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The trickiest part was getting in, they all agreed. There were guards stationed at the cragged entrance to Mujoe's lair and boats flitting across the water with rocks and plants being carried back. Brightman waited for at least 40 minutes watching through his miniature telescope in order to get a good sense of routine amongst the guards, finding no gaps they could exploit as he stroked his chin.

"It's no good," he muttered, "we can't go in through the front, not without alerting them."

"And without knowing how deep his base is," added Dr. Ein from Bomberman's sub-ethal radio, "it'll be pointless to dig in from above."

"What do we do?" asked Oddclaw. "What if I called one of the flyers for a distraction?"

"That might work," the bomber turned towards the raptor in agreement, "but can you lure them away from the entrance long enough?"

"The flyers can try, I just need to bring one here."

"Can you do that?"

"I...I-i do not know, they do not fly this way."

"...what do you think sir Shovel Knight?"

The robot looked over at the cobalt steel pilgrim who had been sitting cross-legged on the shore watching the enemy's movements. His shovel buried in the sand alongside him like a staff, he cast his gaze along the rocks to the west of the entrance with a pensive stroke of his chin region.

"...perhaps not from above."

"Hmm?"

"What if we make our own entrance and invade from the side?"

"Is that even possible?" said Brightman putting down his scope. "All I see are cliffs along the entire shore opposite."

"Some parts of the cliff are more easily eroded than others. Observe the darker earthen hues of that strait, forming gentler slopes of presumably sand or clay-based substance. The white cliffs are much more resilient, hence forming a steep trajectory due to a slow erosion."

"So we break in through the soft parts."

"Exactly."

"And how will we know which way is where?"

"I can help with that!" cried Ein jubilantly as Bomberman stepped forwards. "Bomberman is fitted with a magnetic tracker that ensures he never gets lost, even when in the farthest underground."

"Really? Well that's certainly handy, but don't some things in nature throw off a compass?"

"Ah, you mean magnetic deviation? Bomberman has a self-correcting shielded binnacle inside his head which allows him to estimate which way is always magnetic north."

"Astounding!" cried Shovel Knight. "Truly a fine machine, then I see no further issue with this plan, what say you Major-General?"

"We got no other option," he replied standing up to brush his legs of sand, "let's take the boat and swing round south of them, Knight can lead us to the right cliff to break in that's out of sight."

The plan was set, circumnavigating their boat around the lone island in order to remain unseen and head towards the base of the Skylands. The wavy line of cliffs ensured a small cove that would allow them to infiltrate as Shovel Knight braced his namesake against the softest wall he could find before testing it. Whether by his strength or superior craftmanship, the shovel tore through the earthy clay without any trouble.

"Were I equipped with some fine dust knuckles this task would be but a piffle. Keep the area guarded whilst I deepen this tunnel for thee, but sir Bomber I request your navigation."

"Of course," said Ein as Bomberman placed his balled fists on his hips, "you lead, we shall follow and guide you."

"Thank you."

The group stood back and away to allow Shovel Knight some space, his shovel tearing across the seawall with absurd force to make a hole fit for humans to pass through. The three of them were surprised by how easy he simply shredded into dirt, carved open the rock and crushed any stones that threatened to fall upon his head. The soil hurled back behind him either to settle on the floor or scatter onto the sea, digging further and further within over the course of 25 minutes as Bomberman followed to keep him guided within the darker passage.

"He is very fast!"

"Surprising," said Thomas crossing his arms with firm nod, "I did not expect him to this good."

"Then why did you agree to it?"

"Sometimes the only option is the hardest option."

"No, the hardest was to fight them over there."

"I meant the longest."

"...General."

"What?"

Oddclaw turned with a curious tweak of his head in asking:

"Why did you come with us, alone without the guards?"

"There's a time for force and there's a time for stealth. You of all beasts must know that."

"I do, it is better to hunt with few than it is to hunt with many. But that is not what I meant. What I meant was, why did YOU come?"

"Two reasons. One, I worried that my skills in the field were turning rusty. But two, most importantly, I owe Kevin a debt."

The soldier leaned up against the sidebank of the thin shoreline as the smooth wall scraped against his back.

"He's one of the bravest men I know, one of the few who I've never seen frightened of anything."

"Really?" Oddclaw pondered as he looked up towards the top of the cliff. "...yes...I...I-i have never known Kevin to be afraid, he has never shown fear since I have known him."

"He has a past from a rather unsavoury background...nothing illegal, at least nothing he himself did but he lived in a pretty bad area of his home. Worked his way up through medical school, joined the Red Cross as a field medic...and then he saved my life."

"Wh-what? He did?!"

Thomas stood back up from the wall and walked towards the west, as far as the sliver of shoreline would allow him before the water creeped at his shoes.

"It was around nine years ago, the year was 2024 back in my world and a country called the United Kingdom of Great Britain was dealing with a...rather devious political situation."

"What is that?" asked Odd.

"It's hard to explain, but at one point there was something called the Cornwall Conflict, where a group of terrorists called White Normandy had taken an area hostage and turned it into their personal base. They were planning attacks across the country, burning houses and storefronts, killing people who they considered weren't 'British' enough for them."

"Why?"

"Well...say those flying things up there." He pointed up towards the small black Vs of the pteranodons' shapes in the blue sky. "Imagine they started living with your tribe in the same area. Now imagine that one of your tribe started killing them just because they weren't hunters, they weren't YOUR tribe."

"...y-yes. I..." The raptor turned away in shameful understanding as he rubbed his shoulder nervously. "I-i understand what you mean."

"I was assigned as part of the T.E.A.R which at the time was building speed, but due to my experience in the United States Army I was called in to deal with this."

"But why you?"

"Because the terrorists had taken over the Morwenstow base, which is a jointly-controlled British-US satellite station for monitoring data feeds and internet cables. People were nervous, things were tense and that was where I first met a young doctor Izquierda."

"How old was he?" asked Oddclaw.

"About twenty-four. Very gifted, exceptional head for chemistry, one of the brightest people of his unit. I had him along with me in an infiltration group, but we severely underestimated the level of explosives that White Normandy's elites had hiding away in storage. We fought most of them, killed all but a few who decided to go out in glory and set the damn things off, Kevin was the first to see and he pushed me out of the building through a window just before the whole thing exploded. I thought he died."

Thomas stared at the waters of the sea, creeping his boots closer in until they became submerged partly. The sinking of his soles beneath the wet sand briefly felt like his body was going to follow after.

"I went back in. I felt too guilty to just run off and the adrenaline was helping me fight the pain from the heavy fall as I staggered back in and there he was. His legs were buried under a stairwell and he just smiled at me. We fought back the fire, we had to sever his legs but he just kept smiling. I don't know why. But I felt responsible.

"Regardless of it being his choice to push me out of harm's way I wanted to give him the best I could, so I set him up with the T.E.A.R. I paid for his operation. I wanted to give him the best he deserved for being the only man I knew who showed no fear in life."

"YOU gave him the stone legs?" gasped Oddclaw leaning forwards in amazement.

"Yes...in every way. So when I heard that our good doctor has been kidnapped by some terrorist punk who took advantage of our grace I feel much more justified in coming down myself to bring him back, again. So there's your answer...I only tell you this because I know you can keep a secret."

"Does that mean you...trust me?"

"After the last portal incident, along with your ambassadorial duties and the glowing praise from Kevin, Jane and Jeremy, even miss Anna praises you, I see no reason not to. Besides..."

The general slapped his hand firmly upon Oddie's shoulder as he smiled to him.

"I'm the one who first trained you. I know you can be trusted in battle."

"I...see. Thank you sir. We will get Kevin back."

"Damn straight."

"HO, MY FRIENDS!"

The voice of Shovel Knight came booming through the expanded tunnel as he appeared waving his tool, with Bomberman behind him also waving.

"We have exposed a weakness inside the lair of our foes!"

"Quite so!" chirruped Ein with Bomberman's proud face beaming from closed eyelids. "They reinforced the structure of their tunnel entrance so good news is it won't collapse, leaving Bomberman free to attack by his modus operandi!"

"Meaning no rules on destruction?" asked Brightman cautiously. "Other than trying not to blow up our friend."

"Worry not Major-General, Bomberman takes great care to make certain no innocents are caught in the line of fire."

"I hope for your sake that's true. Now let's go."

"A-a-and then, and th-then," sputtered Adenine, "h-h-he told me he wished I'd been his DAUGHTER!"

"That is awful," said Kevin sympathetic, "how did that make YOU feel?"

"I-i-i felt, I...like I was a mistake, l-like he never wanted me!"

"And that makes him a terrible father...is that why you joined Plague Knight?"

"Y-YES, I HAD NO CHOICE, H-HE WAS LIKE A FATHER BUT HE'S JUST AS BAD AS MY REAL DAD WAAAAAS!"

The plague minion broke down sobbing against the cave wall, covering his face with his sleeve in mewling howls of pain whilst Kevin stood up and patted his shoulder.

"Hey hey, dude...come on, bring it in."

The scientist hugged him close, much to the confusion of the uncomfortable second guard Ribose who watched his friend break down with arms wrapped round Kevin's waist. The sound of heaving shudders filled the room until Adenine dried himself with small sniffling from his beak.

"You never told me about your dad," said Ribose shyly.

"I-i-i...I never f-felt comfortable sharing stuff in the workplace."

"But, we've been guard-friends for years!"

"I know b-but this is a very toxic environment we work in I-i feel so trapped!"

"We work in CHEMICALS of course it's toxic!"

"Alright okaayyyyy," said Kevin planting hands on both their chests. "Ribose, your friend's opened up, it is better to be late than never for this yes?"

"I-i...yeah, it's...glad we talked about this."

"I'm glad too," said Adenine, "I...I feel a weight's come off me, you know?"

"No no I-i gotcha, I mean......you know what."

The guard put down his sleeves and walked off towards a bench.

"I'm not happy in this job."

"N-neither am I!" cried his friend.

"I only...I just wanted to stay for your sake."

"What?"

"You're my best friend Adenine...I don't HATE this job but I could be doing something better."

"I got a job for you," said Kevin. "I mean...after this, when my friends come rescue me, I could take you on."

"Y-you would do that?" asked Ribose turning his head to him. "For real?"

"Oh yeah, sure I'd love to have more workers at my lab, real talented people and trust me we got way better care and support than your boss does."

"Why you say that?"

The sound of a small explosion rumbling through the walls as their boss came blustering in through the safety curtain. His long wild green beak with small dark eyes raised itself towards his minions.

"THEY'VE COME!" he shouted. "Those IMBECILE friends of our hostage have the GALL to invade us!"

"Wh-what should we do?" asked Adenine nervously.

"YOU keep him here, and if you dare allow him to move more than one INCH out of this room then I hope our enemies shall give you a swifter end than I shall EVER plan for you retarded reprobates!"

"Y-y-yes, sir."

"MUJOE, WE MUST PREPARE, IS YOUR GOLEM OPERATIONAL!?"

Sweeping his black robe out the door, the guards looked towards Kevin who shrugged with palms open.

"My boss came to rescue me. Would yours ever come to rescue you?"

The guards looked at each other with growing nerves, twiddling their little clawed thumbs as they struggled to make a choice. During this Mujoe was putting the finishing touches to his masterpiece in the hangar bay, squatting over a hollowed-out head as he barked orders at the bandit horde.

"GET YER BUTTS IN GEAR, I WANT ALL THE FIREPOWER YOU GOT TO BURY THOSE TWERPS OR EVEN SLOW THEM DOWN! NO SLACKING, MOVE IT!"

"Are you ready?!" squawked the plague doctor.

"I just got this last control panel to fit, get your minions out an' fight them good!"

"HAH, by the time I am done with those ignorant infidels you won't even NEED this monstrosity!"

"Then why dontcha put yer money where yer beak is an' prove it huh?! Show off yer poison tricks to 'em!"

"I shall, but NOT by your insistence."

Flourishing his cloak behind him he rushed off towards the entrance to the hangar bay as Mujoe rolled his eyes and fiddled with wires in minute precision, despite struggling to not split the copper filament in his fingers.

"GU-UGH, damn muscles, they keep gettin' in the way, my only curse to have this magnificent body and a brain this GOOD!"

Far and away down the long cavernous passage sculpted out by Mujoe's clan and Plague Knight's underlings, a band of four came rushing in with a mixture of deadly weaponry as they blasted through one of the cave walls in a tremendous cracking boom. The Hige Hige bandits would come en masse, armed with a wildly frantic array of weapons from swords to maces to bombs and laser guns alongside the Plague minions, who specialised largely in explosives and illusory tactics.

"IT'S THEM!"

"OPEN FIRE!"

"HIGE HIGEEEE!"

The cavern was reinforced by heavy structural supports and hard iron mesh ceilings, allowing both sides to not fear about potential cave-ins and unleash their full potential. Brightman began with a covering fire spray, holding his assault rifle out to rapidly take down the first wave of beastly terrorists as bullets ripped through sleeved cloaks and shattered upon bandit helms. The minions were not especially strong, falling like paper dolls to the short burts of hot lead but the bandits were surprisingly resilient with what appeared to be body armour covering from head to toe. Bomberman would assist however by hurling bombs in an overhead arc whilst the general kept the enemy focused on him, ducking behind lone crates and steel-pillared beams with occasional pot shots.

The resulting blast devastated a good seven fiends, blowing them backwards and over into the walls with heavy scorched marks or even just outright obliterating them to ashen atoms. Rumbling fire tore through the tunnel in something of a backdraft as they took cover, waiting for the next attack as both Oddie and Shovel Knight raced forwards in the brief momentary ceasefire. The knight focused on the bandits, walloping their armoured skulls hard enough to concuss them left and right whilst the raptor fired his shotgun towards the plague minions to tear through their bodies in smoking gasps. They almost seemed to fade like ghosts, ripping pellets through their cloaks causing them to evaporate with a shriek as their allies kept up the fight.

Vials of poison covered the walls and floor with horrifying acid, molten bubbles of green goop slathering across the rocks as raptor and knight dodged and leaped over to the boxes and avoid their vicious taint.

"TAKE COVERRR!"

The call of doctor Ein came crying from the tunnel back as they hid down behind the crates, watching a rolling bomb come bowling through to hit the acid and burst a violent shriek of cleansing fire throughout the widened passageway. Hot ruthless flames purged the poisons as well as a few more bandits from the place, with Thomas coming up instantly after the blast dissipated to fire down at the groups. Three bandits got the jump on him, armed with two swords and a whirling mace with intent to chop off his limbs but he blocked them fast. Grasping his assault rifle in both hands he clashed its gunmetal against their steel before the mace swung its chain around the rifle's butt, the general yanking hard to pull the weapon free from its owner as he fell straight towards Brightman's boot planted fully in his face, crushing him against the wall.

"HI-HI, H-HIGE, HIGE HIGEEE!"

"YOU WANNA FIGHT, YOU BEST BE READY TO KILL NOW COME AT ME YOU LITTLE PUNKS!"

One bandit rushed towards him with sword swinging high to cleave him in half, but Thomas dodged to the left and grabbed the hilt with his left hand, before cross-slamming his right straight into the hige's throat. Caught off-guard by the fierce punch, he had little time to react before grabbing the underside of the sword-wielding wrist with his right hand and ruthlessly twist like cracking open a door vault. The short-stacked attacker screeched feeling his hand almost become twisted off as he bent his knees in pain to receive Brightman's elbow hard into his chest which knocked him out with a small wretched spasm. But despite the free weapon at hand, Thomas tossed it to one side and cracked his knuckles towards the other sword-wielding bandit.

"I've got ten years of Krav Maga behind me without needing any stupid toothpick little punk. Now drop it or else."

The bandit's arm shook with fretful panic, whimpering to the point he dropped his sword and ran straight back to his master in a screaming fit. Brightman picked up his rifle and ducked behind a crate to reload as another swarm of mixed fiends came charging down the hall. Lasers shimmered in fierce blue streaks past his head, the constant shriek of pihyhw-PIHYHW ringing past his ears like a force seven gale as he watched Shovel Knight wedge his trademark tool underneath a sturdy iron box.

"HAVE SOME OF THIS YOU KNAVES!"

Lifting with a mighty thrust, he swung the crate through the air to send it rumbling down like a clunky ball of doom straight into the horde who screamed and dodged desperately out of its path, the unlucky either crumpled or completely flattened underneath its sharp heavy pointed corners. Piling on forwards, the fearless foursome rushed in unison as they teamed up into a close-handed brawl. Bomberman refrained from using explosives instead opting to use his pure balled fists of steel to slam and crack into hige heads, blocking sword strikes by the flat of the blades against his wrists before uppercutting jaws. Oddclaw tore into the plague minions as his focus, striking violently with claws and dodging reckless vials they tried to toss and poison him with directly at his face. Gutblows, mauling bites and shotgun blasts to their beaks eviscerated them to dust.

Shovel Knight took no quarter against the armed hige horde who flailed on him with morning stars and blades, as well as even having small chainsaws and ruthless construction tools remodified into full offensive weaponry. One desperate fiend raced towards him with a flying leap and ripped his wicked bladed saw upon the knight's shovel, crossguarding himself as the rigid spinning teeth tore closer and closer towards his helm with a monstrous roar of gasoline. Through a force of determination he pushed back against the wild sawblade and slammed his handle into the hige's face, spinning hard to come down with his shovel in a full swing cracking into the bandit's skull and sent him crashing into another set of his friends like a wrecking ball. Thomas employed his disarming techniques no matter what enemy would come, the hige bandits only coming up to his chest but being full-on determined to carve him open with an array of deadly weapons. Two came at once with swords as he blocked both with his rifle, spinning it like a baton to smack them both out of their wielders' grip before cracking the butt of his gun across both their skulls. One charged with a mace, but he performed the same wrap-and-pull maneuver to yank it free and kick him in the stomach, turning fast to pull his handgun out with his other hand and fire point-blank at a few more charging fiends. His bullets could not penetrate, but they had such a forceful impact that a headshot sent them out with full concussion from the fight

"H-HEH, HIGE! HIGE HIGEEE!"

"FALL BACK EVERYONE FALL BACK!"

The combined horde were starting to feel the devastating force of their oncoming invaders, pulling back fast as they could with the four now reaching the first set of doors into the inner sanctum. A surprisingly simple set of steel doors as Shovel Knight slammed his blade in between and forced it open enough to allow his friends inside. The room was definitely not something any of them would expect in an underground base as the voice of Plague Knight echoed across the darkened place.

" AHHHH finally! And here I was expecting you earlier you insipid little insects heeheeHEEEE!"

Flames burst from 24 cauldron-shaped sconces placed systematically along the floor in perfect spacing from each other, in six vertical rows of four each that cast shadows of wild green fire along the walls. Thomas noted the room was almost a rectangular grid of 13 spaces wide by 9 spaces long, but the most unnerving aspect of the room was the fact it had a tremendously low ceiling, resulting in a series of corridors that wrapped round the verdant flames in their pots.

"SHOW YOURSELF PLAGUE!" roared Shovel Knight. "Your days of malingering depravity are over!"

" Are they?! Hmmmhmm first I have heard of it, do you like my little maze dear RATS?! ...I wanted a much higher ceiling see, some grotesques along the walls to give it a little sense of ambience moooore infernal, you see?! But I had to make do, so I hope that our final battle shall not be TOO disappointing hee hee HEE!"

"Rest assured," said doctor Ein, "you're only a small fry before the main course you bird-brained coward!"

" C-COWARD?! ME, the great knight of plagues a COWARD?! You call one such as ME a deceitful coward when I am but the patriarch of potions, the adjudicator of unguents and commissar of concoctions?!"

"I know a coward when I see one and even when you tricked us before I knew that you could barely hide such a yellow belly underneath all that black."

" H-howwwww DAAAARE YOU!"

A shrieking blast burned through the hall straight towards them as they dodged in two groups to either side, belching green fire like the dragon's maw as they braced their weapons for a fight. The knight and bomber stood to the right whilst Thomas and Oddclaw took the left.

" You think you can even comprehend MEEEE?! ME THE DARK LORD OF TOXINS, THE PERPETUAL PERPETRATOR OF PLAGUES AND PANDEMICS?!?! I shall make you my new subjects when after I am done with you, I shall make your livers BOIL in their own bile and your eyes digest themselves with apoplectic VENOM!"

Another monstrous bellow of flames tore across the room, trapped into a four-way blast in each cardinal direction by the sconced torch cauldrons as they hid throughout the open maze.

"IF YOU ARE NOT A COWARD," shouted Oddie, "THEN SHOW YOURSELF AND FIGHT YOU FREAK!"

"SURRENDER NOW!" warned Brightman. "You can still come out of this alive but if you dare fight us head on then we WILL use lethal force!"

"Oh, lethal are we?"

The face of a sickly emerald beak glimmered beside Oddie as he fired instantly, finding the doctor to have disappeared in a puff of smoke. Brightman grabbed the raptor's arm and pulled him away from the coming roar of another backdraft viciously charring where they had been hiding.

"CAREFUL!" cried Shovel Knight. "He is a fiend of illusion and prognostication!"

" I am most certainly NOT!" cried Plague Knight. " I am far greater than some cheap children's entertainer pulling lapines out of hats!"

"You are right in that case I take it back! An entertainer would actually be of some repute, unlike you who hath less dignity than the chamberpot steward of a hospice!"

" WH-WH-WHAAAAAAT?!"

The sound of little feet came tapping down the hall as Shovel Knight readied himself for a cracking swing. But then he realised and nodded to Bomberman beside him with a plan as the robot snuck round the opposite corner and waited for the signal. The knight swung out with the shovel for an instant as another illusion swept past his vision like a ghost from the mirror, somehow revealing the true owner hiding amongst the flame cauldrons when he laid down his trap to burst fires through the passage at his enemy. But the moment he did he came upon the white bomber who punched him hard across the face and sent him rolling with a bomb in his little green claws.

"A-AAAGH, YOU, G-GAAAH!"

He tossed it frantically to one side before dodgerolling behind one of the flame sconces. His trick now revealed, the Plague Knight stepped out before the intruders who brandished their weapons readily towards him as the wicked doctor twirled his staff and pulled out one of his deadly explosive vials.

"Let me show you who has dignity when you're all burnt to a CRISP!"

Hurling his glass bomb at his opponents, the four dodged once more separating into various parts of the strange rat run as the cross-explosion of green smoulder burst in four directions once again. Oddclaw was the fastest, circling around the flaming pots to try and get behind the vermin and fire at his back, but the fiend was surprisingly quick to evade his shot as he tossed a bomb in mid-dodge towards the raptor who went back into hiding. Thomas had watched his ally's movements and came out firing, emptying half a clip down the hall that chipped and sparked off of the Plague Knight's beak. He rolled and hurled a different vial in the form of something pink, as it caused a small burning orb of luscious intrigue. Brightman assumed it was a dud and made his approach before Plague Knight tossed two more down causing the flames to grow higher, and violently shockwave across the room as the human leapt out of the way. The fire shrieked across his feet, burning at his boots as he gasped from the creeping flames he tried to put out.

"I hope you're having FUN my quarrelsome quarter-wits, EEHEEEE HEHEHEHEHEEEHEEEHEEEEE!"

"YOU WON'T BE LAUGHING WHEN I PLUG YER BEADY LI'L EYES!" roared Thomas.

"Ohohoho, that is IF you can plug me."

He dropped a vial at his feet, causing the mist to vaporise into two more illusions of himself standing side by side as their voices squawked in unison.

" Which of us is which? If one burns, it is a witch, but if not, then it's not hee hee HEEEE!"

The triplets darted off in each direction hunting down the rest of the group. Bomberman tried to throw down a bomb across the way and blast all three of them, but they scattered just before he could hit any of them. He waited to plant another bomb, then yet two more along the row as fire crawled through the enclosed space in surprisingly-controlled bursts of perfectly straight lines. But the plague's mirages evaded with just as much skill as him, running round the walls as one of them lunged towards the robot to swipe at his face with its staff in gleeful surprise. The white bomber backflipped to smack its solid feet into the clone's beak, knocking it back before tossing one of his bombs and ducking out of the way to blow it straight into the wall with a crushing wall of fire. Scorched to a ruined black smear of ash, the second one ran along with the original towards Shovel Knight who braced himself for battle.

Both plague doctors swung their staffs in unison as the knight blocked both, swinging into a spinning strike at both as they dodged back and hurled two bombs at once filled with strange blue liquid that he knocked back in return. The vials exploded in mid-air causing vile shocks of electricity to crawl through the floor and threaten to electrocute the knight as he ran straight to the back wall to evade the crackling arcs of sizzling bolts. But the doctor had not anticipated the knight to hurl his shovel like a javelin into one of them and penetrated through the skull of his weaker clone, shattering into a half-solid state of gaseous smoke. The lone doctor shrieked and barrel-rolled his way to the side right into Oddclaw's sight, the raptor firing off twice to rip through Plague Knight's sleeve when he hurled a bomb in response.

"GUH, IMBECILE!"

Oddie was surprised by the sudden fling of explosive death as he backflipped away from the blast, the resonating shock sending him further to hit the wall but largely unscathed despite some small burns to his arms and chest. The terrorist smirked as he switched tactics, fiddling with a wide array of casings he had beneath his cloak and hurled a rather bulbous pair of balloons to the ground both in front and behind of him. The bombs started bouncing with a life of their own, swishing trembling threatening volumes of black powder that almost seemed to follow Brightman and Oddie.

Thomas fired at one to make it explode prematurely, ducking out of cover as the blat swarmed through the hall before shooting at the next one. But in his distraction he came face to face with the Plague Knight who shrieked with swinging staff to crack across his face, blocked swiftly by the general's rifle. He kicked the doctor off and shoved him against one of the flaming pots, hammering the rifle butt against the Plague Knight's jaw causing him to stumble, but not before the enemy swiped his cane at the human's legs and knocked him hard with a pulling tug of his beak-tipped staff catching on his knee. He saw the other three come closing in on his position.

"WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND HEEHEEEE!"

Pulling out three more bombs with a unique cylindrical casing, the plague doctor hurled a bomb towards each of them as they ducked or evaded fast, whirling glass whooshing past their eyes as the vials somehow went spinning around the flame cauldrons and returning straight back towards them like boomerangs that crawled along the ground. The Shovel Knight was first to realise when calling to his friends:

"WATCH OUT, THEY ARE COMING BACK!"

He dodged once again as the Plague Knight caught it deftly in his hand whilst Bomberman evaded in a forward tumble. Oddclaw practically leapt and pushed himself against a wall as their original owner snatched both from the air ready to hurl them once more.

"YYYAH, HWAH, HIIIIYAAAH!"

Despite the smouldering fires all around the whirling casings never hit any of them, rumbling inches above the steel floor as Plague Knight backed himself up towards the upper corner of the room gleefully cackling. Bomberman took a chance in bowling one of his bombs to follow along one of Plague's devices, signalling to Oddie to shoot at him and distract the doctor briefly. Shovel Knight joined in trying to scoop one of the bombs and toss it much faster back towards its owner. The dual assault of his own explosives plus Bomberman's orbular black ball overwhelmed him into a corner when struck in the chest bya monstrous black burst, along with further blazing roar of thick amber flames that tore across his cloak and face with charring flumes. He readied another set of explosives visibly shaking with rage to not even notice the shadow from behind him.

"Y-YOUUU...worthless FILIBUSTERS I'LL BLOW YOU ALL TO HELL!"

"Loser says what."

"What, who the-_G-GA-A-AAAAAAAA AAAAARGH! _"

Turning to see the voice that spoke behind, he suddenly felt the cracking slam of what felt like a baseball bat into his ribs, dropping his unlit casings from his fingers as he fell backwards into a crumpled state. He staggered up onto his feet with the breath hoarse from his empty lungs.

"Y-Y-YOU...YOUUUU WORTHLESS WRETCH!"

"I just wanted to give you a leg up," said Kevin leaning against the wall with one of his legs in his hand. "Seeing that someone like you could really use it, you know being the last person who knows when it rains."

"_G-GAAAAHYOU-G-GUH-guh- YYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! _"

Rushing with murderous fury in his black soulless eyes, Plague Knight charged towards Kevin who readied his leg like it was the bottom of the ninth, but it was a solid crack to the back of his skull that sent him down fully when Shovel Knight came from behind and beaned him straight to the floor. The whining sound of the Plague Knight rubbing his head and curling up with bulging pains in his cranium was a pathetic sight as the rescuers came together.

"K-KEVIN!" cried Oddie.

"Eyyyy dinomigo, general...whoo." The medic sat down to reattach his leg with a few clicks. "You're a lot earlier than I thought you'd be."

"I never slouch in my duties," said Brightman offering a hand to help Kevin back up. "Are you alright?"

"Oh yeah yeah fine," replied Izquierda pulling himself up with the general's arm. "Got myself out with some help from pajarito's minions, said they wanted to rebel and join us."

"What?!"

"WH-WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" shrieked the doctor.

"Ehhhh just a long chat," explained Kevin, "with some of his friends and they're not happy with how he treats them. So I convinced them to join us and free me, I want to ask general if you can spare them and let them be part of my laboratory team."

"You actually convinced your captors to surrender?" asked Dr. Ein.

"Yeah, I mean I'm not a negotiator but you know some people just need an ear to listen to them...and that's really all, you know?"

"THOSE DULL-MINDED BUFFOONS!" screamed Plague Knight. "I SHALL HANG THEM FROM THE GALLOWS OVER MY LARGEST ACID PIT!"

"ENOUGH!" barked Shovel Knight. "You are finished knave, now cease thy work licentious or face my wrath to the fullest!"

"SHUT UP YOU POMPOUS PRIG!"

He rolled a small black ball between the group as it burst into thick acrid smoke, forcing all of them to hack and cough with eyes covered to leave their target unguarded to flee the coop. He pounded on one of the walls which slided open, the five chasing after him when they saw his shadowed form escape into a large steel hangar bathed in darkness. Plague Knight was nowhere to be found, and the place seemed surprisingly quiet. Almost too quiet to the point they were afraid to move forwards.

"This," gasped Ein with Bomberman staring around him with nostalgic awe, "th-th-this is...Mujoe's base!"

"Are you certain?" said Brightman.

"No question of it, I know this layout well, so THIS is where he ended up."

"IT SURE IS!"

A voice screamed with macho flare from the very center of the room, the lights almost bursting with piercing white to blind them all at once as they peered through fingers to see a colossal machine, a brazen 40-feet structure that somewhat resembled a man with a huge jaw and bald head shimmering with glass. The arms were ferocious with one being a giant chainsaw and the other a huge gun with bullpup big enough to stuff all five of them in like toothpaste in a tube. The legs were monstrous boots with rigid multichromed legs that glinted stunningly as the head bowed forwards with the sound of shrieking powerful pneumatics to reveal the brains behind the operation. The muscled flamboyant Mujoe at the controls alongside Plague Knight still smoking and bruised in the backseat, the wrestler-turned-villain shouting through a bass speaker.

"I WAS WONDERING WHERE YOU GOT TO LITTLE BOMBERMAN, NOW I SEE YOU GOT SOME FRIENDS FER ME TO PLAY WITH!"

"Wh-wh-what is THAT?!" screeched the raptor.

"H-heavens ABOVE!" gasped Shovel Knight.

"MUJOE!" cried Ein with Bomberman raising a fist of vengeance to the giant. "You think we would let you get away this?!"

"OF COURSE NOT," roared the machine, "WHAT'S THE FUN IN BEING ME WHEN I CAN'T HAVE SOMEBODY TO PUSH AROUND?!"

"You always were a bully, even in the ring. That's why people turned their back on you, all you ever were and will be is down to YOU!"

"SHUT UP! IF PEOPLE CAN'T SEE MY GREATNESS THEN I'LL MAKE DAMN SURE THEY CAN'T IGNORE ME, EVER AGAIN!"

"ENOUGH!" shouted Oddclaw. "You do not belong here, either of you! If you stop this now, and come quietly, you will not be killed and you can return home!"

"YOU THINK THAT'S GONNA WORK ON ME YOU FOSSILHEAD?!"

"It is never too late!" cried Shovel Knight. "We implore ye to cease this madness, your sentences shall be lightened with cooperation!"

"Kevin," muttered Thomas siding up close, "Go and hide, we-"

"No," he replied.

"What?"

"I am part of your team general, what you think I'm going to run like a bitch?"

"I don't want you to get hurt."

"I won't be. Besides...I know this guy's weakness and I'll need your help to take it down."

"Really? ...alright. But you follow my orders, that understood?"

"Si general."

"THE ONLY WAY I'M COMING OUTTA THIS," ranted Mujoe, "IS WITH YOUR BODIES CRUSHED UNDER THE BOOTS OF MY NEW PLAGUE BOMBER JOE!"

"AND WITH OUR MINDS COMBINED," squealed Plague Knight inside the cockpit, "THIS WORLD IS SIMPLY OURS FOR THE TAKING, YEE HEE HEE HEEHEEEE!"

"BWAHAHAHAAAAAA, HAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!"

The merciless metallic golem whirred into fighting stance, standing tall and proud much to Oddclaw's fright at such a devastating beast.

"Th-th-that is...th-the biggest thing I h-have SEEN!" he squawked backing up with shaking knees.

"Do not cower young page," said Shovel Knight with hand on his shoulder, "for all machines hath one weakness and I pray that you take heed of that old adage. The bigger they are, the harder they fall."

"A-alright...what...what do we do?!"

"I know what to do!" said Kevin. "Just cover for me, I need to get something!"

"Wh-wait, wait KEVIN!"

"LOOK OUT!"

The trembling voice of Dr. Ein warbled from his speaker as they saw the heavy boot crushing down on top of them. They scattered in all directions whilst Izquierda ran off towards a side room with Thomas following after. The raptor and knight stuck close next to the white bomber who led them into an offensive.

"KEEP HIM DISTRACTED, BOMBERMAN AIM FOR ITS KNEES LIKE BEFORE!"

"COME ODDCLAW, TO ME!"

Oddclaw fired running alongside the Shovel Knight, chipping pieces of tiny steel off the armoured beast who simply turned and sweeped its giant chainsaw arm towards them. The looming shadow of its ferocious teeth ripping with the roar of a dragon came villainously close to severing off their bodies as they ducked sliding hard across the floor beneath the whooshing sweep of a wing-sized blade. During this Bomberman braced himself with a set of two bombs and hurled them into the air, before a boost jump to backflip-kick both of them straight into one of the robot's knees. Shuddering blasts trembled through its leg, yet it did not seem bothered by the attack with hardly more than a scrape to it much to Ein's shock.

"WH-wh-WHAT?!"

"OH, YOU THINK THAT TRICK'S GONNA WORK ON ME TWICE?!" boasted Mujoe as he aimed his giant cannon arm towards the tiny robot. "YOU REALLY THINK, THAT I WASN'T SMART ENOUGH TO REINFORCE THOSE KNEES AND PUT SHOCK-ABSORBERS IN THEM AFTER THE LAST FIGHT, DID YOUUU?!?!"

The cannon shot a frighteningly giant orb of green pulsing liquid, a super-sized version of the ones that Plague Knight had used which Bomberman rushed to avoid the blast radius of. The shockwave it caused was that of an eruption, washing a horrendous green smoke as a mushroom cloud over a quarter of the base's arena. The gasping wind from the blast alone was enough to send Oddclaw off his feet, struggling to keep balance with Shovel Knight's hand upon his arm.

"HOLD FAST!"

"A-AAAAGH," he shrieked in primal tongue, "TH-THE FIRE IS TOO STRONG!"

"DO NOT FEAR, NOW STAND WITH ME IN DEFIANCE!"

Despite his initial fears to run after the devastating bomb with legs shaking at the fearsome swarm of acid smoke, the raptor nodded and steadied his nerves as best he could before they started circling around the metal monster. Skirting a wide berth as the machine turned with stomping feet that made the ground shudder within its immediate space, the knight, bomber and velociraptor tried to look for any and all weaknesses they could exploit. During this their speed and agility would far outmatch the giant machine, chainsaw blade whirring past their heads ot trying to carve deep into the floor with shrieking buzzing sparks that scattered hot fountains near them. The Plague Bomber's cannon would fire again after a long recharge but was too unwieldy, causing a tremendous blast of infernal deadly miasma that would dissipate. The fiends' attempts to trap their attackers into a corner seemed useless until Mujoe shouted within:

"HAH, LOOK AT YOU ALL RUNNING AROUND LIKE RATS IN A DRYWALL THINKING I CAN'T HIT ANY OF YOU!"

"Well so far you haven't, have you?!" retorted Plague Knight in a mood.

"THEN GETTA LOAD O' THIS!"

The shoulders of the steel beast opened up to reveal two cubes with four circular slots on each. Bomberman knew exactly what they inferred as he grabbed Oddclaw and the knight wordlessly to drag them towards a pile of steel crates. White smoke burst as missiles launched through the air, hurtling down towards them as they detonated behind the three of them, shrieking cracking booms that crushed into the side of the crates with some of them being smashed into the walls past their heads.

"WH-WHAT WAS THAT?!" screeched the raptor.

"MISSILES!" shouted Ein. "We have to keep running, this crate will not stand against the next assault!"

"WAIT!" shouted Shovel Knight grabbing the bomber's fist. "I hath an idea, I will distract the fiend. You find some other means to attack it whilst he focuses on me!"

"What?! A-are you certain?!"

"I hath seen such projectiles in my world and I know precisely how to deal with them. Trust me."

The look of severity he gave from within his stern helm made them not dare to question his action as they ran for cover elsewhere. The knight stood up onto the damaged long rectangle crate and twirled his shovel to point it fiercely at the Plague Bomber.

"HALT!"

"HUH?!" squawked Mujoe.

"YOU CALL THYSELF A MAN OF STRENGTH WHEN RELIANT UPON SUCH FOOLISH GADGETRY TO ACHIEVE THINE OWN END?! I CALL ON THEE AS BUT A COWARD, WHO HATH DIED A THOUSAND DEATH WITH EVERY MACHINATION HE HATH SHIELDED HIS EGO WITH!"

"YOU CALLIN' ME A YELLOW-BELLY YA SHOVELHEAD?!"

"I CALLETH THEE AS I KNOWETH THEE!" The knight goaded him with a beckoning hand gesture inciting his fury evermore. "CANST THOU EVEN HIT THY TARGET WITH SUCH PULCHRITUDINOUS MIND AND BROBDIGNAGIAN WEIGHT?!"

"WHAT HE JUST CALL ME?!"

"He's calling you fat and stupid," muttered Plague Knight, "but do not let him bait you, he has a trick up his sleeve!"

"I'M NOT YER SIDEKICK I KNOW WHAT TO DO!"

"IS THAT A FACT?!" barked the knight. "TAKING ORDERS FROM A SHRIMP WHO CAN BARELY FIT IN ONE OF THY SHOES?!"

"SHUT UP YOU TIN-FACED WHELP!" shrieked the doctor.

"I DARESAY YOU HATH PROVEN THAT WHEN BRAIN MEETS BRAWN, FOR NEITHER SHALL SUCCEED WITH SUCH A TINY-MINDED GOLEM OF MEAT AND A HATCHLING SHORTER THAN HIS OWN FUSE!"

"Y-YOUUU-YOUUUUUU! KILL HIM, BLOW HIM TO SMITHEREENS UNTIL HE IS ASH IN THE WIND!"

"G-GET OFF, STOP PUSHIN' MY BUTTONS YOU STUPID BRAT SIDDOWN!"

A fight began in the cockpit as Plague Knight lunged from his seat to bash frantically on the control panel, desperately trying to overkill his archenemy with a shrieking storm of missiles as Mujoe fought his brief partner off with thick-gloved hands slapping his beak. A terrifying volley came hurtling towards the cobalt knight who leapt over three of the missiles to screech past him, before whamming another to the left as it spun careening near the monstrous leg of the giant. Plague Knight shrieked in frustration with another wave of missiles after him, the Shovel Knight now planting his feet upon the ground and charging straight towards the terrible storm of shrieking detonating steel. He slid beneath two in a harsh scrape, skimming past his armoured chest with sparks scraping along his front and whacked two more over upwards, spinning straight into the roof and almost hitting the cockpit.

In a panicked frenzy Mujoe regained control to swing his giant chainsaw arm towards the blue cavalier who rushed forth and struck violently against, a monstrous shockwave stemming from his blade in the process of striking against the shrieking wide teeth. But despite the colossal size of the bladed arm, Shovel Knight stood fast against with only the finest of his steel weapon crunching against it for all but six seconds of their clash. He pulled himself free once the torque started to overcome and swung himself past in a brief spinning dodge before clasping his shovel like a samurai blade, cracking it in another sonic boom towards the machine's thick-bolted leg. During all of this, Bomberman along with Oddie had circled round to the back of the monolithic machine as Ein shouted:

"Oddclaw, can you climb that thing?!

"Wh-what?!"

"You're the most agile of us, can you climb it and find a weak spot?!"

"I...y-yes, I can!"

"Alright, you will need to climb upwards to the top where its head is. Mujoe always uses a cheap sealing brand so find some part of its shoulders to break it open and blast it with your shotgun."

"Yes...alright I will try."

The raptor raced towards the terrifyingly tall beast of steel and launched himself up onto its back knee, grappling against the steel ridges that simulated a muscle expanding and contracting with almost rubbery texture. As the monster turned to try and attack the Shovel Knight, who was surprisingly evasive against the hail of missiles that came down upon him, Oddclaw pulled himself up higher onto its back which had less footholds to grapple onto. He braced himself and swung over to the cannon arm and ran up along the shoulder with the sound of clunking steel underneath his claws before reaching the shoulder. He braced himself against a large metal outcropping beside the head and fired at the shoulder where the sealing was, cracking some of it off with a dull vibration in four shots through its carapace, but not enough to expose any weaknesses. But before he could reload a third time for shots five and six, he felt a shadow come upon him as the giant chainsaw arm loomed above his head with screaming teeth ready to decapitate.

"I DON'T THINK SO BOYS!" cried Mujoe as Oddclaw frantically swung back down the arm to hide. "THIS THING'S BEEN REINFORCED, YER NOT GETTING ANYWHERE INSIDE US!"

"Not in THOSE tights you're wearing," murmured Plague Knight tittering beneath his breath.

"WHASSAT YOU SAY ABOUT ME BEAKHEAD?!"

"I was simply making a joke at your expense because that's what friends DO, yes?!"

"Okay, why dontcha keep yer BEAK outta my tights an' sit back like a good li'l egghead or else!"

"Or else WHAT?!" squawked the doctor standing up out of his seat peering forwards. "At least I never needed this absurd golem to compensate for a frightfully thin-muscled skin."

"SIDDOWN AN' SHADDUP OR I'LL GIVE YOU A PhD IN PAIN!"

"HEY, MISTER KNIGHT, BOMBERMAN!"

Shovel Knight turned to see Kevin and Thomas scarpering from the lab entrance as both he and Bomberman regrouped with them behind some undamaged crates.

"I know how to beat him!" said Izquierda.

"How?!" asked the knight.

"That pajarito read my notes about certain rocks and plants containing polysulfides, he managed to make some of it to try and damage our weapons but I just needed to refine it."

"A toxin?!"

"An oxidiser," explained Thomas, "the type Kevin found can induce stress corrosion in certain steels."

"Of COURSE!" cried Ein. "We can break his machine down with that! Kevin, do you have it in a bottle?"

"I have twelve!" he replied.

"Excellent, now here's what we do."

Meanwhile Oddclaw was struggling for dear life upon a giant robotic arm that swung heavily to and fro to try and shake him off. The raptor clambered and crawled like an ant upon a leaf, dodging the sweep of the chainsaw arm as it revved and roared past his vision with frantic claws scrabbling on the steel.

"HEY STOP THAT!" shouted Mujoe. "YOU'LL SCRATCH THE PAINT JOB YOU STUPID LIZARD!"

"AAAAAGH!"

Desperately leaping off of one arm he grabbed onto the other to sit himself above the vicious blade and out of its reach. In a frustrating huff the Plague Knight stomped out of the cockpit by opening its door and hurling a bomb towards the raptor.

"GET OFF OF THIS YOU PARASITE!"

"NO!" he shouted dodging a small vial of black.

"DO YOU EXPECT ME TO LET YOU LIVE?!"

"...NO MISTER BOND, I EXPECT YOU TO DIE!"

"WHAT, I'M NOT-G-GAAAAH!"

Surprising the doctor with a sudden rush, he launched himself like a wild panther when he felt the machine stabilise its balance enough to gain footing, slamming his body down upon the Plague Knight and punching with claws across his beak. The fiend frantically smacked him across the face with his staff, scarring his cheek with the sharp tip of his cane before frantically rolling down the arm in a panicked stumble. Screaming almost in unison, they found themselves nearing the base of the ripping sawblade as the Plague Knight forced his staff horizontally against the raptor's throat, shoving his head closer towards the shrieking teeth of the chainsaw with cackling glee in the doctor's throat. Oddclaw pushed back, his strength meeting against the Plague Knight's desperate force and gravity aiding him as the jagged reap came closer to his skull. Then something exploded, jolting the entire steel beast with an upset that threw Plague Knight's staff out of alignment.

"WH-WHAT WAS THA-DFFFA-AAAAAAGH!"

A left hook from Oddclaw sent him flying off the steel arm and desperately grabbing for any ledge. He almost fell straight off the robot until he hurled one of his bombs down towards the steel-plated chest and launched himself back up with a bursting bomb, lifted by its hot voluminous flume to land somewhat gracefully back onto the ripper's arm to face Oddclaw once again.

"WH-WHAT THE HECK!?" shouted Mujoe.

"SURPRISE MUJOE!"

A blast came shuddering from the back of Plague Bomber Joe's knees, wafting rich orange fumes of rust-oxidising chemicals as something started to crack and shriek from within the giant's legs. In turn one of the legs started to creak, and bend with worrying lack of control causing Plague Knight to rush straight back to the cockpit, hurtling bombs behind him to keep Oddclaw at bay.

"WH-WHAT HAPPENED?!" he shouted.

"THE DAMN LEG ISN'T WORKING!" roared Mujoe.

"WHAT?!"

"I CAN'T MOVE, THEY MUSTA DONE SOMETHING!"

"I THOUGHT YOU SAID NOTHING COULD PENETRATE ITS ARMOUR!"

"YOU THOUGHT WRONG PAJARITO!"

Kevin's voice bellowed out from below as he waved a bottle of orange-brown liquid up towards them. The villains peered through a scope with shock and outrage as the scientist taped one of the bottles to Bomberman's bomb before he went charging into the fray.

"S-S-STOP HIM!" shrieked the mad doctor.

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO," ranted the wrestlemaniac, "I'M THE ROBOT MASTER HERE!"

"WELL MAYBE YOU SHOULD GO BACK TO ROBOT SCHOOL!"

"I'M NOT THE ONE WHO SPENT HOURS IN A FREAKIN' LAB JUST TO GIVE 'EM A WAY TO DESTROY MY MACHINE!"

"IF YOUR LITTLE SNOW-FACED MORONS KNEW HOW TO DO THEIR JOB WE WOULDN'T EVEN BE IN THIS SITUATION!"

"IF YOUR WEIRD BEAKY FRIENDS DIDN'T BETRAY YOU THEN WE WOULDN'T BE HERE ARGUING!"

As they argued casting blame on each other, the white bomber rushed between the monstrous feet to plant his bombs and cause further damaging cracks to its steel foundation, bellowing thick liquid bursts of polysulfide vapours that seeped into cracks and splintered it like ice on a thin lake. In their desperation the giant swung out its ripping arm towards Thomas and Kevin, the general firing at the cockpit to blind them whilst the medic jumped back and hurled a bottle straight towards the screaming teeth. Shattering against the vorpal steel, it began to crackle and deteriorate surprisingly swiftly as the chainsaw cried to an agonising halt. It wasn't yet done as its momentum was still going on, threatening to drive forwards and eviscerate Izquierda who ran with a surprising speed whilst pulling another bottle from his jacket. He had to be exceptionally careful knowing the same solution would devour his legs as he smirked with a fiendish grin. He jumped up a series of crates, vaulting with his powerful bladed "sport legs" until he was high enough to jump over the simmering bladed teeth and land upon the arm itself.

"ENJOY YOUR DENTIST'S BILL!"

He smashed the bottle straight into the gears of the chainsaw, grinding with a sudden ineffable shriek that tore into the ears of anyone nearby like teeth against the chalkboard, a copper swan song to the end of its operation as a now useless turgid weight. The fumes had been rotting through the beast's legs to the point it was now dangerous to move them without even further damaging its structural integrity, much to Mujoe's frustration as he pulled his hair and roared with fists punching at the console.

"N-NOOOO, NOOOO MY RIPPER, MY PLAGUE BOMBER YOU, YOU, YOUUUHUHUHUUUU!"

"USE THE MISSILES DIMWIT!" panicked Plague Knight. "THE PLAGUE BOMBS I GAVE YOU, ANYTHING, SOMETHING YOU MUSCLE-THROATED IMBECILE!"

"SHUT UUUUUP!"

He slammed his fist hard upon the the giant cannon's control, firing another giant green bomb that forced everyone to evade from its area swiftly. The catastrophic mushroom cloud loomed behind them as it pulverised a group of crates into a crunching sickly pandemic ooze that rotted through the floor, but not before Mujoe punched at the missile buttons sending another volley straight towards Bomberman, who stood unafraid with cool calculating eyes at a path through them. He hopped upon the first one, then launched to the second and the third like they were platforms before landing on the fourth and vaulting off with a bomb in his hand and heading straight towards the thick cannon bullpup. It was a slamdunk within seconds, the bomb with its sulfide added on detonating inside the gun arm and blasting it from within only moments after the bomber swung himself upwards onto the upper arm.

The detonation was a miniature apocalypse, bursting with the Plague Knight's ingredients within to cause a horrendous sewage to vomit forth in rippling explosions that sent the Plague Bomber Joe to almost topple. But its pilot was unrelenting, keeping its balance stable against all odds whilst they shook and vaulted inside the cockpit. With one raptor and scientist coming up on the left arm and Bomberman coming up on the right, they felt the pressure coming to them as Shovel Knight charged at the weakening legs with a mighty roar and swung a horrendous shockwave through sheer force along the ground. With devastating lash of blue slicing from his shovel, the feet became severed in half as the machine started falling by the time Kevin, Oddclaw and Bomberman had reached the cockpit. They had no need to break open the door when the crushing fall of Plague Bomber Joe sent its glass shielded window hurtling towards the steel floor to shatter into a dozen pieces, forcing both Mujoe and Plague Knight out into tumbling defeat.

"It's over," said Major-General Brightman raising his gun towards them. "It would be wise of you to surrender now or else I have half a clip for each of you."

"Y-...Y-...y-y-youuuuuu..." Mujoe staggered on his hands and knees looking around for his archenemy. "Wh-WHERE IS HE?! WHERE'S THAT DAMN BOMBERMAN I GOT A FEW WORDS FER HIM!"

Kevin, Oddclaw and the aforementioned bomber leapt down from the broken beast with swagger confident of victory, the raptor however shaking from exhilaration and excitement to look behind himself and witness the greatest creature he had ever destroyed.

I have never...fought anything this great...h-how am I going to explain this to the tribe, this thing was the size of a greatbeast like the one my father fought! ...like the one he fought...yes. I can surpass him...I WILL surpass him.

"Your time is up Mujoe," said Ein smiling with Bomberman's hands on his blue hips. "I think it's safe to say you'll come quietly hmm?"

"Y-YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE LAST OF ME! COME ON, FIGHT ME!"

The wrestler stood up burning with rage as Thomas and Oddclaw raised their weapons towards his face.

"LET'S FINISH THIS NOW, RIGHT NOW!"

"Do you even HAVE the ability to be quiet?" snarled Plague Knight stumbling up.

"SHUT UP, THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

"MY fault?! I am not the one who BUILT that forty-feet failure lying over there-DHHHF!"

Mujoe cracked his fist into the plague doctor's beak, sending him out concussed as his muscles shook with livid refusal. But he was grabbed by Thomas who swiftly cuffed him whilst Kevin pushed a damp cloth to his face.

"L-LEGGO, LEMME GO YOU PUNKS!"

"Hey can you tell me if this smells like chloroform?"

"WH-WHAT, WHADDAYA MEAN IT smells-like-nnhhhhhhhhhh..."

He collapsed soon enough with a fazed look beneath his horn-rimmed glasses, out cold and mumbling as Kevin kept the cloth on his face for a little longer to make certain.

"Sorry, I lied it's just anaesthetic haha. Hoo! Well that's that, general you mind calling out the pickup?"

"Gladly."

Thomas pulled out his radio to contact the relay team.

"Petrie, this is Ducky over."

"Petrie here, what's your status over?"

"Nnnngh...yup yup yup, over."

"Copy, location, over?"

"The base of the Skylands, right at the shore, expect captives over."

He clicked off the radio and rubbed his head with grudging embarrassment to the sniggering of Kevin, whilst the knight and bomber took hold of their respective enemies and carried or dragged them out to the exit.

"Why, did we agree to this damn naming thing?" said Thomas.

"I do not know," shrugged Oddclaw, "I did not vote."

"Hmph, can't blame you, at least you didn't laugh."

"Why would I laugh? Was that funny?"

"Never mind."

The Petrie hovered somewhat above the sea as the surrendering forces were loaded up onto the vessel, the plague minions and remaining members of the hige bandits all cuffed and taken back to the base. A few hours later Andrea was setting up the machine with its specifications through Samus' instructions a year before with most of the base's heads standing outside with Oddclaw watching their new friends wait for depature. Shovel Knight was on one side of the base's grounds holding Plague Knight with his minions in chains, whilst Bomberman stood opposite of him headlocking Mujoe with the rest of his bandits in cuffs.

"This tale shalt surely be one for the books to be believed," said the knight.

"Indeed!" replied Dr. Ein. "For the little time we were here I think both Bomberman and me had the great pleasure of making acquaintances with you and the T.E.A.R group."

"I appreciate all your help," said Brightman firm with salute. "You helped in rescuing a most valuable member of our team and stopping a terrorist operation."

"All in a day's work, right Bomberman?"

The robot nodded with n-shaped eyes in a sweet lipless smile as the humans and raptor shook both of the newcomers' hands in farewell and congratulations. But Shovel Knight stepped forwards as did Bomberman for them both to shake.

"A rare friend I hath made in one as noble as you. A machine thou art be, but the heart of justice beats warmly inside thee greater than most men I hath known."

"And I am glad to know," retorted Ein, "that worlds beyond our own are safe in the hands of those as you...and our good friends here."

"Thank you again," added Oddclaw, "for saving Kevin and my friend Stonesea."

"Tis what we do," said the knight, "we battled together and I am honoured that you fine warriors and scientists can exist to stand against evil together, despite your grand differences of worlds apart."

"It's what we do," said Kevin shrugging, "what's the point in being alive if you can't take a risk and make new friends?"

He indicated over towards the two plague minions that had joined over to him, the slender-beaked Adenine and Ribose giving gracious bows towards the knight.

"HAH, a fine observance sir Kevin! Now I pray that the two of you shalt not trouble your new friend."

"Oh absolutely!" said Adenine. "UH, th-that is we absolutely WON'T, y-yeah I meant, I meant that."

"We've been given a new lease," added Ribose, "we're not going to waste that. Anything is better than being stuck with that weird creep over there."

"We're ready," said Andrea over the radio, "everybody stand back."

The radio called from Andrea's lab as she signalled the portal's opening. Just as it had done so a year hence, the portal was fuelled by the engines of space pirates from another world reversing its process entirely, locking onto the otherworldly visitors' locations as the sky tore open above both groups. Pulling them up towards the shadowy voids of the space between worlds, a burning deep subdermal sound throbbed throughout the air itself with the smell of cold fire rumbling in Oddclaw's snout. It was still a fearsome sight the second time round for those watching as Shovel Knight and Bomberman waved to them.

"FAREWELL GOOD SIRS AND MADAMES!" cried the knight in blue. "I SHALL NOT FORGET THEE!"

"KEEP FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT!" shouted Ein through crackling static.

"GOODBYYYE!"

The third voice came surprisingly from Bomberman himself, waving childishly with a single high-pitched goodbye before he was consumed by the existence of his world along with his enemies. The sky repaired itself almost seamlessly, crackling briefly before a strange stitching illusion faded from their vision. Kevin was first to speak after the silence of dimensional closure as he clapped his hands.

"WELP hokay time to get you two involved!"

"W-wait what?!" asked Adenine.

"Yeah come on let's go to the lab I'll show you where all the parts are."

"Y-you really...not worried we're gonna betray you?"

"To who, your boss left! I mean what you got to gain staying here if you weren't going to work for me?"

"He's right," replied Ribose, "we chose to get stuck in here, and he explained to us we're never going back."

"I-i guess you're right," mumbled Adenine, "well...if you really trust us, then yeah lead the way master."

"Ey-ey no master," said the scientist waving a finger. "Just call me Kevin, now come lemme introduce you to everyone."

The two former minions gently waddled away back into the base, with Thomas and Oddclaw looking at each other and simply shrugging.

"This place gets weirder every year," mumbled Brightman.

"Yes," said Oddie, "or is that, yup yup yup?"

"Don't, ever, say that again."

"Wh-what, why?"

"Because it's so...weird when you say that."

Staring confused at the major-general walking off, the raptor shrugged and headed back in with a new objective in mind. To finish off the rest of his Sherlock Holmes book he had just remembered he left in the library before he could head off home.