Sector $, Part ¥4: The Mechanical Marvel

Six years ago

"Kimia, what is it?" six-year-old Raleigh asked his older sister. Kimia was dressed in a similar fashion as her brother, her hair tied in four large braids.

"This is Magearna." Kimia replied. It was a robotic, child-size creature with a dress and bunny-like ears. "Our ancestors modeled her after the Firstborn."

"Who are the Firstborn, again?"

"They're the children of God Arceus. The most powerful and sought-after beings in the universe. They were the center of a lot of chaos back in 2012, so I heard. King Nikola created Magearna using energy harnessed from the spirits, hoping it would rival the power of the Firstborn and help our kingdom to prosper. Unfortunately, she has long run out of power. Hm hm, and now most of the Firstborn are in the hands of Earth children. I have to wonder how they're being used… Most people who hunt the Firstborn only seek world domination. But if they were put to more productive use…"

"What if we found a real Firstborn, Kimia? Could we power Magearna back up again?"

"It is possible. Not that we actually need her; our kingdom is prospering just fine on its own. Still, it would be nice. It was said that Magearna was also the princess's playmate. I bet that means she was a pretty fun person!"

A robot that was designed like the Firstborn. As I grew older, I began to wonder how it was possible. How could a mortal create a god? I read books about the Firstborn and I read about the elements they control. And I imagined a wide array of inventions that could be made with their chi!

A 10-year-old Raleigh was in his room with his first Pokémon, Swirlix. Using a desk lamp for light, he wore a beaming smile as he drew multiple blueprints. An All-Knowing Tablet that could answer any question in the universe, made from Uxie's chi! Training Simulators programmed with all Azelf's fighting styles! Flawless teleportation devices made from… well, any of their chi! The Firstborn had limitless possibilities! And so, my mission was to study them in person!

Raleigh set off on a Pokémon journey, catching primarily Electric-type Pokémon, but he didn't neglect to give his Swirlix some attention. Eventually, it evolved into Slurpuff, and he managed to win a few gym battles. By the time he turned 12, he made his decision:

A GKND saucer hovered over the outskirts of his kingdom, creating a strong wind that blew Raleigh's jacket. "Are you sure you want to join the Earth Kids Next Door, Raleigh?" Kimia asked him. "You do remember the stories about them, don't you?"

"Of course I am! I trained for two years so that I would be good enough to join them! And since most kids don't even need to HAVE prior training, I'll pass the Cadets Next Door in a heartbeat!" He faced up at the saucer with pure confidence. "This is my chance to see the Firstborn in their prime! When I come back, I'll know everything about them!"

Quahog Park, close to the current time

"Every other Saturday, I like to enjoy a drink of Golden Leaf Whiskey." a drunken Midna said, holding a wine bottle in her left Hair Hand and chugging a drink. "Bleh, sometimes I give shadowbending to the wrong kid… b-but it all… works out in the end, yeah…"

Raleigh hesitantly wrote this down. "Okay, um… does the whiskey give you power?"

"No, but I have a HELLA good time with that…w-with that Crest fellow, oh yeah." She blushed and formed a wide smile.

"So, um, what extra powers does your 2nd Age form give you?"

"Nah I don't remember, I…I think I lost those powers, YOU DAMN POWERS, where are you?!" Her right Hair Hand smacked the air in front of Raleigh, the prince backing up. "Why you always running away from me? So damn… useless…" She passed out.

Poshley Heights, current day

"So, your mission was a waste of time." Ciel said with a chuckle, the two flipping coins into a fountain. "How delightful!"

"It was not a waste!" Raleigh said in a huff. "Just a tad… disappointing. I certainly wasn't expecting the Firstborn to be sapped of their power. But there is hope, of course! Because now we can study the NEW Firstborn! I already talked with Cheren about it, and he had already asked the Troll KND about them, too. It was after the incident with Hoopa."

"When Arceus created your universe the first time," Karkat explained to Cheren and Panini, "eleven of the Firstborn eggs were hatched. But nine of them had yet to hatch. And it seems that time came when the New Universe was born."

"So, there are Twenty Firstborn in total?" Cheren asked.

"Yep. But I'm afraid even we don't know their current whereabouts. We didn't even give them names. It's very likely these New Firstborn blended in with the history and lore of this universe. But because our experiences belong to those of 'ourselves' from the previous universe, we've never heard of them. Then again, some people may have. And if the villains learn about these Firstborn, there will be war."

"Then I guess you were right. We really won't have a moment of peace in this new universe."

"Not even a little. What we can tell you, though, is the elements we imbued inside these Firstborn."

Raleigh showed Ciel a list, the earl's eye skimming it. "An Ice Firstborn, an Air Firstborn, a size-altering Firstborn- oh, no…"

"What?"

"I'm afraid the size-altering Firstborn may have already attacked. I paid a visit to Planet Poké the other day, and," Ciel pulled a penny out of his pocket, "I nearly stepped on your kingdom!" He held the penny up by his grinning face.

"Mmmmmmph!" Raleigh's cheeks puffed. "Weren't you listening to my story?!" Ciel flicked the coin in the fountain and got out a red lollipop. "My ancestor harnessed the power of the spirits to create a futuristic kingdom in an age where technology was barely prevalent-!" Ciel stuck the lollipop in Raleigh's mouth.

"I'm only joking." the earl said, smiling playfully. "Come on, Raleigh, what's the point of having male friends if you can't poke fun at each other?"

Raleigh pulled the candy out. "Well, I hope that Firstborn shrinks your ego! Or at least makes it so big, you can't move. But let's get back on focus… I've asked Carol to research the Newborn based on their element types. If she can find anything major relating to those elements, it could lead us to their whereabouts. For now, the Kids Next Door is fortunate enough to have one of these Newborn in our possession." The prince smirked, looking over to a store called Poshley Sweets. "Or should I say Sector MG is."

Inside the candy store in question, an infant-size genie creature was gobbling up a mountain of donuts, much to the disgust of the other rich people in the shop. The Hat Kid smiled as she watched him enjoying himself, and when she looked over at the customers, "Pbbbbblllllth!" she blew a raspberry.

"Well, it seems you two had no trouble finding your way." Raleigh said as he and Ciel approached them.

"You do know how expensive those are, right?" Ciel asked.

"Yeah, don't worry. I've got about 10 million coins in the bank." Hat Kid said.

"EXCUSE ME?!" all the customers bellowed.

"What? You didn't think my parents would send me away without the slightest bit of cash, did you? I am the Mushroom Princess, remember."

"PLEASE come to my fashion shop!" She was immediately swarmed by adults in fancy clothing.

"I can make your hair into a dream!" a man declared as she was being carried away.

"Have you ever considered starring in opera?"

"Waaaaaaahhhh…!"

Raleigh and Ciel watched awkwardly until they were out the door. "Well, while she's having fun, let's get to work." Raleigh decided, sitting with Hoopa. "Hello, Hoopa. My name's Raleigh, Prince of the Azoth Kingdom. I wanted to ask you a few questions and perhaps conduct a few tests. Given your nature as a Firstborn and all."

"Sure, buddy, ask me anything." Hoopa answered through chews.

"Seeing as you have the ability to create portals, does that mean you're a spacebender?"

"Kind of, but all I can do is make portals. Well, I also have infinite space inside my stomach."

"I'm pretty sure all gods have that. Teleporting is a pretty common ability, too. What about any special powers unique to you? Can you grant wishes like Jirachi, can you create your own dimensions? Anything like that?"

Hoopa chewed the donuts for a bit. "Ahhhhh… something like that." He swallowed. "Oh, but I do like pulling pranks on people! Like this!" He reached into a portal and grabbed a Cynthia doll. "Hehehehe! Whoever this belongs to, she'll have no idea where it is!"

"Wait, can you just pull things out of space with no idea of where they came from?" Ciel wondered.

"Huh? Well, I guess so. My philosophy is, if I want something, I get it!"

"Could you use that power to locate rare artifacts?! Or better yet, the other Firstborn?" Raleigh asked excitedly.

"Nope! Only small things like toys or food."

"But back then, you transported entire islands and monuments!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Grrrr! Mark my words, I will tap into your hidden power!"

"You can't tell me what to do! The only person I'll listen to is Scheherazade, got it?!"

"Is she your Guardian? Where is she now?"

"I don't know."

"Ugh! Please, Hoopa, I would like you to come up to my treehouse. Allow me to conduct a quick experiment. Please?"

"Sigh… Fine. After my donuts!"

Ciel heard that name before. Scheherazade, eh? Somehow, I believe I already met her. …But no reason for them to know that.

Sector $; Raleigh's Room

Raleigh opened his closet and showed them the very thing he was shown six years ago. "Magearna?" Ciel was a tad surprised. "You… brought it with you?"

"I hoped that if I could meet the Firstborn, I could use their power to repair her. But now, Hoopa is the only Firstborn we have that still has full power. Hoopa, I know this is going to sound weird, but I need to harness your power. I promise you won't have to do much, and I don't have evil intentions. I'm doing this for the benefit of the KND, so we can use her to combat the other Firstborn in case they're rogue."

"Hmmm… I wonder what Scheherazade would say…"

"Do this for us and I promise we'll see her soon!"

"Alright, fine! But you get me more donuts later!"

Raleigh laid Magearna on a table, beginning to take her apart and fix the internal wiring. "This technology is positively ancient." Ciel said. "There's no way you can fix her. Unless your technology hasn't evolved all that time."

"You know, some people believe technology from the past is far more advanced than modern day science. Some cultures had a sudden decline in quality, but you're slowly climbing back up."

Once he was finished repairing Magearna, Raleigh began to design a machine with a small glass capsule, and he placed a tiny glass tube between two conductors. "I need you to get in this." he instructed Hoopa. "It's going to absorb your power and transfer it to these batteries."

"Will it hurt?"

"It… might… a little. But you'll be fine, I promise! It should only take a couple tests for me to make the right battery."

"Mmmmmnnn… Okay." Hoopa hesitantly got in the capsule.

"Don't worry, it'll only be a moment." Raleigh soon activated the machine.

"Ghhhhhhh-nnnnnnggghhh!" Hoopa tried to hold in his screams as the electricity zapped and drained his power. A magenta energy was building in the battery, but before it was completely full, the battery shattered. "No good!" Raleigh said, shutting it down. "We'll have to try again."

"Aaaaaaahhh!" The second battery was filled, and it broke. "Aaaaaahhhh!" The third battery was a failure. "AAAAAHH!" The fourth, fifth, and sixth batteries were no good.

"Sigh… Nothing I have can support a Firstborn's energy."

"If I may offer a suggestion," Sebastian said, "perhaps I could fetch a more reliable material for the situation."

"Now, Sebastian, I'm sure our candidate leader can figure it out." Ciel replied.

"No, by all means, if you know something that can work, then go get it." Raleigh said.

"Very well, My Lord's underling." And Sebastian raced out of the treehouse, leaving Raleigh flustered.

The butler borrowed a ship and flew lightspeed to Mushroom Kingdom. He quickly visited a store, made the exchange, and then drove back to Sector $ within the hour. He threw a bag on the floor before the two boys, and it was filled with glass moons with eyes. "Mushroom Kingdom Power Moons. These were built to contain supernatural energy. They are a very clean fuel source."

"You're the best, Sebastian!"

Hoopa went back to screaming as Raleigh began testing Power Moons. The first four shattered, but as Raleigh steadily filled up the fifth one, he was astonished to see it didn't break. He waited until it was completely full before turning the machine off.

He used a grabber to extract the magenta moon and let it cool down. "Finally. Now, let's see if this works." He stuck the moon into the back of Magearna's head.

There was a whirring sound, and the boys were in awe as her red eyes brimmed with light. "It…It worked." Raleigh was about ready to tear up. "Magearna! It's really you!"

The robot looked at him curiously, making a few beeps and boops. "Magearna, my name is Raleigh. I'm the descendant of Nikola, the man who created you." She beeped in surprise. "That's right! Here, I'd like you to meet my Pokémon! Come on out, team!" He threw open all his Pokéballs, summoning Slurpuff, Bronzor, Magnemite, Togedemaru, and Pichu. Magearna looked at them and seemed to be making conversation in her own language.

"Can they understand her?" Ciel asked.

"We heard that Magearna was programmed with Pokétongue. I guess this must be it."

"There you guys are!" Hat Kid yelled as she entered. "What are you doing with Hoopa?"

Sebastian lifted the genie out of the capsule, presenting his weakened form to her. "I'm afraid he received more than he bargained for in this experiment."

Hat Kid gasped. "You guys! I can't believe you!"

"Calm down! It's not like he was going to die." Raleigh reasoned. "He'll feel better after he rests. In the meantime, it's time to test if she really works. Magearna, make a portal to the Firstborn, Midna." She beeped and her eyes lit up as she formed a portal. Raleigh poked his head in and found himself in the skies above Twilight Town. "W-W-Whoa!" He stumbled forward, but Ciel grabbed his ankle and pulled him back in. Raleigh looked through and viewed down at the town. Midna was laying on a roof, wearing a swimsuit and sunbathing in the twilight.

Raleigh pulled out. "Incredible! Okay, Test #2: Make a portal to any of the Newborn."

"But please, rule out the sun or any places that might be hazardous!" Ciel insisted. "Wouldn't want you to have your face seared off."

"Ha ha! Good point."

Magearna made another portal. Raleigh peeked in as his head poked out of a hole in the ground. A group of Amazonian girls looked down at him in horror. "Oh. Hi, ladies."

"IT'S A MAN!! CRUSH HIM!"

"EEK!" Raleigh pulled out, and they were frightened when the tips of multiple giant fingers tried to tear open the rift. Sebastian used a broom to shove the fingers back in, so Magearna could close it. "Show me another Newborn." When Raleigh peeked through this portal, he was overlooking a metropolis of robots. "Hmm, not yet… Show me the Nightmare Newborn." This portal showed him a bird's-eye view of Nightmare Land. "Incredible… with Magearna, we can pinpoint the approximate locations of all the Newborn… YEE-HEE, HA HA!" Raleigh danced giddily. "I'M A GENIUS!" His Pokémon cheered, too. "Wait until I tell Kimia! I fixed Magearna, and now we can find all the Newborn!"

The robot sparked with purple electricity, and her eyes became an eerie red. "Raleigh, duck!" Ciel grabbed his friend and got down just before Magearna fired a large beam, blowing clean through the treehouse and flying outside. "I had a feeling something like that would happen."

"MAGEARNA, WAIT!"

The alarms were going off, and the other Sector $ members hurried to his room. "What happened, who's attacking us?!" Carol yelled.

"To the ship, we have to catch her!"

The crew boarded the S.U.P.E.R.-C.O.O.L.-B.U.S. and pursued the robot, dodging her laser and blasting her with their own. Raleigh's Pokémon were stationed on the roof while the other operatives flew out on floating platforms with control pads. Weiss conjured icicles and chucked them at Magearna, but the mech made portals to catch and return them to Weiss, damaging her craft.

"MA – GEAR – NA – CAN – DO – A – NY – THING!" She formed four portals to the sun, unleashing furious flames and forcing the group to back away.

"Electric Pokémon, use Thunder Shock!" Raleigh ordered. His Togedemaru, Magnemite, and Pichu combined their powers to strike Magearna, her portals disappearing.

"We've got to tear the head off, that's where the power source is!" Ciel shouted.

"NO WAY! I don't wanna destroy her! If I keep electrocuting her, maybe she'll come to her senses." He ordered his Pokémon to attack again, but this time Magearna made portals to redirect the lightning back at them.

Pacifica got behind Magearna and wrapped her Chains of Judgment around her. "So much for that plan!" She tightened the chains, and Raleigh was horrified to see Magearna's body ripping apart.

"Pacifica, stop! Bronzor, use psychic, pull her chains off!" Bronzor obeyed and freed Magearna, the robot escaping.

"You idiot, can't you see I'm trying to—AAAAAH!" Pacifica screamed when Magearna tried to blast her with a laser, but Sebastian swooped in and grabbed the Northwest, falling to the ground with her safely in his arms.

"Raleigh, this isn't the time to get sentimental! We have to stop her before she escapes!" Ciel reasoned.

"I won't! She's the pride of my kingdom, and I finally got her running again after all these years! With her, we can find the other Newborn before the villains do!"

"Raleigh, don't you remember what Haylee said?" Carol asked. "After Field Day, me and Mason went on a double-date with you two, you know because it was so weird that we're from the same sector, and we liked people who were also from the same sector." She said this part in a giddy, blushing fashion. She became serious again and said, "Anyway, what she said was…"

"No one's gonna wanna live in a building that won't stand." Haylee winked, twirling her wrench. "And no one wants a videogame that has that itsy-bitsy broken part that prevents you from 100-percenting the game. (Screw you, DK64.) Your inventions don't have to be the greatest thing ever. Heck, one wizard could have a Star Rod for a magic wand and another one could have a measly stick. But as long as it does what it was designed to do, and nothing else gets in the way of that, it doesn't need anything else. What Bob the Builder says: 'Can – it – do it? YES – IT – SHOULD!'"

"Ha ha ha!" Raleigh blushed, remembering how she looked that day.

"So, what would Haylee say if your prize robot is trying to kill people?" Carol asked.

She was right, Raleigh thought. If people saw the legendary Magearna in this state, he would disgrace the Azoth Kingdom.

"Guys?…" Weiss gazed up at the sky in fear: Magearna conjured a gigantic portal to the sun, bringing a fearsome fire that could pierce through the earth.

"Grrrr, BRONZOR! TEAR MAGEARNA'S HEAD OFF!" The Pokémon obeyed and grabbed Magearna in two psychic grips, severing the head from the body. The portal disappeared and the body went limp. The head sparked for a bit before her eyes blacked out.

"Pheeeeeewww." Carol plopped back on her pad. "Another crisis averted."

The kids returned to the treehouse as Raleigh placed the Power Moon inside a scanner. "So, there was Dark Chi mixed in with Hoopa's own." Ciel confirmed.

"Was it left from when he was shot by the Darkness Cannon?" Weiss wondered.

"Sigh… If that's the case, then… this really was a wild goose chase." Raleigh depressedly left the room. "I couldn't power Magearna up with Dark Chi…" His friends remained silent, watching him leave with sympathetic looks.

Poshley Heights

The prince went back to flipping coins in the fountain, staring at his own sad reflection in the water. Ciel's image came up beside his. "I thought you should know, we called and told Moonbase about the incident. It was brief, but people were still in danger nonetheless. After all, there's no harm in giving our sector a few bonus points."

"Yeah, right. You probably hoped Cheren would scold me."

"Not really. I made it specifically clear that you were trying to help the KND get ahead in what's sure to be a long-term mission. The Supreme Leader was actually impressed with your initiative. It's the sign of a good leader."

"You…You really think that?"

"Hyes, but I still think I'm the most qualified." Ciel chuckled. "You should be proud, though. Even though you messed up, you made quite an accomplishment."

"Hmm… Thanks, Ciel." Raleigh smiled. They looked across the fountain to see Hat Kid cradling Hoopa in her arms, sitting on the rim.

"Ahem!" a girl coughed. The boys were approached by a girl in a white and gold nun's habit.

"Index?" Ciel recognized the girl from Sector SA. "Why are you here?"

"I just heard what happened on the news." Index approached Raleigh with a glare. "How could you mistreat a poor little creature like that?!"

"I was only trying to—OW!" The nun chomped Raleigh in the arm.

"Humans think they can do whatever they want with Arceus's creatures." Index went around and approached Hat Kid, the boys joining her. "They think they own nature and have the right to abuse it." She gently put a hand to Hoopa's cheek. "Especially the Firstborn. Everyone sees them as nothing but sources of power. But the Firstborn are people, too. They're very happy people that only want to play with others and live in peace. Isn't the Kids Next Door supposed to be a safe haven for kids like that? How could you ruin that tradition?"

"But we operatives are required to prove our use." Ciel stated. "And the Firstborn are especially useful."

"The Firstborn aren't tools!" Index stomped. "Arceus didn't create them to be used as power sources. We should respect them. Respect them like you would each other. So, I don't want to hear about you mistreating him ever again, okay?"

"You're right, Index. I'm sorry." Raleigh blushed.

"Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm hungry." She rubbed her belly. "Time to see what delicious food this rich town has to offer!" She skipped away happily.

"Nnnn…aaaahh…" Hoopa woke up. "I feel like I was just touched by an angel."

"Aww, you're too kind, Hoopa!" Hat Kid cooed. "Hey, let's piss the rich people off and swim in this fountain!"

"I wouldn't do that." Ciel said.

"Too late!" She threw her shoes off. "I'm going COIN fishing!" And she jumped in. "YAAAAAAH!" Her feet were immediately attacked by piranhas called Nibbles. "Why couldn't Paper Mario just have swimming mechanics?!!" The boys laughed at her antics.

Uno Household

With another day of leadering over with, Cheren settled on his bed to play some Wi-Fi Mario Kart with Panini. He heard a knock at his window and looked to see the delivery witch, Kiki Yamaka. He opened the window. "Hi, Cheren! Sorry to bother you, but Sector $ asked me to deliver this letter."

"Thanks, Kiki." He took it. "See ya!"

"'kay!" She flew away.

Wondering if it was about the incident today, Cheren was quick to open it. …The contents took him by surprise slightly. To Supreme KND Leader Cheren Uno, I would like to have a meeting with you at the Iceberg Gala, tomorrow. Since time zones are an issue, come whenever you like. I'm not busy. When you are able to, tell my daughter Weiss, and she will bring you. I'm sure you know the one. –Jacques Schnee, President of Schnee Dust.