Operation: C.L.O.W.N., Chapter 2: Welcome to Punk Hazard
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Since I played the Batman: Arkham games before writing this arc, this is the first time we're seeing that form of gameplay for Sandman!
Chapter 2: Welcome to Punk Hazard
Downtown Quahog
Night had fallen over Quahog. Snow was falling fast from the cloudy sky. Nolan York and Crystal Wickens stood perched (sat in Nolan's case) atop the town buildings. Yuki Crystal arrived shortly after, and all dressed in their superhero outfits. "Ahhh, another day, another bank-rob." Wiccan joked.
"At least it's snowy out." Yuki noted. "Wouldn't mind any cold."
"Well, things seem pretty normal so far." Nolan observed. "Maybe I can actually get home regular dinner ti- wait a second." Something down the street caught Nolan's eye. He pulled out binoculars and looked closer. "Vanellope?"
The Program child was currently walking down the street, yelling, "DILLOOON? DIIILLOOOON?" The girl turned in to an alleyway, examining the dark shadows. "You in there? Dillon? Don't try and scare me now! You- WHOOOAAA!" She was immediately yanked up by a metallic hook.
Sandman hauled Vanellope onto the roof with them, and she screamed, "AAAAAHH ALIEN INVADERS PLEASE DON'T ABDUCT ME-"
Nolan slapped his gloved hand over her mouth. "Vanellope, it's us." He pulled his mask off, and Yuki and Crystal did the same.
"Mr. York?! YOU guys are the aliens?!"
"What the- Nooooo! Vanel, I asked you to get Dillon an HOUR ago, what're you still doing out?"
"I can't find Dillon anywhere! And Kaleo's gone, too!"
"You can't?"
"Maybe he's at the Murphys' house." Crystal figured. "Wouldn't hurt to swing by, right?"
"Alright, let's drop by real quick, just in case." Nolan decided. He held Vanellope as he swung away with his grapple hook.
Nolan's neighborhood
The four hurriedly returned to the neighborhood, but right away, they found Doug and Gwen Murphy talking to Danika in her doorway. "Huh? What're they doing?" Nolan questioned.
The group hurried over as Danika noticed and waved at them. "Hey, guys! Zach and Maddy aren't at their house." She called. "Are they with Dillon and Kaleo?"
"Vanellope said she couldn't find them." Yuki responded.
"I keep telling you guys, the ALIENS are abducting them!" Vanellope yelled.
"ALIENS?!" Leopold stuck his head out the door in a frantic fashion. "THE ALIENS ARE COMING! AAAAH!-"
"SHUT UP, Leo!" Danika smacked him. "It's not like aliens are new to us. Siiigh… alright, where were they last hanging out?"
"Hey, guys?" Katie then walked out, holding a phone. "Not to interrupt, but Yin called and said Haruka came over here. She wants to know if she's staying the night?"
"Uhhhh…" Danika was contemplating what answer to give Yin. She knew how Yin got. "Tell her 'Yeah', she's staying over to, um, practice bending with Kaleo."
"Okay, but um… she kinda heard you before."
"WHERE'S MY BABY GIRL?!" the group winced at Yin's shout. "IS SHE OKAY?! If my daughter is in the hospital, I am docking SERIOUS pay out of you, Nolan York! DOOOCKIIIIIII-"
Katie pressed the 'hang-up.' "We'll call her back."
"Siiigh, hokay, we better find those kids fast." Danika suggested.
"You know, I think something like this happened before." Gwen said, her head down in thought.
"Ohhhh that's right!" Danika beamed with remembrance. "It was at least 15 years ago… Wally lost his brother."
"Joey Beatles mysteriously went missing." Nolan remembered as well. "The police gave up searching… they even got GUN to help, but they presumed him dead."
"I don't believe that." Danika replied.
"Regardless, this is the same matter all over again." Nolan deduced. "I didn't want to make it my problem… but since they've come to our town, it's personal. Danika, take Vanellope to bed. We'll be right back."
"Hey, why can't I come?" Vanellope yelled as the three heroes headed for the garage.
"Sorry, Vanel, but this might not be your usual Kids Next Door business."
"Uh, helLOOOO? There are KIDS going missing!"
"Just… stay safe. Okay?"
"Mmm-mmmmm." Vanellope frowned grumpily as Dani led her inside.
"So, what's your plan, anyway?" Crystal asked as they entered the garage.
"You'll see." Nolan assured.
Sand Cave
Nolan led them into a secret, underground cave beneath his house, where the lights flashed on and shone on a rotating, shiny, sand-colored vehicle. "Me and Wesley had this cave installed before he passed." Nolan explained. "This was his old car. The-"
"PLEASE don't say Sandmobile." Yuki eye-rolled.
"N…No!" Nolan denied.
"Then what's it called?" Crystal smirked.
"…It's the… uhhhh-" Her witty eyes bore into his skull, her arms folded, "FINE, it's the Sandmobile! Sigh, just get in."
DANANANA! A 'Sandman' icon popped up from a spiraling background.
Dana-nana-nana-nana, dana-nana-nana-nana SANDMAAAN!
As a simple car was driving down the neighborhood road, part of the road suddenly popped up and knocked it back, and the Sandmobile sped out and shot down the road. "SORRYYYYY!" Nolan called to the driver.
Over the sea
The Sandmobile was conveniently equipped with wings, and was currently flying over the sea at high speed. "You STILL haven't told us where we're GOING." Crystal shouted.
"We're going to Water 7." Nolan responded. "Danika said that was where they last struck. Maybe we can find some clues."
"Yet, we COULDN'T search around your own town first." Yuki said, annoyed.
"The report says that more children were taken, and it's a relatively small town, so it should be easier to search for clues."
"Oooh, Water Seven!" Crystal perked up. "I've always wanted to see the giant fountain they have there! It's so…"
"Fascinating?" Yuki cocked a brow.
"Exactly!"
"Well, we don't have time to admire architecture." Nolan reminded. "We need to find some lead on who took the children. Let's go."
Unknown Laboratory
When the kids finally stepped off the ship, they found their selves in a long, damp, vacant hallway. "Move along, now." The suited men instructed. The five complied and walked the very long journey across the hall.
"Whaddyou think this is?" Haruka asked.
"This reminds me of Brain Zombies 2," Zach began, "when the aliens took the kids to the laboratory to have their brains extracted for coal-mining knowledge, and they were given to the zombies to help mine Xenon for its sugarcane, and-"
"Have you been talking to Mr. Ed again?" Maddy asked.
"What? He's cool!"
"Yeah, if you like green cheese." Dillon snickered.
"I LIKE GREEN CHEESE!" Kaleo screamed.
Dillon winced. "Um…that's nice."
The five were eventually led to a laboratory, where a green-haired woman, with bird wings and bird legs, turned and smiled at them, pulling off yellow goggles. "Awww, look, they're here! Come on down, Master!"
They looked to a door on the left side, hearing footsteps as someone walked down the dark stairway. To their surprise, it was a black-haired man with white skin and goat horns, a huge, wavy pink coat over his form as he bore a wide, trusting grin. "Kiiiids! Helloooo!" He threw his arms out.
"Who're you?" Maddy asked, creeped out.
"Why, this is Master Caesar!" the bird woman introduced. "You stand before the greatest scientific genius in the world."
"I thought EGGMAN was the greatest scientific genius?" Dillon questioned.
"Nnn! THAT guy was an amateur!" Caesar argued. "I am the greatest genius in the world! For YEARS I've studied the causes and functions of human and alien genetics! Using my supreme poisonbending, I've delved DEEP into the research of mortal sicknesses, and seen UP CLOSE how it WORKS!"
"You're a… poisonbender?" Haruka asked.
"Nnnn that's right!" Caesar demonstrated, forming a gas cloud in his hand. "I have spent YEARS developing the art in unforeseen ways! …And that is why… it is my displeasure to tell you…" Caesar walked forward and knelt down, his mouth forming a frown. "Children… you have caught a TERRIBLE disease. A disease that is slowly sweeping many children across the cosmos. I was able to develop my poisonbending enough to be able to SENSE which children had it. And so, I sent my men to go about and bring them to me. But to keep from alarming any of the nearby townspeople, I had you all taken away in private. Your parents shan't be alarmed! No matter how long it takes, I will keep treating you until I can HEAL this disease!" He grinned with assurance.
"Now, if you all would be so kind, we need a blood sample from each of you!" Monet smiled trustingly, holding up a syringe. She went to Maddy first, bending over and taking her hand in her bird wing. "And what's your name, sweetheart?"
"Hey, feathers off!" Maddy yelled, whipping her hand back. "If anything, I've caught the metacooties."
"Hm hm hm!" Monet laughed warmingly. "You needn't fear from that!" She stuck the syringe in and extracted blood from Maddy's hand.
Caesar knelt by Dillon with his own syringe. "And who are YOU, young man?" he grinned.
"Dillon York! This is my shadow, Mario!" Dillon's shadow waved.
"Oooh, a shadowbender!" Caesar perked, extracting Dillon's blood. "And what a FASCINATING name! You come from New York?"
"Heh heh, no!" Dillon smiled. "Quahog!"
"OOOOH, Quahoooog! Cleveland break any good bathtubs lately?" he winked.
"Ha ha!"
Monet then went to collected blood from Kaleo. "And who are YOU, little cutie?"
"Are you going to digest my brain for coal?" Kaleo panicked.
"Trust me, YOU wouldn't WANNA eat his brain." Maddy remarked.
Finally, Caesar went to get blood from Haruka. "And who are YOU… Dearie?" he grinned.
"My name's Haruka Dimalanta! I'm a poisonbender, too!"
Caesar's smile vanished, hearing that name. "Ehhh… Dimalanta?"
"Y-Yeah!... Is there a problem?"
"Just making sure I heard it right!" he grinned, patting her head.
"Great. So what'd you need the blood samples for?" Maddy asked.
"Each person receives the disease in different ways." Caesar explained. "This usually results in a variety of genetic codes, which all need to be treated in a particular way! It usually requires more than one sample over time, but a cure should come underway before long! In the meantime… here's some candy for being SOOO cooperative!" he grinned wider as he held up five pieces of butterscotch.
"Oooh, candy!" Haruka exclaimed as she took a piece. Kaleo swiped his and immediately began chewing on it, as did Zach. Maddy, having no trust for this man, merely stashed her candy up her sleeve for now. Haruka didn't eat hers either, wanting to save it for Lee.
"Now, come along and we'll show you to the playroom!" Caesar beamed.
"Follow me, kids!" The gassy man led them down the hall.
Soon, they arrived at the huge, colorful playroom, and were surprised at how many kids were there as well. The walls around the playroom were painted like a bright-blue sky with many white clouds. "HELLO, everyone! We got five more playmates just READY to have fun!" Caesar exclaimed.
"HI, NEW KIDS!" the children exclaimed.
"Well, isn't this the carnival of freaks…" Maddy remarked quietly, taken aback by the variety of kids. There were giant kids, Merpeople, Nimbi, Minish, Kateenians… And a majority of them were wearing white shirts, white shorts, and plain white shoes.
"Hey, wanna have a ROOTBEER contest?" a Kateenian asked.
"Okay!" Kaleo exclaimed, hurrying over.
"Hey, who wants to play Sooper Dodgeball?" a giant boy asked, holding up a giant red rubber ball.
"Oooh, this I gotta see!" Zach perked, hurrying over as the giants ran to the other end, creating quakes with each stomp.
"Well, may as well get settled in." Dillon said to Maddy as they walked forward.
"Hey, look, a bunny!" one of the giant boys exclaimed as some kids gathered around a blue and yellow rabbit.
"Gyom, gyooom?..." the rabbit looked confused.
"Nnn? When did we get a bunny?" Caesar asked.
"I think he showed up when we brought the haul of Water 7 kids." Monet answered. "I asked them, but they said it wasn't theirs."
"Hmmmm… how interesting." Caesar rubbed his chin in thought, then sported his grin. "Send another shipment out to look for more kids! Perhaps I can find a-" They turned around to leave, but stopped when Haruka appeared in their way, a bright smile on her face.
"Hey, Mr. Caesar! I don't mean to trouble you, but, you see, I'm kind of in the medical field myself, and, well, I was wondering if I could help you with your research, and exchange ideas! I'd love to develop my poisonbending skills further, too!"
"Shurororo!" Caesar laughed jauntily, patting Haruka's head. "I'd love to, my darling! But I'm afraid finding a cure is MUCH too complicated! I need to devote all the time that I can! You understand, right?"
"Um… I guess." Haruka looked disappointed.
"Great! Well, I'll see you later!" he waved as they walked out. "And don't forget to Smile!" he grinned widely as they shut the door.
"Hm…" Haruka looked toward the playroom, smiling humorously. "Who is he, Sheila?..."
While Dillon was off playing with some of the gargoyles, Maddy was simply walking toward the left wall of the room. "Hey!" she looked up when a giant girl smiled down at her, standing behind a slide on Maddy's right. The girl had messy, bushy black hair, and grayish-purple eyes. "My name's Mocha! What's your name?"
"Maddy… you want something?" she asked rudely.
"Me and the girls were gonna braid hair! Wanna join us?"
"No thanks…" Mocha frowned as Maddy went to sit with her back against the sky-blue wall. "I'd rather just wait until Caesar says I can leave. Since I try not to ASSOCIATE with those people, I shouldn't be long."
"…" Mocha looked confused. "Okay… but feel free to come if you change your mind." The giant walked away.
Maddy proceeded to lie down in attempt to fall asleep. From behind the slide, the blue rabbit stared at her confused. "Gyom-gyooom…"
Water 7 (Play "Refusal Will Not Be Tolerated" from Batman: Arkham City.)
The night sky was cloudy and snowy over Water 7 as Sandman, Coldman, and Wiccan finally arrived. They dropped from their Sandmobile and took land on one of the many rooftops. "Hmmm… town's a little bigger than I thought." Nolan observed.
"My, but just look at that fountain." Crystal said, her purple eyes fixated on the tremendous mountain that sat in the city's center. "…And look!" she noticed the humongous treehouse towering over the fountain. "A Kids Next Door is here, too!"
"Alright, guys, split up and look for clues." Nolan ordered. "And Yuki… try not to fall in any rivers."
"Siiigh." The icebender sighed.
Crystal flew off using her staff and Yuki flew using an ice path. Nolan activated a glider in his wheelchair and began to fly across the rooftops (he would like anyone to keep any comments about ripping off Batman to themselves
).
As Nolan soared across this region of the city, he had to admit it had a nice atmosphere. The roaring waterfalls from the giant fountain echoed across the town, easing their minds. Nolan had activated special goggles built into his mask, and was using Detective Vision to skim the town. The people and Yagaras were represented as blue skeletons; it got rather confusing since there were so many. Other objects of significance were represented as orange.
Nolan's search found nothing so far, until his Detective Vision detected rapid soundwaves coming from a few streets away, and a child's skeleton was frantically moving about the street. Nolan turned up his eavesdropper to pick up this girl's soundwaves. "Gonbe? Gonbe? Gonbe? Gonbe?"
Nolan glided over and switched off his Vision, finding a yellow-haired, pigtailed girl rapidly searching under every little box or snow pile. "Gonbe? Gonbe? Gonbe? Gonbe? UU-" Sandman suddenly dropped down and grabbed her in his arm, holding her mouth shut as he zipped back to the rooftop via grapple hook. "EEAAAAHHH!" Chimney frantically tried to shake away. "HELP ME! HELP ME! I've been kidnapped! AAAAAHH!"
"CALM down!" Nolan demanded, forcefully setting her on her feet. "Now what were you doing out here?"
"OOUUUUH MR. SAND-SAAAN!" Chimney began crying, still grinning widely. "IT'S TERRIBLE! I LOST MY LITTLE NEKO-CHAAAN! GOONBEEEEEE!"
"QUIET!" Nolan screamed, and Chimney snapped her mouth shut in a second. "Look… when was the last time you've SEEN your friend?"
"I just told him to watch the on'nanokos and he was GOOOOOOOONE." She wept more, putting an arm over her eyes.
"Maybe he was upset?"
"UPSET?!" Chimney leapt onto Nolan's lap and clutched his hood tight, glaring at his masked eyes with rage. "GONBE NEVER GETS UPSET WITH ME! NEEEVEEEERRR!" she shook him forcefully.
"OKAY, OKAY!" Nolan pulled her off. "Ugh… alright, I'll help you look for it. I mean, who knows, it might actually help… what kind of animal is it again?"
"He's a neko-chan, duuuuh! A cat-san!"
"Oh, a cat! Okay… that shouldn't be too hard. I'll look for any clues I find, but why don't you get home? It's getting late."
"Not until you find my neko first!"
"Siiiigh." Sandman switched on his Detective Mode and started gliding across the city some more. The majority of it was pretty boring. Nothing looked too out-of-the-ordinary. Until he arrived at a vacant canal road and noticed a single object glowing blue in an alley. Sandman glided down and discovered it was a dead, rotting fish. "Whoa. This must've been here for weeks." The Sandman zoomed in and scanned the rotting animal. "Let's rewind this back to when it was, well, better."
Nolan continued to scan, and slowly, a holographic vision started to play, in reverse, in which a little rabbit was walking backward with the fish in his mouth. When the projection started playing normally, Nolan observed, "Hmmm… well, it wasn't a cat… but a rabbit caught this fish from somewhere." The holographic rabbit set the fish down and started to gnaw on it. "The fish has rabbit-like bite marks, so it would make sense. …But he stopped eating after a few seconds." The rabbit perked up and walked to his left. "Something caught his attention." He shut his Vision off. "I have to find out what."
Sandman decided to scan around the area. It wasn't long before he discovered a pair of fallen teeth in the clear spots on the ground. Nolan scanned the teeth, and another projection began to rewind. "There were a pair of kids playing a game," holographic kids were excitedly kicking a ball around, and the ball suddenly came flying at the rabbit, "but they hit the rabbit by accident." The holographic kids stood over the fallen rabbit for a while before deciding to carry it off. "They took the rabbit away… but I can't pick up where they went after that." He switched the projection off. "I wonder if those kids were the ones missing? Maybe I can find more."
Nolan decided to scan the area further. Along the sidewalk, there were tiny spots of dried blood. "Ahhha. The rabbit bled a little after it was struck. I'll follow the trail and see where they brought him." And so, Sandman began to roll along the sidewalk, following the dried blood trail. His path led him into a market street, in which he had to jump a river to follow the trail across, then through another alleyway. His trail eventually led him into a darker, more broken area of the town. He was led all the way to the end of a long alley, where the door to a building sat beside a window with a light on inside.
Nolan gently knocked on the door. A chubby woman with orange hair and a yellow tank-top; with many pink flowers, answered the door with a creepy grin. "Well, hello, theeeere! Another child ready to join my family!"
"Wh-What?! No, I-"
"Come on in, Dearie!" the woman grabbed Nolan by the shoulder and forcefully dragged him in. "Here's your brother!"
Nolan raised a brow behind his mask. "…Yuki?"
"Yeah…" the Eskimo-themed hero sat at a table. "Kinda got pulled in when I tried to interview her."
"Boyyys, you're just in time for dinner!" the woman grinned as she stirred something in her boiling pot.
"Ugh, we don't have time for dinner!" Nolan refuted. "Look, do you have any other kids? Do you have a rabbit, maybe?"
"Oooh, I had kids, but they went missing after I sent them to get groceries a few weeks ago. I sent the little rabbit to go find them, but he never came back, either."
"Didn't you try to LOOK for them?" Yuki questioned.
"Oh, noooo! But they ALWAYS come baaack! Oooh, I hope they didn't drown…" she still kept her grin.
"…" Nolan looked disbelieved. "Well, do you have anything that belonged to your kids? I can probably find them."
"Ohhh, this was Junior's favorite bottle!" the woman grinned brightly, holding up a baby bottle. "I put soda in it once, and he just couldn't let go!"
Nolan took the bottle and started to scan it for DNA. "Still fresh, thankfully. I should be able to find where this drool came from."
Nolan's communicator rang, and he answered as Wiccan spoke. "Nolan? Yuki? You better hurry to the eastern docks. A bunch of men in… protection uniforms just arrived."
"Let's go, Yuk." Nolan said as he rolled himself out.
"I'll just stick your dinner in the fridge, deeeeariiiies!" the woman sang.
"Don't wait up for us, Lady!" Yuki called.
The two hurried and hopped across the many rooftops to Crystal's location. They found their friend stood atop a roof, and joined her quietly. "Look." she whispered, pointing over the edge. They peeked over and saw four men in yellow protection suits standing before a boat, guns ready.
"Alright, the Master says there might be more kids here." One of them explained. "You two spread out and find them, we'll stand guard." Two of the men walked opposite directions down the street.
"I bet these guys have something to do with it." Nolan knew. "Yuki, Crystal, take those guys out." He pointed at the ones down the street.
Crystal hurried across the roofs to the farthest one and dropped lightly on her feet. She walked over quietly before jumping and kicking him to the ground, afterward bashing his protected head with her staff and knocking him out. Yuki quietly approached the closer one, merely touching his shoulder to freeze him completely solid. As for the ones by the boat, Nolan landed behind both of them. He weakly stood up from his wheelchair and held both fists by the sides of their heads. He SLAMMED his fists to both heads, smashing them into each other before they lost consciousness.
Nolan sat back down as Coldman and Wiccan soon joined him. "Heeeeeey!" they looked down the road, seeing Chimney dashing over to them. "Oi, haven't you otona-sans found my neko-chan yeeeeet?"
"Look, I don't know where your cat is, but we've picked up the trail on this rabbit. We think he's with a bunch of other missing kids." Nolan explained.
"And you really should put on some better protection, little girl." Crystal told her, noticing Chimney's exposed arms and legs, and wearing only sandals on her feet. "You'll catch frostbite."
"DON'T CRITICIZE MY FASHION-SENSE, JOSEI-SAAAAN! And where is my cat?!"
"FORGET about your cat!" Nolan demanded. "And just get home! If your cat is with the other kids, I promise I'll bring him back, but everyone else comes first."
"Huff." Chimney proceeded to stomp off angrily. "I'll show YOU what comes first, super-saaan!"
"What a nutcase." Nolan remarked as the three boarded the boat.
"Soooo where are we going again?" Crystal asked.
"I used my Detective Vision to track the whereabouts of a rabbit." Nolan explained.
"You just looooove ripping off Batman, huh?" Crystal remarked.
"Uuugh. Anyway, then I found the whereabouts of a mom's missing kids; or at least her baby. We're going to follow their signal and find where they landed. But for the sake of stealth, we're riding this boat there, so they don't suspect. Alright, let's go."
And so, the ship began to sail away from the island, across the distant nighttime sea. "Why were those men wearing those things, anyway?" Crystal asked.
"Germ freaks?" Yuki inquired, raising a brow.
"It had to be from something." Nolan figured. "I wonder where this signal is, anyway." Nolan looked at his wristwatch terminal, bringing up a map of the region. The location the signal was coming from was marked, so Nolan closed in. "Oh? Hmm…"
"What is it?" Crystal asked.
"Hmmm… I'm not entirely sure on the story. But… we're going to Punk Hazard."
…
They'd been sailing for an hour, but their destination was in sight. "Is…Is that right?" Crystal asked, seeing the island ahead.
"A…ccording to my tracker, yah." Nolan replied, feeling just as confused.
Directly ahead was an island burning with enormous flames. The buildings around the shore were torn and melted, and the fires burned as if they've been lit for generations. They couldn't even get close to the shore as massive flames blocked their path. "Well, well… didn't expect our destination to be the Underworld." Crystal remarked.
"There's probably some explanation behind this." Nolan figured.
"Well, whatever it is, it better help my case as an icebender." Yuki noted.
"Come on, Yuki, you're not gonna melt." Nolan assured. "But try and freeze a path for us."
Yuki sighed as he stepped toward the tanker's ledge and aimed his hands at the sea. He launched a ray of ice and froze a path across the water, and through the flames.
"That probably won't hold, let's go!" Nolan rushed as they hopped off the boat and quickly crossed the ice. They managed to reach the shore just before the ice quickly melted. "Hoo…" Nolan sighed, already sweating from the heat under his coat. "Not the best time to be wearing this… Okay, you know the mission: locate the missing kids, and hopefully, Dillon and the others will be with them. Watch where you step, and be careful not to…" At that moment, Nolan suddenly felt something drop down the back of his coat. He reached underneath, and felt something tiny and squirming. He finally grabbed the squirming thing and held it in front of him, seeing it was a tiny, doll-sized, green-haired girl.
"Aaaaahhh!" the girl screamed, desperately shaking as Nolan clutched her in his gloved hand. "Heeelp! Heeeelp! Let me go, let me go!"
"QUIET!" Nolan demanded, shaking her slightly. "Who are you?!"
"Ahhhh monster!" she screamed again. "Aaaaaaahh!"
"Oh, for goodness sake, Nolan, you're frightening her." Crystal scolded, taking the tiny girl in her smaller, skinnier hand. "There there, it's all right." Crystal smiled, lightly rubbing her hair. "We're not going to hurt you."
The girl stopped shaking and smiled happily. "You're nice, Josei-san!"
"Hm hm hm!" Crystal chuckled.
"Uuuugh." Nolan sighed. "Look, what were you doing in my coat?"
"I'm Aeincha, from Sector W7! My leader, Chimney thought you looked weird, so she wanted me to sneak off with you! But she didn't say you had such a sweaty coat! She wants you to find her cat, Gonbe!"
"Uuugh. Look, I'll find the cat after I've found the other children. But it's too dangerous for you to be here, we need to find you someplace safe."
"Aw, Nolan, let's just take her with us." Crystal smiled, letting Aeincha sit in her open palm. "Statistics say that smaller people have more spirit than normal people, so we could use someone like her."
"I'm also super-duper sneaky!" Aeincha grinned. "I can hide from big people like you!"
"Siiigh. Alright, but don't make too much noise. We don't know who could be lurking." Nolan told her.
"Okay! Oh, I hope you don't mind, but Chimney's sort of tracking my coordinates via communicator." She showed them her teeny-tiny wristwatch communicator.
At that instant, a huge, gray train came flying over the heavens, swirling out of control. "GOOONBEEEEEEE!" The island shook when the train crashed in the distance.
"Aww GREAT! So much for stealth!" Nolan yelled. "Now everyone'll know we're here!"
"Actually, everyone will know THEY'RE here." Crystal corrected. "Attention will be directed at them, but we're free to explore the island."
"You can ALWAYS count on Chimney to make an entrance!" Aeincha grinned.
"Siiigh. Look, let's just find the kids before anyone notices." Nolan said once more. "Let's go." (Play "Freezeflame Galaxy (Fire)" from Super Mario Galaxy.)
Stage 3: Punk Hazard
Mission: Find Dillon and the kids and get them off this island.
Act 1
Addendum: We're at the action stage already?
The three heroes started their venture across the flaming wasteland, with Aeincha seated on Crystal's shoulder. A few steel beams fell down from the sides, startling the group and making them stop in place. "Odd that they chose NOW of all times to collapse." Crystal commented as Yuki blew ice and put the flames out. They crouched under the beams before jumping up some short platforms to atop a small, burned building (yes, Nolan's chair can still jump). They now overlooked a slight chasm of burning rubble, with the following path on the other side. Yuki tried to freeze an ice path, but the ice melted almost instantly.
"Boy, this place IS hot." he observed.
Nolan noticed a slight, broken wall sticking up from their side, and was parallel to another on the other side. "I have somethin'." He got between the two walls and sent a zipline to stick horizontally to both walls, forming a tightrope across the chasm. Nolan's chair was able to zip over on its own, while Yuki and Crystal had to balance across. They hopped down some more stairs and approached a huge gate with a big lock. A big sign on the gate read 'DANGER. KEEP OUT.'
"Well-p, guess we're leaving." Yuki stated as he turned and walked away, but Crystal grabbed his cape and pulled him back.
"I can open it!" Aeincha beamed as she hopped up into the lock, which was big enough for her to fit. After tinkering with the mechanism, the lock fell to the ground and the gate slid open. Crystal picked Aeincha up and carried her as they kept going. They trekked through another field of burning rubble as Red Chuchu emerged and wobbled over to jump at them. They took out the simple monsters before reaching another chasm, where lava burned below and blew up gushes. Yuki shot ice at the geysers' tips to freeze rock platforms, which they used to hop across.
They reached a wider road with several lava cracks in the ground. Nolan rolled forward first when a flame geyser suddenly sprouted up, almost burning Nolan before Yuki froze it. They passed through carefully until they reached a ledge overlooking a huge lava chasm. Nolan glided to the first, lowest platform, then saw a set of three platforms hovering overhead, each higher than the next as they led to a higher platform. Nolan used his grappling hook to swing across the platform's hooks. The platforms sunk as a result so the first one was at level with the previous platform.
Nolan pressed a switch on this new platform that caused lava geysers to sprout up between the others and the first platform. Yuki froze the geysers' tops as they used them to hop across. Afterward, they used the sunken hook platforms to jump up to Nolan, quickly before the platforms fell completely. Next, they looked toward a further, lower platform with a tightrope connecting the two. Nolan had no need for it and simply glided down. Aeincha jumped off Crystal's shoulder and easily walked across the thin rope, down to Nolan. Afterward, Crystal and Yuki balanced across one at a time, carefully.
Their next route was a thin, lava river, which they crossed by hopping onto a small stone platform, which began floating down. The lava bubbled ahead of them, and to their surprise, a huge Blargg emerged from the flames, ready to chomp with its wide-open mouth. Yuki fired an ice beam and froze it, then Nolan destroyed it with a missile. Another Blargg popped up from behind them, but the two did the same routine and destroyed it. This time, TWO Blarggs emerged from both sides. Yuki shot the one behind them, while Crystal aimed her staff and fired her own ice rays at the front. Both were frozen, and Nolan quickly destroyed them.
"Hm. And you said my Freeze function was useless." Crystal smirked. The stone reached the end of the river, so the group hopped off. They then trekked up a thin flight of stairs and reached an old, abandoned metal building. The enormous steel doors were sealed tight, and a sign was stuck on them. DANGER! Do not, for WHATEVER reason, OPEN THIS DOOR!
"Who else is tempted to open it?" Crystal asked.
"I think we've got enough problems." Nolan said. "Let's just keep going."
The group followed a path along the left, along a fairly straightforward path. It went on a while, but nothing seemed to interfere with their journey. Crystal stopped after a while and noticed something in the sky. "That's odd…"
The others stopped and turned at her. "What?" Nolan asked.
"Those clouds." Crystal pointed to the clouds in the far distance. "They're different from the clouds in this area. Like… blizzard clouds."
"Since when are you a weatherwoman?" Yuki remarked.
"Woman of science, I know these things."
The four passed around a few more burning buildings and reached the edge of a wide lake. Their eyes widened with wonder and amazement when they saw the other side. "Ummm… can your science explain that?" Yuki asked. (Play "Freezeflame Galaxy (Ice)" from Mario Galaxy.)
Across the lake lay a vast, mountainous realm of snow and ice. Crystal's observations were true; the previous side of this island had clouds of black smoke, while a whole other region had dark-blue snow clouds. Regardless, this defied all possible reasoning. "An island of fire and… ice."
"Still got your logic, Crystal?" Yuki asked.
"Reminds me of the Groudon Volcano that Nigel told me about." Nolan remembered. "Its core had ice inside of it. Hmmm…" he wondered if there was some relation. "Well, at least the air will be cooler. Yuki, freeze us a path." Yuki did so and made a frozen path along the lake, using it to cross to the frozen wilderness.
A few sharks tried to gnash at them, but Nolan blasted missiles to keep them away. "Careful, Nol!" Yuki yelled, trying to keep the ice path stable. The group managed to reach the frosty shore, and the cold air immediately fell to their skin.
"BRRRR-r-r-r-r-r-r!" Aeincha shuddered. "It's so co-o-o-o-old!" The tiny girl immediately leapt to Nolan's shoulder and crawled under his coat. "Mmmm. You're so WARM, Mr. York."
"Siiiigh." The group kept going along the icy landscape as White Wolfos jumped out to snack. Crystal used her staff to keep the monsters back while Yuki launched ice rays. A bunch more were charging from across a hill, but Nolan fired a missile and blasted them away.
"Hey, what was that?" a voice called in the distance. The group flinched and quickly hid behind a mound of snow. They watched as a band of those same, yellow-suited men stepped up over the hill, guns ready.
"It's those guys again." Crystal whispered.
"We must be close to their base." Nolan figured. He tried to launch a missile at the group, but- "Uh-oh. That was my last missile. I forgot to restock."
"I thought you had, like, an infinite supply of them?" Yuki questioned.
"It's only as infinite as I can make it."
"Coincidentally, I think my Hover function ran out of juice as well." Crystal noted.
"WELP, can never make games too easy!" Yuki exclaimed.
"Who's there?!" The men heard Yuki's shout and ran toward them.
"I'll distract them!" Aeincha yelled, leaping out of Nolan's coat and hurrying toward the men. It was a little hard to run in such deep snow, but the Lilliputian managed. "Heeeey big people-saaaans!" The men looked, seeing the tiny, cheerful girl. "Come catch me if you caaaan!"
"H-Hey! Why aren't you with the other kids, grab 'er!" But when they tried, and failed, to catch the quick girl, Team Hero ran out and began attacking the men. A few of them turned and tried to shoot them with guns, but Yuki dodged and threw ice blasts at them. "That guy's an icebender! Get 'em in handcuffs!" Yuki threw more ice, but the men swiftly dodged as one held up a pair of cuffs. Yuki raised in arm in defense, but the man successfully cuffed his right wrist.
"Aw, dang it!" Yuki moaned. He tried to throw more ice, but was unable to. "A chi-blocking cuff!"
Crystal knocked out another soldier and said, "Welcome to the party."
Once they were all knocked out, Yuki checked their pockets for keys, but found none. "Well, this is PLEASANT."
"Hey, at least you got your pack." Nolan reminded. "Now come on, we'll find keys in the base."
They crossed the small hill and shortly reached the huge, steel building. They stopped by an air vent as Nolan used Detective Vision, seeing a bunch of the soldiers guarding the front door. "Hmmm… well, they aren't armed."
"We could draw less attention if we snuck in through here." Crystal mentioned, nudging toward the vent. Yuki pulled it open and got in first, but Nolan remembered his wheelchair.
"Augh… I can't really go without my wheelchair. Just go in without me, we can split up and find the kids."
"You say so." Crystal shrugged, crawling in after Yuki.
Aeincha peeped out of Nolan's coat as he asked, "You wanna go with 'em?"
"Nah. It wouldn't be fun to be all alone!" she beamed.
"Siiigh… well, you're right on that money." Aeincha returned beneath the coat as Nolan rolled toward the front. He approached the men calmly and yelled, "Yo, you looking for me?"
"Who's that?!" they yelled as they ran to battle the cripple. One tried to punch, but Nolan grabbed his fist and threw him against another one. His chair's punching glove punched another, and when one of them tried to punch from behind, Aeincha jumped out, grabbed his suit's glass-window to block his vision, and allow Nolan to punch him before it was too late.
The squad of soldiers were knocked out shortly as Aeincha jumped back to Nolan's shoulder. "Well, it'll draw some attention to us, but they might not notice Crystal and Yuki yet."
"I think they're still focusing on Chimney and the others!" Aeincha grinned.
"Yeah, good point… we better get in." Nolan hurried into the front door. (End song.)
Base's playroom
Things were still peaceful in the playroom, as the many kids were still engaging in carefree activities. Maddy, on the other hand, had fallen asleep along the side of the room, drowning out the noises, as well as the stomping of giant kids. A pair of giant feet stepped over as a giant hand shook Maddy. "Maddyyy? You awake?"
"Mmmm…" Maddy woke up groggily, seeing the giant hand touching her cheek. "AHHH!" she shot to her feet frantically.
"Ha ha ha ha!" Mocha laughed. "Do you always wake up like that?"
"Hoo… don't do that." Maddy huffed, sitting back down. For a second, she was afraid she shrunk again.
"We're all gonna play Airplane, do you wanna? My head's really soft!" She patted her messy black hair.
"I don't really feel comfortable playing with a bunch of disease-ridden kids…"
"Well, I don't really think we're THAT sick. I mean, I've been feeling pretty fine. Come on, it'll be fun!"
"Look, I don't hang out with mutants, okay? And you giant kids fall into that category."
Mocha frowned. "Well… what's wrong with me being giant?"
"What's wrong is that I'm afraid of getting smooshed. And considering all the tiny people, I'll be surprised if that's not a common thing."
"Well… that's sorta why we don't wear shoes when we play. …What's wrong, Maddy? Why don't you play with anyone?"
"I don't like mutants, okay? I think they just like to abuse people. And to be fair, the only giants I know are from Jack and the Beanstalk, and all that one cared about was eating Jack."
"But the female giant wanted to protect Jack."
"He put Jack in the oven. HOW was that safe?"
"Hm hm hm! Actually, we're not really giants."
"Huh?"
"We used to be normal-sized, but we think it's part of the disease. Each of us slowly grows over the years, that's why Master Caesar's trying to fix us."
"Sooo… we're all going to become giants?" Well, better than being small. She thought.
"As far as I know. But we're still the same as normal kids! And all the other kids like us, too! You'd have fun if you played with us!"
"I don't know…"
"Sure you will! Like this!"
"HEY!" Maddy was suddenly grabbed in Mocha's hands and-
"WHEEEE!" –was sent flying into the air.
"Whoooaa!" Maddy landed safely on Mocha's hands, but the black-haired giant kept throwing her up and down.
"Ha ha ha ha! See, normal humans can't do this!"
"This! Doesn't! Prove! Your point!" she yelled with each land.
"Well, maybe this will!" Mocha smiled as she set Maddy on her soft, messy hair. "All aboard the Mocha Plane! Hang on tight!"
"Whooooooaa!" Maddy clutched tight to Mocha's hair as the giant girl began running around with her arms stretched out like a plane. She was frightened at first… but as her form bounced and the wind brushed lightly through her hair (Mocha's not as fast as a Nimbi, by the way)… she felt a small rush of excitement. Beside her, other kids were riding the heads of other giants, whom were each trying to outrace the other. Also, a few of the normal kids had oversized Minish and Kateenians on their heads, and those Minish and Kateenians had smaller, normal ones on their heads. Maddy had to admit, they looked cute.
Maddy looked and saw the competitive looks on the other kids' faces, as well as on the faces of the giants. Riding Mocha's head, she felt like she was riding a horse around a track, desperately trying to beat the other riders to the prize. Maddy smirked and "HEE-YA!" yanked Mocha's hair, tempting the giant girl to go faster. Angered, the other kids yanked their giant's hair to catch up with them. Dillon watched this race from atop one of the slides as he yelled like an announcer.
"Aaaaand Maddy and Mocha are in the lead, followed by Ayako and Tanuki, followed by Yoko and Doran, followed by Sho and Joe, and with only one lap to go, WHO will win, iiiiit's…" Maddy and Mocha were neck-in-neck with Ayako and Tanuki, the two pairs smirking competitively. In the end, the victor was- "MMMMOCHAAAAAAA!"
"YEEEEEAAAAHH!" Mocha grabbed and threw Maddy in the air as they cheered.
With Sector W7; somewhere else in the base
"Owww…" Chimney moaned as the four girls recovered from the R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N.'s wreckage. "What happened?..."
"Hey!" They flinched and looked ahead, seeing a bunch of men in yellow protection suits. They immediately charged.
"Yuh-oh. YAAAH!" Chimney cried as the girls ran forth and started to battle them. April zipped left-and-right to paint symbols and disable them, while Aisa swung her Conache Pumpkin and knocked them out. They kept running as the men recovered and gave chase.
"Where did we land, anyway?" Apis yelled.
"Somewhere where they're apparently afraid of germs." Aisa panted.
"Oi, where is Aeinchan at?!" Chimney yelled.
"I hope she isn't dead." April said simply.
"DON'T SAY THAT!" they screamed.
They kept running down the dank, empty halls, but Chimney's eyes widened when more men were charging from ahead. "Yuh-oh. This way, THIS WAY!" They dodged down a right hall.
This hall was much shorter and narrow as they were coming to a wooden double-door. "You think we can hide in there?" Apis asked.
"No choice!" Chimney decided. "Let's go in!"
Back in the playroom
The kids resumed their previous games as Mocha lied back on the floor with Maddy rested on her belly. "I have to admit, Mocha, that was kinda fun!" she smiled.
"See, I told you giants aren't mean! Well, maybe adult giants, but we're still kids!"
"Yeah… I guess you are." Maddy sat up and looked around the room. It was so weird to see… a couple of human kids were playing a friendly game of Truth or Dare with tiny Kateenians and Minish. Some female Nimbis and Gargoyles were complimenting each others' wings. Some Lilliputians were riding mermaids inside the large aquarium while Minish and Kateenians rode other Nimbis and Gargoyles like airplanes (speakin' of which). Everyone in here was so different… but they played with each other as if they were the same. This playroom's diversity could rival that of GKND's.
Suddenly, the playroom's doors came flying open when Sector W7 charged in. "AAAHN?!" they froze in shock, seeing the playroom full of diverse kids, large and small.
"Hey, look! Four more kids!" a giant girl exclaimed as all the kids looked toward the operatives. Sector W7's mouths dropped wide open. They weren't expecting to see kids of so many different cultures.
"Whoa… where the heck are we?" Apis asked.
"It looks like some kind of multicultural daycare." Aisa deduced.
"Nnnn?" Chimney looked all around, intent on finding only one thing. "If all these people are here… then where is-?" However, her eyes widened, spotting the very person she was looking for.
Gonbe stepped through the crowd and immediately noticed her. His blond, pigtailed master.
Chimney grew a wide, joyous smile as her eyes watered. Gonbe's smile grew as well. He couldn't have been more happy.
"GONBEEEEE!" Chimney ran for her rabbit companion.
"GYOOOOOM!" Gonbe excitedly hopped toward his master.
The two embraced in the tightest hug they've ever given. "OHHH GONBE-CHAN I WAS SO WORRIED! I thought I'd never see you again!"
"Gyo-o-o-o-o-o-oooom!" Gonbe wept.
"I thought… sniff." Chimney wept, too. "I thought you ran away 'cause you were maaad! I'm sorry for making you mad, Gonbeeeee!"
"Gyoooooo." He patted her back.
"He said, 'I wasn't mad, Chimney. I was just playing with some kids and I got sidetracked!'" Apis grinned.
"Now we can be one happy sector again!" Chimney exclaimed tearily. "Come on, Gonbe. Let's go find Aeinchan and get off this rock." They were about to walk away when-
"Waaait!" The five turned around at the call of a brown-haired girl – Abi – who stood by five other kids; one of them holding a baby. "Aren't you guys from Water 7?"
"Yeeeeah? So?" Chimney asked.
"That's where we're from, too!" one of the boys; Ayako said.
"But how did you get here?" Yoko asked.
"We flew in on R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N.!" Chimney exclaimed. "And we're gonna find our other friend and bring 'em back!"
"Take us with you!" a giant girl yelled.
"Hnnn? Why?"
"We've been wanting to go home for years." A giant boy said.
"They took us here because they said we had a disease, but we feel just fine." A normal boy mentioned.
"I want my mom and DAAAAAAD!" a 4-year-old Lilliputian cried.
"Hold it, hold it!" Dillon spoke up, walking to the front of the group. "I thought you kids LIKED it here!"
"Well, we like playing with everyone…" the giant boy mentioned, "but we miss our homes. Master doesn't let us go, but if these kids got here, maybe this is our chance!"
"Well, maybe he has a reason." Haruka replied, slightly concerned. "Won't you guys just keep growing if you leave?"
"Hold on!" Dillon spoke up. "We could bring these kids to the Undersea Lab and have the scientists shrink them with their, well, shrink ray. Then if they keep growing, we'll try and work up a cure."
"Well, you have a point… but I think Caesar-"
"Oi, we don't have time for this!" Chimney exclaimed. "Everyone, come on, let's get on the R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N. and GO!" Chimney ran out first, and the halls were soon quaking as the giants charged after them.
Mocha held Maddy in her hands as they exchanged confused glances. "Let's go!" the giant decided, carrying Maddy as she ran after them.
From down the hall, the men were still searching for W7. "I think they went- WHOA!" The halls suddenly quaked as a swarm of kids were running toward them, mostly giants. The men tried to run, but were immediately trampled by the swarm of multiracial kids, their bones crushed like sticks by the giants. When the dust had cleared, a few Kateenians and Minish were left behind, and they bounced across the squished bodies, making the men wince.
With Crystal and Yuki
The two heroes quietly crawled through the vent before dropping out into an empty, abandoned laboratory. "Phew. Crouching through vents always hurts my back." The witch said.
"This is the first time we've done it." Yuki noted.
"And first time is enough."
"Attention all staff!" a voice suddenly yelled throughout the intercom. "The children from the Biscuit Room have all escaped with a group of intruders! Secure the whole building and FIND them!"
"Yes, Master!" The two gasped and crouched when a squad of yellow-suited soldiers charged in the room and began searching. (Play "One by One" from Batman: Arkham City.)
"Crap!" Crystal yelled under her breath as she and Yuki crouched under a desk. The men split into different directions, but some were fairly close together, and they all had guns raised. Yuki and Crystal quietly crept up the stairs, splitting in separate ways on one of the floor layers. Crystal crawled to one of the men as he and a man on a higher layer searched around. When both walked separate directions, Crystal crept up to the man on her floor and started to choke his neck with her staff. She forced him to the floor and BASHED his head to knock him out.
She kept crawling, hoping no one just heard that. She sat before a corner and peeked out to see someone ahead. "Someone's not RESPONDING down there! You better go see!"
"You heard Master Caesar!" Crystal looked frantic when the man ahead of her was about to run to her corner. Yuki peeked out from his side and saw this, quickly shooting an ice blast from his backpack and freezing that man. "What was that?" The men looked toward their frozen comrade, and briefly saw a figure sink beneath the wall on the second floor-layer. They all hurried over as Yuki tried to crawl away, but a man on the highest layer was coming from the opposite way.
Crystal quickly crawled out, approached the frozen man, and KICKED him out of the ice before knocking him out with her staff. "Oh?!" She quickly ran down the path as the others spotted her. They gave chase and tried to shoot the witch, but Crystal ducked beneath the wall to catch her breath. The men were about to surround her, but she noticed the grating on the floor, opened a hatch, and crouched inside before they could notice.
The men arrived at where she was, but found no trace of her. "Where did she go?!" Her heart still racing, Crystal crawled away as quietly as she could. While the guards were distracted, Yuki snuck up from behind the other corner, approached two of the guards from behind, grabbed their heads, and SLAMMED them into each other. "Hey!" The others took notice and tried to shoot the icebender, but he flipped over the railing and into the lab area as he slid beneath the desk. The guards hurried down to catch him, but one of them ran over Crystal's grate, so the witch jumped out and SMASHED him to the ground.
"Oh!" The last two remaining spotted Crystal and tried to shoot her.
"Ah!" One of the bullets scraped Crystal's side, making her wince and fall over. The men chased her, but Yuki ran out, grabbed the closest one's neck, and choked him before punching and knocking him out.
The remaining soldier ran onto the highest layer in search of Crystal, but looked back and saw his partner was down. "Ooooh so you're the last one! This should be fun, shurororo!"
"Nnnnn where are you?!" The man shook with utmost fear, the gun trembling in his quivering hands. Crystal smirked as she jumped out from her hiding spot, startling the man greatly. "NNNNN!" he struggled to hold his gun as Crystal ran right for him. "Master! SAVE MEEE!"
Crystal kicked the man's stomach, knocked the gun away, bashed his head with her staff, and finally PUNCHED him upside the head, sending him over the railing and his protective helmet flying off. (End song.)
The two approached the fallen, unmasked man and studied him. "He's a… goat man?" Crystal questioned. Indeed, the fallen man had a human's head, but with goat horns.
They proceeded to unmask all the others, seeing different horns on all of them. "They all have horns."
"What kind of people are they?"
"Wonder if this lab has anything?" The two approached the center desk, finding a notebook. Crystal picked it up and studied the name on the cover, written in marker.
"Hmmm… let's phone Nolan."
With Nolan and Aeincha
Nolan quietly rolled down the hall, having his Detective Vision on as he skimmed the building for enemies, while Aeincha sat on his shoulder. His communicator rang, so he answered. "Nolan, it's Crystal. I'm not sure, but we think we found who this building belongs to."
"You mean the guy on the intercom?"
"Yes. Some fellow called 'Caesar Clown'. These soldiers were calling him 'Caesar' just then."
The name caught Nolan's interest. "Caesar… Clown?"
"Yes, and get this: we unmasked these soldiers, they all have horns on their head. I wonder if they're mutants or something. …Nolan?"
The Sandman was already lost in thought.
One year after the Firstborn Adventure. The day was bright and sunny. Nolan York struggled to stand. He could barely keep his injured legs straight as he faced a simple tree. He raised his right leg and tried to throw a kick, but, "Ow!" the pain came back, and he fell back onto his chair.
"Wellll, it's a new record." Wesley Dodds chuckled. "You're still pretty lucky. Not many have their legs crushed and get them mobile again."
"Yeah…" Nolan panted and smiled humorously, "Maybe I should've betrayed Revan AFTER he gave me those cyborg legs."
"Heh heh heh! But you know how it goes… upgrade ONE limb, your whole BODY turns metal. It's not the only time it's happened."
"Ha ha, yeah, with Cyborg."
"Not quite. Have I ever told you about Caesar Clown?"
"Caesar who?"
"Now THAT guy was inhuman as humans got. He was a major producer of Bang Gas and metahuman material. He was able to do so using his amazing poisonbending. You see, before, he was a scientist for G.U.N., but when the military found out what he was doing, he was arrested. But about 3 years ago, he escaped. No one knows where he is…"
"Was he really that bad?"
"Oh, he WAS bad. When he produces his Bang Gas, he distributes it to all sorts of nasty criminals. Of course, he can't do so legally, so he distributes in the Underground. Only big-time criminals like Brain are able to get connections with him."
"You mean… The Brain purchased Bang Gas from him?"
"Of course. How do you think Madame Rouge got her power? Caesar channels the Bang Gas into little plants called Devil Fruits, and whoever ate those fruits would gain a certain power. Madame Rouge ate the Goop-Goop Fruit, a rare Logia type. Those are the hardest fruits for him to make. They turn your entire body structure into whatever kind of substance he makes it. And that's why Logia humans are the hardest to beat."
"You're telling me."
"But that isn't the worst thing about Caesar. He tested his experiments on KIDS!"
"What?"
"He liked to grab whatever kids he could find and inject them with all sorts of toxins. He likes to give 'em the same ones over and over and see how they 'develop'. Most of those kids just… died."
"Then shouldn't we try to LOOK for this guy?"
"No… he hasn't been heard from in years. Except the Underground, maybe. You shouldn't worry about him. Besides… he's bound to show himself sooner or later."
Nolan stared at nothing as he recalled this, and Aeincha looked at him confused. "So… that's who we're dealing with."
"Nolan? What's going on?"
"Um, I'll tell you later. But this mission just got an update. We're going to capture Caesar and bring him to justice."
"Really? Well, I suppose he IS responsible for this."
"Yes. But right now, just focus on finding Dillon and the others. According to that announcement, they're already causing a ruckus. Just try to find them and be careful."
"Roger, roger." Yuki nodded, and the transmission ended.
"Why did you space out, Mr. York?" Aeincha asked. "Do you know this guy?"
"Well… yeah… i-it's like this:" and he began to explain.
Caesar's Lab
The scientist watched humorously as Crystal and Yuki made fools of the patrolling guards in the lower lab. "Shurororororo! Well, well! Whoever these fools are, they're quite a wily bunch!"
"They are!" Monet spoke up, reading her newspaper. "I thought those two were familiar. They're Coldman and Wiccan, two infamous vigilantes from Quahog. There's also a third one: Sandman. Hmm, but I wonder where he is?"
"He is in the building." The two turned toward the door, and Caesar made a wide grin.
"VVVERRRRGOOOO!" The clown was joyous. The man in the big white coat and sunglasses stood coolly in the doorway.
"…I have determined Sandman's identity. His father… was in my battalion."
Chapter 2: Welcome to Punk Hazard
Downtown Quahog
Night had fallen over Quahog. Snow was falling fast from the cloudy sky. Nolan York and Crystal Wickens stood perched (sat in Nolan's case) atop the town buildings. Yuki Crystal arrived shortly after, and all dressed in their superhero outfits. "Ahhh, another day, another bank-rob." Wiccan joked.
"At least it's snowy out." Yuki noted. "Wouldn't mind any cold."
"Well, things seem pretty normal so far." Nolan observed. "Maybe I can actually get home regular dinner ti- wait a second." Something down the street caught Nolan's eye. He pulled out binoculars and looked closer. "Vanellope?"
The Program child was currently walking down the street, yelling, "DILLOOON? DIIILLOOOON?" The girl turned in to an alleyway, examining the dark shadows. "You in there? Dillon? Don't try and scare me now! You- WHOOOAAA!" She was immediately yanked up by a metallic hook.
Sandman hauled Vanellope onto the roof with them, and she screamed, "AAAAAHH ALIEN INVADERS PLEASE DON'T ABDUCT ME-"
Nolan slapped his gloved hand over her mouth. "Vanellope, it's us." He pulled his mask off, and Yuki and Crystal did the same.
"Mr. York?! YOU guys are the aliens?!"
"What the- Nooooo! Vanel, I asked you to get Dillon an HOUR ago, what're you still doing out?"
"I can't find Dillon anywhere! And Kaleo's gone, too!"
"You can't?"
"Maybe he's at the Murphys' house." Crystal figured. "Wouldn't hurt to swing by, right?"
"Alright, let's drop by real quick, just in case." Nolan decided. He held Vanellope as he swung away with his grapple hook.
Nolan's neighborhood
The four hurriedly returned to the neighborhood, but right away, they found Doug and Gwen Murphy talking to Danika in her doorway. "Huh? What're they doing?" Nolan questioned.
The group hurried over as Danika noticed and waved at them. "Hey, guys! Zach and Maddy aren't at their house." She called. "Are they with Dillon and Kaleo?"
"Vanellope said she couldn't find them." Yuki responded.
"I keep telling you guys, the ALIENS are abducting them!" Vanellope yelled.
"ALIENS?!" Leopold stuck his head out the door in a frantic fashion. "THE ALIENS ARE COMING! AAAAH!-"
"SHUT UP, Leo!" Danika smacked him. "It's not like aliens are new to us. Siiigh… alright, where were they last hanging out?"
"Hey, guys?" Katie then walked out, holding a phone. "Not to interrupt, but Yin called and said Haruka came over here. She wants to know if she's staying the night?"
"Uhhhh…" Danika was contemplating what answer to give Yin. She knew how Yin got. "Tell her 'Yeah', she's staying over to, um, practice bending with Kaleo."
"Okay, but um… she kinda heard you before."
"WHERE'S MY BABY GIRL?!" the group winced at Yin's shout. "IS SHE OKAY?! If my daughter is in the hospital, I am docking SERIOUS pay out of you, Nolan York! DOOOCKIIIIIII-"
Katie pressed the 'hang-up.' "We'll call her back."
"Siiigh, hokay, we better find those kids fast." Danika suggested.
"You know, I think something like this happened before." Gwen said, her head down in thought.
"Ohhhh that's right!" Danika beamed with remembrance. "It was at least 15 years ago… Wally lost his brother."
"Joey Beatles mysteriously went missing." Nolan remembered as well. "The police gave up searching… they even got GUN to help, but they presumed him dead."
"I don't believe that." Danika replied.
"Regardless, this is the same matter all over again." Nolan deduced. "I didn't want to make it my problem… but since they've come to our town, it's personal. Danika, take Vanellope to bed. We'll be right back."
"Hey, why can't I come?" Vanellope yelled as the three heroes headed for the garage.
"Sorry, Vanel, but this might not be your usual Kids Next Door business."
"Uh, helLOOOO? There are KIDS going missing!"
"Just… stay safe. Okay?"
"Mmm-mmmmm." Vanellope frowned grumpily as Dani led her inside.
"So, what's your plan, anyway?" Crystal asked as they entered the garage.
"You'll see." Nolan assured.
Sand Cave
Nolan led them into a secret, underground cave beneath his house, where the lights flashed on and shone on a rotating, shiny, sand-colored vehicle. "Me and Wesley had this cave installed before he passed." Nolan explained. "This was his old car. The-"
"PLEASE don't say Sandmobile." Yuki eye-rolled.
"N…No!" Nolan denied.
"Then what's it called?" Crystal smirked.
"…It's the… uhhhh-" Her witty eyes bore into his skull, her arms folded, "FINE, it's the Sandmobile! Sigh, just get in."
DANANANA! A 'Sandman' icon popped up from a spiraling background.
Dana-nana-nana-nana, dana-nana-nana-nana SANDMAAAN!
As a simple car was driving down the neighborhood road, part of the road suddenly popped up and knocked it back, and the Sandmobile sped out and shot down the road. "SORRYYYYY!" Nolan called to the driver.
Over the sea
The Sandmobile was conveniently equipped with wings, and was currently flying over the sea at high speed. "You STILL haven't told us where we're GOING." Crystal shouted.
"We're going to Water 7." Nolan responded. "Danika said that was where they last struck. Maybe we can find some clues."
"Yet, we COULDN'T search around your own town first." Yuki said, annoyed.
"The report says that more children were taken, and it's a relatively small town, so it should be easier to search for clues."
"Oooh, Water Seven!" Crystal perked up. "I've always wanted to see the giant fountain they have there! It's so…"
"Fascinating?" Yuki cocked a brow.
"Exactly!"
"Well, we don't have time to admire architecture." Nolan reminded. "We need to find some lead on who took the children. Let's go."
Unknown Laboratory
When the kids finally stepped off the ship, they found their selves in a long, damp, vacant hallway. "Move along, now." The suited men instructed. The five complied and walked the very long journey across the hall.
"Whaddyou think this is?" Haruka asked.
"This reminds me of Brain Zombies 2," Zach began, "when the aliens took the kids to the laboratory to have their brains extracted for coal-mining knowledge, and they were given to the zombies to help mine Xenon for its sugarcane, and-"
"Have you been talking to Mr. Ed again?" Maddy asked.
"What? He's cool!"
"Yeah, if you like green cheese." Dillon snickered.
"I LIKE GREEN CHEESE!" Kaleo screamed.
Dillon winced. "Um…that's nice."
The five were eventually led to a laboratory, where a green-haired woman, with bird wings and bird legs, turned and smiled at them, pulling off yellow goggles. "Awww, look, they're here! Come on down, Master!"
They looked to a door on the left side, hearing footsteps as someone walked down the dark stairway. To their surprise, it was a black-haired man with white skin and goat horns, a huge, wavy pink coat over his form as he bore a wide, trusting grin. "Kiiiids! Helloooo!" He threw his arms out.
"Who're you?" Maddy asked, creeped out.
"Why, this is Master Caesar!" the bird woman introduced. "You stand before the greatest scientific genius in the world."
"I thought EGGMAN was the greatest scientific genius?" Dillon questioned.
"Nnn! THAT guy was an amateur!" Caesar argued. "I am the greatest genius in the world! For YEARS I've studied the causes and functions of human and alien genetics! Using my supreme poisonbending, I've delved DEEP into the research of mortal sicknesses, and seen UP CLOSE how it WORKS!"
"You're a… poisonbender?" Haruka asked.
"Nnnn that's right!" Caesar demonstrated, forming a gas cloud in his hand. "I have spent YEARS developing the art in unforeseen ways! …And that is why… it is my displeasure to tell you…" Caesar walked forward and knelt down, his mouth forming a frown. "Children… you have caught a TERRIBLE disease. A disease that is slowly sweeping many children across the cosmos. I was able to develop my poisonbending enough to be able to SENSE which children had it. And so, I sent my men to go about and bring them to me. But to keep from alarming any of the nearby townspeople, I had you all taken away in private. Your parents shan't be alarmed! No matter how long it takes, I will keep treating you until I can HEAL this disease!" He grinned with assurance.
"Now, if you all would be so kind, we need a blood sample from each of you!" Monet smiled trustingly, holding up a syringe. She went to Maddy first, bending over and taking her hand in her bird wing. "And what's your name, sweetheart?"
"Hey, feathers off!" Maddy yelled, whipping her hand back. "If anything, I've caught the metacooties."
"Hm hm hm!" Monet laughed warmingly. "You needn't fear from that!" She stuck the syringe in and extracted blood from Maddy's hand.
Caesar knelt by Dillon with his own syringe. "And who are YOU, young man?" he grinned.
"Dillon York! This is my shadow, Mario!" Dillon's shadow waved.
"Oooh, a shadowbender!" Caesar perked, extracting Dillon's blood. "And what a FASCINATING name! You come from New York?"
"Heh heh, no!" Dillon smiled. "Quahog!"
"OOOOH, Quahoooog! Cleveland break any good bathtubs lately?" he winked.
"Ha ha!"
Monet then went to collected blood from Kaleo. "And who are YOU, little cutie?"
"Are you going to digest my brain for coal?" Kaleo panicked.
"Trust me, YOU wouldn't WANNA eat his brain." Maddy remarked.
Finally, Caesar went to get blood from Haruka. "And who are YOU… Dearie?" he grinned.
"My name's Haruka Dimalanta! I'm a poisonbender, too!"
Caesar's smile vanished, hearing that name. "Ehhh… Dimalanta?"
"Y-Yeah!... Is there a problem?"
"Just making sure I heard it right!" he grinned, patting her head.
"Great. So what'd you need the blood samples for?" Maddy asked.
"Each person receives the disease in different ways." Caesar explained. "This usually results in a variety of genetic codes, which all need to be treated in a particular way! It usually requires more than one sample over time, but a cure should come underway before long! In the meantime… here's some candy for being SOOO cooperative!" he grinned wider as he held up five pieces of butterscotch.
"Oooh, candy!" Haruka exclaimed as she took a piece. Kaleo swiped his and immediately began chewing on it, as did Zach. Maddy, having no trust for this man, merely stashed her candy up her sleeve for now. Haruka didn't eat hers either, wanting to save it for Lee.
"Now, come along and we'll show you to the playroom!" Caesar beamed.
"Follow me, kids!" The gassy man led them down the hall.
Soon, they arrived at the huge, colorful playroom, and were surprised at how many kids were there as well. The walls around the playroom were painted like a bright-blue sky with many white clouds. "HELLO, everyone! We got five more playmates just READY to have fun!" Caesar exclaimed.
"HI, NEW KIDS!" the children exclaimed.
"Well, isn't this the carnival of freaks…" Maddy remarked quietly, taken aback by the variety of kids. There were giant kids, Merpeople, Nimbi, Minish, Kateenians… And a majority of them were wearing white shirts, white shorts, and plain white shoes.
"Hey, wanna have a ROOTBEER contest?" a Kateenian asked.
"Okay!" Kaleo exclaimed, hurrying over.
"Hey, who wants to play Sooper Dodgeball?" a giant boy asked, holding up a giant red rubber ball.
"Oooh, this I gotta see!" Zach perked, hurrying over as the giants ran to the other end, creating quakes with each stomp.
"Well, may as well get settled in." Dillon said to Maddy as they walked forward.
"Hey, look, a bunny!" one of the giant boys exclaimed as some kids gathered around a blue and yellow rabbit.
"Gyom, gyooom?..." the rabbit looked confused.
"Nnn? When did we get a bunny?" Caesar asked.
"I think he showed up when we brought the haul of Water 7 kids." Monet answered. "I asked them, but they said it wasn't theirs."
"Hmmmm… how interesting." Caesar rubbed his chin in thought, then sported his grin. "Send another shipment out to look for more kids! Perhaps I can find a-" They turned around to leave, but stopped when Haruka appeared in their way, a bright smile on her face.
"Hey, Mr. Caesar! I don't mean to trouble you, but, you see, I'm kind of in the medical field myself, and, well, I was wondering if I could help you with your research, and exchange ideas! I'd love to develop my poisonbending skills further, too!"
"Shurororo!" Caesar laughed jauntily, patting Haruka's head. "I'd love to, my darling! But I'm afraid finding a cure is MUCH too complicated! I need to devote all the time that I can! You understand, right?"
"Um… I guess." Haruka looked disappointed.
"Great! Well, I'll see you later!" he waved as they walked out. "And don't forget to Smile!" he grinned widely as they shut the door.
"Hm…" Haruka looked toward the playroom, smiling humorously. "Who is he, Sheila?..."
While Dillon was off playing with some of the gargoyles, Maddy was simply walking toward the left wall of the room. "Hey!" she looked up when a giant girl smiled down at her, standing behind a slide on Maddy's right. The girl had messy, bushy black hair, and grayish-purple eyes. "My name's Mocha! What's your name?"
"Maddy… you want something?" she asked rudely.
"Me and the girls were gonna braid hair! Wanna join us?"
"No thanks…" Mocha frowned as Maddy went to sit with her back against the sky-blue wall. "I'd rather just wait until Caesar says I can leave. Since I try not to ASSOCIATE with those people, I shouldn't be long."
"…" Mocha looked confused. "Okay… but feel free to come if you change your mind." The giant walked away.
Maddy proceeded to lie down in attempt to fall asleep. From behind the slide, the blue rabbit stared at her confused. "Gyom-gyooom…"
Water 7 (Play "Refusal Will Not Be Tolerated" from Batman: Arkham City.)
The night sky was cloudy and snowy over Water 7 as Sandman, Coldman, and Wiccan finally arrived. They dropped from their Sandmobile and took land on one of the many rooftops. "Hmmm… town's a little bigger than I thought." Nolan observed.
"My, but just look at that fountain." Crystal said, her purple eyes fixated on the tremendous mountain that sat in the city's center. "…And look!" she noticed the humongous treehouse towering over the fountain. "A Kids Next Door is here, too!"
"Alright, guys, split up and look for clues." Nolan ordered. "And Yuki… try not to fall in any rivers."
"Siiigh." The icebender sighed.
Crystal flew off using her staff and Yuki flew using an ice path. Nolan activated a glider in his wheelchair and began to fly across the rooftops (he would like anyone to keep any comments about ripping off Batman to themselves
).As Nolan soared across this region of the city, he had to admit it had a nice atmosphere. The roaring waterfalls from the giant fountain echoed across the town, easing their minds. Nolan had activated special goggles built into his mask, and was using Detective Vision to skim the town. The people and Yagaras were represented as blue skeletons; it got rather confusing since there were so many. Other objects of significance were represented as orange.
Nolan's search found nothing so far, until his Detective Vision detected rapid soundwaves coming from a few streets away, and a child's skeleton was frantically moving about the street. Nolan turned up his eavesdropper to pick up this girl's soundwaves. "Gonbe? Gonbe? Gonbe? Gonbe?"
Nolan glided over and switched off his Vision, finding a yellow-haired, pigtailed girl rapidly searching under every little box or snow pile. "Gonbe? Gonbe? Gonbe? Gonbe? UU-" Sandman suddenly dropped down and grabbed her in his arm, holding her mouth shut as he zipped back to the rooftop via grapple hook. "EEAAAAHHH!" Chimney frantically tried to shake away. "HELP ME! HELP ME! I've been kidnapped! AAAAAHH!"
"CALM down!" Nolan demanded, forcefully setting her on her feet. "Now what were you doing out here?"
"OOUUUUH MR. SAND-SAAAN!" Chimney began crying, still grinning widely. "IT'S TERRIBLE! I LOST MY LITTLE NEKO-CHAAAN! GOONBEEEEEE!"
"QUIET!" Nolan screamed, and Chimney snapped her mouth shut in a second. "Look… when was the last time you've SEEN your friend?"
"I just told him to watch the on'nanokos and he was GOOOOOOOONE." She wept more, putting an arm over her eyes.
"Maybe he was upset?"
"UPSET?!" Chimney leapt onto Nolan's lap and clutched his hood tight, glaring at his masked eyes with rage. "GONBE NEVER GETS UPSET WITH ME! NEEEVEEEERRR!" she shook him forcefully.
"OKAY, OKAY!" Nolan pulled her off. "Ugh… alright, I'll help you look for it. I mean, who knows, it might actually help… what kind of animal is it again?"
"He's a neko-chan, duuuuh! A cat-san!"
"Oh, a cat! Okay… that shouldn't be too hard. I'll look for any clues I find, but why don't you get home? It's getting late."
"Not until you find my neko first!"
"Siiiigh." Sandman switched on his Detective Mode and started gliding across the city some more. The majority of it was pretty boring. Nothing looked too out-of-the-ordinary. Until he arrived at a vacant canal road and noticed a single object glowing blue in an alley. Sandman glided down and discovered it was a dead, rotting fish. "Whoa. This must've been here for weeks." The Sandman zoomed in and scanned the rotting animal. "Let's rewind this back to when it was, well, better."
Nolan continued to scan, and slowly, a holographic vision started to play, in reverse, in which a little rabbit was walking backward with the fish in his mouth. When the projection started playing normally, Nolan observed, "Hmmm… well, it wasn't a cat… but a rabbit caught this fish from somewhere." The holographic rabbit set the fish down and started to gnaw on it. "The fish has rabbit-like bite marks, so it would make sense. …But he stopped eating after a few seconds." The rabbit perked up and walked to his left. "Something caught his attention." He shut his Vision off. "I have to find out what."
Sandman decided to scan around the area. It wasn't long before he discovered a pair of fallen teeth in the clear spots on the ground. Nolan scanned the teeth, and another projection began to rewind. "There were a pair of kids playing a game," holographic kids were excitedly kicking a ball around, and the ball suddenly came flying at the rabbit, "but they hit the rabbit by accident." The holographic kids stood over the fallen rabbit for a while before deciding to carry it off. "They took the rabbit away… but I can't pick up where they went after that." He switched the projection off. "I wonder if those kids were the ones missing? Maybe I can find more."
Nolan decided to scan the area further. Along the sidewalk, there were tiny spots of dried blood. "Ahhha. The rabbit bled a little after it was struck. I'll follow the trail and see where they brought him." And so, Sandman began to roll along the sidewalk, following the dried blood trail. His path led him into a market street, in which he had to jump a river to follow the trail across, then through another alleyway. His trail eventually led him into a darker, more broken area of the town. He was led all the way to the end of a long alley, where the door to a building sat beside a window with a light on inside.
Nolan gently knocked on the door. A chubby woman with orange hair and a yellow tank-top; with many pink flowers, answered the door with a creepy grin. "Well, hello, theeeere! Another child ready to join my family!"
"Wh-What?! No, I-"
"Come on in, Dearie!" the woman grabbed Nolan by the shoulder and forcefully dragged him in. "Here's your brother!"
Nolan raised a brow behind his mask. "…Yuki?"
"Yeah…" the Eskimo-themed hero sat at a table. "Kinda got pulled in when I tried to interview her."
"Boyyys, you're just in time for dinner!" the woman grinned as she stirred something in her boiling pot.
"Ugh, we don't have time for dinner!" Nolan refuted. "Look, do you have any other kids? Do you have a rabbit, maybe?"
"Oooh, I had kids, but they went missing after I sent them to get groceries a few weeks ago. I sent the little rabbit to go find them, but he never came back, either."
"Didn't you try to LOOK for them?" Yuki questioned.
"Oh, noooo! But they ALWAYS come baaack! Oooh, I hope they didn't drown…" she still kept her grin.
"…" Nolan looked disbelieved. "Well, do you have anything that belonged to your kids? I can probably find them."
"Ohhh, this was Junior's favorite bottle!" the woman grinned brightly, holding up a baby bottle. "I put soda in it once, and he just couldn't let go!"
Nolan took the bottle and started to scan it for DNA. "Still fresh, thankfully. I should be able to find where this drool came from."
Nolan's communicator rang, and he answered as Wiccan spoke. "Nolan? Yuki? You better hurry to the eastern docks. A bunch of men in… protection uniforms just arrived."
"Let's go, Yuk." Nolan said as he rolled himself out.
"I'll just stick your dinner in the fridge, deeeeariiiies!" the woman sang.
"Don't wait up for us, Lady!" Yuki called.
The two hurried and hopped across the many rooftops to Crystal's location. They found their friend stood atop a roof, and joined her quietly. "Look." she whispered, pointing over the edge. They peeked over and saw four men in yellow protection suits standing before a boat, guns ready.
"Alright, the Master says there might be more kids here." One of them explained. "You two spread out and find them, we'll stand guard." Two of the men walked opposite directions down the street.
"I bet these guys have something to do with it." Nolan knew. "Yuki, Crystal, take those guys out." He pointed at the ones down the street.
Crystal hurried across the roofs to the farthest one and dropped lightly on her feet. She walked over quietly before jumping and kicking him to the ground, afterward bashing his protected head with her staff and knocking him out. Yuki quietly approached the closer one, merely touching his shoulder to freeze him completely solid. As for the ones by the boat, Nolan landed behind both of them. He weakly stood up from his wheelchair and held both fists by the sides of their heads. He SLAMMED his fists to both heads, smashing them into each other before they lost consciousness.
Nolan sat back down as Coldman and Wiccan soon joined him. "Heeeeeey!" they looked down the road, seeing Chimney dashing over to them. "Oi, haven't you otona-sans found my neko-chan yeeeeet?"
"Look, I don't know where your cat is, but we've picked up the trail on this rabbit. We think he's with a bunch of other missing kids." Nolan explained.
"And you really should put on some better protection, little girl." Crystal told her, noticing Chimney's exposed arms and legs, and wearing only sandals on her feet. "You'll catch frostbite."
"DON'T CRITICIZE MY FASHION-SENSE, JOSEI-SAAAAN! And where is my cat?!"
"FORGET about your cat!" Nolan demanded. "And just get home! If your cat is with the other kids, I promise I'll bring him back, but everyone else comes first."
"Huff." Chimney proceeded to stomp off angrily. "I'll show YOU what comes first, super-saaan!"
"What a nutcase." Nolan remarked as the three boarded the boat.
"Soooo where are we going again?" Crystal asked.
"I used my Detective Vision to track the whereabouts of a rabbit." Nolan explained.
"You just looooove ripping off Batman, huh?" Crystal remarked.
"Uuugh. Anyway, then I found the whereabouts of a mom's missing kids; or at least her baby. We're going to follow their signal and find where they landed. But for the sake of stealth, we're riding this boat there, so they don't suspect. Alright, let's go."
And so, the ship began to sail away from the island, across the distant nighttime sea. "Why were those men wearing those things, anyway?" Crystal asked.
"Germ freaks?" Yuki inquired, raising a brow.
"It had to be from something." Nolan figured. "I wonder where this signal is, anyway." Nolan looked at his wristwatch terminal, bringing up a map of the region. The location the signal was coming from was marked, so Nolan closed in. "Oh? Hmm…"
"What is it?" Crystal asked.
"Hmmm… I'm not entirely sure on the story. But… we're going to Punk Hazard."
…
They'd been sailing for an hour, but their destination was in sight. "Is…Is that right?" Crystal asked, seeing the island ahead.
"A…ccording to my tracker, yah." Nolan replied, feeling just as confused.
Directly ahead was an island burning with enormous flames. The buildings around the shore were torn and melted, and the fires burned as if they've been lit for generations. They couldn't even get close to the shore as massive flames blocked their path. "Well, well… didn't expect our destination to be the Underworld." Crystal remarked.
"There's probably some explanation behind this." Nolan figured.
"Well, whatever it is, it better help my case as an icebender." Yuki noted.
"Come on, Yuki, you're not gonna melt." Nolan assured. "But try and freeze a path for us."
Yuki sighed as he stepped toward the tanker's ledge and aimed his hands at the sea. He launched a ray of ice and froze a path across the water, and through the flames.
"That probably won't hold, let's go!" Nolan rushed as they hopped off the boat and quickly crossed the ice. They managed to reach the shore just before the ice quickly melted. "Hoo…" Nolan sighed, already sweating from the heat under his coat. "Not the best time to be wearing this… Okay, you know the mission: locate the missing kids, and hopefully, Dillon and the others will be with them. Watch where you step, and be careful not to…" At that moment, Nolan suddenly felt something drop down the back of his coat. He reached underneath, and felt something tiny and squirming. He finally grabbed the squirming thing and held it in front of him, seeing it was a tiny, doll-sized, green-haired girl.
"Aaaaahhh!" the girl screamed, desperately shaking as Nolan clutched her in his gloved hand. "Heeelp! Heeeelp! Let me go, let me go!"
"QUIET!" Nolan demanded, shaking her slightly. "Who are you?!"
"Ahhhh monster!" she screamed again. "Aaaaaaahh!"
"Oh, for goodness sake, Nolan, you're frightening her." Crystal scolded, taking the tiny girl in her smaller, skinnier hand. "There there, it's all right." Crystal smiled, lightly rubbing her hair. "We're not going to hurt you."
The girl stopped shaking and smiled happily. "You're nice, Josei-san!"
"Hm hm hm!" Crystal chuckled.
"Uuuugh." Nolan sighed. "Look, what were you doing in my coat?"
"I'm Aeincha, from Sector W7! My leader, Chimney thought you looked weird, so she wanted me to sneak off with you! But she didn't say you had such a sweaty coat! She wants you to find her cat, Gonbe!"
"Uuugh. Look, I'll find the cat after I've found the other children. But it's too dangerous for you to be here, we need to find you someplace safe."
"Aw, Nolan, let's just take her with us." Crystal smiled, letting Aeincha sit in her open palm. "Statistics say that smaller people have more spirit than normal people, so we could use someone like her."
"I'm also super-duper sneaky!" Aeincha grinned. "I can hide from big people like you!"
"Siiigh. Alright, but don't make too much noise. We don't know who could be lurking." Nolan told her.
"Okay! Oh, I hope you don't mind, but Chimney's sort of tracking my coordinates via communicator." She showed them her teeny-tiny wristwatch communicator.
At that instant, a huge, gray train came flying over the heavens, swirling out of control. "GOOONBEEEEEEE!" The island shook when the train crashed in the distance.
"Aww GREAT! So much for stealth!" Nolan yelled. "Now everyone'll know we're here!"
"Actually, everyone will know THEY'RE here." Crystal corrected. "Attention will be directed at them, but we're free to explore the island."
"You can ALWAYS count on Chimney to make an entrance!" Aeincha grinned.
"Siiigh. Look, let's just find the kids before anyone notices." Nolan said once more. "Let's go." (Play "Freezeflame Galaxy (Fire)" from Super Mario Galaxy.)
Stage 3: Punk Hazard
Mission: Find Dillon and the kids and get them off this island.
Act 1
Addendum: We're at the action stage already?
The three heroes started their venture across the flaming wasteland, with Aeincha seated on Crystal's shoulder. A few steel beams fell down from the sides, startling the group and making them stop in place. "Odd that they chose NOW of all times to collapse." Crystal commented as Yuki blew ice and put the flames out. They crouched under the beams before jumping up some short platforms to atop a small, burned building (yes, Nolan's chair can still jump). They now overlooked a slight chasm of burning rubble, with the following path on the other side. Yuki tried to freeze an ice path, but the ice melted almost instantly.
"Boy, this place IS hot." he observed.
Nolan noticed a slight, broken wall sticking up from their side, and was parallel to another on the other side. "I have somethin'." He got between the two walls and sent a zipline to stick horizontally to both walls, forming a tightrope across the chasm. Nolan's chair was able to zip over on its own, while Yuki and Crystal had to balance across. They hopped down some more stairs and approached a huge gate with a big lock. A big sign on the gate read 'DANGER. KEEP OUT.'
"Well-p, guess we're leaving." Yuki stated as he turned and walked away, but Crystal grabbed his cape and pulled him back.
"I can open it!" Aeincha beamed as she hopped up into the lock, which was big enough for her to fit. After tinkering with the mechanism, the lock fell to the ground and the gate slid open. Crystal picked Aeincha up and carried her as they kept going. They trekked through another field of burning rubble as Red Chuchu emerged and wobbled over to jump at them. They took out the simple monsters before reaching another chasm, where lava burned below and blew up gushes. Yuki shot ice at the geysers' tips to freeze rock platforms, which they used to hop across.
They reached a wider road with several lava cracks in the ground. Nolan rolled forward first when a flame geyser suddenly sprouted up, almost burning Nolan before Yuki froze it. They passed through carefully until they reached a ledge overlooking a huge lava chasm. Nolan glided to the first, lowest platform, then saw a set of three platforms hovering overhead, each higher than the next as they led to a higher platform. Nolan used his grappling hook to swing across the platform's hooks. The platforms sunk as a result so the first one was at level with the previous platform.
Nolan pressed a switch on this new platform that caused lava geysers to sprout up between the others and the first platform. Yuki froze the geysers' tops as they used them to hop across. Afterward, they used the sunken hook platforms to jump up to Nolan, quickly before the platforms fell completely. Next, they looked toward a further, lower platform with a tightrope connecting the two. Nolan had no need for it and simply glided down. Aeincha jumped off Crystal's shoulder and easily walked across the thin rope, down to Nolan. Afterward, Crystal and Yuki balanced across one at a time, carefully.
Their next route was a thin, lava river, which they crossed by hopping onto a small stone platform, which began floating down. The lava bubbled ahead of them, and to their surprise, a huge Blargg emerged from the flames, ready to chomp with its wide-open mouth. Yuki fired an ice beam and froze it, then Nolan destroyed it with a missile. Another Blargg popped up from behind them, but the two did the same routine and destroyed it. This time, TWO Blarggs emerged from both sides. Yuki shot the one behind them, while Crystal aimed her staff and fired her own ice rays at the front. Both were frozen, and Nolan quickly destroyed them.
"Hm. And you said my Freeze function was useless." Crystal smirked. The stone reached the end of the river, so the group hopped off. They then trekked up a thin flight of stairs and reached an old, abandoned metal building. The enormous steel doors were sealed tight, and a sign was stuck on them. DANGER! Do not, for WHATEVER reason, OPEN THIS DOOR!
"Who else is tempted to open it?" Crystal asked.
"I think we've got enough problems." Nolan said. "Let's just keep going."
The group followed a path along the left, along a fairly straightforward path. It went on a while, but nothing seemed to interfere with their journey. Crystal stopped after a while and noticed something in the sky. "That's odd…"
The others stopped and turned at her. "What?" Nolan asked.
"Those clouds." Crystal pointed to the clouds in the far distance. "They're different from the clouds in this area. Like… blizzard clouds."
"Since when are you a weatherwoman?" Yuki remarked.
"Woman of science, I know these things."
The four passed around a few more burning buildings and reached the edge of a wide lake. Their eyes widened with wonder and amazement when they saw the other side. "Ummm… can your science explain that?" Yuki asked. (Play "Freezeflame Galaxy (Ice)" from Mario Galaxy.)
Across the lake lay a vast, mountainous realm of snow and ice. Crystal's observations were true; the previous side of this island had clouds of black smoke, while a whole other region had dark-blue snow clouds. Regardless, this defied all possible reasoning. "An island of fire and… ice."
"Still got your logic, Crystal?" Yuki asked.
"Reminds me of the Groudon Volcano that Nigel told me about." Nolan remembered. "Its core had ice inside of it. Hmmm…" he wondered if there was some relation. "Well, at least the air will be cooler. Yuki, freeze us a path." Yuki did so and made a frozen path along the lake, using it to cross to the frozen wilderness.
A few sharks tried to gnash at them, but Nolan blasted missiles to keep them away. "Careful, Nol!" Yuki yelled, trying to keep the ice path stable. The group managed to reach the frosty shore, and the cold air immediately fell to their skin.
"BRRRR-r-r-r-r-r-r!" Aeincha shuddered. "It's so co-o-o-o-old!" The tiny girl immediately leapt to Nolan's shoulder and crawled under his coat. "Mmmm. You're so WARM, Mr. York."
"Siiiigh." The group kept going along the icy landscape as White Wolfos jumped out to snack. Crystal used her staff to keep the monsters back while Yuki launched ice rays. A bunch more were charging from across a hill, but Nolan fired a missile and blasted them away.
"Hey, what was that?" a voice called in the distance. The group flinched and quickly hid behind a mound of snow. They watched as a band of those same, yellow-suited men stepped up over the hill, guns ready.
"It's those guys again." Crystal whispered.
"We must be close to their base." Nolan figured. He tried to launch a missile at the group, but- "Uh-oh. That was my last missile. I forgot to restock."
"I thought you had, like, an infinite supply of them?" Yuki questioned.
"It's only as infinite as I can make it."
"Coincidentally, I think my Hover function ran out of juice as well." Crystal noted.
"WELP, can never make games too easy!" Yuki exclaimed.
"Who's there?!" The men heard Yuki's shout and ran toward them.
"I'll distract them!" Aeincha yelled, leaping out of Nolan's coat and hurrying toward the men. It was a little hard to run in such deep snow, but the Lilliputian managed. "Heeeey big people-saaaans!" The men looked, seeing the tiny, cheerful girl. "Come catch me if you caaaan!"
"H-Hey! Why aren't you with the other kids, grab 'er!" But when they tried, and failed, to catch the quick girl, Team Hero ran out and began attacking the men. A few of them turned and tried to shoot them with guns, but Yuki dodged and threw ice blasts at them. "That guy's an icebender! Get 'em in handcuffs!" Yuki threw more ice, but the men swiftly dodged as one held up a pair of cuffs. Yuki raised in arm in defense, but the man successfully cuffed his right wrist.
"Aw, dang it!" Yuki moaned. He tried to throw more ice, but was unable to. "A chi-blocking cuff!"
Crystal knocked out another soldier and said, "Welcome to the party."
Once they were all knocked out, Yuki checked their pockets for keys, but found none. "Well, this is PLEASANT."
"Hey, at least you got your pack." Nolan reminded. "Now come on, we'll find keys in the base."
They crossed the small hill and shortly reached the huge, steel building. They stopped by an air vent as Nolan used Detective Vision, seeing a bunch of the soldiers guarding the front door. "Hmmm… well, they aren't armed."
"We could draw less attention if we snuck in through here." Crystal mentioned, nudging toward the vent. Yuki pulled it open and got in first, but Nolan remembered his wheelchair.
"Augh… I can't really go without my wheelchair. Just go in without me, we can split up and find the kids."
"You say so." Crystal shrugged, crawling in after Yuki.
Aeincha peeped out of Nolan's coat as he asked, "You wanna go with 'em?"
"Nah. It wouldn't be fun to be all alone!" she beamed.
"Siiigh… well, you're right on that money." Aeincha returned beneath the coat as Nolan rolled toward the front. He approached the men calmly and yelled, "Yo, you looking for me?"
"Who's that?!" they yelled as they ran to battle the cripple. One tried to punch, but Nolan grabbed his fist and threw him against another one. His chair's punching glove punched another, and when one of them tried to punch from behind, Aeincha jumped out, grabbed his suit's glass-window to block his vision, and allow Nolan to punch him before it was too late.
The squad of soldiers were knocked out shortly as Aeincha jumped back to Nolan's shoulder. "Well, it'll draw some attention to us, but they might not notice Crystal and Yuki yet."
"I think they're still focusing on Chimney and the others!" Aeincha grinned.
"Yeah, good point… we better get in." Nolan hurried into the front door. (End song.)
Base's playroom
Things were still peaceful in the playroom, as the many kids were still engaging in carefree activities. Maddy, on the other hand, had fallen asleep along the side of the room, drowning out the noises, as well as the stomping of giant kids. A pair of giant feet stepped over as a giant hand shook Maddy. "Maddyyy? You awake?"
"Mmmm…" Maddy woke up groggily, seeing the giant hand touching her cheek. "AHHH!" she shot to her feet frantically.
"Ha ha ha ha!" Mocha laughed. "Do you always wake up like that?"
"Hoo… don't do that." Maddy huffed, sitting back down. For a second, she was afraid she shrunk again.
"We're all gonna play Airplane, do you wanna? My head's really soft!" She patted her messy black hair.
"I don't really feel comfortable playing with a bunch of disease-ridden kids…"
"Well, I don't really think we're THAT sick. I mean, I've been feeling pretty fine. Come on, it'll be fun!"
"Look, I don't hang out with mutants, okay? And you giant kids fall into that category."
Mocha frowned. "Well… what's wrong with me being giant?"
"What's wrong is that I'm afraid of getting smooshed. And considering all the tiny people, I'll be surprised if that's not a common thing."
"Well… that's sorta why we don't wear shoes when we play. …What's wrong, Maddy? Why don't you play with anyone?"
"I don't like mutants, okay? I think they just like to abuse people. And to be fair, the only giants I know are from Jack and the Beanstalk, and all that one cared about was eating Jack."
"But the female giant wanted to protect Jack."
"He put Jack in the oven. HOW was that safe?"
"Hm hm hm! Actually, we're not really giants."
"Huh?"
"We used to be normal-sized, but we think it's part of the disease. Each of us slowly grows over the years, that's why Master Caesar's trying to fix us."
"Sooo… we're all going to become giants?" Well, better than being small. She thought.
"As far as I know. But we're still the same as normal kids! And all the other kids like us, too! You'd have fun if you played with us!"
"I don't know…"
"Sure you will! Like this!"
"HEY!" Maddy was suddenly grabbed in Mocha's hands and-
"WHEEEE!" –was sent flying into the air.
"Whoooaa!" Maddy landed safely on Mocha's hands, but the black-haired giant kept throwing her up and down.
"Ha ha ha ha! See, normal humans can't do this!"
"This! Doesn't! Prove! Your point!" she yelled with each land.
"Well, maybe this will!" Mocha smiled as she set Maddy on her soft, messy hair. "All aboard the Mocha Plane! Hang on tight!"
"Whooooooaa!" Maddy clutched tight to Mocha's hair as the giant girl began running around with her arms stretched out like a plane. She was frightened at first… but as her form bounced and the wind brushed lightly through her hair (Mocha's not as fast as a Nimbi, by the way)… she felt a small rush of excitement. Beside her, other kids were riding the heads of other giants, whom were each trying to outrace the other. Also, a few of the normal kids had oversized Minish and Kateenians on their heads, and those Minish and Kateenians had smaller, normal ones on their heads. Maddy had to admit, they looked cute.
Maddy looked and saw the competitive looks on the other kids' faces, as well as on the faces of the giants. Riding Mocha's head, she felt like she was riding a horse around a track, desperately trying to beat the other riders to the prize. Maddy smirked and "HEE-YA!" yanked Mocha's hair, tempting the giant girl to go faster. Angered, the other kids yanked their giant's hair to catch up with them. Dillon watched this race from atop one of the slides as he yelled like an announcer.
"Aaaaand Maddy and Mocha are in the lead, followed by Ayako and Tanuki, followed by Yoko and Doran, followed by Sho and Joe, and with only one lap to go, WHO will win, iiiiit's…" Maddy and Mocha were neck-in-neck with Ayako and Tanuki, the two pairs smirking competitively. In the end, the victor was- "MMMMOCHAAAAAAA!"
"YEEEEEAAAAHH!" Mocha grabbed and threw Maddy in the air as they cheered.
With Sector W7; somewhere else in the base
"Owww…" Chimney moaned as the four girls recovered from the R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N.'s wreckage. "What happened?..."
"Hey!" They flinched and looked ahead, seeing a bunch of men in yellow protection suits. They immediately charged.
"Yuh-oh. YAAAH!" Chimney cried as the girls ran forth and started to battle them. April zipped left-and-right to paint symbols and disable them, while Aisa swung her Conache Pumpkin and knocked them out. They kept running as the men recovered and gave chase.
"Where did we land, anyway?" Apis yelled.
"Somewhere where they're apparently afraid of germs." Aisa panted.
"Oi, where is Aeinchan at?!" Chimney yelled.
"I hope she isn't dead." April said simply.
"DON'T SAY THAT!" they screamed.
They kept running down the dank, empty halls, but Chimney's eyes widened when more men were charging from ahead. "Yuh-oh. This way, THIS WAY!" They dodged down a right hall.
This hall was much shorter and narrow as they were coming to a wooden double-door. "You think we can hide in there?" Apis asked.
"No choice!" Chimney decided. "Let's go in!"
Back in the playroom
The kids resumed their previous games as Mocha lied back on the floor with Maddy rested on her belly. "I have to admit, Mocha, that was kinda fun!" she smiled.
"See, I told you giants aren't mean! Well, maybe adult giants, but we're still kids!"
"Yeah… I guess you are." Maddy sat up and looked around the room. It was so weird to see… a couple of human kids were playing a friendly game of Truth or Dare with tiny Kateenians and Minish. Some female Nimbis and Gargoyles were complimenting each others' wings. Some Lilliputians were riding mermaids inside the large aquarium while Minish and Kateenians rode other Nimbis and Gargoyles like airplanes (speakin' of which). Everyone in here was so different… but they played with each other as if they were the same. This playroom's diversity could rival that of GKND's.
Suddenly, the playroom's doors came flying open when Sector W7 charged in. "AAAHN?!" they froze in shock, seeing the playroom full of diverse kids, large and small.
"Hey, look! Four more kids!" a giant girl exclaimed as all the kids looked toward the operatives. Sector W7's mouths dropped wide open. They weren't expecting to see kids of so many different cultures.
"Whoa… where the heck are we?" Apis asked.
"It looks like some kind of multicultural daycare." Aisa deduced.
"Nnnn?" Chimney looked all around, intent on finding only one thing. "If all these people are here… then where is-?" However, her eyes widened, spotting the very person she was looking for.
Gonbe stepped through the crowd and immediately noticed her. His blond, pigtailed master.
Chimney grew a wide, joyous smile as her eyes watered. Gonbe's smile grew as well. He couldn't have been more happy.
"GONBEEEEE!" Chimney ran for her rabbit companion.
"GYOOOOOM!" Gonbe excitedly hopped toward his master.
The two embraced in the tightest hug they've ever given. "OHHH GONBE-CHAN I WAS SO WORRIED! I thought I'd never see you again!"
"Gyo-o-o-o-o-o-oooom!" Gonbe wept.
"I thought… sniff." Chimney wept, too. "I thought you ran away 'cause you were maaad! I'm sorry for making you mad, Gonbeeeee!"
"Gyoooooo." He patted her back.
"He said, 'I wasn't mad, Chimney. I was just playing with some kids and I got sidetracked!'" Apis grinned.
"Now we can be one happy sector again!" Chimney exclaimed tearily. "Come on, Gonbe. Let's go find Aeinchan and get off this rock." They were about to walk away when-
"Waaait!" The five turned around at the call of a brown-haired girl – Abi – who stood by five other kids; one of them holding a baby. "Aren't you guys from Water 7?"
"Yeeeeah? So?" Chimney asked.
"That's where we're from, too!" one of the boys; Ayako said.
"But how did you get here?" Yoko asked.
"We flew in on R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N.!" Chimney exclaimed. "And we're gonna find our other friend and bring 'em back!"
"Take us with you!" a giant girl yelled.
"Hnnn? Why?"
"We've been wanting to go home for years." A giant boy said.
"They took us here because they said we had a disease, but we feel just fine." A normal boy mentioned.
"I want my mom and DAAAAAAD!" a 4-year-old Lilliputian cried.
"Hold it, hold it!" Dillon spoke up, walking to the front of the group. "I thought you kids LIKED it here!"
"Well, we like playing with everyone…" the giant boy mentioned, "but we miss our homes. Master doesn't let us go, but if these kids got here, maybe this is our chance!"
"Well, maybe he has a reason." Haruka replied, slightly concerned. "Won't you guys just keep growing if you leave?"
"Hold on!" Dillon spoke up. "We could bring these kids to the Undersea Lab and have the scientists shrink them with their, well, shrink ray. Then if they keep growing, we'll try and work up a cure."
"Well, you have a point… but I think Caesar-"
"Oi, we don't have time for this!" Chimney exclaimed. "Everyone, come on, let's get on the R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N. and GO!" Chimney ran out first, and the halls were soon quaking as the giants charged after them.
Mocha held Maddy in her hands as they exchanged confused glances. "Let's go!" the giant decided, carrying Maddy as she ran after them.
From down the hall, the men were still searching for W7. "I think they went- WHOA!" The halls suddenly quaked as a swarm of kids were running toward them, mostly giants. The men tried to run, but were immediately trampled by the swarm of multiracial kids, their bones crushed like sticks by the giants. When the dust had cleared, a few Kateenians and Minish were left behind, and they bounced across the squished bodies, making the men wince.
With Crystal and Yuki
The two heroes quietly crawled through the vent before dropping out into an empty, abandoned laboratory. "Phew. Crouching through vents always hurts my back." The witch said.
"This is the first time we've done it." Yuki noted.
"And first time is enough."
"Attention all staff!" a voice suddenly yelled throughout the intercom. "The children from the Biscuit Room have all escaped with a group of intruders! Secure the whole building and FIND them!"
"Yes, Master!" The two gasped and crouched when a squad of yellow-suited soldiers charged in the room and began searching. (Play "One by One" from Batman: Arkham City.)
"Crap!" Crystal yelled under her breath as she and Yuki crouched under a desk. The men split into different directions, but some were fairly close together, and they all had guns raised. Yuki and Crystal quietly crept up the stairs, splitting in separate ways on one of the floor layers. Crystal crawled to one of the men as he and a man on a higher layer searched around. When both walked separate directions, Crystal crept up to the man on her floor and started to choke his neck with her staff. She forced him to the floor and BASHED his head to knock him out.
She kept crawling, hoping no one just heard that. She sat before a corner and peeked out to see someone ahead. "Someone's not RESPONDING down there! You better go see!"
"You heard Master Caesar!" Crystal looked frantic when the man ahead of her was about to run to her corner. Yuki peeked out from his side and saw this, quickly shooting an ice blast from his backpack and freezing that man. "What was that?" The men looked toward their frozen comrade, and briefly saw a figure sink beneath the wall on the second floor-layer. They all hurried over as Yuki tried to crawl away, but a man on the highest layer was coming from the opposite way.
Crystal quickly crawled out, approached the frozen man, and KICKED him out of the ice before knocking him out with her staff. "Oh?!" She quickly ran down the path as the others spotted her. They gave chase and tried to shoot the witch, but Crystal ducked beneath the wall to catch her breath. The men were about to surround her, but she noticed the grating on the floor, opened a hatch, and crouched inside before they could notice.
The men arrived at where she was, but found no trace of her. "Where did she go?!" Her heart still racing, Crystal crawled away as quietly as she could. While the guards were distracted, Yuki snuck up from behind the other corner, approached two of the guards from behind, grabbed their heads, and SLAMMED them into each other. "Hey!" The others took notice and tried to shoot the icebender, but he flipped over the railing and into the lab area as he slid beneath the desk. The guards hurried down to catch him, but one of them ran over Crystal's grate, so the witch jumped out and SMASHED him to the ground.
"Oh!" The last two remaining spotted Crystal and tried to shoot her.
"Ah!" One of the bullets scraped Crystal's side, making her wince and fall over. The men chased her, but Yuki ran out, grabbed the closest one's neck, and choked him before punching and knocking him out.
The remaining soldier ran onto the highest layer in search of Crystal, but looked back and saw his partner was down. "Ooooh so you're the last one! This should be fun, shurororo!"
"Nnnnn where are you?!" The man shook with utmost fear, the gun trembling in his quivering hands. Crystal smirked as she jumped out from her hiding spot, startling the man greatly. "NNNNN!" he struggled to hold his gun as Crystal ran right for him. "Master! SAVE MEEE!"
Crystal kicked the man's stomach, knocked the gun away, bashed his head with her staff, and finally PUNCHED him upside the head, sending him over the railing and his protective helmet flying off. (End song.)
The two approached the fallen, unmasked man and studied him. "He's a… goat man?" Crystal questioned. Indeed, the fallen man had a human's head, but with goat horns.
They proceeded to unmask all the others, seeing different horns on all of them. "They all have horns."
"What kind of people are they?"
"Wonder if this lab has anything?" The two approached the center desk, finding a notebook. Crystal picked it up and studied the name on the cover, written in marker.
"Hmmm… let's phone Nolan."
With Nolan and Aeincha
Nolan quietly rolled down the hall, having his Detective Vision on as he skimmed the building for enemies, while Aeincha sat on his shoulder. His communicator rang, so he answered. "Nolan, it's Crystal. I'm not sure, but we think we found who this building belongs to."
"You mean the guy on the intercom?"
"Yes. Some fellow called 'Caesar Clown'. These soldiers were calling him 'Caesar' just then."
The name caught Nolan's interest. "Caesar… Clown?"
"Yes, and get this: we unmasked these soldiers, they all have horns on their head. I wonder if they're mutants or something. …Nolan?"
The Sandman was already lost in thought.
One year after the Firstborn Adventure. The day was bright and sunny. Nolan York struggled to stand. He could barely keep his injured legs straight as he faced a simple tree. He raised his right leg and tried to throw a kick, but, "Ow!" the pain came back, and he fell back onto his chair.
"Wellll, it's a new record." Wesley Dodds chuckled. "You're still pretty lucky. Not many have their legs crushed and get them mobile again."
"Yeah…" Nolan panted and smiled humorously, "Maybe I should've betrayed Revan AFTER he gave me those cyborg legs."
"Heh heh heh! But you know how it goes… upgrade ONE limb, your whole BODY turns metal. It's not the only time it's happened."
"Ha ha, yeah, with Cyborg."
"Not quite. Have I ever told you about Caesar Clown?"
"Caesar who?"
"Now THAT guy was inhuman as humans got. He was a major producer of Bang Gas and metahuman material. He was able to do so using his amazing poisonbending. You see, before, he was a scientist for G.U.N., but when the military found out what he was doing, he was arrested. But about 3 years ago, he escaped. No one knows where he is…"
"Was he really that bad?"
"Oh, he WAS bad. When he produces his Bang Gas, he distributes it to all sorts of nasty criminals. Of course, he can't do so legally, so he distributes in the Underground. Only big-time criminals like Brain are able to get connections with him."
"You mean… The Brain purchased Bang Gas from him?"
"Of course. How do you think Madame Rouge got her power? Caesar channels the Bang Gas into little plants called Devil Fruits, and whoever ate those fruits would gain a certain power. Madame Rouge ate the Goop-Goop Fruit, a rare Logia type. Those are the hardest fruits for him to make. They turn your entire body structure into whatever kind of substance he makes it. And that's why Logia humans are the hardest to beat."
"You're telling me."
"But that isn't the worst thing about Caesar. He tested his experiments on KIDS!"
"What?"
"He liked to grab whatever kids he could find and inject them with all sorts of toxins. He likes to give 'em the same ones over and over and see how they 'develop'. Most of those kids just… died."
"Then shouldn't we try to LOOK for this guy?"
"No… he hasn't been heard from in years. Except the Underground, maybe. You shouldn't worry about him. Besides… he's bound to show himself sooner or later."
Nolan stared at nothing as he recalled this, and Aeincha looked at him confused. "So… that's who we're dealing with."
"Nolan? What's going on?"
"Um, I'll tell you later. But this mission just got an update. We're going to capture Caesar and bring him to justice."
"Really? Well, I suppose he IS responsible for this."
"Yes. But right now, just focus on finding Dillon and the others. According to that announcement, they're already causing a ruckus. Just try to find them and be careful."
"Roger, roger." Yuki nodded, and the transmission ended.
"Why did you space out, Mr. York?" Aeincha asked. "Do you know this guy?"
"Well… yeah… i-it's like this:" and he began to explain.
Caesar's Lab
The scientist watched humorously as Crystal and Yuki made fools of the patrolling guards in the lower lab. "Shurororororo! Well, well! Whoever these fools are, they're quite a wily bunch!"
"They are!" Monet spoke up, reading her newspaper. "I thought those two were familiar. They're Coldman and Wiccan, two infamous vigilantes from Quahog. There's also a third one: Sandman. Hmm, but I wonder where he is?"
"He is in the building." The two turned toward the door, and Caesar made a wide grin.
"VVVERRRRGOOOO!" The clown was joyous. The man in the big white coat and sunglasses stood coolly in the doorway.
"…I have determined Sandman's identity. His father… was in my battalion."
Hancock winked.