(Further planning on the storyline as well as new games to play and a vacation out of town is why this chapter took so long. I had no idea what new concept in the story I wanted to introduce first, so I went simple and decided to introduce an ally to the team, as well as the beginnings of how Pit joined Peach and Link. I hope you enjoy, and sorry for the wait once again.)
Chapter 3- Chef's Special
Early on, Link and Peach had to quickly adapt to their new lifestyles.
It was hard, of course. What could be harder than tiptoeing around all of your once friends turned wild animals? One day after a long set of battles, they first tried to pretend that everything was normal by sitting with their roommates and peers in the cafeteria for dinner. This was immediately abandoned when Samus, Rosalina, and Zelda gave Peach a concussion for getting near them and the Pits and Toon Link left Link with a black eye, his left wrist sprained, and a ruined tunic for their troubles.
"So I take it you had 'fun' today too?" Link said as they met up after taking enough abuse, holding back hissing in pain whenever his wrist bent the wrong way. He hoped he could still wield his blade after this without too much trouble; his left was his 'sword hand'.
"Totally," Peach said, trying to use a turnip she plucked from the cool ground as a pseudo-ice pack for her bruised head. "Hey, do you think it's possible to shove a Blue Shell in someone's ear because my head feels like it's exploding."
"...No?"
"Okay… just asking." Her stomach growled expectantly, sending a dull pain through Peach's body. "Ugh… would it kill them to hurry up with the food?" she moaned in a very un-princessy manner, causing Link to blink a few times in surprise. No one else batted an eye, as a small riot was breaking out in front of the kitchen. She noticed his expression and continued. "I really don't think this is any place to preserve formalities. I just got steamrolled by your destiny buddy and my daughter… I think… just for getting near them."
"I saw when Dark Pit tried dislocating my hand. Where did Rosalina even find that Ore Club?"
"You're asking about the Ore Club?! I'm wondering where Dark Pit found that Beam Sword! That announcer guy never gave us any items!"
"Oh, he always keeps that old thing on him. Sometimes Toon and I woke up in the middle of the night to find him threatening Pit with it because he hogs the pillows or snores too loud."
"Whose bright idea was it for them to share a room let alone a bed?" Peach pondered, baffled but amused. The light and dark angels weren't known for getting along often, on or off the battlefield.
"You didn't hear this from me, princess, but I'm almost entirely convinced Goddess Palutena blackmailed Master Hand into it with her divine power for kicks."
"Sounds like something that green haired hag would do, alright." The two laughed lightly, soaking in each other's company. It had only been a week at that point, but they already felt like they could talk to and confide in one another. Afterwards, they were content to watch everyone else from a distance. It was pretty peaceful all things considered until...
"ATTENTION EVERYONE!"
The duo winced as the announcer's annoying voice rang through the air. Where did the guy get off on being so chipper and upbeat?
"We didn't even get to eat anything yet…" Peach whined. Link tried patting her back in sympathy but got smacked for his efforts.
"IN CELEBRATION OF EVERY ONE OF YOU FIGHTING SO HARD, I REWARD YOU WITH… MORE BATTLES!"
Peach slammed her head on the table in exasperation and Link barely tried to stifle a loud groan. The two of them were already exhausted and in pain enough without having to fight more battles.
"HERE'S THE ROSTER FOR THE MAIN EVENT!"
A large screen appeared in the middle of the room, those chosen hopping around like a child on Christmas Day and those not whining in disappointment. For their part, Peach and Link looked to see battles they might be a part of with bated breath. Neither of them were picked which caused much relief, but there was one battle in particular that caught their eyes:
Pit was going against Palutena in the last match of Round 1.
"That's not gonna be an easy fight to sit through. Despite Palutena being an abusive hag, those two are really close," Peach assessed with a frown, feeling more sorry for Pit having to mindlessly fight his goddess more than anything. Link rolled his eyes at Peach's contempt, but nodded in agreement.
"LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!" The doors opened and Duck Hunt and Diddy Kong flew through their respective doors. Everyone else went into the stands to watch.
The battles went as well as the duo expected. The Duck Hunt Duo and Diddy walked out of their battle half-barbequed from explosives, Diddy oblivious to his tail being on fire. The spider monkey had fainted first, so he was currently trying to 'avenge' himself in the back of the stands. The very short next round with Donkey Kong and Little Mac ended up with Mac looking like tenderized meat. Lucario fought with Fox; if Fox's legs weren't already metal, he certainly would have needed new ones.
The final battle of Round 1 finally came, the two competitors darting excitedly into the arena.
"IT'S BEEN AN EXCITING SHOW, BUT NOW IT'S TIME TO DECIDE THE FINAL CONTENDER FOR THE NEXT ROUND! IT'S PIT…"
The angel roared into the sky with a loud battle cry, a crazy glint in his eyes. It was disconcerting to see the excitable but friendly angel ready to tear an opponent apart like tissue paper. He was panting hard, muscles tense and ready to attack the moment Palutena came out… until he actually got a good look at her.
"...VERSUS PALUTENA!"
The goddess practically flew into the room, staff gripped tightly. She sent a look of pure hatred to her opponent along with a feral growl, while Pit stood dumbfounded. A moment later, the crazy look was gone, replaced with a dazed, much softer one. He looked around the room confused until he seemed to realize a bit of where he was.
"L… Lady Palutena…?"
"BEGIN!"
The duo noticed Pit make a startled jump at the announcer's voice, and they instantly knew something was up when he dodged her attacks instead of fought her.
"No way… is… is Pit normal?" Peach questioned, eyes popping out of her skull.
"More than likely."
"But how?! I can't even get Mario to snap out of it when I talk to him."
"Maybe it's because you haven't fought him in one of these battles yet. The mere idea of seeing his goddess set in front of him to slaughter must have brought him back to his senses. Kid's too loyal to attack her like this. Why isn't it doing the same to Palutena, though?" Link pondered, back now hunched in a thoughtful posture.
"Maybe it's because she's a bitch and likes watching him suffer? I swear, the only other one who even sees it is Rosalina…"
"...Now's not the time for your rivalry, Princess."
"Lady Palutena, what's going on?!" Pit tried asking, only to get smacked in the head and sent flying into the ceiling from Palutena's scepter. He managed to get back on his feet from a tumble and shake the dizziness off, getting into a combat stance and catching on rather quick to the basic gist of things.
"Aw, not this again… one more time with you getting turned against me and we just might have to invest in tin foil hats." With a groan, he charged forward, ready to fight back if he had to but taking care to avoid seriously hurting Palutena.
"Autoreticle!" With deadly accuracy Pit was blasted, and while he tried to shield himself, he was too slow to stop a large majority of the attack. He skid back on his feet, the traction of his sandals the only thing keeping him upright in the process. Pit then readied his bow; disarming her might help him out a lot in the long run. The arrow of light was released, but a spin of Palutena's scepter stopped it. In an apparition of godly white wings, Pit was slammed into the upper wall of the coliseum, blasted by a column of light as he fell with a cry of pain. He slammed into the ground belly first, stunned. Before he could even move, the scepter came at him like a boomerang, smashing into his side and sending him rolling to the other side of the stage. He made no other move to get up after Palutena made another decisive kick to the same injured side, the pain of now broken ribs almost blinding.
"Oh… are you giving up already…?" Palutena taunted maliciously, and she grabbed Pit by the neck and punted him into the wall. He dizzily attempted to get up once again, but Palutena kicked him in the same area. The shock nearly made him pass out, but he managed to remain semi-conscious.
Pit had no words; only soft groans could escape his lips at that point.
"Pathetic…" Palutena raised her scepter, about to go for the finishing blow.
"Link, we have to help him. He's gonna get his little angel butt pulverized!"
"Or get his skull cracked open like a pumpkin. He's not going to walk away from that," Link stood up after consideration, taking out and preparing his clawshot to save Pit. The microphone roaring to life made him falter.
"IT SEEMS SOMEONE DOESN'T WANT TO JOIN IN THE FUN! WE'LL HAVE TO FIX THAT!"
So the announcer realized Pit was normal too. Link cursed and they both watched in horror as the ceiling opened vents up. An orange gas began to trickle out of them.
Reacting quickly, Link refocused on the task at hand. "Cover your mouth and hold your breath!" Link barked urgently to Peach, and as everyone began to go wild from a good dose of the new fog, Link used his clawshot to grab Pit while the substance locked him from view just as it crashed completely down into the bleachers and the stadium floor. Using his own cap, he covered Pit's mouth but was unable to protect himself in time. Just as it made everyone more riled up than ever, the gas made Link lightheaded and faint. He coughed and hacked, even staggered a few times where he stood with a glazed look in his eyes, but nothing significant seemed to happen.
"You okay, Link?" Peach asked warily once the air cleared. He continued to cough but managed to nod in assurance.
A small beat passed before the announcer spoke up again. Just in case someone was watching, the duo staged a further assault on the unconscious angel, as if Link only grabbed him just so they could beat him up themselves for being so weak.
"AND THE WINNER IS… PALUTENA!"
The crowd's cheers were deafening, and those nearby the trio seemed to want to get in on the 'action' as well. Ness and Lucas made an approach, but a few rough throws of turnips to the head from Peach and no one bothered them.
As the battles continued and the mini tournament ended with a gruesome and bloody battle between Lucario and Donkey Kong that eventually ended in a tie, the duo barely paid any attention. They merely revelled in the fact that Pit was out of danger and was in their care, and the whole thing went off without a hitch.
Or so they thought.
Much of the walk back to their hideaway had Pikachu stuck in a stunned silence.
He couldn't believe his eyes. After the fight with Falco, it only got worse from there. The Announcer decided that the four who moved up in the ranks, Peach, Palutena, Zelda, and Donkey Kong, would all be put together in a free-for-all death match. Pikachu was dumb enough to catch glimpses of Pit and Link, both of whom were giving off hateful glares towards the speaker that only a slayer of gods and a person who was once a wolf could give. It must have killed them seeing Peach and their former allies attacking each other for this sick bastard's amusement, Pikachu thought. Triple fold because Peach and Zelda adored each other typically. The resulting slaughter was a bit hard to watch, as Donkey Kong let loose with primal gorilla instinct. Palutena got pretty badly beaten up before she unleashed a blast of light equivalent to a small nuclear explosion. Donkey Kong and Zelda were knocked out immediately, and Palutena would have won by default if Peach didn't shield herself in time and outlast the goddess.
"Sometimes I get this eerie feeling he puts them in battles a lot on purpose…" Pit grumbled angrily as they made it back to their secluded room.
"It has to be a coincidence," Link explained, coming inside after Pit and Pikachu did. He sounded calm and level, but Pikachu could hear the underlying tension in his voice. Peach brought up the rear, rubbing her wrist gingerly. She had sprained it from all the fighting. "We've hidden our tracks so well that he can't possibly know we aren't one of them."
"Besides the Announcer's a showboat. He'd want to make an example out of us and would come after us on the spot if he knew, Pit," Peach chimed in, trying to comfort the angel. Pikachu was content to remain silent, feeling a bit like an outsider. Being 'awake' for about 18 hours was nothing compared to nearly two months the others had been struggling together, no doubt making them form bonds; he felt like it would take a while for him to fit in.
"I know, I know… but doesn't it seem a little funny Lady Palutena alone's been in about twice as many battles as the others?"
"Who keeps track of these damned things? It probably feels that way because she's your boss and friend," Peach said, giving a light smile towards her comrade. "Don't lie and say you haven't been noticing Dark Pit more often too, for example."
"... I guess I do notice Pittoo a lot too…" Pit relented hesitantly. Peach gentle smile widened, and she gave Pit a one-armed hug and a rough noogie. Pikachu smiled as Pit started giggling. "Hey, knock it off," he said, sounding closer to his normal, lighthearted self. No bite was behind the command whatsoever. "I'm not a little kid!"
"You sure look and act like one," Peach said, rolling her eyes. She turned her head towards Link. "Do I need to give your hair a good messing up too, or are you gonna stop thinking about it?" Link raised his hands defensively with a small grin.
"I'm good. No 'hair messing up' needed. It takes a lot to get this done in the morning."
"When was the last time you even brushed it, liar? Including before we got ourselves into this mess."
"I seem to recall you one day complimenting me on my windswept look, Princess."
The interaction seemed so casual. From what Pikachu could tell, it was Peach's job to cool things down when the others were upset. With her powers coming from the heart, it only seemed natural. After a while, they began to discuss dinner, so Pikachu went to go explore around their space a bit. The room was oddly enough pretty put together and sturdy for a hole in the wall, like there was a full intent for it to be used that never came into fruition. The stones forming the foundation were soft and cool to the touch under Pikachu's paws, a far cry from the hot, muggy stadium they had just come from. There was a small bathroom area complete with a long blanket hung on the ceiling for modesty; the tub was really tiny but it got the job done, and a latrine that flowed to the sewers was carved out. On the other side of the room next to Pikachu's cage and the sleeping bags were tons of books, a few board games, and Pit's 3DS on a small table. For entertainment probably. The center of the room had a long table, used for everything from holding their portable stove to teaching, like earlier that day.
Through the hole in the wall, Pikachu could see the sun setting, filling the room with the orange glow of dusk. The moon and first stars were just making their appearance in the sky, making Pikachu's eyes sparkle. Sunsets never looked more beautiful to him after all the revelations of the day, and he had a sneaking feeling the admiration would only grow.
"Hey, Pikachu," Pit suddenly said, carrying a paper bag he concealed in his uniform. "I'm gonna go hit the kitchen. We're out of some things and everyone should have gone off to the commons by now. Wanna come with?"
Pikachu thought about it. Pit looked like he could be a really good friend while he was inside this group. He was youthful and liked to joke around much like Pikachu himself. Even though she was nice, Pikachu got weird vibes whenever he got near Peach and Link wasn't much of a talker with people he wasn't close to. Pit was the best choice for a pal, and being alone with him like that was the best opportunity.
"Sure," Pikachu said with a smile, nodding. He walked up to the angel and took in hand a Poison Mushroom.
"Remember, we only need ONE of those canned chickens and some tomato soup. Don't bother Kawasaki for anything else."
"I know, Link, I know…" Pit said as he rolled his eyes and shrunk down. Pikachu followed suit and went into step next to him.
"Kawasaki?" Pikachu asked once they were well on their way.
"Yeah. He's a chef from Kirby's world. The Announcer kidnapped him and forced him to start making all of our meals, but he never gave him any gas, so he's perfectly normal. He and I hang out a lot."
"Knowing how you are with food, I can see why." Pikachu chuckled at the thought that came up, one of Kawasaki making assorted meals for the bottomless pit of an angel. He wondered to this day why he and Kirby weren't better friends.
"Hey, I burn all of those calories off! I'm a warrior; it's only healthy!"
"Nuthin' says 'healthy' like a cascade of burgers and fatty slabs of meat on top of a waterfall of ice cream every day…" Pikachu teased. Pit pouted but took it in stride, even when Pikachu poked his belly a few times for emphasis. The duo quietly snuck into the kitchen through the back door, where they saw Chef Kawasaki cooking up a large meal. The orange Popstarian was anxious and flustered, running around all over the place to prepare to feed all over fifty of them. He looked bruised up but overall relatively unharmed. There were no cameras in there, so it was safe to talk freely.
Kawasaki was grumbling as he sauteed a half ton of steaks, the strain of his situation taking a toll on him. "This is nutty, I tell ya! How does he expect me to keep doing all of this without ending up in the hospital?! I already got slashed at twice today by those wackos!"
"Chef Kawasaki…?" Pit suddenly asked, causing the poor chef to jump and drop one of the steaks on the floor. He proceeded to cower and hide. "Please don't hurt me! S-Steak takes a long time to make an-and-"
"Calm down, big guy, it's only me!" Pit said with a smile, approaching him carefully and giving him a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. After cautiously looking up, Kawasaki calmed down.
"Oh, Pit… don't sneak up on me like that, you scared me half to death!" Kawasaki slowly got up and gave him a light hug. "What can I do for ya, little guy?"
"We need a canned chicken and two cans of tomato soup. Peach wants to 'experiment' again...," Pit said, wincing slightly.
"You got it." Kawasaki winked and reached into the cupboards to get the requested items. Out of the corner of his eyes, Pikachu saw the rack of various salts and chemicals.
Must be the stuff used to taint the food, he thought with a shudder. The large chef came back with the goods, along with three chocolate bars and one of the steaks wrapped up tight. "Already made and on a separate pan. Not a single drop of those horrible chemicals on it," he said.
"W-Wow, thanks, chef! You really don't have to..." Pit said, astonished at the generosity. Pikachu was beaming as well. It was good to see someone else with a kind heart around here.
"I insist; you tell me all the time how hard you guys have it when it comes to food in that little hole of yours. I won't take no for an answer anymore. If Link refuses the extra stuff, he can come work it out with me himself." The chef finally noticed Pikachu and jumped a bit, later calming when he realized he wasn't there to hurt him. "And I see you've got another mouth to feed anyways!" he said, surprised.
Pikachu gave an awkward wave hello, rubbing the back of his head nervously.
"We just freed him last night. He's still learning how things work, but I can already tell he'll be a good fit for us."
"With that little sparkle in his eyes? He'll be fine," Kawasaki agreed. "Here. That means you get some chocolate too." Pikachu graciously accepted the chocolate bar, still feeling like it hadn't been that long since last having one but craving it fiercely nonetheless.
"Thanks." With a little pat on their heads, Kawasaki sent them on their way, looking back to continue his excessively tall order.
Peach was waiting at the stove when they got back, with Link napping on his sleeping bag. Pit made sure to hide the steak and chocolate just so it could be used as a last resort instead of being thrown into whatever Peach wanted to make.
"Please tell me you're making something simple," Pit begs as he handed off the cans. A look of sadistic glee filled Peach's eyes.
"How does tomato soup and cherry pie filling stuffed chicken sound?"
From the small sauce explosion that occurred, leaving the table and floor a mess, it didn't sound good even to the appliance. At least they still had the steak…
