Cover Image: Star and Kid driving high speed down a road as Kid hits several mailboxes with a bat. Vilgax and Frieza come out of two of the houses, waving their fists angrily!
The Vilgaxian capital echoed with fear and discord. All were gathered at the palace grounds. The buildings of the high-tech city were of a pitch-black shade and dark-purple on whichever sides the moon shone on. The night sky was coated by a green aurora resembling a sea, as if the city were underwater.
The emperor marched atop the palace podium. "People of Vilgaxia! Our greatest fears have been realized. The Kids Next Door have come to invade our planets! Ever since the fall of our former allies, the Irken Empire, this lawless child organization has grown stronger over the decades, bending the governments of all galaxies to their will! And now they have come to finish what they started. They will take our children and force them to serve in their army, under the pretense that they are liberating them from the 'tyranny' of adulthood! They will punish us for once being allied with the Irkens!"
"I thought we were safe from them!" one man said. "Why are they attacking now?!"
"I heard it was because our armies attacked them first." another replied.
"Wasn't it because the KND stole cargo from us?" a woman asked.
"I vividly remember hearing the KND procure a lot of supplies for seemingly free."
"I will not let them have their way!" Vilgax declared. "It's time these children were finally taught some respect! We are on the verge of uncovering the secrets of the traitorous Galvan Clan! And with them, we will end the Kids Next Door's reign once and for all!"
"Mama, do you think Papa's okay?" a little girl asked. "I don't want the KND to get me."
"I'm sure he's fine, sweetheart. He won't let those monsters come anywhere near us!"
"Peh." A boy with a backwards cap scoffed. "My dad says the emperor's a liar."
"CAN IT!" his dad socked him in the head. "Don't go spreading lies, you little slime!"
"The emperor's gathered so many allies from other galaxies!" a man exclaimed. "Those kids'll never beat us!"
"How did he even get those 'allies'?" a goth girl asked. "Sounds like he did the same thing if you ask me…"
"I wanna see the emperor beat 'em all up!" a spike-tentacled boy exclaimed.
"If the KND take over our city, they'll make those vermin-infested trees grow all over the place!" a nobleman shouted. "We have allergies to think about, you know!"
"Until then, I urge you all to find safety and shelter." Vilgax said. "But if the KND appear at your doorstep… show them no mercy!"
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Outer space
The Cosmic Heroes were able to maneuver around the chaos between Vilgaxian and KND/allied ships. Sector JP's Skateboard Cruiser fired energy soccerballs to bounce between enemies. W's Breegull Buster fired actual asteroids that the children collected on their travels, fired by Robi and Kent's earthbending; though Kent's were heated up like meteors. MG piloted the Puffy Dragon, a dragon-shaped ship with cottony sheep fluff, provided by Charmy's magic. The mages commanded their own stations to shoot their own magic from cannons, from Veronica's Boomerang Spells to Ness and Lucas' PK Thunders.
"I know we didn't have enough time to review any field plays," Tiffi said to everyone, "but our key objective now is landing on their planets and gathering whatever information we can."
"I see a ton of them coming out of rifts!" Perry pointed. "Makes sense they'd use them as vantage points."
"We can use the rifts in our own favor, too. A lot of these alien-types might be flying in from their homelands. So, we should send the right operatives in to deal with them. The more of Vilgax's territory we secure, the better."
"Securing their territory won't mean anything if they become infected!" Samus argued. "Worst case scenario, they'll let the X spread if they get desperate."
"But that's what we have you for, isn't it?" Perry asked.
"I can't always be around to save you little snots!"
"She is right though." Tiffi reasoned. "Between Sanchez and Frieza… Vilgax has powerful allies. Any operatives who encounter these two need to run away immediately! Only the certified professionals should deal with them."
"Which includes US!" Christina declared, the Young Sunny happily blasting Vilgaxians with their cannons. "Unless you think that's waaaaaay too reckless, Laruta?"
… Their impish gymnast wasn't around to make a retort. "Uh, where's Laruta?" Isabelle wondered.
"Laruta?" Coran responded. "Why, she's here in the castle. You sent her to check on the prisoners' conditions, correct?"
"Huh?" Jason scratched his noggin. "Oi don't remember that."
"It's so nice of her to be worried about baddies' health!" Mali chirped.
"We can't start adventurin' without me whole crew! Christina, go get her!"
"Ugh, why do I have to do it?"
"And I don't think now's a good time for adventuring!" Ralph argued.
"Sanchez and Frieza aren't our only threats." Lotor mentioned. "The Galra witch, Haggar is among them. Her dark magic and trickery are not to be underestimated."
"And I'm sure by now, Raven Beak produced more Metroids." Samus glared. "The only good thing is they'll keep the X in check. Remember, they're weak to ice! Use ice if you encounter Metroids!"
"No worries over here!" Juki said confidently.
"I guess that just leaves us." Jo said. "How are we even gonna find Star in all this mess?"
"Maybe Star's trapped on Vilgax's flagship!" Kid declared. "The same place we were when he rescued us! It ALL comes back around!"
"There's no way he would be trapped there. It's the first place we would look! That ship is so easy to break into by now, we could ram a truck straight through it."
"I ain't lookin' to risk my truck like that." Carl said.
"Well, we gotta start somewhere!" Kid yelled. "Like… that rift! Nobody's coming out of that one! Now's our chance!"
"This'll be scarier than drivin' through one of them winding tunnels!" Papa G said.
With careful precision, Carl steered the truck through the rift, and a small planet splayed before them. Awestruck by its blue and yellow glows, half of the planet was completely frozen and the other half was burning. "Well… that sure is a place to start with." Flo said.
"Mamá, Papá, look!" Rosa called to her parents. "It's like your superpowers!"
"It really is, Niña!" her father, Carlos agreed, lighting a mass of Ice Chi in his hand.
"Maybe our stones came from this planet?" his wife, Ramona replied, holding fire in her hand.
"But wouldn't that mean it has two Hearts?" Kid asked. "Unless… these are two planets that smashed into each other!"
"What should we even call it?" Jo asked.
"Wait! The Planet Spirits are speaking to me." Kid twisted his fingers around his forehead. "Yes… this planet is called… McDLT!"
The heroes exchanged glances. "You sure that weren't McDonald's ghost speaking to ya?" Papa G asked.
"Well, Tuna, can you show us a safe place to land?" Rosa picked the pudgy cat up and aimed him at the icy side.
"MEOW! MEOW! MEOW!" His danger sense went off.
"Okaaaay…how 'bout here?" She aimed him at the fire side.
"MEOW! MEOW! MEOW!"
She shifted Tuna's direction between different sides of the planet, but his "MEOWS" only silenced when his face crossed the very central border. "I guess we'll have to land there." Jo figured.
"Star HAS to be there!" Kid exclaimed. "Being tortured in a prison of extreme heat and extreme cold! And we're gonna SAVE him!" (Play "Melty Monster Galaxy" from Mario!)
Stage 16: Vil Galaxy
Mission: Rescue Star!
Carl parked the truck in the safest area away from enemies he could find. Even within the Neutral Border, the heroes found the oxygen to be very lacking, so they equipped air helmets. The area near the frozen half was full of ski slopes and pine trees while the half near the flaming side packed deserts, oases, and palm trees. "LOOK OUT! Big bugs!" Rosa screamed as a swarm of BigChills came flying from the frozen side. "BIG BUGS GO SQUISH!" The Spanish child gigantified and violently CLAPPED the puny moths, afterwards disgustedly shaking them off her hands. Some of the BigChills phased through her hands like ghosts, causing them to freeze together. Her mamá shot flames to melt her hands free.
Kid, only determined to find Star, shot out an I.N.K.S.P.O.N.G.E. and used it to ski across a trail of ice, which was also along a river of lava. Kid jumped a lava gap, but as he skied toward a wider part of the trail, lava spouts sprung up, forcing him to abruptly lean right to dodge past them. He then jumped up a stairway of ice blocks before suddenly landing right atop a small hot-air balloon, his sponge sliding into the lava. Kid leaned his weight to make the balloon float over a scalding rock surface, navigating toward pockets of steam to regain altitude.
There was a two-headed beast with six red eyes on each, and snake-like necks toward his right; Kid would call it a Ssssserberus because it was a snaky Cerberus. One head spat flames, which Kid countered with the S.N.O.B.O.M.B.E.R., while the other breathed ice breath along the fire, creating more steam to keep his balloon going. "Kind of seems like your two heads have different goals." It was thanks to the frosty head that Kid was able to float to safe ground. Unfortunately, a less friendly Ssssserberus barred his path. Kid drew the E.G.G.Z.O.O.I.E. and divided egg fire between both heads. Thanks to Marty's upgrade, the roulette could now land on Light or Dark Eggs, which would respectively blind his foes or drop their attack power.
Upon beating the Ssssserberus, the dazed dinosaur collapsed backward and crushed a stone wall. This exposed a picnic party where Heatblasts were barbequing huge hunks of meat. They gawked at their crumbled wall… with Kid nervously grinning and waving apologetically. "AAAH!" The Heatblasts bombarded him with fireballs, Kid ducking behind the monster's body. "Rosa, I could use some HELP HERE!" he yelled in his walky-talky.
"I'm on it, Kid!" The giant came thundering over, slurping down a box of apple juice. "APPLE TSUNAMI!" She spewed a stream of juice from the gap in her teeth like a giant-sized hose. All the Heatblasts were dowsed, allowing Kid to easily KO them with more eggs and snowmen.
"Now we need to interrogate one of them!" Kid stomped up to a weakened Heatblast and cocked the E.G.G.Z.O.O.I.E. inches from his face. "Tell me where Star is! NOW!"
"Plah! How the heck should I know that, twerp?!"
"Where does Vilgax keep his prisoners?! You better tell me… 'cause Rosa's got a LOT more juice in her pocket!" The titan loomed above them, already filling up on another box.
"O-Okay, okay! Th-The galaxy's main prison is Incarcecon! It's a space station, b-but I don't know where it is!"
"Alright then. But you better be good from now on, or we'll be back!" Kid marched away on that note.
"This was the worst Picnic Day ever!"
"Hey, Kid! What's that pink hole thingy?" Rosa pointed at a rift a short distance away.
"A rift! Maybe… we can find Incarcecon if we keep following the rifts! They haven't failed me, yet! ONWARDS!"
"Kid, don't just rush off!" Jo called.
But rush off he did—to a region that was all about rushing! "Hey! It's the XLR8's!" Kid recognized the speedy aliens from Quintessa. The Kinecelerans seemed to panic and zip away. "What's wrong?! Too scared to fight," the crackling of lightning startled him into turning around, "…me?" A violent electrical storm was incoming at an alarming pace! "AAAAH! Star, use Shinespark and…" but he remembered. "Oh, yeah."
Fortunately, one of his fellow Cosmic Heroes came zooming from the portal. "Go Go Granny!" Carla, the truckstop's resident elderly biker!
"My, Kid, where are we? I was just racing around the meridian… and I think I just broke through the dimensional barrier! YEEHAW!"
"No time for yeehawing, Granny!" Kid hopped on the back of her motorcycle. "We gotta move!"
"Holy smokes! I miss it when it was just sandstorms!" Carla put her Speed Stone to the medal and ZOOMED across the valley! The storms had grown close enough to threaten them, having to shift position from wherever the lightning struck. They saw a band of XLR8's racing up an extremely tall ramp, with granny to match them as she rode up the ramp in seconds. They were in awe as they seemed to launch directly off a moon, one of many orbiting a gas giant!
"Whooooaaaa!" They drawled out during their entire flight to the next moon. This one was an oceanic moon—the ocean dramatically pulled away, but was coming back as a full-speed tsunami. "AAAH! We're not done, yet!" They kept racing to outrun the extreme tide, having to dodge around giant mollusk-like creatures. These Molluscarx exposed electrifying pearls as they opened their shells, spitting them at wild angles as Carla was quick to jump over them. They zoomed up another ramp and off the moon. "Kid, I'm startin' to think my stone mighta come from this planet!"
"Yeah, you might be right! Hey, it looks like it's spring time on that moon!" They landed on a peaceful moon with a beautiful flower meadow. "Now we can take it easy…AAAAH! THE WEEDS ARE OVERGROWING!" An ocean of thick weeds were rapidly developing behind them. Her motorcycle doomed to be tangled up in them, Carla kept racing. "How do they live on this planet?!" Carla crossed vast trenches by riding up long, snaking vines that would suddenly grow over them. Carla had to think fast to jump different vines, and when she made it back on land, she dodged around giant beehives that would rapidly develop.
Another great ramp was coming into view, but Carla also noticed a rift to their right. "I'll get you on outta here, Kid! I'll see what else I can find here!" She grabbed Kid and THREW him into the rift! (Cue "E.M.M.I. Zone" theme.)
"AAAAHH!" He splattered against a stone wall and reformed himself. He was in the familiar purplish dimension of the Netherverse. "…Oh, no…" He already knew what nightmare would be awaiting here. He kept the C.L.O.U.D.B.L.U.F.F. handy and progressed slowly. He couldn't be more thankful to Star for leaving him the weapons. Unlike before, this area was exposed to the open purple sky, with an array of floating islands and connected paths to fill Kid's view. The young hero traveled up a narrow slope, listening fearfully for the E.M.M.I.'s beeping.
"Bebebooboop, bebebebebebeboop." Right on cue just as he reached the top of the slope. Overlooking a trail of round holes, the E.M.M.I. climbed out of one; he quickly used the C.L.O.U.D.B.L.U.F.F. for cover. This E.M.M.I. was black. Kid could only dread what power it would have. For now, the droid merely scanned the fog up and down before crawling a short distance to the left. Kid aimed his I.N.K.S.P.O.N.G.E. at an angle that would slide it between several holes before eventually falling into one; the distance was great enough to lure the E.M.M.I. farther away. Kid stayed against the left wall, hoping to keep as far from its sound range as possible.
Kid had to walk around a hole beside the wall—his heart nearly stopped when the E.M.M.I. crawled out of that hole. Kid puffed the C.L.O.U.D.B.L.U.F.F., but the droid was merely going to poke through the fog, so the hero broke into a sprint. The E.M.M.I. went into alert, and yet it didn't chase him. But as Kid heard a loud, earthquaking whirring sound behind him, a black hole opened! Kid flattened his gooey body against the ground, but the powerful suction was ripping him off. Just when the vortex faded, Kid peeled off and flew halfway toward the E.M.M.I.. As he scrambled to get up, the droid grabbed his right arm. Kid didn't think his kick would be strong enough to make it malfunction, so he rushed to grab his H.O.M.E.R. in the left hand. "BEDEBEEP." With a skip of his heart, Kid fired the ball, its force strong enough to make the E.M.M.I. glitch.
Kid sprinted across the trail of holes, but when the droid recovered, he puffed the C.L.O.U.D.B.L.U.F.F.. It seemed to lose track of him, so it crawled into a hole. Kid walked as fast as he could before it would catch up and reached a rugged wall. It wasn't very tall, but as he climbed up, small pieces of it dropped down, their sound alerting the E.M.M.I.. Kid climbed faster and reached the top before the droid could catch up, wasting no time in dashing through the exit rift!
"Whoa!" Kid landed in a pitch-black cave, feeling completely blinded. "'Guess it's a good thing I brought Grandpa's old lantern." He pulled out a lantern box and shone it forward. The cave was fairly wide open with a few high ledges.
"Echo echo…echo-echo-echo…" The air began to vibrate from intense soundwaves. Kid could vaguely make out kid-sized aliens on the ledges; they looked like white stuffed toys with headphones. Their repetitive echo generated sonar waves, both meant to disorient Kid as well as to see around the dark cave as they jumped to attack him. Luckily, Kid's own headphones gave him some protection from their noise. He bounced H.O.M.E.R.s around the Echoes, but they had little effect against them. But when Kid bounced around and shocked them with his P.O.G.O.S.H.O.C.K., they didn't take too kindly to the electricity. He used the Z.A.P.B.L.E.R. to KO some of the ones on the higher ledges.
Kid found a natural stairway of platforms leading up onto a ledge. The young hero was unsure where to go from there, until he just barely noticed a narrow tunnel in the wall. He squeezed through with his gooiness and came out atop another ledge, where another Echo ambushed him. It split into duplicates, but Kid quickly overwhelmed them with shock bubbles, followed by the P.O.G.O.S.H.O.C.K.. Kid followed a wider tunnel, seeing a blue glow emanating from a pit. To his surprise, a blue substance coated the bottom of the pit. "Isn't that… the radioactive stuff from Zebes? Phazon? What's that doing here?"
Kid carefully jumped platforms over the pit and entered a long, wide chamber where a rift shone at the top of a sequence of ledges. "Um…" The only issue Kid had was that every ledge was completely covered in Echo-Echoes. …And they didn't look happy to see him.
"An intruder is here (intruder is here (intruder is here…!))" the aliens echoed one after another.
"Protect the Incarcecon passage (protect the Incarcecon (the Incarcecon passage (passage!)))"
"Ah, there's where all them echoes were coming from." Kid shone his lantern toward a right ledge; his grandpa had come in from a passage! The Echoes looked to him startled. "Oh! Howdy, Kid!"
"Papa G! How'd you get here?!"
"I fell inta one of them space holes. Thank goodness I found ya-" One of the Echoes jumped to snap his neck. The elder poofed into smoke.
"Hey, that ain't a nice way to greet someone." Kid looked to a left ledge and saw Papa again. "Ya know, they say that what you do to others, you get back tenfold." The war veteran split into an army of clones. They jumped to the different platforms as they all erupted into clouds of dust.
As Kid tried to process the sight, he was startled when his real grandpa placed a hand on his shoulder. "Some grandpas might take their kids on a country road trip… but I bet ya not many get to fight aliens together."
"Heheh, not in the KND, at least. I think those Echo-Echoes were saying 'Incarcecon.' Maybe that rift up there leads to it! I bet Star's in there!"
"Then we're gonna need some stairs!" Papa G made a whistle. "Papa Clones! Initiate Stair Formation Gamma!" One of the clones on each ledge leaned over the side to become bouncy, board-like platforms. Kid smiled and bounced up the papas; they sang, "Yodelly-yo-do-dey!" with each bounce. The real grandpa would follow Kid up thereafter.
Castle of Lions
"Grrrr!" Ginyu tried his darndest to hack into the slumber capsules where his cohorts were trapped. "Bah! Guldo was always the tech wizard here, not me! Ugh, if I just had a stronger body, I could—GAH!"
A certain yellow rodent tackled the impish villain. Had a feeling you'd come down here! Give back my body!
"You again!" Ginyu struggled to tug Laruta off, her teeth dug into his ear. "Why don't you find yourself a carrot farm and get lost!" Ginyu yanked her off and threw her into the wall. He tried to shoot a Gas Bomb at the rabbit, but could only shoot a gas cloud with the unfocused chi. Laruta withstood the scent of her own poisonbending and pounced her body in the hair. "Get off me! I don't even like this hair, but you're RUINING it!"
Then give it back! Laruta reached down and tugged open Ginyu's mouth, hanging her face in front of it. Do I spit inside my mouth or something?! How do I shoot that beam thingy?!
"GROSS! RABBIT SPIT!"
"Laruta, are you down here?" Christina marched in. "Quit wastin' time, Jason says we gotta…? PLAH HAH HAH! Are you gettin' your butt kicked by that rabbit?!"
"GYAH!" Ginyu headbutted the rodent into the wall. "Chrissie! Great timing!" He ran up to her. "I need to tell you somethin'!"
"Huh? What?"
"Open your mouth! There's something in your teeth!"
"Uh…" Growing ever more confused, Christina held her mouth open.
"CHANGE, NOW!"
Christina was blinded by the beam that erupted from Laruta's maw. "Augh…the heck was…?" As she recovered her senses, her voice sounded annoying and nerdy. "What's over my… eyes?" She pulled off a pair of square glasses, and suddenly, everything was blurry. Her vision cleared up when she put them back on. "What?!" She looked down at her gray-clothed frame. "What gives?! I'm puny! And I'm gassy! I can't breathe through my nose! And… what's this taste in my mouth?!"
"Ginyinyinyin…"
"Uhhhh…" Christina looked down at a familiar pair of sandaled feet. Her gaze craned up at her own, sneering, imposing body. "OOOOOOOG!" Taking the brunt of her own foot against her stomach, Christina went flying like a kickball.
"Now THIS IS more like it!" Ginyu mustered strength into his fist and SMASHED through the capsule containing Jeice.
Incarcecon (Play "Vs. Space Pirates" from Metroid Prime 2!)
The rift landed Kid and Papa George atop the roof of a small patrol ship, the two equipping their space helmets as they floated in the lack of gravity. "That must be it!" Kid exclaimed. The ships were lined up before a very thin station, in which the back end of it jutted out into long spikes, as if making a sun shape. "We gotta get over there… but I don't know how to space-swim!"
"Then we've gotta tether our way across!" George formed a string of clones to latch onto the bottom of another ship. The top George pulled and shifted his weight to make the clones swing, Kid hanging onto the bottom one as they swung toward the next ship. Bioids flew out on jetpacks to shoot them. Kid dazed them with the H.O.M.E.R. before rapid-firing them with the E.G.G.Z.O.O.I.E.. The George clones tethered the next ship and flung them toward the one beyond it, repeating the effort until they could land inside the station's hangar.
"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!" A swarm of Klaxian guards charged out and unloaded laser rifles.
"Now, these fellers look familiar." George said as some of his clones shielded him from their lasers, while Kid splattered them in the I.N.K.S.P.O.N.G.E.'s paint. More of the crustacean aliens dropped in from ceiling hatches; while Kid sent a S.C.H.O.O.L. of piranhas to snack on them, the blobby hero gooed into an air vent to get to the other side of a barriered door. A Wildmutt ambushed him, but the I.N.K.S.P.O.N.G.E. was effective in blotting the canine's sensory gills. The beast went crazy and banged itself against the wall, but Kid hastened its defeat with the S.N.O.B.O.M.B.E.R..
Kid shot a switch to disable the barrier, allowing his grandpa to get through. They rushed down a corridor as it turned right; a more heavily armored Klaxian unleashed a volley of blue lasers from a minigun. Kid and George ducked for cover around the corner. "Grandpa, that stuff is Phazon! I saw it in that cave earlier, they musta made weapons out of it!"
"Well, how do we get past it?"
"Hopefully, with something stronger!" Kid drew the K.A.M.E.H.A.M.E.R.. He held the trigger down until the energy finished accumulating, afterwards jumping out to unleash the powerful beam. The Klaxian clicked a different setting to absorb the energy; he was shaking as he struggled to maintain himself. Kid smirked and shot a volley of E.G.G.Z.O.O.I.E. eggs directly into his face. The dizzy Klaxian shot his weapon into the floor, the shockwave KOing him.
The passage beyond the guard would immediately turn left—four security turrets, mounted on different heights of the high wall, locked on and fired at them. Kid and George ducked behind two blockade pillars. "I have this sniper bow thing." Kid pulled out the N.A.V.S.C.O.P.E.. "But it's kinda hard to use with my glasses."
"Just hand it to me, champ. I used a few scopes back in the day." Kid passed the weapon to his grandpa. George carefully peeped out around his pillar and sniped the first turret. The second noticed him, but he hid before it could land a shot. After a moment, George peeked back out and shot the turret. He then moved over to Kid's side and repeated the process with the two on the left wall. Once the turrets were safely disposed of, they proceeded to what seemed to be a central gathering room of the prison.
"Whoa!" There were tons of KO'ed Klaxians, Wildmutts, and Echo-Echoes strewn about the floor. "Was there… a riot or something?"
"So! It was YOU two!" shouted as voice that sounded like a classic cartoon announcer. A small saucer descended from a higher floor, piloted by a more familiar Klaxian. "As if defying the will of the great emperor wasn't bad enough! You had to go and give all my men a thrashing!"
"Chuck!" Kid glared.
"Now, hold on, we only just got here." George said. "And we only gave the guys back there a thrashing."
"Then it is time I returned the favor! For my men and for ALL of Vilgaxia! 'Oh, Chuck, you're more than just an honorable soldier. You're a true hero to the empire!' 'No, Lord Vilgax, far from it. I just care too much about my people!' 'That's what a true hero is, Chuck. And that is why… should the worst happen to me… I would like you to…' 'No…No, Vilgax, don't say it… You want ME to be'—OW!" Kid shot him with a Homing Ball.
"I'm gettin' tired of you!" Kid shouted. "I'm only here to save Star! So, just stay outta my way!"
"How DARE you trample on my dreams! I'll annihilate you with this Phazon Flyer the emperor has so kindly constructed for me!"
Sub-boss: What the Chuck
Several turrets extracted around the side of Chuck's saucer, raining Phazon lasers around the room. Kid dodged them as well as he could and used more H.O.M.E.R. balls to break each of Chuck's guns. Once all were broken, the angry lobster activated a tractor beam beneath his saucer and swept over Kid. He was nearly slurped into a Phazon field, before George's clone jumped to push him out, getting evaporated in his place. Chuck decided to target the grandpa's real body, but as George ran from him, he spawned a line of clones to be sucked into the saucer. There were so many clones that the tractor became overloaded, causing the device to burst.
Chuck reeled from the blast as his saucer hit the floor. Chuck switched on a Phazon ring around the border of his saucer, having the craft slide and ricochet around the room like a hockey puck. Kid shot the S.N.O.B.O.M.B.E.R. to freeze the sliding saucer in place, afterwards using the S.M.R.I.N.G. to smash Chuck into his craft. Chuck pulled himself out and opened compartments in his craft, sending out tops with beeping antennas. If beeping antennas were any indication to Kid, they were explosives! The young hero just had to turn them against him: the S.P.I.T.R.A.P. linked Chuck with all those top bombs, exploding them against his saucer. "No! NOOOOOOO!"
The Phazon Flyer combusted, blasting the legless Klaxian into the wall. He landed with an unglorified plop. "Not… possible! That Chozo said… it was top of the line! Oh?!" Looking up, Chuck flinched, finding Kid's K.A.M.E.H.A.M.E.R. trained on him.
"Where's Star?"
"Hah! I will NEVER tell!"
"You better…" Kid held the trigger. "Kaaaaa…meeee…" The energy was building tremendously in the dragon's mouth. "…haaaaa…meeeee…" Chuck began to sweat. The glare in Kid's eyes told him he wasn't joking around. Kid had enough of Chuck bothering them, so he was about to end it. "HAAAAA-"
"OKAY, OKAY, he's just at the end of that hallway!"
Kid threw his aim skyward and burned the ceiling with the weapon's laser. "You better not be lying." Kid marched that direction with conviction.
George approached Chuck with a consoling smile. "Don't worry. I don't think he really meant it."
"What?! Who was worried?! I sure wasn't! In fact, HE should be afraid! Challenging the great empire over some has-been of a leader! How pathetic!"
"What Kid feels for Star is what you feel for Vilgax. Holding loyalty to your team and your leadership even if they seem to be on the losing side… can ya really say you're any different?"
"I'll say I can! The difference is Emperor Vilgax is on the verge of victory!"
"The tide of war can always change." (End song.)
Kid trampled over a slew of already-KO'ed aliens and reached a barrier cell, blocked by a computer terminal. Luckily, he had Ed's Tomato handy. He placed it on the computer and watched Ed jump and web her way through a 2D stealth level. She had to use blockades to hide from searchlights or swing around and between some fully rotating searchlights. It took a few attempts for her to succeed, but the barrier opened.
"STAR!" His friend was on the floor, arms and legs bounce in huge spherical cuffs that stretched him in an "X" shape.
"Kid?!" Star started awake. Both boys were awash in delight; Kid immediately jumped on Star for a ground-hug!
"I wasn't even sure you were alive! I-I thought…"
"I'm just fine, Kid. I'm more worried about Mom right now. She was captured, too… and Frieza nearly…"
"Well, let's get you out! I bet I can blow these up with the-"
"Uh, that… won't be necessary." Star slipped his limbs right out of the cuffs.
"Huh? You mean you weren't even trapped?"
"It's 'cause… someone already tried to save me."
Star hit the floor in a disoriented manner after the crystal-armed soldier severed his binds. "Uh…what's going on here?"
"I'll explain in due time. For now, we must go quickly."
"And where're we going?"
"The Kids Next Door have begun invading. Vilgax will no doubt take measures to secure you. I'm going to bring you to your friends."
"Hmm…if you don't mind, I think I'll stay here for a bit." Star lied down to fix himself back in the cuffs.
"What?!"
"I'm sure my operatives are already working out a plan to rescue me. They deserve the glory more. If you're gonna pull the whole 'I was a good guy all along' act, you should've done it a lot sooner."
"I was waiting for the appropriate ti-"
"Yeah yeah yeah. Just give my kids, like, an hour or so and you'll see them before you know it. Could be Kid, could be Tiffi, or Sector V… I'd feel safer going with them than some random stranger."
"Sigh…I hoped you would be a lot less stubborn."
"Well, go knock out the prison guards if you wanna feel special."
"Wait, you mean that… crystal guy from Dinosaur Planet?"
"Is it a good time now?"
Kid spun with a gasp, finding the dark-armored soldier in question. "HE'S BACK!" Kid cocked the K.A.M.E.H.A.M.E.R..
"Calm down!" The alien raised his arms peaceably. "I'm sorry for attacking you on Sauria. I simply didn't wish Vilgax to destroy you." He put his hands to his helmet and removed it. He was thick-necked with cyan diamond-like skin, slanted green eyes, and a protrusion sticking from the back of his head. "My name is Tetrax Shard. I'm an undercover agent in the Vilgaxian Resistance."
"Whoa… he's a Diamondhead!" Kid gawked.
"Petrosapien."
"We're sticking with Diamondhead." Star smirked.
"Um, anyway… your mother isn't in this facility. And it seems no other potential KND prisoners are either. Most likely to avoid risking a unified breakout. I don't know where they are, but our top priority is stopping Vilgax from completing the Omnitrix. I know someone who may be able to help."
"Well, lead the way, I guess."
"KID!" George rushed up the corridor. "Star, thank goodness! And, er, hello to you, stranger… We got a problem! Vilgax is here!"
"HUH?!"
The boys raced back to the gathering room. A swarm of George clones were struggling to restrain the hulking Vilgax, but he swat them off with ease. "TETRAX!" the emperor snarled. "So, you're behind this! I knew there was something off about you."
"Sorry you had to find out this way. But ask yourself, how many of your 'drafted' soldiers aren't conspiring against you right now? Did you think we'd sit idly by as you took the Hearts of our Worlds hostage?"
"YOUR world will be the first to answer for this treachery! I only came here to rip out whatever fragment of spacebending Star had left, but now I see this prison is infested with vermin. ACTIVATE SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE V-G-O-A-T!"
"Self-destruct sequence initiated. T-Minus 180 seconds until detonation. It was a pleasure serving you, Emperor."
"Mwahaha!" Chuck laughed, crawling to Vilgax's leg. "There's no escape for you now! Let this be a lesson to ALL who betray the emp-"
Vilgax kicked Chuck into the wall with furious intensity. "I don't have time for the ramblings of useless soldiers! Perish with the rest of these vermin!"
"B-b-but… My Lord-"
"And don't talk to me with that WRETCHED voice modifier!" Vilgax shot a laser to destroy the device around Chuck's neck, the force knocking him out in turn. With that, Vilgax used the power of his Nether Stone to teleport.
"Hurry!" Kid ushered. "We gotta get back to that rift!"
He, Star, and Tetrax rushed out to the hangar exit, but all the ships were destroyed. "They're gone!" The ships they had used to cross to the prison from the rift were absent. "Can we space-swim there in time?!"
"Wait!" Star pointed right. "There's a Grav-Path along the side! And I see another rift on that spike!" It was on the tip of one of the sun-like spikes near the engine. "We better book it!"
"Wait for me!" George caught up, a pair of clones carrying Chuck by the arms.
"Papa G! Why're you carrying him?!" Kid exclaimed.
"I know we've had our misgivings with Chuck, but… I kinda admired his passion. And that's why I don't think he deserves to go out like this."
"Fair enough, now let's go!" Star channeled his gravitybending as they all raced along the side of the prison, having to navigate a sort of maze of the exterior's complex design. The timer was just scratching 30 seconds by the time they made it to the spike, in which Star had to compress their group into a Space Ball to roll up and get inside.
They flew out amongst a dark-purple valley of jagged rocks, a red gas giant looming on the horizon. They cleared away from the rift as a tremendous geyser of fire erupted from the fraction of the explosion that managed to get through. "Ho boy! THAT was a close one!" Star gasped.
"I can't believe Vilgax threw away his entire prison just to kill us." Kid said.
"He's got a million of them." Tetrax clarified. "And I'm sure your mother is in one. Before we go, however… there is something I must warn you about."
"Yeah?" Star replied.
"While Vilgax is cruel and tyrannical to the worlds he conquers… the same cannot be said of his own. Vilgax loves his fellow Chimeras… and they love him in turn."
"He's a Chimera?" Kid cocked a brow.
"Well, yes. His species' full name is Chimera Sui Generi."
"Euh. No wonder we just call them Vilgaxians, that's way too hard to remember."
"Is it? Ahem, the point being is that his people see him as a true leader." Tetrax raised his wrist device, projecting holographic images. One was of Vilgax holding a pair of Chimera infants; one of a teenage Vilgax rescuing people from a burning building; one of Vilgax hosting a holiday celebration. "Even in his juvenile years, his devotion to his people was astounding."
"So, what? We gotta go soft on the guy just because he held a few babies?"
"No. I'm saying that defeating Vilgax may not bring an end to the war. The Chimeras may seek retaliation. In the past few decades, Vilgaxia was forced to pay millions in reparations for their services to the evil Irken Empire. Because of that, they bear a hatred for the people of Galaxia… and Vilgax used that hatred to feed his war efforts."
"It can't be helped." Star stated. "Vilgax needs to be destroyed. Otherwise, the Hearts will never be safe. The Chimeras can hate us all they want, but Vilgax and his minions can't be forgiven."
"I'm glad we have an understanding. Now then… we have to get to the Xenon Comet. That's where my acquaintance is… and also where the Galvan relic may be. It's only a matter of time before Vilgax learns of it, too."
"Partners, I'm afraid I'll have to sit down for a bit." George said, sitting beside Chuck on a flat rock. "Makin' all those clones took a lot out of me."
"We seem to be on Monarch Moon." Tetrax said. "The Churl here can look after you. Just be careful."
"We can rest, too, if you want, Kid." Star said.
"You kidding? I got way more energy to spare!"
"Heh heh! So do I!"
Chimeran Hammer
"Alright, Morty, I've got a pretty good idea where the Galvan relic is." Rick said as they headed to their car. "And since Voltron is here, I got a plan for them, too."
"You're gonna infect them with X and make them give us their relic?" Morty asked.
"What?! No, Morty, I'm gonna send Gotron after them! Giant amalgamized robot battle, don't you have any sense of cinema, Morty?!" Rick opened the cockpit. "And I'm still pissed at those operatives for ripping off his brand!"
"Hey, knock before opening someone's car!" Roger popped up from inside.
"GYAH!" Rick jumped back with a start. "Dialga's diamond nuts, Q, what're you doing in there?!"
"Well, the hotel has a drainage problem, so someone's car had to take the fall, right? By the way, I brought you a little somethin'." Roger showed him the Altean crown.
"It… What is this?"
"Something those Voltron kids were trying to hide from the empire. Figured it was important."
"Then… this has to be the relic!" Rick took the crown with a beaming, drooling expression. "Heh, shit, Q, you actually did something useful."
"I want it back after you're done. Already showed it off on Twitch and now 15 rich guys wanna buy it for their poodles."
"This moves the schedule along a bit! Get your seatbelt on, Morty, it's time to pay the Shrimpkins a little visit!"
Vilgaxia Outskirts
Through Haggar's magic combined with both Galra and Vilgaxian technology, numerous soldiers were transformed into gigantic Robeasts. Lance battled the insectoid Blue Fiend. Hunk wrestled with the hulking, spike-kneed, and nipple-cannoned Dieklops. Allura clashed with the Loathsome Lion, adorned in red and purple armor with a flowing lavender mane. Keith engaged the Trunktank in a long-ranged battle of cannons. Pidge dodged the spiked ball-and-chain of the Poison Bugblade, attempting to bind the one-eyed insect in the Green Lion's vines.
Frieza and Haggar monitored the battle from a safe distance. "I suppose they are somewhat impressive." Frieza praised modestly. "Perhaps with a bit more tuning, they'll be fit to serve the empire."
"More fit than you, perhaps…" Haggar said.
Frieza sneered at the witch. "Oooooo, I can't stand her!" Berryblue fumed. "Frieza, just annihilate that witch!"
"Let her serve her worth first, Berry. …?"
A call was coming in. Frieza answered it… and one of the last people he expected to appear on his monitor was Christina Uno. "Lord Frieza!"
"Who is that?!" Berryblue exclaimed.
"One of those KND brats?"
"No, no, no! It is I! Captain GINYU!" He made his signature pose.
"Ginyu?! I see… You've hijacked the KND, have you?"
"Better than that! I've rescued all your soldiers from the Voltron Castle! We're tearing the place up as we speak!"
"These monsters are completely surrounding the capital!" Allura said. "Call in the coalition, we need more backup!"
"P-Princess!" Coran called. "W-We have a bit of a situation!"
"Coran, what's wrong?"
"The prisoners have all escaped! They're—YIPE!" Coran dodged lasers fired by Jeice.
"From now on, this is GINYU CASTLE! It will become the flagship of the Frieza Force!"
"Shouldn't we name it Frieza Castle?"
"We'll hold a military meeting about that!"
"Debezizizizi! What a nice surprise!" Frieza laughed. "This castle will suit me perfectly! And it's not even my birthday."
"I am not worthy, My Lord…well, maybe a little bit. Ginyinyin!"
"Hold your position, Ginyu. I'll make sure Voltron doesn't get in the way of this!" The overlord launched from his ship and flew toward the Lions.