Notes

Chapter XIV

ISABELLE

Music: Let's Go All Out for the Last Dogfight from Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius

After teleporting to near where the Russian base was, we nonverbally decided it was time to do another Walk of Faith. So we lined up and did one for a good 10 seconds, and then we began running off, until soon, it was not far from us.

"This is so exciting," I heard Shanna say. "We might actually have a decent chance of accomplishing this!"

"Of course, there's always the chance that we don't," Jack joked, and I slapped him.

"Jack, don't say that. We've got this," I said, although I wasn't 100% sure myself.

Eventually, Ariana stopped us when we were in front of a bunch of bushes. We all sat in a circle, and Ariana explained, "We're going to need a strategic plan to get around this, so while we have the time, let's brainstorm."

But two arms from the bushes nearby grabbed Shanna and pulled her aside. Sean yelled, "Shanna!" and jumped in after her. The rest of us followed him.

SHANNA

Music: Hideout Helm from Donkey Kong 64

Before I could throw one punch, the man who pulled us aside said, "Shh... I've got some information for you."

"Yeah, and if you don't let us go right now, I'm going to pummel your face into the ground," I threatened.

The man held his arms up, as if surrendering. "Oh, by all means. Go ahead and leave. But I have quite the knowledge on your kind, yes."

"Our kind? As in, kids with powers?" Luke asked. "I've always wanted to know where we got them from..."

"Well, I happen to know the answer," the man said.

"We're kinda on a tight schedule here, so I don't think-" Ariana started to say, but she was interrupted with, "No, stay. I'll only be a minute."

So the 9 of us sat down and the man began talking. "The concept of the Powerful Kids dates back to the mid 20th century. The late Hugh Button had witnessed the aftermath of World War II, and he realized how awful it was. Then, he began thinking about how the adults were too power-hungry and didn't want to bother helping out the world if it didn't mean money.

"So then, he thought: What if KIDS were used to solve the world's problems instead of adults? As a result, the Powerful Kids organization was born. Several organizations exist around the world- one of which is the MIPS, or Missouri Incorporation of Power Sources."

"So, how exactly did we get our powers? They were only revealed to us a couple of years ago," I asked, curious.

"A satellite signal gave you a "power chip" at birth. Every decade, a group of no more than 25 children born receives a power chip in each location where there happens to be Powerful Kids organizations. Currently, MIPS has the largest group."

"That's interesting," Heath nodded.

"Your powers don't develop until you're 8 or 9 years old, and aren't complete until the age of 11 or 12. That should explain the amount of time it took for you to find out about them. Also worth noting is that by PK law, you must give your powers at the age of 21."

"That sucks," Skylar muttered.

We were about to leave, but the man then announced, "I also have some information on the Russian base that you'll need to know."

"And what might that be?" Abbey asked, impatient. We sat back down as the man continued talking once more.

"Their base is heavily guarded, but I'm sure you can handle that. What you really need to know is their plans. First of all, your little friends that were captured are being planned to be sold as slaves."

"Then we've got to go, and now," Ariana said, but the man stopped her once again.

"I wasn't finished. They also plan on using some sort of weapon- I haven't figured out the specifics yet- to completely annihilate the United States, allowing world domination to eventually become possible."

We all stared at the man in shock, and then he stood up and stated, "Well, I must be off now. Pleasure meeting with you, and good luck." Then he walked away.

---

Music: Something Ghostly from Gradius ReBirth

MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE RUSSIAN BASE... okay, it's not really that interesting.

Alfanzo was making final preparations for the launch of the weapon. "Do we have the coordinates out and ready?" he asked Simmons, who has a clipboard with him.

"I have them written down, and I'll make sure I give them to you in three hours," Simmons answers, writing a reminder to himself to make sure he does that. Alfanzo gives him the okay, and Simmons leaves.

Then Alfanzo's informant comes in. "Sir, we have reports of the remaining kids being right outside the base."

"WHAT!?"

The two of them rush towards the security cameras, and sure enough, the kids are there. Alfanzo mumbles, "Very well. Get the defenses up and ready."

"Yes, sir." The informant then leaves.

When he's by himself, the three captives come to Alfanzo's mind, and what he should do with him. Then he notices his weapon in the other room, and smiles.

He came up with a plan.

A rather... evil plan at that.

ELLE

Music: Easter Stone from Gradius III Arcade

After being here for only half an hour, Apaulla wanted to try to escape. She claimed to be good at picking locks, so we let her pick the lock to our cell. She actually was able to pull it off, and we snuck outside slowly.

"Okay. We did it. Now let's get out of here," Apaulla demanded, but I saw a look of curiosity cross Sam's face.

"Something's in that room over there," he muttered. His eyes darted to an open door.

He went over to the door. I followed him, and so did Apaulla, with hesitation. I entered the room, and immediately, my eyes widened.

It was a high-power, atomic missile. We examined it for a while until Apaulla called to us, "G-guys, you might wanna check this out."

We followed her to a set of monitors, and one of them displayed what appeared to be crosshairs.

Their target was the White House.

"They're planning on bombing the President? Not the most original plan I've ever seen," Sam chuckled.

"Sam, this is serious. We need to find a way to stop the Russians from firing off this weapon," I said.

Music: Bunny Chasing from Super Mario Galaxy

Then I stopped for a second because I heard footsteps, then a LOT of chittering. Chittering that could only come from monkeys.

Sure enough, in a few seconds, a horde of monkeys surrounded the door we came from, blocking us off. Without saying a word, Apaulla pointed to a nearby window and we bolted.

While running, I yelled, "Really? Monkeys?"

Sam opened his mouth to reply, but he shut it because there was more chattering, this time from all around us.

Monkeys came from all sides, trapping us. They knocked us onto our feets and grabbed ahold of our arms and legs pretty tightly. Realizing it was no use struggling, we let ourselves be dragged back to the Russian base.