Hello all.
Many thanks to Souldin, Shadow Blues, lupyne and NinjaSheik! I know you probably get tired of me saying this, but honestly, thank you very much for bothering to leave a review.
Thanks to all those who just read too! Hope you enjoyed it as well.
Right, I think I can say with certainty that the story will be speeding up – in the sense that I'll be able to write faster and post more frequently. Hopefully the next chapter will be out the end of this week.
And of course, as always, reviews, comments and criticism are very welcome.
hawk
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Checkmate – Chapter Four
Snow hung about in the sky, the wind howling and stirring up the white snowflakes into an icy whirlwind. The peak of the mountain was deserted, with only a small icy plateau reflecting the weak light. Slightly behind the plateau, there was a set of small spires made purely of ice and snow, one particularly high spire marking the highest point of the mount.
For a long, long, time, this lonely peak had been the site of… nothing much. Nothing seemed to happen on the lonesome peak, the white-capped mountain surveying all the lesser mountains about it with an aura of inapproachability and a certain sense of majesty. All around it, the mountain sloped off steeply, leaving the plateau somewhat inaccessible and secluded. Furthermore, the permanently bleak weather would drive away practically anyone.
A black paw fumbled slightly on the edge of the icy plateau, then another. Quickly, Lucario pulled himself to the top of the mountain with a jump from the ledge below, leaping in one fluid movement to land lightly on the plateau. With his knowledge of wall-clinging using Aura, as well as his agility and jumping abilities, it didn't pose too much of a problem for Lucario to scale the mount.
A cold wind rippled through the air, Lucario grateful for his blue coat of fur. Padding forward silently, he spied the tallest spire behind the plateau. Looking around him, he saw the magnificent, if icy, view of the smaller mountains about him. Breathing in deeply, Lucario felt the icy air fill his lungs, and then sighed softly, his warm breath creating a short-lived wispy cloud in the wind.
It wasn't exactly the ideal spot for his meditation. Ideally, he would have preferred a field or somewhere slightly less cold. Or the Smash Mansion, where he had to carefully conceal Sir Aaron's precious staff in his room – at least he would be close to the staff and would have saved him the journey. Lucario's paw went numb as he remembered how he carefully and meticulously sealed the staff away in his room, then turned and ran before he had changed his mind. Still, this peak had something to offer him which no other place did.
Some peace and quiet.
I'll defeat anyone who disturbs me, growled Lucario softly. Looking once again to the panoramic scenery to clear his mind, the Pokémon leaped to the highest spire, balancing himself on one hindpaw upon it. Surveying his surroundings once again, Lucario closed his eyes and slowly, slowly, allowed everything else to fall away from his mind.
---
The blue figure mused, his hand still fixed to his chin, half-bent, half-crouched in a pondering position. Most of the pieces were already in place, everything was settling into the order he had predetermined.
The Game and Watch Trophy lay some way away from the chessboard. Every once in a while, some of his green-clad minions would come up to it, wring out purple snowflakes, and use it to create more of themselves. By collecting a sufficient amount of Shadow Bugs, the Primids were well able to continue expanding their numbers. The Primids are a self-sustaining creation, he mused, and the two-dimensional Mr. Game and Watch was the perfect nursery.
The green-clad Primids were now hefting large metallic spheres onto their backs, as many as a small contingent of Primids per sphere. Tabuu had long tired of trying to reach into the Smash Mansion's universe from Subspace, as creating and sustaining those portals took a considerable amount of energy and skill. Instead, he had restricted them to only important and vital events, such as the capturing of Master Hand and this other time, to capture the invaluable Mr. Game and Watch.
But now, things were going to change. Those spheres, when detonated, would enable him to have access to the World of Trophies as and when he felt like it. Plus, he would not need to expand any energy at all to do it. This came at an opportune time, since Master Hand's spell restricted his movements to the bare minimal. It indeed is becoming quite the nuisance, Tabuu noted. Perhaps that Hand knows something I do not.
Still, even with his plan, he needed someone to detonate the Subspace Bombs. Primids were not nearly as intelligent, nor did they possess the capability to do so. And how would he be able to spread the bombs around? Yet, this part of his plan was vital, simply vital. And yet the answers were simply simple.
Who knew a robot had feelings? Tabuu smirked, then resumed staring at the chessboard, ready to make the first real strike.
First, we'll need to travel. In style.
---
Meta Knight rested a gloved hand on the wheel, turning it lazily around. In response, the Halberd shifted its flight, gliding a little to starboard. He noted the night sky around him was oddly calming, and although there were practically no stars in this world it could still be called beautiful in its own way.
Another day, another Brawl. And now that another day was over, Meta Knight had once again decided to retire to his own ship, as evidenced by the fact that it had a giant replica of his mask over the bow. Soaring high, the gigantic ship provided Meta Knight with ample room to relax, rest, and train up for the next day's Brawl. The puffball set a course for the Sea of Clouds, in preparation for the upcoming Brawl with the winged Pit.
But now, all thoughts of that brushed aside as Meta Knight allowed himself one of his moments, gazing almost dreamily at the night sky. If only every night was this peaceful, he thought. Then again, the life of a Smasher was wrought with difficulties yet rewards, and watching the night sky was no longer something he could easily do now, what with the constant demands of training, Brawls, practice spars, and Kirby.
At least that last one's the Midair Stadium's eatery's problem now, mused Meta Knight.
The Halberd was Meta Knight's pride and joy – after all, which other Smasher could boast the largest ship in proportion to body size? The Halberd was a veritable gargantuan in the air, fitted with the latest lasers and gun turrets amongst its edge to repel intruders, but inside, if one could look past its metallic interiors and dark corridors, its empty rooms and dank storage spaces… it was Meta Knight's. And the little puffball would have it no other way.
But now he was far away enough over open waters, far away from any familiar location. He again reset a course for the Sea of Clouds, watching the monitor from his captain's seat in the control room, one hand on the large wheel. Tomorrow he would Brawl, but tonight, tonight he would rest.
Thunk.
He turned around swiftly. What was that? "Hm." Perhaps just a bunch of debris striking the hull, or some loose boxes in one of the rooms falling over. Still, something tugged at his heart, something seemed to be amiss. One hand continually on the wheel, Meta Knight swiveled in his chair, eyes peering inquisitively out into the open corridor.
Thunk.
Suddenly, the control room whirred into life. Alarms blared and lights flickered. Something metallic was detected, usually the indicator of a hostile intent on taking over the Halberd or to exact some kind of payment from Meta Knight himself. Regardless, Meta Knight glanced at the radar, and was surprised to find that the metallic intruder was coming from… above?
Angling the Halberd's lasers and guns into the air, he was prepared to let loose a barrage of attacks on the unknown entity, but was halted by a resounding CRASH and the horrible sound of the splintering of wood. Whisking his cloak about him and gripping his short sword Galaxia tightly, he swept out of the control room. Leaping off the ledge, his wings unfolded behind his back, allowing him to glide while his eyes quickly grew accustomed to the dark.
What he saw surprised him.
Out of nowhere, a large crowd of… unknowns were struggling to their feet. Clad in green, with shockingly dead faces and some wielding the oddest weapons, they didn't seem to be any threat if it wasn't for their numbers. The Halberd was huge, and its upper deck stretched for quite a bit. However, these unknown small fry had quickly covered the entire deck as if they were fast-multiplying algae on a good day.
One Primid aimed a scope at Meta Knight, and foolishly fired off a blast too early. The shot soared past Meta Knight in a lazy arc, nowhere near a hit, but in effect Meta Knight took this as a concrete cue that they weren't exactly friendly.
"Come!" he challenged them, swiping Galaxia in a broad blow as he landed. Immediately, those hit were thrown backwards by the momentum of his swing, landing onto others and dissolving into purple messes. He was momentarily surprised, but nevertheless continued with his swing, clearing a circle around him simply by spinning Galaxia around.
The Primids yelped and fled.
---
Five minutes later, Meta Knight wiped his mask's eye-hole with the back of his gloved hand. They weren't much when it came to resistance or fighting, but as for numbers, the Primids came out tops. As much as Meta Knight hacked away at them, more seemed to appear out of thin air – and they didn't seem to be focused on fighting him, some had even fallen off the rim of the Halberd by their own accord.
Idiots. murmured Meta Knight. Still, the worse they fought, the better he'd win. Raising Galaxia high, what little light in the night glistened off of it, the surrounding Primids gawking and gulping and taking a step back. As Meta Knight prepared to once again dive into their midst, his sword strike was interrupted by a loud whoooop and another silhouette of a figure in the sky.
"Meta Knight!" Meta Knight instantly recognized the infuriated cry. That someone was particularly angry, the irritation practically seeping out of the tone employed. Meta Knight looked up in surprise, that instant costing him his attack on the Primids and the figure fell down upon him. Leaping backwards an instant before impact, Meta Knight raised Galaxia to block at the instant the rather round newcomer struck at the puffball with an oversized hammer.
"Dedede?"
"King Dedede," snorted the self-appointed penguin monarch, swiping at the knight with his hammer again. The penguin moved surprisingly fast, launching a series of swift counterattacks, forcing Meta Knight backwards a couple of steps. Meta Knight sidestepped him, remembering the king as a formidable opponent in Brawls, and his skill hadn't diminished since.
Gripping Galaxia tightly, he slashed it towards the king, scoring a couple of hits on Dedede's considerable torso. There was the slight pinging sound reminding him that the Smart Shields were still active, but that thought was brushed aside as Dedede swung his hammer around, rocketing Meta Knight into the sky.
The warrior spread out his wings, gliding down towards Dedede, ready to welcome him with a furious barrage of swipes. To his credit, Dedede did well to defend himself against them, but in the end Meta Knight's still came out the victor. Grunting, a swift swipe from his short sword confounded the king and caused him to stumble back. The puffball took this chance and leapt physically onto the penguin, grabbing the protesting Dedede by his robes.
"Stop that." "Then stop telling your minions to drop off your ship and swarm all over my place!" Dedede yelled, punching the surprised Meta Knight off and grabbing the handle of his hammer again.
Meta Knight held up a gloved hand to stop the penguin, although said penguin ignored him, plowing his hammer into the space where he was a second ago. In a matter of seconds, they had resorted to close combat with a hammer and a sword. At the corner of his peripheral vision, he saw a bright flash of light illuminate the hull, followed a split-second later by a rushing wind and a loud boom.
"My minions? My minions? Look, if they were my minions would they be destroying my ship?" Meta Knight grew visibly annoyed, his dangerously soft voice causing Dedede to grow substantially paler, his hammer frozen in mid-strike. "Wait, those aren't –"
King Dedede was rudely interrupted as a Primid stumbled backwards and collided with the dueling Smashers; and for a second both of them paused their brawl to stare at the confused Primid. Meta Knight suddenly realized the gravity of the situation – so deeply was he engrossed in the duel with Dedede, he had completely forgotten the situation of the massive swarm of Primids, and what other assistance they could be summoning next. Dedede seemed to realize this too, his beak dropping open and simply fixing his eyes on the Primid.
They turned to look at unison, and were just in time to see – and feel – the giant figure of Master Hand strike them heavily – and then their worlds went black.