Operation: NECSUS, Part 25: The King of Space

Chapter 25: The King of Space

Downtown Coruscant

"Faster, faster! Mush!" Bender exclaimed as he, Dillon, Vanel, and the Gilligans rushed through town to get to the Council H.Q.. His legs were still broken, so he was riding the fused Gilligans and whipping their behind (Haylee's face) with his whip from Osiris.

"Ouch! When did WE become your chariot?" Haylee asked.

"When you became humans. Now MUSH!" Another whip.

Space Dandy watched them from above with confusion. "What the hell is he riding? Some kinda weird alien? Wait…" he looked with binoculars and saw Haylee's face, "that's the girl I lent the Aloha to. You mean SHE was an alien all ALONG?! And a new one at that… I oughta go catch her! And mixed with the bounty I'll get from Vendra and Neftin, I'll be SWIMMIN' in dough, baby, ha ha!"

Galactic Council, Audience Chamber

Nebula sent the Space Lightning at Tachyon, but he blocked it with a metal wall formed from matter. "Please, like THAT simple trick ever worked." With that, Just WHAT do you plan to do? Even if you had your spacebending, I'm the supreme ruler of Galaxia AND the Cragmite Empire! My rule stretches FAR and wide! And as Galaxia's official dictator, I hereby decree that ANYONE not bowing down to me be royally tied with a hose, be beaten by carwashers, and THROWN off the top of Carwash Headquarters!"

"Tachyon, the Dimensionator doesn't belong to you. Not only have you overstepped your boundaries as Chancellor, you've overstepped your boundaries in our own time! I'm sending all the Cragmites back to their time, and I'm sending YOU to the Cragmites' current dimension."

"And go to boring dining halls, drink tea, and eat CRUMPETS?! Just scatter me now."

"But Tachyon, isn't that all you wanted from the beginning? To see your people, know your culture, and, you know, learn their ways?"

"Oh, please! I didn't give a damn about my culture; heck, I don't even care about the Cragmites in GENERAL! The only thing I desired is POWER, and military strength, and the Dimensionator and Cragmites help me accomplish BOTH."

"Or is that the lifestyle that MOM raised you to live? The only reason she raised you to this point was for HER own benefit. If you had lived on your own, you might be different."

"Maybe you've forgotten, Miss Winkiebottom, but I am not FROM this time, my egg was laid in the era when the Cragmite Empire was STRONG. I was meant to be BORN back then and rule with my people, but your inSIDIOUS grandparents and those wretched Zathurians took that AWAY from me! If it had not been for Mom, I would be nothing! It was the Cragmites' destiny to be rulers of the universe using the powers of Space, and after about 2 million years, they are on the VERGE of accomplishing that, thanks to ME. …So I guess, in a way, I really do take after my culture. Besides…" His throne marched to Nebula's right, "how would you feel if YOUR culture was not as you hoped? That was your personal purpose to find the Dimensionator, wasn't it? Just HOW would you feel if you warped to Zathura only to find they've become a ravenous bunch of bloodthirsty vermin? HUUUUH?"

"…" Nebula only glared.

"Here: let me help you. DIMENSIONATOR: FIND ZATHURAAAAA!"

Nebula's eyes fell wide as the Dimensionator conjured a spiraling portal before her. "If my calculations are CORRECT, this portal will take you straight to Zathura! This is your chance, Nebula. Your chance to finally see who your people are. They could be the same as they were in Dimentia's time. They could be a ravenous bunch of thugs. OR they could be absolutely NOTHING. It's your culture. The one thing you wanted to know. And no matter what it is, I'm sure you'll be happy to find out."

"No." Nebula stated. "I can't just go and let you destroy everyone. No matter how much I want to see Zathura, my duties as an operative come first. And besides… no matter what Zathura is now… Galaxia is my true culture. This universe, even. It's the place I was born, where all my friends and loyal operatives live. It's my job to protect them all from people like you. And keep the Dimensionator OUT of your hands."

"HA ha ha haaaa! And just how better would it be in YOUR hands? From the info I've gathered from Vendra's eavesdropping, you want to use it to establish YOUR OWN personal empire, of rotten, snotty kids! You can't call yourself the hero if YOU'RE no different!"

"Fine! Maybe that IS what I wanna do! But the Dimensionator's a lot worse off in your hands, and I'll take it by any means necessary!" She whipped out the S.H.O.O.T.E.R. and blasted his head, but the matter formed right back.

"Clearly, THAT wasn't necessary." remarked Tachyon as he waved his staff and dissolved her pack of weapons into matter. He blew the girl back using laser turrets in his throne. Nebula jumped up to jolt him with Space Lightning, but Tachyon extracted a lightning rod from his staff and caught the lightning to throw it back. "What little Space Chi you have WON'T be enough to attack ME! If you like space so much, then I'll spread your matter to the FARTHEST reaches of-" But his eyes widened when a pink beam of light flew over and absorbed in Nebula's body. "WHAT?!"

Nebula floated to her feet as she felt the immense Space Chi flow through her. She studied her hands before forming a Space Block, snapping, and exploding it. "Well, there's the outcome of Vendra's battle." She smirked.

"What-" Nebula shot a Starburst in Tachyon's face, blowing him and his Walking Throne back.

She brimmed with energy as she stretched out two longer rays of Space Lightning. "This is more power than I had before! I guess I got my mom's by accident, too. Which is MORE than enough to take YOU down!" She grinned with malice.

"Hmmuuurrr. So be it. Then let the War Between Cragmites and Zathurians COME to an end! In this final battle… MATTER vs. SPACE!"

"Kick his can, Nebula!" Jeremy cheered.

"SIT down and be quiet!" ordered Tachyon.

"Awwww." (Play Lord Frederick's Theme from Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze!)

Semifinal boss: Emperor Percival Tachyon

Tachyon leaped high in the air and used his matterbending to conjure spikes on the bottom of his throne's feet, but Nebula easily warped above the emperor and pelted him with Starbursts. Tachyon formed an overhead shield as he began to wave his arms around, making a storm of matter spiral over their heads. The matter formed into giant metal spikes and flew down at Nebula, the Zathurian flying around the room to evade them. Not looking forward, she was surprised when Tachyon spawned in front of her and shocked her with his staff, making her fall to the ground.

"MWAH HA ha haaaa! While space is essentially everywhere, matter is everyTHING!" laughed Tachyon as he and his throne hovered in the air as spiraling matter. "Whether I'm a solid," he tried to smash his throne down on Nebula, who avoided, "a liquid," he gathered a bunch of metal matter and dissolved it and himself into liquid, flowing over to Nebula to wrap and bind her in place as a solid again, "or gas!" His own body dissolved into a gas cloud that encased Nebula's head. "Who more fitting to rule over everything… than one who can BECOME anything!"

Nebula warped away and zapped lightning at the man of matter, knocking him back to normal. Tachyon blocked with his staff as Nebula ran to punch him, and when she flipped behind to kick his head, it flew off and dissolved into matter. Tachyon's body recovered and attempted to hit her with his staff, and as she fought back, Tachyon's head flew from behind and munched her head in his mouth, letting the body zap Nebula before the head retreated. Nebula recovered to see Tachyon back on his Walking Throne, which grew longer, animal-like legs and jumped to the audience area.

"Dimensionator: find the SHY Guys!" announced Tachyon as his helmet created a vortex above the room, releasing a swarm of Shy Guys. The Pyro Guys ran at Nebula and tried to hit her with flames, but she flew above and trapped them in Space Blocks. Medi Guys tried to jab her with their pods' needles, but after dodging them, she gasped and quickly evaded audience platforms that Tachyon's throne kicked her way. With too much coming at her, she couldn't dodge when a Spy Guy shot a net at her from his slingshot and caught her inside.

Tachyon smirked and conjured another giant spike above Nebula, aiming to send it down. However, Nebula quickly channeled the Space Chi and had it warp straight to Tachyon, piercing the emperor's front, only for his matter to dissolve again. Tachyon reappeared on the floor and jumped off his thrown, gripping the floor forcefully with his hands and grunting as the room shook. The floor beneath Nebula's feet melted to cement-like liquid, and in seconds, the entire floor became a maelstrom of melted metal. "WAAAAH!" Nebula sunk into the metal and became lost in its waves.

"Nebula!" Jeremy exclaimed.

"HA HA ha ha!" laughed Tachyon as his face appeared next to Nebula in the sea of gray. "I would say you're all washed up, but this isn't exactly the cleanest substance! Now prepare to be buried beneath the council for all ETERNITY!" She tried to shock the face, but Tachyon disappeared as the melted metal began to pile up. Unable to swim past the metal, Nebula warped several meters above, managing to get above the metal only for a glob to reach up and pull her down.

Come on, Nebula. Your spacebending wasn't gone that long, so you shouldn't forget how to use it! Get rid of this goop with a good-old-fashioned black hole! She channeled her power and conjured a black hole a few feet away, sucking the metal inside. She was pulled in as well, but the portal's other end was above the room, and it poured right back while Nebula flew away and shook the goop off. However, Tachyon revealed to be attached to her as he whacked with his stick. She tried to throw her Starbursts behind, but he remained attached to her back.

"Your matter has become mine, Dearie. But I assure my stay won't be long."

"Grrrr!" Nebula formed a Space Block around them both.

"Please, that Space Block will be long gone after I-"

Nebula snapped her fingers and exploded them both, forcing Tachyon off of her as they fell to the floor. "Aaaaaahhhh-!" They landed with a thud on the now-solid floor as Tachyon helped himself up. "You were planning to EXPLODE yourself just to take me down?! If that had destroyed us, you wouldn't even be able to FOLLOW your dream!"

Nebula stood up wobbly, covered with soot as she glared at him. "I told you… my duty as an operative comes first."

"Fuff!" Tachyon formed his throne back and got on as two rods stuck out from the front, connected by electric beams. They launched both vertical and horizontal beams which Nebula easily dodged, getting to Tachyon's side and punching him with another Starburst. The emperor summoned the electric beams back, forcing Nebula to fly away, then he touched his staff on his electric rods to absorb their power. Nebula dodged as Tachyon zapped electric rays from his staff, but was surprised when he became an electric ray himself and got behind her, zapping her back. "The fourth state of matter is plasma." Nebula spin-kicked, but Tachyon leapt in front, grabbed the floor, and turned it to melted metal to grab Nebula again. Only her head was left sticking up, but when Tachyon tried to shock it, she warped behind him again.

Nebula did Space Split to separate her in two halves, and both halves flew to Tachyon's sides to throw Starbursts, which Tachyon jumped. He landed and pulled his head off as it flew to the right Nebula, while his body approached the left. The body swung its staff which the left Nebula grabbed, and when the right tried to hit the head, Tachyon grabbed her head in his mouth, making the left Nebula lose focus for the body to hit her. The left regained composure and shocked the body, making the head flinch as the right got free and punched him with a Starburst. The head bounced on the ground before reuniting with the body.

"Grrrr!" Tachyon activated his helmet again. "Dimensionator: find the Hotheads!" Another portal opened and released the Hotheads from Solar Mines, the fiery pranksters riding around Tachyon as he began to absorb their heat. It wasn't long before the skimpy emperor became a huge incarnation of flames, sending huge fireballs that Nebula dodged. The Zathurian sent Starbursts at him, but he opened holes in his body to let them pass, then shot at Nebula in attempt to grab her.

His Matter-Matter Fruit is crazy! Nebula thought as she dodged the grab. How did Caesar manage to make a Devil Fruit that gives you control over the elements? Oh well… all I know is that Space Chi hurts him. So I need to keep fighting! She kept dodging his extended flame-arms before Tachyon unleashed a barrage of fireballs at her. She swiftly dodged them all before flying at him and creating a huge Space Block around him. She slowly compressed the block and watched Tachyon struggle to escape in his massive flame form. Finally, she destroyed the Space Block in an explosion, swallowing the area in smoke.

The Hotheads flew through the smoke and attempted to burn Nebula, but she dodged and flew up while shooting Starbursts at them. Tachyon happened to merge with the smoke, so he flew up in attempt to hit with his staff, but Nebula evaded and shocked him with Space Lightning to make him fall. He landed headfirst, with the Dimensionator taking the impact, so as a result, the device malfunctioned and shot a portal open a few feet away. Tachyon struggled, but he and his throne ended up sucked inside. Nebula landed and only stared at the portal, but Tachyon's throne stretched a leg out, grabbed her, and pulled her inside.

The portal spat them out on the council's roof, and upon landing, Tachyon slammed Nebula against the floor and let her roll down the slippery dome. Nebula gripped the roof and stopped sliding, then quickly dodged when Tachyon jumped in his throne and attempted to smash her. When he turned around, he began to slide down himself, so he used his matter powers to float back to safety. Tachyon looked at the spiraling storm clouds in the sky and extracted a longer antenna from the back of his throne, letting it get struck by lightning. As his throne absorbed the power and he took the shock, Tachyon was soon hurdling to the sky as a bolt of lightning.

Nebula watched as the emperor's gruesome face formed in the clouds, grinning wickedly as he channeled more lightning to strike down on his opponent. Nebula dodged and put her hands in a framing fashion, focusing them on Tachyon. While dodging the lightning, she was trying to Space Shrink his face, and it was working until Tachyon made himself a beam of lightning and shot down. Nebula dodged, but Tachyon began zipping around the roof in his lightning form, forcing Nebula to dodge every half-second. She looked up when Tachyon shot to the air, got overhead, and shot down, striking straight through the roof and into his own office.

"Gyaah!" Pollyx, who was in there at the time, jumped in fright before cowering in the closet. Nebula dodged that attack and dropped down in the office to find Tachyon and his throne back to normal. The emperor dizzily recovered and fixed the Dimensionator back on, but Nebula immediately pelted him with a Starburst. Before he could recover, Tachyon was met with a series of Starbursts, forcing him against his wide glass window that overlooked the city. When Nebula stopped briefly, he turned his head to see the cracked window and the long drop that lay beyond it.

"You think pushing me out the window will do any good?" he retorted. "It's not like falling down a thousand-foot drop is enough to kill me. I'm not weak like Palpatine, you know."

"Yeah, but this is usually the best way to take down tyrants. Symbolism, you know?"

"Then let YOUR fate symbolize that of the Kids Next Door-" He tried to zap his scepter, but Nebula pelted it away with a Starburst and sent it flying out the window.

"You know, it's not just my spacebending I'm using to fight you. I'm using my mom's, too. So even though she never wanted to meet you, it's like she's still fighting by my side. So as the two GKND leaders, my mother and I will DEFEAT you!"

"YOUR MOTHER'S dead!" (End song.)

"What?" Nebula held back her attack.

Tachyon got back up and fixed the Dimensionator on his head. "Earlier today, I called Zordoom and ordered an immediate execution of Dimentia Z. Winkiebottom, at 6:00! Which, as you can see, it is now ten o'clock," he pointed at the clock in the room, "so it has been 4 hours since her execution. Even if you defeat me here, I will have still succeeded in ridding the Zathurians from the past. And I will have, even then, destroyed the greatest threat that ever thrived in Galaxia."

"…No." Nebula refused to believe it. "My mom isn't dead. Her Space Chi is inside of me!"

"And just why do you believe that happened? Clearly, the chi had no other place to go now that its original body is gone. The fact that the chi is inside you will always serve to remind you, she is no more. And your last memory of her, will be that she would go to great lengths to be away from her past, even risking her own daughter's life."

Nebula looked down with doubt. Maybe that is why the Space Chi came to her. Because… her mother was really dead. And just like she wanted… Nebula would carry on her legacy. The legacy of the Zathurians, and the GKND. Just as she inherited the spacebending, she inherited Dimentia's will. She would defeat Tachyon here… and lead the Kids Next Doors forever mo-

"That's exactly why I came." The two were immediately struck with surprise as they looked to the entrance. There stood Dimentia Z. Winkiebottom with MaKayla King.

"I briefed her on everything and showed her the way." MaKayla replied. "You obtained her Space Chi because you were the nearest vessel that matched. She's actually well and alive."

"But that's impossible!" Tachyon exclaimed. "The executioner should have…"

Dimentia smirked and recalled the story.

Dimentia remained in her cell, waiting patiently for her daughter's return. Her face bathed in the dim light of the cell's window, but she looked to the door when a shadow fell over her. The executioner stood outside with his axe ready.

But suddenly, a powerful gust of wind shot over and sliced the executioner, leaving him down and bloody. The shadowed man who casted the wind approached and looked over his body. His red eye glared as he pulled the man's mask off. "Kenkak Xefro… huh. In the end, he was never loyal." He blew him away with some wind. With that, he used a key to open Dimentia's cell, walking in to open her cuffs. "It's time for us to go."

Dimentia looked at his shadowed face with surprise. "You… How did you know I'd be here?"

"This paper came by me this morning." He held up the newspaper, which revealed Dimentia's execution date at 6:00. "In the end, Tachyon's still a corrupt politician that'll do anything for stardom. But I suspect, at this moment, your daughter is on her way to face him. As the remaining Zathurian, you must be there, too."

Dimentia stood as he turned to walk away. "I…I can't. It's not my responsibility, anymore. Nebula… is Supreme Leader."

He stopped. "True… But you are trying to evade your past. Only when you face it… can you be free from it. And when you do… you will have nothing to hold you back." He continued walking.

"That's why… I decided to come here." Dimentia said. "You're the only real remnant remaining from my distant past. So I have to see to it… that you're destroyed forever."

Nebula looked at her mother with pride.

"HA HA haaaa! And what are you going to do? You have no spacebending." Tachyon reminded.

"No. But my daughter does. She inherited my will. And she's just about on the verge of finishing you!"

Tachyon immediately got back on his throne. "We'll see about that!" He declared, beginning to charge a powerful plasma beam in his rods.

"Nebula, you have my Space Chi!" Dimentia reminded. "Remember what I taught you… Space is connected to Darkness. Chi that is used for evil will make Darkness. Darkness is made of Dark Matter, which overpowers regular matter. So use my negative chi and destroy him with a full helping of dark matter!"

Nebula nodded and closed her eyes, aiming both hands at Tachyon. She carefully channeled the energy, and Tachyon felt an incredibly painful sensation. "Aaaahhh… Aaaaaah!..." Nebula used the negative energies of both their chi to form a black hole in Tachyon's heart. "AAAAaaaaahhhhh!" Tachyon desperately tried to move, but the massive force of gravity in his heart kept him in place and made his throne slump.

The room trembled furiously as Nebula channeled the gravity even stronger, and Tachyon's heart felt unbearably heavy. But the pain wouldn't end there, as Nebula approached the man and pressed her hand against his chest. With a powerful surge of energy, Nebula made the black hole spin, and Tachyon never felt more pain. "ENDLESS VORTEX: ONE MILLION LIGHT-YEARS AN HOUR!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!..." Tachyon's heart was spinning faster and faster, and his weak little heart was unable to take it.

From the grounds below, the heroes were still at battle with the Cragmites, but everyone looked up to the highest floor of the Galactic Council when a tremendous explosion was heard. A miniscule figure came flying out of that floor and soared across the dome-shaped structure. This figure was Tachyon, whose lifeless eyes were still and frozen with his gaping mouth, and his bald head free from any crown. He flew with the shattered remains of his Walking Throne, straight to the gang of operatives, creating a cloud of dust upon his landing.

The operatives and Cragmites waited for the smoke to clear, and there lay the battle's outcome. (Play "Can't Escape, Fight! (the first part)" from One Piece.) There lay Tachyon's defeated, dead body. The Cragmite Emperor and ruler of Galaxia lay defeated in a simple crater. They all looked back at the floor where Tachyon flew out from, and the battle's victor stood in the broken window. Nebula Winkiebottom's hair blew in the wind, a victorious look on her face as she held the Dimensionator in her right arm.

Sector V, Bender, and the GKND ops exchanged ecstatic smiles before bursting into incredible cheers. "YYYAAAAAAAHHH!"

"The KING has FALLEN!!" Chris cheered.

"ALL HAIL NEBULA!" Vweeb cheered from George's shoulder.

"Savior of Galaxia!" Makava exclaimed.

"And Bender! Who was the biggest help to her!" Bender said.

Nebula could only smile lightly. Now she knew how Cheren felt… being regarded as a hero. Even after accomplishing this much… when she's finally here, she doesn't feel like it's a big deal. She looked up at her mother when Dimentia placed a hand on her shoulder, smiling with pride. Down below, Jerome also felt proud for his sister… and so did Dandy, who still waited atop the skyscraper. "That kid ain't half bad…"

"Ooooohh this isn't good." whimpered Pollyx, who hid in the office's closet this whole time, and was beginning to sneak out. "At this rate, I'll never be able to find my son- GYAAH!" MaKayla suddenly dropped down from above him.

"You and I have things to discuss." And before Pollyx could get away, Sollyx revealed himself on the ceiling above him.

"Okay, Dad?"

"S…Son… Ohhhh." Pollyx fainted in shock.

"…Does that count as my boss battle?" Sollyx asked. Kayla shrugged.

The Cragmite troops only exchanged glances before sinking their heads in defeat. "OHHHH MY BABY!" screamed a Cragmite woman as she broke through the crowd and wept over Tachyon's form. "My precious little Gleborp!! You were so young!"

"Is that… Tachyon's MOM?" Dillon asked.

"Gleborp!! HAAAA ha ha!" Vanellope laughed. The kids only remained silent and let the Cragmite mother cry. (End song.)

In seconds, everything Tachyon transformed with his matter began to form back. The obstacles around the city returned into place, as did Sector V's C.O.O.L.-B.U.S.. "My baby!!" Haylee shrieked. "That means-" And to their extreme joy, the Gilligans separated back to normal. "YES!!"

"AAHHH!" At that instant, Space Dandy came down and caught Haylee in his net. "GOTCHA, ya shifty little-… Hey… you're not an alien."

"Gee, ya think?"

"Oh…" He pulled it off. "…So how's the Aloha Oe?" Right on cue, the spaceship formed back from matter as well.

"Needed some retouching."

And finally, a pair of handcuffs formed beside the kids, a pair that they recognized. "Hey… these are Caesar's handcuffs. They have his smell." Haruka said.

"Where is Caesar, anyway?" Dillon asked.

Back in Tachyon's office, Nebula and Dimentia stared at the Dimensionator in the former's hands. "So that's it… That's the pride of my people."

"A bit smaller than you hoped, huh?" Nebula said.

"I wanted it disposed of… but… I guess it should be yours. What will you do?"

"MaKayla says I should destroy it… but… there's so many cultures I can learn about. And… I could spread the KND farther."

"Maybe… but remember what I did."

"Yeah… Oh, that reminds me. You probably want your spacebending back. It doesn't feel right using someone else's, so… I wonder if I can give it back?"

Dimentia smiled as she reached her hand out, and Nebula reached hers to take it. They were inches from touching, when…

Nebula's face froze with shock as someone pierced her from behind. Down below, everyone was horrified when Vendra Prog stuck her hands through Nebula's body from behind, via mini vortexes. "Yeah… but it works."

Vendra pulled her hands out and took the Dimensionator. She allowed Nebula to fall out the window, but when Dimentia caught her, Vendra flew behind to BLOW the two down the building's slope. They bounced down rapidly, but Jerome appeared to catch Nebula while MaKayla dashed down to grab Dimentia. They were safely taken down to the others as Nebula dizzily woke up. Then, everybody looked up with fright as Vendra floated down with the Dimensionator planted on her head.

The wicked Space Witch grinned with pure malice as she channeled Nebula and Dimentia's Space Chi into the invention. "Finally. Now to get back on track. Dimensionator: …FIND… the KING OF SPACE!"

A furious wind blew across the city as storm clouds spiraled into one place and emitted lightning. The lightning flashed all around as a vortex in the sky opened. And from it, a bright ray of light shone, which would bring the targeted individual to their dimension. The light struck the ground before the heroes… and a pitch-black silhouette sat in its core. The King of Space sat right before the team's eyes.

The light and vortex faded, revealing the being's true color. His garb appeared to be purple and yellow stripes, with a jester's hat on his head. He wore black puffy pants and black shoes. He finally stood up, revealing to be a man of average height. His face, however, was slightly blocked by his hat's drooped points. But they saw all they needed to. A Zathurian with striking features similar to Dimentia… except he was male. Sector V, Vweeb, Jerome, and Nebula had no words… but Dimentia's face absolutely lost all little color it had.

"For nearly 2 million years… I was left all alone." He walked closer slowly. "Twenty years ago… I barely got a glimpse of you. Then… I had to wait even longer."

Dimentia was absolutely shaking. Her eyes didn't blink for a second. She had no strength to. At that moment… her past came hurdling at her like a speeding bullet. "After such a long time… it was worth it to see your beautiful face… Sister." After he brushed the hat's points from his face, Dimentio Z. Winkiebottom opened his yellow and black eyes. "I missed you so much…"