Rescuing Rockruff, Cheese, Froggy, and Midna from Tamatoa/Shiny Part 2

*(After making it to the top of the clamshell, the group saw Tamatoa fast asleep and snoring loudly. Using some rope, they climb down cautiously and once inside, they looked around for Rockruff, Midna, Cheese, and Froggy when they noticed the four concerned and frightened Pokemon, Twili, Chao, and frog locked in a cage made from a literal rib cage next to a giant rib cage. They noticed and got happy and Rockruff and Midna turned happily to Cheese and Froggy)*

Rockruff: (Whispering) Told ya they’d come back for us!

Midna: (Whispering) Never doubt them!

Cheese: (Happily, whispering) Chao, chao!

*(Froggy happily and quietly croaks in agreement. They run up to the rib cage and Peach, Zelda, Cream, and Big kneeled down to it)*

Peach: (Whispering) So how do we open that cage?

Zelda: (Whispering) I’m sure there’s a mechanism somewhere.

Cream: (Whispering) Let's look.

Big: (Whispering) And hurry.

*(Zelda noticed a bone latch and lifted it up, and opening the cage, ushered Rockruff, Midna, Cheese, and Froggy out, much to their happiness of being freed. Just when they hurried out, a familiar crab leg blocked the way and closed it, shocking the group. They looked up and saw Tamatoa smirking evilly at them)*

Tamatoa: I knew you’d return. I pretended to be asleep.

Rockruff: (Flatly) How were Midna, Cheese, Froggy, and I supposed to know?

*(Zelda went up to him in anger)*

Zelda: Prepare to eat some blasts!

Tamatoa: Hold up, you’re Zelda, aren’t you? Veran’s fountain of youth?

*(Zelda got surprised)*

Zelda: You heard of me?

Tamatoa: I know the outside world from within my lair.

*(A short pause)*

Zelda: Enough talk!

*(Then Zelda fired blasts at his shell, but to her and the group’s shock and surprise, the blasts didn’t faze him. Tamatoa then began singing as he approached the group who backed away up to the wall)*

Tamatoa: **Well, well, well**

**Little Zelda’s having trouble with her magic**

**You little semi-little witchling**

**Ouch, what a terrible performance**

**Get the broom, get it?**

**You don’t sweep it like you used to, girl**

*(Before anyone reacted, Tamatoa snatched Zelda up with his claw and danced slowly)*

Tamatoa: **Yet, I have to give you credit**

**For my start**

**And your mediocre beauty on the outside**

**For just like you, I made myself a work of art**

**I’ll never hide, I can’t**

*(He then danced quickly again after throwing Zelda into the air and then catching her)*

Tamatoa: **I’m too shiny**

**Watch me dazzle like a diamond in the rough**

**Strut my stuff**

**My stuff is so shiny**

*(He then kicked Peach’s group inside the giant rib cage and locked them in with his foot, although Rockruff, Midna, Cheese, and Froggy hid near it)*

Tamatoa: **Send your buddies, but they’ll never be enough**

*(He points at his shell)*

Tamatoa: **My shell’s too tough**

*(He then resumed his dancing)*

Tamatoa: **Zelda, girl**

**You can try, try, try**

**But you can’t expect**

**A little witchling**

**To beat a decapod**

**Look it up**

**You should’ve listened, listened, listened**

**Now it’s time for me to take apart**

**Your confused heart**

*(He then kicked the small clamshell again and this time, the top of the giant clamshell slowly closed, exposing in the darkness his blue and purple streaks and spots of bioluminescent lights all over his body as he continued his torturous singing and dancing towards Zelda as the group got concerned and Billy began pulling at the rib cage to break it open)*

Tamatoa: **Far from the ones who really raised you**

**Chasing the heritage of your past**

**That made you feel confident**

**You try to be brave**

**But your courage is not strong enough**

**Zelda, now it’s time to pack your baggy**

**Ever seen someone so shiny?**

**Soak it in, because it’s the last you’ll ever see**

***C’est* *la* *vie*, *mon* *ami***

**I’m so shiny**

**Now I’ll send you home**

**So prepare your final plea**

**Just for me**

*(Rockruff, Midna, Cheese, and Froggy quickly then unlocked the rib cage and freed the others. Noticing glowing colorful bioluminescent algae, among them red, blue, white, and orange, scattered on the ground, Sonic and the group got an idea. With Tamatoa, he prepares to put Zelda in a geyser chute as he flickered his lights on his body)*

Tamatoa: **You’ll never be quite as shiny**

**You’d wish you were nice and shiny**

*(Just when Zelda was stuffed in there as the song ended, Peach, Daisy, Mario, and Luigi called out to him, getting his attention)*

Peach, Daisy, Mario, and Luigi: Wait!

*(Noticing them, Tamatoa got confused)*

Tamatoa: How did you escape?

Luigi: Does it matter?

Mario: We got something better and shiny!

Peach and Daisy: All for you!

*(He suddenly noticed them holding out the glowing Ruby Slippers, glowing Topaz Gauntlets, glowing Diamond Gloves, and glowing Sapphire Bandana and went up to them)*

Tamatoa: Hand them over!

Peach, Daisy, Mario, and Luigi: Okay!

Daisy: But we’ll trade them for Zelda!

Peach: Please?

Tamatoa: Done!

*(They hand the items to Tamatoa while Tamatoa puts Zelda down next to them. While Tamatoa looked at them with a crazed greedy look, the group ran out of the clamshell quickly after opening the door again)*

Tamatoa: Oh, look at you, you gorgeous…!

*(Suddenly he stopped and looked closely)*

Tamatoa: Hold up! These look like….

*(He realized)*

Tamatoa: Pieces of coral and a glob of moss covered in bioluminescent algae.

*(He got angry)*

Tamatoa: I’ve been duped!

*(He charged ahead to the door. Outside as the group continued running, Zelda turned to Peach, Daisy, Mario, and Luigi in confusion)*

Zelda: Why did you give the items to Tamatoa for me?

*(Peach, Daisy, Mario, and Luigi made everyone stop running by stopping and showed in their backpacks the real Ruby Slippers, real Topaz Gauntlets, real Diamond Gloves, and real Sapphire Bandana)*

Zelda: Well, I’ll be!

Sonic: Yep! Tricked him!

Tamatoa: But not for long, you pests!

*(They see Tamatoa charging at them from behind in a fury. They nod and hurry ahead. As they ran, Popple tripped and cut his elbow. Quickly helping him up, the group resumed their run. Suddenly, Tombo noticed a sign next to a staircase up ahead)*

Link: Hey! It says “This way to Emerald City!”

*(They almost get to the staircase, only for Tamatoa to block the way)*

Tamatoa: Any last words?

*(Sonic secretly noticed a giant geyser chute and spoke up)*

Sonic: Yeah! Come and get me first!

*(He hurried over to the giant geyser chute and Tamatoa followed him and lunged at him right towards the geyser. Sonic jumped out of the way back to the others and Tamatoa got stuck in the geyser. Then the pressure built beneath Tamatoa and shot him out like a cannonball into the air and right onto his shell on the ground, trapping him in that position, and spilling some treasure beneath him. Noticing a blue, red, green, and yellow sword within a dark blue, dark red, dark yellow, and dark green scabbard and belt among the spilled treasure, Peach ran up to it, grabbed it, and looked at it, for the sword looked like water, fire, earth, and wind combined. Then Mario called out to her as the others ran up the stairs)*

Mario: Peach, come on!

*(Peach nods and ran up the stairs with the others, carrying the sword. Upon reaching the outside of the trench, the group panted in exhaustion and then they looked down at the darkness of the trench and laughed a bit, all except Popple and the Fearsome Four, that is)*

Bushroot: What’s so funny?

Megavolt: Popple is hurt!

*(They stopped laughing a bit upon hearing him and noticed Popple clutching his injured elbow)*

Daisy: Are you okay?

Popple: Does it look like I’m okay?

*(He removed his hand off his elbow to expose a cut on it with the part of his sleeve ripped from where he was cut and some blood on it and his hand as well)*

Peach: (Gasps) He’s bleeding terribly!

Yoshi: That looks bad!

*(They run into the forest to take shelter and recover since it’s now night. Up in the sky, Demidevimon saw this with a glare and flew away. Back at Hunter J and Myotismon’s castle, Demidevimon flew into their upper tower room and whistled to them. Once their attention is caught, Demidevimon whispered in their ears. Hunter J and Myotismon calmly got shocked)*

Hunter J and Myotismon: What?

Hunter J: They’re almost to Emerald City?!

Myotismon: And Zelda is with them?!

*(Vanitas got calmly shocked as well)*

Vanitas: How's that possible?!

Demidevimon: That's what my report says.

*(Hunter J glared and used her magic on her wand to communicate with Veran. Elsewhere, Veran, who is still heading her way to get the color-making shells, sensed the magic from Hunter J. She then answered)*

Veran: What is it, Hunter J?

*(Silence, then….)*

Veran: What?! Those thieves and their friends are almost to Emerald City?! And who’s with them?

*(She listened, then she got shocked)*

Veran: What?! Zelda is out of the tower?!

*(She got angry)*

Veran: Alright! I’ll meet up with you!

*(She snapped out of her magic in a fury, and teleported back to the castle. Upon her arrival, Hunter J, Myotismon, and Vanitas then noticed her in calm anger and spoke up)*

Hunter J, Myotismon, and Vanitas: Shocking, is it?

Veran: Indeed! I cannot believe Zelda would deceive me like that!

Myotismon: What do you mean, “Deceive you?”

Demidevimon: You deceived her into remaining in the tower.

Veran: She wanted to see those stupid lanterns in Emerald City! But now I am extremely livid and concerned that if she does, she might eventually find out the truth about herself!

Hunter J: So she tricked you into leaving the tower, right?

Demidevimon: (Scoffs) That's karma for you!

Veran: Yes. She claimed she wanted more paint, but that, I now realize, was a lie!

Myotismon: Have patience.

Hunter J: If she refuses to return to the tower, then we’ll think of something to stop her and her new friends.

Vanitas: And make her return, through a deceit of your own.

Veran: (Thinks it over) Deceit of my own, huh?

*(She smirked evilly)*

Veran: I like that idea.

*(She changed the subject)*

Veran: Anyway, where is she now?

Hunter J: In the forest past the trench, according to Demidevimon.

Myotismon: And to recap, if she refuses, then we’ll come up with something to make her return to you and take care of her friends.

Vanitas: Exactly.

Demidevimon: Good recap.

Myotismon: Thank you, Demidevimon.

Veran: (Nods with an evil smirk) Got it.

*(They then teleport themselves out of the castle to get to the forest)*

***Coming up: Peach’s group rest for the night and learn more of Zelda’s healing powers, as well as Popple and the Fearsome Four's talents. Then later, Zelda and Veran reunite for a brief moment and Veran tries to persuade Zelda into returning to the tower, but will Zelda stand her ground and make her mother leave her and her friends alone?***