Aw, come on! How can you stand this horribly mediocre story?! Aw, fine, fine. I'll tell you the next part, but this is about all the action you'll get for a while. It is mostly talk from here on out. Are you sure you want to stay? Fine, I'll continue.
Chapter 4: Evils Collide
The two evil beings jump toward each other. Croco knocks Yaridovich to the ground, then begins clawing, but without doing too much damage. Yaridovich pushes the spear's handle upward, throwing the alligator off him. The robot reaches into the air and grabs Croco by the neck while holding the spear, which still has his head on it, right to Croco's face.
Yaridovich: You made a mistake messing with me, alligator.
Yaridovich holds the point of his head to Croco's throat and is about to cut it when Croco bites onto the head and tosses it off the spear. Yaridovich drops Croco, then smacks him with the handle. Yaridovich regrabs his head and puts it on his shoulders.
Yaridovich: I see I'll have to beat you down before I can kill you.
Yaridovich smacks Croco with the handle again. The thief responds by throwing a Bob-omb, which blows the robot into the waters of the ocean. Croco stares toward the ocean as Yaridovich rises out. The robot charges and throws one end of his handle toward Croco, who catches it. Yaridovich then begins twirling Croco around and throws him into the air before batting the alligator like a baseball with the handle. Croco lands with a thud, hitting a wall. Croco throws another Bob-omb, which is batted back by Yaridovich. It explodes, and when the smoke clears, Croco comes racing out and nails the robot into the water, then begins grabbing stones and such from underwater and hitting Yaridovich with them. Yaridovich retaliates with his handle. Croco is eventually knocked hard down into the water. Yaridovich jumps out and begins twirling his spear. He fires lightning from it, and Croco quickly jumps into the air and throws Bob-ombs downward to keep in the air until the effect is gone. Once it is, he falls into the water and Yaridovich charges. Croco trips him and begins running circles around him. Soon the robot is struggling to see straight. Croco leaps into the air and Yaridovich sees two Crocos flying at him, one from the left and the other from the right. He receives a kick right in the center of his face and is knocked backwards. His dizziness clears, and he sees Croco standing in front of him laughing. The robot leaps up and smacks the alligator with his spear's handle. Croco is knocked backwards hard. The two run back toward each other. Croco trips Yaridovich, running on by him. The alligator turns to the fallen robot.
Croco: I'd love to stay and finish you up, but I'm in a hurry, see?
Croco runs into the well down the ladder, then runs back up with Crook III over his shoulder. The criminal tilts his hat towards the downed robot and runs away. Yardovich stands up and instantly hears shouting.
Smithy: Yaridovich! Come in! Respond immediately!
Yaridovich holds his arm up to his face and presses a button.
Smithy: Why haven't you been answering me?
Yaridovich: Sorry sir, I was busy dealing with a nuisance. And, as a precaution, I had on Focus Mode so the transmission equipment was off.
Smithy: Of course you did, and who was this nuisance, Yaridovich?
Yaridovich: The thief Croco.
Smithy: Ah. Why bother though?
Yaridovich: As it turns out, he is after the Spork of Atlantis too. And, well, he escaped.
Smithy: Alright then, let the minor villain be until he becomes a real threat, if he does. For now, get back to the matter at hand!
Yaridovich: Yeah, about that, are you sure the Spork of Atlantis is neccessarily in Atlantis, sir?
Smithy: I'm positive. End transmission.
Yaridovich presses a button on his arm, turning off the communication device, and goes back into the ocean. Meanwhile, Tatanga, Kent C, and Crooks 1 and B are carrying some equipment through town. Tatanga is carrying the vast majority of it with an anti-gravity device. Kent C. carries a large engine and some small parts. The two Crooks carry a huge piece of equipment between each other, struggling.
Crook 1: You know, when you said 600 pounds, I was pretty sure you didn't mean literally!
Tatanga: I don't bother with exaggeration or sarcasm. Now, how close are we to this well?
Crook B: Very close. In fact-
Suddenly, a flash is seen by the four and Croco, with Crook III on his shoulder, stops in front of them.
Croco: So, you got yourselves a slave, huh? You're doing it wrong, you all should use the anti-gravity thing.
Tatanga: So you must be Croco. I am Tatanga.
Croco: I see. So, Tatanga, what business do you have with me?
Kent C: Croco, Tatanga here can help us find the Spork of Atlantis by draining the entire ocean. Of course, he has a price. What was it again?
Tatanga: I want my own kingdom, as well as ownership of at least 20 slaves, one of which must be Mario.
Croco: I've already promised Mario to Kent C... and the Crooks... and myself... and my Pocket Pokemon Pikachu...
Everyone stares at the leader of the operation.
Croco: What?
Tatanga: Fine, fine. We'll just all beat Mario to death with something small and pointy.
Croco: Let's use a spork.
Kent C: I've always been a fan of toothpicks as weapons...
Back in the deepest parts of the ocean, the Axems are all spread out and searching for Atlantis. Axem Red, the leader of the Axems, is scouting the depths below. The Axem Ranger fails to find anything.
Red: This is absurd. Searching the water is going to take too, too long.
Red presses a button on his arm.
Red: Yaridovich, come in.
Yaridovich: State your name and location.
Red: This is me, Axem Red.
Yaridovich: Okay. I can't be too careful nowadays. So, how is the search going?
Red: Not good. I think we'd have a lot better luck if we did things a bit differently.
Yaridovich: Yeah? Tell me how.
Red: Look at it this way. Instead of resorting to swimming around without magic to aid us through this vast ocean, why not just simply place a spell to locate gold on this planet where it is stored in massive quantities, then search each that lies under the sea?
Yaridovich: We can't cast spells very well. We're robots.
Red: I know, that's why we can do some bribery. Know the Golden Diva?
Yaridovich: Forget it. Red, call the
others and then all of you meet me at that well from Inuyasha. I have a
plan, and it involves that stupid alligator leading us right to Atlantis!
Chapter 5: A Large Spy
Upon the surface, Croco and his partners in crime are walking through an abandoned warehouse.
Croco: How on Plit... um, Earth, are we going to build such a huge machine in here?!
Tatanga: We will build it elsewhere. We are here to set up shelter.
Croco: Us five have just been sleeping in bushes while we've been here.
Tatanga: With those machines around as you described, few places are safe. Chances are, they will probably try to take you out.
Croco: Hm, I can't complain about that logic. Alright, we'll set up shelter here until we have the operation running smoothly or take out those robots.
Tatanga: Great. But there is one other thing we'll need.
Kent C: What?
Crook 1: Hopefully it's nothing as heavy as those machine parts.
Crooks B and III: Agreed.
Tatanga: No, no. I'll need a place where I can set up running everything with little interference.
Kent C: Wouldn't right here work fine?
Tatanga: No, no. I know where to go. We need to go south until we're in South America. There, everything will be fine.
Croco: Then we go to South America!
Tatanga: Don't shout. Chances are, they may hear you.
And sure enough, that shout was loud enough for Yaridovich to discover where Croco is. He walks there, leading the Axem Rangers. Once outside the shelter, Yaridovich turns to his partners in crime.
Yaridovich: This is exactly what we'll need. Axems, let us go to South America.
The next day...
Croco: Alright, I know that you need to keep up, Tatanga, but must we walk so slowly?!
Tatanga: I want to make sure I keep up, even though I know all of you including Kent C. are capable of going at faster speeds.
Croco: Why don't we just ride on Kent C's shell then while he slides along inside it?
Kent C: Actually, we'd be going a lot slower than right now if we were to do that, because of the added weight.
Croco: Fine, we'll continue walking.
Meanwhile, Yaridovich and the Axem Rangers are already around Europe, while Croco and his partners are still only in Japan. The robots stop to contact Smithy by the ocean.
Yaridovich: Yaridovich reporting, sir.
Smithy: I was wondering when you would call again. How are things working with finding Atlantis?
Yaridoich: We aren't having much luck, however we already have a plan. We spied on Croco's men last night and apparently they are planning to absorb all of the water on this inferior planet, thereby making the work a lot easier.
Smithy: Do not procede with your plan, Yaridovich. Such an event would create too much attention, and we cannot have this happen. I have a plan for you, though. Yaridovich, you must go into the ocean and find Atlantis. The Axem Rangers can find and follow Croco to ensure he doesn't fulfill his plot.
Yaridovich: But-
Smithy: That's an order, Yaridovich!
Yaridovich: Fine. End transmission.
Yaridovich turns off the communication device on his arm.
Yaridovich: Well, I guess we'd better get going for South America!
Axems: WHAT?!
Yaridovich: I'm beginning to think those Magikoopas screwed up on Smithy's resurrection. Well! We'll just show him exactly how things should be run. Axems, I am going to work on a small upgrade. Don't disturb me unless the matter is of utmost importance.
Yaridovich walks away. Red turns to the others.
Red: (whispering) This isn't good. Smithy's going to kill us if we screw this up!
Black: (whispering) We know! We're going to have to give this Croco guy a little push to Atlantis so we can get this done before Yaridovich knows.
Blue: (whispering) Hopefully our plant in Croco's group is doing his job right.
Blue pulls out a cell phone. She dials a number, and is answered with a voice she's all too familiar with.
Blue: (whispering) Large, come in.
Large: Large reporting.
Blue: (whispering) Good. This is Blue. You'll need to hurry up and get Croco to Atlantis faster. We would get Yaridovich there, but he can scan our data and tell we've already been there.
Large: Of course. Don't worry, Croco will reach Atlantis very soon. That fool was actually willing to ask me to join him, and all's worked out well. End transmission.
The two hang up. Blue turns to the others.
Blue: (whispering) I hope this goes
well. Hopefully Large comes through for us.
I'm not even going to try.
Chapter 6: The Plot Thickens
Axem Red presses a button on his arm. He then puts his arm close to his face. Smithy's image appears on a small screen.
Red: Axem Red reporting, sir.
Smithy: Excellent. How are the matters I have planned?
Red: He is fine for now, but we only have so long and we can't just tell him where the you-know-what is.
Smithy: Of course. End transmission.
Red presses another button on his arm.
Red: Black, go get Yaridovich and tell him we're all ready to head further.
Black leaves to do so. Red turns to the others.
Red: Alright then, we have to find a way to get there and still make sure to follow Smithy's orders.
Yellow: Yes... but how are we going to get those of Earth to take us seriously enough to bring the most sophisticated of weapons to us, so Smithy may absorb them?
Red: I wish I knew. We're going to have to make a point to all of the human race. We're going to have to kidnap the one all female humans adore: JOHNNY DEPP! *a scream is heard and lightning strikes* So, any ideas?
Others: Nope.
Blue: Actually, it seems to me like we could wait until Smithy comes back, then he could storm Area 51.
Red: Yeah, that sounds like a better plan.
Yaridovich and Black come into view.
Yaridovich: So, you're ready to go on now, correct?
Red: Affirmative.
Yaridovich: Then let us proceed.
The group continues walking toward South America. Meanwhile in China, Croco, his Crooks, Kent C, and Tatanga are discussing how to get to South America faster.
Croco: What we could do is have Tatanga ride on Kent C. while me and the Crooks run alongside you two.
Kent C: I guess that'd work, but what we should do is go get Tatanga's ship and have him drive it to South America while we run.
Tatanga: Why don't we continue the way we're going? It's not like they're close to Atlantis or anything, I assume.
Crook 1: I agree with Croco.
Crook B: I personally think Kent C's plan sounds more reasonable.
Crook III: Well, whatever we do, it's going to have to be fast.
So, needless to say, nothing important is happening with our first set of villains at the moment. Meanwhile, Yaridovich and the Axem Rangers have just managed to sneak over the border to Mexico. As they travel down the center of the continent, they hear cackling. Croco and his associates surround them. As it turns out, they had decided to use the two jewel shards Crooks 1 and B had to make Tatanga run faster.
Croco: So, how about I finish this right now?
Yaridovich: Alright then, prepare to perish!
Croco and Yaridovich leap at each other and begin fighting. The Crooks and Tatanga begin fighting the main Axems, while Kent C. handles Blue and Silver. Croco starts by tackling Yaridovich and then leaping into the air. He's about to kick when Yaridovich grabs him and throws him on the ground, then begins beating Croco senseless. He throws Croco to the ground, and then begins spinning his stick quickly. Lightning shoots out and engulfs Croco. Croco falls to the ground, and Yaridovich grabs him by the throat, pulling the alligator to his feet. Yaridovich throws Croco into the ocean and grabs the alligator by the throat again, this time choking him. The submerged alligator lay while Yaridovich looks down victoriously. The robot leaps at the fallen 'gator, and is kicked to the ground in the stomach. Croco rolls backwards, then begins holding Yaridovich under the water. Just when he begins to feel confident that Yaridovich's been shut down, he's grabbed by the throat and tossed into the air, landing on Yaridovich's knee with a thud. Meanwhile, the Crooks, Blue, and Silver are already down and now Tatanga and Kent C. are fighting the Axems. Tatanga is about to finish up Red when Kent C. leaps toward Red from behind, who ducks. Kent C. crashes into Tatanga, and as the two get up, Croco is thrown at them by Yaridovich, knocking all three to the ground.
Yaridovich: We'd finish you now, but we're in a hurry.
Red and Black grab Silver and Blue and toss them over their shoulders, and the group leaves.
Croco: Kent C, what were you thinking?!
Kent C: I figured Tatanga could, oh, I don't know, SEE ME COMING! Red's a midget compared to both me and Tatanga!
Croco: Interesting that you chose to refer to the red Axem Ranger as his name instead of as Axem Red, unlike the rest of us in the group.
Kent C: EVERYONE CALLS HIM RED!!!
Croco: Look, I know there's a spy in this group, and after this outrage you can consider yourself the top suspect, see?
Kent C: Spy?!
Croco: Don't act stupid, Large.
Kent C: Are you trying to accuse me or make fun of my size?!
Croco: Both! I don't like being played for a fool. I'd like to meet the spy who can outsmart Croco Thepht.
The group continues on, with all six enraged. Several hours later with Smithy's minions, Yaridovich is shut off with a cord running into his head from a company's computer, so as to retrieve any information he can get on Atlantis. The Axem Rangers are about half a mile away. They had told Yaridovich they were going to do a bit of scouting to see where Croco's group is currently located. However, they are meeting with Large, who had snuck off during his guard duty at the location of the group.
Blue: Is all going well?
Large: Not quite. Croco has learned of my spying.
Blue: He knows that-
Large: No, no, no. He just knows of a spy. He doesn't know I am the spy, however.
Red: Excellent. I hope he has accusations of others, because that would work out perfectly.
Large: You have nothing to worry about.
Silver: You'd better be going before it's time for the next shift.
Large: Don't worry at all. Croco will be following your group tomorrow. If you have an emergency, you know that we are in the building 20 meters south of your party's resting place for the night.
Large walks away. The Axems run back to Yaridovich, who has just turned back on.
Yaridovich: Ah, you've returned. Have you found their location?
Black: We haven't the slightest clue
where they are.
Chapter 7: Atlantis!
Croco stands against a wall near a building in which Yaridovich and the Axems are situated. Yaridovich speaks quietly to the Axems, but loud enough for Croco to hear.
Yaridovich: I have just finished scanning the information I recorded last night.
Red: And-
Yaridovich: Well, I found out that Atlantis has been discovered via sonar in the sea, 50 miles southeast of Cyprus.
Red: This is good news.
Yaridovich: I'm going to go see if I can get a plane in order to reach the country faster.
Yaridovich walks away. Once he is out of sight, Red turns to the others.
Red: This is it! Yaridoich's found out now, so all we have to do is go with him and watch everything unfold! I've been waiting to return!
Black: This is worthy of calling Large about!
Black turns on the communication device in his arm, but nothing comes on but static. The others try the same, but all get static.
Red: What's going on?!
Croco walks into the building, holding a magnet.
Croco: It's amazing what a little magnet can do to some devices as sophisticated as yours, huh?
Red: What did you hear, reptile?
Croco: Oh, I just heard about Cyprus and about you seven leading on the idiot and about Large and about you seven having already been to Atlantis and knowing where it is all along. Nothing important.
Red: You'd be wise to keep your mouth shut, alligator.
Croco: Or what?! By the time Yaridovich manages to get a plane and get you over there, me and my group will already be in Cyprus and be in the midst of draining the water there.
Croco throws six nails into the wall, then throws the magnet, causing it to stick.
Croco: Go on and take down the magnet. All it should do is shut any of you that touches it down permanently. Nothing major. And believe me, I have magnets scattered within 100 miles every direction, so you'd best forget about calling the spy. So, may the best group win!
Croco walks off cackling. The Axems are about to follow, but change their minds.
Red: This is bad. If someone reaches Atlantis before Yaridovich-
Black: Then Smithy would have our heads.
Red: Exactly.
Green: I have a plan.
Blue: What is it?
Pink: Yeah, it is not as though we can just use an axe or something to destroy all of the magnets!
Green: Thanks for stating my plan.
Yellow: That was just too obvious, you know.
Silver: Yeah, I'm the one who should be realizing the obvious! And by that I mean I'm observant, not stupid.
The Axems walk outside, cutting every magnet they see in two until eventually a plane lands in front of them. They quickly hide their axes and get inside.
Yaridovich: Let's see how fast we can get there, shall we?
Croco and his group is currently finishing a much smaller than originally planned suction machine, as well as a small block that unfolds into a blockade to keep more water from pouring into the area. Croco and Crook 1 finish one of the four blocks being made, then Croco gets up.
Croco: Surprising to see you working on it too, Large.
Kent C: Why wouldn't I? I am not working for Smithy!
Croco: I'm willing to bet you are.
The group goes back to working. After
all is done, Kent takes out his remaining jewel shard and sticks it in
his leg, then sticks an imitation Tatanga made into his other leg. All
four objects are put in Croco's sack, and the group gets to heading for
Cyprus, running directly in front of a plane they don't see, but that Croco
knows is there. Both groups arrive within an hour's time, and once there
the water is quickly drained. Both groups go into the depths, seeing just
what lies in the ancient city.
Ah, so we've reached this point at last. FINALLY! Maybe you'll get bored with what goes on in Atlantis...
Chapter 8: Betrayal
Both groups land and see a ton of rotting buildings, as well as a large, spiraling tower of gold.
Yaridovich: Excellent. In the name of Smithy, we shall march into this tower!
Croco: Not if I have anything to say about it!
The two groups both run into the tower. Inside, they see that all objects in the building are solid gold.
Croco: This is it!
Yaridovich: Finally!
Croco: Crooks and Kent C, go outside and keep all allies of Smithy out of the building.
Yaridovich: All Axems but Axem Red, keep the Crooks and Kent C. under close watch but do not harm them yet. They shall make wonderful servants to his mightiness.
Both groups run outside, leaving just Yaridovich, Axem Red, Croco, and Tatanga in the building. All four rush forward into a room that is plain, except for a small note on the wall. It says, "Now you're here on the way to gold. To get through here you must burn through the mold. This mold can't be seen nor can it be heard but follow your sense from within."
Croco: This one's easy! Axem Red, fireball the wall directly across from the door.
Yaridovich: This'd better work, alligator. Red, do as said.
Red does so. The wall burns away, revealing a door. All four rush inside. In the room is another note, and a door. This one says, "You cleared the first but it is with the most ease. Don't think this is over because there will be more challenges for ye or yees. Do not distrust those with you, at least until the end. There you will see a sign that shows how anything you want can be thine." The four go in the door and see five chests, one of which is platinum, one gold, one silver, one bronze, and the last small and mold covered. Another sign is in the room as well.
Croco: Since I'm clearly the smartest here, I'll handle this one. "Greed is the root of all evil, but evil can happen without greed. Choose the wrong chest and you'll be doomed. Choose the correct treasure and you may go on." Clearly it means to choose the moldy one!
Yaridovich: I don't believe so, crocodile. I shall open the silver one. If I am wrong it obviously will not hurt you, so what would you care?
Yaridovich opens the silver chest. Nothing is in it. The door appears.
Croco: How did you-
Yaridovich: Notice the "but evil can happen without greed" line. This was my inspiration to take the one that was right in the center in terms of greed, thereby neutral.
Croco: Err...
Red: Well, point is it worked.
Tatanga: Exactly.
Croco: Yeah... I guess so.
The four run into the next room, seeing four holes and four levers, as well as a sign.
Yaridovich: Shall I? "To achieve success in this room, you must manage to have all four holes with an object inside and all four levers pulled down." This one's different. I know what to do, but how?
Tatanga: Here's my turn to step up, I guess. Croco, place one unlit bomb into each hole.
Croco does.
Tatanga: Now, each of us needs to pull one of the levers.
They all do. The door appears. Croco grabs his bombs, and the four go inside. Another note awaits them, as well as eight tunnels.
Tatanga: "You succeeded together, now let's see how you fare without the skills you all share. Each goes in one and one goes in each. Choose wisely; all paths are different but each the same, and all share a common end."
Red: What the line about different but the same means that each is different but has the same amount of danger.
Yaridovich: I agree.
The four each go into a different tunnel. Croco comes out of the tunnel in a large room. There's a narrow walkway with fire surrounding it. Croco takes a step onto the walkway, which instantly partly crumbles. He begins running as quickly as possible over the pit, reaching the end of the walkway at the last possible instant. The next thing the thief sees is a narrow pole which is covered in spikes on one end, making climbing useless.
Croco: I guess I got the speed one! YES!
Croco runs up the side of the poll to the top, then lands on another poll and begins grinding. He grinds until he reaches a spiral in a path. He runs up it, then launches off a platform, landing in a hole. He sees a boulder behind him and commences to running as quick as he can to avoid it. Right when the boulder's about to hit, he jumps onto the boulder and then behind it. He kicks it off-course and then continues running, launching into a large room with a spiraling staircase going incredibly high. The other three land a few seconds later.
Croco: What took ya?
Yaridovich: Oh excuse me, but you're so fast that we couldn't quite keep up! Well, now we're here.
Yaridovich knocks down Croco hard. He and Axem Red dash off. Tatanga pulls Croco to his feet, then runs up extremely quickly (the jewel shards, remember?). Croco follows. All four reach the top at roughly the same time, and all dive into the door. They come out on the roof. There, they see a lone chest and a door on a rather metallic, modern-looking door. This doesn't strike them as odd though, as Axem Red was expecting it and the other three are too excited to find this odd. Croco reaches the chest first and is about to open it when he is grabbed from behind and thrown to Yaridovich... by Tatanga.
Chapter 9: Rest in Pieces, Croco Thepht
Yaridovich smacks Croco hard, then throws him back to Tatanga. Tatanga tosses Croco to the ground and begins beating him mercilessly. After Croco is unable to move and barely awake, Tatanga gets up and looks Croco right in the eyes.
Tatanga: Croco, you said you'd like to meet the spy who could outwit you. Well, I think you're regretting meeting me about now, aren't you?!
Croco: I'll.... ugh... see... *wheeze* you... both... perish... ugh.
Croco blacks out.
Tatanga: I doubt that!
Tatanga grabs Croco and holds the alligator high above his head. The alien throws Croco off the roof of the tower.
Tatanga: Rest in pieces, Croco Thepht.
Yaridovich: Excellent work, Large.
Red: Wait a minute! How did you figure out about Smithy hiring Tatanga?!
Yaridovich: I didn't. I happened to hire him myself after Croco beat me in Japan. I can see I made the right choice. Now, what is this about Smithy hiring Tatanga?
Red: I can't-
Yaridovich: Nevermind, for now.
Yaridovich walks to the chest and opens it. It's.... EMPTY!
Yaridovich: What?!
Smithy: Yaridovich, you're a fool!!!
The door thrusts open and Smithy walks out. A portal is clearly behind the door, a portal which leads to the factory apparently.
Yaridovich: How could you be free?! And where is the Spork of Atlantis?!
Smithy: Fool! While you were busy failing at getting my freedom on Plit, the Axem Rangers were busy finding this place. Recently they found it, just before I sent you here, and I came up with a plan to gain my freedom and my revenge on you for being a failure!
Yaridovich: How am I a failure?! You were beat plain out by Birdo, end of story!
Smithy: Ah, yes, but if it had not been for YOU Birdo wouldn't have been there because YOU are the reason Popple learned about the matter and thus was able to save Birdo! You also freed Peach, who saved Popple's life and thus prevented my win, as he's the one who formulated the plan to beat me! For this, I sentence you to death!
Smithy strikes Yaridovich hard with his hammer, then does the same to Tatanga.
Smithy: Congratulations, you have the honor of being killed by me personally! And as for you, Tatanga, expect your payment around the first of never!
Smithy grabs Yaridovich and throws him into the door, then throws the robot through the floor of the tower. The monsterous Smithy leaps down and the battle to the death between creator and creation is underway.