So, I got this idea from two sources: the Hey Arnold! Halloween special, and Nintendo Nut1's story Brother Squadron, which is a really great story, by the way. This is my Halloween story!
Zelda: It is?
Link: But it's well past Halloween.
SHADDUP! Anyway, folks, here it is, my most planned story: War of the Weirds! Hope you like!
Pichu: Yeah, for his sake...
WHAT WAS THAT!
Pichu: Nothing...run away! (Everyone runs away)
Hmm...It's just not as good written as it is seen...oh, well. Here's the full summary, for all you curious types:
Ness and Pichu are determined to outscare Link and the others this Halloween, so they perform a radio show saying that aliens are attacking, also using the fact that several Smashers are dressed as aliens themselves to aid their cause. However, all hell breaks loose when the TV station picks up the signal and broadcasts it to the whole of the Smash Island, throwing it into mass chaos, havoc, and destruction. With the military on their heels and time running out, can Link and his friends save the Smashers before they and the Island are reduced to rubble?
Link: Whoa...sounds cool.
Just read, thank you very much.
"Hear the sound of the falling rain...
Coming down like an Armageddon flame (Hey!)
The shame, the ones who died without a name...
Hear the dogs howling out of key,
To a hymn called 'Faith and Misery' (Hey!)
And bleed, the company lost the war today..."
Chapter 1: And So, It Begins...
As the autumn winds caressed the Smash Island in all its warmth and glory, the days slowly ticked by until that fateful day: October 24, one week before All Hallows' Eve, better known as Halloween. The Smashers were getting ready for the annual party and costume contest; some going to more extreme lengths than others. In the lounge, a boy and a small mouse Pokèmon were grinning as the television in front of them displayed various images. A teenage young man in a green tunic was also watching, along with an Italian man in green and a humanoid fox.
"I love this show." Ness told Pichu as they watched the show, The Z Files. "It's so cool...look! There it is!"
"The mother ship...that's so cool!" Pichu said in response. "I bet they attack Nintendo tonight!" The TV said otherwise, though.
"Tune in to the Z Files next week, when aliens attack the planet!" Both Ness and Pichu sighed in disappointment.
"I can't believe you people can watch that garbage." Fox piped up. "Their writing is terrible!" Ness and Pichu turned back to the TV screen in response as creepy music blared from it.
"Next, it's Alien Today, with your host, Jonathan Reed!"
"Alien-a Today! I-a love this show!" Luigi said from his position on the couch.
A man of twenty-odd years had appeared on the TV. He had bronze-colored hair and a bizarre machine-like eyepiece on his right eye. He spoke with an air of brooding intensity. "UFOs, flying saucers, they loom large in the imagination, but, indeed, do they exist? We now know that this planet is watched closely by intelligences greater than Nintendo's. We are scrutinized and studied, this small spinning fragment of solar driftwood. As your host and reporter and writer and producer, I will be your guide on your quest to make contact on Alien Today!" The lights on the set suddenly brightened, revealing the words 'Alien Today' behind him, curving around the intense young man.
"Okay, couch potatoes, enough of the tube." Link stood up from the couch and turned off the television, much to the displeasure of the other Smashers. "It's time for our meeting of our annual Smash Mansion Halloween party."
"Hey, Link, can Ness and I help out this year?" Pichu piped up.
"Oh, no, Pichu." Link chastised. "Halloween is a serious business, and it's not for kids."
"But -" Pichu was cut off by Link, and he was indignant.
"Now, now, now, Pichu. The purpose of Halloween is to scare the living daylights out of everyone until they scream bloody murder and beg for mercy! I love a good Halloween prank, and this year, we're going to do it better than ever! Now go to bed." Link then turned to Fox and Luigi, who were talking to each other, and announced, "Fox, let's start with the costume committee report.
"The costume committee report is as follows: Peach will be a witch."
"Like-a that's a stretch..." Luigi muttered under his breath.
"Luigi will play the executioner!"
"Wait a minute, I-a thought you said I was going to be-a Frankenstein!" Luigi shot out.
"No!" Fox protested. "This year I will play Frankenstein!"
"You and-a what army, old man-a?" Luigi retorted. "You-a told me last-a year that you-a would play the-a bride of Frankenstein!"
"Yeah! I play." Fox reported. "I will play Frankenstein! I like it!"
"Don't-a you tell me..." Meanwhile, Ness and Pichu were indignant that Link shot down their idea. But their disappointment melted away when something clicked in Pichu's mind, and his frown was replaced by an evil grin.
"So, our usual Halloween plan, Pichu?" Ness asked the conniving young Pokèmon.
"No, Ness. This year I think the grown-ups will have a good scare, and I think it should involve aliens."
"Hey, Da-I mean, Kratos." Lloyd greeted the Seraphim. "What are you doing?"
"I'm waiting for someone." Lloyd looked bewildered, and Kratos explained, "Yuan and Botta are supposed to be here for our weekly poker night."
"Oh..." Lloyd I. turned on the TV, which, coincidentally, was airing Alien Today.
"Perhaps across an immense, ethereal gulf, intellects vast, cool, and unsympathetic regard PlanetNintendo with envious eyes..." A knock on the door was heard as Kratos let in Yuan and Botta, the latter of whom was carrying a poker mat under his arm. The sounds of setting up the mini-casino drowned out the next few lines from the TV, but after setting up, they were under way, although everyone's attention was on the TV. "...reporting accounts of actual encounters with alien beings too hideous to describe, more thing than sentient being!"
Botta chuckled. "I can't believe this guy. Every week it's another close encounter." He then tossed a poker chip into the pot. "Raise you 50 gald."
"I'll see your 50 gald." Yuan said. He then regarded of the aliens, "You know it's all a fake. That's 50 gald to you, Kratos."
"And I raise you 100 gald." Kratos tossed two poker chips into the pot. "I'm telling you, it's true, you guys. That Reed guy's an expert. He knows what he's talking about."
"You mean you actually believe that junk, Kratos!" Botta spat out incredulously.
"Believe it? Course I believe it! I had a close encounter myself once."
"Kratos, please don't start..." Raine groaned from the other room as Lloyd listened on with interest.
"Happened nearly 20 years ago." Kratos began. "I was steering a Rheaird carrying cut-rate Sybakian transistors across the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge. All of a sudden, the radio starts acting funny. Grass all around me is blowing flat. There's this weird light coming from all directions. Next thing I know, I'm wandering around the parking lot of the Meltokio smorgasbord. Now how the heck did that happen?"
"Did anyone else see this flying saucer?" Yuan asked.
"Nope. I was the only witness." Yuan and Botta looked at each other, then at Kratos skeptically. He growled, "You don't believe me, do you? Mark my words, flying saucers do exist and we're going to see aliens someday, and they're going to look exactly like that!" He pointed to a picture of an alien, and Lloyd suddenly had an idea that would make Halloween interesting.
"...and we'll look exactly like this." Lloyd said to his assembly of friends in the kitchen, pointing to the alien picture he head taken from Kratos' room after the poker game.
"But, Lloyd!" Genis protested. "I wanted to go as pirates!"
"No, Vikings!" Falco shot out.
"How about clowns?" Pikachu added.
"We must dress as aliens!" Lloyd bellowed angrily. "The whole point of Halloween is to scare people and make them give you candy!" Everyone sighed in disappointment, and then Lloyd began giving orders. "Colette, Pikachu, Falco, you get the silver fabric. Genis, you scrounge up some foil. We're going to need lots and lots of foil." The halfling flashed a smile and a thumbs-up at Lloyd, who grinned. "Treecko, you get the face paint." He then saw Ness and Pichu carrying an extension cord outside the lunch counter, and yelled, "Ness! Pichu! You in or out?"
"Definitely out; we've got something planned for Halloween night." Pichu told them. His mind sparked an idea, and he grinned. "Hey, Link and the older folks are holding a party in here Halloween night."
"Wha-? And they didn't tell us?" Lloyd spat out. "Then we're crashing it!" He was received by lots of cheering from the assembly gathered around him. Ness gave Pichu a warning look.
"Wait a minute; you're having all of them show up at that party?"
"They'll be our alien invasion; it's perfect!" Pichu said slyly, staring at Lloyd as he tucked his hair under a pot, stuck it on his head, and wrapped a cloak around himself. "If we time this right, we'll scare Link and the others right out of their minds."
A few more days passed, and the bell at the Grand Metropolis soon rung out the dreary, cold hours for Halloween night, fear and panic lingering on the wind's breath. At the Smash Mansion, Zelda, dressed as a pirate, (Imagine Tetra from Wind Waker, except with long hair and more height to her physical stature, and you get Zelda) handed out candy to various kids from the Grand Metropolis that knocked on the door of said Mansion. Lloyd was looking at himself in the mirror, and he grinned. He looked so...so...terrifying. He decided to try it on Kratos, who was reading a newspaper. "I missed the spread by one lousy point on that one...come on, I got to have won something...what's going on?"
"Kratos!" Lloyd exclaimed.
"What?"
"What do you think of my costume?"
"It's fine, Lloyd." Kratos said, not looking up from the paper.
"Kratos, you haven't even looked at my costume."
"I know these things. You look nice."
"DAD!" Lloyd's patience was deteriorating rapidly. "I just want you to look at the costume I'm wearing."
Kratos looked up, and almost hid a smile. "I see it; it looks fine." He then turned back to his paper. "Oh, how could Eagleland win again!"
"Well, something's better than nothing..." Lloyd muttered to himself. "If anyone needs me, I'll be out trick-or-treating..." Passing by the door, he was amused to see Link, dressed as Legolas from Lord of the Rings, standing at the door with a bowl of worms and cockroaches in it. Man, he would scare the crap out of the kids good...and he had that chance as the trick-or-treaters rang the doorbell.
"Trick or treat!"
"Oh, you all look so adorable. Why don't you help yourself to some...WORMS AND COCKROACHES!" The kids screamed and ran away, dropping their precious sugary loot in the process. "Happy Halloween!" Link yelled as he picked up the fallen candy and the wussier of the trick-or-treaters ran away back to the city.
Meanwhile, the party was well under way in the cafeteria, as many of the Smashers mingled and talked. Fox and Luigi were arguing about their choice of costume, though.
"You-a can't be a Frankenstein-a!"
"NO! I am Frankenstein today!"
"Oh, this-a is where your-a scars come in-a handy..." Somewhere nearby, Sheeda was playing bagpipes, and you could hear Roy complaining about his costume, which was Dracula.
"Lilina, what did you do to my cape?"
"I think it looks great, Roy..." The girl replied, dressed as Lyn from Fire Emblem. "I have sixteen holes in my fingers; I don't know what more you want of me!"
A jukebox in the corner of the room was playing all kinds of music, from pop to rock to R&B to hip-hop. Had one taken a closer look, however, they would have noticed a network of wires climbing up the wall and into a stationery jack-o-lantern. They wormed out of the pumpkin, and ascended the walls up to a makeshift station that Ness and Pichu had set up on the rooftop. Various tables surrounded them, and on those tables were items like an empty mayonnaise jar, a bowl of pasta, and most importantly, a radio transmitter hooked up to the jukebox. Ness asked Pichu, "Well, Pichu?"
"It's show time. It's 7:49." Pichu said, looking at his pocket watch. "I told Lloyd to bring everyone over at 8."
"Hey, Pichu! I see them." Ness said, pointing to the roadway in front of them. "They're at least 50 yards away from the Mansion."
"Looks like they went to town and ate dinner..." Pichu noted.
"Thank goodness security's off tonight." Ness added. "Otherwise, our prank wouldn't work."
"Let's go, Ness." Pichu said, taking a position next to a phonograph. "It's time for the alien attack." He put on an empty record on the phonograph and played it, making an eerie scratching sound as it did. Pichu gave the thumbs-up to Ness, who took several seconds to clear his throat before speaking down the phonograph's stereo, deepening his voice and making it unrecognizable.
"We interrupt this broadcast to bring to you a special bulletin. A large, saucer-like craft of unknown origin is reported to have landed at the Driscoll Pier in Nelson's Landing." Pichu grinned widely, and Ness had to stifle a chuckle as to not blow their cover. Meanwhile, the Mansion Halloween party was conversing loudly, and Link was trying to quell the situation.
"Quiet!" Link commanded, to no avail. "Shh, shh—quiet, everybody. Quiet! What? Quiet, everybody; something's going on!" The group of Smashers finally shut their mouths, only to be horrified as the 'broadcast' dragged on.
"I repeat: there are reports of an alien spacecraft landing at Driscoll Pier in Nelson's Landing." Everyone at the party listened on with interest. "I'm at the scene, where a small crowd has gathered around the scorched area where the saucer-like craft has landed. Wait, wait!" Lilina gasped and embraced Roy for comfort. "The top of the craft...seems to be opening, unscrewing like a huge lid." On the roof, Pichu had opened the jar inside the trash can, making it sound like something huge was opening. Ness grinned. "Now it's opening...and...some...thing...is coming out." Pichu then scurried over to the valve on a nearby oxygen tank and opened it, giving off a HISS as it did. He squelched pasta in his hands, tossed bags of flour to the ground, and smacked the hell out of a punching bag, all as sound effects for the broadcast. "Oh, my! Several of them, several...with huge, bulbous heads! I can hardly bear to look at them! They're...so...revolting!"
"This is a joke, right?" Daisy whispered to the startled Link, who could only listen on in unease.
Meanwhile, on Route 280 between the Grand Metropolis and Chancellorsville...
A young man of only 16 sat in a news van, parked at a lush, forested rest stop between cities. His freckled face was full of fear and worry, and he brushed his bronze locks nervously out of his eyes before replacing his glasses. He was manning the editing station in the van. He grabbed the walkie-talkie nervously, switched it on, and spoke into it. "Uh, Mr. Reed, sir? This is Johnny. Uh..."
It was none other than Jonathan Reed, the host of Alien Today, who picked up on the other line. "Come in, Johnny."
"Uh, yeah, sir, can I come back to the station now?" Johnny asked, stuttering and sweating. "It's...uh...it's Halloween night, and I-" He never finished his thought.
Jonathan Reed, sitting in his studio at the Television B TV Station on Chancellorsville's outskirts, did not sound at all happy that his assistant was backing out on him. "No, you can not come back to the station! It's All Hallows' Eve, the perfect night for aliens to try and infiltrate our planet disguised as Nintendians!" His voice lowered to a whisper that had a threatening tone to it. "I sent you out to look for signs of paranormal alien activity, and that's what you will continue to do until your shift ends at 10 o'clock!"
"But I..." Johnny started.
"Over and out, Mr. Johnny." Reed muttered, unceremoniously hanging up on the poor guy.
Johnny, having been defeated, could do nothing but sigh as he got into the news van and drove towards the Grand Metropolis. 15 minutes later, the sound of whooshing cars and people's conversations welcomed him into the city as he followed the highway past the different buildings and close to the Mansion. He beat on the steering wheel like it was a bongo, and sighed. "I can't believe this...like I'm really going to find aliens on Halloween night." He decided to turn on the radio for some tuneage, and got something else entirely.
"Seven or eight aliens have climbed out of the spacecraft." Ness's voice blared through the radio as Johnny was listening. "Oh, I see their leader. If possible, this one is more hideous in appearance..." It took a full five minutes for Johnny's brain to register the broadcast, and he flipped.
"HOLY COW!"
"They've now left the landing site and are proceeding to the West Side!" Ness continued. "I believe they're headed down Route 280, towards the Smash Mansion!"
"Smash Mansion?" Marth paced around the Mansion's cafeteria, twirling his sword about. "Our Smash Mansion?" Everyone gasped, and Daisy fainted into Luigi's arms. He caught her without mishap.
"Smash Mansion?" Johnny asked, flooring the pedal and speeding down the highway like a bullet, past a sign saying 'Smash Mansion: 7 miles away.' Johnny slowed down a bit, and he saw Lloyd and his troupe dressed as aliens about 25 yards away from the Mansion. "Oh, my gosh! The aliens! I...got to get this on tape!" He nearly dropped his phone in excitement as he called the TV station.
"Jonathan Reed here..." the alien show host answered.
"Boss? Mr. Reed? I found aliens!" Johnny said excitedly.
"Great Scott, man, get it on video!" Reed's voice blurted out in shock. Johnny got out a camera and began to position himself in front of the opulent Mansion. Meanwhile, inside the building, Link was trying to get everyone under control and avoid unnecessary panic, with some extent of success.
"Now, listen!" he bellowed loudly. "You all know there's no such thing as aliens. Now, let's all calm down; this is no time to panic." Several moments later, the doorbell rang, and the room erupted in chaos, havoc and noise as the Smashers began to panic again. Link just sighed and strolled over to the door, exasperated at his comrades' overwhelming stupidity. "It's just the door, you ninnies!" He opened the door, and Lloyd and his friends, dressed as aliens, stood on the doorstep. Somehow, Link had not noticed their costumes. "Yes?"
"Trick or treat!"
Link finally took notice of their costumes, and he screamed to high hell. "AAH! It's the aliens! They're here!"
"One side, Linky-boy..." Samus commanded as she fired several Charge Shots into the group. The 'aliens' panicked and ran away while Johnny was at the entrance, trying to film the aliens in a group shot. He only succeeded in filming a partial as Treecko ran down the poor cameraman, screaming for his mommy as he did. Needless to say, Jonathan Reed, who was at the station receiving the video feedback, was not pleased with the sudden cut-off.
"Johnny? Come in, Johnny..." He didn't receive an answer, and Reed threw the walkie-talkie to the floor in annoyance, breaking it into a few hundred pieces. "Damn it! I've lost the picture...I'm surrounded by incompetence!" He grabbed the video from the VHS player beneath the big screen and scrambled out, running to the nearest newscast set in his hurry.
"Well, I'm glad to see Lloyd's enjoying trick-or-treating." Kratos told Raine, who was playing Solitaire. "It's just you, me, and the wheel." He turned on the TV to watch Wheel of Fortune, but was cut off within the first five minutes.
"You! Out of that anchor chair!" Reed said to the newscaster on set. He was about to ask, but was forcibly thrown from his chair. "I'm taking over the whole station!"
"Oh, what now?" Kratos asked. The TV screen was replaced with a special bulletin with Reed in the newscaster's chair.
"We interrupt this broadcast to bring you a special bulletin. Ladies and gentlemen, I have grave news! Radio transmissions were picked up tonight at the West Side Peninsula, near the Smash Mansion, reporting that aliens have landed!"
"I knew it!" Kratos said, pounding his soda into the armrest. "I knew something funny was going on tonight, Raine!"
At a military base in Nelson's Landing, four people were hunched at a table with cards and various poker chips stacked in the center. The first was a man of 27, with curly beige hair and green eyes. Another was an intense man of 24, with brown and white hair and glasses perched in front of turquoise eyes. The third was a young man of 22, with silver-blue hair and purple eyes, and the fourth was a girl of 18 with teal-green hair, brown eyes and a nasty cut across her right cheek. All were hunched over the current game as an older man of 35 with black hair stroked his shaven beard in amusement. None would guess that this motley group of five was the leaders and top generals in the Smash Island's military. Anyway, the three men had folded and let their cards fall to the table while the girl was grinning ear-to-ear.
"Don't tell us..." the curly-haired man said as the girl showed them a royal flush. "Gaugh! Hey, Jairus!" he called to the man watching them. "You play in my place!"
"No, thank you, Joseph." Jairus replied. "The last time I ever gambled was the first time I played poker with a mathematician."
"So much for that..." Joseph said, blowing some stray curls out of his face.
"Oh, come on! It's probably just luck, you guys!" the girl squeaked.
"Pfft...yeah, right, Penelope." The glasses man replied in amusement. "You probably rigged this game!"
"That's mean, Damian!" Penelope sobbed.
"Damian!" the silver-blue haired man said. "Now's not the time...now apologize to her."
"Sorry, Penelope." Damian told the sobbing girl, before turning back to the young man in annoyance. "But come on, Andrew! There's like a million in one chance to get the needed cards!"
"Then there's still that chance, is there?" Andrew retorted, eyes twinkling.
"Ah, screw this." Damian muttered. "I'm watching TV."
"Come on! Don't be a poor sport!" Penelope taunted.
"Whatever..." Damian pushed the ON button and noticed the newscast. His eyes widened. "Hey, guys? Take a look at this!"
"Take a look at what?" Joseph asked.
"Just get over here!" That called the others' attention, and watched the newscast that followed. "...Radio transmissions were picked up tonight at the West Side Peninsula, near the Smash Mansion, reporting that aliens have landed!"
"Aliens?" Penelope asked. "Whoa!" This captured the generals' attention, along with the attention of everyone on the island, including Botta in Mauritania, Yuan in his Nelson's Landing hideout, and Peach, who was shopping for cake ingredients in Mauritania's Market Street.
"Before we lost contact with our reporter at the scene, we received this video fragment." He played the same video footage that Johnny was starting to record before he was trampled by Lloyd and the others. This had net a slew of different responses from the audience. Kratos dropped his soda on the floor; Yuan had inched closer to the TV; Peach's eyes widened as she dropped her groceries; Botta spat out a glass of water he had been drinking. Meanwhile, the five generals: Jairus, Joseph, Damian, Penelope and Andrew, were all frightened to various degrees as the newscast continued its fearful course. "I think the meaning of this footage is self-evident. Aliens have indeed landed among us! They intend to take no prisoners, and their ultimate goal clearly is to enslave the Nintendian race!" Suddenly, one of his aides rushed up to Reed and whispered something in his ear, and Reed's eyes widened as he nodded at the soundcheck person. "Just a moment, just a moment-I'm receiving a radio transmission from the scene. An unknown source..." He signaled with his hands, and Ness' radio newscast went live on the air as everyone on the Island who had or was near a TV listened on with interest, fear and doubt.
"I see it—huge—like nothing I've ever seen: the mother ship!" Ness bellowed through the phonograph stereo on the Mansion's rooftop. "I repeat, it's landed at Driscoll Pier, and it's huge, with pulsing rings of light around it! The mother ship!" He then whispered agonizingly to Pichu, "Pichu, cue the lights!"
"Young Link, come in, Young Link!" Pichu hissed into the walkie-talkie. "The eagle has landed."
"I don't see an eagle here, Pichu." Young Link protested, from his lookout point at the edge of the Driscoll Pier in Nelson's Landing. "But I'm going to go ahead and plug in the mother ship." With that, he took care not to be seen as he followed the cord over to the plug, and stuck in into a socket at a nearby junction box. The water tower at the edge of the pier instantly became aglow as the shiny platinum surface reflected the light from the Christmas light strings Young Link had raided from the Mansion's closet and wrapped around the water storage tank. "It's pretty, Pichu! Over." Suddenly, the power junction began to spark, and several minutes later the power failed, lights being snuffed out all over the island, from Chancellorsville to Mauritania, from the Grand Metropolis to the Smash Mansion. The only city that didn't go out was Neonopolis, which had a back-up power plant. "Hey! All the other lights went out! Now isn't that a coincidence? Over..."
"Look!" Fox panicked, pointing out the window towards Nelson's Landing, where they could see a glowing something over the water. "It's the mother ship!"
"AUGH!" Luigi screamed girlishly. "It's-a the end of the-a world!" With this outburst, everyone in the Mansion screamed themselves into a panic. Likewise, in many of the cities across the Smash Island, everyone panicked and ran around, screaming, and some of the people broke storefront windows and started riots, causing mass confusion, panic and disarray all over the island nation. As police sirens echoed through the empty air that night, Pichu was trying to contact Young Link again, but to no avail.
"Young Link? Young Link?" He gave up and placed the walkie-talkie on the table. "Oh, well. I wonder if our little radio show scared anybody."
"MEN!...and, um, women..." Andrew addressed the four other generals in the room with him, along with several platoons of soldiers. "You have heard the news, right?"
"You mean the radio announcement?" Mitchell Eldridge asked. He was a young man who headed the Nanotechnology Division of the military. "Sure, I think everyone on the island heard it."
"Did they now?" Antoinette de Lyon asked. She headed the Riot Control division of the military. "I wouldn't say that much..."
"Unfortunately, Eldridge is right." Andrew motioned to Damian, who handed him a roll of paper. Reading it, he explained: "Bristol here has been getting reports of the condition of the island. As far as we know, the TV newscast was broadcast to everyone on the island with access to a TV."
"Holy crap..." Penelope squeaked. "So what do we do now, Andwoo?"
"Don't call me that..." Andrew muttered as several of the guards were trying desperately to hide their laughter. "Ladies and gentlemen, we must stop this alien invasion from tearing apart our homes, our lives; yes, the very fabric of our society! There is a chance that many of us will not survive tonight...but we must take that chance if we are to rid this island of the approaching menace." He clenched his fist and shouted to the assembly before him. "ARE YOU WITH ME?" The crowd of soldiers shouted and screamed in general agreement. "Good!"
"But how exactly are we going to handle this, milord?" Joseph asked. He had a rose in his hands and was showing it off in an elaborate stage bow.
"We're going to split up; you mutton-headed flat! What else did you think we were going to do? Cavanaugh!"
"Yes?" Jairus asked.
"You will take a few soldiers with you to guard the Merrimac Dam outside the Grand Metropolis. We don't need the aliens knocking out the main power generator for the island. Salazar!"
"Milord..." Joseph answered.
"You will take more troops with you to the city of Chancellorsville and camp-out in the nearby ruins to take out any aliens if they survive against Cavanaugh and his forces, which would be highly unlikely. Bristol!"
"What is it?" Damian asked.
"You and your forces will work with Antoinette and her forces in Neonopolis to keep the peace, in a sense. Keep riots from breaking out there. Use deadly force, if necessary, which I hope won't be needed. Argosy!"
"Yes, Andwoo?" Penelope squeaked.
"Didn't I tell you to stop calling me that? Oy..." Andrew grumbled. "Anyway, just guard the area around Mauritania and the nearby Angel Summit. And you must also eliminate any remaining aliens if there are any left after passing through the other three."
"What about me?" Mitchell demanded.
"You're going to stay here with me in Nelson's Landing. I'll guard the city and also find a way to destroy the mother ship here, too, before the otherworldly reinforcements arrive. Does everyone have it?" After receiving several cheers and yeses from the military standing before him, Andrew asserted, "Okay, guys, let's go all out!"
"YEAH!" Before everyone left, Andrew had called for Penelope to stay behind. When everyone left, he decided to chat with the young girl.
"So, um...you okay?"
"Yeah." Penelope chirped. "I guess it's time to put up and shut up..."
"Very true..." Penelope turned to leave, but Andrew stopped her once more. "Hey, wait!"
"Yes?"
"Um...if we both get out of this alive, how about we share a bit of lunch at the Wheel of Cog restaurant in Neonopolis to celebrate? Just the two of us, hmm?"
"Really...?" Penelope could feel the blood rush to her face, and jumped into Andrew's arms. "I'd love to, Andwoo!"
"Penelope..." Andrew sighed. He put her back onto the ground, and let the female general leave for her destination, leaving him, Mitchell and their troops with the emptiness of silence in the military base once more.
Meanwhile, at the Smash Mansion, Link and Zelda were piling bags and various belongings into the back of Link's minivan. Link was just about done when Zelda rushed back into the Mansion hurriedly, nearly trampling Kirby in the process. She came back moments later with a huge box of canned goods and a medical kit. Handing them off to Link for storage, she gasped, "By Din's Fire...what a night!"
"What a night indeed..." Meanwhile, Ness and Pichu had sneaked off the rooftop and out into the courtyard, where they saw both Hylians pile various objects into a green minivan. Curiosity got the better of them as they stepped over to the loading area, where Pichu was mistakenly picked up. "Ai—oh, sorry, Pichu. I thought you were a package." He waved his hand theatrically to the landscape of the island. "Now where have you two been? Can't you see that aliens are attacking and the island is in flames?"
"Whoa, slow down, Link!" Pichu squeaked in its high-pitched voice. "It was us! We did it to scare you."
"We did a radio show on the roof!" Ness added. "It was us!"
"This is no time for jokes, you guys!" Zelda protested, hauling more canned goods into the minivan. "Look!" She pointed to the faraway water tower at Nelson's Landing. "There's their mother ship!"
"Zelda, that's the Driscoll Pier water tower in Nelson's Landing." Pichu explained. "Young Link's over there. He lit it with Christmas lights."
"Who? Wha—?" Link stammered. "But then, what about those silver, bulbous, ugly-looking creatures that came to our front door!"
"That was Lloyd and Falco and Pikachu and the rest of the Smashers we know." Pichu stated.
"Whoa, wait a minute!" Zelda said in tones of surprise. "That was you on the radio?"
"Yeah!" Pichu said. "We used your old radio transmitter in the storage room and set it up so you guys would pick up the broadcast at the Halloween party."
"Yeah!" Ness added. "Check this out!" He picked up an amplifying cone from a nearby box and spoke into the larger end first to deepen his voice, the same way he did so with the phonograph. "We interrupt this broadcast to bring to you a special bulletin. Aliens have landed." When he finished, there was a bit of an extra twinkle in Zelda's eyes, and Link had a smile playing on his lips.
Link was the first to respond, and he laughed jovially. "Well, what do you know? That was you! Oh, very impressive."
"But what about Jonathan Reed flapping his gums about it on TV?" Zelda asked the two youngsters while placing the cone into the minivan. "How did you convince him?"
Pichu was thrown for a loop with that question, and his jaw dropped to the concrete floor, color draining from his face. "Wait a minute. Jonathan Reed was talking about it on TV?"
"Yeah!" Zelda continued. "It was a special bulletin, just like your prank! The only difference was that he was showing video of the same aliens that came to our front door! The news is all over the nation; the island is in panic!"
"Uh-oh..." Ness breathed.
"The TV Station must have picked up our radio show!" Pichu reasoned. He turned to the Hero of Time and asked in a fearful manner, "Link, what happened to Lloyd and the Smashers after you saw them?" A piercing scream from the front gate of the Mansion caught everyone's attention and Pichu and the others turned to see Lloyd, Falco, Colette, Genis, Pikachu, Treecko, Mario and Mewtwo (surprise!) run past the main gate, knocking over a few garbage cans strewn about on the street. After them were several Smashers, whom Link identified as Daisy, Roy, Lilina, and Samus, wielding their weapons and trying to slaughter them. They didn't exactly hit their mark, indicated by a tree that fell over the wall and into the driveway. Next was a few Wire Frames from the training grounds, trying to calm the hyperactive Smashers, and following them was Master Hand, who was trying to keep everyone from running away at one time. After the parade of various Smashers, Link just sighed and shook his head in complete exasperation.
"Well, Pichu, looks like we'd better save your friends. Hop in, guys!" With that, Link locked the trunk and hopped into the driver's seat, with Zelda, Ness and Pichu not too far behind. They drove out of the garage and onto the cobblestone driveway and were about to turn left onto Route 280, past the abandoned news van, when out of the blue, Bowser stumbled onto the road, furious. His shell was painted camouflage, and there were stripes of black underneath his eyes. Had he not looked angry, he would have been a hilarious sight, but with that dark scowl, he looked like a vision of Hell on Nintendo. Nevertheless, Link asked politely, "Bowser, what are you doing? It's a bad night to be out!"
His eyes, full of fiery hate, narrowed into little slits. "No one has the right to take over the world without my say-so!" Link and Zelda just sweatdropped, Ness' mouth was agape, and Pichu was holding back laughter. "Don't wait up." He snarled as he took the news van and sped off down the highway, skid marks on the road the only indication of Bowser's direction. All four just sat in Link's minivan and stared at the empty road before them until Zelda finally spoke.
"Crazy old Koopa..."
"Yep..." With that, Link hit the pedal and sped off down the highway, towards the Grand Metropolis. He thought all he had to do was to rescue the Smashers, but boy, was he wrong. He was very wrong.
"I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies,
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives...
On holiday..." –Holiday, Green Day
Yep, that's the first chapter. I decided I had to use every scrap of skill I had obtained from reading and writing to type up this story. Please review after you read! It won't hurt you one bit, nor will it take you umpteen minutes!
Gamer21
P.S. Nintendo Nut1, I hope you don't mind my using your "put in songs into the story to get people in the mood" method! PLEASE?
Nintendo Nut1: I don't.
Eliwood: What am I doing here...?
EEP! (faints)