Pride of the Tribe

Snowman's Land

Wooden towers and forts were built across the frostbitten landscape. The penguins and walruses that composed the Snowmads were loading the guns and sharpening the spears, prepping for any potential invasion. But given this scent that filled the air, emanating from Lord Fredrik's stadium, it was clear that their king was enjoying the company of female walruses, relaxing on his throne while a brawl between two Waldough took place on the field.

"Bah… fights just aren't exciting nowadays." Fredrik sighed. "The way underlings battle is so uninspiring… and if I try to fight, they'll just go down in one hit. Maybe when we're done with this war, I'll host a tournament between us Kommanders. Determine who is the strongest. After all, some haven't yet learned who's got the freshest meat, eh ladies?" His lovers purred in agreement.

"Hm?" Fredrik cocked a brow, hearing booms and crashes in the distance. The walrus sniffed the air and detected a smell very unlike his tribesmen. "Has someone… bathed?" For what reason would any Snowmad smell like soap. "There is a hint of… 'spice.' Someone in this land has bathed… yet their body reeks from regular exercise. Yes… no doubt there is an intruder on my land. Then let them come…"

The Rocketship had only driven up the shore of the arctic island, and a giant pair of boots began to charge across the snow. "My legs are a bit chilly, but 'long as I keep running, I'll generate enough heat for both of us!"

"You're a must-have for snowy nights!" Aisa cheered, tucked warmly in the back of the coat collar. "I got your back, so just plow through the front!"

"You got it! I'll show whoever's in charge how an Amazon rolls!" (Play "Aqueduct Assault" from Tropical Freeze!)

Stage 38: Snowman's Land

Mission: Defeat Lord Fredrik!

The patrolling Snowmads wondered what that shaking was, growing fearful when they saw the giant shadow charging from the fog. It was growing large enough to be considered a threat, so the Waldoughs loaded their Fishbone Bows and launched. Mocha was unphased by the artillery, kicking the walruses away like discarded balls, while the Tucks were already fleeing the scene. Already, the girls heard the pounding of drums, alarming the base of their arrival. They came to a tall wooden gate, on which Kannon Waldough blasted them. Mocha about-faced, giving her friend view of the shooters. Aisa cautioned her where to dodge as she shot the walruses down with arrows.

Once they were dealt with, Mocha ran to deal punches against the gate, the wood surprisingly durable, but they couldn't withstand her strength for long. They entered the base as stone tanks took aim, Mocha dodging the first one's blasts and running to grab its cannon. "Huuuurrrr!" She twisted to haul the tank off the ground, hurdling it into the other, and exposing the Tucks under either. Apparently, these tanks were all carried by the penguins, while another Tuck operated the cannon on a platform. The way forward was blocked by a gate five times Mocha's size, a snowflake symbol on it.

"Mocha, I sense some kind of magic on this gate." Aisa said. "I don't think you can break it open with strength… Let me see if I can find something on that tower." Mocha carried her to a nearby watchtower the same height as the gate. She tossed Aisa up to a platform below the top, Aisa jumping up following platforms and shooting down Hootz that tried to stop her. Atop the tower, armored Waldoughs jabbed spears at the intruder, Aisa dodging the first one and stamping his face. Another charged at her, Aisa stopping him with the Impact Dial, then jumping to kick his face, then she leapt atop the third's helmeted head, jumping repeatedly to rattle him before throwing the deciding kick.

Aisa pulled a lever, opening another large gate as snowballs spilled out. They were big enough for Mocha to hold in two hands, but simply chucking one at the giant door wouldn't open it. Mocha had to roll one around until it was the size of the snowflake symbol, and a direct hit opened the gate. Aisa jumped down onto her friend's fluffy hair, Mocha marching up a newly opened path. She saw masses through the fog and learned these were Snowhorns. The first mammoth charged, but Mocha stopped it with her open hands, firmly rooting herself and shoving with all her strength until the beast fell.

The 2nd Snowhorn charged and Mocha stopped it, but a Tucks rider shot arrows from the mammoth's head, Aisa hopping atop Mocha to shoot counter-arrows. With their teamwork, both enemies fell. Mocha trekked up to a gate of equal size as the previous, this time made of stone as it bore Fredrik's terrifying visage. A Snowhorn lay on the ground before it in agony. "(Oh… you must be the intruders. Please don't hurt me.)"

"Apis, translate!" Aisa got the telepath on the line.

"Are you okay, little guy?" Mocha asked. "You seem hurt."

"(Lord Fredrik made me fight in his arena a few hours ago and I was beaten. No one will let me have any Alpine Roots… If you girls would be kind enough to bring me a couple, I will use my earthbending to open the gate. You will find them growing in the soil.)"

The duo searched for barren areas of soil, locating one and a root sticking out of it. Aisa dropped down, squatted, and began tugging on the root firmly. "(Oi, that's my root!)" A Snowhorn came charging, so Mocha met with him and stopped! Her shoving contest lasted as long as it took Aisa to yank the root out, the assaulter falling on his side. The Shandian felt like her arms would rip off with how hard she was tugging, but she succeeded! They returned the root to the injured Snowhorn, but he requested one more. Another Alpine Root was right next to a polar bear, sleeping on his folded legs. There was a cave with a gate behind it, so it would swipe the root and retreat if they got close.

Mocha's steps would easily wake the bear, so Aisa took the liberty. Conveniently, there were patches of ice on the way to the bear, so Aisa stepped along those, her bare feet making no sound on the ice as she was able to swipe the root quietly. She tiptoed back to her friend and was picked up, carrying the root back to the Snowhorn. The mammoth grabbed it in his trunk and brought it to his mouth, munching it satisfyingly. He got up on all fours and stomped the ground, opening the stone gate with his bending. "(If you were kind enough to do that, you're obviously not evil intruders. I'm going to go rest, so… do carry on with your duty.)"

The two nodded in thanks and proceeded. A stone path seemed to stretch up over a chasm in the form of an aqueduct. Tucks flew down on gliders and shot arrows during ascent, but Mocha felt the structure crumbling under her weight. She hurried up ceaselessly, segments breaking off one after the other, and Aisa worked just as hard to shoot down penguins, but her friend had to suffer a few Fishbones. The final segment sank just before she could make it, but Mocha leapt and grabbed the rugged side of the cliff. She climbed up to safety, choosing to sit and catch her breath for a moment. Another aqueduct sloped up to a higher portion of the mountain, Mocha dashing up as she expected its fall.

The entire aqueduct fell to the right, Mocha ducking to hang on. The base portion bumped into a peak, breaking off as the aqueduct twisted and fell leftward. Mocha continued up while hoping it would lean in her favor; the portions continued bumping into peaks and breaking, Mocha struggling to maintain balance as it kept shifting position, but by the time they were at the top, it was leaned against the mountain ledge where they could get off. Mocha burst down another gate and was met with cannonfire, the attack surprising her at first as the balls dealt damage. Mocha ran to the first, dug her fingers underneath, and flung the tank up, kicking away the Tucks group underneath. She evasively dodged the others' cannons and repeated her maneuver for them.

"AAAAAH! FIRE! I'M ON FIRE!" The girls whipped around in mild horror; indeed, there was a man on fire, running around frantically and knocking down Waldough. "DADDY, HELP ME!" He ran across a frozen lake, melting the ice into small platforms before stopping on an island and rolling around in the snow.

"How could you catch on fire out here?!" Mocha wondered.

"I dunno, but maybe I can help him." Aisa jumped off and jumped across the ice carefully, reaching the platform. Upon closer inspection with her Haki, she realized, "Wait, you're a firebender. …You're one of the U.A. kids! This should knock you out." Aisa drew her Impact Dial and released the force she had absorbed from the Waldough's attack earlier, knocking Todoroki out and stuffing him in the Cube. She returned to Mocha to warm up in her coat. "Hey Mocha, I feel a lot of auras up that slope, and one of them feels really strong. I think it's the Kommander."

Mocha viewed up the towering slope in question, seeing a stadium-like structure. "If that's not an inviting arena, I dunno what is!" Mocha eagerly began the trek up.

"AAAARRROOOOOOO!" The Snowmad King sensed their arrival and offered a test: the slope became an avalanche under his mighty bellow. Mocha ran from the wave of snow, but Aisa called attention to rock slabs floating on it, Mocha turning to jump onto the first one. The giant leapt heartily up the slabs, even as they slid down the slope. Waldough-Kannons jumped out of the snow and shot them, hitting Mocha's legs as she bent, Aisa coming up front to shoot back. The giant continued, Aisa taking down incoming Hootz.

Mocha hopped to smaller platforms, but Harolds (chubby brown rabbits with knotted beards) came down on other platforms and chucked melon bombs to blow up Mocha's, the giant leaping faster up the footholds. "Where did all these rock slabs come from, anyway?" Mocha wondered.

"(Hurry girls! You're almost there!)" called a familiar voice which they couldn't understand.

"IT'S MAMMOTH FRIEND!" Aisa beamed at the sight of the earthbender Snowhorn on a risen platform.

"(If you lot are challenging Lord Fredrik, you must be real sure of yourselves! Whoop him one extra for me!)"

"I dunno what you said, but I'm assuming you're cheering!" called Mocha.

"Mocha, that cannon!" There were no more rock slabs, but Aisa spotted a Barrel Cannon sliding past. The giant squeezed in, the barrel turning on its own as they were faced to and launched at another barrel. Because Aisa's aiming was better, Mocha trusted her to take the shots. From the 2nd cannon, giant snowflakes fell in their path, so Aisa waited for them to pass before launching. From the 3rd, a Melon Bomb was sliding down, and it would explode against their barrel, having only a second to shoot to the next cannon before it did so. This last cannon was facing opposite of the stadium, so Aisa waited for it to tilt towards, and the second it was facing up a trail of green "?" rings was the best chance to fire up. This was the perfect angle to, not only land in the arena, but crash the top of the Snowmad flagpole.

"ROOOO?!" Fredrik gasped, seeing his proud flag be replaced with a golden Big Grin. "Who dares interrupt the combat?!"

Mocha helped herself up, posing with pride. "I DARE, you big oaf! I'm Mocha the Amazon!"

"An Amazon? Brooo hur hur… I was waiting for you KND brats to drop in uninvited. Then let's not waste any time." The Waldough jumped from his throne and landed in the ring.

"You're smaller than I thought you'd be." Mocha remarked. At 22 feet, she was twice Fredrik's height.

"I am the strongest of all arctic animals, Fredrik the Snowmad! In our tribe, only the strongest Kommand authority. That is why we swore loyalty to K. Rool and work to make him ever stronger! You're just a child! I'll beat you to a pulp and have you Revertified as you beg me for milk!"

"No thanks, Fluffy! Aisa, make yourself comfy. This should only take a minute." She tossed her friend into the stands amongst the other arctic animals.

"Yeah! You got this, Mocha!" Aisa cheered, fists pumping with excitement. Her friend's confidence was invigorating, Aisa eager to see her throw down. (Play "Volcano Dome" from Tropical Freeze!)

Fredrik snapped his fingers. A penguin began to strum an electric guitar, as did his band of a walrus and rabbit. The music pumped the stands with anticipation, and the brawlers with courage. Mocha tore off the sleeves of her coat, giving her sturdy arms more maneuverability. "The cold doesn't bother me at all!"

"We'll see about that!" returned Fredrik.

Boss fight: Kremling Snowmad King, LORD FREDRIK

To signal the beginning of combat, Fredrik banged his belly like a drum, his tribesmen mimicking their ruler. Mocha readied herself, shifting side-to-side as did her opponent. At last, the walrus charged, his horned helmet set to impale her legs, so Mocha bent and thrusted her hands to stop him. It might've been easy to pick him up like a large, squishy ball, but Fredrik's strength was just as she expected. She felt herself pushing back, having to root herself to the ground more firmly, but Fredrik pulled her hands to his left, using her own grip against her as Mocha fell down, allowing the walrus to stab her belly.

The king banged his belly in pride, the Snowmads roaring cheers, and Aisa crying, "BOOOOOO!" Anger fueling her, Mocha got up to throw a punch, Fredrik dodging and wrapping his arms around hers. The walrus whirled the giant in circles, but Mocha reached her other arm up to grasp and squeeze him. Fredrik's grip faltered, Mocha dropping and suddenly rolling to escape. She got up to focus once more, awaiting an attack. Since Fredrik wouldn't come, Mocha charged on her own and swung a kick. As expected, the king dodged, trying to grab her other foot, but Mocha jumped that one, her other foot returning for a midair kick to the back. Fredrik flew across the field, Aisa cheering.

The king growled and leapt 50 feet in the air, trying to smash Mocha with a Haki bottom, but even as she avoided, the shockwave knocked her over. Fredrik leapt again to squish her bulbous head, Mocha rolling aside just in time. The king charged her, so Mocha flipped up and overhead—Fredrik halted and returned, Mocha raising her foot to stamp against his helmet, but the horns penetrated the sole of her boot and pushed her backwards, Mocha falling over as Fredrik leapt and crushed her stomach. Mocha hacked spit, but seized the chance to grab Fredrik in both hands. She slammed the walrus into the ground, but couldn't lift him up again as he willed himself to be heavier.

Mocha pushed herself up and off her feet, putting all the weight and Haki to her hands, which were still pressed against Fredrik. He was slowly getting squashed, pouring even more strength to keep her uplifted. However, Mocha twisted herself, her hands twisting Fredrik's upper torso as a result, the walrus crying in pain. His grip loosened in this brief instant, to which Mocha could flip back up, lift him, and slam him into the ground. Before he could recover, she jumped and planted both feet on his belly, the force compressing his girth. "OOOOHHHH!" Aisa cheered, almost thinking his guts would shoot out. Just imagining how that would feel made her sick, yet the Shandian grinned, burning with excitement!

Fredrik puffed himself back up and blew Mocha off. The Waldough leapt away and drew his horn, blowing a giant ice-made baseball bat out like a balloon. He grabbed it in his left hand and the horn in his right as he blew five iceballs to the sky. Mocha hardened her fists, knowing what he was about to do: Fredrik hit each ball at her, so Mocha shattered them each with a punch, save for the fifth one, which she stopped with her open palms. Mocha begun to bounce it like a basketball, shifting between left hand and right, Fredrik glaring and readying his bat. Mocha ran rightward, still bouncing it along. "They say we Amazons are bad at dunking." Mocha smirked. "Well, THINK AGAIN!" She leapt and, with a proud swing of her arms, DUNKED the ball at Fredrik, the walrus reacting to hit it back up, but Mocha expected this and had pulled her feet in, kicking out just in time to send the ball back and smash his head!

Mocha's action was met with the roaring "BOOs" of the Snowmads. The force rolled Fredrik backward, but to appease his raging fans, Fredrik inhaled snow through the horn and into his body, inflating his arms to a worthy muscular size. The king raised both arms, sniffed the right armpit, then the left. "OH YEEEEEAAAAAH!" His own manly scent rejuvenated his stamina, so he charged at Mocha. The Amazon threw a Haki punch, met with Fredrik's fist, and she felt her bones vibrating from his increased strength. A flurry of punches flew from either fighter, shaking the arctic as avalanches fell from mountains. The fighters locked arms, scraping the ground in their intent to shove the other, their muscles rapidly pumping.

The red was clearly visible on Mocha's face, her stress so great that the cold was irrelevant. She saw little hope of overpowering the king, so she jumped, flipped up with hands still holding Fredrik's, and caught him between her feet. She hauled him upward, but he kept hold on her, and the two began rolling like an ovular wheel. They rolled around the field before landing on their sides, but Mocha refused to let go. Fredrik decided to suck the fat from his arms to his belly, pushing off Mocha's legs, but freeing the Amazon as well. She was up on her feet, watching as Fredrik puffed five Ice Dragons out of his horn.

He leapt onto one of their backs, surfing it across the sky. The first dragon dive-bombed at Mocha, who dodged its ice-splosion, then evaded the three dragons after. Fredrik's dragon dove from an even greater distance, but rather than avoid, Mocha got down and did a break-dance. Aisa questioned her motive at first, but realized she was building momentum in her leg. "NOW, MOCHA!!" Fredrik had a surefire victory, until Mocha's mighty boot whipped up on its next twirl and sent Fredrik to the sky like a soccerball. Alas, the dragon still exploded and froze Mocha solid.

Fredrik recovered in the air and, seeing the giant frozen, began to dive like a full-Haki cannonball, his speed increasing with his weight, and going upside-down would ensure his horned helmet would increase the pain. "MOCHA, NO!!" Aisa cried. Mocha felt her friend's fear, shaking in the ice as her strong will cracked it. Just before the walrus could shatter her, Mocha escaped, Fredrik's shockwave pushing her further away. The aftershock had taken the king, so Mocha ran and threw a kick so great that he blew through a chunk of the stands and across the valley, crashing and collapsing a tower fort. Fredrik jumped out of the wreckage and blew an Ice Road from his horn to return.

"I am the pride of this tribe! I can't be outshined by some oversized twerp! I'll show you once and for all WHO IS THE BIGGEST!" Fredrik sucked more snow through his horn, inflating his arms and legs, and molding his fat into pure, solid abs. "ARROOOOOOOO!" His chest was drums, recognized by all throughout the land as the sound of pride and power. Fredrik had grown to Mocha's size, worrying the girl as he marched forward. Determined as ever, Mocha ran around the walrus, looking for an opening, but Fredrik lunged and grabbed her arm, swinging her overhead and into the ground, and afterwards twisting her arm. Afterwards, he dealt a brutal kick to the face, destroying another chunk of the stands as she rolled across the field, her skull cracked.

Fredrik savored his victory by doing a twerk, hands crossed behind his head. A group of lady walruses came to rub against his manly legs. The sight of it disgusted Mocha; there was no pride or dignity to be found there. She couldn't allow such a muscle-freak to win, not when she had something more worthwhile to fight for. Feeling more determined to prove her strength, Mocha pushed herself up, twisting her hand back to normal and wiping the blood from her nose, her arm soaked crimson. The crimson blended with the black of her Haki as she charged at Fredrik again.

The beast snarled and readied his arms, eager to show his dominance again! It certainly seemed Mocha planned to lock with his, but suddenly, the Amazon dove her arms under his and grabbed his tusks instead. Surprised, Fredrik threw a retaliatory uppercut, Mocha's chin bending upward as she flew up, but with her grip still on the tusks, the twin teeth bent up and were yanked out of Fredrik's mouth. "ROOOOOOAAAARRR!" Blood spewed from his gums and his eyes spilled tears.

"AAAAAUUUUUHHHHH!" Aisa bellowed with sheer adrenaline—she had never known to love pure tribal combat this much, yet it set her heart on fire! Mocha flew several meters back, but was up quickly, clasping her new daggers with a smirk. A raging Fredrik stormed at Mocha, the giant dodging right, and Fredrik dodged the opposite way, suspecting an attack. Indeed, Mocha ran to stab the left tusk, imbued with her Haki, Fredrik throwing a hand up to stop the arm, but she brought the right down to stab his knee. Fredrik roared and kicked his right foot at her knee, Mocha grunting and faltering as she dropped the left tusk. However, she quickly brought up the right foot to kick the right tusk further into his left knee. Fredrik bellowed and released her arm, Mocha snatching the dropped tusk, re-hardening it, and stabbing the right knee.

Fredrik instinctively whipped his foot up at her face to kick her away, yanking the tusks out and crushing them. He blew ice from his horn to patch his wounds, steam exhaling from his puffing nostrils. The walrus blew out another dragon and mounted it, riding to the sky. He then discarded it, blowing his horn as he rotated and encased himself in a spiked ice shield. Combined with his girth, distributing his Haki all throughout his body, he was a spinning, spiked cannonball dropping at full speed.

Even if Mocha had time to dodge, she would rather accept his challenge. She squatted down and channeled every ounce of Haki to her left fist. "Haki Armor isn't as strong as it looks: it's just evenly distributing your chi. But putting all the chi into one fist makes it just as strong as entire armor. You're about to know what an Amazonian serve feels like!"

Aisa clamped hands over her mouth to contain her excitement, wondering if her friend was really going to pull this off. Once Fredrik was in range, Mocha sprung her legs up, at the same time her fist shot up: the instant it shot up was its maximum speed, and it made contact with Fredrik at the perfect time. Mocha knew it wouldn't be so easy: gravity was stronger with the walrus, for he was desperate to hit the ground, just as Mocha's fist was desperate to touch the sky. They were two opposing forces locked in midair, the spikes of Fredrik's shield puncturing her knuckles.

Yet this immense pain was only furthering Mocha's pride. To be able to endure such pain was proof that she was no longer the little girl she once was. Since her Haki wasn't enough, she channeled every spare ounce of chi into her fist as well: all of it from her aching feet and her throbbing brain, the muscles of her left arm were steaming from overheat. "I am the pride of the Big Grin Tribe… Mocha the Amazon! Above all else, we refuse to lose to smelly, ugly adults like you… That is our code of honor! Now… GEEEEEEEET SEEEEEEERRRRRRRVVVVVVEEEED!"

There was an explosion of passion and power from her fist that sent Fredrik flying like a comet. All of his momentum had been delivered back in full, the Waldough deflating to his normal, chubby size. For miles and miles, he flew across the valley, ultimately burrowing a hole within the side of a mountain. An avalanche resulted, burying the king under snow. "Ahhhh… score." Mocha's hand bled like the dickens. She had no more strength to stand and let gravity take her. (End song.)

"YEEEEEAAAAAHHH!" Aisa dashed off the stands and across the snow like an excited fan after a game. "THAT WAS THE BLOODIEST FUCKIN' BOUT I'VE EVER SEEN! YOU'RE WAY TOO AMAZING, MOCHA!"

"Hahaha… you're so kind, Aisa." Mocha blushed from the surprisingly heavy praise. "…! Behind you!"

Aisa gasped and whipped around, finding a group of kid Waldough and Tucks. Hearts were in their eyes as all were pleading, screeching or roaring for Mocha to be their girlfriend. "I see we have some admirers." Aisa smirked. "Alright then, show us you're worthy of the Mighty Mocha! Work together and carry my friend back to our ship! Me, too!"

The young animals cheered in joy, Aisa hopping onto Mocha's belly as the Snowmads gathered around and lifted her. They had little trouble carrying the victor across the ruins of the base.

…

Many bandages were needed to patch the giant up, Mocha falling to sleep in the safety and warmth of the Rocketship. "You should've seen our baby in action!" Aisa boasted to her team. "The way she ripped off his tusks, and did the basketball thing, and like, wow! We need to freakin' sign her up for combat sports!"

"This is why I'm glad to be safe and small." Aeincha sighed. "I can't imagine all the pain she must be in."

"Hey, it hurt me to watch, too." Aisa said with a more sympathetic smile. "She fought to her last ounce of strength, but because it was so cold…" her eyes turned soulless as despair filled her being, "she had to wear shoes."

"THAT'S WHY YOU'RE UPSET?!" they all screamed.

"Quit screeching and start sailing to the next target!" Aisa ordered. "We need to make all these Kommanders ready for jail, stat!"

"'ey, don't go ordering your captain!" Chimney ordered. "Regardless, aye-aye!"

In another room of the ship, Aranea Fulbright gazed out the window as the Snowman's Land was drawing away, enemy ships still pursuing out of vengeance. "Hark! Another victory secured!" cheered her cousin, Fybi. "Soon, Mobius will rejoice, eh Aranea?!"

"E-yep… that's what we're doin'."

Fybi frowned. Her cousin had been feeling glum ever since her rescue. "Aranea… I will not tell thee to be happy, but we must still treasure every victory. Once we hath done our part and allowed all on Mobius to smile, we will express to Sally the thanks she deserves."

"Oh, Sally… y-yeah." She mumbled softly, as if only just remembering the other reason she was upset.

Fybi cocked a brow at her stutter. "I shalt be above. More foes threaten these waters, yet." She flew out the window.

Left alone to her thoughts, Aranea pinched her forehead. That boy… is it true?! He was on our side all along?! But he… Does he… Was it all a…?

Under the sea near Animal Crossing

"Nee hee hee heeee! So, this is what you've been using!" Kokichi pressed his face to the window, scaring all the innocent fish. "Pirates who sail in style! And I thought our sky ships were cool!"

"You're ruining the window." Ciel stated. "Ugh, I'm starting to see why we kicked you out."

"Oh, give yourself time to warm up, My Lord." Sebastian brought Ciel some tea to relax his seasickness. "After all, I say you and Master Oma have much in common: a sense of arrogance and a desire to expose the truth by using lies."

"Sebastian, go to the Time-Out Corner."

"Wow, that's MY corner!" Kokichi beamed. "What an honor!"

"Kokichi, how do you know Adam is here again?" Weiss asked. "I hope you're not giving us a false lead, seriously."

"Hey, I'm positive he's here. Just look at my Lie-Dar." He presented a small device with a purple arrow.

"What the frick?!"

"A Lie-Dar is made to detect heavy concentrations of Lie Chi. Luckily, I remember Adam's signature from our previous encounter."

"Lie Chi?!" Carol shouted in disbelief. "This is probably one of your Bo-bobo things."

"Well, supposing you're right," replied Weiss, "it'll be a treat to have that liar dealt with. He won't hurt another soul!"

Inkopolis

The city had been completely surrounded by submarines, poisonous merfolk, and vicious fish. Amidst all the chaos, the Inklings had nearly forgotten what had gotten Callie into such trouble with the Sky Gods, that she was apparently captured by the Kremlings and promised Inkopolis to them in exchange for her own life. It seemed the Kremlings hadn't forgotten and were ready to collect what they were owed. Alas, the sea tribe were tired, merely resting on their knees with hands raised as they prayed to be spared.

"Now, this is a rather dry reception." Ineptune remarked, using a bubble floatie to carry herself through town. "No cheers, no rebellion… just complete and utter surrender. Serves us right for taking so long. Now, where is my little dear?"

"I'm over here, Lady Ineptune." With a gasp of surprise and joy, Ineptune spun: there was no one behind her, but then she remembered Inklings were tiny, so she looked down.

"Oh, my sweet Callie! I must have floated right over you!"

"I just came out of the alley."

"Still, I don't believe you've owned up your end of the deal. Didn't you say you would inspire the Inklings to follow Kroctus? They don't seem very thrilled."

"It's not that they aren't, but they were just hoping for a moment of rest. Some of us died for the sake of the Sky Gods, so they want a moment to process everything. They'll be ready to serve K. Rool when the time comes, but… can you please?"

The Inklings had no interest in serving them, not that they would say it out loud. While some of the more skeptical squids felt betrayed and were internally questioning her words, those more faithful believed this was just part of Callie's lie, and would keep silent to watch her plan. "My patience is growing thin with you, sweetheart." Ineptune stated. "Our battles will only grow worse with this war's players narrowed down, so we need more soldiers. Not to mention that Manky is incapacitated because of losing the Devil Fruit YOU asked us to receive!"

"D-Don't worry! I brought something that may be worth your while. Marie?"

Callie's cousin walked out of the alley, dragging an ink-covered dog Mobian that was delirious and handcuffed. "Is that… Chancellor Yorkshire?!" Ineptune recognized.

"She wore herself out trying to fight one of the commanders. When I saw her beaten up, I captured her while no one was looking. Everyone else was fighting, so it was easy. I mean, Marie was with me, so… it was now or never, right?"

"So, I guess we're serving the Kremlings from now on." Marie played along. "Shouldn't be so bad. But you wanted the Mobian chancellor, didn't you?"

"Well, Kroctus will be delighted to finally have her under custody. The question remains, will she submit to us willingly, or will we need the Revertifier?"

"Kommander, could we perhaps go with you to deliver her?" Callie asked. "Since Inkopolis is joining the Kremling Krew, I would like to discuss our future plans with King K. Rool."

"I'm sure Kroctus will be honored after all the work you did for us. Very well, let us board the ship posthaste. Since you've already been aboard, perhaps you can give your sister the tour, hm-hm. The rest of you, keep watch over the city until my return. Any Inkling who tries anything funny, dunk him in your piss!"

Ineptune lifted the chancellor and carried her back to the docks, Callie and Marie following calmly and patiently. Cheadle continued to "play dead" throughout the journey. If we can't make it all the way to K. Rool's fortress, we can at least take over this woman's ship and sneak in that way. For now, stay hidden, children. I can only rely on you to help me save my planet.