I present to you two back-to-back, superpowered and dazzling boss battles!
Chapter 24: All That Glitters is Gold and Sometimes Bananas
The cliffs of Mystic Ruins were different today. There was a new plateau with a jungle and snowy mountain that wasn't there before. New… but familiar. "I feel powerful chi…" Maddy said, drawn to the ship with the horned lion figurehead. "It's her…"
"Let's check on Knuckles and Shade first." Mason suggested.
"They've seen us!" Sally exclaimed from Sector SOL's phoenix-like ship. The Horned Lion fired up at them with near pinpoint accuracy. The phoenix dropped explosive egg bombs to deter the ammunition while Maddy protected the Sunny Zoomer with Chi Spheres.
"Brace yourselves, mates, we're makin' landing!" Sheila declared, diving the flying plane-bike downward. "Er…is that a big ol' monkey?"
An enormous gorilla was distinguishable near the Master Emerald altar. The operatives exchanged bewildered and concerned looks. "Wait, Sheila, take us to that part of the jungle." Maddy pointed. "I think I sense Shade and Tikal."
Both sets of operatives evaded the cannonfire until they were able to land safely on the island. They followed Maddy through the jungle shrubs and toward a short cliff. There was a cave just barely noticeable behind a large rock. "Shade?"
The echidna peeked out with a gasp. "Maddy! And you brought Princess Cinder?"
"Us, too!" Sticks mentioned. "And why didn't you tell us you were a cave dweller now?"
"Shade, what happened here?"
"That gorilla ambushed us just this morning. Knuckles confronted it himself… and before I knew it, the island fell. Knuckles must've destroyed the emerald… He told me he only does that when he fears he won't be able to protect it. I can still sense his presence, but… it's extremely faint!"
"We'll get on it, don't…!" Maddy spun around. "We have company!"
A platoon of officers surrounded them from the jungle, joined by a greater squadron of soldiers. "Well now… perhaps we've wandered right into the beast's den!" chortled Commander Craig the Red, a broad-shouldered man with messy red hair and scruffy goatee.
"No matter who we're up against, we must not hold back." said Major Neithardt the Mighty, a man with spiky blonde hair. Though, when he's sleeping, they call him Neithardt the Nighty Night. "Was that really necessary?!"
"We may fall here…" began Major Irving the Tenacious, who had short blonde hair, "but our sacrifice will ensure victory for the admirals."
"Admirals? Like, more than one?" Mason gulped.
"Sounds fun." Sheila fist-palmed.
"We shall show justice to these grunts." Cinder flared up. "We entrust the rest to you."
"Maddy, I'll carry you to that warship!" Charlie offered, picking Maddy up by the hands.
"Heh, you're stronger than I thought. Okay. Please keep Shade safe, Cinder."
"Oi don't 'ave time for pushovers, anyhow!" Sheila took Mason's hand and ran past the platoons.
Commander Craig hardened his fists with both Haki and Fire Kung-Fu. They would meet Cinder's blazing heels in fiery combat. Sally battled Colonel Dalton, a soldier with Prussian-blue hair. Sticks battled Irving, dodging his gun like a wild animal and striking him with her bō staff. Trip charged a Spin Dash and lunged at Neithardt, who pressed her back with his sword.
"Heh heh…things worked out as we hoped." Craig smirked. "Admiral Kong's bananas grow stronger through absorbing sunlight… and even lightbending. The Pirate King's power will be her undoing."
"We'll see about that." Cinder said confidently.
On the deck of the Lion, Aurelia sensed two flying presences. She smirked, recognizing one of them as Maddy… and her soldiers on deck fell to their knees before Maddy's Haki.
Mason and Sheila reached the bridge of the emerald's altar; the former cowered back before the massive gorilla guarding it. It was easily five times their height! Though its blonde pineapple-shaped hair was a bit silly, there was an intimidating aura. "So, where's the admiral?" Sheila asked. "Behind this big ol' monkey?"
Kong firmly aimed his fingers at his sharp, glaring eyes. "…Wot? They call you an admiral? HAH ha! They hired a MONKEY to be an admiral? And he ain't even that big! I fought way bigger beasties than-"
Kong's hardened fist came at Sheila like a train, sending her flying beyond the island's cliff and into the sea. "SHEILA!" Mason screamed.
"CHEEKY SUCKER PUNCH!" The captain splashed out of the water and used Light Dash to skid along the surface, reaching the cliff and hurriedly climbing up it. "Blimey, that kinda flippin' hurt! You think you're good at punchin'?! Well, Oi can do way more than that, codger!" (Play "Sumo Kong" from DK: Jungle Beat!)
But Mason could tell by the glare in his eyes: So can I. Kong pulled out a pair of giant bongos and sat down. He began to play a simple rhythm, his eyes closed in concentration. Pineapples levitated around him, turning black with Haki. "Musicbending? Psychicbending?" Mason wondered. Kong sent hardened pineapples at Sheila first, but in her attempt to punch them away, the pineapples' spikes suddenly jutted out and punctured her fists. Mason winced, imagining the pain. He then noticed banana trees rising from Kong's barrels, situated in large pots as the fruits seemed to grow quickly. "No, it's plantbending!"
"I don't care what kinda bending it is!" Sheila flicked the fruits away. "Only one getting bent here is HIM!"
Boss fight: Kong the Bountiful
Sheila raced back through the jungle, dodging the spike-jutting pineapples until Kong was in view. She punched a flurry of large Light Fists, but Kong bent his banana tree down like a shield. The bananas shone brightly as they absorbed the chi, and Kong proceeded to eat them. The gorilla leapt close to Sheila herself and slammed the earth with a powerful shockwave. Sheila was blown away by the force, but when Kong leapt to crush her directly, she managed to delay him with Light Palms, giving her time to get up and dodge. Kong loaded his log guns with blackened coconuts, firing them with the force of cannonballs. Sheila mustered her Light Tail, twirling and batting the coconuts back into Kong's stomach and face. Sheila snickered and began spinning a Light Fist: Kong held his banana tree at the very point she would shoot, but Sheila was quick to redirect it underneath and uppercut the gorilla.
Kong snarled and threw his arms to CLAP her: with the nimbleness of a grasshopper, Sheila leapt above his hulking hands, her legs doing the splits. Bringing her ankles back together, Sheila mustered Light Feet large enough to smash Kong's hands. Afterwards, she bent them up in an arch, hoisting and slamming Kong on his back. The gorilla leapt away and swallowed some bananas to ease any light backache. He then dedicated some bananas to form a whirlpool around Sheila, some of them randomly launching at her. Even when she tried to zip out of the twister, Kong had it tail her and trip the captain up. Some of the hardened boomerangs bashed her, until Sheila seized one in her grasp.
She channeled lightbending, which the banana absorbed, but she refused to let Kong pull it away. Instead, Sheila ripped the peel off, and even though the fruit inside was still coated in Haki, she sank her teeth and chewed the fruit. Even Kong was dumbfounded. "Heheh! 'Guess that strong jaw is coming in handy!" Mason laughed.
Sheila grabbed two more incoming nanners and even leapt to clap one in her ankles, so Kong pulled every other one away. Feeling empowered by the sunny fruits, Sheila dashed at Kong. He formed a thick banana shield to block her unlit fist, but she would rapidly pound the shield until she punctured it, banana juice soaking her fists. Even though Sheila's fists were unlit, she instead channeled light to her elbows to improve their flexing speed. Only when she had a clear opening through the bananas did a Light Fist finally impact Kong's disgruntled face.
Kong leapt away and ate some bananas. Sheila licked the juice off her hands and drank a Sunny D to wash it down. "If they keep staying energized like this," Mason commented, "this'll just be a battle of attrition. I mean, nutrition." Kong loaded peanuts into minigun-logs and unloaded the hardened ammo. Sheila relied on speed to dodge them, but some of the peanuts ruptured her skin. With the speed Sheila built, she took off into a Tail Flight. Kong kept the peanuts focused on her, but he also bent a banana shield around himself as Sheila spun her four other limbs as well. Light Fists and Kicks flew down sequentially, empowering the bananas. Kong then proceeded to chow on them… and that's when Sheila Ground Pounded directly into his mouth. "WHAT?!" Even Mason was dumbstruck by her strategy.
Sheila pressed the top and bottom of Kong's mouth to keep it forced open. Unable to chew his bananas, Kong spewed them all out. To the disgust of Mason and any onlooking soldiers, Sheila quickly ate the bananas empowered by her bending. The furious Kong tried to smash her, but Sheila dodged and struck his face with a Light Fist of blinding speed. Kong punched the air and blew Sheila yards away with a shockwave. Sporting an excited grin, Sheila's Eternal Sun Fury burned around her like dancing white flames. She punched a volley of Sun Fists, but this time, Kong used giant watermelons to block them. Levitating seven of them in the air, Kong bounced each of them at Sheila like paddleballs. She simply countered them as necessary, until her fist managed to puncture one.
Kong spun the melon vertically, whirling Sheila until she was released into the air. From this perspective, one of the melons was lined up with Kong's head, so she punched a Light Fist to smash the hardened melon into him. His face became burrowed into the fruit, so Kong ate it. Sheila Ground Pounded the melon beneath her and chowed down as well—her stomach started to cramp horribly. Kong had enough of her eating his food, so before the melon could fully be metabolized, Kong twisted Sheila's stomach from the inside. Sheila grabbed some Flurp and chugged it down to quell the feeling. With the energy it provided her, Sheila zipped around like a comet on Earth, spinning her next Light Fist. But first, Sheila charged him with a headbutt, so Kong blocked with his bananas. However, the purpose of the Light Fist was to push Sheila through the shield and bend Kong's stomach in.
She stole a few of his bananas before running off and eating them. "Hmmm…" Sheila slowly came to notice: these bananas were filled with their own natural Light Chi. And as her tastebuds grew used to them, she felt adapted to their chi. Kong tried to consume a handful of bananas, but Sheila played tug-o-war with them using her own bending. Kong fought back with his plantbending, but Sheila simply seized more of them using not only her fingers, but toes. The bananas weighed in Sheila's favor as she hugged the bundle and ran off to eat them in peace. Kong wolfed down whichever ones he could before stashing the rest away.
When Sheila returned, the captain seemed surrounded by suns… which were actually banana pinwheels. Kong stuck his fists into watermelons and lunged at Sheila for a heavy beatdown. Two Banana Suns acted as shields against the melons while Sheila twirled three of them across Kong's gut and jaw. Kong then bent coconuts to bombard Sheila from multiple directions, but she would perform a similar tactic by conjuring Light Bananas around Kong and having them shoot into him like lasers.
Sheila then began to skip her way toward the sky by mustering banana steps at her feet, rising as the sun did over the horizon. With a splendid spiraling of her arms, numerous, expanding Banana Suns developed around her, trapping all who saw them into a hypnotic trance. Kong, in anticipation of her attack, risked another full set of banana armor. Sheila's fists descended onto the Kong… but this time, her bending took command of the armor and smashed the ape into the earth. The impact was accompanied by an explosion of light that shaped into the illusion of banana mountains, a raccoon face image, and imitations of Sheila and Mason partaking in the fruits. (End song.)
After the blinding lights had faded, Sheila stood atop the grounded Kong's stomach. His mind was fading peacefully. I was taken from my home… and trained to become a military beast. I grew above the army's expectations… served in the Battle of Omicron, Spheron, and others… and by the time I finally saw my relatives again… I was disgusted by how they had fallen. I didn't even feel obligated to fight K. Rool for them… but the army refused to let me get close to him, anyway. Thought I would submit to his will. Just as I… submitted to yours…
"…He sleepin'?" Sheila stomped his tummy. "Good, he's sleepin'. WOOHOOOOOO! Was I ape or what, Mason?!"
"That was incredible, Sheila! Now you're kind of a bananabender!"
"Bananabendah! Bananabendah! Oi gotta make a dance o' that. Now, let's go see Maddy!"
Several minutes ago
Meeting her fellow Haki Master put Aurelia in bright spirits. Sadly, Maddy didn't seem as joyous. "You killed Cinder's father."
"No. That was Kong's doing. …Well… that's kind of a lie."
When Kong hit Silver into the ocean, the ape dove in after to ensure his foe couldn't recover. Blaze saw this and rocketed in… but Aurelia dove after her, relying on Torpedo Spins to catch up with the queen. She slashed Blaze, thwarting her descent, to which the queen singed her with scalding water. Aurelia tolerated the heat and slashed the queen with a maelstrom-sized spin.
"I believed her desperation would make her stronger. And Jacques only asked that I bring her alive, so the husband didn't matter."
"You seemed more honorable than that when we first met… but I guess I was wrong."
"I am a soldier first and foremost. I'll do whatever I'm asked to ensure my country wins. And so long as I can meet powerful fighters, I will. And I will be ordered to attack more Mobians soon. So… Mad Conqueror… can you defend this planet?"
"…I will." (Play "Unfathomed Force" from Trails to Azure!)
Boss fight: Golden Rakshasa, AURELIA LE GUIN
The first move was Aurelia's, sending a flurry of sword waves. Maddy's Observation was sharpened, dodging right, a jump, duck, a right-jump, and upon reaching the admiral, she grabbed onto her right wrist. Aurelia felt only a weak grip: what was Maddy's play? …Then, she realized Maddy's hand was white, the color spreading to Aurelia's arm. "AAAH!" Maddy bent Aurelia's wrist. The admiral banished her with a kick, which Maddy was already prepared to dodge, followed by a swift punch to Aurelia's jaw. "Astounding… I never considered using Haki like that!" Her heart pounding with excitement, Aurelia snapped her arm back into place and thrusted Arcadia. Maddy thrusted her palms to negate the straight sword wave she had cast, but a layer of the ship's deck around her was blown off.
Aurelia ran at Maddy with direct swings of her golden-edged sword; Maddy dodged a diagonal slash and jumped a low swing. Upon landing, Maddy squatted and sprung into the admiral, headbutting her back into the cabin wall. Aurelia extended the Haki of Arcadia and dealt a wide swing, Maddy promptly ducking, but Aurelia swiftly followed with a downward chop. Maddy kicked right, suffering a graze on her shoulder, while the front half of the Lion was split in two. Aurelia charged at Maddy for another direct flurry, using Observation to determine how she would dodge. In turn, Maddy channeled Gold to her palm to deflect each swing. She found an opening, hardened her knuckles with Gold, and punched: the fist was too far to make contact, but Maddy instead fired a Chi Sphere at Aurelia's gut.
When Maddy tried to follow with an uppercut Chi Sphere, Aurelia stopped it with her own palm. Aurelia thrusted a swift stab, which Maddy not only dodged, but gripped the sides of the blade. She channeled Paper Haki through the black and gold relic and tried to twist her hands, very slightly cracking the sword. Aurelia pulled it back and spun for a hip strike. Maddy grabbed and stopped it with her hardened hands, propping them onto the sword as she flipped and stamped her shoes into Aurelia's face. The Rakshasa leapt away and mustered a tremendous sum of chi in her sword, to where it seemed to sparkle like lightning. "NO, ADMIRAL!" her troops cried. "DON'T DO THAT HERE!"
"RAKSHASA HURRICANE!" It was a spin attack, slashing a massive wave that looked like a giant yellow buzzsaw. It severed the cabins from the ship. Maddy likened this technique to Cheren's own Hurricane Spin, but she only had a moment to process it as the force blew her off the ship. Maddy fell into the sea: though she was less terrified of water, swimming was another issue. And it would only get worse when she saw Aurelia leaping toward her. The Rakshasa positioned her blade straight down: it pinned right into Maddy's chest. Fortunately, she channeled strong Haki to that spot in the shape of a heart, but Aurelia pushed her ever deeper underwater.
Maddy's back hit the top of a reef. Aurelia pushed off her, merely observing Maddy's struggle. Maddy couldn't reach the surface like this… so, she would have to bring some 'surface' here. Maddy flared up into Haki Fury: with a thrust of her fists, she pushed the surrounding water away with her chi, creating an air bubble. "HUUUUFF!" She pumped chi out in repetition to keep the bubble active. Aurelia would share her ground and assist by splitting the sea with her blade.
"Now, this is more like it!" Aurelia assaulted Maddy with a flurry, keeping the sea split with each swing. Though Maddy dodged the direct blows, the splitting force still grazed her, but likewise, every shockwave from Maddy's fists would rupture Aurelia. Anyone on the surface would notice the waves stirring violently. "The only way to survive this merciless environment is to let our power flow like the waves around us!"
"You're a psychopath, aren't ya?"
"I always was too wild for my peers."
"I bet they didn't like you destroying their ships either."
"At least mine has insurance."
Maddy clapped hands, taking inspiration from K. Rool as it ripped a vertical shockwave along Aurelia's front. Aurelia leapt into the air, sword down at Maddy. The operative dodged backward, but Aurelia's true goal was to impale the reef and channel Haki underneath. "Rakshasa Onslaught!" Her Haki pierced out beneath Maddy's feet in the form of illusory swords. Maddy tolerated the pain as she jumped out of the swords, converting her soles gold as her landing shattered the blades.
Their negligence caused the ocean to finally refill the zone. The warriors sealed their lungs firmly, but Maddy for one had enough of this suffocating space. This time, she decided to punch downward in repetition as the force propelled her upward. She saw the cliff of Mystic Ruins and pushed her way to that. Once at the surface, Maddy climbed the cliff to the top. She dispelled her Fury and gasped for breath. Aurelia would soon climb to join her. Both of them waited until the other was fully caught up on oxygen. Then Maddy shot a Chi Sphere, which Aurelia evaded before thrusting Arcadia. Maddy jumped on the sword and tackle-hugged Aurelia, channeling Paper Haki and biting into her left shoulder. This was to make up for the wound Maddy got earlier. However, Aurelia punched her off while the Haki was still active, so Maddy felt a great sprain in her left hip. Paper Haki was a two-edged blade, after all.
"Maddy Murphy… I thank you for this challenge. Until now, I've never had the chance to truly stretch my Haki. I can feel my chi… flowing cleanly. Please… allow me this small taste of perfection." Aurelia planted Arcadia into the earth. Her aura burned like a black and gold flame… and that flame shaped like a knight's armored suit.
"Then I will, too…" Maddy ignited her Fury again, but this time, her central heart was gold. Her right fist deflected Arcadia's swing, while her left targeted Aurelia. The admiral dodged while simultaneously striking Maddy's jaw with her own fist. Maddy lost a couple teeth, but allowed herself to hit the ground from the impact. Maddy would then punch the earth, combusting a shockwave that threw off Aurelia's balance, which then allowed Maddy to rebound and direct a blow to her gut. Aurelia flew back into a rock, but kicked off of it with a spiraling motion, swallowing Maddy in a horizontal, cyclone-shaped sword wave. Enduring the ripples that had resulted, Maddy pushed against the cyclone, grabbed Aurelia, and slammed her into the ground, followed by smashing her face in.
Aurelia swat Maddy away and stabbed the ground: Rakshasa Onslaught erected all around the field, puncturing Maddy, but she would sooner discard her senses before succumbing to pain. Maddy stomped across the blades and thrusted punches; her knuckles were hardened Gold as they seemed to stretch in a spiked form, puncturing Aurelia from a distance. Aurelia slashed more massive sword waves that Maddy evaded with Observation, the land being carved behind her. "Rakshasa STAR!" Aurelia slashed an 8-pointed star at point-blank range, but the moment it struck Maddy was the same time she punched the blade opposite of its swing. The light crack it had formed earlier ruptured from the impact and shattered Arcadia in half.
But Aurelia still held the lower half and slashed it, only for Maddy's Observation to save her. Maddy aimed a punch at her head, only for Aurelia to dodge right, but Maddy already anticipated this as she raised her right foot and planted it into the admiral's. Her sole was hardened Gold, and though Aurelia's Haki mitigated the strain, she couldn't escape Maddy's hold. Maddy stabbed her Haki knuckles into Aurelia's gut, while using her left hand to hold back Aurelia's sword arm. Maddy then pulled her right fist back for a direct, air-shattering blow to Aurelia's visage. (End song.)
The silver-haired woman fell on her back, her suit of aura extinguished. Maddy dispelled her own Haki. Though she was riddled with cuts and gasping for breath, she stood proud. "Hn hn…" Aurelia chuckled. "Tell me… was this even a battle to you? You look like… you've seen much worse."
"Huff…yeah… but what I was lacking… was motivation… and by the time I found it… I had fallen behind. But now… I'm tired… of losing…"
"…Good… let that resolve… serve you…" The Golden Rakshasa let darkness embrace her.
The soldiers were dumbfounded. Dumbfounded and horrified. Two of their very own admirals, their aces in this war… and to make things worse—besides the fact that their ship was toast—Commander Craig and his platoon were charred and apprehended by Sector SOL. "WE'RE SCREEEEEEEEEWED!"
The operatives, Shade, and Tikal met up at the emerald altar. Knuckles was severely bloody and bruised… but he was faintly awake. "Geh…got here… not a moment too soon."
Shade sobbed and knelt down to hug her husband. Even Tikal was horrified. What the army has done… they would never forgive. They were more resolved than ever to win.
Schnee H.Q.
The news came to Whitley too suddenly. Since before morning even cracked, he had been filling papers in his dad's office. Finally, he finished them five minutes before noon. Now was as great as time as any to go downstairs for some food—"Hu-!" His father was just outside the door.
"Whitley! Where are you going?!"
"I, um, have finished the paperwork, Father. And I believe it is lunch now…er, breakfast."
"You've no time for that." Jacques handed him a clipboard. "Go to each of these production lines and make sure they're meeting these standards."
"Father, I am very honored to be your next heir, but I cannot provide a good performance without nourish-"
"You will not be the heir to anything by slacking off!" Jacques grasped his son's arm. The distraught boy could see the crazed look in his eyes. "Just as I must adapt with these emeralds, because you know what'll happen?! I'm as good as dea-"
"President Schnee." They turned to Ironwood. "I have an urgent report." Whitley felt his father's grip tighten. "Admirals Kong and Aurelia have been… defeated."
"AAAAAAAHHH!" Whitley squirmed in his father's mad embrace, but the strain caused Jacques' hand to assume its Logia dust form, allowing Whitley freedom. "That's it!" Jacques stormed up the corridor. "Call the Grand Admiral! I want the entire army here! This place isn't safe!"
"If you truly believe that, perhaps we should consider leaving-"
"And show those filthy animals our backs?! I refuse to let them have that last laugh!"
"Well, I'm afraid the news only gets worse, sir: three more of our containment zones have fallen. The enemy's number is growing worse."
Station Square
(The following characters are from Tower of God.)
A squadron of 50 soldiers concentrated elements and gunfire at a single lizard girl. She had short brown hair and wore a large black dress, with an orange kimono-like robe with a cloud pattern on top. Swift and nimble on her bare feet, Anak Zahard jumped high into the air and landed in the middle of the squadron. From there, she pushed and threw them around with incredible strength. Two aerial fighter crafts hovered overhead and trained cannons on her: Anak whipped out a green fishing hook; Green April. She lashed it like a whip as it divided in two, seizing both crafts and smashing them into the pavement.
"You're AMAZING, Anak!" Her leader, Rak Wraithraiser bellowed. He was a 3-meter reptilian with red eyes and a red gladiator tunic. He sensed a sniper aiming from a distant rooftop, so Rak twirled and hurdled his spear to stop him. "Now, where could they be keepin' the turtles?"
A tiny squirrel Faunus, Chungchung, climbed atop his scaly head. She had bowl-cut orange-blonde hair that matched her tail, small red horns, a red robe, and completely blank, black eyes. "Probably in that 'condemned' building." The highway base extended beside a crumbled building, damaged from the Pirate War. The tiny squirrel jumped to Anak's head. "Wanna give me a throw?"
"Don't stand on my hair." Anak grasped Chungchung, leapt high, and threw her toward the building. She spread her robe and glid safely into it.
Chungchung scampered unseen around the boots of patrolling guards… and between some ruined office desks, she found a barriered cell with some human teens. "Those must be the Coruscant kids." Her malicious smirk was heightened by her empty eyes. "Prepare to hail me as your savior."
"Ouch!" Anak was shot in the arm.
"Huh? You alright?!" Rak asked.
Anak searched for where the laser came from. She saw another laser, bouncing off invisible plates around the air, and jumped before it struck her. The shot was fired by Major Claire Rieveldt (from Trails), a thin woman with icy-blue hair. She used a controller in her arm to manipulate the nanomachines that projected the holo-mirrors. "I see your game." Anak narrowed her eyes. "Well, the predator's on the hunt."
"Let's show them what Sector CHAOTIX is made of!" Rak declared.
Gigan Rocks (These ones are from Sonic comics!)
Tangle the Lemur stretched her tail like a fist to K.O. soldiers, and when a horde of them surrounded her, the tail served as an extra limb in fighting back. Tangle had gray fur, yellow sneakers, and a black jumpsuit with a yellow chest area. "Fighting the Galaxian government! This is the best!"
Whisper the Wolf combatted three martial art soldiers, bringing them to their knees before jumping away. Whisper aimed her Wispon, a device with an umbrella-like hook and spherical top, and conjured a Blue Cube from it, using it like a hammer to send them flying. Whisper had biscotti fur and dark-gray coat, boots, and pants with a cream tube-top. "I saw the soldier with the card key, over there." Whisper whispered.
"Uh, can you repeat that?" Tangle asked. "Couldn't hear you over punching the daylights outta this guy."
"Once we free those toads," their leader, Lanolin the Sheep said, "they can help us secure this base." She had very fluffy, cloudy-white fur, an orange sleeveless sweater with matching boots and fingerless gloves, and green cargo pants. She rang a golden cowbell and projected strong Music Chi that forced some of the soldiers to square dance.
"Compared to the Kremlings, these guys are jokes!"
"Maybe, but they're no less worse. I've never felt so helpless…" Lanolin shuddered, the image of that ray of light descending on their town burned into her irises. "I won't let that happen again."
Space Colony ARK
What was once a station where weapons of mass destruction were produced, was now the headquarters of the Mobian KND! "Yeah, I read about this place!" Carol said as they observed the spacious hangar. "There's like a planet-destroying cannon, isn't there?"
"Goodness, not!" Halinor said. "…anymore. My dad dismantled it long ago."
"Sure woulda helped though." Manic shrugged. His sister slapped him.
"Hey, Carol!"
"Maseeeeyyy!" Carol happily turned to Mason's group. …She was horror-struck at Maddy and Sheila's battered forms. "Uhhh…"
"ZOMBIES!" Kokichi screamed. "NYAAAAARGH NAGAGAGAGAAAAAHHHH!" And he ran for the space-hills.
"Oh my God, what happened?!" Weiss asked.
"We beat up the admirals." Sheila answered.
"It was bloody ripper." Maddy followed.
"You mean Galactic Admirals?! There were some here?! And you beat them?!"
"They did." Cinder affirmed. "And we've sent them to Arctic Prison along with other captured soldiers. Someday… I hope for them to answer to their crimes."
"Heeeeey, Katt!" they heard a voice call.
"FLYNT!" Neon Katt exclaimed. The operatives noticed the groups of humans piling out of Sector CHAOTIX's ship. Neon jumped to hug Flynt Coal, a dark-skinned boy with sunglasses, a silver trumpet, a dark fedora with a blue trim, and a matching vest with a loose tie.
"YOOOO! NEPTUUUUUNE!" Sun Wukong happily jumped beside a blue-haired boy with yellow goggles and a red coat. "Sage! Scarlet! Been worried sick about you!"
"You're anything but." Neptune laughed.
"Are these the Coruscant friends you mentioned before?" Weiss asked.
"Uh-huh! We train at the Beacon Military Academy! 'Course, as soon as we heard what Schnee was doing, we decided to drop out and f*** up his plans! Haha!"
"W…Weiss Schnee?!" Neptune gasped.
"Yup… that's my name."
"Heh…never thought we'd get to meet you." The blue-haired teen looked her up and down. She looked a lot cuter up close.
"Say, Neptune's a waterbender," Sun said, "and you're an icebender! You two should team up!"
"Sun!"
"Is that Sheila Frantic?!" Tangle the Lemur stole the attention as she raced beside Sheila directly, looking her up and down. "Wow! You're the adventurer of all adventurers! Can me and my team go on a voyage with you someday?!"
"Well, apprentice pirates gotta swab the poopdeck!"
"Aye-aye!"
"We don't have time for that!" Lanolin shouted.
"Yeah… Sheila can have the attention." Weiss said.
"Don't worry, Schnee, you're still popular to us." She cringed awkwardly as Flynt patted her back. "…Your dad laid off my dad and I hate his guts." He walked away.
"Uhhh…"
"Hurry, let's get down to the auditorium!" Sonia ushered.
The auditorium was converted from the Eclipse Cannon's core. The main way down here was through a waterslide, "WOOOOOOOOOO!" which the operatives had a heck of a time riding! "Now we need to get Moonbase one!" Sheila cheered.
"I don't wanna get my underwear wet every meeting!" Carol cried.
"This slide used to have orange fuel gunk!" Manic said.
"Well, I SURE hope this is clean water!"
"This is bloody awful!" Ciel yelled.
"Good thing I ain't a demon! Whee hee hee!" Kokichi laughed.
They all splashed into a pool before the shore of the auditorium, in which a river ran between the stands toward the podium at the end. "Oh, right…" Kokichi gurgled, sinking below the pool. "I'm a fruit user…"
"Having fun, yet?" Weiss helped him to the surface.
The Mobian Supreme Leader took the stage: he was a blue-furred fox with a white swirl of hair, wearing a white jacket and orange space suit. "Good afternoon, Kids Next Door!" Marcus McCloud began (from Star Fox). "Thanks to all your combined efforts, Schnee Dust's containment zones have fallen one by one! The army's forces have dropped! And now it's time to take the fight to Schnee Dust! His mobile factory was based in Green Hill on South Island. However, we need to be cautious. First, according to Sector SOL's info, the enemy is using Night Howlers."
The operatives murmured in worry. "Um…what's Night Howler?" Weiss asked.
"A poison plant that makes Mobians go crazy." Mason answered. "Happened to Sheila's mom once."
"Oh…that's horrible!"
"We will need to be equipped with gas masks when we invade. Furthermore, Schnee Dust has taken possession of the Sol Emeralds, and we've no idea what they might be doing with them. Even so… we must fight until these invaders are off our world! Just as our predecessors banished the Black Arms and the Metarex, and we banished Dr. Eggman… Mobians live to run free! And anyone who would take that away is not welcome here!"
"YAAAAAAAAH!"
"Hah, he didn't mention the Kremlings." Kokichi sneered. "Couldn't kick 'em out that time. Hm?" He noticed Weiss walking up onstage.
"Mobian Kids Next Door… I am Weiss Schnee." Their cheers faded as they murmured curiously. "I…I'm sure you all know who I am, but… there's something you need to know. …I am no longer the daughter of President Schnee." Confusion swept the audience. "You see… I have been disowned. I was disowned… for not sharing Father's ideals or his ambitions… and was thus severed as the company's heiress."
Flynt shirked down in his seat. His friends cocked knowing brows at him.
"And lately… I've wondered about my own ambitions. What was I supposed to do after I inherited the company? How do I make up for all Father has done? Do I apologize to every Mobian he's come in contact with? Do I return to the lands he's reaped from? Give back the money he's swindled? Was I meant… to harbor my dad's punishments?" The operatives exchanged looks, contemplating the heavy question. "In a way… when Dad said that, I…I felt free. Should I… feel this way? Be glad that I'm not following in his footsteps?"
They had no answer for her. "I am truly sorry for everything he's done to you… but Father has hurt me, too. So, I wonder… am I saving this world for you… or am I saving it to spite him? To claim justice for myself? I guess… all I'm asking is… don't think of me as a hero. That's all."
Of all the heroic speeches they expected to hear… there was something uniquely honest about hers. "Ya know, Weiss, you've been puttin' up with President Sneeze's abuse longer than any of us!" Sonia yelled supportively. "You better dish out all the butt-kicking you can on that tyrant!"
"YEEEEAAAAAAHHH!"
Weiss sported a blush. Blake smiled, proud of her honesty. "Oh, hey, one more thing! President Schnee is also a Devil Fruit user. It's a Logia-type that lets him absorb and transform into Nature Dust. So, unless you know Haki or something…"
"I bet I can knock him out with my pinky finger." Maddy smirked.
"But Logias can still be damaged by their opposite element." Cinder said. "So, if Schnee attacked with Ice Dust, then fire could hurt him."
"And my darkbending can penetrate Logias!" Kokichi grinned. "Say, if he's a fruit user, we could trick him into going down the waterslide!" Ciel glared at him.
"Then it seems we have a game plan." Marcus said. "Let's give him the butt-kicking he deserves! We set off… in an hour!"
Schnee Dust
Jacques opened two vials of energized Sol and Chaos Dust. He opened his palms and willed the Dust to flow into them. "Sniiiiiiiiff…hmmmm…yes…it's almost perfect…"
"Oh joy, oh joy! It's almost done!" Gruntilda clapped giddily. "Pretty soon, we'll have some fun…"
"Mr. Schnee," Ironwood approached, "you have visitors."
"They BETTER not be who I think they are!"
"Perhaps you'd better come see for yourself."
Jacques vehemently stormed out his front door, falling frozen in surprise. A small army of Mobian soldiers and police were gathered, including Chief Bogo, Judy Hopps, and Carmelita Fox. But most importantly… "Chancellor Yorkshire?"
Cheadle raised a megaphone to her maw and spoke strictly. "Get off my planet, Schnee. And take all of your military with you. This is your only warning."