The Horrorverse, Part 10: The Tea Party Conspiracy

Academy City

Nolan regrouped with Misaka and began the Riddle Hunt in this city. There was a building that looked like a giant, blank TV screen. Misaka could power up a generator and activate the screen, revealing a giant Tetris game. Nolan used a control pad to play the game, and he had to score 5,000 points to win a Riddler Trophy.

? This successful man met a Figured end, but this building exists to help kids bend. ?

They received this riddle close to a school, where a bronze statue stood in the front yard. The school was labeled Icarus Bending Academy: We're the Bendiest There Is!, and Sandman quickly realized who the statue represented. "So, Jonah Icarus used to live in this city…?" Nolan snapped a picture of the statue.

They found graffiti on the wall and ground of an alley. The wall writing spelled LOUISE, and the ground writing looked like letters of a keyboard. Nolan absorbed water from a nearby puddle into his Poltergust, using it to wash out the keyboard letters that spelled Louise's name. After washing them out in order, he earned the trophy.

They found a Riddle Cube in the middle of an underground mall. The first room was a very long corridor with a dark chasm, with targets floating up and down. This was an obvious test for Misaka's Railgun, the girl waiting until the first target was in front of her before blasting the coin clean through all of them. The second room had a giant metal ball, which clearly had to go through a hole high up on the wall. Misaka used her bending to magnetically lift the ball and put it through the hole. The third room set them on wires with Li'l Sparkies. There were five wires completely lined with Sparkies except for small gaps. Sandman and Misaka jumped within those gaps as they made their way up and retrieved the last trophy.

? Your partner LOVES this little frog, just see for yourself, you naughty dog! ?

"Hmm… What do you suppose that could-" Nolan was about to ask.

"Oh my gosh, it's the Marshmallow Don Gero Plushy!" Misaka beamed, hands and face pressed against a window. A plushy of a wise frog sat tauntingly before her eyes. "Awww, why did this have to happen when you were on sale? Sandman, it's not stealing if I take the plushy and leave money on the counter, right?" Nolan shook his head and snapped a photo of the solution.

The 15 breakable objects in this town were tankards of Bang Gas that Sandman could destroy by applying Explosive Gel, getting a safe distance away, and setting it off. When they went back into Academy Studios, they had to destroy 15 posters of Batman and the Musical Meister.

There was a puzzle where Misaka had to use her bending to hack into the minds of three Riddlerbots and make them stand on three switches. These switches would activate some "?" switches, on the ceiling, a wall, and another wall around a corner, and they had three seconds to hit them all in a combo. Since Misaka was keeping the robots in place, Sandman had to spray Explosive Gel on the corner switch, get close to the far switch, toss a boomerang at the ceiling switch, set off the Explosive Gel, then finally toss a boomerang at the far switch to win the trophy.

With another hundred Riddles crossed off their list, Sandman and Railgun headed for the newly marked location on the map. They found an elevator that brought them down to another Riddler Room. They were met with a pleasant melody, seeing a Riddler hologram quickly playing a piano. "Glad you could make it, Sandman and Friend! This challenge is called Musical Maniacs. You know, playing an instrument is a lot like playing a videogame: it takes sharp reflexes and a sharp mind to memorize all the complicated combinations. Unfortunately, you'll only have one chance to memorize this one."

They looked across a pit to see Eva Jackson trapped in a cage, which was flooded up to her neck. There were five wires attached to the cage from each side. "I thought Princess Eva would feel more comfortable in the water, but I had to keep her chi-blocked, of course. However, this woman won't feel as comfortable if these Li'l Sparkies reach her cage. There are two types of targets: normal Sparkies, and chi-blocked mines that will electrocute Eva upon contact. You'll have to use teamwork to protect Eva by destroying your respective targets. The test will end when my music… stops! BEGIN!"

Li'l Sparkies and "?" targets began moving along the lines like notes on a sheet. Sandman could break the targets with boomerangs while Misaka had to discharge the Sparkies. "Sandman is a maaaan of justiiiice. But everyone knows he's a joooooke. His terrible fist, robs bad guys their bliss, crushing their souls with a chooooke. And then there is I: The Riddler! I love to educate, yes I do. I reach out to this brute, yet he gives nary a hoot, and he turns me black and blue!"

Riddler stopped singing for a moment, so the targets stopped coming. Riddlerbots came out to attack the duo, so they quickly engaged them in combat before the next verse. "Laaaa diiiii la-di-daaaaa." Misaka stopped fighting them to quickly shoot the Sparkies. Riddler silenced again, and they quickly took out the last robots. "Praise me, IIII'm the Riddle God! Cry to the song as I plaaaaay!" During the long notes, a row of targets traveled a line. "Admit that IIII'm too much for you! May your failure make my daaaaay."

Riddler silenced again and summoned more robots. One robot thrusted its shield at Sandman, but he simply jumped above and stomped down on the mech. He then swiped the shield from another mech, used it to knock it down, then stab the robot's chest. Misaka used lightning to stun a robot, allowing Sandman to do a takedown, and when the last robot charged at him, he tossed a boomerang through its forehead.

"My voice… is an intelligent symphony. My knowledge enlightens your soul! And once I've ended your life, I'll be taking your wife, and-if-I-were-to-stop-making-riddles-life-would-have-no-meaning-and-you'd-blow-your-brains-onto-the FLOOOOOR!" Even more targets came during that verse, and they were barely able to hit them all. "Laaaa la laaaaa la-di-daaaaa! Ee-yah-di-di ya-di-daaaaa!" Riddler jumped on his piano and began playing air-guitar. "DOWN ON YOUR KNEES, I'm the Riddle God! And this is the SONG that I SAAAANG! Tell me that I deserve betterrrrr! And in shame, let your head haaaaang.

"…Sigh, that was true beauty, Sandman. I don't expect you to appreciate it, but I digress. You are free to take the princess with you." Eva's cage opened and spilled all the water out.

Nolan grappled over and helped undo her gags before swinging back. "Are you alright, Eva?"

"No, Nolan, I'm actually pretty *** mad. No woman wants to spend their Halloween stuck in a damn cage up to her neck in water. Honestly, what's the matter with that man?"

"Egotism, narcissism, OCD, obsession with collectathons, desperate need for attention, too much free time-"

"I DIDN'T need a LIST, NOLAN."

"Okay, okay!…" Nolan figured she was still upset over her son's death. He glanced down to the fallen Riddlerbots and decided to ask, "Eva, do those robots seem familiar to you?"

"Sigh, I dunno, why do you ask?"

Sandman approached one and observed its large grin, cone nose, and small round eyes. "These robots… look like the ones Dr. Eggman used to use."

"Oh. Well, they do have that creepy look. Maybe he just modeled the design after Eggman's."

"What reason would he have for doing that? I'll have GUN look at one of these robots." Sandman lifted one up. "They should still have some of Eggman's robots from the Firstborn Quest. Maybe they can find similarities in the designs. As for me, however, I have more Riddles to hunt."

London

Nolan and Sebastian found a trophy inside a dead-end hallway behind a fence, where one simply needed to press a switch to open the cage. However, Nolan told Sebastian to stay outside while he collected the trophy himself. As he expected, Riddlerbots jumped out and trained their guns on the Sandman. With Sebastian gone unnoticed behind them, the butler was able to Stealth Kill each one of them.

A Riddle Cube brought them to a room with a refrigerator and a strong waterfall blocking a passage. Sandman used the Poltergust to absorb an Ice Spirit from the fridge, freeze the top of the waterfall to block it, and afterwards grapple hook the trophy on the wall behind it. The second room had them propelling up in the air via a giant fan. A bunch of papers were blowing around and a Riddler Trophy among them. The duo smacked away dozens of papers and barely had time to grab the trophy. The final room simply had the trophy sitting in the middle—Sebastian yanked Sandman back when a gigantic Thwomp crashed down, taking up every space except the sides of the room. They waited for the Thwomp to rise before grappling the trophy over.

? This sneaky robot has no shame, what is his 4th favorite game? ?

They received this riddle in another graffiti-filled alleyway. It didn't seem like this graffiti was connected to any trophies, but one piece of it stood out: it was pixel-like and depicted the face of a robot. Sandman snapped a picture of the riddle solution, and for some reason heard a "Hehehehehe!"

The 15 destructible objects around London were golden ghost mice, hidden inside wedges of cheese. Sandman had to snap pictures of the cheese to make them come out, and afterwards suck the mice into his Poltergust. In the Noah's Ark Circus, the 15 objects were snakes hiding in little holes. Sandman had to lure them out with the Grapple-Cam, leaving Sebastian to catch them.

Now that Sandman has 400 Riddles inside his Infi-Cube, it was time to venture to the next test. The entrance was at the base of the Big Ben, the elevator leading them far below the clock tower. The Riddle Room in question appeared to be an underground artificial forest. Sandman searched around, expecting to see a Riddler hologram. An upside-down "?" swept by his face, and they looked up to see the hologram swinging by his feet on a trapeze. "Didn't you simply enjoy the sights at Noah's Ark Circus? How lovely it was to watch humans embrace their inner ape. I hope to get as much joy from you, as I watch you navigate my Forest Maze!

"The rules are simple: make your way to the end of the maze and free Luvbi before the oxygen is sucked out of her cage. But what is a maze without riddles, eh Sandman? Begin!" (Play "Forest Maze" from Mario RPG!)

The entrance to the maze opened. It smelled like a real forest, but the trees were clearly cardboard. It started as the typical "four different directions," with Sandman and Sebastian constantly taking left and right turns, yet they somehow kept ending up at the start. "Sandman, perhaps it is best if we observe our surroundings more carefully." Sebastian said, tapping the floor with his foot. Sandman caught notice of that unusual spot and vacuumed up a paper that blended itself with the floor, revealing a sewer hatch.

They dropped in the hatch and reached the next room. There were five paths to choose from and each one had smiling, dancing flowers beside it. When Sandman tossed boomerangs at them, they made squeaky sounds, except for one group that made a "FAZOO" sound. They deemed that as the path to follow. The next room had four vents in each corner of the ceiling. It seemed that Pac-Man was behind bars in the walls, following wherever the duo went. Pac-Man always had a silly smile, except when he turned sad near the far right vent. The duo grappled up that vent.

The next room had mirrors all around the walls that also served as doors. The only way to solve this puzzle was to observe each mirror closely, Sebastian thought aloud. So, the two heroes stood close to each other and walked sideways, staring into each mirror. One mirror had their faces switched, so in they went.

They were ambushed by five robots in the next room, two with shields and two with shock rods. Their choice weapons made it complicated for the duo, but they were able to prevail. When they killed the robots, their heads would pop off their body in the direction of one of five doors. "Hmm… Sandman, do you remember which one wasn't wielding a weapon?"

"It was this one." Nolan answered, leading the way to the door. His instinct was correct. The final room had a floor filled with fans blowing up through holes. Sandman tossed his Remote Boomerang to look into the fans, but it was blown up before he was able to. Instead, Sebastian offered to glide into the currents and quickly search them as he was blown up. He saw that one of the fans was a spinning yellow smiley face.

"Sandman, it's the middle-right-top one!" Sebastian shouted before vanishing up a hole and reappearing at the start. Sandman dove off the foothold and quickly glided to the appointed fan. The second he was blown up the ceiling hole, he was in the room with Luvbi's cage. The timer had 10 seconds left, so he quickly sprayed Explosive Gel on the glass and blew it up.

Nolan undid Luvbi's binds and helped the Nimbi woman to her feet. "Huff…Huff… PRAY, what taketh thee so long to rescue me?!"

"You're welcome, Luvbi."

"Ay, me. Well, a bit faster next time, yea?"

"Luvbi, do you have any idea where Riddler's taken Danika?"

"Pray, wherefore would I know of such?! …Although, I am remembering something odd Riddler hath said. He sayest something about the Sandman's wife becoming a star before laughing maniacally."

"That's concerning." Sebastian said, having quickly run back through the maze to reach them. "You don't suppose he's taken your wife to outer space?"

"If that's true, the only place I can think of would be the Moonbase."

"Whatever the case, 'tis not my problem." Luvbi stated. "Space is not my element. Now, wherein lies the exit to this place?!" (End song.)

Thankfully, the exit to this room led straight back to the start of the maze. From here, they took the elevator outside and called a GUN plane to take Luvbi to headquarters. "Well, until we're sure of where Danika is, the only other thing on my agenda is helping Mandy with her problem."

"I find it an odd coincidence that Lord Mandy's ships have been appearing unusually frequently." Sebastian said, gazing up at the sky. The flying Boogey ships blended well with the darkness.

"Care to join me for some espionage?" With that, both jumped into the Sandwing and took to the heavens. They pretended to drive away from the town before cloaking the aircraft. They quietly flew toward the Boogey ships and watched as they were descending toward the ground.

"Okay, I think that Sandguy is gone. Let's wrangle us some ghosts and get outta this town." The demon's voice was picked up by the Sandwing.

"Did Mandy send them to catch ghosts?" Sandman wondered. The ships hovered over the town and dangled fishing rods to lure some in.

"Well, we demons find souls to be quite delicious." Sebastian replied. "The ghosts that form from natural spiritual energy are often used as ingredients for marvelous confections. Sniff, sniff, sniff… In fact, I can already smell a fine stew brewing in that ship over there."

"You can smell from this far away, from inside the Sandwing?"

"Well, what kind of butler would I be if I didn't have superior senses?"

"Hmm… Alright, then let's put them to the test. See if you can tell what they're making." Sandman flew closer to the nearest ship.

Sebastian sniffed and reported, "They're cooking Jelly Chu Stew with a touch of Powder Spirit. Oh, my mouth is watering already!" They flew to the next ship and Sebastian took a large whiff. "This one is baking cookies and doughnuts. And they seem to be coated with Icing Ghosts. Including some of which that are native to Whole Cake Mountain! My, they smell marvelous…"

"Are any of these toxic to mortals?"

"No, mortals would enjoy them, too… though their taste buds are not quite as appreciative." They flew to the next ship. "And this one is baking cupcakes. They're going to be topped with Dark Icing to get the consumer addicted. And… hmm, that's an odd smell."

"What's an odd smell?"

"It could be my imagination, but I'm detecting… the faintest smell of Toxichu. But no demon would be foolish enough to add THAT to a sweet."

"Sounds like something to investigate."

"Leave it to me." Sebastian dove off the Sandwing and landed in an alley. The Black Butler made his way underneath the ship and grappled up to a hatch on the bottom. From there, he snuck into the ship's kitchen and found the cupcakes baking in the oven. Sebastian pulled the pan out and set it on the oven. The cupcakes were in the middle of transferring to their solid state, and Sebastian picked through a certain one, not bothered by the heat. "As I thought…" Sebastian drew a tiny needle from the dough.

The butler brought the entire pan back up to the Sandmobile, where Sandman called Mandy while displaying the view of the unfinished cakes. "I sent those ships to London because I heard a lot of ghosts appeared in the area. The sweets they were making were going to go on my dessert table, including those cupcakes."

"Then it's likely this needle was intended for you. It's full of Toxichu Jelly." Nolan explained. "The Dark Chi Icing was meant to get you addicted to the cupcakes, ensuring you would keep eating them until you swallowed it."

"I've heard enough. I'll send an interceptor to capture them. As for the cupcakes, feel free to toss them. Or eat them. As long as they're not on my table."

"Are you satisfied now?"

"We still haven't determined who the mastermind is. Get back to work, trooper."

"No rest for the weary butler." Sebastian said with a smile.

Academy City

There were four different Boogey ships looming over the corners of Academy City. "So, those ships belong to a Yonko?" Misaka asked. "I don't know much about them, but I heard they were really dangerous."

"I always felt they were all talk. I know a Kids Next Door operative that was able to beat THREE Emperors."

"Ha ha, really? This sounds like a real powerful operative."

"No kidding. …Oh! I think we found suspicious activity." Sandman said as they witnessed a shadowed figure diving off a ship. They flew the cloaked Sandwing down onto a rooftop and parked there before diving to the streets. Sandman used Detective Vision to track the mysterious figure, following him to an alley, down a long flight of stairs inside a building, and to a sealed door. The figure typed a code into a mechanical terminal to unlock the door and slipped inside, closing it quickly.

"I can't believe it." Misaka said as they approached the door. "This door still uses one of those old-fashion button locks. Unfortunately, I can't hack something like this."

Nolan hardened his fist and punched the button lock, breaking it and unlocking the door. "That's how people hacked things in the old days." They entered the dark building, Misaka looking at him with disbelief.

Still using Detective Vision, they were able to keep a safe distance from the figure. They passed Revan by one of the corners.

"You know, Nolan, I think I know why you held off on Mandy's mission so long: you're jealous of how much she's accomplished. When you were kids, she was a mere rookie pirate and you were a Sith's apprentice. Now, she's an Emperor and you're a worn-out wannabe crime-fighter. Where did it go wrong, Nolan? I'll tell you where: having a kid."

The figure stopped in the next room, so the two stopped where they were. Sandman sent the Grapple-Cam into that room, remaining hidden in the darkness as they recorded the interaction. The figure pulled back his hood and revealed to be a Stalfos. He was meeting with another hooded person, who had the head of a red gem. "You made sure you weren't followed, right?" the Gem asked in a male voice.

"In a random little building in an indistinct part of a city, who would follow me down here? So, do ya have it?"

"Yeah, yeah. It's right here." The Gem grabbed a small pink diamond from his coat pocket.

"That's it?! It's way too small to be Pink Diamond!"

"I shrunk it, smarty! It'll grow back to normal in 10 minutes. And believe me, it won't be easy to carry."

"I'm just saying, a million units is a bit much for something like this."

"Hey, this is the genuine article! You know how much we had to go through to rob this from Emera's Catacombs?! Either you buy it now or I'll sell it to someone who will."

"Okay, okay. Here, one million units worth of Mon. Now, I gotta send this diamond to the party quickly." The demon placed the diamond in a small purple chest with a star; it was a Vanishing Box. "Arrrgh… well, here's hopin' what you say is true. Otherwise, I'll have me skull crushed."

The Sandman grappled the Stalfos from behind and yanked him over, grabbing the skeleton. "It's too late for that!" The Gem drew an Ether gun and tried to shoot him, but Misaka quickly blasted him with lightning. "Someone has something to say to you." Nolan said, holding up his wristwatch.

"Hello, Stalven." Mandy's voice was heard.

Stalven gasped. "Don't tell me… she heard everything?!"

"Yeah, I heard you."

Sandman bashed the skeleton's skull and knocked him out. He then grabbed the Vanishing Box and opened it, but the inside was completely empty. "It's already gone."

"Damn. The person on the other side must've grabbed it already. That's what you get for acting too late, Nolan. Don't fail me next time. I'll send a team to grab those two."

"If she's supposed to be a criminal, why are you helping her?" Misaka asked.

"She's not that evil. She's just shy."

Quahog, Rhode Island

"Nolan, don't you find it odd that every one of your mission objectives take place in the same four towns you've been visiting on this adventure?" Crystal asked.

"I think of it as the universe's way of making my job just a little bit easier."

There were three Boogey ships looming over the skies of Quahog. Sandman drove close to one and listened to a group of Lizalfos. "Lord Mandy said the Lizalfos on the Boogey Swine all got wiped out. Apparently, she let them be sacrifices in some sort of 'test.'"

"Hey, my cousin works on that ship! What's Lord Mandy thinkin'; I mean, what's the test even about?!"

"She wouldn't tell us any more than that. But hey, once those guys come back to life, we'll ask them. It isn't like they actually could've died, right?"

Sandman found nothing suspicious in their conversation and moved on to the next ship. This one was run by Darknuts. "Why did Lord Mandy send us to this town again?"

"She wants us to keep an eye on it in case the situation gets outta control. I dunno why she cares so much about this town."

"Maybe she has friends or relatives here or somethin'?"

"Awwww." Nolan smiled. "Mandy really does care."

"Anyways, I'm starvin'." a Darknut said. "I saw one of the Fatblin go down to the doughnut shop. I say we break in a restaurant and steal us some food!"

The previous sentence caught Nolan and Crystal's attention. The other Boogey ship was hovering over the approximate location of the doughnut shop. They parked the Sandwing on a different roof several blocks away before gliding over to the shop. Nolan used Detective Vision and determined there was someone in there, a Fatblin to be specific. He climbed into a rooftop vent and crawled to an area above the storeroom, where the Fatblin was stuffing doughnuts into a magic pouch.

"What?! What do you mean you're being attacked?!" the Fatblin said into a phone. "Your poison needle was discovered? Graaaaahhh! I can't believe this! It's bad enough that she suddenly has a craving for doughnuts, even though we didn't even bring her to life, yet! What if this entire plan goes south?! If Lord Mandy figured you out, it's only a matter of time before she-… Hello? …Damn." The Fatblin sighed. The other end had gone dead. "Even if the ritual is successful… we'll never be able to crush the fleet at Port Rivera if Mandy is still alive."

"Sucks to be you." Sandman grabbed the Fatblin by the neck from behind, then Crystal shoved the head of her staff down his throat to set his guts aflame. She yanked the staff out as Sandman shoved him to the ground and knocked him out.

"Bravo, Nolan. I'll send someone to grab him. Now, if you would, come and meet me on my ship."

Port Rivera; Boogey Coast

"AAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGHH! WAAAAARRRRR…!" The four apprehended traitors were squirming in their cell, trapped in an unending nightmare.

"This is what happens to all who plot against me. Remember that, you two." Mandy stated.

"What good does it do?" Nolan asked. "They're still refusing to talk."

"Are you sure, Nolan? I think that last one gave us a fair share of information."

"He seemed to be in contact with the crew with the poison cupcakes. According to him, whoever they're working for is conducting a ritual meant to bring someone to life. Wait…" Sandman remembered Aya's words. "Dr. Drevis mentioned giving someone her secret recipe."

"Secret recipe to what?" Nagisa asked.

"To bringing a dead person back to life. Aya was able to revive a criminal by attaching his soul to an artificial human body. …And judging by what the Fatblin said, they're already in contact with the soul in question, because he said 'she' was hungry for doughnuts."

"That's not the part that concerns me." Mandy said. "He also said that, after their attempt to poison me, they were planning to crush this entire fleet. But if I were to die, this fleet would've been long gone from Port Rivera before the enemies could get to our location. …Unless, of course, these operations were occurring CLOSE to Port Rivera."

"Hold on, you are a Yonko, right?" Nagisa asked. "I mean, I just assume your crew would be able to defend their selves with or without you."

"Indeed… unless they were pitted against another Emperor's crew. Or worse…" Her eyes widened, "another Emperor!"

"But… who?!"

"Doughnuts… cupcakes…" Nolan thought aloud. "It would have to be… BIG MOM!"

This sent chills down Nagisa's and even Mandy's spine. "Grrrr! CREEPER!"

Mandy's henchman skittered downstairs and saluted. "Yes, Captain?!"

"Tell me if there are any candy stores in or anywhere near Port Rivera! Candy stores or any place that sells sweets!"

"Errr-" Creeper quickly flipped through a guidebook. "Aha! Armando's Azúcar! It's 10 miles west of town, meant to attract travellers on their way to town. Uh, but why do you ask?"

"Nolan, Nagisa, go investigate."

The two quickly boarded the Sandwing and flew away from the town, crossing miles of desolate wasteland before finding a small, lone building. The windows and doors were boarded shut, some letters on the name had fallen off, and there was a sign that read, Closed for repairs. Definitely not bought out for the purpose of an evil deed.

"Definitely the place." Nolan said before bursting the door open with Explosive Gel. There were colorful tables lined around the place and shelves lined with jars of candy. It was so dead and quiet for such an important place. So quiet that it was scary. Scarier than Mandy herself.

"Stooool~"

"GYAH!" yelped Nagisa, falling on his rear. He had touched one of the stools, and it suddenly grew a face and started chanting.

"Stooool! Stooool! Stooool!"

"M-M-M-Mr. York…"

"Nagisa, over here." Nolan gestured over behind the counter. He climbed into a trapdoor. Nagisa tried to tell him about the stool, but couldn't find the words, so he gave up and went after him.

The duo made their way down an extensive passage with many turns. They walked down some stairs- "Staaairs. Staaairs. Staaairs."

They looked down with a start. One of the steps had a face and was singing. "M-Mr. York, there's something not right about this place."

"Let's keep moving." Sandman said, not letting his own worry show.

They passed under a swaying lightbulb. "Old lightbulb, old lightbulb, old lightbulb." They passed by some shelves with teacups. "Teacups! Teacups! Teacups!" And litter on the floor. "To-go bags! To-go bags! To-go bags!"

The deeper they got into the hideout, the greater they could hear faint music and chanting. They entered a singing door, and the song grew even louder. They were met with an intoxicating scent that smelled like cookies, cake, and chocolate all being baked into the same pot. There was a fence nearby, overlooking a room with a bright pink glow. Sandman and Nagisa calmly approached and crouched behind the fence. They were not prepared for what was inside.

A stream of pink smoke traveled along the walls, giving faces to all the flowers and sweets that it touched. A ghost-like figure danced in midair, twirling her magenta dress and her massive pink, curly hair. The woman was five stories tall, her nose was long and pointy, and the mouth on her pudgy face looked like it could store 20 wedding cakes.

The woman danced above a lying body of herself, surrounded by eight torches. Underlings were playing music; they consisted of demons, Nimbi, Goombas, and even dragons. "HAH HA HA HAH! Maaaamama mama. Tell me how long until my return?"

"Only a minute, Mamaaaaa~!"

"Analog! Analog! Analog!" sung the clocks.

"And the little Empress outside, tell me, does she knoooow?"

"Nooooo ideaaaa, Mamaaaaa~!"

"Nail polish! Nail polish! Nail polish!" sung the pink nail polish.

There was a strum, and the singing picked up. "A REVIVAL, REVIVAL, IIII can't waaaaiit! It took so long to maaaaake!"

"The budget? (We got plenty!) Ingredients? (We got high quality!)"

"JAMMIN' JELLY BLOOD!"

A large pink Goomba in a pink sun hat said, "Got them."

"Buttermilk Skin!"

A white mermaid with white hair said, "Got it."

"PINK DIAMOND!"

The chest on the corpse was shining pink. A Pink Pearl said, "Affirmative."

"THEN LET'S BEGIN!" declared the giant. The flames brimmed to life as a pink column erupted from the body. The spirit was slowly absorbed into the body, and it rose from its rest like a zombie. The giantess opened her mad pink eyes, and she licked her cherry lips to confirm her taste buds were there.

The woman took a tremendous whiff with her big nose. "SNIIIIIIFF! Is that powder I smell?"

"Just somebody's ash!"

"Is that strawberry ice cream??"

"Made of somebody's brain!"

"With little SPRINKLES on it?!"

"Nope! Just dead Minish!"

"CAN'T SAY I CARE EITHER WAAAAAYYY!"

Pink aura shone from her body. Before everyone's eyes, a golden sun with a face appeared beside the giant and lit up the room. Some of the pink smoke turned white and became a smiling cloud with a baseball cap.

"This day will be rued by eeeeeveryooooone! The Big Mom Pirates are BACK TO HAVE FUUUUUN!" The song entered its final verse as the pirates danced with the purest enthusiasm. Nearly every object in the room had grown a face and were dancing in synchronized fashion. To Nolan and Nagisa, it was like a Disney movie come to life.

The original Pirate Emperor

Co-founder of the Earth Kids Next Door

SHERRY LINLIN

"Now, then…" The Emperor smirked at the little fence beside her head. "Who dares eavesdrop on my party?"

"WAH!" The duo were kicked down into the room by a robed figure. This person jumped in after them and pulled back her hood: she was a woman with chestnut hair in pigtails and three eyes.

"They're intruders, Great Grandma." said Lala Stork.

"It can't be… You're not Big Mom." Nolan spoke in awe. "You're her ancestor… Sherry Linlin."

"Well, it seems you've done your homework!" Sherry spoke with a big grin. "Then perhaps you've come to join my crew!"

"We're here to put a stop to you!"

"Uh, are you sure about that, Mr. York?" Nagisa asked worriedly.

"At this very moment, Pirate Emperor Mandy and her crew are amassing around this very area! I'm afraid your return will be short-lived."

"Oh, my… Not even home for five seconds and I already have to squash some bugs. Zeus, get me out of this stuffy shop!"

"Okay, Mama!" said the cloud, shutting its eyes and shaking as it built up electricity.

The Boogey ships on the surface were blown asunder by the thunderbolt that erupted from the ground. Daylight seemed to return as the sun rose from the resulted hole, shining upon the titaness on her rumbling raincloud. The Boogey Pirates trembled at the sight of this powerful entity. The titan's eyes fell to the young woman on the flagship.

For a moment, Mandy was intimidated by her figure. She shook it off and ordered, "All hands, OPEN FIRE!"

All demons unleashed all of the fury in their entire arsenal. The Wizzrobes cast volleys of spells, the Lizalfos combined their elemental powers, and they mixed shrapnel in with cannonballs. Sadly, Sherry didn't seem to suffer a single scratch.

"Useless fools." Mandy's eyes shone with malice. "I'll do it myself." Her body burst with a column of fear. Within seconds, the Fear Empress had grown twice Sherry's size, garbed in a blackish-red cloak of smog with large shoulder blades. Mandy took a great breath, and Sherry attached the sun and cloud to her fists. Mandy blew with the strength of a thousand tornadoes, and Sherry struggled to push against the overbearing Cloud of Fear.

"AAAAAAHHH!" The fear seeped into Sherry's lungs, and her mind lost any sense of self. Only one thing lodged itself into her brain: "Doooooughnuuuuuts."

"Grandmama! Are you alright?!" Lala asked.

"DOOOOOOUUUUUGHNUUUUUUTS!" Her body burst with psychic and blew the pirates off her. "ZEEEEUUUS! Carry me to DOUGHNUUUUUTS!"

"Sherry, you promised you wouldn't do this if you came back!" the cloud said.

"We have no choice!" the sun followed. "You remember what happened 5,000 years ago! Hurry, find a doughnut shop!"

"DOUGHNUUUUUUTS!" The titan charged through the Boogey ships and bolted across the valley.

"AAAH! SHERRY!" Zeus swooped down and caught Sherry on his back, lifting her off to the sky alongside the sun.

"DOUGHNUTS! DOUGHNUTS FOR DAAAAYS!"

"GWAH!" Zeus yelped when Sherry began chewing him. "First she mistook me for cotton candy and now this?!"

"GRANDMAMAAAA! COME BAAAACK!" The Big Mom Pirates raced after them, with two Nimbi carrying Lala Stork.

Nolan and Nagisa weakly climbed out of the hole and met with Mandy. "Well… that didn't go as I planned."

"Gunkan, this is Sandman." Nolan spoke into his communicator. "We've got a new crisis on our hands."

"What could possibly be happening now?!"

"You remember Big Mom, right?"

"I don't like where this is going, Nolan…"

"Well… I think they just created a Big Mom 2.0."

"Who-… Ugh, I don't even know how to respond to something like that. Just return to base and explain to me directly. Actually, someone just arrived, and they're looking for you."

"Who is it?"

"Hello, Nolan! Hope you aren't going as Batman again." came the voice of Jack Skellington.