68. Blood-Stained Past

Enies Lobby

The noon of May 20 was crisp and clear today on Enies Lobby. Nobody felt threatened because they had defenses everywhere. The perimeter cannons had faces given by Bob, serious-looking as they were bound to shoot down any intruder. The Teen Ninjas were so confident in their safety, a lot of them were goofing off in the restaurants and hangouts built on the island, listening to music or spraying graffiti. The town composed only of skilled Teens was set before the two-sided drawbridge that would connect to Enies Lobby's main building, the Tower of Justice. And not far behind said building was the Mountain of Mariejoa, whose top vanished beyond the sky. Did I mention the island was placed on a giant whirlpool?

Eldwin Savinsky stood on the balcony to enjoy the day, happily eating a pie. He closed his eyes for a few seconds while chewing a piece. "Hmm?" He heard something and looked up. Pshhooooooooo… A firework launched from the clear sky, no source whatsoever. The projectile was small and it exploded a few yards from the balcony, making the word Hi!

A piece from the cracker flew into Eldwin's mouth. "Ulp, ueck, eck!" He choked. "Paper in my throat! Lucci, paper alert!" The top assassin nonchalantly approached, picked Eldwin up, and squeezed his belly to shoot the confetti out. "Alright, WHO'S THE WISE GUY?!" Eldwin's voice roared across the island.

No one responded. They were as confused as he was. Then the sounds of engines became distinguishable. Karin Uzumaki aimed to the south in a panic. "THEY'RE HERE!!"

A small fleet of KND ships arrived at the front of the island without detection, for their fronts were painted blue and white like the sky and clouds. "True artistry is supreme!" April Goldenweek held her blue paintbrush with pride in her work. "Now's our chance to jump them!"

"They're shooting at us!" Aurora yelled. "Remember the plan! Kids Next Door, BATTLE STATIONS! Meloetta, give us music!"

"Aye, Sir!" Meloetta was dark-red and styled her hair like Ruby Rose. "Cuatro, tres, dos, HIT IT!" (Play "This Will Be the Day" from RWBY!)

Stage 66: Enies Lobby

Mission: Defeat CP10 and find the Poneglyph!

Act 1

Cannons fired at the ships, but Kodama launched storms of fireworks to counter their fire as the operatives landed on the base of the island. Teen Ninjas sped out on bikes and flew with rockets. Anthony stomped rock barriers to make the bikes crash while Fybi created clouds in the sky to strike lightning at the airborne teens. "WHAT?!?" Eldwin screamed while a pie piece was still in his mouth. "These snot-nosed punks are attacking us already?!"

"You want us to dispose of them, Leader?" Rob Lucci asked.

"Easy, Lucci. We're more than prepared to handle this many twerps. And if not, I'm ready to start dropping a few prisoners! For now," Eldwin grabbed a megaphone, "ATTENTION ALL TROOPS! Hold back the Kids Next Door at all costs!

"If you see Maddy Murphy or ANY of the Seven Lights, kill them on the spot!"

"Oh, you are just BEGGING for me!" Sheila punched her palms.

"Not yet, Sheila!" Carol yelled, checking her blueprints. "Our priority is getting Maddy to the Poneglyph. We need to breach their defenses before sending either of you out there. The first major obstacle is the Gates of Protection!"

"I see it!" Anthony was pushing his rock wall along to clear away enemies in their path. The operatives were storming toward a tremendous doorway and were shot at from Teen Ninja snipers.

"I'll beat ya there, Anthony!" Michelle happily ran ahead.

"MICHELLE, I TOLD YOU TO STAY HOME!"

"Anthony, on your left!" MaKayla King used timebending to Stop a bullet that whizzed at Anthony, Rewinding it at the shooter. Anti Shy Guys jumped out of windows above the gate, and the powerful Shy Guys used Haki to break Anthony's boulders.

"SHADOW POSSESSION!" Terry Stork, Dillon York, and Lee Andrew caught three Anti Guys, and while the Shy Guys were able to break free, Chris, Aurora, and Diwata crushed their heads with flaming fists! "Midna, go big!" Dillon set his Firstborn free. The Twilight Princess divided her Hair Hand into three giant arms and pushed them against the Gates of Protection. Teen Ninjas flew in and unleashed raining lasers at the Firstborn, but Sapphire projected a psychic barrier to protect her. Within seconds, Midna was able to push the gates completely open.

"IT'S OPEN!" Carol cheered. "Are you ready, Vanellope?"

"I told you, it's in my CODE!" The next second, Vanellope was speeding a racecar across the field, with Carol in the backseat. The candy girl evasively dodged the Teen bikes, and their fellow operatives stepped aside to let them go.

"We're crossing the Bridge of Despair!" Carol reported. Indeed, they were racing over a bridge, and the sounds of the swirling maelstrom flowed in the air. "Soon, we'll be at the Gates of Power. They sure like their names, don't they?"

"I can relate." Vanellope said with hair blowing in the wind. "I see them coming up! And there're the guards."

The two teens guarding the gates were giants, wearing tattered clothes, awful odors, and goofy evil smirks. "Look at the wittle puny wuny babies!" one of them taunted.

"Let's take them home and make them kiss each other!"

"Somebody say KISS?!?" Bon Clay Jr. flew overhead on a Swan Glider, dropping down to kick the giant in the eye. The other tried to grab him, but missed and clenched his ally's face, while Clay ran across the arm and blasted his face with a Lipstick Gun.

"Have a mouthful of THIS!" Vanellope pressed a button that extracted fireworks from her car, launching them to cover the giants with colorful mist. One of the fireworks missed the giants and flew over the gates.

"Ururu, get to the tower as fast as possible and rescue Marine." Carol ordered. "It's not too far for you, is it?"

"I'll be fine." Ururu was riding the aforementioned firework, unseen at fly size. The Tiny Devil abandoned the projectile and flew across the vast city toward the white tower, as fast as her tiny wings could. "Five days made me stronger, too!"

"Can their oh-so great defenses spot a fly?" Jinta smirked, batting ninjas away as he surfed on an anti-gravity skateboard.

"They'll have bigger problems on hand." Aisa grinned, flying with Jet Dials and shooting ninjas down with arrows. "Mocha, do the honors."

The giant had been charging across the Bridge of Despair like a football player, smacking away all the little Teens like dolls. "Hey, that brat is bigger than the others." One of the giant teens pointed.

"Still puny! We'll squish her!" the other one punched his palms.

"But who will be squishing WHOM!" Mocha got a red Skypian apple from her pocket and tossed it down her throat. Mocha grew 50 feet tall, her size rivaled the tower as she drew attention from all their enemies.

"IT'S THAT KID AGAIN!" Nya screamed.

"HOLY LUG NUTS!" the giant teens panicked.

"RAAAAAH!" Mocha stomped the two mini giants into craters, then squished the Gates of Power into rubble. "I AM THE SUPREME CHILD!" The giant felt a rush of energy, stomping into Enies Town and squishing all the tiny buildings like a toy set in her room. Teen Ninjas swarmed around her like flies, but Mocha either smacked them away or clapped them between her hands. "Squishy squish! Flatty flat! Under my feet, you're like a mat!" She was having more fun than ever before.

"I think this is too easy now." Karin Kurosaki said with a sweatdrop.

"SHE'S COMING THIS WAY!" Eldwin cried.

"Still got it under control?" Lucci asked.

"Grrrrr! CP10, KILL THE GIANT BRAT!!"

The seven agents launched off the balcony, crossing the chasm with Moon Walk. Ten Teen Ninjas were flying at Mocha's face, but the giant spat a huge glob of spit that crushed them to the ground. "I'm not afraid of anything!"

"AREN'T you?!" Mocha looked to see the CP10 agents coming. The giant smirked and clapped her hands to send a shockwave, but the agents Shaved and flew all around Mocha. Ernie and Leslie sliced their talons and high-heel across Mocha's neck while Lucci and Number 4 impaled Finger Pistols into her arms. Mocha swatted them all off, but all seven agents surrounded Mocha's knees.

"TEMPEST CIRCLE!" With their simultaneous Tempest Kick, Mocha's legs could not escape the circle of airwaves. Her knees were cut deep as blood spilled.

"AAAAAHHH!" The giant lost her balance and threatened to fall on her back, but she quickly turned to collapse on her front. She couldn't stand due to the searing pain, her giant blood making a large puddle in the ruined town.

"MOCHA!" Aisa quickly flew down to give her a blue apple.

"Cut her neck!" Lucci ordered. The agents flew down at Mocha's neck, only to be thwarted by laser fire from above.

"Are we too late for the party?!" Nagisa shouted from Sector SA's S.C.A.M.P.E.R. III. "Morgiana, kick 'em down!"

The magenta-haired Arab launched out of the ship and landed a blow against Leslie Meijer, blasting her away before landing on Mocha's back. Aisa landed and threw the blue apple into Mocha's mouth, shrinking her to her previous height. "Morgiana, glad you could make it!" Aisa flashed the Arab a grin. "Wanna show these teens a little barefoot pride?"

"I'm ready when you are." Morgi smiled. When Teen Ninjas charged up at them, both girls stomped the ground and kicked toward them like rockets. Their soles were scorching red and burning the ninjas with their mighty kicks.

"In case you viewers don't know, they're using Red-Foot Style." Goombella said to us with an open book. "It involves the usage of Personal Chi that is built up in the feet after long periods of going barefoot. It was first developed by the Fanalis, the tribe Morgiana hails from. As you can see, she gave Aisa a few pointers."

"Who are you talking to?" Nagisa asked.

"They say imaginary audiences are good practice!"

"You jerks better keep your hands off!" Chris Uno flew at CP10 with fists on fire, blasting fire beams that the agents simply avoided.

"CP10, return to base." Lucci commanded. "Let them play with the runts." With that, the assassins flew away.

Melody and Danny came up to Mocha as the former used bloodbending to make some of the blood return to the giant's cut legs. Melody then began healing Mocha while Danny defended her. "At least we made a mess of their base." Melody said. "But I wish we coulda hurt them a bit more before we made it."

Maddy and Sheila peeped out of the top of Mocha's dress. "Are you alright, Mocha?"

"Just fine." She smiled weakly. "At least they didn't notice you."

"Don't come out, yet." Shade ordered. "We need to lower the drawbridge."

"It is now 12:10." Miyuki Crystal reported, charging into the ruined town with her team. "At 12:20, we are scheduled to breach the Gates of Justice and lower the bridge."

"That's some SCHEDULE!" Strings lashed the ground before the operatives, forcing Sector IC to stop. Doflamingo Jr. and his two traitorous friends appeared. "Did you have one when you guys killed my father?!"

"We didn't kill him!" MaKayla yelled.

"PAH!" Doffy lashed at them, but they dodged. "As far as I care, you're ALL guilty! Don't forget Sector DR was Number 2 of the Top 10, you're no match for me!"

"Then it's only fair I fight you!" Doffy Jr. dodged the Song Beam, cast by none other than: "SUGAR?!"

"Hey, Little Bro." The 14-year-old girl said. "I guess we girls DO mature faster, huh?"

"You teamed up with them? And you're a MUSICBENDER?!"

"Hey, it's not the craziest twist we had lately." Sugar surfed a Song Road across Aeral and Bison, knocking them away, and she stylishly dodged Doffy's strings and surfed at her brother. She jumped and tried to stomp him, only for Doffy to dodge. Sugar whirled her arms and channeled the Song Chi from Meloetta's vocals, sending them to try and tie her brother, but the flamingo spun in a String Tornado and lashed String Whips at Sugar, who barely dodged.

Aeral Sarah made her arms into guns and shot at MaKayla, who evaded the bullets and ran to punch Sarah in the chin. "You know, I haven't forgiven you for the boxing tournament!" Kayla yelled.

"I thought timebenders knew how to keep things in the past?" Sarah remarked.

"Except the fact you haven't changed." Kayla leapt to kick, but Sarah's face became a cannon and shot her away. Lola Stork was chasing a cowardly Bison Oxford and slapping Spanking Hands at his butt.

"YOU!" cried Nya LaMar, flying at Shade with a punch, only to miss. "Shade! Why the hell are YOU with these brats?! You were a spy?"

"Yes, I was." Shade answered. "Not on you, I was spying on Maddy. I waited my whole life to bring her here and I'm not about to stop now!"

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Nya landed and swung furious punches at the echidna, missing each time until Shade punched her in the jaw. Nya whipped around to shoot Shade—her laser was directed at a red paint spot on the ground. "WHAT?!"

"I'm here, too!" April Goldenweek said to her. "Didn't forget me, did you?"

"Oh, you were on my list, too." Nya glared. "To think I planned to trap you if you agreed to come with us."

"What?"

"We didn't know why, but Eldwin planned to capture and have you killed before the World Leaders. Now that we know you're a Light, too, I understand." Nya smirked. "Speaking of which, your friends are up ahead. They're dying to see you!"

"…!" April hurriedly ran ahead. Shade punched Nya from behind, but the teen was quick to flip back up and kick both feet against the Mobian.

"There's the Gates of Justice!" Carol yelled as Vanellope sped them across the ruined town. "Chris, you have to blow them open with your Combustion Eye! Once we get inside, we can lower the drawbridge!"

"Wait, don't!" Nagisa yelled from SA's ship. "We see some people attached to the drawbridge!"

"You do?" April questioned. "Chris, fly to my location and carry me above the gates!"

"I'm on my way!" Chris saw April's mark on his watch's map and kicked on his rocket boots. He swooped by and grabbed April's hand, flying for the Gates of Justice at full speed. Bypassing the Teen Ninjas, the two were able to set foot on the roof of the gates. April gasped with horror. (End song.)

Dazun Sclice, Trenton Boom, Paula Doublefinger, and Selina Valentine were chained to the underside of the second half of the drawbridge. April's former teammates of Sector GD were bloody and hanging to dry. "HAAAA hah hah ha ha!" They looked up at the balcony where Eldwin was laughing cockily. The seven CP10 members were lined up along the edge. "You little snots got through faster than I woulda hoped. So go ahead, lower the drawbridge! Because these traitors will be the ones taking the plunge!"

A body of water rose up from the maelstrom below, shaping into Suigetsu Hozuki. "The plunge down my stomach!" The Logia Fishkid swiped his arm across the gates' roof and smacked Chris and April away.

"None of us are going to Davy Jones today!" Melody pulled herself up onto the roof with a water tentacle. "Tell him, Manaphy!" She tossed the Spirit Ball and freed her Firstborn.

"MANAAA!" Manaphy summoned several streams of water to form over Melody, who activated her Water Fury and matched Suigetsu's size with her own liquid body. Both water giants began splashing each other, and Manaphy's added power was able to detain the Logia and drag him below the surface.

"Guys, it's Ururu." The soft voice came from their communicators. "I'm having trouble finding Marine, and a bunch of teens are chasing me."

"Just come outside, Ururu." Karin ordered. "We need you for something else."

"We can't lower the bridge with Sector GD hanging there!" April yelled.

"You guys must think you're real hot stuff, treating our friends that way!" Chris shouted at CP10. "It only proves you're afraid of us!"

"Eh, sticks and stones." Eldwin shrugged. "I mean, I have full confidence CP10 can beat up all you nerds, but it's good to have a few extra cards in the deck. If you got a problem with it, come up here and punch me! 'Course I'll just hide behind Leslie." He did that.

"BLEEEEHHH!" Leslie threw up over the edge, still sick.

"Er… Behind Ernie." He did that. Ernie rolled his eyes.

Chris grinned with malice. "I got a better idea. I'll blow through ALL of you!" He yanked off his headband and took a big whiff. He charged the Combustion Eye and fired straight at the agents. Spark spark spark-

The seven agents made quick movements with their hands and held them out and open. "Reflect no Jutsu!" The Combustion Beam hit an invisible barrier, bounced toward the sky, and exploded. Chris gaped in utter shock.

"Just a little FYI," Eldwin smirked, "we're Teen Ninjas, so don't think we haven't read our share of Ninjutsu. Sadly, most of them would rather watch Rock Zefron than Naruto. Ernie, poke that eye out!"

The giant chicken launched down at Chris, who jumped back to avoid his Finger Pistol, then shot fire to block the bladed feathers Ernie threw. Chris jumped off the roof, only for Ernie to pursue. With that, April Goldenweek was left on the gates' roof. "We-hell, there's one of the Seven right there!" Eldwin laughed. "Wanna do the honors, Lucci?"

"With all due respect, Sir, her blood smells unappetizing."

"It smells like paint, coo-kachoo!" Hattori cawed.

"Suit yourself. Rickey, you do it." Lime Rickey obeyed and kicked off the balcony, eyes set on April while the artist braced herself.

A wall of flames burst up in Rickey's way, for April was saved by Aurora Uno. "Just a second, Mr. Bartender. I ordered another round!"

"Well, well, it's Young Miss Uno again." Rickey landed on the edge of the roof. "You really do resemble your mom, did I tell you that?"

"I would like to say I'm my own person either way. But what the hell happened to you, Rickey? Why become an assassin?"

"Well, I guess it all started when your parents beat the Brotherhood of Evil. They froze Mr. Fizz with the other villains, so with no Soda Control Board, nobody had a reason to visit my speakeasy. All the kids began freely drinking soda wherever, whenever. There was also the fact I began gettin' too old to run a bar like that… But boy, my mom was not happy.

"I never told anyone this, but everything in that bar, all the soda and tables and cleaning supplies—I PAID for all of that! Not just from my allowance, I stole from my mom. Hey, there was an adult tyranny war going on, it was cool, right? But that age is long gone. My mom kicked me outta the house at 14 years old, told me not to come back until I paid her back in full. So I wandered the streets like a hobo, and middle-middle-middle, now I'm a member of CP10. Pays a hefty amount, I tell you what. But since I didn't need my old house anymore, I used the money to open my Milk Bar in Cleveland. Got to chat with the old gang just like 20 years ago."

"You stole from your mom?! Just to buy soda for a bunch of kids you didn't even know?!"

"I was glad to do it! Everyone was happy and I thought they were all my friends! But in the end, I guess they didn't need me, either. Tore me up inside. And if I wanted to sound vengeful, I would blame your parents."

"You brought it on yourself, you know."

"I know." Rickey smiled. "So, nothing personal, toots, but I'll have to kill you, anyway."

"Not at all." Aurora smiled back. "But before I lay the beatdown on you, on behalf of our parents, we thank you for all the soda."

"That do bring warmth to my heart, Miss." (Play "Boss Medley 1" from Kid Icarus: Uprising!)

Boss fight: Lime Rickey

Rickey Shaved up to Aurora and used Finger Pistol, Aurora swiftly dodged all his blows and blasted twin flames, sending Rickey over the edge of the chasm. The bartender recovered using Moon Walks and sliced a Tempest Kick across the field, but Aurora dodged and rocketed behind Lime Rickey. She came back while performing a Fire Drill, but the assassin Shaved so she would hit the roof. Rickey zipped behind and punched Aurora away, but she pushed the floor with her hand and flipped back on her feet. Aurora stomped and entered Ice Fury, unleashing storms of icicles, but Rickey avoided them all using Paper Art.

"Door!" Rickey jumped into a trapdoor on the roof and popped up under Aurora, punching her skyward. Aurora spun and released icy waves, only for Rickey to dodge with Shaves and get behind her again. He aimed the Finger Pistol at her rear—Aurora sensed this and grabbed his hand, freezing the assassin solid. With that, she switched to Fire Fury and threw a powerful flame that broke the ice and flung him across the field.

"Am I a little tougher than you were hoping?!" Aurora taunted.

"That's some nice moves, kid! But I got some of my own." Rickey opened a hole in the air like a door and stuck his Finger Pistol inside. Aurora flinched when she felt it you-know-where. "Finger Pistol: Ten Years Community Service!" It was a weak blast that slid her forward a few feet. "I ate the Door-Door Fruit. I can open doors in anything, including space! I can only travel a few miles at a time, but it'll do here."

"That's not a bad power. But it won't help you against me!" Aurora dashed at him with her right fist on fire and her left fist in ice. Rickey threw open a door behind him and slipped inside, resulting in Aurora punching empty air.

"This power also gives me access to the Pocket Dimension!" Rickey emerged behind her. "And I picked up some pretty nifty items!" He pulled his hands out, clutching the Hero's Crest Keyblade and Road to Dawn Keyblade.

"KEYBLADES?!" Aurora gaped.

"Yeah, these giant keys are just floating around waiting to be picked up. Figured 'Hey, I'll give 'em their two cents.'" Rickey Shaved beside Aurora and slashed the Keyblades with swift speed, Aurora ducking the strikes by hair's end (as the ends of her hair were cut off). Aurora punched a Flame Fist at his belly, but Rickey defended with Iron Body before batting Aurora away with the keys.

Aurora went into Fire Fury, and Rickey rapidly Shaved circles around her, forcing Aurora to erupt a fire spire. Rickey spun the Keyblades to pierce through the fire and stab down at Aurora, but the girl ran away and kicked fireballs that Rickey batted with the keys. He Shaved up and furiously swung the blades at his opponent, but Aurora kept dodging before spreading fires around the field. Rickey used Paper Art to float among the smoke, aiming to get above Aurora and strike down, but the environment switched to frigid cold as she threw up an ice shield to block him. "I knew firebenders could manipulate heat, but sap it out of the air completely?!" Rickey questioned.

"I'm a double-bender, genius!" Aurora blew the Ice Shell up and knocked Rickey skyward. He recovered in time to dodge Aurora's Ice Beam, Shaving down and to her left to slice the Keyblades, but Aurora slid back across the ice.

"Oh, so you're using two different Fury Modes. That's not good for your health." Lime Rickey swung consecutive Tempest Kicks, Aurora dodging, but she wasn't prepared when Rickey slipped into a trapdoor in which the opposite end opened above her. Rickey stomped Aurora to the ground, leapt off, and batted her away with the Keyblades. Aurora's Ice Fury wore off, leaving her exhausted in her regular form. "Just as I thought. A bender's full power is in their Fury Form. Unfortunately, that takes power, too. You're forced to go all out on me, Sweet Cheeks!"

Aurora got up and forced a smile. "I am reckless that way." Aurora threw on Fire Fury again, using Rocket Boost to fly around the rooftop and steadily create a flame tornado. Rickey stood as the enclosed area increased in heat, but the bartender made a shrug before choosing to hide in the Pocket Dimension. He remained there for a few seconds, but the rising heat began to reach him here, too. He exited the dimension gasping for breath, giving Aurora the chance to strike him with a Twin Flame Drill.

Rickey dropped the Keyblades as he bounced across the field, the flame tornado gone and the Keyblades poofed out of thin air. Aurora let her Fury dissolve, needing to catch her breath and hoping he was down for the count. Unfortunately, the bartender was up and standing again. "You pushed me farther than I thought you would, Doll Face! It's time to bring out my secret weapon!" Rickey reached into the Pocket Dimension and whipped out a golden sword with a spiked blade, flashing like lightning.

"THE GALAXIA SWORD!"

"Left abandoned by its late owner. How sad." Rickey Shaved up and slashed the sword faster than Aurora could see, cutting up the front of her shirt before kicking her away. Rickey zipped up to stab her, but Aurora rolled aside with the beat of her heart, jumping up to kick flames that Rickey blocked.

"Well, with no other options, I'll have to use Double Fury!" Aurora punched her chest and stomped a foot, encasing herself in a body that was Fire and Ice. She hurled comets of both elements, but Rickey continued swiftly evading before dropping in a door that opened up behind her. Aurora dodged an inch from Galaxia's tip, freezing the roof with her foot to make Rickey slip, then stomping his head with a flame foot.

Rickey endured the throbbing pain and Shaved over to slice at Aurora, who formed an ice sword to block Galaxia. The superior golden blade cut the ice, as well as the firewalls Aurora sprouted afterwards. Aurora spun in a Fire-Ice Tornado, spiraling toward Rickey, only for the assassin to constantly Shave out of her range. Aurora slowed to a halt and began panting. "Huff! Crap, my Fury's wearing off!"

"Music to my ears!" Rickey went in a door and jumped out behind her.

"GOT YA!" Aurora kicked back and hit Rickey in the crotch, shot an icicle to knock the sword out of his hand, then kicked up at his face to knock him on his back. Aurora shot up into the air and performed the Fiery Icicle, taking the shape of a drill with fire and ice spirals.

"Iron Body!" Rickey made himself completely still and endured every second of the piercing attack against his stomach. Aurora kept drilling for ten seconds, but seemed to make no dent on Rickey's body. Aurora leapt off as her Fury Mode vanished. After catching up on her breath, the Uno girl fell. (End song.)

"What's going on with Aurora?!" Haruka exclaimed.

"Let me get a look!" Midna flew high enough to see the roof of the gates, joined by Lola and Fybi. "Aurora and Lime Rickey… they're both lying down. Wait!"

Lime Rickey got up, panting. The bartender smirked at his fallen opponent. "No way… Aurora got beat." Lola said.

"Aurora?! No way!" Haylee shouted.

"YEEEEEEEHAAAAAAA!" Eldwin jumped about like a giddy little girl. "Rickey Rickey, he's the man! He'll knock you down and kick your can! HA HAAA! Which twerp is up NEXT?!"

"This is terrible!" Shade said. "If after all that, Aurora couldn't beat one… how are we going to-"

"Hold on." Sapphire cut in.

Eldwin stared confusedly. Rickey was still gasping, and the strength of his breaths puffed higher. He wasn't smiling, and with each breath he bowed forward. "Huff…Huff…HUFF…HUFF… BLUUUUUUUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEHHH…" And a waterfall of vomit spewed from his throat. For several seconds, the barf was unending, and the resulted puddle covered a large portion of roof. When his stomach was finally empty, the assassin fell flat on his front, left to lay in the filth. Eldwin and the operatives gaped at the sight.

"She…SHE BEAT HIM!" Midna cheered. "AURORA WON!"

"YAAAAAAAAYYY!" The operatives cheered to the sky.

"DAMMIT! PICK UP THE PACE, YOU IDIOTS!" Eldwin thundered. "You'll need to put double the effort to make up for Rickey!"

"'Guess it's time for my second verse!" Meloetta turned yellow and styled her hair like Yang Xiao Long for the next song. (Play "I Burn" from RWBY!)

Doflamingo Jr. flew overhead and caught Sugar in a birdcage of strings, closing it together to crush the older sister. Diwata appeared from a portal behind Doffy and kicked him down to Sugar, who blew a Song Beam up to propel him away. Sheila and Maddy were still hiding under Mocha's dress as the former asked, "When are you blokes gonna lower the drawbridge?"

"We can't lower it if Sector GD is stuck to one end!" April yelled back in her communicator.

"I foresaw this scenario happening." Sapphire replied, running with Ruby and Jinta toward the Gates of Justice. "But we have a backup plan. With Chris distracting an agent and another one defeated, we only have the five to protect from. Are you ready, Ururu?"

The fly-size girl had returned from the tower and was on Jinta's shoulder. "I'm a little nervous… but I'll do my best. When you're ready, Jinta-kun."

"I'm hitting the home run!" Jinta threw his baseball to the air as Ururu flew and landed on it. "HE SHOOTS, HE SCORES!" He swung his giant bat powerfully, and the ball flew toward the gates like a comet.

"Aurora, better move!" Vanellope glitched up on the roof and grabbed her sleeping friend, zipping off after. Ururu was seconds from hitting the gates on the baseball, so at that moment, she turned a dial up on her suit's belt and pressed the Grow button.

Ururu exploded into a gigantic size, falling forward and crushing the Gates of Justice, along with the building and first half of the drawbridge. "ANOTHER GIANT?!" Eldwin screamed. "WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY HIDING?!"

"AAAAAH!" Aeincha screamed. "Tiny Devil is Big Devil!"

"Huu!" Ururu gasped from the sudden change. Her soft, adorable voice echoed across the island, and her blush was clearly visible. "Um… This is my first time being giant. I'm not squishing anyone, am I? Is anyone looking up my skirt?"

"No one worth mentioning, Ururu." Jinta climbed up on his friend's shoulder, batting off Teens that swarmed at her. "Quick, save those guys!"

"Okay!" Ururu reached over and grabbed the four GD members in her hand, ripping their chains off and setting them on the ground on her right.

"CP10, stop her!" Eldwin commanded. Minus Lucci, four of the agents launched down.

"The HELL you will!" Ruby leapt off Ururu and punched her rocket gloves at Bob the Builder.

"Hit someone your OWN size!" Grenda of Sector GF leapt and punched at Number 4, who morphed into a gorilla to absorb the blow, grab the strong girl, and chuck her back over Ururu.

"GIVE ME FOOOOD!" Index dropped from Sector SA's ship and grabbed Leslie Meijer's head in her mouth. The secretary kept using Moon Walk as she struggled to shake her off.

Megan Parker was still going- "What?" The person flying at her was a sock puppet of Edward Scissorhands. Her confusion caused Megan to falter—Zach Murphy popped out of the puppet with big red lips, which kissed Megan and blasted her into the tower.

"UGH! LUCCI, WHAT'S THE MATTER?!" Eldwin shouted.

"I liked the other giant better."

"YOU LAZY ASS!"

"All of us are here!" Carol cheered. "Ururu, make the bridge!"

"Aye-aye!" Ururu reached an arm over and burst open the opposite drawbridge. Bands of operatives began to cross the giantess's arm and infiltrate the Tower of Justice.

Miyuki Crystal found Rickey's body in the rubble of the Justice Gates. She touched it and saw into his past. Everything was as he said, from his mother kicking him out, being found by GUN agents, trained in martial arts, gave his mother a poison soda—

Miyuki gasped and stopped the vision. "He killed his own mom!"

"You serious?!" Terry shouted. "That twisted f***!"

"Come on, Miyuki, you need to see what happened to Mr. Beatles!" Lola reminded, flying ahead.

"Sounds like our cue!" Sheila climbed out of Mocha's dress. "Ready, Mads?"

Maddy lit her fist iron. "Ready!" Sheila lit her fist gold as they raced across the ruined town, throwing punches at any remaining Teens in their path. "You know, maybe I should call myself 'Black-Fist Maddy'!"

"I will tear your fists off if you rip off my nickname!" Sheila threatened. "'Fact, when this is over, I'm challenging you for the highest Power Level!"

"Deal!"

"Woof, woof!" Sparky was hiding in Maddy's shirt.

"They're inside the tower!" Eldwin shouted. "CP10, get back inside and man your posts! Team CRDL, mow them down!"

When the operatives broke into the tower, they were facing a band of Anti Guys and four Teen Ninjas in knight's armor. "It's about time." Cardin said as he drew his black mace, with wide flanges and a red crystal in their center.

"Everybody split up and comb the tower!" MaKayla ordered. "We'll leave as few obstructions for Maddy as possible!" The operatives scattered, forcing Team CRDL and the Shy Guys to do the same.

Dillon, Kirie, and Vanellope took a hallway on the right, where dozens of Teens charged up and started shooting. Vanellope glitchwarped across the hall in milliseconds, kicking the ninjas too fast to see. Kirie turned—quickly pushing Dillon down and dodging Russel Thrush's dagger – a Team CRDL member with a light-green mohawk and green armor. He swung black twin daggers that had colored jewels on their hilts, but Kirie nimbly dodged him before flipping above and kicking the back of his head.

Russel tossed both daggers and stuck Dillon and Kirie to the wall by their sweaters, then pressed a button on his wrist to spray gas from the jewels on the daggers, making Dillon and Kirie dizzy. Midna smashed the teen under her Hair Hand, and when he tried to recover, the Firstborn grabbed him in the Hair Hand and smashed him back-and-forth against the floor and walls. "They're right, I do make it too easy." Midna said boredly.

"Guys, I'm gonna run ahead!" Vanellope yelled, glitching around the corner.

"Vanellope, wait!" Dillon yelled, using Veil to escape the dagger.

Sector W went upstairs and were running across a walkway above a lower room. They encountered three female Teen Ninjas, so Harvey summoned Mesprit and ordered, "Mesprit, use Post-Prom Trauma!" The Firstborn flashed her emblems at the girls, who all began bawling and crying "He hates me, my life is over!" and "Why did I have to spill the punch?!"

"Quit crying and get out of my way!" Leslie kicked the Teens aside and faced Sector W. Sally and Harvey tossed bladed yo-yos at the woman, but Leslie flashed an invisible power from her hand and made the blades of the yo-yos into cubes, dealing no damage on her. Before the kids could process what happened, Leslie sent a Tempest Kick to scrape along the bridge, forcing Anthony to stomp a hole in the bridge for them to collapse to the lower floor.

However, Fybi had swooped under the bridge and emerged on Leslie's right, intending to shoot from her B.O.W.. Leslie heard this and stylishly flipped back to dodge the light arrows, aiming her hand at the weapon as the bow's handle formed an 'L' shape, making it arduous for Fybi to aim now. Leslie seized the chance to Shave behind and stomp Fybi in the wings, with her high heels adding to the pain. Fybi crashed onto the bridge as Leslie pinned a foot on her. "You're one of the Lights, too. But no more."

"Hey, what's going on in here?!" Vanellope ran into the lower room and found Sector W on a pile of rubble.

"Vanellope, Fybi's in danger!" Aranea pointed. The Program looked up at the bridge and glitchwarped up. The second she saw Leslie's heel about to stab Fybi, Vanellope zipped and kicked her in the head.

Vanellope landed and helped Fybi up. "She's one of the agents, don't let her get you. Just take your friends and go." Fybi nodded and flew down to her team. Vanellope glared at Leslie- glitch. (End song.)

"You were Mrs. Beatles' boss." she said. "But you were an assassin… Were you planning to kill her for a while?"

"I never planned for it. It was just an undercover, though I did enjoy President Sanban's company. My old boss was always so… irritating. Mr. Big was his name. He sought to become a Corporate President, to the point it drove him mad. He worked us to the bone and I was always the target of his tirades."

"Mr. Big, you've been up for 15 hours, I highly advise you-"

"I want FIVE THOUSAND SALES by the end of the WEEK, Leslie! I will make people learn the value of The Thing, SO HELP ME!!"

"Sir, the reason our sales are so poor is because our commercials are so vague! The Thing is just a white cube, it literally doesn't do anything-!"

"You either devote yourself to this fad or you can file reports on the STREETS, woman!"

"Eventually, we were bested by a rival company that created The Object." Leslie explained. "A purple hexagon that does… something. Mr. Big only got worse… and without even thinking, I…"

Leslie took a pen and stabbed Mr. Big in the back over and over and over. Recalling the distraught look on her face, Leslie's memory was red like blood.

"I couldn't escape the pain in my heart." Leslie concluded. "So I became an assassin… to help me accept it."

"You guys really are twisted." Vanellope glitched.

"Not as much as you, it would seem." Leslie aimed at Vanellope and whirled her glowing purple hands.

"WAAAAH!" Vanellope's body twisted like a knot. "HEY, what'd you do to me?!"

"Until recently, I swallowed the Shape-Shape Fruit. I can reshape inorganic forces to my whim. Even if they are sentient bodies of energy." She fixed her glasses. "I'm still pretty new at the power, but… I'm a fast learner."

Vanellope glitched and reformed. "Don't you dare touch my pixels! Or I'll reshape YOU, dirty traitor."

"Try as you may, but my Power Level stands at 1200. At least before I got this power. What is your Power Level?"

Vanellope did a Lickety Split Kick against Azelf, flying the Firstborn several yards. "Data invalid." Azelf reported. "I can't record the Power Levels for robots or machines."

"…" Vanellope looked down awkwardly and mumbled, "I don't have one…"

"Well, that puts me at ease." Leslie smiled.

Vanellope glared. "I'm STILL gonna kick your butt!"

"You may have the mouth of a normal little girl, but like the dozens of equipment in the Rainbow Monkey Factory, you're a machine. Solid holograms are impressive, true, but in the business world, man beats machine."

"That may be true for most cases," Vanel glitched, "but in this one, Hologram beats Hag! Which is why I'm playing this ugly witch music." Vanellope pressed her tape-recorder and played "Begoniax Battle" from Rayman 3.

Boss fight: Leslie Meijer

Vanellope zipped around Leslie to do a Lickety Split Circle, going so fast that she only appeared as a blue pixelly whirlpool. Leslie threw her arms up and erected needles from the floor, disrupting the circle as Vanellope bumped against one. Leslie swung Tempest Kick at her, but Vanellope glitched above and stomped down—Leslie Shaved behind the needle circle and escaped down a hall. Vanellope glitchwarped to chase after, but Leslie waved her arms around to erect more needles and obstruct her path.

Vanellope glitched around the needles with expert precision, but was going too fast to see Leslie kick her high-heel and jab her in the face. Vanellope fell against the needles, then glitched to dodge Leslie's Tempest Kick—kicked the woman in the leg—the left waist- zipped up- left- right—Vanellope PUNCHED her in the face when Leslie was confused. Leslie bounced a few feet, then grabbed the floor to flap it like a blanket. Vanellope was flown up, but glitchwarped to evade Leslie's kick.

Vanellope glitched behind to do a Rapid Kick attack, but Leslie's Paper Art nimbly avoided. The woman kicked up and knocked Vanel to the hall's intersection, where a blonde Teen Ninja ran by. The teen stopped with confusion. Vanellope was caught in Leslie's power as the woman compressed her into the shape of a frog. Leslie swiped the Teen's spear and shaped it into a fork, grinning with malice as she attempted to stab the frog. A terrified Vanel-frog hurriedly hopped in the opposite direction, narrowly dodging the fork's jabs. Every few seconds, Vanellope glitched and she partly reshaped. After four glitches, she was back to normal, so she ran on her feet as she was coming to a left turn.

Vanellope glitched around the corner, and when Leslie whipped her fork around, Vanellope was nowhere in sight. Suddenly the Program was behind and KICKED her in the butt, Leslie retaliated by swinging her fork, but Vanel glitched behind for another butt kick. An angered Leslie performed a Cartwheel Tempest Kick, which Vanellope avoided, but they fell through the collapsed floor. They landed in the tower's kitchen—the short French chef known as Skinner yelped and fled the room.

Leslie flipped to the drawers and grabbed several knives and forks, growling murderously at Vanellope. "Yuh-oh." Vanel said. Leslie tossed the bladed utensils like a ninja, they kept coming and coming, and Leslie could shape them into boomerangs to redirect at her again. Vanellope continued making use of her glitches, though this tight quarters resulted in a few strands of hair getting derezzed. Vanellope decided to glitch and throw a kick, which missed, but when she noticed the boiling pot on the stove, Vanel decided to kick it at Leslie.

The secretary was horribly burned, and in her rage she pulled the soup off with her power and compressed it into a ball. She was able to keep it compressed as she kicked it at Vanel, then forced the floor and walls to burst like springs and bounce the piping hot ball around. Vanellope glitched to keep dodging, but it was at this point a few of her pixels faltered in keeping up. The kitchen door opened- "I FOUND THE KITCHEN!" Index exclaimed. The soup ball was coming her direction, so without questioning what it was, Index caught it in her mouth. "SPICY!"

Leslie jumped over, grabbed the girl, and chucked her at Vanellope. Vanellope grabbed and set Index down before chasing the assassin, coming to a room of the tower with couches around a fountain. Leslie made her high-heels into springs and started bouncing off the walls and upper walkways. Vanellope mimicked the action using her glitches, and their battle was disrupting the romantic make-out session between two teens on a couch. "Ugh, these people make everything a battlefield." The girl said.

Vanellope and Leslie launched at each other with forceful kicks, but Leslie's was stronger on the impact. Vanellope bounced away, holding her aching leg, but had to glitch away when Leslie reshaped the fountain to shoot water at her. "Hate to play dirty, but I'm switching to 2-player!" Vanellope declared, rapidly glitching left-and-right to divide herself in two. The twin Vanels glitched laps around the fountain, Leslie blocked the one above her, but the second Vanellope kicked her upside the chin. When Leslie was airborne, the first Vanel kicked her in the side, but Leslie recovered and swung Tempest Kick between them.

The twin Vanellopes joined back together, but her body blinked for a few seconds as a result of the power. "I hear solid holograms are hard to piece together in the real world." Leslie said. "It seems whatever technology brought you here isn't perfect. You blink so much, you might blink out of existence."

"Not until I blink that look off your face!" She glitched.

"There may be some punch behind your kicks, but I see your body falling apart. When all's said and done, you're a pile of tiny photons. Any moment, you'll-"

Vanellope glitched behind for a Rapid Kick- glitched below- glitched to the left, then Leslie was surrounded by a Lickety Split Circle. The secretary again sprouted needles around her, Vanellope zipped above and continued the circle, so Leslie bent the needles to shield her from above. Vanellope glitched through a gap behind Leslie and kicked her leg, and rapidly glitched around the enclosed space to dizzy Leslie with the light and deal more hits against her.

Leslie broke the needle shield and escaped using Shaves. "Time to bend YOU out of shape!" Leslie focused her power on Vanel and made her pixels into pyramids. Vanellope panicked at the sight of her spiky body, which then became bulgy when Leslie made the pixels spherical. Leslie made them hexagons, decagons, half-circles—eventually Vanellope's body broke apart altogether. "There! That should've even have been a challenge. WHAT?!"

Several pixels reformed into bigger block pixels, which would take the shape of doll-size Vanellopes. The two dozen dolls zipped around the floor as little sparks, and Leslie tried to stomp them with her heels. Carol Masterson found her way into the room and gasped. "Vanellope! Why are there so many of you?!"

"Just send Game-and-Watch!" a Vanel squeaked.

"Yeah, Gamen, Gamen!" another zipped by.

"You got it." Carol had Mr. Game-and-Watch form from a holo-light on her computer.

"Huh." Leslie cockily huffed and shaped Gamen into a 3-D box. Carol summoned another Game-and-Watch, then another, Leslie made them all into boxes that merely shook on the spot. "You girls need to focus more on dolls instead of games."

"Don't count us out, yet!" The Vanellopes started latching onto Leslie's body and chewing her, but the woman shook the dolls off and furiously stomped them all. She smirked at her victory over the Program, but to her dismay, the Game-and-Watch boxes began reforming and recoloring into Vanellope clones. "Because we have plenty of extra lives to spare!"

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Leslie stretched a leg out, charged power to it, and began zooming around the room in a Tempest Spin. She chased the Vanellopes, aiming to chop them down, and she was able to derez a few. "You were divided into pixels, your pixels couldn't have resized that easy!"

"It wasn't easy!" Indeed the Vanellope clones had distinct black splotches on their bodies, remains of Game-and-Watch's code. "But I only need to hold these clones together a few seconds!" With that, the Glitch Clones all began their own Lickety Circle, doing so at different heights so it became a Lickety Tornado. Vanels blinked at random areas every millisecond, the tornado was so bright, Leslie was blinded and dizzy as a guy playing computer games for late night hours.

"GAME OVER, HAG!" The Vanellopes echoed simultaneously. "Lickety Split PLANET KICK!!" They shot at Leslie from every direction, all unleashing Rapid Kicks, it was a hailstorm of pixelly boots. Carol uncovered her eyes when the tornado stopped. The Vanellope clones derezzed and formed back into a singularity, catching her breath as her body was sparking and disproportioned in various places. Leslie's eyes were burning from the light, and her glasses had broken. The secretary fell to her knees before collapsing on her front. (End song.)

"Carol, where's Vanellope?!" Dillon and Kirie ran in. "Where's…!" The Program was gasping for breath and staring at her fallen opponent.

"I was programmed to be a racer." Vanellope panted. "I was designed to be a princess. Nothing more, nothing less. Then, I was reprogrammed to be an MCP. But I wanted to come to the real world… to be more. I wanted to live like real humans do. You guys say I don't have Power Levels… you say I can't get stronger or develop… but I was never programmed to be a glitch. I took control of my defection… I learned new ways to use it… so in the end, are you still gonna call me a broken Program?"

"…" Dillon smiled. "I never doubted you for a second, Vanellope. I'm glad to have you back in the real world."

"Heh… That's what I thought." She smiled wryly and weakly. "Nowwww… I need a beauty nap." She fell on her back and went to sleep. Carol giggled and sat in front of her, catching Vanellope's image on her computer's Window Mode and using the cursor to reshape her body.

"This is Dillon to everyone." The boy spoke to his wristwatch. "Vanellope took down another assassin!"

"Vanellope did?!" Apis exclaimed. "That's amazing!"

"That means we only have five more to go!" MaKayla said cheerily.

"It's 12:30 now." Miyuki reported. "If we keep up our pace, we should have the others beaten at 12:40. By 12:45, Maddy may be able to find the Poneglyph… then hopefully, she'll be able to read it by 1:00."