Chapter 1[]
BlackFireShroud was bored. He knew he shouldn't be. He was a Spinjitzu master of all elements, and in the long period of training it took to become that, Sensei Wu had drilled the virtues of patience and contentment into Fireshroud's head. But the Maelstrom and Lord Garmadon were always attacking with the same stuff, and Fireshroud was SO used to it.
He was getting restless so he decided to go speak to Kai, the Fire Spinjitzu teacher. Of all the Spinjitzu teachers, Fireshroud liked Kai the best. Fiery tempered and hot headed like him, he also got bored with the same old skeletons sometimes too. In fact, his boredness was so severe one time, that he "accidentally" developed a new kind of skeleton warrior. He claimed to have smashed them all, but Sensei Wu had always suspected one or two (or twenty) remained.
Fireshroud found Kai in the woods outside the monastery walls. He approached him and said; "master, I have grown restless, and seek council."
Kai was silent for a while, then he said; "well, I don't suggest developing a new kind of skeleton warrior."
"Of course, master," said Fireshroud, "but I was wondering if you have a mission for me involving a new world."
"No," said Kai, "but here's what I suggest. I suggest you and your best friend go on a space exploration mission."
"Space exploration?" said Fireshroud.
"Yes. There are a lot of unexplored planet chunks around here, and you might find an undiscovered breed of animal," said Kai, "perhaps even a hostile one."
"Well, it's better than staying here and moping," said Fireshroud, "I guess I'll go prepare my rocket."
Fireshroud went to a tiny shack in the woods, where he hid all of his stuff and found the rocket he and his friend, Flat Cheese Head, had designed.
It was a larger-than-usual pod rocket attached to a backwards Steampunk rocket by two thick poles. Cheesehead had taken the main engine out of the back and put it in the nose cone and attached two everlasting Quicksicles, to balance out the thrust from the extra engines on the pod rocket. He had then put sonic thrusters in the three parts of the "back" part, which would fire sonic waves when the triggers of the second cockpit were pulled. There was also a small weapon launcher on the underside of the pod rocket, which could rotate and launch firecrackers.
He went over to the chest that he kept his maps in and pulled out his largest one. There was a huge uncharted area directly between Forbidden Valley and Avant Gardens, Nimbus Station and every thing else taking you in a big curve and all.
That's where he and Flat Cheese Head were going.
Chapter 2[]
Flat Cheese Head was your average Ninja of Lightning. While his friend Black Fire Shroud had wanted to (and succeeded to) gain the power of every element, Cheese Head was content with his skills in Lightning Spinjitzu.
Cheese Head strolled over to the shack where his and Fire Shroud's rocket was. He entered the shack, and found Fire Shroud standing over a bunch of maps.
"Hey Fire!" Cheese called, and as usual went over to inspect the rocket. The customized rocket was his and Fire's masterpiece, and just by looking at it gave him an immense feeling of excitement. "So, what are we doing?" he asked.
Fire looked up from his maps. "You wont believe it, Cheese!"
"What?" Cheese asked again.
Fire grinned. "Master Kai sent us on a mission into space!"
Cheese's jaw dropped. "You're kidding!"
"Told you you wouldn't believe it." Fire said with a smirk.
"Okay okay, I believe you!" Cheese said.
"Good, great." said Fire. He gestured to one of his maps and pointed to a bare and uncharted spot between Avant Gardens and Forbidden Valley. "Where going there. Master Kai told us to discover something."
"We could be famous!" Cheese exclaimed, excited. "Just think: Flat Cheese Head and Black Fire Shroud, the Ninja discoverers of the previously undiscovered..... something."
Fire grinned. "You got it! Now, will you help me get this rocket prepared for the trip?
"Definitely!" Cheese replied. He grabbed a huge fuel jug and filled up the rocket, while Fire stored supplies such as food, more fuel, quicksickles, a few weapons, and other things they would need for their trip.
After making sure the rocket was ready, Fire and Cheese climbed into the cockpit, and took off into Ninjago's atmosphere.
"Whoa!" Cheese screamed as he gripped the sides of his seat. Fire was flying, and he piloted the rocket out of Ninjago's atmosphere, and into.....
.....the final frontier. I mean space.
Chapter 3[]
The effect was starting to wear off. Whenever Fireshroud broke through the atmosphere of a planet, the artificial gravity gave him a strange feeling in his stomach, like he swallowed a spoonful of peanut butter and it got stuck in his throat.
Fireshroud turned his head and looked over at Cheese, and saw that he looked more like he swallowed a spoonful of ipecac, but that was probably due to Fireshroud's habit of lurching forward when his piloted.
Ninjago was far behind them, and Forbidden Valley was visible as a tiny speck in the distance. The tiny planet chunks and asteroids that surround Forbidden Valley were passing. They had once been part of Forbidden Valley, held on by the gravity field of it, but the Maelstrom came to Forbidden Valley and corrupted it, even the gravitational pull was corrupted. They were called the Darneu, the chunks.
The two ninjas passed an unusually large Darneu, almost as big as Avant Gardens, and Cheese's voice came on over the COM link in Fireshroud's rocket.
"Hey, are we going to go check that place out?" asked Cheese.
"It's just an asteroid," said Fireshroud, "there's nothing on it."
"If you say so," Cheese said.
Fireshroud turned off his COM link and looked forward in a determined way. This was getting boring. He reached behind him and clicked a switch, turning on auto drive. He flipped another switch and turned his wheel, this time turning the Firecracker launcher. He pulled the trigger and a firecracker flew towards a small asteroid.
It blew up. Fireshroud enjoyed blowing stuff up. He continued doing this until he hit a large, almost perfectly round asteroid and it shot back.
The huge rock unrolled and a large, stone grey Lobster-like creature. Fireshroud gasped. It was a Haedelra; a giant monster that waits motionless in space for a rocket to pass so it can smash it and add the bricks to its nearly indestructible armored body. They were incredibly rare and were known to hang around the Venture Explorer, where it could take bricks as it pleased, and rockets were constantly going in and out.
The Haedelra opened its jaws and a laser shot forth and hit the cargo bay of the rocket, causing the contents to fall out. Fireshroud quickly cranked up the artificial gravity and the quicksicles came flying back, while Cheese opened fire on the giant monster. The sonic waves just seemed to glance off its body. It started to glide towards them snapping its pincers.
Fireshroud started to turn the rocket, and the Haedelra shot a laser at the Port engine, and the stronger artificial gravity pulled a rock into the starboard engine, causing it to go out. The lack of power to the front engines made the back engine thrust forward. They were zooming toward the large Darneu they had noticed earlier, and the throttle broke off in Fireshroud's hands. He tried to give Cheese control of the rocket, but all the switches were fused.
They hit the surface of the huge Darneu and…. went through it. It was a hologram. Instead, they were headed for a large field, where several mounted Dark Ronin were sitting.
Chapter 4[]
Cheese watched from his cockpit in terror as Fire tried to switch the controls over to him. Fire pulled off the switch plate and fumbled around with the wires behind it. They sparked, and suddenly Cheese was in control.
Cheese gripped his flight yoke and pulled it backwards with all his might. The rocket leveled out slightly, but slammed into the Dark Ronin-full field just after.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Fire and Cheese screamed as the rocket tumbled nosecone over engine across the grassy field. It stopped somersaulting and then rolled on its side. It rolled onto a rock and quickly lost its momentum just as it made it over the sharp top of the rock.
The rocket teetered on the top of the rock before crashing down, spilling Fire and Cheese out of its cockpits.
"Owww......" Cheese moaned as he rubbed his head. Fire quickly stood up and peeled away the wrecked cargo doors. Thankfully, all of their supplies had survived the incident with the Haedelra and the crash.
Cheese got up and surveyed their surroundings. Fire was scanning the horizon, when he felt Cheese gripping his arm.
"Uhh, I think we have a bigger problem than a broken rocket." Cheese said with a tremble in his voice. "Look."
Fire turned and saw a horde of Dark Ronin striding towards them on their skeleton horses. They did not look happy.
Fire and Cheese pulled their Ninja hoods down and jumped into battle stances. Fire pulled out his Scythe of Quakes, and Cheese produced his Nunchucks of Lightning. They nodded at each other as the Dark Ronin neared.
In a swift motion, Fire slammed his Scythe into the ground. Earthquakes rumbled across the field and several Dark Ronin were turned to dust. The riderless horses whinnied and tore around the field, knocking down several other Ronin and creating chaos in the Maelstrom army.
Fire and Cheese leaped into action. Cheese swung his Nunchucks around, smashing the suits of armor and electrocuting others. Fire slammed his Scythe into several more Dark Ronin, creating shockwaves and flinging them far, far away.
Fire and Cheese made short work of the Ronin, and soon the field was empty except for the two ninja.
"Well, that was easy." Cheese quipped. Fire nodded in agreement.
"But what now?" Fire asked. "Our rocket's totaled, there are Maelstrom here, and who knows what else is out here."
"That." Cheese said.
"That what?"
Cheese pointed to a large wall which their rocket was leaning against.
"Oh." said Fire. "That."
Whatever the building was, it was huge. Large puffs of smoke rose from towering smokestacks, and there were several watchtowers with guards in them, all aiming their weapons at them.
"Uhh...." Fire stammered.
Chapter 5[]
Fireshroud dived to his left to avoid a Maelstrom bullet. He turned around to see if Cheese was all right and saw him running frantically in his direction.
"RUN!" Fireshroud screamed to Cheese.
"I AM RUNNING!" Cheese yelled back.
"RUN FASTER!"
Cheese reached Fireshroud and the two friends ran for the nearest clump of dead trees. They reached the group of dead plants and slid into the underbrush. The two ninjas lay there, panting, waiting for the strange new guards to stop firing, which they didn't for a long time.
They finally stopped their torrent of maelstrom, either because they were out of ammunition or because they knew it was useless, and a large section of the wall opened up. Twenty to thirty more mounted Dark Ronin pored through the new exit, split into a fan formation and entered the forest in different spots.
"Why didn't they just ride right towards us?" Cheese whispered to Fireshroud.
"Either because they think we've moved or because they want to circle behind us, dismount, and approach us silently," said Fireshroud, "but I'm guessing the second one. We better move."
Cheese got up and started to follow Fireshroud when he remembered something.
"Hey," he said, "what about our supplies?"
"We can eat tree bark," said Fireshroud. It was unpleasant, but it was better than going back to the rocket to get food.
"I was talking about our weapons," said Cheese.
"Weapons?" said Fireshroud.
"Yeah, our weapons," Cheese replied, "I mean, you have your scythe and I have my nun-chucks, but we have no Idea what's out there! We might need our wormholer or something."
"I don't think so," said Fireshroud, "I have all our weapons right here in my backpack."
"Oh," said Cheese, "well why didn't you say something?"
"I just did," said Fireshroud.
"Well why didn't you say something before?"
"You're right, I should have replied to your question before you asked it."
"Oh, forget it," said Cheese.
"I will."
They walked in silence for a while.
"I'm hungry," said Cheese. He was seldom anything else.
"Tree," Fireshroud pointed to a tree.
"It's dead," said Cheese, "dead trees taste awful."
"They're all dead," said Fireshroud, "just deal with it."
Cheese cut of some bark with his knife.
"You want some?" he asked.
"Sure," said Fireshroud. He lifted his hood and gobbled down the bark. Cheese watched in disgust.
"How can you eat that?"
"Its good," Fireshroud replied.
They walked in silence for another few minutes.
"If we were attacked, what would you do?" asked Fireshroud.
"I'd disappear like Hu Where," said Cheese. Hu Where was a common subject of humor among ninjas.
"Well that wouldn't help much," said Fireshroud.
"What?" that was the first time Fireshroud had not laughed at a Hu Where joke.
"You know how you said I should say stuff before it happens," said Fireshroud.
"Yeah…." said Cheese.
Fireshroud pointed above Cheese's head.
"How does it feel to get eaten by a dragon?"
Chapter 6[]
When Cheese didn't make any motion, Fire dove at Cheese and knocked them both to the side, just before a huge Dragon's head slammed into the ground where Cheese had been standing.
"AAAAH!! Dragon!" Cheese screamed. Fire stood up and grabbed a bunch of weapons from his backpack. He selected a Wormholer, and began unleashing its power on the Dragon that towered over them. Cheese remained on the ground, cowering behind a tree, while Fire had the Dragon's attention. The energy bolts from the Wormholer just bounced off the Dragon's thick hide.
"Why aren't you doing anything??" Fire yelled at Cheese as the Dragon prepared to burn him crisp with its fire breath.
"I'm dracophic!" Cheese yelled back.
"What's THAT supposed to mean??" Fire snapped as the Dragon sucked in its breath.
"I'm scared of dragons!!!" Cheese screamed as the Dragon expelled fire at Fire. Fire jumped out of the way and the fire set ablaze several of the dry dead trees.
While Fire fought the Dragon, Cheese noticed a bunch of Dark Ronin surrounding them from deeper in the forest. The fire from the Dragon must have alerted them to their presence. Even though Cheese was useless against Dragons, Dark Ronin didn't scare him a bit, except for the usual weirdness of a bunch of floating suits of armor that attack you.
Cheese brandished his nun-chucks, and jumped at the nearest Ronin. He smashed that suit of armor and then moved onto the rest of them.
A few Ronin had formed a group, and Cheese responded by spinning into a blue tornado of lightning spinjitzu. He spun into the group of them, sucking the Ronin into his miniature hurricane and expelling the pieces of armor, sending them flying into the forest.
Meanwhile, Fire dodged another fire blast from the Dragon, and aimed his Wormholer at the Dragon's head. None of the energy blasts had any effect, besides making the dragon make a sound like a dragon laughing as if it was being tickled, whatever a dragon laughing sounded like.
Cheese had just finished off the last of the Ronin when he noticed Fire jumping around out of the way of each fire blast. Even though he was afraid of dragons, he did know about a certain nerve near the back of a dragon's neck, which if pinched at the right spot would cause the dragon to fall asleep.
Problem was, he wasn't going to be jumping on the back of a dragon anytime soon.
"Fire!" Cheese yelled to get his friend's attention. "There's a nerve on the back of the dragon's neck that if you pinch it, it will make the dragon sleep!"
"Okay!" Fire called back as he dodged another blast of fire. "Where is it?!"
"Somewhere around here!" Cheese replied, pinching a random part of his neck to show Fire the location. In addition to such a nerve existing on the dragon, Cheese happened to have one just where he pinched himself. In a second, Cheese fell to the ground, asleep.
Fire jumped onto the dragon's back, and found himself trying to balance as the dragon swayed under him, trying to knock him off. He got down on all fours to try and balance better, and crawled up the dragon's neck to where he guessed Cheese had said. A small bulge stuck out, and Fire reached over and pinched it.
The dragon suddenly stopped moving, and then fell down, sending Fire sprawling. He rolled into a somersault and stood up, unscathed. "We did it, Cheese!" he shouted jubilantly. He turned and found Cheese lying next to him, snoring. With a sigh, Fire sat down next to him, and waited for Cheese to wake up.
Chapter 7[]
Fireshroud was getting bored. Cheese had been asleep for over two hours, and he still couldn't find a way to destroy the Dragon. He jumped off the ground and threw his backpack at Cheese's head. It didn't do anything.
Fireshroud sat down again, dejected. He had tried pinching the nerve again, throwing his backpack on him, shouting in his ear, even sitting on him. But to no avail. Suddenly, Fireshroud was struck with an idea. He opened his backpack and dug through the contents, searching for a…. Aha! A croissant roll! He broke it in half and waved it under Cheese's nose (which is kind of weird, considering minifigures don't have noses) and his eyes shot open.
"What? Where's the Dragon?" said Cheese.
"Calm down, Cheese," said Fireshroud.
Cheese looked at the sleeping dragon and turned pale.
"AH!" he screamed, "DRAGON!"
Fireshroud put his hand in front of Cheese's mouth.
"Will you be quiet!" he hissed. He had seen someone or something dart behind a tree.
Fireshroud quietly got up and drew his dagger. He approached the tree that he thought he had seen the figure dart behind and….
BANG!
A pistol poked around the other side of the tree and a shot whizzed past Fireshroud. He ducked and threw his dagger at the assailant, but instead spun into the dark unknown beyond the trees.
Fireshroud somersaulted to the other side of the tree and turned to face the attacker. It was a large, black skeleton, with a Dragon Helm, a blood-red cape, a battleaxe in one hand and a pistol in the other.
Fireshroud swung a kick at the skeleton's midriff, sending it staggering backwards. The skeleton pointed the pistol at Fireshroud, but it was sent flying by another kick from Fireshroud. The skeleton brought the axe swinging down at Fireshroud and he leaped aside. He swung his fist at the skeleton's face and its head jerked backwards. He dealt two more blows in the torso before the skeleton returned one. Fireshroud bent as the wind was knocked out of him.
He fell to the ground as the skeleton chopped his hand on the place where the neck meets the shoulder, almost knocking him out. Fireshroud squinted up at the merciless skeleton warrior standing over him. He lifted the axe in his hands and Fireshroud knew it was the end. A shot rang out and a bullet flew through the skeleton's spine. The skeleton's torso was separated from its legs, and its midriff fell on the ground. Fireshroud looked at Cheese and saw him holding the pistol that Fireshroud had kicked from the skeleton.
He kneeled over the top half of the skeleton and asked it; "Tell me, what is that ginormous building over there?"
"You'll never make me talk!" grunted the skeleton.
Fireshroud picked up the axe that the skeleton had been using The skeleton screamed. Fireshroud could tell its resolve was weakening. He stopped prying for a couple seconds and then gave a violent jerk. This was the last straw for the skeleton. It shouted a curse and gave in.
"I give in!" the skeleton rasped, "what do you want to know?"
"First, what is that huge building over there?" inquired Fireshroud.
"It's a research and development center for the Maelstrom," said the skeleton, horrified at the words spilling out of its mouth.
"What are you developing?" asked Cheese.
"We…." started the skeleton.
"You're what?" prompted Fireshroud, but the skeleton wouldn't talk. Fireshroud casually leaned back on the axe, prying the ribs farther apart.
"AH! All right! All right!" the skeleton screamed, "we're developing the Rhoddwr Marwolaeth!"
"The Rhoddwr Marwolaeth?" said Cheese, "what's that?"
"The Rhoddwr Marwolaeth," said the skeleton, "is an enormous space station with a destructive capacity large enough to annihilate an entire life-supporting portion of terra firma."
"My what is showing?" asked Cheese.
"He said it could destroy a planet," explained Fireshroud, "where is this thing now?"
"Its another disguised Darneu, the Haedelra is out there to guard it," said the skeleton.
"We better destroy that thing!" said Fireshroud.
The skeleton reached up and grabbed Fireshroud's throat. He was cutting off oxygen, and Fireshroud was going to pass out. The skeleton grinned up at Fireshroud and then its skull exploded. Cheese had shot a bullet into the horrid skeleton.
Fireshroud got up off the ground and walked over to Cheese.
"Thanks for saving my life," he said.
Cheese grinned.
"Don't thank me too much I was aiming for you," he joked.
Chapter 8[]
Night fell. Fireshroud and Cheese had set up a camp not far from where they had the encounter with the horrid skeleton.
Both ninja sat around a campfire, while having a dinner mostly composed of sushi, with the rest being other consumables.
"Um oof ah roddr marrlthhh?" Cheese asked with his mouth full of sushi.
"What?" Fireshroud asked, looking up from the Buttery Croissant he was munching on.
Cheese swallowed, and then asked again, this time more clear, "So what are we going to do about Rowing Marmalade?"
Fireshroud glanced at him quizzically. "You mean the Rhoddwr Marwolaeth?" he questioned.
"Yeah, the Rowing Marmalade." Cheese confirmed. "Mr. Skeleton there had said that it had the destructive capacity to destroy an entire planet." he said as he picked up a Battle Croissant.
"I don't know...." Fireshroud answered, when he noticed the Battle Croissant in Cheese's hands. "Uh, Cheese? That's not a consumable-"
Cheese bit into the Battle Croissant, and suddenly it blasted forwards and slammed into Fireshroud's face.
"Owwwww....." Fireshroud moaned as the Croissant splattered across his face.
Cheese was doubled over laughing hysterically. Between laughs, he managed to say coherently, "Aaaah, that- *hysterical laugh* croissant *more laughs* splatteleraletered on you- *hysterical laugh*"
"I wish you could tell the different between Battle Croissants and Buttery Croissants," Fireshroud told his maniacally laughing partner as he wiped the remains of a battle croissant off his face.
Cheese calmed down slightly, and seriously said, "So what are we doing about the Rowboat Mummy-lice?"
"RHODDWR MARWOLAETH!!!!" Fireshroud screamed. "GET IT RIGHT!!!"
"Okay okay, Frodo Math lace." Cheese grumbled.
Fireshroud looked ready to burn Cheese with a BBQ Blast Hot Dog, when he realized what Cheese was saying. "Yeah, if it has the power to blow up a planet, like Ninjago or Avant Gardens, than we have to do something about it."
"Skully said it was being developed in that Maelstrom research facility, but he also said it was at another of the disguised Darneu." Cheese said, placing together the facts. "It could mean that the Facility it working on parts or components of the Flying Mars-laugh while the actual space station is up there somewhere on a Darneu."
Fireshroud placed their remaining consumables back in the backpack, and then said, "Our rocket is totaled, so we'll have to fine another one if we're going to find the Rhoddwr Maewolaeth."
"Maybe there's one in the research facility." Cheese suggested. "That should be our first priority, getting a rocket from the Maelstrom."
"And, while we're there, we can learn more about the Rhoddwr M.." Fireshroud said, snapping his fingers.
"Great!" Cheese applauded. "So when are we going?"
Chapter 9[]
Fireshroud signaled to Cheese. He saw his fellow ninja nod his head and disappear. Fireshroud shook his head in envy. He may have mastered more Spinjitzu elements than Cheese, but he would never match Cheese's stealth skills.
Fireshroud saw a branch move ever so slightly and nodded his head. He drew one of his Nunchucks of Lightning and hurled it over the giant metal walls of the research center. There was a lightning explosion and a second Nunchuck soon followed it. There was a bigger explosion and one of the sentry towers collapsed. Squinting through the ash, dust, and occasional spark of electricity, Fireshroud could just barely make out a door opening and closing.
"Cheese is in," Fireshroud whispered to himself.
Fireshroud looked for a good tree to climb and scrambled into it. He climbed up into the very highest branches, where he swayed slightly in the breeze, and looked over the walls. From this vantage point, he could see a giant satellite dish pointing out of the atmosphere.
"That must be covering the Rhoddwr Marwolaeth with the same hologram disguise that this place is covered in," said Fireshroud softly. He looked in his backpack for a shrunken, but drew a blank.
He waited a few more minutes for the signal that Cheese was supposed to give him, but nothing happened.
"What's taking you so long?" Fireshroud said anxiously. He looked up to where the Rhoddwr Marwolaeth was undoubtedly under construction.
"I have to come up with a shorter name for it," he said.
Five more minutes passed. No, make that ten. Wait! Now it's twenty. Fireshroud was getting impatient. Half an hour. Forty-five minutes. One hour. One hour fifteen….
A lightning bolt descended from the sky and struck the tower in the middle of the matrix of smaller buildings and towers. Fireshroud gave a sigh of relief and jumped down from the tree. He broke his fall with a roll and sat motionless in the middle of the field. The guards who had seen a movement looked in his direction and scanned the fields. Their eyes passed over him several times, but they never saw him. They did not expect someone to be in the middle of the field, they expected them to be in the tree line, and they saw what they expected to see, not him.
They continued to scan the field for several more minutes, which Fireshroud was glad of, because it was giving Cheese more time to get into the control building. As if on cue, there was a shout and an automated turret, which was obviously operated from inside the control building, turned and started firing at a sentry post.
Now it was Fireshroud's turn to move.
He leaped up off the ground and ran at the wall nearest him. He reached it and used his momentum to leap into the air and grab a handhold. He dangled for a few seconds, and then found a foothold. He eventually reached the top of the wall and looked around. A different auto-turret was firing at the sentries, the first in a smoking ruin.
Fireshroud ran half-bent and came to a set of stairs leading down to the floor of the interior. He looked around and saw a pack of Maelstrom guards hammering on the door of a bunker.
"Now I know what took you so long, that bunker's pretty heavily armed," Fireshroud whispered to a non-present Cheese.
Fireshroud ran at the pack of guards and drew his Katanas of Fire. He waved his first and sent a fireball at the guards, smashing most of them.
The remaining guards turned and assembled in a defensive position. Fireshroud turned into a whirlwind of fire and smashed into them.
He used his Katana to pick the lock and ran into the bunker. He found Cheese holding the controls to a turret and grinning.
"Took your time," said Cheese, "I've cut off all means of interior communication, unless they have message pigeons."
"Don't put it past them," said Fireshroud, "where's the sensor array controls?"
"I think they're over to the left," said Cheese.
Fireshroud walked over to where Cheese was pointing and looked at a display screen. On the monitor there was a large, spherical object with a rugged shaped dotted outline around it. Next to the image, there was a number, which Fireshroud assumed was the area.
"Whoa!" said Fireshroud, "we thought this thing was on the Darneu, but it is the Darneu!"
"You mean the Rooder Makelltaker?"
The Rhoddwr Marwolaeth," said Fireshroud, "This thing is bigger than Avant Gardens! How did we miss that?"
"Maybe it has a cloaking device that breaks it up," said Cheese.
"However we missed it, we need to find a rocket or something," said Fireshroud, "locate the docking bay."
"Excuse me?" said Cheese, "but I'm still fighting off these guard things."
"Okay, whatever, how would I find the docking bay?" inquired Fireshroud.
"There's a layout table over your right," said Cheese, "open the wire panel next to me and snip the black and red wire."
"You sure got this place down," said Fireshroud, walking over to the panel Cheese had referred to and using his Katana to cut the wire.
"I spent a while figuring out how to operate the cannons," said Cheese, as he lost another cannon and activated a new one, "speaking of which, would you mind manning the machine gun that protects the door? They're bound to have figured out we're here by now."
Fireshroud walked over to the machine gun and taped down the triggers, sending a constant flow of bullets at the Maelstrom outside the door. He then walked over to the layout panel and studied it.
"Here," said Fireshroud, "the docking bay is over here, on the far side."
"There's a back door we can take," said Cheese, "help me tape down these triggers."
Fireshroud taped the triggers down and headed for the back door. Then he turned back to the layout and took a picture using his Flash Bulb.
"We may need it later," said Fireshroud.
Cheese shrugged his shoulders.
"Whatever, let's just get going," he said.
The two ninjas exited the back door and used every ounce of their stealth to evade detection. There was one awful moment when Fireshroud tripped over a garbage can and a group of the same Skeleton Warriors that they had met in the forest looked their way. They saw nothing, however, and continued on their way. They thought they had made it, when a black and grey figure jumped down in front of them.
He was wielding a massive broadsword and had a unique shield slung across his back. His belt was full of different kinds of pistols, from Nexus Force to kinds Fireshroud had never seen before, a battleaxe was attached to his belt, two knives were set in slots in his dark brown cape, and he had a flamethrower on each wrist.
Cheese took out his Nunchucks of Lightning and Fireshroud started to do the same when he remembered he had thrown them into the fortress. That armor looked completely fireproof, earth was difficult to harness with metal ground, and he could block ice with his flamethrowers. Fireshroud took out his Wormholer when Cheese handed him his Nunchucks.
"Found these when I came through the door," he said.
Fireshroud accepted them but kept his Wormholer out. The ninjas and the black warrior circled each other for thirty seconds. Then the black warrior feinted an overhand strike, and suddenly switched to a backhand side cut. Cheese leaped back and Fireshroud jumped over the assailant. He landed behind him and swung his extended chainsaw at him. The attacker avoided the blow by rolling to the left and came up with a pistol in his hand. The shot missed when Cheese sent a lightning bolt at his and he was forced to jump to the left.
Fireshroud aimed his Wormholer and opened fire on the black warrior. The warrior unslung his shield from his back and crouched behind it, occasionally firing a shot from his pistol or rolling to the left or right to avoid lightning bolts from Cheese.
Eventually, Fireshroud ran out of ammunition and drew one of his Katanas of Fire. He didn't intend to use the fire ability, but he could still engage the warrior in hand-to-hand combat.
He rushed at the warrior and stabbed forward. The black minifigure stepped back and threw his shield at Cheese, striking him in the face and knocking him cold. Fireshroud charged up his sword and swung it at the assailant, causing a burst of fire and throwing him back. He rushed to Cheese to see if he was all right, and saw that he was just knocked out, and another buttered croissant would do the trick. Then again, he might just use the battle croissant, as a form of revenge.
The black warrior was on his feet again and threw one of his knives at Fireshroud. Fireshroud swung his Katana and sent the knife spinning away. He then took out a Firecracker and threw it at the assailant. The warrior avoided it in time, but the explosion in front of his feet sent him flying, and his Broadsword from his hand.
The warrior turned and ran to a wall and punched in an access code, making a door slide open and he drew a Space Ranger rifle. Fireshroud rolled to avoid the shot and the BBQ Blast Hot Dog he had in his hand rolled to the side. It rolled over to the assailant and he stepped on it, sending flame in all directions. The flame caught on his cloak, and it quickly became a garment of fire.
The black warrior shrieked as the flames crawled up his cape and scorched his back. Fireshroud ran to where he had discarded his Wormholer and picked it up. He walked over to the discarded weapon and picked it up. He ran to where the black minifigure was taking off his cape and slammed the butt of the Wormholer into the skull of the minifigure. It dented the helmet and the black assailant fell to the ground, unconscious. Fireshroud knelt down to relieve the smoking figure of his weapons, when something caught his eye. On the helmet was inscribed;
LORD BROCKTREE
Fireshroud's mind raced. Lord Brocktree was a famous warrior who had mysteriously disappeared while traveling from Ninjago to Forbidden Valley thirteen years ago. Had the famous smasher of the Maelstrom actually been in league with the Darkitect?
Fireshroud shook his head and stood up. It was probably a coincidence. He walked over to cheese and shook a buttered croissant roll under his nose. Cheese sat up and looked around.
"What happened?" he asked.
"I'll explain later, now let's get out of here," hissed Fireshroud.
The two ninjas gathered their stuff and continued to the docking bay.
Chapter 10[]
Fireshroud and Cheese rounded a corner, and were suddenly met with a flurry of gunfire.
"Aaaahh!" Cheese shrieked and he dove back around the corner. In addition to not having the greatest stealth skills, Fireshroud also wasn't as fast as his friend. He dodged a laser blast and dove behind a barrel.
"How'd they know we were coming?!" Cheese called.
Fireshroud shook his head. "No idea!!" he called back, and stared over the barrel. A couple of Dark Ronin and a skeleton stood behind three Machine Guns, which were manned by Stromlings. Fireshroud ducked behind his cover just barely missing a laser that whizzed over his head, burning a hole in the wall.
It was then that Fireshroud noticed the barrel's label. It read, "Nwy Gwenwynig Ffrwydrol" and had a skull and crossbones logo next to it.
"Uh oh," Fireshroud grimaced, since Nwy Gwenwynig Ffwydrol meant Toxic Explosive Gas.
Without waiting for an opening in the barrage of laser fire, Fireshroud dove out from behind the barrel of deadly Welsh words and leaped towards the corner where Cheese was. A laser grazed his leg, and in a cry of pain, slammed down hard from his failed-somersault to the floor into Cheese's side. Cheese had just summoned some lightning with his Nun chucks to unleash on the Maelstrom and Skeleton, but when Fireshroud banged into him, he got distracted, causing lightning to descend on Fireshroud.
"Yowwwwwwwwww!!!!!" Fireshroud yelped as lightning shocked the ground around him. Somehow, he managed to dodge the lightning bursts, but with his leg burning from the laser blast, he was still in pain.
"Sorry!" Cheese said, and called more lightning, this time at the right target. Lightning blasted into the ground in front of the Machine Guns, toppling them and disintegrating the Stromlings. The Skeleton fell down and the Ronin were sent flying to the other end of the hall, which happened to be a door leading to the docking bay. The Ronin broke right through the door, smashing on their way through and leaving a bunch of Ronin shaped holes in the door, which promptly fell over.
Cheese was immediately in action. He kicked two of the machine guns, rendering them useless, and blew up the other with his Nun Chucks. Then he knocked down the Skeleton who was just getting up with a kick to its jawbone with a great cracking sound.
The skeleton screamed, and Cheese knocked it down eternally with a final blow from his Nun Chucks. Then he went back to check on Fireshroud.
The other ninja was lying on the floor clutching his leg, groaning. "Oww, my leg." Fireshroud moaned.
"Easy, I'll carry you." Cheese grunted as he lifted Fireshroud over his shoulders. He fireman-carried Fireshroud down the hall and into the docking bay, disregarding the Ronin pieces that littered the floor. He set Fireshroud down on the entry ramp of a wide two-seat rocket, when he sensed a presence behind him. Cheese jerked his head to the side just as an armored fist slammed into the hull of the rocket, creating a huge dent and an immense clang noise.
Cheese whirled around and came face to face with the helmet of his and Fireshroud's previous assailant.
"Lord Brocktree...." Fireshroud whispered, and instantly grimaced from the pain of talking.
Brocktree grabbed Cheese's jaw and slammed the side of his head against the rocket. "Oomph..." Cheese mumbled as he just narrowly missed another punch. Through his left eye he could make out an object stuck to the side of Brocktree's helmet. A transistor of some sort, like a communications device! So that was how the Maelstrom had ambushed them.
The armored hand squeezed harder, and Cheese gagged. He would have been mortally injured if Fireshroud hadn't kicked out with his good leg, catching Brocktree off guard and allowing Cheese to slip out of his grip and breath in some fresh air.
Brocktree didn't make a sound following Fireshroud's kick, and didn't give the ninja of all elements a second glance before giving him a kick of his own. Fireshroud moaned as his injured leg made contact with Brocktree's armored boot.
Cheese picked up his Nun Chucks and swung them at Brocktree, who blocked them with twominiature yet equally powerful versions of the Venture Broadsider valiant. Cheese whipped out the first other weapon he could get his hands on, an Exceptional Katana of Shielding, and charged it up, shielding himself in a blue sphere, which was instantly depleted by a blow from one of Brocktree's broadsiders. Cheese succeeded in blocking the next strike, but fell over from the force of it. A kick to his face rendered him unconscious.
Fireshroud grimaced at Cheese's limp form, and fear washed through him when Brocktree's blank helmet turned towards him. Fireshroud ruffled his hand around through his backpack, and his hands closed around a pistol. He pulled it out, and just as Brocktree raised his broadsiders to attack position, fired.
A bullet pinged off Brocktree's chest armor. The force of the impact sent Brocktree tumbling backwards. Fireshroud shakily stood up, and despite the pain managed to drag Cheese into the rocket with him. Before Brocktree could get up, Fireshroud closed the ramp and proceeded to the cockpit. A few seconds later, the rocket roared out of the docking bay into space.
Chapter 11[]
Brocktree watched the rocket pass through the hologram, turrets firing at it. He vaguely saw an outline and an angry voice yelling.
"Get in a rocket and chase them, you fool!" said the outline.
Brocktree ran to his rocket and climbed into the cockpit. He flipped a few controls and the rocket left the ground and headed along the smoke trails the other rocket had left. He broke through the hologram and saw the commandeered rocket surprisingly far ahead of him. He looked at his charts and saw three other rockets heading in the same direction.
"Lord Enfawr does not trust me to carry out this mission," said Brocktree, recognizing the rockets as model fifteen Ty-56s, the rockets he and his colleagues used.
Brocktree pressed a button on his dashboard and the rocket shimmered and disappeared. The cloaking device was something he had installed himself and the other rockets did not have them.
The duel cockpit rocket was closer now and Brocktree extended his shock suppressers and pulled the triggers. He watched two blue balls of energy rush towards the rocket and the rocket spiraled out of control.
Brocktree grinned and pursued the rocket, firing more shots at the uncontrollable vehicle.
"Cheese! Cheese!" hollered Fireshroud, "wake up, Cheese!"
Cheese groaned and sat up.
"What?" he said, "what's going on?"
"Lord Brocktree is following us in a rocket! He's blown out our reactor and he's probably gaining on us!"
"What? I don't see him anywhere!" said Cheese.
"He must have a cloaking device of some sort!" said Fireshroud, "try and stabilize the control flaps, I can't do anything with this!"
"I can't!" said Cheese, "he's using shock suppressers! They're slowly eating away at the interior system!"
Two streams of energy blasts flew over the top of the rocket.
"We got this in a military plant! There has to be a weapons system!" said Fireshroud, "find the controls and return fire!"
Cheese rustled around in his cockpit for a few seconds and gave a yell of triumph.
"I found them!" he said.
Two more energy blasts hit the rocket and electricity sparks crackled around in Cheese's cockpit.
"Never mind," said Cheese.
Brocktree moved up next to Fireshroud and Cheese and looked in their cockpit. They were looking behind them for the concealed Brocktree, having no idea that he was right next to them.
The two rockets were in the midst of a bunch more asteroids and Brocktree prepared to ram them into one and finish them off, when a shock suppresser bolt sent from one of his ally's rockets hit him and his cloaking device was deactivated, as well as his oxygen systems. Oxygen stopped flowing through the vents in the interior of his rocket, and everything seemed to compress in upon him. Brocktree flicked a switch on his helmet and the oxygen tanks on his back started giving him air.
Brocktree gripped his flight yoke and tried to steer away from the badly aimed shock suppresser bolts sent from his colleagues, but the systems were red and flashing and an automated voice was issuing a warning.
"LACK OF OXYGEN!" said the voice, "PREPARE TO SUFFOCATE!"
"I KNOW THERE'S NO OXYGEN!" bellowed Brocktree, "JUST LET ME STEER TO SAFETY!"
The computer didn't respond to Brocktree's yelling and he was heading strait towards a solid-looking Darneu. He ducked under the dashboard and wrenched off a panel to access some wires. He unequipped the emergency detection and the flight yoke became usable. He grabbed the controls and pulled up. He just avoided the Darneu when the constantly working shock suppressers disabled his steering.
Brocktree was headed on a collision course with Fireshroud and Cheese, but he couldn't change direction. He was getting closer, but his cloaking device was somehow back online, and they didn't see him coming. He started hitting every button and switch he could reach out of desperation, but he was getting closer to the two Ninjas.
It was then that he noticed that there was a bailing port on the underside of the duel cockpit rocket, which would let solid objects through, but not air or water. He opened his cockpit screen and jumped at the bailing port, launching a missile at his rocket, trusting the lack of gravity to push it off course.
He scrambled into the rocket and watched his own, which he had spent so much time and devotion on, crash and explode on a Darneu. He didn't have any time to pay his respects, because he received a kick in the head from Cheese. He staggered back and drew Verminbane. He swung the broadsword at Cheese's side and the Ninja jumped back to avoid it.
Brocktree reached into his belt and drew one of the pistols he had there, and started squeezing off shots. Fireshroud tried to stand and shoot a rifle at Brocktree, but his leg gave in and he focused on driving. Brocktree swung one of his Broadsiders at Cheese, but Cheese dived in between Brocktree's legs and brought his fist down on Brocktree's head.
The helmet protected Brocktree from the main power of the blow, but it still made his vision blur. He vaguely saw Cheese's fist coming down for another blow, but he pressed a button on his belt and he disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the rocket. This continued for several minutes, until Cheese picked up Brocktree's discarded pistol and fired a shot at him.
The shot hit him full in the face and the viewscreen on his helmet charred and became opaque. Brocktree removed his helmet to throw it at Cheese and stopped.
"What am I doing here?" he wondered aloud. He scanned the interior of the rocket, looking for something familiar, "am I in a Maelstrom rocket?"
Cheese and Fireshroud exchanged bewildered expressions.
"Uh… you were trying to smash us," said Cheese.
Brocktree looked Cheese and Fireshroud up and down.
"But you're Nexus Force," he said, "why would I want to smash Nexus Force?"
"Can I see your helmet for a second?" asked Fireshroud. He took the helmet and broke off the little device Cheese had noticed earlier and thought was a communicator.
"Now try it on," said Fireshroud, after cleaning off the viewscreen.
Brocktree put the helmet on and stood still.
"Now what?" asked Brocktree.
"You can take the helmet off now," said Fireshroud. He turned to Cheese, "that was probably a mind control device, and those other rockets that were following us also probably had mind-controlled pilots."
"Yeah," said Cheese, "they aren't following us any more, I wonder what stopped them?"
Then their radar started buzzing and a massive figure was moving steadily towards them.
It was the Haedelra.
Chapter 12[]
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Fireshroud, Cheese, and Brocktree screamed in terror as the massive form of the space-faring winged slug moved closer.
The Haedelra opened its massive jaws, while Fireshroud attempted to get the rocket to turn. Sadly, the steering controls were messed up, and with lots of pieces missing from the Shock Suppressors continuing to eat away at the damaged rocket, the doomed two-seater and its occupants were literally dead-meat for the Haedelra, even though Fireshroud, Cheese, and Brocktree weren't dead.
Blue sparks exploded next to Cheese's seat as the shock suppressors did their job, and then the rocket tore through the Haedelra's maw. Darkness engulfed the cockpit, and then suddenly they were tearing out the other side of the slug, the shock suppressors having found another thing to eat through.
The limp Haedelra gave a loud moan behind them, and Fireshroud stared at Cheese in wonder.
"Wow." was all they said, when Brocktree grabbed Fireshroud by his shoulder and shouted, "Forget the victory, LOOK OUT!!!!"
The rocket tore through the atmosphere of the Darneu they were approaching and was nearing the ground faster than 10 times the speed of sound. The ninja and Brocktree prepared themselves for the end when they tore through the holographic ground and began nearing the REAL ground of the Darneu. It was gray and rocky, with cracks running across the planet.
When Fireshroud didn't respond to Brocktree's urging, and with Cheese just staring blankly at their approaching doom, Brocktree sighed and pulled a lever. Drag brakes extended and fifteen parachutes shot out of the back of the rocket. Most had holes in them, but they succeeded in slowing down the falling rocket considerably. Next Lord Brocktree gripped the controls and pulled back as hard as he could, causing the rocket to pull up slightly before smashing through the ground and into an underground cavern.
Fireshroud, Cheese, and Brocktree all smashed from the collision, but they rebuilt outside the wreckage from the rocket on the surface. "Ouch," Cheese groaned as he stared down at the hole which the rocket had made in the ground. "Cool, and underground cavern."
Fireshroud wobbled for a second, then felt his forehead. "Hey, is anyone having trouble breathing?"
"No," replied Brocktree.
"Yes." Cheese said.
Brocktree nodded in understanding. "There's no oxygen out here, but my helmet's supplying me with oxygen."
Fireshroud and Cheese gagged and slumped to their knees. "Got anymore magic helmets?" Cheese croaked.
"Here." Brocktree grabbed two more similar but less cool helmets and strapped them on the ninja.
"Ahh, much better." Cheese sighed in relief. He and Fireshroud got up, and looked around. "Hey, isn't the Roadrunner Marshes supposed be here?"
"What?" Brocktree asked.
Fireshroud raised his eyebrows, then stared at the ground. It was gray, and had a metallic look to it. He looked farther down the horizon, and realized that the cracks they had seen from up in the sky were really trenches aligned to a grid shape.
"Uhh, guys?" he said. "The skeleton was right. This Darneu IS the Rhoddwr Marwolaeth."
Chapter 13[]
"You mean we're standing on the Rowing Marshy-warshy?" asked Cheese.
"Yeah, that's what I'm saying," said Fireshroud.
"Hold on, what's the Rowing Marshy-warshy?" asked Brocktree.
"It's actually called the Rhoddwr Marwolaeth," said Fireshroud, "and it's a space station that has the destructive capacity to destroy a planet."
"Sounds like something I saw in a movie once," said Brocktree, "it was called Star Floors or something like that."
"Anyway," said Cheese, "if this is the Righty Markytenth, then what's this tunnel?"
"It's probably an entrance tunnel," said Fireshroud.
"Then let's go!" said Cheese.
"Or it's an exhaust port and it leads to a fiery pit where the mechanical functions of this station take place," added Fireshroud.
"Okay, never mind," said Cheese.
"So what do we do now?" asked Brocktree.
"I guess we look for a definite entrance," said Fireshroud.
The two ninja and the super sentinel walked along the surface of the space station.
"What's happened?" roared Lord Enfawr, "why doesn't Lord Brocktree respond?"
He hit the communicate button for the five hundredth time in a row and gave up, exasperated. He switched frequencies and pressed the communicate button again, and another one of his slaves appeared on his communication screen.
"Fowl?" he said.
"Yes, sir?" asked Fowl.
"I have a question for you," said Enfawr, "do you know what has happened to Lord Brocktree?"
"No, sir," said Fowl, "we saw him jump into the bailing port on the stolen rocket, so it's possible that he was smashed by the two fugitives."
"Not likely," said Enfawr, "Lord Brocktree is eighteen times the warrior you or any of your comrades will ever be."
Fowl nodded his head and the communication screen blacked out. Enfawr's temper was boiling up inside of him, so he decided to take his anger out on the staff of the research and development center. He exited his tower and marched down the streets of the building matrix. He turned into the militia housing and drew his whip. He cleared the building and then pressed the regenerate button, causing the pieces of the smashed warriors to reassemble.
Enfawr left the militia housing and made his way to the control bunker. He passed several stromlings on the way and they were quickly disposed of with a flick of Enfawr's whip. Enfawr reached the control bunker and forced the door open with his fusion cutter.
Enfawr walked inside and found three skeletons fiddling with some wires, attempting to get some of the functions that Cheese had knocked out back online. Three flicks of his whip, and Enfawr was standing in front of scattered pieces. He stepped over the pieces and stabbed his fusion cutter into the wire board, jump-starting it and reactivating all systems. He started to leave, when he noticed something.
When Cheese had hotwired the gunning controls, he had disabled the security cameras, and now they were back online. They covered many areas, including sections of the surface of the Rhoddwr Marwolaeth, and now he saw two ninja and a Super Sentinel walking along the metal exterior of the station.
Enfawr looked closely at the screen and saw the identity of the Super Sentinel. It was Lord Brocktree, and the mind control device he had planted on his helmet had broken off.
Enfawr's rage boiled higher and he looked at the control dashboard, searching for a lethal button to press. He found one, and he presses it. He walked away somewhat happier, as the "electrify surface" button went to work.
Chapter 14[]
Corporal Mae Guy Drwg was your average guy working in a huge space faring space station. He wasn't very bright, was quiet dumb, and overall, not the type of guy you'd want to be friends with. As the Corporal sat staring at the security consoles in one of the many security rooms in the Rhoddwr Marwolaeth, Mae happened to notice something moving across the surface of the space station from a security camera located in one of the towers.
Corporal Mae Guy Drwg leaned in closer to the computer screen, and watched the three people that walked around, exposed to the vacuum of space. But whatever was going on, no one was allowed to do space walks up there, and definitely no one without the uniform that Lord Enfawr designated for his alliance of space faring mischief makers, skeletons, and Maelstrom.
Mae slammed his fist on a huge red button labeled "Larwm". He smirked with villainy as red lights flashed throughout the station. Lord Enfawrs elite security team would be upon the intruders in no time.
Mae equipped himself with a shotgun and slipped on a space uniform. He was going ninja hunting as well.
...
"Hey, what's this?" Cheese asked as he stepped over to a part of the surface of the Rhoddwr Marwolaeth that stuck out a couple of inches.
"No idea," replied Fireshroud as he stepped over next to him.
Brocktree walked over, then said, "I know what it is. See how it's sparking?"
"Yeah, so?" said Fireshroud and Cheese.
Indeed the thingy was beginning to spark. Lightning shot from it, and a web of electricity began to move away from it. The electricity web spread out, and approached the backwards-walking Ninja and Sentinel.
"Okay guys," stated Brocktree. "When I say 'Run'-"
"RUN!!!!" shouted Cheese and he tore away from them. Fireshroud and Brock followed quickly as the web of energy continued to spread. As Fireshroud ran, he noticed a bunch of small circular nodes popping out of the ground and charging up to do more deadly electrical stuff.
"Here, get in!" Cheese yelled as he opened up a hatch. Then suddenly another hatch opened up behind him, and fifteen minifigures in strange space armor that resembled Stormtrooper gear piled out, among them Corporal Mae Guy Drwg.
"It's them, blast them!" one of the guys shouted, and a bunch of grenades were flung at Cheese.
The ninja of lightning gracefully (if doing anything graceful was even possible for Cheese) dodged the flying bombs which soared by him and exploded behind him. "Is that all you can do?" Cheese challenged, pulling out his Nunchucks of Lightning.
Cheese was about to summon some lightning on them when Fireshroud ran up to him and said, "Um, Cheese? I think we have a bigger problem."
The electrical nodes finished rising and began sparking. Brocktree gripped both Ninja's arms and pulled them into the hatch, pulling it shut behind them just as the electrical nodes did their job, and Corporal Mae Guy Drwg and the fourteen others with him never saw any more.
Chapter 15[]
Fireshroud, Cheese, and Brocktree climbed down the hatch and into the Rhoddwr Marwolaeth. The two Ninja and the Super Sentinel jumped down out of the tunnel and onto the floor.
"Come on, I don't see any guards," said Brocktree.
The Super Sentinel ran down the hallway and the two Ninja tried their best to keep up.
"How can he run that fast with all that gear on?" puffed Cheese.
The two ninja finally caught up to Brocktree, who was leaning on the side of a closed door.
"What kept you?" asked Brocktree, "I thought you were in a hurry?"
Cheese would have strangled him, but his energy reserves (or moreover, the lack of them) kept him from doing so.
"You," panted Fireshroud, "are unbelievably physically fit."
"Thank you," grinned Brocktree, "apparently even more so than a ninja."
"Don't get cocky," said Cheese, who had recovered from his exhaustion, "I'm hungry."
Brocktree's retort was cut off by a laser blast sent by more of the guards who the Ninja and Super Sentinel had encountered on the surface. Brocktree turned and drew his broadsword.
"Spread out," said Brocktree, "they have grenades, if we're in a group they'll wipe us all out in one blow."
Fireshroud nodded and walked to the other side of the hallway. Brocktree stood in the center of the hallway, slightly in front of Cheese and Fireshroud.
Most of the guards had electro spears, and the two who had guns were experiencing technical difficulties. Brocktree raised his sword and charged into the group. He raised his arms to deliver a devastating overhand strike but a guard's electro spear struck Brocktree in the chest, stunning him and throwing him back several meters.
The guards starting twirling their electro spears and putting on an impressive show of sparks and electricity. Cheese rolled his eyes and threw one of his Nunchucks at the guard in the front. There was an ear-splitting explosion and lightning bolts crackled inside the cloud of dust.
"What?" said Cheese, "they were showing off."
Fireshroud walked over to Brocktree and tried to shake him awake. It didn't work, and neither did the buttered croissant strategy that he had tried with Cheese.
"You got any ideas?" Fireshroud asked Cheese.
"Well," said Cheese, his mouth full with the buttered croissant that Fireshroud had tried to revive Brocktree with, "what if we hit him with one of the sparkly stick thingies again?"
"Oh, don't be an idiot," said Fireshroud, "the shock would probably kill him."
Cheese shrugged and walked over to one of the electro spears.
"Worth a try," said Cheese. He hurled the electric staff at Brocktree and it hit him in the middle of the chest. A few sparks crackled where the spear hit and Brocktree's eyes shot open.
"Wha - - where am I?" sputtered Brocktree.
Cheese shot a satisfied look at Fireshroud and the second Ninja glowered back.
"You were hit with an electric spear and you were out for a few seconds," said Fireshroud.
Brocktree shakily raised himself from the floor and looked around. He stared down the hallway at the scorch marks of where Lord Enfawr's guards met their maker and his memories suddenly came flowing back.
"Oh! I remember now!" said Brocktree, "we were on our way to destroy the Rocking Makeroller!"
"Eh, close enough," said Fireshroud, "now let's get going."
The Super Sentinel nodded and the minifigures continued their rapid pace. After a while, Cheese suddenly dropped to the ground, clutching his throat.
"Cheese!" cried Fireshroud. He kneeled down next to the fallen Ninja and suddenly felt the same way that Cheese did. He had no oxygen.
He realized that there must be oxygen on the Rhoddwr Marwolaeth, and the now non-air-supplying helmets were keeping it from them. He tried desperately to remove Cheese's helmet, but it was stuck fast. He vision was fading but he continued to try and help Cheese. He was on the very verge of unconsciousness, when a strong arm wrenched his helmet off and quickly moved on to Cheese.
Fireshroud fell to the ground and gulped in all the oxygen he could hold. Sweet, sweet oxygen. He looked over at Cheese and saw him doing much the same thing. He turned towards Brocktree and thanked him.
"Don't mention it," said Brocktree, who's helmet was so awesome that it didn't need to be removed, "now let's destroy this thing before they finish construction."
Then the floor shook, the lights came on, and a mechanical voice came on over the speakers lining the hallway.
"All systems operational, setting course for Nexus Tower," said the voice, "repeat; all systems operational, setting course for Nexus Tower, please fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the soft, soothing music."
Then the Jaws theme song came on.
Chapter 16[]
"What?!" Cheese shrieked, and he looked around, alarmed. "Tell me that wasn't real!"
"Yes, this recording is real," said the mechanical voice, and Cheese screamed again. "We repeat, this is not a drill."
"Relax, Cheese." Fireshroud said, patting his companion on the shoulder. "It's a recording. It said itself."
"Phew," Cheese sighed, but then the panicked look came back. "BUT THEY'RE SETTING A COURSE FOR NEXUS TOWER!! THEY'RE GONNA BLOW IT UP!!!"
"And all of Crux Prime with it?" Brocktree asked, quizzically. "The whole Maelstorm army is there-"
"Hey, check this out," Fireshroud said as he stepped over to a computer console. On it contained several live satellite videos of Crux Prime. Most were trained on the usual battlefields.
But the battles weren't there.
"What-?" Fireshroud said, staring harder. There weren't any Maelstrom or Skeletons in any of their usual places on Crux Prime. In fact, none were on Crux Prime at all! "Uhh, Brocktree?" Fireshroud turned around and told him.
"Yeah Fire?" Brocktree replied.
Fireshroud gulped, then said, "There are no Maelstrom or Skeletons on Crux Prime." He turned back and stared at the last screen, which showed Nexus Tower. Massive parties were going on outside, with thousands of minifigures standing in and out of the tower, cheering with the faction leaders, who stood on large platforms giving speeches.
"It wont hurt the Maelstrom army at all, it's not there!" Fireshroud exclaimed. "And Nexus Tower is completely undefended! They think they've won!"
Brocktree was silent, but Cheese tapped Fireshroud on his shoulder. "Hey, Fireshroud? That's what we're here for." he told him. "We're going to destroy the Rad Washing Machine before it destroys Nexus Tower!" Fireshroud glared at his having said Rhoddwr Marwolaeth again, so he added, trying to sound as strong as ever, "It's our duty, as ninja, and members of the Nexus Force."
"Yes," Fireshroud said. He stood between Brock and Cheese, saying, "For the Nexus Force!"
Chapter 17[]
The three minifigures stood silent for a few seconds and then Fireshroud broke the silence.
"So," said the Spinjitzu master, "how will we destroy it?"
"Well," said Brocktree, "now that all systems are operational all we need to do is get to a wire panel. After that, I can acquire a layout of the Rimmer Marvelnater."
"Here," said Cheese. He walked over to the one of the monitors that they had seen Crux Prime on and wrenched it off the wall. There was now a gaping hole in the titanium wall, and several wires were sticking out.
"That'll work," said Brocktree, shrugging. The Super Sentinel walked to the aperture in the wall and pulled out two wires. He stripped the rubber off the wires and attempted to tie a thieves knot. "Whoops! That's a square knot!" said Brocktree as a picture of Frostburgh came up on the screen. He fiddled with the wires for a couple more seconds, and then a layout of the RHODDWR MARWOLAETH came up on the screen.
"Good job, Brock," said Fireshroud. He pulled out his Flash Bulb and snapped a picture with the camera.
"Lemme see that," said Cheese, "look, if we take this right and then rush down he left corridor, we'll come to a shaft that leads directly to the Core."
"Well then let's go," said Brocktree.
The three minifigures ran down the hallway and then turned to the left. They continued running and eventually came across a hatch in the wall.
Brocktree used Verminbane to pry the cover open and jumped into the tunnel. Fireshroud jumped in behind him, and Cheese after Fireshroud.
The tunnel slid down for what seemed like forever, then the tunnel evened out and the three minifigures tumbled into a large room.
Fireshroud shakily picked himself up and looked at his surroundings. He was in an almost circular room, and control dashboards and dials lined the walls, with tiny brown-cloaked figures running from console to console.
One of the tiny figures looked at Fireshroud and he gasped. The inside of his hood was completely black and two glowing yellow eyes were looking at him. It was a Jawa.
Fireshroud yelped and jumped back. He scrambled up against the wall and tried to make himself invisible.
"Er… Fireshroud?" asked Cheese, "what's wrong?"
"I have a morbid fear of Jawas," Fireshroud whispered.
"There's nothing to be scared of," said Cheese. He walked over to a Jawa and kicked it in the shin.
The Jawa screamed and pulled out a gun.
"Oh," said Cheese.
Chapter 18[]
"Hoobalefthaepvf!!!!" the Jawa shrieked, and blasted Cheese with its gun.
"Yikes!" Cheese jumped a few feet into the air, and landed back down with a thump. "Hey, I'm not injured." he marveled.
"That's right, sillies." Brocktree said, "Jawas are armed only with electro-stun-guns for stunning robots, androids, nindroids, and-"
"Wait, you said nindroid?" Cheese asked.
"Yeah, you know, a training bot that looks like a ninja."
"Oh."
Fireshroud tugged at Brock's sleeve. "Uh, can we worry about nindroids later? Those Jawas there don't appear to be holding electro-stun-guns." he said, pointing to five Jawas that held assorted weapon types, one which appeared to have been made from dissected Astromech Droid parts.
The Jawas opened fire at them, and pretty lights splattered across the room, AKA lasers.
Lethal lasers.
Fireshroud screamed and ran behind a barrel. Brocktree quickly formed a shield around him, and he pulled Cheese into it. Brock cocked a blaster, and returned fire.
Lasers from the Jawas' guns pelted Brocktree's shield, and it would soon give away. Cheese began waving his Nunchucks, and the lightning electrified the shield, guaranteeing it a very long life. "Come on!" he urged Fireshroud, who glumly jumped out from behind his cover and into the shield.
From the safety of the energy shield which protected them from laser blasts, the nina and Super Sentinel fought valiantly against the overwhelming Jawas, but there were too many of them. They were going to be fighting for a very long time, longer than the shield's lifespan, when Fireshroud noticed a door which led into another tunnel, which at its very end very far away had an orangish glow. "Hey, is that where we want to go?" FIreshroud asked.
"Yeah, let's go!" Cheese said, and he almost walked right out of the shield. Brocktree grabbed him and pulled him back in.
"Remember," Brocktree told him, "I have the shield, so you have to walk at my pace, or you'll be smashed by Jawas."
"And nindroids," said Fireshroud, pointing to a bunch of robotic-looking ninja who fell in from the tunnel they had come through.
"Okay, fine." Brocktree relented, backing towards the tunnel with the glow. "NOW RUN!!!!!!!!!!!"
Fireshroud and Cheese took off down the tunnel, with the shielding Brocktree following some yards behind. The tunnel wasn't very wide, so Brock's spherical shield blocked the whole entrance, keeping any laser shots from reaching the ninja.
"Look!" Cheese shouted, pointing farther down the tunnel. "Is that the core?!"
Fireshroud looked, and saw what Cheese meant. It was large, bright, and spewing flames in every direction. Fireshroud and Cheese skidded to a halt on a balcony that overlooked the massive blob of energy-making yellowness with several heat-resistant tubes sticking out of it, and stared at it.
"So this artificial star thingy is the core?" asked Cheese incredulously.
"Maybe all we have to do is cut those tubes that are sucking out the energy from it," Fireshroud pondered.
"Like that would actually be accomplishable?" a booming voice blared, and suddenly a bunch of doors leading to other balconies throughout the massive room opened, and large machines covered in light laser guns to artillery shells stepped out, and all aimed their weapons at the two ninja.
Chapter 19[]
Cheese stared in horror at the androids, nindroids, and occasional Jawa. He looked up to where the voice had come from and saw a dark cloaked figure holding an Elite Force Blade of Lightning in each hand. The minifigure clipped the ends of the swords together and did a flip down to the small bridge that the ninja and super sentinel were standing on.
"Surrender, and we will make your death a small degree less painful," said the figure.
But Brocktree hadn't heard a word of what he had said. He recognized the shape of the visual blastshield all too well.
"Fowl?" said Brocktree.
Fowl turned towards Brocktree and saw his old friend. A portion of his free will broke through the mind control binding and Fowl recognized whom this was.
"Brocktree?" said Fowl, then the mind control seized him and he became an impassive warrior of the Maelstrom.
"So," said Fireshroud, stepping forward," in answer to your question, I do think it is accomplishable."
In one fluid motion, the Spinjitzu Master reached into his backpack, pulled out his Improved Composite Axe, drew his arm back and hurled the axe at the nearest tube thingy. The axe was on course, but then an electricity bolt sent from the core smashed the axe and sucked the pieces into the fiery core.
"Oh," said Fireshroud.
"Do you surrender or not?" asked Fowl.
"Never!" said Brocktree.
"I don't know," said Cheese, eyeing the guns that were pointing at him, "I mean, never say never, right?"
"Then you leave me no choice," said Fowl. He clenched his fist and brought it down as though he was pulling a chord.
The androids, nindroids, and Jawas saw the signal from their chief and thousands of lasers flew from the barrels of their guns. Unfortunately, Fowl had forgotten to get off the bridge and the lasers slammed into Fowl's back and knocked the life out of him. He fell to the ground, and without their leader's guidance, the androids and nindroids shut down. Their pieces toppled out of the doorway they were in and fed the core of the Raining Marmalade.
Fireshroud wiped his forehead and exhaled, relieved. Then a laser hit the wall next to him, and he remembered the Jawas. The brown midgets behind and in front of the ninja and supa sentinel started to rain shots down upon them. Luckily, their damage combo was 1/4 – 1/4 – 1/2, so Fireshroud calmed down a bit. Then the shield died.
Fireshroud screamed and used his Ninja climbing ability to clamber as high as he could above the doorway. Cheese had turned into a whirlwind of lightning and was absorbing the lasers. Brocktree was merely standing there as the pitiful lasers hit his body.
"It kind of tickles," said Brocktree, laughing. He stopped laughing when a rock soared through the air and hit his helmet, vibrating his head around inside it.
Brocktree turned and saw a pack of tiny, furry animals that resembled teddy bears. Ewoks.
Chapter 20[]
"EWOKS??" Brocktree exclaimed incredulously. "Why all the Star Wars things here??"
"Star Wars?" asked Fireshroud from above the doorway.
Brocktree sighed. "You know, that movie I mentioned when we first saw the Jaws- er, Jawas."
Then a blue tornado roared by and nearly fell over the railing if Brocktree hadn't reached in and pulled its inhabitants arm. He yanked, and Cheese tumbled back onto the platform. And Cheese was screaming, which wasn't abnormal for a ninja like Cheese.
"What's the matter, Cheese?" asked Brocktree.
Cheese had a look of pure fear in his eyes, but he wasn't looking at Brocktree. He was staring past him, at a sight so scary it made Cheese nearly faint. "I- i- is- is tha- is that a- s-s-sh-shark?"
Brock and Fireshroud looked at what Cheese was gaping at, and Fireshroud sucked in his breath. A massive shark perched on a wagon pushed by two Jawas was on its way towards them, making growling sounds.
"Seriously," Fireshroud said, rolling his eyes. "Sharks can't live out of water, and they don't make sounds either. That's a fake shark."
The shark narrowed its eyes at Fireshroud, and in mid snaps of its jaws, said in pure, clear English: "I am quiet real, you foolish ninja. And my name is Bruce." he said in an Australian accent.
Fireshroud paled, and nearly fell from his perch.
"Get it!" Brocktree shouted, and he raised Verminbane with a battle cry. He charged towards the shark, and the Jawas started shrieking. As soon as the Super Sentinel got in range of Bruce's jaws, he disappeared and simultaneously reappeared behind it. The shark looked around, but didn't notice Brocktree knocking down the Jawas and then grabbing the wagon and turning it around. Then he teleported back to the other side and sent Bruce rolling towards the army of Ewoks and Nindroids.
"Weeeeeeeeeee!" Bruce squealed like his little sister Molly when he gave her a Barbie on her birthday as his wagon crashed into the Nindroids and knocked them over like bowling pins. The Ewoks were so short the wagon just went over them.
The Nindroids sparked and remained unmoving on the ground, but the Ewoks and a few Jawas were running over as fast as their stubby little legs would allow.
"Ninja-gooooooooo!!" Fireshroud yelled and he spun into a tornado of Ice. He barreled into the army of midgets and they all were sucked into the whirlwind, only to be spewed out covered in ice a few seconds later. They smashed into the wall, shattering the ice and landing dazed on the floor.
"Wutini!" a Jawa exclaimed before falling unconscious.
The battle would have been over already if Fireshroud, Brocktree, and the freaked out Cheese hadn't noticed Bruce the Australian shark being pushed back on his wagon by a bunch of skeletons.
"There's the annoying ninjas!" Bruce exclaimed with a rapid-snapping of his jaws, causing the skeletons to cover their ears, letting go of Bruce's little red wagon and letting the little wheeled thing loaned to Bruce by Baby Bop pick up some speed. "I'd chew ya up like those 'nnoying Aqua Raiders now if I could!" he threatened.
"Hey, go get him!" one of the skeletons shouted.
"Now, you do it!" another yelled back, and bashed the original on the head.
The skeletons broke out into a fight and soon smashed each other, so the ninja and Super Sentinel turned their attention to the current enemy at hand: Bruce the Shark on his wagon borrowed from Baby Bop.
Brocktree pulled out a rocket launcher and blasted Bruce's wagon back down the hall, causing Baby Bop's prized red thingy to break and depositing Bruce in a swimming pool.
"Well, that was easy." Fireshroud said with a grin.
"No!" a shrill voice called out. "You broke my little red wagon, and no matter what Barney says, I'm not sharing it with anymore!"
And a green walking talking bipedal horn-less Triceratops named Baby Bop stepped into the hallway, with a purple T-Rex named Barney, a yellow Protoceratops named B.J., and an orange Unidenfiedasorus named Riff next to her.
Our heroes facepalmed.
Chapter 21[]
"This is just too weird," said Cheese, "we started this adventure perfectly sane, and now look at us."
"Enough talking!" yelled Baby Bop in a scary voice. Well, as scary as Baby Bop's voice could get, "Barney here is an expert in Tai-quad-Do, and he obeys my every command!"
"That's right," said Barney in his overly obnoxious voice, "because obedience is something that we should all learn."
Then a deep, mechanical voice sounded in the tunnel behind the dinosaurs.
"You are as clumsy as you are stupid," said Darth Vader, "and you shall pay for your trespassing on my space station."
Darth Vader lifted his hand and attempted to force choke Barney.
"You can't Force Choke me!" said Barney.
"I find your lack of faith disturbing," said Darth Vader, "I know what I am missing."
He pressed one of the buttons on his utility belt and the Imperial March started playing.
"Now," said Vader, "prepare to meet your maker."
"Not today!" said Barney, and started waving his hands around, but having a lack of arms, never touched Vader.
"Impressive," said Vader, "most impressive."
"This is impressive!" said an overly large Kangaroo, swinging down from the ceiling.
Kaptain Kangaroo reached in his pockets and started to throw corn kernels at Darth Maul, who had just appeared in another doorway. Brocktree stared in confusion at the mixed movie and television characters, when Cheese pulled on his sleeve and dragged him out of the doorway, as SpongeBob jumped down into the fight. While the odd characters had been arguing, Cheese had placed a plasma bomb next to the core.
The two ninja and Supa Sentinel ran out of the core containment unit just as Indiana Jones started firing off his pistol, and ran to the docking bay, trying to forget everything that had just happened.
Chapter 22[]
The three tore down the hallways as fast as they could away from the core when they heard the explosion.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!
A shockwave from the exploding aritificial star/core/thingy blew them all farther down the hallway.
"This is fun!" laughed Cheese as he rode the waves on a surfboard.
"WHAT?!!" shouted Fireshroud as he tumbled head-over-heels through the air. "Where'd that come from??"
"Here," Cheese replied, patting his backpack. Fireshroud didn't even try to understand how a fifteen feet long surfboard could fit in Cheese's tiny knapsack. It was like some rockets used by the Nexus Force, and modules and cars too, which miraculously could fit in there. It made his head hurt even though he wasn't thinking about it.
The shockwave dissipated and they all tumbled to the floor.
"Look, a map," Brocktree said, standing up. He stepped over to a billboard on the side of the hall. "The hanger bay is that way, and we'd better get there quickly, since the core blew up and since that happened this battlestation will explode too."
Fireshroud got up and glanced at the map. "Wait, if the core just blew, than why hasn't the Rhoddwr Marwolaeth blown up yet?"
Brock glanced quizzically at him, then looked at the map again. An arrow pointed back the way they came, with a sign under it saying "Western Hemisphere anti-aircraft guns power source room".
They all facepalmed.
Meanwhile, just before what was previously written had happened, Lord Enfawr was enjoying the ride in his luxurious lounge in his personal cloaked shuttle as his private pilot skillfully piloted them into the Rhoddwr Marwolaeth's hanger bay.
"We are here my lord." the pilot said in a mind-controlled monotone from under his samurai helmet.
"That is good, Corporal." Enfawr replied, stepping down onto the inner side of the door as it folded outwards with a hiss from its airlocks. "You will accompany me."
"Yes my lord." the corporal responded in the same monotone, and followed Enfawr down into the hanger bay.
A long line of the guys similar to the Stormtroopers who had battled the ninja and super Sentinel on the surface of the Rhoddwr stood at attention, all saluting, standing to the side to allow Lord Enfawr to pass. Someone put on the Imperial March on a cassette tape.
An officer dressed in black walked briskly over to Enfawr. "Your arrival here is, unexpected, my lord-" he started.
Enfawr waved his hand at him. "I see you are on your way to Crux Prime, are you not?" he interrupted him.
"We are, my lord," the officer said. "Would you mind informing us why you are here now, my-"
Lord Enfawr raised his hand, and the officer rose up above the ground. He made a gagging sound and clutched at his throat, his eyes bulging.
"Your impudence disturbs me," Enfawr said menacingly, letting go and allowing the dead officer to fall. "Get him out of my sights, I am in command now." he growled, when the explosion happened.
"My lord!" a Stormtrooper called from a computer station. "The power source for all guns on the western hemisphere has shut off!"
"We don't require those," Enfawr cackled. "As long as our main gun is operational, we shall continue on our way."
Fireshroud stared grimly over his camera, which showed the picture of the readout. "I don't know how we missed that." he groaned. "And now we know that the core itself can't be reached."
The trio had learned grimly just a few moments before that the actual core would be impossible to reach. And now they were nearly out of ideas."
"I GOT IT!" Cheese shouted suddenly.
"What is it?" asked Brocktree.
"The main gun!" Cheese exploded. "If we can disable its power source, then the Rhoddwr Marwolaeth can't blow up Nexus Tower!"
Fireshroud got up and gave Cheese a massive slap on the back.
"What was THAT for?" Cheese asked.
Fireshroud grinned. "You actually said it right!!"
"What, the Rocking Rollercoaster?" Cheese said.
Fireshroud facepalmed.
"That's an excellent idea, Cheese." Brock said. "We need to blow up the power source of the main gun of the Raffle Pumpernickel."
"You too?" moaned Fireshroud.
"Huh? Last time I mentioned the Raving Mamabear, I said it like that too!"
"Nooooo....." Fireshroud moaned some more.
"So come on!" Brocktree urged. "We've got to-"
Suddenly a voice blared on the intercom. "All hands, we are orbiting Crux Prime. Estimated time till firing range, 15 minutes. Be aware out Western Hemisphere guns are unoperational. This is not a drill."
Chapter 23[]
The first thing the minifigures did was freak out. But in an organized way.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Cheese.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Fireshroud, half an octave higher.
"SHUT UP!" hollered Brocktree, an octave higher than Fireshroud.
The two ninja stopped blubbering instantly.
"FIRST!" said Brocktree, still shouting, "WE HAVE TO GET TO THE CONTROLS FOR THE WRECKED MARMELBELL'S SUPERLASER!"
Fireshroud started crying again.
"Why can't anyone else say 'Rhoddwr Marwolaeth'" wailed Fireshroud.
"NEXT!" said Brocktree, "WE HAVE TO DESTROY IT WITHOUT KILLING OURSELVES OR ATTRACTING ANY SHARKS! OR DINOSAURS! OR SITH! OR SPOUNGES! OR FADORA-WEARING ADVENTURERS!"
Cheese cried as the memory came back to him.
"STOP CRYING!" bellowed Brocktree, louder than ever.
There was a grinding noise and a large section of the wall fell away, revealing a tunnel with the words "superlaser control room" painted on it. Brocktree's yelling had blown the wall open.
"SEE WHAT YOU CAN DO WHEN YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO IT?" yelled Brocktree.
Fireshroud cried as the sound waves hurt his ears.
Brocktree yanked the two ninja up and threw them down the tunnel. Brocktree jumped in after them and they slid down the tunnel. The tunnel leveled out and the two ninja and super sentinel tumbled into a passageway. They straitened up and looked both ways.
"Look both ways before you cross the street," said Barney, walking into view.
Brocktree drew his pistol and shot the large purple T-Rex.
"That was a nightmare," said Brocktree.
"I think this is the way to the control room," said Cheese, pointing to his left.
The minifigures walked down the corridor and ended up in a large, circular room. On the other end of the room there was a single control console with a dark figure leaning over it. The figure heard the minifigures enter the room and turned to look at them. Brocktree gasped as he recognized the most evil person in the universe.
"this is notin to do wit lu," said thedude7500.
Chapter 24[]
Brocktree raised his pistol and aimed it at thedude7500. "What do you mean, 'this is notin to do with lu'?"
Fireshroud glanced at Cheese. "What's lu? What kind of language is he speaking?"
Cheese shrugged. "Gibberesh?"
The evil thedude7500 turned to the two ninja, pure evil burning in his eyes. "as i sayd this is notin to with lu."
"Ohh, I know," Cheese said, snapping his fingers. "He's speaking in bad grammar and he isn't capitalizing his letters."
Fireshroud looked at him quizzically. "How can you tell he isn't capitalizing his letters if he's talking?"
"With this." Cheese replied, raising an I-Brick with a Lego.com Lego Universe Stories Messageboards topic titled The Rhoddwr Marwolaeth displaying on it. It was centered on a post called "The Rhoddwr Marwolaeth - Chapter 24 - FINALLY IT'S RIGHT"
"Hey, let me see that!" Fireshroud yelped, grabbing Cheese's I-Brick. "Hey, maybe we can predict our futures!"
"Wow, it just wrote what you wrote, and what I am saying right now!" Cheese exclaimed. "Wow, we should predict the future! And now Brocktree will say- wait, it's already written what I am saying right now- Ouch, my head is spinning! This is amazing-"
"Cut it out, you two." Brocktree snarled. "Let me end the life of this evil dude standing in front of you. You don't know enough about him to understand-"
"this is notin to do with lu" thedude7500 repeated. "als u is notin to do with lu i wil destroi u"
Brocktree fired, and Fireshroud shouted, "Look out!"
The bullet clanged into thedude7500's armored cloak, and it came whizzing back, nearly missing Brocktree as he ducked.
"We read that was going to happen," Cheese told him.
"Wha-?" Brock asked as he unsheathed Verminbane.
"nvm" thedude7500 said, pulling out a mean looking cleaver. "i wil smas u borktee sinc u is notin to do with lu"
Brocktree charged and began dueling with thedude7500. They fought intensely, while Fireshroud and Cheese read on what was going to happen with Cheese's I-Brick. Then Cheese shouted.
"Oh no!" Cheese screamed. "Brocktree's going to lose the fight! thedude7500 will chop him into a million pieces!"
Brocktree glanced at them before ducking a swing from thedude7500's cleaver. "What? How do you know? I'm an experienced swordsmaster AND a second to the faction leaders not only in command but also in experience with weapons of all kind, even this dude's cleaver!"
"u is notin to do with lu!!!!!!!!!!" thedude7500 screamed, and he swung his sword madly. The ninja gasped as he chopped Brocktree into a million pieces.
"Oh no!!!!" Cheese wailed as thedude7500 stepped over Brocktree's remains and prepared to engage them.
"Hey," Fireshroud said, pointing to an orange report button over the top-right of the "The Rhoddwr Marwolaeth - Chapter 24 - FINALLY IT'S RIGHT" post. "What's this?"
He pressed it, and then viewed the instructions. "I know what to do!" he exclaimed.
Cheese began twirling his nun-chucks, and said, "Whatever it is, you'd better do it soon!"
Fireshroud quickly wrote down something brief to the 'moderators' and then pressed post. "I hope they have instant moderation here," he quipped.
All of a sudden Brocktree was alive again, and thedude7500 disappeared.
"Huh?" Brock asked, rubbing his temples. "I have a big headache. Owww, what happened?"
"Yeah, what happened?" Cheese urged.
Fireshroud looked up. "I asked the moderators to change the fight scene to end differently so that Brocktree doesn't die," he told Cheese. "I said it was too gory."
"What?" Brocktree asked flabbergasted. "What moderators?"
"So you changed the past??" Cheese shouted incredulously.
"I guess so," Fireshroud said with a smirk. "Actually, it was the moderators."
"WHO ARE THE MODERATORS???" Brocktree screamed.
"So where's thedude7500?" Cheese asked.
"I guess the mods deleted him from this part of the story," Fireshroud pointed out.
"WHAT STORY???" Brock yelled.
Fireshroud glanced at him. "We'll tell you later." he said. "Now let's blow up these controls, before-"
Suddenly a door opened, and in stepped Lord Enfawr with twenty red-colored-cloaked bodyguards wielding electrostaffs. (picture Imperial Guards)
"Well well well," Enfawr cackled. "If it isn't Lord Brocktree, and his two ninja friends. Prepare to meet your doom."
Chapter 25[]
Enfawr lashed his whip menacingly and Brocktree returned it with a twirl of Verminbane.
"Hang on Brocktree," said Cheese, "I'm about to find out if you win or not. Wow, this guy has exceptional writing talent."
"Am I going to lose or not?" asked Brocktree impatiently.
"I don't know yet," said Cheese, "I'll know in just a– HEY!"
Enfawr had lashed out with his whip and sent Cheese's iBrick flying.
"Of course you're going to lose," said Enfawr, "the only question is how painful it'll be."
Fireshroud whipped out his iBrick and typed in a web address. He quickly typed a message and pressed the "send" button.
"What'd you do?" asked Cheese.
"You'll see," said Fireshroud.
Suddenly, Barney, Baby Bob, B.J., Riff, Bruce the shark, Indiana Jones, Darth Vader, Darth Maul, SpongeBob, and Kaptain Kangaroo appeared, standing in a defensive posture.
"Prepare to smash!" squeaked Baby Bob.
"you is notin to do with lu," said thedude7500, materializing next to Lord Enfawr.
"What! How did that happen?" yelled Cheese, "Fire, get rid of him!"
"Okay, okay!" said Fireshroud. Then his iBrick ran out of battery power.
Fireshroud rolled on the ground, cursing Steve Jobs and all of his short-lived contraptions.
"I was this close to saving the world!" wailed Fireshroud.
"If we can't get rid of him using operators…" said Brocktree.
"MODERATERS, Brocktree," said Cheese, "don't get them angry, they're the ultimate power around here."
"Fine," said Brocktree, "if we can't get rid of him using moderators, we'll have to get rid of him the old-fashioned way."
"good luk tri-ing too de-feet mee!" said thedude7500, "prepear four sertin doom."
thedude7500 swung his grammar-sword in a big arc and slammed it into the ground, dispelling all grammar; punctuation, capitalization, and most spelling.
whats happinin asked chees i don't no yelld fireshrowd but it herts meak it stopp waled brocktrea i can feal my sentences bein distorted bwahaha kackled thedude7500 my livelong dreem of destroying all gramer is compleet i kan rest in pees.
And with that, thedude7500 disappeared and order was returned to all things related to grammar.
"What was that?" Cheese gasped.
"I don't know," said Fireshroud, "but it hurt!"
"Whatever it was," said Enfawr, "it's not nearly as painful as what's about to happen to you."
He cracked his whip menacingly.
"You call that a whip?" said Indiana Jones, "this is a whip!"
Indiana raised his Bullwhip and gave an ear-splitting crack. Enfawr cracked his whip in reply and electricity bolts sparked where the crack had sounded.
"Oh," said Indy.
"Prepare to die," said Vader. He pressed his utility belt and the Imperial March started playing.
"You call that music?" said Darth Maul.
"Ah!" said Cheese, "he speaks!"
"This is music," finished Darth Maul. He reached under his robe and pulled out his own iBrick. He opened up his iTunes and played Duel of the Fates.
"That's not music," said Indy, "now this is music."
Indy pulled out a cassette tape and played the raiders march.
"Now this is music!" said SpongeBob, and started singing, "Ohhhhhhh! Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?"
"Nexus Tower will be in range five minutes and closing," said the automated voice recording from somewhere in the Rhoddwr Marwolaeth.
"We should all learn to get along," said Barney.
Brocktree watched the confusion with a look of utter bewilderment on his face. He finally decided to do something. He walked over to Bruce the Shark, who was still in a wagon, and slammed his heel down on the handles of the wagon. Bruce the shark was flung up in the air and came down, teeth first, on Lord Enfawr. Enfawr gave a final scream and then was devoured by the giant fish. Darth Vader force choked the guards and then slammed his lightsaber into the control console. The automated voice came on again.
"Commencing firing process," said the voice.
"LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE, VADER!" hollered Cheese.
The super laser charged up and shot a beam of energy into space, narrowly avoiding Crux Prime.
Location: Nimbus Station-----------------
"Welcome!" said Nexus Jay, "in celebration of driving the maelstrom out of Crux Prime, we have built this giant mirror!"
Nexus Jay gestured to the giant mirror behind him.
"In this mirror, you can look and see no Maelstrom!" said Nexus Jay.
Then a bright green laser hit the mirror, bounced off and returned the way it came……
Chapter 26[]
"VADER, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?????" Cheese repeated as the giant green laser streaked back towards the Rhoddwr Marwolaeth.
"Do not question the Dark Lord of the Sith," Darth Vader monotoned, and he raised his hand in a choking position. Cheese rose into the air, caught in the Dark Lord's force choke.
Fireshroud jammed his shoulder into Darth Vader's side. "Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...." Vader yowled as he fell over the railing and far down through a chasm towards the fiery core of the battlestation.
Cheese landed on the ground and panted. "I- hate- that- guy-." he gasped.
"Can we be friends now?" Barney asked. "Being friends is-"
"Stop!" Brocktree shouted. "We're about to be blown up by a giant laser and now all you want is to be friends?!"
Barney's head drooped, and the impossible happened. Barney collapsed to the ground, revealing a random guy standing there. "I hate this job," he scoffed, before kicking the Barney costume and leaving the room.
Fireshroud looked at his camera, and said, "There are escape pods that way. Hurry!"
Everyone except for the Barney costume followed Fireshroud as he lead them back the way he, Cheese, and Brock had come. He stopped in the hallway, and started tapping at the wall. Portions of the wall fell away, revealing a bunch of neatly arranged escape pods all in a row.
"Oh! This reminds me of a song!" Baby Bop squealed. "Can you sing to me, B.J.?"
"No sissy," B.J. protested. "We're going to fly on a rocket ship!"
"Escape pod," Brock corrected.
They all piled into the pods, with Fireshroud, Cheese, and Brocktree getting into the same one. Cheese was about to pull down the hatch when suddenly a black gloved hand reached in and pulled the hatch back up. A short Stormtrooper stepped in.
"I'm Luke Skywalker and I'm here to rescue you!" the Stormtrooper said, but then he pulled off his helmet. "Oh, uniform." Luke Skywalker peered at them for a few seconds, then realized something weird was going on. "Wait, you're not the Princess!"
"We most certainly are not Princess Leia," Cheese quipped, and he grabbed Luke and pulled him all the way in. "Come on!"
The escape pod rocketed out of the Rhoddwr Marwolaeth amidst the crowd of other pods. Through the window, Cheese could see Baby Bop, B.J., and Riff's escape pod. Even though it was impossible, he could actually hear B.J. screaming in delight, while Baby Bop leaned over a bag and did something yucky.
"What about Han, and Chewie?" Luke asked, concerned as he watched the giant green laser soar towards the Death Star- er, Rhoddwr Marwolaeth.
"There not on there, don't worry." Cheese reassured him.
"Wait," Fireshroud tapped him on the shoulder. "If Luke is here, than who says Han and Chewbacca can't be here?"
"Well kids, we are." a new voice said.
Fireshroud facepalmed as Han and Chewie stepped out from tiny closets. "Let's just make sure we escape," Fireshroud moaned.
"Look," Brocktree pointed, and they all watched as the giant green laser connected with the Rhoddwr Marwolaeth's hull. There was a blinding flash, and then suddenly debris was flying all over the place.
"AAAAHHHH!!!!!" Cheese screamed as a giant space rock collided with their escape pod. Then everything was black.
Fireshroud awoke, dazed, in a large white room. "Argh, where are we?" he groaned, sitting up. Then he came face to face with a bald guy in a red shirt with a black delta pattern on it.
"I am Captain Jean Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise. Who are you?"
Chapter 27[]
"I ask again, who are you?" asked Captain Picard.
"Fred, the scientist," said Fireshroud. Wait what? "I'm not Fred, I'm Fireshroud."
"Who are you?" asked Picard again.
"Fireshroud the Ninja," said Fireshroud.
"Data!" said Picard, turning to an android, "file that away."
"Not more androids!" said Fireshroud, "I've seen enough of those to last me a lifetime!"
Then something that resembled something between a monkey and a fanged person walked in.
"Captain," said the monkey-person, "I have the data from the other pajama-wearing minifigure."
"Pajamas!" said Fireshroud, "these happen to be Ninjago-issue Ninja outfits!"
"Data!" said Picard, "file that away."
"Yes, sir," said the android in a monotone voice.
"What did the other pajama-partier have to say?" asked Picard.
"He said that if you didn't give him something to eat he'll tear this ship apart piece by piece until he finds the food," said the monkey-person.
"Thank you, Worf," said Picard, "you better give him some food."
"Captain," said Data, "there's an incoming starship."
"I'll deal with you later," Picard told Fireshroud, "give me a reading on the ship."
"Reading coming up now sir," said Data. There was a click and Data began talking again, "all markings indicate that it's the original USS Enterprise."
"The Original USS Enterprise?" said Picard, "that's impossible."
"Our scanners could be wrong, sir," said Data.
"Wait," said Fireshroud, "where's Brocktree?"
Location: USS Enterprise-----------------------
"Dr. Spock!" said Captain Kirk, "get a reading on that ship!"
"Working on it now, sir," said Spock. He fiddled with some buttons and something popped up on his screen, "engine type: 754658 o/p."
"754658 o/p?" asked Captain Kirk, "I don't believe I'm familiar with that type."
"Neither am I, sir," said Spock.
Kirk pressed a button and talked into a communicator.
"Scotty," said Kirk.
"Aye, Captain?" said Scotty.
"Are you familiar with the engine type: 754658 o/p?" asked Kirk.
"No, Captain," said Scotty.
Then the air duct in the command bridge opened up and a Super Sentinel jumped out.
"How did you escape from your detainment cell?" asked Kirk, enraged.
"I climbed through the vent," said Brocktree, "now what's going on?"
Then anther monitor started beeping and Dr. Spock called out again.
"Sir," said Dr. Spock, "incoming fleet!"
Everyone turned their gaze to the viewscreen and saw a fleet of similar ships flying towards them.
"I know that fleet!" said Brocktree, "that's the Talmidon fleet!"
Chapter 28[]
Fleet Captain Talmid stood up from his comfy chair. "What in the name of the Federation is going on?!" he roared, as the viewscreen came to life, showing the original Constitution Class USS Enterprise and the Galaxy Class USS Enterprise D. "We were supposed to be rendezvousing with Admiral Awesomedude to repel a force of Romulans, and where did THOSE guys come from??"
"Um, sir!" Lt. Commander Dave called from his tactical station at the back of the bridge. "We are receiving an incoming transmission from the Enterprise!"
"Which one?" Talmid asked.
"Admiral Kirk's one."
James T. Kirk's face appeared on the viewscreen. "What an impressive fleet of starships you have there, may I ask your name?" Kirk asked, while in the background Talmid's bridge crew could see Brocktree wrestling with Chekov, Spock, McCoy, and Sulu.
The Fleet Captain's jaw dropped through the floor. He picked it up, and then gasped, "You're CAPTAIN Kirk, not ADMIRAL Kirk! You're from at least 350 years ago!"
"I'm going to be an Admiral?" Kirk asked, amazed. "Then you must be from 350 years in the future!"
Talmid motioned to Dave to shut the transmission off, but then his second officer Commander Shirley Brickfalling piped up, "We're from the 26th Century!"
The Fleet Captain screamed, and he tackled Dave. "TURN IT OFF, OR YOU BREAK THE TEMPORAL DIRECTIVE!!!!" he shouted.
"Yessir!" Dave turned off the transmission.
Meanwhile, on Kirk's Enterprise's bridge, Brocktree was holding his own against the rest of Kirk's bridge crew as they attempted to get him under control so they could get him back in the brig.
Brock dodged a Vulcan Nerve Pinch from Commander Spock, who ended up pinching Chekov instead. With a yelp the Ensign fell unconscious on top of Sulu who in turn toppled onto McCoy who fell into Kirk. Then the turbolift door opened and a bunch of phaser-wielding Red Shirts entered lead by Scotty.
"Get him!" one of the Red Shirts shouted, and they all charged him, pushing Spock aside and diving at Brocktree. The Supa Sentinel disappeared and reappeared simultaneously behind them. The Red Shirts all tumbled to the ground where Brocktree had teleported from, and Brocktree prepared to knock them out if Scotty hadn't grabbed him from behind and roughly shoved him into the back of Kirk's chair.
Brocktree whirled around and kicked Scotty away, knocking him into Spock and they both were knocked down. The Super Sentinel ran to the turbolift, and the doors closed, just after Kirk screamed, "Wait!" after him.
The turbolift descended to the transporter room. Once there, he knocked out the transporter chief and set in coordinates for the USS Talmidon III Refit, hoping to get the Fleet Captain's help.
Lord Brocktree materialized on the USS Talmidon's bridge, right in front of a dumbfounded Talmid.
"Intrepid!" Brock called out, rushing to embrace who he believed was his friend IntrepidFusionEclipse. But he didn't expect a futuristic phaser to be pressing into him when he got closer to the Fleet Captain..
"No idea who you're talking about, man. I am Fleet Captain Talmid, commanding officer of the USS Talmidon III Refit, flagship of Minuteman Division, an elite taskforce in Star Fleet and the United Federation of Planets on March 10th 2510." Fleet Captain Talmid snarled. "Take him to the brig."
Brocktree facepalmed. "Not again!"
Chapter 29[]
Brocktree struggled as he was dragged back through the USS Talmidon. He kicked out, screaming and cursing, as Darth Vader and the re-introduced Barney took him from the previous guards.
"This is a Rebel who surrendered to us," said the guard, who had somehow changed to look like an Imperial Officer, "although he denies it, I believe there are more of them. he was armed, only with this."
"Good work," said Vader, taking the lightsaber (which Brocktree had never even seen before), "you may begin your search."
The officer turned and left, taking a detachment of stormtroopers with him.
"Let me go!" yelled Brocktree.
"So," said Vader, "you have accepted the truth."
"What?" said Brocktree, bewildered.
"That name no longer has any meaning to me," said Vader angrily.
Then Brocktree remembered a scene he had seen in the Star Floors movie.
"It's the name of your true self, you've only forgotten," said a blond dude in a black suit, walking into the picture, "that's why you couldn't kill me before, and that's why you won't take me to your Emperor now."
Vader turned to the blond dude and continued the argument. Brocktree, convinced that Vader had completely forgotten about him, turned around and ran down the hallway. Or began too, until he ran into a black and red horned guy dueling with a guy with a tan-colored tunic and long, brown hair and a green lightsaber. The horned guy bumped the brown-haired guy's lightsaber up and drove his blade through his body.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" cried a dude with a braid from behind a ray shield.
Brocktree ran past the dead Jedi, and continued on his way. He ducked under General Grievous, Count Dooku, and Anakin Skywalker dueling with a bearded guy over lava. He ran to the control room and saw a giant tower with a fiery eye hovering over it. There was a second tower with a white-bearded guy at the top singing opera.
Brocktree turned in confusion and saw Barney waving his hands around and causing Ben-Hurr to come barreling through on a horse cart.
"BARNEY!" cried Brocktree, "YOU'RE A MODERATOR?"
"uv cors!" yelled thedude7500, stepping out from behind Barney, "i hapn too bea notin to doo whit lu…"
Brocktree hurled a Big One at thedude7500, and he blew up, leaving nothing but tiny pieces left. Barney suffered the same fate. As the two insane moderators left the world forever, everything returned to normal, and Brocktree was sitting with his friends, eating some Peter's Pizza.
Epic-logue[]
Deep in space, several lightyears from the closest planet.....
A small starship floated around aimlessly, charred and blackened perhaps by a massive explosion, which not only wiped out any engines, but also sent this starship flying all the way to where it was now.
A cloaked man sat in its cockpit. With a snap of his whip, the whole starship came back to life.
"Commencing system report," a computer voice said. "Shields: 0%. Engines: 0%. Hull integrity: 0%. Life suppo-" A flick of his wrist and the computer exploded.
"I shall return," cloak-man rasped. Raising his head. "And the Nexus Force will pay."
In a horrendous fit of laughter, Lord Enfawr began his latest plot of doom.