Operation: CLOWN, Part 4

Chapter 4: Punk Hazard Explodes

Punk Hazard; Burning Lands

"Wwwwaaaaab, wwaaaaab, wwaaaaab..." Whatever the sound belonged to, the glowing yellow eyes, and their source, were wobbling in a gooey fashion. Sector W7 only stared as the eyes drew closer. Once the creature was close enough into the light, Chimney's eyes widened. (Play "Mysterious Life Form" from Pikmin 3.)

"AAAAAAAHHH!" She and Gonbe were the first to bolt out of there. "GYAAAH RUN AWAY, GIRL-CHAAANS!"

"Gyoooooom!"

The girls looked ahead and saw the creature was a giant, purplish-red blob made of some kind of toxic waste, its mouth wide open. "AAAAHH!" The girls hightailed away, sliding under the steel door's opening and hurrying down the long, flaming road to the side. They turned and looked back, watching as the toxic creature slithered out of the door, slowly squeezing its whole body through as it chased.

"GYAAAAH HERE IT COOOOMES!" Chimney screamed once more.

Stage 3: Punk Hazard, Act 3

The girls hurried across the straightforward road as the Big Boss Toxichu; which they've named it, wobbled their way. Some burning buildings toppled over and blocked their path, forcing them to run around. The Toxichu also spat Mini Toxichu in their way, but the operatives shot the small Chuchus with weapons before hurrying ahead. However, Aisa stepped in one of their toxic puddles and- "Aaaahh!" held her foot as it burned immensely from the acid. Apis had to run back and put Aisa's arm around her head as she helped her move along.

They were about to make it to the lake, but that was before two flaming buildings toppled over and blocked their path. "Gyaaaaah! This way!" Chimney ordered, hurrying down a rightward path as the girls followed. They had to jump up some stairs while the Toxichu spat mini blobs in their way again. The girls tried to bypass the blobs as they kept running, making it to a fiery chasm with a wobbly, rectangular platform on a post. The girls all jumped to the platform, causing their end to tilt downward. They all struggled to step up to the other side, but this caused it to tilt down the other way, and they were too far from the ledge. Apis and Aisa (who still had to hold onto the former) decided to walk back to the other side, making the floor horizontal so Chimney, Gonbe, and April could make it. Apis and Aisa were still on the other end, which faced down, but Aisa pulled out her Conache Pumpkin, tossed it to the other side, and forced it down, sending the two flying up like a catapult.

The girls kept running and reached another fiery chasm, where they had to jump a series of small, wobbly platforms. They hurriedly jumped across, while Blarggs were also popping up to chomp down on them, but the girls avoided them just before the platforms could sink. They reached a slightly wider platform as their way ahead was blocked by Mini Toxichu which were spat from the Big Boss. Aisa used her Weapon Dial to blast gumball bullets at the Toxichu to disable them, and the girls carefully jumped their remains to reach the next platform.

They hurried down another fiery road as the way ahead was scattered within a flaming maze. They ran all around the maze and ended up lost in their (or rather Chimney's) panic. Whenever they encountered a dead end, the Toxichu would spit Mini Toxichu in the way they came. Their panic only increased as the giant blob entered the maze and was closing in on them. They frantically tried to find paths that would lead away from it, but in doing so, they managed to find the way out of the maze. They dashed down a long, narrow path that made a snaky turn left, leading the girls to the lake.

"Oi, let's hurry up and swiiim!" Chimney shouted.

"But we CAN'T swim, Chimney!" Apis yelled.

"Aaaahhh!" The leader looked around frantically, wondering what to do. They looked in the water when some kind of gray fin was speeding toward them. Before their eyes, a vicious shark leapt out of the water, but the girls jumped back. "Fishman Karate!" Chimney exclaimed, performing a series of arm movements as a gush of water flew out and rammed the shark's side.

"Alright, Chimneeeey!" Apis cheered.

The shark recovered, but the ecstatic Sector Leader hopped onto its back and tried to tame it as it shook around. Finally, she managed to get the shark under control and yelled, "Grab on!"

The girls nodded and quickly hopped onto the shark, riding it across the water before the Toxichu could reach them. "Aaaah!" Aisa cried, suddenly slipping off and falling in the water.

"Aisa-chaaan!" Chimney immediately dove in to grab her friend, while the shark carried the others to the snowy shore. Aisa wrapped her arms around Chimney as the part-mermaid struggled to swim back. More sharks were swimming to snack on them, but Chimney spun and sent more water gushes to keep them back. She kept swimming, but Aisa saw more sharks coming from behind, so she blasted gumballs from her Weapon Dial, giving Chimney enough time to reach the shore.

Still injured, Aisa held onto Chimney as the group hurried to the Frozen Lands. When they ran up a hill, they were instantly encountered by Caesar's minions. "Hey, what're you doing here? !" they yelled. April quickly zipped around to paint symbols on them, but their protection suits seemed to make them immune. However, they were distracted enough so Chimney could jump around and beat them all, while Apis held Aisa up so the Nimbi could shoot gumballs. "Not so fast." The last henchman spoke as he pulled out a gun, but before he could take a shot, Crystal Wickens bashed his head with her staff from behind. (End song.)

"Phew." The witch sighed as Yuki ran to her side. "Are you guys all right?"

"Oi, yes, but we got no time for that!" Chimney shouted. "We bein' chased by a monster!"

"Gyom-gyoooom!"

"A monster? What?..." She and Yuki looked across the lake and saw a long path of toxic sludge retreat back into the Burning Lands. They viewed across the distance, and to their astonishment, a mountain of the toxic goo towered as high as a mountain, its glowing yellow eyes peering at them.

The gigantic sludge opened its mouth wide, beginning to spit smaller Toxichus all the way across. The blobs landed beside them and wobbled toward them, but Crystal twirled her staff and launched flames. "AAAH!!" The blobs exploded upon impact of the fire, blowing them all back.

"Ugh, that's probably not a good idea." Yuki grunted as they recovered.

"You're right." Crystal agreed. "Let's find a way inside, quickly." And the two hurried the children along as they ran to the nearest entrance.

A few miles away…

Secretly, from beyond the mountains, two shadowed eyes watched the events unfurl. They were two, extremely tall yetis, with long guns on their backs. The yetis hopped out and began to sing.

Rock: It's time to get you Yeti Cool oooo'n

Yes, it's Yeti Cool tiiiime, time to schooooo'!

Scotch: My man Rock here, and my name is Scotch

Yes we're Rock and we're Scotch, so sit and waaaatch!

And noooowwww weeeee goooooon' HUNT some doooooown!

Rock: Nooooow weeeee goooon' HUNT them kids doooooown!

"WHAT THE HELL are YOU doing here?!" Caesar's voice suddenly yelled from the speakers. "I fired you two after the ORIGINAL Punk Hazard Arc! GET THE HELL OUT!"

"Awwwwww." Heartbroken, the Yeti Cool Brothers glumly walked away.

"Nnnnn that's right. You two bore no significance to the plot whatsoever."

Inside the base; Computer Lab

"The truth is, I was commissioned by one of Caesar's customers to protect his business." Vergo began to explain. "I signed up with GUN for the sake of doing so. Thanks to my protection, Caesar was able to perform his research in private, even from Gerald Robotnik's view. I framed Robotnik for the Bang Gas incident to have him disposed of. It was shortly after that Caesar began doing business with Darth Genious. They combined their scientific intellect to make a special toxin he called Bang Gas-Z, a Bang Gas that enhances the effects of regular Bang Gas 10-fold. About 23 years ago, Brain and Caesar used this gas to create an army of super metahumans, and started a war against the G.U.N. itself."

"But… where does my dad come into play?" Nolan asked.

"Your father was a soldier at GUN, too. He didn't care for their intentions of ending the metahuman population, but like Gunkan and Lyle, his goal was to bring Revan Sidious to justice. He fought in the war and proved his power admirably. But only so with my guidance. Darian encountered Brain in his fortress, and clashed against him. He brought his anti-psychic helmet to protect himself against Genious's powers. But what he didn't know, was I programmed the helmet to give him an unbearable shock, upon the push of a remote button. He was forced to remove the helmet, but that enabled Genious to dispose of him, through a simple Psychic Choke."

Nolan gasped under his breath.

"Unfortunately, Lyle T. Rourke managed to discover Caesar. The former never did have any trust for the scientist. It wasn't long before soldiers surrounded him and had him in chi-blocking cuffs. Gunkan questioned where Caesar managed to acquire 10,000 gallons of Bang Gas, and when he wouldn't answer, he was sentenced to death. But before they had a chance, I defeated the soldiers and rescued him. In truth, they never discovered his poisonbending until after the battle, but they didn't know how profound he was."

"Hmmm… but what happened to the super-metahumans? Were they arrested?"

"Actually… the Bang Gas-Z was still experimental, and highly corrosive. It gave the mutants unspeakable power, but before the war drew on, their immune systems failed, and their bodies decayed. I rescued Caesar so he could continue his research on Punk Hazard, which had long since been marked forbidden due to the cloud of Bang Gas. Caesar cleared the gas away and made space for him and his mutated accomplices to roam around. G.U.N. has feared to come here because of its landscape and many reactive acids. But across these many years, he's formed communications with many patrons who desire his knowledge for the mutation gas."

"Who else besides Darth Genious buys from him?"

"Big names, actually. But that shouldn't matter. Anyhow… now that you know the truth of your father, I suppose you'll be wanting to kill me?"

"Hmmm… funny thing is, the pain goes away after such a long time. Of course, I will need to kick your ass for having a role in this whole operation."

"Hmm… then I challenge you… to come at me."

"Right then… you said it…" With that, Nolan boosted forward in attempt to punch, but Vergo swiftly dodged to the side. Nolan turned, but- "OOF!" Vergo punched him clear in the face, knocking him several feet away, off his chair.

"It's fortunate for me you have dysfunctional legs…" Vergo spoke calmly. "Otherwise, you might prove a threat. But no…"

Nolan tried to help himself up, but fast as lightning, Vergo zipped behind him and punched him forward. "OWW!!" He managed to grab his wheelchair and climb back on, turning to face Vergo, but the general kicked his chest and sent him rolling backward. Nolan rolled all the way to the railing in the foyer room, and ended up falling backward, onto the lower floor with a thud.

Nolan could barely hold himself up, his vision blurring as the tall, buff general stepped forward. "Err, you won't get away with this… Vergo…"

The general stood over him imposingly. "You will address me as Vergo…-san." And Nolan's vision blackened when his face met with the bottom of Vergo's boot.

Caesar's Lab

The mad scientist wore goggles as he stared closely at a strange, glowing banana. He stuck a syringe of green substance into the banana and smiled ecstatically as he stood up, pulling off his goggles. "At LAST, they're dooooone! Five, specially made Vita-Z Bananas!" He placed the banana by four other ones. "Now I just need to get these shipped to Specter for ANOTHER satisfied customer! Take care of that for me, will you?" he told a nearby henchman, handing him the bananas.

"Yes, Master!" The man saluted and hurried off.

Caesar then turned and smiled evilly at the group of four glaring kids inside the prison cell; which appeared to be a large, movable box with bars. Dillon and Haruka also had chi-blocking cuffs around their wrists. "Ahhh, kids." He said calmly as he stepped toward them. "They have their WHOLE lives ahead of them." He grabbed the cell bars and phased his head through, grinning over them. "Whether it's 70 years or only a few minutes… shurororo!" He walked back to his terminal and studied the outside area. "Nooow then… let's take a look at our weather forecast! Today's calls for a chance of endless snow; oh, that's surprising, blistering flames around the east, and-… a 50-foot tall mountain of SLUDGE???"

He noticed the towering Toxichu in the distance and zoomed the camera closer. Caesar's face beamed at the sight of those familiar, glowing yellow eyes. "It's…" his eyes became teary as he grinned, "Smileeeeyyy, hoo hoo hoo hooooo!"

That's when Vergo walked in, pushing a wheelchair with someone familiar. "I have returned, Master Caesar."

"Ha HAAAA, well DONE, Verrrgoooo!!" Caesar yelled perkily.

The four kids gasped with shock when they saw he was pushing an unconscious Nolan York. Vergo opened the cell and shoved the man inside, off his wheelchair as he then shut the door. Dillon crawled over to shake him awake. "Dad! Dad! Wake up!"

"Nnnn, Dillon?" The Sandman looked up, finding his son over him. He realized he was handcuffed and inside a cell with Dillon's other friends. Except… "Where's Kaleo?"

"We don't know." Haruka replied.

"Shurororo!" They all looked up as Caesar drifted over. "Your daddy wasn't originally invited to this party, but NOW that he's here, we can get things started!"

"Where's my cousin?!" Dillon yelled.

"How should I know?? I just assumed he was on the train with the others. I had Monet guide them back, perhaps I should ask…" The doors slid open again, and they looked to see Monet fly in.

"Master Caesar, hm hm!" the woman giggled. "I've found who you're talking about!" This was followed by the sounds of stomping, and everyone's mouths widened. In stepped Kaleo Anderson, at least 10 feet tall, as big as the other giants.

"HI, GUYS!!" The giant boy exclaimed, his grin wide as always. "HA HA! You guys look so TINY from up here!! I wanna keep you in a jar!!"

"K…Kaleo!..." Haruka couldn't believe her eyes.

"Hm hm hm!" Monet laughed. "I found him sneaking our candy out of the supply room! He had a real strong craving for it!"

"Shurororo!" Caesar floated up by Leo's big head. "Sooo… THIS is the result of NHC10 on poisonbenders! If little Haruka had taken it, the same thing might've happened to her! You just missed out on being bigger than all your friends, Deaaariiiiee!" He grinned at the girl.

"I wouldn't want it either way!" Haru yelled. "Kaleo, you need to stop eating that stuff, it's dangerous!"

"Owwww…" Caesar smiled still when Kaleo fell to his knees, holding his head.

"Shurororo! You can try and tell them to quit… but kids these days only LIVE for candy." He said, floating to the prisoners. "And I'M practically candy to these kids! 'Cause after all…" he stuck his head through the cell, bending down to Sandman's glaring face, "you REALLY can't ignore me… can you?" He stood back up and walked to the terminal. "Sooo, kids, you're just in time for my ultimate show! I was going to send my minions to get it started, but it seems your little friends went ahead and started for me. Take a look at the screen!" They did so and saw the towering mountain of sludge, which grew smaller as it spat little parts at a time across the lake, so it could reform in the Frozen Lands.

"What is that?" Haruka asked.

"A little creature I call SMILEY!" Caesar's grin beamed. "Because he's SOOOO full of energyyyyyy!!!" He looked positively gleeful. "So much energy, that… he's willing to EXPLODE with it!! Hoo hoo! And you can't have a party without a piñata, right?"

"What are you planning, Caesar?" Nolan asked.

"As soon as the last of him is over, I'll show you! But first, my test demonstration!" With that, Caesar pushed a button, and they watched as the ceiling opened above their cage. A crane lowered down from outside as it latched the cage and lifted the five into the blistering cold.

The group sat calmly as the rooftop crane turned and brought them over the snowy ground, a little over the roof's edge. It lowered them so the cage's back was against the wall, and from their view, they could see the last of the Big Toxichu making its way over, so the slimy behemoth towered as high as the snowy mountains. It viewed around the area in confusion as Caesar's image appeared on a gigantic TV screen.

"Yoohoooo! SMILEEEEYY!"

The blob looked up at the smiling, joyous scientist. "Wwwwaaabwyyyy?"

"Ohhh, Smiley, it's been so LOOoooong! I'm so sorry for locking you in that garage, oooohhh!"

"Wabwwwaaaaa."

"Thaaat's right, I'M your daaaddyyyyy! And I've got you a SPECIAL treat!" He held up a tiny butterscotch.

"Waaaambwyyyyy?"

"Yeeees CANdyyyyy! Enjoy it to your HEART'S content!"

A giant cannon emerged from the distance and took aim toward Smiley. The prisoners watched as the cannon blasted a tremendous, wrapped piece of candy in purple wrapping. Attracted, the Smiley blob wobbled over with its mouth wide open. He swallowed the tasty treat whole, its gooey mouth wobbling as it chewed and savored the taste. However, after a few minutes, it stopped chewing, and froze in place. The group shut their eyes when the mountain of sludge suddenly brimmed with pure white, blinding the whole region. White soon engulfed the whole area when the toxic demon vanished in a humongous explosion.

When the light cleared, their mouths dropped open wide. The monster exploded into a tremendous cloud of thick, purple gas, slowly spreading across the island. "Wh…What is that?!" Haruka yelled.

"It's Bang Gas!!" Nolan exclaimed.

"SHUROrororooo! At long last, my special Bang Gas-Z is COOOMPLEEETE! In a matter of seconds, ANYONE caught in its cloud will morph into a full-fledged SUPER mutant! I wouldn't stand outside too long if I were you, booooyyys! Oh, and just ditch those protection suits! They can't protect you against THAT!"

"R…Right away, Master Caesar!" the men outside yelled, quickly ditching their suits. "AAAAHHH!" They hightailed away before the gas could swallow them.

"Grrrr!" Dillon struggled to force the chi-block cuffs off of him. "If we don't get outta here, we're good as gassed!"

"Even if we break away, we'll never be able to get into an entrance!" Haruka exclaimed.

"Can't you just poisonbend it??" Maddy yelled.

"I can't bend Bang Gas like Caesar, it's way too thick!"

"Well, I guess this is it." Zach moaned as he shut his eyes in despair. "I hope I at least morph into a Yipper human."

"Don't give up NOW!" They looked as Aeincha climbed out of Nolan's coat, the Lilliputian vibrant as ever.

"Who're you?" Zach asked.

"I'm Aeincha! I came in Mr. York-san's coat! It was sweaty!"

"Well, can you get us outta here??" Maddy asked frantically.

"Nooo problem! It's time for a taste of TEENY power!" She joyfully hopped over to Nolan and stuck her tiny arms into his handcuff keyhole. After fiddling with the locks, the Sandman broke free. With that, she hopped over to uncuff Zach and Maddy's hands, but she had trouble with Dillon and Haruka. "Uh-oh. These chi-blocking cuffs have some… special security."

"No problem- Ow." Nolan grunted as he helped himself up. "I can… get us outta here." He limped toward the cell door and bumped into it forcefully, several times until it came open. He grabbed the bars outside and climbed to the top of the cage, and Dillon and Haruka held Maddy and Zach as the latters climbed up after. Once all were on top, Nolan proceeded to take out a grappling hook. "Thankfully I had this spare one just in case. Everybody, grab on."

All the kids held onto Sandman as he took aim at the crane which hung their cage. He launched the grappler and latched the top of the crane, swinging the group across the roofs and into the hatch which they were lifted out of. They recovered and faced Caesar and his henchmen, while Nolan limped over and helped himself into his wheelchair. "Grrrr. You kids ARE troublesome. The TWO of you, leave and see to the rest of the laboratory. I'll deal with them mySELF."

Vergo and Monet nodded and left their master. "Come along, Leo!" Monet said caringly as she led the giant, dimwitted child along.

"Shurorororororo! Are you impressed?? At last, my special Bang Gas-Z RISES again! However, there is a distinct difference from the gas from 23 years ago: the mutants infected with it were super, true, but they didn't last long AT ALL! But now, using all the blood samples I extracted from the children after all that NHC10, my gas has come into PERFECTION! With over 10,000 gallons of this Bang Gas-Z, I will be able to make THOUSANDS of brand new, super-powered Devil Fruits!! All my customers will be filled with glee, and I'll be SWIMMING in dough!"

"What in the world WAS that blob monster, anyway?!" Nolan demanded.

"Shurororo! THAT, my friends, was once the enormous cloud of Bang Gas that swallowed the island more than 20 years ago! Using my superb powers, I bunched ALL of that delicious gas into a humongous blob of sludge. I kept the little devil inside that garage until the time came to let him out, and my SPECIAL formula was complete. Ahhhh." He wiped a tear from his eye. "It only seems like yesterday when I exploded him the first time. His gaseous cloud, ENGULFING everything, and making me what I am today." He grinned evilly. "My skin turned white, horns appeared on my head, and I was FULLY awakened as a metahuman!"

"Oh, I understand." Nolan spoke up. "That's your depressing backstory: the gas mutated you and you felt like a freak, so you made it your life's goal to mutate everything ELSE around you, too."

"Depressing?! Are you mad?! It's the best thing to happen to me in YEARS! My own body, genetically altered… it felt like a dream come true. Huuuu." He sighed grumpily. "Unfortunately, the gas I produced back THEN was faulty, and it wasn't STRONG enough! All these people, including myself, only developed simple HORNS! No special powers or anything! That's why… I decided to reCREATE the experiment, with the greatest batch of Bang Gas around!"

"Well, it's time someone put you in your place!" Nolan declared. "I'm bringing you to justice once and for all!"

"LET'S see you TRY it!"

"You kids stand back, I can take him." Nolan told the operatives as he fixed his gas mask on. "This takes a little gas vs. gas."

"We'll just SEE who's the gassiest around here!" Caesar declared. "But just 'cause I'm a good sport, I'll give you a 30-second head start. Get ready, Nolan! It's the Sandman vs. the GASman!"

Boss fight: Caesar Clown

Caesar merely stood there smugly as Nolan rolled forward. The Sandman stood up and proceeded to deal the first few punches, but his fists went right through his gassy body. "ShuroROROROROroro!" Nolan angrily kept swinging his fists, but his attacks did nothing. "Well, COME ON! You just gonna swing your fists around aimlessly or are you gonna FIGHT me??"

"Dad, he's a Logia-type!" Dillon yelled. "He can't be touched!"

"A Logia?"

"ShuROROrororo! Awww, you spoiled the surpriiiise." Caesar frowned. He looked at his nonexistent watch, "Ooh! ! Only 10 seconds LEEEeeeeft! What're you gonna DO, Nolan?..." He evil smile was more witty than ever.

It was then that Nolan remembered one of Dodds' most important lessons…

Nolan was 18 years old. He threw quick punches against his mentor as Wesley defended, until Nolan kicked his leg and knocked him down. "Hoo…" Wesley sighed as he got back up, and Nolan sat in his chair. "Well, broken legs or not… you've really shaped up."

"Heh, before you know it, I'll be kicking your butt WITHOUT needing my wheelchair!"

"Almost, Son… but even though you beat me, there's some enemies that are just untouchable. I've told you about Logia humans, haven't I?"

"Yeah, like Madame Rouge."

"And she gave you a bit of trouble, didn't she?"

"Shyeah…"

"In regular circumstances, such people are almost invincible. However… it's time I teach you a special ability that everyone has."

"Wh…What's that?"

"Haki. The art of pushing your own senses beyond their limit. Haki revolves around taking the natural human senses, and enhancing them through your own power. Doing so usually requires channeling your body's chi, kind of like what the benders do. Here's an example:" Wesley raised his fist, and Nolan stared amazed as his arm seemed to turn to iron. Wesley ran forward and PUNCHED the ground, causing it to crack.

"Whooooaa!"

"That there was Armament Haki. This is an enhancement of your own physical strength. Making your body seem hard as iron as you deal incredible damage, and shield yourself from other attacks. But it's not just that: Armament Haki allows one to penetrate the defenses of Logia humans."

"So I could beat someone like Madame Rouge?"

"Exactly. Next, there's Observation Haki, the more basic move. This one requires extending the senses, detecting how many living things there are in one area, and even predicting the enemies' next moves by reading just their movements. This power originated from psychicbenders' senses."

"It's kind of like earthbenders, too."

"Yes, but they could only see things on the ground. Anyway, those are the two main forms of Haki… but there's also a third type: Conqueror's Haki. A very powerful form, found in only a choice few people: it allows one to knock out hundreds of enemies through just intimidation. Of course… neither of us have it. But the first two, however, are found in every being. It only matters whether or not one has the willpower to unleash it. The art of showing no fear… that's what Haki is."

"Hmmm…"

"You may take awhile to perfect it… but it'll come to you in time. Anyway… let's begin your first lesson."

And after all this time… Nolan finally needed it. "Five… four… three… two…" Caesar kept counting, still with his cocky grin.

With all his might, Nolan threw his fist, and PUNCHED Caesar upside the chin. The kids' mouths dropped as the clown flew backward, smashing into a wall. "Ooooww!" Caesar stood up, angry as his nose bled. "Y-You're a… HAKI user?!"

Nolan stretched his fingers before balling his fist, a serious look behind his mask. "Where's your Logia now?"

"Hurrrr! I don't need Logia for YOU!" Caesar blasted a cloud of gas, but Nolan's mask made him immune.

"Heh!" Nolan proceeded to deal more punches across Caesar's face, before knocking the scientist several feet to his left. Nolan got in his chair, and Caesar got up and glared as Nolan rolled toward him for more.

"AIRLESS WORLD!" Caesar exclaimed as he slammed his hands together.

"Gu-ack!" Nolan stopped and suddenly couldn't breathe, falling from his chair as he tried to gasp.

"Dad!"

"ShuroROROrorororo! It's true, I can't fully control air like an airbender, but either way you look at it, oxygen is a gas, too! The air is so purified, however, that most poisonbenders can't control it. But I've ascended to the level where I can manipulate it! I've removed the oxygen around you, so even your GAS mask can't give you breath!"

"So THAT'S how he was able to stop the S.P.I.C.E.R.'s flame!" Haruka deduced. "Fire needs oxygen in order to blare!"

"And that's not the LEAST of it!" Caesar exclaimed as he whipped out a hilt with no sword. They watched as a blue beam of energy emerged and shaped like a sword, and Caesar swung it around.

"He's got a lightsaber!" Dillon pointed.

"Not quite!" Caesar corrected. "I channel the oxygen I've extracted around this lighter, to create my very own oxidized flame! And now it's time for Mr. York to MEET his destiny!" He raised his lightsaber and was about to bring it down on Nolan's neck.

Time seemed to stop around the Sandman as the world faded to darkness. A green glow came from his coat, and he reached in to pull out his Gem of Dreams: a gift from the Nightmare Spirit, Morpheus. He clutched the gem tight and closed his eyes.

Caesar brought the flaming sword down, but- "Huhn?!" Sandman's body suddenly transformed into sand and breezed backward as it brought his chair along. The sand formed onto the chair, and Nolan's body was back. "Y-You're a Logia-type SANDbender?!"

"Not exactly. It's a special power from the Gem of Dreams. It was Wesley's last gift to me, given to him from the spirit, Morpheus."

"Ohhh… THAT guy. Siiiigh." Caesar looked at his "watch" again. "You know, this fight's slowly losing my interest. I've got other things to do, sooo…" He stuck his fingers in his mouth and made a whistle. (Play "You Should Have Listened To My Warning" from Batman: Arkham City.)

The doors opened as a squad of Caesar's minions scurried in. They felt the ground quake, and the kids gaped as none other than Mocha stomped in, her eyes still lifeless as she craved the tasty sweet. "Caaaandyyyyy."

"I thought things would be a little more fun this way." Caesar remarked. "Let's get ready tooooo TANGOOOO!" And with that, the clown flew away as the group readied to battle the minions.

Sub-boss: Mocha

Nolan and the operatives worked together to battle the underlings, dealing the first few hits against them, but Nolan jumped back when Mocha punched down at him. "Raaaaahhh!" Drooling with hunger, the giant child kept trying to punch him, but Nolan dodged, sped forward, and pushed the child backward, making her fall to her hands and knees. Nolan began to lay a series of punches across her face.

"Dad, be careful, she's a friend!" Dillon yelled, trying to bash some minions with his cuffed hands. The iron-hard cuffs proved to be very helpful.

"Yeah, don't worry!" With Mocha dizzied, Nolan grabbed her thick hair and flung himself onto her head.

"Raaaahh!" Mocha roared like a monster as Nolan had her tamed, and as the minions surrounded them, Mocha swung her arms around to swat them away. A squad of minions jumped and grabbed onto the giant, but Mocha charged forward like a bull and RAMMED headfirst into a wall, knocking the minions off as the girl gripped her head. Nolan hopped off and started to beat away more minions. Two tried to punch him, but Nolan grabbed their fists and swiftly flipped over to knock them down.

Dillon jumped off a minion's head and caught his arms and cuffs around another one's neck, causing him to choke. Dillon helped himself off as Maddy ran to kick the man's stomach. Mocha shortly recovered as she stomped toward Nolan, trying to punch down at the cripple. "Heeeey, Mocha!" She looked over as Zach held up a piece of the fake butterscotch. "I have tasty caaaandyyyy!"

"Raaahhh!" Mocha desperately stomped toward the boy and swung her arms aimlessly. Zach ran around a bunch of minions and caused the giant to swat them all away. Zach was cornered against a wall, but- "Too slow!" he dodged between her legs when she tried to grab him. She turned around, but that's when Nolan sped over and shoved her against the wall, knocking her down. The Sandman dealt more punches across her face before hopping on her head.

He began to control Mocha again as she stomped around and swatted away minions. Some minions that were knocked on the ground, Mocha stomped on them and crushed their bones like sticks. Haruka wrapped her cuffs around another man's neck as the giant girl stomped toward him. Haruka ran before the giant punched the man against the ground, then shook Nolan off of her head. Nolan was back in his chair as Mocha came for him, but he simply boosted and knocked her down again. Nolan dealt more punches across her face, until finally, "Armament!" he dealt a forceful uppercut, shot into the air, and PUNCHED straight down on her cranium. The giant girl wobbled dizzily before falling to her front, shaking the floor upon impact. (End song.)

"Siiiigh." Nolan sighed with shame. "I just beat up a little girl… for shame. By the way, why is she giant, anyway?"

"Ever heard of a drug called NHC10?" Haruka asked.

"Ahh. Say no more."

"We can't let Caesar give them any more of that stuff!" Dillon exclaimed.

"Don't worry, I've got a plan."

The doors opened again, and they heard the patter of rushing feet. "Nolan!" Crystal and Yuki came hurrying in the room, followed by Sector W7.

"Crystal! Yuki!"

"Whoa, what happened here?" Yuki asked, seeing the unconscious men and giant girl.

"Long story. Where've you guys been?"

"Trying to find Dillon and the kids." Crystal stated.

"By the way, did you happen to notice the-" Yuki started.

"-gigantic cloud of Bang Gas that's filling up the island?" Nolan finished. "This whole situation just turned into something else. We'll hopefully be safe as long as we're in the building; but that's as long as all of the entrances are closed."

"Didn't Sector W7 leave a hole in the building with their train?" Yuki asked.

"Oh, crap!!"

"That hole was near the playroom, too!" Haruka yelled. "What if Caesar brought the kids back there?"

Nolan checked his map, the worry rushing in his chest. "It says there's two entrances to the playroom, a front and back. The train crashed near the front, so; assume that way is blocked by now, and hurry around to the back!"

"But how're we gonna get everyone out of here??" Dillon questioned.

Nolan skimmed the map, and saw there was a deep, lower floor. "Hey! There's a group of interconnected tunnels beneath the island that lead miles under the ocean! I bet Caesar uses these to transport his products! We could all probably escape if we took one of them!"

"But what about my Rocket-san??" Chimney yelled.

"Just sacrifice it, Chimney, our lives are more important." Apis told her.

"Nnnn… I guess."

At this time, Dillon's group had searched the unconscious men's pockets and found keys to unlock their cuffs. "Phew! Now things should be easier!" Dillon said as he and Haruka rubbed their wrists.

"Any for me??" Yuki said as he frantically ran around and checked all the keys that they had. "Aw, dang!!" To no avail.

"Come on, we have to find the kids and get off this island!" Dillon yelled rushedly.

"But there's STILL the matter of them being monsters!" Haruka reminded. "It might be bad to bring 'em to the Undersea Lab if they're like that!"

"Not quite… I have a plan." Nolan rolled up to Mocha and pulled out a syringe to extract some blood from the unconscious giant. "Do any of you have a sample of the candy?" Haruka held up her saved candy piece. Nolan took it, then rolled over to one of Caesar's machines. "Since Mocha's been exposed to this stuff for years, I can probably use her blood sample and the equipment in this lab to whip up an antibody."

"Since when are YOU the medical specialist?" Crystal remarked.

"Um, Mr. York?" Haruka spoke up. "Do you think I could help make up the cure? I've done a lot of studying, and…"

"Yeah, you should!" Dillon perked. "Haruka can heal almost any injury, she'd be a big help!"

"She even helped heal ME once!" Aeincha beamed.

"Well… I guess it's okay. But; no time to lose! Crystal, I want you and Dillon's group to find the other kids and lead them to safety; even if they're monstrified. Yuki, I want you and Sector W7 to find the room where Caesar creates his Devil Fruits, and shut it down. I'd like to kill two birds in one stone on this mission."

"Oi, why're YOU giving the orders, adaruto-san?!" Chimney asked hatefully.

"Gyom-gyom!"

"Look, just DO it, okay? If we can stop Caesar's Bang Gas business entirely, we'll never have to worry about anyone using this Bang Gas-Z stuff. Crystal, Yuki, I've sent the location of the underground tunnels to your cellphones." The two checked their phones. "Make your way there after you've completed your assignments. Now hurry up, and whatever you do, stay AWAY from the Bang Gas."

The two teams nodded seriously and dashed away, while Nolan and Haruka began to work in the laboratory.

Building R Control Room

Caesar and a squad of his minions watched the monitors as Bang Gas-Z slowly filled up the building. He smiled humorously as the two teams hurried off to complete their assignments. "Shurorororororo! Those fools will NEVER save everyone in time!" He pulled out a communicator and spoke, "Are the two of you in place?"

Biscuit Room

The swarm of multiracial kids struggled to break free as they were trapped inside solid ice. Monet hovered around the ceiling as she caused snow to fall. She spoke into the watch on her wing, "The children are secured nice and tight, Caesar! I can't wait to ambush those kids if they come!"

Devil Fruit Production Chamber

General Vergo leaned along a railing as he stared at the series of huge containers and machines. He spoke into his phone, "The SMILEs chamber is safe for now. I will exterminate anyone who comes."

Control Room

"Shurororororo! If those guys want a PARTY, I say we GIVE 'EM one! Ohhhhh, they're going to have SO much fun, theeeey'll juuuuust diiiiiieeee!"

Everyone's sights were set. Crystal's focused on the Biscuit Room, where Monet waited, Yuki focused on the SMILE room, where Vergo waited. And once Nolan was done with his projects, he was heading for Caesar. Their missions were set… and so were their battles.