FILE 07 - "Gamecube Division"
Master, a report.
According to my data, the Gamecube Division was recently attacked by a large, hurdling ball of iron and metal. Statistics show that injuries were caused and buildings had been damaged, but the full results of the damage sustained have not yet been calculated. It is suggested that at the earliest convenience, you are to investigate the matter, as there is a 97% probability that the Alloys are behind this devastating event.
It had been all over the news less than five minutes after the occurrence of a cannonball striking down about an entire block, and of course, the group had heard it. Samus quickly decided that they were going to head over to the Gamecube Division as soon as they had seen the broadcast displaying on a television set at a stand in Advance.
Fi quickly reported afterward that there was a high chance that the Alloys were behind it. As Captain Falcon had then put it,
"Let's get those mother-effers."
... And so they quickly did.
"Oh, wow! Look at all of this!" exclaimed Ness upon seeing the toppled over buildings and the crushed streets. It was a warzone, with Alloys racing to and fro attacking anyone in their path. "This is horrible!"
Lucas quickly raced to Ness' side, clutching his arm. "N-Ness..."
"Alright," Samus began, deciding that if they were going to act, it was going to be now, "Captain Falcon, you stay with Ness. Link, you stay with the other Link. Lucas, you're with me."
Lucas very quickly let go of Ness and attached himself to her hip.
"If you run into any trouble, there's no shame in running. Our meeting place shall be here, at this intersection," Samus explained. Someone screamed in the background and an explosion went off. Samus ignored it. "Alright, let's split up and try and solve this quickly."
"Right!" exclaimed everyone, before they split off from each other.
Samus and Lucas headed off to one of the outward streets, where some of the commotion had been coming from. An Alloy was spotted rather quickly, beating up on a poor little Torchic while a Treeko attempted to protect it. Samus quickly raced up and attacked it with her fist, and it very swiftly left the street racing away, somewhat sluggishly.
Lucas rushed to the side of the Torchic, using PSI to heal it. Once the Pokemon were okay, they ran off.
"... Wh... What do we d-d-do now?" Lucas asked, looking up at Samus. "Do we... Do we go out and find m-more of th-those things?"
"We have no choice," she told him, turning to him with a small smile. "But don't worry. I'm here to watch you."
Lucas gave her an odd expression. For a moment, Samus wondered what the purpose behind his questionable look was, but then decided that he was figuring out what Duster had asked of her. The two of them continued to step through the streets, and Samus quickly grew tired of the lone Alloys that seemed to be terrorizing the locals.
Eventually they stumbled upon the ruins of the outskirts of the Gamecube division, seeing the trashed farm that the Alloys had layed waste to. Samus lowered her head, seeing the corpses of the cows and sheep, and even a few ducks and chickens. The crops had been burned and the cabin next to them had been completely destroyed. Lucas latched himself to her arm, whimpering slightly out of sadness. They picked through the ruins to at least find survivors, but all they found was the body of an old man in the second cottage that had fallen down, along with a worn teddybear.
They continued on, defeating Alloys as they went, and eventually they found a group of farmers defending against a large mass of Alloys with pitchforks, sickles, hoes and axes. Samus quickly rushed up, attacking about five with a paralyser whip. Lucas focused his energy and launched a PK Love at the group as well.
"'Mam!" claimed one of the farmers. His response was a grunt. "We thank you kindly for your help!"
"They took Takakura from us!" claimed a young brunette female. In her arms was a little boy that appeared much like her in appearance. "They took him!" Next to her was a young man that must have been her husband, his brown hair ruffled from the battle.
"Just focus on the task at hand!" exclaimed a big woman with wild hair. "We have to defend the crops!"
The farmers charged, all bearing makeshift weaponry. Samus exclaimed out in fear for a moment, before she had to swiftly turn and attack an incoming attack from an Alloy. Lucas exclaimed "PK Fire!" for a while before he suddenly switched tactics and demanded a "PK Thunder!". Samus kicked an Alloy before turning on another, striking him to the ground. When another Alloy came up behind her, she grabbed its arm and threw it over her, slamming it right into the ground.
The battle raged on, before finally, one of the farmers killed the last one with an attack from his hoe. They gathered together, the woman with her child crying slightly.
"What are they?" asked the big woman with the wild hair. "I've never seen creatures like them, before."
"They're called Alloys," Samus explained as Lucas walked up to stand beside her. "They're creatures of unknown origin, but they're attacking Central Planet, much like the Wireframes and Polygons before them."
"Takakura..." sniffed the young mother.
"Well, I assume that there's more of 'em," continued the big woman, turning to her family. "C'mon, all of you. I suppose we got to collect the rest of the neighbourhood that's left and get a move on out of here. Gamecube is no longer safe."
"And Takakura?" asked the black haired man. "What should we do with him, Vesta?"
"Gather him up, too, Marlin," decided Vesta, before she turned to face Samus. "Thank you again. Not many folk like to help others like you did. You're raising your son, well."
And then without even giving Samus a chance to explain that Lucas wasn't her son, Vesta and her family wandered off.
Lucas suddenly cried out, chasing after the young mother, who turned in surprise. "Um, I found this," he said, showing her the teddybear they had found in the ruins of the cottages. "Is it your kid's?"
"Teddy! TEDDY!" exclaimed the child, and the mother gratefully took it.
"Thank you," she told him, before she turned back to her family, following them.
Lucas turned with a smile back toward Samus, and the two began the search again for the Alloys.
Their search took them to another area completely, one that was lined with townhouses. A familiar blue fox raced past them chased by the Alloys. Samus recognized her immediately.
"Krystal!" she called out, before she suddenly stopped herself at the awful sight of one of the Alloys stabbing her right in the back with a long blade. Samus reacted quickly, racing up and kicking down the creature and then stomping its face to shattered pieces.
Lucas rushed over to the fox's side, attempting a PSI Life Up, before he stopped. Samus turned to look at him in confusion, but his face explained everything before his voice was able to work.
"... She's gone."
Destroyed buildings made up parts of the Gamecube Division now. The devastation could be seen for miles, from high buildings in the Wii Division, from the slums out by the Advance and SNES Divisions.
In fact, some people could see it perfectly from their front porches. They could see the smoke rising where businesses once stood, and one building was even on fire. People were close enough could hear the sirens going from emergency vehicles.
Samus was right in the midde of the chaos as she led Lucas away and back to the park that they had split from the others at. Slowly, the other four members appeared and they recounted everything.
Captain Falcon had found a group of storekeepers who were trying to save their goods from the Alloys. One had died.
Link had found a group of people that he knew and did his best to protect them. Luckily for him, there were no casualties that he knew of.
Samus recounted what had happened with them and the farmers, telling them about the old man that had died and then about Krystal. Captain Falcon and Ness both lowered their heads, instantly thinking of poor Fox and how he wouldn't know until they'd be able to tell him.
For a moment the group was quiet as they processed what had just happened. Gamecube was attacked. There were deaths involved, and one of them was the girlfriend of their dear friend Fox. Samus had trouble processing it herself, and she had been there to witness it. She had avenged it. Tightly, she clenched a fist in anger at what had been going on these past few days. She just wanted it all to stop before more innocent people were killed by these creatures.
What if the next one was one of them? What if it was Lucas? Duster would never forgive her.
What if it were Duster? What would happen to Kumatora and Lucas then?
What if it was Zelda? Or Mario?
... What if it were her?
Suddenly, Little Link's sword flashed, and he grasped the hilt, summoning the strange being Fi to the field. The group looked at her, as she regarded the situation for a moment, before finally speaking.
"Master, a report," she began. "Basing off the current data that I have collected based on your different experiences in this attempt to stop the Alloys' attacks, I have made a conclusion. The possible location of the launched attack, according to my calculations, is at the top of that building." She turned to face the distant building that appeared very suspcious, to say the least. "I have calculated the possibility of another attack occurring. Reccommended action is immediate attempt to shut down the next launch."
Once she had disappeared into the sword, Little Link glanced up at Samus. With his still somewhat raw voice, he asked, "Well?"
Samus was quiet for a moment as she processed the words of the sword's AI. "... Let's do it."
She felt a hand tighten around her own and she looked down to see a surprisingly brave looking Lucas, who gave a determined nod. "Y-Y-Yeah," voiced Lucas. "L-Let's do it. I m-m-mean, they're h-hurting people, a-a-and that's not r-r-right..."
Together, the group headed off to the building.
"What's our plan of attack?" asked Ness suddenly. "We need one!"
"I have a plan," stated Captain Falcon. "Attack."
An Alloy was stuck with the very uncool job of mopping the floors. It grumbled and complained in its own language before it finally turned to look at the surprising scene before it.
It's friend had a sword jammed through its chest, a pretty silvery sword with a wonderful hilt, and attached to it was the hadn to a Hylian. The Hylian was flanked by a man in a helmet and a woman with blonde hair, cracking her knuckles.
"Hi!" chirped a young boy standing next to them, accompanied by two other boys. "We're here to raid you."
The Alloy hesitated as the Hylian released its dead friend from his sword. Captain Falcon readied a fist. Samus stepped into a fighting position. Then, like wildfire set loose, the three adults launched at the Alloy, each of them attacking it to the point that it fell to the ground, the mop falling onto the tile with a thud. Samus immediately took control, turning to the others.
"We have to get to the roof, that's where Fi said it was, right?"
"She said it was launched from the top of the building," Captain Falcon corrected. "She never said 'roof', but it's the best place to check."
"Right, so here's how this is going to work. We're going in together, not split up like we had done earlier," Samus explained, trying to summon the elevator. "The plan of attack is shoot first and ask questions later, and no friendly fire. Boys -" At this, she turned to the three young children. "- you stick together and don't get involved if the fight gets too dirty, okay?"
"We can fight!" claimed Little Link with his scratchy voice.
"And I know you can," Samus assured him, "But I made a promise and I intend to keep it."
She ignored the looks she got from everyone else as the elevator finally arrived and they all boarded it. The highest floor number they could reach was a few floors below the rooftop, but they went with it anyway and hit the button.
The elevator ride was slow, and painful. The cheery elevator music wasn't very entertaining and was clearly getting on Link's nerves. Lucas shuffled and shifted frequently, and Little Link massaged his throat. Captain Falcon crossed his arms before finally speaking.
"So, what are we going to do when we get there?" he asked.
Samus frowned and glared at the floor. "We find a way to shut it down. My guess is its some kind of cannon."
"That makes sense," Ness spoke up. "But how would we be able to shut it down?"
"W-We'd have to know how it w-w-works first," stuttered Lucas. "And we d-don't know yet..."
Samus nodded in agreement. "That's true. That's why I'll focus on the cannon or whatever it is, the rest of you, I want you to watch my back."
Captain Falcon gave a smirk before he slapped Link on the back. "You can trust us! We'll take care of the Alloys, and you destroy their toy! I like this plan!"
The moment the elevator opened wide before them, the group rushed out, trampling over a number of Alloys before they reached the stairs leading up to the roof. Samus busted the door open with a well aimed kick, and the group then crashed through the door. Turning slowly towards them from the cannon was someone they had never met before.
If Samus had to hazard a guess, based on the woman's overall flair, she had to be from the DS Division. She was taller, taller than all of them, with sickly green skin and a long, flowing cloak. A long staff with an orb at the top was placed in her hands and she slowly gave a sneer at the group before her.
"To be honest," she started cooly, "I was not expecting guests. I had been assured that my task would go uninterrupted and very smoothly. Seeing as I was lied to, it is obvious that the leader of the Alloys misjudged you horribly. I will be sure to take this to him."
"Who are you and who are you working for?" Samus immediately asked. "We were expecting only Alloys to be here!"
"My dear, I am not one that you would want to fight with," the woman said in a confidant tone. "I once ruled over thousands, I am the most feared in my Division."
"And where's that?"
"Why, the DS Division, of course, although, formerly, I had been in Advance."
"And who are you? You never answered any of my earlier questions."
The woman gave a cold hearted laugh that caused Samus to quiver. She noticed Link tighten his hold on his Master Sword and prepared herself to shoot her gun.
"Why, dear, I am Maleficent! As for who I work for, I'm sure that will all come to appear in time," laughed the sorceress. "I am rising to the place that I am meant to be, and he is going to help me reach that. And, once he's done, I will strip him of his powers and take his place as my own."
She turned toward her cannon and began to fiddle with a few of the instruments. "I do believe that you are in my way, so if you will kindly turn around and walk away, we can both act like this encounter had never occurred."
"I don't think so," Samus scoffed. "If you even think of launching that, you are sadly mistaken."
Maleficent turned to face them, raising her arms high above her. "I can take my leave now as soon as I wish! It is set on automatic launch!" A portal began to appear and she gave a sneer. "Good luck, Smash Brothers, for the time when we meet to battle, it will be your last!"
She disappeared in a smoke of purple into the portal, which quickly disappeared. From her departure, a large mass of Alloys began to appear on the roof. The Brothers readied themselves for a fight, Samus agitated. It hadn't gone the way that she had wanted at all, and she was unimpressed with the actions of someone from a subdivision of her own. She had always viewed the Wii and DS Divisions as good - filled with people with good intentions and no drama, except for those annoying animals that liked to chatter outside her window. To know that someone from DS was helping whoever was controlling the Alloys... It sickened her.
Captain Falcon placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a tight squeeze. She smiled a bit, appreciating the gesture. "Let's get a move on, you have to shut that down and we have to watch your back."
"Make a mad dash for it," Ness offered. "I'll raise our defense and we can rush in with no worries."
[Hurry,] signed Link quickly.
After he had just finished signing, Samus rushed forward, through the crowd of Alloys, dodging arrows coming fro the Links and PK Fires and PK Thunders. Finally, she reached the control panel for the cannon and gazed at it with a confused expression for just a moment, before she started punching in demands for it to follow.
A safety measure had been put in to stop anyone from turning it off. A security number and clearance was needed to do so, and Samus didn't know any of the security numbers needed. She could, however, control the location that the attack would be going. It was a longshot, but, she figured, it was better than having it attack innocent's houses.
She punched in the coordinates just as Captain Falcon had saved her the problem of getting a concussion. He quickly turned to her and demanded, "Are you almost done?! It's getting a little crowded up here!"
"I just finished," she announced. "I couldn't turn it off, all I could do was chance the location that it was launching to."
"And where's that?"
"... Here."
Captain Falcon paused long enough for Samus to worry that he was going to get attacked from behind. "You what? We're still here, Samus!"
"Then let's get ditching this place before it launches."
Captain Falcon nodded, before turning to face the others. "Smash Brothers! Clear the place! We're getting out of here!"
Link quickly grabbed the neckline of Little Link's tunic, yanking him toward him and picking him up like he was a dog. As soon as he had a good hold on the little boy, Link quickly ran for the door. Captain Falcon and Samus grabbed Ness and Lucas and ran as well.
Annoyingly, in the span of the time they had spent up on the roof, the elevator had been declared "Out of Order". The group stared at it for five seconds before they bee-lined for the stairs.
"Of course they decide right when we decide to crush this building to smithereens that it's out of order!" barked Captain Falcon as they rushed down the steps. "This is annoying! I don't think we have enough time for this!"
Link appeared ready to sign something, but quickly decided that running was more important. The group rushed down a few more flights, Little Link skipping every other one to catch up as he was the smallest.
"There are a lot of floors in this place," Ness pointed out, sounding a bit out of breath. "Captain Falcon has a point!"
Samus stopped and quickly peered out the window, judging the distance. After deeming it to high, she quickly chased after the others, who hadn't noticed her stopping. The building suddenly shook violently, and Alloys in the hallways panicked and ran for their lives. Samus immediately took control, taking hold of Lucas just a few feet in front of her.
"Everyone!" she called out, racing toward the nearest window as Lucas screamed in horror. "JUMP OUT! JUMP OUT NOW!"
She barreled through the window, crashing through the glass and shielding Lucas as best as she could. From what she could see as the window became smaller and smaller, Captain Falcon had grabbed hold of Ness and was doing the same thing. She didn't see the Links leave.
Lucas whimpered in her hold as she continued to fly through the air, but suddenly, something cushioned her and Captain Falcon's landing. She sat up and noticed, with surprise, the farmers from earlier had, amazingly, piled hay right below the window.
"How..." she started, until one of the farmers held up a hand, before pointing to a woman standing behind them.
"It was her," said the farmer.
Samus looked behind the group, and looked straight into the blue eyes of Princess Zelda.
Link and Little Link, meanwhile, knew they weren't going to make it out in time. Midna quickly shifted Link into wolf form and teleported them out without thinking, probably keeping her own safety in mind before the safety of the young Hero of Winds. Fi alerted him and he grabbed hold of the hilt absentmindedly, still attempting to storm through the stairs.
"Chances of escape have dropped significantly," Fi alerted him, without revealing herself. "The Goddess of Hyrule have put these statistics in mind and have prepared a suitable escape. Prepare to warped to a safer location immediately."
"Wait, what?" Little Link blurted out, before he suddenly vanished, right before a piece of ceiling landed right where he had been standing only moments before.
FILE 07.5 - "Always"
You know that you've always been my little sweetheart, right? Nothing is ever going to change that.
I'll always love you, and you know that, no matter what.
That's why I'm doing what I can to protect you, because I love you.
Stay strong for me, please. Stay strong just a little longer. It's going to get harder.
But I'm always here. Always.