Ooog… mates, I am still sick. So, this chapter might not be SO good, considering I've not the energy.
Chapter 41: A Poisonous Date
Star Station
Tons of Imperial Shuttles and Bowser airships were landing in Brain's massive space station, either dropping off or picking up Stormtroopers and other minions. One of Bowser's airships landed in the hangar beside Brain, letting out a bunch of tourists in vacation outfits. The last two out of the ship were Ganondorf and Lord Gnaa; in Harvey's body. "Why did you build a hotel in this base again?" Ganon asked.
"I needed the extra money." Brain said. "It goes well, considering we even have a few famous people. Such as Amanda Bynes, for example."
"Ahem, speaking of Amanda, Sire…" began Professor Calamitous as he approached. "I was testing out my new Gene Splicer the other day, and, well, I accidentally zapped her. It seems to have scattered various personas of hers during her time, and I believe we should try to locate them."
"Worry about it later." Lord Gnaa ordered. Calamitous saluted and scampered off. "Now, what was it you wanted to show me, Brain?"
"Ah, yes. Follow me, please."
The Brain led the two to an elevator shaft, which was guarded by Imperial Guards and yellow tape. "Uh, sorry, Sir, but the elevator's down temporarily. You'll have to take the escalator." One said.
"Very well." With that, the three villains approached and started their slow ride up the long escalator. Right beside was an escalator going downward. Several minions were riding the downward one, greeting the Dark Master as they passed by.
"My Lord."
"Koopa Troopa."
"My Lord."
"Eggman robot."
"…My Lord."
"Stormtrooper."
"My Lord."
"Bokoblin."
"My Lord."
"Fatblin."
"My Lord."
"Koopatrol."
"My Lord-"
"Koopa."
"My Lord-"
"Robot-"
"My-"
"Koop-"
"Lord-"
"BOT!"
"Lord-"
"Koopa bot!"
"My-"
"Boko Trooper!"
"M-"
"Boko bot!"
"Lo-"
"TROOPA TROOPER!"
"-rd."
"STORMBOT!"
"…My Lord." A robot greeted.
"Sigh…"
"…My Lord." A Stormtrooper greeted.
"Go f$^k yourself!"
"My Lord." A Koopa greeted.
"Go f%^ yourself!"
"My Lord." A robot greeted.
"Go f%^k yourself!"
"My Lord." A Bokoblin greeted.
"GO F%^K YOURSELF!"
"…My Lord." A Fatblin greeted.
"Sigh…"
That's when a bunch of Teen Ninjas passed by. "HEY, HEY! Wassup, Lord Gnaa?!" one of them shouted.
"'SUUP!" another one cheered.
Eventually, the three made it to the top. "Argh, finally. That was an ordeal." Lord Gnaa sighed as they walked to a door. Two Imperial Guards stepped aside and let them in. Brain led them into a chamber with a capsule in the center of some machine. Inside the capsule was none other than the Star God himself. "Is…Is that-"
"Correct, My Lord. It is Jirachi." The Brain rolled over and flipped a lever using his psychic. The unconscious Jirachi screamed in pain as the machine sucked energy from him.
"But that can't be. Jirachi's power is-"
"Still residing within him." Brain replied. "King Goobot and his Yokians captured him earlier. Even though he is wished free from the Star Rod, he still contains a strong portion of spacebending power. I am planning to use this power for the Brotherhood, to warp my brethren across the universe and ambush our enemies wherever they may be. There, we can battle the heroes who've dared to outcast us, and defeat them. One… by one."
"Sounds like the perfect plan, Genious! Why only drown the KND in darkness when we can drown them all? We'll spread the glorious word of evil EVERYWHERE!"
"Indeed. But we'll become even stronger, once Jirachi's powers are restored completely. We'll need the help of his Guardian for that."
"Ah, yes. Dimentia Z. Winkiebottom. Someone who has already been long-exposed to the Dark Side, we should have no trouble in manipulating BOTH of them to our will! By the way, Lord Genious… what is this darkness I feel emitting from you? Have you been speaking to Nolan?"
"I most certainly have. His connection to the Dark Side is increasing. Soon, he will fully be worthy as my apprentice."
"I still can't picture a regular human becoming a Sith Lord… but I can feel his anger and hatred. Every minute, the darkness empowers me. 'Tis why I believe it is time I acquire a weapon more befitting my power." The Dark Master rose his right hand, holding it open as a line of darkness started to form. In an instant, what seemed like a key, as big as the Master Sword, with a black bar and red handle, appeared as Gnaa gripped it.
"Is that…" Ganon tried to say.
"A Keyblade." Gnaa confirmed. "One that awakens the darkness of peoples' hearts. No weapon could be a more perfect match for my power."
"Speaking of which, where is that Rumpel imbecile?" Ganon asked.
"I have sent Rumpel on a private mission. One that is vital to my plans. If he succeeds… the impending darkness will come sooner."
Planet Avalar; Gruntilda's Lair
The skies were dark and stormy over a forgotten mountain on Planet Avalar. On that mountain stood a huge tower, atop a monument of a witch's head, carved in the mountain's side. Up the long, spiraling stairs of the tower, strange green steam drifted out of a door, down the flight of stairs. Inside the chamber beyond that door was an old witch in a black robe, purple scarf, and black pointy hat. However, her body was merely made of wood, and her boney skull head sat in a glass capsule. The old witch wiggled her fingers above a grey magic cauldron with a face as she spoke.
"Dingpot, Dingpot, by the bench. Who's the loveliest looking wench?"
"Well, it isn't Grunty. Heck, no way! All her breath's been taken away." The cauldron, Dingpot, said, giving a cough.
Gruntilda shot the cauldron a glare, but figured it was right. "D'oh, you're right! A body I need! But how to perform this little deed?" she asked herself, pacing around. "For many years now, I've been lifeless. Unable to eat, or even piss. Ever since then, it's been quite absurd! Being DONE IN, by that wretched bear and bird!" There was then a knock on her door. "Geh. Come in, come in."
The door flung open, and in stepped none other than Rumpel Stiltskin with his usual smirk. "Hey, hey, Grunty! Long time, no see, huh?"
"Ah, Rumpel Stiltskin! My old first mate. From Hogwarts School, who had many a date."
"Mmm, still rhyming, eh, Grunty? So, how is my old friend fairing lately?"
"Nnn, still I am, nothing but bone. Sitting all the way up here, all alone. How are you, my old chome (chum)?"
"Oh, good, good. Made an Irish girl a giant, had a few run-ins with some timebenders… oh, and I joined an evil Dark Master in his quest for universal domination!"
"Hm, so I hear, of this one named Gnaa. But recruiting you, I must say 'hah'!"
"Oh, he did." He said, stepping closer. "And between you and me, Grunty…" Rumpel looked around and gestured Grunty to lean down so he could whisper, "Lord Gnaa has instructed me to do a top secret… mission… involving a certain brat waiting outside. And I'll need your help to do it."
"Mm, what is this favor, might I ask? Do you believe Grunty is up to the task?"
"Are you familiar with creatures known as… the Heartless?"
Grunty only gasped. "You ask to die, little elf! The darkness of hearts is what gives them health!"
"I know, I know, but Lord Gnaa wants them. He's instructed me to revive them, and I'll need your help for that. I also figured, along the way, I could 'help' an injured soul with his problem, if ya know what I mean."
"Hmm… that devious smirk means only trouble. I'll require compensation, should such a thing bubble. Conqueration of Avalar, and a new body. Preferably one that makes me look like a hottie."
"Oh, trust me, Grunty. If this goes as planned, we'll both have everything we could ask for."
Valley of Avalar
Nigel and Rachel decided to sit on a cliff above the waterfall where the ghost portal appeared, smiling and holding hands romantically as they overlooked the breathtaking valley. "Awe, aren't you two the sweetest couple?" At that instant, they were suddenly blown over the cliff by a Fear Scream.
"Errr…" They weakly held their heads back up, looking up and gasping at who was on the cliff. "MANDY!" Nigel shouted.
"Wow! This adventure's just FULL of surprises!" Rachel exclaimed, shooting back to her feet and dashing up the vine wall that led above the cliff, immediately clashing her sword against Mandy's. Nigel kicked on his rockets and shot above the cliff, over on Mandy's other side. The Brit tossed a barrage of fireballs at her, but Mandy knocked them away with a spin attack, then stopped just in time to dodge a jump attack from Rachel.
Silver River Forest
Meanwhile, Kami was still trapped in Kweeb's body, floating on a small piece of wood from a fallen tree down the poison river through the Silver River Forest. She could only quiver in fear at how big everything looked from such a small view. "Whoa. Everything looks a lot scarier when you're this small." She gasped when she heard a drinking sound, looking to see a Grove Mite, massive from her height, drinking from the river. "AHH!" Kami immediately jumped and grabbed the side of the ledge, climbing safely onto land. She gasped again as a bunch of poisonous bats glared down at her with glowing white eyes from the trees. She ran under a bush and- "AHHH!" screamed when an enormous spider spotted her from above, so she hurriedly ran out from under the bush. As she ran, she bumped into a gigantic, black shoe that just stomped in her path.
"Huh?" Jeremiah Heartly felt something small hit his right foot, looking down and spotting the all-too-familiar yellow alien, Kweeb (unaware that it was Kami).
The poisonbender bent down as Kami recovered and opened her (currently) black eyes, looking up at his huge, toxic-green ones. "You…"
Jeremiah smirked evilly, drawing out his pocketknife and getting ready to stab. "Well, look who decided to go for a walk. Get ready for a little payback, you bug!"
"Aaaahh, get away!" Kami backed away in fear.
"Jeremiah, why'd you sto-" Matthew was about to ask, then stopped himself when he and the others noticed the alien. "Hey, you found Kweeb!"
But just then, an energy chain shot over and grabbed the little alien. The boy looked back and saw the chain coming from Marine, standing beside Yin, Kweeb (still in Kami's body), and Ava. The raccoon sheila yanked her chain and grabbed Kami, handing her to Ava. The red beam instantly connected her with Kweeb, switching their bodies back.
"Finally." Kami sighed, relieved to be back in her own, normal-sized body.
"You're those girls from the base!" Jeremiah shouted.
"Yin!" Matt shouted.
"Matt!" Yin shouted.
"Marine?" Elijah asked.
"Elijah!" Marine yelled.
"LEO!" Leo screamed.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" they all shouted.
"First of all, Bane and I brought the boys here." Suddenly, Ava's head was smacked by a nun-chuck, which came from Aurra Sing with her extendable laser-nun-chuck.
"Oh, even better." Ava said, taking out her swords and tossing one to Kami. "You three handle The Horribly Gassy Quartet. We'll take on Aurra." With that, she and Kweeb proceeded to chase the adult Glomourian.
"THAT'S TERRIBLE TOXIC FOUR!" Leo yelled.
"Four on three?" Matt smirked. "That hardly seems fair for you, doesn't it?"
"Well, let me even those odds." Came another female voice as Fear Spheres came and exploded on the ground before the benders.
"Katie?" Yin asked as their adoptive Nightmare cousin arrived.
"I'll explain later. Whaddya say we get a little payback?" With that, the girls nodded and faced their own opponents: Matt against Yin, Leo against Katie, Jeremiah against Kami, and Elijah against Marine. (Play the "Super Mario World Castle" Theme from Smash Bros. Brawl!)
Boss fight: The Terrible Toxic Four
Both teams immediately scattered and went after their opponents. Yin dodged as Matt threw poison gas as she chased him, running around some trees to ambush and tackle him. Matt threw her off and stood back up, turning around and seeing she was gone, then started looking around some bushes. Yin had actually changed into a rat, sneaking over and crawling up one of his pants legs. Matt started wincing at the little rat bites she started giving him. He felt around and tried to grab her, but she scampered away and changed back.
Katie was stylishly flipping and sliding while Leo farted Gas Bombs at her. The Nightmare girl slid over to kick his butt, but Leo quickly did a slide-kick and knocked her over. She then blew a Fear Scream and blew him back before standing back up. She felt her ponytail be pulled and was suddenly lifted up, twirled around, and thrown into a tree by some invisible force. "Alright, Steve!" Leo cheered.
Kami and Jeremiah were in a clash with his two knives against her sword. Kami swung at his feet, but he jumped and kicked her down. She flipped back up and continued swinging at him as he defended. Jeremiah then grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer, breathing in her face and nearly stunning the Drilovsky with his horrible breath. She waved her hand in front of her face to blow the stink away, but quickly defended when he tried cutting her.
Elijah was firing gas rays at Marine, who was able to easily dodge-roll and punch Light Spheres, knocking him back. He then drank some Purple Flurp and started burping Gas Bombs around the area, causing several explosions. When the smoke cleared, he saw Marine had only hovered in the air with her tail. Elijah dodged when she fired energy balls from above, then came down and spun and whacked him with her tail.
Matt grabbed Yin's arms from behind and pulled them, but she was able to haul him overhead and jump on his stomach. She jumped off when Matt threw some gas, jumping back up and breathing some Sleeping Gas, fogging the area. Yin held her breath to avoid breathing the gas, looking around the fog for Matthew. She was suddenly kicked from behind and knocked out of the gas cloud, looking back to see Matt jump out, then rolling before he landed and punched her. She ran behind a tree and changed into a rat again, scurrying up his leg and under his clothes once more. Matt felt around and successfully grabbed her this time, throwing her hard against a tree and making her switch back.
Steve, the imaginary friend, grabbed under Katie's arms and lifted her up as Leo kept cheering. Katie decided to kick behind her and make Steve let go, figuring she must've hit his crotch. Afterwards, she ran over and started wrestling with Leo, the two rolling around the ground. They let go and stood up before Katie kicked him in the chin, then did a spinning jump-kick that knocked him away.
Kami and Jeremiah continued to clash as the boy kept blowing bad breath in her face, making her constantly step back. He was backing her closer and closer to the poisonous river. Kami looked back to see she was barely standing on the edge, trying not to step back any farther. When Jeremiah launched more of his breath, she flexibly bent back, the tip of her hair touching the poisonous acid. She shot back up and was able to push him to the ground, swinging her sword while he still defended and jumped back up.
Elijah ran and grabbed Marine's tail from behind, but the raccoon spun and swung him into a tree. She ran and tried to punch him, but Elijah grabbed her fist and used all his strength to keep it back. "Mate, why are we fighting?" Marine whispered.
"There're other villains here, too." Elijah whispered. "We don't want them to find out, yet." Elijah then pushed her away as Marine jumped back several feet. He then gestured for her to look in her hand, which she opened and found a small, folded piece of paper.
As the fighting went on, Matt was able to push Yin on the ground and kick her away. Leo tried to blow Sleeping Gas at Katie, but the Nightmare screamed and was able to blow it back, making Leo inhale the gas and pass out. As Kami kept swinging at Jeremiah, she knocked both his knives away, smirking as she aimed her sword. Jeremiah quickly took out a flat, jagged piece of metal from a pocket in his hat and tossed it directly above Kami's sweater, successfully sticking her to a tree beside Yin.
Matt and Jeremiah faced their opponents and smirked, about to take them out. They slowly approached, but just before they could throw some gas- (Stop the music.)
"That's enough, boys." Wesley Dodds came and sprayed some of his own gas, blocking them from each other.
"One of the most annoying things about children is how they battle and CLASH all the time!" Mr. Oldman shouted. "Mainly the males and the females…"
Sandman stopped blowing his gas gun and said, "Now, why don't you kids stop fighting and make up?"
"Hmph. Alright, then." Matt said, walking over to Yin and helping her up. "I'll see you later." He slipped a folded note in her right hand and walked off.
Jeremiah then walked over and picked his jagged metal out of the tree, releasing Kami. "Pretty good aim, eh?" he smirked, handing her a similar piece of paper. "Laters." He then walked off after Matthew.
Katie looked over Leo's unconscious form and spotted another piece of paper sticking out of his right pocket, picking it up and sliding it in her own pocket. Elijah walked over and held the boy's head up. "Hey, wake up." He ordered, smacking him silly.
"KOWASAKI!" Leo yelled, shooting up.
"Let's go, Idiot." With that, Elijah pulled the drowsy boy away.
"Um… who are you guys?" Katie asked the two old men.
"Defenders of right and justice." Dodds replied simply.
"Even to you rotten children." Oldman said.
"OLD MEN AWAYYY." With that, both heroes took off in the same style as last time.
The girls only exchanged confused glances before starting their walk out of the forest.
Valley of Avalar
Ava and Kweeb had actually chased Aurra out of the forest at this time, both Glomourians clashing their weapons. Aurra's nun-chuck wrapped around Ava's sword for her to toss Ava away. From the ground, Kweeb shot a few blasts at Aurra, making her wince from the tiny lasers.
When the previous four girls ran out of the forest and into the valley, they immediately hurried over to the fighting taking place. "Sister!" Yang exclaimed, running over. "These villains ambushed us from out of nowhere!"
"I know! We just ran into those four poisonbenders."
"What?"
Meanwhile, Cad Bane had appeared and was attacking Cosmo, who ran and swiftly dodged Cad Bane's gunshots. Cad Bane fired another bullet at Cosmo, who dodged, but the bullet came right for Yang.
"YANG!" Yin shouted, immediately shoving her brother out of the way. "YAH!"
"SISTER!" Yang shouted when the shot scraped the side of her hip.
"HA! Let's see the Stormtroopers try and beat that!" Bane exclaimed. He aimed his gun at Cosmo, who winced when he fired, but was protected by a psychic barrier.
He looked and saw the psychic barrier was made by Morgan, and the Uno girl tossed another psychic blast that Bane flipped and dodged. Shadow then zoomed over as a pinball and Home Attacked the hunter, knocking him away and taking the gun. Bane dodged more as Shadow tried to shoot him, then the Duro took out a bunch of bombs and rolled them over.
Before they could explode on the hedgehog, however- "PIYAH!" Kirby shot over on his Warp Star and sucked the explosives right in. A blue, pointy hat appeared on the puffball as he became Bomb Kirby, proceeding to throw bombs all over the hunter.
Ava and Aurra continued to clash their weapons as Ava spoke, "Why did things have to change between us?"
"You tell me. You're the one who ditched me to hang out with those GKNDorks. You're the one who betrayed me."
Ava jumped a swing. "I did not." Another swing. "I left so I could help save the kids of the universe. Including you."
She rolled behind Aurra and attempted another slash that Aurra jumped. "Yeah? Well, that wasn't what happened, was it?"
"Errr…" As Ava held her weapon back, Kirby rolled a bomb over and blew the hunter away.
Meanwhile, Mandy and Rachel were still in their own clash. Mandy had kicked the Brit off the cliff at this time, knocking him out, leaving only Rachel. When both cousins knocked the others' weapons away, they shot each other glares and charged, gripping the others' hands and trying to hold them back. As they did so, Rachel's left hand and Mandy's right hand; which were pushing each other, started to glow a golden light. They immediately stopped and stared wide-eyed as the Triforce marks appeared on the back of their hands.
Mandy stopped staring and looked back at Rachel. "So, you DO have it."
"You have a Triforce mark, too?..." Rachel asked, eyes widened in surprise.
"The Triforce of Wisdom. Had a little help finding it from Darkrai, though. I'm also a fearbender. Check it out." With that, she erupted another Fear Scream and blew her back, running to get her sword. Rachel recovered and stylishly dodged Mandy's swings, running to grab her own sword, then start defending once again.
As the others continued to fight down below, The Terrible Toxic Four dashed past them into Cad Bane's ship. "Yo, guys, we gotta go!" Matt shouted.
Bane kicked at Cosmo one last time and said, "This isn't the END, punk." before running to his ship.
Aurra was the last to join them, and as the ship was lifting from the ground, Mandy quickly scampered over and gracefully flipped onto the ship, riding on with it as it shot to the stars.
"Are you okay, Nigel?" Katie asked, running over to help her adoptive brother up.
"Argh… I think so. What are you doing here, Katie?"
"Got mixed in a little adventure with Mandy. Managed to swipe this." She pulled out and unfolded the Marauder's Map.
"What is it?"
"A Marauder's Map. I feel like we're gonna need it."
"So, how'd your little battle go?" Ava asked Kami as Kami gave her sword back.
"It came out a tie, it looks like. But that one gave me this." Kami said, unfolding the note passed on to her by Jeremiah. She squinted at the slightly blurry writing, sounding the word out. "Core-ruse…core-ruse…can't?"
Ava looked over her shoulder and read it. "That's 'Coruscant'." She corrected.
"What's Coruscant?"
"Coruscant is the big-city planet." Kweeb answered. "The whole planet is one big city. It's basically the Galaxian Capital."
"It was one of the first planets in Galaxia designed by the spirits to have human life." Ava continued. "As a result, they're pretty more advanced in technology than you Earthlings are."
"Hey, look. There's more to it." Kweeb said, jumping from Ava's shoulder onto the note, unfolding a part on the bottom. The bottom part read 'Toche, Uscru District'. When Kweeb unfolded it, Kami noticed a ticket fell out as well.
The other three girls opened their notes to find the same thing, tickets included. However, when Katie opened her note, all she found was a poorly designed fake coupon for free popcorn and cotton candy, along with a ticket. She sighed and tucked both items away.
"I fear that remaining here any longer will only draw more attention from our enemies." Meta Knight concluded, coming out from his ship. "We must continue to the next planet immediately."
"Great. Now, let's get off this cruddy fairytale planet before I pukify." Wally demanded. "OW!" He earned a smack behind the head from Kuki, who smiled happily.
Nigel spoke, "Right. Next we should be going to-"
"AMANDA, PLEASE!" Penelope shouted, getting in front of Nigel and cutting him off. "We must get to the space station so I can finally meet my star!"
Nigel shoved her away and continued, "I was GOING to say Planet Secco. I have to meet this Sun God and-"
"We want Amanda. We want Amanda! WE want AMANDA!" Penelope cheered.
"Ugh. Let's just go." Nigel face-palmed.
Halberd Hangar
Inside the Halberd's hangar, Nigel was currently seeing his friends off; the girls who got the invites to Coruscant as well as a couple others. Ava and Kweeb were taking Kami on the Heart Star, like usual; Yin, Yang, and Katie were taking a S.C.A.M.P.E.R., while Marine just drove in her own ship from their previous galactic adventures, the S.S. Super Marine. "You can meet us on Planet Secco." Nigel instructed to Ava, Kweeb, and Katie. "We're going to look for the Sun Temple in the Ancient Wastelands."
"Be careful, Nigel." Ava cautioned him. "Irkens or not, that planet is full of outlaws. I hear it's where Rattlesnake Jake came from… well, after Hell, of course."
"Hm, relax, Ava." Nigel smirked. "You remember old Nigel, right? We can handle anything vicious and scary."
"Yeah! So, come on, you old sheilas and boomers, and le's see what this place is about on Core-ruse-can't-count, or whatevah." Marine demanded.
"Hm hm! Okay." Ava chuckled. "See you later, Nigel." With that, everyone got in their ships as the hatches opened, and Nigel watched them take off.
Halberd Kitchen
Fanny Fulbright was happily working in the kitchen aboard the Halberd, alongside Sonya and Morgan. "Just a few more seconds, and… done!" the Irish cheered, carefully pulling a cake out of the oven and setting it next to other baked goodies.
"Wow! I never knew you knew how to cook, Fanny!" Sonya smiled with admiration.
"Of course Ay do! I've been learnin' from my mum since Ay was three. I was hopin' to become a Moonbase chef, but, couldn't pass Head o' Decommissionin' up."
"Hm hm, I've been cooking a while, too!" Morgan smiled. "Maybe later, I'll show you how I make my Mochi Cupcake. I remember every time I baked something, Buddy and the girls would run down and fight over my food."
"Ay'll have to steal yer recipe." Fanny winked.
Morgan sighed and frowned. "It won't be the same without them, though. I wonder how they're doing on New Island?"
"I'm sure they're fine!" Sonya said positively. "And when you see them again, you'll ALL be wonderful psychicbenders! But let's bring everyone this food! They're probably pretty hungry."
"Hm hm, okay!"
Halberd Cockpit
Nigel had returned to the ship's cockpit in time to see Jagar telling Rachel about the map Katie got from Mandy, the Brit sparing a glance to Kuki happily playing with Marx. "It's a Marauder's Map." The timebender explained. "The Time Spirits designed it to show how any location looks in the present state, and how it looked in a previous state. It also pinpoints anyone's locations by detecting their footprints."
"Hmm… interesting. But why would Mandy have something like this?" Rachel asked.
"Hey, guys!" Morgan cheered as she walked in with Sonya and Fanny, carrying the dessert with her psychic.
"Who's ready to fill their tummies after a long day's space adventure?" Sonya smiled.
"I'm in for that!" Hoagie exclaimed as they all hurried over and picked something to eat.
"Mmm, this stuff is GOOD!" Wally yelled, chewing on a donut.
"I vote we mark these three the chefs of the ship." Magolor decided.
"Numbuh 5 seconds that." Abby agreed.
"Yummy, yummy! It's in my tummy!" Marx cheered, still bouncing on his ball and chewing a cake.
It was then that Meta Knight walked back in, still holding his cape wrapped around him. "Hey, Meta Knight!" Sonya perkily ran over and greeted with a cup of tea. "Have some tea!"
The masked star knight took the beverage and began guzzling it through his mask where his eyes peeked out. "Hmm… it is quite delicious. It puts me in a better mood than I am now for some reason. Mm hm hm hm hm."
There was a flash of light as Shadow the Hedgehog appeared out of thin air. "Shadow?" Rachel questioned, surprised by his presence. "Do you need something?"
"Yes. There's been something on my mind." Shadow looked and pointed at Kirby. "Just what kind of creature is Kirby?" ("Poyo?")
"A natural question to have." Meta Knight said. "You kids found Kirby on Nightmare Land, yes? It is only logical to assume Kirby is a Nightmare."
"He is? Wow, I wouldn't have guessed, considering how… adorable he looks." Rachel said.
"You know, since you are acquainted with the Nightmare King, perhaps you should visit him for more details. We are in Galaxia, after all."
"It wouldn't be a bad idea!" Nigel shrugged. "In fact…" He turned to Dimentia.
"What?! Why would I ever go to Nightmare Land?!"
"To see Darkrai, of course. If you're going to redeem yourself, you'll have to speak with him of all people."
"Sigh… You're right."
"Then I'm coming, too." Shadow stated assertively.
"'Guess I better come along, so nothing bad happens." Rachel figured.
Downtown Coruscant
The other girls, plus Yang and Kweeb, had soon arrived at the big-city planet of Coruscant, gazing up at all the buildings towering over them with flying cars passing in between. "So, this is Coruscant." Kami said, looking around. "Your typical 'Year 3000', isn't it?"
"For you Earthlings, I guess." Kweeb replied. "Of course, when you're my size, you see this as a forbidden planet of giants who step on everything."
"Let's ask someone if they know anything about this 'Toche'." Yin said, running over to a green alien with brown hair. "Ahem, excuse me, Sir? Are you familiar with a place called…" she squinted at the paper, "Toche?"
"Oh, heen mah titzu winu sits wazu. (Oh yeah, I remember that, that was a nice place.)" the alien replied.
"…Huh?"
"Es quadro beeko menu hepo hey. (I remember it's that li'l ol' place with the dancin' in the big bubble.) Qon weet shitzu Jerry sprango on tabo hey. (I asked my cousin Jerry if he wanted to come on down and watch it with me.) Meetzu winaunu, winaunu ilbo enu ello hanyu. Enu ello hanyu. (I keep telling him he needs to get out more, but he always just seems so distant. So distant…)" The alien sighed.
"Uhhh…" Yin didn't understand a word out of the guy's mouth.
"Here." Ava said, pushing Yin aside and pulling the alien's head closer so she could kiss him.
"OH, careful not to lick the tootie rolls!" the alien said in a stereotypical homosexual voice. "Hey, I'm speakin' y'all's language!"
"Great! So, can you please tell us about the Toche in USCRU? ?" Yin shouted.
"Oh, Toche is the Galaxies Opera House down in the Uscru District. They playin' a show tonight at 7. Hey, any o' you kids wanna try a Hutt specialized Oreo? I got a whole bag o' them in my back pocket."
"Um… no thanks." Ava said. "We'll just be going now."
"Hm, that's okay, then. I can eat 'em myself." With that, the alien pulled out and proceeded to eat the alien Oreos.
"Now that I think about it, I'm going on a date with Matthew." Yin said. "I should wear something fancy. Wanna go shopping with me, Yang?"
"Yeah! We have plenty of time." Katie smirked.
"NONONONONONO! I am SO not going to be your servant again!" At this, all the girls giggled.
"Actually, I'm gettin' kinda hungry." Kami said. "We have plenty of time until this show starts. Do they have any restaurants?"
"Oh, plenty!" Ava smiled. "Why don't we go to Big Meat's House o' Hutt-sized Meat?" she pointed to a building which seemed nearly completely made of meat, which had a fat, chubby sluggish alien on their sign. Kami only gulped with disgust.
"Nah. Let's go to Slugga the Hutt's Sluggy Buffet." Kweeb suggested, pointing at a restaurant with a bunch of alien slugs hanging around it, with a sign that read 'We do NOT roast our own kind'.
Kami felt her stomach sicken once again, but finally smiled when she spotted a familiar restaurant. "Hey! There's a Frisch's Big Boy! Let's go eat there!" With that, she and the other humans; plus Katie and Marine, happily ran over.
Ava and Kweeb just exchanged a confused glance as Kweeb twirled a finger by his head, mimicking that Kami was crazy. "Humans." They both said disbelievingly, walking after them.
Kami walked in first and approached a white blob alien with buggy black eyes at the counter. "Uh… do you take my order, or…"
"Bl-l-l-l-l-l-l-l." the blob wiggled.
"Um… what?"
"Bl-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l."
"I-I can't understand."
"Bl-l-l-l-l-l-l!" the alien seemed to be getting mad.
"Do YOU speak EEEENGLIIIISH?" she drew out.
"Bl-l! L-l-l-l-l!" the blob wobbled over to a door where a red triceratops alien with a cannon horn came out, shooting strange rock balls at Kami's face.
"Ow, hey! What the heck is your problem?"
"Um, let me handle this. I speak his language." Ava said, approaching the alien. "Ahem: bl-l-l-l-l-l-l-l! Bl-l-l-l-l-l-l!" The kids watched as the two argued in that weird language. Kweeb and Kami exchanged a glance and shook their heads in disbelief.
"Bl-l. Bl-l-l-l-l-l." The arguing seemed to calm, and the blob led them over to two separate tables: Yin, Yang, Katie, and Marine were seated at one while Team Alien had their own.
"O-kay, that was an ordeal, and, you so owe me." Ava stated.
"Hehehe…" Kami blushed.
The triceratops alien then came over and spat some plates on their table from his cannon horn, then spat out some purple octopuses in hamburger buns onto those plates, which Kami looked disgustedly at. "I thought I'd start us out with some dessert." Ava said, stabbing her sword into her… squidburger like a fork, holding it to her mouth and eating it.
Kami hesitantly reached for her burger, and screamed when a mouth with sharp teeth shot open and started roaring, the alien squid shaking around. "WHOA!" Ava shouted, stabbing her other sword into the food, making it silence. "Gotta make sure you stab it first. These things always taste better freshly killed. Go on. Eat it."
Kami felt even more unsure about this now. Eating food that had just been freshly killed? She couldn't deny these aliens had some weird ways. The Drilovsky girl carefully gripped both sides of the squid sandwich and held it to her mouth. Very slowly, she touched her teeth to the top and bottom bun and bit down, eating off a very small bite and chewing.
Ava and Kweeb rose an eyebrow, eagerly awaiting a reaction as Kami swallowed the food. She looked very disgusted at first, but her face froze almost completely, rolling her eyes down at the food. Before the aliens knew it, Kami began guzzling down the rest of the food. "OMM THIS STUFF IS SO GOOD!" she shouted through chews.
"Uh… glad you like it." Ava said, smiling weirdly with Kweeb.
Nightmare Land Town Square
Nigel, Rachel, Kirby, and Shadow arrived at Nightmare Land, landing in Town Square. The city appeared to be in shambles as several buildings were under construction. "Gee, what happened?" Rachel asked. "Was there an alien invasion?"
"In a way, it was." came Darkrai's voice, the four jumping with surprise when the Nightmare King appeared alongside Customer and Jar Jar.
"Oh, Darkrai! Were you expecting us?" Nigel asked.
"No, we just happened to be on a walk." Customer said. "Staying in an office all day isn't good for one's health."
"As long as we didn't have to go through the Fear Factory again."
"Ahhh… and I see you're here as well, Dimentia." Darkrai said. "You really have returned."
"If you want to blame someone, blame Clockservant."
"Dimentia." Nigel said reprovingly.
"I know, I know. …Darkrai… I'm sorry… about everything…"
"Accepted." Darkrai said casually.
"Is that ALL you have to say?!"
"Heh heh heh. My fear and worries have subsided, my dear. I wanted you to be rid of your pain and misery, and that time has come. Though, perhaps not quite. I can see you are still afraid. Afraid of what your former operatives will say to you. You have a long way to go before you can erase your past sins, Dimentia… so I see no reason to hold the past against you. That being said… I would love if our friendship could return. And I shall lend you my aid if you need it."
Dimentia made a small smile. First Nigel Uno and now Darkrai. Perhaps her luck was turning.
"So, you're the Nightmare King." Shadow said. "I came here to ask about this creature."
"You mean Kirby?"
"Yes. I feel an unusually powerful energy radiating from him."
"Meta Knight told us he was a Nightmare." Rachel followed. "So, we were a little curious… I mean, he helped us defeat your father."
"I understand your confusion. For many years, my father designed and created Nightmare creatures to haunt the dreams of children. But for his entire eternity, he's had one absolute goal: to design the Ultimate Nightmare. One that would match the powers of them all, but stronger. And… he succeeded. He created the innocent little puff you see today. He called him… Kirby."
"Pie!" Kirby smiled.
"But first, he needed to test him. So, he put all his Nightmare soldiers against him, and Kirby used his powerful lungs to steal each of their abilities. First, he mastered elements, such as fire, ice, water, wind, plants… and then he mastered weapons: swords, boomerangs, whips, spears, shurikens… even yo-yos. He truly was the Ultimate Nightmare, and the Holy Nightmare was proud. But his pride did not last long. The spirit apprentice, Clockwork came to him one day. He told my father that one day, Kirby would become strong enough to surpass and dethrone him. My father began to fear Kirby, so he had no choice. He erased all of Kirby's memories as a Nightmare and of his history, and put him asleep in a capsule which he sent off to space, never to be seen again. But… Kirby returned, after the eons… and his powers slowly returned… until he was strong enough to dethrone my father. Sealing him in the grave before you. The moral of the story is, when someone is viewed as too powerful… all others begin to fear them." He glanced over at Shadow. "I'm sure you can relate to that."
"Hmph."
"Anyway… my father has been imprisoned for nearly 300 years now. But since then, fragments of his aura have been escaping from this grave, possessing any hearts it comes in contact with, controlling them into awakening his full form from his slumber in order to grant them power. You witnessed this yourselves, when Jar Jar here was possessed."
"Mm-mm. It was cwazy!" Blinks said.
"In fact, I can sense that you kids are traveling with Nightmares. Be forewarned… I sense dark hearts aboard your vessel."
"Dark hearts?" Rachel queried. "You mean like… a traitor?"
"Indeed. You should know that some Nightmares who were created by my father… still hold loyalty to him."
Planet Coruscant; Galaxies Opera House
It soon became 7:00 p.m. on Planet Coruscant (or in the Uscru District of Coruscant at least). The four girls who received the secret invitations from the poisonbenders arrived at the Galaxies Opera House. After shopping, Yin came dressed in a beautiful blue, sparkling gown and blue high heels, with a little blue flower in her hair. She did a twirl as she said, "You know, you three should've dressed up. It is an opera." She smiled.
"I would've at least picked more variety." Kami said with a disbelieved look. "I mean, all blue?"
The girls looked around the tremendous, expansive auditorium. The place was chockfull with millions of people, it looked like, and their respective dates could be anywhere.
"I still can't believe that guard bought the fake coupon." Katie said, holding a bunch of popcorn and cotton candy. "Although I think he was from the planet of people who see every piece of paper as a god."
At the lobby
"O Great, Holy Spirit." The alien at the snack stand kneeled before the poorly-drawn fake coupon on the counter. "I obey your EVERY COMMAND, Your Greatness!"
"…" The paper just sat there.
In the auditorium
Yin looked for a second. "Oh, look. There's Matthew." She pointed out, making her way over to her date.
Kami noticed her date sitting far away. "There's Jeremiah." She said, walking over.
Katie and Marine spotted their dates in separate, far off rows and fought their way past the audience to reach them.
Matt uninterestingly watched the performance on stage as Yin was able to make her way over and sit in the seat beside him. "Uh… is this seat taken?"
"Hey, you made it!" he smiled. He was a little surprised by her appearance. "Whoa, not bad! Heh, you didn't have to dress up for me."
"Well, one of us has to." She winked, taking her seat beside him. "How come you invited me here? A place like this isn't easy to navigate."
"Yeah, well… this was the only perfect place we could hide from Brain and those other guys. That's why I chose it."
"Hm." Yin just settled and kicked back in her seat. "So, how did you four get mixed in with them, anyway?"
"Ganondorf came to us one day and recruited us. Figured, you know, why not. As long as he wouldn't sing."
"What was your life like before starting the Toxic Four?"
"Hmm… I used to be leader of Sector R in the Philippine Kids Next Door. I always tried to use my powers to fight adult tyranny, but… I ended up causing more destruction than good. Eventually, I decided to abandon my team and… went hiding in Cleveland, Virginia, where I met the others."
"And things haven't changed since, huh?"
"I dunno. I've always thought that poison was good for nothing but destruction… but lately, I've been thinking… maybe there can be good in it. I feel like they've only come from my negative emotions. Maybe if I had good feelings… nicer feelings… it could be more than destruction."
"Well, I'm glad you think that." The Chinese smiled. "Ow…"
"What's wrong?" Matt asked, noticing Yin grip the side of her hip.
Yin uncovered and revealed the bullet scratch in the side of her hip. "I was shot earlier by one of those bounty hunters. I'm fine…"
"Hmm… let me help." Matt offered, moving her dress aside and digging his fingernails into her skin.
"Oh!" Yin winced from the pain as Matt took his fingers out after a few seconds, pulling her dress back down. They watched with amazement as the wound in her hip slowly disappeared, leaving barely any trace of its existence.
"Hey, it worked!" Matt perked up.
"Whoa… how'd you do that?"
"Well, it's usually what we do for a Poison Sting… but since you're one of the few… 'regular' people that make me feel good… I thought I might be able to do some healing effects instead of injuring."
Yin smiled warmly. "It felt nice…"
At this time, Kami shoved her way past other rows of aliens and was able to make it and sit beside Jeremiah. "Hey."
"Huh? Oh, I was wondering when you would show up." He smiled.
"Awe, you missed me. Oh, that reminds me, I wanted to give you this." With that, she stomped his foot.
"Ahh! What was that for?!"
"For almost stepping on me out there in the forest!"
"Huh? Oh yeah, you-"
"-switched bodies with Kweeb, exactly. Don't want that to ever happen again. Awww, but how sweet of you to ask me out all of a sudden." She said with a fake tone of sweetness. "I have to admit, the 'trying to kill me' bit just to slip me the note was pretty clever."
"I bet you get asked out all the time." He smirked.
"Well… not exactly. I work in an Arctic tundra all day, fixing silly wounds."
"Sounds like the place I'd like to be right now."
"Oh yeah, your burns… how did you get those, anyway?"
"I grew up as an orphan in New York. Probably 'cause my parents knew I was a poisonbender and didn't want anything to do with me. We lived in a crummy orphanage with barely any electrical power. We mostly had to use candlelight. And since gas is flammable, and I liked to practice with my power, I… started quite a few fires. And exploded a lot. Eventually, I just decided to run away, and I wound up in Virginia."
"Hehe… too bad I wasn't around to help heal those burns. Heck, it would've been better than pulling splinters out of Dib's finger."
"Well, they're a lot better now. And on the bright side, I did get to meet the gang. Not to mention, I just got myself a date, so things are going fine. You really know how to wield a sword, by the way."
"Awww!" Kami felt swooned by the compliment (but not really). "But speaking of which, did you really have to use the bad breath? You nearly killed my sense of smell."
"Well, I can barely remember the last time I brushed, so I'm not surprised. But maybe this'll make it feel better." With that, he leaned over and breathed in her face again.
Kami winced, expecting the same awful smell from before… but now it smelled minty and fresh, like he had stuck a peppermint to a toothbrush, put toothpaste on, and started brushing. "That… actually smells pretty nice."
"Heh. One of the benefits of being a poisonbender is being able to change how your breath smells."
"Hm hm… no need to worry about that then, when you're going on a date." She smirked.
Meanwhile, Leo was resting his head on his arms, nearly dying from the performance of the boring opera as Katie came over. "Um… hello?"
He shot up and gasped at all the cotton candy and popcorn she had. "OH, SWEET RELIEF!" he yelled, swiping the sweets from her and began devouring as Katie took a seat beside him.
"Uh-huh… so, I hear you're an idiot."
"I am not! I just… don't… know a lot of things… most of the time."
"Right. Um…"
"You know, I didn't even wanna come to this crap fest by myself! Why am I the only one without a date?"
"Aren't I your date?"
"NO! I wanted to take Scarlet." he said, sadly. "But she and Lehcar are busy… being EVIL and… and stuff." He gave a sigh. "Somehow, I don't think she likes me."
"I can imagine why."
Marine and Elijah were sitting by each other, kicking back in their seats and resting their feet on the seats in front of them. "Purple Flurp?" Elijah offered.
"Don't moind if I do, Mate!" Marine perked, taking and drinking the beverage while Elijah drank his own.
"BURP!" he burped in her face.
"BURP!" she burped back, laughing.
Elijah shot her a glare and went, "BURP!"
"BURP."
"BURP."
"HAACK…" Elijah tried to let out another burp, but couldn't. "Oh." He blushed.
"WOOHOO! Beat ya, Mate!" she taunted.
"I wanna rematch!"
"Ah, put a sock in, eh, it's an opera! Shouldn't we be listenin'?"
"Big deal. If I can't understand them, I don't give a ***."
"Total strewth, eh?"
Man, I was not good at romance back then. Next time, I will hopefully feel better and we can continue to Secco. Where MIKA will meet her pairing! Later!