Quest for Destiny! (White Version)

[Destiny Smasher]

Such a long wait you must endure...

~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 17- Dude!!

~*~*~*~*~*

"Whoo! Yea! Yet again, we are awarded with an excellent match! And in an amazing upset, Banjo and Kazooie have taken victory from Mewtwo! Wow!"

"Oh, MAN, Jim, my friend! That was just...remarkable! I never knew those two had so much fight in 'em...What say you?" Larry turned with a devilish grin to their guest.

He sat with his elbows on the desk, his palms interlocked in front of his face. His eyes were bright yet calm, and he was smiling with excitement. He leaned back, adjusted his trademark cap a bit, and spoke.

"Hm...Well, geez. Lemme tell ya, that was nice. Looks like the bear and bird were ready for today, huh? I have a feeling that they've got the skill to win this one. And that's pretty darn good for newbies!"

"I couldn't agree more, Mario," Larry said with a nod.

"Those two have teamwork on their side, and they're good at using it."

"Mm hm," Jim hummed.

"You looking forward to facing them later?" he asked slowly, glancing to Mario.

"Oyy...No way. They were tough. If I get matched up with them, I'll sure as **** try, but I don't know. None of us have had practice and experience against their skills. So I dunno. But they've got a rough road ahead of them from the looks of everybody here today."

"Haha..Oh, yes, yes..." Larry straightened his tie and nodded. "And that's what makes days like these all worth it. We've got a real interesting match up next, folks- Donkey Kong versus Jigglypuff! You are NOT gonna wanna miss this!"

~*~*~*~*~*

Their bones were cold, their flesh was frigid, their bodies were soaked, their teeth were chattering, and their hearts were hot. For they had finally found what they'd been looking for.

"No, no...Wait til he comes back up," Yoshi whispered, just loud enough for the others to hear waving them both back a bit. They were standing on another large slab of rock, gazing over into the deep, rushing water beyond. Someone was in the depths, they knew. And he'd be coming back up very soon.

Tarts grinned merrily through her chattering jaws. Fireball rubbed his shoulders briskly to keep them from freezing further, and Yoshi stood still, the shades on his face.

They all gazed at the speeding Lluvia River, until, quite suddenly, a loud gasp erupted from a bright blue face that came soaring out of it, kicking his body around gracefully to swim back to the stone.

As he crawled upon the shore, he wiped the fresh water from his eyes. As he slowly stood up, those eyes became wide and shocked. He glared in utter surprise at what he saw.

"...D...Da..." he stammered, struggling to say something.

They all smiled giant grins, and Yoshi said loudly, "Go ahead!" through the splashing around them.

"...DUDE!!" he cried out in joy, his face shining like a lightbulb as he stretched out his arms and dove forth at them.

The three other Yoshies group hugged him roughly and warmly, and for those few moments, the coldness they had felt just seconds before evaporated.

They all broke out laughing wildly, as good friends do after being separated. They all finally let go, with slight reluctance.

Surfer smirked at them joyfully, and Yoshi returned the same smile.

"Think fast," he cried, whipping the shades at him. He grabbed them in midair with ease and slipped them on quickly.

"Ohhh, man...Sweetness," he murmured, feeling his pride and joy back upon his face.

"Where'd you FIND these, dude?!" he bellowed estactically.

"We picked 'em up a while back," Tarts answered, just barely above normal speaking volume.

"Oh. Dude, I have been lookin' fer these all DAY! Sweeeeet..."

"Listen, man," Fireball growled out sarcastically. "We've been looking for YOU all day, too!"

He paused a moment, shifted his shades, and blinked. Then, like lightning, those eyes bluged.

"DUDE!! Where's SNO, man??!"

He glared at them in worry, and their faces lost that moment of joy.

"Umm...We still haven't found her yet..." Tarts murmured.

Surfer didn't hear this, however, as the water's decibels were higher than her voice at the time.

She cleared her throat and spoke louder. "I said...We still haven't found her yet!"

Surfer's face got perplezed for a moment.

"...? FOUND her? Whoa...What're you talkin' about, babe?!" he demanded, spreading out his arms.

Tarts glanced at Yoshi, hoping he would be able to explain things better.

"Ugh...Oh, man..." His green arm rubbed the side of his neck nervously.

"Listen," he said firmly, stepping closer so he didn't have to raise his voice as much.

"We'll explain. But we gotta get the heck outta here, allright?"

"'Bout ****in' time!!" Fireball growled out impatiently, his legs hopping around, his arms rubbing his shoulders again.

Surfer let out a solemn, thoughful expression.

"Allright, man...Let's go."

With that, the three plus one gang began to continue in the direction they had been going, as they were almost at the end. A circle of light was in sight in the distance, and from there, it was only a short hike back to the Grange Forest. There, they could jump down that off Gold Pipe that had formed, pop up at Yoshina, and reveal their findings.

They were making insane progress for one day, weren't they? How much farther would this day take them? It was getting kinda close to sundown, but he day was still alive and light. Within the next three hours, sunset would arrive. As they paced onward, trying their best to avoid getting ever more wet, Yoshi couldn't help but wonder what sunset would bring. He had another of those gut feelings, though, that it would be something very dear to him and his friends.

~*~*~*~*~*

"I'm actually not surprised, Jim. You can't rule her out just because she's pink and fluffy. After all, we make sure not to judge Kirby, don't we?"

"I KNOW, Larry, I KNOW. But it was like the Kong just gave it to her!"

"You know he didn't," Larry disagreed. "You could see the force in his EYES. He was tryin'...You just don't like Jiggs, do ya?"

"Ehhh..." Jim tossed his arms. "What about you, Aran? You think Puff belongs here?"

The bounty hunter was sitting in a chair, twice as tall as these two announcers, her helmet sitting on the table before her. Her hair was cut short and colored purple- quite drastically different than it's normal long blonde form. She had made a bet and lost- but she was honest to her word. The hair spiked around a bit over her forehead and up, and her emerald eyes were deep and frustrated.

"Well...To tell ya the truth, I don't think ANY of these morons deserves to be in this League! I mean, come on! We got a GORILLA, two balls of MARSHMALLOW, a perverted racer, two fuzzy pilots, two stupid fat plumbers, two prissy princesses, two ****** eskimos, a gay little kid with a huge head, two fairy boys, two rats, a two dimensional freak, a TURTLE, a dinosaur, a fat old wizard, two ****** swordsmen, a psycho cat, and a DOCTOR?! I mean, COME ON, PEOPLE!" She had risen from her seat, smashed her fists on the table, and almost appeared to be drooling.

Jim and Larry were staring at her uneasily.

"Errr...Still a little sore from your loss, eh?" Larry muttered.

"WHAT'D YOU SAY?!" Samus snapped, pointing her cannon arm at him, as she was still fitted in her Chozo technology suit.

"I-I-I was just noting that you're probably a little frustrated from losing. I mean, you've been training hard, haven't ya?"

"THE **** I'VE BEEN!! What d'ya THINK I've been doing?!" The doors slammed open, and a bunch of people came streaming in. They included Mario, Link, Marth, Fox, and Luigi. A few other Smashers were lined out the door, making sure everything was under control.

They all latched onto her and began to drag her out of the room, but she pressed on her shouting.

"Yea! See?! You're all afraid to admit how STUPID this whole thing is, aren't you?! Yea, I thought so! Well, you watch! Next tournament, I'm gonna come back and beat ALL your asses!! I won't just sit here and-" SLAM! The door was crashed by Fox, and a bunch of muffled comotion could be heard.

"Uhh..." Larry wiped some sweat from his forehead, and the two took a breather before continuing.

"Well...Someone needs to lower their dosages, hm?" Larry piped up.

Jim shook his head, starry-eyed. "Whoo...No kiddin'. She's usually a little more sane than that...I am SHOCKED. Well, not THAT shocked, but it's-"

Then, cutting into their conversation, the door whipped open. A bright, soft and elegant face poked in, and a thin frame quickly strolled through to the desk. The golden blonde named Zelda swiftly picked up the red helmet that still lay on the wood, let out a blush-smile, giggled, and began to leave the room.

"Wish me luck, guys: I'm going up against Doctor Mario next," she said sweetly, and closed the door slowly.

"....?" was about all the two dumbfounded announders could utter.

~*~*~*~*~*

"Duuuuude...That's...That's deep, man," Surfer murmured, his arms crossed in thought.

"So, like, we gotta go an' get all these dumb little Eggshell thingies...and find everybody...?" he asked slowly, waving his hand as he talked.

"Yea," Yoshi said, nodding quickly.

"Whoooaaa..." Surfer moaned, shaking his own head.

"Sooo..." Tarts began quietly, fiddling with her necklace.

"Your parents don't mind?" she mumbled.

Surfer nodded and let his arms fall. "Yep...But, they didn't really think they had much of a choice, man..."

This much was true. Surfer could also use magic, while every other Yoshi that was still in Yoshina couldn't. The King was still busy managing things in the castle, worrying about stockage of food, money in the bank, etc. So the Yoshies simply dropped off the treasure they had worked for in the pedestal. It had managed to clip itself onto the other piece they'd found, and the two became one. After witnessing this incident, Yoshi ran to say hi to his mother, and explain to her what she should tell the King. The others all went to their homes to see their parents. While Surfer's family was overjoyed to hear and see from him, to at least know he was safe, they had been warned. The King himself had told them that they had no choice but to let their son leave the village and join the other three.

Knowing this, the small Yoshi household spent their precious minutes wisely, concentrating fully on the light blue. His father, who shared the same sky blue as he, his mother, who was a deep nevy blue, and his little sister, who was a light violet shade. They all hugged him, talked with him, and told him that he had to go. Before leaving, Surfer ran up to his bedroom swiftly, giving it a final gaze. He slowly stepped forth to his trusty board, 'The Tidal.' It was light and brightly colored, with the Yoshina crest printed on its bottomside- a Yoshi egg with a star behind it.

After he carressed it and said 'farewell,' he ran downstairs, waved goodbye, and gave his little sis a pat on the back, saying, "Girl, you take care o' my board, 'kay?"

She smiled warmly up at him, honored that her big brother, whom she idolized, would entrust something this important to her. She replied, "No prob, Dude!" trying her best to imitate his voice, despite the obvious difference from soprano to baritone.

After a moment of good-bye gazing, he rushed out the door, leaving it open, and was off. His family stared in silence for a few moments until he was out of sight behind another house.

The waves of time were beginning to crash on the shore louder than before. And Surfer was in it to win it, ready to hang ten on the rough waters of life.

~*~*~*~*~*

 

[ZeekeXIV]

Originally posted by Destiny Smasher
The waves of time were beginning to crash on the shore louder than before. And Surfer was in it to win it, ready to hang ten on the rough waters of life.

I like that quote. Good updates. I knew Mewtwo was gonna lose. It was also very funny how Samus went on a tirade about everyone in SSBM. She's psycho!!!

At this rate, you'll be through the 40 chapters by late mid-June. And that's when things will get really interesting.

I can't wait!

 

[Destiny Smasher]

Hm...Yea, things start getting interesting in about the 20's, and then they'll get VERY exciting by about..er...the 80's or so at the rate I'm going...

Yea, there's going to be a big chunk of about 10 Chapters which will be labeled into a section called 'The Fall Saga.' I'm guessing somehwere close to 100, unless I speed up in the story or something...

That will conclude Part 1: The War Begins!

Then I'll move on to Part 2 out of 3.

As I said, quite long. It's the one thing I have vowed I WILL complete to the best of my ability before I leave this planet, so hang in there, huh? The question is who will be around to see it from beginning to end...?

Who knows?

At any rate...

I believe we're on...18!

Yes!

This is, like, my third Chapter posted today, isn't it? O_o

~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 18- Ice and Sno

Cold. Why did it have to be so COLD? Why did SHE have to be so cold? Ohh...And food. What she'd do for FOOD. What she'd do to get OUT of here...

But alas, she was still in a pickle. A FROZEN pickle, at that. Trapped in a cave of ice, the walls frosted, the smallest beam of light reflecting off of large walls of solid water, bouncing all over. At least it was kind of bright. Too bad her DAY wasn't. What TIME was it? How long had she been here?

All these questions filled her headached brain, along with hopes of rescue. No matter how tough she acted, or how rough she was, she admitted it when she was beat, and BOY was she beat. She'd spent quite some long time earlier exploring, just struggling to find a way out, only to realize she was surrounded by solid walls on all sides, be they stone or ice.

All she knew was that Sno and ice didn't mix well. Which surprised folks back home. She was a freak. There were the kids at school...

"Man, you wimp! You're an ICE Yoshi, and you can't even stand a little cold?!"

"Yea, little Miss Tough-Stuff gets frozen in her tracks by ice!"

Or it was the adults of the vilage...

"What good is an Ice Yoshi who can't stand snow?"

"Why can't you act like a lady, instead of a monster?"

Or...it was her FAMILY.

"Man, can't you do ANYTHING right?" Her older brother.

"You should stop worrying about your friends so much and start worrying about your family! You're barely ever home!" Her mother.

"Well, what the ****...? What do YOU ever do around this house?" Her father.

Ooooooo....Her FATHER...She almost found herself muttering aloud in complaint.

The stupid dumb-***. He was one to talk! What did HE ever do? HE was never home, either! All he did was sit on the couch and drink until he passed out! Oh, but SHE was the lazy one...Granted, beer wasn't the easiest stuff to come by in the Yoshina region, but there were always ways...He MADE ways when he had to...

And her MOM? Her mom cared not for her, so it seemed. She wanted to move up to the cold mountains, and leave her own daughter behind to live with her alcoholic husband. She wouldn't dare to bring her 'unlady-like, lazy, uncaring, ungrateful' daughter with her. Besides, what use would she be? She'd be sick in bed all the time from influenza, wouldn't she? What an embarrassment to the others around...Yea? Well, screw her, too...What did SHE care, anyway?

Then, there was her older brother. He was...OK. Sometimes. But he just didn't understand her well.

And so, she left the house any moment she could. She'd even snuck out during the night on common occasion to see her friends. Oyy...Just before she was lost in this trap, her parents had been scolding her for sleeping over at the castle yet again.

"I see how it is. You're going to take advantage of the King and Queen whenever you want, hm? Or is it because you want to take advantage of their SON?"

Snoball growled at the very thought of her mother's words. That was the PAST, that was done. She'd gotten over that stupid little...whatever you'd call it. Besides, it was written in stone that she would never enter that area again. That area of her heart had been remodeled, repainted, and refurnished, and now things were great.

She was sprawled out over a smooth, round stone, her body arching back over it, her head staring up into the wide, open abyss of the cave. The massive light blue, with light dancing all over.

All she wanted right now was her FRIENDS. She'd give ANYTHING for just that. She only hoped the Stars had heard her wish. That was really all she had to work with at this point.

~*~*~*~*~*

"Excellent! Just...Brilliant!"

"Yes, sir, Jim, my boy. yes sir."

"Round one is officially over, folks, and the Princess of Hyrule has taken the win from the Doc!"

"Meh...That wasn't so great," a voice squaked from their side.

The two turned slowly to face the owner.

"What? You're telling us that you were not impressed by that fight at all?" Larry murmured, amused.

The radiant emerald eyes of the owner were dulled and calm as she spoke, ruffling her bright red feathers around.

"I've seen better," she grumbled shifting around from her spot.

Another much bigger face from in front of the red-crested breegull's spoke in its baritone.

"Well...I dunno, Kazoo, it was pretty good," he admitted, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

"We did better," she quickly replied.

"I can't disagree," Jim butted in, "You and Banjo did great for newbies, but you shouldn't let that get to your head."

Kazooie 'raspberried' a bit and turned to face the back wall.

"So, then, Banjo...Comments?" Larry looked at him, his brows raised.

"I'd have to say that she used that blue sheild thing at just the right moment. She seemed to be saving it through the whole fight- ya know, hopin' that the Doc would forget. Apparently, it worked, because he wasn't expecting her to reflect that bomb back like that."

Kazooie spoke up, too.

"Well...I guess the move that fatso pulled off was pretty good. When he put the mine on the platform...And then he tossed that Star Rod into the air, ran up, grabbed the blonde, spun her back in the air, she smacked into the Rod while it was fallin', and then hit the mine- that was pretty great, I suppose."

Banjo smirked and rolled his beaming blue eyeballs. "Yea, just a LITTLE though, right? Nothing impressive..." he mumbled.

"Well, you two, the audience really seemed pleased," Jim declared.

"They cheered you on by the end of that one. Which means you guys might have a good back-up plan in case you lose next Round."

"...Why's that?" Banjo mumbled, confused.

The two announcers chuckled.

"Well, since we're sort of at an odd number here, we're going to use a special tradition. Larry?"

"Right, Jim. During Round 2, the audience will watch, of course. After the end, before Round 3, the audience will vote on who was their fav fighter in the second Round that LOST. Whoever they select will be given another chance to participate in Round 3. Get it?"

"Sure...Yea, that sounds interesting," Banjo mumbled, tapping his paws on the desk, wanting to leave this small room and go talk with the others.

"Psh! We won't NEED it, though," Kazooie bragged, sticking her head up high.

"We'll see, breegull. We shall see," Jim murmured, grinning.

"The round headed wonder Ness will be competing against the pipe-traversing King Mario, coming up next!"

~*~*~*~*~*

"But- Whoa, wait..." Fireball mumbled, trying to figure things out.

"So...Why the **** are we headed THERE?!" he demanded, quite frustrated.

Yoshi shook his head, frowning. Once again, he was surveying his map very carefully, making sure that everything was running smoothly.

"Listen, Fireball, something's fishy about that place," he announced confidently.

They'd journeyed back down to the basements of Yoshina castle, to the vaults where the Warp Pipes were in place. Many of them had been out of order lately, from all kidna of strange reasons. One that let to Tulip Town had been clogged full of dirt part way through it, while others had various other problems.

Surfer, however, knew just what to do. He jumped in the pipe, face first, and prepared while he went sailing through it. He popped out underground, falling through the ceiling into a navy blue chamber. Cobwebs and dirt covered the place, which was fairly narrow. His friends popped through vertically, one by one, and they surveyed the area.

A giant blockage of dirt and stone had caved in, preventing acess to the adjacent mode of transport. The rubble was piled up high, so there was just a small amount of crawling space up top. Not enough for them to ACTUALLY crawl through, though.

Yoshi stared at it for a moment or two in thought, while Tarts and Fireball stared at HIM.

"Hmm..." the green one hummed, tapping his chin slowly.

"Yea, dude...That's a real bummer," Surfer moaned in awe.

"Wait!" Tarts cried out eagerly, dashing over to it.

"Hey, Surfer," she called. "You can still use magic, of course, right?" she wondered.

"Uh...Well...Yea..." the sky blue mumbled, perplexed.

"Then here's what we could try," their suddenly peppy friend declared merrily.

"We could all chuck some eggs at this thing, right? I mean, if we all hit about the same spot at the same time, maybe we could bust ups ome of this stuff..." she said slowly, lost in that idea.

"Hey! Yea, that's good thinking!" Yoshi admitted, much more confident about the situation. "Why didn't I think of that?"

Tarts felt herself beaming inside from the compliment.

"OK, OK..." Yoshi waved his palms downward, signaling them all to get ready as he stepped forth, his boots pressing into the soft ground.

"Everybody, get ready..."

They all held out their dominant arms, summoning their energy-loaded eggs into their palms.

Once they'd all had that part covered, the next step was to take precise aim.

Yoshi stared around hard, then quickly noticed something that stood out. The jagged edge of a rock jutted out of the rest of the rubble, the bottom buried in dirt.

"All right...See that one sharp one right there?" Yoshi checked, pointing his left index at it nimbly.

"...Oh, yea, yea...I see it," Fireball said.

"Yea, dude," Surfer added.

"Mm hm." Tarts nodded quickly, keepingher egg at the ready.

"OK..." Yoshi nodded slowly, preparing himself.

"Now on teh count of three, we all toss 'em as hard as we can, all right?"

There was silence for a few seconds, and Yoshi took this as a 'yes.'

"One...Two...THREE!"

All four arms shot out like lighting, launching their explosive cargo like rockets. The balls of shelled magic went whizzing for a second or so, trailing sparkles of colored powder through the air.

SHABOOM!

All four made contact with the rubble wall, near its top, sending shards of spotted shell all over, and spewing out small bolts of electricity, embers of fire, drops of water, and green energy into the air. The force shook the wall violently, sending stones and ground tumbling down roughly. his kicked up a lot of material into the air, and they all coughed to rid their lungs of the waste, waiting for it to clear.

They all smiled at the sight- enough junk had crumbled apart to enable them acess to the other side.

Jumping at the steep hill of Stellon (I could call it earth, but we're not ON Earth, are we?), the four colorful creatures carefully climbed up. Tarts almost slipped, Fireball tripped at the top clumisly, getting a mouthful of pebbles. Surfer ran down the other side, almost flying over the ground from the force of gravity. Yoshi couldn't help but let out a laugh as he joined in, dashing down the hill.

Tarts paused a moment to feel that laugh. It meant a lot. It meant that Yoshi was beginning to feel more like himself. And that was something she wanted more than anything at that point. Well...No. She wanted the rest of her lost friends safe, first.

Snoball...Poor Sno. Where WAS she? Sno meant SO MUCH to her...The two were as close as peas in a pod...As close as she used to be with Yoshi...Then she started having feelings toward him she hadbn't before. The past year, it seemed, they'd drifted farther apart. Tarts didn't like that.

She was intent on ending that drifting feeling- after her friends were OK.

And Sno was the first on her list.

Now that they had been granted passage to Tulip Town, they could consult Merluvee- which meant that their next target as in reach.

This day had been long and hard...But it wasn't quite over yet. On the contrary. It was still afternoon. They had a lot more time to explore. Talk about getting around! Things were getting more interesting by the minute.

~*~*~*~*~*

 

[ZeekeXIV]

Originally posted by Destiny Smasher
This day had been long and hard...But it wasn't quite over yet. On the contrary. It was still afternoon. They had a lot more time to explore. Talk about getting around! Things were getting more interesting by the minute.

I'm probably thinking too hard, but that quote kinda corresponds to today!

You spent most of the day posting up more chapters to your story, it's still afternoon here (I don't consider it evening until 6PM), there's still plenty of time to "explore" your fic if you post more chapters, and things are definately getting more interesting with each update.

Yep, I'm thinking too hard. But then again, it's better to think too hard than to not think at all. Why have a brain, then?

Keep 'em coming!

 

[MewtwoMaster2002]

Great update. So they found Surfer. Next is Sno.

 

[Destiny Smasher]

Yes, yes...

Hehe...

As you'll soon find out, however, Yoshi's quest isn't really squat. I mean, it's certainly entertaining and all, and aspects of it are important, but...

Anyway, here goes another one.

~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 19- Sickness

"Yep, yep...See? Looka thar," the old Fungiade muttered, pointing his frail hand to the mountainside.

This old coot had led them from Tulip Town. He was a short and easily noticable man. His bulbous head was colored gray with odd orange spots- quite a clashing combination. He adorned a small red coat and itty-bitty hiking boots. A small grayed out mustache completed his little ensemble.

Oddly enough, Merluvee was out of town at the time. Rumor was she had gone to pay a visit to her father, the well-known Merlon of Toad Town. Toad Town was a bustling place that had grown around the captial castle of the Mushroom Kingdom. The Mario Bros.' home was a short trip away frm there- but so was Bowser's Keep.

Upon arriving in Tulip Town, after finding out about Merluvee's vanishing act, the four Yoshies were bent on finding out about anything suspicious. They were quickly greeted by this old Fungiade, whom everyone called Nigel. He was the exploring type- but it was clear that his old exploring days were long past.

Nonetheless, he took the opportunity to hike out wherever he could around the general region, and had happened to bump into something very peculiar just days ago.

The tallest of the five mountains on Yoshi's Island was called Mt. Kodiak. Kodiak was gigantic and extremely steep. No one on record had ever scaled the mountain from bottom to top and back, at least surviving.

But the bottom of the mountain wasn't so bad. The ground seemed to jump up very harshly, creating steep dark brown masses of stone.

As Nigel, barely being able to keep his breath, led them up the rocky roads, they had come across what he had mentioned earlier.

Mt. Kodiak lerched out the brown ground violently, creating a massively steep mountain colored sky blue. This was unique, of course, to mountains, but perhaps not ones of Stellon.

"Yes, yes..." Nigel murmured, staring down at his find.

"Rumors are that hundreds of years ago, strange creatures built a wonderful kingdom within this mountain, co-existing with the marvel itself. 'Course, you can't believe everything you hear, so I went to see for myself. I've been comin' here for YEARS now, and nothing of this sort has ever happened." He scratched through his thick facial hair as his gruff voice ranted on.
There, before them, was a door. A HUGE door. Well...A doorWAY, at least. Cut into the side of Kodiak's base, before their very eyes, was a gaping hole, about fifty feet tall and thirty feet wide.

However, blocking what wonders might be hidden within was a wall of blue-tinted ice. Just a thick wall of it, slightly bulging out of the doorway itself.
"Yep..." Nigel nodded slowly. "Nothin' like it. If you're lookin' for suspicious shtuff, this here's a good place to start..."

Yoshi gaped at the wall in awe and puzzlement. Boy...This would be a bit of a pickle, wouldn't it?

"Well!" The old Fungiade clapped his hands and turned around.
"I've had enough for today. I'm headin' back home. Ahh...I hope there's a big honkin' bowl a tomato soup waitin' fer me...Good luck, there, fellas! Send me the word if ya find anything, hm?"

Surfer, the only one not captured by the sheer awesomeness of it all, replied.
"Sure thing, dude. You hang cool, chill out, 'kay?"

"You betcha!" Nigel responded, slowly making his way back over the bumpy gravel.

Stumbling over dirt and pebbles, Yoshi made his way to the big block of solid water.

"SO," Fireball began, nervously glancing around as he persued, "How the **** are we gonna go about this...?"

Yoshi snorted as he pressed on. "Still workin' on that part," he answered gruffly.

"Oh...Great," Fireball mumbled, shaking his head.

~*~*~*~*~*

"Round two is now officially underway folks!"

"And for those of you who just tuned in, we're at the H.S.S. arena to cheer on our favorite Smashers in the 57th official Melee Tournament! The action is heating up, all right."

"Oh, yea," agreed the furry figure to their side.
"Commenting us on this past match is Fox McCloud. So, Fox, what do you have to say?"

"Well," Fox mumbled, wiping his snout a bit, "That was a pretty good one. But I think both of those two weren't really fighting out there..." he said slowly, narrowing his eyes.

"What do you mean?" questioned Jim.

"Eh, I gotta agree, actually, Jim," Larry said, nodding. "Those two weren't really at it as much as they COULD be. Like they were biding their time or something..."

"Well, whatever," Jim mumbled, "But it was still a good match."
Fox added in his two coins after Jim.

"Now, I DID like the way Ness cleverly used his magnetic sheild thing- the one that absorbs projectiles. He used it a few times in just then right circumstances. Like when Mario's pokeball sent out a Charizard. Nice!"

"Yep, yep. Mario finished off that match with a nicely executed combo. He grabbed Ness, mashed him a few times, chucked him into the ground, followed up with a Mario Cyclone. That tossed him into the air, and Mario jumped up to do his flip-kick. After tossing Ness into the air, he landed, and Ness quickly executed a meteor smash. Mario dodged it, smashed him out, and while Ness was recovering, he jumped into the air and meteor smashed him down. Bam! Ness was toast. That was pretty good."
________
Larry was hyperventilating, and when he realized it, he instantly calmed down.

"Well, uh...OK, then. I guess it wasn't SO bad a match, then," Jim mumbled.

"Hehe...We'll see what flies next, huh?" Fox said with as smirk.

"Good idea, McCloud!" Jim cried with a grin. "After this commercial break, Marth and Kirby will be kickin' it to the arena!"

~*~*~*~*~*

"It's no USE," Tarts whimpered sadly, watching their last effort barely scratch the surface.

She collapsed to a sitting position, wary from their attempts. But Yoshi refused to give up so easily.

"No! We can DO this. We HAVE to, all right? We just...We have to!" he cried seriously.

"...Why? What's the big deal?" Fireball mumbled tiredly.

Yoshi huffed. "Because I know that somebody is trapped in there!" he snapped.

"How would you know that?!" Fireball groaned back.

"Fireball, don't you go questioning my guts again! I swear you'll be proven wrong!"

Fireball sighed and nodded. "Well, yea, but...How the **** are we supposed to get through that thing?"

Yoshi paused, shaking his head. "I'm not sure. But we CAN..." he mumbled slowly, not sounding all fully sure.

Fireball rolled his eyes as Yoshi turned back around to face the odd wall of solid ice before them.

Tarts felt a little bad about suddenly giving up like that. But she was having the longest day she'd ever had in a LONG time.

She slowly stumbled back up to her aching feet and announced, "I believe you, Yoshi."

She gave him a gentle smile, as he glanced back at her to boost his confidence a little, which he appreciated.

"Dude, I agree. We're gonna bust through that thing and...uh...whatever it is we're doin' after that...Sounds gnarly," Surfer said quickly.
Yoshi folded his arms over his chest, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.
"OK...We tried blasting it with our magic...Which, well, isn't so great at this point," he admitted, knowing fully well what a REAL skilled mage was capable of.

"And...We tried our weapons, which...ALSO aren't so great at this point..."
"OK, OK! We get it! We suck!" Fireball growled out irritably.

"Hey, I never said that!" Yoshi disagreed. "It's just that we have a lot to learn and junk. You don't become a master overnight." Yoshi pondered a few moments in silence as the others stood up straight and walked to his side.
He gasped. "Hey! I got it!" he cried out in realization.

"What?" Fireball yelped as Yoshi jumped.

"Yea, what is it?" Tarts asked in surprise.

Then, the Elemental Orb popped into Yoshi's right palm.
"Ooohhh..." Tarts murmured.

"Dude! Hey, that's that funky thing that, uh..." Surfer trailed off.
"Exactly," Yoshi said quietly and firmly.

"All right, now..." He stared at it hard, sifting through all the Essences that were packed into it. He'd been stocking up on every new one he found- you never knew when just the right one could come in handy.
"Aha!" He'd pinned it down.

"OK...Now, guys, I'm gonna need your help to do this. First, I want you to use your, uh...Use your Liquid Cannon thing, OK?"

Surfer nodded. Liquid Cannon was a decent blast of water Surfer had been able to master while meditating off in the Aqua Caverns.

"And Tarts, you use your Spark Orb. Fireball, you blast it with a...?"
"Spitfire?" Fireball answered.

Fireball had just recently gotten the hang of this unique move. using it, Fireball could concentrate a ton of flaming quils at one foe, or spread the damage out to a group of targets.

"Yea! You use that, and then I'll use the Element Orb to cast Fire Orb. OK?"
It sounded simple enough. Within a few seconds, the wall of ice was being bombarded by sparks of lightning which jolted through Surfer's Liquid Cannon, the two combining together. This actually left a small crack in the wall, near its base, where the attacks were launched.

Next, a tremendous flurry of shining, dark red spheres and sharp spines flame flying around them in harmony. The orbs' surfaces were hard and glistened like glass. When they made contact with the crack in the wall of cold, they shattered and released lava, which began to eat away at the wall. This, combined with Spitfire, melted away a fairly large chunk of the wall, about five feet in diameter. A puddle of water dripped down to the bare, rocky ground.
The Yoshies all dashed up to the big hole in the ice, which was about five feet in diameter.

That could've gone worse.

~*~*~*~*~*

"Bah! That was BORING!" his gruff and tough voice bellowed out from his enormous mouth.

Larry and Jim both showed expressions of frustration and irriatation. Wario hanging around did that to you.

"No action whatsoever! Where's the bone-cracking? Where's the piledriving? The body swinging? Where's the tearshed? And where's the BLOOD SPRAY?!" He was slamming his fat fists into the hard wooden desk he was sitting at.
"...Uh...Wario, there wasn't supposed to be blood spary..." Jim mumbled nervously.

"What?! No blood spray?! Well, where the **** is the fun in THAT?"

"...Melee matches aren't supposed to be bloody," Larry explained uneasily. "There's a mutual arrangement. As you know, the more hatred one pours out into his attacks, the more likely they are to cause physical injury. Likewise the other way around. If your will is strong enough, attacks won't even scratch you. That's not to say they won't HURT, but your body parts won't be dismembered..."

"Gahahaha! What a load of Tauros!" Wario laughed. "Well, I'm glad I lost in the first round! This pathetic show isn't worth my time!" With that, the alter-ego of Mario toppled his seat over and stood as tall as he could.
"I'M number one! These punks fight like wimps!" he declared boldly, marching his fat self toward the exit door. He stopped suddenly and whirled round, rubbing his jagged mustache with his right index and thumb. With a cocky grin, he cried, "Oh, yea, folks. And have a ROTTEN DAY!!"

The door was slammed behind him as he laughed meniacally through the walkways.

"Wow," both of the announcers murmured in unison.
"It goes to show how sore some losers can be, eh, Jim?"

"Indeed, Larr, indeed. If there's anything I've learned today it's how much medicine should be distributed across the world!"

"I hear that...But let's discuss the match."

"Now you're talking! Those two were really at it!"

"Oh yea. But I gotta admit, Kirby got his fluffy face beat into the ground!"
"I can't disagree. Marth had him totally out-matched, that's for sure. Looks like the pink puff needs to train a bit more against speedy opponents, huh?"
"Mm hm...Marth is totally in the zone..."

"But does he have it in him to face off his next opponent in Round 3?"
"We'll see, Jim. But first, we've got QUITE the matchup next."

"That so?"

"Oh, yes. Princess Peach is gonna go head-to-head with the King of the Koopas!"

"Hoo hoo! Sounds great, Larry- you folks wouldn't want to miss a match like this!"

~*~*~*~*~*

Her body was already numb from the cold temperatures, but now it was briefly paralyzed from shock and excitement. She could've sworn that somewhere along the frigid, shining walls of ice she'd seen the reflection of Yoshi...

Just then, she jumped as another sight caught her eye. To the left, along the glimmering surfaces, she could make out multiple images of a sky blue Yoshi wearing shades. Quickly following that, she saw a pink and a red...They were the spitting images of some of her best friends...!

She awoke her shivering body and began to stumble around, desperate to find these figures...Or was she hallucinating...?

No. NO! She COULDN'T be hallucinating! Now she was hearing voices! She began to slow, her mind racing, her body struggling to stand upright. The voices gradually crescendoed, and she could begin to make out what they were saying, though her senses weren't at their peak right now. They were faint, and sounded like whispers. But they echoed all over, just as the light that entered refleted from wall to wall.

"...Hellooooo..."

"Hellooo?!"

"Anybody there?"

"Dude...?"

Her body panicked and she broke out in another dizzy run, heading for who knew where. The voices were coming from everywhere.

"Hh...Hh...Hh!" She couldn't speak properly. Her throat was dry. Her neck was frozen, her tongue an icicle, and her lips frigid. Her whole body trembling like an earthquake probably didn't contribute positively.

"...Hello...?" she squeaked hoarsely. Talking, she realized, was no option right now. She had to think of another way to get attention. But how?
It clicked. If she could muster the energy to create an egg, she could fire it off and hope they noticed! Yea...

She had to pry her own arm from her chest, for she was clasping herself to ease the cold, but she got her arm outstretched. Now...all she had to do...was...Come on...Come on!

*Puuoff!*

YES!! A nice, smooth egg appeared in a whisp of white mist and landed softly in her palm. It was white, but not totally. Just like her skin, the spots were even a purer white than the rest of the shell, as well as her underside.
But she was having trouble keeping it in her hand. Gripping it as fiercely as she could, she reeled her arm back, which was shaking uncontrollably, and flung it forward through the air.

The bomb of ice whizzed through the air until it exploded, causing brief flash of white light and a flurry of pure snow to sprinkle into the air, and the fragments of frozen water slowly cascaded downward.

Then, Snoball could hear those faint voices get even closer, and her heart jumped with joy.

"DUDE...Did you see that?"

"Yea...What was it?"

"Somebody's here..."

"NAW, ya THINK?"

"Shut up, Fireball!"

"GUYS!"

She smiled a nervous, shaky, but relieved smile.
The next couple of minutes were a blur as she felt herself sit down on the hard stone floor, aching all over. She was brought back up when she heard cries from familiar voices and a fizzing sound of ice melting.

She glanced up to see Fireball disintegrating a section of the nearest wall of ice before her, and she heard her friends screaming her name and asking if she was all right. But she was too disoriented to reply.

Before she knew it, she could feel them. Hands. WARM HANDS. The first to reach her were two firm, incredibly WARM hands. They were green, and they were gentle. Then, almost right after, another pair of soft, pink and dainty ones reached her shoulders and rubbed them briskly. The voices- they all rushed by her, too fast. She could feel her body being forced up by the warmth, and she began to slip in and out of conciousness, coughing and sneezing here and there.

"...-hang in there, OK...?"

"...-gonna be all right..."

"...-happened?......-real bad, dude..."

"...-out of here..."

"Just lift-..."

"...-this?"

"NONONO!! You're doing it all-..."

"...-gonna break her LEG that way, you-..."

"...-down the mountain, to the village, and-..."

"...-gonna make it...?"

"Dude! What do MEAN, 'is she-'"

"...-real sick, I'd say..."

"...-fooling around! Be careful! We-..."

"...-in sight...See it...?"

"Where are we gonna take-...?"

"She's doin' fine, but-..."

"...-little longer, and-..."

A little longer...She just had to wait a little longer...She couldn't remember much within the next span of time. It was all like a barrage of smudged photos and distant voices...

It all ended when she awoke in Yoshina Village. That was when everything became clear. And she suddenly realized what had happened, and what was ABOUT to happen.

~*~*~*~*~*

 

[ZeekeXIV]

...and then there were five!

Excellent. Snoball will soon be part of the crew. After she recovers from her hypothermia, that is...

Can't wait to see what happens next!

 

[Destiny Smasher]

You'd think an Ice-Element Yoshi could handle snow...

~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 20- Wellness

"WOW! Incredible! Man...What a disappointment, folks. It seems that that fight played out like the history books!"

"Indeed, Larry...Poor Peach- I was really rootin' for her, too..."

"Well she tried," came a kind of high voice from a relatively small combatant. The tone was sympathetic. The owner was yellow and had pointy ears and orange cheeks. To top it all off were his glassy black eyeballs, which shimmered with excitement.

"Guess you're right, Pikachu," Jim mumbled. "After all, I'm sure that if no one else socks it to him, Mario certainly will!"

"Oh, yes. I'd have to agree. Mario's been fighting Bowser for ages, and he rarely loses against the Koopa King. But who knows? We could be in for a surprise..."

"You're right. I'm actually kinda surprised Jiggs won that match against DK," Pikachu admitted. "I haven't seen her practicing or anything..."

The official members of the Melee League that were Pokemon were bilingual. Poketongue and English. But, of course, it was much more fun to taunt in another language than the one their opponent actuallys spoke in- who knew what you were saying!

"You're right, Pika," Larry exclaimed. "Exactly like I said- we could be in for some surprises. Bowser had some luck on his side, though. Well, anyway, speaking of Jigglypuff...Those two little sweeties, Jigglypuff and Zelda, will be in a cat fight in just a few minutes, so don't go away!"

~*~*~*~*~*

After a long while of blurs and fuzzy surroundings, the world began to become clear...Yes...The warmth was so incredible. After so long trapped in that icebox, she was so glad just to be lying in a bed with a blanket on her. The breath from her friends made her feel even more comfortable as she awoke.

"Mmmm..." she moaned, her voice sleepy and tired.

"...Sno? Hey," Yoshi swiftly spun around to see a couple of his pals sitting on the floor, staring at his big television. "Guys!" he whispered, trying not to surprise Snoball's already shocked body.

When Tarts, who was on her knees next to Snoball's face, saw this approach wasn't going anywhere, she jumped to her feet and gave the two gamers a slam on the shoulder, her two arms smacking in unison.

"She's getting up!" Tarts growled quietly between grit teeth.

"Ugh," Fireball snorted, dropping a smooth, gray Wavebird controller to the red carpet.

"Big frickin' deal," he grumbled, and he received yet another hit from Surfer, this one landing on his nose.

"Dude, that's my chick you're dissin', man," he threatened.

Fireball sighed, rubbing his snout.

"Yea, yea...Sorry," the firey red murmured with a sigh.

The soft eyelids of the white Yoshi in the guestbed to the room's left had to struggle a bit to open up, but they finally did, and she instantly smiled at the sight of some of her friends.

"...Hey," she croaked, her voice still a bit cracked. Snoball's voice, actually, was the highest of the whole group of them. It had been since they were babies. But it was a decent amount lower than it had been then. (In Yoshi's Story, the white Yoshi [Snoball, in this fic's terms] has a very high pitched voice, while the Pink [Tarts] is 2nd. The Black has teh lowest, and the dark blue the 2nd lowest. Yes, I actually took that into consideration.) This, added to her sore throat, made it very hard to understand what she was saying.

"Don't try talkin' Sno," Yoshi advised gentley. "You just sit tight, all right? If there's anything you need, we're here. You thirsty?"

Staring at the faces of her friends made her forget her stomach. Her throat was parched, her stomach empty...No wonder why she felt so bad!

She nodded her big head slowly, rubbing her throat a bit.

"OK. Uh..." Yoshi stared around at everybody. "Hey," his hand pointed out at Fireball. "Could you go get her a big glass of apple juice?"

Fireball nodded solemly and took off to run his errand.

Yoshi glanced back at her quickly, and realized how hungry she must be.

"I'll go get ya something good to eat, all right?" he said with a sweet tone, rubbing her nose roughly. With that, he also dashed down the halls.

Surfer shifted over to her face, and softly gripped her right hand with his left. He could feel the pain, the exhaustion, and the sickness she felt just by touching her palm.

The two gave Tarts a slow glance, and she suddenly felt very awkward.

"Oh!" she yelped, her eyes wandering. "Well, uh, I'll just...I'll go get the nurse...all right?" She grinned nervously, and bolted through the doorway, coming to a halt to close it quietly.

Surfer slowly removed his shades and set them on the small nightstand next to the head of the bed, and Snoball's expression grew sad. He looked like he'd had just as rough a day as she did.

"...You OK?" she squeaked roughly. She suddenly felt very embarrassed. Here she was, the tough little cookie, the rough little warrior...and she was sitting in bed from the flu! Albeit quite a bad case, but still...She was supposed to be the stronger one, or at least...that's how she always felt.

Surfer shook his head quickly, and caressed her cheek with his smooth hands.

"Don't worry 'bout me, babe...You jes' relax, OK? I'm fine..."

For some reason, Snoball felt...insecure when Surfer tried to act...romantic. She liked guys who were romantic, but...For some reason, when Surfer did it, it was different. She felt out of place. After however long they'd been dating, she just didn't feel comfortable when they got too physical in that aspect. It wasn't that she didn't like him, it was just...She wasn't ready with him for that kind of thing. She could tell if it was out of friendship or romance, and this one felt like the latter of the two- and she didn't like it.

Surfer could sense it in her palm. She felt odd and out of place. After a moment of hesistation, he continued.

"...Uh...OK...Well, I hope you're fine, man...We had to go through quite a mess to get you here..."

Snoball once again felt that warm, friendly feeling come back, and she was relieved. Yoshies had a mysterious type of connection most humans never experienced. They could feel eachother's hearts a lot easier than humans may.

"...I'm fine," she croaked. "...And I'm thankful..."

~*~*~*~*~*

"Wow! I was on the edge of my seat, there!" exclaimed Jim, blown away from the results. "Talk about a match! It appears that Jigglypuff has stolen the show from Zelda!"

"Man! That little fluffball is really fightin' today, isn't she?" Larry cried.

"...? Right," mumbled a red-head with bright eyes and a grin, his expression a little confused. "But why do all the hot chicks have to lose earlier on?" he grumbled, shaking his head. "I mean, come on!"

Larry and Jim shrugged at eachother.

"So...Well, what did you think of the bout?" Jim wondered.

Roy pondered a bit, wiping his nose lazily. "Well...It was OK," he mumbled, then quickly changed the subject. "Hey! Where's the beer vendor on this thing?"

Larry and Jim were speechless for a moment, their eyes glancing toward eachother, hoping to get an answer- but neither had one.

"Hm...OK, well, uh...I'll go find him, all right?" Roy declared, standing upright, his palms on the table. "So, you guys want me to pick you up some?" he asked, looking curiously at the two.

"Uh...No thanks." "Nah."

Roy shrugged calmly, tilting his head a bit. "Meh. Your loss." With that, he swiftly bolted out of the room.

"...Um...We at the H.S.S. do not promote the use of alcoholic beverages, nor do we sell them," Jim murmured suddenly.

"WELL, FOLKS," Larry announced loudly, straying from the topic. "Link and Luigi bang heads next! Green on green!"

~*~*~*~*~*

"She says you should be feeling better in a few hours," Queen Eaglesia announced kindly, glancing about the room.

Snoball smiled calmly and replied, "I'm feeling much better now that I'm here..."

Eaglesia's expression suddenly got worried.

"Which reminds me...Why don't you go see your parents?"

Snoball's face cringed with disgust as she fumbled for words. "I...No. No, thanks. I'd rather be here..."

The Queen was perplexed. "But...Don't you think your parents should know?"

"No!" Snoball coughed out, sitting straight up. "Please, just...Don't tell them I'm here yet, OK? Wait til I leave..." she pleaded, her eyes saddening.

Yoshi's mother shook her head slowly.

"I don't know..."

"Please," she begged, clasping her hands before her chest. "I just...I don't want to see them right now..."

The Queen sighed, nodding, fiddling with the silver crest arond her neck.

"...All right. If you really want me to. But, I must ask: Why?"

Snoball paused, her eyes wandering to her friends. Fireball snapped out an answer.

"Pft! Well, maybe it's because her mom's being a jerk, and her dad's having an alcohol

trip-" His sentence was stopped dead as Tarts punched him fiercely in the gut, and Snoball gave him a stare as icey as the caverns they had found her in.

Quietly and furiously, she slammed her body back down into a laying position, her back facing them.

The rest of the gang also gave Fireball a set of nasty stares, and he back away, realizing his mistake.

The Queen now understood what was going on.

"...I see," she murmured.

"...Do you want to talk about it, Sno?" she whispered, sitting down on the soft bed, her tail poking into Snoball's back gentley.

"...Not really," Snoball muttered dully.

After a brief pause, Eaglesia nodded quickly. "I understand," she said slowly.

"...I would much rather have you stay here the night, but my own son and husband both agree that you are to depart, and if you yourself agree to this, I won't stop you."

She stood up, leaning her hands on her legs for support until she was up. As she left the room, she added, "But Sno...Holding your enmotions inside will only prolong the pain..."

With that, the Yoshies were left in a few minutes of bitter sweet silence. Until Snoball finally rolled over in her bed and stared at them glumly. After another couple of seconds, her still somewhat raspy voice spoke.

"Let's just leave, OK?"

The others were surprised and looked up quickly, their eyes wide.

"Huh?" Yoshi muttered.

"I said, let's just leave. I mean, before anybody knows I'm here..."

Tarts shook her head and grasped the white's hand softly, her voice sympathetic and caring.

"No, Sno...You're still looking sick. Just another hour or two, all right? You can't push yourself like that..."

The way that she said it...It was as if she wasn't talking only with Snoball. It was as if she was also giving Yoshi advice, as her solemn, deep eyes glanced up at him.

"...Yea," he mumbled slowly. "You need to rest once in a while, too, no matter how tough you act."

"Babe, they're right, man," Surfer agreed, shifting his shades slightly.

Snoball's eyes darted to each one of them, until they met Fireball's. He didn't say a word, buts he knew he was sorry for reminding her even more of her mess.

"OK, then," she murmured quietly. "...I'm starting to feel a lot better, and I guess it couldn't hurt for us to stay here a while longer, huh?"

The sun was nearing the horizon, and it would be sunset by the time the spicey white was fully prepared to go. Still a little bit shaken, she pushed herself that evening to go on.

Life wasn't going to sit by and wait for her to feel better. She'd MAKE herself feel better. After those past two hours of being told quite a story of what had happened, and what was to happen next, Snoball realized she, too, was still capable of magic, which meant she, too, was destined to trek onward with her friends.

She'd show her parents. She'd show everybody. She wasn't a pushover, and she wasn't a tomboy, either. She was HERSELF. She was Snoball, and right now, she was helping her friends as hard as she could.

While she had been asleep, drifting in and out of reality, she'd had a dream.

She was in a warm, breezy field of fireflowers and grass. The sound of laughter rang clear through the air. As she looked around her, she could see all of her Yoshina friends, tackling eachother, talking with eachother, and dashing through the fields. It was hazy and odd, just as everything she had sensed in 'reality' had been at the time. But it still felt real.

She could see the residents of Yoshina Village, all swimming in a nearby river. Splashing eachother, stroking, and diving. And her parents...They were...happy. Not arguing, not drunk...Happy.

Snoball wanted to feel that dream again. But maybe not so much that, but she wanted to make sure everyone knew that she really did care. She wanted to help.

Tarts could relate with this perfectly. She wasn't in this for the fame, the adventure, the sights, the sounds...Not even because it was 'the right thing.' She was in it because it was what felt right to her heart. The heart is quite different from the brain. The brain logically looks at things, and tried to figure them out, while the heart looks at them and KNOWS.

That's what made Yoshies so unique. They KNEW things. They knew how their fellows felt. They knew where they were headed. They knew how they were going to get there. But what they couldn't know by themselves was WHY. That was where the brain kicked in. WHY?

Why did they have to go on this journey? What was the point?

~*~*~*~*~*

 

[MewtwoMaster2002]

Great updates. I'm getting 2 a day.

 

[Destiny Smasher]

Well, the more replies, the more often I post...

~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 21- Sierra

The wind swirled mad circles around the lush trees of the forest, the grass bowing down to the majestic air. Yes, the royal breezes were packed full of clean, fresh air, and they breathed life into everything they touched.

And breaking through the tranquil silence came a rhythm of clopping sounds. Someone was coming- fast. The beats of feet against ground measured about six per second as a streak of purple cam whizzing by, tossing vegetation slightly in its wake.

Her pace was strong and steady- but her heart was far from it. How much longer would she have to endure? The pain, the sorrow...The loneliness...? Why?

Stop being a baby. How old are you?

I...I don't know. I don't remember...

Too old to be whining. Stop such foolishness. It is unbecoming of a Dragoon to be so selfish and weak.

Even Dragoons have hearts...

Maybe so, but what makes you strong is annialating your weakness. If you let that weakness overcome you, what would you be? You'd turn out like your BROTHER.

That wasn't his fault! He was...he was trying to do it for good!

You keep telling yourself that, but the only person you're lying to is yourself. Larc deserved what he got, and you know it. He was jealous of you dating back to when you were both little kids. He always wanted to be big and strong, like his little sister...But he couldn't destruct that selfishness, that greed. That was what did him in.

There is a difference between being selfish and taking care of yourself.

...Maybe. But you know that Larc was being greedy. He tried to KILL you- and you forgive him? It is exactly that type of thinking that will lead you to where he is.

Larc was doing what he was told. As I am. It is our duty. It is our purpose of existing- to serve our Dragon. Such is the life of a Dragoon...

"Gah," she grolwed out, her beautiful eyes deep and furious, her glimmering teeth shining in the evening sun. Here she was, at war with her own emotions. her brain versus her heart...But which one was right? Lately, she didn't know. She just didn't know.

Her Dragon...All she knew was that she was to serve her Dragon. Vadise. Vadise represented light- good. She wasn't like most Dragons...No, she was...fluffy and white. Fluffy! She didn't really have wings that could lift her off the ground, but what did she need to fly for when she could send her loyal subject to do her bidding?

But...Why?....

Is this my only purpose in life...? To serve someone else?

Of course it is! You are a Dragoon! You were created to serve your Dragon- it is the core and essential element of your life! Without your Dragon, you would not exist...

But there MUST be more to it than that! Why does she have me doing this? What is the point in seeking out a band of warriors?

She intends to send you to battle a greater evil...

But WHY? Is she threatened? Even so...It's not like her to send me on some random quest such as this...Maybe it isn't really about killing someone or something...Maybe...Maybe she's sending me into the universe to discover myself...?

Of course not! You know that! Stop acting naive, you're smarter than that...This is about stopping evil from taking over our world...

...I suppose...

A growl escaped from her snarling face as she shook it around, trying to throw her internam argument away. This was foolish! She was fighting with HERSELF, when she SHOULD be fighting a greater enemy...She took in a deep breath through her nostrils as the air flew by her face, and she focused on the comfort of the wind blasting through her flowing locks of purple hair. A golden headress was planted on her head, and a tuft of purple hung over her eyes as a bang. A long, shimmering white horn made up of a coiled white bone came jutting out of her forehead elagently.

Her breasts were covered by two round pieces of metal, and her legs had plates of steel along them, too, but not too much. Armguards were in place, and her sharp, deadly knives were at the ready in her tough, furry hands. These blades were about three feet long and curved slightly at the tip. Various colored jewels were embedded in the handle.

Her soft, white face was shaped like that of a horse, but her eyes were human-like, and had long, black eyelashes.

A magnificant mane of violet hair waved around her head as air rushed through it, and a tail of equal beauty swerved around behind her, colored a silvry tint of blue.

Her feet were black and hard- they were hooves, and adorned silver horseshoes on their underside. She was a demi-human, demi-unicorn of sorts.

She was Sierra, Dragoon of Vadise.

~*~*~*~*~*

Sierra has only appeared in one game- Legend of Mana, which, I think, is one of the best video games ever created. Any of you who have actually played that game should recognize her- she's one of the main characters. But you might also note that she is SUPPOSED to resemble a dog- not a horse. I originally took her for a horse, and since then, I have not let go of that idealism. Since this is my fic, and I can alter characters as I wish, I decided to keep her as a demi-unicorn. After all, you see demi-dogs all the time. But demi-unicorns? I didn't think so.

 

[ZeekeXIV]

Legend of Mana...

I agree whole-heartedly. That game is WAAAAAAAAY underrated. Non-linear progression (allowing COMPLETE AND UTTER FREEDOM), compelling storyline, kick-booty soundtrack...

WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT?!

Ha, I thought I was seeing things when I read "hooves". She looked like a wolf to me the moment I saw her. Someone that did confuse me one time was Pearl. At one point, I thought she was a skeleton! Don't ask...

Great updates, DS. As usual, you fail to disappoint.

 

[MewtwoMaster2002]

Great, short update. Hmm isn't there a boss in Super Metroid called Dragoon? Meh that part almost got me confused.

 

[Destiny Smasher]

Dragoon is a term often used to describe a knight who serves a Dragon.

Legend of Dragoon was a decent game for the PS1.

Anyway, yes, Sierra IS supposed to be dog-like.

However, I just...I dunno. She looks AWESOME as a dog, and come to think of it, I would go back and change her into a dog again...

Matter of fact...Well, I coudl sort of seamlessly change her without my readers knowing because they won't REMEMBER...

But I'll keep her as a dog/horse hybrid thing. It's just a little more original.

YES! SOMEONE who has played Legend of Mana!! FINALLY...

!!!

Have you...played Chrono Trigger as well...? If you have...Well, Sierra has her own story, and I'll dive deeper into it in the next 10 Chapters, dedicating about 2 of them to her and her quest...

If you like Chrono Trigger, then...You may be pleased...

OOOH! I love this Chapter!! ^_^

~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 22- Gathering Evil

The cold, desolate halls smelt of sewage, embers, and sweat. Ample light filtered through the stone walkways, just enough to see where you were going. But, nonetheless, it was a dark and dreary place, at the time. That would change, soon enough. This castle was under new management.

The dim light of a nearby set of candles reflected off of his silver glasses. Those icey glasses that protected his eyes from all who stared him down. No one could ever tell exactly how he was feeling, because his expression always seemed to be calm and solemn. At least ever since he had taken over.

In truth, he was as happy as a Koopa could be. What more could one want? Well, then again...That's why he was so happy, wasn't it? Because he had a long path before him. It had only been a little under two days, but already he'd gotten so much accomplished. He was regaining the strength of his younger years, and that alone made it all worthwhile.

But his plans were far greater than just a face lift or a fountain of youth. No, no...Such things were mere minor tangents compared to what he had planned. But it would take a lot of work. Too much work for one Magikoopa...Which was exactly why he was calling a meeting that night. As of now, only one solitary guest was on his list, but that would change quite quickly.

His scratchy yet smooth voice calmly addressed the servant before him.

"...Is everything in action according to schedule?"

The Toadie before him nervously replied, trembling.

"I, uh...Yessir! Everything is in order. They're all at the ready, prepared to strike....Sir," he spat out hastily to finish.

Kamek smirked devilishly, his teeth as white as pearls.

"Very good, excellent," he murmured slowly, folding his hands before him, resting his elbows on the stone table in the dark, wide room. He rested in the chair of chairs- the Koopa Throne. This chair was quite old and durable- this version had lasted the last six generations, and it looked like it would last six more. A red cushion padded the body, and gold trim traced around its edge. the rest of the chair was made of various materials melted together, creating a hodgepodge of metal that looked mysterious and unworldly.

"Make sure we're prepared to pounce once they leave the atmosphere..."

"Everything is already arranged, M'Lord," the Toadie mumbled sheepishly. "The General has everything perfectly under control."

"Ah...I should know better. He's a well organized one, he is," Kamek muttered, not even looking his servant in the face. But he didn't know that, and nodded quickly.

"But his brother," Kamek spat out, his eyes running back down to the little creature. "Is that Crazy brother presenting any problems...?"

"Oh, no sir," he whispered. "Not at all. As I said, the Master has everything in the palm of his Hand..."

Kamek nodded gently, smiling a bit. That was certainly paying off, wasn't it? Yes...

Then, he remembered the other critical event of the night, and he spoke up curiously.

"Our guest...has he arrived yet...?" the new leader demanded quietly.

"Oh! My apologies, sir," the Toadie shouted out, shaking like a leaf, fearing for his life. "Yes! Your guest is here, M'Lord. He's on his way as we speak!"

"I see. Very good. Everything is flowing nicely...Like...Like liquid down a waterfall..." Kamek paused in thought a moment to dwell on his words.

Then, he dropped his palms to the cold stone surface before him and stood up swiftly.

"Well, then! In that case, I mustn't dawdle. He can be an impatient one...You are excused, Dinky. Go do as you please. Tell the others you have the night off, lest you disturb my meeting."

"Oh, thank you, Sir! Thank you! We'll work extra hard tomorrow, I can assure you!"

"Say yet another word and I will make sure of it that you DO," Kamek said firmly, hsi lips tight. "I wish to be left in utter peace, do you understand?"

The frail Toady nodded meekly, completely understanding. He was one of the small group that had bet Kamek just a day ago.

Kamek had won that bet, and now the bunch of them were his personal slaves. But Kamek was wise. He didn't constantly torment his subjects. Such acts would reduce his number of servants, and he wouldn't stand for that. No...It was best to control them with fear, and let it be known that they shall die if they dare defy him...But yet, he made sure not to go overboard. Sucuuming oneself to the Darkness completly is unhealthy, he knew. No matter what, one must always have some amount of good and evil in them. Otherwise, they may cease to exist. This was Kamek's firm belief, and he always let that be known.

Yes, tonight was quite possibly going to be the best night he'd had in ten years. He was going to make the most of it, that was certain.

~*~*~*~*~*

An irritable sigh spewed forth from the young creature as he stared dully at the colorful screen.

"The least you could do is give me a MATCH," he mumbled with a shake of the head.

The figure sitting to his side huffed and tossed the plastic-coated device to the smooth, tiled floor. It clicked as it bounced on the black marble squares, clattering around before landing to a stop.

"Psh. Well, fine, you be that way," the first person grumbled, shurgging.

The small creature's face bubbled up with anger as he ran his claws through his spikey, rainbow hair in frustration.

The other kid, who still sat, tapping away at his gaming controller, moaned out, "Geez, Igg, what the ****'s YOUR problem?"

In response to this, the Koopa kid snarled back, tossing his arms, "You wanna know what my problem is?! Maybe it's the fact that our dad is missing!"

The sounds echoing from the television screen came to a halt as the word 'Pause' appeared, and the bald-headed creature shifted his head to face his brother.

"What's wrong with Gramps takin' care of things? Stars, man, it's not like Pops never leaves..."

Iggy shook his head slowly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well...I know, Roy, but...Doesn't it seem odd? Since when does Grandpa take charge?" The thoughtful Kooparius scratched his chin, his brows furrowed.

The shade-wearing Koopa kid growled out suddenly, "I told you to never call me 'at."

Iggy paused, confused. "Huh? Call you-?"

"Don't ever call me Roy, a'ight? Spike, man, SPIKE!"

Iggy backed away nervously as the Koopaling formerly known as Roy shouted and waved his arms viciously.

"Whoa, whoa!" came another, higher tone from behind them. He looked just like Iggy- only his hair had been dyed to be completely yellow.

"Hey, Lemmy," Iggy murmured quickly, as Roy returned to his game of Mario Kart- Super Circuit. (Game Boy Player, it rocks.)

"What's up?"

After asking his question, Iggy noticed a hint of excitement in Lemmy's sly blue eyes. He was scheming something.

Iggy returned the toothy grin.

"Well, what's the deal? Where's Larry?" he asked, knowing that a prank was in order. Iggy was really a kind and caring kid, but in teh nature of being a kid, his weakness was his bad habit of joining in on practical jokes- his mechanical prowess often proved very useful, as well.

Lemmy glared at the back of 'Spike,' then quietly motioned Iggy to follow him out of their own bedroom. The red, metal door silently slid so that it was a hair from being closed, and they ventured off into the dark halls.

Tip toeing along toward the bathroom near the cold hallway's end, the two Koopalings had no idea what was lurking in the shadows of the dimly lit stone room.

"GRA!!" cried out a slightly scratchy creature as it lunged at the two kids, sinking its claws and teeth into their hair, pinniong them down.

There were a few moments of utter silence as the fierce eyes of their brother glared at them in a crazed fury.

"Dude, Larry!!" Lemmy growled out, annoyed, pushing the insane Kooparius kid off of him.

"You messed up my frickin' hair!"

Iggy snickered as he stumbled up to his feet.

"That was good, Larry," he admitted, dusting his scaley arms off.

Larry cackled out, loosening his tense body a little before grabbing his older brothers by the shoulders and dragging them all into the bright bathroom.

The room was white and cold, with inch-long tiles platering the walls. A painting of a Bloober was hung on one wall, while various shapes of Shy Guys and Bullet Bills were painted along the tiled walls. This image brought memories of that day, years ago, when the group of the little tikes scribbled the figures on the stone surfaces. It was meant to be a mosiac of Koopa Kid imagination, which was what it still was. It was an idea of their mother...Created just months befoer she left...

But they tried not to think about those sort of things, especially on a day like today. They could get away with stuff now that Dad wasn't around, and they were planning on taking full advantage of the situation. They were in for a rude awakening.

"What's goin' on?!" Iggy demanded eagerly, shaking Larry with his arm.

Larry and Lemmy exchanged amused glances, and Larry decided to speak up and explain.

"Word on the street is that Gramps is havin' somebody over tonight..." he whispered slyly.

Iggy blinked at him expectantly. "...? Yea? So?"

"Psh!" Larry's eeys bulged out. "So we can spy on them! Ya know, maybe cause a little ruckus..."

Lemmy looked like he would burst if he didn't say what was on his mind.

"I heard from those guards that it's somebody FAMOUS!" he exploded out, trying to be quiet.

"Wha?!" Iggy stared at him in surprise.

"Who? Who the heck would be here? And WHY?"

Lemmy laughed. "Yep, I KNEW he'd take the bait. Curious as a monkey..." the sibling said with a smirk.

"Hey!" Iggy spat out in defense, smiling, "Those monkeys on Yoshi's Island are REALLY smart, you know!"

Lemmy giggled and nuggied the multi-colored hair on his twin's head.

"I know, I know, I'm just pickin'...So...You got any ideas?" The two mischievous brothers stared at the third, more timid one hopefully.

Iggy hesitated, caught off guard.

"Errmmm...Well, where are they meeting?" he mumbled, perplexed.

Larry smiled. "Well, see, we don't know for SURE, but Gramps has been stayin' in Pops' throne room all day- I think it'll be there."

Iggy glared at him in disbelief.

"WHAT? Are you insane? How the heck are we supposed to get in there? There's guards all over, and there's no other way in besides the main door!"

Lemmy and Larry nodded slowly, their eyes twinkling.

"I just checked- all the guards are off duty tonight!"

Iggy had a very amused and thoughful look about him now.

"Well...In that case...I think we could arrange something..." he murmured cheerfully.

Suddenly, breaking into their private conversation like a Chain Chomp to lunch, a sharp rapping on the thick door rang through the room like thunder, shaking the three siblings out of their wits.

A high, crisp, yet sweet voice shouted at them in annoyance.

"Hey! What are you idiots doing in there?!" the feminine voice demanded. "I have to go before I go to bed, and I'm not waiting here while you guys whisper sweet nothings to eachother..."

It was Wendy, the only girl born out of the eight in the newest line of the royal Kooparius family. She had two moods, and never seemed to be anything besides those two. One was sweet, adorable, caring, and kind. While the other was cranky, shouted a lot, and acted a little snooty.

After her last comment, the bald, bow-wearing 'Koopette' rolled her beautiful green eyes and huffed through the two slits of nostrils on her snout.

From within the glistening bathroom, Iggy sighed and nodded his head toward the door, still a little shaken from the booming door.

"Uh...Yea, we'd better get out of here," he mumbled, starting to walk to the door.

Larry and Lemmy let out howls of laughter at their brother, and Iggy shook his head.

"Come on, guys," he moaned, dragging them toward the exit with his claws on their arms.

"Since when should we listen to HER? Who does she think she IS?!" Lemmy demanded, still chuckling.

Iggy frowned at them, furrowing his brows. They didn't understand what Wendy was going through lately like he did. Not that they'd CARE, anyway.

"Just shut up, OK?" he spat out, silencing them. "She has a point, anyway. We're not even using the bathroom, so let's just get out, all right?"

Larry and Lemmy knew that Iggy was correct- he was always the voice of reason, and the vocie of reason was always correct to the senisble heart. All of the Koopalings had true hearts, like their parents. It just didn't always shine through with their dad, did it? Meh. He was a good guy deep inside, they all knew.

The three of them marched out warily, muttering their "sorry's" as they passed by. Wendy couldn't help but smirk at them, and as Iggy walked by, she gave him a consoling smile, which he returned.

Out of all the Koopalings, Iggy and Wendy were probably the closest two. Lemmy and Larry definitely related on many things, but they weren't quite as open.

As Larry and Lemmy wandered off into Ludwig's room to have some 'fun,' Wendy stopped her slightly younger sibling with a hand that was surprisingly soft for such a creature.

"Hey," she whispered quickly, staring at him solemnly. Iggy's eyes, which shared the exact same tone of green as his sisters, jumped up from the stone floor to meet hers.

"Yea?" he murmured slowly.

Wendy shook his shoulder a little as she spoke.

"Hey, could you meet me in my room in a couple of minutes? We need to talk..." she said quietly, her eyes darting around the hallway.

"Er...Yea, mm hm," Iggy nodded quickly.

"Thanks, Igg," Wendy whispered back with another smile.

"No prob, sis," he returned as she trotted into the bright bathroom. As the door closed, he was blinded by the sudden lack of light. These halls got pretty dark at night- they were dark as it was in the daytime!

He stumbled around a little, waiting for his eyes to adjust, as he reached out for the relatively light, wooden door before him. It was Wendy's for sure- she was the only person in the catsle who insisted she got a wooden door to her bedroom. She refused to have a filthy, ragged room like most of the others. If it weren't for her and her mother, the whole castle would be infested with mold and dust all the time.

But all the damp, unclean rooms of the Keep would be quickly cleaned, now that the place was under new management. But Wendy was worried as to whether or not this new management was such a good thing.

Minutes later, she popped open the door of the bathroom with some effort and dashed through the darkness into her own room, spitting out, "Sorry, Igg, could you gimme a sec to change into my pajamas?"

Iggy, lost in thought and leaning against the doorway nodded at nothing as the door was closed.

Confused, he pondered whether or not he, too, should get changed. No, he was still planning on looking into the matters of his grandfather's guest.

After about another minute or so, the door flew open, and Iggy felt a playful arm yank him in. he promptly yelped out in surprise as he tumbled to the carpeted floor of Wendy's bedroom.

Wendy was spoiled, many might say, but her brpthers begged to differ. Wendy USED to be spoiled. When she was younger, she was RUTHLESS. But then things changed, after her mother left home, and Wendy developed into a much more kind-hearted kid.

Seh had her own room because she was the only girl, of course. Not only did it have a wood door, but it also had a soft, navy blue floor of carpet, with various pictures of this and that on her walls. Of course, the boys had these, too, just not of the same taste. While Wendy preferred photos of family get-togethers and old friends long gone, Morton and Roy had pictures of deformed skulls and rock bands, while Lemmy and Larry had various posters of female pop artists like Cindy Lynn the sky blue Yoshi, lead vocalist of the 'LavaLava Lamps' or Ally Bean the Fungiade, guitarist of 'The Mistake'.

A marvelously crafted oak dresser, painted white with curved edges and gold handle rested dead ahead. On the right was Wendy's bed, which was about twice her height in length. It had silk curtains surrounding it which created a classic 'Princess' type of look. The room was dimly lit at the time by a chandelier which hung from the ceiling, made of glowing yellow rocks which were strung by small, silver chains.

But Iggy wasn't paying much attention to the scenery- he was focused on his sister with a concerned look about him. Her red shell sat on the floor next to her dresser, the small gold spikes glimmering in the light. Right now she was wearing a soft, fuzzy outfit made of a light pink. A plain pair of shorts were accompanied by a shirt of the same material. Upon the chest of the shirt was the image of a broken heart with two little angel wings popping out of the sides.

"Uh...So...?" Iggy was too tired to think of what this was about.

"Yea," Wendy muttered, nodding quickly.

"You think it's weird, too, don't you?" she whispered seriously.

Iggy was puzzled a moment, but he could tell by the look in her eye what she was talking to. This was one example of how much a friendship could bond between two siblings.

"I do," he admitted slowly. "I don't get why Dad left so suddenly and such, and why Grandpa is in charge. I mean, usually it's Ludwig who takes the reigns...I think something's up..."

"Something IS up, Igg," Wendy whispered, a little fear in her voice. Iggy stared at her with a frown, curious.

"What do you mean...?" he asked slowly.

Wendy sighed and placed her palm on her forehead for a moment, the short, red-painted claws on the ends of her finger spreading out on her yellow skin.

"I overheard Grandpa talking to some guys earlier and stuff, and..."

"...And what?" Iggy demanded, on the edge of his seat.

"Grandpa lied to us!" Wendy whimpered out quickly.

Iggy paused, his jaw dropped.

"...But Grandpa never lies..." he murmrued in awe.

Wendy nodded hurriedly, and continued.

"I know, I know...OK, I guess he didn't LIE, but...He misled us."

"...How so?" Iggy muttered, keeping his cool.

Wendy clasped her hands together in her lap as she sat cross-legged.

"Well...He said that Daddy went on vacation, right...?"

Her brother simply nodded, his brows furrowed, his jaw ajar.

"Well...What he DIDN'T tell us is that Daddy's not supposed to be coming back..."

Iggy froze, now understanding.

"Whoa...Wait, what makes you so sure?" he demanded calmly, reaching his arms out to console Wendy.

"I-I heard him talk about how he kicked Daddy out, and how he's the King now..." Wendy mumbled, pushing her brother's arms away.

Iggy shook his head in disbelief. This was unlike anything he'd ever dreamed of. His father- KICKED OUT of the castle? Then again, it HAD happened before, hadn't it? No, that was different. Smithy had no relation. But their own GRANDFATHER? Now THAT was a shock.

"Well...I...-" Iggy couldn't find words.

Wendy glared at him frightfully, her teeth grit in worry.

"And you'll never guess who's inside the castle as we speak!" she squealed out.

Iggy shook his head slightly, awaiting the answer.

Wendy took a deep breath before her trembling voice managed to mutter the answer.

"...Grampa's having a meeting with the 'King of Evil'...Ganondorf!!"

~*~*~*~*~*

"Hehe...OK, then...So what's the plan?" asked the sly, scratchy voice of Larry Kooparius.

"Well," began Lemmy, tapping his chin. "I was planning on just having an old-fashioned sneak in and such..."

"What? How are we supposed to sneak in?" Larry demanded, confused.

Lemmy chuckled at him and gave a reply.

"We COULD go through the air ducts..." he pointed out, lifting a finger.

Larry frowned. "Yea, but...I dunno, Lem," Larry muttered, unsure.

His rainbow-headed brother stared at the blue-top in disbelief.

"What? Larry, afraid?" he murmured in a sarcastic awe.

Larry growled out in defense, "Hey, hey! I never said I was afraid! It's just that...Last time we did that, we all got caught, and that wasn't too great..." He shook his head and furrowed his blue brows.

Lemmy paused to ponder this, then came to a conclusion.

"Then I guess you're not coming," he declared confidently. "I am, and there's no other way in there besides the main door, which is out of the question."

Larry nodded slowly, still having his doubts. But then his own nature kicked in, and he could care less about risks.

"What about Iggy?" he said quickly.

Lemmy huffed and shook his head.

"Forget about it. He'd rather have his frickin' tea party with Wendy," the Koopaling grumbled.

Just then, a loud creaking noise made them jolt- it was late, and everyone was supposed to be sleeping. The two couldn't quite see who it was, but when they saw the gigantic mop of hair on his head, they knew.

"Hey, Ludwig!" Lemmy cried out to his older brother, who was making his way down the hall toward them.

"Where do you think YOU'RE going?!"

As he passed by, he glowered down at them, his height slightly overcoming.

"I'm getting a drink- why?" he inquired in his sophisticated, Bristish accent. "It's far past your bedtime, isn't it, oh dearest brother of mine?" The last section of his sentence was clearly sarcastic and annoyed.

"Isn't it past yours?" Larry demanded, suspicious.

"Oh, heavens no," Ludwig mumbled.

"I'm actually doing WORK- I'm preparing for a violin solo at the concert being held in a week at Shy Square, not participating in such shnanigans as you two."

As he trodded off down the hall with his instrument in hand, he began to slide his arm around, creating the friction which produced a slow and sad tune that reminded one of the sea. (Imangine the 'water' theme of the original Super Mario Bros., played in solo violin.)

The lovely notes soothed the two tired creatures, but they snapped themselves awake at the task at hand.

"OK, OK...Let's move, then!" Lemmy muttered, waving a hand as he dashed down the dark, barely lit stone halls.

~*~*~*~*~*

"****, man!" came Roy's cocky voice in complaint.

"****, Morton, can you plug that nose o' yours? You snore worse than Pops!"

The bald, heavy Koopa moaned out, scratching his stomach roughly and stretching the other arm. He was without his shell, which was tossed aside his messy bed, hiding among the other various objects strewn about the cold, black floor.

He snorted a bit, squinting his fat nose a little and wiping his clawed hand over his left eye- the one that had a silver star painted around it.

"You're droolin' man!" Roy grumbled out in disgust.

Morton slowly moved his other arm to wipe away the saliva sliding out of his mouth.

As he slowly sat up, an odd sputtering noise erupted from his bed- it sounded muffled.

"****!!" Roy shouted, turning his head and pinching his nose. "Whachoo been eatin'?! Methane?!"

Morton, as usual, grunted out a reply and hopped out of bed, tripping over clothes and magazines, soem of which weren't 'appropiate' for his age.

He was wearing a pair of boxers with the faces of Chain Chomps printed on them.

Roy was still in his shell, however, and was also still hunched before his TV screen, cruising through Bowser's Castle 3 with Wario.

Morton grunted as he grabbed a gray piece of plastic with colorful buttons on it. It had no wire, and Morton flicked a small switch on it with his right index nail, igniting a small, neon green light.

"Oh...You wanna get yo' *** kicked, huh?" 'Spike' laughed out.

Morton grinned, showing his canines.

~*~*~*~*~*

"Man...Maybe this wasn't such a good idea..." came the uncertain, raspy voice of Larry in a whisper.

"Hey, hey, we're doin' fine," grumbled Lemmy quietly.

"And since when did YOU ever join sides with us, huh?" he turned back to face his yellow-headed sister.

Wendy sighed and shook her head, muttering, "Listen, we're only here because we wanna know what's up with Grandpa..." she told him softly.

"Yea, something's weird," Iggy mumbled from behind her.

As they crawled on forward through the metal ducts, trying as hard as possible to make little noise- which was fairly tough when you were a Koopa, they began to hear voices from a vent up ahead.

"Eck," Wendy whimpered, sticking out her tongue as she gazed at her knees. "This place is gross! When was the last time it was cleaned-"

Larry had slapped his scaly palm on her smooth face, and she got the hint to shut up quite quickly.

"They're talkin'!" Lemmy whispered, sneaking up over the vent, making way for the others. Larry crawled across to his side, while Iggy and Wendy stayed on the opposite, peering their heads down to see only a section of the red carpet that was rolled before the throne. From then on, they were dead silent for a few minutes.

"Mmm...But how?" came a deep, thundering voice.

The calm and scratchy voice of their grandfather-in-law started after the wizard cleared his throat roughly.

"It's very simple, actually," he began.

"I just needed a little boost to start things off..."

The first voice, obviously that of Ganondorf, pressed another question.

"Wait...I don't get it...Why did you just...kick him out?"

There was a quiet cackling from Kamek as they could hear him shifting in his new seat.

"Well, what use was he? After all, he would't accept it. He'd just be a nuisance. Now those goody-goodies get to worry about him."

"Ah...I get it," came Ganondorf. "OK, OK...That makes some sense, I guess...But how did you do it? I didn't think that...-" he trailed off, puzzled.

"It IS possible, Ganondorf...and now..." They couldn't see, but he was grinning merrily.

"Now they must serve ME. It's actually quite HANDY, I must say myself..."

A few booming laughs from the Evil Gerudo echeod through the room and up through the ducts, bouncing from wall to wall.

After he died down, he popped the next quiz.

"So...You revived them, but...I mean, you still haven't explained..."

Kamek nodded slowly at the other 'King,' who was sitting in a gold trimmed seat merely five feet before him.

"All right...fair enough..." he mumbled, shifting a little bit more.

"It's like this...I summoned the will of the twins, and the Destination appeared before me, as if they were BEGGING for help...I don't blame them. It's bad enough being beaten by one hero, but dozens? Hehe...I pitied them in a way, but no longer..."

"...Why?"

"Because they've been blessed. If it weren't for myself, they'd still be scrap floating through space."

Ganondorf scratched his chin slowly and nodded again.

"Aha...All right. I see it now. They're in your debt...because you saved them..." His tone progressivley grew more eager as he spoke.

"Precisely," Kamek hissed back in joy.

"I mean, THINK ABOUT IT. If I can do it to THEM...Then who ELSE can I do it to? Imangine...We could gather a great team of people like us...People who want power...We could bond together and CONQUER together!"

Ganondorf's face was pale and in shock.

"You mean...Like, create a team of...villains...?" he was standing up in his chair, riled up now.

"Well, of course! I mean, I'm surprised it hasn't been thought of. The first members of my elite team are the Master and Crazy Hands...Who knows who else I could recruite? So...Are you in? Do you want to join...?" His voice was sly and happy at the same time, for he knew by the look on the Gerudo's face exactly what the answer was.

"Yes! Yes, sign me up!"

"Haha! I thought as much. Good, yes, very good..." Kamek tapped his wand on the gold arm of the chair, and the room was illuminated by a bright flash of neon green light.

The Koopalings sat there, petrified. What was going ON? Talk about changes...

After about ten seconds, they realized that no one was in the room.

"Uh...Wendy," Iggy muttered. "I think we've got MUCH WORSE things to wory about than your dirty pajamas..."

~*~*~*~*~*

 

[ZeekeXIV]

Nice, nice chapter. Time well spent with the Koopa Kids. And the plot just took a giant leap forward. Man, this is gonna be good...

I think the Koopa Kids should be bought back for another Mario Adventure. I can clearly remember all of them from the TV show that used to come on, back in the day. Man, do I remember how spoiled and bratty Wendy was in the show... My favorite Koopaling is Ludwig. He's just the man!

To answer your question about Chrono Trigger:

YES. I've played it and loved it. Such a great game... Some Chrono Trigger characters make a special guest appearence sometime in my fic.

I also have Chrono Cross. Another underrated game, if you ask me. I love that game so much...

 

[Destiny Smasher]

Chrono Cross? *drools* Yea, it's the only PS1 game I own.

Wanna know how I got it?

I borrowed it from one of my friends, since all of them owned it.

And, well...After about a year, I remembered it wasn't mine...

But when I went to give it back, everyone said they already HAD their copy of Chrono Cross...

So...I got to keep it!! ^_^

Chrono Trigger is a much harder game to come by, however.

Yes, the Koopa Kids made an appearence in Mario+Luigi: Superstar Saga as bosses. It was cool, but they never spoke.

Yes, I know that Wendy was a brat. Right now, they're all in their 'tweens' or so...So Wendy's grown up a bit. Besides, after her mother left, she realized how mean she was being, and put some blame on herself.

As you hopefully realized, Iggy and Wendy will be the most important of the Koopalings. They'll come back for a spell sometime in the 40's as well, as I have planned.

HAHA!!

Let the Melee matches commence!!

~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 23- Fifty Seven

"I TOLD you, I'm FINE! Stars, you guys worry too much!" her sweet yet sour tone cried out in annoyance as she tossed her arms.

Yoshi smiled warmly as he hiked along, though nobody was looking at him. THAT was the good ol' Snoball he knew so well. She's been wuite ill that day, and when she got ill, she didn't act like her normal self. However, no matter hard tough she acted on the outside, her insides were soft and squishy, and Yoshi was one of the VERY few people who ever got to see that side of her.

But right now, his thoughts shouldn't be concentrated on that. They should be on the matters at hand. Right now, they needed to find a good place to sleep. It wasn't incredibly dark or anything, but...It wasn't too bright outside, either. The sun's crimson glow was being cast on the sparkling shores. They had journeyed the rest of the afternoon up to the shores beyond Aqua Cavern. Rumor was that a boat of some kind was dropping by in the area.

They had already caught sight of the vessel by now, but it was long off, and only appeared as a fat dot off in the distance with lights shining out of its top.

What they didn't know at the time was what kind of chaos was ensuing within the vehicle. They would have to sit and wait patiently to find out.

~*~*~*~*~*

"WOOHOO! WOWIE! Talk about a fight! Man! Those two green-garbed heroes really went at it, didn't they?" cried out an energetic Larry.

"No kidding, Lar! That was NICE. But, in the end, the Evlan King of Smash proved to be in better shape, huh? It's like I told you- he's on a roll. Bigger and better than even a Chomp Rock down Mt. Kodiak, I'd say!" Jim responded.

"Hm...Yea, I have to admit, that was pretty spectacular," mused a fat-nosed, well-educated man with a thick black mustache and a white coat.

"The way Luigi was able to take advantage over Link's lack of speed proved to be useful..."

"Right you are, Doctor," piped Jim, "But Luigi's Green Missile did him in, like it has so many times. I'll admit, I was shocked, but, hey. That's the way it goes." Jim shrugged roughly and let his hands hit the desk.

"Indeed," came Doctor Mario. "That's both a weakness and a strength. Sometimes those mis-fires give a burst of speed and power that can turn the tide, but...In THIS case, it proved to be fatal, and Link's simple dodge kept him in the game long enough for Luigi to plummet out of bounds."

"All in all a good match," Larry concluded. "But next we've got a match for the ages. It's epic duo against epic duo! That's right- the Ice Climbers will came mallet to claw with Banjo and Kazooie! Don't miss it!"

~*~*~*~*~*

"Psh! Bahaha," snickered the low, growly voice of the bald turtle.

"Are you kiddin' me? GRAMPS? Taking out DAD? And I thought that I did drugs..." 'Spike,' or Roy, tossed his arms and turned to the TV to see Iggy in the spot he had occupied just minutes before.

"YO! Dude, wh-..What the ****, man?! I was playin' Super Circuit!"

Iggy frowned, not even looking at his brother, staring at the screen coldly, his arms dark and furious.

"I don't care! This is OUR room, anyway! I gave you and Morton a good while to play and mess around. Now you all get back to your own filthy room and listen to your heavy metal," he grumbled, trying to delete the thoughts that were rushing through his mind.

Roy stared at his in disbelief.

"Fine!" he spat out, shaking his head.

"What **** are you playing, anyway?"

A vein on Iggy's forehead bulged slightly as he snapped, "It's not ****, it's Final Fantasy Origins! If it weren't for the very first Final Fantasy, many of the greatest games ever known wouldn't exist!"

'Spike' gave his brother a puzzled look and shrugged, too tired at this point to argue. Watching two sets of sprites hammer eachother over and over wasn't going to keep him awake much longer. With that, he began to leave, mumbling to Morton to follow. Morton hopped up of off Lemmy's bed lazily, scratching his butt slowly and blinking even slower.

"And by the way, I'm NOT lying," Iggy spat out, annoyed. "Ask the others- they saw it, too!"

"Whatever!" Roy growled out, shifting into the dark halls.

"And don't forget your stupid shell, Morton," Iggy added sternly, knowing his sibling had completely forgotten.

The silver-headed Koopaling paused, grunted a little, staring at his fat shell, and scooped it up groggily before waddling out of teh room. Lemmy and Larry had just finished changing into their pajamas, and the shells of all three of the kids, who shared the same room, were strewn about randomly.

"Wow...You OK, Iggs?" Larry croaked out, still shaken, but trying not to act it.

"WHat do you THINK?!" Iggy almost shouted as his White Mage was felled by an Ogre.

"Haha," Lemmy snickered, pointing at the unconcious girl on the screen.

"It took out all her HP in one hit! you SUCK, bro..."

"She's only on level TWO, OK? I've only been playing for an hour, leave me alone...HEY! Wait! I mean...RRR! How could you care about my stupid game when GANONDORF IS IN OUR HOUSE, plotting to kill people with our GRANFATHER?!"

Lemmy blinked at him quickly, surprised by his quiet brother's burst of fury.

"Uhh...I...I'm just tryin' to lighten the mood. Besides, it's no biggie. Dad'l be back. He always is. Our good ol' Dad would never let Grandpa do something like this..."

"But Lemmy, that's what worries me..." Iggy whispered, now back to the field screen. "I mean...Grandpa just doesn't seem like that sort of person...But...Then again...That's the thing about people, isn't it? They can surprise you..."

~*~*~*~*~*

"I can't believe it...Who'd have thought it?!" Yoshi cried out in excitement as people began to pour out of the collosal vessel.

"The H.S.S.?! HERE?! I mean, what are the chances of that! We get a ride, AND we get a show..." he mumbled, feeling eager.

Tarts felt strange as they approached the ship, however. She felt it was hard to enjoy oneself at a time like this. But, then again...It couldn't hurt...Right? They wouldn't be getting there any faster NOT watching something good. What they didn't know was what was in store.

As they approached the gargantuan arena, they passed clusters of people who were retreating to a big, bright bus. The bus was made of fluffy, cloud material, and a Lakitu with a friendly mustache was at the driver's seat.

"Come along, now, it's late. Wouldn't want to catch a death of cold out here, you know," he muttered to the passengers who were boarding.

"Next stop," he declared loudly to those still trodding along, "Tulip Town! All aboard!!"

Yoshi smiled with glee as he made his way through hoards of Fungiades, Yoshies, Trooaps, Goombas...You name it- it was there.

His pals had a difficult time keeping up with him- especially the stil semi-sick Snoball. But Tarts was right behind to ease her along, as friends do for eachother.

"Yoshi!" panted out Fireball. "SLOW DOWN!!"

But their green buddy was too far to hear, and the crowd around them was commenting about what had been going on inside.

"Come ON, Mom," moaned a drowsy-eyed little Fungiade with a black head- no spots. "We were just gettin' to the good stuff!"

"I said no, and no is final," came the strict tone of a mother at his side. "We have to get off and get to your grandmothers as quick as we can- it is WAY past you bedtime..."

"Awwww, but mom-"

"I can't believe it! SO intense!" came a hippy-looking Yoshi with a feather necklace and bracelets. He was light blue, and stood next to a red female with a similar get-up.

"I KNOW, dude...It was so gnarly..."

Surfer paused to wave 'hello' to the two- Jat, the male, and Kosh, the female.

"DUDE! Surf, man!" came Jat, snapping alive with energy.

"Sorry, Dude and Dudette," came Surfer, shifting his shades slowly. "But I gotta juice. Let's catch some waves sometime down at Yoshina, all right?" he called out to them as he began to kick into a run again.

"Anytime, bodacious boy!" Kosh called out dreamily.

Snoball and Tarts were farther behind, and were passing through the barely dark sands through a group of fanatics. They had paint upon their bodies, creating an odd circle with a cross through it that they knew from somewhere. One was a black, large-bellied Yoshi. Another was a Para-Troopa with a white shell, and the last was a relatively tall and broad Fungiade with blue head and red stripes. The symbol was painted onto their bellies, and they carried cans of 'KeroKero Kiss,' an alcoholic beverage with the same content as the average beer.

"Ohhh, man...We gotta get to your house NOW, man!" cried the Fungiade to the Yoshi. "We gotta watch the end on TV. If we hurry, we might even catch the semi-finals, too..."

"All Elf-Man, all the way," came the Black one drowsily.

"NAW, man. That fairy? Psh. No, it's ten-four to the Koopa King!" the mushroom man disagreed.

"Nope, uh nope," muttered the Para-Troopa. "Let's just go and storm the beaches of Normandy, instead, huh...?" He was DEFINITELY intoxicated.

"Geez...What a freak show," Tarts murmured as they hurried along to the big, black object on the shore.

"Tell me about it," Snoball huffed, panting some, her throat still sore. "People can really shock you sometimes...But...I wonder what the deal is...Unless..." Her eyes lit up as she slowed a bit to catch her breath.

"What is it? You OK?" Tarts checked, concerned.

"I'm fine," Snoball assured, smiling devilishly.

~*~*~*~*~*
OH!

Hey, I promised this kid I would do this for him...

http://fortytwo42.proboards22.com/index.cgi

It's not big- it just started, but he's the admin. You should see this kid, he's, like, a 3-foot tall Chinese kid who's in 8th grade. He got really excited when I noticed he was on a gaming forum, so he exploded on me- it was kinda cute.

Anyway, just check it out soon, would ya?

 

[ZeekeXIV]

I used that site for a forums page once. If it weren't for all the popups on that site, it would be real good. But then again, I use Mozilla! Tremble at that name, Popups!

Nice chapter. Short but sweet. I was wondering if Yoshi was somehow going to show up at the Smash Tourney.

What I think is gonna happen...

There's an odd number of fighers, and the crowd was gonna be able to choose which of the losers would be able to return and fight again. But somehow, Yoshi gets spotted in the audience and the crowd wants HIM to fight. After some reluctance and persuasion from his friends (and a little bit of taunting from Fireball) he goes and fights.

I'm probably way off, but that'd be cool if that's what's gonna happen. It'd be even cooler if he ended up winning; beating out Bowser in the final match!

 

[Destiny Smasher]

Totally wrong?

Oh, yes.

~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 24- The Great H.S.S. Arena

As their feet clomped up the huge metal bridge of the floating stadium, they were overcome with sound and lights. Behind them, the black, hard ramp they had just climbed began to slide upward very slowly. But they were too amazed to notice this and turn around. They were in the outside hallway. It ran around the circumference of the vehicle, and it was here that people could purchase food, go to the restroom, and use the phone. But smack ahead of them was a huge opening in the metal walls.

And beyond this opening was a brilliant sight never before seen on the seas. Bright lights were up high on poles, illuminating the whole stadium. Hundreds of on-lookers were seated in soft, black chairs to witness what was going on in the center stage. The platform that was elevated above the ground was nestled nicely underneath the gigantic glass dome above them. The sky was getting progressively darker above them.

Yoshi had come to a halt at the entrance to this fantastic sight. His friends slowly crept up to him in awe.

Up there in the air, suspended where everyone could see, were four people.

Two small eskimos and a bear-bird combo. The two teams were alligned on opposing sides, the Ice Climbers on the right, Banjo-Kazooie on the left.

Snoball's eyes were glowing with anticipation.

"I KNEW it!" she exclaimed, breaking them all out of their silence. "It's a MELEE tournament!"

Yoshi sighed and shook his head. "Yea, but...How can they be having a tournament at a time like this?" he demanded, confused.

Fireball grumbled out, "Maybe because it's OUR problem and none of their business, remember?"

Yoshi paused, suddenly remembering that the universe didn't revolve around Yoshi's Island.

"Oh...Duh." He smacked the side of his head quickly in realization. This day had been long.

Two Fungiades in black tuxidoes stood before them, one at each side of the door.

"Yo," said one cooly, sliding his spiffy black shades down his eyes. "You da Prince Yosh man?" he question slowly.

The group of them turned to the little man, a bit surprised at the fact they hadn't noticed him before.

"Oh! Uh...Well, yea," Yoshi mumbled, shrugging.

"Hehe...Well, well," muttered the other guard. "Never thought I'd see you here...Thought you called in sick...?" he said quietly.

Yoshi sighed and shook his head.

"Not exactly. I've just been...kinda busy, and all, so...Why? Is this a Melee tournament?"

"Well, duh," said the first 'Toad.' "What's look like?"

The second one added some more.

"Anyway, if you're really who you claim to be, you've gotta talk wit' our management. We could arrange for some seats to your liking..."

Snoball was teeming with excitement, her fists balled up at her sides.

"YEA! That sounds good!" she spat out quickly between grit teeth.

~*~*~*~*~*

The figures of two turtles stood tall and oversaw the whole operation. This was their turf, their domain- their home. This floating, traveling arena. It was all theirs. Their years of work and toil, all led up to nights like this. Their thousands of seats were packed full of customers, and they were rolling in money. The League of Smashers had come to theit mobile home, and TV stations all over had paid them to run the broadcast of the tournament that night.

The cheers and roars of the fans, the shouting of the participants, the banging of helms...THIS was what they lived for.

"Hey, Bosses," piped up a deep voiced 'Toad' clad in a tux. "We got surprise guests..."

There, before them, stood the Prince of the Yoshina Kingdom.

Their eyes bulged a bit, and their jaws dropped.

"Wha...I thought you couldn't show up...?!" squeaked out one of the two ladies.

"Yea! WHy are you here NOW?" asked the other twin.

Yoshi sighed and shook his head.

"Well, uh, it turns out that we need a ride to Shy Isle," he mumbled, a little nervous at the sight of these two.

They had broad arms and legs, wore thick, round shells, kneepads, elbowpads, and helmets. All of their gear was a dull pinkish color, and their eyes sparked with eagerness.

"Hey!" Snoball cried, running up to the two, who were both about as tall as her.

"You're...-" she trailed off, shocked and excited.

They both smirked at the girl and nodded slowly.

Fireball huffed.

"You're Hammer Brothers..." he grumbled, shaking his head.

The two turtles swelled up with instant fury and spat out in unison, "We're the Hammer SISTERS!!!"

Fireball laughed, tossed his arms, and turned to face the battle being waged a distance away through the plexiglass window.

"And you'd better not forget- we OWN this place!" cried out the left one.

"Yea! This here's the H.S.S. Arena! The Hammer Sister Stadium!" the right added.

"Isn't Stadium Arena kinda redundant...?" Yoshi muttered, a little puzzled.

They both paused a moment, then went on to ignore that comment.

"Anyway, you guys say you need a trip to Shy Isle?" the first one checked, changing the subject.

Yoshi nodded, while everyone else was engrossed in the Melee match before them.

"Ah..." The two turtles exchanged devilish glances to one another.

"Well," began the second in an informative tone, "It just so happens that that is our last stop tonight, and we could use a little more air time after the Finals..."

Yoshi crossed his arms, confused.

The two Sisters sighed at the same moment, as twins can do, and both said in unison, "We need a show!"

The green boy's eyes popped open, and it all made sense.

"Oh! Well...Uh...We could arrange that," he said with confidence, nodding his head to Tarts and Fireball. "Just put those two in the same ROOM and it's entertainment. I can only imangine what putting them in an ARENA would be like..."

The Sisters smiled at him merrily.

"Good! Well, we'll call you when we need you, then. A ride you have, goos Sir!"

"Now, please escort these Yoshies to the Personal Boxes, please," the second Sister ordered of the black-suited guards.

"No prob, ma'am," one muttered, waving his hand, signaling their guests to follow.

~*~*~*~*~*



Their jaws were agape- except Yoshi's that is. About fifty soft, cushy seats were sprawled before them- most of which were taken up at the time. A large barrier of plexiglass separated them from the outside chaos as four fighters waged war upon one another- two teams of two, really.

A few speakers were scattered about the room, and the sounds of announcers could be heard from their insides.

"Wow! Just look at the way they performed that string of Smashes! Those little eskimos are on a roll!"

"Right you are, Jim. Like a snoball spinning down a snowy hill!"

The chatting of the special guests around them wasn't too quiet or too loud. Maybe that was because of the blaring speakers. No one seemed to notice them at first, and the smooth guard that had escorted them brought them to their seats alongside the famous Smashers.

A sort of tall man with green clothing was watching contently beside where Yoshi began to sit, and his eyes slid up to investigate the movement next to him.

His brilliant, glowing blue eyes- the same that his brother had- lit up even brighter than usual in surprise and disbelief.

"...Y-Yoshi?!" he muttered out in awe. "But...I thought that you weren't coming...!"

Yoshi laughed as he removed his brown pack, dropping it to the smooth tile floor before him as he took his chair.

With an exhuasted groan, he rested at last.

"Yea," he mumbled. "I wasn't planning on it, but...-" he trailed off, and Luigi stared at him expectantly.

"...But what?" he asked quickly, scratching his smooth 'stache a little.

"Well, I'm busy, and I need to get to Shy Isle. Just so happens that this is the quickest way there right now."

Luigi nodded, feeling that anything beyond that was not his business.

"Oh. Well, that's great! Good to see ya- it's been a while..."

Yoshi chuckled a little. This past day had felt like a week. A while, indeed.

"Yep..." he moaned.

Luigi nodded to Yoshi's left, where Tarts sat, her eyes tired, but overseeing the fight with all due interest all the same.

"I see ya brought some of your buds," he muttered.

"Hey, Tarts," he said louder, waving his hand nimbly.

Tarts shook her head, waking herself up,a nd faced the man.

"Oh! Luigi! Hi," she said sweetly, smiling with courtesy.

As Luigi began to converse with them, other various conversations were being carried out throughout the room. Despite this, almost every eye was set on the fight between the Ice Climbers and Banjo and Kazooie.

"Oh, I know man," Fox moaned, shaking his head to Kirby. "Been a real rough week here, too..."

Kirby paused a moment in thought. He decided to change the subject and ask for some advice.

"Hey, uh...Fox...?" he mumbled, actually looking at him.

"Yea?" came the sharp-faced friend, his alert and serious eyeballs glaring straight out the window.

"Well...OK. See...-" He just couldn't phrase his question properly. He let out a small growl and spat it out.

"Listen, I kinda like this girl, but...I don't know what to do about it...Could you help me...?" his voice was timid and embarrassed.

Fox paused in perplexment and turned his attention to his small, puffy pal.

"...Huh?" he murmured, shaking his head quickly.

Kirby sighed, but before he could say another word, Fox answered.

"Listen, Kirby, I don't really think I can help you out much there...Just...Be yourself, ya know?I mean, if you can find someone who likes you for YOU, well then...-" He didn't feel like he needed to finish and simply rotated his hand, then got sucked back in to the match.

Kirby nodded, taking note of that.

"Hey," came a sort of low voice from behind him. He spun to see the big-headed Ness relaxing in a chair, a big tub of popcorn in his lap. He tapped the seat to his right roughly, motioning Kirby to come sit. As the fluff did so, he made his suggestion.

"Hm...All right. Just gimme a sec, and...-" His beady eyes probed Kirby's innocent ones for a seconds, and finally those two little black dots on the psychic's face became filled with knowledge.

"OK!" he mumbled in his taunting tone, nodding his head thoughtfully.

"I get the picture...Here's what I think..." He opened his eyes to meet Kirby's, raising his index finger into the air. "You guys need some more...uh...'alone' time, you know? Just time for the both of you to relax a little, without stress and other people. You both aren't open enough with eachother. Talk a little, it can't hurt."

With that, Ness continued munching on his extremely buttery popcorn, not giving it another thought. Kirby's mind whirled a bit from that, and it made him think.

"It's pointless," came the dreary 'voice' of Mewtwo from Ness's side, 'speaking' to his neighbor.

"No it's not!" Captain Falcon, to Mewtwo's left, disagreed. "It loosens ya up, man! Live a little! No stress, no worries...Ya just RELAX. It's sweet, man."

Mewtwo rolled his dark, purple eyes. Those eyes were cold and lonely, secluding themselves from the universe.

Donkey Kong, who had overheard their conversation from behind them, poked his big head forward and declared in his smooth, low voice, "Alcohol is the cause of, AND solution to all of the world's problems, man." Upon seeing Mewtwo's ignoring glare, DK huffed with a smile. "Ah, but look at you. You're too fancy for beer, huh? Meh. Dat's coo. All the more for us, huh?" He grinned to Falcon.

Captain Falcon was surely the one of them all who drank the most. Falco was close in second, while the rest didn't really drink to get drunk. Fox and Donkey Kong dabbled with it here and there, and Samus, too, when she was extremely aggrevated or upset.

Suddenly, there was an uproar from the crowds, and everyone who had previously not been paying attention was drawn to the arena to see two very sweaty kids in thick suits panting under the hot lights, yet smiling all the same. For they had bested the bear-bird duo in a Melee match.

~*~*~*~*~*

 

[ZeekeXIV]

Aww man, I'm wrong... Oh well.

Good chapter. I always wondered what HSS stood for.

 

[MewtwoMaster2002]

Great update. So Kirby has a crush on Tiff huh. Why would he ask Fox for advice on that?

 

[Destiny Smasher]

Kirby likes Tiff a lot, yea.

Obviously, I'm combining elements of the show with elements of the games- I actually do the same thing with Donkey Kong.

I like the character Tiff from the show, so I threw her and her brother in. *shrug* Simple as that. Kirby is a BABY on the show- DID NOT throw that in.

I had to give Kirby his own persona, and mature Tiff some. I think she's still like her TV show self, but hopefully she seems older.

Kirby, now that I think about it, gets caught in quite a strange romantic...shape...

It's not really a triangle, but you'll think it is.

Have you guys met ChuChu yet? O_o I don't know if she's been introduced or not...*sweatdrop*

Well, she will be, soon enough.

Tiff is...Well...Independent, that's for sure. She can certainly take care of herself. She's a leader type, too. Smart and caring, Tiff is around so that everyone ELSE doesn't screw themselves up, which happens on the show a LOT. If it wasn't for her, heck knows what would've befalled their stupid town by now...-_-'

If they weren't all dumb Cappies I wouldn't mind half the characters...

As for Kirby asking Fox about Tiff...

He's been trying to ask about anyone he doesn't think is a moron.

 

[Destiny Smasher]

Kirby likes Tiff a lot, yea.

Obviously, I'm combining elements of the show with elements of the games- I actually do the same thing with Donkey Kong.

I like the character Tiff from the show, so I threw her and her brother in. *shrug* Simple as that. Kirby is a BABY on the show- DID NOT throw that in.

I had to give Kirby his own persona, and mature Tiff some. I think she's still like her TV show self, but hopefully she seems older.

Kirby, now that I think about it, gets caught in quite a strange romantic...shape...

It's not really a triangle, but you'll think it is.

Have you guys met ChuChu yet? O_o I don't know if she's been introduced or not...*sweatdrop*

Well, she will be, soon enough.

Tiff is...Well...Independent, that's for sure. She can certainly take care of herself. She's a leader type, too. Smart and caring, Tiff is around so that everyone ELSE doesn't screw themselves up, which happens on the show a LOT. If it wasn't for her, heck knows what would've befalled their stupid town by now...-_-'

If they weren't all dumb Cappies I wouldn't mind half the characters...

As for Kirby asking Fox about Tiff...

He's been trying to ask about anyone he doesn't think is a moron.

~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter 25- Old Skool Fight, New Skool Rules

The atmosphere intensified as time quickly sped by- and so did the enormous vehicle they were all riding within. The quarterfinals ended sooner than the onlookers thought.

Mario overtook Marth to advance, while Link popped Jigglypuff's bubble to go on. Finally, Bowser and the Ice Climbers squared off, and the Koopa King snatched victory just barely.

As the announcers muttered their compliments and complaints, the Smashers were chattering away- it wasn't everyday they got to see eachother. A few had yet to notice that Yoshi and his pals were hitching a ride.

When Mario found out, he was overjoyed to meet up with some of his old friends.

"Man, you guys are growin' up so fast," he'd muttered upon gazing at them in amazement. "How old are you now? Like, 16...?"

Yoshi nodded, smiling warmly from his comfortable seat.

"Yea..." he murmured, relaxed.

"And how about you, Tarts, how are things?" he cheerily asked her, setting himself laziliy into a cushy black seat behind them.

"Oh, well," Tarts began, sounding a bit nervous. "Things have been p-pretty crazy, ya know..." she nodded her head, trying to ignore and forget the mess she was currently in.

Mario chuckled quietly and replied, "Yea, I've been there. I remember what it was like when I was 16..." As he remineced of days long past, the door to the private box was opened and the Ice Climber couple came in, grumbling to eachother.

"It's not MY fault you had to go and DIE on me like that," Nana protested with a huff.

"Psh. Yea, I know. You couldn't survive longer than two seconds without me, COULD you? He was SO CLOSE to being gone, but you just let it SLIP like an icecube between your fingers!" Popo growled out angrily.

Nana's face lost its confidence and she sighed bitterly, whipping her hood off and tossing her puffy outfit to the chair she plopped into. She was wearing a tee shirt and shorts of the same color underneath, and pushed back a few sticky strands of her thick, chocolate hair back. It was about shoulder length and would normally be smooth and soft, but after a hard day of Melee it was dishevled and sweaty.

Popo's head was revealed as he, too, dropped his hand-made snowsuit, only he placed his on the floor. He had a smooth and normally shiny bowl cut, which had remained relatively intact. Their mallets had been leaned up against a wall on the other side of the room, as were their mittens.

"You guys did good," Luigi assured them with empathy.

Popo huffed and rolled his eyes, while Nana smiled sweetly and answered, "Thank you VERY much, Luigi- you did well yourself."

Luigi shifted his cap a little, his eyes twinkling with anticipation. "Yea, well...Competition has been real nasty lately," he remarked warily. "You gotta be in it to win it, or you're not going to go very far..."

Nana frowned sadly and muttered, "It's not whether you win or lose, it's-"

"You know who always says that?!" Popo grumbled, cutting his twin sister off. "LOSERS always say that!"

Nana's frown turned to a grouchy one, but she thought it best to let teh situation go and move to a different seat, farther away from her grumpy brother and closer to the Yoshies.

"It's allright," Tarts assured her with a grin. "Don't let him get to ya- that's EXACTLY what he WANTS..." The last part of her sentence was loud and stressed as she glared at Fireball, saying it between grit teeth.
Yoshi gave Nana a smirk- she knew what it was like, just like he did.
After a few minutes of relative silence from the audience, an announcement was made.

"The votes are IN, folks," declared Jim boldly. "The 'Smashback' winner today is the newbie couple Banjo-Kazooie! Congrats to them!"

"Yes, but do they have what it takes? Link is their opponent in the next match...They have a second chance, and but do they STAND a chance...?" Larry wondered.

"Looks like we'll have to wait and see, Larr," Jim boldly stated.
During tournaments that had a number of participants that didn't match up, a unique method called the 'Smashback' was implemented. A vote was taken, and a lucky disqualified fighter was voted by majority to be granted a second chance in the semi finals. Under most circumstances, a panel of judges would be appoinmted to watch every battle and vote on who was worthy- in this one, the whole AUDIENCE was polled, and it was clear that Banjo-Kazooie was the favorite tonight. They would get to take one Link within the next few minutes.

Mario slowly got up out of his seat and stretched his arms out wide. His voice groggy, he muttered, "Well, the semi-finals are startin'...Better get ready..." With that, he paced out of the room slowly. Luigi caught him as he was through the door.

"Yo! Mario!"

The red capped one turned, a bit surprised.

"Good luck, bro. You show him..." Luigi said to him with a grin. Mario returned it, deeply appreciating his brother's words. Their eyes both twinkled at eachother like the very Stars themselves. These days they hadn't been as close as he might like, and it was moments like this he never took for granted.

As he slid his hat a bit with his right thumb and index he replied, "Thanks, bro. Don't you worry...I'll give him he** all right..."

Luigi's grin got toothy and he cried, "That's right! That's mah brother!"

~*~*~*~*~*

The serious, glaring eyes of the Hylian burned into the bright blue eyes of the bear- they stayed transfixed on eachother for a few moments in heated competition.

Then, quite suddenly, the red-crested breegull popped her head over Banjo's shoulder and spat out a fat green object from her beack- it was a grenade egg, and it flew through the air toward Link, who stepped to the side nimbly as it whizzed by his face, the moving air lightly tossing his hair. He immediately sprung into action to throw his boomerang at the duo as they dove for him. Banjo was stunned when the weapon smacked his nose, and in the split second of time before he recovered, Link dashed forth and swiped his sword into Banjo's chest.

Banjo retaliated with a few quick raps of his claws on Link's face. Immediately afterward, Link backflipped through the air and pulled out a bomb from nowhere. As his feet landed roughly, he launched the explosive forth, and it spit fire into the bear's fur. Link whipped out his trusty bow and nocked an arrow quickly. As the sharp, swift object zipped on by, Banjo was crouched and felt the rushing air slightly blow his hair.

Link paused a moment as he pondered what to do next. He decided to press forth with a flurry of sword swipes. Banjo, however, stayed down. And as Link's rushing body came at them, Kazooie's sharp beak jabbed outward and Banjo thrust the two of them forward, using his friend's nose like a spear. Link was caught off guard and was sent sprawling to the ground. He shot out his arms and hopped back to his feet nimbly.

"Just look at 'em go," murmured Fox from his seat, entranced.

Kirby sighed and muttered, "Yup..." But his mind was anywhere but this fight. He was feeling strange and upset. What should he do? He could go and tell her how much he cared...But...Would she understand? Or would she go and start muttering about how they were 'too young' for anything of the sort...? Ugh. It wasn't like he wanted to make out or anything. It was just that-...All he wanted was-...Gah! He didn't even know WHAT he wanted!! All he knew was that he cared about Tiffany a lot. Yes. That was true. She could be a little strict and uptight, but...Tiff really was a nice person. And he knew that he really wanted to-

"Whoa! Look at that! A Bill Drill!" Fox chuckled out. "Link's gonna be feelin' THAT one..."

Kirby frowned in annoyance. He didn't care about this stupid tournament anymore. He'd fought and lost. All he cared about right now was getting home. But, sadly, he had to wait until the whole thing was said and done so he could hitch a ride back with the Starfox Team like he had to get here.

"I KNOW man...Yep. He's got spunk," muttered Donkey Kong lazily, scratching his chest.

"Psh. Yea, maybe, but the BIRD is the one with the real attitude," Samus protested from a few seats to his right.

*Shhhwwooooommm!* The sparkling Master Sword was rotated around as Link spun his body like a twister on the ground. The swirling blade collided with Banjo, and he went sailing through the air, toward the 'OB net.' He gained his bearings and Kazooie emerged to rapidly flap her wings, giving them a burst of height. Then, Banjo curled up his body for a moment as Kazooie charged her power. In a blast of speed, they Beak Bomber-ed through the air, heading right for the arena's edge. But Link was no fool. He'd already gotten there, and was waiting patiently with a bomb. He whipped it at the bear, and they tumbled backward. In a last ditch effort, Kazooie once again tried to flap them up, mere feet away from the ledge- but Link smashed downward with a strong sword swipe, sending them careening into defeat.
In a flash of light, the match was over.

"Game set!" Larry declared boldly and deeply. Jim followed up with "This match's winner is...Link!" The speakers around the stadium blared out Link's vistory tune as he panted at the audience, his face solemn and satisfied.
The REAL match was yet to come.

~*~*~*~*~*

"That's right, folks. The last semi-final match is about to take place in a matter of a few minutes," Jim announced merrily.

"Oh, yea, and, once again, it's a classic duel. The question is whether or not it'll play out like it has time and time again..." Jim pondered, nodding slowly.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I've got a good feeling that either way, this will be a very heated fight, right to the end," Larry noted thoughtfully.

"You bet, Larr. These two have a rivalry like no other. I can't wait to see how it plays out today."

"They've both been at everyone's throats this evening. No doubt- they're both in it to WIN it this time around. But as we all know, there can only be one champion," Larry declared with a smile.

"Indeed. Well, folks, for those just tuning in, you'd better not tune out. We've got something real nice for you coming up next- the epic battle between Mario and Bowser will play out here tonight, in only a few moments! You'd BETTER not go away!"

~*~*~*~*~*

"Gah...No, no...He'll expect that...But maybe if...? No! That's too obvious...Ah, Stars dammit..." His rough and growly voice muttered this and that to its owner, who was a little nervous- though he'd never admit it.

"Of all the ****in' idiots to go up against tonight, it's gotta be THAT *******..." he grumbled, not too pleased. Why did he have to fight MARIO?! If he wanted to fight HIM, he would've kidnapped Princess Peach! Then again, he DID just beat her in a Melee match...Revenge in a way, huh...? He'd see about that. But, why couldn't it be LUIGI? He never fought Luigi- that guy didn't know his weaknesses as well as his twin brother...GAH!! He'd have to make due- the fight was about to start! He gulped, coughed, and shook his head as the large golden platform slowly raised up to the arena's right edge, making a whirring noise as it did so.

"And in this corner," boomed Jim. "We have the Turtle of Treachery, the Vile Reptile, the Kibg of Koopas himself...We have BOOOWWWWSERRRR!!!"

There was a drastic opposition of cheers and boos from the crowd as Bowser gazed at them all, suddenly feeling overcome with adrenaline.

On the opposite side, another platform was on its way up. As it rose, the man on it scratched his mustache lazily. He pinched the brim of his hat and lowered it slightly. And he smiled in a cool and collected fashion. His eyes- those blue jewels- radiated out seriousness and the burning desire to win this one. Mario was not normally like this, but...This was BOWSER, and, after all, he did have a reputation to keep when it came to fighting THIS guy.

"And in this corner we have him..." Larry shouted. "The Mushroom Monster, the Fireflower of Death, the Big Bob-Omb...We have MAAARRRRIIOOOOO!!!"

As Mario's tan boots clopped onto the green floor, he bobbed his head a little, his eyes hidden from hsi hat. The reaction from the audience was an even greater intensity of cheering competition. Even louder cheers than for Bowser, yes- but even louder boo's as well.

Bowser snorted at the red-garbed warrior as Mario crossed his arms over his chest. He slowly raised his head to stare down his 'arch enemy' with a confident smirk. Arch enemy, however, being a VERY bad word for it. Mario and Bowser...could be called enemies, but...They weren't, really. Just..rivals. Bowser wasn't really there to take over the world, he just...liked to stir up trouble. And Mario? Well, Mario liked a challenge. he liked competition. He enjoyed the rivalry. In mario's words: "The best way to know a person is to fight them." And Mario had fought Bowser countless times. He knew. He knew that at heart, Bowser was really a good guy in a messed up world. It was moments like this that Mario lived for. And moments like this that Bowser always looked forward to- only to regret shortly afterward.

"To a good match!" Mario shouted out, his voice cutting through the cheers and cries. His gloved hand was raised, and a thumbs-up was signed.

Bowser returned his smirk and gave his sign back to him. "To a good match!" he growled, sounding a bit unbecoming of himself.

"Three..." said the speakers.
Their eyes locked onto eachother, both sets sparkling on fire.

"Two..."
A drop of sweat ran down the back of Mario's neck, and Bowser swallowed roughly.

"One..."
This was it...They both hunched over slightly, prepared to attack, and...

"GO!"

Both of their bodies sprung into action like rockets as they dashed madly at one another, their eyes still interlocked. It had begun.

Bowser lunged forth, his arms outstretched to attack. Mario, however, hopped lightly into the air, just avoiding the blow, and twirled his body in a downward corkscrew kick, smacking into Bowser's head. As he landed, Bowser thrust his arm behind him in an attempt to attack, but Mario simply ducked and spin kicked him in the feet, tripping him up a bit. and Bowser stumbled to his feet, Mario let a flurry of punches fly before rolling around Bowser. The turtle had released a powerful smash attac with his head, but it missed, and Mario returned the blow with his own firey smash, sending Bowser skidding across the floor.

Mario quickly approached, and Bowser crawled to his feet, slashing the air around him. But Mario came to an abrupt halt in mid-run to sidestep the attack- he followed up with an upward smash, using his head to blow Bowser's body into the sky. Bowser tumbled through the air, above the right floating platform, and Mario seized the opportunity to flip onto the platform and deliver an uppercut to Bowser. He then proceeded to hop into the air and perform and aerial flip kick, knocking Bowser a little higher. After landing, Mario glanced upward to see Bowser preparing to Pound the Ground. He quickly rolled backward, standing upright at the left edge of the green platform. Bowser's heavy girth came crashing down into platform, and as he climbed to his feet, Mario let fly a slightly charged fire Smash.

Bowser, smoldering, went spiraling through the air. But he recovered and twirled back, gaining lots of vertical distance. However, Mario was ready amd edge guarding. As Bowser's body came so close to his, he flung out his Sparkle Cape, and Bowser was flipped around, heading in the wrong direction. He slowly fell down, down...Then, BAM! It was over as Bowser collided with the giant ballon-like cushion at the arena's base.

"Game set!"

"This match's winner is...MARIO!!"

~*~*~*~*~*

Ahhh...Melee...*drools*

 

[MewtwoMaster2002]

Great update. oh no Bowser lost. How will he beat Kamek if he LOST.

 

[ZeekeXIV]

Wow, Mario completely dominated Bowser. It wasn't even a match...

Good update today. As usual in your recent thrend, this is probably the first of many. Bring it on!

 

[Destiny Smasher]

Hm...Such enthusiasm, MM2002...*sweatdrop*

One irony you're supposed to catch on to is how if Bowser would let go of his pride and tell the rest he needed help taking care of Kamek, an interplanetary war could've been stopped before it went anywhere. Oh, well.

Um...Yea, Mario kicks serious @$$ baby. It's not until later on...WAY later on...about 1/3 into the story, when you begin to realize how much butt he can kick when he wants to.

~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 26- Championship

Link's gut had gradually deteriorated. His throat was dry, his neck stiff. He was still a little beat from the last match, and after seeing THIS one, he was admittingly a tad worried. Zelda sat beside him, and was stroking his shoulder softly, trying to comfort him.

"Don't worry," she urged him. "It's just for fun..."

Link's face was a little pale. "Just for fun?" he murmured shakily. "Yea, but...In front of THOUSANDS of people...?!"

Zelda sighed and rolled her gorgeous blue eyes.

"Link," she mumbled, shaking her head, "Just don't worry. If you start worrying, then you'll just go downhill..."

Link gulped. "He just beat Bowser without taking a single SCRATCH..." He was still a little pale and delerious.

Donkey Kong, who was sitting in front of them, huffed and harshly flicked his index finger into Link's pointy nose, surprising him. As the Hylian grabbed his appendage in pain, the Kong grumbled a bit.

"Link, AFRAID? Man, what's yo deal? It's Mario, man. You guys have fought a MILLION times, and you guys are both pretty evenly matched, ya know?"

Zelda added in quickly, "Besides, Mario fights Bowser for a living. He's SUPPOSED to be able to win without taking a hit. You've both been practicing really hard for this one, anyway..."

DK nodded, his brows furrowed. "I get it," he murmured. "It's 'cause of all these people watching, isn't it?"

Link nodded in irritance, lowering his hands.

DK nodded expectantly. "So...What you gonna do about it?"

Link paused, confused. "Uh...I guess I'll just go out there and give it my all...Right?" he guessed.

Zelda and Donkey Kong flashed him grins- one was sly, the other sweet.

"There ya go!"

"That's the spirit!"

Link fidgeted a bit with his hat sloppily as Bowser came stumbling into the room, exhuasted.

"Stars..." he groaned. "****, you're fast..." He looked behind him and paused in the doorway as Mario shook his head and grinned.

"Oh, get your fat *** outta the door," Mario jokingly muttered, shoving the ex-King through.

"You been workin' off all that **** pasta?" Bowser grumbled, not looking at him as he sat upon an enormous seat behind all the rest to fit his size.

Mario, however, just realized something. He had another furious match next against Link. He sighed and shook his head. "Ugh, mama mia..." he groaned, but with no notable Italian accent about him.

He found his seat between Link and Peach, and as he sat, his left hand clasped Peach's gentley, while his right hand patted Link roughly on the back.

"Good luck, huh?" he said quickly.

Link nodded, regaining himself.

"Yea, no kiddin'...Man, what the **** was that out there? I didn't know you were training so hard," he admitted in amazement.

Mario chuckled heartily and answered, "Hey, the way you've been blasting through today is like nobody's business. If anything, I can tell ya it's gonna be a good match."

Link grinned as Mario shot him that fake arrogant pose, with his chin high and his knuckles rubbing against his shirt. The one that Mario always gave him. Link punched him in the shoulder, and he screamed out jokingly, "Look! Foul! Foul! Illegal action!" He jumped to his feet and pointed accusingly at his friend. "This guy here's tryin' to rack up some extra damage before the fight!"

Snickering, he sat back down slowly and also fiddled with his own headgear.

"Don't go too far, you two. No rough housing," Peach picked in her sweet voice, pretending to be their mother.

Zelda giggled and added in, "Yea, wouldn't wanna damage those pretty faces! Us girls would have nothin' to kiss!"

Link shook his head, embarrassed, and Mario joined in on the laughing. Ah...Good old Link and Zelda. Even though they were only 18, and Mario and Peach were...well...a LOT older, they all still acted the same age. They were good friends, and would do anything for eachother. That would be tested throughout their lives. But right now, they were all enjoying the rare times when they got together under cirumstances like these. And soon enough, they would be treasuring these times more than ever.

"WHAT?!" cried out a normally soft and high voice from a few seats to their left. A pink Yoshi was towering over a red one, her face sharing the same color as his own skin. She started shouting out at him and scolding him, clearly embarrassed about something.

Mario sighed and got up slowly. Link didn't know what was going on, but Peach knew fully well, and murmured to him, "It's one of his friends. Uh...You met them. Anyway, they don't always get along..."

Link nodded, understanding.

"I don't see where you get off doing...DISGUSTING things like that!" Tarts declared, pointing at him. Yoshi sat calmly beside them, acting as if nothing were going on.

Fireball was a little nervous, surprisingly, and defended himself.

"I was just...! I was just JOKING! I mean, come ON. Besides..." He smiled devilishly. "Your butt's cute...I can yank your tail if I want, can't I?"

Tarts' face fumed even more. Under most cirumctances, she could understand that he was only kidding, and would pinch him back, but...Right now, she was in one of those moods where the only person allowed to do anything of the sort to him was Yoshi, and, well....He never DID...

"You nasty little-" Tarts' fists raised into the air, and then, suddenly, she froze as two calm hands grabbed her balled ones and lowered them slowly.

"All right, all right," Mario muttered, shaking his head, but still smiling in amusement. "Let's save the fighting for the arena, huh?"

Tarts' eyes lit up with glee. "Oh, YEA!" she squealed, suddenly remembering. Mario nodded to her to sit down, and she obeyed, glaring at Fireball with an evil smile. "You just wait," she warned.

Fireball sighed of relief and mumbled, "Yea, whatever..."

Yoshi asked Mario a sort of random question on his mind suddenly, looking up at him.

"Hey, Mario...?" he inquired thoughtfully.

"What's up, Yosh?" Mario asked, crossing his arms over his chest, his face curious.

"Well...OK." Yoshi stuck out his hands, palm up. "How come you guys aren't at eachother's throats all the time like THESE two?" He motioned toward his two best friends. "I mean, even the Ice Climbers don't kill eachother whenever they feel like it..."

Mario laughed. "Hehe...Oh, come on, Yoshi...Even me and Bowser know the rule..."

He suddenly realized that Yoshi was serious, and cleared his throat smoothly.

"With great power comes great responsibility. That means that you have to have self control, willpower, and you have to be careful. You have to make sure you don't let your personal feelings show to your enemies. Because once the enemy knows who you care about most, guess who they're gonna go for...?" He cocked his head at Tarts, who was growling out threats to Fireball.

Yoshi felt his stomach knot up. Mario put up with Peach being kidnapped all the time, but...Yoshi couldn't bear it if Tarts were kidnapped. He had enough trouble worrying for one morning, let alone a whole week. Or a month! Or...Stars, how long would it take to save his other friends? What if they weren't all OK like he hoped?! They were lucky they had found Snoball when they did...She could've died, and that was no joke. He didn't think he'd be able to take it if he found any of his friends...No. No! That wasn't going to happen. He swore it to himself. He'd find them. He'd save them.

~*~*~*~*~*

"And what a tournament it has been, Jim," Larry chuckled warmly. "It's amazing- the moments you can go through in an evening. But, sadly, folks, this evening is quickly drawing to a close."

"Sadly?!" Jim exclaimed in shock. "Puh, lemme tell you, I am not sad at ALL! Are you KIDDING?! We're moments away from the big daddy match of 'em all tonight! Mario takes on Link! Winner takes all!"

Larry shook his head and sighed, still laughing a bit.

"Right you are...But, still, we don't have these very often. And TELEVISED? That's not usually the case, either. But, anyway, getting to the match..." He cleared his throat and straightened his small tie.

"Mario and Link have been FEROCIOUS tonight! Link just won the last tournament, and his flame hasn't died a bit. Incredibly, Mario has been really going for it. He's not always this competetive, is he?"

"No lately, Larr," Jim agreed, his brows raised. "Mario hasn't won a tourney since...Number 24, was it...?"

"Right!" Larry nodded vigorously. "It's like his flare was re-ignited recently."

"Well, all I can say is that I am utterly amazed at the last show of stength, agility, and skill," Jim admitted. "He took down Bowser single-handedly without taking a SCRATCH. A flawless fight. But I doubt Link will give him such an easy time about it..."

"Oh, you can say that again," Larry said slyly.

"I would say it again, but the warriors are preparing for battle!"

~*~*~*~*~*

Mario's eyes twinkled at the audience brightly, like the very Stars themselves. he was enraptured by their presence. Whether they like him or not, he loved the people of his land. He fought his wars for them, he lived to serve them. He lived to serve every pure soul that had been born and every pure soul that was to be born far after his life. This was his purpose.

The solemn and determined eyes of the almost adult Hylian glistened in the bright lights that towered the stadium. He raised his crested sheild up to his chest slowly and tightened the grip on the Master Sword, his eyes narrowing. This was it. He had been dying for a moment like this- it was just as he had hoped for and imagined. The people? Honestly, Link cared not for the people of his land. At least not nearly as much as Mario. What did the people give him? They treated him like a nobody- at least when he was a kid. Oh, but once he saves their butts, THEN they come crawling to him...It wasn't that he hated them, it was just...He had never planned on being the 'Hero of Time.' All of that was Zelda's fault. If only she had kept her mouth shut and not told Link to save the world...Ugh. But, then again, perhaps Link would not have made the friends he had...It was meant to be. Yes.

He was the Hero of Time. And his foe was an old friend. They both were wise to the ways of adventure, and yet their journeys contrasted in so many ways. Their eyes glared at eachother like gems burst in flames. Mario wiped his nose roughly and balled his fists up to his face in a fighting stance, while Link pulled back his weapon, ready to strike.

"This is it, ladies, gentlemen, and Fungi!" came Larry loudly and deep-toned. "The match you've been waiting for!!" Jim stepped in to finish the thought.

"The winner of this match will be declared the Smach Champ, and winner of Tournament 57! And now, to meet the contestants..." The Gobon cleared his throat as he boomed out hsi words.

"In this corner," Jim projected, "Is the guy who will be defending his current title as Smash Champ. He is the Elvan King, the Pointy-eared Protecter, and the Champion of Hyrule! I proudly present to you your Hero of Time- the tunic-toting machine- LLLLIIIINNKKK!!!"

The crowd grew so loud that the two warriors cringed at their might, the insanity of them all. Larry broke them down as he shouted as loud as his voice would go, and as deep and clear as he could.

"AND IN THIS CORNER..." The cheers died, and the audience grew silent. "We have the challenger. If he wins- he takes the throne! he is the Mustachioed Maniac, the Acrobatic Anomoly, the Big 'M'! I give you your Savior of the Mushroom Kingdom...I give you the one, the only, MMAAAARRIIOOOO!!!"

The red-clad wonder and the Hylian hero both clamped their hands on their ears to survive the wave of cries, equal in intensity to the previous one. Link had a bit of trouble, still trying to grasp his weapon.

Gradually, it all calmed down. The lights dimmed slightly, and everyone's eyes stuck to the arena like glue. It was about to start.

It was so quiet that the audience could even hear their words.

"Good luck!" Mario cried, cracking a smile. Link shot him back that old smirk and answered, "Likewise. You're gonna need it!"

Mario chuckled. "Not as much as YOU!"

The two were transfixe on eachother, and they both felt the bond of their friendship shine through the super-heated air.

Even the announcers were speechless, but they had a job they were getting paid to do, and Larry scrambled to start the action.

"Allright, folks...It's almost time to let the fists fly..."

Jim took over, and all was dead quiet but the sounds of hudnreds of lungs sucking air in and out, and Jim counting down.

"Three..."

'What is it we're fighting for?' Mario wondered to himself. 'Is there even a point?'

'Yea, I see that cocky grin,' Link 'talked' with Mario mentally, nodding slowly. 'And it's gonna be gone in a few seconds...'

"Two!"

'Of course there's a point!' Mario realized. 'We're in this for the FUN of it! What's the point in living if you can have no fun?'

'What the heck is he thinking about?' Link pondered, perplexed by Mario's sudden expression- thoughtful and deep.

"One!"

'Yea. Dammit, we've gotta live life to the fullest. Take every opportunity we got to do what we can. All I gotta remember is that no matter how dark it gets, there's always a light...And I'll always have my friends...' Mario closed his eyes calmly, now understanding what his dreams meant lately. His dreams...Yes. Very mysterious, indeed. He should pop by to see Merlon sometime to get them interpereted, shouldn't he...?

Meanwhile, Link was quite puzzled. 'Man, is he crazy? Meh. He's just playin' tricks with me...I'll show him!' With a firey smile, Link sprung into action just as Jim cried out.

"GO!"

Link's legs moved in a nice rhythm as he dashed at Mario, who, surprisingly, was not moving.

Link shrugged it off and swung his sword out at his opponent in a swift downward motion. But Mario had not been hit. He'd rolled behind Link and popped up facing his back. He slammed out his leg into Link's back, and Link flinched a bit, only to spin around and counter the blow with a few quick slices of the Master Sword into Mario's chest.

Mario tumbled back in pain and volleyed a few simple fireballs at Link. The first singed him slighty, but he sheilded the other two with ease, and followed up with his boomerang, tossing it upward to hit Mario, who had backflipped elegantly. He dodged the strike in the air, and as he landed, Link went in for the kill and swiped at him with a good Smash attack. Mario went tumbling through the air a bit, and the moment he landed, his hands shot out and he rolled forward, right under Link, who was dashing for him.

Link had performed another attack, but all it hit was air, and Mario sought this opportunity to jump toward him, only hopping up a bit, and stuck out his leg in a ninja style kick. Link fell to his back and crawled up to his feet, slashing his sword out defensively as he did so. Mario sidestepped at the right moment to avoid it, and grabbed Link roughly. After a few headbutts, Mario slammed Link down into the emerald floor, and as Link bounced off teh ground, he spun like a Cyclone, his fists outstretched, smacking Link with swirls of blue electricity.

Link was popped up high at the move's end, and after he regained his composure quickly, he came slamming downward, his blade pointed at Mario's head. As his 'Descending Angel' attack came crashing into the ground, Mario rolled to the side once again, and let fly a few punches. Link ducked and countered with a low cut that tripped the 'plumber' up a bit.

The big 'M' rolled off his back away from his Hylian foe, and Link dashed for him yet again.

But this time, Link came to an abrupt stop by ducking, and tried to use his previous move again. Mario, however, retaliated with his Cape before it struck, and bombarded the green one with a slightly charged Fire Smash.

Link was sent sprawling across the left side of the platform. He air jumped, regaining balance, and yanked out a bomb as he came to a landing.

Mario had leaped up to the left floating platform, ready and waiting. A fireball was 'plunked' down at Link's head, and Link took the pain as he whipped his bomb into Mario's face. Mario bounced off the platform in Link's direction, and Link dove upward, jabbing his sword vertically above. Mario air hopped to avoid it, and pulled back his right fist for a second, bashing it into Link's skull a second later in a Meteor Smash. Link's body went smacking straight down into the arena floor roughly.

Mario air dodged away from Link swiftly once he gained air control, and Link climbed to his feet, countering with his sword as he did so.

As Mario fled to the far left side of the arena, Link drew his bow and let a full powered arrow fly. It zipped at Mario, who, of course, whipped his Cape out to reflect it. Link was expecting this, however, and as the arrow came back at him, he had just enough time to draw out his sheild- the force of the sheild generating around Link's body at just the right moment bounced the arrow back. But it vanished in mid-air before it hit Mario- it ran out of power, and Mario was dashing straight at him. Link swiped his sword out forcefully, only to slice thick air.

Mario was behind him, and shot out a couple of quick flames at Link's back. As Link growled at his foe, Mario grinned back and backflipped through the air toward the right ledge. Link made a move for him as he was about to land, and Mario quicked his fall so he grabbed the edge. As Link's dashing slash swiped air, Mario somersaulted up and kicked Link's face.

Link ducked after the pain and smacked Mario with a round house 'down' smash. Mario was sent tumbling into the air away from the arena, and easily recovered, using his Cape in the air to gain a extra foot or so. Link was waiting at Mario's destination, however, and as his sword went swinging at his foe, Mario Super Jumped upward, sticking out his fist harshly, jamming into Link's face and giving his hands the grip of the ledge.

From there, he bounced into the air nimbly over Link's head, performing a corkscrew kick as he did so. Link poked his sword back behind him and clipped Mario a little, but the red one retalliated by reaching out and getting a good hold on Link. He bashed his skull into the Hylian's about seven times, then grabbed his feet and begun to spin his body around in circles. Finally, he let Link go flying away from the arena, his body twirling around like mad.

Link made for a recovery- but this one was narrow. He decided to risk trying his spin attack to grapple right onto the relatively thin edge of the arena. Mario was no fool, and was ready, though. As Link shot out his hookshot, Mario was falling gracefully through the air, right toward him, his fist reared back. As Link's hook latched into the green floor in the air, Mario's hand came Meteor-ing right into him, sending him soaring downward. Link immediately spun like a tornado in frustration to come back, but it was no use. As he plummeted downward, Mario backflipped in midair and Super Jumped back onto the arena's ground. He stay knelt down for a few moments, his eyes closed. The audience knew by now who the victor was, and were going crazy. As Link's body collided with the giant, puffy baloon at the ground, the word "GAME!!" was cried out in excitement, and Mario's victory tune played triumphently.

Mario slowly stood up and walked to the arena's center, keeping his head bobbed and his right hand over his hat's brim, keeping his face unseen.

He stood mysteriously, smack in the middle of the crazy atmosphere, cheers echoing all around him. This was the moment he'd been waiting for for so long. It made sense. It all made sense now...Yes. He'd found the answers to his questions, to his dreams...Within HIMSELF.

But...What were these dreams he'd been having lately? What were they trying to tell him? That was Mario's business, and no one elses...For the time being. Time tells all answers, and Mario still had lots of questions without them.

Mario nodded to himself and slowly raised his cap, his incredible jewel eyes sparkling in the bright lights. He had a serious smile about him, and as he lowered his right hand from his brim, his left hand shot up an index finger. He wiggled the finger around left and right in the crowded air.

Then, he balled up that hand into a glorius fist which he shot up like a rocket as he launced his body high into the air, twirling around like a twister. He flew up about thirty feet, the audience going insane, and he landed roughly on his feet after a breathtaking jump. Those twinkling eyes gazed at the crowd in an odd combination of joy and sorrow, waving his hands around cheerily, for he could feel something was amiss. He just didn't know what it was yet.

~*~*~*~*~*

I got a sneak peek at the last 4 episodes of Teen Titans' 2nd season. It looks great, I must say. Part of me is sad that I know what will happen, but I basically called it a mile away...-_-

Anyway, those episodes don't actually intertwine well with my fic...Not really, anyway. *shrug*

Still dabbling a bit in this and that as far as my fics go. No REAL inspiration for any of the three right now, but...I can't wait to write my kick-butt Pokemon battle...^_^

Um...Yea, I'll let ya go now.

 

[MewtwoMaster2002]

Great update. The Hero of Time lost to Mario but Mario has thoughts in his mind. I wonder what they were.

 

[ZeekeXIV]

This was a great chapter! I think I can say this was one of my favorites (even though Link lost...).

I just like seeing Mario and Link together. It reminds me of my fic (which I'm still working on! Just busy...)! Only Mario seems a lot more noble and Link is less... like me...

And now, there's new events on the horizon!

When will we find out more about Mario's thoughts? What spurred this massive Pokemon battle you speak of? How much better will this story get when REAL INSPIRATION hits you like a home-run bat? Will MewtwoMaster2002's replies ever stop sounding so nonchalant? (Ha ha ha...)

I guess only time will tell. I'll definately be around to find out ALL the answers!

 

[Destiny Smasher]

I hear that.

But, uh...

You DO realize that my inspiration RIGHT NOW has NO EFFECT on every Chapter you're going to read up until 40, right...? Because those were already written. At the time of this Chapter, I was really eager to write a good action scene.

It's been a while since I've been excited to write an action scene, but in Chapter 41 I get to write about a Pokemon battle between Ash and a mysterious trainer I created years ago when I first started writing fanfiction. Both him and his Pokemon have 'evolved' in personality since then, of course, as have I.

Of course, don't worry about any of that yet...You still have to watch as the War begins to unravel...

The whole point of what I'm doing with Mario is...

1.) Show that he can kick @$$ and he's not some dorky plumber who goes, 'Mama mia!' all the time.

2.) Make the reader show how much Mario is respected, and at the same time show that there's many people who dislike him- just like there are in our world.

3.) Maybe the reader will feel that Mario is 'too good,' or 'Mr. Perfect.' I intentionally do this to make Mario what he really is- a famous person who's well-respected, while others think he's a snob. But, like anyone else, Mario is CERTAINLY not perfect. And way later on he has a bit of a breakdown. ^_^' Matter of fact, lots of characters throughout all three of my fics have breakdowns, I guess. Just different kinds for different reasons.

As for Link and Mario...If you enjoy THAT, you'll love stuff I do later on. You may not really have realized just how close Hylia and Stellon are. I've tried hinting it, though. O_o Oh, wait...Maybe we're not there yet...No, we're not...

Well, I will.

Stellon, Hylia, and Mobius...Three worlds connected in a triangle, all bound by fate, and all are soon to be bound by War...

*coughcough*

So, eh...Yea, here's the next one...

Chapter 27- Limit Break

His eyes were old and nonexistant. That is to say, they weren't really living eyes. Not really. They were not REAL eyes. Just silver spaces on his face. That cold, icey face of gray.

Chink.

Chink.

Chink.

His heavy feet slowly paced against the rough floor beneath him of rusty maroon metal. Connected to his dense feet were stiff and incredibly strong legs.

Chink.

Chink.

Chink.

He paused briefly, tapping his smooth and hard finger against his shining chin as he surveyed the sight before him, carefully inspecting.

"Hm..." His fake eyes crept all over the spectacle piece by piece.

"Everything is in order," he muttered to no one in particular, his voice serious and a little eager.

"At attention, soldiers!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs- if he even HAD such things.

The wide array of oddities standing before him straightened out erectly and pounded their left fists into their transparent chests.

They were all human-like in form, but there were many differences.
For starters, their bodies were a light shade of purple, with darker lines running along the framework of their bodies. They had unique and visible skeletons made of solid bars of purple.

And their faces- they had none. Where a face would rest instead sat a symbol in black. A square with two slashes through it- they diagonally crossed in the lowere right corner. These were the easily created and dispensible warriors- Wire Frames.

After a few moments, the leader figure before them straightened the smooth and shining cap on his head. Upon the cap there was an 'M', and his face had a pudgy nose and an obvious mustache.

But this was by no means Mario. No. This was a different form, indeed. This was the living steel version of Mario's dark side- this was Metal Mario.
"All right, Frames!" cried the metal commander. "This is it! It's been a long while, but the time has come to make the offensive. Your objectives are simple enough, you know your roles. Simply invade and conquer- just like that."

A loud, crisp snapping sound rung throughout the otherwise quiet air as two shimmering fingers slid over each other.

"Hey, bro!" a duller and slightly lower voice jeered from behind the commander as a similar creature waved his hands like a child.
The eyes of Metal Mario, though not really living, turned to an irritated tone, and his steel brows furrowed.

"What IS it?!" he demanded in frustration, his hands trembling. "Can't you see I'm preparing for the attack?!"

Metal Luigi- the metallic mimic of the slightly younger Mario Brother, jogged up to his side.

"So, wait, bro...What are we attacking...?" he asked, perplexed and curious.
Metal Mario rolled his silver pupils and sighed, running a palm down his face. The Frames stood loyally and quietly, their fists still against their chests.
"OK...Listen, we attack THAT planet, RIGHT THERE!!!"

Metal Mario jutted out an index finger to a bright blue planet with green continents and clouds swirling around it. The continents were not familiar at all to Earthlings, however, as this was not Earth.

Metal Luigi nodded, his thumb on his chin.
"OK, but...What are we AFTER...?"

Metal Mario clenched his teeth and growled, "We are after a city, and we are after scaring a select group of people out of our way..."

Metal Luigi's face was confused, and he muttered, "Yea, OK...Could you run that past me again?"

Metal Mario's face retained the same grit expression, and he simply mumbled, "Just stay on the ship and make sure nobody takes it, allright? I'LL take care of the rest!"

"Sounds good!" The dark Luigi cheered, clapping his hands, creating the sound of a hammer hitting a streetlight pole with each smack.

~*~*~*~*~*

"She's here, folks!" cried out Fox with joy. It had been quite a long day, and he was looking forward to getting home.

The majority of the masses of Smashers clammored around, scrambling to start leaving the private box.

"See ya, guys!" cried Ness, waving.

"Bye!" Nana called sweetly with a smile.

"Farewell," Mewtwo 'murmured' lazily as he floated toward the exit.

"Tootles!" Pikachu cheered.

Many of the Smashers were leaving- their ride had arrived. Many of them had traveled along the Great Fox to reach Stellon, and the Great Fox- being controlled by Rob 64- had arrived to pick them up. The residents of Stellon were the only ones who remained there as the others got ready to leave.
Link let out a grunt as he rose from his chair, not really all-too interested in the match unfolding in the arena, admittingly.

"Well, time to go," he muttered, stretching a bit.

Mario was waiting for his to rise to give him a strong handshake and a "Good goin' today, bud."

Link rolled his eyes, grinning, and mumbled, "Yea, yea...Nice job to you, to."
As their hands departed, they stood quietly for a moment.

"So, uh...Hey, Link," Mario murmured, removing his hat to scratch through his messy brown hair a bit. "How about we get together sometime soon, huh...? Ya know...Whatever..."

Donkey Kong, who was standing nearby and had just bid Captain Falcon farewell- who, incidently, was riding home in his OWN ship- poked in a comment.

"Yea! Hey, man...I got an idea. How 'bout all us an' our girls go out on a date somewhere, huh...?"

Mario's brows lifted, intrigued by this idea.

"Hm...Yea, that doesn't sound too bad. Me, Peach, my bro, Daisy...Link and Zelda, and you and Candy. Now that sounds like an appointment to me!"
Link shrugged, a bit tired.

"Yea, that sounds fine. I'm sure Zelda would be thrilled. Anyway, listen man, I'm really bushed, so...Call me sometime, we can work things out, and...I'll see ya, allright...?"

"You bet, Link," said Mario, patting his shoulder roughly as he headed off.
Banjo wandered up to their side, bags slightly showing under his eyes.
"Well," he muttered. "What a night, huh?"

Mario chuckled, shaking his head. "No kidding."

"Well, uh," the bear rubbed his neck a little. "Kazooie kinda...conked out on me, and...Well, anyway, I need to get home, so I'll catch you guys soon, OK?"

"Yea, man," DK said with a nod.

"Say hi to Diddy for me, would ya?" Banjo asked as he meandered away.
Out of all those who'd participated that night, many of them were Stellon residents.

Mario, Peach, Luigi, Daisy, and Bowser were the obvious ones. Donkey Kong, too, rested on Stellon, but not within the realms of the Mushroom Kingdom. This also meant that Banjo and Kazooie lived there. Wario, of course. Wario...Speaking of Wario...Where had he gone off to...?

"*hic* Ahhhh...Oh, yea, dat's da stuff..." He was slurping from a brown bottle quite greedily, his fat body plopped in a stool which was painted to look like a Fungiade's head. A 'Toad-stool', naturally. He was sitting in the outer hall of the place, where all the stores rested. Of course, there was a little bar, and customers could sit and drink to their hearts content- providing they had the money and the means. It was dim at the moment, a few yellow lights about the dark black counter. Behind that counter there was nothing more than a few shelves with death juice on them. Hours later Wario would be regretful and angry, lamenting over the 87 Coins he'd wallowed away on alcohol from his grief.

Bowser stood next to him, a little too large himself for the seats.
"Agh, Starsdammit do I feel good," he roared. "Hey..." He pointed a wobbly finger at the large mouse before him. "I know you from somewhere, don' I...?"

The rat was almost as tall as he, and adorned black sunglasses and a leather jacket.

"Yea! Yea- ya DO! For the tenth **** time tonight- I'm Mousah! MOUSAH!!" His Brooklyn-accented voice revealed he was indeed 'Mouser', the rat that had served General Wart years before during the 'Birdo Crisis', as it had been called. A mess that Birdo herself remembered nothing about. It involved her SPECIES- the Birdos, and was core to her current situation, albeit, but alas- she knew almost nothing about it, amazingly.

"When ya get drunk, you get DRUNK, Bowsah!"

Meanwhile, back in the box, Mario gave Donkey Kong a high-five and walked over to see Peach, who was sitting in wonder at the fight before him between a red and pink Yoshi. A flash of fire, a bolt of electricity. But her mind was far from the battle.

As Mario calmly approached her, he turned to see Luigi and smiled comically.
Luigi was sitting in a plush black seat, pressed hard against the back of it. Daisy was towering over him, dangerously close, and was muttering to him in a persuasive fashion.

Mario sighed deeply and warmly as he sat down slowly next to Peach, his body aching with fatigue.

"Oh, man...I need a vacation," he mumbled witha groan as Peach gentley placed her gloved hand on his shoulder lovingly.

"Oh, don't you worry, Mario," she murmured to him. "If you want, you and I can go on a vacation soon. Just the two of us, all right?" Her sparkling blue eyes put Mario in a trance briefly, and he yawned before mumbling back.
"Yea...That does sound really nice..."

Meanwhile, Donkey Kong had found good company with Yoshi.
He noticed that Yoshi's eyes were glued to the arena as he stared in wonder, watching two of his best friends trade blows.

"Wow, man," he muttered, stretching his arms out behind his neck as he leaned back lazily in his chair. "Those two know how ta go at at, huh...?"
Yoshi blinked a bit, breaking out of his hypnosis.

"Oh! Yea...They're good at fighting with eachother, that's for sure..."
Snoball was behind them, Surfer at her side. She was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable as Surfer placed his arm around her shoulder, and the other in her lap.

'What's my problem?' she mentally demanded herself. 'He IS my boyfriend...'
For some reason, Surfer doing these sort of things drove her crazy lately. WHY?! Hm...Perhaps it was because she just wasn't in the mood for all the mushy stuff just yet. That must've been it. She cleverly found a way to break free of his hold as Tarts flipped backward in the air, Fireball rushing him. She pulled in her legs, then smashed them forward in a powerful thrust that sent Fireball sailing.

"YEA!! You GO, GIRL!!" she shouted, jumping from her seat, Surfer's arms being removed in the process. She decided to stay up a little while and watch the fight, ready to cheer when needed. Maybe Surfer would...calm down...?
Meanwhile, down in the arena, Fireball fluttered his legs as quickly as he could to return, and as he was landing on the green floor, he whipped a FIre Egg right into Tarts' face, making her flinch.

After this, the two beaten Yoshies glared at eachother for a few moments before exchanging words.

"Heh..." Fireball cocked his chin up a bit. "Little Miss Perfect, huh? You shouldn't be fighting like this...It ain't very LADY-LIKE!"

Tarts huffed at him, her 'brows' furrowed deeply.
"I'm not a LADY," she defended. "I'm a GIRL!!"

Fireball crossed his arms over his chest and boasted out, "Yea, well, you're all weak, anyway. I know what YOU'RE doing- you just wanna-" He fluttered his eyes and waved his arms about as he spoke in a high voice, trying to match hers. "-show off to the love of your life. To show him just how HELPFUL you are and how MEAN I am!" He cleared his throat and clenched his fists at Tarts' slightly blushing face. Hm. Wow, he was actually on to something, and he was only spittin' out random thoughts!

"Yea, that's right!" he jeered. "Go ahead, how about I let you win, just so he thinks you're better, huh?"

"NO!" Tarts growled. "That's not why I'm here! I'm here to teach you a lesson!" Lines of lightning began to form around her hands as she finished.
"Really? Well, let's see who's the teacher, huh, ya little prick?!"

Tarts let fly a Pulse, trying to paralyze her foe, but Fireball rolled around it, and followed up with a swift kick to her gut. As she tripped backward, he blasted his fist into her face, and pulled off a nice string of kicks and little flames at her. Tarts was off balance, dazed, and her train of thought had wandered, and she didn't quite coem to until she was up in the air, hopping back, only to reach the edge just barely.

Snoball slammed her hands on the back of Yoshi's chair, making him jump, and she screamed, "Oh, COME ON, TARTS, YOU FIGHT LIKE A BOY!!!"

Tarts was hanging on the edge of the platform, just barely. Her thin hands and arms were the only things holding her up, and she was struggling to get back.

Fireball calmly walked over to her and sneered as he stomped his boot on one of her hands.

"Ha! See? I TOLD you so! Just leave the fightin' to ME next time. Looks like you failed to impress Yoshi, ya wannabe girlfriend!"

Tarts had tears in her eyes from all the pain flowing through her body, her left hand in particular. She didn't really notice the fact that one of her sandalss had slipped off her foot, landing softly on the big pad beneath her.
No, this wasn't over yet. She was sick and tired of everything! Her friends being kidnapped, havingt og o through all this crap to find them, and Fireball's pestering, day after day. It all welled up inside her like a bolt of lighting preparing to rain from the heavens, and it all came out as fast.

Within the course of two seconds, Tarts had flipped forward, slamming into Fireball with her feet, knocked him to the ground, bounced up off of his stomach and jolted him with a Spark Orb. All the while her body was pulsing different colors, a mysterious aura of tye dye about her.

Yoshi gasped and jumped from his seat as well.
"HEY! Get the **** outta my way, would ya?!" Snoball demanded in awe, amazed.

"HA!" Yoshi laughed. "She's doing it! She pulled off a Rage!" he cried happily.
"A Rage...?" Donkey Kong mumbled, clueless.


"Um, you know," Yoshi spat out, his eyes concentrating on Tarts zapping the snot out of her 'friend.' He snapped his fingers. "A Rage! You get a surge of power from your emotions!"

Donkey Kong shrugged. He sorta knew what the green creature was talking about.

Mario overheard them and called from a few seats away, "A Rage! Ya know! A Trance! A, uh...OH!" He snapped his fingers as it hit him. "A LIMIT BREAK!" he cried.

DK nodded his head slowly.

"Yea...YEA...I know what yo talkin' about now...Like, ya get all buff for a little bit, an' pull off sweet *** moves and crap..."

"Exactly," Yoshi said with a nod.
Fireball was now as bruised as Tarts was, but her face was fuming with a terrifying look as she glowered at Fireball in a crazed sort of way.
Her shoulder were raised slightly, and her arms hung low, pulsing with pink energy.

"The teacher says you need detention," she growled out viciously, unbecoming of herself.

Much to Fireball's amazement and dismay, she pointed out her palms directly at him and roared, "Lazer Storm!!"

A pink glow encompassed her body as bars of neon pink lightning came whisking through the air, burning into Fireball's body, pushing him off the arena and pummeling him downward.

*PshEEOOO* *PshEEOOO* *PshEEOOO*

Crackling sounds and zaps sounded as the beams collided with Fireball, driving him down into the 'pit', and "GAME!" was called out.
"This game's winner is...TARTS!!"

Cheers of surprise and glee erupted as Tarts' body lost its glow, and she struggled to stay up, dazed and exhausted. Her aching body collapsed with the hard ground mere seconds later, and it would stay out of it for the rest of the night.

~*~*~*~*~*
Whew!

There we go! Limit Break, baby! FF7 is such a great game...Matter of fact, it has a pretty decent influence on my Golden Sun fanfic.

And by the way, if you're liking this fic, read my other two, as they are all part of this big crossover project. Or you could wait until later on when this fic meets the time period of THOSE fics...*sweatdrop*

 

[ZeekeXIV]

LIMIT BREAK!!!

Man, Fireball was kinda vicious for a while. You'd kinda forget he was fighting sweet, little Tarts. But then again, when things start to get serious, Tarts can hold her own real nicely.

I remember Mouser! I started laughing when I read that part. Funny dude, let's his bombs do the talking. Will we be seeing any more of Mouser?

All in all, excellent chapter. Fireball had an epic beat-down coming to him for a looooong time.

 

[MewtwoMaster2002]

Great update. TARTS FINALLY BEAT FIREBALL !!!!!

 

[Destiny Smasher]

HOLY CRAP! Was that...ENTHUSIASM...? O_o

Whoa...

As for Mouser...I'm sure you'll see him later on in some OTHER cameo, but...For the time being, he hasn't re-appeared.

Wow, we're making progress, aren't we?

~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 28- Crushed

The Great Fox's interior was relatively quiet and calm, as everyone aboard was tired and sleepy.

There wasn't really much of anywhere to sit, as the vehicle was designed for only a few. In the cockpit area, Fox sat in his lead chair, while the others were in their respective places, ROB observing screens and pressing buttons.
Slippy was tapping wildly at a laptop while a bright red, old style jukebox blasted rock music. His head bobbed up and down to it, but the rest of the crew didn't seem to like it in particular.

Peppy, in frustration, cried out, "Fox!!" He was working on a his own computer, and wasn't enjoying the distraction.

Fox nodded slowly and warily shouted to his frog friend, "Hey, Slip, can you turn it down a bit? Better yet, how about something...Uh...Relaxing, ya know...?"

Slippy rolled his eyes and grabbed a screwdriver from a toolbox to his foot's side, and whipped it at the device, which sat about ten feet from him. It squealed before churning out soothing orchestra music.

Fox huffed and growled, "Dammit, Slippy! How many times do I have to tell ya to stop throwin' crap at my box?!" Slippy, however, seemed to be too into his work to hear.

Falco was sleeping sloppily, leaned back over his chair, drool dribbling down his beak.

Everyone else was in the room beyond, where the supplies rested. Many were sitting atop crates labled, 'Rations' or 'Batteries.'

Young Link and Kirby were in a deep conversation, both of their small bodies resting on the same crate, which was about three feet tall.

"Really...?" Kirby mumbled, unsure.

"Meh...Well, sure!" the little Link answered, shrugging. "I mean, just act like yourself, you know...? If she likes you, she likes you!"

Kirby huffed. "Easy for YOU to say- you've got girls fighting to be yours!"

Link snickered and grinned. "Inn't it GREAT?!"

Kirby frowned and demanded, "Well, since you can only choose ONE- who would it BE...?"

The color drained from Young Link's face at the question.
"Huh...?" he muttered, pale.

"You know," Kirby grumbled. "Which one do you like?"

Young Link began to blush crazily and fumbled around his thoughts. "Well, uh...I mean...They're all nice and stuff...Except that Ruto girl. She's a real PAIN..."

Kirby was still staring at him expectantly.

"Ermm...Malon's real cute, and REAL sweet and all...But...I dunno. I like being friends with her- I don't wanna risk it. Although it'd probably work out real nice and all, I guess..."

That same cold glare came from Kirby.

"UH..." Sweat was forming on his neck. "Well, um, then there's Saria, but I mean...Same problem there, too, and...Well, Zelda...? Meh. She's not my type."

Kirby gasped, confused. "WHAT? What are you talking about? You're gonna like her SOMEDAY, aren't you?" he cried, pointing at the older Link, who was sitting next to Zelda. Their eyes weren't locked, but they were talking calmly. It was fairly obvious that the two of them were romantically bonded.

Young Link huffed. "You don't get it, DO YOU?" he demanded, shaking his head. Kirby's face froze in perplexment and curiosity.

"I'm not HIM!" Young Link growled, pointing edgily. "We USED to be the same Link, but...I dunno. I think it has something to do with pulling the Master Sword out...Listen," he shook his head and waved is hands before his face, attempting to clear his mind. "Bottom line is- we're from two Hyrules, OK? We're both LINKS, but...not the same ONE. I mean, I've checked with him- I've done stuff he has no memory of doing when he was my age- he was sealed in the Sacred Realm he whole time! Ya know, like saving Clocktown, and going to Holodrum, and...-"

Kirby was clearly lost, so Link decided to drop it.

"Well, anyway..." he began. "I...They're all fine and all, but I think I have my eyes set on someone ELSE..." His face turned as pink at Kirby as he bobbed his head, staring at his feet as he kicked them into the side of the box they were sitting on.

Kirby now acted aware again, and murmured, "REALLY...? WHO...?"

Young Link bit his lip, not sure he wanted to spill that information. "It's, uh...Someone you KNOW," he mumbled, embarrassed.

"...? Yea...?" Kirby was eager and VERY curious now. "Come on, I told ya who I liked..."

Young Link realized there was no escaping it- the honest part of him won over.

Suddenly, before he spoke, a low and nasal voice surprised him from mere inches away.

"I know who it is," it muttered calmly. Link jumped, grabbing his hat to keep it on his head, and spun to see Ness sitting right next to him.

"Wh-what are you t-talking about?" Link stuttered nervously.

Ness simply rolled his eyes and chuckled.
"****-OH! I'm ESP- remember? I knew the answer to the question before Kirby ASKED it!"

Link groaned, covering his hand with his face in embarrassment.
"Whatever...Just- You BETTER not tell anybody, OK?"

Ness snickered a bit more and whispered, "Oh, come now, I'm not MEAN. Just because I can read your mind doesn't mean I'm gonna be a jerk about it...You know that, don't you...?"

Link sighed of relief. DUH! This was Ness- Ness was a nice guy, he'd never do something like that. Warily, he noticed Kirby's expectant look, and decided to answer.

He mumbled something barely audible under his breath, and Kirby strained to hear.

"...Huh? Hey, come on- I couldn't hear that," the pink one mumbled.
Link winced and pointed his finger out into the crowd of Smashers, and Kirby's eyes followed.

"SAMUS?!" he shrieked in utter horror. Maybe the older Link...But the LITTLE one...?

"NOO!!" Young Link wailed, now realizing that his target was actually out of view. She hadn't been just a second ago...

Ness huffed and grumbled to Kirby.

"Listen, Kirb." He stuck out his hands vertically so the palms faced eachother. "There's only so many girls here about our age. Figure it out."

The one who struck Kirby's mind immediately was spat out.
"JIGGLYPUFF?!" This one didn't have the same quality of shock in it, though- because Kirby thought that Jigglypuff was an awesome girl to hang around with, and wouldn't think of Link as too bad off.

(One must realize that in an environment like this, physical attraction isn't the only thing that draws two people together, and...Well...OK, I'll leave that topic for now and touch on it way later on, when it's actualy IMPORTANT, OK? Point is, I'm a very open-minded guy, and for whatever reason, that sort of thing doesn't disgust me. Unless, persay, they start doing...'lemony' things...Ugh...That's kinda different, assuming they're as...uncompatible as these two...Although, who knows? I mean, Yoshies and Hedgehogs, and...NEVERMIND!!!)

Link growled in frustration, his teeth and fists clenched tight.
Ness had a dull frown upon him and muttered, "Um, good guess, Kirby. Ya had a 50/50 shot, and you got the wrong one..."

Kirby paused to think a bit more, when he was tapped on the shoulder by a soft and squishy...erm...'hand'...

"Ya called?"

He blinked like mad when he realized it was Jigglypuff.

"Oh! Uh, sorry, Jig," he mumbled, his face furrowed in thought. "I'm just tryin' to figure out who lil' Link here has a crush on..."

Jigglypuff was confused for a moment, but then she giggled. "Me and LINK?" she squeaked, nudging Kirby. "I'm flattered you find us a good couple," she chortled out.

"But, seriously, who is it?" she whispered. Jigglypuff LOVED gossip, if anything beside music.

Young Link let out another moan of agony, and fell over on his back, his face beet red.

"OH!" Kirby cried out in realization. He smiled playfully as he mumbled, just loud enough for those few present to hear, "You like NANA...?"

Young Link let out a big sigh, but his face didn't get any less red. A little confused at this response, the two puffs glanced up to see Ness's calm nod.
"OH! That's so CUTE!" Jigglypuff whispered ecstactically. "I can SO picture you two going out! With your courage and her brains..."

Young Link refused to raise his body up to meet their faces.

Jigglypuff shook her head, grinning, and hopped over to stare down at him.
"What's to be so embarrassed about?" she whispered at him, her giant lakes for eyes glowing.

Link closed his own brilliant eyes for a moment and breathed deeply.
"I just...It's not really anybody's business. I don't want any of you people to tell her...I want to tell her myself..."

Jigglypuff giggled again. "See? There's the bravery!"

"Anyway," Link continued, "I don't know how she'd take it. She looks at things differently than I do. Well, I mean, she's a girl and all, but...She has to be so...ana...ana..." he struggled to find the word.

Kirby muttered slowly, "She's NANA, not ANA."

"Analytical...?" Ness shot out a guess, frowning at Kirby's humor.

"Close enough," Link murmured.

Jigglypuff gasped in a sound shock.
"WHAT? She's not like that! At least not...OK, well, she CAN be, but I really don't think she'd take it the wrong way and stuff...She's a really nice girl, you know. One of the nicest people I know."

"Yes, yes!" Link groaned, his face buried in a palm. "That's why I like her so much! I mean, yea, she's kinda cute, but...It's more in her PERSONALITY, ya know...? She's just...She's smart, she's nice, she's easy to laugh, and she just...She CARES..."

Kirby and Jig were puzzled, and Ness explained.
"See, she cares about people a lot. Ya know...Even when they don't really care about HER..." Ness's tone was almost sad, as if he felt bad for her. "I'd have to agree with ya, Link. You're lucky- if it weren't for Pauline, she'd be mine already!" He snickered a bit, shaking his head- though his statement was probably true.

"I hear her life at home SUCKS," Kirby added, sort of out of the blue.
"It DOES," Young Link agreed. "At least from what she tells me. And she never lies..."

Jigglypuff's face got sympathetic, and she probed a bit.

"How's that?" she muttered. "She...doesn't really talk much about her home..."

"YEA- exactly," Link said quickly, sitting up, feeling less 'red' now. "See, apparently, she...doesn't really have any friends back home..."
Ness nodded slowly, his face sullen, and Jigglypuff gasped quietly. Young Link continued solemnly.

"I guess that at school, her brother is really popular and stuff, and she's not...And, well, the guys won't hang out with her because she's...girl-ish. And I guess the girls won't hang out with her because she's...UN-girlish..."

Kirby was utterly confused. "WHAT?!"

Young Link sighed and dwelled on the tangent.
"Well, I mean...They all want to talk about boys and makeup and clothes and popstars..."

"Really? They talk about my home?" Kirby muttered in a sarcastic amazement. Link ignored him and went on.

"She wants to talk about science, poetry, and Melee matches. They get disgusted by a frog, she wants to pet it. They love wearing makeup, she hates it."

Jigglypuff was silent, absorbing it all in like using Mega Drain, and Ness already knew this, so he was merely pondering about it.

"Anyway," Link mumbled, pressing forward. "Turns out that...nobody really likes her, ya know...She's a 'dweeb' and all that crap."

"WHAT?!" came Kirby again. "Have they seen her FIGHT? Dweebs don't fight like that..."

Link merely gave him a nod and continued.
"And from what she told me...her family life has been AWFUL lately...Her parents both don't approve of what she's doing, and think she should more like her brother, and...Well...In a Deku Nutshell, it's just crap..."

"That sucks..." Jigglypuff finally mumbled. "We should try and make her feel better, huh...?"

"Right," Link agreed firmly, nodding. "The whole point! Us...We're, like, all she's got! I can't even imagine how badly she looks forward to seeing us, you know...? We only get together every few weeks..."

"Mmmm," Jig hummed sadly.

"You're right," Ness said at last. "You're doing the right thing- it's what she needs, methinks."

Link stared at Ness for a moment, a thought bubbling out suddenly. "Hey, ya know...Could you find out if she...-?" He trailed off nervously.

Ness glared at him scoldingly. "Are you mad? I'm not gonna tell you if she likes you or not! That's practically CHEATING!"

Young Link snickered with a sigh. "It was worth a shot," he admitted.

~*~*~*~*~*

Awwww...^_^

Hm. Ah, yes. I finally got down to writing some 'X Factor' last night. WOOT!

 

[MewtwoMaster2002]

Great update. I KNEW it was Nana...well I cheated cuz I read that from one of your posts once.

 

[ZeekeXIV]

I liked this chapter! Comedy! We don't often get a comedy chapter from you. I thought this was gonna be about how everyone felt about losing in the tournament because of the title "Crushed".

I knew it was Nana beforehand too. Mainly because I read MewtwoMaster's post before I read the chapter. Don't ask why... It was an accident...

 

[Destiny Smasher]

Ah...So, in other words, there was no element of surprise...

Comedy? Errmm...

NONE of my Chapters are EVER pure comedy...You want comedy? Check out 'A New Breed of Tournament in Tokyo.' (Go to the archives and look under my name if you actually care)

Now THAT is pure stupidity- feel free to add to it.

Now I sprinkle comedy all over the place in my fics- especially in my Teen Titans one, where it works very well.

That Chapter wasn't really designed to be humorous- it was meant to help develop those characters a bit more, since they're usually out of the spotlight.

Young Link- as you hopefully realized- lives in a world different from Link. When he mentioned Saria, Malon, etc. he was talking about the ones from HIS world- which are the same in appearence (though all are seven years younger) but different in personality.

~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 29- Mercenaries

"COME ON!! PLEEEEASSSE??"

The grown man was on his knees, pleading with all his might to the purple-headed bounty hunter. His efforts only agitated her further, and she was already in a bad mood.

"...I'm warning you, Falcon...You'd better leave me the **** alone before I blow your **** head off," she hissed at him, still clad in her Chozo suit, giant shoulderpads and all. The only piece missing was the helmet.

"I'd do what she says," Fox warned casually. "Been a bad day for her, and, well...I'm not mad at all, and ****, I'D blow your head off..."

Falcon let out a huff and crawled to his feet. He began to trudge away, disappointed.

"He'll never get it, will he?" Fox murmured, to no one in particular.

Samus shrugged him off and began to tinker with her suit, checking to make sure everything was functional.

Link was sitting silently in one of the hovering chairs in the cockpit. Fox was off in the cargo area with the rest, and had been given permission to 'take charge' in a way.

He was hunched over, his elbows on his knees, and his chin in his palms. His eyes were serious and concerned, like he was planning something.

Finally, Peppy took notice and asked him, "Hey...What's up, green man?"

Link didn't bother to glance at him, and huffed in response, rolling his eyes.

"I don't KNOW," he mumbled. "But SOMETHING is..."

Peppy stared at the back of his head quizically, only to shrug and return to his work.

Then, like a lightning bolt, the room shook briefly, almost knocking Link over, and the whole place began to pulse red every other second, and a blaring siren shrieked out.

A monotone voice declared loudly, "Attention! Incoming damage from enemy vehicle! Man battle stations!"

Link, oblivious as to what was going on, tried to scramble to his feet, only to be knocked back down as another quake trembled the Great Fox, red flashing all around him.

Peppy and Slippy were to their feet, very shocked, while Falco was demanding information from ROB.

"What the ****'s goin' on here?!"

ROB was observing radar and sensors while he answered quickly, "Sensors indicate numerous foreign vehicles apporaching. Arwings are being prepared for combat."

"They better be!" Falco growled as he waved the other two to help join him.

Link, dazed and confused, stumbled to his feet and cried, "WHOA! Wait, what do WE do?!"

Falco paused and called back, "You guys sit tight...Uh...Listen, let ROB man the Great Fox's weapons, and just...I dunno...Try to pilot her outta here!"

With that, the blue Conerian left the Hyrulian to stand shocked, not knowing how to react. He gulped a second, gained his composure, and made for the control panel.

He then found himself completely and utterly confused.

~*~*~*~*~*

There were some screams and cries of surprise, and Fox was having trouble calming down the bunch.

"GUYS! Listen, this happens once in a while, let us handle it, allright?!" He was shouting at the top of his lungs, trying to fight over the siren and the crowd.

Falco, Peppy and Slippy dashed on through, fighting to get by into the hangar.

Fox followed them all, and within another minute or so, all four were strapped in and ready to fly. Their rockets ingited, they hatches were opened, and the combat vehicles blasted off into the open space.

"Let's give 'em ****, boys!" Fox yelled confidently.

~*~*~*~*~*

There was mass panic, and as they all shuffled into the control room, Link realized he would have to calm things down...Easier said than done.

"Din help me," he muttered to himself as he stood up from his chair. He had spent the past minute or two thinking hardly on how to figure this all out. "And Nayru, Farore...Feel free," he added as he raised up his arms, preparing to shout. He cleared his throat roughly and bellowed to the blabbering Smashers.

"HEY!! GUYS! LISTEN UP!!"

As loud as he was, it was no use. They were all chattering away, trying to figure out where to go or what to do.

Link growled and reached a strong arm into his shirt pocket to pull out one of his prized possessions. A blue, glimmering instrument called the Ocarina of Time.

He sucked in a deep breath, pressed it to his lips, and blew into the wonderous thing. Notes filled the air, piercing all cries of confusion. The clear ringing tune of Zelda's Lullaby soothed all around, and caught the direct and immediate attention of the blonde Hylian herself. She picked up on where Link was amongst the crowd, and ran to his side loyally.

"What's going on?" she weeped fearfully as she came inches from his face, clutching his arms within her slender hands.

"We're under attack," Link simply replied, putting his magical music-maker away. "Fox said I should take the reigns, and we need to work on getting this thing out of here..."

Zelda paused, her eyes nervous yet thoughtful.

"WOOHOO!!" came a glorius and triumphent shout from behind Link, breaking through the short-lived tranquility.

It was Captain Falcon, who had hopped into a small section off to the side, designed for manning one of the Great Fox's guns manually. He was clearly having fun from the looks of things.

A crazed laugh came from the opposite side as Samus went trigger happy on the array of vehicles before them.

Link, a bit taken, was glad that at least that was under control...sort of...But he was still worried, and left Zelda's side quite suddenly to check out the action outside. He made for the huge window at the Great Fox's 'nose', and gazed in wonder at what he saw. Ships- TONS of them, all soaring around like flies in a vast sight of lasers, missles, and bombs. Amidst it all, he could make out an Arwing for a second, only to lose it in the chaos that ensued. Falcon and Samus were faring very well, as big, bright beams blasted into various vehicles. They might have eben half crazy, but at least they had good aim.

Link took a deep breath to absorb the situation in and checked behind him to see ROB at a panel, controlling the ship's steering, struggling to get out of this barrage. At this rate, it would take forever.

With a heavy weight upon him, he called the attention of the fairly silent crowd, and declared, "All right, listen up! We need to calm down and be prepared for the worst, people. We have no idea what could happen, so it's best to-"

As if on cue, the whole ship rattled violently, almost knocking passengers off their feet.

Mere moments later, the Smashers were horrified at the sight that sprawled out before them.

Surging in like a flood from the back of the Great Fox came a tidal wave of purple, faceless creatures. They were relentless, emotionless, and fearless. The perfect fighters in an army.

About a hundred Wire Frames were headed their way, and from the looks of things, this wasn't going to turn out too good.

~*~*~*~*~*

Fox was in his prime, zipping around expertly, destroying every enemy in his sights with precision beyond that of his crew. The only member whose skills in the wing even got CLOSE to rivaling his were Lombardi's, but this was no time for competition.

This was a full scale clash, all right. And it had come on very short notice. Quite suddenly, the voice of ROB rung through to him, and caused him to become a little uneasy.

"Fox, a bomb has been planted on the Great Fox."

Fox frowned bitterly and huffed.

"****! Can anybody take care of it?!"

"Can't let you do that, Starfox!"

Fox almost froze as he heard that all-too familiar tone.

His eyes were a bit bloodshot, and his body was tense. As a sleek white ship with four red-tipped wings whizzed by him, his gut trembled, and he growled aloud.

A cocky and nasty voice had echoed throughout his cockpit, slightly crackled. It came from his speaker, and was prominent and familiar. A few others followed it, as if on cue.

"Great...Just what I need to see...Starwolf..."

"Glad to see me?" Wolf inquired.

"As always," Fox replied grimly, shaking his head a bit as he prepared to get down to business.

He locked on to Wolf's ship, and began to blast at it fiercely with powerful, neon-blue beams of energy.

Wolf barrel-rolled his ship madly to reflect the beams off in random directions, and performed a somersault to try and lose his foe. But Fox slowed his ship to a near stop, and zapped away at his enemy's ship.

"What is it you want NOW?" Fox groaned out, his teeth clenched as he pegged away.

With a sense of struggle and annoyance about him, the cunning wolf answered, "What we're always after, Fox- your head!"

"Who are you working for NOW?" Fox demanded, wondering who the supplier of cash happened to be this time.

"What's it to ya?!" snapped the whiney tone of Andrew, the great Andross' nephew.

"All that matters is that we're in this for big bucks!" squealed Pigma Dengar, a fat and greedy pig who had betrayed Fox's father years ago.

"And this time, we brought ourselves an army too big even for YOU to deal with," announced a bold, smooth, and arrogant Leon. Leon was an odd chameleon whose bark was often harsher than his bite.

"Oh, bull****!" Falco cried in defiance.

"We're known to take out thousands in a half hour!" he boasted.

"Oh, really?" Wolf said, amused. "We shall see, won't we?"

"Why don't y'all start fightin' like men instead o' bickerin' like children?!" Peppy grumbled, concentrating on blasting Pigma's ship out of the sky while avoiding enemy fire.

"Bogey on my tail!" Slippy groaned as Andrew came boosting at him amongst the utter confusion.

"He's gonna be up your *** soon if ya don't do something!" Falco yelled between grit teeth. (Why can't he have teeth?)

"I got it," Fox moaned as he tilted his sleek, still undamaged vehicle to take the regular job.

"This is really starting to tick me off!" Slippy cried in angst.

Fox sighed and replied, "Well, shut the **** up and deal with it!" He promptly Nova-bombed the area, forcing Andrew off course, and almost crashing into one of his one ships.

"I can't shake this guy!" Falco groaned in frustration.

"Dammit, Falco! Can't you take care of your OWN tail feathers?!" Fox demanded doggedly, pegging away at Leon.

"Foolish bird...I am the great Leon!" he declared boldly, retreating from the blasts.

"GAH! You moron! I SHOT YOU!!" Fox cried, demanding credit.

"I got one!" Slippy yelled in triumph.

"BIG WHOOP!" Fox moaned.

"There's one down!" Peppy declared.

"So what?!" Fox demanded in anguish.

"DO SOMETHING, Fox- he's right behind you!" Falco hastily cried.

"I KNOW!!" Fox growled, somersaulting and barreling to avoid fire from an enemy bogey.

"Fox, quit foolin' around!" Peppy scolded as he forced his way around, taking down a ship every few seconds.

"Shut up, ya ol' fogey!" Slippy muttered, simply to be on the poking end of the stick.

Fox simply rolled his eyes and groaned in frustration, only to realize that Wolf was right behind him. Wolf began to speak, but Fox cut him off, finishing the sentence in a dull and expressionless tone.

"You'll-"

"You'll be joining your dad soon, Fox. I KNOW! I KNOW DAMMIT!!"

Clearly, he was getting aggrevated because he'd lived through this situation too many times, like a simulation he practiced over and over. As he performed a vertical U-turn, blasting a steady stream of blue power, he let out a huff as Wolf cried out in confusion.

"What the HECK...?!"

"IT'S A U-TURN, YOU FRICKIN'...-"

Fox trailed off, his teeth clenched tight. Self control was a marvelous thing that Fox was using way too much of right now.

~*~*~*~*~*

"SsseeerAAHHH!" cried the Hylian as his body twilred in tight circles. The sword of evil's bane sliced and diced up Wire Frames like mad as he did so.

The same utter chaos that was clear and present outside of the Great Fox was also witnessed inside, but to a smaller scale.

As the League of Melee took down a set of Frames, more would keep pouring in, much to their dismay.

"What is WITH these guys?!" groaned Pikachu as he took a breatherm preparing for more.

"I dunno, but it looks like they mean business!" wailed Mr. Game and Watch as he cracked his odd flaming stick on a group of four, disintegrating them.

Jigglypuff pounded, Marth slashed, Ness PK Fired, the Ice Climbers slammed mallets, and Zelda zapped out magic. But it wasn't much use- they kept coming.

The siren was buzzing madly through it all, causing the crazy scene to look even more wacky.

Through it all, there was a crackling explosion, and 'zit's and 'zat's rang out, barely heard.

A few Frames had just bashed ROB into pieces of scrap, still surging with electricity.

Link was nearby, and he began to get slightly worried when he saw this. But he didn't show it- he was Link. It was his job to act like he wasn't afraid. It had gotten him THIS far, hadn't it?

While he slashed away at a few Frames, a voice shouted from the communications speaker on a panel near him.

"GUYS!!"

Link could barely make it out, and he moved closer, still swapping blows.

"GUYS!! It's FOX!! CAN YOU READ ME?!"

Link grit his teeth as he cut a female Frame in half, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "I read!!"

"LINK!! WHAT'S GOING ON IN THERE?!"

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK IN HERE, TOO!!"

There was a slight pause.

"DAMMIT!"

Yet another moment of 'silence'- from Fox, at least. The environment was loud and hectic.

"LINK!! IS ROB OK?!"

"DON'T THINK SO!!" Link bellowed, slightly cracking.

"ALLRIGHT! LISTEN, WE GOT OUR HANDS FULL OUT HERE!! APPARENTLY, THERE'S A BOMB ON THE SHIP!! YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FIND IT, GET RID OF IT, AND GET THE **** OUTTA HERE!!"

Link's jaw dropped as his blade did the same on a male Frame's shoulder.

"WHAT?!"

"YOU NEED TO DISPATCH---BOMB---GET OUT!!" There were some moment of static now, and their connection was dimming.

"FOX?! HOW DO WE DO THAT?!" Link demanded, not looking as the Master Sword chopped another male Frame from the chops to the nave.

"---CAN'T---YOU---THAT---HAVE TO---YOURSELF!!---OUT-----OWN!!"

Link could hardly make it out, but he knew this much- this was big trouble.

'Well, doesn't THAT just beat all?' he wondered to himself, sticking an arrow in a female's forehead, right into the odd new symbol engraved upon it.

What a day this was turning into...What a day indeed.

~*~*~*~*~*

Yea, things start getting more serious now...But comedy is still around, don't worry.

 

[ZeekeXIV]

So the last chapter wasn't meant to be a comedy chapter. Oh well, I still laughed.

Star Wolf and his crew are some of my favorite enemies! It's funny how you made them repeat their senseless phrases from the game.

As he performed a vertical U-turn, blasting a steady stream of blue power, he let out a huff as Wolf cried out in confusion.

"What the HECK...?!"

"IT'S A U-TURN, YOU FRICKIN'...-"

Seriously, how many times could you be baffled by a U-turn? I wish I could hear my favorite Star Fox quote:

Fox: Sorry to jet, but I'm in a hurry!

God, that was so corny...

Anyway, grand chapter. Things are definately starting to get hectic.

 

[Destiny Smasher]

As I said, the Chapters have comedy- that's just not the point.

That Chapter was meant to make you laugh at some parts- but that wasn't the point. The point was to help develop the physical conflict going on as the war brews.

~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 30- Blue Streak

While an epic battle took place in the reaches of interspace, just a little ways off of Stellon, yet another invasion was underway on a nearby planet.

This planet was a lush and glorius one, filled with all kinds of unique life and creatures, including humans. And at the location of the major event, it was bright daylight out.

A fair city was under attack, and people were running for their lives, screaming in agony.

Giant blue ships with mounted cannons were firing laser beams in all directions, and explosions echoed throughout the land.

It was chaos. Utter and complete chaos.

The city of Mobiathon was a great booming metropolis, home to thousands of people. It was the capital city of the country sharing the same name. The planet it rested on was quite close to Stellon, actually, and where it was nightfall in most of the Mushroom Kingdom, it was bright as day here in Mobiathon.

Right now, it was in serious peril. People were being slaughtered, or running for their lives.

And an army was cascading into the city like a tidal wave. It was a massive flood of purple as thousands of Wire Frames made their way around the wonderous locale, breaking everything they saw. If a misfortunate civilian came their way, they were captured and brought back to the source of the flood, which lay about a couple of miles south of the current core of action.

Those who fought back were annialated, and Mobiathon's resistance was futile at the hands of these creatures. It wasn't the Frames' strength or intelligence- it was their sheer numbers that was the problem. That and the fact that they were being backed up by fifty foot long airships with mounted laser cannons.

The military was proving to be almost useless, and it was times like these when the people could rely on only one last hope...

He crossed lands like the winds themselves, and evil was destroyed in his wake.

He had a strong spirit, as solid as stone, but as free as the clouds at the same time. He did things HIS way, and that was that. His outlook on life was to cross the world in search of adventure, and if he never found danger, danger found him. He made fun out of everything the world shot at him.

He was a renegade in the world, feared by some and loved by others. But no matter what, he had a heart of gold, and a sense of justice as true as the sky was blue. Through his attitude and flashy demeanor, he was really a caring person inside, and his friends knew it.

His past? Not many could say for certain, not even he himself. His past was unknown, his future was unknown, his family was unknown, and the source of his amazing ability was unknown.

He was a problem, he was a solution.

But either way, in the end, the people counted on him to save the day.

He was famous the world over, and he'd been to quite a chunk of it by now. And he always set right what others set wrong.

The people called him Sonic...Sonic the Hedgehog...

And the people of Mobius knew him well. You could ask any Joe on the street, and they could tell you at least some about Sonic.

Sonic was an old friend of Mario's, and although the two had had their disputes in the past, they had patched things up in recent years, and were fairly close. The only thing that really prevented them from being true best friends was the fact that they didn't see eachother very often. But when they did, there was much rejoicing.

And, as always, Sonic was on the scene when danger reared its ugly head.

His feet flew gracefully like the wind, creating an art in itself. The way he moved in general was simply amazing. One action flowed into another elegantly, like water pouring down a waterfall.

His body was thin, especially his arms and legs, but even these were surprisingly strong. His head was very recognizable, too. He adorned a spikey mess of spines on the back of his head, which jutted out and curved downward slightly, almost like slicked hair. Little triangular ears poked out of his head, above his eyes and to the sides some.

His eyes were definitely very noticeable. They were huge, and often one might think of them as threatening. The small emerald dots within the big whites of his eyes darted around like mad as he ran, searching for his next destination, trying to keep up with his own speed. But his speed was a little slow for his liking.

Considering the fact he was being weighed down and had been running for some time, he wasn't surprised.

His hands were full- literally. And the figure within his arms grasped his shoulders fearfully, unsure as to what would happen next.



She had the same basic structure as he did, but with a lot of differences. For one thing, she was pink where he was blue, and her quills were softer and hung down, just barely reaching her shoulders, like hair on humans. A red hair-band was nestled just behind her triangle ears, which poked up above her eyes. Her eyes...They were just like Sonic's, but had more of a warmth to them.

Fat, gold bracelets were wrapped around her wrists, and she wore a cute red dress of sorts. At the base of her thin, pink legs were two big feet, and they rested inside odd boot-like sneakers. These were red, with a white stripe down the middle.

Her name was Amy Rose, and she and Sonic went far back. If any label was automatically pasted on her, it was 'wannabe girlfriend.' To Sonic, of course.

At the current moment, Sonic was carrying her, a tense and annoyed expression about him as he soared over the partially destroyed streets of Mobiathon, dodging crushed cars and other various debris.

Amy's arms were tightly wrapped around Sonic's neck in fear, and her wide eyes stared ahead, trying to keep up with the sights before her. Her hair rustled wildly from the air passing by it.

"Dammit, Amy, why am I always covering your ***?!" Sonic demanded suddenly, frustrated.

Amy's face frowned, and she turned to him in response.

"Because when I try to help you, you don't LET ME!!" her high and tart voice declared bitterly.

"UGH! Maybe if you stopped FOLLOWING me everywhere, this wouldn't happen!" Sonic suggested, trying to breath deeply. His voice was kind of high, and had attitude in it.

"I'm just trying to HELP!" Amy whimpered, turning away.

"Amy..." Sonic groaned, shaking his head. He nimbly bounced over a laser beam that blasted in his direction.

"I KNOW, but...It's like you WANT me to save you, so ya get yourself in trouble! Geez, what if one day I decide, 'Amy? Screw her, she's an annoying little brat that won't leave me alone!' What would ya do THEN, huh?" He was frowning, too, showing the fact that saving her spikes wasn't his idea of fun.

Amy smiled warmly and stared at him for a minute, which threw him off whack, and he almost tripped, his eyes wide.

"You'd never do that, Sonic," she shouted, her eyes half closed. "You care about me too much."

Sonic growled and muttered, "Whatever."

Sonic suddenly realized he was letting his reflexes take over- he'd just weaved out of five blows from these strange purple creatures, without realizing their presence conciously.

"WHOA!" he cried in alarm, as another took a swing for his legs. He hopped lightly, but just as he landed, another kicked at his face- thus he ducked, and Amy yelped, getting a little whiplash.

SIghts were rushing by through this half-broken city, and Sonic finally came face-to-face with one of the big, blue aircraft that was bombarding Mobiathon.

"Holy ****!!" he cried in awe, almost amazed at the sight. The real reason for his gasp was not teh ship itself, but the size of the cannon, and the fact it was pointed right at him, following his every move.

Still speeding along with ease, Sonic said to Amy, "Hope ya like trapeze!"

The color drained from Amy's face as she stared at Sonic in fright. But before she could mutter a 'why,' she was tossed up into the air, shrieking and spinning, while Sonic concentrated on his timing. Just as he saw the bright red beam of energy spewing out of the cannon- about ten feet in diameter, he launched himself up into the air, just barely missing it. After somersaulting wildly, he sprung outward and reached out his arms, catching Amy wonderfully as he flew back down to the streets running.

Amy was pale and dazed, and couldn't say anything for a minute or two- which made Sonic quite happy.

A voice muttered to itself in a grumble as its owner waited patiently by a shimmering, green object.

"Overkill...As always."

His voice was deep and tough, like his spirit. His arms were crossed over his red chest, and his purple eyes glared seriously at the hedgehog before him, who was zipping vertically across a building's side for a few seconds. He was closing in fast.

He let his strong arms drop as he prepared to depart, and at the end of his arms were balled-up hands in white gloves. Two little spikes poked out of each hand, earning him the nickname Knuckles.

"What the **** is going on around here, anyway...?" he muttered to himself, tensing his body as he awaited his friends arrival.



A dust cloud was left in Sonic's wake, and Amy was creaming in alarm as the giant blue airship was gaining on them.

"Knux?!" cried Sonic in shock.

Knuckles simply nodded and backflipped into the tall, shining device he'd been leaning against. It was a cylinder, and had a hole at its top which ran down through the hollow object. It was a Warp Pipe.

Amy gasped as she realized where they were headed.

"SONIC!!" she screamed. "What about everyone ELSE?!"

Sonic let out a painful expression. He KNEW about everyone else- but in these conditions, there wasn't too much even HE could do beside commit suicide.

"Amy, listen! Tails already made it down there, and now Knux is out, too!"

"But..."

"Everyone on Angel Island will be FINE!" Sonic reassured in a yell, speeding along, gaining on his destination. "If worse comes to worse, they'll make it out OK. Tikal's in charge, and she always knows what she's doing!"

Amy huffed as they slowed down, the Warp Pipe only yards away.

"Whya re we running?" she demanded curtly.

"Amy, you can kill yourself if you want. I'm going to go get help. We'd be better off getting reinforcements than getting our asses kicked out here."

Amy paused, letting her head bob as Sonic came to a halt. He was right.

She went for a loop and shrieked when she felt her 'dainty' body get chucked up into the air a bit, and she went sailing down a sleek green tube. Air rushed by her at an alarming rate, and she screamed for a few moments, only being able to make out green metal, and Sonic's face up ahead, looking down at her solemnly.

She slowly began to calm and relax, remembering that Warp Pipes were nothing to be alarmed about. This one was no ordinary Pipe, of course, for it traversed planets.

Within minutes they'd be on Stellon, very close to Mario's home. And there they'd search for the desperate help that they needed.

The only question was whether or not Stellon was in order itself.

~*~*~*~*~*

Whoohoo!

Mobius finally comes into the thick of things.

Although Sonic won't be taking lead role in any Chapters for a while, he's one of the most important characters in the story.

 

[ZeekeXIV]

The introduction of Sonic...

Sonic the Hedgehog!

Oh man... I feel a song coming on...

Blue streaks! Speeds by...
Sonic the Hedgehog!
Too fast! For the naked eye...
Sonic the Hedgehog!
Sonic!
He can really move!
Sonic!
He's got an attitude!
Sonic!
He is the fastest thing alive!

I'm done.

You're jumping into all the popular video game characters! This is gonna be so epic... I say when you completely finish this sometime between late 2005 and early 2006, go back and fix all the little grammatical errors and such, and get this published. I think this would be worth it.

I also noticed you got away with saying @$$! Plural form, but you got away with it! It wasn't censored. Good job!

Q4D wins again.

I also gave your rated your story four stars, but it seems like it's already been rated five. The only reason I didn't give it the perfect five is because even though it's very good, it's not perfect.

I'd have a hard time giving anyone a perfect five stars; even my own fic.

 

[MewtwoMaster2002]

Great update. Not enough time to write cuz I gotta go to tennis.

 

[Destiny Smasher]

Blah. I don't like people rating my story- it's not DONE!

Come back in 2005-2006 and see if it's earned another star by then.

I just can't rate a story until it's complete. I CAN rate Chapters- but you can't do that here, now can you? (Well, you could in your post, but...)

Tennis? Yep, only sport I go out of my way to play, baby...

~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 31- Countdown

The blaring alarms, the shouting creatures, the stress, the pressure, the impending danger...Link gulped as he absorbed it all in. This was it. Time to get down to business.

He sliced through a a few Frames like they were paper as he fough to get to the control deck. In seconds he was there, ready to steer manually.

There were some odd knobs that stuck out, which fit snugly in his aching fingertips. He snatched them and looked out through the sleek window at all the bright lines and shapes soaring by at incredible speed.

"Courage...Courage...Triforce of COURAGE," he chanted to himself as he sent her forward, plunging the Great Fox into the great mess.

The ship rattled and shook here and there as beams of energy and missles bounced into it, but nothing too severe just yet.

Zelda, amidst the chaos further back in the ship, realized whathad to be done. The bomb needed to be destroyed, didn't it? How were they to that with all of these attackers constantly in their way?

She swiped her hand through one, its surface covered in blue magic, and the female Frame fell to pieces.

She glanced around her and noticed someone she knew was pretty intellectual, and sought them out with a call.

"Nana!" she cried solemnly. The little girl came rushing to her obediently.
"You have a plan?" she yelled back as she reached the Princess, bashing a few Frames roughly with her mallet as she did so.

"Sort of," Zelda admitted in a shout. "Listen, we need to start looking around to try and find a bomb that was planted here."

The beady little eyes of the inuet widened at that comment.
"B-Bomb?!" she squeaked.

"Yes," Zelda replied, trying to sound calm. "As long as we can find it, it shouldn't be too big a deal..."

"Where IS it?!" she wailed, confused.

"I don't know!" Zelda whimpered back, her eyes darting around the chaotic room. A Frame punched her harshly in the back, and she tumbled down on her face in pain.

The Frame exploded as Ness leaped at it, kicking it fiercely.
He landed beside the Hyrulian, and the two smaller kids helped her back up.
"I think I might be able to help," he suggested.

"<A bomb it is we'll find>," came a cool, collected voice into their minds, ringing clearly. It was Mewtwo, who was a few feet off, waging battle with a few of the purple pests with ease.

"Zelda," he began, "You need to find Game and Watch. He should be able to diffuse one should we find it."

"Nana, you and I should go look for it," Ness cried out to her. She nodded in response, her face sweaty and some strands of her thick, chocolate hair sticking out.

"<Very well. I'll be prepared to ward off Frames when it's in our posession...>" Mewtwo suggested solemnly.

The four of them split up, each one knowing their goal.

The shouts and cried of Smashers colliding with Wire Frames was fierce and chaotic. Sounds of punches, kicks, and weapons clanging echoed all around.
Ness and Nana dashed through it, all, dodging blows narrowly.
Once in a while, Ness would zap one, or Nana would smack another with her mallet.

Ness's eyes stayed as small slits, his brain concentrated on locating the device. Nana's were wide and nervous, as she followed his every move with great care.

After what seemed like an hour, but was really two minutes, they found themselves in the storage room in the back.

"Of course!" Nana murmured in realization. "This is where the fuel and weapons are kept..."

Ness nodded solemnly, his face stern. "Which mean even a small bomb could set off a huge explosion..." His narrowed eyes examined the room slowly, until he decided he'd found their target.

"There," he said, sounding calm, pointing at a stack of Nova Bomb crates.
They both scrambled on over, scanning the walls carefully. Sure enough, a small grey device dotted with red buttons was clinging to the side of a wooden crate. Its inconspicuous apparence didn't show its true potency, however.

The two kids stood there idly, wondering what to do next.
"Well, we have to diffuse it," Nana mumbled.

"Right..." Ness murmured. "Game and Watch!" he cried in rememberence.
Nana nodded quickly.

"I'll go find him," Ness declared, starting to dash off. "You stay and make sure nobody touchs it!!"

Nana gulped slowly, wiped some sweat from her forehead, and let out a deep sigh. This mess would be over, soon enough. But what waited just around the corner?

~*~*~*~*~*

The distant waves of the sparkling ocean whispered their good nights as the midnight breezes caressed their tired bodies. The sun was long gone, lost in the world of dreams. The glorius crescent moon watched over them like a mother over its children. The Stars twinkled, casting tranquility upon the island's bleak environment.

They slept on the tiny islet, which lay miles off the coast of Yoshi's Island, and only about a couple miles away from their destination. It was an unimportant location, but it was all they had to stay on for the night. Yoshi could probably run from one side of the island to the next within a couple minutes. It wasn't incredibly huge. But a sole Fungiade lived there. He and his single house. And, of course, his pet Chain Chomp. He was a rugged man named Hinopio. (from Mario RPG? One in the same!) Upon being dropped off due to a lack of time and fuel, the Yoshies were forced to stay on this island for the night, until they could figure a way over the seas in the morning.

Hinopio, realizing their situation, humbly let them stay the night at his place, just as he had done for Mario a few years back.

Unfortunately, he didn't quite have much for them to sleep in, but it was sure better than nothing, which was pretty much what they HAD been using.
A few cots leaned up against the wall served their purpose, and they all quickly succumbed to sleep- except one. She lay there, staring at the ceiling, incapable of getting her mind to calm down. There were just too many things running through her brain.

She restlessly sat up in bed, staring around the dark room gloomily. Her eyes wandered to each of her friends present, and then, finally, to him. Her stomach quivered nervously as she gazed at his exhausted body. She admired the way his white chest slowly expanded and contracted with each sleeping breath, enraptured by his smiling, dreaming face.

She felt as if she was in a dream herself, just by looking at him.
A shot of uneasiness shot through her as she realized what she was thinking, and she slid off of the cot in her bare feet. Carefully pacing to the door, she tried her best not to make a sound. The warm, dimly lit cabin was tranquil and inviting, with a small fireplace that crackled elegantly.
She turned back to stare at him once more longingly before gentley stepping out the wooden door, trying her best to keep it from creaking. With great care, she gentley closed the old door behind her and tip-toed down the stone steps before her. Silently walking through the sand, the cold particles of mineral soft between her toes, she sighed deeply, her eyes glued to the moonlit ground.

Lost in her own emotions, she pondered what it was she really wanted, what it was she really needed, and what it was that HE needed.

After an uncounted amount of time, she found herself meeting the shores of this little islet. She instantly felt swept away by their gentle crashes. Staring up into the white rays of the crescent moon, she breathed deeply and sat down in the sande gracefully.

She lifted her right palm up before her and gazed at it in awe. The center of her beautiful eyes' attention was the ring that rested on her index finger. That pink, sharply cut Zap Ring that he had placed on her finger...She dared not remove it in her loyalty toward him.
She shut her eyes and dropped her slender arm, wincing at her frustration. What was she to do?

She had no clue, and felt she was far from getting one.
"<Tarts...You think you love him...But do you really know what love IS...?>"
Her own mind questioned her heart, and she savagely fought back.
"<What I am thinking?! I know what I feel!...I love him...And if I don't, then...Maybe there isn't a word for it...>"
Tarts remembered that love had many definitions, all depending on who you were talking to, and who was speaking. But did she love him? How...? How did she define it...?

<To me...Love is a deep and passionate caring toward a person. It means I want to do anything to be there for them. To make them happy. I want to be friends with them for the rest of my life...>

She loved him. Yes. She DID, there was no mistaking that...But she was having trouble containing her own feelings within her. It was even more than that kind of love. It had a mysterious individuality to it. She loved many of her friends. But with him, it was different from the rest. She wanted more than a friendship. More than even a best friendship, which she knew they had. She wanted to be able to hold him in her arms, to be able to hug him anytime she wanted. She wanted him to return her affection...

But even she didn't fully understand it. She still needed time to figure it all out. Was this what she really wanted? Was there more to it than that? What was this she was feeling? She quickly realized the answers would not come to her that moment. Her brain was too tired. her heart was in too much chaos. She needed rest.

Letting herself lay back, the soft gold sand as her bed, she dreamed. Her heart and her mind were filled with thoughts of what she wished was true, but what wasn't. She picturd him by her side, her head nestled on his chest. She pictured this mess over and done with, with nary a trouble to worry them.

But she knew that neither of those things were to happen anytime soon.
Her tired body finally relieved itself and drifted off, letting the Subcons take her away...

~*~*~*~*~*
"Wh-wh-what?! What am I supposed to do about it??" the faceless man cried.

"Turn it off!" Zelda pleaded.

Mr. Game and Watch paused, trembling in a blinking way, flashing from one frame to the next in quick sucession.

"...Allright...I guess I can try..."

"Don't guess you can try- know you can do it," Nana murmured shakily to him, standing close to the device.

The retro character kneeled down and studied the bomb meticulously. He prodded it with his fingers gentley here and there with great care.
"Hmm..." He tapped his chin, which looked odd, as he was 2D. "OK..." He said this simple phrase with confidence and calmness. As he reached out his hands to start his work, a sudden clanging sound surged through the room.
A mass of Wire Frames were headed their way, intent on stopping this little operation.

^+=[***]=+^

"What's wrong, Fox?" Wolf demanded smoothly. "Hiding something valuable on your ship?"

Fox growled back, "What's it matter? You guys aren't gettin' in there anyway..."

With that, he blasted out a flurry of burning blue lasers into the wings of Wolf's ship with great precision and timing.

"Oh, maybe WE aren't...But our little friends are invading as we speak..." Wolf declared cockily.

Fox groaned in frustration as he pelted a Nova Bomb into the sky, barely singing Wolf's ship, but exploding a decent chunk of these blue fighters.

^+=[***]=+^

"GOT IT!!" Game and Watch yelled, holding the bomb up triumphently as Wire Frames were battered all around him. <Now what?> he wondered to himself. Noticing the chaos around him, he quickly dashed off, toting the device with him.

The ship shook, the engines roared, and fist-fights took over the Great Fox as the retro figure rushed through it all, holding a silver device about as big as a football within his armpit, his empty arm extended out ahead of him. And by chance, he happened to stumble upon the trash ejector.

In relief, he hastily plunked the bomb into the slot, watching the metal doors slam shut tightly. He slammed his hand into the small red button on the wall beside it, and listened to the satisfying *shoomp!* as it was thrown into space.

He sighed warily, and a Wire Frame took this opportunity to smack him in the face briskly, waking him up to the battle before him.

[{-*-}]

Fox whirled and weaved around lasers gracefully in his Arwing, and blasted Wolf's ship in turn.

"When will you get the hint, Wolf? We always win!"

"Pah!" Wolf cried. "You've already lost!"

"Wha-?!" Fox was baffled and his gut sunk for a moment.
"Now you get to watch your precious ship get blown to smitherines, and all of your friends can get sucked into the vaccum of space! Ha!"
And like lightning, it happened. Boom.

All sound was stopped briefly, for about a second. It was complete silence. And then, as white light blinded all in sight, everything shook. The small blue ships all around were all ripped to shreds, sneding shrapnel everywhere. The Arwings and Wolfens were rocked insanely, their drivers almost being knocked unconscious. And then, there was more silence. No lasers, no explosions, no engines...

Those few ships that remained floated in space peacefully. And Fox's heart sank when he realized that they had failed to dispath the bomb...
Just then, as he lay there in his ship, small amounts of blood running down his face, a sound struck his ears. It was faint to his deafened ears, but he made it out. It was a soft and sweet voice. But it was trembling right now, yet with a distinct sense of achievement.

"...We...We did it..." It was Zelda, coming in through the speakers. "Everybody's OK..." She sounded injured, and Fox wasn't surprised at all.

"ROB, is everything all right?" he groaned in pain.

"Great Fox is OK," the monotone voice spoke.

He sighed of relief, then moaned as his shoulder stung.

"Looks like you're wrong again, Wolf...Like usual...Why don't you piss off?" he growled viciously at his rival, who was already struggling to pilot his way out before he was killed.

Well, then...What a day...Now what?
This had to be reported to the Mario Bros.

This had been planned and set up. Somebody was up to something, and this wasn't going to be pretty. Fox's keen nose could smell it in the air. One of the most hideous smells he knew of- war.

~*~*~*~*~*

And so it begins.

 

[MewtwoMaster2002]

Great update. So how is Mr. Game & Watch the only one able to do it? Tarts' love for Yoshi is growing stronger now right?

 

[Destiny Smasher]

Um...

Yea, Tarts kinda likes Yoshi, ya THINK? Of course, there's some complications and such...I've actually hinted to one- it was subtle, and you probably didn't understand it.

But later on you'll see the complications.

Game + Watch does it because he's Game + Watch and he needed some type of role. Out of all of them, I just pictured him as the best on eat diffusing bombs for some reason.

~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 32- Persistance

The scent of brimstone lingered in the air, and his hungry nostrils sucked it in greedily. The warmth of the lava moat floated up and greeted him warmly, embracing the creature with its hideous, red glow. It had only been a day since he'd been kicked out of his own fort, but he already missed it. It was his home. His subjects, his disciples...but most importantly, his CHILDREN. He'd taken it all away. What was he to do now?

He was having regrets about not telling the Mario Bros. about this...Mario had helped him reclaim his castle the last time. Peach even lended a hand. Who was to say the same wouldn't happen this time? But this time was different. His children were practically being held hostage, and they probably didn't even know it. But there was not way he could rescue them alone. From what his inside sources told him, Kamek was gathering a team. Which wasn't good. Now that he thought about it, he sould've come up with that idea sooner...But Bowser usually wasn't much of a thinker, was he? Why think when you can DO? That's what he thought, anyway.

It was then that his prayers were answered as a round object came floating out over the moat, steady but sure. It had a single propeller on its bottom, which, oddly enough, enabled it to fly. As it tottered around, Bowser grinned at the wicked smile that met his. It was the frightening face of a psychopathic clown, painted on the vehicle's front. It was a Koopa Klown Kar. And not any, at that. It was his own, personal one. The King Koopa Klown Kar. Yes...

And, clearly, its driver wasn't used to one so big, for he was having trouble controlling it, and could be barely seen from where Bowser stood, on Vienna Hill.

As it landed roughly on the black stone ground, trace amounts of smoke billowed from it. The driver, a Koopatrol (Armor-wearing guards of Bowser's castle, featured in Paper Mario), hopped out tiredly, and gave the former King a sly smile.

"Lenny..." Bowser began cheerily, his gruff voice having some tone of relief. "You have no ****in' idea how helpful this is gonna be..."

"And you, Sire, have no idea how hard it was to smuggle this out...But I did it," he answered proudly, beaming.

Bowser chuckled heartily and rubbed his dry and scaly palms together, glaring at his old mechanical friend with delight.

"How the **** will you get back in?" Bowser questioned curiously as he hopped into his faithful device, some clanging erupting.

"I was attacked," Lenny replied simply, speaking of it as if it had already happened.

"Great," Bowser groaned merrily, flicking a few switches and hitting a few buttons. "Lenny," he called gruffly as the propeller began to spin, the Klown Kar being levitated up slowly.

"Yes, Sire?"

"Make sure the kids are OK," Bowser requested firmly. "Make sure that ****in' ******* doesn't lay a finger on them...I'll be back, just give me some **** time..."

"Indeed Sire! Long live the TRUE King!!"

The Koopatrol saluted loyally as the dethroned King flew off southeastward, puffs of gray smoke floating out of his Kar gently.

~*~*~*~*~*

Panic overwhelmed his being as he felt his guts boil, his brain melt and his eyes well up. Where was she?! What had happened to her? She'd better be OK...

As he fumbled around the room, he ignored even putting on his boots, his backpack, his saddle...It didn't matter, she was missing. Her sandals remained at the foot of her hammock, but she was gone. Her saddle was laid with care on her little cot...What happened?!

A chuckle rose from the mysterious man in the corner of the hut. He was prodding at some eggs on an old-looking frying pan, which sat over a small stone oven.

Yoshi spun to the man, who had a unique, Mexican styled head. Red and black were the colors, and he wore a shirt with similar designs. It was Hinopio, the guy who'd been kind enough to let them spend the night.

"Worried about your woman, are you?" he inquired gruffly, staring at his eggs, a grin upon him.

"...Wh...Woman?" Yoshi mumbled, his cheecks red. "Wh...What do ya mean...? I...I guess, yea....Kind of...Not really, but-"

"You're only digging yourself in deeper, kid," Hinopio luaghed, amused. "Yea, yea...I get the picture...Your little girlfriend took off during the night..."

Yoshi's eyes widened with perplexment, and his heart sank a little. His voice trembling, he asked, "Where'd she go? Why'd she leave...?"

Hinopio only snickered more, but it wasn't mean. Just amused.

"Hehe...Don't worry. I dunno exactly where she went, but she couldn't have gone far...The island's only so big..."

Yoshi swallowed roughly and stared at all his snoozing pals.

"Um..." He hesitated a moment, and decided to look for her alone. "I'll be back in a bit," he hastily mumbled, dashing out the worn wooden door.

As the door slammed close, the eyes of the sleeping white Yoshi snapped awake, and she groggily stared about the room.

"Wha...?" she moaned, yawning. Sitting up in her cot slowly, she scratched her bulbous nose. Her eyelids still drooped, and her body still lagged. Hinopio smirked at her, shaking his head slowly.

"Lemme guess," he mumbled, "You're wondering where everyone is going, right?"

Snoball blinked in confusion.

"Huh...? Who slammed the door...? What's for breakfast...?" she moaned sleepily.

"Oh, geez...I don't think I have enough to feed FIVE Yoshi stomachs...Oy..."

~*~*~*~*~*

"No, I-I just...Well, I..." Tarts was blushing, very embarrassed.

"Tarts!! What were you THINKING?! Geez!" Yoshi tossed his arms and spun around, facing his back to her. He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down.

"I'm sorry!" Tarts whimpered out, sitting in the sands, wearing nothing but that special necklace. The tear-drop shaped emerald gem with the sphere of gold in the middle.

"I guess I just needed some time alone...Haven't you ever wanted that...?"

Yoshi's arms were crossed over his chest sternly, and his eyes were closed. He sighed deeply and spoke slowly.

"Yea...OK...You're right, I understand..."

He turned around to face her, his eyes slightly glazed.

"But, damm..." he mumbled. "When I woke up, and you were GONE...I was real worried..."

Tarts let out a small smile and stood up, brushing off sand particles.

"I'm a big girl now, I can take care of myself," she announced smugly.

"I'll bet you can," Yoshi replied back with that same joking tone.

And as they stared at eachother, their eyes locked. For a few seconds, neither could remove their gaze from the other. And everything around them seemed to freeze. Everything got warm and suttle. And just as Tarts began to open her mouth, the strangest thing happened.

A creature partially encased in an egg came whizzing through the air, using a pair of leathery bat-like wings to do. A spike rested on the piece of white eggshell on his head, and he had a grouchy yellow face.

His body came ramming into Tarts' side with full force, knocking her into the slowly moving water, her top half soaked. Pain surged through her from the sneak attack the little creep had pulled, and Yoshi immediately got ready to nail whatever this thing was.

"HA! Betcha didn't see THAT one coming!" he snarled, his voice snotty and high.

Yoshi growled at the tike, "What the **** do you think you're doing?!"

The young Koopa Troopa stared at him, a gleam in his eye.

"I'm here to beat on you two wusses!" he declared boldly. Quite a threat from someone so small. As he chuckled at Yoshi, the green one demanded his name.

Her flittered about gracefully as he announced, "I'm Jr. Troopa, buster! Don't forget it!!"

Yoshi's eyes narrowed. That name sounded familiar, but...He couldn't quite place it...

And as Jr. Troopa readied himself to strike Yoshi in the head, a sphere of highly concentrated electricity collided with him, sending him into the sand, surprised.

He mumbled something, most likely something vulgar, and hopped abck up to his feet.

Yoshi immediately swerved to see Tarts breathing deeply, slightly hunched over. Her right hand, which had launched her Spark Orb, fell to her side. Her eyes were annoyed and glared at the brat angrily. He'd ruined what could've been a chance for her to start working toward her goal, that little CREEP!

"Wanna take him?" Yoshi asked, nodding toward her.

"If you wanna dance," she said, glancing at him solemnly, "I'll be your partner."

Yoshi grinned slyly and the both of them looked down at the dirty kid, who flapped up into the air, huffing.

"OOOOHH, look at me, I can use MAAAGIC!!" he squealed. "Yea? Well, I took magic lessons, TOO! And I'll bet you aren't gonna like what I learned, too!"

~*~*~*~*~*

"Why, yes, sir. You just keep headin' east here, and you'll see it pretty soon. It's in a small village, you can't miss it so long as you go straight."

The surly creature before him snorted and stared off ahead of him, down the road. Dry brush and tall, light brown grass lined the edges of this dirt road, which was sprawled over a relatively flat area. Bowser's critical eyes glared down the path- because it was so flat, he could see miles down, and a town, it seemed, did rest later on.

"Ah...I see it," he grumbled out. "All right, then..." He began to stomp off, dragging his once working vehicle with him.

The Nomadimouse who had given him directions paused and watched him go off, a bit baffled at the sight of the Koopa shoving along such an odd device.

It took a moments hesitation, but finally Bowser growled out behind him, almost not audible to his listener, "Thanks..."

"No problem, sir. I wish you luck on the road!"

"Yea," Bowser murmured to himself. "I'll need it, that's for ****in' sure..."

~*~*~*~*~*

Having narrowly dodged a blast of the classic Magikoopa spell, Yoshi wasn't feeling quite so easy going about this little twerp. He wasn't quite a twerp, he was kind of tough.

"OK," he mumbled, getting Tarts' attention. "Here's an idea. I can send out some water, you can surge some electricity through it."

"Uhh..." Tarts wasn't quite sure exactly what he meant, there wasn't enough detail, but there was no time.

Yoshi grasped the ever-so helpful Elemental Orb in his palm tightly, and he pointed it out at Jr. Troopa, who smirked at him.

"Like my tricks, do ya?" he sneered.

"They're boring!" Yoshi replied.

Just after he said this, a deluge of water came pouring down onto the stubborn Troopa, and he gurgled out in pain. Tarts realized now was the time to attack, and tossed another Spark Orb into the swirling cyclone of H2O that engulfed Jr. Troopa. In a bright pink flash, the whole thing coarsed with lightning, and Jr. Troopa's body jolted around erratically. After the waters calmed down, Yoshi whipped an Egg right at his foe's face, and as it made contact, Jr. Troopa screamed.

"OK!!" he whimpere. "OK! So you're good..." He lay there, defeated, on the sands, and the soft waves lapped at him.

Yoshi crossed his arms and gazed down at this freak, puzzled.

"You've got thrill issues, man," he muttered, and turned away to walk off, triumphent.

As he paced away, Tarts hesitated. She leaned over him, pondering an action. She huffed at him, spit a nice big glob of saliva on his face, and kicked some sand in his eyes for good measure.

He moaned and wiggled his bitty arms around as if to hit her, which was hopeless at the time.

"You're so mean..." he mumbled.

Tarts curtly snapped back, "People tend to be mean to JERKS."

~*~*~*~*~*