Operation: NECSUS, Part 26: Into the Nexus

Chapter 26: Into the Nexus

Coruscant Capital

The area was dead silent as everyone was still struck with shock. Vendra was frozen as well, after seeing his face. To think the King of Space was a Zathurian. And not only that… he was..

"Wait-wait-wait. Who's his sister?" Chris asked.

"Who do you think, Sherlock?" Aurora retorted. "Tachyon's mom?"

"Eyehhhh, what's that?" asked Tachyon, sitting up. "What's going on here?"

"WHY THE HECK ARE YOU ALIVE?!" the operatives screamed.

"Please, when was the last time someone died in this series? And don't say Viridi."

"Mom… is he… really my uncle?" Nebula asked.

"…Dimentio… But… Why…Why are you here?!" Dimentia yelled. "Why didn't you vanish… with the rest of Zathura?!"

"Sister… you sound upset." Dimentio spoke as he walked past them slowly. "Why would you… when you haven't seen me in so long. Is it perhaps… you are so overjoyed, you are angry? Or… were you hoping that every remnant of your past was… washed away?"

Dimentio walked past her as Dimentia could barely move. He then began to observe the Kids Next Door operatives. "Time moves so quickly… look at how many children possess the elements nowadays. And to think… such power back then would be incredible… and unspeakable." Without hesitating, he aimed his hand at Chris and blasted a Starburst.

"OW! Grrrr!…" Chris jumped back to his feet and yelled, "What's the big idea?!"

"I have a slight grudge against your father. He caused my sister great grief 20 years ago."

"Grrrr, oh yeah? ! Well, get ready to experience that grief yourself!!" Chris jumped at the Zathurian and attempted a flame-kick, but he went straight through his head. "What?" Chris jumped and tried to punch, but he still went through. The Uno boy continued to try and hit Dimentio, but everyone was just as surprised. None of his attacks worked at all. It was almost like Dimentio was… empty space. (Play "Difficult (the first part)" from One Piece.)

Tachyon gasped, and immediately commanded, "CRAGMITES!! DESTROOOOYY HIIIIIM!"

The legions of Cragmites focused solely on Dimentio and fired directly at him. The gunfire lasted for 20 seconds, and finally stopped after that area was shrouded in smoke. The smoke cleared, and everyone was frozen in fear as not a single wound was left in Dimentio's body. Every attack phased directly through his slightly faded body.

"You're a… Logia spacebender…" Dimentia spoke lowly.

Dimentio threw open his gown and revealed the vortex that made his body. "That's right…" He closed it. "After 2 million years of drifting through space… bonding with the endless darkness… I have become one with Space itself. As a Logia waterbender has the whole ocean to their whim… or an earthbender has a whole planet… a Logia spacebender can become WIDE AS SPACE ITSELF!!! Behold, a small demonstration of my power!" He aimed his hands directly upward and channeled a colossal surge of energy. The clouds spiraled again as a black hole formed in the heavens, several miles away. Citizens of Coruscant were screaming and running as a huge chunk of the city flowed straight up into the vortex.

"AAAHHH!" Tachyon charged at Dimentio in attempt to shock with his staff, but it merely phased through as well. Dimentio smirked and aimed his hand at Tachyon, spinning it into a vortex. The emperor tried to stand his ground, but Dimentio's power proved stronger as Tachyon was sucked inside. "WAAAAAHHH!"

Dimentio closed the vortex as Mason and Haru shot gas at him, Dillon stretched his shadow's arms, and Chris and Aurora tossed fireballs. Dimentio merely blew them away with an expanded Space Block. "Ahhh… don't you kids know? All elements are useless… if they have nothing to touch!!"

"AAAAH!" Nebula screamed and threw Starbursts, using what little chi she had left. Dimentio only smiled as he absorbed this energy.

"Thank you… Child. I was feeling… quite famished. Ahhh… but look at this." He viewed across the city. "So much endless space… so much emptiness. And yet… it must be so cluttered… so many obstructions, blocking the wonderful view. All these… cities and… planets. They clutter up something so wonderful. That's why… when I became a Logia Space… I came up with a solution. I could swallow up EVERY little obstruction… in the blink of an eye! My dreams of creating a realm of endless space can come into fruition!!"

"WHAT?!" Nebula screamed. "You mean… you want to swallow up everything in the universe?!"

"YYYES!! Ever since my sister left, I've been flowing the beautiful realms for so many eons! In all that pitch-black darkness, that unbelievable quiet, I've never felt so at peace! I knew… from the moment I became Space itself… this is how everything is supposed to be! I was going to recreate the era before the Big Bang where not a SHRED of matter EVER EXISTED!!"

"That's impossible!" Nebula exclaimed. "The universe is infinite! And there's matter wherever you look! Even if you become a black hole that keeps growing and growing, you'll never destroy it all!"

"Ohhhh… but it is possible… Deeeaaar." He spoke with very psychotic eyes. "The key lies… within the Netherverse." (End song.)

"What?" asked Vendra with surprise.

"Why, yes." He floated up to her. "Do you all know where the Netherverse even lies on the dimensional plane? True, it lies within Space itself… but what lies in Space itself? Well, my friends, it is ALL THE MATTER IN THE UNIVERSE! Just WHY do the Nether Rifts only show up on solid objects?? Because those solid objects are made of matter! It could show up in midair, too, but…

"Within the Netherverse, there is essentially a central core that holds the matter of the universe in place. That core is called the Nexus, and it channels spacebending so powerful, it's beyond my comprehension. The core's ultimate purpose is to prevent an outflow of all that energy, and that purpose is reflected in all the matter of the universe. But ages ago, six pieces of that core were shattered, and ejected from the Netherverse, ending up in the hands of the Zathurians. And wouldn't you know it, they created the Dimensionator, the perfect device that can harness the space energy of the universe USING the fragments! If I go in the Netherverse with THIS," he used gravity to make the Dimensionator float to his hands, "I can finally harness the Nexus's powers using its own crystals mixed with MY spacebending! I can allow the space energy to outflow and ELIMINATE EVERYTHING!!"

"You're…You're insane!" Nebula yelled. "You could never survive in a universe with no matter! Even if you ARE space!"

"It is my destiny. It was from the very beginning. The Nexus has all the power to accomplish my quest! Oh! And guess what matter the Nexus is connected to…"

"The Great Clock!" MaKayla gasped.

"YES!! The source of all time will be the FIRST to fall, in the center of it all! With nothing to balance it, Time will freeze to a standstill! I can remain the same age and bask in endless space FOREVER MORE!!"

"Lickety-Split KICK!" announced Vanellope as she zipped around him as a pixelly beam and KICKED at Dimentio. The wicked Zathurian grinned as she phased through.

"Ahhh… don't you know, Dear? Light passes THROUGH space!" And with that, Vanellope was met with a powerful surge of Space Lightning.

"VANELLOPE!!" Dillon cried in despair. In just seconds, their pixelated friend was gone. Sector V became frozen in horror, trying to fight back tears.

"WHY ARE YOU SADDENED? YOU'LL ALL BE DEAD IN MERE HOURS!" Dimentio screamed.

MaKayla growled with rage as she dashed at the spacebender and took a mighty leap. "Ahhh, and what does the girl in pajamas hope to-"

MaKayla BASHED Dimentio square in the face with the head of her staff. As he toppled over, nose bleeding and teeth flying from his mouth, he had no words. After he fell, Dimentio trembled with fear, sitting up weakly as he carefully touched his bloody nose. "Blood… I-It's my… BLLLLLOOOOOOOD! HOOOOOWWW COULD YOU DOOOO THIIIIS?"

"The spirituality is… as Time flows, things eventually become cluttered. More stuff is tossed in the attic, more trash piles in the dump. And space ultimately gets smaller. Therefore, Time has the upper hand over Space."

"Is…Is that so?" Dimentio smiled and stood up, wiping the blood from his nose calmly. "Well then… I best be getting started now. This will be the last night Coruscant has any matter. Dimensionator! Find the Netherverse!" The invention activated and fired a portal high above the heavens. "And keep it open!" The Zathurian flew beyond the atmosphere and forced the portal to expand. Coruscant began to tremble furiously as buildings were already sucked into the heavens.

"Hey, hold on a sec!" Vendra yelled as she flew up after him.

"Sis, NOOO!" Neftin cried.

"We're dead if we stay here any longer!" Aurora yelled. "Everyone on the Aloha NOW!"

"Wait up!" Dandy yelled, running after them. "If my baby's riding headfirst in a deadly spacestorm, I wanna be ON it!"

Nebula was about to board, but turned back to see her mother standing. "Mom, hurry up! Quit being shocked and let's go!"

She shook back to reality. "I need to run back in and get your father to send an evacuation notice! I came in my own ship, so I'll escape. Just get out of here now!"

"…" With mixed feelings, both Nebula and Jerome hurried on the Aloha as it took off.

Netherverse

Dimentio arrived at a tremendous structure made of purple glowing crystal, which appeared the same as the Dimensional Fragments. High above, purple energy flowed down and through the structure in an hourglass style. "I stared at you for 20 years… and had no way of harnessing you. And now, with the Dimensionator in my possession, it is time for us to fulfill our destiny!" He was about to walk in, but Vendra warped in front of him.

"Hold just a second." She glared. "You can't just get set free from your prison and not talk to your savior."

"Oh, yes… you've done me a marvelous favor, my dear. I would love for you to accompany and share this golden moment with me. With all the Space Chi channeled in this domain, I can easily make you a Logia."

"I don't WANT to be a Logia! I want to know what my world is like, and ALSO how you came to be here!"

"Ahhhh… Well, as for how I got here, it's a long story and I don't wanna bore you. All you need to know is, before I came here, I lived in Zathura's dimension. I mastered my spacebending across the eons and began to pursue my goal of ridding the matter of the universe. But just 20 years ago, I was blown into the Netherverse, a realm overflowing with Space Chi that was kept confined so it didn't leak into the outside realms. And since my body was merged with Space, those rules applied to me. My chi merged with that of the Netherverse and I couldn't escape. Even though I could talk with people on the outside, and THEY could come in here. That's why I enlisted your help, especially knowing you were born here."

"But why did I end up on Endor?"

"That's another fascinating story. While the main population here is Nethers, the Netherverse has a variety of races. The psychicbending Voxai, mighty Zoah… and a peculiar race of Mobians. Of course, interspecies relations weren't illegal. A male Nether and female Mobian fell in love and mated to produce two twin children. I'm sure you can guess who those were. But in the short two years I was in the Netherverse, I began to show off my incredible spacebending and deemed myself the legendary god that finally came to their dimension. I earned the respect of the Nethers, and they began to support my cause. Most of them…

"A notable feature of the Mobians are their prophets. They sensed the evil inside me and knew what would be the consequences of my goals. They told the Prog parents, and they wouldn't allow their children to follow someone so evil. I ordered their arrest by the Nethers… but they had already entrusted the newborn children to the Mobians. And they used ancient Space Magic to banish them to an orphanage in Galaxia. Space Magic that came in limited energy. And it was only after 7 years I was able to find these kids. But… here's what interests me: according to my agents' report, the Mobians banished three children from the Netherverse. You and Neftin were two of them… but I've yet to determine the third one's location and identity."

"But if you get rid of all the matter in the universe… what'll happen to the Netherverse?"

"Well, if the Nexus becomes overloaded, and the Space Energy overflows and leaks out, I could imagine the Netherverse will fall into a state of chaos. Namely with the Nethers. The Nethers are composited of the most Space Energy, energy which is contained in here like all else. And do you know how a Nether explodes upon exit into the outer universe? Imagine that happening on a grander scale. All Nethers and all things in the Netherverse that make Nethers as well, suddenly exit beyond their line simultaneously. Overwhelmed by the outside matter, outside energy, and gravity it creates, they will all explode! You see, when the Space Chi in the Netherverse leaks out, the matter that contained it loses its purpose, and so it explodes in a last ditch attempt to dispose of the Space Chi. Ultimately, that will lead to its total destruction, AHA HA HA!"

Vendra became frozen with horror. "You're…You're sick! That's-That's not what I wanted!"

"Your universe was contained in the matter of the universe with no means of escape. It was their destiny to take revenge, even if they have to die. And you, as a Nether who could survive in the universe in your Mobian form, have served your people admirably."

"And I'm ABOUT to serve them again. I won't let you destroy them!" She launched at Dimentio, but phased right through as he walked ahead. Angered, she chucked Starbursts at him, but his body absorbed them. She flew and attempted to grab the Dimensionator, but- "AAH!" Dimentio blew her away with Space Lightning.

"The small portion of my Space Chi I gave you is no match to what I have left. And if you do not wish to be Logia, I'm afraid you will soon perish with everything else. Ciao, my dear… and thanks for your assistance." He warped.

Vendra gritted her teeth in anger before flying away.

Aloha Oe

"Wait, so, why aren't we flying headfirst into a deadly spacestorm?" Dandy asked.

"Because not all of us have Devil Fruits that let us evade any danger." Haruka replied.

"Because we can't fly in and take on a Logia spacebender without coming up with a plan." Aurora said. "Even if timebending works, George and MaKayla might not be enough, and who knows what else Dimentio has up his sleeve?"

"True, despite the powers from my Chrono Staff, I don't have the strength to fight Dimentio on my own." MaKayla replied. "And that certainly means George doesn't."

"Heeey!" George whined.

"Dude, even I can kick your butt." Vweeb remarked, still on his shoulder.

"Then you fight 'im."

"Only one person has the potential to defeat him. But she is… going through some stuff right now." They looked at Nebula sitting on her knees and facing the corner.

Her face was shadowed as MaKayla approached her. "You were right…" she said quietly. "If I'd've destroyed the Dimensionator when we had the chance, none of this would've happened. I wanted to see all the worlds I could… but I've put everyone in the universe in danger because of it."

"Ugh, not THIS crap again." Chris moaned.

"Nebula, I could spend an hour or so telling you the stories of the Uno parents, maybe Cheren even, or we could just cut to the chase and get on with stopping him." MaKayla explained.

"But how? You can't stop him on your own, and it's not like WE can be any help. And how can I stop him if I only have the crappy spacebending from the Nether Rifts?"

"But perhaps that Netherverse Space Chi is the very key to your victory. What you possess is actually very powerful; but it's come in short supply. I'm certain you can acquire more from the Dimensional Fragments."

"You mean the fragments Dimentio is safely wearing on his head? He'll never let me get close enough."

"Then perhaps you need help. When a leader can't do everything on her own, she always enlists the help of her teammates."

"It's true." Aurora smiled and shrugged.

"And you're the Supreme Leader of all Kids Next Doors. The expanse of your team stretches far."

"That doesn't make a difference. Even if we could touch Dimentio, we don't know how far his powers expand, nor what kind of forces he has aligned with him."

"I might have an answer to that." Everybody looked at the entrance with surprise.

"Sis!!" Neftin exclaimed.

"Vendra." Makava drew her swords.

"Is that how you all greet people?" Vendra asked.

"When it's criminals, yes." Chris said, holding flames.

"Look, I want to help you stop him. Dimentio's going to destroy the Netherverse and wipe all of my people out! And the worst part is, he has practically the whole of the Nether race supporting him."

"So we can assume they've got a big army?" Aurora said.

"Then your safest option would be requesting the other leaders for help." Kayla told Nebula.

"No." She stated, standing up. "I already risked their lives creating this whole mess, I won't put 'em in danger any more."

"Honestly, that's up to them to decide." Aurora said. "A team doesn't follow their leader out of orders, they choose to follow them on their own. If they have loyalty, they'll follow you no matter what the danger. So if we asked the KND leaders, they'll decide whether or not to help you. And even then, their operatives may decide whether or not to assist. But if they don't, the leaders will still help you, anyway. Even if you don't want them to."

"You sure know your stuff, Aurora." Chris smiled.

"Leaders gotta know how to lead." She shrugged.

"Well, I guess you're right…" Nebula figured. "But even after blowing down their defenses, Dimentio won't let us take the fragments that easily."

"Then hope that your team is willing to lay down their lives as hard as they can." MaKayla smiled. "If Dimentio won't give it to us, we'll give him a fight worth his power after 1,500,000 years."

"Ummm…" Everyone turned to Jerome, who just appeared. "I hope it's not a bad time, but I just warped to GKND H.Q. and sent a notice out to every available KND to gear up and get ready to fly in a giant expanding black hole. Also, I gave the general coordinates of this ship, so they should be appeariiiiiing now."

It wasn't long before a fleet of Glomourian, Kateenian, Irken, and Avalaran ships started appearing out of hyperspace. Nebula approached the windshield and gaped at their sheer numbers, and they were soon joined by Pumparian and Harnitan operatives as well. "Well, that saves us a chunk of time." Dandy said. Nebula had a wide, grateful smile on her face.

Approaching Bermuda Tetrahedron

"Dimentia, where are you going?!" Jeremy shouted from Dimentia's monitor as the woman flew toward the storm. "Galaxia's about to be destroyed and you're going to the ion storm??"

"I realized there's no running from my past. So there's something I need to see. Oh, and, we're about to lose communication."

"I-" The terminal went to static as Dimentia entered the tetrahedron.

Soon, Dimentia made it to the Kreeli Comet and made her way to the IRIS Supercomputer. Once inside the chamber, she approached it cautiously. "Are you… IRIS?"

"Why, if it isn't Dimentia. You've grown so much since you were a baby. But not as much as I would expect in such a long timespan."

"Yeah, yeah. Look, my daughter told me you have a message from my parents. …So let it be played."

"As you wish. Let the last request of Blumeré and Nosteré be fulfilled." Her screen became static, and before Dimentia's eyes, her parents' images were shown.

"This is… a message to our children." Blumeré spoke. "Dimentia and Dimentio Winkiebottom. As you may be aware… we dropped you off at a circus when you were still very young. We just wanted to say… we're sorry. And… sigh, you wanna take it from here? I'm no good in front of a camera."

"The truth is, due to being the head of the research team, and basically the whole tribe," Nosteré continued, "our family has a hard enough time as it is. But when our two children were born with the powers of space… I knew the Cragmites would be targeting us. But we never thought you children were burdens because of it… that's not why we sent you away."

"We sent you away because we believed you were bound for so much more with your powers." Blumeré continued. "The Cragmites targeted our clan because of you, but even our own people wanted to harness your energy, too. We wouldn't allow our children to be used as tools. True, a circus isn't the best place to be raised… but as long as it was where no one else could find you. And we had faith you would become wiser over the years and seek your own destinies. Away from this doomed planet. You may make bad choices, you may make good ones. Run into hard times. But… if there's anything we could ever ask for… it's for you two to live. Live as long as you can, and we'll always support you, no matter what. …Well, that went well. Wanna give it another go?"

"No, we have to be at Nontrem's for tea."

"Ugh, you know I can't stand him."

"Get over it, Dear." The message ended.

"…Mom… Dad…" Dimentia held her head down. "You're so… stupid. If you could see us now… you'd hate us."

"I'm sure they would stand by their word." IRIS said. "And be happy with whatever paths their children have chosen."

"You don't say." Dimentia jumped and faced the entrance, gasping with horror.

Dimentio Winkiebottom smiled mischievously, stepping inside. "What are you doing here, Bro?!" his sister demanded.

"I was about to carry out my plan… when I decided I should pay my dear sister a visit. I had a feeling you would be here."

Dimentia turned around. "Just go away. I don't want to see you."

"Please don't be like that, Sis. Do you know how lonely I was… after you left? Zathura closed off to the rest of the universe?"

"…" Dimentia remained turned away. (Play "Gold and Oden (the first part)" from One Piece.)

Dimentio frowned with regret and closed his eyes. "In those days… working at that dreadful circus… you were the only one that meant anything to me. You were… my sister. And I roamed the stars in the hopes of seeing you again. Space… it was so vast. So magical… my bond with it grew stronger over the eons. I fell in love with it. But none of it compared… to my times with you."

"…"

"Remember when we were young, Dimentia," he smiled and looked up, "and we used to always play with the circus animals? Letting them out and getting into trouble? And when little Cherré got stuck in that fence, and the Longator started biting her? Or when those Magiblots were playing darkball and they threw into Old Man Yeller's window? My, those were happy times. But there were bad times, too. Like when we had to fill in for the clowns, the same day they used manure in lieu of mud. Not to mention we had to clean up after elephants. And then that lousy boyfriend broke up with you, but I was there to comfort. All those things we did together! So before you decide you don't wanna see me, just remember: we did it together!!"

"…"

Dimentio walked closer and held a hand beside her. "Dimentia… I want to do this with you, too. Please… destroy the Nexus with me. Share in this golden moment. I can make you a Logia… if you want to. Join your twin brother… for one last hurrah."

"…" Dimentia couldn't find the words. In her dreadful time on Zathura… Dimentio was always with her. He was her real link to good memories from the past. That's why… she didn't want to see him. Didn't want to be reminded of Zathura. Dimentia reached back to take his hand, still facing away… but when she tried to grip it, her hand phased through. There was nothing but… empty space. (End song.)

"Hm… if you became an adult… I would have to hate you, too. Good-bye… Dimentio."

It was then that realization came to her. The past was gone… and so was he. There was nothing to feel anymore. "No… you're not… my brother…" she whipped around, "Not anymore! You're empty, now… and evil! You're going to destroy everything… and I want nothing to do with it! I almost destroyed the universe once already, I won't help you do the same!"

"Ahhh, but why not? After all, I helped YOU do it the first time. Just what kind of creature do you think possessed Zathura?"

She immediately looked up, ridden with shock.

"You believed the gods sealed Zathura away because it was growing out of control, like some monstrous creature. Well… it was true. But only because I was dwelling in there. After I became a Logia spacebender, I was unable to get back to Galaxia's dimension, because Zathura was on a far point of the dimensional plane. But thanks to you, Dimentia… I was able to escape!"

Dimentia's eyes twitched furiously.

"You begged and pleaded me to grow and grow until the universe was swallowed in what was Zathura! And I'm proud to say, that's exactly what I was gonna do!"

"…!" Dimentia gritted her teeth.

"AHA HA HA! But to think you were planning to make a whole NEW universe where only kids ruled! Thinking you were a GOD! But here's a newsflash… the only god that was there was MEEE! And Jirachi. I was gonna destroy the whole universe and leave NOTHING but empty SPACE! Even after living so long, you were still a kid, and BOTH your mind and spacebending were undeveloped. …It was unfortunate that Uno boy slew you when he did. Your monstrified body emitted a tremendous outburst of magic and Space Energy from Jirachi's own chi, and it was surprisingly strong enough to send me to the Netherverse. But now I've escaped… because your DAUGHTER rebuilt the Dimensionator!"

"AHHHH!" Dimentia swung her fist, but it went through his head.

"I guess there will be no convincing you to join me. But perhaps your daughter may think differently. I shall await her grand appearance on her mission to try and stop me. Ciao." He warped away. Dimentia only glared at the spot where he stood.

Aloha Oe

The KND leaders boarded the Aloha and gathered before Nebula. "Is this all that's here?" she asked.

"'Far as we know." Liaziana replied.

"It's good enough." MaKayla said.

"You sure? It's not near as much as the Floran Invasion. And Dimentio's way stronger than Viridi."

"Strength doesn't always matter. Just go with it."

"Okay." Nebula approached the leaders and began to brief. "Long story short, my demented uncle has returned from the Netherverse and he's going to use his Logia spacebending to destroy all the matter in the universe. He's created a black hole directly to the Netherverse that is expanding and destroying Coruscant, but it ultimately won't matter if he succeeds, so we need to fly inside and burst through his army to reach the Nexus where his operations are centered. Now all I'll need you to do is clear the aerial defenses and maybe help us through the base a little so Sector V and I can get to Dimentio and take his helmet. Any questions?"

Nebula didn't need an answer, for their confused faces said it all. "…What is this 'matter' you speak of?" the Irken leader, Giz asked.

"So we're basically going to invade the Netherverse while you guys take out the leader." Lia summarized.

"Just like Flora." Nebula nodded. "The atmosphere and enemies may be a lot more dangerous though, so it's your decision. But just know the fate of, not only the Kids Next Door, but the lives of every kid in the universe depend on this mission's outcome."

"Now that you said that, we have to come or we'll feel guilty." Griffin Firecrystal remarked.

"GIZ will agree to help, but ONLY because your inferior leadership requires Giz's help!"

"And I need to go so Lia doesn't act like a bigshot." Minksman said.

"And I need to go to stop Minksman from stealing my spotlight." Lia said.

"We're with you all the way, Numbuh Eternal!" Griffin assured as they saluted. "For the Kids Next Door!"

"Hm hm hm hm! Thanks, you all." Nebula smiled.

The Aloha's TV screen became static as Sollyx's face appeared. "Eh, hello? Is this Nebula's vessel? I hope I didn't link with another senior citizen transport again."

"It's us, Sollyx." Nebula answered.

"Well, just wanted to let you know everyone in the capital's been evacuated and Dad and I are flying safely back to our planet."

"Change course and meet us in the black hole, your Kids Next Door is here and we're going to invade the Netherverse."

"Ahhh, fiddle nuggets!" Pollyx complained. "I just hope I don't have an allergic creation to all that cosmic energy."

Their screen shut off as Nebula continued, "We don't have much time until Dimentio sets off the Nexus, so it's time to do or die. All of you return to your armies and get ready for battle! Kids Next Doors, let's GO!"

"YAAAAAY!" The leaders got back in their ships and left while the Aloha crew got in position.

While Aurora was getting ready, she noticed Dillon staring blankly out the window. "Hey, Dillon? I know you're upset about Vanellope… but don't worry! We'll avenge her!"

"Oh, I'm not upset."

"You aren't?"

Dillon turned to her with a smirk. "Because she's helping us, too."

Outside the Netherverse

The Aloha Oe was leading the way as the fleet of operatives flew directly into the expanding black hole. The leaders stood on the roofs of their ships, wearing space helmets, as they viewed the eerie, purple expanse. "I'm guessing this place doesn't get much sunlight." Lia assumed.

"You're no prize in that sense, either." Minks said.

"'Guess it doesn't matter the Nimbis didn't come." Griffin figured. "Headfirst into a storm of their ultimate weakness, I could understand."

"No sign of any Nethers, yet." Nebula replied. "Just take it nice and steady 'til we reach the-" But it wasn't long before the fleet was swarmed by Netherships.

"And now there are." Vendra remarked.

"All troops, prepare for battle!" Nebula called out. "Hold the Nethers off and give us enough time to reach the Nexus! The battle to save the universe begins NOW!" (Play "Assault on Dreadnaught" from Kingdom Hearts II!)

Final stage: Netherverse

Mission: Stop Dimentio and save the universe!

Act 1: The Nether Storm

Haylee did her best to drive the Aloha and evade the Nethers' blasts, but the large ship was an easy target. The Glomourian ships flew in to defend them as Lia launched powerful airwaves from her sword that curved around and destroyed a squad of Netherships. Netherwarriors stood on the tops of ships and blasted at Irkens, but Graab Membrane stood on top of Giz's ship and punched the projectiles back with his giant mech-arms. A swarm of Netherflyers surrounded the Aloha and readied to shoot, but a group of tiny Kateenian ships covered the Nethers like bugs and feasted on their energy.

They were approaching a swarm of giant Netherbrutes, massive Nethers that were bigger than the Aloha. The Avalarans flew in front, riding huge dragons (who served as their ships) with space helmets, which threw flames and other elements to counter the Brutes. Mostly, Griffin Firecrystal conjured a giant fire phoenix to have it burn away all the Netherbrutes, letting the Aloha pass. "So why haven't you kids taken over the universe, yet?" Dandy asked.

"'Cause our parents won't let us." Haylee joked.

"Ouch. I'd hate to see what they're like."

A squad of Netherwarriors flying on Netherflyers blocked the route ahead and fired at once, but Vendra flew to the front of the Aloha and conjured a huge Space Block to defend, and kept the Block up as they broke through the fleet. She lowered it when Giz swooped by to rapidly blast the Nethers, and a swarm of Netherbeasts; the creatures Nebula encountered in the rifts, were coming their way. When the swarm gathered, Vendra quickly caught them in a Space Block and exploded them.

"How close are we to the Nexus?" Nebula asked.

"One minute." MaKayla replied. "Dimentio actually opened it pretty close."

"Yeah, but something tells me Dimentio doesn't feel like having visitors." Haylee pointed out. Before their eyes was the massive Nexus surrounded by a giant Space Block, with the only opening being where the Space Energy seeped in. Just as well, more Netherbrutes were coming in, but Griffin and Lia were using their powers to breach openings in their structure, allowing Minksman and the Irkens to get in and destroy them from the inside.

"We can't take a chance with flying through the Space Chi, but that barrier looks too powerful." Haylee said.

"This reminds me when our parents had to break into Lucinda's castle, and our dad breached the barrier due to forced superior piloting skills." Artie recalled.

"Then what we need is a superior pilot. Step aside." Dandy said as he took the control seat from Haylee. "I'm rammin' this baby through."

"What?! Can you even make all of us survive?! How far can that Devil Fruit go?!"

"Kid, there comes a time in every man's life when ya gotta grab hold of that thread and just let loose." Dandy replied calm and coolly. "And I knew, from the moment I met you, I'd be doing something this impossibly reckless."

"I'd like it if you do something that doesn't risk our lives as well!!"

"Don'tcha see, Hayl… this is what they call destiny. Just thinkin' of all the boobies you girls could develop just gives me the itches."

"IS THAT YOUR WHOLE REASON FOR HELPING US?!" They all screamed.

"Okay, get ready for IMPACT! ALOHA OE… AWAY!" The ship PIERCED the barrier's exterior and left a gaping hole which they became stuck in.

"Hold on! I'll lighten you guys up." Minks called as his ship extracted a ray gun and fired at the Aloha, shrinking the whole vessel to toy size. The team sailed through no problem, and Minks flew in after them to resize. "We'll keep things covered in the air, Sir! Er, space. Good luck!" He returned to the fleet before the Space Block closed. (End song.)

The Aloha landed on an open spot as the heroes finally stepped off, staring up at the tremendous structure. "So all that's the unstable Space Energy the Nexus is channeling?" Haruka asked.

"It's being channeled by Dimentio, now." Vendra replied. "Any longer, his own bending might get totally mended with it."

"Even if we take the Dimensionator back, how on Earth can we defeat 'im?" Harry asked.

"You have the answer… don't you, Haru?" MaKayla smiled.

"Oh!" Haruka perked and pulled out the handcuffs. "I still have Caesar's chi-blocking cuffs!"

"Yes! As you saw, chi-cuffs work on Logias, too. They can stop Dimentio's bending no matter how powerful he gets."

"Um… can one of you hold it?" Haru asked. "It's making me woozy." Kirie smiled and happily took the cuffs. "Thank you!"

"I'll find him first and try to stall him! Catch up soon." Vendra told them before flying to a higher entrance.

"Sis, wait!" Neftin made a terrific leap up the building to follow her.

"No use lettin' them go alone." Nebula said. "Let's find Dimentio and stop him once and for all!" (Play "The Last Way" from Shadow the Hedgehog!)

Act 2: The Nexus

The heroes charged into the Nexus lobby as a group of Netherwarriors ambushed them and blasted cannons that emitted shockwaves upon impact. Nebula shot the T.O.P.M.A.N. at the first one and spun it around to whack another's head, so he shot the previous in return. Mason and Haruka shrouded two more in gas clouds, letting Chris and Aurora set fire to and explode them. The remaining Nether fought through the smoke and searched around, but didn't notice Bender above him as the robot held the Nether's shoulders, stretched high, and shot down to knock the Nether out.

They approached sealed double doors which Bender bent down, the team entering a hallway swarming with Nethers. There was a crystal in front of Nebula that seemed to contain a Nega Wisp, so Nebula smashed it free and absorbed its dark power. "FRENZY!" She became a ravenous monster with a huge mouth and furiously munched through the crowd of Nethers in seconds.

She reverted to normal at the end of the hall and walked onto an outside balcony, where they viewed the Nexus Core. They grinded a purple rail downward and ended up on a set of three rails. The rails ended at some points and restarted later, but there were portals at those ends that took them to other parts of the rails, either further or backward. Some portals even took them to a new set of rails, otherwise the previous set would've kept looping. They ended up in several confusing loops that took at least 7 minutes to decipher before they made it into a new room. "Talk about a good timewaster." Nebula commented.

In this room, a door was closed on the other side, and a pathway was over it, starting from the left side. At the end of that path, in the far right corner, was an electric switch, and another switch was near the left corner's ceiling. There were Split Pads where they stood, so Nebula figured they needed to be shocked at once. While MaKayla, Bender, and Vweeb dealt with the Netherflyers, she split in two and had both halves float onto a Gravity Path along the left wall. She had the right half fall onto the walkway below them, and both halves followed their respective route. The two paths basically mirrored the other, as when the Nebula on the wall had to turn left, the other Nebula's path went right, allowing them to shock both switches at once.

The door opened to another hallway with a bottomless chasm below them, and several portals opening and closing along the walls. A Space Light floated over the edge, so Nebula made a Space Block, but it was immediately sucked into a portal, and began to pop out of spawning portals, alternating the left and right walls as it moved down the hall. An easy puzzle, the group waited for the block to appear by them again so they could Wall Jump down as it went.

They arrived at a gigantic, chasm-like room flowing with Space Energy, and Netherbrutes flying all around. They crossed a glowing walkway to a small, floating platform, where two Netherflyers ambushed them. MaKayla threw a Time Bomb to slow the first one down while Bender stretched for the second one to bend its wings. It easily reshaped its wings and blasted Bender with a shock gun, making him spark and sizzle. But while his arms were up there, Vweeb was on them, and he jumped onto the Nether's back to burn the wings' base off with his ray gun. The Nether plummeted into the chasm, while MaKayla shoved her Chrono Staff into the other flyer's mouth and blasted a laser, sending him falling as well.

Another path appeared to take them to a set of rows of three platforms, and stairs connecting them. When they got there, three Elite Netherwarriors appeared and started warping around the platforms, jumping at the group at random times to slam them with shockwaves. MaKayla jumped away and tossed a Time Bomb, but a Netherwarrior warped behind and punched her away. It jumped at her again, but she blocked with her staff before pushing it away, then starting a Time Recordance. She ran and did a jump attack which the Nether blocked, then restarted the Recordance so her second self could run behind and whack its rear. Third Time Recordance, she jumped and shoved her staff down its throat, readying to blast, and fourth, she ran and blasted its stomach while the previous shot down its throat, destroying it.

Bender grabbed another warrior's arms and flipped overhead, getting behind to pull his arms back and tied them together. The Nether broke free and pulled Bender toward him, but the robot had his feet aimed as he KICKED the Nether and sent him over the edge. Nebula's Nether tossed mechanical boomerangs at her, so she countered using N.I.N.S.T.A.R.s that pelted all over his head. Finally, she destroyed the Nether with a V.I.S.S.I.L.E., and the team continued up the stairs.

There was no door at the top, but a tiny opening that likely required the Space Shrink. They saw a mirror floated up from the chasm by the bottom-right platform, so they went down for Nebula to shrink them. The pathways were actually slightly higher than the platforms, preventing them from climbing up, but a glass pipe led to the middle bottom platform. From there, they followed a maze of glass pipes that eventually led to the tiny opening, taking them to a bright hallway overflowing with purple energy. A mirror was there to let them resize, and all that lay before them was a capsule holding a Boulder Wisp, and a two-rail track behind it.

"BOULDER!" Nebula absorbed the Wisp and pulled MaKayla and Vweeb in with her, leaving Bender to balance on top as they rolled along the track, whipping at high speeds like a roller-coaster as it took them outside. The track led all around the Nexus's exterior, but there were gaps in the track, too. Bender gave the signal to jump when the gaps came, but was a little surprised when Netherbeasts shot up from below, eating track parts off in the process. They evaded those gaps okay, but Bender cried in fright when a giant Netherbeast was beginning to chase them, furiously munching the tracks on the way. Still balancing on the boulder, Bender threw punches back to keep him away, but ultimately shielded his eyes once he deemed it was hopeless. But, it became hopeful again, as they rolled into the core's entrance and let the Nether slam against the side.

The track spiraled around an interior shaft before the Color Power finally wore off, and they grinded the rest of the way before they took firm land near a long stairway.

"Hold on! Where did Sector V go?" Vweeb asked.

"They took an alternate route." MaKayla replied. "But they'll catch up."

This stairway was surrounded in blackness as a flow of Space Energy came from the ceiling, and shrunk in an hourglass style as it connected with a force at the top. The team dashed straight up the stairs, knowing their goal awaited at the top. In just moments, their final battle would begin. And there he sat, floating in a meditative fashion as the energy flowed directly into his Dimensionator. "There he is…" Nebula spoke lowly. "Dimentio Z. Winkiebottom. Uncle… your time has come!"