we're all out of propane." he said concerningly.

"ALL OUTTA PROPANE?!" Buck screamed. "THIS FAR INTO THE DESERT?! GREAT! JUST GREAT! NOW WE'RE STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE!"

Buck got out of the truck and began pounding the road with his fists out of anger. He eventually kneeled down and raised his hands towards the sun whilst tilting his head backwards. His face looked like a cross between agony, despair, and longing. "We were this close." he wept. "WE WERE THIS CLOSE! THIS CLOSE TO A PROPANE TANK THAT WAS GOING TO GET US RICH!" He turned to Hank. "A PROPANE TANK THAT WAS GOING TO ALLOW YOU TO FEED PEGGY AND BOBBY WITHOUT ANY FINANCIAL CONCERNS! YOU WOULDN'T HAVE EVEN NEEDED TO COME TO WORK FOR THE NEXT 3 MONTHS!"

"Buck. It's not over yet. There's a propane station down the road."

"AND NOW WE'RE LOST! THIS JOURNEY IS ALL FOR NOTHING! Wait, did you say there was a propane station down the road?"

And Buck immediately began jumping for joy, swatting the air with both arms in sheer excitement and triumph. "PROPANE! WE'RE SAVED! WE'RE SAVED, I TELLS YOU WHAT, HANK!"

"Alright Buck, that's enough. It's just like the millions of other propane stations located around Texas."

But how were they going to drive the remaining miles to the propane station when the truck was all out of gas? They weren't about to be towed by a tow truck any time soon. So Hank and Buck both got behind the truck and lifted it up by the bumper. They then proceeded to push the truck along the road, as though it were a child's toy. People in Texas were just that strong. It was that, and good ol' Texas values that did the job. Eventually, they managed to wheel the remaining way to the propane station, and hooked the truck over to the pumps to fill it up. As they headed over to the clerk inside the station to pay up though, strange voices could be heard inside the truck.

"They're gone. What's the plan?"

A strange green blob thing with a crystal ball hung by an elastic band from Hank's top rear-view mirror. It was accompanied by what looked to be a small female fairy with a human-like form, wings and blonde hair. They had disguised themselves as wing mirror ornaments by staying perfectly still and not saying a word.

The fairy carried the blob in her hands as they flew to the bottom to inspect the truck. The propane tank attached to the bottom of the truck was full. The blob clicked her fingers, a white glow surrounded the propane tank, and suddenly, the truck revved up. They were just as quick to scurry back inside of the truck and rearrange themselves as car ornaments, for Hank and Buck were rapidly heading their way back to the truck.

"Alright Hank, for real this time. PROPANE TANK HERE I COME!"

"Uh, you do realize that we're not headed for Misora. We're actually headed for the Mexican border."

"ARE WE?!" In a flash, Buck snatched the map out of Hank's hands. It was true, they were making no headway in this journey whatsoever. Worse of all, Misora was nowhere to be found on this map.

"Well, maybe they spelt Mexico wrong." suggested Buck.

"But that's stupid." said Hank. "It was clearly pronounced MIS-OR-A. Not MEX-I-CO. We must be doing something wrong."

But they had no clue as to what to do or where to go. So Hank just slammed the accelerator down on the truck in the hopes of getting somewhere, but it was at that point that something was off.

"Hey Hank, is it normal for the truck to be bathed in a white glow?"

Hank glanced outside. "Not that I know of."

The truck was now going faster than 120 mph, its maximum speed. The dashboards broke, the tires set themselves on fire, and it wasn't long before a huge white portal appeared right in the middle of the road. Before long, the truck was dematerializing as it continued to drive into the white portal.

On the other side of the portal was a grey, quaint town, decorated with neat, white buildings, and the occasional park. It was nothing like the hot, desert-like Arlen at all, as this new city did not reek of rednecks this time around, and instead of a strong smell of propane, a whiff of cherry blossoms filled the air instead. It was a quite peaceful atmosphere. Until the skies darkened, a forked crack of lightning split over the horizon, and Hank's truck was now exiting the white portal, with him and Buck inside of it. Eventually, the truck tried to skid to a halt, but it was going too fast, and it crashed straight into a brick wall.

"God-dang it!" groaned Hank. "Where are we?"

A sign next to Hank read, "Welcome to Misora Elementary School."

"Hank! Hank! We're in Misora!" yelled Buck with excitement, prodding Hank on the shoulder. "We did the thing!"

"Yeah, I know!" yelled Hank in annoyance. "There's a sign right next to us! And now we have to fix a school wall!"

"Which is WHY we're selling this propane tank!" Buck egged on. "We'll be rolling in enough dough to fix this school wall! Thing is though, WHERE is this propane tank?!"

Just then, Buck's pocket began to crackle. "Testing… testing… pocket sand… pocket sand…"

Hank reached into Buck's pocket. It was a radio. He spoke into the radio. "Who is this and what do you want?"

"It's me, Dale." crackled the radio. "Listen Hank, I heard all about you and Buck's little scheme, to sell an ancient propane tank and become rich. Thing is, I know precisely how to get to that tank, but the road there is going to be perilous. It's going to be filled with traps. So I'm going to guide you there Hank, since I have the coordinates and everything."

"This better not be another one of your stupid little goose chases." said Hank.

"Just trust me for once." said Dale. "Remember, you want to bring in the big bucks, don't you?"

Hank sighed. "For once, Dale, you actually have a point. But screw THIS one up, and your *ss will be kicked for a second time! Got that?!"

And so Hank and Buck stepped out of the truck, and entered Misora Elementary School through the door. Dale came in over the radio again. "Okay, so the school is relatively low security, so you shouldn't have that much of a problem going in. The staff will mistake anyone else entering the building as other staff, apart from the students, so if anyone approaches you, ACT NATURAL!"

As Hank and Buck continued to infiltrate the building, they ran into their first problem, the corridors were infested with students. It was of course, break time. "Remember, keep an eye on the time at all times, you never know where these students are going or what they might be doing, so stay alert at all times."

Hank and Buck continued to walk the corridors. The hallways were long, so they were walking for ages. How these students managed the distance was a question best left for another time. "Dale? what if these students see us? They're coming out by the masses!"

"Apparently, these students have chips implanted on their backs that rewire their brains so that they recognize any adult in the school as teachers, even when they're not teachers. This is disguised as a pat on the back for a compliment. They have to be changed daily, one is implanted on their backs at the beginning of the day, and then they are removed at the end of the day, to avoid suspicion. If the chips remain on for more than six hours, they suddenly short-circuit and they stop working, so the school keeps having to order large supplies of them every day."

And indeed, none of the students recognized that Hank and Buck weren't teachers at this school, but two mere propane salesmen looking to sell an ancient tank. They just simply happily skipped along to break, unconvinced of the shenanigans that were going on. On their backs, chips blinked red and black, almost making the students look like machines. But they were behaving normally otherwise, so it wasn't really much of a problem.

"So Buck, why were yer keepin' a radio in yer back pocket?"

"I consulted Dale fer help first before engaging this whole operation. He sure knows his way around government buildings, I tell you what."

As Hank and Buck were nearing yet another short turn, suddenly, the radio started beeping. "Dale? Dale? What's that sound?" asked Hank.

"Uh, Hank, someone unusual is coming up on my radar." responded Dale. "They're in the janitor's closet, so I advise you two head up here right now. It's just on your left. And they've also got five people who are part of this plan. It's urgent, Hank!"

Immediately, Hank and Buck rapidly thrust open the door of the janitor's closet. A mustachioed man stood, wearing a cowboy hat. Besides him was a chair, with five familiar young girls tied up in it. Hank recognized these girls, he had met them before. They each wore five colourful dress-like uniforms, complete with pointy hats, in the colours of pink, orange, blue, purple and yellow respectively. Those were the Ojamajos, Doremi, Hazuki, Aiko, Onpu and Momoko. And here they were, being kidnapped by…

"THATHERTON!" shouted Hank, pointing an accusing finger at the mustachioed man.

"Well, well, well," drawled Thatherton. "If it ain't my old arch nemesis, Hank Hill. And oh look! What a surprise, you brought your friend along with you, good ol' Buck Strickland!"

"Release these girls NOW!" yelled Hank. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a spray can, pointing it at Thatherton. "I got some WD-40 here, and I ain't afraid to use it!"

The Ojamajos exchanged surprised glances at each other. "Hank?! Hank Hill?! Is that you?" yelled Doremi.

"What's WD-40?!" yelled Aiko.

"It protects metal from rust and corrosion!" yelled Hank.

"Is he rusting then?!" yelled Aiko, referring to Thatherton.

"No, but his common sense is!" yelled Hank. He turned to Thatherton. "Anyways, why did you kidnap these girls and what do you want to do with them?!"

"Thought you'd never ask, Hank." Thatherton said. "These lovely young ladies here are going to help me find an ancient propane tank. Apparently this ain't no ordinary propane tank. They say it is the origin of propane itself! And these girls really know their magical stuff, so I've naturally recruited them to help me sell this propane tank and become the richest propane seller the world has ever seen!" He turned to Buck. "Enjoy your last days, Strickland, you may be rich yourself, but people will be turning to MY propane within seconds! It will be a thousand times more efficient, thanks to its oh so ancient status! It is provided by a god! A propane god, if you will. And then, muhahahahaha… AND THEN! Ohohohohoho… I WILL BECOME THE RICHEST PROPANE SELLER IN THE ENTIRE WORLD! I WILL HAVE CONTROL OF A GOD! PEOPLE WILL BOW DOWN TO ME! AND YOU, STRICKLAND, WILL BE ON THE STREETS, LIVING IN A CARDBOARD BOX, DEMANDING FOR MONEY, AND NOBODY WILL BE ABLE TO STOP ME! MWAAAA-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

He took a deep breath in.

"So… will you two please leave me alone? I have business to attend to."

The Ojamajos rocked in the chair they were tied to, apparently trying to free themselves.

"We shall never be your slaves!" thundered Doremi, in an unusually cold tone. The Ojamajos all proceeded to pull out their pollons and point them straight at Thatherton, having him at wandpoint, and their mercy.

"You're a colourful bunch." Thatherton teased slyly.

The Ojamajos raised their pollons high into the air, then waved them about. Flames started pouring out of them, making them resemble Olympic torches. Then, they lowered them onto the rope, setting the rope ablaze. The rope continued to burn and burn until it was just a pile of ash resting at the bottom of their feet. The Ojamajos immediately leaped from their chair, then stared Thatherton in the face, with extremely fierce looks in their eyes. Their pollons were still drawn, but this time, they were flaming.

"As long as you don't touch us again, nobody gets hurt."

Thatherton was now panicking, his once confident composure was now decomposing at the fury of the Ojamajos. But Thatherton being Thatherton, he managed to recompose himself and come up with a compromise to Hank and Buck.

"I'll tell you what Strickland, why don't we gamble to see who wins the propane tank down at Misora Casino?"

"Gambling? GAMBLIN'?!" Buck perked up excitedly. "Count me IN!"

"Now hold on just a minute!" interrupted Hank. "If you tell us where Misora Casino is, then we're taking the girls with us! I don't want you getting more funny ideas about kidnapping!"

"Alright then." said Thatherton. "It's down near the Misora Station, in the middle of the shopping district. Unfortunately, Misora's not really a town that focuses on selling propane much, unlike Arlen, so you won't encounter many propane shops here. That being said, I WILL bring the propane tank to the casino, as this is a one-of-a-kind tank. You best be ready, because I STILL ain't givin' up this tank without a fight!"

And he immediately left the room with the propane tank, speeding outside in a large truck with the letters, "THATHERTON FUELS" on the side of it. Meanwhile, Hank, the Ojamajos, and Buck devised a game plan in the parking lot.

"Alright, what's next?" began Hank.

"You think that tank's actually for real?" asked Buck.

"I mean, if that Thatherton was so hellbent on kidnapping us just to lead him to that tank, then it MUST have some magical properties." said Doremi.

"Yeah, well he's just as trustworthy as a donkey's *ss!" said Hank. "And that's on a GOOD day."

"Maybe it's some kind of weird conspiracy." suggested Aiko. "Why else would Dale of all people know about it?"

"Because Dale's a giblet-head who would believe anything." said Hank. "Last time, he thought y'all were some kind of government agents, and then he proceeded to put us all in danger on the highway because he thought he was keeping me safe. We were just lucky that he was actually making good points in order to get me here to you in order to rescue you."

"Yeah, that's the thing, he had GOOD POINTS." said Momoko. "What Aiko is saying is that perhaps we ought to learn more about the tank from somebody who actually knows something about it, and that maybe we shouldn't write people off for their past actions."

At that, Hank pulled out the radio from his back pocket. "Alright Dale, the team is formed. We've got the Ojamajos. Now, where are you and where is your base?"

The radio crackled. "I'm in a place called the Maho-Dou. No idea what it is, but I've decided to set up camp over here."

"Good. Let's roll." declared Hank.

And so he, like he had done many times before, loaded the Ojamajos, and Buck, into his truck and started the engine. But alas, as said truck was crashed into the wall of the school, he couldn't quite start the engine.

"Leave it to me! Pirika Pirilala Popolina Peperuto!" chanted Doremi, waving her pollon around, which now emitted a pink light. "Fix Hank's truck!"

Beckoned by one beam of magic, the pieces of Hank's truck slowly detached themselves from each other, and then began to spin rapidly, almost at the speed of light. The pieces then reattached themselves one by one, like some absurd construction toy, until Hank's truck was now put back together, good as new, just like when he purchased it.

"Whoa, how'd you do that?!" gasped Hank.

"I don't know." said Doremi. "Maybe I just have a natural talent for fixing trucks."

Hank shook his head. "That girl ain't right."

Before long, he had slammed his foot down on the pedal and had begun to speed off like there was no tomorrow. And by that, we mean that he somehow knew all the rules of Japanese driving, despite never having been to Japan before. He drove on the left side of the road, always kept at a speed of 18-25 mph, and stopped at red lights. It was peaceful. Too peaceful.

But it was just what Hank wanted though, one last piece of peace before the inevitable chaos that was about to unfold. As they pulled up outside of the doors of the Maho-Dou, Hank felt a twinge of anxiety in his stomach. This was the moment of truth. Was this really just an ordinary propane tank? Or was it really a powerful artifact that was not to be messed with, just like in the myths Thatherton spoke of? The doors of the Maho-Dou creaked as Hank, the Ojamajos, and Buck took steps of fate into the old-fashioned building.

The inside of the Maho-Dou was certainly… odd to say the least. Strange, unnatural goods lined the shelves, mostly consisting of either sloppily-made clay figures or pastries that looked to be well-baked. The shop didn't know what it wanted to be at all. It certainly wasn't a convenience store, nor was it a bakery, but rather a mixture of both. In the centre of the wooden floor was a large, circular table, on which a large map, consisting of the layouts of both Arlen and Misora, was laid out flat. A small radar displaying seven green dots, representing Hank, Buck, and the Ojamajos, also beeped repetitively. This map and radar in fact belonged to Dale, who sat hunched over the table, cigarette in mouth. Eventually, he turned around wildly.

"Oh, it's you." he droned. "I thought you were aliens or somethin'."

"Alright Dale," began Hank. "We wanna know. Is this so-called ancient propane tank really that ancient? Or is it yet another one of your particular giblet-headed conspiracies?"

"Well, you've got very good timing, Hank." He turned to the Ojamajos. "I imagine you know who these people are." He held up the green blob and fairy who had powered up Hank's truck when they were at the Arlen petrol station earlier.

"Majo Rika! Lala!" cried the Ojamajos in sheer joy.

"YOU OJAMAJOS!" yelled Majo Rika, the green blob, also known as a witch frog, angrily. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Simmer down, simmer down." comforted Lala, the fairy.

"And who's THIS GUY?!" Majo Rika demanded, pointing a green finger at Hank.

"I'm Hank Hill. I sell propane and propane accessories. And what in the hell are you?"

"Well, for your information, since I've already turned into it, I am what is known as a witch frog." stated Majo Rika. "It happens when you call a witch a witch. So those girls in front of you? Don't ever call them the term I just said two seconds ago. Refer to them as Ojamajos. Got that?!"

"This Majo Rika here, I heard she knows about the ancient propane tank." said Dale.

"You mean the thing that contains the almighty Alkanis, our ancient propane god?"

Hank spluttered for a few seconds. "Sorry?! Can you re-iterate that?!"

"Alkanis The Terrible." continued Majo Rika. "An ancient propane god."

Everyone in the room looked dumbfounded. Hank, the Ojamajos, Buck, and Dale all looked at each other. "PROPANE GOD?!" they yelled, in shock.

"How do we appease it?" asked Doremi.

"I-Is it fearsome?" stammered Hazuki.

"Does it like cake?" suggested Momoko.

"How truly powerful is it?" questioned Aiko.

"And why is it called Alkanis The Terrible?" pondered Onpu.

"See Buck, I TOLD YOU there was such a thing as a propane god!" warned Hank.

"And THAT'S why it brings in the big bucks!" protested Buck.

"YOU'RE GOING TO SELL IT?!" yelled Hank. "First Thatherton, and now you! DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU'RE MESSING WITH HERE?!"

"Majo Rika, perhaps these visitors need to know more about Alkanis The Terrible." said Lala.

Majo Rika grunted huffily. "Follow me." she beckoned, before pressing a blue button on the table which opened up a door underneath the floor. The rest of the group followed. As they descended down a secret flight of stairs, the Ojamajos lit up their pollons to use as torches. There was a dark cave with stone walls that lay ahead. Each wall was adorned with murals, possibly primitive-looking, that probably dated themselves millions and millions of years before the present day.

"Long ago," began Majo Rika. "Humans, witches and wizards lived in harmony, though they were not very advanced species at the time. There were no modern cities, cars, or technology. Instead, all there was were sticks and stones. Food was obtained by hunting other animals, either by using magic or weapons such as rocks or spears."

The murals correlated themselves directly to Majo Rika's speech. Human-like figures were throwing what appeared to be simple weapons constructed from sticks or stones at a large creature that somewhat appeared to have fur, but sported tusks.

Majo Rika continued on. "Meat, such as those from Woolly Mammoths, was a popular target for consumption. However, there was no method of cooking said meat, so we had to eat the meat with our bare hands. That is, until the earliest humans found a way to rub flint and stone together, creating the very first fire. Then, a very wise witch, Majo Pyro, recreated the exact same fire that the humans had created earlier, using magic. From then on, fire was accepted as one of the very first means of cooking food."

And as such, the murals then depicted the humans frolicking around a fire, lowering their freshly caught meat into the newly-discovered gas. Meanwhile, a figure dressed in a primitive looking robe and pointy hat held a stick in her hand, which fired a beam conjuring up yet another fire. The humans had looks of amazement on their faces. Such an act had never been witnessed before.

"The widespread usage of fire as a cooking method caught the attention of a strange being. One day, a hole in the sky broke asunder, and a gigantic blue fire-breathing dragon, with bat wings on the side of it, flew down from the sky. The dragon saw the orange fire and breathed blue flames all over it, turning the fire blue. When this new fire was tested, it was discovered that not only did it burn much cleaner than the previous fires, but that the meat also tasted much better. This was, of course, the very first usage of propane, and the arrival of Alkanis, the propane god."

This time, the figures on the mural had turned their attention towards a massive gap in the sky, which was depicted as a swirly vortex, from which Alkanis had spawned.

"Back then, Alkanis was quite a benevolent god. It would regularly watch over the humans and the witches, making sure they were satisfied with their cooked meat. But alas, this peace would not last. As propane cooking became the new norm, Majo Pyro grew ever so jealous and jealous. She thought that her original fire was the superior way of cooking. Angered at feeling displaced, she conjured up a spell to capture Alkanis while it was sleeping, holding it under her control. As dawn broke, Alkanis awoke in a fit of rage. The great being managed to break out of Majo Pyro's spell, and then proceeded to engulf the entire Human-Witch village in a torrent of blue flames. Crops perished, houses were destroyed, and millions of lives were lost in that tragic incident. We still worshipped the god, but only out of pure fear out of what that vile creature would do next. It was then that we started calling it Alkanis The Terrible."

Indeed, the murals demonstrated how Alkanis had begun wreaking havoc on the small village. Great streams of fire were being emitted from the mighty beast's mouth, burning everything the humans and witches worked so hard for down to the ground while they scurried away in a panic.

"It wasn't long before we found out what caused Alkanis to descend from the sky. An ancient propane tank, one that was sold by one of the local witches, who had thought it was a steel beam and didn't know what it really was. Apparently, selling it triggers Alkanis's appearance. Luckily, we managed to calm Alkanis down in its rage and contain it inside this propane tank, which we then buried under a huge pile of soil, on top of which this present-day Maho-Dou stands upon. And it should be right here."

But Majo Rika noticed that something was off. "Wait a minute, it's GONE!"

"Hold on, we know EXACTLY who did this!" exclaimed Hank. "It was that M.F. Thatherton! He's mine and Buck's business rival!"

"He said he was holding the tank hostage at Misora Casino." stated Hazuki.

"Then we have no choice." said Majo Rika. "We must gamble at Misora Casino to retrieve that propane tank. Luckily, I just happen to have a knack for gambling. I did it dozens of times in the Witch World-and won every time!"

"Great! That's two gamblers then!" proclaimed Buck in excitement. "Me and Thatherton are gambling buddies! This'll all be too easy."

And immediately the group proceeded to exit the Maho-Dou and climb into Hank's truck once more, this time with Majo Rika and Lala in tow. They were headed straight for Misora Casino. Dale had decided to stay behind to give the group directions, like he had done earlier, under one condition imposed by Hank. "No more conspiracy theories. If you screw THIS one up, your *ss will be kicked down the curb."

As they were driving once more, colourful signs started showing up on the highway. They read, "MISORA CASINO STRAIGHT AHEAD," "WHY WASTE YOUR TIME MOPING ABOUT YOUR CURRENT FINANCIAL SITUATION WHEN YOU COULD BE WINNING MILLIONS," and "ALL YOUR MONEY ARE BELONG TO US." Meanwhile, Buck was getting ever more giddy and giddy.

"Look, Hank, it's just a tank!" he cried, like a pig who had just been handed a lifetime supply of slop. "A magical, ancient propane tank that could seriously benefit us! We have to think positive! Besides, what's life without a little risk?" He was almost jumping out of his seat at the mere thought of getting rich.

"Because if we take said risk, the world will burn in a fiery inferno." said Hank. "We're not here to lose ourselves in the games, we're here to retrieve that ancient tank and save the world."

It wasn't long before they were approaching a rather grandiose building, with neon lights draped all over it like a coat. A lot of noise erupted from it, particularly the clinking of glasses and coins, laughter, and the sound of jazz music in the background. A sign that hung over the building in big letters read, "WELCOME TO MISORA CASINO."

Once a parking space was found, Hank began to rally up the troops, each giving one part of the group instructions to do. "Alright gang, here's the plan. Me, Buck, Majo Rika and Lala will gamble in the casino and retrieve that propane tank back from Thatherton. Remember, he is cunning, crafty and resourceful, so stay on your toes at all times. Ojamajos, you stay inside the truck, you're not old enough to enter a casino yet."

Just then, Majo Rika handed them a device that looked like a walkie-talkie with a rod on the end of it.

"Cover your ears." she said to Hank and Buck, who proceeded to obey. "This here is a spell transmitter. It is quite simple, just cast a spell where the speaker is and the spell will fire out through that rod and travel to the casino. Your job is to cast spells onto the dice so that Hank and Buck will always win every roll. It's the only way we could actually get you involved without you having to gamble."

"And remember, nothin' good comes out of gambling." said Hank. "Just because we're doin' it doesn't mean you should. You could lose a lot of money and end up poor, so it's not a good idea, no matter what the advertisements say."

The rest of the group turned towards the casino and strutted into the casino doors. On the nearest Craps table was, you guessed it, Thatherton, sporting a mocking grin, as though he was above everybody else. Behind him was a rusted propane tank, covered with earth and ancient patterns.

"Well, well, well, if it ain't my two least favourite propane peddlers." smirked Thatherton upon noticing Hank and Buck. He checked his watch. "You're late."

Hank stepped forward, steely resolve in his eyes. "We want that propane tank back, Thatherton. You know it doesn't belong to you."

"Ah, but my dear Hank! The laws of gambling in a casino dictate that possession is nine-tenths of the law." Thatherton grinned. "Besides, I'm on the verge of winning the jackpot!"

"Then let's make a wager," Buck interjected eagerly. "A head-to-head game, just you and me. If you win, you keep the tank. But if I win, we get it back."

Thatherton leaned back in his chair, visibly intrigued. "A gamble, eh? Now we're talking! What shall be the stakes?"

"A little something I know you'll find interesting," Buck grinned, "If you lose, you'll have to give up your crooked propane operations. And we get complete ownership of that tank!"

Thatherton clapped slowly, in a sarcastic manner. "Bold moves, Mr. Strickland. Bold, bold moves. You know what you are? Words. Words on a Microsoft Word document. And you just got bolder. Fine! But if I win, I not only keep the tank; I'll put you both out of business for good."

Buck held out the two dice in his hands. "What can I say to that? A deal's a deal."

And before they knew it, the game had begun. Buck took the first roll. Hank then pressed a button on another device he was hiding behind his back. Meanwhile, back in the truck…

The Ojamajos were waiting on guard, staring at the device, waiting for the inevitable moment when they'd have to fire. Suddenly, a red light flashed and the device began beeping.

"AAAHHHHH!" shrieked Doremi. "The device is beeping! Is there something wrong with it?!"

"It means it's our cue to fire." answered Hazuki, trying to calm her friend down.

"Oh, right, right." said Doremi. "Pirika Pirilala Popolina Peperuto!" she chanted, aiming her pollon at the device. "Make the dice win!" The light from the spell shot out of the pollon and straight out of the rod that was attached onto the end of the device, travelling all the way to the casino. Meanwhile, Buck found out that he had just rolled a seven, and Thatherton was struggling to keep his cool, his face as bright red as a tomato.

"Yeah! I win! I win!" crowed Buck.

"I-Impossible!" raged Thatherton. "He normally rolls a 2! How is this even possible?!"

"Well, let's just say that's why they call me Taco Bell!" gloated Buck.

"Why do they call you Taco Bell?" asked Hank.

"'Cause I'm the King of Craps!" bragged Buck.

The table immediately erupted into laughter as Thatherton himself took another roll. But dismay crossed his face as he rolled a 2. And there were no spells involved this time!

"Ha-ha! You jinxed it this time!" snickered Buck.

"Shut up, Strickland!" snarled Thatherton, losing his patience. "I do not jinx things!"

Buck rolled again. Fortunately, the Ojamajos were ready in the truck again. "Paipai Ponpoi Puwapuwa Puu!" chanted Hazuki. "Make the dice roll an 11!"

Once again, the orange light flowed out of Hazuki's pollon and into the device, eventually shooting out of the rod and travelling to the casino. Buck had indeed rolled an 11, and Thatherton was seething with rage once more.

"Alright! Must be my lucky day today!" said Buck.

"Phah! Beginner's luck!" spat Thatherton. Now it was his turn to roll the dice. Completely spell-unassisted, he was confident for sure that he'd win this time, only for him to roll a measly 3.

"Hey, at least it's a step up from two." Buck comforted mockingly.

"I don't need your pity, Strickland." said Thatherton.

From then on, the Ojamajos took it in turns back in the truck to alter Buck's every dice roll so that he would always win.

"Pameruku Raruku Laliloli Poppun!" chanted Aiko.

"Pururun Purun Famifami Faa!" chanted Onpu.

"Perutan Petton Pararira Pon!" chanted Momoko.

And each and every time, it was the same command, "Make the dice roll a 7/11!" They didn't fire their spells when Thatherton was rolling, and yet he seemed to get anything BUT A 7 or 11.

Buck was about to make yet another roll, only for Thatherton to just hand them the ancient propane tank. He looked as if he was about to explode.

"HERE! TAKE IT! AND GET OUT!"

With that, Hank, Buck, Majo Rika and Lala exited the casino easily, with the propane tank in their grasp. They were dumbfounded. It couldn't have been that easy. Their plan worked well. Too well. But still, at least there was good news. They climbed into the truck and drove away.

"You guys, I have good news!" said Hank, talking to the Ojamajos. "We finally retrieved that propane tank!"

"REALLY?!" gasped the Ojamajos, in unison.

"That's wonderful!" cheered Momoko.

Majo Rika piped up. "Now all we need to do is get this tank back to the Maho-Dou and everything will be a-ok!"

Unfortunately, it wasn't going to be that simple. For there was the sound of rocket thrusters behind them. SHWOOOOOOOOOM!

"What… was that?" Buck hesitated.

The Ojamajos looked out of the back window. "Uh, Hank?" shuddered Aiko. "Is it normal for Thatherton's truck to be going that fast?"

Immediately, Hank also looked out of the back window. "BWAAAAAHHH! HOLY MOTHER OF PROPANE!" he yelled, in clear shock.

Thatherton's signature oil tanker was pursuing Hank's truck down the road, not only running at its maximum speed, but it also had two rocket boosters attached on its back. Thatherton got out a megaphone. "YOU WILL GIVE UP THAT PROPANE TANK OR ELSE! IF YOU FAIL TO COMPLY, YOU WILL ALL PERISH IN A FIERY INFERNO! DO YOU HEAR ME!"

Hank got out another megaphone. "THATHERTON! WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! YOU CRAZY IDIOT! YOU WILL GET US ALL KILLED!"

"THAT'S THE POINT!" yelled Thatherton. "I WANT THAT PROPANE TANK! AND THE ONLY WAY TO GET IT IS BY KILLING YOU LOT! UHAHAHA! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Just then, Buck opened the sunroof, while holding the ancient propane tank and waving it at Thatherton, trying to bait him.

"HEY THATHERTON! WANT THIS?!"

Thatherton gasped. "THE PROPANE TANK!"

"THEN COME GET IT!" yelled Buck. He then threw the propane tank straight out of the sunroof, in the direction of Misora Elementary School, which was rapidly approaching the foreground. Somehow, it flew straight to the school's playground, despite the two vehicles not even entering the parking lot yet.

Once Buck settled himself inside the truck again, the Ojamajos whipped out their brooms and started flying right above Thatherton's truck, and almost at the same speed of it too.

"Pururun Purun Famifami Faa!" Onpu chanted. "Trick Room, activate!"

All of a sudden, a purple light engulfed both Hank and Thatherton's trucks. Bizarrely, Thatherton's truck was now slowing down! Despite it having two rocket boosters on its back at full thrust and the dashboard reading 120 MPH! Meanwhile, Hank's truck was speeding up! Despite it being slower than Thatherton's truck and not having anything to help speed it up. The speeds of both trucks had been switched to buy Hank more time while ensuring Thatherton could never get his hands on the propane tank at all costs. So, it was only natural that Hank's truck would be the first to arrive at the Misora Elementary School's car park, followed by Thatherton's truck much later.

Sooner or later, Buck was now chasing Thatherton down the school halls, each one desperate to stop the other from grabbing the ancient propane tank, in a furious race that could only be powered by pure greed. The Ojamajos followed behind on their brooms, though they were above the school to prevent anybody from seeing them. Hank was also running behind Thatherton and Buck, exasperated and worn out from all this chasing.

Suddenly, the Ojamajos swooped down into the school halls, when nobody else was around apart from Buck and Thatherton. "Pameruku Raruku Laliloli Poppun!" chanted Aiko. "Conjure up ten-thousand dollars!"

At that, ten-thousand dollars did show up. Thatherton and Buck gasped. "Money!" they both shouted. "We're rich! We're rich!"

But the money vanished in a puff of smoke.

"WHAAAA?!" they cried. "It vanished!"

But then Hank came careening around the corner. "You give up your endless money pursuit!" he shouted. "Or else I'm kicking your *sses!"

"Quick! TO THE TANK!" Buck ordered. He and Thatherton took a right turn onto the school playground, where the ancient tank stood. The Ojamajos hid in the bushes, not only listening, but also planning their next move. Meanwhile, Buck and Thatherton stood opposite of each other on the playground, glaring at each other with anger in their eyes, as if they were about to have some kind of duel, with the ancient propane tank in between them.

"Alright Thatherton, you know why I dragged you here." growled Buck.

Thatherton cackled evilly. "You're too late, Strickland. I am within standing distance of this tank. Once I grab it, world domination will be all but a few steps away."

"Oh yeah? So am I! And I make double the amount of money that you do! Unlike Thatherton Fuels, Strickland Propane sells propane with an honest and reliable service!"

"Says you. Do you really think pooling your money on gambling, food and women is a form of honest and reliable service?"

"Coming from the guy who disguises propane as oxygen and sells it to old people?"

Their faces were now flaming red. Buck had had enough of this. He pulled out a small remote-like device from his pocket and pressed the button. Quickly, the remote began shapeshifting, gaining more and more metallic features and more buttons as time went on. Sooner or later, the device had grown larger and morphed into a massive metal structure. Finally, the machine had mutated into an absolutely gargantuan steel robot, towering at least several feet above the school itself, complete with two cannons for arms, 19 billion rifles attached to its back, six roundabout-sized buzzsaws on each elbow, 3 nukes attached to its neck, a propane tank on the ankle of each foot acting as rocket boosters, and an elaborate cockpit as the head, with Buck seated inside behind two joysticks and a very complicated-looking maze of buttons that controlled the mighty device.

"Say your prayers, Thatherton."

Almost as if to answer, Thatherton immediately got out another remote device and summoned another robot of his own. This robot was almost identical to Buck's, only that it had drills for arms instead of cannons, and swords attached to the robot's shoulders.

"No, YOU'RE the one who's DEAD around here, STRICKLAND!"

Sure enough, it wasn't long before the two robots began clashing with a rigorous vigor. Buck tried firing his nukes at Thatherton's robot, but the great swords, although melting afterwards, managed to explode the nukes before hitting the actual center, the weak spot of both mechs. Thatherton's buzzsaws directed themselves towards Buck's cockpit, but Buck's great cannon arms shot beams of fire that also melted the buzzsaws. Immediately, Buck then proceeded to launch an assault on Thatherton's cockpit using his many rifles, creating a showering hailstorm of bullets. Both sides had looks of depravity and insanity on their faces. They had indeed gone insane in their relentless pursuit of power and riches, while also allowing their rivalry to get so heated that it boiled down to this: No longer were they business rivals, they wanted each other DEAD.

Thatherton returned fire via firing HIS nukes at Buck's rifles. Apart from a huge explosion the size of a building, no-one really got hurt. Then, Thatherton's drill arms proceeded to try and impale the torso of Buck's robot, only for the drills to be knocked clean off by Buck's cannon arms, which this time shot cannonballs the size of large cars.

Still hiding in the bushes, the Ojamajos were watching the huge conflict that was going on, visibly horrified by the sheer fact that two adults had not only gone fully insane, but were also planning to kill each other at this level of severity, worrying that one of them or both would be seriously injured or even killed. "What do we do?!" panicked Doremi. "They're both going to be dead if we don't intervene!"

"Why don't we hack the robots to disable them mid-fight?" suggested Hazuki.

Doremi's eyes lit up in amazement. "Hazuki-chan, HOW do you know how to HACK?!"

"Well, it's nothing." Hazuki answered shyly. "My mother taught me how to hack so that she could get the internet back online once. Ever since then, she's relied on me for the family's internet problems."

The Ojamajos now had a new objective: FIND THE COMPUTER ROOM. They each pressed a button on several rings they were wearing on their fingers. A flash of light erupted out from behind the bushes. When the Ojamajos re-emerged, they were no longer wearing the colourful uniforms and hats they wore before, but they were now wearing their civilian clothes. Their pollons were also nowhere to be seen. And they walked up the stairs instead of using broomsticks to fly over them. When they finally arrived at the computer room, they sat themselves behind a computer that was connected via a cable to a large screen that showed the vital statistics of the two robots. "Okay girls, we need to hack into the robots' systems and disable them before they do any more damage." ordered Doremi. The Ojamajos nodded in agreement. Hazuki started typing furiously on the keyboard, her fingers moving like lightning. "Alright, I think I've found their weak points. Aiko, keep an eye on Thatherton's robot. Onpu, you keep an eye on Buck's robot. Momoko, you monitor their movements and let us know if they're about to make a deadly move." As the robots continued to clash outside, the Ojamajos were working hard at disabling them. They managed to hack into the system of Thatherton's robot first, and just as it was about to make another deadly move, Hazuki disabled the controls, causing the robot to freeze in place. Thatherton's eyes widened in shock as his robot was immobilized.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! NO!" he screamed, pointing a finger at Buck.

"HEY! IT'S NOT MY FAULT!" Buck shouted. "I DID NOTHIN'! BUT ON THE FLIP SIDE, IT GIVES ME A CHANCE TO STRIKE YOU! PREPARE TO BE SKEWERED! AND LET YOUR NAME BE FOREVER REMEMBERED AS THE FAILURE OF PROPANE!"

Just as it was readying yet another deadly attack, the Ojamajos turned their attention to Buck's robot. Hazuki managed to disable the controls just as it was about to strike a fatal blow against Thatherton's robot. Both robots now stood motionless on the playground, their arms and weapons hanging limply by their sides.

"OH HELL NO!" shouted Buck. "THIS AIN'T HAPPENIN'!"

"Alright girls, we've disabled the robots. Let's go out there and put a stop to this madness," ordered Doremi. As the Ojamajos left the computer room and ran towards the playground, Thatherton and Buck stepped out of their respective robots, breathing heavily from the intense battle they had just been a part of. They were both exhausted, but still seething with anger towards each other.

"YOU!" Thatherton yelled, pointing a shaky finger at Buck.

"YOU!" Buck yelled back, his face red with rage.

But before they could make another move, the Ojamajos appeared on the playground, standing between the two men, arms crossed and eyes blazing with determination. "This madness ends now!" declared Doremi. "Thatherton, Buck, you two are acting like babies! This rivalry has gone too far, and it needs to stop!"

"You tell 'em, Doremi!" cheered Aiko.

"You two need to put aside your differences and work together to find a peaceful solution," continued Doremi. "The ancient propane tank is not something to fight over. It is a powerful artifact that should be kept safe and protected. We need to return it to its resting place and ensure that it does not fall into the wrong hands."

"Oh, you sweet summer child." droned Buck. "It's not just about whose hands it falls into. Look at the bigger picture here. This tank is worth millions! And as a businessman who sells propane and propane accessories, I need millions. It's just how I operate and continue to operate. Without vast sums of money, a business cannot be sustained any longer, and it collapses on itself. Greed is necessary! I won't have any more of your childish morals about how greed corrupts people or leads to disaster! It's gotten me to where I want to be in life, to be the manager of Strickland Propane! If you don't like the very idea of capitalism, Doremi, then I suggest you go cry in a corner, because that's just how the world is! And it ain't gonna change! Ever!"

At that, Buck eventually got up and re-entered the school building, where he then climbed the stairs to the loudspeaker room. The school PA system then crackled.

"Greetings Misora Elementary! I am Buck Strickland! The manager of Strickland Propane! I sell propane and propane accessories! From now on, I am taking over this school! I am your new headmaster! Your ruler! Your oppressor! Your gloooooooorrrrious leader! And there's gonna be some changes around here! Under the new education law, proposed by yours truly, all lessons will now be about propane and propane accessories! Because let's face it, who needs English and Maths anyways? Do you really need to know trigonometry in order to sell a propane tank? No! Because it's a cylinder! Not a triangle! Secondly, no matter if you participated or didn't participate in the lesson, all students must be paid by their teachers at the end of every lesson. It is work, after all, and y'all need to start learning the value of money here! You children have bright futures here, maybe one day y'all will be rulers of your own businesses, like me. So, get to work! And as my first order of business, will Tamaki Reika and Shimakura Kaori come down to the principal's office, which is now MY office, please?"

Meanwhile, Buck Strickland lounged in his new office, which he took without permission, noisily chomping down on a turkey leg. "Well Buck," he said to himself. "You really outdid yourself this time. You overtook an entire school without a hitch! And no pesky Hank Hill in the background! Just got to do this to entire countries now, and the Strickland Empire will rise!"

He was in the middle of practicing his evil cackling when suddenly, he heard a knock on the door. "Come iiiiiinnnn!" he cooed, in a sing-song voice. The door bust open. Standing outside were two girls, one tall girl with curly blonde hair, and the other girl having light brown hair tied in pigtails, wearing glasses and a blue polo shirt, and constantly having a camera on her. These must've been the Tamaki Reika and Shimakura Kaori he ordered.

"Yeah?! Whaddya want?!" roared Tamaki, the one with curly blonde hair. "We're VERY busy here!"

"Busy causing trouble." drawled Buck. "I like your work ethic. You don't need to learn about propane or propane accessories. You already have the hard work ethic required for any job. That's why I'm going to appoint you two as my personal henchmen! Congratulations! It's your lucky day!"

Tamaki squealed in delight, shaking Shimakura, the one with glasses, brown pigtails and a blue shirt.

"Did ya hear that, Shimakura?! We've been promoted! To official henchmen!"

"I know that, Tamaki!" cried Shimakura. "And stop shaking me so much! You know I get sick from that!"

"Anyways," began Buck, trying to regain the authority in the room. "As my first order of business, I order you to bully Doremi Harukaze! Lead her away from the propane tank!"

"B-Bully her?!" stuttered Shimakura. "Is that REALLY necessary?!"

"But, should either one of you clods fail," warned Buck. "Then I'm afraid you'll have the pleasure of meeting Bruce!"

And he immediately pressed a red button on his desk. A hole opened up in the ground. Said hole was filled with tons and tons of water, where an enormous great white shark lurked. The shark snapped its fearsome jaws rapidly, a starved look in its eyes. It seemed to be already anticipating its soon-to-be-prey's failure.

"So, do we have a deal?" asked Buck.

"Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes!" answered Tamaki and Shimakura, not out of agreement, but out of terror of being shark bait. Shimakura leaned over from behind Tamaki and took a picture of the great white with her camera. They then fled to the school playground.

Meanwhile, on the school playground, Tamaki and Shimakura chatted to each other about what their next game plan would be.

"Tamaki, I don't like this!" Shimakura complained. "I mean, I've helped you many times before, plus I work for the school newspaper, but doesn't outright bullying another student seem a bit much?!"

"We have to do what Buck Strickland says!" directed Tamaki. "It's the new law, whether we like it or not! Even if I do think the man's a little bit off his rocker."

Suddenly, Doremi began showing up in the distance.

"Just leave it to me!" declared Tamaki. "Hey, Doremi! You're a loser in this propane-filled world! You'll never get enough propane!"

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" questioned Doremi.

"Uh, it means you'll never have any propane?" answered Shimakura. "If you want your precious steaks, you'll have to cook them with something else, like charcoal or butane."

"But steaks are equally delicious no matter how they are cooked." said Doremi.

Tamaki groaned. She decided to whip out a rolling pin she had been carrying and whack Shimakura on the head with it. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" yelled Tamaki. "YOU'RE SCREWING IT UP AGAIN LIKE YOU ALWAYS DO! IF YOU DON'T STOP SCREWING IT UP, YOU CAN GO BACK TO EATING LUNCH ALONE IN THE JANITOR'S CLOSET!"

"AHHH! I-I'm so s-sorry T-Tamaki!" cried Shimakura. "I-I promise I'll d-do b-better next time!"

"Is everything okay back there?" asked Aiko.

"Of course it is! Everything's fine!" snapped Tamaki. "Now, where was I? Ah yes. Leave the campus now! You have no value to propane!"

"I don't even work in the propane industry!" argued Doremi. "And neither do you."

"Hold on, that's right!" realized Onpu. "Tamaki, you dropped something."

Onpu proceeded to pick up a piece of paper that was fluttering right past Tamaki's feet. She read it carefully. "This is a script!" she declared.

Tamaki looked flustered. "No… No it's not!"

"Oh, I think I know a script when I see one." rebutted Onpu. "I am a child idol. I work with these every single day."

"OKAY WE ADMIT IT!" screamed Shimakura out of sheer nervousness and panic. "We were given these scripts to have lines to say when we tried to bully you! But the thing is, we don't want to bully you! It was all that Buck Strickland's idea! He threatened to dump us in a shark tank if we didn't! W-We are s-so s-sorry! Please don't hurt us!"

The Ojamajos kneeled down besides Shimakura and comforted the sobbing, twitching, nervous wreck that lay before them. Something was definitely off. This was NOTHING like the Shimakura they knew. Normally, she was sneaky and sly, an intrepid reporter working for the school newspaper who sought to spread the most information she could, whether other people liked it or not. And Tamaki, too. Normally, Tamaki was the self-proclaimed queen of the school, lording over the other students as if they were her loyal subjects and flaunting how rich she was compared to the lower-class students. Now, "The Great Tamaki Reika" was being ordered around by a crazy fat man obsessed with propane, reduced to nothing but a mere whimpering pawn begging for forgiveness.

The Ojamajos believed Tamaki and Shimakura's story. After all, from their past experiences, they believed that the duo at least had SOME form of decency and limits, despite not being the best students in school. What they already did know was that Buck Strickland had gone crazy and taken over the school in his endless conquest for that ancient propane tank, changing the rules to suit his money-grubbing needs along the way. But forcing other students to bully each other JUST to create a diversion? Now, THAT was a new low for him. And he kept announcing things over the school's PA system. They needed a gameplan, and fast.

"Alright gang," said Doremi. "Here's the deal. Buck Strickland has gone far enough. He needs to be brought down from his high pedestal, which he didn't even earn in the first place. He needs guidance. Therefore, I propose we frame him!"

Tamaki looked at Shimakura. "Shimakura, you have screwed things up again, like you always do. But, I agree with what you said earlier. This is all Buck Strickland's fault. He was the one who sent us. We didn't want to, and we shouldn't bully people, even if they make us do it. After all, it would only dampen our reputation." Tamaki took a deep breath. "Alright Doremi, we're teaming up with you! Let us take back what is rightfully ours, and after that, may life at school revert back to normal."

And at that, Tamaki and Doremi approached each other and shook hands. The deal was on!

"Now, how do we frame Buck?" asked Doremi.

"We take pictures and videos of his intricate schemes!" Shimakura chimed in, holding her camera up. "Then, we hijack the school assembly and display the incriminating evidence!"

"We'll wait until he leaves the room." suggested Tamaki. "Then, once we're all in Buck's office, I'll pretend he's still in and barricade the door until you all get out. If anyone attempts to break in, I will use karate on them!"

"Good. GOOD." said Doremi.

Meanwhile, Buck was watching the events unfolding on the playground through the school's CCTV camera.

"Bah! Those nitwits!" he fumed. "They've teamed up with Doremi! You're not supposed to team up with the enemy!"

He eventually focused the school's CCTV camera on the ancient propane tank, plotting his next move. "If you want something done right, you had better do it yourself! Time to resort to Plan B!"

Buck immediately grabbed his keys and exited the principal's office. Down on the playground, Doremi led the other Ojamajos, plus Tamaki and Shimakura, forward to Buck's office. "Go, go GO!" she ordered, in a whispering tone. Once Buck was gone from their sight, the Ojamajos and Shimakura snuck into his office, while Tamaki locked the door and began guarding it, pretending that Buck was still in the office.

Meanwhile, Buck went to find Hank in the school's corridors. "Hank! Hank! I've got a job for you!"

Hank sighed. "What is it?"

Buck carried one blueprint in his hand. "So, if you're out of the loop, Hank, I have failed to get the propane tank from Thatherton. We both fought in giant robots to settle the deal, but those dang magical girls shut off the power! That's why I had to resort to brute force! I have now taken over the entire school and its contents! I now rule over every student and teacher and have the power to influence what they do! But alas, I am STILL trying to take that ancient propane tank away from those girls! I sent two other girls out to bully them to create a diversion, but instead, they teamed up with the other girls. That's why I had to resort to Plan B! Now, you're an expert in engineering, right?"

"Well, I fix my truck regularly." said Hank.

"Good." said Buck. "That's why I need you to build a little special something for me. Now, look at this blueprint. This blueprint leads to the construction of my greatest weapon yet! Behold, the DEATH BUCK! COMPLETE WITH A DOOM LASER!"

"But sir, it's just a blueprint." said Hank.

"I know it's a blueprint!" reprimanded Buck. "What part of "This weapon is not finished" do you not understand?!"

"And secondly, I am not building whatever you want me to build! Is it really worth it, Buck? You couldn't get a propane tank, which you can't even have anyway because it belongs to an ancient god, so you take over an entire school and plot to kill several children?! What happened to the Buck Strickland I used to know, the Buck Strickland who treated propane properly, the Buck Strickland who was the father to all propane, the Buck Strickland who, whenever Arlen was at unease, would step forward and say, "Never fear, propane is here!" and light up the entire town with a fabulous display of propane and keep the entire town warm for the winter?! What happened to THAT Buck Strickland?!"

"I like your devotion, Old Top, keep those compliments coming." teased Buck. "But this is still the Buck Strickland you know, only BETTER! The ENHANCED form, if you will. And this DOOM LASER, ON THIS DEATH BUCK, will kill those children so that YOU AND I will blaze a path to victory! We'll be rich! We'll sell that tank for millions! And just because you're my best employee, I'll give you a quarter of the share, so that you can feed your entire family while taking a long vacation, because you deserve it, Hank. You have worked your hardest at this company for fifteen years. This is all for YOUR sake."

"No, it's all for YOUR sake." argued Hank. "YOU want the money. That's all you're ever in for it for, the money. You will probably spend all that money and what you have been spending it on for the longest amount of time, gambling, beer, and women. You don't even care about me any longer, to you, I am just a pawn in your stupid little corporate game, you won't give me that money, because God forbid you ever part with even one cent in those vast pockets of yours. I have been selling propane and propane accessories for as long as I remember, and I didn't need no ancient propane tank to make money. That money was earned, via years of hard work and devotion to both my dreams and my family. That's the only reason I continue to work at Strickland Propane."

"Fine. That's your choice." said Buck in a menacingly calm tone. "If you want to continue working at Strickland Propane, then I advise you start building that Death Buck OR ELSE!"

"No, that's not working at Strickland Propane, that's helping a tyrant!" rebutted Hank. "If you're so smart, then build it yourself! I quit, Buck! I QUIT!"

And he immediately stormed out, throwing the blueprint into Buck's face and leaving him with only himself. If only Buck could just look in the mirror for more than two seconds and see what he had become.

Meanwhile, Shimakura was lurking around Buck's vacant office, taking pictures of more and more blueprints that lay around, including another one of the Death Buck, a Doom Laser, a robot with two cannons named the Buck Dragoon, a hypno-ray and a checklist that detailed his further plans for world domination, which read as follows:

Take over Misora Elementary. (Which was ticked.)

Defeat Hank Hill and those Ojamajos using Buck Dragoon.

Take over the entirety of Japan.

Take over every other country in the world.

Hypnotize the whole population into buying propane from Strickland Propane.

Engage in evil laughter, then gloat about plans for world domination.

If population refuses to obey, blast entire planet to smithereens with the Doom Laser situated on the Death Buck.

Wait for new planet to form, then take over the new planet.

Repeat steps 5, 6, 7 and 8 until population actually obeys.

All of these plans, Shimakura made sure to get a snapshot of them. The Ojamajos were guarding her back, making sure she didn't get caught, all whilst rapidly searching for other evidence to give to her. As Shimakura took each picture, Hazuki made sure to upload the files to Buck's computer so that he would show them during the presentation in his assembly. That way, everyone was sure to turn against him.

Suddenly, Tamaki knocked on the door to give a signal. The Ojamajos and Shimakura hurriedly fled Buck's office before he could see them, as he was coming right this way. When they ducked in the bushes once more, Buck made an announcement over the intercom.

"HEEEEEEEELLLLLOOOOOOOOO MISORA ELEMENTARY STUDENTS! ASSEMBLY! NOW! IN THE SCHOOL HALL! OR ELSE BUTTS WILL BE KICKED!"

And so, the students had no choice but to walk slowly down to the school hall for the assembly, with their heads down, silently. They all knew what was going to happen. The Ojamajos, Shimakura and Tamaki were the first to arrive, albeit they were toggling behind the scenes on Buck's laptop before the man of the hour himself entered. Eventually, they sat themselves down, followed by every other student in the school. Anticipation, anxiety and dread filled the air.

"AAAAANNNNNNDDDDDD NOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW! SPONSORED BY LARAMIE CIGARETTES, LET THIS ASSEMBLY BEGIN! PLEASE WELCOME YOUR HOST! THE ONE AND ONLY! BUUUUUUCCCCCCKKKKKKKKK STRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICCCKKKKKKLLLLLLAAAAANNNDDDDD!"

Two curtains raised up to reveal another curtain that had "ALL HAIL BUCK STRICKLAND" in big black lettering. That curtain then raised up to reveal a pyrotechnics display consisting of fire that swirled around in two big loops, before spelling out the word "PROPANE." On either side of the stage, two spotlights illuminated to reveal an orchestra and a choir on stage, that began composing and singing a grand anthem, which echoed all throughout the school.

"BUCK STRICKLAND, GREATEST SALESMAN IN THE WORLD!

WITH HIS ANCIENT PROPANE TANK, HIS PLANS UNFURLED!

HE DREAMS OF CONQUEST, RULING EVERY LAND!

WITH PROPANE POWER, HE'LL MAKE HIS STAND!

BUCK STRICKLAND, GREATEST RULER WE WILL SEE!

PROPANE EMPIRE FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA!

WITH HIS TANK SO OLD, YET MIGHTY AND GRAND!

HE'LL CONQUER NATIONS, WITH PROPANE IN HAND!

FROM ARLEN, TEXAS, HIS JOURNEY STARTED!

SELLING PROPANE, GAINING BIG DOUGH!

BUT NOW HIS VISION, IT GROWS SO WIDE!

A PROPANE KINGDOM, WITH BUCK AS GUIDE!

BUCK STRICKLAND, GREATEST RULER WE WILL SEE!

PROPANE EMPIRE FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA!

WITH HIS TANK SO OLD, YET MIGHTY AND GRAND!

HE'LL CONQUER NATIONS, WITH PROPANE IN HAND!

HE'LL CONTROL THE WORLD, WITH THAT GOD'S POWER IN HAND!

EVERY CITY, EVERY TOWN WILL KNOW!

BUCK STRICKLAND'S NAME, IN HISTORY'S SCROLL!

THE GREATEST SALESMAN, WITH A RULER'S GOAL!

BUCK STRICKLAND, GREATEST RULER WE WILL SEE!

PROPANE EMPIRE, FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA!

WITH HIS TANK SO OLD, YET MIGHTY AND GRAND!

HE'LL CONQUER NATIONS, WITH PROPANE IN HAND!

SO HERE'S TO BUCK, WITH HIS PROPANE MIGHT!

RULING THE WORLD DAY, AND NIGHT!

BUCK STRICKLAND, GREATEST SALESMAN IN THE WORLD!

MISORA TODAY, TOMORROW, THE WORLD!

ALL HAIL BUCK STRICKLAND!"

The anthem came to a close and Buck stepped onto the stage, dressed in a fancy golden tuxedo and cape, both with the initials "B.S." embedded in them in gold, with a smug grin plastered across his face as he surveyed the captive audience. "GER-REEEEEETTTTTTTIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGSSSSSS MISORA ELEMENTARY!" announced Buck.

"MY LLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOYYYYYAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL MIIIIINNNNNIIIIIIIIIOOOONNNNNSSSSSSSSS! I AM BUCK STRICKLAND! I AM YOUR MASTER! YOUR DARK OVERLORD! I HAVE SUMMONED YOU HERE TO DISCUSS SOME EXCITING CHANGES THAT WILL TAKE PLACE UNDER MY REGIME! FIRRRRSSSTLY! I AM GOING TO GIVE MYSELF A PRRRRRRROMOTION! NO, NOT JUST ONE PRROMOTION, BUT SIX OR SEVEN OF THEM! FRRROM NOW ON, YOU MAY NO LONGER REFER TO ME AS BUCK STRICKLAND, BUT RATHER THE FOLLOWING NAMES: DARK LORD, ALMIGHTY TAX COLLECTOR, DICTATOR, ULTIMATE BEING, PEAK HUMANITY, YOUR EMINENCE, AND FINALLY, GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDD! SECONDLY, FRRRROM NOW ON, YOU MUST PAY ME A PERCENTAGE OF YOUR EARNINGS TWENTY-FOUR SEVEN! THAT MEANS YOU MUST MULTITASK BETWEEN DOING ANYTHING IN YOUR DAILY LIVES AND PAYING ME! YOU MUST PAY ME EVEN IN YOUR SLEEP! AND I WILL BE WATCHING!"

Never had a man shouted on this level before. As Buck spoke, his face began to contort into a variety of different shapes, enough to put a cartoon character to shame. He didn't just look like a pig, he also sounded like one.

"NOOOOOWWWWWW! TIME TO MOVE ON FROM THE BORING STUFF!" yelled Buck. "THIS SCHOOL IS LACKING! WE DON'T NEARLY SELL AS ENOUGH PROPANE AND PROPANE ACCESSORIES AS THE OTHER SCHOOLS! YOU LAZY CLODS DON'T WORK AS HARD ENOUGH! THAT'S WHY I AM INCREASING THE WORK HOURS! FROM NOW ON, YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO GO HOME UNTIL YOU HAVE SOLD AT LEAST 50 PROPANE TANKS! AND I AM BARRICADING THE ENTIRE SCHOOL SO THAT YOUR STUPID PARENTS CAN'T EVEN GET IN!

BUT HERE'S WHERE IT GETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDD! OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO! THESE ARE THE JUUUUUUIIIIIICCCCCCCYYYYY LIITTLE DETAILS!"

And he immediately began pressing buttons on a control panel he had summoned that rose from the stage. A very large screen descended behind him, which displayed his grinning face to the whole school. He began pressing more buttons. Eventually, Buck's face was displayed on every single TV screen in the entire world, across seven continents, across 195 countries.

"WELCOOOOOOOOMMMMMEEEEE EARTH! THE GREATEST PROPANE MOGUL, BUCK STRICKLAND, AKA ME, HAS LANDED! AND I'VE TAKEN OVER AAAAAAAALLLLL THE AIRWAVES! SOONER OR LATER, IT'LL BE THE WORLD THAT I'M TAKING OVER! MWAAAAAA-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA! OH, AND I BET YOU'RE WONDERING, HOW EXACTLY WILL I TAKE OVER THE WORLD?! WELL, LET ME SHOW YOU!"

In the school audience, Doremi gestured to Shimakura to upload the evidence to Buck's computer. She complied, and immediately pressed a button on a remote-like device she was carrying. Sooner or later, all of the pictures were broadcast to the entire world, on every single TV screen to ever exist, including the one in the school. That's right, the whole population had seen Buck's secret plans for world domination.

Everyone in the school hall gasped. Buck's face plummeted, turning the colour of a bright red tomato. He knew he had been found out. "NO… NOO! NOOO!" he yelled. "NOW EVERYONE KNOWS MY PLANS FOR WORLD DOMINATION!" All of the students booed at him. They had found out that they were being exploited and used for his personal gain, and were turning against him, throwing food from their packed lunches, drinks, tables and chairs at him.

"NOOOOOO! GIVE THAT UP AT ONCE!" Buck yelled. But it was no use. This was what he had got for letting greed, power and insanity overtake him. Misfortune. Nothing, but more and more misfortune. His ego had grown too big for him to control it. So alas, he was NOT going to let his precious empire die. He was going to revive it, at all costs.

"Harukaze, if it's the last thing I do, I WILL KILL YOU!" Buck muttered under his breath.

"ALRIGHT YOU CLODS!" yelled Buck angrily. "IF YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST CASUALLY START A REBELLION AND OVERTHROW MY EMPIRE, I'D LIKE YOU TO RECONSIDER! THE STRIIIIIICCCCCKKKKKKKLLLLLLAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNDDDDDD EMPIIIIIRRRRRE WILL RIISE! RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISE!"

As tensions rose and time dragged on, Buck found himself going off the deep end with each new statement and robotic contraption he activated. He first whipped out a hypno-ray and hypnotized the entire audience, apart from the Ojamajos, Shimakura, and Tamaki.

"ALL HAIL BUCK STRICKLAND… ALL HAIL BUCK STRICKLAND… ALL HAIL BUCK STRICKLAND…" droned the students.

Next, Buck pressed an activation button on his control pad. Before anyone knew it, a gigantic chain started descending down from a specialized hole in the ceiling. On the end of that chain was a massive dragon-like robot, with two cannons attached to the metal creature's sides, and a gatling gun the size of a mountain attached to its chest, and Buck seated in the cockpit. If one looked up at the television screen, people could see what was on the other side of that chain, an enormous planet-sized space station in the shape of Buck's head, located all the way in space, above the Earth's atmosphere. The space station looked to be firing a laser made of a mixture of electricity and propane onto the chain, which in turn, powered Buck's robot.

"LADIIIIIIEEEEEEESSS AAAAND GENTLEMEEEEEENNNNNN! IIIIIIINTRODUCING! THE BUCK DRAGOOOONNNNNN! POWERED EXCLUSIVELY BY BOTH ELECTRICITY AND PROPANE, THIS ROBOT REPRESENTS THE APEX OF THE STRICKLAND EMPIRE! IT IS A MASTERY OF BOTH PROPANE AND SCIENCE! AND IT IS POWERED BY NONE OTHER THAN MY OWN PERSONAL SPACE STATION, THE DEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAATTHHHHHHHH! BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCKKKKK!"

Buck began manipulating the controls of the robot, presumably to test its movements. "AAAAAANNNNNNNDDDDDD DO YOU KNOW WHY I INVENTED THIS ROBOT?! TO DISPOSE OF ANY TRAITORS WHO MIGHT GO AGAINST OUR EMPIRE! ESPECIALLY THEM!"

He pointed one of the robot's great claws towards the direction of the Ojamajos, Shimakura, and Tamaki. Quick as a flash, the Ojamajos transformed into their witch forms again, with the witchy uniforms they wore before going over their casual clothes. They didn't care if they were going to be exposed and turned into witch frogs anymore, they had two normal people on their side and everybody else was too busy being hypnotized into worshipping Buck to even care about whether they were witches or not. Very rarely did they ever have to use magic to fight evil, but this time, it was a situation that required magic to stop it.

Buck tutted. "You look ridiculous. No, seriously, WHAT do you even look like? Not that it matters, because I'LL SLAUGHTER YOU WITHIN AN INCH OF YOUR LIVES!"

At that, he activated the robot's rocket boosters and sped out of the school, leaving a massive hole in the wall in the process. "MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!" hollered Buck.

The Ojamajos pursued him on their broomsticks, forming an intense midair chase throughout the entirety of Misora, somehow managing to keep up with the Buck Dragoon, despite its immense speeds. Buck began to fire his mighty gatling gun at the Ojamajos, hoping to knock them off their brooms. It was much larger than a normal gatling gun, and so were the bullets, being the size of cannonballs, but their rate of fire was rapid, taking complex broom manoeuvring from the Ojamajos to dodge the gunfire. When the gunfire didn't work, Buck began slamming the controls in frustration. He looked downright depraved. "FRRRREEEEEEZE!" yelled Buck, before letting his robot shoot oversized ice cubes at the Ojamajos. But the Ojamajos were ready.

"Pirika Pirilala Popolina Peperuto!" chanted Doremi, readying a spell from her pollon. "Deflect the ice cubes!"

With a single wave, a burst of pink energy shot from the pollon and hit the ice cubes. Sooner or later, the ice cubes had stopped in midair and redirected their trajectory so that they flew right towards the Buck Dragoon's energy core, eventually hitting it and freezing it. The robot's wings then exploded and set themselves on fire, with only the rocket boosters keeping the robot afloat.

"WHAT?!" yelled Buck. "THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! THIS IS NOT OVER YET!"

He pushed the controls a little more. He was now shooting great beams of fire at the Ojamajos, from the robot's two mighty cannons. "BURRRRRNNNNNN!" shouted Buck. He began rotating the robot's cannons so that the fire would form a moving ouroboros.

"Perutan Petton Pararira Pon!" chanted Momoko. "Bend the fire!"

A yellow light shot out from Momoko's pollon and struck the fire, granting her complete control over it. She had indeed bent the fire, and then pointed her pollon towards the robot's energy core, causing the fire to hit it. The Buck Dragoon had exploded again, this time, both sides of the robot were blown off, blowing up the cannons and the armour, which was now on fire yet again.

Meanwhile, inside the cockpit, Buck was panicking. His only protection was now the robot's back, and every single siren, as well as a robotic voice saying, "DANGER! CRITICAL DAMAGE SUSTAINED! EVACUATE ROBOT IMMEDIATELY! DANGER! DANGER! DANGER! DANGER! DANGER! DANGER! CRITICAL DAMAGE SUSTAINED! EVACUATE ROBOT IMMEDIATELY! DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!" was blaring in his ears. Sparks rained down, fires tore at the robot's insides. Buck now had his fingers in his ears. "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" he screamed, ignoring the warnings, under immense stress. This was his breaking point. He had now lost all sanity at this point. He now didn't care one bit about the fact that he was going to die if he carried on the way he did, nor about who he was going to hurt, nor about the environment. He was going to kill those Ojamajos, the girls who effortlessly demolished his precious plans of world domination, regardless of his own safety, mental state, and morals.

The Buck Dragoon's broad claws reached down onto the road, raising back up with cars, vans, lorries and trucks. One by one, it decided to throw every vehicle towards the Ojamajos, who dodged every single throw.

"Pururun Purun Famifami Faa!" chanted Onpu. "Vehicles, fly towards the robot!"

And indeed, Onpu had cast a spell to levitate every vehicle currently in the air right now, her pollon casting some sort of telekinesis. Eventually, she chose to flick her pollon, sending every car flying right towards Buck's robot, with the accuracy of an expert markswoman, with each car hitting the energy core. It wasn't long before the Buck Dragoon exploded once more, dislocating the mechanical claws and sending them crashing down in flames.

Buck began slamming the controls again. "THIS CANNOT BE!" he yelled, before uttering a series of profanities under his breath. "HOW STRONG ARE THESE KIDS?!"

A large ray-gun sprouted from the bottom of the Buck Dragoon. "THINK YOU CAN DODGE THIS?!" yelled Buck, before pressing a button. A ball of light formed at the tip of the ray-gun, before charging up, growing bigger and bigger, before manifesting itself as a huge, blinding white laser that at least took up half the sky. The Ojamajos had to strategically swerve in a group to avoid the laser, then come up with a strategic attack plan.

"Paipai Ponpoi Puwapuwa Puu!" chanted Hazuki. "Summon a mirror!"

Just like any good pollon would, Hazuki's pollon obeyed its mistress and bestowed a mirror upon her hands. Holding the mirror in front of her to protect herself, she flew close to the laser and held the mirror at an angle where the laser could reflect off it. Now, the light was surging ever closer and closer to the Buck Dragoon's energy core. BANG! The Buck Dragoon had blown up again, this time blowing off the bottom half of the robot, taking the ray-gun with it. It was just lucky that the cockpit wasn't taken with it.

"I-IMPOSSIBLE!" yelled Buck. "ALRIGHT, THAT'S IT! LAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTTTT REEEEESSSSSSSSOOOOOOORRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTT!"

Using the full power of its rocket boosters, the Buck Dragoon began to charge forward at immense velocities, determined to end its targets once and for all. Buck was now sacrificing everything, his common sense, mental health, safety, and robot in this final attack.

"Pameruku Raruku Laliloli Poppun!" chanted Aiko. "Summon a giant sledgehammer!"

A blue light, shot from her pollon, gifted Aiko with a giant sledgehammer. She stood up on her broom, waiting for the opportunity to strike. "Wait for it, wait for it…" she told herself. Sooner or later, the energy core had neared. "Now," she whispered to herself.

With a huge swing from Aiko, the core of the Buck Dragoon was hit one last time, before the glow of it quickly faded away. The power was completely off. Next, huge explosions ravaged the robot, a whole chain of explosions, which then spread to the metallic chain it was attached to. Buck fumbled around with the controls, in a total panic. And although nobody was able to see it, primarily because it was in space, the Death Buck, Buck's personal space station shaped like his head, went up in flames, a truly amazing feat for such a planet-sized object. The Ojamajos wondered why a second sun was forming right next to the previous one. A hellish hailstorm of debris rained down, forcing the Ojamajos to take a nosedive straight to the ground, where they found themselves on the playground of Misora Elementary School once more, with the ancient propane tank right next to them. As the remains of the former Strickland Empire collapsed around them, the scrapped fiery remains of the Buck Dragoon landed, with a sickening smashing sound as it hit the ground, forming a gigantic crater around its point of impact.

As he opened the cockpit, a severely injured Buck, with scarring around his eyes, forehead and cheeks, clambered out of his decimated mech, coughing from the smoke he had to breathe in. He looked dazed and exhausted. Apparently, he had never taken a hit as fierce as this before. Nor had he resorted to measures as extreme as this before.

"Y-you children…" he began. "Y-you children destroyed my mech… What else was I going to do again?"

It seemed as if he was finally coming to his senses. Buck gazed in absolute horror at the consequences of his actions, what he had done JUST to secure an ancient propane tank and sell it. He had built several now-destroyed robots, the hypno-ray had worn off on the other students, who were now just sleeping, and his entire empire was in ruins, with debris all over the floor and the Buck Dragoon on fire. He had indeed run his business into the ground.

He handed the ancient propane tank to the Ojamajos. "Here, just take it. Before I do anything crazy. I'm sorry for trying to kill you. Go. Go find Hank."

The Ojamajos nodded in forgiveness and immediately went to find Hank. When they returned with Hank, he had this to say.

"Buck, just look at yourself right now. Just in pursuit of one propane tank, you've let yourself go off the deep end."

"I know Hank, I know. That's why I'm calling off this whole operation. It has gone too far. Look at all this destruction."

"Good. I want you to be the boss of Strickland Propane again. Your tyrannical rule of an empire has caused you nothing but misfortune, trouble and destruction. Strickland Propane is where you belong. Please, Buck? Could you possibly do that for your best employee?"

Buck looked down for a second, debating his decision in his head. "You know what, Hank, I'm exhausted beyond all comprehension. And you're my best moneymaker, and going after that propane tank suddenly doesn't feel so worth it anymore. You know what, I agree. Let's go home."

Hank turned to the Ojamajos. "You okay getting home?"

"Yep. We'll return this tank to the Maho-Dou." answered Doremi.

And so, the Ojamajos, Hank, and Buck went their separate ways. But as Hank and Buck climbed into the truck and used the last of the magical energy still in it to return to Arlen. Hank started to lecture Buck once more.

"Alright Buck," said Hank. "Let us never speak of this again. If anyone ever asks about the events that transpired today, just say that we were running low on propane and got caught in a traffic jam."

"Got it." said Buck.

End of fanfic.