Last month
Sometimes, Eggman wished Bowser lived somewhere cooler. He didn't deal with hot temperatures well, especially volcanos. He'd begun to tolerate it better with his cybernetic body, but he'd also be reminded how much better Bowser aged than himself.
"The Aincrad plan was a bust, Bowser." Eggman sighed, sipping a beer. "And our chances to find what's left of the MCP on Coruscant are slim."
"What else is new around here…" Bowser chugged a giant jug of his own.
"But I managed to salvage some of Aincrad's data. And if my research is correct… I think I'll pay Planet Mira a visit."
"Hah, already makin' your next plan? Good on ya, Egghead!"
"Well, we need to start conquering worlds eventually. Isn't that what you said?"
"That's what I was promised. If we can take more land than Mickey or anyone else, all the power, even the Newborn will be ours! Even if that little imp is lying, I'd rather take that chance than let someone else take it."
"I've always wondered, Bowser… why didn't we retire a long time ago?"
"Gulp, gulp, gulp, guh…" Bowser swallowed a large portion. "Where'd that come from?"
"Why do we keep making these plans when they always derail? When we know nothing ever goes our way? Why do you still chase after Peach, knowing she'll never marry you?"
"SHEESH, you're in a mood today! What's your deal?"
"I don't know… I just know that if I attempt this Mira plan, it'll end the same way."
"Well, I don't got time to think about why I kidnap Peach! I chase after her 'cause I want to! I wanna conquer Mushroom 'cause I want to! And I have damn fun doing it! And little by little, I make progress. Didn't you hear? I finally trounced those Mario Brothers."
"You…you have?"
"Gwahahahaha! I burned and crushed them into comas. After all these years, after all my family has been cursed by misfortune… finally, the Spirit of Victory saw favor in me. And just look at Kroctus… even at the very end, he had a smile on his face. He loved what he did the whole way. I may have been raised on this conquering business, but it's what I love doin'. What about you? Why did you become an evil genius in the first place?"
"Why? Well, blame my grandfather. After Professor Gerald was banished from Mobius for his business on the ARK, the government put arrest warrants on our heads. They deemed the whole Robotnik Family guilty. But my father wouldn't stand for it. He took all the wealth and resources we had, all the technical genius Grandpa taught him, and founded the Robotnik Empire. He waged an ongoing war on Mobius, and I was born to one day inherit the throne. But Papa lost his life thanks to those Freedom Fighters, the runts who would then found the Mobian KND. Then, in my quest to mine alien resources… I met you."
"And since then, we've ALWAYS been soul mates, gettin' bullied around by red and blue chumps! See, Eggy, you and I didn't ask to be conquerors, it's what we were born with. And thanks to it, we got to meet each other, Kroctus, and a whole bunch of great people! If you think you're done with it, go ahead and screw off. After all this time, can ya really say you didn't have fun?"
"I…" Eggman gazed into his half-drunk beer. "I did."
"And why did ya? What kept ya going after all the times Sonic thrashed ya?"
"It was to wipe the smirk off his face. To ruin the happiness our family never got to have. To prove that evil can triumph in the world! And every happy-go-lucky town I see terrorize brings a smile to my face!"
"Exactly! And when I think about givin' it all up… I bet I'd get so bored. This is what I was born to do and I love it. What about you, Eggman?"
"Heh…you're right, Bowser." Eggman raised his jug. "I can't let the KND have their way. I can't disappoint all the friends I've made. I'll keep up this gig until the VERY end!"
"THAT'S MY MAN!" Bowser clacked his jug with Eggman's, the force knocking him and his pod away. "Whoops! Eh, sorry!"
"At least one of us is in good shape." Eggman chortled. "But no matter… Time to investigate Mira!"
Present; Alrest, Mira
The operatives made land on the enormous walrus's tail. Eggman's army wasted no time in charging the intruders, so Sector V and the GKND stormed through the first line of defense. Sector Q stayed back with the Aegis Drivers per Alvis's request. "In conclusion, if you two allow Bolypius to access your data, it could unlock great power within her. Power that we may need in our upcoming battle."
"But if I assist in the battle, we could be faced with a similar situation…" Boly replied.
"Maybe, but it's better to have the power than not." Miko reasoned. "Let's just download the data, anyway. Just in case."
"That is acceptable…"
"Ready, Mythra?" Rex asked.
"I guess so." Mythra knelt down, allowing Magearna to touch her emerald crystal.
The robot's eyes coursed with green and gold as a vast network splayed around her, connecting Mythra to thousands of others. "I see… all the Blades! I feel connected with all the Blades in Mira! But there are chains on them!" Black and red chains with Eggman's logo locked the Blades in place. "Eggman is chaining all the Blades against our control…"
"But we just freed Ursula and Pandoria." Rex said. "I bet with this, you can break his hold on the other ones!"
"I wonder if that means you'll become a Master Driver like Rex?" Mythra wondered.
"You mean I can control ALL the Blades?!" Miko gaped. "That would be SO AWESOME, but… morally wrong, but still awesome!"
"Uh, right…" Jak stared in disbelief. "Now you need Malos', right?"
"Yes, correct. I wonder what I'll learn from him…"
"I don't think so." Malos walked away.
"M-Malos!" Rex stuttered.
"Look, kid, I'm the Endbringer. The Aegis of Destruction. What if you inherit my power? It's too dangerous to be in such reckless hands."
"Yeah!" Daxter agreed. "Jak's the only one reckless enough to boss Malos around!"
"Besides, if you idiots pull your weight, Bolypius won't need to do anything. We're Aegises, aren't we? Then act like it!" The dark-armored Aegis raced off on his own.
"Hey, wait up, Malos!" Jak ran after.
"Eh, I guess he has a point." Miko shrugged. "Destruct Chi would be pretty scary… but awesome."
"I think we're better off without it." Carmine agreed. "But come on! We can't keep them waiting!"
Sector Q and the Aegises advanced. The last four off the ship were Celica, Ursula, Zeke, and Pandoria. "Are you sure you're feeling well, Ursula?"
"Of course I am. I'm a little queasy, but I can't throw the fight now. I need to bring peace to Mira… then, I wanna show Terry what a great job I did!"
"Okay! After all these outsiders have done for us, I wanna do all I can to help them, too. I wonder if… they would let us join them?"
"Hurry up, you two!" Pandoria ushered. "Are we getting revenge on that Egghead or what?!"
"Darn right, we are!" Zeke declared. "Look out, Eggman! The Eye of Shining Justice has its eye on you!" (Play "Origin Battle" from XC3!)
Act 8: The Egg Walrus
The first platoon of Egg Pawns were different from earlier varieties: they were emitting dark auras, moving more swiftly as they shot machineguns or slashed katanas. When Rex slashed Mythra's light sword at them, he was surprised by their resilience, and it was only thanks to help from Shulk that they were able to destroy them. Beyond them was a steep path where several Egg Riders rolled down, the motorcycle mechs imbued with the same darkness. Quill and Eddy bombarded them with slingshot pellets and elemental blasts, if only to distract them so Jak and Malos could slash them into destruction. However, Jak only tore off the driver of one of the bikes, he and Malos mounting it to drive up the path. "Hey, not without me!" Quill said as he pulled out a small racecar and pressed a button, spontaneously growing to fit him. "Feels great to actually be the DRIVER this time!"
"At least you don't have PTSD." Jenny remarked. With her blades, she quickly caught up to the drivers, speeding uphill and across a track full of Rhinotanks and RhinoBots. Their combined reckless driving would fill the road with the rhinos' remains. There were several ramps along the upcoming road with blue rings above them, so each racer occupied their own end of the track to hit all the rings. Doing so lowered the wall at the end, providing entry to the next part of the city. Turret towers shot balls of energy down, but Mythra used lightbending to catch and throw them back. Egg Axes (Egg Hammers remodeled as gladiators) would send shockwaves by chopping the floor. Shulk and Jak combined efforts to bring one down, and Miko and Sena dealt an epic hammer combo to another. Quill would squirt gas over the Axe, so Sena's fire could light it like a firework!
The team reached a rail-grinding zone, so Jenny asked the crew to jump in her Infi-Cube while she took the reins. The triple rails swerved around several buildings, but cannons would blow chunks of them off, startling Jenny into jumping quickly. Some rails fell slanted, so she had to quickly extract the rails built into her shoes, angling up to launch onto the main rails. There were several springs along them, but they were Trick Springs, as hinted by Eggman's visage. They would bounce Jenny into spikes, but one of them had a Riddler Trophy, Jenny thinking fast to hit it. Once Jenny hit the spring at the end of the rails, she could release her large team on safe land. "Blimey, I could hardly breathe in there!" Rex coughed.
"Infi-Cubes are good for transportation," Jenny said, "but it's hard to breathe and your muscles go numb."
"If I'd have known that, I would've equipped my oxygen tank."
"It's why we only go in there when it's most beneficial for us." Quill replied. "Frankly, I'd rather die to my own mistakes than wait helplessly in a little box."
"But we've always been able to trust Jenny with us!" Carmine cheered. "If nothing else, the Cube strengthens our friendship!"
"Are we gonna get moving or is it time for a corny speech?" Malos asked.
"It's better than what we got on Coruscant." Daxter remarked.
The crew ran out into an open field where snickering missiles were fired. Eddy's slingshot blasted them out of the air, and Carmine would sense turrets about to pop out of the ground, quickly throwing grenades to destroy them. With their teamwork, they had reached the gate to the next zone—"WAIT, GET BACK!" Carmine and Shulk both alerted at once as a Mega Arbok and Weezing ambushed from above. "Wow, you're pretty quick on that!" Shulk praised.
"These are Pokémon!" Kazuma recognized. "What're they doing here?!"
"Hahahahaha!" Spotlights shone on the upper platform, making the agents' silhouettes known. "Prepare for trouble, did you already forget?"
"Make it double, we'll make you regret!"
"An evil older than Mira-"
"OI, don't make us sit through another one of those!" Zeke and Pandoria came charging from their left. The trio was too shocked to react as the Thunderbolt swung his blade and batted the agents across the field. The duo leapt down to strike the Pokémon with a thunderbolt. "Rex, let us take care of these show bodders!"
"What kind of dorks introduce their selves so grandiosely?" Pandoria retorted.
"Uh…you two?" Mythra answered.
"DAG!" They winced. "Well, at least we have a cuter mascot! Who even likes cats, anyhow?"
"You want me to pass that to Nia and Dromarch?"
"Uh—uh—I mean… your greatest challenge has yet to come!" The two quickly ran for the Rocket Trio, forcing Arbok and Weezing to chase them.
"Hehe, they're a funny bunch!" Sena grinned. The group entered a trenched area, where snickering Eggman blocks would stretch out of the wall and give them only a few seconds to jump. They got pretty high, so Shulk enchanted them with Monado Jump. After some emerged, Kikis would spring up on them, Miko quickly swatting the apes off. The group could rest on a rooftop, and they'd later have to ride a platform to the next building. The platform was powered by a large, tall screw; luckily, Jak's spin jump skill could spin the screw with ease, carrying the crew. When Thundercloud Spinners (Bladed Spinners with cloud projections) closed in on their foothold, Eddy stunned them with pellets while Pyra slashed fire waves at them.
As they were about to cross a more straightforward trail filled with humanoid Egg Warplanes, there was a tremor, and the very trail and robots exploded into particles. "Error detected in the molecular structure!" Boly exclaimed. "Miko… I fear something is happening to Deoxys."
"When the other gods died, their elements in nature went really out of control." Quill said. "But I don't think Eggman wanted to 'finish the job.' This isn't good."
"Maybe, but if this is Deoxys' doing, I bet we can undo it!" Miko channeled Boly's power and flashed her gauntlet. Some of the particles would reform into stable platforms, albeit at random heights. Jak would take the lead as he expected the Warplanes to reform with the matter, quickly dicing them as soon as they did. They reached solid ground and crossed a long bridge leading to a long stairwell up the walrus' spine, and inside its head. Unfortunately, the stairs' matter reassembled into a wall. "Again?!"
"Miko, this is not an indiscriminate attack!"
"Here so soon?" A gap opened in the wall as Infinite stepped through.
"Ugh, you ALWAYS have to show up to RUIN our game." Miko groaned.
"You don't look well." Carmine acknowledged his glitching body. "Are you sure you wanna fight us?"
"It's true that I haven't recovered from our last encounter… but even in this state, I won't let you interfere with the doctor's plans any longer."
"Hey, if you wanna get destroyed, that's your problem." Jak said. "Malos, let's-"
"WHOOOAAA!" A powerful whirlwind spiraled from the right, the group ducking and holding the ground. Carmine gasped as a dark laser was fired from up the path, the Blades all projecting shields to block it. "Hah hah hah!" A floating, white-clothed Blade with rising white hair, blue antennae, and a bag of winds arched over her head, glid up on a whirlwind. "I guess we weren't fast enough, T-elos!"
Another Blade walked up the trail on high-heels, tan-skinned with dark-purple clothes and a one-eyed visor on her forehead. "Oh well. They won't be going any further."
"Zenobia and T-elos!" Rex gasped. "They're two of the strongest Blades!"
"I didn't come unprepared." Infinite informed. "I'm sure we'll be enough to slow you down. …! T-elos! Behind you!"
"Huh?" It seemed that a small sun was rolling up the path, pulled by a running, sandaled figure.
"OI! Looks like I'm just in time for a party!" Sheila announced.
"The Pirate King!" Infinite gasped. "T-elos, shoot her!"
The darkbending Blade fired another beam, missing Sheila, but popping her charged fist like a balloon. Aurora Uno leapt from behind the fist, blasting both fire and snowballs at T-elos. Zenobia lunged to swing a windy wave with her axe, but Sheila used small bursts of lightspeed to fight the wind and sock Zenobia in the jaw. Infinite threw masses of particles at Sheila, but the captain would grab Dillon's H.E.A.D.S.E.T. from her cube as Vanellope glitched out of it. She zipped up to an unsuspecting Infinite to lay a flurry of Lickety-Split Kicks! Zenobia chopped her axe and blew Sheila forward—this worked in her favor as the pirate used the momentum to punch the wall, making it topple to connect with the rest of the stairs. "Don't ya have somewhere better to be, Miko? Believe me, when I ain't in time for my showdowns, Oi get crankier than a crocodile's mum!"
"Man, I know that feeling! The showdown thing, not the… crocodile, ew, but thanks a ton, Sheila!" The back of Miko's glove met the back of Sheila's sunny fist.
"The prophecy has been fulfilled." Carmine said. Trusting the Top Sector to their work, the Q's and Mirans raced up the great stairway. Hordes of robots would stand to impede their arrival, but the kids were set on breaching the Walrus.
Several Death Balls loomed over the first room, dropping small spiked cars that would quickly roll toward and stab the group. Eddy shot Spring Pellets underneath the Death Balls, bouncing the cars back up to strike their origins. With enough repetition, the Death Balls were destroyed, earning them a Riddler Trophy! The ops entered a wide stairway where five E-100 robots—a black, red, blue, orange, and purple one—began to shoot quick lasers and quickly maneuver around the stairs with hover packs. Quill zapped E-103 with water and electric blasts, Eddy rained pellets over E-104, Carmine delivered showed 105 some fireworks, Kazuma dented 101's metal with Mechon knuckledusters, and Jenny… learned stairs and roller-blades aren't good for combat. So, Miko dealt with E-102.
The stairs led onto a ledge over the abyss of a long room. There was a glowing blue device that stretched along it. When they tried to jump onto the device, they found their selves swirling around it. "WAH!" Sena screamed. "Are we in some kind of invisible whirlpool?! My head's spinning!"
"Some kind of gravity whirlpool!" Daxter inputted. "Honestly, how does Eggman get around with these kinds of contraptions? Does he have to ride this thing on his way to the bathroom?" Electric balls called Amps orbited parts of the whirlpool, the ops careful to maneuver past them. The central bar divided in two, both halves stretched far above and below. The gravity would bob them up and down at a wider radius. This made it more difficult to evade the Amps, with Carmine and Kazuma winding up electrified. Otherwise, they landed on the ending platform relatively okay, albeit with bumpy landings and sick stomachs from the rapid shifting gravity. The following hallway had several laser walls with very narrow gaps zooming up. Miko used the Slim function of her Pixl Powers to thin herself enough to slip between the lasers, careful to keep track on their position. At the end of the passage, Miko flipped a switch to disable the lasers.
The following chamber was guarded by two E-2000R's and an E-3000, a huge green robot with a red eye. Jak and Rex engaged the 3000, which unleashed a storm of missiles from its chest. Jak's Monado Cyclone destroyed most of the missiles, and Rex leapt to slash Mythra's blade against its eye. 3000 grabbed and slammed Rex into the floor, but couldn't put its foot down without Mythra preventing it. Jak handed the Monado to Malos, who struck the robot's heel, but failed to destroy it. Rex and Mythra ran out from its foot, and when they noticed the cut Malos had left, she became Pyra, stabbed the heel with her sword, and pumped fire from it into 3000's wiring. 3000 tried to bombard Jak with fists, only to use Monado Armor to withstand it while dealing cuts back to the fists. The fire inside its leg caused 3000 to keel over. 3000 fired a large, red beam from its eye, but Rex used Mythra's sword to puncture through it and stab the eye. Jak added to the injury by stabbing the back of its head, dismantling the robot.
Shulk and Sector Q finished off the 2000R's in the meantime, though the scuffle with the strong robots left them beat for a moment. They would need the stamina to be ready for the following room: a floating flight of stairs amongst a sea of scattered matter. In traversing the stairs, chunks of them would glow and explode before the scattering matter would spread out. "Warning! If those particles touch us, our own bodies could be disassembled!" Boly exclaimed.
"Not if I can help it!" Miko flashed the matter to slow its spread. The further they ascended up the perilous stairwell, the greater they could feel the tremendous power waiting up top. Dr. Eggman and the source of Mira's despair awaited them beyond the top of this chamber. They braced their selves for whatever monstrosity the doctor had waiting for them. (End song.)
Alcamoth
Melia was in need of a visit to the Imperial Villa after so long. She could let her mind wander and calm her heart… but even now, she questioned if this was the best time. Three armies from outer space were fighting over Mira's loyalty. The overlying question was which one was right in the end… Certainly not Eggman. Heck, maybe neither of them were right. After four years of being open to the universe, there was too much Melia didn't understand. It took them a year-and-a-half alone to explore the rest of Mira and get to know Rex, Jak, the NLA folk, and everyone, while the rest of that time was spent traveling to Coruscant, joining the Galactic Council, and steadily learning about all other worlds. As well as experiencing conflict with alien visitors, like those pirates who harvested Riki's saliva, or the ones who abducted Alcamoth…
"Melia." Lady Vanea entered the garden, followed by a spider-like Mechon with a laptop. "I hope this isn't a disturbance, but… I was able to look into these 'secrets' the KND spoke of."
"Did you? How?"
"Using the Internet."
"Ah, the Intergalactic Network. I'm still not used to that mechanism."
"It is surprisingly useful. You could ask it practically anything and it will answer. So, that's… essentially what I did."
Melia observed the screen. The Mechon scrolled down the articles of the Earth KND and their published secrets. "These… are really the secrets they were talking about?"
"I suppose so. What do you think?"
"Well, some of them are… disgusting… morally questionable… or simply confusing. But, I'm to understand the outside universe frowns upon such things?"
"I suppose so. I also discovered videos published by the news organization. Here's the most recent one involving King Mickey." The Mechon played the clip between him and Cheren.
"Does it make you feel good?! Shaming us for our personal secrets?! Calling us freaks?! Calling us bad people?! YOU'RE the bad people! You're ungrateful to everything we did for you! You're ungrateful to all the friends we lost! You all… You didn't DESERVE to be saved!"
"Such anger in his words…"
Melia watched the rest of the broadcast, up to when King Evan attacked Mickey. "People of the universe! I speak for the people of Ni no Kuni when I say, the Kids Next Door are our heroes and our friends!"
"That's right! The KND saved us from the Sky God Pirates! They helped Captain Skaios change for the better! Sheila the Pirate King and ALL of them are our heroes!"
"We, the Inkling race, offer the Kids Next Door our full gratitude and support for all they've done for us!"
"And yet these people speak so highly of them…"
There was a video from a red-haired girl, filmed on a creamy mountain. "Heyo! This is Madeline, live from Buttermilk Building! Just wanna send my support to the KND and all the hard work they do for us! Before today, I only ever climbed mountains in my dreams, but the KND have inspired me to climb every mountain in the world! Now I'm wearing Corn-Clamber Boots! …It's very slippery up here. And messy. But I'm gonna climb this mountain, anyway! Why, because I can!"
There was a video from a lanky old man. "Hello, erm, Internet! I'm not entirely sure how this device works, but… I'd like to send a big kudos to the KND, for inspiring my latest work in the Jenny LeClue series! I've been in a terrible rut these last few years, and the prospect of shelving the old girl had been a nightmare… but thanks to the KND, I've found the perfect way to make Jenny fresh and new again!"
The camera spun and was enveloped by a spectacled face with a missing tooth. "Be sure to buy our new book!"
"I just…I don't understand. Why do some weigh in their favor and others don't?"
"I think… it's the same reason some Machina still detest Bionis, or… vice-versa."
"H-Huh?"
"You know of the whispers as well as I. The people who speak with concealed hatred."
"Of course I do. But… how do you mean, exactly?"
"Those people still go about their lives in peace, and never do anything to disturb those they despise. Even if they don't seek peace, they do not seek conflict. But should they be punished simply because they feel such things?"
"I-I…I don't know."
"I don't either. But it seems that these people intend to punish the KND for those reasons… even when everything else they do is for the good of everyone."
A video of a large, pink mermaid played. "Hello, everyone! I, Sayu, just wanted to say a big 'THANK YOU' to Miko Kubota and the KND for saving us in Aincrad! They're our best friends and we hope you'll lend them support! Pyun!"
The outside cosmos was confusing beyond what Melia expected. There were too many variables, too many differing perspectives and ideals… but in war, history would only have one victor.
Egg Walrus
T-elos already knew she was outmatched in speed, her greataxe outmatched by Aurora's Galaxia. The most she could do was shoot quick bursts of darkness from her heels and eyes, picking up the drop in Aurora's speed. "ECHIDNA!" T-elos dealt a swift slash before throwing an upward kick, flinging Aurora to the air. "T-SKYLLA!" T-elos leapt for another slash, followed by a mega beam from her visor, but Aurora was quick to counter that with a wave of fire. She used Rocket Boost to engage T-elos, matching her in a rapid whirlwind of swings. "MAGDALENE 16!" The ladies broke off as T-elos unleashed a storm of Darkbeams. Aurora cast stars from her sword, imbued with fire or ice to intercept the beams and later to pummel T-elos. Aurora shot through the storm, and though T-elos was able to land a chop to her hip, the Uno still sent her crashing through a metal wall.
An enraged T-elos rose from the gap, equipped with her visor and armor full of laser openings. She firmly locked on and shot quick beams at the evading Uno, but some still punctured Aurora as her rocket faltered, falling onto the path to the stairs. T-elos leapt out of the building and fired a more powerful blast. "U-TENERITAS!" The explosion enveloped a terrific radius. It was a great sphere of darkness, designed primarily to destroy the stamina of all within it. But when it cleared, all T-elos saw was a great star of ice, shimmering a gold aura. Mixing an ice shield with Galaxia's light, Aurora withstood the darkness. T-elos shot down to chop Aurora as soon as the ice crumbled, but what followed instead was a Fire Star to the Core Crystal, and piercing T-elos' visor with Galaxia. The cybernetic Blade would finally pass out from the excessive exhaust.
Running from a rainstorm of missiles from the base's defenses, Sheila dashed toward Zenobia with a spinning fist. "Adamantine AXE!" Zenobia swung her axe with wind to give it pressure, the impact of it with Sheila's fist combusting a shockwave. While the force blew the girls apart, Sheila threw a hidden Light Fist from her other arm, punching Zenobia's jaw. Twirling her axe at copter-like speed, Zenobia returned to her opponent. Sheila threw a large Light Fist to the sky as it burst into rain, Zenobia's gracefully aiming her axe to block them. She used the momentum to throw it like a shuriken, her airbending guiding it as Sheila evaded the axe, while the Faunus ran to her directly. Sheila spun her tail at the same speed and stretched her own Light Axe from it, its inhuman speed whipping Zenobia at a deadly repetition.
Zenobia finally grabbed Sheila's tail and bashed her around the floor, but Sheila mustered the strength in her tail to spin Zenobia and shake her off. Flipping back upright, Sheila threw Light Kicks, so Zenobia matched her with Wind Kicks, each one hitting like thunder! One of their kicks sent both girls into a rapid spiral, until both met each other in a headbutt. "Hooooohhhhh!" Zenobia pushed Sheila back, but Sheila mixed lightspeed with her Mobian fortitude to push Zenobia. "I don't care if I'm being controlled by Eggman, I'm having the time of my life!"
"Sure sucks that it's cloudy though! If the sun would poke through, I could give ya WAY more of a fight!"
"Why didn't ya say so? I could use the flight, anyway!" Zenobia leapt away and took flight to the dark, cloudy sky. "Let's see… that side looks brighter, so the sun's probably that way!" She spun in a cartwheel fashion, axe stretched out as she cast a great wave that split the clouds! The sun shone upon the walrus like a trench of light, and as Sheila basked in its warmth, the captain burned in a white flame! "HO HO!" Zenobia exclaimed. "THAT'S what I'm talking about!" She dove headfirst to her opponent, building speed and power. "Twixt Heaven & HELL!" Her axe struck with the force of a condensed hurricane, a worthy match for Sheila's fist. If one could see the clash that followed between the two warriors, and not be bothered by the sunny typhoon, it would be hard to tell them apart. They wore the same coat of white and fought with the same fire.
"ZENOBIA, YOU IMBECILE!" Infinite shouted. "Sunlight makes her stronger! You barely had a chance of winning as it was!"
"I don't care! Not even the Tyrannotitan had a soul like this! This is the best day of my LIIIIIIFE!"
Aegis Core (Play "E.G.G.M.A.N." from SA2!)
The light at the top of the stairwell was divine, a mix of emerald, azure, and violet. It glowed from a cross-shaped jewel, lodged in a massive robot. It bore aesthetic features similar to Eggman, but thinner in proportion and made of a certain metal. "I just don't understand…" The cockpit opened, presenting the cybernetic doctor. "Why do you Earthlings concern yourselves with other planets? Why are you always around to GET IN MY WAY?! Why do you even keep fighting when the universe has already been turned against you?!"
"To answer the first two," Quill replied, "we're just good at being in the right place at the right time. And for the last one… even I don't really know."
"Because I love saving people with my friends!" Carmine cheered.
"Because trash like you can't be allowed to do what you want." Kazuma fist-palmed.
"Because Drake would've wanted us to be here." Jenny answered.
"We're here… because of Miko." Eddy stated.
"Uh, yeah!" Miko was slightly baffled by his response. "I did suggest we come here, after all, heh…"
"Not just that." Eddy took her side, smiling at his gaming companion. "If it weren't for you, we'd probably have no reason to come here. We never even went to New Galaxia. I never felt like we were as special as the other Top 10 sectors, but ever since you joined us, that changed. I feel like we're true heroes now. Even when…Even though we lost Drake… Even if we didn't last long in the Pirate War… I still feel like we made a difference. I'm glad we went. Miko made us feel more confident."
Miko was too set on preparing for an epic boss fight to expect such a flattering spiel. "Hah…wow…thanks, Eddy."
"Man, if that wasn't the corniest thing of the year." Quill stated. "Sheesh, are you just trying to make me look bad?"
"Ah, come on!" Rex smiled. "I thought that was nice!"
"It was cheesy and he should feel bad!"
"Good luck convincing Rex that." Mythra scoffed.
"Man, you Earthlings must be real-" Jak couldn't finish his thought before Eggman lashed a pair of whip-like arms, dicing them up. The arms quickly regenerated at an angle to strike from their left, but Shulk and Miko used their shield powers to block it.
"Miko! This appendage resembles Deoxys'!"
"I know…" Miko cast a glare at the doctor. "What did you do to Deoxys?!"
"It's quite simple." The Egg Aegis stretched and thinned its armor. "I adapted him with my Aegis… the same way I adapted it with the Newborn's and Blades' data. This world was created through Bolypius, just like Aincrad. And by taking the data I scrounged from Aincrad and embedding it into the scrap metal I found from that space station, I could use this Egg Aegis to bend the Blades to my will! All I needed was to copy data from the Aegises themselves. The Blades are merely walking computers, after all. Their data can be copied and hacked into with the right hardware."
"Just like I learned from my vision." Shulk said. "Except the wording was different." Their conversation must've taken a different course at some point.
"It makes sense that he used Artifice remains to construct this Aegis." Alvis inputted. "But to understand a technology so ancient and alien… Eggman is a true master of his craft."
"It comes with experience." Eggman smirked. "After years of crafting quality machines, designed to harness the God Chi of the Chaos Emeralds, this Aegis was just another Sunday for me! Of course, it helped that Team Rocket's Darkball made Deoxys compliant."
"Yeah, and who always broke all those quality machines?" Miko flashed rockstar fingers. "Some wise-cracking hedgehog and his animal friends! My days of playing Sonic have led me to THIS!"
And this is the part where Miko says they have a score to settle! Shulk thought spiritedly.
"So, let's get started! We have a SCORE to settle, RoBUTTnik!" Miko spun and aimed at her rear for emphasis.
Her teammates cringed. "Did the conversation veer off somewhere else?!" Shulk wondered.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" The Aegis fired a particle cannon, the team dividing from its radius. "Use your Newborn power against me and you'll be punished again! And this time, Deoxys won't be able to save you!"
"He's right!" Shulk said. "Leave it to us, Miko! We'll take Mira back with our OWN HANDS!" The Homs flicked the Monado, its red shell splitting open and vanishing in a pure blue flash! An azure sword with a winding texture and a similar symbol hole replaced it in Shulk's hands.
"For all our friends in this world and others!" Rex donned shiny, white and black armor with emerald energy veins, while Mythra assumed a similar garb with an emerald ponytail: she was now Pneuma, armed with a sword of divine, green energy. "We'll put an end to your machines!"
"And after we're done," Malos' dark chi flowed into his Driver, morphing into Dark Jak, "maybe we'll pay your cohorts a visit and deliver the same justice!"
"But if it comes down to it," Miko clutched both hammers firmly, "I won't hold back on you, Doctor."
"And I've made my choice just the same." Eggman vowed. "Even if I lose this battle, I'll try again! For Lord Bowser and my comrades in arms, we'll win this war in the name of EVIL!"