Mixels Unite: Retold

Chapter 5 - Mysteries of Mixelkind

Three years ago...

Within the underground lair of Nixels Land, Major Nixel fitted on his freshly-crafted suit. It was tighter than the last, with pointed slopes along its top, but that was superfluous. He had a brand new mustache to boot, too. A Nixel minion saluted and held up a stone-carved mirror, a reflection of the Major gleaming at him. Something was not right. It felt that something had been taken away, his memory torn to shreds as his brain racked away in an attempt to recall.

"Oh, that's what!" He remarked, adjusting his mustache with a tilt as the timbre of his voice significantly altered with it. "Perfect. Now, back to the regularly scheduled scheming..." Major Nixel whistled as he began to take off, strolling through the angular and twisted lanes of the underground lane as Nixels marched around the caves, saluting as they passed their military commander.

From a balcony, Major overlooked the work-in-progress throne room of the recently elected King Nixel. Well, elected was a light term. 'Forced his way into power with threats of violence' was more accurate of a description. But, that was no matter. Things were going right for the Armada, schemes were being formed and the morale was at an all-time high. Even if Major missed his post, the future looked dark, and that was just what a Nixel desired.

Entering what was once the main room of command, Major Nixel passed by piles of scrapped contraptions and schemes to destroy the Mixels. Fly-swatting machines, cannons made to launch Nixels, and plenty more stacked up, a symbol of Major Nixel's failures. Returning to the chalkboard in which all his ideas began life, Major glanced upon his recent outlines of the next plan: the 'Nixelstorm'.

"Nix, nix?" A lone Nixel minion asked, saluting as they stood by the entrance to the room as Major beckoned them forth. "Your report, minion?" He asked as the Nixel pulled out a clipboard, detailing a past experiment. "Uh, nix nix. Nix-nix nix, nix?" The Nixel asked, making Major raise an eyebrow. "Project? What project? The only thing I'm working on is the Nixelstorm. Perhaps you confused this for one of those scientists?" Major suggested, the Nixel stuttering before giving a thumbs up and scampering off.

Major knew this was familiar and intended for him, but nothing about it felt right. His head throbbed every time that project codename came up again.

Now...

Even three years later, his head still ached, gaps in his memories causing him daily issues. Of course, these would be dismissed as a side effect of old age. He had been around for many years, after all.

Marching through a ravine in the Great Wasteland, Major Nixel pulled up an interface on a portable device, seeing a top-down view of Mixopolis as the N-Mixel Armada's trackers fluctuated throughout the city - bar one, moving south outside of the city - with King Nixel's nudging through the Munchos District. Grunting, he tripped over the uneven surface of the canyon. Rushing to assist, the Nixel minions that had assisted the Major on his quest were swatted away as he rose again. "No time, men. Move out, we only have so long to get back and mobilize our forces. Besides, we've already wasted enough time Nixing the wildlife of that rainforest." He ordered, the obedient Nixels saluting as they trudged forth.

Glancing at the protrusion in the ground that had tripped him up, Major caught sight of a pitch-black crystal that light would not reflect off. He recognized it as Nixelite, the same ore that - when purified - was used to forge Nixel machinery and even the suits all of them wore. In its raw form, it was highly dangerous. Any non-Nixel life would either turn Nixed, or dry up and become barren. But, in addition, the ore grew in the presence of destruction. Somehow, it could sense the pure essence of it and spread accordingly.

Looking up at the drab rock formations within the canyon, outcrops of the material were visible in jagged patterns, slowly increasing in size as Major looked in the direction of Mixopolis. They were all natural occurrences of the ore, something that should not be happening here. "Strange... Nixelite has never been reported outside of Nixels Land." Major Nixel thought to himself, curious as to how the crystal was springing up so far from where it was supposed to be found. Moving forth, Major was worried for King Nixel's future plans. If Mixing was the first immoral step, what would come next?