Commence: Operation Rescue

Sweetopia; the Phantom Suite

The Luxury Pirates, once known as Sector $, were sailing beneath an ocean of jelly and jam, filled to the brim with all kinds of jellyfish. Weiss and Raleigh's faces were pressed to the window, beaming at their beauty. Their glows gave life to the otherwise dark and juicy depths. Their submarine used a net to catch some jellyfish, bringing them inside to squeeze jelly onto some sandwiches. Carol took a sandwich of purple jelly and she brought a blue-jellied sandwich to Pacifica at the helm. "Here's to another day of sailing!"

"Oh, goody!" Pacifica remarked in sarcasm, but smiled as she bit the sandwich. "At least we can't ever get hungry on this planet."

"Speak for yourself." Ciel groaned, lying on the couch. "At least we're almost at land. I feel Sebastian getting close…"

"Yeah, but there's a ton of ships above the surface." Carol mentioned, studying the radar. "Pacifica, find a river that leads into the land and we'll resurface there."

"Got it. Let's hope Sebastian's found us something useful."

Jammin' Land was a grassland wherein the soil was composed of peanut-butter, and plants pumped water from the Sweet Sea and filtered them based on flavor. The houses were made of giant loafs of bread with jam-coated rooftops, and most of the business buildings were massive jars with solidified jam interiors.

Kremling ships were bombarding the town with cannons, shattering the jar buildings as jam spilled to flood the streets. Hidden from the combat, the Phantom Suite resurfaced above a river several miles into the region, the submarine remaining invisible as the rich kids set foot on land. Ciel drank from a bottle of Sanzu Water to cure the sickness, and he was quick to grab his communicator and ask, "Are you there, Sebastian? We've made land in Jam Land, what did you want to show us?"

"Well, My Lord, it seems that amidst the Kremlings' invasion, a troupe of Sky God Pirates have landed on the planet. They seem to be squid-like children wielding paint guns, and Sector V's Artie is with them."

"Artie's here?!" Raleigh exclaimed. "What about Haylee?"

"It only appears to be Artie."

"Let's try to meet up with them." Carol decided. "Sebastian, keep an eye on them, we're on our way."

In an open alleyway, Artie Gilligan was sporting a red cap with SPLATOON painted in blue letters and a black T-shirt with a blue squid. Beside him were Squam and Squitaba, his fellow Splatoon troops, blasting their guns to fill Sweetian troops with ink. "If Roger's report is correct, Lola should be somewhere in Noor Town. Probably eating red jelly if I were to guess."

"Why, is she a squid, too?" Squam asked.

"No, a vampire. Come to think of it, maybe a few Inklings live here."

"No time to get sentimental." Squitaba smirked, cocking her gun. "We need to get jamming! Artie, play us some Off the Hook!"

"You got it!" Artie pressed his CD player. (Play "Muck Warfare" from Splatoon 2!)

Stage 3: Noor Town

Mission: Find Lola Stork amongst the chaos!

Tip: Bonus points are rewarded for covering the level with your ink!

The Splatoon was surrounded by a band of Mushroom Toads, blasting guns of icing that would harden and trap their foes. The trio nimbly dodged and retaliated with ink; even though it wasn't deadly, the ink fired with such force that it eventually knocked the Toads out. After defeating the Toads, they proceeded through the alley, only to encounter a tall fence with slippery jam to prevent people from climbing. The Inklings shot the fence with their respective color in order to slip through, then they pressed a switch that would lower the fence for Artie.

The trio headed into a town street to find Big Mom Pirates battling the White Fang. They bypassed the fighting and tried to head up a sloped street, but several glass buildings were shattered by Kremling cannons. Jams of various colors began to mix together and flow down the road like a river. Squam and Squitaba became squids and swam up the blue and orange jams, jumping the gaps in-between. Meanwhile, Artie was supplied with a sled designed to travel up slippery slopes. Jelly Bloopers popped out of some ink and tried to shoot the human, but Artie performed slick maneuvers on his Ink Board and drowned them in blue ink.

At the top of the slope, there was a crossroads where Kremling raptors (Lightfoots) were battling Big Mom Yoshis. The Lightfoots dug their fangs into the Yoshis' flesh while the Yoshis blew the raptors' bodies apart with exploding eggs. Two of the opponents were playing tug-o-war over a Glomourian KND boy. The Splatoon blasted ink at the dinos to free the prisoner, after which they charged to attack them. Squitaba squirted an ink trail to slip around the Yoshi, jumping out to shoot him from behind. The Yoshi about-faced and caught the girl in his tongue, eating her and dropping a shaking egg. Squam charged up to him, so the Yoshi lashed his tongue, only to catch Squam's grenade. Ink exploded inside the Yoshi, who fainted.

Squitaba broke out of the egg and said with disgust, "Now I know why they tell us to 'Stay off the hook'!"

Artie struggled to shoot the quick-moving Lightfoot, having to use his board to escape from it and drop grenades when the dino got close. He decided to shoot ink at the ground and make the Lightfoot slip, the trio pummeling it with ink until it was down. Toward the left was an area of purple jam fountains, constantly covering the ground. There was a treasure chest in the center of it all, so Artie threw a blue grenade to temporarily make a path for Squam. The Inkling swam through, grabbed the chest, and returned before the purple could return.

As the Splatoon followed a road, jar cars were left abandoned on the road, destroyed by the pirates' aimless havoc. The Splatoon took cover behind the cars when Bloopers shot at them with rapid-fire turrets. The trio tossed grenades whenever the Bloopers stopped to reload, eventually defeating them. The road ahead was destroyed, but a fire hydrant was squirting an orange arch across the pit. Squitaba rode the stream with excitement, and Artie squirted blue ink on it so Squam could ride. Afterwards, the human used his Ink Board to grind the stream.

The platform they landed on had nowhere else to go, so they decided to climb the corresponding building. The Inklings squirted trails up the side to swim to the first platform. Then, Artie charged his gun to shoot an Ink Link to Squam's gun and pull himself up. They ascended the jar in a rotating fashion via this means, but Cherry Bob-ombs began to parachute from Big Mom airships. The Splatoon shot the bombs while they were still airborne. When the trio arrived on a platform directly facing another building, they noticed a treasure chest on the parallel platform. A line of Bob-ombs were slowly descending, making a convenient path to the chest. Artie bounced across them, stole the chest's loot, and Ink Linked with Squam to get back.

At the top of the jar building, a band of White Fang spotted the Splatoon and turned their guns at them. But suddenly, the roof flipped up and flung them off! It was actually a giant Whomp Tart, its ugly face slathered in pink jam. The giant pop-tart scowled at the kids and said, "Y'know, I'm SICK of my people getting eaten by big-mouthed little shitheads like you! Let's see how you like it if the stomach is in the other GUT!" The Whomp stomped over and tried to fall on the kids, but they ran to either side and dodged.

Artie threw a bomb on the Whomp's weak back and damaged it. The pop-tart jumped back to its feet and chased Artie, the boy drenching its face with ink. The Whomp did not falter and almost crushed him, but Squam pushed Artie away and took the fall himself. Squitaba threw another grenade and damaged the Whomp, and when it stood up, Squam was revealed to be safe within the ink on its face. He swam up to the Whomp's head, from which he was level with a floating cage containing a Cherry Bob-omb. "PLEASE HELP! I'm not with the pirates, I'm from the Mushroom KND, I swear!"

"Okay, just, ha-ang on!" Squam said, trying to stay balanced on the turning Whomp. He shot the Bob-omb's cage open and freed him. Squam jumped off as the Whomp tried to fall on Artie, but missed. Artie threw a grenade, but the Whomp suddenly flipped, flung it off, and nearly crushed Artie again before he dodged. The Whomp began to flip around aimlessly, desperate to crush its enemies, until one lucky throw from Artie finally shattered the pop-tart. With that, the kids decided to recover their stamina by consuming its remains.

On the side of the building, a cannon was shooting jelly balls across the valley, trying to destroy the enemy pirates roaming there. When the next jelly ball was loaded, Squitaba squirted it orange and rode it across the valley. Squam did the same, and Artie squeezed himself in it as well. "WOOOOOOOOO!" he cheered as he flew across the valley, the ball splashing against the grassy ground.

"Hey, look at that giant bat!" Squitaba pointed skyward. "Is THAT Lola?"

Artie used binoculars to spot a human man in a blue suit and large purple bat wings, flying across the sky while dragging Lola, who struggled to get away from him. "It IS Lola! If we get a bit closer, I can totally snipe that guy."

"Let's cross this river." Squam suggested. The river in question had several jellyfish tops sticking up from the surface. The Splatoon jumped down to the first jelly-top and were bounced into the air. They bounced across the following jellyfish, some of which would briefly sink into the water for brief intervals. (It should be noted Inklings can't swim.) Bloopers tried to snipe them from the water, but Artie returned fire. They reached the end and raced across the field as the bats drew closer into view. (End song.)

"This spot is good." Artie said, placing the scope up to his eye and locking onto the bats. "Now to wait for a good opening."

"Get the hell off me, you bat wannabe!" Lola demanded, trying to bite her captor's arm. "I'll go when I want to!"

"We ain't lettin' the Kremlings have you, so be a good girl and stop—DAAAH!" His face was smothered in ink, Lola seizing the chance to spank his wings and knock him out of the sky. She looked down to where the shot came from and saw Artie waving at her. Lola flapped down and landed beside them.

"I was wondering when someone would show up. Who're these guys, Artie?"

"They're Squam and Squitaba. They're, um…"

"So, it IS you, Artie!" The Splatoon about-faced to find Sector $.

"Ah, Carol! Man, it's a relief to see you—oh?" He realized they were aiming weapons at him.

"By order of Emperor Nebula, you're under arrest for treason!"

"WAIT A SEC!" Artie raised his hands, while the Inklings aimed their guns. "This is a huge misunderstanding! We only joined up with them to-"

"But she ordered it in a joking tone, so she probably just meant for us to get you back."

"Ah… that's good." He let his arms drop.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Ciel asked.

"Rescuing Lola, what's it look like? The Sky Gods have a spy in Big Mom's crew and he told us the current locations of Sector IC. I thought the best time to save them was when they were busy with enemy crews."

"Sweet, then let's get to saving them!" Lola insisted. "Before Great Grandma marries Terry off to MaKayla!"

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that bit?" Pacifica asked in disgust. "Aren't they, like, underage?"

"Not on this planet. I know, it's pretty gross, huh?"

"That's one way to put it." Squam remarked, his partner making a vomit gesture.

"On the contrary, I think it's quite romantic." a smooth voice spoke. (Play Hisoka's Theme from Hunter x Hunter!)

Lola gasped, "Hisoka!"

The pink-haired Carnian leapt out of a tree and stretched his arms to snatch Lola back. "I knew Dacquoise couldn't retrieve you on his own. You'll be safe with me, darling-"

In the blink of an eye, Sebastian Michaelis leapt out of the shadows and lashed his black leg into Hisoka's stomach! His sticky hands were still glued to Lola's sleeves, so she bit off the sleeves with her sharp teeth. Sebastian leapt away, ducking a stretched kick before running to kick the back, only for Hisoka to grab the butler's shoe. "Hey, his body's made of gum!" Lola cautioned. "You gotta attack the parts with clothes!"

"Duly noted." Sebastian said, discarding the shoe just as Hisoka tried to throw him, then completing the kick to the back.

"Artie, where are the others being held?!" Ciel asked hastily.

"Here's a map." Artie held up a map with marked places, which Carol snapped a picture of. "George is in the Breakfast Backstreets, Miyuki's on Ice Cream Mountain, and Terry and Kayla are on a forced date at Smoothie Soiree."

"We'll go to Ice Cream Mountain," Weiss offered, "you help George. We brought a secret weapon that's perfect for the occasion."

"Really, what kind of—oohhh…" Artie put the pieces together, and Weiss gave a light smirk.

"We'll take Lola with us." Ciel decided. "Quick, back to the sub."

"Tell Chris and the others we said, 'Hey'!" Weiss yelled as they ran off.

The six operatives raced through a peanut-butter valley, in which pirates emerged from the soft soil like camouflaged soldiers and began to shoot the crew. Weiss froze the soil and slid around to cut their weapons. Raleigh summoned Pichu and ordered him to Thunder Shock two pirates. Pacifica grabbed a pirate with Chains of Judgment, swung him around, and threw him into another pirate. The crew raced through a slightly more narrow area clear of any pirates.

"Gum-Gum Ricochet!" yelled Hisoka as he shot a fist toward a wall. The fist ricocheted in a zigzaggy manner, covering the length of this path as the kids stayed safe in the triangular gaps. The group ducked and crawled under the arm, but Hisoka stretched the other arm underneath, aiming to snag the first victim. Pichu shot quick Thunder Shocks to keep the hand at bay, long enough for the above arm to fully retract. Hisoka was forced to defend from Sebastian, giving the operatives a chance to keep running.

A band of Pound Cake Gorons tried to roll the kids over, but Weiss created an ice wall to block them. The Gorons pounded and broke through the ice, but Ciel began to shoot them in the eyes. In their weakened states, Weiss pelted them with icicles until they were knocked out. "If we go down this hill, we'll be at the ship." Weiss said. "This should make it easier." She froze the hill solid as they all slid down.

"Leaving so soon?!" Hisoka lunged into the air, his arms inflated to mammoth size. He brought the left fist down, crushing part of the ice, then the right, and continued alternating fists as he pursued the kids. They dodged around rocks in the road, sliding as fast as possible to escape the hammering fists. Lola spotted a treasure chest on the left and grabbed it as they slid by. They reached the bottom of the slide with the river in sight, but were enveloped by a shadow as Hisoka's mammoth arms flew over them. "Gum-Gum KING KONG!" The twin fists reached for the sky before blasting toward the ground.

"Pichu, Volt Tackle!" Raleigh ordered.

"PICHUUUUUUUUU!" The little mouse wrapped itself in a large electric sphere and drilled into Hisoka's fists. Pichu was able to hold the giant fists back, much to their surprise, but Hisoka was slowly prevailing. During this time, Lola flapped up and whooped Hisoka's butt with Super Spank Hands. Hisoka's arms retracted, and Pichu fell to the ground, dizzy from exerting so much electricity. "Chuuuu…"

"You did good, Pichu. Return." Raleigh returned his Pokémon to its ball.

Hisoka landed on his feet and said, "It's too bad Terry didn't get the spanking powers-" Before Sebastian kicked him from the side again.

"Let's hurry and get away from this creep." Lola said.

"In here, quickly!" Carol shouted, jumping in the hatch of the cloaked submarine. The five others joined her inside, leaving Sebastian to dance with Hisoka.

"Given your attire, you must be a circus performer." Sebastian said, grabbing Hisoka's armbands as he hoisted himself up and kicked the gum man in the chest, Hisoka stretching back by the arms. The butler held the bands as he tied the arms together, then released them back to their owner.

"Yes, I'm a gifted children's performer." Hisoka untied his arms, but brought his leg to guard his left knee when Sebastian tried to kick it. "I bet your children would love me."

"Suppose they shall. I cannot risking losing my position to you." Sebastian slid around Hisoka, who stretched an arm after him. The arm wrapped around himself, then Sebastian kicked him off his feet, but Hisoka pushed himself to the air with the other arm, and he unwrapped the previous arm to shoot a punch at Sebastian's face.

The Splatoon were calmly floating away from the battle site with fish balloons, along with their rescued captives. When they floated by a Big Mom flagpole, Artie swapped it with a gold flag for the Raccoon Pirates. "Seems they managed to get away." Artie said.

"Yeah, but how did that electric attack hurt that guy?" Squitaba asked. "Rubber doesn't conduct electricity."

"He wasn't rubber, he's made of gum. Heh, 'guess he should've ate the Gomu-Gomu Fruit instead of Gum-Gum, huh?"

"Hyeah! Serves him right!" Squam retorted.

"At any rate, we better get going to Breakfast Land to find George. Eh, but helping them doesn't count as betraying the Sky Gods, right?"

"Meh, we don't care enough about the crew to arrest you. We would probably betray them ourselves eventually."

"Especially if they're making us hunt Louise." Squitaba replied. "I hope she's okay."

"I'm sure we'll meet up with her soon enough. Let's worry about the people that're still captured. We'll never beat the strongest pirates without our strongest operatives." (End song.)

Hyrule; Mogma Town

The Q-Crew had driven into a tunnel to hide from the Ash Knight. They drove out onto a rugged path within a canyon, driving slowly in the dark of night as their headlights could only reveal so much. They could make out the dim lights of a village up ahead. "I don't think it's chasing us, anymore." Quill said. "Let's park over here and rest. I'll set up the cloaker."

He parked over within an indent of the wall and set up the bus's camouflage. With that, the operatives changed into their pajamas and brought out sleeping bags, laying them on the floor of their bus.

"ALRIGHT!" Miko jumped, hair wrapped in a bun as she wore her mint-yellow sweater and dark-green pants. "That was a great job, team! Let's recover our HP and get ready for another day of pirate-beating!"

"This isn't a game, Miko." Carmine said. "I was worried we weren't gonna get away."

"But we've been doing great! And we finally got Mitch back!"

"Hah, and I thought Mitch—I mean, I, Mitch Williams, was the cocky one."

"You're probably your own number one fan." Drake remarked. "Still, you owe Jenny some favors later. Her and her awesome skating is what saved you."

"See, this guy gets it!" Jenny put an arm around Drake with a grin of delight.

"And let's not forget my awesome remote steering skills." Eddy boasted proudly as he kicked back on his bag. "I'm shaping up to be a better driver than you, Quill."

"You are not! I'm pretty sure you drove this thing over three ditches, one of the tires feels deflated." Quill argued, his bag lain next to Eddy's.

"Well, that's the tire's fault, I thought you would've fixed them better."

"Yeah, well that's why we don't spend the night, anymore."

"'Cause you can't accept that I'm better at driving games."

"That, and you wrecked one of my favorite RCs!"

"Do you newbs really have time to argue like this?" Mitch asked. "We're in the middle of enemy territory. We'll be lucky if we have time to sleep."

"Don't be jealous 'cause you've never been to a sleepover, Mitch." Miko teased, jabbing a finger in his nose. "If that IS your real name~"

"W-What're you…" Wait, she's probably just joking. Don't break character now.

"Hey, Carmine, I got your new Sleepy Helmet." Jenny held up a gas mask that was indigo-colored with stars.

"Oh, thanks, Jenny!" Carmine slowly pulled off her own helmet, exposing her shriveled and pinkish head.

'Mitch' blinked upon seeing her. "My word…"

"Oh, yeah…" Carmine remembered Mitch's first reaction upon merely seeing her suit. "If I'm too gross for you, you can just sleep outside." As she spoke, only few and small teeth were seen in her dry mouth.

The impostor assumed that Mitch's opinion of this girl was unfavorable. "W-Well… yes, it is gross, but… people shouldn't be ashamed of how they look."

"R…Really?"

"Yes! You're a… good person on the inside." The impostor was probably taking too big a chance, but he couldn't bring himself to act too mean around someone like this.

"Well… thanks, I guess." With that, Carmine put the Sleepy Helmet on, its interior relaxing her sensitive skin.

"You're shapin' up to be a better leader, Mitch." Drake said. "A little rough between the lines, but a few more nose punches will get ya there."

"I like my nose intact, thanks."

"At any rate, let's get some shuteye, team. The war ain't over until the fat lady sings. …Or the fat croc, the noseless lady, or the flying imp, whichever one sings last."

'Mitch' narrowed his eyes at this remark. Within the next few minutes, the friends settled in their sleeping bags, with Mitch resting in a spare. He waited until they were all snoring, their hearts heavy with anxiety. 'Mitch' wondered if this was their first time being on a mission this big and if they were worried every night if they could make it through the next day. They're only trying to find their friends. They don't seem to want to fight the crew. Sigh…it doesn't matter. Mandy needs to secure a victory. I don't know if I could just knock them all out like this, so I'll play it safe. Catherine should be here soon…

Dark Ore Mine

As twilight set over the region, a chill fell over the miners, who could only rely on the torches for warmth. The mine was patrolled by demon guards, and their enslaved workers were Hyrule KND operatives. Nagisa Shiota studied the mine from afar via binoculars, Goombella in his backpack. "Nagisa, do we really need Killua for this mission?" Morgiana asked.

"Even if we don't, we need to save these kids. Without Index with us, our tiny crew needs some mates."

"I'm still with you in spirit!" Index argued from the phone.

"Yeah, but I'm not getting bit every five seconds."

"I do NOT bite you that much!"

"I can!" Goombella bit his shoulder.

"Yow! Okay, you made your point! But we're about to go in. Morgiana, I'll send a signal if we need you. Ready, Goombella?"

"You bet! I got your back, Jack!"

"Then I'm all set!"

Stage 4: Dark Ore Mine

Mission: Recruit Killua into the crew!

Nagisa raced toward the mine, his Stealth Shoes muting his footsteps, and his Sheikah mask leveling his breathing. He crouched behind a boulder to hide from two armed Bokoblin, who were talking casually. Nagisa took out a gun and loaded it with Antikill bullets. Nagisa shot the left Bokoblin in the head and knocked him out. "Huh?! What the hell was-" The other demon couldn't finish before Nagisa shot him down.

"I know you're not a killer, Nagisa, but demons will just reappear in the Underworld." Goombella reasoned. "It'd be easier to 'kill' them so their unconscious bodies don't get discovered."

"Yeah, but we get bonus points for a pacifist run."

"You're really hyped on Carol's idea for a game series, huh?"

Nagisa trekked down the hill that led to the mining area embedded in the ground. The miners were denied the pleasure of a sunset, as it could not be seen beneath the gorge. Nagisa jumped below the first ledge and hid behind a cart while a Moblin marched by. The pig demon thought he caught a scent and sniffed the ground, but decided to move on afterward. Several Moblin were patrolling the path ahead, but Nagisa found a large empty barrel and put it over himself. With this, he could stand and hide from the Moblins while they faced him, and creep past when they weren't.

Nagisa could then drop down to the next level, hiding behind some unguarded crates. "Nagisa, after you rescue captives, have them jump inside the Infi-Cube. They can hold people too, remember."

"I sure ain't carrying them in my backpack like Goombella." he remarked. There was a Hylian girl hauling a cart of ore out of the cave and a boy digging near the wall. Nagisa snuck up on a Bokoblin by his lonesome and KO'ed him with his Antikill knife, then dragged him behind his hiding spot. He did the same with other Bokoblin in the area, the captive kids staying silent in the hopes this blue-haired Sheikah was a savior. With the guards down, Nagisa went over to the Hylian girl and undid her shackles before catching her in the Infi-Cube, then he went to save the boy.

Nagisa headed into the tunnel, the trail lit by lanterns. He soon came upon a group of chatting Bokoblin and ducked. "What if the enemies decide to fly by and bomb this place? Shouldn't we get outta here?"

"Not as long as Lord Mandy wants her Dark Ore. But hey, at least we get the night shift. Mortals get sleepy at night, so there's less chance of being attacked."

"I'm just worried about spies dropping in and taking our loot. You remember Halloween, right?"

Nagisa climbed a wood support beam and tiptoed across the top beam, the guards too engrossed in their talk to notice him. Once he was a good distance, he dropped and ran, turning a left corner as the mine steadily descended. He ducked behind a crate, spotting a Fatblin standing firmly in the passage. He checked all directions thoroughly, making sure no intruders or prisoners slipped by. "Fatblins are slow, but they have loads of HP. It'll take a lot of hits to KO him."

"We'd better get shooting then." Nagisa loaded his stun gun and laid rapid fire on the chubby demon. The Fatblin flinched from the sudden light hits to his head, thinking they were pebbles at first, and turning to see where they were coming from. By the time he spotted the intruder, trying to process Nagisa's appearance, too much Antikill had numbed his skull and he fell asleep. A short way afterward, the two found a minecart. "Yeah, it was only a matter of time. Strap in, Goombella!" Nagisa hopped in the cart and started rolling.

The cart made a few quick turns around the tunnel before Nagisa had to make it jump over some bumps. They rolled through a wider tunnel with a second track, from which other carts rolled down with Bokoblin. Nagisa had to duck whenever they rolled by to avoid being spotted. At the same time, he had to jump over bumps, but could only do so whenever demons weren't nearby. The demons stopped coming, but now Nagisa had to reach left or right and hit switches to change the track, lest his cart hit boulders. There were some parts where the track was already straight, so hitting the switches in question would lead to his doom. There was a chest to his right, just between two wrong switches, but he was quick to snatch it.

"Nagisa, behind you!" Goombella whispered. The boy ducked, realizing a Bokoblin was rolling up in another minecart. The demon looked confusedly at the empty cart before turning down a left track. Nagisa quickly jumped two bumps before having to duck again, and the pattern repeated as he relied on Goombella's signals. One of those carts contained a Hylian boy, so Nagisa pulled him over and had him get in the Infi-Cube. The minecart rolled into an outside area where it stopped.

This area was much bigger and had a few houses for the workers to rest. Nagisa dropped off the short ledge and hid behind a crate. He grew concerned when a Moblin was approaching, lifting a bamboo stick with two sacks of jewels. However, the Moblin was bit in the legs by rats, dropping his treasure as a swarm of thieving rodents each grabbed a gem. "Hey, give that back!" yelled the Moblin, scrambling to chase them. "I'm still paying money to my ex-wife!"

Nagisa stayed down and crawled, leaving the Moblin to attract attention. He discovered a vent and slipped inside, following an underground passage unseen by the guards. Nagisa peeked out of another vent near the right of a cabin. A Moblin was hauling a wagon of ore, so Nagisa crawled under the wagon to use as cover. The beast unknowingly guided the intruders to some crates of ore, leaving the wagon as Nagisa crawled behind the crates.

Nagisa crawled to an enclosing within some crates and briefly noticed one of the boulders move. Curious, he went up and tapped its back. A Goron boy looked up with a gasp. "Please, I was just nap-… Hey, you're not one of the guards. Who are you, Miss?"

"I'm a boy, first of all, and I'm here to save you. Jump inside my Infi-Cube."

"That tiny box? Whatever you say." The Goron squeezed himself in.

Nagisa then snuck up some stairs above the cabin, where a second-floor cabin was built, but he stopped when he noticed a sleepy Bokoblin. The guard's head rocked to and fro before he closed his eyes. Nagisa took this chance to sneak by him. He crept in front of a cabin, crawling under the window to avoid detection from chatting guards. When he approached the door, it opened towards him as some guards were walking out, saying, "I tell ya, you do NOT wanna piss off Vicky. Some prisoners tried to revolt against her, and she cut off their you-know-whats."

"'Guess they won't be making babies anytime soon."

The very thought repulsed Nagisa—but he remembered the situation and quickly hopped on top of the opened door. He then squeezed onto a little beam below the roof to stay out of sight, going toward the cabin's corner and stepping down once he was out of sight. He found a new tunnel, but decided to climb some crates to the cabin's roof. There were two sleepy Bokoblin watching a treasure chest. Nagisa crawled over and hid in front of the chest, opposite the demons' vision. When they nodded off, he would slightly open the chest and suck the treasure into his Cube, but stop whenever the demons woke up slightly. As they continued struggling to stay awake, they were unaware that the contents of the chest were stolen.

The lanterns were off in this tunnel, leaving it completely pitch-black. "I can't see a thing in here."

"Then it looks like my helmet finally comes into use." Goombella said. "Put me on your head." Nagisa did so as the Goomba's helmet light shone forward. He aimed her at the ground to watch for pits of death, in which he could leap across them with Moon Walk.

"Bein' in this dark creeps me out." They could hear a Moblin's voice, seeing lanterns swaying up ahead. "We better fix the lights quickly."

"You know we're stronger in the darkness, right? Sheesh, you're a mess." his friend remarked. "Only reason we're doing this is for the brats."

Nagisa bumped Goombella's helmet to turn it off. "We can't have that on if they're looking our direction. Let me know when they're not looking."

"Got it." Goombella whispered. The Moblin went over to a circuit board, during which time Nagisa could use the light and crawl forward. Some thieving rats crept up to Nagisa, but he quickly stunned them with his Antikill knife. "Careful. Those rats can jump inside the Infi-Cube and take some of the treasure we collected."

Nagisa made his way to a down-sloping tunnel, where it was safe to stand and run. He had to duck and crawl again at the sight of more Moblin, whom were very spread apart and turning around in search of intruders. There were spike pits in the ground that Nagisa could only see with the head light. In trying to find the correct path, Nagisa crawled over to a lone corner where a Kokiri girl was curled up in fear. She gasped when Nagisa approached. "Shh." He hushed her. "We'll get you outta here. In this Cube." The girl held her breath and dove in.

Nagisa made his way over to a ladder with a door above it. Unfortunately, the door was locked, and they noticed a key sparkling on one of the Moblin. The Moblin in question was surrounded by spikes, so Nagisa had to follow a winding path that led to him. Remaining unspotted by the beast, Nagisa quietly swiped the key on his belt. He then had to go back around the spiral path as he returned to the locked door. He slipped inside without the Moblins ever knowing.

This tunnel was lit up, and after going down some stairs, Nagisa found a train track. A short distance to the right was a train loading some Dark Ore. A shackled Killua used his immense strength to haul a large piece of ore onto one of the train's wagons. "Hurry up with those last two loads, kid! The boss ain't gonna be happy if ya slack." The Tallblin driver said.

"Pssh, take my time…" Killua mumbled.

"Psst! Killua!"

The half-Sheikah heard a voice behind him and looked beneath the cart. "N-Nagisa?! The heck are you doing here?"

"We came to save you. The Pirate Wars started and we need you in our team."

"Man, we just came out of a quest and we're already in another war? Sigh, whatever. I was gettin' bored, anyway." With that, the boy casually ripped his shackles off with Haki.

"Hey, what was that?!" The Tallblin turned around, but Killua leapt up for a strong kick to the demon's snout, smashing his long face in as he was KO'ed.

Killua then detached the front car from the others. "We'll be outta here in a blast with this. But get in, quick, I think the warden is visiting-"

"Oh, PSYCHO HAAAAIIIIRRRR!" a shrill girl's voice ripped the tunnel air. "Is my ORE READY, or are you NOT ready?! Hahahahahaha!"

"Crap! Time to move!" Killua hurriedly started the train, Nagisa jumping on.

"Hey, where ya goin', Barney?!" Vicky the Baby-Shredder raced up the tunnel, catching up with the train. "You forgot the… HEY, YOU AIN'T BARNEY! SECURITY! PRISONER ESCAPE!" She turned her arm into a saw and stretched it into the car, but Nagisa used Iron Body to defend Killua from the blade. Vicky failed to cut through him before the train picked up speed and outpaced her. "Heeeeey! Where ya goin', ya cutie-patootie lemon-fruity call o' duty Trudy Judy with a cherry on top?! Holy damn, THIS ain't gonna look good on my record! I better get chasin'! DOIDLE CYCLE, GET OVER HERE!"

"Ruff ruff ruff!" A motorcycle with a dog's head attached to the front zoomed over as Vicky hopped on. She stomped the gas and sped after the train. (Play "Rickety Rails" from Donkey Kong Returns!)

Goombella peeped out of the backpack and gasped. "Nagisa, she's catching up!"

"What a pain!" Nagisa grabbed his gun. "This oughta knock her out!"

"No, her body's made of metal!" Killua stated. "Those pacifist bullets won't work. Leave it to me, take the wheel." The two swapped positions.

Killua swung Tempest Kicks at Vicky's bike, but she expertly jumped them and launched her extendable saws. Killua hardened his arm to block the saws, but Vicky tossed nails from her fingers to stab his face. Killua pulled those nails out and threw them back, but they morphed back into regular fingernails and did no damage. "Vicky's Blade-Blade Fruit allows her to change her body into all kinds of sharp metal." Goombella analyzed. "She can even throw blades at opponents, but those blades will morph back into flesh three seconds after separating from the body. Furthermore, it seems Vicky is slightly weak to her own blades."

"Then I just have to be quick." Killua said, reacting to catch more of Vicky's nails and throwing them back before they changed.

"Yowch!" Vicky yelped when the nails pricked her face. The Baby-Shredder stretched a saw toward the train wheels on Killua's left, so he tossed his metal yo-yos down to hold it back, hitting the saw repeatedly. Vicky stretched her neck in attempt to stab Killua with her tongue-knife, but he socked her in the jaw with a Haki fist and made her recoil, yanking her saw up as well.

The train made it outside to an open field, so Vicky drove her cycle to the left side, getting level with the escapees. Vicky channeled chi to her bladed fingers and sliced airwaves, which Killua countered with Tempest Kicks. He countered vertical waves with horizontal kicks and vice-versa, keeping up with Vicky's quick movements. The Baby-Shredder then stood on her bike and linked hands, forming a large bladed roller that she launched toward Killua. The Sheikah defended with both Haki arms, but Vicky ducked her head beneath her arms and stretched it at Killua's legs. Before her sharp teeth could sink in, Killua swung a kick that made her recoil.

The shredder nearly lost balance on her bike, but regained herself as she drove behind the train again. "Time ta get up close and personal!" Vicky turned her arms into harpoons and shot them into the roof of the train, using them to slingshot over it. Vicky landed on the front of the train, Nagisa gasping as she formed a large sword with her arms. "My little pets gotta get FIXED after all!"

She was about to thrust down, but a figure leapt from the darkness and KICKED the warden off the train with her mighty leg. "Ouch!" Morgiana rubbed her toes from the impact of the sturdy metal.

"Just in the nick of time, Morgie!" Nagisa cheered.

"My pleasure." She smiled. "You'd better be grateful, Killua."

"I'll be grateful when your big butt isn't blocking the way." Killua retorted.

"That's it, he's next!" She prepared to stomp down.

"Not now, Morg, settle down!" Nagisa stopped her. Morgiana huffed and climbed into the car. "Killua, where's Gon? Did he get captured, too?"

"It was his idea we get captured in the first place. Baka thought it would be decent training."

"In that case, he's probably alright. Let's check in on JP and MG. They're rescuing operatives, too. …Uh-oh, here comes the flagpole!" Nagisa saw a Boogey Pirate flag on their left and began to Moon Walk up to it, still moving with the train's momentum. He was able to snag the top of the pole, swapping the flag with a gold one with the Story Pirates logo (a Nagisa skull with an open book beneath it).

Vicky had impacted with a boulder, which shattered immediately. She recovered and rubbed the side of her waist. "That girl's got a BURLY pair o' legs on HER hind! They'll make great whips, wonder if she wouldn't mind partin' with them? Heh, but I had all these fun things to do with Psycho Hair. 'Guess I better save them for Angry Hair, kyeh heheheheheh!" (End song.)

The Q-Bus

Once 'Mitch' had affirmed that the six teammates were asleep, he quietly climbed out of his bag and stepped to the bus's exit. He slipped out of the camouflaged vehicle and onto the rugged canyon road. Viewing cautiously, he saw a blonde woman in curly pigtails traveling up the path. "It's about time you got here!" 'Mitch' whisper-shouted, stepping closer to the woman.

"Geez, bro, if you're gonna make me play flirt, I have to look the part." Catherine replied. "Plus, I'm not even good at adolescents, and this whole canyon atmosphere feels so wrong."

"Just do what you have to do until Gaz feels like showing up. These kids don't seem too strong, but we can't take any chances."

"Mitch?" The boy flinched and turned around. Carmine seemed to have followed him out. "I saw you get up and leave."

"You were awake? I was, uh… in need of some air."

"But you were talking to that woman. Were you… planning to…"

A black, mouthed tendril suddenly shot out from Mitch's neck and grabbed Carmine, strangling her as she was pulled closer. Nergal, Jr. changed back into his adult form, putting on a pair of glasses. "Sorry, kid. But if it means anything, I wasn't lying about what I said."

"N-No!" Carmine tried to grab some bombs, but his other tentacle stopped her from doing so. "H-Help…" Her muffled gasps were barely audible in his hold.