Chapter 10

Dexter's house stood in peaceful silence. It was midnight as Dee Dee slept comfortably in her bed. She had gone to sleep earlier than normal to help her leg recover. Nano powers had the potential to instantly heal an injury, but one would have to deal with some pain as a side effect when a certain time had passed.

In the house's guest room, Kyle was still awake. He laid in his bed staring out the window to his side. Mandark's laboratory still stood there in ruin with small but harmless fires burning whatever they could find. Kyle got up and knelt down by the windowsill. Resting his head on his crossed arms, he stared at the stars above. Nighttime was still the same as he remembered it. Aside from Planet Fusion's imminent approach, the stars never lost their qualities. Kyle spent time making out the constellations his mother had shown him as a boy. It brought back some happy memories and made Kyle realized how much he missed her.

"Wonder what she did after finding out I was gone..."

Kyle promised himself to find one more constellation before attempting to go to bed again. As he found the last few stars of Luna, sudden sparks of electricity appeared in the sky. It wasn't lightning for it was too unnatural. Steadily, the sparks began occurring more frequently and started converging in one spot. Once enough had gathered together, a large, swirling vortex immediately appeared above the mountain range to the north. Kyle saw a quick glimmer of light before a large steaming object shot out of the vortex at an astounding speed. Kyle watched it zoom right over the house and almost fell back from the intense wind that followed. When it died down, Kyle ran out the backdoor. Judging by the smoke, the object had crashed in the forest, leaving several fallen trees in its path and tearing open the earth.

"What was that?" Dee Dee asked. The noise had woken her and she came down to investigate.

"I have no idea. Some weird thing just fell out of the sky."

"Was it a terrafuser?"

"Way too big for one. Plus it came out of some vortex... I'm checking it out."

"What about your arm?"

"It's fine. I'll just...won't use it..."

Dee Dee nodded and slowly closed the door behind Kyle, watching run off into the forest. There were burn marks, but none of them were serious enough to ignite a forest fire. If anything, Kyle had enough raging infernos for a while. Deeper inside at the other side of the forest, he saw the object had crashed in a small grove, specifically a large waterfall that was right next to it. Apparently, someone was a frequent visitor of this place judging by the ruined marble benches and cultivated flowers.

Kyle carefully approached the waterfall to inspect the object closer. The crash had caused some of the cliffside to collapse on top of it, but fortunately half of it was still exposed. The water was drenching the object and creating a cloud of steam that made things barely visible. Kyle waited for the steam to clear and found the object to be an alien spaceship. Kyle had seen many news reports from Bellwood with pictures of them. It was medium-sized and the design was of a warship variety, shaped like a fighter jet and made out of a brownish metal with glowing orange domes which seemed to act as an energy provider for the ship. Assessing its condition, something had obviously gone wrong with the engines during its travel.

The cockpit dome opened by the time Kyle found it. Shrouded by the smoke released from the dome's opening, Kyle could see a pair of bright red eyes intently staring at him. By instinct, he thought it was a Fusion. Before he could even move, the creature at him with astonishing speed and, with his large arms, forcefully held him to the ground. Whatever it was, its grip was intensely strong. Kyle could only move his arms though barely. Fighting back clearly wasn't an option. His rifle was still attached to his back (and causing some serious back pain now that he was lying on it),his Nanos were still resting inside the Nanocom, and he was in no position to properly use his sword.

"Hold still, human!"

Kyle couldn't believe what he saw one the creature's face was revealed. It was the infamous alien conqueror, Vilgax. Kyle had seen his battles with Ben Tennyson, his mortal enemy, a few times on television. The alien stood a towering height above humans, about the height of a one-story building. The large broadsword on his back simply added to his intimidating appearance. His head greatly resembled an octopus with its tentacles acting like a beard. He wore black under armor though the sleeve covering his right arm was torn off to reveal his muscularity. A red breastplate covered his chest, a brown utility belt circled his waist, and blue armor covered his legs and feet in a boot-like fashion. He also wore a yellow shoulder protector on his left arm and a gauntlet of the same color.

"You've come at the perfect opportunity." he continued. He sounded pleased.

Vilgax pulled out a small device from his utility belt which then expanded into an "X" shape. Vilgax let go of Kyle as the machine, scurrying like a spider, attached itself to Kyle's chest. A bright red light came on in the center once it was firmly placed.

"W-What is this?" Kyle asked worriedly. He tried pulling it off, but doing so only made the grip even tighter. The light even started to blink on and off at an extremely slow rate.

"Do not struggle unless you wish to die. This is insurance that you will help me. Once you do so, I'll let you go."

"Help an evil alien overlord or die right here..."

"Well? Answer me!"

"...Okay... What do you want?"

"As you can clearly see, I crash landed on this miserable planet. While my ship was falling, one of my main components broke off and landed somewhere in this settlement. You are going to find it while I make repairs so I can escape this accursed time period."

Those last two words stuck to Kyle immediately. "Time period? You time traveled here?"

"What does it matter to you? Hurry up and find that missing component, vermin! Here, this tracking device will lead you too it." Vilgax tossed Kyle another device. All it had was a basic screen, an antennae, and button to turn the device on and off.

"What does it look like?"

"Similar to my ship, obviously. Move already! You're trying my patience! That detonation timer won't last forever!"

"This damn thing is timed!"

Kyle hurried off, following the device's radar. The missing component had landed somewhere in the western portion of the town. Once back in town, the streets were completely devoid of life. This was normal now if there weren't any monsters, but at night they were much more ominous now. No one could know what was hiding in the shadows. Kyle could see glimpses of people staring at him through the window curtains. The crash had awoken most of the neighborhood, but they were too scared to leave the safety of their houses. In this darkness, Kyle wondered if people were mistaking him for an evil alien soldier scanning for lifeforms thanks to Vilgax's "gift".

The radar's signal was getting stronger as Kyle came to the end of the town. But this was also an edge of the world. In darkness, the Fusion Matter ocean seemed a little less depressing. The lack of enough light made it almost seem like normal water. But facts were facts, and Kyle knew there were miles of thriving life beyond this point.

The tracking device pointed towards a nearby hill. As Kyle approached, he heard the sound of somebody laughing up ahead. He got down on all fours and slowly crawled up the hill since the blinking light on his chest would easily give him away. Kyle peered over the summit to see another swirling vortex although this one was green and in the ground. Next to it, he saw a shadowed figure. Kyle couldn't see much of him, but he seemed to wearing a long cape that slid across the ground as he walked. The figure then tossed something inside. The vortex flashed brightly for a second and the person laughed in confidence. He was male judging from his high-pitched voice, but Kyle wasn't close enough to hear what he was saying. Whoever this person was, he wasted no time as he hurried off in the direction of Pokey Oaks.

"That was weird..."

Seeing it safe to stand up now, Kyle headed towards the crashed component. He was wondering why the figure hadn't taken noticed of it as it was only a few meters nearby. The piece was even still releasing steam, extremely hard to not notice. Aside from that thought, Kyle stored the piece in his Nanocom. The heat wouldn't be a problem as it would disappear once properly converted into data.

Glancing at his timer, Kyle hurried back to Vilgax's crash site as fast he could. He returned to see Vilgax's ship already in working condition. It was slightly dented and scratched from the crash and falling boulders, but the smoke had finally disappeared. Vilgax was leaning against a nearby tree, arms crossed and impatiently waiting for Kyle's return.

"Where have you been, human? How hard is it for vermin like you to find a simple Highbreed Warp Drive?"

"I found what you wanted." Kyle retorted. "That's all that matters, right? Just get this damn thing off me!"

"And why should I let a member of an inferior species live?"

Kyle was about to lash out in frustration that Vilgax went back on his word. But he restrained himself and held up his wrist to show his Nanocom to Vilgax. It projected a holographic image of the Highbreed Warp Drive Vilgax wanted so much. Kyle hoped this plan would work. The only alternative was to fight, but he wouldn't stand a chance against this alien with his handicap.

"See this? If I die, it'll go along with me."

"And what's stopping me from simply ripping it off your hand?"

"It knows my DNA." Kyle bluffed. "It won't respond if it detects someone else and only I can't remove it!" (Though in reality, Kyle would later find out his lie held some truth to it)

"Just like the Ultimatrix of that infernal Tennyson... Graugh! Fine!"

Vilgax pressed a button on his gauntlet. The device on Kyle's chest detached itself and scurried off a few meters away where it immediately exploded once it was a safe distance away. Now safe, or at least he hoped so, Kyle rematerialized the warp drive in front of Vilgax, fulfilling their bargain. Vilgax picked up the device and began the reattachment process for his ship. Kyle didn't move from his position, not because of fear, but because he had one more question on his mind.

"Why did you come to this time period?"

"That is none of your concern. Run off before I decide to kill you right there!"

Not wanting to risk further agitating Vilgax than he already was, Kyle heeded his words and ran back to Dexter's house. Dee Dee was standing by the door when he got there, anxiously waiting his return.

"Where've you been?"

"Long story to put in detail, but it was Vilgax. He forced me to help him..."

"Vilgax? He disappeared months ago. Where's he been?"

"He time traveled...just like me."

"What did he make you do? You didn't get hurt, did you?"

"He made go across town to get a missing part. I'm fine though."

"Well...you should tell Numbuh 2 about this. But c'mon, night is a dangerous time to be outside."

Kyle said goodnight to Dee Dee as they went back to their individual rooms. Exhausted after being up so late, Kyle finally fell asleep as soon as he fell on top of his bed.

Meanwhile back outside, Vilgax finished attaching the Highbreed Warp Drive to the front of his ship. Pleased that it was fully working, he got in the cockpit and started the engines. The ship slowly rose above the tress until it was high enough the sky. The warp drive then shot a white beam ahead which formed another vortex in the sky. Vilgax pushed a lever, causing to the ship to fly at maximum speed as it disappeared in a flash.

Back at the crash site, a different shadowed figure calmly walked out of the forest and watched Vilgax's departure. His pulled out a pocketwatch and opened the lid to look at the time, closing it not long afterward.

"Looks like Vilgax finally made his move... Oh, and the other lad's errands are going right on schedule."

Sector V - The Next Morning

Progress on the Time Machine was going smoothly when Kyle returned to the lab. The frames and panels were already set up and programmed by KND scientists. Numbuh 2 was now working on the internal devices and some of the more complex programming.

"You sure you can really build this?" Kyle asked. "I mean, Dexter's stuff is a lot different from your 2x4 tech."

"Trust me. Once I became an undercover operative, I learned a lot about building non-2x4 tech. Top of my class...! Well...second anyway, but that's still impressive! Though I could really use some help with the tedious stuff. Geez, where the heck is Mandark?"

Mandark was the founder of Mandark Industries and long time rival of Dexter. A prodigy just like the boy genius himself, he also created advanced technology for the public. The thing, however, was that these inventions were basically blatant imitations of Dexlab products though with Mandark's own black and red one. Though some people actually preferred his versions of products since they followed cool or evil-looking trend.

"Where's he been?" Kyle asked. "I've always heard he mainly sticks to Tech Square, but since that got destroyed..."

"That's what I want to know. He pulled out of there real quickly when we warned them that an invasion force was coming. No one's seen him since. We tried his old house and lab, but he wasn't there either."

"His old lab got destroyed by Fusion Eddy so..."

"Well, wherever he is. We need to find him ASAP. I may have the blueprints to build this thing, but only he can finish the programming and actually makes this thing work!"

Kyle was surprised by this certain bit of information. A missing person was his only hope if he wanted to return home. "What about Computress?"

"Dexter never gave her the details of how to program it. He trusted it with Mandark..."

"...I guess Dexter really did see him as a trustworthy person in the very end..."

"Yeah... Anyway, we're not gonna get anywhere by just standing here. I need you to head down to Candy Cove next."

"Wait. What about the paste?"

Numbuh 2 gave him an extremely confused look. He picked up a large bottle and held it up to Kyle. "I have it right here. Didn't you convince Eddy to send me some?"

"B-But he told me that his Fusion stole his last supply. That's why I went to Genius Grove to get it back!"

"Oh... It looks like he tricked you. Eddy must've just wanted his Fusion out of the way."

"That ass almost got me killed!"

"It's war, man."

"...Sign, alright. What did you say again? Candy Cove?"

"A KND scout reported the Candy Pirates had found a piece of tech washed up on shore. It must've been floating in the ocean ever since Tech Square was absorbed. By his description, it's an important piece that we need to finish the Time Machine."

Candy Cove was the area south of Peach Creek. The place was known to be a much-used hideout for the Candy Pirates. Like their name implied, they were pirates based with a candy theme. What made them particularly different was that they sailed the seas to hunt and steal candy and not actual treasure like gold and jewels. Where Kyle grew up, many people called them nutjobs as they didn't see the purpose or even value of stealing candy for someone's own gain. The KND, however, did with their own reasons. The two groups had been long time enemies. Some of the KND's weapon technology required candy as ammo. No ammo would leave them defenseless. The Candy Pirates' operations also lead to some stores to going out of business . . . and a lot irritable children.

"Don't worry about finding Mandark." Numbuh 2 told Kyle. "We've already got people looking for him."

Landing in the Cul-de-Sac, Kyle exited the fortress's main gates and followed the southern road. It eventually reached a dead end and turned into a nature path as it reached the town's outer limits. All that laid ahead was a dense forest. He proceeded carefully inside as there was no telling what hidden surprises awaited in the brush. After trekking through what he assumed was the entire forest, he came into a mountainous clearing. It was another edge of the world. Across the distance, Kyle could once again see the vast ominous Fusion Matter sea awaiting the embrace the earth above it. He carefully approached the nearby cliff and gazed below.

Laid at the bottom, Kyle was surprised to see a sunken pirate ship, a large galleon to be precise. It was a typical one with three masts. The sail was decorated with a vertical, red and white stripe pattern like the colors of a candy cane. The deck seemed to be well-equipped as there were still many cannons though they were all huddled together due to the ship angle, partially lying on its side. The entire vessel was submerged in Fusion Matter. The only thing that reached past the surface of the water was the ship's mast and the flag with their Jolly Roger.

Kyle turned his head towards the west and noticed two wooden watchtowers each standing in front of two small, climbable chains of mountains. The mountains paralleled each other as they encased a twisting path leading somewhere. On each of the watchtowers roofs was the same Jolly Roger. Kyle followed the pathway though he was confused to why nobody was stationed at any of the towers. It was obvious the path was used recently since the footprints left behind on it were relatively still fresh.

As Kyle continued down the mountain-bordered path, he came upon a small campout though it looked more like a village. The tents were typical, made out of either red or white fiber, though most of them weren't made to hide their contents. Treasure chests were full of what anyone would expect "pirate booty" to have although they were "candyfied" versions of them such as chocolate doubloons, candy cane swords, licorice ropes, mint gems, and hard candy jewels. What looked like the main tent was adorned with a giant skull on its roof. Implanted within its right eye was a large, round mint with a swirling red and white pattern.

The camp seemed to be abandoned except for a strange monkey which was taking a nap on a hammock. It was dressed in a similar manner to Mojo Jojo. Its skin was as green as Fusion Matter and it was covered in deep black fur. The monkey wore a purple jumpsuit with white stripes and sashes. Equipped on his back was a high-tech jetpack. He wore a white visor with red-tinted lens and a tall, white and purple-striped helmet. Kyle decided to let him sleep in peace instead of waking him up and asking for help. The monkey seemed like one who would be irritated easily.

Kyle decided to check the main hut. As he attempted lifting the opening fold, a pirate around his age stormed out, pointing a sharpened candy cane sword to Kyle's neck. He was dressed in a striped t-shirt shifting between dark and light shades of green with the sleeves torn off. He wore dark black shorts (torn as well), brown boots, and a red bandana with white polka dots wrapped tightly around his spiky black hair. He had a very irritated look on his face. This pirate wasn't one to be messed with.

"Arr! What do ye' be want'in?" he asked in a stereotypical pirate voice. "Don't 'cha know 'dis be pirate ground?"

"W-Wait!" Kyle tried to get the pirate to lower the sword, but he still pointed the sword at Kyle's neck. "I didn't mean to cause trouble! I was asked to get something from you."

The pirate's look only grew more suspicious of him. "Fine, what be this 'somethin' you be wantin'?"

"Numbuh 2 told me that you guys found some piece of technology the other day. I was wondering if we could have it?"

"...Aye. That be true. But why would I be givin' this to a Kids Next Door member?"

"If it helps, I'm not a member. I'm just working for them...like a mercenary. Hm, kinda like the sound of that..."

"Still, I can't be lettin' go of this contraption without somethin' in return."

"Maybe we can trade?"

The pirate pondered his thoughts for a moment before coming up with a solution he found reasonable.

"Hm...some scallywag monsters stole one of our last supply of candy. We need someone to go find it or get more."

"Alright. Easy enough. Where did they go?"

"To Pokey Oaks, matey."

"Okay, I'll be-"

"Hold up. Just wait here fer a second."

The pirate walked over to the sleeping monkey. Slashing his sword with two strokes, he severed the two ropes that held up the hammock. The monkey fell with a thud and was instantly awakened when he hit his head. He remained silent, but he was obviously not amused by what the pirate did.

"Ugh, what do you want?" the monkey asked in a deep voice.

"You'll be takin' this lad to Pokey Oaks." the pirate ordered, pointing at Kyle.

The monkey glared at Kyle, observing him. "Sure, no prob. Alright kid, grab my hand."

Kyle was hesitant, but reluctantly did so despite not knowing what he was about to do. The monkey pressed a button on his belt which starting up his jetpack. Instead of ignited fire being released from the thrusters like Kyle expected, white ring-shaped beams which grew in size as they left the jetpack slowly propelled the two into the sky. It seemed to be endowed with anti-gravity technology. Once they were at a high altitude, they headed in the westward direction. Kyle didn't have to worry about falling as the monkey's grip was surprisingly powerful. Also, a pair of energy handcuffs produced from the monkey's gauntlet was attached to Kyle's wrist. The view was much more "free" than the SCAMPER as it was only limited to what could be seen through a window. Now that he had a somewhat different perspective, Kyle could see more of what Fuse's invasion had done to the land. Towards the south, he could see remnants of collapsed mountains as well as more areas of land torn apart by fissures.

The two soon came closer to the southern part of Pokey Oaks. It didn't seem like the monkey was heading towards the mall encampment judging by the direction he was flying. Further ahead, Kyle could spot another somewhat populated area. A group of people had set up a well-equipped perimeter around a house. The building had a different structured style compared to the other houses in the town. The walls were made of pure white marble and the structure was basically three cubes in a row with the center being twice as large. The right sported a garage while the left sported a kitchen that could be seen through the large rectangular window. The center had the red front door. On the upper level of this section was a row of three large circular windows. Outlining them were neon lights that glowed green, pink, and blue respectively. Kyle easily recognized this to be the Powerpuff Girls' house. He always saw pictures of it in newspapers or televised interviews.

The monkey took Kyle down towards the house, landing in the front yard near an identical monkey. Kyle couldn't even tell the difference between the monkeys without hearing their completely different voices.

"Looks like you're new to the Monkey Skyway." the Candy Cove monkey remarked.

"Alright Robert," the other interrupted, "get back to your post. I'll take it from here."

Robert nodded as he flew back to Candy Cove without a word.

"Listen up, kid." the monkey told Kyle. "The name's Chris. It doesn't really matter knowing names since we change posts daily. As for the Monkey Skyway, it's a system of Monkey Minions spread out across the country... Well what's left of the country anyway. We don't usually go across to another town since we normally have SCAMPERs for that, but the Candy Cove encampment is technically not at a town and at a reasonable distance between the Cul-de-Sac and here. So now that I gave an example, expect this as a sort of 'rest stop' between towns. For cities, we have multiple stations in them like Townsville. Not like it's gonna be useful info, but I'm required to say that to new people."

"Thanks... Um, if you don't mind me asking, do you know anyone around here who's seen a group of monsters from Candy Cove around here?"

"Sorry, kid. Try asking Buttercup. I saw her go inside her house a while ago. She should still be inside. Don't worry about knocking though. She leaves the door unlocked if people need to see her."

Kyle thanked the monkey as he headed toward the house. He walked up to the front door and then went inside. Kyle felt bad that he went in without warning Buttercup, but he was simply following what the Skyway agent had told him. The interior of the house was nice in his opinion: blue carpet, black furniture, white wallpaper. The potted plants and portraits hanging on the walls helped make for nice scenery. The portraits were mainly those of the Powerpuff Girls and another man, Professor Utonium, the father (or "creator" like some others say) of the girls.

During early years of Kyle's life, Townsville was an epicenter of crime. Rates were high and a high quantity of the police were too cowardly to stand up to the many thugs and supervillains. Those who were actually brave still proved to be ineffectual. Citizens were usually never harmed (assuming they weren't being held hostage) so they tried living normal lives. But when threatened, they mainly listened to demands. Professor Utonium was also one of those citizens. One day after a trip to the grocery store, (which also got robbed that day by the wanted criminal known as Fuzzy Lumpkins) he accidentally created the superpowered trio everyone now knows as the Powerpuff Girls in his laboratory. After a few days, they soon became the city's protectors, allowing the citizens to regain, or maybe actually obtain, some normality in their lives, and it's been like that ever since.

Upstairs, Kyle saw light coming from behind a pink door. He climbed the stairs and peeked through the small opening. Completely different from the rest of the house, it was the Powerpuffs' room, a pink-colored space filled with girly materials. Inside, Kyle could see Buttercup sitting on a large bed, color coordinated to represent where each girl slept. Buttercup was simply staring at what looked like one of Blossom's large hair bows. It even seemed like she was talking to it.

Kyle stepped back, pretending he didn't see anything, and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Buttercup asked.

"It's me."

"Kyle? Hold on." Buttercup quickly shoved the hair bow into the heart-shaped drawer next to her. "Alright, come in."

Once inside, Kyle sat down in a blue beanbag chair facing her.

"What're you doing here?" she asked.

"Hey, sorry if I'm bothering you, but I could use some help. That is, unless you're too busy with something else..."

"No, I'm free. What's up?"

"Some of Fuse's goons in Candy Cove stole a candy supply from the Candy Pirates and made their getaway somewhere around here. I really need to find them and bring it back so we can trade for an important part we need for the Time Machine."

"I see... Okay, I'll fly around the area and use my X-ray vision to find them. I'll call you when I do. You can stay in here while I search. Uh...don't mind the mess."

Buttercup stoop up and quickly flew out the window, leaving her signature green light trail behind. Feeling a little uncomfortable staying in the room, Kyle decided to walk around the house. He eventually found and opened the door to the basement. Walking down the stairs, he found a laboratory. It was small, but it still had the impressive, technologic look. On a bookshelf, Kyle grabbed certain book that didn't seem it would belong in a laboratory. It was a book full of nursery rhymes. There was a specific page that was bookmarked and had notes and highlights drawn all over it.

"Sugar and spice, And all that's nice; That's what little girls are made of..." This specific passage was highlighted, circled, and underlined many times. "So this is where he came up with the idea..."

Kyle closed the book and put it back the way he found out. As he went back up the stairs, his Nanocom began to vibrate from a call. It was Buttercup.

"Hey, Buttercup. You found them?"

"Yup. Kinda stupid for them to steal candy and run away to the candy store. Anyway, head left when go out the front door and head down the street. You'll see me outside when you get there."

"On my way."

Kyle followed Buttercup's directions and hurried to the candy store. After crossing five blocks, Kyle s[otted Buttercup waving to him. It seemed she had already taken care of all the monsters she came across judging from the small drips of Fusion Matter on her clothes and the slimy, wooden remains on the ground.

"That was quick." Kyle remarked.

"It was only a few of them. Sorry I didn't save a piece of the action. But it looks like the stolen candy was tainted." Buttercup held a few oversized jawbreakers in her hand. There were discolored and brittle as she easily crushed them without using her superpowers. "You should just get a fresh batch. Don't worry. This place has been closed ever since monsters started running all over the place."

"Thanks. I might've taken forever to find these guys."

"No big. By the way, when you get back to the past, can you tell-..." She was hesitant to finish the request.

"Tell who?"