Okay, time to chase after the train!
Chapter 24: Jeong-Jeong's Fire
Countryside canyon
Team Forest hurriedly ran after the train as it sped faster. Bowser Jr. spotted them from the distance and only laughed cockily as they failed to catch up. "Well, come on, you slowpokes!" the child exclaimed wittingly.
"Grrr!" Emily growled, becoming a ghost and flying after the train at high speed. "You aren't getting away!"
Stage 19: Koopa Train
Mission: Chase after the large train!
Act 1
Emily Matthews high-tailed after the long train in ghost form, Bowser Jr. making taunting movements as Bill Blasters in the back fired Bullet Bills. Emily easily knocked the Bills back with her Ecto Blast, then throwing more blasts at the train, shaking it. They were starting to go in some sort of canyon area as some Chargin' Chucks threw baseballs at her, but Emily knocked them off as well, throwing more blasts at the train's cargo, and Bowser Jr. screaming at the wreckage.
"Heehee heehee!" he cackled, drawing out a ray gun. "This Fenton Crammer we stole will short out your ghost powers. Try and follow us now!" With that, he charged the ray, firing a green blast and directly hitting Emily.
"WHOOA!" she yelled, immediately changing to human form, rolling and thumping along the ground. The train went over a bridge over a long drop to the ocean, Emily rolling off the cliff and hanging on for dear life.
"Hmm… it was supposed to shrink you, too." Junior said, studying the gun. "Ah well. Good enough. Haha!" he laughed as the train got further away from them.
The rest of the team dashed over just in time, Chad bending down and grabbing Emily's arms to help her back up. "You okay?"
"Yeah." She panted, holding onto him.
"Well, THEY'RE gone." Annie said exasperated.
"But we have to save Nova!" Cosmo yelled. "Who knows what they might do with 'em? !"
"Besides, they may be heading to one of their bases. We HAVE to follow it." Chad decided. He pointed over to a rocky pathway; which had an old, ruined Western village, leading to the canyon. "We can catch that train if we cut through the canyon."
"It won't be easy without my ghost powers." Emily said.
"No problem. Check this out!" With that, Chad took out a small, circular device that was white around the edge and had a big, red light in the middle. "I stole this from the GKND. It's a device that absorbs information around the area and lets you take a form based on its environment. Here, try it." He handed it to Emily.
The Matthews girl held it up to the village as a scanner observed it. "Data analyzed. Western theme now available." The team watched with wonder as the device scanned Emily, giving her Western-style clothes, such as a cowboy hat, brown boots, and two guns.
"Holy cow! I'm a cowgirl!" she said happily, shooting her guns up in excitement.
"Okay, then let's go!" Cosmo yelled again.
"Aw yeah, Baby! Time to rock!" Emily exclaimed, tipping her hat. (Play the "Western Village 1" Theme from Ape Escape 3!)
In her new cowgirl form, Emily ran into the cliffside Western village, followed by the others as they were immediately ambushed by Hammer Bros, flying out of the buildings' windows and throwing hammers, but Emily rapidly shot them all with her guns as they ran by. A couple Chargin' Chucks ran out, but Annie ran and tackled one, and when the other tried to grab her, Chad grabbed it from behind, throwing it into another Hammer Bro.
From some higher cliffs, they saw a couple cannons shooting Missile Bills at them, that blinked red as they homed in. Emily shot them all and kept going while Chad was able to punch them away. After clearing the village, they went around another small and narrow cliffside, jumping as soccer shells came around. They kept going and found a few Koopa Strikers, Zuri tackling the soccer Koopas over the edge. At the end of the small path, a Koopatrol tried to charge into them, but they all dodged to the side, letting it run over the edge.
They saw the train speed along the tracks on a cliff across a chasm, firing cannons at the sharp peaks above them, making large boulders fall onto the rocky pathway. They ran for it and dodged quickly to avoid the boulders, but along the path, some Piranha Plants spouted up and tried to gnash at them. One plant blew a fireball at Emily, making her trip, the girl looking up and gasping at a falling boulder. Thankfully, Zuri used Iron Tail to blast the boulder away, and Emily smiled in gratitude.
Emily shot off a few Plants as more boulders fell toward her, but Chad jumped high and punched the rocks away with only his fists. "WHOA! ! You never told us you were that strong!" Emily exclaimed.
"Let's just say I work out a lot." Chad smirked, flexing his right arm muscle.
They finally made it across the rock path and into a path between two walls. There, some Chargin' Chucks were standing atop the walls, using shovels to dig up rocks and toss them down there, but Emily only shot them away. Cosmo fought back when a gang of Boomerang Bros arrived and tossed their boomerangs. As they did so, Annie shot pellets in their eyes with her slingshot, so when the boomerangs came back, they were distracted and knocked out. They reached the end of the small trench to an old bridge that led to a platform, which had a bridge to another pathway. Across the chasm, they saw the Koopa Train speed by again, several Chargin' Chucks leaping out onto the platforms.
All they did was throw baseballs that Cosmo batted back, knocking them out and over the edge, allowing them to cross to the first platform. The next bridge had Chain Chomps on the other side, the ball-shaped dogs barking as they rolled over. Chad used his apparent super-strength to grab and throw the Chomp back, and it bit and knocked off Koopatrols on the other side. The five reached another long pathway between two rocky slopes. Larger boulders were rolled down the cliffs by Chucks as Teen Ninja bikes sped into the area as well, the teens getting out and drawing their staffs. "Ugh. Not them, too." Cosmo groaned.
"If these guys are here, other villains must be here, too." Emily figured. Cosmo and Chad fought back against the ninjas, Chad throwing punches and Cosmo swinging his staff. Annie took out her slingshot and aimed at the Chargin' Chucks atop the hill, shooting the pellets at the small gaps through their helmets where their eyes showed.
Chad and Cosmo were getting overpowered by the Teens, but Zuri ran in and batted the teens into one-another with his Iron Tail, and Emily proceeded to shoot them with her guns. The train passed along the cliff above them, the gang dodging as its cannons fired bombs that made huge explosions.
"Come on! Let's hurry!" Em ordered, running ahead. They reached the end of the path, seeing a thin rope lead over a chasm into a mine. Emily grabbed and hung onto the rope, skidding down to the mine, followed by the others. Inside the small mine, some Swoopers swooped down at them from the ceiling, but Zuri leapt and tackled the bats, whacking them with his Iron Tail.
They ran through the narrow halls, going up a hill and coming out beside a track, just in time to see the train pass by. "After it!" Chad yelled, already running across the track. At one point, however, the boards were gone, but the rails were there, so they proceeded to grind across. When they reached the other side, the train was already far ahead. "Come on, down this way." Chad instructed quickly as they arrived at another rock path into another gorge, following after him.
A bunch of Pokeys popped up from the ground, wobbling over to try and smash them, but Cosmo batted each of their parts away with his staff while Annie flipped atop and squashed their heads. When they were running through the gorge, several Bandits leapt out and ran at fast speeds towards the gang. Cosmo was tackled and robbed of his staff while Annie lost her slingshot, but Emily shot the Bandits and knocked them out, the team proceeding to grab their items while Emily shot any more Bandits that came their way.
After getting through the gorge, they then had to sidle along a wall on a tiny ledge over a chasm. There were holes on that cliff with Piranha Plants that gnashed out if they got close enough, but Emily shot them before they could strike. The train passed by on the other side, firing cannons that made parts of the cliff collapse and drop boulders. Emily wobbled and nearly fell over, but Chad caught her, then kept moving along.
They reached an area where the wall was jagged enough to climb, dodging sideways as Koopas dropped Bob-ombs from above. They reached the top of the platform and encountered a Chuckya, who rolled over, grabbed Annie, and hauled her over the edge, only for Emily to throw a lasso and save her. Chad then grabbed the Chuckya from behind, carried it over, and threw it over the edge. As they looked around for a way to go, they saw a purple fat cat seated on a ledge. He was holding a fishing pole, and apparently hoped to catch something in the chasm. "Um… hello?" Emily greeted, confused.
The fat cat turned and faced them with his yellow eyes. "Oh, hello! My name's Big, 'cause I'm big! I'm looking for my friend Froggy! Have you seen him?" he asked in sort of a dumb tone.
"Are you… fishing for him?" Cosmo questioned.
"Yeah. We like to fish. I'm hoping he'll see it."
"Ahh… well, I'm sure that'll work." He said sarcastically.
"Hold on! Those guys used a frog to trap our friend!" Chad remembered.
"You SAW him? ?"
"Yeah, he was captured on that train!" Emily pointed in the distance. "We can go save him!"
"Ohhh!" Big looked over the chasm and saw a minecart on an old track. "Grab on! I'll get us across." He said, opening his umbrella. They all held on as the fat cat jumped over and slowly glided them across with his umbrella, landing them safely in the minecart which began zooming down the track.
They made several turns around the canyon walls, having to jump any gaps in the track. Soon, they were rolling beside the Koopa Train, Bowser Jr. taking notice and going crazy. The Koopa Prince opened the train's cannons, aiming to shoot the little minecart, then shooting off parts of the track, making them have to jump more. Junior blew up 5 gaps in a row, but they were still able to jump them. He blew up one last part ahead, making the straight track lead down to a lower track, the small cart gaining more momentum as it zoomed down, the group keeping balance as it made several tight turns.
When the track was about to cut off, they saw another foothold to the side, immediately leaping off before the track drove over the edge. They proceeded up the path upwards and reached another gorge where the train tracks were, watching as the large train sped far away fast. Bowser Jr. danced and laughed cockily, doubting they'll be able to catch him. "Well… there she goes." Emily said in defeat.
"Augh, there must be some way to catch it." Chad said desperately. (Stop the music.)
Aboard the train
As the train kept going, the small group of child allies still waited patiently inside the supplies crate, a Koopatrol pacing back and forth, guarding that cart. "Pray, since we art awaiting most patiently on this vessel, mayhap we thinkst of a team name." Luvbi whispered.
"Ooh, ooh, ooh!" Tommy raised his hand, keeping quiet. "I heard of this really cool Kids Next Door squad. How about we call ourselves… the Prospectors?"
"But they already had that name." Jessica said.
"How about Junior Prospectors?" Tommy asked. "We're young enough to be called that, aren't we?"
"Sounds good to me." Sammy smiled, agreeing.
"Ah ba ba boo!" Joey exclaimed.
"Very well. Junior Prospectors it ist." Luvbi decided.
"Um… Ms. Luvbi?" Shaunie spoke.
"Pray, doth not refer to me as 'Miss'! I am not an adult, thou knowest."
"S-Sorry… but… why did you guys bring me with you?"
"I believest yon Tommy canst answer that."
"Okay!" Tommy smiled. "Anyway, the reason I wanted to call us the Junior Prospectors was because the old ones were meant to show how disabled kids can be just as good as regular ones. So I figured we can show the others how good NON-operatives are! Namely ones that are 7 or under."
"So, we went around and saved all the young non-operatives we could!" Mushi followed. "Including you."
"The older kids are always bragging about how good they are, and we can't do anything, so we're gonna prove them wrong!" Tommy finished.
"But isn't Luvbi an operative?" Shaunie asked.
"Ai, yes, but my only affiliations these last many years were with GKND, which ist long gone. Plus, the younger youths are doubted as often as we aliens or inhuman beings art, and since I am technically both, I maketh yonder bill."
"Mmm… I guess that makes sense."
"Man, when's this train gonna stop?" Tommy asked, impatient.
"Ai, hopefully soon." Luvbi replied.
"Well, I'm hungry." He whined, noticing they were on top of Mushrooms. He grabbed a red one and said, "I wonder if this is any good?"
"NAY!" But despite Luvbi's shout, Tommy bit into the Mushroom. The chubby boy immediately grew twice his own height, splitting the entire crate, knocking the guarding Koopatrol off and crushing his friends.
This caught Bowser Jr.'s attention. "HEY! How'd those kids get on here? ! STOP THEM!" A Koopatrol immediately charged into the grown boy, successfully attacking and shrinking Tommy down to normal size.
"Aw man." He whined.
"Ai, perfection. They hath found us." Luvbi eye-rolled. "Junior Prospectors: ATTACKETH!" As the young children readied for battle, Shaunie only gulped in fear. (Play the "Western Village 2" Theme from Ape Escape 3!)
Act 2
Luvbi used her airbending to blow the Koopatrol over the edge as they started hopping from cart to cart, Bowser Jr. already leaping the carts to get away. As they did so, the strong wind from the rushing train nearly blew Luvbi off had she not grabbed on to a crate. "Ay! The wind proveth quite strong."
Shaunie grabbed her left hand, pulled her back on, and said, "Maybe just float low with us."
The kids got into a passenger cart that was filled with Shy Guys, the little socked creatures going crazy and squirming all over the place. Mushi gracefully hopped across the creatures to the other side, pulling a lever that opened a trap door, the Shy Guys randomly jumping into it. The girl giggled as she closed the trap for the others to get across.
They came to a cart of crates that were tied around with a rope, so they grabbed onto the rope and started climbing around. From the other cart, a cannon fired Bullet Bills, but Joey was able to capture them and throw them back. When the kids made it to the next cart, a gang of Chucks leapt out from crates, this time throwing dodgeballs. Joey easily flipped around the cart as he grabbed a ball, threw it at a Chuck, and ducking as it bounced around, hitting the other Chucks.
The rest of the cart had stacks of crates, lined up like a staircase, and a Chargin' Chuck throwing barrels down at them. Sammy and Jessica just leapt the barrels, jumping up the crates and pushing the Chuck over, the others following after. They then reached a cart with no floor, only two parallel walls and two switches on the other end. Joey and Mushi took the time to Wall Jump down the two walls, having to Wall Jump off each other since the walls were far apart. They made it and pushed both switches, making a bridge for the others to cross.
When they reached the end of the cart, the next one was connected by a really long chain, making the team have to balance their way across. Shaunie had the most trouble, looking down and seeing the quick-rushing ground beneath his bare feet. The rushing speeds made him more nervous, but Mushi helped him along. They made it to another cart of crates, having to get through a crate maze. "Gah! That's it. Release the carts!" At Bowser Jr.'s command, the cart they were previously on broke off from the train and exploded.
"They art destroying their own train. Moveth quick!" Luvbi ordered, the kids hurrying through the maze and jumping the next cart before the other one released. The next one, they were ambushed by Rocky Wrenches, little mole creatures that threw wrenches at them, only for Mushi to spin and knock them back. They then had to cross yet another long chain, and Shaunie felt more afraid to cross. Mushi rolled eyes and allowed the Irish onto her back as she balanced across. While the others got across, the chain broke before Mushi could make it, but Tommy grabbed and pulled her and Shaunie back on.
Meanwhile, Team Forest hurried after the speeding train, but they started to lose their breath as the train got farther and farther. "We're never gonna catch up…" Emily panted in doubt
Just then, they were surprised by a carriage that sped right beside them, pulled by Ed, and driven by Eddy, who wore a cowboy hat, a whip, and sunglasses. "Step right up for Eds' Cowboy Cab! Only 25 cents!" Eddy exclaimed.
The group just shrugged and each took out a quarter, flipping them to the loudmouth, who grinned as he caught them in his hat. Cosmo only tossed him some sort of alien money. Big took out a small bolt and asked, "Duh… will dis do?"
"Cool!" Ed said, happily snatching the bolt.
"Eh, good enough." Eddy shrugged. "All aboard, kids!" the team squeezed into the small carriage as Double D helped sit them down.
"Uh, attention, passengers, please remember to keep all arms and legs inside the carriage." The weaker Ed boy instructed.
"Let's go, Lumpy!" Eddy yelled, whipping Ed.
"Just call me Jim!" With that, the dimwitted Ed pulled the carriage and charged right after the train, moving very fast. The Koopa Train launched more Bullet Bills that the carriage narrowly dodged. Parts of the train began exploding, sending debris that barely missed the wagon.
"Eddy, are you sure this is safe?" Edd asked.
"Come on, Ed! Faster!" Eddy yelled, whipping the dumb Ed. The train soon went over a track over a river while the gang took a small rail to the left, Ed lifting the wagon above him and pulling out a unicycle that he began riding down the rail, jumping gaps in the way. They soon got back on a safe foothold for Ed to drop and continue pulling the cart, but the path led right into the river, the others holding their breath as Ed swam speedily underwater, evading groups of Bloopers. Finally, he swam to a hill that led them out of the water and on the bridge the train was crossing.
The carriage dodged a few more debris from exploding carts as they entered a tunnel. When the train dropped several landmines, Ed ran up and pulled the wagon up the tunnel walls, making two complete loops around the walls and ceiling before they exited the cave, still chasing the train down another trench. Just then, swarms of Teen Ninjas sped after the kids in their bikes, but Emily stood on the top and shot the Teens away with her cowgirl guns. They were then followed by the even faster Six Gum Gang, shooting their gum wads and clogging Emily's guns.
Zuri then growled as he pounced over to Lunk's craft, biting the chubby boy in the butt before hopping off, letting him drive into Goof. Zuri landed on Dixie's head as Wilbur swung his lasso to try and grab him, but Zuri leapt off for Wilbur to wrap around Dixie's neck, the girl choking and falling off her craft, pulling Wilbur off his.
Runt only growled as he continued pursuing the carriage, swinging his lasso and grabbing Annie, pulling her off. Right away, Big swung his fishing rod and wrapped around her, trying to pull the girl back. While the two were in tug-o-war, Cosmo hung and climbed across Big's rope, then passing Annie to cross Runt's rope, taking his lasso and kicking the boy off, allowing Big to pull them back over.
"Alright. Get us closer to the train." Emily said to Eddy.
"Hey, this stuff ain't easy. You try driving this-" But when Emily held up a dollar and smirked, Eddy's eyes widened. "STEP ON IT, LUMPY!" With that, Ed ran even faster to the train.
Once they were close enough to its rear, Big swung and cast his fishing rod and latched on the back again, the others holding onto the fat cat as he finally hauled them onto the train, just in time to see Mushi push off a Chargin' Chuck. The Junior Prospectors immediately noticed the Team Forest as all teams shouted, "HOW DID YOU GET HERE? ?"
Before either could respond, a squad of Bullet Bros leapt onto the cart, the kids dodging as they started tossing Bullet Bills. "We'll introduce ourselves later." Emily decided, already shooting the first one, taking it out. Chad stylishly dodged two Bullet Bills from the next one, then grabbed the third Bill and threw it back, the Koopa flying off and exploding.
While Sammy distracted the third Bill, Jessica ran up and closed his eyes from behind, allowing Sammy to push it over. In all this, Shaunie just stood around, wondering what to do, when the fourth Bullet Bro landed behind him, startling the boy. "AAHHH!"
"Oh, for Skypia's sake!" Luvbi yelled, simply blowing the Koopa off. "'Tis how 'tis done, eh?"
"Hehe…" Shaunie chuckled nervously and sheepishly.
"Come on. Let's get the engineer." Emily said, already moving along in the train with the others. (Stop the music.)
Finally, the lot of them reached the front of the train, with Bowser Jr. and the white-shelled Koopa engineer in sight. The Koopa Prince turned to them and yelped. "AHH! You actually made it? !" (Cue Bowser Jr.'s Theme from Mario Galaxy!)
"Freeze, turtle-boy!" Tommy yelled.
"Hey! I know you!" Shaunie shouted. "You're the son of that mean turtle monster that hurt my sister!"
"Oh, I thought I recognized you from somewhere." Junior said. "That whiny voice of yours is hard to forget. You're such a baby."
"I am not a baby!" he whined.
"Haha haha! Gets 'em every time! Anyway, I'd love to taunt you more, but my dad doesn't want any snot-nosed kids ruining this."
"FYI, I'm not a kid. I'm a teenager." Chad stated.
"Pfft. Kid, teenager, what's the difference?"
"Return Nova to us now!" Cosmo demanded.
"Give back Froggy!" Big exclaimed.
Bowser Jr. held up the glowing green Spirit Ball and stepped aside to show the caged frog and Nova, smirking. "Sorry, kids, but my dad needs these guys. You want them back? Come and get 'em! They're all yours, Morton!" With that, he tossed the Spirit Ball to the engineer as a floating pirate ship lowered itself down for Junior to hop on, waving them off.
The chubby Koopa driving the train, named Morton, laughed as he pressed a button, releasing the last car that the others were standing on. Fortunately, the Eds sped beside them in their carriage again, so both teams hopped onto it before the last train car exploded. "Step on it, Baby! Yeehaw!" Eddy shouted, whipping Ed some more. (Play the "Megaleg" Theme from Mario Galaxy!)
Boss fight: Morton Koopa Jr.
Ed ran even faster after the now-one-cart train, blowing a whistle as cannons emerged and launched Missile Bills at them, but Big and Cosmo batted them away. Emily aimed for the Koopa driver and fired her bullets, doing him a bit of damage. He blew the whistle and moved the train faster, going over a track over a river, making the others have to squeeze in a minecart, cannons blowing their track off once more as Emily continued to shoot her bullets. When they were beside the train, Big cast his fishing pole to try and grab Froggy, but Morton only pulled the cage back in. The fat cat then decided to cast at one of the wheels and was able to pull it off.
"Garr!" Morton grumbled as his train started to slow down when they were getting back on land.
"We got 'im now!" Cosmo exclaimed.
To their dismay, however, the airship lowered itself down again as the purple-clothed witch, Kammy Koopa, flew down on her broomstick. "Mweh heh heh! Seems Morton's having a rough time of it. Perhaps I should give him a hand." With that, she waved her magic wand and sprinkled some magic on the train before flying back up.
The train started to shake as the floor beneath Morton opened up, a large green Bowser-like kite flying out. "The Koopa Kite oughta help you greatly." Kammy said. "Attack!" (Play the "Megaleg 2" Theme!)
Morton laughed as he flew around on his large, mechanical kite, launching fast cannonballs that they narrowly dodged. Big was not so lucky, however, as a cannonball bashed him and sent him flying off the carriage. "WHUUUH!"
"BIG! !" Emily cried.
"We'll go back for him later, keep moving!" Chad ordered.
"On the bright side, we're less compact." Double D said.
The kite flew high upwards at it launched several javelins in the ground, Ed swerving around and tripping, making the carriage spin out of control. When it got back on track, the Koopa Kite swooped down and grabbed Emily, but the cowgirl flipped atop its head to attack Morton a little before the Koopaling pushed her off.
The Koopa Kite then started swooping down and grabbing boulders, throwing them at the wagon, so Emily started shooting at the grabber, eventually destroying it after enough hits. Morton Koopa proceeded to launch more javelins. Thankfully, one of the spears was tilted, so Ed was able to run up and jump them to the kite, grabbing on and ripping off the javelin cannon.
Morton Koopa became angered as the kite started zooming around quicker with Emily barely able to blast him. The Koopa slammed the kite down on the ground, attempting to smash them, making shockwaves with each pound that the wagon jumped. When he tried again, Annie was able to hit him with her slingshot, dizzying the Koopa and making the kite swerve out of control. It did move slow enough for Emily to shoot and damage it a little.
When Morton recovered, he started launching sonic waves from the kite. "Faster, Ed!" Eddy cried as the sonic wave chased and destroyed the ground behind them. They were able to speed beside the train, Emily grabbing on the kite's rope and climbing up to the Koopa. Eddy's face turned horror-stricken as it seemed they were finally about to run off a dead end. "Whoa, Baby. We're going down!"
"Yah ha ha hah!" Morton Koopa laughed victoriously.
"RRAH!" Emily finally reached the kite, flipping on and kicking the Koopaling, immediately switching off the sonic waves. She then fired her gun at the rope, separating the kite from the train, hopping back down to the train as the others got on with her, including the Eds, leaving the wagon to drive over the edge to the jagged rocks below.
Morton Koopa struggled to regain control of his kite, but was unable to due to the separation, and was sent flying into the nearby sea. "NAAAAH!"
"Hoo." Emily huffed, smiling to the others as they went to save their kidnapped friends. (Stop the music.)
"Nova!" Cosmo exclaimed, smiling as he untied his friend.
"Ribbiiit!" Froggy yelled.
"Don't worry, Froggy." Nova smiled to the animal. "We'll bring you to your master."
"Junior Prospectors: this mission hath gone most splendidly." Luvbi congratulated her team.
"YAY!" Tommy and Mushi cheered.
"Heehee heehee!" (Cue Bowser Jr.'s Theme again!) They immediately turned around to face Bowser Jr., holding a bucket of dust, standing by Kammy. "I knew it! Taking that frog and your friend led you right into my trap!" They all readied their guard. "Now that I got you all in one place, I can finally put our plan into action. Er-YAH!" He threw some dust out to the people on his right.
"Look out!" Chad and Shaunie shouted, grabbing Emily and Luvbi and dodging, everyone else (except the Eds) getting covered.
The rest of them coughed as the dust covered them. "Man, right when it's allergy season." Annie coughed. She then noticed the dust started to glow, the lot of them studying their forms. "Whuh… what's happeninnng? ?" Her voice became squeakier as they all shrank to about 6 inches tall.
"ALRIGHT! It worked!" Junior danced. "The Minish Dust that Vaati gave us worked perfectly!"
"Eek! Why is everything so big?" Jessica squeaked, afraid.
"I do not think that is what happened, Jessica." Sammy replied.
"Whoa. That dust shrunk 'em." Chad said, surprised.
"Annie! Are you guys okay?" Emily asked, walking to her shrunk friend and kneeling down.
"I think so."
"Whoa! This is so cool!" Tommy squeaked.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Teeny Tommy and Mini Mushi in the house!" Mushi exclaimed.
"More squeaky than a mouse!" Tommy followed.
"I bet I could make millions with that stuff!" Eddy grinned.
"Ai-ai-ai." Luvbi shook her head.
"Don't worry, we'll-" before Emily could finish, the shrunken gang was sucked by a vacuum, held by Kammy Koopa.
"Sorry, Dearie, but these younglings will be coming with us back to the castle." The witch said.
"We'll be able to haul LOADS of prisoners like this!" Junior danced. "Now for the rest of you." He was about to throw another handful of dust at the rest of them.
"NYAR!" Luvbi shouted, blowing the dust bucket away.
"AHH!" Junior screamed as it went flying over the chasm. "No matter. We got plenty more back home. I'll just leave the Chucks to you. GET 'EM!" With that, Kammy grabbed the Koopa Prince and flew up to the airship with the vacuum while another squad of Chucks fell down to the heroes. Before they left, Junior took out a Darkness Cannon and said, "By the way, Chad, I got somethin' for ya!" With that, the bratty prince fired the weapon, hitting the blonde teen directly.
"CHAD!" Emily cried.
"And I wouldn't stay on that train too long! Ah ha ha haa!"
At this, the rest of them looked to see the road cutting off ahead, leading into a forest hundreds of feet below. While Emily tended to Chad, Ed and Eddy were freaking out, and Luvbi was fighting the Chucks on her own. "Argh! Shaunie! Hurryeth and stop yonder train!"
The Irish boy gulped as he slowly approached the train's controls, whimpering as all the complicated buttons and levers confused him.
Luvbi blew off another Chuck and yelled, "HURRYETH!"
Shaunie only looked terrified as the dangerous cliff drew closer. "It's no use! JUMP!" Eddy shouted, already leaping over the side, followed by Ed, who forcibly carried Double D.
"…AAHHHH!" Shaunie only ran away screaming as he jumped after them.
"SHAUNIE!" Luvbi yelled. The angel girl took out the last Chuck as she flew down after him. Emily, seeming to have no other option, lift Chad over her shoulder as she jumped down last, leaving the train to drive off and explode. (Stop the music.)
Dusty Desert, South America
The group that Grim had teleported had reappeared on the edge of the Dusty Desert, the lot of them looking into the sunny wasteland. "Hoo, finally. Land sweet land." Sonic smiled, relieved.
"So, what are we looking for?" Violet asked.
"The Chronicler said I had to look for the Sun God in the Sun Temple, somewhere in the desert." Nigel answered.
"The Chronicler? Who's that?"
"Oh, I heard of him!" Grim perked. "He's dis ancient spirit with immeasurable wisdom, who's said to speak with people in their dreams. He resides on an island in da Spirit World, and hasn't left his home for thousands of years, having nothing to do but read and write books."
"Sounds fun." Sonic said, sarcastically.
"I wouldn't complain! If I stayed in my home, having nothing to do but build inventions! Heh heh heh!" Kade joked.
"By the way, Blaze, you never told us why you wanted to find the temple." Nigel spoke curiously. "Do you have some business with this Sun God?"
The purple catgirl looked away, reminiscingly. "The truth is… I always thought my flames were a curse. Even as the princess, I never had friends because my firebending made me different. I want to find this Sun God to know the truth. To know why I was given my power. I was told that people with this power have caused much harm in the past, but I do not want to believe we are meant to be monsters. The only one who can clarify that… is Solaris."
"Solaris?" Sonic raised a brow. He recognized that name.
"Hmm…" Nigel smiled approvingly, "Well, your reasons are understandable. I have slight doubts about my fire, too. …But to me, you don't really seem so bad."
Blaze looked at him and smiled sheepishly. "Heheh…"
"Uh-oh. Looks like we aren't the only ones." Violet said, noticing the Eggman robots occupying the desert.
"Hehehe. Eggman's here, too. I've been looking for a party." Sonic smirked.
"Or his counterpart, perhaps." Blaze said.
"Me and Mario can handle this." Nigel smirked. "Wanna party?"
"Yeah!" Mario jumped. (Play the "Hidden Base" Theme from Sonic Adventure 2!)
Stage 20: Dusty Desert
Mission: Cut through the desert and find the Sun Temple.
The two firebenders ran ahead and started throwing fireballs at the first bit of Eggman robots. As they followed the path, strange pillars rose from the sand, little monkey robots called Kikis standing on them and throwing bombs down. The two saw cracks in the first pillars of the two rows and kicked them hard enough to make them fall down, knocking over the other ones like dominos. They arrived at a small cliffside where two more pillars appeared, close enough to each other for the two to Wall Jump. But they were too far for one to Wall Jump, so Nigel and Mario Wall Jumped off each other on the way up. Once at the top, two Rhino Tanks tried to run them over, but they jumped and made them run over the edge. Across from them was an ocean of quicksand with a row of Bladed Spinners leading the way across, so the two jumped their way across the Spinners.
They landed on a circular platform in the quicksand as a tall Pokey emerged from the center. Mario only spun at its bottom, knocking all parts into the quicksand, making a path over to the safe land. The two hopped over the floating parts before they sank, getting over to a path between two small hills.
They walked forward a little to see they were atop a larger hill, looking down at an oasis area below. Mario found two deserted Koopa shells, tossing one to Nigel for them to hop on and slide down, the shells helping them skid over the water in the oasis, over to an area of large sandy whirlpools. They swiftly went around the whirlpools, and when they reached a larger one, they jumped the Bladded Spinners over to a Pokey in the center, knocking its parts off, then bouncing up the parts as they float in the whirlpool, getting out of it.
They skidded over to a staircase, bumping into it and having to get off their shells. They went up the staircase to a cannon, aiming over another sandy ocean to a large, blocky pyramid-like structure. They climbed into the cannon, carefully aimed, and fired over, landing and smashing a Rhino-Tank.
Once at the pyramid, they made their way through a maze, getting ambushed by several Kiki robots, only for Mario to throw fireballs and knock them out. They went into an interior section, having to walk a path along a wall, dodging as Thwomps tried to squish them. On the next section, they had to jump swinging spikes, and the path after that had flamethrowers in the wall, making them squeeze between the flames before they stopped. They got to a pole and climbed up to a small bridge that had a toilet paper-like Thwomp, called a Rhomp, rolling back and forth on the bridge. When it rolled over to them, they jumped right over, running as it rolled after them. They hurried and grabbed another pole, climbing up and having to jump a series of poles while avoiding electric gears that scrolled up and down along them.
Finally, they reached the top of the pyramid, finding the exit that led to a large sand slide. The two backed up, ran, and started sliding down. They looked back and gasped at several more Rhomps, rolling down after them. The two swerved from left to right to let the large toilet paper creatures pass, Nigel nearly getting smashed by the last one. An even bigger Rhomp was rolling down afterwards, but the two saw a row of Pokeys, from shortest to tallest, making a stairway up, so the two bounced up the cacti creatures, getting higher than the Rhomp and landing on, balancing as it rolled.
The rolled-up mummy eventually rolled into some quicksand, the two firebenders jumping off and grabbing the top of a flagpole with a Bowser flag. They slid down it as the flag turned gold, and the Bowser symbol was replaced with a KND logo, and the two high-fived before moving ahead. (Stop the music.)
As they kept walking, the two stopped when fire suddenly began to spin around them in a tornado. (Cue the "Freaky Monkey Battle" Theme from Ape Escape 2!) The fire soon vanished, and out of the tornado emerged a strange old man in a dark blue cloak with white outline, who had white, messy hair and a small white mustache.
Nigel uncovered his eyes and asked, "Who are you?"
The man took a breath. "I am… Jeong-Jeong. Firebending Master of the Order of the White Lotus."
"The Order of the White Lotus?"
"The White Lotus is a secret organization of powerful elemental masters. But that's besides the point. I hear you are the long-lost Demon Prince?"
"Er, well… yeah?"
He made a battle pose. "So, the firebending prince of the Demon Realm himself. And just how much destruction have you caused?"
"Destruction? ! If you're implying that I'm anything like Malladus-"
"HMPH. You are but a child. Like Malladus or not, you are still in control of a dangerous element. An uncontrollable power. While water brings healing and life, fire destroys everything in its path, leaving nothing but ruin. It takes a true master to control such power. How can I expect a mere child to have control from his short time of knowing he had the power?"
"Look, old man, I don't know what your problem is. We're just looking for the Sun Temple to speak with the Sun God."
"HA. If you wish to speak to Solaris, you must get past me first. I will test to see how well your flame is controlled."
Nigel furrowed his brows. "Bring it."
The old man threw his arms out, making a large ring of fire surround them, keeping Mario out. He then directed his attention slightly to the sun. "Can you feel it? The sun is the ultimate source of fire. The mighty Solaris has blessed us with his flames. His power to give warmth… and destruction. How would a child understand?" he smirked.
Nigel only readied for battle.
"Now… prepare to meet your DESTINY!" (Replay same music!)
Boss fight: Jeong-Jeong
"We shall see how hot your fire burns. Er-RAH!" the fire master exclaimed, spinning into a fire tornado over to Nigel, who swiftly dodged around him.
"I've taken plenty of other old men out, you'll be no different! AHH!" The bald boy started throwing fireballs that Jeong-Jeong blocked. When Jeong-Jeong tried to throw some himself, Nigel ducked and did a fire slide-kick, tripping him, then proceeded pelting the old man with fireballs.
Jeong-Jeong recovered and leapt right over him, taking out a Fire Whip and trying to lash it at him. Nigel ducked, then jumped two horizontal lashes, then side-dodged two vertical lashes. But Jeong-Jeong finally wrapped it around Nigel's legs, swinging the child over him towards the fire wall, but he switched on his jet shoes, flying around the area and swinging Jeong-Jeong into the flames, only for him to quickly recover and shoot back in. Nigel landed back, slid under him, and shot fireballs at his chest again, knocking him back.
The old master spun into a fire tornado, trying to burn him again, but Nigel dodged left, right, then just jumped over him. The Brit ducked as Jeong-Jeong did a fire shockwave, the flames blowing outside the ring and nearly hitting Mario. "Mama Mia! They'll turn me into an Italian meatball!"
As Jeong-Jeong caught his breath, Nigel shot more fireballs and damaged him some more, the old man recovering quickly and flipping a few feet away. "I'll teach you some respect. Fire METEOR!" He rose his hands in the air, summoning large balls of fire that rained down, Nigel quickly rolling out of their way. Once they stopped, he threw more fireballs at Jeong-Jeong, only for him to block them off.
The master shot forward and swung more strikes at the Demon Prince, with Nigel countering with his own blows. Nigel grabbed Jeong-Jeong's fists, but he only inhaled and blew some fire breath, Nigel ducking right away. Nigel rolled and dodged another fire breath before rolling under his legs and blasting fire at his back, but Jeong-Jeong turned and blocked just in time. That's when Nigel threw his arms back, summoning fire from the ring behind Jeong-Jeong to burn him.
After that round, Jeong-Jeong used his bending to make his own rocket shoes, flying straight upwards, followed by Nigel. As the two benders were in a clash in the air, the rest of the gang arrived, running over to Mario. "Mario. Where's Nigel?" Sonic asked.
"Oh." Mario pointed to the two benders fighting.
"Who's that?" Eva asked.
"More trouble from crazy old men." Violet replied.
Jeong-Jeong kicked a fireball at him that Nigel dodged upward, going behind and throwing a flame that Jeong-Jeong dodged down, getting behind Nigel and shooting another fireball. Jeong-Jeong rolled like a pinball to make himself a fireball, shooting into Nigel, but the bald Brit did his own fire tornado and pushed him back. When Jeong-Jeong stopped, Nigel did his own fire pinball, shooting over to his left, getting behind and pelting him with more fireballs.
The two started throwing kicks at each other, Jeong-Jeong throwing a fireball that Nigel kicked away before launching three balls from his feet that Jeong-Jeong shielded with his arms. When he uncovered his eyes, he saw that Nigel had flown behind him, too late to block more fireballs that stunned him, allowing Nigel to fly above and kick one last fireball that pushed him to the ground. Once knocked on the ground, Nigel spun into his own fire pinball and crashed down on the old man, giving a loud grunt before Nigel stopped and took a breath, the ring of fire disappearing.
"Huff, huff. Seems your passions are strong, and yet your control is great. …Ughhh…" He fainted.
"Heh. Don't mess with Nigel Uno." The boy smirked. (End song.)
After his performance, the others ran up to congratulate him. "Alright! Way to go, Nigel!" Eva exclaimed.
"Hm. And you have your doubts." He smirked. Eva just stuck her tongue out.
"But who is this guy?" Violet asked.
"Friend or foe?" Blaze followed.
"I dunno. Some firebending master." At this, the old man awakened and stood up.
"Hmph. Typical child response."
"Whatever. Just tell us where the Sun Temple is." Nigel demanded.
"Huh. Whoever gave you those directions was trying to mislead you. There is NO Sun Temple out here. You have wasted your journey."
"WHAT?"
"You mean we came all this way for nothing?" Eva asked.
"Now, who said it was for nothing? An enemy base is out here, is it not?"
"Well… he's got a point. But still." Sonic said.
"Hm hm hm." The man smirked. "You shall see soon enough, Hedgehog. If you want to still find the Sun Temple, I'd suggest taking another look around Planet Secco. Farewell." With that, the man was engulfed in a tornado of flames, vanishing into thin air, er, fire.
"Well, he's gone." Eva said obviously.
"Well, what now?" Kade asked.
"Nothing left to do but see how Eggman's doing." Sonic said. "My guess is he's in that pyramid ahead. I'll see you later." With that, the hedgehog ran ahead.
Argh, these chapters keep getting harder and harder! Anyway, here we have a look at Shaunie's inner conflict! ;D Can you guess what? In time, you'll see why Chad wants to find an enemy base. Plus, that "super-strength" of his was foreshadowing another thing. ;) Anyway, no time to chat, gotta go! Later!