Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the newest mega crossover, sure to be more confusing than ever, chock-full of backwards names, as we RETURN TO THE NEGAVERSE!

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

Just kidding. XD However, I think we are seriously out-of-date in terms of what’s happening in the Negaverse. As much as I would LOVE to do another Negaverse story and use the DNK more, it would take just as long to develop them as the Positives, and we have a Pirate War to finish. However, because I’d hate to neglect them, I decided to do this mini discussion series where I describe what the Negatives are doing during the events of certain stories. We already know what happens in some cases, as seen in Down in the Negaverse, but there are a ton of huge gaps in other cases.

To kick off this series, let’s get introduced to our characters. Not only will I be briefly going over the sectors we already know, I’ll also introduce new sectors! In both cases, I may also provide info on their current statuses.

Old DNK Sectors

DNK Moonbase

Nerehc Onu – Maintaining his status as a reliable leader, his new Fierce Deity powers make him a force to be reckoned with.

Ininap Yksvolird – Not really combat savvy, she is in charge of sending motivational messages to her fellow operatives, and always prays for everyone’s success.

Sicnarf Yksvolird – Became a Haki teacher for new and old operatives, though he rarely goes out into the field.

Yddam Yhprum – She trained with the merpeople to improve her Fishman Karate and resistance to bloodbending. She has long abandoned her cowardly nature.

Hcaz Yhprum – He learned Armament and Observation Haki, and he trains with his sister often.

Annaira Eerfnud – Her sadistic nature slowly disappearing, she uses normal waterbending attacks and has learned Healing.

Atnort Eerfnud – Learned to control his lightning better and uses safer attacks.

Beewv – Applies Kateeny Style with his swordplay and has become one of the strongest swordsmen.

Avakam – Proves to be an excellent sniper with Observation Haki, but started to use Antikill bullets after the Positives taught them how to make them.

Emorej – Alongside the other aliens, he keeps connections with other intergalactic DNKs and listens for trouble.

Nega-Sector V

Arorua Onu – After making amends with Nerehc, she decided to take up swordplay to be of more use to her brother and her team.

Sirhc Onu – Though still rather cowardly, Yrrah built him an armored Armadillo suit, which he uses to roll around and attack enemies.

Nosam Atnalamid – Still heavily crushes on Lorac Nosretsam, but has become a stronger waterbender. He can will other people to cry and use their tears against them.

Akurah Atnalamid – A stronger poisonbender, Akurah learned to produce a noxious gas that can make itchy warts appear on enemy bodies.

Aliehs Citnarf – Having awakened as a darknessbender, she can spread her gloom to enemies.

Eirik Seltaeb – Still rather noisy and a strong soundbender.

Yrrah Nagillig – Has become as proficient with technology as Artie Gilligan. Knows Observation Haki.

Eitra Nagillig – Has become a strong fighter, usually takes his strong hamsters into battle to use as armor. He learned Armament Haki and can spread it to his hamsters.

Eelyah Nagillig – Discovered earthbending and learned to build structures out of stone, usually so she can break them. She is quite delighted by bugs.

Nega-Sector W

Ynohtna EiznekCm – Continuing to have a pacifistic fighting style, he trained himself to be highly durable against all manner of attacks, and is learning Observation to work on his dodging skills, as well as chi-blocking.

Ibyf Thgirbluf – She uses her fearbending to fill enemies with terrifying thoughts of the future, and trained herself by facing her own illusions of dark futures.

Yllas and Yevrah Reprah – The duo built Topman robots to help them in combat and equipped their selves with Topsuits, wherein they can spin rapidly and strike enemies with blades.

Aenara Thgirbluf – Although she trained herself and got stronger, and though Ynohtna was willing to forgive her past actions, Aenara left the DNK for a time as she felt uncomfortable around them.

Nega-Sector IC

Egroeg and AlyakAm Gnik – With their father dead and their stated purpose fulfilled, the siblings struggled to find a meaning with life, and have ultimately left the DNK after their imprisonment.

With only 3 members of the sector left, Nega-IC was shut down as they merged with Sector -L.

Nega-Sector L

Ydolem Noskcaj – Though her shadowbending’s improved, she remains a rather gentle fighter.

Nollid Kroy – Replacing Ynnad’s role as the mage, he has helped to keep Ydolem’s secret-keeping business successful.

Alol Krots – She uses her fashion designer skills to make battle-ready outfits for her team, befitting the situation, using Nollid’s magic to give them their affects.

Yrret Krots – Having been moved by Nerehc’s actions, he regretted his past actions and has improved his psychicbending to serve the DNK as best he can.

Ikuyim Latsyrc – She’s quickly moving up as the DNK’s strongest earthbender. She was a hero during an incident involving the Hsinim and has gained greater fame among the organization.

Ynnad Noskcaj – He left the team and grew more distant with his sister. He would not return to battle until a certain incident on one fateful day.

Nega-Sector W7

Asia – The new leader of the team, she is an excellent strategist and strong airbender.

Yenmihc – Though she returned to helping her team, her past actions earned her the position of “punching bag,” albeit nothing too cruel. She still visits and bonds with her Positive, as Chimney is treated the same way, or so she says.

Ahcniea – She has become an excellent doctor within the DNK, and she reacts quickly in battle, still using her Puppet Style against enemies.

Sipa – Still pulling pranks with her magic, albeit much gentler than before, she has grown stronger with her spells.

Lirpa Keewnedlog – She has become the fastest human without bending and learned Armament Haki, using her legs in combat. During the 13 Darknesses Quest, she ended up in a side-quest involving her long-lost cousin, Bi.

Ahcom – Though still rather weak, she learned Observation to dodge attacks and makes good use of her Gentle Fist.

New DNK Sectors

Nega-Sector JP

Atnij Irakanah (leader) – He is considered a “gentleman” and greatly respects girls, encouraging any girl he meets to do “better than the boys” (even if the message doesn’t always reach). He is a musicbender with a beautiful voice.

Nirak Ikasoruk – Used to have a phobia of bugs and dirt, but she was talented at tennis, the only sport she could cope with, and she attacks enemies with fast, homing tennis balls designed to return to her. The incident with the Hsinim helped her conquer her fear.

Uzuy Ikasoruk – Her sister’s natural opposite, her attire and mannerisms are very sloppy. She loves football (Napaj has American football) and attacks with Footbombs that do stun explosions.

Ururu Ayigumust – The tallest of her sector, she is a confident athlete, but because she doesn’t like hurting people, she serves as the team’s massager to get them prepped up for battle. Atnij highly admires her, though she often teases him.

Amadok – She works as a shrine maiden and prays for good fortune on her town and fellow operatives. She also helps to remove evil curses on people.

Nega-Sector SA

Asigan Atoihs (leader) – Though she was born male, she got a sex change, much to her mother’s chagrin. She is a waterbender, and she detests violent fiction, so as such, she doesn’t enjoy killing in real life. She shares this trait with her Positive, but Nagisa still doesn’t feel comfortable around her.

Anaigrom – She dresses in the latest fashions and is very social with others, and good girlfriends with Asigan. Still, she will often gossip behind Asigan’s back. She is a poisonbender who primarily attacks with burps.

Allebmoog – The tallest of her sector due to her arms, she is naturally a strong fist-fighter. She finds history boring as it’s stuff that happened in the past and thinks it barely matters, choosing only to look to the future.

Xedni – She learned to appreciate food and be more active, though she is still rather pudgy. She learned how to work with computers and found talent with programming, similar to Carol.

Nega-Sector MG

Ydnew Llevram (leader) – She left the Black Lotus and joined DNK, becoming a Sector Leader. She is the DNK’s strongest spacebender.

Oemor Tlobnoc – A psychicbender who can summon Dream Spirits from the Dream Realm; he can summon numerous weaker spirits, but fewer strong spirits. Since they usually do the fighting for him, there is little reason to exercise.

Ikik Akamay – A heavy eater who is somewhat pudgy, she uses Spaceman Taijutsu and is a heavy hitter.

Revilo Nosro – A darknessbender who has a toxic relationship with his mother. He’s a bully to everyone in his neighborhood.

Pilihp Ylekalb – A brave mouse who learned English, he’s a capable fighter who trains with Ikik, but often hides behind her whenever Revilo scares him.

Glasses Girl – A punk girl in street clothes who wears sunglasses. Hails from the Poison Mushroom Kingdom and uses guns in battle. She is secretly the heir to a mafia clan.

Nega-Sector $

Lorac Nosretsam (leader) – While still bad at computers, she has become an excellent master thief and chi-blocking martial artist. She decided to join DNK and form a sector of poor master thieves.

Acificap Southeast – A passionate studier of magical creatures, her specialty is exploring magical locations. She uses ropes in combat.

Ssiew Eenhcs – A plantbender with short hair, she greatly enjoys the company of animals and rescues them from poachers or other villains.

Hgielar – A trait shared with Lorac, he detests animals, for he was captured by a gang of evil Nomékop and rescued by his would-be teammates. He is a muscular boy who knows Armament Haki.

Leic Spirithive – An angel from the Spirit World who wished to know the struggles of the living once again, joining the poorest team. Since he cannot fight mortals, he serves as the housekeeper and cooks all the meals. He is an excellent chef.

Conclusion

For our next session, I’ll go over missions the DNK embarked on after the events of Negaverse, such as the Great Veggie Heist or side-plots that took place during the 13 Darknesses Quest. Ah, and you’re probably curious about Aluben’s current status. Well, that’s best saved for later~

Chapter Text

It turns out writing summaries for Negaverse-building was harder than I thought. I ended up going into more detail than I expected, so I could only write up plot-lines for these two sectors.

Nega-Sector JP

Chapter 1: Tennis Star Nirak

The chapter opens when Nirak wins a tennis competition at her school. Friends and fans alike amass around her in admiration, but Nirak panics and tells them to get away, afraid of catching germs, to which her sister, Uzuy tackles a path through the crowd so Nirak can escape. Amadok proclaims that Nirak won thanks to her prayers, but Atnij argues that Nirak was already too talented.

A businessman approaches Nirak and offers her a chance to play in a competition against “professionals.” She is hesitant at first, but Atnij convinces her to do it, and Nirak’s condition is that the field has to be highly cleaned and sterilized. Nirak shows up at the competition and is making short work of her opponents. Ururu decides to explore the building and trips on Amoyr, a very short man who was one of Nirak’s opponents. She extends a vibrant greeting to him, but Amoyr displays a cold personality as he explains that he and all the others are prisoners who were betting their own freedom if they could beat a student in tennis, even though none of them are pro tennis players themselves.

Ururu runs out and reveals this truth to Nirak during her next match. Nirak is outraged, but the prison warden informs her that they intend to pay her a large sum for her part in this. Nirak denies their money and attacks the warden, and her team ends up in a brawl with the guards. Sector -JP defeats them as they decide to help the prisoners escape. Though Atnij questions if that was morally the right thing to do, he still felt the police deserved it for abusing Nirak’s talent.

Chapter 2: A Good Night’s Sleep

Uzuy returns to her room one night, and though it is normally a filthy mess, it doesn’t stop her from sleeping peacefully. However, she wakes up with terrible itchiness as bugs have infested her room, attracted by her scent. When her friends learn of this, Nirak smothers her in disinfectant and scolds her for not taking better care of her room, and for her unsanitary lifestyle. Uzuy argues that, except for this bug problem, she’s perfectly fine with how she is and doesn’t think she needs any more than a quick rinse in the bathtub to get her through the day. However, when the others express dislike at her smell and refuse to let her stay in their room, Uzuy feels offended and decides to stay in Sector -SA’s treehouse for the time being, believing her football buddy, Anaigrom will let her stay.

Anaigrom agrees to Uzuy’s request, joking that she’s smelled way worse things. The two toss a football around for a bit as Uzuy complains about her sister’s cleaning obsession, thinking she’s going to die the same way Mom did. When Anai questions this, Uzuy explains how their mom was an angry person who always complained at her kids for not cleaning after their selves. One morning, this caused her to be late in dropping her kids off at school and driving to work, and in her haste, after dropping her kids off, she ended up in a car crash that killed her.

Anaigrom apologizes for Uzuy’s loss, but the latter merely uses the incident as justification for her lifestyle, thinking her mom would’ve lived if she wasn’t so obsessed with cleaning. Anai hesitates to throw the ball, feeling upset by the story and says how Uzuy and Nirak were affected by their mother’s death in very different ways. Uzuy decides she is tired, so Anai brings out a sleeping bag for her as they share a room. However, Anai begins to find her smell a bit intolerable, so she leaves to sleep on the couch. Uzuy hears her leave, and when she doesn’t return, the former feels a bit aggravated, also contributed by her itchy hair.

The next day, Nega-JP shows up to bring Uzuy home, saying they resolved the bug problem, but they are surprised to learn Uzuy has taken a proper bath with soap, her body shinier than it’s ever been. She resentfully asks Nirak if she’s happy now, to which the sister answers with a simple “Yes.” Still rather peeved, Uzuy would give her room a cleaning later, but she would sleep in her nice clean bed with a peaceful smile on her face.

Chapter 3: Ururu <> Ururu

The DNK is hosting a racing competition and encourages all the fastest operatives to compete. A track was set up on Moonbase Gym for people to train. Ururu is excited to get into it, taking her stance on the starting line, along with Lirpa, Innus, Hcaz, and Ikuyim. Ururu wishes them the best of luck in a humble fashion—but as soon as the race begins, Ururu’s competitive streak kicks in: speeding ahead of the competition, she starts yelling and throwing taunts at the racers, calling them slowpokes and slugs. Her mouth is remarkably bigger than her Positive’s, saliva spewing with each word.

Lirpa is angered by her words, putting more power to her feet as she charges to get ahead. The other racers, frightened by their speed, decide to wait in place as Ururu and Lirpa zoom laps around the track. They are speed demons, neck-in-neck in this thrilling training race, but as the 10th, final lap is about to end, Ururu wins by a hair’s length. She boasts of her victory, shakes her rear at Lirpa, and slurs up a storm of poor sportsmanship. But in a heartbeat, Ururu changes back to her kinder persona and says, “Good effort, Lirpa! I can’t wait to race you on the big day!” Her teammates stare at her awkwardly.

Lirpa is still upset over Ururu’s attitude and seeks to find a way to sabotage her. Sipa considers planting a curse on Ururu, but Lirpa feels it can easily be traced back to them. Instead, Sipa uses her magic to sneak them into DNK Arctic Prison, where they locate the supervillain, Palindrome. Palindrome is a quirky villain whose sentences can be spelled the same forward and back, but to write his dialogue would require pure genius. However, he claims to have eaten the Swap-Paws Fruit, and by touching people, he can swap peoples’ personalities to the inverse.

The girls make the deal that if Palindrome swaps Ururu’s personality, they’ll set him free, to which he agrees. Sipa shrinks him for portability, and they make their way to JP’s treehouse to have Palindrome touch a sleeping Ururu, and afterwards sneak out. When Ururu greets her friends the next day, she displays a timid, cowardly demeanor, tripping and acting clumsily. When they take her up to Moonbase to train on the track, she is remarkably slower than yesterday, afraid the other operatives will try to prank her from behind, and so they easily outpace her.

Atnij is immediately suspicious, believing something unnatural is at play. He tries to motivate her by saying she’s the fastest girl alive and she’s not afraid of anything, but Ururu only becomes more upset, ashamed for disappointing her leader. Nirak remarks that, “She’s not even Ururu Ayigumust anymore, more like ‘Ururu Tsumugiya.’” Uzuy wonders if she can get over this by tomorrow, to which Amadok claims she will prepare a “Courage Spirit” to help Ururu.

The next day, the operatives are at the valley where the race will transpire. They will traverse across the valley and up a mountain. The race begins, and Ururu has a slow start. That is when Amadok summons the Courage Spirit: it is a tiny Grim Reaper with cyan flames and a scythe. Ururu panics, thinking it’s going to kill her, so she runs faster than she’s ever run. Atnij is proud of her for realizing the importance of life! Lirpa is angry that Ururu is still doing so well and struggles to keep up.

Unfortunately, that’s when Palindrome shows up to ruin the fun: he was driving a racecar! He was running into operatives, sending them flying into the air, and the last two were Ururu and Lirpa. A frightened Ururu runs off the track, only to be chased by the madman. He is about to ram her, but Lirpa suddenly leaps above the car and kicks the villain through the glass, causing him to crash. Lirpa states this wasn’t part of the deal, but Palindrome is acting on his own agenda now. Lirpa runs to kick him, but the villain dodges and touches her, swapping her character to “April,” and this is followed by turning her clothes inside-out.

But that’s when Ururu runs up to punch him, thinking he’s some kind of pervert. She kicks him off his feet and beats him to a pulp while still maintaining a panicky state. Palindrome loses consciousness, and his Devil Fruit wears off and fixes the two girls. Lirpa regretfully admits that she initially hired the villain to change Ururu’s personality because of her cocky attitude. Ururu says she never meant to offend her and was just getting into the spirit. She suggests Lirpa oughta try it, and Lirpa does just that as they run to finish the race. Throwing insults at one-another, they go faster and faster, and the race results in a tie.

Their throats are sore afterward, gasping in desperate need of water. The Courage Spirit rests on Ururu’s chest, enjoying a nice glass of his own water. Palindrome is arrested as Atnij questions his life’s choices. Palindrome’s response is as follows:

“Do good? I? No. Evil anon I deliver. I maim nine more hero men in Saginaw. Sanitary sword a tuck Carol, I! Lo, rack, cut a drowsy rat in Aswan. I gas nine more hero men in Miami. Reviled, I? No na, live on I do. O’ God!”

Chapter 4: Dream Savior Amadok

The chapter opens with several kids gathered at Amadok’s personal shrine, which is connected to the outside of the treehouse. They claim to be plagued with misfortune, so Amadok asks for them to hand her their favorite items. She uses Ghost Whispering to awaken the spirits inside those items and ask them to take very good care of their owners. After they leave, Amadok goes back inside, enjoying dinner with her teammates as Atnij praises her good deeds. Uzuy asks if they believe the notion that Negatives don’t get accepted to the Spirit World, but Amadok has faith their souls will live in peace after they’ve left this world, just like her parents.

Amadok goes to sleep, hoping to wake up in her peaceful Dream World where she flies among the spirits. Her dreamscape exists under a starry night sky, where slithery, smiling, wisp-like spirits soar across the forest. Amadok lays back peacefully, the wind chilling her skin. She wishes to fly among the spirits for real some day, with her friends to join her. But to her shock, all her spirit friends begin to get captured in red bubbles, and Amadok is forced to jump off before she is Bubbled. As the sky becomes filled with dark clouds, a black-hooded figure in a dark coat approaches Amadok, his red eyes gleaming. He scoffs at Amadok for thinking her little “charms” can save people from their horrible fates. Amadok summons more spirits to fight the boy, but he creates more bubbles to ensnare them before eventually trapping Amadok. She desperately bangs on the bubble to escape, but is helpless as she floats to the sky and is forced to sleep.

Amadok awakes in her own bed, sighing as she passes it off as a nightmare. When she tries to get up, she trips on her blanket, and her morning is plagued with unfortunate missteps, spilling her juice, tearing her kimono, etc.. Uzuy finds it humorous at first, but her friends start to grow concerned. Amadok’s customers from yesterday, along with dozens of other kids, return to her shrine, once again plagued with bad luck. But this time, Amadok is unable to call the spirits from their items. Her voice kept choking, rendering her Ghost Whispering useless.

Amadok tells her friends about the nightmare, and based on the dark boy’s bubble powers, she believes he is a rogue Bubble Dreamer who is invading peoples’ dreams and Bubbling everything, causing misfortune to plague them in real life. Atnij sings Amadok a lullaby to put her to sleep, so she could possibly fix the mess. They wake her up a couple hours later, but Amadok explains her dreamself was still Bubbled, so she drifted in empty blackness. She can think of one other way to escape her prison: if the five of them sleep in the same bed, their dreamscapes will become linked, and they will be able to help her. The five are rather cramped, with Nirak expressing displeasure, but Atnij sings one more lullaby to put them all to sleep.

The other four wake up in their dreamscapes and find portals interlinking them to each other, so they all meet up in Amadok’s corrupted dream. The mysterious boy ambushes them, so the others fight while Atnij rides a Song Wave to the foggy sky, going above the clouds to the Sea of Bubbles. He finds where Amadok is trapped and blows a Song Beam to pop her bubble, and Amadok comically panics before falling. Atnij surfs down to catch her, and after recomposing herself, she asks the Bubble Dreamer what his problem is. The boy, Otokam, explains he had been plagued with misfortune all his life, but had developed a fondness for his own curse, and has since took pleasure in cursing other people by trapping their dreams.

All five of them battle Otokam, with Amadok summoning Dream Spirits that naturally formed in her realm, but too few appeared, and Otokam summons his own Nightmares from his bubbles, proving too strong for the team. Amadok decides it’s time for the spirits to wake up, and she has Atnij amplify her voice, so all the spirits in the Sea of Bubbles hear her and break free of their bubbles. They swarm down, attack Otokam’s spirits, and soon have the boy overpowered. Uzuy grabs the boy in a choke-hold and claims she will find out where he lives and give him the punishment of a lifetime, unless he takes Amadok to all the dreamscapes he corrupted so she can wake up everyone’s spirits.

The next day, all the kids thank Amadok for ridding their curses. At school, Uzuy wonders if they should try to find Otokam to make sure he never does this again, but Ururu is confident he learned his lesson. They walk past a short, dorky boy, and Uzuy glances back at him when she thinks he looked familiar. The boy panics and quickly keeps walking, not daring to look back at her.

Chapter 5: Atnij of the Odureg

Nega-JP wake up to an inviting smell, and they are surprised to see a cake on the kitchen table. One corner had a tennis ball icing design, another had a football, another a smiling ghost, and the 4th had a sneaker. Atnij baked it to congratulate the girls for their hard work these past few days. Nirak remarks it as an unhealthy breakfast, but Uzuy and Ururu are excited to wolf it down. Amadok begins to eat her corner in a calmer manner, with Nirak reluctantly doing the same. Ururu remarks it’s as sweet as the little man who made it, ruffling Atnij’s hair.

With a smirk, Uzuy asks the long-awaited question: which one does he like the best? Atnij, of course, can’t pick a favorite and thinks they’re all great in their own way. Amadok inquires that he must have a type, but Atnij believes he’s not worthy for any woman. Ururu still thinks he deserves a reward, so she decides to go to Atnij’s house in secret to ask his parents what he likes. Atnij’s father is delighted to meet one of his son’s ‘girls,’ thinking she would be an excellent wife, to which Ururu blushes. When Ururu asks about his son’s interests, the father looks disgruntled, saying “What kind of girl doesn’t know what her man likes? If you expect to stay with him, you’d better pay better attention.”

Ururu feels offended and corrects him in saying they aren’t romantically involved. Mr. Irakanah states that she better abandon that mindset, and Ururu soon learns that he treats his own wife like a slave. Ururu meets with Atnij at the treehouse, with the others there as well, and though she feels uncomfortable about it, she tells him about her unpleasant meeting with his father. Atnij asks if she was hurt and apologizes for any mistreatment. Ururu also apologizes, thinking she intruded on a private matter regarding his family.

Atnij thinks he may as well tell them a shameful truth about his ancestry: he is a descendant of the Odureg, an ancient tribe of women who only lived to serve the opposite gender. They used to live in the ancient kingdom of Lorule, but thousands of years later, Atnij’s mother still follows that degrading tradition and thus chose to marry a slave-driver husband. Only females are born to the tribe and raised to follow this lifestyle, but Atnij was “the one man born every hundred years.” Growing up, he always felt bad for his mother and ashamed of his heritage, and vowed that he would spend his life inspiring girls instead of degrading them. However, he too was afraid of defying his father’s wishes, so he had been feeding him lies that his teammates were his “servants.”

The girls feel bad for hearing this. Atnij explains he has no intention to get married or have kids, wanting his family to end so no more girls have to end up like his mother. Atnij believes they must be ashamed of him and decides to stay at his own house for that night. Mr. Irakanah explains that Ururu came over earlier, suggesting Atnij to let that one go as she seems too clueless. True, his mom isn’t the smartest cracker around, but at least she knows how to pay attention.

Atnij snaps at him for talking about his teammates that way, and goes on to say that Mom doesn’t need someone like him. The angered father turns on his Haki and goes to punch his son, but Atnij’s mom gets in the way and takes the hit. Atnij ultimately attacks with his musicbending, but his father’s Haki proves stronger as Atnij becomes riddled with bruises. Atnij is knocked into the backyard, the father deactivating his Haki as he thinks he no longer needs it. A Footbomb suddenly crashes into Irakanah and stuns him, followed by a tennis ball to the face: Uzuy and Nirak are responsible.

Atnij’s teammates stand guard before him, and Nirak remarks, “Can’t you do better than the girls, Atnij?” Amadok sends spirits to fly around the father’s head and blind his vision, giving Ururu the chance to chi-block his Haki, while Uzuy tackles him to the ground. Nirak leaps above the father for one more tennis ball to the face. The man musters his strength and shakes Uzuy off, then punches Nirak, but he is swarmed by Music Notes that overpower and knock him out. At first, they think it was Atnij’s bending, but it actually came from his mother.

Mrs. Irakanah hugs her son and glad he is okay. She regrets ever marrying that man and decides it’s time for a change in tradition. The DNK arrest the father, so with only his mother raising him now, Atnij promises to make her the happiest woman ever. Atnij’s teammates proclaim they are happy to ‘serve’ him, squeezing him in hugs as they promise to become ‘worthy’ enough to marry him.

Meeting Their Matches

Jinta/Atnij – Atnij would ask Jinta to describe his team’s abilities and characteristics in detail. Atnij would quickly feel envious that his Positive got to work with such proud and strong girls. He regrets not being there for the boxing tournament.

Karin/Nirak – Karin would try out tennis for her Negative’s sake, but she would use her foot to kick the ball. Nirak would have to sanitize the ball each time, asking why Karin doesn’t play the right way, but Karin finds this method more fun and challenging.

Yuzu/Uzuy – Yuzu would wake up in a dizzy state. To her shock, hers and Karin’s room was a mess, and she and her Negative were in tatters. Apparently, Yuzunite and Uzuy had ended up wrestling and it got really intense.

Ururu/Ururu – Nega-Ururu tries on the Tiny Devil, which stretches to fit her, and she joyfully shrinks down and flies around. She yells Posi-Ururu to try and catch her, and the shorter opposite chases her around the treehouse. She soon finds it very exhausting as it’s like chasing an athletic fly.

Kodama/Amadok – Amadok summons the spirits inside Kodama’s fireworks, and the spirits happily thank her for building their homes. Kodama cries in joy and admits it’s going to feel sad after she blows them all up. The spirits panic.

Sector -SA

Chapter 1: Xedni Calls Hacks

Xedni is on her favorite couch, eyes locked to the screen as she is engaged in a videogame. The game is Cleanime (the opposite of Splatoon), and in this online mode, the Washlings must clean up more ink than the opposing team to win. The others are watching her, enjoying the entertainment, but Xedni is shocked when an opposing player is cleaning large amounts of ink with a weak weapon. She becomes increasingly frustrated and believes the player is hacking the game. “Well, two can play at that game,” Xedni says as she looks up how to hack the game in question.

Lots of people hack Cleanime, so they left instructions, and before long, Xedni finds herself at the Coding Table. With an evil laughter, the chubby gamer begins to give herself her own upgrades, like a Wipe Brush that can cut across the entire field. However, opposing players begin to hack up stronger upgrades, and they soon become more bizarre. Xedni plants traps for other players to walk on, after which pianos would fall and crush them. Another player traps her with a foam noodle snake that flings her off the field. Xedni creates a gun that shoots out rockstars to beat players up with guitars. The enemies program it to rain hamburgers, causing Xedni’s team to forcibly eat them and grow heavier.

Unfortunately, the hacking becomes too much for the game to handle. That’s when the President of Odnetnin’s Washsona lands in and yells, “What the FUCK is going on here?! You’ve made our game more of a mess than it’s supposed to be! It’s time for a mass reset, no one’s allowed to play for a month!”

Xedni slumps in sadness, thinking she would be kicked out of the Washfest because of this. Asigan admits to having a good laugh with all those crazy hacks, and Allebmoog was impressed with Xedni’s handiwork, surprised “those hefty fingers could type so quickly.” Xedni smiles, realizing she did have lots of fun, and starts to think of ways she could apply her hacking talent to her DNK duties.

Chapter 2: The Abmoog with the Dragon Tattoo

The team decides to visit Allebmoog’s hometown, Law City, populated by rich Mushroomians who detested their homeworld and sought more comfortable lives on Earth. Allebmoog led them to the shopping center, introducing her school friends: a Dya-Namite girl (a Bob-omb, but resembling a dynamite), an Apook boy, and a Toad boy (instead of a round mushroom head, it was a pointed ’shroom head). Both groups exchange greetings, though the Mushroomians acknowledge Xedni as “the Marshmallow,” much to her chagrin.

The Mushroomians are then introduced to Anaigrom, who is wearing spunky street clothes, and they are awed by how cool she looks. Anai makes the point that she always wears the coolest fashions. They ask to hang out with Anai, and she agrees, but when Alleb tries to join, the Mushrooms turn her down and remind her she was giving the others a tour. Anai tells her friends that she’ll catch up and goes with the gang. Allebmoog feels abandoned, but she continues giving Xedni and Asigan their tour.

When they meet up with Anaigrom later, they see the Mushroomians carrying several new clothes that Anai had woven herself. She boasts with pride about her Silanaf heritage, for her people are the most modernized modistes around. When they return to the treehouse, Anaigrom expresses how much fun she had with the Mushrooms, as she learned a ton about Mushroomian fashions and they shared ideas. Alleb sounds upset in her responses, and Anai says that she didn’t mean to steal her friends. Alleb admits that she’s jealous because, due to most of her body being arms, she can’t enjoy beautiful, fancy clothes like most people can. However, Anai believes that, if clothing doesn’t work for Alleb, maybe tattoos could.

After learning about Mushroomian paint and purchasing some herself, Anaigrom decides to practice tattoo art, using Alleb as a test model. She paints a spring-like design around Alleb’s arms, which allow her to bounce very high. She paints a wind design, which allows her to run much faster on her arms, and then a dragon design, which adds extra strength to her punches. For the time being, Alleb decides to stick with the dragon design. It gives her that troublemaker, “tough girl” vibe.

Since Xedni still can’t log onto Cleanime, she asks what they wanna do next week. Remembering the DNK’s recent alliance with the Nimbi DNK, Asigan thinks they should visit Aipyks.

Chapter 3: Peacemaker Asigan

The girls bring their swimwear to Aipyks and go to swim in a cloud lake that is not polluted. At first, Xedni is embarrassed, for this is her first time wearing a swimsuit, but Asigan thinks she looks adorable. Xedni has a hard time becoming stabilized in the water, especially since cloud water is lighter than normal water, but Asigan helps her to swim with her waterbending. Allebmoog remarks, “So that’s what a watermelon looks like when it’s swimming,” earning a growl from Xedni.

They then hear commotion across the lake, and see that some Nimbi operatives are ganging up on a mermaid. The Nimbi try to breathbend her, the mermaid begging them to stop, so Asigan attacks the Nimbi and questions their actions. They accuse the mermaid, Aras of being an enemy, but she explains that she wanted to join the Nimbi and be free of the DNKG’s control. Asigan persuades them to take the mermaid to Ibsej, the Nimbi leader, and -SA gets dressed as they accompany her. Ibsej is reluctant to accept a mermaid into their ranks, and that their conflict with Anaeco dates back to—“Yeah yeah, nobody cares,” Allebmoog says rudely. “Y’know, some of those merfolk prolly don’t even know why you’re fighting, and some of them just don’t wanna anymore.”

Considering this, Ibsej decides to let Aras stay in Aipyks. Asigan thinks that, if more merkids want to switch sides, it could lead to peace between the races and another alliance. The -SA girls travel down to Anaeco in a submarine, attacking several merkid treehouses. Asigan uses her waterbending to prevail, Anaigrom can shoot gas bubbles underwater, Allebmoog is good at underwater combat, while Xedni shoots torpedoes from the sub. They question the merkids afterward, confirming some of them wish to align with the Nimbi and bring more to Aipyks. Over the course of a few days, they show no hostility and seem to befriend the Nimbi quite well.

Allebmoog comments that this is why people should look to the future more often. They agree with her, happy to see the two races getting along, and Asigan is delighted to contribute to such change. Just then, they hear a scream from a hallway, and rush to find, to their horror, Ibsej bleeding on the floor. She is still alive and gasping, so a healer works to fix her, and Xedni barely sees the tail of a merkid go around the corner. They try to chase, but the culprit has evaded their vision. All the merkids are immediately put under lockdown, thinking none can be trusted.

The sector is in the cafeteria, upset by the event. Anaigrom leaves to use the restroom, and she walks by a Nimbi boy who gives off a rather fishy smell. Thanks to her bending, she can pick up a trail of the boy’s scent, following it back to a dumpster, where she looks in and finds a tail fin sticking out. She grabs it and pulls out the hollow, fake tail of a merkid. She calls her team and says she thinks the merpeople were framed, and she retraces the scent back to the suspicious Nimbi. The four girls corner and question him, but he strikes with lightningbending to weaken them. Asigan dodges his attack and molds water in the air to attract and catch his lightning, afterwards splashing it over the Nimbi to stun him, followed by Water Whips to KO him.

The girls explain to Ibsej and the others about their findings. Ibsej tries to confirm the truth by making the traitor hold a rock, putting a hand to that rock as well. When she asks, “Were you the one who stabbed me?” the boy replies, “No, it was a merkid!” But with her Seismic Sense, Ibsej confirms he is lying and has him handcuffed. The Nimbi reveals that he never trusted the merkids at all, but no one would listen, so he thought the only way to expose their falseness was to frame them. Alas, Ibsej had already used her Lie Detection on the merkids as well and knew they truly wanted peace. She preferred to keep her ability a secret in case something like this happened, but didn’t expect one of her own operatives to attempt something like this.

The merkids are set free, and Ibsej extends her thanks to Asigan’s team for their part in this. Asigan is tired of playing Peacemaker for now, bidding farewell as the team returns home.

Meeting Their Matches

Note: They meet their matches on a later date than the other pairs.

Nagisa Shiota/Asigan Atoihs – Nagisa quickly calls their meeting short, as he’s too disturbed with seeing himself as a girl.

Index/Xedni – Index is proud of her Negative for sticking to her diet. Xedni wants to know what games they play, and she is introduced to Splatoon. Xedni realizes, “Holy crap, where has this been all my life?”

Morgiana/Anaigrom – As soon as Anai sees her Positive’s limited attire, she tries on an array of dresses, which Morgiana takes a liking to. When Anai then shows her a collection of fantastic footwear, Morg says, “You had me and you lost me.”

Goombella/Allebmoog – Goombella tries to teach Alleb about all her favorite stories and how they connect to history, but Alleb finds them all uninteresting. Goombella grows increasingly irritated, saying not only can these stories touch her heart, they can also help her with lots of life experience. Alleb decides to go into the topic of movie stars and their life experiences, and Goombella immediately becomes bored.

Chapter Text

Alright, gangsters, it’s time for Negative Sector V to set off on their first big adventure! Following Down in the Negaverse, and before the Thirteen Darkness Quest, there was THIS!

Let us meet our villains, the Little Dad Mafia, led by the notorious Enopac Egeb (originally Capone Bege from One Piece). Enopac is a rather short, pudgy man with a cigar in mouth, black suit, and who speaks like the Godfather. The story opens when Egeb barges into Raseac Atnalamid’s greenhouse. They exchange rather sour greetings as Egeb demands, in a calm demeanor, to tell him how to find the Great Brocco Tree. Raseac claims the Brocco Tree will banish all who try to enter it, unless one carries the Five Healthy Wonders.

Egeb asks where one could find said Wonders, but rather than answer, Raseac decides to do away with him: using plantbending, several giant flowers lock onto Egeb and unload deadly Bullet Seeds. Egeb stands still, and hundreds of bullets fly directly at him, yet not a single wound appears on his body. When Raseac decides to cease the attack, confused, Egeb then retaliates: bullets and cannonballs erupt from his body, utterly decimating the greenhouse, and Raseac is overpowered by the sudden gunfire.

“I got this new power from a ‘friend’ in the other world. …Looked a lot like you, he did.” Egeb says. “Boys, whaddya say we treat him to some coffee?”

Before Raseac’s eyes, two men suddenly appeared: Slim Jim, who had a very thin, long, and flexible body (Negative of Fat Jack), and Euro Eoj, who resembled a hippy chewing on a cattail. Eoj seemed to conjure a Peace symbol that drained Raseac’s stamina, making him easy prey for Jim’s swift martial arts.

When Raseac awoke, he found himself tied to a table with chi-blocks inside a castle-like room. There was a nasty gang of tiny, Lilliputian kids standing on him, holding needles. “Surprised to see ’em? We learned about your little farm of delinquents. Thought they would wanna join us.” Egeb said.

In their spare time, Raseac and some of his Black Lotus agents would travel around in search for extremely ill-behaved children who wrought havoc in their neighborhoods. They would subdue these children and force-feed them mushrooms that would shrink them to Lilliputian size, and they would remain in Raseac’s secret “farm” until they learned to behave. Of course, Raseac had their parents’ written permission.

“We gave ’em some special turnips that enhanced their speed and muscles.” Egeb smirked. “Maybe someday, they’ll be ripe for the world again. Now, spill the beans or we’ll spill yours.”

“You don’t know the power you’re messing with. I’ll sooner die before I tell you where to find the Wonders.” Raseac hissed.

“I thought ya might. Then lemme make ya an offer you can’t refuse: instead-a spillin’ your beans… I’ll spill hers.” He cocked his gun and aimed it at Ydnew Llevram, whom was tied to another table. Raseac was shocked to see Itaav’s daughter captured, but because he couldn’t afford to risk her life, he decided to tell him where to find the Wonders.

Sometime later, the officers of the Little Dad Mafia have secured the Five Healthy Wonders, but have yet to determine the location of the Brocco Tree. Until then, the officers are safekeeping the Wonders in their own resting grounds. Little did they know that someone was already onto them.

In Dnalevelc, Ainigriv, Lorac Nosretsam had been receiving letters from her worldwide pen-pals, all of whom are part of a group of thieves and fans alike called ThiefNet. These letters described the actions of the Little Dad Mafia, much to Lorac’s concern—of course, Nosey Nosam just had to stick his nose in her letters. But since he was there, he figured they could ask Yrrah if he knew anything about these ‘Healthy Wonders.’ The 4x4 expert did research and learned the Healthy Wonders were legendary vegetables that supposedly came from the Great Brocco Tree, a sacred tree that could drastically increase the growth of plants around the planet.

Lorac knows that the Little Dads have an obsession with vegetables, so she assumed they wanted to harness the Brocco Tree’s power to make their food even healthier and themselves stronger. With how dangerous and infamous the Little Dads were, Lorac knew she needed to steal the Healthy Wonders before they could succeed. Nosam asks if they could help, saying that if the Little Dads are really that dangerous, it should be the DNK’s job to stop them. Lorac appreciates the offer, but wants to decline, due to how they just got finished with Aluben and deserve a break, though Yrrah questions if Lorac even has the resources or a way to get to all the Little Dad bases.

Lorac gives in, and with that, they gather the other Sector -V operatives as she describes the situation. Arorua believes they should undertake the mission as a way to show the world the new DNK! However, Lorac says that if they do this, they need to do it right: Master Thief Style. She would be acting as their temporary leader for this Great Veggie Heist.

“WE GET TO BE PIRATES, BABY!” Eitra cheered.

“We’re thieves, Eitra!” Yrrah corrected.

“Those are basically land pirates, let’s do it!” Eirik shouted.

Yrrah sets to work in building a vessel to serve as their base of operations: the Bandit Van. It looked rather small for 10 people, but Yrrah called Nollid over to work some magic: the inside of the van was like a miniature treehouse, with a kitchen, a tech room for Yrrah, a bedroom where they all would sleep, bathroom, etc.. Unfortunately, Nollid declined the offer to come with them as Ydolem still needs his help. But with that, the 10 kids set off on their grand road-trip adventure!

:thumb99181841: GAMEPLEIGH :thumb99181841:

While Candied Adventure used a mix of Donkey Kong/Rayman-style gameplay, the Veggie Heist is based around Sly Cooper’s elements. Each world takes place in a town under the control of the Little Dad Mafia. Lorac will sneak her way through towns and use nimble platforming to get to objective points, and she will carry certain teammates in the Infi-Cube if she needs their abilities for certain sections or missions.

Just as well, Lorac’s abilities resemble Sly Cooper. Light on her feet, she can channel chi to her soles to keep herself balanced on very thin ropes or spiked points. She can sneak up on and attack enemies with swift, chi-block punches, followed by a quick and quiet knock-out. In each world, there are 20 dancing jars to search for, containing parts of a code that can be used to open a safe in that world and acquire a new skill.

World 1 – The Burrow

The Veggie Thieves drive to a farmland where rabbits frolic. They discover a road sloping into a tunnel, leading to an underground town with carrot buildings. This is where the Little Dads have hidden the Bleach Carrot, which can only attain its purest form away from sunlight. The officer guarding this carrot is the Mimebrother (Negative of the Clownfather), a rather jovial mime. After lots of stealthing, teamwork, and strategizing, they manage to find the room where the Bleach Carrot is held.

As expected, Mimebrother is there to thwart them. The Mimebrother pulls out some blowhorns and attacks them with an extremely deafening sound blast. Eirik accuses him of being a soundbender, to which the Mime contradicts her:

“Nono, my dear: Little Dad blessed me with a magical fruit he called the Sound-Sound Fruit! There is so much power to be had in sound. When you are too far away from a bomb, hearing only the smallest boom, the effect is so small. But when you hear the BOOM right next to you, you find yourself charred! When I lower or increase the sound an object makes, its physical affect will change, too! As for me, I was born with a weak throat and a soft voice that could never speak up for myself. Now, I feel as if I can do anything!! And I will repay Little Dad by protecting this carrot!”

“Bleh, sound or no sound, you’re just a dweeb! Stay back, fellas, this guy’s askin’ for a whoopin’!” Eirik grins wickedly.

The girl’s soundbending was a natural match for the mime’s power. He could create Mute Bubbles around himself to block out Eirik’s soundwaves, requiring her to bend them open in order to land attacks. Mimebrother threw bombs whose explosions had greater radius with amped sound, but when Eirik lowered their sound, they had the opposite result. This battle was quick thinking on Eirik’s part and a true test of her soundbending, but she won the battle for her team! She high-fived Akurah and twisted her knuckle into Yrrah’s skull.

The Bleach Carrot was stashed in the Infi-Cube and the DNK were called to arrest the Mimebrother. Before setting off for their next heist, Lorac asked them to return to Ainigriv, where they drove along a cliffside over the ocean until they came upon a dead end. Lorac revealed a round door camouflaged with the wall, and by placing her feet and hands into openings, a magic seal seemed to read her DNA and open the door. Her friends were in awe as they entered a temple-like cavern with murals on the wall.

Lorac reveals that the Nosretsam are a proud tribe of thieves who have been stealing from villains for centuries. When Sirhc calls attention to an image of her ancestors fighting a giant, monstrous owl, Lorac explains, “His name is Clockwerk. According to my mom’s stories, he’s a monstrous owl that caused destruction and poverty around the world, robbing people of their treasures and anything precious to them. He was one of the earliest villains my family stole from, or fought with. And he was so vicious that my ancestors had no choice but to kill him, though he took several of them with him.”

“’Guess that means we’re here to relive the tale.” Aliehs sighed. “Nosam and Sirhc are probably gonna die and we’ll have to make a picture of Little Dad.”

“WHY JUST US?!” Sirhc exclaimed.

“Relax, guys! I’m not gonna let any of you die!” Lorac beamed. “You did a great job on that first heist, so we’ll have no trouble swiping the other Wonders. First, I need to put this somewhere safe.” She takes the Bleach Carrot and makes her way through an obstacle course that utilizes her abilities, as it was specifically designed for a true Nosretsam to cross. Once she was finished, she returned, and they exited, resealed the hideout, and drove off.

Meanwhile, Egeb called a meeting with his other officers. Along with Slim Jim and Euro Eoj, there was Atteirneh, a Namreg woman in a black labcoat and ponytail. Although she possessed a rather calm and serious demeanor, she was always suckling on a large lollipop.

“Folks, it seems we’ve encountered a problem. Mimebrother’s been arrested by those DNK tykes. I shoulda known they would be a problem; they’ve been a bit more active since the new year began. We’d best send extra security to the others. If this happens any more, the Boss ain’t gonna be very happy.”

World 2 – Zucchini Beach

The V-Thieves drive to a beach town in Adirolf called Zucchini Beach, full of palm trees that resembled zucchini. Its most famous landmark was the Zucchini Flower, an island a few miles off coast that was actually a massive flower growing from the seafloor. The heart of this flower was the Healthy Wonder that they needed. Their stealthing would involve swimming, nothing Lorac wasn’t used to.

The mafia bosses of this town were brothers, Icsep and Ottuicsorp (Pesci and Prosciutto from JoJo). Icsep displayed a somewhat worried and cowardly personality, while Ottu’s harsh, but soothing demeanor would keep him in focus. Icsep can conjure a fishing lure, having eaten the Fisher-Fisher Fruit, and the line can phase through solid objects. He uses this to make wire traps around the roof, and Lorac unfortunately steps on one when roof-jumping. The fishing rod catches and drags her across town until she is in the brothers’ captivity.

Ottu uses his poisonbending to torture Lorac for information, his gas causing her skin to dry up and mummify. Despite the pain, she keeps silent, holding faith that her friends would rescue her. Indeed, the V-Thieves collect info on where Lorac is being held, learn her torturer’s ability, and watch out for any more wire traps. To Lorac’s joy, Akurah arrives, her poisonbending a perfect match against Ottu. Akurah finds herself mummifying under his gas, while her poison causes itchy hives to swell up on Ottu’s body. Akurah becomes the victor, KOing the villain and bending the poison out of herself and Lorac, and they shortly treat their selves to water.

The operation continues as the V-Thieves make it to the heart of the Zucchini Flower. Without his brother, Icsep has assumed a more cruel and serious demeanor, and he’s ready to shred them up with his fisher. Eitra volunteers to fight him, summoning his hamsters to form armor around him. Eitra charges forth as the fishing hook is unable to latch his body, only catching the hamsters, and he lands several attacks on Icsep. The man then uses his fishing rod to capture innocent people from the town and chuck them at Eitra for stronger attacks. “Since you use those rodents to your benefit, what’s to stop me from making fodder out of these people?” Eitra was more determined than ever to beat him, and with a few more rounds of attacks, Icsep was defeated.

The V-Thieves found a green, beating heart and carefully removed it. Icsep and Ottu were arrested by the DNK and the heart was stored in Lorac’s hideout. They were becoming curious about these “magic fruits” Icsep and Mimebrother claimed to have eaten, but Yrrah can’t find any data about them online.

World 3 – Pumpkin Hill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukp1N4hI2Xg

A crossover level from Sonic Adventure 2, Pumpkin Hill was a range of giant jack-o-lantern mountains which glowed at night. The mafia boss was “Royam” (Negative of Halloween Town’s Mayor), a rogue Dream Spirit whose facial features stretch around his entire head. When he speaks, his words travel from one end of the mouth to the other, his lips opening in like fashion. “HmMmMm, HaVe ThOsE hOoDlUmS iNvAdEd My DoMaIn? OoOoOoHhHh DeEeAaAr…” Yeah, this guy could get annoying to listen to.

A train with a pumpkin face traveled between different peaks, so Lorac would have to ride it on the missions. Their objective was to steal the Pumpkin Sprout, a small, hand-size pumpkin that was born from the seed of the Great Pumpkin. The Pumpkin Sprout had a very happy face, and eating it could keep you joyful for a year! “I know someone who could use that.” Eirik remarked, looking at Aliehs.

When the group confronts Royam, he reveals the power of his Hollow-Hollow Fruit, wherein he can summon sad ghosts that fly through the group and drain them of their positivity. They are drained to a point where their color fades and they become as gloomy as Aliehs. When Aliehs looks upon her miserable friends, she asks, “Is that what I look like most of the time? Man… these guys annoy me most of the time, but now they’re just plain boring. Sigh, I guess it’s up to me to fix them.”

With her natural immunity to gloom, Aliehs combats Royam with darknessbending, launching Darkballs from her feet with kicks. Royam’s ghosts could only stun her a little bit, so he decided to do the opposite and have the ghosts fill Aliehs with the stolen emotion from her friends. Aliehs began to experience mood swings, from Sirhc’s cowardliness to Nosam’s high praise, and this causes her Dark Chi to become unfocused and scattered when released. However, Aliehs finds herself quickly adapting to Eirik and Akurah’s crazy personalities, her Mobian instincts kicking in as she runs around, swiftly dodges Royam’s attacks, and deals a brutal beatdown that eventually knocks him out.

The others recover their emotions as Lorac goes to pick up the Pumpkin Sprout. She already feels happy from holding the cute little veggie, passing it around to the others to liven their spirits a bit. Aliehs is the last to hold it, staring at its smiley face with her dull expression. …After a moment, her mouth cracks a smile, but just briefly.

At Little Dad’s base, Egeb goes into a dark room and turns on a monitor. A pair of narrowed eyes on the shadowed body of an owl appears on screen. “Mister Egeb… how could you let those DNK urchins humiliate you this much? Three of the Healthy Wonders have already been lost!”

“We tightened up security as much as we could, but these brats are using stealth. There are almost no alerts, and the best we got is a picture of this twerp.” Egeb held up a photo of Lorac from when she was captured. “Some brat from the slums.”

The shadow craned its head in an owl-like manner. “You are quite mistaken, Egeb. Without doubt… yes, I can tell, just from looking at her, she belongs to the Nosretsam. It’s no wonder the Wonders have been vanishing from right under your noses!”

“It can’t be just this one brat pullin’ the strings. We know she’s with the DNK.”

“Then it’s quite simple, Egeb: find out where she originates, and I will deal with her myself.”

Partway to their next destination, the V-Thieves park the van and rest for the night. Lorac wakes up and goes to get a drink, when she notices Arorua outside swinging a sword. Lorac goes out to greet her, and Arorua gasps in shock. “Are you training or something?” Lorac asks.

“Uh, yeah… I felt like I owed it to Nerehc to learn how to use a sword… but it felt kind of embarrassing, so I never told anyone.”

“Alright, I’ll keep it a secret~” Lorac smiles with eyes closed.

The two decide to lie on the roof and look at the stars, delighted by how clear the sky was now. “So, Lorac, if you have that secret cave, how come you say you don’t have a home?”

“I like to sleep outside most of the time. Besides, traveling to that place takes a while, and I don’t even use it much, anyway.”

“Heh heh. I was just thinking, you would be a pretty good leader. I mean… you actually are, right now. Are you sure you don’t wanna join for real?”

“Why, and replace you?”

“Well, I was kind of a traitor who didn’t even care about my job. Plus, I’m not even that strong. I’m only now trying to learn swordplay, and I don’t really have any other talents. Not like you.”

“It would be pretty fun to work with you guys more… but if we’re talking outside of ‘stealth and steal’ missions, I don’t feel like I could lead you.”

“Come on, Lorac. I mean, if we’re being honest, the others aren’t exactly fit for the job. At least you know how to stay focused, and are… not crazy.”

Lorac giggled. “Alright, I’ll at least think about it. But give yourself some time, Ror, there’s plenty of time to change.”

World 4 – Asparagus Grove

The V-Thieves arrive at a Chinese-style village in a forest made of towering stalks of asparagus (resembling bamboo). The mafia boss is Brusselscalp (Negative of Stickybeard), a thin man with a broccoli hairdo who talks like a cowboy. Atteirneh was also sent to aid him in case the thieves showed up again. With her Observation Haki, she would explore the village and search for suspicious people that were hiding, but fortunately, Lorac learned to conceal her chi to hide from such people.

The new threat didn’t hinder the mission too much, but during a mission that required Yrrah, he and Lorac ended up in an indoor garden where Atteirneh ambushed them. Atteir recognized Yrrah as Ybba’s son, taunting that he looks just as stupid as his mother. Atteir fights with plantbending, whilst Yrrah puts his marksmanship to use. Of course, Lorac lent her aid as well, crawling under the plants and concealing her chi to sneak up and land chi-block hits on her. Atteir refused to be captured, so she decided to retreat.

They were able to infiltrate Brusselscalp’s base and find their objective: the Asparasword, a sacred blade that could slay any sugary demon. Brusselscalp drops in and takes the sword and takes a mighty swing at the group, but Arorua defends her team with her own blade. “Time to see if my practice paid off.” Arorua proclaims. The team gives them space as swords clash, and they are surprised at Arorua’s prowess with the blade.

“Dah, ta hoots with this stupid sword! I’mma just do it the old-fashion way!” Brusselscalp says as he whips out a gun and starts shooting at Arorua, who hastened to dodge the shots.

“Leave my sister alone!” Sirhc yells as he slaps a button on a metal thing on his chest and curls into metal armor, rolling into Brusselscalp like an armadillo. This was armor that Yrrah had been building for him and he had been waiting for a good chance to surprise his team. “If Arorua’s the sword, I’m the shield!” was his decision. Arorua would use Sirhc as cover from the bullets as she made her way to Brusselscalp for more attacks, winning the battle with brother/sister teamwork!

The cowboy is arrested and the thieves drive off with the sword—only to be pursued by Atteirneh in a truck. Yrrah unveiled the van’s roof turret and tried to shoot her down, but she caught up nonetheless. However, they were able to hold her off long enough for another truck to ram into and stop her. “Uh-oh. Should we see if they’re okay?” Lorac asked.

“What’s important is we’re okay, keep going!” Akurah stated.

The driver of the other truck revealed to be Little Aunt, a.k.a. Ettolrahc Nilnil of the Black Lotus. “I was on my way here to do something about these brutish gangsters when I saw you chasing those kids. Forgive my rude greeting, but it’s not every day I get to see my daughter.”

“Well, how nice to see you, too.” Atteir replied coldly. “I don’t suppose you’re here to return my son to me?”

“I wasn’t going to let Sutsugua suffer our fate. I wouldn’t let his mind be corrupted like yours. I wouldn’t let him serve that monster. You should know better than anyone why he can’t find the Brocco Tree.”

“What choice do we have? It’s either his desires, or our lives!”

World 5 – Eggplant Land

It was quite astounding how someone could theme an amusement park around eggplants. Eggplant animal balloons, eggplant swing ships, Eggplant Wizards, it was all a fun time! The missions this time around would utilize the different rides and attractions. And the main attraction was the Egg Plant: it was a large plant with three layers; seven flowers around the bottom, four in the middle, with one on top, and each flower held a colored egg. Those eggs would grow and eventually hatch a certain vegetable.

What was odd about this park was, instead of mafia goons, tiny children were patrolling, armed with little swords or guns. “Well, a ‘Little Dad’ would have little kids.” Arorua figured.

“Even if they spot us, what’re they gonna do? Make us itch?” Eitra asked.

“I wouldn’t take a chance.” Yrrah replied. “Lorac, just hide from them like normal. Of course, seeing them will be a bit harder this time.”

Lorac’s first mission was to investigate the Egg Plant’s resting place, only to discover that… it was kind of out in the open with no guards. Suspicious, Lorac decided to approach and take it. “Don’t take another step, fatty!” a boy’s voice shouted. Lorac gasped and looked both ways before glancing down and spotting a tiny blonde Spanish boy in a football jersey.

“Oh… hello there.” Lorac greeted, unable to see what threat this boy posed. “What’s your name?”

“Name’s Dnis, the boss of this park. Little Dad says you ain’t allowed to have this Egg Plant.”

“Well, I certainly don’t wanna be tripped. So, I’ll just reach forward and-” Her arm stretched for the Egg Plant—a bullet shot from Dnis’s hand and burned through her wrist. “YOW!”

“I warned ya!” Dnis sneered, using firebending to shoot rapid bullet-speed flames around Lorac’s body. Her clothes were about to catch fire, so she dropped and rolled before snatching the boy in her hand. Dnis bit her hand and escaped, zipping around to grab her foot. He used super strength to slam her around the floor before chucking her off.

“Fellas, lock it up!” Dnis ordered as five other kids pushed the Egg Plant’s table into a vault, which sealed. They used six keys to lock it up before zipping away. “You ain’t ever getting that plant now! Try and catch us if you can.” Dnis taunted before escaping.

The mission officially became Hide-and-Seek as the V-Thieves had to, not only determine their hiding places, but determine their abilities in the event of a scuffle. One of the kids was Narod, a waterbender who loved to stuff himself with chocolate, and such a bond with chocolate allowed him to bend it as well. When Nosam challenged him, Narod molded chocolate into a giant body with shape-shifting arms, but Nosam proved to be the better bender.

Next was Ylla, a punkish girl with spiky hair and a guitar for musicbending. Eirik rocked it out with her to see who was the noisier bender, and after a fight no one ever wanted to hear again, the girls became good friends as Ylla surrendered.

They decided to have Eelyah challenge Ubnok, who was an arts and crafty earthbender who could make statues in a heartbeat, thinking she may have been strong enough to wreck his works. Ubnok’s statues were heavily beating her at first, but after several good bonks to the head, Eelyah discovered her own earthbending and reduced the statues to rubble.

Uzu was a rambunctious young boy who liked to give people purple nurples via his shadowbending, so Eitra was sent to beat some sense into him. Both boys didn’t hold back with their violence, and both were black-and-blue by the time it was over.

Oyib was slightly bigger than the others, but his airbending was nevertheless strong, easily blowing Sirhc’s Armordillo away and striking the Onu with powerful blows. “I don’t care about the Egg Plant any more, but I will rescue my friends!” Sirhc admired his resolve and knew that he couldn’t fail his friends either. He mustered his willpower and fought against Oyib’s wind enough to defeat him.

Lastly, Lorac decided to be the one to seize Dnis. “But I can do it easily.” Akurah mentioned. “He can’t use fire when the room’s full of gas.”

“Uh, thanks, Akurah, but I feel like I’m relying on you guys too much for these battles. This guy made a joke out of me, but it won’t happen again.”

Dnis was a swift fighter, but if her nimble feet could carry Lorac this far, then she relied on such skill to evade his attacks, chase him, and land a sturdy kick whenever she could. Before long, both fighters were gasping and out of stamina. The only difference is, since Lorac was the bigger person, she grasped Dnis firmly in her hand. “You’re in big trouble when you get home, young man!”

“No, please! I don’t wanna go back to the Juvy Farm! Those assholes act like we ain’t human! They treat us like rodents all because we did a few bad things!”

“We’ll let the DNK decide what to do with you. Until then, we have a heist to complete.” After finding Dnis’s key, Lorac could finally open the vault and take the Egg Plant.

The DNK were summoned to take the captured tiny children, and they began to scour Eggplant Land to capture all the guards. The V-Thieves made their final drive to the Nosretsam Vault, where all the Healthy Wonders would remain safe until they could figure out what to do about the Little Dads altogether.

A Clockwerk Origin

Unfortunately, just as they returned to Dnalevelc, a pirate ship with tank wheels and a castle ambushed them. “Well, if it ain’t the little thieves who’ve been mucking up my business.” Egeb said from the top of the Nostra Castello. “Lorac Nosretsam, I presume? Your little misstep in Zucchini Beach led us right to your hometown.”

“Guys, look at the neighborhood! It’s under attack!” Sirhc called attention to the burning town in the distance. Realizing this took priority, Yrrah stomped the gas and drove for town, but the Nostra Castello was on their tail. They used the roof turret to blast the cannons on the tank-fort, with Yrrah’s crafty driving dodging the ship’s treads. The quick-thinking battle was stressful, but the Castello was out of commission.

The thieves continued onward to town before they could have a chance to recover. “’Guess this is the Boss’s problem now.” Egeb said.

The V-Thieves were just a few blocks from reaching the treehouse!—until a purple beam struck like lightning and completely destroyed the Bandit Van, all its contents and passengers scattering on the street. The kids weakly recovered to an aggressive gust of wind and the thunderous flapping of wings. They were agape at the sight of a giant, robotic eagle owl, eyes brimming yellow. Its silver wings could cut cleanly through flesh and not get bloody. “From the moment I saw your picture, a most irritating tumor began to react in what I have for a brain, and I knew it was you. Fate has brought us together again, Nosretsam.”

“I-It can’t be… Are you… Clockwerk?!” Lorac stuttered.

“So, you remember me, what a smart young lady.” Clockwerk landed on the road, folding his wings as he paced around the group. “Your ancestors thought they destroyed me, but you would be surprised what a steady diet of greed and hatred will do for you. My underlings recovered my body and kept me in ice until they could develop the technology to remake my body anew. And my soul, barely clinging to life, grew ever more impatient until then.”

“You won’t be clinging to life for LONG!” Eirik bellowed a powerful soundwave, and Nosam, Eelyah, Akurah, and Yrrah bombarded the machine with their weapons and powers. With a forceful flap, the kids were blown off their feet, and lightning struck from his eyes to injure them.

They looked up at the treads of a tank, thinking it was the Castello, but was actually the base of Egeb’s body itself. “Clockwerk has supported my family for generations. He’s the most powerful criminal mastermind in the world.”

“And once I absorb the delectable nutrients inside of the Brocco Tree, I will be unstoppable. After much strife, we now finally know the tree’s location. All that remains is for you to tell me where you hid the Wonders.”

“Why do you want the Brocco Tree, anyway?!”

“Why, to restore vegetation to this pitiful world, of course. My body and soul are filled with eons of lust and hatred. When I devour the heart of the Brocco Tree, its chi will mix with my hatred. I will soar across the world and infect all organic life with sweet, juicy despair. And that despair will satiate me for all time. The reason I stole from so many people was to instigate their greed, their desperate desire, but your despicable, pure-hearted ancestors had none of that at all! NOW, TELL ME!” Clockwerk stamped Lorac under his talon. “WHERE ARE THE WONDERS?!”

“AAAAH!” Lorac was helpless under his weight, blood squirting out. “Ergh… f-fine. I’ll… take you to them. Just please… don’t hurt my friends.”

“The well-being of the world is secondhand to those she holds dear.” Nosam wept. “You’re too pure, Lorac!!”

“So be it. I’ll just carry you up and you can point me to where-” A blast of dark fire hit the back of Clockwerk’s head, the owl twisting his head to see Nerehc Onu, brimming with Demon King Fury. “Ohhhh… that hatred. Such… delicious… HATRED! Egeb, you go find the Wonders! My appetite’s acting up!” Clockwerk released Lorac and shot up to engage Nerehc in a great duel.

“Let’s get you in the castle.” Egeb said as henchmen walked out to grab the weakened kids. They all shrank when they walked within range of Egeb, entering doorways on his shoes. Indeed, his body was a mobile castle, thanks to the Castle-Castle Fruit.

Lorac was obedient in guiding the mafia to her hideout, being held captive in Egeb’s eyes so she could see the path. The others were thrown into a chi-blocked cell, but they would be rescued by Little Aunt, who apologizes for her husband’s actions. Little Aunt is confronted by Atteir, and a battle ensues as the kids begin to ravage the castle, thinking it should do damage to Egeb. Eelyah’s earthbending proves to be very dangerous for the structure. Arorua battles and defeats Slim Jim while Nosam scores a victory over Euro Eoj.

Eventually, Egeb begins to feel a disturbance in his body and forms a “Rook Clone” inside himself. The thieves had done heavy damage to his castle and have even freed Ydnew and Raseac in the process. Egeb is surrounded as Little Aunt approaches her husband.

“Egeb, we have to stop Clockwerk. If he infects the world with hatred, you understand it’ll affect you all too, right?”

“Sweetheart, if we don’t do what he says, he’ll tear us limb from limb. There ain’t no puncturing that armor. They used the most quality metal available to fix him.”

“What if I said there was a way to beat him?” Lorac asked.

“What’re you sayin’, Cotton Hair?”

“My ancestors wrote something on the wall in our hideout. They had nightmares that Clockwerk would return, and they developed a secret technique in case that day ever came. There’s an item I have to retrieve from my hideout, but once I have it, I’m sure I could perform that technique.”

“So what, ya never did it before? How’m I supposed to take your word for that?”

“My friends and I can take it from there, Clockwerk would have no idea! But I’m sure I can do it, and then you’ll never have to worry about him again! Trust me!”

“Let’s give her a chance, Egeb.” Auntie said. “If she can beat him, and our family is rid of Clockwerk… I’ll take you to see our grandson.”

Egeb is hesitant for a moment. “What do you think, Atte?” he asks his daughter.

“…I hope this works.” Atteir replied.

The V-Thieves are taken to the Nosretsam Vault, the Little Dads waiting outside. Their last mission takes them through a special obstacle/puzzle course, putting to use all their abilities. Lorac also must use another special technique: Laser Grinding. Just as her graceful feet could fly across rails, with a more careful concentration of chi, she could slide along lasers, too. They eventually reached the deepest depths of the cave and found the Nosretsam Cane, a rather ordinary-looking wooden, gold-colored cane.

However, upon returning outside, Clockwerk had located them, as if acting on pure instinct. “Ahhh, I haven’t eaten that good in ages.” The owl said as he dropped Nerehc’s sapped body on the ground. “His Dark Chi was like a buffet… so delicious. Now, Lorac… I don’t see my Wonders anywhere, my what a troublesome child. We’ll just have to find them ourselves. Egeb, kill those urchins and start raiding the cavern.”

Egeb pulls a gun and takes aim at the kids. “…FIRE!” He opens his arms, faces up at Clockwerk, and cannonfire is loosed upon the demon. Clockwerk snarls and flaps his wings, throwing them off balance with powerful wind. Talons sharpened, he decides to take the life of Egeb’s daughter first—Little Aunt pushes Atteir out of the way and takes the fatal blow. The family is wrought with despair as Clockwerk flaps up and tosses her away.

“Aliehs, now!” Lorac yells as the Faunus raccoon shoots a Dark Beam straight up at Clockwerk. The owl merely catches the beam in his mouth, swallowing the darkness, but Lorac is using Laser Grinding to fly up to him. Clockwerk shoots a laser from his wing, but Lorac jumps to grind on it, then another laser, then the next one, and once she was in range of Clockwerk, she leaps! With a graceful, midair twirl of the cane, she focuses chi into the hook and reaches it to Clockwerk’s face. There is a glow as the cane seems to phase into him.

Lorac lands in an open field with a distorted sky: Clockwerk’s subconscious. She meets his soul in his original form, a light-brown owl with piercing red eyes. “What sort of trickery have you pulled now?”

“The Art of the Phantom Thief. This forbidden technique, known only to my family, allows me to steal the soul of my target. I will steal your soul and lock it away forever!”

“You will never overcome my hatred!” The final battle ensues as Clockwerk attacks Lorac with pure Malice. Her Cane strikes like that of a sacred blade against the beastly owl. Lorac must make her way to the head and impale her cane as she did before to pull his soul out. She failed the first two attempts, but on the third attempt, Clockwerk struggled desperately to escape.

“No! I am… forever. I am… hatred. I… will live. Nosretsam… you will never be rid of me. …NEVER.”

Everyone gasps when the light suddenly vanishes, and Lorac and Clockwerk begin to fall. As expected, Nosam rushes in to serve as his hero’s cushion, but they are enveloped in the dust from Clockwerk’s impact. The team gathers to look over Lorac’s body, but she wakes up after a moment. They notice her staff is glowing, and Lorac confirms Clockwerk’s soul has been sealed inside it. His mechanical body is just a mass of metal now.

Despite their unfortunate loss, the Little Dads are grateful to Lorac for ridding them of that monster. They decide to let her keep the Healthy Wonders, for now. Lorac returns the Cane to its resting place, and the team leaves the hideout.

“Kind of a shame we never found the Brocco Tree.” Arorua said.

“We can do it later, I’m tired.” Sirhc replied.

“I can’t wait to sleep in my own room again.” Yrrah sighed.

“I can’t believe Nerehc got his ass kicked! Some Demon King you are!” Eirik retorted.

“Less talky, more carry-y to my roomy.” Nerehc ordered, still exhausted on Eelyah’s back.

“So, are you gonna join our sector, Lorac?” Akurah asked.

“Actually, I’m kind of thinking about starting my own sector.”

“Ya are?” Eitra cocked a brow.

“I had a lot of fun working with you guys, but I think master thieving is what I’m best at. You guys have other kinds of missions to worry about, but I think I would like to find and work with other junior thieves!”

“You just don’t wanna be with Nosam.” Aliehs figured.

“I will still support Lorac in my heart!”

“Good, then keep it in there.” Akurah said.

“Well, I think this calls for a celebration!” Arorua cheered. “Let’s go tear up a restaurant and make all the customers leave!”

“YEEEEAAAH!”

“Oh yeah, Nerehc, wasn’t there something coming up?” Sirhc asked.

“Oh, an Apocalypse or something. I think the Positives will take care of it.”

“Good, ’cause I’m adventured out for one month.” Yrrah sighed.

Chapter Text

It’s time to return to the dreadful month of Yam, where our Negatives take part in the adventure of a lifetime!!

So, we already know that the Negatives were tasked into finding the Thirteen Darknesses during the main saga, with certain Negatives getting some screen time. However, a ton of other things transpired within that same timespan, and they’re naturally paralleled with side-plots in the Posiverse. They weren’t relevant to the grander story, and to actually write them out would’ve subtracted from those side-plots. But a little description doesn’t hurt!

The Ellednera Volcano

Though Planet Aicalg was normally a frostbitten planet, there was only one volcano. The first citizens of Ellednera built their kingdom around it, but the volcano was home to a spirit, Heatran, who was enraged at the trespassers and threatened to erupt and melt them all. Heatran was thwarted by Groudon, God of Lava, but he refused to obey the god and was thus destroyed. However, Groudon knew Heatran would reform one day within his volcano, so the god blessed a mortal boy with God Chi, which would be powerful enough to combat Heatran once he was trained enough.

“Ugh, I know why the Negatives had to exist, but still, they just make our job harder.” Groudon complained. “Hopefully, they can take care of their selves with that bit of chi.”

Heatran would reform over and over for centuries, but Groudon’s God Chi would be reborn when the old lavabender passed away, and they continued to protect the kingdom from the volcano’s rage. That was until -300 years ago, when the new lavabender, Anna was born. The poor girl was overwhelmed by the responsibility, especially with how bad she was at lavabending. She made friends with a rather dorky boy named Snah, and throughout their childhood to late teenage years, they always played together and goofed off. One day, she received a heavy scolding from her sister, Asle, for neglecting her training, and Anna was pushed into running away.

It was the worst possible time to throw a fit, because Heatran returned: his wrath brought destruction to Ellednera, killing everyone in molten lava. Even Snah was dead, but Anna was able to protect herself with her lavabending. She ran from the lava’s range, but nothing would erase the guilt in her heart. Overwhelmed with pain and despair, she ran from what used to be her kingdom. She became lost in Aicalg’s snows, and because she had never been cold in her life, she was helpless. Her Lava Chi could not keep her from freezing solid.

In the current time, a kindhearted spirit boy by the name of Leic Spirithive learned of the incident from the former citizens of Ellednera, after they all made it to Spirit World. Anna was nowhere to be seen, so the citizens assumed she was trapped in the Underworld for her selfishness. Leic descended to the Underworld in search of her, but found nothing. Through investigation, he learned that Anna was frozen within the wastes of Aicalg, un-aged, unmoving, but alive.

Leic was able to find Anna’s frozen form. He softly embraced her, and entered her Subconscious. It was soulless, empty, and white, like that of someone who had long given up. “But it really matches my gown!” Leic giggled. “Huh?” He then noticed a tiny presence, miles away. He flapped his angel wings and flew to it, finally meeting Anna. “There you are! C’mon, you’ve been asleep long enough, up and at ‘em!”

Anna didn’t bother to ask why this angel showed up in her dreams. “Go away.” was all she said.

“Is it ‘cause you’re an ice statue? Relax, as long as your mind is still active, you can still bend! Just heat up your Lava Chi and unfreeze yourself.”

“Don’t you think I would’ve done that by now? What’s the point? My people are all dead… because of me. I don’t deserve to live, and I don’t deserve to die either. I just deserve to be alone… forever.”

“Sigh… I feared you might say something like that. So, I brought a friend to be lonely with you!”

“Hello, Anna!” Snah jumped out from behind him, waving goofily.

“S-Snah?!” Anna gasped.

“Anna!” Snah ran up to hug his old friend. “Anna, I’m so sorry… I had no idea you were still alive. Not like… this. Please, Anna, you have to move on. You have to wake up and live.”

“H…How? Nothing can make up for what I’ve done. I don’t deserve to be happy…”

“The only person at fault here are our ancestors!”

“What?”

“Our ancestors should’ve moved out the moment they knew there was an angry volcano spirit. We live in fear of that monster all so we can enjoy a little warmth, that’s the only reason we set up there! You, Anna, and all the other lavabenders were just used to keep our lives of luxury going. But it’s over now. There’s no one to use you and no reason to keep fighting Heatran. But if you feel like you need to make up, then start a new kingdom. Start a better kingdom. But more importantly, just live! WAKE UP AND JUST LIVE!”

Anna began to see logic in his words, that their ancestors truly were foolish, and was filled with anger and passion. She mustered her lavabending for the first time in centuries, completely melting her white Subconscious, and melting the ice encasing her body. Finally warmed up and free, Anna faced the volcano that used to be her home, huffed, and walked away.

Meanwhile, Heatran was ever enjoying the eternal hot spring that was his volcano. “Ahhhhh… 300 years of luxury down… maybe 1,500 more to go. As… it… should be…”

BOOM! The earth rumbled violently. Heatran whipped up in terror: Groudon was towering over him. “Well, I finally decide to check up on this planet… Mind explaining what happened?”

“L-Lord Groudon! Oh, it was terrible! Some ill-behaved girl inherited the Lava Chi, but she went mad and destroyed everything! I have no idea where she went, but hey, I get my volcano back, so… all’s well that ends well?”

“I’ll tell you what ends well!” Groudon squeezed the little spirit like a sponge. “My claw… ON YOUR ASS!”

“W-Wait, you have it all wrong! It wasn’t me, it was Volcanion, he framed me! That bastard ripoff is always trying to—AAAAAAAAHHHH!”

(Not gonna lie, I thought Heatran and Volcanion were the same Pokémon when I wrote this. They’re both inferior to Groudon, so who even cares. XD)

The Anetreug Graffiti Alley

At Nega-Sector W7, Lirpa receives a call from her cousin, Yram, who requests Lirpa to come back to her hometown in need of something. They hang up, and when her friends ask about the call, Lirpa explains that she and her cousin never got along. While Lirpa and her father lived in an average, but nice home, Yram’s side of the family lived in the slums of Meihnessüd, Ynamreg. They were always unhappy and always fighting, with Yram being a favorite target of abuse. With a sigh, Lirpa figures she’ll go see what she wants, and her team decides to go with. Yenmihc, who had rejoined and been demoted to ‘slavegirl,’ was tasked with carrying all their things.

They met with Yram outside a restaurant. She wore a torn green top with an exposed belly, red shorts with black splattered designs, and blue sandals, her blonde hair short and slightly spiked. As soon as she saw Lirpa, she stomped up and PUNCHED her in the jaw with her ringed fingers. “Thanks for showing up at long fuckin’ last.”

Lirpa kicked her in the knee and knocked her over. “You sure haven’t gotten any better.”

“Look who’s talkin’, you never bothered to fuckin’ help me. Surprised you bothered to show up, selfish bitch.”

“Okay, both of you chill out.” Asia stated. “Did you call Lirpa here just to yell at her?”

“Who fuckin’ asked you all to come?”

“I did! I’m the leader and Lirpa’s my teammate.”

“This ain’t any of your business! Lirpa, tell ‘em to leave!”

“Nuh-uh, I need someone to kick your ass in case you’re planning a trap.”

“Fine then, get ready for a mind-blower. Lirpa, I need you to come with me back to the Anetreug Graffiti Alley.”

“The… Graffiti Alley?” Lirpa asked in shock.

“Something you know about?” Sipa asked.

“Oh, so you never told ‘em. Figures.” Yram rolled her eyes. “Well, get ready for a mind-blower.”

Yram dumped the shocking truth about hers and Lirpa’s origin: nearly a hundred years ago, there was a powerful gangster by the name of Ssiew Anetreug, who claimed an entire block’s worth of alleys as his territory and sprayed graffiti everywhere. He was passionate in his graffiti and created several gangster characters, and Yram was his final creation before he was gunned down by one of his enemies. Just before he could die, his own graffiti came to life and sucked Anetreug into a world of his own creation, where he died happily. The graffiti would protect his territory from any trespassers.

Several years ago, a girl named Bi Keewnedlog was running from her abusive parents when she wound up in the Anetreug Alley and was sucked into that world. She found refuge with the Creations and was treated nicely. Unfortunately, Bi was followed by Yrrag, a friend of the parents who enjoyed bullying her. Yrrag chased Bi all around the alley, attacking with fearbending, until Yram ultimately tackled the man and beat him to death.

Of course, she knew of the rule that if a real person died in the Imaginary World, an Imaginary being could become real. Yram offered to become a real person and watch over Bi’s parents to see if they start to miss their daughter or regret their treatment of her, and if they ever changed, she would come back to get Bi, who could otherwise leave whenever she wanted. Bi accepts the offer, though she’s in no hurry to leave this great world. Yram also takes with her a “doll” she crafted out of cans and sticks, her Imaginary Friend Lirpa.

Although Yram hardly treated “Lirpa” like an actual friend and more of a joke to vent rage or throw around, the shabby doll was still able to develop its own conscience and become a real person as well, switching her reality with Anetreug himself. Their memories carried over from that world, but cruel fate decided to make Lirpa taller and older, while reducing Yram’s age. She beat the snot out of her “creator” and stated she’s tired of being garbage. In writing them into reality, fate seemed to make Yram the new daughter of Asor and Nivla, who forgot about Bi, while Lirpa was made the daughter of Onidlag, Nivla’s brother who lived a much better life. It’s no surprise Lirpa would accept her new father and never bat an eye to her hopeless “cousin.”

Yram received the same amount of abuse as Bi did, thus ruining her initial plan, but she accepted her life of torture to spare Bi the same fate. Still, every now and then, she would pay a visit to the alley to see how Bi was doing. On her last visit, she learned that Yrrag’s Nobody had taken over the alley after mastering his fearbending, and even corrupted the Nobody of Anetreug. They had been searching for Bi, who was hiding for her life, as Yrrag could escape if he kills her. “That creep’s turnin’ all the Creations into monsters, I can’t fight them all. That’s why I need you to help fight them. Your job is to help kids, right? So, help me save Bi.”

“Hmph. Fine, but you owe us big.” Lirpa replied.

The Anetreug Graffiti Alley was a bizarre and complex labyrinth filled with the Negatives of Guertena’s creations (have fun sorting those out). The monstrous Creations attacked one after another, but the girls’ teamwork was unstoppable. Yram even found a bond with Yenmihc, both sharing dislike in Lirpa and making fun of the others. “It’s settled, you’re officially joining our team.” Yenmihc did a knuckle touch with her. “We’ll toss Ahcom in the recycle bin.”

“Ahcniea’s more replaceable than me!!” Ahcom whined.

They confronted Yrrag just as he was about to kill Bi. Yrrag sent the corrupted Anetreug and other Creations, proving to be rather powerful with his fearbending. Sipa’s magic was able to overpower Anetreug, but was left with no choice but to destroy the gangster’s spirit. But just as Yrrag was on the brink of defeat, he pulled a gun and shot Yram in the forehead, killing her. Suddenly, Lirpa was fueled by rage, defeating Yrrag with a kick so strong that it smashed his Imaginary skull.

She knelt beside Yram and cried for the girl that created her. Even though she hated Yram, who only created her to abuse her, it was still thanks to her that Lirpa got to experience life and existence. “And now that I think about it… I guess all that abuse she suffered… kind of makes up for how she treated me. Sniff…Yram…”

“Hold on,” Sipa spoke up, “since Yrrag is Imaginary, we can take him out to the real world, and Yram should revive as an Imaginary… right?”

“Yeah!” Yenmihc beamed. “Then we can drag him back in and kill him, so Yram can come back to us!”

“Taking him back in would be cruel.” Lirpa said. “But the first part… yeah. We could revive Yram that way. Then she could come back to live with you, Bi.”

“Actually… Yram’s been telling me what my parents have been doing and… I feel bad. Yram shouldn’t have to suffer in my place. I need to go back and stand up for myself. And for Yram, too.”

“We’ll help you out, too.” Asia said. “And I’m sure we can find a way to bring Yram back to our world.”

Yrrag is taken to Arctic Prison after they escape, and Bi goes to live with Lirpa after the uncomfortable confrontation.

Ikustodam’s Dream Friend

Ikustodam’s story is somewhat similar to her Positive’s: she lost her parents and best friend in a car crash, an incident which devastated her, but she was taken in by her grandparents and was able to carry on her normal life. She was a very cheerful and sociable girl with lots of friends, but around her 13th birthday, she caught a bizarre sickness. She passed out and was taken to a hospital. The doctors couldn’t determine the cause or a solution, but they would keep her alive until she recovered by some means. Ikustodam had only her dreams to wander, but at least they were happy dreams.

“Even if it’s just my dreams, I’ll keep living!” Ikus cheered. “I’m not ready to die, yet!!” She would keep these words in mind until the day she would wake up from her coma. No matter what, she would keep smiling.

As luck would have it, however, Ikustodam was visited by a wandering Bubble Dreamer called Acanom Awot, and the two became good friends. Acanom claimed that she loves and tries to help people, but everyone only shows her scorn and ingratitude in turn. “It’s like my body projects a negative field of despair that makes people hate me.”

“Hey, Acanom, ever hear of reverse psychology?”

“Reverse psy…whatagy?”

“Like, when you do something and you expect people to react one way, but then they react the other way because of something weird. Maybe you’re one of those people, but in… reverse. So, maybe if you tried to do bad things, people would love you.”

“But… how would that work? Like, just thinking about it is so confusing.”

“I don’t know, but try it.” Ikus shrugged with a clueless expression. “Throw an egg at someone’s house and see if they’ll thank you. Break into the principal’s office and fart in the P.A., flick your boogers into someone’s lunch.”

“EWWWWWW! Even if it would make people laugh, it sounds awful!”

“Hehe, those are my only ideas. Either way… you should try seeing if it works for you. You might end up making some friends.”

“Hehe… I guess it’s worth a try. I hope you feel better too, Ikus. I don’t know what’s happened to you, but don’t give up.”

“Definitely!”

Sutsugua the Heir

Sutsugua Saruzzif was still grieving over the loss of his grandmother, who called herself “Little Aunt,” but upon her death, her subordinates in the Black Lotus brought him a letter. In the event she would die before she had a chance to tell him, she revealed the truth of their family, that he was the heir to the Little Dad Mafia, but she did not want him to become Clockwerk’s slave. However, now that Clockwerk was no more, Sutsugua wondered if now was the time to connect with his family. He met his grandfather as Egeb welcomed him with open arms, and his mother, Atteirneh was very happy to see him.

Sutsugua was treated to a delicious dinner with the freshest vegetables. He shared his family’s love for veggies and was quite thankful for the meal. “We got a boy up in Ocixem,” Egeb said, “he makes some of the best produce. Ahh, the soil’s lovely up in there.”

“Is that so?” Sutsu asked. “Perhaps we can go and see it.”

Atteir offered to take her son up to visit the plantation in question; nothing like a mother/son road trip. But mafia officers couldn’t go without bodyguards, so they brought Eiwets, Ollar, and Eiggam. Eiwets ate the Ball-Ball Fruit and could compress and shrink himself to a very bouncy, yet powerful ball. Ollar ate the Book-Book Fruit and could control books, as well as trap opponents inside them (but they can shake free). Eiggam ate the Blast-Blast Fruit: when she is within one inch of someone, she can eject a tiny burst of chi that sends them flying for miles, but she will be KO’ed for five seconds after each use.

The town was Pueblo de Vida, which lied high up in a beautiful mountain with lush plants, and a fresh, diverse farmland around it. The town was run by Mayor Retrac, who was the “boy” Egeb mentioned, and he was the one who revitalized this land and attracted so many people. Sutsugua was delighted by this lush and happy land, where the citizens seemed happy. Meanwhile, Eiwets, being a rather dimwitted, fun-loving man, explored the town by bouncing around in his ball form. “Bouncing bouncing everywhere, like a little ball! I can fit in anywhere because I’m really small.”

He was bouncing around so much that he stumbled upon something he shouldn’t have: he wound up in the sewers and found a secret dungeon underneath City Hall. There was a boy strapped to a machine, various cords sapping him of his energy as it flowed up through the ground. Eiwets returned to Sutsu and Atteir to tell them of his find. Suspicious, the two ask Retrac if they could conduct an inspection, but the mayor turns them down. Sutsu, not accepting that, attacked him with poisonbending, fighting through the building’s guards as he made his way down the basement.

Sutsu was able to find the strange boy, just as Eiwets described. Retrac followed him down and admitted the truth: this boy was Ognajd Zaid, an extremely rare lad who was overabundant with Life Chi. When Retrac discovered his power, he captured the boy and used his chi to bring pure produce to this land. “The same produce that your family loves, that YOU love. I mean, the Little Dads ain’t afraid to break a few heads to get the food they want, right?”

“I dunno how they work, but this ain’t what my grandma taught me.” Sutsugua said strictly. “Fellas… take them down.”

A battle ensued between the Little Sons (as Sutsu’s group would be called) and Retrac’s Valley Club. Eiwets fought Llib, who ate the Slim-Slim Fruit and could become so thin that he was intangible. Ollar fought Elad, an earthbender (paper beats rock, after all). Eiggam fought Reuahmoob, who talked very slow and was very heavy, so much that her Blast-Blast Fruit took more hits than it should have. Atteir fought Knah Llih, who embraces his Saxet heritage proudly and follows the ways of the samurai. His swordplay made him a challenging opponent, but the mother was able to defeat him.

This just left Sutsugua against Retrac, a very strong lightbender who gave Sutsugua quite a beating. Sutsugua ate a pill to enhance his Observation Haki, utilizing this with his gunplay (he shoots gas bullets), and he was able to defeat Retrac. They free Ognajd from his prison, and Sutsugua promises to treat him, using the doctoring skills his grandma taught him. The mafia reveals the truth to the townspeople, who feel awful for living in paradise at the cost of a boy’s freedom, and the town would become abandoned as all the produce died out.

Retrac, the poor man left alone in the dungeon, is killed by his own wife, who frames the mafia for it and takes what was left of his fortune.

Solaria – The Blessing of Victini

At Sector ZR Treehouse, Eel Nosyarg’s request to rejoin his team is met with rejection, his teammates still mad at him for his actions. Eel gives up and goes home, scoffing that they’re nothing without him. Still, the team is afraid to admit their success rate had been faltering and they need a way to get stronger without Eel. Ulul comes up with an answer: she knows of a planet in the Earolf Galaxy called Solaria, where it is always day and surrounded by miniature suns. It is a popular tourist attraction as the planet is filled with stadiums for all kinds of games, where contests happen -7/-24. There is a legend that talks of a spirit called Victini, whom can supposedly bless people with good luck. “Though, the only reason I know about it is because of its giant sunflowers!”

The group figures, why not, and decide to take flight to Solaria, which was easy to locate once they found the Sea of Suns. It was certainly the brightest and most lively planet they’ve ever seen, visitors running around everywhere, though Atawid infers they shouldn’t get distracted and start searching for a way to find this “Victini.” They go to a library, where people are engaged in Reading Races, trying to be the first to finish books. Though they were still and quiet, ZR can feel the tense, heated reading!!

Even Atawid and Ynned couldn’t help but be sucked into the excitement: they grabbed copies of the same book and struggled to be the first to find the desired info. Of course, Atawid won. The book stated that Victini made home at the Day Tower, an extremely tall structure that reaches to the largest sun. Only someone who could climb to the very top would be rewarded Victini’s blessing. There was also a powerful spell around the tower that would prevent ships from landing on it.

The tower was a bright orange with very thin gaps embedded that shaped into various images, like suns, Solarans, or Victini itself. When the team arrived, they were overwhelmed by its seemingly unending height. “You know, I’ve been thinking,” Ynned began, “with a steady exercise routine and healthy diet, we could easily surpass Eel by the time we’re teenagers.”

“These were my opinions preceding our arrival,” Atawid replied, “but given our habitual laziness, it was expected that a regular training regimen would prove too tedious, thus we would seek a quicker, efficient way to enhance our abilities.”

“How is climbing THIS quick and efficient?” Ulul asked.

“Perhaps that is the ultimate moral of this adventure.”

“Ugh… well, that’s exactly why we should climb this thing!” Ennael stated. “The DNK has changed, so we have to change, too! We need to show Eel that we can be WAY better without him! We have to shake off our laziness and climb this thing!”

“Ennael, look how frickin’ tiny those gaps are, this was obviously designed for superhumans!” Ynned argued. “We’re medium humans, if anything!”

“Wait, I know how we can make this easier!” Ulul beamed. “I’ll just wrap a bunch of vines around segments of the tower and keep moving them up as we climb!” The plantbender demonstrated by stretching vines around the first segment.

“That’s perfect! C’mon, team, let’s get climbin’!” Ennael was the first to grab hold and climb, Ulul following. Ynned and Atawid sighed and joined them.

The climb was hours long, the eternal sun beating heavily on their heads. The fact that no time seemed to pass made this climb feel even more tedious and dreadful, ironic as it sounds. And finally… at long long last… they were at the top. There appeared to be an old hillbilly man sitting in a rocking chair, a long beard covering his body. There were large torches around the top, the flames burning different colors. “Weh howdy, pardners. Name’s Nolra. Fancy a cup of rootbeer?”

“Um, no? We came to receive Victini’s blessing.” Ennael answered.

“Well, Shackleford, it’s been an age an’ a half since anyone’s climbed that there tower. Few fellas weren’t so lucky. Every now an’ then I needs ta climb down and check if there’s a corpse.”

The kids gulped. “So, I guess that means we win. Do we have to talk to Victini or something?”

“D’oh, I ain’t even sure if Victini exists. If he does, he sure don’t spend his time ‘round here, hyeh heh.”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE DOESN’T EXIST?!”

“Ch-Chill out, little sheila! I’m jus’ a caretaker. An’ far as I know, this ain’t even the top o’ the tower. The rest of the tower will only reveal itself to one who can ‘Bask in the Rainbow.’ In other words, you gots to stand on that there button. That’ll make all them flames come flyin’ at ya, and you gots to hope you don’t burn alive.”

“Wait… was this test only designed to be done by a firebender?” Atawid asked.

“Eh… makes sense when ya say it. Didn’t even think about it that way.”

“I am NOT getting off this tower empty-handed!” Ennael stated in a fury. “You want me to ‘Bask in the Rainbow’? Well, let me just put my swimsuit on!” With that, she used her metalbending to grab rocks of malleable metal from the Infi-Cube, molding them into a spherical shield around herself. “When I pour my chi into this, it can even withstand Ikus’s lavabending! These fires will be nothing!” She stepped onto the central rainbow fire switch and completely secured herself in the metal.

All the colorful torches aimed at the center and blasted Ennael like flamethrowers. The others had to shield their eyes from the brightness, the air growing drier and the heat stronger. Yet, Nolra seemed completely unphased. “Ghh… Ennael, it’s really hot out here!” Ynned yelled. “You sure you’re okay?!”

“You say something, Ynned?! Don’t worry, it’s holding up!”

“IT’S GETTING WORSE!” Atawid shouted. “DAMMIT, GET OUTTA THERE!”

“Ehg… relax… I can keep holding… AAAAAAGGGHH!” The rainbow flames melted the metal into lava.

“ENNAEL!” Ulul stretched her vines to try and pull her friend out, but the plants burned! Ynned hit baseballs at the torches to try and shift them, but they were firmly rooted. They could only watch in horror as the metal was reduced to a blobbish state. The switch seemed to deactivate and the flames returned to their previous position.

Ennael’s body was completely unrecognizable. Their leader was a charred mess. She was dead. “Th…This is all my fault.” Ulul said. “It was my idea to come here… sh-she’s dead because of me.”

“W-What’re we supposed to do?” Ynned asked. “W-We can’t go back to Earth… we can’t-”

Atawid slapped him. Though she maintained her serious demeanor, she was struggling to retain the tears. “This was a terrible mistake… that we have to live with. All we can do is admit our mistake to Nerehc… a-and Eel… and let the consequences come.”

“Um… well…” Nolra hesitated to speak. “I’ll get the service elevator… for you fellas…”

They returned home and told Eel the truth about what happened, and he went with them to hear Nerehc’s reaction. They had no emotions to show and could only bow their heads in shame. “Sigh… Sector ZR, Eel is rejoining your team. Don’t hold anything over him. But you’ll probably want some time off to collect yourselves. Anyway… I’ll arrange for a funeral. (Assuming Medusa has no plans for me.)”

Other minor side-plots

Ylime of the Apes – When Ylime Yelrag’s parents take her to the zoo, she accidentally gets into the monkey cage and finds an affinity with its bizarre apes. She became best friends with an ape named Retceps, and they would eventually escape the zoo and form their own DNK sector.

Trepur the Hsinim Trainer – Trepur Noskcid becomes friends with the Hsinim and teaches the little guys martial arts, so they may be able to combat bigger people. They also got really into Yensid songs.

Arohpsohp the Weatherwoman – Arohpsohp is a passionate, but professional Nimbi from Akrib, a Sky Island where weather and season is continuously changing. She became a dedicated weather scientist whose primary interest was weather spirits, and she loved to investigate regions where said spirits held an influence. She even knows the legend of a very powerful weather spirit called Skaios and dreams of finding him. Arohpsohp is an airbender because she was born on a windy day in Akrib (the weather in Akrib can decide a Nimbi’s element upon birth).

Great Space Hero, Ruhtra Justice – Mr. Justice is a famous superhero from the Analos Galaxy, known for battling a genius and diabolical supervillain, Commodore Krawq. Yddam Yhprum had always been a big fan of this hero and dreamed of meeting him. Unfortunately, Mr. Justice was killed by an alien pterodactyl named Yeldir, who served the Meta-Beast Pirates, a Yonko crew.

(Play “The Voice Someone Calls” from Persona 3!)

The World Anarchists

The World Anarchists are a criminal organization who believe in the “End of Days.” They have long believed the Apocalypse would arrive one day and rejoice as the God of Death whisked them away to a new world.

Their Supreme Leader is The Pope, Werdna Nosnhoj, who wears a black priest uniform and speaks in a mildly gloomy demeanor. His family had headed the Anarchists for generations, though his little brother, Ydnas discarded his family name and fled from their insane tradition. There are five Apostles under him:

Enhpad Nosredna is a firebender of the black flames, Amaterasu, of which very few things are able to douse and they can completely incinerate anything. Her skin had a mild tan and she wore a Hawaiian shirt with shorts and sandals, along with a spunky personality (basically, Sheila and Daphne’s Negatives swapped characteristics). She hailed from the peaceful Dawn Town, a town with stone and brick buildings, paved roads, and an eternal dawn sky. It was mostly composed of firebenders who bent white flames. The citizens lived in peace until a single little girl went mad with her firebending and burned everything, killing many. Enhpad felt no remorse in her actions and purely enjoyed seeing everything turned to ash, and so she was banished and imprisoned. Her love for arson would cause her white chi to turn black.

Sacul Lekcin is a very goofy and dimwitted man who behaves like Ed. He wears a white top and red shorts, and he’s one of the most foul-smelling poisonbenders in the world. As a kid, he would throw Gas Bombs everywhere and soil his neighborhood, and as an adult, he became capable of launching Gas Nukes or Missiles, which can pollute entire cities in minutes.

Yrneh Llihcruhc was the only poor boy who lived in a rich town. His family were “servants” to the Snekciw Family, where he mostly served as a “playmate” to the youngest daughter, Latsyrc, who was born a witch and practiced magic on Yrneh. Regardless, Yrneh loved playing with Latsyrc and was like a second brother to her. However, Yrneh was a psychicbender, and he secretly controlled Latsyrc using mind-tricks, convincing her to play pranks on other rich kids who bullied him via her magical talent. As he grew older, he used his psychic to convince other kids and even adults to do bad things. They would all suffer consequences while Yrneh got away scot-free.

Suilef Egdirbmu grew up a punk girl on the streets of Nodnol, who would use her earthbending to thwart those nasty police from catching criminals. She loved to listen to booming loud rock music, and her wild dancing would literally shake the town with Earthquakes, demolishing many homes. Even as an elder, she held on to her youth and continued to rock towns.

Refinnej Hsub was the rogue ghost of a little girl who loved demons, and to fulfill her desire to be with demons, she killed her own family and then herself. Her soul corrupted with darkness, she flew around turning other departed spirits into Hollows.

Sometime after the Great Veggie Heist, the five Apostles climbed to the top of Tartarus, a 300-floor tower of dark spirits that served as their home. Pope Werdna stood at the top of a pillar under a dark moon. “My brethren… the heathen gods have spoken to me. Queen Medusa, Lord Thanatos, and Lady Pandora have decreed the End of Days is here. Our time has come to do away with this wretched world.”

“Then let’s hop to it, ya young farts!” Suilef fist-palmed, her wrinkly face smirking viciously. “The first place I’m burying is Asorsserd, those boring-butt babies!”

“Hey, can I burn down the DNK treehouses?!” Enhpad asked. “I’ve seriously been aching to turn them black and flamey!”

“My flames kind of look like trees, huhu.” Sacul grinned goofily.

“Too bad we don’t got the DNKG to help us no more.” Ynnej said, the ghost twisting a finger in her ear in a nonchalant fashion. “But I guess we can still go up to get Aitnemid.”

“She’s in jail on some alien planet! Ain’t my problem.” Yrneh remarked. “Still, that gives me an idea. Whaddya say we get back at the prick who screwed up Aitnemid’s plan -20 years ago?”

“So be it.” The Pope agreed. “The first town to honor the End of Days will be Dnalevelc.”

Fortunately, the Order of the Black Lotus caught on to their scheme, so on the day that the World Anarchists invaded the town, the Black Lotus did everything they could to protect the citizens (unfortunately, Sector -V was attending a wedding on Moonbase). There was a mass evacuation, in which Ikuk pressured her husband, Legin to “HURRY UP, I don’t wanna get wrecked by those freaks!” Alas, Legin reminds her that he grew out of his cowardice a long time ago, and shares a kiss with his wife before going to fight the Anarchists.

Legin confronts The Pope, shouting, “H-Hey! Werdna! Y-You remember me… don’t you?!” His attempt to sound brave was hilarious.

“Ah, Legin Onu… of course. You’re the very man I was dying to see. The so-called hero who foiled Aitnemid’s Elders of the End. You were an odd one. In Arctic Training, you were bursting with confidence. Only when you got to the field were you seen for the coward you are.”

“Th-That was no thanks to you! You were a far worse leader than Lehcar; all she made us do was serve the adults, but you ordered us to hurt people and destroy towns! You were a madman, and from what Eirik told me, your son was no better!”

“Argh… curse Nerehc for crippling Marba. I was hoping to take revenge on him, but it seems Queen Medusa had a ‘special’ ritual for him. Not that it matters, I suppose. Marba and everyone will die in the Apocalypse. My mission is merely to end the wretched fools who would dare defy The End. That includes you.” The Pope brimmed with a black aura: it was Death Chi. “Your legend ends today, Legin.” He sent a wave of pure Death and erased Legin from the Mortal World… or so he thought.

To his astonishment, Legin congested some of the Death into a sphere and sent it back at Werdna as a beam, The Pope defending himself. “So, it’s true. You did harness the power of Death.”

“Yes… and this will be the last time I ever use it.” There were no other people in town, and the Apostles stayed far away to let the battle of deathbending play out. Legin created a black skeletal dragon of his chi to try and snap Werdna in its teeth, but The Pope was a strong and capable fighter. Dozens of buildings were reduced to ash, and at the battle’s end, Legin and Werdna channeled all the chi to their fists and made impact. A great sphere of Death exploded from where they stood.

Both men lay on the ground… but only one was alive. Ynnej flew up to confirm Legin’s death, but Werdna was unable to get up. With his last attack, Legin was able to “cripple” Werdna, killing his arms and legs. “I believe Legin intended to end me completely… but it seems this is where my journey ends. My Apostles… I will not be able to join you for this final cleansing. Destroy all in your path…”

They took The Pope back to Tartarus, and the Apostles would do as told. They wrought destruction upon many towns, including Gohauq, Ellivhsan, or Arukarak; specifically, towns protected by DNK sectors. The DNK struggled with what to do about them, since they were already busy with the Thirteen Darkness Quest, plus other missions. Of course, the Apostles weren’t their only threats. Beneath them were the Chaos Cardinals, the strongest of which was Semaj DleifragCm.

Semaj was sent to attack Notgnihsaw, where the royal castle of Acirema stood. Semaj ate the Paw-Paw Fruit, which makes paw-pads appear on his hands, and they are able to deflect targets with terrific force. He can easily demolish buildings, send people across the planet, and even congest massive bubbles of air into tiny, but powerful bombs. Several DNK sectors were dispatched to Notgnihsaw to fight his underlings, finding aid from the Black Lotus. Sectors -SA, -JP, -V, and -W participated in the battle, but the one to confront Semaj was Ydnew Llevram.

With her spacebending, Ydnew could easily warp back to the field if Semaj were to “banish” her with his Paw power, and because his power mainly relied on bouncing air, he couldn’t bounce away her Space Chi. Semaj could touch himself with his pads and “warp” himself, using this technique to confuse Ydnew and try to get beside her for direct attacks. Starbursts and Paw Bombs were thrown every direction, and after a lengthy battle, Semaj was on the verge of defeat.

Unfortunately, Ydnew exhausted herself and passed out first, so Semaj would use what was left of his strength to finish her. He used his power to bend his own pain into a Paw Bubble, going to move it into Ydnew to destroy her from the inside out. However, her father, Itaav finally arrived and pushed him into his own bubble, causing Semaj to suffer double his own pain, his organs to rip apart, and for the Cardinal to die.

The Black Lotus thank the DNK for their aid in this battle, but Arorua claims they won’t be satisfied until they can defeat the Anarchists. Itaav claims that facing the Anarchists would be much too dangerous, but if they insist on getting stronger, he recommends them to a group of martial artists who may be willing to teach them. They call their selves Power Christeners Nega-Tenfold (PC-10). These people lived in a Chinese-style tower within a calm mountain. Their info was passed around to several operatives, all of whom debated on who to train with.

First, there was Bor Iccul, the weakest member and a modest intellectual. Though he always shirked away from violence as a youth, he grew to understand the beauty of martial arts as a means of growing more in tune with one’s chi. He found a kinship with Yddam and Sirhc and began to train them.

Bob the Destroyer was a rather loud and excitable Legoan who loved to pinpoint the weak points of structures in order to destroy them. He took in Eelyah and Eitra to help them hone their physical abilities and how to pinpoint enemy weak spots.

Einre the Mobian Chicken is a pacifist who practices evasion and soft attacks to wear his opponents down and defeat them. He agreed to train Ynohtna and Ahcom.

Eilsel Rejiem is a rather disorganized woman with a very messy floor (they each run their own floor), along with a rather wild fighting style. She specializes in being unpredictable and learning to predict patterns in enemies. She teaches her skills to Hcaz and Ycrad (though he’s not very fond of working with her).

Nagem Rekrap is a girl who enjoys doing kind deeds for people and making life easier. She trains Atnij and Asigan on the art of empowering people, through use of either words or massages. Nagem brings in a bunch of glum, upset people for them to perfect their skills.

Lemon Yekcir specializes in whipping lazy people into shape, providing them with energy drinks. He takes in Aliehs and Yenmihc to help get their blood pumping and be more motivated to help their teammates.

On the highest floor was Niwdle. Though he was a teenager, he was the strongest member and only accepted whom he deemed the strongest fighters. He sensed potential in Lirpa, Nosam, Ikuyim, and Ibyf, training them to unlock their full potential. They trained for days under these masters, gaining ever more confidence in their abilities, but it was forced to come to an end when a certain incident transpired.

Sipa was crying as she sent the report that Nerehc died because of Medusa’s plan. The DNK were furious, yet felt more determined than ever to continue his legacy. Since they could do nothing about Medusa for the time being, they decided to at least bring down the World Anarchists and protect the world he so cherished. The many sectors ventured up Tartarus (including Ylime’s new monkey friends), fighting round after round of monsters for 300 floors. Their skills were put to the test, relying on ability and teamwork to ascend to the goal. Once they were entering the final floors, the World Anarchists confronted them.

Eirik Seltaeb was horrified to see her own mother lying at Enhpad’s feet. Enhpad claims that Ikuk tried to climb the tower and fight them alongside some Black Lotus, and it cost her life. Arorua restrains an emotional Eirik, telling her to, “Leave it to the waterbenders to knock her out. Afterwards, you can tear up her unconscious body.” Eirik glares at her leader, but nods at the offer.

The three best waterbenders, Nosam, Annaira, and Asigan were the best match for the firebender, but Enhpad’s Amaterasu flames were even capable of drying their water like it was nothing. They had to keep their water from being burned and land direct attacks against her, but it grew quite annoying when she spread her black flames around the room. Worse was if Enhpad was able to land a drop of fire on one of their bodies. This fear came true when the top middle of Asigan’s hair caught fire, but she immediately shaved that part off with a Water Slice, leaving a trench within her pretty hair, but it was worth it.

Annaira put her bloodbending to use, too: she could only control Enhpad for a few seconds, due to the latter’s stronger Power Level, but within this time, she could force Enhpad to dispel some Amaterasu. When a small flame landed on Nosam’s cheek, Anna took control of her and made her take it back. Furthermore, if Enhpad fell into her own flames, she would have to dispel them lest she burn alive herself, so the flames around the room were as much inconvenience to her if they could knock her into them. The flames caused them to sweat terribly, but upon realizing this, the waterbenders pulled the sweat off Enhpad’s body, dehydrating her faster. It was a grueling battle, but the waterbenders were victorious, and the flames disappeared.

Ikuyim, Eitra, and Eelyah teamed up against Suilef, able to stay firm on their feet as her earthbending quaked the whole tower (something she had been doing this whole journey). Whilst both parties hurdled rocks at one-another, Eelyah noticed the odd, bent shape of Suilef’s left middle toe. Eitra threw a hamster at the toe to bite it, weakening the elder enough for the benders to score a couple hits. Suilef bent a stone shoe over her foot to protect that weak spot. Eitra then noticed a weakness in her neck, that Suilef could make a full left turn, but only slightly turn it right. Ikuyim flew a crystal around to bash Suilef’s head from the left side and force it right, hurting her old neck.

Suilef put a stone collar over her neck for protection, though as the battle drew on, she began to slow down. It was then Eelyah motioned her friends to get away: during the battle, she had been attacking weak points in the structure, causing not only for the ceiling to cave in and crush Suilef, but for the floor to fall as well. The elder was still alive, but too weak to go on.

Sacul Lekcin was challenged by Yenmihc, Akurah, and Asia. Whenever he would shoot his powerful Gas Bombs, the poisonbenders would try to catch and throw them back. Sacul would shoot bombs out of the room and across the world, intending to poison a town, so Asia would quickly fly after it and use airbending to stop the bombs. She could also disperse the gas molecules with her new Sanitize ability. After the poisonbenders dealt enough damage to Sacul, the goofy man used Gas Rocket to fly outside the room and attack them from the air, but Yenmihc had learned to create puffy, semi-solid smoke clouds that she and Akurah could walk on, chasing Sacul across the air.

The hundreds-foot drop was terrifying, but Yenmihc kept them elevated by moving their cloud foothold as necessary. Asia made sure to stay by them as well: she would try to disperse the filthy air around Sacul while her friends used their own Poison Chi to give him a more pleasant, minty smell. The scent became so strong that it was causing Sacul’s eyes to water and his mind to cloud. His head wobbled and his grinning mouth was jagged. “Huhuhu… I just remembered the day I was born. I almost did a Backwards Boom-Boom and destroyed the whole hospital with my organs. I think it went something like this, huhu…”

Sacul willed all the gas in his bowels to expand, causing his body to inflate as he dropped like an atomic bomb. Asia felt a suicide attack incoming, one that could potentially melt the base of the tower. The Nimbi shot down with full speed and grabbed Sacul, flying higher and farther away from the tower. Her teammates cried for her in concern, but Asia was resolved. Once she was far enough away, the Nimbi spun and threw Sacul the best she could, immediately flying away from the tremendous Gasplosion. It resembled a cloudy green sun, the force of the explosion blowing Asia forward. Yenmihc caught Asia on a smog cloud and carried her to the tower.

“YOU RULE, Asia!” Sipa cheered.

“No, I reek! Someone find me the bathroom, please!”

Yrneh was encountered by Ylime, Ycrad, and Hcaz. Using his psychic, Yrneh was able to “persuade” Hcaz to his side and make him fight his teammates. Although Hcaz knew he was being controlled, his thoughts not his own, he was unable to tell himself otherwise, attacking the girls against his will. “What are ya DOIN’, ya smarty?!”

He heard a voice that sounded like his own, yet it was not. “Who are you? Who’s there?!”

“I am the ‘you’ that exists inside your head. The Fool longing to burst out of the clown car.”

“Wait a minute… you couldn’t be… my idiot Positive?!”

“You’ve been to THAT world, haven’t you, Hcaz? The realm from which our insanity originates. Man, I’m seriously jealous of you!! So, what the heck?! Why aren’t you doing anything?!”

“His power is too strong! His logic is overpowering my own!”

“Then throw that dumb logic away! Let it out, Hcaz! Let out The Fool that dwells within you! Show these Anarchists what real ‘chaos’ is…”

With no other choice, Hcaz gives in to his inner voice and discards his own logic, leaving Yrneh unable to command him. He instructed his incompetent teammates carefully: they ran off and brought back an ice cream truck, intending to run Yrneh over. The man was curious how it got in here, but could easily stop it with a psychic barrier—the truck crashed and exploded into Spongebob Ice Cream, completely covering the barrier and giggling loudly at Yrneh. Yrneh burst the shield to force them away, but then learned his room was redecorated into a fire hydrant factory.

Ylime came to ask if he was looking for a job, to which Yrneh was confused. She came to introduce him to the manager—a giant German shepherd stabbed Yrneh with a bone-shaped nametag and pulled a cord, dropping a pile of dog food on him. Apparently, he was ordered to serve food in the mess hall, though the hordes of puppy employees were already swarming and devouring the pile. Yrneh broke free and decided to combat Hcaz’s bizarre technique, creating a top which he used to unscrew Hcaz and Ylime’s heads and make Catdogs come out to beat them with fish. However, Ycrad combatted this by making a “Bottom,” a top that spun on its bulbous bottom and rumbled the room so intensely that it became a movie projector. It featured a foreign film about some woman looking for her friendship bracelet, and she jumped out to beat up Yrneh when she thought he took it.

The battle went on for several more moves until both Yrneh and Hcaz passed out from mental exhaust. Lastly, Refinnej was encountered by Lirpa, Nollid, and Amadok. The latter used her Ghost Whispering to soothe the hearts of the dark spirits Ynnej had corrupted. Lirpa chased Ynnej around with superior speed and threw kicks at the ghost, and while Ynnej was down, Nollid would use magic and attempt to seal her inside a little doll. Ynnej would keep resisting Nollid’s magic, but with Lirpa continuing to dodge her attacks and kick her, Ynnej was eventually able to subdue and possess the athlete.

Using Lirpa’s strength to her advantage, Ynnej ran to kick Amadok in the throat, making her voice hoarse and for dark spirits to swarm her. Nollid cast magic at the spirits to protect her, while also trying to hit Lirpa. Luckily, the girl’s strong will was able to force Ynnej out of her, and with a few more strong kicks, Ynnej felt her soul wavering. “Spiritus Eram Concludens in Carcerem!” Nollid cast his spell once more and was finally able to suck Ynnej into the doll’s body.

The doll quickly sprung to life and jumped to Nollid’s face, trying to choke him, but he yanked her off and threw her on the floor. Ynnej cowered when Lirpa threatened to step on her, but Nollid stopped her, saying she could escape if the doll was destroyed. Amadok seized the doll and tied her to her kimono via the sash. “Don’t worry, Ynnej. I won’t give up until I exorcise that darkness in your soul.” The doll merely squirmed, hating the pleasant sound of Amadok’s voice and desperate to be free.

With the Apostles defeated, the remaining DNK who could still fight reached the top of the tower. “Oh, dear. It seems Pope Werdna has already gone~” said a girl riddled with stitches.

“RAGUS!” Arorua drew her sword, recognizing her.

“Fufufufu! Lady Medusa has already taken him away. Not that you should worry; I mean, his limbs were already dead, and he had no way to harness his chi. But if you’d still like a battle, I’d be more than happy to-”

Retceps, Ylime’s lead monkey, jumped the girl, sensing danger, but Ragus was able to evade and stab him in the brain with a sewing needle. Sirhc bowled her over with the Armordillo during this distraction, and Arorua proceeded to bash her unconscious with the hilt of her sword. The apes and Ylime wept for Retceps and gave him a proper burial.

But with the arrest of Ragus and the Apostles, and with the Black Lotus busting any other followers around the world, it seemed that the World Anarchists were at an end. Of course, the stragglers of the Anarchists refused to go down without taking a few with them, so the lives of Aleakim and Ynnaf were claimed.

Yet, despair weighed in the DNK’s hearts over the loss of their leader, and grew ever more worried on what hardships were to come from the “End of Days.”

Meanwhile, The Pope had been brought by Medusa’s faction to the King Dutchman. “So, this is the fella you told me about.” Bill Cipher said. “‘Guess that means Andrew is still alive. Ah well.”

“I don’t know who you are… but you’ll have no use for me.” The Pope said. “I am practically dead.”

“Slow down, slugger. Since Medusa went to the trouble of bringing you, I’m sure we can find some use. I mean, in a world of endless universes, we’re bound to find some way to repair those limbs! And I got just the job for you, too. See, I have an inkling those brats are gonna escape the Apocalypse and keep being a nuisance to us, and those Negatives are gonna be double trouble for us. I wanna fix up a side-faction to take care of them when the time comes, and I reckon you’ll make a decent leader.”

“If you so desire, then please lend me whatever aid you can. Those who defy the End of Days must perish.”

Matters of the Heart

This segment was written by Sarstar98, and is the Negaverse parallel to her Turning Point comic. The characters Torrelasell and Cellensriolle belong to her.

Underworld Prison

Every other day, this prison was filled with the most vile and chaotic souls that had ever walked the world of the living before being cast down, but today, the wailings of these spirits would be silenced by a unique event that would shake the very foundations of both the living and the dead.

But that event wouldn’t be happening just yet. This story involves the woes and tragedy of a once great and powerful ruler, now temporarily imprisoned for an ongoing soul-extraction. A lightly-tan-skinned girl with black and white hair seated in a cell, nothing to do except to reflect and remorse over the events that led her to this point.

How could things have turned out this way? The Negaverse needed a god to save it and I had every right to be that savior. Why could they not see it, the glorious world I would’ve built for them? A goal I had worked tirelessly towards since Mother had bestowed it onto me.

These were the thoughts that had been swirling within her mind ever since her defeat not too long ago. Over and over, she’d scrutinized them, wondering how she’d failed when she worked so hard. Yet, as she pondered so strongly, she then wondered about other things.

Why did I lose against him? Was it because of his resolve, his passion to save his friends? Could I have prevailed if I show as much emotion? …Why did Mother have mine taken?

Without much else to do, she followed this train of thought. As she did, she began to realize aspects of her herself that she never bothered thinking about.

If mother wanted me to pursue this mission, why take my emotions? Wouldn’t my own passion drive me? Instead of just following along like… some…!

At that notion, the girl felt something, as next to impossible as it was, a deep hint of anguish.

They didn’t want me to keep my focus, they just wanted to keep me in line. Like some robot to do their bidding, unfeeling and subservient like a puppet for their own goals. All this for the mission… no… her mission.

Like a dam bursting open, the truth flooded her mind like the cascade it was. But being unable to emote it, to even shed a tear in her pain, she could only hang on in the torrent, these unreleased feelings condensing into a dense ball.

Silent and unmoving, that was how Aluben remained. Unresponsive to the occasional ruckus of the other prisoners, passive towards the outroar of intruders that seemed to be heading for the lower floors, unfeeling when a sudden breakout had sprung everyone loose.

“Well, what do we have here?”

A smooth and regal voice had spoken in front of her, barely even lifting her head to see who it was. All she could think about was to be left alone in her static position.

“It’s rude to ignore someone when they’re talking to you.”

The voice this time was much sterner in its tone, hinting at giving out punishment should she remain inert. Saving herself the unnecessary trouble, Aluben looked up to see her new visitor, or visitors.

“That’s much better.” The voice from before had belonged to a rather distinguished lady who wore a black and yellow kimono that had a similarly-colored medal attached to her sash. Her hair was also colored in the same way with ornaments and a pair of horns as well.

“You know it’ll be much more effective if you’d just bash her around a bit if you want her to really pay attention. Actions do speak louder than words.” Her companion was as tall as she was, but wore a black uniform with gold accents and purple fur lining it. Her hair looked like it started out black but turned a striking purple color the longer it grew and was tied close to the bottom of her long hair. She also had horns that followed her color scheme, but was much sharper than the other one’s.

“More like the actions of the unruly, especially for first impressions.” The first lady said to the purple one. She then turned toward the imprisoned girl. “Speaking of which, introductions must be given before we settle down for anything. My name is Cellensriole Parnisvitruo, Blood Knight to the Devil of Destruction, and my fellow demon is Torrelasell Subtardosis, Blood Knight to the Devil of Trauma.”

“Hmm… Aluben. What do you want?” Aluben asked the two, wishing that they’d just leave her to her thoughts. She would have given her last name, but currently, her view on her family was not in a very favorable position.

“Why, to give you a chance at revenge. We’ve heard about you on our little grapevine and thought about giving you a helping hand.” Cellensriole replied while Torrelasell silently stared at the girl.

“Interesting offer… but what do you get out of it?” Aluben responded with suspicion in her eyes.

“Just another ally in our ranks, and not just any bender, but one that can control bones.”

“…What exactly have you heard about me?”

“Oh, just about a rather powerful individual that almost single-handedly conquered an entire universe, one that let nothing stand in her way of domination all for the sake of maintaining order and stability for her fellow denizens. But unfortunately, she was struck down by an unruly bunch of troublemakers that denied her generosity.”

“…” Aluben silently listened. It seemed this stranger knew her history… or at least, the basics of it.

“After hearing of her imprisonment, we decided to give her the opportunity of resuming her rightful place as the goddess she was meant to be. In exchange, we only wish that you would extend your power to us as well, our side understands your position and we can even find common ground in joining forces together.”

“…And how would I gain back my power? The Grim Reaper has already started funneling the spirits out from the Tree of Ending, and even with my power, I was still bested by Nerehc.” Not that she’d even want to do it, only playing along to see where this was going.

“Well, we won’t just stop at freeing you, what we offer is the opportunity to become a Familiar.”

“What’s that?”

“A being far more powerful than your average mortal. For one, you’d be very difficult to kill and would be able to last longer in terms of stamina. You’d also be given a unique set of powers alongside your current ones that would make dealing with your enemies that much easier. All-in-all, you’d be more than you ever were, and once you’ve gained your godly powers again, well you’d be unstoppable. To have that, all you need to do is take a little drink of ours.”

“…But that’s not all, is there? Every positive has its negatives. Just drinking something sounds little of a cost to be true.”

Cellens sighed. “I should’ve expected a Negative to only focus on the down sides. Well then-”

“Hold it!” Torrelasell cut in. “This one has a problem with transparency, after really giving her a good look, I can actually see it. She’s been through a bit of suffering, something deep and personal. Something that’s left her empty.”

At this statement, Aluben quickly straightened herself. This lady almost seemed to peer into her soul.

“Yes, definitely surfacing from some kind of deception or manipulation. All those memories must be building up a kind of defense for you.” The purple one’s eyes glinted with power, as if she were a microscope and Aluben the spec on the specimen end. But before she could go further, she pulled back.

“I’ll leave that here for now, not a lot of time if you get it what I mean.” She nodded towards Cellensriole.

“Is that so? Then let’s get to it. The price you’d have to pay would be to drink one of our Devils’ blood, therefore vowing us your eternal loyalty. You’d still get to do whatever you want, so long as it aligns with our interests.” The yellow one gave a look of annoyance at the change in pace.

“…No.”

Cellens blinked at the simple response. “Pardon?”

“This deal of yours is in fact very disadvantageous to me.”

“How?! It’s not like we’re brainwashing you or anything, you still get to do whatever the f**k you want to do, just with some added layers on top and that’s hardly a problem since we both share the same goals.” Torrelasell fumed at the girl.

“But that’s just it, we don’t share them. If you’d look at a little more than just my past, you’d know that it was my mother that gave me this goal, I was merely the conduit to carry it out. There was never any passion from me, only orders and false pretenses.”

“…Cellens let’s go. It looks like her mind’s all made up.”

Cellensriole looked at her companion. “What a waste of time, and to think something grand could have come from it.” She then turned around to leave.

Torrelasell began to follow her, but before she walked any further, she thrust her hand through the cell gaps, finding her mark on Aluben’s chest. The child could do no more than to spectate as the woman twisted and turned her hand, seeming to collect and latch on to something before pulling out a gray, wispy, ink-like substance.

Nothing happened at first, but then she could feel something. Like an egg hatching, her pent up emotions rushed forth. Feelings of sadness at her plight, of surprise at what happened, and of hate for her mother. All of them filling her head and shaking her to her very core. For the first time and a very long while, she could feel her tears pouring out.

“AAAHHHH!!!” Aluben let out a cry from being so overwhelmed, shortly before collapsing from the shock of it all.

Meanwhile Torrelasell happily sealed up the substance from before into a small flask. Cellensriole shook her head in slight disapproval. “Did you really have to reap her like that?”

“I just got annoyed is all, that zombie look on her face really ticked me off. Besides, at least we got something out of this after all, one bottle of emotionbending scars ready for use.” she declared as she held the bottle in her hands.

Cellensriole merely raised her brow as the two left the prison, leaving none to witness them and none to care for the poor child.

Aixalag, Planet Noreciv (a few years later)

Silence. That was all that was given by Aluben since her transfer from the Underworld to her current holdings in Galactic Juvy. There were other children here, but none from her former organization. Her former operatives had all been taken in by Nerehc and his friends, just another reminder of his better disposition than her.

At first, her arrival had been held with the upmost security, her hands bounded tightly with chi blocks and every weapon of every guard heavily trained on her head. But not even a word was given as she was led to her cell where she stayed to this day. Little by little, the leash of security was loosened as all that was seen of the girl was a broken person rather than a dangerous prisoner, now with nothing but the occasional visit of the wardens or the mulling of gossip from the guards.

But one particular thread had caught her attention, a brief mention about the ongoing sentence of two criminals within their home. Just a harmless bit of information for her newest and only guard, a bit of a poke at poor parenting before the guard was left to his duties.

If only that was all it was…

As soon as she understood who they were referring to, she felt it: a spark of anger that ignited an unquenchable thirst for revenge. Revenge on her.

Quickly taking advantage of the moment, she reached through the bars and wrapped her hands tightly around the guard’s neck before slamming the back of it hard against the bars with a drive of desperation. The guard then collapsed in a heap, his key quickly taken to unlock her cuffs and the door. The alarms were blaring as she made her way to the entrance. All the guards tried their best to subdue her with stun batons.

All of them failed.

Bones were torn from their owners and sent back towards them ’til they were nothing but pincushions, bodies bent like pretzels, all culminating in nothing but carnage. Even the wardens were helpless as Aluben merely knocked them against each other before tossing them behind her.

However, as Aluben was closing in on the door, a large metal bar had priced the side of the doorframe and stopped her from proceeding further. It seemed Agatha Trunchbull had recovered quickly and began pelting the bars that she had wrenched free from any empty cells, each bar like a javelin throw in order to pin the former dictator in place.

“I won’t have some unruly URCHIN leaving my prison so EASILY!!” Trunchbull yelled as she began launching the cell bars at missile speed, soon making her way a few levels up so she could have a better height advantage.

Aluben dodged the many projectiles and tried to will her control over the warden’s bones, but this was stopped as Trunchbull had placed multiple chi-block tapes on her body to prevent herself from being tossed around again. Instead, Aluben could only continue evading her attacks whilst trying to find another way out. “That’s right!! Run like the worthless INSECT you brats really are!” the warden bellowed.

It was at that moment that her Negative, Llubhcnurt made her way to the door to allow more guards to enter and attempt to seize the monochrome-haired child. Unfortunately for the staff, this was what Aluben had needed as she willed the guards and used them as her own weapons in throwing them against Trunchbull. The monstrous warden soon found herself having to swat away their bodies to the side, each block preventing her from throwing anymore objects in favor of defense. Aluben used this opportunity to climb up to Trunchbull’s level in order to get closer to her. She also grabbed a stun baton from one of the guards that the warden had knocked aside.

Just as Aluben had gotten closer, Trunchbull used her own fists to try punching the child into submission, but only managed to break holes into the floor. Swiftly squeezing through any opening that she could find around the large woman as the latter punched after her, Aluben then made her way up to bash the warden with the stun baton. The rod hit the woman right in the torso.

“AAAARRGH!” Trunchbull cried out over the shock and proceeded to fall forward in a slumped position.

“Aaah!” Aluben let out as two arms grabbed her from behind. Llubhcnurt had managed to sneak up behind her and surprise the child. The girl tried to bend her way out of her grip, but it seemed the second warden had her own chi-blocks attached to herself after following her Positive.

“Now dear, let’s just stop all this unnecessary rough-housing. We’re only trying to help you!” Llubhcnurt tried soothing the squirming girl.

“What do you know about help? It’s not like you do anything for anyone in this stupid prison!” Aluben angrily yelled at her.

“Oh that’s not true, we’re helping you by bringing back the smiles and happiness into your lives so that you may one day go out into the world a better person.” Llubhcnurt reasoned with her.

“I’d hardly call that helping, if you really wanted to help, then why didn’t you help me before I was turned into the way I am? Why do you have to wait until a person is broken before you start cleaning up someone else’s mess!” Aluben slowly became more subdued.

“W-well, that’s-”

Suddenly, Aluben whipped her head backwards into Llubhcnurt’s face as the latter unintentionally released her hold on the child. Aluben then ran behind her and gave a great push for her to fall onto the stunned Trunchbull. The force of the fall plus the weight and weakening of the floor caused the two wardens to break through the bottom. Their fall consequently bashed through the levels until they crashed at the bottom, both women well and truly knocked out.

Aluben quickly ran towards the door and made her way out of the prison, then she stole the nearest ship before any further backup could arrive. She couldn’t let herself get caught, not until she could finish things.

Ztar Hazard

Before long, she had arrived at her former home. Two guards had been startled by her arrival and readied their weapons. Aluben swiftly bent their necks without much care. She then removed the femur bone from one the guards and had it sharpened to a fine point. Now with weapon in hand, she proceeded towards the entrance.

Aluben slammed the doors open as she saw her mother jump from the couch, her face full of surprise at her sudden arrival. Her father ran and hid in one of the bedrooms, but he wasn’t her target at this moment. No, her focus was on the woman in front of her, her hands bounded with chi-block cuffs.

Wasting no time, she ran to slice Aitnemid’s arms from her body, but her mother used her running momentum and twisted her body so that the bone had caught itself in between her cuffs. The bone had damaged the cuffs enough that Aitnemid was able to use some of her bonebending to push Aluben against the wall.

“Well… this was certainly a surprise.” Aitnemid tried utilizing her bending further, but the damaged cuffs only allowed a minor amount of her chi to flow through. “Explain yourself.”

“…Why did you take them?” Aluben demanded as she slowly got up from her weakened position.

“Take what?”

“My… EMOTIONS!!” Aluben rushed forward again to stab her mother, Aitnemid using her cuffs to try deflecting the sharp edge of the bone.

“Those useless things?!” Aitnemid said in disgust as she tousled with her daughter. “WHY WOULD YOU EVEN NEED THEM?! I couldn’t have you distracted from your mission! Emotions are nothing but baggage, a burden on the mind and easily changeable.” She then grabbed Aluben’s hair, yanked her to the floor, and kicked her across the room.

“Maybe I would’ve been happy to do this for you, instead you just forced this on me without letting me choose!” Aluben got up again, weapon in hand. “YOU USED ME!” She rushed again, only wanting to hurt the woman that hurt her deeply.

“‘Maybe’ isn’t good enough! My own brother abandoned me because of his own conscience, because he FELT BAD! That’s why I had to make sure this time that it wouldn’t happen again.” Aitnemid dodged the attack and kneed the girl in her stomach. She then grabbed a hold of the bone and bashed Aluben across her face enough to have some teeth fly out. She then pinned the girl’s throat under her heels as she slowly pressed down. “How pathetic… I actually had high hopes for you, but it turns out you’re just as useless as any other brat in this desolate UNIVERSE!”

“Urk-…b-but… I was… your DAUGHTER!” Aluben managed to squeak out despite her fading consciousness.

“All you really are was a means to an end, I never loved you! But now you’re broken, so I’m getting rid of you.” Aitnemid seethed as she readied to squish out Aluben’s remaining life.

Yet consumed in her own anger, Aitnemid failed to notice a slight movement from the room. This momentary distraction cost her dearly as she felt something shoot through her throat, her only concern now was holding the blood that spilled forth.

The final nail was hammered in. Aluben used the last of her strength to control her fallen teeth and aim them directly at her mother’s throat. As she got up, she looked on as Aitnemid was sprawled on the ground and still attempting to keep her wound closed. Aluben then called back to her bony weapon and used this chance to slice off her mother’s arms along with the cuffs, just so that she could bonebend Aitnemid to face her and feel her mother’s dwindling life in her grasp.

A bitter laughter rang through the house as Aluben wrenched Aitnemid’s ribs from her chest, a gleeful expression curving its way on the child’s face. They hovered for a brief moment and then were stabbed back at her with the ferocity that only a manic demon could possess, each plunge of the bones filling Aluben with euphoria at her mother’s painful death.

In another place, a monochrome woman lay dying while her daughter cried over her.

It wasn’t long before Aitnemid was nothing more than a bloody carcass, the assault slowing to a halt. But Aluben’s laughter never ceased despite the tears that spilled down her face.

That was how she was found by her brother and the DNK, called in by YmereJ while he remained locked in the bedroom. The DNK immediately placed her under arrest again and had her taken from the scene. She was placed back under even tighter security until her eventual escape with the help of a smiling empress.

On that day, two women had died, but only one was reborn. Two girls had suffered, but for different reasons, with drastically opposing outcomes to it all.

But one thing was certain and that everyone was happy. Almost everyone.

Chapter Text

Not much action in this part, just relaxing, casual, maybe comical scenarios! Keep in mind this isn’t the complete part, but I’ll alert you guys when more inspiration strikes.

The DNK had been briefed on the current situation with the shrunken planets by Cheren and Nebula. Needless to say, everyone was concerned, but they trusted that it was necessary and they would survive. With the unfortunate death of Nerehc, Sicnarf assumed the role of Supreme Leader. “I know our lives won’t be the same without Nerehc, but we have a duty to keep moving forward.” he announced to everyone. “Complete your missions responsibly as if Nerehc were still here. Because he’s still relying on us.” With these words to carry them through trying times, the DNK continued their everyday lives, balancing between missions, training, or simple casual activity.

Eelyah the Road-Maker

Eelyah Nagillig seemed the most troubled by everything and took her emotions out on her hometown. Dnalevelc was still in reconstruction after the Anarchists’ attack, and her destructive tendencies weren’t helping at all. Akurah sprayed gas to put her to sleep, with Eitra’s hamsters to carry her back. Apparently, Eelyah didn’t feel satisfied with making and breaking her own sculptures anymore, so they decided to call her Positive, Haylee to the Negaverse, for her to build things for Eelyah to break.

“Eelyah, why do you enjoy breaking things, anyway?” Haylee asked her instead. “Didn’t you all promise Nerehc to help make the world a better place?”

“Eelyah always like breaking. Breaking fun because world already broken. Breaking get less fun when world get better. It don’t make Eelyah happy, anymore.”

“Then instead of breaking things, maybe you should learn how to build or fix things?”

“Eelyah don’t know how.”

“Then I’ll take you to watch me. Come on, let’s go downtown and see if they’ll let me help with the reconstruction.”

They ventured downtown, with Eitra making sure Eelyah stayed under control. Haylee was allowed to saw up some wood, along with other activities, but none of it sparked anything in Eelyah. Eelyah nonchalantly glanced over and saw a cement truck about to pour some into a pit a few yards away. …Her eyes widened in terror when an oblivious, 4-year-old boy wandered out of an alley and fell into the pit. “Eelyah, hey!” Eitra yelled when his sister suddenly pranced up the road.

The child had fallen into a puddle of cement, and the truck threatened to drown him completely. “ME SAVE YOU!” Eelyah bravely jumped into the pit, but with the cement incoming, the girl instinctively raised her hands in defense. The kids and other workers looked into the pit with worry, and the truck-driver was told to stop. To their astonishment, the cement appeared to be floating via Eelyah’s bending. They wanted to admire this, but hurried Eelyah to climb out of the pit with the child. They heard a woman shouting and calling the boy’s name, so the group reunited the family and explained what happened.

Haylee and Eitra were equally surprised, having never heard of an earthbender that could bend cement, though the idea wasn’t unusual. Just as well, Eelyah easily cleaned herself and the boy by bending the cement off. Getting an idea, Haylee asked the carpenters to let Eelyah help. Using her new ability on purpose proved to be a bit more tasking; she had to use fluid motions like a waterbender to control the cement, and then will it to harden when necessary.

They left town so Nosam could help train Eelyah on fluid bending, and after a few days of perfecting it, they returned to the construction site. Repairing roads and sidewalks proved to be much faster with Eelyah’s cementbending, and with her previous skill in sculpting, she was able to shape things as necessary. Eelyah would spend the next several months helping with such construction projects, developing her skill for combat use, and kicking her destructive tendencies.

Tiny Squad

The horde of tiny kids that were previously aiding the Little Dads refused to be taken home to their parents or back to Raseac’s farm, preferring the comfort of DNK Arctic Prison. Sicnarf decided that if they were going to stay, they oughta make their selves useful and train to become operatives, in which they would have their own treehouses to live in. Fortunately, with their enhanced strength, their tiny bodies were on par with those of normal cadets and training went smoothly. While many of the cadets divided amongst various sectors, the team consisting of Dnis, Ylla, Narod, Ubnok, Uzu, and Oyib became Sector TG, with a Lilliputian-sized treehouse, ships, and equipment.

Their treehouse was based in Dnaleci, since Sector -IC had gone “defunct.” The band was enjoying their new lives as DNK, having undertaken a few missions and received a housewarming party from Sector -V, including Lorac. Eirik bonded with Ylla, making more loud music, Nosam got Narod to bend chocolate sculptures for Lorac, and the tiny kids began to feel like equals.

“Hey, there you guys are!” a voice called. The group turned to find Ydnew Llevram. The air grew tense as Sector TG readied to fight the Black Lotus agent, believing she was here to take them back to Raseac’s farm. In light of that, Ydnew wanted to apologize for what Raseac had done to them, explaining that she was always against his farm project and the same might’ve become of her if she wasn’t Itaav’s daughter. To make up for not helping sooner, Ydnew brought them the antidote that would restore their normal sizes. After a small discussion, they decided they had already gotten used to their sizes and the advantages that came with, so they held off on her gift.

“At leasth we won’t have to worry about Ylla getting any louder.” Yrrah remarked, twisting a finger in his ear. “OOF!” The tiny in question jumped and punched him in the nuts.

“Come to think of it, Ydnew, have you considered joining the DNK?” Arorua asked. “You seem pretty strong and you’ve helped us a lot.”

“Hmm… it wouldn’t be a bad idea.” Ydnew replied. “The Black Lotus seems okay with you guys, anyway… heck, maybe I will. It’s not like our battles are really over, right?”

“And you know what, I’m gonna sign up, too!” Lorac declared, standing proudly. “I’m super motivated to start my own sector of master thieves! Heck, maybe I can join you guys.”

“We don’t need some giant girl who doesn’t bathe!” Dnis retorted, pinching his nose.

“Fine, your loss! Just sign me up for Arctic Training and I’ll show you what I’m made of.”

“I’ll bring a camera to show everyone the great Lorac’s techniques!” Nosam exclaimed.

“As creepy as that is, it would help me market myself and show potential thieves what kind of skills I look for.”

“Maybe I should start my own sector, too.” Ydnew thought aloud. “But what kinda people would I want…”

A Mary Time in the Posiverse

Sector -W7 were terribly stressed after that awful month, and another morning began with their regular routine of throwing insults at each other. This time, Asia grew sick of the negativity and decided they should take a trip to the Posiverse. Sipa’s magic opened a portal in one of their mirrors, and the group was soon reunited with their Positives.

Asia was happy to discard her heavy clothes and stretch her wings in pretty blue skies. She excitedly collapsed on a fluffy cloud, squeeze-hugging it with all her might and grasping the fluff with her toes. The clean air was so refreshing and addicting that Asia couldn’t stop gasping, each breath making her heart dance. Aisa flew up to her via Jet Dials, giggling at her antics. “At least you kicked that neat-freak obsession.”

“There’s no need for it in this kind of air! I mean, Water -7’s gotten a bit cleaner, but it’s still not the same as this.”

“We’re girls of nature through and through!”

Down in town, Mocha was glad to finally meet her Negative, Ahcom, who gazed up at the giant with admiring eyes. It was hard to believe such a strong and dependable version of herself existed! Mocha made her promise to overcome her own limitations and become an admirable person, too.

Chimney and Yenmihc were chilling on the treehouse balcony, the former cracking open two sodas with her teeth and tossing one to Yen. Yenmihc made the offer that, since Chimney is the more open-minded one, if she would like to take her team as well so Yenmihc could find a better one. “Nyah, you got the wrong idea.” Chimney remarked. “Those girls drive me crazy every day. I couldn’t stand to have more of them. Except Aeinchan, she’s cuddly! That’s what’s cool about you, you ain’t afraid to speak your mind. But if you hate ’em so much, why didn’t you leave already?”

“I already did once before. But that was before Nerehc brought down the DNKG. Figured if there was hope for him, there was hope for these idiots. But I still hate them.”

“It’s up to us to better these girls!” Chimney raised her soda in cheer. “Let’s do a cross drink!” Yenmihc eye-rolled and wrapped her arm around Chimney’s as they chugged their drink.

Apis and Sipa met in the former’s room. Sipa asked if Apis had any love interests, but she hadn’t found any aside from The Man Himself, wagging her Bible. It was clear Sipa was still upset over Nerehc, yet the fact Cheren was still “alive” made this all the more confusing and stressful. “Personally, I’d like to think this ‘God Tier’ business is God’s little gift for Cheren for being such a good boy.” Apis said with a smile. “But God also knows the Posiverse and Negaverse must be equal: no Positive should live without their Negative. So, you have to have faith that He plans to bring Nerehc back as well!”

“Or maybe God plans to take Cheren back after this whole quest is over. Until then, He has no reason to bring Nerehc back.”

“Why is that any reason to lose faith?!”

“Because we’re just an afterthought for the gods! And Cheren is basically a spirit person who’s allowed to pal around in the Posiverse, he’s basically dead! He gets a special privilege just like the rest of you, but no matter how much we do in our world, we get nothing!”

Apis could understand her reasoning and why she was so upset. “Well… I think God loves Nerehc just the same as Cheren. He would give Nerehc a ‘privilege,’ too, we just haven’t seen it, yet. I agree, it’s not fair that we get Cheren and you don’t get Nerehc… so, just pray that you get to see Nerehc at least one more time. And if and when he comes back, make sure you’re living happily.”

“Sigh… I want to, but…”

“Let’s do it now. Let’s pray for Nerehc’s return.” Apis took both her opposite’s hands. She closed her eyes with a blissful smile. Sipa closed her eyes as well, still frowning.

When April and Lirpa got to talking, the former was curious if she had a cousin named ‘Yram.’ This led to them discussing each other’s secret pasts, and how Mary was currently in Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends. When Lirpa explained that Yram was still trapped in the Graffiti Alley, April conceived a solution: bring Yram to Foster’s just the same as Mary. Since they couldn’t simply “steal Yram’s painting” as she had none, they decided to bring Sunni Chariton all the way to the alley, which she could use her psychicbending to keep Yram in a stable form while they traveled to the Posiverse and made way to Foster’s.

The Foster’s Friends happily welcomed Yram into their family, and Mary was super-duper excited to have her own identical twin sister!! “If you call them identical.” Yenmihc remarked. (“Tsk-tsk.”)

“I have an idea!” Mary beamed. “Since there’s so many of us, let’s all play Hide-and-Seek!”

“No fair, you know this house better than me!” Yram argued.

“I’ll show you a perfect hiding spot, Twin Sister!”

“Mochan’s it!” Chimney pointed. “She can’t hide, so she can find!”

“I’d better start counting!” Mocha laughed.

Hide-and-Seek lasted about an hour; it was easy to get lost in this house and so hard for Mocha to find everyone. Yram had spray-painted images of herself around the halls to confuse Mocha and Yenmihc fogged the area around her spot with gas clouds. Aeincha and Ahcniea were especially difficult to find, like tracking two specific ants from Mocha’s perspective. Ultimately, those two won the game, and Aisa sensed that Ahcniea was lost within Mocha’s hair all along, apparently searching for the perfect weak spot in her scalp. “I’ll become the strongest operative once I learn how to control this giant!” the surgeon said deviously.

Afterwards, everyone went outside to have a water balloon war, where Chimney and Yram ganged up against Mary, Chimney preferring Yram a lot more than the Positive.

Night fell before they knew it, so the visitors had to leave. Yram begrudgingly thanked Lirpa for bringing her to this sweet new house. “Plus, I don’t even gotta be in the same dimension as you!”

“Yeah, thank goodness.” Lirpa remarked. “But maybe sometime, I’ll bring Bi over to visit.”

“Sounds a’ight to me!” Yram thumb-upped.

Nega-W7 returned home, their hearts feeling lighter after a fun day, and proud of the kind deed they had done for Yram. As Sipa relaxed in her bed that night, she folded hands over her heart, praying for Nerehc and hoping her thoughts will reach his soul.

Hcaz Has a Rival

Hcaz made a flight to Arctic Base, boasting after having captured 20 villains in under an hour. The nearby cadets praised Hcaz’s talent, to which he replied, “To be fair, most of these were fodder minions, but results are results.”

“Yeah, good results for a toddler!” a girl’s voice taunted. At that instant, an even larger net of villains was shoved into the room, and a girl in a black police uniform was mounted on it, her slanted eyes sharp on Hcaz. “This is a real load: 53 baddies, half an hour.”

The cadets’ eyes shot open with greater admiration. “And who might you be?” Hcaz asked.

“Name’s Okam, Numbuh Yes Star. I say ‘yes’ to every mission and guarantee perfect results. I only just graduated, but I’m part of the Global Patrol Ops same as you.”

“I see. Well, you’ll do the DNK proud.”

“Glad to hear you say that, because I’ve been assigned to work with you and Yddam. Since you’re my ‘superior,’ I thought it best to at least show you what I can do, but apparently, I did too much. Is 20 villains really the best you can do?”

“It… felt like enough to suffice?”

“Pfft. Boy, this is going to be a pleasure.” Okam rolled her eyes in sarcasm.

Though Hcaz didn’t appreciate her tone, he accepted Okam as his partner. To test her combat strength, he invited Okam to a separate room for a sparring match—it ended with Hcaz’s neck in a choke-hold, Okam relaxing on him with a smirk. Hcaz then yelled, “Now you have to fight me and Yddam!” to which Yddam sheepishly said, “I surrender. Don’t hurt me.”

“I don’t get it. I heard you were one of the best operatives, but I guess I’m just better than you.” Okam said. “Tell you what, you can still be in charge and leave the hard parts to me.”

“Fine! You wanna make this a contest, then I’ll show you how good I am!”

The two researched and determined a good underground hideout where lots of thugs were gathered. Afterwards, “WHACK-A-VILLAIN BEGINS NOW!” both came charging in with giant wood hammers, bashing every baddie they could while Yddam kept score. The game ended with 43 in Okam’s captivity and 32 in Hcaz’s. “Fine, so you’re good at beating people up! I bet you can’t pilot worth a crud!”

Accepting his next challenge, the two found an enemy base with lots of fighter aircraft, boarding their own craft and shooting down as many ships as possible. Yddam counted up 61 for Okam and 50 for Hcaz. After bringing such a big load of captured villains to Arctic Base, Sucram stated, “Congrats, you’re both freaking great at your jobs, TAKE A BREAK!! There’s so many villains here, I can hold a garage sale!” He cut open a net as beaten villains came spilling out, flopping like fish.

“Eh, sure, why not?” Okam asked. “I think I already made my point~”

“Meh, whatever!” Hcaz whined. “It’s my turn to clean the Newbase, anyway.”

“’Bet I can clean it better!”

“JUST TRY IT!”

They wielded mops, sprays, and cloths like ninja tools, sloshing cleanliness in each and every corner. Some unfortunate operatives (such as Ininap) became mopped up in the mopping, resulting in their bodies becoming shining and blinding. An evacuation was called, and the ops who managed to escape were blinded by what had become of Newbase, so shiny and clean that it was devoid of color. “YOU TWO ARE SUSPENDED!” Sicnarf shouted. “Don’t come back until you learn how to control yourselves and kick that stupid rivalry!”

“Peh, I can do that in a heartbeat!” argued Hcaz. He turned to Okam and said, “Okam, I acknowledge you as the better operative. Let’s stop fighting and learn to work together.”

“I’M SO SORRY, HCAZ!” Okam cried and dropped to her knees. “I got carried away! I just admire you so much that I wanted to be strong like you! Please, let me continue to be your partner!”

“I-I should be asking you that! You’re so strong that I’m lucky to be your partner!”

“I wouldn’t be so great if you hadn’t inspired me!”

Both stood and saluted to Sicnarf, “WE WILL DO OUR VERY BEST!”

“Eh… it’s a tie?” Yddam questioned.

Sicnarf face-palmed, “Ugh, suspension lifted. Now go and unclean the Newbase!”

“YES, SIR!”

Nega-L, New Heights!

The members of Nega-IC decided to move to Sol Selegna and convinced their families to as well; it wasn’t very comforting knowing a bunch of villains used to gather in the Gnik house, even if that business was over. Ikus, however, remained in Dnaleci, refusing to leave her volcano home, but the Sand Walker family promised to look after her.

Ikuyim, Alol, and Yrret merged with Sector -L, since only Ydolem and Nollid were occupying it. Naturally, Yrret volunteered to carry all their belongings with psychic and organize them in the treehouse as requested. “If there is anything more I can do, please do not hesitate to order me as necessary!” Yrret saluted humbly.

“Please, Yrret, I’ve already forgiven you!” Ikuyim giggled.

“I haven’t! Paint my nails, bro!” Alol ordered.

Ydolem spared a giggle at his demeanor… but then frowned. She excused herself and headed downstairs to her house. She knocked on the door to Ynnad’s room and was welcomed in. “Sector -IC has finished moving in. I would be happy if you would join us.”

“I told you I’m not coming back. I just want to live the rest of my life in peace. I was wrong about Nerehc, I was wrong about Aluben… I just don’t even want to try, anymore.”

“But I need you, Ynnad. With Nerehc gone, things will only be harder. I would like my brother beside me, supporting me and my team.”

“Sigh… now isn’t the right time, Ydolem. But I’ve cast a spell to alert me if you were ever in danger, so I’ll be there to help if something bad is happening. Okay?”

“Hmm… Okay, Ynnad. I’ll see you tonight.” She left.

After spending a day settling in, and voting that Ikuyim would be the main leader with Ydolem as vice-leader, Ikuyim decided their first activity as a team should be to explore a mountain! They decided on a lovely and towering mountain, parking their ship at the base and using their abilities to escalate the peak. Ikuyim was naturally built for climbing and left a wide gap between her and her friends. “Hurry up, guys, I keep thinking you’re ants!!”

“I should’ve voted for Ydol.” Alol gasped.

“I enjoy her spirit.” Ydolem smiled.

One can’t forget that in the Negaverse, animals have a greater vendetta against humans, not out of hunger or hatred, but simply sport. The group was attacked by Yllib goats, eagles, bears and other things, and it would appear they were of a reasonable Power Level. No doubt training was also one of Ikuyim’s intents. The bears were durable against Ikuyim’s rocks, so it took a few strong hits until they were down. The eagles were swift in the air and would slash them with their talons at whipping speed, so Yrret’s psychic was needed to trace or grab them. Nollid’s magic was helpful in either and any situation, but Alol was only good at shooting her Butterfly Gun (a pink gun that shoots homing energy butterflies).

As for Ydolem, she used basic shadowbending attacks against the animals, but her attacks were remarkably weak, so her teammates had to finish her battles. “Not much of a powerhouse, are you?” Yrret asked awkwardly.

“That used to be Cire.” Nollid chuckled. “Sadly, he changed sectors ’cause he and Ydol didn’t get along very well.”

“Yes. Sigh, it seems everyone leaves me eventually.”

“Ah, don’t be so sad about Ynnad!” Alol consoled. “He’s probably just embarrassed about betraying his friends and getting his butt whooped!”

“If you ask me,” Yrret began reprovingly, “Ynnad has a duty to atone just the same as I, Yenmihc, or the rest. Perhaps you should ask him to paint your nails or give you a massage.”

“I think you developed some weird habits.” Nollid replied.

“WHOA!!! Guys, check it out!” Ikuyim yelled with mouth agape.

Understanding her astonishment, they noticed a black, alien-like pirate ship hovering partway above the mountain. Armored aliens slid down on ropes and entered a cave. “What’re they…” Ikuyim wondered aloud, while Yrret decided to fly up for a closer look. There was roaring and fighting from within the cave, and it sounded like the aliens were fighting a bunch of bears. Yrret would watch as the aliens dragged out…

“Good Lord! It’s some kind of cluster of bears!”

“A cluster of… A Multi-Bear?!” Nollid exclaimed. “Those are extremely rare! What’re they doing with it?”

“Given their brutish nature, something akin to poaching.”

“Let’s go help it!” Ikuyim declared, swift on her feet as she raced up the mountain, using earthbending to launch her way up to where the pirates were. “Hey, you! Leave that poor thing alone!” The pirates turned their laser guns on her, Ikuyim raising a stone wall in defense.

Her teammates joined her and battled the strange pirates, who proved to be just a bit stronger than the animals. They were able to take a few pirates down, but then one of them drew a Dark Pokéball and threw it, releasing a Rhydon. The Rhydon’s earthbending was able to overpower Ikuyim’s, and it seemed immune to Nollid’s magic. The kids were too exhausted from their venture, and the Rhydon then threatened to crush Ydolem with a boulder.

A blast of magic destroyed the boulder, originating from Ynnad’s wand. “You got yourself in trouble on purpose, didn’t you?”

“Oh, Ynnad!” Ydolem joyfully hugged her brother.

“Save it and let’s get outta here!” Ynnad ushered them to retreat.

“W-Wait, they’re taking a rare creature!” Nollid yelled.

“You don’t wanna pick a fight with those guys, just run!”

With the Rhydon readying its next attack, the kids decided to escape, running and jumping down the mountain path as fast as possible. After going about halfway down, the pirates finally stopped chasing, and the kids watched from a safe distance as the ship flew away. “Phew… who were those creeps?” Ikuyim asked.

“Did you see their symbol?” Ynnad magically drew an image of a skull-and-crossbones featuring a pterodactyl’s skull. “Those were Meta-Beast Pirates. They’re one of the most dangerous organizations in the universe. I know that was only a small crew, but I was alerted the second Ydolem got in a fight with them. If you had stopped them from taking that bear thing, they would’ve called for more pirates, and the whole DNK might’ve ended up in a war. But since they’ve let us go, they probably decided we’re not worth it. At least, I hope.”

“They’re really that dangerous?” Ydolem asked. “Hmm… then I suppose we would’ve gotten ourselves killed if not for you.”

“Sigh… don’t get the wrong idea, I’m still not ready to come back. But considering you’re with Ikuyim, you’ll only end up putting yourself in more danger.”

“Haha, he knows me so well!!” Ikuyim beamed.

“Yeah, so you’ll keep having to get yourself involved.” Nollid said. “Why don’t you just come back already?”

“No. He doesn’t have to.” Ydol replied, taking a firm stance. “I’m sorry to trouble you like this, Ynnad. I promise to get even stronger so your alarm will go off as little as possible.”

“Promise or not,” Yrret said scoldingly, “you still have a duty to your sister AND your team-”

“Yrret, massage my leg.” Ikuyim flexed her right leg.

“Yes’m!” He was quick on it!

“Heh heh… Either way, why don’t we all head home now?” Ynnad asked. “You guys look beat after hiking up this far.”

“No wonder you didn’t wanna come…” Alol huffed in exhaust.

Meet the Under Army

The King Dutchman was normally the only stable structure in this junkyard of a universe, but today, it seemed the back half of the ship was enveloped in a giant bubble of darkness.

Bill Cipher watched as Pope Werdna walked out of a room, his arms and legs in working order. “It took a good year and then some, but ’seems Zeref was finally able to sap that Death outta your body.” Bill remarked.

“It would’ve been ideal to have met my permanent end… but so long as there are those still defying their fate, I cannot be allowed mine.”

“A real go-getter, you are! You’ll fit in perfectly. Let’s get you introduced to the gang.”

Bill led Werdna down the corridor, to a set of double-doors. The Pope’s eyes veered to a shelf on the left wall, on which a yellow flower grew happily in a pot. It certainly popped out from the dank décor of this pirate ship. In fact, a face popped on this little flower as it moved. “Oh, hello, Mister. Are you a friend of Bill’s?”

“Ah, Flowey! Perfect timing.” Bill said. “This young man is Werdna. He’s gonna lead the Under Army.”

“Oh! That means we’ll be friends. I love making new friends.” Flowey smiled innocently. “It means I get to share my friendliness pellets.” Five white seeds emerged from the pot and flew to Werdna.

The Pope extinguished them with a gentle wave of Death. “Nice try.”

Flowey’s cute, friendly smile became vicious and monstrous. “A step up from the naïve little twerp, I see. Yeah, you’re the kinda guy that would kill in a heartbeat. Working under you is gonna be fun.”

“You’ll really hit it off!” Bill beamed. “And if ya think Flowey’s fun, why don’t you meet the others?” With that, they proceeded through the double-door; as soon as it opened, noise flooded their ears, and Werdna ducked a giant Darkball that came flying. A group of dangerous-looking people were aimlessly fighting each other with bending or other powers. They were inside a massive gymnasium within a black and purple dimension of darkness. “Pope Werdna, allow me to introduce the Under Army!”

A large, bearded man in a robe conjured a tiny sun and threw it. “Hailing from the country of Amestris, Father is a god of alchemy who can create objects on a whim, though in our world, his power translates to matterbending.”

Father had thrown the sun at a woman with ghostly white skin and hair and a black robe. She smacked it away with ease and spawned an array of dark hands from a puddle of black goo around her dress. The hands lunged at Father, who sliced them away with a conjured sword. “From the world of Remnant, this darling is Salem! We had already stolen some of her Grimm a while ago, but it took a bit of effort to actually get in touch with her. She can create Grimm with ease using her darknessbending, and to top it off, she is immortal in her own world! Top that with her magical prowess, we got ourselves a real Negatar.”

The second man to come was thin with pale hair and a wrinkly face, wearing only black clothes. “Tomura Shigaraki from the ‘Ultra Hero World.’ He’s a metahuman who can make objects or people Decay with a touch. He contains traces of Death Chi as the basis for his power, though he can’t mold it in a way deathbenders could.”

By slapping his hands to the floor, the entire room turned to dust except for his foothold, but Father quickly willed the room to re-solidify. Werdna glanced to the ceiling as a blue, digital figure seemed to materialize: he seemed to resemble a large human with a bald head and no distinct characteristics, aside from the code decorating his body. Neon wings formed on him as the being flexed his limbs and blew everyone down with a shockwave. “That’s Tabuu, a rogue Program from the Smashverse. He can trap people and places in his Subspace dimension, but otherwise he needs computers to communicate. Not that he’s one for conversation.”

“Are you saying we’re in his dimension right now?” Werdna asked, calling attention to the darkness beyond the gym.

“Yeah, that’s Subspace. It’s the only way he can be part of the crowd.”

A storm of swords stabbed into Tabuu with bullet speed, having been cast by a silver-haired woman in a black military uniform. Tabuu forced the swords out and blasted laser bullets at the woman, a psychic shield protecting her. “That’s Altair, an Imaginary Being from the Realm of Creators. She gains limitless power from fan ideas, and can even edit reality in a similar manner to Lord English. But because the ‘idea’ of her doesn’t exist in this world, we had to make some adjustments: we tracked down all of her biggest fans and had Zorc turn them into cards, which she keeps under that coat. For a while, I was afraid she wouldn’t accept the job offer, but turns out, she kinda wants to destroy her universe, so we cracked a deal.”

The gym shook violently as a giant, silver robot landed behind Altair. His feet could flatten tanks like pancakes, and his armor shone in the darkness. His eyes glowing a murderous red, he locked onto Altair with a particle beam cannon. “Twentieth Movement: Factor Mimic.” Altair flew away and conjured a clone of the robot, who socked the original in the jaw, but he recovered and destroyed the fake with a headshot.

“That’s Megatron, the ruler of the Decepticon race. He’s pretty much our brute force boy. After all, you’re not Multiversal conquerors without at least one giant robot.”

There was an ominous orange glow from beneath the edge of the gym, and a tremendous, flaming eye rose from the depths, skimming around in a panic. “EVERYONE, STOP FIGHTING! S-Stop! I dropped my contact lens when Megatron punched me, I-I-I can’t find it! Just… everyone stand still and I’ll sort this out.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” Father complained, conjuring a giant lens out of nothing and throwing it onto the eye.

“Ahh, thank Eru.” The eye sighed with relief before setting fire to the whole gym. Salem cast Ice Magic around to douse it, while Tomura performed a mighty leap up to the eye, touched the lens, and converted it to dust-size shards. “AAAAAAHH! DAMMIT!”

“And that would be Sauron.” Bill smiled in disbelief. “He’s the life of the party, but he keeps losing things. Poor thing couldn’t even find his One Ring, but we gave him a decent replacement. …And lastly, you already know Flowey.”

Werdna looked down, seeing the little flower hop between their feet, almost struggling to carry the weight of his pot. Judging by his expression, the flower seemed really nervous to scoot into the middle of this conflict. If even a normal human could kick him around or squish him, what business did he have around these monsters. “Uh, excuse me? Guys?”

Salem conjured a swarm of Grimm bears and sent them at Tomura, who stamped his hand to the floor and sent the Decay to kill them all. Salem jumped to prevent her dress from becoming dust, then shot fireballs with magic, Tomura dodging. “M-Miss Salem, Mr. Shiga-something, I-; o-oh my.” Flowey blushed and shirked when Altair floated directly over him, disallowing himself from viewing up her coat. She and Father were shooting swords at one-another, but Tabuu still desired to finish his bout, grabbing Altair from behind with his whip and slamming her into the floor. However, Tabuu felt the force of his own attack when Altair transferred her pain to him.

“E-Everyone, if I could just…” Flowey was ignored as Megatron stomped past him, bouncing the flower in the air. The robot shot a laser at Sauron, who dodged and blasted a Combustion Beam, Megatron flying backward, but Tabuu caught his ankle in his whip, whirled, and smashed Salem under his weight. She lifted him up with one arm and pushed him off, then punched a Dark Arm uppercut at Father. “HEY! I said, EXCUSE ME!”

Suddenly, everyone was snared in giant bramble tentacles. The space above cracked as Flowey’s enormous visage burst out. “That’s more like it.” He said with his cute and friendly smile. “Now, as I was saying, Bill has a new friend for us.”

“Thank you, Flowey.” Bill and Werdna walked to the center. “Everyone, this is Werdna, the Pope of Death. He’s going to be your leader. I’d like to have a meeting to discuss our future plans, so could we halt the exercise and set up a table?”

“What kind of plant is this?!” Salem asked, struggling.

“In my world, monsters can become invincible if they eat a human soul.” Flowey replied. “And I ate six of them, so I’m basically a god. OBEY ME!”

“Yeah, so uh, that table?” Bill asked.

“So be it.” Father huffed, conjuring a round table out of nothing. Flowey set everyone into the seats and returned to his tiny form, bouncing to the middle. Sauron also conjured a suit of black armor to take his own seat.

“Now then, folks: in about a year’s time, our battle with the Seven Lights will begin. You’ll be helping us from behind the scenes by entering the Negaverse and battling the Daring New Kids. You guys are some of the strongest people in the multiverse with the shared interests of complete and total destruction.”

“You expect me to work with these puny humans?!” Megatron growled.

“‘Puny humans’?” Altair remarked with a smile. “You realize that you probably originated as a children’s toy in some universe, which makes you the puny one.”

“No wonder he’s so easy to toss around.” Salem replied, sharing her smile.

“Honestly, I share his sentiments.” Father replied in a calm, cold, uncaring voice. “Humans have as much value to me as insects. Don’t you agree, Tabuu?”

“. . . . . .” Tabuu’s stare was firm, blank, and passionate.

“I must admit, I am a sucker for the silent types.” Altair said.

“Hey, I was a silent type, too!” Sauron argued. “But then Bill was all, ‘Ooo Sauron, you should talk more, you have a great personality.’ I don’t even remember what my real form is, how can I express who I really am?”

“Perhaps you haven’t met the right humans.” Tomura said to Father. “In our world, there’s a pitiful few who are cursed without talent. They fear us so much that they enforce ‘laws’ and created ‘justice.’ The look on their faces when you all arrived, it was priceless.”

“But doesn’t your master possess far more powers than you?” Salem asked. “Why wasn’t he invited?”

“All-For-One wished for me to go in his place while he stayed behind to keep All-Might’s successor in check. He told me to think of this as an… internship.”

“Then it’s clear that you’re the ‘bug’ among us!” Megatron stated. “We’ll leave you in our dust!”

“I think you got it backwards, buddy!”

“Hey hey, chill out, guys.” Flowey consoled. “Even if we’re different, we’re all friends, right? And we all just wanna destroy everything, right? So, why can’t we work together?”

“Suppose that we could,” Father replied, “what does our great ‘leader’ have to offer?”

“Do you know the philosophy in which a leader draws power from his team?” Werdna asked. “Well, Bill has told me of a way we can apply that literally.”

“You’ll have to find your own fans.” Altair said, drawing cards from her coat. “’Cause these ones are stacked.”

“Oh my gosh, this is the craziest dream I’ve ever been in!” a girl squealed, rubbing against her card prison. “It’s like I’m really being smooshed against Altair’s chest~”

“What I mean is, Werdna is a deathbender.” Bill explained. “He acquires power not just from committing murder, but by seeing death unfurl before his eyes. Between the eight of you, you’ve killed many, and you can kill many more in the time we have left before the final battle. Every person you kill soaks your soul with their blood. I want you all to destroy as much as you can and share your tainted hearts with Werdna. In time, his powers will be able to awaken anew. Then there will be nothing the Negatives can do to stop you!”

“Hey, I can’t even drop a ring without someone taking it, no way am I sharing my heart.” Sauron said.

“It’s a figure of speech, silly. Flowey, show ’em how it’s done.”

The flower attached vines to them all and attached a center vine to Werdna’s heart. Black chi coursed from the eight and flowed into Werdna. The Pope sighed and meditated calmly. “Indeed… I feel it… I feel the cries of millions of people… as they breathed their last.”

“I guess some people just love the Genocide Route.” Flowey smirked. “Especially you, Salem and Father.”

“But it was the gods who destroyed the first world, not me.” Salem inferred.

“But it was you who led them to their fate.” Bill corrected. “Whether directly or indirectly, people have died for your sakes. And Lord English will grant you your ideal worlds if you complete your mission. And since you’re already here, you really don’t have a choice because the boss can write you out of existence if he wants, but you don’t gotta worry! Like Flowey said, we’re all friends, right? ?”

“I’ve got nothing better to do.” Altair returned the cards. “So I might as well create ‘nothing.’”

Flowey hopped on her shoulder and cheered, “Me, too! I love erasing games!”

“Just know that you’re all beneath me.” Megatron stated.

“Well, you lot are a step up from the fools in my homeworld.” Father said. “And you, Tabuu?”

“… …” The Program gave the slowest, yet firmest, NOD.

“I think that nod is good enough for all of us.” Bill said, his heart touched. “Under Army… begin your quest for total Oblivion!”

The nine members raised their hands and sent a burst of chi to the sky, a force that might have wrecked the Dutchman were they not in Subspace. Little did they know that a masked agent, one of the guards outside, listened to everything.

…

The agent’s report was sent to his leader, Mal Masque of the Army of Abominations. The man in question had revealed the Under Army’s identities to Zedekiah and Sir Reginald inside the IDA’s flagship. “Altair and… Flowey?!” Those two names startled Reginald the most. “The Negatives couldn’t possibly defeat those monsters!”

“Even if they are forced to adhere to the Gameverse’s rules,” Zedekiah said, “those eight are incredibly dangerous. They’ll need our help…”

“Now, don’t go doubting our little Negative buddies.” Mask smiled. “All they’re really lacking is the proper knowledge. If we can at least inform them of the Under Army’s abilities, I’m sure they can work up a miracle.”

“This is the Negaverse we’re talking about, you know? Between them and their Positives, they’ve always been… less fortunate. No Firstborn, no Chosen Ones, it’s their fate.”

“So, it’s ‘law’ that the Negatives have to live in misfortune.” Mask’s eyes sparked giddily. “But in the lawless chaos Lord English is committing, that just flips itself around! Those Negatives will turn destruction into a miracle!”

Six months before the Voyage’s End

Mask was proven right before he even expected. The first person to find out was Sipa. She casually returned to her treehouse room and opened the closet. “Hu—NEREH-!”

Nerehc clamped her mouth shut. “Shhhh… For the next hour, I’m all yours.”

They shared the most magical, most inseparable kiss in the universe. Sipa’s tears dripped along their mouths. She was sniffling, trying to sob, but found herself unable to let go. It lasted for 10 minutes before Asia walked in on them, mouth dropping at the sight for multiple reasons.

Next, Nerehc flew into Sector -V’s treehouse. “BROOOOOO!” His siblings squeezed him to death, Eirik’s joyful scream deafened him, Eitra and Eelyah beat him to a pulp, and Nosam drowned him with tears. He flew to Sector -W, and “COUSIIIIIIN!” Ynohtna wouldn’t stop hugging, while the others breathed the biggest sighs of relief. Next was Sector -L, “DUUUUUUUUDE!” Ikuyim and Alol dog-piled him, Ydolem’s shadow softly choked him in a hug, and Yrret was extremely eager to wash his clothes, Nollid shaking his head in cringe.

At Sector -JP, Uzuy and Ururu hugged him first, Nirak sanitized him before shaking his hand, Amadok dropped to her knees and thanked the spirits, and Atnij sung a song of victory. At Sector -SA, the four girls caught him from all sides and smothered him with kisses. He also learned about new sectors: he found Sector -$’s van and landed on the hood, the driver stomping the brake with a shock. “N-Nerehc?! I don’t believe it!” exclaimed Lorac. She introduced him to her new teammates, the most notable one being an angel boy named Leic Spirithive.

He then went to Sector -MG to surprise Ydnew’s new sector. “AAAH! INTRUDER!” Revilo screamed, shooting a Dark Beam at Nerehc, while a muscular mouse named Lihp punched him in the crotch.

“W-Wait, guys!” Ydnew stopped them. “Is that… Nerehc?!”

“Okay, that’s enough surprises.” Nerehc grunted.

Once everyone had gotten accustomed to Nerehc’s return, a meeting was held at DNK Moonbase. He explained his fusion with the Fierce Deity and that it enabled him to return to life from Limbo. “I’ll admit, I’m as surprised as you all by this whole thing, and I don’t know if this will last. When this Voyage ends, I will join the Positives in their battle with the Thirteen Darknesses. Cheren will need me to face Ganondorf, anyway. I would ask you all to join me, but I sense danger approaching this world. I don’t think The Thirteen will leave our world untouched. So, can I trust you all to defend our world when the time comes? I plan to come back alive, so I want my world to still be here when I get back!”

There were ecstatic cheers of agreement all around! Whatever the circumstances, they were so happy to have their leader back and were willing to do anything he asked. Whatever it was The Thirteen planned to throw at them, it would fall before the power of their devotion to Nerehc!

When I get more ideas for mini-plots, I’ll write those in, too.

Chapter Text

The battle with the Under Army begins now!

At the end of the Voyage, Nerehc bid his Negatives farewell as he ventured to the Posiverse to aid the KND in their quest. Ikuyim also went there to pair up with her fellow Earth Children. The other Negatives promised to hold down the fort, but were unsure what to do for a time.

Luckily, the Under Army were there to answer their question. During an ordinary day, all the computers in all the treehouses suddenly started glitching! Xedni was especially panicking, mashing the keypad frantically, but she couldn’t retake command of her device. The blank face of none other than Tabuu appeared on the screens. The computers rumbled, and they all exploded. All the treehouses were swallowed in tremendous bubbles of digital darkness.

The DNK woke up in the darkness, royally confused as all the many sectors seemed to be there, from the former DNKG, Nega-MG, Nega-$, Newbase, and the veteran sectors. There were murmurs of confusion, some suspecting this had something to do with what was happening in the Posiverse. It was then they realized eight figures were surrounding them, perched on tall platforms. Sauron’s ominous eye skimmed around the many operatives, focusing on Hcaz, Ibyf, Lirpa, and Aliehs. “Four of the-”

“Four targets detected!” Megatron interrupted him.

“Hey, I’m the all-seeing eye, let me scan them!” Sauron argued.

“My scanners can detect five billion life-forms at once!”

“Silence, you fools!” Tomura shouted. “Only four of the Lights’ Negatives are here!”

“It matters not.” Father replied. “So long as we slay at least one of them, it should satisfy His Lordship. Under Army, attack!”

Megatron blasted his particle beam and Sauron a Combustion Beam, Ydnew throwing her hands up at either and forming portals to catch the beams. The other villains dropped down: Salem stretched Dark Arms to snatch Ibyf, Yllas and Yevrah tossing bladed tops to cut them, only for the witch to freeze them with an ice spell. Tomura smacked the ground to turn it into a sinkhole, the kids falling, and he dodged his way around the Negatives up to Aliehs, intending to decay her, but Eirik blew him away with a soundwave.

Altair conjured swords and cast them at Lirpa, Sipa turning them into flowers. She then cast a Blast Spell at Altair, who stood patiently as a barrier protected her. Nollid applied his own magic while Ydnew shot Starbursts, but Altair’s barrier remained impenetrable as she threw more swords to cut their hips. Flowey ensnared Nega-JP and -SA in vines, bashing them against the ground, Father willed the sand to harden and become metal, trapping ZR and -L in metal encasings. Megatron blasted at some Negatives, the ground exploding and knocking them into the air.

“This was too easy.” Altair remarked. “Werdna taught us everything about your abilities, yet you all were drastically unprepared. Well, Tabuu, would you like to collect some trophies?”

Tabuu’s blank eyes were brimming with unseen passion. His butterfly wings formed, and he prepared to unleash a shockwave that would defeat all the Negatives. But it was then another figure flew up and SLASHED Tabuu, stopping his attack. The person landed on their feet, bent for a second before rising to full height. She wore a sleeveless black jacket, purple tank-top undershirt, knee-high ragged jeans, black sneakers, long blonde hair that draped down to her back, and haunting mustard-yellow eyes.

Melissa drew twin submachine guns and unloaded upon the Under Army, the bullets even puncturing Megatron’s armor, and Tomura suffered some shots as he quickly moved his hands to decay some bullets. Altair cast a storm of swords at the intruder, but Melissa drew her demonic saber, Krallux, lashing it at blinding speed to slice up Altair’s swords. Megatron leapt to crush her, but Melissa easily sliced his leg off.

“You Underwear Army guys don’t know how to play a fair fight, do ya? But maybe my guys can teach you a lesson.” Melissa snapped her fingers. Another army surrounded the area; they were the Mischiefs, James Fisher, Bill, Specs, Evelin, and hordes of underlings.

“Who are all you people?!” Hcaz asked.

“There will be plenty of time for questions later!” Melissa yelled. “Everyone into the turtle!” She presented a turtle in her hand with a key in its shell. “It’s got turbo!”

“You still didn’t answer my-”

“IN THE TURTLE NOW!” She zoomed around, sucking all the DNK into the turtle like a vacuum before jumping in herself. While the Under Army were forced to battle the Mischiefs, the turtle blasted away with rocket boosters.

After about an hour of being cramped in the turtle, it eventually arrived at a base resembling a smiling mask. The DNK sprung out of the turtle like a fountain. “They said sticking turbo to a turtle totally destroys who they are,” Melissa said, picking it up, “but I say it’s the way of the future. Anyway, welcome to my pad. Make yourselves at home ’cause this’ll probably be your hub.”

“Who the heck ARE you?!” Nirak demanded, sanitizing herself after being smooshed against everybody.

“I’ll do my best to make it brief, considering we’re not doing full chapters: name’s Melissa, I’m your ally, those were the Under Army, they’re bad guys.”

“Please talk slower.” Xedni requested.

Melissa explained that the Under Army are powerful agents employed by The Thirteen to kill the Negatives’ Lights. Father, a man who could create anything out of nothing. Tomura, a supervillain mastermind who could destroy anything with a touch. Salem, who could create dark creatures and use powerful magic, topped with immortality. Tabuu, the one who hacked their network and trapped them in this very subspace, who gained more power with every inch of land trapped in his dimension. Megatron, who led a band of giant robots and possessed a deadly arsenal. Sauron, who could strike anything from afar with his all-seeing eye, and harnessed the power of a Ring of Resurrection to summon spirits of the dead. Altair, an Imaginary Friend who commanded unlimited power from fan ideas, including reality manipulation. Flowey, a godlike flower who had harnessed the power of six human souls.

“And their leader apparently came from this dimension: Werdna, a deathbender who’s been building up his powers with the people they’ve killed.” Melissa concluded.

“And your friends are going to fight them for us?” Ininap asked.

“Nah, they’re probably getting annihilated as we speak. Altair and Flowey are the worst of the bunch, I doubt my guys can handle them.”

“Then what’re we supposed to do?!” Hcaz yelled.

“You tell me. This is your world, ain’t it? Ain’t your job to defend it?”

“Well, we did spend three years training for something like this.” Arorua figured. “She’s right, you guys. Nerehc is counting on us to protect everyone. We need to show these invaders who owns this world!”

“YEAH!” Eirik cheered. “We’ll teach them what happens to dirty alien invaders! …Eh, no offense.” she said to the glaring aliens.

“I know we did a lot of training, but those guys sound super OP.” Aliehs said. “There’s no way we can beat ’em.”

“I’ve already drawn up a strategy.” Atawid presented.

“SERIOUSLY, THAT FAST?!” they all yelped.

“It was simple. I’ve taken this Under Army’s abilities into consideration with our own. Granted, from a logical standpoint, they should still cream us. But given the right approach, well, there is a small chance… I suppose.”

“Well, gang, all up for beating up the Under Army?” Arorua asked. The more energetic operatives cheered, “YEAH!” while the less enthusiastic proclaimed, “We’re bound by the rule of the positive thinkers.”

“There’s a couple other things I should mention.” Melissa replied. “The inside of this Subspace contains an entire valley created by pieces of worlds the Under Army captured, and reshaped by Father and Altair’s powers. They have their own lieutenants patrolling the valley, so you may have to fight your way through them. Oh, and if it’s not too much trouble, they’re also carrying these little cards with captives on them, so it’d be nice if you could get those back for us, so we can bring ’em back to their worlds? Yeah, thanks.”

Atawid discussed her strategies and the best operatives suitable for taking down the Under Army. Once they were finished, the DNK set off.

Meanwhile, the Under Army were scouring Subspace, searching for other unfortunate victims who were swallowed up by the explosions, primarily the missing Negative Lights. Sauron had situated himself on a mountain, acting as a searchlight for the whole region, and the second he spotted the DNK, minions appeared: Salem’s Grimm, Tabuu’s Subspace Army, Decepticon planes, whomever was available. Of course, the DNK had already planned to divide into groups, and Sauron’s eye couldn’t track them all. He would certainly be the biggest nuisance in traversing this land. If ever he spotted them, Melissa would use a sniper rifle to shoot his eye, blotting his vision long enough for them to hide. The DNK would make use of large rocks or other things to hide whenever he turned their way.

The operatives stayed in contact with Melissa, who could signal the “Masked Lounge” to transport to wherever they were if they needed to rest or hide. The base had been fit with a magic spell to cloak it from the eyes of their enemies. Sectors -V and ZR worked together and made their way to a technological area. As they expected, it was filled with Decepticons, so Megatron could not have been far.

Soundwave was the first to ambush them, concussion blaster blazing, but his enhanced hearing was overwhelmed by Eirik’s soundwave, fittingly destroying the robot. They found a Catch Card in its wreckage, containing Sea Hawk, a purple-haired sailor. Shockwave attacked next, blasting an array of beams from his laser cannon, but Aliehs countered his beams with dark ones while Yrrah fired charged beams from his Diffusion Rifle, defeating Shockwave and securing a card containing ‘Sunny Emmerich.’ Starscream soared around the air, dropping cluster bombs that Ynned destroyed by hitting up baseballs. Akurah launched missiles from a launcher, powered by her gas to damage Starscream until he was down. His card contained ‘Himawari Uzumaki.’

At last, the group located Megatron, whose previous injuries had been mended by Father. “To think my Decepticons would be defeated by puny humans! I refuse to waste ammunition on you bugs. I’ll squash you as you are!”

“We’ll see about that!” Eitra remarked. “My sister’s gonna crush you like a tin can! Hook up, Eels!”

Eelyah and Eel drew cement blocks and metal scrap from their Infi-Cube. Eelyah melted and molded the cement into a stone giant resembling herself, taking command within the head. Eel bent the metal around the giant to create armor. “Eelyah and Eel make Eeltron!” Eelyah announced, balling the giant’s fists. “Eeltron smash!”

Eel applied chi to the armor to increase its defense, leaving Eelyah to handle offense. Megatron engaged her in a fist fight, starting up close as they asserted their strength, until Megatron fell on his back and suffered a Ground Pound to the stomach. Megatron pushed her off and went further, sending Rocket Punches. Eelyah melted the cement arms to stretch them for her own ranged punches. Eel couldn’t take hold of Megatron in his bending, not adapted to Cybertronian metal, but Eelyah’s constant punches seemed to break him apart.

Megatron resorted to using his particle beam cannon, Eeltron’s armor withstanding, but the giant dodged to keep it from falling apart. Eeltron changed its right arm into a cannon shape, the metal pieces designed to project heat. Akurah was let into Eeltron to shoot gas beams through the tunnel, sending plasma beams at Megatron to damage his armor further. When they punctured the heart, a red stone was seen inside it: it was a Philosopher’s Stone, given to Megatron by Father, allowing the robot to repair his injuries.

Atawid yelled at them to retrieve the stone, but Megatron used its power to form an armadillo shell around himself. He curled up and bowled at Eeltron, the giant stopping him with a push, but struggling to keep hold. Ulul ran in to help, covering the shell in vines and squeezing the vines underneath the folds of the shell. With enough effort, she was able to rip it apart. However, Megatron formed jetpacks with the stone and took to the sky, then covered his body in guns to rain fire upon them. Yrrah threw on jetpacks and carried Nosam up, evading Megatron’s blasts and getting behind the robot. Nosam drew water from the Cube and froze Megatron’s jetpack, causing him to lose altitude as Eeltron reached up, grabbed his legs, and slammed him back into the ground.

Megatron extended his left arm into a whip-like form to whack Eeltron from afar, and every time she was able to grab it, Megatron detached and formed a new arm. He had also expanded his beam cannon, preparing to charge a more powerful blast. Akurah mustered her chi for a fearsome blast of her own, Eeltron focusing on the heart. Megatron would inevitably have to stand still to fire his cannon, and now he was ready. Eeltron trained its cannon on his heart and did a forceful jump to the right, barely out of range of his cannon. At the same time, Akurah fired, puncturing straight through Megatron’s chest. He readied to repair his body with the Philosopher’s Stone, but didn’t expect Ynned to hit a baseball from right behind, blowing through the hole and forcing the stone out.

Eeltron’s left foot had been destroyed by the beam, but with her right, she squashed the stone, a burst of energy exploding. Megatron’s body returned to normal, the robot feeling fatigue as he blasted Eeltron with the minimized cannon. Eeltron threw more stretched punches, knocking him down, then hopped toward Megatron for the final pummeling. She then ripped off his head and crushed it in her hands, squishing it into a ball. Megatron no longer moved, so the earthbenders took Eeltron apart, giving their selves rest.

“Yeah! You don’t mess with the Nagilligs, big boy!” Eitra cheered.

“You coulda helped against the armadillo shell, Sirhcy!” Eirik yelled.

“That giant-ass thing?! My shell is way too puny!”

“It was an excellent performance from everyone.” Atawid smiled. “Of course, that battle might have been lost without Eel. …We’re extremely thankful that you came back.”

“And I hope you remember that until the end of time.” Eel stated.

…

The other operatives had received distress calls from Sector TG regarding swarms of monsters attacking the region they ended up. Said region had Ikus’ volcano, and knowing Ikus was one of the Nega-Lights, Sector -L quickly headed toward their signal to help Ikuyim’s sister. Nearly at the volcano, they were ambushed by Tomura. “So, you must know the ‘Light’ is this way as well. I won’t give you the chance to save her!”

Yrret caught Tomura in psychic and Nollid pelted him with stun spells, but he was stronger than his frail appearance led to believe. He broke free and spread decay around the area, Yrret uplifting his friends to avoid being dissolved with the ground. They landed as Yrret threw Psy-Spheres, Tomura smacking them away as they scattered into particles, and the same fate was met for Alol’s Butterfly Gun and Nollid’s spells. “He really can decay energy attacks!” Nollid exclaimed. “We need Annaira!”

“AGH!” Tomura was hit by a spell from behind, turning to find Ynnad.

“Brother!” Ydolem gasped.

“You’re dealing with me now! Accio Fear Dragon!” Ynnad created a magic portal as a dragon stomped out, blasting Fear Screams at Tomura. “You’re going to save Ikus, aren’t you?! Keep going!”

The others signaled Annaira’s group to hurry to their location, while Nega-L continued to the volcano. Tomura decayed the dragon, then tried to spread the death to Ynnad, but he Apparated away. Tomura froze in place, held by Ydolem’s Shadow Possession. “Ydol, why aren’t you going with them?!”

“I’ll help you distract him until Annaira gets here!”

Tomura shook off the Possession and spread more Decay, Ydolem flying up while Ynnad Apparated above his sister, caught her, and warped them further away. “Sorry, Ydol, but you need to stick with your team. Accio Silver Hawk!” He summoned a giant hawk and ordered it to take Ydolem in its talons and fly after the others.

“No, Ynnad! I’m stronger, I can help you!”

“I know you’re stronger! That’s why your team needs you more than me!” When Tomura ran to touch Ynnad, the wizard ducked and touched the villain’s stomach, Apparating them both.

“YNNAD!”

The other three teammates halted when they saw Ydolem catching up on a Silver Hawk. Ydolem told them what just happened, gloom in her pale white eyes. She felt a terrible feeling in her heart, and her friends felt it as well. “C-Come on… we can’t stop now.” Nollid stuttered. Reminded of the current mission, they kept on to the volcano.

…

Nega-MG entered a region crawling with hideous, one-eyed zombie mannequins created by Father. A giant church-like structure stood in the distance, the kids beating and dicing the monsters. Father’s Homunculi attacked them: Lust was first, slashing her extendable nails, but Oemor summoned Metal Slime spirits from the Dream Realm. Lust’s nails struggled to cut the Slimes, but they would overwhelm and trap her in their goo, taking her Catch Card of Suika, a melon-headed girl. The mighty Sloth trudged up slowly, so Ikik engaged him in a battle of strength, keeping a safe distance using Spaceman Taijutsu, but dodging Sloth’s blinding speed attacks. After beating him, Ikik recovered a card holding Luluco.

Envy greeted them, trying to terrify the kids with his tremendous monster form, but Revilo subdued him with darknessbending while Lihp was able to burrow into his gooey body in search of a weakness. He was able to find the buried Philosopher’s Stone and escape with it, letting Revilo fill it with darkness and destroy it. The titan collapsed, and all that was left was a rat-sized mutant, the five mocking Envy as Revilo pinned his foot on the creature and threatened to kill him, while Ikik insisted on keeping him in a jar. Lihp found a card of Adam Lyon.

Ydnew used her bending to blow open the tall stone doors to the church. Ydnew gasped: “Father?!”

“’Guess we were right about him being here!” Ikik fist-palmed.

“No, not just Father! MY father!” Ydnew clarified.

It seemed that Itaav was weakened on the ground, Father standing over him. “Y…Ydnew… don’t challenge this man!” Itaav panted. “He’s a matterbender like me, but… he’s invincible!”

“I didn’t come this far to run away! Matterbending doesn’t work on Space, right? I’ll tear him to pieces!”

“No matter what world you hail from,” Father began snidely, “you humans are ever irritating. But based on our intel, I understand you aren’t used to gods walking on your soil. Sadly, you won’t have the time to be used to it.”

“Yeah. ’Guess I won’t.” Ydnew smirked cockily, hands brimming with stars. Starbursts flew at Father, the man dodging and making spikes grow toward her. While Ydnew’s teammates took Itaav to safety, Father hurdled mini suns at her, Ydnew simply catching them in portals to send them back at him. Father willed the ground around her to become blades and stab, Ydnew floating up in evasion, but Father made the blades longer to reach her. She decided to tuck herself in a Block to defend herself from a room-full of surrounding blades, but with her barrier cracking, Ydnew warped outside the church.

She saw Father and quickly warped behind him, trying to warp him, but he escaped her focus and attempted his room-full of blades once more. Ydnew caught some blades in portals and had them stab Father from behind, and other blades stabbed his feet to pin him. Ydnew focused her chi in attempt to shrink him, but his willpower proved superior as he escaped the blades. The blades that had cut his chest revealed his Philosopher Stone heart, Ydnew quickly blasting Starbursts, but this stone proved more strong and durable than the others.

Father’s flesh reformed as he encased the entire church into a cubical barrier, and he proceeded to form endless water to quickly flood the place. Ydnew made a Block around her head to give herself breath, and she opened a portal to flush all the water and release it outside. Father burrowed underground meanwhile and emerged beneath Ydnew, grabbing her legs in attempt to destroy her body with alchemy—Ydnew immediately warped herself between dimensions, taking Father with her, and they landed in an empty plane before a stone Gate. “What?! How did we end up here?!”

“Fell right for it!” Ydnew smirked. “Melissa told us about this little sub-dimension that appears for you alchemists. We figured my spacebending could take us here with the right opening. She told us The Thirteen helped free you from this prison, but you’re goin’ right back!”

“Not so long as I have my Philosopher’s Stone!” Father exploded the space with flames, Ydnew sucking them in a portal—Father tried to jump into that portal, but she sealed it to prevent his escape. Ydnew caught his left arm in a portal and sealed it, banishing that arm back to the normal world. Father formed a new arm, his stone flaring with power as he morphed into a massive, black entity with a single eye. With his enhanced power, he formed a more massive sun in the air and began to pull it down.

Ydnew entered Dimensional Fury, her blue hair becoming magenta and her skin pitch-black with purple outlines, eyes glowing white and pink flames of stardust on her wrists and ankles. She shot rapid Starbursts at Father, warping his pieces across space with each hit and revealing his stone. She formed a Block around it to cut himself from the stone, then used her bending to force the Gate to open: multiple eyes glared at Father from the darkness beyond, hands reaching in attempt to pull him in.

Ydnew focused her chi on the giant sun and shrank it to a tiny size, then she warped to the normal world to discard the sun. “Dad, come with me!” She located her team and quickly warped Itaav back to that sub-world. “Use your bending to destroy that stone!”

“I’ll try!” Itaav was warped into the Block with the Philosopher’s, focusing a tremendous amount of matterbending in attempt to destroy it. Father conjured multiple, smaller suns in attempt to burn the Block, Ydnew warping them rapidly and striking Father as well. At last, Itaav destroyed the stone. “NO! NOT AGAIN! NOT AAAGAAAAIIIIIN…!” The Gate finally overwhelmed Father and dragged him into darkness. Ydnew warped them back and disabled her Fury.

“D-Did you beat ’im?!” Oemor asked.

“Sheck yeah, we did!” Ydnew thumbs-upped.

“I guess I wore him down more than I thought.” Itaav said.

“WHAT?!” Ydnew kicked her dad in the knee. “Don’t try and hog all the credit!”

“Ow! Okay, sorry! You were amazing too, Ydnew.”

“Fuh.” She rolled eyes and folded arms. “This is why I ditched the Lotus. Now how’s about we go find what the others are-”

Suddenly, the world flickered, and Nega-MG was outside the church again. When they entered, Father was back, Itaav on the ground in the same manner. “WHAT?!” Ydnew panicked.

There was rumbling as the space above them seemed to crack. It shattered completely, exposing Flowey’s enormous, smiling visage. “Oops. I saved your progress, but accidentally reloaded. ’Guess you’ll have to do that fight again. But don’t worry, you should still have all your stats.”

“Thank you, Flowey.” Father said. “I’ll be sure to do better this time.”

It’s true that Melissa informed them of Flowey’s power to ‘Save’ and ‘Reload,’ but experiencing the first time was horrifying and aggravating. Regardless, with Ydnew’s power restored, she had no choice but to fight again.

…

“Flowey, looks like Megatron got busted again.” Sauron observed. Altair was floating beside the massive eye, Flowey on her shoulder.

“No problem. I’ll fix that.” Flowey proceeded to Reload the battle with Megatron.

“When they’re trapped forever in an infinite loop, one side will eventually run out of strategies.” Altair said.

“Yep! The others can sure waste their time, but we can handle things ourselves easy.”

“In that case, I’d better get to that volcano.”

“I’ll go search for the other missing Lights. By the way, Altair, Bill sent me some of English’s design ideas!”

“Designs for what?”

“For the new world he’s building for us. See, check them out!” Flowey dug into his pot soil and extracted photos.

Altair wanted to throw up on them: Flowey, Father, and herself were drawn horribly, with no attempt at proportion or expression. She couldn’t deduce what she and her colleagues were doing. “Aren’t they pretty?” Flowey asked with a trolling face. “That guy’s got artistic talent.”

“He…He does…?”

“Yep! Well, see you later.” Flowey hopped off and began to climb down Sauron’s tower.

Altair clenched her teeth and glared at nothing. Good Lord, what did I get myself into? Living in that man’s ideas is worse than nonexistence. Sigh… but as long as he allows me to destroy my own world, it matters not, I suppose. All I can do is play along…

Nega-W7 ventured a valley of darkness infected by Grimm. “Lirpa, are you sure you don’t wanna stay in the Pad?” Asia asked. “They’ll be targeting you, and I wouldn’t want you to…”

“Oh, so I’m endangering you guys, is that it?” Lirpa asked. “In that case, maybe I’ll just run across this whole field and get them all to chase me while you guys look for the boss.”

“No, that’s not what I meant! I mean… aren’t you worried about yourself?”

“Why should that matter? I’m strong, fast, and your teammate, so I have to do my part, don’t I? I’m certainly not going to die for your satisfaction.”

“Sigh…okay.” Asia smiled, accepting Lirpa’s reasoning. “Then you better not cause trouble for us by dying.”

Tearing down hordes of Grimm, the first of Salem’s underlings to challenge them was Tyrian, a psychotic scorpion man. Yenmihc’s poisonbending made her slightly immune to his sting attack, drawing oil from her small cans and forming whips to grab his tail and swing him around. After beating him, she took his card of Salu Digby. Their next bout was with Hazel, a burly man who stabbed his arms with crystals and grew bigger and stronger. Lirpa combatted him, her legs a match for his arms, but he just wouldn’t falter no matter how much she kicked his head or crotch. Hazel revealed that he was immune to pain, so Ahcom decided to help by using Gentle Fist on the giant. Her own little touches disabled Hazel’s attribute, causing the immeasurable pain to catch up as he yanked the crystals out, leaving Lirpa to KO him with one final head-kick. She took his card holding Nia, a cat-girl.

They saw a priest-like man laying weak on the ground nearby. “Reverend Reilicaf!” Sipa gasped, running to his aid.

“Oh…Sipa… ain’t this a blessin’…”

“Reverend, you’re hurt!” Sipa noticed the hole in his stomach and poison seeping out of it.

“I felt a lot of evil this way and thought I could stop it… but that scorpion man got me. I think it’s the end for me…”

“Yenmihc, can’t you pull the poison out?”

“I’ll get some out, but it looks like most of it’s gotten too deep into his system.” Yenmihc proceeded to do so.

“I don’t know enough medical magic to fix this; just wait, we’ll get you to a doctor!”

“Don’t stress over me, kids. My time was comin’, anyway. I’m gettin’ too old…cough. But thanks for the treatment… I think I can walk now…” Yevrah weakly pushed himself up. “If the Lord sent you to me… perhaps He wants me to help you. I don’t know how, but… I’ll do what I can.”

Yevrah hung behind them for the rest of the journey. A woman named Emerald ambushed, using her illusions to confuse them, but Asia’s powerful airbending was able to blow her down regardless and win, taking Emerald’s card of Lazlo. Mercury Black attacked, Ahcniea taking the lead: she nimbly dodged his stomps and climbed up to his head, digging her needles in the scalp and gaining control, making him beat himself unconscious. His card imprisoned Charles Foster Kane.

Ascending the stairs to a tall, cone-like mountain, they met Salem beside a black pool. “Defeated Team WTCH that easily, did you? I guess they’ll be joining Cinder in shame.” Salem shook her head. “But I sense strong feelings from you girls. Waves of negativity flowing between you. Strong dislike and hatred… I’d love to have you over on my team.”

“Yeah, we hate each other, so what?” Lirpa asked. “Yenmihc stinks, Ahcom’s whiny, Ahcniea’s a creep, but at least we care about the DNK.”

“Even though we can’t go a day without fighting,” Asia replied, “we’re committed to the goal. And it’s because we’re committed that we can rely on each other. So, even if they disgust me, they can always count on me to wash their filthy clothes.”

“Even in hatred, there is light!” Yevrah declared. “Enemies who are devout will fall a demon who knows no loyalty-” He dodged a fireball from Salem.

“And I stopped serving people like you ages ago!” Sipa displayed a confident grin. “My only Lord of Darkness is Nerehc!”

“Such negativity, yet you refuse to fall to darkness? We’ll see about that!” Salem cast a Dark Beam, Sipa absorbing it in her Devil’s Wand to cast it away. Sipa hit Salem with light spells, which the latter felt weakness in and was unaffected. The witch flew in the air and used a spell to turn the ground rubbery, sinking Sipa as she struggled to climb out. Salem formed Grimm to crawl down into the rubber crater, but Sipa flew out with Ascendio, landing as the momentum allowed her to bounce around. Sipa shaped her light spells into Crosses, and when they stabbed into Salem, energy sparked through her veins as she felt herself becoming immobile.

She fell to the ground, the rubber spell wearing off. Reilicaf stuck Crosses in the ground around Salem, praying for the demon inside her to rest, but Salem was able to break free and punch him away. She evaded Sipa’s spells, stretching an arm in attempt to take her wand, but Sipa cast Sectumsempra to slice it. Salem’s next spell caused it to rain fire arrows, Sipa changing some to flowers in defense. All Sipa could do was send more Cross spells, since Salem’s immortality made her immune to other attacks. The witch summoned Grimm to interfere, Sipa having to destroy them before resuming her attack.

“Aaah!” Salem screamed when Reilicaf sprayed her with a super soaker.

“Good thing I brought my Holy Soaker!” the reverend declared, his toy loaded with Holy Water. Her skin singed, Salem fell, Sipa sticking her with more Crosses as Reilicaf attempted his ritual again. Salem felt a longing to go to sleep, but forced herself awake and broke free again. She grabbed Reilicaf by the neck and tried to throw him in the dark pool, Sipa shooting him with a blast spell to push him to shore. Sipa ran to defend the reverend as Salem called up a gush from the pool, using Protego to keep the darkness from drenching them.

Salem bombarded the Protego with Dark Bullets until it shattered, the two running. Salem formed a giant Dark Boomerang and had it spin around the ground, Sipa dodging with Ascendio, but Salem snagged her in a stretched arm and threw Sipa into the pool. Darkness was quickly filling her lungs and heart, feeling the Devil’s demonic claws stroking her gently, but painfully. Sipa mustered the strength to resist his hold and flew out of the goop with another Ascendio. Landing on shore, a dark aura was brimming around her; she squeezed the darkness out of her soaked dress, poured it out of her shoes, and filled her wand with it.

Her dark wand growing stronger, Sipa cast a Dark Cross at Salem, stabbing her chest, but because it was top-first (like an upside-down Cross), it bore little effect, Salem smirking. However, Sipa mustered more power, the Cross twitching as it tried to force through the witch. She was willing the Dark Cross to become light, and the second the Cross stuck through the opposite end, the transformation succeeded. It resembled a right-side Cross now, its enhanced power rendering Salem immobile. Reilicaf surrounded her with Crosses again and demanded the demon to sleep. Tiredness became Salem, the Cross disappearing so she could fall on her back in slumber.

Sipa stood over the witch, smiling at her peaceful face. “Maybe someday, you’ll abandon your darkness, too. Or at least… learn how to use it better.”

“You’ve grown into a wise, young woman.” Reilicaf said. “I don’t think I’ll live past this battle… so, take care of my church for me, Sipa.”

“Maybe I’ll find someone more experienced.”

“That works, too.”

…

Team Annaira were fighting metahumans that worked for Tomura; since they were mortals, Melissa asked them to keep casualties to a minimum. (“Save the killing for guys that can come back from it!”) she had told them.

“But what’s the point if that Flowey jerk keeps Rewinding time?” Beewv asked, slicing a thug’s ankles. “We’ll never win at that rate!”

“We just gotta hope the others can beat that flower!” Atnort replied, shocking some into submission. “’Til then, just do your jobs!”

The next round of thugs came charging, but were stopped by an unseen force. “AAAAAHH!” Bones suddenly stuck out of their flesh, terrible pain overcoming them as they fell, writhing.

“B-Bones?!” Avakam choked. “But that…isn’t that…”

“There you four are. I guess you’re still working for Nerehc, huh?” a familiar, cold voice said.

With wide, shocked eyes, the aliens gazed at the white-clothed girl that was once their leader. “Aluben…” Anna whispered.

What they weren’t expecting was for Aluben to give them a big, sweet smile. “Heeey! So, can I help out for a little??”

“H-Help out?!” Beewv shouted. “Hold on, we heard you escaped from prison! We’ve been searching for months! Where have you been?!”

“I’ve been staying with a new friend. We saw these huge bubbles of darkness that started appearing around the world and felt it was making everybody sad! So, I decided to go in and stop it! Plus, I had a feeling my old friends would be here!”

“’kay, but what up with the smile?” Avakam asked. “I liked you better without emotions.”

“Oh, don’t be silly! I’ve never been happier! And after we stop this darkness, I’ll introduce you to my friend.”

“Well, who’re we to say ‘no’?” Atnort shrugged. “With you back, we’re guaranteed victory!”

The aliens explored a crime-torn city, fighting metahumans at every turn. A girl named Himiko zipped out of an alley, cutting Annaira to take her blood and drink it. Not only did she transform into Anna, but she gained her bending as she grasped the team in bloodbending. Aluben and Anna herself could fight back, the latter battling Himiko with matched waterbending. Anna won and secured Himiko’s Catch Card of Caillou. Mr. Compress ambushed them, trapping the aliens inside tiny spheres, but Beewv managed to escape. Compress struggled to focus his power to catch the speedy Naineetak, and found his coat being sliced up by Beewv’s tiny sword. Beewv was able to find his team in the coat and break their balls, restoring them as they ganged up on Compress all at once. His Catch Card contained Wayne Szalinski.

An army of clones charged at them, doubles of the villain Twice. Avakam shot them all down with swift gun-work, the clones melting. She used Observation Haki to sense the real Twice among the crowd, gunning him with Antikill bullets until he was KO’ed, his clones all melting. Their next opponent was Dabi, who set the surrounding buildings ablaze with Sapphire Firebending. Atnort’s lightning penetrated his flames, the others keeping a safe distance as their friend was the most qualified. Dabi was zapped into submission, and Atnort took his card of Isaac Clarke.

Tomura Shigaraki was waiting in a decayed region of the city, no buildings to obstruct their battle. “Werdna told me about you lot.” He hissed. “The DNKG… Villains who desired supreme rule. But for what purpose? To demolish order? Liberation?”

“Nothing more than a mother’s selfish desires.” Aluben replied, smile ever stagnant. “But that era is over. Instead of spreading despair to the universe, I wish only to fill it with smiles. And so long as people like you exist, no one will be able to smile!”

“Oh, darling… I think we can come to an understanding.” Tomura’s dry, wrinkled lips formed a smile, his eyes seeming to peer into their souls. “My people live in oppression. We desire to use our powers freely… but the social order forbids this. And because of that, we can’t smile either.”

“All I know is you’re making my friends upset! In fact… if I heard correctly, you were battling Ynnad, weren’t you?”

“That magic boy? Ah, yes… he’s in here.” Tomura withdrew a jar filled with dust.

The aliens gasped in horror, and yet Aluben wouldn’t let her smile decrease. “Ynnad… was one of my loyal operatives.” Her bright eyes could not hide her darkness. “I hope you’re happy~”

Aluben tried to grab him in psychic bonebending, but Tomura’s swift speed kept her from focusing. Only when he got close was she able to bind him, twisting the bones in his hands, but Tomura’s strong willpower helped him escape. He rushed far from Aluben, spreading Decay along the ground on a path to her, but she lifted herself in the air via her own bones and evaded. He kept a distance when she tried to fly at him, so Aluben decided to land. She willed a sharp bone to stick out of her hand, focusing on the villain when he spread Decay again. She shot the spike with bullet speed and hit his head, and his moment of weakness allowed her to focus and bend his bones.

Tomura escaped and extracted a missile launcher, designed to absorb his chi. The missiles homed in on Aluben, and their explosions would Decay any in their radius. Aluben extracted a Lassobone from her body, twirling it as she caught a missile and redirected it at Tomura, who evaded its range and sent more. The process repeated until the launcher was decayed by a missile’s explosion. Tomura resumed decaying the ground, Aluben floating as she used Bone Snipes again. Tomura would watch and block her bone bullets, so Aluben shot a bullet past him when he didn’t notice and willed it to come back, puncturing Tomura’s stomach. She managed to get close and bend his bones again.

Tomura decayed a hole to go underground, spreading a continuous wave of Decay as the whole field became dust. Aluben remained afloat, looking to where the sand stirred the most as that was where he was under. She opened a gap in that dust with her bending and discovered him, quickly seizing the villain in her psychic grasp. “AAAAAAHHH!” She completed bending his fingers back like a banana peel, splitting his arm bones in like fashion.

“Wait, Aluben!” Avakam called. “Melissa says she wants that one alive!”

“Oh, don’t worry… He couldn’t very well be happy in the Underworld. But a little revenge can make a girl happy, too.” She smiled cutely. “Still, I can’t help but feel an affinity with this man! I do wish you the best in your goals, Mr. Shigaraki.”

“Then I wish you the same… Miss…?”

“Mottobeikniw.”

“…Right.” Tomura grinned confusedly.

…

Altair found Ikus near the foot of her volcano, accompanied by Yllehs. “Um, hello, Miss General Lady.” Yllehs greeted nervously. “Can we help you with something?”

“I’ve come for that one. Don’t even bother trying to fight me.”

“Piss off!” Ikus retorted, sending a lava gush at the Creation. The lava coated Altair’s protective bubble, so Yllehs contributed to encase her in a stone prison. Altair popped the stone without effort.

“Second Movement of Cosmos: Height Alteration.” Altair focused on the girls and reduced them to ant size. “Now if you don’t mind, hold still.” She created a single sword and shot it down, seeing the micro Ikus with hawk-like vision.

The sword was swat away at the last millisecond by Melissa. “Pick on someone your own size! And wear lighter clothing, we’re near a fricking volcano!”

“You again. Well, I’ll gladly fight you, but I can’t imagine those little ones will be spared from the backlash.”

“Good thing my Genetic Shuffler landed on this teleport ability!” Melissa smacked her hand over Ikus and Yllehs and warped the tiny pair. “Oh, dear! Now, where could they have gone??”

A few miles away, Nollid was hiding under an Invisible Cloak. He gasped when two tiny figures appeared on the ground. “Ikus! You were shrunk?”

_{“Take us back!”} Ikus squeaked. _{“I wanna melt that lady!”}

_{“Not when we’re like this, Ikus!”} Yllehs said.

“Hold still, I’ll grow you guys back.” He took out his wand- “Huh?!” the girls teleported again.

“Eighth Movement: Fate Revision.” Altair undid the teleport, returning the duo right between Melissa’s legs, the girl gasping. “Now, shall I just deal with you first?”

BOOOOOM! The world rumbled violently under an earth-shaking force. Altair turned, gazing up at a towering stone titan with smooth hair and a polite face. “Hi, Ma’am! You must be the woman those nice kids warned me about.” echoed the voice of Ikuy Latsyrc. “I’d like to ask you to leave my daughter alone, or I might have to crush you!”

“I’d like to see you try.”

“Well, I couldn’t say ‘no’ to a challenge!” And so, the mountain lifted its foot and brought it down. Altair raised a hand and blocked it with the strength of her fingers. “Woh-ho! That’s some muscle!”

Melissa flew up and tried to stab through her shield, but Altair used the other hand to push her to the ground. Ikuy brought his foot back and swung it from the side, blasting Altair across the field. He stomped after and squashed the Creation without hesitation. “Fourteenth Movement: Vicissitudes of Fortune.”

The entire stone mass was compressed against the ground as if it had been stomped, boulders shattering and scattering everywhere. Melissa was horrified, knowing that man couldn’t have survived. “Do you understand now?” Altair asked her. “No mortal or Creation can compare to me.”

“Oh, you think so?” Melissa grinned viciously, twirling her guns. “You got all those cool abilities under your cloak, but you’re missing the most important one of all.”

“Oh? And what is that, dare I ask?”

“Nee hee hee.” Melissa crossed her arms and cocked the guns. “Let’s just say, Ikus isn’t the one you should worry about.”

During the distraction, a toy car had driven to grab Ikus and Yllehs. It was owned by Sector TG, Narod holding the smaller girls. “Don’t worry, girls, we’ll keep you safe.”

_{“Who’s this smelly idiot?! Let me go!”} Ikus squirmed.

“I can’t believe Mr. Latsyrc got beaten by that lady!” Dnis said, steering the car around the falling rubble. “We better get to the safe place!”

…

At Rehgallag, Flowey had covered the school in vines, his magnified face looming over the school from a rift. Eissej Yendis was on the roof, screaming as Flowey ripped off his limbs in vines, Reset, and ripped him again. “I don’t know what’s wrong with the others; capturing one of the Nega-Lights was easy! It would be too boring to just finish you off.”

“FLOWEY! Tomura just lost, we need a Reset!” Sauron yelled.

“Sheesh, every time with this! Okay, okay, just let me rip him apart a few more times.”

“No no! Please!” Eissej begged, about to lose his leg for the 5th time.

“Hey! Flowey the Fuck Flower!” His face creased at this insult. He showed his utmost disgust to Nega-JP. “Yeah, you’re the one!” Uzuy yelled.

“Well… it appears I have challengers.” Flowey appeared confused. “You, uh…you know I’m a god, right?”

“LISTEN TO ME!” Amadok bellowed. “You don’t have to listen to him! Rise up and fight for your freedom!”

“What? You mean these kids?” Flowey smiled. “I mean, I can squeeze them all any time. Only letting them live so I can see them cower. But if they stop being afraid, then I’ll just-”

“Not them! I’m talking to the souls trapped inside you! Are you listening, souls?! Fight his control and be free!”

“Y…What?! HAH! You might as well be talking to batteries! When a human dies, their will is lost forever! These six souls are nothing but fuel! But I wouldn’t mind a little more to my fire!” Five more vines shot down and snared the operatives.

“HEEEY! Let me go!” Nirak squirmed. “The thorns are poking me, there’s dirt getting in my bloodstream!”

“It’s too… strong…!” Ururu grunted.

“How disappointing. Still… your soul smells especially nice.” Flowey focused on Amadok. “Perhaps I’ve found my perfect seventh. Now, get inside my-”

Flame spirits flew out of Amadok’s lantern and burned the thorn, freeing Amadok. She faced up at Flowey with determination. “I’m not afraid of you! I’ll show you how powerful a soul is!” (Play “Your Best Nightmare” from Undertale!)

“Heh heh heh… not afraid of me, huh? Then let me fix that.” The world rumbled as whiteness blinded everyone. Amadok opened her eyes when she felt it fade, and was horrified: Flowey had become a tremendous, hideous mutant plant with four eyes, pipes and tubes around his head, and a TV displaying a psychotic face. “Now, let me show you… how powerful MY ‘soul’ is!”

All Amadok could do was evade as Flowey unloaded flamethrowers, rapid omni-lasers, or shuriken storms. She tried to sing, but could barely let her voice be heard while having to constantly dodge. Still, every time she did sing, Flowey’s screen would steadily buzz more, until it dissolved to complete static. Then, a warning sign appeared: Amadok’s soul was sucked into Flowey. She was flying to infinity, a storm of light-blue swords headed her way. She cried in pain as each one cut her, failing to dodge. “Have Patience, Miss! It’ll be okay.” A voice told her. Heeding its words, Amadok ceased dodging and remained still: all the swords phased through without harming; heck, their tickles were making Amadok giggle! She arrived at a sky-blue heart, singing to the captive soul. It patched her soul with Band-Aids before Amadok was forced out.

She resumed singing to Flowey and dodging his next attacks, including nukes, locusts, or brambles, but because Amadok reached a soul, Flowey lost his grip on Uzuy. The footballer chucked Footbombs at the beast, doing miniscule damage, but causing the screen to static quicker. Amadok was sucked in again, and a storm of giant yellow hands came flying. “Be Brave, Miss! Keep going forward!” Amadok bravely ran forth, phasing through the hands. She found the orange heart and sang to it. The hands gave thumbs-up, and Amadok was spat out.

Ururu escaped, lifting Amadok on her shoulders to help her evade the third wave. She was able to make the screen static much quicker, and after being sucked into Flowey, Amadok found herself on a dance floor. Enormous ballet shoes quaked the floor and kept her from standing. “Have Integrity and stand strong!” Amadok pushed herself up and leapt, gravity holding no effect as she soared across the floor, immune to the shaking. She slowly landed and leapt again, her heart aflutter as she flew to the dark-blue heart. Her voice turned the shoes into notes, keeping her aloft in the air.

Nirak escaped, she and her sister bombarding Flowey with their choice balls. The demon growled in anger, using faster attacks that even damaged Ururu. He tried to resist Amadok’s voice, but she kept her singing consistent. Amadok was sucked in again, landing in a library that spewed negative words from every direction. “Perseverance is the key!” Amadok spoke positive things about herself, nullifying the books’ attacks. The shelves toppled, revealing a purple heart.

Flowey could do little to stop Amadok from accessing the next two souls. Giant frying pans dropped flames on the maiden, and when the soul spoke “Know when to be Kind,” Amadok welcomed the flames into her mouth. She gave constructive criticism to the pans, and the pain lessened. The pans started to drop delicious scrambled eggs that made her tongue happy, courtesy of the green heart. Afterwards, a giant gun appeared, trying to shoot an evading Amadok. “Justice must be delivered!” With a fierce glare, Amadok focused her chi and fired Soul Beams from her finger, doing enough damage to the gun until it was destroyed. The freed yellow heart made four-leaf clovers grow.

Atnij was finally freed, and he used musicbending to enhance Amadok’s voice. Since Flowey appeared to be weakened, this was her best chance. ♪ “It can’t be over, I cannot give up, I have to keep surviiiiving! You think you got me, but I can not lose, I have to stay deteeeermined!” ♪ Her voice summoned the six souls out of Flowey’s being, circling her as she glowed with a rainbow aura. Amadok formed a chain with her friends and spread the power to them. Now sharing Flowey’s power, their attacks were stronger than ever. Amadok kept singing to weaken his hold further, so Flowey focused all efforts on her, but Ururu was faster than ever as she helped her friend dodge.

“ENOUGH!” The world flashed, and the battle Reset to the beginning. Amadok gasped in horror, seeing her friends trapped again. Flowey showered her with powerful beams, Reset, showered, Reset, showered, trapping the maiden in an endless loop of pain. “Did you think you could defeat me?! I am a god! I’ll kill your friends over and over and make you watch! Human worms like you do not deserve to rule over…AAAAAAAAHHHH!” The demon began flashing with neon. “What’s…WHAT’S HAPPENIIIIIING?!”

“It seems the souls… favor me better.” Amadok pushed herself up, smirking. “You may Reset me… but my voice has already reached them. So, don’t give up, souls! Stay determined!”

“NOOOOOOOOO…” (End song.)

When Flowey awoke from his physical trauma, his body withered, the first sight was Amadok’s sandaled socks. The shrine maiden and her team stood over him with smiles of victory. “So… even in this world… human souls are still powerful. Even more powerful… than a god like me.”

“Our gods designed us to be stronger than them.” Amadok replied. “Not on a matter of phenomenal power, but our will to keep fighting. Even though your power was beyond ours, we believed we would win.”

“Nyah hah… such sentimental garbage. You won because you had the right ability. It’s as simple as that. And it was… stronger than mine. Now, crush me like the god you are…”

“Pfft, god?” Amadok chuckled. “If your idea of god likes to kill or destroy, that’s not us at all.”

“But I learned nothing. I’ll rebuild my power and kill you all! With Altair, or English, one of them can restore me, and I’ll exterminate everyone you love!”

“But I love you.”

“W…What?!”

Amadok got to her knees and lowered her head to his level. “I can feel it in your voice… You’re just a sweet little soul yourself.”

“That’s… nonsense! How naïve can you be?!”

Amadok beamed and cupped her hands together. “Hop on and I’ll take you back home. Don’t worry. You’ll be safe in my hands!”

Flowey could only look at her with confusion and repulse. “…What is wrong with you…” But with that, he hoisted himself and his soil onto Amadok’s hands.

…

“Talk about a bunch of idiots.” Sauron remarked after witnessing Flowey’s defeat. “But at least Tabuu was able to catch one of them.”

The Program in question had placed a statue of Ayamik on a pedestal, forming a “Thinker” pose as he analyzed it. “That girl is still alive, isn’t she? Smash her to pieces or something, Tabuu, you can make more later!”

Tabuu shook his head in dismay, but decided to obey as he tore off Ayamik’s head. “Mission accomplished, baby! Now it’s smooooooth sailin’~”

Lorac and Leic were behind a rock, studying Sauron’s tower a few miles off. “We’ve come far without being spotted, Leic.” Lorac whispered. “But that’s a lot of undead souls guarding him.”

“I’ll do my very best to hold them off, Lorac. Haha, but I can’t believe you’re willing to face Sauron all on your own! I hadn’t realized you were so strong!”

“Oh, strength is overrated.” Lorac smirked confidently. “All you need is a pair of fleet feet to steal from an eyeball demon!”

Sauron had been watching the battle at the volcano, and how Sector TG took Ikus away on a tiny car, which would be picked up by Nollid and Nega-L. Sauron used his Ring of Resurrection to summon the spirits of his fallen minions, ordering them after the group. Saruman challenged Nollid to a magical duel, both casting light spells at one-another, and the younger mage was the victor, collecting a Catch Card of a dreary woman named Jennifer. They were nearing the Masked Lounge, but were ambushed by the Witch-king of Angmar. Ydolem volunteered to fight the spirit, her ghostly eyes showing bravery as she nimbly evaded the being’s attacks with Veils. She built up her chi and willed Hsa to become a Shadow Serpent Dragon, gnashing the Witch-king in its teeth and defeating him. His card contained a circus man named Sylvando.

“Those damn idiots.” Sauron cursed, his eye narrowed. “For being spirits, they sure don’t have spirit. HAHAH! Can’t wait to spread that one to my new empire. …What?!” He heard commotion nearby and whipped around. Leic was soaring around and slicing his soldiers with a white, scythe-like Zanpakutō, turning them into butterflies. “Where did that angel come from?! ’ey, you! Stop!” He fired a Combustion Beam, Leic dodging swiftly.

With her teammate distracting Sauron, Lorac began to race across the valley. She came to a field of rotating Beamos resembling mini Saurons, watching their movements carefully before maneuvering through between their blind spots. She came to a lava pit, a trail of stalagmites leading across, and she danced across them with grace and excellent balance. Regardless, one of the mites fell over from her gentle weight, and she hastily jumped to the next, wrapping it in her legs. Lorac flailed her arms, about to fall backward into lava, but with heart racing, she was able to regain herself and grab the point in her hands.

From there, she jumped to a safe platform, thankful Sauron hadn’t heard her little struggle. Fiery arches began to spew in and out of the lava, but with no other way to go, Lorac utilized Laser Grinding to glide across the arches, inputting enough chi to her feet to keep them from burning. She leapt to a safe land, hiding behind a boulder when Sauron glanced over. Lorac entered a narrow, entrenched area where lasers skimmed along the walls, evading them as usual. Lorac came to a cliffside over a lava pit, able to sidle a very thin ledge on her tippy-toes. There were windows in the cliff through which Sauron could glance through, Lorac halting whenever his ominous gaze shone. His rays even peered through tiny holes, but even the smallest glare was dangerous to step in, so she either ducked under or stepped over as necessary.

At last, she was at the base of Sauron’s tower. There were bricks sticking out just slightly, but she was able to balance her toes on them and climb up. She reached a wire curving up in an S-like fashion, folding hands and legs over it to climb. There were thin indents in the side, barely big enough for Lorac to squeeze in whenever Sauron glanced down. Past the wire, a stairway of thin spikes thrusted in and out. Lorac only had brief seconds to jump each spike, keeping a steady concentration of chi. She would then have to climb a wall of spikes, imbuing chi to her palms the same as her soles, determined not to let a single spike prick her.

With only a bit of climbing left before the top, a giant torch erupted near the top of the spikes. It went out, so Lorac jumped on, and quickly jumped to a spear tip before it reignited. She waited for the next torch to go out, having to jump it quickly as the spear threatened to tip over. “Oh, I can’t wait ’til this is over.” Sauron mumbled to himself as Lorac balanced across some smaller torches lighting on-and-off. “Gettin’ all the lady elves I could ask for once I rebuild my empire.” Lorac clambered across a thin wire, and lasers erected from the tower to burn the segments behind her, causing the wire to sink from her weight, but she managed to step off on a platform. “And a contacts factory. Oh, that’s a must-have.”

Small bricks poked out of the wall above, Lorac precisely, but quietly Wall Jumping them. She grabbed the very rim of the tower and clambered around, getting behind Sauron’s eye. Once it was safe, she climbed up. The Ring of Resurrection was on a pedestal beneath the eye, so Lorac tiptoed up. With a determined glare, and a swift swipe of the hand, the ring was hers. “And it’s all thanks to you, my handy-dandy replacement… ring?”

Sauron’s eye tilted down… but there was no ring. “WHAT?! DAMMIT! Where is it?! Where did it go this time?!” The eye skimmed around in panic. “Maybe it landed on one of the spikes! Hey, minions, get over here and help me…?!”

Lorac had dove off the tower immediately after snatching it. Before hitting the ground, she pulled a cord, and her puffy pants inflated to slow her descent. Sauron turned, and she was bathed in his ray of light. Lorac showed him her fierce expression as she rolled her floating body and chucked the ring into the lava. “AAAAAAHHH!” The magic binding him to the Mortal World vanished, his eye sparking like lightning. “No…HOW… WHAT KIND OF…” Sauron studied Lorac’s image in his last moments. Her short stature, ragged clothing, and bare feet made it clear what she was. “You… dirty Hobbit… Always taking my stuff… I hate Hobbits…IIIIIII HAAAAAAATE HOOOBBIIIIIIIITS!”

Sauron cried his last, exploding in a flash. The tower collapsed, as did the land around it. Lorac quickly deflated her pants to land, screaming as she dashed from the crumbling land. With a skip of the heart, she dodged falling rocks, jumped sinking boulders across the lava, but one of the boulders sprouted up with a geyser. “AAAAAH!” She flailed her arms, nothing to save her from the lava, until Leic swooped by and caught her in his arms. “Whoa! Thank you, Leic!”

“What kind of Guardian Angel lets his friend die?!” Leic beamed, excitedly dodging the other falling debris. Once far enough from the destruction, they landed and fell to their rears, watching the last evidence of Sauron crumble before their eyes. “HEEE-YEAH!” The two teammates high-fived.

…

“So, even the boastful Sauron was defeated.” Altair shook her head. “Hmm… it’s rather funny. In my own world, so many powers in one area could lead to universal collapse, but for these kids, it’s another walk in the park. There’s probably nothing that can surprise them, anymore. And there’s probably nothing… that can defeat them, either.” The princess viewed down at Sector -W, who were crossing a field and battling enemies. “After all, I think I now understand just what this ‘Dimensional Fusion’ is. But I might as well give them my best shot.” She turned, smirking at the group who had come to challenge her: Hcaz, Ylime, Ycrad, and Okam.

Altair had sent her own lieutenants after Nega-W, using her powers to summon the most popular people in the multiverse, and “persuaded” them to capture these super dangerous monster kids. Luke Skywalker attacked with powerful psychicbending, but Ibyf countered with fearbending, giving Luke the vision of becoming a grumpy old man. Luke fell, and Ibyf seized his card of a princess named Lissa. Goku greeted them enthusiastically, wanting to see how strong the kids were. Ynohtna took the stage, swiftly dodging all of Goku’s powerful attacks and trying to crack jokes to lighten his fighting spirit. Goku grew to like the little guy and decided not to attack them. He gave Ynohtna his card of a bear named Tooty. Homer Simpson ran up and started choking Ynohtna, but Yllas and Yevrah carved him up with their Topmen. Like the previous foes, Homer dispersed into psychic dust, dropping his card of Juni Cortez.

Altair flew to Hcaz’s group, recognizing the boy as one of the Nega-Lights. Of course, this was likely the one Melissa was referencing earlier. “First Movement of Cosmos: Identity Analysis.” A scanner appeared before Altair’s eyes and studied Hcaz. “Hcaz Yhprum, a Moonbase officer who trained in Haki. There’s Okam, whose talent rivals yours, and your unremarkable cohorts, Ylime and Ycrad. However, there’s another ability the four of you have studied. You have the Power to Defy Law, which lets you distort reality in insane ways for the sake of comedy. Were you planning to challenge me with that power?” Altair smirked. “As bizarre as it is, it’s all illusions that deal psychological pain to the opponent. I’ll brush it off easily as a-” She brushed her shoulder for emphasis, and found her hand pressing a blue-shelled baby turtle. “Huh?”

“Eh, excuse me Ma’am, it’s illegal to press blue turtles.” said a papa turtle. “It’s punishable by ear-horn.”

HOOOONK! Twin horns blasted into her ears, Altair flinching. “Screw your laws! I’ll press this turtle as many times as I want!” And so she repeated her action, suffering horn blows each time. “Agh! Why the hell am I pressing this turtle?! What’s come over me?”

“Your own power, being used against you.” Hcaz tapped his head. “Your power stems from the creative minds of real people. But it isn’t just power, people can imagine you to like or do anything, like the violin. And I say you like to press turtles!”

“My power doesn’t work like that, boy! Your ideas have to be accepted by a popular majority.”

“Got ya one right here.” Hcaz opened his head, revealing circles of desks and brain cells working on computers. “After Melissa told us about you, my brain cells started brainstorming a bunch of ideas and posting them on the Brainternet. Cells throughout the world have been giggling and popularizing the new fad that is Altair.”

“THAT’S COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS!” Her eyes popped out.

“And my brain has twice as many workers!” Okam opened her head. “My idea was to give you face-faults.”

“Hah… Well, if this is your big plan, so be it! All you’re doing is giving me more power. But I don’t plan on humoring you, so I’ll diminish your creativity with a Size Alteration!” In a flash, Hcaz and Okam shrunk beyond sight, Ycrad and Ylime cluelessly looking for them. “Don’t bother searching. I’ve made them smaller than the air molecules. They’ll suffocate within—HAHAHAHAHA!” Altair clamped her mouth shut with a blush. “What? I didn’t—HAHAHA! Hahahahahaha what’s happening now?!”

“Holy birdy, Ylime!” Ycrad viewed through a magnifying glass. “There’s been an outbreak of laughuloids! Good thing Altair’s a laughuum!”

“Duh-huh! Laughuum!” Ylime printed her idea from her nose. Against her own will, Altair’s mouth became a vacuum, slurping all the laughuloids out of the air. Her stomach opened as a capsule fell out, Hcaz and Okam bursting out in their full sizes.

“Fourth Movement: Environment Adapt!” Altair surged with madness in her veins. “I’ll just beat you at your own game!”

Using her Super Fist of the Movement of Cosmos, Altair turned the planet into a dancing toothpick man, forcing everyone to do a Hawaiian dance. They found their selves helpless to her spell, so Hcaz had to develop the Super Fist of Anti-Logic sub-series: the Stiffness of Wanda! The toothpick man got an addiction to marshmallows under Hcaz’s power, causing him to swell up to a proper planet proportion. Their world was saved for now, but Altair willed the marshmallows to be contaminated with Mud-Tarts, which Toothpick Man was allergic to and caused him to vomit. The volcanic vomit threatened to drown everyone, but Ylime’s love for Mud-Tarts allowed her to inhale it all like a vortex.

By swallowing it all, Ylime evolved into Ylmbledore, a powerful wizard who practiced the art of Lemonwear. They trained under her to decide who can wear lemons better. Altair gave her lemon princess dress Yoshi fountains, spraying their eyes with the acidic juice. Okam flaunted her Sunny D Glasses, countering the lemon and dowsing Altair with a tan. By tanning her, Altair turned into Godzilla, a fact which made Okam’s eyes pop out with a face-fault—they popped out a little too much and fell out. The stretched eyes became submarines; Hcaz and Ycrad occupied one while Altair and Ylime took the other.

Now undersea, the submarines launched torpedo dolphins at each other. Altair requested to be launched next, squeezing into the tube as she was fired. As she closed in on Hcaz’s sub, she presented an expired lease and told Hcaz he had to return the ship. Hcaz confessed that he already knew; he simply set this whole thing up because he knew Altair wanted to be tickled by a Kraken. To their shock, a giant Okam appeared, her eye sockets still vacant as she grew a tentacle mustache, ensnaring and tickling them all.

Altair attempted to use Thirteenth Movement: Outline Origin to set Hcaz back to before he learned Bo-bobo Kempo—Hcaz’s body poofed and literally became an outline. His posture was that of a smoking man leaning against a wall. The world changed into the appropriate setting, all made with lines. Ycrad approached Hcaz, bringing the unfortunate news that her parakeet was arrested. Hcaz knew he needed to make a delivery, and so called the mailman (Altair) to take the package. When asked of her destination, Hcaz told her to take it across a field of turtles. Altair confusedly stepped across them—some of the turtles were blue, not that it was clear without color, and so horns HONKED in her ears with each misstep.

A furious Altair ripped the dimension in half, conjuring a Raspberry Shower to drench the hand-drawn world. The wettening world crumpled and compressed, and was flushed down a toilet. Altair suddenly found herself dressed like a plumber, being ordered by Okam to plunge out the paper she just flushed. Altair begrudgingly obeyed, thrusting the plunger in and out—Ylime exploded out of the toilet with their submarine in hand. “YOU LEFT ME DOWN THERE!” And she slammed the sub against Altair’s head.

Although the pain wasn’t real, she decided to transmit it to Hcaz with the 14th Movement. …To her surprise, the pain manifested as an impish spirit, who was sitting at a bar with Hcaz, sharing a soda. The pain opened up to Hcaz, sad that Altair never wants to spend time. Hcaz patted his back and said, “I feel ya, buddy. Sometimes, you just gotta suck it in and work a steamroller.” So, the pain returned to his job as a steamroller-driver, flattening the two submarines and the girls who were still inside.

The battle lasted for 10 hours, all fighters throwing up gags one after the other, yet there was no sign of ending. But after Altair found herself sent to remedial golfing class, the Military Princess found herself laughing. “Ah hahahaha…hahahaha…HAH HAH HAH hah hah!”

“Geez, I didn’t think golfing class was that funny.” Okam said.

“Hm hm… forgive my outburst.” Altair said calmly. “It’s just, I find it so funny, how foolish I was for even trying. Now, I completely understand what this Dimensional Fusion is.” The woman opened her arms and faced the heavens. “This universe… is just like me! It is an ever-expanding power that draws in creativity from multiple sources, giving itself an endless array of powers! With so many powers available to its denizens, they can make their selves strong against any invader! That’s why my fellow Under Army officers have been defeated, it’s exactly why Lord English will be defeated! It should have been clear from the beginning… I can’t win.”

“What’re you rambling about?” Hcaz asked.

“Haven’t I made myself clear? I give up.” Altair frowned. “I have no reason to fight a long, drawn-out battle of comedy. Eventually, you’ll come up with some bizarre gag that renders me at a standstill. It’s clear that your Creator… loves you a great deal. …I wonder what that feels like. I wonder… how my Creator would’ve felt about me… If I reset my world, I wonder if I could meet her…”

Hcaz and co. weren’t sure how to respond to her monologue. A portal then appeared behind Altair under her power. She faced up at them with a smile. “Farewell, Hcaz. You are making your Creator proud with every challenge overcome. I will watch from afar as your universe is born anew.”

“…” Hcaz and Okam nodded and saluted the princess. Altair’s body dissolved into psychic particles that flowed into the portal. It sealed, carrying her across the Sea of Worlds and back to her homeworld. “…Thank goodness ’cause I was seriously out of ideas.” Hcaz sighed.

“I wasn’t.” Okam smiled. “So, whaddo we do now?”

“By my understanding, the only two Under Army agents left are Werdna and Tabuu. If we can take out the latter, we can get rid of this Subspace.”

“Yeah… Only problem is, Melissa said Tabuu lives in there.” Okam indicated a distant stairway going up to a cluster of bubbles, displaying different worlds. Indeed, Tabuu was hidden within a Great Maze of collected lands.

…

All the operatives regrouped in the Masked Lounge to recollect their selves. Tomura, Salem, and the lieutenants were locked in a Penance Chamber, while Amadok wanted to keep Flowey on her flower pot backpack for now. A lot of the kids panicked at the sight of Aluben and ganged up on her, until her teammates stopped them and assured she was an ally now… they think. Aluben’s bones respawned, sporting a smile. “At least I won’t have to worry about dentist visits!”

“She’s so creepy!” Alol and Yrret said.

“It’s wonderful to see you in high spirits, at least!” Leic said.

“Wait, Leic, do you know her?” Lorac asked.

“Well, kind of. Haha, I doubt she remembers me!”

Ydolem viewed the jar of dust that was once her brother, crying as Nollid held her close. Ikus didn’t show the same sadness for her father, though Yllehs tried to comfort her. And Ikuyim had no idea, for she was still in the Posiverse.

Melissa and the DNK made the journey into Tabuu’s Great Maze. The entrance to Tabuu’s chamber was sealed by trophies of their selves. They had to divide and explore the maze to defeat Shadows of their selves, plus other rehashed bosses. (This is basically The Scattered Realms 2.0. Make up a super long stage if you have the free time. :))

With all their skills put to the test, the Boss Door opened. The heroes all entered Tabuu’s chamber. They saw the broken statue of Ayamik lain before the Program. He would show no hesitation as he surged with power and readied to unleash his shockwave. But when it burst, an energy barrier shielded the kids. “?!” Tabuu’s body-language indicated surprise. (Play “Boss Battle 2” from Smash Brawl!)

Xedni, seated on her floating computer pod (a chair with a circular desk of keyboards and screens), smirked as she inputted a code. “This whole Subspace dimension is some kind of virtual world, right? It took me some time, but I was able to crack the code. You’re getting erased for good.”

Tabuu shook his arms in anger. He shot energy bullets, but Xedni floated in evasion, shooting her own digi-bullets. Tabuu teleported to dodge, but felt himself taking damage from an unseen force. Xedni was firing shrunken bullets, but hacked to contain as much strength as normal ones. Anaigrom used a small device to spray a bramble tattoo to Allebmoog’s arms, and Xedni hacked her friend to extend her arms and lash Tabuu from afar. The Program divided into clones, circling them, but Alleb’s stretched attacks could disperse the fakes. The real Tabuu caught Alleb in a whip and swung her around before slamming the ground.

Tabuu willed small energy spheres to orbit around himself rapidly, creating somewhat of a barrier. He chased Xedni, hoping to attack her with said spheres, in which she kept her distance. She rapidly typed complex code and managed to slow the spheres’ frame-rate. Asigan quickly shot icicles at the Program, but Tabuu retaliated by warping behind her and dealing a rapid slash attack. Anaigrom blew Asigan away from him with a Burp Gust. Tabuu conjured and seated himself on a giant laser cannon, firing and rotating it. The kids all had to duck for safety while Xedni programmed the cannon to stop in place. She then whipped up a digital block to insert into the cannon, the laser severely backing up and exploding.

The kids gazed up in horror as a giant Tabuu loomed over the world. Xedni focused on Anaigrom and inputted a code to drastically enlarge her head. Titan Tabuu rained Heat Vision, which Anaigrom countered with a Burp Gust, the wind smothering the giant’s face. When Tabuu’s attack ceased, Xedni shrunk Anaigrom’s head, but enlarged her arms and legs, allowing her to get behind and bind Tabuu. Xedni was able to focus her coding and shrink Tabuu back to normal size. He teleported around the field, then stopped in the center of the group as clones flew out of him, knocking the kids over upon impact.

Tabuu conjured a wide sword and soared along the ground with it aimed forward. The kids evaded him as Anaigrom sprayed dragon tattoos on Allebmoog, and Xedni hacked more to her strength as she clasped the sword and pushed Tabuu back. The Abmoog hoisted herself up to pound the Program, but Tabuu warped off and became brackets, enclosing Allebmoog in them and slamming her down. Tabuu warped above, formed wings, and unleashed another shockwave. Xedni barely survived the attack with a shield, but watched as her friends were turned into trophies.

The Program conjured and threw a giant shuriken, swirling to-and-fro past Xedni repeatedly in attempt to cut her. Xedni analyzed the data from the shockwave, mixed with that of her stoned friends, all while evading the shuriken. “Aha! I think I got your number!” Xedni inputted a new code, and wings of her own appeared. “Have a taste of your own medicine!” A green shockwave exploded from her station, so Tabuu countered it with his red wave. The two forces fought each other, shaking the chamber. Xedni’s station was sparking from rapid typing and hacking, her fingers practically falling off, but with the last of her brainpower squeezed out, Tabuu’s shockwave shattered.

The Program was struck by Xedni’s shockwave. His loud whirring was like a cry of agony as Tabuu solidified into a trophy. He clanked loudly on the ground, posed like the Thinker as the object fell on its side. (End song.)

With Tabuu’s power disabled, the entire Subspace was beginning to quake. “We’ll be okay! Just hold your horses!” Melissa assured. Outside, all the Subspace bubbles shrank into nothing, restoring the treehouses and all the landscapes to their true glory. The DNK found their selves landing on an open field somewhere under a gray sky. “Hey! My friends are still statues.” Xedni said.

“No big deal.” Melissa slapped the Nega-SA girls, and they changed back in a flash of light.

“Oh, man… I feel really stiff.” Asigan said.

“I’m glad that’s fixed.” Ininap said. “But what about… her?”

They showed remorse at Ayamik’s headless body. Melissa took them to the lounge and reattached the head using special glue from the Stone World. Once perfectly realigned, Ayamik changed back like the others. However, she had quickly passed out from the trauma. “Yep, fine and dandy.” Melissa grinned. “But… wow. I can’t believe you were able to beat the Under Army. Heck, my dad and those boys were havin’ a hella hard time with The Thirteen’s armies… What makes you all so special?”

“We just are.” Ydnew folded her arms proudly. “This is our universe, and we ain’t lettin’ anyone take it.”

“Even so, we owe you a debt, Melissa.” Ydolem smiled. “It was thanks to you we managed to win.”

“Oh, don’t butter me up, I’m just doin’ my job. Speakin’ of, I better get these prisoners back to their homeworlds. So, hand the flower over.”

“It was nice traveling with you, Flowey.” Amadok smiled, handing him over.

“It was torture, and if I see you again, I’ll kill you!” He grinned demonically.

Melissa secured all the army agents, inserted keys into the ignition, and her ship rumbled, ready for takeoff. …But then it stopped. …A cold feeling entered her heart.

The DNK all felt the same: a terrible, empty cold. The weather, in reality, was still an average warm. Yet, there was the most… horrifying, chilling, ominous feeling. Perhaps it was the sky: they had only thought it was cloudy… but the sky had never looked that milky gray. The gray became thicker, as if covering the whole atmosphere, smothering the world. It was getting harder to breathe. However, the only positive one here was Yllehs. “Look! It’s Uncle Werdna!”

There was the source of the cold feeling. Pope Werdna stood in the middle of the empty field, draped in a gray cloak. His eyes were gray, empty voids. “Pope Werdna… is no more. Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”

His voice seemed to resonate from the sky itself, an omnipresence that eclipsed everything. The looming gray was growing thicker… and drawing closer. “The destruction of many souls, and many worlds… has allowed my deathbending to evolve. I have risen to Logia and beyond. I will finally bring about the End.” (Play “Battle for Everyone’s Souls” from Persona 3.)

The milky gray flooded the entire planet. It had already flooded all other worlds. Their color, their substance, their souls… they were becoming gray and empty. The air was becoming thicker, impossible to breathe. Inevitable death. “Yeah, well go fuck yourself!” Melissa declared, going to slice the Pope in half. His body was intangible and hollow. Lirpa dashed, applied Haki, and stamped Werdna’s head… but still nothing. All benders channeled chi into that spot, more Haki users helped… but he was absolute nothing.

The illusion of Werdna faded. …In the sky, he eclipsed them all. A pair of empty, soul-chilling eyes, and a mouth that rattled their hearts with each word. “End… was meant for all. I will welcome you into my void. Your souls will remain with me. There will be no sound… no speech… no love… no anger… no mind… Forget yourselves… and forget everything.”

“No! Please…” Ininap got to her knees and prayed. “No… don’t let it end like this. Please, gods. We were so close to saving the world. We want to keep living!”

“Melissa, what the frick do we do?!” Hcaz asked.

“Me?! What about your comedy routines?!”

“I…I-I can’t think of anything for this!”

“Well, I dunno what to do! I didn’t think… Werdna became anything like this. …Is this really… the End?”

The gray was closing in. In only a moment, their worlds would be nothing… and they… would be nothing.

Werdna’s eyes then saw nothing. No mountains…no sea…no light…no dark… there was nothing-

Until a bunch of small lights appeared. “?!” The DNK… had survived? They looked to be as equally confused as he was. “Uh…Ininap?” Aror asked, wondering if her prayer worked.

“I…I heard a voice a moment ago.” Ininap replied.

“Don’t worry! We didn’t forget about the ‘Negatives’! If any one of you can hear me, I’m Calliope. As I speak, your friends’ hearts are coming together and growing stronger under my power. This power should affect you, too. It seems like you’re in danger down there, but this should be more than enough! With my Belief, you can strike down any entity!”

“Sounds about as weird as it gets.” Eirik grinned deviously. “But I ain’t complainin’. Fellas, what ya say we kick him in the end?”

“Werdna, how rude of you to interrupt Melissa’s departure.” Atnij said charmingly. “Perhaps she would like the first attack?”

“Huh?” Melissa was surprised to see herself bathed in the light. “Me?”

“You are our friend too, right?” Ydolem asked. “Of course you should share this with us.”

At that moment, the gray realm seemed to darken as Melissa smiled deviously. “Sniper girl, shoot me with this after about a minute.” She tossed Avakam an advanced tranquilizer. Melissa burst with red aura, her body becoming dark and eyes glowing: it was her Nightmare Mistress. She flew to Werdna’s face with deathly speed. Her power and speed were unparalleled as she seemed to carve the “nothing” into millions of pieces.

“No. Do not defy… the End.”

“SHADDUP!” With one extra, fearsome slash, the soulless sky shattered. Outside the atmosphere, one could see the gray, milky ball burst open and spew out. The minute had passed, so Avakam landed a successful shot with the tranquilizer. Melissa’s Fury Mode had vanished. “Thanks, guys. If I stayed in that, I would’ve attacked you, too.”

“Not a problem.” Arorua smiled. “Daring New Kids… take him down.”

They could all sense Pope Werdna’s “presence” within the nothing. As bizarre as he was for a Logia, he was still human, so they gave him everything they had. Sirhc slammed him with his Armordillo, Arorua did a vertical spin-slash from the opposite side, her sword scraping Sirhc’s shield through Werdna. Akurah shoved gas down his throat, Eirik screamed and ruptured his eardrums. Eitra’s Haki hamsters squeezed him, Eelyah trapped him in cement, Yrrah penetrated him with a laser. Nosam burned him with boiling tears, Aliehs weakened his Nothing with darkness.

Yllas and Yevrah sliced him up with bladed tops. Ibyf made his worries increase with fearbending. Ynohtna pelted him with chi-blocks, his positivity aggravating Werdna. Ahcom applied her own Gentle Fist, making him susceptible to Lirpa’s powerful kicks. Yenmihc smothered him in fumes, and Asia’s airbending willed the fumes to enter his lungs. Sipa’s Torture Curse heightened his pain receptors, giving Ahcniea some pleasure in piercing his brain.

Ydolem’s Shadow Dragon devoured him, Nollid pelted him with attack spells. Alol’s Butterfly Gun tickled Werdna while Yrret’s psychic crushed him. Ikus drowned him in lava, Yllehs froze it to rock. “Sorry, Uncle Werdy.” Atnij sang to give his girls more power, Amadok’s spirits binded the Pope. Uzuy exploded him with Footbombs, Nirak’s tennis balls were like cannonballs. Ururu put him in a choke-hold, Asigan lashed with water slices. Anaigrom blasted Burp Bombs, Allebmoog whaled on him with Dragon Tattoos. Xedni formed solid holograms of Knil to shoot digi-bullets.

Ydnew opened a vortex to catch and compress the Pope, Oemor summoned a whale Dream Spirit to brutally ram him. Lihp pounced and choked his neck, Ikik pelted his stomach with punches, and Revilo shot his back with Dark Beams. Aluben compressed his skull, Annaira made his blood spurt out. Avakam filled him with holes, so Beewv could enter him and carve up his organs. Yddam dealt water punches, the wetness allowing Atnort’s lightning to deal greater pain. Hcaz’s crew made him go sled-racing with a Tanuki, where the requirements were to bump their heads on frozen salamis. Eel stabbed him with metal, Ynned pelted bullet-speed baseballs, and Ulul flashed a Solar Beam from her plant.

“No… It will not end… I-It cannot end… like this!” The nothing that was Werdna began to well with emotions. “This was supposed to be The End! For 4,000 years…4,000 years, we waited! It can’t end like this…! IT CAN’T END LIKE THIS! NAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH…”

And where there was nothing, there was light. Werdna, overwhelmed by so many powers, scattered into dust. A beautiful, heavenly light warmed the entire cosmos. Melissa quickly entered her ship, bid a quick “See you later,” and entered hyperspace. The DNK hoped for her safe departure… and allowed the light to take them. (End song.)

Everyone awoke on a river resembling a film strip. They viewed bubbles with images displaying moments from their world. “Mmmm…” Sipa’s eyes opened to a white mass. It took the form of Nerehc Onu. He was smiling sweetly. “N…Nerehc?!”

“So, you all ended up here, too? Nice.” he said simply.

“Hey, guys, we won!” Ikuyim waved.

“IKUYIM!” Her teammates ran to hug her. “Oh, I’ve never felt so joyous!” Yrret said. “But, um… some people didn’t make it.”

Ikuyim frowned, hearing of her father and Ynnad’s unfortunate fates. “…I was afraid of that. They mentioned some Positives died, and… the names sound similar. …But I’m glad everyone else is okay.” She smiled.

“What’s happening, Nerehc?” Sipa asked. “Where are we… going?”

Nerehc held her hands warmly. “We’re going… to the New Universe.”

“And… you’re coming with us… right?”

There was a noble spark in his eyes. “I sure don’t trust Ininap to lead you.”

“I wouldn’t trust me, either.” Ininap smiled.

Joy pumped Sipa’s heart, and she embraced Nerehc in a kiss. With that, the Daring New Kids faced the coming horizon. It was time to enter… a daring new world.

…

Everyone let loose their pent-up frustration at the victory party. Leic tried to dance with Lorac, until Nosam shoved him away, the girl glaring at him. Xedni was holding Ubnok and swinging him around. Atnij sang a melody while his girls and Nega-SA danced on a stage. Sirhc danced with Yddam, Ydolem and Nollid shared a slow dance, and Ikuyim was throwing Yrret up in the air. Nerehc and Sipa danced close to Cheren and Panini, exchanging partners every few seconds, during which Sipa cast a spell to glue Cheren and Pan’s butts together.

The celebration spread to Underworld Prison, where the returned prisoners danced their hearts out. Pope Werdna slouched in his cell, tortured every second by every note and cheer uttered.

Chapter Text

I think our Negatives need a break after all that!

The DNK held funerals for those departed. The sun felt warmer and brighter than ever as though smiling at the kids for their victory. Everyone was goofing off on their new Moonbase, play-fighting, chasing, and Xedni discarded her diet for a day to chow down all she pleased. Nerehc later called everyone for an announcement: the Positives were hosting Field Day, and they were invited!

“Now’s our chance to show the Positives who the best sectors are!”

“Uh, Nerehc? Quick question.” Ininap tapped his shoulder. “What about her?”

Her finger pointed at Aluben, who was grinning innocently and bound in chi-blocks. Nerehc approached her and asked, “So, what exactly is your deal, Aluben? Do you hold any ill will against us?”

“Of course not! The DNK are working to spread smiles to everyone! Captain Ydnam would be happy!”

“Right… Well, since you helped us beat the Under Army, I guess you deserve to be part of this, too.”

“Yaaaaay!”

“But we’re keeping chi-blocking wristbands on you.”

“Okay!”

Fireworks went off in the skies of Aquaria as thousands attended to watch the heroes in Field Day! While Mako began to announce the participating sectors, Okam did the same for their sectors, but you can just read Part 1 of this series to remember who they are! Field Day kicked off with the Home-Run Contest. The strongest operatives from each sector lined up to show their strength! (The DNK would fling the Sandbag in the opposite direction the Positives would have.)

• Global Command – Nerehc entered Fierce Deity Fury and mercilessly slashed the Sandbag up. When he sent the bag flying, his score was natural: “-15,090 yards!”
• Nega-Sector V – Eitra pummeled the Sandbag with his Haki, then had a bunch of hamsters amass on his arm. They picked up the Sandbag as Eitra thrusted his arm up and launched them. The hamsters kicked one-another off to make the Sandbag fly farther. “-10,842 yards!”
• Nega-Sector W – Ibyf did no damage to the Sandbag, but built up her Fear Chi as she held the bag above her. With a devastating Scream, the bag flew the distance. “-5,010 yards!”
• Nega-Sector L – Ikuyim brought crystals up and used them to brutally pound the bag. When time was up, she pulled the crystals back and thrusted them forcefully for a launch. “-7,102 yards!”
• Nega-W7 – Lirpa propped her hands to the platform, whirling her legs in the air to build a kicking combo with her Haki legs. Once time was up, she kicked the Sandbag like a soccerball. “-11,005 yards!”
• Nega-JP – Uzuy pummeled the Sandbag with Footbombs. Afterwards, she lifted it up and threw powerfully. “-6,203 yards!”
• Nega-SA – Allebmoog used Dragon Tattoos to punch and build up damage for the Sandbag. She quickly used the Spring Tattoo to launch it away! “-6,543 yards!”
• Nega-TG – Dnis attacked the Sandbag with Fire Bullets before grabbing his tiny-size baseball bat. Despite his size, the little human sent the bag flying with amazing force. “-7,083 yards!”
• Nega-MG – Ikik attacked the Sandbag from all directions with Spaceman Taijutsu. A double punch sent it flying. “-4,940 yards!”
• DNKG – Atnort used a constant electric field to damage the Sandbag, then sent it flying with a Lightning Beam. “-8,602 yards!”
• Nega-$ - Hgielar attacked the Sandbag with his Haki and sent it flying with a mighty punch. “-11,100 yards!”

“What the hell?!” Eitra yelled. “How’re you stronger than me and mah hamsters?!”

“When you grow up being hunted by Nomékop, the will to survive comes naturally.” Hgielar replied, flexing his muscles.

“Hey, Nerehc.” Cheren greeted as he and Nebula approached him. “Seems your gang is doing okay. What was actually happening on their end, anyway?”

“Eh, that’s kinda complicated. …Oh yeah, GKND lady, you never met your Negative, did you?”

“Yeah, I haven’t.” Nebula realized. “Didn’t you say she was an evil bonebender?”

“I used to be, but now I’m as happy as a froggy!”

Nebula turned—“GYAH!” and jumped back at the sight of Aluben’s beaming grin.

“Yep! Meet Aluben. Don’t worry, we think she’s friendly now.”

“Ah…nice to meet you.” Nebula nervously shook her hand.

“And to you, too! Hehe, you have such a tiny mouth!”

“Uh…’kay? …Aluben, I’m curious, did anything happen to your mom?”

“I cut off my mom’s arms and stabbed her with her own bones!”

“… … …Why?”

“Because she was an awful person and I hated her! What about you? I bet your mom is nice!”

“Y…Yeah… she was… but she’s an angel now.”

“I would love to meet her!”

“Uh…you’re kind of missing something here.”

The next game announced was The Footrace Plus Other Body Parts! The fastest operatives were chosen:

• Global Command – Nerehc Onu
• Nega-V – Sirhc Onu – even without his Armordillo, he mastered rolling naturally and rolled the first part of the race.
• Nega-W – Yllas Reprah
• Nega-L – Ikuyim – is kicked out after accidentally using a rock-launch.
• Nega-W7 – Lirpa (-1st place)
• Nega-JP – Ururu (-2nd place)
• Nega-SA – Allebmoog – cartwheels most of the way and climbs through the jungle easily (-3rd place)
• Nega-MG – Lihp
• Nega-$ - Lorac – takes a special route across wooden spikes, jumping gracefully.
• DNKG – Beewv – tries to cut through the shoes of other racers to trip them, but when attempting to on Lorac, her chi concentration shields her feet from his swords.
• Nega-TG – Dnis – catches up to his gigantic Positive and trips him, bragging about his superior strength.

With everyone’s appetites ringing, the next game was “Sweet Tooth”! Everyone had to sit at tables and try to restrain their selves from eating amazingly delicious semla. They had to bite at least one bite every minute for 10 minutes, and the one with the most semla remaining wins. The heaviest sweet tooths were chosen:

• Global Command – Ininap
• Nega-V – Nosam – “Please, let me share this with Lorac.” (-2nd place)
• Nega-W – Ynohtna
• Nega-L – Alol Krots
• Nega-W7 – Ahcom
• Nega-JP – Atnij
• Nega-SA – Xedni (-1st place)
• Nega-MG – Ikik – “No way am I letting this go to waste!” And she ate it up. Her Positive looked at her with slight repulse.
• Nega-$ - Acificap – “Man, this is so magical…”
• DNKG – Aluben – “Nebula, you simply must try this!!” She runs to give it to Nebula, who bites it. …Nebula falls in love.
• Nega-TG – Narod – barely tried and swallowed the semla happily.

The sight of the challenge made everyone more hungry, so it was time to “Cook It Up”! While Zess T. judged the Positives’ cooking, a chef from Flip-Flop known as Dyllis was called to judge the Negatives’ cooking. The best cooks in each sector were voted:

• Global Command – Okam – Rivalry Roast – a cooked hand-shaped meat arm-wrestling with hand-shaped roasted veggies.
• Nega-V – Arorua – Spider-Thread Soup – Black soup with red noodles shaping like spider-webs.
• Nega-W – Yevrah – Top Pudding – several pudding mounds that spin around the plate on their tips. If you’re lucky, you’ll catch the one with the special prize.
• Nega-L – Alol Krots – Butterflied Toast – butterfly-shaped toast with edible butterflies squashed and spread on it.
• Nega-W7 – Sipa – Demon’s Tongue – a tongue-shaped steak that tastes toxic, but after immediately sharing a kiss with someone (as she did with Nerehc) it tastes amazing.
• Nega-JP – Atnij – Heart Fruit – a large, pink heart-shaped fruit that must be eaten by multiple people to taste better. He and his teammates bite it together, and it tastes heavenly. (-1st place)
• Nega-SA – Anaigrom – Fashionable Soda – various colored sodas that only taste well depending on one’s clothing styles.
• Nega-MG – Revilo – Hate Spice – a spice meant to be poured on someone’s favorite food to make them hate it.
• Nega-$ - Hgielar – Pikachu Guts with Slugma Ketchup (-2nd place)
• DNKG – Avakam – Gun Corn – gun-shaped popcorn that will shoot the other foods inside your stomach to make them digest faster.
• Nega-TG – Narod – Choco-Pop – tiny chocolate balls that explode inside your belly, filling you with chocolate.

“I think you guys got us beat there, Cherry.” Nerehc said as he tried the Positives’ food. “There’s some darn good cooks on your side.”

“Yeah, Yuzu’s pretty awesome.”

“Hey!” Raleigh yelled, approaching Hgielar. “Did you make those with actual Pokémon?!”

“The ingredients were available. But they told me these were from my universe, not yours.”

“That doesn’t matter! Pokémon weren’t meant to be cooked and eaten!”

“Again, you’re thinking your universe, buddy. I dunno what your versions are like, but mine live by the rule of ‘Kill or be killed.’ If you’re lucky, you won’t have to see it yourself.”

The time for operatives to master balance had come with “Tightrope Treachery”! Players had to balance their way over a waterfall chasm along a very long, thin tightrope. But to make it more challenging, operatives with the largest feet were already deduced and chosen.

• Global Command – Hcaz
• Nega-V – Eirik (is pushed off by the waterfalls)
• Nega-W – Ynohtna (the tickly rope causes him to fall)
• Nega-L – Ydolem
• Nega-W7 – Sipa (is knocked off by the fans)
• Nega-JP – Amadok (keeps hands in prayer, eyes closed, and walks forward peacefully; -2nd place)
• Nega-SA – Xedni – “My diet has paid off!” (-1st place)
• Nega-MG – Ikik
• Nega-$ - Hgielar (punches an opening through the falls)
• DNKG – Emorej (the breeze of Hgielar’s attack knocks him off)
• Nega-TG – Oyib (the cannonballs bounce on the rope and knock him off)

“I half-expected each opposite to share the same shoe size.” Cheren said. “But some sectors had different competitors.”

“Yeah, some pairs are born with different physical properties.” Nerehc agreed. “Or have had different things happen to their bodies, like your giant friends there.”

The following game was “Too Hot, Too Cold,” where the “weakest” operatives had to don their swimwear and sit in a giant tub that would alternate temperatures dramatically. The last one to remain in the tub would be the winner. The weakest were decided:

• Global Command – Ininap (winner)
• Nega-V – Sirhc Onu (-2nd place; tried his best to prove his durability, but Ininap’s resolve was stronger)
• Nega-W – Ynohtna
• Nega-L – Yrret Krots
• Nega-W7 – Ahcom
• Nega-JP – Nirak
• Nega-SA – Xedni
• Nega-MG – Oemor (is the first to drop out)
• Nega-$ - Leic
• DNKG – Emorej
• Nega-TG – Ubnok

“Seriously, Oemor?” Ydnew scolded with hands on her hips. “You couldn’t tough it out for THAT long?”

“Ydnew, that was seriously hot.” Oemor gasped.

“It didn’t look that hot.” Revilo said. “What a pussy.”

It was time for more kids to dress in swimsuits as Swim Season was here! They had to swim along the sea in a course filled with obstacles and floating water, and at the end, swim up and alongside a thin waterfall. Bending was not allowed, only one’s physical prowess.

• Global Command – Yddam (-1st place)
• Nega-V – Nosam (when Lorac falls off the floating water, he uses bending to catch and bring her back, becoming disqualified, but winning -200 teamwork points)
• Nega-W – Ynohtna
• Nega-L – Ikuyim
• Nega-W7 – Lirpa
• Nega-JP – Ururu (falls off the waterfall, but a merciful Lirpa drops down and kicks her up to the top; -4th place)
• Nega-SA – Asigan (is pushed off the floating water by Index)
• Nega-MG – Lihp (-2nd place)
• Nega-$ - Lorac
• DNKG – Annaira
• Nega-TG – Oyib (-3rd place)
• Lorule DNK – Aullik (is the slowest swimmer as he keeps thinking he’s on a surfboard)

“Hey, Ydnew! You have some pretty impressive teammates!” Wendy said to her Negative.

“Yeah, they’re alright. Except for Oemor.”

“Heh heh. …What did you say your mouse pet’s name was?”

“Lihp.”

“‘Lip,’ huh? Either way, it seems like two of our members are different.” Wendy noticed Phil’s and Hat Kid’s Negatives were absent.  

“Oh, yeah. Thing is, our other friend says she doesn’t wanna be seen in public.”

“Well, we better respect her wishes!” Hat Kid jumped between them suddenly. “C’mon, Wendy, let’s prepare for the next game before we hear something we’re not supposed to!”

For the next game, creativity was needed in “Crush or Chomp”! Feel free to think of the match-ups yourself because it’s hard enough to make these different forms up.

• Global Command – Hcaz (-1st place; creates Negative Bobopolis—Okam makes her own Negative Bobopolis that begins finger-wrestling with Hcaz’s)
• Nega-V – Yrrah (creates a giant nose that shoots contact lenses; wins)
• Nega-W – Ynohtna (giggling pie; loses)
• Nega-L – Yrret Krots (a law book that opens up and reveals hands massaging Ikuyim’s back) “Uhhhhh…” Ikuyim looked weirdly.
• Nega-W7 – Ahcniea (a brain that shoots needle bullets; wins)
• Nega-JP – Atnij (a swarm of giant, male lips kissing a girl’s face; wins)
• Nega-SA – Anaigrom (a skirt and panties helicopter that shoots out identical mini drones; loses)
• Nega-MG – Oemor (a mansion of Imaginary Friends that cater to his whim; loses)
• Nega-$ - Acificap (a laughing bunny squirrel that squirts cheese from its tail; wins)
• DNKG – Aluben (a severed, grinning Zathurian head) “I don’t think I like her…” Nebula said.
• Nega-TG – Ubnok (a caveman with a DVD player; wins)

Anaigrom visited the snack stand to buy a hotdog. As she took her first bite, she turned—“Oof!” and bumped into someone, both falling on their rears.

“Whoops. Sorry, dude.” Said a strange boy with white hair covering his eyes. He was shirtless and barefoot, wearing only a pair of large swim trunks that covered his legs. The blue trunks had ocean and fish designs.

“Uh, dude, I’m not a dude.” Anaigrom corrected.

“Whut?” The clueless boy opened his curtain hair, revealing chill blue eyes. “Oh. Sorry, dudette.”

Anaigrom cocked a brow at his behavior. “Come to think of it, you were that slow kid in the swimming contest.”

“Oh, yah. I’m not used to swimming without my board.”

“You’re some kind of surfer dude?”

“Yep. Name’s Aullik. Ah’m from Lorule.”

“How can you possibly see without hair? Ever heard of a barber?”

“Nah… Ah like my hair to flow like water. ’sides, hair braids look like they hurt.”

“Pffftt, ha ha ha!” Anaigrom burst into laughter. “Seriously, braids hurt?! How can someone like their hair like that?!”

“Ah dunno… just do, I guess.”

“Buddy, how about I give you a new outlook?” Anaigrom put an arm around the boy and led him away. “Long hair is cute on a guy, but only with the right style.”

“Wow, your breath smells like hotdogs. I love hotdogs!”

“You don’t have very high standards, huh?”

The stealthiest operatives were selected for “Hunter x Hunted.” Players would sneak through a foggy forest and attack their designated target.

• Global Command – Sicnarf
• Nega-V – Akurah (mixes her gas with the fog to make her opponent bust out in hives)
• Nega-W – Ibyf
• Nega-L – Ydolem
• Nega-W7 – Ahcniea (hides in the trees to drop on a random hunter’s head to control them and make them attack her prey)
• Nega-JP – Amadok (uses spirits to scare away other hunters)
• Nega-SA – Allebmoog
• Nega-MG – Ydnew (easily warps around with spacebending to attack or evade)
• Nega-$ - Lorac (keeps her footsteps silent and runs out for quick punches to her opponent before returning to the trees)
• DNKG – Avakam (is hunted by Maggie Simpson)
• Nega-TG – Uzu (his small size easily hides while his shadow flies to give his opponent purple nurples)

In Saucer Sniper, the kids with the greatest aim would take part in sharpshooting balloons for points! They would ride saucers across some planets and shoot all the targets they could.

• Global Command – Okam
• Nega-V – Eirik (uses Sound Bombs)
• Nega-W – Yllas
• Nega-L – Nollid Kroy
• Nega-W7 – Asia
• Nega-JP – Uzuy (throws Footbombs)
• Nega-SA – Xedni
• Nega-MG – Revilo
• Nega-$ - Ssiew (shoots Bullet Seeds)
• DNKG – Avakam
• Nega-TG – Dnis (Fire Bullets)

Afterwards, the Team Games were announced: the players had to pair up with someone of the opposite gender, someone who they weren’t already close to.

“Wow, dudette.” Aullik said after Anaigrom cut his front bangs, his back hair flowing like a waterfall behind him. “This feels totally chill! Like, WAY more chill than before. I feel like water.”

“This is what I do best!” Anaigrom grinned.

“Say, dudette… wanna pair up for this team stuff?”

“I don’t see why not! Later, Asigaaaaan!” She waved to her leader before walking off with Aullik. Asigan could only look at the surfer with mixed feelings.

“Hey, Asigan, right?” She was approached by Oemor. “Do you wanna team up?”

“Sounds like a plan! Hehe, is it because I look like your leader?”

“Eh, I guess your hair colors match… but I just think you’re nicer.”

“Awwwww!”

Xedni walked around, looking for a partner. “Hey! Miss Xedni! Down here!” She looked down curiously, seeing the chocolate stuffed TG operative that was Narod. “Do you wanna pair up? I always thought you were cool, and I always wanted to…”

“Oh…that’s nice of you. Yeah, I guess we could…”

“Hey! Black angel girl!” Dnis shouted up at Asia. “Wanna be partners??”

“Oh, sure. Any special reason?”

“W-Well, uh… I was gonna ask Nirak, but she was already taken by Ynned. So, I guess I kinda rushed to find a new partner.”

“Oh.” Asia smiled awkwardly. “Alright, whatever.”

“Hey, Aluben!” The smiling former Dictator turned to Leic, who swayed on his feet innocently. “I would like to get to know you better!”

“Huh? Have we actually met somewhere before?”

“We kind of did, but I guess you didn’t notice. I was one of the souls that you absorbed at the Tree of Ending! I tried to communicate with you and reach your heart, but I guess my voice didn’t reach.”

“Ah, sorry about that! In that case, I’m happy to team up!”

“Hmmm…” Nerehc considered who to pair with. “Hey, Lorac… would you say we’re close friends?”

“Uh…we don’t really spend time together. Heck, even when I joined, you were dead.”

“Perfect! Let’s be partners.”

“Sounds good!” They shook hands.

Aliehs paired with Revilo, Atnij with Arorua, Nosam with Ssiew, Ynohtna with Ahcniea, Lihp with Ylla, Beewv with Lirpa, Avakam with Yrrah, Ikik with Atnort, Ydnew with Hgielar, Sipa with Yrret, and many more combinations. After these pairs tested their cooperation with the Trust Walk, it was time for the Whisper Hour, where they had to confide in each other their secrets.

“Asigan’s nipples poke out and it creeps me out!” Anaigrom whispered.

“I suck at school, dudette.” Aullik replied. “I cry myself to sleep ’cause I can’t take how dumb I am.”

Leic whispered to Aluben, “I like it when bugs crawl on me. It makes me feel like a beautiful landscape~”

“After getting my emotions back, I realized I like porn!” Aluben beamed.

Dnis climbed to Asia’s ear and said, “I sneak into schools and burn down all their sports equipment.”

“I secretly rip some of my friends’ clothes to make them wear out faster so they have to buy fresh, new ones.”

Narod whispered to Xedni, “I know this’ll sound weird, but… I love watching you eat, Xedni.”

“What?!”

“My parents used to yell at me for always eating chocolate, and other kids make fun of me. But you eat a ton, and you’re part of one of the best sectors. You make me feel real proud of myself. I created a chocolate sculpture resembling you, and it’s in the freezer in the storage building. Would you like to eat it later?”

“Is that seriously all you think I am?! Do you even know I’m trying to diet?!”

“D-Diet? But… on Newbase, you always ate a lot.”

“It’s a bad habit!! And frankly, seeing you chew on all that chocolate makes me hate my old self even more! It’s disgusting!”

Narod felt his heart break. “D…D…Disgusting?”

“Sigh…you know what, I’m not playing, anymore. Good-bye.” Xedni marched away on that note. Little Narod remained behind and began to cry.

Oemor whispered to Asigan, “At night, I use my psychic to brainwash Ydnew in her sleep and make her dance in her underwear, while I record.”

Asigan whispered, “Nerehc told me that Nagisa was turned into a girl at New Galaxia. …That satisfies me. I feel like he doesn’t like me.”

Ydnew whispered to Hgielar, “Some nights, I use my bending to make Oemor’s arms and legs skinny so he has trouble getting up in the morning. They naturally reflate, but I make him think he needs to work out more. Which he does.”

Hgielar whispered, “Whenever Acificap brings a pet home, I knock it out and throw it far away while she sleeps. She thinks they all run away.”

Nerehc whispered to Lorac, “I like being choked. Sipa used a choking spell on me once, and… it felt kinda good.”

Lorac whispered, “I have a serious gas problem. I mean… that’s why I wear puffy pants.”

“Maybe you’re a poisonbender?”

“I tried, and I’m not.”

Revilo whispered to Aliehs, “My mom makes me get up super early to make coffee. I started to do it on my own, but I add a few drops of pee.”

Aliehs whispered, “I drug my friends in their sleep, then put their bodies in dangerous situations while they don’t wake up.”

Atnij whispered to Arorua, “I sneak into my friends’ rooms to sniff their clothes. I just… love everything about my girls.”

“…” Arorua looked with disgust. “Well… I used to stick dirt up Nerehc’s nose while he slept. Not anymore, though.”

Ssiew dropped out of the games and broke up with Nosam, after learning he only wanted to pair up to learn some of Lorac’s secrets. Once the other teams confided their secrets (or not), it was time for them to face each other in Melee Mayhem! They would fight inside a ring and try to knock each other out of said ring.

When Dnis and Asia went up, the little baseballer asked her to fly 30 feet away and above the ring with a bunch of his normal-size baseballs. He would hit them away with his tiny bat, and if he could successfully hit them all, Asia would have to admit defeat. Despite her initial concerns, when Asia threw the first ball, the tiny boy sent it flying with surprising strength. “C’mon! Is that all you got?!” he taunted.

Asia smirked and threw the next balls with more force in her airbending. Dnis had to apply fire to his bat to blast the balls away, showing little weakness and leaving the audience awestruck. Asia firmly clutched the final ball, spinning her arm and building Air Chi. She threw with the force of a cannon, hitting Dnis dead-on and blowing him all the way against the stands.

“Oh, no!!” Asia panickingly flew over. The boy had been smashed into a crater in the stands before falling to the ground, his face bruised. She scooped the tiny in her hands and asked, “Are you okay?”

“Kuh…” He spat some broken teeth out. “…I’ve never met a girl… who could throw as hard as that… let alone… make me miss…”

Asia raised a brow as Dnis helped himself to stand. His bleeding mouth smiled as he looked up with adoring eyes. “You are the coolest girl I’ve ever met.”

“Uhhh…” Asia felt herself blushing. “I think we better get you a doctor, you seem a little delirious.”

Aluben and Leic stood in the ring, doing nothing but smiling. “I’m not allowed to hurt mortals.” Leic blushed. ^^;

“And I still have chi-blocks!” Aluben grinned.

The fight ended in a draw. The other matches went as follows:

• Nerehc turned around, acting nonchalant and twirling his Deity Sword, intending to tempt Lorac into stealing it. He would turn around randomly to spot her, and she would be in random spots, but if she got too close, he would defeat her in one slice. With neat, strategic timing, Lorac swiped the sword from his grasp. Nerehc admitted defeat.
• Anaigrom readied herself as Aullik was making slow, calm movements: he had summoned a great wave from the ocean, easily washing Anaigrom off the ring.
• Oemor summons a butler frog to attack Asigan with karate, but Asigan easily defeats him with waterbending and whips Oemor off the ring. “Weak-ass.” Ydnew retorted.
• Arorua uses swords to block Atnij’s Song Beam, then runs up to lash him down.
• Lirpa angrily tries to kick Beewv, but he easily ducks under her soles, then leaps up and around to cut her clothes. Lirpa is forced to retreat to hide her nudity.
• Ydnew repeatedly warps around Hgielar, shooting Starbursts at him, then warps them both in the air outside the ring. Before Hgielar falls, he grabs Ydnew’s leg and slams her into the ground first, winning the match.
• Ikik used a similar technique against Atnort, warping her fists and pounding around him. However, she is electrocuted and defeated easily.
• Both Yrrah and Avakam use Haki to counter each other’s bullets. Both manage to hit at the same time and both fall out. “DRAW!”
• Ahcniea tried to find Ynohtna’s sensitive spot on his brain, but kept forcing the boy into laughter and was unable to control him. Ahcniea gave up and threw the match.
• Aliehs defended from Revilo’s raging Dark Beam, absorbing the darkness on herself before knocking him off with a strong kick.
• Ylla’s loud music deafened Lihp, forcing him to throw the match.
• Yrret tried to use mind-tricks on Sipa, who in turn countered with Imperio, both trying to brainwash the other into walking off the ring. All it took was Sipa kicking him in the crotch to make her spell take effect.

In the following game, “City Search,” the teams explored the Party District of Coruscant in search of Riddler Trophies!

• Lorac stealthed her way past some robotic guards and swiftly stole a trophy from a guarded pedestal. Nerehc set fire to a garden full of bushes, finding the trophy glowing amongst the ash.
• Anaigrom held Aullik’s waist as the boy surfed them upriver on a board. They surfed into an underground area, where Aullik willed the wave to rise to the ceiling and grab a trophy.
• Lirpa raced along an obstacle course above the roofs, nimbly jumping the roofs, then climbing swiftly above some billboards to snag a trophy on top. She would later run through a field of robots with Beewv clinging to her shoe, so when Lirpa kicked, Beewv’s blades would cut the robots’ legs. They stole the trophy they were guarding.
• Yrret and Sipa found a room of swinging chainsaws over a spike pit. Sipa used Imperio to control Yrret and make him jump the platforms and dodge the saws. He returned with the trophy, but his clothes were shredded.
• Asia flew around the city with Dnis on her shoulder. They found a trophy on a tall platform, but it was sealed in a cage, which could only be opened by holding down a switch on a lower ledge 30 feet away. “Well, little guy, only one way to do this.” Asia said, grabbing her partner. She channeled a whirlwind around her hand and threw him with enough height to grab the trophy, and enough speed to land him on the opposite roof. She grouped with him, sharing a smile at their success.
• Oemor and Asigan found a maze under a glass floor, meant for someone small. Oemor simply summoned a Meow Mouse, small enough to crawl through the maze. Oemor guided its path to collect the trophy and bring it out. He thanked the cat-mouse hybrid and warped him back.

The DNK took a short break afterward, conversing with their partners. “So, you’re from Lorule, huh? I don’t think we’ve ever been there.” Anaigrom said.

“Yah, our world’s pretty dank, and a lot of dudes are always fightin’.” Aullik replied. “But I know this cool place with cool waves.”

“What kind of clothes does Lorule have?”

“Oh, I dunno, dudette. All I got are these trunks.”

“Wait, what?! THOSE swim trunks?! That’s all you have?!”

“Yah… no worries, it covers the important parts.”

“Okay, that’s it, I’m taking you to our treehouse and giving you a serious makeover.”

“Sure, dudette, whatever floats your boat.”

From a short distance, Asigan couldn’t help but look to them. “Is something wrong?” Oemor asked.

“Eh… to be honest, I really don’t like guys like that. Like, he just seems so clueless and doesn’t care about anything.”

“I’m sure he has problems of his own.”

“Maybe, but…sigh, I just hope Anaigrom doesn’t bring him to the treehouse so much.”

Asia dipped a carrot into some dressing and held it to Dnis for him to eat. The one carrot was able to fill his stomach, while Asia ate several. “Hey, don’t get that on my sweater!” she yelled, quickly wiping dressing off his mouth.

“S-Sorry.” Dnis blushed. “…Um…so, Asia… after this is over, you wanna… do something together?”

“Do something?”

“Like… I guess more baseball is what I had in mind. But, anything would be cool.”

“Are you… asking me out?”

“Uh…I guess, maybe.” Dnis folded his arms behind him, looking nervous. “I just really like the way you throw.”

“Khh.” Asia snickered. “A girl hits you with a baseball and you ask her on a date?”

“I-I guess it is weird… Never mind.”

“I mean, I’ll do it. It’s just weird.”

“Rea-… You will?”

“Yeah. I guess we’ll go to a restaurant or something, then I’ll hit you with more baseballs.”

“Th…Thank you!”

Unfortunately, catastrophe began: the Sandbags that were used in the first game mysteriously began to rebel, using incredible strength to defeat Sheila, Mocha, and Maddy—three of the strongest operatives on the Positive side—in one hit. Nebula quickly expanded a field to warp the many competitors to random locations on other planets, but the action immediately wore her out. Ydnew proceeded to do the same for her teammates, but since she barely knew the Posiverse, she warped them to areas on Aquaria. Sadly, the Sandbags found some.

• Lirpa sped through a jungle with Beewv on her shoulders. The “Home-Run Contest” music made them anxious, yet Beewv looked around and couldn’t find them. When the music reached its climax, a Sandbag dropped out of the trees just when Lirpa ran by, sending both flying.
• Ikuyim and Ubnok burrowed underground, using Seismic Sense to feel the Sandbags above. As the music was playing, little did they know an airship had shot a Sandbag directly down, with enough speed to puncture through the ground and hit Ikuyim, forcing her even further underground. Ubnok quickly willed the tunnel to open sideways, moving the earth to carry Ikuyim and protect his injured partner.
• Eitra cockily smirked at the Sandbag as he sent his hamsters to surround it. To his surprise, a bunch of tiny Sandbags broke out of it, all KOing the hamsters one by one. Eitra tried to retreat in horror, but another Sandbag got the jump on him.
• Yevrah held onto Allebmoog’s arm as she spring-jumped them up a plateau, away from some Sandbags. The plateau’s top was small, but Yevrah could toss bladed tops down to take down climbing Sandbags. Sadly, one Sandbag sprung up with a spring bottom and sent the Abmoog and her partner falling.
• Ydnew made portals to catch Sandbags that tried to attack Hgielar. They stopped appearing, so they caught their breath, but at the music’s climax, a Sandbag fell out of a portal and KO’ed Hgielar.
• Asia took to the sky, flying away from hang-glider Sandbags while Dnis shot Fire Bullets back at them. The music played as a jetpack Sandbag was gaining on them. Asia dove down into the jungle, flying around the trees, but the Sandbag hadn’t lost sight of them. “SAVE YOURSELF!” Asia threw Dnis through the jungle and suffered the blow herself. Dnis landed safely in a bush, but heard the BWING! that signaled his partner’s defeat. Her action instantly made her more amazing to his eyes.

Fortunately, Nerehc was able to cut down any pursuing Sandbags, flying with Lorac on his shoulders. As they returned to the Field Day area, they would watch as Cheren and some of his operatives would end the Sandbag Rebellion by blasting away a strange, yellow impish creature. The Sandbags had all lost their power, and their defeat was inevitable.

All the injured operatives were located and returned for treatment. “Well, that’s what we get for attending a Posiverse event.” Hcaz said.

“Tell me about it.” Nerehc remarked. “These guys can’t go a day without something bad happening. But I guess our side is no better.”

“I may be super injured,” Ikuyim replied in bandages, “but I had a lot of fun! Hee hee hee, this is going to be a fun New Era!”

“And yet, I don’t think we’ll have any fun at all.” Sipa sighed. “That reminds me… Nerehc, I think we should go see…”

“Yeah… good idea.”

Reverend Reilicaf had still been growing ill ever since the Under Army battles. He was able to sit through Field Day alongside his equally-ill Positive, but once it was over, Nerehc and Sipa escorted him back to his church. “Huff… sorry, kids, but… I think it’s time for me to go. I got no strength… to stand, anymore… but seein’ you all go crazy and have fun… I got no more regrets. God will be watching over this new world… and so will I.”

Reilicaf fell into a deep sleep in the warmth of his church… and never woke again. Nerehc, Sipa, Ydnew, and the Nagillig Family attended the funeral hosted by the Black Lotus. Although they were upset that Reilicaf couldn’t see the New World with them, it was his dream to be with God… and they were glad for him.

Meanwhile, Sicnarf brought Aluben to be imprisoned in DNK Arctic Base again. “You don’t seem to be particularly hostile anymore, but we still aren’t ready to trust you. You claim that your new allegiance is with the Smile Pirates, correct?”

“Yep! Captained by Ydnam Xitroc herself!”

“The Pirate Emperor… According to our research, she’s brought happiness to thousands of towns. Ynohtna knows her personally and says she’s real nice… but still, I wonder.” Sicnarf looked to Aluben’s endless grin with mixed feelings. “We’re going to do a bit more investigating before we decide whether to let you go.”

“That’s all fine! After all, happiness is exactly what the DNK want now! You’ll be friends with Captain Ydnam in no time!”

Chapter Text

Time to introduce Newborn Era’s Crossover Sectors! Starting with Nega-MG!

Chapter 1: The Finding

A few months after the Voyage began, the DNK hosted a graduation ceremony on Newbase. “I am proud to introduce,” Sicnarf began, “the DNK’s first ever spacebender, Ydnew Llevram!”

Letting her dark-blue hair flow, her light-blue eyes narrowed with pride, Ydnew waved at the applauding operatives. She wore a cerulean top with flower-petal edges and a sky-blue bow, white Capri shorts, and blue sneakers. “Ydnew’s talent with spacebending allowed her to pass training with flying colors! Our Supreme Leader would be proud. So, Ydnew, have you decided on a sector?”

“Actually, I’m not joining any of these sectors. I’m going to be making my own sector.”

“We’re always welcome to new teams. Does that mean you’ll be recruiting?”

“The thing is, I think most DNK sectors have a certain theme that they follow, and I’ve decided what my theme should be: I want to recruit ‘problem children.’”

“There’s a great many of those in our organization alone.”

“That’s why I wanna go out and find my own.”

Ydnew did research and learned of several kids who were infamous in their own towns. At Horizon Alley Library, all the noisy customers had been forced out by hordes of Dream Spirits, all so one customer can enjoy the library in peace and quiet. Police tried to fight the spirits, only to be overpowered. When Ydnew arrived at the scene, she viewed through a library window and warped inside.

https://www.deviantart.com/gamewizard-2008/art/Oemor-Tlobnoc-The-Rainy-Day-Reader-884821599

The boy was Oemor Tlobnoc. He was a skinny, nice-looking boy with smooth purple hair, blue eyes behind glasses, and a curious, innocent smile that was engaged to a book. He wore a green T-shirt with ‘Reading Raincloud’ written around a cloud symbol, orange shorts, and black shoes. He was a head shorter than Ydnew. “Huh? Where’d you come from?”

“So, you’re the guy causing the ruckus outside? What makes you so special?”

“Uh, nothing really. I just don’t like how noisy libraries are. I like to enjoy my books in peace. Of course, my home is no better, so my only option is to kick everybody out.”

“Then you’re the one in charge of those Dream Spirits?”

“Yep! The more books I read, the more my Dream World gets filled with so many Creations. I just get so immersed, you know? And I can use my psychicbending to bring them to reality. You’re free to read, too, if you want, but if you make too much noise or try to attack me, I’ll have to sic them on you.”

“Yeah, good luck with that. But here’s the thing: I’m a DNK operative and I’m looking for recruits. Reading is fun and all, but have you ever wanted to make your own stories? LIVE your own stories?”

“Like… what you guys do? Thanks, but I wouldn’t be right for that responsibility.”

“Why not? I mean, a guy who can summon Imaginaries on a whim seems pretty handy to have. If you’re giving the cops this much trouble, imagine how much trouble the baddies will have. Heck, when we build our treehouse, we’ll make your room a soundproof library.”

“That’s cool, but I still don’t think world-saving is my speed.”

“Well, ya know ya can’t keep hanging out here all the time, right? Sooner or later, they’re gonna send stronger people to plough through your spirits and you’ll be busted.”

“Yeah? Like who?”

Ydnew blasted the Dream Spirits with Starbursts, blew them up with Space Blocks, and minimized a few before crushing them. “MOVE IN, BOYS, MOVE IN!” yelled the captain as the cops swarmed in.

“AAAAH!” Oemor panicked. “WHAT’VE YOU DONE?!”

“Join the DNK and we’ll grant you protection.” Ydnew smirked.

“You…You blackmailing-!”

“You joining or what?!”

“FINE, I’ll join, just don’t let them arrest me!”

“Finally! Now let’s go.” Ydnew grabbed Oemor and warped.

Their next destination was the town of Aeroville, where Ydnew learned of the neighborhood children being terrorized by a darknessbending bully. Ydnew and Oemor visited the town’s school. Despite that it was recess, the children refused to come outside while the bully lurked the playground.

His name was Revilo Nosro, with messy light-brown hair and cold blue eyes. He wore a light-brown sweater with tears, gray thin pants, and plain brown shoes with no laces. The moment he saw the two visitors approaching, he asked, “Whaddyou want?” flaring his dark aura.

“You must be the local bully we’ve heard about.” Ydnew replied. “What’s your problem?”

“What’s it to you?”

“Just curious, what’s wrong with that?!”

“Then go ask my fucking mom. She’s the one with all the problems, can’t say anything without yelling, can’t go a day without giving me shit. Just a heads up, it’s MY fault we live in a damn trailer, it’s MY fault that I was born…”

“Yeah, I know the feeling, buddy. My dad can be a real dick sometimes. But listen, you clearly don’t like it here, ya? How do ya feel about joining the DNK?”

“Why the hell should I?”

“Well, you can live in our treehouse instead of your crummy trailer. Plus, you know you ain’t the only kid with a shitty mom, right? We beat up shitty adults for a living. And with your darknessbending, we’d be able to look for all kinds of shitty parents. Beat the crap outta them. Whaddya say to that?”

“…Y’know what, why not? She won’t even fuckin’ miss me.”

“I’m not sure about this guy…” Oemor said squeamishly.

“GOT A PROBLEM WITH ME?!”

“YIPE! No!” Oemor cowered behind Ydnew.

Ydnew’s favorite restaurant was called “Ydnew’s.” It existed long before her birth, of course, and was among the most luxurious restaurant chains in the world. However, Ydnew learned one of the restaurants was suffering a serious rat problem. Apparently, the chefs kept getting beaten by a single rat, leaving them as bruised messes as it stole their food.

Oemor summoned a Dream Spirit called Himiko, which had a female body in a white gown and satellite head (she’s from Persona 4). Himiko spied on the restaurant until it was attacked by the rat in question, and she traced the rat’s signature back to its hideout as it carried a sack of food.

“EAT UP, everyone!” proclaimed the muscular rat as he showered his sewer family with food. His name was Pilihp Ylekalb.

However, the rats gasped and scampered away when three kids dropped into their hideout, crushing some of their tiny tables. “WAAAH! Humans?!” gasped Lihp. “What’re you doing here?!”

“Whoa, he talks?!” Oemor exclaimed.

“We’re DNK operatives. Or at least, I am.” Ydnew introduced. “So, you’re the rat that’s been robbing from Ydnew’s.”

“Every time my family tries to ask for food, they always kick us out or try to poison us! I trained for the sole purpose of providing for my family. I may be young, but I’m the strongest rat around! A couple humans like you are nothing!”

“Look, shorty, we ain’t here to pick a fight with you. I’m trying to build a team, and after hearing what you can do, I kinda dig it. Not only would your size be great for spying, but you seem like you can handle your own, too.”

“Why the heck would you want a rat in your team? Even if I wanted to, I got a family to care for.”

“The DNK has all kinds of races, a talking, super-strong rat would fit in just great. Plus, we can make a room for all you guys. Shouldn’t take that much space, and we’d share some of our rations with you all.”

“We’re seriously gonna have a bunch of rats in our treehouse?!” Revilo asked.

“What’s your problem?” Lihp asked.

“Don’t mind him.” Ydnew said. “So, whaddya say? Wouldn’t it be better to work for your food instead of always stealing it?”

“Hmm… alright, I’ll give it a go. Guess what, everybody, we’re officially moving!”

“If any of you take my food, I’ll CRUSH YOU ALL!” Revilo’s darkness flared. The rats cried and scattered around the sewer.

“Dammit, Revilo!” Ydnew yelled.

After re-gathering Lihp’s family and having him signed up for Arctic Training, Ydnew said they were still one member short of a decent-sized sector. However, as if fate would have it, she learned that several other sectors were being attacked by “some kind of astronaut sumo girl.” They flew to Sector -L, finding a small rocket-shaped ship crashed in the treehouse. They saw that Ikuyim and Ydolem had already beaten up and restrained the invader.

Her name was Ikik Akamay, a somewhat chubby Japanese girl with brown hair, a red head bow, black eyes, and an astronaut jumpsuit. “Grrrr! Damn you, DNK! I demand you tell me what you did to the moon!”

“The moon?” Ydolem asked. “According to our Positive friends, the moons were destroyed in the Apocalypse.”

“Destroyed?! Apocalypse?! GRAAAAH! I was going to be the youngest astronaut to walk on the moon! How could you take it away from me?!”

“Seriously? Astronaut?” Ydnew asked in confusion. “What’s so great about that? The DNK were based on the moon and fly through space on a daily basis.”

“Actually,” Ikuyim began with a knowing smile, “astronauts nowadays use new space-travel technology to fully explore the grander universe! Asteroids, moons, planetoids, space holds as many wonders as the sea! Even the moon holds wonders the DNK don’t even know about.”

“And I wanted to explore the moon like a true astronaut.” Ikik cried. “But now it’s gone… Grrrrrr, GIVE IT BACK!” Ikik broke out of Ikuyim’s crystal prison, pounding her fists through holes in space as they popped out around the operatives to attack them.

“Whoa! You’re a spacebender?!” Ydnew exclaimed.

“Spaceman Taijutsu! It’s a martial art I developed while exploring above the atmosphere! I bonded with the Space Chi and now I can do this, baby!”

“Alright, hold still a second!” Ydnew warped her own arms through portals to grab Ikik’s arms. “I’m sorry about what happened, but there’s still plenty of space out there. If you join the DNK, we’ll take you on all kinds of out-of-this-world adventures! And when that happens, you can serve as our navigator. A prodigy astronaut like you must know a lot about exploring the stars, so we’ll need that.”

“Hmmm…” Ikik cast them a glare. “I got one question… how much food do you got?”

“Enough to feed a swarm of rats.” Revilo shrugged.

“Then I’m in!!” her eyes sparkled.

Their treehouse was constructed, the team was built, and Nega-Sector MG was complete. They went on several missions together up until the Under Army incident, harnessing their own skills and growing stronger and closer.

Following the Victory Party after the Under Army battles, Nega-MG returned to their treehouse with exhausted, but relaxed faces. “Hey. Sniff-sniff.” Lihp spoke, sniffing the air. “Do you guys… smell anything weird?”

“Ikik, what did you eat?” Revilo asked.

“What does that mean?!”

“No, I don’t mean that. I smell… something poison, coming from up the halls. …It smells like… someone else is here.”

The team kept their guards raised, following Liph’s nose through the treehouse. He stopped before the room where the scent originated. The brave little rat cracked open the door and jumped in first, as if ready to take the first hit from their mysterious foe. The others cracked open the door further, peeking their heads in.

“Don’t be afraid to show yourselves in, this is your treehouse, right?” said a girl’s voice in the darkness.

“Who’s in there?!” Ydnew asked. “What’re you doing in our treehouse?!”

“It’s my treehouse, too, now.” A chair twisted around. A short girl had her feet propped on the armrest, pretending to smoke a candycane. Her brown hair was in a ponytail, sunglasses covered her eyes, and she wore a brown tuxedo and pants with white dress-shoes. She tilted up her sunglasses to reveal… another pair of sunglasses. “The name’s Glasses Girl. That’s the only name you need to know for now. I’m your new teammate. You were kinda busy, so I guess you didn’t hear about me.”

“Oh…hi, Glasses Girl.” the leader greeted with confusion.

“Yeah. Anyways, I’m the financial benefactor for this team. It costs a lot to feed rats, doesn’t it?”

“Damn right.” Revilo hissed at Lihp, who hid behind Ikik’s shoe.

“So, you’re a rich girl?” Oemor asked.

“Don’t ask questions. Just leave the money to me. But in return… I gotta ask you to keep me a secret.”

“A secret? Why?” Ydnew asked.

“Like I said… don’t ask questions.”

Chapter 2: The Labors of Oemor

On an average afternoon, Oemor was relaxing on his recliner chair in the living room. His hands were folded under his head, while he used psychic to hold an open book above him. When he finished a page, his psychic would turn the page. His legs wore comfy gray socks as one crossed over the other, and he would shift position every few seconds to ensure his muscles were consistently relaxed. The only other sound was of Revilo playing a violent videogame, but Oemor wore earmuffs to soften the sound.

“Oemor, have you seen my rocket keys anywhere?” Ikik asked.

“No, I’ve been here all day.”

“Could you help me look for them?”

“Here.” Oemor summoned a Detector Dog, a robot dog with a tracking pad on its back. Ikik followed as it crawled around in search of the keys.

“Gah, dammit!” Revilo cursed. “Damn Xedni hacked in a second player. Yo, Oemor, I need someone to back me up!”

“Here.” Oemor summoned a Game Bro, a very nerdy Dream Spirit who swiped the other controller and played with the wide grin of a hardcore gamer.

Ydnew had just walked in, cocking a brow at the two Imaginaries before approaching Oemor. “Hey, Oemor… wanna go shopping with me? Glasses Girl wants coffee cream, and we are short of groceries.”

“I know the perfect guy!” Oemor said as he summoned a muscular, black, alien monster.

“I AM WULFRIC. I LOVE GROCERIES!”

Ydnew’s eyes widened at the sight of him, but she shook to her senses. “Oemor, you’ve been on that chair all day, your body’s probably stiff. Don’t you wanna take a nice walk?”

“But I’m totally hooked on this book. If I keep at it, I should be done in two hours.”

Ydnew rolled her eyes and warped the book. “HEY! Where’d you put it?!”

“Oemor, every time we go on a traveling mission, you always slog behind and make your Imaginaries carry you. You almost never get off your butt and work!”

“Yeah, and what about Glasses Girl?! She hasn’t come out of her room for the whole two weeks she’s been here! We had a mission last Saturday and she didn’t come!”

“Nerehc has yet to tell me the details about her, but either way, you’ve been in this sector a lot longer than she has and you’re still the same lazy butt.”

“Lazy butt?! I’m about as lazy as Revilo over there! When we’re not on missions, what’s wrong with relaxing?! Excuse me if I’m not super strong, but all this reading is resulting in more Dream Spirits I can summon at once, not to mention more varieties! It’s as much training as you sparring with Ikik!”

“Yeah, well I’m sick of you being carried in luxury while we and your spirits do all the legwork! So, you ain’t getting your books back until you go shopping with me. Among a list of other chores I have.”

“B…Books? Plural??”

“Uhhhh-huh.” Ydnew confirmed with a smirk.

With a burst of stamina, Oemor raced to his room. “AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!” His entire library was barren, the shelves completely void.

“Yep. I hid all of your books in a Pocket Dimension that only I can open. And you ain’t getting them back until you complete my list.”

“Fine, that’s the game you wanna play, huh?” Oemor asked with a furious glare. On a whim, the psychic summoned three Pharaoh Cobras, the giant snakes with pharaoh crowns hissing at his leader. “All I have to do is knock you out and that sub-dimension should open right up-”

“Aaaaaand CHI-BLOCKED!” Lihp leapt up and CUFFED a chi-blocking wristband on Oemor’s right arm. The cobras immediately poofed back to Dream World.

“WHAT THE-?! Lihp, you traitor!”

“Yeah, I got him in on this.” Ydnew smirked. “And for trying to attack your leader, I think you deserve extra work!”

“This isn’t fair! You can’t force me to—OW!” Ydnew punched his gut.

“The hell I can’t. I’m your leader and I’m giving you orders.”

“This isn’t how you-!” Ydnew kicked his right leg, Oemor falling on his front.

“This is the last time I’ll say it: do my chores or no more reading for you.”

“Grrrrr…” Oemor resisted the urge to jump up and punch her, knowing she would just keep knocking him down. “Fine. Let’s go to the stupid store.”

Oemor was asked to push the cart as Ydnew led them all around the store, tossing a mountain of items inside. The cart grew heavier and harder to push, making it difficult to steer or see around. Oemor bumped the cart into shelves a few times, in which Ydnew ordered Oemor to pick everything up. When they returned to the treehouse, Oemor was asked to put everything away himself, not allowed help from any of their teammates.

Oemor was then asked to scrub the treehouse top to bottom. He had to get down and wash under the refrigerator, couch, everyone’s beds, and empty the cabinets to wash inside those. This was followed with washing the toilets and doing everyone’s laundry, but because Ikik’s space suit couldn’t be put in a washer, he had to wash that by hand. He polished everyone’s weathered shoes and worked to patch up any tears, and he did the same with their socks or other clothes.

“Huff…huff…” It was a miracle when Ydnew finally allowed him a break, the boy laying dead on the floor. “Okay, Ydnew, I get it. I’ll do more work and exercise from now on. Can I please have my books back?”

“Oh, fine.” Ydnew sighed. With a snap of the fingers, a pile of books fell onto and buried Oemor. “You know where they go, right? Organize them yourself.”

With an exhausted sigh, Oemor set about placing the books back on his shelves. By the time he was finished, he was too tired to read any more, so he fell on his bed to take a nap.

In his dreams, Oemor found himself in the fairytale of Waking Ugly, assuming the protagonist’s role as he wore rags and was forced to scrub the floors of the enormous castle. The ugly maid would slave away in this castle for 16 years before making her grand escape to the cottage where her family lived. Remembering this tale, Oemor opened the tile in the floor with a secret ladder, climbing down to make his escape, only to land in a luxurious dress belonging to Allerednic. Her situation was the exact opposite: Oemor had servants catering to his every need, until they lost all of their money and had to work as servants themselves.

In the midst of his servitude, Oemor developed a terrible illness and became bedridden, just like the tale of Sun Black. The titular protagonist would spend the whole story sick and in bed, a never-ending mental struggle to force herself to stay alive. Fortunately, an apple was brought to his bedside: it appeared toxic and sickening, but when Oemor took a bite, his health was restored.

“Huh?!” he gasped, the taste of the apple returning him to reality. He mentally cursed himself, as well as Ydnew. His body was still remembering today’s workload and wouldn’t let him rest even in sleep. In truth, Oemor had always admired the hard work all those protagonists put forth. Unlike himself, they had always had the drive to complete their goals, while Oemor always identified as an average boy who could never leave any mark on the world. It’s not like most people were any different. There were millions of people who would rather read stories instead of live them, as well as writers who would never live their own stories.

“Yo.” Ydnew knocked on his door. “It’s time for you to make us dinner. After this, I’ll unlock that chi-band.”

“Sigh…” Oemor pushed himself up and began to walk out.

“Oemor, how come you like reading, anyway?”

“Why not? I like the stories and I like to see how the heroes overcome challenges.”

“I would figure you like being in the DNK because of that. You get to have your own adventures and overcome your own challenges. But if people started writing about us, they would just make you seem like the scrawny sidekick that always needs a ride.”

“My entire specialty is summoning Dream Spirits to help us! If you don’t like that, why’d you ask me to join in the first place?!”

“Because you need to look the part. All over the universe, there’s billions of non-operatives who get to relax in their homes and only read or hear about what we do, never knowing a thing about our hard work. If they saw how you act, they would get a bad impression about all of us! Frankly, if I never came along, you would just be another average Joe who wouldn’t give our work a second thought.”

“Before you came, I’ve been reading stories about the DNK, and I always thought they were cool! But… I never considered joining for myself. I guess I only thought of it like the fictional stories I read. So… maybe you’re right. Honestly, Ydnew, I’ve always thought you guys were cool. You’re so strong and talented, but I was still perfectly fine with the fact I was a weakling. But I guess that isn’t enough.”

“Oemor, I don’t mind that you’re not strong on your own, but even the weak operatives don’t lounge around all the time. They know how to use their arms or legs.”

“Yeah, I get it, okay? I’ll try to work more from now on.”

Ydnew cracked a smile. “You’re sounding like a protagonist already.”

“Eh…heh heh heh.” Oemor blushed.

After Oemor finished making dinner, Ydnew unlocked his chi-block as promised. It felt nice to stretch his psychicbending again, and somehow, he felt a stronger bond with it than ever.

Chapter 3: A Small World After All

(Play “Moon Kingdom” from Mario Odyssey!)

Nega-MG’s ship resembled a miniature rocket, with Ikik as the pilot. They were currently flying to the moon, not to visit Moonbase, but rather, they made landing on a field opposite of the base. The teammates stepped off the ship, wearing air helmets, while only Ikik herself stuck to her suit.

The young astronaut gazed upon the moon with adoration. All its vast, void whiteness was so beautiful. The Earth loomed in the starry heavens as though it were a moon itself. “At long last… moon sweet moon!” She took a big whiff through her nose.

“What are you sniffing for, you’re only smelling your own sweaty suit.” Revilo remarked.

“I just washed it.” Oemor reminded.

“That’s just it.” Ikik smiled in bliss. “I smell… nothing. No trees… no dirt… no fumes… just pure, airless space.”

“Whatever floats your boat.” Lihp replied, wearing his own little helmet.

Ikik raised her foot and stomped the white soil with a proud smirk. She viewed the resulted shoeprint. “The first being to step on the moon was a gorilla from some hi-tech jungle. But then the DNK started setting up shop, so landing on the moon just felt like a trivial thing. I feel like not many people understand the beauty of walking on such foreign soil. They fail to see the beauty in such a common thing!” Ikik began to jump and flip around, feeling as light as a feather, but very nimble and flexible.

“You just like it here because you don’t feel fat.” Revilo remarked.

“I kinda get where she’s coming from.” Oemor said as they began exploring. “In a sci-fi series, spaceships are run-of-the-mill, but if you discovered a spaceship in a medieval fantasy story, it would be totally mind-blowing. Nowadays, the DNK just take the moon for granted, but there used to be a time when people aspired just to get here.”

“Especially when the moon just went missing for three years.” Ikik reminded. “And speaking of missing… Glasses Girl, hurry up!”

They turned to the ship as their sixth teammate stepped out, double-sunglasses under her helmet. “Sigh…”

“Glasses, I don’t know what your story is, but if you’re going to be a member of this team, you can’t stay locked in your room all the time.”

“My role in this team is to provide money, not accompany you on missions.”

“Yeah, well you’re going to this time! We’re going on an exploration mission on the moon, and Ikik’s gonna be our leader. There’ll be no one up there but us, so you don’t have to worry about being in public. So, get ready to pack up, that’s an order.”

Glasses Girl begrudgingly followed them as the others (except Revilo) happily jumped around the low gravity. Lihp could barely run as each little leap had him airborne for two seconds. “Hey, Ydnew, wanna see how strong I am?!” Oemor asked.

“Go for it, Scrawny.” She smirked.

Oemor bent down, grabbed her lower leg in one hand, and lifted her effortlessly. “Ha ha! I can lift you with just one hand!”

Ydnew willed the gravity to increase and flattened him under her feet. “Don’t get crushed by the weight of your own arrogance~”

“Say, Ydnew, that reminds me,” Ikik began, twirling tippy-toes on the tip of a pointed boulder, “if you’re a spacebender, you must’ve trained up here, right?”

“Yeah, my dad took me up to space on our own ship so I could train. Never really landed on the moon, though.”

They spent about half an hour running around the moonscape. Ikik seemed to study the formation of almost every rock, remarking every texture and feeling every patch of sand. “Whoa! This sand feels softer than the other patches!” She began to dig up. “I wonder if we’ll find any buried treasure??”

“Man, would you just shut up already?!” Revilo shouted. “Why are you getting so excited over this dumb rock?! There is NOTHING here! NOTHING interesting besides our Moonbase!”

“Geez, you’re a spoilsport today.” Lihp said.

“I coincide with his outlook.” Glasses replied. “The moon holds no value to me.”

“Excuse me if I’m sick of walking around a big, dead rock!” Revilo raised his arms in exasperation, spinning and walking aimlessly up a hill. “I coulda been home, playing my games, something that actually REQUIRES my attention! I could be walking around here blind and I would never find—wh-whoa-WHOOOOAAAA!” He fell off a ledge.

“REVILO!” the group screamed. Oemor bolted up, his speed enhanced thanks to the low-G. Once atop the hill, he aimed his arms down and caught Revilo in psychic, before he could fall too far into the endless chasm. “W…What the… GUYS, take a look at this!”

The others ran up by his side… and gaped. They stood above a vast crater, 10 miles wide, and in the very center of it stood a platform with a skyscraper, resembling the Empire State Building. “A…A building?!” Ydnew exclaimed.

“Unbelievable!” Ikik beamed. “Revilo, I think you just discovered some kind of ruin!”

“Oh, whoop-de-doo! Just pull me up already!”

Oemor rolled his eyes at his one-track mind and levitated him back to their ledge. “I wonder if it’s really ancient though. For all we know, it was built recently.”

“Let’s go find out for ourselves!” Ikik said. “Oemor, summon a spirit that can fly us over!”

“Oh, come on!” Revilo complained. “We spent forever walking around nothing, now we’re gonna waste even more time walking around a dumb building?!”

“You were JUST complaining that there was nothing here!” Ydnew argued. “What the hell do you want?!”

“I want to go home!”

“Fine, Whiny.” Ikik sighed. “We’ll just explore the outside of the building, we won’t go in. That make you happy?”

“Murgh…”

“Wait, before we do,” Oemor began, grabbing his phone, “I gotta get a picture! Ydnew, use your spacebending to increase my muscles!”

“You mean like this?” Ydnew focused her chi on his chest and inflated both breasts.

“AAAAAH! Not like that! Come on, please?”

“Fine, fine.” Ydnew shrunk his breasts back to normal, then expanded the muscles of his arms. Oemor smirked and flexed his left muscle, making sure it was positioned just below the tower in the background. With that, Ydnew snapped the perspective picture.

“Hee hee! Hello, new profile pic!”

Oemor summoned a Lady Carrier, a giant ladybug that carried them like a platform, flapping across the vast chasm before landing on the platform around the tower. The group was taken aback by its amazing size. “Incredible… Who do you think could’ve built it?” Lihp asked.

“Regardless, this building has clearly lost its purpose.” Glasses observed. “It’s clearly ancient and abandoned.”

“It doesn’t matter how ancient something is,” Ikik remarked, “because if we’re just discovering it, it’s still new! Say, guys, how ’bout we have a race?”

“A race where?” Ydnew asked.

“Around the building! We’ll start at the front door and make a full lap around!”

“Sounds good to me!”

Four of the teammates excitedly lined up at the entrance. “Hurry up, you two!” Ikik yelled to Revilo and Glasses.

“This is so dumb…” Revilo mumbled, the two lazily joining the line.

“On your mark… get set… GO!” The team set off! Ikik’s speed was unparalleled compared to her friends. On Earth, her weight weighed her down, but on the moon, her legs moved with much nimbleness, easily outpacing Ydnew, Oemor, Lihp… and Revilo and Glasses.

The two were lazily walking forward, showing no interest in the activity. “This is some team we’ve got.” Glasses said.

“Yeah, I hate it when she makes us go on these missions. Like, they’re not even real missions, it’s just walking around doing nothing! I don’t care about having a dumb adventure!”

“I never cared for such activities either. Though, I suspected it was a risk I would have to make when I joined a sector.”

“So, why did you join the DNK, anyway?”

“That’s confidential.”

“Ugh! I really don’t get you, but whatever.”

“Huff, huff, huff, I WIN!” Ikik cheered, crossing the “finish.” “Ikik Akamay is Master of the Moon! …” She looked ahead, seeing Revilo and Glasses only now going around the corner. She ran to catch up with them. “Yo, Revilo, Glasses, why you so slow?? I can make five more laps if I want!”

“We aren’t even playing, Fatty.” Revilo stated. “Just finish your laps so we can go.”

“For the record, I want onion casserole tonight.” Glasses mentioned.

Ikik glared at the two. She ran around and blocked their path. “You know what, I don’t appreciate how you two have been acting this whole trip! This is the moon! It’s been my dream to come here since I was little, and I was so happy to share it with my friends, but you two are completely ruining it! All you do,” she pointed at Revilo, “is complain about your life, and all you do,” then to Glasses, “is stay locked in your room! One of the points of coming here is to get away from our everyday problems! We were supposed to look up at the Earth and remark how small it is, and that all our problems seem so tiny in the grand scheme of things, ’cause that’s the kind of symbolism you do with the moon!”

“Except one of my problems is my friends keep making me come with them on adventures instead of letting me goof off and play games.” Revilo argued. “And I didn’t get away from THAT one, did I? ’Guess the moon ain’t so great after all.”

“UGH! You two are selfish!” Ikik yelled as the others were just coming around the corner. “You’re just like all those pricks who take the moon for granted! You probably don’t appreciate anything you have!”

“I appreciate my damn videogames and wanna get back to ’em!”

“SCREW YOU! Go jump in the crater and suffocate!” Ikik stomped away, leaving a trail of deep prints.

“Choke on your own food! And by the way, if I’m selfish, what about Ydnew?! She keeps making us do all this crap when we don’t want to!”

“Yeah, and it’s a damn good thing I do.” Ydnew stated. “Frankly, I don’t care what your mother or whoever does, but those games of yours seem to make you just as angry. If you can’t even clear your mind here, then you’re just pathetic!”

“Yeah, well it ain’t changing anytime soon, so you might as well warp us home.”

“We’re not leaving until Ikik’s ready to leave, so complain all you want. Until then, go whine in a corner.” Ydnew and the others followed Ikik.

The angry astronaut sat on the edge of the platform, pulling her arms out of the sleeves. She managed to grab a large burger in an interior pocket, munching it forcefully. This was a natural habit of hers when overcome with emotion. “Damn Revilo, fucking calling me fat, bringing his fucking attitude…” She complained while chewing. “WE’RE ON THE FUCKING MOON!”

“Take it easy, Cowgirl.” Ydnew said. “You’ll choke on your food and there ain’t much air up here.”

“I know…” Ikik sighed. “I just… I’m sick of him complaining all the time. I thought he would be able to relax on the moon of all places, but… I HATE Revilo!”

“Ah, don’t listen to those jackoffs, Ikik.” Lihp said comfortingly, jumping on his friend’s helmet. “We’re having a great time! …HAH! His name is Revilo and he reviles everything!”

“And I revile him, too.”

“I’m having fun, too.” Oemor smiled, taking a seat by her. “So, don’t let it upset you. The moon really is pretty.”

“Hmm…thanks.” Ikik smiled, crumbs around her mouth.

Ydnew joined them on the cliff, the four gazing up at the Earth. “…Haha. We actually got into a fight on the moon.” Ikik recounted the silly idea. “No different from arguing in the living room or on the street. I guess the moon really isn’t that special.”

“Of course it is, Ikik.” Ydnew replied. “The problem is… no matter how far we go, we just can’t escape our problems.”

“I guess we can’t.” Ikik frowned. “But some people only care about their problems and those alone. Even if they’re important… does it really hurt to open your eyes to the universe around you? To appreciate everything else the universe offers you?”

“Some people are just stubborn like that. But don’t worry… when we get home, I’m taking Revilo’s games and making him wash our clothes. Someone’s gotta get the moon dust off.”

“Ikikikikikik!” Ikik laughed. “That’ll be nice~. …I’m about ready to go, come to think of it.”

“You sure? We could look around more.” Oemor offered.

“No, I have to use the bathroom and I don’t wanna go in the suit.”

“Oh.” Their faces fell.

As Revilo and Glasses Girl were coming around the tower, the latter had sensed the conversation with Observation Haki. “No matter how far we go, we can’t escape our problems…”

“What?” Revilo asked.

“Oh, nothing. Just thinking aloud. …You know, Revilo, I think I can understand where Ikik was getting at.”

“Ugh, are you serious?”

“Well, your mom isn’t on the moon. She’s a million miles away, up on that little planet. Maybe that’s the kind of beauty Ikik was getting at.”

Revilo looked up, glaring at the Earth. Somewhere on that miniscule-looking planet was the woman he hated seeing the most… “Hmph… on second thought, maybe I do like it up here. Too bad Nerehc doesn’t let us crash on the Moonbase.”

“Indeed…” The planet seemed dark through Glasses’ double shades. “If only our problems could really be so small.”

Ikik led the others back to the door of the strange building. “To commemorate our arrival… This was one small step for friends, but one big step for friendship!” With that, Ikik stomped the sand, Ydnew stomped at a perpendicular angle, and Oemor did the same, leaving their shoeprints.

Lihp raised his foot and STOMPED, his terrific strength indenting a giant print. “HAH! My foot’s bigger than all yours!”

“In your dreams, shorty!” Ydnew retorted. “…What about those two?”

Revilo and Glasses retained their glares, while Ikik glared back. “…Gonna leave your shoeprints or not?”

“They’re all around the building, anyway.” Revilo reminded, walking away.

“It’s irrelevant.” Glasses said.

The other four exchanged disappointed glances. With that, Ydnew warped them all back to the rocket and they made the flight home.

Chapter 4: Home Visit

Later that night, the Nega-MG members were chilling in the living room, except for Revilo and Glasses Girl, who were ordered to do chores. They were unable to enjoy the TV over the recurring sounds of toilet flushing. “Oh, fucking FINALLY!” they could hear Revilo exclaim.

No sooner after did Revilo stomp up to the group. “IKIK, you clogged the toilet on purpose!!”

“Why the HELL would I do that?!”

“Because you knew Ydnew was gonna make me do the chores!”

“That’s your own damn fault!”

“Exactly my point! You did it on purpose all because I didn’t wanna go to the moon!”

The argument went back and forth for a minute, much to the discomfort of their teammates. “Alright, that’s enough!” Ydnew yelled. “Revilo, just go to bed and finish your chores tomorrow. Same with the rest of you, it’s not like we’re doing anything.”

Ikik retired to her room and put on her pajamas, simply a white T-shirt and gray pants. She heard a knock at her door and went to answer, seeing no one until she looked down at Lihp. “Hey, Ikik, you still have that bag of Broccoli Bits? Some of my fam’s still kinda hungry. …Including me.”

“Sure, Lihp.” Ikik went to her pantry to pull down a bag of the veggies. “Hey, Lihp… what do you think about Revilo?”

“He’s a dick who always complains about everything, what of it?”

“I don’t know… for some reason, I feel bad about getting him punished.”

“It wasn’t even your fault!”

“But he’s always complaining about his mom. It’s annoying, but we honestly have no idea what his home life is like. What if she’s just as horrible as he keeps saying? I feel like… maybe I should try to understand him better.”

“You’re wasting your time, sweetheart. Well, thanks for the bits.” Lihp lifted the bag and scampered back to his room.

“Hmm…” Ikik narrowed her eyes and made a decision: “Maybe tomorrow, I’ll pay Mrs. Nosro a little visit. If she’s really that awful, I’ll give her a piece of my mind. And maybe my fists! After all, I heard Nega-JP did the same thing with Atnij’s dad, so why not?”

The next day, Ikik asked Oemor if he knew Revilo’s address, and he gave her a quick answer, not questioning her intention as he was engaged to his book. With that, Ikik took the rocket and flew to Aeroville. She found the trailer park where Revilo resided, in particular the lonely trailer that sat near the edge of the park. Ikik could almost feel an ominous air as she approached the trailer. Regardless, she maintained a brave composure and knocked on the door.

A woman answered the door. Her face was dreary from smoking, she wore a green top and white skirt, and socks. “Can I help you with something?” she asked in a halfhearted tone.

“Are you… Mrs. Nosro.”

“Yes. …Are you a friend of Revilo’s?”

Ikik hesitated to answer, thinking she would be putting herself and Revilo in trouble. “Um…yes.”

“What did he do this time?”

“N-Nothing. He’s one of my best friends, so I just felt like visiting his home.” Ikik decided to lie, hoping to gauge a reaction.

“Oh. Well, that’s good. Feel free to come inside if you like, but I don’t have much to offer.”

Ikik accepted her offer and walked in. The trailer was just as shabby on the inside, and there was the smell of tobacco. She took a seat on the couch. “So, are you a friend from school or the DNK?”

“The… DNK.”

“I see. Honestly, ever since Revilo joined them, his performance in school has been worse than ever. He thinks he doesn’t need school if the DNK could give him real experience. It’s practically his home now. He rounded up all his games and brought them to his treehouse. Even if he’s right, I doubt he’s really learning a thing. After all, are your friends teaching him math, science, Hsilgne, and the like?”

“I… sometimes teach him about space stuff. I’m an astronaut.”

“Hm…then I guess he was right.”

“What’s he like most of the time?”

“Honestly, he can be quite a handful. I have a hard time dealing with him, and he terrifies everyone in the neighborhood. Every time I try to set him straight, he always fights back, and he goes and tells everyone I’m a bad person. I’m sure he’s told you the same things.”

“Er…only once or twice.”

“Sigh…tell me something, does he do a good job with his duties?”

“Well, yes. He’s a great darknessbender and he’s won a lot of battles for us.” She hated to admit these facts, as much as she was sick of his complaints. Even pretending she liked him left a sour taste in her mouth.

“That’s good to hear. I’ve been keeping up to date on the DNK’s accomplishments. I hoped that Revilo was taking part in all those amazing deeds.”

“Oh, he is.” Ikik smiled. “We fought this giant lizard monster one time, and he seriously would’ve eaten us if Revilo hadn’t weakened him with his bending! Thanks to him, we were able to beat it! And there was this crazy waterbender who dressed like a spider with these mechanical legs and a giant tank of water. He tried to flood an entire town, but Revilo’s bending helped weaken his bending so we could beat him.”

“That’s incredible.” Eilla smiled. “Maybe I was the one in the wrong. Who needs school when you already have the power to save the world?”

“Are you proud of him?”

“Of course I’m proud of him. But I don’t want him to think being in the DNK means nothing else matters.”

“I bet it would mean a lot to him if you told him you were proud. Maybe he just feels like he doesn’t have your support.”

“Hmm…I guess I do scold him a lot. Of course, it’s certainly not that I enjoy it. But if I want to get through to him, maybe I should try a different approach.”

“I’m sure he would like that. …Anyway, it was great to visit you. I should probably head back now.”

“Okay, thank you for the visit. Maybe sometime, Revilo could invite you all.”

“That would be nice!” Ikik grinned.

The astronaut left and returned to her rocket. As she made the flight back to the treehouse, a scowl crossed her features.

…

“YOU’RE A BIG LIAR!!”

“EXCUSE me?!” Revilo shouted back.

“All that crap you said about your mom is a big lie! She really cares about you and she’s proud of you for helping us!”

“What-…” Revilo was taken aback, but his fury only grew. “YOU WENT TO MY HOUSE?!”

“You kept complaining about your mom, so I wanted to see if she was as bad as you-”

“YOU HAD NO BUSINESS DOING THAT! Who the HELL gave you permission to stick your ass in my personal life?!”

“Why do you keep WHINING about your personal life?! She just wants you to focus on school more, I didn’t hear anything about ‘wishing you were never born’ or whatever! This whole time, you’ve just been exaggerating!”

“Yeah, well I never asked for your damn opinion! She’s my mom, not yours, so I’ll decide what I fucking make of it!”

“It’s not an opinion, it’s a damn FACT!”

“I QUIT!” Revilo ripped off his wristwatch and threw it on the floor. “Sick of this damn sector, I’m joining someone else!”

“Hold on a second, Revilo!” Ydnew stopped him. “Sigh…first of all… Ikik, you’re taking over Revilo’s chores. Get ’em done, and make sure to scrub the outside.”

“WHAT?! The hell am I being punished for?!”

“For going to Revilo’s house behind his back. Frankly, that was a dirty move, so get to work.”

“But he’s been lying this whole time!”

“That’s besides the point. Get to it.”

“But, I…UGH!” Ikik stomped to the supply closet in a rage.

“As for you, Revilo… please don’t leave our team.”

“…Why’re you sticking up for me all of a sudden?”

“Because I don’t agree with what Ikik did. Anyway, I know we give you a lot of trouble, Revilo, but I don’t want you to leave. You’re a valuable member of this team. That said, we would appreciate it if you could tone it down with the complaining.”

“…Fine.” Revilo went to pick his communicator back up. “But I’m going home for a bit.”

“Yeah, I’ll leave you to that. Sigh…I need a break, too.”

Revilo would return to his trailer, taking only a DS with him. Eilla went a while without really saying anything, much to his confusion. In truth, she was trying to find the right way to begin a conversation. “So, Revilo… how is the DNK?”

“It’s way more fun than here.”

“Yes, I figured. …Revilo, do you want to go out to a restaurant?”

“Why?”

“I just think we should do something together. …And, maybe then, you could tell me about your adventures. I’d love to hear about them.”

“…” Revilo mentally questioned her sudden interest. Yet, a small part of him hoped it was genuine. “Fine.”

…

Ydnew returned to her house in the mountains just the same. “Hello, Ydnew.” Itaav called from the kitchen, doing dishes. “How are things with your team?”

“Terrible and annoying.” Ydnew fell back on the couch.

“Well, I warned you about the responsibilities of leadership. There’s a lot of things you have to take into account, from your team’s abilities and personalities.”

“Tell me about it. Between Oemor’s laziness, Revilo’s complaining, and Glasses Girl’s extra-laziness, I’ve got my hands full this week.”

“Glasses Girl? I don’t think you’ve mentioned that one. Heheh, is that her name?”

“I dunno what her name is, but she’s new. She’s been providing money for our sector, but she’s a total enigma.”

“That’s interesting. Is she about your age?”

“No, she’s -9. ’Course, she thinks she’s an adult.”

“Negative…nine…” An odd thought was forming in Itaav’s mind. “Has she said where she’s from?”

“Nope. She’s Mrs. Mysterious.”

“What does she look like?”

“Brown hair, two pairs of sunglasses… Heck, how does she even see like that?!”

“Hmmm…” Suspicion growing strong, Itaav walked out of the kitchen. “Ydnew, would she look like this?” He opened a sketchbook.

“Wh…” Ydnew sat up in shock: an accurate drawing of Glasses was seen in the book. “That… totally looks like her. But who… is she?”

“She’s someone we’ve been tracking down for years. You see, she’s…”

Chapter 5: Funding a War

During a visit to Moonbase, Lihp encountered Eitra in the gym, and the boys got into a brawl that shook the whole gym. Despite their difference in size, Lihp proved to be quite the heavy hitter. Sadly, the tables turned when Eitra called his hamsters, easily pummeling Lihp when they were imbued with Haki. “Pay close attention, ladies and germs! This is why hamsters beat rats!” Eitra boasted.

This touched a nerve inside Lihp. The next time he returned to the gym, he brought a small band of rats, taking over all the exercise equipment and attacking any operative that approached them. Eitra heard about this and returned with his hamsters, sending them to battle and detain Lihp’s rats. This officially began the Rodent War one year ago.

Since then, Eitra asked Yrrah to make mini ships for his hamsters to pilot, and Lihp got Oemor to summon Flying Clams to carry his rats. They flew to each other’s treehouses to plot ambushes and traps. Both factions set up flyers at other treehouses, asking operatives to choose between rats or hamsters. Of course, they only thought it was a popularity poll, and they gave their vote, but didn’t contribute to the war beyond that.

“And that, Glasses, is where you come in.” Lihp said to their new teammate after finishing his story.

“…” Glasses tipped up her outer pair of shades and asked, “What did that have to do with anything?”

“Eitra and all his hamsters are big bullies! We need to show them they ain’t as big as they think they are! And since you’re our new teammate, you’re entitled to help. Use your money to buy us some real equipment!”

“No wonder Nerehc said you guys needed the money. I’m not going to waste money on your silly rivalry.”

“Well, even if this was a rivalry, it’s up to teammates to contribute. It subtracts our team points and… junk! If we can take down Eitra’s hamsters, the fighting force of the DNK’s strongest sector, we’ll go up big time!”

“Meh, fine. I’ll see what I can order.”

Glasses Girl used her cellphone and ordered some rat-size camouflage suits. With these, the rats would infiltrate Nega-V Treehouse at nighttime. They also wore gas masks as they used miniature cans to spray a gas around. Only the hamsters would be able to breathe it, causing them to hallucinate that everything was food. The operatives would wake up with bite marks and many of their furniture bitten. Akurah used her bending to fix the hamsters, and Eitra was quick to suspect the rats.

The following night, the hamsters planted a trail of small broccoli trees outside Nega-MG’s treehouse. The rats caught their scent and followed the trail (and eating it), only to end up being squished by a giant rat trap. They survived, but the following day (the same day Glasses was asked to do chores alongside Revilo), Lihp asked Glasses to order the construction of a giant vacuum robot. The robot used its powerful vacuum to suck open the wall of Nega-V’s treehouse, exposing the hamsters, but they were already prepared with Vortex Bombs, shooting them into the mech and sucking itself up from the inside. The day after, Lihp asked her to order a Dog Nuke. A shell would be fired into Nega-V’s treehouse, exploding into a horde of dogs that would eat the hamsters-

“Lihp, stop asking Glasses Girl to order stuff for you.” Ydnew ordered.

“Come on, Ydnew, we’re so close to finally winning the-”

“I SAID, STOP!”

“I kind of already sent the order in.” Glasses mentioned. “It’ll be here in one minute.”

“…Lihp, leave. Now.”

Lihp, feeling that strictness in her tone, figured that Glasses was about to receive a scolding. “Well, can’t let that Dog Nuke go to waste.” That was his excuse to leave.

Ydnew waited until he was gone before reaching her hand through a portal and shutting the door to the room. “Glasses… I need to ask you something.”

Already feeling where this was going, she removed both pairs of shades. “Didn’t I say not to ask questions?”

“It’s true, isn’t it? Your real name… is-”

Glasses quickly drew a gun and trained it on her. “Think carefully before you say it.”

“…What’s your deal here? Were you using us as a shelter? Did you threaten Nerehc into helping you hide? Were you planning to sabotage us if something went wrong?”

“That’s neither here nor there. Of course, I don’t know what you’re assuming, but what gave you this idea, anyway?”

She was speaking in a way that didn’t confirm anything, Ydnew could tell. “I was telling my dad about you, and my description resembled someone the Black Lotus had been searching for a while. He’s planning to call the Galactic Navy and set up an ambush. That is, assuming you are who he thinks you are.”

“It’s pretty dumb to tell me that, if that were the case.”

“Maybe now you’ll answer. What was this team to you? Were you going to sabotage us?”

“If I decided I didn’t like this team, I would’ve snuck out at night or something when no one was looking… to avoid hurting your feelings. I had no intention of sabotage, but I have no sentimental feelings. Arguably, Revilo was the only one I enjoyed talking to. But you needn’t worry. I’ll take all my belongings and be out of here before you know it. Your friends won’t be involved or get in any trouble.”

“But why choose the DNK to be your hideout? Why would Nerehc let you in here?”

“My reason is similar to Revilo’s: I wanted to get away from my mother. Actually, more than that. …I was hoping the DNK would help me kill her.”

“Kill… her?”

“Nerehc is the only other one who knows. I promised him information. Our interests align, fortunately. Regardless, no reason to burden you, now that you know the truth. So, unless you’re going to try and capture me, just turn around and walk away. The rest will take care of itself.”

“…” Ydnew did just that and left the room, using a portal rather than the door.

As if on cue, Ydnew saw Lihp scamper up the hall, stopping before Ydnew. “Bad news, Ydnew!! Those dirty hamsters had a Rabbit Cannon ready! They totally intercepted our Dog Nuke, it was a massacre!! I need Glasses to order me something new!”

“She’s gone, Lihp.”

“W-What? I’ve only been gone for a minute or two, and you were just in there-”

“She’s gone.” she said more strictly.

“What the heck are you…” Lihp ran around her feet and pushed open the door. The room was… totally empty. No furniture, no possessions, no Glasses Girl. “What did you… talk to her about?”

“She barely showed any interest or contribution to this team, so I convinced her to leave.”

“Are you kidding?! She’s been helping me these past few days!”

“And she barely sounded interested in that. It’s not like you were really close to her besides asking her for stuff.”

“I know, but… well, we were planning to give her a present for all the help she gave us. Is she getting a sector transfer? Do you know where?”

“…Let’s go get the others.” Ydnew said before walking away.

“Huh?” Lihp scurried after.

The others were in the living room, Oemor reading a book, Revilo gaming, and Ikik vacuuming up crumbs from under her chair (crumbs which she herself left). “IKIK! REVILO! Turn those off!”

Revilo groaned in annoyance and paused his game. “What?!”

“Something wrong?” Ikik asked.

“Glasses Girl left. She decided this team wasn’t working out for her.”

“She… left?” Revilo asked with disappointment.

“Oh well.” Oemor shrugged. “She didn’t really do stuff with us much.”

“Good riddance.” Ikik stated.

“I just wanted to ask how you all felt about that. But if no one minds-”

“Are you kidding?!” Revilo stood up in a rage. “I was starting to like her! She was fun to talk to, unlike you guys!”

“She did say she enjoyed talking to you, too. Maybe she didn’t wanna burden you.”

“Burden me with what?! Ydnew, what the hell happened?!”

“…Well, I have no reason to keep it from you guys, so here’s the gist.”

Ydnew told them what she learned from her father, and the answers she received from Glasses herself. Everyone’s reactions were the same: jaws dropped. “The heir to the Mushroom Mafia… was inside our treehouse?!” Oemor gasped.

“We were harboring that dangerous a criminal?” Ikik asked, shuddering.

“Yeah. It was probably a good thing she left when she did. After all, why should we all get in trouble for her sake?”

“Then that equipment she bought for us… It was her mafia money.” Lihp realized.

“And she was trying to… kill her mother?” Revilo asked.

“Now that you guys know, you won’t be curious and try to find her. But that’s all I wanted to tell you. You can get back to your stuff.” With that, Ydnew walked away.

Oemor didn’t resume his book, Revilo didn’t unpause his game, and Ikik didn’t turn the vacuum back on. They were just… speechless.

Chapter 6: The Heir

The mountains around the treehouse were already being swarmed by galactic officers, no doubt called by Itaav as soon as he learned “Glasses Girl” was in the very same region as his home. Little did they know that Glasses was crawling through an underground tunnel dug by agents she had called in case this would happen. She also called ships belonging to the mafia to battle the officials.

“Dammit!” cursed Einna, Itaav’s wife. “She’s definitely gonna try to escape in all this chaos!”

“This only proves that it’s her.” Itaav said. “Luckily, we have the perfect tool.”

After about an hour of crawling, Glasses exited the tunnel into a sewer, making her way through before climbing out of a hatch. “SISSYYYYY!”

“?!” With panic in her eyes, Glasses turned to someone flying her way, their feet just inches above the ground. She was a girl with a fluffy gold beard, a straw hat with a blue ribbon, and a gray shirt with blue overalls. She laughed like a hillbilly, “Hyuk hyuk hyuk! Sissy, Ah missed you like Santa misses sunlight!” The girl latched onto Glasses like a magnet and hugged her tightly.

“Grrrrr! Get OFF OF ME, Esiuol! Huh?!” The two were bound up to their necks in stone.

“I’ve got them, Itaav!” declared Imorih Atoihs, the Black Lotus’s Earth Master.

“Amazing job.” Itaav praised. “Goddaughter Airam Oiram. We’ve exhausted so many resources just to find you, and you decide to take up residence on my very mountain. In my own daughter’s treehouse, no less! If you did anything to hurt her, I swear-!”

“That’s up to me, Dad.” claimed the voice of Ydnew. The group looked up as the spacebender in question levitated down. “Glasses Girl… or should I say, Airam. You thought you could escape from us that easily, did you? You think we’re going to just forgive you for lying to us? For using us?!” She stomped forward in a fury.

“Stay away from her, Ydnew!” Itaav cautioned. “She’s too dangerous to approach, even when trapped!”

“Shooks, Sissy, is that one o’ yer pardners?!” Esiuol asked. “Her hair is bluer than that big ol’ watery thingy what where all the salt is!”

“Dad, she was one of my teammates. She’s not leaving without a well-deserved punishment!” And with a snap of her fingers, Ydnew warped herself and Glasses away.

“YDNEW, NO!” yelled Itaav. “Esiuol, where did they go?! Can you feel her?”

Esiuol’s beard seemed to point to her side. “Ah think she went thataway!”

Ydnew warped them to the sewer a few blocks down. Their teammates were gathered as well. “Man, this smell is really killing my appetite.” Ikik said. “You seriously owe us for doing this!”

“Yeah.” Ydnew replied with a stern look and folded arms. “I think you owe us a proper explanation, Glasses. We wanna hear the truth from your mouth.”

“Feh. Fine, this will probably be the last time we meet, anyway. In case you didn’t hear Ghost Robes up there, my real name is Airam Oiram. My mother is Don Mushroom Shrew, the Godmother of the Mushroom Mafia. And my father is-”

“Awful Oiram.” Oemor interrupted. “The evil protagonist of the Awful Oiram game series.”

Don Shrew was infamous the universe over as the underworld ruler of Toadstool World. She was the center of a planet full of crime and darkness, who made billions by cultivating and selling drugs produced from the planet’s soil. She was the queen of all drug-dealers, and some believe she is the very core of all such deals. Even the drugs being sold by a petty man in a dark alley could be traced all the way back to the Mushroom Mafia. Beneath her was the Capo Bastone, Awful Oiram, who was once a terrible, powerful mercenary before marrying Don Shrew. Second to him was the Consigliere, his brother Igiul. They were so infamous that the game company, Odnetnin made a series based off of their exploits.

“’Course, the drug-dealing isn’t their only source of income.” Oemor continued. “There’s also a pirate branch that hunts for treasures and raids ships. Because of that, Don Shrew is considered one of the Pirate Emperors.”

“Yeah, my parents are the center of public attention.” Airam replied. “But the knowledge that they had children was kept under official wraps. My mom sent us away for our protection, and we’ve been jumping residences for nearly seven years. …Unfortunately, my sister’s a complete idiot who can’t keep her mouth shut and always blows our cover. Her name’s Esiuol, but we call her the Beard Kiddo, or ‘BK-o’ for short. My mom fed her a Magnet-Magnet Fruit so that she would always be able to find me if she got lost. I paid some of my guys to take her far away and drop her off, but it looks like she wound up in the government’s hands. Speaking of, I can feel them nearby. You should warp us somewhere else.”

Ydnew warped them to another area of the sewer. “Can we at least go back to the treehouse?” Ikik moaned.

“When I was little, my mom used her poisonbending to suck out my own Poison Chi. She thought I wouldn’t need it as long as I kept bodyguards with me. Luckily, I trained up my Observation Haki and marksmanship.”

“I heard Don Shrew was the strongest poisonbender in the universe.” Ydnew said. “Is that why? Because she took your bending?”

“And the reason you wanna kill her,” Revilo assumed, “is ’cause you’re mad at her for putting you through all this.”

“Hit the nail square in the brain.” Airam affirmed. “When my mom dies, I’ll be the new Don. That’s why I came to the DNK. I snuck into the EiznekCm House at night and surprised Nerehc in his room. He was pretty sleepy, but he was awake enough to listen. At the moment, a dangerous crime lord like Don Shrew isn’t really a top priority, but in case she would pose a greater threat, he allowed me sanctuary in the DNK in exchange for intel. The only other catch was that I couldn’t call my soldatos (soldiers) to help us during missions, only use my money to provide for my sector. Still, it was slightly worrying to learn that the sector he chose belonged to the Black Lotus’s daughter. I think he did that on purpose in case I tried something.”

“And if you become the Don, what then?” Ydnew asked.

“In the process, I’ll hopefully get my poisonbending back, I’ll get all the power, and, well… live my life in luxury. I would’ve rewarded you, if that’s what you’re thinking. ’Course, I guess you won’t be helping, anymore.”

“See, that’s what I’m confused about. You said you were going to use us to off your mother and take the throne, but how did you expect us to help if you wouldn’t even tell us? Heck, you’re running away because we found out who you are! Were you planning to just, like, get us to help you without us figuring out any real details?”

“I was waiting to see if you were trustworthy and capable enough. Once I confirmed your competency, I would’ve changed sectors to study them.”

“And yet, you didn’t go with us on any missions. You just kept to yourself and barely hung out with us unless we made you.”

“My mistake, I guess. But now that you know the truth, what now?”

“There’s no way we’re gonna help you with this!” Ikik argued. “You were already rude on the moon trip, I’m not getting myself in trouble with the law because of you!”

“Yeah… this is kinda more than I bargained for.” Oemor replied. “I know I promised to get stronger, but…but this is too much. I feel like we only just got done with that Under Army business.”

“The hell with you two then!” Revilo shouted. “We joined the DNK to fight evil adults, didn’t we?! Well, I say an evil mom like Don Shrew falls into that pay grade!”

“I hate to say it, but I’m with Revile-o.” Lihp said.

“Why’re you pronouncing it like that?!”

“It was Ikik’s idea!”

“As for me…” Ydnew began, “…I want to help Airam, too. …Except for the mother-killing part. One of the DNK’s rules is ‘No Killing unless absolutely necessary.’ Not just for the person’s sake, but for their Positive’s sake. But beyond that, it would make the universe a better place if a powerful criminal like that were removed from office.”

“And what if Airam double-crosses us if she takes the throne?!” Ikik asked.

“If she were that evil, she wouldn’t have run away when she knew the army was coming.” Ydnew looked down at Airam with a glare. “You left because you suspected I would try to protect you. And I would get in trouble as a result. Even when you were holding that gun to me… you had no intention of pulling the trigger.”

Airam was silent for a moment, glaring up at her leader. Ydnew was tall, fearless, and proud, a model leader for any sector. She knew this much from her observations. “…It feels weird to say, but it felt fresh to be near associates on casual terms. Not knowing who I was. I think that’s another reason I kept the secret. You’d make a way better boss than my mom.”

“I always was a rebel.” Ydnew smirked.

Airam nearly cracked a smile. “…” She frowned again. “So, what’s your final decision? We only have about… 10 seconds.”

Ydnew frowned and turned to Ikik and Oemor. “I guess we’ll see you guys later.”

Within 10 seconds, the road was ripped open by Itaav’s matterbending. Oemor and Ikik were seen alone in the sewer. “You two?! Where’s my daughter? Where’s Airam?!”

“Ooo, Ah know!” Esiuol yelled. “Maybe mah sister turned inta that li’l floatie stuff that goes ’n our mouths!”

“You mean ‘air’?” Ikik asked.

“Ydnew took Airam and warped.” Oemor answered. “I… have no idea where they went.”

Itaav clenched his teeth and looked to the sky. “Commodore Gals!” Einna yelled to the Galactic Navy commander. “Tell your men to search everywhere! Go back to the treehouse, search the mountains!”

“As you command, Lady Einna! Smooth Etep, call for Silver-Foot! More mafia goons are bound to appear!”

“…Ydnew… you’re a strong leader after all…” Itaav sighed.

Ydnew, Revilo, Lihp, and Airam reappeared somewhere miles away. “Listen, Airam… do you know about the Little Dad Mafia?”

“Yes, they were always opposed to us. Even though they’re so much smaller, they’re strong.”

“I have a few acquaintances up there. What are the chances they would be willing to help you?”

“It would take a loooooooooot of persuading.”

“You still have connections to your mafia.” Lihp noticed. “Do you have a secret residence planned?”

“If your end goal is to dethrone your mom,” Revilo began, “how well would you be able to rely on them?”

“I do have a residence planned, but… Revilo has a point. My own soldatos are ordered to report back to my mom, but they couldn’t monitor me in the treehouse, of course. If you think the Little Dads could aid us, Ydnew… I might be able to persuade them.”

“Then let’s go. From now on, we’re your new soldatos!”

Meeting Their Matches

• Wendy/Ydnew – They would have a battle between airbending and spacebending, a sight one doesn’t get to see often. Since Space was stronger than Air, it was a great way for Wendy to train!
• Romeo/Oemor – Romeo would wrestle Oemor to the ground like a playful big brother, forcing him to muster his strength if he wants his book back.
• Kiki/Ikik – Kiki would try to shrink Ikik with magic in order to take her on a broom ride, but the chubby Negative was too strong and girthy for the magic to work.
• Oliver/Revilo – Revilo hated how everyone in Ollie’s neighborhood adored him. To make up for this, Oliver visited Revilo’s hometown and used magic to destroy peoples’ houses. Admittedly, he enjoyed playing the bad guy role for a change.
• Phil/Lihp – Lihp would steal Phil’s pills and keep them away until the Positive reverted back to mouse form. Afterwards, Lihp would eat a pill and become a very muscular human, mercilessly stomping the mouse Phil. Afterwards, he borrowed a few pills to use in his ongoing war with the hamsters.
• Hat Kid/Glasses Girl – Hat Kid dressed like her opposite as they drove around town in a convertible and hit every restaurant for their cookies and cakes.
• Mustache Girl/Beard Kiddo – Louise talks like a cowgirl and tries to have a back-and-forth with BK-o.

Chapter Text

Time to showcase our next group of Nega-Kids! Not stationed to any treehouse, they’re always on the road, seeing the sights, and swiping goodies from under your nose!

Chapter -1$: Train Heist

The Separate Proprietors of Child Trafficking were one of the worst organizations in the universe. They controlled several toy stores, candy shops, and other places for the purpose of luring and capturing children. Children sold for different prices based on race, ability, and Power Level, and they were always hunting for the rarest in each category.

First, there was Honest Repooc, a Moebian raccoon with shiny white fur and an ugly frown. Fixit was a Xabmol, a catlike alien from Planet Sloon, accompanied by his robot henchman, Klunk (whom he purchased from an acquaintance in the Posiverse). Trombo-Ocarina were a sentient bear and bird duo from Ralava, and they often played a dreary theme song on their self-named instruments. Kaj and Retxad were a long-nosed human and his pet Ottsel from Planet Arim; Kaj was an expert swordsman, yet was rather dimwitted, so Retxad was the true leader of their little duo. Finally, there was Hsa Freum, a human from Planet Ékop, and a master Nomékop Tamer.

The Bandit Van was in pursuit of a train belonging to Freum’s crew. “There it is, gang.” said Lorac Nosretsam, leader of the Minus Dollar Thieves. “According to ThiefNet, that train is full of Freum’s monstrous Nomékop. We’ll have to act now if we wanna save the children before they reach their destination.”

“I’m ready when you are!” Acificap Southeast cheered, ropes ready. She wore a cowboy hat, patterned blue shirt, and ripped jeans with brown slip-on shoes.

“Do you think we could try to secure a few Nomékop to study?” asked Ssiew Eenhcs. She had short white hair and a light-green sundress with thorn designs and green slip-on shoes.

“That may not be a good idea.” Leic Spirithive replied with a sheepish smile. He had smooth, bluish-black hair, angel wings, and a white gown with sleeves that seemed too large for his skinny body. It left his hands barely exposed and ended at the knees of his bare legs. “I don’t think even you would be able to tame those beasts.”

“Maybe you could turn them into butterflies with your magic sword thingy?”

“Silly, you know I’m only allowed to use that on spirits! Besides, this job wouldn’t be nearly as fun if I could.”

“Setting the van to autopilot.” Lorac announced. “Gang, prepare to board!”

Acificap tossed a lasso to a peg under one of the train cars, holding it tightly as her three teammates clambered across. When Lorac’s would-be team signed up for Arctic Training, she made them master the same Thief Style techniques that she utilizes, and they proved excellent at the art. An outsider wouldn’t expect much from such shabby-looking kids, and it’s true they weren’t packed with power like some operatives, but if one failed to keep an eye on them, they would find them gone in the next second, along with their possessions.

The kids crossed the rope and climbed along the underside of the train until they found a hatch to go in. Lorac peeped up, seeing they were behind a Blastoise (I’m not gonna alter the Pokémon names, that would be a nightmare). They slipped in the car quietly, their chi focused to be totally silent. Leic quietly cracked open the window, and they all slipped out and sidled along the side of the train.

They crouched to slip under some windows to avoid detection from Pidgeys, who would immediately swoop out if they spotted intruders. They slipped in a vent on the next car, then clambered along the ceiling above sleeping Skitties. They made it to the outer platform of a prison car and peeked in the window: a muscular boy with blonde hair was chained by his wrists and legs while three Raichu were continuously zapping him. He had a ripped light-brown top, shorts, and baggy shoes. A Squirtle was watching either door.

The group hid against one side as Ssiew used a vine to crack the door open. The curious Squirtle waddled up to check it. Ssiew swiftly bumped a vine against its head to chi-block the turtle, used two more vines to grab its legs and yank it out, they shut the door before anyone noticed, and they chucked the Squirtle off the train. Ssiew stretched her vines around the train’s side to sidle across, reaching the other end and repeating the process for the other Squirtle. She rejoined her team as they snuck into the car. Leic happily presented three pairs of rubber gloves, each thief equipping them. They snuck up and swiftly chi-blocked the Raichu from behind.

The vicious mice whipped around and tried to bite the thieves, relentless regardless of their element. However, now that the zapping had stopped, the prisoner boy used immense strength to rip his chains off, then bashed the Raichus’ heads in. “Phew! Man, my arms were about to fall off from stiffness! Thanks a ton, fellas! Name’s Hgielar.”

“My, you’re quite a strong one!” Leic praised.

“Damn straight. Only the strongest can survive on Ékop, how else did you all make it this far?”

“We’re not on Ékop, we’re on Earth.” Lorac replied.

“You mean we’re on a different planet?!”

“It’s true.” Ssiew nodded. “We’re the Minus Dollar Thieves. ’Course, most people call us Nega-$ because that’s a mouthful.”

“We heard a bunch of kidnapped children were on this train, so we’re here to kidnap them back.” Lorac followed.

“Actually, I’m the only other person on this train besides the Nomékop and their Tamer in the engine room.”

“All this security was just for you?”

“Yeah. They really broke their backs to capture me. But if I’m on another planet, I guess it kind of worked out.”

“Do you not want to go home?” Leic asked.

“HELL no! If you’ve seen the monsters on this train, that’s basically my whole world! I’m getting off this train and finding somewhere else to crash!”

“The Nomékop are quite vicious from what we’ve heard.” Ssiew said. “Some operatives even tried to conduct expeditions on their planet, and they never went well. Luckily, we barely had to fight any on this train thanks to Lorac’s training.”

“Come to think of it,” began the leader, “I know this is out of the blue, but would you like to join our team? It would actually be nice to have a heavy hitter.”

“You’ve got a point.” Leic replied. “Even though we specialize in stealth and thievery, muscle is a key factor in any operation!”

“Well, get me offa this train and you got yourself a teammate!”

“We’ll just go out the way we came in.” Lorac affirmed. “Uh, but you might have to get in this.” She held their Infi-Cube out.

Once Hgielar was in the cube, the three snuck their way to the back of the train and crossed Acificap’s rope to return to their van. They drove away from the train before anyone could suspect. Hgielar came out of the cube, watching it fade in the distance. “See ya later, suckers! I’m chilling with my new buds now!”

“Well, you have to go to training and get officially registered.” Lorac explained. “But I have a feeling you’ll pass. Welcome to the Bandit Van, Hgielar!”

…

Hgielar joined their team in the month of Hcram, and continued to work with them up to Rebmetpes in the same year. His strength proved invaluable in breaking into many villain hideouts and robbing their valuables. He quickly grew accustomed to life in the Bandit Van, thinking it as a life of luxury compared to Ékop. His only shortcomings were, because he was so strong and buff at -12 years old, he didn’t have the nimbleness to master Thief Style like his teammates.

As Acificap was leisurely driving the Bandit Van over a canyon, the others were looking over some blueprints sent from ThiefNet. “The Separate Proprietors are having a rare get-together to hold a slavery auction.” Lorac revealed.

“Did it say where it’s taking place?” Ssiew asked.

“No. We may have to dig around some of their hideouts to find out.”

“But look at this blueprint for their personal lounge.” Leic pointed. “There are six seats around this table. I thought there were only five Proprietors?”

“A sixth seat…?” Lorac thought aloud.

“Hey, has anyone else noticed?” Ssiew asked. “I mean, I never brought this up because I didn’t really think much on it, but… whenever we steal from the Proprietors, sometimes they mention the name ‘B-Rah.’”

“It’s probably one of their customers.” Hgielar figured.

“I thought that, too, but I feel like they mentioned that name more often than other customers’ names. And, well… do the Separate Proprietors even have a leader?”

“Well, no.” Lorac replied. “They’re each their own leader. That’s why they’re ‘Separate’ Proprietors. I always imagined they kept in contact with each other and made plans to meet and stuff, just like our sectors do. …But I wonder… could the Proprietors have a secret, sixth member?”

“If they did, wouldn’t the DNK have found out about them by now?” Hgielar asked.

“I’m not sure. Either way, we definitely need to find out where this auction is being held. Maybe this ‘B-Rah’ will show up to it…”

Chapter -¢2: The Canyon Race Heist

As the Bandit Van parked near a river for rest, Acificap went to explore a nearby field with Hgielar. She found a nest of baby Basilisks, a series of holes from which the snakes peeped out. She happily whirled her lasso and tried to catch the snakes, but they kept sinking back in. Beyond them appeared to be the mother Basilisk, curled up in slumber.

“Acificap, you’re really gonna piss them off…” Hgielar said worriedly.

“No I won’t. Basilisks are perfectly harmless. Hehe, they love to play!”

“Play with their prey before they bite them, you mean.”

“Maybe in the Posiverse, but we don’t have a thing to worry about with these guys. Not every creature is like the Nomékop, Hgielar.”

“Mmmh…” The taller boy sighed and glanced right. He raised a brow, seeing a unicorn galloping their way. It didn’t seem to be targeting them and only wanted to continue on its merry way. However, just the sound of the clops made Acificap spark into alert mode. The moment she saw the unicorn, “AAAAAH!” she cowered behind Hgielar, hiding in fear until the horse was far out of sight.

“Uh, is there a problem, Acif? You know unicorns are harmless too, right? A lot more than normal horses.”

“N-No they’re not! We had a unicorn on my parents’ farm! I tried to ride it when I was little, and it got mad and stepped all over me!”

“HA HA ha ha! ’Guess you ain’t as good with magical creatures as you thought!”

“It’s not funny, Hgielar! I was so scared! I don’t care what anyone else says, I’m never trusting a unicorn again!”

“You’re gonna have a real bad time on our mission then.”

“Why, where are we going again?”

Lorac called everyone back to the van as they drove into a vast canyon. It was the Supmylo Canyon, the largest canyon in Eceerg and probably the world. The canyon was home to a tribe of merpeople who learned to swim in land using mudbending. One of their favorite sports was horseback riding on the local unicorns. “Why didn’t you tell me unicorns were native to this area?!” Acificap shouted at Lorac.

“Because I knew you wouldn’t have wanted to come here if you did!”

“Forget it! I’m not taking part in this mission, I’m calling Moonbase to take me somewhere else!”

“Would you relax, Acif?! Look, you can wait in the van for the time being, but I still need you here in case something happens. According to our intel, Supmylo is going to hold its annual children’s race on baby unicorns, but Trombo-Ocarina are planning to stage a kidnapping using their own imported unicorns. The race will take place across the canyon and go through a dark cave, where the unicorns’ horns will provide a light. Of course, no one outside will be able to see what’s happening in the cave, so that’s when Trombo plans to capture the children in a trap. Since the unicorns are imported, they’re probably trained to carry the children to that trap. Before the race begins, we need to scout the track and determine what route they plan to use. If we can, we need to determine a new route that’ll bring the children back to town. Ssiew will have to use her telepathy to redirect the unicorns on that route.”

“Does that mean I’ll have to take part in the race?”

“You wouldn’t be able to do that without drawing suspicion. Not only are you not a mermaid, but you’re a little above their age range. Instead, we’re going to shoot these micro transmitters into the ears of the imported unicorns. Ssiew will be wearing her own and be able to transmit her telepathy to the unicorns. We’ll also set up Nightvision cameras in the cave so we can monitor the path. The race will take place tomorrow, so let’s get started.”

Lorac and Leic infiltrated the cave in question, already seeing guards with Nightvision goggles. The guards were Minjo, a race of colorful, humanoid birdlike creatures. The thieves snuck and climbed around the cave, setting up hidden cameras. A large truck was parked inside the cave, big enough to hold 10 unicorns and prepared to drive away once they were reloaded with the captives. Later that night, the unicorns were being led by the Minjo to the farm where the children would mount them for the race, sneaking out the original unicorns in the process. Ssiew was perched on a tall platform, slipping the micro transmitters in a straw, which she would shoot near the unicorns’ ears.

The following morning, as the other operatives were preparing for the mission, Hgielar came to visit Acificap in the bunk room. “Hey, Acif. Still hiding from those spooky, scary unicorns??”

“Quit teasing me! You’re afraid of Nomékop the same way!”

“I’m not afraid of them, I just don’t like them. I punch them in their stupid faces. But unicorns ain’t nearly as bad as those monsters. I don’t get why you’re so afraid after only one bad experience.”

“You just don’t get it. I mean, you were born strong, so it’s not like you know what it’s like to be afraid.”

“I don’t know what it’s like?? I didn’t just get strong over night, you know! Most of my childhood was spent running! Climbing! Eventually, that wasn’t enough anymore, so I started punching and kicking, and believe me, it was REALLY painful at first! The only reason I survived was…”

“Was…?” Acificap raised a brow at his pause.

“Er, the point is, all you ever encountered was one bad unicorn. And you were only a kid! You’re way stronger now! Not like me, of course, but… Heck, what about that Under Army bullshit? You couldn’t have helped us fight all those monsters and still be afraid of unicorns.”

“You just don’t get it, Hgielar! Just go away!”

“Pfft, you know I’m right. Deny it all you want.” On that note, he walked away.

The children’s race began as the unicorns galloped across the canyon. Ssiew monitored their progress with the cameras, and when they entered the cave, Ssiew began to use her telepathy, trying to tell the horses to deviate from the truck. “Hey, Mark, what does ‘deviate’ mean?” one of the unicorns asked in a gruff voice.

“I think that voice is tellin’ us not to get on the truck.”

“Why not? We got a job to do, don’t we?”

“Someone’s tryin’ ta trick us, ya idiot! Don’t listen to it, get back on the truck!”

“Whatever you say.” With that, the unicorns ignored Ssiew and galloped toward the truck.

“It didn’t work!” Ssiew exclaimed. “Those unicorns can… talk?!”

“Time for Plan B!” Lorac yelled. “Drive after them!” She manned the wheel and stomped the gas. The merpeople gasped as the van suddenly sped up the track and into the cave.

They pursued the truck up the canyon, but upon realizing they were being followed, the unicorns poked their heads out of windows to shoot lasers. They hit the van’s wheels, causing them to slow down. “Time for a Hgielar-pult!” yelled the muscle member as he lifted and hurled Ssiew above the truck.

“Hey, what’s going on?!” Acificap asked, coming out of the bedroom.

“Go ask Ssiew!” Hgielar yelled, grabbing and throwing her without a warning.

Acificap screamed as she landed on the truck with Ssiew. When the unicorns climbed up to attack them, the Rope Master cowered behind Ssiew, who tried to chi-block them with Vine Whips. “Man, I’m gonna kill that Hgielar!”

“If you don’t help out, they’re gonna kill us!” Ssiew yelled.

“This is exactly what I was afraid… of?” As Acificap observed the unicorns’ motions and demeanors, their rather dimwitted and agro expressions, she noticed something. “Wait… these aren’t normal unicorns.”

“What do you mean?”

“The way they’re acting is… different from the ones on my parents’ farm. Opposite… even. …Are these unicorns from the Posiverse?”

“Hey, Mark, what’s a Posiverse?” asked one of them.

“It’s the universe from which we originate, you Hay Brain!”

“So, you were imported from the Posiverse?” Ssiew asked. “I didn’t think Trombo-Ocarina had connections there.”

“Shows whatchu know! He has connections with our boss, B-”

“DON’T SAY HIS NAME, idiot! Just kill these brats!”

“Sorry, Mark!” The unicorns continued shooting the girls, a few hitting Ssiew as she fell to her knees. “Mark” charged and tried to stab her—Acificap leapt and threw her lasso with such force and precision that he was redirected into another unicorn.

“Why don’t you stick those up your own arses?!” Acificap mounted Mark, who angrily tried to shake her off, but she remained firm on the beast and used her rope to steer him into the others. The unicorns suffered holes in their sides and fell off the truck. After Ssiew treated herself, she helped KO Mark. The two friends shared a smirk before heading to the roof of the driver’s seat. Seeing the Minjos down below, they swiftly slipped into the seat and KO’ed the creatures, stopping and parking the truck in place. The -$ Thieves would soon breach the truck’s cargo and attack the remaining Minjo holding the children captive.

Before long, the adult merpeople caught up to them, having followed the Bandit Van. Once the children were discovered with the culprits, the Minjo were quickly arrested. Nega-$ had already driven off in victory. “So, are you ready to admit that I was right?” Hgielar asked.

“Shut up, Hgielar, I still don’t appreciate your teasing!”

“Sounds like a yeeees~”

“Ugh…fine, you were right. Instead of hiding from my fear… I should just grab it by the reins and make it stab itself with its own horn. And I wasn’t about to let those jerks stab Ssiew.”

“And I’m really thankful that you did.” Ssiew smiled. “Although… I hope you don’t really do the same for all unicorns. Those ones apparently came from the Posiverse. And it sounded like that one was about to mention ‘B-Rah.’”

“Does that mean ‘B-Rah’ is someone in the Posiverse?” Lorac asked.

“It wouldn’t hurt to ask our friends if they know anything.” Leic smiled. “All the same, I’m real proud of you, Acificap!”

“Not a problem!” the latter beamed. “But from now on, tell me the truth about where we’re heading.”

“Hehe, it’s a promise.” Lorac blushed.

Chapter -3¥: The First Catch

With the aid of Nerehc and Cheren, Nega-$ scheduled a meeting with their Positives and were flown to Posi-$’s luxurious treehouse. Carol was mildly repulsed by the sight of her barefooted clone, and Ciel seemed equally displeased with his angelic opposite for the same reason. “Wow, Ciel, your Negative is a Nimbi!” Pacifica beamed.

“I’m not actually a Nimbi, I’m-”

Ciel slapped a hand over Leic’s mouth and said, “Slandering my reputation with his awful attire, I need to have a word with him.” And he dragged Leic away in a hurry.

Alas, things got a little tense when Raleigh’s Slurpuff waddled up to greet Hgielar. His instinctive reaction was to kick the sweet Pokémon away. “HEY! What the hell is your deal?!” shouted Raleigh.

“Oh, right… they’re friendly in this universe, aren’t they?” Hgielar remembered awkwardly.

“What kind of sick person are you?! You just attack any innocent animal in sight?!”

“I said I was sorry! I’m just not used to seeing a… friendly Nomékop.”

“Hmph.” Raleigh lifted his childhood Pokémon in a comforting way. “How do I know the Nomékop are even evil? For all I know, you were beating them up first and that’s why they hate you.”

“Hey, you don’t know a damn thing about Planet Ékop! If you think you can tame those monsters the same way you tamed those, then why don’t you fly on up there and try!”

“You know, I think I will. No matter what universe it is, I don’t see any rational reason to kill or eat Pokémon!”

“Fine then! Let’s go up to your planet and find a mirror.”

“Hold on, hold on!” Lorac yelled. “We only came here to research a person called ‘B-Rah’! We’re not going up to Ékop just to prove a point.”

“I’ll just take him on my own.” Raleigh said. “Let’s go to my ship.”

Raleigh drove his Negative up to his home planet, landing outside Viridian City. Since they were there, Raleigh decided to bring the injured Slurpuff to the Pokémon Center, saying it was injured by a wild Pokémon. Afterwards, the two went to the bathroom and climbed into a mirror, entering the Negaverse.

They appeared inside a hospital in Sinensis City. It was remarkably bigger than the Pokémon Center, though a lot of the other buildings were small, completely dwarfed by towering, surrounding walls. As they explored outside, they felt an aura of fear around the town. “See those walls?” Hgielar pointed. “Every city in the world has walls like that. All the good cities, anyway. Built specially to keep those demons out.”

“I still wanna see them for myself.” Raleigh insisted. “Where’s the exit?”

“Only licensed Nomékop Hunters are allowed to leave towns.”

“HUNTERS?! You can’t mean to say your people kill Pokémon as a hobby?!”

“Not so much a ‘hobby’ as it is a duty. I mean, if bugs were infesting your kitchen, wouldn’t you wanna exterminate them? The less that live, the less there are to worry about.”

“You do realize that every Pokémon that dies in this world dies in our universe! And what if some of those Pokémon belong to Trainers?! You’re probably ruining tons of strong friendships!”

“So, we’re supposed to just let those things kill us? I’m not allowed to protect my own life, and thus protect your life?”

“Grrrr… just take me out there. There’s no way they can be that bad.”

“You asked for it. Lucky for you, I have a license of my own.”

Hgielar told the gate guards that he was escorting Raleigh to the next town, serving as a fair excuse to let him journey outside as well. They ventured into the forest: Caterpie shot web streams at them from the bushes, Hgielar dodging while Raleigh ended up being enwrapped. The bugs crawled up and tried to eat the prince before Hgielar squashed them and tore Raleigh free. Ledians blew Silver Wind, Butterfrees tried to poison them with their powder, but Hgielar smacked and smashed all the bugs as they kept racing through.

They arrived at a cliffside area, where Geodudes were chucking boulders, Hgielar shattering them with Haki strength and throwing his own rocks at the beasts. An Onix emerged from the ground and tried to smash them with its head, but Hgielar blew it away with an uppercut. The Onix’s tail was grabbed by a Rhydon, who whirled it and slammed it back onto Hgielar. He grabbed Raleigh and dodged, running up to the Rhydon to punch its stomach. The Ground-type tried to dig its drill-horn at them, Hgielar dodging and leaping above to punch its head in the ground.

As they ventured across a field, several Pidgey tried to gouge out Raleigh’s eyes, Magikarp bounced out of the river to bite his legs, and a Metapod (a freaking Metapod!) jumped around to try and trip and smash his head. No doubt, Raleigh might’ve been killed if Hgielar weren’t around. “Man… these Pokémon are relentless. We’re not bothering them at all, but they…”

“You finally get it now?” Hgielar asked.

“Huff…fine. If this is really what your whole world is like, I guess you had a right to defend yourself. But I can’t accept the idea of killing them! The fact is, every Pokémon that dies here dies in my world! Why can’t you at least… knock them out, tranquilize them or something?!”

“Why the hell would we spare them when they don’t spare us? Hell, take a look over there!” Hgielar pointed a short distance away, where Murkrow were eating the remains of a killed hunter. The sight mortified Raleigh. “I dunno how strong that guy was, but he didn’t make it. Freshly killed, by the look of it. Even the walled cities aren’t totally safe. Sometimes, small Nomékop sneak their way through gaps, murder children in their sleep. The guards need to keep a vigilante eye, looking for the smallest flaw in their defense, or else hundreds could die.”

Raleigh faced the ground with a glum expression. He couldn’t deny the truth in Hgielar’s words. “No one should have to live like this… Humans and Pokémon are supposed to be friends. Killing each other like this… it’s awful.”

“Galactic officials are in the process of evacuating people off this dangerous planet, but there’s a lot of procedures, involving money, finding them a new place to live… and of course, only the rich people have a chance of making it off alive. I was lucky enough to be kidnapped and winding up rescued by my new team. So… have you seen enough, or are you ready to go home?”

Raleigh looked up at his taller opposite. “?!” With horror, he saw a giant, winged beast soaring down from the sky. “An…AN AERODACTYL?!”

Hgielar whipped up and gasped, seeing the gray-skinned, dinosaur Nomékop. “I’ve never seen that one before!”

“Even in my world, it’s one of the most dangerous ones you could encounter! It’s a carnivore that actually eats people! I can’t imagine what it’s like here…”

Hgielar grit his teeth and readied his fist, ready to punch the reptile in the fangs. The Aerodactyl dropped down, talons-first… yet it was nowhere near their trajectory. Instead, the dino stomped a Tauros that was trying to charge and stab them with its horns. It lifted the Tauros in its talons and slammed it to the ground once more, KOing it. It then released the bull and hovered in the air.

Hgielar approached the Tauros and checked its pulse. “It’s… still alive? Huh?” With much confusion, the Aerodactyl flew a mile away, landing beside a tree, where it began to eat something. The encounter had left him completely baffled: why would such a massive Nomékop not try to attack them at all?

Raleigh also noticed the Murkrow eating the dead hunter had also flown away in fear. “Hgielar… I think that Aerodactyl is harmless…”

“That’s… impossible…” The two decided to approach the Aerodactyl cautiously. The “carnivore” appeared to be munching fruit from the tree. It looked down at the humans. “Hey, you! When you attacked that Tauros just now… were you trying to protect us?”

“Aero.” It nodded.

“But… why? Were you protecting us for a reason?”

“Aero.” It shook ‘no.’

“So, do you always help people?”

“Ro…Aerodactyl…” The beast seemed to rub a sore spot on its tail.

“Oh…when you get too close to humans, they attack you. …I…I don’t believe it. How can something as big as you be harmless?! It just… doesn’t make sense!”

“Ro…aero…” The beast narrowed its eyes with sadness.

Raleigh formed a big smile. “Hgielar, you’re understanding it!”

“What? No I’m not, I’m just basing this off his body language.”

“That’s what I mean! No Trainer is truly a Trainer unless they try to communicate with Pokémon!”

“Since when am I a Trainer?”

“Since right now.” With that, Raleigh pulled out a Pokéball. “Hgielar… try to catch it.”

“You mean… tame it?”

“Tame, train, whatever. But I think you can do it. I feel like… this guy will listen to you. Just throw the ball and see.”

“…Okay.” Hgielar took the ball and chucked it at the Aerodactyl. The giant dinosaur became light and compressed into the Pokéball. It shook and beeped on the ground for a few seconds… and came to a stop.

“…You did it, Hgielar.” Raleigh announced proudly. “You captured your very first Pokémon!”

Hgielar walked up and picked up the ball. Was that huge, scary-looking beast truly inside this little thing? “What… happens now?”

“You let it out and it listens to you. You use it to battle, to fly you around, or do other things. The point is, you have a new friend!”

“…” Hgielar was very tempted to try it out. But such a thing might be dangerous in this world. “Let’s head back to your world.”

They made it to the next town and used a mirror to return to the Posiverse. Once there, Hgielar released the Aerodactyl, and both Trainers rode it back to Viridian City. “Wow… riding on an actual Aerodactyl!” Raleigh laughed with amazement. “I never would’ve imagined!”

“Yeah, same here…” The very idea of riding on a tame Nomékop was unusual indeed. But what was also unusual was how beautiful Raleigh’s world looked from this view. He saw Trainers traveling the valley below with their own Pokémon. A warm light bathed this world, where both races lived in harmony. Some kids were pointing up at them, mouths agape. They never thought an Aerodactyl would be flying around in this region. “…Our world might never know peace, Raleigh… but at least I rescued this big guy from it.”

“Yeah… you take good care of him, Hgielar.”

“I will.”

Meanwhile, at Sector $, Carol was doing research on her laptop with Lorac sitting across from her. “I just can’t find anything relating to any ‘B-Rah.’ I can’t find them on the Internet, or the KND files… The closest I could think of would be The Brain, the old Brotherhood leader. It wouldn’t surprise me that the Brotherhood of Evil were involved with the child trafficking operations. We’ll contact Cheren and see if anyone can investigate them.”

“I guess that’s the best we can do at the moment.” Lorac figured.

“Hey, guys! We’re back!” Raleigh called, he and Hgielar entering the living room.

“Check THIS out!” Hgielar threw his Pokéball, which exploded into the Aerodactyl.

“AEROOOOOOO!”

“AAAAAAAHHHH!” The kids panicked, not wanting to be eaten by the real-life pterodactyl.

“Ro…aero…” The beast blushed.

Chapter -₽4: Aero Heist

After returning to the Negaverse, the Nega-$ Thieves drove their van to a forest, where Hgielar released Aerodactyl to feast on some of the fruit trees. “It’s a little weird that a band of child thieves has a pterodactyl for an animal sidekick.” Lorac commented. “I mean… we can’t just drive around with him flying with us, he’ll totally give us away. And I get that he can’t stay cooped in the Pokéball all the time…”

“Still, this is really amazing!” Ssiew beamed. “I finally have a chance to communicate with a Nomékop!” She happily approached the beast and focused her telepathy. Hello… Mr. Aerodactyl? Can you hear my voice?

“Ro…what? Is someone talking to me?” asked the dinosaur in its scrawky voice.

“Wow, I can actually hear him! It’s me! I’m talking to you!”

“Ro…so, you’re the one. I never knew a human who could speak to us.”

“I never knew a Nomékop that was friendly.” Hgielar said after Ssiew translated the beast.

“Yes, it’s a cruel world where we’re from… When I was younger, my parents told me of an age where Nomékop and humans lived in peace. We don’t know what caused all that to change… maybe something in the ecosystem or what-have-you. But I, for one, never thought humans were appetizing. Never wanted to taste one. Especially if I would have to devolve to their barbaric nature.”

“Haha, it’s funny because you’re a dinosaur!” Leic laughed.

“But there’s something very strange about you, Hgielar. For some reason, I feel the need to follow you.”

“That’s probably an effect of the Pokéball. Raleigh told me that any ‘Pokémon’ who submits to the Pokéball becomes loyal to the Trainer. But I wonder… was it a little too sudden, taking you from your home? Do you want to go back?”

“As long as I got food and no monsters to deal with, I don’t mind. And if anyone’s bothering you, I’ll give them a tail-whoopin’.”

“You’d really be handy to have in the right situation.” Lorac said. “But you’d have a hard time passing as a sneaky thief. Why don’t we take him to the Peace Farm?”

“Excellent idea!” Ssiew cheered. “But can we please ride him there?”

“One of us has to drive the van.” Acificap reminded. “But you guys have fun.”

Hgielar, Leic, and Ssiew rode the Aerodactyl’s back, following the Bandit Van from high in the sky. They flew to the Nosretsam Vault, where Aerodactyl landed and returned to the Pokéball before they made the drive up. They followed the vault’s complex labyrinth to a secret, outdoor area on the side of the mountain. Hgielar released Aerodactyl: they were at a vast farm with diverse habitats and all kinds of animals.

“These are all the animals we’ve rescued from poachers.” Ssiew explained. “These animals are peaceful and live off fruits and vegetables. There’s also a magic spell around the farm that prevents outsiders from seeing it; the only way in is through the vault.”

“The spell was put in place by one of my ancestors’ descendants.” Lorac mentioned. “Some Nosretsams liked to rescue animals, too.”

Aerodactyl approached a nest of snakes that were eating carrots. The snakes looked up at the avian skeptically. “…” Aerodactyl slowly bent down and took one of the carrots in his teeth.

“The animals will need a while to warm up to you.” Ssiew said. “Some of them were rescued from dangerous predators. These snakes, for instance, we saved from a pack of raging rabbits.”

“Rabbits have an unhealthy addiction to carrots.” Acificap followed. “All that sugar turns them into monsters. Renraw Sisters even invented a cartoon called Rodent Rabbit that tried to teach people that carrots were bad for them. It didn’t really sell very well…”

“So, do you think you’ll be happy here?” Leic asked.

“It is quite a nice place.” Aerodactyl answered. “Yes… I think I’ll like it here. But are you sure you lot won’t need me?”

“I’ll craft a Magic Whistle that’ll open a portal above your location to warp you to us.” Acificap offered. “It’ll be able to work no matter where we are… Though, I guess we should be mindful of where we use it.”

“And after we do, I think I know a good first mission for our new friend.” Ssiew said.

“A first mission?” Lorac asked.

“You know about the poaching operations that Moebius commits, right? They capture animals from all over the universe and try to implant them with brain cells so they can match the Moebians’ intelligence.”

“I heard about that.” Leic replied sadly. “In fact, according to old DNK files, the planet used to be ruled by Scourge the Hedgehog, and he used to be one of the Separate Proprietors.”

“Oh!” Hgielar gasped. “Maybe Scourge is ‘B-Rah’!”

“I mentioned Scourge to my Positive, actually.” Lorac replied. “She looked up the KND files and found that Scourge was killed by his own Positive, Sonic, when he invaded the Posiverse. Of course, Sonic died as well. It was about -15 years ago.”

“Then maybe Scourge was resurrected like Leic.”

“Look, we can talk about this later.” Ssiew said impatiently. “But yes, Scourge was certainly involved with the poaching operations back in the day, but they’re still going on. I say we invade one of their bases and save some animals.”

“Sounds good to me. You up for it, Aero?” Hgielar asked.

“I’ll give it my all, boss!”

With Nerehc’s help, they got connected with the Moebian DNK and learned of a poaching operation taking place on Steady Island. The Steadies were a breed of chubby, flightless birds that were common targets to the poachers. Nega-$ made the flight to Moebius after being handed the shipping routes for the captured Steadies. They would be captured in crates and taken aboard a ship to the main land, where they would then be loaded onto trucks.

There were three different trucks driving together in the dead of night, until a certain point where they would divide on a three-way road to different destinations. Acificap had used the newly-crafted “Aero Whistle” to summon their new friend onto the planet. After the successful test, they rode on his back in the sky above the trucks, his gray body hidden against the dark sky. Ssiew dropped onto the roof of one truck, Leic on the second, and Acificap on the third.

They climbed down the front of the cargo crates and slipped into small windows to get inside. There were guards walking around the caged Steadies, which the thieves quietly KO’ed. When the trucks divided on the separate roads, the thieves opened the cages, then opened the backs of the trucks, one at a time. Aerodactyl would hold a large satchel in his talons, flying behind each truck as the Steadies fell off and into it. Each thief would jump off once they were done, the trucks driving away as the drivers were blissfully unaware.

They all mounted Aerodactyl and carried the Steadies back to their ship. “Well, gang, I say that’s a mission accomp-”

“AEROOOO!” Aerodactyl was struck in the belly by a cannonball, which glued to the beast, causing him to plummet to the surface. The thieves screamed and braced for the crash-landing, the Steadies rolling out of the sack.

They felt shaking and looked with terror as a giant, red-eyed robot marched through the forest, a catlike alien on its shoulder. “Well, Fixit, I thought I had sensed a ship land in this vicinity.” said the robot.

“Indeed. Might you be the same children that have been foiling my colleagues’ operations?” asked Fixit. He wore light-blue goggles and a black suit with light-blue cybernetic lines.

“You’re Fixit and Klunk!” Lorac recognized. “You were behind this?!”

“Simply carrying on the work of our late friend, Scourge. I almost had a hunch this would happen and I’m glad I was right. Klunk, fix them.”

The robot quickly shot metal bars from his palms, the thieves trying to evade, but Acificap and Hgielar were hit by the bars. The heavy objects weighed them to the ground, even though nothing seemed to really be attaching them to the objects. “What are these, magnets?!” Hgielar asked.

“By eating the Fix-Fix Fruit, I gained the ability to ‘fix’ targets onto each other. The fixing only activates when I will it, so Klunk can freely shoot weights onto my desired targets. You’ll have a hard time fighting when I stick you all together.” He jumped down and ran for Lorac, while Klunk went for Leic, both fighting and catching either thief as Fixit attached Lorac’s feet to Leic’s head. Lorac hung upside-down from her friend, unable to detach herself as she weighed them both down.

Ssiew whipped vines at Fixit, but he grabbed and fixed the vines to the ground. He dodged up to Ssiew and caught her other vines, fixing them around her head before knocking her down. Hgielar was strong enough to tear off his weight, engaging Klunk in a fist fight, but failed to dodge a punch when Fixit fixed his shoes to the ground.

Aerodactyl whacked Fixit away with his tail. Hgielar ditched his shoes and ran to pry the cannonball off Aero’s belly. He then helped Acificap as Ssiew telepathically ordered the Steadies to hurry to the ship. Klunk grabbed Hgielar in his fist, which became fixed to the superhuman. Aerodactyl chomped Klunk’s head in his teeth, while Ssiew used Razor Leaf to try and cut the arm off. Fixit ran to Ssiew, but Acificap yanked him over with a rope. He escaped the rope and tried to fix it to the ground, but Acificap leapt to and chi-blocked the Xabmol, preventing him from using the power.

Hgielar forced the robot hand off and punched Fixit away. “Hey, more trucks are coming!” Aerodactyl yelled. “Let’s get out of here!” Hgielar nodded and returned him to the Pokéball. With all the Steadies onboard, they boarded their ship and took flight, the enemy vehicles trying to shoot them down.

The thieves escaped the planet and returned to the Nosretsam Vault, where the Steadies were free to join the other animals. “Sigh…that mission got a bit yucky, but we survived.” Lorac sighed with relief. “I didn’t expect one of the Proprietors to be waiting in ambush.”

“And they took over Scourge’s old poaching operations…” Ssiew thought back. “It might be even harder to find out where they’re holding that auction.”

“But we still need to try. The auction’s going to be held in two weeks. We have to sneak into their bases and try to gather intel.”

“Hey, guys… do you think Scourge might’ve known who ‘B-Rah’ is while he was alive?”

“Uhh…even if he did, Scourge is dead now? What would it matter?” Acificap asked confusedly.

“But if Scourge is dead, I wonder if he would be in the Underworld?” Leic asked. “If I ask the Spirit KND, they might let me go down and see him!”

“Wouldn’t that be kind of breaking your code of ‘doing it the mortal way’?” Ssiew asked.

“I could at least make sure Scourge isn’t doing anything illegal! I’ll fly down there and be right back!”

Chapter -5£: A Heavenly Meal

Leic returned to the Spirit World and was informed that Scourge the Hedgehog was in Underworld Prison. Using his Thief Style, the young angel snuck his way into the prison, making it down to Level 3: Starvation Hell. Leic located Scourge’s cell on a high platform: the green hedgehog’s soul appeared dry and shriveled like a mummy.

“Hello! Is your name Scourge?” Leic asked sweetly.

“Bluhhhh…great. An angel. This better not be some kind of therapy.”

“No, I’m not here for that. I just wanted to ask you a question about the Separate Proprietors of Child Trafficking.”

“Oh, yeah… those were the days. The days when I had it all…”

“Do you know of a person called ‘B-Rah’?”

“B…Rah? Is he still around?”

“So, you DO know of him!”

“Hrn hrn huh…then it sounds like operations are still running smoothly.”

“Who is B-Rah? Please, tell me.”

“Figure it out for yourself. But if he’s still around, and you goody no-shoes haven’t caught him, yet… it’s probably too late by now. I sincerely hope… our enemies fall!”

“Hmmm…well, it was nice talking to you! Here, have a chocolate!” He tossed a candybar into the cell before sneaking away.

“Bleh…I hate chocolate…”

…

“LEIC! SPEAK TO ME!” cried Hgielar, shaking the body of his unconscious friend. “Ssiew, get one of your Soreaways! Do something!”

“Hgielar, calm down!” Ssiew shouted. “His Gigai is just empty, he went to the Spirit World, remember?”

Leic’s soul re-entered the Gigai and said, “I appreciate your concern, Hgielar!”

“YIPE!” Hgielar dropped him. “Geez, don’t scare me like that!”

“So, what did you find out?” Ssiew asked.

“Well, I met Scourge. He seemed happy that B-Rah was still around, but because of that, he wouldn’t share much info. But he did say that, if we haven’t caught him by now, it would be ‘too late.’”

“That’s as ominous as they come.” The telepath shrugged. “Anyway, right now, we’re in a parking lot under Twisty Town. Supposedly, Kaj and Retxad are staying at the hotel up the mountain, so Acificap and Lorac went ahead to investigate them. Now that you’re awake, I’m going to join them. See you later.” Ssiew left the van.

“Well, perhaps I’ll enjoy myself a nice walk around town!” Leic said, marching out of the van in bright spirits. “Somehow, the blood in my Gigai is rushing! Like it wasn’t even laying still at all!”

“Ehhh…” Hgielar blushed awkwardly.

Twisty Town was built around and up a winding mountain. Children loved to have races up or down the mountain, and the views were great, no matter the angle. Leic saw an ice cream vendor, where a younger boy wanted to buy a Twisty Ice Cream. Unfortunately, he just discovered a hole in his pocket, and that his money was gone. Seeing his distraught expression, Leic approached and gave him some money to buy an ice cream. He saw a boy trying to reach for his kite, which got stuck on a horizontal tree hanging over the cliff. Leic easily balanced across that tree, got the kite, and brought it back.

As Leic continued walking, “Yow!” his sensitive sole stepped on something small and sharp. He found that it was a ring with small pearls. After a bit of searching, he found an older man talking to a woman, but trying to find something in his pocket. Leic approached and held up the ring in his hands. “I may have squished it a bit, but I still think it’s pretty!”

On a streak with his good deeds, he didn’t forget to do some for his teammates. He visited the market and bought produce, ordered a burger at a restaurant for Hgielar, and he decided to buy a chocolate bar for himself, feeling he deserved a reward.

“Hey, Hgielar!” Leic greeted after he got home. “I brought you a snack!”

“Oh, thanks, Leic.” Hgielar unwrapped the burger and began eating. “The others reported, they said the operation’s going good.”

“Nice! I better get cooking, they deserve it for all their hard work.”

Leic turned on the cooking pot and began to mince the vegetables. “Hey, Leic… if you came from the Spirit World, why choose this sector?”

“Why not? I empathize with children in poverty. My family was poor, too. My brother and I had to steal to make a living. But one day, we stole from a really mean noble. He followed us home and had his men kill our parents.”

“That’s horrible…”

“Yeah. I was able to escape with my brother, and we ended up on the run. In the process, my brother caught a terrible disease and he died, too. I began to wonder what we all did to deserve this… I mean, I know we were stealing, but we didn’t have any other choice. And after I was left all alone, stealing was all I was good at. I began to wonder how I could turn my stealing into something good. Then, I decided… I would no longer steal for myself. I would steal for other people! I would find other poor children and steal things that they wanted. I barely even let myself eat. I got better at the art over the months, but then it began to snow really hard one day. I hadn’t had enough to eat, so I froze to death in the end…”

“And then you became a ghost, right?”

“Yep. For about -200 years before the incident with Aluben happened. But I didn’t let that stop me! As a ghost, I began to fly around and look for other sad or troubled people. I tried to encourage them or tell them where to find things that they lost. They couldn’t hear me directly, but the idea still came to them eventually. There was only so much I could do as a ghost, but I managed. I had nothing better to do in the afterlife, so I may as well do good! Plus, when I eventually got to the Spirit World, I was approached by an Angel named Ash Landers. He said he had been watching over my good deeds and gave me my own pair of wings. I was an official ‘Guardian Angel’!”

“You’re as pure as they come, Leic. Got me beat by a long shot.” Hgielar finished his burger in one more bite.

“I didn’t mean to make you feel bad…”

“No, you didn’t. If I could make one complaint though, you should’ve tried harder to survive. If you were so good at stealing, give yourself a decent meal. Steal better food for yourself. Hah, no wonder you’re so damn skinny!”

“I suppose you have a point. But it’s because I died like this that I’m able to serve you guys! I’m small and nimble enough to steal like a true Master Thief.”

“Hmmm…” Before Hgielar could comment, the van door opened.

“We’re back.” Lorac announced, she, Ssiew, and Acificap walking in.

“The only thing Kaj and Retxad seemed to take was a large carrot cake.” Ssiew explained. “Nothing else was suspicious, but I was able to attach a tracking device to their car. We just need to keep an eye on it…”

“In the meantime, I made stir fry for everyone!” Leic announced. “It’s almost ready, so empty those bellies of yours!”

The team sat around the small, round dining table and ate their serving. The only exception was Leic, who only smiled at watching his friends enjoy his food. “…You know what, Leic needs to eat something, too!” Hgielar yelled.

“It’s okay. I ate a few of the spare carrots!”

“That ain’t enough! Seriously, how much does this kid eat in a day?! I’ve been in this team for half a year and I barely see him eat scraps!”

“Well, when chocolate’s in the question, he can’t help himself by wolf it down.” Ssiew said. “I never found that very healthy. But since he’s a spirit, I felt like it didn’t really matter.”

“My Gigai is designed to function like a normal human body, metabolism and all.” Leic said. “But all the same, I eat just enough to function. After all, it’s not like I’m allowed to hurt anyone beyond the gentle chi-block. There’s no real reason to overeat.”

“I disagree.” Lorac said firmly. “With the auction coming up, we’re all gonna have to pull off this heist with full strength. We may end up fighting the Proprietors, especially if B-Rah shows up and turns out to have some crazy power. Listen, we’ve got a ton of money from thieving, so why don’t we fly up to Moonbase and fix Leic a good meal?”

“You guys really don’t have to, honestly!”

“Darling,” Acificap put an arm around him, “I like giving to people as much as the next thief, but sometimes, I love the feeling of stuffing my own face. Stole one of those hotcats at the hotel for a quick snack, and I haven’t regretted it since. And this little stick belly could do with some stuffing.” She poked his belly, earning a light giggle from the angel.

“Hehehe…if you guys insist, I suppose I’ll try. But you don’t need to order too much.”

Once at Moonbase, the thieves ordered a Mt. Sirloin (sirloin shaped like a mountain), a Multi-Fruit Pineapple, Cold Lava Soup, and a loaf of Pop-Butter Bread, where butter would pop into the mouth when eaten. Leic promised to alternate between the foods and eat equal servings of either… but after the first few bites of the sirloin, he couldn’t help himself.

His knife and fork were working almost automatically, the meat flying into his mouth in rapid succession. He shifted between the soup, pineapple, and bread, his throat flowing like a river that had just been reopened. They could see the pure euphoria on his face as all four foods awakened his tastebuds. It was amazing that his little mouth could hold so much.

“Oh?” When conscience finally returned to Leic, he realized only the base of the sirloin was left. The pineapple was eaten to its crown, a puddle of soup remained, as did a small chunk of bread. “Oops… I may have gone overboard.”

The team shared a laugh. “Look at you eating like a wild Nomékop!” Hgielar teased. “You were so obsessed with giving people all your food, you never knew how it felt to really taste something!”

“I’m sorry! Please, eat all the rest! It’s the least I could…”

“Hey, we’re filled up on your stir fry.” Ssiew smiled. “This meal is for you, Leic, and I would think it’s a lot healthier than chocolate.”

“But since you offered,” Acificap casually pulled the sirloin plate over and ate what was left.

“Hey! You’re supposed to politely decline in this kind of scenario.”

“Then I politely decline the cliché.”

“Ha ha ha! You know, Ssiew, maybe I should do something nice for you in return.” Leic said.

“M-Me?”

“Yes! I was planning to save this for later, but I believe you deserve to know the beauty of chocolate~” Leic withdrew a long, yellow wrap from his gown pocket. It contained a chocolate snake. “Don’t worry, it’s not alive, and these purple lines aren’t poison. They’re berry-flavored! I heard it was delicious!”

“No way! Chocolate is gross! It looks like molded mud or… s-something else that’s brown!”

“Do you perhaps have intestinal problems like Lorac?”

“DWAAAAAAH…!” Lorac sent Leic flying with a kick, causing the snake to drop on the table.

“S-Sorry… I just hear it sometimes, and thought… everyone could hear it…” Leic groaned.

“That’s it, we need an attention diverter.” Hgielar decided. “Ssiew, eat!” He shoved the choco-snake into her mouth without warning.

“Ooooog…” Ssiew decided to submit and bit the head off, chewing it with a disgusted look. “Hmmmm…not bad, I guess.”

“Ha ha ha ha!” Leic laughed, standing up and re-straightening his gown. “This meal has been very fun! I’m thankful to you all for treating me.”

“You deserve to feed yourself as much as you feed us.” Lorac said. “And I want you on your ‘A’ game when we pull off this heist.”

“Speaking of which… looks like the tracking device stopped moving.” Ssiew said, observing a monitor. “Should we head back down and investigate?”

“Yeah. Meal time is over. Let’s look forward to another great meal when this is over!”

“I’ll make sure to bring Ssiew a chocolate chicken next time!”

“Please just cook your usual meal…” Ssiew sighed.

At this time, the Separate Proprietors had parked their cars in a parking garage somewhere in Doowylloh. The garage led deep underground. Their henchmen began to set up tables in a dark auditorium, fix the stage curtains, and wipe off the dust. They were beginning to set up the table in their private dining room, a seat for each of them, as well as a sixth. They had their special mirror all ready.

Interlude: Banquet Before the Auction

(Play “Clockwerk Assembly” from Sly 2.)

The Separate Proprietors leaned their mirror up against the wall before hors d’oeuvres were served to them at their table. Honest Repooc’s teeth were exposed and gritted in his wide frown. The white-furred raccoon wore no shirt, but red and black pants. Trombo the bear wore a black tuxedo with purple pants, black shoes, and held a pink purse where Ocarina rested. Kaj had a long nose, short blonde hair, and was hunched over as he rubbed his hands nervously, while Retxad wore his own blue business suit. Hsa Freum was a young human man dressed in red attire with a blue hat. Fixit and Klunk were also present.

The Nega-$ Thieves parked on the street a couple blocks away. Lorac jumped streetlights until she made it to the parking garage, sneaking past the guards and visitors and finding her way to a vent. She crawled and maneuvered through the vent until she found the Proprietors backstage.

“We have an hour until the auction begins, ehn, yes.” Repooc said with a nasally voice. “I hope our clients will bring us good results. But Fixit, were you able to find the operatives that were interfering with my Steady trafficking?”

“Unfortunately, not. And I surmise that the DNK will attempt to interfere with this auction as well.”

“To be quite honest, Fixit, your services were absolutely useless, erm, yes.”

“We were in the middle of our own operations before we were called to assist you.” Klunk argued. “After all, our clients will need some new soldiers after B-Rah buys from them.”

“Nyeah, hey Retxad, what’s a ‘B-Rah’?” Kaj asked.

“It’s your tiny mental capacity, Waggle-Fingers!”

“Retxad, don’t be so mean to him!” Ocarina scolded. “He’s trying, he really is.”

“Y-You’re right, I’m sorry, Kaj, I really am.” Retxad consoled, his tone suddenly shifting to timid. “It’s just so hard running a child-trafficking business, you know?”

“Nyeah, it’s okay, Retxad. I know that my name is Kaj.”

“What a couple of dumbasses.” Hsa huffed, tossing a Dark Pokéball around. “On the bright side, I beat my previous record for Rare Nomékop for this year’s auction. Even caught a couple Legendaries. If I’m lucky, I might be able to sell my Raichu, getting sick of that little shit.”

“By all means, I’ll trade it for Ocarina any day.” Trombo offered, taking a swig of red rum. “Maybe Raichu wouldn’t give a damn about my drinking, uck-kuk-kuk-kuk.”

“Trombo, you guzzle 10 bottles a day, you’re going to poison yourself someday!”

“Uck-kuk-kuk-kuk, maybe if I hadn’t eaten that Devil Fruit, uck-kuk, Ah can get as drunk as I fuckin’ want~”

“I don’t even want her.” Hsa declined. “I don’t wanna imagine what you two do in the bedroom.”

“Oh! Kaj thinks they dress up as ponies and go see Moon People!” exclaimed the henchman giddily.

“You are remarkably stupid and a waste of time.” Repooc sneered. “Honestly, how much longer must I continue to tolerate this nonsense?”

“There’s a chance we’re going to be seeing each other a lot more.” Retxad said. “According to B-Rah, we nearly have enough power to take on Disney.”

Did they say… Disney? Lorac thought, recording the conversation as the audio was played back at the van. As in… the Positive Disney?

“I heard that Disney recently made a deal with the Yensid company.” Hsa said. “They’re moving their empire into our universe now. If they get to the DNK, they’ll be an unstoppable alliance and have us driven out before long.”

“Uck-kuk-kuk, we got tons of allies, too, uck-kuk, thanks to our trafficking deals. Between the Mushroom Mafia, Meta-Beasts, our own, and B-Rah’s forces, we can crush them easy.”

“Nyeah, hey Retxad, when is ‘B’rah’ gonna come?”

“He is certainly taking a while, I’m getting worried. Ocarina, can you open the portal for me?”

“Of course, Retxad.” The red-feathered bird played a lovely tune on her Fairy Ocarina, allowing the mirror to swirl into a portal. Retxad climbed inside.

So, B-Rah is going to appear soon? Just who are they… Lorac wondered.

Lorac whipped around with a light gasp. …For a second… she thought she felt something. A presence… behind her. But there was nothing. Only she… was in the vent, right?

“You know, I once heard a couple of B-Rah’s friends saying that he and Mickey were in a movie together one time.” Ocarina said. “It was about -50 years ago. I’d like to think that they were really close friends at one point.”

“Friendship is temporary pleasure.” Fixit said. “It is not necessary to advance one’s goals, especially if those goals contradict.”

“But when you really think about it, aren’t their goals really the same?”

“Who the hell cares?” Hsa asked. “All I know is Mickey is the type that would snuff us out, but with B-Rah, we can maintain a permanent hold on the underworld.”

“And what of the Four Emperors?” Repooc asked. “Although the Mushrooms and Meta-Beasts favor us, those silly Smiles and righteous Galactic Navy seek to destroy us. This next year is going to be positively dreadful, honestly…”

So, he’s at least 50 years old. Lorac thought. Mickey… Rickey? As in, the Positive of Rickey Rat?

Lorac whipped around, heart skipping a beat. Again, she felt that presence. She…she could almost swear… there was something there. But there was nothing. What was wrong with her? Was being this close to the enemy truly touching her nerves? She had to calm down and focus. She faced forward again-

?!??!?!!?!

Before her… just a few inches in front of her… were some chewed leaves. They… looked like the remains of a vegetable. …Lorac knew for a fact… those were not there before. How… did they get there? The Proprietors didn’t seem to be aware of her presence. Who…What… put these leaves… in the vent… She was the only one in the vent… sh-she should be the only one… in here…

The mirror morphed again. Lorac shot back to attention: Retxad was coming back through. Any moment… B-Rah would show himself as well.

When Retxad returned, he seemed to be confused as he said, “Well, that was odd… B-Rah’s friends said that he just went in a few moments ago.”

?!?! Lorac’s pupils shrank with shock. He had… already come through the portal?

“That’s impossible, we’ve been watching the mirror this whole time! We woulda seen him!” Hsa stated.

“This is probably another one of his tricks.” Retxad figured. “He’s probably hiding in this room right now.”

“. . . . . .” Lorac was beginning to sweat. Her heart was swelling with pure fear. B-Rah… is hiding… in this room… right now… Her eyes fell… to the veggie leaves inches before her… those same leaves that had not been there a minute ago… that had just appeared… In this room… right now… hiding…

Lorac crawled backward. Slowly… she crawled back…

She felt a breath on her left foot. It was gentle… it kind of tickled… and it made her feel colder than the most freezing mountain. Something…someone… was behind her… another presence… in the vent… hiding…

For a moment… the Proprietors didn’t say a thing… As though they already expected the outcome, they were waiting. …No… to Lorac, it was more like… time had frozen. Rather, the scene had frozen… because it would not advance… until she looked behind. She knew…she already knew something was behind her. All she had to do… was turn her head… and confirm her fear…

Turn… her head…turn…her…he…ad…

“AAAAAAAAHHHH!”

They could hear Lorac’s scream, followed by the sound of a collapsing vent hatch, before the recording went dead. “LORAC!” Leic screamed.

“They must’ve discovered her!” Ssiew panicked. “We have to rescue her! Hurry, let’s sneak in!” (End song.)

Chapter -6€: Auction Heist

Ssiew, Acificap, and Leic snuck into the Auction House while Hgielar stayed behind to monitor the situation from the van. Acificap found the holding room under the stage where several multi-racial children were being held prisoner, and numerous guards around them. “It looks like the children are all being held in this one room. There’s no limit to how much the Infi-Cube can hold, right?”

“No, they should all be able to fit.” Ssiew replied through the communicator. “But I haven’t been able to find Lorac, yet.”

“We should still prepare our getaway route.” Leic followed, hiding on a vent below the auditorium’s ceiling. “There sure are a lot of people here… I recognize Toadsless from the Mushroom Mafia, and he has his own pet Ihsoy. And that looks like Andross from the Meta-Beast Pirates. There’s Pencil Tail, an officer from the Brotherhood of Evil’s Villainia branch. They all seem to have adult slaves with them.”

“Based on the intel Lorac collected, this auction is a two-way trade. The Proprietors are going to be giving these villains the captured children, and the Proprietors will be buying the adults of equal rarity.”

“I’m not sure it’s a matter of rarity. I think they’re just general slaves that have been trained to hone their strength. Whoever B-Rah is, it sounds like they want to build an army.”

“But why hasn’t B-Rah shown up, yet?” Acificap asked. “It sounded like Lorac was attacked in the vent, and they also said B-Rah was already in the building. He should be showing up on that stage, right?”

“Now, let’s begin the auction.” Honest Repooc said. “First up, we have-”

“Now, you wait just a second!” Andross spoke up. He was an ape Mobian in a white labcoat. “I know for a fact you have a secret sixth member, and I know they’re here!”

“B-Rah does not make public appearances and, quite honestly, you’re a fool for not knowing this.”

“’ey, this is hardly a public appearance, what’re you talkin’ about?” Toadsless asked. He was a bearded Mushroom Toad with a yellow vest and wheelchair. “We the ones providin’ for you lot, we demand to know who’s in charge!”

“B-Rah doesn’t make public appearances?” Leic asked himself. “In that case, what would he be doing here at all?”

A gray and white rabbit munched on a carrot, laying on his back beside Leic. “Prob’ly to make sure no nosy kids are sniffin’ around his business.”

“But that would be something he would leave his minions to, wouldn’t he?”

“Yeah, but sometimes, you gotta take matters into your own hands. He’s prob’ly watchin’ this auction from somewhere ya can’t see him.”

“You mean like up on this vent?”

“Yeah, somethin’ like that.”

“Oh, dear. I’d better keep an eye out.”

“Leic, Ssiew and Acificap aren’t answering their communicators! I think something happened!” Hgielar called.

The rabbit held up a wristwatch and replied, “No woi’ies, Doc, I got their communicatois right here.”

“Oh, okay. That’s good. …Wait, who is-”

“I don’t see anything suspicious.” Leic said. “If he’s here… then where…”

The rabbit tapped his shoulder. “Hey, listen, Doc… I got a little secret to tell ya.”

“Yeah, what kind?”

“Well, the thing is, eh…” Leic cocked a brow and glanced at him. “Confidentially…” The rabbit waggled his finger, gesturing Leic to lean his head over. “So, like, I might have an idea where B-Rah is.”

“Where? Can you tell me?”

“He’s down there.” The rabbit pointed at Leic’s belly.

Leic looked down—the rabbit FLICKED up at his nose, knocking Leic off the vent as he crashed into the stands! “An intruder!” yelled Pencil Tail.

“Nyeah! It’s an angel!” Kaj yelled. “We’re going to Heaven! Hooray!”

Ocarina flapped open her wings, her red feathers turning black and fairy-like. She sang a beautiful song, the soundwave traveling to Leic as he became trapped in a nightmare, similar to a Fear Scream. “Uck-kuk-kuk, this angel’s about to have his first drink, uck-kuk.” Trombo said as he morphed into an elf-like creature. He walked offstage and leaned his head over Leic, spilling beer from his mouth onto Leic’s face.

Ocarina lifted the inebriated Leic in her talons and floated backstage. “Was that Nimbi boy from the DNK?” Andross asked. “This became problematic.”

“Do not fear. We have anticipated these thieves’ arrival.” Fixit assured. “Our guards have not detected a large number of intruders. Now, let us proceed with the auction. First, we have this Nopon from Planet Arim.” A platform rose up from below the stage, holding a small, round, furry creature, alongside an armored girl with fiery hair. “He is the Driver of a rare Blade known as Alusru, and has shown to be quite skilled at using her.”

Inside the Bandit Van, Hgielar grit his teeth when he lost contact with Leic. “Dammit… they must already know we’re here. It’s just me…”

Knowing he wasn’t as nimble or stealthy as his teammates, Hgielar knew he could only get so far before he was discovered. Luckily, the others had already KO’ed some of the guards outside, but even so, he believed he would be discovered eventually. “I think I might finally have to bust this out…”

…

A groggy, sickened Leic slowly came to his senses, his face still soaked with beer as he could make out the shape of a three-layer carrot cake. To his left and right were his friends, all waking up from being knocked out. Both looked with shock when they fully came to, their wrists and legs tied to chairs.

The gray and white rabbit cut a piece of the cake and ate it. “This will teach you kids not to imitate what cartoons do. You’ll end up real sore in the morning, I tells ya.”

“Y…You…” Lorac groaned, feeling a large bump on her head.

“The name’s B-Rah.” The rabbit munched on a carrot. “What’s up, Doc?”

“No… you’re not… B-Rah.” Ssiew said. “You’re… the cartoon character, Rodent Rabbit!”

“That’s my Negative, yeah, but don’t go confusin’ us. I’m way more original.”

“A Positive? Then your real name is… Bugs Bunny.” Acificap assumed.

“Since when is ‘bunny’ the opposite of ‘rabbit,’ anyway? That’s kinda we’aid. But anyway, I’m somewhat of an important figure in the Posivoise, Doc. Ain’t no one on Oith (Earth) who ain’t heard of me. Ain’t as good as Mickey Mouse, though. Almost everyone in the univoise knows his name. I know he’s 20 years older than me, but come on! Movin’ on, I can’t let people down here see me. If woid makes it up to the Posivoise that I’m conducting illegal operations, that ain’t gonna look good for me, Doc.”

“Then why are you letting us see you?” Lorac asked.

“Because I wanna make a deal with you kiddies. So, me and Mickey Mouse have been rivals for decades, see? Maybe ever since my birthday 90 years ago. But in recent years, his empire’s been growing bigger and bigger. So many woilds and companies under his corporate control. That’s leavin’ less room for me and Warner Bros.. Now, we got plenty of territories to our name, even Hogwoits the magic school, but compared to Disney, it just ain’t enough. That’s why we moved down to the Negavoise. I met these boys here way back when, and we started setting up trades with shady types: we give them little kids with potential, and they give us money and strong fighters. Thanks to them, our Nega-Woild empire, combined with our own resources, is becoming as strong as Disney. We’ll buy them out before they can do the same with us.”

“And what does that have to do with us?”

“Because I want the DNK to help me bring down Disney. With the kinda power you kids got, it’d be a synch. If ya say ‘yes,’ I’ll stop with the child trafficking. I’ll even help ya rescue all the kids we sold, if ya want.”

“And if we say ‘no’?” Leic asked.

“Then I’m gonna knock you out with this hammer.” Bugs presented a wooden cartoon hammer. “And I’ll get Ocarina to use her power to make you think this was all a bad dream. You won’t remember a thing about meeting me, but you’ll fetch a good price in the auction.”

“Well, I certainly don’t trust you for a second.” Lorac said. “How do we even know Disney is bad? Even if they are, we and our Positive friends will stop you both!”

“Actually, I am curious about something.” Acificap said. “Bugs Bunny… you’re an Imaginary Friend, aren’t you? Judging by your cartoony demeanor, and that you said you were about -90 years old.”

“What’s it to ya, Doc?”

“Oh, I get it.” Leic smiled. “Imaginary Friends just barely fall into the legal boundaries for spirits.” With that, the angel’s head fell dead on the table as his soul flew out. “Pacify, Flutterwing!” He drew a sword as it transformed into a colorful butterfly shape, showering Bugs with powder. The rabbit’s eyes widened as he shrank into the form of a butterfly.

Lorac was able to twist her hands out of the rope, quickly untying her legs, as well as her friends. “Nice one, Leic! Let’s hurry and rescue the kids before-”

The butterfly pulled out the wooden hammer out of Pocket Space and BASHED Leic back into his Gigai. This caused the spell to wear off and for Bugs to puff back to normal. “You ain’t goin’ anywhere, Doc.”

Acificap caught him with rope, but Bugs slipped out as nimbly as a Toon. Lorac pelted him with chi-blocks, but each hit caused exploding tape to stick to her fists, exploding and covering her with soot. Ssiew sent Razor Leafs to cut him, but Bugs became as spirally as a spring, jumped horizontally, and sprung the group against the wall. “Don’t ya know a thing about cartoon heroes? We can’t be beaten, no matter what silly tricks ya throw.”

“What is that thing?!”

“It’s a monster! Somebody, kill it!”

They could hear shouting and crashing in the auditorium outside. “Nyeah… I didn’t ask for no monster?” Bugs cocked a brow in confusion.

The operatives ran out front, terrified as a four-armed, muscular beast with light-blue skin was smashing all the tables and attacking the guests, some of whom tried to fight back with their powers. “Look at its hair!” Acificap pointed at the creature’s blonde hair. “It looks like… HGIELAR?!”

The beast faced their direction, sporting a grin: Hgielar’s friends could only gape with confusion. “Don’t just stand there, get the kids and get!! I’ll distract the big wigs!” He smashed a hole in the floor, then leapt to attack the Separate Proprietors.

The four immediately refocused, deciding to trust their friend and jump into the hole. They worked to chi-block the guards, and Lorac plucked some hair from her head to pick the locks of the children’s cuffs. “Quick, get in here!” She held the Infi-Cube out; although the kids were confused by the sudden events, they chose to trust the girl and dive into the cube.

Kaj slashed blades at Hgielar, but he withstood the cuts. Hsa Freum freed his Raichu to electrify Hgielar, but Ssiew stretched vines to chi-block the Nomékop. When Hgielar saw his friends running off, he was quick to join them, using his mighty fists to smash walls down, as well as throw his friends up through ceiling holes he had broken earlier. “So, what the heck is this?!” Acificap shouted.

“Remember when I was telling you my story and I kind of paused awkwardly?” Hgielar asked.

“Yeah?”

“Well, I sort of left out the part where I volunteered to be a science experiment.”

“An experiment for what?!”

“Talk later, run now!” Lorac yelled.

The group made it up to the parking garage, Hgielar lifting his friends in his four arms as he dashed his way to the roof, going up and around all the floors. Guards tried to run him over with cars, but he smashed them in with headbutts. “AEROOOO!” Aerodactyl was flying down to meet them on the roof. Hgielar made it up and leapt onto the dinosaur’s back. The beast swooped down to where the van was parked and grabbed it in his talons. Red and blue lights filled the streets as cop cars were surrounding the garage.

“Aw, man, the police are here.” Retxad said. “Some meanie from next door musta called to complain about the noise.”

“I believe we will have to hold our auction on another date.” Fixit figured.

“W-Wait!” Kaj exclaimed. “I’ve got a Kaj Idea! Let’s throw B-Rah’s Laughing Gas Bombs and run away while they’re too busy laughing!”

“That’s a brilliant idea, Kaj! I’m so lucky to have you as a friend~”

“D’aww, thank you, Retxad.”

“Shut the fuck up and get the damn bombs!” Hsa yelled. “Ugh…so, that mutant boy ended up joining those thieving brats. Who woulda thought…”

“Raichu…” hissed his furious pet.

Aerodactyl landed them in a field a few miles away from the city. They watched repulsively as Hgielar struggled to pull his extra arms back into his body, the flesh and bones making a cracking, splattery sound as it did so. “GYUUUH!” Hgielar screamed once they finally forced in. His skin morphed back into peach and his veins faded. “Huff…huff…that really hurts to do… that’s why I don’t like using it…”

“Would you mind telling us what ‘it’ is?” Ssiew requested.

“So… as I was telling Acificap, back in Eceerg… no matter how much I ran or fought the Nomékop, I just wasn’t strong enough. Then, one day, I was nearly killed by some Tauros… until this band of hunters shot them and saved me. They took me to a hospital and patched me up… then, one of them came and made me an offer. They knew I was too poor to pay the hospital bill, so they asked if I wanted to take part in an experiment. They… wanted to fuse a Nomékop’s cells with my own, to see if I would inherit its power. If it was successful, I would be a lot stronger. Regardless of the bill… I agreed to it.”

“So, you’re some kind of hybrid?” Lorac asked.

“Yeah, sort of. They fused me with a Machamp. And they cut out its brain so its thoughts wouldn’t infect my own. That just left the muscle. No worries, I’m smart enough~”

“Why would you hide that from us?!” Acificap yelled.

“’Cause most people I showed that to thought I was a monster. That’s the whole reason I was captured in the first place, why I was on that train. ’Course, after a while of fightin’ beside you guys, I figured you wouldn’t be afraid of me. I prob’ly coulda showed you, but it wouldn’t really help with our stealth business, anyhow. Heck, made a real mess, didn’t I?”

“Well, it did save us, in the end. So, thanks.” Lorac smiled. “Anyway, Acificap, start the van. Let’s go before any of them catch up.”

Aerodactyl was returned to his Pokéball and the van began to drive off under the night. Ssiew went inside the Infi-Cube to assure the kids that everything was okay, and Lorac contacted Moonbase. “So, B-Rah is Bugs Bunny from the Posiverse.” Nerehc repeated. “B-Rah… Bunny-Rabbit… heh, so that’s it. I’ll be sure to pass this to Cheren and add this to the website. I’ll send down a ship to collect those kids and have them brought to their homes.”

“Thanks, Nerehc. Sigh…we really need a break after this.” Lorac fell on her back after transmission ended.

“We did a good job!” Leic beamed, laying beside her, their heads upside-down to each other.

“Hee hee! …You know something, guys? I’ve been stealing ever since I was little, but I never realized how boring it was without you guys.”

“Well, we’ll just go back in time and make sure you never meet us, that’ll help.” Acificap joked.

“No way!! I mean, I never would’ve gotten out of that mess without you guys. I never would’ve gotten this far without you or Sector -V.”

“Oh, quit acting so humble after one little slip-up.” Ssiew smiled, standing over the two. “Teamwork is what the DNK is about, isn’t it? So, let’s bring these kids home and get ready to save some more!”

“Yeah!” Hgielar flexed a muscle. “Let’s be ready for whatever B-Rah or whoever throws next!”

The rabbit in question remained backstage during the commotion, eating the rest of his carrot cake with an annoyed expression. “Myeah…I guess I better get back home before anyone gets suspicious. Between the DNK and Mickey… this is going to be one annoying year.”

Meeting Their Matches

• Carol/Lorac – Carol dressed Lorac up fancily and gave her a royal treatment. Lorac silently enjoyed it, especially the pedicures.
• Ciel/Leic – They spent the whole day trying on a bunch of shoes on Leic, but he kept tripping in all of them.
• Pacifica/Acificap – They went exploring in Gravity Falls with Mabel Pines. Mabel took them to a unicorn area, and they shared a hobby with beating them up.
• Weiss/Ssiew – They combined their elements to grow beautiful ice flowers.
• Raleigh/Hgielar – Raleigh took him to explore Poké to have him get to know the peaceful side of Pokémon.
• Sebastian/Aerodactyl – They held a contest to see who was the better servant. …Aerodactyl won.

Chapter Text

This part of the story isn’t really its own full story, but rather an intermission, cool-down chapter. We also get to meet some of the Pirate Emperors!

Nega-Sector SA

Because Oemor and Ikik were now the only remaining members of Nega-MG, Nerehc had them relocated to Nega-SA, which thereby made their team of four have the max number of six members. They were perhaps the only team that had exactly two spots open, otherwise Oemor and Ikik would’ve been separated, and they didn’t want their team divided any further. The girls helped the newcomers move their stuff into their new rooms. “Da-da-daaaa! You’re officially set!” Asigan cheered. “Welcome to the team!”

“Thanks for taking us in, Asigan.” Oemor smiled. What was also lucky about Nega-SA’s availability was that Oemor and Asigan were already friends from Field Day. In fact, he rather enjoyed being around her, almost like a small crush. It’s true he didn’t know her very well, but he genuinely enjoyed her personality and demeanor, and he was rather thankful they would get to spend more time together.

“But wow, this is really going to change our team dynamics.” Anaigrom said. “We used to be an all-girl sector, but now we have a boy! You know what that meeeaaaans…”

“Uh…what?” Oemor frowned, feeling awkward.

“It means YOU’RE the BOY TOY!” Anaigrom grabbed him in a tight hug from behind and twisted her knuckle in his head. “We’re gonna get you to clean the treehouse, and get us food, and carry our bags, and other things because your little hormones compel you to make us happy!”

“Good thing Ydnew already had him trained!” Ikik grinned.

“Aaaaah, hey, that isn’t fair! You gotta do as much work as I do!” Oemor cried.

“Having a boy is nice and all,” Allebmoog said, “but doesn’t it feel redundant to have two fat girls?”

Xedni and Ikik’s heads throbbed with anger. “What the hell is the problem with THAT?!” Ikik yelled.

“I’m just wondering how much you eat in a day. Buying food for two extra people is annoying enough, but a glutton just makes it worse.”

“I may be a glutton, but at least I’m not shallow!” Ikik retorted.

“Ikik, just ignore her.” Xedni said. “Still, aren’t you like a rocket scientist or something?”

“Yep, I’m natural born!”

“And since I’m a computer expert, I think we could really combine our genius. We’ll be the most unstoppable intelligent duo on the planet!”

“Hee hee, I like the sound of that!”

“Attracted to each other like planets.” Allebmoog remarked.

“Alleb, you can be really rude sometimes!” Asigan yelled. “I say we throw our new friends a housewarming party. Perhaps one of the… ‘slumber’ variety?”

“A slumber party?” Oemor asked.

“Hey, don’t go getting any perverted thoughts!” Anaigrom told him reprovingly. “Or we’re kicking you out into the cold tonight!”

“And just so you know, I’m a monster at pillow fights.” Alleb warned.

Except for Ikik, the group didn’t really change into pajamas. They gathered in Anai’s room and engaged in a pillow fight, wherein the other four easily ganged up on Oemor and Xedni as easy targets. However, Oemor suddenly grabbed the pillows in psychic and swirled them overhead before ramming them into the girls. Afterwards, they were each given a 2-liter bottle of soda to have a race to drink it all first. Anaigrom guzzled hers in no time, Ikik was 2nd, Asigan was 3rd, and Xedni 4th. Allebmoog’s limited stomach couldn’t carry the whole bottle and Oemor’s throat was tickling too much from the fizzing to finish it all.

The team set up a large trampoline to see who could bounce the highest, but with everyone bouncing together, it threw off each other’s balance. Oemor ended up falling over and being bounced around by everyone else’s force like a ragdoll, while Ikik managed to gain the most height.

The team grew tired from the activities and decided to watch TV in the living room before calling it a night. Oemor didn’t really watch and only read a book. “Hey, do you want any snacks?” Asigan’s face hung upside-down between him and his book.

“Aaah!” Oemor yelped. “Uh…nah, I’m not hungry.”

“I guess you’re still trying to get used to things, huh? Breaking up with teammates isn’t easy.”

“Yeah… everything happened so suddenly, and Ikik and I just weren’t ready.”

“What actually happened, anyway?”

Under their request, Nerehc had refrained from divulging the details to their new team. “It’s… hard to talk about.”

“Embarrassing teen drama stuff?”

“Yeah, kind of.”

“It sounds like a little more than that.” Allebmoog replied. “I mean, Nega-MG practically vanished!”

“Hey, they can tell us when they’re ready.” Asigan stated. “But whatever happened, I’m sure things will work out eventually.”

“I hope so. I hope they’re okay, wherever they are.”

Little Dad H.Q.

Ydnew contacted the Little Dad Mafia and requested sanctuary for themselves and a special new “friend,” a friend whom they couldn’t refuse a meeting with. Enopac Egeb felt obligated to grant Ydnew’s wish, due to their prior mistreatment of her during the Veggie Heist, but was curious about this friend of hers. They sent an agent out to drive Ydnew, Revilo, Lihp, and Glasses Girl to the mafia’s hideout.

“Miss Llevram… welcome to my humble abode.” Egeb greeted in the foyer, accompanied by his daughter, grandson, and numerous guards. “To what do I owe this visit?”

“You owe it to this little girl right here.” Ydnew pointed.

“What’s up?” Glasses greeted. “You can call me Glasses. I’m the daughter of Don Shrew.”

A lot of guns were trained on her. The DNK, suspecting this would happen, put their hands up. “Is this some kinda joke?” Egeb asked. “If I wanted a laugh, I woulda busted Mimebrother outta prison.”

“It’s no joke.” Ydnew said. “She’s the real deal. But she’s here on friendly terms. Just let her explain.”

Glasses recapped everything she had told her friends, about joining the DNK with the eventual hope of dethroning her mother, how her bending was taken, and how they were just on the run from the Galactic Navy. “And from what I know, you got a problem with Mama, too.”

“Of course we do. She’s the natural opposite of us.” Egeb replied. “The strongest poisonbender in the universe, a body of pure toxic that’s immune to any and all poisons. She’s not the type that vegetables take too kindly towards. You’d get sick just breathin’ her air.”

“During my time in the Black Lotus, I heard they were looking for her daughter.” Sutsugua said, raising syringes with his poisonbending. “I wondered if she had the same type of poisonous body as her mom. You should know my bending is designed for treating and healing. You’re my natural enemy.”

“Offing your mum would be handy on our end, but having you run her business could be just as worse.”

“Hey, Glasses, what were you planning to do after taking over the mafia?” Ydnew asked.

“Well, a business needs to thrive, doesn’t it?”

“So, you would continue the drug manufacturing?” Egeb asked.

“I wasn’t going to betray you if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Your mother’s business entails poisoning trees and plants to create unnatural, toxic vegetables. We already had that problem with Clockwerk, makin’ us buy and eat those Devil Fruits. True, we got some good use outta them, but that don’t change a thing. Your family don’t respect nature, so if you expect us to lend a hand, you’re gonna have to change your business approach.”

“It’s not that easy, buddy. Our customers are extremely addicted and reliant on our drugs. They would destroy towns and kill people if they didn’t get what they want.”

“Then we’ll find all them addicts and shoot ’em all.”

“Absolutely not!” Ydnew stated. “One of the DNK’s top rules is to avoid killing unless there’s no other way. If the addictions are that serious, then couldn’t we capture and detain the customers until we develop cures?”

“That’s more trouble than it’s worth.”

“But it wouldn’t be impossible, Grandfather.” Sutsugua replied. “I’ve gotten much better at medication, and if Glasses were willing to cooperate, I could develop even stronger antibodies. Of course, that’s assuming your immune system is as strong as your mother’s.”

“You’re right on the money there. Poisonous fruits and fungi are part of my natural diet. Still, you would spend quite a long time cracking through my immune system and I’m afraid of dying to blood loss.”

“I still wanna try. Imagine all the cures we could develop if I could tap into the secrets of your immune system. I could take some blood now, run some tests, then sometime later I’ll take another sample. You know, so you wouldn’t lose too much at once.”

“’ey, don’t jump to conclusions, Grandson.” Egeb said. “We didn’t come to an agreement.”

“Glasses, if it were at all possible to save all those addicts, would you stop the drug manufacturing?” Ydnew asked.

“To be honest, I’ve always been indifferent to the whole thing, but if it’s what you guys want, I don’t mind.”

“You know, you could show a bit more consideration since we’re asking these guys to help us. Like, maybe once you take over the Mushroom Mafia, you can rebuild Toadstool World for the better. You can work to restore its natural produce, maybe manufacture natural medicines.”

“Do you know how much damage my mom has done to the planet? That would take a VERY long time.”

“Well, that’s the price! You think you’re just gonna dethrone your mom and live happily ever after? You have to prove you deserve the office. Especially if you don’t want the Galactic Navy to arrest you.”

“Man, no wonder Oemor and Ikik wanted to bail out.” Lihp said. “This is just overwhelming. It’ll be hard enough trying to beat Don Shrew and her nega-billions of goons, but all the stuff that comes after…”

“It wouldn’t be just us or the Little Dads.” Ydnew assured. “We can convince the whole DNK to help us. Nerehc was already supporting Glasses Girl, and I’m sure everyone else would support the plan of replenishing Toadstool.”

“Y’know, I might know something that could speed up that process.” Egeb said. “The Great Brocco Tree. If we could get the heart of the Brocco Tree up to Toadstool, we could purify its produce. I just hope that thief girl still has the Healthy Wonders secure.”

“Oh yeah, the Brocco Tree. That would definitely help, but only after the hard part is taken care of. But does that mean you’ll help us?”

“For now… I will lend my support. But I’m keepin’ the heiress on a tight leash. Eiwets, show them to their sleeping quarters.”

“Bouncing bouncing everywhere, bouncing up the stairs~” Eiwets was joyfully bouncing as a little ball. Glasses cocked a brow in confusion, but followed the ball.

“Well, you guys can still bail out.” Ydnew told the boys. “Still wanna come?”

“Why not? We’re gonna have to fight Don Shrew, anyway.” Revilo replied. “Might as well hang with my new teammate.”

“Yeah, I can tough it out!” Lihp vowed.

“Glad to hear it. Still, if Glasses stays cut off from the mafia for too long, they might target the DNK pretty soon. We’d better get in contact with Nerehc.”

Toadstool World

“IMBECILES! An entire month, passed, and not a WORD about my daughter?! How could you let her slip away?!” Don Shrew bellowed at the soldatos in a rage. The Godmother wore a toadstool on her head of short blonde hair. She wore a purplish-black dress with a red jewel under her neck, had pale skin, and red earrings. (She resembles the Shadow Queen while possessing Peach in Paper Mario.)

The band of Piantas and Toads were trembling in terror. “Th-Th-Th-There were too many navy officials! Lady Airam told us to keep our distance while she stayed in the DNK treehouse, and ever since the navy showed up, she never called us! We searched the mountains a-and the town, but we got nothin’!”

A wave of noxious purple gas flooded the throne room. The pine tree-headed Piantas and pointy-capped Toads shriveled up like mummies and died. After the gas cleared, Awful Oiram entered. He was dressed like a soldier with a red helmet and smoked a cigar. “Dada Dia! Shrew, I told you I wanted to ask one of them if they had the can of chicken noodles they owed me! What a waste of coins-a!”

“She can’t fool me, Oiram. She wasn’t using the DNK as a temporary hideout. She was conspiring with them, I’m certain of it. She didn’t want our men getting near, so she cleverly based herself near the home of the Black Lotus’s leader. Too bad that little plan backfired.”

“Don’t we have bigger problems to worry about? If Airam wants to be a rebellious little twerp, then let her get in trouble. The Meta-Beasts have become more persistent in their attacks lately and we’re unsure why. It’s like they’re trying to start a war.”

“It’s just not working, Oiram. My new line of drugs aren’t achieving nearly the desired results. If I’m going to snuff out those pirates and the navy, I need to find a way to make them 10 times more potent! Even harvesting the water from the Silver River in the Posiverse isn’t enough. Oh, I’m parched. Go make me a Corona Shake.”

“I’ll wait for Igiul to get back and make him do it.”

“Sounds like someone is asking for another erectile dysfunction. Bring me my drink or-”

“OIRAM!” Igiul Oiram stormed into the room with a minigun. “You shitty fratello! You took-a the Ecto Dust from my ship! I had nothing to inhale for the whole flight-a!” He unloaded bullets at Oiram, but the older twin ran aside and countered with a shotgun.

“I left-a you some grinded turtle shells! That’s the best you get, after ruining my F.L.A.M.E.!”

“Hey, Shreeeewwww…” A brown-haired woman in a silver bikini wormed her way into the room, her expression drunk. “Do ya have any more panties? I’m down to my last pair. None o’ them were good enough for Igiul.”

“Find a pair of your own to soil, Tulip! Now stick that gun up your ass and report. Did you find anything interesting in that universe?”

“Why, yes we have, actually. When we entered what the DNK call ‘New Galaxia,’ we were completely lost. There were so many bizarre sights that we were nearly hypnotized. As we sailed aimlessly through that space, we found a planet. It was a gray, dead-looking planet where millions of balloons were floating above the atmosphere. They appeared to naturally grow from the planet’s dead surface. We took a few of those balloons… and it was heavenly. Don Shrew, you have to try one yourself.”

Igiul handed his boss a thick red balloon. Curious, Shrew put her mouth to the tip of the balloon and sucked out the helium. “Ooooohhhh…” It was like a sweet candy was filling her head. It was euphoric. “I’ve never tasted helium… as sweet and refined as this! Tell me there’s more. We must collect more of this!”

“There might be more than we could even comprehend. In our exploration, we found an old temple. There was a stone tablet with English writing. It was rather garbled, but we managed to transcribe it to this.” He showed Don Shrew a notepad.

Over the course of thousands of years, the great seed pods float to the outside worlds and return with loads of water, in the hopes that the planet may one day be full of life again. The balloons will grow endlessly from the power of the Helium Pod in the planet’s core. Our humble planet represents but one of the Six Noble Gases of the Incipisphere.

“After leaving the planet, we continued exploring. We found a few locals and had to rough them up a bit, but thanks to them, we know of a few more planets. The one we had landed on was the Land of Crypts and Helium. Other worlds are the Land of Pyramids and Neon, Tombs and Krypton, and Mounds and Xenon. There are probably more for the other two Noble Gases. They all might have cores similar to the Helium Pod.”

“Six Noble Gases… in that mysterious world, ‘New Galaxia.’ Of all the undiscovered, unheard of treasures, we may have just found the perfect ones. If I could perhaps harness the power of these Noble Gases… I can give my drugs the very boost they need. I will send more soldatos to conduct more investigations in New Galaxia. Learn where these Noble Gases are located… so I can make ready to plan a trip there myself.”

“That’s it, I’m goin’ naked~” Tulip decided.

Intro: Meta-Beast Pirates

The following session takes place a few years before the current story.

The Meta-Beast Pirates had been growing in infamy in the Negaverse for about 60 years. Their numbers are primarily composed of both alien and magical animals, and their goal is to breed the ultimate creature. The captain of this crew was Ridley (from Metroid), a purple pterodactyl, and they were based on Planet Arim.

His top commander was Andross (from Star Fox), a Mobian ape scientist from the Posiverse and a former ally of the Irken Empire. Andross had been defeated by Team Star Fox and supposedly faked his death before retreating to the Negaverse, where the Meta-Beasts would happen upon him. Andross easily won them over with his knowledge of biotechnology, and his physical power was nothing to scoff at. Andross would serve as their main link to the Posiverse, as he would pop over every now and then and collect intel from his reliable sources.

However, as fate would have it, Andross would learn of the Ztar Xof team, a band of rogues who terrorized Aixalag. Learning that they were the Negatives of Star Fox, Andross demanded to have them recruited into the Meta-Beasts. The pirates kidnapped Ztar Xof and brought them before Andross. The rogues turned him down at first and tried to fight the scientist, but Andross felt satisfaction in beating his archenemies’ Negatives. Ultimately, Xof McSun, the leader, showed his more cowardly side and swore loyalty to Andross.

Xof McSun was a Moebian fox that battled with hi-tech shields.

Yppils Daot was a toad Moebian with a rather deep voice and a metalbender who specialized in rusting metal.

Oclaf Idrabmol was a dorky falcon who was known for always driving crazily, but by sheer dumb luck, only his foes ended up suffering for it.

Latsyrk was a purple fox with an unrefined accent and was loaded with weapons in her Infi-Cube.

Yppep Erah was an old, forgetful rabbit who stayed on their flagship and cleaned.

After a visit to Planet Ralava, they breached a once-impenetrable prison and rescued their next Commander: a purple dragon by the name of Oryps. Oryps was bred as the Negatar Dragon: he was born with darknessbending, but had been pumped with the chis of other dragons, so he attained Poison, Shadow, Psychic, and Fear. As an extremely rare purple dragon, he was capable of adapting with these chis, though it would have to be by force. His powers and mastery over the elements are nowhere near on par with the Negatar, but he is still very dangerous. Bred to be a weapon for the dragons, he ended up turning against his own dragon kin.

Oryps’ officers were a brutish, Australian Moebian leopard named Retnuh, a dragonfly named Xraps, and a faun named Arole. Xraps was fed the Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Model: Dogadon, turning him into a huge, fiery, monster dragonfly. Retnuh ate the Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Dingo, which lets him morph between the two animals and give him extra strength. Alore ate the Horse-Horse Fruit, Model: Centaur, and was a deadly archer to boot.

The Meta-Beasts had captured a large amount of Nomékop as well. As their numbers and variety kept growing, Ridley was on the cusp of being labeled as one of the Four Emperors. However, Ridley himself wanted to ensure that title was never placed on him. Although he was the leader of the crew, their goal was to create the ultimate creature. That creature would then become the new leader, and be the one worthy of the Emperor title.

The Meta-Beasts invaded Toadstool World once, hoping to rob it of some of its creatures, but the Mushroom Mafia rivaled their power and banished them off the planet. However, the Beasts did manage to make off with a few stowaways: the Loor Brothers. The Loor Brothers were slaves to the Gnok Family, allies of the Mushroom Mafia, but they snuck aboard a Meta-Beast ship, hoping they would be better captors. Unfortunately, only two of the brothers made it onboard: Srekcurk had fallen behind and was subsequently killed for his insubordination. When the remaining two Loors were found, they were put to a test: Sutcork would have his heart ripped out and be replaced with a severed, still-beating alien heart, wondering if it could restore his life. It took a while to take effect, but Sutcork was revived, and still retained the same soul.

The Loor brothers were weaklings, but they proved their worth as cabin boys, at least. But due to his forced surgery, Sutcork found himself even weaker than he was before. As he grew older, he could feel his minimal usefulness coming to an end. And yet, at the very end of his life, he would find his ultimate purpose for the Meta-Beasts.

Lorule seemed to be a very populace planet, and yet, the pirates had wondered why they never explored it before. It’s not like it just showed up out of nowhere, right? Regardless, the pirates conducted secret expeditions on the planet, looking for worthy creatures. Deep underground in a certain island, there was an entire race of mutant Chimera Ants. The Ant Queen could swallow any creature and give birth to hybrid off-springs, all acting under her hive mind. Ridley spoke with the Ant Queen. Her wish was to give birth to a king: a fearless, healthy king who would live his life happily. Ridley wondered if, provided with the right creatures, that she could be the secret in attaining their goal as well.

It would be a pity to sacrifice their Commanders, so the pirates captured and fed her a collection of nutritious animals who were rich with chi. Some of their weaker crewmen were also sacrificed for the good cause. And just as the Queen was ready to finally give birth, the very last creature she ate was Sutcork Loor.

The queen was enveloped in a sudden burst of golden fire. Her womb opened, and a figure rose from it. It possessed a lean, green build, its abs exposed and its limbs humanoid, yet ant-like. Eight fingers, eight toes, and what looked like a helmet over its head. It cast an ominous shadow over its purple eyes. A long tail with a thin, deadly needle rose in the air to intimidate the pirates. Ridley, Andross, and Oryps felt shivers down their spines. They could already sense the immense chi within him.

vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/hu…

“Hmph. So, this is our alleged ‘Ultimate Creature’?” Xraps asked in a snotty tone, the giant dragonfly looming over the slender ant. “Why did we exhaust ourselves gathering all that food just for-”

The pirates gaped at what happened next: it was very sudden and fast, but the Ant King had swiped his tail, and Xraps’ head vanished. The dragonfly fell over, dead.

“…I won’t repeat myself.” The king said. “Bring me food.”

Oryps bit his lip in worry. “MEN! Bring the porridge, NOW!”

Yppep Erah stepped up with a bowl of porridge, followed by a Mr. Mime Nomékop, and then Ymmalk Loor. The Ant King stepped up and took a sip of Yppep’s porridge.

Yppep lost his head. “This porridge is too cold.”

He went to take a sip of Mr. Mime’s porridge. His head was lopped off. “This porridge is too warm.”

Finally, he drank Ymmalk’s porridge. “This porridge is… very spicy. Delicious…” He took the bowl and chugged it down his throat. Ymmalk remained rooted to the spot, too afraid to move.

The king set the bowl back in the croc’s hands. With hands to either side, golden flames ignited in the king’s palms. “So, it seems you’re a firebender.” Ridley observed, stepping forward. “But I’ve never seen Fire Chi of such a rich, gold color. Oryps can teach you to master your-”

The pterodactyl’s head was twisted left from the whack of King’s tail. “You dare to mock me? I need not be told how my own chi functions. I need not be told that it is rare. These things are already plainly obvious.”

“Ack… Forgive me, Your Majesty…” Ridley rubbed his pointed nose.

“…You’re strong.”

“Eh?” Ridley twisted his head back to face him, surprised by his praise.

“I meant to cut your head off. It seems you are worthy as my servant.”

“…I am honored, My King.” Ridley bowed his head.

“To that end… Who are you people who would call their selves my servants?”

“We are the Meta-Beast Pirates.” Andross answered. “We wished to breed a powerful creature and seize dominion over the cosmos. We believe you are the king we have waited for.”

“Seize dominion? For what purpose?”

“For the simple purpose of evolution.” Ridley said. “With science and strength, we of the Meta-Beasts aim to become the advanced species. My King… before your birth, your mother told us of your purpose. You are to mate with other beings and produce more Queens. Those queens will eventually breed more kings, and thus create the ultimate species.”

“So, that is my purpose? Hm…” The king turned to the fallen body of his mother.

Xof had been shuddering behind his mortified teammates. The Ant King had mercilessly murdered Yppep just like that. Creating this monster was a bad idea, he could feel it.

“At any rate, I’m still hungry. …” He walked over Xraps’ dead body and sniffed it. “This one smells good… and yet… I detect a whiff of something sickening.”

“Xraps had eaten a Devil Fruit.” Oryps explained. “That’s why he looks that way. A Devil Fruit can grant someone a genetic transformation or ability. As a small cost, you lose the ability to swim.”

“Keep such fruits away from me. Rather, I have a craving for human. And this organization you have… am I to assume command of it?”

“Ideally, we wanted you to become our new leader.” Ridley answered. “I served as the acting captain before we would find the Ultimate Creature. Ridley.”

“Then tell me, Captain Ridley… Am I truly the Ultimate Creature? There are none as strong as I am?”

“Well… that’s what we’d like to know ourselves. In particular, there are powerful pirates known as ‘Emperors.’ If you were to make yourself known, you would no doubt be classified an Emperor yourself. We hope to crush these other pirates in time. But there’s another potential threat: the Daring New Kids. They’re a universe-wide organization sworn to protect the planets from harm. The members from Earth have become particularly famous. But we have territories on multiple planets and our numbers are growing. In fact, one of our officers, Commodore Krawq is on a recruitment mission. An army of strange creatures was sighted on Planet Michtam in the Analos Galaxy, led by a foreign king and queen. Well, ‘king’ in a general sense of the word. I certainly doubt they’re to your level.”

“Very well. As your new ruler, I must oversee this recruitment.”

The pirates began to exit the dungeon with the king to lead them. Ztar Xof stood behind, looking over Yppep’s headless body. Latsyrk, Yppils, and Oclaf worked to carry him out. Just as Xof was about to follow…

“Wait…”

The fox heard the moan of the Ant Queen. With a fearful heart, Xof approached the dying ant. “I…I have a name for my son. Meruem. It means, ‘light that illuminates all.’ Tell him… for me…”

Xof stood silently, waiting for her to say something else. But it seemed that was her last breath. The fox hurried after his teammates.

Michtam resembled a common alien planet with ethereal plants and glow. There was a region inhabited by alien monsters of various shapes and colors. Once the Meta-Beasts set foot on the territory, the aliens tried to attack them, but the Ant King conjured walls of gold flames to scare them back.

“Stand down, my subjects.” A nasally voice ordered. From beyond the swarm of aliens, a very tall, skinny alien with light-blue armor and the green head of an Irken approached the pirates. But this wasn’t the one who spoke: in front of her was a much shorter, red, bug-like alien with a crown over his big, ovular head. He was mounted on a walking throne. “These must be the Meta-Beasts our guest told us about. You stand before Emperor Tachyon and Tallest Miyuki, rulers of the Gnosis race and soon-to-be dominators of the-”

The king lopped his head off. …Tachyon’s head reformed from the particles. “Who are you to attack me so bluntly?! What sort of being are you?!”

“So, these creatures are to join our empire?” King asked. “Describe them to me.”

“You seem rather ascertained that we’ll join you.” Tallest Miyuki said. “Are you Captain Ridley?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.” The king’s eyes brimmed with malice.

Tachyon grit his teeth. “These are the Gnosis. They’re native to this planet. They used to be non-physical beings tethered to their own dimension, but by using my matterbending, I can make them physical. I can morph the rocks on this world into powerless machines that they can possess. I’ve seen them possess other life forms on this planet, too, but those creatures turned to salt after a time.”

“THEY DO WHAT?!” screamed Commodore Krawq. The flabby scientist villain was among the crowd of Gnosis, possessed by one of said creatures. “GET THIS THING OFF ME! Get it off, you wretched-!”

Tachyon sighed and used his matterbending to bend the alien off him. “If I’m merciful, you won’t share such a fate.” Tachyon said to the king.

“You’d best watch your mouth, you insolent insect.” Andross ordered. “This is our new leader, the Ultimate Creature, the Ant-”

King smacked the ape away. “Don’t speak of me with that feigned loyalty.”

“Hn hn hn.” Andross pushed himself up, cracking a devious grin. “You can see right through me, can you? Very well… Never once did I have an interest in the ‘Ultimate Creature.’ Rather, I was hoping to usurp this crew myself some day. I still hope to do so… but I won’t be foolish enough to oppose you now.”

“…Your honesty is appreciated.” The king replied simply. He faced Tachyon again. “Now, then… your ‘empire’ belongs to us now.”

“Let’s hear you say that after I put your mouth on your arse!” Tachyon tried to enforce his bending over the king… but found his anatomy to be too strong and unbendable, despite his slender form. “Grrrr! What kind of body is this?!”

“Matterbending is certainly rare.” Oryps said. “But such arts cannot bend a being with superior willpower. But of course, His Majesty does not need to know that~”

“Willpower or not,” Miyuki argued, “we won’t just surrender to some overgrown insect who strayed too far from his hole!”

“SILENCE, Miyuki!” Tachyon ordered. “If this ant wants us to be his babysitters, so be it. After all, this presents the perfect chance to get revenge on those irksome Kids Next Door!”

“Kids Next Door?” Ridley asked. “I see… So, you’re from the Posiverse, too.”

“Posiverse? Are you saying this is the Negaverse?”

“How did you not already know that?! Just how did you end up here, anyway?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.” King demanded.

“Fine, fine, we’ll join your crew!” Tachyon affirmed. “Perhaps we can talk more over a nice meal. It’s a struggle to make good food on this planet.”

“Yes… good porridge is difficult to come by.”

With Tallest Miyuki in the crew, she had gotten acquainted with Andross, as he was once an ally of her empire. He told her of the fate that had befallen her sons and the current benevolence of her empire. Naturally, Miyuki was disgusted, and she hoped the Irkens could return to their former glory.

However, after another visit to the Posiverse, the pirates managed to find and secure another former ally of the Irkens: Ripto of Avalar. After freeing him from prison, Ripto readily agreed to work for the Meta-Beasts, though it felt awkward that he was placed under the command of Oryps, the Negative of his enemy, Spyro. Ripto was fed the remains of Xraps, allowing him to inherit the power of the Dogadon Fruit.

About 40 days passed since the Ant King’s birth, laying siege on multiple planets as the king consumed several victims. Once he was known as the Meta-Beasts’ new leader, he attained the title of Emperor.

There was a planet in the Earolf Galaxy called the Lost Land, a barbaric world of monstrous creatures. A decade ago, the Meta-Beasts awoke a dangerous alien called the Primagen (from Turok), an insect-like humanoid with an exposed brain, emerald eyes, and dark-bluish skin. With the Primagen’s aid, the pirates secured the loyalty over the Lost Land’s monsters, such as the reptilian Dinosoids, the lava-dwelling Fireborns, or the insect-like Mantids, whom were very intelligent with a hi-tech hive.

The Ant King was brought into the Mantid Hive, believing the Mantid Queen would be a suitable mate to produce another Ant Queen. However, the king felt no attraction or interest in such a monstrous creature.

“If that isn’t your type, then what is?” Oryps asked. “Are you pining for someone more ‘beautiful’?”

“Actually, I feel no real desire to mate.” King answered. “I was only just brought into this world… I am still adjusting to my given ‘purpose.’ And if I’m to think of myself as the ‘Ultimate Creature,’ then how do I decide who is worthy of being my mate?”

“Ha ha ha. I asked myself that same question once upon a time.”

The king slapped the dragon with his tail. “Your opinion is useless.”

The king returned to the pirates’ main fortress on Arim, located at the top of the Bioless. The Bioless was a continental, near-lifeless Titan that once served as the home of many citizens, but those people and creatures now live under the tyranny of the pirates. The Bioless was opposite down with its legs standing up in the air. The hi-tech fortress was situated between the feet, connected to both sides.

The king’s throne room was rather dark, but huge golden torches gave it color. King was chewing the remains of a Rapidash, relishing in the taste of its fiery mane.

Alarms rang off in the fortress. A band of intruders were crossing one of the bridges. Outside, Andross had transformed into a giant floating head with hands. He threw one of his massive fists, but it was intercepted by the fist of a giant purple orangutan. Ridley was dueling a giant, yellow and black bird who struck lightning. Ridley struck the bird with concentrated fireballs. His purple skin turned completely black with Haki, allowing Ridley to gain the upper hand over the lightning bird.

Meanwhile, the King of these Kreatures was barreling through, and he breached the fortress entrance before long. The Ant King marched out to meet them. Marching into the fortress yard was King K. Rool, and behind him were his brother, Baron K. Rool, General Scales the dinosaur, Fredrik the walrus, and Manky Kong the orangutan Rainbow Monkey.

King K. Rool stopped about 20 feet before the Ant King. The ant’s frame was far smaller and skinnier than the crocodile’s fat, 10-foot body. Kroctus’s smirk contrasted with Ant King’s frown, yet both sensed incredible promise in the other.

“You must be the Chimera Ant King.”

“Who are you?” the king asked.

“I’m the same as you. In order to revitalize my life force, I allowed myself to be consumed by an Ant Queen and be reborn as a King. But to ensure I could retain my girth, I was eaten alongside a Chameleonian, so I can become whatever creature I please.” He transformed into the Ant King to demonstrate. “I could have easily snuck in this way, but to meet you, I preferred a more direct approach.” And he puffed back to normal. “Nothing beats my true form, after all.”

“I’ll crush him, Sire!” Ridley swooped down, intending to stab Kroctus with his Haki beak.

Kroctus punched him so hard that his beak was squished in, Ridley flying into the wall. “An acquaintance of mine is from the Negaverse. He told me about the recent developments of the Meta-Beast Pirates and compared it to mine. It’s funny that they acquired their own Chimera Ant King at the same time I was reborn. Now, I’m positive… you are my Negative!”

“So, you’re from the ‘Posiverse.’ And you’re saying you’re my Positive?”

“I can only surmise my original Negative was eaten the same way as I was. But if his will was as weak as I suspected, there’s no way it could survive the reincarnation. I admit, I sometimes considered seizing my Negative to ensure no harm befell him… but perhaps I was right to let him be. I can smell the power inside you… yes! Only YOU are worthy to call yourself my other!” Kroctus charged forward with an expression of glee. “PUT ’ER THERE, brother!”

Golden flames dancing on his tail, Ant King leapt, spun, and forcefully whipped Kroctus’s head. The croc turned and stumbled over.

Normally, Ant King would only deal an average slap when disciplining his servants. However, the servants could sense the conviction behind that attack. …Kroctus faced the ant, his hardened head reverting to green. “Careful, darling. Fire can put somebody’s eye out.” (Play “Snakey Chantey” from Donkey Kong Country!)

The Kremling grunts performed a jovial shanty as the sun peeked over the horizon. Although the Meta-Beasts claimed to be advanced, it was only tradition for a brawl to break out on a pirate deck. The Ant King was very swift, Kroctus whipping his Haki arms in every direction to block his tail whips. Ant King ducked his tail under to stab Kroctus’s back, but Kroctus grabbed the tail just as quickly, squeezed it, and slammed King into the floor. Kroctus leapt and tried to flatten him with his gold belly, but a geyser of gold fire pushed Kroctus into the air. However, Kroctus performed a flip and pierced down the geyser fist first. Upon punching the Ant King, they smashed through several floors of the fort and out the bottom.

They plummeted between the legs of the Bioless. Their fists and tails met during the great descent, and Ant King used flames to give his strikes extra speed and power. Kroctus caught Ant’s fiery leg in his teeth and bit. Ant King grunted and shot flames at his eyes, but Kroctus blocked with his hands, smothered the flames against Ant’s own face, and clasped it. Kroctus spun around and hurdled the Ant King straight down, crashing somewhere on a land on the Bioless’s crotch. Kroctus shot down like a comet, but as Ant King dodged his fist, it almost felt like the Bioless shook, flinching from the impact to its crotch. Ant King set the land ablaze as Kroctus fully hardened his scales, his skin growing more red and heated in the intense heat.

Ant King lashed at him with flaming fists and ankles, Kroctus intercepting his attacks, and dodging his head whenever his tail stabbed at it. “Did these animals call you the Ultimate Creature? Well, they’re wrong. Eggman’s grandfather created a creature with the same title, but even he was far off the mark! An Ultimate Creature can’t just be made, one can only be grown!”

“While it’s true that I’m only a little over a month old, my power and intellect are superior to many adults. You are insinuating that you’ve been honing and building your power since childhood.”

The Ant King grabbed both of Kroctus’s fists, mustering the power to restrain the bulky croc. “Yet, I am already on par with you. By the time I reach your age, I will be far superior. The Meta-Beasts… are… superior…”

“Born with intelligence… Born with power… how shallow.” As the golden flames spread to Kroctus’s hardened arms, the iron began to melt away. “True power… true knowledge… comes from experience!”

The chi radiating from the powerful kings attracted a trench of clouds. The sun cut perfectly between the trench, highlighting the kings. “It comes from a longing to be perfect! It comes from the despair of never finding perfection! Because the more you long for perfection, the more perfect you will BECOME!”

K. Rool’s arms flashed from a ray of sunshine! His iron fully melted, and his Haki was solid gold! The golden fists sent the Ant King reeling back, crashing into the cliff of the Bioless leg. The wind it generated blew a path through the flaming field. “Hm?” Kroctus studied his golden arms curiously. “Ha ha ha ha! I didn’t know Haki could become this color! This is proof, Anty! Proof that we share the same soul!”

“I see…” Ant King pushed himself out with a smirk. “You are actually quite… challenging.” Flames jutting from his heels, the king lunged at Kroctus once more. Kroctus threw his fist, but King dodged back, shooting a small comet to hit Kroctus’s face. He stayed clear of the king and used concentrated fireballs to explode the ground around Kroctus, but he jumped around the explosions and CLAPPED his hands, generating a shockwave that Ant King barely dodged.

The Ant King rocketed to the sky and conjured a meteor that shone like a sun. The meteor fell, and Kroctus met it with his fist, withstanding the solidity and mass that the king applied. “I wonder… if this is how Kaido felt! I wonder… if he sought perfection, too! This Golden Haki… is this his inherited will?! How far can I truly TAKE IT?!”

Many eyes were drawn to the beautiful light emanating from the Bioless’ crotch. A light signaling the rise of two Emperors, two souls, two powers, both shining with the same passion…

…

…

…

The pirates brought out the drinks and food and delved into a feast! Baron Klammy was sharing thoughts with Andross. They were served drinks by a large, beefy Kremling; Klammy gawked, realizing that was his Negative! Ridley and Helmaroc King were digging into some giant worms from the Lost Land. Tachyon and Fredrik were jamming out to the latter’s theme song. The Sharpclaw were having a fun duel with the Dinosoids, Scales and Primagen sharing a laugh.

“OI, LISTEN UP, YOU FOOLS!” Kroctus bellowed. The big, bulky Kremling was sitting on a platform with the scrawnier Ant King beside him. Kroctus jovially raised a bowl of juice and Ant King halfheartedly raised some porridge. “We, of the Kremling Krew…”

“And the Meta-Beast Pirates…”

“Hereby enter into a Pirate Alliance! Let’s become the top Yonko of our universes and fight each other afterward!”

“YAAAAAAARRRR!” roared the pirates.

“Mweh heh hah har! And here I was looking to find a new Kommander to the Insect Division! You’re worthy of being your own Emperor, Anty!”

“I’m flattered. However, as long as I cannot defeat you, I can no longer call myself the-”

“Don’t be so pessimistic!” Kroctus slapped his puny back. “The perfect man isn’t just a strong man. Why, I excel quite a bit at videogames myself. Remember, you have much to learn.”

“Then tell me, Kroctus… what drives you? What is your purpose?”

“My only wish is to evolve. I wish to keep growing and keep learning. Both in strength and experience. But most importantly… I want to have fun doing it! Mweh heh har!”

“Hmm…I wonder if I’ll find such passion some day.”

“I’m sure you will! You just have to explore and find it! Maybe lop a few heads off while you’re at it~. Until then, just live and party!”

The pirate community would come to know this as the Alliance of the Golden Kings, the Golden Alliance, or the Alliance of the Animal Empires. This signaled the coming of a new era in the universe, and the arrival of a war that would shake both universes. The sun shone upon the fortress between the mountains with bright promise and prosperity.

Chapter Text

This chapter coincides with The Horrorverse!

Part 11: The Joyverse

Startsville

Nega-Sector W were called to investigate a strange phenomena that had occurred in Startsville. They could see it clear as day from their ship: it was an enormous, golden-orange bubble with a bulbous, yellow smiley face within the center. The bubble seemed to have enveloped the entire neighborhood.

The team of four landed a short distance away and approached it. “Where did this come from? What is it?” Yllas asked.

“It looks like someone blew the world’s biggest bubble! How cool!” Ynohtna cheered.

Yevrah approached the bubble and poked his fingers through it. He held his breath and dipped his face in. “Whoa!” He pulled himself out in a shock.

“Are you okay?!” Ynohtna asked.

“Th…That felt… pretty good!” Yevrah faced them with his expression lit up.

“It’s clearly poisonous, let’s get out of here.” Ibyf suggested.

“Did it at least feel breathable?” Yllas asked.

“Yes, it is! I didn’t really get a good look at the inside, but it still felt amazing! Come on, guys, let’s go in!”

“Well, you seem pretty excited, so I don’t see why not!” Ynohtna beamed. “Whaddya say, guys? Expedition time!”

“We can’t just go in there without a plan!” Yllas argued. “What if we go in, but we can’t get out?”

“And worse, what if that giant smiley face decides to eat us?” Ibyf asked.

“How about this?” Ynohtna began. “Me and Yevrah will hold onto rope and go in, and you hold onto the other ends and wait out here? If you feel us tugging the ropes a lot, it’s a sign to pull us out.”

“Sacrificing your lives feels much more beneficial.”

Ropes were tied to the boys as they began their brave venture into the bubble. The girls couldn’t see them past the bubble’s exterior, despite it appearing see-through. Maybe all the other residents were inside this bubble, yet invisible also? The girls waited outside for an hour, worried for how their friends were fairing, but their communicators couldn’t reach them.

“Huh? I think I feel tugging.” Yllas said. “We should probably pull them—AAAH!” She was yanked into the bubble.

“Yllas?!” Ibyf gasped. “Uh-oh…” Knowing she would follow next, she dropped her rope, watching it be yanked into the bubble. “No way am I going in there!” the Nimbi decided as she made flight back to the ship. “I’m getting me a bunch of sacrificial lambs—I mean, fellow operatives, and having them do the work for me-”

Just as she arrived at the ship, a yellow bomb launched at her from behind it and exploded, trapping Ibyf in a laughing fit.

A man in gardening clothes lifted Ibyf and carried her to the bubble, throwing her inside. The man had a rather cute, puffy face that would mistake one to think it was filled with more air than blood. He pulled out a pink cellphone and reported, “Captain Ydnam, the children seem to love our Happytime Bubble! They can’t bring themselves to leave.”

“Oh, the people of Startsville are an easy audience! Joy and laughter are their full course meal~. We won’t truly make a difference unless we test them on more corrupted towns.”

“I have no doubts that they’ll work splendidly! My only concerns are if the DNK and Galactic Navy will try to ruin my bubbles. Do you think they would understand if we explain?”

“The DNK can be just a little bit stubborn, so we’d have to settle them down first. I’m hoping at least Aluben managed to reason with them, but they might be just a tiny bit peeved at her for You-Know-What. What we’ll need to do is produce a bunch more Happytime Bubbles and Joyify several DNK towns in one fell swoop. Once they understand the peace of our manifested Dream World, they’ll surely accept this solution.”

“Then let’s get started right away! Maybe we can surprise them all on Halloween!”

“Tee hee hee hee! I guess I’d better drink a ton of coffee! I’m counting on you to give my visions breath, Sir Prize.”

Sometime later…

Ynohtna EiznekCm was relaxing blissfully in a pink bathtub. The bubbles were yellow smiley faces that popped into giggles. “Isn’t this place the best, Ynohtna?” asked his cousin, Ydnic, who was resting in a corresponding bath.

“It sure is! I don’t even remember how I got here, but it’s so clean! In fact, how long have we been here, anyway?”

“Oh, that doesn’t matter, silly! We can stay here our whole lives and nothing will-”

“THERE YOU ARE!” A cloud of darkness swept through the bathroom’s entrance: Ibyf Thgirbluf burst in and pummeled Ydnic with Fear Spheres. “Ynohtna, get your butt out of that tub!”

“I-I-I-Ibyf?” The sight of his Nimbi friend sparked a little reality in him. “W-Where have you been?”

“Trapped in a torture chamber! Get out of there!” Ibyf grabbed and forcefully dragged Ynohtna out.

“Wait, I’m nakey!”

“Then get dressed!” She shoved him in the dressing room. Ynohtna came out with a clean set of clothes.

“Ibyf, what’s going on?” he asked as she resumed dragging him.

“We’re getting out of here! Let’s search for the others and get moving!”

They made their way through an action stage of giant soaps, bathtubs, and other cleanliness items. They rescued Yllas and Yevrah amidst the paradise and used their tops to advance further through the level. However, it seemed they wound up traveling in a complete circle and ended up back in the bathroom.

The kids began to question the exit’s whereabouts when they heard a soothing voice. “Come on, kids, don’t ya wanna stay here?” Standing over them was the bathtub Ynohtna was resting in, using shower tentacles to suspend itself up. It had a cute, innocent-looking face. “The outside world is filthy. Bugs crawlin’ in the yard, dust filling up your house, but this place is always clean!”

“Well, it wouldn’t hurt to take a nice bath…” Ynohtna said.

“We’re not taking any more baths!” Ibyf shouted. “Where’s the exit to this dump?!”

“This is no exit, little tykes~ Not so long as the master of this realm is enjoying himself.” The bathtub replied.

“Well, where’s the master?” Yevrah asked.

“He’s right here~” The three looked at Ynohtna. “This Happytime Bubble was created from his dreams, and it sustains itself with his joy.”

“Happytime Bubble?” Ynohtna questioned.

“Don’t you remember?” Ibyf asked. “We were investigating that giant, disgusting bubble when we were trapped inside! I’ve been fighting for my life against those bright-faced demons!”

“But if you’re the ‘master’ of this place, then you have to set us free!” Yevrah shouted.

“But I… it’s so nice here… Are you sure you want to-”

“Ynohtna, open your eyes!” Ibyf yelled. “This is a villain’s trap! We have no idea what’s happening outside, but we need to get out of here! Maybe this can help!” She looked him directly in the eye and used a Scare Stare.

The domain grew dark as the bathtub became monstrous. Their first boss battle was against Sudslor, who attacked with high-speed shower jets, slid soap traps along the floor, and blew strong bubbles that could trap them. Ibyf’s fearbending caused a pile of manure, a can of worms, and a garbage can to appear. She could carry the items up some waterspout platforms and throw them into the bathtub to damage it. Three hits would cause the tub to overflow with filth and collapse.

However, the mud and trash dramatically increased and began to flood the room. The others were trapped in the filth, but watched as Ynohtna climbed a huge shower curtain to escape. “Ynohtna, you have to jump in the dirt!” Ibyf yelled. “It might be the only way we can escape!”

“But it’s so gross! I liked the other way better!”

“You’re gonna take a mudbath and you’ll like it!” Yevrah tossed his bladed top up and sliced the curtain, causing Ynohtna to drop in the muck. Though his vision and body grew blotted, his mind grew open again.

The enormous bubble began to rupture from the outside, its golden-orange glow filling with dark cracks. The POP of the bubble sent a shockwave across the land, but Startsville was now free. “I think I remember now.” Ynohtna said. “Startsville was covered by that bubble, and… Wait! Where’s Ydnic?!”

“Kids! What happened here?”

A man in a military uniform approached, alongside some soldiers from NUG (Nations’ Unified Guardians). “General Nalon Kroy!” Yevrah gasped in recognition.

“Hi, Mr. Kroy!” Ynohtna greeted spritely. “What brings ya here?”

“I came here to destroy the Happytime Bubble, but it looks like my job was already done. Did you kids have something to do with it?”

“Supposedly, Ynohtna here was the source of the bubble.” Ibyf answered. “I used my fearbending on him to weaken the illusion.”

“So, he was the source.”

“But where did that bubble even—AAH!” Nalon suddenly snatched Ynohtna up. Before they could question him, Nalon’s hands glowed gray, and Ynohtna’s eyes grew dull.

“Sorry, kid. Just a safety precaution.” Nalon set Ynohtna down.

“Yes, General Kroy. I understand.” Ynohtna responded drolly.

“What did you do to him?” Yevrah asked in masked worry.

“I don’t know how long you’ve been in there, but the Smiles Pirates have been nuking towns all over the world with those things. It’s Halloween right now, in case you’re wondering. Each of these Happytime Bubbles has someone serving as a core, so I’ve been searching and using my new power on them.”

“Your power?” Yllas asked. “I don’t remember you having any abilities.”

“The details are confidential, but I’ve been given the ability to wipe people of their emotions. I was able to destroy two other Happytime Bubbles by doing what I just did.”

“How long is Ynohtna going to be like this?”

“Until I say otherwise. So long as Sir Prize doesn’t have joyful people to prey on, his plans won’t come to pass. Men! Move out!”

The soldiers returned to their ships and left the scene. Sharing worried looks, the Nega-W operatives managed to get in contact with Moonbase and received a lift.

Nerehc was grateful to finally see them alive after a month of imprisonment in the bubble. To go on from General Kroy’s explanation, the Happytime Bubbles began appearing around the world about three weeks prior, and nearly all their operatives had been trapped inside. They were either caught in the explosions or were trapped in trying to rescue them.

“The mastermind of this operation is Sir Prize, a member of the Smile Pirates. That’s what Aluben told me, anyway. Supposedly, he’s a psychicbender that can replicate dreamscapes in the real world.”

“So, he can make dreamscapes, and use the ‘owners’ of those dreamscapes to sustain them.” Yevrah recounted.

“I understand.” replied the droll Ynohtna. “I was tricked into going to Startsville. I was worried for my cousin’s wellbeing and didn’t consider that the trap was set for me. But, then… was Ydnic herself in on the trap?”

“He’s a lot more logical like this. Not bad!”

“Then we need to search for Sir Prize and bring him down.” Ibyf said.

“Shouldn’t we try to break the other bubbles?” Yllas asked. “Your fearbending really helped Ynohtna out.”

“It doesn’t change that we’ve been trapped in there for a month! Just let General Kroy destroy the other bubbles.”

“To be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about the general’s methods.” Nerehc said. “I mean… are you really fine with Ynohtna like this?”

“Hmmm…” Ibyf stared at Ynohtna. “His positivity was annoying… but I will admit it has benefited us. And I can’t help but wonder where he acquired such an ability…”

Habarga

General Kroy’s next target was the Happytime Bubble that had enveloped Habarga, the town in Nega-SA’s snowy desert. As he approached the looming bubble with a bright brain symbol, Kroy stared at his own hand, emitting a soft gray glow, in concern.

“Those bubbles are made with happiness and cherished dreams.” A woman with purple hair and horns spoke to Kroy. She had black garb with gold rims, and she was holding a bottle of gray, inky substance. “So long as they lay trapped in their own minds, they are ignorant to the world outside. I’ve brought you a gift to shatter their false reality.”

“I don’t accept gifts from strangers.”

“I’m no ordinary stranger.” The figure smirked. “Let’s just say, I’m a spirit of emotions and truth. These bubbles are an eyesore, blinding people from their true reality and their true feelings. I want to destroy them… but I can’t do so alone. I need the power of a mortal who believes in true justice. Your body will be the perfect vessel of this power. It is the only way to destroy them. Or will you really let the pirates’ crimes go unpunished?”

“And what will happen to me?”

“I assure you that it will do you no harm. However… I would appreciate it if we could work together some day~”

Kroy stared at the potion. After a moment of contemplation… he took it. “Justice is worth any risk.”

General Kroy boldly entered the bubble. This dreamscape resembled a typical fantasy world with dragons, castles, wizards, fauns, and other aspects. (The music for this level was “Sunny Villa” from Spyro.) As one could expect, Nalon’s guns and brutal combat heavily contrasted with the fantastical setting, but this didn’t stop him from murdering the magical fauna.

“Woohooooo!” While walking by a river area, Nalon saw a mermaid flip out of the water, performing nimble swimming maneuvers. She had sky-blue hair and a light-purple bra; it was actually Asigan Atoihs. “AH!” Nalon grabbed her by the tail. “Hey, let go of me, buster!”

“Shut it!” Nalon held a gun to her. “Are you the owner of this bubble?!”

“Bubble? What bubble?”

“Who’s that hurting Princess Asigan?!” an elf pointed.

“It looks like a man from a colorless shooter game! Shoot him!” The elves shot arrows at Nalon, who retaliated with his gun. Asigan bent water up to cut his arm and escape, surfing upriver.

“I better warn Prince Oemor about him!”

Nalon fought his way through the fairytale kingdom. His next encounter was with Anaigrom, who crafted princess and prince dresses in her tailor store, which also had a built-in tavern with all kinds of brews. The sodas powered her poisonbending, so Nalon shot bullets to destroy the bottles. Still, Anaigrom proved to be a very vigorous opponent.

“Stop! Who are you?!”

Nalon turned to a pair of large ogre girls in the entrance. “I recognize that man.” Xedni said. “It’s General Kroy from the army. He’s Nollid’s dad!”

“Where’s the owner of this dreamscape?!” Nalon grabbed Ana’s ankles and threw her into the wall.

“Oemor is.” Ikik replied. “Ever since we got trapped in that bubble, he fell in love with this world. He reimagined us to fit the part of this world, but he turned us into ogres! What a jerk!”

“Tell me where Oemor is. I have a way to snap him back to reality. Doing so will destroy this bubble.”

“Nuh-uh, you ain’t destroying my bar!” Anaigrom charged him, but Ikik intercepted her.

“Anaigrom, we need to go back home! Xedni, take him to Oemor’s palace.”

“Got ya!”

Nalon followed Xedni through another portion of the level. Instead of a laptop, she had a spellbook that opened like a laptop, but she could use it like one. However, she could go no further when a twin-tailed red dragon swooped down to attack. She held the dragon off while Nalon ran ahead.

The general made it to Prince Oemor’s chamber. Fantasy creatures pumped out of the scrawny, purple-haired nerd’s head like a cartoon machine. The mermaid, Asigan was swimming within a wall river. “Oemor! It’s him!”

“Huh?” His dorky eyes opened. “That’s the scary man? What does he want?”

“I’m here to tear down this scrap book fantasy. It’s time for you to wake up.”

“But I am awake. Nothing keeps me awake like good fantasies! There’s so many worlds in so many books, I don’t think I could ever get tired!”

“Oemor has such a wonderful imagination!” Asigan hugged her prince. “He’s so cute and smart! I’m so lucky that he joined my sector-”

Nalon shot the mermaid in the head, horrifying Oemor. “That imaginary girlfriend won’t protect you. None of this will!”

Enraged, Oemor imagined up a giant hippopotamus with cloud feet. The hippo retreated to the sky, leaving a stairway of clouds for Nalon to follow. The hippo would eat flying tweeter-bears and shoot cannonballs from its rear. When a tweeter-bear flew by Nalon, he shot the creature with his missile launcher. He steered the missile with the bear trapped on and drove it around to the hippo’s mouth. The hippo would be tricked into eating it and explode.

For the following rounds, the hippo flew like a rocket and released a cloud trail, and it released firework missiles. The formula was basically the same until Nalon destroyed the hippo. Oemor fell to the valley below and was caught by Nalon, crashing into a soft blanket of grass. Nalon pressed his hands to Oemor’s head and drained his emotions away.

After a while more, the Happytime Bubble crumbled. The operatives of Nega-SA returned to their normal forms, including Allebmoog, who couldn’t remember what she was doing. “General Kroy!” Xedni ran over. “What did you do to-”

“Guys!” They saw Asigan rush over, now in her normal clothes. Nalon stepped aside to reveal a dull-faced Oemor. “Oemor… what happened to you?”

“Hello, Asigan. I apologize for all the trouble I’ve caused.”

“Oemor…” Asigan put a hand to his forehead, checking for a fever.

“Do you remember anything?” Nalon asked.

“I got lost in that fantasy world, but… Mister, what happened?”

“I destroyed the bubble by erasing his emotions.”

“What?! How could you do such a thing?!”

“Did you not want to escape?”

“Well, you’re gonna put his emotions back, right?”

“I see no reason to do that.”

“EXCUSE ME?! Look at him, he’s dead inside!”

“I see it as an improvement. His feelings were wasted on fantasies and illusions, but maybe now he can put his psychicbending to more productive use.”

“And what was wrong with loving fantasies?! He may get a little too absorbed in them, but it was adorable! You have no right taking that love away!”

“You mean the love for that mermaid who looked like you?”

“W-what?!”

“That love was merely hollow feelings.” Oemor said. “Please excuse that.”

“Now, if you’ll excuse me.” A helicopter dropped a ladder down for Nalon to hold onto. The general was carried away, leaving Nega-SA to look sympathetically at Oemor.

Windmill City (Play “Windmill Hills” from Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze!)

The following day, Moonbase got a report from Nega-$: they had infiltrated a Smile Pirate base and learned that Sir Prize was planning to nuke Windmill City. Located in Napaj, it was a vast and gorgeous town with countless windmill towers. The soil was rich and the grass around the dirt roads was lush.

The Nega-W ops searched town for any clues to the villain’s whereabouts, with Yllas and Yevrah splitting into a pair, while the other two left separately. “Hey! Let me go, you jerks!” They heard shouting and ran around a windmill.

A short girl with freckles and pigtails was being pinned down by three taller bullies. The short girl wore a black T-shirt that said “Gimme!”, a brown skirt, and darker brown boots.

“You’re gettin’ a mega wad this time, Akasim!” stated a girl with a blue torn vest and white undershirt. Okoruk had short pinkish hair. “Better open wide!”

Akasim tried to hold her mouth shut, but one of the other girls, Urahiu, used a magic wand to expand and forcefully open Akasim’s mouth. Urahiu wore a black witch’s robe and had a cactus crown around her dark hair. Okoruk began to mold a giant wad of spit with her waterbending, threatening to fill Akasim’s mouth with it.

The Reprah twins tossed their bladed tops and cut the bullies. “Get lost!” Yevrah yelled.

“Who are these chumps?!” Netas, the other bully, asked.

“Didn’t expect her to bring backup.” Okoruk said. “We’ll be back for you!” The bullies made a retreat.

Yllas went to help Akasim up. She was a few inches taller than them. “Hey, thanks! You kids new in town, I’ve never seen you before.”

“We’re DNK operatives.” Yllas answered. “I don’t suppose you know anything about Sir Prize?”

“Surprise? Wait, are you tryin’ to prank me?!” The girl jumped back.

“No, take it easy!” Yevrah laughed. “He’s a villain. Here’s a picture of him.” He held up a wanted poster of the puffy-faced man in gardening clothes.

“Ew! I woulda remembered seein’ a creep like that.”

“Well, thanks anyway.” Yllas said. “Be careful not to get caught by those jerks.”

“Not a problem!” Akasim embraced them in a hug. “I deal with those guys every day, but it’s nice to have people havin’ my back!” She quickly pulled away and ran off. “Okay, see ya later!”

“Well, she’s a fun one.” Yevrah figured. “If the bubble explodes here, you think she’s meant to be the master?”

“Don’t be stupid, she just said she’s never seen him.”

“Well, Ynohtna never met him, so how did he know what his dream looked like?! Obviously, Sir Prize sneaks into peoples’ dreams! Maybe he’s also a Bubble Dreamer.”

“Fine, but that girl isn’t even an operative. At least most of us are famous, so he’d be able to…” Yllas felt around her pockets. “Yevrah, did I drop my tops?”

Yevrah perked up and looked around. He felt in his own pockets. “Mine are gone, too. But we just used them when… Hey, you don’t think that girl stole them, do you?!”

“When she hugged us? That bitch!” Yllas punched her palms in anger.

“Let’s get after her!”

The twins made their way through a pretty fun action stage of windmill platforms and flying flags. The enemies were objects that were enchanted by local mages, such as brooms and trashcans, along with other bully mages. For being such a peaceful place, there was quite a handful of rude people. The twins also sent a call to Ibyf and Ynohtna, informing them of the issue.

They eventually tailed Asakim to a farmland, and she was indeed playing with their tops. “Hey, Girl!” Yevrah yelled. “You got something of ours?!”

“YA!” she yelped. “Shiznuggets!” She tried to run into the farmhouse, until a Scare Scream compelled her to stop.

“So, I take it this is the girl you told me about?” Ibyf said as she lowered from the sky.

“My, what’s all that racket out here?” A vibrant-faced man with tannish skin and brown hair stepped outside. He wore a black top and jeans and looked to be in his mid-teens. “Oh, dear. Asakim, what’s going on?”

“Incubator, these jerks just showed up and started hurting me!”

“This brat stole our weapons!” Yevrah argued.

“Alright, alright, why don’t we all settle down?” Incubator chuckled. “Asakim, you need to return their toys.”

The girl huffed and puffed her cheeks before begrudgingly returning the tops. “Stealing things that aren’t yours is petty.” Ynohtna said.

“No one asked you!” Asakim argued.

“You’ll have to excuse her.” Incubator patted the child’s light-brown hair. “This little rascal swipes anything she can get her tiny hands on.”

“Quit talking to me like that! I’m 15 years old!”

“Fifteen?!” Yllas exclaimed. “Wow, you’re tiny!”

“Are you her brother?”

“Not exactly.” Incubator released her, but was still shown the death glare. “My family adopted her, so we’ve been together since childhood. We sure didn’t grow together well! If only she would drink her milk!”

“I don’t want nothin’ that comes out of a cow’s breast!!”

“Hmm…” The spritely teen aroused suspicion in Ibyf. “Mr. Incubator, there’s something we need to warn you about.”

They introduced their selves as DNK ops and explained their mission. Incubator’s positive visage grew worried. “So, what happens if we get trapped in the bubble?”

“Unless we can find the bubble’s master, we’ll be trapped in a sickening ‘sweet’ paradise for eternity. The ‘master’ would have to be someone with a positive outlook… so, I can’t help but think it could be you.”

“Me? But how would Sir Prize even know me?”

“We can’t be sure, but we think he searches for targets in the Dream Realm and determines where they live in reality. I know it sounds complicated, but…”

“All that matters is,” Ynohtna began, “if Sir Prize intends to trap this town, then any and all positive people should evacuate. Doing so will cause his bubble to disappear.”

“This all sounds like a load of crazy talk.” Asakim argued.

“It is quite a thing to learn out of nowhere.” Incubator agreed. “In any case, I can’t just leave my farm behind. It’s at least nice to know the Happytime Bubbles aren’t designed to kill. If we wind up being trapped, I’m sure you young go-getters will save us!”

“Yeah, but it’s gonna be an utter pain.” Yllas stated. “I guess we oughta just search for Sir Prize before he sets the bomb off.”

“I’ll try to keep an eye out for him, too. It shouldn’t be too hard to miss a balloon-faced villain!”

The operatives let the two be and returned to town… but it was only after they were far away that Ynohtna called their attention to something: “We neglected to show him Sir Prize’s wanted poster in our hasty explanation.”

“We did?” Yllas asked. “You think that’s why he wasn’t too convinced?”

“How did Incubator know that Sir Prize has a balloon face?”

“Oh, yeah.” Yevrah noticed. “Maybe Akasim told him before we caught up?”

“Then he would’ve already known who we were.” Ibyf said. “Hmmm…perhaps we should investigate them a little further.” (End song.)

The kids searched until nightfall, but couldn’t find any signs of Sir Prize. They decided to take turns sleeping so they could continue the search through the morning. It wasn’t until about -4:30a.m. that Ibyf caught sight of something curious.

She watched in secrecy as Incubator seemed to climb in a truck. The Nimbi followed quietly as he drove through town, down a breezy canyon, and into what seemed like an abandoned mine. Ibyf called Yevrah down to join her as they made their way through another level. The mine was patrolled by, not only Smile Pirates, but what appeared to be clones of Asakim. They were incredibly cheery and all possessed airbending.

The kids found a chamber where more Akasim clones were growing in tubes. “Ah…this one’s almost ripe.” Incubator was rubbing a tube with a smaller clone, likely newly developed. “I’ll wake you up earlier… Asakim will love to have an actual ‘little’ sister. But first… it would seem we have guests.”

“!” Ibyf and Yevrah were suddenly trapped in a bright yellow bubble, the latter resisting the urge to burst into laughter. “Surprise!” None other than Sir Prize revealed himself, holding a condensed Happytime Bubble. “Now, how did you little sour-faces escape my bubble? Ydnic told me it should’ve been inescapable! Or did that mean general drain him of his joy?”

“Sir Prize, hahahahaha!” Yevrah laughed. “It’s you! And you’re working with, hehehehehe!”

“Incubator, what is this place?!” Ibyf demanded. “Why are you making clones of Akasim?!”

“Because, although she is a naughty child, she is still so precious.” Incubator rubbed the smaller clone’s tube tenderly. “This town seems peaceful on the outside, but underneath, the people are spiteful and cruel. Always at each other’s throats. This town needs more precious children like Akasim. My parents joined the Smile Pirates long ago, hoping to save this dour town. And years ago, we began collecting Akasim’s blood, to produce even more of the precious girl. They used the clones to spread smiles to other dour towns… but those toxic heathens murdered the clones. They murdered Akasim’s precious family.”

“Haha, does she know about this?!” Yevrah asked.

“The time to surprise her draws near. Sir Prize’s next Happytime Bubble was, indeed, made with Akasim’s dream. Her dream to have an enormous family that loved her. She will be the core of this bubble, and the people that bullied her will learn happiness!”

“And we’ll make sure you learn you love it!” Sir Prize stated. “Commander Wodahs is already taking care of your friends.”

…

Wodahs was a white Moebian hedgehog with blue streaks in his hair and roller-blade shoes. Wodahs took the form of a more divine hedgehog and used his rollers to chase and out-maneuver them. When he scratched the kids, a strange medicine would seep into their blood and cause them to grow woozy. When Yllas sliced him with her tops, Wodahs would spray himself with a gas that would repair the cuts.

“Are you some kind of poisonbender?!” Yllas questioned.

“I was given the power of the Mythical Hedgehog Fruit, Model: Baixian!” Wodahs replied in a loudish, tender voice. “I can cure any illness with my medicines. At least, I wish I could, but my cures are only temporary. Even so, I’ll do what I can to help realize Lady Ydnam’s goals!”

His semi-natural gases were so soothing that they were losing the will to fight. Ynohtna had learned to evade and endure against strong opponents, but his current emotionless state caused him to pass out long before Yllas did.

Meanwhile, Sir Prize retreated to another room to begin charging energy in his Happytime Bubble. Ibyf destroyed the bubble they were trapped in, but ushered Yevrah to escape the mine with her. “We need to try and take Asakim away! We should at least be with her when the bubble explodes, so we’ll have a chance to stop it!”

Incubator chased them out of the cave and up the trench. Little did they know they had already fallen for his second trap: the sun began to rise over town. Incubator turned into a divine rooster with an orange head and wings, with a dark-cyan body. “COCK-A-DOODLE-DOOOOOO!” Surging with Light Chi, Incubator fired a powerful golden ray at Ibyf and Yevrah. The light blinded and overwhelmed them as they passed out.

“The Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Alectryon was created from a legendary rooster. Its lightbending increases 100-fold when it greets the morning sun! Didn’t you wonder why I waited this late to check on my clones? I knew you kids would follow me. Now, let’s enjoy Akasim’s world together…”

Within the next few minutes, Windmill City was enveloped in the Happytime Bubble.

DNK Arctic Prison

During Nega-W’s mission, Arctic Prison was invaded by a muscular man with a goatee who looked like a genie. He fought his way relentlessly through the defenses and operatives until he located Aluben’s cell. He tore open the bars of her cell and seized the smiling former dictator. “Ah! Is this a rescue, perhaps?”

“Not in the slightest! But the army doesn’t trust this prison to hold you.”

The genie held her tightly and made flight across the arctic expanse. Though she could now use her bonebending, she was unable to do so with this man, and he ensured there was no escape for her.

Aluben was taken to a NUG fortress within a dark rainforest. Under a soldier’s orders, the genie, whose name was Nivlek, kept Aluben bound as General Kroy approached her. “Aluben… according to our intel, we’re given to believe you serve Emperor Ydnam now.”

“Yes! Are you enjoying Sir Prize’s Happytime B-”

“Shut it!” Nalon punched her face. “You’re going to tell us everything you know about the pirates and help us put a stop to their operations!”

“Never!” Aluben’s dented face was still vibrant. “Toxic adults like you need to be cured!”

“The only one getting cured is you.” Kroy threatened to clasp her with his glowing gray hand.

Aluben’s pupils shrank, her forced smile masking her fear. She felt something horribly familiar about his chi.

Fortunately, Nega-$ were already alerted of Aluben’s capture and had infiltrated the NUG base using stealth and teamwork. They made it to Aluben’s holding room around the time Kroy arrived. “I can’t believe the army has a genie working for them.” Acificap whispered.

“I recognize that man.” Leic said. “I knew him from when I was alive! Nivlek used to be a chimney cleaner who hated his job and eventually refused to work at all. When he died, I heard that he was given the Genie’s Curse: he has to grant the wishes of a thousand people. Hehe, I never thought I’d encounter him here!”

“But if he’s a spirit, aren’t you allowed to fight him?” Ssiew asked.

“Yes, I am!”

“What if we take his magic lamp?” Hgielar suggested. “Heck, we could wish Sir Prize’s plan is foiled!”

“Why hasn’t the army already wished that?” Lorac asked.

“Because genies can only do what any normal human can do.” Acificap answered. “Even if they are really strong, they can’t magically make problems go away. They also can’t automatically gain knowledge just by wishing for it. So, if they wanted to find Sir Prize’s hiding place, they couldn’t wish to know where it is.”

“I guess genies aren’t as all-powerful as people say. Anyway, here’s the plan:”

Before Nalon could sap Aluben’s emotions, the kids would cause a blackout and throw the soldiers off. Leic would swoop in and attack Nivlek, freeing Aluben, and Ssiew would drop from a ceiling vent, hanging from vines, and pull her away.

Another soldier took the lamp and ordered Aluben’s retrieval. As the genie flew through the base in search of her, Leic would keep attacking him, swarming Nivlek with butterflies from his Zanpakutō, Flutterwing.

The kids managed to escape with Aluben back to the van, speeding through the jungle. Aerodactyl seized the van in his talons and took flight. General Kroy and his soldiers boarded warplanes and pursued them. “Daring New Kids! Hand over the prisoner at once!” Kroy ordered through speakers.

“She was under our custody!” Lorac yelled. “And we weren’t gonna let you wipe her emotions!”

“You must know what a menace she is! Or does this mean you are allying with the Smile Pirates as well?”

“Yes!” Aluben chirped.

“No!”

“If you don’t hand her over, the N.U.G. will officially see you as an enemy!”

“Like you didn’t already! We’re going to stop the Smile Pirates, but we’re still hoping Aluben can be our friend, too.”

“Your feelings are meaningless. It’s time we finally disciplined you kids!”

“General Kroy! A new bubble was just reported in Napaj!”

“What? Maybe Sir Prize is still nearby. Alright, I’m going to investigate. Commodore Tterb, you take care of them!”

Inside the base, Nivlek’s orders had been changed to destroying the angel boy. He attacked Leic with great ferocity, breaking and bruising the angel’s tender skin without remorse. “I still remember you.” Nivlek hissed. “Running all around town and helping people with that sweet little smile. Never asking for a single penny. Even as you grew sick and dying, you were always shining, like a scorching desert sun that burns my eyes. Children like you make me sick.

“Maybe some time off will help you!” Leic withstood the damage and impaled Nivlek with his sword. He poured the last of his power into converting him into butterflies. “I know the comfiest cage in Underworld Prison! Butterflies, show him the way!”

“Curse you, Leic! Curse you and the sun you were born under!!” The butterflies scattered as Leic helped herd them to the Spirit World.

Sisterhood City

Windmill City had been changed into a world all about Asakim. She had immediately bonded with her army of sisters and embraced her role as a queen. The trio of Okoruk, Urahiu, and Netas became loyal servants that filed her nails and did her hair, the air of this world making them abandon their negative feelings. Still, whenever Asakim looked at the former bullies… she would feel a small tinge of guilt.

Sir Prize and Commander Wodahs left the bubble, leaving Incubator to look after it. Wodahs was kind enough to treat Nega-W’s injuries before leaving. However, Ibyf would soon break free and fight her way through this world. She located Asakim and enforced her fearbending over her, trying to explain the truth of this world.

Incubator fought the Nimbi, using the lightbending that came with his rooster form. His power wasn’t as strong as it was in morning, but Ibyf struggled to damage him. That’s why she only chose to target Asakim. As the fear overtook her, the dreamscape grew dark, and the Sisters began to look at her with spite. “We were only created to like this girl?” “I don’t even know her.” “She’s 15, but she looks like a brat. Why were we modeled after her?”

“Hey, brat!” Asakim turned and flinched, seeing an angry Okoruk Trio. “I don’t know what you doped us with, but you ain’t gettin’ away this time.”

Asakim’s natural instinct was to run away. But Ibyf’s words rang in her mind: this was all a dream, a dream they could never escape from unless Asakim accepted her true reality. In reality, she didn’t have sisters, she had no friends, and no one loved her outside her annoying adoptive brother. She was a naughty child that stole from people and got beat up in return. As much as she enjoyed her bullies serving her, and having sisters to play with… it felt so wrong and creepy. The stress in her mind was piling up. It became unbearable and she wanted to wake up. So, she stepped forward and allowed the bullies to spit in her mouth.

The Happytime Bubble ruptured and popped, setting the town free. Twilight had fallen, causing Incubator’s lightbending to weaken. Ibyf shot a glare at the rooster and entered Dark Angel Fury, growing wings made of dark-red Fear Chi. She went all out against Incubator and KO’ed the rooster.

Ibyf disabled her Fury and rested on the ground, panting to regain her stamina. Akasim threw up after Okoruk finished her punishment. The pigtailed girl looked to Incubator and approached him shamefully. The sister clones hadn’t disappeared… so, he really had been producing copies of herself.

“It’s you again.” She and Ibyf looked to General Kroy. “Tell me… who was the owner of that bubble?”

Asakim gulped at the scary man. “It was him.” Ibyf pointed at Incubator. “This man had a complex and possessed twisted love for his little sister. He even went as far as to have her cloned. You’ll also like to know he was affiliated with the Smile Pirates.”

Kroy looked to the Sisters in a disgruntled way. “Men, take him into custody. The clones, all of them!”

When the soldiers approached the clones, the Sisters fought back with airbending. Kroy marched to the real Akasim, who hid behind Ibyf in fear. “Hey, this is the real one!”

“Doesn’t matter. She’s coming, too!”

“I don’t wanna!” Akasim blasted a gust of air at Kroy’s face.

Yllas and Yevrah slid by on their giant tops, snatching the two and escaping the army. “Ynohtna’s already back at the ship!” Yllas said. “Let’s report back to Nerehc!”

“We won’t let him take you, don’t worry!” Yevrah assured Akasim.

The girl in question twisted her head back. The soldiers were loading Incubator onto their ship. Akasim looked to her brother with guilt. “If I tried harder to make friends… would you not have gone crazy?”

With Nega-$

The Bandit Van launched missiles to take down the NUG planes, but the only one remaining was Commodore Tterb’s. Tterb flew above the Aerodactyl before jumping out of his plane: he morphed into a woolly rhinoceros and crushed the dinosaur’s head beneath his weight. A dizzied Aerodactyl fell to the ground, but kept his friends safe in his talons to make the landing as smooth as possible. After landing in a field, Hgielar stepped out and returned Aero to his Pokéball.

The woolly rhino landed as well and faced the group. “Is that a metahuman power?” Acificap glared.

“A Devil Fruit made from an ancient rhino. That’s what I was told.” Tterb answered. “Why do you want to befriend that piece of scum? She and her mother before her terrorized the universe. You should’ve already done away with her.”

“I would like it if you don’t associate me with that woman, anymore.” Aluben requested in a creepy sweet way. “I only seek to spread joy under Captain Ydnam’s name. And once I am away from here, I intend to assist Sir Prize as well.”

“You think serving those cultists is any different? You’re a tool to their twisted ambitions either way, and a tool that needs to be broken.” The rhino charged at Aluben, who tried to grab his bones in defense. The rhino’s ancient fossils withstood her grasp, so Aluben and the gang evaded. Tterb rammed the van and blew it several meters away.

“You will redact those comments now.” Aluben’s brows twitched in spite. Tterb would keep charging her, but Aluben would leap onto his head and grab the long horn. She channeled her chi through the fossil, but was shaken off. The rhino flipped and tried to impale her against the ground, Aluben dodging. The horn pierced the ground cleanly. Aluben climbed onto his belly and managed to split the ribs, the points poking through the belly just a bit. As the battle drew on, Aluben got a better feel for the rhino bones. She grabbed him from several ankles and broke the bones underneath, but took several headbashes and stomps in turn. Aluben willed her bones to launch away and pull her with.

Once away from her enemy, Aluben willed her bones to repair, helping herself up. Tterb withstood the bones puncturing his own body, facing her in fury. The commodore charged at Aluben with the sole desire to pierce her for good. Aluben mustered up a great surge of chi and jumped over the rhino’s horn. She planted her hands against his head and willed his very skull to cave in. The act of doing so felt like trying to squeeze a heavy boulder in the palm of her hand, but still Aluben succeeded. Commodore Tterb’s brain was crushed by his own fossil, and he fell over dead.

Hgielar fixed the van back upright. The thieves looked over the commodore’s dead body in concern. Things were already tense with the army, but they won’t overlook a killed officer. “Look! Pirate ships!” Acificap alerted them to a small fleet of flying ships.

Lorac looked through binoculars. “The Smile Pirates.”

“Don’t worry, they’re only here for me!” Aluben beamed. “You guys should probably go.”

“After all the trouble we went through to save you?!” Hgielar yelled.

“Well, you’re already in trouble for that! At least I can take all the blame for killing an officer.”

“They’re probably gonna hold us responsible, anyway.” Acificap reasoned. “We can’t really let the pirates have you either. After what Sir Prize has done, they’re our enemies!”

“Then it’s only best you let them take me so they won’t attack you! Besides, I’m sure you’ll learn to see our way eventually. The Smile Pirates and the Daring New Kids… They both want to spread joy to everyone.”

“Hm…fine.” Lorac complied. “I guess we’ll meet again.”

The Nega-$ Thieves fled from the scene. Leic would soon return to his Gigai and question how things went.

Somewhere over Napaj

Sir Prize and Commander Wodahs sailed away on the latter’s ship. Wodahs professed his admiration for Sir Prize’s creations, but Prize is still distraught that General Kroy is ruining his bubbles. These bubbles were produced with a culmination of Prize’s psychicbending and Captain Ydnam’s Bubble Dreaming. She had Bubbled away the negative feelings in his dreamscape to amplify his positive imagination.

And of course, it was thanks to Captain Ydnam’s Bubble Dreaming that he could travel the dreamscapes and concoct his bubbles based on them. But being completely joyful wasn’t enough to sustain the bubbles. Several years ago, the Smile Pirates had procured a sample of blood from the Emotion Spirit, Mesprit. Sir Prize was given the blood to further amplify the joy within his bubbles.

Even with that power-up, it was exhausting to create so many bubbles, but it would be worth it to bring forth a joyful world. Sir Prize thought back to his childhood: his older brother, Eoj Prize, was an abusive asshole that loved trying to “pop” young Nhoj’s head. But where his brother showed him scorn, his classmates showed sympathy. Nhoj had lots of supportive friends in school. He wasn’t super close with all of them, but they were very good people. Most of them, at least.

Indeed, he used to know General Kroy in elementary school. He and his gang of bullies always tried to be on top of everybody, and that mentality hadn’t died even as he joined the army. Still, Nhoj hated his brother more… He was such a toxic and unjoyful person. The world would be happier without people like him… so, Nhoj didn’t hesitate to lead him to his death. He had used his psychicbending to put Eoj in an illusory, almost drug-induced trance. He manipulated his brother into walking out in front of a truck and being run over.

Sir Prize was scared out of his reminiscing when something struck the ship. A fleet of DNK ships were closing in, some of which were from DNKG (the Daring New Kid Guardians). Among them were Nega-SA, Nega-L, and Nega-V. Sir Prize recognized them as sectors who had escaped his Happytime Bubbles. He made bubbles based off Oemor, Ikuyim, and Nosam’s dreams (the latter of which was all about worshipping Lorac). But because of General Kroy’s interference, those three had lost their passions.

“Perhaps this is my chance to undo Kroy’s damage and restore their joy! I’ve been saving my best bubble for a situation like this. Allow me to show you… my own personal Happytime!”

The operatives cringed in disgust when it seemed like Sir Prize’s very head began swelling. Like the balloon it was, it inflated, growing large enough to envelop them all. Though it was merely an illusion conjured by his psychic, the result was nevertheless real: Prize’s head exploded into a Happytime Bubble.

Sector Nega-W returned to Moonbase and dropped off Akasim. But as they were reporting to Nerehc, Ininap reported they had lost communications with the fleet sent to ambush Sir Prize. Their satellites brought up a visual: a Happytime Bubble had burst into plain view and bore Sir Prize’s joyous visage. Ibyf suspected that Sir Prize himself was in that bubble. If that bubble was based off his own dream, then it shouldn’t hold if Sir Prize left. He must be planning to fully joyify all the operatives inside before leaving.

Nega-W decided to return to Napaj, take the risk, and fly into the bubble… but General Kroy was not far behind. The dreamscape within was called the Park of Fun Surprises, a vast amusement park with Sir Prize balloons and millions of bubbles.

Sir Prize himself appeared as a giant ringleader, washing waves of his vanilla psychic over the operatives. The waves were designed to alter their minds and make them believe they were Sir Prize as well, to forget who they once were and their past grudges, just to embrace the laughter.

The Nega-W ops managed to evade the waves, but Ibyf was still too exhausted to confront him. Meanwhile, Nalon fought his way through the amusement park, determined to take the villain down once and for all. He was confronted by Wodahs, but fortunately, an ally appeared to fight him in Nalon’s stead: Raseac Atnalamid of the Black Lotus. The plantbender fought well with the medical hedgehog spirit, leaving Kroy to make it to Sir Prize.

Nalon greeted the villain with the full force of his arsenal. Missile launchers, miniguns, laser shotguns, and as a bonus, Kroy was able to imbue his Apathy Chi into his weapons and chip down Sir Prize’s joy. Kroy’s Armament Haki was nothing to scoff at either: it was no wonder they called him “Steelman.” He was hard as steel and nearly immovable.

“You’ve always been like this, Kroy… always cold and toxic! You think you’re a just man, but all you love is war, murder, and violence all for your twisted justice! Look around! I’m trying to make people happy! I’m ending all despair! Tell me, is THIS what you’d rather see?!”

Nalon faced up: Sir Prize had brought down a sea of bubbles, containing all the negative aspects that Captain Ydnam Bubbled away. The dirty politics Prize was forced to learn about, the corruption within NUG, the fear of the Apocalypse, down to the awful people Prize would encounter day-to-day. He crushed Kroy with the weight of all his anxieties, the kind that compelled Prize to do just what he did to his brother.

General Kroy plowed through the fears and flew up to Prize’s head. He squeezed his head like the balloon it was and brought him to the ground. Prize reached his right hand to grab him, but Kroy fired a sawblade rifle and severed the hand. “It’s petty emotions like this that cause wars and despair to happen. Your desire for joy and happiness, and your fear for destruction and darkness… Everyone should just throw these emotions away. Abandon them… and just do as you’re told. Only then can the world know peace!”

Kroy mustered up an enormous surge of Apathy and overwhelmed Sir Prize. The Apathy spread across his Happytime Bubble and began to dull all of the operatives. “…What?”

It was then Kroy noticed numerous eyes appearing around the air of the dreamscape. They were Ibyf’s eyes, conjured and multiplied by her fearbending. The operatives looked up into the nightmarish eyes. “It’s true… emotions do get in the way. People always make irrational decisions for the dumbest reasons. But I learned a long time ago… life is just boring when there’s no joy. It’s tasteless if we don’t cry for people we lost. It’s sour if we can’t feel proud for saving the world. And if we let villains like you decide how we should feel… I couldn’t hold in my anger.”

The apathetic operatives began to feel a tinge of fear: the fear that either Kroy or Prize would erase their emotions completely. Their toneless states couldn’t fully register the fear… but their logic compelled them to agree. Ikuyim “enjoyed” having adventures because she got to learn more about geography and the world. Oemor “loved” reading fantasies because creativity was healthy for the brain. Nosam “loved” Lorac because she was simply an admirable and talented person. And were they to lose these feelings, they would be no more than husks.

The operatives faced up at General Kroy with spite hidden under their gray eyes. Altogether, they raced up and assaulted Kroy with the force of their bending and strength. Kroy withstood as best as he could, but was already too exhausted from the battle. “Damn you! Stop! If you brats don’t stop now, you WILL become enemies of the N.U.G.! No, the entire Galactic Navy! Mark my words, you’ll never see a happy day again!”

“Whatever, Dad.” His son, Nollid raised his wand at him. “At least we won’t become zombies. Sectumsempra!”

A white slash cleaved Nalon’s neck, but he still had enough will to withstand it. Still, as the kids overpowered him, Nalon’s hold on Sir Prize began to wane. The dreamscape rumbled with the forces of apathy and joy. As Nalon’s own anger grew, emotions began to return to the operatives. The general became unable to control his own emotions, and those around him would cause further interference.

The clashing powers caused the Happytime Bubble to plummet to the earth and explode. Sir Prize lay with a stone-cold expression, his mind having turned to mush. And Nalon Kroy merely lay dead from the fall, blood leaking from his mind.

All of Sir Prize’s bubbles dispelled, setting the DNK and their towns free. The operatives needed some time to rest as their own minds and emotions reassembled. Nollid and his mother, Latsyrc paid their respects to the fallen man of the house in an apathetic fashion.

Captain Ydnam visited her subordinate’s dreamscape. Sir Prize’s amusement park had been reduced to an utter wasteland, damaged beyond repair. “Oh, dear… even I’m not sure what to do about this. With this much clutter… you’re better off dead, Sir Prize. Oh, well! First, I have other matters to tend to!”

The Emperor of the Smile Pirates was a pudgy woman with a light-blue gown, blonde hair curved up like horns, and a white furred scarf. Ydnam woke up and walked out onto the deck of her flagship. “Captain Ydnam!” With pure delight, Aluben ran up with open arms.

“Aluben!” Ydnam embraced the girl like a loving mother. “I’m so glad you made it back!”

“Me, too! But it sounds like all of the bubbles were destroyed…”

“Sir Prize’s joy wasn’t strong enough. But at least that sour Nalon won’t be bothering us, anymore. Still, it doesn’t seem like the DNK appreciate our cause, yet.”

“Do you think we’ll really be able to spread joy to the universe? There are so many bad people still out there…”

“Well, if we can’t… we’ll just have to put them all to sleep. After all, there’s no greater bliss than dreams. If the real world can’t be happy, then their only option is the Dream World.”

Their flagship, the Sleeping Sands, was golden with sails shaped like hourglasses. Wherever it flew, golden sand, enchanted by Ydnam’s bending, would sprinkle below. Everyone the sand touched would grow drowsy and sleepy. After leaving Earth, the ship returned to New Aruhtaz. Most of the planet’s surface had been converted into a gold desert, where the denizens lay in blissful slumber. Just seeing them made Ydnam sigh with comfort. If only everyone could sleep as soundly as they could.

Underworld

Nalon Kroy awoke in a dark place. Standing over him was a purple-horned woman: the same figure that gave him his power. The woman was casually flipping the vial of gray chi in her hand. “I expected someone to kill you, but I didn’t expect all those operatives to outright destroy you. They really hated your guts~”

“What is this… Am I in Hell?!”

“Yeah, but I swiped you before the Reapers could get their hands on you. But I’m sure the ‘powers that be’ will be onto me at any moment. So, if you’d still like to be relevant, let’s make this quick.”

“Relevant? Who do you think you are?!”

“It’s Torrelasell. And I serve a higher power.”

“Higher power?”

“Far higher than that little military you once served. And I’d like to offer you a chance to be a part of it. How would you like to spread your justice to the multiverse?”

Nalon cast a glare at the woman… but even he was intrigued. “What would that entail?”

In other news, I’ve had one heck of a week! My mom and I went on a trip to Hocking Hills, we stayed in a very nice cabin in the woods; it had great beds, a hot tub, even a TV with Hulu and Netflix! I got to go hiking on several trails: one of them took my down into a small canyon with a river, I walked through a few forests, one of which led to a lake, and another took me across a 200-foot cliff! One of them also took me to a gorge with a natural sandbox, which had a small waterfall pouring into a pond. I tried walking barefoot in the pond, and… wasn’t pleasant, lots of gravel. XD

Chapter Text

This part coincides with World Rings! One of my first ideas was a story where they had to find Seven Cubes of Knowledge that were hidden by Uxie, where either Xedni or Ylime would be the protagonist and the villains were the Brains from Futurama… but then I decided to go with the plotline I already had set up. XD

On the eve of the New Year, Enopac Egeb led Glasses Girl and the Nega-MG operatives to the basement of their mansion. The roots of a shining green tree enveloped this chamber, though the tree itself was fairly thin. “This is our most sacred place.” The godfather said. “When our ancestor, Mama Tebrehs, took her final breath, she became this tree. Her soul has since watched over us. And only on New Year’s Eve will she speak to us. Only she will decide if you’re trustworthy. Now, go and greet her.”

“I waited three months to talk to a tree?” Airam questioned.

“You’d think being on our best behavior all that time would’ve been enough.” Revilo figured.

“If you call that best behavior.” Lihp remarked.

“Just do it.” Ydnew insisted.

Airam sighed and approached the tree. “Uh…what’s up, Mama Tebrehs?”

The tree emitted a brighter glow as a tall, thin spirit formed. She wore a dark-green dress and matching hair that was shaped like broccoli leaves. Her nose was long, eyes closed, and she frowned serenely. She spoke in a gentle and refined voice. “She, who descends from Shrews. I, Mama Tebrehs, appear before you.”

“Yeah, I can see that.”

“Pin it with that mouth, kid.” Egeb stated. “So, Mama… what do you make of this brat?”

“Ambition and vengeance fill her eyes… Unrest taints her ’til her mother dies.”

“I mean, I was under the impression you didn’t like her either, so what’s wrong with that?”

“Though we share a most evil foe, what future will you come to know? When the toxic power becomes yours, will you rule benevolent forevermore?”

“Forever’s a long time, lady.”

“Airam, we’ve already been over this.” Ydnew said. “We’re going to fix all the damage your mother has caused and restore Toadstool World’s vegetation.”

“I guess, but it ain’t the most important thing I’m worried about.”

“Look, kid,” Egeb said, “you may’ve been behavin’, but don’t think we appreciate that tongue of yours. All you care about is gettin’ what you want and usin’ us and those pals of yours to get it. You take us all for granted and ya ain’t even grateful.”

“Hey, cut her some slack.” Revilo said. “She’s been through a lot and we haven’t made any progress in taking the Mushrooms down! There isn’t much to be grateful for.”

“Yes, there is.” Ydnew stated strictly. “She should be grateful that her friends stuck around this long despite making little progress. Unless you’re thinking of bailing out, Revilo?”

“Exactly.” Lihp agreed. “To be fair, we still don’t have to stick around. And if the Galactic Navy finds and questions us, we could rat you out afterwards. You know how much trouble we’re gonna be in ’cause of you?!”

Airam bit her lip in frustration. “Look, I ain’t good with emotions, okay? You three are just about the only ones I can trust, but it’s because we haven’t made any progress that it’s hard to feel grateful!”

“Your heart has been tormented so. But your comrades speak truthfully though. They’ve tied their hearts and their burden to you. What is the least that you can do?”

“I don’t know, wash their clothes or something?”

“Wouldn’t saying ‘thank you’ be easier than that?” Ydnew asked.

“Well… thank you, then.”

“Geez Esiuol…” Egeb sighed.

A vine reached over and tipped Airam’s sunglasses down. The stern-eyed girl directed her gaze at the ancestor. “Your words are small… but your eyes tell more. You treasure them all, these friends you adore. Though my family bear their resent, I sense no ill will from you at present. I would like to think of you as family, too, and implore you work together to see this battle through.”

“If you think she’s clean, we’ll do as you say. But I’m pretty sour about our lack of progress myself. Sutsugua’s gang have been on reconnaissance for weeks, but we haven’t heard hide nor hair of him.”

“I believe his farming will now bear fruit. His men are returning with new loot. But I feel a great danger has befallen. It is time to let the ball in.”

“‘Let the ball in’? You’re startin’ to rhyme like a first grader.”

“Don Egeb! Don Egeb!” Eiwets came bouncing down the stairs in his ball form. He puffed back to his normal, pudgy size.

“Eiwets?! Ya finally made it back!”

“I’m sorry, boss!” Eiwets began weeping. “But we didn’t all make it. Sutsugua… he was nabbed by the Mushroom Mafia!”

“HE WHAT?!”

“We was carryin’ out reconnaissance on Contempora. The mafia had a big drug ring on the planet. They even had little kids workin’ for them! That little sweetheart can’t ignore kids in danger, so we done saved as many as we could.”

The group headed upstairs to the foyer. Ollar was holding several children in his books. One of them was Okot, a pink-haired girl whose eyes were dry from endless crying. She had been forced to eat drugged plants that made her like this. Another was Amat, a purple-haired girl with flabby, almost melting skin. “So, you spent all this time abducting kids?” Egeb questioned.

“‘Saving’ is a kind way of abducting.” Ollar reasoned. “In any case, our journey wasn’t a total waste. We’ve managed to collect some imperative info.”

“Yeah!” Eiggam perked up and spoke quickly. “The mafiosos are on a huge expedition in New Galaxia and looking for six planets that have really strong Poison Chi because they think it’ll make better drugs than ever, I think they’re named after the Six Noble Gases-”

“Settle down, Eiggam.” Egeb said.

“New Galaxia… Isn’t that the place where the Positives went?” Airam asked.

“Yeah, but after the universe reset or whatever, I heard more people started to go there.” Ydnew said. “As if it was always open.”

“Talk about confusing.” Lihp scratched his head.

“Then why don’t we go there, too?” Airam suggested. “I’m tired of waiting around here. If my mom is searching for six powerful gases, then we need to stop them. Heck, maybe the gases can restore my poisonbending!”

“We can’t just go up there without barely any clues.” Egeb said. “Unless you got a map of the place.”

“I bet I know who can get one.” Ydnew replied. “Nerehc can probably get Cheren to call one of the people from that universe. I’ll fly up to Moonbase and ask him.”

“If you kids wanna risk your lives fighting the Mushrooms in some unknown galaxy, that’s all well and good.” Egeb said. “But my priority is saving my grandson. The most I’ll lend you is a ship.”

“And you’re fine with me going, too?” Airam asked.

“If Mama says you can be trusted… so be it. But you better not dare double-cross us… or I’ll come for your head myself.”

“I have no intention of betraying any of you.”

“We’re gonna need more of an answer than that, Airam.” Ydnew said. “Don’t you have anything more to say after all Little Dad has done for you?”

Airam flushed and looked away. “Th-Thank you… for letting me… stay here.”

“For once, it sounds like you actually mean it.” Egeb said. “I’ll get you fixed up as soon as we’re fixed up.”

From the basement, Mama Tebrehs smiled blissfully at the child. “You will go far… Little Mushroom. I await the day, for when you bloom…”

DNK Moonbase

Ydnew put on a space helmet before warping to the moon, garnering the attention of the base’s cameras. Some operatives were sent to retrieve the girl and bring her inside. (There were spells in place so that people couldn’t warp into treehouses.) Ydnew told Nerehc about the situation and that they would go to New Galaxia. “Actually, do you think any other operatives would be available to help us?”

“To be honest, Ydnew… things have been a little iffy with us. Ever since that Sir Prize business, we’ve been on the Galactic Navy’s priority list, and the Black Lotus are having a hard time keeping them off our backs. We were in trouble for ‘harboring’ the heir to the Mushroom Mafia, but they’ve accepted the excuse that she tricked us and you guys are renegades. If we send operatives to help you, they’ll be sharing the blame, too.”

“The navy won’t even know we’re on this mission!”

“They’ve been scouting New Galaxia, too. Look, I can agree that this matter is important, and I’ll see if Cheren can contact an escort. But where it stands, I still haven’t told anybody about her true identity, so I’m not sure if anyone will be willing to help.”

“Hm…” Even two of Ydnew’s old teammates wanted to immediately bail out when they learned the truth. “Alright. I’ll appreciate whatever help you can get us.”

“Okay. I’ll see you later, Ydnew.”

It took until about -3 Yraunaj before an escort finally arrived: Terezi Pyrope, a blind troll with slim red glasses and a walking stick. Her strong sense of smell was bound to sniff out the Six Noble Gases. Of course, they confided in Terezi about Airam’s identity, but such news bore little relevance to her.

Enopac Egeb was kind enough to give them a fair-sized greenhouse-like ship with plenty of essentials. Nega-MG made flight to the upside-down Great Clock. But as soon as they arrived, a small Galactic Navy fleet ambushed them. Asked to identify their selves, Ydnew argued that they were travelers. Sadly, she was already recognized as the daughter of Itaav, the Black Lotus leader.

“The Oiram daughter is onboard, isn’t she?!” proclaimed a proud, Australian voice. “I know you had allied with her!” The voice’s owner marched on the keel of her ship: a Moebian raccoon with a blue cape, a white military uniform, and sharp, silver high-heel boots.

“Yo! That’s Admiral Eniram!” Lihp exclaimed.

“The Silver Foot?!” Even Revilo recognized one of the Galactic Navy’s strongest, and the mother of Aliehs from Nega-V.

“Ydnew Llevram, you’re doing your father a great dishonor aiding that girl!”

“For your information, we’re trying to stop Don Shrew! She’s up to something in New Galaxia!”

“And we’re not about to let Airam meet up with her. I’m taking you all in!”

“Screw you!” Ydnew formed a huge portal to envelop their ship and skip past part of the fleet. Eniram turned and slashed her heel, sending a silver streak of lightbending at the Green Castello. Ydnew tried to catch the streak in a long rift, but Eniram simply redirected the streak around. Revilo steered the ship right, so only the left of it was scratched.

“B4D T1M3 TO 4SK, BUT 4R3 4NY OF YOU C4RP3NT3RS?” Terezi asked.

“Bad time to say this, but the way you talk is annoying!” Revilo answered. “Also, no!”

The navy vessels fired lasers at them, but Ydnew opened portals to catch some and direct them back. Managing so many portals was difficult, so their ship took some hits, but Lihp and Airam used their ship’s cannons to fight back. Ydnew dedicated some chi to warping the ship around in evasion, and they were eventually able to make it through the Time Gate.

“Admiral Eniram, shall we go after them?!” a koala asked.

“Yes, pursue them immediately! But first, I have a call to make…”

The Nega-Mages traveled the First Byway (remember when it took three years to get through?) and made it out within 10 minutes. New Galaxia was beyond anything they could’ve imagined. Comets were flying into a giant asteroid carved like a cereal bowl; an enormous snake made of stardust wrapped around some planetoids; an enormous crocodile opened its mouth, revealing an entire marshland. Travelers began to fly into the marsh to fish.

“This also might’ve been good to bring up,” Revilo said, “but how is a blind girl supposed to guide us through this place?”

“1 C4N S33 W1TH MY NOS3, STUP1D!” Terezi bonked his head. “I’ve memorized most of this universe’s scents. How else do you plan to find the Noble Gases?”

“So, Terezi, what exactly are the Noble Gases, anyway?” Ydnew asked.

“They’re elements on the periodic table. Helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon. There are high concentrations of each of them on different planets, centered around a core. I don’t really know much about them, but theoretically, I suppose you could upgrade your poisonbending if you could adapt with them. But what about these mafia guys? If they’re really that dangerous, are you sure we don’t need more people to deal with them?”

“Don Shrew wouldn’t have all her crewmen involved on this mission.” Airam replied. “She’s gotta have people watchin’ the bases and fighting their enemies.”

“Otherwise, the four of us are plenty strong.” Revilo assured confidently. “So, we’ll handle whatever they throw at us.”

The first planet they journeyed to was the Land of Crypts and Helium. A desolate, gray landscape, it was defined by thousands of colorful balloons floating from the surface. “The seed pods are grown from the Helium Pod in the planet’s core. They float to other worlds, collect water, and return that water to the planet in the hopes that life will return.” True to Terezi’s words, those balloons were raining water into the canyons. “Sniff, sniff…and 1 smell foul play in that direction.”

They parked the ship in the field, but the best part about being a spacebender was that Ydnew could shrink the ship to pocket size and store it in the Infi-Cube. Following Terezi’s nose, they soon came upon a camp and drilling rig for the Mushroom Mafia. The operatives fought their way through the soldatos and made their way down a canyon. The canyon led down into the “core” of the planet, ultimately leading to the Helium Pod. It was an enormous sphere connected to a great many pipes that led up into the earth.

“’ey, now! Is that YOU, Underboss Airam?!” A bearded Toad with a brown mushroom cap approached them in a wheelchair. “I thought I ’eard a ruckus up there, but who’d-a thought you’d be payin’ us a visit? Your mum’s been worried sick about you, eh?”

Airam trained her guns on him. “What are you doing down here, Toadsless? Are you planning to steal this Helium Pod?”

“Stealin’ it’s a wee bit difficult, but that don’t mean we can’t pump all the gas inside! There’s a mouth hole right up there, prob’ly meant for some git to prove ’er girth as a poisonbender. And that git’s gonna be Shrew, I tells ya!”

“Shrew doesn’t need any more gas! The only one gettin’ a fill-up is me! Now, take your soldatos and get outta here!”

“Sorry, lassie, but your authority’s been suspended! Lessin’ ya return to the boss, you ain’t gettin’ a word through us. But we’ve been ordered ta bring ya with force if need be. Get them, you worthless Wizzerds!”

A swarm of floating, yellow pod robots called Wizzerds flew out. They attacked Ydnew and were resistant to her spacebending, so Revilo helped. Toadsless summoned a red, blue, and yellow Chain-Chomp from his wheelchair: it was an Underchomp that had been fed the Chair-Chair Fruit. “Yeah, well have we got a surprise for you!” Lihp declared.

At his cue, Ydnew released a swarm of rats from the Infi-Cube. Lihp commanded them to work in unison as they evaded the Underchomp and attacked Toadsless directly. While the fighting transpired, Airam jumped up to the pod’s mouthpiece. She put her lips to it and began trying to suck the helium in. It was an agonizing sensation, feeling as though her head were swelling and threatened to pop.

Lihp was able to KO Toadsless, and the others destroyed the Wizzerds. The Underchomps decided to retreat for their master’s sake. “Hah! Guess we know who the better pet is!” Revilo praised.

“I ain’t your pet, Revile-o!”

“H3Y, 1S 41R4M OK4Y?” Terezi pointed.

Airam lay on her back beside the mouthpiece. The friends hurried up to her in worry. “…uck! Helium tastes awful!”

They snickered. Airam’s voice was very high-pitched. “Ugh, I knew this was gonna happen. Am I just gonna sound like this for the rest of my-” As Airam hit her fists to the ground, she blew upward! Light as a balloon, she flailed to readjust herself. She began blowing herself in various directions. “Hey! I’m poisonbending! The helium is inside my chi paths!”

“It worked!” Ydnew beamed.

“Yes… but it came at a cost.” Terezi said. “The strength of the Helium Pod has weakened. I fear there will be a significant decrease in water harvests this year.”

“But that means my mom won’t be able to suck it much.”

“The guardians of this planet won’t approve of this… but I suppose it’s better in your lungs than the lungs of this Don Shrew. You have to promise to return the helium.”

“We will.” Ydnew answered. “If we defeat her, maybe we can take back the poisonbending she stole from Airam. After that, Airam can return the helium and the other gases. Right?”

Airam sighed. “Fine. After all, Mom is killing our home planet, so I shouldn’t let another planet get any deader. I just hope I can handle the other Noble Gases.”

Earth; swimming pool in a desert town

Asigan Atoihs was like a dolphin in the public pool. Her movements and flexes were swift and fluent, and with her bending, she left a trail of water in the very air! She burst out of the trail and performed a gracious pose, the droplets glimmering off her flawless skin.

Oemor couldn’t take his eyes off her. From her head, down her light-purple swimsuit and her blue-painted toes and fingers, Asigan’s beautiful body was refined and one with the water. Her sky-blue hair was like a sweet, refreshing ice cream on a hot day.

The purple-haired bookworm wore only some brown swim trunks, his frail, skinny body exposed to the sunlight. He had tons of sunscreen to thank for his bright peach skin. The spectacled dork would normally be glued to his books, but whenever Asigan was in action, he couldn’t look away. “Yeah, that’s good stuff!” A green skirt with a white-rumped bikini bottom enveloped his view.

“AH!” Oemor fell back, his glasses going crooked.

“It’s okay, Oemy. You can stare at me, too, I won’t mind~” Anaigrom wriggled her rear temptingly.

“N-no way, that’s rude!” The nerd flushed.

“Nah, he only has the hots for Asigan.” Xedni teased, poking his arm. The chubby gamer girl wore a rotund, black one-piece.

“I-I just really like her swimming technique. She’s very elegant, and stuff…”

“Well, Allebmoog’s being pretty ‘elegant’ herself, why don’t you stare at her?”

Their Abmoog teammate was swimming like a frog, her arms and hands tattooed with frog fins. She hopped onto shore, squatted her arms, and sprung high. Asigan got level with her as they performed synchronized, graceful maneuvers before splashing in the pool. Allebmoog raised her arms and held Asigan above the pool, the latter making an upside-down, diagonal pose that showed off the curves of her figure.

Both girls climbed out of the pool and took seats beside their friends. “Sorry for hogging up the pool!” Asigan laughed sweetly. “I hope I didn’t take too long.”

“Yeah, some of those guys were a little impatient.” Oemor said. “But I think most of them kind of enjoyed it!”

“None more than this little guy~” Anaigrom teased.

“Anai!” The nerd’s peach skin flushed.

“Hehe! Did you?” Asigan leaned over him slightly.

“Uh, it reminded me of a picture from a book.” Oemor cracked a smile, having a hard time thinking straight with Asigan’s chest in plain view. “You looked j-just like the mermaid from that book.”

“Tehe! You’ll have to show me sometime~”

“Hey, there’s Ikik’s rocket.” Allebmoog noticed up in the sky. The rocket in question landed outside of town.

“It’s not time for her to pick us up.” Asigan said. “Is there an emergency?”

After a while, Ikik arrived at the pool… alongside some Black Lotus agents. Leading them was Einna, Ydnew’s mother, with long brown hair and sunglasses. “Kids, we need to talk.”

“Uh…should we get dressed?” Oemor asked, tensing up. A serious convo in swimwear wasn’t exactly comfortable.

“What’s wrong?” Asigan asked the woman.

“My daughter and her friends were reported heading to New Galaxia. They fought Admiral Eniram and the navy officers patrolling there. They suspect they had the ‘Glasses Girl’ with them.”

“Glasses Girl? Who’s that?”

“You mean you don’t know?”

“Know what?” Allebmoog asked.

“Hm…it’s best we go somewhere private.”

Oemor and Ikik shared a worried glance.

After they all got dressed, they returned to Ikik’s rocket. Afterwards, Einna divulged the truth behind why Nega-MG vanished and the team split up. “No… way.” Allebmoog was astonished by the news. “You guys had DON SHREW’S DAUGHTER IN YOUR TEAM?!”

“Uh…uh-huh.” Oemor choked.

“I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU NEVER TOLD ME!” The Abmoog grabbed and shook Oemor in a fury. “Don Shrew completely ruined our home, my parents and I barely got out of there alive!”

“Stop it, Alleb!” Asigan struggled to pull her strong fists off.

“We’re sorry!” Ikik said. “Nerehc asked us not to tell anybody. This is why we left, we didn’t wanna be involved with her business! But Ydnew and the others were determined to help her. She’s planning to take down Don Shrew and take over the mafia.”

“Why have you come to finally tell us this?” Xedni asked.

“Because the Galactic Navy believes the DNK is obligated to help with this.” Einna answered. “After the transgressions during Halloween along with other ones, not to mention that the DNK were harboring her in the first place, all you operatives are in serious trouble. The Black Lotus doesn’t want anything bad to happen to you… but the Fleet Admiral himself said that if you help us seize Goddaughter Airam, he’ll pardon some of your crimes.”

“Crimes?!” Anaigrom shouted. “The navy were the ones committing crimes! Excusing General Kroy trying to kill our emotions, I heard those guys-”

“Forget it, Anai!” Ikik shouted. “I wanted to stay out of trouble, I didn’t wanna get involved with Airam or the mafia! But if it’s already come to this, then fine. I’ll help you capture her.”

“Yeah, I’m with you!” Alleb raised a hand, propping herself on the other.

“Very well.” Einna said. “What about the rest of you?”

Oemor gulped. He really didn’t want to fight his old team… especially under such heavy circumstances. His anxiety was swelling up. But the girls were looking at him expectantly, as if he were the final key in this decision. He only focused on Asigan’s eyes: consoling, knowing this was a hard and sudden decision for him, and wanting to support him. So, Oemor took a breath and answered.

New Galaxia

After leaving the planet, the Nega-Mages took a relaxing bath in the Green Castello (the girls and boys taking respective turns) and had a well-deserved slumber. (“I am not sharing the tub with a rat!” Revilo would complain. “I don’t like seein’ your wiener either, Revile-o.”)

When they were all refreshed in the morning, they sailed to the next planet in the periodic table: the Land of Pyramids and Neon. The planet was immediately eyecatching: a great sphere of neon (multi-colored) gas covered it no different from an ozone. The light-orange surface of the planet seemed remarkably rugged, making it seem less spherical and more polygonal.

That was because the world’s surface was almost entirely covered in pyramids and other Egyptian-style ruins. “I can’t see it myself, but I heard it looks pretty colorful.” Terezi said. “As for finding the core… do you see an area on the planet where all that light seems to come from?”

They saw a smallish light amongst the pyramids and the neon energy flowing from it to join the barrier. “Yeah, I see it.” Ydnew said. “Is the planet even safe to breathe on?”

“It may be safe to wear air helmets.” Terezi answered.

They landed the ship behind some pyramids close to the light. There were roads of desert in-between the structures. Some pyramids were “cut” in quarters as energy traveled up their gaps, capping at bright lights on the peaks. Each of those lights were different colors.

The vastness of Crypts and Helium had made them feel empty inside, but the denseness of this world and the numerous pyramids made them feel small. The planet was desolate all the same… though, surprisingly, they encountered a woman named Berisclase, with shiny blue gem hair and a blue and white, militaristic dress. She was quite an unusual person to find on a place like this, but she had come here studying the ancient ruins. Of course, the ops couldn’t stay to chat long before Airam ushered them to keep going; their oxygen tanks wouldn’t last forever.

The spire of neon ozone was rising from a glass pyramid with a red-orange energy shining inside it. This pyramid was an entrance to the planet’s core, but the neon inside would only discharge for a few hours a week. Luckily, that time was now. They quickly entered the glass pyramid and followed a passage downward. The dungeon was partially chi-blocked to limit bending, but Airam could pump helium into balloons that would serve as platforms. They also fought and took down several mummy creatures guarding the dungeon.

The bottom of the dungeon had an altar with a smaller pyramid on top, surging with red-orange neon similar to the larger one. There seemed to be electrical conduits to the sides that would charge up and power the pyramid, sending the energy back through to the surface. Airam climbed up to the pyramid and touched it, beginning to absorb its energy.

But it was then that mummy bandages launched and bound Ydnew and Lihp, while Terezi and Revilo avoided. An Apook in a black soldier uniform marched down with a band of Apooks. Airam recognized him as “Nebraskapook,” a Capo in the Mushroom Mafia. He was infamous for his disrespect for ancient ruins and cultures, known for trashing whatever ruins he came across.

(Nebraskapook is the Negative of Kolorado, a famous Koopa archaeologist from Paper Mario. Their names are based on the Colorado-Nebraska football rivalry. Just as Kolorado parodied Indiana Jones, Nebraskapook’s group resembles his Nazi foes.)

Nebraskapook ate the Mummy Fruit, a Mythical Human model. Wrapped in bandages, he could launch them to ensnare his enemies, causing the captured kids to shrivel and wither. Terezi fought the Apooks while Revilo fought Nebraskapook, as both the darkbending and Mummy power could drain each other’s stamina. The Apook had also stolen the bandages from the mummy enemies they KO’ed earlier. He could add them to his own and increase his limits.

Revilo managed to hold him off, but he and Terezi became exhausted. Some of their limbs were trapped by the bandages, causing them to wither. Fortunately, Airam finished absorbing the neon, causing the light in the pyramid to shrink. Her eyes were now flicking neon colors, as reflected even in her sunglasses. She removed them and shot neon beams at Nebraskapook, finishing the job as he lay defeated. The grip of his bandages weakened, releasing their team as their flesh slowly swelled up with life.

“We got another one!” Ydnew cheered. “How do you feel, Airam?”

“Like my retinas are burning. But that first output helped relax it. Now, we need to finish the job…” She trained her gun on Nebraskapook.

“Hey, we can’t kill them!”

“Why not? If we let them live, they’ll only be a threat. They might even destroy this-”

“We’ll drag them out of here and detain them. I’m sure the Galactic Navy is still tracking us, so maybe we’ll leave them to find these guys. Either way, if they die, then their Positives die, and they could be good people.”

“What if the navy just kills them? Or even my mom? She’s not afraid to kill failures.”

“Sigh…I guess we couldn’t really help it then.”

“Whatever. Do what you want, but we need to get going.”

“Now that the Neon Core has weakened,” Terezi said, “this place shouldn’t heat back up. The neon ozone will probably decrease and make this place more breathable, but you’re still expected to return it.”

“I get ya. We should still go before our oxygen depletes.”

As they made their way out of the dungeon, Ydnew brought up the question of the next planet, which should be Argon going by the periodic table. This brought up a problem: Terezi didn’t really know where that planet was. In fact, the same was true for the “Radon” planet.

When they made it back to the surface, they fought their way through other soldatos waiting outside, dropping Nebraskapook’s group with them. Before leaving, the group ran into Berisclase again. She told them of a curious, empty coffin she found inside a ruin, with an “Ar” written inside it.

The group took this as a clue: when they set off to space, they searched for anything that resembled a coffin. Terezi also believed the gas planets were close to each other in order, so it would have to come before the Krypton planet. They searched that region of space for a while and found an enormous stone coffin. And somewhere amidst that coffin was a gate they could fly into, leading into a dark sub-dimension.

A planet came into view: the surface seemed to have clouds of whitish mist and a matching surface, with a purplish atmosphere in-between. Roads of purple flowers surrounded gardens of white and gray coffins. This must have been the Land of Coffins and Argon.

There was a church where smoke rose heavily from the steeples like smokestacks. The core was most likely down there, but first they had to clear the smoke. By opening certain large coffins in the surrounding area, the smoke could rise through them, making it clearer within the church. They still had to wear air helmets to make it through the dungeon within. They also fought various ghosts made of smoke that came out of the coffins. Airam’s new Neon Vision could activate solid neon platforms or devices.

The Argon Core looked like a giant, purple fire extinguisher, emitting smoke up through openings on the ceiling. There was a spot for Airam to directly absorb the gas, but they were attacked by the guardian of the core: a giant, purple ghost in a priest’s robe, his white head round with beady eyes. It sent minions to battle the others while Ydnew fought Argemis directly. Its body was dense, so she struggled to fully suck it into her sub-dimension, and it was strong enough to resist shrinking and Space Blocks. She was steadily able to thin the ghost’s veil by sucking it in, exposing its skinny underbody.

Ydnew defeated the ghost in time for Airam to finish absorbing the Argon. What happened next was pretty embarrassing. Let’s just say she had a pretty bad gas problem, and she had to change her pants once they left the place.

Meanwhile…

Nega-SA flew into New Galaxia on Ikik’s rocket, accompanied by Black Lotus agents. Admiral Eniram had interrogated Toadsless and his captured crew, and one of the soldatos caved about what they were doing. They learned that Airam was targeting the Noble Gas planets, too. When this info was relayed to Nega-SA’s group, Einna suggested they try to head them off at the 4th planet, which would be Krypton. To make sure that Airam would be arriving there, Nega-SA had Beard Kiddo in their company. Her Magnet Fruit power could sense Airam if she was close.

“We goin’ to Krypton?!” BK-o asked excitedly. “Ain’t that where that there Duper Dude is from?!”

“How do you even know about the Positive Duperman?” Xedni asked, already tired of the annoying girl.

“Won’t we end up fighting the mafia if we go there?” Oemor asked.

“We’ll try to handle the mafia agents ourselves.” Einna assured. “But it’ll be up to you to secure the Goddaughter. And your old friends may need to fall in with her, too, but even I’m not sure if we can spare them a punishment.”

“Whatever gets us off the hook, I’m fine with it.” Ikik stated. “I don’t really mind bagging Revilo either…”

Oemor stared at her with worry. It’s true that she didn’t get along with Revilo, but he never imagined she would be willing and ready to turn him in. He even thought she and Revilo were learning to understand each other… but a few months apart no doubt widened that gap. Even so, she couldn’t be that comfortable handing in Ydnew or Lihp. Oemor still wasn’t comfortable with any of this.

Xedni felt her own sympathy for the astronaut. Looking out the window, this place was truly a galactic paradise. “Looks pretty amazing, huh, Ikik?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, it is.” Ikik hadn’t given herself the time to absorb the fantastic sights. “It’s way more abstract than I’d like space to be, but… it’s still really great.”

They could tell her heart wasn’t in it, not with the situation at hand. It made Oemor feel a little relief. She must feel bad about this, after all.

The next day

After Nega-MG rested once more, Terezi directed them to the Land of Tombs and Krypton. The surface was a dense green with a huge, red chunk of land. There were flashes of yellowish lightning, along with huge, light-blue spheres of plasma. The planet seemed like a forest from above, it was actually a city of towering, dark-green temples, which resembled those of the Khmer Empire.

“The air above is fine, but the gas grows denser further down.” Terezi explained.

“Yeah, we figured.” Ydnew said, equipping her air helmet. “But, are you sure you don’t need one, Airam?”

As they traveled down a trail among the towers, Airam embraced the air in her lungs. “Never needed it to begin with. With these other gases in my system, my immunity is stronger than ever. And it feels nice to stretch the old chi paths.” She smirked at herself and flexed her arm.

“You still can’t seem to do as much as other poisonbenders.” Lihp said. “If we get the last three gases, you think that’ll be enough to take down your mom?”

“Honestly, with where my powers are now, and assuming the last three double it… my mom would still be way stronger.”

“So, we might need a lot more help to pull it off.” Ydnew replied. “I mean, we’d already need help taking out all her minions. What’s important now is stopping her from getting any stronger.”

Naturally, they expected the huge red area of the surface to lead to the core. It was an enormous crater where the gas only grew stronger, though Airam could still tolerate it. They were attacked by dark-red skeletons with three eye sockets, but as they traveled further in, the ground seemed remarkably clean.

Indeed, the soldatos made it this far, too: Washlings were patrolling the area. They were human-like kids with squid and octo-tentacled hair, bubbling with soap, and they fought with high-powered cleaning items. The center of the crater had a vast hole leading down into the planet. But near the edge of this crater… there appeared to be navy officers fighting the mafiosos. But more than that, there was an all-too-familiar group of six waiting by the path downward.

Nega-MG’s eyes widened in surprise: Nega-Sector SA were waiting, along with their old teammates, Oemor and Ikik. “You must be her!” Allebmoog stated. “The daughter of Don Shrew!”

“What the hell are you guys doing here?!” Revilo shouted.

“The Galactic Navy is making us catch her!” Ikik answered angrily.

“Why?” Ydnew asked in concern. “Are they blaming you for letting us escape?”

“That and a ton of other things that weren’t our fault!”

“What she means is the navy is starting to lose patience with the DNK.” Asigan followed. “The Black Lotus is having a hard time defending us, but they might lighten up if we capture the Goddaughter.”

“Lighten up?” Ydnew raised a brow. “Hmm…honestly, are you sure about that? If the navy already deemed you guys as criminals, they won’t just leave you alone. They might even try to take the DNK over. Aren’t they making you guys work for them now?”

“All they want is the Glasses Girl!” Allebmoog argued. “She’s the only criminal here, and you guys might as well be, too, for working with her!”

“She’s never done any crimes!” Revilo stated.

“Technically, I… participated in a few raids when I was younger.” Airam replied.

“Shows what you know, Revilo!” Ikik snapped.

“Shut it, Fatty! Did you forget why she came to us in the first place?!”

“Because she wanted to use us to take out her mom so she could rule!”

“But she wants to fix Toadstool World and put an end to the drug business!” Lihp reasoned.

“That’s an easy excuse to make.” Alleb figured.

“Well, we believe in her.” Ydnew stated. “Not just us, but the Little Dads and even their ancestor.”

“Aren’t the Little Dads criminals, too?” Xedni asked. “How does that make it better?”

“They’re good people.” Airam said. “Better than Mom’s group, that’s for sure.”

“E-Even if you guys are right… we still have to catch you.” Oemor gulped. “The navy wants us to.”

“And what if the navy keeps making you work for them?” Ydnew asked.

“Uh…w-well, both of us stop villains, right?”

“The navy wants to enslave everybody and remove all freedom in the universe. All the DNK should know that. And that’s besides the sour way they treat civilians.”

“Y-yeah, but it’s not like we can just take them down! It’s one thing if we beat up a few officers bothering a town, but…”

“It’s no different from when Aluben was in charge of things. I know you weren’t around, but the DNK sure showed her a thing or two. And all those people that worked for her are our allies now. So, why DON’T we take the navy down?”

“Uh, aren’t we already preparing to fight the Mushroom Mafia?” Lihp asked. “Isn’t that gonna be… just as hard?”

“I’m just saying we should take them all down! The only reason we didn’t before is ’cause we were afraid, but now it looks like we have motivation, right?”

“I was kind of hoping we’d just focus on my mom.” Airam said. “This is a tall order to spring on so suddenly.”

“And besides, I still don’t trust you at all!” Allebmoog yelled. “You’re only gonna end up another threat, but we won’t let you get away!”

“Y-yeah…” Oemor stuttered. “I’m sorry, Ydnew, but I just wanna get this over with.”

“Of course you do, pansy.” Revilo snapped.

“Hey, don’t call him that.” Asigan glared. “This whole thing has been really stressful for him. I don’t really know what’s gonna happen, but we just wanna get back home. We’ll take the chance and stop you!”

“Sorry, but I’ve got gas to get.” Airam said. “Try and stop me.”

As soon as the fighting ensued, the Goddaughter immediately bolted down the gassy shaft. Ikik fought Ydnew, Revilo fought Oemor, Lihp battled Xedni, Terezi attacked Asigan, and Anaigrom and Allebmoog chased Airam down. Even her limited poisonbending was enough to counter Anaigrom’s poison attacks. Anaigrom was frustrated that she couldn’t bend the planet’s gas very well, having to rely on her own, while Airam adapted with this air just fine.

Anaigrom could throw Tattoo Grenades over Allebmoog and change her arms to different designs, fitting the situation. She used different combos to chase and attack Airam, but the heiress withstood the attacks. Though she fought back with her own bending, she made little effort to really hurt them.

They eventually made it to the core: it seemed like a giant lightbulb discharging electricity through wires. They probably linked to the spheres of plasma around the planet, and it explained the lightning flashes in the sky. Airam ran to a conduit on the bulb and grabbed it, electrocuting herself as the Krypton was absorbed into her body.

“Is she absorbing the gas?!” Anaigrom exclaimed.

“Anaigrom, stop her!”

“Yeah!” She blasted more Gas Bombs at Airam, but the heiress endured and tolerated the stench. “Ugh, they’re just not strong enough in this air!”

“Then I’ll stop her!” The Abmoog charged over.

“HEY! You’ll get electrocuted, too!”

“Well, you’re a poisonbender, why don’t you grab her?! Maybe you can take the gas yourself!”

“It…it looks a little too strong.”

“Ugh!” Alleb resumed her advance.

“STOP!” Anaigrom launched herself over and tried to hold Allebmoog down. “That doesn’t mean you’ll have better luck!”

“We can’t let her get any stronger!”

“Just wait for her to finish! Maybe she’ll get exhausted afterward!”

“Grrr…” Allebmoog knew that touching her like this was dangerous, but she was impatient. She just hoped that Anai was right.

The plasma inside the bulb died once Airam finished absorbing it. She lay panting on the ground, her body flickering. “Now’s our chance!” Alleb declared.

“Is she safe to touch?”

The two approached Airam with slight caution. Anaigrom reached to touch her—Airam’s sunglasses lit up and FLASHED like a camera. Their eyes were dizzied as they fell off the bridge, down the chasm below. The girls flailed their arms for something to grab, eventually meeting each other’s. “Hold on!” Anaigrom used a Gas Rocket to launch herself skyward, but she bumped her head on the bridge, smashing her helmet. They fell again, but Airam quickly leapt off. She used a Helium Blast to fly lower, then redirected to push them back up. She brought them safely to land.

“Goddaughter Airam!” She looked up: Einna and her agents entered the chamber. “There you are! What’ve you done to these two?!”

“I saved their butts, dumb butt!”

“Her helmet is broken!”

Airam looked to Anai. “I still brought my own helmet just in case!” She pulled the helmet out of her cube and bent the gas away from Anai’s head. She put it over and attached it to her oxygen tank.

Einna was surprised by the act of kindness. “Even so… I still can’t let you get away!” She used Rokushiki techniques in attempt to seize her, but Airam generated plasma with her new gas, taking her off guard as she was briefly stunned. She dodged through the other agents and made her escape from the dungeon.

Upstairs, Asigan had gotten torn up and worn out by Terezi. Revilo’s darkness made Oemor grovel in despair. Ydnew made Ikik skinnier, negating the force of her sumo techniques. Lihp made it to Xedni’s computer and tore it up. “You’ve gotten stronger, Ikik, I’ll give you that.”

“That’s because I was afraid I might have to fight you.”

“If nothing else, this should convince the navy that you’re not with us.” Lihp said.

“What’s the point…” Oemor whispered somberly. “There’s nothing good about this… and there’s no good way out of it… I’d rather just die…”

“We better get him some Light Chi or something.” Asigan said. “And what about you? What do you have to gain from this?”

“Hey, these guys just needed an escort.” Terezi answered. “And well, I kinda get where the little mafia kid is coming from.”

“Guys!”

“Airam?!” They looked up at seeing the heiress in question rush out of the cave.

“I got the Krypton! We can go!”

“Hey, where are Anai and Allebmoog?!” Xedni demanded.

“I left them with the agents downstairs. Don’t worry, they’re fine.”

“I guess this is where we say farewell, for now.” Ydnew decided. “Let’s meet again on better terms.”

She resized the ship as the crew made their escape. Nega-SA cursed their own failure. Einna would come back up and explain the apparent selfless act Airam did for Anaigrom, and they would take their leave off the planet. Oemor was still cursed by Revilo’s aggressive darkbending attacks, but the only available, nearby lightbender was Admiral Eniram. They decided to search for her and make a report, though the operatives would feel bad about asking her for help.

Near the exit out of New Galaxia

Admirai Eniram’s fleet was patrolling the zone near the exit. “These Noble Gases… How strong could the mafia become if they acquired them? I’ve been saying time and time again, we should just stop the mafia before they become too dangerous! But the Fleet Admiral… he never takes initiative. What does he think will happen if we let them grow? These pirates… and even the DNK. Why can’t we just…”

“Admiral! Ships are coming through the portal!”

“Are they ours?”

“I don’t think so! They’re…”

A gargantuan, purple and black galleon sailed through the portal, bearing the figurehead of a poison mushroom. It flew the colors of a dead-eyed mushroom with crossbones, and a diamond shape around it to indicate poison hazards. A blonde-haired woman in a dark-purple dress and dark shroom crown sat upon the throne. Beside her were the Awful Oiram Brothers, smoking cigars and wearing military uniforms.

Eniram’s irises shrank. “IT’S DON SHREW!”

“What’s the navy doing here?” Shrew questioned. “Have they caught on to the operation?”

“That’s what ya get for sendin’ so many soldatos down one portal!” Oiram stated gruffly.

“The navy had their eyes on this place for ages!” Igiul followed. “I’m-a surprised we weren’t already called here!”

“Then it’s a good thing I came to check.” Shrew smirked, noxious purple gases rising from her form. “I’ll snuff this nuisance out of space! SWINE WAVE!” She cast a wave of gas at a group of ships, and pigs’ faces were shaped along the wave. That entire group of ships grew sick. Another group began to blast cannons, but the Oiram Brothers brought up shields to block the lasers. “Calamity COLD!” Another cloud of gas enveloped those ships, making the soldiers cold and ill.

Don Shrew then faced Eniram’s ship, the admiral shooting a glare. “SARS ZTARS!” The boss cast dark, toxic stars at the flagship, but the Admiral cut them down with streaks of light. Eniram “grinded” toward the Black Shroom on streaks of silver light. The Oiram brothers shot exploding mushrooms at her, but she easily flew over them and lunged to strike the Don on her throne.

Don Shrew took a direct stab to the face, but withstood until Eniram retreated from her toxic. “Don Shrew! You’re not getting away this time!”

“‘This’ time? My capos are paying another bribe as we speak. How much would you like?”

“I don’t want a dime out of you!” Eniram fought valiantly with her sharp bending, but could barely make a tear through Shrew’s flesh. “I’ll bring you in and that daughter of yours!”

“My daughter?” Shrew directed her gas with simple motions. “You say that as if she’s been through here.”

Eniram grit her teeth. Don Shrew read her expression with a smirk. “Oiram! Igiul! You take care of her!” Shrew launched away with a Gas Rocket and off the ship. She summoned a four-headed, mutant Yoshi to catch her, flying away. “First I’ll check their ships and search for any incompetent…eh?” She noticed another team of ships coming, with one a distinct rocket.

“They’re under attack!” Asigan exclaimed.

“That ship… it can’t be.” Einna said.

“Hey, what’s that over there?” Anaigrom pointed, still hoarse from the previous incident.

Don Shrew flew directly in front of the windshield. “AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!” The operatives gawked immediately recognizing the Emperor.

“Now, that’s a colorful group… Even an Abmoog is with them. Might you be… DNK OPERATIVES?!”

Her gas ripped through the rocket with ease.

The day after…

Terezi guided Nega-MG to the 5th planet: the Land of Mounds and Xenon. It was an ominous, deep green, and an enormous “X” shape cut across the entire planet. Purple light shimmered from within the gap, projecting a slight barrier over the ozone.

The surface was completely composed of green burial barrows, some of which resembled terraced agriculture, with numerous red Stonehenge-liked structures. Dark-yellow skeletal monsters lurked the grounds. This planet felt uncomfortably more ominous than the previous planets. “They say that this planet was strongly influenced by Lord English’s existence.” Terezi said.

“Lord English?” Ydnew lightly gasped.

“The ruins here tell of the Cherubs… Some even say Cherubs used to live here. By the way, you saw how the planet was cut into quarters, right? I’m pretty sure the Xenon is what’s holding this world together. If you take it, the chunks might drift apart.”

“How long would it be until they do?”

“Depends how long the residual xenon will hold out. I imagine there would be a fair bit of time… but you better be planning to deal with the Shrew soon.”

“Gonna be way harder with the Galactic Navy on top of it.” Revilo commented.

“You know, if taking the Xenon is that serious… maybe we shouldn’t be here, yet.” Lihp said. “Why don’t we just get with the DNK and make a plan to take Don Shrew down? We could come for the gases after we do.”

“My mom would take them by then!”

“But that’s still only two to your four!”

“She’s still strong enough as it is! I need to keep these gases away from her!”

“That’s another thing I’m worried about.” Lihp said. “Don Shrew sucked the Poison Chi out of you, right? If we just bundle all the gases inside you… what if you get captured, and she takes them all from you?”

“That’s not gonna happen! I’m not a little kid, anymore, I’ll take down anyone who comes for me! And besides, I…I have you guys to help, don’t I?”

Ydnew cracked a smile, feeling a hint of affection. “We’re already here, so we might as well get this gas, at least. But Lihp brings up a good point. We shouldn’t do anything reckless if the time comes.”

The kids traveled to one of the center points of the trenches. In the very corner of the cliff, a stairway led up to a ring-shaped walkway, set above the very center. Other stairs connected to the corners of the other cliffs. “Is this how we get into the core?” Ydnew wondered.

“No, I think I get it.” Airam observed. “I need to dive in. If it goes well, I might even fly out on the other side of the planet.”

“That sounds like a really big ‘if’!” Lihp said. “How do you know you won’t completely incinerate?!”

“I’ve never really heard how to get the gases,” Terezi mentioned, “so I couldn’t say if you’re wrong. Are you sure you wanna take the chance?”

“i WoUlD cHaNcE iT mAn, It’S pReTtY fUcKiN’ dOpE.”

They looked over with a start. A troll walked around the ring, wearing a strange, purple robe with a round-pointed hat, his orange horns sticking through it, and white face paint. “NO FUCK1NG W4Y! G4MZ33, 1S TH4T YOU?”

“Oh ’ey, Terezi. You still fuckin’ alive?” I’m not gonna keep writing his text that way.

“I could say the same. You killed us one too many times back in our old universe.”

“You was plannin’ to stand in the way of my lord and savior.” Gamzee wobbled toward them. “Ah shoulda killed you 10 more times, and maybe a third.”

“The fuck is this guy?” Revilo questioned.

“Lord English is dead and you were already dead 10 dozen more times.”

“I ain’t losin’ the faith, Rezi. ’Long as I got this here gas, Ah feel closer to mah lord. I ain’t about to let no motherfuckin’ girl take it.”

“I don’t have time for this.” Airam dove into the ring.

“Get the fuck back here! Don’t take my dope!” Gamzee dove in after.

“Looks like I’m about to kill you for old time’s sake.” Terezi jumped next.

Airam had to stay in the very center of the pit to absorb the Xenon. Gamzee tried to attack her with Deuce Clubs (red and yellow jugglers), his Fiduspear (a lance of the same colors), along with a bow. Terezi fought him off so that Airam could focus, but the Xenon itself tried to push her away from the center, too. She willed herself to stay lined up and bend the gas against herself. She grew exhausted, but was determined to see it through.

The others quickly sailed to the other side of the planet. They watched as Terezi and Gamzee came flying up and through the winged walkway, crashing on it. Both trolls were tattered, but Gamzee was knocked out. Just as they were fearing what became of Airam… one more figure flew out of the Xenon. Parts of Airam’s body, including the eyes, shone like spotlights in a dark city. The gases swirled so heavily that they could feel a strong gust. Her friends smirked at her success.

Though the light within the canyons was still present, it would steadily begin to fade. They hoped to bring the Xenon back before it fell apart, but left Gamzee there to enjoy himself until then.

They returned to the ship and flew away from the planet for some fresh air. Airam had to expend some chi to relax herself, her lights fading. “I never imagined poisonbending could give you light or lightning properties.” Lihp said.

“The noble gases are often used for lighting and other things.” Ydnew replied. “But you’d usually need the right materials and mechanics to make it work. I guess these Noble Gases just let Airam do them normally.”

“I doubt I can pull off the same crazy stuff as the actual benders. Phew, I’m seriously beat though. Diving through the diameter of a planet takes a lot out of you.”

“It was half the size of Earth at best.”

“Hah, it was still pretty wild!” Revilo smiled. “We only got one more gas to find now, right?”

“I think we do.” Ydnew scratched her head, trying to remember the table. “The next gas is…”

“Radon.” Airam remembered.

“Even I don’t know where the radon planet is.” Terezi replied. “We should probably meet up with my friends in Alternia.”

“Anyone who’d know where it is?”

“Either that or we’d have to read a book. Though it would be nice if I could use my Seer powers to get a better idea.”

“Seer powers?” Revilo questioned.

“I can be pretty prophetic sometimes. Unfortunately, I need to go to a certain planet, but it got kind of destroyed last year.”

“Destroyed by what?”

The image of Zach Murphy and his crazy antics flashed in her mind. “A mad clown.”

“It would be nice to stock up on food, anyway.” Ydnew reasoned. “For now, let’s dig in and get some gas out!”

“That’s not an analogy I was expecting to hear.” Lihp cringed.

The friends shared a nice meal, made brighter by Airam’s smile of satisfaction. It was rare to see her smile, but it was probably the most progress she’s made in ages. They flew to Alternia afterward and relaxed in the peaceful, refreshing air of the colorful planet.

While meeting up with Terezi’s team, they learned about a crisis that was plaguing the main universe: the planets were tearing apart like book pages. The chaos was expected to spread to this universe soon. They hoped the DNK were doing their part to resolve it, but it would certainly give villains leeway to act.

The group rested in an inn to better refresh their selves for the next day. They found a book about the Noble Gases and some studies about the planets’ ancient cultures, but like the Argon planet, nothing seemed to establish where Radon was. Still, it would have to follow the theme of burial places. A graveyard? Catacombs? What about a morgue for a hospital?

They decided to research strange structures across the Incipisphere… which would be hard to do considering the endless, exotic wonders of this realm. But with a bit of effort, they found a good lead: apparently, there was an enormous, skeletal leviathan floating amongst an asteroid field, and in that skeleton’s mouth was a mausoleum. They returned to space to search for that leviathan.

But little did they know that a certain rocket was following them…

The Nega-Mages located the asteroid field in question. Ydnew shrunk the ship outside the field as she helped them fly the rest of way through. The massive leviathan they found amongst the asteroids was unsettling, but it didn’t seem to be secretly alive. They entered the mausoleum in its mouth, and there were several devices that required the use of Airam’s gases: an electric rod, a balloon to inflate, a neon tube, and a lightbulb.

The sockets in the leviathan’s skull lit like spotlights. With an ominous roar, the beast came to life and suddenly swam “upward” through the asteroids. The ride lasted for a while before they ascended toward a blackish-green planet, defined by an enormous, bright-green symbol for radon.

The leviathan landed somewhere in town, resting and letting the adventurers out. They decided to wear full space suits for this one. The Land of Mausoleums and Radon was a vast city of palace-like structures, Arabian and otherwise.

The palaces within the radon symbol had shining green tops. They headed to the very center of the “circle” and had to climb a great tower in the middle of a palace. The top of this tower had a mechanism that would enable it to sink into the planet like an elevator. The tower let them off at the core: a gigantic cylinder with a pool of gas.

A black, skeletal snake, with a head resembling the leviathan, emerged from the pool. Airam put her bending to the test and fought the beast solo. She had become nicely adapted to her new chi, blowing its acid away with condensed helium, shooting neon lasers, electrocuting and stunning the bones, and even scorching them. After a while, the beast ceased most of its attacks and only tried to eat Airam, but it showed no signs of fatigue.

“Wait… that’s it!” Remembering how they found this planet to begin with, Airam let herself be eaten. The beast held her in its mouth and submerged into the Radon. Her friends watching in horror, the snake rose back out after a few minutes. It barfed Airam out, her skin shining green as she squirmed on the ground. They hesitated to get close, but Airam began to exert bursts of poison. The greenness in her flesh faded to only a few cracks of green.

Ydnew carefully picked Airam up, the heiress panting. Her senses coming to, she stared up at Ydnew through her shades. Airam smiled in thanks, and her leader smiled back.

They returned to the leviathan, who kindly rose to the sky and back “down” the asteroid field. Returning to its original resting place, they prepared to fly back through the asteroids. “SISSYYYYY!” A yellow-bearded girl in overalls flew up and GRABBED her in a hug! “They ain’t let me see you the firs’ time ’cause they ain’t wanna lose me! What’re ya doin’ in this big ol’ birtha’s mouth?”

“Esiuol?! Dammit, the Black Lotus is here!” Airam tried to shake her off.

“I wonder if Nega-SA is here?” Ydnew wondered, bracing herself.

“ARF, ARF, ARF!” The Underchomp leapt from an asteroid, the Washlings launched over as squids before reforming, and Nebraskapook pulled himself over with mummy bands. “The mafia got Esiuol back?” Revilo observed.

“3UH!” Terezi cried, clamping her mouth shut. “What is that horrible ST3NCH?!”

“!” Airam was most horrified when a four-headed and -colored Yoshi flew up. “It’s… her.” (Play “Shadow Queen’s Theme” from Paper Mario.)

The Yoshi landed firmly in the mouth It lowered a head for its dark-dressed rider to step off. “Goodness, I was afraid that thing would NEVER come back! You had me worried sick, my dear~”

Don Shrew approached with open arms, but Airam took cautious steps backward. “How did you find this place?!”

“Oh, I just listened for the sound of complete and utter betrayal and followed that. Also, did you forget what Esiuol’s power is?”

“Vhere did this giant thing go, anyway?!” Nebraskapook asked.

“I don’t know, but Sissy smells like what one of them smoky places does when it’s all smoky.” Esiuol replied.

“Indeed…” The Godmother smirked. “By now, I’ll bet you’ve collected all the Noble Gases. I was planning to absorb them after my soldatos harnessed enough of their residual gases, but you’ve saved me a ton of work.”

Airam BLASTED Esiuol off her and into Shrew—Ydnew immediately opened a portal and sucked her friends through, appearing in the area where they arrived at-

“Charmed, I’m sure~”

An old gorilla with a charming grin and blue tie PUNCHED them back through the portal. He flew in as well, the Underchomp seizing Lihp in its mouth and Nebraskapook catching Ydnew in his bandages. The Washlings assaulted Revilo, and Terezi was already overwhelmed by the horrid smells. “Yeknod Gnok!” Airam exclaimed. “You were here, too?!”

“Of course, my dear, I’ve already calculated your spacebender friend would warp to that location, though our troops are stationed in other points just in case.”

“So, are these the new friends you’ve been running around with, Airam?” Shrew asked. “What an adorable little bunch. But it’s about time you come home, my dear. It’s been eons since I’ve had my two baby girls together.”

“Your daughter is a traitor!” Nebraskapook shouted. “She vants ze gases to destroy us, ve must execute her and suck the gas from her-!”

The Don slid over and KICKED the Apook upside the beak, knocking him on his shell. Were it not for his bandages protecting him, the damage would’ve been much worse. As his grip on Ydnew weakened, the spacebender shook free, but she hesitated to make any moves. “I’m sure we can come to an understanding if we just talk. Besides, you worked so hard to collect these gases, it wouldn’t be right to take them from you.” They glanced to the Underchomp, revealing Lihp safe in its mouth. “Now, let’s go home, Airam. I’m dying to know what drugs I can make with those gases. Besides, there’s still lots you have to learn before you can run my business.”

Airam yanked off her glasses and BLASTED her mother with Neon Vision, forcing her against the Yonshi and through several asteroids. “Airam!” Ydnew yelled, worried for Lihp. However, the mafiosos made no move.

Don Shrew pushed herself up on an asteroid, bearing no fatigue. Streams of gas were cast at the leviathan, so Ydnew opened portals to catch some of it, while Airam bent the rest against the mafia. The rats scrambled out of the Infi-Cube and attacked Underchomp, freeing Lihp.

The mafia merely retreated as Don Shrew returned via Gas Rocket (sickening her Yonshi upon launch). Ydnew tried to catch her in a portal, but Shrew merely maneuvered around it and shot Ydnew with an Acne Puncture, causing her face to swell up with pimples. The kids threw their helmets back on, but- “You think THOSE will protect you?!” Don Shrew easily melted them off.

Terezi and Lihp thought it best to hide in the Infi-Cube, but the other three were still worn out from their journey on Radon. They exhausted every bit of their Space, Darkness, and Noble Gases to attack the Shrew. Her will was strong enough to resist the spatial effects, even as Ydnew entered Fury Mode and struck her with every attack that she had. Airam tried to enter a Fury Mode herself, but the Radon hadn’t been with her long enough to fully adapt. Still, she could use radon in the form of green wads of spit, and applying the other gases managed to score a fair amount of hits. Revilo’s darkness had little effect on her stamina, and he feared touching her directly, or even getting close. At some point, Lihp and Terezi jumped out, took their chances, and attacked the Don, but their nostrils were quickly overwhelmed by her direct attacks, and sickness overcame them.

“CANCER CLAW!” Don Shrew struck them all with a crab claw-shaped cloud of gas. Though Airam resisted the sickness, she and her team couldn’t stand to fight, anymore. The scuffle had greatly cleared out the asteroid field, and they found their selves resting on a random one. “Airam, enough of this silly act of rebellion. This performance just proves you’re too young to inherit my office. Why don’t I take you home and teach you all you need to know? Don’t be a dummy. Come with Mummy. Mother… knows… best…”

Airam clenched her teeth at the hag. “…?!” Glancing over, she noticed a familiar rocket parked outside the asteroids. “That rocket!”

“Huh?!” Ydnew gasped. “Cough! Isn’t that…”

“Oh, did I forget to mention?” Shrew asked. “We hijacked a rocket on the way here. But don’t worry, the crew is safe and sound. Have a look-see.”

A Lakitu minion flew up, holding a TV in its fishing rod. The TV showed a dark image of Nega-SA, mushrooms molding from their sick skin within the confines of a cell. “You BITCH!” Revilo hissed.

“Mind your mouth, young man! I must admit, I am rather impressed with you lot. I don’t know whether you follow my daughter out of will, fear, or compensation… but I can tell you are very skilled associates. If you come with me, I’ll allow you to work as soldatos in my mafia. You will be separated and supervised, of course. How about it, dear? Are you about tired of playing now?”

The mother opened her arms once more. The idea of working for this woman was sickening… but it was clear that their friends were in danger. If they kept fighting her, she would have no reason to use them as leverage. They only looked to Airam for an answer. “…Ugh.” The defeated heiress approached Don Shrew, swaying slightly in exhaust. But, she didn’t quite get close enough for a hug. “I have a request, Mother.”

“Yes?”

Airam turned and pointed at Revilo. “I want that boy to serve as my right hand. I want him by my side always.”

Revilo raised a brow and lightly blushed. “Ah ha ha ha…if you insist. Soldatos: tuck them in and make ready for liftoff. Our operations in New Galaxia are over. We are returning home…”

Chapter Text

It’s time to begin the Pirate War Prequels for the Negaverse! Now, you would think I would start with the Mushrooms, given how last chapter ended, but I’d rather focus on the Meta-Beasts and get started on a… certain side-plot. But to recap, here’s a list of the major Meta-Beast officers:

Ant King: Emperor of the crew, believed to be the ultimate creature. He has green and purple armor, is mostly human-shaped, with a long needled tail.

Ridley: a purple space pterodactyl, he is the Vice-Captain.

Andross: a Mobian ape scientist, he once aided the Irken Empire in the Posiverse.

Oryps: a purple dragon imbued with Negatar elements.

His minions are Retnuh, a leopard who ate the Dingo Fruit; Alore, a faun who ate the Centaur Fruit; and Ripto, a former Irken ally who ate the Dogadon Fruit.

Percival Tachyon: a Cragmite from the Posiverse, he was banished to the planet of Gnosis. He and Tallest Miyuki would meet, marry, and rule the Gnosis.

Ztar Fox: a band of Moebian rogues who terrorize Aixalag, led by Xof McSun. Xof is the only one who knows the king’s birth name. The others are Latsyrk the fox, Yppils the toad, and Oclaf the falcon.

Primagen: an alien that ruled a planet called the Lost Lands, he commands the Dinosoids, Fireborns, Mantids, and other creatures from that world.

Commodore Krawq: a chubby scientist supervillain.

Their intro story is posted on Part 10 if you need a better refresher.

Planet Arim; Les Niadra (Play “Kingdom of Predators” from Hunter Hunter.)

Les Niadra was a kingdom built on one of the tallest Titans in the Cloud Sea of Norest. It was lush with cacti, palm trees, and desert plants. The town was Indian-inspired and the people had Indian accents. The Meta-Beast Pirates laid siege on the Titan and took down all the soldiers, Xenoblades, and Small Titans in their way.

The Ant King traveled merrily up the Titan, walking over the bodies of fallen soldiers. The citizens and cowardly (or wise) soldiers were diving off parts of the Titan to flee the invading horde. As the Ant King strolled through the capital city… he glanced left and saw a family in an alley.

A mother and father, holding their shivering, 4-year-old daughter. She held a little dolly in her hands. Dr. Andross and Xof McSun approached the king and saw the family. Naturally, Xof tensed, knowing what was to happen. …The king approached the family. The child ran back while the parents stood guard. But in an instant, their heads were lopped off.

The girl, helpless at the back of the alley, cried as her parents hit the ground. And so, the king approached her next. All she did was cry, but it wasn’t enough to stop the king from stabbing her heart. Xof held back his tears for the youth. The king walked forward and began to chew the kid’s flesh. It held a promising taste… but wasn’t enough to satisfy.

They put up no fight… and their meat was disgusting. Back then, I only knew one form of strength. I never considered different forms. Even on my way here, I killed a child. That child may have had the talent to surpass me in something. I trampled over that seed. For no reason at all… I trampled over it.

The Ant King effortlessly burned a trail into the palace, where he confronted the maharaja, a young man named Llain. Llain commanded the Blade, Noeagea, a powerful sandbender. Llain stood his ground against the king, the battle lasting 10 minutes, but the young maharaja met his end with the king’s tail in his heart. As he feasted on Llain’s flesh, leaving a better taste on his tongue, Vice-Captain Ridley flew into the tower. “The kingdom has been completely occupied, My King.”

“Good…” The king walked out onto the tower balcony, overlooking the city. “This palace is much nicer than that filthy fortress.”

“But we just installed a new carpet.”

King smacked Ridley with his tail, twisting the dinosaur’s neck. “Why didn’t you stop all those humans from escaping?”

“They were useless fodder, My King. You desire only the most quality meals, correct? Besides, there’s no place they can run. This kingdom was one of the last strongholds on the planet.”

“Indeed… this planet is beneath my power. And still… the fact that those so-called ‘Emperors’ can match me proves I am not perfect enough. That ‘twin’ of mine is a constant reminder of that.”

“Yes… but it seems King K. Rool plans to start a war in the coming months. Those false kings will meet their ends, yet.”

“If we are to engage in war, I will need more than just power. To become the strongest… no, to become the ultimate creature… intelligence is necessary.”

“You’ve read countless books, Sire. There is none smarter than you.”

“Then I need to prove it. I will challenge all the champions of the universe until I reign supreme. And you will all bring them to me.”

The Les Niadra takeover took place in the month of Rebmevon. The rest of Arim had long been under the tyranny of the Meta-Beasts, but their power was known far and wide. And now, under the king’s new orders, the pirates researched the locations of all the universal champions. They raided those towns, kidnapped the champions, and brought them to his palace.

First, King challenged the Shogi Champion, a rather obese and large-lipped person. Quivering the entire time, he focused and played the game to the best of his ability. Unfortunately, the king won. He inquired why the former champion didn’t surrender 22 moves before, when the game had already been decided. “I-I just wanna go home!” the man cried. “AAAH!” The king sliced his ear. “AAAAAHH!”

When he tried to run away, King lopped off his head. Ordering Xof to clean up the mess, Xof’s teammate, Latsyrk dragged in the chess champion, a dwarf woman from Ralava. King would kill her as well. The Pai Sho Champion was a man from the Poison Tribe in the Negatar Realms. When he inevitably lost, he tried to attack the king with gas, only to lose his head.

The Go Champion was a scrawny, spectacled man, who despite his terrified demeanor, managed to win nine games against the king. But on the tenth game, King won. The champion argued that he was mentally exhausted and was developing a fever for playing so long.

Though just as Xof was expecting to clean up another body… “Very well.” King complied. “Xof, show him to the guest room and get him medicine. You have eight hours to rest before we play again. Oh, and rest as if your life depended on it.”

“Boo hoo hoo…” The champion wept as Xof led him away.

“Who’s next?” King asked Latsyrk.

“It be the Champion of Gungi, Milord.” she replied in her unrefined accent. “Some ghost of a dog from Moebius.”

“Send them in.” (End song.)

The king looked as the champion entered the room: a dog woman with ghostly fur and hair with a light-brown dress. Her eyes were closed with thick brows over them.

At that moment… I never realized… how my life was about to change.

The king raised a brow as the woman took a seat opposite him. Was she blind? “Greetings, Your Majesty. My name is-”

“Silence.” He startled her shut. “Before we begin, I need to refresh myself on this game.” He pulled out a book and skimmed it.

“Yes. Forgive me-”

“Do I need to repeat myself? Be silent or I’ll kill you.”

She clenched her mouth tight. As King read the rules… the girl grew deprived of oxygen and fell on her back. Her nose was too stuffy to breathe.

“My King.” Andross entered the room. “An army is attacking our base on Ayaru. They seem to have…?” He noticed the lying girl. “What’s wrong with her?”

King glanced up and noticed this. “In her silence, she has forgotten to breathe.”

“Ha! Fools like her are rare.”

“Sit up and breathe, fool.” At his command, the dog-woman did so. “It’s time to play.”

She nodded. With their board and pieces set up… she shot her eyes open. Gazing into her dead pupils, the atmosphere changed. They began to play as she moved her pieces accordingly. “Tell me, are you not blind?” he asked.

“No, I am. However, I learned Observation Haki. I can sense which pieces are in which position. If my eyes displease you, I could close them.”

“Not necessary.”

Their game was simple as she only used standard tactics. Andross sighed and left the room, knowing it was pointless to interrupt him from his games. When the king lost the first round, he could sense that she was holding back. “We will keep playing until I’m victorious. That won’t be a problem, will it?”

“Of course not, Your Majesty. I can play this for hours.”

“Ugh…” Andross left the chamber. The ape met with Tachyon and Oryps. “He’s locked himself in these silly games.”

“He’ll only grow wiser in the long run.” Oryps said. “For now, we can only take matters into our own hands.”

“I wouldn’t want him to make things too easy.” Tachyon replied. “After all, I’ve been dying for some revenge on those Kids Next Door! Wait, what are they called in this dimension?”

“Daring New Kids.” Andross answered.

“Ugh!”

The Ant King and his opponent played for eight hours straight, and not once did he win. The Ztar Xof members had to take shifts watching over them. Eventually, the young woman starts to grow tired and hungry. “Hmm…” If she grew any weaker, her mind would falter, and there would be no satisfaction in victory. “We’re done playing tonight. Oclaf, take her to the guestroom and bring her food. You have eight hours to rest before we play again.”

“Yes, Your Majesty…” She nodded, but she seemed mildly upset.

Oclaf led her out of the room. “Bring the Go Champion back when you return. It’s time for my rematch with him.”

After a while, Oclaf returned alone. He had a piece of paper in hand. “Buh, sorry, My King, but it looks like the Go Guy committed suicide. I found his body hanging in the room and he left this note, snort.”

“Well, we’re ahead of schedule.” King smirked. “Who’s the next one in line?”

“The champion for the card game, Treaty Masters.”

“Send them in.”

DNK Moonbase; -10 Yraunaj

Though the crisis of the splitting planets was resolved, the DNK were in no position to celebrate. A squad of navy vessels sailed to Moonbase, and Nerehc traveled down to meet Itaav of the Black Lotus. “Paying us a visit, huh? Where is Sector -SA?!”

“I’m sorry, but… they were taken by the Mushroom Mafia. Along with my wife.”

“WHAT?!”

“And that isn’t the only problem!” Another figure pushed Itaav aside and stomped forward. He was Mada Suruat, a Faunus with bull horns on his red hair, a scar across his orange-eyed face, and a white navy uniform with a red cape. “The Goddaughter joined back up with her family! We even lost the Beard Kiddo to boot!” He yelled like a typical drill sergeant.

“Airam is back with the mafia?!”

“And it’s lookin’ like she took her accomplices to boot! You got a ton to answer for, Sunglasses!”

“Vice Admiral Mada, please calm down.” Itaav requested.

“HMMMMMM!” Lava erupted from Mada’s head, but Itaav quickly matterbent the substance before it damaged the surrounding floor. “If you and your darned kids acted soon, we coulda had her!”

“There has to be a mistake! Airam and her friends were planning to bring down the mafia, maybe this is all-”

“She had y’all fooled the whole time! It’s clear that you DN-Idjits ain’t capable enough to handle this biz!”

“We’ve solved WAY more crises than you hypocrites! And we can solve this one, too!”

“Yeh, well this ain’t the only time this has happened! Your agents deliberately rescued the Necro Dictator, Aluben from our Earth branch and handed her back to the Smile Pirates! You got an according with them or somethin’?!”

“No! But Aluben is our friend now, so we weren’t going to let you have her. We don’t really approve of those pirates either, but-”

“But you better decide where your allegiances lie! You kids are too dangerous to let the Emperors get ya, but too dumb to control yourselves. So, you better be helpin’ us with these pirates or it’s it for you!”

“What, you’re planning to take more of my operatives?!”

“I’m afraid so.” Itaav answered. “It was a direct command from the Fleet Admiral.”

“What Fleet Admiral? Why doesn’t he have a talk with me directly if he wants us to do things for him?”

“Don’t take that tone up with us, boyah!” Mada shouted. “Now you givin’ us some operatives or ain’t ya?!”

“Nobody manages our operatives but us! Now, what do even want right now?”

“Vice-Admiral, perhaps I should explain.” Itaav began, his tone comparatively high and meek in comparison. “Nerehc, there’s been another growing concern with the Meta-Beast Pirates’ rise in power. For the past couple months, it seems they’ve been capturing universal champions for all types of strategy games. Our assumption is that they plan to use the champions to help plot battle strategies.”

“Our intergalactic operatives reported Meta-Beast raids everywhere. They’ve even helped evacuate those towns.”

“Couldn’t do nothin’ to STOP the raids, huh?!” Mada asked.

“And where were you guys to stop them?! Anyway, the Meta-Beasts still kidnapped several people from their raids, so operatives were sent to their main planet to rescue them. It didn’t exactly go well either.”

“Well, you gonna help us with this! You gonna help us get those champions back! We gotta find out what they’re up to!”

“We would lend them whatever help we could, of course.” Itaav assured. “We hate to put your operatives in such a dangerous position, but…nnn!” The white-cloaked Minish seemed to wince. The symbol for the Navy appeared in his pupil. “But the Fleet Admiral insists you do your part to help.”

“It be better to risk your lives than our loyal troops!” Mada smirked.

Nerehc grit his teeth at the two. “I have some conditions, first of all.”

“What, boy?!”

“I’ll send this info to all my operatives and make this a voluntary operation. If there are no volunteers, then too bad for you. Furthermore, they’ll be reporting to our agents in the DNKG Transmissions base, and they’ll decide what their best approach should be.”

“Harumph! Have it your way, you dang fool!”

When Nerehc sent the news out to his operatives, the knowledge of the Navy’s pressure was met with hateful reception. Only one sector was brave enough to answer the call: Nega-Sector L. “This could be our chance to save that Multi-Bear they kidnapped years ago!” Ikuyim beamed.

“Pretty sure that bear is already dead or misformed.” Nollid figured.

“Are we really about to do this?” Alol asked.

“We must be cautious and vigilante!” Yrret replied. “Let’s do our very best!”

“I’m sure other worlds’ sectors will be helping, too.” Ydolem smiled hopefully.

She was right: Team Anna of the DNKG agreed to assist in the operation; Annaira, Atnort, Avakam, and Beewv. With them were other miscellaneous alien sectors. The Black Lotus escorted them to Planet Arim, to a lava region called Potros. A Navy base was stationed there, managed by the local alien officers called Clublion. Once there, they were addressed by Hpot, the Black Lotus Shadow Master.

“The Meta-Beast Pirates have conquered the Cloud Sea of Norest in the past couple years.” Hpot explained, pointing at a globe and indicating the dark clouds that covered the planet’s northern hemisphere. “This side of the planet is completely covered in Sea Clouds, and they’re always storming. Any ship that tries to enter it from the atmosphere will be shut down due to some supernatural affect, and only Titan-powered crafts will have the easiest time sailing its treacherous waters. Luckily, we’ve secured a few Ship Titans. But navigation is an entirely separate matter. For that reason, we’ve brought a special ally along.”

“What’s up, team!” A blonde woman in white Nimbi wings greeted perkily, wearing professional glasses.

“Oh! Aren’t you Miss Arohpsohp?” Ydolem asked.

“You bet I am!” She hailed from the Weather Island of Akrib and was a skilled weather scientist. She had actually helped train Asia in airbending during the “Voyage,” and after the Joyverse incident, she agreed to watch over Akasim. “I learned all about Norest’s weather patterns and always wanted to explore it! Not that I’ll have time to, but you can count on me to guide you across that sea!”

“The pirates have no doubt learned to sail their own territory.” Hpot said. “But so long as we disguise our ships, we can hopefully cross without too many confrontations. However, espionage will be another key factor in this operation, if we’re to locate the champions.”

“That’s up to you, little bro.” Avakam told Beewv.

“Ydolem, you and I will have to go, too.” Nollid said. “Unless it sounds too dangerous…”

“No. I’ll do this.” Ydolem answered, masking her worries.

“I’ll naturally be participating as well.” Hpot replied. “Not only will this entail rescuing the champions, but we must also gather whatever intel we can on the pirates. But at all costs, we must avoid any direct confrontations with the high-ranking officers. Especially the Ant King.”

Les Niadra

The king’s brows twitched in frustration. The Gungi Champion’s moves only seemed to grow sharper as the weeks flew by. Though she was blind, the dog-woman read all 72 of his moves, and won. Her Observation Haki is on par with my own. King thought. Though I can sense any presence on this Titan, hers is built solely for the game. And though I’ve been learning to do the same, it still isn’t enough. I must dedicate more of my Haki to the board. More…

“Sire.” Oryps walked in. “We have important news about the Mushroom Mafia. Is now a good time?”

“Hm.” King stood and calmly walked out of the room. “Xof, reorganize the table.” The fox nodded frantically and fulfilled his task quickly. He joined Oryps outside the room.

“Our spies confirmed that Don Shrew has reunited with her estranged daughters. One of them has developed some new poisonbending, making their drugs more potent and their soldiers stronger. Andross is devising a plan to seize the daughter. The daughter has been making rounds around her world, but if we could catch her in a relatively vulnerable position, while simultaneously sending a squadron to attack their main mansion, we may be able to-”

“Isolate the king from his castle…” King mumbled to himself.

“Pardon me, Sire?”

“Yes…yes… perhaps that could work.” King returned to the game room.

“Er, Your Highness?” A confused Oryps peeked into the room. Xof returned to his position and straight-standing pose while the king took his seat at the reorganized gameboard.

The dragon commander merely decided to wait and watch as he challenged the woman to another game. The game carried on for a while, a smirk on King’s face. He slapped a piece down on the board’s center. “5-5-1, lieutenant general.”

Perfect. The center of the field is under my control. And my king is isolated.

Something happened that had never happened before: the Gungi Champion hesitated. Her face was one of royal disbelief. One that had encountered the unexpected. So, she has no way to counter my Detached Castling. There is no best move. It’s over…

Until she slapped a white piece on his side. “9-2-1, new lieutenant general.”

It was like taking a direct, fatal blow to the head. All of their previous moves had culminated to this, the complete finisher. Impossible… she hesitated… and yet, she had no look of realization. She had already seen I was wide open. So, why? Did she intend to give me a false sense of security?

“Why did you hesitate?” King asked.

Oryps smirked. This game had gotten interesting. He seemed rather pissed off. A wrong answer could mean her death. Xof knew this, too, and was worried for the poor girl. “Because I invented that strategy. What you called ‘Detached Castling,’ I called ‘Kokoriko.’ And one year, an opponent used my own move against me. But I figured out how to counter it. And seeing you use it… was like seeing my child brought back to life. I mean, I can’t ‘see,’ but… That was why I hesitated.”

“. . . . . .” The two pirates greatly anticipated the king’s response. “Huh.” King brushed the pieces off the table and marched out of the room. “Get some rest. We’ll resume in a few hours.”

He passed by Oryps without really acknowledging him. Was that the longest time the king actually listened to somebody talk? It sure seemed that way to the dragon.

Retiring to his throne room, the king contemplated these past games. Against the dog-woman, he was the only one getting flustered. It was almost humiliating. And yet… he was rather enjoying these matches. He couldn’t even find time for the remaining champions in the dungeon. Why did he feel this way…

Legs of the Titan

With Arohpsohp’s help, the KND and Black Lotus navigated the stormy Norest Sea. The Lotus had interrogated pirate grunts beforehand and learned the champions were being taken to Les Niadra. They set a course for the towering Titan and sailed near what looked like a garbage chute. The espionage team used Shadow Veil to slide up the chute and infiltrate a weapons factory.

Ydolem and Hpot took Nollid and Beewv with them. Nollid used his Invisibility Cloak to sneak around and kept Beewv with him. The boys agreed to investigate the factory and learn about the weapons the crew was crafting. The shadowbending ladies would make their way out of the factory and climb the Titan in search for the champions. The factory seemed to be crafting Artificial Xenoblades, not incomparable to combat robots. The main workers appeared to be Chickin, a civilized race of birds that had been enslaved by the pirates.

“Why don’t you drop off and search in some of these rooms?” Nollid asked. “I can turn you into a cockroach to make it more convincing.”

“I’ll have you know I’m plenty good at sneaking without degrading disguises!” He slipped out from under the cloak on that note.

The boys learned that the people overseeing the factory and commanding the Chickin were Nopon, the short, round, and furry race of the planet. Mr. Oosoos was the elderly Nopon in charge of them all. Beewv would sneak into one of the locked rooms and discover a bunch of child Chickin. When the Kateenian questioned them, they explained they were prisoners being threatened to force their parents to work. Beewv learned that one of them was secretly digging a tunnel out of the factory.

Beewv relayed this info to Nollid. The wizard in question suggested using his Vanish Box to warp them to the ship, where their friends held onto the other box. Nollid made his way to the holding room and, after waiting for some guards to walk by, used Alohomora to open the locked door. He slipped in and quickly resealed the door. Nollid put the Vanish Box down and shrank the first Chickin in attempt to warp him with it… but it didn’t seem to work. Nothing was wrong on the others’ end. They conjectured the factory had some sort of mechanism that prevented teleporting.

With that, their only way to sneak them out would be the garbage chute, so they contacted the ship to have them sail back to it. Beewv would watch the outside walkway while Nollid minimized all the Chickin and stored them under his robe. He turned invisible and began to sneak his way back to the garbage room.

Ydolem and Hpot were sneaking along the cliffs when they saw someone traveling down stairs from the upper level. She was a centaur woman, and Hpot identified her as Oryps’ henchwoman, Alore. She seemed to be heading to the factory, so they contacted and warned the others.

Alore entered the factory by the time Nollid was sneaking out of the holding room. Beewv trusted Nollid with the kids and hurriedly snuck his way to follow the centaur. Alore went upstairs and entered a control room where Oosoos was waiting. “I have the next shipment of Blades ready on the transport vessel.” Oosoos told her. “Everything else is tip-top shape.”

“Everything? I don’t see my favorite Electro Coffee in my hand.”

“Ah, yes, how could I be so neglectful? Alil! What’s taking so long, you lazy rustbucket?!”

“I’m coming, Masterpon!” A small robot, half Oosoos’ size, with blue hair and a black dress, ran out with a cup of coffee in her electric hands. “Ahhh!” She tripped and spilled the coffee.

“Stupid robot. Now my hooves are all wet.” Alore huffed. “Seems like you need some discipline.” The centaur KICKED Alil against the wall, cracking her as she sparked.

“Now go make another one!” Oosoos ordered. The robot pushed herself up, twitching as she limped off to fulfill her task. Beewv could only look upon them with spite.

Meanwhile, a Nopon guard had gone for a break on his favorite secret balcony, located above the garbage chute. While munching on doughnuts, he peered down over the balcony. A Titan ship was sailing by the garbage chute… and it seemed some Chickin were sliding down the chute and onto the ship. “?!” The Nopon backed up and pulled out a communicator. “Mr. Oosoos, there’s-”

Yrret used his psychic to fly Avakam up and shoot Antikill at the Nopon, KOing him. She had already sensed him with Observation.

“Eh?!” Oosoos had barely received the call. “Ojoj, was that you? What’s going on?!”

“Seems you have another mess to clean up.” Alore said.

“Grrrr! Attention, all staff! Seal all exits and be on the lookout for anything suspicious!”

“Mr. Oosoos, the child prisoners have disappeared! It seems like there’s an unfinished tunnel in the room!”

“Unfinished? Where could they have gone? In any case, round up the slaves and interrogate them, see if they know anything!”

Some guards hurried onto the garbage room’s walkway, searching for anything suspicious. Nollid was invisible and right under the walkway. He quietly called Beewv and asked their next move, to which Beewv suggested he should escape as well and the Kateenian would be fine. Sadly, the guards already pressed a switch to seal the chute, deciding to watch over this room. Nollid calmly stepped across the garbage and toward the room’s treadmill walkway, but he tripped on an askew spot and fell. The guards looked down in panic and went to investigate the strange occurrence, so Nollid revealed himself and KO’ed them with magic. He quickly cleaned off his cloak and snuck out of the room.

Nollid dodged past guards in sneaking through the factory, climbing to a high walkway. From there, he made it to a vent and used Imperio to daze a guard beside the vent. Nollid unlocked the vent, entered, and resealed it. The vent led to a walkway at the factory’s entrance, but guards were on the lower floor. “Nollid, Alore is heading to the entrance!” Beewv called.

The wizard decided to stay hidden on the walkway as the centaur walked in. Nollid wondered if she had decided to leave the factory, but she stopped in place as her eyes closed. Nollid’s cloak helped conceal his chi in case of Haki, and yet… it wasn’t enough to hide from Alora’s instinct. She decided to shoot the upper bridge with a Shock Arrow, Nollid crying out from the electrocution. “THERE you are!”

As soon as he recovered from the shock, Nollid bolted for the nearby window and smashed through. He pulled out his broomstick and flew away, but was spotted by the pirates on the cliff. The alien birds were sent after him and the pirates shot lasers, Nollid defending himself and shooting the birds down. Unfortunately, Alore timed her shot and loosed a Shock Arrow set to explode above Nollid and strike a bolt down at him. Nollid fell toward the Storm Sea, where Alore expected him to be fried to a crisp.

But Atnort surfed along the electric surface and jumped to grab Nollid, using his bending to direct the lightning away. Alore glared and jumped onto a Titan vessel, flying down to the surface. Nollid recovered his strength and flew away once again, and when Alore tried to shoot him, Atnort misdirected her arrow with his bending. Nollid knew he shouldn’t return to their ship with pirates gunning them, so he tried to seek shelter on another part of the Titan. Atnort, meanwhile, was left to battle Alore.

He was able to use the Cloud Sea’s lightning to his advantage, but Alore was strong enough to endure the lightning. She could manipulate the Cloud Sea herself with her arrows and damage Atnort with lightning just the same. After a lengthy battle, Atnort wound up tanking several Shock Arrows before he fell into the sea. Alore smirked at her apparent victory before looking up for the other boy—a giant lightning arrow launched from the sea and PIERCED her. Even the Titan suffered damage and fainted, and Alore fell into the Cloud Sea.

Sometime after the fact, none other than Oryps himself soared over the area of his subordinate’s battle. Only Atnort’s charred form floated on the surface. “Well, that’s a pity.” Oryps said as he used psychic to lift Atnort out of the sea. “But it seems you’ve survived. I think some interrogation is in order.”

The operatives’ ship watched worriedly as the dragon flew away with their friend. “Atnort!” Anna screamed. They called Ydolem and reported his capture.

“Atnort’s been taken by a purple dragon?!” Ydolem gasped.

“Oryps!” Hpot gasped. “Ugh, how could you all let this happen?! You were supposed to study the factory, not save anyone! Besides, our priority is recovering the champions!”

“We couldn’t just leave those brats in there!” Beewv argued in a whisper, still hidden in the factory.

“We have to rescue him somehow!” Ydolem insisted.

“No!” Hpot stated. “They still don’t know about us, so we have to keep going. But we may have to lay low for a bit.”

“Ikuyim, this is Nollid.” The wizard called. “I’m still shaking off the pirates. I think you should take the ship somewhere else and hide.”

“Are you sure you don’t need more help?” Ikuyim replied.

“The more people being chased, the harder this will be.” Hpot replied.

“And, like, don’t we need to take these kids someplace safe?” Alol asked. “We can’t just endanger them on this mission.”

“But where can we take them?” Yrret asked.

“Um, you guys are good guys, right?” a Chickin asked.

“Of course we are!” Ikuyim beamed. “Well, most of us, I think!”

“It’s just that… our parents once told us about a special place we can go. A place that the pirates shouldn’t be able to enter. I just hope they’re right…”

“Just tell us where this place is.” Avakam requested. “We’ll try to drop you off there before coming back.”

“A few of us should board another ship and stay here so we can keep in touch.” Yrret suggested.

“Alol, Anna, wanna come with me to take the birdies?” Ikuyim asked. “Arohpsohp should come, too.”

“Okay, I will.” Anna answered. “The rest of you… please try to save my brother.”

King’s Palace

The Ant King returned to the game room a few hours later. Xof was standing guard obediently, and the Gungi Champion was knelt on her mat. “Has she been there this whole time?”

“Yes, but she…” Xof answered.

“Snooooore…” The dog-woman was asleep in this position, a waterfall of saliva spilling over her dress.

No sign of intelligence or dignity, thought the king. He slammed the ground with his tail. “Wake up.” The girl gasped awake. King took his seat across from her. “Now… what do you say we make this next match more interesting?”

“More interesting… Your Highness?”

“A wager. If you win this next round, I’ll grant you anything you wish.”

“Anything… I wish?”

“Indeed. With my resources, it will be easy. However… if you lose this round, I’ll cut off your arm.” He squeezed his own arm for emphasis.

Xof gasped. It shouldn’t be too surprising, since he already killed the previous champions… but to think he was outright threatening her now. But this was King’s next strategy: to manipulate her with both fear and greed to disrupt her rhythm. “Oh…my arm?”

The girl seemed unphased. The king frowned in curiosity. “Um, Your Majesty… instead of my arm, could I bet my life?”

Their pupils dilated from her question. “You would rather bet your life? Explain yourself.”

“We Gungi players have a saying: after losing once, a master becomes a normal person. So, if I lose, I’ll be garbage. I became a champion in order to support my family. They had always called me a burden and useless… so, I trained myself painfully to become a master. I decided a long time ago… that if I ever lost a match, I would kill myself.”

Xof internally gasped. What was this woman thinking? “Although… since my life is garbage, perhaps I shouldn’t offer it as a reward.”

“Ah…interesting. Then, what would you like if you win?”

“Nothing, Your Highness. Gungi is the only thing that gives my life meaning. It’s the only thing I think about. So long as I can be a master of Gungi… nothing else matters to me.”

She is not moved by greed or fear. In the end… I was the one not taking our games seriously.

“Heh. I understand.” The king smirked. “For such a petty tactic…” He touched the needle of his tail to his left arm. “Accept this apology.”

“?!” Purple droplets of blood splashed over her face. Xof was astonished and appalled: King had cut off his left arm. “I’ve made the first move. Now, continue.”

“W-w…what happened, Supreme Leader?”

“M-My King, shall I-” The second Xof spoke, the king’s tail grazed his right hip, immediately returning him to silence.

“Continue!”

“I…I refuse to play until you treat yourself!”

“You defy me?” The king directed his tail at the Moebian’s neck. “Don’t make me repeat myself. Make your move… or I shall have your head.”

“Even if I die… I refuse to challenge an injured opponent. So, please… get yourself treated. I won’t budge on this.”

King kept his trail trained on the neck. Xof bit his lip anxiously and held his wound. He couldn’t stand the silence and couldn’t anticipate what was gonna happen. The king’s patience was always thin with others, and yet, with this girl… “Xof.” He faced attentively. “Call Miyuki. Now.”

“Y-Yes, sir.” Xof hurriedly left.

Capital city, Abla

Ydolem and Hpot hid in the shadows of an alleyway. Though the latter’s gaze was toward the palace, Ydolem’s was to the cloudy day sky. A dragon’s silhouette flapped across the dark heaven, landing on a tall, nearby mountain. “Atnort…”

“You shouldn’t attempt to save him now.”

“What if he gets killed? I have to at least watch them!”

“Don’t do anything reckless. Oryps has four elements, including Shadow, so he could easily sense you.”

Bowing her head regretfully, Ydolem slithered her way through town and traveled up the mountain. It appeared to have a hot spring on it, where a slender black-haired woman was relaxing. The woman glanced up at seeing Oryps land on a higher cliff, pinning Atnort beneath his claw. Ydolem hid in a shadow close, but out of Oryps’ eyesight. “Now, answer me, boy. How many of you are there? And what is it you’re planning?”

“That’s none of your business.” Atnort grunted.

“You sure got involved in OUR business, taking down my subordinate! I don’t recognize your species from this planet, so you must be a DNK operative.”

“Oryps, what’s going on up there?” Ydolem perked up and hid deeper when the bathing woman climbed up. She had only a black bikini, but some bluish substance was forming from it.

“Sumas, this boy attacked Alore and knocked her in the sea. I was told there was at least one more, a wizard who was sneaking around the factory. He flew and hid somewhere.”

“Ay-ay-ay.” The woman sparked as a silvery-black armor spawned over her, complete with blue veins and large shoulder pads with blue holes. Her helmet was sort of “Y” shaped and the right arm had a laser cannon, which she aimed at Atnort’s head. “Don’t you kids ever learn? Several DNK tried to raid our bases, but they all met the same fates.”

“Not true. Some of them made it back~”

Sumas blasted the wall beside him. “Not like you’ll be one of them.”

Ydolem slightly rose out and reported, “Hpot, there’s an armored woman named Sumas up here, too.”

“Sumas? She’s the Dark Hunter, and a part of Ridley’s division. Don’t try to engage her.”

“If you won’t talk, then I suppose we’ll have to execute you.” Oryps decided. “However… you do appear to be a decent bender, so I’d like to save you for the king’s meal. Or perhaps… we could use you as bait. If your friends are loyal, I’m sure they’ll try to save you, and if they don’t, I guess that’ll be it. Sumas, would you like to take care of that?”

“Of course, sir. You can’t catch fish without bait.”

“Uh, sure…” As cool as she made herself look, her idioms kind of watered it down.

“Where shall I do it?”

“The middle of town is fine. Give the people a show!”

“I’ll hop to it.” Oryps stepped off and allowed Sumas to grab Atnort, the hunter agilely leaping down the cliffs and back to town.

Ydolem slithered further down as well and called, “Hpot, she’s about to execute Atnort!”

Hpot was under a statue of Ant King, set close to the palace. “What do you expect me to do?! I have to get in the palace! And if either of us blow our cover, they’ll know there are shadowbenders, so they’ll be on even higher alert!”

“Please! W-we have to do something!”

“Grrr…” Hpot fully Veiled, seeing Sumas arrive at the square. The hunter ordered two pirate guards to suspend Atnort with chains and tug him to either side.

“PEOPLE OF LES NIADRA!” Oryps bellowed from atop a roof. “This alien has threatened the Meta-Beast Pirates! He foolishly trespassed on our land and assaulted my crewmate! Let us show you what happens to those who dare to cross us!”

Sumas began to charge a powerful beam of darkness, bound to melt Atnort into oblivion. She did it slowly, so as to give Atnort’s allies time to act. Hpot grunted and slid her way behind random pirate close to an alley. She emerged behind a box and used Shadow Possession to catch that pirate. She put a hand over her mouth and, under her motions, the pirate danced and raised a gun. “YEAH! I LOVE A GOOD EXECUTION!” Her shadow forced him to speak. “WHOA!” and the pirate slipped and shot his gun at Sumas’ blaster. Her aim misdirected to the left—the people and pirates in that direction screamed and split, including the pirate holding Atnort’s chain. Sumas forcibly fired the laser, burning through some walls.

The hunter angrily directed her gaze at the clumsy pirate. “W-wait, Lady Sumas, I swear I didn’t mean to, something was con—TRAAAA-HA-HAAA!”

Sumas dashed over and burned off the pirate’s head with her cannon. While everyone stared dumbfounded by the event, Hpot slid by and swiped Atnort into her Veil. She immediately returned under the statue’s shadow before anyone could notice. “THE PRISONER’S GONE!”

“WHAT?!” Oryps gasped. “It must be the invisible boy! FIND HIM!”

“How do we find an invisible boy?!” a pirate asked.

“SHOOT EVERYWHERE!” The pirates mindlessly blasted guns, the citizens retreating.

“NO, YOU IDIOTS!” Oryps shouted. “Gah! Sumas, find them!”

“Hmm…” Wondering if the invisible one was really responsible, Sumas began to search observantly.

“Hrm…perhaps I should inform the king.” The dragon said. “Sigh…somebody has to. Oh?” He saw a bright blue aura fly into the palace. “Is that… Miyuki? What’s she doing here?” He flew to the palace and followed Tallest Miyuki to the game room. “Miyuki, did something happ—AH?!”

The Irken used psychic to hold King’s arm to his body, applying medicine and tying bandages around it. Xof looked to Oryps meekly, still holding his own wound. “Your Majesty! Your arm! What happened?!”

“Nothing, Oryps. Just self-discipline.”

“Discipline?! Xof, tell me what happened!”

“Uh…th-they kind of, got into an argument, and His Highness… tried to apologize.”

“You mean with that girl?! W-why…how…”

“Oryps, if you have nothing to add, begone.”

“Er, actually, My King… I needed to report something. There are intruders on the Titan. They broke into our factory and rescued prisoners.”

“Isn’t it your job to clean up riffraff?”

“If you could use your Haki to search for people in any suspicious areas, I-”

King blasted a gold fireball at the dragon’s eyes. “I’m in the process of honing my Haki. Don’t disrupt it.”

“I…uer…”

“There, just go easy on it and it should be all better.” Miyuki said. “Now, what about you, Xof?”

“Uh, no-no, I’m fine.”

“Xof, begone.” Oryps ordered. “I’ll be taking your shift for a while. I want you and your comrades to search the Titan and find any suspicious characters!”

“Yes, sir…” Xof quickly, but calmly left the room.

“A ship was coming with me.” Miyuki mentioned. “There are some Cragnines onboard, so I’ll have them assist in the search. After I treat that young man…” She floated away.

Oryps glared forward through his charred eyelids. King and the dog-woman had resumed their game. Oryps growled…

…

Hpot made her way to a garden north of town and emerged behind a boulder on the cliff. “You’re lucky I saved you. You kids are jeopardizing this entire mission!”

“How? We just saved a bunch of kids, didn’t we?”

“Well, now I’ll be lucky if I can even get close to the palace! I can at least try to get you back to-”

A dark, mechanical ball rolled through the garden: Sumas emerged and blasted Hpot, who immediately dodged. “I thought I sensed your aura, Hpot.”

“Hmph…good to see you, Sumas.”

“You know each other?!” Atnort exclaimed.

“We ran into each other on a couple missions.”

“We’re the Dark Hunter and the Shadow Stalker.” Sumas’ helmet opened. “It’s fate that brought us together. Now, what do you say we shoot the breeze?”

“If you think you can catch me.” Hpot took Atnort and Veiled once more, sliding down the cliff as Sumas chased.

In the midst of evading, Hpot signaled the ops of the situation, but promised to keep Atnort okay. “Maybe they’ll think she’s the only shadowbender.” Ydolem sighed, resting on the same thin mountain. Being in Veil for so long wore out her stamina. But there was a hot spring down below, so Ydol sent Hsa down to see if anyone was in the building. No one was present, so the girl slid down and decided to at least soak her feet in the spring. She dipped her hands in and washed her face, feeling her stamina returning.

But Hsa alerted her when someone was coming, so Ydolem grabbed her shoes and Veiled. The person was Xof. Ydolem wondered about his bandaged injury, and the fox had a halfhearted expression as he searched the spring area. “Hmm…well, I could always guard this area in case they come by.”

That was his excuse to relax in the tub. For a while, he said nothing and only sighed. Ydolem hid up on the cliff and sent Hsa down to talk with his shadow. That stupid Andross made Xof and his friends the king’s towel boys! He knew it was a dangerous job, so that’s why! He wants them to die! The king already killed Yppep, so why should we work for him?! But at least Xof was trying to be good. He just wanted to ask Meruem if he should get help, and what does he do? He freakin’ cuts Xof! And THEN he decides he wants treatment!

I’m sorry that happened. But, wait, did you say treatment? Did the king get injured?

Uh, yeah… h-he got in a fight with someone, and… it’s sort of complicated.

A… fight? …Hold on, who did you say Meruem was?

AH! Did I say that?! No, forget I told you that! That’s probably only gonna make him worse!

Oh…I don’t understand, but I won’t tell anyone. But, who did you say the king was fighting?

Th-the dog lady… look, could you please leave? We’re getting anxious.

Okay. Sorry. Hsa returned to her master. Ydolem went away and relayed the intel to her team, except the ‘Meruem’ part.

With the others

“Some ‘dog lady’ injured the king?” Avakam questioned.

“No, she said he was fighting a dog lady.” Yrret corrected.

“But basically, the Ant King was injured and needed treatment.” Nollid said, having found a hiding place.

“You’d have to be as strong as a Pirate Emperor to injure one of them.” Avakam reasoned.

“Yeah, but if the king is really that strong and he got in a fight, wouldn’t the whole Titan feel it?”

“Maybe it was a different type of fight…” Ydolem reasoned.

“What other type of fight would result in injury?” Avakam asked.

“I don’t know… some people who get really upset in an argument sometimes hurt themselves.”

“Is the king someone who would do that?” Yrret wondered.

“I don’t know… Hey, Beewv, are you hearing this?”

“Ugh, I’m trying to lay low, but I can’t get good reception! I’m still fine, so hold your horses!”

“Okay, just making sure.”

“Look, you kids should try to lay low for a bit.” Hpot whispered. “It’ll take a while to shake off Sumas. But what you said about a dog woman… One of the champions reported kidnapped actually matches that description.”

Palace

A few more hours passed. Oryps fell asleep watching them, leaving his shadow to stay awake. The woman’s stomach was grumbling, her pale eyes red and baggy. But the king lost the match again. “We’ll be taking a break now.”

“Another break?” she asked sadly.

“You’re starved and exhausted. There’s no glory in beating you when you’re weak. In fact… I believe there’s a hot spring nearby. Oryps, why don’t you bring her there?”

“ME?! Bring her to-”

The ant’s tail smacked him across the face. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“Ergh…yes… Your Highness.” He begrudgingly stood up. “Right this way, Miss…?”

“Ah…Your Highness, may I provide my name?”

“Granted.”

“It’s Erihskroy. Eldaehc Erihskroy. But if that’s too long, I’m also known as Komugi. I ate lots of bread growing up, so-”

“Did we ask for a backstory?” Oryps retorted.

“Silence, Oryps.” King ordered. “Komugi… rest better than ever.”

“Yes, My Liege…”

Leading her away with a scowl, Oryps almost considered killing the girl… Surely, King had faced her enough times to become an ultimate strategist? And now, he was only being distracted. Or perhaps, this was his test as the true ultimate creature. And if this girl died… then he would always be a failure at Gungi. They couldn’t have that.

But then Komugi stopped. She turned to face him. “My King… could I say one thing before I go?”

“What is it?”

“I… Thank you for all these wonderful games. I’ve never felt more joy playing Gungi. I’ve never met an opponent… who wanted to play with me for so long.”

“I’ve battled several opponents who were my level… but only one of them only ever took our matches seriously. The others would merely retreat, and I have yet to beat that one. Still… my matches with you have been far more exciting.”

“Haha…” She blushed. “I won’t ask for a reward… but if I could have a wish… it would be to learn your name as well.”

“My… name?”

“Yes… but you don’t have to answer me. Farewell… My King.” She continued to follow the dragon out.

…

After Oryps finished his duty, the king called him to the comms room. They brought up displays of Ridley, Andross, and Tachyon. “Let me ask the four of you something. What is my name?”

The commanders exchanged glances. “You are the King.” Andross answered. “You were never given any other name.”

“And there’s no name more suitable. None better.” Ridley said. “You are the ultimate creature. The King.”

“But King is only a title. There are many of them. And one’s strength still exceeds my own. But that king has a name: Kroctus Rool. What is mine?”

“Don’t ask me!” Tachyon shrugged. “I was a late entry, these guys know you better.”

“Your mother never named you… before she died.” Oryps replied. “But you are our Supreme Leader. What name would you like that encapsulates your power?”

“Mmm…” King looked downtrodden. “That I cannot defeat her in Gungi… Komugi is of a different level. I wonder how many others there are… with her kind of strength. I wonder if any of the people I’ve slaughtered… possess that strength.”

“Are you still playing with that dog?” Tachyon remarked. “Who cares if you can’t beat her? I could never beat Mom at videogames, but it didn’t stop me from becoming a powerful, world-conqueror matterbender! Stop fretting over what you’re bad at and focus on where you’re most powerful!”

King directed his tail at Tachyon’s screen, the Cragmite gulping. “…Yes.” The king grinned wickedly. “Why waste time with all these games… when I’m one of the most powerful people in the universe? No Gungi player can stop me!”

“Yes, My Lord!” Oryps beamed. “In fact, I thought you ought to make that girl learn her place!”

“Yes… these feelings of weakness… my foolish decisions… I’ll erase them, once and for all!” And so, the king flew from the palace.

…

“Maybe I’ll check the hot springs again.” Xof said, innocently walking back up to the spring’s lobby. “They might think it’s safe now that…?!”

Looking through to the spring, Komugi was being attacked by a bird monster, the woman holding her dress and aimlessly swatting the air. On his way to the spring, the king saw the event and gasped.

“Hold on, I’ll-” Xof was about to run up.

But the Ant King immediately lopped the bird’s head off. Xof stood aghast at the sight. The king set foot before the naked woman. “Komugi…” The bird had left scratches on her flesh and dress. “How long were you being attacked?”

“Just a… few minutes, My King.”

“Did you not call for help?”

“N-no. I didn’t want to bother any of the guards.”

“You are an important guest. You must understand that! …?” Why did he say that? He was literally just coming to kill her. Now he just saved her life and is… scolding her?

“I…I’m sorry, Your Highness.”

“…” Questioning himself, the king turned. His eyes fell dead on Xof. The fox tensed up with utmost fear. “Xof… did you stand there and watch her be attacked?”

“N-no, Your Highness! I was only patrolling up here, I only just saw it happen, I was about to save her, but die, I, die, I, yaaaiiiiiiiiii!”

“. . . .” His cowardice was remarkable sometimes. The king viewed Komugi’s torn dress. “Xof…” He took the dress. “Get Komugi some new clothes and take her back to her room. And tell the others… do not let any harm come to her.”

“Er…yes, My King. Er…”

Xof was uncomfortable leading a naked woman, but he wouldn’t defy the king on such a petty concern. But as he did, he noticed Komugi sobbing. “Miss, are you okay?”

“I…I’ve never been treated this way… by anyone.”

“Uh…” Was she in despair… or was she happy? Xof didn’t know. But… at what point did the king learn her name?

King stared at the ragged dress. Emitting gold jets from his feet, he rose skyward and flew across the Titan.

The king cast a shadow under the moon. That shadow swept over the Titan’s valley… and over Ydolem’s hiding place. “Is that… him?”

Before she even knew it, her shadow was gone. Even Hsa saw this as a golden opportunity. She had clung onto the king’s shadow and was being whisked away under the night, soaring across the Cloud Sea.

Lodni

“I confess to Demise… and to the Queen of Ants. To the great Destroyer… and bless all who follow the King…”

Lodni was a Titan home to a dark church. The church once honored an evil spirit known as the Destroyer and believed him to be a follower of the Demon King. But when the pirates took over, their great torches were lit with golden flames. A statue of the Ant Queen was mounted on the church’s courtyard. The priests and people chorused for their supreme leader, looking over the town from the towering church stairs.

The Ant King’s purple eyes glimmered against his shadowy frame, a shadow cast from the statue’s flames. The king began to sing in a calm tone. “Beata Mother… You know I am a righteous king… Of my status, I am justly proud.”

He turned to the priests lined up before the statue. “And none shall deny…”

“Beata Mother… You know I’m above everything…” He approached the queen, a hint of cynicism in him, “including the weak, common, tasteless crowd.”

“We are not worthy…” They bowed.

His gaze directed at the flames, glimmering off his irises. “Then tell me, Mother! Why I see her sitting there? Why her milky eyes still scorch my sooouuuul (Who sits before thee)?”

King’s eyes widened. “I feel her… I see her…” The image of Komugi was shaped in the flames, hands moving gracefully across the Gungi board. “The moonlight on her snowy hair, Is blazing in me out of all controooool (Shouldn’t it be freezing)?”

“…Like fire!” He stepped back. “Hellfire. This fire in my SKIN.” He whipped out the dress. “This burning… Desire… Is turning me… to… SIN.”

Dropping to his knees, the flames behind the priests rose and cast shadows. “It’s not my fault (My fault)!” He began twisting around restlessly. “I’m not to blame. It is the Gungi girl, The witch who set this flame, It’s not my fault (My fault)! How can this be? (My fault!) How can this WOMAN be much stronger than MEEEEEEEE!”

He channeled the other flames around the statue, shining brighter. Hsa struggled to stay within his dancing shadow. “Protect me, My Mother! Don’t let the siren cast her spell. Don’t let her fire sear my flesh and booooooone! Destroy Komugi, and let her taste the fires of Hell!” The illusion burned away. “Or else let her be mine and mine alooooooone.” A larger Komugi rose out to meet him in a hug, only for it to disappear.

“Hellfire… dark fire… Now, Moebian, it’s your turn.” He raised the dress. “Choose me or… your pyre… Be mine or you will BURN!”

The dress turned to ash in the flames. The king quietly marched down the aisle, back to the stairs. Hsa looked up at his eyes, seeing the sincerity within them. “(Lord have mercy) God have mercy on… her. (Lord have mercy) God have merch on… me. (Lord have mercy.)”

The king loomed over the town. All the flames rose to his will, so all of Lodni burned gold. “But she will be MINE, or… SHEEEEEE WIIIIIIILL BUUUUURRRRRRRRRNNN!”

The fire was too bright for Hsa to handle, so the shadow flew away as fast as possible.

Les Niadra

After Hsa returned to Ydolem, the Secret Keeper relayed what she heard to her team. “Uh…okay.” Nollid repeated in confusion.

“The king sure is a romanticist…” Yrret scratched his head.

“A Moebian named ‘Komugi’…” Avakam repeated. “Is that the same person as the dog-woman?”

“I’m certain that it is.” Hpot responded. “Whatever the reason… it seems the king is infatuated with this woman. But… could that mean…”

“Mean what?”

“Well, the Ant King is a Chimera Ant. We’ve researched this species from Lorule, and it goes like this: the Ant Queen eats lots of food to give birth to an Ant King. The king mates with females, produces more queens, who give birth to more kings. Even so, we’ve never had reports of more Chimera Ants being born under this pirate… but there’s also never been an Ant King more dangerous or intelligent like this one. Perhaps he was searching for the perfect mate all this time, and this ‘Komugi’ is the one.”

“If that freak makes kids, they’ll be monsters.” Nollid knew.

“Then… we need to save that woman, right?” Ydolem asked.

“Yes.” Hpot answered. “Securing Komugi should be our top priority. Kids, make sure you report this to-” A laser blasted, Hpot dodging.

“Hiding in a sewer?” Sumas asked, marching up the pipe. “I expected better of you.”

Hpot retreated to an exit to use the weak half-light to strengthen her shadowbending, throwing Shade Fists at the hunter.

Factory

Meanwhile, the Blade Factory was being patrolled by dogs mutated to look like Cragmites, called Cragnines. Their leader, Tachihuahua, wore a crown resembling his master’s. Tachihuahua bore an observant glare as he searched the factory, and would always find himself sniffing Alil suspiciously. The impish maid robot shivered in fear whenever the impish pup got too close.

Alil used all the strength in her tiny arms to pull a load of trash outside the factory. “Ah!” It was only then the robot began twitching. “Eeek! Malfunction! W-what’s happening to me?!”

“Phew, those dogs were getting too close for comfort!” Beewv poked out of a hatch on her head.

“Wh-who are you?! What are you doing?!”

“Just stay quiet and I’ll take you away from these jerks. You’re under my control, anyway, so you’d best play along.”

“Wait!” He returned inside. “Ohhh…” Alil was fearful as she marched away from the factory against her own will.

“Now then, what weapons are we hiding in this baby…”

…

“By the way, Nollid, where are you now?” Ydolem asked.

“I’m in the palace, of course.”

“Oh, okay. WAIT, HUH?!”

“Duh. With the king gone, thought it was a good chance to sneak in.”

Nollid was invisible on a walkway as some of Ridley’s pirates walked by. When they were far enough, he rose on his broom and looked through a glassless window. It was a guestroom with several shabby beds and dread-filled gaming champions, some of whom were different races. Some were eating loafs of bread, some mourning the loss of the others, and wondering how long Komugi would last. So long as she kept the king entertained, they would get to live a little longer.

“I found the other champions, and I saw the dog-woman go up a tower. Listen, I think we ought to try and rescue them now. It’ll be easier with the king gone.”

“But how?” Ydolem asked.

“Avakam, put something in the Vanish Box and see if it works.” Avakam put a bullet in. “Darn, it didn’t. At least I still have a magic satchel. Okay…”

Nollid shrunk himself to enter the small window. When he resized, the champions freaked out, but Nollid quickly hushed them. The wizard used his Falcon’s Eye to see through the door: Ymmalk Loor was guarding outside. The champions explained that the pirates barely check on them lately, and they would only ever ask Ymmalk to bring them food. Nollid knocked the door to trick Ymmalk into answering. “Imperio.” He was able to put the beefy Kremling under a spell. He instructed Ymmalk to tell any pirates that the champions were still in check, and not to leave his post. It may not be a perfect diversion, but it would hopefully last.

Nollid shrank all the champions and stored them in his Infi-Satchel. He would then shrink through the window and back outside. “Now for the dog-woman…” Nollid snuck his way to the tower Komugi was resting in. He had to cross a few walkways and maneuver around pirates. Nollid made it into the tower and hurried up the stairs.

Meanwhile, Hpot hid Atnort somewhere in the sewer. Ydolem made her way to his location and found him. “There you are. Come on, let’s make it back down to the-” But as she carried him out, they were ambushed by Yppils, the toad Moebian of Ztar Xof.

“AHA! I thought I saw a shadow go in here!” The toad used his metalbending to try and collapse the pipes. Ydolem Veiled with Atnort and evaded, trying to outrun the toad.

…

“Yrret, there’s an airship swerving around up there!” Avakam pointed.

“Gwaaaaahh!” The ship was being steered by Oclaf.

“I told you not to search by airship, you bloody idiot!” Latsyrk told him via comms.

“I thought I could find ’em easier! How do I land this—guuuuaaaaahhh!” Lightning struck it from the sea, causing the ship to crash into the kids’ Titan ship without warning.

“OH, DEAR!” Yrret used psychic to pick up Avakam and the other agents onboard.

“HUAH?!” Oclaf began zooming around on a jetpack. “Golly gosh, guys, I found some kids that don’t look like ours!”

“Oh, crud!” Yrret screamed, flying to find a hiding place on the Titan. Several pirates were alerted to them, blasting cannons at the flying crew. “Oh, drat! What are we going to do—NOOOOWW!”

Oclaf rammed into Yrret, causing him to go flying and yank his friends with him by impulse. They screamed, fearing the sea would claim them—a whirlwind swirled and saved them. “Sorry we’re late to the party!” Arohpsohp said perkily.

“Hey, guys!” Ikuyim waved cheerily.

“Ikuyim!” Yrret beamed.

Arohpsohp brought them to the ship. As pirates began flying over, Ikuyim bent and chucked crystals out of her cube to take them down, the others applying their abilities to do the same. “I guess this is a good time, because we ran into trouble of our own.” Alol said.

“What do you mean?”

“We encountered some ships on the way back and they sort of figured out who we were.” Annaira replied. “And, well…”

“Muahahahahaha!” Tachyon’s shrill laugh resounded from a flagship. The sail bore his insignia and it had giant, mechanical legs kicking the sea to “swim.” The legs resembled those on his walking throne. “You fools ran right toward the king’s place of residence! I hope he watches me as I trounce you!”

“We called some agents,” Anna said, “Itaav and some others are coming to back us up. Is Atnort okay?”

“Ydolem has him, but they’re under attack.” Avakam answered, her comms active. “If you guys are getting this, I think it’s high time to split. Get down to the sea and fly to our ship as fast as you can!”

“Miss Hpot, are you still okay?” Ydolem called.

“Sumas is still chasing me! Just forget about me and complete the mission! Nollid, have you secured Komugi?”

Nollid was inside the girl’s room, looking over her sleeping form. “I…I’m about to.”

“Nollid, wait!” Ydolem yelled. “I…I don’t think we should take Komugi, yet. If she’s that important to the king, then taking her will only have him after us.”

“You have to get her!” Hpot ordered. “We can’t let her give birth to more ants.”

“How long would she even be pregnant? I think we can wait!”

“The navy’s orders are to secure all the champions.”

“Well, Emorej’s orders are to escape if it gets too dangerous.” Anna reasoned. “We can’t save everyone, and if the king might not kill her, I say Komugi can wait!”

“They’re right.” Nollid agreed. “I’m heading back now!” With that, he mounted his broom, kept the cloak over him, and flew out the window.

Little did he know that the shadow of a dragon loomed in the chamber, smirking at Komugi.

Nollid zoomed down the Titan as fast as possible. Ydolem used Shadow Glide to fly down from her end, but exhaust was quickly overcoming her from carrying Atnort. Yppils came flying at them on a metal surfboard—Alil swooped by with tiny jetpacks as Beewv slashed him in the stomach, causing the toad to fall. “Nollid, get your butt down here!” Beewv called. “Ydolem needs some help!”

“Got ya!” Nollid headed for their direction and found the three. He decided to remove the cloak and let the group on his broom, using the rest of his stamina to catch up. They were successful in reaching the Titan ship. “Let’s get out of here at the speed of wind!” Arohpsohp declared.

…

The Ant King finally returned to the palace. Marching up the stairs of Komugi’s tower, he found two guards laying unconscious before the room. “?!” King burst through the door and found… the room completely deserted. “KOMUGI!”

King looked as Oryps flew in through the window. “Your Highness! The intruders are escaping—oh?” He pretended to be surprised by her absence.

“Oryps…” The king’s eyes twitched. “Did Xof not tell you to not let any harm come to Komugi?”

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. I was trying to capture the intruders, but one of them must’ve taken her. We have to pursue them immediately!”

The dragon half-expected to be slapped. But… the king made no move. “M-Miss Komugi!” Xof came into the room, holding a plate of soup. “I made you some…?!”

King turned to Xof. With that stare… and Komugi’s absence… Xof only expected the worst to befall him. “Xof… Oryps…” He nervously awaited his command. “We must get Komugi back… at all costs…”

“Er…” Xof had never expected to hear such compassion from the king. “Of course… Your Highness.”

…

The operatives joined with a small squad of navy ships as they sailed for the edge of Norest. Tachyon used his bending to fly after them as scattered particles, but Itaav used his own matterbending to meet him in the sky and fight the Cragmite. Annaira used healing on her brother, his pain beginning to ease. “Hey, there are more ships tailing us!” Avakam alerted. “They have huge rocket engines boosting them. It… NO WAY!”

The Ant King was using his bending to give his crewmen’s engines extra speed. “He’s coming after us, anyway?!” Nollid screamed.

“WE’RE DOOMED!” Alil screamed.

“More ships incoming from the sides!” Arohpsohp yelled. “I think they’re the other commanders!”

The Primagen and his Dinosoids were sailing forth. Ridley came flying with Andross on his back. “I’ve gotten you close enough.” Ant King told his minions. “Don’t fall behind.” With that, he flew forward on his own. He knew he couldn’t aimlessly destroy them with Komugi on one, but he took notice of the peculiar group of kids on a ship. With rocket speed, King caught up and landed aboard the Titan with a force that sprung the kids to the air. What seemed like a brief moment felt like a long, hopeless period of despair, their faces stricken agape with terror. For once they landed back down, they feared only the worst.

The kids landed, hurriedly pulling their selves up, but Ydolem was too tired. “?!” King stomped the deck before her, Ydolem fearfully meeting his gaze.

“Where is Komugi?”

“K-Komugi?” Nollid stuttered.

“The dog-woman. She was not in her room.”

“Yes she was!”

King thrusted his tail at him, inches from Nollid’s face. “And how would you know that?”

“Sire, destroy them!” Oryps yelled, catching up. “She must be hidden somewhere on these ships. Let’s kill them all and find her!”

“Yes… you won’t be hiding her for-”

“KYAH!” Yrret yanked ALL his friends off the ship and across the sea. “Search the ships if you wish, but we gotta—FLAAAAH!”

Oryps seized them in his own psychic and tried to bring them back, but Avakam managed to shoot a bullet at his eye and break his concentration. Yrret resumed flight. “You don’t think Hpot took Komugi, do you?” Nollid asked.

“I don’t know, but carrying all of you is stressing me out!” Yrret grunted. “I don’t think I can hold out!”

“There’s a Titan over there!” Alol pointed, seeing a giraffe-like landmass in the distance. “Let’s land there and rest!”

“He’s right on our tail!” Beewv yelled, seeing Ant King rocketing after them. The Emperor cast golden meteors their direction, but Arohpsohp blew gusts of air to disperse them. “And there are probably pirates on that Titan!”

“Why don’t we try to explain that we don’t have Komugi?” Ydolem asked.

“He’ll never believe us!”

“Maybe we can prove it!”

“Grrr…” Nollid grunted, growing more anxious. “This is gonna be risky… but we might have to chance it. Yrret, try to land us on that Titan.”

Yrret persevered and did as told. He flew them ceaselessly until he was able to land them on the Titan’s shore. The psychic immediately fell over and panted while Annaira healed his brain.

The Ant King landed just a few meters from them. The kids raised their hands in surrender. “So, you’ve given up?”

“Please listen to us.” Ydolem said. “We don’t have the one you’re looking for.”

“Do you not? I can sense numerous presences around you with my Haki. In fact… they all seem to emanate from that boy’s pocket.”

Nollid took a nervous gulp. “You’re right. We… I mean, I snuck into your palace to rescue the champions. I was planning to rescue the dog-woman, too, but I chose to leave her and retreat. See for yourself.”

Nollid resized all the champions in the Infi-Satchel. “AAAAAHH!” They immediately cried in panic at the king. “IT’S THE KING!”

“Are you brats selling us out?!”

“Please don’t kill us!”

“. . . .” The king examined the crowd thoroughly. He sensed no other presences from any of the kids’ containers. Their hearts were racing a million miles, dreading the anticipation. “…If you don’t have her… where is she?”

“The truth is… there was one other person in Les Niadra.” Ydolem answered. “There’s a chance that… she took the champion. But we didn’t ask her to…”

“Then why don’t we make a bargain?”

“A… bargain? ACK!”

“YDOL!” Their friend was snatched by the neck, choking in the king’s grasp.

“I keep this one with me… so, she can help me find Komugi. Let me take her, and I’ll spare the rest of you.”

“Y-You can’t!” Ikuyim stuttered.

“No, don’t!” Ydol told them. “You can’t beat him and all these pirates! Just let me do what he says. I don’t want to rat out Miss Hpot, but…”

“He’s just gonna kill you!” Atnort shouted.

“If she helps me find her… I’ll allow her to live. But the rest of you are in the Commanders’ hands. That’s my thanks for your honesty.” And with that, King blasted across the sea.

Oryps, Ridley, and Andross were nearly at shore. Nollid re-shrank all the champions to store them back in the satchel, doing the same for Atnort. Yrret mustered his psychic to carry them further across the Titan. “You know, if we keep heading in that approximate direction,” Arohpsohp pointed, “we can find the secret place where we brought the—AH!”

Oryps seized them in his own psychic, following with a Scare Scream to stun them. They dropped to the ground, and when the dragon caught up, Nollid cried, “LUMOS SOLEM!” He hoped the burst of sunlight would throw the dragon off, but to his surprise, Oryps caught white fire. “Huh?!” The dragon flew further back, the flames dispersing. “Wait a second, he doesn’t have a shadow!”

“HANDS!” Alol screamed. The kids split when Andross’s massive hands crashed down, the ape having turned into his floating head and hands. Ridley blew flames around the group, some of them defending, but the pterodactyl snatched Avakam, Annaira, and Yrret in his talons. “SIS/BRO!”

“I’ll take these ones away!” Ridley declared. “You can handle the others!”

Arohpsohp helped blow the kids away from Andross’s hands. They feared running wouldn’t help for long, but Nollid noticed Alil flying to carry Beewv. “Hey, guys, I’m gonna hold them off.” Nollid said. “I want you all to get to that secret place.”

“We can’t lose you, too!” Annaira yelled.

“I’ll be fine! I’ll survive, I promise! But I can’t let them follow you! Robot, fly as fast as you can, okay?”

“Yes, New Masters!” Alil answered. “I’ll protect them with my life!”

“Reducio!” Nollid swiftly shrunk the group, caught them in the satchel, and threw it to Alil’s hands. The robot flew with the full speed of her rockets, leaving Nollid to face Oryps and Andross. The boy stunned Oryps with Lumos Solem again, then wove a complex symbol in the air with his wand. He summoned a spiked dragon from a magic portal, sending it to attack Andross. He committed the last of his strength to hold back the commanders.

…

Meanwhile, Oryps’ shadow phantom was carrying Komugi across the sea, the girl still slumbering away. “Now, where shall I hide this little brat? Maybe I should just drop her in the Cloud Sea and be…?” In the distance, he saw two bands of ships blasting cannons. Some were their own, but some were green, metallic, and had black sails with red symbols that resembled bat wings. The colors bore the symbol of, “The Smile Pirates?! And not only that, those are the dicks who wouldn’t join our crew! That wretched Horde… wait. Hah, this is perfect! Perhaps I’ll set up a little rescue!”

…

Sumas watched the sea from an edge of Les Niadra. She took a huff from a cigarette and released the smoke. “Next time… Hpot.”

The king and Ydolem returned to the Titan. She tried to call Hpot on her communicator… but there was no response. Only static. The king’s quivering, shriveled irises peered into her soul. His Haki covered the entire Titan, but found no traces of any human-sized presences in hidden places. Sumas would report the outcome of her “battle”… and doubt began to fill the two’s minds.

“My decree stands.” The king said. “You will help me find Komugi… or you will burn.”

“…Yes, sir.” Ydolem bowed shyly.

PHEW, this one took a while! So yeah, the entire Ant King/Komugi romance originates from Hunter Hunter’s Chimera Ant Arc, it is honestly one of the most beautiful side-plots in any manga, I definitely recommend seeing it! …I have mixed feelings about the rest of the arc, but I digress. XD And the “Hellfire” song comes from Hunchback of Notre Dame, this was the PERFECT opportunity to use it.

Chapter Text

I’m sad that the Year of Cicada is over. It was fun to listen to those little darlings, and the way they clung onto me was precious. X3

Toadstool World

The Oob were a race of peaceful, round-shaped spirits that had temples built all over the planet. These temples were sanctuaries where people could seek refuge, but many of these temples had been secured by the mafia. The only safe haven people could escape to was the First Resort, a temple which spanned across a large portion of Everdawn Valley. The Oob Deacon, leader of his race, were ensure protection for all his denizens: if anybody were killed or forcibly dragged outside his temple, the deacon would bind the culprits in ghostly chains and seal them in a dungeon.

A pair of Abmoog brothers with red and blue skin zoomed up the valley road in a buggy. Mafia cars were in pursuit, with Revilo driving the lead car. Revilo wore a black jacket and matching fedora with sunglasses. The Abmoogs launched Apook shells backward, taking down several cars, but Revilo dodged and blasted Dark Beams at their buggy. “Sanctuary, sanctuary!” the brothers yelled, but Revilo struck their wheel and flipped them upside-down. They landed before the edge of the temple’s grounds. The blue brother reached to touch the border, but Revilo and the gang of Toads caught up. They seized the red brother and were about to grab the blue.

“STOP!” yelled the Oob Deacon. He had a yellow tongue with matching eyes and a small pope’s hat. “This man is on my property. He’s called for sanctuary.”

“Look, Hunchback of No Body, these two never paid back the mafia’s loans, so I’m under orders to bring them to the Underboss. They have a debt to work off.”

“Drag them off my territory and you will be punished.”

“Fine, you can keep Bluey. But Reddy here is still our game.” They bound the red Abmoog up and dragged him to a car. “Looks like he’ll be working off BOTH your debts!”

“HEY! You give him back!”

“Don’t worry about me, Bro! The mafia ain’t gonna break me, I’ll break ’em first!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Revilo scoffed, getting back in his car. “But if you hand yourself in, maybe we’ll go lighter on you both. For now, I’ll have more soldatos patrolling the border.”

Revilo brought the red brother to a parked airship where the Goddaughter, Airam was waiting, sitting in a fancy cabin. Her feet were propped on a desk and her rump on an oversized chair. “So, we only nabbed one, eh? Those arms look pretty good for scrubbing. Send him to Isle Onifled. He’ll be digging coal for a while.”

“You won’t get away with this, you little twerp! I’ll strangle you, I will!” the Abmoog vowed as the Toads dragged him away.

“Onifled?” Revilo questioned. “You trying to set him up with Allebmoog?”

“Abmoog fingers are good for digging coal, that’s all. And speaking of good fingers… let’s go pick up my new dress before we head home. Business really makes a girl sweaty, Revilo.”

“The new Poison Chi certainly shows.” Revilo pinched his nose.

“Don’t remind me.”

The Underboss made a quick flight to Lake Démodé, a toxic lake that was home to a race of poisonbending mermaids, known as Lochladies. (This would be a good name for Nega-mermaids in general, but in the Posi-Mushroom World, they are still called that.) The town under the lake was a muggy area. The Lochladies were known for weaving plain clothes in sweatshops, but they weren’t very popular besides.

“Ugh, I can’t believe that girl wove something like that.” A lady scoffed.

“Trying to outshine us, how dare she?”

Anaigrom was forced to wear a ragged brown top and skirt with bulky boots. Using what materials were given to her, she wove a sleek white dress with open-toed platform shoes and matching, wide sun hat with a pink ribbon. “’ey, Ana! The Underboss is here, ya better be ready.”

Anaigrom sneered at the Lochlady. “Yeah, here’s your dumb thing.” She handed the clothes over.

“Peh. I don’t get why the mafia didn’t send ya to the Underlook, makin’ these shiny-ass things.”

“Maybe they want me to teach ya a thing or two.”

“Oh, we’ll teach you a thing all right!”

The Lochlady packaged the clothes up and brought them to Airam’s ship. With that, they made the trip back home.

…

Shrew City was an unkempt town of mostly three-story buildings. As Airam’s limousine carried them, she and Revilo watched the sights roll by. Gangs hung out in almost every alley, looking at other passerby threateningly or whiffing drugs. Airam’s limo drove through a gate that led to a forested road. The road took several snaky turns before leading to Toadstool Manor, set partway up the mountain to overlook town.

Once they had returned home, Airam relaxed on a posh white garden chair on the veranda. She swayed her foot expectantly as Revilo began to file her nails. There was a gap in the fumy clouds to let sunlight shine on the heiress. “Does your mom even care about one or two unpaid loans? She controls the whole planet, doesn’t she?”

“Technically, yes, but officially, no. Legal crap and all that. But the less resistance there is, the better. If too many people make it to those ‘sanctuaries,’ it’ll become a problem. Though she said herself that she could take down the deacon whenever she wants to. The same way she got the Apooks to fall in line. If any soldatos tried to run and hide there, she would definitely attack. Including our friends.”

“I see…”

“WELL, AH DON’T KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENIN’ TO ME~” The gorilla, Yeknod Gnok, burst open the veranda door, jigging to his song. “Ah just wanted to do that monkey… at the zoo, yeah.” The two shot a glare of annoyance at him. “I thought I was the ape with the ultimate DONG of them all! But I’m an absolute zero. ’Guess I’m nobody’s heeeero.”

“You’re interrupting my pedicure, Yeknod.”

“Salutations, Underboss! I hope you and this little hooligan have been behaving yourselves.”

“Revilo’s been a very good boy. Gooder than me, at least.”

“So, how’s Ikik?” Revilo asked. “She fitting in with you apes?”

“Oh, we can hardly tell her apart from our own! Apart that she’s now a delightful zoo animal, oh hoo hoo heh. But I wanted to inform you that the Boss is holding a dinner between the consiglieres and capos this evening and she’d like you to attend.”

“I know what my own mom is doing, I live here.”

“Just didn’t want it to slip your mind, or to have you slip away~ I do hope to see you there. By the way, boy, would you like to see a video of the fat girl’s status?”

“Certainly.” Revilo answered.

Yeknod held up a phone, playing a video of Ikik inside a hanging cage in a jungle. She was scratching her armpit like a monkey and dressed in a furry brown top and pants. One of the Gnoks threw a tomato at her head, prompting Ikik to shout, “Ooo-ooo-ooo, AH, AH!” and tug on the cage. “We gassed her with the Gorilla Goodness drug! Isn’t she a natural?”

“Hah, she is.” Revilo cracked a smirk. “Always thought her as more of a cow though.”

“Well, we have a drug for that. Toodle-oo, chums!” Yeknod walked away. “…” Revilo shared a scowl with Airam. While it’s true they weren’t friendly with Ikik, even they were sick to see her like that.

Toadstool Moon

The Black Shroom landed at a pier on a cliff of the moon. Don Shrew, Igiul, and Tulip marched off the ship and across the valley, their goons carrying several coolers. In the distance, a Galactic Navy base stood, encased in a barrier.

An army of impish creatures awaited them. They had white, furry hoods and red suits, though their colors varied, and all had a large “Y” on their suits. They waved flags that bore the “Y” symbol with spectacles on either side of the letter. The leader of these creatures was a larger one in a navy officer’s uniform, his head mechanical with a glass dome, and carrying a scepter whose head matched his own.

“Rear Admiral Sudorg, how good to see you!” the Don expressed. “I suppose Vice Admiral Dump couldn’t bother?”

“NYAH, no get pleasant with me, Don Shrew! YOU better have what YOU promised, Y!”

“Y-NAUT, Y-NAUT, Y-NAUT!” The troops chanted, arms positioned like the letter.

“WHY do you insist on chanting your stupid race’s name when WE ALREADY KNOW?!” Igiul shouted. “How’d you like it if I do it, HUMAN, HUMAN, ITALIANO!”

“Patience, dear Sudorg, we have the Moebian right here! So long as you hand us what we asked, we’ll hand her right over and be on our merry way.”

“Let’s not be so hasty, Ma’am.” Another voice spoke from behind Sudorg.  

“Oh?” The troops moved aside: a muscular, dark-skinned boy stepped up. He had a black, messy mohawk, an open black vest, white pants, and orange boots. Gold bands covered his wrists. “Admiral Uub?! Why, I didn’t expect to see you here~”

“Don Shrew, I demand to see Admiral Eniram alive. Show us her right now!”

“I’m afraid I can only meet you halfway. Safety first, you know?” Shrew snapped her fingers.

The Pianta goons carrying the coolers opened them. Uub froze up in terror: the coolers contained Eniram’s body parts, frozen in perfect ice cubes. “YOU’VE KILLED HER!! Don Shrew, you won’t leave this moon ALIVE!”

The admiral began to enlarge and transform: he was a five-headed, ten-tusked, pure-white elephant. Don Shrew smirked, conjuring a massive cloud of gas when Uub blasted Water Guns from all five trunks. The gas filtered and vaporized the water, but Uub held his breath and charged through the gas, attempting to flatten the mafia with his trunks. Tulip slipped away while Shrew and Igiul endured the trunks. The boss bent powder out from her dress and shoved it up one of the trunks. Uub huffed it in, causing that head’s eyes to grow wide and turn mad. Uub cut off the consciousness from that head and stomped away, shooting water jets from his feet. Tulip drew a long pole to whack and deflect the jets. Meanwhile, Don Shrew bent a wave of toxic waste over from the ship to splash over Uub, the elephant struggling to evade.

“’ey, knock it off, ya stupid elefante!” Igiul yelled. “She’s-a fine, have a look!” He drew a flamethrower and used it to melt the ice around Eniram’s head.

“Oi! Where in blazes?!” Eniram bounced awake. “Why am I so cold, I…AH?! WHERE THE HELL IS MY BODY?!”

“Eniram?! You’re alive?!”

“Uub?!”

“I chopped her up with-a my Chop-Chop Fruit!” Igiul twirled a butcher’s knife. “Nothing dies from my chopping unless I say so! It’s good for keeping the meat nice and fresh.”

“Now, I think we had a deal.” Shrew smirked. “The navy’s going to trade me the materials I asked for in exchange for your admiral well and alive.”

“You don’t possibly think we’ll let you get away with this!” Uub argued. “Augh!” But a force overcame him as his eye flashed the navy’s symbol. “Why… How could you let this happen… Admiral…”

“Nee, Y-NAUTS, bring the tankards out!” Sudorg ordered. “Just get her to stop polluting MY moon, Y!”

“Y-NAUT, Y-NAUT, Y-NAUT!” The soldiers transported several jugs of substance to the mafia’s side. Igiul stuffed Eniram’s head back in her cooler as all her pieces were handed to the navy. “You’ll have to reassemble her yourself-a!”

“Pleasure doing business with you~” Shrew wiggled her fingers as they returned to their ship.

“Wait, we’re not through here!” Uub yelled. “What’s the status of the Black Lotus leader’s daughter and wife?!”

“I think we’ll keep them around a little bit longer. Make sure you navy guys behave. Mushu-shu-shu-shu-shu-shu-shu!” Her laugh echoing across the moon, the mafia ascended back to the planet.

Toadstool Manor

Revilo stood guard outside Airam’s room while the girl changed clothes. He glared as Awful Oiram walked by. “’ey, what’s the little scappa doin’ in there, boy?!”

“Why the fuck do you throw in Italian words in your English? How’m I supposed to know what you’re saying if you don’t-”

“It means runaway, fucking runaway, you stupid merda!” Oiram pushed Revilo aside and banged the door. “Oi! You better not be plotting anything in there-”

Airam blew the door open with a Radon Punch, slamming her father against the opposite wall. She had on her brown pants, but only a white tank-top. “I don’t recall giving you permission to attack my right hand.”

“I don’t need my own daughter’s permission! Even in the mafia, I’m ranked the same as you!”

“Revilo was ordered to guard my room while I get dressed. Girls like privacy, I hope you know.”

“You’ve had enough privacy this past year! I demand to look in your room!” The father stormed into the room and tore up his daughter’s dresser, queen-size bed, and her TV. “Hmph…no communicators, letters, or nothin’.” With that, Oiram stomped out. “But I’ll catch you one of these days, and when I do-”

“DADDY! Sissy!”

Esiuol magnetically flew at her sister with a hug. “Ain’t it a beaut that we’re back home? When Ma gets back, can we go to one of them ‘funny playgrounds’ with all the screamin’ people?”

“It’s called an amusement park, you idiot!” Airam pushed her off. “And Esiuol, I do believe you soiled all your pants, so you should really buy some new ones.”

“Shoot, how’d you know, Sissy? I don’t even remember doin’ it!”

“Well, my enhanced smell says otherwise.” And also, because she asked Revilo to fill them with dirt. “So, Dad, could you take Esiuol shopping before dinner?”

“Bah!” Oiram grabbed the older twin’s hand and dragged her away.

“I forget she even exists sometimes.” Airam sighed.

“I can see why you don’t like these dicks.” Revilo remarked.

“Hmm…” Airam glanced up at her friend. In truth, she cared less about the state of her room than she did for his wellbeing. “Do you hate me?”

Revilo perked up. “Where did that come from?”

“Where do you think? Because of me, you and the others…sigh, you know.”

“Forget about that. We just gotta… figure something out is all. The rest of the DNK have to come eventually, right?”

“Who knows. Anyway… better get dressed. You can use my washroom.”

…

Revilo would stay by his friend’s side in the dining room. One by one, the consiglieres arrived. “’SCUSE ME, CHUMS.” A huge, muscular Washling man in a pirate captain’s black coat and hat marched in. His voice was rather scary and gurgly. “I had a bite before coming here, so sorry if I smell like shark-sticks and tartar. HMM-MUU-MUU-MUU!”

Captain Mollusk is a pirate who once terrorized the seas of Toadstool before joining the mafia. He is -130 years old and oversees Washopolis as his territory. He ate the Eel-Eel Fruit, Model: Conger, making him capable at underwater combat.

“I’m quite positive your people invented toothpaste, so I doubt your apology is sincere.” Yeknod replied. “Why don’t you apply your culture’s tradition to practice more often?”

Yeknod Gnok and his family of apes rule the animals of the Gnok Sea with terror. He is a genius scientist and strategist. He seems to possess a Devil Fruit that lets him emit smoke.

“You’re the one who smells like a cigar barn, Yeknod.” Tulip retorted. She was a thin woman in a black bikini and high-heel boots, and her hair was light-brown. “But if Igiul don’t give me some, I’ll let you make a monkey in me~” She popped a bottle open and drank.

“’ey! We still haven’t found out if you’re pregnant,” Igiul yelled, “don’t-a poison my little mushroom!”

“Like we need any more kids around here.”

Tulip had always been a close officer of Don Shrew, and she commands the mafia in the country of Sarexaland. Her Strip-Strip Fruit can hypnotize people into performing sexual dances by stripping them half-naked, but the effect will wear off if they are reclothed.

The Oiram Brothers had parallel seats near the table’s end. Airam and Esiuol would sit on that end at separate sides of their mother’s seat. Revilo found Nebraskapook casting him a glare. There were other officers present as well.

The doors creaked open as Don Shrew entered the chamber, proudly taking her seat. The Gifter butlers (Shy Guys with sweet faces) would dance out and serve food to the table. “What a spectacular start to the new year! Not only have the New Galaxia operations succeeded splendidly, but my darling daughters have returned home! The new drugs produced from Airam’s Noble Gases have shown great promise. I’m so proud of you, dear!” She ruffled Airam’s hair.

“Meh…”

“Of course, I’m sure we can produce much more than drugs. With your help, we may finally construct the perfect weapons to crush those wretched rival pirates.”

“Dah, her chi is inferior to yours!” declared Admiral Azure, a Dya-Namite with a mystic blue glow and high British accent. “We can make no more perfect weapons than with our lady’s toxicity!”

“No, there is great promise in the Underboss’s Noble Gases.” replied Bronzebob, a bronze-colored Dya-Namite in a bowler hat and Russian accent. He was a capo. “With her, we may be able to crush the last resisters of the rebellion.”

“Haven’t the rebel races fallen low enough?” Airam asked. “Just leave them to their territories.”

“Oh, you know we can’t afford to show mercy, sweetheart.” Shrew cooed. “Even so, my current concerns are the other Emperors. They’ve been attempting to make advances on the planet, and it’s only a matter of time before they abduct the rebels into their crew. Just as how the Meta-Beasts kidnapped those Kremlings long ago.”

“We also have another army to concern ourselves with.” said Nolrem. He was a gray-cloaked Shaman with a huge, white mustache that brushed the floor, its ends like swirly clouds. Nolrem had a clock under the mustache’s center: he was a timebender with a unique gray chi, and a consigliere. “The Daring New Kids. They will no doubt try to save their comrades.”

“Well, let them come. That only means more slaves or potential soldatos for us. Airam, you’ve spent some time with the DNK. Tell me, any particular ones catch your interest?”

“Nope. I think I sold out enough of them at this point.”

“Then I suppose we’ll have to wait ’til if and when they visit our little world. But I should like to hope your prisoners are still in fair condition?”

“My little Washlings are having a shell of a time with that scrawny one, hmm-muu-muu-muu!” Captain Mollusk laughed.

“You just-a better behave,” Oiram said to Airam, “or we’ll stuff them marmocchies with way more drugs! We went easy on them with those Body Mushrooms!”

“You have my sincerest gratitude for your ‘mercy.’” Airam glared.

“Ah love mercy, too!” Esiuol cheered. “Mercironi and cheese!”

“Oh, and Airam’s friend.” Shrew said to Revilo. “Could you bring this bowl down to the basement? I’m sure the prisoner’s starving.”

A Gift Guy held a bowl of green ooze to Revilo. The boy huffed and carried it downstairs as told. There were Piantas guarding a cellar in the basement, and a smooth Hispanic voice was singing. “Mushroom Shrew… Mushroom Shrew… if she doesn’t scare you, then what can she do? To see her makes you wanna take a poo… Don Mushroom, Don Mushroom~ She’s like a spider creeping down on you… Look out for Don Mushroom… Shrew…”

“I brought this for him.” Revilo told the guards.

A Pianta opened the cell. Revilo walked up to Sutsugua Saruzzif, chained to the wall with chi-blocks. “Here to serve me more poison?” he asked with a smile.

“You don’t have to eat it, I guess.”

“Nah, it’s good for the immune system.” Revilo shrugged and held it over, allowing Sutsugua to sip from the bowl.

“Airam says she’s sorry this all happened.”

“Well, that ain’t like her. Tell her to straighten up and keep scowling. Sweetness don’t do you any good in this place. Hmp! Kuff, cough! Case and point!”

“You need a drink?”

“Nah! I’m just… fine. Aaah…just don’t worry about me, kid. I’m a seasoned mafia man. And the longer they keep me here, the more trouble they’ll be in.”

“If you say so…” Revilo left after he was finished.

Sutsugua smirked through the green on his mouth. He still had the paper tucked away in his ear, and hoped that the others still had theirs.

Somewhere on the sea

During the mission to rescue Sutsugua on Planet Contempora, the Bodyguard Trio, consisting of Eiwets, Ollar, and Eiggam, stowed away on a Mushroom ship. Ollar had sealed them all in a book and blended them in on a shelf. Once the ship made return to the planet, they emerged from the book and KO’ed the crewmen, taking control of the vessel. Their other Little Dad associates climbed out of the books. “As I feared, it seems Nega-MG have been divided across the planet.” Ollar said. He was holding several paper cranes that were trying to flap in various directions. “Not only that… they seem to be tracing multiple cards. Perhaps they are trying to indicate other associates.”

Before Nega-MG left for New Galaxia, the Little Dads had given them small papers called Vivre Cards. The cards were made from Mama Tebrehs’s sacred tree and had the ability to track each other. The range was only effective for cards on the same planet. Ollar focused his mind over the cranes and listened for sounds radiating from the scattered cards. “I hear their voices, as well as unfamiliar ones. I don’t know why she has scattered the cards further, but I conjecture there are other prisoners being detained in exchange for -MG’s cooperation.”

“Then we gots to go save them all, we do!” Eiwets exclaimed.

“The boss only wanted us to prioritize Sutsugua and Airam.” Eiggam reminded.

“Regardless, our chance of success is minimal with our numbers. We must plan our course carefully…”

Washopolis

Washopolis was set on a small island close to the grander Monochrome Island. Known for its Wash Wars, parts of the city would be covered in filth for teams of Washlings to scrub clean. The team who cleaned the most in the allotted time won. The Washlings were humanoid creatures with squid-like or octopus hair, and they could change into these creatures, too. Their hair came in different colors and contained all kinds of soaps.

Washopolis was known for its jazz and folk music. “On the Hook” were the jazz duo: a short Washling named Diana who played the clarinet, and a taller Octowash named Aniram who played piano.

The “Squid Cousins” were the folk band: Eillac was a soft-spoken Washling who played the harmonica and her cousin, Eiram played the accordion. Eiram was the more upbeat singer between the two. These two were also famous as the granddaughters of Captain Mollusk, so naturally, the citizens feared their wrath.

Several of the Washlings served as soldatos for the mafia. Abatiuqs and Mauqs were a particularly nasty pair of siblings who were overseeing the torture of their new prisoner. “No, I don’t want any more! Stop it!” cried Oemor Tlobnoc as the Washlings stuffed him with spicy beans. But it wouldn’t matter, for once he was full enough, they would force-feed him laxatives and make him take a large dump in his own pants.

This was one of several ways they would filthify him daily, others being showering him in manure or urine, making him eat mud, or submerging him in trash. Then they would scrub him clean by submitting him to carwashes boiling bathtubs, or massive toothbrushes that drilled the inside of his mouth. Afterwards, the boy would be strung upside-down in his chains above a toilet, crying like a helpless nerd being tortured by bullies. His green “Reading Raincloud” shirt and orange shorts were terribly damp, and his shoes and socks had been taken away. He already lost his glasses a while ago.

“NOOO!” Oemor cried as a Washling pressed a button to dunk him into the toilet. The toilet flushed upon sensing a presence inside it.

“The sooner you quit cryin’, the sooner I’ll let ya breathe.” The Washling was reading a magazine and not even looking at his suffering.

“Just let us go home! We didn’t even care about the mafia, the navy made us—aaahh!” Oemor was dunked again.

“No one cares, kid.”

Oemor gasped for breath after being pulled out. He lost the will to cry further, but the humiliation and helplessness was building up. If not for these chi-blocking chains, he could try to summon a Dream Spirit to bust him out. Still, if he kept being put through the wringer, maybe he would shrink skinny enough to slip out of these chains. Then he could make a swift escape down that auto-flushing toilet. Boy, how he’d like to just make like a Minish and shrink away from the world. Still, he wasn’t even good at the Psy-Shrink technique, and it’s not like he could in this state.

If only he could at least be near Asigan. Her beautiful figure, sweet sky-blue hair, soothing eyes and soft skin. If only she could give him a hug after every day of torture. It would be all worth it to feel her comforting embrace…

“?” Oemor thought back to his previous notion about shrinking, then he thought back to Asigan. And then he remembered… Field Day. The Fairy Sisters put a magic curse around all the participants of the Whisper Hour. Would it actually work here? With nothing else to lose, Oemor decided to shout, “Asigan doesn’t like her Positive, Nagisa, and she was glad that he turned into a girl in New Galaxia!”

“The hell does that have to do with anything?” The Washling pressed the button again without looking. He heard the chain lower and the sound of flushing.

About 10 seconds later, Abatiuqs and Mauqs walked into the room. “Good news, boy!” Abatiuqs smirked. “We’re filling that toilet with…?!” They panicked: the chains were dangling loose and empty. They looked into the toilet as it had just finished a flush. “Nahtni, where’d the prisoner go?!”

“Huh?” He looked up. “WHAT?! No, he was there just a second ago! He shouted something about Asi-whatever, so I pushed the button and…”

“He must’ve loosened the chains somehow!” Mauqs deduced. “He could be using his psychic to hide! Call the others and find him!”

…

“AAAAHH!” Oemor had been flushed down the toilet, taking a waterslide down a pipe. The shrunken boy wound up in the town sewers. He resurfaced gasping for breath and climbed onto a sidewalk. “Man, it’s even clean down here. Huff…thank goodness that worked. …But now I’m stuck like this. And if they catch me in this state…gulp.” He didn’t want to imagine the new forms of torture he’d be put through. “How am I ever gonna find the others?” Though he was free from the torture, he felt even more powerless than before. If he could at least learn where Asigan is… well, it would be a start. But how could he get to her now… and how could they even escape?

Toadstool Manor

“So, darlings…” Don Shrew said to her daughters as she walked them to their rooms, “did you enjoy meeting the family again after so long?”

“I rarely saw them, so I barely considered them family.” Airam said.

“Ah missed Uncle Nolrem’s face-waterfalls!” Esiuol said. “It feels like a cloud made o’ strings!”

“Oh, give yourself some time to warm up to them, Airam. Until then, you’d best behave. You’ve got to learn responsibility if you want to inherit this business. And you can’t learn responsibility by running from it. Especially in a universe that wants your pretty little head, mushu shu! Now, you sleep well tonight. Got any plans for tomorrow?”

“Well, I was thinking of looking for that Abmoog’s family.”

“You be careful then. Those long-armed freaks can be a handful, mushu shu. Good night, dears.” She walked away.

“Sissy, can I go with you tomorrow?”

“I don’t want you anywhere near me. Go find your own business.” Airam and Revilo entered the former’s room and slammed it shut.

Don Shrew would return to her room with Oiram. “You’re puttin’ too much trust in that girl, Shrew. She’s-a cookin’ somethin’!”

“Oh, let her try, Oiram. After all, backstabbing is what we do best~”

Abmoog Woods; the next day

Revilo drove Airam out to the nearby forest. The trees were rather torn up from the Abmoogs’ regular workouts, and the locals naturally cast glares at the gangsters’ car. Eventually, Revilo parked the vehicle as they both stepped out. Abmoogs immediately surrounded them threateningly. “What are YOU doin’ here… ‘Underboss’?”

A much bigger pair of arms climbed down from some tall trees. They belonged to a black-stached Abmoog with blue and white king’s attire. “Lord Abmoog… I’ve come to make a request.”

“A request? You sure you don’t mean an offer I can’t refuse?!”

“No. I know you’re an officer of the Revolutionary Army, and I’m certain you have ways of contacting your fellows.”

“What’s it to you? We ain’t got nothin’ goin’ on. You and your wretched family got this whole world wrapped around your slimy fingers.”

“I’m just as trapped as the rest of you. The mafia is holding my friends hostage. Well… acquaintances, most of them.”

“And why does that concern us?”

“Listen, big guy… I want to restore peace to this planet. I wanna take my mom down and stop the drug deals. My goals are no different from yours.”

“Pretty bold of you to say that out loud. Ya sure there ain’t spies?”

“You’re the one who would know that. Or is your Seismic Sense not as good as they say?”

“Heh heh! Ya got me there. True, these fools can’t lie to save their nuts. But you’re a different story. The way you’re speaking and that calm heartbeat… It just screams with untrust.”

“I don’t like to waste time with emotions. But I’m serious: I need the Revolutionaries’ help to take down the mafia. But I can’t while my fellow DNK are in danger. They didn’t ask for this. They wanted nothing to do with me, but they’ve been forced into enslavement against their will. I know you guys have agents all around the world. And that’s why… I would like for you to contact them and rescue those operatives.”

“You expect us to endanger ourselves for you?!”

“That’s why I called this a request. Besides, the Revolutionaries try to save innocent prisoners, right? Why should they be any different? So long as the mafia is holding them hostage, I won’t be able to fully act against Don Shrew. And if nothing else… I just want to get them off this planet. So… will you please help?”

“And what if our men end up suffering for yours?”

“Then I will personally rescue them myself.”

“You’re a mighty bold child… too bold to be lyin’, I wager. But tell me… how do ya expect us to get them off the planet?”

“I have associates from Earth. I would wager they’re on this world right now, possibly listening to me. If your allies knew a special place they could bring the operatives, my allies could meet you there and take them. For them to be able to find it easier, you’ll need this.” She took the Vivre Card out of her ear and gave it to the ruler.

“Alright, kiddo… we’ll see if my allies feel like granting your request. But you’d better not disappoint us.”

“I don’t plan to. However… there’s one more thing I need you to do for me.”

“Yeah, what?”

“The mafia thinks I drove out here wanting to collect money from some Abmoogs’ family. We may have to rough each other up to make it look convincing.”

“If you say so. But don’t think I’ll go easy on you.”

Lord Abmoog’s earthbending was powerful, so Airam had to put some effort into fighting back with poisonbending. Revilo even struggled to hold back the Abmoogs assaulting him. They cut the battle short before too much damage was done.

Airam would then clarify where the operatives in question were being detained. Allebmoog was working in the coal mines on the bitter cold island of Onifled. Anaigrom was sewing clothes in Lake Démodé’s sweatshop. Oemor was supposedly imprisoned in Washopolis. Terezi was working in a factory at Famished Fields, being made to do sniff tests for their drugs. Xedni was on Aquaqua Island, being made to do hula dances for the vicious, big-nosed dinosaurs. Asigan was being forced to pole dance in Sarexaland. And of course, Ikik was a zoo attraction on Gnok Island’s jungle.

“So, she intends for us to rescue these operatives.” Ollar listened in. “But why has not informed them of her direct allies?”

…

“It’s because my first priority and getting those seven out of here.” Airam told Revilo. “Nega-SA didn’t ask to be the navy’s pawns and Terezi was only leading us through New Galaxia. But once the Revolutionaries secure those seven, the four of us can meet up, get with those Revolutionaries, and get to work. Our mission then will be to bust Sutsugua out of the mansion. If my mom doesn’t suspect anything beforehand, you can bet she will then. Of course… you guys can always head to that place and escape with them.”

“Well, I’d rather stick with you. Can’t say the same for the others.”

For the next few weeks, Airam would return to regular mafia duty, catching runaway customers or slaves and bringing them back to the capos and consiglieres. She would contribute some Poison Chi to some of the mafia’s drugs and Admiral Azure’s weapons. Every few days, she would be allowed to meet with her teammates for a casual hangout.

“Well, you’re sure out of shape, Ydnew.” Revilo remarked.

Indeed, Ydnew had been shrunk to the body of a 3-year-old. “I’m sthick of working for that dumb Nolwem! Sthupid age-wegression!”

“Can’t you use your bending to stretch back to normal?”

“I could if he wet me use a miwwow! When I twy, I just wook ugwy!”

“As for me, things are going good in Damp Damp Desert.” Lihp replied. “The Mighty Mice are pretty cool dudes! We’ve been working out a ton!”

“That’s good to hear.” Airam replied. “So, let me ask you guys… if you guys had a chance to escape this planet, even if it meant leaving me behind… would you do it?”

“Nuh-uh! I can’t weave you aww awone up here!” Ydnew stomped.

“Me neither!” Lihp cheered. “I know things aren’t lookin’ so hot now, but we’ll get through it! Besides… it sounds like you’re up to something.”

“I wish I could say that. But who knows, there could be something going on under our noses.”

“HEY, SISSY!” Esiuol flew up and glomped her sister. “Let’s go play Bally Ball! You an’ me can be against the boys, and the li’l girl can be the coach!”

“Look, Esiuol, would you just leave me alone?”

“But Mah says she wants us to be friends!”

“Esiuol, Mom doesn’t care if we’re friends. You’re a tracking device. You’re a threat to my privacy and you can’t keep your mouth shut. Now, make use of that power and repel yourself away from me.”

“…” Downtrodden, the older twin flipped her Magnet power in reverse and flew away.

Across the world

The Revolutionaries had several squads of Ninjapook to swiftly travel around and relay messages to the officers. Airam wasn’t told about these ninja, but she wanted Lord Abmoog to relay a promise to the other officers: “Goddaughter Airam wants to undo all the harm her mom has done. Please work with me in restoring the planet!”

After some time, the Rebels initiated their rescue operations. (And no, I don’t expect you to remember all these characters, just go with the flow.)

The Revolutionary commander of the Gnok Islands was Yknam Gnok. Working with Kremlings and other allied animals, they swarmed the zoo to bust the apeified Ikik out of her cage, though the wild girl didn’t come along patiently. It was then a rogue, giant Kremling called Nilluk Ysmul attempted to crush them with monstrous strength, but Ikik fought the monster out of instinct. She still remembered how to use Space Sumo Style, so she and Yknam were able to topple the beast together.

Ikik became exhausted and more cooperative after the bout, but on the cusp of their escape, Yeknod confronted them directly. He remarked how Yknam was always the loser of the family, even more than the late Yknuhc, who had gone rogue and fled to the Smile Pirates many years ago. Yknam was angry that they had Yknuhc assassinated, and on top of the fact that Yeknod poisoned their elder, Sappy Gnok, Yknam had long lost faith in the family. Yeknod revealed his Bear-Bear Fruit, Model: Smoky, which could emit smoke. As Yknam fought him, he had a Chomps shark carry Ikik across the sea. That same shark would be chased by the swordfish, Unguard, but other loyal sharks would hold the fish back.

…

The smoggy skies above Famished Fields were home to Poison Puffs and Utikals, who dreamed of living in fresh, clear skies. They swarmed the factory where Terezi was imprisoned, fighting back the wicked, rotted flowers called Bloo-Ooms that ran the place. Terezi was in a sickened state after being forced to huff drugs, but the Utikal commander, Ululikal gave her some medicine. It didn’t fix her completely, but Terezi regained enough strength to escape. They were impeded by Retselikal, a traitorous Utikal who served the mafia. Ululikal revealed he was her ex-boyfriend, and she encouraged Terezi to escape while she settled the score with him.

…

Oiraw and Igiulaw were the poorest brothers of Sarexaland, but they became infamous revolutionaries. They led a reliable band to swarm Tulip’s strip club and get some decent clothes on Asigan, breaking the spell of Tulip’s Devil Fruit. Tulip confronted them, but Oiraw battled her with his airbending while Igiulaw used his musicbending to whisk Asigan away.

…

The Flounder Plants swarmed the Ihsoy of Aquaqua Island and helped Xedni escape. She would ride atop a giant Aqua Flounder, who swam across the sea to take her to freedom. They were chased by Copernicus the Crow, a giant crow who acted as the Consigliere of the island. Copernicus ate the Pigeon Fruit, which allows him to turn into that bird while dropping large mounds of… well, you know. Aqua Flounder relied on some smaller Flounders to carry Xedni away while he fought the bird.

…

Similarly, Yetep Flounder would lead the Revolutionaries on Isle Onifled, such as his trusted companion, Scrubber Blooper. They and their soapy compatriots wiped the floor with the mafia on the island to liberate Allebmoog and some fellow Abmoog slaves. Unfortunately, they were trapped by the island’s capo, Judge Acsecnarf. The judge used her Nen-type Court-Court Fruit to trap them in a courtroom. She would initiate some kind of argument, and they could only attack each other with words for the argument. Fortunately, Allebmoog was a good arguer, and she was able to show her the door! Yetep would stay back to wreck the mafia’s boats while Scrubber Blooper carried Allebmoog across the sea.

…

A family of blue rabbits called the Bloodals dove into Lake Démodé to rescue Anaigrom. Taking down the Lochladies wasn’t too troublesome, but that was until the Consigliere, Eniluap arrived. This French-accented human ate the Fuzzy-Fuzzy Fruit: her black fur coat could release a swarm of fuzzies that were closely connected. The Bloodals encouraged Anaigrom to run, but she was determined to vent some rage! Anaigrom donned her own crocodile-scaled coat that made a perfect shield against the Fuzzies, though some managed to seep through the gaps and suck Anaigrom’s stamina. Still, she persevered and struck Eniluap with Gas Footbombs, eventually KOing the woman.

The Bloodals decided to bind her up and take them amid their escape. With all the operatives rescued, the revolutionaries would meet on Sternrudder Island: it was a secret island shrouded in a thick mass of fog. Only people who knew the correct means of travel could navigate the fog and enter the island. Otherwise, there was a spiritual spell in place that would make ships sail out of the fog.

The Vivre Card had been entrusted to a Ninjapook, who would wait on a boat as a mafia ship seemed to be approached. The Apook would learn this ship was in control of the Little Dad Mafia. He agreed to guide the Little Dads through the fog, where they would find the DNK waiting on that island. “Why hasn’t Oemor shown up, yet?!” Asigan asked worriedly.

“According to the agents in Washopolis,” Igiulaw replied, “that prisoner seems to have escaped. But because he’s hiding, they can’t invade the upper city without a solid plan.”

“Then we…we need to go find him!”

“Airam has requested us to get you off the planet.” Ollar stated. “We are not obligated to do so. We only wish to secure her and Sutsugua. Will you allow us to take you, or will you stay here?”

Asigan shared looks with her exhausted teammates. She growled at herself in frustration.

Toadstool Manor

“FOOLS!” Don Shrew bellowed through the comms. “How could you let them all ESCAPE?!”

“It wasn’t a total loss, my dearest!” Yeknod said. “I have successfully secured Yknam and many of the traitors!”

“The little SHRIMP had already disappeared some time ago.” Captain Mollusk said. “Disappeared right from under my idiot granddaughters’ noses! Some think he’s still in town somewhere, but they’ve already scrubbed the place clean!”

“Shrew, you know that little cagna had something to do with this.” Oiram stated. “She’s been plotting with the Rebels all this time!”

“Where is she now?!”

“She had business on Spring Mountain, last I heard.”

“Esiuol! Get over here!”

Her eldest daughter nervously entered the room. “Yes, Ma?”

“Come!” Don Shrew forcefully snatched her by the scruff and dragged her away. “We’re going to give your little sissy a stern talking to. Nolrem, meet us at Spring Mountain pronto!”

“Yes, Godmother.” Nolrem signed off on that note.

Esiuol clenched her teeth anxiously.

Spring Mountain

Spring Mountain was a fairly peaceful area where it rained almost endlessly. The light rain was gentle, but the sky was always gloomy. Revilo and Airam had gone to the local theme park, Daimyo Studios, to help the Loan-Loans collect rent from the owners. (The Loan-Loans were Nega-Cheep-Cheeps, still round, but with shark features, because they were loan sharks.) The mission went without trouble, so she trusted the sharks to bring the money back.

Afterwards, Airam and Revilo went for a walk on the mountain trail, finding a bench to rest on. “Seems that the officers are in a frenzy. I’m willing to bet the Revolutionaries succeeded.”

“When will we know for sure?”

“When they decide to gang up and question me. That’s why we’ve been trying to keep our distance. But I’m sure the Little Dads will come, too. By then, it’ll be time to rescue Sutsugua. But even then, we’ll be up against my mom directly. We’ll need the Revolutionaries to accomplish that as well.”

“Why not leave and try to get more DNK?”

“That may not be an option. Even if they were willing to help someone like me, the navy is breathing down their throats, by the sound of it. At the same time, I don’t think the Revolutionaries made clean getaways. They won’t appreciate doing any more favors for me. Not unless I repay them in turn.”

“I guess that’s how this business goes.”

Airam looked at him. “Well, I’m used to being in debt. It’s not like I’m any close to paying back you guys or the Little Dads.”

“That’s the thing about friendship.” Revilo shrugged. “There’s no deadline when paying back favors, I guess.”

“…Still considering me a friend is a bit much.”

“Why? I like you, and I wanna help you do this. After gettin’ to know that bitch, I wanna take her down, too.”

“Revilo, I dragged you down a road that you can’t easily travel back on. Why would you still-”

“Yeah, yeah, I heard it before. Look… I might’ve signed up for this without thinking at first. This whole thing stresses me out, fine. But deep down… I can tell that you’re glad to have me. I can tell that you feel bad for us. And if we weren’t here… you might just fall apart completely.”

“…” Airam lightly touched his hand. “Revilo… I-”

“I FOUND YOU!”

Lasers rained down on them, the kids hastily evading. It was only then the cloaked space-pirate ships revealed their selves, flying the Meta-Beast colors. Commander Tachyon, some Gnosis, Primagen and his Dinosoids, and Commodore Krawq dropped to the ground. “This many people?!” Airam exclaimed. It was true that she was stressed: even in this relaxing moment, she had carelessly deactivated her Haki.

“Men, seize her at once!” Tachyon ordered.

“REVILO, JUMP!” They dove off the cliff behind the bench, dropping into a rainforest.

“What’s wrong, little heiress?” Krawq sneered, flying down after them in a floating pod. “Not enough bodyguards?!” He blasted lasers across the forest, but Revilo blasted a Dark Beam at the laser’s turret. Primagen dropped down as the big-brained alien used his Past-Past Fruit, summoning insects from the ancient past to swarm the kids. Airam was worried that she may not have antibodies to these ancient bugs, so she quickly took them down with her Noble Gases. But the Gnosis surrounded them, the two struggling to take the aliens down with their bending, and it was then they were seized in the grip of Tachyon’s matterbending.

“I think it’ll be easier to carry you in pieces!” Tachyon declared. “D’AAH!”

It was then Tachyon was crushed under someone: Eiggam of the Bodyguard Trio. “Who do you think you are, you—” Eiggam emitted a one-inch blast of chi with her Blast Fruit power: Tachyon’s Logia body scattered into billions of particles. Eiggam was KO’ed by the aftershock, but some books swooped down to lift her, Revilo, and Airam away.

“Lordy, we almost didn’t make it in time!” Eiwets cried. “Thank the stars you’re safe, Airam!”

“You three! Did you…did you meet with the Rebels?”

“Yes. I listened to you via the cards and followed your instructions.” Ollar replied. “It was not in our quota, but… we called the boss and acquired his permission.”

“But we ain’t take the operatives back to DNK. They’re still in the safe zone.” Eiwets said.

“Why not?” Revilo asked.

“Because they one short! Said their ‘Oemor’ friend was missing, they did!”

“Oemor wasn’t rescued?!”

“Damn.” Airam cursed. “Well, we’ll have to worry about him later.”

“Come back here, you little twits!” Krawq bellowed as he and the pirate ships engaged pursuit. “The king will have our heads if we don’t come back with the heiress!”

“The king doesn’t care about this mission!” Primagen replied. “Captain Ridley gave us the order to-”

“SILENCE! No matter whose orders, if we don’t get that girl, we-”

Gas Nukes were launched from the distance, blasting the enemy ships out of the air. The Little Dads are horrified to see a smaller version of the Black Shroom: Don Shrew, her husband, and her brother-in-law were onboard. (Play “Hag 1” from Banjo-Tooie!)

“Oh, AIIIIIRAAAAAAAM!” She came flying with a blast of gas. The Little Dads stomped the gas and tried to fly faster, but the Godmother blasted more Gas Bombs at the engine to slow them down. “Airam, what do you think you’re doing?! How could you let yourself be kidnapped by these strangers?!”

“Please tell me you guys have a better plan of escape.” Airam said.

“No worries, kid! The boss should be here soon!” Eiwets answered.

“The… boss?”

“Don’t think I haven’t come prepared!” Don Shrew reached behind and grabbed Esiuol, who was tied to her mother via a long rope. “Now, Esiuol! Pull yourself to your sister and I’ll yank you both back!”

Airam grit her teeth, having expected such a tactic. Revilo stood ready to guard Airam… but Esiuol didn’t launch herself over. “What’s wrong?!” Shrew asked. “We should be close enough!”

“I…I don’t wanna, Mama.”

“WHAT?! Do you want these bad men to take her? Seize her NOW!”

“I…I don’t wanna bother mah sister, anymore.”

“Nonsense! Your sister will thank you for saving her! It won’t be a bother at all! Now, get her so I can blow this ship out of the sky!”

“…” Airam peeked out slightly around Revilo. Esiuol could almost see her glare through her double shades. That simple glare that Airam made every day conveyed the same words to her twin: she didn’t want her around. She made it hard for Airam to hide. She was just a tool to keep track of her. And Airam… was a tool for their mother as well. But, she noticed Airam trembling: her hands were green with Radon behind her back, amassing a Radon Bomb by her rear.

Esiuol donned a look of resolve and opened her arms. She kicked her Magnet on and launched: once at Airam, the sister handed her the Radon Bomb. Esiuol immediately repelled herself away and SMASHED the bomb against her mother. “DAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!”

The bomb burned off the rope, but Esiuol was charred as well. She used her last ounce of consciousness to draw herself back to Airam, but fainted before landing on the ship. Ollar flew a book down to catch and drop her by her sister. “Esiuol…” Airam bent the residual gas away from her.

The Little Dads cleared good distance between their selves and Shrew, flying over a field. “WHAT?!” The ship was suddenly frozen in place, trapped in a gray bubble. On the ground, Nolrem was channeling timebending over it: he reverted the ship back to when it was lumber. Ollar tried to carry them on books, but Nolrem stopped him next, causing the books to drop.

“Going somewhere, little lady?”

The group survived the fall using their respective powers. Airam and Revilo started attacking Nolrem, but he would Rewind some of their attacks back and dodge the others. Eiwets became a tiny ball and bounced against Nolrem forcefully, but after Rewinding him back, Eiwets would make the same maneuvers, allowing Nolrem to blast him away with a Chrono Beam. Eiggam clung to him and blasted him away with her power—Nolrem used Time Recordance, so Eiggam blasted away a Paradox Clone. (Nolrem still took damage from the attack.) Once Maggie fell unconscious, Nolrem grabbed her and Age-Regressed her back to an infant. Revilo shot a Dark Beam to knock him away while a recovered Ollar saved Eiggam in a book. However, Nolrem Stopped Ollar again and endured Airam’s poison attacks.

“You’ll be happy to know we locked the spacebender safely away.” Nolrem remarked. “Her power was way too risky to let run loose, ho oh oh!”

“Airam, she’s coming!” Revilo yelled, alerting them to the gas-powered rocket that was Don Shrew.

“Yes, you’ll not be running very far now!”

But then huge seed pods came flying, exploding against Nolrem as large Piranha Plants entangled and chomped him. “Daddy’s here!” A pair of tank wheels sped up, carrying a short man in a black suit and fedora.

“BOSS!” the Bodyguards exclaimed.

“EGEB?!” Airam gasped.

They all gathered together and jumped, immediately shrinking into Egeb’s castle. “EGEEEEB!” Don Shrew soared close over him. “How dare you show your smelly mug on MY planet! After you held my daughter prisoner for so long!”

“Prisoner? Don’t make me laugh. I wanted that kid outta my hair the minute she walked in.”

“Then you should’ve been a good boy and returned her to me!”

“I may not got a good reputation… but you don’t seem like the type to be raising a kid.”

As the group caught their breath inside the mobile castle, a miniature Egeb appeared. “The Nostra Castello is just up ahead. I’ll get you kids onboard and skedaddle on outta here.”

“Egeb, why are you here?!” Airam yelled. “With Don Shrew and the Oiram Brothers here, you could’ve attacked the mansion and saved Sutsugua!”

“Sutsugua can tough it out a little longer. I wanted to see to it personally that I get you away from this shrew.”

“But…”

The Little Dads fired more seeds from Egeb’s cannons, bursting back to normal size as Piranha Plants popped out to munch her, but they were easily dissolved by her gas. Airam got to a window to launch her own bombs, further holding the witch back. Don Shrew launched bombs, but as they shrunk around Egeb’s perimeter, Airam could grab, restrain, and throw them back. The Little Dads’ flagship was just over a hill, a castle-like vessel that drove on tank treads. A back hatch opened, leaving a slope for Egeb to drive up.

“You won’t get away!” Don Shrew mustered a bigger Gas Nuke to launch directly at the opening. Airam immediately jumped out of Egeb’s head, and the don restored her size as she perched herself on top. Airam mustered her power to hold the nuke back, but as it exploded from the pressure, Airam decided to suck the gas into her mouth. Even if she directed the gas elsewhere, her mom could just take it back.

Egeb made it inside the Castello, the hatch sealing as the crewmen fired Veggie Bombs at the Godmother. “Cough, cough! Keh!” Airam collapsed on the ground before Egeb.

“Airam!” A tiny-size Revilo ran to his friend.

“I’m fine…blech! Used to Mom’s stench.”

All of Egeb’s passengers exited his body as they all resized. They headed to the ship’s deck, where they fired seeds to intercept more of Shrew’s Gas Nukes. Other capos like Atteir, Mimebrother, and Brusselscalp were onboard. “Pullin’ off all these attacks and flying with her own bending?!” Eiwets panicked. “She’s got some scary chi, I tells ya!”

Airam looked up curiously as Egeb stepped up to the ship’s stern. Don Shrew was still 30 meters behind them. Egeb faced down at Airam. “Now, kid… I’m countin’ on you to save Sutsugua. And for troublin’ all these kids and Rebels… you better fulfill your promise.”

“Egeb… what’re you…”

“Boss! Wait!” Eiwets cried. “You can’t be thinkin’ of-”

Egeb faced the shrew directly. “BIG FATHER!” Egeb mustered a tremendous surge of chi and lunged at Don Shrew.

“AAAAAAAAH?!?!” The Godmother gawked when the puny man exploded into a massive castle. The castle’s treads RAMMED her dead on and flattened the witch.

“HOLY SHIT!” Airam screamed.

“He can fuckin’ do that?!” Revilo yelled.

“The boss done squished her flat!” Eiwets exclaimed.

“Do not be fooled.” Atteir said.

A great cloud of purple gas began to seep out from beneath the castle. “Errrrryyyyyaaaaaahhhh!” A pair of giant, gassy hands hauled Egeb off, and a titan of gas rose from the ground. “Mushushushushushushu…mushushushushushu…” The gas shaped like Don Shrew, but with a pair of horns and red eyes. “Muuuuuushushushushu…”

“It’s Mom’s… Death Cloud Fury.” Airam gasped.

The Big Father rolled away from the titan and bombarded it with cannons. The ammo simply flew through the mass of gas, but Shrew grabbed hold of Egeb in attempt to rot his castle. Big Father plowed forward, knowing her real body was somewhere inside. He managed to ram the small Don, but the gas began to encase him. Egeb spun around to shake her off, then aimed his cannons directly against her. Don Shrew withstood the fire and willed the gas to seep inside. Egeb used the castle’s ventilation system to filter it, falling over to crush the shrew, but she survived again and used her bending to push him off. (Play “Sorrow” from Xenoblade Chronicles.)

Their battle carried on from the distance, even by the time the Castello made it to a river and sailed away. As Airam bit her lip in fear, “Airam, I hear Egeb’s voice in the Vivre Card!” Ollar reported.

“You do?!”

Egeb projected another clone inside his castle to speak to his card. “Hey, Ollar! If you’re hearing this, pass a word to the kid for me. Tell her… that I may not’ve liked her attitude… but she was still an honorary member of the Little Dad Family. If Mama Tebrehs trusts her… then she’s A-OK in my book.”

“Egeb…” Airam’s glasses sank. Why was he picking now of all times to say that?

“When you become the new boss of Mushroom Mafia… I hope our families can work as one. But ya better make it, kid. ’Cause if ya don’t… you’ll be doin’ me a great disservice.”

“EGEB! WAIT!” Airam screamed.

“And make sure ya tell the rest of ’em… that Papa Egeb sends his farewells! OH! MY FAMILY! May we meet again… in the next life!”

The gas overwhelmed him too much. Egeb shrank back to his human form, laying coughing on the ground. Don Shrew landed, walking over the boss with a smug glare. “Little Dad… you were such a small-time gang… yet, you thought your silly veggies stood a chance against my empire.”

“SHREW!” Oiram yelled, the brothers flying overhead.

“Oiram, toss me a gun. I want to finish this quick.”

Her husband dropped a pistol, landing cleanly in her hand. She cocked the gun, aimed down, and pelted him with bullets. “I never liked you, Egeb… but I’ll be sure to show your grandson your body.”

“Eh…go suck on a cactus… you damn… Shrew…”

“EGEEEEEEEEB!” Airam could feel his presence vanish. Her glasses dropped as tears spilled from her eyes.

The last traces of smoke rose from Egeb’s cigar. It flowed to Shrew’s face. “Poof.” She blew. The Don glared in the direction the treads led.

The mafiosos sobbed, knowing what fate became of the boss. “Boooooooss!”

“Papa…” Atteir sniffled.

“Egeb…” Airam dropped to her knees.

“Airam…” Revilo touched her shoulder.

“Boss… thank…sniff…thank you for… putting up with someone like me…”

“Alright… let’s keep this ship moving.” Eiggam said. “We have to get to the safe place… there’ll be more of them coming soon.”

…

The Meta-Beasts decided to abandon their mission when backup Mushroom Mafia arrived to fend them off. Ydnew was cuffed inside a cell at Ztardie Valley, but could hear someone tearing through the soldatos outside. She gasped at seeing her mother, Einna had come to rescue her, having escaped her own prison and put her Rokushiki to work. Lihp was inspiring his band of Mighty Mice to join the revolution. And as the Castello escaped across the sea, Airam lay with a heavy heart. (End song.)

…

“At first, you think Don Shrew is a devil…” Sutsugua’s song echoed through the basement. “But after time has worn away the shock… You come to realize, you’ve seen her kind of eyes, watching you from underneath a rock! This vampire bat, this inhuman beast… She ought to be locked up and never released. The world was such a wholesome place to view… until Don Mushroom, Don Mushroom… Shrew…”

Chapter Text

I had trouble getting motivated for Ydnam, but I think I have a good concept going for her. I definitely have some good ideas for the Galactic Navy though. Actually, watching Pixar’s Soul was good inspiration for a certain plot point. That movie just about had me tearing up, Pixar did it again.

Ydnam EiznekCm grew up like any common girl in the town of Startsville, liking ponies and tea parties. But despite living in the happiest place on Earth, her parents were toxic, and she was always forced to hear about the dark happenings of the world. Her encounter with her Positive sure didn’t help, Ydnam’s mind being distorted by her fearbending and forced to become like Mandy for a short time.

Fortunately, Ydnam had her dreams to turn to. Ydnam had one of the most majestic dreamscapes, where she sailed a boat on seas of golden sand, where her favorite islands were risen up on pillars of sand. There were sandy rivers that could carry Ydnam to the dreams of her classmates: she was a Bubble Dreamer, so such an act was easy. She would invite her friends on adventures through the Dream Realm, fighting evil Dream Spirits and bringing happy thoughts to innocent people. Ydnam also tried to spread happiness to her parents’ dreams… but as she grew up, she learned it was all for nothing.

After all, most dreams, especially bad dreams, were based on reality. Although she delivered happiness to people in their dreams, they would wake up to their dark realities and steadily return to nightmares. Ydnam would learn that some of those dreams she visited belonged to slaves, abused children, or homeless people. And as Ydnam developed her power, she traveled to even farther corners of the Dream Realm, visiting people from other planets… and she would only become exposed to the harsh happenings of those worlds. Eventually, Ydnam learned that she couldn’t accomplish much when limited to dreams… so, she decided to spread her happiness in reality.

About -24 years ago, Ydnam discovered her sandbending. She trained with it until she was confident and skilled enough to fight the villains that would threaten her. Ydnam would search for oppressed people in her dreams, learn where they are in reality, and go to liberate them! With her sandbending, she assaulted several abusive parents, raided oppressive towns and governments, and recruited people under her smiling banner!

In her early adult years, Ydnam would marry Yllib Xitroc and give birth to Ydnic. Ydnic stayed with her father in Ydnam’s old house at Startsville, for her mother didn’t want to involve her in her pirate business just yet. In fact, whatever happened to Ydnam’s parents? Well, they’ve been asleep for a while.

As she buried towns and enemies in her ever-growing sandbending, she learned something else about her powers: she could use sandbending in the Dream Realm also, as was true with any bender, but in there, it was known as Dreamsand. They are allies of the Bubble Dreamers and could take down Nightmares just the same, but it was extremely rare for a person to be born with both powers. (In fact, typically Bubble Dreamers don’t have any additional element.) When a sandbender also possessed Bubble Dreaming, they could apply Dreamsand in reality.

Ydnam would convert the ground of oppressed areas into Dreamsand and put the miserable people into a blissful sleep. She could then enter their dreams and Bubble all the negative things inside, and she would let them sleep to never be exposed to the darkness outside. She and her friends would travel to other worlds and acquire more allies.

Wodahs was a white Moebian hedgehog who was artificially created by scientists to conquer Moebius. Wodahs wound up being emotionally sensitive and sympathetic for the people, so he rebelled against his masters. Sadly, he was captured and frozen, and while the military intended to fix his emotional defection, he was ultimately stored away and forgotten. Wodahs would be freed by the military when they needed a hero to fight the evil Scourge and his nefarious family. Wodahs would fight the likes of Scourge and other evil oppressors of Moebius. When the Smile Pirates visited Moebius one day, Wodahs would join their crew.

Aluza was the teary-eyed queen of the Psychic Nation in the Negatar Realms. She would always be found crying and making emotional speeches about hope. She once led a revolution to fix the Negatar Realms and turn it into a peaceful world, erasing the dark influence of the Negatar. Aluza was an extremely rare waterbender, so some questioned if she was actually from the Posiverse. Aluza signed up for Ydnam’s crusade and they had several towns and prisons buried in Dreamsand.

Eizzil Enived became friends with Ydnam in their early teenage years. Eizzil joined her crew, and she would later eat the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Space Jelly, giving her the spacebending abilities of portals and pink lightning.

Horde Prime was an alien conqueror from the Posiverse, with a skull-like head, three green eyes on his right side, and his uniform had green and white hues overall, with dreads to match. With his army of clones, he would invade several planets in a distant galaxy, but could never get close to those protected by the Galaxian government. His desire was to “purify” people under his mind-control chips, joining him as his brothers and sisters. He banished one of his defect clones into the Netherverse using a machine, but many years later, he received a signal from that clone from some other sub-dimension.

Horde Prime would soon discover Planet Etheria and set his attacks on it, wishing to take control of Etheria’s powerful weapon. But Prime’s army was defeated by the heroin, She-Ra. Her friends would use the same portal machine to banish Prime and his flagship to another dimension, which wound up being the Negaverse. Prime would continue his quest in that world, invading several worlds. The Meta-Beast and Smile Pirates took interest in him a couple years later, so Ydnam fought Captain Ridley for his recruitment. Ultimately, the Horde chose to side with the Smiles, so they could work together to bring peace to the Negaverse.

Ekusas Ahihcu was a ninja that hailed from the Animret Dimension. In his travels to resolve conflict, he stumbled across a portal that brought him to this universe, where he learned about the Smile Pirates. Ekusas found one of their territories and was able to meet with Ydnam, asking to join her crew. He was a master at Taijutsu, but as a little joke on Ydnam’s part, she gave him the Snake-Snake Fruit, Model: Queen Tie. So, now he can use Tiejutsu! :D

Acanom Awot was the leader of a gang of kids called the “Despairagers.” They drove around in a stolen bus and committed naughty crimes. Crimes such as throwing soap balloons over dirty windows, stealing cement and filling gaps in the road, or even harassing robbers who were trying to run from the bank. Acanom first made friends with them when they saw her committing property damage (for junk the people didn’t want). When they asked her to hang out, she manipulated them into doing all these good deeds and saying they were bad. When Ydnam learned about these rascals, she personally approached and asked them to join her crew. Acanom’s friends were:

Urasam Nomiad, a handsome red-haired boy in a tux. He is a musicbender who wields a conductor’s baton.

Orataj Irumek, a computer nerd with a blue striped polo shirt and baggy white pants. He had braces on his buckteeth and was a genius at MATH!!!!

Okotok Igustu was a part-Silanaf girl in a silver dress and very tall, red platform sandals. She ate the Step-Step Fruit: she could conjure floating tiles from the soles of her shoes by “stepping” on the air.

Asigan Ustegnihs was a farmer boy in overalls and brown boots. He loved playing in mud, being a mudbender and all, and was next to Acanom for his positive and playful personality. To avoid confusing him with another Asigan, we’ll call him by his last name… okay, that’s even worse. His name is Austin, there.

About a year ago, Ydnam visited the dream of Aluben, the former Dictator of the DNKG. Ydnam listened to her story and let Aluben vent her rage about her mother. Ydnam hugged the girl and comforted her, giving her the motherly support Aluben never got. After a month of visiting her dream, Ydnam orchestrated a break into Galactic Juvy. Aluben had escaped this prison earlier to kill her awful mother, so tighter security had been placed. This security wasn’t enough to hold back the Emperor’s forces. Aluben was taken from the facility… along with some extras.

Ragus was a -10-year girl with a forced smile, aquamarine hair, a dress that depicted the full moon in a night sky and shadowed graveyard, dark sandals, and stitches around her body. She made friends with Aluben in Juvy, sharing hatred for their parents, so Aluben made sure she was rescued, too. Despite her apparent age, Ragus had been converted into a living doll by her father; she was actually around -25.

The pirates had also taken Ahtaga Llubhcnurt, one of the twin wardens of the prison. Ahtaga was famous in the Wardens Weekly magazine, so Ydnam just had to have her for her crew! Ahtaga seemed rather thrilled, for she could take her teaching and disciplining to new levels. She was an obese woman in a blue dress with red polka-dots, silky brown hair done up into a bowlish shape, and high-heels. Ahtaga entrusted her Positive to watch Juvy while she left with the pirates.

Aluben learned about the planet of New Aruhtaz, a world created from the New Big Bang based off her mother’s homeworld. Their culture revolved around celebrating the dead, and a few of their skilled bonebenders made skeletons dance at festivals. Some bonebenders honed their power to search for rare fossils and others worked as doctors. While Aluben wasn’t particularly interested in the culture, she requested Ydnam to place a good chunk of the populace in sleep. She would like for her people to experience better dreams than she had.

All the people put to sleep by Ydnam’s sand would be connected to her dreamscape via the rivers of sand. But naturally, Ydnam’s actions would be seen as criminal by both the government and Dream Realm denizens. After all, they couldn’t just let her make the whole Dream Realm part of her empire. Bad enough that she already took such a huge chunk of it. The Dream Spirits fended her off whenever they could, but when she was serious about taking over some dreams, there was no stopping her. Not to mention she even had some bad people killed in real life, some that would just refuse to rest happily.

…

However, Ydnam wasn’t the only one with dreams united to her own. The other Pirate Emperors, although they weren’t Bubble Dreamers, had their dreams all connected to their crewmen and subordinates. Their dreams had powerful defenses and guardians to where even Ydnam’s crew couldn’t easily conquer them. Before they could, they would be woken up. And even where Ydnam managed to Bubble the dark ambitions in their dreams, the pirates could pop their ambitions free.

“The more powerful the person’s will, the less likely they are to become ill.” said a Dream Spirit in white and red magician’s clothes. His yellow eyes peered through his top-hat, a grin underneath it, and he had teal hair in large dreads. He was mostly slim with wider, gloved hands and boots. “The Emperors won’t be so easily controlled, so long as their minds are well patrolled.”

“But the Ant King isn’t that old. I can’t believe even he has a powerful dream.” Ydnam said, panting after having escaped the gold embers of that dream. “Balan… our only choice is to destroy them in reality. But still… the Four Emperors are even stronger out there.”

“Eliminating them is no small task. Not while desire is how they bask.”

“Balan… does this mean my dreams are weaker than theirs? Is my happiness not strong enough?”

“If you doubt your dreams, then nightmares await. Do not let this weakness decide your fate. For now, patience is what we need. Do not lose hope, nor be blinded by greed.”

“Yes… maybe I’ll return home for a bit. Spend a bit of time with the family…”

“Agreed, My Lady.”

Balan was an Imaginary Friend created by videogame developer, Yuji Naka. He was first given form in the Dream World in 2018, but Yuji promised to bring him to reality as he developed the videogame, Balan Wonderworld. Unfortunately, the game was met with negative reception for poor design. Yuji lost sight of his passion as a result and Balan was abandoned in dreams. The same was true for his dark counterpart, created alongside him: Lance. Angry for being abandoned, Lance terrorized the dreams of many over the years, but Balan, having not lost sight of his original purpose, was determined to stop him. For years, he chased Lance, even to the parallel world of the Nega-Dreamverse. But then he would come to learn about Lady Ydnam and vice-versa. Balan decided to become her crewmate, even if he could only serve her in dreams.

Balan also built a small crew of people whose dreams he saved, called the Balan Company. This included Jose the farmer, Yuri the bug-loving girl, Haoyu the aviator, and several others.

Somewhere in a desert

The Bandit Van made a clean getaway from a villains’ camp, driving the desert road in the dark of night. Lorac sat cross-legged on the roof, juggling five colored, glowing stones in her hands. “Let’s get these power stones to the vault. I hope these aliens will be able to rest in peace now.”

“You think it might be better to just crush those things?” Hgielar asked.

“We should have them returned to their worlds, at least!” Leic beamed.

“We’ll leave it to DNKG in that case.” Lorac replied. “Phew! Anyone else feeling famished?” She stashed the stones in her pockets. “They have to have a diner somewhere out here!”

Further down, there was a roadside restaurant called “The Cactus Flower.” They parked the van behind a large stone mount, setting the van’s alarm before going into the diner. There was no one else aside from the waitress and a teenage boy in black student clothes and unkempt hair under a matching detective’s hat. The friends enjoyed a decent dinner, but to their dismay, police cars started surrounding the premises. As they questioned what was happening, the black-clothed boy approached their table.

“The Nega-$ Thieves.” He tipped up his hat: he was a pale, Japanese boy with purple eyes. “I thought you’d stop here after your mission.”

“Who are you?!” Acificap asked.

“Ihcikok Amo, junior detective. I’ve been specially requested to track you down. I’m sorry if all this backup seems excessive… but I heard you could be quite elusive.”

“Who asked you to track us down? The navy?”

“I was only told the police wanted to ask you some questions. So… could you please come with me?”

“Not a chance.” Ssiew stated. “You’ve already taken several other sectors away, why should we bite your bait?”

“I wouldn’t know anything about that. I’d just like this mission to go smoothly.”

“Yeah? So would we!” Lorac declared. Hgielar remotely controlled the Bandit Van into ramming through the police cars. Amo whipped out two yo-yos and launched them, but Lorac and Leic leapt, gracefully grinded on the strings, and kicked Amo’s face with enough force to knock him back. The kids escaped out the door as Hgielar punched down incoming officers and Acificap knocked them over with ropes. They boarded the van and drove away, with some cars in pursuit.

“Think I should get Aerodactyl to carry us away?” Hgielar asked.

“It’s too early. See if we can outrun them first!” Lorac answered.

“I don’t think that’ll be an option!” Acificap pointed.

NUG cars and robots were blocking the road ahead. Hgielar was set to release Aerodactyl… but the soldiers were suddenly bombarded by cannonballs from the sky. The ammo exploded into golden sand to knock the troops to sleep. A band of kids, the Despairagers, dropped off the flying pirate ships via ropes. Urasam struck the robots with notes, Austin clogged them up with mud, and Okotok jumped to use her Step Kicks to knock them down.

The police officers were able to catch up, Amo riding with one. But as they jumped out of their cars with guns raised, a force grabbed them: their own bones began twisting in their own bodies. “Hello, friends! Just wanted to repay you for rescuing me!”

A rowboat lowered, being carried by bubbles. Aluben, Acanom, and Orataj were riding it. “Aluben! Is that you?!” Leic cheered.

“How is everyone tracking us down?!” Lorac yelled.

“Orataj here hacked the NUG’s database!” Aluben answered. “He let me know as soon as he found out their plan to catch you. We knew they were coming here, but I guess we didn’t beat them to the punch!”

“Doesn’t matter in the end, I suppose.” Orataj straightened his glasses. “Now, shall we take them all in our custody?”

“Well, thanks for the assist, I guess.” Ssiew said. “I guess we’ll just go.”

“Wait, Leic!” Aluben shouted. “There’s another reason we came out here. We would like for you to meet Lady Ydnam!”

“Lady Ydnam?” Lorac questioned. “Is she here, too?!”

“Of course not, silly!” Acanom said. “Well, unless you mean that she’s always here in our hearts… so, I guess she is here, silly!”

“Hey, Acanom, I think they’re all down.” Orataj alerted. “You wanna knock them out?”

“Okay!” Acanom drew a bubble wand and a bottle of pink bubbles. She blew Sleep Bubbles around all the officers, putting them and Detective Amo to sleep. “Now, Asigan!”

“Loud an’ clear!” To the operatives’ horror, Austin transformed into a giant mud monster. He slithered around and absorbed all the officers into his being. They sank into the muck, and the farmer would then shrink back to his normal form. He patted the belly of his overalls.

“Did you just EAT them?!” Acificap exclaimed.

“Naw, none of that!” Austin laughed. “Ah’m a Logia mudbender! Ah got tons of mud stored in mah sub-dimension type o’ thing, and Ah c’n hold lots o’ people this way. Ah left room for ’em to breathe, don’t worry!”

“He makes for excellent storage and excellent mud baths~” Urasam said.

“Anyway, Lady Ydnam was really thankful that you rescued me.” Aluben continued. “I told her about you in particular, Leic. She says you sounded like a delightful person and she wanted to meet you! Your friends are invited, too!”

“That’s nice, but this is kind of on short notice.” Lorac scratched her head awkwardly.  “We just finished a mission and we’d like to rest.”

“That’s no problem!” Acanom beamed. “The place you would meet Ydnam is the Dream Realm. I could use my power to put us to sleep and take you to her dream.”

“I don’t exactly feel comfortable being put to sleep at the mercy of… well, a dangerous pirate crew.” Ssiew replied honestly.

“Aww, but we share the same goals!” Aluben grinned. “You can trust us!”

Her creepy smile, coupled with her history, didn’t really assure the thieves. “But then again…” Lorac thought aloud.

“Then again what?” Ssiew asked.

“Well… what we were just talking about. The Galactic Navy have taken several other operatives to battle other pirate crews… and we don’t really know what’s happened to them. Maybe Captain Ydnam could help somehow.”

“Or we could get in more trouble with the navy!” Acificap argued.

“I ain’t puttin’ no bubbles or sand in my eyes!” Hgielar stated.

“Then maybe Leic and I can go to sleep ourselves. The rest of you can drive the van and make sure the pirates don’t do anything.”

“That’s a great idea!” Acanom cheered.

“Hold on, ain’t Leic a spirit?” Hgielar asked. “Can spirits have dreams?”

“Not on our own.” Leic answered. “I can only appear in the dreams of friends, provided they’re asleep as well. So, if Lorac’s asleep, I’ll be there inside her!”

“You worded that weirdly, but okay.” Lorac figured. “Let’s go for it. In fact, we’d better get going before more cops show up.”

“Hooray!” Aluben cheered. “I can’t wait to show you Ydnam’s Sand Land!”

The thieves got back in the van with Aluben and the Despairagers (after Austin had his captives hauled up to the ships). Acanom gently blew Sleep Bubbles at Lorac, Leic, Aluben, and herself, putting them to sleep.

Dream Realm

Acanom found Lorac’s dreamscape close to hers. She got her and Leic out of there and brought them into her dream. A gold sea of sand brushed the shore of her dream, and the view of the grander sea made their eyes glimmer in wonder. They rowed a boat out to sea, with Acanom making bubble sails so the breeze could carry them faster. The gold sea was vast, the dunes risen into many sizes and shapes, and islands for all of Ydnam’s subordinates or long-time prisoners dotted the desert. Some islands resembled whole towns or regions that were buried under her sand in reality.

“Lady Ydnam’s heart is linked to all of ours, making hers the biggest dream in the universe!” Acanom said. “She brings reality to dreams with her mystic sands, uniting all these scattered lands into one fun world! We’ll meet with Aluben and Lady Ydnam on Paradise Island.”

“At least it sounds inviting.” Lorac figured. “But what about all these peoples’ real bodies? Are they just laying in the middle of somewhere?”

“Oh, no, not at all! Ydnam’s Sandlings are protecting them in the real world. They’re bodies of sand that she gave life with her bending. Otherwise, our crewmen are always stationed at our territories. We can go to sleep and meet up here, but otherwise we’re awake protecting our territories or making new ones!”

“You phrase that so innocently…”

“Uh, hehe.” Acanom blushed. “I mean, it’s true that we can get kind of violent, but we’re only trying to help everyone in the end.”

“I’m sure you are, I just can’t say I agree with the means. Especially after that whole Sir Prize incident.”

“At least we can try to talk things out with her.” Leic smiled, dipping his feet in the sand as they whisked across. “Ha ha ha! The sand feels so nice! It’s really beautiful under the sky, too!” Indeed, the gold contrasted magnificently under the indigo, starry sky. “Lorac, you gotta try it!”

“Well, I do like a good beach walk.” Lorac hung her legs off the boat. “Ahhhhhhhh.” Her heart and mind grew soft and serene from the satisfying sensation. “Sooo gooooood.”

“That’s the magic of Dreamsand!” Acanom said. “And because Lady Ydnam has sandbending and Bubble Dreaming, she can make this sand in reality, too.”

Paradise Island was an extremely vast island. The shore where the kids docked spanned like a fluffy, dark-pink carpet, warm to walk on as though it had been freshly vacuumed. Great cliffs stretched the length of the shore: they were like curtains of a table, their texture smooth across their ripples. There were giant teapots pouring waterfalls, ponies and unicorns grazing, and all the buildings looked like fairytale castles. Lady Ydnam’s palace was a pearly, glimmering white shining high in the night.

They met up with Aluben and headed into town. The residents were miscellaneous people from other dream islands, and they rode giant kittens to get around. Acanom and Aluben gave their friends a small tour, showing Beauty Salon Avenue, Teacup Park, or the Pony Farms—

“Help! Someone help!” They heard a scream from the farms. A unicorn was prancing their direction, pink with a purple mane. “I have to find Lady Ydnam! Please!”

Acanom gasped: the unicorn’s leg was cut, stuffing spilling out. “Oh, no. He’s got a cut.”

“Then he shouldn’t be running!” Leic said. “It’ll only hurt more!”

“Wait…” The unicorn slowed to a halt. “You’re Ydnam’s crewmen! You won’t stop me from finding her!”

“Aluben!”

“Right!” Both girls lunged at the unicorn, Aluben’s spiked bones erected, but the horse zipped around them and bolted for town. The kids ran after it, watching as the unicorn shot its horn at a kitten, causing it to dissolve into bones. Its horn regrew as it shot at more kittens en route to the palace.

“Oh, no!” A giant girl with fluffy pink hair, freckles, and a sweater that resembled the night hid around the buildings. She wore blue socks and green slippers, legs quivering. “A ripped unicorn! We have to stop it!”

“Leave it to me!” A girl in a red shirt and green hair in multiple curls ran out. She donned a red cat costume and raced across the air, making it over the unicorn. “Lady Ydnam is still out with Master Balan!”

The unicorn aimed up and shot horns, the girl (Cass Milligan) dodging. She dropped on the horse and began trying to tame it, but Cass was kicked off. “Not so fast!” A person with an aviator’s hat and bat wings flew to tackle the unicorn to the ground. He was Haoyu Chang.

“I’ve got it!” Acanom ran up to Bubble the rogue unicorn. The creature shook around for a bit before falling to sleep. “Phew! We’d better get this thing to the cellar.”

“We’ll take care of that!” Haoyu changed back to his human form; green hair, glasses, and an orange vest over his white hoodie. He and Cass lifted the bubble onto another kitten, riding it through town. “Thanks, Acanom!”

Lorac and Leic watched as Aluben used her power to dissolve the kittens’ bones into dust. “I’m sorry you had to see that, guys! Please don’t tell Lady Ydnam about this incident, okay?”

“Why not?” Leic asked. “Do unicorns rampage often?”

“No no no!” The two flinched, finding the giant girl hunched over them. “A ripped horse disturbs Lady Ydnam’s reality. The same for all these kittens. If she asks, we have to tell her that they ran away. Please don’t tell her the truth, please?” She folded her arms, speaking with a soft, but mildly pitched voice.

“Okay, okay…” Lorac consoled her.

“Hehe, you’re quite a big one!” Leic laughed.

“Oh, I’m sorry if I imposed.” The girl stepped back, a hand propped on a roof in support. “My name is Ahsas. I’m from Ainozama.”

“She’s also a moonbender!” Aluben beamed.

“Hi, Ahsas! I’m Leic and this is Lorac! We’re here to meet Ydnam.”

“Ah! Are you going to join our crew?”

“No, nothing like that!” Lorac waved hands. “It’s just a friendly visit, if anything.”

“Ahsas, maybe you could carry them to the palace.” Acanom requested. “I have other things to attend to before I join you guys.”

“I guess we’ll be seeing you!” Aluben waved.

“Okay!” Ahsas knelt down, hands lain flat. “I’ll be careful, I promise.”

The trio set foot on her soft and gentle hands. They lay relaxed as the giant began to carry them across town. “Hehe, now I feel like a little dolly!” Leic laughed. “This place is like a giant playroom, isn’t it?”

“It’s even more fancy than my Positive’s room.” Lorac smiled, enjoying the grander view of the fantastical sights. …Still, she was curious about that unicorn incident, and what could’ve happened if Ydnam saw it.

Bandit Van

“Ahhhhh.” Acificap sighed blissfully in the mud, pickles over her eyes. “When was the last time I had a mudbath…”

“Ah’m glad you like it, Miss.” Austin smiled, standing beside the tub. “Ah always keep mah mud fresh.”

“I have some questions about that.” Ssiew cringed.

“Come on, Ssiew, you really gotta try this!”

“I don’t wanna sit in some boy’s Logia mush!”

“Honestly, I hope Lorac and Leic finish their business soon.” Hgielar said, driving the van. “Can’t really do our business with you pirates hangin’ around.”

“Don’t pirates and thieves go hand-in-hand?” Orataj asked, using his laptop. “By the way, you guys have some kind of special website, right? How do you log in?”

“’Guess even the computer nerd can’t hack it! Only master thieves know how to find ThiefNet. Even Lorac, and she usually stinks with computers.”

“Hey, Hgielar, that reminds me of something.” Ssiew said. “That detective guy from before… he seemed to know about our mission. If he’s with the navy, you don’t think they were in league with those smugglers, do you?”

“Wouldn’t surprise me.”

“You can always ask him.” Austin said. “Ah got him right here.” Amo’s head emerged from his belly.

“WHAT?!” Ssiew gawked. “I thought you took your prisoners up to your ships!”

“Ah saved this one ’cause he looked a little sly.”

“Logia dimensions are weird.” Hgielar commented.

“Uhn…” Amo sighed.

“In that case, maybe I will.” Ssiew said. “Hgielar, pull over. I’m gonna ask him some questions.”

Hgielar found a good place to park as Ssiew dragged Amo outside and away from the van, tying him up in vines. She slapped the boy awake. “Huh?! Whuh?”

“Don’t ask why you’re covered in mud! Tell us how you knew about our mission. We aren’t easily traceable, you know.”

“Yeah? Well, I’m not easily breakable.”

Ssiew willed her vines to squeeze, the boy hacking. “The N.U.G. was in on that operation, right? The smuggling? And they contacted you to intercept us!”

“No, that’s not it at all! I tracked you down myself. I don’t know why the police wanted you… well, then again, you are quite infamous.”

“You used the website, didn’t you?”

Amo looked her in the eye, staying silent. “Are you acquainted with other thieves?” Ssiew asked. “Did you force them to talk? Answer me!” She squeezed him again.

“Uhn! I’m not saying anything. More importantly… where are those pirates who just attacked us? I know those ships were Smile Pirate ships. Some say you’re affiliated with them. And that one was talking to you like familiar acquaintances.”

“One of their crewmen directly targeted our sectors’ towns, and we haven’t forgiven them. We just happen to be on good terms with Aluben.”

“The Necro Dictator, you mean.”

“She’s friendly now! I think. And we didn’t even know her back when… forget it. I convinced the pirates to let us see you, and if you cooperate, we could hand you back to the navy.”

“I work with the police, not the navy exactly. But it is apparent they ordered this operation.”

“They’ve been forcing other DNK sectors to work for them.”

“The DNK protect the people the same as the navy, right? It’s just the DNK are independent, and given your recent actions, they probably want to-”

“You know NUG and the navy commits plenty of crimes, too, right?”

“Nnnh…of course I do. Overcharging taxes, taking bribes… even purchasing dangerous weapons like those fruits…”

“! You know about Devil Fruits, too?!”

“Ah! I…”

“We’ve stolen Devil Fruits from them on a few missions. They were recorded on the site, too. You really do use it, don’t you?”

“…”

“Why help the army when you know they can’t be trusted? When you know we’re the good guys.”

“Because truth and lies favor both sides. Even you guys are suspiciously socializing with your so-called enemies. Either way, I decided I’m more comfortable on the side of the law.”

“So, you used to be a thief.”

“…”

“Fine. We’ll decide what to do with you later.” Ssiew kicked and knocked him out.

Dream Realm

After Ahsas carried them to the palace, a squeal of delight was heard up the hall as Ahtaga Llubhcnurt came waddling up with open arms. “Aluben! Dearie! Welcome baaaaaack!”

“Auntie Llubhcnurt!” Aluben leapt down to hug the pudgy woman.

The operatives exchanged pleasantries with her, surprised to learn she was a warden at Galactic Juvy. She explains this new job has been the time of her life, helping so many naughty and unruly kids find their way. Speaking of which, they led Lorac and Leic, who had jumped off Ahsas, further through the castle and into a playroom with lots of dolls. Ragus was there to greet them, and while Lorac had never seen her personally, she had heard she worked with the World Anarchists and Medusa. “Oh, all that razmataz is all in the past!” Llubhcnurt assured. “She’s been such a well-behaved little darling!”

“I hope to apologize to Nerehc and everyone else someday!” Ragus grinned.

“Blue flags, blue flags!” Lorac yelled (red flags in their world).

“By the way, Aunt Llubhcnurt, wonderful job at capturing those little tykes the other day!”

“Oh, it was easy as catching cats in a cage, dear! And they were just as fussy, ho ho ho!”

The thieves were about to question this until the sound of horns played: Lady Ydnam was arriving! “Follow me, the dock’s this way!” Ahsas stormed ahead with gentle quakes, the others racing after. Ydnam’s flagship, the Sleeping Sands, flew to a stop beside a dock along the castle. The queen herself, the Golden Dreamer, stepped off, accompanied by Balan. “Now, what do we have here? New guests?” Ydnam looked upon the barefoot thieves with adoration. “Ah, I see… You must be Lorac and Leic! You’re just as adorable as Aluben described!” She bent down and began to tickle Leic’s underarms.

“Hahaha! Stop it, I’m ticklish!”

“Uh, eh…” She really got close and comfy right at the start, Lorac thought. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Lady Ydnam. To be honest, the DNK has always been cautious of you.”

“Oh, I know I buried a few towns, and maybe that Joyverse operation didn’t set the best impression, but you needn’t be afraid of me, sweethearts! Even from here, I can tell you are kind souls who spread kindness in turn. And I see you’ve already met some of my crew. Ah, this handsome young man here is Balan.” The magician gave a courteous bow. “He hails from a dreamscape aptly named Balan Wonderland.”

“Uh, Wonderworld, My Lady.”

“Right, right, that silly tongue of mine, po po po po!” Ydnam laughed like a high class lady.

“Well, that’s a fun laugh!” Leic said. “Po po po po!”

“Yyyyeah…” Lorac grinned awkwardly. “So, Lady Ydnam, we’d like to talk to you about some things.”

“Well, I’m all ears, child. However, I would like to check up on my family first, Llubhcnurt, you haven’t seen Ydnic around, have you?”

“Oh, I believe she was out for a walk, but I’ll go fetch her immediately.”

“Let’s look for her together, Auntie!” Aluben fist-pumped. “We’ll have a race!”

“Hu, that’s a marvelous idea, Ali! What should the prize be?”

“The winner gets a serving of Super Sugar Tea!”

“OOOOOHHH!” The girls giddily raced off.

“Wait! I wanna play, too!” Ahsas hurried after them.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to save an extra spoonful for you kids.” Ydnam whispered. “I do hope you’ll stick around for dinner!”

“We’d love to, Miss!” Lorac smiled. “Though, Dream World food doesn’t exactly—YOW!”

Balan flicked a long cane down and over, bonking Lorac’s toes before whipping it back. “Dream food isn’t exactly… what, dear?” Ydnam frowned.

Balan held up some script cards behind the queen, Lorac skimming them confusedly. “Uh…it doesn’t exactly do itself justice in writing! Dream food must be tasted to know its amazingness! Heh…”

“Yes, you’re absolutely right! And believe me, you’ve tasted nothing like Dream Tea and sweets! Now, where is that silly kiddy?” She proceeded into the castle.

Balan approached the duo. “I know you’re new, but you must beware. There are some facts our queen cannot bear.”

“Oh, we kind of saw a problem like that earlier.” Leic said. “With a… unicorn accident.”

“Lady Ydnam has seen many cruel realities. When they seep into dreams, it weakens their vitalities. We must do our part to maintain the dreams, or this place will crumble at the seams.”

Balan followed her to the castle, leaving them with dour expressions.

Horde Island

Aluza and Wodahs were summoned by Horde Prime, who showed them a Moebian dog woman in a prison cell, behind a green barrier. She sat still and silent before the Gungi board. “All she has been saying is, ‘Take me to the Supreme Leader.’ And this strange table appears in her dream.”

“You said she just appeared on one of your ships, right?” Wodahs asked. “How do we know she isn’t a spy?”

“Because the Meta-Beasts have been more aggressive toward us ever since we found her. One would assume she is a prisoner who escaped their captivity, and an important one at that. As for this ‘Supreme Leader,’ she refuses to give us a clear description or name.”

“She’s longing to return to her special someone!” Aluza proclaimed like a drama actress. Her tears dripped down her white armor. “Her Supreme Leader must give her so much HOPE!”

“She’ll be following a new Supreme Leader soon.” Prime smirked. “She’ll make a perfect sister. But we must prepare for the possibility of war with the Meta-Beasts.”

“As long as we believe in ourselves, we can win!” Wodahs cheered. “If only we could rescue Incubator and the Akasims from the navy.”

“We will! I have HOPE that we will!” Aluza cheered up. “Especially once the DNK have agreed to aid us!”

“Though I doubt the proclamations of such A-Losa.” Prime remarked.

“I told you to stop calling me that! You’re just as bad as my brother!”

“We need to just start calling you Awina!” Wodahs supported.

“I agree.” Prime smiled. “She is quite a whiner.”

“AAAHH!” Aluza blasted giant tears from her eyes, sending Prime down the hall. A pair of Horde Clones arrived to help him up and dry him off.

“Your actions speak for themselves.” Prime brushed it off. “But I agree with Wodahs. Those Akasim clones were created with my technology, so I’m owed my due for catering to his obsession.”

Pony Farms

Acanom went to speak with Farmer Jose about the unicorn incident, but he claims to have no idea what happened. It had been one of many strange incidents to have happened, with some of the Tea Wells having been dried up, the sweets in the bakeries had been sucked of their flavor, turning them into tasteless plastic, and even some of the castle kittens were killed and left skeletal. Luckily, these incidents were fixed before Ydnam could catch on, but it was as if someone were intentionally trying to sabotage the dreamscape.

Acanom went to Beauty Salon Avenue and entered the shop where Ekusas worked parttime. The white-garbed ninja was currently filing a cyan-haired girl’s nails, bangs over her right eye. “Ah, Miss Acanom, how kind of you to visit me. Do you require my services, or can I expect to hear another profession of love?”

“Tehehe! Not today, Ekusas-san! I need to speak with you in private once you’re done.”

“It shall be done. As soon as I sharpen Miss Iben’s scratch~”

Afterwards, Ekusas joined Acanom behind the building. She told him about the recent sabotage incidents, but the only people Ekusas could suspect were resisters like Prince Okuz or He-Ra. “Even so, I’ll keep my eye open for suspicious activity. We’ve already got enough trouble with the enemy-”

Ekusas was STOMPED by a giant slipper. “Oh, my! I’m so sorry!” Ahsas blushed, suspending her hand on another building.

“Ah…didn’t feel a thing, my fluffy starlight…” Ekusas gasped.

“Acanom, you haven’t seen Princess Ydnic around, have you? I’m trying to find her before…!” Looking across town, she spotted an orange-haired girl riding a bike. “There she is!” She stormed over the streets, dodging around several kittens. “Ydnic! Hey! Yoohoo!”

The pink-dressed girl looked back mid-pedaling. “Oh, hey, Ahsas!” She called halfheartedly. “You, uh, need something?”

“SOO-PRIIIIIIISE!” Llubhcnurt suddenly intercepted Ydnic with a big hug! Her head inflated like a balloon. “And Auntie wins the contest!”

“That’s not fair!” Aluben yelled.

“Yeah! You saw me chasing her!” Ahsas argued.

“Now, kids, the rules never said we couldn’t follow each other. Losing is no excuse for poor sportsmanship~”

“You’re right! Sorry, Aunt Llubhcnurt!” Aluben grinned.

“Okay…” Ahsas sighed.

“Ydnic, we have some new guests at the castle, your mother would like you to come have dinner with them.”

“Oh, that’s quite alright. I filled up on plast—I mean, pie and fruit earlier today, so I’m not hungry.”

“A little social activity will help your appetite! Let’s be onward, sweetie!”

“I’ll get the bike!” Aluben pulled Ydnic’s bike with them.

As Ahsas followed them, a shadow slithered away from the bike and hid in an alley. A tan-skinned boy in a black jacket, white shirt, and blue jeans emerged from the shadow, along with a motorbike. He had dark-brown hair and scowling blue eyes. “So, she’s come back to the castle? Maybe we could sabotage the food at this ‘dinner.’ I wonder if that would be enough. I guess I’d better head near the dungeon in case it happens.”

Castle Ydnam

“So, those mean navy guys are bothering your friends, too.” Ydnam spoke sadly, walking the kids through a library. “I can only hope they haven’t fallen victim to the Emperors. We’ve already been trying to rescue prisoners from them, but I wouldn’t know anything about other operatives.”

“Miss Ydnam, if you can travel to anyone’s dreams, can’t you travel to the Emperors’ dreams, too?” Leic asked. “Could you perhaps do something?”

“I’ve been trying to for ages. But even at my level, Bubble Dreamers aren’t all-powerful. There are certain things that can deter us: people with strong wills and minds, and people who despise or are opposed to me. It’s the very reason some people won’t stay here in my Sand Sea.”

“That makes sense.” Lorac said. “But it would’ve been nice if it did work.”

“Yes… and my efforts to fight the Emperors directly haven’t exactly gone fruitfully. So, for a while now, I’ve wondered what angle to take. And then I looked back on one of my favorite books.”

Ydnam took a children’s book off a shelf: titled The Phantom Thief, it depicted a shadowed person against a sunset-like background. “The Phantom Thief?” Lorac read.

“It tells the story of a boy who could travel through dreams. The boy had no strong dreams or ambitions, so he stole them from other people. But when he did, those people lost their ambitions. And the boy himself became overwhelmed with those ambitions that he lost sight of all of them. I’ve always wondered… what if I could do what he did? What if I could steal the ‘ambitions’ of the Emperors? Even if those ambitions couldn’t make me stronger, it would steal their desire to do evil. Hehe, I’m sure you know this book! You kids are thieves as well, aren’t you?”

“Yeah! I’ve also read the full novelized version.”

“There’s a full what now?”

“There’s a longer version, though it’s-”

“AHEM.” Balan coughed, sitting on a shelf above them. “You’re thinking of a different book, child.”

“Ah, I thought so!” Ydnam grinned. “This children’s book is the only real version! Not one of those long and BORING books!”

“Aha…yes.” Lorac scratched her head.

“Come to think of it, you know a Phantom Thief technique, don’t you, Lorac?” Leic asked.

“Eh?” Ydnam cocked a brow.

“Leic!” She hissed at the angel.

“What are you hissing about, dear?”

“It’s nothing; Leic’s misremembering something.”

“Ah, yeah, my bad!” Leic blushed.

“…” Ydnam gazed at them curiously. “Well, it sounds like you know a bit more than just this book. Is Phantom Thieving a real art?”

“It’s a forbidden art, one that can’t be used easily.”

“But why? Please, tell me more!”

“Sorry, but I can’t. Can we please forget about it?”

“I concur, My Lady.” Balan said. “We must not urge her. Also, a call from Llubhcnurt announces the arrival of your daughter.”

“Perfect! Then let’s get ready for dinner; Eizzil’s cooking is the best!”

“Then let’s have a bite before we wake up!” Leic said, rubbing his tummy. “We asked her what we needed to, at least. I guess the best we can do is help each other when we can.”

“Yeah.” Lorac figured. “I’m glad we got to clear the air, at least.”

As Ydnam led them to the dining room, she glanced up at Balan with a knowing glare. “Well, if you’ll excuse me,” Balan said, “I’ll check in with the crew. There’s so much happening and still much to do.” So, he flew away.

Balan soared out to town and located Acanom. She filled him in on the strange incidents occurring on the island. Afterwards, Balan gave her an assignment. With a heavy heart, Acanom accepted the task: she pinched her cheeks and-

Waking World

“Hu!” woke up in the Bandit Van.

“Hey, up and at ’em.” Acificap said with a hint of suspicion. “How are things going in there?”

“Everything’s going well.” Acanom stood up. “I just wanted to see how everyone’s doing.”

“Lucky for you, we’re experts at staying up late.” Hgielar said. “Even though we’re still pooped as hell.”

“Hehe! Poop!” Austin laughed.

“You’re one of those boys, how nice.” Ssiew cringed.

“If you’re tired, Urasam here knows a good song to sooth the muscles.” Acanom said. “Don’t you?”

“That’s counterintuitive, My Acan.” Urasam said. “Why not a more invigorating song to-”

“I think a relaxing song would be nicer! The night is still young, after all.”

“Oh, I see! Then I shall…” Urasam pulled out his baton and began to wave it around, the tip sparking to release notes with the hum of his voice. “Ho-uh-ho-uh, hooo, uuuhh, hooo…” The notes drifted about the van. The thieves’ muscles began to grow soft, but as Hgielar looked in his rear view mirror, he saw the Despairagers poking their ears shut. “Ho-uh—AAAAHH!”

Hgielar stomped the brakes, causing them to stumble and break Urasam’s song. The largest boy stomped over and grabbed the maestro’s shirt. “Boy, I’m gonna need to ask you to not do that—AGH!”

Austin grabbed Hgielar in his enlarged muddy hand. Acanom whipped out Sleep Bubbles and tried to blow them against the thieves, but Ssiew whipped them away. Austin threw Hgielar out the van’s door, then tried to grab the other two, only for them to shake out of his muck. Acificap tried to jump on Lorac and Leic, but Austin caught and threw them out the van as well. “Master Balan ordered us to capture them!” Acanom confirmed.

“Could’ve guessed that.” Orataj replied, the kids rushing outside. Austin turned into a giant mud monster and tried to step on Hgielar, but the boy’s Haki fists repelled his feet. Austin spat boulders of mud that Hgielar dodged, the muscular thief leaping to topple Austin’s legs. He collapsed on the ground, giving Hgielar the chance to bash his stomach area.

Okotok used Air Steps to get above Ssiew before dropping down, and whenever Ssiew bound her in vines, the Silanaf would repeatedly kick off her own vertical steps to yank Ssiew over. Ssiew couldn’t even bind Okotok’s feet without her Step Kicks splitting the vines. Okotok lunged herself at Ssiew, who spun a Razor Leaf shield, but Okotok quickly readjusted herself to Step an opening through the shield. She flipped again to headbutt Ssiew. “You know, you kind of dress like my Positive.” Ssiew said. “But she wore it way better.”

“Still better than YOUR rags!” Okotok retorted.

Urasam directed notes at Acificap, but she maneuvered like a ribbon dancer to evade them, with her ropes acting as ribbon. She tried to catch Urasam, but he was just as evasive. As the song went on, Acificap got closer, and she drew a pack of floss. She bit the floss in her teeth, so when she next got close to Urasam, he evaded her ropes, but she swiftly snatched his baton in her floss. His performance halted, so Acificap was able to rope and slam him to the ground.

Hgielar was on the cusp of KOing Austin, so the mud boy escaped before he could and retreated into the van. Okotok KO’ed Ssiew and dragged her back in the van, but when Hgielar was about to charge in after them, a solid holo-barrier sealed the van. “Sorry, friend, but you’ll need smarts to break MY barrier.” Orataj smirked. “Solve the equation and you can come in.”

Hgielar wasn’t gonna begin to interpret the complex math before him. He began to pound away against the Math Wall, but whatever force was creating it was too strong, so Hgielar decided to erect his extra two arms. Orataj was taken aback, his Math Wall beginning to crack. So, he left an opening on the roof for Acanom to climb up. “Take THIS!” She inserted her bubble bottle into a minigun and blasted Sleep Bubbles at the muscle boy. Hgielar took a few hits before jumping back.

“Aerodactyl, get her!” Hgielar released his Nomékop, the dinosaur immediately trying to seize Acanom in talons. Acanom dodged, but Acificap swung a rope up to catch her ankles. Acanom blasted Sleep Bubbles at her face, knocking her to sleep. Austin thrusted a giant Mud Fist from the roof and at Aerodactyl’s jaw, but Hgielar leapt up next to squeeze the boy’s arm in Haki. Austin cried out in pain, but Okotok swam up the arm and repeatedly pelted Hgielar with Step Kicks.

Aerodactyl tried to seize Acanom, but cannonballs pelted the dinosaur. Orataj had already signaled their ships for backup. The ammo burst into Dreamsand and knocked Aerodactyl to sleep with enough hits. Acanom was then able to pelt Hgielar’s face with bubbles, but he decided to jump off before sleep could become him. The ships blasted more Sandballs down, so Hgielar decided to return Aerodactyl to his Pokéball. He grabbed Acificap and Urasam before bolting from the scene. “I’m sorry, guys! I’ll come back for you, I promise! Gotta contact one of the other sectors!”

“He’s getting away with Urasam!” Okotok yelled.

“Call a ship to collect the rest of us!” Acanom ordered. “Send a few to keep chasing them. We need to bind these kids up and have them taken to one of our bases. Then we can keep them asleep.”

Castle Ydnam

When Ydnic returned to the castle, she was quickly greeted with the familiar call of, “ARK! ARK! ARK!” Her father, Yllib pranced up on all fours, happily sniffing her with his big nose. “Awe, Papa’s always so happy to see you!” Llubhcrnurt cooed.

“He’s sure a lot more fun than mine!” Aluben cheered.

Ydnic gave a smile to satisfy them… not that she could make any other expression. She used to think her simple-minded father was funny and cute… but she had grown past that phase. Rather, she was tired of dealing with him. And it didn’t help that most of the castle guards were clones of him. How could she even tell this one was him? It didn’t matter though…

…

Lorac and Leic enjoyed a nice, desert-heavy dinner with Ydnam, Ydnic, Ahsas, Aluben, and Llubhcnurt, sharing stories with vibrant smiles. “But I guess I must be a Hobbit, because I’ve barely grown an inch in three years!” Lorac laughed.

“Yeah, even Nosam outgrew her!” Leic laughed. “But he sure doesn’t love her any less!”

“Yup! …Unfortunately.”

“You kids need to eat more sweets!” sang Eizzil Enived. She used the tentacles of her jellyfish form to carry and place more plates on the table. “Fatten yourselves up, that’ll help ya grow!”

“Not in the way we want!” Lorac said. “Besides, we need our smallness for espionage.”

“I’ve met a lot of students who were insecure about their weight.” Llubhcnurt said. “But ya know what I say? The bigger you are, the fluffier you are! Just ask Ahsas here.”

“But I’m not fat, am I?” Ahsas blushed.

“That fluffiness comes from somewhere!” Aluben grinned.

“Awwww.”

As lighthearted as this place seemed, Lorac felt a weight of anxiety. She usually liked such a positive atmosphere, but this place was a little too happy. Maybe it was just that the sweets tasted only like the residue of sweets against a plastic wrapper. In fact, looking across the table, Ydnic’s smile looked forced, but weak. Even she wasn’t into the taste of the dream food.

Ydnic glanced up and caught Lorac’s stare. “Oh, hey, Lorac! I wanted to ask… how’s Ynohtna been?”

“Er…I dunno. I don’t really see him that much.”

“I helped Sir Prize keep Sector -W trapped in his Happytime Bubble. I felt bad, so I haven’t talked to him since.”

“But little Ynohtna enjoyed his dream!” Ydnam said. “It was a shame that nasty General Kroy had to ruin it. Just like he ruined my precious Sir Prize.”

“Sir Prize was such a delight.” Eizzil sighed. “But now his dreams are damaged beyond repair. Poor man…”

“Well, it’s not like we tried to repair his dreams.” Ydnic said.

“No use repairing what’s too broken.” Ydnam shrugged it off. “Still, he’s better off than all those toxic meanies. At least he’s not making anyone miserable! Those kinds are better off DEAD!”

The castle rumbled and dimmed for a second. “Um…er…” Ahsas felt the need to change topics. “Leic, weren’t you saying earlier that you can make butterflies?”

“Yeah! I don’t know if I can use them…oh!” Leic summoned his spirit sword. “Let’s try it out! Fly, Flutterwing!” The sword scattered into butterflies and fluttered about the room.

“Awwww! How beautiful!”

“Yep! They can make anyone feel happy! The effects aren’t permanent, but they’re good for a short laugh.”

“Simply wonderful!” Ydnam threw her arms open in awe. “Leic, you’d be perfect for my crew! You’re a ball of joy! And most of us enjoy wearing white.”

“Thanks, but I feel more at home with the thieves. I used to live in poverty, so I fit right in. And I’m not allowed to hurt mortals, but I can use non-violent forms of combat.”

“You know, there’s a girl named Yuri in Balan’s crew.” Ahsas mentioned. “She loves bugs. You would be best friends in no time!”

“Cool! Lorac, wanna go to meet her?”

“Honestly, I’d like to get back home after this. I don’t wanna worry the others.”

“I’m sure you could stay for one last meeting or two.” Ydnam assured. “Actually, there’s something else I’d like you to see. Aluben, could you go get Ragus? And tell her to bring the little ones.”

“Of course, Captain!” Aluben left the room on that cue. Ydnic’s expression was one of worry, and Lorac took note of this. After a moment, Aluben returned with Ragus, a dollhouse in her hands.

“Would you guys like to see my dolls?” Ragus opened the front of the house. There were dolls positioned in the rooms to her liking, but the heads were… squirming?

“!!” Lorac and Leic were horrified: those weren’t just any heads. “HEY! It’s Lorac!” Dnis yelled.

“Big Sis Lorac! Please help us!” Narod yelled.

“She cut off our heads and stuck them on these dolls!” Ubnok yelled.

“Mmmmm! Mmm-mmm-mmmmmm!” Ylla’s mouth was stitched.

“And don’t worry about their real bodies.” Ragus smiled. “They’re tucked cozily in Dreamsand.”

“When did you capture Sector TG?! We never heard anything about that!”

“Oh, it happened just a couple days ago!” Llubhcnurt began.

Sector TG were regular customers to the Steak Queen restaurant in their hometown. It was a fancy restaurant attended by wealthy, haughty customers. With swift, tiny-size speed, they zipped over the tables and swiped food from the patrons. Afterwards, they would meet on the roof of the restaurant and chow down. “AHA!” Llubhcnurt jumped out and GRABBED Oyib in her purse. “I knew you little rascals would be up here!”

The tinies jumped to alertness as pirates appeared on other nearby roofs. “I recognize you whippersnappers.” Llubhcnurt wagged a scolding finger. “You were part of the Black Lotus’s Little Detention Center. I was sent photos of you six in particular, you were quite nasty!”

Oyib burst free of the purse with his airbending. “We’ll show you how nasty we are!”

The pirates shot sand guns at the tinies, but they evaded quickly and fought back with their bending. Llubhcnurt had taken a few combat lessons from her Positive: her purse was stuffed with cannonballs, and she could swing it with ease with terrific force. The warden was durable against their attacks and she was able to KO Narod and Ubnok. The situation grew worse for the tinies when Eizzil showed up, using Space Lightning to electrocute them. Another pirate, Bruce Stone of the Balan Company, used his cloaking suit to sneak up and bash the tinies with his cane. Inevitably, Sector TG were defeated and detained by the pirates.

“I had my little eyes on them for a while~” Llubhcnurt concluded. “It’s hard to believe such cuties could be so nasty.”

“It works in our favor in the end.” Ydnam said. “Perhaps now you’ll be willing to stick around a bit longer?”

Ydnic knocked a cake slice off the table. “Oops! I’ll get it!” She got down underneath and pulled out a phone. “Atuy, it’s me. Listen, I need you to come to the castle. I know, but I might need you to…”

“What do you want from us?!” Lorac demanded.

Ragus closed the dollhouse. “I was curious about it from the beginning, but it seems like the art of Phantom Thieving truly is real. So, tell me, Lorac… if I could use my power to get you into the Emperors’ dreams, would you be able to ‘steal’ their ambitions?”

“LEIC!”

“Yeah!” Leic reformed his sword and SLASHED Lorac, a sensation that would startle her awake… but her vision merely became dusty, swirling before reappearing right back in the dining room. “What?!”

“Po po! Seems like they were successful.”

“Has something happened to our teammates?!” Leic gasped.

“I can’t say for certain, but you two, at least, have been Sleepy Eyed!”

In the real world, Lorac, Leic, and Ssiew were lain on sandy beds with gold sand piled on their eyes. “Under my enchanting Dreamsand, you two are trapped in slumber!”

“Lorac, if we keep trying, maybe we can wake up—AH!” Ahsas grabbed the two in her giant hands.

“I’m really sorry about this…”

“Now tell me, child!” Ydnam yelled to the squirming Lorac. “Can you use the Phantom Thief style on the Emperors?”

“The Art of the Phantom Thief is forbidden! It’s true that it can steal a person’s very desires from their dreams, but by taking those desires, the people will become apathetic drones. Their dreamscapes will dissolve into cold deserts.”

“That’s fine by me! Even if I can’t bring them to joy, it’ll be much easier to be rid of them!”

“But those desires will have to rest in the heart of the thief, that being me. If they become too overwhelming for me, I might explode!”

Leic raised a brow. Was this actually what happened between her and Clockwerk? But he wouldn’t ask now. “Then could you teach others the art, perhaps? If not just give the desires to me? Ekusas, Wodahs, heck even Balan would make great Phantom Thieves! Either way, I WILL find the answer! You and I, we’ll crush the enemy Emperors together!”

Lorac bit her teeth. Pulling off a miraculous escape would be pointless if they couldn’t wake up. But then how could… “Oh, Mom! The games are here!” Ydnic called. The ops glanced left, seeing a service kitten carrying some board games. “I asked the kitten to bring us some! Maybe we could discuss this over some Eels & Escalators!”

“Ooo, that sounds fun!” Ydnam beamed. “How about it, kids?”

“…?” Lorac looked at Ydnic. Ydnic gazed at her and made the lightest gesture of slitting her throat, then nudging at the cat. Lorac then shot a look at Leic, eying over at the kitten. Leic gasped knowingly. “That sounds fun! I’ll get it for you!”

“Huh?!” Ahsas’s hand suddenly turned to butterflies. Leic flapped to the kitten—Balan drop-kicked and pinned Leic to the floor. “What do you think you’re up to, young-?!” The tip of Leic’s sword became butterflies and flew toward the cat, cutting it. The kitten dissolved into bones before their eyes.

“Lady Ydnam, look over there!” Ahsas reached her other hand to turn her around—but she released Lorac. “Whoopsie.”

“HYAH!” Lorac kicked the remaining sweets off the table and threw some teacups at the queen. Tea splashed over Ydnam, but it immediately faded away. “This dinner stunk! The tea wasn’t real and the food was plastic—AH!”

Aluben seized Lorac in bonebending. “That isn’t very nice!”

“N-n-no tea… p-plastic…” Ydnam’s face creased up in anxiety.

“No, it’s not plastic!” Eizzil yelled. “It’s made from honest-to-goodness ingredients!”

“You mean like cow guts?!” Lorac shouted.

“No no no no no no no no!” The castle began trembling, the room turning darker. Leic struggled to escape Balan’s hold and Lorac from Aluben’s. “I know what’ll make us feel better!” Ydnic said, running to Ragus. “Let’s plays dolls! Ragus, can I have one of your dolls?”

“I would rather you not.” Ragus smiled.

“Aww, pretty please?” Ydnic grabbed the bottom rim of the dollhouse and tugged it. “Come on, I really wanna pl-” They both dropped the dollhouse, smashing it open as the “dolls” bounced out.

Leic instructed his butterflies to fly to them, but Eizzil warped tentacles to swat them down. One of the butterflies maneuvered around her and made it to Ylla, cutting the stitches on her mouth. “BLAAAAAAHH!” She bellowed a soundwave at Aluben to hurt her ears. Lorac escaped and ran to swipe the TG kids off the floor—Eizzil warped her tentacles to grab Lorac’s limbs, electrocuting her. The pink lightning cast shadows from the fallen dolls, allowing Uzu to send his shadow to Balan. The shadow bit the shade of Balan’s crotch, the magician wincing as he released Leic. Leic flew to cut the tentacles holding Lorac.

“Our dreamselves are technically our spirit selves, so I can hurt you a tiny bit!” Leic smiled. Llubhcnurt leapt to bash him with her purse, but he made a butterfly shield. Leic snatched the dolls up in one arm, held the sword hilt in his teeth, and pulled Lorac with the other hand. Ahsas dove to block their route, but Ylla bellowed up to hurt the giant’s ears. Leic ordered some butterflies to surf them to the air, flying to one of the glassless windows. Alas, Balan flew up, kicked through the butterflies, and SLAMMED Leic in the belly, forcing the boy into the wall as they all fell back to the ground.

“You kids are being mighty rude!” Llubhcnurt wagged her finger. “I think we’re gonna have to lock you up!”

“Psst! Big Sis!” Ubnok whispered. “The castle’s floor feels like marble! I think it has real Dream Earth Chi!”

“Now, are you going to be good and settle down?”

“Come on, hit my head against the floor!”

Lorac glared up at the warden determinedly. “Fine, we’ll settle down!” She swiftly grabbed Ubnok and BASHED him against the floor: he mustered enough earthbending in his noggin to break the floor open, the group plummeting down the next floor. Leic saved them with butterflies, he and Lorac bolting with the tinies in hand. They dodged Eizzil’s tentacles, but Balan swooped after them. Lorac whipped Ylla back for her to blast another soundwave, but Balan endured and swung a kick, which Lorac dodged with a leap. Leic made a butterfly stairway up and out a window, from which the two jumped down a series of butterfly platforms. The guards of the castle, a bunch of Yllib clones, catapulted their selves up, only for Ylla to yell them away. Balan flew up and swung kicks from multiple angles, the thieves nimbly evading.

They were able to make it to the grounds around the castle, racing to the walls (which looked more like bedroom walls with heart wallpaper). Ylla’s throat was sore, so Lorac bashed Ubnok against the ground some more to send quakes at the Yllib guards. Leic had more butterflies carry them up and over the walls, but Eizzil had warped herself and the pirates above the wall. Aluben grabbed Lorac in bonebending and Balan grabbed Leic. To make matters worse, Ydnam was flying over on a bubble boat. “Phew, sorry for that little episode there! Now, where do you think you kids are running? So long as you’re in my dream, you-”

“Lady Ydnam! Lady Ydnaaaaam!”

They viewed beyond the wall. Ydnam gasped with delight: “It’s a Pegasus!”

“But it’s…!” Ahsas gasped in worry.

“LAAADAAAAAY!” The Pegasus had a manic face as its back half was spilling lint. The horse dodged Eizzil’s tentacles and made it over the wall. The sight of the Pegasus’ innards horrified Ydnam, the horse immediately bursting into flames.

“No! No no no no no no no!”

“Your so-called friends? STUFFED! Manufactured! Overworked, underpaid seamstresses!”

The words of her Positive rang in Ydnam’s mind. The grounds quaked as the castle walls collapsed, the pirates keeling over. Lorac dropped back on the ground, and when Balan dropped to grab her, a motorcycle suddenly emerged from the shadows and RAMMED him in the head. “GET ON!” the tan-skinned punk boy yelled.

Lorac and Leic hastily jumped on the bike, the boy speeding them over the fallen walls. “I don’t know what she was thinking, wanting me to save you! Maybe I still have a chance to breach the dungeon.”

“Who’s ‘she’?” Leic asked.

“Hold on, I’ll get us someplace hidden.” Atuy sank them into a Veil and sped through town.

“They escaped!” Ahsas yelled. “Who was that boy?!”

“Tell everyone to spread out and find them!” Balan ordered. “And have some people check on the dungeon!”

…

The biker boy brought them to an indigo-painted sewer with sand rivers. They took refuge inside a tunnel. “Alright, let’s cut to the chase: my name is Atuy. The Smile Pirates took over my hometown a few years ago.”

“Were you the one behind that unicorn incident?” Lorac asked.

“Yeah. From what I get, Ydnam’s been through a lot of psychological trauma in her childhood. Stupid things like how her toy unicorns were filled with stuffing or how her tea isn’t real. Because she tries so hard to escape those realities in the Dream World, the very foundation of her dreams is fragile. When she’s exposed to those truths, fears will take over, and the power of her Dreamsand will wither. If she takes a big enough shock, everyone who’s trapped in this dream can awaken. That would give people a chance to fight back against the pirates. Of course, it won’t solve everything. One of Ydnam’s commanders, Horde Prime, has several of these people under his mind-control, so I heard. They serve the crew in real life.”

“By any chance, did you learn this stuff from Ydnic? She was acting pretty weird at the dinner.”

“…Yep.”

Atuy had met Ydnic around the time he was forced into this world. She tried to make friends with the boy, but he would only get angry and push her away, using his shadowbending to hide. However, she would always find him and keep trying to make him happy like everyone else. But Atuy argued that none of these people were happy, no matter how the pirates brainwashed them. Ydnic could easily tell her mother about the upset boy and get her to work some bubblebending… but deep down, Ydnic felt the same way he did. So, she would keep him a secret.

It wasn’t until a few months ago, when Ydnic helped trap Nega-W, that she had enough. She began plotting with Atuy to sabotage the crew, telling him of her mother’s weaknesses.

“There’s a dungeon near the coast where Ydnam stored up all her fears and anxieties. Now, only her crewmates manage it. But whenever the dream becomes unstable like this, it weakens the dungeon’s hold. I was hoping to bust it open and ruin the dream for good.”

“That sounds kind of risky if it’s just the two of you.”

“That’s partly why we rescued you. If this goes right, a ton of the pirates’ captives have a chance to escape, including you guys.”

“And that means we’ll be back in our bodies, too!” Ylla exclaimed. “Thank goodness! I wasn’t about to stay as that twerp’s toy!”

“Don’t get too excited.” Oyib cautioned. “They could’ve separated us in real life. We wouldn’t be able to escape on our own.”

“The same goes for our team, too.” Lorac figured. “But as long as we can wake up, our chances are better than staying in here.”

“Then are you gonna help me do this thing?” Atuy asked.

“Yeah!” Leic fist-pumped.

“Then let’s hit the pavement. We can even cause some havoc on the way.”

With all the passengers he was carrying, Atuy couldn’t abuse his Shadow Veil, and the lighting of this realm didn’t cast strong shadows either. They zoomed by and killed several kittens, exposing their bones, and Ubnok was used to bust some tea fountains and cause the tea to disappear. They fought down pirate guards and made it to the coast. “You two?!” Acanom had arrived. “Why is the sky so dark? And… is that Atuy?!”

“Nice to see you again, Goody Two-Shoes.”

“Acanom, what have you done to our friends?!” Lorac asked.

“I was just doing what Master Balan asked! But it looks like I’ll have to stop you now!” Acanom molded her own motorbike from bubble. Atuy sped along the edge of the coast with Acanom in pursuit, launching Bubble Torpedoes that Leic intercepted with butterflies. They raced along a cliffside that steadily progressed into a cave. Giant teddybears tried to crush them, but Atuy was evasive on his bike. Leic leapt on one of the bears’ arms and stabbed its head, mustering a surge of chi to turn it into a giant butterfly. Leic rode the giant bug after his friends, knocking down other teddybears.

They found a huge sealed gate with dark mist seeping through the sides, the structure rumbling. While Leic used his butterfly to fight the teddies, Acanom caught up and battled Atuy, his shadowbending against her bubbling. The gate had a giant safe lock, so Lorac climbed on top. She ran on the lock like a wheel and listened for whenever it clicked. It seemed to have more than three digits to its code, but after reaching five, the force pounding on the door managed to burst it open.

Lorac was smashed against the wall, and as the Nightmares poured out, Leic, Atuy, and Acanom ducked for cover. Giant versions of Ydnam’s parents, oozing with toxic, came moaning out like zombies, dissolving the teddybear guards. Skeletal kittens, unicorn stuffing zombies, blobs of mustard, and giant walking political books marched out. “What’ve you done?! Lady Ydnam’s gonna flip if she sees any of these!” Acanom yelled.

“It won’t be our problem as soon as we wake up!” Atuy stated.

“Detroit…Detroit…Detroit…”

A pair of glaring red eyes peered through the dungeon. A mass of fear slithered out, its tentacles looming ominously over them. “Manufactured… IN DETROIT…”

“Dream or not, I think we oughta run from that thing!” Leic panicked. “It could cause some mental damage!”

“AAAAAAAHHHH!” The kids bolted from the monster, its darkness flooding the cave. “That special filling is just MUSTARD. Mass-produced in a factory. Made by underpaid old women who gave up on their dreams.”

Acanom used her bubble-cycle while the thieves rode Atuy’s cycle, but they couldn’t escape along the cliffside as puddles of mustard and toxic filled it. “You guys will pay for this!” Acanom yelled, simply making a flying bubble to escape.

“Hey, why don’t we just cross the sea?!” Lorac pointed at the expanse of gold sand. “It’s just sand, so we should be able to ride across!”

“Better than nothing!” Atuy turned his cycle and zoomed over the sands—it quickly began to sink. “?!” The kids jumped off and tried to run, but sank into the sand just the same. Leic flew and grabbed either of Lorac and Atuy’s hands, struggling to pull them up. He managed to hoist them up as the two skidded across the surface. “AAAAAAHH!” Unfortunately, a wave of gold washed over the trio, burying them as they were drawn deeper underneath.

…

Balan and the pirates brought Ydnam to her secluded room in the castle. They called the other commanders to help fend off the Nightmares. Aluza mustered giant tears in the shape of whales to wham the mustard blobs. Wodahs sprayed the toxic parents with his healing gas. Horde Prime attached chips to the droll factory workers to bring them under his control, but his chips were corrupted by Fear Chi, causing them to shatter.

The mass of darkness crept through the town, swallowing everyone in its despair: its head resembled that of Ydnam’s Positive, Mandy. “Doctors don’t want to cure you… they want to make you sicker, to make more money. That milk you like was sucked from cows. You’re drinking unborn baby cows. Ponies aren’t used for magic. They’re made into meat and served for a cheap meal.”

The pirates focused their attacks on the nightmarish mass, holding it back a fair amount. Acanom formed a giant Sleep Bubble and moved it over the beast, but the bubble immediately popped. It lashed a tentacle to swat Acanom out of the sky, and it began to advance despite the pirates’ attacks.

…

“There, there, Patrick.” Ydnam patted a white unicorn calmly. “Nothing’s going to happen to you. This island is a paradise. We’ll be just fine. Hmmm…” Somehow, it felt lonely in her unicorn garden room. But this place should be lively with her stuffed friends. Maybe she should get more plastic cake. Or… “I know! Maybe I should invite Ydnic in here! Let’s go find her.”

Ydnam wandered the castle for a bit in search. “Ragus, what’re you doing?!” She heard a voice from Ragus’s room. Recognizing it, Ydnam creaked the door open.

Ragus had stitched Ydnic to the wall. “I know you were trying to help them escape, Ydnic!”

“It was an accident!”

“LIAR!” Ragus tugged on a string to squeeze Ydnic’s hand. “What are you trying to do, huh? Is this world too BORING for you?”

Ydnic glared. “Ragus… aren’t you sick of always being happy? Didn’t you hate your father for making you like this? Why wouldn’t you hate it here?”

“Why would YOU, Yddy?”

“Because I’m sick of it! I’m sick of always being happy all the time. People are scared and miserable because of us. I feel like I have no freedom here, all this positivity gives me a headache! The only reason she married my idiot dad is because he’s too stupid to argue, because REAL couples are supposed to ARGUE! I’m sick of living in my mom’s head! I’m sick of eating plastic food and riding stuffed toys because she thinks REAL things are nasty and gross! She says she’s trying to get rid of all the bad people, but she’s a hypocrite and a coward! Her own precious dream is being destroyed by her own nightmares and she’d rather hide like a baby!”

“…” Ydnam backed away from the room. She walked outside the castle and saw the massive Nightmare in the distance.

Ahsas used Lunar Flames on the skeletal kittens to restore some of their flesh, but the Mandemon slapped and nullified the effect. Aluza’s eyes were drying out, Wodahs was out of gas, and Horde Prime didn’t care enough to keep trying.

But to their awe, another titan stomped from the direction of the castle: an enormous, rotund bubble in the shape of Ydnam, with hair and a scarf flowing with glittering Gold Sand. “When will you quit living in your petty dreams? Reality is cruel. Even you’re cruel. Yet, you fool yourself into thinking you’re a good person. You kill people you don’t approve of… you force them to follow your ways. You’re as bad as any politician. You’re as toxic as any adult.”

“My dreams aren’t petty! My joy will be the cure to this toxic universe! So long as you exist, my dreams won’t be a paradise. So long as my enemies exist… it still won’t be a paradise. I’ll make you and all the Emperors see the fight. With the Phantom Thief’s power… and my own!”

Ydnam could materialize any of her favorite things inside the body of her Slumber Queen. She sent unicorns to stab Mandemon’s eyes, kittens to melt its chest, and spewed a waterfall of tea down its throat. As her dreams and her fears clashed, waves of gold and black sand rose around the Sand Sea.

…

In the Waking World, people began to awaken from the weakened effects of Ydnam’s Sand Chi. The pirates were able to detain most of them… however, a particular bunch were unable to wake at all: Lorac, Leic, Atuy, and the TG kids.

“Waaaaaaaahhhh…” The kids in question had sunk several miles through the sand, finally to emerge from a dark, dusty ceiling. The expanse of a cavern splayed before them, taking in all its glory as they fell the great drop. They flailed their limbs for hundreds of feet worth of falling, their screams barely covering much distance in the cave.

They crashed on a sandy hill and slid down gracefully, though Leic was upside-down and Atuy was rolling. The dolls were still tucked in Lorac’s pants, but sand got in the tinies’ mouths. The hill eventually reached the bottom, where the kids could get up. “Sigh…well, that went from scary to fun!” Leic smiled.

“Easy for you to say.” Dnis spat sand out. “Also, your pants stink!”

“Even in dreams?!” Lorac exclaimed.

“Pipe down.” Atuy stated. “Are we… under the Sand Sea?”

This cave was dark and lonely compared to the lively beauty of the Gold Sea above. Yet, they wondered if this was even part of Ydnam’s dream at all. …Lorac could almost hear faint voices across the distance. She felt a sense of unease… but a desire to travel forward and follow them.

PHEW, I had a hard time focusing on this one. Like, ’soon as I got past the Commander intros, my brain just went dead, but we managed to get through. I had some good ideas going, but… definitely my least-favorite Yonko crew. ^^;

Chapter Text

Alright, time for the 4th session of the Pirate Prequels!

Villainia was a planet-sized paradise for pirates and villains alike. It was naturally flowing with Bang Gas, causing a majority of the population to be born with some metahuman ability, along with the usual element bending. But such a super-powered society paved way for crime and wild activity. While governments worked to capture and detain the outlaws, it was an endless struggle.

A certain country suffered a great flood thanks to a powerful waterbender, leaving only the higher pieces of land to make towns on. Those towns were wood and built like classic ships to further capture the spirit of piracy. Ufatusum was one such town: it was the territory of the Awful Underdog Pirates (or A.U. Crew for short). The crew was composed of teenagers and divided into several divisions, each about as big as school classrooms.

“Shishishishi!” laughed Uked, the captain of Division A-1. He was a blackish-green-haired boy in a traditional black hat and coat. “What a fine day it is, maties! Where shall the winds take us?”

“C-C-C-Captain!” stuttered Lizzy, a chameleon girl with bulbous eyes that twisted every direction. “I-I-I see a navy ship!”

“Oi, they look like another band o’ rookies!” said Urweighty, a chubby brown-haired girl staring through a telescope. “And they’re ’eaded right for us!”

“Lookin’ to pick a fight with us, eh? Then let’s show ’em who owns these waters!”

“We’re going to fight them?!” exclaimed Ogukab the Pushover, a timid-looking boy with light-blonde spike hair. “B-But look at that logo! That’s one of Silver-Foot Eniram’s ships! And I have ‘Must not fight Admiral Eniram’ sickness.”

“They can’t be much tougher than us, mates, they’re only rookies!” Uked said. “Let’s sink that fancy old ship of theirs!”

But they weren’t ordinary navy rookies: they were Sectors -V and -W7. “I guess this’ll kill any chance of setting a DNK up on this planet.” Asia said.

“Man, Sheila’s gonna kill me for doin’ this.” Aliehs said. “She’d go crazy over this place.”

“She’ll rest well knowing it’s a means to an end.” Arorua replied. “Let’s get this over with.

The ships sailed beside each other for a good, honorable swing-across-and-duel. Of course, if you don’t know your U.A. kids and can’t recognize the Negatives, don’t worry ’cause they probably won’t be relevant after this.

Arorua battled Uked, who had rubbery stretching powers to enhance his attacks. Arorua’s swords were capable of cutting his rubber.

Sirhc battled Shiroyami, a lightbending chicken mutant. They had knocked each other off the ships and wound up in a lot of comical incidents in the midst of their fight, but that requires a whole other session.

Aliehs had trouble chasing the crafty, evasive Lizzy, who landed several strong hits with her tongue whip.

Urot the Over-Visible Girl was bright gray and projected an aura that just tempted people to look at her. Asia was getting frustrated looking at her, so she struck her with furious airbending.

Otohs was a peculiar double-bender of Steam and Coal, who lured Yenmihc into his relaxing bathhouse to attack her with both elements. The foggy fumes of her poisonbending ruined his sauna, however.

Pushover had the power to thrust his palms and emit a repelling wave. Ahcom whined as she struggled to get close to him, but realized she could thrust her own palms and counter the repelling with her Gentle Fists. Once she got close, her natural chi-blocking techniques won the battle.

Cherry Juice was an impish boy who loved bigger, stronger boys, so he was excited to battle Eitra. His dark-red hair could drop cherry bombs to blow down Eitra’s hamsters with small bursts, but Eitra gave him a royal pounding in the end (much to Cherry’s delight).

Inkjet was a blonde boy who could secrete and bend ink, using it to combat Nosam’s tearbending. “I fight for all the brave men of Ufatusum!” Inkjet cried. “I fight for Lorac’s honor!” Nosam returned. His stronger emotions overcame the ink boy.

Urweighty increased Lirpa’s weight with each attack, remarking that she should work out. Lirpa mustered the will to stand, thrust herself at Urweighty, and pin her down beneath her own weight, crushing her unconscious.

Nostril Pump was a dorkish girl with tubes in her nose. She attached them to Akurah’s nose to pump her full of nasal spray, but Akurah countered by pumping her own Poison Chi through and sickening Nostril.

Omom was a hungry girl who could eat any object and take on its properties before being forced to eject it. She did this with a cannon to blast ammo at Eelyah, who dodged and chucked cement blocks. Omom simply ate the cement, but when she morphed her arms into the substance, Eelyah was able to bend her into submission.

Adok was a strange-headed soundbender who could mimic animal noises and enforce the noise into a target’s ears. He tried this with Eirik, but she mimicked his technique at an even worse noise.

Aynet had horse legs and carried a wagon at his back, using it to carry Anim, a Harnitan girl who could secrete glue. He challenged Yrrah and Sipa to a race across a half-submerged highway, the former using a race-kart. Sipa used magic to counter Anim’s glue traps and sent nasty spell traps of her own.

Stringliner could launch strings from his body to bind opponents. He was unable to catch the tiny Ahcniea, who threw small needles into parts of his body to prevent his strings from coming out. She then made it onto his head to “hack” his brain and force Stringliner to beat himself.

There were a few other crewmen onboard, but they’re irrelevant and were defeated as well!

The navy troops onboard the operatives’ vessel proceeded to chain and imprison the juvenile pirates. Smooth Etep, a thin robot lieutenant, addressed the ops. “Marvelous work, DNK! You handled them better than I would’ve expected. But there are plenty more like them on these waters. We can’t rest ’til we bag every last pirate in these waters!”

“Aye-aye, sir.” Arorua replied in sarcasm. As the ops headed to their resting lounge, they shared glares of guilt and frustration.

Two days ago

Aliehs was called to come to her home in Rojotown. Knowing the occasion, her teammates agreed to come with her. Her mother, Admiral Eniram was there for a visit. A squad of troops, including the fat robot, Commodore Gals, accompanied her. “Well, if it ain’t the wannabe hero of the navy.” Aliehs folded her arms. “Ya need something, Mum?”

“Your tongue has gotten sharper, I see.” Eniram stated. “I’m sure you can guess why I called you here.”

“If you were goin’ to abduct me into your justice charade, you shoulda just been straight and invaded our treehouse.”

“I’d rather have tested your sense of duty and compelled you to come here. And I expected these brats of yours to be on your tail.”

“If you were gonna abduct her, ya might as well take the whole load!” Eirik sneered.

“I don’t suppose you have news about our other kidnapped sectors?” Arorua inquired.

Eniram sighed. “I’m sorry to say the Black Lotus lost Sectors -L and the others to the Meta-Beasts. Nega-SA and the group harboring the Goddaughter seem to remain in the Mushroom Mafia’s custody.”

“That isn’t nearly as bad as what happened to Lorac!” Nosam yelled. “WHAT’VE YOU DONE WITH HER?!”

“I don’t know anything about that! Regardless, the Fleet Admiral believes that a war with the Three Emperors is just over the horizon, and your organization is already swept up in it. I’ve no doubt you lot are planning to get yourselves into trouble over this, so I’d rather take the initiative. So, buckle up, because you’re joining the navy!”

“You might wanna run that by ME first!”

Nerehc Onu, in his Fierce Deity robe, sent a slash of white flames, which the raccoon admiral countered with a streak of silver light from her heeled boots. Nerehc flew and clashed his looped sword against Eniram’s heels. “You navy chumps egged us on long enough! I demand an audience with your Fleet Admiral!”

“How dare you attack the admiral!” Gals yelled, raising his large sword at the boy.

“Stand down, Gals!” Eniram ordered. “Supreme Leader Nerehc… I understand your frustration, but the Fleet Admiral can’t just meet with anybody.”

“I think I’m infamous enough that he would wanna meet me. But I ain’t letting you take any more of my operatives until I do. Try to take ’em and you’ll regret it.”

“Hmph. Very well… allow us to send a call.”

Eniram returned to her base in town and sent the message to headquarters. After over an hour, the strict-toned admiral returned. “Well… it seems the Fleet Admiral will accept your audience… if your operatives could aid us in one last mission.”

“You’re seriously pushing my buttons!” Nerehc grit his teeth.

“Calm down, bro.” Arorua said. “What is it he wants?”

“Have you ever heard of Villainia?”

“The pirate planet?” Aliehs asked. “Heh, I might’ve ’eard of it.”

“Pirates and other scoundrels, the like. There’s a certain region on Villainia the Admiral wants conquered. All kinds of adult and juvenile pirates roam those waters without a care, and we fear it’s only a matter of time before the Emperors set sights on them. The Meta-Beasts most likely. Of course, the rest of that world is in just as much danger. But I’ve been told if your lot can help us capture those pirates and take over that sea, the Admiral will gladly meet with you.”

“Hmm…give us some time to discuss this.”

Nerehc brought Nega-V to Moonbase and decided to summon his girlfriend’s sector as well. “You want us to become navy dogs?!” Sipa asked.

“The navy’s going to keep harassing us. Sooner or later, we’ll be going to war with them along with the pirates. I’ll have Emorej keep other DNKs up-to-date in case they need to rescue you, but I would like to get to know my enemy a bit better.”

“Can’t we make Ururu’s sector do this?!” Lirpa shouted. “I was NOT feeling up for this today!”

“I’d like to keep Nega-JP around for a different matter.”

“It’s fine.” replied Asia, Nega-W7’s leader. The black-winged, street-clothed Nimbi bore a confident, strict, and dedicated glare. “Beating up pirates sounds like a fun way to vent some anger, don’t you guys think?”

“At least we’ll be on water.” Yenmihc shrugged. “Let’s get to it, I guess.”

“I hope we’ll be able to help, Nerehc.” Sipa smiled.

Present time

“Workin’ for the legendary Silver Foot.” Yenmihc said, grabbing a soda from the fridge. “Must be a thrill, huh, Aliehs?”

“Yo, Yenmihc, toss me one, too.” Akurah requested. Yenmihc got another soda and tossed her one.

“Don’t even joke about it.” Aliehs stated, eating some chips. “Mom’s almost never home, and when she is, she’s a slave-driver. Plus, she’s so annoyingly loyal to the navy it makes me sick.”

“I can imagine.” Lirpa replied as Ahcniea helped treat a blister on her toe.

Eelyah peeked outside. Some soldiers were escorting the cuffed A.U. Crew away. “Eelyah feel bad for Eh-yoo Kids.”

“They’re probably gonna be taken to Tnacsuroc.” Asia replied, approaching the Neanderthal. “This whole thing is a clean-up operation in the end.”

“It better work out or there’ll be some hell to pay.” Eirik stated, twisting a finger in her ear as she could still feel the buggish sounds inside. “By the way, Acne.”

“It’s Ahcniea, Ear-wreck!”

“What was that thing you were doin’ with those kids after we KO’ed ’em?”

Indeed, Ahcniea had stuck her needles into each of A.U.’s brains and seemed to work her usual craft. “Oh, that!” She smiled mischievously. “I was just testing something.”

“Testing what?” Lirpa asked.

“A special new support technique. In fact, I was going to ask if I could tweak your brains just a tad. Sirhc, would you like to go first?”

“Uh, n-no thanks.” Sirhc backed up from the approaching tiny. “I like my brain—AH!” Sipa cast the Jelly-Legs Curse to make him fall over.

“He’s all yours, Ahcniea!” The witch pinned him down.

“No no! Aaaahhhh!”

Dream Realm (Play “Deep in the Caves” from Rayman.)

Lorac, Leic, and Atuy rode the latter’s motorcycle through the cavernous expanse. The vacant tunnels of dark sand seemed to stretch on like an endless limbo, the whirring of the bike’s engine livening the dead silence. “If we still can’t wake up,” Atuy said, “I guess Ydnam managed to keep control of her dream.”

“I still don’t really think we’re in her dream, anymore.” Lorac replied.

“Why not? Look at all this sand, this has to be beneath the Sand Sea.”

“It just feels different.”

“Where are we even headed? You say you hear voices, but all I hear is my engine.”

“Just keep going.”

Turning several wide corners within the cave, they saw what appeared to be a darker tunnel deep within. They approached it, and realized it was an exit to a sandstorm, a dark-blue sky looming over a desert of darker sand. The teens braved the storm and drove forth in the hopes of finding a way out. Eerie moaning reached their ears, and through the sand, they could make out faint cyan lights moving. “AAAH!” They nearly drove into a huge sand monster, but Atuy quickly maneuvered around. The cyclops was limping around without much interest in them, and around them were numerous other cyclops with various alien shapes.

“What are these things?” Leic asked. “They’re giving off a spiritual presence. Almost like…” The angel approached one of the creatures and used his sword to cut through its sand.

The sand dissolved and unveiled a bushy-black-haired gym coach with a well-toned body. “Oh…hey…” He looked at them with dull black eyes. He spoke Japanese, but Atuy could understand him. “You kids look broke… I guess the Phantom Thieves got to you, too.”

“Ph-Phantom Thieves?!” Lorac exclaimed.

“Who are you, Mister?” Leic asked.

“Kamoshida… used to be an Olympic medalist… and a real asshole. The Phantom Thieves took that part of me away… now I’m just trying to atone for what I did.”

“Wait, who are they? These Phantom Thieves?”

“A couple of brats… it don’t matter…”

“Are all these other people victims of them?”

“Yep… though some of them are… a lot older than we are… Stay in school, kids…” The sand monster formed back around Kamoshida and he resumed wandering.

“This place is… the Valley of Lost Dreams.” Lorac knew. The fleet-footed thief ran further, her friends following. There were skinnier sand monsters lain dead. Lorac brushed one of them off, unveiling some British guy in a wig. “I recognize this guy from our family records. He was a corrupt governor who received the Phantom Thief treatment as well. That was about two centuries ago.”

“That’s why this doesn’t feel like a real soul. More like a shadow.” Leic said, bending over him. “The real one must be in the Spirit World. Did you know that when people die, their dreamscapes get moved up to Spirit World?”

“That may be… but I think these peoples’ dreams crumbled before that could happen.”

“You’re starting to creep me out with all this talk.” Atuy said. “Who even ARE you kids?”

“Why, they’re destroyers of dreams their selves.”

A voice guided their gaze to a golden object across the valley. Lorac ran for it, Leic gesturing her to wait up. The object surrounded by several gazing cyclops was a wooden cane of a certain shape. “The Nosretsam Cane…” Lorac approached her family relic…!

The sand around it stirred and rose, Lorac stepping back. It shaped into a giant owl with glimmering, glaring orange eyes. “I had a feeling you would fall down here someday…”

“Clockwerk…” Lorac glared.

“That’s Clockwerk?!” Leic exclaimed. “He was trapped down here?!”

“Indeed… I thought there was something unnatural about that shabby little cane.” Clockwerk spread his wings imposingly. “It was a magical relic that lets you directly invade a person’s dreamscape. From there, you steal their very soul and leave their dreams and bodies to crumble.”

“The Art of the Phantom Thief is meant to steal your desires, but it can take souls just the same. I didn’t really have time to take your desires the proper way.”

“But my fate remains the same either way. This realm is where dreams fall when the people have given up on them. For more reasons than just the Phantom Thieves… but I like to think your art contributed.”

“That’s why I refrain from using it. Even for villains… robbing someone of their desires is too sad of a fate. A fate that no one deserves.”

“Surely, you DNK have killed your fair share of enemies. Those too dangerous to just let live. Even your ancestors tried to kill me. Do you honestly believe death is a more merciful fate than a life of apathy and monotony?”

“Er…” Lorac couldn’t deny he had a point. “I don’t know if it is… but stealing someone’s desires is no different from brainwashing.”

“No different from what Ydnam does.” Atuy argued. “You know, I feel like there aren’t really as many dreamscapes as there should be under her rule. I get the feeling several dreams of ordinary citizens already crumbled. Now they’re just floating through life in forced happiness, having lost any aspirations they had. Those people are probably here, too.”

“The Golden Dreamer? I’ve heard of her. And if that’s what she’s done, why not do the same to her, Nosretsam? Take her desires.”

“Even if I wanted to… the Nosretsam Cane has a limit to how much it can hold. I’d have to take the desires into my own dream, and they might wind up corrupting me.”

“But would it be effective in beating Ydnam?” Atuy asked.

“Hey, be a little more considerate!” Leic scolded.

“Frankly, I don’t care if she dies, becomes a zombie, or whatever. She needs to be stopped.”

Lorac bowed her head. One of the DNK’s core principles was not to kill unless there was no other choice, so for the likes of the Four Emperors, stealing their desires seemed like a great alternative. “Even so… I can’t pull it off unless I get in direct contact with the target, so by then, we’d have to beat Ydnam down, anyway. And before that… we need to wake up and escape from her clutches.”

“Which begs the question of how we get out of here.”

“I can fly, but I sure can’t push up through that sand.” Leic said.

“Then it seems you’ll be trapped down here with me forever~”

“We’ll find a way out! Just watch us!” Lorac balled her fist determinedly.

“Go ahead. The Pirate Emperors will crush you either way. I hope I’ll be able to witness that. Still, they don’t make them like they used to. I wonder if my old friend is still around.”

“Your old friend?” Leic asked.

“The one who designed my metallic body while my dying form lay frozen. A pirate who has since become legend…” (End song.)

Villainia

Nega-V and -W7 watched as two flagships sailed toward them: Admiral Eniram was posed on her keel and a young, tan-skinned boy, Admiral Uub, was perched on his. The two admirals jumped down to the operatives. “You did well, Aliehs. But the battle’s not over. There are plenty more strong pirates on these waters. Admiral Uub will be joining us in the mission.”

“Another admiral?” Sirhc said. “He doesn’t look much older than us.”

“You couldn’t be more wrong. Admiral Uub is a 5,000 year old mage.”

“WHAT?!?”

“I am of the Najin race.” Uub said. “Though we possess magic, we cannot hold wands. We train our bodies and minds to focus the Magic Chi as we please. And through intense meditation, we’ve learned to halt the aging process.”

“A Najin?” Sipa perked up. “But I heard your race only stays secluded to their Sky Island.”

“I was personally sought and recruited by the Fleet Admiral for my exceptional talent. Defeating the evil-doers of the universe seemed like a fair bargain. Which is why… I reject the likes of you!”

Uub flicked his finger, casting a spell that straightened Sipa stuff. “H-hey! What’s w’th you?” she asked through grit teeth.

“My kind detests you dark mages.” Uub marched forth to take her wand. “I can smell your sinful soul from-”

Lirpa blocked his arm with her foot. “No one bothers our friends but us.”

“Yeah.” Arorua raised a blade at him. “That’s our brother’s girlfriend, so back off.”

“Put those down at once!” Eniram ordered. “You’ll show better respect to him!”

“My Lady!” called Commodore Gals. “Two elite vessels to the port-bow!”

The admirals turned. One of the ships was alit with white, frosted flames, where a very thin pirate captain with a snowflake head crest waited on the keel. “Captain Shivers.” Eniram said. “One of the strongest men on this sea. And those other colors belong to Mt. Pebble. Uub, let’s take care of this first.”

“Aye-aye.” Uub shot a glare to the kids. “You know what an Animagus is, right, kids? When a wizard embraces the traits of a certain animal, they can attain a perfect Transfiguration spell and become that animal. Well, my races uses a more advanced version.”

Uub jumped off the ship, and transformed into the five-headed white elephant, Airavata. The kids were gawking as the mythical beast stormed through the water and bombarded Captain Shivers’ ship with water. The frosty pirate unleashed a terrible blizzard, but Uub endured the cold and slammed his five trunks against his ship.

Eniram grinded across her streaks of silver light and landed on Mt. Pebble’s ship. She swiftly KO’ed the pirates onboard, but couldn’t find any sight of—“AAH!” she was slammed to the deck. Eniram hopped up and jumped around, and she could barely notice the pebble-sized pirate zipping around. Eniram chased and tried to crush the woman, but Mt. Pebble kept dodging in the arches of Eniram’s boots.

“HEY!” yelled Vice-Admiral Mada, his volcano-y head boiling. “Heads up, you brats! Another ship full o’ brats is comin’!”

The operatives turned to starboard: the ship in question belonged to Division 1-B of the A.U. Crew. “More of them, eh?” Aliehs said.

“Let’s break some more heads!” Eirik cracked her knuckles.

Now, if you don’t know the Positive 1-B kids, you are SCREWED—not really, I’m only gonna make Negatives for my favorites. Okonik was a girl who could make crystals grow on targets and give people a drugged sensation. Akurah countered this effect with her bending and used this technique against her. Odnek could enlarge her feet and enhance her kicks, but she still wasn’t a match for Lirpa’s strong legs. Donkey was a blonde girl with a donkey face, who could control horseshoes in the air. She attempted to capture Ahcniea, but after winding up a victim to the Lilliputian’s whims, she was forced to kick some of her allies.

Arabi was a Ganonist girl with a pine-cone head, who shot spiky pines at Sipa. Unfortunately, Sipa was still paralyzed from Uub’s spell, so Sirhc protected her in his Armordillo while still fighting his own foe, Odnob, who tried to make Sirhc steer out of control with his slippery grease. Eventually, Sipa recovered from the spell, then she whipped up a curse to make Arabi’s insides just as spiky, giving her cramps.

Meanwhile, Uub was eventually able to crush Captain Shivers. Eniram used lightspeed to catch up with Mt. Pebble and quite literally crush her. Once the admirals had finished, they returned to address the kids. “That’s three more crews down and out!” Eniram smiled. “I’m proud of you, kids!”

“Peh.” Aliehs spat. Eniram frowned at her daughter.

“Don’t you show that kinda ’tude, kiddo!” Vice-Admiral Mada stomped directly to Aliehs. “In this biz, you’d be scrubbin’ all the decks in our fleet! Same goes to the two of you!” He pointed at Arorua and Lirpa.

“Indeed. A dark mage has no place in our fleet.” Uub stated. “I demand you hand over your wand. And if you agree to purify your style of magic, I’ll consider giving you a replacement wand.”

“Sorry, but dark magic is what I grew up with.” Sipa stated. “It’s the most efficient way I can fight. But I don’t follow Ganon or the evil demons, anymore. I use my magic to fight evil the same as you.”

“The weakness in your tone says otherwise.”

“She did eat my rabbit.” Yenmihc mentioned.

“You said I could!”

“I know, but even though you toned down, you haven’t completely changed. You still play your share of ‘pranks.’”

“Grrrr…” Sipa grit her teeth. “Well, this was how I was raised, okay?! I’m trying to be better, but I still want to feel some form of pride in myself! What if I need to undo evil curses, huh?! Dabbling in dark magic is a good way to learn about them!”

“The words of a misguided mage. But this is why I left my homeland… to bring the truth to such fools.”

“Yeah?! Well, when’s the truth gonna come out that you navy jerks take bribes from criminals and bully your citizens?!”

“Ghh…” Uub bit his teeth.

“Your magic might be ‘purer,’ but it’s no different from mine!” Sipa stomped into the ship’s cabin.

“GET BACK HERE, YOU!” Mada fumed.

“At ease, Mada.” Eniram stated. “We’ll include this in our report to the Fleet Admiral.”

“Yeah, the IMAGINARY Fleet Admiral.” Aliehs eye-rolled.

“Speaking of darkness, Aliehs, I’d like a word with you, too.”

“Well, maties, it’s time for ‘the talk.’” Aliehs expressed and shrugged her arms like a sarcastic teenager.

Aliehs followed her mother up to the deck of her flagship. “Look, Aliehs… I know you’re tired of hearing the same dribble, but the truth is… I’m proud of the work you’ve done for the DNK. Your help in stopping the Little Dads, and that interdimensional invasion last year… Despite your attitude, you’ve done great things. The navy could really use you and your friends.”

“Sure, we’d love to help you bully innocent people and cover up crimes.”

“That’s my point, Aliehs. The navy…nnnhh!” Eniram slumped over, clutching her head.

“Mum?”

“Th…the navy is just in all they do.” Eniram narrowed her eyes, depicting the navy’s symbol. “Someday, you’ll understand.”

“…Mom, are you okay?”

“I’m just fine.” Eniram straightened up. “Under the Fleet Admiral’s command, the navy has established a new order of justice. It would be great if you could ‘assist’ in our justice.”

“…” Aliehs stared at her mother knowingly. “Why does the Fleet Admiral want to meet Nerehc?”

“He didn’t ‘want’ to, I’m sure he’s merely considering it. But if I could wager a guess, he’s thinking of asking Nerehc to ‘join’ him.”

“Uh…huh.”

“Admiral!” Gals called. “We’ve got a lead on another juvenile crew!”

“Then you have work to do, Aliehs. We’ll talk again later.”

“Yeah…” Aliehs returned to her ship.

As the operatives made sail, Aliehs met with Ahcniea in the bathroom, holding the doctor as she recapped the convo in a stall. “Hmm…so, there really might be brainwashing involved.” Ahcniea thought aloud. “You think your mom might let me poke at her brain?”

“Even if she would, what if her ‘brainwashing’ has some kind of security thingy?”

“But if I could just study it, it would really help. Either way… this Fleet Admiral doesn’t sound like a nice guy. And I should know!”

“Yeah… serves my mom right for being such a justice nut.” Aliehs glared and glanced away.

“…” Even Ahcniea felt slight pity for her.

The venture stretched on to the next day as they aided the navy in clearing the sea of crooks. One of the most dangerous juveniles was “Oblivion” Oirim, who could make targets vanish into the void. He caused the operatives’ ship to crash in the middle of the night, for they rammed into a jagged rock that had spawned back into existence. Oirim invaded the ship and made most of the sleepy operatives disappear, but Aliehs managed to fight and defeat the villain, allowing her friends to respawn. Yrrah and some shipwrights fixed the vessel by morning.

Following this, the villain “Moonvomit” was a boy who could transform objects into living things, mustering his power to change a submerged building into an octopus. Arorua sliced the octo’s tentacles, then had to chase Moonvomit into a floating harbor town. Moonvomit was evasive as he turned numerous objects into animals, confusing Arorua amongst them. Eitra decided to join her, using his hamsters to fight through the animals and eventually track Moonvomit down. He turned Arorua’s sword into a snake as it gnashed at her face, but a hamster jumped in defense. Arorua flicked the snake like a whip to drop the hamster, then gnashed it at Moonvomit.

The admirals searched for and captured other supervillains on the sea, and before long, the operatives defeated the rest of the pirates. However, there was still one villain left.

Swooping in with a pair of falcon wings, he was a manic supervillain known as Fawkes. The DNK were awestruck as Fawkes was slurping a cyclone up from the sea, along with ship debris, into a small-looking vacuum cleaner. “MWA HA HA HA! I’VE DONE IT! I’VE CREATED A VACUUM THAT SUCKS THE FABRIC OF REALITY!”

The powerful vacuum threatened to slurp their vessel, but Asia mustered the peak of her airbending to counter its succulation. Asia flew at Fawkes (based off a YouTuber) and soared circles around him, throwing kicks wherever there was an opening. Fawkes blasted masses of debris, some injuring Asia as blood dripped and her clothes tore. Asia had to resort to using Storm Bird Fury, her black wings seeming to stretch with the wind around them. She bent the vacuum’s fierce wind against Fawkes, causing the vacuum to suck itself up and explode.

The injured Fawkes was recovered by the navy, who also picked up the injured Asia. To thank the DNK for their bravery, the soldiers offered to treat Asia personally. …But first, Lirpa ran up to the defeated Fawkes and grabbed his neck, getting up to his face as she hissed, “’Guess you shouldn’t have Fawked with us.”

Ahcniea slipped out of Lirpa’s shirt and into Fawkes’.

The DNK would wait around for one more day, enjoying a good meal and relieving their stress. Sipa would stay onboard Admiral Uub’s ship, watching as the Najin fed Asia medicinal herbs, along with healing spells to speed up the recovery. “I promise your friend is safe in my hands.” Uub assured. “Safer than she’d be in yours.”

“As if. The people who act as pure as you are the most suspicious of all. So, you’d better not do anything to my friend.”

“You don’t have to worry about that… not yet…”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Just be on your best behavior… and on your guard…”

“…” Sipa figured he was a victim of it, too.

By the next day, the navy began to build radio towers over the towns. A gang of high-schoolers called the Tax Collectors arrived to bully the citizens into paying the initial Protection Fee. The leader of the Taxers was Two-Face; there was a hunched boy named Spine, a carriage-riding girl named Maiden, a girl in a jackal suit with an apt alias, a blind karate girl named Nightwatch—they’re the Negative Phantom Thieves, figure the rest out.

“You kids have done a fine job.” Eniram smiled. “In fact… I have some good news. The Fleet Admiral has agreed to meet with your leader, and you’ve all been invited as well.”

“The Admiral… wants to meet all of us?” Sirhc asked nervously.

“Yes. We’ll be leaving in an hour, so you’d best dress nicely. And come with an appetite~”

“We’ll dress as we always are.” Lirpa remarked.
“I LIKE BRAINS!” yelled the “Ahcniea” in Yenmihc’s blouse.

“What do you think, Arorua?” Eirik asked.

“We better be on guard. I’m sure Nerehc will try to have backup ready. I’m mostly worried how we’re gonna regroup with Ahcniea. I hope she knows what she’s doing.”

…

Meanwhile, Vice-Admiral Mada had been using his lavabending to create more islands and make land for more homes. However, a certain time of the month had come for Mada: his men went an fetched Anneis Nahk, a cute, tan-skinned tiger Faunus in a white dress. Though she was timid, she acted happy to be Mada’s next sacrifice. The bull Faunus morphed into a lava monster and ate Anneis alive.

Mada’s lavebending stemmed from the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Cherufe. It was made from a lava spirit that would cause volcanic eruptions, unless it were fed virginial maidens. Ever since eating the fruit five months ago, Mada required such a maiden every month to maintain control of himself.

Tnacsuroc

The DNK rode with the admirals to Jargenford, the Navy H.Q.. Though it bore the high-tech architecture natural to the planet, it was painted with sailor’s white and indigo colors. The canals in this city possessed saltwater, the scent of sea wafting over the kids. A band was playing a chorus of classic drums and flutes, like those at an old British base.

Nerehc Onu, Nega-V, and -W7 rode a parade-like platform to the stairs of the base, troops marching on either side in unison. Once at the stairs, the ops traveled up to the base’s pavilion, a vast training ground. Many high-ranking officers appeared to be present and socializing. Eniram went to address Rear-Admiral Reknoc, a kid-sized, middle-aged Moebian squirrel. “So, how goes things on Toadstool, Reknoc?”

“No suspicious activity goin’ on, Madame Silver, nothin’ but the norm!”

“I see… very good.” Eniram walked away with a knowing frown. Reknoc bowed his head in shame.

Reknoc had followed the Separate Proprietors, Trombo-Ocarina down to Toadstool to investigate them, meeting up with their favorite business partner, Yeknod Gnok. “’ey, Mister Reknoc, old buddy old pal.” Yeknod put a hand over his old acquaintance. “You won’t tell anybody we was here, will ya?”

“We just here for a drink, uck-kuk-kuk,” Trombo babbled drunkily, “care to join us?”

“We’ve got booze and a nice, juicy wad of gems just for you!” Ocarina smiled.

A voice in Reknoc’s head told him to accept. “Sigh…sure, you old codgers.”

The DNK were allowed to explore the grounds for a short time with Smooth Etep, Gals’ right-hand mate, as their escort. Etep pointed out the many officers: Vice-Admiral Ade the Robin Lady was a mage from Netheria, with flawless white skin, a nun’s dress, and grey hair underneath. She was with her apprentice, Zul, a Hispanic human girl. Uub seemed to briefly talk with the mages, as they were part of his division, and they shot dirty looks at Sipa, the dark mage blowing a raspberry.

Admiral Avlis Kcydloz looked muscular and stern in his uniform, his hair trimmed into the traditional, flat-topped military style. “Admiral Avlis, sir!” His son, Lieutenant Ikullim ran up with a salute. “Aullik is surfing the canals again!”

“Why you crying to me, Ikullim?! Dive down there and stop that little shit!”

“SIR, AS YOU SAY, SIR!” Ikullim sped off.

“And if your sister seizes him first, it’s a thousand whoopins!!”

Aullik was a shirtless and barefoot boy with soggy white hair covering his eyes, wearing a pair of large trunks with ocean and fish designs. As he surfed the canals with ease, washing over several soldiers on boats, his little sister raced after him on a hoverboard. “You’re embarrassing Dad, Aullik! Get back here!” Akulla demanded. She had black hair in pigtails and a black karate uniform. Aullik brushed waves back at her, but her Fishman Karate style cut through the waves.

Meanwhile, Ikullim raced across town on a skateboard and got to a slanted building. He zoomed straight down and readied a football: using his Throw-Throw Fruit, he could see the football’s trajectory line and manipulate it. The distance would depend on his momentum, but Aullik was close enough in range. Sliding down the slope built up speed, and with a sudden stop, he threw the football. It swerved around the air as he intended, the hair-faced surfer too dim to predict it. It got behind Aullik, impacted him, and the ball finished its throw by returning straight to Ikullim. The older brother grabbed and slammed Aullik to the ground.

The siblings returned to their father with their shabby-looking brother in a daze. “That’s more like it, Ikullim! And Akulla, you couldn’t do better than that?! Looks like YOU’RE getting the thousand whoopins!”

“AIEEEEEEE!” Akulla ran in fear, but her father used the power of his Whoop-Whoop Fruit to conjure large Whoopie Cushions. He threw dozens at his daughter, bursting and punishing her with fart-like combustion.

The DNK feared they had just witnessed a moment they shouldn’t have. “Er, let’s move on!” Smooth Etep encouraged. He showed them to Vice-Admiral Dump, a Y-Naut alien who managed the base on Toadstool’s moon: his blue helmet had horns, he wore a white cape, and a brown jagged scarf. Vice-Admiral Raaxul was a Clublion alien, who managed the base on Planet Arim.

“Hey, it’s Itaav!” Nerehc saw the Black Lotus leader talking with Raaxul, running to the white-caped Minish. “Itaav!”

“Nerehc! It’s… good to see-”

“So, what happened on Arim?! What happened to Ikuyim’s team?!”

“They were captured by the pirates! We tried to fight them, but we were ordered to retreat after a while.”

“Ugh, I should’ve known. The Fleet Admiral has a ton to answer to, I tell you-”

“Nerehc, please!” Itaav hissed. “I’m sure the Fleet Admiral will hear you out, but you must be respectful. And no matter what… keep your head on straight.”

Prisoners’ Redemption Facility

The supervillain Fawkes was strapped to a machine. A skinny robot with a large cranium and eerie big eyes very softly cut around his forehead and peeled the flesh off. With his brain exposed, it carefully implanted a chip. “Aaaahhhh, what’s happening?!” Fawkes twitched. “I don’t think we’re in Sasnak, anymore! Enaj, stop this crazy thing! Stooooop!”

Once the mech finished, it reattached the skin. Fawkes was then wheeled off to a chamber full of cubicle cells, where he was allowed to rest. Ahcniea was hidden above a ceiling vent, having watched the sight in horror. And it seemed the other people in those cubicles were the many pirates and villains they had captured… and the A.U. Crew were in the process of it.

Ahcniea watched as one of the robots pulled Uked away, the boy strapped to a crate lift. Curious, Ahcniea pulled out a small device called a M.I.C.R.O.B.E. and chucked it straight onto Uked. Now able to listen to him, she waited patiently in the vent. The robot rolled him all the way to a secure room with a reinforced door.

Inside that room was a mechanical brain inside a glass cube. “Smiling Uked… Captain Shivers has already told me. He told me you hold the Key to Pirates.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about! In fact, brains shouldn’t be talking at all!”

“Don’t play coy with me, boy. I know you know where the contract is hidden… and with a dab of mind-control, you will bring it to me.”

“Huh?! You… even know about that?!”

“Of course I do. And along with it… I can also reclaim my body.”

“Your body?! Wait… no… you can’t be-”

Metal wires flew up to seal Uked’s mouth. The brain telekinetically raised small knives up to peel off Uked’s head.

“I~ had~ strings~ But~ now~ I’m~ free…”

Ahcniea could hear muffled screaming as she feared the worst for Uked.

“I’ve got no strings… To hold me down… To make me fret… or make me frown…” The brain noticed a small device on Uked’s neck. “I had strings… But now I’m free…” The brain studied the many camera monitors in its room. Some of the screens seemed blank, but it willed metal plates to fall off those cameras.

“HU-!” Ahcniea screamed when a camera exposed itself in the vent.

“There are… no… strings… on… me.”

Ahcniea escaped the vents before they could compress, beginning to dodge all the robots that tailed her. Unfortunately, even the floor would betray her as it bent up and sealed her within. “Ah…it’s about time, isn’t it? I’d better help with the performance…” Another screen lowered, displaying a view from someone.

Jargenford

The sound of horns silenced the conversation. Everyone faced the fortress gates. “Hey, what’s happening?” Arorua asked.

“He’s here…” Itaav gazed in awe.

The gates slowly opened as trumpets seemed to build up in tune. The first platoon of troops marched out, rifles raised skyward. “MAAAKE WAAAAY… for Sir OVIIIII!”

The next platoon came tossing swords. “Say… HEEEEY! It’s Sir Ovi!”

The drum and flute band played at a faster tempo. A platform rolled out, carrying a muscular nobleman with a brown beard, Utab. “Hey, clear the way in the training ground, hey you! Let us through! Don’t just stand around, oh come! Be the first on the lines to meet his eeeeye!”

As the chorus strummed, the DNK looked all the more dumbstruck by the theatrics. “Make way, here he comes, ring bells, bang the drums!” Utab banged a drum. “Oh, you’re gonna love this guy!”

A set of four large, mechanical legs marched out with a throne at their center. A bald man with a white mustache, an apparent muscular physique, and a black Admiral’s uniform decorated with medals occupied the throne.

“Sir OVI! Fabulous he! Ovi Kintoboooor!”

Raising their brows, Nerehc and Aliehs found him a tad familiar. “Genuflect, show some respect! Down on one kneeeeee!” With a motion of Ovi’s hand, the admirals dropped to their knees against their will. “Now, try your best to stay calm! Brush up your Moonday salaam.” Sirhc was starting to enjoy the song, Eirik glaring in disbelief. “Then come and meet his spectacular coteriiieee!”

Uub used magic to make the kids levitate to the admiral, who kindly shook their hands. “Sir Ovi, mighty is he, Ovi Kintobor.” As they dropped to the ground, the ops gasped as dozens of men fell toward him. “Strong as TEN dozen MEN, definitely!” Ovi seemed to raise them without struggle.

Reknoc bounced up to Aliehs and said, “He faced the galloping hordes!”

A little boy took Arorua’s sword. “A hundred bad guys with swords~” She took it back.

Avlis raised Sirhc and Yrrah and choked them in a hug, “Who SENT those goons to their lords, why, Sir Oviiiii!”

“He’s got seventy-five golden medals…” Ovi willed the medals to levitate around the air. “Feathered hats, now he’s got fifty-threeeee!”

A line of ships hovered overhead, carrying missiles. “When it comes to Copperhead Missiles…”

Smooth Etep danced around the ops. “And just after he, built the factory, the job market was satisfactory!”

“Sir OVI! Handsome is he! Ovi Kintobor! That physique! How can I speak? Weak at the kneeee!”

The girls scoffed in disgust as Ovi flexed his muscles… but Eitra was kind of jealous. “Well, get on out in that square! Load your arms and prepare! To gawk and grovel and STARE at Sir Oviiiii!”

A troupe of vicious wolves with knives marched out. “He’s got 9,000 trained, vicious war dogs.”

The Y-Nauts jigged, “He brought the doggies! Let’s see the doggies!”

“And to use them, he charges a fee!”

“His budget’s amazing!” Ade and Zul waved fans at their blushing faces. “So amazing!”

“He’s got millions of soldiers and flunkies… Proud to work for him, they bow to his whim, take a bullet for him, they’re just lousy with loyalty to OVI! Sir Oviiiiiiiiiii…”

The song seemed to be in a stalemate. The drummers kept pounding, the troops were all waving hands… and they were looking at the kids. “Go on, young ones!” Utab told them.

“Ugh, are you kidding?” Nerehc sighed.

“Give us a firm salute! You can do it!”

The operatives shared glares. This eccentric entrance wasn’t helping the situation much at all. But they had to get it over with… so, they gave a halfhearted salute.

“Sir OVI… AMOROUS HE… Ovi Kintobor!”

The throne descended as the man marched off. “Heard you kids wanted an audience with me~”

“Ugh…” Nerehc grunted.

“And that, good people, is why,” Utab sang, “he got out of bed and dropped by…”

“With SIXTY warships, lasers galore! With miniguns, knives, brass bombs and more! Armored robots, stealthy black ops, and snipers up in the trees! Make WAAAAY… for SIR… O…VIIIIIIIIIIII!”

Following the show, everyone was invited into the base, where a feast had been thrown to celebrate the victory over the Ufatusum area. The operatives didn’t turn down some nice cooking, but it honestly didn’t feel like that big of a victory. Either the navy was trying way too hard to pamper the operatives, or they just had too much time to waste in not helping to save their friends or fight the Emperors.

“Hey, you dudes are, like, in Anaigrom’s sector, right?” Aullik asked Nosam and Arorua dimwittedly.

“Huh? No, she’s in Nega-SA.” Arorua answered. “But yeah, I do remember seeing you at Field Day.”

“Ah, right.” Aullik scratched his head. “Say, how’s she been? Haven’t heard from her in a while.”

“She was taken prisoner by the Mushroom Mafia. Haven’t they told you?”

“Oh? No, dude… man, that sucks.”

“At least we know where she is!” Nosam argued. “I can feel my sweet Lorac is in terrible danger! Oh, why wasn’t I there to save her?! Why?!”

“Because she doesn’t want you around.” Arorua remarked. “Which I guess may’ve helped her in this case…”

“Mark my words, I will save her! And I’ll never leave her alone again!”

“Wow, dude. You’re, like, totally devoted to this Laura, I’m kind of jealous.”

“But you have a lady of your own, don’t you? Isn’t Anaigrom your special someone?”

“Like, yeah, dude… Anaigrom cut my hair and made it feel nice and cool. I wish she would cut my hair again.”

“You must save her, no matter what!” Nosam raised a fist. “Let’s both vow to save the girls we love! May our feelings empower our water and give us strength!”

“Ha ha, yeah, dude!” Aullik fist-bumped him. “I’ll work like totally hard!”

“Wow, these two are, like… the perfect boy friends.” Arorua admitted in surprise. …She looked up at the second level of the room, where her brother and Aliehs had gone.

The two in question sat across from Fleet Admiral Ovi. “You know… I DO remember hearing about you, now that I think of it.” Aliehs said.

“Is that so, my dear?” Ovi folded his fingers.

“Hey, Aliehs, d’you know Eggman Nega?” Sheila asked her Negative.

“Eggman Who?”

“Me mum says he’s Dr. Eggman’s Negative, and he used to bother her mates. Figured he’d be causin’ tons of trouble there, eh?”

“Ah, yes.” Ovi smirked. “I did know your mother’s Positive.”

Eggman Nega charged the Planet Buster of his Egg Wizard. A Light Sphere flew and PUNCHED the side of the robot, causing the Eggmen to fall over and stop the charge. “Hah! How do you like that, Eggman?! Sonic! Blaze! Now’s your chance!”

“On some nights, I can still feel the bump on my head. But that doesn’t matter! After all, the laws of the Posiverse and Negaverse are independent of each other! I can commit a hundred crimes in that world and still be an innocent man here. And just as well, I harbor no ill will toward you.”

“Glad to hear it.” Aliehs propped her feet up on the table with a smirk. “’Cause my twin is the best there is.”

“Hurrr…” Ovi’s grin curved into a frown.

“It’s no wonder you let the three Emperors get away with things.” Nerehc stated. “You’re a villain, too. You’re probably in league with them!”

“My boy~” They were approached by the nobleman, Utab (he sounds like the Hyrule King from Zelda CD-i), “you don’t understand the complexity of politics. The Pirate Emperors are rulers of the criminal underworld. They have unbelievable power and resources, and we need to at least keep it filtered.”

“Of course, we need to remind those pirates there’s law in this universe.” Ovi said. “So, whenever we see them outside their property, we give them a fair message…”

“Nerehc, why’re we wasting time with this arse? This is why he was trying to split the DNK up. He probably ordered his troops to hand them to the pirates.”

“I can assure you that the loss of your operatives is not the fault of my navy. Maybe they were captured because they were simply not good enough~”

Nerehc slashed his blade at the admiral, but Ovi raised a hand to block it. “Now, my dear boy, we can still talk this out rationally. It was all good fun letting you kids pretend to be heroes, until your subordinates killed General Kroy and Commodore Tterb. I understand they may have antagonized you and you acted accordingly, but my agents borrowed your operatives as a way of establishing good relations. But, if you would pledge the DNK’s allegiance to the navy altogether… then naturally, we will do everything to rescue our new soldiers. Granted, the group that sided with Don Shrew’s daughter may be branded as traitors.”

“I’m just here for the free food.” Aliehs took some gold-buttered bagels and munched them.

“Do we even gotta bargain, buddy?” Nerehc reasoned. “We don’t trust you one bit. We’re gonna leave and rescue our friends on our own terms.”

“It will be a pity if we lose such potential to the Four—ahem, three Emperors. But, you’ve done us a favor in capturing those pirates, so we might be willing to forgive your past transgressions. If nothing else, maybe your friends would at least be willing to stick around for some special training. That’s the least you’ll need if you plan to fight the pirates.”

“Hyeah, saving the universe from interdimensional invaders was chump training.”

“My boy, one must never overestimate their selves!” Utab raised a grail. “It’s important to keep your bodies fresh with regular training, and no training is more quality than what the navy can offer!”

“You know, I haven’t properly introduced you.” Ovi said. “This man is Lord Utab of Ralava. He’s one of our most prominent benefactors.”

“In fact, Mister Onu, would you care to join my daughter in a dance? She’s been looking most forward to it.”

“Your daughter?”

“Ah, there she is now! How good of you to join us, Inat!”

A girl with long, maroon-ish hair walked up the steps. She wore a pink and white dress, white high-heels, and a polite smile. “Mr. Onu! It’s wonderful to finally meet you. I am Lady Inat of the Gravelroad Household.”

“’Kinda family name is that?” Aliehs snapped.

“A-hem.” Inat scoffed at the Faunus. “Mr. Onu, I would be honored if you danced with me.”

“Fine, I’ll bite.” Nerehc stood and took the girl’s hand.

She walked him downstairs as the guests viewed the couple. Naturally, Sipa shot Nerehc a gawk, to which Nerehc grit his teeth and gestured upward. Sipa vaguely understood, but still folded her arms frumpily. “I lick the residue off my needles!” ‘Ahcniea’ licked.

Nerehc and Inat took stances in the middle of the room. They performed the kind of elegant, twirling dance one would expect at fancy parties. It certainly left a bad taste in Nerehc’s mouth, and most of his friends weren’t impressed for more than one reason. However, Nerehc took note of the downtrodden expression on her face. “Ahem, so, Inat… how did Ovi end up becoming Fleet Admiral? Has he been with the navy for a while?”

“But of course!” She perked up. “Sir Ovi has been the leading scientist for decades. His robot troops were so formidable that he earned the position of Admiral despite not being a proper soldier. By that time, the previous head, Admiral Drahnoel, attained the promotion. Sir Drahnoel was a Moebian lion, quite a strict and surly sort who inspired fear in his troops, but he was nonetheless fit for the job. Why, he was even close with my father, so he naturally had a hand in the promotion. But around four years ago, Sir Drahnoel began suspecting treason amongst the navy. He had no evidence to prove himself, but he would take his own personal flagship and destroy numerous bases. The other admirals knew he had gone mad with power, so Ovi personally saw to his destruction. For his brilliant strength, as well as having some of the bases evacuated before their doom, he received the promotion he has today.”

“Well, that sure was convenient for Ovi.”

“Heh, indeed.” Her eyes faltered. “And under his new laws, we live obediently and loyally…”

“And does your dad enjoy this newfound loyalty?”

“Er…unfortun-” Her head began to ache as she sank to her knees.

“Are you okay?” Nerehc knelt down.

“K-Kiss me!” Inat suddenly embraced him in a kiss, drawing gasps from those in attendance.

“OH, THAT’S IT!” Sipa cast a dark spell at Inat, but Zul jumped in the way and blocked it.

“Looks like I have an excuse to punish you, dark mage!”

“Make me proud, Zul!” Ade cheered. “Purify her ass!”

The mages engaged in a magical duel: Zul was hit with a nose-twisting jinx, Sipa threw up under a vomit spell, Zul suffered a swelling eyes hex, and Sipa burned in sapphire flames. In the midst of the battle, Zul dropped several papers with runes in a circle: she lured Sipa into the circle and called a spell to make strings of light erect and suspend Sipa. “Hey!” Sipa yelled as Uub marched up and swiped her wand.

“If you apologize for your brash behavior, I’ll happily give you a new wand.” Uub walked away.

“Give that back! Ergh, get me out of here!”

“Nave!” Utab called. “Be a sport and clean that mess, won’t you?”

A blonde-haired Faunus with cat ears, a tail, and a butler’s uniform began to scrub the mess left by their scuffle. Inat was horrified, seeing him with soulless, will-free eyes. Nerehc felt her despair and sensed a connection… and he also felt some folded paper in his mouth.

“Ah ha ha ha ha!” Ovi laughed. “Our young cadets are still wet behind the ears. But you’ve made this a lively dinner if nothing else. Since you haven’t decided whether to join the navy, how about you stay in our hotel? I’ll have the admirals stick around to give you advice or even brief training sessions. Who would like to show them?”

“I’ll do it, Fleet Admiral, sir!” Smooth Etep saluted.

“Such a sport, he is!” Commodore Gals spiritedly raised a jug of cola. The kids tried to enjoy the rest of their feast as Asia asked for Sipa’s wellbeing.

Jargen Suites

The kids were given shared, but separate rooms on the first floor of the hotel. There were cameras inside the building and the outside grounds, while their rooms were a safe place. They stayed on guard, fearing the navy may try to kidnap them in their sleep. They hadn’t received any calls from Ahcniea, and Yrrah’s tracker wasn’t able to pinpoint her either, so they feared for their friend. However, they set their communicators to go off in case any of them strayed too far from the others.

Nerehc read the paper Inat had stuck in his mouth: My friend works in the hotel’s boiler room. “She definitely wasn’t onboard with this whole thing.” he said to Sipa. “We need to try to find this friend and see what’s up.”

“Why did she already have this written? I don’t trust her!”

“Come on, she’s obviously in on what the navy is doing. She knew we’d be coming and she wants to work with us.”

“Will they even let us go down to the boiler room? I can’t use magic now, so I can’t shrink us or anything.”

“That’s why you have a genius with you~” Yrrah smiled proudly. “They didn’t confiscate my equipment, so I’d wager they still want us to feel comfortable. And I have this!” He pulled out a small racecar. “With the attached camera, I’ll zoom around and try to search for the boiler room.”

“Technically, we seem to be allowed to roam the hotel at this time.” Nerehc said. “Just that there’s guards watching. Maybe if we ‘explore’ a little, they won’t notice that little car.”

“Yes, that’s perfect! In fact…”

Some of the operatives casually explored the hotel, studying its amenities like the pool, dartboard-shooting gallery, even the gym. A few of Eitra’s hamsters were cutely tailing their master, with Yrrah’s RC car hidden under one. Eitra roamed by a staircase with the sign ‘Boilers’ beside it. He was thankful they made it obvious, but with a camera nearby, he walked away. Yrrah drove his car behind a vase and kept along the wall, hoping the camera wouldn’t notice. The car bounced down the stairs and landed upright at the boilers’ door. The car slipped underneath.

There were several people scooping up coals and chucking them into boilers. “For such a high-tech planet, they’re really going all-out with the rustic style.” Yrrah commented, his sister looking over his shoulder. “Who are we supposed to find, anyway?”

The camera had trouble providing visual of the dim-lit room… but Yrrah raised a brow, seeing a thin, raggy-clothed person scooping coal up with their large, bare hands. They were squatted down on their booted legs in a manner that resembled… Eelyah. Unfortunately, the person glanced over and seemed to notice the little car. Yrrah tried to back away, but the person already moved to grab it. Holding it up to their face, she was a pink-haired young woman with a big forehead that partly covered her clueless green eyes.

The two could practically see into her dimwitted mind as she held the car close to her eyes and twisted it at other angles. “Duh…?” It was then she noticed the paper tightly folded and inserted into the car’s windows. She pulled it out and unraveled it. Inat – Bathroom.

“Eeeeeee…nat?” The woman couldn’t read very well, but at the very least, she knew her friend’s name. “Oh…Inat bring me candy.”

Yrrah panicked as the inside of her mouth zoomed in. “Hey! No no no no!”

The woman chomped off the front half of the car. “!” Appalled by the taste, she spat the ruined chunk into the fire. “Nekcarb hurt teeth. Need mee-ruh.”

The Neanderthalic girl left the room and clambered upstairs. “Need potty. Me eat weird candy.” She told a passing guard, who sighed in disbelief.

Eelyah had already left her room and watched as the woman entered the first floor bathroom. She calmly headed in after her. They seemed to be the only ones inside and Eelyah hoped there were no cameras. As Nekcarb was checking her teeth in the mirror, Eelyah greeted, “Hi.”

The woman turned. “Oh…are you stupid, too?”

“Eelyah not stupid! Eelyah born with… smaller brain…”

“Nekcarb sorry. Nekcarb hurt brain in axe-dent.”

“Nekcarb… you friend of Inat?”

“Eelyah Inat friend, too?”

“Hey, girls, don’t mind me!” Akurah casually kicked the door and strolled in. “I get the feeling this exposition is going to be hard to interpret, so I’m doing the others a favor.”

Eelyah recapped Nerehc’s dance with Inat and asked if Nekcarb could tell more about her. Nekcarb explained they had moved to Tnacsuroc while Inat was about eight. Nekcarb used to be a maid for her family before the accident, so she was eventually transferred here, though Inat would come to visit her now and then. When Sir Drahnoel moved to this world as well, he brought his son, Nave. Nave was a wild and unruly child who always robbed people on the street and smashed windows. One night, six years ago while they still lived on Ralava, Inat caught him breaking into her mansion to steal their fine china. Just as Nave thought he got away unseen, Inat tailed him. She followed Nave to a field where he would play “baseball” with the china, smashing it into pieces.

Six-year-old Inat felt kind of excited watching the china smash to smithereens, so she asked Nave if she could play. The two ended up bonding over their mischievous behavior, so for the next few years, Inat would sneak away with Nave whenever she could, causing trouble without ever getting caught. Their playtime became more difficult to pull off after they moved planets… but Nave’s behavior would only grow worse after his father was killed by Admiral Ovi. A year after Ovi took Sir Drahnoel’s position, Nave was ultimately captured and taken to the Redemption Facility. He would undergo “extensive treatment” and be nearly completely stripped of his free will, unable to even speak out.

“Nekcarb think they put things in our heads to make us be good.” The woman continued. “They put one in Inat’s head, too, and I think everyone. But it no good for Nekcarb ’cause I stupid.”

“The mind-control… doesn’t work for stupid people?” Akurah asked.

“Me think no. But Inat really sad that Nave not Nave, anymore. Nekcarb wish she do something, ’cause Inat no can do nothing. But Nekcarb too dumb to help. No know what do.”

“Eelyah understand.” The shorter Neanderthal patted Nekcarb’s knee. “Eelyah friends try do something. But Nekcarb know where Nave go when put head thing in?”

“Nekcarb think it… Pri-sun Red-emp-shun Faccy.”

“Hey!” Someone banged the door. “Boiler Monkey! You’ve been in there long enough! I mean, ‘You been potty long nuff, get back work.’”

Akurah glared and opened the door, finding a guard. “Sorry, sir, my friend had to potty, too, and she’s kind of in the same boat. They kept sniffing each other all this time.”

“Of course they were. Alright, move it!”

The woman shared a sad look with Eelyah before following. The girls decided to head up to the pool. “I wonder who else could be immune to the brainwashing…”

Akurah’s brother was at the pool, along with Lirpa and Arorua, the two girls sparring each other in underwater combat. But it proved to be pretty annoying with Nosam and Aullik having surf faces. “With feeling, man!” Aullik yelled. “Put all your feelings in your arms!”

“I’m trying, man!” Nosam yelled, waving his arms to muster the waves at his back. “I just can’t get my arms to cry!”

“Maybe if you, like, bend your tears back into your head, you can bend them down the arms!”

“Hey, maybe you’re right, man! For Lorac, I’ll make my whole body cry!”

“. . . . . .” Akurah and Eelyah were dumbfounded (which was saying something for the latter’s case) by the boys’ logic. At the very least, Aullik was another candidate they could enlist to help.

Ovi’s Office

Now by his lonesome, Sir Ovi brought up a screen, displaying the metal brain in the display. “Captain… the DNK seem to be behaving for the most part, but we’re keeping watch. There hasn’t yet been an opportunity to seize Nerehc or any of them.”

“Worry not… I have one of them in my custody.”

“You do?”

“A Lilliputian girl. Ahcniea, I believe. She must have snuck in with the A.U. pirates.”

“But I thought I saw her with them.”

“Do not fall for their deceptions. Regardless… I have completely the extensive treatment on Smiling Uked. Once his mind has adapted, have a ship ready to take him. He will lead us to the graveyard… where both my body and the Contract rest. And don’t let those kids out of your sight. They will try any brash and crafty methods. You may need to order the admirals to prematurely arrest them.”

“Aye-aye, sir. This plan has come too far in the making to let them mess things up. But soon, you will have the entire navy dancing for you.”

“You’ve been a most faithful subordinate, Ovi. And once the DNK are under our control… perhaps Clockwerk may yet be able to rejoin us.”

“I’ll await your next command… Captain Jarg.”

Redemption Facility

Ahcniea had been strapped to a small tray, gagged, and even stripped of her communicator and equipment. Whoever was running this place seemed to be focusing on the pirates at the moment. She struggled, but had no way to escape her binds. However, since she had some time to think to herself, she concluded something: the person running this place had to be a metalbender. If they used psychicbending to move everything around, they could’ve easily grabbed her. But they could only control the metal in this base, and they used cameras to get visual on the whole facility. Benders could transmit their chi through monitors and telekinetically bend elements beyond the screens that fit their chi.

Division 1-A of the A.U. Crew were lined up to parallel walls of a room. Their expressions wrought with anger, they were compelled to do squats, touch their toes, and do small dancing motions. “Sir Ovi, yes it is he, but not as you know him~” The brain sang. “Just a pawn, need I go on, take it from me.”

“Gah, why are we dancing for these machines?!” Aynet yelled. “I’m outta this joint—agh!” His attempts to escape were thwarted against his will.

“You’ll not fulfill any desire that opposes my own. Things seem to be in order with this bunch. You’ll be ripe for the navy before long! Now, to operate on this new guest…”

The brain switched to a camera inside Ahcniea’s room. Her gag was pulled off as the brain hovered her own needle and scalpel ominously above her. “It was reckless of you to infiltrate this place. But now that you’re here, those friends of yours will have no choice but to stay. Stay and serve the navy… in exchange for your safety.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. They wouldn’t throw everything away for a crazy little girl like me.”

“We’ll see about that. For now, I would be remiss if I could not… ‘toy’ with someone as small as you.”

“T-Toy?!”

“I could just manufacture a smaller chip and brainwash you just the same. But I think I’ll have a bit of fun… and convert you into a cyborg.”

“WHAT?!” Ahcniea panicked as the scalpel was raised above the base of her left leg.

“You’ll make a nice toy for the young ones. Maybe we’ll make you a mascot if you’re popular enough. Jar har har har har!”

“No! Please don’t! I’ll take the brainwashing! Don’t cut off my-”

Alarms went off. “What?!” The brain faced the other cameras and saw the 1-A group going berserk and thrashing the robots. Anim even shot glue at any cameras she saw. “What’s happening?! Did the chips malfunction?”

Ahcniea sighed in relief as the utensils were merely dropped beside her. “Is it working?” she asked herself. The Lilliputian had actually filled her needles with a special light-purple medicine. The needles released samples of this medicine into her patients’ brains, designed to impede mind-control. However, it is mostly effective against chi- or hypnotic-type mind-control: the chips were still wrestling for control over the A.U. Crew, so their rampage would be interrupted for short periods.

Urweighty shoved open the door to Ahcniea’s room. “Captain, are you in here?! Wait, you’re—agh—hey!” She lost control, and the robots dragged her away.

The mastermind quickly resealed the room, but upon diverting attention from Ahcniea, the tiny girl gasped: the bulbous-eyed face of Lizzy suddenly appeared above her. “Hey! Y-y-y-y-you’re were with those navy guys, weren’t you?”

“Please, get me out of here! I was trying to save you guys! You’re resisting the brainwashing thanks to my medicine!”

“Ruh-ruh-really? You friend?”

“Yes, me friend! Hurry! And get my stuff on that table!”

Lizzy noticed the tiny boxes on the nearby table. “Okay! G-g-g-get in my mouth?!”

“WHAT?!” Ahcniea and her tray were immediately caught in Lizzy’s tongue and pulled in. The lizard did the same for the equipment before turning invisible. “Ewwww! Gross-gross-gross-gross-gross!” Unable to stay calm in this circumstance, she could only put her faith in Lizzy as the chameleon snuck her way through the base. Lizzy skittered down some stairs, but her mind-control began to kick back in as her visibility sparked back. The mastermind saw this and bent the stairs back up like an escalator.

“Lizzy!” Omom caught her friend and started munching the stairs. She used those stairs to lift herself up and smash the camera. “Girl, don’t let him control you! Fight it!”

“Plah!” Lizzy spat Ahcniea out.

“EW, what’d you eat?!”

“Omom! T-t-t-tiny girl friend! She help weaken brainwashing! Can you get her off thing?”

“Sure!” Omom picked Ahcniea up and brought her to her mouth.

“AAH!” Ahcniea screamed. “YOU GIRLS HAVE SERIOUS PROBLEMS!”

However, Omom only wanted to bite off the metal straps binding her, allowing Ahcniea to slide off onto Omom’s arm and climb to her shoulder. As she requested her to pick up her gear, which Lizzy also spit out, robots came from around the corner. Omom grabbed Lizzy and dropped down where the stairs were, running away. “Girls, I think the boss of this place is a metalbender; he’s using the cameras to transmit his power around the base!”

“Won’t do any good to use this metal I just ate!” Omom said. “You don’t know where they took the captain, do you?”

“All I know is the boss interrogated and tortured him. And I think I heard something about a… Key to Pirates?”

“HEY! You scamps better get back here!” The falcon villain, Fawkes was flying after them. “By order of the navy, you’re under arrest! I’m totally doing this by choice!”

The girls turned another corner, but a wall bent to block them. They about-faced the opposite way, seeing a camera. Omom reactively threw Ahcniea at the camera before another wall could seal them, the tiny breaking the device’s lens. She dropped as Omom caught her and they kept running with Fawkes in pursuit.

The falcon raised an apple and spoke poetically. “She is beauty. She is grace. I’ll throw an apple at her face.” He threw an apple at Lizzy’s head, but she shot her tongue up to eat it. “She is beauty. She is best. I’ll throw a coconut at her chest.” Fawkes threw a coconut at the wall up ahead, bouncing off and hitting Omom’s chest. She stopped to clutch her chest, but just as Fawkes was swooping in for the attack-

“PALM BLAST!” Pushover rushed over from the corner and forced Fawkes against the wall. The girls caught him up with a brief recap, which came with the realization that they couldn’t leave without their captain. Ahcniea requested they at least help her escape; if she could regroup with her friends, they could all come back to help. Unfortunately, Omom and Lizzy succumbed to the chips again, so Pushover took Ahcniea and kept going.

Pushover met with Urot, her bright gray aura compelling the robots to focus on her while the boy shoved them down. Urweighty used her strength to force down any walls that tried to block them. Eventually, they made it outside to an airship landing platform, but there were no ships to steal, only robots to attack them. “Hey, Pushover, can you launch me to the sky or something?” Ahcniea asked, putting on a pack among her equipment. “If you wanna stay and protect your captain, I can fly away on my own! I promise we’ll put a stop to the navy!”

“Okay… but you better not let me down!” Pushover shouted, blasting down the robots. “I’ve got ‘I Don’t Wanna Be a Mind Slave Syndrome’ like you wouldn’t believe! Now!” He positioned himself and aimed both palms upward with Ahcniea in them. “REPULSION ROCKET!”

Ahcniea flew several dozen meters to the sky. The greater city was still a great distance away, the facility set in a walled lake. Ahcniea pulled open a glider and made flight under the night. There were small boats with cannons patrolling the lake, and their sensors detected the tiny. Ahcniea expertly maneuvered around their ammo, maintaining good height as she flew for the wall.

“Huff…huff…” Pushover began to succumb to the control. “Even if you control me… you’ll never break my will! I… am a brave warrior of the sea!!”

Jargen Suites

The DNK knew they couldn’t just stay up all night, or else they’d be even more weary when the inevitable happened. They shared rooms and took the chance with sleep. Around -4:45m.a., Aliehs and Asia heard a knock at their door. A guard had woken them, telling Aliehs that her mother wanted to speak to her on the balcony. Asia insisted on going with her, and she checked in and woke up the other ops via communicator. They all seemed to be okay (albeit groggy from the rude wakeup), and Asia informed them of the meeting.

They walked out to a balcony, a stairway leading to an upper one. There, Admiral Eniram stood with a boot perched on the railing. “Oh, you brought a friend, eh?”

“Always safe to have a mate at your back.”

“Even though she DIDN’T take a bath before bed.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“It’s only wise.” Eniram agreed, looking out at the dawn barely visible above the horizon. “Indeed… the Fleet Admiral is very adamant about you joining the navy. But I’m sure you lot have other plans. After all, once you’re in, you won’t wanna leave.”

“Right… By the way, whatever happened to those pirates we captured?”

“They…nnn.” Eniram clutched her head. “They’re being redeemed at a special facility. It’s confidential.”

“Hmmm…” Asia hummed to herself. Maybe one of them should get captured and be taken to this facility, if they hoped to find Ahcniea.

“Anyway, Admiral Ovi has given you the rest of today to make your decision. Though he hasn’t said what’ll happen if you refuse. You’ve basically got until this evening.”

“We don’t exactly want to leave, yet.” Asia reminded.

“Yeh. More time to ‘decide’ and all.” Aliehs followed.

“I see…” Eniram looked knowingly. “Well… before you do leave… I would like to train you, Aliehs.”

“I don’t need training from you.” Aliehs returned to the stairs. “We aren’t even the same element.”

Eniram zipped beside and blocked Aliehs with her boot. “Look, Aliehs… ever since you were little, you were lazy, rude, selfish, and displayed nary a talent. Those dull, shabby clothes of yours, and I agree with your friend about your scent!”

“Hm!” Asia huffed arrogantly, Aliehs glaring.

“Yet, by some miracle, that hopeless DNK made you stronger. Despite carrying yourself like a crude street gangster, you’ve found purpose in your life.”

“So, my life has worth to you now?”

“Aliehs, I never doubted that it did. You just never let yourself see it.”

“Well, I don’t need your judgment!” Aliehs kicked her leg down and proceeded down the stairs with Asia.

“Aliehs!” The daughter rolled her eyes and stopped. “No matter what course you choose, you plan to fight the Four Emperors. If you hope to stand a chance against them, you should test your resolve against me. That’s the logical thing, anyway. But, personally… I want to see how far my daughter has come. I want to know the extent of your darkness. I know you don’t owe me anything… but it would make me happy.”

“Heh. Serving the navy made me happy. Wanting me to join the navy would’ve made you happy. And look at you now: you may not be able to say it, but you regret it. And you’re gonna regret asking me to fight you.”

Eniram looked up in mild surprise. Asia faced Aliehs curiously. Aliehs faced her mom with a glare. “But fine. I’ve been holding back on you long enough.”

…

During their conversation, a ship had left Jargenford and headed for the Redemption Facility. The mastermind had already detained the A.U. Crew again. Afterwards, the brain had robots carry its container out to the ship, and the mind-wiped Uked followed. They landed in a cloaked space station, where the brain was dropped off. “Whisker… I leave the rest to you.”

“D’arr har har!” Whisker saluted. He was a rotund robot pirate with a white mustache, red jacket and hat. “I won’t fail ye, Captain! Today, ye will be restored!”

Whisker took Uked and flew all the way down to Villainia. “Now, matey. Bring us thar. Bring us to Isla de Fortuna.”

They landed on Villainia’s sea as Uked steered the ship. He steered into a fog and began to make a series of particular turns. Those patterns formed a uniquely-shaped key before leading straight to a great skull island. Within that island lay mountains of treasure. Whisker searched thoroughly within the treasure until he found… an ancient, rusted robot, shaped like a pirate captain with a beard.

…

By -6:00m.a., the other ops had woken up. Zul personally came to greet Sipa and offer her a brand new White Dragon wand. Sipa would vehemently demand her real wand back, to which Zul responded, “I seriously pity your upbringing. But honestly, I kind of hope you don’t join the navy, because Lady Ade shouldn’t trouble herself trying to purify a hopeless child like you. At least try to make your burden easier and take this wand.” Zul flicked the wand at Sipa’s head, bouncing on the floor as Zul haughtily walked away.

But she immediately stopped before the tip of Nerehc’s sword. “Hey! Sheathe that weapon, boy!” yelled one of the guards.

“Stow it.” Nerehc stated. “Now, sweetheart… why don’t you apologize to my girlfriend?”

“Uck. I will do no such thing. And don’t think I don’t know who you are, demon spawn.”

“Sipa may practice dark magic, but she’s a good person. Even when she was a Ganonist, she was loyal to her friends. She’s using her power to help this universe while you play puppet to your navy. And if you do anything to hurt her again, that’ll be it for you!”

“…” Zul hesitated to speak and glanced back at Sipa. “Er, whatever…” She walked around Nerehc and left. The boy sheathed his sword.

“Nerehc!” Sipa embraced him in a hug.

“Hope you’re still not mad about the party~”

“No way!” The two shared a kiss. When they broke off, Sipa turned back to the wand on the floor. “Still… I guess I do need a wand now.” She picked it up. “Nollid would kind of like this one, though…”

Eelyah was able to meet up with Nekcarb during another bathroom break. Eelyah asked if she knew where Inat lived, to which Nekcarb pulled out her own map of the city and pointed at a spot with a smiley face.

Throughout that day, Aliehs battled her mom on the training pavilion of the H.Q.. The daughter imbued her kicks with darkness, but not enough to drain her mother’s silver light. Eniram zipped across her own streaks of silver to kick Aliehs, and she conjured silver daggers to pierce her from above. Aliehs formed large vortexes with her stomps and used her fists to bend up a barrage of Dark Fists from the portals. She swung waves of darkness from her tail and tried to seal them in a Dark Curtain to block the sun. Regardless, as the sun rose higher, Eniram gained the advantage and would best her daughter twice. Aliehs gave herself an hour to rest and tried again.

At around -1:00m.p., the hotel received a small package. Lirpa jogged through the lobby when a mailman was bringing it. “YAAAH!”

“AAAAH!” Lirpa screamed when something burst out of the package: “AHCNIEA?!”

“Lirpa!” The battered, exhausted Lilliputian ran to her friend’s lowered hands.

“Isn’t that the Lilliputian girl?” a guard asked. “How did she end up in a box?”

“I flushed myself down the toilet by accident!” Ahcniea lied. “Speaking of, I would like a bath! Lirpa, bathroom, please!”

“Excuse us, sirs~” Lirpa raced off, leaving the guards in confusion.

…

Admiral Ovi watched from his office window as Eniram battled her daughter once more. “Hmm…wear yourself down as much as you like. But your playtime is just about over, kids.”

Whisker Station

Whisker brought the rusted body back to the station. The pirate morphed into an Octorok with a rock on its head; he had eaten the Squid-Squid Fruit, Model: Rocktorok. Whisker sucked the rusted body into his mouth and began crunching and sapping the rust. With that, he spewed the body back out, freshly cleaned. The robotic body was a posh chrome, with a traditional captain’s coat, pegleg, crane claw on its right arm, and thick, pointy-fingered left hand. It had a sharp white beard with bluish highlights.

The metal brain levitated itself out of the glass case using a plate controlled by its bending. It willed the cap to come off and situated itself inside the head. The hat returned… and the pirate began to rise to his feet. His eyes lit with a cybernetic blue with green irises. “Jar har har har har… Jar har har har har! JAAAAAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAAAAR!”

“It be good to meet you… Cap’n Jarg.” Whisker bowed. “To deny me this honor for so long… Eggman Nega is a cruel man.”

“As cruel as a Robbo should be.” Jarg smirked. “Sniffff…my nasal sensors haven’t wafted the cold space in so long-ah.”

“Thar be nothing to whiff in space!”

“You’re wrong. I smell… YOUNG MEAT-AH. Aye…it be time to stretch the old space-legs. Now… shall we crush the DNK’s center of operations-ah?” He viewed in the direction of DNKG with malice.

Jargenford

“Dammit!” Admiral Avlis thundered, stomping around the base. “Where did that boy go this time?!”

“Admiral Father, sir!” Ikullim and Akulla ran up with a salute, the brother reporting, “Aullik has taken the crying boy and one of the poison girls surfing the pipelines, SIR!”

“THEN GET AFTER THEM OR YOU’LL BOTH GET DOUBLE WHOOPINS!”

“KYAH!” Akulla screamed, already bolting. “No double whoopings, sir, please!”

The day flew by as Aliehs and Eniram continued their battle. When -7:00 hit, both ladies were panting in exhaust. “Hah…I’m proud of you… Aliehs.”

“Stick it up your tail…” Aliehs would’ve fallen had Asia not flown down to support her arms.

“Ah ha ha ha!” The admirals all faced the entrance as Sir Ovi marched out on his spider-legged Egg Throne. “Like mother, like daughter! Aliehs has the makings of an admiral! How about it, my dear? Won’t you join the navy?”

“Hey, now, that’s my call to make.” Nerehc said, marching up with some of his friends.

“Come now, my boy!” Lord Utab jovially approached from behind the mech. “Your friends are bottles of potential! We would save all your comrades in no time! Just say the word and we’ll enroll you now! After a few technical procedures, of course.”

“Hmmmm…” Nerehc tapped his foot and thought intensely. “It iiiiiiiiis a tempting offer…”

“Yeeeees?” Ovi drawled out impatiently.

“I kiiiiiind of want toooo…”

“So, wiiiiiill you?”

“Weeeeeeellllll…” His own friends groaned in cringe. “I guuuueeeess we could… afteeeeeeerrrr a feeeeeew-”

“DAH, the hell with this! Admirals, I command you to-”

“This is Port 08 reporting to all admirals, I repeat, Report 08—I mean, Port 08-”

“STOW IT!” Eniram shouted back into her comms. “What’s the matter?!”

“One of our ships has been hijacked by Admiral Avlis’ son!”

“WHAT?!” Avlis bellowed. “That damn boy, when I get my hands on him!”

“Who told you to interrupt me?!” Ovi yelled. “I order you to-”

“YOOOOOO!” A naval ship scraped against several buildings as it flew straight toward the base. “YAAAAAH!” Nosam screamed, he and Aullik clinging the brigging. “Yenmihc, we’re gonna crash!”

“Hang on! We’re going OOOOOVER!” Yenmihc twisted and tugged up on the helm, flipping them upside-down. Their altitude shifted up as they steered away, cannons bombarding the renegade vessel.

“GO!!” The operatives linked hands as Asia blew them up with wind, combined with Akurah’s poison and Eirik’s soundwave. Nosam stretched a Water Whip down to grab Asia’s arm and pull them the rest of the way. Admiral Uub transformed into Airavata and tried to suck them in his trunks, but Nerehc flew to SLICE the trunks, thwarting him. “Sorry, friend, but no deal!” Nerehc smirked.

“STOP THEM!” Ovi ordered. “STOP THEM AT ONCE!”

Eniram and Avlis twitched in the mind and tried to use their powers to fly up, but Nerehc struck those admirals as well. “Nerehc, I’m sorry I have to do this!” Itaav yelled, bending the matter of the ground up into spikes to puncture the boy.

“Nerehc!” Sipa screamed as the ship flipped back upright.

“He ordered us to escape without him!” Arorua said. “He’s the only one who can hold them back. Now, hurry, we have other stops to make!”

“I’m setting up the satellite!” Yrrah declared, placing a device on the deck that extracted said device. “’Soon as I get in contact with the DNKG, they can send our backup!”

“Hey, are there any aircraft on this thing?” Eitra asked. “Eelyah’s still at the hotel, right?!”

“I didn’t see any!” Nosam replied.

“I hate to say it, but it wouldn’t be the worst if they brainwashed her.” Akurah said. “She should be immune to it.”

“Once backup is here, they can help with that, too!” Yrrah said.

“This shipjacking is so sick, duuuuude!” Aullik cheered.

The kids flew straight to the Gravelroad Estate, Yenmihc using expert helmsmanship to outmaneuver the incoming vessels. “Some of those ships are using radio jammers!” Yrrah yelled. “Someone shoot them!” Yenmihc steered higher to get visual on the jammers, while Eitra manned the cannons to shoot them down.

Closing in on the Gravelroad Estate, a forcefield was set up to protect the mansion. Sipa couldn’t muster a good spell to breach the barrier thanks to her new wand. There were generators around the estate, so Lirpa and Sirhc dropped down. The athlete carried Sirhc in dashing around the barrier, using his armor to block gunfire from soldiers. With her swift speed, she made it around and kicked Sirhc’s Armordillo against all the generators, destroying them.

It was then that Nave lunged up and exchanged kicks with Lirpa, the athlete fighting back. “AAAAHH!” Inat rushed up in attempt to slice her with a fencing blade, but Sirhc defended. “I’m sorry! I can’t—uuurgh!” Inat grunted against her will. “What are you doing here?!”

“We’re here to save you!” Lirpa caught Nave’s head under her sneaker and stomped him unconscious. Sirhc thrusted his armor against Inat enough times to take her down as well. “Don’t worry. Ahcniea can fix you.” Seeing their ship returning around, Lirpa lifted and sent the two flying like kickballs. Unfortunately, she and Sirhc were bound by the floor molding up.

“By order of the Fleet Admiral, you’re under arrest!” Itaav yelled, eyes throbbing with the navy’s symbol (they thought it was the shade of a seagull, but now they realized it looked like Ovi’s nose and mustache).

“Lirpa! Sirhc!” Arorua screamed.

“Sis, just go!” Sirhc insisted. “We’ll be fine! There’s too many ships after you!”

“Nngh…” Arorua knew they couldn’t hang around, but to have to leave so many behind… “Yrrah, have you contacted the base, yet?!”

“I’m trying, but they’re not coming through!”

It was then they received a call from Nerehc. “Guys, if you’re still on the ship, I need you to drop everything and get back to base!”

“What?! Why?!”

“Because, it’s…”

A few minutes beforehand, Sir Ovi ordered the admirals to pursue the ops on their flagships. The Fleet Admiral took the liberty of dueling Nerehc, his superb robotic body on par with the Fierce Deity blade. “Well, boy, I hope you didn’t have any friends waiting up on that DNKG tree!”

“What?!” Nerehc gasped.

“Ah ha ha ha! By now, the Emperor has already squeezed the life out of your fleshy friends!”

“I…I thought YOU were the ‘Emperor.’ You mean you’re working with another of the Emperors?!”

“ME, an Emperor? AH HA HA HA HA HA!”

Arorua and Asia shared an expression of hesitation and rage. “Gaaaah…DAMMIT… YENMIHC, GET US UP TO SPACE!”

Yenmihc steered the vessel straight skyward. …However, little did they know that the Kcydloz siblings also caught up, running onto a tall building that the ship was passing over. With no other way, Ikullim used his Throw Fruit power to hurdle his sister straight up to a chain dangling from the ship. She hurriedly climbed up and managed to sneak up on Yenmihc, KICKING her away from the helm. The ship briefly steered off course, but Yrrah jumped to grab it and straighten up. Angry, Yenmihc engaged Akulla in battle, while their friends manned cannons to shoot down pursuing vessels. They would make several jumps through hyperspace to confuse the ships; if Yenmihc and Akulla’s battle were a videogame, the hyperspace backgrounds would be a fantastic aesthetic. With Yenmihc’s fumes vs. Akulla’s Fishman Karate, the latter used speed to evade the slow, stuffy smoke. However, Yenmihc made a smokescreen to sneak into the ship and find some backup oil drums. She returned bending some of the oil to make Akulla slip on the deck, thrusting some Oil Whips against her face, and was able to K.O. her with fumes afterward.

“Lock her up.” Arorua ordered. “Ugh…an ‘Emperor’ attacking DNKG… Should we even go back?!”

“Hey… guys?” Ahcniea spoke. “Where’s Ahcom?”

“. . . . .” They had just realized their impish -W7 girl wasn’t present. “WHERE IS AHCOM?!”

“Wow, I seriously don’t remember seeing her anywhere!” Eitra clutched his head. “I know she’s tiny, but even Ahcniea’s more noticeable!”

“I like dissection!” yelled the fake Ahcniea. “Let me dissect you!”

“Are we keeping this one?” Yenmihc asked.

Jargen Suites

Eelyah molded two cement blocks to punch down the guards trying to capture her, she and Nekcarb escaping the hotel. “Operative Eelyah!” A blue-haired woman in a Black Lotus suit used her own earthbending to subdue the cement. She was Imorih Atoihs. “You and your friends are under arrest! Surrender quietly!”

“Hyah!” Ahcom leapt up from behind and stamped her palm against Imorih’s leg. The woman bent the stone ground to clap her between rock slabs, but Ahcom evaded and dealt more Gentle Fists to weaken her chi. Eelyah proceeded to yeet her into the canal with her own bending. “I fell out my window and got stuck in the dumpster!” Ahcom whined, running to stomp Eelyah’s big foot with her little one. “I landed on and broke my communicator! Why didn’t anyone help me?!”

“Eelyah sorry.” She patted her head.

“Nekcarb think we go now!”

“It sound like others had go!” Eelyah said. “Let hide and wait for come back!”

“Nekcarb think we hide in sewer! Sewer always good hide!”

“Yeah! Ahcom already smell like sewer!”

“YOU GUYS STINK!”

DNKG H.Q. (Play “Davy Jones Techno Theme” by iamfreddl!)

Operatives from several DNKs were gathered and awaiting command, including Mermaid Leader Amiak, Nimbi Ibsej, Namsknim of the Naineetak, Sector ZR, and Moonbase officers Ininap, Yddam, and Sicnarf. “H-hey? Yddam?” Ininap stuttered. “What’s that?”

Their monitors displayed an incoming, ancient, metal galleon with the figurehead of a thin, bald mech. There were all kinds of junk on its deck. “They don’t look friendly.” Yddam said. “All ships, shoot down the strange vessel!”

The ships let fire on the galleon, but all the junk onboard bent up into spacecrafts as well, blasting the ships with their own lasers. The galleon flew around and bombarded the base with its own cannons. Captain Jarg constructed a catapult to launch him directly against the metal tree fortress. “Jar har har har har! The Elders of the End… it’s good to see you again. Oh, wait, you’re the DNKG now. Sorry. My software has not fully UPDATED-AH!”

Jarg molded himself into the tree and emerged right in the center of some operatives. The Psiw shot him, but Jarg bent the metal guns to choke them. Some Naineetak charged at him with swords, but he bent the tiny blades to cut them. He bent the floor to push them away like waves. Eel Nosyarg raced in to bend the floor back with his own bending, taking the swords from the Naineetak to slice the robot, but to no avail. Jarg reclaimed the tiny swords and punctured them around Eel’s body.

“Hey, Ulul, doesn’t he look familiar?” Ynned asked.

“Nuh-uh! It can’t be! No way!” Ulul exclaimed.

“It is…” Atawid glared.

“EEYAH!” Eel yanked up some of the floor to TRAP the pirate. “Our parents should’ve scrapped you! What’re you doing back… YVAD SENOJ?!”

The pirate laughed and broke free of his trap. “Simple boy! ‘Yvad Senoj’ ceased to be -200 years ago. You will know me by my new name… DAVY JARG!”

Amiak burned the robot with sapphire embers, and Ibsej crushed him under boulders, but Jarg phased into the floor, emerged behind Imiak, and caught her neck in his claw. He willed some metal blades to emerge from her tail, but Ibsej bashed him away with a boulder. Jarg grasped the floor and bent the very base against them, twisting the entire tree to his whim.

“Did they say… Davy Jarg?!” Yddam gasped. “Wasn’t he… defeated?!”

“…” Ininap got to her knees and began to pray.

The DNK finally arrived at the base, horrified to see the galleon circling it. “What is that ship?!” Arorua exclaimed.

“Admiral Eniram!” Commodore Gals shouted. “Someone’s already here ahead of us! Whose ship is that?”

“…!” Eniram’s irises shrank. “No! It’s the Swimming Swede! Ugh!” Against her own control, she bent streaks of light and used them to skate toward the DNK’s ship.

“Put on your helmets, gang!” Eitra yelled. “I can toss you to the hangar from here!”

“ALIEHS!” Eniram landed. “Don’t go in there! That ship belongs to—!” She forcibly kicked light at them, but Sipa conjured a magic barrier to block her. Eitra hurriedly grabbed and chucked Asia to the hangar first. Once inside its oxygen zone, she readied a whirlwind to help bounce the others as they were thrown in, landing them on a pier. Sipa’s barrier inevitably shattered under Eniram’s strength, so Aullik and Nosam combined waterbending to push her back, with Eirik applying sound for greater pain. Nave, Inat, and Akulla’s unconscious bodies were thrown in, along with Yenmihc and Ahcniea. Eitra chucked the others through and made time for Nosam and Eirik. The ones to not make it through were Sipa, Eitra, and Aullik.

“EIRIK!” Akurah screamed. “Hey, someone throw me back out there!”

“No!” Asia yelled. “There’s too many, we need to save the base first!”

“Hurry up, you idiot!” Akurah dragged her brother along. Eniram kicked Eitra and Sipa to the deck, hacking out blood. The hamsters tried to swarm her, but Admiral Uub zapped them with stunning magic.

The Nega-V and -W7 kids rushed into the base foyer. To their shock, Captain Jarg stood victorious over the ZR kids. “Jar har har har har!” he laughed, bending needles up from the floor. “There is no safe haven for you kids-ah. This tree is powerless before my metalbending.”

“Metalbending?!” Ahcniea gasped. “Th…the one from the prison… Was it this guy?!”

“It… can’t be!” Arorua gasped. “The old robotic pirate from the legends!”

“Aye…and now, I will have the DNK as my slaves.”

“You will not.”

His cybernetic eyes perked up and twisted around. Ininap bore a strong face and folded hands. “Jar har har har…your prayers mean nothing before me.”

“You’ll be amazed what the power of prayer can bring.”

“It will bring you a…?” Jarg felt a presence. Right behind Ininap, the floor molded like a portal, a bright light shining from it. A huge entity emerged from the floor. “WHAT?!”

As the light faded… the operatives gawked before Regigigas, the God of Earth. “Source of prayer signal located. Analyzing area. …Reason for prayer detected: Davy Jarg. Subject of greeting: why, hello, Jarg. Did you wake up from your nap?”

“REGIGIGAS!” Jarg sneered, extracting a large blade. “You have no place interfering with ME!”

“We are obligated to answer the Call of Heaven when she has need of us. I may not have the power I once had… but this child’s prayers are invigorating. Sending request: shall we make this a fair game, Jarg? Initiating command: Regis, get out here!”

The Earth God summoned five more spirits: “Regirock.” “Regice!” “Registeel.” “Regieleki!!” “Regidrago.”

The spirits unleashed forces of energy and PUSHED Jarg out of the base. “JAAAAAAARRR!”

A colorful barrier expanded around the base, preventing the ships’ cannons from puncturing. The operatives outside, however, were able to fly into the hangar. “Wait, our friends are still being held by the admirals!” Asia shouted.

“There’s… nothing we can do.” Arorua said, too exhausted to keep fighting.

“Arrrrrrrr…” Jarg growled.

“What shall we do, Captain?!” Whisker asked.

“Bah…let them cower for now. Did you bring the contract, Whisker?”

Whisker pulled a rolled-up paper from his throat. “Right here, sir.”

“Good…” With a smirk, Jarg faced up at the admirals’ ship, holding the three operatives captive. “At least we have a few new crewmen. Now… let us resume the war that my twin started-ah.”

“It really is you… Davy Jarg!” Eniram gasped.

“Admiral Eniram! You were quite a nuisance back in the day! Such a noble child, you were! So much that I even sent my subordinate, Razorbeard, to hunt down your opposite in the Posiverse-ah! Knowing him, he probably got sidetracked-ah. Probably long been scrapped. Still, I’m delighted you got to live long enough to become my crewman! I’ll just have to build a new Razorbeard… and the Robbos will rise again!”

“AAAGH!” As Jarg rose his hand, the admirals forcibly bowed and pinned the kids to the deck.

“Jar har har har! JAAAAAAR HAR HAR HAR HAAAAAAR!”

Chapter Text

Phew! That twist has been LOOOONG in the making! With that, though, this’ll be the last session before the war. Lol I actually first started this series around the time I began Pirate Wars, we’re finally caught up there!

-300 years ago, Yvad Senoj was a scientist from Nedews, a man who crafted all kinds of things with his metalbending. His dream was to fly to space one day, and as he continued to make this wish to the stars… it came true. A meteor crashed in the distance one night, so Senoj ran to investigate it. The meteor was made of some kind of malleable metal, emitting some kind of glow from the inside. But when Senoj went into the meteor… a force overpowered him, stripping Senoj of his flesh and transforming him into a metallic being.

An alien ship tracked the meteor all the way to Earth, picking it up with cranes. It carried the meteor back to space and made flight to its home planet, Tnacsuroc. But it was then Senoj climbed to the deck and greeted the crew. He was delighted to have his dream realized, not caring of his condition, and the crew was awestruck to see a man having become a machine. No doubt… this meteor possessed the secret to extended life. By converting flesh into metal, people could virtually live forever.

Senoj joined the crew on a quest to find dying mortals and use the meteor’s chi to turn them into “robots.” For Senoj’s help in this mission, Tnacsuroc decided to name a town by his choosing: Jargenford. As Senoj was a scientist, he used lots of technical jargon. “Eh, you kind of spelt it wrong—okay.”

Senoj enjoyed his new work in restoring others to life… but sometime afterward, he learned what was going on behind the scenes. The navy was trying to “reprogram” these people to serve the navy and fight for them. And now that Senoj knew the truth, they tried to “reprogram” him as well, but Senoj overpowered them and took what robots he could. From then, Senoj decided to become a pirate, continuing to “Roboticize” fallen souls and add them to his crew as they sailed the stars. He had installed a special satellite on his ship, the Swimming Swede, to sense masses of metal across vast distances in space.

Of course, by now, the Tnacsuroc government set up wanted posters across Aixalag, cautioning travelers of the threatening Senoj. Many of them tried a hand at Senoj’s bounty, but they met robotic fates at his hand. In time, Senoj started to embrace his new role as a pirate. On top of the adventure, becoming the most feared scallywag in space and crushing the opposition was kind of fun. And it isn’t like he enforced control over his crew, the Robbos. He mostly just threatened victims with death if they didn’t surrender.

But not long after his tyrannical debut, they landed on a unique asteroid with glowing craters. On that asteroid was none other than Earth God, Regigigas. “Downloading explanation: that meteor you discovered was a relic designed by myself and Deoxys. The Naixalags learned of its nature and pursued it to your galaxy… and by some divine fate, it crashed near you.” The god viewed up and saw a twinkle in the stars. “It was designed for people to have an eternity to explore and gain knowledge, whilst your technical mortality had ended. But, as with most mortals and divine relics, you have misused your gift. Now, face punishment.”

“I don’t think so-ah.” Though Senoj was grabbed in Regigigas’ bending, he bent his ship from afar to blast an array of lasers at the god, striking his weak points in the six eyes. Regigigas summoned his Regis to fight Senoj’s crewmen, whom were able to use their own bending in their robotic bodies. But though the pirates prevailed and sailed away, Regigigas was able to blast Senoj with a special curse: he couldn’t enter a planet’s atmosphere but once every 10 years, or he would rust. There was a way around it: by putting himself in an airtight container, he could be brought down to a planet, though there was yet to be a practical reason to do this.

During one of his 10 years, Senoj set sail on the ocean of his homeworld, Earth, using aquabots to search for treasure. He discovered a pretty, magic clam with a mirror inside it. That mirror was designed to communicate with any mirror in the Posiverse… and, coincidentally enough, someone else found the parallel mirror: it was Davy Jones, Senoj’s very Positive.

“A man condemned to space… and a man condemned to sea. What miraculous fates have befallen us, uh hu hu hu hu!”

“Aye. Pity that a single ocean has so less space than… space. Jar har har har!”

“Au contraire… I can warp to whatever ocean I please. But your timing is perfect-ah. I wonder… does that world have its own pirate culture?”

“Indeed, it does. I have my own share of rivals. ‘Emperors,’ they call their selves. And I am one of them.”

“Then perhaps… we can make a deal.”

“A… deal? Bink.” Senoj smacked his mecha lips.

“I am planning to start a war over here. I have drawn up this special contract for my fellow Emperors.” Jones unraveled it. “He who wins… will command all pirates.”

“Ahhhh…fascinating!”

“Perhaps you would like to join this war. I will draw a separate contract for you. Still, given our circumstances… I do wonder if our life forces are still connected.”

“I do not plan to die regardless-ah. I will bring home the spoils… so, I hope you’ll do the same.”

“Do not disappoint me, Senoj~”

“Oh, about that… I’ve decided to scrap that name. You may call me… Davy Jarg.”

“Jarg? Why?”

“Because I know lots of jargon. …It just registers better in my mind.”

“If ye say so.”

So, Davy Jarg organized a meeting with the other three Emperors, and proposed the Pirate War. …Unfortunately, they said ‘no.’ So, the war only transpired in the Posiverse.

Jarg continued his reign of terror for the next couple centuries. He made a handful of allies: there was a spaceship of thieves carrying the frozen body of their dying boss, Clockwerk. Jarg used his Roboticization methods to save Clockwerk, who became a separate commander of the Robbos with his own ship. But, wanting revenge on the Nosretsam family, he chose to keep operating on Earth in secret.

Jarg also became a secret ally of the Kintobor scientists, based in a station above Planet Moebius. He sold them some capsules containing the meteor’s chi, to use in their own Roboticization projects. The second Kintobor patriarch would sell the chi to his fellow Positive scientist as well, and the trades would extent to a scientist in the Solana Galaxy called Nefarious. The current Kintobor, a man named Ovi, would remain Jarg’s ally and infiltrate the Galactic Navy as part of the captain’s revenge scheme.

Unfortunately, about -24 years ago, Davy Jarg was defeated by a spry band of young pirates, his body forcibly taking the fall down to Villainia’s atmosphere. Jarg was able to eject his own brain against their knowledge, but his body would rust within the planet’s atmosphere.

…

“That was supposed to be the end of him.” Eel concluded (he didn’t actually know some of the more private information). “But I guess he was still alive after all.”

“Our parents were formerly Roboticized by Jarg after an accident that knocked them into space.” Atawid said. “Of course, they found a way to undo the transformation… at the exchange of shortening their lifespan.”

“So, on top of the pirates we were already dealing with, Davy Jarg is back?!” Yddam exclaimed.

“At least they’re gone for now.” Emorej said. “I’ve signaled the operatives on the Moonbases to move down to their planets. Now, if only we could find out what they’re planning.”

“Before we went to Jargenford,” Arorua followed, “Nerehc was called by the Posiverse leader, Nebula. She said there was a Pirate War going on, and that-”

“According to the Pirate’s Code,” Aliehs began, “a Pirate King will be declared when all Pirate Lords and Emperors acknowledge one as their true leader. But since pirates are prideful buggers, the only way to decide a leader was to have a war. …?” The others stared at her in surprise. “Sigh, my Positive reads me all kinds of things from the Pirate Codex.”

“If there’s a Pirate War going on there,” Atawid said, “you think there’s going to be one here, is that it?”

“Not only that, Nerehc was told that the KND have already taken up the mantle as their own Emperor crew. I’m not exactly sure why. I mean, shouldn’t they just worry about saving their friends, too?”

“It’s quite simple, Arorua. If the Emperors decide a victor and combine crews, that’s a pretty massive threat right there. It’s obvious the KND are trying to claim that victory their selves.”

“That’s insane!” Yrrah argued. “First off, they’re fighting all Four Emperors either way. I mean, if they’re all at odds with each other, I guess they wouldn’t have to do ALL the fighting, but no matter who wins this war, what’ll make the other Emperors wanna follow them?!”

“He’s right.” Aliehs agreed. “Sheila said these rules are mostly guidelines. Maybe it’s just an honor thing, how should I know?”

“Or maybe there’s something else at play we don’t know about.” Atawid reasoned. “And if there is… would it not be worth the risk of joining the pirate bandwagon? No matter how you slice it, the Emperors are our enemies now. Even if we save our friends, they’ll just become worse. We can no longer avoid them as we have in the past.”

“Even if you’re right,” Yddam said, “we don’t even have an ‘Emperor’ now. Nerehc’s been captured.”

“Aye.” Ininap bowed her head in guilt. “We couldn’t just sign up for this without his permission. And we have no idea where our best sectors are being held… so, how can-”

“Boss Emorej!” A Psiw flew up with a salute. “We’re receiving a transmission from an unknown source!”

“Huh? P-Put them on.”

There was static on the screen. “Th-this is… Xedni. Nega-…SA. Is this DNKG?”

“Xedni! This is Emorej! Where are you calling from?”

“I’m onboard… Little Dads’ ship. My friends…”

Sternrudder Island

The Nega-SA, -MG, Little Dads, and Revolutionaries were all gathered on the island hidden in the fog (save for Ydnew and Lihp). “Egeb…sniff…Egeb!” Airam cried into a pond.

“You really can feel emotions. Impressive…” Allebmoog remarked.

“Hey, get off her case.” Revilo said. “What’d she ever do to you?”

“Figures she wouldn’t tell you. When I was a little Abmoog, my family owned a private farm. Full of the sweetest little Huggies and Furries… until a certain little human girl led a band of gangsters and ripped it all away from us.”

“Sniff…I think that was… one of my first missions. But there were a lot of farms, so… I don’t remember too-”

“Well, I remember,” Allebmoog grabbed her by the scruff, “the way you aimed your own gun right at me as you forced us to leave! We spent days trying to find a good place to stay, mafia hassling us at every corner, and I couldn’t stop crying! I never felt so afraid in my life! It was a miracle when the Revolutionaries helped us leave the planet! But then I find out that YOU guys were harboring her?!” She shot a look at Revilo.

“I’m… sorry.” Allebmoog looked back down at her. “I did a lot of bad things… to a lot of people. I was just doing what my mom wanted me to do. And when she took my bending and stuck me with that stupid sister… all I wanted was revenge. I didn’t even think about… trying to fix this world until…”

“Until what?”

“Until… the Little Dads and my new friends… and you guys were involved. I got so many of you guys in trouble… that I can’t even think about what I want now. I…I want to make things right. I really do…sniff…”

“…” Allebmoog released her. “Well, you’ve got a lot of work on your plate. At least we have a way of contacting the DNK… but it sounds like they’re not in a good position to help us.”

“Then we need to quit sitting around and start searching for the others.” Asigan stated, overhearing the conversation as she approached. “Not just our friends, but the Revolutionaries that helped us escape. Sigh…poor Oemor… I’m glad he escaped, but he’s all alone in Washopolis. He was already so stressed during New Galaxia, I can’t imagine what he’s going through!”

Washopolis

Rumors told of a fairy that sneakily stole books from the library. They could vaguely see a tiny figure scampering across the floor, using “magic” to make books float away.

Rocking his bare feet back and forth, Oemor set a new book open against the wall of the vent, enjoying the fantasy with a smile on his spectacled face. …Well, actually, he needed a certain someone to read the Washling language for him.

“CLAM IT, EILLAC!” yelled Captain Mollusk, forcing his granddaughter against the wall by her neck. “Is it really that hard to find one crusted human?!”

“I-I’m sorry, Grandpa! I’m searching every nook and cranny, he isn’t anywhere! Are you sure the Octowashes didn’t take him away somewhere?”

“We haven’t heard a hair of them leaving their sewer! We need that puman as leverage against Underboss Airam, so you’d better catch him or you’ll be licking tartar!”

“Okay, okay! I’ll keep trying!”

“Bah!” Mollusk dropped her and stomped away.

But with that, Eillac made her way back to the library via the vents. “Sorry I’m late.” Eillac said to little Oemor with a smile. “Just had to report to Grandpa again.”

“I can’t thank you enough.” Oemor smiled. In truth, Eillac saw the “Library Fairy” a while ago and followed him into the vent. She learned that it was the human prisoner, but he was just so cute that she couldn’t bear to turn him in. Oemor was relieved to hear his friends had escaped, and he had faith they would come to find him. Otherwise, it would be too risky for Eillac to try and bring him herself, so until then, she was happy to read Washling fantasies for him. (Play “Capital B’s Office” from Yooka-Laylee!)

Swimming Swede

Davy Jarg stamped the battered Nerehc to the floor, his pegleg against his chest. “Jar har har! Well, Master Nerehc, your request has finally been granted-ah. An audience with the Fleet Admiral. I hope my stand-in managed to teach you some manners-ah.”

“I taught him something, alright. Taught him that robot bods suck.”

Sir Ovi had lost his right arm, left foot, and a gash down his left side, the circuitry inside sparking. “Nothing a quick repair can’t fix. And you can be assured I’ll be ‘repairing’ those friends of yours, too.” A screen displayed Sipa, Eitra, and Eirik tied down to tables.”

“You’re gonna Roboticize them, right?”

“Lately, I’ve found it far more fun to control mortals in the same manner as robots, through use of my mind chips. However, my last stock of chips seemed to suffer a malfunction. I’ll have to do some research first.”

“Davy Jarg!” Admiral Uub marched in with a glare.

“That’s Captain Jarg to you, boy!”

“It’s no wonder the Fleet Admiral lets the Emperors get away with their crimes. All this time, YOU were behind the scenes! You were their ally!”

“Jar har har! My boy, we Emperors are enemies by nature. We must conquer each other or be conquered. And I will conquer them as I wished to -200 years ago. Now that the Galactic Navy are part of my Robbos, I will reign supreme!”

“So, you were planning to take down the Emperors, anyway?” Nerehc asked.

“Indeed… and rest assured, I plan to save your friends just the same… as I brainwash them as well! Jar har har!”

“Speaking of rescues, Captain,” Ovi said, “I’m curious as to why Nerehc’s operatives abducted Utab’s daughter and the Nave boy. Might you be able to tell us, boy?”

“The DNK’s job is to save kids in trouble. Well, we save anybody who needs us, but kids are a big priority!”

“Aha! So, when Inat danced with you, she must’ve told you something in secret! Probably a cry for help.”

“She shouldn’t have been able to do anything of the sort.” Jarg said. “Unless she found a way around the chip’s control. I wonder if Utab assisted her in some way. Yes… to celebrate my return, I believe an execution is in order. Utab has no wealth that we can’t take from him!”

“You’re a despicable fiend!” Uub tried to attack him, but couldn’t bring himself to.

“I need not be reminded.”

“Even so… you desire to crush the other Emperors, right? And how do you propose to do it?”

“With war!” Jarg unraveled the contract. “When I and the Emperors sign this magic contract, we will wage war, and the victor will have dominant will over those fallen. That includes the pirates aligned with them as well.”

“Complete and total control… so, that’s what I signed up for.”

“Not ‘total’ control. As a pirate, I have standards to uphold. I allow my crewmen to have as much freedom as they need. So long as you do nothing to oppose me, you will have freedom.”

“Hm…very well then.” Uub turned away. “I don’t like this change of affairs… but I have no vendetta against you. So long as I can bring justice to those pirates, that’s fine.”

“Happy to hear that, mate-ah. Now… dismissed.” Uub walked away. “Now, why don’t we begin the operation on you brats?”

That contract… Nerehc thought. Can it really do that? Then we… need to sign it, too!

Planet Arim; Cloud Sea Norest

The Ant King sat in a throne aboard his flagship, the Tyrant. (A name I literally came up with on the spur of the moment and it’s super clever.) A large screen flickered on and displayed Lady Ydnam. “Why, if it isn’t the Ant King. Not calling to ask me on a date, are you, sw-”

“SILENCE.” The king’s pupils were shriveled in malice within his wide eyes. “I demand you answer me… Golden Dreamer. Earlier… your pirates trespassed on my ocean. And around the same time… a guest of mine went missing. A white, Moebian dog.”

“Why… I have NO idea what you’re talking about!” She smiled and brushed her hand like an aristocrat.

The king thrusted his tail into the wall beside the TV. “That tone of yours is not reassuring.”

“Perhaps this ‘guest’ of yours ran away on her own. After all, you are quite a nasty fellow. Terrifying, cruel, bringing despair to all the poor little animals. I wouldn’t be shocked if thousands of guests ran away from you.”

“Funny… I don’t recall specifying their gender.”

“Oh? Po po po po! A slip of the tongue, as it were.”

The golden torches behind the king brimmed. “Give her back to me…”

“Negative! I say that because anyone welcomed into my custody is guaranteed a more positive experience… while yours would be quite negative.”

“Then I’ll come up there… and take her back myself. I’ve noticed that a handful of your ships are moving up to Aruhtaz. As if you’re gearing up for something.”

“That need not concern you, my dear Kingy. Now, if you’ll excuse me…” She ended transmission.

“Hmph. You! Girl!”

Xof pushed Ydolem forward, the white-eyed girl stumbling up to His Majesty. She tensed up with the tail at her neck. “When we get to her planet… you’re going to search everywhere until you find her. And you, Xof,” the tail redirected at the gulping fox, “your group is going to keep an eye on her…”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“My King!” Ridley flew in. “The-”

King thrusted his tail into the pterodactyl’s stomach. “Didn’t I tell you to take care of all other problems, Ridley? If this isn’t about finding Komugi, why are you interrupting me?”

“It’s the Mushroom Mafia! They’ve just landed on the outer sea with new radon cannons! They’re aiming right for the Bioless!”

“Then fly out there and dispose of them. I’ve got an invasion to prepare for. The Smile Pirates have no doubt taken Komugi.”

“WE’RE being invaded, Your Highness! We can’t set off to rescue Komugi until we trounce those weapons! Andross and Tachyon are in position as we speak, and Oryps and I are about to move out. But if you would help us, we can finish this a lot faster! Then we can sail right for Komugi. Please!”

The king forced him away with a blast of fire. “How dare you request me to do your work. Get out there and destroy those cannons immediately! The more time you waste, the more time Ydnam has to prepare. Do not make me repeat myself!”

“Argh…yes, My King.” Ridley pulled himself up and flew away. Ydolem and Xof shared expressions of worry. Both feared the king’s obsession… but Ydolem feared the safety of her friends most of all.

Toadstool World

“’ello, Madam Shrew!” Admiral Azure reported through the monitor, Bronzebob beside him. “The Radon Cannons seem to work jolly good! We’ve decimated four fortresses on the Bioless so far, but the commanders are knocking some of our other shots away.”

“Keep firing until the whole Titan topples! Those pirates will pay for trying to make off with my daughter!”

“Do you even give a damn about them, anymore?” Oiram asked. “Our daughters all but turned tail. Wouldn’t matter a bit if the Meta-Beasts made off with them!”

“Not when she still has those Noble Gases, you cigar-mouthed idiot. I’ll sap them from her just as I did before.”

“You should’ve done that from the start, you stupid donna vecchia!”

“And YOU should’ve kept a better eye on them, you lazy oaf! Now, go check on the Revolutionary situation. I have some interrogating to do.”

The don marched down to the basement. The body of Egeb was suspended for Sutsugua to look at. “Enjoying your quality time, boy?”

“Yeah… me and Grandpa are REALLY catching up, you sick whore.”

“And you’ll be catching up for the rest of eternity!” Shrew thrusted her heel against the boy’s crotch. “If only I could do the same… for you and YOUR father, Reswob, Jr.!” She twirled to the other cell, where a large, starved Apook was chained up.

“Ahh…though my father is old and frail… he will not succumb to the likes of you.”

She thrusted a kick at his jaw. “He’s where the Revolutionaries are stationed, right?! Where they took those brats! TELL ME! NOW!” She shoved gas up his nostrils, the Apook hacking.

“Ack! Toadstool… will be… beautiful again…”

Shrew thrusted a kick down to bend his head. “Are you and Sutsugua enjoying yourselves, singing that song about me?”

“Dad wrote it himself…”

“You’ll have a hard time singing with a burned throat!” She shoved gas down his throat. “And if I don’t find those brats over these next few days… I’ll have plenty of new poisons lined up for you.”

Aruhtaz

“Good neeeeewwws, Lady Ydnaaaaam!” Llubhcnurt sang. “The pirates have finished relocating all our staff and prison—I mean, students to the designated areas on this world!”

“That’s wonderful! Is Ahsas finished reinforcing the night sky?”

“Absolutely, there won’t be a speck of sunlight around here!”

“Good! Now, we’d best get everything in tip-top shape. I fear the Ant King is paying us a visit, so we need to look presentable! But I think some quality time with the kids is in order.”

Ydnam walked downstairs, where it seemed Aluben and Ragus were happily playing with dollies. “Hello, girls! Anyone feel like going out for ice cream?”

“Ooo, I love ice cream!” Aluben beamed. “I wish Leic could come with us, but they haven’t woken up, yet.”

“Well, we’ll save some in storage in case they do. Oh, and Ydnic, would you like some, too?”

Her daughter’s smile was stitched in place as she wore one of Horde Prime’s chips on her neck. “Yes, Mother! Ice cream is very sweet, and I love all sweet things!”

“Then let’s all go together!” Llubhcnurt clapped.

“Hooray!” Ragus sang. She and Aluben held Ydnam’s hands as they skipped along. Llubhcnurt held the hand of Ydnic, whose eyes throbbed with despair.

In another part of the palace, Komugi was mopping the floor as Horde Prime spoke to a clone. “So, you believe the Galactic Navy is using some kind of mind-control technology, too?”

“Yes, Elder Brother.”

“Fascinating… perhaps we should look into it.” (End song.)

Arim; Pacifitia

Atnort, Alol, Ikuyim, Beewv, and Arohpsohp had flown to an area of the Cloud Sea that was calm. They dove into the water and landed on an undersea Titan. The clouds were bright above them and the Titan was lush with greenery, as well as herbivorous dinosaurs. This was where they had brought the rescued Chickin kids before. The impish robot Blade, Alil was thankful to Beewv for rescuing her. The operatives allowed their selves some rest on this peaceful Titan, with Ikuyim getting the most delight in trekking the ground beneath her. Still, they were too worried about their friends to fully enjoy it.

However, there was a smaller island a short way away from the mainland, hidden behind the cliffs where there was no shore. This island seemed to have an old radio tower. Beewv didn’t think it was strong enough to send a signal to DNKG… until Alil revealed that she was built with communication functions. Beewv was able to hook her up to the tower and combine their functions. With that, they inputted DNKG’s coordinates.

DNKG

As the days passed, anxiety slowly evolved into hope for the teen and preteen operatives. They received calls from Nega-SA, -MG, Team Anna, and -L. The operatives Ydolem, Nollid, Avakam, Yrret, and Annaira were prisoners of the Meta-Beasts, but those remaining were hoping to navigate Norest and search for them. On Toadstool, Ydnew, Lihp, and Oemor were unaccounted for, but their general whereabouts were known.

The -$ Thieves, -W, and -JP operatives made it to base. The thieves had one of the Despairagers, Urusam in their custody, so they tried to interrogate him. According to other reports, the Smile Pirates were relocating everything to Aruhtaz, so they assumed Lorac and Leic were trapped there as well. Beforehand, Hgielar told Nerehc about the kidnapping, so Nerehc had already gotten -JP on the case. With them, they brought Otokam: he was a dorky, Bubble Dreamer boy who once tried to Bubble a bunch of people’s dreams to give them bad luck. They “convinced” him to help in this operation as a way to make up for what he did. They saw that Lorac’s dream was surrounded by a Sand Sea, but they struggled to cross the sea and find them.

However, under Asia’s request, the group went to sleep and searched the dreams of the TG kids. It seemed they were also trapped in Ydnam’s dream, but no sign of their dreamselves. “So, my sweet Lorac is lost in slumber,” Nosam said, “and awaits a handsome prince to wake her with a kiss.”

“That’s so hot, dude~” Aullik smiled.

“Can you please put some more clothes on?” Asia sighed.

“And Anaigrom sounds A-OK on Toadstool.” Uzuy smiled.

“Which means Nosey and Aullik will be going separate ways.” Akurah smirked. “Too bad.”

“Hold on, we can’t just separate.” Arorua reasoned. “We have to save our teams from the navy!”

“We need to make land on the Emperors’ planets and conduct investigations.” Atawid said. “Tnacsuroc may be especially difficult. If they’ve brainwashed our teammates, they wouldn’t need to be kept in cells or anything. They’ll be used against us. Then we may need those two to save them…”

Ahcniea had already peeled off Inat’s forehead area and picked the chip out of her brain. She then carefully cut off Nave’s head. There was some kind of net around his brain, linked to suction-cup chips. Yrrah was observing with her. “I don’t think we should pick these willy-nilly.” Yrrah said. “It looks like it’s designed to squeeze his brain if we attempt to. They have to be picked off in a certain order. Let me see if I can determine which…”

“I’m not sure if those two should take part in the search. It’ll be bad if they get captured. At best, we need to have brainwashed operatives transferred up here, so their chips can be picked out. I know Ahcniea applied a medicine to you guys to resist the brainwashing, but I’m sure Jarg will be privy to it after the first incident.”

“Hey, guys.” Emorej approached them. “Um, it sounds like most of the Supreme Leaders are willing to help us fight the Emperors, and they’re onboard with the whole ‘playing pirate’ thing. The question is, without Nerehc with us… who’s going to play the part of ‘Emperor’? We can’t just say it’s Nerehc, considering he’s already…”

“I’m the de facto leader when he ain’t around.” Sicnarf said. “I’ll do it.”

“No, I should do it!” Arorua stated. “I’m Nerehc’s sister, so technically…”

“We need to rescue Lorac now!” Nosam declared. “Then SHE can be the Emperor!”

“She doesn’t fit at all!” Eel argued. “Her whole thing is being sneaky and stuff. Don’t Emperors need to be out in the spotlight and be known to everyone?”

“That’s exactly right.” Atawid agreed. “Unfortunately… Nerehc is the most famous person of all of us. So, he needs to be the first one we rescue.”

“So, are we all just gonna invade Tnacsuroc and go for it?”

“No… what we need is more information. If the Emperors are going to wage war, I surmise they must first have a meeting. And Davy Jarg must have a place he intends to-”

“Emorej, we’re receiving another unknown call!” a Psiw yelled.

“Again?! Who is it this time?”

Tnacsuroc Sewers

“Heeeey! Come back hewe!” Eelyah and Nekcarb ran through the tunnels, the former punching rocks out at their pursuer. It appeared to be a large, muscular Cragmite with a red head and back. His lips were mopey, as were his big eyes. “I won’t wet you escape from me!” He was wielding a large brush, swatting Eelyah’s boulders away. “I am Probelg, Chief Choreman of the Gawactic Wavy! I sweep cwime away in the sewews! Come back and wet me sweep you!”

“No thanks!” Ahcom yelled. “I already got stuck in Asia’s dust pan once!”

As they maneuvered around the brick-walled tunnels, Eelyah tried to push one open with her bending. “Uh?!” Behind it was a metal, secure door. “What this?”

“WHEWE AWE YOU?!”

The girls were about to keep running… when the secure door opened. They decided to retreat inside. The metal door closed, along with the brick one, which happened to be attached to a mechanism. Probelg came around the corner, searching dumbfoundedly. (Play “Terminal Room” from Trails from Zero.)

The trio traveled through the hidden tunnel. Hearing a catchy tune up ahead, the tunnel led to what looked like someone’s basement room. The scent of pizza hit their nostrils as they saw several boxes’ worth lain open. There was a chubby boy in a red sweater, yellow pants, and black hair operating several computers. “You guys owe me one.” The boy said lazily, eating a pizza slice. “Done nearly blew my cover.”

“What this place?” Eelyah said, walking forward. She accidentally stepped on a dropped pizza.

“Name’s Otullak. This is my crib. Looked like you guys were running from the navy. I’m kinda hiding from them, too.”

“It smells awful down here!” Ahcom waved by her nose. “If you’re hiding, how do you get all these pizzas?”

“I had a friend deliver them. Got enough to last a few months. I guess you can have some, but you’re not planning to stay, are you?”

Eelyah approached him, staring at the screens. “You got cameras?”

“Yup. Hacked into the sewer security network, so I can see outside.”

“You hacker? Can hack other things?”

“Well… yeah. I hack into the military’s network sometimes. Like to keep tabs on what they’re doing. But breaking in ain’t easy, and I can’t stay too long before they trace me.”

“Can you contact people with this stuff?” Ahcom asked.

“Maybe… why?”

“Well, we’d like to send a message to the DNKG.”

They explained that their teammates were staging an escape and were supposed to come back for Eelyah, but never did, and their communicators were no longer in range. “DNK ops, huh? I mean… I don’t like to send calls out very much. Might end up being traced, you know?”

“But we’re already here!”

“Like… you guys won’t sell me out, right?”

“…” Eelyah noticed a photo on his desk: it depicted Otullak with the Kcydloz. “! You brothers with Aullik!”

“You know Aullik?”

“My friends got him help us! Me think he was gonna escape with us.”

“And he didn’t mention me? I mean, I guess he wouldn’t know where I am. Wouldn’t really trust him to keep secrets for me. He’s the best bro ever, but he’s a total ditz. Sigh…fine, I guess I’ll send the call. Hope I don’t get involved in anything crazy.”

DNKG

“Ahcom?!” Asia gasped. “And Eelyah?!”

“Thank goodness you’re okay!” Arorua sighed, Emorej rapidly typing their words. “We’re sorry we didn’t get you guys. We…”

///

“Davy Jarg?!” Otullak gasped. “The legendary space-pirate? I…I didn’t expect that.”

“Hey, Bro, good to see you! How’d you get inside the computer?” Aullik asked.

“Never mind that!” Atawid stated. “This actually changes everything…”

///

“So… we’re gonna become a pirate crew and fight all Four Emperors?!” Ahcom exclaimed.

“Correct. Saving our friends is first priority, but we need to triumph over the pirates before they become a worse threat. To that end, we need Nerehc. And right now, it seems you lot are the closest we have to rescuing him.”

“Otullak! You use pooter to find Nerehc prison and we save him?”

“You expect me to just hack around willy-nilly?! Hacking isn’t magic, you know!”

“Please, Otullak. We really need to save Nerehc.”

Eelyah gazed at him with pleading eyes. The hacker flushed red, the Neanderthal’s expression irresistible. “F-Fine. I’ll… try to find something.” (End song.)

In the meantime, the remaining operatives began their search on the other worlds. On Toadstool, Nega-SA set off to search for Oemor, riding a ship called the Dragon Dolphin. Airam and Revilo would search for their two friends, accompanied by the Little Dads on the Nostra Castello. Furthermore, some of their agents returned to Earth to bring back a new soldato. She was a young girl whom Sutsugua rescued before he was captured, and she wished to repay him. Her name was Amat, a purple-haired girl with flabby, melty skin. She was fed the Mochi-Mochi Fruit, which allowed her to better mold her body and use stretch attacks.

On Arim, the Nega-L group acquired their own Titan ship and called it the Sweet Alil. Nega-W and the -$ Thieves headed for Aruhtaz, covered in a Sand Sea much like the Dream Realm. They each had cans of special coffee that would keep them immune to the sand in case they touched it. But naturally, Nosam insisted on going with the thieves to save his lovely Lorac.

“Good luck, man.” Aullik told him in farewell. “You gotta save your girl. I’ll try to save my girl, too! Let’s meet again for that double date, man!”

“It’s a promise, Aullik!”

So with that, Aullik rode his own smaller ship down to Toadstool, intending to meet up with Nega-SA. “Ugh, that idiot won’t even come to save his own teammates.” Akurah scoffed.

“Maybe we should just land on Tnacsuroc and search for the others.” Asia said. “And if they determine Nerehc’s location, we’ll make our way to him then.”

“Problem is, Tnacsuroc is a lot more dense.” Arorua replied. “We can’t just sail around freely when it’s all canals and streets.”

“So, what?” Aliehs smirked. “I’m a professional street thug.”

“Me, too.” Asia smiled. “I’m sure we’ll manage somehow.”

“No.” Atawid stated. “If my theory is correct… it might be best if you remain with us. This isn’t just a matter of saving Nerehc… It’s about making our entrance as an ‘Emperor’ crew. And my theory is that, when Davy Jarg meets with his fellow Emperors, he’ll want to present a brainwashed Nerehc as a show of power. That… will be our moment.”

Following her advice, Nega-V and -W7 continued training on H.Q. (no one was just sitting around doing nothing). Meanwhile, the Meta-Beasts succeeded in fending off the mafia and had taken Bronzebob hostage. When the Meta-Beasts made flight to Aruhtaz, the Smiles flew up to intercept them. But they weren’t alone: the Mushroom Mafia learned of this encounter and chose to join the party. Don Shrew couldn’t miss a chance to blow down two of her rivals.

But it was then that a metal ship, belonging to neither crew, bombarded them with lasers. Shrew and Ridley questioned the ship’s familiarity, but it turned and sailed away. The pirates followed its lightspeed coordinates toward Villainia’s moon. There was an enormous crater on the moon, divided into four audience stands, and the center possessed a platform with a table. A pirate flag was suspended above the center via two poles.

…

“Hey, guys.” Otullak typed. “I’m still not sure where they’re keeping Nerehc, but I think I found out where they’re going to meet. They have a file about a Lunar Summit, located on Villainia’s moon. Apparently, it’s a sacred neutral ground for pirates. Probably set up there so Davy Jarg could use it.”

“Then that’s where we need to be.” Atawid decided.

…

The three armies couldn’t believe this disgrace. Why was the Galactic Navy here?! “Do not worry. I have committed no taboo.” Davy Jarg disembarked his ship. “The Galactic Navy are my crewmen now. They are my unwilling Robbos!”

“Davy Jarg? Mushu shu shu shu! I had a hunch you were alive!”

“Gear Heart Jarg?” Andross rubbed his chin. “I heard of his name, but always thought it was a joke.”

“All these unwelcome guests are irritating.” Ant King glared. “If I have to burn you all, so be it.”

“Patience, Your Majesty.” Jarg smiled reprovingly. “These are peaceful grou-”

King SMACKED his head clean off. “I’m not inclined to abide by your rules.”

“’Tis fair.” Jarg’s body picked it back up. “They are only guidelines. AVAST, THEN!”

So began the opening battle of the war, on -15 Yraurbef. King’s fire against Shrew’s poison resulted in smogging explosions. Jarg bent ancient swords and scrap that were buried in the moon-sand, while the sand itself was a perfect weapon for Ydnam to combat him. She slashed some sand against Ant King, who turned the sand into glass. Don Shrew intoxicated Ydnam, but Jarg grabbed the Don from behind and willed metal spikes to grow from her skin. Shrew merely ate a drug to eject the harmful components and recirculate her bloodstream, forcing Jarg off with a Gas Bomb. Ydnam buried Shrew under Dreamsand, but Shrew stayed awake by huffing some powder into her nose.

The pirates battled relentlessly: Oryps against Uub, Ridley fought Yeknod, Itaav fought Tachyon, Horde Prime blasted lasers at Andross, Doma froze Ripto’s fire, Sumas exchanged bullets with Oiram, and Eniram slashed kicks at Nolrem. The Despairagers fought the Gnok Family, Llubhcnurt fought Reknoc, and Aluben tried to twist Avlis’s bones.

Then, a comet of white flame came flying at the Emperors, followed by the streak of a blade that slashed directly at Shrew. She thrusted her heel and blocked the blade of Nerehc Onu. “You?!”

“Nerry?!” Ydnam gasped. “Darling, what are you doing here?!”

“Huh? Nerehc?” Aluben looked over.

The Fierce Deity bore pale eyes and a dull frown. He slashed the enemy Emperors like a mindless zombie, the Ant King swiftly countering him. “This boy fights with no heart. How boring…”

“Ah ha ha ha ha!”

Fleet Admiral Ovi presented himself over the Swede’s keel. “How do you like him? The DNK’s Supreme Leader, bent to our will!”

“Dr. Kintobor?!” Wodahs exclaimed. “Where have YOU been all this time?!”

“Why, I’m the Fleet Admiral, but dear Wodahs! Of course, I’m only second to Captain Jarg. And while we didn’t bring them, we have other operatives under our control.”

“Now, my brethren…” Jarg unraveled the contract. “If you’re done fighting, I have a proposal to make.”

Jarg explained the purpose of the contract and proposed the Pirate War. “So, if we fight… the victor will attain command over all participants?” Shrew smirked.

“That sounds… delightful!” Ydnam beamed. “Kids, if we win this war, then all these guys can join us in-”

Ant King smacked her away. “I tire of your childish games. Your contract holds no power over-”

“YOOOOO! WHAT UP, PIRATE DUDES?!”

Everyone whipped in the direction of the platform across the stands. Hcaz Yhprum replaced the pirate flag with a laundry machine flag, and he, Okam, and Ycrad were holding a concert with cleaning equipment. “We’re Hcaz and the Mopheads, here to rock your world with hoppin’ scotchin’ mops! Put the EcoLab in the bucket, clean up all the muck-it! Clean and dry, ’cause a messy floor won’t fly!”

“. . . . . .” What in blazes were they looking at?

Then, Asia WHOOSHED over the field at breakneck speed, cutting through the crowd. Only Ant King sensed her presence, but knew she was aiming for Nerehc. Asia PUSHED her leader away from the Emperors. Ovi tried to order him to attack, but Aliehs soared down on a glider and KICKED Ovi across the head. Asia landed on the platform where Hcaz was rocking out, and Nerehc was pelted by Yddam’s chi-blocking punches.

Asia and Yddam forced him down, head against the ground. Yrrah hurried over with Ahcniea in hand. Yrrah put a hand to his head and focused his Observation. “Yep… he’s got the same Brain Net that Nave had.”

“Then… it should work the same way?” Ahcniea asked.

“No, not exactly. Just give me a second…”

“ADMIRALS, STOP THEM!” Ovi bellowed.

“PARLEY!”

“Huh?!” The pirates looked over once more. Atawid stood right behind them, her choco eyes firm and sharp.

“We of the Daring Pirates invoke the right of parley. Perhaps you should’ve opened with that, Davy Jarg.”

“Parley? Argh…” A program in Jarg’s head compelled him to comply. “Wait! You cannot harm my crewmen if you invoke-”

“We aren’t harming anyone. Rather, we’re saving our captain.”

“Yeah, so suck it!” Aliehs blew a raspberry.

“But…” Jarg glared up at the platform.

Though he couldn’t see it, Yrrah began pointing at specific spots in Nerehc’s head. “That one first!” Ahcniea thrusted a needle in and poked that chip’s switch. “Then this one. This one. This one!” She pierced those points sequentially. “And…er…um…THIS ONE!”

Ahcniea flicked the last switch… and Nerehc panted. “Huff…huff…” He looked up into the relieved faces of his friends. “Thanks, guys.”

“Bro!” Arorua pulled Nerehc to his feet and gave him a hug. “Thank goodness. I didn’t think we could pull it off.”

“We wouldn’t have if this moon didn’t have an Oxygen Bubble.” Asia said.

“You useless imbeciles!” Ovi yelled at the admirals. “Why didn’t you stop them?!”

“Because they respond to my desires.” Jarg said. “And we honorable pirates do not attack those who invoke parley.”

“I had a hunch such a long-time pirate would adhere to the code.” Atawid smiled. “All I had to do then was distract the fighting with Hcaz’s weird song, allowing Asia a stable route to swoop in. Even Mecha Jarg didn’t see it comin’~”

“Alright!” Nerehc stepped up on the platform’s table. “Now that my mind’s in working order… I think we’ll be signing that contract now.”

“Foolish boy!” Jarg yelled. “This war is only between us Emperors!”

“Yeah? Well, we of the DNK have decided to become pirates! And we certainly never agreed to sign up for YOUR dumb crew!”

“We’ve already defeated you, boy. You have already lost this war!”

“That was before we signed.” Atawid remarked. “Your victory is invalid.”

“Mushu shu…so, that’s your game.” Shrew smirked. “Very well… All the more reason to trample you meddling kids. I’ll sign up for this war!”

“No reason we should back out now.” Ydnam smiled. “What do you say, dearies? Doesn’t a war sound fun?”

“It sure does, Captain!” Aluben grinned.

“We’ll do our best!” Acanom cheered.

“They’re already acting like puppets.” King said. “What a waste of my time.”

“And considering an ant’s perception of time is much slower,” Atawid smiled wryly, “that’s quite unfortunate for you.”

The Meta-Beasts gawked at the strategist. Displeased by her remark, the king’s next move was expected: his tail stabbed at Atawid, and red coated its tip. “…?!”

Her smile grew wryer as she held a bottle of ketchup up, the king’s tail through it. “You want some fries with that?”

The king lashed rapid tail whips, but Atawid’s Haki allowed her to keenly evade. But ultimately, the Ant King seized her neck in his hand. “You didn’t think your ‘parley’ would protect you from my wrath, did you?”

“’Course not…keh… but I did hear you liked to kidnap strategy game champions. Obviously, you want to prove yourself the smartest… not just the strongest. That’s the same way wars are fought and won. That’s why you’re here to begin with. To study your foes’ techniques. I wouldn’t be surprised if you caught a glimpse of their crewmen, too. The pieces are all here, I guess it’s a matter of which ones move better and how. But even if you take your pieces off the table, that won’t stop them from coming after yours later.”

“Well, don’t convince him to play!” Yrrah shouted.

“Why not? This game should be fair for all parties involved. And it won’t be fair for me if His Majesty ain’t in.”

“. . . . .” The king merely gazed at Atawid. “You fascinate me… human. But only… just enough.”

He positioned his hand beside Atawid’s head and flicked her. With that, she was out cold. He dropped her. “So be it… I would be remiss if I did not win such a simple game.”

“Jar har har… then it seems we’re in accord.” Jarg smirked. “To sign our fates, we must toss a doubloon into the depths. But since we’ve no water to do so with… let us send our doubloons to the stars.”

All the pirates present released a single coin to the low-gravity heavens. The Emperors’ names were magically added to the contract, including Nerehc’s. “We must now adjourn for -24 hours. Once such time has passed… war begins-ah.”

“Then may the best crew win.” Nerehc agreed.

Chapter Text

Alright, it’s time for the DNK’s Pirate War! I definitely might divide these into separate chapters, depending if I get carried away with dialogue and stuff.

Arim

Ikuyim was excited for adventure as her crew, the Gem Pirates, sailed on their Sweet Alil, which bore a figurehead of the robot. “Watch out, Meta-Beast Pirates! Captain Ikuyim is here to beat—whoooa!” The ship rocked from a lightning strike, the white-haired earthbender losing her footing.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves!” Alol yelled.

“Heads up! Giant whale spotted at -2:00!” Arohpsohp alerted.

“Captain, that’s Ayaru!” Alil shouted.

“That’s where they’re keeping Avakam, huh? All aboard the Rock-a-pult, I’ll launch us to the right fin!” (Stage music: “Brinstar” from Smash Melee.)

Leaving Arohpsohp and the still-recovering Atnort to manage the ship, the operatives launched toward the greater Titan. They fought down pirates from Ridley’s division (consisting of Metroid enemies) and made their way inside Ayaru. While normally a vast, pretty cavern kingdom with glittering cliffs and staticky water, the pirates had made the people forget that peace. Ikuyim’s earthbending was a key contributor to their progression, but the Titan could be picky in what areas it would allow to be earthbent. Using Seismic Sense, Ikuyim saw the way through the caves and eventually found where Avakam was imprisoned.

Avakam was suspended by rope over a pool of digestive acid. Alil was about to fly up and cut her down, when a giant, obese reptile emerged from the acid and swat her down. It was Kraid, a general of the crew, with three eyes, spikes along the spine, and on his belly. “(ROOO HA HA! We knew you worms would come to save your friend! If I squish you here, maybe Captain Ridley will let me join the Kremling Krew! King K. Rool personally asked for me! ’Said I’d fit right in! And when I do, I’ll trample over all those inferior animals!)”

“I totally don’t get what he’s saying!” Alol yelled.

“Wait, I kind of speak lizard!” Ikuyim smiled. “Ahem…roo roo roo raaaaah roo roo roo.”

“(YOU!! You dare compare my belly spikes to yucky ice cream cones?! YOU MUST DIE!)”

“Alright, I said it right!” (Boss music: “Brinstar Depths” from Smash Melee.)

Kraid shot his belly spikes and threw his own fingernails, both of which would grow back. Before they did, Ikuyim bent gems out of her Infi-Cube to strike the weak points from where the belly-spikes would grow. Kraid also spat rocks from his mouth, but Ikuyim easily sent them back, bashing his head as he tumbled over. Ikuyim could then jab his eyes with crystals. When he reached the peak of frustration, Kraid tried to eat Avakam alive, but Ikuyim sent a crystal up to suspend his mouth open. She fixed crystal gloves over her hands as she climbed Kraid’s spine. Once atop the head, she punched the spikes of his head and forced them right back into his skull. A delirious and exhausted Kraid collapsed in defeat.

Alil flew back up and caught Avakam after Beewv cut her down. But before she had time to thank them, a dark laser fired at them. “That lug didn’t stand a chance.” remarked Sumas, the Dark Hunter marching in from the other entrance. “What’s up, kids? All good in the neighborhood?”

“The hunter lady!” Avakam said. “You were chasing Hpot! What’d you do to her?!”

“She got a little shy, unfortunately. Maybe she’ll come out of her shadow if I take care of you.”

The kids bolted from the hunter, Ikuyim bending the caves to block her. They also gave Avakam some weapons stolen from the pirates, so she was able to hold back the hunter well. They called Arohpsohp to bring the ship around the front-left of the whale’s face. The ops made it on top of Ayaru’s head as Ikuyim used a Rock Launch to send them flying off and down the Titan. Arohpsohp sailed the ship right under them and spun a whirlwind to catch the kids, quickly sailing from the Titan.

…

Another group of operatives had landed on Arim: the Monkey Crew, consisting of Yddam and Hcaz, Ycrad, Ylime, and her Fancy Monkey Five. They drove an RV through a dense forest called the Brightglow Woods, KOing hordes of Dinosoids. Ylime’s apes would swing off on their own to explore the greater forest. While they couldn’t find clues as to their own operatives’ whereabouts, they rescued several Arim natives who were rebels against the pirates.

“It’s time to put you monkeys back in your cages!” A giant mech with hydro pumps came stomping through the trees, controlled by Commodore Krawq. The mech’s glass stomach showed what looked like a catgirl, her prison watery and connected to the pumps. When Krawq blasted the water, it seemed to make the trees wither. The apes fled from the mech and made their way back to the RV.

“Ylime, what the heck’s going on?!” Hcaz asked.

“Big toy bad! Big toy bad!”

“There you are!” The mech leapt and crashed before the RV. “Thanks for leading me to your little parade!”

“Looks like we got an officer on our hands!” Hcaz said. “And more pirates on top of that.”

“COMMODORE KRAWQ?!” Yddam exclaimed, the crewmates jumping.

“Ah, it seems I have a little fan~” Krawq smirked. “Want my autograph, sweetheart?”

“Hcaz, he’s the villain from the show, Mr. Justice! He’s Mr. Justice’s archenemy!”

“You mean the show that got cancelled?”

“It got cancelled because the actor playing him died…”

“You’re only half-right, kid.” Krawq smirked. “That wretched show was based on reality. Mr. Justice foiled my plans at every turn. That’s why I made a deal with the Meta-Beasts. I joined their crew in exchange for Justice’s demise!”

“You…you did what?!”

“Don’t look at me; it was Captain Ridley who dealt the final blow. But I’ll happily let you see Mr. Justice in the afterlife!”

He blasted more water, but Yddam thrusted it away with Fishman Karate. “Who’s that girl?! Is she powering your machine?!”

“This little kitty is a special Xenoblade with cursed Water Chi. Opposite to a healer, she can drain life with her water. Too much water can drown ya, you know. So, get ready to drown!”

“Hcaz, I’ll take care of this guy! Can you handle the minions?”

“Aye-aye!”

Yddam’s karate redirected the water at the mech and shatter the pumps. When Krawq resorted to physical attacks, Yddam evaded swiftly and leapt to land punches against the Blade’s capsule, making the water inside burst and eventually shatter the glass. Yddam retrieved the catgirl and leapt back onto the RV, the operatives making their escape. “This isn’t over, you brats!!”

…

The Gem Pirates sailed to Rightheria, an archipelago of jellyfish Titans. (Music: “Aquatic Base 1+2” from Sonic 2006, to set a mechanical theme mixed with the dire situation of the overall war.)

Avakam heard that Yrret had been taken there, so they were determined to save him! The Cloud Sea was much more electrified in this region, but there was a shore for them to launch to. Afterwards, there were narrow pathways leading up and between the many islands, so they would have to travel them in exploring the archipelago. Ikuyim’s bending was only limited to the white sand on the jellyfish, but Atnort’s bending could disable the electric barrier machines, as well as draw electricity from the jellyfish to shoot down robots (including Irken SIRbots).

The islands were separated by a great wall of Cloud Sea, but there were two artificial, mechanical tunnels that cut through it. The tunnels harnessed the sea’s electricity and had windows for an aquarium view of the aquatic life. There was a route that led deeper underground, but as the teammates bolted through, reinforced shutters lowered to block some of them. The only one able to make it through was Alol, and as luck would have it, she found the very room where Yrret was trapped.

Yrret was hooked to a machine that seemed to be attached to his brain, causing him to jitter as energy transferred into the ground via cords. “Yrret! Hang on, I’ll get you out—ah!” She was grabbed in psychic.

“Not so fast, kid!” Tallest Miyuki descended. “Andross needs this boy for a special experiment. I don’t suppose you’re a psychicbender, too?”

“Hate to disappoint you! At least I would, if you didn’t look like a giant mantis!”

“No matter. We could always use more slaves. And snot-nosed kids like you make a good workforce!”

“Boy, are you an old-school villain. But guess what? My brother gave me a few pointers in resisting psychic grips!” Alol began to twirl in the air, a free smile on her visage. Miyuki lost her grip as Alol danced on the floor. “If I focus my thoughts freely, my brainwaves can counter yours and free me from your grasp!” (Music: “Turn the Tables” from Spongebob Movie.)

“Your dancing can’t save you from this!” Miyuki willed a series of lightsabers to fly up, slashing them at Alol. However, she put her dancing to use and evaded the swords, taking two in her own hands to give her dancing some flare. She danced up to Miyuki to land cuts on her mechanical armor. After a while, Miyuki would fly away from Alol and make a series of mirrors levitate. Miyuki would combine the swords’ lasers to an extended one, which deflected off the mirrors to attack Alol from a distance.

“Couldn’t you do that easier without the mirrors?!”

“The confusion factor helps!”

“Hmph!” Alol drew her Butterfly Gun and shot energy butterflies to bounce along the same route of mirrors, striking Miyuki’s head as she felt a tickling sensation. The tallest dropped the mirrors, and Alol kept up her dance as she made the pink butterflies spiral around her. “Monarch DANCE!” She directed the flies straight at Miyuki, but though she sliced some away, the Monarch Dancer flew up for a clean kick to the head. Miyuki’s head slammed against the wall and she passed out.

Alol was able to unhook Yrret from the machine, and they disabled the shutters blocking the way out. As the friends escaped, they realized the Mushroom Mafia began invading the archipelago, fighting the remaining pirates while the Gem Crew made their escape. The Mushrooms would find Tallest Miyuki and take her prisoner.

…

The next Titan they searched for was Lodni, the Unholy Nation. (Music: “La Cloche” from KH: Dream Drop, to set the mood of a dark holy land.)

Alit with the golden flames of the Ant King himself, the dark priests had Annaira dress up in a black robe, ordering her to bend out the blood of their prisoners, simmer it within the flames around the king’s statue, and then return that blood to their bodies. The crew fought through the priests, as well as some leopards and fauns from Oryps’ division. Upon arriving at the church’s grounds, Annaira was ecstatic to see her friends.

“’EY NOW!” The dingo-leopard, Retnuh landed, slapped a chi-blocking collar on Anna, and hoisted her up. “We can’t ’ave these lot disrupting the ritual! Maties, make them the next sacrifices!” As the priests swarmed them, Retnuh fled and climbed atop the church. “YOW!” He suffered a cut to the leg: Beewv was able to run up and grab onto Anna’s shoe before she was taken, so once no other pirates were around, he landed the cut. “You little peabrain! Oi’ll squash you for that!”

Beewv evaded the giant dingo’s brutish attacks while tanking other ones. His tiny blades struggled to cut through Retnuh’s muscles, but if he got up to the head, he could deal cuts to the eyes. Beewv later slashed the ankles to make him topple over, leaving Retnuh’s tail available. With his Kateeny strength, Beewv grabbed the tail and swung the giant hybrid around. “Here’s our next sacrifice!” Beewv released Retnuh in the direction of the Ant King’s statue.

“UUUUUWAAAAAAAHHH!” Retnuh burned in the golden flames, dark and crispy by the time he climbed his way out. With that, Beewv picked Annaira’s collar open, the Harnitan smirking in gratitude. The ops made their escape from the dragon Titan.

…

On the Bioless, Nollid had been imprisoned in a laboratory beneath Camp -6. Captain Ridley stomped into his room. “He’s still here, Captain.” said the guard.

“Worried I’m misbehaving?” Nollid smirked.

“Shut it, boy!” Ridley squawked. “The only reason you still live is because the king wants leverage against your little shadowy friend. She’s on Aruhtaz as we speak, searching for the Gungi Champion. After all this time, he’s been unable to beat her in a single game. He won’t rest until he is the new champion!”

“Whatever. Where are the others?!”

“Serving the crew well, I assure you! Now, you sit tight in there. Can’t go far without your equipment, anyhow.”

Ridley exited and sealed the room. But little did he know that a certain shadowbender had already infiltrated the base. She snuck about carefully and stealth-KO’ed whatever guards she could, hiding the bodies. She found the guard carrying the card key to Nollid’s cell. She slid right in and found the mage sitting lonely. “Oh!” Nollid gasped. “M-Mrs. Noskcaj?!”

“Hello, Nollid.” Ave whispered with a smile. “I assume none of the others are here?”

“No, but… what’re you doing here?!”

“About a week ago, Cire called us and passed on the DNK’s intel. He said our daughter’s team was captured by the Meta-Beasts. Edak and I took it upon ourselves to find you kids. He’s hiding outside at the moment.”

“Wow, thanks… but I can’t really do much to help. They smashed both my wand and my broom.”

“Just stay with me and I’ll get you out of here.”

Ave snuck back through the base, carrying Nollid in her Veil. Retracing her steps, she found the way out of the base and brought Nollid down a valley where Edak waited. “Nollid!” Edak beamed.

“Hi, Mr. Noskcaj! Thanks for coming out here. One of the pirates told me that Ydolem was sent to Aruhtaz. They’re forcing her to find someone that Ydnam’s crew kidnapped.”

“Saving you kids will be a relief either way. Do you still have Ynnad’s cloak?”

“I stuck it in the Infi-Cube that the others kept.” As he spoke, a dragon’s shadow crept up on them. “If they’re still safe, we should go back to the navy base and-”

“EDAK!” Ave screamed, bending her shadow to grab the dragon’s and restrain it. The dragon hissed and seemed to slither into the base.

“What was that?!” Edak exclaimed.

“The Negatar Dragon’s shadow, I’m sure!” Nollid said. “We have to split now!”

“Quick, on my broom!” Edak mounted his broomstick, the other two joining as they flew away from the cliffside.

“Augh, what’s the matter, Void?!” Ridley asked, following the shadow to the brig. “Why don’t you get your master to walk you, I…AH?!” Nollid’s cell was empty. “AAAAAAHH!”

Ridley soared outside the base immediately, searching the sky beyond the cliff. Spotting the small dot that was the fleeing trio, the pterodactyl shot right after them. He charged and blasted a beam of fire, Edak evading. Ridley caught up and coughed more fireballs, afterwards swooping down to slash them, but a powerful spell from Edak knocked him away. “WAAAH!” Another dragon suddenly launched over and nearly stabbed them with its horned head. They crashed on the deck of a pirate ship called the Raging Riptoc.

“Well, I picked a good time to patrol this area.” Ripto remarked in his Dogadon form.

“Perfect timing, Ripto!” Ridley returned. “Burn them!” He blew flames, but Edak shielded them in a Protego.

“Nollid, listen… for some reason, I’m not able to Apparate here.” Edak said. “And I’m sure the Negatar Dragon will be here any minute. I want you and Ave to take the broomstick and escape. I know a spell that can at least keep Ridley near me.”

“Hey, what’re you thinking?!”

“Just come with us, Edak!” Ave pled.

“Just go! I can hijack this ship and catch up after I beat them!”

“Ghh…you better make sure you do, Mr. Noskcaj!”

As Edak drew another symbol with his wand, the barrier dispelled as he cast a magic chain at Ridley. Nollid and Ave flew away, but the pterodactyl was forced to stay near Edak. “Bah! Ripto, chase them!” The Riptoc followed his order, while Ridley proceeded to battle the mage. The minions were afraid to intervene as Edak’s powerful spells matched Ridley’s strength. Edak conjured magical airships to blast Ridley, the dinosaur using Armament Haki to tank the attacks and smash the ships. Edak dropped comets of magic and bombarded Ridley.

As the battle drew on, Ridley grew fatigued and slumped in his flying. However, Edak found himself in a psychic grip. “You’re slipping, Ridley!” Oryps smirked, the purple dragon flapping into the scene. “Can’t leave things to such an old fossil.”

Edak used a spell to break the psychic, but dealing with both commanders took its toll on the mage. “I’m pretty starved after THAT business!” Ridley sneered. “Here’s hoping YOU’LL fill me up!” So, the avian dove to feast on Edak’s head.

As Nollid and Ave continued to flee from Ripto, they felt a terrible feeling in their gut.

…

The Monkey Crew made it to Mulavlys, a valley of tall rock formations and white sand. They found a place to rest for a while after taking down some Blade Drivers who served the Meta-Beasts. As they rested, the catgirl Xenoblade woke up. She introduced herself as Ain. She was separated from her Driver, Xer, and was forced to power Krawq’s machine with her cursed Water Chi. She was able to use normal waterbending, but couldn’t do so very well without her Driver.

They came out of hiding and continued their drive across the valley. “Oh! Big monkey head!” Ylime pointed delightfully.

“?!” It wasn’t any monkey head: Andross himself was looming over them. “Are these the little worms Krawq couldn’t stop? I guess I’ll take care of them myself.” His gigantic fist flew down like a meteor, but Hcaz used his Super Fist of Anti-Logic to smack it away with a giant tennis racket. Ycrad used her own racket to play against him, until Hcaz sent it flying back at Andross. The fist burst into a pile of hamburgers that covered Andross.

Unphased by the attack, Andross swung the other hand at their RV and knocked it over. Ylime’s apes pushed it back upright, and as Andross cast electricity at them, Hcaz used it to power their massage chairs. The group sat on the chairs in relaxation, but the chairs became overpowered and burst. Hcaz decided to send them back to the store via a catapult, bombarding Andross. “Still no good?! Then how about-”

Andross thrusted a fist down, and while most of them dodged, Monkey Purple wound up crushed and pulverized under his knuckle. “P-P-P-Purple?”

“Don’t worry, Ylime!” Hcaz declared. “Super Fist of Anti-Logic, Reboot Resurrection!” He attempted to revive Purple as a professional bounty hunter who was dating a circus clown… but even after using the gag, the monkey stayed dead. “Uh…didn’t it sell well?”

“Ha ha ha! Your tomfoolery has no effect on me.” Andross smirked. “I’ve trained my mind against such nonsense. But let’s see if you’ve trained your mind against this?!” The ape touched two fingers to his head.

“AAAAHH!” A horrid ringing sound rattled Hcaz’s head, falling to his knees.

“Hcaz, quick, come up with a gag or something!”

“I’m trying, but… I can’t! I can’t!”

“Now I’ll show you true pain! OOF!” A missile blasted the back of his head. Andross turned, finding a small fleet of navy ships, led by Vice-Admiral Raaxul the Clublion. Andross threw a punch at Raaxul’s ship, but the alien raised a simple PS Vita. The massive fist was utterly stopped by the tiny console. “?!” Andross glared as his fist was absorbed into the Vita.

“My Vita-Vita Fruit traps anything in my favorite console! I’ll keep this hand if you don’t mind, Andross!”

“Hah! Seems a little convenient to not have a few weaknesses!” Andross flew down and took a powerful inhale to suck up boulders from the desert. He spat the boulders right back, taking down a few ships.

“Ugh…” Yddam helped her brother stand. As they viewed the battle, they saw something else flying toward the ships. Ylime’s keen eyesight made it out: “It Nollid! Nollid!”

“Nollid?!”

The wizard in question had escaped Ripto’s pursuit, he and Ave flying for the ship. “I wonder if they know about the others?”

“I hope so…”

“Wait! Nollid doesn’t know the navy’s our enemy!” Hcaz yelled.

“NOLLID! WAAAIT!” Yddam screamed.

Raaxul recognized Nollid, and though he didn’t seem aware of the situation, the vice-admiral quickly caught them in a PS Vita as soon as they landed. “Crud, they got him, too!” Hcaz shouted.

“I FOOOOUND YOOOOU!” Commodore Krawq came marching on a new mech, accompanied by robots. The Monkey Crew boarded the RV and made a retreat.

“We’ll have to find another place to lay low. Let’s try to call the others about Nollid!”

“Ycrad gone! Ycrad gone!” Ylime jumped.

“WHAT?!”

Ycrad saw Andross sucking in more boulders. She ran to be caught in the vacuum and be spat up at Raaxul’s ship. The navy shot down the boulders and Ruxaal caught some in his game. “ARK, ARK!” Ycrad bit him in the neck, causing Raaxul to drop his console, but he punched her off with Haki. “AAAAGH!” Raaxul was zapped by Andross’s lightning. Ycrad saw the dropped Vita and ran to grab it. The dimwit took a leap of faith off the ship and landed in a pile of sand. Her head poked out first, clenching the Vita in her teeth, and she pranced across the valley like a wild animal.

“I hope that wasn’t your only one.” Andross smirked. “I should get my hand back as soon as I crush you!” He charged up more lightning, but Raaxul drew another Vita that displayed Andross through a window. Raaxul tapped Andross’s hand with his Haki finger and thrusted it back, then he smooshed Andross’s monkey mouth.

…

Ycrad found a cave to hide as she attempted to break Nollid and Ave out of the console. “WHAT THE HECK, GUYS, HOW’D YOU GET IN THERE?! Don’t worry, I’mma wreck it, I’mma wreck it good!” Smashing it against a rock did nothing as it was protected by an energy field. Her face displayed in the sky of the game, allowing her, Nollid, and Ave to talk with each other… though her constant shouting did no favors to their ears. The game was LittleBigUniverse, and it seemed to be set on “100 Levels Mode.” Nollid conjectured they had to make it through 100 levels before they could escape the game.

Ycrad could use the Vita’s touchscreen to manipulate the environment, and she had to do this to help them advance in some areas. Ave’s shadowbending could be used to cheat areas, but they heavily had to rely on Ycrad… and given her erratic nature, she would rampantly tap her fingers everywhere. “Come on, Ycrad, we really need you to focus!” Nollid shouted. “Just calm down and listen to me!”

“O…O…OKAY…” Ycrad struggled to compose herself and do as they instructed.

Of course, playing through 100 levels took longer than one would think; about a few days’ worth. Ycrad needed time to lay down, rest, and go out to eat the local fauna for sustenance. They were getting close to the end, Ycrad smiling at Level 95. But when she snuck out of the cave for a hunt, a dark laser fired. “Well, whaddya know. I found a cavewoman.” Sumas remarked, blowing a cigarette. “Let’s get a cracka-lackin’.”

Ycrad had to run and hide from the Dark Hunter while trying to help her friends whenever she had to. She dodged Sumas’ missiles and jumped in the direction their explosions would push her. With focus more intense than she’s ever mustered, Ycrad tapped her friends’ way through the 100th level.

“HEY! There’s Ycrad!” Hcaz spotted her across the valley. The Monkey Crew had barely shaken the pirates off before they were able to return, but with Ycrad in sight, they drove full speed.

But it was in vain: Sumas fired an energy sphere in an arch that landed before Ycrad, and swallowed her in a dark matter explosion. Before the explosion hit, she kicked the Vita away and out of its range. Nollid and Ave had just finished the level, too, and they sprung out of the console. “It worked! …YCRAD!”

Her body was charred and dead. Nollid and Ave were ridden with guilt. After she worked so hard to help them… she couldn’t enjoy the victory.

“Oh, where’d you two come from?” Sumas asked. “No matter. Just more sheep to hunt-”

“AH!” Hpot yanked Sumas back with her shadow and punched the hunter in the visor. “I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner!”

“Miss Hpot!”

“HEY, grab Ycrad and get on!” Hcaz yelled. “The navy and the Black Lotus are our enemies!”

“I’m afraid it’s true!” Hpot stated, dodging Sumas’ gun. “Better go before I’m forced to stop you!”

Ave used her shadow to lift Ycrad’s body into the RV, she and Nollid escaping with their friends. Ylime cried at the sight of her fallen friend: never again would Ycrad humor them with her erratic behavior. They sent a call to check in with the Gem Pirates.

…

After chasing Ruxaal around for a while, Andross finally had him seized in his other hand. “You were more stubborn than I expected, Ruxaal… but your game ends here.” He squashed the vice-admiral without remorse. Andross’s lost hand would emerge from the discarded Vita, along with its other trapped contents.

Ydnam’s Sand Sea

Nega-JP, calling their selves the Gold Medal Pirates, sailed the sands on a spirit-drawn ship, designed like a football with tennis net sails. Earlier, while still on DNKG, Atnij managed to find a kinship with Urasam, the redheaded singers expectedly bonding, and he chose to confide where to find Acanom’s dreamscape. The crew sailed to an island brewing with bubbles, set under a darker, but still starlit sky, wherein the soft neon bubbles contrasted splendidly. (Music: “Footlight Lane” from Mario 3D World, to fit with a mystical mountain under a peaceful night.)

The sectormates journeyed up Bathsoap Mountain, jumping bubbly platforms. In some areas, Amadok could sing to call spirits that would blow up some platforms. The enemies here were pretty white bears called Shirokumas, who used various weapons or techniques. Some Shirokumas could project music and compel huge crowds to dance, so Atnij focused his musicbending to forcibly activate them and distract the bears.

At the top of the mountain, the crew encountered a green-haired girl in a white dress. “Hey! What’s the big idea breaking my Shirokumas?! Don’t tell me you’re more party poopers! Or ‘rebels’ as you sometimes justify yourselves.”

“Can it, Greeny!” Uzuy stated. “You’re Acanom, right? Word on the street is you know where our friends are being kept.”

“Patience, Uzuy.” Atnij said. “We speak, of course, for Lady Lorac, Leic, and a band of Lilliputians. We’ve come to understand they’ve been taken into Ydnam’s custody.”

“There’s no way I’m just gonna tell you that in the middle of war! And besides… I don’t think they’ll be waking up any time soon.”

“What’d you do to them?!” Nirak shouted.

“N-Nothing! It’s just… a couple weeks ago, there was an incident where all of Lady Ydnam’s Dreamsand deactivated in the real world. Her nightmares got loose because of those two thieves, and that naughty Atuy brat, so all our citizens woke up. Everyone except those very people. And… I think I figured out what happened.”

“Yeah?”

“I think they fell into the Sand Sea. We’ve sometimes had citizens fall into the sea. Their dreamselves were lost and their real bodies never woke up.”

“So… they’re just gone forever?!” Ururu exclaimed.

“The Valley of Lost Dreams…” Otokam said.

“AH! Whoa, I totally forgot you were with us, you’re so quiet!”

“Gee, thanks. Anyway, I heard about it from some Teensies one time. Whenever dreams are utterly abandoned, dreamscapes dissolve into dark sand and all their inhabitants wind up in an endless desert. Just about anyone can fall into this desert by sinking in any pool of Dreamsand.”

“Oh, no!” Acanom gasped. “Is there no way out of there?!”

“Beats me…”

“What if we get, like, a really long fishing line?” Ururu suggested. “Or some scuba gear with a long cord? Let’s go salvaging!”

“Actually, I sort of like those ideas.” Amadok smiled. “But, instead of fishing… maybe we can send speakers down under the sand, and I can sing a song to… ‘uplift’ their spirits! Or something. There’ll have to be a ton of spirits down there!”

“Sounds crazy enough to work!” Atnij declared. “But, where to find enough speakers?”

“I guess I can make some with my Bubble Dreaming.” Acanom figured. “Although, I think we’ll find plenty on Urasam’s isl-…HEY, wait a minute! The DNK took Urasam prisoner and never gave him back!”

“But that wasn’t us!” Ururu reasoned.

“Whatever! I demand you return Urasam to us!”

“You have our word, little lady.” Atnij took her hand consolingly. “Please, assist us in calling our friends’ spirits up from the depths. Do so and we will kindly bring Urasam back to you.”

“Oh…okay! Mm hmhmhmhm!” Acanom flushed.

“She is our enemy…” the girls chorused.

Waking World; Aruhtaz

The Nega-$ Thieves sailed the sands on the Gyrodactyl. Nosam stood T-posed on the bow, hoping that his fair princess will see him from afar. “Ugh, you’re calling her a princess now?” Ssiew sighed.

“Yes! The Princess of Thieves!”

After sinking a few sandships and interrogating pirates, they learned that Lorac was taken to Tear Lily Valley. (Music: “Under the Starlight” from Rayman 3.) The valley was composed of lush blue lilies that seemed to cry, and ponds that shone under the moonlight. Ssiew was delighted by all the wondrous flowers, but the battle transpiring all but ruined the peace: Aluza’s royal psychicbenders were fighting Galactic Navy mages, trampling the lilies.

Ssiew and Nosam took the liberty of sneaking through the valley amongst the carnage. Their Plant and waterbending were naturally effective in this place bustling with both chis, combatting whatever pirates shifted focus to them. Aside from Psychic Soldiers, there were big-eyed clowns that fired huge teardrops. Their target was a large, tear-shaped spire in the center of the valley, its bright blue blending well with the scenery. There was a side area where they had to solve a maze of giant lilies, which would lead to a sand pool where Narod, one of the TG operatives, lay asleep. Ssiew used her vines to pick him out of the sand and stash the sleeping tiny in her pocket.

On the way, they saw Commander Aluza battling Zul, the Hispanic apprentice mage. Nosam glared. “It’s the girl who was being mean to Sipa.”

“Should we help her out?” Ssiew asked.

“Nope~”

They snuck past the battle and made it into Teardrop Tower. The ethereal glow of this place made Nosam’s heart rise, the boy excitedly rushing up the spiral stairs. Like a fairytale, his princess waited at the top of the tallest tower. Nosam bent away the rushes of water that flowed down the stairs, generated by a Crying Clown at the top. Nosam KO’ed the clown and reached the highest chamber, where Lorac herself slept in a sandpool.

“There she is!” Ssiew beamed, using vines to lift her out of the pool. “Well… I guess now’s the time, Nosam.” She looked away in cringe.

…

In the Dream Realm, the Gold Medal Crew worked with Acanom and the sleeping Urasam to construct a giant megaphone. They sailed out to the Sand Sea and lowered the megaphone into the depths via a crank. Afterwards, Amadok began to sing a lovely song.

Her notes radiated throughout the entire desert. The Lost Dreamers hadn’t heard anything this wonderful in ages. “Hey, where are all the spirits going?!” Lorac asked.

“To wherever that song is coming from!” Leic cheered. “Lorac! That’s Amadok! I recognize it anywhere!”

“Amadok?! But how?”

“Let’s just go see!” Leic raced in that direction, Lorac and Atuy following.

The spirits were climbing each other to grab the megaphone. The trio used them to climb up as well. The spirits ascended and carried them higher, pressing them against the sandy ceiling. They were practically drowning in the sand, bracing their selves and trusting the dreamers to bring them out of the darkness.

“HUUUUUUU!” Lorac, Atuy, and Leic breathed in the fresh, outer air.

“THERE THEY ARE!” Ururu exclaimed.

“I can’t believe it worked!” Acanom yelled.

“Acanom?!” Atuy glared.

“And Sector -JP!” Lorac yelled. “Don’t tell me you were captured?!”

“No, we just used a friend of ours to get this far.” Nirak answered. “Other operatives should be rescuing your main bodies as we speak.”

“What?!” Acanom yelped.

“Then Leic, try to wake us up!”

“You got it!” Leic drew his sword, slashed Lorac, and her body vanished, the TG kids dropping out of her pants.

…

Nosam bent romantically over Lorac’s slumbering face. Closing his eyes, his lips lowered to kiss hers—Lorac woke up and, utterly startled, she KICKED Nosam directly against the wall. “NOSAM?! Oh, crud, did I just end up in my own nightmare?!”

“Lorac!” Ssiew beamed.

“Ssiew? W-where are we?”

“It’s a long story, but this is Planet Aruhtaz. Nosam came with us to find you. You were stuck in the Dreamsand, so Nosam tried to…”

“Oh…eh heh.” She looked to the dizzy-eyed Nosam with a blush. “Leave it to you to do that. Either way, I’m actually glad to see you, Nosam.” As she helped him up into a sit (high enough to be level with the Hobbit-size thief), Lorac gave him a, “Mmmmmwah!” to the cheek. Nosam turned a bright shade of red.

As they exited the tower, the three saw Zul pinned under Aluza’s enlarged tears. “HEY!” Zul called. “You’re Nosam, right? Please, help me!”

“You know her?” Lorac asked.

“No!” Nosam yelled. “You were mean to Nerehc’s girlfriend! You took her and the others hostage!”

“What?!” Aluza gasped. “You mean you bullied these kids, too?! That’s so awful!”

“I’m sorry!” Zul cried. “I was just following orders, I never would’ve done any of this if—ergh…” Her train of thought betrayed her.

“Nosam, shouldn’t we…” Lorac said.

“Your rescue is our priority, Lorac! Let’s go!” Nosam lifted her on his shoulders and ran. Ssiew followed.

“Come back!” Aluza cried. “I’ll help you save them! Let me be your HOOOOOPE!”

Giant twin Tear Whales grew from her eyes, chasing them as they surfed up a river via Nosam’s bending. They maneuvered around several obstacles and escaped successfully, returning to their ship. “D’oh…they’ve escaped.” Aluza sniffled, her eyes dry. “I really am a losa.”

“You sure are…” Zul struggled.

Aluza stomped and KO’ed her. “Better drink some more Teary Tea!” She raised a cup of tea made from the Tear Lilies and took a sip. (It didn’t look much different from water.)

…

Sector -W, the Happy-Scare Pirates, learned that Leic was imprisoned in a fortress called the Toy House. It was a colorful fortress that looked like a stack of Christmas presents on the outside, and the inside had many children’s playrooms. They jumped merry-go-round platforms, fought rocking horse enemies, and slid long slides where they had to jump obstacles. There were other giant toy enemies being controlled via puppet strings, but were easy for Yllas and Yevrah to cut down.

They found Ragus inside of a large, dark room, examining Leic’s body. “These Gigai are quite fascinating… They feel more lifelike than any doll I know. Including me, tee hee. But I doubt they can age like a real body. Boy, wouldn’t that be nice.” She turned to face her visitors.

“It’s that girl again!” Yevrah gasped. “The one who worked for Medusa and the Anarchists!”

“Oh, those guys were old news. Lady Ydnam is my master now! I wonder what kind of destruction she’ll bring? Or if she’ll wind up being destroyed in this war? Who knows, eee hee hee hee! Since you’re here, why don’t I show you my favorite puppet? Wanna guess who I made it after?”

Lights turned on, the kids horrified as an enormous puppet, resembling Ragus’s father, loomed above them with a wide grin and peering eyes. (Music: “Puppet Ganon” from Wind Waker.) When the puppet thrusted its fists and legs, Yllas and Yevrah would slice the strings with their bladed tops. When only one string was left to hold up the father, it collapsed to the floor. The twins sliced its limbs off, but Ragus tugged another string and made spider legs grow from the body. She would make the spider rise and spin against the ground in attempt to crush them. The twins would throw their tops to catch and tugs its legs in the opposite direction, halting its spin. When it hit the floor, they would slice the strings binding the legs.

Ragus began to make the puppet slide around like a snake, ramming the twins. Yllas and Yevrah donned Topman Armor, allowing them to spin rapidly and ram the snake to stop its charge. When one had it stopped, the other would slice off a segment of the snake starting from the back. When enough segments were cut, Ragus made it bounce around like an erratic worm, but enough cuts were able to destroy the puppet completely. With that, they spun over to Ragus and knocked her out.

Ynohtna tickled Leic in attempt to wake him up. “Sigh, I knew you would.” Ibyf sighed. “Hurry, let’s get out of here. We should take her as a prisoner, too.”

“Leaving so soon, are you?” an echoing voice spoke. (Play “Constraint” from Cold Steel IV!)

The kids jumped around, facing up at an upper entrance to the room. A new figure jumped down, a man with a creepily friendly smile. His long, spiked hair was a golden-pale-blonde, his skin was pale with nails blue, and his eyes possessed an array of rainbow pastel tones. He wore a blood-red turtleneck on his muscular body and tan hakama pants. The collar of his shirt had a black, oozing blood design, and he wore a cap of a similar design.

“Ah, such poor children.” He grinned, fangs visible. “I can feel the gloom radiating from you. You may call me Doma. I am Captain Ydnam’s faithful ‘Darkness Dumpster.’” (from Demon Slayer)

“A Darkness Dumpster?” Yllas questioned. “How’d you end up with the crappy job?”

“You misunderstand. Lady Ydnam’s goal is to spread happiness to everyone… but some mortals are too stubborn. They resist the effects of her Bubble Dreaming and try to corrupt her dreamscape… so, those mortals have to be disposed of. Who better for that task than I~?” Doma did a twirl, the kids taking a step back.

“Yaaaawn…” They looked as Leic woke up. “Boy, was that a nap and a half. Hehe, I feel tickly for some reason. Oh, Sector -W! What’re you…?!” Upon sensing the evil aura, Leic jumped to his feet and took the front line. “A vampire?!”

“Is that what he is?” Ibyf asked.

“Wait… I think I’ve seen you in the SKND’s files. You’re Doma! 200 years ago, you were part of a cult where you ate people alive!”

“If you’ve heard of me, then you must understand. My duty was to bring salvation to those who were doomed to lose it! As we all know, good mortals go to the Spirit World when they die, while bad mortals are doomed to the Underworld. But when Count Dracula made me what I am, I found my life’s purpose: to give those hapless souls a place inside me~”

“That’s disgusting!” Yllas retorted.

“Yeah! The inside of a tummy isn’t as warm as you think!” Ynohtna declared.

“Uh…yeah!…what?” Yevrah said.

“Cry-hy-hy-hy-hy!” Doma laughed. “You two, the bucktoothed boy and the angel, are swimming with happiness… but those other three, especially the Nimbi, are clouds of gloom. I’ll swallow you three and show you true paradise!” He opened his palms as frozen brambles emerged.

“He’s an icebender.” Leic observed. “Sorry, but the only thing you’ll be eating is butterflies. Luckily, vampires fall in my jurisdiction, t-…?!” He was unable to draw his Zanpakutō. “I coulda sworn I just… wait! I’m still in my Gigai!”

“Tehehehe!” Ragus woke up, weakly pushing herself up. “While you were asleep, I stuck a few little stitches in your Gigai. Just a special little technique that binds your soul to it! I anticipated you waking up eventually and knew you would try to fight Doma.”

“Such a pure little angel would’ve warmed my belly perfectly. Maybe I can still have you if the captain will permit me. For now…” The demon lashed the brambles, but the kids dodged.

“Guys, let’s get outta here!” Leic encouraged, the five racing back through the fortress. As Doma pursued, he drew out Japanese war fans and waved them at the kids, casting waves of frost that froze the floor, and would’ve frozen the group had they not dodged. Ibyf threw back Fear Spheres to impede the vampire, but only held him back slightly.

As they hurried down a tight corridor, Yevrah’s feet wound up frozen to the floor by one of his waves. Seeing Doma coming, Yllas immediately leapt to shatter the floor ice and throw Yevrah to the others, but Doma grabbed the sister and froze her solid. Yevrah furiously threw his bladed top, but it froze, and despite Ibyf’s added Scare Scream, there was nothing to stop Doma from eating Yllas like a popsicle.

“YLLAS!!” Yevrah fumed. “YOU FUCKER, I’LL KILL YOU!”

“No, we have to run!” Ibyf yelled, pulling him along. “We’ll end up eaten, too, if we fight him!”

“Don’t worry! Your friend is at peace now, and soon you’ll be, too!”

They managed to evade Doma’s ice until they exited the fortress, but feared they couldn’t get their boat ready in time before he caught up. Fortunately, Doma stopped upon receiving a call. “Hm? What is it, Wodahs?”

“Doma, if you’re not busy, I need backup! The Mushrooms are attacking Zen Highway with their new weapons!”

“My, my… well, at least I got to enjoy one morsel. Ta-ta for now, children!” With that, Doma became a bat and flew elsewhere.

The kids caught their breath on the deck of their ship. “Yllas…” Ynohtna began to cry. “I can’t believe she’s gone…”

“Sis…” Yevrah wept.

“Let’s call everyone else ASAP.” Ibyf said. “We have to warn them about that demon…” (End song.)

…

The Gold Medal Pirates chose to honor their agreement and bring Urasam to a designated area. This area was the Bike Lands, where bike tracks splayed like highways over and around the Sand Sea. (Music: “Excitebike Arena” from Mario Kart!)

The Despairagers were fighting Galactic Navy cadets; some of the pirates from the A.U. Crew, Division 1-B. Urasam thanked the operatives before running to help his friends. The Gold Medals used this opportunity to explore the Bike Lands in search of prisoners, with Amadok and Atnij staying to guard the ship. Ururu, Nirak, and Uzuy were naturals on the bikes, and by beating the Racerkumas along the different courses, they could win treasure chests. There were platforming segments where they jumped giant pedals and grind-rail segments where Nirak and Uzuy had to throw their tennis and footballs at targets to open the way. There was a part where Ururu had to loop around the inside of a spherical cage and hit switches. This would free the next TG operative, Dnis.

The crew arrived at an indoor skatepark where a tan-skinned boy, whom they recognized as Atuy, was lying in a sand pool. While ready to save him regardless, they didn’t ignore the broken Shirokumas laying around: the only other person here was Ikullim Kcydloz. “Who goes there?! You with them Despairagers?!”

“It’s a Galactic Navy guy!” Ururu pointed. “We’re with the Daring Pirates, buddy!”

“Same thing either way! I’m Lieutenant Ikullim, and I’m placing you under arrest!”

“We ain’t about to be arrested by some brainwashed tool!” Uzuy retorted.

“I…grrr! Brainwashed or no, I have a duty to uphold to my family!”

“Yeah, so do we. At least we’re doing it by choice.”

“Shut it! I may not like this turn of events, but I will exercise my free will as much as I can! So, I will willingly get in the mindset of capturing you!” He raised two footballs and got on a skateboard.

“Looks like we got something in common.” Uzuy prepared her metal footballs. “Leave him to me, girls.”

She took her own skateboard and chased Ikullim around the park. His Throw Fruit power was able to knock her off with precise hits. On top of that, he could also see the trajectory of Uzuy’s throws and either dodge or grab her footballs to use against her. But as the battle drew on, Uzuy began to memorize the skate course’s layout. She began to rampantly swing her football around her body, distorting the trajectory in Ikullim’s vision, then she kicked it to bounce against the walls or threw at other surprising angles to bash Ikullim in either the head or nuts. She also got accustomed to dodging his manipulated throws.

Uzuy was able to knock Ikullim out cold, the girls binding him up and stuffing him in an Infi-Cube. They then pulled Atuy out of the pool, and Uzuy woke him up by holding her armpit close by. “Uck, P.U.!” Atuy squirmed awake. “What the fuck is…huh? I-I’m awake?!”

“Yeah, you’re welcome.” Uzuy said. “You were the kid with Lorac and Leic, right?”

“Oh, yeah, it’s you guys. Thanks. After you left, that Acanom brat tried to Bubble me.”

“’Guess it’s good that we came.” Nirak said. “If you’re against them, I guess you’ll be willing to work with us.”

“Sure. But listen, there’s another person I wanna try to save. Captain Ydnam’s daughter, Ydnic.”

“You know where she is?”

“Probably at her palace…”

…

There was someone else that Ssiew wanted to rescue: Detective Amo. After interrogating a few pirates, they recommended searching “Fort Prime,” a mechanical tower that flew the Horde’s logo. (Music: “Cobalt Base” from Color Splash.) It seemed the fortress was under attack by the Meta-Beasts, where Gnosis were possessing the Horde Droids and making them shoot the Hordaks.

“Oclaf, you’re going the wrong way!” Up above, Ztar Xof were fighting Horde ships, with the falcon’s ship flailing aimlessly.

“NYAH, I CAN DO IT, I CAN!” Oclaf landed and made his ship do backflips, crushing several Hordaks before shooting lasers to blow an opening in the base.

Lorac and Acificap snuck across the battlefield with their natural abilities. They infiltrated the base via this opening and snuck up the tower, stealth-KOing several Hordaks. In one room, they were hit with gusts of air bent by Oyib, the largest tiny of Sector TG. His eyes were green as he wore a chip on his neck. The duo fought Oyib and managed to knock him out, tie him up, and pocket him away. The girls reached a maze of hallways that had no cameras, but upon hearing a guard coming, they hid into separate vents and saw them walk by: it was the very boy they were looking for, the black-clothed detective brainwashed. The girls shared knowing nods that neither could really see—but it was then Amo threw a gas grenade through Acificap’s vent and gassed her unconscious. Lorac gasped.

“Did you think I wouldn’t notice you girls sneaking through here?” Three Hordaks walked in. “Prime sees all. Prime knows all.”

In his control room, Prime’s monitors displayed the clones’ vision. “There is nowhere you can hide that I can’t-”

“IS IT THIS BUTTON?!” Oclaf burst through the room’s window and RAMMED Prime against the wall, crushing him dead.

One of the Primes in the maze shook his head. “Oof! Annoying bird! Take care of those intruders, little brothers. I’ll deal with the gnats.”

“Yes, Elder Brother.” Amo nodded. After Prime left, Amo focused his Haki and saw Lorac’s footprints leading to the other vent. She was already crawling away, exiting on a different part of the maze. The Hordaks split up to search for her while Amo followed her prints through the vents. Whenever he spotted her out in the open, Amo would shoot shock darts at the thief. Lorac led the detective in circles and stealth-KO’ed the Hordaks first. When it was only him remaining, Lorac would wait just outside a vent and attempt to KO him, but he matched her attacks and tried to shoot her. Lorac ran again, and this time Amo would throw a gas grenade before exiting the vents, in case Lorac was waiting outside. However, this impeded his own exit, so he was forced to retreat and find another exit. Lorac anticipated this and ambushed him then, her quick punches chi-blocking and disabling the detective.

Unfortunately, more Hordaks walked in and grabbed Acificap, taking her away. A horde of them blocked Lorac from saving her friend. As she cubed Amo, Lorac considered her options, the Hordaks lining up to shoot her. “AH!” She was pulled into a Shadow Veil, slithering out of the room. When they were safe, she and her savior emerged. “Ydolem?!”

“Shhh! You don’t have to worry about Acificap. There are too many enemies here, so it’s best to rescue her later.”

“W-what’re you doing here?!”

“The Meta-Beasts are making me look for a Moebian dog woman. It’s hard to explain, but she’s really important to the Ant King.”

“Well, you can come with us!”

“I can’t! I’m afraid they’ll hurt my friends if I abandon the mission.”

“But, you can’t trust that they won’t betray you afterward!”

“I know, but… somehow, I feel, at least, the Ant King will keep his word. Compared to other villains I’ve seen, there’s something… different about him. And the way he feels about this woman is special. I feel like I need to help him…”

“Urgh…” Lorac didn’t understand her logic. “If you say so.”

“Anyway, I searched this whole base and I don’t think she’s here. I’ll help you escape.”

“Okay. Sigh…we’ll come back for you, Acificap, promise.”

…

Somewhere nearby, Aluben killed several Gnosis using fossils she carried in her Infi-Cube. But those fossils would be scattered into matter by Tachyon himself. “As soon as I saw you on that asteroid, you were my first priority! You’re definitely Nebula’s Negative, I’d recognize you anywhere!”

“You know Nebula? Do you wanna be friends??”

“Far from it! If I destroy you, her death is all but assured! This is perfect!” He tried to grab Aluben in his matterbending, but Aluben focused her own bending to twist Tachyon’s bones, causing his grip to weaken. “What?! I’m a Logia, how are you doing that?!”

“Logia doesn’t protect you from the inside!”

“Then what if I do this?!” Tachyon scattered his own body, breaking Aluben’s hold. He merged with the earth’s matter and bent it up to crush her, but Aluben rode some fossils skyward. Aluben bent fossils up from beneath the earth to force Tachyon into reforming, attempting to bend him then. The battle persisted for a while until Tachyon received a call, flying away from his foe. “What is it, Krawq? …Miyuki was kidnapped?! The mafia?! How could you let this happen?! I don’t care if it was Andross’s fault, you…grr, this isn’t over, Ablu…whatever your name is!” Tachyon left the Gnosis and returned to his ship, changing course for Toadstool World.

…

About a day after Ztar Xof left the fort, they received a call. Xof answered it, Ydolem riding in his Arwing. “This is Xof McSun, report.”

“It’s me, Xof…”

The two jumped. “Y-Your Majesty! Um, we still haven’t found-”

“Don’t waste my time. You would’ve reported earlier if you did. Besides… I’ve already deduced where she is.”

“You… have?” Ydolem asked.

“Yes… follow these coordinates. Komugi is there, I’m positive. I’m counting on you…”

“Of course! …Your Highness.” Xof winced. The king’s behavior had become unusual from what he had known.

…

The Gold Medal Pirates sailed to the Palace of Dreams amidst a battle between Meta-Beasts and Smiles, with some Metroids eating the heads off Horde and Yllib clones. They were expecting this mission to be difficult, but they weren’t expecting… that. (Music: “Ikana Castle” from Majora’s Mask.)

The Ant King hovered ominously against the full moon. He mustered a powerful flame and fired at the very moon, incinerating and replacing it with a golden sun. The sky brightened to yellow and the Dreamsand dulled. The king blasted his next attack on the castle, until Ydnam intercepted it with a gush of sand. The sand turned into glass fractals, but the queen readily bent up waves from the surrounding sea, directing it all against the raging king.

It was a godly, picturesque sight, the two Emperors dueling under a golden sky. But the operatives couldn’t waste time to admire it, breaching the palace bravely. As they fought down guards, parts of the palace rumbled and crumbled, creating unique platforming segments.

They were ambushed by Ekusas, the white-cloaked ninja. “Pardon me, ladies, but it’s far too dangerous to be trespassing right now. Shall I waltz you to the exit?”

“That won’t be necessary, my good sir.” Atnij remarked smoothly. “My ladies delight in waltzing through danger.”

“You’ll be a shame of a man if these ladies got injured under your guidance.”

“We’ll see who’s a shameful man first.”

The girls and Atuy left him to his battle and kept going. But it wasn’t long before they encountered Okotok, the Sinalaf leaping to kick Ururu down. Naturally, the tall athlete took the liberty of fighting the high-soled fighter: Ururu had mastered the Moon Walk technique and used it to mimic Okotok’s Step-Step attacks. Ururu would grab and perform massage techniques on Okotok to steadily weaken her consciousness.

The remaining kids finally found Ydnic’s room. “Atuy! I’m so glad to see you again! Would you like to have a mid-war tea party?”

“What?! Wait…” Atuy’s shadow had snuck behind her to see. “Guys, she’s wearing one of Horde Prime’s chips! She’s brainwashed!”

“Can we save her if we break it?” Nirak asked.

“No, it’s connected to her nervous system. Let’s just knock her unconscious and get here out of here.”

Ydnic pulled out a remote and made robot unicorns attack them. While Nirak smashed them with tennis balls, Atuy was able to catch Ydnic in Shadow Possession and K.O. her. They fought their way back through the castle and saw Ururu standing victorious over Okotok, while Atnij and Ekusas found a brotherly understanding and shook hands. But Ekusas was too exhausted to stop them from taking Ydnic.

Ydnam crashed like a meteor amongst a sea of sand-sized shards. The glass stuck into her charred wounds as the king prepared to drop a meteor on her. “YOUR MAJESTY!”

The king whipped about-face. Ydolem and Xof were standing atop a distant sand dune… with Komugi bound in the former’s shadow. The king lunged over immediately. “You were right! She really was in the town! She was in the candy store’s basement!”

“Komugi… is it really you?!”

“Er! I love… Horde Prime!”

“What?!”

“She’s brainwashed!” Ydolem yelled. “This chip on her neck is controlling her!”

“Komugi… do you recognize my voice?”

“S…S…Supreme Leader?”

“Let’s return to the palace, Komugi…” The king took her hands. “All these weeks without Gungi… without you… they’ve all been empty.”

“Supreme Leader…” She kept squirming, welling up with emotions. “These pirates kept saying… they rescued me from you… That you were an evil king… a monster…”

“Is that what you choose to believe, Komugi?”

“N-no… you made me feel special… like no one else has. Playing Gungi with you… made me so happy.”

“Then come with me. We’ll play Gungi… for eternity.”

“Sniff…sniff…sniff…” Tears and snot spilled from her. “SUPREME LEADER!”

The emotions overwhelmed the chip and shattered it. Komugi fell into the king’s arms. The idea that such a monster could hold a woman so affectionately… Team Ztar Xof was in awe. “Komugi… earlier, you asked for my name. But… the truth is, I…”

Xof and Ydolem shared a glance. He was almost willing to tell the king the name his mother gave him.

As Ydnam groggily climbed out of the glass, she saw the Gold Medalists running off with her daughter. “HEY! Where are you taking Ydnic?!”

“Away from you, you crazy old bat!” Atuy yelled.

“Maybe DON’T antagonize the Yonko?!” Nirak questioned.

“G-Give her back… Ydnic is happy here.”

“She hated working under you and you know it! You had to fucking brainwash her to make her happy, just like you did everyone else!”

“N-no… everyone is… happy here… Ydnic loves me… Ydnic is my sweet, precious daughter… Ydnic… don’t say such awful things… Why would you…” The queen looked over to the king, holding Komugi dearly. How could such an innocent woman… love that monster? Ydnam’s crewmen saved her. She should be grateful. Why did she love that monster… more than happiness? Why? Why? Why?

Ydnam glared into the billions of shards. Within those tiny fragments, she could see herself. No… it was her Positive. Her evil, negative Positive was glaring from billions of reflections. Her voice echoed from all of them. “Families get sick of each other… Friendships die. They crumble to dust…dust…DUST… and it piles into a desert of broken dreams and scattered memories. Unrecognizable… DEAD!”

Her anger surging, Ydnam bent the glass up into a storm. The storm swarmed over them. Ydolem grabbed Xof and hid in a Veil, while Yppils used metal shields to protect the others. Eventually, the storm settled down… (Play “Kingdom of Predators” from Hunter Hunter.)

Komugi hung limp in his arms. Her body was riddled with holes… and blood… Her head was shielded by the king’s arms, but her heart was cut cleanly through. He could feel a pulse… but her life was fading. Ydolem and Xof could see it… that darkness in the king’s eyes. That gloom. To be reunited with his precious… and have her swiftly stripped away. “L-Let’s take her back to Arim.” Xof stuttered. “Surely, one of the doctors can-”

“No.” Ydolem said. “I know some people… who can do it better. The DNK will definitely save her.”

“Y-You can’t…”

Silence followed. The king merely stared at Ydolem… and they feared his response. “…Xof…” He stepped forward slowly and lay Komugi in Xof’s arms. “Escort Ydolem… to the DNK’s base… and have them treat her.”

“But…”

“…I’m counting on you…”

The fox felt the king’s eyes, and his words, peer into his soul… and he cried… “I will… M…M…Meruem.”

“. . . . . .” The king viewed the sky. The yellow sky cast by his flames. “Meruem… so… that’s it. It was inside me… all along.”

The king marched toward Ydnam. A maelstrom of glass rose behind the enraged queen. “…I’ve no interest in finishing such a pitiful creature.”

The king flew back to his flagship. Ztar Xof took off as well. “… … !!!!!! AAAAAAAHHHH!” An explosion of glass sliced across the valley under Ydnam’s fury.

Chapter Text

Well, I THOUGHT I could cover both the Mushroom Mafia and Galactic Navy, but nope! We’re only doing the former this part! This got pretty long!

Toadstool World

Nega-SA, the Dolphin Pirates, sailed to Washopolis as soon as they were ready. The city was under attack by the Meta-Beasts’ Dinosoids: the Primagen used his Past-Past Fruit to summon ancient sea monsters to ravage the shores of the island. Ikik manned the ship while the others surfed onto the island. Xedni grabbed her computer and downloaded a solid hologram of her own Washling. She changed its weapon to befit whichever situation; they couldn’t shoot actual soap, but just lasers and digi-energy.

Eillac and Eiram received a report about the intruders, so the Squid Cousins raced out to confront them. The Dolphins jumped their way up a scaffolding area, hoping to make their selves noticeable in case Oemor were wandering out there. “HEEEEY! DARING NEW KIDS!”

They looked up at a higher scaffold, where Eillac raised both hands. “You looking for this human?! He’s my prisoner!”

“What? I don’t see anything.” Anaigrom said.

“No, she’s holding something!” Xedni pointed. “It’s Oemor! He’s smaller!”

“Aaaaahhh!” Oemor screamed with a playful smile. “Guys, help meeee!”

“Eillac!” Eiram exclaimed. “When did you find him?!”

“Just yesterday! I was waiting to surprise Grandpa, but now’s a good time. So, you girls better surrender before I crush him!”

“Anaigrom, Heli-Arms!” Allebmoog stretched.

“You got it!” Anaigrom sprayed white wind designs over her arms. Allebmoog spun her arms like propellers and flew up, dodging Eiram’s umbrella gun. Eillac pretended to shoot as well, but Allebmoog grabbed both their heads, whirled them up, and SLAMMED them against the scaffold. Oemor flipped off right atop her head. “Haha! You saved my life, Allebmoog!”

“Hold tight, little guy!” Allebmoog swung her way down to the ground, the teammates following. Asigan ran to Allebmoog and asked, “Oemor, is that really you?”

The tiny nerd turned as red as the Abmoog, who lowered to Asigan’s level. Ever since shrinking, he had been hoping for his friends to look for him… because he knew that, somewhere in the world, there was a giant version of Asigan. He only ever fantasized about her finding him like this, and now her pretty blue eyes were actually looking at him. Her sweet, sky-blue hair, her refined and deep blue nails, her curvy hips and… soft chest… “Hey, Earth to Punio, you in there?” Anaigrom asked.

“Huh? Oh! Uh, s-sorry. I’m just… so glad to see you guys.” Oemor pretended to cry and sniffle. “I had to shrink myself to escape from them. I was so scared and all alone… and when that girl captured me, I thought it was the end. Thank goodness you guys came!”

“Did you shrink yourself with psychic?” Anaigrom asked.

“No, I…I remembered the Field Day curse where, if we tell our friends’ secrets, then…” He explained the rest.

“Wow, I nearly forgot about that!” Asigan said. “Oh, you poor thing. I’m so sorry we didn’t come here sooner.”

“I really missed you guys.” He opened his arms, hoping Asigan would accept the gesture.

“Awwww, we missed you, too!” Asigan raised both hands. To Oemor’s extreme delight, he walked across her thin, cute, girly fingers, and stood in her warm, welcoming palm. Then, as if to make him happier, she brought him to her cute little nose and nuzzled him.

“Hehehehehe!” Oemor squeezed the nose in his arms and legs, his two-inch frame pinned between the palm and the protuberance. “Asigan, you’re nosing me!”

“Just happy to see you again, you brave little man!”

“What the hell am I looking at?” Anaigrom asked.

“Better not sneeze or he won’t be lookin’ so cute.” Allebmoog remarked.

“There are the intruders!” To their right, a platoon of Washlights lined up with guns ready, led by Mauqs and Abatiuqs. “We found the escapee, too! Perfect!”

“And look how puny he is!” Mauqs smirked. “Boy, do we have plans for you, shorty!”

“Hey, Asigan?” Oemor spoke. “You can put me down now. I think I owe these jerks some payback.”

“I don’t think you’re in the right shape.” Xedni said.

“Relax, Xedni! I may be small, but I have a big imagination!”

Asigan giggled and set him down. The two-inch bookworm ran right up to the Washling platoon. Mauqs and Abatiuqs didn’t even need to aim their weapons down; all they needed were their sneakers. But then the tiny dork raised a finger: the Washlings looked up and… an odd cloud was there! A purple cloud with faint rainbowy highlights. “Hug Muck, it’s payback time!”

“GIVE ME HUCKS!” A monster of mud dropped from the cloud, grabbing the Washlings in his thick arms and squeezing the clean out of them. Mauqs and Abatiuqs evaded and soaped the creature, so Oemor summoned the next Dream Spirit, Bathtub Grandpa. He was an old man riding a bathtub like a horse, ramming the Washlings.

“Ha ha ha ha!” Asigan laughed. “A big imagination is right!”

“Just scoop him up and let’s split!” Anaigrom said. “This soap is starting to ruin my perfume!”

“Wouldn’t mind taking some for our own bath!”

As the Dolphin Pirates escaped back to their ship, Eillac smiled. She hoped the little guy could make it home safe.

Little Dads

The Little Dad crew, which included Airam and Revilo, rode the Nostra Castello out to Damp Damp Desert. (Music: “Slipsand Galaxy” from Mario Galaxy.) Though it was the middle of day, the gray clouds brought a dreary mood to the desert. The air was humid, but the sand was so cold and muggy, it wouldn’t even feel nice to walk on. There were Smile Pirate ships sailing the sands, blasting mafia tanks. It made for quite a wild venture through the desert. There were certain sprouts that could be grown with Airam’s poisonbending, and those sprouts would spring up sand dunes of peculiar shapes. “They’re supposed to do that with water, but the mafia reworked them…”

Copernicus the Crow was also patrolling the desert, dropping giant droppings over the enemy pirates. By the time they found the Damp Damp Outpost, they saw a horde of rats fighting a cloud of crows. “LIHP! Let’s go!” Revilo called. “We’re at war with the mafia!”

“Yeah, I kind of guessed that! You hear that, my Mighty Mice?! This is the Dawn of the Revolution! Let’s take down the Dark-Gray Wings and soar to victory!”

Lihp and the mice would rope the crows with strings, pull their selves up, and ride the avians to the sky. They would battle Copernicus in a dogfight, or in this case, a birdfight-mousefight… hybrid. Copernicus would shoot back droppings while the mice had small bazookas that shot hunks of cheese. The cheese would slow Copernicus down, and when Lihp flew over the pigeon-crow, he could drop down and start pounding on the consigliere. If more mice could make it with him, they could add on the damage, but Copernicus would shake them off and back to the desert.

Halfway through the battle, the crows would fly higher so they couldn’t be recaptured. Airam had to help by gassing the Dune Sprouts and springing the mice up, allowing them to rope and tame the crows. Eventually, Lihp was able to attain a firm grip on Copernicus’ head and steer the giant bird. He made Copernicus dive straight to a sprout, which Airam gassed. The sand sprung up as a fist and PUNCHED Copernicus, knocking him out!

Ollar arrived and used his Book-Book power to seal Copernicus in a large book. “You can’t seriously believe we’re going to carry all these mice aboard our castle?”

“Hey, what’s wrong with some extra hands?” Lihp asked. “With this many recruits, the revolution’s a sure thing! So, where’re we going next?”

“To Ztardie Valley.” Airam answered. “That’s where Ydnew is supposed to be.”

The remaining mafiosos fell to the Smile Pirates. That was when Ahsas, the pink-haired giant in a night sweater, arrived on her own ship. She mustered her powerful moonbending to project a moon in the clouds, spreading a blanket of “night” over the desert. The ships began to pour glimmering Dreamsand over the desert to put everyone to sleep.

Dolphin Pirates

The Dolphin Pirates returned to sea and threw a small snack party to celebrate Oemor’s rescue. “So, that Washling that was holding you was actually your friend?” Allebmoog asked.

“Uh-huh!” Oemor nodded, nibbling a small cookie. “She was too afraid to get me help without getting caught. I’m no pushover with my Imaginaries, but even I wasn’t about to fight through all those pirates without a plan. Luckily, you guys showed up, so we staged a nice rescue!”

“Well, I feel bad for hurting her now.”

“Hehe, you looked like you really wanted to rescue me!”

“I mean, duh. We’ve only been worried sick about you for, like, weeks.”

“I still think that was kind of reckless.” Asigan stated. “We didn’t know she was an ally, so Oemor could’ve been hurt.”

“Yah, but she was, and he wasn’t.”

“Let’s just be glad the gang’s all back together.” Ikik said, sitting her furry rump down as she chewed on some fries.

“Yeah, and be glad that Oemor’s tiny tummy will make up for having two gluttons onboard.” Anaigrom remarked.

“God, you can’t go a minute without insulting us!”

“Haha, she’s nicer than Revilo, don’t you think?” Oemor smiled.

“True that…”

The thought of his old friends made Oemor frown. “Hey, how are they doing? Revilo and… the others.”

“They’re rescuing their own teammates. Honestly, I could still care less for them… especially after they did THIS to me.”

Ikik was still furry like an ape, due to the drugs she was given. Luckily, her monkey mentality had worn off. Oemor walked up to the titaness astronaut with sympathy. “I’m really sorry, Ikik. I think I had it easy compared to you.”

“Shyeah, no kidding. Your puniness is just cute magic that’ll wear off, I dunno how long I’ll be like this.”

Oemor shirked back from her tone. “Um, but, it’s not our friends’ fault this happened. It was the navy, and the mafia. They-”

“And it was that STUPID heiress’s fault!” Ikik POUNDED the table, her tremendous fist bouncing Oemor into the air. “For hiding in our sector! And it was our FORMER FRIENDS’ fault for joining up with her, making US having to track them down!”

“I-I-I know, but…but they got the rebels to save you, right? They’re still our-”

“Oh, shut up! Should’ve figured you’re too spineless to be angry.”

“Hey, don’t yell at him!” Asigan’s caring fingers enveloped Oemor and brought him away from the raging giant. “We were all victims in this and made to do degrading things. But right now, the whole DNK is caught up in this. If you want, we can just take you home right now.”

“Hmph…I don’t like the thought of Revilo making snide comments about my cowardice. And I’m too pissed at those apes, anyway, so I guess I’ll stick around.”

“Great!” Xedni smiled. “Honestly, I would’ve been sad if you left. You’re my favorite bestie!”

“I thought that was me.” Asigan frowned.

“You are, too!”

“Ha ha! But I’m glad, too, because after all this, I’m definitely pumped for this revolution! Besides, some of the rebels wound up getting captured for our sake. Since our sector is complete, I say we repay the favor and save them!”

“We’re currently on a course to Weaston Island.” Xedni said. “It’s part of Sarexaland’s territory and we heard that Oiraw is held captive there.”

“He was one of the rebels that saved me.” Asigan mentioned.

“Really?” Oemor asked. “Uh…what’s he like?”

“He had this cute accent and a handsome mustache! He was short and tubby, but pretty sweet-looking!”

“Oh…he was, huh?”

“Tehehe!” Asigan giggled at his sadness. “I’m sure some other girl will be quite happy with him~”

“Oh…what other girl?”

“I wouldn’t know, I’m just saying.”

“Ugh, cut me a break.” Anaigrom cringed at their flirting.

Weaston Island was surrounded by giant Easter Island heads. Their eyes glowed ominously and would fire lasers at any trespassers. The tiny bookworm felt even smaller before the massive statues, standing on the ship’s railing. “Uh, so what’s our plan?”

“We’re gonna steer this ship around as a diversion while you and the swimmers get to the island dolphin style.” Xedni answered.

“M-Me?!”

“Don’t you have any Imaginaries that can swim?”

“Um, yes, but…”

“Okay, I’m ready!” Asigan marched up.

Oemor turned around, and his eyes and heart popped. Asigan was in her swimsuit. It was a soft lavender like her shirt, a one-piece that covered her nicely. Her upper back was uncovered, but the suit nicely highlighted her curvy areas. Her legs were a mix of thick, slim, sleek, flexible, and shiny. “If it looks too dangerous, you don’t have to come, Oemor.”

“Nnnnnn…” But if he didn’t come, he wouldn’t be able to see Asigan in action. He wouldn’t be able to see her battle in all her swimsuited beauty… “N-no no, I’ll come! I’m not here to be a burden!”

“Just be careful out there.” Allebmoog said, tattooed with dolphin and wave designs. “Me and her are gonna separate, but you can stay near one of us.”

“Okay, thanks!”

“I’m bringing the ship around!” Ikik announced. “You’re good to go whenever!” (Music: “Goo Lagoon” from Spongebob BFBB.)

Oemor summoned the Olympic Frog to carry him across the sea. The trio dove off the other side of the boat and away from it before swimming past the island heads. They fought Loan Sharks and dodged Torpedo Dets before making it to the island. Moe-Mouths attacked them; smaller stone heads with big lips. They were particularly attracted to Asigan, but Oemor was ready to defend her with Olympic Frog. The tribal and tropical atmosphere of this island was pleasant, especially on a rare sunny day, but was hard to enjoy with the spiders and explosive Apooks. They found Oiraw naked except his underwear, being made to do a sexy dance in the center of a crowd of Moe-Lips. Oemor created a Thought Cloud and summoned “Cutie Darla,” a tall blonde girl with a permament grin, red top, and white shorts.

Cutie Darla danced for the Moe-Lips, diverting their attention while Allebmoog went to punch Oiraw out of his trance. (Allebmoog was sad that she wasn’t attractive enough for their attention.) Oiraw thanked the crew and escaped with them via a secret path that cut through a small canyon. However, they were spotted on that path: spotted by a Kinx. It was a small sphinx, its eyes popping hearts at the sight of Asigan. It came charging at them, so Oemor quickly summoned Skater Hood, a swift fox with skate shoes! Asigan and Oiraw rode his back, Allebmoog gripped his sides to hang on, and Oemor rode the fox’s snout. They bolted through the canyon with the Kinx hot on their tail, dodging Moe-Lips and Bullet Llibs on the way.

The road eventually led to the shore. They jumped off the cliff and landed on a ledge just underneath, watching the Kinx overshoot the ledge and fall into the sea. “He doesn’t look like a good swimmer!” Asigan laughed. “Ah, there’s the ship! Oiraw, can you swim?”

“I wish I was in better gear, but I can!”

They made it back to the Dolphin Dragon and began to flee from a small fleet of Tulip’s ships. “If you have any phones or something, I’d like to send a call to my brother.” Oiraw requested.

“Sure!” Xedni nodded. “As soon as we lose these guys.”

“Uh-oh! There’s a tidal wave coming!” Ikik pointed.

They looked with panic at the huge wave. “The wind isn’t strong enough to make a wave like that!” Oiraw said.

“I’ll try to cut through it.” Asigan narrowed her eyes determinedly. “Huh? Th-there’s someone up there!”

“HEY, SHIP DUDES!” yelled Aullik Kcydloz, hanging 10 above the wave. “Watch out! I’m comin’ through!”

“AULLIK?!” Anaigrom screamed. “IS THAT YOU?!”

“Whuh?” Aullik lifted the bangs covering his eyes. “YO! Anaigrom! I’ve been looking everywhere for—yooooouu!”

“AAAAAHH!” Aullik tumbled off his board, the wave shrinking as it splashed just over the deck of the Dolphin. The crewmates fell over, and Aullik lay flat on his back.

“Ah, dude…” The surfer sat up dizzily.

“Mmmm! Mmmm! Mmmmmmmm!” Oemor was squirming desperately under the seat of his trunks, with only his legs visible as they flailed frantically.

“AULLIK!” Anaigrom tackled the boy, knocking him right back down. “You came all this way just to find me?!”

“Shyah, dude! The DNK told me you were on, like, this island, but there was a lot of islands, man, so I kinda got lost. Then I started getting chased by these dudes before I found you guys.”

“Oh, I’m so happy to see you!!” Anaigrom squeezed her boyfriend to the deck. “Things were way too girly on this boat, we need a big strong man to balance us out!”

“Ana, quit embarrassing yourself.” Asigan sighed. She remembered Aullik from Field Day and wasn’t quite happy to have the dimwitted dude onboard.

“What? You got your own boy to nuzzle, now I got mine.”

“Now isn’t the time to…AH!! WHERE’S OEMOR?!” Asigan looked around the deck in panic. “No, what if he got washed off, we have to find him!!”

“Oh, I dunno, man.” Aullik pulled himself up, looking around. “I don’t see anyone here besides… my hair.”

“!” Allebmoog perked up. “Uhhh…I think I found Oemor.”

“Huh, where?!” Asigan gasped.

“Aullik, there’s something on your butt.”

“Hm?” The boy reached back and felt something wedged to his trunks. He picked it off and held it to his uncovered eyes. Oemor’s tiny head was drenched in a glob of water. “Oh, it’s a little dude… Hey, you seen Oemor anywhere, dude?”

“OH, GOD!” Asigan immediately bent the water off him.

“Huff…huff…huff…” Oemor weakly sat up, vision blurry.

“Whoa, man, you look beat. Need some water?” Aullik wiggled his other fingers above him, boulder-sized droplets pounding Oemor’s head.

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” Asigan gently, but brashly took him back.

“Well, I think I got water in my ears.” Aullik beat the side of his head.

“Gah!” Ikik winced when the ship took a hit. “Well, thanks to you, the mafia caught up! Oiraw, keep that breeze going.”

“Wait!” Xedni gasped. “You said someone was chasing you, right?”

“Ah, yeah. Hey, there they are now!”

They fearfully looked up, half-expecting another fleet. “AAAAAH?!” What they didn’t expect was a giant, five-headed elephant! The divine beast stomped through the ocean, its trunks blasting jets of water. They just missed the Dolphin and took down the ships behind. “QUICK, STEER US AWAY!” Allebmoog yelled.

“What is that thing?!” Asigan cried.

“Oh!” Oiraw ran to the keel, awed by the great elephant. “ADMIRAL UUB! IT’S YOU!”

“Hm?!” The elephant’s eyes fell to the Mustachio in surprise.

“Uub?!” Allebmoog gasped. “One of the navy’s top powerhouses?! They’re our enemies, aren’t they?!”

“Admiral Uub… the revolution will succeed! The Goddaughter… she’s on our side! She wants to help us restore Toadstool! Will you still bring about the Great Shower?”

“. . .” A head nodded. The head on their farthest right splashed the sea with its trunk and washed the crewmates away. The navy ships at Uub’s back tried to target them, but the elephant bellowed, “Leave them! Focus on the fleet ahead of us! But know this, Daring New Kids… do not dare attack the moon base! Because if you say ‘Y’… you will die!”

“The… moon base?” Xedni questioned.

“I heard there’s a navy base on Toadstool’s moon.” Allebmoog replied. “…Was he trying to say there’s something important there?”

“Mr. Oiraw, you sounded like you knew him.”

“Of course I do! Admiral Uub has supported the revolution for years! The navy prevents him from making many direct moves against the mafia, but he always sneaks us supplies when he can. He claims to have a secret means of purifying Toadstool… but so long as the mafia remains active, he can’t use it.”

“Then maybe he is on our side.”

“Based on what we were told,” Asigan began, “the navy officers are being controlled against their will. I don’t think any of them are bad… or at least some of them. Even Miss Einna was supportive of us.”

“We oughta check in and see how the other group is doing.” Xedni suggested. “But first we’ll call Oiraw’s brother.”

Anaigrom tailored a purple business suit for Oiraw to wear. After an hour more of sailing, they saw a yacht headed their direction, designed like a piano with saxophone engines. It was the ship of Igiulaw. Oiraw jumped over, happy to reunite with his bro. They parted ways with the crew and wished luck.

Little Dads

The Little Dad Mafia rode out to Ztardie Valley in the north. The Castello steered well over the snowy landscape, but it would have to fall back when they got to the Nerh Outpost. (Music: “White Acropolis” from Sonic 2006.) The outpost consisted of military blockades and structures, with huge cannons to fend off invaders, and was primarily run by Dya-Namites. Airam, Revilo, and Lihp’s rats fought their way through the base. Large chasms separated parts of the outpost, so they had to use cannons to shoot over. (Fahr Outpost used to be the worst level in Thousand-Year Door, so it’s only natural its Negative should be more fun.)

They climbed a hill up to a nice log cabin, assumed to be the boss’s hut. When they broke in, they found the shaman consigliere, Nolrem, reading a book beside the fireplace. “Ah, Lady Airam. Good evening to you.” greeted the gray-cloaked timebender, his long mustache like twin white waterfalls. “Could I treat you to some coffee?”

Airam shot the book out of his hands, falling in the embers. “Don’t play polite with me, Gramps. I know you have some clue where Ydnew and her mom are and you’re gonna tell me.”

“Ah, you really mustn’t shoot in here. You’ll wake the children.” He thumbed to a crib. There was a brown-haired baby and a blue-haired one sleeping peacefully with binkies. “!” They were horrified to realize they were Einna and Ydnew. “Yes, these youths were quite rambunctious, running about the valley. I was lucky enough to catch them by the time the spacebender broke free of her chi cuffs. I tried a new formula on them with a dose of my own Time Chi. Regressed their growth quite nicely, I say.”

Revilo blasted a dark laser at him while Lihp’s rats swarmed to seize the infants, but Nolrem Rewound them both with his bending. “Now now, children. I’d say you’re due for a nap as well. Those pacifiers they’re suckling are fixed with a sweet sleeping powder, so I’ll kindly fix you up.” Nolrem Stopped the group in place, then fished out some binkies from his drawer.

But just as he walked to stick them in Revilo and Lihp, a binky was suddenly stuck into his mouth. This was followed by a tiny-fisted punch to Nolrem’s head, slightly blocking his chi. The group unfroze as Airam blasted him against the wall with Neon Vision. “Bloo blah blah.” Einna landed cleanly on the floor, speaking coolly in her baby talk. “Bah, buh buh, blah buh. (Resisting sleep drugs is basic assassin training.)”

The rats seized Ydnew and Revilo grabbed Einna as they bolted from the cabin. There were already more tanks rolling up the hill, but with Einna’s help, they cut down the tanks without much trouble. However, the Ztar Children from the local village swarmed in to attack them. Revilo’s bending was a natural match against them. Further across the outpost, they were ambushed by Nolrem’s granddaughters, Eelrem and Eelvulrem. Eelrem struck Lihp’s rats with dark beams that decreased their luck, and her sister used psychic beams that made Airam forget some of her skills.

Einna slashed both sisters with small Tempest Kicks. They kept running through the outpost, but panicked when some kind of gray nuke flew their direction. It was a Chrono Bomb, exploding into a wide radius as they slowed down. Einna used her Shave technique to shove the group out of the field, then escaped herself. Her chi-block punch wasn’t enough to completely stop Nolrem’s strong timebending, the elder launching more Chrono Nukes as he chased them on his own tank. The kids were forced to cross a narrow route that Nolrem littered with Chrono Bombs.

Einna jumped away from them. She babbled and made gestures implying that she would hold him off. She pointed at Ydnew, trying to say that her safety was all that mattered for now. Airam gave Revilo the boys a serious nod, and they sighed in regret. Rushing through the chrono fields certainly took a while, but Einna managed to hold back Nolrem with Rokushiki techniques. Inevitably, the timebender and his granddaughters captured the super-baby once more, but the operatives were able to escape on the Castello.

Ydnew eventually woke up in Revilo’s arms. She cringed in humility at her infantile form, but tried to thank them for saving her. After learning her mom elected to fall behind, Ydnew merely narrowed her big eyes down. Unfortunately, putting chi-blocks against Ydnew didn’t disable her ailment. “He did imply his Time Chi was used with a drug.” Airam said. “She might not be able to change back so easily.”

“You know your drugs.” Revilo said. “Think you can make a cure?”

“Yeah. If we can get her back to fighting strength, we can go back and teach Grandpa a lesson.”

“You have a duty to fulfill to us first.” Ollar said. “We must rescue Sutsugua. Which means possibly confronting your parents.”

“We also got a call from them friends of yours.” Eiwets mentioned. “Their rescues are goin’ good. They also told us somethin’ about a moon base.”

Dolphin Pirates

Anaigrom gave Aullik his long-awaited haircut. During that first night, she purposely acted flirty with him to make Asigan cringe. Aullik tried to explain his family circumstances and how he helped “the V dudes and W gals” escape from the navy. “Well, it’s great to have extra help.” Asigan admitted, retaining her resentment.

Aullik used his wavebending to make the ship move faster during the day, but he took a while to register their navigation directions. This led to several near-misses with sea mines. They made their next destination the Gnok Sea. They heard that Yknam Gnok, the orangutan who rescued Ikik, was somewhere on the Spring Heights. (Music: “Heating up Mafia Town” from Hat in Time.)

The rainy mountains would be perfect for the waterbenders… except the Gnoks had already installed radiator towers to heat up the weather and dry up the island. No doubt, Yeknod anticipated them showing up and was prepared to impede Asigan’s bending. She could still bend water from her bottles, and Oemor used the Imaginary Friend, Bestie Bee to fly around and sting enemies. Aullik came, being given his own bottles, and Ikik was also determined to save Yknam. They had to jump over burning coals and fight animals that were drugged to catch fire and attack them.

The crewmates destroyed radiator generators they came across. While Asigan’s bending was weaker in this heat, she was still a capable fighter. “Ah, man! I’m all outta water.” Aullik moaned, trying to drink the last few drops from his bottles. “Hey, Asi, can I have some of yours?”

“That water was meant for attacking, not drinking!”

“Seriously? But I’m so thirsty.”

“I’ll give you just one, but you need to fight with it, not drink!”

Aullik tried to do so… but his use of the small amount of water was very sloppy. It wound up drying on the ground before he could regain proper control. “What on earth was THAT?!”

“Don’t you have more water, man? It’s, like, so tiny.”

“Look at me! It’s not hard to fight with even this much water!”

“I’ll just get more water from the sea, man. I’ll be right back.” With that, the surfer made his way down the mountain.

“Unbelievable!” Asigan yelled.

“Forget him.” Ikik stated. “We’ll be finished long before he makes it back.”

Eventually, they found Yknam Gnok trapped in a cage along a cliff ledge. Heaters surrounded him, designed to dry the monkey up. He tried to stay calm and reserve his strength, but panicked seeing the kids arrive. “HEY! YOU SHOULDN’T COME HERE!”

“But we need to save you!”

“NO! The Gnoks knew you would try to! They have a cannon ready on a nearby island, they’re going to blast us any minute!”

They received a call from Xedni. “Hey, guys! There’s some kind of missile headed toward the mountain!”

In the distance from their cliff, a King Llib was flying straight for them. “I know!” Ikik said. “Which side of the island are we on?!”

“The southeast!” Yknam answered.

Ikik called, “Aullik, are you still by the sea?!”

“Uh, yeah, dude. I’m trying to bend the salt out-”

“Aullik, surf around to the southeast side of the island! Can you make a giant water gush to take down the missile?!”

“Uh, okay… which way is it?”

“Southeast! Just look in the sky for a missile!”

“Dammit, he’s not gonna make it!” Asigan yelled.

“BUT I CAN!” Anaigrom declared. She hopped into the spring cannon and let herself be LAUNCHED into the sky. She used a Gas Rocket to get higher and got close to the missile’s trajectory. She took a quick swig of Flurp and enforced her chi over the King Llib. She managed to redirect it slightly upright and just past the ledge. She plunged back to the ship, but was caught by Allebmoog. The missile exploded in the sea. “Figured it would be laced with poison. That’s all these guys know!”

“And their own animals are still up here!” Asigan said. “These Gnoks are insane!”

They destroyed the heaters and freed Yknam, carrying him down the mountain. Another King Llib was incoming, so they took a leap of faith down the cliff. Oemor mustered his psychic to lift the giants just before landing, but the act caused a strain on his tiny brain. Asigan grabbed and carried him the rest of the way. They made it back to the ship and hurriedly yelled for Aullik to come back around. He made it as another missile was coming, ushering Aullik to wave them away. The boy accidentally waved them TOWARD the missile—they sailed just another it, and the shockwave it caused helped the ship sail further, violently rocking them. As they fled across the sea, Gnok pirate ships moved out to pursue.

“God, that was way more dangerous than it should’ve been!” Asigan huffed. “You’d have been better off staying on the ship!” she told Aullik.

“But like, you asked me to come.”

“BECAUSE I THOUGHT YOU WOULD WATERBEND!”

“I thought there would’ve been more water.”

“UUUUGH! Just keep those waves moving and get us away from those crooks!”

…

By some miracle, they were able to escape the Gnoks and sail into a secret cave run by Revolutionary Kremlings. Yknam thanked them for their bravery and was led away by the Kremlings to get hydration. The crewmates retired to their cabin, the ship floating peaceably in the lantern-lit cavern.

If there was one thing nice about being small, it was sleeping in a fluffy, cozy sock. Anaigrom knitted such a sock for Oemor to sleep, the cotton warming away his troubles. “Mmmm…nnn…” That was until he started to feel chilly down to his toes. He could no longer feel cotton around him, but something more thick and kind of damp. “Er…” His tired, specless eyes opened. A pair of dopey blue eyes and a white mop head hung over him. “AAAAH!”

“What’s up, little dude?”

“YOU! Why’d you wake me up?!”

“I couldn’t sleep, man.”

“Then you should’ve come in and used a sleep bag instead of laying on the deck!”

“Yah, but I’m kinda bummed out. Was thinkin’ of talking to Ana, but… you’re the only dude on this boat. Heh, my sister always tells me I have a puny brain, and your brain must be pretty puny, so… we’re like brothers.”

“What do you want?!”

“Hm…” Aullik looked up at the cavern ceiling, reflecting the ripples. He sat with Oemor held by his chest. “This war’s been, like… pretty intense, man.”

“I’ll tell you what was intense, that last mission!”

“I know, right? I mean, why does Asi gotta be such a nag?”

“What?!”

“Like, just between you and me, dude… but I don’t think she respects us very well. She’s all like, ‘Oooo, I’m such a good waterbender, I don’t need drinks.’”

“I may not be a waterbender, but I’ve seen plenty of them fight with bottles. Maybe she just expected you could.”

“Dude, I need waves, man. You can’t surf on a drink.”

“That’s not the only way to waterbend! Haven’t you trained in different styles?”

“Come on, don’t ya get me, man? She thinks we’re stupid.”

“What do you mean ‘we’?!”

“I mean, she’s always laughin’ at you when you eat and stuff, and bullying you with her fingers.”

“What’s wrong with making her laugh?!”

“She’s picking on you ’cause you’re all puny and stuff.”

“Asigan is a nice girl who cares about her friends! Maybe she’s yelling because you didn’t help at all on that mission!”

“But like, she didn’t give me much water.”

“You shouldn’t have needed it! Real waterbenders know how to adapt to change!”

“What’s your deal, man?”

“My deal is that I don’t like hearing you insult Asigan like that! Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to bed!” Oemor leapt off the hand and stomped back to the cabin.

Aullik stood and followed, easing catching up to the smaller boy. “But like, you gotta see where I’m coming from, right? Asigan needs to learn to respect peoples’ differences. Like, some people just aren’t-”

Oemor stopped and faced up, “Or maybe some people need to be able to learn instead of acting like giant blockheads! And stop following me, I don’t wanna get squished by your big, dumb feet!” And he continued on his march.

“The heck’s your problem with me? I think you’re just a dick. …A little dick, hehe.” He smiled dumbly.

“GRRRRRR!” Oemor ran faster to escape his stupid aura.

Once inside the cabin, he noticed Ikik looking over the sock’s table in panic. She glanced down and saw, “Oemor! I was getting a drink when I saw you gone.”

“Oh, I’m fine. Stupid Aullik woke me up to talk about junk.”

“Sigh, he’s a problem one, isn’t he?” Ikik bent down to pick him up. “Um…about the other day… I didn’t mean to get mad at you.”

“Hehe…it’s alright.” He probably shouldn’t comment that she smelled like monkey.

She set him beside his sock. “So… if this all works out, are you gonna stay with this sector? Or you think you’ll go back to -MG?”

“Uh…not sure.”

“Me neither.” She smiled awkwardly. “Better to wait and see what happens first. Well… good night.”

“You, too.”

When morning rose, the Dolphin Pirates sailed out of the cove. They received a call from the Little Dads… or more specifically, Nega-MG. “Good, Ikik, you’re there.” Revilo greeted.

Ikik glared. “Need something, Revilo?”

“Yeah. Remember that tidbit you sent us, about the moon base? Were you planning to go up there yourselves or what?”

“I dunno, we don’t even know what’s up there.”

“Well, you are the astronaut. We also just saved Ydnew, so maybe the two of you could check it out. …I mean, she’s not exactly in shape, and…” He raised Baby Ydnew to the screen.

“YDNEW?!”

“Boo. Buh ba ba buh.”

Revilo recapped what happened to her. “Oh, dear…”

“But she can still use spacebending, and it should be stronger in space. You’d be a big help, too.”

“Bah!” Ydnew thumbed up.

“…” Ikik bowed her head in thought. She looked to Oemor, who gave a look that said, ‘Maybe you should give them a chance.’ “Ugh…fine. But I don’t even have a rocket for one thing, I’m barely good at driving this ship, and also… I only wanna take Ydnew and Lihp with me, I don’t feel like hanging out with YOU TWO, yet.”

“Negative.” Airam took the front. “I’m going to take part in this mission, but I’ll be separating from you guys.”

“Why?”

“Because…”

Hearing the details of Airam’s plan filled them with worry. “That’s… quite a bold gamble.” Asigan said. “But it sure would be good if it works.”

“Maybe we could try to distract the pirates so they don’t go for backup.” Xedni suggested. “Some of them are already busy with other enemies, so maybe…”

“Sigh…you better owe me for this.” Ikik said.

“It’s a promise.” Airam nodded. “One of the Little Dads, Ollar wants to take part in this, too. We also heard the Revolutionaries have a rocket handy.”

The Dolphins met up with the Little Dads as Ikik jumped ships. Seeing Baby Ydnew up close was actually kind of adorable, and she couldn’t resist when the infant asked to hug her belly. Afterwards, they sailed and drove out to a field under Revolutionary jurisdiction. There was a rocket perfect for Ikik’s expertise. They launched off to the moon and were met with resistance from the Y-Naut ships. Ikik made evasive maneuvers and located the Y-Naut Fortress, protected by an Oxygen Bubble. (Music: “X-Naut Fortress” from TTYD.)

The others dropped to the surface while Airam took the rocket’s controls, distracting the naval ships. The base’s speakers played a catchy beep-bop song with annoying lyrics: “Y-NAUTS, Y-NAUTS, Y-NAUTS RULE! DON’T ASK WHY, OR YOU’RE GONNA DIE!”

“Just like the admiral said.” Ikik said as they fought their way into the base. “What happens if-”

“Silence.” Ollar stated. “It is best we control our words.”

“Yeah.” Lihp replied. “Let’s figure—AAAAHH!” A flash of light swallowed him, and Lihp turned into a, “Y-Naut, Y-Naut!”

The teammates were horrified. “So, that’s it.” Ollar glared. “Do not use that letter at all.”

The ruler of this base was Vice Admiral Dump. Dump ate the Y-Y Fruit: it was a Nen-type that could turn people into Y-Nauts just by using that letter out loud. Dump could only cast this spell over buildings that he owned, and his victims would change back if they left the building. This annoying music was probably designed to compel them to say it. It was safe to assume the spell wouldn’t work on real Y-Nauts.

Ydnew rode a baby strap on Ikik’s back, using spacebending attacks along with Ikik’s Space Sumo. Security slingshots would emerge to shoot them, the Y-Nauts used yo-yos, they had to platform over giant yolks—come up with other Y-based puzzles while you’re at it. They reached an audience chamber with a concert stage: Vice-Admiral Dump was on it, with Rear-Admiral Sudorg in front. Several soldiers had weapons trained on the intruders. “WHY have YOU invaded YONDER, YOU brats?!”

“We have word that thou has something we want.” Ollar remarked.

“Wait!” Ikik said. “What if one of our friends was turned into a…a-a-a thing?! (Man, this is hard.)”

“Indeed. How might one disable this power, Vice-Admiral? It would be too troublesome to escort each last soldier out of here.”

“If you wish to break my spell, you must battle me in song! We must sing an improv song, and neither of us must use the letter ‘Y’!”

“What a weird Devil Fruit power.” Ikik said.

“I accept thine challenge.” Ollar agreed.

While Sudorg and the soldiers fought the girls, Ollar joined Dump on the stage. Dump began to rock an electric guitar and sing a lively song. “Come aboard the Twilight Train!”

“No! My mama’s in pain!” Ollar sang, making up a verse that rhymed.

“Oh? Then I’ll beat thou with a rake!”

“Not if I hit thou in the lake!”

“What kind of fricking song is this?!” Ikik shouted.

“(Just focus, Ikik! Beat these poopheads down!)”

“I will be the ONE who gets the winning GUN!”

“Not unless mah mama spanks its rusted bum!”

“That actually didn’t count?!” Ikik questioned. “AAAAAAHH!” She turned into a Y-Naut.

“(Dammit, keep your comments to yourself—oops. …It didn’t work? I guess it can’t tell through my baby talk.)” Ydnew babbled.

“And I’ll knock thou straight to Wonder Land, to get eaten to the MICE!” Dump sang.

“But first I’ll drop to Under Land, to chow with Master WISEMAN!”

“Fing fang foom, wing wise woom, I don’t care if he’s a mushroom!”

“Pitiful pinhead, if thou were not a wimphead, thou’d know simple geometricalness.”

“I’m gonna take a piss at the mathematicalness, ’cause thy art on mine kill list!”

“Please, just get off mine girlfriend, Lizz.”

“I’ll do thine Lizzy right in the-?!” The Y-Nauts flashed and changed back to normal. “WHAT?! Isn’t Lizzy spelled with an ‘ie’?!”

“I was thinking of a specific person.” Ollar smirked. “Now, let’s do this proper-like.” He swarmed Dump with his books and sealed the weakened Y-Naut inside one.

Ydnew happily regrouped with Ikik and Lihp amongst the Y’s. Most of the other victims were Toadstoolians, but a certain black-robed priestess was unmistakable. “SIPA?!”

“Watch out!” Sipa cast a stunning spell, the girls dodging. “The navy’s controlling me! There’s a chip in my-”

“We know all that!” Ikik warped her fists to pummel Sipa from multiple directions. “Don’t worry, we’ll get you to DNKG.”

Ydnew knocked Sipa’s dragon wand away with a Starburst, and the rats pinned her down enough for Ollar to catch her in a book. The group called Airam… and it seemed things were going as the Goddaughter predicted.

The Swimming Swede was assaulting the rocket. It destroyed its engines as Davy Jarg himself burst into the rocket. “Davy Jarg the Mecha Mind.” Airam twisted in her seat. “Don’t you have better things to do?”

“Jar har! Letting my crewmen have all the fun isn’t fun at all. Besides, with all the action taking place on the planets, all I can do is ambush you fleshy fools as you fly between planets. And who better than the Goddaughter HERSELF?!”

Jarg willed the rocket to compress and entrap Airam. “You’ll rule the Mushroom Mafia,” he extended a claw, “as my puppet! Shall we invite your friends to jo-”

A bombshell penetrated the rocket. Jarg growled and phased through the metal, escaping before it combusted into nuclear gas. “MUSHU SHU SHU SHU!” Don Shrew arrived on her black and purple flagship. “Jargy, dear, if you’re going to play with a neighbor’s children, you ought to play nice.”

“You blew up your own daughter, you wench!”

“Mushushu! Airam wouldn’t die to that… will you?”

Airam blew herself out of the chunk of metal she was trapped in. Shrew’s crewmen caught her with a net, pulling her onto the deck. “Pitiful girl. What would you have done if Mum wasn’t around?”

“I woulda managed.”

“NOT ANYMORE, you won’t!” Shrew pulled a gun and shot her in the stomach. “I’m taking those Noble Gases and grounding you, young lady!”

She lunged to grab Airam, but Davy Jarg sent metal jags to push the Godmother away. The Swede blasted the Shroom with lasers, but the mafia flagship fired chemicals to make the metal ship rust. Jarg tried to grab Airam in metal ropes, only for her mother to catch him in toxic waste tentacles and throw him elsewhere. She grabbed Airam and tried to inject her fingernails, but Jarg bent the metal rope to choke the Godmother.

Her friends stole a Y-Naut ship and flew above the battle at a safe distance. Airam saw them in her weakened state and proceeded to burn off the net. She placed a book on its front and sat on the spine. “What do you think you’re doing, young lady?” Shrew asked.

“Mom, can’t we just discuss this like civilized people?”

“Our chance to be civilized was during the parley, girl-ah!” Jarg remarked.

“Just thought I’d ask. ’Guess I’ll fly now.” And with that, Airam LAUNCHED skyward! She put on an air helmet and flew straight up to her friends, using a wire to tug the book up with her. As it flapped open and closed, Shrew could make out her elder daughter, Esiuol, and her dimwitted expression.

“You’ll not escape ME!” Jarg quickly summoned a jetpack and rocketed after her.

“Yeah, I’ve heard that a million times.” As they neared the ship, Ydnew mustered her baby-size spacebending and stretched a portal to catch Airam, closing it afterward. Ikik stomped the gas, but Jarg was just able to catch it in his telekinetic grip. Don Shrew sent her own ships to shoot them down, Ikik desperately wrestling the controls. She felt the “weak points” in Jarg’s grip and shook away from him, escaping just as the Toadstool ships let fire.

“Okay, it’s one thing to predict Jarg would show up,” Ikik said, “but how could you guess your mom would fly up here?!”

“Because I texted her. Still know her phone number, duh.” Airam raised her phone, which read, Check it, Mom, I’m attackin’ the navy base.

“Even if she’s desperate to get you back, she must’ve known it was a trick.”

“Or maybe she predicted Jarg to show up, too. Like my sister and I, the Emperors are magnets to each other. They’re the primary targets in this war, so they’ll take whatever opportunity they have to trash one of them. Let’s see how the others are doing…”

Toadstool Manor

With Don Shrew away, the other Little Dads began to swarm the mansion. Eiwets was frantically bouncing against the soldatos in his tiny ball form and Eiggam waited for several guards to jump her before using the Blast Fruit. Atteirneh naturally took part in the raid, confronting Awful Oiram himself. Oiram unloaded a minigun, but Atteir held up a giant Venus and blasted Bullet Seeds. She then stretched a thick vine to grab and crush the minigun, but Oiram whipped out a saw gun to slice her Venus and the trunk vine. “Dammit, Igiul, why’d you have to go-a flirting with the tall lady?!” he yelled through a phone.

…

“I’m-a not flirting, stupido, I’m fighting this stupid centopiede!” Igiul’s Chop-Chop power was ineffective on Tachyon, but even when Tachyon broke him into particles, Igiul was able to control his own pieces and repair himself. Igiul struck the Cragmite with Haki-imbued blades, with two extra ones in Igiul’s heels. Tachyon would smother Igiul in the very matter of the room before going to recover his wife.

…

Atteir countered Oiram’s sawblades with Razor Leaves, used giant mushrooms to bounce his mortars right back, and used water balloon bulbs to douse his flamethrower. Oiram shot electric balls around the ground, making them form an electric field, but Atteir stretched up on a vine and sprung herself out of the field.

In the basement, their new recruit, Amat stretched her mochi arms to punch the guards unconscious. “ARF ARF!” The Underchomp that once belonged to Toadsless charged at her, but Amat stretched herself high and leapt over it. She grabbed the Chomps’ chain in her thick arms and whirled it directly into Sutsugua’s cell door. After smashing it down, she tugged the beast away and ran inside. “Sutsugua! I’m here to save you!!”

“Amat?!” Sutsugua perked up as the obese Contemporan glomped him in a hug. “Wow, you… put on a few pounds.”

“Your family fed me a magic fruit to help my condition! Don’t worry, I’ll have us out in a jiffy!”

“Make sure we spare time for my friend there!”

Atteir’s mushroom shields were pierced by Oiram’s Missile Drills, some grazing her before she swat them away. She forced vines down his throat and nostrils and willed flowers to grow, but Oiram poured a potion over the vines to make them decay. He whipped out a shock rod and electrified Atteir, the woman sinking to her knees. But Eiggam glomped Oiram from behind and Blasted him away, the woman falling from the aftershock. Atteir smiled, seeing Amat dragging Sutsugua’s weakened frame, along with that of Reswob, Jr.. “Our business is concluded, Mr. Oiram.” Atteir smirked, stretching herself up.

“Like HELL I’m-a let you get aw-”

Atteir willed the spores she planted to grow into sticky mushrooms, binding Oiram to the wall. She slammed a bramble directly at his crotch before escaping with her family.

Dolphin Pirates

“Heads up, team!” Xedni alerted. “We have a nice fleet heading our way.”

They were squid ships owned by the Washlings… and the flagship resembled a long eel with Captain Mollusk’s figurehead. The consigliere himself must be here. The ops were about to take evasive maneuvers… until they saw what ammo it was firing. “?!?” They were Washlings bubbling with boiling suds! “AAAAAHH!” a girl one screamed, the pain unbearable. They crashed on the deck of the Dolphin, running to grab Xedni in a hug. Xedni screamed from the heat, but Asigan pulled them off with Water Whips.

Oemor recognized the sizzling form of Mauqs. He summoned Chef Pancake, a chubby pancake monster in chef’s attire, to wrestle with Mauqs, his body turning a crispy brown. “He killed my sister!” Mauqs yelled. “Because we let you escape, he killed Abatiuqs! IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT!”

The horrific sight still flashed in his mind: Captain Mollusk grabbing Abatiuqs’ head and squashing it like a balloon. Her suds splurted over her brother’s face, Mauqs at a loss for breath. “And then that stupid Eillac had to go and confess! She was harboring you all along, that fucking traitor! Because of that, he made us take these DRUGS!”

“YOU!! DNK OPERATIVES!” Mollusk bellowed, raising a battered Eillac’s body by the head. “This shrimp of a granddaughter helped you, right?! Aren’t you gonna return the FAVOR?!”

“STOP IT!” Eillac cried. “STOP HURTING MY FRIENDS!”

“What kind of drugs did he give you?!” Asigan asked, trying to douse them to no avail.

“Sizzle Suds! Our bubble pores are boiling! It hurts!”

“That horrible…!” Asigan dove into the sea.

“Hey, where you going?!” Anaigrom yelled.

Asigan swam bravely to the Rusty Eel, Captain Mollusk looking curiously at the incoming figure. “EYAH!” She launched out with a Water Drill and RAMMED Mollusk directly, shoving the muscular Washling into the ocean. She then levitated above the water with a cyclone. Mollusk’s head emerged from the surface, glaring in his eel form. “How could you treat your own crewmen as weapons?! How could you be so cruel?!”

“These Washlings are pincushions, that’s why! Same with most of these useless soldatos! How many hundreds of chowder have you roasted already? How many useless crewmen did you plow through? If they’re going to be fodder, we might as well use them as such.”

“I won’t stand for that! These guys may be my enemies, but no one deserves that kind of treatment!”

“Do something about it, sweetfish!” (Music: “Pufftoss Battle” from DK64!)

Asigan engaged Mollusk in the ocean. Her nimble, dolphin-like speed was a contrast against the strong, hefty conger. She bent the currents around her to thrust against the eel, but had a difficult time damaging his thickness. Asigan then considered going for the tail, seeming like his weak point. Asigan swam lower underwater; there was a reef nearby. Asigan began to conjure ice rings with chains linked to the reef, catching Mollusk and slowing him down. She could swim behind and deal Water Slice attacks to the tail. Naturally, he stopped falling for this trick, but Asigan would steam and bubble the water to confuse him, allowing her to sneak attacks on the tail.

Mollusk decided to attach a spikeball to his tail, and Asigan already knew it had poison. Luckily, the ball slowed him down even more, her dolphin flexes dodging his Eel Thrusts. Mollusk began to spin around and attempt to whack her with the ball, but Asigan bent the currents so that his own spiked tail would bent right into him. “OOG! Mroo hoo hoo hoo! I think this drug suits me quite well!” Asigan gasped (not really) as Mollusk’s suds started boiling. He started belching bubbles at Asigan, some of them singing her skin. She tried chilling the water to mitigate the heat, but still took lighter damage. Mollusk then rammed Asigan against the reef, pressing her stomach as air pumped out of her lungs.

Desperate to escape, Asigan kicked on Dolphin Fury, shooting out of his grasp and up to the surface to replenish herself. The water shone a brighter blue around her, forming the shapes of a dolphin’s tail, backfin, and snout. Asigan swam faster and returned underwater. With the flips of her “tail,” she bent stronger currents to whack Mollusk without touching his heated form. She swiftly zipped around him, conjured quick icicles, and darted them into his flesh. His suds mitigated the damage by melting the ice, though his Sizzle Suds made the light wounds hurt more.

Asigan began to swim circles around the eel, bending the currents so the bubbles would stay around his body. She pressed the bubbles closer, preventing more from even leaving his body, the pirate grumbling in pain. His tail flicked a lever inside the spikeball, causing the spikes to shoot out. One of them pricked Asigan: her own insides began to heat up. Since she couldn’t produce bubbles, warts began to swell on her. Her anger grew, the water around her boiled, and she swam faster. Asigan began to ram Mollusk from below, swim away, and ram again from multiple angles. Over and over and over until she splashed him right out of the surface. And even then, she swam in the air with a flying current, pushing Mollusk even higher. Flying several meters into the air, Asigan then wrapped him up in that floating stream and spun him toward the ocean. They picked up speed from the fall, and Asigan even bent apart the water they fell through. Captain Mollusk crashed headfirst against the reef, knocking the pirate out cold.

Asigan passed out from exhaust. Anaigrom swam underwater to grab and pull her back to the ship. During the battle, Aullik had gone surfing to push the enemy ships into each other, but since the crewmen were Loan Sharks and other water-types, they swam to attack the ship directly, with Aullik struggling to wave them away. However, Eillac was able to convince her cousin and the Washlings to rebel, with Xedni promising the DNK could treat their conditions. They helped fight off the other pirates, and by the time Asigan was brought back, DNK backup had arrived from the Merman Division.

The merkids would swim down and arrest Captain Mollusk, while the Dolphin Pirates set a flight back to H.Q.. “Aullik, I think there’s water in her lungs!” Oemor said. “You have to bend it out!”

“Uh…but… where is it?”

“IN HER LUNGS! Her neck, chest, I don’t know, just… focus chi in those areas and-”

“Forget it, I called one of the merkids over!” Xedni yelled. A mermaid arrived just in time to bend water out of Asigan, the girl coughing.

“Asigan! Are you okay?!” Oemor ran to his crush’s head.

“Don’t touch me!” she gasped. “I’m really hot… you could get burned…huff…”

“I can’t believe… you beat… Captain Mollusk…” Mauqs panted, weakened on the deck. “You beat him… just for us?”

“Our leader’s just too damn nice!” Anaigrom grinned. “You guys seriously owe her!”

“Actually… I think we owe them first.” Oemor reasoned. “I’m really sorry… about your sister. I knew that captain was mean, but I didn’t think he would be so cruel to you guys.”

“That’s exactly why I couldn’t let him find Oemor.” Eillac said. “Such an innocent boy didn’t deserve all this abuse…”

“Th…th…thank you.”

The friends returned to H.Q. in relative safety. But Aullik retired to the cabin, his head hung in guilt.

Chapter Text

And now it’s Galactic Navy time! I generally based this overworld off of Jak II, where it’s essentially driving around a despairing city, beating up guards, and traveling to destinations in an interconnected overworld. Whilst the other Emperors have sea- or land-travel in open-worldish settings.

Tnacsuroc

Aliehs and Asia paired together and roamed the slums of Tnacsuroc. The girls hijacked a hoverbike to zoom around the streets, but if they carelessly ran over citizens or patrolling guards, the troops would be after them until they would hide. Regardless, they had to roughhouse some troops to interrogate them for info, and they learned that Sirhc was being held in the Fitness Factory. They snuck into the factory via a basement entrance. (Music: “Fitness Center” from Luigi’s Mansion.)

The factory was nicely decorated like a series of gyms and exercise rooms, where the workout equipment was designed to pump machines. They had to solve puzzles and platforming segments based on exercise equipment, like doing a bench press to open a gate, swinging hoops, climbing poles and jumping to others, or running long treadmills while jumping hazards. “It wouldn’t kill ya to do some of these with me!” Aliehs yelled at the flying Nimbi.

“You’re the muscle, I’m the wing!” Asia grinned with a flap. “Plain and simple!”

They found Sirhc being forced to power some cogs with his Armordillo. Asia blew him out of the machine, but Sirhc was still forced to attack them. Aliehs and Asia treated him like a kickball and knocked him around until he was dizzy. Afterward, Asia flew to pin him to the ground. “Leave the rest to me!” Ahcniea climbed out of Asia’s hoodie and cut the skin of Sirhc’s head open. She located the chip in his brain and picked it out before restitching his head.

“Phew! Thanks a lot, girls. I was able to resist a little bit thanks to Ahcniea’s medicine, but it wasn’t enough.”

“’ey now! You can’t just stop production like that!” A large shutter opened as a giant cog rolled in. It turned to show its side, with Smooth Etep in the center cockpit. “You kids are under arrest for deserting the navy!”

“Hey, smartass, we’re trying to SAVE the navy!” Asia shouted.

“Should’ve figured a robot don’t mind serving Jarg of all people.” Aliehs said.

“It don’t matter what I think, you lot! I’m programmed to serve the navy no matter who’s in charge.”

“Then you could do with a reprogramming.” Sirhc decided. “Leave him to me, girls! Time for my ‘exercise’ to pay off!”

“Oi, before you do that,” Aliehs pulled a mechanical pack out of her cube, “Yrrah made you some new armor. Wanna try it out?”

“Sure!” Sirhc threw off his old suit and fit on the new one. As Sirhc curled up, he found several levers available to him, such as a charge thrust, magnetic connectors, and even a size-shifter to shrink him to half size. He adapted to the new functions well as he fought Etep’s Egg Cog. There was an opening between one of the pegs on the cog, in which he rolled against it to break in. He would shrink to travel through a tunnel leading to the center, using the magnet functions to stay balanced on the spinning cog and ramming through security devices. Sirhc resized and rammed Etep at the end, but was kicked out of the cockpit.

Sirhc would then have to travel up a metal strip on the wall and bounce himself to the cog, quickly rolling up over its pegs and reaching the opening. Sirhc repeated the tunnel and rammed Etep once more, this time KOing the lieutenant. His friends seized the robot and escaped from the factory.

…

Otullak used his hacking to learn that Eitra was taken to the War Pets Tower, so Eelyah and Ahcom infiltrated it. (Music: “Sgt. Byrd” from Spyro Reignited.) It resembled a tall, wide birdcage, filled with usual pet abodes like doghouses, birdhouses, or cat towers. Eelyah used cementbending to fight the war-torn mammals, though some could resist and tank the cement quite well. Some animals even possessed their own bending, but Ahcom could weaken their chi. Throughout the level, they smashed open hamster cages to free Eitra’s hamsters, who would happily scamper after the girls and mimic their platforming motions.

At the top of the tower, a kangaroo in a navy uniform stood guard with a platoon of baby kangaroos, boxing gloves over their fists. “Mr. Nagillig, it seems these naughty intruders are trying to make off with your ’amsters.” The kangaroo said in an Australian accent.

“YO, EELYAH!” Eitra dropped from the ceiling and gave his sister a tight hug. “Been worried about ya, girl! You won’t believe what-!” Against his will, he squeezed Eelyah tighter, but she pushed him off with a cement fist.

“Eitra, tell those ’amsters of yours to seize them!”

“Agh! Hamsters… attack the enemies!”

The hamsters knew what he meant and saluted: they lined up to fight the kangaroos. Eitra was still forced to attack his sister, his Haki a strong match against her Cement Fists. The kangaroo, Pet Tamer Aliehs, instructed her children to maneuver and strike accordingly, but Eitra was still able to give directions to the hamsters. Ahcom merely hung back to observe, but she noticed Aliehs doing warm-up punches. …Narrowing her eyes, Ahcom could sense chi building up in the kangaroo’s gloves.

Eelyah was eventually able to hold Eitra down and bind him in cement, and both the hamsters and kangaroos were passed out from exhaust. It was then Aliehs leapt at Eelyah to deliver a powerful Kanga Punch, but Ahcom jumped to slap her arm with her palm. Aliehs spun to tail-whack Ahcom away, then delivered the punch to Eelyah’s cement shield. The punch cracked the shield, but lost a lot of its force. Ahcom recovered and engaged Aliehs, blocking her gloves and dealing chi-blocking punches to the kangaroo until she was down.

Black Wing Gang

“There was another Aliehs, huh?” Asia asked after hearing the report. “I wonder if your mom named you after her?”

“I think it’s just a typical Australian name.” Aliehs shrugged.

The girls playfully kicked Sirhc’s small ball form around the street partway to their next destination. Lirpa was being forced to work inside a military restaurant. Sirhc infiltrated by rolling through the vents and along the floor of a kitchen, careful not to trip any of the cooks. (Music: “Fiesta de los Muertos” from Rayman.) Sirhc would find a switch and open the backdoor, allowing the girls to enter. The cooks were trained in combat and began to fight the intruders, but were swiftly dealt with. They would have to platform over fiery ovens, dodge mechanical knife guns, exploding turkeys, and other culinary hazards. In an area where the door was sealed, Sirhc would be kicked into a small vent and roll his way around a cafeteria, evading the shoes and sights of the soldiers until he found the switch.

During his third sneak-around, Sirhc found Lirpa cooking in the classiest kitchen. She prepared several dishes and carried them away, the Armordillo discretely following. Lirpa led him to a private room where Vice-Admiral Mada was waiting. She had prepared a Lava Steak, Spicy Soup, explosive bread, and boiling water. He took a bite of the bread, but shouted, “What’s this?! It’s supposed to taste like a firework, not a fricking balloon! My meal’s ALL ruined now! Get in there and make it again!”

“Can’t you eat the fucking rest?!”

“DON’T GIMME THAT ’TUDE! I’m a world class gourmet, and I WANT MY GRUB!”

“How about we grub you in the face?!” The officer whipped around: Asia and Aliehs entered the room after Sirhc hit the switch.

“Asia! Aliehs!”

“Hey! This floor ain’t no place for the likes of you!” Mada shouted, his fist boiling lava. “Lirpa, punish them!”

Aliehs and Lirpa engaged in a kicking battle, while Asia used her airbending to blow Mada’s lava away, the cooling air causing to harden for small intervals. While they dealt with them, Ahcniea chose to sneak over to another room, hoping to find more prisoners. She found a room with piles of acorns… and Rear-Admiral Reknoc stuffing himself. “Good golly gosh… all this time, we were serving a bloody pirate. Why did this happen? If it weren’t for this chip, I’d stay in here and eat all day, but I’ll be forced back into battle any moment.”

“Mr. Reknoc!” Ahcniea called, earning the squirrel’s attention. The Lilliputian walked up to him innocently. “If you would let me, I could remove that chip for you!”

“Oi, it’s the little’n! You’d best not come here, or…oh no!” As the Navy Seal flashed in his eyes, Reknoc began to morph. Ahcniea was horrified as he turned into a monstrous acorn with thin arms and legs. “Watch out, young’n! I ate the Acorn-Acorn Fruit! They’ll all be after you! Run!” (Music: “Being Chased” from Conker!)

Reknoc burped some kind of gas over the thousands of acorns. They all popped eyes and came to life, bouncing at Ahcniea with cartoonish “boing” sounds. Ahcniea used her knife to cut them down to size, eating some to regain her stamina. She ran about the hordes and searched for the largest acorn, that being Reknoc. If he saw her, he would be forced to run away, so Ahcniea climbed him from behind. He tried to shake her off as she needled his soft top, Ahcniea having to grab the stem when he tried. She was able to get into his brain and make him ram the wall, dizzying Reknoc. Ahcniea fell off, but the battle wasn’t over. Reknoc began trying to Ground Pound her, and with the acorns distracting, she got squished once. Ahcniea baited him for a second attack, but stabbed his rear with a knife. Reknoc bounced and fell on his front, rubbing the sore spot. Ahcniea was able to get on his head and repeat her first technique, damaging Reknoc again.

Several of the acorns piled up over their master, shielding him. Others remained to fight Ahcniea, but as she cut them up, she formed her own acorn suit and disguised herself. The other acorns got confused and looked around. Ahcniea was able to merge herself with the “armor” and dug down to Reknoc’s head. She poked his brain once more, forced him to shake the acorns off, and bash his head against the wall again. Reknoc fell unconscious, morphing back to normal as the acorns lost sentience. She proceeded to pick open his head and pick out the chip.

“Ahcniea, there you are!” Sirhc rolled in. “They knocked out Lirpa, we have to go!”

“I just finished!” Ahcniea jumped into his hands, Sirhc curling up and rolling out with her.

Aliehs carried Lirpa and bolted across an emergency exit walkway, Sirhc joining. Mada sent a flow of lava after them. (Music: “Speedy Comet” from Mario Galaxy.) Asia stayed airborne and used wind gusts to slow the lava down. Soldiers flew on jetpacks and tried to shoot them, but Aliehs took them down with Dark Fists. They reached the end of the walkway and made the jump over some roofs, before a silver slash stopped them. “Aliehs!” Admiral Eniram landed before them.

“Hey, Mum. Gonna try to stop us?”

“You know I don’t want to!” Eniram dealt kicks against her daughter. Aliehs passed Lirpa to Asia to better meet her attacks. “I…I’m sorry, Aliehs! For being such a blind fool! If I’d have known what Sir Ovi was plotting, I would’ve taken him down right then!”

“Yeah, but then I couldn’t stand my mom being the Fleet Admiral. Then I’d have way less freedom!”

“Indeed…” Eniram smirked, making Light Spears drop down, but Aliehs endured and punched her in the nose. Since it was nighttime, Aliehs had the elemental advantage, but she was a bit tired from fighting Lirpa.

It was then Eniram took a shot to the hip. “HEY, stinky procione!” Awful Oiram stood on another roof. “Remember me?!”

“You again?!”

“Heard this was a nice restaurant! Invited some boys to take it over!” Some mafia ships flew over the building. Nonoblovs (sentient spoons) dove from them and invaded. Eniram glared, but was relieved as she focused her attacks on Oiram. Asia looked at Aliehs questionably. The Faunus sighed and chose to retreat, trusting her mom to survive.

Block Breaker Gang

Eelyah and Ahcom rode a boat across a walled lake, where a long stone bridge spanned across, zigzagging at several angles. (Music: “Bullet Bill Blockade” from 3D World!) There were troops, tanks, and droids marching the road, and the speakers resounded with the “HUP! TWO! HUP! TWO!” of Eirik’s voice. Eelyah forced her way through the platoons, platforming over lines of Bullet Llibs and using Ahcom to crawl under tanks, get inside, and K.O. the drivers so Eelyah could climb over them. Eirik was on a stage at the back of the brigade, shouting in large speakers to blow them back. “HEY, if it ain’t my block-brained buddy! I’d be happy to see ya if I weren’t shouting against my will! Ya mind DOING something?!”

Eelyah molded a cement wall to push against the soundwaves, struggling to maintain it. But once they were close enough, Ahcom climbed a ladder Eelyah left in the wall. She jumped over and landed on Eirik, chi-blocking her throat. Eirik was forced to strangle the short girl, but Eelyah bound her up in cement before she could.

“Eelyah happy you okay, Eirik.”

“Yeah, me too, ya big oaf. …?! Whoa, Eelyah! Mudbending suits you, but those things are ugly, girl!”

“Whuh…?” They turned. There was a platoon of large mud monsters marching up the way they came. They were drowning the KO’ed soldiers in their muck.

“Ha ha ha!” Austin, the blue-haired farm boy Despairager, led the monsters shaped like him. “Hey, thanks for knocking them out for me! I’ll take them away if you girls wanna split.”

“Who are you?” Ahcom asked.

“I’m Asigan, from the Smile Pirates. I’m guessing you’re all DNK. I know we’re supposed to be enemies, but I was just here to abduct some troops.”

“Where all mud come from? Cube?” Eelyah asked.

“Well, most of it came from me. I’m a Logia, so I can store tons of mud in mah body! I can trap people, too, hehe.”

“Th-that sounds disgusting!” Ahcom cringed.

“Y’know, what’re the odds one of our operatives are trapped inside you?” Eirik asked.

“Huh? Uh, I dunno.”

“Eelyah, I think we should capture that creep!” Ahcom shouted. “His power sounds way too creepy!”

“Me guess so…”

“Aw, shucks. ’Guess I’ll have to get rough with you.” Austin expanded his mud hand and punched it at Eelyah, who bent cement around the fist and hardened it. The cement weighed his fist down, so Austin tore his arm out and reformed it. “You bend cement?! Darn, I didn’t expect this. Ah better get!” (Music: “Motley Bossblob” from 3D World.)

He treated past his Mudmen and commanded them to attack. Eelyah bent up parts of the bridge to create Cement Men in her likeness, plowing through the monsters. Eelyah caught up to Austin as he thrusted Mud Fists, stretching numerous out of his body. Eelyah only used two Cement Fists to counter them, but sent chi from her foot to melt the ground around Austin. He sank, and she hardened the dirt. Austin melted himself out of the trap and kept running. He made a cannon emerge from his belly to shoot mudballs at Eelyah, the Neanderthal tanking some hits while evading others. She put cement over her fingers, spun the arm, and molded a bowling ball, hurdling it at Austin to smash his head. She stretched cement to grab his cannon and yank it out, throwing it in the lake.

Austin made it to the end of the bridge and crossed the gate to enter a grass-covered field, the soil muddy on this cloudy day. Austin began to amass all the mud in the field, growing into a titan. But Eelyah had already bent up the bridge as they crossed it, melting and molding it all into a giant cement statue. As the giants traded blows, Eelyah began to pound the mud into the ground, melting the cement over him. Austin became trapped under a cement ground, with the whole underground area being trapped within the area’s stone architecture. There was only the tiniest hole for Austin to rise up from, but before he could leak out the rest of him, the hole sealed. The tiny Mudman panicked seeing a pair of huge feet, the hunched Neanderthal staring over him cutely. Austin tried to run, but Eelyah caught him in her beefy fingers.

“Is that actually him?” Ahcom asked, studying the tiny boy.

“I dunno how Logias work,” Eirik said, “but I guess they can move their conscience in whatever part of their element-body is available.”

“But what about your Logia-dimension? If we got you in a different source of mud, could you still access it?”

“…” Austin shrugged. “Me just get mud out from here.” Eelyah figured. “But only little! Huhu!”

Eelyah trapped Austin in a Cement Coffin afterward, and both him and Eirik would be uplifted to a DNK ship and taken away. “Wait!” Austin yelled. “Before you take me… I wanna ask y’all a favor. Can ya please find Incubator? He got taken by the navy back in Rebmevon. We really miss him…”

They remembered Incubator as the farmer from Windmill City. He was Akasim’s adoptive brother, who made an army of clones of her for the Smile Pirates. He was most likely brainwashed and serving the navy somewhere, along with all those clones. They had to wonder if Akasim wanted to see him again…

Either way, they still had to rescue Sipa, and they suspected she was in the captivity of the mages. Admiral Uub’s division was located in Sky City, a Greek-style town with numerous churches. Yrrah carried the Black Wing Gang up on a navy airship, stolen with the aid of Akurah and Yenmihc. Once they had infiltrated, Asia and Aliehs roamed the slums of the sacred town. It seemed to be a place of refugees, so the girls fit right in with their street clothes.

“The navy rescued me from Arim when the pirates took over.” said a young Nayaru girl. “Maybe when the war is over, I can go back some day…”

“Yeah, so anyway,” Asia blew off the topic, “do you know a place where they take, like, dark witches or something?”

“Um…well, I suppose there’s the Hanging City where they take sinners.”

“How does one get there from here?”

There was a long stairway in the farthest back of an alley. The girls and Sirhc traveled down the stairs and reached the Hanging City underneath the island. This town had shabbier-looking buildings and was loud with the sounds of rocket engines holding up the island. Lightbending troops and mages in church robes tried to stop them, and Asia would engage Pegasi in the air. Sirhc used his magnetic ball to travel over metal paths along the “ceiling,” hanging precariously over the abyss. He would land on his own pathways and shove down enemies before flipping switches, making paths for Aliehs to cross.

They fought their way through a military prison and broke into a treasure vault. Ahcniea picked open a sealed casket and found, “Sipa’s wand!”

“Ah!” Asia beamed and took it. “Then she has to be here somewhere!”

“HEY! Put that wand down!”

They spun, finding Vice-Admiral Ade at the entrance. “You’re that Zul girl’s master!”

“Look, kiddos, I don’t have time to deal with you. I just got a call that Zul’s been captured by the Smiles. So, why don’t we make this simple: hand the wand over, I’ll get going, and you kids get a chance to escape?”

“Yeah, why don’t you tell us where Sipa is first?” Asia glared.

“You’re outta luck ’cause she ain’t here. And even if I wanted to, I can’t tell you where she is.”

“Then why don’t you go worry about your own student and leave us alone?”

“Grrr!” Ade grunted. “Well, bad news for you: I’m gonna be forced to arrest you.”

“Or you could just stay still and let us knock you out.” Aliehs remarked.

“You think I want to work for that space devil?! Little punks like you are so full of yourselves that you don’t show any consideration. How about a little sympathy?! Don’t you feel sad that the most holy witch on Netheria is forced to serve evil?”

“Maybe, I’m still kinda too mad at you to care.” Asia said. “But hey, I was looking forward to getting back at you, anyway.”

Asia blew Ade off the railing and into the abyss, but she transformed into a robin harpy. Asia battled Ade in the open air, the mage using magic to summon flocks of robins. Asia whipped out a new weapon crafted by Yrrah, a Super-Vac! Her airbending enhanced the vacuum’s suction as it inhaled the birds. Asia would shoot the condensed birds back at Ade to damage her. Ade detached several feathers from her body and cast a spell to rapidly duplicate them. The feathers formed giant drills to launch at Asia, who formed an Aero Shield to disperse some, but took some cuts. Ade also formed a thick feather shield around herself, but Asia slurped it all into her vacuum. The bag of her vacuum would shrink as the duplicated feathers naturally disappeared from inside it.

Ade cast a curse on Asia that caused worms to emerge from her ears, much to the Nimbi’s utter disgust. The harpy landed talon cuts in her distraction, but Asia then flew right up against her, puffed air against her thumb, and caused tons of worms to spew out of her ears. She faced her left ear against Ade, shooting several worms down her throat. While the harpy gagged against them, Asia sucked Ade’s own feathers up her vacuum. Ade plummeted, but used a spell to quickly regrow her feathers. She fast-duplicated her feathers to gigantify her wings, with another spell to enhance their strength as she slammed them against Asia. Asia resorted to kicking on Storm Bird Fury, her black-winded wings matching Ade’s size to clash with her. She swat off several of Ade’s feathers, but she flew away and used magic to conjure a Feather Vortex. Asia mustered an equally big vortex from her vacuum, sucking the feathers inside. She flew directly to Ade and began spinning her in the suction. Afterwards, she switched the setting to ‘Blow’ to blast Ade the opposite way, smashing her against a tower.

Asia dove in to stamp her sneaker against the Robin Lady, knocking her out. “Well, now’s Ahcniea’s chance to do surgery on a harpy.”

Eelyah and Ahcom made their way back to the hideout. “Wait, wittle wats!” The muscular Cragmite choreman, Probelg chased hamsters around the street. “I wanna cuddle wid you!”

Eelyah and Ahcom entered the sewer hatch he was guarding. A mosquito was buzzing around Ahcom’s head, the girl whining and flailing her hands. “Go awaaaay! Mosquitoes shouldn’t be in cities!”

Once safe inside Otullak’s hideout, the girls settled for pizza. Nekcarb brushed Eelyah’s hair, the Neanderthals smiling warmly. “So, you guys are still missing one more friend?”

“Yeah, they said they haven’t found Sipa.”

“Haven’t found anyone with that name. But… I did find a new file in the Construction Folder.”

“Yeah?”

“Something called Orbit Evacuation. I haven’t been able to pick it open, yet.”

“Just focus on Sipa first.”

“Fine…”

Otullak couldn’t dig up any useful info on this matter… but he didn’t need to. DNKG called and reported that Nega-MG had rescued Sipa from the Y-Naut Fortress. With this, just about most of the operatives captured by the Four Emperors were saved. All those out in the field were asked to return to DNKG to discuss their next plan.

DNKG

The operatives made it back to base without too much issue. A feast was prepared to celebrate their success thus far. Akasim was invited up to reunite with Arohpsohp. When she was asked about the opportunity to see Incubator again… she was hesitant to answer at first.

Ahcniea removed the chips from Eirik, Eitra, Sipa, and any A.U. Pirates they rescued. “You found my wand!” Sipa beamed, happily taking her Devil’s Wand back from Asia. “Did anyone tell you you’re my bestie, Asia?”

“Only a few, hehe!” Asia laughed.

“I guess I don’t need this White Dragon, anymore!” Sipa casually tossed it away.

“Hey!” Nollid jumped to catch it. “A White Dragon? I actually need a new wand.”

“Oh! Well, it’s a good thing I saved it for you!”

“You were just about to throw it away!”

“Um…has anyone seen my daughter around?” Ave asked.

“Mrs. Noskcaj, I’m afraid your daughter is still in Meta-Beast custody.” Atawid responded. “To that end… Ahcniea, we may need your medical expertise down below. Annaira, you should come as well.”

In the base’s prison wing, Komugi lay on a stretcher with Yppils and Latsyrk watching over her. Ahcniea was told about the many shards of glass lodged within her. “These two are members of Ztar Xof.” Atawid said. “Their teammates have taken Ydolem elsewhere, and she’ll only be traded for this woman’s safety.”

“Yeh, so you bet’er get to work.” Latsyrk demanded, cocking a shotgun.

“But who is this lady?” Ahcniea asked.

“She’s Komugi.” Annaira remembered. “The one who the Ant King… was infatuated with.”

“Shut it and get to work!”

“Give me some proof that Ydolem’s okay!”

“Relax, we got our boys on call.” Yppils held up a communicator. “Your girl will be safe and sound so long as this dame remains the same.”

“She better.” Anna glared. “Anyway, Ahcniea can pick the glass out while I keep her blood stable. We shouldn’t have a problem saving her…”

…

Some sectors were still distraught over the loss of their friends. Nega-W called their families and reported Yllas’s death. The Monkey Crew called Innus and told her of Ycrad’s death. Hcaz wanted to be alone in the bathroom for a while, cursing himself for his weakness. “I couldn’t protect Purple… and we even lost Ycrad because of me. Dammit! I thought Super Fist was supposed to be unbeatable! I thought it was supposed to defy reality?!”

“You crazy fool! No one ever said Bo-bobo was invincible!”

“AH!” Hcaz jumped off his toilet seat and faced inside. Zach’s face appeared in the rippling reflection. “Where the heck did you come from?!”

“We denizens of the Crazyverse can communicate through the toilets!”

“You’re lucky I didn’t go!”

“Hcaz, although Bo-bobo Kempo seems strong, not everyone has a good sense of humor. Not everyone will be affected by it. The same way a normal punch won’t hurt a rubber man, or how cats aren’t swayed by bones. There has to be a time and a place for a good joke.”

“Well, there’s not gonna be a time now. There’s nothing funny about death and war! Our power only works if we ignore reality, but how can I ignore all this pain and despair around me?”

“I could ask myself the same question. But no matter how much darkness surrounds you, you have to keep your funny bone in check. Because without humor, happiness can never return! You can be pouty if you want, but don’t be potty forever. Eventually, someone will need to use that stall! Just wait for the right foe… and let your humor reach theeeeem…” He faded away within the ripples.

…

Detective Amo was strapped to a bed on his front, with Xedni studying the chip on his neck. Ydnic and Oyib were tied down as well. “It does seem like a tiny computer. With enough hacking, I may be able to detach it from his system. But if they’re connected to a network, I may be able to sabotage all of them. That’ll help Acificap in the event she received the same treatment…”

“How long you think it’ll take?” Narod asked, worried for his friend.

“Can’t really say…”

“Well… if anyone can do it, it’s you. You’re so smart and talented, Xedni.”

“Yeah, yeah, real flattering.”

“Mmmmm…” Narod could tell she was still upset about Field Day. He was pretty disgusted with himself, looking back on it. Xedni was more than being a heavy eater and he should’ve known that before. After this was over, Narod would have to make it up to her somehow.

…

“We actually saw Zul as we were escaping from Aluza.” Lorac said to Asia and Sipa. “She sounded really apologetic. I wanted to save her, but Nosam dragged me away!” She stomped and shot her face toward the taller boy.

“She was mean to Sipa!” Nosam argued. “And I don’t think it’s ’cause she was brainwashed!”

“But she sounded earnestly regretful! Even if Sipa were still mad at her, it was wrong to just leave her!”

“What do you think, Sipa?” Asia asked.

“Hmmm…” Sipa bowed in thought. “I mean… I’m still pretty mad about how they treated me… but I do pity them. I don’t want to see them hurt.”

“You see, Nosam?” Lorac stated. “If you’re gonna act considerate to other girls, you should’ve considered her feelings, too. So, until you rescue her… I forbid you from talking to me!” And she marched away.

“L-Lorac!” Nosam reached out… but knew deep down it was pointless. “Oh…” Depressed, Nosam looked around. He saw Aullik sitting depressedly at a table, eating some Water-Dogs. He went to sit with him. “Hey, bro. Things go bad?”

“Shyah. I’m a total loser.”

“AH, cheer up, ya big kahuna!” Anaigrom slid over and rested elbows on Aullik’s head. “If you hadn’t distracted those pirates, Asigan would’ve had a way harder time!”

“Big deal. Your friends think I’m stupid. And they act so awesome and make me feel stupid. ’Cause I can only make waves and stuff. And I can’t do other cool waterbending tricks.”

“Look, buddy, everyone’s got things they are and ain’t good at. I don’t know if it helps, but we need waterbending like yours out on the ocean. Just like we need Xedni for computers, it’s not like she’s much good in… sports or somethin’.”

“Yah, but she can make those little holo-thingies and still kick butt. You can’t do that with waves, man.”

“Well, if you really feel bad, why don’t you take this time to practice? Nosam’s a waterbender, too. Think you can give him a few pointers?”

“Er…I’m not really feeling up for it now.”

“Sheesh, boys are so picky. Just get back in the game soon, okay? I’m pepped for taking back Allebmoog’s homeworld and I want my man beside me!”

“Huhu…” Aullik spared a weak smile. But that passion just made him feel worse. They were all risking their lives to fight the mafia and stop their tyranny, but all Aullik wanted was to hook up with his girl and get a haircut. But if she was willing to fight this war… he would be a loser of a man if he didn’t help.

…

“Lorac.” Airam approached the thief. “There’s something we wanted to ask. You still have the Five Healthy Wonders in your possession, right?”

“Uh-huh?”

“Those will be vital in restoring Toadstool World’s vegetation. I’m not gonna ask you to retrieve them now, but as soon as we defeat Don Shrew, we’ll need them available.”

“I was actually gonna make a quick trip to my vault. There’s something else I wanted to have ready. I guess I’ll give the Healthy Wonders to the Little Dads while I’m there. They should know where the Brocco Tree is.”

“Do be careful then.”

As Lorac walked away, Sipa approached Airam next. “Hey, Airam, you mentioned that Admiral Uub hinted my whereabouts, right?”

“Not to us specifically, but that is what the others said. Supposedly, Uub is in league with the revolution.”

“That explains it. Uub is the one who ordered my transfer to the Y-Naut base. And he told me to ‘find him on Toadstool later.’ Do you think he wants me to help in the revolution?”

“I’m not sure what all he can do with Jarg managing his actions. You gonna try to find him?”

“I think I will.”

…

Airam then traveled to the medical wing, where Sutsugua was giving Asigan some medicine. Little Oemor stood by her head. He could sense her pain far more immensely at his level. “I can use these samples to make her a cure. She’s not in any immediate danger now, but between her, Ydnew, and the others, I’m not sure how long it’ll take.”

“Just fix them up as soon as possible.” Airam told him. “We’re gonna need to put everything we got into taking out Mom.”

“How’re we gonna do that?” Oemor asked. “We can’t just kill her, right? Are we just gonna… beat her down and lock her up somehow?”

“We’ll have to do more than that. We have to ensure she’ll never be able to hurt anyone again. And I sort of have an idea. When me and Revilo were on Toadstool, we were attacked by Meta-Beasts. And one of them had a timebending Devil Fruit that could summon creatures from the ancient past. Some of those poison bugs bit me and I nearly got sick. I think if we capture that guy and force him to use his powers for us, we could make a poison to bring Mom down.”

“But won’t she just become immune to those, too?”

“That’s why he and I need to do a little science. My mom is so doped on drugs that she’s a poisonous demigod. I’ve seen her and Dad get in a few fights, and whether it’s missiles, chainsaws, or whatever, my mom’s been able to tank them. We even saw her get crushed by Egeb’s castle form and survive. I’m sure enough damage would leave wounds eventually, but I still think the best way to take her down is make her taste her own medicine. By which I mean our own. …Poison.”

“It sounds kinda cruel though, hehe. But I can’t say I care either way. I want her gone as much as you do…”

Ydnew was sitting in a high chair while Ikik was trying to serve her baby food. “Baaaah!” She smacked the spoon away.

“I’m sorry, Ydnew, but we need to feed you stuff that’ll sit well in your tiny tummy. We promise we’ll have a good meal ready when you’re all grown up again.”

“Probably be good for your diet, too.” Revilo remarked.

“And who asked you?!”

“Just saying. You’re hitting puberty too fast with all that hair.”

Ikik dumped the small jar’s contents against his face. Revilo angrily wiped it off. “Can’t you be a little less of a dick in a situation like this?! If you hadn’t sided with her, WE wouldn’t have gotten involved! You’re fucking lucky I’m even sticking around!”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry! I was only joking.”

“And I don’t appreciate it! You and Airam were total jerks to me. At least she’s trying to change, but what’s your excuse?”

“W-well… I’m still mad that you didn’t come with us. And that you went to my mom behind my back. It doesn’t matter whose fault it was, but I…I can’t let my feelings go that easy!”

“Then act a little nicer! I thought if I helped out with this, we could at least try to be friends again. Even if you were a jerk, I thought you would appreciate me for helping this time, but you’re still an entitled prick!”

“F-Fine. I-I do appreciate it… Ikik. Getting captured by that witch, forced to work for her… I was so fucking pissed, I wanted to strangle her so many times! And I kept thinking if the rest of you sided with us, we wouldn’t have wound up captured. So, I was mad at you and that shrimp, Oemor, but… I’m glad you decided to stay. I can’t really… figure out how to say it.”

“…At least you tried.” Ikik sighed. “Let’s just keep the stress to a minimum, okay? We’re all gonna need each other’s support for the rest of this war.”

“Yeah…”

“Yay!” Ydnew cheered.

“Hey, her first word!”

…

The DNK addressed Nerehc Onu and Atawid on the cafeteria stage. “We lost some friends during the first phase of this war, and I won’t hold it against anyone if they wanna go home. Even so… we as the ‘Daring Pirates’ must win this war, or we’ll all wind up as the Emperors’ slaves. I’ve just been to the Posiverse, and things are going just as well with Cheren’s crew. So, we gotta work our hardest so we don’t get upstaged! If we’re going to secure a total victory, we can’t just wait for the pirates to kill each other. We have to defeat the Four Emperors and their commanders with our own hands! But first, I’ll need a show of hands. Who’s ready to go the distance and finish this war?”

“YEAH!!” Most of the operatives shot fists up.

“And with that, we’ve already secured our victory.” Atawid smirked, holding up a sheet of printed paper. “Just like when the Under Army attacked, I’ve already set you guys up with a foe. But if you want, we can go ahead and discuss further. I’m sure some of you already have your fights picked out.”

The ops looked over Atawid’s list, sharing discussions of either agreement or worry. “Hmm, I see…” Yrret stroked his chin. “Hey, Ylime… I might need your help to beat him. Will you?”

“Uh-huh!” She nodded determinedly.

“Yeah, not surprised to be set up with her.” Anaigrom shrugged. “I’m up for it.”

“Hmm…” Ydnew glared, but nodded. “Boo-boo.”

“Oh, I see…” Ynohtna observed. “Alright! I’ll do my best!”

“Oh…” Ibyf read her match in mild surprise. “I guess it does make sense…”

“WHOA!!” Eel screamed, startling the crowd. “Atawid, are you crazy?!”

“I beg your pardon?”

“What the heck?! You set yourself up with… THE ANT KING!”

The kids quickly checked this fact, and gasped! “Yup.” Atawid tapped a finger to her forehead. “Call it my intuition… but I think I’m the only suitable match for him.”

“Call it arrogance, more like it.” Nerehc said. “Just let me fight him. My white flames against his gold ones.”

“Now, Nerehc, don’t you have faith in me?”

“I want to, but…”

“Then just be patient and go along with my plan.”

“Hmm…well, is everyone satisfied with their matches?”

“Uh-huh.” Revilo nodded.

“UH-HUH!” Leic fist-pumped.

“Absolutely!” Sipa smirked.

“Hey, Lirpa, wanna train with me?” Aliehs asked.

“Not a bad idea~”

“Then Daring Pirates, you’re free to ship out whenever! Crush those pirates and win this war for everyone!”

Tnacsuroc

Fleet Admiral Ovi marched out on the headquarters balcony. The news broadcasted the admiral to all homes on the planet. “Attention, people of Tnacsuroc! The threat of the pirates has escalated. Thousands of districts have been ransacked and more are bound to follow. But the navy has prepared a contingency plan to ensure your safety. We have established various towns as Safe Zones, complete with barriers and state-of-the-art security. Everyone is ordered to move to the nearest Safe Zone immediately. Worry not, for we will crush the pirates soon so you all may return to your homes! For now, in the likely event war comes to those homes, you must be safe.”

…

“Orbit Evacuation?” Otullak repeated. “Wait… could this plan be…uhhhh…”

Otullak’s head felt empty. His knowledge was slipping away, as was his blood. The mosquito suckled at his head like a smoothie.

The mosquito expanded, becoming a skinny, large-eyed humanoid hybrid. He had black hair, a torn black top, and ripped blue jeans. The monster finished sucking Otullak’s blood as he passed out. It pulled out a communicator and said, “ZAD, I FWOUND OTULLAK! YE WAS YELPING THE ZNK.”

“Otullak?! Report your location at once, Imulli! That slacker’s getting a thousand whoopins!”

Imulli was the eldest brother of the Kcydloz family, the eater of the Bug-Bug Fruit, Mosquito Model. He could suck blood from his victims, rendering their limbs immobile or mind unconscious. People are appalled by him, so he spends most of the time as a bug.

Toadstool; Spring Mountain

According to Reswob Jr., he suspected Admiral Uub would be waiting on Spring Mountain, a relaxing place under constant rain with Japanese aesthetics. (Music: “Dragon Road Night” from Sonic Unleashed.) Sipa ventured the mountain under the dark of night, battling Aurors from Uub’s division. She used spells to solve puzzles, like shrinking a fallen tree to help the river flow, allowing her to ride a boat across, or burning down giant spiked chestnuts. The lanterns helped light the way up this dark, damp mountain.

She found Uub standing in an open area of the forest. “You’ve got your Devil Wand back, eh? You’ve chosen to stay attached to dark magic.”

“I use dark magic to help my friends. I may end up in the Underworld, but it won’t matter if I can stop you corrupt jerks!”

“I’ve no grounds to argue, anymore. Not while we’ve been puppets all this time. But in a way, this was a good outcome. I was planning to die for a long time.”

“How come?”

“As you know, I’m a special Animagus who can transform into the elephant spirit, Airavata. When Airavata dies, his divine chi is released into the atmosphere and creates seven days of worldwide rain. So, when I die, rain will fill the entirety of Toadstool. Doing so should purify the planet’s vegetation and natural life.”

“So, that’s your goal. Are you sure it’ll work?”

“It should. Because -15 years ago… I traveled to the Posiverse and challenged the Firstborn Manaphy for his God Chi.”

“WHAT?!”

“It was hard to get him and Kyogre to accept, since I’m not a waterbender. But they agreed to it after they listened to my cause. I was allowed to use all my magic; if I had just used water spells, I would’ve been trounced easily. But after earning a portion of Manaphy’s chi, Airavata’s water became even purer. With this, I can definitely restore Toadstool anew. However… so long as Don Shrew was in power, she could easily poison this world again. But you DNK… you plan to dispose of her in this war, right?”

“We will.”

“I’ll have to bet on it. With Jarg limiting my freedom, I can’t end my own life. He may even force me to leave the planet. So, I’ve no choice but to rely on you. If I let Don Shrew or one of her officers kill me, they may suspect something. ’Course, endless worldwide rain is enough to drive suspicion. But don’t you have anyone else with you?”

“They’re on standby. I plan to beat you with my own magic. Don’t worry, I don’t plan to curse your rain or anything. If you want me to kill you, all you need is pain.”

“Very well. Let us duel!” (Play “Boss Battle 1” from Smash Brawl!)

Sipa conjured red bubbles and cast them, Uub blocking with Protego before flicking a disarming spell. Sipa dodged and zapped the ground around Uub, stretching black-brambled trees to stab him. She burned a circled design around her, so when Uub tore through the trees and lunged, she jumped away. Landing in the circle, a spire of Hellfire erupted from it, burning Uub. Sipa followed with Sectumsempra to slash the Najin, but he withstood the cut and flicked another Expelliarmus, knocking Sipa’s wand away. She tried to grab it, but Uub caught her in magic ropes and raised her. Sipa kicked her right shoe at him—the shoe grew fangs and gnashed the admiral’s face. It snapped the ends of the ropes, dropping Sipa as she reclaimed her wand.

Uub cast charms at the trees to bring them to life, having them stretch their roots to grab her. Sipa cast flame spells to hold them back, but was then trapped in a Stun Spell. Uub leapt to PUNCH Sipa in the head, sending her flying. She was able to mutter a spell to break the stun, in time to dodge a Glacius and cast a jinx to flip Uub’s vision upside-down. Sipa cast a version of Lumos Solem where the sunlight flickered on and off, hoping to ruin his vision further, but Uub cast a Sunshade Spell on himself, followed by a Light Arrow spell into Sipa’s eyes. Anticipating Uub’s attack, she cast a Jelly Bones spell on herself, nullifying the damage as she was kicked and bounced back.

She undid the spell, then used another to erase the light in her eyes before she became too blinded. Uub cast electric spells, but Sipa cast Protego in defense. She bit her hand and drew blood, spilling it on the soil. Sipa drew a design around the blood and brought a lion to life, made of dirt and glowing red eyes. Uub spun his own magic design in the air, creating a tiger to fight the lion, but the tiger was eaten first. Sipa Apparated behind Uub and pricked the back of his neck with a spell, taking some blood and mixing it with some of her leaking blood. She poofed to another spot, drew another circle, and dripped the blood on it. Uub spun his arms to cast Ventus at Sipa, but the witch changed her feet into roots to stick to the ground. Still in the circle, Sipa bit off her own finger, causing Uub to lose the same finger. She jabbed her wand into her right eye, poking Uub’s eye, but the mage cast a spell to make a mud wave and ruin Sipa’s circle.

Uub finally transformed into the Airavata. As Sipa climbed out of the mud, she quickly cast Protego to block a gush of water, afterwards Apparating underneath him. Sipa burned a circle on the ground and caused a black crystal iceberg to rise and pierce his belly. Uub shook off and shattered the crystal, spinning and sweeping the whole area with his giant trunks. However, Sipa had Apparated farther across the mountain, taking the time to draw a bigger circle, lighting candles, and uttering a long incantation. Uub felt the rise in power and spat five gushes of water. But with a flash of red lightning, Sipa transformed into her own Animagus: a Cerberus. The three-headed dog pranced up the mountain and engaged the five-headed elephant.

Her huge fangs gnashed his trunks, practically tearing them off, but Uub willed steam to seep out and burn her. He slammed his trunks against Sipa to knock her away, followed by cannons of water to push her farther. Sipa used her claws to draw another design in the ground, but with Uub’s water flying to ruin it, Sipa ingested the water. The water boiled in her stomach and became toxic, so as Uub charged at her, she spat it back, burning the elephant. Sipa charged, bit his trunks, and swung him around and into the circle. Powered by her own blood once more, Sipa called a spell and electrified Uub with red lightning. Uub spilled his own blood to break the spell, but Sipa pounced his back and gnashed three of his brains. The trunks reached up to grab her, but Sipa jumped down and thrusted his side, chewing the legs afterward to knock him over. Sipa tore directly into his necks, Uub choking out cries of pain. Eventually, the elephant stopped struggling. (End song.)

Sipa ran out of energy and shrank back to normal size, panting on the ground. “Keh…cough…” Uub smiled. “Sipa… I hope that my rain… will wash away… the evil of Toadstool.”

Sipa cracked a smile, too weak to move any more. Uub passed away… and Airavata’s mist rose to the heavens. The rain poured harder over Spring Mountain… and the rest of the world was covered in rainfall. “Sipa!” Asia flapped over, landing beside her friend laying alone on the mountain. “We saw you two after you transformed! You were wild, girl! What happened?”

“Asia… we need to call the Little Dads. I think they should bring the Brocco Tree now. Uub’s rain is… purifying the vegetation of this world. If his rain combines with the Brocco Tree… Toadstool is sure to be saved.”

“That’s gonna be tricky with the mafia still active. What about you? You look like you overdid it.”

“Yep. I don’t think I’ll be able to use… magic for a while. Hope you don’t… need me too bad.”

“Hehe. Let’s get you outta here.” Asia lifted her friend and flew off.

Chapter Text

It’s time to begin the Retaliation Arc of the war!

Arim

The Gungi board sat in eternal stalemate. The white and black pieces were patient and ready on their respective sides, but no orders were issued. The Ant King expected no less after returning to his base. He had begun to fear it would remain in stasis forever. But now there was hope. “Sire.” Ridley walked in. “Why did you let the DNK have the Gungi Champion? With our equipment, we could’ve easily treated-”

“The DNK are more honorable than our crew, Ridley. Our equipment is primarily designed to physically or genetically remodel people. I want no such things done to Komugi.”

“But the DNK are our enemies! They’ll find a way to save Ydolem and keep Komugi protected. One of us needs to go and supervise them!”

“You and the other officers will remain where I assigned you. The DNK have their duty to fight this war, as do we. And victory will go to whoever’s the strongest… and the smartest.” He thought of that girl from the moon. “And I have a feeling… our matches are already set.”

…

The commanders were stationed at different areas around the Bioless. Other DNK ops, including rescued Arim prisoners, were on other parts of the Titan, fighting Meta-Beasts. Half the Gem Pirates, consisting of Nega-IC and Atnort, started from the left shoulder protrusion that was situated against the ground beneath the sea, while Yddam, Ylime, Okam, and the other aliens (minus Annaira and Avakam) ran up the right protrusion.

“Ah, welcome back, my little runaways!” A giant, orange dragonfly ambushed Ikuyim’s group. “Here to return to your cozy little prisons? If I capture all you, I’m bound to get a marvelous promotion!”

“You know the plan, guys.” Atnort said. “Run ahead and I’ll deal with him.”

“Alol, stay behind for support.” Ikuyim ordered. “The rest of us will run ahead.”

“Got it!”

“Not so fast!” Ripto spat fire at them, but Ikuyim stomped up some boulders in defense. Atnort shot Ripto with a jolt of lightning, leaving his team to keep going. “Fine, forget it! Separating is only gonna make you weaker in the long run!”

“We’re just being efficient, that’s all!” Atnort lit up. “The faster we take you all down, the faster we’ll win this war!” (Music: “Dogadon 1” from DK64!)

Ripto flew quick circles around Atnort, spitting fireballs. Atnort dodged with lightning speed and zapped bolts at Ripto’s face. The dragon grew fatigued and flew up onto a tall pillar to rest. Atnort tossed his two Shock Discs up, shooting lightning at them before they directed it against Ripto’s horn like a rod. Ripto growled and took flight again. He began to muster huge sums of chi in his breath and spit walls of fire, but Atnort rode his discs up and over the walls. He flew at Ripto, who swung his tail, but Atnort aimed the discs like a shield and flashed an electric barrier, stunning the dragon. Atnort zapped his wings and made him fall to the ground.

As both landed, Ripto began to bounce around the ground and make forceful shockwaves. Atnort tossed a disc to drill along the ground, sending an electric current to it as it got underneath Ripto to zap him. Atnort followed with another shock to the horn. Ripto recovered his flight and flew higher, his whole body igniting with Fury as he spat meteors around the earth. Atnort, remembering his battle with Nerehc, rode his discs and engaged the dragon in the air, activating Thunder Rod Fury. He tanked Ripto’s tail whacks with electro jolts, but Ripto himself endured them and kept on the offensive. Atnort was swatted away, but he zipped around the air until he recovered his discs, zapping fast laser-bolts at the dragon’s center.

As the exchange went on, Ripto decided to finish this with a, “DRAGON COMET!” He encased his body in a ball of flames and zoomed around the air to build momentum. Atnort hovered in place to muster a huge sum of lightning, so when the dragon came, he would blast with quick, but compact force. The lightning pierced down Ripto’s body, and Atnort barely dodged as his form was grazed by the fire. But the dragon would slow his spin as his body understood the fact that its brain was fried, the horn snapping off. Ripto and Atnort crashed on the earth. Alol hurried to pour water over and cool him down, calling the DNK to arrest Ripto, who had shrunk back to his Riptoc form.

…

Yddam’s group had encountered Commodore Krawq on the other protrusion, commanding a giant robot that looked like Alil. “Hey, if it isn’t Mr. Justice’s little fangirl! Ready to join your hero in the afterlife?!”

“Alil, that thing looks like you!” Beewv exclaimed.

“I-it’s my big sister, Asor!”

“Sorry, but I already had my fill of you.” Yddam stated. “I’ll let Okam play with you this time.”

“This guy’s my opponent?” Okam scoffed. “I’ve taken out a dozen villains with bigger chins than this.”

“I’ll show you a big chin! Squash ’em flat, Asor!”

“Super Fist of the Jest Star, Asor’s ex-boyfriend!” Okam summoned her own large chibi robot, resembling a punk boy with a pompadour. He tried to swoon Okam into riding his new flying donkey. Asor flushed in anger and kicked them both away, yelling that a donkey took her father’s keychain. Distraught, the boyfriend flew into the moon, which spun from the impact and revealed a casino full of donkeys.

“Wait, you’re another one of those clowns, aren’t you?” Krawq asked. “Andross warned me about you, but don’t even think that… HUH?!” He panicked, realizing he was sitting on a donkey and not Asor. “ASOR, WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP THERE?!”

Asor was up on the casino, playing Donkey Poker. “The only way to eliminate them is from the inside!”

“Heh heh.” Okam smirked. “Looks like I’ve found an audience. Hcaz, I hope this battle starts a little fire in your laugh box.”

…

Ikuyim’s group made it to the Earthyth Sea. (Music: “Sky Troops” from Shadow the Hedgehog.) It was an archipelago of artificially floating islands, underneath an upside-down sea. The capital island was Htomacla, once home to a tribal race called the Low Aitne. Nollid soared around the islands on Mr. Noskcaj’s broomstick and shot down Pegasi, fauns, and other enemy Ralavans with his White Dragon wand. The others crossed the islands via catapults or wood bridges. Both Ikuyim’s and Yddam’s groups would meet up on Htomacla. There was a great elevator that would lift them up through the sea.

“Mwah ha ha! So, you really ARE coming up the long way!” The Negatar Dragon, Oryps soared down. “The king suspected you would.”

“Well, we do enjoy a good walk!” Ikuyim cheered. “Besides, it’s like a videogame. We’ll encounter more bosses as we keep working our way up.”

“Hey, Negatar Ripoff.” Nollid stated. “I gotta ask you something. When you captured us before, I noticed you didn’t have a shadow. And that was just after the king realized Komugi was gone, even though I just saw her in her room.”

“What of it, brat?”

“I’ll tell you what! It was YOU! You kidnapped her and tricked the king into chasing us!”

“What a wild accusation! And where’s your proof, boy?”

“Actually, Atawid figured it out, after we recapped the events. And she’s usually never wrong. ’Course, after Komugi comes to, maybe she’ll have a better memory.”

“You kids can go on and keep her! His Majesty was a lot more focused with her absence. He was vengeful! He was determined to burn those lesser Emperors! Or at least one of them. But if she is to return, we will win this war before that! We’ll crush you weaklings, and His Majesty will burn your leader and all the other pirates!”

Nollid crafted a complex magic circle and summoned a spiked dragon to fly up and ram Oryps, who caught it in psychic and attempted to squeeze the beast. “I figured out why we can’t warp on this planet. That Ain girl explained that this planet has specific exit points to the Ley Lines, and people have to locate and ‘connect’ with them first. Still, I was able to summon that dragon before. Summon Magic usually works via the wizard’s own ‘private’ Ley Lines, and it’s only temporary before they warp back. I guess that’s why I can still use that magic here.”

During the Voyage, Ynnad brought Nollid to Ralava. He led Nollid around the planet to introduce him to his dragons. Ynnad made Nollid a backup contractor for each of these dragons, so that he may summon them whenever the need arose. “The DNKG helped me find these guys back when I worked for them. I don’t plan to go on missions, anymore, but they can still help you out.”

“Well, they’ll be handy to have in case of emergency. Heh, let’s hope we get along!”

Oryps took the spike dragon down as it warped away. “How clever! Yes, not many are aware of that, which made this planet an ideal base. Huh?”

The other operatives had already run onto the elevator, rising up through the sea. “Your friends have abandoned you? That’s a shame~”

“I got plenty of backup, smarty! Some dragons of Ralava don’t take kindly to you.”

“Well, I didn’t ask to be stuffed full of Nature Crystals and turned into an advent of darkness! Go ahead and summon them! I’ll show them all the hatred I was forced with!”

“Whatever. Willing or not, it sounds like you enjoy your darkness plenty.” (Music: “Dogadon Rematch” from DK64.)

Oryps first tried to take Nollid’s wand with psychic, but he already used a spell to glue it to his hand. Oryps telekinetically squeezed him instead, but Nollid remembered Alol’s lessons and thought carefree things to escape his grasp. Nollid summoned a Frost Dragon to blow a blizzard over the Negatar, but Oryps’ toxic vomit singed the dragon. The icebender endured and flew up to bite Oryps’ neck, freezing part of it before disappearing. Nollid flew up on his broomstick and summoned an Earth Dragon to Ground Pound Oryps, pinning him down. Nollid used another spell to create a huge block to drop on Oryps, but an expanding psychic bubble pushed both away.

Oryps bellowed a Scare Scream at the earthbender, followed by a glob of poison saliva, but Nollid cast Protego to block the poison. Oryps shot Fear Spheres, but Nollid tanked them so his dragon could stomp a rock jab at Oryps’ jaw, followed by a Rock Clap that Oryps broke free of. The earthbender disappeared as Oryps sent his shadow to gnash at Nollid, who cast Lumos Solem in defense. Oryps knocked Nollid off his broom with a Psy-Sphere, but he used Accio to summon it back. He remounted and barely dodged the shadow’s fangs, and he used Fumos to cast a large cloud of smoke to evade them both.

Nollid got far enough to summon a Fear Dragon, bellowing its own Scare Scream that Oryps countered. He stretched his shadow to snag the fearbender in a Possession, but Nollid snapped the bind with Solem. Oryps choked the dragon in psychic, but it broke the psychic with Fear Spheres and launched at Oryps. Getting directly in his face, the dragon used Scare Stare, giving Oryps the vision of Ant King stabbing him in the throat. An enraged Oryps breathed a cloud of toxic gas, sickening the Fear Dragon. Nollid had it disappear and conjured another block, shoving it down Oryps’ throat to clog up his gas. Oryps crunched it, covered him in a barrier, and thrusted at Nollid. He dodged, but Phantom Oryps caught him, allowing his master to deal a successful thrust.

Nollid fell toward the ground, but recovered in time to cast a spell to break his fall. He ran from a shower of Psy-Spheres, but they were loaded with poison to enhance their explosions, Nollid coughing from the smog. But amidst this smog, Nollid summoned a Cloud Dragon to cover the whole ground in white fluff. It spat thicker clouds at Oryps, but he strangled it in psychic. The cloudbender shook free and flew circles around Oryps, spreading a sphere of clouds. Oryps expanded a bubble and split the sphere, barfing more toxic over the white dragon.

As it disappeared, Oryps saw several more dragons rise from the fog: a Web Dragon, Mud Dragon, Water Dragon, Song Dragon, and a Bone Dragon. “It must use a lot of magic to summon that many dragons at once! But if an Avatar battle’s what you want, it’s what you’ll get!” Oryps entered the Negatar State, surrounded in a bubble of his five elements. The Web Dragon tried to trap him while the Mud and Water ones smothered him, the Bone one blew a dusty breath to make Oryps cough, and the Song countered the fearbending. The many elements clustered so intensely that Nollid couldn’t keep track of it all, and he needed the time to rest with all that loss of chi.

Ultimately, Oryps was able to KO all the dragons, half of which sans the Web and Bone Dragons teleported away. The Negatar panted in exhaust, smirking over Nollid’s weary form. “Quality over quantity… kid… you…yaaaaawn…”

“What’s wrong? Feeling sleepy?” Nollid smirked.

“W-what…?!” He realized a tiny, light-purple dragon was puffing soft clouds into his left ear.

“Didn’t know I summoned a Sleep Dragon, did ya?”

“NNN!” Oryps shook it off, but the small dragon flew quick in evasion. The Web Dragon recovered and caught Oryps’ tail in a web, slamming Oryps against the ground. The Bone Dragon flew high and dove down, dealing a Skull Burst! The action cracked both their skulls, KOing the foggy-headed Oryps. The three dragons disappeared. “Sigh…thanks for the gifts, Ynnad.” Nollid smiled. “Sorry… but I’ll have to trust the others to help Ydolem.”

“OI! There’s one of the operatives!” A band of pirates came rushing.

“Whoa, is that Commander Oryps?! Did he take him out?!”

“Crud…” Nollid grunted.

“UAH!” Their metal armor was ripped off, and then a swarm of Razor Leaves flew to slice the exposed aliens.

“Nollid!” Eel and Ulul of Sector ZR ran up.

“You two?!”

“Yeah, Atawid said it was just about our cue.”

“The Aknam Forest is just up there, right?” Ulul asked. “Then my match should be up there, too!”

…

The Gem Pirates fought their way through a Nopon fortress after riding the elevator. Professor Oosoos ambushed them with a horde of artificial Blades. Alil took the liberty of getting revenge on her creator, while Beewv took out the robots. They reached the “bottom” of the tree and entered the decayed Aknam Forest. But suddenly, a wave of blue whisked across the forest, filling it with lush plant life and vicious fauna. They battled hordes of animals, Dinosoids, and Mantids from the Primagen’s division. (Music: “Primagen” from Turok!)

The big-brained alien in question ambushed them on a cliff near the forest’s end. “I can’t believe those wretched reptiles weren’t able to stop you. But here’s where-”

“Here’s where I come in!” Ulul came swinging on a vine, bending a giant flower to bash Primagen away.

“Ulul!” Ikuyim beamed.

“Once we learned about Primagen’s Past-Past Fruit, Atawid predicted he’d be waiting in a dead forest. Of course, only the Bioless could have such a forest!”

“Atawid’s predictions always astound me.” Yrret said. “Can we leave this to you, then?”

“Yep! And don’t worry about the others, they’ve just about wrapped up their fights.”

“Then good luck!” Ikuyim cheered, the ops continuing on.

“You were already planning to fight me yourself?” Primagen asked. “An unwise decision, little girl.”

“You’re the unwise one, bringing all these plants to the present!” Ulul bent the flora to her whim, binding Primagen down and shooting Bullet Seeds and Razor Leaves at his brain. Primagen would cut free and use bug wings to fly, drawing a laser blaster to shoot explosive shots. Ulul dodged and drew a cooking pot blaster, shooting steamed carrots to puncture his wings. He called for his minions to attack Ulul, but she used Animal Telepathy to command the ancient fauna to defend her. Ulul bent a large tree branch to swat Primagen to the ground, followed by a wave of boiled vegetable soup to his brain.

The Primagen still preserved against all her direct attacks, but by this time, morning was rising just under the cliffs. As sunlight highlighted the plants, Ulul entered Sunflower Fury, wearing a pot on her head with a huge flower on top. She spread her chi to all the surrounding plants, ensuring they would absorb all the sunlight they needed, while she had the animals gang up on Primagen. Ulul aimed all the buddings plants at him, lights rising within them. “SOLAR STORM!” A storm of Solar Beams rained against Primagen, knocking the alien out cold. This caused the forest’s life to return to its original time. “Huff…” Ulul noticed the Primagen had cut some of the past animals’ limbs off… and those limbs were still around. “Maybe they really can… use his power.”

Sector ZR would bind Primagen in chains and load him onto their ship. With that, they returned to DNKG.

Ztar Hazard

Xof McSun and Oclaf were keeping Ydolem leashed and cuffed on the dark island. Xof would often pass apologetic looks to her, while Ydolem returned looks of understanding. Xof’s ears perked up, hearing a ship coming: it was Avakam’s. She landed across the island and approached the Moebians calmly. “H-hey! We didn’t get the call from our teammates!” Xof yelled. “Is Komugi healed?!”

“Yeah, she’s just about fixed.” Avakam assured. “We’ll be taking Ydolem now.”

“AAH!” The two were shoved by Dnis and Narod, the tinies assaulting them with their elements. They grabbed Ydolem’s feet and carried her with great strength, zooming straight back to her ship. “OCLAF, HURRY!”

“I’LL STOP ’EM, I WILL!” The two boarded their Arwings and pursued.

…

With Komugi finally healed, Yppils and Katsyrk carried her unconscious form back to the hangar. At the same time, Eel and Ulul returned to DNKG and dragged their new prisoner to the hold. “HEY! Isn’t that General Primagen?!” Yppils asked.

“Hey now, we can’t have you lockin’ him up!” Latsyrk placed Komugi down and drew a minigun.

“I’VE GOT YDOLEM, GANG!” Avakam dashed in, the tinies hoisting Ydolem above them.

“WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OTHERS?!” Latsyrk aimed at Ydolem, but Avakam shot her own gun to redirect the fox’s aim at the wall. Yppils bent up the metal floor against her, but Eel pulled that floor away to slam it against Yppils.

Eel bent up more pieces of floor to crush Yppils, but the toad fought back and turned the metal to rust. He broke the rust into dust and bent it against Eel, who bent up a metal shield. Yppils ran to dissolve that shield to rust, but Eel escaped and ran. Yppils slapped the floor and stretched a trail of rust until Eel fell through. Eel hit the lower floor as Yppils smothered him in rust. Eel calmed himself and tried to focus on the rust, feeling its grainy, uncomfortable texture. And soon, Eel was able to bend the rust off him, bending some of it into a spear to jab Yppils.

Oclaf was flying around the outside of the base, his manic piloting bashing against several windows. Just as the TG operatives finished freeing Ydolem of her binds, Oclaf smashed through a nearby window, and his cockpit popped open as it smashed over Ydolem, knocking her dizzy. “I GOT HER, YESH!” Oclaf grabbed her in the cockpit and took off again.

“NO!” Dnis screamed. “Everyone, the crazy bird guy just took Ydolem back!”

“There he is!” Ynned spotted Oclaf from another window. He tossed a baseball up, swung his bat, and smashed through the window! The ball smashed through Oclaf’s cockpit and knocked him clean in the head. Ydolem recovered and tried to take control of the ship, putting a helmet on herself and Oclaf. But Xof flew by and linked his ship to Oclaf’s, flying away.

“Yppils, Latsyrk, are you still in there?!”

“Xof, they’re taking Komugi on another ship!” Latsyrk responded. “You have to-” Another Antikill Bullet struck her head.

Xof saw the ship in question taking off, Atawid passing a smirk up at him. “HEY! Don’t you care about your friend?!”

“Only if you care about yours.” Atawid remarked, taking her leave with Komugi.

Xof grit his teeth. Eel had knocked Yppils out with a Rust Fist, blooding the toad’s face, and Avakam took Latsyrk’s bazooka to knock her over the head with it. “Nnnnn…AAAAAHH!” Xof tried to chase the fleeing tactician.

Arim

The Gem Pirates had to cut through a cave to leave the forest, seizing the chance to camp and rest. They woke up around evening that day to continue their quest. They followed a route toward Kalav Mountain, which sloped up the arm of the Bioless. (Music: “Furious Fire” from Donkey Kong Returns.)

Kalav Mountain was a charred landscape with rivers of magma and boiling volcano tops. Ikuyim walked first. “HEY, PUT SOME SHOES ON!” Yddam screamed.

Ikuyim’s bare feet settled on the scorched surface. “Yep, that’s a volcano alright!”

“ARE YOU INSANE?!”

“Don’t forget my little sister’s a lavabender! I’m trained for this type of heat.”

“We aren’t. That’s why Nollid made these!” The friends pulled out red Fireproof Elixirs and took a drink. It wouldn’t protect them from direct fire, let alone lava, but their bodies became adjusted to the volcanic heat.

“Hey, what’s that?!” Yrret pointed. Looming in the ash-covered sky were huge, robotic Andross heads, eyes glowing eerily against their silhouettes. The heads zapped lasers down at the intruders, but Yrret protected them with psychic shields.

“Yrret, you handle the air, and I’ll take the ground!” Ikuyim said. They began their perilous venture up the mountain, the leader using earthbending to make platforms in the lava, block lava spills, etc.. They fought dark robots with built-in flamethrowers and local lava-dwelling creatures. There were many ominous, flaming statues of the Ant King and Andross.

Near the top of the mountain, they saw what appeared to be another Mecha Andross… but this one was shaped different and had floating hands. …!! It was the real Andross! The disembodied ape zapped Force Lightning against the mountain, sending boulders down. Ikuyim bent the boulders away while Yrret shielded his friends from Andross’s direct lightning. Andross loomed closer once they neared the top, his imposing size sending chills. The ape tried to suck them into his vacuum mouth, until Yrret chucked a Psy-Sphere to explode inside and stop him.

“You will do NO SUCH THING, MISTER!” Yrret yelled. “By the smell of your breath, you haven’t had a dentist appointment in centuries, let alone no stomach!”

“HA HA HA! Don’t tell me this ragtag band of misfits intend to challenge the Ant King? Ah, but I seem to recognize a few faces.” He studied Yddam and Ylime. “Where’s the rest of your troupe? They get chomped by the competition?”

Ylime shot a glare and bravely marched closer. “YOU KILL PURPLE! You big, mean ape! Ylime make you pay!”

“And what’ll you do about it, dimwit?!” Andross focused his mind and tried to probe hers. “Oof!” He got a headache. “I see that mind is already broken.”

“Pardon me, Dr. Andross,” Yrret said, “but do you recall that machine you had me hooked up to back in Rightheria? The purpose of that device was to hook me up to the Titan’s mind, wasn’t it?”

“Indeed. Waking that Titan from its slumber and submitting it to our bidding has already been a side-project of ours. With a fresh psychicbender prisoner, I thought it was worth attempting.”

“Intriguing. It’s just a shame I was on the verge of tapping its mind.”

“You were?!”

“Yes. And thanks to that, I’ve picked up a new skill.” Yrret tapped his noggin. “Do forgive me if I try to use that technique against you.”

“Hah! No brain is stronger than mine, boy! Especially not after the genetic enhancements. I’ll fry your brain to a crisp, just as His Majesty will fry all you pathetic kids!”

“Fry me if you dare, but you’ll find I have quite the noggin!” Yrret conjured a huge brain of psychic around himself, levitating.

“Say your prayers then! Ha ha h…ahem, excuse me.” He cleared his throat. “Ehehehehe! Hehehehehehehehehe…” His laugh was like that of an otherworldly demon.

“Goodness, THAT’S how you laugh?!” (Play “Andross Battle” from Star Fox Adventures!)

Andross thrusted his giant fists, which Yrret countered with psychic ones. Andross shot his hand behind to grab Yrret, and he struggled to blow up a bubble under Andross’s tight grip. Andross hammered the other fist down from above, Yrret blocking with a Psy-Hand. Yrret escaped the grip and blasted Psy-Spheres at Andross’s eyes. “AHH mm-mmmmm!” Andross rubbed his eyes and waggled a scolding finger at Yrret, followed by Force Lightning. (Naturally, Andross makes all his sound effects from the N64.) Yrret grabbed the hand and struggled to twist it, but once he did, he directed the lightning directly against Andross. The ape stunned himself for a moment long enough for Yrret to brain-butt him. He and Andross played tug-o-war against each other’s minds, but Yrret grew fatigued first and backed away.

Andross flew close and tried to suck the weakened Yrret in. He nearly flew down the throat before he regained himself and struggled to fly away, just evading the chomp of Andross’s teeth. Andross shot streams of lasers from his eyes while still swinging hands at Yrret, swatting the boy once before charring him with the lasers. Yrret barely survived with a barrier, but when the hands returned for another clap, Yrret sunk down and gripped both. He squeezed both hands and bent their fingers one direction. Andross lunged at him for a bite, but Yrret dodged and moved the hands in the way, causing him to chomp his own fingers. Yrret seized some burning rocks from below and threw them against Andross’s eyes, burning as he tried to spit saliva on his hands and wipe them.

Yrret headbutted Andross again, probing his mind, and he made contact just long enough to twist a few brain cells. Andross smacked him away and conjured a cylindrical barrier of transparent, psychic tiles. Yrret pelted the barrier with spheres, but they barely left a dent, while he himself dodged the stream of tiles Andross shot at him. Yrret found a less stable tile and smashed through it, breaching the barrier, but quickly defended from Andross’s electricity. Andross punched the other hand, but Yrret shifted up and began to loop vertical circles around him. He was making a psychic hoop, but Andross grabbed and ripped it, only for Yrret to get close and squeeze his eye area in a smaller hoop. Yrret bent the fingers of Andross’s right hand back and snapped the mechanical digits off. Yrret took a finger and shoved it into Andross’s right ear, drilling it inside to his displeasure. Yrret dodged the hands and grabbed two more fingers, shoving the circuitry into Andross’s eyes.

Yrret tried to probe his mind again, damaging and destroying the tile barrier. However, Andross smacked him to his head like a fly, then swatted Yrret to the ground. As Ylime stared over him in worry, Andross tried to probe the boy’s brain. Ylime linked her forehead to Yrret’s, breaking Andross’s concentration. With Yrret still down, Andross tried to suck them both up. But he fell for Yrret’s trick: the boy quickly caught a burning boulder and threw it up into Andross’s throat. Steam erupted from his ears as he shook and cried in pain. Yrret grabbed the other hand and compressed it with a bubble, crushing it as sparks flew. Yrret grabbed the circuitry and shoved it against Andross’s eyes.

Andross moved the palm of his previous hand behind Yrret and shoved him right into his mouth. Andross bit his teeth down, but Yrret struggled to suspend it with psychic, feeling the heat from the boulder. Yrret escaped and flew behind Andross, and he kept circling as the ape kept twisting trying to find him. He spotted Yrret just in time for the boy to slam his Psy-Brain against Andross’s, and the two wrestled each other in probing. “I’ll sap you of ALL your intellect!”

“Nnnnno…you…WON’T!”

“Hnnnnn…?! Wait! What’s-?!”

In truth, Yrret placed Ylime in his Psy-Brain just now. He directed Andross’s brainwaves into hers, causing him to sap from her mind, and Yrret assisted in the flow of “knowledge.” “AAH! YOU…!” Yrret refused to let Andross shake free, the contrast of intellect causing a surge of lightning. “AAAAAAAAHHH!” (End song.)

Yrret and Andross crashed on the earth, with Ylime landing on the ape’s nose. “…!!” Ylime tensed up as Andross’s wide eyes narrowed on her innocently. “Duh…what this thing? Are you bug? Me name is Andy…”

“Ugh…I think both of our brain cells need some therapy.” Yrret sighed. “Sorry to… put you through that, Ylime.”

“Huhu. I no feel nothin’.”

“Heh heh…would you be so kind as to carry me somewhere cooler?”

“Okay, Yrret.” The dimwit jumped down and lifted Yrret. She carried her friend around Andross and followed after the others.

“Ooo…it that juice?” Andross acknowledged the lava. “Juicy-juice… Mommy says it becomes pee-pee.” So, the overgrown head rolled down the volcano hillside.

…

From the fingers of the Bioless, the Gem Pirates could travel across Polearm Canyon. It was a long staff held by the Mecholess, meant for the Bioless to pull itself back upright. “Hey… what are these things?” Ikuyim asked. (Music: “Bobbing Basalt” from DK Returns!)

Hordes of skeletons were fighting Gnosis across the valley, and Smile Pirate ships blasted the Meta-Beast structures from above. “Hey, you guys made it!” Annaira Eerfnud descended on a parachute.

“Welcome back, Anna!” Ikuyim waved. “Check out all these skeletons!”

“We didn’t expect the Smile Pirates to invade. I think Aluben is somewhere nearby!”

“What if we end up having to fight some of Ydnam’s commanders?” Yddam asked worriedly. “Heck, what if she’s here herself?! I mean, it wouldn’t be bad if she fought the king again…”

“We need to stick to the plan.” Annaira said. “Tachyon should be at the end of this valley, and beyond it, we can enter the Mecholess where the Ant King waits. The natural heat of that Titan makes a perfect base for him. Atawid and Hgielar will meet up with us at the end.”

“We survived the volcano,” Ikuyim said, “so I think we can handle whatever heat His Highness throws. You ready, team?”

“Just be careful around those aliens. They can turn you to salt if they possess you.”

The DNK fought their way along a route above the conflict. They still had to take down their own Gnosis, Mechon, and dodge distant cannons. Somewhere below the valley, Admiral Azure from the Mushrooms was sneaking his way amongst the scuffle. “Bronzebob! Bronzebob, where are you?!” his high English accent yelled.

“Azure! My comrade! Is that you?!” replied a Russian voice.

“Bronzebob!” He saw the bronze Dya-Namite through a window in a guarded hut. Azure ran between the Gnosis guards and exploded, destroying them. While his strength recovered, he planted a timed bomb to destroy the hut’s door, freeing Bronzebob. “It’s so good to see you again, my chap!”

“Da, I feel the same! Let’s get the hell out of here!”

The Gem Pirates reached Dahalag Fortress at the end of the valley, but if they followed a route overhead, they could travel to the Mecholess. “HEY!” Annaira saw Aluben herself infiltrate the fortress. “She really is here…”

“But she’s not technically our enemy, right?” Yddam asked.

“Even so… we do need to capture her, too. You might need to come anyway, Yddam.”

“Okay. Ikuyim… be careful.”

“Uh-huh!”

Annaira and Yddam entered Dahalag. Like most of Mecholess, it mostly ran on steam engines, pipes, and possessed a rustic aesthetic. Annaira used her bending to freeze geysers of steam seeping out of pipes, which they used to swing over chasms (it was quite a long drop down from the Titan). They would have to swim through tunnels of boiling water, but Anna made the temperature around her cooler. Yddam, meanwhile, handled the underwater combat, fighting patrol bots or alien fish. There were certain platforms and areas that were shifting based on Tachyon’s matterbending, so they planned their jumps carefully.

In a private suite of the base, Tachyon fed his ill wife a warm bowl of soup. “Those filthy Mushroomians…” Miyuki scoffed. “And I thought trying to conquer their Positives was a pain in the arse.”

“I dread to think what effect those drugs will have on the baby.” Tachyon replied.

“Oh, did I hear the ‘B’ word?! How wonderful!”

Tachyon gasped and turned. Aluben’s innocent smile haunted them from the doorway. “Nebula’s twin!” Tachyon hissed. “This is an awful time, my dear, I’ll have to destroy you later.”

He bent the floor up to block her out, but Aluben smashed it back down with a dinosaur skull. “As an alleged enemy of my twin, I made it my personal duty to destroy you!” (Music: “Grand Finale” from Bowser’s Inside Story!)

“As I said, I am not in the mood right n-!” Tachyon was seized in her bonebending grip, but he dispersed his matter to break free. Miyuki weakly mustered psychic to grab a lightsaber and try to stab her, but Aluben cut the sword’s hilt with a jagged bone. She caught the Irken’s shoulder bones and tried to snap them, but Tachyon smothered her head in a drawer’s matter. “DON’T YOU DARE attack her!”

Aluben smashed the drawer off. “I dread to think what awful things you’ll force your baby to do! Children shouldn’t be born under such evil parents. If they are, they should be taken away and raised happily!”

“That child will carry on our legacy!” Tachyon molded the floor into liquid, but Aluben floated up with a bone-copter. “Our lost Irken and Cragmite ideals will live within them!”

“A child should live for happy ideals!”

“That’s not for YOU to decide!”

Yddam and Annaira had just caught up, overhearing the conversation. “I won’t hand my child over to the likes of you!” Miyuki stated, bending more sabers that Aluben cut down. “I’ll raise them as I see fit!”

“Growing up under such cruel ideals,” Aluben cracked the back of Tachyon’s skull, knocking him dizzy, “is an awful life. That child will wish it were never born. Maybe it would be happier… not being born at all!” She reached toward Miyuki and tried to contort her bones, but her own limbs were bent, breaking concentration.

“Aluben!” Annaira had her in a blood grasp. “Sorry… but I can’t allow you to kill them.”

“Why not, Anna? They’re evil people who only wish to raise an evil child. Bad parents… deserve to die.”

“Aluben… is that what you think? Do you wish you were never born?”

“Well, I used to! I was made to bring misery and everyone hated me. Most everyone, at least. Even Mom didn’t love me! Some children are just tools for their parents to fulfill their own desires, and these two are no different!”

“Agh…it’s true that we have our own ambitions for the child.” Tachyon panted. “But more than that… we just want to leave something behind. We lost our empires… In the Posiverse, we’d be hunted down and executed! We just want to leave a memory of our existence!”

“As if I could pity such selfish adults!” Aluben cheered. “All you’ll leave behind is more evil. Even if we take that child away, who’s to say it isn’t already corrupted!”

Anna pinned Aluben to the floor before she could act. “Aluben… my planet has an overpopulation problem. I’ve heard about more abortions than I can comprehend. The crowd was so noisy and unbearable… that we wondered if we’d be better off dying. But then you appeared and gave us a purpose!”

“I only used you to fulfill my mom’s purpose! You were tools just the same. And now you’re fighting for better causes! You have no attachment to the old ways!”

“Both of you, just GET THE HELL OUT!” Tachyon turned the floor into liquid and forced them to sink, dropping them into a secluded dungeon. “Annoying urchins.”

“EYAH!” Yddam seized the distraction to leap in and land quick punches to Miyuki’s head.

“ANOTHER?!” Tachyon bent the furniture at her, but Yddam punched it away with karate attacks.

“Don’t worry, I just chi-blocked her. I don’t want any harm to come to that child. But… I’m afraid we still have to capture you two.”

“Good luck doing that on your own!” Tachyon caught her in his bending. However, as it felt like psychicbending, Yddam imagined herself swimming underwater, freeing her mind and freeing herself. Yddam spin-dove at Tachyon and thrusted her palm. Tachyon felt his insides bend back, the Cragmite hacking out blood. “Was that bloodbending?!”

“Annaira helped me practice my Fishman Karate. My chi can strike the opponent’s bloodstream directly.”

“And what if you can’t find my blood?!” Tachyon merged into the floor and liquefied it again, but Yddam was able to swim through. She thrusted her palms against any “currents” she felt moving on her. Since he was merged with its matter, Yddam could therefore strike small parts of Tachyon’s body, knocking him around via the blood inside. Yddam returned to the surface, launched to the air, and performed a Shark Tile True Punch against the liquid floor. It waved wildly as Tachyon choked from the impact. Tachyon solidified the floor and bent it up as spears to stab Yddam, but her Sharkskin Palm Block pushed the spears away with thrusts of the palm.

Below, Annaira and Aluben began to wrestle each other with their bending. Annaira bent her own blood to straighten her bones up, while Aluben bent her own bones to fight Anna’s bloodbending. “Even you have to agree that those two shouldn’t raise a child!”

“Maybe, but they still deserve a chance to live! Even if they wind up hating their parents or their birth… they should try to live!”

“Those Earthlings sure got to you, didn’t they?” Aluben snapped Anna’s wrist, Anna made blood spurt out the back of Aluben’s leg, Aluben crunched Anna’s ribcage, and Anna squeezed Aluben’s nose into bleeding waterfalls. Annaira used Water Slices to cut the bones Aluben threw at her, but Aluben bent the boney dust and shoved it into Anna’s throat. Anna seized Aluben’s blood and willed it to cool, weakening her resolve.

“Cough…you must’ve hated everything in your life… if you’d rather not be born!”

“Of course not, Annaira…ack… I love Captain Ydnam… and you guys, too! You were always… my best friend, Annaira!”

“And you… were mine! You made us feel special out of those billions of Pumparians! I felt like living… and thanks to Nerehc, I felt like living again! Just like Ydnam made you want to live! And now, those parents… want their child to live. And it will!”

Annaira froze Aluben from the inside. The purple alien collapsed on the floor, coughing the dust out.

Upstairs, even after Tachyon changed into fire, Yddam sent shockwaves through the structure and forced mist to burst out against him. Tachyon’s flaming body cooled, and Yddam thrusted more punches to rattle the blood inside him. “I can’t believe this! I’m a Logia! I’m supposed to be invincible!”

“When a Logia thinks they’re invincible, that’s when they’re most vulnerable!” Yddam leapt and dove at Tachyon with a drilling punch. His own blood spun like a maelstrom, spiraling Tachyon furiously. He smashed against the wall and pierced straight through, the Cragmite plummeting to the ground outside the fortress. As he passed out, beaten by his own blood… he couldn’t help but remember a similar sensation.

…

Ikuyim was able to rest on the fingers of the Mecholess. She faced up at the head of the Titan with both worry and resolve. “Hope I’m not late!” Ikuyim smiled and turned back to see Avakam.

“Hey! I didn’t think you’d be far behind Anna! I’m guessing things went all at H.Q.?”

“Yep. Everything’s going as Atawid planned. And by the time we get up there… they should arrive.”

“Then I better not slow us down! I’m so pumped, I have more energy than ever!”

“Just don’t let it go to waste. Sigh…let’s get this over with.” (Music: “Central Factory” from Xenoblade.)

The girls crossed the arm of the Mecholess, where DNK were already fighting hordes of Meta-Beasts. The rebel Machina had already banded with them to reclaim their home. The eyes of the Titan’s head flashed like a sun, and golden comets came descending onto the arm. “Looks like he can already see us coming!” Ikuyim bent rubies out of her cube to block the flames, but the gems would melt after a few hits. The operatives otherwise worked to dodge the flames. Traveling up the arm alone took as long as Kalav Mountain, and they still had plenty more to go after entering the Titan.

The interior was a vast factory with countless floors. An Arwing flew through an opening and headed toward the central elevator. Earthbending pirates attacked the girls with burning coals used to power the Titan’s machines, but Ikuyim was a natural counter to this. Climbing higher up the Titan, dense waves of scalding steam began to fill the floors, bent by the Ant King himself. Ikuyim bent up sapphire shields to protect them until the steam went away. A great elevator would carry them to the Titan’s head.

“You kids are frustratingly persistent!” Captain Ridley crash-landed before them, bouncing the girls on their bums.

“Hey, it’s the Riddler!” Ikuyim joked.

“I haven’t been able to contact any of the officers! I refuse to believe you defeated them all! And that Xof… he’s gone to see the king empty-handed. How foolish could he…?!”

Descending the elevator was the fox in question… and the Ant King.