Mt. Suðr-Æt-Egg, Mærrsjǫt, Komaeldr, Fyrigmark
The twins raced to meet their older brother. They hadn't seen him since Christmas and didn't expect him back so soon. As they rounded the corner, they caught sight of the black-haired male, flipping irritably through a mountain of letters. Eric was grumbling under his breath as he threw letters to the ground.
"These people need to stop bugging us," he growled. "And you two need to check the mail when you get home," he griped, directing the second half of his statement to his sisters, absentmindedly running his hand through his hair as he spoke. The girls ignored his exasperation, choosing instead to tackle him in a hug. "Welcome home brother!"
Eric laughed. "I can't stay mad at my cute little sisters. Long time, no see! And happy late birthday. This was the soonest I could come home."
"We're just glad that you came home," Thalia said with a grin.
"We've missed you!" Clio exclaimed. "How was the flight?"
"Boring, long, and tiring," Eric yawned. "I'm happy to be home." He stretched languidly, before his eyes caught the sight of an impressively tall man with bright red hair, streaked with green, parted to the side and shocking crimson eyes. Eric silently noticed that he was wearing one of his baggier shirts as the man was even more muscular than he was. "Okay. I'm gonna be the one to ask here: who the hell is that?"
"'Sup Eric?" Bowser asked with a lopsided grin. The man leisurely walked over to the siblings, much to Eric's confusion. Eric moved into a more defensive stance, his hand going immediately to the place on his hip where he usually kept his pistol. You know, army reflexes and all that.
The girls could barely hold back a giant smile at Eric's obvious discomfort. "You're not gonna believe us Eric," Clio began.
"But this is Bowser," Thalia finished. Eric blinked at them.
"You're right, I'm not going to believe you. Bowser's a giant fucking turtle."
"Koopa," Bowser corrected easily. "Took me a couple years to break Link's habit of calling me that."
Eric gave him an assessing look. "You're a decent actor, I'll give you that, but your costume needs a bit of work."
Bowser shrugged. "Wasn't my choice. Blame your sisters for my change in species."
Eric suddenly turned to the girls. "If you guys try to tell me that he is some old guy that you're dating, so help me-."
"Dude, sorry, I'm not interested in little girls," Bowser practically snorted dismissively, before he turned to the twins. "No offense, but I've kind of known you since you were seven."
"No, no, that's okay," Clio said. "We get it."
"You like Peach anyway," Thalia said easily, as if she were talking about the weather. Bowser blinked at them with a look of vague horror. He didn't even try to deny it though.
"Don't talk about that, please."
"Our lips are sealed," the two girls gestured as if they were locking their mouths and throwing away the key. Now Eric looked really puzzled.
"You're seriously trying to tell me that this is Bowser?"
"He's not the only one that we brought from the Nintendo World," Thalia said with an evil smile.
"We also have Pit, Link, Ike, Marth, Isaac, Peach, Lucario, Pikachu, Roy, and Samus."
Eric's jaw dropped. "How?"
"Well, it started when we were playing in the Subspace," Thalia began. The girls recounted their tale, Bowser sometimes adding his input, answering Eric's questions along the way about the fact that the video game characters were always able to hear the players, the Waiting Room, and anything else that came to mind.
Eric shook his head. "That's amazing. I need to leave you guys to your own devices more often if this is what'll happen. Jesus Christ. I need a second." He seemed to gather his wits and suddenly his big blue eyes widened three times their size. "It's Bowser!" The oldest Solberg then hugged the surprised King affectionately. "It's so great to meet you! You're my idol! My role-model!"
Bowser cackled and returned the hug. "I've always liked you, Eric. You've always known who the real hero is."
Eric nodded. "I've always hated Mario."
"Me too, me too."
The girls rolled their eyes and shared an amused look. It seemed that Bowser liked anyone who thinks that he's awesome or hates Mario. Typical villain. But they loved him for it. When the two boys broke apart from the hug, Eric looked to his younger sisters excitedly.
"Where are the others?"
"In the shower," they answered. "Gerard already assigned them rooms and stuff."
"Should I just wait here?" Eric asked. "For them to get here? Or should I go look for them? 'Cause I want to meet them!"
"Well, we still need to show Bowser his room," Clio said, gesturing towards the Koopa King.
"So you can just stay here. They're bound to come down eventually," Thalia said.
"Although, you might have to make sure you know who they are," Clio warned.
"Gerard hired Roy to be our new bodyguard," Thalia informed. "So he might do something ridiculous."
"New bodyguard? What happened to the old ones?"
"We fired them."
"Good. I never liked them anyway. They were so mean to Jackie," Eric held a brotherly bond to the Knight. Jackie, being a Banamaðr, was practically part of the family. Her uncle, Gerard, would often bring her around when she was still in training to be a full bodyguard/Knight, with Siarhei, who now worked protecting the current Crown Prince.
"She showed them, though." The siblings gazed fondly off into the distance at the memory of Jacky single-handedly curb stomping all four bodyguards when they made a particularly sexist comment.
"That she did," Eric distractedly messed with the buzzed portion of his undercut. "Well, I'll wait down here for them to show up, and you guys show the King to his quarters."
The girls and Bowser walked off, Eric noticing that they were taking him to the underground room. He applauded their choice. The pool suite had always been one of his favorites.
"Now to wait for everyone else," Eric pulled a plush chair in front of the mouth of the staircase with the pile of mail in his lap. Unfortunately, he soon fell asleep, as invitations weren't the most exciting thing to read and he was physically exhausted from helping train the new recruits.
Right after he fell asleep, Link and Lucario trotted down the stairs, hair still sopping wet from their showers. Link shook it out impatiently.
"But isn't it the coolest thing, Luke? You can change the water temperature!"
"It is… sort of nice… I guess," Lucario said with a slight uncertainty. "But I still feel like the technology in the Pokémon world is far superior to the technology here. In the Pokémon world, I would not need to bathe."
"The experience is nice though, isn't it?"
"I will admit that the freedom is quite refreshing," Lucario suddenly paused on their casual walk down the staircase. "It seems there is an unknown individual in our midst."
Link blinked in surprise at the black-haired man sleeping in the chair at the base of the stairs. "Huh. Seems you're right. Should we do something about it?"
"No. His aura seems familiar. I would venture to even say it is very similar to the twins' who summoned us here."
"Oh! He must be the older brother they were talking about," Link said.
"Isn't this a bit earlier than they said he would be coming back?"
"Maybe he wanted to surprise them? The girls mentioned it was their birthday when we first arrived."
Lucario gave him a weird look. "I thought humans celebrated their day of birth annually. Did you and the other arrivals not celebrate with the twins? Did the twins not celebrate with anyone? I thought they were alone yesterday… That seems lonely. Even by Pokemon standards. Even by my standards, and I live alone on a mountain."
Link's mouth parted into an O. "Oh. We didn't. I feel really bad now."
Lucario nodded sagely. "You should probably alert the others so that we may do something nice for them. They will be taking care of us. Seeing as how it's already late though, it might as well be later still to give more time to plan something. What's that human saying… 'Better late than never?'"
"Hm. Good idea, Luke! You're getting more human by the minute!" Link exclaimed. The ex-Pokémon flinched.
"That is not a compliment." During their exchange the two had settled on the stairs opposite of the sleeping Eric, seemingly deciding to wait for him to wake up. The man looked tired enough as it was, and the two came to the mutual agreement that waking him up wouldn't help in any way.
Ike stepped out of the shower, absentmindedly shaking the water from his hair while he fumbled around looking for a towel. After some experimenting and some helpful advice from Gerard as he was procuring clothes for everyone, the video game characters had figured out how to use the showers and toilets. It was a pretty cool experience, honestly. No heating up water over a fire, worrying about wasting it, the shower was pretty darn awesome. But Ike was never one for aimlessly standing about in leisure, so he got done with his shower pretty quickly.
"Go ahead in, Isaac," Ike called to his blonde friend. The alchemist meandered inside, noticing the steam.
"Geez, hot water, much?"
"It took some time to find the right temperature, and the hot water was really nice –especially since I've been pretty sore since I woke up."
Isaac shrugged. "Fair enough. Is that my towel?"
"Mhmm," Ike nodded.
"Gerard's in the sitting room right now," Isaac informed the mercenary. "Go ahead and get some clothes from him." Isaac shook his own bundle.
"Alright, thanks," Ike said. He trotted into the sitting room to see the butler laying out some stuff on the couch. "Thanks very much, Gerard," Ike said gratefully.
Gerard looked slowly over the half-naked mercenary with an appraising eye before making a disgruntled noise under his breath.
"Something the matter?" Ike asked in confusion.
"I do wish all of you newcomers weren't so attractive."
Ike blinked. "Excuse me, sir?"
"Oh, don't give me that look. I'm straight, not blind," Gerard scoffed. "I was just stating the simple fact that with your appearance, wanton behavior will just be encouraged. Stupid Japanese cartoons."
Ike let out a bit of an awkward laugh, blushing slightly. He never really got used to comments on his appearance, especially from people like Gerard who seemed to rarely give out compliments of any kind. "Thank you..? I think? Wait…"
"Whatever, it doesn't matter. I won't let anything happen. Not. On. My. Life," Gerard paused in his actions to give Ike a long and meaningful stare. Ike was caught between sighing, rolling his eyes, and blushing.
"Sir Gerard? We just got here. It is still literally the first full day I've been here. We are planning nothing."
"You're not? Are they not good enough for you?! Just because they aren't some 2- dimensional characters with impossible dimensions and non-existent pores does not make them inferior! They are superior to those floozies in your games in every way! They are stunning!" Gerard rounded on Ike sharply, causing the mercenary to flinch and shift into a fighting stance reflexively before exasperatingly sighing.
"Sir, I didn't mean that. They truly are wonderful-"
"So, I do have to worry!"
"But, none of us are even thinking of anything like what you're implying."
Gerard gave him a scathing look, before muttering so quietly Ike couldn't hear (even with his good hearing), "That's not the impression I get from all the flirting and things they say."
Ike shook his head at the older man's antics before looking at the clothes. He picked out a pair of loose fitting pants and a loose shirt. They seemed comfortable enough, and with his normal gear in the wash, they would have to do. Ike wasn't really picky guy.
Marth looked up as Gerard walked into the room. He was on his own, as the two royals had decided that Roy would go first. (Roy thought that he needed to get to the girls as fast as possible.) "Ah!" Marth greeted, standing up as the man hobble in, his cane clinking as it hit the wooden floor. "Hello, sir."
"Hello, young lord. Terribly sorry to bother you. I came only to assist you with some clothing, though it's hardly up to your standards. It is unfortunately, all we have available at the moment." The butler swept into a deep bow as he spoke. Gerard had decided after Roy's small rant to treat Marth like the other royals he assists. It was the least he can do and Gerard could respect a King who had done the things the girls had told him about. Marth smiled a bit, touched that the man was treating him so well. He honestly hadn't expected the formality. It was familiar, comforting even. It had been a long time since he'd met someone with as much respect for culture and tradition as this man had.
"Thank you very much. I appreciate the help. Besides, these belong to a crown prince, no? Hardly unsuitable at all! I'd even say you're very generous to allow me to borrow these."
Gerard chuckled. "Lord Icarus is not the Crown Prince yet, but he will be soon. At the moment, he is a prince of Komaeldr, the… arguably strongest region in Fyrigmark. But, thank you for the compliment. It is good to have another royal in this household -especially one who seems to understand the obligations."
Marth laughed lightly, "Believe me sir, the feeling is mutual. Now then. Let's have a look at this. Oh, allow me to assist you."
Marth crossed to where Gerard was standing and gently lifted the clothing from his hands. Gerard frowned a bit, about to argue. If there was one thing he hated, it was people paying him special treatment in the assumption he couldn't handle something. Marth noticed this and quickly said, "I'm sorry if I offended you. I had forgotten the immense pride you take in your role as butler. It's very rare. I only wanted to help and thought it would be alright..."
Gerard nodded gruffly. "Do not worry. It is very much appreciated. Just do not think I cannot handle my duties. That would be a real insult."
Marth nodded. "Indeed, it would be." The two then walked to the nearest table and laid out the clothes, Marth carefully looking them over for something that would fit well. He eventually landed on some nice jeans and an unwrinkled button up. Gerard nodded approvingly, still distracted by their conversation. He was surprised by these teens. Still young, but alarmingly mature beyond their years, Gerard was already having trouble disliking them. Marth spoke with the dignity of a time-tested King, Ike seemed humble but reliable, Roy energetic and likable, Isaac smart and observant, Samus confident and calm…
For Pete's sake, Ike was right! The day wasn't even over yet! Just then, the door to the bathroom swung open and Roy trotted out in a towel.
"Alright Marth, go ahead. As soon as I get some clothes I'm going to find the girls. I want to ask about what bodyguards do. Oh, hi Gerard!" Roy grinned at the two standing by the table.
Gerard smiled fondly. He really liked Roy. "Hello, Roy. Please, choose some clothing before you find the girls."
Roy chuckled. "I would never think to do anything different. I wouldn't want to spoil the girls' innocence."
"Good," Gerard nodded approvingly. Marth took his clothes and walked into the bathroom, and began to turn the water on, messing with the knobs until the temperature suited his tastes. Roy took out a nice polo shirt and some black straight-leg jeans. Gerard nodded approvingly at the choice.
"Those will look good for a bodyguard, Roy."
"Thank you, sir!"
Pikachu rolled his eyes. The blonde was standing at the door to Marth and Roy's room, already in the clothes given to him earlier. He had finished his shower rather quickly, already aware of how to use one and altogether not fond of water. (It's an electric thing.) Pit had to practically force him to shower in the first place (the angel didn't want to go first, as he was going to look for something he can use on his feathers) and Pikachu only agreed to bathe when Pit brought up disappointing Samus. Once they experimented with the tap and made sure Pik wouldn't electrocute anyone through the pipes in the house, Pikachu showered quick and escaped the vexing room. Now he was looking for the others. (Pit had gone looking for the twins.)
The guys are putting it on real thick, the teen thought to himself with a smirk. Well... At least Roy is. Pik had been there since the beginning of Super Smash with these guys, and had heard all sorts of things from them. (No one ever seems to remember that Pokémon have working ears and understand everything humans say.) That's not to say that the characters were crass or perverts, but they were most certainly young men, prone to jokes and immaturity, and their perfect personas right now were amusing as all hell.
I guess they want to make a good impression, the ex-Pokémon shrugged. Then again, Pik mused, Roy hadn't had near as much of an opportunity as the others to see, er, hear the girls grow up into the animated and... Bold... ladies they were. He probably still thought they were innocent like he kept saying.
Well, whatever, Pik thought. Gerard seems to like them and they're all getting along.
"Oh! Hey, Pikachu!" Roy exclaimed, suddenly noticing the ex-Pokémon. Gerard turned around and nodded.
"Pikachu."
While the man hadn't initially like the pokemon due to the nude state the electric type had appeared in, he understood it was out of the blonde's control and the man had no grudge against him, or Lucario for that matter.
Pikachu nodded politely back to Gerard before granting Roy with a rare smile. He really had missed Roy. He had liked the teen a lot, though they didn't talk much. (He was a pokemon.) Pikachu almost laughed, surprised by his sentimentality. He was rarely overcome with memories like this, but meeting old acquaintances did tend to do that to him.
"Sorry to interrupt. I was just wondering what I was supposed to do now. If there isn't anything in particular, would you show me to where Link or Samus or Clio and Thalia or someone is?" He directed this to Gerard. He wanted to know more about their situation.
As he said this, Roy was also reminiscing. Roy hadn't seen the Pokémon in a while. He remembered that Pikachu was always sassy, though. Even without talking, you were able to get a feel for a Pokémon's personality, and they were great listeners, often even able to give advice in their own odd way. So, yes, Roy was just as glad to see his old friend like Pikachu was.
"Hey, Pikachu, I was just about to head down there to find the twins. Why don't you come with me," Roy invited. The Pokémon just shrugged, although he was happy to be invited. Gerard followed them out, heading to go and check on Samus and Peach. "I'll meet you downstairs in a bit."
"You're kidding me! And he never knew you heard everything?!" Link exclaimed in amusement.
"I never told him. It would embarrass him terribly. I kept my silence... And my horror... Secret," the aura Pokémon nodded solemnly, a faraway look in his eyes. Link and Pit could not hold in their mirth, Pit almost coming to tears.
"Oh geez... that reminds me, we should probably quiet down. We may wake him up," the angel said, gesturing to the prince. Lucario stared at the man for a moment, eyes glowing slightly. He then turned back to his friends.
"He is still fast asleep. It seems he is very comforted by the atmosphere of this house."
Pit blinked at Lucario in astonishment. "Did you just read his aura? You can tell all that?" When Lucario nodded Link whistled in admiration and Pit shook his head in astonishment.
"It took a lot of practice," Lucario simply said modestly. The three boys were still sitting on the stairs across form Eric, Pit having joined them after being sidetracked on his quest for cleaning product.
Roy and Pikachu came down the stairs, conversing somewhat pleasantly when Roy's face turned from jovial to enraged. He caught sight of Eric. He screeched out, grabbing a nearby lamp, holding it out like a sword. "Trespasser!" the redheaded bodyguard charged down the stairs as the boys sitting on the bottom step hopped up, trying to keep Roy from attacking.
"Roy!" Link said, trying to soothe the bodyguard. "Stop!" As this was going on, Eric bolted awake, seeing the struggling men, and through the haze of just waking up, forgetting everything he had talked to his sisters about. The heir rolled across the floor to a loose floorboard and pulled out a gun, firing a warning shot instinctively.
The boys were instantly silenced before Roy burst out, "He's armed and dangerous! We have to protect the Harkonas!"
Lucario snapped out. "Humans are so thickheaded! Roy, this is their older brother, Lord Icarus!"
Roy and Eric both froze, Roy rapidly getting embarrassed and Eric slowly remembering what the twins told him. Roy relaxed and pulled away from the guys.
"Sorry. I guess I overreacted, huh?"
Lucario almost snarled at the dense redhead. "Do you honestly think so little of us that you think we would simply sit here and let a suspicious man stay in the house of our guardians?"
Roy shuffled a bit. "Sorry..."
Pit smiled a bit, sympathetic. "Hey, we get it. Reflex, we know. It's okay." Before Roy could thank the angel, the group was surprised by a flying hug.
"OH MY GOD IT REALLY IS ALL OF YOU!" The group staggered a bit, squished together into a hug by the energetic young man. "I HADN'T FULLY BELIEVED IT!" Link was the first to speak.
"...Eric?" The man looked up to grin at them.
"In the flesh! It's so amazing to meet you in person!"
Eric let go of the group before giving Link a personal hug. "YOU. HAVE. NO. IDEA. HOW. MUCH. I. LOVE. YOUR. GAME." Link laughed, a little awkwardly, giving the boy a hug.
"Uh, yeah, I think I do, I mean, you've been playing it since you were a kid, so..."
"YOUR VOICE IS SO BEAUTIFUL."
"OHMYGOSH, FINE I'LL GET CAUGHT UP IN YOUR JOY. YOUR VOICE IS TOO."
The two young men patted each other's' backs mirthfully as they rocked back and forth. Eric released Link, but kept a hand on the Hylian's shoulders. "You are a beautiful person and should always say what you think."
"Thank you. I completely agree," Link tearfully clapped his hand on Eric's shoulder. Pit chuckled at their antics.
"Well, you guys are close."
"We grew up together," Eric said in explanation. The man then snickered, remembering he hadn't even introduced himself properly. "Sorry. Let me start over. I'm Icarus, Eric as you guys know me. I love all of you. I just got back from some work when the twins filled me in on everything I missed when I met Bowser."
"It's nice to meet you face to face, Eric!" Pit chirped. Eric smiled.
"I love your games too, Pit."
"Thanks!"
Roy looked abashed. "I'm sorry for my behavior, Lord Icarus. It was uncouth"
Eric just grinned. "No worries. It's good to see my sisters have an eager and fast protector. I'm sorry for the bullet."
Pit suddenly gasped as a thought came to him. "WE'RE BOTH ICARUS!"
Eric gasped as well. "My word, YOU'RE RIGHT! BABY ICARUS!"
"TALLER ICARUS!"
The two then hugged each other, Eric actually picking the teen up and twirling him around. Eric had a massive soft spot for kids and while Pit wasn't that young, he had this aura of adorableness. Just then, the blue-haired mercenary chose to arrive. "Hey guys, what's up- Who is twirling Pit around like he's seven?" Even Lucario almost laughed at the comically confused expression on Ike's face.
Eric hugged Pit to his side as his eyes looked the blue-haired mercenary over. "Hey! That's Ike! Hi, Ike! I'm Lord Icarus, as I'm sure Gerard introduced me, but you can just call me Eric, as you probably know me from when I played your game."
Ike blinked before saying. "And from when you cussed me out when Thalia beat you at Super Smash when using me."
Eric chuckled. "Yeah. I have a pretty bad case of gamer-rage. But I think I retaliated pretty nicely with Link."
Link laughed. "I am definitely your best character."
Eric looked at the rest of the group as his eyes found the two ex-Pokemon. His brow scrunched up in thought. "Let me guess. You guys are… Lucario and Pikachu, right?"
The two Pokemon shared looks before nodding in unison. "Yeah."
"How'd you know?" Pikachu asked. "From what I can tell, you don't seem like the more filled box in the PC."
Eric was slightly offended. "That was a really terrible comparison, by the way. I knew because the twins told me who all came, Pikachu, and I used my skills of deductive reasoning to figure out who each of you are. And I'm not stupid, just excited because I'm meeting my childhood idols."
Pikachu was taken aback, unused to people responding to his insults. He just muttered under his breath in response, shoving his hands into his pockets as he looked to the side. His gaze landed on Pit, who glanced at him at the same time. A bolt of distaste welled up inside of the electric type and his scowled at the angel who looked at him like he was a weirdo.
"You're kinda… strange," Pit commented quietly, still unsure as to where the sudden animosity had come from. Pikachu snorted.
"You're strange…" he searched his mind for some witty comeback, but could find nothing. "Weirdo."
Pit just chuckled as he turned back to everyone.
"Pit, why aren't you in a change of clothes?" Ike asked the young angel. Pit inhaled profusely.
"Oh! I got distracted trying to find something to clean my wings with," he turned to Eric. "Hey, Big Icarus," Eric looked at him with a questioning hmmmm, "do you guys have any type of feather cleaner?"
Eric shrugged. "I don't think so. We got rid of our bird stuff when our pet bird Lucky left last season."
"I'm sorry for your loss," Link said. Eric gave Link a weird look.
"Oh, alright," Pit said with a conflicted face. Due to his superhuman senses from being an angel, he could feel the dirt and sweat clogging his pores and wedged within the soft down of his wings. He ruffled them slightly a few feathers fell off. Pikachu's eyes followed the discarded feathers. "I've never really had to bathe before, but I know that when my wings get too wet, the feathers fall off or get disheveled and I can't straighten them out when that happens."
"I thought you loved hot springs," Eric said.
"I do, but I normally keep my wings above the water," Pit explained.
"Hmmm," Eric mused thoughtfully, a hand scratching at his light stubble. "I think I understand what you mean. Let me see what I can do. For now, I'd say just rinse off the rest of you and avoid getting your wings wet."
"Okay," Pit said, still a bit unsure, but deciding he could take a stab at it. Not get his wings wet? What was he supposed to do? They were attached to his back! Before he could leave, the group felt a rumble from under the staircase and suddenly Thalia, Clio, and Bowser popped out from the left side.
"Where did you guys come from?" Ike asked. Before either of the twins could respond, Eric cut in.
"Hey! Bowser! What did you think of the newly refurbished dungeon that was once bad?" (A/N: Reference!)
"The what?" Ike asked, still at a loss as to what was going on.
Link on the other hand was excited. "You mean there are secret passages here? Does that mean I can find my hat?"
"To answer your question, Ike," Thalia began. "We took Bowser to his new chambers which were once cells that have been remodeled."
"And to answer your question, Link," Clio started, "Yeah, there are a couple, but no you won't find your hat there."
Link pouted and Ike nodded in vague comprehension.
"Why do you have dungeons connected to your staircase?" he asked.
"Well, this castle used to be a fort of sorts," Eric explained. "Heirs of the royal family who were probably never going to become king and queen would live here and were in charge of things such as espionage, prisoners, interrogation, torture, and the rebellious or difficult royals; there are a couple of entrances to the underground passages and dungeons, but this one was the easiest for the royals to get through on short notice. The others are through the more recent servants' quarters."
"Wow, do all castles have that?"
"Some do," Eric acknowledged. "But not many. Our region specifically deals with war so we tend to have the more defense and escape focused architecture and needs and so on."
The spectators nodded thoughtfully while Bowser just shrugged. "I don't care how it got to be that way, I'm just glad I got such kickass room. You said it was the best room in the house, right girls?"
The girls nodded. "Yes, Bowser." They thought it would be for the best if Bowser thought he was getting some special treatment.
"Ah! Prince Eric, I am pleased to see you!"
"Hey! Gerard! Long time no see!"
"It's good to have another Catholic man in the house to prevent any canoodling."
"There's been canoodling already? Damn, that's fast. I thought the girls would wait at least another week."
"I think you over estimate us, Eric," the girls said drily. He rolled his eyes and a few of the guys spluttered.
"What is the canoodle?" Lucario asked curiously.
Link shrugged. "I'm more confused on what Catholic is."
Eric wrapped an arm around Link's shoulders. "Catholics are the most boss-ass bitch people in the entire world."
"I don't think that's the definition. At all. I think the entire Church would be very puzzled at that definition," Gerard muttered.
"Then I am Catholic!" Link exclaimed. Bowser scoffed.
"I am way more Catholic than you, fairy-face. I am the most Catholic of all Catholics."
Clio and Thalia cut in gently. "Catholicism is actually a religion. It's a part of Christianity."
"Does that have to do with the Spirits?" Link questioned.
"Well, then I'm going to be a part of whatever this boss-ass religion thing is," Bowser said astutely. Peach came down the stairs and ignored Bowser as she is wont to do, instead deciding to enter the conversation with a question to Gerard.
"Religion? We never had that in the Mushroom Kingdom."
Pit chimed in before Gerard could answer. "Religion is truth. And truth is Palutena."
Clio, Thalia, Eric, and Gerard all flashed him a quick look. Eric put a hand on Pit's shoulder. "Slow down a bit, kid. Here, we have many different religions, so don't go spouting that your religion is the only truth like that. It might not go over too well. Especially since it doesn't exist here."
"What do you mean it doesn't exist?!"
"What I mean," Eric quickly backtracked, "is that it's not recognized as a religion here on Earth. If you get enough people to follow it, you could probably found it. Eventually."
"Yeah," Thalia chimed in. "Pastafarianism got approved."
"Pastafarianism?" Roy asked.
"Oh god," Clio groaned. "Don't even go there."
Eric continued, "It's a religion that worships a flying pasta monster god or something like that."
"Pasta? Seriously?" Peach and Bowser shared looks of disdain. Ike shook his head with a small smile of amazement.
"That is both terrifying and amazing. People worship noodles. They're actually that gullible."
"Noodles?" Marth asked, thoroughly confused as he walked down the stairs. "What's this about worshiping noodles?"
Pit groaned. "This world has stupid religions."
"Hey," the twins said in offense. "That's one out of millions. Don't start."
"Well, I'm sure that yours isn't like that," Pit said quickly before his face turned slightly haughty. "Besides, I bet that I'll get way more followers than that Pastafarianism thing."
The siblings deigned not to comment on that and point out that the religion which Kid Icarus is based off of is obsolete and regarded as only myth. They decided instead to get Marth and Peach caught up with the conversation and introduce them to Eric.
Thalia gestured towards Eric. "Marth, Peach, this is our older brother and the Solberg heir, Prince Eric."
Eric's head snapped around to look at the newer arrivals and he beamed excitedly. "This is just like Christmas in May! Oh my God! I love the Mario games and the Fire Emblem franchise!" He directed the next statement at Marth. "Mystery of the Emblem was fucking amazing."
Marth chuckled politely into his fist. "I am very pleased to hear the high praises, Prince Eric of Komaeldr. As you already know, I am Prince Marth of Altea, and it is a genuine pleasure to make you acquaintance."
Eric's mouth twitched as he decided to go along with his fellow prince in the proper manner. While Eric hated having to act properly with the public, he got the impression from Marth's slightly shaking hands and slightly restless arms that his fellow prince was feeling extremely uncomfortable in his new surroundings. If talking the way Marth was used to being spoken to would make him feel even slightly more at peace, Eric was going to do that. "Prince Marth of Altea, it as a pleasure to me as well," he gave a curt bow. Marth's eyes lit up slightly at the gesture and he eagerly returned it. Eric continued.
"I hope that you are finding your stay here enjoyable. We are happy to welcome you here to our country."
"From what I have seen," Marth said with a smile and a polite tilt to his words, "your country is very beautiful."
Eric turned to Peach with the intentions to greet her in the same formal fashion. "Princess Peach," he started but she waved a hand to cut him off.
"Pardon my rudeness, but you can just call me Peach. I'd hate to force you to be formal in your own home," Peach said this quietly so as not to trouble the young Prince next to them. She understood his feelings well. Luckily for her though, the Mushroom Kingdom was much more lax when it came to manners and etiquette.
"Enough with the fancy-schmancy talking shit," Bowser cut in. "When are we going to get some grub, because this king is straaaarving."
Gerard resisted the immense temptation to roll his eyes with scorn, but he instead turned to address the whole group as Isaac finally appeared. Clio and Thalia waved and Eric's eyes zoomed into focus on the alchemist, but he held his tongue. Gerard cleared his throat. "As almost everyone is currently present, and Miss Aran told me not to be concerned for her late appearance, I now propose that I go to purchase our dinner in Maersjot for this evening. I do think that we are all very exhausted from this… exciting day," when he said exciting, you could see the stress in his eyes.
Roy walked over to him. "Sir Gerard, I will offer my assistance however I can. As this is a large number of people, a large amount of food must be attained."
Isaac walked to where Clio and Thalia were and they both gave him big cheesy grins. He returned the grins easily before curiously asking, "What's with all the fancy talking? Did someone die or something? And what is going on? I feel like I've missed something important."
"Oh, we were just explaining about religion and Pastafarianism and stuff," Thalia said.
"And then Bowser complained about being hungry so Gerard's about to go and get us food," Clio said with a shrug.
"Yeah, Roy's going to go with him to help," Thalia said. Eric walked over to where they were, leaving the other chattering gaming characters. He stuck out a hand to Isaac.
"Hi. I'm Eric."
Isaac took the extended hand and gave it a few shakes before letting go. "I'm Isaac."
"I know," Eric said with a cheeky grin. The two were quiet as they nodded at each other. The girls looked back and forth between them, blinking a few times before Clio exclaimed.
"Really?! That's it?! You're meeting a video game character in real life for the first time and that's it?" Thalia gave her sister a sympathetic pat on the back as Clio stared at the two with a mixture of surprise, confusion, and slight disappointment.
"Hey, now," Eric began, "I feel like Isaac and I have reached an understanding of each other's awesome."
"But still," Clio said, "you're meeting a video game character in person and you're not freaking out? Do be honest I'm a bit disappointed in your actions, bro!"
Thalia nodded in agreement. "You're underreacting a lot and it's very disheartening. Even if Isaac's game isn't as popular as say, Ike's or Link's games, he's still an awesome character in his own right."
"And his games are awesome and super fun," Clio chimed in. "Really, brother? Really?"
Eric simply gave his sisters an exasperated look before Isaac laughed and calmly said, "I'm not offended, guys. I really just don't want anyone to make a big fuss over me."
Clio and Thalia gave each other slightly awkward glances, flashing back to when Isaac first appeared. Clio looked at her feet nervously. "Oh. Sorry about that."
Isaac once again hurried to comfort the girls. "Why are you apologizing?"
"Well, we freaked out when we first met you," Thalia explained, anxiously twisting the ends of her hair.
"There's nothing wrong with that," he said with a smile. "Your greeting was… refreshing! You guys haven't done anything wrong."
Once he had convinced the girls that he wasn't at all upset with their previous fuss, Eric cheerfully asked Isaac, "So, how old are you?"
Isaac just shrugged. "I wish I knew. I think my body is still 14 or 17, somewhere around there."
"You look about 16 to me," Eric filled in. Isaac nodded in appreciation. Ike walked over to them at this point and gestured to Isaac.
"Doesn't he look taller than when he first got here?" Ike commented. The girls looked at each other.
"Honestly, I don't know," Thalia said with a shrug. Clio nodded.
"With everything going on, we haven't really been paying attention." Ike grunted in response.
Gerard rapped his cane against the wooden stairs harshly, gaining everyone's attention. "Roy, Link, and I will now be leaving to pick up food for everyone. I expect this place to be in tip-top shape when I return. No roughhousing or wanton behavior."
Ike rubbed the back of his head. "Like I said sir, we just got here. No one is even starting to think anything like that."
"But that doesn't mean you won't in a future!" Eric said with an eerily hopeful and excited voice. Ike gave him a wary glance which Marth and Isaac mimicked.
Gerard sighed. "I may be able to trust you, Isaac, Marth, and Roy, but I am still making my judgments on everyone else."
The Solbergs shook their heads in exasperation. Peach looked at him coyly.
"Do you not trust me?"
"Oh, I thought that you and Miss Aran would be obvious inclusions," Gerard stated.
"You're so sweet, Gerard," Peach said with a smile. He nodded back to her before he, followed by Roy and a slightly nervous Link (this dude's last name meant Slayer of Mankind for the love of the Spirits), began their journey away from the small castle.
Do you want some exposition?
Read chapters 1-8~
A bit of explanation has been thrown at you
We just want to get it doooone~
This use to be so much fun
But right now, it's not.
I wish you could tell me whyyyyyyyyy.
Do you want some exposition?
Sorry, we just had to give you a bit of the very fitting Exposition Song in Frozen. (Sing this to "Do you wanna build a snowman?") Sorry if this was a slower chapter, but we still have TONS to establish, with such a large cast of characters. Don't worry! We're almost to the good stuff –just one more expository chapter and then we're out of the beginning stages of Through the Glass… Hopefully. The next chapter will probably be obscenely long since a lot will be going on as we finish up this slowly progressing introduction.
Stay tuned for the next installment which we'll try to have out as soon as possible.
Thank you for reading and please review!