We got new characters from both One Piece and the SpongeBob episode "Karate Island"! A certain frog girl will also be debuting.
Sector L enjoyed a relaxing bath aboard the Snapper Head before heading to bed. The morning sun could barely meet them through the sea depths, but when sun rays begun poking from the surface, the four knew it was time to awaken.
"Jinbe, my good man, I never knew you lived in such luxury!" Their newest passenger, Dr. Zoidberg was crawling and tasting the floor. "An actual floor! Oh, the benefits of knighthood."
"Where did you say you lived again?" Mack asked.
"Well, I was living in an old hermit shell down there in the valley… but it got burned down."
"Uh…how? By the lava?"
"I forgot to put out my cigar."
"Uh…how???"
"Ahem," Erin wanted to get her mind off that conundrum, "so, you're from the Japanese ocean, huh? That explains why you dress like that."
"Hai. I took Japanese as a second language while English was my third. Our main language is Mermish, by the way."
"I'm part-Japanese, too!" Nora chirped. "But I spend more time with English speakers, so I feel like I've lost track of the language. Hehe!"
"Will we find another one of these Talismans?" Erin asked.
"Ideally, yes. In fact, it should be within our prized Fishman Karate Dojo. Did you know in the past two decades, they've been welcoming students from outside Oceana to the dojo? It was all thanks to a certain squirrel…"
"You don't say." Mack cocked a brow.
"Bet ya the dojo's full of tough fighters." Erin said. "I wonder if they're tougher than Nora? Hehe."
"Yeah, if you trained in that place, you might be unstoppable." Mack smirked at the notion. "In fact, how strong is Jinbe, even?" He took out his Scouter and studied him. "7,500?!"
"WOW!" Nora gaped. "Is that strong?"
"Kind of! You're just about hitting 3,000 yourself, Nora. And Erin, you're-"
"Don't say it, I don't wanna know." Erin said embarrassedly. "But man, if you're that tough, I feel like you don't need us to beat the pirates."
"I can only do so much as one man. The pirates are strong, too, superficially or not. Besides, the KND's duty is to one day surpass us, correct? This experience will see that you do."
"And Zoidberg will be with you!" The Crabman lifted Erin and Mack in his arms, hugging. "Our bond is unbreakable!"
"Please break it, you smell worse than the poisonbenders." Mack cringed.
"Hmhmhmhm!" Nora and Madeleine shared a giggle.
The Coral Reefs resembled a mountain range and the coral-made buildings possessed the designs of Feudal Japanese palaces. The largest one overlooked town from the highest peak. After passing the Bubble Dome, the team traversed a flight of stairs leading to the first layer of the reefs. "This place is so high up, I can't believe it doesn't reach the surface." Nora said.
"That's why I wanted to approach it from the ground level!" Jinbe chortled. "Looks a lot more impressive from down here. Plus, whenever new students are brought to the dojo, it's tradition that they make their way up first from down here. Not that you intend to train there, but even so."
"We sure won't be missing leg day, will we, guys?" Nora perkily jogged backwards up the stairs.
"For an undersea adventure, we've been doing a lot more walking than swimming." Mack remarked.
A pair of Fishmen appeared at the top, facing down the stairs. They were wearing robes and had thin white mustaches. "Hey, Nora!" Erin yelled. "Watch out, there's guys behind-"
"WATCH OUT, NORA!" Seeing the Fishmen about to attack, Jinbe thrusted his fists with intense speed, shooting water balls that blitzed past Nora and punched the Fishmen. The girl spun around in shock. The Fishmen got up and whirled their hands, forming steam. Nora swung a kick at one, but he grabbed her leg, searing it. She could still use her hand to Water Fist him, while the right Fishman maneuvered his hands to block Erin's Bubble Beam. Nora was still able to slip behind and kick him down the mountain. "Those were Chinese Fighting Fishmen! They practice a variant of Fire Kung-Fu called Steam Fist. Gentle, but painful. They're our rivals, but they were still a peaceable bunch. I fear the pirates are involved…"
"Well, if the students here are anything like you, we should have some extra help, right?" Mack inquired.
"Maybe. Let's get a handle on the situation first." (Play "Karate Downtown Combat" from SpongeBob: Cosmic Shake!)
Stage 2: Coral Reefs
Mission: Get to the Fishman Karate Dojo!
The first village road was littered with starfish lying flat. Some were normal, but others were Starfishmen called Shuris! They would lunge at the kids like shurikens when close, but Erin already had them prepared with Foam Shields. When the Shuris got stuck, Nora and Mack were free to grab and bash them senseless with their bending. Of course, once they were privy to the starfishes' tricks, Mack simply rolled Shock Bowls to zap them out of hiding. The road ended at a tall building with three floors, and as soon as they went in, anchovy Fishmen popped out of floor holes. "Uh-oh! Better beat them before Zoidberg comes through!" Mack said. The anchovies chirped "Mimimimimimi," and though it seemed easy to thwack the thin fish into submission, they would use Substitution Jutsu to swap places with seaweed. Afterwards, they would lunge from the side to stick the ops with their pointed tips, but only then could they grab and slam the fish down.
The following two floors of the building were filled with water, starting from the entrance on this floor, and seemed self-contained as it didn't spill out. "Well, here's your swimming, Mack." Nora said as they entered the water wall. They swam to the second floor and had to navigate a sort of maze with spinning blade pillars. Mack saw a yellow jellyfish and used his Water Net to catch it. They found the route to the third floor, which was filled with large seaweed. They were evil eyes and tried to "slice" the kids, but Nora's bending easily sliced the Komboo themselves.
They could restore their breath upon exiting the Water Zone. On the road past it, a young girl seemed to be fighting two Fighting Fishmen with froglike leaps and downward kicks. In fact, her green flippers were fin-like and her cheeks were puffed. "AAAH!" One Fishman managed to grab her by the ankles, heating them with Steam Fist. "Owowowow! Let me go! That hurts!"
"Yeah, you jerks!" Nora dealt a Water Kick to the Fishman's head, freeing the girl. Smiling at the help, she leapt from the other one's Steam Fist and spat a forceful gush of saliva, blotting his face. Erin added some bubbles to his condition while Mack finished him with Shock Bowl.
"Ha ha!" The frog girl landed with a lively bounce. She had dark-green hair in a ponytail and double-hooped knot, a vanilla karate robe with a dark-green sash, and wide green eyes on her freckled face. "We sure showed them, huh?"
"Hehe, yep!" Erin grinned. "Are these guys working for the Fishman Pirates?"
"All I know is they showed up last evening. They're capturing all the members of the Karate Dojo! I'm kick they're butts and save my classmates!" She swung kicks in the air for emphasis. "Say, who are you, anyway? Are you students of the dojo, too?"
"No, we're KND ops. I'm Erin, this is Nora, Mack, and Madeleine."
"My name's Lulu! I'm from Superbia! I wanna be a KND op, too!" She did multiple flips.
"Superbia? The superhero planet?" Mack asked. "How'd you get enrolled in this dojo?"
"'Cause my mom spent time here and thought it'd be a great place to train. She also wanted me to meet somebody, but I'm not sure who. So," she bounced on all fours, "since you're operatives, let's beat up these bad guys together!"
"Sounds fine by me. Although…" Erin faced up a tall ledge. "I think we'll need to find another way up."
"No we won't! I'll get us up!" Lulu stuck out and wrapped her froggy tongue around Erin.
"HUH?! WHOOOAA!" Erin was dumbstruck as Lulu leapt the great height, taking her with!
"Wow!" Nora beamed as Lulu tongued the rest of them up. "So, you're an actual frog girl?"
"Uh-huh!" She raised a leg and flexed her webbed toes. "The dojo gave me these webbed socks to help me use my skills outside! I practice Froggy Style karate!"
"Hehe, that sounds cooler than bubblebending." Erin grinned.
"Bubblebending? I never seen that."
"Oh, Erin's the best at it!" Nora cheered. "She can make bubbly fists, shields, surfboards, and even blow up baddies with Bath Bombs!"
"That sounds super cool! …Hey, that kinda gives me an idea."
"Idea?"
"Heh, follow me! Or, better yet, hold on." Lulu saw Flying Fishmen hovering high above, training bazookas that shot Torpedo Teds. Lulu wrapped Erin and muffled, "Wath THITH!" She leapt above the first Ted, flipped, and stamped it with a homing kick! She bounced off to kick the next and repeated before kicking the Flying Fish, then did the same on her way to the second fish. Lulu could then land on a high ledge and press a switch, making trampoline platforms for the others. They would join up going into a garden of sea sponges. "Bubbles work great with sponges, don't they? Maybe you can use these sponges for something."
"Did you know sea sponges can actually cause bad skin irritation?" Mack asked.
"WHAT?! But I heard they get cut and made into real sponges!"
"Yes, after they shave off the dangerous exteriors. I see where you're going with this, but we'll need some careful hands to get the job done."
"Friends! There you are!" Zoidberg climbed out of some bushes, covered in black urchins. "These little creatures seem to like me! I've never been more popular!"
"WAH!" Lulu screamed. "You disturbed the sea urchin nest! They're coming!"
"Vhat?!" A horde of large, angry urchins came waddling up the path.
"Zoidberg, we'll hold them back!" Mack declared. "I want you to cut the harmful skins off these sponges, but leave the squishy insides intact!"
"I've never played this game before! What fun!" Zoidberg began to carefully cut the skins while the benders held the urchins back. The sponges were reduced to smooth, soft, bath-safe forms.
"Nice! Now, let's get to work!" Mack cut the sponges off, sewed them together, and hollowed out the bottoms to make oversized gloves. "Erin, try these on."
Her hands fit well inside the gloves, smiling from the soft feel. Mack had also cut holes in the knuckles to fit the Sabaody Soap. With water and soap mixed inside, she could swing them with ease and squeeze to pump forceful bubbles out. "Now, THAT'S an upgrade!" Mack exclaimed, Madeleine clapping excitedly.
"And Zoidberg helped! Let us cherish this moment for all time!"
"I thought Erin's hands couldn't get any bigger and softer!" Nora swooned. "Will you please hold me in them?"
"Uh, maybe later." The group hopped up some stairs and would arrive at a path full of Fighting Fish. There was a fish tank cage at the end where a small mergirl was trapped.
"Hey, I got another idea!" Lulu said, wrapping Erin up again.
"Gulp. What?"
"Just hold your gloves out and keep pumpin' those bubbles!" Lulu swung Erin into the first Fishman, striking him the same time she burst some bubbles out for heavy damage. Furthermore, Lulu used the momentum to fling herself in the air to crush the next Fishman, then repeated the maneuver for the others before they started dodging. The prior two recovered as Nora joined in with her own swift movements, while Mack shot torpedoes at a safe distance. Their quick combo work did the kung-fu artists in!
"Ooooog…" Erin moaned dizzily. "That'll take some getting used to."
"That was good, right?!" Lulu fist-pumped.
"Hehe, yeah. That was pretty good!"
"That mermaid there is one of the Medaka sisters! They're in the kindergarten dojo!"
"Let's bust her out!" Mack pounded the glass cage with metal gauntlets until the small mermaid spilled out. She had red hair, a green hat with white polka-dots, and green-striped tail.
"You guys are strangers. My name's Ichika! Help save my sisters." She put on a bubble floatie and swam away.
"Straightforward. I like it." The friends dove into an underwater tunnel behind the cage. Amidst the colorful floral, Japanese fans emerged from the walls and flapped so hard that they made a strong current. Lulu rapidly stroked to swim against the current and break the fans so her team could keep up.
The passage curved left into an underwater building. Two electric eels were at a table, eating a bowl of jellyfish. There were two generators on the walls, so Mack used a device to shoot a net at the first one. The other eel panicked and swam frantically, but Erin blew bubbles to stop it so Mack could net it. The benders could then make the eels flow into the generators and power them up. A gate opened to a larger room where another Medaka sister was trapped in a mechanical cage, connected to three generators. Erin threw a Bath Bomb to blow up a weak wall, revealing an eel. There was a narrow gap that Madeleine could fit through, hitting a switch that opened the gap wider for the eel to get out. Lulu swam through another tunnel of fan currents, breaking them to free the last eel. Mack netted all three so the benders could direct them to the generators.
The second sister had blonde hair and a red-striped hat that matched her tail. "You guys are strangers! My name's Nika!! Help save my sisters!" she requested with more pep before swimming away.
Past this room, the group could resurface, overlooking an abyss with a geyser trail. The geysers blew steam and made rocks with kick targets float up. Lulu used her Homing Kick to leap across them and hit a switch on the other side, making platforms for the others. They reached an open area with several Fighting Fish and corks plugging geysers. While the girls fought the Fishmen, Mack used a large corkscrew with handles to unplug all the geysers. Many Fat Flounders came blowing up the towering steam currents, wherein Lulu could Homing Kick her way up them. Up top, she could make Convenience Platforms for the others. "There's the next sister." She pointed. "But someone nasty is guarding her."
"Ha! Hahaha!" laughed a lavender Fishman in a French accent. "You cannot pass until you defeat me, The Tickler, and my Iron Finger Style!" He stretched and swung a pair of extendable claws with blinding speed, tickling their sensitive areas.
"Hahahahaha!" Nora giggled. "He's too fast! P-Please sto-hahahaha!"
"Ribbitbitbitbit!" Lulu laughed. "Th-These are dark arts!"
"H-Hold on! He won't get me!" Erin coated her whole body in bubbles. She rolled at The Tickler and toppled him, afterwards bashing him unconscious with her Sponge Chops!
"Thank you, Erin!" Nora cheered. "You saved my sole!" She proceeded to kick and shatter the aquarium holding the sister.
This one had a blue hat and same-colored striped tail. "You don't look like strangers. My name's Sanka. You don't have to save my sisters."
The group proceeded through a town area where Shuris jumped out of alleys and tossed sharp starfish shuriken. This was only second to the Fighting Fishmen who could shape their steam into dragon heads and send them homing on the kids. "Oh, check it out!" Mack pointed. "Another bath shop! Time to restock the supply!" He rushed inside to buy three Sakura Bombs, two Lucky Cat Bombs, and… zero bombs from the adult section. "Wow, they…they just have those here. This place is weird." His teammates were already in battle, Lulu slamming Erin into enemies, then slamming herself. Their way up the stairs would be impeded by three Sumo Pufferfishmen, who would thrust their palms and shoot water. "Erin, here!" Mack tossed the new bombs.
"Thanks!" She fired a Sakura Bomb at the first sumo, exploding to shape a sakura tree with its bubbles scattering in the air. That sumo was stuck in the foam while Erin bent the other bubbles to strike the other puffers. The soap softened their skin so Nora could pop them with Water Slices. Sector L proceeded upstairs and found the next caged mermaid, guarded by an orange Fishwoman with big, long lips.
"No one advances past me, Lipp Cervas, and my Power-flexi Dynamo-lip Thruster Style!" She puckered her lips and fired juts of her own lipstick, stamping Lulu's noseless area and—Nora blocked Erin's glasses with her leg.
"You're not worthy to be Erin's first kiss!"
"How about kissing my new invention instead?!" Mack smirked, extracting something from his Mackpack.
"Ooooo, what did you make this time?" Erin asked in awe.
"A hairdryer!" A normal hairdryer.
"Uh?"
Mack dodged his way to Cervas and blew the heated air on her lips. "No! Not chapped lips!" The dense lips hardened like a dry desert road. In seconds, they crumbled.
Mack went on to break the mermaid free. She had light-red hair and a white hat. "You might be strangers. My name's Yonka. You might save my sisters." She swam off. The group pressed on as Lipp Cervas tried to gather up her crumbled lips and reattach them.
Beyond here was a long sushi restaurant. The eating areas to the sides were blocked off, requiring them to run along the central treadmill and jump the sushi with needles stuck through them. "Why do architects design certain places in the mindset of platforming courses?" Mack asked as they had to jump suspended tables that would tilt from their weight. There were two chefs stationed on low platforms juggling large sushi. To cross this area, Lulu would have to Homing Kick the airborne sushi and land on a safe table. She repeated the act for three more juggling chefs, except they were juggling spiky Pufftups, so she waited to kick the safe sushi. She hit a platform switch to bring the others over and undertake a Grapple Swing section.
Mack could use his G.R.A.P.P.L.U.H. to swing himself, Erin, and Madeleine while Nora rode on Lulu, who used her tongue. They were swinging dangling, hook-shaped octopus tentacles that would retract in and out from the ceiling. "At least I'm not touching these with my tongue." Mack remarked, Lulu shooting a glare of frustration. The team landed and entered the kitchen, a noxious smell overwhelming them. The last Medaka sister was there, guarded by an obese, blobbish, green Fishman.
"No one passes Filthy Phil. My poisonbending is unbearable!" Phil cast a cloud of gas at the group.
"Uh-oh! Quick, put these on!" Mack whipped out air helmets and stuck them on himself and the girls. "Phew! You may have been waterbenders, but I bet you're glad I brought extra helmets!"
"Yeah, even for me!" Lulu chirped. "Thanks, ribbit!"
"He should be easy to beat with just Erin's bubble soap." Nora suggested.
"Then let's wash him up!" Erin declared confidently.
"BLUUURGH!" Zoidberg fell through the ceiling and on top of Phil. "Sorry. I was trying to find the way in."
His armpit was propped right over Phil's face. "Sniff sniff! That smells horrible! Ooooog…" Phil fainted.
"Wow! You did it, Zoidberg!" Erin clapped.
"I did? Hooray!"
"You can help us further by carrying this guy out of here and far away." Mack said.
"Right away!" Zoidberg hoisted Phil up and walked out of the room. "Say, what moisturizer do you use? You smell great!"
With that, Mack freed the last quintuplet, who had a yellow-striped tail and yellow jaguar-print hat. "I'm guessing your name is Goka. Since your sisters were following a Japanese number pattern."
"No, my name is Yonka Two."
"What?!"
"So what if you're strangers? You saved my sisters. You're A-OK in my book. We'll see you in class, Lulu!" Yonka Two swam away.
"Yep! You too, Two!"
"Shouldn't it be 'Yonka Ni'?" Mack asked. "Which also makes her sound like the big sister, even though she's the youngest."
"Actually, 'nii' with the I's would be 'big brother,' not sister." Nora corrected.
"WHY COULDN'T THEY NAME HER GOKA?!"
"My question is why they're wearing cowboy hats." Erin said.
"That's because of Master San! She made cowboy hats popular." Lulu answered.
"Master San?"
"The dojo's master! But only the luckiest get to meet her in person."
They exited the restaurant facing up a curving, sloped path that would lead to the stairs to the Karate Dojo. All they needed to do was beat their way through another round of Fighting Fishmen and Sumo Puffers. But they also noticed the series of descending, far-apart platforms to the left. Erin glid a Bubble Board down to those platforms, dodging the torpedoes fired by Flying Fish. At the end, she could grab a pair of golden chopsticks, then jump in a Bubble Cannon that would fire her back to the top. "So, each area has their own golden cooking or eating utensil? Weird."
"Oceana takes a lot of pride in their culinary." Lulu said. "Like the Krusty Krab's Krabby Patties. There's even a famous, mobile takoyaki restaurant owned by an octopus Fishman. …Oh, look!" She excitedly pointed up at the base of the dojo stairs. "It's Master Hack and Instructor Koala!"
Koala was a human girl with short orange hair, wearing a crimson newsboy cap with yellow goggles, a pink shirt with a frilly collar, maroon short skirt, and brown high-heeled boots over black stockings. Hack was a yellow Soldierfishman with wavy white hair and a mustache, wearing a standard white karate robe. They were up against three Fishman Pirates, the operatives worried as they consumed three pills. "They took the drugs!" Mack pointed. "We better help!"
"No, watch them!" Lulu hopped.
"Gedan-geri!" Koala rolled behind the first pirate and assaulted him with a flurry of low kicks. "Shark Tile True Punch!" She socked the second pirate in the gut with a shockwave that pierced right through him. The third Fishman swung a kick at her, but "Sharkskin Palm Block!" she blocked it with her gloved hand. "Now get a taste of my…" She flipped backwards in the air before performing her own Homing Kick. "Australian Fishman Karate Instructor Specialty!" She kicked that Fishman, dealt a backhand strike to the second, rolled behind the first one to land a kick, rolled back to the third for a front kick, then hit the first with a Shark Tile True Punch again!
In spite of the combo, the enhanced pirates pulled their selves back up again. "Those drugs truly are monstrous." Hack glared. "But it's still superficial power. Four Thousand Tile TRUE PUNCH!" The master struck all three pirates at once, sending their already-weakened bodies flying off the mountain. (End song.)
"That was awesome!" Lulu cheered, hopping to the top of the steps.
"Lulu!" Koala spun around in surprise. "Thank goodness you're alright! Who are these kids?"
"My new friends! They helped me beat up the bad guys and save the Medaka girls."
"That's great! Those five and you were the only ones unaccounted for, but we already saved the other students."
"So, who might these young'uns be?" Hack smiled. "You don't find ordinary schools of humans traveling to Oceana."
"We're KND operatives." Erin answered. "We were actually traveling with-"
"There's no need for introductions." The whale-shark himself came marching up the stairs. Koala was aghast seeing him. "Not with these two!"
"Master Jinbe!" Koala jumped down to embrace him in a hug. "What a surprise!"
"Master Jinbe?!" Lulu exclaimed. "THE Master Jinbe?! He's like the best knight in Oceana's army or something!"
"Hehe, yeah." Erin grinned. "I guess we forgot to mention he was our escort."
"Only figures he was famous here." Mack said. "But, calling us humans, how'd a human become an instructor here, anyway?"
"Didn't I tell you when we started accepting outsiders?" Jinbe asked. "I've known Koala since she was 11. She fell into the ocean during a voyage and almost drowned."
"But Boss Jinbe and his friends saved me! They were so nice! …Mostly."
"Yes, quite." Jinbe shamefully thought back to a certain sawshark. "We took care of her and taught her some karate for a while. Eventually, we were able to take her home to Australia. But after graduation high school, she returned to learn more karate and is now an instructor."
"So, you're from Australia and your name's Koala?" Mack asked. "That seems like the simplest Australian name I could think of. Besides Sheila."
"Well, I like koalas!" She puffed her cheeks.
"And how did you kids become lucky enough to have Jinbe as your escort?" Hack asked. "Unless one of you happened to be… the Sea Princess."
"W-What?!" Koala gasped. "I didn't even think of that! Is it you?" She looked down at Madeleine. "I know Princess Melody has black hair." The child shook 'no.'
"Uh, no…it's me." Erin raised her hand meekly.
"Oh! Well, hi there! Sorry if I-"
"No, it's okay! I don't want you to make a big deal about me. It's just fair that you know."
"It doesn't seem that all the pirates have been informed what she looks like." Jinbe said. "But only time will tell when they will."
"It…It's you!"
"Huh?" Erin turned toward Lulu, but she was suddenly gone. "Oof!" Then was crushed upon the end of Lulu's hop.
"I ribbit-member now! Mom wanted me to meet her friend, Melody and her daughter! It must be you!" She hopped. "I didn't know you were a princess!"
"Urk! Wait, who's your mom again?"
"Her name's Tsuyu! But her hero name is Froppy!"
"Ooooohh, I know Froppy!" Nora gasped. "They got rubbery action figures of her! Mack once gave one to Erin."
"E-yep." Mack shirked. "Mom and I… used to play with it…" He knew there was something familiar about Lulu… and why he silently felt unsettled around her.
"So, your mom's that Froppy, huh? Cool. You can get off me now." Lulu climbed off and helped Erin up.
"Haha, today's been the best day ever! Wait'll I tell Mom!"
"The priests always said that nothing happens by chance." Jinbe smiled. "All meetings are fated. And meetings of friendship are the most welcome."
"Yeah, no one likes meeting enemies." Erin said. "But it's nice to meet you, too, Lulu!"
"Ribbit!"
"Now then, is the Talisman safe?" Jinbe asked. "The pirates were using one to power their drugs."
"The Talisman's in the safest place you can imagine." Hack smiled. "In Grandmaster San's hands. She went to visit her homeland four days ago and kept it with her."
"Wouldn't she be targeted?" Erin asked. "Do we know she's okay?"
"There isn't a merman alive who can match Master San." Jinbe assured. "My knuckles hurt just thinking about it."
"But we need to find her ourselves if we want it, right?" Nora asked.
"We only need to keep them out of the pirates' hands. We should not open the way to Samiya until they are defeated, anyway. So, with the pirates in town subdued and the students accounted for, our work here is effectively done."
"That…that's great!" Erin found it hard to accept how easy this sounded.
"GREAT! Then let's get some food!" Nora cheered. "Fighting and platforming sure makes a girl hungry!"
"I think that restaurant downstairs needs a makeover though." Mack said.
"No worries, the outdoor area is still good!" Koala said perkily. "Let's have lunch! Hack's treat!"
"What?!"
…
The friends enjoyed a feast of sushi and takoyaki prepared by a normal octopus with a topknot. "Is this the octopus you mentioned earlier, Lulu?" Mack asked.
"I don't think so."
"You must be thinking of Chef Hatchan." Hack replied. "Owner of the mobile takoyaki restaurant. He's the one who taught this little guy."
"He's a good man deep down…" Jinbe said lowly.
"Can't you kids even try to use chopsticks?" Koala asked Erin and Mack, both of whom were using forks.
"I could, but I like things convenient." Mack remarked. "At least we're cleaner than Zoidberg."
"Yomyomyomyom!" The Crabman was gobbling some dropped sushi under the table. "People are so nice to leave extra servings for others!" He rose up beside Hack. "By the way, my well-grown Kateenian friend, you seem to have warts all around your face. It must be because of that white caterpillar on your lip. I'd be happy to eat it for you."
"That's my mustache, you fool!" Hack smacked him.
"WHOOPWHOOPWHOOPWHOOPWHOOPWHOOP!" Zoidberg scuttled away in panic.
"So, where you guys going after this?" Lulu asked.
"Well, we're visiting all the Seven Great Cities." Erin answered. "Someone's gotta beat the pirates, right?"
"Can I come and fight pirates with you?!"
"Uh…you wanna come?"
"Yeah! I know I'm not an operative, yet, but I can kick butt! You saw, right? Plus, Mom said they used to fight evil pirates. And if she and your mom were friends, I bet they fought pirates together! So, so, so," she bounced in her seat, "we should be pirate pounding pals!"
"Ask your teachers before you go deciding such things!" Jinbe said. "Where even is your mother?"
"She left her in our care and went back to Superbia." Koala answered. "We can always call her. But honestly, I wouldn't mind if she went! Lulu's been doing great in class, and learning hands-on with operatives would be just what she needs."
"Really?! Then can I, can I, can I?!" Lulu kicked forward ecstatically.
"Hold on a second!" Erin raised her voice. "You shouldn't just want to come because of what our moms did!"
"W…Why not?"
"Here we go again." Mack sighed.
"I don't know what she told you, but I'm not that special. I don't even wanna be a big hero or get everyone to like me. I just wanna help stop the pirates however I can."
"Well… I do, too! So, can't I come?"
"I think Erin just wants to be sure your motivations are clear." Hack said. "Do you only want to go because your parents were friends?"
"Um…er…" Lulu had to contemplate for a second. "But… we were already fighting together. And I was having fun, too."
"But you don't even know me that well. You only got excited after you found out our parents were friends."
"I just thought…mmm…" Lulu's expression drooped. "Does that mean you don't like me?"
"I-I like you, Lulu. But I don't want you to like me because of our moms."
"But I…I do like you. I think you have cute teeth, and glasses, and your bubblebending's really neat."
"That's nice, but…"
"Please can I come with you?" Lulu leaned closer with watering eyes. "I promise I'll do my best to help, and I'll get to know you better."
"Okay, just calm down!" Erin patted the froggy's forehead consolingly. "Don't worry about the last part. You can come with us, but let's just be friends."
"Ribbit…" Lulu's cheeks stretched back up with her smile.
The group smiled in adoration. …Though unbeknownst to them, Madeleine frowned and bowed her head at her food. Erin kept talking about feeling untalented or weak, comparing herself unfavorably to Nora, but just look at herself. Madeleine couldn't even speak, and in her human state, she could neither swim well nor breathe underwater. Until now, she only stayed to clean the treehouse, but there was very little she could in a major crisis. Needing Nora to carry her through the Brine for a while, getting captured by demons a while back… There were little things she was able to do, but they didn't seem to realize how useless she was. Or they just never said. Would she be more useful if she took karate lessons, too?
An explosion scared them out of their thoughts. They looked up and saw smoke rising from the base of the dojo. "It's under attack!" Koala gasped.
"So, there were more in hiding!" Jinbe glared. "Let's go!"
They all rushed up to the dojo. Awaiting them was a short, green Fishman in an orange robe and long, curled black brows, with a similar mustache on the ends of his lips. "What a pity. My henchmen couldn't stop you at all."
"Udon! I should've known you would be involved in this!"
"And I should've known you'd be the princess's guardian."
"Who's this guy?" Nora asked. "Is he a rogue former dojo student?! Every dojo has at least one!"
"Indeed he is." Jinbe answered. "Udon was a very skilled karate expert. But he did not study it for honor or knowledge. He had personal ambitions in mind."
"Did he use his power for vengeance or greed?!"
"It was greed, alright. Profitable greed! He set up his own dojo in a rural area and lured people to it, claiming they were the 'King of Karate as Chosen by the Gods.'"
"And? And?!"
"But in reality, it was a scam to sell them CONDOS!"
Everyone's faces dropped. "… …What?"
"Using the guise and skills of a karate master, you had people flocking to your island to trap them in your timeshare vacation scams!"
"That is correct! Unfortunately, sales have been dropping lately, so the pirates struck a deal with me. If I helped capture the students and destroy the Karate Dojo, they would invest in my condos. And I'd be rewarded far more for bringing them the princess." Udon rubbed his hands maliciously. "I could construct dozens more condos! We could even build one here in the dojo's place!"
"You're a MADMAN!" Lulu exclaimed.
"So, not even any secret drug production here?" Mack asked.
"I'm afraid you're already too late to stop me." Udon raised a pie. "That explosion was caused by one of my Pie Bombs. My henchmen have already hidden them around town. They are scheduled to detonate in 8 minutes!"
"I thought I smelled raspberry gunpowder under that dumpster!" Zoidberg exclaimed.
"Give that here!" Mack shot his G.R.A.P.P.L.U.H. at Udon's pie and yanked it over to himself. He carefully scooped a sample out and used a device to scan it. "Perfect! It's picking up sources with similar composites! Let's grab them before it's too late!"
"I wanna deal with this chump!" Lulu crouched like a battle-ready frog. "Erin, will you fight with me?!"
"Yeah! We won't let you get away with your timeshare scams!"
"You will regret making an enemy of me!" Udon jumped into the dojo. Erin and Lulu raced after him. "You will never know greater prices than mine!" (Play "Vs. Sandy" from Cosmic Shake!)
Boss fight: Udon
The master chopped the air and cast karate chops made of water, Lulu and Erin countering them with the former's own moves and the latter's Sponge Chops. Lulu latched her tongue at the lantern above him and swung for a kick, but Udon dodged, leapt Erin's away, and surprised her with a behind Water Chop to push her to Lulu. Udon drew a Pie Bomb and threw it, Erin quickly catching it in a bubble. Lulu shot her tongue, pulled the pie in her mouth, and spat it back, its weak explosion stunning Udon. Lulu latched the other lantern above him and hung herself as she rapidly kicked the Fishman's head. He rolled away and Water Chopped her hanging tongue, Lulu retracting it. She dodged his volley of close-quarters attacks and tongued Erin, swinging her around to chop Udon's back. The surprise stunned him, so the girls dealt a combo of bashing each other into him, knocking Udon around until he broke through the door to the stairs.
The master ran up them, pressing a button to retract the stairs and make elevated training dummies extract. They would spin every few seconds, so Lulu had to Homing Kick them when they weren't spinning to bring them up. Meeting Udon in the second room, this time with a two-foot body of suspended water, the master threw off his robe, wearing only tight red underpants. "Ummm…" was all Erin could say. Udon performed spinning motions and sent Gut Grinding Whirlpools! Erin elevated herself and Lulu on a Bubble Board, surfing the shallow water and evading the whirlpools.
Erin threw a Lucky Cat Bomb at Udon, exploding into foam shaped like said cat. Udon's head poked out of the front, struggling as Erin kept it hardened. "Time to show you my own tricks!" Lulu declared, splashing in the water and stroking toward Udon. Her chi would send a froggy-shaped wave and strike Udon.
"Ack! What kind of childish move was that?"
"It's my Froggy Style! Have a taste!" Lulu sucked up some water and spat it in high bursts. Udon growled and burst free of the bubbles, throwing rapid chops and kicks as the water bent to his will and struck the girls. Erin blocked some with her Sponge Chops, absorbing the water as they puffed larger. She would thrust them at Udon and pump palm-shaped bubbles. Udon jabbed his own palms to pop them, but Lulu tongued his leg and tripped the fish, causing the Pop Palms to push him into the door. The door caved in as Udon retreated up a larger body of suspended water. The girls would need to hold their breaths on the third floor.
"If 'Froggy Style' is what they teach nowadays, if they let you wear those sponge gloves, then maybe this dojo has no place here anymore! The same as you… Sea Princess!" Udon flexed his muscles so intensely that his upper body buffed twice its size!
"I don't belong to this dojo or this kingdom, but it's still important to everyone here! I won't let you destroy it!"
"Me neither!" Lulu tongued Erin and vigorously swung her against Udon, but his chops eventually overpowered her bubble bursts and slammed her into the wall. Udon came spinning at Lulu, who released Erin to retract her tongue and dodge. But Udon would redirect and chop both hands, "Moses CHOP!" splitting the room's water in half with Lulu in the center. The froggy quickly spewed a shield of saliva, lowering the damage, but still slamming Lulu against the wall. Furthermore, when the center of the water splashed back up, Lulu would be slammed into the ceiling. Udon swam at Lulu with a kick, but would be blocked by three small mermaids. "What?!"
"Don't hurt our classmate." Ichika glared.
"Don't hurt our new friend!" Nika yelled.
"You are not our friend." Sanka told him.
"You might be an enemy." Yonka inferred.
"So what if you're big? We'll beat you!" Yonka Two declared.
"Agh! Stop!" The quintuplets zipped around, rammed, and bit him in any unguarded spot. "It doesn't even hurt, you're just like annoying hummingbirds! OOF!" Erin landed a chop on his foot.
"And you missed leg day! Even Mack could run faster than you."
"Erin, they just gave me another idea!" Lulu gurgled, tonguing her friend by the ankles. "I call it the Bubble-nado!"
"I think I follow!" As Lulu swung her around in a tornado shape, Erin produced a steady stream of bubbles that wrapped around them. The Medaka sisters smile and swam with the bubbles' current, creating a high speed tornado of hardened foam. Udon growled and spun his own tornado using his own physique. Both twisters came to impact the other, pushing at near equal force. But there was one factor both parties never considered: the strong currents drew up the water from the lower floor. This came with Udon's discarded robe… and another Pie Bomb still inside it. The pie was sucked into Udon's twister of all things, and by the time he could gape at the pie, it went off in his face. Dazed, Udon would be pushed into the wall by the Bubble-nado, collapsing it. The girls broke out of the bubbles as Erin willed the bubbles to keep carrying Udon over the edge of the mountain.
They dispersed as the Fishman found himself out of the water zone, afloat over the Coral Reefs' chasm. …Afloat for a second before plummeting. "WHOOOOOOOHHHHHH…"
Lulu landed all fours on the lower roof, holding Erin in her tongue. "You're in the soup NOW, Udon!"
The Medakas landed with her. "He fell far."
"He fell far!"
"I don't think he fell that far."
"He might've fallen far."
"Who cares how far he falls? I hope he never comes back!"
"Yeeeeoooooo sayud iiiiiit…" Erin was on the verge of vomiting from all that spinning. Lulu set her down and propped her up. After Erin finally stabilized, she and Lulu shared a good laugh. (End song.)
"Okay, this should be the last of them!" Mack said, raising all the Pie Bombs high skyward on his Mecha Gloves. "Here we GOOOOOO!"
They exploded into a great, pie-shaped cloud. Raspberry and apple flavorings rained around the peeks. "Siiiiigh…" Mack sighed in relief.
"Boy, that was a close one." Zoidberg said. "But those pies didn't look bad, I tried a piece and I-" BOOM! His stomach briefly puffed as he belched out smoke. "Welp, won't be using that stomach for a while."
"And looks like we aren't the only ones that finished." Koala pointed.
The Medakas carried their heroes on a wide bubble platform. "Um…I'm sorry about before." Lulu said. "For getting excited about our moms and stuff."
"It's alright. I just… don't like being judged because of what I am, and what Mom is… but if you come with us, let's just be normal friends, Lu."
"Lu? Haha! Okay, Eri, I will!"
"I fear we'll have to cancel classes for a while." Hack said. "But you're all in our debt. We'll be sure to inform you when Master San returns."
"Thank you." Jinbe nodded. "Until then, we'll trust you to secure the pirates and that traitor. We'll be sailing to the next city tomorrow."
"But if we ever need some training, we know who to call!" Nora said. "Ready to go, Madeleine?"
The girl looked to her with a start. She passed a brief glance to the dojo, but ultimately nodded and followed her senior. Maybe she shouldn't rush to conclusions just yet.
"Hey, Erin… can I tell you a secret?" Lulu whispered.
"Uh-huh?"
"I know how you feel, actually… not wanting people to like you because you're a princess."
"What do you mean?"
"My mom is a popular hero, so lots of kids like me because of her. That's another reason Mom wanted me to train here. But… it's not just her."
"Not just… her?"
"One day, I found out… my dad isn't really my dad. He has a condition where he can't have kids. So, they… picked a surrogate dad."
"Y…Yeah?"
"And his name is…" Lulu whispered the name right in Erin's ear.
". . . ." She needed a moment to understand what the name meant. "! !" Then it clicked. "THE TOP HERO OF SUPERBIA IS YOUR-"
"SSSSSSSSSSHHHHHH!"
"Ulp!" Erin clamped her mouth.
"Erin, what's wrong?!" Nora gasped.
"Something-something Superbia?" Mack asked.
"Uh…n-nothing, it's nothing!" Erin grinned. "Hehehe…" She looked sheepishly at Lulu.
"'Guess we're even now. Ribbit!"
…
…
"Uuuuuuggg…" Udon awoke on the bottom of the deepest valley, his mouth tasting like burnt pie. He heard metal clacking and looked up at a pair of cowboy boots. His gaze was drawn to an old, but built Fishman in a black hat, sunglasses, and red neckerchief.
"Where's the girl?"
"Girl? Kuoff! The princess has bested me. And I fear they'll be leaving town soon. The Talisman was nowhere to be seen either."
"Hmmmmm…that's a shame."
"Who are you? An emissary of the pirates?"
"Something like that."
"Please inform them I will not fail next time. I wanted to be sparing, but it seems I'll need the help of the drugs after all. An extra dozen Pie Bombs should definitely-"
"Captain Hody gave me two instructions, Udon. If you had captured the princess, I was to retrieve and deliver her. But if you had failed… it's your head."
"!" The boots became propped up on extended, metal spikes. The man slowly raised his left boot, the instructions Your Head Here written with an arrow toward the sole. "W-Wait! I've seen their faces! Boss Jinbe, a pigtailed girl, a small girl in a white dress, and a fro-"
He squashed Udon's head like a fruit. The man bent down and scooped residue soap of the master. Bubble soap. He uncovered his mouth and blew it from between his fingers. He could almost see the spectacled princess's visage in its light. With that, he returned to his motorcycle and rode off, his back labeling the name DENNIS and his license plate I KILL U facing where Udon lay.