The Flaming Fiends’ Far-Out Fracas: Part Three[/u]
Over the Moon Base, three tanks floated into the air to oppose the Airship armada. Hovering over the surface, they took off with surprising speed and began to blast at the Airships. Most of the blows were doing fairly minor damage, until one of the X-Devastators took aim at an Airship’s engine with its Earthshaker Cannon and fired the powerful shell. The hit rocked the entire Airship and caused a few of the Fire Bros. on the deck to fall off the sides and fall prey to the other weapons on the machines.
Morton poised himself on the edge of the Bowser Blaster Airship, ready to leap off before he felt a hard slap across the back of his head. Wheeling around he came face to face with Wendy.
”Just where do you think YOU’RE going? I hope you’re not planning on flaking out on us!” Wendy snapped.
“Of course not! But think about it! If there’s a bunch of War Machines out here, then they must be trying to distract us from something big inside the base! I got the Omega Overalls, I’ll be fine!” Morton explained, flexing his muscles as a show of bravado.
Wendy, not amused, replied by pushing her brother off of the deck of the Bowser Blaster Airship. “Less chat, more splat!”
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“Sir Grodus, when can I go out and make a snowman?” Lord Crump whined, wearing heavy layers of wool clothing, and a striped scarf replacing his standard cape. Crump stood in the chamber where Princess Peach was taking a REALLY long time to be possessed. In the room with him were –obviously- the captive princess and 2,500 Jugger-Nauts protecting Sir Grodus.
”For the last freaking time, Crump,” Grodus growled from clenched teeth, “there’s no snow, there never WILL be any snow, there CAN’T be any snow because there’s NO GOD DAMN ECOSYSTEM ON THE MOON!” The disembodied leader shouted, exploding with frustration.
Crump tilted his head to one side, before he hopped up with excitement. “Is that all? NOW I know what to do!” Crump reached into a pocket with his gloved hands and pulled out the Air Star and held it aloft above his head. “AIR STAR!” Crump shouted, and a bright light emanated from the Artifact.
Pleased, Crump dropped the star carelessly on the floor and rushed out the doors and down the hallways, singing off-key. “LET’S HEAR THOSE KWANZA TREES RINGLEING, CHANUKAH TINGLING, TOO! C’MON IT’S FROSTY THE SNOWMAN TO GRANDMOTHER’S HOUSE WE GO!”
”He sings like an angel,” one of the Jugger-Nauts commented, wiping a tear from his eye.
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Kamek watched the battle with great excitement, eyes open wide with a grin stretching ear from ear. His concentration on the battle was only broken when Wendy slammed the door and flopped into her seat with a huff.
“Well, my idiot brother went to help out in the base, so it looks like it’s just you and me.”
“Sorry, Wendy, but… I think that I’m going to get out there, too!” Kamek claimed boldly. “It’s just… seeing this air combat… It reminds me of my younger days, swooping at Yoshis on my broomstick, firing spells, commanding Toadies… I’m getting on in years, and this may be my last shot at it!”
“Kamek, you really are getting sen-“ Before Wendy could finish, Kamek’s aviator suit was torn off and thrown at her head, as Kamek stood in his standard robes again, with a shimmering outline of Overalls under his blue robe.
“It’s cold on the Moon, so I dressed in layers,” Kamek explained nonchalantly as he flew out of the bridge, leaving Wendy at a loss of words.
Kamek dove at an X-Devastator, preparing for another shot at an Airship’s engines, and slammed it down towards the ground, leaving a new crater in the Moon. With a cackle of glee, he took off into the skies again.
However, forming in the sky was something that Kamek was sure shouldn’t be: several dark clouds converging overhead. With a crack of lightning and a rumble of thunder, vicious rain began to pour down and powerful gusts of wind blew War Machines on both sides away.
Wendy rushed to the control board and made contact with the pilots of the other Airships. “Come in all pilots! I repeat: Come in all pilots! Report!”
”Ma’am! We seem to be caught in a powerful storm!” Cried a pilot from over the intercom.
”I can see that, idiot!” Wendy barked, “Can our ships stay in the air?”
”Uh… Yeah, it’ll be difficult to have complete control, but we can manage.”
“Alright! Keep these birds in the air for as long as you can! Focus fire on the larger tanks!”
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Crump dashed down the hallways, still singing, until he collided full-force with Hawkeye.
Hawkeye pulled himself up off of the floor as he sighed, “Really, mate, do you always need to be so stupid?”
“It said to be stupid in the plans that bulbmin3 sent in, so yeah.”
“Wait, what was all that about-?”
“AMNESIA DUST!” Crump reached into his various layers of clothes and pulled out the Fire Star before throwing it at his taller cohort’s head as he made his escape.
“This ain’t dust or eve- Forget it…” Hawkeye muttered, not in the mood for Crump’s antics. He walked into a reinforced safe room made especially for Captains to both protect them from harm and allow them to administer orders to troops.
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The Flaming Fiends’ troops had continued along their way, breaking down any doorways in their paths trying to keep them from venturing deeper.
“MAN, this is easy!” A Koopa Troopa at the front lines hollered over the sound of banging as other troops pounded on another door.
“Tell me about it! You’d think that by now, we’d see at least one X-Naut!” A Hammer Bros. called back as he threw one last hammer at the door, causing it to come crashing forwards.
All the smugness and arrogance the troops held vanished in that moment, as they came face-to-face with 1,000 X-Flames, all aiming their Flamethrowers at the crowd of Koopas.
“Oh shi-“ The curse was cut short as the X-Flames on the front lines opened fire and began to roast the front line of Koopas to ash. In the confined spaces of the X-Naut Fortress, the flamethrowers were the Secret Society’s best friends.
Magikoopas tried their hardest to heal troops and give them any helpful status boosts as they could, and it slowly paid off as a few ‘dodgy’ Hammer Bros. and Lakitus were able to weave around the flames and throw a well-aimed hammer or Spiny egg and kill the fiery foes.
To add to their problems, Spy-Nauts were traveling through air vents and disguising themselves as the Flaming Fiends’ troops, exiting behind the swarm of troops and stabbing them in the back. However, their ruse didn’t last them long, as they were discovered shortly after their first kills and dealt with.
While the X-Flames’ ranks dwindled, X-Engineers began to set up explosives on the walls leading down the corridor. Once the last of the X-Flames was snuffed out, the standard X-Nauts and Elite X-Nauts rose to the challenge. With their laser pistols and body slams, they were able to hold back the invading Koopas, but the strength of the tenacious turtles was overpowering them. Reaching into their pockets, they pulled out flasks of mysterious liquid and downed them in a gulp, greatly growing in size.
Unfortunately for them, their increased stature was more of a hindrance in the cramped hallways of the fortress, and only two at a time could move without any difficulty, making them easy targets. After taking note of the first X-Nauts’ failure, the X-Nauts returned to their usual tactics of laser fire and brute force.
Both sides were valiantly pushing, however help soon arrived for the Flaming Fiends, as a loud rumbling shook the floor, and a massive Drill’s nose rose from the metal floor in the center of the fracas, skewering and disemboweling the unfortunate X-Grenadiers in the way. The Bowser Drill pulled itself from the hole and began to open fire on the closest troops with machine gun fire. Behind it came seven tanks, each firing Bullet Bills and Fireballs into crowds of alarmed X-Nauts.
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Grodus, watching the security feed, growled as he motioned for a Jugger-Naut to bring an Intercom to his mouth. “Dr. Injectus! Is the virus prepared yet?
”Mein apologiez, but nyecht, ve are not yet ready…”
“Ragh! Dread-Naught and Magnus Drone pilots! Are you near the intruders yet?”
“Sorry, Sir Dudeus, but we’re still, like, ten minutes away and we’re going as fast as we can!”
”AGH! Useless!” Grodus blurted suddenly, causing the Jugger-Nauts to jump slightly. “We have no choice… FAERIA! Emergency measures! Raise emergency walls and seal them! We can’t allow them to travel any further!”
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www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/60861A figure pressed himself against a wall of the X-Naut Fortress, eyes darting around suspiciously, before it slowly slid down towards a door. Opening the door, the figure peeked its head inside the room before retracting it and slamming the door shut with a small roar. Morton had made it into the base without any effort, with no trouble from any enemy troops, but he hadn’t seen ANYONE yet or heard any noise.
Slinking down the hallway, Morton continued his inspection of the rooms until he found one door that was designed more uniquely than the others he came across. Checking for any security cameras watching him and listening for anyone trying to sneak up on him, Morton opened the door and walked inside. It was a poorly lit room, with several shelves holding random pieces of X-Naut technology.
As Morton walked to the center of the place, he heard an alarm blare outside, and the door to the room slammed shut, locking the Koopaling inside. Not one to simply sit idly by and wait for what happened next, Morton began to wail on the door with all of his might.
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youtube.com/watch?v=e4ff_WRvFV4&feature=relatedMeanwhile, the Koopas and the X-Nauts were still fighting valiantly; however with the arrival of the Koopas’ War Machines, the odds were tilting in the turtles’ favor.
Just as soon as a few lucky X-Grenadiers were able to destroy a Bullet Bill Tank, a siren began to wail and red lights flashed throughout the hallway. A loud mechanical humming began to crescendo, as large steel walls rose from the floors and began to block in groups of Koopas and X-Nauts together, with a few getting crushed by the doors.
Now focused into small groups, the battle between the two forces was a matter of majority versus minority, with the minority being effectively snuffed out. After a group of enemies were disposed of, the survivors began to try to pry down the walls in an attempt to reach their allies. The thick walls, while durable, eventually began to weaken and cave in- blocks with Bullet Bill and Fire Tanks were especially helpful in doing so.
However, unbeknownst to all, the doors were the only thing protecting them from a fate that none could expect.
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www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/116208“H-Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelp!” A Koopa pilot shouted, as the only remaining X-Devastator fired an Earthshaker shell at his Airship’s engines. Having taken enough abuse, the engines on the aircraft burst into a fiery explosion, and the Airship began to nosedive towards the natural satellite’s surface.
“Mayday! Mayday! S-Somebody! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALP!” The cries of the fearful captain and the Fire Bros aboard the ship were for naught, as the Airship collided with the ground and burst into a large explosion that rocked the Moon.
“Hunh,” Wendy observed from her safe haven on the Bowser Blaster Airship. “Well that sucks for them.”
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Deep underground, in the tunnels left by the Bowser Drill, rocks began to crumble and shift, as the explosion shook the stones standing between the tunnels and the molten center of the Moon.
Agitated by the explosion, the Moon’s core began to react violently, as the magma pressed against the rocky core holding it in. Forcing against the weakened spots left by the Bowser Drill, the magma shot outwards towards the openings on the Moon’s surface.
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www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/4323“-Sir Grodus, potentially dangerous seismic activity is occurring under the Moon’s surface.-“ FAERIA’s voice chirped.
”What…
kind of activity?” Grodus asked with an irritated tone, having dealt with enough problems for one day.
“-The Moon’s core is traveling through a tunnel towards the base. Half of it is being redirected by a second tunnel on the opposite side of the Moon, but there is still great danger.-“
“How much time do we have?!” Grodus shouted, panicked.
“-Estimated time: T minus forty seconds. Thirty-eight. Thirty-seven.-“
“SHUT ALL DOORS! TOTAL LOCKDOWN! SEAL EVERY ROOM OFF! RAISE EVERY LAST WALL! WE HAVE TO TRY TO ISOLATE THIS!”
“-Affirmative. Total lockdown initiated.-“
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All throughout the base, corridors were sealed off as more large doors rose from the floors, further isolating groups of soldiers inside each cubicle. Thinking it was merely another part of the X-Naut’s plan, the troops continued fighting relentlessly.
Both sides fought valiantly, neither letting themselves being distracted, until a loud rumbling shook the base, causing Koopas to fall back on their shells, and rotund X-Nauts to fall on their backs.
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“-Twenty-two. Twenty-one. Twenty.-“
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Morton pounded on the door locking him in a storage room, using all of his usual tricks in addition to the powers granted to him by the Omega Overalls, but the door was as stubborn as the young Koopa, and neither refused to fold.
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“-Twelve. Eleven. Ten.-“
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Above the fortress, the battle was nearly finished, as Kamek dealt the finishing blow to the X-Devastator.
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“-Four.-“
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Sweat beaded down the Jugger-Nauts’ heads, while they watched the countdown to destruction on FAERIA’s monitor.
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“-Three.-“
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Dr. Injectus barked orders at Hazard-Nauts trying to carry unstable chemicals in the lab without losing their footing from the quaking ground.
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“-Two.-“
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Crump shuffled through various objects in a poorly-lit room, looking for an adequate sled.
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“-One.-“
Grodus braced himself as he looked to the security cameras and saw the molten yellow core of the Moon flood the chamber from the hole left by the Bowser Drill, bowling the doors over and filling every corner of the room before the cameras fizzled out.
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Door after door, barricade after barricade was bashed down from the force of the molten substance, crushing troops and burning others alive. Troops were helplessly oblivious to their incoming doom, and could do nothing to save themselves once the doors crashed down and the golden goo rushed in.
Block by block, the hallways of the X-Naut Fortress began to fill with the molten mess.
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Meanwhile, Morton Koopa Jr. was tiring from his attack against the disobedient door, and delivered one final weak side kick that caused him to fall against shelves filled with various X-Naut equipment. The shelves fell over and landed in front of the door, barricading the door and consequentially saving the ungrateful Koopaling’s life.
“Just GREAT! Now I’m really stuck! Kamek’s gonna kill me if those crazy ‘cosmonaut’ guys don’t first!” Morton sulked, punching the wall in frustration. After a moment of frustrated ranting, Morton heard a high-pitched noise cut through the air. Turning his head, he saw an exceptionally fat X-Naut with a purple hat whistling as he walked towards the blocked door, carrying a trashcan lid under his arm.
“Huh… that wasn’t like that before…” the X-Naut hummed, as he scratched his head in confusion. Morton took the opportunity to sneak up on the X-Naut while he was distracted, only for him to swiftly spin around and bash him in the head with the trashcan lid with an obnoxious “BONK!”
Morton fell back and looked up at the X-Naut, moaning at his dented trashcan lid as he discarded it into a pile of broken rubbish.
“Great! The first snow day I’ve ever had, and I get stuck in a closet!” Lord Crump sighed, as he slumped against a wall.
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After several moments, Grodus finally let out a large sigh of relief. He had seen some of the yellow substance seeping through the doorway to the room and already had resigned to accepting whatever came next.
Grodus turned to a computer terminal connected to FAERIA, still shaken from the experience, and asked for a status report of the base.
“-For-
for-foo
ooooooo
ooorrrrrrrrrrt
yyyy
yyy pe-per-pe-
pe-pe-
percent of the
be-ba-ba-b
aaaaaaase
has b
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnn...-“
FAERIA’s garbled response was cut short as the screen slowly faded to black, leaving the room in total darkness other than the dim flashing lights in Grodus’ head.
”That can’t be good…” Grodus mumbled.
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All throughout the fortress lights cut to black, and the once shimmering base was covered in a veil of darkness.
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Hooray for suspense!
And Yoshimaster, before you remind me how you had the Bowser Drill avoid the Moon’s core, don’t forget that it cut close to the center. And with all of the explosions rocking the surface, the remaining rocks began to loosen and they eventually crumbled away, leaving nothing blocking the core from spurting up.
And bulbmin, if you’re worried about Crump, don’t worry; Crump and Morton’s combined stupidity will keep them from making any moves and cause them to form a temporary truce. Trust me.
And really guys, it’s not a Super Mushroom Kingdom Wars without Nacho Cheese!