Nasty Reception

Santa Hylia

Skaios flew down to the King's Brig, opening Mandy's cell with a key. "Your time has come, you filthy witch! You corrupted my entire kingdom with your spell, but it ends now! Time to be executed!"

"Well, it was nice knowin' you, Nebs, but I'mma 'bout to die." Mandy said. "If I see your Mom, I'll tell her 'hey.'"

"Okay. La'er." Following Nebula's simple response, Skaios began to pull one of Mandy's chains and drag her away. "Sigh… this would be a good time for Vweeb or somebody to make a miraculous rescue. And he BETTER NOT BE DOING SOMETHING PERVERTED!…" Nebula glanced around, expecting some sort of response. "Not yet, I guess." (Play "Flying A Shell" from Rayman 2!)

Stage 37: Santa Hylia

Mission: Rescue Nebula and stop Mandy's execution!

Act 1: Aerial Infiltration

Despite how miniscule the hovercraft was, the massive galleon detected the incoming threat and shot lasers, but Vweeb's evasive piloting was better than their aim. Nanokumas were sent afterward; these tiny bears had fly wings and pacifiers. Despite their cute appearance, they tried to slash the craft with claws, but Tani's archery coupled with Doffy's String Bullets took them down first. The ship sent small devices that connected barriers, but Vweeb swerved around them and flew into an opening on the flagship.

Most of the passengers cried, "Whooooaaaa!" but Maria's was, "Wheeeeee!" as Vweeb steered around barriers in a tight, tiny corridor, rolling around so much that they could no longer determine right-side-up. They came to a wider zone, where Vweeb positioned them the right way. Giant gears spun in their way, so Vweeb flew through the gaps. A Nanokuma appeared in a gap, but Tani shot it down. They were coming to a sealed, circular hatch with four red orbs, the marksmen quickly shooting those orbs to open the hatch. "I hope you aren't almost out of ammo." Vweeb said.

"Nope!" Tani beamed. "My quiver has a spell that makes the arrows magically return."

"Same with my gun!" Louise said.

"Ah! Magic's the way of the future." Past the hatch, they flew over a river of blue energy. Red alarms blared as the river rose, Vweeb keeping the craft as high to the ceiling as he could. The passage angled up barely in time before the energy reached, but Vweeb had to keep steadily steering up before they could escape from the energy entirely. They flew through another wide zone where Nanokumas pursued from behind, the marksmen working to take them down. They were coming to a dead end, but Vweeb shot a laser to blow open a weak point on a water pipe. Luckily, the water didn't rise to the top side of the pipe, so the craft hovered just above, Maria happily sticking her fingers in to feel them tread along the liquid.

"Maria, you know this is probably toilet water, right?" As soon as Louise said this, Maria regretted her life choices. Regardless, it seemed baby tadpoles were swimming in this pipe, and would poke out of random areas to observe the flying "creature," Vweeb maneuvering around as necessary. Going up a vertical pipe, they shot a red orb to open another hatch, which they learned was the drain of a bathroom sink. To their disgust, Cleveland Brown was in the middle of bathing.

"Man, this has to be the longest I ever went without no Kids Next Door ruinin' mah house." Cleveland said peacefully. "Whaddya say, Cleveland? Can we make it to another summer?"

Leaving him be, the tiny infiltrators flew into a vent, squinting their eyes from the light, yet strong wind. They evaded the blades of a fan, then maneuvered around spider-webs that were woven in there. One of the webs had a chest, which Tani shot to push it through the web, the crew flying through the resulted hole and taking it. They were coming to a fork, but the right vent sealed, forcing them to go through the heater. "Gonna be chilly when Ah get outta the tub. Better crank up the heat." Cleveland's voice echoed.

The tiny group withstood the hot, dry air, Vweeb evading the fires within. Orange bars moved side-to-side in attempt to catch them, but Vweeb was a fast thinker. They flew through a tighter vent, the air growing hotter, and they would suffocate if they were in for too long. Vweeb kept the ship perfectly steady, for bumping the sides would pop their craft instantly. To their extreme relief, they escaped the duct, returning to a cooler one. "Water break." Evan gasped. Fortunately, they had all brought water bottles, which were warmed from the heat, yet nonetheless refreshing. The air down here felt rather damp, and there were Nanokumas to thwart them, but the tiny robots instead retreated further down and around the sides. They exited the vent and recognized this passage of barrier cells as the King's Brig. (End song.)

"HORAH!" With the most superb of timing and precision, Nagisa Shingetsu swung up a jar from beneath, and his other hand above, trapping the group like flies. The hovercraft crashed as they fell to the jar's floor. "My Nanokumas warned me of a group of 'bugs' inside the wiring. But insects or not, I won't risk anything else going wrong. You're going to be good and stay in here."

"You first, Evan!" Vweeb aimed his Tri-gun.

"DON'T EVEN!" Nagisa quickly reached in, grasped the Kateenian, and tossed the jar to a Monokuma. The group cried high-pitched screams as they were vacuumed into its mouth. "Is that a resize ray?! Give it to me!" Nagisa attempted to pry the little object from Vweeb's hands, but he broke free with Kateeny strength and body-slammed Nagisa's face, the boy falling on his rear.

"Pick on someone your own size~" Vweeb fired the shrink ray at Nagisa, but as soon as he felt himself shrinking, Nagisa flipped to escape, puffing back to normal since the effect ceased partway.

"Don't even think of reducing me to your level! Do you understand what a terrible day this has been?! The kingdom is in shambles, and worse, my friends keep saying Monaca's a traitor! There was 'proof' and everything, and I…I thought she DEPENDED ON ME! I-I don't want to! I don't wanna believe her words were a lie! I-I thought… we could grow up together…"

"Love never goes well the first time." Vweeb shrugged. "But hey, plenty of nice girls out there. If you want, I can give you some advice. Come join my class and I'll teach you everything you need!"

"Piss off! At this point, all I have is Skaios, the Free Kingdom! Protecting this crew is all I need! And if you think I'm going to surrender…" Some Kumas carried a large spherical capsule up, "then I'll have to betray your expectations!" (Play "Vs. Yin-Yarn" from Kirby's Epic Yarn!)

Sub-boss: Hope Pirates Vice-Captain, NAGISA SHINGETSU

Nagisa jumped into the capsule, which grew four Monokuma legs, stomping after Vweeb while shooting a laser from its bottom, burning along the ground. Vweeb dodged its foot, then waited until the laser was up close before dodging around it. However, Nagisa's scanner detected this maneuver, so he controlled the mech to shift direction, chasing Vweeb with the laser as the alien kept evading. Vweeb noticed the four red orbs around the laser, pinning them as weak points and shooting his Tri-gun while dodging the laser. When the orbs were destroyed, the base of the capsule broke open, Nagisa falling out on his rear.

The boy thought quick and became a skunk, running from Vweeb and spewing acid back at him. Vweeb pursued, dodging the spray and shooting lasers at his rear. With each shot, Nagisa's speed faltered, until the boy changed to hybrid form and he shot a fierce look at Vweeb. Nagisa spun and swiped his gassy tail along the floor, but the alien held his breath and grabbed the tail when it swung by. Nagisa was astonished by the little guy's strength, finding out the hard way as Vweeb spun and whirled him around. Vweeb slammed him around the floor multiple times before throwing Nagisa against the wall, afterwards jumping to smash the boy's gut.

Nagisa hacked spit out, then shrouded himself in a cloud of gas in attempt to suffocate Vweeb. The alien held his breath, but continued pounding Nagisa before the human punched him off. The Monokumas brought another capsule which Nagisa leapt into, and round mechanical scrubbers attached to the bottom. "I'll wash you away like a bug hidden in the dirt!" Nagisa declared, the scrubbers rotating as the mech pursued Vweeb. The alien timed it and dashed between two scrubbers when a gap rotated past. A shower of detergent rained from the bottom of the mech, giving Vweeb something to dodge as he circled and shot the red orbs.

Again Nagisa tumbled out, becoming a skunk and escaping between the scrubbers. This time, he shot Gas Bombs back, shifting side-to-side to cover a wide radius with their explosions. Vweeb's superb jumping could go over the explosions, making sure to leap opposite of Nagisa's bombs to land in safe spots, and shooting Nagisa midair with each jump. When the skunk suffered enough hits, he spun around rapidly with a fountain of smaller bombs, Vweeb leaping away in a haste. Getting his bearings, the alien leapt over the fountain and smashed down on the skunk. Nagisa squealed before growing to hybrid form, rolling on his back with great force to squash Vweeb.

He could still feel a tiny, solid mass under his back, so he applied more pressure, but the Kateenian mustered his strength and pushed Nagisa off. Nagisa jumped, took a midair seating position, and hovered via a Gas Rocket, the gas pressing and spreading around the ground. Vweeb held his breath and tried to get closer; if he shot his laser while in the gas, it would trigger a spark and blow himself up, but after jumping out of the gas, he shot the source of the gas, a small explosion igniting Nagisa's butt. He fell in his own gas, moving it away and patting his tushie to relieve the burning pain. Vweeb seized the chance to leap, grab Nagisa's right cowlick atop his head, and pull his head back and down against the floor.

"If only you could see how ridiculous you look right now!" Vweeb taunted, jumping against Nagisa's face to bash his head to the floor once more.

"RAAAH!" Nagisa clapped Vweeb in his hands, his head throbbing with rage. "I won't fucking be humiliated by some insect! The Sky Gods are depending on me! My parents expect the best of me! You're just vermin who's not even worth my time!"

"If you have to say that out loud, then you're clearly wrong." Vweeb had to apply a bit more strength, for Nagisa's grip was tighter than usual. He slipped backward and out, grabbing the skunk tail and whirling Nagisa into the wall. Nagisa burst out a gas cloud, Vweeb escaping, so the skunk-boy was able to retreat to a new capsule. The Monokumas attached a saucer-like device around the capsule, the Octo Shower, and said Kumas carried it to the air with jetpacks. Nagisa blasted missiles that exploded into purple ink, giving Vweeb less room to maneuver.

The only way to take him down was to shoot the three Monokumas with Powuh Shots. Vweeb destroyed the first one, and Nagisa retaliated by raining an ink shower, flying over Vweeb, but he dodged to the side. Nagisa shot more missiles, but was now dodging side-to-side while the Kumas shifted position. This made it more difficult to aim properly, but Vweeb still succeeded in destroying the 2nd Kuma. He dodged another shower, but Nagisa followed up with another, then a third, creating a zigzagged pool of ink. When Nagisa concluded, the mech extracted a large cannon, locked onto Vweeb, and fired a powerful Ink Beam. Vweeb dodged sideways and ran straight forward to stay underneath, sighing with relief after the beam finally died.

Vweeb returned back as the Shower resumed its normal pattern of dodging and missiles. The single remaining Kuma was trickier to focus on, but Vweeb waited for a dodge before taking the shot and bringing the saucer down. The Kateenian could jump onto the roof and shoot the red orbs, opening Nagisa's cockpit. He shrank into skunk form and ran out, using a Gas Rocket to speed further away from Vweeb. The alien pursued nonetheless, but halted when Nagisa changed to hybrid form. Nagisa began to mold a giant gas bubble from his rear, waving his hands to keep it in form. Vweeb tried to shoot the bubble, but Nagisa dodged and moved it around.

"Gas Nuke!" Nagisa hurdled the bomb when it was large enough, smothering the passage in thick gas, to where Vweeb had to hold his breath tighter than ever and close his eyes. He listened and felt for Nagisa's footfalls, but also heard the boy draw a knife. He felt Nagisa get close and swipe his knife down, Vweeb evading. Nagisa stepped forward slightly to be within range, but when Vweeb felt the step, he ran that direction and bumped into Nagisa's shoe. Quickly, he leapt on and began to clamber up the leg; Nagisa was tempted to stab at him, but knew he would only cut himself, so he could only smack Vweeb against his leg. The Kateenian endured, but held on firmly, making it up into Nagisa's shorts.

"Phew, it's much easier to breathe in here! Time to bruise you up!"

"OOH! AH! OW!" Nagisa was pushed in several directions as Vweeb clambered around and dealt Kateeny punches against multiple parts of his body. "OWWWIIIIEEE!" Nagisa suffered a purple nurple on his right side, the boy desperately grasping it in attempt to squeeze Vweeb through the shirt, but he escaped, climbed out of the collar, and leapt up to the head while holding breath. Vweeb performed a great leap, going above the gas (its initial height had been steadily sinking). Thinking fast, Vweeb shot a laser down, and the explosion, though fairly quick and small, enveloped the whole cloud of gas, blowing Vweeb to the ceiling. He dropped to the floor, viewing a charred and weakened Nagisa, trembling on his knees.

"Huff…huff…" The boy reverted to his human form, rasping. "Why…Why can't I kill a simple insect? I should be perfect… The captain needs me to be perfect… All you are is a phantom. You're an insect phantom created from my fear! THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE! The only place you belong is UNDER MY SHOE!" Nagisa stormed after Vweeb, pouring all that remained of his strength to his foot as he stomped. Vweeb dodged and set his gun to Stun, shooting Nagisa's head. The boy faltered, but continued pursuit at a slower pace, only to be met with another stun. Because he was so exhausted at this point, Vweeb knew he was now vulnerable to this, and two more stuns finally brought Nagisa to his knees. "Augh… damn you…" He fell on his front, his head on its side with his eyes barely open. (End song.)

Vweeb marched up to his half-open eye, smirking proudly. "Finally had enough, yet? That'll teach you to underestimate us Kateenians!"

"Ugh… so, this is my fate…" Nagisa spoke hoarsely. "No matter what I did… I was doomed to fail. My parents didn't want me… Monaca never cared for me… and now the Free Kingdom is doomed. I'm more worthless than an insect…"

"Sheesh, enough with the insect garbage! If you're so smart, why can't you see that this Free Kingdom is hurting so many innocent people? Why do you think everyone is rebelling? They weren't living in happiness, they were living in fear of the dangerous pirates, but now they have a chance to be free!"

"Please… of course I knew that everyone disliked our kingdom. But Skaios… he was the light of our world. Our team. This was what he wanted… and I was determined to be useful to him. But because I failed him, I helped hurt all these innocent people for nothing. Say… Do me a favor and shrink me, too. I just wanna lie here like the pathetic piece of dirt I am."

"Yokay, gonna have to say 'no.' Buddy, if you're really loyal to Skaios, then you can still be 'useful' to him. You and the others are his closest friends, so you need to convince Skaios that this Free Kingdom was a bad idea."

"I couldn't… he's desperate to remedy this situation. He'll never back down."

"He will once Nebula beats some sense into him. But the next part will be up to you. Just lie there for now and think about it. Your muscles should recover soon."

"Sigh… fine… but please, don't hurt him too much. The captain… he's just misunderstood. He's just… a child. …Monokuma, release them."

The Kuma in question bowed his head sadly and barfed out Vweeb's friends. The alien resized them, and afterwards leapt on the terminal to Nebula's cell, destroying it to disable the barrier. Vweeb crawled onto Nebula's chains and shot the locks on each, the Supreme Leader stretching her arms and legs. "Mission accomplished." Doffy Jr. said quickly. "I'll see you on up ahead." He raced out of the prison wing.

"Hey! We should stick…" Evan sighed, knowing it was pointless. "Tani, let's go with him, make sure he stays out of trouble."

"Count us out." Louise folded arms. "He can get himself killed."

"Well, we might as well clear the troops, anyway." Tani said before following her king.

Vweeb placed the sword on the floor and resized it, Nebula picking it up. "…Just to be clear, you ARE Louise this time, right?"

"Sasuke is dead, the dick." Louise retorted. "So, is that a magic sword or something?"

"Yeah. I push this button in the hilt to turn it on." She opened a compartment in the hilt's base. "But from then, I have exactly 10 minutes to beat Skaios. I'm not going to waste any time, so the second we find him, I'll turn it on and not hold anything back. Now, let's hurry before they execute Mandy! We were just hitting it off!"

"Hel-LOOOOO, Free Kingdom!" The group directed to a TV on the ceiling, seeing Pearl and Marina, the former making a rockstar pose. "Coming to you live from our studio airship, this is officially Off the Hook's final Free Kingdom broadcast!"

"W-What're you saying, Pearl?" Marina asked, tears in her eyes. "Do you mean we're… breaking up?"

"NO, DUMMY! I mean we're saying GOOD-BYE to the Sky God Pirates! The people of Inkopolis have spoken, and our new friends are the NEXTGEN PIRATES!" Behind them was the star-shaped Jolly Roger.

"But Pearl! Do you really think the Nextgen Captain can defeat Skaios?!"

"Yes, she will! And to honor our new friends, and our savior, we've prepared a song fitting for the occasion!" (Play "Nasty Majesty" from Splatoon 2!)

They began to sing a rap song with passionate, aggressive lyrics. Their notes soared around the entire kingdom, imbuing everyone with rebellious spirit. Maria, Louise, and Vweeb were rocking their heads to the song, and the Kateenian could clearly see his leader blush with embarrassment. "Well, Nebs, I think Sheila's plan is working perfectly." he said. "Between the Inklings and King Evan, we're making a lot of allies out of this deal."

"No one's ever played a song for me before~" She wriggled awkwardly.

"Better not disappoint 'em!" Maria winked. "We'll be your escorts. Don't waste too much strength before we get to the show!"

Act 2: Feisty Challenger

Monokumas ambushed them in the hall outside the brig, throwing bombs that Maria hit back with her hat, exploding the robots. Past the hall, they came to a tall room with electric pillars and an electric floor. There were segments moving up and down the pillars, and Nebula could channel gravity to the left, nearest one, pulling them to stand on it. They walked along and around the pillar and were in range with a higher segment on the next, Nebula drawing them to it. A White Seal was working a control panel, moving lasers up-and-down between the next pillar, so Nebula timed it before floating her team to it.

This segment was stationary, but three Destroykumas were flying around, shooting flamethrowers. The group maneuvered around the segment in evasion, and shooting their weak spots was awkward for Louise in this upside-sideways vision, but she managed and took them down. Nebula drew them to the fourth pillar, the segment of which was much narrower and snaked up, so they trekked up it carefully before they could jump to a safe platform with an exit. In this next hall, a huge, but perfectly aligned cluster of Ballkumas came rolling. Nebula saw a Space-Light on the floor before them and channeled chi to it, blocking the Kumas with a stairway-shaped Block.

"Ah, Space-Lights!" Vweeb recognized. "These were a convenient occurrence."

"Yup! I only have to offer a little chi, then they do the work for me." They walked onto the stair-block as Nebula conjured Blocks on following Lights, watching as the Kumas' constant rolling shattered the stair-block. The Blocks carried them safely across the robots, but Seals lowered on gun platforms, shooting the Blocks as they cracked steadily, so the group platformed quickly. They landed on a platform at the end, entering an elevator and riding up. The elevator released in a dark room where a floating, square-shaped robot with a creepy, frowning face hovered above them. The face of this Octoseeker was inked, and its searchlights immediately spotted the group.

Although the Seeker was fast, dodging its stamp was easy. They could see the Seal pilot in the cockpit before the machine flew back up. Laser bars blocked the way forward. They searched around the Seeker before Vweeb noticed a tiny opening at the bottom of its side. When the Seeker stamped down, Vweeb minimized Maria so they could go in, making their way to the cockpit, where Maria was resized and could possess the Seal. She controlled the Seeker to fly through the laser bars, blocking them from the ceiling so her friends could pass. The next lasers came from the floor, so Maria had to stamp the Seeker down for Louise and Nebula to jump on and fly over the lasers. Lasers came from the left wall, but there was a Grav-Path along the right, Nebula bringing herself and Louise to walk on it to stay aligned with the Seeker as it blocked the lasers.

Maria released the Seal and rejoined the others as they entered a door, seeing Space-Lights going up a tall shaft. Nebula conjured twin towers of Blocks, both of which were far apart, but close enough for the Marios to Team Wall Jump. There was an opening on Maria's side to jump to a platform and hit a switch, lowering an elevator down for the others to ride up. A door led out to the side of the ship, a Grav-Path available for the crew to walk along it. Junkumas clambered up the ship with plungers on their claws, Louise quickly shooting the vicious robots in their weak points.

The Grav-Path ended at the tip of a long plank platform. Another Junkuma came, but this one was slower and seemed less enthusiastic, so it was easy prey for Maria's possession. Nebula held onto the robot as Maria carried her across the plank, where the leader could shoot Space Lightning at an antenna, causing the plank to twist to the other side like a clock, bringing Vweeb and Louise with it. The other two rejoined them on a new Grav-Path, but the Junkuma suddenly regained its vigor and broke Maria's control, only to be shot down after. The Grav-Path became wider as Guardian Beamos emerged from the ship, blasting lasers. Nebula opened portals, small, but wide enough to catch the lasers, with the other ends opening to shoot them at the Beamos.

A barrier blocked them from advancing to the deck, and there were four generators far to either side. As sturdy as they were, Nebula simply had to repeat the maneuver of warping lasers to shoot the generators, destroying all four and disabling the barrier. Once on the Hylia's deck, they found Doffy, Evan, and Tani already at work, battling hordes of Lotus, Star Knights, and ninjas. "Dammit, they caught up!" Doffy swore, strangling a ninja.

"That's a good thing, genius!" Tani reminded, leaping to bash a Lotus with her spear. "Skaios and Mandy are up in the crow's nest; it sounds like the song is distracting him from the execution, so you still have time!"

"Aye!" Nebula nodded, already seeing some Space-Lights leading up, starting from the top part of the deck. Leaving those three to fight the deckhands, Nebula's group walked up to that first Light and formed a Block. The series of Lights would direct up and around the massive sails, along with Grav-Paths up said sails, along with chains to swing.

"OI! NEWS SQUIDS!" Skaios bellowed, using airbending to magnify his voice. Alas, Off the Hook ignored him, continuing their rebellious song on the airship with neon spotlights. "'EY! I'm ready for the execution!"

"I'll bet you are." Mandy remarked, tied to a flagpole at the top of the nest (which was as wide as a tower).

"SHUT UP! Heeeeey!" The god called cheerfully. "Time for the grand execution of an enemy Emperor!"

"NASTY! GET NASTY! Done caught you somewhere crusty!" The entire kingdom was absorbed in the song.

"HEY! I know you can hear me! You're missing the hilarious execution! See, watch!" Skaios sprayed Mandy's face with a cream hose, covering her in white. "Look! I'm turning Mandy into a clown!" He then painted red over her mouth, eyes, and nose. "See, she has a nose now! And look! Now I'm giving her a binky, and a baby hat!" He slapped these things on Mandy, then painted tears. "See, baby's crying! HAHAHAHAHA!"

"Taking bets, taking less for the rest of time! Make it last, take it to the best team! To the kids comin' in, the most could show a fight for light!"

Nebula's group felt they should treat Skaios' words as a "time limit," though they could hear the desperation in his voice. He was indeed distracted, but they couldn't slow down in their ascent. They platformed the Blocks carefully, shooting down whatever flying Kumas threatened them. "HEY! Pay attention to me! Look, now I'm pumping the cream into her mouth!" Skaios attached the hose to Mandy's mouth and forced it in. Though the sensation was unbearable, her frowny expression remained ever stagnant. "Any moment now, it's gonna come outta her ears and blow her nose open! Isn't that humiliating?! Her reputation's being shattered as I speak! I said, PAY ATTENTION TO ME!!" Skaios slammed the hose to the floor, his eye pulsating.

"Look at us, take a chain that was rusty! Take a chance, 'cause I may need a rescue, saved from your lies!"

It was then Skaios received a call, ID'ed as Kokichi. "Hey, Captain! Your crew blows and I'm joining the Nextgen Pirates!"

"I don't have time for your bullshit, Kokichi!"

"You're not worthy of my lies, anymore! All your crewmen have ditched you, and I'm going with them!"

"The hell they did!" he called another number, "Nagisa, is everything alright down there?! …Nagisa? …!" He called another, "Monaca, are you almost done with your errand? …Leave a message?! …Oh, Midna! I bet you're down there! Whaddo you…" He looked past his feet, hoping to see his sister's eyes in the shadow… but nothing. His phone hit the floor, for he lost the will to hold it. The young god felt that he was invisible. There was only the song and the cheers of a kingdom in ruin. But why would any kingdom cheer for its own destruction? Skaios would only expect those kinds of cheers after being liberated from an oppressive government. …But, it made no sense, because his rule was one of free-…

"FROSTY! FEISTY! Show us how you're bossy! Nasty! Don't cross me! Made me doubt you're fun!"

"…So, that's what I get." Skaios said quietly. "I brought you all together, gave you freedom, and you wanna throw it all away."

Nebula formed one final Grav-Path winding around the crow's nest, hearing Skaios' faded voice. The path ended just behind Mandy's flagpole. "You think I'm some sort of joke." continued Skaios, his back facing Mandy and the kids. "You think I'm a plague. That my kingdom is a curse. Just like those damn adult gods."

Nebula quietly crept up on Skaios, her finger positioned over the sword's button. "Well, I'll show you how serious I am." Skaios' cape morphed into Wind Wings, and Nebula could feel a dramatic rise in chi, the wind almost blowing her off. "I'll make this witch so ugly that you'll never doubt me again." Nebula carefully reached her other hand for him. "Then you'll appreciate your freedom. …!!!"

It was the fastest thing ever when Skaios had turned to face her, and it would be the craziest millisecond of her life. In the blink of time that Skaios faced her, Nebula touched her fingertips to his face. It would only take a millisecond more for Skaios to shred her flesh, but in that same millisecond, Nebula pushed the button. And that same millisecond is when she warped them both. The chi exerted from the warp was like a firework of pink stars.

"Dammit." Mandy cursed. "She got rescued first."

"They're gone!" Maria yelled in panic.

"She prob'ly warped them somewhere no one could get hurt." Vweeb figured. "If her spacebending touches mortals, the power-up wears off."

"So, where'd they go?" Louise asked.

BAM!!! The very sky above them began to warp in distorted shapes. CRACKLE, CRACKLE! A rift tore the sky apart as lightning crackled from it, flashing the world. Black holes poofed in and out like fireworks, and twin tornadoes were cutting each other with chainsaws. A white strip zipped across the horizon, crashing into that part of the sky to shatter it further. A pink strip followed it, and the sound of a head bashing is what made the sky and ground switch places from a spatial distortion.

"Uh… think they're up there." Maria said.

"Someone's gonna need quite the massage after this~" Vweeb knew.