Pepe pushed forward for his squad and dove to the side.
A Laser Beam crashed against the sand where he once ran.
Pepe rolled back to his feet and stood defiantly. His body radiated with energy.
A giant shadow loomed over him and his surroundings. Commander Number 3 stood in the way. He aimed his laser gun at Pepe. "Stop right there," he warned.
The Evil Cyborgs surrounded Pepe.
Pepe shook his head and chuckled.
"Very well. I'll incapacitate you," Commander Number 3 muttered and charged an attack.
All of a sudden, the ground trembled.
Simultaneously, Commander Number 3 fired, and his shot went off-course. Losing his balance, he stumbled back and forth. He stomped on a cyborg, crushing it.
The Evil Cyborgs wobbled around and bumped into each other.
With a rock pillar, Pepe smirked and launched himself into the air. He murmured, "Now, let's try Bubbles again." He groaned with focus and aimed. He shot big bubbles out of his hand and formed a line to the boat.
Bubbles of water floated in the air and glowed with energy. Some of them held rocks, and they were scattered.
Pepe landed on one, and he looked at the battlefield from the sky. Keeping his balance, he leaped to another bubble, traversing over The Evil Cyborgs and towards the boat.
Stark, Hafen, and Matteo were ahead.
However, no one else seemed to have made it past him.
Pepe curiously looked behind and below. His face darkened.
The rest of The New Heroes laid motionless on the sand, and they were dragged in their own puddles and lines of blood. Their bodies, with holes in them and missing limbs, were scattered.
Below, Number 4, who he previously fought, dragged Lucius' body away.
"If I had chosen differently, would this outcome have been different? What would have my mentors done," Pepe lamented. He looked ahead and mustered, "I must help my brothers." He landed on a bubble and heard an explosion behind him. He quickly turned around, and his eyes opened unbelievably wide.
Commander Number 3 sprinted towards him and swatted the bubbles of water away.
Bubbles popped and exploded with energy.
Out of the smoke, Commander Number 3 appeared with a fierce glare and reached for the sky with one hand. A contraption opened in his hand, and energy flowed out. He grasped a handle.
An enormous, folded sword materialized out of his arm. It straightened out and swiftly swung downwards towards Pepe. It split a large cloud in the sky.
Alarmed, Pepe grasped the sides of the sword before it could slice him in half. However, he could not stop it, and being in the air, he crashed onto the sand.
Sand burst into the air.
Pepe's back slammed and pushed against the sand. His veins popped out of his skin. He wheezed and struggled immensely. He gritted his teeth and held back the sword for his dear life. Energy burst and pulsed out of his body.
The sword split the sand towards him.
Noticing resistance, Commander Number 3 narrowed his eyes and pressed his sword down harder than before.
Inches away, Pepe planted his feet to the sand and reinforced his push. His face wrinkled with ferocity. "I can't die, yet. I must return to my siblings in the battlefield and in my home. I have promises to uphold," he mumbled to himself and grunted in pain. "No," he cried out as his grip waned. His hands slipped.
In an instant, the enormous sword halted, and a swish of sand blew around it.
Pepe laid and gasped for air. His chest heavily heaved, and his body shuddered repeatedly.
Sand moved and buried portions of him.
In a turn of events, Commander Number 3 lifted his sword off the sand.
Exhausted, Pepe stood up and panted with a slouch. His mouth hung open.
The Evil Cyborgs surrounded him and aimed their laser guns.
"Lower your weapons," Commander Number 3 ordered.
The Evil Cyborgs obeyed with a second thought in their minds. Why?
Similar to General Bobby, Commander Number 3 spared Pepe for a moment. What could he possibly want from the young teenager?
Commander Number 3 towered over and crouched. He tilted his head and examined Pepe. "This isn't an act of mercy. I'm just curious. What's your name, teenager," he queried.
"Pepe," Pepe revealed. He furrowed his brows, and his eyes darted around, unsure what to do.
The Evil Cyborgs glared at him.
"I recognized something from watching afar. You are the leader of this intriguing squad. Are my assumptions correct," Commander Number 3 inquired.
"You are right. I'm the squad leader of The New Heroes," Pepe replied with a frown.
"You're either too dumb or too brave to come here. Which one is it," Commander Number 3 questioned inquisitively, and his eyes glimmered with interest.
Pepe lowered his head and remained silent. He clenched his fists.
"Whatever your cause may be, there are no happy sides in war. So, will you fight or run," Commander Number 3 stood tall and stared down expectantly.
"What's your name, big guy," Pepe asked in return.
"I'm the commander of The Evil Cyborgs, Number 3," Commander Number 3 answered and chuckled. "I'll give you another option. Surrender and join us. We'll make the conversion painless."
Pepe groaned in frustration and raised his head. "Your wicked army has slain so many of my friends. I will never join your cause. I'll fight for my own," he proclaimed.
In agreement, Commander Number 3 nodded and affirmed, "Very well. I'll do the same. Let's see if you'll make a worthy adversary." He took a deep breath and shouted, "Cyborgs! Defeat Pepe, leader of The New Heroes."
The cyborgs, surrounding Pepe, readied their weapons and fired.
Pepe ran away and gritted his teeth.
Behind him, lasers flew and seared the sand.
Commander Number 3 walked away and turned around with his arms crossed. He planted his sword into the sand and observed.
"Boulders! Fall," Pepe yelled and raised his hands.
More bubbles in the cloudy sky contained rocks inside. They popped.
Boulders fell from the sky. They crushed dozens of surrounding cyborgs and exploded with energy.
Hundreds of cyborgs lunged at Pepe.
At the same time, Pepe evaded their attacks and jumped into the air. He spread out his arms.
Spinning sharp leaves materialized with his energy and crowded around him.
In the air, Pepe launched them at his enemies in different directions.
The sharp leaves spun and cut through lines of charging cyborgs before exploding.
Creating some space, Pepe glared at Commander Number 3 in the distance. "I have more tricks up my sleeve. I'll take you down. Now," he declared, and energy burst out of him.
The ground once again trembled, interrupting the waves. The sand shifted to one side and created a big sand dune.
Pepe stood on it. With one hand, he shot it with water and launched himself into the air towards Commander Number 3.
Alerted, Commander Number 3 frowned and yelled, "Fool."
With his other hand, Pepe shot a Hydro Beam at him.
With one swing of his sword, Commander Number 3 stopped the water, and the sheer force staggered and pushed Pepe back to the sand.
The sand exploded out of the ground and rained on the cyborgs.
The Evil Cyborgs swarmed Pepe and beat him up.
Pepe stared at the sun, and it burned his eyes. Is this where he falls?
It was noon, and the bright sun shone down.
A fist smashed against Pepe's jaw. A knee slammed against his gut, swirling his insides.
Pepe remembered a moment with his mother, Ursa.
Back then, Pepe watched Ursa tend to a couple of large flowers. "Mom, how come a plant never eats food? Don't they get hungry," he asked.
"Well, you can't really see it from The Sacred Forest, but there is a yellow orb in the sky called the sun," Ursa explained and cleaned the leaves of her flowers.
"A sun? What is that? Why is it up there," Pepe sought to know. He raised his head and squinted, attempting to peer past the canopy.
"The plants get their energy from the sun. The sun is a source of unlimited energy for the world and all its life. It feeds everything with energy," Ursa elaborated and smiled gently. She turned to Pepe and caressed his head.
Now, Pepe pushed the cyborgs away with a wave of water. His face bruised up.
The sun gleamed on him.
Absorbing its energy, Pepe felt a resurgence in power. In a bloody mess, he declared with a desperate breath, "I will save General Bobby and my brothers! I'll defeat all of you!"
"Hold on, my cyborgs," Commander Number 3 ordered in realization. He frowned and questioned, "Was that the cause for your suicidal endeavor? You truly are a fool."
The Evil Cyborgs relented.
Pepe glanced at the boat. He could not see his brothers. He wiped his face, covered with blood, and turned back. "I cannot let General Bobby die, and I will not let the deaths of my friends be in vain. Where is he," he demanded to know and raised his fist.
Commander Number 3 placed his sword into the sand.
A small contraption opened in his chest, and a cold breeze oozed out of it.
Commander Number 3 reached inside.
Pepe squinted to see what was in there.
Commander Number 3 pulled out General Bobby's decapitated head with his hat. "Bobby died on the day we took the fortress," he divulged and continued, "It happened a while ago." He tossed the head towards Pepe and kept the hat.
It was him, General Bobby. His head rolled on the ground. The blood on the ground smeared it more than it already was.
Pepe's eyes widened. His fists shook, and his anger swelled up. Commander Darius deceived him. He always wanted them dead. This mission was just another suicidal mission. Tears of frustration fell from his eyes. "Curse you, Commander Darius," he shouted with fury and hatred.
Just then, a cyborg tackled him to the sand.
Commander Number 3 frowned and grabbed the cyborg. He crushed it and glanced at the others. "I commanded you to hold off. Didn't I," he reminded.
The Evil Cyborgs obliged and murmured between themselves.
Commander Number 3 looked back at Pepe. "It seems like the corruption of humanity tarnished your squad. Do you want revenge," he queried.
Pepe wiped the tears from his face. He stood up and glared at The Evil Cyborgs and Commander Number 3. He breathed deeply and readied his stance. "It's my duty to protect humankind, now. It's what General Bobby always sought to do," he asserted.
Commander Number 3 pointed his sword at Pepe. He huffed with disappointment, and he proclaimed, "It's pointless protecting a species and not receiving appreciation for your efforts. After we succeed conquering Stribora, I will make you my right-hand man and show you what a superior species looks like in control. All my cyborgs! Beat him up some more!"
The Evil Cyborgs lunged with sinister grins.
Pepe, ready to fight, summoned vines, rocks, and lightning to push the cyborgs away.
Cyborgs flew into the air and screamed in anguish.
However, there were too many of them and...
Pepe could not handle them all. He stumbled and leaned back. Blood spilled from his wounds as he fell. He groveled on the ground.
Cyborgs dragged him away.
On the sand, Pepe coughed and muttered to Commander Number 3, "Remember me. In our next battle, my face will be the last thing you see."
Commander Number 3 laughed and claimed, "Next time won't happen, kid. Just like my elite cyborgs, you will join my cause."
Pepe winced in pain. He thought about his home, The Orphanage, and remembered the other orphans. "One day, I will bring all of you along in one of my adventures. I promise," he vowed back then.
An image of Cassandra flashed in his mind. "If you cross paths with her again, make sure she is safe and well," Old Man Blacksmith's voice reminded in his mind.
Pepe still had much to uphold. It would have been beautiful to die in peace. Not like this. With a pained expression, he stared at the horizon and the calm sea.
Small waves splashed against the sand. The clouds in the sky moved as the wind blew.
In the front lines, Hafen, Matteo, and Stark finally reached the boat, their only exit of their terrible predicament.
Squad leader of The New Heroes, Pepe was defeated by The Evil Cyborgs and Commander Number 3. Will Hafen, Matteo, and Stark survive a looming army of wicked cyborgs? Will they find a way to save Pepe and any survivors? Will they escape their foes' clutches? What are The Evil Cyborgs planning with the bodies of The New Heroes?