The seas in all worlds could feel the passing of Kyogre. The Spirit Governors that oversaw the seas alerted all whom it concerned. Jabun, the Sea Spirit of Hyrule, and the Water Dragon that guarded its lakes; La, the spirit of the Avatar Realms; the Water Vellumental of the Mushroom World, its sadness raining over Autumn Mountain; the roar of the Legendary Pokémon, Suicune, echoed with sadness that reverberated in the hearts of all Pokémon and trainers.
"Hoo hoo hoo hahahahahaha!" laughed Hexxus, God of Poisons, a huge, brownish-black mass of poison cloud with a black-eyed, smirking face. "Kyogre was the next to kick the bucket, huh? I'm sad he wasn't first instead of Darkrai." Hexxus put his lips to a toxic tree and sucked it of all it had to offer. "Mmm, I wonder who's going to go next…mmmmm?" (Play "Careless Whisper" by George Michael.)
The Silver River Forest that was his domain was dark, the trees pulsating with purple veins absorbed from the river's nutrients. The toxic creatures that dwelled relished in the sickness of the wood. But today, a somber song echoed through the darkness.
Unicorns were common on Avalar, but it was rare to find one going for a stroll through this miserable wood. Let alone somebody riding it, playing a somber saxophone. He had two swords crossed on his back and a red and black superhero suit. A softening pink mist filled the woods from Deadpool's song.
"Ahhhh…already here for me?" asked Hexxus.
A lion stalked him from the direction opposite of Deadpool. The Poison God twisted his head to face him. "God Hexxus… you are guilty for the decaying of several rainforests. And for the creation of dangerous chemicals that would give power to evil mortals, including Lazarus Pits… and most of all, Bang Gas."
"HA HA HA HA HA! Do you smell the hypocrisy?! A band of metahumans are going to punish ME for my gifts?"
"Yeah, but do you know how annoying it is remembering to add a bunch of new Devil Fruits to the wiki?" Deadpool asked. "There's so many of them! And it's all because you decided to mess with Arceus's gas!"
"Hahahahaha! Well, why shouldn't I have? Thanks to my farting around with Arceus, I created one of the Great Powers! I've long left my mark on this universe! Destroying me isn't going to change a thing. And the same goes for the poisonbenders. You realize that, once we gods are destroyed, there will be no one to sort out the worthy benders? Our chi will disperse wildly and lead to an abundance of them!"
"That is why destiny will be left to fate, not you careless gods." Lucci snarled. "Still, if you had a sense of honor, you would have stayed quietly inside your Soul Tree. But now death is your only option." The lion began to slowly circle Hexxus' small island, leaving a ring of afterimages. Hexxus twisted a finger in his "ear," the sounds of Deadpool's song growing faint. Lucci's Rhythm Echo, combined with Deadpool's special Humming Bird, immensely blurred Hexxus' hearing and vision.
"Ahhhh…ahhhh…" the god drawled dizzily. Unbeknownst to him, a spider was hopping across the air. Once close enough, the black widow morphed back into Akame, who slashed her black katana, but Hexxus split his—"-at be Muras…huh?" Hexxus had blipped out for a moment, allowing Akame to go for the next cut. She separated his gaseous ear from his head, but Deadpool flew up and stabbed the ear with a Haki blade.
"That's right, I know Armament now!" Deadpool flicked the ear off the blade and dealt a cross-slash at Hexxus' face, the smog mass backing up. Hexxus inhaled and bellowed an Oxygen Beam, burning off Deadpool's left arm. Akame hardened her blade and dealt swift cuts, but Hexxus split his Logia body appropriately to evade them.
"Hey now, isn't that Murasame? I haven't seen that in centuries! The Emblenians crafted it from a poison I provided! …I mean, Emblemiams. Emblemians! GAH, who even cares?!" Hexxus spun to spit sludge at Lucci, the lion dodging and scratching his muscular chest. Though he wounded Hexxus, his toxic blood singed his claws, so Lucci used Life Return to pop off those claws and grow new ones. Hexxus swirled up skyward and belched a wide cloud of sickening gas over the area. The assassins held breaths and jumped through the gas, with Hexxus readily spitting sludge wads. The sludge hit Deadpool in the face, but he did what any sensible man would and cut his face off. The assassins Shaved around Hexxus, landing Haki Tempests at every angle. Hexxus spun his head and burped Gas Bombs, but they held their breaths as Lucci landed a direct kick on top of him.
Hexxus splashed into the poison pond around his island. "I was due for a bath, anyway!" Emerging from the purple, he kicked up one of his huge, muscular legs. Spouts shot up from the pond, the assassins evading and dropping toward the god. Akame tried to cut his foot, but Hexxus separated it in evasion, then the god sprung up, grabbed her, and slammed her in the river. Standing with feet submerged in the river, Hexxus was at least 30 feet tall, his hair a smoggy flame and a cloud over his pelvis, while his legs and torso appeared buff and thick. Hexxus aimed his armpits and squirted rapid bullets at the men. Akame, recovering in the poison, slashed cuts at Hexxus' legs, the giant hopping about in pain before stirring cyclones in the river. Akame jumped to shore, but evaded as poison spurts shot out of the soil.
A part of assassin training entails poison immunity, but tanking too much poison would take its toll eventually. Lucci resumed his lion form and rampantly Shaved around the air, slashing at both Hexxus' knees. As Hexxus toppled forward, Lucci thrusted Finger Pistols at his chest, but escaped from the Gas Bomb that would follow. Hexxus emitted a dense cloud of smog, smothering the area, but Deadpool's keen Observation picked up Hexxus' whereabouts. He Moon Walked up to cut Hexxus, the god hardening the smog to squeeze Deadpool, but as that hardened part was part of Hexxus' body, Deadpool stabbed through it (and himself) to shake free. Deadpool sensed Hexxus' "conscience" maneuvering within the smog, so he slashed Tempest Kicks wherever he did. "Wait, here's an idea! Midair Breakdance!" He spun in all possible directions, sending a spherical Tempest Kick to split the gas apart.
The assassins were able to breathe, and upon seeing Hexxus' face, Akame sprung up to swing her blade. She sliced his head in half, but this was only done on his part, as he then clapped hands over her—Akame's afterimage faded, and Hexxus couldn't evade in time before she lashed a cut at his forehead. "OUCH! Kuhoohoohahahaha! Is it wise cutting me with that? I may just absorb the poison~"
"The opposite, really. Once I land the finishing blow, your poison will be absorbed into Murasame. Otherwise, you wouldn't be so quick to avoid it."
"And that would imply a possibility of dying to begin with." Lucci said, leaving several afterimages to confuse Hexxus—Deadpool used Forgetful Glance so Lucci could slash Tempest Kick and chop off the right leg. "Your intuition may have been accurate, Deadpool."
"Never underestimate the Pooster! Poolster?"
"Ha ha ha! It's true!" Hexxus laughed. "I haven't been myself for the last 5,000 years. That's what I get for doing that cow, hoo hoo. But maybe I should stop holding back in that case! THIS will really make you sick!" Hexxus submerged into the river. The forest rumbled as a toxic mass rose from his small island. It was a giant skeletal entity of Hexxus' brown color, but the bright-red interior appeared like lava. All the surrounding trees morphed into toxic tentacles, lashing down at the assassins. Deadpool and Akame chopped them away while Lucci went for Hexxus. The god dove his skull down, but Lucci had deceived him with Humming Bird and threw Tempest Kick as Hexxus' neck. He tanked it and shot a chemical spout up, blowing Lucci away, and when Deadpool lunged from the other side, Hexxus stretched out his skeletal ribs and stabbed him.
Akame sliced the ribs with her sword and dealt a Tempest Kick to the chest. Lucci returned and drilled his claws into Hexxus' spine, but when the god attempted to draw him into the "lava," Lucci retreated. Hexxus spewed up a volcano of chemicals, raining giant globs of Acid Rain. The others used Paper Art to evade while Deadpool tanked the acid, his skin melting as he leapt to land wild slashes. Hexxus spun and whacked Deadpool away, his red eyes flashing as he focused on the antihero. Directly bending Deadpool's stomach acids, he willed him to explode. Akame leapt at Hexxus from behind, but his skull twisted and shot snot from his nose. The giant snot glob forced Akame to the shore and glued her to it. Hexxus blew more snot globs around the ground, morphing them into boogery replicas of CP0. "Grrrrr!" Deadpool growled, slicing up his own replicas. "You know, I was almost considering using my special techniques on you! But after this disgrace, even YOU don't deserve it!"
"Well said." Lucci carved down his clones with a Tempest Kick. "It's time this gas passes." The lion pranced circles around Hexxus, leaving afterimages at a faster rate as Rhythm Echo activated.
"'Time this gas passes,' really?" Hexxus questioned, though he couldn't hear himself in the silence this technique brought. "Kids, what is even the big deal? There was always discrimination between who's a bender and who's not, but thanks to Bang Gas, anyone can have a power! And brilliant madmen like Caesar Clown have harnessed the gas in unforeseen ways, creating a vast brand of superpowers! Oh, and that reminds me… that gassy genius invented this little move, didn't he?"
Hexxus mustered the Airless World, erasing oxygen all across the forest. The assassins anticipated this technique and retreated from Hexxus, pulling oxygen tanks out of their Infi-Cubes and attaching them. Deadpool went back first, his stomach reforming, and he raised both hardened swords as Hexxus brought down an Oxygen Sword (basically a large lightsaber). Akame would join him in clashing the sword, but Hexxus focused on her stomach and tried to explode it—she had used Humming Bird to trick him and landed an X-shaped cut to his chest. Deadpool chucked his hardened sword straight at Hexxus' neck—Lucci used Forgetful Glance; Hexxus had dodged the sword, but Akame took it and cut the neck instead. Hexxus hissed hoarsely from the cut, the Airless World disabling.
Lucci resumed his Rhythm Echo, silencing the inner area. After Deadpool and Akame kept him busy enough, Hexxus saw the circle of lions lung him. Hexxus, unsure of the true Lucci, self-destructed into an explosion of gas that incinerated a chunk of the forest. …However, they had expected such a technique. Akame and Lucci had already retreated, while Deadpool stayed and used Humming Bird to make Hexxus see a false Rhythm Echo. Deadpool ran right as the explosion started, so the god was left to believe he had destroyed them. In actuality, Lucci had begun a new Rhythm Echo, covering a much wider diameter. Regardless, once he was prepared, Hexxus was stunned to see an immense circle of lions charging him. "YAAAAAHH!" Hexxus cried out as Lucci ripped right through his chest and tore out his toxic heart. Clenching it in his claw, he held it out as Akame leapt to stab the heart through. (End song.)
"Huuuu…my Toxic Love…noooo…" Hexxus' "lava" began to dull, his smoke dispersing in the air. "Ha ha ha…whatever… I had a good run. I made… a ton of good benders. The Dimalantas… the Heartlys… Don Shrew… we had good gassy fun, didn't we? Ah…I'll miss you… kids…"
A faint ray of light shone onto where Hexxus last stood. The Grimers and Muks that inhabited the woods cried out for their king. A great abundance of mushrooms bloomed on his small island and the surrounding shore. "Cough…cough…I can take a good cut, but that's a little bit much poison to heal from." Deadpool coughed. "I need some Flintstones vits. We got time for a quick trip to Sauria?"
"So, Hexxus did have a child." Lucci glared. "And whoever it is… they'll likely come here to pay their last respects. …Let's have one of the kids wait here."
GKND
Yuzu had spent the night on GKND, Gourmerry tucked safely in her bed. "…! Merry!" A sudden ringing in her head woke the Newborn up.
"Ah!" Yuzu gasped. "Merry! What's wrong?"
"Gour…gour-gour!" She tugged on Yuzu's arm and tried to gesture something. "Gour…"
"You… heard a voice… on Avalar? We'll go there in the morning. I… too tired now. Yawn." Yuzu passed back out. Gourmerry huffed impatiently and lied back down.
…
Miyuki was sound asleep in the God Containment room. Passively playing with Verglora for the past couple weeks had gotten boring, and being chi-blocked in here for so long made her feel numb and groggy. Or at least it would, if she still didn't have a use of her power. With Verglora tucked close to her waist, she saw deep into their past.
Verglora was viciously attacking a silhouetted figure with their Dark Ice. Their eyes were wide and their head a weird, blockish shape. The battle was too intense for Miyuki to get a clear picture. "Geh…f-ck you, K-… I'll r-p you!" The opponent unleashed a huge burst of power, but a gust of wind blew to protect Verglora. Miyuki faintly recognized Skaios' silhouette.
Miyuki woke up from the vision. Whoever that figure was… it was no doubt someone they'd have to confront. Miyuki didn't expect forgiveness for her selfish actions, but she was obligated to try and attain this information.
Moonbase
Cheren waited in the cafeteria line until his smoothie was ready. He took the frosty drink and slurped it lazily on the way back to his office. "Mm-!" He was mildly startled by Nagisa outside the lunch room. "Hey, Nagisa. What's up?"
"Didn't mean to scare ya." Nagisa bore a frown. "I wanted to ask you something. …After Index becomes the last Newborn Guardian… do you think something bad will happen?"
"Um…I mean, that's a dour topic all of a sudden." Cheren smiled awkwardly.
"But it is the most likely scenario. What if we end up having to face a new entity… like English?"
"That's… a little much to suddenly have to think about."
"If we were faced with such an outcome, would the Newborn be able to help us? I've been worried, Cheren. After all they've put us through this year, I can't help wondering if… they would betray us."
"I doubt that, Nagi. I think they've really mellowed out. We might not know the full situation, but I think we can trust them."
"But what if they won't be enough?"
"Why are you asking these all of a sudden?"
"It's just… something that's been on my mind. Something I've been worried about. And, to be honest… you tend to keep solutions to yourself."
"Uhhhh…" Cheren blushed, knowing this was true. "Well, it's not like I have any… although…hmmm…"
"What?"
"Um, never mind. Nagisa, don't you think you should talk about this with Index instead? She's the would-be Guardian here. And even if anything does happen, we'll be ready for it!"
"Yeah…"
Cheren slurped his smoothie. "Well-p, better get back to finishing this. By the way, did you hear what happened to Kyogre?"
"Huh? Oh, uh…I didn't."
"He was assassinated. And they suspect CP0 was behind it. Other KNDs are mobilizing to protect their gods, so there's a chance we'll have to do something, too."
"Oh…"
"Yeah. So, you'd better be ready with your team, just in case." With that, Cheren returned to his office. "Hmm…" He reached under his desk and pulled out the four-pronged trident. "Did Nagisa… know anything about this?" Viridi had already told him of this weapon… but she was unsure of its origins. Only that Link once wielded it. "I don't want to doubt the Newborn… but if there's a separate threat, it'd be cool if we could learn just what this is. Maybe I could get Miyuki to-" He stopped that train of thought. Miyuki was still imprisoned on GKND, along with her little 'child.' "I mean, she probably would if I asked, but I… don't really feel like asking. Wait! Maria could help me! She could help me talk to Link himself! I wonder if he learned about this weapon's origins…"
Silver River
"Why did Gourmerry want to drag us all the way out to this mucky forest?" Jinta complained as Sector JP trudged through the wood.
"Sorry~" Yuzu sighed in a half-sarcastic tone. "I wouldn't have asked you guys to come if I knew we were going to Silver River."
"Ah, he can take it." Karin brushed off. "Besides, I'm kinda curious. This is where the Poison God lives."
"You don't think it has to do with that news about Kyogre, do you?" Ururu asked.
Karin shrugged. She had been informed of the incident through Yachiru. It didn't affect her that badly, but the Spirit World was supposedly in a panic. "It ain't really my type of trail." said Megumi Tadokoro, their cadet-in-training. The blue-haired chef took all the sights of the forest into her golden eyes. "And even if I wanted to hunt ingredients, I ain't really an expert at poisons."
"Gourmerry can filter poisons, anyway, so it's no big deal." Jinta brushed off.
"Always the easy way." Kodama smirked.
"Yikes! Who spilled the mushroom seeds?" Karin inquired.
A huge area of forest had become infested with mushrooms of varying textures. "Sniff, sniff…Gourmerry!" The Foodborn cringed.
"I agree, Gourmerry!" Yuzu pinched her nose. "I dunno what's with these mushrooms, but they feel more sickening than anything else out here!"
"YES, THEY ARE~"
"AAAH!" A ghoul seemed to surprise them from the shrubs, her skin and pink hair pale. At first, Karin wondered why her Ghost Sense didn't detect her… but eventually recognized her as, "Wait, you're one of the LN girls, aren't you?"
"Are you mushroom fans, too?" Sucy drawled, crawling over the garden. "I thought I felt my mushy senses tingling this morning. There's so many of them, so many lovely mushrooms~" She giddily picked as many as she could and threw them in her sack.
"You should be careful." Yuzu cautioned. "Anyhow, Gourmerry, do you think you could-"
"Merry!" The child began to munch a path through the mushrooms, almost like Pac-Man. The kids followed her trail through the mushrooms until they came upon a small lake. A bigger mushroom seemed to grow from the island in the center. "Me-Merry!" She pointed at it.
"Oh, my! Merry, were you sensing some kind of special ingredient?"
"It's mine!" Sucy cried. "I called dibs on it!"
"Let me carry you to it!" Ururu used her Tiny Devil to fly and carry them to the mushroom.
It was safe to land on top of it as Gourmerry bit into the cap. "Mmm-mm-mmm…!!"
A vision brewed in her mind. The smoggy form of Hexxus rose like factory fumes. "Well, well… if you're eating this, you must be my alleged daughter. 'Gourmerry,' they're calling you? Sorry for not checking up on you, but I didn't want to pay child support, haha!"
"Gour…merry?"
"That's right, kiddo. Before those killers nicked me in the bud, I put my last ounce of consciousness into this mushroom. And all I want to say is… of all the nasty things I created in my life, you are the cutest of all of them! You made a ton of people happy at that Cooking Festival, didn't you? Now, don't get me wrong, I love to spread smog and sadness… but I didn't think I'd ever conceive something so precious. It makes a papa proud, ya know? I would've loved to meet you when I was still alive… but who knows, you would've been disgusted at the sight of me! But all I want to say is… I'm glad you were born. And make sure you tell those tykes that I'll always be alive in their hearts. We poisonbenders are a strong lot! We take the pain the world gives us and give it right back! And even with me gone… my legacy… will stand forever…"
Gourmerry's mind was open to the world around her again. "Merry…" She knelt over the mushroom and leaked tears. "Papa…"
"Papa?" Yuzu perked at the new word.
"Gourmerry… Papa…Merry…"
"Oh!" Karin gasped. "You guys… this is supposed to be where Hexxus is. He… I think he's been destroyed!"
"Destroyed?!" Kodama gasped.
"Just like Kyogre?" asked Ururu.
"It must've happened last night!" Yuzu realized. "But… Gourmerry, are you saying Hexxus was your 'papa'?"
"Gourmerry…" A nod.
"Wait, what?" Sucy asked. "But, Gourmerry came from Jasminka. Does…does that mean… JASMINKA GOT IT ON WITH HEXXUS?!"
"I saw pictures of the guy, but he didn't look anything like her!" Jinta replied.
"The idea of him getting it on with anyone makes me wanna hurl." Karin cringed.
"I'm not really sure how." Yuzu followed. "But I guess… Gourmerry must've learned the truth from this mushroom. I'm sorry, Gourmerry."
"Gourme… (I don't understand, either. But I…I still feel sad.) Merry, Merry! (But I think these mushrooms are a gift. It tastes like they each have a different sickness… but if I can filter that poison out, they would be really delicious!)"
"These mushrooms are delicious? In that case… eat up as many as you want! It's not really a time to celebrate, but we'll cook something amazing for everybody!"
"NO!" Sucy cried. "Hexxus left these for me! I'm his protégé! I'll FIGHT you for them!"
"Just divide them up evenly, you nut-brains." Karin remarked. "I'm going to contact Yachiru." Karin said. "We need to track down and apprehend who's been doing this."
…
A girl in dark-green pigtails and a school uniform that matched her red eyes watched them from the dark trees. "That's the 'Firstborn' from the festival." Maki observed. "Then… is she Hexxus' child?"
Hamburger Hacienda
"Ah, my trademark treat!" Deadpool beamed, munching a chimichanga. The assassins had rented out the restaurant for an hour, the window blinds down as they partook in fast food. In casual attire, Wade Wilson's skin was hideously disfigured, but his face was shining nonetheless.
"You were careless, Wilson." Lucci said, biting a huge burger. "Your Regeneration Quirk won't protect you when using the weapons."
"Like you guys are even going for the No Damage score. Ain't the idea to fight the gods normally 'til we determine a safe time to use them?"
"The time to put that into practice has come." Chase said, eating some carrots with ranch. "Not that we even have room for true practice. We've eliminated all the 'mortal' gods. And that's assuming Viridi isn't considered one. From here, we must develop concrete strategies so we can determine the best time to use the weapons."
"It's too bad Mandy couldn't be here to help us." Akame sighed, sharing chilidogs with Shadow.
"She never would've been prepared." Sephiroth said, wearing a plain white manager's suit as he put extra napkins down for her.
"Hey, don't talk down about her! Mandy was as committed to this job as any of us! She…"
"She only desired to slay the gods for fame and glory." Chase stated. "She sought to become the new idol of worship. Admirable, but arrogant. But if it makes you feel better, we'll be sure to spread the good word of her once this is over."
"Hmmmm…" Akame faced down at her food with an aggravated sigh.
"I've drawn up a strategy for our next two targets." Slade presented his scribbles, drawn up in ink on a napkin. "Is the possibility open to taking down two gods at once?"
"We may need to be more efficient." Lucci agreed. "The Kids Next Door will start to pick up-"
There was a knock. The agents looked to the door warily. Sephiroth went to answer it, cracking it open a smidge. The visitor's face was obscured by a dark and green umbrella with thin, yellow petal-like designs connected to the middle. "Ma'am, the restaurant is reserved for the hour. I'm afraid you can't come in."
"Oh, but I'm so very hungry. Couldn't I stop in for a quick bite?"
"We have a drive thru. You can come around and order there. But you can't come in right now."
"Making a lady wait and eat outside… No wonder critics never visit fast food." With that, she seemed to leave.
Star Haven
Jerome visited Star Sanctuary after waking. Jirachi meditated over the former pedestal of his Star Rod, his star shining as he listened to the wishes. "…Hexxus was killed, too." He opened his eyes, greeting Jerome with a somber frown. "There are already people wishing for his return."
"Jirachi… what happens when a god 'dies,' anyway? Does that mean there will be no more benders?"
"I don't really know… but it's starting to worry me. What if they plan to target the Firstborn, too? I don't…I don't wanna die, Jerome. I know I can't directly grant wishes, anymore, but I…I like to hear everyone's wishes. I like to give them my best condolences and wish them luck… and a part of me likes to think it helps them. But what if I can't do that, anymore?"
"We'll never allow such a thing to happen. We…?" Jerome's consolation was interrupted by the whirring of a rocket engine. "What's that?"
Both headed outside, seeing a ship designed like a traditional rocket, but smaller. "Aha…" The astronaut smirked, seeing Jirachi from the cockpit. "There he is! You're mine now!"
The ship blasted a cannon. "JIRACHI!" Jerome quickly yanked him through a portal. The projectile fired unraveled into a net just before missing. (Play "Eye of Shining Justice" from Xenoblade!)
"Dammit! 'Guess I'll just have to do this the hard way!" The astronaut launched out of the craft. The two J's braced their selves as he crashed on the starlit grass a few feet away. "HAH!" He sprung up on his sandals. "I got you right where I want you!"
The man wore an open purplish jacket with one arm out, matching pants, and a white shirt underneath. The inside of his jacket was a nice textured space design. His dark-purple hair was brushed up and down in spikes in a diagonal fashion, and he had a goatee. "Ahem…this is private property." Jerome said. "You can't just bring a giant rocket here."
"HEY! You can't just go makin' property outta sacred star shrines! The stars belong to everybody!" The skinny man pointed at Jerome with a furious, but passionate scowl.
"Who the hell are you? And why did you try to shoot Jirachi?"
"I'm KAITO MOMOTA, LUMINARY OF THE STARS!" His motions pumped with emphasis as he stomped closer. "Known in some quadrants as the Ultimate Astronaut! And I've come to secure the great Star God from you selfish brats!"
"Are you a member of Team Rocket?"
"DON'T throw me in with those misleading bastards! They weren't a rocket fan club at all! Just a bunch of rotten Pokémon poachers! How DARE they disgrace rockets with their deceptive naming?! It's asinine, I tell you!"
"Then you work for CP0."
"Huh? Uh, n-no!" He perked up, sweating notably. "Ahem, I want Jirachi to…to win a bet I made with my class! They said I couldn't catch the Star God, but I told them that even the great Jirachi cannot outrun Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars!"
"Right… Jirachi, hide somewhere else."
"Right!" Jirachi became a shooting star and flew away.
"HEY, WAIT!" Kaito tried to chase him, but reached the edge of the island. "NOOO! I don't wanna have to fork up 2,000 yen for each of them!"
"You've wasted your journey." Jerome stated. "Now, would you come to GKND for questioning?"
Kaito spun around, "NOT so fast, soccer skin!" and stretched an arm with an index up. "No one catches the Luminary that easily! I may be the scrawniest guy in school, but in space, I'm the strongest man alive! I'll show you with my Galaxy Armor!"
An astronaut mech suit flew out of the rocket and hovered behind Kaito. The torso opened as he jumped back- "Ya ya, whoooaaa!" He slipped on the ledge and fell off the island. Jerome shook in disbelief as the suit flew down after its master. It would later return with Kaito inside. "Not many get to bear witness to this masterpiece! Now, face my Space-Fu!" Kaito punched the left fist into a space rift, thrusting out beside Jerome and shoving him into the Dream Water. Jerome warped back on shore and shot Starbursts, but thrusts of Kaito's palms bounced them away. Kaito punched through the ground, a rift forming beneath Jerome, who dodged before it could uppercut him. Kaito threw an array of Portal Punches, spawning all directions around Jerome. He formed a Space Block around himself in defense, then he forcibly sealed the fists from any more portals.
Kaito charged and punched through the Block directly, but Jerome warped behind him. Jerome punched through portals to either side, with bigger portals to Kaito's sides as the magnified fists crushed him. The mech pushed them off, backflipping to crush Jerome next. The Zathurian withstood and warped out, trapping Kaito in a multi-layered Block. Kaito used rapid, brute force to punch his way out of the Blocks, rocketing at Jerome, who flew aside and shot Starbursts at the jetpacks. Kaito turned and did another Portal Punch, appearing several meters above Jerome: this time, a rocket shot from the palm, Jerome warping it with a gasp. It was about to crash Kaito, but it deactivated as he caught it. "Haha! It's not programmed to hit me!" Kaito redid his attack and exploded the ground close to Jerome, blasting him away.
Kaito leapt to land a slam-dunk, but Jerome evaded and formed a Block over the fists. By the time Kaito shook free, Jerome caught the robot's upper half in a portal. "AAAH!" Kaito was hanging upside-down partway up and over the island's edge. "I can't tell where I am!" The lower half ran around in panic, splashing in the Dream River. Jerome dispelled the portal to reform the robot, but afterwards reached through his own portals to squeeze the cockpit with enlarged hands. Kaito shook him off, his glass cracked as he faced Jerome with a growl. He charged at Jerome, but a magnified double-punch shattered the cockpit glass against the momentum. Jerome had enough room to yank Kaito through a portal and out of the mech. He warped into it himself to destroy the device.
"HEY! I was renting that thing!"
Jerome warped behind and KO'ed him with a Starburst. "Well, I hope you have insurance."