Rocket Off Evil: Sparkster TF (Request)

Request for Artooinst (artooinst.deviantart.com)

Our story begins in the wonderful world of Elhorn. More specifically, the Kingdom of Zephyrus. This was a beautiful kingdom of peaceful inhabitants, who kept it peaceful for many years.

But after these many years of peace, the kingdom was invaded by an army consisting of vile pig soldiers, which came from the much less friendly Devotindos Empire. These soldiers were lead by Axel Gear, the opossum Rocket Knight who, out of jealousy for his adopted brother Sparkster, previously turned a whole army of Rocket Knights against the kingdom. But thankfully, Sparkster was a noble one, and he was able to successfully defeat the Black Knights that Axel Gear had built up, banishing him from the kingdom.

But now, he was leading another army into the kingdom, and as the pigs he gathered attacked the innocent civilians, he raided the castle and kidnapped the kingdom's ruler, Princess Sherry. And when Sparkster tried to stop him, he was blown away by an airship engine into the mountains.

But with his jet-pack, trusty sword, and masterful Rocket Knight techniques, Sparkster fought through countless troops to make his way to Axel Gear, who he successfully defeated. He rescued the princess, saving the kingdom and causing Axel to disappear once more.

Of course, Axel struck back several more times during the following years, but after a while, he was never seen again. The following centuries were very peaceful, and as Sparkster eventually grew old of age, he was honored throughout history for being the hero that allowed this state of peace to remain in Zephyrus. The tools he used to counter Axel and his many troops were even preserved safely, not that anyone in the kingdom ever expected them to be required again.

But eventually, the presence a "reincarnation" of Axel was detected by the greatest of Elhorn's magic holders… only, it wasn't detected in Elhorn.

"Another day, another boring walk down the road…"

These were the words of Henry, the young teenager on his daily walk through town. It's not like he had anything better to do with his time.

He was just walking down the sidewalk, bored and depressed as always, minding his own business when he was pushed over by that familiar bigger kid.

"Ow!" he yelled as he hit the ground, "What's your deal?"

"Heh, nice day for a walk, Henry?" the bully mocked.

"It was until you reared your hideous face into…"

It was then that the bully yanked Henry by the shirt collar.

"WHAT WERE YOU SAYING ABOUT ME?!" he shouted.

"Nothing you shouldn't know already," Henry did, "Now leave me alone!"

"'Leave me alone!'" the bully mocked, "I bet that was the last thing you said to your parents."

"You don't know anything about them!" Henry said, holding in whatever emotions he was trying to hide.

Oh yeah, Henry was an orphan for almost his whole life, only knowing his parents for two years before their sudden disappearance. He was taken into an orphanage shortly after, but was the shortest kid in it, and… well, we all know where that leads.

"Whatever," the bully said, "at least I'm not at a height where I can be picked up by my shirt collar!"

"That may be," Henry said, "but that means I don't need to be watching my gut every second."

"What are you talking abou…"

And just like that, Henry kneed the bully right in the stomach, and after he landed safely, he made a dash in the other direction.

"Argh…" the bully said, trying to walk off the pain, "You get back here!"

Henry ran as fast as he could, trying to outrun the bully who was catching up to him surprisingly well! But he was determined enough to keep running if it meant his life.

He made a turn at the corner, and found an alleyway to his left. He ran into it and hid behind the dumpster.

He then heard the footsteps of the bully running, but stopping at the alleyway.

"I bet he hid in the… wait, too obvious, he probably turned another corner by now!"

He ran off, much to Henry's relief, as he got ready to walk back to the orphanage.

But now that he was alone, he just wanted to sit where he was and contemplate a bit.

"Is there even a reason to go back?" he asked himself as he got himself comfortable, "I'd just be letting more jerks make their marks!"

Henry, as previously mentioned, wasn't respected all that much back at the orphanage. As the shortest one there, he was always subject to bullying from everyone there, and even with the bullies from outside, the walks he went on were the only things that he enjoyed in life! Not just to be alone, but also all the town exploration he did to feel less restricted in the orphanage.

So why go back to the orphanage, he thought, when he could just stay out here? Here, he couldn't be threatened by anything resembling evil, although it would be nice to actually be on top of all the bad guys for once. He'd been attacked by evil kids his whole life, so there was nothing he desired more than to actually rid the world of evil.

"I hate being so abused," he told himself, "I wish I could fight evil for once!"

He definitely could've worded that better, but he didn't care. He just wanted to be more than a worthless little kid.

"Careful what you wish for…" he heard a voice say.

"What?" he said, looking around, "Who said that?"

"Dude, I'm over here!"

Picking himself off the ground, he looked from where he was hiding to see a figure with a black cloak walking towards him, and a hood hiding his face.

"Who even are you?" he asked the man.

"I'm… not from around here," the man replied, "and I'd rather keep my identity secret for now."

"Fair enough," Henry shrugged, "What are you doing here?"

The man looked behind him to make sure no one else was listening in on them before coming closer to the kid.

"It's a long story," he whispered, "but to summarize, I was sent here to recruit an ally to fight enemy invaders."

"From… where exactly?"

"… another universe."

With that, Henry nearly burst out laughing.

"Yeah right," he said chuckling, "alien invaders! Next you're gonna tell me that you're not even…"

"Human?" the man finished, pulling part of the hood behind him to reveal a short muzzle on his face.

"WHAT THE…"

"Shhh! We can't let anyone else know what we're talking about!"

The two scurried behind the dumpster once more, to make sure no one saw a kid screaming at a mysterious man in an alleyway.

"Okay…" Henry said, "I assume anything's possible now. So what did you want me to do?"

The man… alien… thing reached into the cloak's pocket, and out from it came a big roll of old-fashioned paper.

"Everything is written here," he said as he unrolled it.

The two gave a good look at the roll of paper, and read all the information that was crammed into the bottom half of it.

"So," Henry said, "you were sent by someone from another dimension to find someone to fight alongside you against the forces of the biggest threat in their dimension, which is now becoming a reality in this one?"

"Basically," the man replied.

"Okay," Henry said, "so why did you choose me?"

"Do you want to fight evil?"

"Y… yes."

"Can you handle yourself when you're on your own?"

"I suppose."

"And do you have anything to lose?"

"Nope."

"Well, you're perfect!"

For a moment, Henry felt pretty excited! He was given a once in a lifetime opportunity to stand up for himself and actually be the one to drive away what would normally be attacking him! Except… that made no sense.

"But I'm just a teenager," he commented, "a pathetically weak teenager who can't even stand up to anything. How can I possibly make a good ally?"

"Let's take a look at the top half of the page."

The top half of the page was actually some sort of map, and with the old-fashioned paper, it really did resemble the classic buried treasure map. It detailed how there were two treasures hidden in two locations not very far from where they were now, and how whoever possessed both would have all the strength and skill of their previous owners, but only when used for good intentions.

It sounded a bit far-fetched, but at this point, Henry would believe anything.

"Okay," he said, "I think I get it now."

"That's great," the man said, "now let's find those treasures!"

The two snuck out of the alleyway and called for a cab to pick them up. It would be kind of a long way there…

"That was a pretty cramped taxi," the man commented as he and Henry walked down where the map guided them.

"It was," Henry said back, "So could you tell me more about what's happening?"

"I don't come from wherever that villain came from," the man said, "but I was the only warrior competent enough for this task."

"Then why do you need an ally?" Henry asked, confused.

"Because I'm not enough," the man said, "and besides, only warrior so far. Once we get those treasures, we will be the only warriors."

"What's even with those treasures?"

"From what I've been told? Back when that villain was initially a threat, there was a brave knight willing to step up to him and take him on. That knight possessed the treasures we're looking for, and used them to take him down."

"What does it even matter if I wield them?"

"Didn't you read the…"

"But how do I gain the strength of the warrior?"

The man thought for a second, and realized what may be the case.

"Well," he started, "those weapons were preserved by the good people of the kingdom after the warrior deceased."

"So, what," Henry said, "they were hidden somewhere on Earth for the next warrior to find them?"

"Well, what's important is that the greatest users of magic on the kingdom… probably had some access to the afterlife."

Henry thought about that for a second.

"I'm assuming," he started, "that the knight's spirit was…"

"Infused in the treasures?" the man finished, "That's what I was thinking, too."

"Wouldn't that mean more than strength and skill?"

"Maybe, but that would just mean more for you."

"I suppose, but…"

"STOP! We're nearing the first treasure!"

The two looked at the map, which proved him right: they were very close to the treasure's location. It said that the treasure was buried at a specific point by the mountains.

"What mountains?" Henry asked.

"Those…" the man said, pointing out the massive behemoths of rock in front of them.

They were quite tall, and even had the usual snow at the peak. But as the two stepped back a bit, they could see a hole in the mountain, with rocks around it to establish some sort of entrance in the mountains.

"That's the second treasure," the man said, "but the first one is somewhere over here."

The map detailed the area by the hole would be where the treasure was buried. In other words, it was under the hole.

"Got a shovel?" Henry asked.

The man reached into his cloak and pulled out a decently sized shovel that Henry couldn't believe even fit inside.

"I always have one when I wear this cloak," the man said.

He dug through the ground, which was uncomfortably rocky, as Henry kept guard outside the hole.

"Hit anything yet?" Henry called down the hole, which really wasn't that deep. Just wide.

"I can tell I'm getting closer!" the man called out, "just tell me if you see anyone coming."

Henry continued watching for people, keeping both ears open at opposite directions to hear both events that would be going on.

And in his right ear, he heard the sound of would being hit.

"I'VE GOT SOMETHING!" the man called out, as he dug around the chest.

But with the other ear, he heard some pretty loud marching going on…

"Uh, you might want to hurry!" Henry called down.

"Don't rush me!" the man called back, "We're not in any…"

"I hear marching!"

The man stuck his head out of the hole, and although he could barely see it, he saw something emerging from the distance.

"Oh no," he said as he hurried back to the chest, "I think someone's onto us!"

"We need the treasure now!"

But thankfully, the chest was uncovered within the next minute, and the two of them quickly lifted it out of the hole.

"Let's see what we have!" Henry said as he opened it.

He reached into the chest, and what he uncovered was an… orange jet-pack?

"Wait," Henry said, "this is what he used to…"

"No time!" the man said, "If they see you with the treasure, you're gonna get killed!"

"Oh, right!" Henry said, "To the hole, then!"

He quickly got the jet-pack onto his back, a bit small it was, and tried to get himself accustomed to how it worked.

"Will you be alright?" he asked the man.

"I can fight for myself," he replied, "now go get that next treasure!"

"But I don't know if there's even any fuel left in here! Does it even WORK!"

He had to yell that last word because when he tried to do something with the jet-pack, he rocketed off into the air like a firecracker. Or, more likely, a rocket. He couldn't have been more suddenly terrified, and he thought he would die right then and there.

But he rocketed right to the hole, and grabbed the ledge with his fingers at the last second.

Looking down, he could barely see the man, who was now looking up at him. His hood was removed, and even at this distance, Henry could see how inhuman he really was.

But the two have each other the thumbs up before Henry climbed up and vanished into the hole, which he decided to just call a cave in the mountain.

Down below, the "man" tore his cloak off to reveal a lightly armored reptilian creature, green skin shining in the sun as the soldiers came into clear vision. They revealed themselves to be an army of maybe 30 armored humanoid pigs with swords pointed at the creature.

"We won't use immediate force, sir," one of them said, "if you give us the treasure this instant."

"There's nothing with me I treasure," he said as he drew his blade, "other than my Aguian Sword I slay pigs like you with."

"Look, sir," the soldier said with his anger rising, "we won't be so hard on a frog like you, if you choose the easy way out."

"There's only one way I play by," he replied as water began to surround his sword.

"What exactly could this treasure be?" Henry asked himself as he wandered through the cave.

It was a really long walk that Henry was going through. Plus, the cave was only getting darker from here, and most people would just turn back here… but after such a life Henry had gone through, he was the minority of people who would do anything for the opportunity the sword provided him, and after the enjoyment of many walks alone, he trudged on through the darkness to find whatever weapon he needed.

But eventually, he came to that point in a cave where it was just pitch black. He could see nothing at all, and with the basic knowledge of light, THIS is where most people would turn back…

But with the squint of his eyes, Henry could see a light in the distance.

Just like earlier today, he ran with all his might towards the light that would change his life forever, which was slowly increasing in intensity…

And then he found it. A single torch was hung on the wall at the end of the cave, where a golden-hinged sword was plunged.

"I suppose this is it…" Henry told himself as he stared at the sword hinge, ready to have everything change.

Taking a deep breath, he gripped a hand on the sword. It was a very small place to grip, and even his one hand was a bit big for it, but he could already feel the energy flowing through him, tingling his skin like electric sparks coming into contact with it.

He put his other hand on the butt of the sword and, with all his might, he tore the sword out from where it was planted, revealing one that was… very short actually, almost as short as his legs even, as bolts of electricity released from the resting spot and dove right into Henry's skin.

Henry could feel the energy hitting him hard, enough to kill an ordinary man, but with the magic infused in both treasures, he simply contained all that energy in him as the spirit infused in the sword began to make its mark on him.

It entered through his hands, which were holding onto the sword, which were now beginning to change. The body hair on his fingers was lightening into a tan color and growing out a bit more, spreading into a light coating of tan fur on his fingers. His fingers were also beginning to shorten down a tad, but as they did, the muscle in them started bulking up a bit, giving his fingers more strength as his fingernails lengthened out and sharpened into what resembled short claws. The fur covered up the rest of his hands, which also bulked up in muscle a bit but shrunk in relative size so one hand could actually grip the sword better.

The tan fur quickly spread its way up Henry's arms, which were also going through similar changes to be proportionate with his hands, as they bulked in muscle a bit but also shrunk back in size. Much of the fat being stored in his arms was also burning up, as they slimmed down a decent amount, and with a bit more shrinkage, his arms shortened down a good amount, now a bit longer than half of their original length.

The tan fur made its way to Henry's torso, which was also growing stronger in muscle but shrinking in mass. As it slimmed down more from the burning of more fat in his torso, it shortened a decent amount, making his already small posture even smaller once his shoulders and hips caved in a bit to be in line with it all. By now, the jet-pack on his back was actually bigger than his torso, after previously being a bit smaller, and his shirt was almost falling off, which it would've it the changes weren't happening so fast. And underneath his shirt, Henry's coccyx was pushing hard against his skin, until it lengthened his spine outward into a long, slender tail, which almost resembled that of a mouse's, except for being the same color as the tan fur on his torso.

As the fur started covering his legs, they were trimming down in fat and bulking in muscle more, which wasn't visible (like the rest of his muscle), but was there to easily support the jet-pack and what was next to come. as they shrunk down to fit with the rest of his body. They then shortened a decent amount once more, until Henry's height finalized at around 3'5". As the fur hit his feet, they started shrinking as well, but also lengthening out a bit as his toes bulked out more but shortened down a bit. His toenails were also growing out a bit, sharpening into short claws for his feet, as some of the skin on the bottom of his toes and feet started pushing out into pads to assist in walking with them. His feet were still feet, but if anything, they were more like long paws at this point.

As the fur covered his neck, Henry could already feel the changes hitting his head. The tan fur began to cover his whole head, which, contradictory to the rest of the changes, was actually beginning to grow in size a bit. As the fur covered around his nose, it rounded out and shrunk down, becoming black and moistening a bit, as it pulled his face out into a long and curved muzzle. A few short black whiskers made their way out from it, relatively close to his nose, as his mouth shrunk down a decent amount and his lips became hidden by the fur. Once the fur covered around his eyes, they rounded out into ovular shapes, almost circular, as his brown irises grew in size and shifted colors to a bluish gray. His ears, once covered, also grew in size a great amount, as they pointed at the ends and lengthened out greatly, to be about as long as his head! His eyebrows shrunk back into the tan fur that covered the rest of his head, but the hair on his scalp thickened out even more, lightening its normal black color to a light orange. It lengthened out a great amount until he had a heavy coating of hair brushed forward, with spikes pointing forward high above his head.

And just when it seemed like the changes had finished, Henry's clothes began to glow from the energy that entered, and more seemed to be forming from it all.

On his hands, shiny light blue armor was forming, with separations that allowed Henry to move his fingers and small wide extensions from the wrists. More of this armor (only a bit darker) formed at his shoulders, with rounded shoulder pads that allowed shoulder and arm movement. A bulky chest plate was also forming, which went down to his legs and also provided support for the jet-pack. At his feet, his shoes became the same blue metal as all of this as they lost their laces and grew into big metal boots, with yellow soles, round yellow buckles, and protection up to his knees. Underneath it all, his shirt and pants were shrinking down to fit on his much smaller body, until they both combined into a suit that covered up his torso, with a small hole in back for his tail. From there, the entire suit became thin red cloth, which lengthened up his arms and down his legs, even covering his hands and feet like gloves and socks. And finally, a massive glow illuminated around his forehead, which revealed itself to be a blue pair of metal goggles with cloth holding it on his head. Perfect for what Henry would soon be destined to do.

Henry took a quick look at his new self. He already felt even smaller, but somehow stronger than ever, like he could finally defend himself. But before he could admire himself anymore, he had to close his eyes, as a whole new set of skills and knowledge began to enter his brain.

"Damn it," the lizard said as he tried to keep his barrier up, "there's just too many of them!"

The water powers of his swords were able to wipe out a good portion of the soldiers, but their brute force was wearing its supply out, and they were quickly digging their way through his aqua barrier.

And finally, it burst open, leaving the poor creature defenseless.

"End him and take his treasure!" one of the soldiers shouted.

"You want your treasure?" they all heard a sort of high-pitched voice call to them.

They looked up to see a humanoid opossum clad in blue armor rocketing down from the sky, with his sword plunging toward the ground.

"Stand back!" one of the troops commanded the rest.

Henry finally landed on the ground in between the troops and the lizard, and with a wide swing of his blade, he sent an array of energy blasts towards the pigs in front of him, knocking many of them to the ground.

"Henry?" the lizard said, backed up against the mountain, "Is that you?"

"Better than ever!" he responded, "Now give me some room!"

The lizard took a step to his left, and Henry put his foot on the mountain. The pig soldiers charged at Henry in rows this time, not knowing how to handle him, and with a kick off the mountain, Henry rocketed at the troops with his jet-pack, and with his sword readied, he slashed them all to the ground, fatally wounded from the treasures they were after.

Henry positioned his feet in a stance position, and slid a good distance across the ground as friction did its thing to him.

Resting his sword on his shoulder pad and lifting his goggles to his forehead, he turned around to see his lizard friend running towards him in surprise.

"Geez Henry," he said, "that was incredible!"

"Call me Sparkster now," he replied, "I may have learned a few things up there when I lifted the sword up!"

"That's a pretty small sword…"

"Well, it gets the job done for a fish out of water!"

The lizard took a second to understand what Henry, Sparkster, just said.

"Hey, I'm a lizard!" he almost shouted, "Did the spirit give you a sense of mockery up there?"

"My apologies then, um… Water Lizard?"

"Aqua Lizard."

"Close enough."

Suddenly, the two of them heard the sound of a large engine in the distance. Looking over the mountain, the two of them could see a large, ominous ship hovering over it.

"Looks like we won the race after all!" Sparkster said, "Axel Gear was just a few minutes late!"

"Who?" Aqua Lizard asked.

"I may have learned a few things!" Sparkster replied.

The ship started moving forward, knocking a chunk of the mountain off as it seemed to want Sparkster and his friend.

"Give me your hand!" Aqua Lizard said.

"Hold on tight!" Sparkster said, smiling, as the two grabbed hands.

With a thrust of his sword, Sparkster rocketed off with his friend towards the ship, ready to end that villain's evil reign before it even begins. Just like he always wanted.