Operation: NECSUS, Part 16: The Smartest Computer in the Universe  

Chapter 16: The Smartest Computer in the Universe

Great Library of Galaxia

"Ahhhh… Yeah, that's what I needed." Nebula sighed as she sat in the steaming bathtub which Pollyx conveniently had built in the library. Tired adventurers must come here a lot. "If I knew Pollyx had this earlier, I'd be coming here after every planet."

"You oughta have something like this installed in the base!" Vweeb suggested, hopping onto the tub's side.

"GYAAH!" Nebula hid under the bubbles. "Isn't any boy in this universe decent?!"

"We're as decent as we come." He winked. "Anyway, Pollyx is looking into the other fragments, but not much luck. And there aren't any events taking place that he's aware of."

"Well, something has to happen eventually. But for now, get the heck out!" Her shout made him fall back. "And check how Bender's doing with our lunch."

Inside the kitchen, Bender whistled a tune as he dipped burgers in acid and put them on the plate. He stomped on a few bugs and scooped their squished remains to put them on, then finished by sprinkling on some dandruff. "A'ight kids, get 'em while they're scorched!" he announced, turning to Sector V. The team of 11 (plus Game-and-Watch) had horrified, color-flushed faces, after witnessing Bender's technique.

"Uhhhh… that's not edible." Artie said.

"I really wouldn't mind ordering out." Aurora mentioned.

"Nonsense, here have a bite!" He tossed each of them a plate. They exchanged looks of worry and anguish, but they attempted to stomach a bite. Their expressions fell lifeless as they fell to their knees and desperately tried to hack the food out.

Pollyx walked in and looked at the poisoned kids with shock. "Eyeeeh!"

"Hey, Professor, wanna try my Ant-Beetle Dumpster Surprise?" He held up another unsavory dish.

"Well uh, that is to say-" The doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" He ran off.

Sector V hurried to scour the fridge for drinks as they heard someone speaking with Pollyx down the hall. "Excuse me Sir, but we happened to stumble upon this book, and it said it belonged to this library."

"Well, I'll be darned!" Pollyx exclaimed as Vanellope was patting a sick Game-and-Watch's back. "This has been gone for almost 40 years! Where did you find it?"

"Just happened to be lying around." The visitor grinned. "In return, we'd like ta know something: where could we find any Jedi Temples?"

"Ehhh, well there is the Jedi Temple in the Galactic Capital on Coruscant, but I can't imagine much activity there…"

"No worries. Thanks for the help."

"Okay, thanks again! And what a very nice flamingo coat!"

After Nebula finished her bath, she dressed back up and walked out to the others. "Nebula, look at this!" Pollyx yelled, skittering over with the book. "A couple of nice, eh, funny-looking kids just came by and brought me this book! The book that I've been missing from my library for years!"

"'Ancient Technologies of the Universe'?" Nebula read.

"Yes! And look who was the person to check it out." He opened the front cover.

"Mom."

"Exactly! A-And she has a section bookmarked. One that talks about the legendary IRIS Supercomputer."

"What's so special about IRIS Supercomputer?"

"The IRIS happened to be built around your mother's Zathurian days, and is the oldest and wisest of Terachnoid machineries. Perhaps Mom sought it out to gain information. Information that may be vital to your quest."

"Hmmm… Well, it is worth checking out."

"Indeed! Besides what it told Mom, the computer's knowledge is endless! It could tell you a hundred things you want to know! And more!"

"Well, that's terrific!" Vweeb perked. "Where is it?"

"Over the years, it seems the computer station was frozen inside of a comet, which soars across the universe so the computer can collect info. And by my calculations, said Kreeli Comet should be making its pass through the Bermuda Tetrahedron."

"The Bermuda Tetrahedron?!" Vweeb gasped. "That's the Space Graveyard! No spaceship has ever returned from there alive!"

"Doesn't Galaxia have a hundred Space Graveyards?" Nebula asked.

"Well, this one hasn't been conquered, yet!"

"Actually, I've seen a lot of space-pirates sailing into that region recently." Pollyx mentioned. "Perhaps they intended to find this comet."

"Well, we goin' to find it or what?" Bender asked.

"Yes, yes. There's one thing that concerns me, though: if Mom did visit the computer, I fear she may've done something to it. She usually loves to keep other people from finding her sources."

"Well, if it's a computer, Vanellope could probably fix it." Aurora figured.

"It is my specialty!" said Vanellope proudly.

"Well, there's not really room on our ship, but I guess you can ride in our terminal." Nebula figured.

"Actually, you may want to take Sector V's bigger ship, anyway." Pollyx suggested. "The Bermuda Tetrahedron is unpassable without a fairly strong ship. But there's still a matter of navigating it."

"Leave it to me!" Haylee declared proudly. "My dad was the best pilot there is, and he taught me everything! I'll sail through that tetrahedron like it was a sea of icebergs!"

"Is that supposed to assure us?" Nebula remarked.

"Yes!"

"You kids sure have guts, I'll give you that." Pollyx said. "I couldn't summon up the courage to confront a salesclerk for a faulty product. Let alone… ehhh anyway, I'll provide you with coordinates to the tetrahedron so you can be on your way."

"Hope you aren't nervous Haylee, this is your final exam." Harry smirked.

"Yeah, but it'd be just too easy if our final exams could be right now. …"

Galactic Council H.Q.; Tachyon's office

"I don't see the point of making me the main villain if I'm hardly IN this story." Tachyon yelled into his phone. Behind him were Vendra and Neftin. "If I don't get paid a decent wage, YOU'RE going to wish you never- Oh, hang on, I have another call." He pushed the button. "Hello, Mumsy. What?! They're heading to Kreeli Comet? Brilliant!" He turned to his criminal allies and ordered, "Show time, you two! Fly to the Bermuda Tetrahedron and grab those kids ONCE AND FOR ALL! And as for Nebula, I've grown quite sick of her, so just go ahead and kill her! The little amount of Space Chi she has is relatively useless, so we shouldn't need it in the end."

"But we still need her to decipher the remaining artifacts and locate the fragments." Vendra said with a glare.

"Actually, I know where one of the fragments is already. It's divided in two halves, and both belong to enemy tribes that've been fighting for over a century! I have a plan to lay waste to BOTH of them, in time. As for the other fragment, as long as we have Ms. Winkiebottom in our captivity, we'll have that artifact translated."

"But just because you have the fragments, you still have no idea where the original Dimensionator is."

"Hmmm… you're right. But Nebula is attempting to locate the IRIS Supercomputer. If I recall, that computer contains VAST knowledge and information, such as the whereabouts of the original Dimensionator. Perhaps Nebula's meddling will prove useful to us. As soon as she awakens it, we will use the computer to tell us the Dimensionator's location. After eliminating her, of course. Now both of you get to the comet NOW! Or you'll be taking their place in Zordoom!"

"Right away, Your Majesty." Neftin bowed. He whispered to Vendra, "Let's just give this jackass what he wants."

"I'm afraid I have better plans…" With that, she warped both of them.

Aloha Oe; approaching Bermuda Tetrahedron

The Bermuda Tetrahedron was a massive region of space, shaped like a tetrahedron, flowing with dark-red foggy and electrical energy. "There it is…" Nebula spoke as they all bore worried looks.

"Well… here we go." Haylee spoke, feeling the most afraid as she drove the ship inside. Seconds after passing the fog, their ship was pelted by a storm of red electricity.

"Watch out! It's Tickle Me Elmo's fire!" Nebula exclaimed. Indeed the kids began laughing as the static sizzled their clothes and made their hair stand.

"Hey Dillon!" Chris called, touching his friend with his finger.

"OW!" He was zapped. "Why you!"

"YOW!" Chris was zapped back.

"Ow!" "YOW!" "Ow!" "YYYOUCH!" They were all in a tickle-shock fight.

"Bzzzzzz-" As Sheila was shocking Mason, Aurora ran to smack her wrist.

"Will everyone just stop it?!" she yelled. "We need to get through here safely!" Sheila frowned grumpily and rubbed her wrist.

"Okay, hehehe! We're about to exit the storm!" Haylee giggled.

The static stopped as they flew into a clearer area, flowing with massive diamonds. "Hang on, everybody! We're passing through a storm of spacebergs!" Haylee reported.

"Stupid rocks, think they're so great." Bender grumbled.

"Well, they are giant diamonds." Nebula told him.

"What?!"

In seconds, Bender was on the roof of the Aloha, holding a small net up. "Come to papa! Hehehehehe- YYOOOOW!!" An asteroid whipped by and yanked his arm off.

"Get back inside!" Haylee yelled. "I'm trying to focus here!"

"It's hopeless!! Abandon ship!!" Vanellope flailed her arms.

"Calm down!" Haylee ordered. "I'm going to get us through this!"

The spacebergs got bigger as they flew through, and Haylee had to make some tight turns to get around them. They were sandwiched between two spacebergs as they closed in, ramming the ship from both sides, making the kids flinch. "Okay, that's gonna leave a mark." Haylee said.

More spacebergs flew at them from all directions, but Haylee couldn't navigate around in time. "We're getting BOMBARDED here!" Mason screamed.

"Just stay calm!! The less you cry out, the better!"

The team did so and stayed silent as Haylee carefully sailed around the massive diamonds. The giant gems were so reflective, it was hard to tell their exact distance, but Haylee managed to sail through a canyon. Several spacebergs were about to crash ahead, so Haylee slowed down and let them bounce off each other before speeding forward. However, one last spaceberg was speeding at them from the front, ready to slam their cockpit.

"Haylee, pull back! Fast!" Aurora yelled.

"It's too late to turn around!"

"Wait! Keep going!" Bender yelled. "I'll handle it!" With that, the robot jumped off the Aloha's roof and grabbed a beam with his remaining arm. His arm stretched and stretched as he fell, before flinging himself straight back at the Aloha full force. "OOOF!" He slammed his back against the ship and forced a huge airbag to puff up as he floated to the front. The operatives shielded their eyes as the spaceberg was about to crash, but it forced against Bender's airbag and bounced straight back into space.

"YAAAAY!"

"Phew! Way to go, Bender!" Nebula cheered.

"Did I hear what I know I just heard??"

"Everyone's thinkin' it!" Vweeb smiled and shrugged.

"BENDER IS GREAT!" they all cheered.

"AH KNEW IT!!" But just like that, Bender fell apart completely. "A little help here?"

In the distance, they saw a big, whitish-blue comet whipping across the empty blackness. "That's the Kreeli Comet!" Nebula pointed.

As they approached the snowy comet, they noticed a bunch of bases with pirate flags set up across the landscape, and space-pirates walking about them. "So the pirates are here after all." Aurora observed.

"Orright! Let's rust some pirate booty!" Sheila fist-pumped.

"It's best not to get in the way." Aurora suggested. "Only Vanellope should go with them, since she can repair the computer."

"Arrrr leave the pirate thrashing to ME, mateys!" Vanellope fist-pumped.

Sheila once again had a grumpy frown on her face.

The ship took land on an open spot, and after the Gilligan Triplets repaired Bender, the team of Nebula, Vweeb, Bender, and Vanellope began the journey across the comet. (Play "Tidal Terror" from Donkey Kong Country Returns.)

Stage 20: Kreeli Comet

Mission: Find the IRIS Supercomputer.

Act 1

The team of four passed through a path between walls, reaching a ledge above a bottomless chasm. On their left was a grabable ledge which the other three climbed across, while Vweeb walked across. The ledge was collapsing as they went, so they had to be quick, but had to stop to avoid Snapdragons that Vweeb shot. They reached the next path and followed it to a small pirate camp. Corsair pirates began shooting at them while Nebula dodged and countered with T.O.P.M.A.N., making the pirates spin around and shoot at others. Vanellope then glitched around and tripped them in their dizziness, causing them to topple over a nearby ledge.

They followed a path through a short trench where turrets were stationed up on the walls, firing rapid machineguns that forced the group to jump back to safety. Nebula fired V.I.S.S.I.L.E.s over to blow the four pirates away, allowing them to proceed safely. They approached the entrance of a small base with a terminal that Vanellope was beginning to hack. She entered a code 'Swabbies' and caused the door to open. A trio of Swabs jumped out of chests and launched their electric hooks, but Nebula shot S.P.O.U.T. geysers to make them short-circuit. Bender then grabbed a nearby barrel, chugged down all the grog, then used it to bowl the dizzy pirates out of a left exit.

The exit overlooked a dark chasm, which they could walk down safely using a Gravity Path. Once deep enough in the chasm, it began to lead around the walls as mini avalanches were falling from above, and the group could only pass after they stopped for a few seconds. Eventually the path led them to another pirate camp, where a few swabbies were gathered around a campfire. "Aren't they done fixing that thing, yet?"

"You know you can't count on Joe-Jack for jack. Why, you can hardly count on him for Joe."

"I 'ope he fixes it, 'cause just imagine a computer that knows practically everything! I'm gonna ask what Jerry is getting for my birthday!"

"The computer doesn't know THAT, and if it did, it wouldn't bother answerin' ya! A more WORTHY question would be-"

"How many seconds it will take to kick your butt!" Nebula declared before chucking a grenade at the gathered pirates. Some hurried to turrets and tried to blast them, but Vanellope glitched over and cupped hands over one's eyes. During his distraction, Bender snuck over to bend the turret cannon backward, then Vanellope glitched to other pirates so Bender could do the same. The turret pirates ended up shooting their selves, and afterward, Bender reached to yank off a pirate's leg, bend it like a boomerang, and throw it to knock down all the others.

They hurried through another path and found an area enclosed within the walls, where another pirate base sat. Two pirate turrets sat on the base's roof as they blasted at the kids and robot, but Vanellope glitched up there and bounced back-and-forth between their heads to draw their attention. She zipped to the back of that roof area and tricked them to shooting the two generators, causing the front doors to open. Team Nebula hurried in that front entrance and encountered some Hot Head Pirates; skinny pirates with torches on their craniums.

The pirates launched grenades from their flaming skulls, but Bender grabbed them as Nebula used the S.P.O.U.T. to propel the pirates upward, then Bender threw the grenades in as well to have them blow up the pirates. On their left was a barred gate which Bender bent open, letting them go up a walkway onto the roof where Vanellope was. The little Program girl was already standing victoriously over the fallen pirates.

They had to cross a dangerous chasm to reach the next base, but the only way across was a tiny, zigzaggy metal beam. There was a mirror leaned by one of the crates on the roof, so Nebula minimized Bender and herself with Space Shrink. She would've done the same to Vanellope, but the excited Program decided to glitch across herself, acting stealthily as she climbed onto the roof. The three minis crossed the tiny beams their selves, in which snowflakes fell onto parts of the path and made it slippery, so they crossed those parts carefully. Before they could cross the last bit, the path suddenly collapsed, but Bender dropped down and stretched his arms to both sides, letting his friends use him as a foothold to cross.

Bender pulled himself to the other side as the three started to climb up a pipe, leading leftward around the base and eventually to the roof. "We're grounders and rust bolts and outdated oil, DRINK UP me hearties, yo ho! Yooo hoooo, yooo hoooo, a robot's life for me!" A band of pirates sang upon the roof. One of them happened to be dancing with a mirror. "We're programmed to plunder, and also to not give a hoot, DRINK UP me hearties, yo ho! Yooo hooo, yo hoooo, a robot's life for me."

The miniaturized trio had to sneak around the right of the pirates, getting behind a stack of crates where Vanellope waited. "Ohhh…" The Program girl rubbed her forehead.

"Vanellope? Are you okay?" the tiny Nebula asked.

"Uhhh…" She came to her senses. "Yeah. Just felt dizzy for a minute. …Awww, you guys are so cute!" she squealed. "Like little two-legged gerbils!"

"I ain't no gerbil, Turtle!" Mini Bender remarked, smoking his mini cigar.

"Vanellope, I need you to get that mirror over to us so I can resize." Mini Nebula told her.

"Call me Vanellope, Professional Mirror Retriever!" The little girl zipped out to the partying pirates and asked the one holding the mirror, "Excuse me, Mister! Why're you dancing with that mirror?"

"This be my regular dancing mirror!"

"Is it 'cause you couldn't find a date?"

"This ain't even that kind of dance, Lassie!"

"Everyone else has a date. You're alone."

"I am NOT alone!"

"Looonelyyy… I'm Mr. Looonelyyyy. I have nobooodyyyy… BUT MY MIRROOOORRR!"

"ARRRR! Ay'll ram this mirror upside your head!" He was about to whack her with it, but-

"Thanks!" She grabbed the mirror and glitched over the boxes, aiming it at the tiny group. "Hurry! Quick!"

Nebula focused and resized herself, then did the same to Bender. "ARRR! Intruders!" the pirate yelled. Vanellope whacked him upside the head with the mirror before the four jumped out to clash with the pirates. Buccaneers slashed swords at them, but Bender bent their arms by the elbow and caused them to slice other pirates. A pirate ran at Nebula from behind, but the leader shot a top to spin him around and run to stab an ally. With the pirates defeated, the group used a nearby turret to blow down the door into the building. However, when they looked across the chasm, they noticed several weak cracks in the cliffside wall. They blasted those spots and made the wall crumble, revealing a massive Bender Marking. Nebula snapped a picture of the giant graffiti and hurried forward. "Hehehehehehehe!"

"You know, we never did find the one in Solar Mines." she remembered. Inside the room was an elevator with a generator, so Nebula shocked it with Space Lightning to make it go down. It brought them to an exit with a wide path leading across the chasm into a cave in a small hill. A squad of Swabs and Hardy Buccaneers charged over. They began to shoot guns, but Vanellope glitched behind a Buccaneer's shield and took it, jumping back to her friends to defend them from gunshots. Bender jumped off the bridge and stretched his arms to hang onto both sides, using his strength to bend the other half of the bridge down. The pirates took the plunge, except the pirate who lost his shield, but Vanellope shoved the shield back against him and pushed him down.

Bender climbed back up and bent the bridge back to normal so the four could cross. They reached another dark chasm and had to swing across G.R.A.P.P.L.U.H. targets that moved left to right and vice-versa respectively, while Vanellope glitched across, before taking land on a platform near a bolted-up door. But as luck would have it, a Nether Rift appeared on that door, so Nebula jumped inside.

Netherverse (Play "Clank in the Netherverse" from you know by now.)

Nebula appeared in a very frosty cavern, first having to jump and float across small icy platforms over an abyss. She reached a ledge on the other side and slid down a small slide into a bigger cavern. A door sealed the way behind her when she entered, having to cross a small maze that seemed to have two routes leading to the other side. Once across, she slid down a slightly wider slide to another mazelike room, only this time there was a chasm and two thin paths led across it. Another door sealed behind her, but she paid this no mind as she easily floated across the chasm.

After going down another slide, she reached a mazey corridor that made several turns and several routes. She eventually reached the end, where the doors closed behind her again, but the next space power floated before her. She touched the power and absorbed it in her body.

Nebula learned the Space Split! With this, she can create a portal to split her body in two! Both halves will mirror the other, walking forward side-by-side, or walking opposite directions when walking sideways! She is able to split by standing on a Split Pad, in which her parallel will move to an alternate pad. Both halves can reunite by touching each other.

To exit the cave, Nebula stood on one of the Split Pads, making a portal that separated the right half of her body and put it on the right Split Pad. Both halves walked toward each other, standing on two parallel switches at the same time. The door opened, and both halves reunited before leaving. (Play "Netherverse Chase" from that same game you should know.)

"GRAGRAHGRAGRAHGRAGRAH-" The Nether began chasing, so Nebula hurried through this maze of doors, having to split in two using the pads at the beginning and navigating both around the maze. Since the maze made several turns, and the halves could only walk forward beside each other, whenever they made turns, they had to walk down alternate paths. It got very confusing, especially since Nebula saw through the eye(s) of both halves, but both were able to meet up and stand on the two switches to open the door.

To get up the slide, both halves had to Wall Jump off the walls and each other, but once they got up, they reunited. However, she had to split up again to cross the two paths across the chasm, moving slowly so neither slipped on the ice, but still had to move fast as the Nether chased. Both halves reached the switches and reopened the slide which the two Wall Jumped up. They were back in the wall maze and had to take separate routes, navigating around the same as before before reaching the end.

They hit the switches and opened the thinner slide, which Nebula Wall Jumped on her own. She reached the room with the small platforms, but those footholds suddenly collapsed. They were replaced with a set of 3 balance beams, the first one short, next one long, and the last one shortest. Nebula split into two again and had both halves stand on the ends of the first, balancing perfectly. She had to repeat this and float both halves to the ends of the long one, then float to the close ends of the short one. Finally, they made it to the ledge and reunited before exiting the portal. (End song.)

Kreeli Comet

The three others jumped back in shock when Nebula popped out, followed by the Nether's head, who exploded and blew the door open. "WHOA! Was that some kinda microwave dimension??" Vanellope questioned.

"No, but their heads are overcooked." Nebula responded. "Come on."

They finally entered the chamber of the IRIS Supercomputer. It was a big computer with several smaller computers around it, and the place was totally blacked out. "No doubt this place hasn't been visited in ages." Nebula knew.

Vanellope noticed several sparking wires and proceeded to fix them. Afterwards, she hooked her laptop up with the IRIS. "Aside from the outer damage, it looks like a virus poisoned her mainframe, too. I'll go in to fix it from inside. Don't get bored and fall asleep!" With that, she materialized inside. (Play "Blarg Station" from Ratchet & Clank.)

Act 2: IRIS Mainframe

Vanellope appeared in another virtual space, standing on some hexagon-tiled floors over a dark chasm. A thin path led across the chasm, but a group of spiraling circles were blocking the way. On the other side of Vanellope's ledge were 3 Zoni, so the girl went to recruit them. "Zoni."

"Aww, not YOU guys again. Oh well. Lend me a hand, would ya?"

They followed the path to the spinning circles, where the Zoni uncovered a hidden terminal on a ledge sticking out on the left. Vanellope entered the code 'Dizzy' to make the circles stop and allow her to jump through them. A space-pirate Program was there to attack her, but Vanellope dodged his sword-slash, glitched onto his head, wrapped her legs around his neck, and twisted it backwards, making the confused Program walk off the edge. She looked to a group of three spinning circles across the chasm, but with no way to jump through, she crossed a set of platforms so the Zoni could unfold another computer. She entered the codes 'Long jump', 'Speedy', and 'Vomit' to make the three circles slow down.

Zone Lights floated in the center of those circles, so the Zoni flew over, ready for Vanellope to glitch. She needed to glitch across with good timing since the circles were still spinning, but she was able to get across and land on a new walkway. She entered a circular door to a new room, standing on a ledge before a chasm which she had to cross using a fat log-like device. However, the log wouldn't turn when she stood on it, and seven Zone Lights went around its edges. On the left of the ledge were four more Zoni, so Vanellope went over to recruit them. "Zoni."

They all took place on the Zone Lights, and as Vanellope rapidly glitched around and around, the log-like device spun and floated over the chasm. When they reached the next ground, Vanellope got off and encountered three more pirates. The cheerful girl zipped around and warped between each of their heads, confusing them so the Zoni could toss energy beams and take them out. They followed a left path to a ledge overlooking a series of square-shaped wall panels, turning and moving left and right over the chasm. Vanellope had to Wall Jump across them, having to kick off whenever the walls switches sides so she was ready to kick off the next.

She followed the next path to a ledge overlooking another chasm. The distance was farther across this gap, and three more spinning circles led across, spread far from each other. Vanellope followed a left route where the Zoni uncovered another computer. The Program entered the codes 'Distance', 'Faraway', and 'Get ready' to make all three circles begin moving. The circles all zipped to one side of the chasm, gathered up, then flew to the other, one at a time from smallest to largest. Each had a Zone Light, so a Zoni had to get in each of them. When the circles came over, then were flying across, Vanellope glitched into the largest circle, then the medium, then the shortest, making it safely across thanks to their quick speeds.

On this next floor, she picked up 5 more Zoni, making 12 total. "Zoni." With that, she continued to a set of three bigger wheels, each bigger than the previous, and had Zone Lights spinning around with them. The 12 Zoni each got on a light, letting Vanellope glitch around the wheels and make it up to the foothold. She entered another circular door to a ledge where a bridge led across the chasm, the various panels closing in and out, threatening to drop her below. The bridge was easy to cross as Vanellope arrived at the computer's core, where a huge, black, digital blob protected the mainframe.

The Virus sent mini black blobs out and attempted to smash its head at Vanellope, but she glitched up and threw a series of rapid kicks at its eye. It recovered as Vanel landed and launched forward with a kick, but her left foot ended up caught inside its substance. She desperately tried to shake as it sucked her in, but the Zoni saved her by throwing energy balls. She glitched around the Virus and threw several quick kicks, and as it tried to catch her, the Zoni were throwing energy spheres at its form.

Vanel finally glitched high above as it looked up, glitching and zipping around at high speeds before throwing a powerful kick at its eye. With that, Vanellope dropped down as the Zoni opened its chest to reveal a terminal. Vanellope entered four codes, 'Knowledge', 'Unlimited', 'Multiverse', and 'Zathurians.' The Virus sparkled and digitized before derezzing completely. A huge door opened to reveal the IRIS Supercomputer, lighting back to life. Vanellope jumped with excitement and fist-pumped, ready to warp back. (End song.)

Vanellope set up her laptop and readied to warp back to her friends. But before she could, the Zoni flew around her and zapped her with a vision. "The Light is in danger." The vision was of Sheila Frantic walking across the snows of Kreeli. "She will perish in Zordoom."

Vanellope was taken out of the vision as the Zoni left. She shook her head with confusion and said, "The whuuuut?"

IRIS Chamber

Neb, Vweeb, and Bender watched as Vanellope rematerialized from the laptop. The IRIS Supercomputer began to spark to life, along with all the computers around it. "Hoooo-o-o-o-o-o. Goodness, I thought I'd never be rebooted. Many thanks for fixing me. To think of how many years to acquire knowledge I must've lost. Who are you?"

"Name's Bender, and may I say, you are one sexy artificial intelligence." He blew his cigar.

"Um, my name's Nebula. Nebula Winkiebottom."

"Winkiebottom?! You wouldn't be referring to the same family who led the astrological research on Planet Zathura, would you?"

"Um… I wouldn't know. I never knew my family ancestry, and my mom barely did, either."

"You are. I can tell. The daughter of the only remaining Zathurian in the universe. Dimentia Z. Winkiebottom."

"Did you know my mom?"

"Not personally, but I knew her parents, Blumeré and Nosteré. They were leaders of the Zathurian tribe, who conducted research on the hidden powers of space. In their quest to harness this power, they created the Dimensionator. A great turning point in their scientific research. The Cragmites, their enemy race who wished to use this research for evil intentions, desperately wanted this invention. But while its creation was enough to provoke them, something else outright made them explode with rage and jealously: the birth of Dimentia and her brother, Dimentio."

"But why?" Nebula asked.

"This was just 3 million years after the gods granted mortals the powers of the elements. However, at the time, the powers of Time and Space were far too important to give. But Palkia, God of Space, jealous of Time God Dialga for having his own apprentice, decided to grant two Zathurian twins the powers of Space. Those were Dimentia and Dimentio. When word of their power reached the Cragmite race, a terrible war ensued, in their quest to capture these children and harness their power. The Zathurians were falling, but in the end, Blumeré and Nosteré used the Dimensionator to send the Cragmites to Dimension D. But just before the Cragmites' banishment, two Cragmite parents ejected a lone egg out of the planet's atmosphere. It escaped Zathura before it was sealed as well, and drifted across space for many years. Eventually, the egg drifted to Planet Glacia, and crashed upon a snowy mountain. The blistering snows piled and piled on the tiny egg, until it was frozen. For thousands and thousands of years… it lay frozen. Buried.

"Then one day, just 40 years ago, the President of MomCorp, Mom, scheduled an excavation on Glacia, in the quest for rare and possibly hazardous materials. Using all the advanced machinery and archaeologists working overtime," her screen showed Mom sitting comfily in a warm log cabin, sipping cocoa while workers shivered in the frosty snows, their skin turning blue as they weakly dug, "they eventually stumbled upon a strange, frozen egg. Mom placed it in her kajillion-degree oven, originally intending to eat the yolk, but was amazed to see a tiny, alien baby hatch." They watched as a little baby Tachyon hatched from the egg, screaming very loudly from the scorching heat.

"Mom's heart was touched by the baby's sudden appearance, but she had no idea what this was. That's when she located and came to me, requesting my knowledge. I confirmed that he was a Cragmite, and the last of his kind, due to the expelling of the Cragmites at the hands of the Zathurians. It wasn't long before a devious idea popped into Mom's head. She decided to raise Tachyon as her own, training him so that one day, he'll rise to political power, and share his power with her. Tachyon became a big success in his career, able to buy the support of the Drophyd Army, without the knowledge of the Galactic Council.

"Mom told the story of how the Zathurians sent the Cragmites away, and how his species were the rightful rulers of the universe. She convinced him to one day use his political knowledge and conquer Galaxia. And in his rule, he would be able to find the weapon that caused the Cragmites' destruction: the Dimensionator. Tachyon would be able to use the Dimensionator's power to spread his rule across the universe, and at the same time, MomCorp could become the universe's largest corporate chain."

"So in the grand scheme, Mom is the evil one here." Nebula deduced.

"In a way, yes. But as Tachyon grew in politics, he begun to stand at equal terms with Mom, if not greater. They became simple allies, not Tachyon being her servant/son, and Tachyon developed his own lust for wanting to bring back his people. But it was thanks to Mom he was able to reach this point. She got him connections with Caesar's Bang Gas Business, and allowed him to acquire the Matter-Matter Fruit. And using his resulted matterbending abilities, he bought the loyalty of the Drophyd Army by supplying them with vast amounts of Raritanium. He is able to do this by uncovering Raritanium inside iron asteroids using his powers."

"Hmmm… Well, at any rate, if you know about the Cragmites, maybe you know where the Dimensional Fragments are, or at least the Zathurian Artifacts."

"I wish I could help you. Unfortunately, that data in my memory banks was deleted, by none other than the Zoni."

"The Zoni?" Nebula asked.

"Hey! Those are the things that were helping me!" Vanellope remembered.

"Now that you mention it… Cheren told me about them, too." Nebula recalled.

"The Zoni are a powerful race of beings able to manipulate Time and Space at will. There is a legend that says they existed before this universe was created, and they possess unlimited knowledge even superior to mine. They seem to know many things ahead of time, and they aid certain people of destiny. For example, the Space Lights and Gravity Paths you've seen up until now. Those were left there by the Zoni, to aid in your quest."

"So the Zoni… have been helping me all along?"

"Wait! What about me?" Vanellope excitedly asked. "Whaddo they hang around me for?"

"Their reasons are beyond my knowledge, so I cannot say. I've reached the conclusion, they do not want my knowledge to be available all the time. When Mom requested me the location of the fragments and Zathurian Artifacts, and I bared no answer, she had me dismantled. Of course, my technology was far superior to what she's used to. My hi-def cameras continued to function and observe passing regions of the universe. But I was unable to control the Kreeli Comet, so I could not observe the regions I had wanted. A lot of cool stuff probably happened, I bet."

"Hehe, you wouldn't believe the half of it." Nebula laughed. "…That reminds me, though… where is the Dimensionator, anyway? We have the fragments, but the actual machine…"

"This, I can tell you. The original Dimensionator has, unfortunately, been dismantled. However, the blueprints have been entrusted to one of the races tasked with guarding the fragments: the Legoans. And currently, only one person on that planet has the knowledge and capability to build the Dimensionator in the same fashion as the Zathurians: Lord Business." She showed an image of the former enemy.

"So that means… we need Lord Business to build the Dimensionator?"

"Yes. And he should know where the blueprints are. …Now then… that's all the information I can provide you regarding your quest. When you see your mother again… do tell her, I would like to meet her."

"But isn't my mom… in Zordoom?"

"Yes. And if you could… I would like you to go and rescue her. Blumeré and Nosteré recorded a message on me, before Zathura's sealing by the Zoni. A message intended for Dimentia and her brother. But Dimentio passed away a long time ago with the other Zathurians of that time, and Dimentia is the only one left. It is vital that she gets this message."

"We'd like to, but… breaking into Zordoom would be a little dangerous right now. After we deal with Tachyon, they should set Mom free. …Uh, I mean MY mom, not 'Mom' as in… the person."

"I understand. But know my knowledge expands to other things. I have provided a list of questions that may peak your interest." A list of questions appeared on her screen for Nebula to choose from.

"That's okay… we'll get back to you on those later."

The four were about to turn and head back. But Vanellope's laptop rang just then, so she set it down and opened as Aurora's face appeared. "Vanellope! Where are you guys? We've got trouble."

"What? What's going on?" Nebula asked.

"Sheila's gone missing! We've sent Mason and Chris out to find her, but we might need your help."

"Okay, we'll hurry back as soon as possible." Nebula assured before Vanellope shut the laptop. "Oh boy… 'Wonder what could've happened."

Secretly, Vendra heard the whole conversation from a tiny portal she was peeping through.

Somewhere else on the comet

Chris and Mason trekked across a barren area of the snowy comet, searching worriedly for their friend. "Man, I hope Sheila's okay." Mason said. "You think some pirates snuck onboard the ship and kidnapped her?"

"Come on Mase, Sheila wouldn't get caught that easy. She's the strongest person on the team. Next to me, of course." Chris grinned proudly. "She probably saw something interesting and decided to follow. You know how she gets."

After a few more minutes, Mason stopped and pointed at a path of shoeprints in the snow. "Look! Those footprints! They're the same as Sheila's sandals!"

"Let's go!" Chris yelled as they ran along the path.

They made it to a small gorge and noticed someone sitting with their back against the left wall. "There she is!" Chris pointed, recognizing their friend. Sheila had her eyes closed and hands folded behind her head, and one leg stretched out while the other was contracted like a slope. She was also swishing a lollipop around in her mouth.

"Sheila, there you are! What're you doing out here?" Mason asked.

"And hey, that was mine!!" Chris yelled.

The raccoon sheila moved the lollipop around before pulling it out and opening her furrowed eyes. "I'm done."

They stood in silence for several moments. Only the rushing blizzards could be heard. "Whaddo you mean you're done?" Chris asked.

"The only reason I came out in space was 'cause I wanted to go on cool space adventures. I didn't wanna just sit around, get captured, and wait for Nebula to do things or come tell us to do things. There's no point of comin' out in space if we can't go on adventures of our own."

They exchanged baffled glances. "Well, frankly Sheila, the only reason we're out here was to deliver a dangerous criminal to GKND." Chris told her. "We never scheduled helping Nebula out with her party, let alone going on this crazy adventure."

"Plus, we're not even on one of your 'fun' adventures." Mason stated, but he had a noticeable frown on his face. "We're on a mission as KND operatives to help save the universe from an evil adult mastermind. It's not about fun and games…"

"Well, maybe it should be!" Sheila yelled. "Isn't fun and games what separate kids from adults?? Kids are supposed to have a wondrous curiosity and need for adventure! And all you blokes have been lately is a pack of mopey saps! That's why I ran off to explore this planet! 'Course, adventure's no fun if you don't have the mates to enjoy it with."

"Sheila, if we don't stop Tachyon, NO kid will be able to be free and have adventures." Mason reasoned. "Isn't sacrificing our own need for adventure for a short time worth it to save a million kids'?"

"We can't stop an oppressor of freedom if we don't express freedom ourselves."

"Then perhaps you kids shouldn't be FREE."

"Yah, then perhaps we shouldn't be free." Sheila nodded. "Wait, who said that??"

CRASH! The kids jumped when Neftin Prog crash-landed on his feet a few feet away. "You kids wandered out of your playpen long enough. We have a nice new one set up for you in Zordoom."

"Oh yeah?!" Chris exclaimed, lighting his fists with fire as he jumped, spinned, and threw a punch, but Neftin grabbed his leg and chucked him at Mason. With that, he grabbed Sheila by the left leg and held her upside-down.

"I thought I recognized you from Star Wolf's wanted poster. You're the daughter of Golden-Fist Marine, aren't you? They'll surely have a handsome bounty, for the daughter of a criminal." The gorilla grinned wickedly, exposing his rotten teeth.

"EYUH!!" Sheila threw a powerful punch and clocked his face, knocking him back as she landed on her feet. "You don't think I learned nothing from me mum?" she smirked.

Neftin growled and got up, wiping blood from his mouth as Chris jumped and punched a barrage of fireballs. Neftin spun his right fist and punched the air, breaking open a black hole and sucking the flames inside. He spun around, stopped, and thrusted his left arm forward, his palm open as another black hole opened and sent the fireballs back, knocking them down. "Uh-oh! He's a spacebender, too!" Chris exclaimed.

"Correction:" Neftin began. "While not all beings can bend the elements, there are martial arts forms developed to mend one's chi WITH the elements, producing similar actions. Spaceman Taijutsu is the form that combines chi with Space Energy, letting me manipulate space even though I'm not a bender. Observe." With another twirl of his arm, Neftin threw a punch at the ground. A powerful force overcame the four as the gravity forced them against the ground.

"Gehhhhh, gehhhhh!" Sheila gritted her teeth with anger, weakly getting to her feet.

"Awwww! Is wittle kitty ears getting a wittle worked up?" Neftin taunted.

"Grrrrrrr!!" Sheila rapidly spun her left fist faster and faster, leaping high in the air and about to come down with a punch fiercer than a hundred Primate Punches. "I'LL YANK YOUR KITTY EARS, DRO-"

Neftin CLAPPED his hands before Sheila could get close, and another force of powerful gravity SMASHED her head from both sides. She fell to the ground, knocked out completely with the rest of her friends as she bled. "Hnn heeeh…" Neftin grinned with malice.

At the Aloha

Vanellope and Team Nebula finally made it back to Sector V. "Ohhhh." Vanellope wobbled as she ran, leaning against a wall once they made it.

"What's wrong with Vanellope?" Aurora asked.

"I have this weird headache." she replied. "Got any popsicles?…"

"Where's Sheila?!" Nebula shouted.

"Up here." The kids gasped and looked up at this gruff voice. Standing upon the hill was Neftin Prog, and floating beside him was Vendra. The operatives were stricken with horror, seeing the unconscious bodies of Mason and Chris in his right arm, and Sheila in his left.

"Guys!!" Aurora screamed.

"Meh heh heh. This raccoon girl is strong, no doubt, and the firebender's no sham, either. But in the end, true strength is what comes from toil and hardship. And how much you value those close to you." He said this with a burning glare in his single exposed left eye.

"It would be just as easy to catch the rest of you kids here, but let's make it a little fun." Vendra smirked. "If you wanna save their lives, come up to Zordoom." And with that, she warped herself and Neftin, along with his captives.

"Z…Zordoom?" Aurora spoke with worry.

"Then… it was true?" Vanellope said quietly.

"Mason…" Haruka frowned with regret. "What will we do?" They all bore the same looks.

"We'll go to Zordoom and get them back!" The group gaped at Vanellope's response, seeing a determined look on her face. "There comes a time in every kid's life when they have to break into a highly impenetrable prison. And… there's no way around it. It's in our destiny…"

This sounded weird, coming from Vanellope all of a sudden. But they knew she was right. They had to rescue their friends no matter what. A serious look burned in Nebula's miscolored eyes as she looked to the starry sky. "I'll save you, too… Mom. …Uh, MY mom… I mean. Not Mom… the person."