Field Day, Part 4

"We have to partner up with somebody we don't know?" Wendy asked herself. "Talk about a way to clear up shyness. Romeo-kun, who were you thinking of-"

"Sure, Romey, I'd be happy to team up with you!" Karin Kurosaki said to Romeo, Wendy turning to see them.

"AWESOME!" Romeo shook Karin's hand. "You're one of the toughest operatives I've read about!"

"Eh, I'm not that great."

"Uh…" Wendy was somewhat speechless.

"Hey, Blue Girl!" Wendy gasped when Jinta Hanakari marched up and dwarfed her. "Since Karin's pairing with YOUR teammate, whaddya say WE team up and try to take them down?"

"Uh… O-Okay!"

Haylee watched as her brothers split up to find partners. "Greetings, Ms. Gilligan." She gasped and turned to Prince Raleigh, who had a hand extended. "Would you be interested in becoming my partner?"

Haylee's face reddened. "Y-Your… partner?!"

"For the games, of course."

"Ah, right!" Haylee shook out of it. "Well, I'd love to!" She took his hand. "After all, you can't just turn a prince down."

"Sigh, just when I was hoping to pair with Aeincha or something." Goombella sighed. "Who's gonna want an armless girl for a partner?"

"I'll be your partner!" a boy said.

Goombella turned, finding a Goomba with a blue cap. "Oh, I think I've seen you before."

"Yeah, I'm Goombario. I was there when you visited the Mushroom KND. You know, when they… tried to trap your leader?"

"Oh, right. Well, okay. Let's team up!"

"Sweet!"

"Do you wanna be partners, Akko?" Lee Andrew asked the red-eyes witch.

"Sure, I'd love to!" Akko shook his hand.

"Hmmm…" Cheren scratched his chin, looking around. His eyes fell upon the Hat Kid. He approached her and asked, "Hey, Hat Kid. Do you wanna be partners?"

"Sure, Cheren!" She shook his hand.

Miyuki Crystal paired with Zach Murphy, Maddy paired with Nagisa, Anthony paired with Morgiana, Terezi paired with Tronta, Chris Uno paired with Weiss Schnee, Sunni paired with Sind Diego, and everyone else found their potential new friend. "Has everyone found their special match?" Mako asked. "Good! Then we're gonna begin the team games with the Trust Walk! Please, step into the portal." Nebula used her bending to open a portal. Everyone took turns walking in.

They were taken to a long, posh hallway with star designs on the walls and floor. Well, they couldn't tell if they were designs or actual stars beyond windows, or if they were optical illusions. "In this game, one of your partners will climb that ladder to the upper path. That partner will be required to walk that path."

"But we don't see a path up there!" Anthony shouted.

"I know!" Mako winked. "That's because the path is invisible! You see, the OTHER partner will remain on the ground and look through a Lens of Truth to see the hidden path, and instruct their partner on where to step or turn or jump. The bridge partner will have to keep their head up during the walk and look at the ceiling mirror. As they do so, they must instruct their ground-level partner where to step as well."

"I get it." Cheren said. "The path is invisible because, since we're looking at a mirror, we would be able to see our own path otherwise."

"But since neither of us can look at our own path, we have to rely on each other." Hat Kid deduced.

"Correct. So, decide who's gonna walk the walk and who's gonna talk the talk… on the bridge and ground level respectively. And remember, if either member looks straight down for even a second, you're disqualified; head must be up at all times." After making the choices, the respective teammates climbed the ladder to the invisible path. The ground-level partners were each given a Lens of Truth, purple magnifying glasses with lenses that were blue on one side and red on the other. Cheren was taking the top path, for instance. "I see we've all chosen our positions. On your mark: get set: TRUST!" (Play "Golden Grove" from Ni no Kuni!)

All players faced up and walked forward carefully. Looking straight up while walking gave them a chilling feeling in their heart, especially with the disorienting sight of their self and their partner and stars beyond them. "You're good so far." Hat Kid told Cheren. "Slow down. You're coming at a turn. Go left." Cheren quickly halted and turned. "Go right. Right one more. Keep going… Left! Left again. Right. Okay, we're straight again."

"Hat Kid, stop!" Cheren stated. She halted. "Uhh…" Cheren had to remember his 'mirror directions.' "Turn… left." Hat Kid backed up in that direction. "Stop. Go… right. Right again. Stop. Right one more. Okay, it's straight." He resumed moving as well.

Index was paired with Ciel Phantomhive, whom was walking the top path. "Stop! This part of the path is turning in segments." Index said. "Go on my mark. …Step once! Step again! Step! Step! Step!"

Terry Stork was taking the low path and was instructing Ruby. "Move your legs to the sides—bring 'em back to middle—back to the sides—BACK TO MIDDLE!"

"Will you just PICK ONE?!" Ruby shouted.

"The path's moving in and out—SIDES—MIDDLE!"

"RAAAAH!" Ruby slipped, fell, and crushed Terry. "DAMMIT, you made me fall!"

"You inter-RUPTED ME!"

"You were TALKING TOO FAST!"

"I HAD NO CHOICE!!"

"Heh heh heh." Mako blushed. "Let's let those two work out their quarrels."

"Watch out, Wendy." Jinta said to his partner. "This part's divided in small segments. Move your left foot forward… step there! Now move your right foot—there! Left foot, there! Right foot, there! Ha ha, nice!"

"You aren't looking up my skirt, are you?" Wendy asked, blushing.

"How else am I gonna see where you're steppin'?"

"Stop." Maddy told Nagisa. "There's a moving platform. It stops two feet from where you are. …Jump now!" Nagisa landed on the platform. He felt himself float forward. "Jump now." Nagisa did so.

"Maddy, you're about to enter a-"

"Snake path, I know." Maddy could sense the path with her Observation Haki.

Artie Gilligan had paired with Constanze of Sector LN. "Mmmm." The girl was making grunts, indicating where to turn.

"Wait, do you want me to jump or crouch?" Artie asked.

"Mmm! Mmm!" She shook her head, quickly jumping back to prove her- "MMM!" She ended up bumping her head against a high wall and falling down.

"Oh, right. Hehe, duck." Artie blushed.

"Lee, you'll have to bend your head to the left." Akko was instructing her new friend. "Yeah, like that. But be careful."

"Akko, hold on." Lee said. "There are some bumps in your path. Take a few small steps back… now take a long step back. Yeah, put your foot there!"

"Well, it seems our lead players have formed a good bond with each other already." Mako observed. "But several more have already fallen. I'm honestly surprised how well THOSE two are doing." Indeed, Tronta and Terezi could easily follow their paths, the former using his antennas and Terezi using her sniffing and walking stick. "They haven't even given each other an order. 500 points for being so close and compatible, they don't need to speak!"

"That's hardly fair." Aisa said, paired with Vweeb.

"You're telling me." said Vweeb, who was given a tiny path fit for his size.

"Our players are entering the final stretch." Mako said. "This calls for the silly mirrors!"

The ceiling mirror produced wobbly, distorted images. "Uhhhh…" Cheren drawled. "L…Left?" He instructed Hat Kid, trying to make out the pitfall.

"WAAAH!" But Hat Kid fell in.

"Gat! Dang it!" Cheren cursed. "Sigh, I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Hat Kid smiled. "My neck was hurting, anyway."

"Hey, can you see the path?" Index asked Ciel.

"Yes, just give me a moment." Ciel stated. A voice was speaking into his earpiece communicator. "Index, step right. …Stop. Turn your body right at 90 degrees and jump backward one foot. Excellent."

Terezi and Tronta weren't bothered by the distorted mirror at all, for they were never using it to begin with. By using their extra senses to see the path, they were slowly able to make their way to the Goal. Kirie was paired with Augustus, but because the girl was mute, she moved her fingers to indicate the path Augustus should walk, and she performed jumps to indicate how he should jump.

Ciel and Index managed to make 2nd place. Maddy and Nagisa got 3rd place and Aisa and Vweeb got 4th place. "Lousy Haki users." Jinta complained.

Meanwhile, the last place players still in the race were Goombario and Goombella, the former of which was struggling to hold his Lens of Truth in his mouth. "U-kay. T-Turn le- oh boy." He dropped it, then had to bend down and pick it back up while keeping his eyes directed upward.

"Ugh. I knew I should've picked someone with arms." Goombella said. "We'll need a miracle if we're going to make it."

Goombario beamed, hoping they'll get the same treatment as the players from the previous games. "Come on, Miracle Fairy, come on, Miracle Fairy, come on, Miracle Fairy!"

"Are you kidding me?! Screw this, I'm out of here." Goombella hopped off her path and walked back to the entrance.

"Well, those two are off to a rocky start." Cheren said.

"Indeed." Hat Kid nodded.

"Um, Mako? I seem to be having problems, too." Miyuki said.

"What's wrong, Miyuki-chan?"

"W-Well… Zach and I seem to not have the same path as the others." Indeed, through Miyuki's Lens of Truth, she watched Zach ride an invisible unicycle over a bridge of chimpanzees, scrubbing each other's backs.

"Well, it seems that Zach is doing fine." Mako replied. "YOU, Miyuki, need help."

"I keep telling her she needs to throw the throat lozenge to the Demon Pony, so it can poop out a bridge of jellybeans that Miyuki can use to cross the chasm of bubble-wrap."

"Yeah… I don't think I can make it."

"Miyuki loses points for not having enough imagination."

"NOW you subtract points, what a load of bull!" Ruby shouted.

"Ruby gets points for standing up for a fellow operative! But with that, I say this game is just about over." After all the remaining pairs either fell or succeeded, everyone returned to the portal to go back to Aquaria. (End song.)

"Well, I think our partners got along just beautifully. Most of them, anyway." Mako looked over to Terry and Ruby, who were beating each other to a pulp. "But whaddya say we test their trust a little farther? Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the Whisper Hour!"

"The Whisper Hour?!" everyone chorused.

"Well, it's more like a Whisper Minute, but 'Hour' sounds cooler. Ydolem, would you like to explain this game?"

"Gladly." Ydolem Noskcaj took the microphone. Her soft voice echoed across the audience. "Our players must stand next to their partner and whisper a very deep secret into their ear. They will receive points for the trust, but those points will be lost if anyone ever spills the secret of their partner."

"In other words, this is a game that could last 'til the end of time!" Mako concluded.

"Why the HELL would we trust someone we just MET with a SECRET for some useless POINTS?!" Terry shouted.

"Don't worry! Once you've given the secrets, you all have to make an Unbreakable Vow swearing you'll never tell, or else you'll die."

"WHAT?!?"

"Kidding! We'll just shrink them down and make them your slave for a month or two."

"Oh, and one more thing!" announced Mavis Vermillion. Swinging her Fairy's Tail around, she cast a magical bubble around all the players. "This is a Liar's Circle, which will call out anyone who lies within its radius. This way, you can only speak the secrets that YOU believe are your deepest, and they must be true!"

"Partners, get together, and let the whispers start! GO!"

When the gun went off, the next few moments were uneventful. Several partners went for several seconds without saying anything. Haylee Gilligan was able to trust Raleigh. "Sometimes, I like to pretend I'm Winry Rockbell from Fullmetal Alchemist and design robot arms and legs for my friends."

Raleigh sported a chuckle. "Not the oddest thing I was expecting. Truthfully, since I have a Slurpuff, I always imagined if Pokémon have certain flavors when cooked, and I've written notes down on my thoughts."

"I won't hold that against you."

Wendy was quivering in place, hesitant to trust Jinta. "You know what, I'll go first." Jinta decided, thinking Wendy wasn't a tattle. He whispered something inaudible.

"Oh… Well, okay." Wendy said, unsure how to react.

"Yeah, so gimme your secret." Jinta demanded, blushing.

"Okay." Wendy whispered, "When I grow up, I hope my breasts are as big as Sugar's."

Jinta snickered. "Keep dreamin', sweetheart." Wendy flushed and hugged her chest.

Romeo whispered in Karin's ear, "I like seeing older girls in swimsuits… and I hate myself for it."

"You boys are so typical." Karin shook her head. "Anyway… when I know nobody's at home, I like to go around in my underwear. And I turn invisible when someone comes home suddenly."

Terry and Ruby were glaring at each other. "I ain't tellin' you anything." Ruby said.

"Back at ya." Terry replied.

Artie and Constanze were staring at each other awkwardly for a few minutes. "Have anything to confess?" Artie asked. Constanze shook her head. "You don't talk much, do you?" Constanze nodded. "Well, this is lame."

Cheren decided to tell Hat Kid, "I had a dream where all my female friends were tiny and climbing my body… and I still kind of think about it. …Okay, sometimes I wish that would actually happen."

"Does that mean I'll be part of that fantasy?" Hat Kid asked. Cheren blushed. "Hmmm… Let's see… I have a lot of secrets, I'm not sure which one to tell you. …Heck, I guess I'll tell you my true name." With that, she whispered to him.

"Oh!" Cheren cocked a brow at her last name. "Well… you do kind of look like them."

"Yep!"

Ciel glanced at them for a moment, curious. Then, he decided to whisper his secret to Index, a secret that ended with, "-under my eyepatch."

"Ohh… Wow. But why would you want to team up with me? You know I'm a priestess, right?"

"Because I heard about you, Index. And I'm curious if you match the description… of an old prophecy I read about."

"…" Index fixed a hard stare on him.

"Well? I told you my secret… the least you could do is give me your true name."

"Well, secretly, if I told you my true name, the world could end."

"That's rubbish."

"Oh yeah? Then why aren't I being called on it?"

"Gn…" Ciel grit his teeth. "…Hmph. Never mind. I think I have enough info."

Vweeb was standing in Aisa's ear and whispering. Aisa smiled, "It's all right, little man, I feel you."

Augustus whispered something to Kirie. "Alright, your turn." he said afterwards.

Kirie smiled and signed something. "…Uh… I don't really know what you're saying."

Sheila whispered to her partner, Harvey Harper. "Oi can't read. Or do math. Or science. Me mum lets me ditch school. …She and Dad fight sometimes."

"I wish I didn't have emotionbending. I hate feeling peoples' emotions. They're always so pissed off and annoying."

Goombario whispered to Goombella, "The reason I wear this hat is because I have a gross cut on my head. …Tried to headbonk a rock to see if it would break."

"Interesting. Well, my only secret is I think I'm smarter than all my classmates and think I deserve a higher place than them."

"Heheh. I can see how you'd think that. You know I once heard someone say that Lakitus throw pipes?"

Goombella flushed. "Uh… hehe, wow, I don't know anyone that would do that."

REEOO-REEOO-REEOO! An alarm appeared over Goombella.

"WE HAVE A LIAR!" Mavis shouted, pointing at Goombella.

"Oh… Uhh…" Goombario looked at her awkwardly.

"Just shut up." Goombella said, glaring.

Miyuki had been standing patiently while Zach was shaking like a blender. "You don't have to tell me your secret if you don't want-"

"OKAY!" Zach yelped, mustering up the courage. "I…I…I stole a CD from that cloud…" he weakly pointed skyward, "and I think he remembers me."

"…I dress like this because I fell in love with Loli girls." Miyuki said. "I fear it may be a way to hide the crushing emptiness inside me… but if I stop dressing like this, I'll have nothing."

"Well, at this point, almost everyone has confessed a secret." Mako said. "We're just waiting for Nel and Dipper to finish theirs."

Nel had been whispering something in Dipper's ear for an extended time. "And those are ALL the things Nel would do to Augustus!"

". . . . . ." Dipper's nerves were frozen. "Good-bye, innocence."

"And thus, the Whisper Hour is over! As we let everyone's naughty secrets sink in, let's begin our next game!"

Meanwhile, two clouds were blissfully viewing the events from above. "That's the guy, Tim. That guy stole my CD, and I'm gonna kick his ass."

"Good luck with that, buddy."

"…I mean it this time!"

"No, I believe you."

Hideout Helm

"WOH HO ho ho ho!" laughed Dr. Eggman, barging in with a red- and white-striped swimsuit. "Nothing says summer like summer sundaes! Don't you agree?" His robot butlers brought glasses of ice cream for Bowser Jr., K. Rool, Gruntilda, Giovanni, and Majora, whom were all sitting in or around a hot tub. "Eat it before it melts."

"Ah, rotten cream and worms, my favorite flavor." Gruntilda said, dropping scoops into her glass container for her skull to munch. "Its deathly taste is one I will savor."

"You know, Giovanni, it dawns on MMe that the two of us don't MMeet the weight requirements." Majora commented on their cohorts' obesity.

"Hmph. Indeed."

"Grrrr!" Eggman growled at them. "So, what did I miss?"

"They just revealed embarrassing secrets to each other." K. Rool replied.

"What?! CURSES, why couldn't I have been there?!"

"Relax, we couldn't hear anything." Bowser assured. "Kinda sucks, really."

"Victini hasn't shown itself in a while." Giovanni said. "But I have no doubt it's thanks to it that those children were able to pull off their miracles."

"Indeed." Eggman smirked. "But sooner or later, Victini's Dark Side should show itself. After all, you injected it with Ganondorf's blood, right, Majora?"

"MM-hm. The same as I did with all the others. …Well, except the ice one."

Aquaria

"I hope everyone has gotten to know each other." Mako said. "Talking is great and all, but nothing says more about a person than the beauty of combat! Our next game is Melee Mayhem! Our pairs will meet each other in the ring and have a quick battle to see who is the strongest between you. You may use any weapons or powers as you please. Do not worry about going overboard, because Fairy Princess Aisling has cast a magical spell over the ring, which will prevent anyone from suffering serious wounds no matter if you're stabbed, squashed, or burned. We will begin the bouts with Cheren Uno and Hat Kid." (Play "Red Monkey Battle" from Ape Escape 3!)

Cheren and Hat Kid got onto a square-shaped arena. Both opponents smiled at each other when the bell dinged. Cheren charged a Hurricane Spin and lunged at Hat Kid, who leapt high and tossed her hat. Cheren quickly bounced it back with the Mirror Shield, hitting Hat Kid in the face. She hit the ground, so Cheren ran to slice her, but she was able to kick a shoe off and up at his face. Hat Kid then spun-kicked Cheren off his feet, followed by a quick overhead leap. Hat Kid spun, aimed her rear down at Cheren, and yelled, "BUTT POUND!"

"HUUUUEEEECK!" Cheren thought his spine snapped, but remembered the ring negated any wounds. It still hurt.

"Haha!" Hat Kid leaped off. "I'm a master of sitting down real hard!"

"Yeah… but I'm used to Panini doing that!" Cheren was able to force himself up, drawing his bow and shooting arrows that Hat Kid dodged. The girl threw her hat, but he knocked it away with his sword, only for Hat Kid to leap overhead in attempt to kick down, but Cheren thrusted up the Mirror Shield and forced Hat Kid out of the ring.

"It looks like our Supreme Leader wins this round! Next up is Chris Uno and Weiss Schnee."

The fire and icebender got in the ring. Chris was quick to throw Fire Fists at her, but Weiss nimbly dodged and threw quick icicles. Chris set the ground on fire, but Weiss released ice through her feet and rose a pillar that lifted her to safety, then she rained icicles down to douse the flames. Weiss landed across from Chris, and they both unleashed powerful rays of hot and cold. They collided at the center, both releasing power with terrific force. The area behind Weiss began to freeze, the bystanders backing up, and Chris's zone was set aflame.

Both fighters stopped and gasped for breath. "Wow… you're strong…" Chris smirked.

"No… I'm precise." Weiss returned the look. "I use just the right amount of chi. You use so much power that you get cold feet."

"Huh? AAAH!" Indeed, Chris was standing on a frozen path, and Weiss willed it to slide him off the ring.

Next in the ring were Artie Gilligan and Constanze, both wielding laser rifles. "This Diffusion Rifle is a newer model," Artie smiled, "but I'll use a low power setting so you can-"

The bell dinged, and the second Constanze pulled the trigger, a laser that was 30 feet wide blasted Artie all the way across the ocean. "Uh… C-Constanze wins!" Mako cheered.

"AH YEAH!" Akko jumped for joy. "Constanze defeated a member of Sector V!"

"Meh, those guys were always overrated." Lee remarked. "Hey, I think we're up next!"

"Cool!" The two excitedly ran onto the ring, sharing passionate smirks. The bell dinged, so Lee stretched his shadow, quickly catching Akko in a Possession. "Hn hn hn!" Lee snickered, beginning to strangle the witch.

"Huuurrrrr… Transfiguro!" Akko turned into a hippo and became too heavy for Lee to crush. She quickly became a fly to escape his grasp altogether, then a snake with shiny reflective scales. Lee's shadow could not grab the bright snake as Akko slithered over, the boy blasting gumballs at her, but Akko withstood the attacks and crawled up his pants.

"Aaaahh! Get it off, get it off!" Lee cried as the snake began biting. Akko transformed into a four-armed gorilla and crushed him before chucking Lee far outside the ring. Akko reverted to normal and smiled at the cameras-

"AKKO, YOUR LEG!" Diana shouted, for a shadow was wrapped around her leg. She was too late, Akko screaming as she was yanked off the ring, while Lee remained airborne.

"WHOA, what a shave!" Mako yelled. "Points go to Lee!"

"Hehehe! Never cheer until the victory song plays!" Lee said.

"Nice trick, but I'll get you next time!" Akko retorted.

Next, Aisa and Vweeb stepped in the ring, a distinct size difference between the two. Aisa ran up and tried stomping the alien, Vweeb nimbly dodging. He positioned himself under Aisa's pinky toe, wrapping arms around it and forcing it to bend up. "YOOOOW!" Great pain surged through her, and Aisa could do nothing as Vweeb tossed her out of the ring.

"Thanks for the secret." Vweeb winked. "Don't worry, I won't tell."

Nagisa and Maddy were next at bat. The second the bell rang, Nagisa raised a hand and said, "Yeah, I concede." Everyone looked at him in shock. "Sorry, but I'll stick to sparring with Morgie." And Nagisa left the ring at that.

"Hmph… well, that was lame." said the white-haired boy from earlier.

Philip Blakely was up against Ally Mitchels of Sector GT. The giantess didn't hesitate to begin stomping at Phil, who dodged and slapped badges on Ally's legs. The giant suffered a painful shock, causing her legs to grow numb, then Phil did the same with her arms. "Alright, let's get you down." Phil said, drawing a Spring Gun and shooting Ally's head with enough force to knock her out. "Heh, you giants are lighter than you look."

Jinta and Wendy went up next. "Sky Dragon ROOOAR!" Wendy blew a cyclone from her lungs, Jinta dodging to the right and charging her with a swing of the bat. Wendy flexibly bent back and ducked, and upon bending back up, she BONKED Jinta in the face. She leapt and swung a kick to the head, and Jinta took the hit, spinning around whilst swinging his bat and bashing Wendy out of the ring.

Following the act were their teammates, Karin and Romeo. Romeo lit his fists with purple flames, causing his and Karin's fists to stick together when the girl threw punches. All they could do was try to shove the other out of the ring, and both had fire in their hearts. Karin glanced down and was ready to kick Romeo's privates—however, bad memories flashed in her mind of what she did to Jinta—Romeo seized the hesitant moment to kick her knee, release the flames, and PUNCH Karin out of the ring. "Romeo wins!"

"Lucky…" Jinta said angrily.

Sector LN's Jasminka and GT's Konbu Colins stepped up. Both were rather overweight, but Konbu's superior size made him the sure winner. The giant lied down and tried to roll over the chubby witch. With a sweet smile, Jasminka raised a hand and blocked him. No matter how much he tried, Konbu couldn't crush her. Jasminka casually began to push him until he was out of the ring. "It's no doubt that size isn't everything. Let's see how Gonshiri fairs against Mike Strongarm."

Again, there was a notable size difference, for Gonshiri was an ant to the biker. Mike casually walked up, hoping to end this with a flick of the finger. That is, until Gonshiri used her plantbending to bring over a palm tree and have it BAT Mike out of the ring. "Once again, these tiny heroes astonish me! Up next is Zach Murphy and-"

"I give up." Miyuki said, smart enough to NOT deal with Zach.

"Goombella and Goombario!" Mako said immediately. The two Goombas approached each other in mirror-like fashion. They stopped, charged, and leapt at each other with a Headbonk. Their crowns collided, and both Goombas fell out cold with aching pain.

Up next were Sheila and Harvey Harper. The emotionbender channeled his power to make Sheila depressed, hoping to weaken her spirits. However, Sheila presented herself as dim and dumbfounded, her tongue drooping and one eye half-closed. "What?! She's able to shut off her brain just like Mr. Beatles could!"

"BLUUUUUH!" Sheila tried to tackle Harvey, who dodged and wrapped a yo-yo around her ankle. He tried to throw her out, but she used her tail to stay airborne. Sheila reactivated her brain, grinning as she channeled light to that foot and swung it around at lightspeed, causing Harvey to lift off the ground and eventually fly out the ring.

Terry and Ruby were up next—the Gem started rapidly throwing flaming fists that Terry countered with a flurry of Multi-Shade Fists. The flames were hurting his shadow, but Terry lunged through and began to strangle the Gem, with Ruby returning the gesture with greater strength in her heated hands. Terry was rasping for breath, and his shadow wrapped its hands tightly around Ruby's neck. "Uh, guys, you know we didn't ring the bell?" Mako asked.

The two looked at her eyes wide. "DAMMIT!"

Jessie Sidney was up against Amanda O'Neill of Sector LN. The tall and lean witch twirled her broom, setting it aflame and trying to sweep Jessie off the stage. Jessie ran back and quickly blew bubbles over his feet to float up, then rained bubbles down on Amanda to douse her flames. "You little-!" Amanda got on her broom and flew up, flying far back and charging Jessie with high speed. The boy whipped out his Sleep Bubbles and blew them at Amanda, and she couldn't move or slow down in time as the bubbles hit her face and put her to sleep. She collapsed outside the ring, her limbs bent.

"Yeah! Nobody beats Shorts except me!" Shelly cheered.

When Anthony and Morgiana got on stage, the earthbender stomped rocks out of the ring and chucked them at the Fanalis. Morgiana kicked them away and danced up to stomp at Anthony, but he jumped back and grabbed her foot in the ground. He caught her other foot and willed the ground to force her into a splits, pulling as tight as he could. He was about to carry Morg out of the ring using the ground, but Morg poured all her strength to break free. Anthony sprung up a wall to defend himself when Morg charged, but her foot pierced through and shot Anthony out.

"Well, fans, it seems we only have one match left: Panini Drilovsky and Gon Freecss."

Gon was a boy in green clothes, boots, and standing spiked hair. "HYAH!" Panini swung a flaming leg at her partner, but Gon easily grabbed it with an Armament Haki hand.

"Forgot to mention." Gon said with a smile. "I'm a Haki Master!"

"HUH?!" Panini had no time to inquire about this before Gon tossed her out of the ring with terrific force.

"Wow." Goombella smiled wryly. "Poor Panini didn't have a chance against that boy's Power Level."

"No kidding." Goombario agreed. (End song.)

"Whew, I can already smell the sweat from our players. Let's cool down with a more fun game. Our next game will be a classic Rareware-style collectathon: City Search! An acquaintance of ours has hidden green '?' trophies all over the Party District of Coruscant. You must work with your partner to collect as many trophies as possible. You may use any sort of bending or skills at your disposal. Will our players step into the portal please?"

Nebula created another vortex. The pairs took turns entering, and they landed in separate locations in a nighttime area on Coruscant, vibrant with colorful lights. "You have 10 minutes to find trophies; the team with the most are the winners. On your mark: get set: HIT IT, Sugar!" (Play "Jump Up, Super Star" from Super Mario Odyssey!)

Don Quixote Sugar began to dance and sing a song on the central stage. The players quickly began their search. Cheren and Hat Kid were on a low city street, the latter spotting the first Riddler Trophy. She threw her hat as it spun and hovered in place, and Cheren jumped on to bounce up and grab the streetlight, climbing up and snatching the trophy. He dropped back down, and when Hat Kid saw a hover car flying by, she tossed her hat on its hood. Her body flew inside the car, possessing it as its headlights became cerulean eyes.

"Talk about handy!" Cheren smiled, hopping into the car and driving down the street, despite the protests of the driver. They found a pile of large crates and decided to topple them down, finding a trophy underneath. Hat Kid released the car and rematerialized, grabbing the trophy as the driver quickly escaped.

Wendy and Jinta were on a balcony, watching hovercars soar by. There was a Riddler Trophy perched on a floating streetlight, but when Wendy called, "Accio Trophy!" it wouldn't come to her.

"No good." Jinta said. "But we can do this. Jump on my bat and grab it when ready." He squatted and readied his bat. Wendy nodded and jumped, and Jinta flung her over the second her feet touched. Wendy flew just over the trophy and snatched it. She then called, "Accio Bat!" to make Jinta's bat fly over with him holding on. They explored the walkways further and found a maze puzzle built within a wall. Jinta stood on a switch, causing an electric ball to travel through the maze, and Wendy cast electric spells at a shock switch to make certain paths connect. The ball eventually reached the end and they were rewarded with a trophy.

Haylee and Raleigh found a robot wash (like a carwash, but for robots). As they were watching a robot dance through via a window, they saw a trophy on the wall behind it. They waited for another robot to enter the wash so the door would open and Haylee could run inside and grab the trophy. Further down the street, they spotted a trophy on a ledge partway up a building. Raleigh drew a Pokéball and summoned a Bronzor, which easily flew up and knocked the trophy down.

Augustus and Kirie were on the rooftops, where they found a switch. Augustus stood on it, and several yards away, "?" balls were being juggled out of pipes. Augustus chucked his Gobstopper to hit each ball, and this caused a cage beside them to open, giving them a trophy. They went down stairs to another roof, and from here they had view of a series of needle platforms with another trophy at the end of them. Kirie gracefully jumped across the needles with tippy-toes, claiming the trophy and making her way back.

Nagisa and Maddy explored an alley and found an open area with three Riddlerbots. The two could make short work of the robots, but to get the Riddler Trophy, they had to press five switches at once. Another switch could reset the robots, so this time, the duo knocked the robots out and placed them each on a switch. The cage opened and they collected the trophy. Returning to the street, Nagisa eventually spotted a trophy shining in a high window. He used his Moon Walk to jump up and break the window, taking the trophy.

Terezi and Tronta were exploring the sewers, the former detecting Riddler Trophies by the smell of green paint. They found a steam pipe that was constantly blowing out balls. Tronta threw his Light Discs up to serve as a path for the ball to continuously roll across and eventually go into a tunnel on the other side. The ball flipped a switch and opened a room with a trophy. They climbed out of the sewer and found a line of seven mailboxes. Terezi sniffed them and then broke the one with a trophy.

"I keep TELLING you we have to search the ROOFTOPS!" Terry shouted at Ruby, who was digging around a trashcan.

"And I'm tellin' you they'll obviously have them hidden out of SIGHT! We couldn't see 'em from the rooftops, anyway!"

"Two minutes left!" Mako announced. "Keep looking, people! There's trophies right under your noses!"

"It's true." Anthony said, having broken open several sidewalk tiles to find trophies. Morgiana burst through a building window and landed beside him, five trophies in hand.

"I TOLD you we should have looked in that building!" Terry stated.

"Well, excuse ME if I'm not a fan of breaking and entering." Ruby retorted.

Cheren and Hat Kid made it to a balcony that faced up at the rooftop with Sugar's stage. Hat Kid faced a lamp post and said, "Cheren, climb on this!" She threw her hat onto the post and possessed it. Cheren climbed on the top of the post, and Hat Kid bent it backward and flung him up, along with her hat as she rematerialized. They got to hear Sugar's vocals up close as they climbed onstage and found a trophy hidden in the drums. Hat Kid had to possess the drummer and make him beat them harder to shake the trophy out.

There were two spotlights outside, one with the dot of a "?" and one with the top of a "?". Cheren and Hat Kid both took a spotlight and made them connect with each other to form the whole "?". A cage opened, and they got a trophy. Cheren then decided to climb one of the support beams on the side of the stage, getting on top and finding their last trophy.

"Three… two… one… TIME!" declared Mako. "Let's see who our winners are!"

First place was Sapphire and Dillon York, 2nd place was Emily Garley and Harry Uno (metalbending helps!), 3rd place was Anthony and Morgiana, 4th place was Cheren and Hat Kid, and 5th place was Sunni and Sind. "Wow, we didn't do too bad." Hat Kid said.

"Yeah, it's a decent score." Cheren looked and saw Miyuki approaching. "Miyuki, where did Zach go?"

"I don't know. I lost sight of him when we were grabbing trophies on a waterslide."

"Hey, there's something in your hair." Hat Kid reached for Miyuki and pulled on a weird string in her hair. In an instant, her scalp opened. "AAH!"

Miyuki gasped at what happened. Cheren and Hat Kid looked in to find a miniature Zach, playing cards with five Riddler Trophies. "Close the door, we're trying to play Think Cards!" yelled Zach. He faced the trophies and said, "Okay, if I add 20 decimals outside my order of operations and multiply it to the 2nd power, do I get the googolplex when I divide by alpha, or do I get-"

Zach exploded, destroying Miyuki's brain in the process as the girl fell over. "Ugh. We're gonna have to move brains again." a trophy said, walking out with his comrades.

"Okay, I'll ask you guys again." another trophy began with an annoyed tone. "If I order five seasons of Fairly OddParents, will you watch them with me, or not?" (End song.)

The players returned to Aquaria, and as it was now break time, the operatives gathered at picnic tables to dine on their favorite foods. Yuzu, as always, was cooking at one of the available stoves. "Excuse me. You're Yuzu Kurosaki, aren't you?"

Yuzu looked down to her left. She was greeted by a white-haired girl with a bun and light-brown ninja outfit. "You were the one in the cooking contest, weren't you? From the Hyrule KND?"

"Uh-huh. My name's Koko. And… um, I just wanna say, it's a real honor to meet you, Yuzu. I heard you were the most amazing cook in the Earth Kids Next Door, and I'm so glad I got to compete with you!"

"Wherever did you hear that?" Yuzu blushed.

"In the record books, of course." Cheren replied with a smirk. "If it wasn't for your dishes, we never would've survived in New Galaxia."

"That's what I heard." Koko replied. "Do you think… I could learn from you sometime?"

"Of course, Koko."

"I hope everyone's making their tongues and tummies happy." Mako announced. "I would like to welcome a special guest that has just arrived on the planet. Introducing, the commander of Earth's military force, the Guardian Units of Nations, Commander Brett Gunkan!"

The audience applauded, and the Kids Next Door beamed when a GUN ship came in for landing. Commander Gunkan stepped up onto a stage beside Chancellor Nebra Phyronix. They shook hands before Gunkan spoke into a microphone. "Good afternoon, people of Aquaria." Nebra gestured higher. "Galaxia?" Higher. "The universe?" Higher. "Ahem, GOOD DAY, ladies and gentlemen in the audience and your respective homes. My name is Brett Gunkan. Ever since the destablishment of our World's Government, it has been left to my organization to maintain the peace and balance in our world. Knowing what our world is like, such a task would be impossible. But thankfully, we had help."

Wendy and Jinta gave thumbs-ups, Karin and Romeo touched fists, Ruby jumped on a table and roared, and all other operatives gave their own cheers.

"I can't count how many times they saved our world." Nebra gestured higher. "The UNIVERSE." Higher. "ENOUGH OF THAT!" yelped Gunkan, startling Nebra. "I remember a time when I feared the Kids Next Door… we can't deny, they are powerful. Very powerful. But then I realized that it was a sign that times were changing. And the Kids Next Door have proven their trust in those dark times. From threats like the Negatar… the Demon King… or the Thirteen Darknesses… through trial and tribulation, the Kids Next Door prevailed. And that is why, with no doubt in my mind, they will always be… Huh?"

Murmurs echoed from the audience, and the KND bore looks of confusion. Approaching them at their picnic area, it was none other than… "One of the Sandbags from the Home-Run Contest!" Mako exclaimed.

"It's moving on its own!" Aurora noticed.

"What's up with that?" Anthony asked.

Hideout Helm

"Hmm? That's strange." Eggman said. "Is something inside it?"

Majora gasped. "No… I see a look in its eyes. . . . ." A wide, ecstatic grin stretched across the troll's face. "It's HAPPENIIIIING! MMMMMM!"

Aquaria

"'ang on. I recognize this one." Sheila Frantic approached the Sandbag. "See those dents there? They're the same size as moi fist!" She held up her fist, and indeed the Sandbag had a crater shaped like fingers and knuckles. "Back for more, are ya? Well, I'll happily do ya the honors." (Play "Home-Run Contest" from Smash Bros. Brawl!)

Suddenly, the Home-Run music rang throughout the stands. Everyone looked confused, wondering who was cuing it. Sheila confidently marched up, spinning her fist. "Watch me! This time, I'll send him flying even farther!"

Everyone watched eagerly as Sheila was about to perform another fine display of raw power. Once her fist was at maximum speed, there was nowhere else to go. "Happy FLYING!"

BWING!!

The stands and operatives erupted with gasps. Sheila went zooming across the picnic tables—time seemed to slow down. In that split second, they could see Sheila's bloody and mangled body, blood and teeth flying loose. When time resumed speed, there she went across the sea, crashing into the panicking audience. The KND's sights fixed on the Sandbag.

"W-What did that thing… do…?" Sally quivered.

"I didn't see it move an inch…" Maddy said.

The music started up again! Everyone fixed glares on the Sandbag, ready for what it might pull. Little did they know that three more Sandbags landed behind Mocha. The music played, but the Sandbag wasn't moving. When Mocha looked back and down, gasping at the three others, the music had already finished. BWING!! Everyone whipped around and watched as the proud giant of Sector W7 flew aloft like a ragdoll and fell dead on the ground.

"MOCHAAA!" screamed her friends of W7 and GT.

"There's three more of them!" Romeo yelled, igniting flames.

"More than that! They're everywhere!" MaKayla clasped her Chrono Staff, seeing all the Sandbags appearing out of nowhere.

The music started again! Everyone looked around. "MADDY, BEHIND YOU!" Chris shouted.

Maddy whipped around—two more Sandbags slid up, but she PUNCHED them away with iron fists. "You ain't getting the jump on ME!" She turned in place, watching out for any more Sandbags coming. In the distance, they heard a cannon fire. This only distracted them more. In came a Sandbag from far across the sea, its emotionless eyes targeting an unaware Maddy. No one saw the Sandbag coming in time before the music ceased.

BWING!! Down went the Mad Conqueror, the Master of Haki, left in as worse a state as those before her.

"M…Maddy…" Chris choked.

"Grrrr! ALL OPERATIVES, RETREAT!" screamed Cheren.

Nebula snapped fingers and warped the fallen somewhere else. "I'll have to split everyone up so they can't find us!" She began to warp groups of operatives to indiscriminate locations.

"Is this part of the game?!" Panini shouted.

"No!" Mako yelled. "At least, not on MY schedule. And it's not on Zach's either!"

"We have to find out what's controlling them or else!" Nebula shouted.

Meanwhile, the Sandbag storage had been left totally empty. The invisible creature revealed itself; its skin was orange and yellow, with ears in a V-shape. It smirked at us with darkness in its eyes. "Victini…"