Nega-Sector SA
Because Oemor and Ikik were now the only remaining members of Nega-MG, Nerehc had them relocated to Nega-SA, which thereby made their team of four have the max number of six members. They were perhaps the only team that had exactly two spots open, otherwise Oemor and Ikik would've been separated, and they didn't want their team divided any further. The girls helped the newcomers move their stuff into their new rooms. "Da-da-daaaa! You're officially set!" Asigan cheered. "Welcome to the team!"
"Thanks for taking us in, Asigan." Oemor smiled. What was also lucky about Nega-SA's availability was that Oemor and Asigan were already friends from Field Day. In fact, he rather enjoyed being around her, almost like a small crush. It's true he didn't know her very well, but he genuinely enjoyed her personality and demeanor, and he was rather thankful they would get to spend more time together.
"But wow, this is really going to change our team dynamics." Anaigrom said. "We used to be an all-girl sector, but now we have a boy! You know what that meeeaaaans…"
"Uh…what?" Oemor frowned, feeling awkward.
"It means YOU'RE the BOY TOY!" Anaigrom grabbed him in a tight hug from behind and twisted her knuckle in his head. "We're gonna get you to clean the treehouse, and get us food, and carry our bags, and other things because your little hormones compel you to make us happy!"
"Good thing Ydnew already had him trained!" Ikik grinned.
"Aaaaah, hey, that isn't fair! You gotta do as much work as I do!" Oemor cried.
"Having a boy is nice and all," Allebmoog said, "but doesn't it feel redundant to have two fat girls?"
Xedni and Ikik's heads throbbed with anger. "What the hell is the problem with THAT?!" Ikik yelled.
"I'm just wondering how much you eat in a day. Buying food for two extra people is annoying enough, but a glutton just makes it worse."
"I may be a glutton, but at least I'm not shallow!" Ikik retorted.
"Ikik, just ignore her." Xedni said. "Still, aren't you like a rocket scientist or something?"
"Yep, I'm natural born!"
"And since I'm a computer expert, I think we could really combine our genius. We'll be the most unstoppable intelligent duo on the planet!"
"Hee hee, I like the sound of that!"
"Attracted to each other like planets." Allebmoog remarked.
"Alleb, you can be really rude sometimes!" Asigan yelled. "I say we throw our new friends a housewarming party. Perhaps one of the… 'slumber' variety?"
"A slumber party?" Oemor asked.
"Hey, don't go getting any perverted thoughts!" Anaigrom told him reprovingly. "Or we're kicking you out into the cold tonight!"
"And just so you know, I'm a monster at pillow fights." Alleb warned.
Except for Ikik, the group didn't really change into pajamas. They gathered in Anai's room and engaged in a pillow fight, wherein the other four easily ganged up on Oemor and Xedni as easy targets. However, Oemor suddenly grabbed the pillows in psychic and swirled them overhead before ramming them into the girls. Afterwards, they were each given a 2-liter bottle of soda to have a race to drink it all first. Anaigrom guzzled hers in no time, Ikik was 2nd, Asigan was 3rd, and Xedni 4th. Allebmoog's limited stomach couldn't carry the whole bottle and Oemor's throat was tickling too much from the fizzing to finish it all.
The team set up a large trampoline to see who could bounce the highest, but with everyone bouncing together, it threw off each other's balance. Oemor ended up falling over and being bounced around by everyone else's force like a ragdoll, while Ikik managed to gain the most height.
The team grew tired from the activities and decided to watch TV in the living room before calling it a night. Oemor didn't really watch and only read a book. "Hey, do you want any snacks?" Asigan's face hung upside-down between him and his book.
"Aaah!" Oemor yelped. "Uh…nah, I'm not hungry."
"I guess you're still trying to get used to things, huh? Breaking up with teammates isn't easy."
"Yeah… everything happened so suddenly, and Ikik and I just weren't ready."
"What actually happened, anyway?"
Under their request, Nerehc had refrained from divulging the details to their new team. "It's… hard to talk about."
"Embarrassing teen drama stuff?"
"Yeah, kind of."
"It sounds like a little more than that." Allebmoog replied. "I mean, Nega-MG practically vanished!"
"Hey, they can tell us when they're ready." Asigan stated. "But whatever happened, I'm sure things will work out eventually."
"I hope so. I hope they're okay, wherever they are."
Little Dad H.Q.
Ydnew contacted the Little Dad Mafia and requested sanctuary for themselves and a special new "friend," a friend whom they couldn't refuse a meeting with. Enopac Egeb felt obligated to grant Ydnew's wish, due to their prior mistreatment of her during the Veggie Heist, but was curious about this friend of hers. They sent an agent out to drive Ydnew, Revilo, Lihp, and Glasses Girl to the mafia's hideout.
"Miss Llevram… welcome to my humble abode." Egeb greeted in the foyer, accompanied by his daughter, grandson, and numerous guards. "To what do I owe this visit?"
"You owe it to this little girl right here." Ydnew pointed.
"What's up?" Glasses greeted. "You can call me Glasses. I'm the daughter of Don Shrew."
A lot of guns were trained on her. The DNK, suspecting this would happen, put their hands up. "Is this some kinda joke?" Egeb asked. "If I wanted a laugh, I woulda busted Mimebrother outta prison."
"It's no joke." Ydnew said. "She's the real deal. But she's here on friendly terms. Just let her explain."
Glasses recapped everything she had told her friends, about joining the DNK with the eventual hope of dethroning her mother, how her bending was taken, and how they were just on the run from the Galactic Navy. "And from what I know, you got a problem with Mama, too."
"Of course we do. She's the natural opposite of us." Egeb replied. "The strongest poisonbender in the universe, a body of pure toxic that's immune to any and all poisons. She's not the type that vegetables take too kindly towards. You'd get sick just breathin' her air."
"During my time in the Black Lotus, I heard they were looking for her daughter." Sutsugua said, raising syringes with his poisonbending. "I wondered if she had the same type of poisonous body as her mom. You should know my bending is designed for treating and healing. You're my natural enemy."
"Offing your mum would be handy on our end, but having you run her business could be just as worse."
"Hey, Glasses, what were you planning to do after taking over the mafia?" Ydnew asked.
"Well, a business needs to thrive, doesn't it?"
"So, you would continue the drug manufacturing?" Egeb asked.
"I wasn't going to betray you if that's what you're thinking."
"Your mother's business entails poisoning trees and plants to create unnatural, toxic vegetables. We already had that problem with Clockwerk, makin' us buy and eat those Devil Fruits. True, we got some good use outta them, but that don't change a thing. Your family don't respect nature, so if you expect us to lend a hand, you're gonna have to change your business approach."
"It's not that easy, buddy. Our customers are extremely addicted and reliant on our drugs. They would destroy towns and kill people if they didn't get what they want."
"Then we'll find all them addicts and shoot 'em all."
"Absolutely not!" Ydnew stated. "One of the DNK's top rules is to avoid killing unless there's no other way. If the addictions are that serious, then couldn't we capture and detain the customers until we develop cures?"
"That's more trouble than it's worth."
"But it wouldn't be impossible, Grandfather." Sutsugua replied. "I've gotten much better at medication, and if Glasses were willing to cooperate, I could develop even stronger antibodies. Of course, that's assuming your immune system is as strong as your mother's."
"You're right on the money there. Poisonous fruits and fungi are part of my natural diet. Still, you would spend quite a long time cracking through my immune system and I'm afraid of dying to blood loss."
"I still wanna try. Imagine all the cures we could develop if I could tap into the secrets of your immune system. I could take some blood now, run some tests, then sometime later I'll take another sample. You know, so you wouldn't lose too much at once."
"'ey, don't jump to conclusions, Grandson." Egeb said. "We didn't come to an agreement."
"Glasses, if it were at all possible to save all those addicts, would you stop the drug manufacturing?" Ydnew asked.
"To be honest, I've always been indifferent to the whole thing, but if it's what you guys want, I don't mind."
"You know, you could show a bit more consideration since we're asking these guys to help us. Like, maybe once you take over the Mushroom Mafia, you can rebuild Toadstool World for the better. You can work to restore its natural produce, maybe manufacture natural medicines."
"Do you know how much damage my mom has done to the planet? That would take a VERY long time."
"Well, that's the price! You think you're just gonna dethrone your mom and live happily ever after? You have to prove you deserve the office. Especially if you don't want the Galactic Navy to arrest you."
"Man, no wonder Oemor and Ikik wanted to bail out." Lihp said. "This is just overwhelming. It'll be hard enough trying to beat Don Shrew and her nega-billions of goons, but all the stuff that comes after…"
"It wouldn't be just us or the Little Dads." Ydnew assured. "We can convince the whole DNK to help us. Nerehc was already supporting Glasses Girl, and I'm sure everyone else would support the plan of replenishing Toadstool."
"Y'know, I might know something that could speed up that process." Egeb said. "The Great Brocco Tree. If we could get the heart of the Brocco Tree up to Toadstool, we could purify its produce. I just hope that thief girl still has the Healthy Wonders secure."
"Oh yeah, the Brocco Tree. That would definitely help, but only after the hard part is taken care of. But does that mean you'll help us?"
"For now… I will lend my support. But I'm keepin' the heiress on a tight leash. Eiwets, show them to their sleeping quarters."
"Bouncing bouncing everywhere, bouncing up the stairs~" Eiwets was joyfully bouncing as a little ball. Glasses cocked a brow in confusion, but followed the ball.
"Well, you guys can still bail out." Ydnew told the boys. "Still wanna come?"
"Why not? We're gonna have to fight Don Shrew, anyway." Revilo replied. "Might as well hang with my new teammate."
"Yeah, I can tough it out!" Lihp vowed.
"Glad to hear it. Still, if Glasses stays cut off from the mafia for too long, they might target the DNK pretty soon. We'd better get in contact with Nerehc."
Toadstool World
"IMBECILES! An entire month, passed, and not a WORD about my daughter?! How could you let her slip away?!" Don Shrew bellowed at the soldatos in a rage. The Godmother wore a toadstool on her head of short blonde hair. She wore a purplish-black dress with a red jewel under her neck, had pale skin, and red earrings. (She resembles the Shadow Queen while possessing Peach in Paper Mario.)
The band of Piantas and Toads were trembling in terror. "Th-Th-Th-There were too many navy officials! Lady Airam told us to keep our distance while she stayed in the DNK treehouse, and ever since the navy showed up, she never called us! We searched the mountains a-and the town, but we got nothin'!"
A wave of noxious purple gas flooded the throne room. The pine tree-headed Piantas and pointy-capped Toads shriveled up like mummies and died. After the gas cleared, Awful Oiram entered. He was dressed like a soldier with a red helmet and smoked a cigar. "Dada Dia! Shrew, I told you I wanted to ask one of them if they had the can of chicken noodles they owed me! What a waste of coins-a!"
"She can't fool me, Oiram. She wasn't using the DNK as a temporary hideout. She was conspiring with them, I'm certain of it. She didn't want our men getting near, so she cleverly based herself near the home of the Black Lotus's leader. Too bad that little plan backfired."
"Don't we have bigger problems to worry about? If Airam wants to be a rebellious little twerp, then let her get in trouble. The Meta-Beasts have become more persistent in their attacks lately and we're unsure why. It's like they're trying to start a war."
"It's just not working, Oiram. My new line of drugs aren't achieving nearly the desired results. If I'm going to snuff out those pirates and the navy, I need to find a way to make them 10 times more potent! Even harvesting the water from the Silver River in the Posiverse isn't enough. Oh, I'm parched. Go make me a Corona Shake."
"I'll wait for Igiul to get back and make him do it."
"Sounds like someone is asking for another erectile dysfunction. Bring me my drink or-"
"OIRAM!" Igiul Oiram stormed into the room with a minigun. "You shitty fratello! You took-a the Ecto Dust from my ship! I had nothing to inhale for the whole flight-a!" He unloaded bullets at Oiram, but the older twin ran aside and countered with a shotgun.
"I left-a you some grinded turtle shells! That's the best you get, after ruining my F.L.A.M.E.!"
"Hey, Shreeeewwww…" A brown-haired woman in a silver bikini wormed her way into the room, her expression drunk. "Do ya have any more panties? I'm down to my last pair. None o' them were good enough for Igiul."
"Find a pair of your own to soil, Tulip! Now stick that gun up your ass and report. Did you find anything interesting in that universe?"
"Why, yes we have, actually. When we entered what the DNK call 'New Galaxia,' we were completely lost. There were so many bizarre sights that we were nearly hypnotized. As we sailed aimlessly through that space, we found a planet. It was a gray, dead-looking planet where millions of balloons were floating above the atmosphere. They appeared to naturally grow from the planet's dead surface. We took a few of those balloons… and it was heavenly. Don Shrew, you have to try one yourself."
Igiul handed his boss a thick red balloon. Curious, Shrew put her mouth to the tip of the balloon and sucked out the helium. "Ooooohhhh…" It was like a sweet candy was filling her head. It was euphoric. "I've never tasted helium… as sweet and refined as this! Tell me there's more. We must collect more of this!"
"There might be more than we could even comprehend. In our exploration, we found an old temple. There was a stone tablet with English writing. It was rather garbled, but we managed to transcribe it to this." He showed Don Shrew a notepad.
Over the course of thousands of years, the great seed pods float to the outside worlds and return with loads of water, in the hopes that the planet may one day be full of life again. The balloons will grow endlessly from the power of the Helium Pod in the planet's core. Our humble planet represents but one of the Six Noble Gases of the Incipisphere.
"After leaving the planet, we continued exploring. We found a few locals and had to rough them up a bit, but thanks to them, we know of a few more planets. The one we had landed on was the Land of Crypts and Helium. Other worlds are the Land of Pyramids and Neon, Tombs and Krypton, and Mounds and Xenon. There are probably more for the other two Noble Gases. They all might have cores similar to the Helium Pod."
"Six Noble Gases… in that mysterious world, 'New Galaxia.' Of all the undiscovered, unheard of treasures, we may have just found the perfect ones. If I could perhaps harness the power of these Noble Gases… I can give my drugs the very boost they need. I will send more soldatos to conduct more investigations in New Galaxia. Learn where these Noble Gases are located… so I can make ready to plan a trip there myself."
"That's it, I'm goin' naked~" Tulip decided.
Intro: Meta-Beast Pirates
The following session takes place a few years before the current story.
The Meta-Beast Pirates had been growing in infamy in the Negaverse for about 60 years. Their numbers are primarily composed of both alien and magical animals, and their goal is to breed the ultimate creature. The captain of this crew was Ridley (from Metroid), a purple pterodactyl, and they were based on Planet Arim.
His top commander was Andross (from Star Fox), a Mobian ape scientist from the Posiverse and a former ally of the Irken Empire. Andross had been defeated by Team Star Fox and supposedly faked his death before retreating to the Negaverse, where the Meta-Beasts would happen upon him. Andross easily won them over with his knowledge of biotechnology, and his physical power was nothing to scoff at. Andross would serve as their main link to the Posiverse, as he would pop over every now and then and collect intel from his reliable sources.
However, as fate would have it, Andross would learn of the Ztar Xof team, a band of rogues who terrorized Aixalag. Learning that they were the Negatives of Star Fox, Andross demanded to have them recruited into the Meta-Beasts. The pirates kidnapped Ztar Xof and brought them before Andross. The rogues turned him down at first and tried to fight the scientist, but Andross felt satisfaction in beating his archenemies' Negatives. Ultimately, Xof McSun, the leader, showed his more cowardly side and swore loyalty to Andross.
Xof McSun was a Moebian fox that battled with hi-tech shields.
Yppils Daot was a toad Moebian with a rather deep voice and a metalbender who specialized in rusting metal.
Oclaf Idrabmol was a dorky falcon who was known for always driving crazily, but by sheer dumb luck, only his foes ended up suffering for it.
Latsyrk was a purple fox with an unrefined accent and was loaded with weapons in her Infi-Cube.
Yppep Erah was an old, forgetful rabbit who stayed on their flagship and cleaned.
After a visit to Planet Ralava, they breached a once-impenetrable prison and rescued their next Commander: a purple dragon by the name of Oryps. Oryps was bred as the Negatar Dragon: he was born with darknessbending, but had been pumped with the chis of other dragons, so he attained Poison, Shadow, Psychic, and Fear. As an extremely rare purple dragon, he was capable of adapting with these chis, though it would have to be by force. His powers and mastery over the elements are nowhere near on par with the Negatar, but he is still very dangerous. Bred to be a weapon for the dragons, he ended up turning against his own dragon kin.
Oryps' officers were a brutish, Australian Moebian leopard named Retnuh, a dragonfly named Xraps, and a faun named Arole. Xraps was fed the Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Model: Dogadon, turning him into a huge, fiery, monster dragonfly. Retnuh ate the Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Dingo, which lets him morph between the two animals and give him extra strength. Alore ate the Horse-Horse Fruit, Model: Centaur, and was a deadly archer to boot.
The Meta-Beasts had captured a large amount of Nomékop as well. As their numbers and variety kept growing, Ridley was on the cusp of being labeled as one of the Four Emperors. However, Ridley himself wanted to ensure that title was never placed on him. Although he was the leader of the crew, their goal was to create the ultimate creature. That creature would then become the new leader, and be the one worthy of the Emperor title.
The Meta-Beasts invaded Toadstool World once, hoping to rob it of some of its creatures, but the Mushroom Mafia rivaled their power and banished them off the planet. However, the Beasts did manage to make off with a few stowaways: the Loor Brothers. The Loor Brothers were slaves to the Gnok Family, allies of the Mushroom Mafia, but they snuck aboard a Meta-Beast ship, hoping they would be better captors. Unfortunately, only two of the brothers made it onboard: Srekcurk had fallen behind and was subsequently killed for his insubordination. When the remaining two Loors were found, they were put to a test: Sutcork would have his heart ripped out and be replaced with a severed, still-beating alien heart, wondering if it could restore his life. It took a while to take effect, but Sutcork was revived, and still retained the same soul.
The Loor brothers were weaklings, but they proved their worth as cabin boys, at least. But due to his forced surgery, Sutcork found himself even weaker than he was before. As he grew older, he could feel his minimal usefulness coming to an end. And yet, at the very end of his life, he would find his ultimate purpose for the Meta-Beasts.
Lorule seemed to be a very populace planet, and yet, the pirates had wondered why they never explored it before. It's not like it just showed up out of nowhere, right? Regardless, the pirates conducted secret expeditions on the planet, looking for worthy creatures. Deep underground in a certain island, there was an entire race of mutant Chimera Ants. The Ant Queen could swallow any creature and give birth to hybrid off-springs, all acting under her hive mind. Ridley spoke with the Ant Queen. Her wish was to give birth to a king: a fearless, healthy king who would live his life happily. Ridley wondered if, provided with the right creatures, that she could be the secret in attaining their goal as well.
It would be a pity to sacrifice their Commanders, so the pirates captured and fed her a collection of nutritious animals who were rich with chi. Some of their weaker crewmen were also sacrificed for the good cause. And just as the Queen was ready to finally give birth, the very last creature she ate was Sutcork Loor.
The queen was enveloped in a sudden burst of golden fire. Her womb opened, and a figure rose from it. It possessed a lean, green build, its abs exposed and its limbs humanoid, yet ant-like. Eight fingers, eight toes, and what looked like a helmet over its head. It cast an ominous shadow over its purple eyes. A long tail with a thin, deadly needle rose in the air to intimidate the pirates. Ridley, Andross, and Oryps felt shivers down their spines. They could already sense the immense chi within him.
vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/hu…
"Hmph. So, this is our alleged 'Ultimate Creature'?" Xraps asked in a snotty tone, the giant dragonfly looming over the slender ant. "Why did we exhaust ourselves gathering all that food just for-"
The pirates gaped at what happened next: it was very sudden and fast, but the Ant King had swiped his tail, and Xraps' head vanished. The dragonfly fell over, dead.
"…I won't repeat myself." The king said. "Bring me food."
Oryps bit his lip in worry. "MEN! Bring the porridge, NOW!"
Yppep Erah stepped up with a bowl of porridge, followed by a Mr. Mime Nomékop, and then Ymmalk Loor. The Ant King stepped up and took a sip of Yppep's porridge.
Yppep lost his head. "This porridge is too cold."
He went to take a sip of Mr. Mime's porridge. His head was lopped off. "This porridge is too warm."
Finally, he drank Ymmalk's porridge. "This porridge is… very spicy. Delicious…" He took the bowl and chugged it down his throat. Ymmalk remained rooted to the spot, too afraid to move.
The king set the bowl back in the croc's hands. With hands to either side, golden flames ignited in the king's palms. "So, it seems you're a firebender." Ridley observed, stepping forward. "But I've never seen Fire Chi of such a rich, gold color. Oryps can teach you to master your-"
The pterodactyl's head was twisted left from the whack of King's tail. "You dare to mock me? I need not be told how my own chi functions. I need not be told that it is rare. These things are already plainly obvious."
"Ack… Forgive me, Your Majesty…" Ridley rubbed his pointed nose.
"…You're strong."
"Eh?" Ridley twisted his head back to face him, surprised by his praise.
"I meant to cut your head off. It seems you are worthy as my servant."
"…I am honored, My King." Ridley bowed his head.
"To that end… Who are you people who would call their selves my servants?"
"We are the Meta-Beast Pirates." Andross answered. "We wished to breed a powerful creature and seize dominion over the cosmos. We believe you are the king we have waited for."
"Seize dominion? For what purpose?"
"For the simple purpose of evolution." Ridley said. "With science and strength, we of the Meta-Beasts aim to become the advanced species. My King… before your birth, your mother told us of your purpose. You are to mate with other beings and produce more Queens. Those queens will eventually breed more kings, and thus create the ultimate species."
"So, that is my purpose? Hm…" The king turned to the fallen body of his mother.
Xof had been shuddering behind his mortified teammates. The Ant King had mercilessly murdered Yppep just like that. Creating this monster was a bad idea, he could feel it.
"At any rate, I'm still hungry. …" He walked over Xraps' dead body and sniffed it. "This one smells good… and yet… I detect a whiff of something sickening."
"Xraps had eaten a Devil Fruit." Oryps explained. "That's why he looks that way. A Devil Fruit can grant someone a genetic transformation or ability. As a small cost, you lose the ability to swim."
"Keep such fruits away from me. Rather, I have a craving for human. And this organization you have… am I to assume command of it?"
"Ideally, we wanted you to become our new leader." Ridley answered. "I served as the acting captain before we would find the Ultimate Creature. Ridley."
"Then tell me, Captain Ridley… Am I truly the Ultimate Creature? There are none as strong as I am?"
"Well… that's what we'd like to know ourselves. In particular, there are powerful pirates known as 'Emperors.' If you were to make yourself known, you would no doubt be classified an Emperor yourself. We hope to crush these other pirates in time. But there's another potential threat: the Daring New Kids. They're a universe-wide organization sworn to protect the planets from harm. The members from Earth have become particularly famous. But we have territories on multiple planets and our numbers are growing. In fact, one of our officers, Commodore Krawq is on a recruitment mission. An army of strange creatures was sighted on Planet Michtam in the Analos Galaxy, led by a foreign king and queen. Well, 'king' in a general sense of the word. I certainly doubt they're to your level."
"Very well. As your new ruler, I must oversee this recruitment."
The pirates began to exit the dungeon with the king to lead them. Ztar Xof stood behind, looking over Yppep's headless body. Latsyrk, Yppils, and Oclaf worked to carry him out. Just as Xof was about to follow…
"Wait…"
The fox heard the moan of the Ant Queen. With a fearful heart, Xof approached the dying ant. "I…I have a name for my son. Meruem. It means, 'light that illuminates all.' Tell him… for me…"
Xof stood silently, waiting for her to say something else. But it seemed that was her last breath. The fox hurried after his teammates.
Michtam resembled a common alien planet with ethereal plants and glow. There was a region inhabited by alien monsters of various shapes and colors. Once the Meta-Beasts set foot on the territory, the aliens tried to attack them, but the Ant King conjured walls of gold flames to scare them back.
"Stand down, my subjects." A nasally voice ordered. From beyond the swarm of aliens, a very tall, skinny alien with light-blue armor and the green head of an Irken approached the pirates. But this wasn't the one who spoke: in front of her was a much shorter, red, bug-like alien with a crown over his big, ovular head. He was mounted on a walking throne. "These must be the Meta-Beasts our guest told us about. You stand before Emperor Tachyon and Tallest Miyuki, rulers of the Gnosis race and soon-to-be dominators of the-"
The king lopped his head off. …Tachyon's head reformed from the particles. "Who are you to attack me so bluntly?! What sort of being are you?!"
"So, these creatures are to join our empire?" King asked. "Describe them to me."
"You seem rather ascertained that we'll join you." Tallest Miyuki said. "Are you Captain Ridley?"
"Don't make me repeat myself." The king's eyes brimmed with malice.
Tachyon grit his teeth. "These are the Gnosis. They're native to this planet. They used to be non-physical beings tethered to their own dimension, but by using my matterbending, I can make them physical. I can morph the rocks on this world into powerless machines that they can possess. I've seen them possess other life forms on this planet, too, but those creatures turned to salt after a time."
"THEY DO WHAT?!" screamed Commodore Krawq. The flabby scientist villain was among the crowd of Gnosis, possessed by one of said creatures. "GET THIS THING OFF ME! Get it off, you wretched-!"
Tachyon sighed and used his matterbending to bend the alien off him. "If I'm merciful, you won't share such a fate." Tachyon said to the king.
"You'd best watch your mouth, you insolent insect." Andross ordered. "This is our new leader, the Ultimate Creature, the Ant-"
King smacked the ape away. "Don't speak of me with that feigned loyalty."
"Hn hn hn." Andross pushed himself up, cracking a devious grin. "You can see right through me, can you? Very well… Never once did I have an interest in the 'Ultimate Creature.' Rather, I was hoping to usurp this crew myself some day. I still hope to do so… but I won't be foolish enough to oppose you now."
"…Your honesty is appreciated." The king replied simply. He faced Tachyon again. "Now, then… your 'empire' belongs to us now."
"Let's hear you say that after I put your mouth on your arse!" Tachyon tried to enforce his bending over the king… but found his anatomy to be too strong and unbendable, despite his slender form. "Grrrr! What kind of body is this?!"
"Matterbending is certainly rare." Oryps said. "But such arts cannot bend a being with superior willpower. But of course, His Majesty does not need to know that~"
"Willpower or not," Miyuki argued, "we won't just surrender to some overgrown insect who strayed too far from his hole!"
"SILENCE, Miyuki!" Tachyon ordered. "If this ant wants us to be his babysitters, so be it. After all, this presents the perfect chance to get revenge on those irksome Kids Next Door!"
"Kids Next Door?" Ridley asked. "I see… So, you're from the Posiverse, too."
"Posiverse? Are you saying this is the Negaverse?"
"How did you not already know that?! Just how did you end up here, anyway?"
"Don't make me repeat myself." King demanded.
"Fine, fine, we'll join your crew!" Tachyon affirmed. "Perhaps we can talk more over a nice meal. It's a struggle to make good food on this planet."
"Yes… good porridge is difficult to come by."
With Tallest Miyuki in the crew, she had gotten acquainted with Andross, as he was once an ally of her empire. He told her of the fate that had befallen her sons and the current benevolence of her empire. Naturally, Miyuki was disgusted, and she hoped the Irkens could return to their former glory.
However, after another visit to the Posiverse, the pirates managed to find and secure another former ally of the Irkens: Ripto of Avalar. After freeing him from prison, Ripto readily agreed to work for the Meta-Beasts, though it felt awkward that he was placed under the command of Oryps, the Negative of his enemy, Spyro. Ripto was fed the remains of Xraps, allowing him to inherit the power of the Dogadon Fruit.
About 40 days passed since the Ant King's birth, laying siege on multiple planets as the king consumed several victims. Once he was known as the Meta-Beasts' new leader, he attained the title of Emperor.
There was a planet in the Earolf Galaxy called the Lost Land, a barbaric world of monstrous creatures. A decade ago, the Meta-Beasts awoke a dangerous alien called the Primagen (from Turok), an insect-like humanoid with an exposed brain, emerald eyes, and dark-bluish skin. With the Primagen's aid, the pirates secured the loyalty over the Lost Land's monsters, such as the reptilian Dinosoids, the lava-dwelling Fireborns, or the insect-like Mantids, whom were very intelligent with a hi-tech hive.
The Ant King was brought into the Mantid Hive, believing the Mantid Queen would be a suitable mate to produce another Ant Queen. However, the king felt no attraction or interest in such a monstrous creature.
"If that isn't your type, then what is?" Oryps asked. "Are you pining for someone more 'beautiful'?"
"Actually, I feel no real desire to mate." King answered. "I was only just brought into this world… I am still adjusting to my given 'purpose.' And if I'm to think of myself as the 'Ultimate Creature,' then how do I decide who is worthy of being my mate?"
"Ha ha ha. I asked myself that same question once upon a time."
The king slapped the dragon with his tail. "Your opinion is useless."
The king returned to the pirates' main fortress on Arim, located at the top of the Bioless. The Bioless was a continental, near-lifeless Titan that once served as the home of many citizens, but those people and creatures now live under the tyranny of the pirates. The Bioless was opposite down with its legs standing up in the air. The hi-tech fortress was situated between the feet, connected to both sides.
The king's throne room was rather dark, but huge golden torches gave it color. King was chewing the remains of a Rapidash, relishing in the taste of its fiery mane.
Alarms rang off in the fortress. A band of intruders were crossing one of the bridges. Outside, Andross had transformed into a giant floating head with hands. He threw one of his massive fists, but it was intercepted by the fist of a giant purple orangutan. Ridley was dueling a giant, yellow and black bird who struck lightning. Ridley struck the bird with concentrated fireballs. His purple skin turned completely black with Haki, allowing Ridley to gain the upper hand over the lightning bird.
Meanwhile, the King of these Kreatures was barreling through, and he breached the fortress entrance before long. The Ant King marched out to meet them. Marching into the fortress yard was King K. Rool, and behind him were his brother, Baron K. Rool, General Scales the dinosaur, Fredrik the walrus, and Manky Kong the orangutan Rainbow Monkey.
King K. Rool stopped about 20 feet before the Ant King. The ant's frame was far smaller and skinnier than the crocodile's fat, 10-foot body. Kroctus's smirk contrasted with Ant King's frown, yet both sensed incredible promise in the other.
"You must be the Chimera Ant King."
"Who are you?" the king asked.
"I'm the same as you. In order to revitalize my life force, I allowed myself to be consumed by an Ant Queen and be reborn as a King. But to ensure I could retain my girth, I was eaten alongside a Chameleonian, so I can become whatever creature I please." He transformed into the Ant King to demonstrate. "I could have easily snuck in this way, but to meet you, I preferred a more direct approach." And he puffed back to normal. "Nothing beats my true form, after all."
"I'll crush him, Sire!" Ridley swooped down, intending to stab Kroctus with his Haki beak.
Kroctus punched him so hard that his beak was squished in, Ridley flying into the wall. "An acquaintance of mine is from the Negaverse. He told me about the recent developments of the Meta-Beast Pirates and compared it to mine. It's funny that they acquired their own Chimera Ant King at the same time I was reborn. Now, I'm positive… you are my Negative!"
"So, you're from the 'Posiverse.' And you're saying you're my Positive?"
"I can only surmise my original Negative was eaten the same way as I was. But if his will was as weak as I suspected, there's no way it could survive the reincarnation. I admit, I sometimes considered seizing my Negative to ensure no harm befell him… but perhaps I was right to let him be. I can smell the power inside you… yes! Only YOU are worthy to call yourself my other!" Kroctus charged forward with an expression of glee. "PUT 'ER THERE, brother!"
Golden flames dancing on his tail, Ant King leapt, spun, and forcefully whipped Kroctus's head. The croc turned and stumbled over.
Normally, Ant King would only deal an average slap when disciplining his servants. However, the servants could sense the conviction behind that attack. …Kroctus faced the ant, his hardened head reverting to green. "Careful, darling. Fire can put somebody's eye out." (Play "Snakey Chantey" from Donkey Kong Country!)
The Kremling grunts performed a jovial shanty as the sun peeked over the horizon. Although the Meta-Beasts claimed to be advanced, it was only tradition for a brawl to break out on a pirate deck. The Ant King was very swift, Kroctus whipping his Haki arms in every direction to block his tail whips. Ant King ducked his tail under to stab Kroctus's back, but Kroctus grabbed the tail just as quickly, squeezed it, and slammed King into the floor. Kroctus leapt and tried to flatten him with his gold belly, but a geyser of gold fire pushed Kroctus into the air. However, Kroctus performed a flip and pierced down the geyser fist first. Upon punching the Ant King, they smashed through several floors of the fort and out the bottom.
They plummeted between the legs of the Bioless. Their fists and tails met during the great descent, and Ant King used flames to give his strikes extra speed and power. Kroctus caught Ant's fiery leg in his teeth and bit. Ant King grunted and shot flames at his eyes, but Kroctus blocked with his hands, smothered the flames against Ant's own face, and clasped it. Kroctus spun around and hurdled the Ant King straight down, crashing somewhere on a land on the Bioless's crotch. Kroctus shot down like a comet, but as Ant King dodged his fist, it almost felt like the Bioless shook, flinching from the impact to its crotch. Ant King set the land ablaze as Kroctus fully hardened his scales, his skin growing more red and heated in the intense heat.
Ant King lashed at him with flaming fists and ankles, Kroctus intercepting his attacks, and dodging his head whenever his tail stabbed at it. "Did these animals call you the Ultimate Creature? Well, they're wrong. Eggman's grandfather created a creature with the same title, but even he was far off the mark! An Ultimate Creature can't just be made, one can only be grown!"
"While it's true that I'm only a little over a month old, my power and intellect are superior to many adults. You are insinuating that you've been honing and building your power since childhood."
The Ant King grabbed both of Kroctus's fists, mustering the power to restrain the bulky croc. "Yet, I am already on par with you. By the time I reach your age, I will be far superior. The Meta-Beasts… are… superior…"
"Born with intelligence… Born with power… how shallow." As the golden flames spread to Kroctus's hardened arms, the iron began to melt away. "True power… true knowledge… comes from experience!"
The chi radiating from the powerful kings attracted a trench of clouds. The sun cut perfectly between the trench, highlighting the kings. "It comes from a longing to be perfect! It comes from the despair of never finding perfection! Because the more you long for perfection, the more perfect you will BECOME!"
K. Rool's arms flashed from a ray of sunshine! His iron fully melted, and his Haki was solid gold! The golden fists sent the Ant King reeling back, crashing into the cliff of the Bioless leg. The wind it generated blew a path through the flaming field. "Hm?" Kroctus studied his golden arms curiously. "Ha ha ha ha! I didn't know Haki could become this color! This is proof, Anty! Proof that we share the same soul!"
"I see…" Ant King pushed himself out with a smirk. "You are actually quite… challenging." Flames jutting from his heels, the king lunged at Kroctus once more. Kroctus threw his fist, but King dodged back, shooting a small comet to hit Kroctus's face. He stayed clear of the king and used concentrated fireballs to explode the ground around Kroctus, but he jumped around the explosions and CLAPPED his hands, generating a shockwave that Ant King barely dodged.
The Ant King rocketed to the sky and conjured a meteor that shone like a sun. The meteor fell, and Kroctus met it with his fist, withstanding the solidity and mass that the king applied. "I wonder… if this is how Kaido felt! I wonder… if he sought perfection, too! This Golden Haki… is this his inherited will?! How far can I truly TAKE IT?!"
Many eyes were drawn to the beautiful light emanating from the Bioless' crotch. A light signaling the rise of two Emperors, two souls, two powers, both shining with the same passion…
…
…
…
The pirates brought out the drinks and food and delved into a feast! Baron Klammy was sharing thoughts with Andross. They were served drinks by a large, beefy Kremling; Klammy gawked, realizing that was his Negative! Ridley and Helmaroc King were digging into some giant worms from the Lost Land. Tachyon and Fredrik were jamming out to the latter's theme song. The Sharpclaw were having a fun duel with the Dinosoids, Scales and Primagen sharing a laugh.
"OI, LISTEN UP, YOU FOOLS!" Kroctus bellowed. The big, bulky Kremling was sitting on a platform with the scrawnier Ant King beside him. Kroctus jovially raised a bowl of juice and Ant King halfheartedly raised some porridge. "We, of the Kremling Krew…"
"And the Meta-Beast Pirates…"
"Hereby enter into a Pirate Alliance! Let's become the top Yonko of our universes and fight each other afterward!"
"YAAAAAAARRRR!" roared the pirates.
"Mweh heh hah har! And here I was looking to find a new Kommander to the Insect Division! You're worthy of being your own Emperor, Anty!"
"I'm flattered. However, as long as I cannot defeat you, I can no longer call myself the-"
"Don't be so pessimistic!" Kroctus slapped his puny back. "The perfect man isn't just a strong man. Why, I excel quite a bit at videogames myself. Remember, you have much to learn."
"Then tell me, Kroctus… what drives you? What is your purpose?"
"My only wish is to evolve. I wish to keep growing and keep learning. Both in strength and experience. But most importantly… I want to have fun doing it! Mweh heh har!"
"Hmm…I wonder if I'll find such passion some day."
"I'm sure you will! You just have to explore and find it! Maybe lop a few heads off while you're at it~. Until then, just live and party!"
The pirate community would come to know this as the Alliance of the Golden Kings, the Golden Alliance, or the Alliance of the Animal Empires. This signaled the coming of a new era in the universe, and the arrival of a war that would shake both universes. The sun shone upon the fortress between the mountains with bright promise and prosperity.