The Helmaroc King released the debris from the house it just destroyed and swept back into the Tokyo Square, slowing down before landing on the wreckage of the arena stage, its large wings held out and aloft. Immediately R.D. leaped into action, grabbing a hold of the feathers on the side of the bird's neck.

"Gotcha!" R.D. shouted, triumph on his face as he readied to attack. But after a second, shock overwrote his expression as the feathers gave way, and the momentum of his leap combined with it to send him hurtling past the masked eagle. He struck the ground and felt the wind knocked out of him.

"Ow..." he muttered, struggling to get up. The ground shook suddenly as the Helmaroc King stomped over to him, and his eyes opened up wide as the bird's creepy mask stared down at him, and he shoved off and rolled to the side as the bird quite suddenly stabbed its beak down at him. It punched through the ground as R.D. through himself back to his feet and drew a Phase Blade again.

The bird struggled for a moment to pull its beak out of the ground before it gave way, and it squawked again as its head was thrown back up.

Helena reared back to throw another bolt of flame at the Helmaroc King when Speedy's voice rang out, and she momentarily paused.

Now Guido spoke again: "We've got some new friends here with us today, so we might as well do our proper introduction sequence before cleaning house. And trust me, I was here way before you, so I still won the race."

They saw Guido up on the roof of the house just behind Helena. He was still wearing blue, but his armor had changed into a sleek battle uniform. As he turned to face them, he twirled and lifted the massive red umbrella in his hand.


"I'm Guido Anchovy. You may remember me from such encounters as the one we just had a while ago."

Now Polly's voice cut through the air, and suddenly she was visible in a pink set of armor, standing on the rooftop to the left of Guido. "You have some nerve attacking this innocenct sumo tournament, Bad Bird! There's only one thing that can save the day and make things all right again - the power of love!"


"Love and peace, courtesy of Polly Esther!"

Finally Speedy appeared in the distance, crouched down on another roof in white armor. "You already know who I am," he said, standing to his full height. "I'm the one who confused you with garden gnomes. Really, after all the gnomes Guido keeps bringing in, you tend to see them everywhere after a while."


"Speedy Cerviche's the name. And when the pizza's so cold that even your mother won't eat it for breakfast, you can rely on..."

Polly and Guido leapt towards Speedy and stood near him in a dynamic pose.


"SAMURAI PIZZA CATS!"

"...they're even worse than Kamina," Hugo said.

"Kamina was cooler," Ileyna protested.

However, for all their posing, the Helmaroc King was quite unimpressed with their theatrics. It began flapping its wings to lift up into the air, and then started flapping them harder and harder, blowing powerful gusts at air at the three cats in an effort to knock them off the building.

"Stop being useless posers and fight!" Alasea shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth.

The Samurai Pizza Cats were already into action - as soon as the Helmaroc King began flapping, they rushed over the rooftops, taking their own paths towards the great bird with speed and grace. "No appreciation for theatrics, I swear!" Guido shouted.

Meanwhile, Bad Bird extended his talon. "Ninja Crows! ATTACK!"

A horde of his minions began flowing from the cracks and streets surrounding Tokyo Square. Wearing simple ninja suits, their wings large and curved, the minions drew their blades and rushed at Matt, the others, and the Pizza Cats. Immediately Matt began bashing heads with his fists and the Pizza Cats used their own weapons to fight back. Guido wielded his umbrella, Polly began throwing small pink projectiles at her enemies - were those hearts? - and Speedy clashed blades using his own katana.

Helena's claws burst into flame, and she swiped the air in front of her twice. She unleashed a salvo of blazing projectiles that swerved towards the Helmaroc King.

A Ninja Crow swiped his blade at Ileyna but Hugo caught it with his pickaxe, knocking it away and taking out the enemy with another hit. "Heh, I might not even have to use the G-Stone for these guys!"

Ileyna flinched as the blade was parried by Hugo's pickaxe, and she got the hint. She opened herself up to her powers, alighting herself in the blue glow of the Omega Essence and extending wings of light from her back. She kicked off the ground and took to the air out of the way.

Alasea quickly drew the Megami Tsurugi and parried a strike, and retaliated with a hard kick that sent the Ninja Crow sprawling into a group behind it. With a quick, hard gesture of her hand, a bolt of lightning ripped down from the sky and struck the lot of them, electrocuting the lot of them into submission.

Further back, R.D. flung a pair of plasma bursts up into the air as the Helmaroc King pushed forward, kicking off a nearby building as it passed over in order to increase its momentum. Both shots missed as it banked away, and the trailing flames that Helena unleashed against it burned through its flight path. Some struck against the mask to no effect, while the rest that scored its breast and wings seemed to be shrugged off.

R.D. cursed. "Damn thing's face must be its weak point," he concluded. "Helena! We need to take that thing's mask off!"

"Okay!" Helena shouted. She threw out her claw and clenched it, and the bolts of flame that missed the Helmaroc King curved back around toward its back.

The beast let loose a furious squawk of anger and pain as the flames struck in in the back, and charred feathers fluttered down as the Helmaroc King banked and dove down at Helena once more.

It landed hard, shaking the ground as it held its wings aloft. With another screech, it stabbed down at Helena with its beak.

Helena leapt to the side with a spin, her wings momentarily twirling.

The beak lodged into the ground, and R.D. leaped forward, swinging with a Phase Blade. The weapon smashed into the metal face mask of the Helmaroc King, and sparks flew wildly as he dragged it across and to the side.

He came clear as the blade ran out of mask to cut, and he spun around to observe his handiwork.

The Helmaroc King dislodged its beak and snapped its head upward before staring down at R.D.. The mask showed no signs of damage, and R.D. cursed as the giant eagle leaped into the air, flapping its wings to gain altitude.

"Hey, Big Bird!" Guido taunted. He opened his umbrella and spun it about, pointing it at the Helmaroc King. "Get a load of THIS!"

As a recreational beach item, the amazing Samurai Sunspot Umbrella is adequate for the job, the narrator kicked in. But just don't make sure you look directly at it, if you're not ready for the tan of your life!

The Sunspot Umbrella suddenly emitted an incredibly strong, glaring light right at the Helmaroc King's eyes, intending to blind the massive bird.

The Helmaroc King screeched as the light filled its eyes, and it flapped its wings erratically while it was temporarily blind. In its rampage, its talon shredded through the roof of a building before it could regain altitude.

"Alright, I'll admit, that was pretty good," R.D. commented, swiping out the second Phase Blade. He crossed them over between the hilts and crystals, activating both with a scissoring motion to create the Phase Scythe. Spinning it about until it rested on his shoulder, he motioned to Helena. "Keep harrying it with fire!"

Elsewhere, Alasea gestured with her free hand, causing a wall of icy spikes to burst up from the ground, forcing some more ninjas back. She heard R.D.'s earlier cursing from before. "Ileyna!" she said, looking over her shoulder. "We need to break that bird's mask! Can you handle it?"

"Eh!? I don't know if I can close enough!" Ileyna said, doing her best to try and pick off other Ninja Crows using the beams fired from her right hand.

Helena crossed her arms, then threw them outward. A line of fire leapt into life, dividing the space between her and the Helmaroc King. By throwing up her claws, the fire burst upwards into a great wall of flame.

Meanwhile, a pink blur landed in front of Ileyna, blocked a blade from a swinging Ninja Crow, then kicked it away. It was Polly, and she held out a hand to Ileyna. "Here, let me help you get closer!"

Another Ninja Crow leaped up behind Polly, swinging a katana, and was quickly slammed to the ground by Mass Effect as it crashed its shield arm into the crow's beak before disappearing again. Ileyna looked at Polly's hand for a moment, then nodded and took it. "Okay!"

The Helmaroc King screeched in defiance as its sight returned, and began beating its wings down at the flames. The gusts grew stronger with each flap, and soon enough, the masked bird was blasting the flames back down at Helena and Little Tokyo. R.D. jumped forward and scooped Helena up in his arms before leaping away from the inferno, keeping her out of harm's way.

"That bird's getting really annoying," he growled as he landed.

Helena carefully slid out of R.D.'s arms and landed on her own feet. "Where'd Matt go, anyway? If he was here, he could-"

"BONZAI!"

Helena glanced up to the sky as Matt suddenly hurtled downwards at the Helmaroc King's backside, leading the way with his supercharged...bottom. "BUUUUUTT BUSTER!"

"... why do we let him lead again?" R.D. asked no in particular as Matt crashed against the Helmaroc King's mask, eliciting an angry, indignant squawk from the bird as Matt bounced off.

"Come on." Grabbing R.D.'s hand, Helena flung another salvo at the Helmaroc King before leaping, pulling R.D. up to an undamaged roof to continue sniping.

With Ileyna in tow, Polly leapt up and over rooftops towards the Helmaroc King's back, where hopefully they wouldn't be noticed. "Here we go!" she said to the little girl, and with a great leap, charged towards the eagle's head.

"Aaaaahh!" Ileyna screamed as she was dragged up towards the bird--she knew her role here, but still wasn't happy about having to get near this giant monster of a bird!

R.D. let go of Helena's hand as they landed, and he shot off in a different direction while pelting the bird with laserfire. It screeched as it turned towards him and dove, raking its talons at him as it passed by. He narrowly avoided them, rolling past as it left deep gouges in the ground.

He looked up as he came out of the role, and saw two objects--one pink, the other blue and glowing--streak down through the air at the Helmaroc King's back.

Overshooting the eagle's head, Polly landed right on its beak. "Now!" she shouted.

Ileyna looked down to make sure of her footing as she touched down, and when she looked back up at the mask, she froze as the saw the bird's eyes through the mask, staring at her--it felt as if it was completely ignoring Polly at that moment.

Something went wrong, the girl felt, and she didn't know what.

Heart pounding in her chest, she aimed her hand at the mask. "Mass Effect!"

Behind her, the Stand appeared, thrusting its shield-like arm at the bird's mask. The girl felt as the waves of power struck the mask, and she grabbed Polly and took to the air as the Helmaroc King suddenly screamed in animalistic rage, staring up at them. Flapping its wings harder, the giant eagle took off after Ileyna and Polly.

Alasea kicked another Ninja Crow away and looked up. "Uh-oh," she remarked. "Hugo, we got a problem!"

"What is it?" Hugo shouted.

"That thing's chasing Ileyna!" Alasea exclaimed, pointing up and punting away a Ninja Crow with an afterthought.

"Damn it!" Hugo aimed his grapple up to pursue, but just then he saw Matt fly back into the fray, landing back on the Helmaroc King's neck.

"Hey, bucko, you remember me?" Matt said. Grasping whatever feathers he could, he lifted his other fist. "Here's a hint!" He brought his knuckles down on the eagle's head with super force.

The Helmaroc King's head rocked from the blow and it banked off, screeching in anger. Once more it began barrel-rolling to dislodge Matt, while dipping low to the buildings down below.

"... we're going to destroy the entire city at this rate," R.D. muttered, running past the Ninja Crows as he chased after the rampaging Helmaroc King.

"Oh no you don't!" Matt shouted. He tightened his grip and pressed himself against the eagle's back, trying all he could to hang on.

Helena glanced over just as Hugo grappled up to the roof. "Throw me at that thing's face," he said.

"Okay." The weredragon picked Hugo up and, reeling back like a wild baseball player, she flung the Mettaur right at the Helmaroc King's beak just as it was turning around. Hugo smacked against the creature's mask, flipped on the G-Stone, and used his Hammer Option to unload a seismic smash attack.

The Helmaroc King's eyes snapped towards Hugo as he landed roughly on its beak, and it screeched. Snapping its head, it launched the Mettaur into the air before the attack could land on its mask.

The bird landed hard in the street, digging in with its talons until it came to a stop in front of the building Bad Bird resided on. With another, commanding screech, it lowered its head and neck, exposing Matt to Bad Bird to attack.

"Ah ha!" Currently locked in battle with Speedy, Bad Bird pushed the Pizza Cat back and turned towards the Helmaroc King. "Now you're mine!" He leapt into the sky and glided towards Matt, slashing down with his blade. Matt whipped out his fist with his own slashing motion - it was enough to summon his own blade for the block.

Meanwhile, Guido leapt by and grabbed Hugo, landing on the other roof near Speedy. "This bird's proving to be a real annoyance. I'd hate to see what happens when it goes to the bathroom."

"That thing's mask has to be its weakness," Hugo said. "We have to attack it all at once."

Speedy saluted. "Got it!" He yelled and rushed towards the great eagle, followed by Guido with Hugo in tow. The two Pizza Cats bounded at the mask, and while in the air, Guido threw Hugo towards it.

"Power Shotgun!" the Mettaur cried, firing a massilve bolt.

The blast singed the bird's feathers as it snapped its head to the side, and with a scream, it took to the air once more with powerful flaps of its wings. Ignoring the Pizza Cats as they leaped at it, the Helmaroc King proceeded through the air, once again locked onto its target.

Ileyna hissed through her teeth in surprise as she saw the gigantic, masked eagle begin chasing her again.

"Sorry!" she shouted as she skimmed over the rooftops before dropping Polly, lightening her load. "Keep that thing off me!"

Placing a hand protectively on her beret, she increased her speed, eliciting an angry squawk from the Helmaroc King.

Hugo fired his grapple before dropping down, and Guido's hand shot out to snag the rope. He and Speedy landed on the bird's chest and seized any feathers they could. "Got any other ideas, Guido?" Speedy asked.

"If only Polly was on here!" Guido said. "Maybe then her fat could bring down this thing!"

"I heard that!" Polly shouted at Guido, shaking her fist.

With a wave of her hand, Alasea channeled a large gust of air beneath her, shooting her high up into the air as the Ninja Crows surged around her. "There's way too many of these guys," she growled into her tranceiver. "Can someone help me clear them out of the way?!"

"I got it!" R.D. called back through it. "Just stay back!"

R.D. halted his advanced and brought his fingers to his mouth, making a sharp whistle. The crows all turned towards him at the noise, and R.D. stepped back, widening his stance and pulling an arm back, channeling water energy into a tightly-packed sphere in his hand. He gestured with the other hand, beckoning them to attack. "Come on, show me what you got!"

The crows brandished their swords and rushed R.D., probably figuring their numbers could overwhelm him.

Helena glanced up at the overburdened Helmaroc King. With all the others clamped on the eagle like that, there was no way she could use her fire to take out the wings. At this point she'd have to bring them down or break them. There was only one thing to do now.

She glanced toward R.D., clenching her teeth as all her teeth suddenly narrowed into points. "Just keep them off me," she said to herself.