Another chapter count reaches the double digits. Go me. I said I would sum up what I omitted from the last chapter at the beginning of this one. So…basically, Jigglypuff woke up 4 hours later, ate, and found out that Kirby actually wanted to go with her to the spirit battles. Yep. Now for this chapter.

Chapter 10: First Wind

Jigglypuff opened her eyes at 9:00 sharp. She instantly jumped out of bed and looked outside. Not as calm as last time.

The sky was dim, the sun covered by clouds. A strong gust of wind hit Jigglypuff in her face as soon as she opened her window.

"Is it going to rain again?"

What happened then was a lot worse than rain. A tornado slowly formed from above, several hundred feet away from the Manor, which was slightly bigger and darker than your average F5. Jigglypuff groaned in frustration.

"Why more tornadoes? I'm sick of tornadoes."

More and more tornadoes were forming by the second. They moved around slowly, but wildly, devouring anything they came in contact with, even some of the ground. They destroyed Electri-City within minutes. Unsurprisingly, they couldn't destroy anything in the Smash Central Park, or the Manor (thanks to the Seal).

"I don't see Chisakimaku anywhere. She better come soon." Jigglypuff put on her hat and looked outside once more before leaving the room to go downstairs. There she found everyone in the Royal Room (except for Mewtwo) chattering about the weather. Jigglypuff was able to make out some of the things that were said.

"This needs to stop," said Ness.

"Why does all of this happen? What's making it happen?" said Link.

"Yeah! Whoever or whatever is doing this needs to quit it!" said Pichu.

"Master Hand needs to stop being lazy and fix this. Now," said Bowser.

Jigglypuff walked to the back of the Manor, signaling Kirby to follow her. He stood up.

"I'm gonna go to the back for a minute."

No one heard him, but it mattered none. He followed Jigglypuff to the sky room elevator. When they reached it, Jigglypuff pressed the button.

"Kirby?"

"Yes?"

"I know that you wanna come with me…so I'm gonna let you and see how it goes."

Kirby suddenly became excited. The elevator door opened and the two walked in. The elevator ascended.

"Will I be able to go again if it all goes well? And by that, I mean if I don't get hurt?"

"Sure! I need the extra motivation anyway. The Smash Spirits are getting stronger as I progress."

The elevator stopped and the door opened. Jigglypuff and Kirby ran to the front of the room. The sky was darker than earlier, and there were lots more tornadoes. 15 of them, each varying in size, surrounded the Manor, and there were even more of them further away.

"Now we just need to wait for them," said Jigglypuff.

Kirby was concerned about the dangerous conditions outside, but not afraid. Even though the tornadoes were menacing in both size and overall look, he still wanted to at least see a spirit. The wait was 5 minutes long. Chisakimaku and Sukama finally came with the Spirit Cloud.

"Hi!" Chisakimaku said from outside the glass, muffling her voice.

"Is that a cloud?" Kirby asked, surprised. "How-"

"I thought the same thing at first," said Jigglypuff. "But some things aren't worth questioning."

"Let's go. You have another spirit to seal," said Sukama.

"Right. Kirby, give me your hand." Jigglypuff extended her hand.

"Don't you mean 'arm'?" asked Kirby.

"You know what I mean."

Kirby grabbed her arm. Jigglypuff turned transparent, as did Kirby.

"Don't let go," she said. The two jumped onto the Spirit Cloud. "Now for the seal…" The cloud rose out of the seal and headed towards the World Portals.

"It's gonna be real hard to avoid all of these, chi!"

"I'll try to hold them off any way I can," said Sukama.

"Did you put the seal up?' asked Jigglypuff. Chisakimaku nodded.

"Here they come!" warned Kirby.

Each tornado began to chase the four at 15 times their original speed. The Spirit Cloud out-flew the rear tornadoes and flew around the ones in front, almost getting sucked in more than once. Eventually, the group encountered a tornado wall.

"Oh, hell…" Jigglypuff said as the cloud stopped. "What now?"

"I'll take care of this," said Sukama, flying in front of the cloud. He spread his arms far apart. Two extremely bright energy balls appeared in the palms of both hands, and his wings began to glow with a rainbow shine. He put his hands together.

"RAINBEAM!"

Two beams shot out from the balls of light in his palms as even wider beams of rainbow light emerged from his wings. His hands remained glowing. As soon as the blasts hit (and destroyed) the first tornado in the middle of the wall, Sukama spread his arms again, and the four beams separated; two traveled left, two traveled right. The tornado wall was demolished, Sukama returned to the Spirit Cloud, and the group proceeded.

"Mind telling us what that was?" asked Kirby.

"My strongest attack. I can't use it again for a while…"

"Which world, chi?" Chisakimaku asked as they neared the World Portals.

Jigglypuff had a problem. None of the Smash Bros. Worlds were wind-based save for Green Greens, but that wind was artificial. She didn't have much time to think. Especially now, since…

"Where are they?" asked Kirby.

The World Portals were gone.

"Now what do we do?" said Jigglypuff. Sukama pointed to a nearby tornado.

"They're in there!"

"How do you know, chi?"

Sukama flew into the twister. "Trust me!" he yelled as he was engulfed.

"We need to go after him!" exclaimed Chisakimaku.

"You better hold on," Jigglypuff informed Kirby as she grasped the cloud. Kirby did as he was told. The Spirit Cloud flew into the tornado and instantly began to spin around, rising into the dark sky. The seal was disabled and the three were separated from each other. The group rose as they spun, getting hit by (luckily) small debris from the ground. Jigglypuff had difficulty opening her eyes, but she managed to catch a brief glimpse of Sukama flying upward.

"Look for the Rainbow Cruise portal!" she yelled, hoping that one of the others heard her. Sukama flew downward and caught Kirby, then Chisakimaku, and last, Jigglypuff. He began looking for the stage, even though he didn't actually know what it was.

Jigglypuff spotted it. "It's over there! Get there!" she yelled, pointing to it. The portal, rising and spinning rapidly, seemed difficult to reach, put Sukama followed its every random move with little trouble. As he followed, he homed in closer and closer until he was right beside it. "Where's the Spirit Cloud?"

"It will always make its way to me, chi! Don't worry!"

Sukama jerked to the right and the four were inside. The Spirit Cloud headed for the portal as soon as Chisakimaku went inside it. It took a little less than 4 seconds for the blue cloud to make it.

At last, Jigglypuff, Chisakimaku, Sukama, and Kirby arrived at the supposed base of the Spirit of Wind, Rainbow Cruise.

Was it ever evident.

The sky was gray instead of blue, the rainbows had disappeared, and the Rainbow Cruise was flying around erratically, crashing into many a platform. Because of that, the group stayed on the trusty, stable Spirit Cloud.

"This place…what did that spirit do to this place?" asked Kirby, a bit weirded-out.

"The Smash Spirits always leave their mark wherever they go," said Sukama.

"They think it's all just for good humor, but it's not, chi! It's terrible!" added Chisakimaku.

Jigglypuff tried to stay where she stood and paid very close attention to her surroundings. Kirby noticed this.

"Jigglypuff, what are-"

"I just know something bad is gonna happen again. It already happened twice, and I don't want it to happen again."

"Useless, if you ask me," said Sukama.

"Not that I did…but what do you mean?"

"The spirits are extremely crafty. They can come at you from anywhere with anything. They could be right in front of you and you wouldn't know it. In this case…wind is everywhere."

Jigglypuff, even though she caught Sukama's drift, still stood her ground. She had a plan. If she kept on taking precautions, the spirit would come after her that much quicker. She wanted the spirit to get her.

"Do what you want, but I'm just saying…"

"I hope she'll be okay," Kirby said, staring at the out-of-control Rainbow Cruise. For minutes, the group stood or sat and waited. Not a thing went on for those minutes. And for those minutes, for some reason, everyone was silent. The silence grew more and more eerie as time passed, much like the moments before the battle with Abunai Mizu. And as the water had stopped rippling then, now the wind stopped blowing. Jigglypuff noticed it first.

"Feel that?"

"What?" asked Kirby.

"The wind…it stopped…" said Sukama.

Jigglypuff felt herself getting lighter and lighter.

"Why am I...? Oh no…"

The wind came from below, and it was concentrated on her only. She held on tighter to the Spirit Cloud, hoping that she wouldn't get carried away.

"Guys…it's here…"

The wind grew stronger.

"Grab her!" said Sukama. He and Kirby (Chisakimaku had to refrain) immediately tried to hold Jigglypuff down, who was now dangling upside-down by her arms.

The wind grew stronger.

"Can't hold on…"

"Try and hold on a little longer!" said Kirby, actually standing on Jigglypuff.

"You can do it, chi!" encouraged Chisakimaku.

The wind grew stronger.

"I'm losing it...!" One of her arms slipped.

"She's gonna let go!" yelled Sukama. Jigglypuff's other arm slipped, and Kirby along with Sukama fell. Jigglypuff shot into the air like a rocket. Kirby stood up quickly.

"We have to get her! Now!" he yelled.

"The Spirit Cloud doesn't climb that fast, chi!"

"I'll get you up there."

Sukama picked up Kirby with one hand and they took off after Jigglypuff. She was rising at a very high speed and was also tumbling, rendering her incredibly dizzy. It took a good amount of seconds, but Sukama was soon directly below the updraft.

"I need to get in front!" yelled Kirby. He needed to yell due to the quantity of air rushing past them.

"Why? What can you do?" asked Sukama.

"You'll see! Now let's go!"

The two sped up, ahead of Jigglypuff. They were now out of Chisakimaku's sight. They cut in front of Jigglypuff.

"Throw me up!" Kirby yelled. Sukama did as he was told and retreated. As Jigglypuff and the updraft neared Kirby, he held his breath, then used his Swallow technique. He inhaled the strong wind and Jigglypuff, kept them both in his mouth, and began to fall. Sukama caught him and returned him to the Spirit Cloud, where he spit Jigglypuff out.

Kirby then passed out from exhaustion.

"It was too much for him, I guess," said Sukama. Jigglypuff regained her consciousness.

"Is he alright?" she asked.

"He'll be fine. He just fainted, chi."

Jigglypuff gave a short sigh of relief, then stood up. "This spirit is a little punk, just like the first three losers! Where are you? What are you, scared of me?" she said loudly.

The ones that were still awake heard a soft, male voice.

"You got guts to talk to me that way, Spirit Hunter. Better hold on to your hat!"

There was a very strong, sudden wind gust that almost knocked the four off the cloud. A small tornado slowly formed in midair 40 feet in front of them. Arms sprouted from it, then legs, then a head, which was the size of an average human's (plus nonexistent eyes). The whole tornado formed a floating, transparent, lean body. The hands and feet of the spirit were like smoke, and its entire shade was dark gray.

"I am Whirlwind, the Spirit of Wind. I'll be the one to get rid of you once and for all!"

"Wait. Whirlwind?"

"Yes."

"…That's it? Doesn't that sound kinda direct to you?"

"Well, the others didn't want to help me think of a name, and I'm a bit creativity-impaired, so- hey! Stop talking to me like we're not about to fight to the death!"

Jigglypuff's hat shone sky-blue and she flew off the cloud. As she did that, Kirby awoke.

"So that's what a Smash Spirit looks like…"

"Take this!" Whirlwind shouted, trying to blow Jigglypuff away (literally, with his mouth). Jigglypuff could actually see the wind travel through the air, and it was easy to avoid. Whirlwind tried again 4 times; Jigglypuff dodged 4 times.

"This isn't working. She's too quick. But let's see her dodge this."

Whirlwind raised his smoke-like hands above himself, extended them, and lashed them at Jigglypuff. She tried to rise above them, but they followed her due to their extendability. The ghastly gases grabbed her and held her tight.

"She's in trouble, chi," said a worried Chisakimaku for the sake of talking.

"You're not gonna like this part!" Whirlwind said, chuckling sinisterly.

He slammed her head onto multiple platforms. With each slam, the hat grew dimmer and dimmer. Kirby was in shock.

"Why are you just sitting here? We have to help!"

"We would if we could, trust me. But we can't. I'm still unable to attack effectively, and my halo doesn't work against non-physical opponents," said Sukama.

"I'm forbidden, chi…" Chisakimaku said regrettably.

Kirby gave a disappointed sigh.

"Why won't you die?" asked a frustrated Whirlwind.

Jigglypuff's hat shone a bright sky-blue and broke free from the grasp.

"Think about it. I'm the Spirit Hunter. I'm tougher than that."

"Is that a fact? Well, that means a tough opponent deserves a tougher attack!"

"She'd better be careful, or she won't survive…" said Sukama, observing the fight closely. Whirlwind was preparing for another attack familiar to Jigglypuff. He spun around rapidly, his smoke-like hands creating yet another twister. As the twister took form, Whirlwind flew straight up out of the funnel, and Jigglypuff began being sucked in.

"Why? What's the point!" she yelled before she was sucked inside.

"Jigglypuff!" screamed Kirby.

The wind was so fierce, it was sharp. Not only was she dizzy, but also she was being scratched severely from top to bottom. She refrained from screaming out in pain out of fear that her mouth would be torn to shreds. As she spun, all she did was ask herself one question. What beats wind?

The hat had reached its shining limit. She fainted once again. But, unlike Volcanis, Whirlwind halted his assault and set the Spirit Hunter on a nearby platform.

"He stopped? What'd he stop for, chi?" Chisakimaku was confused, but Kirby was ecstatic.

"Who cares? He stopped!"

"Do you see this?" Whirlwind asked them. "This is called a weakling! It seems that your precious Spirit Hunter is nothing but an overconfident, idiotic loser! I honestly can't see how you ever counted on her to come through and beat all seven of us!"

"You do not wanna find out why, chi!"

"Really?" Whirlwind pointed at the downed, bloody puffball. She twitched once. "That thing? It's harmless!"

"No…" said Sukama.

"Are you kidding?" asked Whirlwind.

"Not at all. I know that you know how Chisakimaku was when you battled her. It couldn't have ended that fast. If you thought that was bad, well…if you think I'm kidding, finish off your opponent."

"That I will. Now…" Whirlwind turned to where Jigglypuff laid.

Or rather, where she did lay.

"What? Where is she?" He turned around. Jigglypuff was right in his face. She was completely restored, and now, there was a pure force surrounding her, and the hat was shining bright as ever.

"Unbelievable…You're pretty strong for a puffball. I've underestimated you."

"What type of energy is that? It's nothing like I've ever used or seen, chi!"

"Let's just pray that this energy helps her win this battle," said Kirby.

Jigglypuff grinned. "You sure have. I have the forces of nature to protect me. You can't win now."

"Oh? Well let's see if those forces help."

"They already have."

Whirlwind looked down and noticed that the Rainbow Cruise was traveling its normal route. "Okay…now let's see them help you!"

Jigglypuff grabbed Whirlwind's smoke-like hands and, utilizing their extendability, threw him into a mountain. She then pulled him back toward her and punched him in his stomach. Then she started choking him. Without her hands.

"Why can't I move? Why...?" Whirlwind asked in his choked-up state.

"I told you. The forces of nature are on my side. Aren't you a force of nature? Huh?"

Whirlwind whimpered as he was tossed into the air.

"This battle's over," said Sukama.

Jigglypuff sucked Whirlwind into her hat. Its glow dimmed a little, and the energy that surrounded her faded slowly. She flew back to the Spirit Cloud.

"Good work, Jigglypuff! You did pretty well out there on your own," complimented Sukama.

"What was that weird energy surrounding you, chi?"

"I'm gonna guess it had something to do with the time I spent with Mewtwo. But I won, and that's what matters."

The sky cleared up and the rainbows reappeared. All was well.

"Let's get outta here," the four said at once. They left the level and headed for the Smash Bros. Manor.

The four reached the Manor silently. The weather, as well as anything previously demolished, was restored, as usual. It was 11:50 when Jigglypuff reached her window. She and Kirby jumped into her room through the window.

"Only 3 left, chi!" Chisakimaku cheered, smiling widely.

"We'll see you later. Try to have some fun for once," said Sukama. The Spirit Cloud left.

"Wow. Those battles are pretty rough on you, Jigglypuff," said Kirby.

"Yeah, they are. But I'm used to it by now, though. Something always happens when I fight. It's like I'm blessed or something."

"Are you coming downstairs?"

Jigglypuff nodded and the two went downstairs to the Royal Room. The first person they saw there wasn't a person. It was Pichu, jumping for joy and cheering loudly.

"Not that it's uncommon, but you're looking happy today," said Kirby.

"Why wouldn't I be? We're going on a field trip!" Pichu said, giggling.

"Really? Where to?" asked Jigglypuff. Maybe she actually would have some fun today…

"Snowy Plains! I love the Snowy Plains!" Pichu squealed.

"Where's everybody else?" asked Kirby.

"They're getting ready! They should be upstairs somewhere."

"I better get ready too," said Kirby as he walked to his room with Jigglypuff close behind. He rummaged through his small closet and took out a purple scarf and a large, blue winter hat. "What about you? Are you bringing anything?"

"Maybe."

"Well, I'll be downstairs until we leave." And with that, Kirby went back to the Royal Room. Jigglypuff went to her own room, wondering what she could take with her to the Snowy Plains. After a little scouring, she found a patterned scarf with red, green, blue, and yellow colors. It matched her hat perfectly, so she decided to bring it. After that, she went down to the Royal Room, where Luigi, Ness, Link, and the Ice Climbers were chatting with Kirby.

"Hi guys," she said.

"Jigglypuff, are you excited?" asked Ness, holding a small, dark blue, fluffy coat and a pair of sweats the same color.

"…A little bit." Jigglypuff sat next to Kirby on the couch.

"Well, it's nothing for us," said Popo, wearing his normal attire.

"Hopefully this trip will last a while," said Luigi, holding a large green coat and a green winter hat, both with the letter L patched on in the front.

"Wonder where Pichu went all of a sudden…" said Jigglypuff.

"When are we leaving?" asked Kirby.

"5 minutes, at noon. So everybody should be coming down soon," said Link, holding a green parka and dark green sweats.

"That rhymed," said Nana, in normal attire.

Yoshi, Young Link, Peach, C. Falcon, Fox, and Marth came downstairs.

"Hello!" said Yoshi, bringing nothing with him.

"How are you?" greeted Kirby.

"I'm fine," said Falcon, also bringing nothing with him.

"We're leaving in 2 minutes," said Peach, now wearing pink sweats, a pink sweater, and holding a pink fur coat.

"Good. The quicker, the better," said Marth, bringing nothing.

"I'll get the bus started," said Peach, walking outside. Yes, the Smashers had their own traveling bus. Its only drivers are Peach, Samus, and C. Falcon, and it is for trip usage only. When Peach left, the rest of the Smashers came down and waited for departure in the Royal Room. They talked as they waited. Peach soon called them from outside.

"Okay, everyone! Time to hit the road!"

That's over. The next chapter is another spirit battle…