Time for ANOTHER Chronicler scene! With Sonic the Hedgehog! As always, play the "Dreams" Theme from Spyro: Eternal Night.
Chapter 31: Naval Battle
Sonic awakened from his sudden faint, finding himself on an asteroid floating in the depths of space, standing up and rubbing his head. "Oh… where am I?"
"Sonic the Hedgehog…"
"Who's there?" He looked around.
"My name is The Chronicler. Spirit who watches peoples' lives…"
"So, you're a stalker."
"Seriously?! You too?! Sigh… just listen: I am here to show you your Air Element. Step forward along the floating path…" The floating asteroids appeared for Sonic to… run across, rather than walk.
He walked slower when he reached a gate of wind, as well as a glowing white wind platform. "So, what's this all about?"
"Sonic… the power of the wind and air has always been with you. It's where your great speed comes from."
"Makes sense that I'm called 'Knight of the Wind.'" He smirked.
"Yes… a title could have no greater meaning. Step into the light…" Sonic did as told and stood on the glowing platform. The hedgehog smiled and closed his eyes, peacefully breathing the wind that blew through his face, in the illusion of the blue sky of fluffy white clouds.
"Air is the Element of Freedom. It is the most peaceful of the Light Elements. The wind blows across the worlds… breathing life into the inhabitants of the land. The airbenders of old have detached their selves from the troubles of the world… and have binded with the wind. Forever remaining in peace and harmony… as the world goes 'round. Sonic… you have had this power for a long time… running fast and free… just like the wind." The blue hedgehog could feel the wind and clouds spiraling around him. The blue hedgehog curled in a pinball and spun around, releasing a tornado explosion.
The vision vanished and Sonic was back at the Realm, walking through the wind gate that had opened. Ahead was merely a swervy path that he's seen hundreds of times, of hills, snaky turns, and a loop-di-loop. "The wind moves at incredible speeds… faster than anything on the planet. Run along the track before the door closes, fast as you can… like you always have."
Sonic saw a door open on the very end of the track, and it slowly began to close. The hedgehog ran and dashed down the track, up and down the hills, turning the narrow paths, and over the loop-di-loops, sliding under the tiny crack the door had left to close.
The hedgehog then reached a long, wide river of Sonic's least favorite element: water. "Air is incredibly light. There is little weight to it. Use your light-weighted feet and run across this-"
"Yeah, yeah." Sonic cut off, already speeding across the river like he's done several times.
He then reached a tall pole and saw a series of other poles floating on distant asteroids, each at different altitudes. "When the wind spirals freely into one place, it creates tornados that forcibly suck everything around. But when holding onto a thin surface like this, you can blow yourself to great distances." Sonic, having done this before, performed a Sonic Tornado around the pole, holding on as he spun upwards, flinging to the next pole, and the next one, to the next, and landing on the road ahead.
Sonic then came to a small pit of quicksand that seemed a little too thick for him to run over. "Air can also be spun into a sphere which you can balance on top of and float for a short time." At this, Sonic waved his hands and spun a bunch of air into a little ball, sitting and balancing on top as he carefully drifted over the pool of quicksand. Once on the other side, he dashed down the path.
Sonic finally reached the open field of stone demons, all ready for battle. "The evil ones are trying to hold you captive. Show them how your air blows free like the wind… and stop them." Sonic smirked as he dashed off and Home Attacked the first squad of soldiers. Sonic spun and rode his Air Ball over a few other soldiers, blowing them over the edge. He then made a tornado that blew several more demons upward, and then kicked them away as they came down. He Spin Dashed into another row, and afterwards finished the last ones off with an Air Slice.
Once the last of them were gone, the blue hedgehog was surrounded by many more. He continued to smile, and peacefully closed his eyes as the wind breezed into a tornado again. "When you are truly at peace… freely doing what you love… the wind blows stronger than ever." Sonic the Hedgehog channeled all the wind blowing around him before making one large tornado, sucking in all the enemies that surrounded, and blew them all away in a wind explosion. "Excellent work… but remember: while your wind blows free, you must consider the stature of your friends once in a while, if they are in need of your help…"
"Hehehe. You don't watch my life very good, do you? I've helped people plenty of times, not just my friends."
"Indeed you have. That is why I need not worry of you much. Now… step into the temple before you." The floating rock path appeared once again, leading to the wind gate of the temple. Sonic proceeded up the asteroid path and walked through the gate, stopping to catch the breeze a little before he headed in.
Sonic walked forward and observed the surrounding elemental gateways while approaching the central light pool. "Okay, so I learned a bunch of stuff I basically already know. I didn't really realize I DID have the power of air, but… what is this about? What's with all these weird gates?"
"Seven other people have come here before you already. All with great destinies with things to come. Sonic: you are one of the few remaining airbenders in the cosmos. Airbenders are lighthearted spirits. Very important. The fact that you can use the Chaos Emeralds like you do, neutralizing the hearts of the most troubled spirits… is nothing short of proof of your power, to bring light to even the darkest hearts…"
"Hehe. The time spirits don't very much care for the Emeralds." He chuckled.
"Yes… they underestimate the Emeralds' true purpose in the world, because of their history. (And because they are so easily found.) You recall the spirit, Chaos. His troubled heart nearly destroyed the world years ago. And it almost did so again… until you healed it."
"All in a day's work." He said proudly.
"And you will need that power again, very soon…"
"Sounds like I need the Chaos Emeralds." He figured. "But what happened to the airbenders anyway? Did they wipe each other out just like the psychics?"
"No. The firebenders of a distant world played a role in wiping the airbenders of the earth. But they still exist in a civilization in the sky, and only an airbender of your stature would be able to find them. You do recall Rachel McKenzie, correct?"
"Yeah. The blonde girl who got the cool sword."
"You must find a way back to the sky, and bring Rachel McKenzie with you. Step into the light to find your way…" Sonic stared at the Pool of Light before him. The hedgehog stepped forward, took a breath, and stuck his face in the glowing pool, staring with wonder. (Stop the music.)
He was shown a vision of a vast, windy field, where a tower of incredible, colossal height reached way up into the heavens. A green, armored, flying snakelike being soared around the tower a few times before shooting right into the hedgehog's face with glowing yellow eyes.
The Old Orleans
"SONIC!"
"AHH!" Sonic finally shot awake on the deck of Facilier's yacht, rubbing his ears from Amy's loud voice. "Ow…"
"Oops. Sorry, Sonic."
"What's wrong, Sonic?" Tails asked. "Bad dream or somethin'?"
"Nah. I'm fine." He replied, standing up. "So, what's up?"
"We just made it to Rourke's base." Amy replied.
"Everyone else went in to analyze that disk." Knuckles followed. "We stayed out here to look after you. Since you obviously can't do that yourself." He smirked.
"Hehehe." Sonic smirked at the echidna. "Well, sleeping-in time's over. Let's go and join the others, wanna?" They all smiled and nodded as they followed the hedgehog inside.
KND Hospital Treehouse
The members of Rachel's gang were now peacefully resting in the KND hospital treehouse, under the blue and peaceful starry night sky. Rachel was currently asleep in a bed with her blue Rainbow Monkey nightgown. She awoke yawning as she went to get a glass of water from the refrigerator, careful not to wake up Rouge who was upside-down on the ceiling. After getting her drink, her eyes and ears perked at a mysterious sound outside. She curiously walked out onto the balcony, stopping when she spotted Fi floating slightly over the edge, looking up to the sky and singing in a beautiful, angelic voice.
Ancient light… help the lost ones…
Guide their way… through the darkness…
Spirits help… the outcasts…
Spirits help… the outcasts…
Rachel could only stare with wonder as she heard the spirit's voice. Fi never sounded so angelic before. All Rachel's heard from her spirit guide was hints on how to do things and stuff. She never really spoke of things otherwise…
Fi stopped singing and turned to notice her master. "Forgive me, Master Rachel. Did my singing awaken you?"
"Huh? Oh, no. I just got up to get a drink. …That was great singing, though. Where'd you learn that, Fi?"
"It is a song passed down from generations to the People of the Sky. Eons ago, there was a great war between the spirits and demons that forced the land inhabitants to retreat to the Realm of the Sky. That song was sung by them to keep hope that, one day, they can return to their home on the ground."
"Sounds pretty neat!" she smiled. "But why were you singing it just then?"
Fi looked away slightly. "The Land of the Sky is where I was created. Where I met my previous master to assist him on his journey. While my only place is to serve the wielder of the Master Sword, I seem to possess the desire to return to the sky, and be reminded of my home."
"Does the sky have a spirit?"
"Yes. Rayquaza is the fabled Spirit of the Sky. He blessed the Sky People with the power to bend air. They passed it onto the sky bison, who then passed it onto the mortals below."
"Ah-huh…" Rachel nodded as the information seeped in. "Hey, Fi. Can I ask you something about the elements?"
"You may, Master." (Play Fi's Theme from Zelda: Skyward Sword.)
"Well… how many bendable elements are there?"
"There are 12 different bendable elements. But the most commonly found in benders are the 4 Light Elements; Water, Earth, Fire, and Air, and the 4 Dark Elements; Poison, Shadow, Psychic, and Fear. The other 4 Elements, Time & Space and Light & Darkness, are very special, powerful ones, granted only to certain individuals. Time & Space are ones controlled by the most powerful gods that rest upon Spear Pillar. They grant their powers only to certain people worthy enough."
"Like the timebenders…" Rachel said to herself. "But what about Light and Darkness? What are those…"
"Light is the power given to those who have embraced all the features of the Light Elements, and those who have a powerful, lighthearted spirit. While Darkness is the power given to those who have embraced all Dark Elements, or those who only feel darkness. Be they benders of those elements or not. Throughout history, only the Avatars and Negatars are mostly known to have these powers."
"Negatars? There's… more than one?"
"Lord Gnaa is the current Negatar generation, but there have been many before him. The Negatar Cycle is one that has gone on for generations. The spirits had originally intended to make an Avatar, bender of all Light Elements. But this resulted in his Negative counterpart gaining the powers of the Dark Ones. Two powers, Light and Darkness… that have gone in an unending war for generations… are represented in the forms of those two souls."
"You're saying… if we had the Negatar's Positive counterpart… we might be able to beat him?"
"I cannot say for sure. But the Avatar has been lost for generations."
"But he must be alive. Otherwise Lord Gnaa wouldn't… would he?"
"Lord Gnaa's powers exceed any others. He may have defied this law between the Positives and Negatives to achieve eternal life. His need of Harvey's form may prove this."
"Yeah… you're right…" Rachel looked away in sadness, remembering the fate of her brother.
"Our objective now is to find the Eight Firstborn and put an end to him."
"But wait a minute. If there are eight elements that people commonly bend… does that mean each of those elements is controlled by a Firstborn?"
"Only some, but not all. And the Eight Guardians could be anyone, bender or not."
"I see. But… what did you mean by 'those who have embraced the features of the Light or Dark Elements can bend Light or Darkness, be they benders or not'? If they can't bend those elements…"
"Master… elemental bending is so much more than simply conjuring fire, or flinging massive rocks, or controlling things with your mind. These powers all come from the emotions of individuals. Passion creates Fire, hurt creates Poison, freedom creates Air, while the feeling of banishment creates Shadow."
"I see…" Rachel nodded. "Well… you think you could tell me more about the elements? Like, their origins or something?"
"Are you not tired, Master?"
"Eh. I'm pretty awake now. I'd be able to listen." She smiled, sitting down with her legs crossed.
Fi gave a smile. "I'd be honored to, Master."
"And quit calling me 'Master'! Just call me Rachel."
"Yes… Rachel… I will begin explaining…" (End song.)
Underworld Prison
The Underworld Prison warden, the chubby, green-skinned, armored horned demon known as King Bulblin, sat at his filthy desk and signed papers in a grumpy tone. His door was suddenly kicked down, and the demon looked to see Ganondorf, smirking and walking in. Bulblin just looked back down at his papers and kept working. "Oh. Hey, Ganon."
The demon thief looked around and inhaled through his nose the scent of the dust in the room as he walked closer. "So… this is your new job, eh, Bulby?"
"Well, I had a little demotion… since the last time I worked for you."
"Mmm… throwing the Underworld's greatest general in a dump like this… isn't that infuriating?"
"Yeah, well… I have you to thank for that. Anyway, get lost, I'm busy… signing these papers isn't easy, y'know."
"Neither is watching over a hundred vicious demons 24/7. Tell me… would you really rather still have this job, and not come back with me? I could sure use my old general to assist in controlling my ever-rambunctious demons again. Release my old soldiers from these cells, and we'll be good to go."
"Forget it, Ganny. I need to look after these guys. Besides… I follow the strongest side. And that was Link."
"Link has been dead for years." Ganon growled. "Though his little descendants are still roaming around. Your loyalty is to me now. Surely, Grim won't keep you around here forever. Besides, he is a failure of a king, just like those Unos. You don't really think this job is right for you?"
"Well… since I've been here, there hasn't been one breakout or intrusion."
"You want to place a wager on that?"
Bulblin looked up. "What?"
The desert man guided the warden down a hall to a cell that was hanging open. "Your latest inmate escaped sometime ago."
"Dimentia…" Bulblin already knew.
"I saw her myself. She stopped me from ending the prince's life." He gritted his teeth.
Bulblin only looked away in thought.
"And Grim likely knows this. Now… you can either wait for him to execute you… or you can come with me. And we'll hunt Dimentia AND dispose of Grim and the Unos together…"
King Bulblin just looked at Ganon with a glare.
The Sea Fleet
"So… the brats have arrived at the research base." General Immortus observed on the large monitor.
"We'll ambush them before long." Eggman Nega replied, with a low tone.
The doors opened just then, and in stepped Bowser Jr., shouting, "NOW PRESENTING, the latest edition to the Bad Side, Mr. L!", as he walked in with Kammy Koopa and Mr. L.
"Eh?" Eggman cocked a brow.
"Finally away from that joke of a brother of mine and his little pals." Mr. L said.
"Odd. Where is this coming from all of a sudden?" the fat scientist asked.
"Mweh heh heh! Junior here hit him with a Darkness Cannon, bringing back an old alter ego of his from the Dark Side: Mr. L!" Kammy explained.
"And now that I'm here, I'll do what I can to serve Lord Gnaa and stop that Mario and his do-gooder friends."
"OH hoho hoho! You know what they say: the more the merrier! Great to have you here, Mr. L!" Eggman grinned, shaking the Italian's hand.
"Great to be here. It's time I get some of the stardom."
"Well, now that we're all acquainted, let's get back to business." Immortus said. "The children have gathered at the research center already. No doubt looking at the data we acquired as we speak. We're going to ambush them there. Meanwhile, K. Rool has requested that we get Kami over to him, if she agrees to come. Madame Rouge will see to that."
"Understood." The stretchy woman replied.
"And make sure those little alien friends of hers don't accompany."
"All right! So let's wreck that place and get back at 'em for stealing our stuff!" Bokkun yelled.
"Even though it was stolen by us in the first place." Decoe said.
"Ready the Stormtroopers and activate the Walkers." Immortus ordered.
"Ready my robots!" Eggman told his henchmen.
"I'll go check on Whisker." Nega said.
"Yeah! Let's do this!" Junior cheered. He, Kammy, and Mr. L ran out to get their Koopas ready.
Marine Research Facility
After finally arriving at the base, Captain Rourke guided the operatives to the center, where people were working at computers, with a large computer on the other end of the room. "Kids: meet the Marine Research Team." The captain said. The research team looked to the operatives. Already, two certain people caught Eva's attention.
"Mom! Dad!"
"Eva!" her father exclaimed, the two parents running over to hug their daughter.
"I didn't know you guys were with Rourke's team!"
"We've always been members." Her mom, Angelica, replied. "We used to work here before we found you on the beach. Then we had to retire to raise you."
"Oh… sorry." Eva frowned.
"Don't worry about it." Eric chuckled. "After you defeated Jones, we decided to come back and tell Rourke the whole story."
"So, we might be able to find the lost kingdom ourselves." Angelica finished.
"But we haven't had much luck." Rourke said. "But now that we have this disk, we should be able to get farther."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's put it in!" Eva said happily. The muscular captain took the disk and stuck it in the big computer. The screen simply showed a vision of a classic space-shooter game, destroying asteroids and building up the score as the screen loaded along with it. When it cleared the level, the high score blinked on the screen when the file finished loading.
"Ah, here we go!" Rourke said. The lot of them proceeded to read the information onscreen.
"'There is a story that tells of an ancient kingdom said to exist below the sea.'" Nigel read aloud.
"'A kingdom with a special trap designed to keep intruders out of it.'" Hoagie read.
"It blends in… with the water?" Kuki read, confused.
"Well, WHAT ELSE? ?" Wally shouted.
"Read it yo' SELF, Fool!" Abby yelled back.
"'The ancient kingdom is invisible to the eyes of mortals.'" Eva read.
"Does that mean only the spirits can see it?" Hoagie asked.
"Hang on…" Rourke said, still reading. "It says if the sacred Phantom Sword is held by one of the Eight Firstborn, or those related by blood, and is presented at the Mother & Child Isles in the Grand Blue Samiyan Sea… the way to the lost city will open."
"A passage found off of one of the ancient textbooks written about the Ocean Realm in Azultown's Great Library." Angelica said.
"Those crocodile pirates found this info and downloaded it on this disk." Eric said. "Afterwards, they burned the book they got it from."
"So that's it then." Rourke cut in, breaking them up. "Now we know how to find the temple… the problem is we don't have any of the Firstborn OR this Phantom Sword."
"But it also says 'those related by blood'." Kade reminded. "And… isn't Eva Manaphy's older sister?"
"Yeah… I am!" Eva exclaimed.
"Then all we need is the Phantom Sword!" Nigel smiled. "Do you still have it with you?"
"Uh… not quite." She said, nervously scratching the back of her neck.
"What did you do with it?" Kade asked.
"I… sorta threw it in the maelstrom after Jones." She grinned. At this, they all did an anime-style fall-down. "Hey, it seemed right at the time to give it back to the sea!"
"Yes, and now we have to go find it AGAIN." Nigel remarked.
"You mean we're goin' back ta Davy Jones' Locker?" Wally groaned.
"Hang on, kids." Grim spoke up. "Normal objects don't get washed up in the Locker so easily. Um, or… sacred spiritual objects for that matter. It's probably on the seafloor."
"So, I guess if we went back to the place in the sea where we battled Jones, we might be able to find it." Eva figured.
"Alright, there's our plan, team!" Rourke cheered, clapping his hands. "Let's find us a sword!"
"YEEAH!" they all cheered.
Just then, a GUN soldier ran into the room and saluted. "Captain Rourke! Our radars have just picked up an enemy fleet heading our direction, led by the flagship."
"What? ?"
The base immediately shook, making everyone wobble. "Sounds like they're firing!" Nigel exclaimed. "Let's go outside!"
Outside (Play "The Battle of Geonosis II" from Star Wars: Attack of the Clones.)
Sonic and his friends still waited outside when the rest of the team ran out to see the flagship arrive, extending a metal bridge to the island. Kami, Ava, and Kweeb gasped when they saw Madame Rouge, standing on the deck and smirking in their direction. A bunch of Stormtroopers, Koopas, and robots ran over to the metal island, and the siege began.
"RAHH!" Captain Rourke yelled, jumping over to the enemy ship as he started attacking Stormtroopers. The soldiers started activating Imperial Walkers and tried to blast the captain, but Rourke fired at the cockpits. The team gasped again when a Walker tried to stomp the captain, but Rourke raised both arms and grabbed its foot, able to hold it back. Their mouths dropped when the captain swung the Walker around and knocked other Walkers over.
"WHOA! He's stronger than Rainbow Monkey Kong!" Wally exclaimed.
"Talk about a superhuman! You think he takes vitamins?" Hoagie asked.
"We'll ask him later." Nigel said. "Strong or not, he'll need some help. Kids Next Door: BATTLE STATIONS!" With that, the kids gave a battle cry and ran onto the long, huge ship deck. They immediately started firing their weapons at the many Troopers and robots.
When Madame Rouge finally approached them, Nigel blasted some fire and melted her a little before Kami ran to throw punches at the stretchy woman, who swiftly defended and leapt right over her. Ava tried to stab her with her swords, but they ended up caught in Rouge's gooey form, the woman puffing and blowing the alien girl back. Kweeb leapt off and tried to bite Rouge's ear, but Rouge easily flicked him away. When Kami ran to bend Rouge's arms back from behind, Rouge pulled her in front of her, forcibly turning her around and bending her back as Rouge stretched her neck down to Kami's ear.
"So, vhat it is? Going to see K. Rool or not?" she whispered. Kami gave a slight nod before Madame Rouge tossed her several feet out into the sea.
Kami saw she was headed for a speedboat with two Kremling Kritters on it, one of them reaching its arms up to catch her. The troop failed and Kami landed right on top of him, knocking him over. "D'oh…" the Kritter groaned. Kami snickered while the other one shook its head in disbelief, starting the boat up and speeding them off.
"Kami, wait!" Ava called. A stretchy finger then wrapped around the alien girl, Madame Rouge pulling her back. She attempted to punch the alien, but Rouge grunted when a magic blast hit her arm, turning to see a smirking Facilier, wielding his magic cane. The angered woman proceeded to punch the witch-doctor, only for Facilier to flip and dodge, countering with his magic.
Near the flagship's control tower, Rourke continued to beat away Stormtroopers and Kremlings. He looked over and saw Immortus slowly backing away, and ran to attack the old man, who gracefully leapt his way back up the tower. Rourke shot him an angered look and dashed in the tower.
Team Sonic and Mario happily fought off the Koopas and Stormtroopers, with Marine and Blaze standing back-to-back and throwing Light Spheres/fireballs. "Yeah! Come and get some, you rusty old drongos!" Marine exclaimed.
Just then, Captain Whisker dropped from the tower and landed hard on the deck. "D'arr har har! I'd be happy to oblige, ye scallywags."
"Whisker!" Blaze glared.
Sonic then heard a speedboat sound and turned to see Johnny speeding over to them along the sea, afterwards jumping to the deck. "Hey, Hedgehog! Looks like you here for a rematch."
"You bet!" Sonic exclaimed, already skidding along the water, followed by the green robo-shark.
Whisker swung his sword and defended as Blaze kicked him, her high-heels on fire, and Marine threw punches. The captain jumped away and yelled, "Avast!", charging and blowing his flame breath, but Blaze did a Fire Tornado and caught the flames, encasing herself in a fire barrier, which she then shot at the pirate.
As the operatives fought the Stormtroopers, Kargaroks carried and dropped Bokoblin onto the deck, and several Bokoblin ran out of the ship as well. Eggman and Eggman Nega hovered in their pods at this time, aiming at the research center. "FIRE!" Eggman yelled, the two proceeding to shoot the base, as did the other Kremling and Koopa ships.
GUN soldiers ran out of the research base and fired as the Bokoblin boarded the metal island, taking some out while the demons pounced and beat on other soldiers. Two GUNs tried to shoot a Fatblin, but it grabbed the two's heads and bashed them into each other, tossing the men away. That same Fatblin spotted and ran to attack Eva's parents, but Eva hurried behind and grabbed the chubby demon in her water fist, throwing it out to sea. "Mom, Dad!" she yelled, running to help protect them from other demons.
"It's okay, Eva. We'll be safe." Her father assured, pulling out a walkie-talkie. "Activate the defense barrier!" At his command, a soldier inside the base pulled a lever, activating a shield that surrounded the entire island base, preventing enemy troops and fire from piercing through. "The shield will protect us from the enemy fire, but it won't stay up long." Eric said, punching another Bokoblin.
From an airship, Bowser Jr. stood by Kammy and Mr. L, looking at the shield and stomping in anger. "Ohhh! Take that shield out!" he ordered as Bullet Bills were fired at the barrier.
After finishing off a few Hammer Bros, Nigel said to his team, "Let's head inside and help Rourke."
Inside the flagship, Captain Rourke headed fast up the tower, grabbing any Kremling or Koopa that stood in his way and throwing them over the railing. When he reached the top, two Krunchas stood guard at a door and ran to grab him, but Rourke held the two Kremlings back and threw them over the edge as well. The captain passed through the door to a small room, which had a doorway with no door leading to a small outside field at the top of the tower.
From the corner of the small room, General Immortus spotted Rourke and ran to kick his gun away, the blunderbuss sliding along the floor away from them. Rourke tried to get it, but Immortus swung his sword and made him jump back, running to kick the gun out to the field. Rourke immediately drew out his own sword and engaged in a clash against the old general, battling outside in the field.
"Come on. Give it up, Old Man. Shouldn't you leave the army to the young people?" Rourke asked rhetorically, still clashing.
"Brute strength is nothing… without the brains to make it work properly." Immortus smirked and retorted in his old, hoarse voice, jumping onto the tall railing and still swinging his sword. Rourke made him bend and fall back, but Immortus' legs held on to the railing, the flexible general still bending back to face Rourke and swing his sword. "And this brain has been around for quite a while, and it grows ever so fluently with knowledge." The general then flipped and landed back on the floor, continuing to slash at the naval captain.
"YAHH!" Rourke yelped when Immortus slashed him across the left of his hip.
The operatives fought their way past the last of the Kremlings and Koopas and finally reached the top of the tower, finding Rourke on one knee and holding his hip in pain. "Rourke!" Nigel yelled as they ran to his aid.
"So much for your almighty captain." Immortus smirked.
"Are you okay?" Nigel asked, touching the man's shoulder.
Rourke uncovered to look at his wound. His expression became one of horror when he saw his skin slowly uncovering some type of crystal beneath. The man grunted and covered it back up, standing up. "Er… no good. He's wounded me. It's up to you, kids." He said, running off.
"Will do, Captain." Nigel said, the kids holding their weapons up.
"Ha!" Immortus cheered, swinging his sword. "There's more where that came from."
"And just who the crud are you? !" Wally shouted.
"I am General Immortus. Greatest general in Brain's army, and commander of the Stormtroopers. I know the battle strategies of every war in history, because I was there to see 'em all! From the splendid Indian Wars to the sweetness of World War II! Any war that makes you happy, I can describe 'em all."
"Whoa! How does a man stay alive for that long?" Abby asked.
"You'd be surprised what you get here on the Dark Side. I'd be happy to show you, if you would join."
"Shyeah, right." Violet scoffed. "Frankly, some of us have been down that road, and we prefer not to go back."
"I see. Quite a shame. Well then… I'll just have to destroy you, too." With that, they all readied for battle. (Play the Magnus von Grapple Battle Theme from Paper Mario TTYD!)
Boss fight: General Immortus
"TROOPERS!" Immortus yelled, calling out a squadron of Stormtroopers from the door on the other side of the field. They all made a circle around the kids and began blasting, but the operatives shot back. Nigel ran up to some Troopers and shot fire blasts, knocking them out and running out of the circle. Wally and Abby beat up some other Stormtroopers and ran over to General Immortus, who swung his sword to defend from the kids' punches and kicks. Abby drew out a candycane sword and clashed against his. Abby was able to kick his sword away and lay a few other kicks onto him.
Down below, Sonic and Johnny continued to race along the sea, boosting and ramming into each other. On the deck, Blaze and Marine were still trying to battle Whisker, the robo captain grabbing Blaze's foot when she tried to spin-kick him. "To Davy Jones wit' ya!" he yelled, tossing her out to sea, but Marine jumped, flew up with her tail, and grabbed her.
Back on the tower, Abby and Immortus threw more kicks at each other before the general jumped over to grab his sword, and Abby used her sword to defend against his slashes. Violet pounced some Stormtroopers and tossed them at the general, but he only ducked and kicked Abby upwards when she jumped at him. The general shot to his feet and made a whistle, summoning a squad of helicopters that hovered over, more Stormtroopers dropping down from ropes to battle them.
Wally whipped out his S.L.U.G.G.U.H. and started punching the Stormtroopers while Hoagie shot them with his Diffusion Rifle. Numbuh 3 giggled happily and swiftly dodged as the Stormtroopers tried to grab her, jumping and walking on their heads before kicking their heads. At this time, General Immortus cut Abby's candycane sword in half, but he had to hold his sword up when Kuki tried to jump on him.
"Eat this!" Wally yelled, kicking the man's shin, making him drop his sword for Kuki to land on his head, kicking him back and high-fiving Wally afterwards.
Back on deck, Facilier continued to dodge-roll as Madame Rouge launched her fists at him. His shadow snuck up from behind the woman and wrapped around hers, binding her arms for Facilier to throw a fire spell and burn her. "Ha ha! Good work, Shadow!"
"For the record, that might confuse some people with your Shadow and Shadow the Hedgehog later." Tails said before doing a Tail Spin at Decoe and Bocoe.
"Bah." Back on the tower, Immortus recovered and ran in the door on the other side. The operatives tried to follow him in, but it suddenly blew down, and Immortus came out, controlling a large robot with machineguns at its sides. The operatives hurried and dodged the rapid bullets while still fighting off the Stormtroopers.
"Reow!" Violet yelled, scampering off as Immortus fired away at her.
"YAH!" Nigel yelled, smashing through the robot's glass to attack the general. Hoagie and Abby shot at the robot's legs, making it hop around a little.
On deck, Marine had finally wrapped Captain Whisker in an energy chain while Blaze jumped, did a fire spin, and kicked into him, knocking him away on his back. Blaze spun in a Flame Tornado to suck in Mini and Mum, dealing them great pain, then she used a Spin Dash to knock them out. On the sea, Sonic ran from Johnny and jumped back to the deck, the robo-shark chasing after him. Sonic just spun an Air Ball and kicked it over, blowing Johnny back in the water before spinning a Sonic Tornado, blowing it at Johnny and blowing him away.
"Let's wreck this rust bucket!" Sonic exclaimed.
"You bet!" Blaze smirked. She spun in another tornado while Sonic curled in a pinball and spun around her. The fire combined with wind created an even larger tornado, sucking in the remaining enemies and piercing through the deck of the ship.
The two Eggmen gulped at the expanding tornado and stopped firing at the base. "Ulp! What a disaster! Retreat!" Eggman yelled, but the two scientists were quickly sucked into the tornado.
On the tower, Immortus grabbed Numbuh 3 and Violet in the robot's claws and was about to squeeze them. They all felt the whole place shake all of a sudden, making the general release them. "Uh-oh. This is a setback."
"RRAH!" Nigel gave one last battle cry before unleashing a flaming laser, piercing through the robot's center and exploding it, sending the general flying over the edge. They watched as Immortus simply hovered up in a floating pod of his own, shooting a glare towards the kiddies before taking off.
The super tornado continued spinning and wrecking the ship, sending the Eggmen and their henchmen flying away. "I HATE THAT HEDGEHOOOOG!" Eggman cried as they shrunk into the sky.
"GAH! Everyone, SCRAM!" Junior yelled to the remaining ships. The super tornado finally stopped and went down as the enemy fleet retreated.
"Let's get out of here." Nigel said to his team before heading off the slowly sinking ship.
The shield went down and everyone ran back onto the island base, Numbuh 10 hugging her parents in victory. When the rest of the gang arrived back at the island, Eva embraced Nigel in a hug and headed inside. (Stop the music.)
Another Dimension
In another dimension, Kent Nelson sat quietly in his chamber as the interdimensional robotic bounty hunter, Death's Head approached him. "You called for me, no?" the robot asked.
"Yes… did everything go smoothly in the Out of Mind dimension?"
"Smoothly indeed, but with many sad falls, yes? You have another job for me, no?"
"Yes. As you know, the Dark Master has returned and is leading his legions across the world. And not only that, an inmate has escaped from Underworld Prison."
"Mmm, Dimentia Z. Winkiebottom. Funny name, no? Terrible prison guards, heck yes."
"Indeed. We need you to assist the heroes in stopping them all. Our very reality is at stake."
"Understood, yes. Anything extra, no?"
"Yes. With the Dark Master's many legions growing stronger, you'll need help. I'm sending someone to do the mission with you. Behold." Before the robot's eyes, a pink crystal appeared with a strange being trapped inside. It was a short, dark-pink ball-shaped creature with a white knight mask with pink eyes shining through. The being wore white, armored shoes, bared angel wings, held a white shield with a pink, four-pointed star, and wielded a silver, lightning-designed sword.
"This is the Galacta Knight." Dr. Fate spoke. "A once powerful Star Warrior of Galaxia, trapped in suspended animation for his great power. I have brought him back from the depths of Time and Space to assist you."
"Hmm… an incredible star being of great power, hm. Why not send him on his own, yes?"
"Because he is barely stable with his power. He wields the Negative of the Galaxia Sword: Galaxia Darkness. I need you to keep him in control while you're out doing your mission."
"Hmm… a dangerous job, yes. Scared… as if." With that, the robo hunter rose his ax arm and struck the crystal. The impact caused a blinding pink light to emerge from the crack, growing bigger and exploding as the crystal shattered.
The light died down and revealed the now-mobile form of the Galacta Knight, panting and giving an evil glare. "He's your responsibility now." Fate said. "Be careful…"
"Well now… ready to go, no?"
The mighty Star Knight swung his sword and stuck it upwards as it sparked with lightning. His angel wings grew wider, and Death's Head stood aside as he flew and shot out of there.
"…I'll take that as a yes, no?" With that, the robot chased after him.
SS United Nations
Aboard the SS United Nations, Rourke walked into the dark control room, dimly lit since everyone else was outside or in bed. He grabbed a syringe with some kind of medicine and stuck it in his arm. The captain studied the crystal cut on his hip and watched it fade away, skin appearing back over it. He started panting as he pressed a button, the large computer terminal coming to life and showing Commander Gunkan's image.
"Is everything going according to plan down there, Lyle?"
"Yes, Brett… everything is going exactly as planned." Rourke replied in a quiet tone. "Pretty soon, the Firstborn will be in our possession. With Manaphy's power, we may be able to rid the world of the metahuman curse forever. And… if we're lucky… it'll rid our curses, too."
"Uwaaahhhh." Gunkan started groaning in pain.
"Brett!" Rourke yelled worriedly.
"Arrr… er… I'm fine…. My monster form almost got loose again."
"The same thing almost happened to me just now. Those kids nearly caught me. But don't worry. When this is over… the metahuman scum will be gone."
"We'll be over there whenever you're ready. We're counting on you, Rourke…" With that, the screen switched off.
The worried captain studied his muscular, open hands before closing them and gritting his teeth, angrily stomping out.
Ah, this one didn't go so bad. First one that didn't have a stage in a while, just a boss. Well, I guess that whole battle could be considered a stage… Anyway, next time, Kami will meet King K. Rool. Later.