Alright, people. …Let's do some things! Here we go!
Ask Malladus! The Location of the Current Hero!
Countryside road
After leaving the cul-de-sac, Emily, Annie, Cosmo, Nova, and Zuri were exhaustedly walking down an old countryside road in the middle of nowhere under the blue night sky. "Man, I'm exhausted…" Annie groaned.
"We'll never catch up to that ship at this rate." Cosmo moaned.
"I sure wish that time spirit coulda gave us specific directions on what to do after catching the Firstborn." Emily said.
"Zuriiii…" Zuri was barely able to crawl at this point.
"…OHH." They all finally fainted.
"Why can't Emily carry us, anyway?" Cosmo asked. "She can fly."
"I am WAY too tired to carry all of you." The teen girl stated.
"Perhaps that mosquito will come back with friends." Nova hoped.
The silence in the air was broken when they heard some motor sounds, and Emily weakly turned her head the way they came and saw some headlights, immediately jumping to her feet. "Hey, guys! Maybe we can hitch a ride!" At this, they all stood up, smiling excitedly.
However, their smiles went down when the vehicles got closer, turning out to be the Six Gum Gang on their hovercraft and Teen Ninjas on their armored bikes. The vehicles circled around the team before coming to a halt, one of the Teen Bikes retracting into Cree's armor as she approached them. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the two teenagers and their little alien brats."
"Zuri!" the creature yelled.
"Oh. And the little bat thing, too."
"I know you! You're that Cree chick!" Cosmo exclaimed.
"Nigel's told us all about you, traitor." Nova said.
"What do you want?" Emily asked.
Cree smirked as she stepped a bit closer, flicking some hair back. "We know you kids captured one of the Eight Legendary Firstborn. So why don't you make like good little kids and hand it over." She held an open hand out.
"Or else, we'll just wrangle it from youse!" Runt said.
"You're never getting your hands on Celebi!" Nova vowed, pressing the glowing Spirit Ball to her chest.
"Eh hu hu hu hu. Oh well. The Brain wants all 5 of you, anyway. Mainly the Guardian and that half-ghost freak."
Emily looked shocked. "What… me?" She pointed at herself.
"You don't think you got those powers by accident, do you? The Brain built that machine for the very purpose of giving you those ghost powers, while also allowing him to recruit the ghost villains. Anyway, The Brain knew how much you wanted to be just like a ghost, so he gave you those powers. In return, he wanted you to join his group."
"What? Why would I join his group just because he gave me ghost powers?"
"Oh, please. Pretty soon, you'll have to. You're a freak now with those powers. Pretty soon, humanity will shun you like any other metahuman. But The Brain is openly welcoming all metahumans to his care. It's where they belong."
"Sorry, Sister. But I follow my OWN path. …Which is currently an endless, boring road."
"Sigh... Hate it when people get like that." Cree shook her head. "Alright, guys, let's take 'em in. What the-" Before they could act, another Teen Ninja bike zoomed by and ran some other bikes over, creating a smoke cloud. In the smog, a shadowed figure leapt out and knocked out all the ninjas. The Six Gums tried to lasso him, but the being grabbed their ropes and swung them around, knocking them out.
The 5 others coughed as they stepped out of the smoke cloud, looking back as the figure finished and stepped forward. "Um, thanks. Who are you?" Emily asked.
The smoke cleared and the figure stepped out, revealing to be Chad Dickson, the teen boy giving a smile. "Looks like I'm just in time?"
"Hey… you're that… who are you?" Emily asked, recognizing the boy from the Brotherhood base.
"Chad… how did you find us?" Nova asked.
Right then, the 5 of them gasped as a certain teenage boy, with white skin, silver hair, and purple clothing, stepped out from behind him. "I helped him."
"Vaati?" Annie recognized.
"I knew that Gnaa's guys would be after the Guardians, so I came to Emily's house first, because I knew Nova was the Guardian." Chad explained. "You weren't home at the moment, but Vaati was there, and told me where you might be."
"But… he's a bad guy." Emily mentioned.
"I'm not totally bad. Right, Emily?" Vaati raised a brow.
At this, they turned to Annie, who scratched her head. "Well… he found out it was my birthday, and… brought me a cake."
"Awwww." Emily smiled.
"To be honest, I think Vaati's a little weird in the head." Chad said.
"Does Ganondorf know?" Annie asked Vaati.
"Nah. He's busy bein' evil and stuff. But I'm still on his side. This is more of a one-time deal, 'cause I don't like him. Come on. Let's move before these guys wake up." With that, they proceeded down the road.
35 years ago…
Grim and Facilier finally reappeared, landing in a field in the gloomy darkness of the Underworld. Grim smiled and immediately took a whiff through his nose. "Sniiiiff. Ah, the Underworld. Smells as good as it did 35 years ago." He pulled out a glowing light-blue stone necklace from his robe pocket and tossed it to Facilier. "You'll need dat." He said as Facilier put it around his neck. "De Underworld's no place for mortals."
The two of them proceeded to walk through the town, passing by a window of TVs, which showed the news. "For the murder of the wife of Malladus' son, Ganondorf Dragmire was BANISHED to..."
"Grim, just what do you plan to do, anyway?" Facilier asked. "We can't just go up to Malladus and ask him."
"He-hey, Grim!" greeted some small, green and orange bat-like demons with big noses. "Did that Ganondorf scare you or what?"
"Oh, please. No mortal is any match for de Grim Reaper!"
The little monsters took notice of Facilier. "Hey! What's that mortal doing here? !"
"Oh, he's with me. It's, uh… for a job."
"Oh. 'nother soul, eh? Have fun where you're going!" The bats laughed as they flew away.
Facilier and his Shadow just blew a raspberry at them. "Come on." Grim ordered, dragging him along.
The two soon arrived at Castle Hell, where a Phantom guard paced back and forth along the drawbridge. "Hey, you can't bring that mortal in-" Grim simply zapped him with a sleeping spell. "Ughhh…" He fainted.
Grim removed the armor from the Phantom's body and dressed it onto Facilier, the skinny witch-doctor barely keeping balance with the heavy armor. "Whoa! Ain't these demons wear anything lighter, Grim?"
"Not from what I remember. Now let's get going." Grim walked ahead as Facilier followed him into the castle.
After walking down a large hall aligned with several torches, the duo reached a massive door with Malladus' shadowy image. They gulped as Grim used his powers to make the door open. The fiery demon sat in his massive thrown, surrounded by fire, drinking a large bowl of Sanzu Water.
The two held their fearful expressions when they were close to the Demon King. "Uh… Malladus?" Grim spoke, worriedly.
Malladus sipped his water for a few seconds before looking down at them. "Grim? What business have you and that seemingly buff guard here when I am still trying to wash down my hatred for that foul Ganon?"
"Uh… about that, um… we were actually wondering if… you could tell us… about the Legendary Hero that… wielded the Master Sword?"
"Hmm?" The demon rose a brow. "You mean the one that defeated Ganon long ago?"
"Er, yes… dat's de one."
"Hmmmmm…" Malladus sat back in his throne, putting his bowl down, folding his hands, and closing his eyes in thought. "As you know… somewhere in the Spirit World lies a place called the Sacred Realm. Long ago, three of the Firstborn Spirits created a sacred relic… known as the Triforce. The Triforce was divided into three parts: Power, Wisdom, and Courage. Ganondorf, an evil man from the desert, found a way into this realm, and attempted to take the Triforce. As a result of his evil heart, the Triforce scattered its parts. The part Ganondorf believed in the most, which was Power, dwelled within his form. While Wisdom went to the Princess of an ancient kingdom, Zelda, and the Courage… went to the Hero you speak of. His name… was Link.
"Because of the Triforce of Courage being infused within him, the Hero was able to draw out the Master Sword: a sacred sword forged by the spirits to smite evil. The Hero took this sword, and dealt away with Ganon, banishing him to the Underworld. However… while his powers were downgraded, Ganon still held the Triforce of Power in his hand. So, to seize more power, he spent the rest of his time trying to overthrow the Uno Family, and take my place as Demon King."
"Oh… uh…" Grim thought for a second on what else to ask him. "Do you… know anything about the family of… the Hero?"
"Hm?" Malladus rose his brow again. "Why are you asking all these questions, anyway?"
"Er… just wanting to get to know my… Underworld-related history. Eh hehe!"
Malladus took a breath and released through his nose, slouching back in his throne again. "As I recall… Link and Zelda got married and had kids. As a result, their Triforce marks were passed down to them, and every generation that came after that. I believe that the blood of the Hero… now runs in that of the veins of the McKenzie Family."
Grim's expression sparked with realization. He remembered this Hero, and the way Rachel fought, and even her hair resembled that of the Hero (a little). "OF COURSE! ! Why didn't we t'ink of it before?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"Uh, nothing, Your Highness." Grim bowed.
"Hmph. Is there anything else?"
"Uh, yes, uh… where is the Master Sword?"
"That… I do not know. But it may still be with the McKenzie Family yet."
"Ah, yes, well… we'll just be on our way now!"
"Uh, excuse me, My King!" Grim and Facilier's faces turned to worry when Grim's past self walked in. "The Moogers are going crazy again, and I was wondering… if…" He noticed his future form.
Malladus looked shocked as well. "What? ! There's two of you? ?"
"That's not me!" Past Grim exclaimed.
"Well then, one of you is an imposter. Until we can decipher who it is, both of you will be put through a series of incredibly painful torture."
Grim immediately knew he couldn't put his past self through that, lest he end up not existing. So, he decided, "I confess! It's me! I'm the imposter!"
"Awww…" Malladus looked sad. "Well, that was anti-climatic. Oh well. Ahem, GUARDS!"
"RUN FOR IT, MON!" Present Grim screamed, pulling Facilier by the hand as they ran, the witch-doctor being forced out of his armor.
They dashed out of the throne room and ran by Octoroo. "Oo-ah-ey! Don't let them get away! Anizore. Stop them today!"
"Did someone call ANIMAL CONTROL?" At that instant, a Nighlok with a lion's head, tiger-face chest, snake arms, bear legs, and a monkey tail dropped down.
"Go stop them, Anizore." Octoroo ordered.
The two intruders were about to cross the drawbridge until Anizore emerged from a gap in front of them. "No one handles animals better than me! Have a little taste of this Jungle Fury! ROOAR!" (Play the "Egg Breaker" Theme from Shadow the Hedgehog!)
Boss fight: Anizore
"Ah'm gonna strangle you REAL good!" Anizore exclaimed as he tried to rap his snake arms around the two, but they ducked and flipped back. Grim swung his scythe at the monster when it charged to bite them. "Bah. Fishbone!" Anizore sent out a telepathic wave, summoning a bunch of bonefish from the river, shooting out to bite the two.
"Urgh! Get off!" Facilier shouted as fish bit his head and legs. He shook the skeletons off and used his flubber to grab and throw them at the Nighlok, biting him.
"Hey! What kind of pet bites his master?" Anizore shouted. He spun around, shaking the fish off of him, and spun over to Facilier, wrapping his snake arms around the human. Grim tried to rescue him, but Anizore yelled, "This'll give ya a monkey of a time!", swinging his tail and trying to whip the reaper. Grim only ducked and grabbed the hybrid's tail. "What the-" Anizore tried to say, suddenly being swung around himself and dropping Facilier. "WHOOA." Grim sent him flying into the Sanzu River.
"HAHA! Not so fast! Get 'em, fishies!" A swarm of more bonefish started swimming toward them, but Grim swung his scythe, and Facilier threw spells to keep the monsters away. Anizore hopped back on the bridge and started clashing with them again.
After several hits from the scythe, the Nighlok leapt several feet away, his tiger chest yelling, "ROOAR!", and blowing the two back in the castle. He used his animal telepath to wake up a swarm of bats on the ceiling, flapping down to nip at the two, but Facilier batted them away with his cane, then used his flubber to throw them at Anizore.
Grim ran to slash him, but the tiger chest, "ROOAR!", once again, blowing him back. Facilier threw a spell to stun the Nighlok's chest, leaving Grim to run and slash it. Anizore slid behind him and gnashed his snake arms, but Grim ducked and sliced them off. After one last slash at the chest from Grim, Facilier wrapped his flubber around the Nighlok, dragged him to the bridge, and threw him in the Sanzu River.
"ROOOAAAR!" The Nighlok suddenly emerged from the water in his Megamonster form. He charged down the river toward the bridge, but Grim channeled power in his scythe, releasing a blinding blue energy beam straight at the Nighlok's lion head, making it stop and shake in pain.
"OH NOOO! One year of the show isn't enough. I knew I shoulda ripped off of Dino Thunder. W-Wait! That's even worse! NOOOOO! !" And with his last words, the Nighlok toppled over and exploded.
Grim and Facilier high-fived before Grim warped them out of there. (Stop the music.)
Malladus stomped out just in time as they left. "Curses! I was hoping to have an execution today! I'll have to give the audience SOMEthing. Ahem: ladies and gentlemen: Mr. Conway Twitty." And the screen cut to Conway Twitty, who began playing one of his classic songs. Unfortunately, I know none of them, so let's cut to Toxic Four. :P
Africa; Sahara Desert
The Terrible Toxic Four continued to limp through the desert. The sun started to rise as they spotted a man atop the hill. "Hey, look! It's Ganon!" Leo pointed.
The Dark Lord stood still, looking at the ruined village below. The four benders stood beside the dark man as he breathed calmly through his nose. "Such cruel fate on the most unsuspecting places. While the Wind Spirit brings peace and serenity wherever his wind blows… all he brings to the desert is ruin. He shows us that no good can come in the world… without consequence. And shows us that all great power brings… is destruction."
The four boys couldn't help but look pitifully at the ruined village. Deep down, it made them feel, if wind could cause that destruction, what hope was there for their powers of poison? That's why Matt was hoping this Poison Spirit could teach them otherwise.
Ganondorf glanced to the two boys, then back at the desert. "Come. The Brain is awaiting your return. It's time we… get back to our daily tasks." The four watched as Ganondorf walked down the hill.
The poisonbenders stood and watched him for a moment before following him.
Ahh, I'll cut this one short for now. Next time, we'll get back to Chicago. We'll also see what Mandy's up to. Anyone wanna guess where, or what, the Master Sword is? Later.