Operation: CLOWN, Part 5

Chapter 5: Mocha's Sacrifice

Building R Control Room

"Shurororororo!" Caesar cackled joyously, watching the monitors. "Ahhh, look at those fools scurry like simple rats! I can't WAIT to see how they look as SUPER-mutants!"

As his surrounding henchmen watched the monitors as well, they noticed something very familiar about that Bang Gas. "M…Master Caesar?" one spoke.

"Hmmm? What?"

"That explosion earlier… well… it looks just like the explosion from 25 years ago. The one that mutated all of us."

"Mmmmm…" Caesar tried to think.

"You said…You said Gerald Robotnik caused that explosion… didn't you?"

"…" Caesar could still remember that day.

25 years ago. Punk Hazard was still an active place. And Caesar was much younger. He hadn't created his gassy coat yet, his horns were absent, and his hair was much shorter. He stood before a machine with a container of Bang Gas, staring at the red button with malice. "What are you doing?..." He turned around, seeing the bald man with the white mustache, and blue glasses that was his master: Gerald Robotnik. "You know that thing is experimental. You can doom us all."

But Caesar wasn't scared. He merely grinned maniacally as he declared, "I'm willing to risk ANYTHING for the sake of SCIENCE!"

"Don't people's lives matter to you?! People were never meant to be test subjects! Some things are more important than science…"

"Is THIS coming from my so-called MASTER?! To call you the greatest scientist in the world is an INSULT to us all! One day, I will show the world that CAESAR Jonathan Clown is the greatest genius in the world, and NOT your inferior intellect!"

"Caesar! Wait-"

"In the name of science-" he raised his finger high above the button, "I PRESS THEEEEE!" His finger slammed down, and in just 10 seconds, the island exploded with Bang Gas.

A few years passed before Caesar returned. He cleared the humongous cloud of Bang Gas and stuffed it into a garage in the Burning Lands. He was ecstatic to see what mutants became of the people who remained on the island. To his disappointment… there was little change about them. Well, their lower bodies were those of animals, and they had horns… but they were barely mutated at all.

"Ho-o-o-o, THANK you, Master Caesar!" one of the men exclaimed tearily. "If we can all get home!..."

"HOME?? Do you expect GUN to let you run around with THOSE?!" He indicated their animal parts. "I had only just escaped my imprisonment because I was mutated! I'm a freeeeeaaaak." His face bore a very sad look as he wept. "And they'll treat YOU all the same way, TOO. And it's ALL that Gerald Robotnik's fault! Letting out all that Bang Gas… The only way you'll survive in this world is if you stay with me. GUN will be afraid to come back here because of what's happened… so as long as you stay here and work under me, you'll never have to worry about arrest…" And his evil smile returned.

Caesar's head was down as he sighed depressedly. "I tried to stop him… but he inSISTed on blowing it up. He wanted to do ANYthing for the sake of science. He never cared about the lives of his workers… and because of him, neither of us can ever go home. And the only way to make money is to sell to criminals using this underground business. I'm terribly sorry…" he sniffled and held an arm over his weeping eyes, "I can't do anything more for you."

"Oh, it's okay, Master!" They all grinned. "You saved us all to begin with! We're sorry we ever doubted you!"

"Ohhh… my loyal minions…" Caesar smiled with joy, tears still dripping from his yellow eyes. They all focused on the monitors again, as his tears faded and his evil grin returned.

Crystal's group, down a hall

Crystal and Dillon's group kept running as the former stared at her phone's map. "This way!" she yelled, running down a right hall. The group immediately stopped when the cloud of purple gas was headed their way.

"Wrong way, wrong way!" Dillon yelled as they retreated further down the previous hall.

"Guess we'll have to go the long way." Crystal figured.

"They're closing the doors up ahead!" Maddy pointed as a row of metal doors were closing down the hall.

"Better make a break for it!" Crystal yelled. The woman swiftly slid under the doors just before they closed, followed by the others, and the Bang Gas was shielded for now.

"Phew. Let's hope Caesar isn't planning to open them again." Dillon huffed.

The team of four made several more turns until they finally made it to the back entrance. "This is it!" Crystal confirmed. The witch was the first to burst in as she twirled and aimed her staff. "Children, do not be alarmed. We're here to-" Their eyes widened at what the playroom had become: snow was blizzarding all around, as if the roof had been opened to let in the outside air. The children were frozen solid, still with their ravenous expressions.

"Mm... ha ha ha ha ha!" They looked up as Monet hovered over them, snow falling from her wings. "Well well... I see some people were tardy to the party."

"Who are you?!" Crystal demanded as she aimed her staff.

"I'm Monet Sinclaire. Caesar's secretary. Hm-hm, you shouldn't worry about these children. I can assure you, I'm taking good care of them. Nothing controls their temper better than chilling their bones."

"That's not how you deal with these types of situations." Crystal stated. "And judging by all this snow, I assume you're an icebender."

"Hm hm hm, that's right. But I much prefer snow. It has a much more... angelic feel to it."

"Angelic, huh? What are you, a Nimbi?" Dillon asked curiously.

"Not quite. I ate one of Caesar's Devil Fruits: the Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Harpy. This, combined with my icebending makes me a Bird of the Snow, like Articuno." She winked.

"Well, if there's one thing that's overstayed its welcome, it's all this snow." Crystal remarked.

"I don't mind all these snow days." Zach noted.

"Well, it's not healthy without protective clothing anyway, so-" Crystal blasted a fireball to the bird woman, but Monet zipped down and scratched her upside the head with her talons. Dillon flew up with Shadow Glide and tried to come down on her, but Monet swatted him away with her wings, then Zach and Maddy ran to try and punch her, but she flapped her huge wings and blew them back.

"Looks like she's an airbender, too." Dillon noticed.

"Not exactly, it's really a special power given from the Devil Fruit." Monet smiled. "Likely resulted from harvesting from all these Nimbi kids."

"Hurrrr!" Crystal charged again and tried to whack the bird woman, but she grabbed the witch's staff in her talons and twirled it away from her hands, then forced the woman against the wall. Crystal struggled to stand up, but the bird woman blasted ice and froze her against the wall. She turned and saw the other kids charging for her, so the woman flapped her wings and formed a giant ball of snow above her. She hurled the snow at the three kids and had them buried in an instant.

"Nnnn!" The kids struggled to shake out of the snow. It felt thick as glue.

"Hm hm hm, my snow is as strong as regular ice… except stronger." Monet smirked. "And besides, when one is buried in something so beautiful, who would want to climb out? You'll be frozen ice cubes in mere minutes." She winked again. "It was fun playing with you, but we're on a very tight schedule. But don't worry, we aren't leaving you out of the party. Once I go get the candy, I'll distribute evenly. Hm hm hm!" And with one last wink, the woman flapped out of the playroom and froze the entrance on her way out.

With Yuki's group

"OIIIII! TO VICTORY, CHAAAAANS!" Chimney cried as she ran like a cheetah down the halls.

"Do you even know where you're going?!" Yuki yelled as they struggled to stay after her.

"NO IDEA!" she yelled as she and Gonbe left a trail of dust in their wake.

"You know, I think my foot's starting to feel better." Aisa mentioned as Apis still had to carry her.

"Just in case, we should try not to put much pressure on it."

Chimney and Gonbe made a zip down a left hall, but stopped as the Bang Gas-Z was flowing their way. "GYAAAH BAD IDEA!" They dashed back.

"Gyom-gyooom!"

They hurried away faster while Yuki looked back, feeling nervous at the incoming gas cloud. "Grrrr!" He stopped, grabbed his pack's hose, and began to freeze an ice wall as fast as he could. By the time he finished, only a little bit of gas was able to leak through, so they got away safely. "Wonder how long the ice can hold. Better find this Devil Fruit room fast."

Chimney and Gonbe zipped down another left hall, speeding past a door, before coming back and standing still before the door. 'DEVIL FRUIT PRODUCTION CHAMBER'. "OIII! On'nanoko-chans, I FOUND IIIIT!" She ran in first.

The others stopped before the door as well. "All right!" Apis cheered as they ran in.

The SMILEs Chamber was a huge factory room with many large containers of Devil Fruit substance. They stood on a wide-open balcony that overlooked the chamber. Standing along the balcony's ledge was General Vergo. "Who're you?" Yuki simply asked.

"It's not polite to demand someone's name before giving your own. I am Vergo. Former general in the G.U.N.. I assume you are acquainted with young Mr. York."

"Yah… and how do you know him?"

"I was acquainted with his father. And to be frank, I am amazed… Young Sand-san can feel no anger after knowing I was responsible for his father's death."

"What?!" Yuki suddenly felt furious.

"It seems he really has taken a liking to Batman. He is very close-minded. Not letting himself feel. What a pitiful man…"

"Maybe he just doesn't want his head clouded with negative thoughts. Did you ever think of that?"

"No matter how you look at it, it is a pitiful sight. He only adopted that persona with the hopes of making a difference in this world. In the end… he does not possess the strength. His dreams are only hopeless-"

"OIIII!" Chimney screamed. "Don't say that 'bout Mr. York-san! He may be an ugly adaruto, but he fights 'cause he believes in good and peace! And that's a dream worth fighting for!"

"Hmph… only simple little girls would idol someone for pursuing a futile dream. Only because such girls pursue their own silly dreams."

"What?!" Chimney yelled.

"I've done research on you, Sector W7… do you really believe you'll get anywhere? A train that can go almost anywhere?" Chimney gritted her teeth. "Taking cosmetology to new heights with a small size?" Aeincha furrowed her eyes. "Thinking friendships will last forever?" April kept her emotionless frown, but inside, she was slightly hurt. "Little girls' dreams are just little girls' dreams. They yell all they want… but ultimately, their voices are unheard."

"Grrrr TRY AND UNHEAR THIS, Baka-saaan!" Chimney dashed and leaped to kick the general, but Vergo easily grabbed her foot and held her upside-down.

"Hm… and just as well, little girls' actions mean nothing." With that, he threw Chimney back, the girl sliding across the floor.

"You know, Nolan may not feel any personal grudges, but that doesn't mean I can't be angry for him as his friend." Yuki stated. "I'll kick your ass all by myself."

"Oi! WE'RE helping, too!" Chimney reminded as she got to her feet.

"Hm… a chi-blocked icebender with only a backpack." Vergo looked smug behind his sunglasses. "Though you might fair better if you had this." He held up a tiny key in his fingers.

"Hu?!" Yuki gasped. "That's the…"

"Key to your cuffs." Vergo hid the key back under his coat. "You have no chance at taking it from me."

"Five against one, those're pretty fair numbers." Yuki smirked.

"Gyom-gyom!" Gonbe furrowed.

"Oh, six."

"A-hem!" Aeincha huffed.

"Um… you're kinda small."

"So??"

"Ugh, forget it. I'm taking that key back now. Haaah!" He ran for the general and attempted to throw a punch.

"Armament."

The minute Yuki's fist collided, the icebender felt pain surge through. "…Ooooooww!"

The strong general dealt a forceful punch against Yuki and knocked him back. "Nolan-san is not the only one skilled with Haki. I happen to be quite proficient with Armament Haki. My armor is impenetrable."

"Grrr!" Yuki growled at the man as his nose bled. The icebender got up and blasted ice from his pack, only for Vergo to dodge like lightning and punch him away again.

"You sacrifice so much for your friend. That's why you tirelessly travel between countries to assist him. In the end… this will cause you to die."

Yuki flipped to his feet and blasted iceballs as fast as he could. Vergo stood in place as only his arms moved, punching away each shot before zipping over to kick Yuki's legs. Yuki weakly opened his eyes as Vergo stood over him. "Before your untimely passing, I would like you to address me as Vergo-san. It will ultimately establish my victory over you."

"Oiiii!" Vergo looked over at a furious Chimney. "You'll have to get all SEVEN of us to call you THAT, Baka-san! Let's get 'im, on'nanokos!" Chimney ran at him first, throwing a series of punches and kicks which Vergo easily blocked. He glanced right when Aisa dashed up, wielding an Impact Dial, but Vergo zipped over, threw a punch, only for Aisa to swiftly dodge right. Apis ran from behind in attempt to jump and cover the man's eyes, but when she jumped, Vergo flipped and kicked her away. April ran to try and paint a pink symbol on him, but he gripped her face and threw her back.

"It seems you kids are far from learning true respect. It looks like I must teach it to you… the hard way."

Laboratory

Nolan and Haruka watched as the glass tube of blue potion emerged from the machine. Nolan carefully opened the tube and poured it into his syringe. "This antibody should hold off the effects of the NHC10; but we'll have to rely on the Undersea Lab to cure them entirely."

"I wonder if the Undersea Lab can really handle all these kids." Haruka replied.

"I wouldn't underestimate them. They once cured Heinrich von Marzipan when he was a chocolate monster; in fact, he was a Logia-type. They should be able to heal the kids of their, um, giantosis."

"I hope so." Haruka frowned. "I just can't get over what happened outside. Those giants just… squished those Minish and Kateenians without any thought. I've never seen anything so horrible!"

"Don't worry, this potion should be enough to stop their rampaging. But, I just wanna say… you've been a big help." He smiled behind his mask. "In the future, I think you'd make a great doctor."

"Hm hm hm!" she smiled lightly. "Thanks. Well… we should probably fix Mocha, now." She said as she looked at their giant friend. "It's hard to see her like this…"

"Mmmmm…" The giant girl as mentioned was starting to recover, much to their worry. The two kept their guard up, expecting the worst as she stood all the way up. "Ohhh…" She rubbed her aching head, and when she opened her eyes, the two were surprised: Mocha's gray-purple eyes had returned. They weren't zombified or mad for candy. "What…What happened…"

"M…Mocha?" Haruka spoke.

"Haruka? Where is everyone?" She looked around.

"Are…Are you okay?" Nolan asked.

"I think so… my head hurts for some reason."

Nolan glanced away in a nervous/guilty fashion. "W-Wait… you aren't crazy for candy?"

"N-No… for some reason, I'm over it."

Nolan and Haruka exchanged weirded glances. "Do you think knocking her senseless is what drove her back?" Haru asked.

"I dunno. But honestly, I don't have the strength to beat up a swarm of giant kids. We better use this antidote."

"Huh? What're you guys talking about?" Mocha asked with worry.

Haruka looked up at her with a sorrowful look. "Mocha… there's something you need to see. Come on, we have to find the other kids."

"Take this." Nolan said, tossing her the syringe. "I'm going to skim this place and see if Caesar has any weaknesses. I may need to if I'm to stand a chance against his Airless power."

"But what if the gas comes?" Haru asked.

"I'll pull through. Just get going."

"Okay… Come on, Mocha." The girl nodded and allowed Haruka onto her hands before hurrying down the hall.

Nolan watched them leave with an anxious look before searching the laboratory for clues.

As Mocha carried her friend down the vacant hall, she could only feel worried. Tonight, she was just hoping to have another slumber party with her friends, playing Truth or Dare, Hide-and-Seek, Leap-frog… Why did Haruka look so concerned? Who was that man? Where were her friends? Are they… okay?

Flap… Flap…

"Psst, Mocha, stop." Haruka told her in a hushed tone as they stopped before an intersected, rightward hall. Mocha backed against the wall before the corner as they listened.

From down the hall, Monet held a huge, orange-wrapped candy in her talons as she flapped along. "Good thing I was able to hold back the gas with my ice. If I wasn't able to get this candy, Caesar would've killed me."

"Quick, hide me!" Haruka told Mocha. The giant girl looked around frantically before decided to drop Haruka down the back of her shirt. The Dimalanta held the edge of her shirt and peeped up as Mocha turned to face Monet when she came.

"Oh? Mocha!" Monet smiled. "I was wondering where you were. Oh… and you look…"

"Well… my head hurts." The girl rubbed her cranium. "Monet… what's going on?"

"Hm hm, everything will be fine, Sweetie." She smiled with an assuring, but devious look. "Come on, I'll take you to your friends. Then you can all have delicious candy."

"Mmm…" Mocha nodded, but felt suddenly distrustful toward the bird woman. Monet kept flying along with the candy as Mocha stomped after her.

Monet pulled out her wristwatch (wingwatch) communicator and spoke, "This is Monet. I've frozen the first group and I'm bringing the candy to the kids."

Control Room

"EXCELLENT, Monet! Ohhh, but be careful with that stuff. Thanks to that blasted Kaleo kid, I've lost ALL the NHC10 I was going to feed them in the next month. Thankfully, I've saved that particular batch you're carrying just in case. It's a stronger variety of the substance that'll last them a whole week. By then, hopefully I can whip up more of the stuff using all the Bang Gas-Z."

"These children are quite needy, aren't they, Master?"

"Oh, you have NO idea! I still remember that day, when I had literally created the FRUIT of my research! The Devil Fruit that would surpass them all!"

It was about 15 years ago. A new batch of kids was coming in. Among them, a 5-year-old with an orange shirt, blue jeans, white shoes, blue eyes, and bowl-cut blonde hair. "WELCOME, kiiiids!" Caesar greeted with his usual upbeat tone. "I do hope you'll enjoy your stay at Punk Hazard! I'll try to fix you little guys up as best as I can!"

He began to extract blood-samples. "And what's YOUR naaame?"

"Joey. Joey Beatles."

"JOEY, what an exotic name!" the clown exclaimed as he jotted it down. "Are you from Australia? Shurororo! Enjoy your stay, HAVE some candy!" He gave the boy the tiny, poisonous butterscotch.

As Caesar went around to take other samples, Joey only looked at the candy with disgust.

A couple days passed. Joey wasn't enjoying his stay at all. He wasn't that into butterscotch, and he was already starving. He decided to leave the other frolicking kids as he searched the laboratory for a kitchen or something. He made his way to a storage room, where there sat a pedestal with a curtain over it. Joey approached the stand and pulled the cloth off.

"Whooooaa!" His eyes sparkled with wonder. There sat a big, ball-shaped, green fruit with little dark-green circles. He didn't understand what it was… but it looked so tasty.

The little 5-year-old bounced up and down before he managed to knock the fruit off its perch. He picked it up and started to munch away, savoring the taste. "Ohhhh…" The tasty sensation didn't last long. His stomach started to feel really woozy. And his body… felt…

"I guaranTEE you, Doflamingo, you won't be disappointed!" Caesar exclaimed in his phone as he stepped down the hall. "The Mammal-Mammal Fruit is my greatest work ever! Once you see its power in action," he opened the storage room door, "you will NEVER want it to leave your sight… IT'S GOOOONE!!!"

Indeed, the tasty fruit was gone from its perch. All that remained were a few tiny crumbs beside the cloth that covered it. "What?!" Caesar dropped his phone and began frantically searching the ground. "Where is it? Where is it? Where IS it?!" He cried to the heavens, "NNNOOOOOO!"

Unbeknownst to him, a tiny, green spider clutched the opposite side of the pedestal.

A few more days passed. Joey remained hidden from Caesar's minions, in the form of whatever tiny bug he wanted to be. He mostly hung around the playroom, as a fly on the wall as he watched the frolicking bunch. He noticed the giant kids seemed to be getting progressively slower. He decided to buzz around the base and search for Caesar. He spied from outside his laboratory as the clown spoke with Vergo. "How long do you think those giants will last?" The latter asked.

"Ohhhh I'd give about 3 days at best." Caesar said. "Those kids overstayed their welcome. Which is good because I'll need to harvest a bunch MORE Devil Fruits to make up for losing that Mammal-Mammal. Speaking of which, WHERE is that Joey kid?! I haven't seen him in days and he's LATE for his checkup!"

"Finding him has been surprisingly difficult. I wouldn't be surprised if he… escaped somehow."

"Siiigh. Well, with any luck, they'll kill him if they deem him freaky enough. So anyway, your boss is sending over a new intern, isn't he?"

"Yes, her name is Monet. She seems eager to work with you."

"I'm eager to meet her, shurororororo!" And Joey left as quick as he could, becoming a bird and soaring away from the island.

"Hoooo… the Mammal-Mammal Fruit was going to be my prize." Caesar moaned. "And that DREADFUL Beatles kid stole it from me. Ohhh, he's probably out showing it off to ALL the ladies."

"Hm hm, we still don't really know if he did it. Even if he disappeared around the same time the fruit was stolen…"

"Siiigh, no matter. When all this is done, I'll hopefully be able to make something better. So whatever you do, DON'T lose that candy!"

With Monet

"Hm hm, whatever you say, Caesar!" And the bird-woman hung up. Behind her, Haruka and Mocha still looked concerned.

Biscuit Room

Monet unfroze the entrance and flapped into the still-blizzarding playroom. Mocha gasped with horror: all of her friends were frozen and bore monstrous expressions. She saw that Maddy and Dillon were frozen as well. "Hm hm hm, you can rest easy now, kids!" Monet beamed as she flew over to unfreeze their heads. "I've brought your candy."

"Nnnn caaaaandyyyyy."

"Don't worry, you'll get some, but we'll have to distribute evenly. I've only brought so much."

"H…Haruka?" Mocha spoke lowly, horrified at seeing her friends like that. "What's going on?..."

"I'll explain later, but you have to stop her from feeding them those candies!"

"Mmmm…" Mocha watched as Monet set the bundle on the ground and was about to open it. "Noo!!"

"Oh?" Monet flapped up, surprised when Mocha charged over and rammed her friends' ice cubes.

"Don't worry, guys! I'll get you out!"

Haruka hopped out of her shirt and said, "Save them later, Mocha, just get that candy away!"

"R-Right!" Mocha grabbed the bundle in both arms and tried to make for the exit. However, Monet breezed in her way and froze the entrance again.

"Hm hm, now, Mocha, it's only fair to share with your friends!"

"Nnnnn!" Mocha still clutched the candy tight. Now more than ever, she thought it was a really bad idea to let Monet have it.

"Grrrr!" Haruka growled at the bird-woman. She looked to her frozen friends and said, "Don't worry guys, I'll get you out!" She attempted to blow poison gas on the ice, but the blizzarding winds were just too strong.

"Sooo sorry, little Haru." Monet smiled wittingly. "Your friends have a new interest for ice-sculpture modeling. And I must say, they look positively…" However, she noticed something was off: one of the ice cubes were empty, and it was shaped like Zach. "Huh? Where is…"

"Ahhhh, sorry for the disturbance."

"Huh?"

A few feet away, Zach wore nothing but a towel around his waist as he blew-dry his hair with a blow-dryer. "Ahhh, nothing warms after a shower better than a niiiice blow-dry."

"WE DON'T HAVE ANY SHOWERS IN HERE!!" Monet screamed.

"Hm? Oh, I guess my head was a little numb from all the frostbite. Yo, Maddy, you want some?"

He aimed the blow-dryer at his sister and Dillon, and their ice dissolved in seconds. "There's no WAY that thing is hot enough to melt my ice! !" Monet yelled, her teeth becoming sharp.

"Never underestimate my brother when he watches TV…" Maddy figured.

"How're we gonna unfreeze the other kids?" Dillon asked.

"No problem!" Zach assured. "Just lemme get rid-a all this snow."

He turned up a random thermostat, and the snow dissolved into steam. The "Sexy Jutsu" theme from Naruto started to play as Zach relaxed in a steaming hot-tub, wearing only swim trunks as a bunch of pretty girls in bathing suits surrounded him. "Did Ah tell you girls I'm a real pro at Yipper Duels GX Plus?" he spoke in a smooth tone.

Haru and Maddy poked their heads up with disbelieved looks. "I will never understand where my brother acquires these resources."

"Bo-bobo Kempo is truly the whacked-up fighting style that works." Haruka said.

As the song came to an end, the ice holding the hostage kids melted, and they were freed. "Caaaandyyyy."

With that, all the pretty girls disappeared in puffs of smoke. "Hehe! I combined my Shadow Clone and Sexy Jutsu!"

"DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE A NINJA NOW, TOO!" They all screamed.

"CAAANDYYYY!" The swarm of giants and other kids immediately charged for the huge wrapped bundle.

Haruka blasted a cloud of gas in their way and yelled, "MOCHA, get the candy!"

"Right!" The giant grabbed the bundle and bolted toward the door.

"Now if only I can stick this syringe inside them." Haruka mentioned.

"No problem, I'll distract 'em, then you stick it in!" Zach declared.

"How can YOU distract them?" Maddy asked.

"'Cause I've been drinkin' MILK!"

Music started to play as a bunch of cows in tutus twirled into the room, dancing gracefully in a perfect row beside Zach. The monstrified kids stared with confusion as they stopped and seemed to pay no mind to the candy anymore. The squad of cows and Zach made a few more poses before the song "Drink Your Milk" began.

"…CRUD I forgot the words!" Zach said immediately. His friends did the anime-style falling animation.

"CANDYYYYY!!!" The hoard of kids trampled Zach and the cows and bolted after Mocha.

"Oh no!" Haruka ran to try and stick one of the kids, but Monet flapped down and grabbed the syringe in her talons.

"Hm hm hm!" the bird-woman smirked.

"You know, you are REALLY annoying!"

"Sticks and stones don't hurt MY wings-" A fireball suddenly pelted her from the side, forcing her to drop the syringe.

Crystal caught the potion in her hand and aimed her staff at Monet. "You'll not be getting in OUR way anymore."

"Hm hm. Wanna have another go, huh?"

"Kids, here!" Crystal tossed Dillon the syringe. "I'll hold this witch off."

"Come ooon, let's go help Mocha!" Haruka rushedly told them before running off, the kids following quickly.

"You know, you shouldn't rob kids of their candy." Monet smiled at the purple-haired woman. "If they grow up on solely fruit and vegetables, they may turn into very dull people."

"At least they would grow up at all. You're trying to rob them of their lives and I'm going to stop you."

"Hm hm hm… you humans need to know your limits. It's time… I show you what a freak is truly capable of." (Play "Majestic Wings" from Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance.) Monet threw her wings open and unleashed another strong blizzard around the playroom, freezing the exit shut. The werebird twirled and shot beneath the snow, burrowing beneath before popping up behind Crystal. The witch raised her staff to defend as Monet grabbed it in her talons. They played tug-o-war before Crystal yanked the staff back, and Monet flew back. The wereharpy stood and smirked deviously at the witch.

Boss fight: Monet Sinclaire

Crystal twirled her staff and blasted fireballs, but Monet twirled away and dove beneath the snow. Crystal kept her guard up as Monet popped up from her left, the witch jumping back and pelting Monet's face with fireballs. The harpy swatted them away and flew to the air, gracefully gliding around the room as snow fell from her wings. She finally faced Crystal and flapped her wings quickly, her huge wings blowing Crystal back with a strong wind. Crystal stuck her staff in the snow to stand her ground, but when Monet stopped, the harpy zipped forward and scratched her against the chest with her talons.

Monet tried to force her talons against Wiccan again, but the witch jumped left and blasted fireballs at her again. Monet ran along the ground and avoided as she dashed to Crystal and swung her talons to slash her face. Crystal managed to catch Monet's talons around her staff, and she twirled her staff to make the werebird dizzy, giving Crystal the chance to deal a few whacks to the head.

Monet pulled away and drew out dual-swords, holding one in each talon. She clashed her blades against Crystal's staff from midair before flying behind and slashing Crystal's back. Crystal spun around with a forceful swing of her staff, but Monet jumped and attempted to slash her side, but Crystal jumped back. The witch twirled and spun her staff in attempt to hit Monet, but the bird-woman flew overhead and crossed her swords in an 'X' as she came down for a Ground Pound. Crystal was forced into the deep snow, and as she recovered, Monet glided behind her and formed a row of icy spikes from the ground. With that, she hovered in front of Crystal and forcefully flapped her wings again, slowly pushing Crystal toward the spikes. The witch struggled to stand her ground more than ever, glancing back at the incoming spikes. She squinted her eyes to see the dial on her staff, turning the arrow to point at a shockwave symbol.

"HAAAAH!" Crystal leapt high into the air and jabbed her staff down to create a powerful shockwave. The force was strong enough to smash the ice and blow a wave of snow. Monet burrowed beneath the snow and came back up, unprepared when Crystal ran for her and dealt more whacks to the head. Monet flew up and started to run along the walls near the ceiling, jumping at Crystal every few seconds to slash with her swords. This routine lasted for several seconds until Monet shot beneath the snow and popped up beneath Crystal, sending the witch into the air.

Still beneath the witch, Monet smirked and tossed her swords straight up, sticking Crystal to the ceiling by the sides of her shirt. Monet kept her wicked smile as she spun around the snow beneath Crystal and formed a tall, pointy ice-spike. Crystal glanced down, terrified at the pointy ice. Monet flew up and pulled the swords out, allowing Crystal to fall. The witch twirled her staff quickly as she did another forceful smash-down, destroying the huge spike.

Angered, Monet shot down and swung her blades quicker, but Crystal was still able to defend. The werebird decided to burrow beneath the snow again and move around to pop up and surprise Crystal. Crystal blocked from each of her shots, but Monet kept the routine going. Crystal decided to perform another Ground Pound and blasted all the snow away, revealing Monet underneath. Crystal shot more fireballs before Monet defended with swords.

The werebird flapped to the side of the room and shot at Crystal, blades aimed at both sides as she attempted to slice the witch at high speed. Crystal jumped the werebird's strikes, but was slowly running out of breath as she had to keep jumping. She studied Monet's movements carefully to time her attack just right. Crystal made sure her dial was set, before she leaped into the air, and CRUSHED Monet's back with another forceful Ground Pound.

The harpy dropped the swords and stood up, feeling very dizzy. Finally, Monet plopped onto the snow front-first, unconscious. "Hmm." Crystal smiled with victory and twirled her staff once more. "I've been through with bullies like you since high school. Hm… but I never would've been able to get this far without Nolan. Siiiigh." She sighed sadly. "He must think so little of me… well, there's always hope." (End song.)

In seconds, all of the snow in the room dissolved, and so did the frozen exits. At that instant, the Bang Gas-Z started to flow in from the front entrance. "Uh-oh. It's time to leave." She immediately hurried out of the back exit, leaving Monet's unconscious body to be swallowed in the cloud.

With Haruka

The Dimalanta girl started to pant as she ran aimlessly about the halls. She and the others decided to split up to find the kids faster, but looking back, it might not've been the best idea. But when she came into a hall which her previous hall intersected with, she saw Mocha run by from the left, still holding the candy bundle. "Mocha!"

"Haruka!" The giant stopped with surprise.

"CAANDYYYYY!" The swarm of starving kids was still after them.

"Ahhh, let's go!" Haruka yelled as Mocha grabbed and set her on her head, continuing to run.

"Huff, huff! Haruka!" Mocha panted tiredly. "What's going on?? What's happened to them?"

"Siiigh… This is what I wanted to show you." Haruka spoke with regret. "This is what Caesar's been doing to all of you."

"M-Master??" Hurt shone in Mocha's eyes as she kept running. "I thought…I thought he was trying to heal us!"

"There was never anything WRONG with you!" Haruka yelled, her midnight-blue eyes flowing with tears. "Caesar's been… he's been using you as test subjects! That candy you've been eating is a dangerous drug that hurts your body. And if you keep eating it, you'll all die!"

"! !" Mocha's eyes shrunk with horror. "But Master said… we would all get to go home."

"He was NEVER going to let you go home! He was planning to let you all die!" Every word made Haruka's tears spill faster. "He's…He's a terrible man. A terrible person who treats you all as guinea pigs. Only keeping you alive as long as his experiments would allow. I don't know HOW many other kids might've died before you!"

"Haruka… why are you crying?"

Another sniffle. "If I'd've known what was happening… I wou-…I would've come here a lot sooner. These kids were all so innocent… they just wanted to live carefree lives. But Caesar came and…and he's taking it all away from them! Taking away all their futures, all their freedom… I just can't STAND people like that. That's why… I joined Kids Next Door in the first place. So I can STOP people like him. But if only I knew… sooner…"

"Are we-…Are we going to be okay? Haruka?…"

Haruka sniffled once more and wiped the tears, her eyes becoming serious. "We will, Mocha. Because that man in there? He was Mr. York. He's the exact opposite of Caesar. A long time ago, he saved the entire Kids Next Door from someone worse. He's a great person, and he's going to STOP Caesar."

"Do you really think so?"

"I do." Haruka smiled with confidence. "Mr. York will never let Caesar get away, and he won't rest until Caesar is defeated. As long as he's with us… we're all going to be okay."

Laboratory

"Hmmmm." Nolan York skimmed every little corner of the laboratory with Detective Vision, but couldn't find a thing. "If Caesar is keeping any secrets in here, he's keeping them good. But I'm not sure if I can last against him with that Airless World thing, so I have to find something. Oh?" His goggles picked up a glowing, orange-door, the closet. Nolan rolled over and opened the door, and his vision marked several rows of spray cans. He took one and studied it. "Explosive Gel? Hm, I wasn't able to make this yet. I'll take it… but it still might not help me against Caesar. Oh-?" He turned and saw a faint purple gas leaking under the room's exit.

"Yuh-oh. Guess the gas finally caught up. Man, I hope the others are safe. If this gas mutates you, do you lose your humanity, too? That's not worth finding out. I gotta find a way out…" He skimmed the room again and noticed a particular vent leading below the floor, and seemed big enough for his chair. "Well… it's one way."

The Sandman rolled over, stood, and struggled to lift his heavy wheelchair above the chute, allowing it to fall in. With that, the half-crippled man climbed in as well, plummeting the long drop. "AaaaaaaAAAHH- UUH!" He collided onto his wheelchair at the bottom. He recovered and sat on right, examining the area. "A garbage chute? Aw, great…" His voice echoed. "Well, this is as good a place as any to search for weaknesses. Let's see..." He used his Detective Vision again to search the trash piles for clues.

It was difficult getting his chair to move in the rugged trash floor, but he still managed as his goggles finally detected an orange-marked object. "Helloooo." Nolan pulled it out of the trash and saw it was a small book. "Hey… this is Gerald Robotnik's diary. But why would Caesar throw THIS away? Curious…" He opened the diary and started to skim the pages. He gasped lightly when he noticed Caesar's name. "Is…Is that-?" Nolan shut the book gently. "Hmm… so that's why he hid it. Well then… I guess I better find him." And with that, the Sandman made his way out of the trash heap.

Dillon's group

Dillon, Zach, and Maddy continued to run aimlessly about the halls, before the three finally encountered each other in a crossroads of four halls. "Did you find them?!" they all asked. "No! Not yet! Maybe this way!" They all ran down the fourth hallway.

"CAAANDYYYY!" They immediately saw the last of the swarm of kids run by.

"I think that was them!" Maddy remarked as they hurried after.

"CANDYYYY!" The children were dead set on catching the fleeing Mocha.

Dillon raised the syringe as he panted, "They're moving too fast, I hope I can stick them!" He ran faster and was catching up to some of the smaller children. "Hey, guuuuys! Wait up, you need to take this!"

"AAAAHH?" They looked back, seeing Dillon running with the syringe. In their monstrous eyes, he and his friends took the form of hideous monsters, wishing to feast on their flesh. "AAAAAAHHH!!!" Some of the giants stopped and punched the ground before them, blowing the kids back. "CAANDYYYYY!" With that, they were still focused on catching Mocha.

"Huff, huff, I don't know, how long I can keep this up, huff, huff." Mocha panted, becoming more tired by the minute.

"You have to keep running!" Haruka yelled. "I'll try and hold them off!" She jumped off Mocha's head and released a cloud of Sleeping Gas.

"Nyyyyaaaahhhh." The kids stopped and tried to shake the gas away.

"Way to go, Haru." Dillon panted as the others caught up. "If she can stop them long enough-" However, the ground quaked, and the three looked up in fright as Kaleo Anderson towered over them, bigger than all of the other kids, and his eyes just as monstrous.

"ME no want booboo stick!" The humongous boy exclaimed as he punched down at them, but they jumped back.

"RAAAAHHH!" The kids recovered and charged after Mocha again, and Haruka ducked as the swarm stampeded past her, praying she doesn't get crushed. "Moooochaaaaa." The giant girl looked back, frightened at her ravenous friends. "Giiiive uuuus caaaandyyyy."

"No! You'll die!" Mocha faced forward and struggled to run faster.

When the stampede cleared away, Haruka was thankful she didn't get squished. "Are you okay?!" Dillon asked as they stopped by her.

"Forget about me, we have to help her!" she yelled as they kept running.

"MOOOCHAAAA!" The kids were still desperate on catching her. "CAAANDYYYYYY!"

Mocha could almost feel her legs giving out, but she didn't stop running. She would run as long as she could until her friends were back to normal.

"Hi! I'm Ally!"

It only felt like yesterday since she was brought to Punk Hazard, on a ship with many other kids.

"Hi… I'm Doran."

They were all so nice… they played together every day.

"Hey! I'm Sind!"

Now it's like they weren't even human. She's never been more afraid…

"Yo. I'm Konbu."

Why did it all have to happen like this? They all just wanted to go home… they didn't expect any of this. They put so much faith… in Master Caesar.

"And what's YOUR name, Little Girl?"

"I'm Mocha!" the young, tiny 4-year-old responded happily. "Do you do TRICKS, Mr. Clown??"

"Shurororo! Well, I've been known to have that jokester side!" the scientist grinned as he patted the child's black, messy hair. "But don't worry, I'll have you all fixed and FIT as a fiddle in no time! In the meantime… HAVE some candy!" And he presented the tasty butterscotch with an assuring smile.

Mocha didn't wanna believe it… but Haruka sounded so truthful in her words. All this time… Caesar was lying. He was using them for test subjects… even though he said all he wanted was to help them. How could he do this to her friends? What did they ever do to deserve this? All Mocha knew… was she had to save them.

"CAAANDYYYY!" The kids drew closer and closer.

"Ahhh!" Mocha came to a flight of steep, wide stairs, tumbling down below and dropping the candy several feet ahead of her.

"Mocha!" Haruka ran between Kaleo's feet, followed by Dillon as he carried the syringe. Zach and Maddy faced up at the giant as he bent down to clutch the two.

"Raaaah, let me go, gas-freak!" Maddy demanded as they tried to shake free.

"ME WANT teddybear kiiiiid!"

"I ain't lettin' you have him!!" Zach refuted. Maddy looked at him with a quizzical look. "Uh, I mean… let us go!"

"BRUUUJAAAA!"

"AAAAH!" The giant hurled the two away, and they took land on Dillon and Haruka, making the former drop the syringe.

"Nnnn, nnnn!" Mocha was desperate to force the kids off of her and reach the candy.

"CANDYYYY!" They all ran at the bundle, but Mocha recovered and was able to grab it first.

"NOOO! If you eat this, you'll die!!"

"SHARE WITH US, Mochaaaa! DON'T HOG IT AAAALL!"

"STOP STOOOP!" They began to claw at her, trying ever harder to pry it away from her arms.

Haruka recovered weakly, watching as the swarm clawed Mocha desperately. "Mocha! Keep running!"

Mocha wanted to run, but the kids were too strong, and her legs too tired. "I…I can't!" she began to weep. She clutched the candy to her chest as tight as she could. She couldn't stand her ground for much longer.

"I'm Ally!"

There was no other way to go… they were gonna die.

"I'm Doran."

No other way… except..

"I'm Sind!"

If she couldn't make it… she had no other choice.

"Konbu."

She was hoping to go home with them… she was hoping she could play with them more… after this. But… they must go… without her.

"Mocha…" Haruka stared confused. Tears fell from Mocha's eyes as she unwrapped the bundle of candy. "! Mocha!..." Haruka's eyes widened with horror. Was she… no, she couldn't! "Mocha, don't!!"

The horde of red candy lay before her. She didn't stop… for a second.

"MOCHAAAAAAAA!!!"

But Haruka's cries were ignored. Mocha scooped all of the poisonous candy in her hands, and munched away. The operatives stared with horror. Mocha munched and chewed the candy in her giant mouth. She glared back at her monstrous friends, tears still in her eyes, and her cheeks puffed from all the candy in her mouth. Haruka began to cry as well. She wanted to stop her… but it was far too late.

Mocha forcefully swallowed the bundle of sweets, as bits of gas leaked from her mouth. She started to gasp for breath as blood leaked as well. "BLEEAH!" She puked blood, and was struggling to hold herself up, her vision fading. Finally, the giant fell back and shook the floor upon landing, her grayish-purple eyes closing.

"MOCHAAAA!" Haruka dashed forth and climbed onto the giant's chest, tears falling faster.

"M…Mocha?..." The monstrous kids finally stopped in place, their zombified eyes looking surprised.

Dillon recovered and noticed the syringe on the floor beside him. "Now's our chance!" He zipped around and stuck the needle into the children's bodies as quick as he could. Slowly, all of the giants moaned as they began to recover.

Haruka still sat horrified on Mocha's chest, trying to feel around for a pulse. Looking furious, Haruka raised her fingers and did her best to penetrate her nails into the skin. "Grrrr. I wish her skin wasn't so thick!"

"Wh…What's going on?..." Doran asked as he and the others recovered.

"Look! It's Mocha!" Ally pointed. They stared with worry and confusion as Haruka struggled to heal her.

"What…What happened to her?" Konbu asked with worry.

Haruka started panting as she ceased trying to heal Mocha, her skin much too thick to penetrate. "NNNNOOOOO!" They looked across the hall with surprise, seeing Caesar Clown. The scientist's eyes were welling with tears as he flew over. He stared down at the unconscious giant, and then at the empty candy wrap. "My week's supply of NHC10 gooooone! I had enough just for everyone, but she and that meddlesome Leo kid TOOK them aaaallll!" He started to weep, too.

Haruka stood up with furious, tear-filled eyes. "Caesar, you've gotta fix Mocha before she dies!! If you're strong enough, you have to use a Healing Sting!"

"WHO CARES about her?! I still needed all these kids' blood-samples to use in my Devil Fruits! But I can't DO that without their weekly doses!"

"M…Master…" These words came as quite a shock to the kids.

"Wait… I'VE got it!" Caesar perked up. "I'll just scoop out the rest of MOCHA'S blood and use them in the fruits! Heck, with all THOSE toxins, her blood must be LOADED! I'll suck her dry and make the best batch of Devil Fruits EVER!"

"Master, what're you saying?!" Doran yelled. "Aren't you going to treat her??"

"Of COURSE not, she's as good as dead, just ANOTHER waste of space."

"How could you say that?!" Haruka screamed. "Do these kids really mean NOTHING to you?!"

"WHO CAAARES! They're all just GUINEA pigs to me! No one will care if HUNDREDS of them die! My research is far more important! Now STEP aside and let me cut this pig open!" He grinned maliciously as he whipped out his lightsaber.

"No!!" Haruka jumped in his way. "I won't let you hurt her!"

"FIIIINE! Then you can JOIN HER!!" The girl shut her eyes as Caesar raised his saber.

A glider whooshed across the halls, holding a wheelchair, and Sandman dropped from it and kicked the clown square in the face, forcing blood to spill from his nose as he blew backward. "Ga-ack!" He held his nose in anger.

"Dad!" Dillon beamed as the Sandman sat back in his chair, the glider retracting.

"For a guy who's moralistic, you always seem to risk inducing brain-damage a lot!" Caesar retorted.

"Your brain's gotten more than its fair share of damage already." Sandman retorted. "But that didn't mean you had to do the same to these kids."

"Ohhh boohoo, CRY me a river." Caesar whined. "Either way you look at it, the CLOWN has final say in THIS facility!"

"Well said, Clown. If that IS your real name."

"Hnn?" Caesar cocked a brow.

"Because I… did a little DUMPSTER diving!" Nolan presented the old book.

"TH…THAT'S-" Caesar looked frantic.

"Professor Gerald Robotnik's diary. And it CLEARLY reveals, Caesar Clown's TRUE name. And I've deduced, that you threw this book away, because you channel your poisonbending INTO your surname, so you didn't want anyone to figure it out!"

"D'oooohh! I KNEW I should've just BURNED it!!"

"And Page 41," he opened the book, "CLEARLY states, that Professor Clown's FULL name, iiiis:… Caesar Jonathan DIMALANTA!"

DON! Dillon was shocked.

DON! Maddy's eyes widened.

DON! Zach was totally baffled.

DOOON!!! The color faded from Haruka's face.

"Uaaaaackkk!" Caesar choked. "Ohhhhh it's true, it's TRUU-U-U-UE! My name is CAESAR Dimalanta! My brother was Jerome Dimalanta, who had a son named John MATTHEW Dimalanta! I'm little Haru's great-uncle, shurororo!"

"…" Haruka looked like a zombie.

"Ooooh but now that the secret's out, I can't use my Airless World any more! But that doesn't matter! I'm STILL a Logia-type! After all, since I channeled the energy into just my surname, I STILL have plenty of power to spare! COME ALONG, Sandman, I DARE you to face me!" And the gassy clown was soaring down the hall.

"Grrr! You kids, hurry up and get somewhere safe, I'll stop him!" And Sandman was rolling after him.

"…"

"Haruka?" Dillon looked concerned for his friend.

"….!" Haruka shook out of her trance, bending over Mocha. "Mocha!" She pressed her ear to Mocha's chest, trying to find a pulse.

"M…Mocha…" Doran and the kids began to weep.

"Is what Master said true?" Ally asked.

"She sacrificed herself to save us…" Konbu wept.

"…MOCHAAAAA!" In seconds, all of the kids began to cry. Some normal kids picked up Kateenians, Minish, and Lilliputians and hugged them to their chests, while the giants picked the normal kids up. They don't even know what happened… they weren't sure why the candy was bad. But Mocha knew of its horrors… and she died… to stop them from eating it.

Haruka began to feel hopeless. She could barely feel a pulse in Mocha's chest. Just one thump… every 5 seconds… she didn't know what to do… this was Mocha's end.

"Hey, shouldn't we go back and check on Ms. Wickens?" Dillon asked.

"Probably…" Maddy said. "You guys should get going. You can take Mocha's body with you." And the three kids hurried back the way they came.

Haruka sat up and wiped a tear from her eye. The kids didn't have the strength to escape yet, still crying for their friend. When Haruka looked up, she spotted a lone door. It was labeled 'DEVIL FRUIT STORAGE ROOM'. Haruka looked between Mocha's unconscious face and the room. She just wasn't sure what to do…

SMILEs Chamber

Yuki Crystal was now on all fours, panting with the greatest exhaust. He bled slightly more as he glared up at Vergo, who didn't seem to have a single scratch on him. Just as well, Sector W7 was trying to catch their breath, although they didn't suffer as much damage. "Do you see how much you risk for your friend?" Vergo remarked. "Clearly, Nolan is more trouble than he is worth. It is futile to fight for him… any longer."

"No…" Yuki weakly got to his feet. "I will… always fight… for my friend…" he faced the general with a deathly glare, "Vergo…"

"I told you… it's Vergo-san." (Play "Victory Road" from Smash Bros. Brawl.)

Boss fight: Vergo

Yuki ran at the general again, only to be punched back, followed by Chimney, Apis, and Aisa, but the general spun and knocked away all three girls. Yuki froze the floor around the general, but Vergo merely jumped and zipped over to kick Yuki in the face. Aisa whipped out her Weapon Dial to blast gumballs at him, but Vergo held his arm in defense and used Armament to easily shield the simple gumballs. April snuck from behind to paint a pink symbol on him, but Vergo grabbed the 12-year-old and hurled her at Aisa, who dodged right.

Vergo looked to his left at an angry Apis, who still sat on the ground after being knocked away before. He zipped over, grabbed her leg, and hurled her at Aisa, who dodged right again. "Hmmm." He shot over to throw a series of fast punches at Aisa, but she swiftly ducked and dodged each one. I see… this girl was born with unnaturally strong Observation Haki. And her training in the KND has likely allowed her to develop this skill. However… he continued to throw punches as Aisa avoided. But he noticed that she slumped a little when she dodged left, looking down at her singed left foot. There is the slightest hesitation.

He decided to throw several punches from her right, forcing her to dodge left. "Nnn!" She grunted, her foot still not having recovered. "AAAH!" Finally, Vergo was able to punch her away.

"Hmm?" Vergo's left fist was suddenly frozen against the ground, the general looking left to see Yuki running for him. He swiftly flipped, kicked the Coldman away, and broke free of the ice himself.

"Oiii… this adaruto means business." Chimney said to April and Apis quietly.

"How do you think we can beat 'im, Chimney?" Apis asked.

"Gyoooom?"

Chimney thought quietly, her grin still not changing despite her serious look. She finally glanced to April, and her mind sparked. "Oi, April-chan!"

"Hm?" The older girl looked at her leader.

"Give us the blue paint, and make us strong!"

"Hmmm. Well, I guess it could work." With that, April painted a blue symbol on Chimney's back. The excited Sector Leader felt power surging through her, feeling even more excited to fight.

"Haaaaaahhhh!" Vergo turned, raising a brow at the newly revitalized Sector Leader. "FISHMAN KARATAY!" She began to dash around the general like a cheetah, zipping over every few seconds to throw kicks at Vergo. The general was able to defend, but Chimney was running around too fast for him to keep up. She began to throw her attacks faster every which way, forcing him to always be on guard. "HUAAAH!" Finally, Chimney slipped underneath and SHOT into the air as she kicked him upside the chin.

Vergo was flung upward, but when Chimney shot down for another kick, he recovered quickly and blocked her, landing on his feet. The general and the 9-year-old shot at each other and threw many punches and kicks, the two blocking the other's attacks before both jumped back. Chimney dashed at him again, but Vergo zipped behind and successfully kicked the back of her head, knocking her forward. "Hm." Feeling smug as always, Vergo ran to throw her another punch, but- "Huh?" he was forced to run left and punch a painted red symbol on the floor.

"Red, the Color of Bullfighting." April said simply. "You will always attack that spot."

"Hmm." The general glared at her. Yuki smirked and ran to throw a punch, but Vergo simply dodged to a side so that the symbol was behind Yuki, allowing him to punch Yuki anyway. The Coldman got up and growled, but Vergo slipped behind Yuki again and punched him onto the red symbol. The Coldman looked up as Vergo leapt and punched him against the ground with great force.

The force of this punch caused the red symbol to dissolve. "Aaaahh!" Chimney shouted. "April-chan, gimme another blue!"

"It's not safe to have so many Power Colors, Chimney."

"I don't care, just do it!" With that, April hurried over to paint another blue symbol on Chimney. The pigtailed girl felt more energy surge through her as she ran for Vergo again. Fast as lightning, she threw punches and kicks at Vergo, but the general blocked with his arms just as fast before she managed to punch down on his cranium. He looked around when she zipped away again, but the 9-year-old ran from behind and kicked his back, knocking him forward.

"Hmph." He was able to flip back to his feet easy, facing the Sector Leader. He stood patiently as the girl glared at him, waiting for her to strike, and when Chimney finally zipped, he dodged right and grabbed her right arm. He quickly licked his finger and wiped the blue symbols off before tossing her toward the wall. Chimney tried to stand up, but- "Uuuwaaaaaahhh." she barely had the strength anymore.

"It seems April's symbols costed a bit of your own strength. Finishing you should be easy."

"Not so fast!" Aisa declared as she leapt to kick the general, but he easily grabbed her foot and slammed her against the ground. "OOOOW!" He stomped her right foot with great force, ensuring she wouldn't be able to stand well. With that, Vergo hurried over to Chimney and lifted her by her pigtails.

"Gyoooom!" Her loyal rabbit friend leapt and tried to bite down, but Vergo raised his Armament arm as Gonbe forced his buckteeth into the iron. "Gyooooo!" The rabbit wept as Vergo tossed him away.

He still held Chimney and said, "Now you understand how little girls' dreams are just little girls' dreams. They are trapped in a fairytale land… unable to perceive the dangers of the real world."

"Hey, Bigface!" Vergo looked right, seeing the teeny-tiny Aeincha with a hateful look on her tiny face. "You put my friend down!"

"Hm." Vergo decided to drop Chimney, stepping toward the Lilliputian. He was hundreds of feet tall compared to her, but she looked unfazed. "How sad that one goes to such lengths… knowing they can't possibly win."

"I'm not scared of you! No matter how small I am, I'll protect my friends always!" The tiny girl ran at Vergo, but she was immediately pinned under his boot. "Aaah!"

"What a shame. At least Yuki puts up more of a fight."

"Aaaaah!" Aeincha struggled to break free, but Vergo was adding pressure.

"OIII! LET HER GOOOO!" Chimney demanded, fuming with rage.

"Let it be known… you died at the boot… of Vergo-san!"

"AAAHHHH!!!" In just a second, Aeincha was crushed completely flat, her screaming mixed with the sound of her breaking bones.

"NAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!" Chimney cried with despair.

"Hmph…" Vergo showed no remorse. With that, he decided to walk toward Yuki, who was still weakened on the ground. "What I did to that girl… is just a small example of what's to become of you. But your bones will feel more like crushing ice. How pathetically weak you were… never coming close to taking this key." He reached under his coat to present the key, but- "Huh?" it had strangely gone missing. He looked around to see if he dropped it, but heard the sound of a lock turning.

He stared surprised as Yuki's cuffs came off, thanks to a floating key in midair. It was then that Aeincha's form appeared around the key, the tiny child grinning as she used both arms to hold it. "Hiii, Mr. Baka-saaan!" She waved happily.

"Oh?" Vergo turned back to 'Aeincha's' squished remains, and realized that what he crushed was just a simple doll made of sticks. "But…?"

"I used my Clear Paint to make Aeincha invisible and unsensable." April explained. "Afterwards, I took out my twig-doll modeled to look like Aeincha, and painted Aeincha's features over it to give it life. She was able to climb up your coat and take the key."

Yuki rubbed his wrist and formed a glowing snowflake in his palm, smiling at Aeincha. "Thanks." He stood up and faced Vergo with a more confident appearance. "Now, it's time to heat things up. Or rather… freeze them." And with that, the icebender began to ski across the floors and walls, leaving a trail of ice in his wake. He skied along the walls over the factory area, performing quick cartwheels and leaving shoe and handprints of ice.

Vergo ran forth and began to jump around the room to catch him, bouncing off the walls and giant containers. Yuki dropped to the floor and swiftly slid under the treadmill of a machine, using his hands to leave parallel ice paths. "UAH!" Vergo zipped from his right and kicked Yuki away. The icebender recovered and skied away again, launching icicles at Vergo as he chased. The general punched the projectiles away before zipping to the side, around the containers, and popping out in front of Yuki to kick him upward, then kick him to the center of the containers.

"Gah!" Yuki coughed slight blood as he sensed Vergo behind him. The general punched down, but Yuki flipped forward and stood below the balcony's railing, having left an icy handprint in the center between him and Vergo.

"Even with your bending powers, my Haki proves far superior." Vergo spoke as he calmly stepped forward. Yuki froze ice directly below him to push himself up to the balcony. "It should only take a few more hits… to break an element so fragile. I'll give you a 10-second headstart… and during which time… I want to hear you say Vergo-san." (End song.)

As Yuki panted on the balcony floor, he made a smirk. "Fragile element… huh? You wanna… make a bet?"

Vergo stopped just above the icy handprint. "Hm?" he cocked a brow.

Yuki grinned maliciously and formed a hand-sign. "Sickle Growth."

The print below Vergo suddenly glowed, and his eyes widened as a tall, pointy icicle sprouted up.

Yuki stood with a calm, cool aura, his back turned to the chaos that happened behind him. Icicles sprouted up everywhere he left a print, penetrating all of the containers and machines. In the center of it all, Vergo's body hung near the ceiling, from the tall icicle that penetrated his stomach. "When I was young… I endured so many struggles…" Yuki spoke lowly. "My soul was lost… until Jagar risked everything to bring it back. He helped me… because I was his friend. And that's why… no matter how much I suffer… I will always be there… to support Nolan."

The green substance spilled and flooded the lower floor. The SMILEs chamber fell to total ruin as alarms blared. Vergo was left hanging dry… his shocked expression frozen.