After Dark: The Great Clancer War
Author's Note: Just for reference, this story takes place during the same time as After Dark: The Mansion Incident. However, this specific chapter takes place before After Dark: The Mansoin Incdient. Keep that in mind if you'ce read the other story.
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Chapter 1: The Sickness
"Doctor! What's wrong with her?!" shouted Ike as he looked at Zelda in the hospital bed.
She was coughing up blood badly. The clean sheets she was under were turning into a dark crimson colour from all the blood. Zelda's face was a sickly pale colour and her temperature was rising fast. A cold wet cloth was on her forehead but was heating up fast. She couldn't even speak as blood flowed out other mouth.
"I...Ike..."
"What the hell is going on?! You said she would be okay!" said Ike hysterically. Doctor Mario went over to the window and opened it wide. A cool breeze blew into the room. It was a Saturday afternoon and most of the smashers had gone off to relax after the tournament. The sun shined happily into the white room. The weather's mood glared in contrast to the current situation. Zelda had only recently been coming down with a sickness. Mario wiped a sweat drop form his forehead before going back over to Ike and Zelda.
"I don't-a know what's-a going on," he said sadly. Zelda coughed more and Ike cleaned it off her with a bloody cloth.
"You have to know! You're the doctor!" replied Ike.
"She shouldn't-a be reacting like-a this. I was-a so sure-a that her-a magic had-a completely killed off-a the virus as it entered her-a body, but it's-a still there," said the doctor. Mario felt his thick mustache before checking the X-rays on the table. The X-rays were that of Zelda's upper body, more towards the heart area.
"Something-a is not right."
"What do you mean?"
"Look-a here." Ike examined the X-ray scans Mario pointed to. There were three of them. The first two seemed like fairly normal scans. The third one, however, had something dreadfully wrong with it.
"Nothing is wrong in this first one," said the swordsman.
"I-a know. That-a was before-a the new tournament started. But-a if you look-a closely you can-a see the virus." Ike strained his eyes and checked the scan once again, this time bringing it closer to his face. A small, insect like creature could be seen near Zelda's heart in the blood stream.
"Oh my God..."
"I-a know! Look-a at this-a one!" Ike grabbed the second scan and examined it.
"When was this one taken?"
"During-a the tournament."
"The virus is still there. But, it's bigger..."
"Look-a closer!" Ike looked again and noticed smaller creatures spawning from where the original larger one was.
"What! There's more of them in there!"
"They're-a multiplying. Now look at this one which was taken this morning." Ike dropped the two scans back on the table and picked up the third one. What he saw horrified him. All the parasites were of an abnormal size, but the worst part was the fact that they were scattered all over her upper body area. The virus was spreading.
"Doctor..." said Ike as he placed the scan back on the table.
"Yes?"
"Is there any way to stop this thing?"
"No. Not-a that-a I-a know of. I've-a tried everything, but-a nothing seems to be-a working."
"Do you know if the virus has spread throughout the mansion?"
"I-a know for a fact...that-a Zelda is the only one-a with the virus. Just-a do not-a touch the blood. You-a could get-a infected." Ike checked his hands. There was blood on them, but he was wearing sterilized gloves.
"We have to tell the others. She could die."
"She-a will die. There-a is no other way-a to save her. I'm sorry." Ike looked down at the princess. She opened her eyes and stared at him blankly.
"Ike...will I be okay?..." A tear almost came to Ike's eye but he fought it back with all his might. He couldn't lose her now. Not like this.
"You...You're going to be okay. I promise." Zelda smiled at him.
"Thanks, Ike." Ike nodded and then he headed for the door.
"Take care of her, Doc. I'll be back," said Ike without looking at Mario.
"Where-a are you-a going?" asked the doctor. Ike turned to him.
"I'm going to find a cure."
"Ike, there-a is no cure."
"There is. I will find it."
Ike left the room and shut the door behind him. In the hallway, he leaned his head against the wall and started crying.
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"Gimme 200 bucks!" said Sonic laughing. Sonic, Link, Snake and Ganondorf were all sitting at a table in the game room. Link sighed.
"Oaky okay, here's your money," he said as he handed the hedgehog two orange coloured bills.
"Oh yeah! I love this game!"
They were playing Monopoly on the table. Sonic was currently in the lead with a total of $16,784 and 12 properties. They had been playing for over 4 hours. Now that the tournament was over, the smashers were given time off from their matches to catch up in their social lives. Master Hand disappeared into his office after Ike was named champion. He hasn't been seen since then, but none of the brawlers seemed to care. Sonic was having the time of his life. "...5...6...7! You're turn Snake!"
Snake gave a low grunt. He hated board games. Especially games with Sonic because he never shuts up. Snake looked down at the two pink bills in front of him and grabbed the dice.
"If I don't get a God damned double, I swear I'm going to tear someone's head off..." Snake shook the dice violently and tossed them on the table. The two cubes tumbled around on the board before they came to a stop. Double ones.
"Alright!" cheered the mercenary. "I get to go wherever I want!"
"You have to move first, Snake," said Link.
"Oh, okay. 1 and 2. There! Now who owns this green square?"
"That would be me. Gimme 36 dollars," said Ganon.
"What?!" Snake looked down at his bills again. "I only have 10 bucks!"
"You gotta pay."
"But then I'll lose!"
"That IS the point of the game is it not?" Ganondorf rudely swiped Snake's money from under his nose and added it to his pile. "Game over for you." Snake glared at Ganondorf and snarled.
"You cheated."
"No I didn't."
"You must have! I was doing so good!"
"Well you lost so too bad."
"Why I oughta-"
"Hold on Snake!" said Link as he held down his friend. "There's no reason to get upset!"
"Yes there is! He cheated!"
"Look, guys there's no point in arguing over this. It's kind of obvious to see that I already won," boasted Sonic. The other three looked at Sonic's pile of cash. Ganon's eyes moved from the pile to Sonic's smug face, the to his glove. After a few moments of staring at Sonic, Ganondorf stood up.
"You cheater!" he shouted.
"What?" replied the hedgehog. Without hesitation, Ganon pulled Sonic up from his seat and knocked the table over in the process. All the money, pieces, and cards fell on the floor and scattered about.
"Ganondorf! What are you doing!?" said Link. Ganon grabbed Sonic's feet and started shaking him upside down.
"Hey! Hold on a second!" cried Sonic. Suddenly, money started to fall out of Sonic's gloves and socks. The play bills fluttered down to the floor and mixed with the previously fallen money. Snake and Link looked at Sonic angrily. Sonic just smiled. "Um...I was going to donate that to the bank," said the hedgehog. Everyone could tell he was lying through his teeth. Ganondorf clenched his fists on Sonic's ankles.
"You should have known better than to lie to me. I finally have a good reason to knock all your teeth out," said Ganon menacingly.
"Don't do it!" cried Sonic. Snake rolled up his sleeves.
"Please, allow me," he said as he approached the hanging hedgehog.
"Be my guest," responded Ganon. Snake drew back his fist, ready to slam it into Sonic's face.
"What are you guys doing in here?!" shouted a female voice. All the smashers turned to the door. Samus was standing there in her zero suit and looking about the messy room.
"Oh, hey Sam..." said Link. Samus noticed Sonic.
"What the hell are you doing Snake?!" Snake backed off from Ganon and pulled his sleeves back down.
"Um...uh, we were only playing..." he lied.
"Playing my ass! You were going to kill me!" cried Sonic.
"Don't push your luck," said Ganondorf.
"Put him down!" said Samus. Ganon dropped Sonic on the floor and he stood up.
"Oh you'll get yours..."
"Samus, what are you doing here?" asked Link. "I thought you went shopping with Peach and Zelda."
"That's what I came to tell you guys about! Zelda's sick!"
"You interrupted us for that? Just give her a cough drop!" said Snake ignorantly.
"It's not like that! You guys, Zelda's been infected with the virus!"
"WHAT?!" replied Link and Snake. Sonic immediately dashed out of the room and headed to the hospital wing.
"How can that be? Of all times why now? Mario said she could fight off the virus with her magic!" said Link.
"Well, apparently she can't! And the virus is spreading through her body quickly!"
"Shit! Let's go see!" said Snake. The trio left the room, leaving the king of evil all by himself. Ganondorf stood among the mess.
"I guess I'll clean this up then. Thanks guys."
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Ike banged his head against the wall violently.
"Why why why why WHY?! Why is she infected?! I thought I saved her! How did they get the virus in her!?" thought the swordsman. Ragnell was lying idly on the floor near him. He was still standing in the hallway. "Could it be that I didn't reach her on time? Was I too slow? No that can't be! But it's the only explanation that makes sense."
"Ike! There you are!" said Link from the other end of the hall. Snake, Samus and the Hylain approached the broken swordsman. "Where's Zelda?"
"She's in there. I...I don't know what to do..." said Ike. He leaned against the wall again. His eyes were red and his face was wet from tears. Link put an arm around him.
"Come on, let's go see her." The four of them entered the room. Zelda was lying under the light of the sun, blood was still stained on the sheets she was in.
"Shit..." muttered Snake. Mario was examining the X-rays again before he noticed the group walk in.
"Ah, you're-a back." Suddenly, Sonic entered the room.
"Huh? How did you guys get here before me!?"
"Shh! She's sleeping!" said Samus as quietly as she could.
"How bad is it, doctor?" asked Link.
"See-a for yourself." Mario handed him the X-rays and he studied them.
"The virus....It's huge."
"I-a know. There is-a not much I-a can-a do for her-a here. Her-a only hope of-a survival is a cure. I-a don't know where-a to get one, though."
"A cure?" Link turned to Samus. "Is there a cure?" he asked.
"I don't know. I can't remember much about there being a cure..."
"Well, there were those herbs, remember?" said Snake. Everyone looked at him.
"Herbs?" asked Ike.
"Yeah, remember those blue and green herbs we found in the city? They cured Dana of her sickness. Maybe they'll work on Zelda?"
"I remember that. But Mike used the herbs too, yet, he still turned into a zombie. How does that work out?" asked Link.
"Hmm, good question..."
"Doctor, do you have any herbs like that here?" asked Samus.
"Herbs? I-a never heard of-a these herbs. All-a the medicine here-a does-a not-a work on her."
"There's none here?"
"And it's not like we can just fly back to Raccoon City and get some," said Snake.
"He's right, we need to think of a new plan. If the herbs are her only hope of surviving, we have to find some somewhere," said Link. They all sat in silence as they pondered their next move. Zelda was sleeping in the bed nearby. Sonic was tapping his foot impatiently.
"Maybe..." he started.
"Oh please, Sonic," said Snake. "The last thing we need is your opinion on the situation. Why don't you run a long and let us handle this."
"Hey, let him speak," said Link. "Go on, Sonic."
"Well, I was thinking, since you know, the city where these herbs are from is gone now, you should just use Chaos Control." The others froze as they took this in.
"Actually...that's not a bad idea..." said Link.
"What the hell is Chaos Control?" asked Snake.
"It allows Sonic to warp through time and space. With a Chaos Emerald, Sonic could use Chaos Control to go back in time. Back to when the city was still standing. He could find some herbs there and warp back to us. Now that I think about it...it's brilliant!" said Link.
"Thank you, thank you," responded Sonic as he took a bow.
"So wait. You mean he can go back in time? Why didn't anyone tell me this!?" shouted Snake.
"Shh!"
"Oh sorry."
"Sonic, can you take us back in time?" asked Samus.
"I sure could! But, I can only take a few people with me at a time. The Chaos Emeralds only have so much power."
"Well, what are you waiting for?! Let's go before she dies!" said Ike.
"Wait wait wait. If we go back there, does that mean those zombies will be there too?" asked Snake.
"Yes. Everything that happened during the time of the outbreak will take place again. That is, unless we interfere with it. We must not do that though."
"Why not?"
"If we go back to the time of the outbreak, there is a very good chance you will run into yourselves."
"What?"
"You may run into yourselves. If we go back, there will be two Links. One from the present and one from the past."
"How the hell does that work?"
"Trust me. It makes perfect sense. Which is why you guys must not run into your doubles when we go there. Otherwise you could somehow cause them to not board the ships. This would eventually result in your deaths."
"Wait you're losing me."
"If we meet your doubles in the past we could all die."
"Was that so hard? That's all you had to say!"
"Hey it's hard to explain! Give me a break here!"
"I understand, Sonic," said Link. "All we have to do is go in, grab the herbs, and get out just as quickly. Simple enough."
"Yep."
"I'm coming with you," said Ike. "Zelda's life is at stake here."
"Okay. Let's not waste anymore time."
"Right." Samus, Ike, Link, Snake and Sonic ran out of the room. Doctor Mario went over to the window and prayed.
"We're going to need some space to do this right," said Sonic as he walked out the main front doors. The others followed. "The parking lot would be our best bet." The group made their way to the parking lot. None of the ships were there. They were all stored away in the large garage. Master Hand could not trust anyone to stay on the grounds so he came up with this new rule.
"You got the emeralds?" asked Link.
"Right here," replied Sonic as the seven glowing gems circled his body.
"Whoa they're floating," said Snake.
"Yeah they tend to do that. Everyone stand in a circle right there in the middle." Everyone did so and the emeralds spun around the entire group. "Concentrate on our destination. I have no idea what it looks like so you guys are going to have to help me out."
The other four closed their eyes and tried to recall the outbreak. The emeralds spun faster as Link remembered the zombies and the lickers. He remembered Orlow and Leon in the underground, as well as the creepy merchant man and the R.P.D. His hair flew in the wind as the emeralds created a shining vortex around the group.
"Chaos...Control!" said Sonic.
Link relaxed himself as he remembered the explosion and the great escape. Yeah, they had gone through a lot. The wind soon died down and the Chaos Emeralds returned to Sonic's possession. Link opened his eyes and looked about the area. They were standing in the middle of a bloody street. Dead bodies littered the road everywhere. Tall broken buildings towered over them on the sides. Various types of vehicles were smashed apart on the side walks. The stench of rotting flesh and intestines returned to their noses. Link shuddered. They were back in Raccoon City.
"Man what died out here?" said Sonic as he squeezed his nose. He looked down and noticed a dead man in a green uniform at his feet. "Oh..." Sonic backed away slowly. "I see what you mean when you guys said it was a nightmare."
"Don't talk about it. Let's just grab the herbs and go. I don't want to be here any longer than you do," said Samus. "Let's split up and search for them."
"What do they look like?"
"You'll know it when you see it. They are blue or green. That plant store across the street might have some." Suddenly, the cries of the undead filled the air.
"Oh man! What was that!?" cried Sonic.
"Zombies. We have to move, now. Come on," said Link calmly. The group split up and began searching. Link and Samus went across the broken street to the plant store. The front window was smashed open so they climbed in. All the plants in the room were wilted and dead. No surprise there. Dirt was covered all over the wooded floor as Link and Samus explored the new area.
"There maybe some in here," she said. Link went over to the cash register. It was empty. Samus checked the shelves for any. Several fertilizers and boxes were stacked on top of each other, but no herbs could be seen. "Dammit! Why are they so hard to find!?"
"Found some!"said Link from the other end. Samus went over to him. He was standing behind the counter. There were potted blue herbs on the floor where he was. "Someone must have left these here, but there's no doubt about it. These are the plants we're looking for."
"Good. Grab them so we can get out of here. I'm already starting to feel my lunch come up." Link grabbed the dirty herbs and shoved them in his pocket. He looked out the window and across the street. Sonic and Ike were no where to be found. Snake was standing near some garbage cans and waving his arms frantically. "What the hell's he doing out there?" asked Samus.
"Do you think he found some?" asked Link.
"No, he wouldn't be jumping like that if he did. Unless..." Snake dove behind the garbage cans. Everything went silent. "Get down."
"What?"
"Now!" Samus pulled Link to the floor as the shadow of a monster passed over them. The creature stopped in front of the window and peered inside the store. Samus held her breath. The monster was breathing heavily. Link had heard this breath before. A Tyrant. The Tyrant continued to look into the store. Suddenly, the sound of gunfire ringed through the air. The Tyrant left the area and made its way up the road. When it was out of sight, Link and Samus stood up.
"That was close," he said.
"Tell me about it. Come on, we're getting out of here." They jumped through the window and back onto the main road. Snake got up from behind the garbage cans as Ike and Sonic emerged from an alley way. When they met back in the center, Sonic spoke.
"Um, someone mind telling me what that thing was?"
"A Tyrant. One of the many mutated creatures running around in this city," said Samus.
"Oh wow." The thought of the Tyrant reminded Samus about how much she hated Master Hand.
"That thing could have seen you two! Good thing you saw me," said Snake.
"Yeah, nice signal, Snake," said Ike. "Did you get the herbs?"
"Right here," said Link as he handed the plants to Ike.
"You sure these are the ones?"
"Positive."
"Can we go now?" asked Samus.
"Okay, give me a second." Sonic pulled out his Chaos Emeralds and they started to shine again. "Here we go guys. Get in a circle again." The emeralds started to spin around the group at incredible speed. "Chaos...Control!" said Sonic. Link closed his eyes again as he was blinded by some light. He could feel his body being lifted of the ground. Something was not right.
"Hey Sonic! Is everything okay?!" he shouted. There was no reply. "Samus! Snake! Ike!" he cried. No one answered him.
Link still couldn't open his eyes because of the light. He felt a burst of heat envelop his body. The smell of corpses quickly disappeared. The wind picked up speed as he was tossed back and forth in the air. "Hey! What's going on!?" He felt as if he was free falling. He was free falling. "Whoooooaaaa!" Linik twisted in the air. He had no idea which direction he was facing. He could only feel the air rush past his body. "OOF!" He landed on his back. Something soft was beneath him. He opened his eyes. The brightness was too overwhelming for him, but soo nhis eyes adjusted. He was lying in the middle of a grassy field. Link stared up at the sky.
"Did we make it?"
Link sat up and looked around. Everywhere he looked there was grassland. In the distance, purple mountains could be seen rising up out of the ground. A beautiful sound was ringing through his ears.
"This isn't the mansion. Where am I? Where is that sound coming from?"
Link stood up. His legs were shaking from the fall, but he managed. He looked up at the clouds. They stared back down him patiently. Link turned away from them but did a double take. Now that he got a better look at them, the clouds actually werestaring at him. They all bore a similar ghost like face that did not change expression. Link fell back down on the ground as he looked all around him. All the clouds in the sky were staring at him with the same blank look.
"What is this? Why do they have faces? Where is Samus and the others?"
Link fell back down on the grass and stared back up at the sky. He was separated from his friends. He was lonely. He was lost. Link closed his eyes and began to drift off to sleep in hopes that this was all a dream.