36. Assimilation and Infiltration

Lots of foreshadowing in this chapter. I'm not just talking about the direct foreshadows. Today's code uses A1Z26 Cipher.

Sector L's boat; en route to Japan

If there's one thing you had to love about KND ships, it's that they were efficiently fast, especially when powered by waterbenders. Team Emily, Sector L, and the Sidneys made it to Japan by 11:00 in the morning. …The sail was hell.

"B-O-A-T R-I-D-E S-O-N-G Song!" Spongebob was hurriedly playing a small guitar while Jessie and Sandy sang along. They repeated this verse over and over, faster and faster. …Everyone else had their ears clamped shut. "But it would help iiiiif you just siiiing aloooong!"

"That statement is contradictory because our lungs would hurt along with our ears!" Emily yelled.

"Actually, it's statistically impossible to hurt one's ears with one's own voice, not to mention our soundwaves regulate the soundwaves coming toward us, I'm just not a singer!" Sheldon explained quickly.

"You forgot to mention how sound travels faster through liquid, and by liquid, I mean Logia waterbenders," Eva said quickly, "so with that in mind, SHUT THEM UP!!"

Gary and Sarah shoved their Stun Clubs into Spongebob's mouth. "Ther' we go." Sarah said. "As soon as we get to Japan, y'all are hopping train to this 'Boggly Grove' and gettin' out of our hair."

"While we have a moment of peace, why the heck hasn't Spongebob suffocated by now?" Gary questioned.

"Bai-ai-ai! You silly!" Spongebob beamed. "Moisture floats in the air around us, so I don't need to be in water to breathe!"

"Dude, these H2O particles are too small for even a normal sponge to absorb on its own." Emily pointed out.

"Emily, since we're going to Japan, I thought it would be wise for us to brush up on the language." Sheldon spoke thoughtfully, reading a Japanese Language book. "There's only so much manga and anime could teach us, so let's practice. Ahem: Aisatsu, faro. Anita wa sago no your atarshi episoto kotaga walkinmart taka?"

"We just waged war against Japan, didn't we?" Danny asked.

"I hope not, 'cause we're almost to the island." Melody replied as they spotted the incoming shore. She and her mother were waving their arms, using waterbending to make the waves push the boat. "Where is Sector JP, again?"

"Shikoku Island, Karakura Town, located at least 537 miles after the shoreline." Emily informed.

"Sigh, 'guess we're gonna have to walk." Danny sighed miserably.

"No we won't!" Spongebob spoke brightly. "I can drive us there easy!" The young sponge went for the vessel's steering wheel.

Melody perked in fright, just realizing. "Wait, Spongebob, DON'T-!"

"FLOOR IT!!" Spongebob stomped the gas pedal (apparently boats have that), and the ship made a screeching sound like tire wheels as it boosted across the water, toward the shore. The passengers screamed and held on for their lives as the boat flew up the coast like a ramp, scraping along the ground as it raced across the landscape.

"TURN LEFT!" Eva screamed, unable to keep her watery skin on. "NO, YOUR OTHER LEFT! WATCH OUT FOR THAT BABY! THROUGH THE RING OF FIRE! DO A U-TURN! WAAAAAAAH!"

Several houses and several townspeople were blown away, they were looking to millions of dollars (or yen) in property damage. "Dr. Cooper," Emily cried, "I know that tiring long walks are the illogical fallacy when crossing a country, in this case I think we should make an exception!"

"I AGREE!" Sheldon screamed.

So with that, the four members of Team Emily let go and flew off, bumping against a dirt road. As Emily recomposed herself, fixing her glasses, she noticed the sign by the road. She used her glasses to scan the Japanese letters, translating them. Karakura Town: 1 minute away by train. "Holy eggroll! We made it!"

"Dern right we did." Sarah said as she took out her R.A.D.A.R., which was beeping crazily. "There's monkeys all over the place."

"Considering this is Japan, I expect we'll be seeing a share of anime parodies." Gary assumed.

"In that case, we should count on the monkeys to be super slow. Huhu!" Emily laughed. "You think Melody and the others are okay?"

"Assuming they haven't puffed up and exploded." Sarah remarked. "Besides, we can look for 'em after we go to Sector JP. I don't wanna imagine the cruddy dubs these apes try to make." (Play "Wabi Sabi Wall" from Ape Escape!)

Stage 47: Animonkey Tour

Mission: Catch 20 monkeys and get to Sector JP!

At a nearby train station, two monkeys were playing cards on a table. One was dressed like Yugi Muto, the other like Jaden Yuki (from their respective Yu-Gi-Oh series). Sarah shot Yugi with her slingshot, then Jaden reacted by chucking his cards like shurikens, scratching the Jones siblings in the sides as they winced, while Sheldon nimbly dodged with Observation Haki. Yugi recovered as they both threw card shurikens, with neither the Jones' or Emily able to get close. "Okay, Mr. Haki, make yourself useful!" Emily tossed Sheldon her T.E.L.A.-N.E.T.. The lanky scientist complied and dodged his way to the Pipo Yugi, swinging the net to catch the ape. During Jaden's distraction, Sarah and Gary pelted him with pellets, allowing Sheldon to catch.

"You know, if Nintendo had licensed Ape Escape on their consoles, this would make an astounding Wii-motion game!" Sheldon commented as he returned Emily's net.

"No kiddin'!" Emily agreed as the four entered the vacant train station. They saw the track to their left was tilted open like a drawbridge, but there wasn't a switch in the immediate area. The group used their R.A.D.A.R. and detected a monkey hiding behind one of many posters, in which this one advertised Pocari Sweat. Emily shot the poster open with her slingshot, revealing a monkey dressed like Naoto from Rail Wars. The Pipo panicked and ran around the station, but Gary chased him himself to catch while Emily hit the switch in the ape's hiding spot. The drawbridge came down and connected, and in an instant, a white train sped up from the right. Before boarding on, Sarah used the Sky Flyer to float onto the train's roof, then the station's roof, grabbing a 4x4 piece. "Let's get to town!" Emily said before they boarded the vessel and whipped across the grasslands.

In less than a minute, the train dropped them off at a station in town. The four (or at least the main three, Sheldon stayed behind) hurried to a city street where a monkey dressed like Ash was having a Pokémon battle with a monkey dressed like Brock. They were using real Pokémon; Ash a Piplup and Brock Geodude. After they saw Team Emily, however, Geodude defended the apes by punching the kids back if they got close, and Piplup assisted him using Water Beam. Their exploding pellets couldn't harm the Geodude, so they let the Pipos be for now. Gary picked up a 4x4 piece in an alley on their right, then they ventured down a slope leading onto the pier of a canal. Water spouts squirted up all around the area, and surfing along them was a monkey dressed like Sun Seto from My Bride Is a Mermaid. When Emily dove in the nearest spout, using the Water Net to swim, the ring of spouts either rose high or sunk low going counterclockwise, and Emily had to swim along them as the Pipo tried to outrun her. She had to maneuver up as a spout rose, or down when it sunk, so she would keep her speed and allow her to catch the mermaid monkey.

She swam back to her friends as they returned to the street, following it to the front yard of a high school. They entered the white building and encountered Nefarious Drones (not that they knew who Nefarious was), who extracted their buzzsaws and lashed them at the four. "AAAH!" Sheldon panicked, narrowly dodging their extended arms. He cowered behind Emily, "I should've warned you, while my moral support is absolute, in a physical confrontation, I will be less than useless."

"Choke it up, Shelly." Emily and co. blasted the drones using exploding pellets, then ran against them with Super Hoops. They saw a team of Protomantises marching up from down the hall, so with little desire to fight the robots, the team retreated into the girls' bathroom. "Wait, we shouldn't go in here!" Emily realized. "The spirit of Hanako might be haunting one of the toilets!"

"Please," Sheldon remarked smartly, "that legend's as believable as Moaning Myrtle having lunch at Arby's."

"Hehehe!" came a little girl's giggle.

"What was that?" Sheldon whipped around. Curious, Gary approached the farthest bathroom stall and knocked three times. The stall nearest the entrance swung open on its own, so all four stepped in, both nervous and cautious. Emily flushed the toilet, then the stall on the far end exploded open. "Hehehe!" A little girl ghost with black hair and a red dress flew out. She wore a bright smile and slowly drifted toward the group. "Good Lord, someone left their hologram projector in here." Sheldon said.

"You think there's something in the stall?" Gary questioned.

"I ain't tangoin' with that ghost!" Sarah yelled.

Emily sidestepped left-and-right, but Hanako stayed aligned with her. "Sheldon, let's play Don't Touch the Hologram." Emily said, pushing him forward. "You first."

Rolling his eyes, Sheldon played along, stepping left-and-right as he waited for an opening. "Huu-uu!" He gasped when Hanako zipped forward suddenly, dodging around the spirit, he ran to her stall, dodged again when she zipped to him, then Sheldon rushed into the stall. "There's a bus pass in the toilet—honestly, why do Japanese high schoolers care for their belongings so poorly?"

"Get the pass, Sheldon!" Emily yelled, seeing Hanako float into the stall. With repulse, Sheldon reached into the toilet to pick it up. When Hanako reached him, she whiffed and put on a disgusted look.

"You smell awful!" With that, the ghost faded away. When the group left the bathroom, the Protomantises were still guarding the hallway, so they ran into a classroom opposite. Each desk had a cardboard Pipo Monkey with a real blaring helmet. 'Course, anyone who knew their anime knew the only real monkey was sitting in the back, gazing reflectively out a window. Sarah got down and crawled in-between the desks to sneak up and net the monkey dressed like Kiyo from Zatch Bell. With that, the team left the school and continued further across the road, arriving at a restaurant called Ichiraku Ramen. They peeped inside and saw two monkeys, sitting across from each other at a table and staring intently. They were dressed like Monkey D. Luffy and Naruto Uzumaki.

Before attempting to net the apes, Emily crawled around the tables to a camera that was aimed at them. She pressed the switch to record the staring monkeys. Five episodes later. The caption read. With that, Sarah rushed up to net the Luffy monkey, while Naruto leaped away with ninja agility and threw shurikens. Gary tossed Sheldon his net as the adult dodged the stars, attempting to swing at Naruto while the monkey was perched on the wall, but the Shadow Clone puffed into smoke. Sheldon evasively dodged the Naruto that appeared behind him, swung the net, but that Shadow Clone poofed. When a Naruto dropped down from the ceiling, Sheldon swung upward and successfully netted the ape.

The heroes left the restaurant and turned another corner of the street to find a bus stop. Sheldon held up the toilet water-covered pass to the sign, and as if it were programmed, a bus swooped by, its destination set for Bath Springs. The speedy vehicle drove them out of town in seconds, to a mountainous area where the sloping path led to a bathhouse. They walked up a slope and arrived at a tall ledge where they could Sky Fly. But before doing so, the R.A.D.A.R. detected a monkey around the right side: the ape was clutching the cliff with fear in her eyes, and was dressed like Aoi from Encouragement of Climb. "I ain't even heard of some of these anime." Sarah mentioned as she leapt to net the monkey, then Sky Fly back onto their foothold. With that, they flew up onto the ledge (throwing one of their Sky Flyers down for Sheldon to come up), and trekked up a hill with lots of bushes on the sides.

A tiny spidermonkey dressed like Doraemon was running back-and-forth between bushes, but like the spidermonkeys back in Nashville, the ape could dodge between the strings of their nets if they tried to catch it. They let the tiny cat be and headed to an old wooden shack atop this hill. The tavern was empty, except for two apes, one dressed like Spike from Cowboy Bebop, and the other like Dandy from Space Dandy. The two were running around the bar blasting guns at each other, but when they noticed the kids, the gunfire was directed at them. Both teams took cover behind the tables, and Sarah passed Sheldon her T.E.L.A.-N.E.T.. The lanky scientist dodged the guns and maneuvered toward the Spike ape, while Emily used the Super Hoop to dash around the tables and capture Dandy.

They found a 4x4 piece from the shelf behind the counter, then left the bar to follow the next route up the hill. A tank was stationed at the end of this hill, shooting cannonballs to random areas of the path every half-second. When Sarah rushed on the path with her Super Hoop, the cannon was desperately trying to shoot her, Sarah kept an eye on the bombshells' positions and dodged them going forward. She made it to the tank and climbed up to its cockpit to break the monkey's protective glass. The ape was dressed like Lutgalnikov from Miritari, but that didn't stop Sarah from catching her. When her friends caught up, the four finally entered the bathhouse. The wooden wall was sealed, blocking any means of peeping, except for the tiny opening on the bottom. The sign read 'Fanservice Hour.' "Didn't we just do a 'Fanservice' chapter?" Gary asked.

"I believe that particular Fanservice was a play on words based around the name and primary desires of a certain person," Sheldon explained, "while actual fanservice is a means of a fictional series 'serving' its fans by some deluded means, i.e. half-naked animated females."

Inside a pot in the corner, Emily discovered another small 4x4 piece. "I know just what to make with this!" She combined the four tiny pieces and created a red toy car with remote control.

Kids Next Door: C.A.M.-C.A.R.

Camera Active Machinery Can Accomplish Reconnaissance

"I also built a tiny net inside for catching spidermonkeys!" Emily spoke brightly. "For you, Dr. Cooper. Because you're old enough."

"Oh, please." Sheldon took the remote. "I enjoy the occasional anime now and again, but not for such pointless filler." He drove the car through the opening, and the remote's monitor depicted the scene inside the hot spring. A monkey dressed like Lucy from Fairy Tail was washing a monkey dressed like Orihime from Bleach. There were lilipads floating in the water, so Sheldon carefully drove the car across. He made it to a central platform with a button, which the car could press and open the wooden fence for the team to get in.

But at the same time, a door that was atop a group of short mounts came open, and another monkey stepped out. She was dressed like Sailor Moon, posing her sexy body, and the Orihime and Lucy monkeys gaped. They felt ashamed of their selves. Sarah and Emily rolled their eyes before netting the two monkeys, and when Gary tried shooting Sailor Moon with the slingshot, the ape was nimble as she jumped down the mounts and around the spring. The three kids ran to separate areas with their Super Hoops in attempt to corner the monkey, until Gary was able to catch her at her jumping spot. Before moving on, the group returned to the hill area with the bushes, with Sheldon controlling the C.A.M.-C.A.R. to chase the Doraemon monkey. He pushed a button to catch the tiny ape in the car's net, warping him.

They also decided to board the bus back to town, to the spot where the Ash and Brock monkeys were still battling. The kids hid as Sheldon sent the C.A.M.-C.A.R. to draw Geodude's attention, the Rock-type chasing the tiny car. Sarah and Gary shot pellets at Piplup (that's mean) so Emily could run out and net Ash. Brock tried to run away, but the toy car came back to ram and knock him down, scoring another catch for Emily. With that, they returned to the bathhouse and climbed the mounts to exit the door Sailor Moon came out of. They viewed a hill that led all the way up to a treehouse growing from a tower. "I thought Sector JP was supposed to be a stealth-based sector." Sarah pointed out.

"The old Sector JP was." Emily replied. "This Sector JP didn't take after them."

Partway up the hill, they came to a flat field where a red curtain was hanging over a stage, likely built there by the apes. Spotlights came on, and the curtains opened to reveal the three Steven Universe monkeys. A Pipo dressed like Pearl made a graceful pose, and an unseen audience applauded her. A taller monkey dressed like Garnet flexed his/her fists, and there was more applause. A monkey dressed like Amethyst swayed her hip… a cricket was chirping somewhere. Angered, the monkey fingered all SU fans. The Pearl monkey majestically skipped around the field as Sarah chased, but the Amethyst monkey kept a safe distance and whipped the kids off their feet. The Garnet monkey leapt forth and tried to crush Emily with its fists, but she rolled away just in time.

Emily began beating Garnet with her Stun Club, but was punched in the face and knocked several feet. While Sarah was dodging Amethyst's whips, Sheldon controlled the C.A.M.-C.A.R. to get behind the monkey and ram her feet, knocking her over as Sarah ran over to capture. Gary was able to chase Pearl with no disruptions, and after ramming her with the Super Hoop a few times, he caught her. Emily dealt a few hits against Garnet at a time, dodging her fists afterward, until finally the robotic body was ready to explode. She broke into Ruby and Sapphire monkeys (spoiler alert), and before they fused again, Emily caught Sapphire. Ruby burned with rage and punched Emily in the back, then dodged Gary's Stun Club. Sarah ambushed and whacked the monkey, and before he could retaliate, Emily netted Ruby. (End song.)

With nothing else to disrupt them, the kids and adult hurried up to Sector JP's treehouse. A swarm of Nefarious Drones was steadily approaching the tower, but Team Emily gaped when a storm of colorful fireworks rained down upon and exploded on the robots, covering them with sticky confetti. "Now's your chance, Ururu!" a girl's voice called from the treehouse.

"O-Okay, Kodama." A girl wearing a red jumpsuit with a "K" on it, along with bat wings and a devil's tail, flew overhead and rapidly blasted the robots with guns. She was Numbuh Centipounds, Ururu Tsumugiya, who had black pigtails sticking out of her red helmet, and bluish-purple eyes behind her green visor.

"HEY! Are you with Sector JP?" Emily yelled up at her.

"Oh?" Ururu looked their direction from midair. "Who are you guys?"

"AN ADULT!" cried another voice. Sheldon looked left with surprise, seeing a red-haired boy in a white T-shirt and blue pants that were rolled up at the end, fly at Sheldon with a giant baseball bat ready. "No one gets past Sector JP!"

Sheldon ducked the swing with his Haki, and the boy flew over and crashed against a tree. "Jinta-kun, wait!" Ururu yelled with her soft voice. "I-I think they came to help us."

"Yes!" Emily replied with a sure and serious look. "We're on a mission to recover all the monkeys that escaped from my grandpa's lab! As well as, various other places in the world. Are one of you guys the leader?"

"No, Karin's fighting some monkeys in the soccer field out back." Jinta pointed. "We still gotta take care of some monkeys in the treehouse, so can you guys help her?"

"Excuse me, but I believe you meant to say she's in the football field—honestly, you're Japanese, you should know this." Sheldon said reprovingly.

"Sure, we'll help your leader." Emily nodded. "Come on, guys!"

A girl with short, raven-black hair and dark-gray eyes was hunched over and panting on the soccer field. She wore a white shirt under a black sleeveless shirt with a yellow kitten face, blackish-blue shorts, and white gym shoes. She glared at a tall, blue monkey with a white T-shirt and a blaring-red Pipo Helmet, who stood with several lesser Pipos behind him. "The art of soccer isn't your everyday 'Kick the can down the sidewalk.'" Blue Monkey stated, holding the metal soccerball under his arm. "It needs precision and durability! But you're a thousand years too early to be taking me!"

The girl, Numbuh Twelve Points To Zero (12-0), Karin Kurosaki, huffed and stood up straight. "The art of soccer also needs LEGWORK, dumbass. And when I say 'legwork,' ROBO legs don't cut it!"

"The art of soccer requires a keen mind!" Blue Monkey was wearing sturdy mechanical legs, as were his teammates. "And a keen mind uses the best strategy! Against our speed and strength, you twerps fall short!"

Karin readied herself with a firm stance, "I'll show YOU who falls short!"

"Numbuh 12-0, wait!" Karin looked right when Emily ran over—the nerd tripped and fell on her front.

"Who're you?" Karin questioned.

Emily jumped up and saluted, "Numbuh 303 from the KND Museum of Artifacts, best scientist in the organization! You can take a breather now, 'cause our team can handle this."

"No thanks." Karin stated simply, walking forward with an unphased stare at the monkey. "I'm in the middle of teaching this guy a lesson."

"Hehehe." Emily blushed. "Be that as it may, their technology has advantage over your natural strength alone. I strongly advise you allow us to assist you." She held up her Stun Club and Slingshot.

"This game just started, so I'm not throwing in the towel, yet." Karin replied firmly. She held her right leg up and rubbed under the knee, "You probably didn't notice 'cause you stayed away from that area, but I won 200 soccer matches during Arctic Training. I developed something called 'Inhumanly Strongism.' So if I could beat that many twerps, I think I'll be alright here."

"It may be safe to say you are incredibly talented, but judging by the solidity of that steel ball, plus the relative speed it would accumulate due to the momentum of robotic leg kicks, the chances of you winning this match without aid are-"

Karin grabbed Emily by the hair, threw her up in the air, and- "AAAAAAHHHH!" sent her flying to the treehouse with a kick. "Twelve to Zero." Karin concluded.

"OW!" Jinta screamed from the treehouse—Emily had crashed into him when she flew. "YOU DID THAT ON PURPOSE, Karin!"

"BUZZ OFF, Jinta!" Karin yelled. She narrowed her eyes on Blue Monkey again.

"Twelve To Zero, eh?" Blue Monkey raised a brow. "I think it's a game then." One of his Pipos pressed a remote, encasing the soccer field inside an electric barrier. "The shield only goes down when 12 gets the crown. The team that loses gets buried 6 feet underground. After the barrier's energy transmits to and shocks them to death. Already we outnumber you 9 monkeys to one. You've signed a death contract when you took that codename, Numbuh 12-0. And I'll be your Reaper." (Play "Monkey Soccer" from Ape Escape 2!)

Boss fight: Blue Monkey

Blue Monkey served first and kicked the metal ball at Karin, who swung her leg powerfully and rocketed the ball toward the enemies' net. It flew past Blue Monkey, but a Pipo kicked it to one on Karin's right, he kicked it to another close to her left, he sent the ball at Karin's face, she flipped, kicked the ball away, but another Pipo kicked it into Karin's net. When the Score 1 was marked on their board, energy from the barrier came down and dealt a shock to the Sector Leader. "Nnnnnn!"

"HA ha ha!" Blue Monkey laughed. "Each scorer gives a free shock to the enemy! That should slow you down."

Karin gritted her teeth in anger, standing straight up as that same Pipo Monkey kicked first. Another Pipo kicked it from Karin's right just when she was about to, she watched a Pipo kick it to a far right one, then a left one, to Blue, who kicked to Karin's net, the girl jumping in the way to block, but it collided with her chest and shoved her into the net as well. She screamed as she endured the shock. "Nobody blocks this ball!" The next round started, Blue Monkey kicked the ball to a Pipo, he kicked at Karin, who flew her leg upward and sent the ball to the air (the metal sphere went through the barrier). It came down, Karin jumped, spun, and sent the ball rocketing over the monkeys to their net. Energy from the shield came down to zap them all. "Good thing I know how to kick them." Karin remarked.

After the ball was handed back to her, Karin threw it in the air, then jumped and flipped upside-down as she kicked it forcefully, bouncing off Blue Monkey's face, about to fly over their goal, then a Pipo leaped up and kicked it to her, but Karin smirked as she kicked it toward a Pipo near the left, bounced it off his face, and into their goal. The score was even 2-to-2, and Karin was ready for more after taking the ball and kicking it to a Pipo on the right. The ape kicked it to one in the air, who sent it to Karin's goal, while said girl kicked it skyward before sending it to Blue Monkey. He kicked it back to her, she kicked it back, he kicked it back, she kicked it, a Pipo kicked it to Karin's right, then she sent it into their goal. Blue Monkey angrily bonked that Pipo's head, but as he wasn't paying attention, he panicked and ducked when Karin kicked the soccerball right over him, into the goal. "You apes would have better luck kicking a barrel of bananas."

"Or perhaps we'll have better luck kicking YOU. Rudy, Ginger, Max, Ophelia, get her!" Four of the Pipo Monkeys screeched and leapt to Karin, the girl reacting quick as she dodged their robo-leg kicks and knocked them away. The ball was still on the ground at her side, so another Pipo Monkey rushed to send it in her goal. Karin was dealt a shock, then the Pipos kicked her upside the face, bumping her against the goal's pole while Blue Monkey had the honor of getting another score. After enduring another shock, Karin furiously tried to kick the monkeys away, but when the ball flew to her goal, she jumped in attempt to bonk it with her head, but the metal object knocked her into the goal again, giving her a bloody nose and a black eye. "The score is 5-to-4 now." Blue Monkey smirked, tossing the ball up and down in his hand. "Maybe we'll give you this serve for free." He calmly rolled the ball to her end while Karin was still panting from the pain.

She took a few seconds to recompose herself, listening to the excited screeches and "UKKIIIS!" of the monkeys. "GrrrrRRRRR!" Anger fueled the girl's form, she channeled it all into her foot as she kicked the ball, rocketing into Blue Monkey's face and sending him flying back into his goal. Still enraged, Karin wiped the blood off her face and sloshed it into a Pipo's eyes. The four enemy monkeys ran at her to attack, but Karin nimbly turned and jabbed her right foot to each one, sending them against the barrier. Another Pipo came to kick the ball, Karin planted her hands on the ground, bent her legs toward the monkey, caught him between, then pushed herself to the air as she spun and hurled him to Blue Monkey. With her momentum still going, she kicked the ball during her descent to the ground, and it flew into the enemy's goal. "6-to-5, buddy! You gonna cry yet, or have I not BEAT you enough?"

"I think it's time we start gettin' DIRTY!" Blue Monkey served the ball himself, Karin kicked it straight in the air, kicked it a few feet forward and higher when it came down, then she jumped, planted her feet against the goal's top pole, then kicked off it to swing a momentous kick into the enemy goal. The monkeys grew angry after the shock, Karin kept sharp eyes on them as they subtly kicked it around the ground. A Pipo leaped at her from behind, she kicked her foot up behind her to knock him away, then the metal ball flew at her, she ducked in panic as it hit her goal, making the score 7-6. They got first serve, Karin kicked the ball to the far left corner, a Pipo kicked it to the far right, Karin ran and dodged the pursuing angry Pipos, then the ball flew into her goal. Karin kicked the angry Pipos away, and when the ball flew to her goal again, she jumped to kick it leftward, bouncing against one of the enemy Pipos, back to her before she sent it at Blue Monkey, bouncing off him to the left, then a Pipo panickingly kicked it into their own goal. 8-7.

"Frap this!" Blue Monkey cursed. At his command, several outside monkeys threw more metal balls into the barrier, making a total of five.

"WHAT?! You can't be serious!" Karin exclaimed. "Only one ball can be on the field!"

"So there's only gonna BE one ball!" When Blue Monkey brought each metal ball together, Karin gaped with horror: they all formed into a giant metal soccerball, big enough to squish the girl flat. "Since it's still five balls, the scorer gets five points. In other words, winner takes all!" Blue Monkey smirked. "I'm afraid your fancy footwork won't cut it. All together, boys!"

The 9 monkeys kicked the giant ball together, and Karin's eyes grew wide as it rolled closer. She had to get out of the way, but if it passed her goal, it was over anyway. If she was gonna go down today, she wouldn't go down a coward. Karin jumped to her goal, grabbed the top bar, and kicked both legs outward when the ball came as they made contact. "Hnnnnnnuuuuuuu!" Her legs were bent as the ball began to squish her. The monkeys were still pushing the ball from their side, Karin felt her internal pressure decreasing. It was amazing she was keeping it back for so long with her own strength. …It was because she couldn't let this ball pass, for many reasons: she was leader of Sector JP, she had to protect her treehouse, she had to protect her title as KND's greatest soccer star, and she had to become the soccer champion of the world. Never in all her years would she let a pack of apes, and their oversized metal ball, crush her mighty legs like sticks.

With every last ounce of strength, Karin stretched her legs straight and pushed the ball. "UKKIIII!" The apes panicked as she heard several of them crushed, their robot legs breaking to pieces. "WAAAAH!" Blue Monkey shared this fate, his goal was crushed, and Karin watched with utmost satisfaction as the barrier's being was channeled to each of their bodies. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

Blue Monkey and his Pipos were covered with soot. Since each of them took a share of electricity, none of them were dead; that's not to say they weren't in a lot of pain. Karin stared at them with her smug glare, casually kicking the normal metal ball up and down. Sarah and Gary approached her with nets ready. "Mind if we clean up?" Gary asked.

"Be my guest." So with that, the Jones siblings ran around and netted each monkey. Sarah saved Blue Monkey for last, and the commander vanished into light within her net. (End song.)

"Ahhhh." Sarah sighed with relief, stuffing her net in her Infi-Cube. "It feels nice when Emily doesn't get the glory in a boss fight. Say, you wanna join our monkey-fightin' squad?" she asked Karin.

"Hmm. I'll think about it." she shrugged. After all, she did get all the high scores in the Ape Escape games.

They all returned to Sector JP's treehouse, having successfully captured the monkeys running rampant. They had time to get acquainted with the JP members, including Numbuh Chinese New Year, Kodama. Her attire greatly stood out among her teammates, a blue robe with yellow spiked explosion designs, purplish-red eyeliner, a light-red knotted headband, and wooden sandals.

Karin was sat with her legs spread across the couch while her twin sister, Yuzu placed a warm towel over her legs. Yuzu (Numbuh 5 Degrees) had yellowish-brown hair, brown eyes, and wore a yellow shirt with a white apron. "Karin, you should've let them handle it." Yuzu spoke scoldingly. "You know better than to sprain your legs kicking a metal ball. Let alone one that's five times your size."

"I didn't sprain them, they just got a little stiff. Besides, I still kicked his butt." Karin smirked proudly and flexed an arm, "I'm the soccer champion of the world."

"Before this escalates, I can't let this illogicality go on any longer," Sheldon spoke up, "just because you speak English, why are you classifying the sport as 'soccer' and not 'football'?"

"I don't know, it USED to be called 'football,' but they changed it to soccer five years ago." Karin stated. "My dad says it's 'cause America took over."

"Oh dear, of course." Sheldon smacked his forehead. "How could I not remember? For the past 12 years, America's been assimilating other countries one after another. Part of some 'New World Order' type of malarkey."

"Yeah, and it totally STINKS, too." Jinta replied hotly. "All of our anime are crappy dubs, our riceballs have jelly and custard in them, AND WHAT THE HECK ARE THESE FORKS?!" He angrily held up the silver utensil. "I grew up on chopsticks, dang it!"

"It isn't so bad." Ururu smiled. Without her Tiny Devil jumpsuit, she wore a white shirt with a pink flower skirt and sandals. She had blush marks on her cute face. "You could look at it as a way of being multi-cultural. I think these Fritos are really delicious-"

"SAVE HER, SHE'S BEING BRAINWASHED!" Jinta grabbed her around the neck and twisted his knuckles against her head.

"Ow! St-Stop it, Jinta- ow!"

"Personally, I don't care what they call it. I just wanna kick SOME kind of ball around and be good at it." Karin replied, kicking her soccerball upward a few times.

"On the bright side, I get to experiment with America-brand fireworks." Kodama mentioned with a smile. "It's been helping my arsenal a ton!"

"Who wants some American chocolate chip cookiiieees?" Yuzu sang as she brought a tray of the steaming pastries.

"NOOOO! STOP THE ASSIMILATION!" Jinta raised his giant baseball bat and smashed the tray to the floor, much to Yuzu's horror.

"They kinda teach us all this in Social Studies." Emily replied. "And all of this assimilation was thanks to James McGarfield. Currently the 46th President of the U.S., and by extension, all of its assimilated nations."

"'Course, before that, the 45th president, Kevin James ran them." Gary followed. "Still can't believe it though, comedian to president in a few short years. 'Guess that's the American dream."

"You guys know why they're assimilating everyone, right?" Jinta asked with a scowl. "The World Government wants 'em to it. Because, in reality, they're THE ILLUMINATI!" With gusto, the red-haired boy whipped out an American dollar, pointing out the pyramid with an eye on it. "They won't stop until everyone is bowing to the New World Order! And do you know what they'll do after that?! They'll trap all our souls inside a Magic 8 Ball while a giant skeleton demon plays with us like dolls, turning us into poorly-drawn characters using MS Paint, as we live the rest of Time's existence completely unaware-!!"

Karin punched the boy in the head, frowning angrily. "You and your crazy conspiracy theories. Sigh, this entire thing is getting completely off track. You were supposed to tell us about these monkeys, not a basic recent-history lesson."

"My, but who says the two subjects can't be one in the same?" a nasally voice echoed from outside.

They all gasped and rushed to a rooftop balcony. A fleet of Pipo Monkey ships (designed like giant robot monkey heads) surrounded the treehouse, led by a white ape on a floating chair. "Specter!" Emily recognized him.

"Ahh, Dr. Cooper." Specter smiled handsomely at the aforementioned, his voice still nasally due to his missing modifyer. "That was quite a nifty move you pulled back in Texas. I wasn't happy to hear the news. Perhaps you don't want your dear Amy safe after all."

"You might be able to use threats in attempt to coax me to comply with your desires, but that only accentuates how much you need my intellect in order to proceed." Sheldon folded his arms in a sure fashion. "Should any fate befall Amy, you will have no means of convincing me, and taking her feeble skin and physical strength into account, any means of torture are risky in that sense, ergo it seems you're at a loss."

"Hm hm hm, dear boy." Specter chuckled snootily. "Your technology would be convenient for us, but we could manage without you. It should suffice you to know we had our own reasons for kidnapping Amy. I wouldn't mind doing away with you right now, but I do not wish to harm this treehouse. I'm looking to turn this base into my own anime broadcast station. I expected Blue Monkey to get defeated, which is why I was waiting in the wings. Once we get to broadcasting our anime, we'll be able to brainwash millions! I'm sure your minds must be tired from all that thinking."

"I would hope that statement isn't directed at Jinta." Karin smirked.

"Oh, you just WAIT for the right moment and-" Jinta retorted.

"Why are you wasting time with this brainwashing crud?" Emily questioned. "You know the Apocalypse is coming, right?"

"All the more to make the best of things." Specter shrugged. "So with that in mind, I really don't want to get in a fight. Perhaps this should lighten the mood. LUXURY BEEEEAM!" He pushed a button.

"DON'T LOOK!" Karin and Sheldon exclaimed—everybody whipped the opposite direction and shut their eyes. The monkey ships opened to reveal green-and-orange hypno wheels. Yuzu didn't react in time, so the yellow-haired Kurosaki twin was brainwashed. "Ugh, dammit, Yuzu." Still keeping her back toward the wheel, Karin grabbed her sister in her arms and carried her, running with the others. "Everybody get into our C.O.O.L.-B.U.S., we'll find someplace to hang out."

The operatives and Sheldon boarded a Japanese-style C.O.O.L.-B.U.S. and took off from the underground hangar, fastly escaping under the fleet of Pipos.

"Oh darn, they've escaped. No matter. My new anime shows will have dub and sub-lovers alike under our control! Chimp Tail, Banaruto, Want Peace, Yellow, Uk-Ki-Oh, Space Nanner, we'll brainwash the whole world before long! We'll be able to turn everyone against the World Government as Lesser Lord Gnik ordered. Then they'll have little to stop us from taking their Octogan! The only other problem is," he turned on a small screen and shouted, "I still wish that SOMEONE would talk less and get to fixing my freaking MODIFIER!"

Mojo Jojo replied, "I am trying to fix your modifier, but it is not easy, as your voice is so loud, it is hurting my eardrums, which is distracting me from completing the task you have entrusted me, which is fixing your modifier, so your criticisms are thereby decreasing the productivity of my…" Specter face-palmed in annoyance.

Langley Falls; CIA Headquarters

It was 11:00 at night when the limousine pulled up to the CIA's front gates. "Thank you for driving me, Jenkins." Carol Masterson smiled to her butler before stepping out of the vehicle. "I'll take it from here." She approached a guard at the gate booth, who was playing a Nintendo DS. "Excuse me." He lowered his device to look at Carol, who wore a serious look. She held up a badge, with a picture of herself with a smile, wink, and tongue sticking out. "I am Special Agent Carol Masterson from Cleveland's CIA branch, sent here to help redesign this building's security network. It's close to midnight, and as a little girl, I need my sleep, so if you don't mind, I'd like to get this job over with as soon as possible."

The guard in sunglasses shrugged and opened the gate. Carol smiled proudly and walked in, while the guard returned to his DS. Carol casually entered the building, showing her self-printed badge to every agent that glanced at her, before she entered the main computer room. "You're all relieved, guys, I'm fixing your security network, so nobody can be using them at the moment." She told the agents inside.

"But I'm looking up something important!" Dick Reynolds, a bald-headed agent, yelled urgently.

Carol glanced at the website he was on. "Euu-hu!" she shuddered at it. "I think that can wait."

Carol waited until all of the agents cleared out. With that, she hooked her own computer into one of theirs. "Mr. Game-and-Watch, are you ready?"

"Bip-BOP-boop!" the 2-D Program saluted.

Stage 48: CIA Langley

Mission: Rescue Sandman's team from the base!

Mr. Game-and-Watch was in a dark-blue cyberspace, completely 2-D like him. He jumped a pool of electric, then saw a key floating above a square line, in which two platforms traveled along it. Game-and-Watch hopped on one of the platforms, avoiding the electric spheres moving on the line as well, and grabbed the key, opening a locked door ahead. When he entered, floating, black, 2-D drones hovered over and shot turrets at Game-and-Watch. The Program used his frying pan to flip hams up to the drones and destroy them. Game-and-Watch began to jump a series of platform columns, where certain ones only scrolled up or down. More turret drones flew at him, so Game-and-Watch avoided their bullets as he maneuvered on lower platforms to flip hams up at them.

Game-and-Watch encountered a group of four stationary turrets, protecting a key from all sides. Each one took several hits from Game-and-Watch's ham before it was destroyed, the Program took a few hits from their bullets, but he survived with what HP he had left and destroyed them. The door opened after he grabbed the key, so Game-and-Watch continued to a field full of electric gaps in the floor. Columns of electric appeared between them at certain intervals, requiring Game-and-Watch to use caution while jumping. The end of this route was blocked by a larger stationary turret, so Game-and-Watch maneuvered to avoid both the electric and the bullets. The battle was tedious with G&W's hams, but the sentry blew up eventually.

With that, Game-and-Watch made it to a door labeled 'Interrogation Room.' Game-and-Watch entered, and through his eyes, Carol saw that the room was holding 'Sandman.' "Perfect, Mr. Game-and-Watch. Let's set our little Sandy free." The duo cracked the code 'Mindwash.'

Nolan York sat bored inside the interrogation room, head rested in his hand while his elbow propped against the table. He heard the speaker by the ceiling ring and expected an agent to come and question him. "Good news, Mr. York! Your savior has arrived!" said an energetic girl's voice.

"Huh?" Nolan sat up in surprise. "Who is this?"

"It's Carol Masterson. Remember? I'm that adorable rich girl who tried to use your grappling hook?"

"Oh yeah… Wait, what're you doing here?"

"I found out you were in jail and came to rescue you myself. It turns out, I have a superb talent with computers and hacking!"

"And suddenly you're breaking into government facilities? Seems like a wild jump for you."

"You're just jealous 'cause I learn faster. Listen, I'm about to unlock your cell, then once I do, you'll have at least 30 seconds to grab your gear out of that hall over there and back out. I want to focus time on turning off enough security for you to escape."

"Hang on, I still have to help Wiccan and Coldman. Are they in here, too?"

"Sigh, fine. But I'm taking a big risk here, I'll help you as much as I can, but you'll have to do the hard parts. Mr. Game-and-Watch says your wristwatch has Vanellope's signature in it. I'll be able to talk to you directly if you have it."

"Got it." Once the cell was open, Sandman quickly rolled out. He crossed to the open door on the other side, finding a hallway of security lasers. The lasers shut off, so Sandman used the 30 seconds to race across the passage, maneuvering around the metal blockades they had in the way just in case. He grabbed his suit and equipment, dressing himself up quickly before making his escape through the hall. He got out just in time before the security lasers reactivated. Carol then appeared on his wristwatch.

"Nice rollin'!" she nodded brightly. "While we're on the subject, how come Vanellope's signature is in your wristwatch?"

"She helped me reprogram my watch to be good at hacking. Not that I wasn't a master before." Nolan smirked lightly.

"Egomaniac." Carol puffed her cheeks. "Okay, I found something else. Prisoner 'Wiccan' is in the Northwest Wing, just past that door." Sandman looked at said door's label, the Northwest Prison Wing. "While Prisoner 'Coldman' is in the Weapons Storage, being used for research. Two agents in the offices have a Card Key for the prison wing and Weapons Storage. You'll have to try and swap them without being spotted. Their names are Duper and Eric." She sent him pictures. "The agents aren't looking at your room right now, so this is your chance."

Sandman crept out into the offices, using Detective Vision to spy the agents as he hid behind the nearest cubicle. "So do you think that girl is one of those girls who looks like a kid, but she's really 18, or-or 21?" Agent Dick stuttered.

"Don't be silly, Dick." Agent Jackson told him. "Even if she is, she's way too young."

Agents Duper and Eric's auras were marked green in Sandman's Vision. Since several agents were close around them, Sandman sent out the Grapple-Cam to latch its way across the room. "I see up them shorts." Sandman whispered into his controller's microphone. His voice emitted from the Grapple-Cam, catching their attention.

"G-G-Guys?" Dick shuddered. "Ah-I think there's a ghost!"

"Dare you to check it out, Dick." Duper snickered.

"Mmmm." Angry, Dick went over to the source of the voice. The Grapple-Cam was on the ceiling corner, so when Dick was below- "Ow ow ah!" Nolan pelted his face three times with the grappler before flying the Grapple-Cam to another corner of the room. "Okay, which one of you guys did that!"

"What're you talking about, Dick?" Duper chuckled as the agents went over to check it out.

During their squabble and distraction, Sandman rolled behind another cubicle with a computer desk. The computer screen displayed a code in green numbers: 15-14 1 14-15-2-12-5 13-9-19-19-9-15-14 20-15 10-1-16-1-14, 20-8-5 D-G-20-8 16-18-5-19-9-4-5-14-20. Sandman quietly snuck up behind Eric in the back of the crowd, swiping the Card Key off his belt. Sandman rolled back and hid before any agents looked over. Duper was still surrounded by agents, so Sandman positioned the Grapple-Cam to a far corner and said, "Duper is a pooper! Pooper Duper!"

"What?!" Duper whipped around as the agents snickered. "Alright, I swear I'm gonna…" Thankfully, Duper went to investigate the sound by himself, so when he was far enough away from the other agents, Sandman tailed him to swipe his Card Key. With that, he hurriedly rolled back to the interrogation room, sliding Eric's key into the slot beside the prison wing door. Sandman rolled inside and drew attention from the criminals behind barrier cells.

"If you get beside your friend's cell, I can have Game-and-Watch jump in from your watch."

Nolan searched each cell before… "There she is! Crystal!" He spoke hushedly.

The witch looked up from her bench. "Nolan!" She eagerly came over. "How did you get out?"

"The same way you're about to." Nolan held his watch beside the cell terminal.

"There's your window, Game-and-Watch! Jump in!" On Carol's command, the excited little Program jumped into the terminal's mainframe. Floating sentries swarmed in and blasted at G&W, who withstood some shots as he flipped ham up to destroy them. Mr. Game-and-Watch had to jump up a series of platforms where twin security lasers scrolled up and down (each going opposite of the other). There were protective bars on either wall, so G&W got on the platforms beside them, waiting for the lasers to pass by before jumping further. Game-and-Watch made it to a high field where red balls bounced all around between the floors and nonexistent ceiling. He evasively dodged the balls as best as his 2-D controls would, took a few hits, but he managed to grab a key to open the door.

There were floor turrets in this room, trying to scroll below Game-and-Watch and shoot upward. Game-and-Watch got onto some platforms above, and from there flipped hams up at stalactites to make them come down and stick through the floor. They destroyed the turrets with successful strikes, allowing Game to pass to the code room. He cracked the code 'Bowling Day' and opened Wiccan's cell.

"Hoo. Thanks, Nolan." The witch smiled as she stepped out.

"Don't thank me. Thank this little girl." He showed her his wristwatch.

"Wow, your hair is so purple!" Carol beamed. "You look like a witch in this story I read!"

"Fascinating. Nolan, I'm afraid they took my staff."

"It could be in the Weapons Storage. We're going there for Yuki." The two hurried through the prison wing—Sandman stopped them before they entered the interrogation room, sensing agents inside with Detective Vision.

"Maybe the ghost was just one of the criminals." Dick's voice was heard.

"Maybe. Hey, didn't we have a guy in there?" Duper asked, pointing at Nolan's former cell.

"Someone else musta locked him in there." Eric replied. "Hey, you think Director Bullock will let us play with his gadgets?"

"I wonder if Sandman has Anti-Aging Cream?" Dick asked hopefully. "Oh-ho-ho, what I wouldn't give to look 32 again…" Sandman watched them pile out. He sighed with relief before entering the room with Crystal. The agents were sitting at computer desks in the office room.

"Crud. We can't sneak into Weapons Storage this way." Sandman said.

"I have a plan." Carol reported. Sandman saw the girl's aura walk out into the offices. "Hey, everybody! My CIA office is sending donuts to us, outside!"

"YAAAAAAY!" The auras excitedly piled out. Sandman and Wiccan seized the chance by rolling out there. "The short story is, Dunkin' Donuts owes me a few favors." Carol informed. "With that in mind, you have about 20 minutes 'til they get done with 'em. I'll go back to watching cameras, you handle the rest." Carol rushed back into the computer room.

Sandman used the Card Key to open the door to a short hallway where an agent was backed against the wall, holding a chair to an angry mammoth in defense. "All I wanna do is ride you to McDonald's! Why do you gotta be like this?" The two heroes paid this no mind, as Sandman used his grappler to fly up onto a walkway near the ceiling, pulling Crystal with him. They avoided sight of the agent, then dropped to the floor on the other side.

They entered the massive room that was Weapons Storage, where missiles, guns, and gadgets alike were lain about, and agents patrolled everywhere. He detected a stiff frozen aura far away, and when they looked from behind some missiles, they saw it was Yuki Crystal. He was frozen in a capsule of liquid nitrogen, which had chi-blocks set around it. "Since he can't icebend, he can't unfreeze himself." Nolan observed. "If we could at least burn those off…"

"Let's look for my staff." Wiccan said. They grappled to a higher walkway, seeing the guard was several feet ahead, then grappled up to the large metal ceiling pipes. Sandman detected an orange, stick-shaped aura on the right side of the room. Crystal's staff was encased inside a safe, protected by two armed guards. "Carol, could you hack into that if we got close?"

"Yes, but make sure no one's looking." They waited for the walkway guard to climb down the ladder, then Sandman glided onto it—weighed down a little carrying Crystal. Nolan sat at the very edge of the walkway, holding his watch up. "You aren't close enough." Carol told him. The safe was just a few feet around this turn.

Crystal noticed the metal pipe that traveled along the wall, from them to above the safe. "Give it to me." she said. Nolan unhooked his watch and gave it to Crystal, who put it around her head like a necklace. She climbed up and sidled atop the pipe, then very carefully stepped onto the safe. She made sure not to breathe as Game-and-Watch did his thing.

A giant green wall chased G&W inside the blue space, so he hurriedly beeped and ran. He ran through a field of orange spikes both on the floor and air, jumping precisely in-between them. He quickly jumped up a set of tall stairs, and at the top, flying drones began shooting at him. He flipped hams up to destroy a few, then kept running. He climbed a ladder, giving the green wall some time to catch up, but G&W got away in time, running across a long field. He encountered a wall of pixels and flipped his hams to destroy each little one, doing so hurriedly as the wall was catching up. When the pixels were all gone, Game-and-Watch rushed inside to crack the code 'Forbidden.'

The safe beeped open, but the guards didn't seem to hear. Crystal quietly climbed off the safe, cracked it open, and got her staff. She subtly shut the door and flew away on the stick. "Way to go, Crystal." Nolan said, taking his watch back. "Um, and Carol. I'll distract the other guards, you shoot those chi-blocks." Sandman grappled above the pipes and sent his Grapple-Cam to a wall away from the frozen capsule. "You wield that gun like a girl!"

"Of course I do, my mom taught me." One of the guards replied simply.

"Was she that ugly?" So on that cue, the guards rushed over to the source of the voice.

"The safe guards are still there, but I'll risk it." Crystal aimed her staff and shot small fireballs to burn the paper seals. The safe guards didn't seem to notice or react, and the other guards were still looking for the Grapple-Cam. Nolan and Crystal watched the frozen capsule intently after the chi-blocks disintegrated. …The frosted glass was beginning to crack. The agents whipped around when it shattered completely.

Yuki Crystal stood on the platform that once rested his liquid nitrogen capsule. "Brrr-r-r-r… I feel a little… stiff." Yuki spoke calmly, but inside he was flowing with power. "I should… stretch my legs a little!" He smirked vigorously.

"Yuki, freeze all of the guards, quick!" Sandman yelled—again startling the agents.

"Oh! Okay!" Each guard ran for an alarm button, Yuki blasted ice beams at each one, one at a time. The safe guards shot their guns at him, Yuki flipped off the platform, dodged, and froze them from afar.

"That's anything but stealthy…" Carol said with disbelief.

"At least we still have time. Sort of." Sandman replied. "Is the coast mostly clear out there?"

"Not really, they're coming back already." Carol replied, looking at the offices camera on her computer. "And… uh-oh."

"I just wanna check something on my email real quick, maybe that girl will let me." Dick said as he was about to enter the computer room.

Carol hurriedly closed her laptop, unplugged it from the CIA computer, and looked worriedly for a place to hide. She saw an air vent on the floor and said, "Good thing I brought this." as she pulled out her screwdriver. She unscrewed the bolts in the vent, cracked it open, and crawled in, closing the vent.

"Oh, she's gone." Dick said as Carol saw him sit down. "Maybe she was outside and I didn't notice. Oh well!"

Carol sighed in relief before deciding to crawl further in the vent. She heard the fast strumming of a banjo and some singing echoing from the room around the corner. When she peeped through this vent, it appeared to be an office. Carol clutched the vent bars and pushed it open with all her force, but held the vent tight so it didn't bang on the floor. Carol crawled inside and saw who was singing.

The CIA Deputy Director, Avery Bullock, was at his desk. He was kicked back as he merrily strummed a banjo, singing "The Window Cleaner" song. "All day up this ladder, I'm as happy as can be. Any thing thing thing, anything, the things I shouldn't see! Oh, the blushing bride looks divine…"

Bullock's telephone suddenly rang, so he placed the caller on speaker. "Hello? Deputy Director Bullock?" a gruff voice spoke on the other end. "I'm not… interrupting anything, am I?"

"Ohh, Corporate President Carter Pewterschmidt!" Avery spoke brightly in his British accent. "No, of course not, please, chat with me for a pint."

"Um, okay. Also, why the hell is your speaker phone on?"

"It makes the atmosphere feel more open, of course. Besides it hurts my arm to have to hold that dreadful device to my ear for too long."

"Well, considering all that coke I send you, God forbid your arm gets tired. So what's the deal with these White Lotus Revolutionaries stealing our Mega Footbombs?"

"Oh, it's nothing to worry about, Carter," Avery spoke casually, tuning his banjo, "they only stole prototype bombs from the stadiums. I have the secret locations of three bombs marked on blueprints in my office, they're all still safe."

"Good. We're thinking of sending the Teen Ninjas to blow up KND Moonbase, Arctic Base, and their Undersea Base. Three bases, three Footbombs, keep 'em safe, Avery." Carol internally gasped at this. "Then the Leaders can quit worryin' about them. Anyway, something else, Director, my security cameras saw a group of kids crossing the border to Mexico a few days ago. One of them was some sort of giant, and they had a skeleton child with them. Did you see anything like that on your cameras?"

"I thought I caught a glimpse of something of the sort. I was on cocaine at the time, however, so my memory's a little fuzzy."

"Well, send extra security to the border ASAP! We saw them go back over the border, but that skeleton was the same that escaped from Pueblo de Niebla, and I don't want him finding his way back there! Not only that, but one of those kids was one of the Seven Lights our Leaders told us about! Since Pueblo de Niebla has one of those 'Gibberish Rock' things, I know they'll be going back there eventually. I don't want those brats to ruin my Lazarus Operation!"

"For God's sake, Carter, you've already harnessed more than enough of that Lazarus to last yourself another 30 years. Why do you insist on staying in that backdesert country?"

"Because the World Government caught on to what I'm doing, and they want in." Carter said with what seemed like a whisper. "I'm gonna have to mine this whole desert to give 'em the amount they want. Just send me your agents so I don't have to worry about those twerps!"

"Relax, Old Boy, my Agent Smith is the best there is. He'll show a few brats a thing or two. Plus you've still got those hillbillies you've persuaded to work for you."

"Sigh, alright. So um, anyway, that whole thing with Doflamingo was pretty messed up. You know, they're actually considering letting his son fill in as president. As soon as they find him."

"A CHILD for a president, if that isn't the highlight of my evening!" Bullock exclaimed with humor.

"What's he gonna do with the company," Carter continued with a noticeable humorous stutter, "turn it—turn it into an action figure, c-comic book-type business—aaah, you know that crap kids do!" He and Mr. Bullock shared in laughter. "Ahhh, well uh, I have a meeting to go to, so I'll let you get back to… whatever it is you're doing. Send those agents over soon." He hung up.

"Sure, sure, I'll get right on that." With that, Mr. Bullock continued playing his banjo, resuming his "Window Cleaner" song. "The bride groom, he's doing fine, I'd rather have his job than mine…"

Now that the dialogue was over, Carol kept on the floor as she searched for the Footbomb locations. On the wall beside the door was a collection of wanted posters. They depicted Wendy Marvell, Augustus Fizzuras, King K. Rool, Sandman, Red Eye, and Ragaj Gnik (who was worth two billion dollars, however a reason was not given for his criminality). Carol found a blueprint taped to that wall, so since Bullock's head was tilted back during a verse, she quickly stood and snapped the blueprint with her cellphone camera. She then crawled to one of the vents in the opposite wall, opening its bars to see a blueprint lodged within. While Bullock was singing, she quickly reached in to pull it out, uncrumple it, and snap the picture before stuffing it back in.

The only place Carol guessed where the other one was was Bullock's desk. She crawled around his right side, seeing the man's head totally upward as his chair tilted back and his feet were on the desk, lost in song. His singing hurt her ears up close, but she used the distraction to stand up, rifle through a drawer, and found a Riddler Trophy. Annoyed, she crawled around to search the drawer on his left side, finding the blueprint. She snapped the picture, put the paper back, then crawled to the opposite side of the desk from Bullock.

"I'll send these to Maseyfairy to send to Cheren." Carol thought aloud quietly, texting Mason the photos while warning him about the Footbombs and the planned attack. The blueprints read the Footbombs were in New Jersey, Arlen Texas, and Colorado's NFL Stadiums. "That'll give them some time to make a plan."

With that done, Carol was about to crawl back into the vent- "Who the devil are you?" She flinched. She turned her head to show her panicked face to Bullock.

"Uhhh… I'm the vent cleaner."

"Ah, I was wondering when you'd come." The Deputy Director smiled. "Well, carry on, then. Ahem, all day up this ladder, I'm happy as…"

Carol sighed, crawling back in as she stuck the vent's hatch on. Dick was gone from the computer room, so it was safe for Carol to crawl out. She peeped into the offices and saw… all of the agents frozen solid. "Great, you made it." Nolan greeted her.

"You certainly take care of things quickly." The girl remarked.

"I'll unfreeze 'em if we're ready to go." Yuki promised. "Are we?"

"Yes, I think we should." Nolan nodded. Yuki summoned all of the ice back into his hands before the team rushed out of the building.

"You guys! My life just flashed before my eyes!" Jackson exclaimed, panting after being unfrozen. "And I use… way too much… syrup on my waffles…"

Team Sandman hurried past the gate as Carol showed her badge to the guard, "All taken care of, have a nice night!" The guard nodded uninterestingly, focused on his DS. The team ran a far-enough distance away, where Jenkins' limousine was parked. The heroes caught their breath.

"Well, Carol, you have our thanks." Sandman told the child. "But I have to ask, since you even look like her now, why couldn't Rebecca Hawkins from Yu-Gi-Oh fill your role?"

"It's called character development, Mr. York, it'd do YOU a few favors." Carol spoke with a smug frown, her eyes closed. "I'm not letting you off the hook easily, you each owe me 150 dollars." She held a hand open and wiggled her fingers.

"Why the devil should we?!" Wiccan shouted.

"'Cause I'm a little girl who's up past her bedtime rescuing three adults from jail. I want a bigger allowance." Her hand was still open.

"We're superheroes, we don alter-egos to avoid paying compensation." Coldman argued.

"Fine, I'll put it on your tab. That only means your debt will increase as time goes on." She winked cutely and stuck her tongue out.

"We'll keep that in mind. Can you get home okay, Carol?" Sandman asked.

"Sure." Carol casually walked to her limousine and got in. "Worry about yourselves. Oh, and consider it a gift from me," she smiled at them, "I Copied Game-and-Watch and Pasted his clone in your wristwatch. Hopefully, he'll make hacking a lot easier. I'll say 'hi' to Dillon for you!" The heroes watched as the limo drove away down the street.

Sandman checked his wristwatch, seeing Mr. Game-and-Watch's happy image. He made some beeps and bops before ringing a 2-D bell. "Hooray, we have a new friend!" Crystal grinned. "Where should we take him next? What's our next mission?"

"Hmm…" Sandman sighed. "I think it's been a long day for all of us. They're going to know we're gone before long, so let's go home and catch up on rest. …Then afterwards, we gotta look for this Hugo Strange. If he's one of the World Leaders' apprentices…" Sandman looked at Game-and-Watch on his watch. "He must be pretty important to them."

Boggly Woods, Japan

Some believe it was fate that caused Spongebob to crash the boat all the way in Kochi, conveniently near the place that they were going. But some people just want this little yellow nuisance to go away already, because he causes more trouble than he's worth. That's why Melody, Danny, and Eva chose to stay behind in town and trust Spongebob to protect Jessie and Sandy. "Oh, and there was the time I crashed the car so many times, Mrs. Puff puffed really big and floated out of the planet's atmosphere. Then she exploded like a firework in the sky!" Spongebob recounted a story with a bubbly expression. "Bai-yai-ai-ai-ai! 'Course, that wasn't nearly as fun as the time Squidward broke his voice box while yelling at me, so I taught him sign language and translated everything he was trying to say. Bai-ai-ai!"

"You probably don't know this, but you got all of his translations wrong." Jessie noted, having seen that episode. "Like, horribly wrong."

"These are all really sad episodes." Sandy spoke downtrodden. "Can't we talk about the good ones? Like when Mr. Krabs and Plankton worked together to find out the Kelp Shake formula?"

"You missed the ending of that one, didn't you?" Jessie asked.

"Oh, yeah. What happened?" Jessie whispered the ending in Sandy's ear. "Oh… well, never mind."

"Fellas, I admit I'm not a bestselling author," Spongebob replied simply, "but come on, you kids grew up on my show, didn't ya?"

"Doesn't mean we liked all of them." Sandy replied shamefully.

"Some of them were pretty ***ed up, you have to admit." Jessie followed.

"Okay, I made a few, dare I say, 'flops,' bai-ai-ai…" Spongebob walked forward with his eyes closed casually, "but I think I have a good routine goin' on, and my fans are as loyal as-" His shoes were untied, he stepped on a lace, "AAAAHH- d'oh- dah- DOI- dack!" He ended up tumbling and bouncing down a rugged hill, landing beside a giant tree of dark-gray bark.

"Hmhmhm, that episode was one of my favorites." Sandy smiled, recalling the untied shoes episode. "Flying Dutchman taught me how to tie knots."

"Yaaaaaawn." Jessie stretched his arms. "This forest is making me sleepy." He rubbed his eyes as they stepped down a natural stairway in the hill. "Let's take a nap under this tree or something."

Jessie still felt drowsy as they walked around the tree, in search for a good spot to rest. "Jessie, wait!" Sandy stopped her brother before he walked around a tree root. She noticed a couple of purple, ant-like bugs on the ground. One of them panicked at the sight of them. "Is that… Shelly?"