Demon Archives: Hades. The Lord of Greece's Underworld, Hades owns the most popular coliseum in the afterlife, the Underdrome. Fallen warriors flock here to challenge all manner of monsters. The Nimbi hero, Pit Icarus is one of the reigning champions. Currently, Hades is one of the Six Demon Saints.
The Masked Mirage took shelter in a labyrinth of Space Block, sniping Starbursts through the walls as Lord Death navigated the space. He shot Patty and Lizzy to ricochet and navigate the maze with ease… well, ease and discomfort. Regardless, the tiny spirits helped Death chart a path to the spacebender, afterwards landing a few sneak attacks with his bullets. The mirage flew through a portal, the maze dispelling, but Death cast a wave of Spirit Flames through to weaken her. "Hahahaha! Fighting you is pretty fun!" Mirage reappeared behind Death, hugging him to spread the flames onto his cloak. Her voice sounded like a distorted version of Jirachi's. "I hope we do this forever and ever!"
Death had already shot a bullet, bound to redirect itself and break the right point of her star mask. "Just who do you think you're fooling?" Death glared.
"You're the only fool here, hahaha!" Mirage zapped pink lightning, Death vanishing and appearing below to strike his own Spirit Lightning.
Fortunately, the Rescue Team had successfully entered the factory. Perry Uno, the Earth KND leader and swordsman; Jennu, GKND agent and gravitybender; Mika Gilligan, Sector RT leader and psychicbender; Lucina Stork of Sector IC, a Spank-Happy Vampire; Loki, Sector IC's Card Mage; and Astere, Phoenios apprentice and spacebender. Their mission commenced. (Play "Burning Churning Power Plant" from Kirby Forgotten Land!)
Stage 5: Mephisto's Forge
Mission: Rescue Star Winkiebottom!
Jennu's bending carried the group onto the side of the first smokestack. They traveled up the stack, evading bursts of steam, until they reached a position facing a safe spot on the next stack. Upon landing, lava centipedes called Magtails crawled up, gnashing pincers. Striking the bugs' single eyes would compel them to curl up in balls and fall in the lava below. The lava would simply rejuvenate them as they crawled up the stack again. The kids saw a barrier blocking the next path, connected to four pillars with slots in them. "Mika, can you throw these bug things into those slots?" Perry asked. After knocking the Magtails into ball form, Mika used psychic to grab and throw them to those slots. Doing so disabled the barrier, allowing Jennu to float them onto a stable path.
A platoon of armored Fatblin marched up. Astere was the first to strike, warping behind the platoon and blasting Starbursts at their soft undersides. "Yo, if that's their weakness, leave it to me!" Lucina beamed, using her signature technique to spank the demons' rears. Perry stayed back and sniped their bare faces with his bow while Loki cast fire spells to heat up their armor. Past the vanquished demons, the group entered a corridor where the walls threatened to press them. Mika's psychic was barely strong enough to keep it back before the walls would retract themselves.
"Let me look for a way to shut this down, loves!" Loki morphed into a squirrel and quickly scampered up the passage. Just as the walls pressed in again, Loki found an opening big enough to crawl in. The squirrel tore up all the wiring within, so by the time the pressers returned for their 3rd round, they stopped in place.
"Hooooooh, thank goodness, my brain-arms were getting tired." Mika sighed. She dedicated some chi to pushing the pressers fully apart, finding a hidden hole with a Caged Soul. Wizzrobes in engineer clothes would spawn around the path, twirling wrench wands. Loki's and Perry's magic and arrows subdued the parrot mages. The corridor led into a chamber with a wall of turning cogs, spinning against a lavafall. Jennu used gravity to land them on the cogs, the team making their way across. A Blargg emerged from the lava and tried to engulf them, but Astere threw up her arms and froze the beast into stone.
"You're an icebender, too?!" Perry exclaimed.
"Spirits can use different types of elemental arts." Astere answered. "But it's easier to focus on some than many."
"It'd be pretty chaotic if everyone could master multiple elements." Mika replied, scratching her head at the notion. "Just give us one and be done."
"Unless you're a mage like Loki." Lucina replied. "Then you have all kinds of tricks up your sleeve."
"Don't be jealous, love~"
The group had to travel up a shaft with burning sides, but cogs that would rise in and out. Jennu channeled gravity to carry them onto the cogs while they were out, quickly repeating the process up the shaft. Eventually, they flew out of the top of the smokestack and landed atop another, grated-top chimney. "LOOK OUT!" Astere gasped.
"HAAAH!" A bare-chested man in a crowned skull and dark robe soared down and slashed his scythe in a circle, Mika withdrawing her friends with psychic. "Bah! Shifty little snots."
"That uniform… Aren't you a Reaper?" Astere asked. "We're allies of Lord Death!"
"Dumbabababa!" Mumkhar laughed. "You ain't very bright, are ya, sweetheart? This is a mutiny!" His scythe's blade divided into three segments, shimmering green in his attempt to slice the scattered group. "Old Death's gonna fall today! But I'll skewer you lot before then."
Loki threw several cards around Mumkhar and magnified them with Engorgio. Afterwards, he thrusted his fists through matching cards, pummeling the Reaper. Mumkhar slashed the cards out of the air, but a camera flashed in his face, showing Mumkhar the illusion of a dinosaur rampaging above him. He instinctively sliced the illusion, but Mikaela blasted him away with a Psy-Sphere. "Oi, you lot run on ahead!" Loki said. "We'll deal with this Reaper right quick."
"He's stronger than he looks!" Astere said. "We should fight him together!"
"We can't keep Star waiting, can we?" Mika asked. "Just keep going, we can handle it!"
"She's not wrong…" Perry reasoned. "Just yell if you need help. Be careful!"
"Tch!" Astere grunted as the other three raced ahead. "This is why we should've brought more numbers! Mephisto was obviously prepared for this!"
"The problem with more people is they're harder to keep track of." Perry replied. "That's what Dad says, at least! Sometimes, it's safer to trust in fewer than to gamble on too many."
"Especially when we're jumping and gravitybending our way through these obstacle courses." Jennu agreed.
"Or in this case, gliding!" Case and point, Perry threw open his sail to glide in the updraft caused by a smokestack. Lucina used her bat wings for this purpose and the others their natural floating. They glid across following chimneys, dodging Fire Arrows loosed by Lizalfos archers. Their flight would land them on a rooftop balcony filled with Fire Lizalfos, the red-scaled lizards charging with flaming mouths. Sadly, their sheer numbers didn't mean much against Astere's icebending attacks, evaporating the Fire-types into mist. "Case and point." Perry affirmed.
The four arrived at a lava pool where churners twisted whirlpools. Jennu's bending could land them on the sides of the churners. The next churner spun too fast for her to focus, but Perry could snipe an Eye Switch above to stop it. Jennu directed them onto it, but she'd have to think fast and fly them to the next one before they were spun into a spike wall. The next churner spun at a wider radius, but lasers would burn from either above or below. "MY TURN!" Perry jumped to whichever necessary end and bounced the lasers away with his Mirror Shield. Jennu could later fly them through a window, smashing it as they landed on safe ground.
A stairwell led them into a dark, dusty basement. Skulltulas dropped from the ceiling, Lucina squashing them between her hands. Barriers of webbing blocked the following passage, but Astere could freeze and easily shatter them. Larger Skulltulas ambushed them from the walls, but Perry would frantically flip them upside-down with an upward slash, while Jennu stomped their soft undersides. "Giant spiders are the worst thing the gods invented!"
"Well, Queen Velma seemed pretty nice." Jennu reasoned. "But if these spiders are here, I wonder if her cousin is nearby?"
Some of the webs were covering turnable cogs, which could only be turned by the strength of Lucina's spanks. Turning them all would open a secret room with a Caged Soul. With no other secrets to find, the crew traveled down into a vast garage chamber. A huge web loomed on the ceiling, on which rested a massive spider with an upper white, humanoid torso.
A loud banging startled the group, and the spider-woman seemed to face the garage's giant shutter. "Oh, CYDAEAAAA!" The shutter was torn off the hinges by another, familiar spider, Queen Velma showing herself in. Behind her, Skulltulas had wrapped demon guards in webbing, feasting on their flesh. "I know you're in here! Come out and play, my dear cousin!"
"Velma…" Cydaea faced down from her web with a hiss. "Why are you always around to ruin my fun?! You can never mind your own business!"
"You need to learn when playtime is over. I know you kidnapped my grandson." Velma withdrew a spider-headed staff. "If you bring him here unharmed, I'll leave and let you carry on with your business."
"Not a chance, bitch! Diablo will rule the Underworld, so all current and former royals must die! That includes you, Velma."
"Cydaea, we both know I'm the strongest spider around here. There's a reason I was chosen as the Spider Queen and you're only one of Diablo's lower officers. We can make this easy or I can tear you up one limb at a time."
"Maybe you can… so, I'll let him put you in your place."
"Your clothes may be Chanel, Gucci, Your shoes crocodile! But baby, you're never fully dressed without a smile!" A radio voice sang jovially, Velma turning confusedly. "But if you stand for nothing, you'll fall for it all. We got all we need, got no more!" Alastor twirled his cane up the road, soundwaves slicing the Skulltulas in half. "You're never fully dressed without a SMILE!"
A strong soundwave blew Velma through the garage, crashing in the wall beneath the KND's balcony. "It's the Radio Demon!" Astere exclaimed.
"That guy?!" Perry knew him from last night's report.
"Alastor." Velma glared. "You're a real coward, Cydaea." She whipped her staff and conjured a massive, hypnotic spider-web, confusing the demon. She jumped left-and-right as she closed in on him, the hypnosis distorting her form in his vision. Alastor sang in his scepter, sending out aimless soundwaves as some sliced Velma. The Spider Queen relentlessly gnashed his entire torso, but Alastor withstood the pain and stabbed her stomach, pumping a powerful vibration into the arachnid.
"Don't feel bad, Velma." Cydaea turned down-left, smirking. "I have my own prey to keep me happy!" Seeing the operatives rushing to a door along a walkway, Cydaea swung down to intercept them. She squirted eggs behind that would hatch into Spiderlings, while otherwise squirting webs that Astere was quick to freeze. Lucina leapt and smacked Cydaea upside the jaw, the spider reeling backward as she then followed with Spank Hands.
"If you guys wanna go on ahead, I'll take care of this bug!" Lucina offered.
"She doesn't feel like a strong monster." Astere said. However, she could only look worriedly at Queen Velma, intoxicated by a smokescreen as staticky illusions of Alastor flickered in random positions.
"This way!" Jennu changed gravity so they could rush up the wall, over the brawling bat and spider. The remaining three made it through a door, finding a large forging chamber where Armos blacksmiths were hammering molten metal. Upon seeing the intruders, they changed priorities and hopped to hammer them. When their weak backsides became known to the kids, the Armos' moment was short-lived. The trio mounted a treadmill at the end of the room, riding through a tunnel and having to jump or duck electric bars along the way. The taller walls of bars threatened to end them, but Perry saw cranes carrying wood boxes along the ceiling. The girls grabbed him as he used his Hookshot to link the box and pull them over the bars, landing back on the treadmill. Two more electric walls appeared, but there were gaps on the left and right with Hookshot targets, helping them make it through. Perry hooked a Caged Soul on another ceiling crane, freeing it.
The treadmill abruptly ended, throwing them over a chasm of lava outside. Jennu quickly redirected their gravity toward a wall on the left. Hatches opened above the wall, pouring lavafalls as the trio hastened to outrun them. The wall led to a tower-like structure with stairs and walkways leading up and around it. From the edge of the wall, Jennu could float them onto the lowest floor of the tower. A herd of Real Bombchus spotted them from inside a window, scampering up the wall. As the group traveled up stairs, the Bombchus came dashing out of vents, but Perry's Mirror Shield repelled their efforts. On the next floor of the tower, a Sumoblin charged and shoved them off the ledge. Jennu quickly redirected them to safety, using her Gravity Kicks to repeatedly force the Sumoblin backward until the tubby demon toppled off the opposite ledge.
There were no stairs to the next floor, so Jenna landed them on the ceiling below that floor. Even still, a fence blocked them from stepping up onto it, so they traveled up upside-down stairs. Beamos tried to shoot them down, but Perry's shield proved helpful again in bouncing their lasers back into their eyes. At the top of the stairs, another Bombchu ran out of a vent, but as Perry bounced it away, the Bombchu exploded, blowing a way open into the stairs. The elevator inside was out of order, so the group had to backtrack down the stairs. Holemasters lurked along them, black holes from where hands would try to drag them in. Astere's spacebending helped compress the holes while Perry poked his sword through them to stab the weakened Holemasters. The bottom of the stairs had another elevator, raising them to the top.
A path linked the top of the tower to a large, devil-horned door. Twin Mighty Darknuts guarded the chamber, their great swords clutched firmly. Perry challenged the one on the left, his Gilded Sword matching against the larger blade. Perry dodge-rolled around the Darknut and sliced the back through his cape, then threw up his shield against the second one's blade. He followed up with an overhead leap, whacking the Darknut's helmet off, and when the previous one tried to slice him out of the air, he wound up striking his ally's head. Perry seized that moment of weakness to land cuts to the armor, then backflipping his sword. Perry did another Parry Attack behind the other Darknut and sliced his back, followed by jumping to whack the helmet off. Perry landed between the Darknuts, who both swung and clashed each other's swords while Perry ducked. The boy did a breakdance spin attack, sweeping the Darknuts off their feet. Jennu stomped one's head with Grav Kicks while Astere caught the other's in a Space Block, bursting it.
After the Darknuts fell, the horned doors opened. The trio entered a large chamber, where they came to face a huge, thinnish, red, skeletal demon with long horns and twin, boney tentacles. Behind him, Star Winkiebottom was bound in a spider-web, only his head hanging free groggily. (End song.)
"Mephiphiphiphi." The demon laughed. "Of all the souls who could make it this far, it's only three feeble children. All the Divine Angels and Reapers and THIS was the best that could make it?"
"Perry! Jennu!" Star exclaimed. "Astere, too? Are there any others?"
"They're fighting outside." Jennu answered. "We're hoping they rejoin us soon."
"You're Mephisto, aren't you?" Perry stepped forth. "I don't appreciate you demons tearing up my world and hurting my family! You're about to learn what happens when you mess with us!"
"Such childish threats. But, that symbol…" Mephisto glared at the Triforce mark on his shield. "You're the new Hero of Time. The branch of the Uno Family that didn't inherit Malladus's soul, yet inherited the will of your other ancestor… the most revered demon slayer in the universe. Or perhaps I'm mistaken… That doesn't look like the Master Sword!"
"Well, I wasn't able to draw it."
"DON'T JUST TELL HIM THAT!" the girls gawked.
"Mephiphi! Regardless, we planned to eliminate your family after Diablo succeeded. Looks like I'll be working ahead of schedule. But first, how about a spot of entertainment?"
They kept their guard steady as Mephisto conjured a holographic screen. Lord Death countered the Masked Mirage's lightning with Spirit Lightning, holding a pistol in his mouth and pulling the trigger with his tongue, damaging the figure. "MOM!" Star screamed.
"What?!" Perry gasped.
"YES! Lord Death has no idea he's attacking his own wife, brainwashed by Cydaea's costume! She will die by Death's hand! Such beautiful irony! Such a sight to behold! And you brats will have no chance to stop him! Mephiphiphi!"
"DAMN YOU!" Astere cast a blizzard at the demon, Mephisto withstanding the vengeful frost. "Huh?! Aaaaaaa…"
"What the-?!" Perry and Jennu were agape as Astere's head seemed to swell like a balloon, turning red.
"P-Perry!" Star choked on his breath as his head also swelled and reddened. "Jen-u…'elp…"
"I am Mephisto the Spiteful! Hatred gives me life! When those around me feel anger, my power takes effect! Now, their heads will burst within minutes!"
"THAT'S your power?!" Jennu exclaimed.
"Then we…we can't get angry, no matter what!" Perry said, struggling to heed his own advice.
"But that alone won't save you!" Mephisto's tendrils thrusted forth. "Your lives are MINE!"
Cleveland Beach
Jason spun both fists, as per the norm when preparing his signature attacks. But rather than send them as fists, his hands popped open as he cast them off. The "fingers" of the Light Fists spread open like sun rays, entrapping Jason's mom upon impact. "Not bad, kiddo! Ah'm sure this'll give those demons some trouble!" Though the same was not for Sheila, who easily split free of the trap. "Orright, let's practice some redirection next. And drink your juice!"
"Aye-aye!" Jason chugged a bottle of Sunny D and munched some oranges with bananas. Afterwards, he repeatedly shot Light Fists into the air, trying to whirl them in multiple directions. The fists would quickly shrink and disappear, so Jason absorbed more light and tried to muster larger ones, repeating the same tactic. He also focused chi over the sun itself in order to pull physical sun rays down. He tried to redirect those into angles, but the act proved much more tasking.
Their training kept up for several hours, the sun slowly leaving behind the dreary red horizon. "Them demons sure know 'ow to make things ugly." Sheila commented. "It's tainting the sun's Light Chi worse than clouds do."
"That's why Ah gotta get stronger!" Jason vowed. "Ah need ta shine bright even in THIS weather!"
"That's me boy! You ain't doin' half bad at it either! Not that Ah'm any good at math." Sheila tapped her forehead with her knuckles. "But ya know, Jason, there's something that every great bender has. You know what Fury Mode is, don't ya?"
"Oh, yea! That's sorta like a… power-up thing we can do, eh?"
"Aye! Each different bender 'as a core where most of their chi is concentrated. Waterbenders 'ave it in the arms, firebenders in the chest, but we lightbenders have it right in our heart. To unlock Fury Mode, you have to feel that Chi Gate in your heart and burst it open through will. Make all that power come spewin' out! 'Course, it helps if ya give your breast a jolly old whack. Like this!" Sheila punched her breast. Her body was instantly enveloped in yellowish-white flames, like a sun with wildly dancing flares. "In Fury Mode, your bending gets stronger, and you have better control!" Sheila threw up dozens of Light Fists and willed them to spiral around, stretching trails of light that would surround them in a tower of rings.
"COOOOOL!"
Sheila dispelled her Fury. "But when you pour all that chi out, you're gonna be mighty exhausted. Most of us only save Fury 'til the very end of a fight. Some benders learn to switch it on and off to help save power. So, you try it, Jason! Find the power coursin' through your breast and give it a good punch!"
Jason put a hand to his heart, closing his eyes and emitting a small light. He could feel his heartbeat, pacing rather quickly from the extensive training. But, he could almost feel a different force inside. It was like touching a running sink, feeling the vibration of the water flowing through… or perhaps it was more like feeling the whir of an active lightbulb. Not like Jason would know; actual lightbulbs were too hot.
Jason punched his heart, but nothing came bursting out. He tried to time his punches with the actual beats, but it didn't work. "Ghhhhh!" He furiously punched rapidly, but his ferocity couldn't awaken his Fury. "Jason, try to focus your nerves to your chest and make it throb or somethin'. Hehe, Oi really ain't sure how to explain it, Ah'm just use to it by now."
"Hmmmmp…pump! Pump! Pump! Pu-pu-pu!" He punched himself some more.
"Captain! Jasooooon!" Isabelle Rivera dashed up the beach, her swift feet stirring up a sand cloud trail. "Uh…what're you doing, Jason?"
"Ah'm tryin' to start my Fury! Hurrrrr!"
"Maybe you still need to rest a bit, Jason." Sheila suggested. "We've been goin' at it nonstop for… what time is it?"
"7pm." Isabelle answered.
"SEVEN HOURS?!"
"Jason, Ralph and Silica have been researching world news reports. There was a town in Iran that was completely devastated 24 hours ago; and 12 hours ago, a similar disaster happened in an African jungle."
"Wot about it?"
"It has to be Baal. We learned that Baal gets let out into the Mortal World every 12 hours to go on a rampage. We think if we can find where he'll strike next, we can ambush him."
"Strewth! Maybe we can whup him without havin' to go into the Underworld!"
"'old on there." Sheila said. "He gets let out every 12 hours… and the last time was 12 hours ago?"
"Exactly! We expect his next attack to start soon. As soon as they pinpoint any signs of mass destruction, we need to fly there and stop him!"
Right as Isabelle finished her point, their communicators rang, followed by Ralph's voice. "Dudes, we have a lead! A mass evacuation's been ordered in Azultown, Brazil! A bunch of demons are charging in the city and there're reports of explosions in the outskirts."
"Azultown?!" Sheila exclaimed. "That's me hometown!"
"It is!" Jason gasped. "Ralph, we'll be there ASAP! Is Christina ready to go?!"
"Well, Silica just called her, and… Jeanne refuses to let her leave. Says she isn't ready, yet."
"She expects us to fight without Christina?!" Isabelle questioned.
"She'll 'ave to catch up with us then." Jason said. "Let's go, Bella! Time for my training to pay off!"
"We should at least free Lyserg from that trappy thing…"
Azultown
The demon unleashed bursts of reddish-purple chi, destroying every hill and road around him. Crossing the city threshold, Baal reveled in the frantic cries of the citizens, scattering from the rampage, only to be stopped by minions in waiting. "Baalalalalalalala!" He bore a pale, humanoid face like that of a scowling old man, long horns protruding from his head and back. He had white hands with long nails, four thicker horns hanging horizontally with medals hanging from them, and four arachnid-like legs. "THAT'S RIGHT! GET OUT! Get off my planet, ya termites! I'm makin' this town my new beach house! It'll 'ave sexy Succubi, Sanzu martinis, and we'll play volleyball with all your heads! BOOM! Crush! Explode! I never get to 'ave this much fun!"
HIM took a slurp of his own such martini. The path of destruction began from the edge of a cave, the Gap's red glow shining at HIM's back. "I wonder when Superbia will have its next Day of Demons? I have to invite Baal to my old vacation town… Don't you agree, Clawthorne?"
The canine demon had a leash around his collar, the other end tied to a rock. Though the leash had no supernatural properties, King's condition of trust was to keep it on him. If he made any attempt to remove it, HIM would attack without mercy. "Whatever happened to those girls, anyway?" King asked.
"I surmise they would be in their sixties by now. Probably working boring desk jobs, teaching hero courses, or even knitting. I stopped caring about them ages ago. Still, the cartoon that was made about them was quite exaggerating. They were depicted with all these powers, but all they had were jetpacks and a single element to each of them: Blossom was Ice, Bubbles was Sound, and Buttercup Fire."
"Heh, I bet they could stick kick YOUR butt."
"For the last time, they NEVER beat me. And what of you, Clawthorne? Did YOU have any enemies in the Boiling Isles? Any annoying children you'd love to get revenge on?"
"Ah, we'll get there when we get there, Himmy. Hmmm…" Clawthorne faced the city with dread. He was tempted to stop Baal on his own… but he had to trust the KND would arrive. Once they were, it was up to him to hold HIM back.
"Pu! Pu! Pu!" As Sector V closed in on their destination, they spared Jason baffled looks. Captain, why do you keep punching your chest? Trella signed.
"Trying to start his Fury." Isabelle answered.
"Mum says I can use Fury Mode if I make me chi burst out of me heart! Oi wanna… try to do it at least once!"
"Even if you can pull it off, you shouldn't waste your energy before we fight Baal." Laruta reasoned.
"Demons at 10:00!" Lyserg alerted. Aeralfos surrounded the deck, along with Kargaroks carrying archers. Ralph and Silica loaded cannons and blasted the avians while the benders used projectile attacks. Though some of the ops suffered wounds, the demons dropped from the sky one by one. Lyserg sensed one last presence behind them and spun to shoot Morphine-
"HEY, HEY, HEY, hold your chain!" A familiar, furry harpy yelled in defense. "It's me!"
Lyserg returned to his Gigai. "Miss Eda?"
"Hey, it's you!" Ralph beamed. "Are King and HIM here?"
"They're waiting by the Gap. I just snuck out here among the lesser troops. Where's Christina?"
"My master ordered her to stay back until she's finished her training." Lyserg explained.
"Well, she sure picked a bad time to do that!"
"Oi, she deserves to take it easy after bein' stuck in the future!" Jason stated. "We can beat Baal on our own!"
"I hope you're right!" Shimmy yelled.
"I was thinkin' I can help you kids." Eda said. "Remember that spell I used to change the sky in King's domain? I can try to use it here, too."
"STREWTH!" Jason exclaimed. "Can you make it bright and sunny?!"
"Yeah! I have a Sun Stone for that very reason! But it's gonna take some time to get it ready. First I have to draw runes around the area of effect; which basically means the entire city, and then I have to sacrifice my Sun Stone in the exact center. Until then, you kids will have to confront Baal and make sure he stays inside the city."
"We're above Azultown now." Isabelle announced. "There are a bunch of people down there who need help!"
"Well, we can't leave 'em to suffer." Jason said. "Mates, spread out and take out the minions! Ah'm headin' straight for Baal!"
"I'll set up this Sky Window as soon as possible!" Eda assured, flying off. The operatives donned parachutes and dove toward the collapsing city. (Play "Waste Where Life Began" from Kirby Forgotten Land!)
Stage 6: Azultown
Mission: Stop Baal's rampage!
Jason landed in the crumbled ruins of a parking lot, cutting through a crumbled school. A Bulblin horde rode from the other side on Bullbos, Jason bashing the green demons off their boars. The captain found a staircase with only certain chunks of it intact, jumping up them to reach the 2nd floor. The high-schoolers were bashed nearly senseless by the Bulblins' clubs, but Jason's fists hit harder for the students' safety. A chunk of the hallway floor was broken, but there was a ceiling light flickering on and off. Jason used his Light Rope technique to swing the light! After crossing the hall, Jason climbed out a broken window and up an available wire to reach the roof. Jason was quick to dodge the Bulblin archers trying to snipe him, knocking the demons off the roof. He then picked up a fallen flag representing the school's colors, using it to glide partway across the ruined town.
He landed on a crumbled road, dropping the flag. The road sloped up and curved left, but Nejirons would emerge along the way. Jason ran from the sentient boulders, letting them roll into each other as they exploded. The road prematurely ended, leaving only a midair sidewalk to lead Jason. An Eyegore guarded the sidewalk, the big-eyed beast blocking Jason's spheres. However, when the beast fired laser jolts, the eye turned yellow. While dodging them, Jason could shoot spheres at the eye, which reddened each time until the beast keeled over and exploded. The rest of the sidewalk had already crumbled, except for flickering streetlights standing on divided chunks. Jason used Light Ropes to swing them once more; a Caged Soul rested atop one of them, so he flipped up to grab it.
Jason arrived at a city street, watching disgustedly as a Stalnox (skeletal cyclops) munched the torso off an innocent man. Before it could devour a woman next, Jason shot a fist to snap off its boney arm. The woman fled as the Stalnox reattached the arm, storming toward Jason while enduring his lightbending. The only fleshy, weak spot appeared to be its dark eye. Jason dodged its fists and jumped into its hollow abdomen, climbing up into the head. Jason kicked the eye out before leaping out to Ground Pound it. The eye popped like a balloon and the Stalnox died. The road would sink into a river of oil, with floating cars available for Jason's jumping. A Big Octo suddenly emerged along the way, its mouth a vacuum as it closed in on Jason.
"OI, I AIN'T NO SQUID DINNER!" Jason backtracked up the cars and spun his fist. He used the Light Fingers technique to squeeze the Octo's mouth, allowing Jason to safely jump on and bash the squid until it was KO'ed. Jason landed on the next car holding down a water spout, seeing other cars uplifted by escalating spouts. Jason Ground Pounded his car, causing that spout to suddenly shoot up higher. He repeated the tactic with the following cars, pressing them down against the spouts only to be flung even higher. The captain eventually landed on a roof, a troupe of Moblins attempting to whack him off with spears. Jason's limbs were superior, snapping the spear heads clean off. He spun up a Light Fist and willed it to bounce between the pig demons' heads. A bright spotlight was set up above, so Jason yanked a solid light beam from it to strike two Moblin.
A series of flexible bars hung along the side of the next building, Jason using them as spring-like footholds. "Huh?!" Jason looked into the building's windows, Bokoblins' backs facing him as they seemed to hold people at gunpoint. Since the demons didn't notice him, Jason charged fists and KO'ed them each with one swift punch. As a bonus, his Light Fists went directly through the glass without breaking them, keeping the other Bokoblin from being alerted. One window had a hall of mirrors behind it: Jason punched a fist to ricochet across the mirrors and free a hidden Caged Soul. From the last spring-bar, Jason tail-glid to the scaffolding of a construction site.
The scaffolding began to crumble from the bottom, Jason frantically jumping up the nearest available bar. The structure's sinking helped make the bars accessible, but this was followed by having to jump tarps suspended like trampolines. Green Bubbles (winged skulls with green flames) floated left-and-right between jumps, Jason careful to avoid them. After the trampolines, he swung hanging ropes, later to land at the top of a slide of slanted scaffolds. There was enough area underneath for the slide to sink, but for Jason to slide for a fair while. The scaffolds haphazardly swayed left and right from the unstable foundation, Jason ducking the Green Bubbles that were randomly splayed about, but would inconveniently be above the swaying slide's positions.
Jason leapt off the end, running from the cloud of dust and rubble that grew from the fallen scaffolding. "Blimey, I hope there weren't anyone under that! …Oi, what's that huge beastie?!"
Jason had located Baal himself. A trio of construction workers tried to drill the demon with jackhammers, but were violently smacked away by the demon. "LASSO KNOT!" Another worker, blonde with jeans and a matching jacket, snared Baal's neck in tight, twin lassos. Baal seemed to choke for a brief moment before ripping the ropes, blasting a Destruct Ball at the ground before him. The worker was flung backward, his life threatened by the sharp edge of a ripped trashcan, but Jason leapt to break his fall.
"'Hoy there! You orright, mate?"
"Th-thanks, kid…" The worker glanced back… His expression seemed to light up, looking Jason up and down. "Wait a minute… you look like Captain Sheila."
"Eh? You know my mum?"
"Your mom?! Heh, this is a hell of a time to meet you!" He smiled half-nervously, knowing the demon could strike again. "Name's Paulie. We work for the Mariner Shipyard. It's a business your grandma founded."
"Whoa, really?!"
"Yeah! I was a kid back then, but your ma and grandma are legends around here. The shipwrights kept the business going after Marine died and I decided to join one day. Er, but more importantly, what're you doing here?!"
"Ah'm here to kick some demon arse, ain't I?" Jason stepped around Paulie, cracking his knuckles. "Oi, you!" he yelled to the demon commander. "If you don't want the daylights knocked outta you, bring me Baal!"
"Hm?!" The demon scowled at the Faunus. "And what business would you have with him?"
"Personal, that's what! I'm gonna break 'is skull in for attacking Mum's home!"
"Baalalalalala! I AM Baal! You furry FOOL!" Baal unleashed a Destruct Ball. Paulie roped Jason and yanked himself away via a post, dodging the mass of destruction.
"Well, ain't that the bee's knees! Let's get this over with, wanna?"
"I don't have time to waste on some twerp."
Jason bravely rushed toward the demon, fists charging. "Kid, what're you-?!" Paulie tried to ask. The twin fists flew toward Baal, but his Destruct Ball intercepted as they cancelled each other. However, Jason didn't pour much power into those fists, instead reserving it for his right foot as he suddenly kicked a streak of light up into Baal's eyes. He whipped one more streak in the form of his tail, slapping his face as Baal growled in aggravation.
"Paulie, get your crew to safety! I got this…"
"Kid…heh." It may have been a sudden meeting, but could this boy carry the legend of the Sunny Fist?
"Very well, boy." Baal snarled. "This pain will last you through the afterlife…"
…
"Lord HIM! Lord HIM!" The voice of a Fatblin yelled through the phone. "Dah, we got trouble! Some mean kids are beating all us up! I think one of them's fighting—BAAAAAH!" A terrible fate befell him.
"Hmmmm, the Kids Next Door have finally shown up, eh?" HIM echoed. "And I've an inkling which sector it is. Clawthorne, stay here and guard the portal. I'll sort this out." He began to leave.
"You sure you don't need help? There could be a lot of them."
"Oh, Clawthorne, you already lost to them once. There's no help you could offer me~"
"No, please… I insist." King ripped off his leash—as soon as HIM thrusted his claw, Clawthorne gnashed it in his teeth.
"It seems you've never been trained to STAY, dog! I knew I couldn't trust you…"
"Yeah, you always made sure I was kept in the dark about this whole plan. But if you didn't trust me, why didn't you get Diablo to kick me off the plan to begin with?"
"Because there's something fascinating about you." HIM returned to his effeminate echo. "A kind of chi unlike other Demon Lords. And, if we had kicked you off, you may have decided to become our direct enemy. Instead, we kept you around… both to keep an eye on you, and to study you…"
"And how's THIS for a study?!" Clawthorne blasted a soundwave, blowing HIM backward as he plowed through several mounds of rubble.
"Hooooooh, Clawthorne, Clawthorne, Clawthorne." HIM pushed out of the rubble, his eyes a bright green. "Don't you know what happens when dogs misbehave?" The demon flew into the sky, surrounded by green rings of aura. His proportions expands, his boots becoming armored, his claws bulky and black, and his torso muscular. The pink fluff around his waist and collar hung wild and his teeth sharpened. "They… get… FIXED."
The right claw flew and grasped King, bashing him repeatedly against the ground. King mustered the strength to push it off, racing up HIM's arm. The demon shot Heat Vision, but King leapt directly into HIM's stomach and sank his teeth. In HIM's efforts to tear him off, the teeth ripped his red flesh, afterwards slamming King into the ground. HIM repeatedly stomped King beneath his spiked heel, but a sound blast repelled the giant. HIM wobbled unstably for a moment as King leapt into the other boot, toppling him down. "My pet… while I keep this traitor at bay, go and punish those fools." A black and red spirit with a ghostly tail flew toward the city.
Eda Clawthorne had drawn so many runes around the town perimeter, it was committed to muscle memory. "Oi, what's that woman over there doing?!" A herd of Bokoblin charged at her. "Stop he-" They were run over by a small train, driven by Shimmy, with Ralph and Trella serving as passengers.
"Are you almost done, yet?!"
"Kid, this whole thing sorta takes a while." Eda argued. "And my arm's getting tired! Just focus on blasting Bokos!"
Trella tapped Ralph's shoulder, alerting him to an incoming threat. "That's a different one." Ralph trained his remote plane on the red and black, flying spirit. "I hope it goes down like…?!" The face of the spirit struck familiarity, its eyes big and red. "JOAQUIN?!"
"WHAT?! That thing?!" Shimmy exclaimed.
"It's gotta be! It looks HIM gave him a makeover, but he looks like—whoooaa!" The spirit in question blew a gust of wind.
"GAH!" Eda yelped, ducking against the ground. "Whatever he is, you need to stop him!"
"HYAH!" Ralph dove his RC plane like a torpedo, projecting a small shield as it rammed Joaquin and halted his advance.
O Joaquin, stop being mean! Trella sang, harnessing her Ghost Whisper. My sweet Joaquin, prettiest G.En.I.E. we ever done seen!
"Looks like I'm using this earlier than I thought." Ralph's plane projected an electric light, striking Joaquin. "You're coming back to where you belong, Joaquin! Like it or not!"
"Joaaaaquuuiiin…"
Sector V's captain, Jason Dimalanta, had engaged the destructive demon, Baal. The Mariners Shipyard workers pulled back into the city to assist in protecting the citizens. Still, they were nonetheless eager to watch the Rising Sun's performance. (Play "Moldarach/Koloktos" from Skyward Sword!)
Boss fight: Baal
The Destroyer threw Destruct Balls, Jason allowing the red-purple spheres to explode on the ground before him. The resulting smoke cloud shielded the captain as he chucked Light Spheres at varying angles, some reaching Baal's face. The demon stormed through the smoke, Jason backing away while staying close enough to whip Baal's legs with Light Tail. A circle of fire suddenly expanded from Baal, Jason jumping in panic and hovering with his tail. Baal threw a Destruct Ball while Jason was vulnerable, and though he blocked it with a Light Fist, the explosion blew Jason backward. While he was down, Baal mustered a bigger ball and threw. The sight of it sprung Jason up with a start. He took a breath and seemed to pump "air" into his thumbs, blowing up a Sunblock from his swelled head. The shield saved him from damage, but the impact of the ball blew Jason back regardless.
"Maybe speed can slow this bloke down!" Jason coated his legs with light, dashing at lightspeed, albeit he could only cover short distances every dash. Baal threw a fountain of Destruct Balls around him, but Jason succeeded in evading them. He zipped directly under Baal and kicked straight upward, sending the demon into the air. He followed with a Light Fist and knocked the clone into a spiked piece of rubble, seeming to destroy him. "HAH! Was it that easy? WHOA!" Tentacles emerged from the ground, one grabbing and flailing Jason around. The boy bit into it with enough force to make it loosen its grip, allowing Jason to push free as he fled from the others.
"Baalalalala!" Baal's legs were rooted into the ground. "You fell for my Vile Effigy!" Jason used Light Tails to whip his way through the tentacles and attempt to punch Baal, but the demon poofed and vanished. A tentacle almost grabbed him, but an arrow pierced the tentacle.
"Jason!" Isabelle spoke through the comm. "I'm watching from a building! I saw Baal drop that clone before teleporting. I'll let you know if he tries it again."
"Thanks, mate!" Jason dodged some incoming Destruct Balls, seeing their origin. But before he could race toward Baal, Isabelle alerted him that it was a clone, and the real one had warped in the sky. Jason looked up and bolted away as Baal collided with the earth, unleashing a shockwave of Destruction. Jason stayed out of the wave's range, but saw Baal was stuck upside-down in the ground. "Heeheehee!" A snickering Jason raced back, arms spinning. Once at Baal, he swung the Light Fists in a hammer fashion and smashed Baal's underside. The demon poofed behind Jason, growling vengefully. He coated his own fists in Destruct Balls and tried to engage Jason in a direct fight, but the captain was smart enough to know he shouldn't intercept them. Jason used Lightspeed to quickly evade the demon and throw uncharged punches. Baal would counter his speed by rapidly teleporting, Jason reacting as needed. Baal punched the ground and burst it, Jason flying from the force.
Baal rooted his legs again to conjure more tentacles, binding Jason against the ground. The demon swiped his claw and cast a smaller Destruct Wave. Isabelle shot the tentacle binding Jason's arm, allowing him to blow air against his thumb and blow up a Sunblock. The shield pushed the tentacles off and would help Jason survive the wave, which in turn destroyed the tentacles. However, Jason's sandals were a casualty. "Ah, crikey." Baal split into a clone, and said clone poofed above him, attempting another shockwave. Jason dashed toward the real Baal, who agreed to meet Jason, surprising him with his Hoarfrost attack: a wave of ice conjured by his energybending. However, Jason's true intention was to leap in the air and take Tail Flight, going over Baal and letting the shockwave burst beneath him. Jason kicked his feet like a Yoshi, charging light up within them and twisting back toward Baal. The demon merely warped several yards behind his clone, who pushed himself out of the ground and threw Destruct Balls. Jason dodged them and dealt a charged Light Kick at the clone, knocking him into his creator before he was destroyed.
Panting, Jason took a drink of Sunny D, but could barely finish it before evading Baal's balls. "Tuckered out, young man?" the demon smirked. "Lightbending is harmful to us, but it's hardly bright enough in this sky. It's not only nighttime, but dampened by the blood moon. It's astonishing you can manage so much in this air, but it seems your sun is running dry."
"Hmph." Jason didn't wanna admit he was right, but he hoped Eda would finish her spell soon. But if he couldn't wait, his only option was, "Pu! Pu! Pu!" begin punching his chest again.
"What are you doing now?"
"Oi don't… really… know! HUH?!" Suddenly, spotlights shone on him from behind.
"Ahoy! Jason!" A band of Mariners were standing beside spotlights. "We fixed these up for you! I dunno how lightbending works, but does this help?"
"It'll do!" Jason grabbed the lights' rays and refracted them against Baal. "You think those useless things will work?!" Baal simply poofed beside the spotlights, the carpenters retreating as he destroyed the first one, but Jason dashed toward him as he amassed light from the others and socked the side of Baal's head.
Ralph had engaged his G.En.I.E. in a dogfight, his plane performing barrel rolls to survive Joaquin's currents. During breaks between currents, Ralph pursued the artificial spirit and fired whatever ammunition was available to weaken him, then attempting to suck Joaquin into the plane. Trella's silent songs were reliable in slowing Joaquin's evasion.
"Phew! Got that done sooner than I thought." Eda sighed, resting in Shimmy's train as she carried them past the rubble. "Now just take me someplace that looks good for casting a wide-range spell."
"I thought it had to be in the center of the city?"
"Eh, the center would work, but just about any place that looks good can work."
"Yeesh, you witches are confusing. How about that football field?"
"Fine by me." They parked near the football field of the ruined school. Eda planted the Sunstone in the center, uttering an incantation and wand motions to draw up its chi. "Aquaria, western hemisphere!" She already had that planet in mind, having researched that it would be daytime in that region right around now. "And let there… be light!"
Baal destroyed the last spotlight and smacked Jason as the boy attempted to leap at him. "You've wasted enough of my time…?!" Baal shut his eyes from a sudden brightness. "WHAT?!" The sky seemed to open like a shutter, the dreary redness replaced by a bright and beautiful blue with a vibrant sun.
"Aaaaaahhh…that's what I'm talkin' about!" Jason breathed the refreshing warmth. "Demons have bad taste in skies, don't they? Sniiiiiiff…" Jason raised his fist once more, absorbing the pleasant light. As he huffed the air, he could almost feel his heart pulsating with the refreshing warmth. "HU!!" He punched his heart, and at last, he could feel it burst, the light flowing out like a dam.
"Baah!" Baal raised his destructive fist and brought it upon Jason, but by then, the young captain rolled away. Jason's hair seemed to catch a yellowish-white fire, his vest, wrists, and ankles emitting the same light. Jason dashed, Baal poofing directly above while Jason stopped to look. The demon tried to surprise him, but Jason leapt, kicking Baal like a giant ball as he went fly-rolling across the street. Jason zipped after him, the demon throwing several large Destruct Balls, but Jason's enhanced fists stopped their journey. Afterwards, he threw two Light Palms through the explosions and secured Baal in place. Jason used his bright tail to instantly fly into the air, spinning his fists at what seemed like a longer radius. He cast them, but Baal managed to escape and warp directly above Jason—the boy redirected the fists to pound Baal higher, and could redirect the fists at multiple angles to repeatedly bash Baal around.
"BAAH! You may still have some juice, but I've got one more trick up my sleeve!" Baal grabbed one of the medals hanging from his horns and chucked it straight at Jason.
"Huh?!" The medal latched on his chest. "The heck is this?"
"Each of these medals contains the 'memory' of a widespread disaster. Whenever a disaster befell anywhere, I was there to witness it! So, try the Pompeii volcanic eruption of 79 AD!"
"WAAAAHH!" Jason was slurped into the medal like a small vortex. He landed just at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. As the mountain of ash spewed from the volcano, the young captain bolted for his life. He was thankful for his Fury's enhanced speed, dodging countless meteors that fell in the way. But how was he supposed to get out of this dimension? Was his only option to keep running until the disaster was over? …Jason saw a small light in the middle of the field. He dashed toward and realized it was a larger version of the medal. Bolting at high speed, Jason dove through the medal and returned to his world—he barely reacted to the Destruct Ball in time, whipping it with his Light Tail. Jason rolled back to his feet and punched a storm of Light Fists that grew spiked knuckles for extra damage. Baal poofed behind him, Jason evading his Hoarfrost breeze and raising hands skyward: he willed a storm of sunrays to rain rampantly and damage Baal.
The demon grew a clone from his back, and it would grab a medal and throw it before the sunrays destroyed it. "How about the Chicago, Indiana catastrophe of 2012?!" Jason was sucked into the subspace, finding himself directly under a falling building. The captain jumped and flew into an already-broken window, dashing up the vertical floor and bursting down any wall in his way. However, he began to feel his stamina die and his light fade. "No, no, no! Not now!" He was able to bust out the other side of the building, seeing the medal portal at the edge of it. A huge, black, cloud-like demon was closing in to devour him, but Jason made it through the portal.
"Maybe this next one will finish you." Baal sneered. "The destruction of Zootopia in 2036—BAAH!" Isabelle pounced on the demon's back, climbing to his head and smashing it with a Quake Dial. The Shandian swiftly grabbed the other medals and threw them before Baal could smack her off. "Hnn…?" However, it seemed Jason's light had already died, the captain panting in dehydration.
As Eda and Shimmy watched over the Sunstone, a colossal shadow eclipsed one side of the stadium. "So, THAT'S what's causing this phenomena!" HIM rasped. The giant has teeth marks in several places, clasping Clawthorne in his claw.
"KING!" Eda screamed.
"Let's put an end to this, shall we?!" HIM swiped his other claw down, but Shimmy rammed it with her train, knocking the claw off course. The demon growled and swat Shimmy away, the small train shattering. When HIM attempted to raise his boot, he found Lyserg's Morphine wrapped around them. HIM spread his legs to snap Morphine, angrily trying to swat Lyserg out of the air. He spun to shoot Heat Vision at Eda, but she raised a Protego, struggling to withstand the heat.
Baal approached the exhausted Jason, another large Destruct Ball raised. "So long, little kitten!"
But, it was just then that Aquaria's sun reached high noon. At that moment, Jason felt a rush of adrenaline, huffing and punching his heart again. Reigniting Sunny Fury, Jason thwacked the ball skyward with his fists. He dealt rapid fire against Baal and blew him several dozen meters back. Jason dashed for the demon, who projected a destructive shield around himself. "I'M NOT A CAT!" Jason's feet kicked with supreme lightspeed. "I'M A RACCOON!!"
His breakneck speed penetrated the barrier and rammed Baal in a headbutt. The demon scraped along the ground on his bottom as Jason dashed ceaselessly against him, blood hacking out of Baal's mouth. It was then that a mass of light, the shape of Jason's body and running like him, continued to push Baal beyond the harbor while its caster collapsed, the Sky Window returning to its dreary red. As the Light Clone faded, the speed caused Baal to skip along the sea before splashing. Saltwater filled his lungs, the demon reaching up to the blood moon beyond the waves. Alas, the darkness of the depths swallowed the moon's light… (End song.)
HIM had burned through Eda's barrier, but the witch was able to escape without serious burns. The Sunstone was destroyed… but HIM seemed to be royally pissed, glaring over the city. "Shit. Shit, shit, SHIT! Even Baal lost! But I still have a chance to seize the princess!"
"YOU OUTTA LUCK, Akuma!" Shimmy retorted. "Christina ain't here!"
"WHAT?! Then someone else defeated Baal?! How could any other mortals…?" HIM smelled another presence and faced leftward. A platoon of winged "lights" were soaring from the distance. "The angels are here. I guess I can't stick around. At least I have ONE spoil of war!" Smirking at Clawthorne in his grasp, HIM made a titanic leap across town, landing near his Gap. He chucked King inside and shrank to his normal form. "Come, my pet. It's time to return…hm?"
In trying to form a mental link with Joaquin, another voice interfered with him. "It's okay, Joaquin! We're gonna get you better! Just trust us! Trust Ralph!"
"Are they really trying to take you back?" HIM smirked. "Oh, Joaquin. Know who your real master is. Know who you truly work for. Know that you doomed Christina's father under MY orders. That girl will never want you back! You cannot return to them."
"No, Joaquin! Don't listen to that bad man! He forced you to trick Christina! She'll forgive you! We'll forgive you! We'll get rid of that gross demon stuff inside you! Trust us!"
"JOAQUIN! If you disobey me, I'll destroy you along with them! There will be no second chances! Do you really think they have a chance at winning?!"
"Joaqui…Joaqui…Joaq…" The G.En.I.E. was wrestling both against the attraction beam of Ralph's paddle watch… and against HIM's orders. But when he was thinking about it, why would he consider HIM in the first place? Ralph gave Joaquin a warm place to sleep… gave him healthy energy recharges… and it was fun to fly in his plane. He didn't know what HIM poisoned him with to make him think otherwise… but he wanted to get rid of it. And the only way to do that was to submit to Ralph's device. "GOT HIM!" Trella danced in celebration.
"BLAST IT! Mark my words, I'll use your blood for bathwater!" HIM retreated into the Gap and sealed it.
Mephisto's Forge
Lucina thrusted a huge Spank Hand at Cydaea's jaw, bending her neck backward. The vampire ran underneath and spanked directly up at Cydaea's behind, flipping her upside-down, but the spider spun around and shot a web glob to bind Lucina. Cydaea gave birth to Spiderlings that would clamber and bite Lucina, but she split herself free and frantically spanked the bugs into messes. Thinking she was owed a little payback, Lucina became a bat and swiftly flapped around the Arachnimorph, evading her claw swipes until she could bite into Cydaea's neck.
…
The Masked Mirage struck pink lightning at Lord Death, but he flicked an array of bullets from both pistols at inhuman speed, their metal attracting the lightning. As the bullets whizzed past Mirage, the attracted lightning zapped her in turn. Death seized this chance to conjure Underhands, boney hands that grew from the ground to bind her to her knees. "I think this game has gone on long enough." Death said, approaching the woman calmly. "You aren't fooling anyone with that mask."
"Nebebebebebe!" The star-garbed woman chortled. "What makes you so sure you know me?"
"Why would I not know you? Your body type, your wavelength, your spacebending… Why wouldn't I know my own wife?!"
The scythe sliced down in the perfect, symmetrical center of the Jirachi mask, cleaving it in half. Only then did the monochrome hair Death was expecting to see flow free, but he didn't quite meet the same eyes. Instead of the dark and yellow colors, her irises were purple with yellow pupils. Her lipstick matched the purple hue of her spatial attire. She had a spiked crown of the same glowing yellow like her shard ornaments, with a white and purple inner crown.
"Well, Nebula… are you awake now?"
"Why wouldn't you know me?" Nebula asked, her smile a contrast to her tone. "Why, you're never around, of course. You're the Grim Reaper. The Demon King. You're one of the most important spirits in the universe. Too busy to spend time with your wife and child. Am I even your wife, anymore?"
"W-We…we already talked about this! Four times, in fact! Nebula, you're still not in your right mind. Mother told me Cydaea could make mind-controlling uniforms."
"You don't know anything about my mind!" Nebula warped free of the Underhands and reappeared above Death, raining shooting stars from her uniform. "You won't even drop by to tell me how your day was. You never tell us how work goes. You don't even care to know your own son."
"I keep track of everything Star's doing!" Death conjured a shield. "His school, his KND work, I'm always watching him through the Reflecting Pool! I mean, not 'always,' but I still check on him twice a day! And I'm proud of him!"
"Then you're just a stranger watching a boy live his life." Nebula shot stars into a cluster of portals, firing at Death from multiple directions. Death used them against her, shooting bullets through to strike her.
"You raised him to be the High Supreme Leader! He's just as busy as I am. And he understands how important my work is. Why I can't just leisurely visit the Mortal World every day."
"Then why did you even bother to have him?" Nebula warped before him and entrapped Death in a Space Block. "Did you marry me… because you knew it would be easy? Thinking you could use those excuses not to be there?"
"You know that's not true… You know…" Death thought it should be obvious… This had to be the mind-control talking. Cydaea had manipulated her into saying all this. But no matter how he tried to rationalize it, he felt a hint of earnest in Nebula's words. He thought she understood… but could Cydaea's spell be drawing out buried feelings? "You know I love you. Of all souls alive or dead, you were the only one for me. You were smart, fun, rational, and…and special. Your mismatched attributes used to irritate me, but now… they only help you shine."
"Ohhhh, Kid…" Nebula moaned with falseness. "My sweet Kid… Let's start over again." She expanded the Space Block and entrapped them both. "Let's die together, shall we? Let's reap each other… and we'll reap Star, too… after Mephisto kills him."
"As you wish… my dear."
BAM.
The gun cocked to her chest, Death pulled the trigger. Her eyes dulled as she fell, the Block vanishing. "My spirit bullets can't harm mortals. Only subdue them if need be. But a bullet straight into the heart can put you in a death-like state."
The horns faded in color and dropped on the ground. Nebula's eyes morphed into their normal, mismatched pair. "But it'll start beating again in minutes. No shortened lifespan required. After you're awake… let's start over then." Death leaned in to his wife's lips…
…and met the lips of a pudgy, gray alien with a bloated head. Roger the Alien kissed him deeply… and when he finally realized this, Death's eyes turned more pale than Nebula's. "Oh, Kiddikins… my sweet Kiddikins. I love you, too."
"Uu. . . . . u-u. . . . . . uuu…" Death's jaw had dropped, stretching and contorting his dumbstruck face. Just now… he could swear that Nebula was in his arms. …But it was then he saw some magic mist rising from the severed mask. His actual wife emerged from it, fainted. So, then… this alien was the one he was fighting? Who had said all those things? Why was he… How was he… He just… kissed him… The kiss that was meant for his wife instead went to…
"And believe me, those spirit bullets don't sting nearly as hard as my drugs. Oh, it was such a romantic gesture though."
A slow rhythm of jingly bells began to play. Three clones of Roger, dressed like monochrome cats, began to rub and paw at Death sensually. They sang in unison. "You can be my dream boy if you waaaant toooo… I can be your dream girl, it is truuuuueee…" His vision clouded in pink mist. The Rogers gravitated around him, softly and hypnotically. "Just let your mind at ease… I'll caress it if you please… If it suits your style, we'd love to stay for quite a… while…"
At the forge, Mikaela and Loki hadn't had as much luck with Mumkhar as they hoped. His scythe Zanpakutō, Mercury, could inject mercury into their veins and slowly turn them into metal statues. Loki's left arm and leg were already converted, along with Mika's right arm. Fortunately, they could still move those limbs and wouldn't be frozen until their whole bodies were metallic, though they were still heavy. Mumkhar could also secrete metal from the triple blades and create minions of liquid metal, shaped like Faced Mechon from his homeworld.
"Eh?" Mumkhar felt his Soul Phone buzz and withdrew it. The text read, I got him. Can I at least do a few things with the scythe before you take it? You can be a third if you want to. "Uck." Mumkhar scoffed at Roger's implications. "Sorry, kiddies, got to take me a quick break. Wait nicely and Ah'll play with you later." The Reaper soared across the factory, leaving his minions to fight the two.
"He's leaving?" Mika questioned. "Ugh. What're we gonna do about this?"
"Maybe Lucina can help suck this mercury out and spit it out."
"But you're a dhampir, too, aren't you?"
"Lucina has more of the traits than I do. Let's just take care of these clumps first."
In Mephisto's den, the demon had pressed a switch to drop the floor, sinking himself, Perry, Jennu, and Astere. Star remained bound in webbing, drawing away from them. The group landed in some kind of circus-like room, where Mephisto hopped onto a unicycle set upon a high tightrope. "WELCOME to my circus! It's been a while since I invited guests to my torture chamber! It'll blow your heads off!" (Play "Lemmy Battle" from Mario: Color Splash!)
Boss fight: Mephisto
As Mephisto began to juggle bowling pins, Octoroks came rolling out on large circus balls, dancing as they spat smaller balls that would explode. Perry used the Mirror Shield to bounce the balls back, destroying the Octoroks. Jennu could then grab the abandoned balls in her gravity and make them "fall" toward Mephisto, knocking him off the rope. He hit the ground dizzily, allowing Perry to score a jump slash off him. Mephisto flipped up and lashed his boney tendrils, Perry hastily flipping backward. Mephisto grabbed his bowling pins and puffed air into them, morphing them into balloons as they blew at Perry. He tried to use the shield to bounce them back, but their balloonish bodies negating the bounce, bursting against him. His shield still helped withstand the bursts.
Jennu ran behind Mephisto and fell toward his back, the demon sensing her and whipping a tendril. Jennu evaded by redirecting upward, then dropped to stamp the back of Mephisto's head. Perry followed by shooting two arrows at his face, but the demon endured enough to grab Jennu by the leg and bite her shoe. "What're you doing?!" she asked in disgust as he pumped air into the shoe. The monochrome Oxford shoe inflated like a balloon before Mephisto threw her at Perry.
"Jennu, your foot!"
"I think it's just my shoe! Ugh!" She quickly removed and let the shoe float upward. "WHOA!" It exploded just as it was out of range.
"I can turn any object into a balloon!" Mephisto said. "It won't work for you until I get your anger pumping. But I think I'll pop this one!" He saw Astere floating up, her head too swelled. He leapt to a high platform and flicked bone pieces from his tendrils, but Astere had enough sense to defend herself with Space Blocks. Jennu flew up in attempt to stop Mephisto with a kick combo, but she could only rely on her right leg to do so. Meanwhile, the floor began to open beneath Perry, exposing spikes. Some platforms stretched out of the wall, and since they were wooden, Perry could latch his Hookshot onto them. The first platform began to retract into spikes, so Perry quickly hooked the next one, then the next, before latching the Hookshot at Mephisto's head. He dealt a swift stab upon reaching the demon, but before he could kick off, Mephisto grabbed and tried to bite his head.
Perry raised the Mirror Shield to halt the teeth's compression. Mephisto instead tried to blow air in the shield, but the sacred weapon wouldn't inflate. Jennu dove down, seized Perry in a tight hug, and yanked him away from Mephisto. Fortunately, the floor had closed back over the spikes. "I COULD USE SOME HELP!" Astere shouted. "I'M ABOUT TO BURST!"
"W-what should we do?!" Perry panicked.
"Wait, I have an idea! Bring that shield up here!"
Jennu carried Perry upward, dodging Mephisto's pin balloons and reaching Astere. Perry held the Mirror Shield to her face, allowing Astere to focus a finger frame around her reflection. She shrank the dimensions of her own head, lightening the stress. "It worked! My head's still inflating, but I should be good for a bit!" Astere tried to fly up to star, but a dark barrier activated blocking her advance. She wasn't even able to warp past the barrier. "Are you kidding?!"
"Always be prepared." Mephisto smirked. He made a whistle, causing some wall hatches to open with swords and wooden clubs inside. He quickly blew air into them and shaped each one into balloon animals. Some dog, squirrel, alligator, crab, and panther balloons flew up to attack Astere. Despite their balloonish forms, they animated like their actual animals and dealt just as much pain with their body parts.
He dedicated some animals to Perry and Jennu, and though they were easily deflated by Perry's sword, they were surprisingly evasive. Jennu increased the gravity to press the animals to the floor, popping them. Mephisto then grabbed a large ball-and-chain and mounted it like an exercise ball, dropping down to the duo. The two ran, but the outburst of the pop blew them into the wall, creating a mild concussion. The demon seized Perry in his bone tendril and tried to squeeze him, but Astere cast ice over the demon's head, breaking his concentration. Perry sliced the tentacle to free himself, then ran behind Mephisto to Hookshot the back of his head. He dealt several strikes against the demon before flipping off. Jennu, meanwhile, was rapidly falling in an "orbit" around the air, planting her socked foot over the remaining shoe to apply the forces of both. While Mephisto was distracted trying to whack Perry, the Zathurian stamped him in the back of the neck.
Jennu quickly expanded and enhanced her gravity field to force Mephisto's head into the floor, allowing Perry to stab him some more. "HURRR!" The demon whacked both annoying kids away, while Astere's head had inflated too much once more.
Elsewhere, Lucina was just barely stabbed by Cydaea's stinger, but the vampire was able to suck out the small amount of paralysis poison and spit it out. Cydaea lowered her head to ground level and charged Lucina with fangs bared, but Lucina quickly dropped to her front, shrank into bat form, and quickly flapped forward to go under Cydaea's jaw. She then reverted to human form and performed a ballerina spin, her extended Spank Hands snapping Cydaea's legs off. As Cydaea cried out in pain, Lucina smacked up to flip her upside-down. Afterwards, the vampire leapt, both arms bent back as her hands expanded. They slammed into Cydaea's abdomen, spanking in repetition as the bulbous organ grew redder than red. She then thwacked Cydaea like a misshapen baseball, slamming her into through a support pillar and into the wall. The spider poofed into darkness, signaling the end of her.
"Ahahahahaha!" a radio voice laughed, accompanied by a hand clap. Lucina gasped and spun to Alastor. "You coulda done with a giant boot or giant newspaper, but not all kids are brave enough to smash a spider with their giant hand! Though I, personally, prefer to go the clean, touchless way."
Gesturing behind him, Lucina saw Queen Velma bleeding on the ground. "How long you think she'll hang in there? Can't say I know, I'm a radio host, not a doctor! I'd finish her off, but I'd better see how Mephy's doing. Can you drag her to a medic before I get back? Ha ha ha!" Alastor leapt to the upper walkway and ran.
"Good thing we already got one." Lucina ran toward Velma and withdrew a first-aid kit. Being a vampire, she thought learning a bit of medical skills would fit her. "I don't know what kinds of medicines demons like, but hopefully some painkillers help!" She whipped out some bandages and began to work.
Perry tossed his shield up to Jennu, who flew toward Astere, but Mephisto sprung up using a pogo stick, grabbed, and slammed her into the floor. Perry grit his teeth and shot arrows at the demon, but Mephisto turned attention to him and pinned the boy to the floor. "Mephiphiphi! You're no Hero of Time!"
Perry tried to hold it in, but the words frustrated him. His head was starting to swell. "…?" Above, he saw Star sink through the barrier, the webs having decayed. "JENNU! STAR!"
Both she and Mephisto gasped, facing upward. "What?! Did Cydaea perish?!"
Jennu tried to retrieve the Mirror Shield, but fell back as Mephisto's bone covered it. Instead, she changed gears and soared straight up go grab her leader. "Astere, can you shrink Star's head?!"
"I-I can't!" Her head had swelled too big, unable to focus her fingers properly. "I-I'm going to…"
"I can't… move…ah…" Star choked.
Jennu bit her lip, heart racing anxiously. The only other way to deflate a balloon was to suck the air out. Throwing caution to the wind, she put her mouth to Star's and sucked. Miraculously, his head shrank, but the hot air made Jennu's head swell. "Nnn! Star, can you use Space Shrink on Astere's head?!"
"Yeah!" Star acted quick and shrank the dimensions of Astere's head. Mephisto snarled and dove to bite Perry's head, but as he thrusted his sword at his mouth, the demon bit and blew into it. The Gilded Sword inflated, but Star, Jennu, and Astere fell down with enhanced gravity and STAMPED Mephisto's head, forcing it down as the barely-bladed tip of Perry's sword stabbed the back of his throat. The sensation forced Mephisto to spit Perry back, the other three flying back from his retaliatory strike.
"ENOUGH OF THIS!" Mephisto pogo'ed up to a high platform, a large pipe extracting and bending up to him. "DIABLO! MAY YOU BE VICTORIOUS!" Taking his deepest breath yet, Mephisto blew a great surge of air into the pipe. The entire tower began to inflate.
"THIS WHOLE PLACE IS GONNA BLOW?!"
"We don't have time to try and kill him!" Astere yelled.
"Quick, let's make Space Blocks!" Star insisted.
"Do we have enough strength to make an effective one?!"
"Wait!" Perry yelled, grabbing his Mirror Shield. "I have a crazy idea!"
Alastor had just made it to the tower as it started inflating. "Welp…this looks bad."
The outburst of hot air sent the Radio Demon flying for miles, and nearby buildings in the refinery collapsed. "WHAT THE FRIIIIICK?!" Mika screamed.
"I get the feeling our pals were in there…" Loki said. "…What's that?"
All that flew out of the tower was the indestructible Mirror Shield. Mika flew up and caught the shield with psychic. "Perry's shield…" She drew it to her, looking the shield over with fear. "Are they…?"
There was a small, yellowish block on the shield. It dispelled, revealing the tiny forms of her friends. "AH!" little Perry screamed. "Oh, hey, Mika! Did you catch us?"
"You guys are tiny?!"
"Star and Astere shrunk us with their bending…" Jennu panted. "And I stuck us to the back of this shield… so we could survive the explosion."
"Needed the Space Block… to keep us from flying away." Star panted. "Did NOT think… this would work."
"I'm gonna resize us now." Astere panted. "Can you set us down, Mika?"
"Hauff…hauff…haff…" Mephisto gasped, rested on the single little island that remained of that area. "That'll show you… Hero of Time…"
"It sure did!" Mephisto whipped up with a start. Jennu, reequipped with her Seastone Ring, fell toward Mephisto with Perry in arms, increasing gravity with full speed. The tip of his partially-inflated sword pierced Mephisto's forehead.
"Uuuuaaaahh…the power of the Unos… and Link… melded into one… truly… an unholy force." Jennu floated them up, leaving Mephisto to fall back into the river of lava. Their inflated proportions shrank, and their heads were at ease. (End song.)
Diablo's Lair
The final two pillars collapsed in near unison. "IT CAN'T BE!" Diablo bellowed, the barrier around his palace vanishing. "How could Baal and Mephisto BOTH be destroyed?!"
"Cough…nngh…somepin wrong?" the faint voice of Chris Uno asked cockily. "Loos li'e… meh kiddo's… tougher'an you 'hought…"
"Hnnnnn…" The demon growled at the man chained to his table. "Looks like I have no choice but to release Belial. And even if he fails, they'll have already fallen for my trap. Those children are doomed… descendant of Malladus."
"THE BARRIER'S DOWN!" Lord Balder declared. "Summon all angels and BEGIN ATTACK!"
The forge
The six kids had reunited, with Star marking their seventh. After doing what they could for Velma, they worked together to carry her. "So, Dad already knows he's fighting Mom?" Star asked.
"He'd be able to recognize her wavelength for miles." Velma replied weakly. "I'm sure he's holding back against her… you don't have to worry, kids…"
"Then all we have to do is go back home." Astere smiled in relief. "This was a job well done…"
"It will be as soon as someone sucks this mercury out." Loki said.
"I'm gonna start charging you." Lucina remarked.
…
"Hellooooo?" Grell waved a hand at Death's dumbstruck face. "Kiddy?"
"What in bloody hell happened to him?" Greg squeaked.
"I didn't see. Hmmm…" Grell looked to Nebula, resting in the arms of two other Reapers. "This woman is his wife, isn't she? It did seem awfully cramped in that mask."
"Then we'd better get her back to the Mortal World. …Wait, where is Death's scythe?"
…
Hidden from the battle site, Roger presented the Reaper's Scythe to Mumkhar. "Dumbababababa… Marvelous." He grinned at his wicked reflection. "Say 'ello to a new Grim Reaper."
"If you ever need a prostate exam, I know a few good ways to use that." Roger smiled wryly.
"Buzz off, you ugly xeno."
Demon Archives: Vaatu. The Lord of the Avatar Realms' Underworld, he is a dark spirit. His "Positive" is the light spirit, Raava. 10,000 years ago, Raava teamed up with one of the Avatars, Wan, to battle Vaatu and imprison him in a sacred tree. Raava continued to watch over the seal, but over time, the seal weakened, as did Raava herself.