Author's note: This is a huge crossover fic that's also being put up at my site, so if anyone doesn't recognize some of the other characters in this fic, drop by my site to find out more information.
Landis, the Winghorde fanatic of the Grim Reaper, panted and sweated buckets as he walked into the A.S.H. base's dining area with the rest of his team: Blue Mary Ryan, Skid McMarx, Larcen Tyler and Rex. All of them were looking rather beat and tired out. This was mainly because they had just returned from a mission on Tatooine, the desert planet. Cortex had threatened to cause the planet's twin suns to stop, causing planetary disaster. Luckily, his plan was thwarted before it even started.
Landis quickly plopped down on the nearest chair, as did the rest of his team.
"Dudes, I have to say that THAT was one of the most tiring missions I've ever been on." Skid panted as he placed an order for a glass of water.
"Well, be thankful that we accomplished the mission." Mary replied.
Larcen, the ex-burglar, took off his fedora and wiped the sweat from his brow. "I am, but I must agree with Skid. That mission was pretty rough."
"I'm tellin' ya, I'm NEVER gonna underestimate the fighting abilities of Jawas again." Rex muttered as he grabbed a nearby glass of fluid and downed it, only to spit it back out when he realized that he had been drinking from the vase the flowers were in.
"Yeah. I had know idea that they were naturals at kung fu." Mary said.
"Yuh...Huh..." Landis said, too tired to do his laugh. "We REALLY need a break."
"I completely agree, my friend." Larcen said.
"Well then, why not all of us go down to Kerwan and spend the day at the arcades?" Blue Mary suggested.
"Great idea, dudette." Skid said as he stood up, followed by Larcen.
"Sorry, guys. I've got band practice. Now that Malon's joined, we're getting a lot better." Rex said.
Rex was right. Ever since Malon, a redhead woman from Hyrule with a beautiful voice, moved in, the band had become a lot better. Mainly because none of the others in the band could sing. On a side note, she and Billy Kane had started dating.
Skid's face fell, remembering. "Bogus, man! I completely forgot! Looks like you three dudes are gonna have to go without us."
Mary nodded and looked over at Landis. "You up for it, Landis?" She asked.
Landis was silent for a few seconds before shaking his head. "The Grim Reaper is fine." He replied.
Mary shrugged, then looked at Larcen. "Looks like it's just you and me, Larcen."
Larcen nodded. "Fine with me." Truth be told, Larcen had a crush on Mary, but decided not to tell her just in case she was still getting over Terry Bogard's death.
Everyone left the dining area, leaving Landis sitting at the table, alone.
Landis sighed. "Alone again." He said. "They always left me out at Budehuc, and they're starting to do the same here." He sighed again. "At least they acknowledge me as a fighter here."
The Winghorde never really had a lot of friends. In fact, he never had any REAL friends until he joined A.S.H., where he met Iggy and Yamazaki, his fellow Psycho Team members.
"LANDIS!" A young girl squealed happily as she ran towards him. "YOU'RE BACK!"
Landis inwardly smiled. Another friend he had met was Nana. He had saved her on Corneria and she had become his biggest fan. Because she didn't have any family left, Nana was allowed to join the ranks of A.S.H. because of her skill with a hammer. Although Landis hated people that weren't scared of him, he definitely had a soft spot for Nana, willing to protect her against all odds. Nana had already been part of the crew for a month, and Landis was still trying to figure out why Erode would want her dead. She was just a simple girl!
When Nana reached Landis, she threw her arms around him. "How'd it go?" She asked as she let go of him.
Landis smirked. "The Grim Reaper got into a battle with Jawas." He replied.
Nana raised an eyebrow. "And?"
"They knew kung fu."
Nana was silent for a few seconds as she pictured Jawas screaming as they flew through the air, doing various kung fu attacks. She chuckled as Landis did the same.
Suddenly, Landis saw Plum, niece of Admiral Jon Arbuckle, walking over to him. "Uncle Jon wanted to talk to you, Landis." She said.
Landis nodded as he stood up. "Yuh-Huh-Huh. Could you look after Nana while the Grim Reaper is gone?" He asked.
Plum nodded. "Of course." She said with a smile.
With that, Landis crouched low and sprang into the air, flying straight up and through an air vent on the ceiling.
Seeing Landis' exit, Plum shook her head. "He's taking Gremio's way in."
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Jon Arbuckle sat at his desk, writing in his journal. He had told Plum to get Landis, so he was expecting the Winghorde to come through the door any time now.
But Landis didn't take to door.
The next thing Jon knew, he was staring into the upside-down face of Landis, who was hanging from the ceiling.
"GRIM REAPER!" Landis shouted gleefully.
Jon screamed as he fell back, taking the chair with him. When he hit the ground, Jon realized that Landis had come into the room via the network of air ducts.
"You wanted to see me, sir?" Landis asked from the ceiling.
Jon sighed as he stood up and put the chair upright. "Landis, I need to ask a favour from you."
"Yes?" Landis asked, still smirking insanely.
"I need you to take Nana to school."
Landis' grin instantly faded as he lost his grip on the ceiling, landing on the floor with a dull 'thud'. He quickly got up and looked at the admiral.
"What?" Landis asked.
"Look, Gremio's taken the Orochi-1 with a team to do a mission, leaving us without a plane going in Katina's direction. I need you to take Nana down to Kerwan and take a flight to Katina to drop her off at school, then pick her up again when it's over."
"Why me?" Landis, for once, cut the Grim Reaper cracks.
"I noticed that you seem to take care of Nana. I figured that you'd be a good choice to take her."
Landis sighed. "Okay. The Grim Reaper will do it. I'll tell Nana to get ready."
Jon smiled. "Thank you, Landis."
Landis crouched low again and flew back through the air duct in the ceiling to start working his way back to the dining area.
Jon sighed. His heart was still beating fast from that scare Landis had given him. He started writing in his journal again. "Landis is trying to kill me." He said as he wrote it down.
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Landis walked down the hallways of the base with Nana by his side. She was wearing a backpack containing her school supplies. The two of them made their way to the Transporter Chamber and went inside. Inside, Scott was looking down at a book, not noticing the two visitors come in. Landis smirked.
Scott suddenly felt his shoulder get heavier. Looking at his left shoulder, he saw a grinning Winghorde perched on his shoulder like a bird.
"Uh...What is it, Landis?" Scott asked.
"Hee-Hee! The Grim Reaper requires transportation to Kerwan." Landis replied.
"Okay, but can you get off my arm?" Scott asked. Landis hopped off and walked towards the transport chamber with Nana.
"Wise guy!" Waurenhyte growled at Landis, knowing that the Winger had just imitated him.
Landis ignored the parrot's insult and walked into the chamber with Nana. Before Landis had a chance to say a Star Trek phrase, Scott activated the transporter, beaming the two down to the planet's surface.
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"You're saying that our space probe on Kerwan saw Landis and his new friend come down to the planet's surface?" Dr. Erode asked as the plasma screen containing his DNA floated in midair.
"Yes sir." Prof. Executrain nodded. "The probe overheard the Winger saying that he had to take the girl to school on Katina by a plane from the Kerwan airport."
Dr. Erode was silent for a few seconds before chuckling evilly. "I want those two to have a little 'accident'."
The Boomerang Bro. smirked evilly. "It'll be my pleasure, sir."
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It took them a little while, but Landis and Nana finally arrived at the Kerwan airport. The duo went inside to find a flight to Katina.
Landis walked over to the counter and looked at the woman behind it. "Yuh-Huh. We require tickets to Katina." He said.
"Sure thing." The woman replied. "Anything else?"
"No."
After paying, Landis took Nana through the gates and found themselves walking towards a small plane. The pilot stood on the ground and saw them coming.
"Ah! Welcome!" The pilot greeted. "Are you two heading to Katina?"
"We are." Nana replied.
"Then come aboard!" The pilot said. "We're taking off in five minutes!"
Landis and Nana worked their way up the stairs and went inside the plane. When they got inside, they quickly saw that they were the only ones on the plane.
"That's odd." Nana said as she found a seat and sat down. "I thought flights to Katina were always busy."
"It's a pity." Landis said with a smirk. "The Grim Reaper was hoping for some people to scare."
The Winger and girl waited patiently for the pilot to start the engines, and once he did, they felt the plane taking off.
Unknown to them, outside the plane, the manager of the airport was getting swarmed with angry people.
"I was told that that flight was canceled!" A man shouted.
"So was I!" A woman added.
"Why were those two people allowed on the plane while we weren't?!"
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In order to get to Katina, the plane had to pass overtop the frozen world of Hoth, home of the Wampas. Landis and Nana didn't mind though, as long as they got to Katina.
Nana looked out the window and at the many high, snowy mountains. She suddenly felt a little colder just looking at such monstrosities.
Suddenly, both passengers of the plane felt the plane go through turbulence, as a strange force made them jump in their seats. They quickly heard the engine sputter a little, then a lot. Landis quickly got up and worked his way to the pilot's booth. As soon as he reached the door, the pilot exited the room, looking panicked.
"What the heck's going on?!" Landis demanded.
"I-I don't know!" The pilot stammered. "This plane's NEVER had this many problems before!"
"What do we do?!" Nana asked as she ran up beside Landis and wrapped a terrified arm around his leg.
"One of the wings has already burst into flames!" The pilot replied. "We have no choice! We'll have to jump!"
"JUMP?!" Nana asked.
"I've got parachutes in the back there!" The pilot pointed out as he grabbed a parachute and ran towards the door. Twisting the doorknob, the door flew open, allowing exit to the falling plane.
Landis watched as the pilot made a leap of faith, out of the plane with the parachute on his back.
"We need to find those parachutes!" Landis shouted as he led Nana to the back of the plane, to the storage cabinet.
The now-serious Winger pulled open the twin doors to the cabinet and frantically searched through it.
"How many parachutes are there, Landis?" Nana asked fearfully.
Landis was silent for a few seconds. "None! There's no more parachutes in here!"
By now, Nana had freaked out. "We're gonna die! We're gonna die!"
"Oh, no we're not!" Landis said as he grabbed Nana, picked her up and ran towards the open door.
"Don't look down!" Landis ordered his small companion as he leapt out of the hatch, starting a free fall towards Hoth. Nana, being held under Landis, screamed as she covered her eyes.
As soon as they were far enough away from the doomed plane, Landis spread his wings and started flying, looking around for somewhere safe to land.
Landis growled. It was just his luck that he try flying in not only extremely cold weather, but while it was windy out as well. Snow was constantly being blown in his face, thus preventing him from seeing very far.
"Do you see anything, Nana?" Landis asked, having to shout over the wind.
"No! All this snow and wind is blinding me!" Nana replied.
"Once we land, we'll find somewhere warmer to go while I radio the base for help!"
"Okay!"
Landis continued flying downwards, hoping to see something come into view soon. He suddenly heard a loud crash, indicating that the plane had landed. His hands had become numb long ago, and he could hardly feel his wings anymore.
The Winger's good eye snapped open when he felt Nana slowly starting to slip out of his grasp. "Nana! You're slipping!"
Nana's eyes widened when she realized Landis was telling the truth. "Landis! Don't drop me! PLEASE!"
As much as Landis tried to keep his grip on Nana, his numb hands were no match for the extreme cold and Nana slipped from his hands, starting a free fall towards the snowy mountains below.
"LANDIS!!!" Nana screamed as she fell towards a mountain.
"NANA!!" Landis cried as he did an about face to fly back and catch her.
Unfortunately, that quick turnaround did Landis in. His wings, already freezing, were too numb and frozen to do anything more. Landis could do nothing as he too fell from the sky, falling in a completely different direction than Nana.
Landis fell down hundreds of feet, watching Nana fall towards the snow-capped mountain. When he felt himself hit the deep snow covering the ground, he blacked out instantly.
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A lone figure was perched on top a distant mountain, close to the crashed plane. He looked through a pair of binoculars and watched Landis and Nana fall. The figure was the pilot of the doomed plane.
Pulling away from the binoculars, the pilot smirked evilly, pulled out a strange gadget and pressed a button on it. The hologuise turned off, taking off the pilot disguise, turning him into Prof. Executrain.
The Boomerang Bro. smirked evilly as he walked towards the plane and opened up a huge door. "The mission was a success, JB!" Executrain said into the darkness inside the plane. "Let's go finish those two off!"
"Too cold out." A deep and rough voice came from inside. "Let's wait until this snowstorm holds up. I doubt either of them will survive anyway."
Executrain rubbed his chin. "Very well. We'll wait it out."
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Landis groaned as he shook his head back and forth to regain his consciousness. His good eye suddenly snapped open. "Nana!" He said as he shot into a sitting position.
The Winger looked around. The wind was considerably calmer than before, but that must have been because he was actually on the ground than flying high in the air. Snow littered the air, reducing visibility to a minimum.
Landis looked up, at the mountain Nana had fallen to. The Winger crouched low and prepared to lift off the ground, but he didn't take off. Looking at his wings in confusion Landis saw that both of his wings were shriveled in the extreme cold, making flight impossible for him. Landis groaned. This meant that he had to go the whole way on foot.
A light went on inside Landis' head. Shoving his hand into his pocket, Landis fished out his videophone and tried calling the admiral to radio some help. However, nothing worked.
"I don't believe this!" Landis said. "It's too cold to work!"
Placing the videophone back in his pocket, Landis started his trek towards the mountain, hoping hat he would get to Nana before the Wampas did.
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Plum appeared in the doorway to her uncle's office and walked inside. She wrung her hands nervously. Jon saw this.
"What's wrong, Plum?" Jon asked.
A lone tear appeared in the corner of Pum's eye. "The plane containing Landis and Nana experienced engine trouble and went down over Hoth." She explained.
Jon's eyes widened. "What?"
"The plane crashed, Uncle Jon." Plum replied. "They're both considered dead."
Jon couldn't believe what he was hearing. A plane containing a new recruit and a veteran fighter had just gone down, and they had both been proclaimed dead. Jon quickly shook his head. "I don't believe it, Plum. Landis has his videophone, and knows to call if anything's happened. I'm going to wait for a call from him, and until I do, I won't believe that either of them are dead." Even though he said that, Jon truly didn't believe he was right.
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The wind slammed hard against Landis' face as he trudged up the mountain, slowly working his way to the top. Landis had an amazingly hard time just trying to see a few meters ahead of him, but pressed on anyway. He was determined to find Nana, and wasn't going to let a mere snowstorm slow him down.
The Winger sighed. If only the extreme cold hadn't nullified his wings. He could've been able to fly straight up to the top of the mountain with almost no trouble. Landis trudged up the snowy mountain, constantly almost up to his knees is snow.
Eventually, Landis got to the top of the mountain. His legs were freezing, his hands were numb and he couldn't feel his feet anymore, but he had made it nonetheless. He looked around for any sign of Nana, but couldn't find anything.
"Isn't this where Nana fell?" Landis asked. He started calling out for her. "Nana! Nana! Do you hear me?! NANA!"
Alas, Landis didn't get an answer. He started panicking. "You can't be dead, Nana! You CAN'T be! Answer me, Nana! Answer me!" He cried desperately.
Landis found himself defeated and sunk to his knees. He was silent for a couple of seconds before looking up. "I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE AGAIN!!!" He screamed into the sky.
The Winger suddenly felt something hot running down his face. Rubbing his face with his hand, he realized that he was crying. He couldn't remember the last time he cried. In fact, he didn't think he ever DID cry. After all, he HAD grown up on his own and had taught himself everything.
Landis stood up, repeatedly telling himself that Nana couldn't be dead. Any tears that he shed now were freezing on the spot, and icy snow was sticking to the bangs of his hair, but it was almost as if he didn't notice anything.
He HAD to find Nana!
Suddenly, Landis heard a growl coming from behind. Turning around, the Winger saw a giant, white creature standing at least two meters tall. Its giant front paws looked strong enough to take down a wall, while the back legs, the ones the creature was using to stand, looked so tough that the creature couldn't be knocked off its feet. Even in the fierce snow, the creature's eyes sparkled with the thought of fresh food. The fangs were so sharp that they could be able to tear through the toughest meat.
Landis had come face to face with a Wampa.
The Winger grunted. Despite the numbing pain in his hands, Landis grabbed his scythe and readied it for a battle. Wampas were known to fight to the death, and Landis knew that he wouldn't be able to continue his search for Nana until after he defeated this thing.
The Wampa roared as it threw itself at Landis, who stood his ground. As soon as the Wampa was close enough, Landis sidestepped and allowed the Wampa to pass by. Once he had a clear shot of the Wampa's back, the Winger delivered a hard kick. Although it didn't hurt the creature, it stumbled forward a few steps.
The Wampa roared again as it swung it's fist at Landis. The Winger hadn't prepared for this, and was hit so hard that he slammed face first into the side of the mountain, which was a good few yards away.
Now furious, Landis spun around to look at the white menace, bared his teeth and threw himself at the sasquatch. The Wampa didn't have time to block the attack, and Landis was successful in grabbing the creature's shoulders and driving his knee into its stomach. The Wampa hunched over a little bit from the pain, allowing Landis to dash beside it and slam his elbow into the square of its back.
Landis pulled his fist back, but the Wampa saw the attack coming. The Winger threw his fist at the Wampa's face, but it only struck the palm of the Wampa's giant hand, which it had pulled up to shield from the blow.
Landis felt severe pain in his hand as the Wampa started gripping it hard. The Wampa stood up and slashed it's paw, striking Landis in the face. The Winger spun through the air for a few seconds before slamming into a rock close to the side of the mountain face first. This time, he hit so hard that it had drawn blood.
Landis slowly turned to face the Wampa, his eyes glaring daggers at the creature. A steady stream of blood was coming from his forehead and running down his face. The Winger paid next to no attention to it.
"The Grim Reaper COMES!!!" Landis roared as he threw himself at the Wampa. During the run, the Winger yanked his scythe out from around his back and prepared for an attack.
The Wampa, unbelieving that Landis could survive the blow he had just received, was unsuspecting and took the blow. The scythe took a healthy bite out of the Wampa's chest. Now, if it were any other creature, the attack would have killed it on the spot. However, this was no ordinary creature. This was a Wampa, so the blow only made it stagger back in pain. However, the Wampa was already standing close to the cliffs edge. Losing it's footing, the Wampa roared as it toppled back, over the cliff, down to its death.
Landis dared to walk over to the edge of the cliff and look over. He winced slightly when he saw the Wampa strike the ground, where it lay unmoving. He sighed in relief. Now he could continue searching for Nana.
And he would've if the piece of ice he was standing on hadn't given away.
Suddenly feeling himself falling, Landis sun around and grabbed hold of the cliff. Looking down, he saw the pieces of ice continue falling. He grunted as he struggled to pull himself up. Alas, the fight with the Wampa had drained a good amount of his energy. He couldn't use his wings to fly back to safety, as they were still freezing and crumpled.
Landis' hands were so numb that, even with his remarkable grip, they were slowly slipping from the cliff. The Winger struggled all the more to clamber back up to the surface, but he wouldn't budge.
Landis sighed. He knew that there was no way out of this, and now Nana, wherever she was, would be forced to spend the rest of her life stranded on a snow-capped mountain, and that was if she was even still alive.
By now, the Winger was down to holding onto the cliff with one hand. Landis looked down, at the ground hundreds of feet below. If the Wampa couldn't survive the fall, neither could he, especially with inactive wings. Looking back at his hand, only his fingers were holding onto the cliff, and were quickly giving out.
Landis closed his eye and waited as his grip finally died, dropping him from the cliff side.
Suddenly, before he fell far at all, he felt something grab hold of his hand, preventing him from falling to his doom. Opening his eye, he looked up.
Into the eyes of an adorable little girl dressed in a pink parka.
Landis' eyes sprang open in shock. "NANA!" He cried.
Indeed, it was Nana. Now dressed in a pink parka with matching gloves and pants, Nana was using both hands to hold onto Landis' arm. Her spiked boots were clinging to the icy surface to prevent her from slipping.
"YOU DIDN'T REALLY THINK I'D LET YOU DIE, DID YOU?!" Nana said, having to shout over the roaring wind.
Using unusual strength, Nana pulled Landis to safety.
Once he was back on the ground, Landis found himself looking down at Nana in amazement. "But...Nana, how'd you survive? I thought that...Well, you know. The fall?" He asked.
Nana chuckled. "I'm an Ice Climber." She replied. "I'm used to these sorts of things. I always have my parka and snow gear in my backpack with my school supplies just in case something happens."
Landis sighed. "You amaze me sometimes, Nana."
"Thank you." Nana replied. "Say, have you called the admiral yet to let him know where we are?"
Landis sighed again, this time frustrated, as he pulled his frozen videophone from his pocket. "It's too cold to work." He explained. "We need to find some way to heat it to make it work."
Nana pointed to the left. "There's a cave over there. I passed by it while I was looking for you. We can stay there and build a fire. That should make it warm enough for it to work."
The Winger thought this over, then nodded. "Yeah. I think it might."
Nana led Landis to the cave she had told him about. It took about two minutes to get there, but luckily, it wasn't as cold as before. They quickly arrived at the mouth of the cave and went in.
After finding a few scraps of wood, Landis and Nana were able to build a fire. Sure, it was small, but it was big enough to keep them warm. All of his time spent in front of the fire, Landis also held out his frozen videophone in an attempt to thaw it out.
"How's it looking, Landis?" Nana asked.
Landis was silent for a few seconds as he felt the videophone. "It's still pretty cold, but it's getting a little warmer.
"I'm sorry that I didn't have my first aid kit in my backpack, Landis. We could've been able to bandage your face wound." Nana looked down guiltily.
"Not your fault, Nana." Landis shook his head. "Don't worry about it."
Both were silent for a few seconds before Nana broke the ice again. "Apparently, the videophone's going to take a while to thaw, so why don't we get to know each other a little more?"
Landis nodded. "You go first. Tell me about yourself."
For the first time in an incredibly long time, Landis was talking serious. No insane laughing, no Grim Reaper cracks, nothing. This was very out of character for him, but he knew that if they would have any chance of surviving, Landis would have to put his crazy antics aside for awhile. The Winger was suddenly very glad the no one except Nana was around to see him like this.
"Okay. I'll go first." Nana replied. "Popo, my twin brother, and I grew up without parents, but I have a sinking feeling that they were Eskimos, as Popo and I have been wearing parkas for as long as we could remember. As we grew, we trained ourselves to climb mountains, thus becoming the Ice Climbers. Popo and I did so well that we were invited to participate in an All Star Tournament, consisting of people like the Mario Bros."
Landis nodded. "I heard of that."
"Well, a couple more years passed. Popo and I lived happily on our homeworld, and knew almost everyone on it. Of course, Erode's forces chose that time to invade. People were getting killed left and right, and Popo and I were trying to get away from the battlefield to survive." Nana paused as she sighed. "One of Erode's men saw us running off and fired several shots at us. Popo saw them coming and got behind me as we ran. All of the shots directed at me found their way to Popo's back. I tried to get him out of there, but he told me to run, saying that it was too late for him. It was, because not long after that, he died from his wounds. Seeing no other alternative, I stowed away on a ship bound for Corneria and spent the next couple years there until you showed up."
Landis stared at Nana, his good eye wide with shock. "I...I'm sorry, Nana. I had no idea that's what happened."
Nana quickly wiped away a few tears. "It's okay, Landis." She replied timidly. "Now it's your turn."
Landis nodded. "As you might guess, I grew up as a Winger with an obsession to pulling pranks. It was the only way to get back at those that teased me because I couldn't fight back then. I, personally, have absolutely no idea who my parents could have been."
"I know how that feels." Nana replied.
"I never had a lot of friends." Landis continued, constantly rubbing the videophone to make it warmer. "I decided to 'create' my own friend, thus becoming the best friend of the Grim Reaper. Eventually, I ended up joining the army of Budehuc as a fighter, but I still didn't have a lot of friends. People thought I was weird, but I don't really blame them. At least when I joined A.S.H., people acknowledge me as a fighter. But the only ones I can really call my friends are you, Yamazaki and Iggy."
Nana was speechless. Landis had lived almost his whole life without any real friends. She had no idea what she could've done if she hadn't had any friends.
"I...I had no idea, Landis." Nana said.
"It's fine. That was years ago." Landis replied. He stretched his wings out, showing himself that his wings were starting to feel better.
Landis looked at the videophone in his hands. It was feeling considerably warmer than before, and looked like it was willing to work.
"It's worth a shot." Landis said as he pressed the button linking the videophone to the admiral's office.
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Admiral Arbuckle nervously wrung his hands as he paced around in his office. He was really starting to worry about Landis and Nana, and was really starting to think that they were dead.
Jon stopped pacing and sighed. "Let's just face it." He said. "There's no way they could've survived the plane crash."
Suddenly, as if on cue, the videophone on his desk started beeping, showing that a message was trying to come in. Jon spun around to face the videophone with wide eyes, and slowly walked over to it.
Jon pressed the answer button and leaned in closer. "...Hello? This is Admiral Arbuckle." He said into the screen.
Much to Jon's surprise and relief, the face of a Winghorde appeared on the screen. The reception wasn't very good, showing that Landis' videophone was struggling to work.
"Landis! You're alright!" Jon said.
"And so is Nana." Landis replied. "Look, I've been trying to call you for a good while now, but my videophone was too cold to work."
Jon nodded. "The reception isn't looking very good."
"Nana and I are staying in a cave on Hoth for the night. It's getting late and we're going to try and get some sleep. In the morning, this huge snowstorm should pick up, if just for a while." Landis explained. "Then, we'll set off and try to find the plane wreckage. That's the pickup point. Try and find the plane wreckage."
Jon nodded furiously. "I'll have Captain Ash set off in the Orochi-1 early in the morning with a rescue team. We'll find you two in no time." He assured.
Landis nodded. "We'll see you in the morning, sir. Landis, out."
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Landis quickly turned off the videophone before it used too much battery power. He looked at Nana. "Let's get some shuteye." He said. "We'll set off in the morning to find the plane wreckage."
Nana yawned. "Okay." She said tiredly as she lay down on her side and closed her eyes. "Goodnight, Landis."
"Goodnight, Nana."
Within a matter of seconds, Nana was off in dreamland, a peaceful smile on her face. Landis was about to plop down and go to sleep himself when a thought suddenly struck him. They were in a cave. What if a Wampa came while they were asleep.
Landis perched himself on a log, looking back and forth. "I think I'll stay up a little while longer."
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Prof. Executrain watched the whole scene on his binoculars. Thanks to an enhancement, he was able to hear what Landis and Nana were saying as well.
Grinning evilly, Executrain hopped down from the wing of the plane and walked back to the opened storage area. He walked inside.
"JB, we're in luck!" Executrain said. "Those two are actually going to search for the plane in the morning! They'll be coming right towards us!"
"Good." 'JB' replied. "That makes our job that much easier."
"Let's get to sleep." Executrain said. "We'll need a lot of energy to take that Winghorde down tomorrow."
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The bright sun lit up the inside of the cave, if only slightly. The light found it's way to Nana's eyes, making the small girl stir. When she woke up completely, she looked around. The fire looked like it had been doused long ago, as it was reduced to a pile of burnt wood. She quickly spotted Landis, perched on a log, staring out into the white-coated scenery. Getting up and stretching, Nana walked over to him.
"How long have you been up, Landis?" Nana asked.
"A couple hours." Landis replied. "You can't be too careful here. Wampas could attack at any time."
Nana looked outside the cave. She couldn't believe how beautiful it looked. There was no clouds in the sky at all, and the sun was making all of the fallen snow sparkle.
"Wow." She said in awe. "Have you ever seen sky look so clear?"
Landis lightly shook his head. "Can't say that I have." He shrugged. "Then again, I've never really paid attention."
"Why's that?"
The Winger sighed. "Before joining A.S.H., I was labeled as a freak and was constantly being chased. I was lucky that no one at Budehuc hated me enough to try and kill me."
"People tried to KILL you?!" Nana asked, wide-eyed.
"Yeah. It's a good thing that you'll never go through what I did, Nana. No one will ever consider you a freak." Landis said as he looked down at his travel companion. He then looked back out of the cave. "We'd better find the plane before the rescue team arrives."
Nana nodded. "How are we going to find the plane?" She asked. "It could be anywhere."
Landis got up from his perch. "My wings are feeling ten times better than before and it's a nicer day out, meaning that it'll be slightly warmer." He replied. "This time, I KNOW we'll be able to make it if I fly."
Again, Nana nodded. "If it'll get us there quicker, then I say we go for it."
The duo walked out of the cave and went over to the side of the cliff just outside. Landis scooped Nana into his arms, spread his wings and took off, starting the search for the plane.
In the air, Nana looked around. She found it hard to believe how far she could see now that there was no snow falling on the ground. And to think that this was the same planet from last night.
The duo tried to hurry the search, as the Orochi-1 would take only a matter of minutes to get from the base to Hoth. They searched for a good fifteen minutes before they finally saw something on the ground far, far below.
"Look!" Nana shouted in glee, pointing at a plane wreck down hundreds of feet below. "There it is!"
"You're right!" Landis replied. "We're going to make it!"
Landis swooped down towards the plane wreckage and landed on the ground not too far away from it.
"Boy. The plane doesn't look too good anymore." Nana said.
She was right. Not only was the entire front half of the plane torn off, but the tail was bent upwards, revealing a huge, gaping hole leading to the baggage area. Windows were broken and both wings were gone. In short, the plane was totaled.
"Well...Now what?" Nana looked up at Landis.
"We wait. The Orochi-1 should arrive in a few minutes," Landis replied.
"IF you're alive by then!" A voice laughed from inside the baggage area.
Landis and Nana found themselves staring at the plane as two figures strode out and into the open. The shorter of the two was a Boomerang Bro. in a white coat while the larger was a muscular, red bison with one eye, one and a half horns and a wooden staff attached to his right arm instead of a hand.
Nana quickly ran behind Landis' leg. "(extreme close up) Prof. Executrain! (end close up)" She cried.
"AND Jean Bison." Landis finished.
Jean Bison is one of Erode's strongest men and a tree-hater. Jean, a Canadian bison, was a lumberjack in the 1850s. When a gold rush came up, Jean Bison ran up to the snowy mountains to hunt. However, he was trapped in an avalanche, which literally buried him alive. A hundred years passed, and Jean Bison was perfectly preserved in a block of ice.
Luckily, thanks to a little help from global warming, Bison broke free of his icy prison and found himself more than a hundred years in the future. All the time trapped in the block of ice made turned Bison into a revenge-crazed madman, wanting to take revenge on nature for putting him through so much torture. He ended up joining the Klaww Gang, a gang of criminals, because he was offered a chance to take down as many trees as he wanted.
However, there was one small wrench in the plan. Sly Cooper, a master thief, had defeated most of the Klaww Gang. Soon, Bison was the only one not arrested by the police other than the leader, Arpeggio. When Bison finally encountered Sly and his team, he was forced to do battle with Bentley, the turtle computer geek of Sly's team. Bentley, using his quick brain, called commands to Sly, making Bison fall right into several traps in a row.
Afterwards, Bison decided that, rather than be arrested, he would escape to the mountains. He was successful at evading the police, but it came at a price, as Bison was buried in another avalanche, again freezing him in ice.
Again, Bison was released. This time it was by some of Erode's men. Unfortunately, Bison didn't make it in one piece. He now has a grizzly scar going down his left eye, the top half of his right horn was gone completely, and he had even lost his right hand. Because he hated the 'newfangled' machinery, Bison insisted that his fighting staff be attached to his arm rather than a mechanic hand. Seeing that Erode had his men release him, he joined out of gratitude.
"What are you two doing here?" Landis demanded. "How'd you sneak on the plane?"
Executrain held up a hologuise. "I was the pilot, and Bison was hiding in the baggage area." He explained.
"That explains why there was no one else on the plane!" Nana gasped.
"Erode couldn't care less how many people he has to kill to bring a couple member of A.S.H. to the ground." Jean Bison snorted. "But he figured that if there was too many people on the plane, which had been known to never crash, people would be suspicious."
Landis gripped his scythe tightly. "You guys are gonna be guests at the Grim Reaper's party tonight." He said through his teeth.
Executrain whipped out his deadly weapon, the Phillips Screwdriver, and grinned. "Bison and I were ordered to kill you two. We're to make sure that we carry out our orders."
Bison grunted as he hefted his arm with the fighting staff attached to it. "Let's kill these two and get it over with." He said.
Landis quickly looked down at Nana. "I want you to stay out of this. The last thing I want is one of these creeps hurting you." He ordered.
"Two against one isn't very fair, Landis." Nana replied as she pulled her hammer out from seemingly nowhere. "Here, I'll take Executrain and you take Bison."
Seeing that there was no way to get Nana to stay out of the fight, Landis agreed. "Okay. But be careful." He said.
Executrain grinned insanely. "It's showtime!"
The two teams rushed each other, weapons raised for attacking. Bison was the first to attack, swinging his gigantic fighting staff at Landis, who easily ducked. Landis quickly leapt into the air and planted a hard kick against the bison's chest, making him stagger back a couple of steps. Bison again swung his staff, but the Winger blocked it using his scythe. Landis started forcing Jean Bison back, making sure that he didn't get in the way of Nana's fight with Executrain.
In the meantime, Nana was managing to hold her own against Executrain. Every time Executrain took a swing or stab with the Phillips Screwdriver, Nana either dodged the blow or blocked it with her wooden mallet. After blocking another attack, Nana acted quickly and lashed out, slamming her mallet into the side of Executrain's head. This sent the Boomerang Bro. to the ground temporarily. He quickly got to his feet and looked at Nana.
Cracking his knuckles using his neck, Executrain smirked at Nana. "Impressive. The only one who's ever been a match for me is (extreme close up) Dr. Donez! (end close up)" He said.
"Call me hungry for revenge." Nana replied as she readied her mallet for another attack. "You made the plane crash, didn't you?"
"I was disguised as the pilot." Executrain smirked. "All it took was a little bit of sabotaging to make the wing catch fire and make the plane go down. Bison and I were really hoping that if the crash didn't kill the two of you, the extreme cold would. Apparently, we were wrong."
"Clever deduction, Sherlock." Nana growled through her teeth. "But I'm afraid that Landis and I are going to throw a major wrench in your plan by surviving. The Orochi-1 will be here any minute now! If we don't defeat you by the time it arrives, the added firepower from the ship will." She smirked triumphantly. "Your attempt to kill Landis failed, buddy. He won't die that easily."
Executrain smirked. "Landis? Who said that we were ordered to kill Landis?" He lunged forward in an attempt to run Nana through with his weapon.
Nana's eyes sprang open as she blocked the blow with her mallet. She was the one they wanted dead?!
Landis swung his scythe at Bison, who blocked it with his staff. A.S.H. had found out long ago that Bison's staff was made of some sort of unbreakable material so not even Landis' scythe could slice it in two.
Bison eventually got the better of Landis and struck him in the face with his staff. The Winger staggered back a couple of steps and rubbed his face. His scythe dropped to the snow.
"Face it Winghorde!" Bison taunted. "You can't win. You and your little friend don't stand a chance." He smirked. "After we dispose of you, your friend will be next. Executrain and I were thinking of doing it ourselves, but now that I think of it, maybe we should just feed her to a Wampa." He chuckled.
Landis' eye bulged in anger as a vein on his forehead showed up. He started seething and balled his hands into fists. Letting out a battle cry, Landis threw himself at Bison, swinging his fists. Bison, taken aback by the psychotic actions, didn't have time to block.
"(POW!) You... (BIFF!) Will... (SOCK!) NOT... (BOP!) Touch... (CRUNCH!) NANA!!!!!" Landis screamed as he thrust his fist out one more time. His fist connected with Bison's face with a sickening 'crunch', sending the giant, red, Canadian bison spinning in midair until landing face down in the snow.
Landis, triumphant, stood over the beaten and unconscious body of Jean Bison. He seethed as he looked down at his opponent. "NO ONE hurts Nana when I'm around."
Nana was too wrapped up in her fight with Executrain to hear Landis scream. She slammed her mallet into the scientist's back and looked at him angrily.
"Why me?!" Nana demanded. "What did I ever do to Erode to make him want me dead?!"
Executrain smirked slyly. "You really think I would just TELL you?! No, if our plan is to succeed, you must be eliminated."
"Forget it!" Nana spat. "I'm not going to let Erode win, especially when he wants me dead!"
Out of rage, Nana swung her mallet at Executrain, slamming it into the side of his head. Like Bison, Executrain fell to the snow, face down.
Nana looked back and saw that Landis had defeated Bison. She ran at him, tears starting to come to her eyes. Landis saw her coming, knelt down and took her into his arms, giving her what was possibly the first hug he had ever given anyone.
"He...He told me." Nana whimpered. "The plan...The plan was for them to get me dead."
Landis eye widened. This whole plot was just to kill Nana. Ever since the crash, the Winger had thought that it was some sort of plot to distract A.S.H. while Erode's men went off to terrorize someplace bigger.
"Don't worry, Nana." Landis soothed. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you."
Suddenly hearing a strange noise coming from behind, Landis looked over his shoulder at Bison. The red buffalo had managed to get into a kneeling position and pressed a button of a remote, making him and Executrain slowly vanish into thin air, no doubt going back to report their failure to Erode.
"Landis?" A British voice called from Landis' pocket. "Do you copy? Landis, are you there?"
Landis sighed as he fished out his videophone, stood up and activated it, staring into the face of Captain Ash.
"You have impeccable timing." Landis grunted. "If you had showed up two minutes earlier, you could've helped us take down Executrain and Jean Bison."
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Jon stroked his chin after Landis had relayed the story. "Erode wants Nana dead?" He asked.
Landis and Nana, upon arriving back at the A.S.H. base, each received a much-needed meal. After finishing, Landis had told everyone in the dining area, which was Jon, Ash and a couple other, about what he and Nana had learned from Executrain and Bison.
Nana nodded. "I couldn't find out why." She added. "But I think this may have something to do with those Stormtroopers trying to kill me back on Corneria."
Jon nodded. "I think you may be right. Until we find out more, I'll have to assign a bodyguard to you, Nana."
Landis spoke up. "The Grim Reaper will do that himself." He offered. "She won't need anyone else to protect her."
"He has a point, sir." Captain Ash told the admiral. "He's probably the best choice."
"Very well." Admiral Arbuckle said. "Landis, I'll leave the job to you."
"The Grim Reaper will make sure nothing happens to her." Landis said.
"Are you okay, kid?" Larcen asked as he placed a hand on a shivering Nana's shoulder. "This is probably hard for you to handle."
"I admit that I'm scared." Nana replied. "But with Landis as my bodyguard, I feel a little better."
After the others had left the dining area, Landis looked at Nana. "You need some rest." He said. "You've had a rough time."
Nana nodded as she got up. She walked over to Landis and threw her arms around him. "Thank you for being there for me on Hoth, Landis." She said. "I don't know what would've happened if anyone else was there."
The small girl turned around and left the dining area, leaving Landis alone, sitting at the table.
Once Nana was gone, Landis turned in his seat to face the window, stroking his chin, in deep thought. A few pieces had fallen into place now. Erode wanted Nana dead, and seemed that he would go to great lengths to ensure her death. But there was still that resounding question that was constantly plaguing his wind since he saved her.
"Why?"
END
Author's notes: Sorry that Landis is incredibly out of character for the majority of the fic, but it had to be done, especially since the sidestories are more focused on drama than comedy, which is more what my normal series is for.