Author's Note: Okay, before I get started, I'll briefly describe the OC's: Most of them are 17 years old; Brooke and Candace are 18, and Kayla is 19. So some of you have brought up the point of having nine OCs, and you may think that's a bit much. However, only a few of them play a major role in the story, and all of them will be incorporated into the plot way later.
Chapter 7: Above the Clouds, Beneath the Surface
When Rayquaza flew high enough, we cut through the blanket of clouds that covered about half of the sky. It sure was a sight to behold, since the sky was clear and bright, and the clouds radiated a sense of comfort with their pink hues. That sight didn't last long, however, as we saw something else in the clouds: purple sheets of Shadow Bugs were covering some clouds ahead of us in the distance, and they were forming into Primids. They began to surround something, but we couldn't tell exactly what that something was, since we were too far away.
"Those Primids don't look too friendly," Wolf commented.
"I know," I replied. "Let's try to sneak up on them and get a closer look at what's going on." I gave a gesture to Snake, who issued the command to Rayquaza. It flew slowly and stealth-like towards the Primids. Apparently they had no idea we were there. We got close enough to see everything better, but we maintained our distance in order to not raise any awareness of our presence.
Suddenly we all saw a bright light that took the form of an extremely quick slash. A bunch of Primids were just sliced in half by God knows what. I squinted my eyes to get a better look at who or what was responsible for the slash, and I noticed that it was…Pit! He was with Kayla, but she didn't have a weapon, so he had to do all of the fighting; with the exception of a few kicks and chops that she learned back in her karate days.
"Hey, it's Kayla!" Candace exclaimed. Apparently she was the last one to notice this, since everyone else had pointed out the angel with the twin swords. "Should we go and help her?"
"Not yet," Snake answered. "Let's see how the two of them fare by themselves. If they end up in big trouble, then we'll intervene." Candace just gave Snake an annoyed face when he wasn't looking, but there wasn't anything she could do to change his mind. After all, he was the one who controlled Rayquaza. Since the rest of us agreed with him, we kept our distance from the battle.
So far, Pit and Kayla were doing just fine, fending off most of the Primids. They were either getting cut up and pierced by arrows and swords, or they were getting beatings from kicks and chops. However, the army of Primids was not shrinking. Reinforcements kept appearing and taking the places of the fallen troops. Now Kayla and Pit were completely surrounded, and it seemed like they were overwhelmed. They tried to fight them off, but the Primids kept closing in on them.
"Okay, now we intervene!" Wolf cried. Snake nodded and issued another command to Rayquaza. It flew closer this time and it fired a Dragon Pulse attack at the Primids. The harsh blow of the attack eradicated more than half of the Primids, and those that remained turned their attention towards us. Pit and Kayla also became aware of our presence.
"Hey Kayla!" I cried and waved to her. "It looks like you could use a hand!" Kayla just beamed when she saw Candace and me. Rayquaza flew even closer to allow Snake and Wolf to get off and kill the remaining Primids. When everything was calm, we all gathered together with a unanimous sigh of relief. Candace then started, "It's a good thing we found you guys up here."
"It sure is, but how did you know I was up here?" Kayla inquired.
"She saw you with her tattoo-thingy," Candace replied, pointing at me. Kayla apparently had no idea what she was talking about, so Candace added, "It supposedly lets her see visions of us. I can do it, too!" I lifted my hair and showed Kayla the tattoo on my neck, and then I said, "You should have it as well, right?"
"Yeah, right here," she responded. "Is that was this thing is for?" She lifted her pant-leg and revealed the same red Smash Bros. tattoo that was branded above her right ankle. Candace nodded and waved to Pit with a 'hi!' We greeted each other and made our introductions, and then Kayla spoke up.
"Wait a minute; has anyone seen Marth?" she asked, looking confused. Most of us shook our heads, except me, and I answered, "I didn't see him in person, but one of my visions showed me that you were sent flying and that he was turned into a trophy."
"He WHAT?!" she yelled, but Candace tried to keep her calm.
"Yeah, Marth was defeated and turned into a trophy, so I think the Subspace Army captured him. Also, the two of you got separated from Jess and Ike, am I right?" Kayla nodded and looked ready to break down in tears, but Candace yet again tried to console her.
"Don't worry, Kayla," she started. "We're going to find Jess and Ike, and then we'll rescue Marth. Right guys?" She turned to look at us, and we all nodded.
"She's right," I confirmed. "Listen, I was with Link earlier, and the Subspace Army captured him as well. As upset as I may be by this, I'm also confident that I can save him, especially with the help of all of you guys." Kayla seemed to notice that I had possession of Link's Master Sword and Hylian Shield, and her face expressed motivation with a slight bit of envy, perhaps because of the fact that I had a weapon and she didn't.
"Okay, now that we found more friends, what is our next plan of attack?" Wolf interjected. At that moment a roar of engines could be heard in the distance. Ahead of us the Battleship Halberd appeared above the clouds, flying away from us. Everyone's attention turned towards the flying machine, and Kayla spoke up again.
"That must be the Halberd. Do you think Link and Marth are inside?"
"I'm pretty sure, for the most part," I answered as I glared at the Halberd. "Rayquaza should be able to get us close enough to infiltrate the Halberd, and we'll go from there." Without a word everyone climbed on the giant Pokémon, except for Kayla and Pit, who seemed to be hesitant.
"Hop on, Kayla!" Candace cried. "Pit can fly alongside us. He does have wings, after all." Kayla sighed and joined us. Pit and Rayquaza took off, speeding towards the Halberd. When we got close, its defense systems activated and began to attack us. However, we were too fast for the laser fire, and we all bypassed the defenses. Pit landed gracefully on the bridge of the Halberd while the rest of us landed rather roughly. Rayquaza continued to dodge the defenses, until the claw extended itself and grazed it on the side, sending the Pokémon tumbling.
"Hurry, Snake!" I cried. "Call back Rayquaza before it really gets hurt! Point the Pokéball at it and say 'Rayquaza, return!'" Snake did so, and the dragon Pokémon disappeared in a red light back into its Pokéball, now safe from further harm. I sighed with relief and turned to face everyone else.
"Alright then, we're goin' in," Wolf announced. We nodded and proceeded to follow him into the interior of the Halberd, hoping that we wouldn't raise too much alarm.
We managed to get inside of the Halberd without too much trouble, with the exception of Candace tripping and falling on her face. We all rushed to keep her quiet while we held back the urge to panic, while Kayla was trying not to laugh. As we crept along the dark hallways as quietly as possible, we encountered a fork in the hallway. Two new hallways led in opposite directions, and neither seemed to be inviting nor foreboding. Since we had no idea where either hall would lead us, I quickly came up with a plan.
"Okay, I have an idea. We'll be able to cover more ground if we split up. Kayla, you take Wolf and Pit down that hallway. Candace, you and Snake come with me down this hallway. Remember, we're looking for either enemy bosses like Bowser or captured allies. If anyone finds Link, let me know, because only I can revive him; long story. Oh, and if any enemies find you, then…just beat the shit out of them. Got it?"
"Got it!" Everyone answered. Kayla, Wolf, and Pit ran off into the west wing hallway, while Snake, Candace, and I ran off into the east wing hallway. As we went along, I saw a Beam Sword resting on a shelf along the wall. I stopped to grab it and pocketed it. I'm going to need this for later, I thought.
The three of us continued to trek along, killing enemies along the way, until we made our way to another hallway that led to a giant room. This room didn't seem very Halberd-like; it must have been a new addition to the airship. It was bright, and it featured metallic walls and an upper balcony. Two other doors stood there – one at the balcony, and one below it. I rushed ahead of the others into the room, when suddenly a set of bars came down at the entrance behind me and latched into place. I got cut off from Candace and Snake!
"What's going on?!" Candace yelped. "We're stuck, and Brooke is trapped on the other side!" Way to answer your own question, Candace, I told myself as I rolled my eyes. Suddenly I heard a maniacal laugh, and I looked around in panic, searching for the source of the voice. I realized that the voice was coming from the P.A. system within the Halberd. The voice began to speak.
"I'm glad to see that you arrived, although I'm rather surprised that you made it this far."
"Who are you?" I yelled. "Show yourself!"
"Haha, that won't be necessary at the moment. I'll reveal myself in due time. However, you should already know who I am, Brooke." From behind me, I could hear small explosions at the entrance. Apparently Snake was trying to blast the bars away and open up the entrance.
"Try all you want, Snake," the voice said. "But those bars are resistant to everything, including explosives." Clearly those bars were designed to keep me separated from my friends, and whoever this speaker was only wanted me. I glared ahead of me at nothing as the voice continued.
"I see that you now wield the Master Sword and Hylian Shield. I'd like those back now." I paled at that last sentence, and my eyes grew wide.
"Hold up! What do you mean you want them back? They don't belong to you!"
"On the contrary, they do. I did let you borrow my sword, and you took my shield, remember?" At first I didn't recognize the owner of this voice, but for some reason it hit me. I gasped and then cried, "Link, is that really you?"
"Ah, now you're catching on. Your memory serves you well." I heard Candace shout, "Whoa! I didn't know that Link could talk!" Snake immediately tried to shut her up so that he could keep listening in on what this person was saying via the P.A.
A great mix of emotions coursed through me. I didn't know if I was supposed to feel relief, shock, excitement, confusion, anger, or doubt. Something about this situation wasn't right, but I went on, questioning this voice that claimed to be Link.
"But that doesn't make any sense! The Subspace Army captured you—I mean, Link! How-?"
"How do you know that I was actually captured? I was released from my trophy form, and I remained here. The capture itself was merely a ploy to lead you here, and I do mean you, Brooke. Your friends weren't exactly supposed to be involved, but that doesn't matter anymore."
"A ploy? Why would you do that?"
"You don't get it, do you? The second I laid my eyes upon you, I knew that you would be of great use for my plans. So I fought off the Primids, I healed your wounds, and I helped you chase the Halberd. When we encountered Bowser, I knew that everything was going according to plan. Bowser would attack and capture me, and you would be driven to save me. And now you're here on this fine airship, where we interact once again." I didn't want to believe anything that he was saying, but I didn't have much evidence of the contrary. I started.
"If that's the case, then that means…"
"Just face it, Brooke! I never cared about you. I only pretended to show you kindness so that you would fall for my devious plan. I could have let you die by the hands of the Subspace Army, but I wanted the pleasure of destroying you myself. And to think, a foolish young woman such as you befriended me. I was beginning to think that you even developed greater feelings for me…how sad." He laughed maniacally again when Candace rudely interrupted.
"You sick, twisted, evil SON OF A BITCH! I knew there was something f***** up about you, but I can't believe you would do something as horrible as this to one of my friends!" Snake immediately interjected and tried to shut her up again.
"Hang on a minute," he whispered to her. "This is just a game. That's not really Link who is speaking to her. Someone else must be pretending to be him in order to mentally break her. That way her defense will be diminished, and she will be destroyed."
"You really think so?" Candace asked. Snake nodded and she continued with a whisper, "Well, I hope that she realizes that in time. It looks like he's already beginning to get to her."
Everything that Link had just said to me echoed painfully in my ears. I could do nothing but stand there and stare. I dropped to my knees and held my head with both hands. My body began to violently shake, and my eyes flooded with tears. Visions of Link flashed in my mind, and negative emotions coursed through me again as I tried to make sense of everything that was just explained.
This can't be right, I thought. How could he do something like this to me? Why would he ever do that? I put my entire trust and confidence in him, and he betrayed me! I can't believe how stupid I am! Wait…the real Link would never do something like this, especially to me. He's the Hero of Time, and he wields the 'blade of evil's bane.' Snake's right. This isn't really Link. It's just someone else impersonating him to mess with my mind. I just have to remember that and stand up to this jerk.
A new emotion rushed through my veins: rage! I slowly stood up while my body still violently shook, and I wiped away the tears that I had shed. I looked up at the person that wasn't actually standing there, and I gave him a death glare.
"I…will not…" I began. "…let you…break me! You're not really Link, so stop trying to be him and reveal yourself to me…NOW!"
"You're still in denial, eh?" he sighed. "Tsk tsk. Fine, I guess I will have to finally show myself to you and kill you!" The double doors below the balcony suddenly opened up. I peered inside, and I saw a tall, dark figure standing there. He stepped out of the shadows and brandished his weapon, and when I got a better look at him, my eyes grew wide yet again.
"Brooke, what is it?" Candace yelled to me.
"Oh my God…it is Link!"
