Author's Note: Sorry about the long wait, guys. I've had writer's block, and college work got in the way again.
Chapter 11: A Well-Deserved Break, Part I
Alongside Link, Snake, Wolf, and Candace I made my way back up to the control room. The difference this time was that no enemies got in our way. In fact, there were none left on the Halberd. It seemed that after the defeat of Duon, the other Subspace troops were eradicated. The looming red sky was still hanging over our heads, but other than that, there was nothing to worry about.
We saw Kayla looking out of the broken windshield of the control room. Upon entering the room, Kayla noticed our presences and turned to greet us with a goofy grin on her face.
"Hey, that was awesome!" Kayla exclaimed. "I saw the whole battle, and you guys hauled ass! I even saw the finishing blow, and that was quite a sight to see!" I blushed and smiled meekly at the last sentence, letting a small chuckle escape my mouth. Kayla had been rather entertained watching our battle against Duon, and her spirits were lifted greatly.
Just then Meta Knight walked into the control room with Mr. Game and Watch. When Meta Knight saw the mess that had been made here, particularly the broken glass, his eyes changed color and seemed to express shock and anger.
"What happened in here?!" he cried. "What happened to my windshield? Who did this?" Immediately Kayla, Mr. Game and Watch and I pointed at Link and Snake, accusing them of the damages. The two of them just gave us an annoyed look, and Meta Knight glared at them and fumed. He looked ready to tear out the internal organs of both men, until Kayla stopped him.
"Relax, Meta Knight!" she told him, hoping to calm him. "They were just trying to help you take back the ship. Besides, I already cleaned up the glass while you guys were busy." She pointed to a broom and dustpan in the corner and grinned. Mr. Game and Watch beeped. After a moment, Meta Knight calmed himself, and his eyes changed back to their normal yellow hue.
"Right, sorry about the outburst," he said. "Well now, it's time to take back my ship." He waddled over to the helm of the ship, and with one smooth turn of the wheel, the Halberd changed course and flew out of the red clouds into the bright blue sky. The change of scenery was nice. I was trying to take it in, when Candace distracted me.
"I have a question," she started. "What exactly happened when the Halberd rumbled? Did it crash into something? I looked out of one of the portholes, and I saw part of the Glacier Peak."
"Ah yes, about that," Meta Knight responded. "I was atop the Glacier Peak when the Halberd crashed into it. It sent a few others tumbling down the mountain, but I took advantage of the situation and climbed aboard the Halberd. That is when I encountered Duon."
"Hey, that reminds me!" Kayla interrupted. "I had one of those visions while you guys were out."
"Really? What did you see, Kayla?" Candace eagerly asked her.
"Well, the first vision I saw involved the Glacier Peak. The Halberd crashed into it and sent Lex, Lucario, and the Pokemon Trainer tumbling down the mountain. At the bottom of the mountain I saw Jess and Ike, and all five of them managed to run into each other. An icy boulder hit Lucario square on the head, and that's when the scene changed."
"What else did you see?" Snake interrupted her.
"I was getting to that! Anyway, the next thing I saw was Renee and Zelda infiltrating some kind of factory. It was on a floating island. They saw Peach and Kitty and managed to rescue them, and the four of them entered the factory on the island. Oh, and they were with Captain Falcon also. That's about it."
"Well, that sounds like good news to me…I guess," I commented, not completely sure of myself. Suddenly I heard a low rumble. It didn't sound very threatening, but it was a rumble nonetheless.
"Oh sorry," Wolf murmured. "That was my stomach. I must be hungry." Wolf's comment also made me hungry, along with everyone else apparently.
"Oh great," I muttered as my own stomach rumbled. "You just reminded me of my hunger. I don't think any of us have eaten much in the past week. Not to mention we've barely had any decent sleep." Meta Knight contemplated this drawback for a bit and then spoke up.
"Sir Game and Watch, stay here and take the helm. The rest of you, please follow me." Meta Knight turned and walked out of the control room and down the flight of steps. We hurried after him to catch up to him. None of us knew where we were going, but we were sure that Meta Knight had a good reason for having us follow him.
He led us to two wide, opposite facing corridors and stopped to face us. He pointed down the left corridor and said, "This hall leads to the kitchen and dining area. In there you will find crates of food and water." He pointed down the right hall and continued, "This hall leads to the sleeping quarters. Mind you, they aren't the best rooms, but they're good enough. The sun is setting soon, and you all appear exhausted from your adventures. I advise that you get some nourishment and rest. Tomorrow you may continue on your endeavors."
"Thanks a lot for the hospitality, Meta Knight," I said. "We really appreciate it."
"Not a problem, Lady Brooke," he replied. "It is the least I could do for you after you all helped me fight Duon and take back my ship. Go on now; I will send Sir Marth and Sir Pit to join you." I smiled at the blue knight (who looked like a marshmallow) before I ushered the others down the left hall.
We turned a corner and entered a rather large room. On one side of the room stood a kitchen-dining room combination, and it looked like it was recently cleaned. On the other side of the room stood several stacks of wooden crates and barrels, along with a few storage units for water. Our eyes bulged at the sight of the room, particularly the food supply, and we almost drooled, influenced by the general consensus of hunger.
Everyone made a mad rush into the room and towards the supplies, but we all stopped short in order to remain calm. We weren't about to let our hunger make us go insane.
"Okay, let's handle this like mature adults, shall we?" I suggested with a smirk. "Link, can you pry open those crates? Wolf, how about you open those barrels? Snake can fetch the water jugs. Kayla, Candace…let's get cookin'!" Everyone reported to their assigned jobs and got to work.
Link was using his sword to pry open crate after wooden crate, and the scent of fresh produce filled the air. Wolf was opening the barrels, and the aroma of grains and sweets tickled everyone's noses. Snake was gathering the water jugs and dividing the water into glasses. Kayla, Candace and I prepared the kitchen and gathered the food with which we could cook. Candace opened the refrigerator and released the smell of meat and dairy products, which caused us to grin with excitement. The three of us girls planned to use our combined culinary skills to whip up a feast, and man, was it going to be a fine one.
As everyone continued working, the bandaged Marth and Pit strolled in to join us. When they saw what was going on, they offered to help. It would have been a bit crowded in the kitchen, so we assigned them to set the round table, which just happened to have eight seats.
When we were finally finished with our jobs, we all gathered around the table in the following order: Marth, Kayla, Pit, Candace, Wolf, Snake, myself, and Link. Kayla, Candace and I presented the fruits of our labor, so to speak, and everyone eyed the food before them with delight. I stood up and gathered everyone's attention by clearing my throat.
"Before we start, I'd like to propose a toast." I raised my glass, and everyone followed my example, some more eager than others. "So, over the past several days we have met each other, and together we have worked hard to slay our enemies and help our allies, and that hard work managed to get us where we are right now, alive and well. So…a toast…to our health and our amazing ability to kick ass!"
"CHEERS!" we all shouted and we tapped our glasses together, the sound of clanging glass echoing throughout the room. At that point, everyone began to help themselves to the chicken teriyaki stir-fry with vegetables and rice.
As we ate, we conversed on several topics: everything from our adventures in the past to our likes and dislikes and even our most embarrassing moments. The topic that really intrigued the group was how my friends and I ended up in this world and how we know everyone who resides here. We told the gentlemen the tale of our sudden arrival, mentioning the video game and the power outage. Only Snake and Wolf seemed to understand us, being that they were more technologically advanced than some of their comrades. Link, Pit and Marth couldn't help but tilt their heads and stare at us with baffled expressions, and we couldn't help but laugh.
We finished the feast with a delicious brownie cake that I baked. When we were done stuffing our faces with real food, the men all uttered a simultaneous 'Thank you, ladies!' and the girls and I giggled and bade them welcome. We cleared the table, cleaned up the kitchen, and repacked the leftover food. Looking out of the portholes, it was evident that the sun had set and that the night had begun. Knowing this, we decided to retire to our quarters with full stomachs and sound minds. Yeah, we were tired.
Author's Notes: Well, this chapter marks the beginning of a break from the action-packed plot, and it also starts to focus more on the characters themselves - something that I figured may of you would want to see. Also, I had to split this chapter into two parts; otherwise the chapter would have been way too long. Part II should be up soon.
P.S. I'd like to thank all of my readers for 1000+ hits on this story so far. I really appreciate the support. Don't forget to review. It keeps me motivated and helps me improve my writing.