Operation: RECLAIM, Part 3

Chapter 3: A Trip That Goes Wrong

Beatles Household

It was 8:00 in the morning and everything was peaceful. While Wally was cooking breakfast in the kitchen (hey, someone has to be the chef around here), Kirie and Joey were in the living room. The older Beatles child was lonely playing with her Rainbow Monkey while Joey sat on the couch and watched Nickelodeon. A commercial was playing, in which Miranda Cosgrove was singing a song.

Eeeeverybody's DANCIN' DANCIN' crazy

And we neeever stop… we NEVER STOP!

"Ahhh, those were her golden years." Wallabee sighed as he walked out with two plates of bacon and eggs. "You know, before Jennette McCurdy overshadowed her."

"Good-bye, Wallace, I'm goin' to work." Kuki said quickly as she stepped down the stairs. "As always, don't expect me at dinner, because I-" Kirie dropped her monkey and quickly ran in her way. "Sigh, Kirie, you know I don't have time for any-"

Kirie hurriedly signed, Mom, Mom! Can I go with you to work today??

"Wh…What?"

I wanna come with you to work!! she grinned vibrantly. I mean, you spend so much time there, I wanna see what it's like!

"Heh heh heh." A rare sight for Kirie, Kuki sported a half-humorous smile. "Sweetie, it's really not as glamorous as it seems, you'll get really-"

No I won't, I promise! Pllleeeease, Mom? She knelt down and grabbed her mom's legs, shaking frantically, Please please please please please please pleaaaaseeee!

"Aww, why don't you, Honey?" Wally asked smoothly as he set Joey's breakfast on the living room table. "After all, she's just as crazy as you were for Rainbow Monkeys, maybe she can get in the business!"

Kuki looked down at her daughter's pleading, mismatched eyes. If anything, this was just an excuse for her to hang out with her mother. …But deep down, Kuki actually wanted this. Before her promotion, she's always loved playing with her daughter. She was so much fun, even if she was silent. …It would be difficult, seeing as she had jobs to do, but maybe it wouldn't hurt. "Sigh… very well, Kirie."

Kirie's smile grew very wide, and she danced excitedly, YYYYES!! YES YES YES YEEES!!

"Alright, alright, keep it down, Kir."

Questions marks appeared over Wally and Joey's heads.

"Well, take care, you two." Kuki waved to the boys as Kirie already dashed out to the car. "It's a girl-free day today. See ya." She left and closed the door.

"Awww! I wanna go to the Monkey Factoryyy!" Joey whined.

"Don't say that, Joe, I need someone to share my hate in Rainbow Monkeys!" Wally yelled. He then realized he was still holding Kirie's breakfast. "Ooh! Well, if Kirie won't have breakfast, guess I…"

Kirie hurried back in the house, grabbed her plate, and ran back outside. Wally frowned grumpily and said to Joey, "I don't suppose you…" but when he turned around, he saw that Joey had already formed a huge wall of his letter blocks. Only his eyes peeped through the opening, but Joey filled that spot up. "Siiigh…"

Specter's Hideout

"Hoo-oo-oo-oo! Have they finished yet, Mr. Specter?" Mr. Mogul eagerly asked his new partner.

"I believe they have." Specter replied, his form still shadowed. "Ms. Sanban has a very important meeting today. When the inspectors see the faulty equipment of her factory, her reign as president will near its end. When it does, you'll be able to-" there was a faulty beeping sound, and a collar around his neck started to sparkle. "D'aww, dang it!" Specter whined, his deep, mysterious voice having suddenly become nasally. "Why can't this thing-" he tinkered with the device, and it stopped sparking. "Phew… well, at any rate." He continued, his voice back to its previous tone. "As soon as Ms. Sanban becomes downsized, you'll be able to move in and take your job back. After all, I'm sure the Heads will be fascinated to see the company return to its original roots."

"I will be fascinated as well! To have a closer look at that marvelous machine." Mogul said evilly.

"Oh, you mean the one that gives life to Rainbow-"

"Silence, Simon!" Bonk.

"Yessir."

"I have had the apes tinker with that device as well." Specter smirked. "I'm certain you'll be pleased with the results."

Rainbow Monkey Factory

"Now, Kirie, it's not like I bring you here every day, so I expect you to be on your best behavior, okay?" Kuki asked her daughter as they pulled into the factory driveway.

Kirie smiled widely and nodded.

"Even though my first time here wasn't the greatest, but that was when it had an evil president." she remembered. "Hooo well. We shouldn't need to worry about anything like that."

They stepped into the factory lobby as Kuki continued, "I guess I'll start by showing you- What?" she discovered Leslie awaiting her, alongside three men in sunglasses, fedora hats, and suits.

"Ahh, Miss, you're finally here." Leslie stated.

"Um… yes. Who are they?"

"These are the Inspectors For Children's Safety, sent by the Heads themselves. They were scheduled to come here to… inspect our factory to ensure our products are safe for children. Don't you remember, Miss?"

"Oh yes… I forgot." Kuki looked glummer. "Well, I guess I was giving a tour either way. I hope you don't mind, but I brought my daughter here." Kirie grinned and waved. "She wanted to… see what work was like."

"Well, I suppose SHE will be the judge whether your equipment is faulty or not." The tallest inspector stated gruffly. "Nnn but then again, children have always had bad taste."

"Yes…" Kuki agreed sarcastically. "Now what should we look at first, gents?"

"Nnn, the biggest problem with stuffed toys, nnn is the stitching. You don't know how many children choked on eyes that just popped out of their dolls, you know."

"Well, then let me show our means for that. Come along, Kirie." They all followed Kuki into the massive factory chamber, with Kirie happily skipping the whole way.

Kuki brought them to a long machine with a treadmill, in which several contraptions took turns in sewing parts of a Rainbow Monkey. "As you can see, the stitching is done using foolproof machines, operated by workers since you can never trust machines to do everything on their own." Two mechanical hands gently placed a pile of fluff over a purple raggedy mat. "The stuffing is carefully placed onto the would-be Rainbow Monkey before the toy's outer covering is wrapped over, and begins to sew." The hands wrapped the mat over the stuffing, shaping a purple Rainbow Monkey as they proceeded to sew. "We wrap each part individually before they are sewed together." The body was separate from its head and limbs at this point, until the machine sewed the parts together. "It's programmed so not a single thread is left unaccounted," the machine used scissors to slice off a loose thread, "so every piece is finely-"

Kirie was already bored out of her mind. When she came to the factory, she just wanted to have fun with Mom, not listen to boring lectures with a bunch of businessmen. Of course, she promised not to complain to her mom. So instead, she walked around the back of the machine to see how it worked. She entered one of the chambers to see a chubby man with a bald head operating controls. She approached him with a smile and tapped his shoulder. "Oh?" he turned and noticed her. "Well, hello, Little Girl! Um, are you, on a field trip?"

She shook her head and signed, I came here with my mom!

"Oh… are you deaf? I don't… understand…"

She looked in disbelief as she grabbed a nearby clipboard and wrote down her saying, showing it to him.

"Oh… well, where is your mum?"

She pointed outside the window, toward the president herself. "Oh! You are… Miss Sanban's daughter!" she nodded proudly. "Well, ah, this is the Stitchomatic 3000. It's run by employers in different chambers. I control the part that sews the eyes into the dolls."

At this time, Kuki led the inspectors over to this part. "The eyes are given the similar treatment, except sewn together extra tightly to ensure all Rainbow Monkey Hugs go extra well. …Without, you know, any eye-popping-outness."

Inside the chamber, "The point of having us workers activate the machine is because we're better at telling stuffed dolls apart from, well, little kids or animals that wander onto the machine. Haha." The man said simply. "It's nothing too complicated. All I have to do is hold down this lever…" he held down a left lever, which brought down a mechanical hand beside the Rainbow Monkey, "pinch to grab." He pressed a button on the lever that held the monkey in place. "Then I take this one," he held down a right lever, lowering another hand in front of the monkey. "THEN I press this button, and it sews the eye in automatically. You know, like an arcade game."

But the minute he pressed the button, the controls started to spark. "Um… something is wrong."

The five businesspeople immediately looked up when the robotic arms shook frantically. The arms at Kirie's station grabbed a handful of beady eyes and began to rapidly chuck them at the inspectors, directly into their mouths as they began to choke. Kuki and Leslie performed heimlichs on them, but the malfunction was spreading to other parts of the machine. The hands reached in, grabbed one of the workers, and began stuffing fluff into his mouth, and afterwards sewing his mouth shut. He tried to scream, but his mouth was stitched tight, and the hands hurled him away. Afterwards, the hands took the sewing needles and began chucking them around the factory, forcing Kuki and her group to duck beneath the treadmill.

"Gaaahh!" the man who Kirie was with screamed. "The machines! They have betrayed us!!" He and Kirie aimlessly pressed buttons to control it, but- "AAHHH!" The controls exploded.

At that point, the whole machine shut off, and the five businesspeople stood back up. The inspectors looked furious as they wrote something on their clipboards. "WE ah deDUCTing points!" the shorter inspector; with a big orange mustache, yelled. No one could see his mouth, but his mustache moved whenever he spoke, flapping up-and-down like wings.

"I-I don't understand!" Kuki said frantically as they walked to the back of the machine, where an explosion was heard. "What could…"

They watched as Kirie Beatles walked out, covered in slight soot as she pulled the unconscious worker out. "Kirie?!" she looked up at her mom's shout, the president hurrying over worriedly. "What were you doing back there?! You weren't distracting Mr. Bee, were you?"

Kirie dropped the man and signed quickly, I didn't do it!! He just pushed the button and it went all zappy, then the machine-

"Okay, okay." Kuki stopped her and sighed with annoyance. "Just… stay with the group. And don't touch anything else. Okay?"

Kirie frowned sadly as she and the others followed her mom to the next room.

From behind some equipment, Mr. Mogul and Simon peeked out and watched them, dressed in ninja outfits. "Hoo-hoo-hoooo!" Simon laughed quietly. "I say, Mr. Mogul, seems that girl is taking the blame for the malfunctions!"

"Silence, Simon!" Bonk. "That's no good! We need the inspectors to believe Kuki did it, if they're ever to expel her."

"Ahh, but you know, Sir, often times children are reflections of their parents. Perhaps if the inspectors believe, if Ms. Sanban hasn't a responsible child, she could never be a responsible president!"

"I see. Ho-ho! Let's put my new plan into action."

"Um, your plan, Si-"

"Silence, Simon!" Bonk.

"Yessir." With that, they sunk back down.

As Kirie followed the others from behind, the two ninja-dressed businessmen peeped out from behind a trashcan. "Psst. Heeeey Little Girl!" She stopped and turned around, her green and purple eyes curious. "Wannaaa help us with a project??"

Kirie signed, My mom says that I'm NOT allowed to talk to strangers.

"Ehhh… what?" Mogul was confused.

"She said that she isn't allowed to talk to strangers." Simon translated.

"Ho-ho-ho! But we aren't strangers, Little Girl! We're from the, um, animal preserve! A-And we would like you to help us liberate an animal, um, being held here!"

"Y-Yes!" Simon nodded. "Let us show you."

The two ninjas led Kirie into the nearby room where The Noid was trapped behind the energy barrier, in a straightjacket. "You see, Little Girl," Mogul began, "this factory's scientists have been extracting, um, Happy Matter from this creature, to use in their Rainbow Monkeys!"

They HAAAAVE? Kirie signed.

"Exactly!" Simon beamed. "Erm, but it's programmed so only members of the president's family can punch in the code! Just walk up to it, and type 3-3… um, what were the numbers Specter told u-"

"SILENCE, Simon!" Bonk. "Ho-ho-ho I believe it was 3-3-3-3, of cooouuurse!"

"Y-Yes! Now go on and punch in, Little Girl, go on!" Simon encouraged as he nudged Kirie forward.

The mute child first had to consider this, but when she looked inside the cell, the rabbit-earred creature looked so sad. She didn't think her mother was responsible for this… it was probably the scientists' idea. With a warming smile, Kirie walked up and punched the 3-3-3-3 into the terminal. The Noid perked when the barrier suddenly switched off. "Uhn?"

Kirie smiled as she walked over and helped the smiling creature on its feet. She proceeded to use her fans' flower petals to cut the 3-pair straightjackets off. The red-jumpsuit creature studied his form with enthusiasm.

Mr. Mogul walked in and put a hand on Kirie's shoulder. "You did a marvelous thing for us, young lady. Now go on, join your mother, we'll take care of the rest." She nodded happily and skipped away.

Kuki had led Leslie and the inspectors to another factory where materials were dumped into a machine to make Rainbow Munchies. "Here is our alternate factory we use to make the acclaimed cereal known as Rainbow Munchies. Obviously, we stopped taking Nurse Claiborne's route in using old Rainbow Monkeys, and instead use sugar, spice, and we also have an according with the Fruit Loop company to use their cereal as well, creating a variety of colorful, rainbowy tastes."

"We have also ceased using a certain special ingredient to go the traditional way." Leslie mentioned.

"Reallyyyy? And wot WAS this secret ingredient?" the third, medium inspector asked.

"Chemical X…" Kuki stated sternly.

Immediately, the walls near the ceiling burst open as a group of five girls shot in, flying uncontrollably and making colorful light paths in their path. "YAAAAAY!" They shot through the ceiling and soared to the skies.

"…We've hired GUN to track them down and give them antidote." Kuki stated. "Oh no." She looked around frantically, suddenly realizing, "Where's Kirie?!"

Moooom! Kuki turned around, hearing this sign (wait, what?), and spotted her daughter running toward her.

"Kirie!" Kuki was slightly angered as her daughter stopped before her, panting. "Didn't I tell you to stay with us?!"

Mom, it's okay! I was just helping these ninjas rescue an animal!

"Animal? What animal?"

Some kinda rabbit! I think it was-

"HUHUHU HA! HUHUHU HA!" Immediately, The Noid came in and started bouncing wildly.

"The Noid!!" Kuki screamed.

"HUHUHU HA! HUHUHU HA! HUHUHU HA!" The Noid climbed onto the machine and dove into the pool of Rainbow Munchies, popping up and throwing them everywhere before diving beneath and likely tarnishing them. He hopped onto the duct where the sugar was poured into and, "AaaaaaCHOO!" released lots of snot. It kept laughing and climbed onto the duct the spice was poured into, proceeding to let some fall into his mouth. His mouth snapped shut as his cheeks puffed, skin turned red, and eyes watered. He unleashed powerful flames from his mouth and began flying around like a rocket. He zoomed all around before taking land inside a crate with bottles of black liquid.

They all watched curiously as the box began to quake. It POPPED open, and The Noid came shooting out, flying frantically after being powered by Chemical X. It zipped all around, in and out of the walls, leaving several holes and knocking several workers off their high stations and to the floor. "HA HAAAAA!" He shot through the ceiling and was off to the sky.

Kirie helped her mother up as Kuki readjusted her glasses. "Kirie, you didn't free The NOID, did you?!"

B-But it wasn't my fault!! There were these NINJAS, and they-

"Ninjas?! Is that your best excuse??"

"Ah-HEM." The taller inspector coughed. "As far as I can see, this factory is just one big safety hazard. Nnnn this makes me ALL the more concerned if this property is appropriate for children."

As Kuki smoothed her hair back, she refuted, "I'll have you know my factory's been in top-running condition since my promotion!"

"Hoo-hooo, it's true!" the shorter inspector perked. "She's been in ALL the papers! Her products are among the most popular demands next to Sassy Cats! It's that child who's been causing all the ruckus." He pointed at Kirie, who immediately perked.

"Even if it was," the taller inspector spoke, "it was Ms. Sanban's fault for not educating her on how to use equipment properly."

Mr. Mogul and Simon peeked out to watch this, grinning and snickering quietly at their apparent success. "Silence, Simon!"

"Yessir!"

"She has done a poor job of teaching her child manners, she does not know to stay in place." The man continued. "Besides, it was her decision to bring the child along, she cannot be deemed responsible either. Perhaps it would be best if we-"

"H-Hold on, hold on, allow me to explain." Kuki told them half-panickingly. "The truth of the matter is… Kirie is not a bright child."

Kirie's heart was immediately struck.

"You see, I'm always away at work, trying to provide for the family, because my husband's a dimwit, so he can't work, and he can't teach my kids right from wrong. And because Kirie's a mute, she's always ignored a lot, and she'll do anything for attention. I honestly brought her along out of pity, and I tried to tell her not to, but, what can ya do? She probably hears as well as she speaks."

Kirie's mismatched eyes began to water.

"Anyway… I realize my mistake now, and I plan to fix it." She grabbed Kirie's sleeved hand and began to lead her off. "Come on, Kirie, I'm taking you ho-"

Kirie instantly pulled away, eyes filled with rage behind her tears. She signed quickly, I can walk home mySELF! I'm smart enough to do THAT! And the mute child stomped away, tears still dripping from her eyes.

Already, Kuki felt regret in what she said. She was about to go after her daughter… but she had to finish this inspection. She sighed and turned back around. "Well, perhaps I spoke too soon." The taller inspector grinned evilly. "Shall we continue to the next room?"

"Siiigh…"

As Kirie stomped down the hall, she encountered a little purple Rainbow Monkey doll, which stood on its own and looked at Kirie with a wide smile. "Hiiii!"

Her eyes widened, surprised at its appearance. But for once, she was too sad to be joyous, and the monkey frowned as she bypassed it. "Oh?"

"Now, I believe you were slated to present an invention to the Corporate Presidents this Tuesday?" the tall inspector asked.

"I cancelled that meeting." Kuki responded simply. "The invention I had prepared was very-" They stopped when they encountered the living Rainbow Monkey.

"Hiiii!"

"What is this?"

"This is…" Kuki bent down and picked up the talking doll, "a Rainbow Monkey that, um… Stan and Dan brought to life."

"Oooo! How?" the short inspector asked curiously.

"Um… right this way." With a worried look, Kuki led them off.

Mr. Mogul and Simon peeked out from the same trashcan, and the assistant looked worried. "Oooooh it didn't work! What shall we do, Sir?"

"Silence, Simon!" Bonk. "It's not over yet! I have o-o-o-o-o-one last plan!"

Kuki led the four of them to the room with the Heart Bringer, still holding the Rainbow Monkey in her arm. But before they could enter, a skinny, nerdy man hurried over. "Uh, M-M-M-Miss Leslie? There's a phone call for you in your office."

"Ahh. May I be excused, Miss?" Leslie asked Kuki.

"You may."

"Thank you, Miss." With that, the assistant hurried away. But when she left, Mogul and Simon peeped out of hiding again.

"Anyway, this is our laboratory, where our Heart Bringer currently rests." Kuki explained as she stepped into the dark room first. "However, I ordered the immediate shutdown of it. You see, it was designed to-" There was a bumping sound behind her, and she turned to see the inspectors have fallen unconscious, with strange needles in their necks.

"Wh…Whuh-"

"Nooow, now! Please do not be so HASTY, Ms. Sanban." She looked up, seeing a chubby ninja and a skinny ninja. "After all…" the chubby ninja grinned behind his mask, "we've developed NEW uses for the machine."

"Oh?" the Rainbow Monkey became worried.

Downtown

Kirie had to cut through town on her way home. Her head was down the whole way, and all the people passing by just ignored her. She glanced left when she passed by a construction site, where carpenters were hard at work. One particular worker caught her attention, a female worker as tall as her, whose back was turned so Kirie could see her long brown ponytail. She was sawing a wood plank in half when Kirie approached. The mute girl tapped the worker's shoulder, and she turned around to show her familiar face.

"Hey, Kirie!" Haylee Gilligan greeted perkily.

Hayleeeeee! Kirie signed happily. What's goin' on??

"Remember that Career Exploration program we had at school a few weeks ago?" Kirie nodded. "I was given Bob the Builder as my instructor. I had so much fun, well, after it ended, I asked if I could keep working, and, he said yes!" She clutched her wrench excitedly. "I have my own part-time job! …That probably goes against Kids Next Door protocol, but, you know! So whatchu been doin'?"

Kirie frowned and signed, My mom took me for a tour of the Rainbow Monkey Factory. But well, the thing is… Haylee watched carefully as Kirie signed her story. When she was done, the Gilligan could only look with sympathy.

"Wow… your mom really said that?"

She nodded.

"Oh… You're sure you didn't randomly walk in on her at the wrong time?"

She shook 'No!!'.

"Oh… that's just awful."

"Well-p, here's the next load!" exclaimed a short man with blue overalls, a red-and-orange patterned shirt, and yellow carpenter's helmet, holding a pile of wooden planks. He plopped the hunks down and took notice of the Beatles girl. "Oh! Is this a friend?"

"Yeah, this is Kirie!" Haylee grinned. "Kirie, this is Bob! The Builder." Kirie smiled and waved.

"Well, it's nice to meet ya! You here to learn about carpentry, too? I just finished talking with a colleague, so I'd be glad to show you the ropes!"

"Actually, she was just passing through." Haylee explained as Kirie frowned. "She went through… sort of an ordeal, and she wants to get home. …Oh! Maybe YOU can take her home!" Kirie looked up, curious at this statement.

"Well, I could give it a whirl! How far does she live?"

"Not far, just outside town about one block from the big treehouse."

"Well, that's just dandy! We'll be there in two shakes of a lamb's tail!"

THAT statement made Kirie confused.

"Hop aboard now!" Bob said encouragingly, bending frontward. Still very confused, Kirie proceeded to climb on his back and sit like a horsie. "Alright, hold tight now, it might get wild!"

WHEEEEEEE! Kirie sign-screamed with excitement as Bob suddenly LEAPT to the building tops and began zipping over the city at high speed. He stopped every few seconds to make another jump for extra momentum, and the wind rushed past Kirie's hair as they were soon flying over the suburbs.

Kirie pointed the direction of her house when they passed by Sector V's treehouse. Bob landed them before the house in seconds as Kirie stepped off. Thanks for the ride, Bob!

"No thanks are necessary, I'm glad to help out a friend of my favorite worker! See you on down the road!" And faster than she could realize, Bob leaped his way back to the city.

Kirie waved him 'bye', but her frown returned as she glumly entered her house.

Cleveland Beach

A lively day at Cleveland Beach. The sky was bright, and the beach was filled with many happy, frolicking kids. Timothy and Hikari Gilligan were casually building a sandcastle. But unbeknownst to them, a huge, chubby man was stomping forward in light-brown boots. He STOMPED the two's tiny castle and kept walking like no-one's business. "Heeeey!" Timmy whined.

Zanifr Mimchi was still seated on his rock, keeping a hood up to hide his horns. The chubby figure stopped a few feet away, and Zanifr turned around. It was a man with long, messy black hair, a thin white shirt, and a 5-o'clock shadow. The man held a cherry pie in his left hand as he grinned at Zanifr with a mouth missing several teeth. "Hey, Mr. Big-Boots-Stompyhead!" Timmy whined as he stomped up to the man. "What's the big idea, SQUISHIN' our sandcastle? Oh-!" As a response, the man grabbed the child forcefully and hurled him against the remains of the sandcastle, much to Hikari's surprise.

"Hmmmm… aren't you supposed to be down in the Underworld?" Zanifr asked.

"Zeeehahahahahaha!" the man laughed. "My new friend managed to pull some strings! After all, a pirate can't spend his freedom in prison!"

"Hmmmm… better than being cramped in a MMask. I suppose MMedusa sent you?"

"That's right! She doesn't like you turning your back on her! After all, it was thanks to her convoluted scheming that allowed you to BE free!"

"Hmmmm. I'll believe it was her plan when the Apocalypse becomes delayed. For now, I don't trust her judgment."

"You can choose not to believe it or not. Now if I were you I'd be a good boy and come with me." He still grinned evilly.

Zanifr swiftly whipped out his dual whips and called, "Strife Specibi! WHIP CYCLONE!" He spun fast as a tornado and whipped the man across his hairy belly, leaving several red scratches.

"YOOOOOWWW!" The surrounding kids, including Timmy and Hikari, watched confusedly as the man rolled around on his back, holding his stomach. "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"

"For a Logia-type, you're not very strong." Zanifr remarked.

"Grrrr." The man got back up, looking furious. "I'll show you Logia! DARK VORTEX!" The man brimmed with dark energy as a pool of pitch-black spawned below his feet, and spread along the beach. Everyone within its radius screamed as they sunk into the darkness. And when the pitch-black vanished, the whole beach had been cleared of visitors, umbrellas, or anything else they brought.

"Hmmmm." Zanifr didn't look afraid.

"Dark Human CANNON!" An enormous black hole spawned above him, and all of the beach-goers and supplies came flying out at Zanifr, with Timmy and Hikari first. Zanifr clutched his whips tight, and as fast as they came, Zanifr caught them all with his whips and hurled them behind him. Timmy and Hikari were the first to run away, and everyone else soon followed, desperate to get away from this chaos.

"Zeee ha… you're good." The man acknowledged. "But you know what's better than being the world's greatest darknessbender?"

The man raised both fists and SLAMMED the sandy ground, creating a tremendous wave of sand. "It's being the world's greatest EARTHbender, TOO!"

Zanifr conjured a dark barrier to shield himself. "Strange… the chi you possess is unfamiliar to MMe." Zanifr observed.

"I've always been a special guy! But I believe it's time for your long-deserved coffin."

The man charged forward, channeling massive energy into his fists, but Zanifr mustered all of the darknessbending he could. His fists came into contact, but Zanifr raised a powerful darkness barrier to defend himself. "Hnnnnn!" The tremors radiating from his fists were quickly breaching.

"Zehahahahahahahaha!"

Cleveland Beach had never been so chaotic.