Operation: DESCENDANT, Part 4

Demon Archives: Chernabog. Created using Meloetta's Music Chi, Chernabog was a powerful Song Demon. He was originally sent to terrorize Planet Symphonia, but was put to sleep inside a volcano. He would awaken every year during La Melody Extravaganza and would need to be put to sleep again. During his slumber, Chernabog is only a baby. Waking him prematurely will result in more than deafened ears.

Los Angeles suburbs

The twilight wasn't as pretty that evening. The sky was a bloody shade of red, a shade that cast fear and doubt over those beneath it. Almost everyone, at least. "Check it out, Madeleine!" Nora Asahina pointed at the faint, red spires around the valley. "I think those are all Gaps to the Underworld. On one hand, they look kinda pretty from far away… but it's way creepier when you know what they are."

The child in question, a black-haired girl in a white dress, frowned somberly. "But it'll be alright!" Nora startled her with her upbeat shift in tone. "We'll beat up any old demon that pops up! But no reason to let a few holes interrupt our evening jog! So, let's keep thinning!"

As the tan-skinned Adabatian resumed running, the mute child followed the best that she could. Knowing how athletic and strong-legged Nora was, catching up was a foregone dream. Madeleine would only see Nora's back during their jogs. The suburbs were open and peaceful, a great place to go out and run. Madeleine's gaze was drawn up the radio tower, watching the towering structure slowly scroll by as they passed it. "!" Madeleine tripped. Looking back, her foot was arched over a fish lain on the ground. Mentally questioning this, Madeleine tried to push back up… only to realize her foot was glued to the fish. Furthermore, a string was tied around it.

Nora glanced backward, knowing her friend had trouble keeping up. "Huh?!" She stopped, fully turning. "Madeleine, you okay?"

Naturally, the child couldn't answer, but—the string began to drag the fish and her along with it. "MADELEINE!" Nora dashed, Madeleine frantically trying to grab the grass. She was being dragged to the base of the radio tower, where the ground was split and bent up into mounds, exposing a hole with a red light. Nora was a second too late, watching horrifically as Madeleine fell into the chasm. Nora knew she had to dive after her, or else Madeleine might be eaten by demons… but going alone could be reckless, too. She decided to run home to her teammates.

Sector V

Towering flames surrounded Christina in every direction. She started to wonder if she died in her sleep and wound up in the Underworld… but another part of her knew differently. "Welcome back, my young descendant." The horned silhouette loomed above her once more. "Pity that first meeting had to end so abruptly. But that's what you get with cheap magic."

"Hey, it's good old Bullface. Heh, did you see me? I totally scared off that demon pup."

"But it sounded like that battle was mostly a feint."

"Yeah, don't remind me."

"That doesn't mean the other Lords will let you pass easily. If you hope to survive, you'll need to-"

"Yeah, so give me some power already!"

"How rude. I like it. But you'll still have to take it for yourself!" Malladus hammered his fist, but Christina dodged and hammered her own atop it. It wasn't enough to force Malladus's down, the demon swiping her away. Christina woke with a gasp and ran from a ray he was burning along the ground. However, remembering what she did with those Heat Vision beams, and knowing what this trial entailed, Christina tried to grab the beam in her own bending. She winced under the intense heat, but was able to clasp the beam and try to shoot it back. The Demon King blocked with both claws and slammed them into the ground, sending a great wave of fire. Christina thrusted hands forward and split an opening through the wave, but Malladus's massive claws seized her in a clap.

"GAH! Son of a…" Christina's instinct was to struggle… but the grasp of the Demon King felt weirdly gentler than it should be. They were soft, fleshy, and kind of smelled like a child's palms. In fact, they smelled like…

She found herself between two pairs of giant fingers, light poking between them as they swayed softly. Chris looked between them and saw the underside of a familiar, oversized head. "Mali?!"

"Hm?" The child opened her upper hand. "Chris-chan! You're awake!"

Christina remembered agreeing to settle down for a nap. At some point, Mali must have picked her up, wanting to rock her like a baby doll. The giant sat in the middle of the living room, the others immersed in their own activities. A song was playing through the radio; she recognized the voice of Serena from Sector SG, and the song was apparently called "Affection" based on the repetition of the word. "So, we're just hangin' out, doin' nothin', huh?"

"Nuh-uh! We were in Laruta's room, exercising. We gots to be ready to beat up the demons!"

"Heh, you're the last one that should be talking about that. If you saw that spider dude we just fought, you'd pee your pants."

"Nuh-uh! …Well, maybe 'uh-huh.' The demons sound really scary… but I gots to help, too. I know I'm not strong like you, but big girls have to protect their friends from bullies. Even if I gots to hurt the bullies… I can't be scared."

Christina smirked. For a big baby, Mali could sound pretty brave sometimes. "AHOY!" Shimmy exclaimed, bursting through the balcony door with a wide, almost-flat box. "The pizza's here! Let's dig in!"

"YAY!" Mali cheered. "Christina's awake, too! She can eat with us!"

"Good evening, Chris!" Jason grinned. "Hope you don't mind a pizza dinner!"

"Dinner?" Chris climbed off Mali. "Is it already nighttime?"

"Yep." Isabelle answered. "You were out like a light. You and Silica." The Shandian approached the gamer on the couch, her snores audible against the radio. "Sill! Wake up!" Isabelle kicked her.

"Snort, hmt, whuh?" Silica cracked awake.

"You up for pizza, girl?"

"Pizza? I just had fries…"

"Yes, we could smell them the whole time you were asleep." Laruta retorted. "Brush your teeth after this."

"Hey, Trella, is that Lyserg guy still around?" Isabelle asked.

Yeah! He's up there.

"Well, tell him to get in his Gigai and eat with us. I'm sure he has it laying around somewhere."

"I don't really need to eat." Lyserg said.

"If you're gonna spy on us, you should eat with us!" Trella yelled. "Now, get your ghostly butt down here!"

"It'll be a waste of food if my Gigai eats it. But fine, I'll get in it, anyway."

The friends sat around the table, sharing a super-sized pizza. Granted, half was for each of the others and the other half was for Mali. But since Laruta couldn't eat cheese, she settled for some vegetable soup. "We're really thankful to you for helping Chris and Silica, Lyserg." Laruta smiled.

"It's part of my job, after all. No thanks are necessary."

"You heard him, Lar." Chris remarked.

"You said you work for the Divine Angels." Isabelle said. "Who are they?"

"The law enforcement of the Spirit World. They're separate from the Spirit KND that work up there, but we enact the same purpose of subduing evil spirits or demons."

"How long have you been with them?"

"Just two years… though I actually died six years ago."

"That recent?"

"Don't get the wrong idea. When you die, you're not allowed to speak to friends or loved ones you knew in life. I'd rather not talk about my original life, anyway… After I began to train under my master, I developed my Zanpakutō, Morphine. That's the chain thing you two saw. Morphine is able to dowse for targets, and it can home in on close by enemies. I can also strike projectiles and make them home in on enemies."

"And a Zanpako is…?" Christina asked.

"A Zanpakutō is a sword that all spirits gain. It allows them to use special abilities."

"Cool!" Ralph perked up. "What other kinds of Zanpakutō are there?"

"Too many to talk about. Anyway, I've informed my fellow Angels about Diablo's pillars. Now that they know to search for his brethren, I'm sure they'll be able to breach his lair soon."

"That don't mean I'm fine with letting some divine nobodies fight my battles. Frankly, after that rest, I'm ready to take on another Demon Lord."

"Just because we lucked out today, it doesn't mean the case will be the same for the others."

"Maybe, but we've already decided to help Christina through this." Laruta said. "The problem is we don't really have a way to get to the other demons' territories…"

"By the way, dope job takin' out that demon, Sill." Chris smirked. "You're a real demon yourself! I knew there was a reason I liked you."

"Yeah, someone's gotta pay for your meals."

"Yeah, yeah… but seriously, thanks for the help back there." She lightly kicked Silica's leg, the gamer hiding her smile.

"And that was 'Affection' feat. Sector SG!" the voice of Mack Strongarm announced through the radio. "Everyone likes some good old affection in the evening! And what gives affection like good friends to rest with! Unless of course you're Christina, haha!"

"WHAT?!" Chris immediately shot up to the radio. "You got a lotta nerve dissin' me on live radio, Face-mat!"

"I mean, I'd hate to live in the same treehouse as HER! I bet she stays up playing loud rock-and-roll, pranks her friends in their sleep, and she prob'ly steals most of the dinner, too! Talk about a monster to live with, amirite?"

"OH, I SHOULDA SQUISHED YOU WHEN I HAD THE CHANCE! I ain't gonna put up with that, I'm gonna put you in your place!" The Uno grabbed Ralph by the collar and dragged him. "We're goin' to Sector L, Ralph!"

"Christina!" Laruta shouted. "You can't go on a revenge flight in the middle of pizza dinner!"

"She's going, anyway." Isabelle sighed. "Well, I guess I'll go with them. Just to keep her out of trouble."

"That's my job." Lyserg said, rushing to join them.

"I did my best friend work for the day, so I'm just gonna chill." Silica decided.

"Yeah, me too." Shimmy agreed. "Good luck, Ralph!"

"It was pretty rude of Mack to do that." Laruta said. "'Guess he hasn't lost his habits…"

Underworld

Clawthorne's return to his lair was accompanied by an anxious, multi-way call. The other Demon Lords projected from their respective devices… along with another demon from a crystal ball. He was thin with a proportionately small, skull-like head with long horns and four arms. "CLAWTHORNE! You stupid dog! I can no longer feel Azmodan's presence. Explain yourself immediately!"

"Uh, hehehehe. Funny story, actually. So, I had this plan to try and catch the Uno princess, and I thought me and Azmodan could take her, but this other mortal girl a spirit boy came with her, and the two of them sorta… killed Azmodan?"

"WHAT?! You expect me to believe he was done in by two whelps?! Diablo didn't even sap that much of his chi! And what of the princess?!"

"I had her on the ropes, but more of her friends showed up and I didn't have enough strength to fight them. So, I had to make a strategic-"

"COWARDLY!"

"-retreat. Hey!"

"Hakukukuku!" Aku laughed. "I expected nothing more from a newbie Lord! You were as FOOLISH as I thought!"

"I'm surprised you care so dearly, Mephisto." HIM echoed. "You and Azmodan were always arguing. And to lose to two children is simply disgraceful."

"Says the guy who used to get his butt kicked by kindergartners!" Alastor retorted.

"I was only PLAYING with them. They never truly defeated me." HIM hissed in his darker tone.

"That's not what I'm hearing, crabby! Either way, these kids sound like a wallop! I think I'll try my hand at trapping them. This cute little fish I caught should help with that."

"See to it that Duriel stays protected." Mephisto ordered. "There's a chance those children know what our purpose is."

"Now, Mephy, don't you know your friends at all? They wouldn't hear the end of it if they hid from a pack of children. Besides, the challenge wouldn't be as fun if I didn't invite him!"

"Well, you have fun with that." Aku said. "In the meantime, I think I'll stage my own attack. There's another sector I've got my eye on…" The shadow demon disappeared.

"Diablo was foolish to trust any of you." Mephisto growled. "Clawthorne… once my brother is finished, don't expect to go unpunished for your failure! If you'd like to lessen the burden, you'd best start crushing some kids! Same goes to the rest of you."

Mephisto disappeared. "Fuck you, too, Mephy!" Alastor teased before cutting transmission.

Sector L

"Even though it's daytime for treehouses in the eastern hemisphere." Mack said with a slurp of kid-friendly coffee. "But who cares about time zones?"

"Not Nora, that's for sure." Erin yawned, drinking some milk.

"MAAAAACK!" The door to the hangar seemed to combust into flame, scaring the two into spewing out their drinks. Mack had no time to face the intruder before Christina grabbed and slammed him to the floor. "Were you trying to start a fight with me, you little prick?!"

"OW! The heck do you mean?! I haven't seen you for a week!"

"You dissed me on the radio, smartass!"

"WHAT?! I didn't say anything about you!"

"It's true." Erin replied. "I was here the whole time…"

"Yeah, so get the frick off me!"

"Nuh-uh, I'm pretty sure that was your voice! I dunno who you're tryin' to fool, but I ain't in the mood for this. Didn't you hear what happened to my dad?"

"Yeah, Perry told us." Erin replied, using waterbending to douse the burning passage. "Uncle Chris was captured by a dangerous demon…"

"Yeah, and I'd feel bad for you if you weren't taking it out on me!" Mack argued.

"Then say you're sorry for that little broadcast!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"ERIIIIIN!" They were hit with immediate déjà vu, except instead of fire, the living room entrance was blown through by a cyclone of water, and Erin Horvitz was tackled by Nora Asahina. "ERIN! Madeleine fell in a hole! She tripped on a ground fishy and fell! Oh, hi, Sector V."

"Who's Madeleine?" Isabelle asked. "And what do you mean she fell in a hole?"

"She's that girl we adopted last month." Erin answered.

"Yeah!" Nora continued. "So, we were jogging by the radio tower when she got her foot stuck to a little fishy on the ground. It was being pulled on a string, so Madeleine went with it, and she wound up falling into a hole under the tower! And not just any hole… it was one of those Underworld Gaps!"

"Where is it?!" Christina asked, finally getting off Mack.

"Don't even THINK about going!" Lyserg marched in. "This was obviously an elaborate trap designed to lure you here! I have a feeling the Radio Demon, Alastor is behind this. That message must've been fabricated by him. I'll contact the Divine Angels and ask them to rescue your friend."

"The divine who?" Nora cocked a brow. "And who is this guy?"

"It's too late for that, Lysy!" Christina fist-palmed. "We have our next mission now!"

"You seriously wanna fight through another demon's lair?" Isabelle asked. "After you just did one?"

"I took a nap, didn't I? Either way, I'm going. The sooner we trash these demons, the sooner we can save Dad."

"And I wanna go down there ASAP!" Nora insisted. "I don't want Madeleine to be demon food! She's too sweet!"

"But you guys don't have Seastone Rings!" Isabelle said. "Uncle Raymond gave each one in our sector rings. We need to call the others here."

"If you guys wanna get started, one of you can borrow my ring." Ralph offered. "It ain't that I'm scared or anything, I'd just feel safer going in with everyone, hehe."

"I wouldn't wanna go with her on a mission either, man." Mack shrugged, smiling wryly.

"I guess I'll reserve a pounding for both of you later." Chris stated. "But fine, you might as well give your ring to Nora. Waterbending's effective against demons, right?"

"I swear, you're all so frustrating." Lyserg pinched his temples. "I have no choice but to accompany this little venture regardless… man, Lady Jeanne is going to kill me."

"So, one quick question." Mack requested. "What're those rings for, exactly?"

"To keep the Underworld's air from draining our stamina." Isabelle answered. "Dr. Facilier gave them to us. They're embedded with Water Crystals."

"Fascinating… Erin, you think your mom is up for taking us on a quick trip to Oceana? I'd like to know if the Merman KND has any technology we could borrow."

"Why that all of a sudden?"

"I mean, it should be pretty obvious when you think about what we just learned."

"What a prick." Chris huffed. "C'mon, let's get going."

Radio tower

Nora led the volunteers to the very Gap she described. With one last courageous breath, Christina, Nora, Isabelle, and Lyserg dove in. (Play "Alastor's Game Instrumental" from Hazbin Hotel.)

The red sky was murky through the dense fog. The silhouettes of dozens of radio towers loomed beyond the fog, and a retro song resounded across the air. "Yick. This place is way dingier than the owl place." Isabelle said.

"'Guess the Radio Demon don't take good care of his crib." Chris shrugged. "We got nothin' to be scared of."

"As soon as we have Madeleine, I'm grabbing you all in my Morphine and carrying us out." Lyserg stated. "Fighting Alastor is too risky. We aren't even sure if one of the Pillars is in this region."

"We might not get a choice. Honestly, I kind of wish Laruta were here now. She makes a good cannon."

"Is that the only thing you like about her?" Isabelle asked.

"That's what teamwork is, right?"

"Boy, Mack was right about you…" Nora said half-lowly.

"'SCUSE ME?!" Chris spun to her with flaming eyes.

"Uh, I think I hear Madeleine crying! Let's hurry!" Nora pointed forth in fright.

"I thought she was mute-" Isabelle said.

"LET'S HURRY!!"

Stage 3: Tombstone Radio

Mission: Save the gullible fish girl~

The friends traveled along an alley-like path, Nora leading the charge with a jog. Unfortunately, electric fences would spring up from random spots, the first one zapping the spritely Adabatian. Enraged, Nora used Water Slices to dice the fences up. One such fence blocked a secret room to the left, containing a Caged Soul. When they reached the radio studio's pavilion, a Merenguy ambushed them; a purple, dancing demon with eyeball pom-poms. The kids were forced to look at the hypnotic monster while Earjack demons blasted them from behind. An angered Christina burned the Merenguy to ashes, allowing them to face the earphone demons and snap them in half. The entrance to the studio was a pitch-black corridor, but as they walked deep into it, static flashed around them, and the grinning, white visage of a demon with red eyes and hair loomed before them.

"Tonight's special broadcast, four gutsy children charge steadfast into a studio of death to save a sweet little fish! How will their venture go? Well, if they were dumb enough to jump down here, I don't have much faith!" The illusion vanished as a misty red hallway splayed before them. They could only progress forward as Monoeyes burst out of doors along the sides, the four dodging their energy balls and destroying the eyeball beasts. They traveled the hallway for a long while until Monoeyes got tired of appearing.

"Okay, we're obviously in an endless loop." Lyserg said. "Maybe we're supposed to go through these doors."

"Let's try this one!" Nora kicked open a door and charged through, the others following. However, they wound up in another, similar hallway.

"I think we're missing something." Isabelle reasoned. "You know, this place is mostly prominent with Sound Chi. Maybe that's the secret…" The Shandian sidled by the doors and listened for any discrepancies. She heard some radio gargling behind one of them and opened it. They discovered a studio room with Miniblin operating it, but Isabelle easily took them out with Song Beams.

"Oh my gosh, what are you doing?!" A short, cyclops demon with bright red hair and a pink skirt with a poodle silhouette came in, rushing to sweep up the debris resulted by the attack. "Barging into Alastor's studio, killing his hard-working Miniblin! Where are your parents, you children are crazy!"

"For your information, my dad's being killed by Alastor's boss!" Christina stomped over the cyclops imposingly. "And you better take us to him if you don't want that eye of yours jabbed out."

"EEEK!" Niffty zipped through the next door in a blink. "I guess that way." Isabelle said.

"So, Alastor's a Radio Demon?" Nora asked. "I've never heard of that."

"He was born in 1933." Lyserg answered. "He has the power to hijack radio waves in the Mortal World and broadcast horrible and traumatic events. Afterwards, he feeds off the misery of those listening."

"And I guess he can mimic voices like he did Mack." Christina figured.

"As you can expect, his main power relies on Sound Chi. But he uses other energybending techniques, too."

"Hold on, what's energybending?" Nora asked. "Do we know anyone with that?"

"It's an art that all spirits can use. You mortals are born with single elements, sometimes two, but energybending involves controlling the pure chi of the Spirit World. We use techniques that involve projecting different element forms or just the energy in its raw form. The mages of the Mortal World are similar."

"Sounds harder to learn than waterbending. Multiple elements and all."

"Well, benders with single elements can use those elements to greater potential than we could."

"'kay, lecture over, on with the stage." Chris ushered. They headed through the new door, overlooking an abyss where they were required to jump satellite-topped radio towers. The other platforms were too far to jump, but Isabelle could strum Song Roads to carry them. Christina also had to punch the satellites to turn them flat, making them standable. Amidst their flight, floating mouth demons, called Mik, levitated around them, microphones attached to their chin. "NO YA WOOOON'T~" They all repeated this phrase with rockstar voices, spewing soundwaves, but Lyserg easily pierced them down by bending Morphine at precise angles.

They landed safely on a platform guarded by Moblin wielding microphone spears. Chris and Nora destroyed them with their elements; the former's fire was already deadly to them, but Nora's water seemed to dehydrate the muscular demons. The pure water of the Mortal World truly was effective against them. The group proceeded rightward, where several Alastor squares were lodged into the wall above the abyss. The squares laughed and popped out as platforms, which would slowly retract. The friends jumped them, but when other squares threatened to push them off, Christina socked them back with her fist. "Looks like our valiant rascals are crossing the Laughing Wall! It doesn't sound like they have quite the sense of humor as those delightful platforms."

The platforms escalated vertically, the friends cautious in their jumps until they reached a safe ledge. From there, Isabelle would strum a Song Road to carry them down an abyss passage, Christina punching back whatever Laughing Walls tried to ruin their rhythm. They landed on a platform before a misty passage, and it was there they reunited with Niffty. "AAH! How'd you jerks cross all that?! Leave me alone!" She raced into the fog. Lyserg insisted everyone link up using Morphine so they wouldn't get lost. Isabelle's keen eyesight could make out Niffty's shadow, so they thought it best to follow her path to navigate the fog. Shadowed demons ambush them in the meantime, but Chris scared them away with some fire.

"Slow down, you!" Lyserg lashed Morphine to prick Niffty, the cyclops yelping and squirming to free herself. She was able to, dashing away from her pursuers. Thankfully, they made it out of the fog, finding a half-circle of doors around them. "This again." Isabelle sighed. "'Guess I'll just have to listen for-" But when she approached a random door, a cage sprung out on a spring and trapped her. Nora quickly sliced it open before it could reel her back.

"The same trick might not work again." Lyserg said. "But I have a new trick. Now that I've struck her, my Morphine can dowse for her." The spear head aimed at a certain door. He approached it himself and opened, Niffty yelping upon being caught and running up the passage. The crew used this cue to continue. The door led them outside above a chasm, the four aghast at a massive radio that seemed to fade up the foggy sky. "I feel a couple strong presences up there…"

"This place does feel like a boss setup!" Chris shrugged. "Up we go!"

The group stepped onto a large, horizontal stereo, a group of spiked notes with wicked smirks hanging in the air above. The stereo burst a strong soundwave that propelled them to the air; only then did they realize they had to be in a position that wouldn't put them in the Bad Notes' way. Christina quickly blasted fire up before she could hit them while Isabelle bent herself to avoid the spikes. They tried again with better awareness to reach the next stereo. They repeated the action for two more stereos, dodging the Bad Notes as they landed on a safe platform.

A group of Miniblin were piloting flying boomboxes, surrounding the group and shooting soundwaves mixed with bullets. Isabelle used her bending to counter the waves while Lyserg used Morphine to shoot them down, the Boomships nimbly evading him. "That reminds me, there's a new trick I wanted to try." Christina pulled out some gum and began to chew. She puffed and blew gum bubbles that would explode, damaging the Boomships. Once the crafts took the plunge into the chasm, the team searched for a way to climb the tower. They saw a rolled-up ladder further up, so Lyserg shot Morphine to drag it down. They climbed the ladder to a winding walkway, where Armos were bouncing down. Lyserg knew the statue monsters were weak in the back, so he angled Morphine to stab their backs and shatter the Armos, allowing for a safe passage up.

The walkway ended at a bridge leading away from the tower. Their gazes were forced downward at a Merenguy underneath the grated bridge. The underside was blockaded on the sides, preventing Lyserg's Morphine from getting in, and a platform carried the Merenguy forward. As they were forced to look at the hypnotic demon, Boomships flew overhead and dropped bombs. Chris and Nora raised "umbrellas" with their elements and blocked the bombs. At one point in the bridge, Lyserg saw an opening in the blockade, so he angled Morphine inside and guided it into the Merenguy, killing it.

With the hypnosis dispelled, they were able to face up at some large satellite platforms. They jumped to the first one and felt it tilt under their weight. "How do we reach the other ones?" Nora asked, seeing how high the other satellites were.

"Isabelle, Lice, stand on this side." Christina requested. "Nora, I need your help on this side. Lice, wrap that chain thing around us."

Not sure whether he liked that nickname, Lyserg wrapped Morphine around Chris and Nora. Both girls leapt above their side of the platform and dealt a double Ground Pound, Chris's fists and Nora's Fanalis legs dealing enough force to fling the other two toward the next satellite. Lyserg pulled them with using Morphine. The second satellite had two Plungelos marching around it; they were ball-shaped, red birds with plunger feet and sprout antennas. The Plungelos were pushed back by Nora's water, trying to balance on the edge of the platform, but were ultimately kicked off by the Adabatian. Before repeating the Ground Pound combo, Isabelle noticed the floating Cage Soul above the previous satellite. They flung Isabelle to break the cage, the Shandian gliding back to the platform.

They flung to the third satellite where four Plungelos marched about, along with two Boomships surrounding them. Nora took care of the Plungelos while the others dealt with the annoying ships. Their destination seemed to be a platform with a stairway leading up the tower, so Chris and Nora flung everyone toward it. The stairs led to a grated bridge. (End song.)

A thin demon in a red pinstripe coat and the same head as the Radio Demon sat on a throne at the end of the bridge. He held a cane with a vintage-style microphone attached. Above him, Nora gasped, recognizing Madeleine as she hung upside-down via a rope around her ankle, the other leg hanging out. She was miserable as blood flowed to her head. "Say, Niffty, how long's a demon gotta wait for his guests to arrive? I don't wanna start a meal without 'em, but I'm dying of hunger here!"

"That's him! The Radio Demon!" Lyserg gasped.

"So, he actually sounds like that?" Chris asked. "That muffly voice wasn't just through the radio?"

"And that's Madeleine…" Nora said hoarsely.

"I'll grab her!" Lyserg bent Morphine at rampant angles and tried to cut Madeleine's rope, but she was reeled higher up the tower and through the fog. Alastor sliced through the air with a thin soundwave and cut Morphine in its tracks, Madeleine lowering back down.

"Crud! We have to get closer!" Isabelle grit her teeth. "But he might have other-"

"I'M COMING, MADELEINE!" Nora bolted forth against the other's protests; except Christina found it admirable.

Several stereos rose from the abyss, surrounding the bridge. "SAY—KIDS—COULD—I—TREAT—YOU—TO—SOME—OF—MY—MOM'S—COOKING? SHE—MAKES—A—MEAN—HINOX—GUT—CASEROLE…"

His voice reverberated through the stereos in a loud, distorted fashion. The friends clamped ears shut, but even this wasn't enough as the ripples of sound diced their skin and clothes. Nora was determined to dash forth regardless, but Alastor blocked the kick of her strong Fanalis leg with his cane. He conjured a Spirit Fireball and blasted her backward, but Christina came rocketing over her fallen form. "PERSONAL—SPACE—KID—I—DON'T—LIKE—BEING—TOUCHED…" He bent the soundwaves in a way that created a barrier, blocking Chris's fiery wrath.

"You could do with a sound editor!" Isabelle began to strum her harp with intense finesse. The notes swirled around her and spread out, becoming a field of relaxing harmony that mitigated the noise.

"That's my girl!" Chris smirked in relief, blasting a wave of fire at Alastor. The demon leapt partway up the tower, using his mike to shoot thin, condensed soundwaves. Christina chewed some more gum and blew bubble bombs, the first few damaging Alastor. The aggravated demon poofed into smoke, respawning behind Chris and thwacking her off the platform.

"CHRISTINA!" Nora screamed. Lyserg looked up in worry after using Morphine to destroy the stereos.

"Hold your tears!" Chris replied, regaining herself with a Rocket Boost. "It'll take more than that to-"

A pair of giant pitch-black claws SNAPPED Christina trapped inside a skull-shaped, glass container. "The frick?!" she yelled in a muffled voice. She tried to punch and melt through the glass, but no fire sparked.

"WOWIE!" Alastor exclaimed. "I didn't see that coming! Who designed THIS brilliant trap? …Seriously, who? This wasn't in the script."

"I hope you don't mind, Alastor." The kids were horrified as the owner of the claws, a towering shadowy demon with a flaming beard and eyebrows, rose from the fog. "I was just in the neighborhood and thought you might be needing some help."

"AKU?! What're you doing here, glory hound, I thought you were going to attack a different sector?"

"I had Demongo start on that. And, on my way here, I couldn't help but think of what Mephisto said… about how it was foolish to trust us. If Diablo absorbs both halves of Malladus and becomes powerful, how do we know he won't betray us later?"

"That's quite the proclamation, Treetop. Where ya goin' with this?"

"Who is this guy?!" Nora asked.

"One of the allied Demon Lords! Let Christina go!" Lyserg directed Morphine at the arm holding Chris's cage.

Aku swiftly morphed himself as necessary to evade his attacks, casually resuming the conversation. "I was just thinking we should hold onto this child for a while. Put her someplace safe until we know what we're bargaining for."

"YOU DARE betray Lord Diablo's orders?!" a new voice roared from the heavens.

Isabelle squinted her eyes through the fog. "There's another demon up there! And it's got Madeleine on a fishing pole!"

A huge, maggot-like demon crawled down the tower, dangling the child. "Do you think he'll forgive you for this treachery?! Bring the princess to him now or we'll show you true pain!"

"Duriel the Maggot King!" Lyserg exclaimed. "He's one of Diablo's pillars!"

"Grah! Let, me, out of here!" Christina's efforts to punch her prison resulted in fatigue. "I… can't breathe…"

"What's wrong, little one?" Aku teased. "Can't mold your firebending in my airtight prison? Perhaps you need to stretch your wings for a change." The demon condensed himself and morphed into a winged form, using a single claw on his bottom to carry Christina away.

"I can't let him take her!" Lyserg took flight after them.

"HEY! WHAT ABOUT US?!" Nora screamed.

"Tch…" The spirit stopped himself. His job was to protect Christina, but he couldn't just leave these two to fight for themselves…

"A moral dilemma! A dramatic classic!" Alastor beamed, flicking Sound Slices at Isabelle, who swiftly dodged while countering with her own notes. "What'll be his answer? Will he choose the relevant chosen child or the irrelevant tag-alongs?"

"Mr. Alastor! Mister!" The cyclops, Niffty came scrambling onto the bridge. "There's trouble! We have more intruders!"

"Will the surprises never stop? I can't keep making so many schedule adjustments!"

What seemed like a large mech leapt onto the grated bridge. Its feet were like fish fins, its head was a conch-shell, and it had a merman tail with a cannon embedded, along with water pumps. "Did I hear that right? Christina got captured? That doesn't sound like her at all!"

"MACK?!" Nora recognized the voice.

The Sector L scientist, along with Erin, were seen inside the mech's cockpit. "We borrowed some technology from the merpeople and flew here quick as we could! Hey, Madeleine, how about a taste of home?!" Mack aimed the tail cannon up at Duriel and fired a waterball, singing the Maggot King as he dropped Madeleine's fishing pole. Nora leapt to catch the sick child in her arms.

"AAAAGH! Infidels! This is saltwater!"

"Bingo!" Mack tapped his brain. "It hurts way more than normal water for you guys! As a bonus, this cockpit is saltwater-scented, so we don't gotta worry about this Underworld air!"

"You made it just in time!" Isabelle smiled. "Lyserg, go help Christina! We got this covered!"

"Alright!" The spirit resumed his flight.

Aku descended to an open valley and morphed into "Akar"; a black car with his face at the front and Chris's cage in the trunk. "This reminds me of a classic song!" Aku said. "Hit the road, Jack! And don't you come back no more, no more, no more! It touches me on a personal level, you—SOOOOW!"

The demon was suddenly rammed by a 92 Red Ferrari Testarossa, causing Akar to flip over and Chris to bounce out of his trunk. The wild sensation worsened the dehydrated girl's condition. "That's the Uno child." said Marco, the blonde, spectacled Angel driving the car. "What is she doing here?"

"It seems this task was beyond Lyserg's power…" An iron maiden in the trunk spoke with a girl's voice.

"A Divine Angel?" Aku glared. "Wait…" Seeing the iron maiden in the back, the demon tensed up in worry. He knew of a certain spirit among the Divine Angels, one that called herself the Iron Maiden. She was among the strongest Angels… "Who are you?!"

"I am Jeanne… Leader of Angel Division X. You, Aku, are guilty of crimes against the samurai of Feudal Japan, for breaching your prison, and the kidnapping of the Uno princess. You shall be thoroughly…" Tears of blood leaked from the maiden's eyes, "punished."

"Yes, yes, ahem…" Akar grew an arm with a phone. "Hey, Alastor, it's me. Can I ask you to come out here? I might need some help…"