Yuki hadn't expected such a bizarre request. "Malfunction? Oh, I get it! You're sick!"
"HUH?" chorused the crew.
"Don't people get pale when they get sick?" Yuki approached to hold Sage's white left arm. "You poor thing. Eunie, do you have any medicine for her? Say, 'aaaaaa'!" She opened Sage's mouth.
"Uh…w-wait a…!" Eunie muttered dumbfoundedly.
"Yuki, I've had enough of this bullcrap!" Aniki shouted. "DESTROY HER! Then we can finally put an end to this!"
"Guys, just… calm down a minute." Pochi said. He sighed, begrudging to ask, "What is this malfunction, Sage?"
"…I saw the memories of this world… and the people in this War Game. I saw laughter… anger… sadness… enemies… and friendship. Including all yours. And for some reason, it made me 'cry.'"
"…What?" That had to be the most ridiculous thing Suna's heard.
"That's what I was inquiring."
"She listened to the off-seer song." Tattsun explained. "I don't really know what she saw, but… she's so gentle now."
"Is this how you felt hearing the melody?" Sage wondered. "Did you feel… connected to this world?"
"Um…I dunno." Yuki tapped her lip. "I just get all glowy. But I also really like all the people I've met on this world! Does that count?"
"And what of it?" Lanz folded his arms. "Why does seein' our memories or whatever matter to you?"
"That's what I don't understand… but I… feel like I must. I must… understand this world."
"Ooooookaaaaaaaayyyy…" Chuko drawled. "Then-you-can-start-by-restoring-the-KND-and-letting-us-go." And she instantly flipped to fast-forward.
"Yyyeeeeaaahh, about that…" Tattsun scratched his head. "For some reason, she can't warp back to her control room or even contact it."
"S-So," Kansai snickered, "she locked herself out of her own base?"
"Can't say I care about that." Suna said. "Do you even realize how much you put us through? Do you realize how many people you hurt? That you made US hurt? Or better yet, do YOU, Tattsun?"
"She had Vanilla KILLED!" Aniki yelled.
"What?!" Tattsun gasped.
"No!" Pai said. "We don't know for certain that-"
"That doesn't matter." Nyoro cut off. "The point is she tried to kill her. And now you're going to act like we'll forget that?"
"Wait, do you mean the attack on the city?" Tattsun asked. "Sage didn't order that attack, it was the Rex impostor!"
"That is irrelevant." Sage replied. "Under the Executives' orders, I was to eliminate you and ensure the War Game's completion. And my actions until now have always been for that directive. Your hatred is warranted. But that melody… has installed a new directive… or is it a feeling… commanding me to save this world… so I can understand it."
"Awe, Sage!" Yuki squeezed her in a fluffy hug. "I KNEW you were good!"
"You can't be effin' serious." Suna said.
"No, I think she is." Jennu replied.
"You do?"
"I may not be a musicbender, but Uta taught me how to listen for feelings in peoples' voices. Even from this Program… I can tell she means it."
"She reminds me a little of Segiri." Sena smiled. "I kind of believe her, too."
"Well, I'm not buying it for a bit!" Aniki argued.
"So, does this mean no one is running the War Game now or what?" Pochi asked.
"I was specially trained and adapted to be Aionios' MCP. They shouldn't be able to replace me, and yet…" She tried to connect to the soldiers' irises, but a different, blue eye with a red lid flickered in view, "it feels as though a new authority is in place."
"S-So, it's not over, yet?" Mowchan shuddered.
"Then," Taion began, "if you were to gain back control of the system, you would undo this game? Thus restoring the life force stolen from us?"
"Disengaging the War Game wouldn't return the life. Only destroying the Life Clocks will do so. I surmise the Enforcers will make haste to collect them if things start to fall apart."
"What do you need our life force for, anyway?" Noah asked.
"I… cannot share that."
"Oi, you can't say that if you're pretendin' to wanna help us!" Lanz stated.
"I cannot betray the trust of my comrades. They are still important to me… even if my new directives may misalign with theirs."
"You have to tell us something, Sage." Tattsun said. "I wanna be able to trust you, too. Besides, aren't you gonna be punished for helping us, anyway?"
"It is… plausible… but Dr. Omelette…" she glitched, "wouldn't…"
She faced glares of strong skepticism, and yet some were open-minded enough to see her internal struggle. "…Excessive time travel… causes rapid aging."
"!" Though they were left with more questions, it still answered others. The kids thought back to Joker. "Are there other reasons they're doing this?" Pochi asked.
"…Searching for Bolypius… combat data on KND…"
"Okay, I'm just lost." Glimmer shook. "Can someone just fill me in here?"
"I think that's enough." Kansai decided. "We gotta get movin'. Our allies are waitin' at Cent-Omnia right now, I bet. If Sage really means what she says, maybe she'll help us beat this 'new authority.' But you're her Driver, Tattsun. You better keep her in check. Or I'll slam BOTH of you into next decade!"
"Heh heh, easy, Kansai." Tattsun eased. "But listen, I…I'm sorry for the trouble I caused you guys. I can't believe I fell for that impostor. Or that it was Miss Shirogane…"
"She could've had ulterior motives for that Talent Showcase even." Pochi replied. "But it's alright, Tattsun. I'm just glad you're with us again."
"Hang on, what if that's the impostor now?" Suna cocked a brow. "She could be anybody, for all we know!"
"Illogical." Sage said. "The Cosplayer prefers to dress as either fictional characters or famous heroes that have starred in large media. Tattsun, regardless of his current attire, does not fit either. ("Aw…" Tattsun moaned.) And even still, you've seen him harnessing my power. He was compatible with me as a Driver because he, like you, was born from a Pure Heart."
"Oh yeah…" That was why their mom was considered Miran. This world and the Pure Hearts shared the same origin.
"We're really just gonna let her tag along with us?" Aniki asked.
"Aniki, you don't have to forgive her." Pai said. "But maybe… she realizes she messed up and wants to try and make up for it. Let's give her a chance. If I'm wrong…um…well…" She pondered what collateral to give.
"All I know is we better see Vanilla by the end of this." Nyoro said.
Aniki lit up from his sister's support. "Yeah. Or you'll be paying for it, Holo-girl."
"Affirmative."
"Then it's off to Cent-Omnia." Kansai declared. "Go-Getters Club!"
"Hey, hey, hooooo." He was met with a more mixed cheer and halfhearted thumbs-ups. "Is this mandatory?" Sage wondered.
"We'll ease you in first." Tattsun replied. "Oh, hang on! Could you tell us where the clocks are hidden?"
"My last memory recalls two of them nearby. One in Nocclia Mire, another on the cliffs of Everblight Plain."
"Show us where they are." Pochi brought up the map. "We can fly down and get back up here in a jiffy."
"They'll be super grateful to have their life back!" Yuki chirped. "Uhhhh…hey, are purple and black clouds normal here?"
"?!" They turned outside. The sky had become uncomfortably blotted by fumy darkness. "The sky box has been changed." Sage said with a hint of concern.
"We should probably hurry, huh?" Mowchan didn't wanna know what kind of rain came out of those clouds.
Cent-Omnia
Soldiers covered every corner of the region, Keves and Agnus alike. The war banners fluttered against the dark sky. Upon the Black Mountains, guarded by Giants, the two Supreme Commanders watched over their armies. "How bizarre that we would stand the same ground like this." said Zeon the Dutiful. "Nia…"
"'Guess these monsters are a big deal, eh?" asked the long-earred Gormotti queen, Lifesage Nia, wearing light white regal attire. "Makes ya wonder… why we can't just share the same world if we 'ave to cooperate like this."
"The thought has oft crossed my mind. But when this battle is over… our own EXP will light this region."
"Aye, that it will…"
Zeon peered through a spyglass. "The shadows are crossing the Niall Canal! There doesn't seem that many… but more could be waiting."
The Niall Canal linked Erythia Sea with the coast of Yesterdale, a canyon that seemed remarkably similar to the Bionis' Colony 9 and even had one of its ruined anti-air batteries. The town of Yesterdale was the first to be built after Aionios' creation. Ghondor, Monica, and their allies sailed to the town pier and charged into the mainland. The amount of unified soldiers was overwhelming to the comparatively small band of rebels, and the local fauna wouldn't make things easier by attacking indiscriminately.
"It looks like that fortress just barely connects to the tip of the mountain!" Valdi said, analyzing his map. "We can get there by going across Ragmos Lake Lake and… sparks, there's a cliff there. No, that's not a problem if Pochi's group can gravitybend."
"Valdi, not in the middle of battle!" Nikol shouted, defending him from a Kevesi's spear. Poppibuster rolled him over and KO'ed the troop.
"Gonna be a problem for us gettin' up there!" Ghondor replied. "But I guess we oughta knock out as many as we can so those dags can restore 'em."
"Mehmeh!" Oosoo chirped. "It will be like waking from unpleasant dream!"
"Like dream of no more tasty sausages!" Ino exclaimed, the Noponic Champion taking her Inosabers back from her Masterpon to slash a Levnis. "Ino-Ino QUIVERS from the memory!"
"The dream that Oosoo programmed into you." Nikol said.
R and P overheard them from above a cliff. "Except we plan to slay anyone you conk out." Mumkhar smirked. "'Til then, we'll let the runts wear you down first. And when Dumban's kid comes along… that's when we'll see who's is better."
"I fear it may not be so easy." Stefano replied. "Though C claims to have accomplished his mission, I sense a familiar feeling in the air…"
"If you're too scared, feel free to stay back. …Ah, right on schedule!" Mumkhar saw the next boat sailing the canal.
The dark sky made the giant "X" feel even more imposing as the Go-Getters entered Cent-Omnia. "On the bright side, the city folk just got started." Pochi said. "Shouldn't be so bad with all of us together."
"And you had every single soldier gather here to ambush us?!" Eunie asked.
"It was… the Executives' orders." Sage said. "And before I…"
"It doesn't matter now!" Tattsun declared. "The Zodiac Rangers will restore them in one fell swoop!"
"I thought you were the Go-Getters, hey-hey-ho?"
"For we hold the powers of justice and most elements! Nothing can defeat us!"
"PIELOLOLOLOOOOON!" The space above Yesterdale became black and staticky. A gap in the shape of a misshapen heart ripped open as a monochrome imp flew out. "However did you kids manage to break my new toy? Oh! Could it be? Don't tell me you've fallen in with them, 'Sister.'"
"Sister?!" Yuki gasped. "Sage… why does it look familiar?"
"Because it looks like a malformed Zathurian?" Nyoro asked.
"Don't rank me in with that thing!" Jennu cringed.
"It's… you." Sage spoke breathlessly. "The Chaos Heart!"
"?!" The group was aback in terror. "Then you're the… dangerous one?" Yuki asked.
"But how? How did you take over the system?" Sage asked. "Why could I never feel your presence?"
"Pielolololoon! It's because I was always here! I was in your heart, in your hair, and in the very air! Always floating… but never noticed. I… am Pielope! When we were freed from that crystal prison, I was lost to Mira's ether, and it was only thanks to what you've done that I can be here today! Yet, I could do nothing while my opposite was in control. It was only thanks to your struggle, the Pure Hearts tearing each other apart, that I can finally claim what's-"
Yuki flew Pochi up to SLASH the imp, but it glitched as its gigantic face enveloped everything before them. "And I thought I was the wild one. Well, go ahead. Just try to cut me. That is… if you can get to me first!" It morphed back to original size as Cent-Omnia returned into view. "The Black Mountain is just up there! Riiiiight… up… THERE."
"AAAAH!" The entire region stretched miles and miles above them, the mountain and X-Station going to the very top while every other sub-region stacked itself into place. "WAH, WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" Valdi screamed.
"Everything's rearranging!" Nikol exclaimed. "So much for that map! VALDI!" He was suddenly pulled away from his friend.
"NIKOL!"
The Go-Getters despaired beneath the tremendous, vertical fortress. "Pieloloon. I wanna play a fun climbing game! I call it the Tower of Eternity!"
"ARE YOU KIDDIN' ME?!" Kansai exclaimed.
"Th-That's not fair!" Mowchan whimpered. "That's way too much climbing!"
"Aw, don't be scaaaaaaaared. I won't make it THAT hard on you all. Your friends got a headstart, so you should, too!"
"Whuh?!" Their very boat shattered and divided them onto segmented platforms, though they each had someone to cling to. "K-Kansai, don't let go!" Chuko shuddered.
"Then don't bump me off with your big—BUUUUUU!" The pair shot skyward, along with the others, and flew to different parts of the tower.
Mowchan, tucking Nyoro in his arms, landed at the foot of the Black Mountains. "Nuh…Nyoro? What're those things?"
They were faced with violet-skinned giants with strong, but young-looking proportions. "I don't know… but I think I recognize those ones."
Three certain giants were unlike the others, clad in Kevesi armor. Two were chubby girls, with tan and orange skin respectively, and one was short with a bulbous head. "Guys!" Mowchan cried at his teammates.
Mio and Glimmer landed higher up the mountain. "Okay, no offense," Glimmer began, "but this feels like the worst awakening any Blade could experience!" Her Driver was staring upward, stricken with horror. "Hey, are you listening to me?"
"Mum?!" Mio gasped. Glimmer turned up in that direction, where a woman of similar hair, eyes, and stature to Mio glared down at them.
"Wretched demons… you stand before the queen of Agnus!" Nia drew her Anima Sword, a blue blade designed like a splashing wave, with white flowers along its back. "Yur I come! Ready or Agnian!" She bent a large wave over her sword and leapt, Mio blocking it with a Water Shield over her Moonblades.
"Mum, it's me! Mio Rhodes! You're Rex's wife!"
"I don't think she cares!" Glimmer swung her Wildfire Kithara, the fire bursting into steam against the water. "If you wanna be my Driver, now's the time!" She passed the staff to Mio. "Just go with the flow and get burning!"
"I'm sorry, Mum!" Steam filled the mountain from the mother and daughter's duel.
Noah and Eunie wound up against two familiar, masked consuls. "Dumbaba! This sure makes things easier!" Mumkhar chortled.
"Noah!" Eunie shirked back. "That scythe… I-I recognize it."
"They're the consuls who 'killed' us."
"Well, you remember us… how touching. Maybe you'll remember this young lad."
A Kevesi with blonde hair, murderous red eyes, and long clawed gauntlets stepped between the men. "These the monsters you spoke of, Consul?"
"Blackblaze Dirk?!" Noah gawked. What was this murderer doing among their operatives?!
"Cosplayer wasn't the only one who found a 'son'!" Mumkhar sneered. "Go on, Dirk! SHRED THEM!"
Only the pairs of Pochuki and IT remained at the bottom of the tower. "But you don't need that, right? You guys can make it just fine on your own. Let's have oodles of fun, pielololololoon!" The imp inflated like a balloon and POPPED!
"Oh, no!" Yuki cried. "What are we gonna do?! Our friends could've wound up anywhere!"
"Well, I guess we're gonna have to find them." Pochi glared. "Speed of lightning, right, Tattsun?"
"OH!" The Season 1 finale of Electro Rangers! "Yeah! Speed of JUSTICE!" (Play "Rewind to go ahead" from Sonic Frontiers!)
The boys and Blades raced through Yesterdale as Keves and Agnus snipers shot them from the windows. Since they were cloned troops, they spared no thought to carving them a new one. Pielope's power had wildly duplicated parts of town and raised to different levels. "Hey, what does this do?" Tattsun wondered as he shocked a standing device. It stretched an energy rail up toward the next town layer.
"I believe this is a Light Rail." Sage said. "A common transportation device designed to lift people to higher altitudes."
"How does it-" Tattsun touched it, "WOOOORRRRRR-!" and shot up the rail with great speed!
"Speed of lightning indeed." Pochi joked, the others joining him. "WHEEEEE!" cheered Yuki. The four jumped and navigated the floating towns in search of other Light Rails that would bring them to the next. The final rail brought them to the curve of the ramped base of the anti-air battery, where a phoenix-like Taos (Tenebrous Muramasa) soared above the top. Seeing the group, it spat meteor-sized fireballs along the battery's slope, so the four dodged to whichever side of the slope was safe. They retreated around either side of the cannon and reached the very tip of the battery, the Rotbatunga, where one would normally have a great scenic view of Erythia and Swordmarch.
"Hey, guys! Meet our new friend up there?" a familiar voice asked.
"Jennu?!" They were shocked to see her and Suna standing beneath the cliff's ledge.
"That phoenix attacked us and we tried to fly, but the sky started raining boulders and forced me to drop! I barely gravitated us under this thing in time."
"It seems Pielope doesn't want us to cheat via flight." Sage reasoned.
"But I wonder if ramp-flying is allowed?" Suna smirked. "'Cause I think I saw a pretty big one at the end of this thing."
After pulling the girls up, they remembered the large ramp at the bottom of the battery. Its angle seemed to aim up at a cliff trail where their next path was. An incomplete Light Rail happened to be hanging down from it. Suna carried Tattsun in zooming down the ramp and launching off to hit the rail, sliding them up to the ledge. Tattsun powered the device up further so the rail would extend down to the battery, allowing the others to catch up after evading Muramasa once more. The team continued along a trail, which curved against the cliff and required Jennu's gravity. The trail led behind a waterfall, from which winged Aligo gnashed at them. The others cut them out of the air until the trail led to a flight of stairs.
Atop the stairs was the scenic Outlook Park. This would've been a great place to sit and have a picnic if the situation would allow. Sadly, there was no place to go above the imposing cliff, so they could only jump into a pit beside the park, splashing into an underground river. They fought through swarms of Piranhax and found a huge Moglum (Cryoconite Laurel) at the end of it. Its gaping mouth was trying to chew something large, round, and orange. They mistook it for a weird gumball, but it happened to have Pai and Octoling filling. "POCHI!" Pai screamed. "We could use some help here!"
"Eek! Okay, let's give him more than we can chew!" Pochi fused Paniki, their barrier too large for the Moglum's mouth. The anglerfish spat them out and retreated underwater while the Fusion pushed onto the nearby shore.
"Thanks, Pochi! Listen, when that thing dragged us underwater, we saw a tunnel. We can take you guys through in our barrier!"
"Anything to keep my suit from getting waterlogged!" Tattsun said. They hid in Paniki's barrier and submerged, rolling into the tunnel. Parts of it were cluttered by boulders, but Paniki pushed them apart with earthbending. The tunnel became an underwater maze they spent time navigating, but they found a Shoox sleeping in one corner. The lantern fish showed them the way, and they could roll up a slope out of the water. Paniki diffused before they began their venture through Declessa Cave.
Hordes of Igna patrolled the cave ruins, but most were toppled by Aniki's earthquakes. Jennu was allowed some flight as she and Jennu united their kicks to KO the iguanas. They had to travel up another river, seeing the red horn of a Gyaark swimming around it. Jennu channeled gravity along the left wall, but the Gyaark would still try to jump and bite them. Tattsun gave it some jolts from his electric sword whenever it did. The cave led out onto the Diablada Cliffs, overlooking the Aurora Shelf. Aniki stomped their ledge to make it safely descend, but other boulders would fall from above as Pai shielded them.
Landing in the Aurora Shelf, it was a beautiful valley of mystical blue flowers and huge trees of giant blue leaves. "Aniki, it's beautiful." Pai smiled. "I think these are Pleroma plants, too…?" The blue plants all turned an ugly red, mostly shaped like Pielope's crossed eye. "Oh…"
"Clearly, Pielope's sense of beauty differs." Sage said.
Seeing Pai grow upset from the change angered Aniki more. A huge Darbus called Ethereal Gotthard, with golden scales and red horns that matched the cursed Pleroma, impeded their passage. Tattsun and Sage fused and dueled the dinobeast; Gotthard held up well against their power, but the beast would be felled. "Errorororororor!" came a cybernetic laughter. "This was unexpected. Are you betraying us, I?"
A short distance away, they saw the upside-down man, AA, along with a long-earred, sharp-winged cyborg. "A, C…"
"C?" Aniki repeated. …His pupils shrank in horror, recognizing the cyborg's description. "You… Are you the one who attacked Swordmarch?!"
"And what if I am?" C sneered.
"AUGH!" Aniki stomped up a boulder and threw it, the cyborg smacking it away. "You tried to kill my SISTER!"
"Doesn't ring a bell. But I'll be happy to kill you, too, if you'd like." He aimed his energy claw.
"And it seems we'll have to do the same to you, I." AA said, aiming his staff. "What a pity."
"C, you are a denizen of this world, too." Sage said. "Are you truly acceptable of its destruction?"
"This world means nothing to me, anymore! I don't know why you've gotten so sentimental, but I won't let you spoil our plans! …Huh?" His ears picked up a mix of engine sounds. "Impossible. Are those ships?"
"Ships?" Pochi questioned.
"Don't be deceived." Sage said. "No airborne ships can exist inside of Aionios…?!" So following that logic, she was stunned at what she saw in the sky.
A line of ships seemed to be headed directly toward the X-Station. "Jak, now would be a good time to steer this sucker!" Daxter yelled. "We're gonna crash!"
"I can't control it! This must be the traction beam they mentioned!"
"Everyone," Shulk called the other ships, "abandon ship and dive immediately!"
"Got it!" Perry affirmed. "Looks like they're fighting down there! Let's try to find our friends!"
The adults and operatives dove off their vessels and dove-glid to different parts of the Tower of Eternity. They pulled open parachutes when close to landing… and the three to land close to the Go-Getters were three heroes and one's Blade.
The kids were stunned. One man had flowing blonde hair, black and gray combat gear, and a short red cape that matched his mechanical sword. His right arm was a mechanical prosthetic. Looking between the Enforcers and operatives, it didn't take him long to garner who was ally and enemy. "Hi, kids. Sorry we're late."
"It's Shulk!" Pochi gasped. "The Godcleaver!"
"Shulk?! One of the Aegis Drivers?!" Yuki beamed. "So, those two must be-"
"REX!" Tattsun exclaimed. "It…It's really you this time, isn't it?"
"Well, I have a fan!" Rex turned with a smile. "Shame that I can't see ya, kid. But that's me! Stoutheart Rex!"
"And I'm Roc!" his Blade said. "Pleased to meetcha."
"M-My name's Tattsun! This is my brother Pochi, and our Blades, Sage and Yuki!"
"Now, weren't those the name of Miko's sons? Ha ha! So, you're already Drivers, are ya? Not bad!"
"Jak?!" C gasped at the long-earred man with greenish-blonde hair and blue top.
"Erol?" Jak cocked a brow.
"Erol?" Daxter queried. "All I see is a sloppily-made tin-can who had a bad plastic surgery procedure!"
"Glad that you remember me!" C smirked. "But Erol is no more… I have been reborn with the components of Clockwerk and Dr. Nefarious! I am now… Errol!"
"Eh, what's the difference?"
"Because I'm a robot! Like, ERROR!"
"You erred in your puns, that's for sure!"
"SILENCE, rat! You and I have a score to settle, Jak."
"Yeah, in a minute. Hey, runts, you haven't seen our kids around, have you?"
"Mar and Nikol should be somewhere out here." Pochi answered. "We haven't met up with them, yet."
"Daxter, let's go find them. Unless you wanna race, Errol?" Jak smirked at his podracing rival. "Oh, that's right. You'll be dead last, anyway." He and his Ottsel companion raced off.
"Grrrrr!" Errol twitched. "Must have REVENGE!" his Clockwerk voice rasped. "Must ANNIHILATE!" his Nefarious voice screamed. The cyborg flapped his wings and charged after them.
"Imbecile." AA glared.
"You kids get movin'." Rex said. "Vanilla told us you had the special Blade that could fix everything. …But didn't she also say Sage was the bad guy?"
"Oh, she's not anymore." Tattsun replied. "Now the bad guy is-"
"DID YOU SAY VANILLA?!" Aniki exclaimed.
"Yeah. She should be with your leader, Star."
"Star's here?!" Jennu gasped.
"Yeah! Those pals of yours are why we're here in the first place!"
"Heh heh…" The kids couldn't feel greater delight and relief. "Vanilla really made it!"
"Enough of this!" AA prepared to flash his Archetype Control.
"Don't look at his scepter!" Sage warned.
"On it!" Roc spun a dense wind cyclone to nullify the light.
"It's a hypnotic scepter that can hurt you with illusory weapons or turn you against each other!" Pochi explained.
"Thanks!" Shulk smiled. "Leave this guy to us! Go!"
The Go-Getters nodded affirmably, leaving with the eager hopes of finding Vanilla. There was a sequence of huge, sloped trees ascending up the cliff, fighting Garaffas on their way climbing up. They had to platform some of the red Pleroma leaves, which threatened to snap shut for not jumping fast enough. The trees led them to the entrance of the Vermilion Woods. "I recall this is meant to be a forest of eternal autumn." Sage said. "But it seems Pielope has repurposed them as well."
The autumn trees were on fire. Even the Volffs, Bunnits, and Rhoguls were fiery as they attacked the ops, Tattsun and Aniki fighting back with their elements. There was slanted trunk that Suna used to skate up and over a wall of flames, carrying Tattsun with her so he could trigger the Light Rail on the other side. However, the group wound up completely surrounded by flames. Should they rely on Pai's barrier to push through or have Aniki dig a tunnel underground? "HYYYUH!" But Chuko would show up with her own solution, moving the flames aside from behind. "Huh? Kansai, they're here!"
"Who?!" Kansai turned. "Man, are we glad to see you! These freaks are tryin' ta burn our hide!"
A silver-haired girl with two swords and her fiery-haired Blade loomed in on them, the Blade drawing in the forest's flames on his spear. Behind them, a brown-haired girl played an empowering melody on her flute. "It's Colony Omega." Sage said. "Led by Silvercoat Ethel and Smoldering Cammuravi. They're the second-strongest sector in my data."
"Hey, it's that girl who played the music for us!" Tattsun recognized. "Is she powering them with musicbending?!"
"Then she can help us get them to normal!" Yuki cheered.
"THEN MAKE IT QUICK!" Kansai panicked as Ethel charged for him, Pochi blocking her swords and trying to flash the Restore. As he expected, it failed.
"No, we must keep going." Sage said. "If Pielope forbids us from flying, it will have plans in store to stop us from restoring them."
"Oh, I've got more than that!" Dark data engulfed the three operatives. More swords stretched from Ethels like fractals while Cammuravi's Heatshimmer Spear seemed to replicate infinitely as he twirled it, only increasing the quantity of his flames. "With MY upgrades, these feisty fighters will never run outta steam!"
"Crud!" Pochi cursed, reacting quick to block Ethel's endless swords. "I guess all we can do is knock them out!"
"ETHEL!" Cammuravi blocked her from an emerald fireball. "There's more of them!"
Three certain operatives approached from the forest flames, easily brushed aside by Christina Uno. "Sector Q!" Perry greeted jovially. "We received your message!"
"Man, who turned up the heat in this wood?" his fiery cousin asked.
"Perry! Christina! Isabelle?"
"I flew this way 'cause I heard music!"
"Aren't you Earth's Supreme Leader?" Sage asked. "Why are you risking being here when you have many soldiers to send in your stead?"
"What kind of question is that? If my ops are gonna risk their necks out here, I should, too! A true leader is equal to his teammates!"
"Is that so…"
"Hey, let me help you with those eyepatches." Pochi flashed the Restore. "Since you aren't Miran, that should keep you from getting brainwashed."
Christina ripped her eyepatch off. "That's more like it! I need both eyes open when I ROAST this chump!" She commanded the burning leaves to fall upon Cammuravi. Even his endless flames barely got close to the Demon Princess. Ethel tried to ambush and slice her, but Perry dealt a swift slash with his Gilded Sword and blocked her next blow with the Mirror Shield. Glorysong Miyabi performed a dance and swiped notes at Isabelle with her Silken Ivy fans, the Shandian following the dance to return the notes.
"I'm sure you got places to be, Sector Q!" Perry said. "We won't hurt these guys too badly. You get the big bad this time!"
"Haha! Thanks, Perry!"
As the Go-Getters proceeded to the Ragmos Desolation, Sage observed the other outsider operatives engaged in battle. Spike's sandbending was matched against Joran's mudbending; it seemed Spike was going the extra mile to bully Joran with wedgies and nose-scrunchies, courtesy of his giant Sand Hands. It brought no surprise to see Jason, the rookie pirate, battling Triton and Zenobia. His fists matched the captain's and his speed evaded Zenobia's axe; and with the high noon sun managing to poke down from the darkened sky, Jason's Sunny Fury made a more fun battle to the pair. "Hey, why don't we zip by them real fast and Restore them?" Tattsun asked. "Bet ya they'll do better without the patches."
"Why have all these outsiders come? Under duty or obligation? Or because they care for this planet as well?"
"That depends who you ask." Pochi answered. "Some want to help their fellow operatives and some just want some action. But the heart of the KND is supporting each other. Not every operative gets along, but we can still count on each other when it matters. That's what makes us so fun!"
"So, that is how you operate…"
Ragmos Lake was distinct for its towering, flat-topped mushrooms. There was equipment for Pochi to craft a large boat with propellers and a steering stick, but as they sailed the lake, they realized the shroom tops had sharp teeth. The shrooms turned their "heads" downward to drool ravenously at the prey, but it seemed some solutions were available: there were juicy "Nopon" turnips growing from the lake. The ops picked these Nopon as they sailed by before Kansai quickly batted them into the Snareshrooms' mouths. They feasted on them and let the ops sail by. Their next obstacle came in the form of an uphill river.
"Looks like we're gonna need some fuel in our engine." Kansai said. "By which I mean Chuko."
"What?!"
"I saw you pickin' those spicy forest peppers! Flare up and push this sucker!"
"Why don't YOU push it?! Your farts could power a whole cruise liner!"
"Okay, how 'bout you both shut it and push the boat together?" Pochi questioned, fusing Kansuko. The Fusion ate the spicy peppers and flared up, belching fire toward their stern for a boost of speed. The boat traveled upriver, and Pochi would steer them in evasion from descending Gyaarks. At the river's apex, they would surf down the opposite slope, leading to a watery ramp that would launch them to the foot of the Black Mountains. "Mowchan!" Their giant comrade was trying to roll up snow and ram the other giants pursuing him, while Nyoro tried to trip them with F-Bombs. "And those are his teammates! But what're those purple things?"
"That is Colony Omicron." Sage explained. "They are Homs who were confirmed to have latent Giant genes in their DNA. They became that way following the villain, Epsolonia's experiments."
"Well, we can't help them right now, but we can even Mowchan's odds!" Pochi and Tattsun charged forth with their Blades, striking the Omicron ops with enough force to topple them. They proceeded to flash the GT ops, returning them to their normal clothes.
"WHUH, what the…" Doris mumbled. "Hey, what's going on here?!"
"GUYS!" Mowchan rolled to tackle his friends in a hug. "You're finally back! I'm so glad!"
"Mowchan!" His cousin and leader, Fufu, was in shock as her memory struggled to process everything. "Were we attacking you just now?"
"Yeah, but it's okay! We'll be able to go home pretty soon!"
"Provided we can get up there first." Jennu said, staring up the imposing, steep, snowy mountain. "Although… I have an idea. Who's up for another ride in Mowchan's pack?"
"There's nothing I'd like more." Nyoro smiled. "Uh-oh! They're getting up!" The Omicron Giants rose as Pielope's influence inflated their muscles.
"We'll hold them back!" Fufu declared, grabbing her RC car, Fufu her plants, and Patty his thick rope. "Do what you gotta do, Mowchan!"
"HOH!" Mowchan mimicked Laruta's pep cheer. He gathered his friends in his pack and curled up like a Goron. With Jennu's gravitybending, Mowchan rolled up the mountain as swiftly as he would down.
"Why didn't you do this on the river?!" Chuko asked.
"Didn't think of it until now! Glad I saved my strength for iiiiit!"
Mowchan's snowball grew larger as he rammed down rolling Gogols. Pielope had also dropped numerous Tantalese ruins in his wake, but Mowchan's growing girth crumbled them all. The snowball shattered against the cliff at the top of the slope. Afterwards, they would have to platform up a series of floating stones, with Aniki's earthbending helping lift them close together. The platforms led to a flight of stone stairs leading into an ancient fort. There, a certain band of operatives was in battle with Ignas, Tirkin, and Agnians. Valdi, Nikol, Reycho, Firaga, as well as, "STAR! IT'S YOU!" Jennu exclaimed.
"Jennu!" The High Supreme Leader was awash in relief.
"I wish this was a happier reunion!" Firaga said, whipping Agnian Marty with her tail. Tiffi and Goombria were also among the Agnians.
"You found Marty and the others, too!" Nyoro beamed. "Pochi, restore them!"
"You got it!" Pochi worked his magic and brought the GKND back to reality.
"Huh?!" Tiffi gasped. "Whoa, I had the craziest dream where I was in a war with bird and lizard people…EEK!" She realized the Tirkin and Ignas beside her. Star and Firaga blasted them with their elements.
"Can someone please tell me what the frick is going on?!" Goombria asked.
"There's time for that later!" Aniki shouted. "Star… is Vanilla with you?"
"No worries." Star withdrew his phone. "She's right here." (End song.)
Their pink-haired, digital friend zipped out of the phone. "Teehee, hi, guys! Did I keep you waiting?"
Aniki and Nyoro needed a moment to process that she was really there. After a day of torment, pondering whether she was gone, seeing her here, hearing her voice, was the most… The siblings teared up and hugged their digital sister. "Whoa-ho! Careful, guys! Your ink's making my body sizzle!"
"I'm so sorry, Vanilla! I couldn't protect you!" Nyoro cried.
"Why didn't you get out of there when you had the chance?!" Aniki shouted.
"I'm sorry, Aniki! I was so close to reaching GKND, I was so sure I could make it…"
"And you did, Vanilla." Nyoro said. "You really did. You're incredible."
Their friends cherished the reunion in silence… as well as they could while beating down any active enemies. As Sage's iris processed the happy family, her own tear dripped. "Um, hate to interrupt," Valdi said, "but… why is Sage here?"
Vanilla gasped, realizing her presence. "Because Sage is a friend now!" Yuki chirped. "And she wants to apologize for everything that happened to you?"
"Is that… true?"
"…It is accurate." Sage answered.
"Hmph." Aniki huffed.
"So, then… who's the enemy?" Star wondered.
"DEMONS!" They looked skyward. Keves Commander Zeon descended with a massive pair of golden, angelic wings, his Gutsy Gladius (sword and shield) grown to mythical proportions. "You shall climb no further. I shall SMITE thee where thou stands!"
"Zeon?!" Nikol gasped. "I always knew he would go for that plastic wing surgery."
"I'll take care of him." Star offered. "Leader to leader!"
"Hey, Nikol, your father's here, too." Jennu said. "They're in battle down below."
"Dad?!"
"Let's go find him, Nikol!" Valdi encouraged. "We still gotta look for everyone else!"
"The rest of you help subdue the other enemy soldiers." Jennu ordered. "We'll take care of the hard parts."
"Heh heh…that's just like you, Jennu." Tiffi smiled.
"Before we go," Marty handed Nyoro and Aniki each a pill, "I think you forgot to pack these."
"Oh!" Nyoro gasped in realization. "Thanks, Marty!"
The Go-Getters charged through the next gate while Star's midair, starlit battle with Zeon transpired behind them ("Oh, so THEY'RE allowed to fly." Jennu groaned.) Pochi and Tattsun slayed the dark, glitchy Vollgulls on their steep ascent up the rest of the mountain. They had reached the doorstep of what was once Prison Island, a dark, gothic structure just beneath the looming X-Station and flowing with black fog. There, Pielope awaited them again. (Play "Firm Strength" from Trails to Azure.)
"No, no, no! You only made it up here because of all those interlopers! That's not fair, not fair! They're ruining my game!"
"Your game was broken from the start." Pochi retorted. "Now get down here so I can cross that other eye out!"
"Grrrrr! The only things getting crossed out are your stupid hearts!"
"Hey, put me on already! Is she down there?!"
"Doctor?" Sage gasped.
"Yes, put us on, Pielope. I think we need to have a word with her."
"Shirogane…" Pochi whispered.
Pielope shrugged and willed three distorted screens to appear. They depicted Shirogane, the silhouetted Sanchez, and Dr. Omelette. "Sage, there you are!"
"Now, I, TT, what are you doing hanging out with those kids?" Shirogane asked in the tone of a scolding teacher. "You know they're the enemy, right?"
"Why…Why was I removed from the command center?" Sage asked. "Did you… intend for the Chaos Heart to replace me?"
"No, we didn't!" Omelette yelled. "It just showed up suddenly and took over on its own! It wouldn't even let us contact you. I was worried you were… Well, anyway, let her back in, Pielope!"
"Should I really do that? 'Cause I think she's the enemy now~"
"Yeah, what's goin' on down there, I?" Sanchez burped.
Sage hesitated a moment. The Go-Getters stared at her with anticipation. "I…I've decided… I want to cancel this project."
"Cancel?!" The three chorused.
"While I was away, I saw the memories…no…I felt the feelings of this world. It may have been the records and data embedded into this virtual world… and my position as the MCP allowed me to feel them. I don't know if these feelings are mine or someone else's. And yet… I've seen things that were familiar."
Sage recalled a memory of Nikol failing to open a Core Crystal, injuring himself. He expressed shame to his father, but received comfort in turn, while his mum served him her trademark sandwich.
"And I thought of the holographic sandwiches you would craft for me."
Sage told them of a memory of Ghondor snatching Shania's sketchbook, teasing, "Boy, you're a way better artist than a gunman, that's for sure!" Shania took offense to the notion, but her friend would admit, "But seriously, it's good."
"Awe, and you like to draw, too." Omelette cooed. She would always like finding digital art files appearing in her computer. One depicted herself, Sage, Metal Sonic, Infinite, and even Eggman himself, and another depicted Sage with M, L, and Lapis the doll. She drew as well as any child her age.
"And as I observed all these friendships and families… I begun to see value in my own. I enjoyed engaging in your projects to be with you, Doctor. I enjoyed playing with M, L, and E and his dolls. And I would never want to hurt either of you. But that made me realize… these operatives feel the same."
"Sage…" Omelette hadn't felt this touched or awed in years.
"Wow…" Chuko gasped softly.
"That's why… I want to end this game." Sage's whole body and code turned white and blue. "I may have been blind to it before, but I… can't handle this despair, anymore. I want to end this game and return to you."
"I…I don't know what to say. But you know, Sage… even after all those schemes we pulled on Mobius, you never seemed like you had the heart for this kind of game. Or, hearts, heh heh. Even Dad had a soft spot… I think he would've loved you, too."
"Loved…?"
"Yeah… He even knew when to give up when something didn't seem worth it in the end. You know, part of the reason I agreed to this whole plan was to get revenge. The Mirans took Dad from me… and even your own father threw his life away to this world. Until I realized, in his final moments… he was with you. The one blessing this world gave us."
"A blessing?"
"And when all these complications started happening, I was worried I would lose you, too. Maybe… this whole plan wasn't worth it at all. So, if you want to save this world, then do it—AAAAAAAHHHH!" Her face began contorting and morphing in abhorrent ways.
"DOCTOR!"
"Pielolo—BOOOOO! You're a party pooper! This game will never EVER END! Who cares about all your lovey-dovey family bologna?! This is why you're inferior in every way!"
"I must admit I'm disappointed in you, I." Shirogane said. "We could've spread so much despair together. But I guess that's the thing about obsolete Programs. The newest model is always superior."
"Newest… model?"
"She means ME! PIELUUUUUU." Pielope pulled their eyelid and stuck a blue tongue out.
"Yeah, sorry I, but the King ain't gonna be happy about this." Sanchez burped. "But I'm sure Pielope… I mean, Enforcer II will make a suitable replacement."
"Pielope, summon U and C." Shirogane ordered. "They aren't busy~" She teased, knowing C would never catch up with Jak.
The Go-Getters braced their selves as Pielope morphed the world to summon the Cyborg and Unchanged to their location. "What?!" C gasped. "Blast it, I almost had him!"
"Shut it, tinplate!" Sanchez snapped. "You have a job to finish!"
"It's a pity that it must come to this, I." U said. "But I despise traitors."
"Traitors?" Kansai stepped forth, much to his friends' shock and worry, and looked U dead in the visor. "I think you're the traitors here."
"Mr. Kansai?" Yuki spoke.
"Throwin' away your teammate just 'cause she's 'obsolete'? No good leader does that! A real leader pulls 'em up if they fail bigtime! They take 'em for ice cream and inspire them to keep tryin'!"
"Grrr…you don't know the first thing about being a leader!"
"I know a lot more than you, Blockhead!"
"I'll shut this one up for you, U." Errol charged his cannon.
"No you DON'T!" Vanilla glitched up to him.
"VANILLA!" her siblings cried.
"AGH!" Vanilla hijacked C's body, the cyborg twitching. "Wretched vermin! Initiating anti-virus progra—AAAH!" Aniki sent him flying with a Rock Launch, Vanilla glitching out. Nyoro put herself in an Inkball, and Reycho grabbed and threw her with great force, exploding ink over Errol.
Kansai took a swing at U, who blocked and slammed him in the face with a S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R.. He was about to burn him with a S.P.I.C.E.R., but Chuko leapt to pucker her mouth to the sauce gun, fueling herself and spitting the fire back over him tenfold. Suna proceeded to send him a short distance with a strong kick, after which Mowchan Ground Pounded the Enforcer.
"We'll stop these chumps from botherin' ya!" Kansai said. "Get up there and teach those traitors a lesson!"
"Pieloloon! So, you're going to separate willingly this time?" Pielope smirked.
"Sage!" Aniki yelled. "That woman is your family, right? Then you have to save her! No matter what!"
"I…I must…" Sage faced the projections, crying as Omelette's became more distorted. "I MUST SAVE MOTHER!"
"Awwwwwe. Such precious despair." Shirogane cooed. "You might as well let them come up, Pielope. I look forward to seeing my son again, anyhow."
"Hmph…" Tattsun glared up at the cosplay teacher with shame.
"If you wish. I'll prove to them who's the superior heart once and for all." The projections vanished.
"I won't give you the chance!" U kicked on rocket boots and shot toward Pochi. Kansai put his athleticism to work and dashed in his wake, thrashing U's head with a solid swing as his helmet flew off.
"Sage… from this moment on, you're an official Go-Getter!" Kansai declared. "HEY!"
"HEY!" the others chorused.
"…Ho." Sage concluded. Like them, she grinned and thumbed up.
"Disgusting." Errol sneered. "You won't even make a satisfying appetizer before Jak!"
"I could say the same." Nyoro remarked. "I made better robots than you when I was three."
"Hm…" U pushed himself to his feet. "So, this is the future of Kids Next Door."
He faced his foes with resolve. The operatives were taken aback by the… familiarity of his features. A bald, football-shaped head of pale skin and sunglasses. He looked like… a certain legend come back to life. "Then show me how strong of a leader you are, Kansai."
"…Heh heh." But the sight of him made Kansai even more eager.
Valdi and Nikol traveled into another valley of the Ragmos Desolation. "Hey!" Nikol alerted his friend to Noah dueling Blackblaze Dirk, his long claws having developed black blazes from Pielope's influence. They decimated the land around him as Noah feared being caught in them. Meanwhile, Eunie seemed to be running from the Grim Reaper himself.
"Hmm…I guess your dad's gonna have to wait, chum."
Eunie was unfortunately frozen by Stefano's timebending. "Dumbababababa!" Mumkhar eagerly crept closer, his scythe pulled back. "For one thousand years, this will never get old!"
"R, behind you!" Stefano alerted.
"UWUG!" Poppibuster and Nikol's combined girth bowled the Reaper. "Tch! Well, if it ain't Shulk's little brat!" Mumkhar cracked his boney neck. "This day keeps gettin' better!"
"All the more photos for my collection." Stefano prepared to Stop him as well. "Che cosa?!" Eunie suddenly became mobile again.
"So, that's where the Time Chi I kept sensing came from." To Stefano's misfortune, two certain timebenders had arrived: Ruford Stork and Hiyuki King. "A timebending photographer? Doesn't that seem familiar, Hiyuki?"
"Not as familiar as that guy's scythe." Being a scythe wielder herself, she was somewhat an aficionado on them.
"I told you it wouldn't be so easy." Stefano glared.
"Peh! If they wanna die today, so be it!" Mumkhar scoffed.
"Only one snuffing it will be you." Eunie said determinedly. "Now that me mates are here, I got no reason to run."
Elsewhere in the Aurora Shelf, Sena and Taion were sharing their own revenge against O and J. Lanz had found Mio among the Black Mountain and provided her with defensive support against her corrupt mother.
Jennu joined her Inkling friends and Reycho against Errol. Mowchan and his three allies of Sector Q surrounded U. Pochi, Yuki, Tattsun, and Sage made their last venture up Prison Island toward the X-Station.