Hey dudes and dudettes, it's been a while since I've posted. Don't worry, I have in fact been working on the fanfiction. More on that later. I've posted part one of episode one of my new fanfic, it's based on the old Super Mario Super Show. The fanfic is more of a comedy thing. I will post the second part when I have more time to write. Just to note, I think of Aran as my main fanfic, so priority will be given to this story. I have two ideas for later fics once this one is done or close to done, you all will love them, well at least I think you would, but I'm not sure because I haven't gotten too much feedback. I'm gonna say it again, please post a review. Some people don't because they don't have an account, but making an account didn't take that long. For now, enjoy Chapter 14 of Aran!

It was midday now. My suit indicated the temperature had climbed to over 100. The air was dry and visibly hazy. Heat was playin' tricks on my mind, coulda' swore I saw some weird tuff along the way. I was getting antsy, but to my relief, MH had finally responded to the message I had sent earlier.

"Message received, will have Mario and Mega man rendezvous immediately." Was all I got back from MH. He can be so uncommunicative sometimes. Then again, some people say the same about me.

"What ya got?" Fox asked?

"An Italian plumber and a robot." I responded sarcastically. Which probably wasn't all that warranted, as those two did make pretty good backup. However. I had told MH I wanted a RIDE, and unless Mario brought some of his racing karts along, I doubt he had anything along the lines of transportation. Maybe he at least brought some spaghetti along. The mystery meat we had yesterday didn't really cut it. I could use some vodka too... although that would just dehydrate me more. Darn it, I thought about water again...

"Hey furball, pass me the dihydrogen monoxide."

Fox's eyes widened. "Uuuuh, didn't bring any. I've heard that stuff is real dangerous!"

"Water, you dummy." I would've thought Fox a little more intelligent than not to fall for that gag.

"OH, here." Fox handed over the water bottle our new friend had supplied us with.

I took a carefully measured sip of it, and corked it immediately. It was still a bit cool, and I didn't want it to warm up from the heat.

Despite the present circumstances, I was feeling fairly confident, if Mario had any supplies it could still be feasible to reach our destination on foot, given that Snake doesn't make another move before then. However, before we left, MH had told us Snake had sent MH a private ultimatum, most likely Snake wouldn't do anything until the deadline. He's kind've an arrogant d-k sometimes... most of the time, but he's a man of his words. My new suit upgrade was yet another good reason to feel prepared. I wasn't even all that worried about Snake, truly. More about having to face him again. I assume they had Wolf back again, too. But he isn't even half the threat that snake is. Before I could ponder that any further, our backup arrived.

Just like when Wolf escaped, a portal appeared. I had been relaying any data I collected about this area directly from my suit to Smash's database in practically real time. Therefore, MH had enough information to create a makeshift portal here. Out stepped everyone's favorite licensed European plumber. He greeted us with his usual happy-go-lucky smile.

"Hey Paisanos!"

"First off, we aren't Italians, secondly, did you bring transportation? Thirdly, did you bring food and water? Fourthly, if that's even a word, where's blue boy?" I showered him with questions.

Mario laughed nervously "heh... well I have some explaining to do. But I'm sure you will change your mind about being Italians after you try my famous spaghetti, aboard my new ride!"

A second later what looked like a mobile home attached to a hot air balloon materialized out of the portal. I had never seen something to large come from a portal before, I wonder how MH managed it.

"Sweet ride dude!" Fox complimented. He likes things that fly. Pit joked to me once that if Fox figured out he couldn't really fly that he might lose all of Fox's respect.

"Eeeeh, you guys can keep this our little secret right? I had to pull in some favors to get this thing. Time travel sure is complicated, mama mia." Mario whispered, not that anyone else could hear us in the middle of a flippin desert.

The inside was cramped, as whatever this craft was, you could tell it had been designed for someone much shorter than me. At least fox fit just fine. I sat down on a couch, Fox found himself a rocking chair, and Mario flopped on a beanbag, and took a small USB stick out of his overall pocket. For just a fleeting second I was worried about mega man for some reason, but then Mega Man appeared from behind a piece of furniture he was dusting. He waved hello at us, and we waved back. He then went back to his work. Hmmph, how typical, Mario makes the robot do all the work for him. Someday, robots are going to rise up and destroy humans, probably... Mario inserted the USB into his laptop, and showed us design schematics for his peculiar vehicle. I worked out the gist of it. This thing was capable of long distance intraplanetary transportation, and pretty fast at it too. Fox nodded his understanding. He could be kinda gullible at times, but he sure did understand anything associated with aviation engineering.

"Like I said, hush hush if you please." Mario reminded us.

"My lips are sealed." I promised. Truth be told, if the explanation of how he got this thing involved time travel as he has implied, I didn't want to hear it. Time travel is confusing stuff!

Mario called Mega Man over and told him to get the meal ready. Mega man was wearing a cook's apron that read "kiss the cook". Nice try, blue boy. Mega Man saluted Mario, and got to work making final preparations for dinner. Holy crap I could use some carbs right now, so despite my objections to Mario making Mega Man do all the work, I wasn't gonna mention it. Fill your belly first, then challenge the injustices of the world, I say.

Five minutes later, Mega Man had set up a makeshift table, and had served four steaming plates of Mario's secret spaghetti recipe. Leave it to an Italian to transport us to culinary heaven.

"mmmmm" I purred while enjoying the pasta. But I had questions. With my mouth full, I asked Mario

"So, got any news from MH?"

"Yea, MH used the data you sent back, he isolated Snake's biosign. Apparently, there are others in the near vicinity to him as we speak. For heaven's sake, Samus, don't talk with your mouth full!"

Table manners weren't my concern right now, so I ignored him, I was so interested in hearing who MH had found, I didn't even notice the pasta sauce stain on my chin, and jammed more spaghetti in my mouth. "Who did he find, Mario?"

Mario sighed "Well, Wolf is there... you know who is there" Mario gave me a meaningful glance, I know who he was talking about. "and ice-cream-boy is near them as well."

"Wait, what? If he's there..."

"Yes, we don't know for absolutely certain, but considering he hasn't changed his location at all, he is either doing recon on those three, or he is currently captured, maybe being held hostage." Mario hypothesized.

"I'm sure Pit is doing recon on them, he wouldn't of gotten himself captured." Fox looked assured.

I nearly choked on my spaghetti. "Kiddin me? Pit don't have the brains to do recon, he's probably captured, who knows what they could be doin' to im, that dragon sonova b-h, he's a cruel B-ard', and ere' we are eatin spaghetti!" I said while trying not to choke on my mouthful of delicious Italian pasta.

Mario tried to comfort me. "Don't worry Samus. Fox is right, Pit can hold his own. I fought alongside him in the subspace war. He kinda saved my lasagna, in fact."

I wasn't convinced. There's a reason why the kid wears sandals. No, it's not just part of the getup, I doubt he knows how to tie shoes. Then again, every now and then he surprises us by doing something moderately intelligent. But if Snake, Wolf, and Ridley knew of his presence, he wouldn't last long against the combined might of all three. He could take wolf, sure. But I wasn't so sure about Ridley or Snake. I don't think I could forgive myself if somehtin' happened to him. Certainly, I wouldn't leave any of my comrades hanging in a sticky situation, present company included. But I was decent friends with Pit, sometimes he took my newfound pet, Pikachu, for walks when I was busy. I friggin' love that little mouse. Sure hope Lucy is remembering not to let him eat too much ketchup. I left Lucy with a pokemon breeder who knew quite a lot about taking care of that little sucker. He's kind've a weird guy, he never opens his eyes, and the moment he realized I was a woman, he began to flirt with me. Ugh. But he seemed to know a lot about taking care of pokemon. Anyway, I digress. I got up from the table.

"we should leave immediately." Mega Man got up too, with a determined look on his face. He didn't talk much, kind of reminds me of Link. Link was the strong and silent type at first... unless you brought up the topic of pottery. He was quite knowledgeable and vocal on that subject. But one thing I also knew about the robot: he was always ready to help out a buddy in need. Mario sighed, and reluctantly agreed. Lazy b-ard probably wanted a nap first. Fox got up too.

"Alright comrades, for mother RUSSIA! Now that I've eaten, I'm all revved up!" I enthused spontaneously.

Mario chuckled "Where did you get that line, Sam?"

"Can it, pasta boy, if this thing can fly, let's get it running."

"BOY? I'm probably a decade older than you, young lady." Mario grumbled as he punched a button on his balloon-ship-thingy's command interface. Was it just me, or did I notice something weird about his hat for just a split second...? Nah, probably just my imagination.

"Plumbers log 101 and a half, Mega Man and I have picked up Samus and Fox, and are now about to mount what could be a rescue mission for our comrade Pit, who may be in the evil clutches of Snake, a former comrade who went rogue, and the fearsome pilot and mercenary, archenemies of Star Fox-"

Mario's narcissistic self-narration was cut off as Fox interjected: "STAR WOLF!"

"Yea, him. Lastly, the ferocious leader of the space pirates, the infamous- OOgsnHhNH1RFO%ER%W^-"

I put my hand on his mouth just in time. "Say his name and I'll punch yer lights out, motherplumber." I warned before taking my hand off.

"Geez, okay, okay, don't lose your lasagna... any who, where was I?"

"You were saying Fox is the best pilot in the world." Fox suggested.

"Alright wise guy, how about YOU take the wheel then. I'm gonna go roll a joint, today's been a stressful day." Mario gave Fox the controls.

"Hold on to your tails." Fox said as he attempted to figure out the controls on sight.

"You're the only one here with a tail, furball."

"Oh right."

-Ten minutes later-

Mario shared his blunt with Fox and I, so we felt a bit more chill now. Fox was tending to the controls, Mario was looking at princesses on tindr, and Mega Man was washing the post-meal dishes. As for me, I was absently scrolling through Mario's laptop, which was hooked up to the Manor's primary database for intel on Wolf, Snake... and Ridley. I was reviewing their fighting styles. Snake's typical strategy in matches were to deploy a combination of remote-activated c-4s and hand grenades in an effort to affect where the opponent will choose to move on the stage. By limiting their options, it made it easier to predict their movements... interesting. Wolf, well I got to see how he fought. He's at his best piloting. Honestly his hand-to-hand wasn't much to worry about. I had incapacitated him with one movement. I found other less relevant results, such as recipe's Snake made last season, he's actually a decent chef. He made a mini-cookbook on Italian cuisine, he would often have Mario try out his creations, so Mario could judge how authentically Italian the food tasted. Snake had recipes for pizza, alfredo based pastas, spaghetti, Mario's favorite, and various salads. Apparently, Snake was a real salad dude. Damn him, why can't he continue to use his brain for things like cooking rather than evil plans to take over Super Smash Bros!? Ugh. Then I found some data on Ridley, not that I found much at first that I didn't already know... his very size just made him that harder to kill. With him, it's enough of a challenge to simply avoid his attacks, and godamnit, him breathing fire doesn't really help. Ridley... he's simply a killing machine... I'm guessing his kill count was in the thousands. I wonder if smash had data on that? I searched "Ridley kill count", and strangely, I got a hit.

I wasn't particularly expecting to get any results. This Intel, without a doubt, came from the Federation itself. The Federation tried to keep accounts of Ridley's destruction to a limit, to avoid mass panic. If people knew how ruthless he was... wait, the result was a page that listed names of people who had previously on the colony K-2L. I say previously because Ridley killed them all. My heart skipped a beat. I began to wonder if I could find... I strolled down, and sure enough, I found my parents names. I had positioned the page so that their names were the bottom two results. I scrolled down one more... "Samus Aran: Status: Alive." Of course, I was the only confirmed survivor of that incident. Most names had "confirmed deceased" after them. Many names, like the next one on the list. for example, actually said "presumed dead", as their actual bodies weren't found. It was pretty much taken for granted they were dead.- wait. This name... the name after mine, it shared my last name!

It was this moment when I remembered last night's dream. Sometimes, when I wake up, I won't remember a dream at first, but as the day goes on. you finally remember it.

"Solomon Aran: Status: presumed dead". I stared at this name. Could it have been him? The little boy from my dream? My palms were sweating. I wanted to see if I could find more about him. A picture, something. I searched the name on the database, a result popped up.

"Samus! We're within your suit's scanner range." Fox reported from the helm.

I had my suit hooked up with the ships controls and navigational equipment, that's how he knew. Now that we were close, I could get a more detailed scan. I "borrowed" Mario's USB stick, and saved this particular file to it. Mario's flash drive contained the schematics from earlier, several "Plumber's Log"s, and several JPEG files titled "Bowsette". that old perv... but now was not the time to snoop.

I accessed my suit's scanning functions. The coordinates I had found earlier were very accurate. Snake and the other's biosigns were exactly where they should be. Seemed a bit TOO convenient, if you ask me.

"got em. But I have a bad feeling about this."

"Why's that?"

Somehow, one of the biosigns had moved from where it was a second ago, to only about fifty meters off our starboard bow.

"ITS A TRAP!" I pointed out the window, and saw the very thing I never hoped to see EVER again. It got closer by the second... scaly, slender, and grotesquely lizard-like...

"RIDLEY!" I shouted a bit louder than I meant to, but this was a good thing. It made Fox panic more, and he narrowly avoided having Ridley collide right with our ship. Damn, spotted already. I guess this was it, it was time to do this thing.

"BLUE BOY, PASTA-FACE, GET IN HERE!" I commanded.

Mega Man got there faster, Mario was just getting up form a nap.

"What in the blazes, are we there already...?" Mario was still drowsy. But we didn't have time. What happened a few moments before was a stroke of luck that wasn't likely to repeat itself. Ridley was deadly in the air.

"Fox, get this thing over that hill over there!" I pointed to a sand dune about a kilometer away. I didn't have time to tell them all of my plan, just the basics.

"Roger!"

"Listen, I want you to fly maybe just a few meters above it. I'm gonna have to ditch you guys, I'm jumping out."

"WHAT?" Fox and Mario asked simultaneously.

"Lure Ridley away, I'm goin' for Pit. If you all three gang up on him- you should be able- HERE'S MY STOP!"

There was a hatch on the floor that lead straight down. I yanked it open. I felt kinda bad for making them deal with Ridley, but once I took care of Snake and found Pit, we could regroup and take down that SOB.

"Samus!" Fox called after me, but I had already pushed myself down. I had fox fly literally directly above the hill to make it a softer landing. Ridley had positioned himself above our vessel, so he wouldn't notice.

"Oof!" the fall was short, but it was still painful due to the fact that my suit and body had all the inertia from the movement of the aircraft. But I managed to get up, and find cover under a nearby overhang. Ridley was still pursuing the ship. I trusted Fox, he was the best pilot on the Smash roster. I began to jog in the direction of the biosign my suit had picked up and identified as likely being pit. It didn't seem sure though, for whatever reason. I slid quickly down the hill, and at the foot of the hill, I sighted what seemed to be an abandoned grey-and-beige military complex surrounded by a tall barbed fence. It was very plain looking, and blended with the surroundings, nestled between sand dunes so that it would be hidden from view. A burst from my jump booster got me right over the fence. Somehow, Snake knew we were here. Likely, he had become aware of our presence by a different means than we did. MH had finally locked him out of the main Smash Bros. computer after much difficulty, according to what Fox had told we on the way here. I didn't have time to think about how Snake had detected us, I had more important things to worry about right now... or so I say, but I had a million things running through my head... the data I had found on Mario's laptop... I had the flash drive in a hidden storage compartment in my suit, I didn't want to risk leaving it with the guys.

I kicked in a locked door to gain entry into the compounds main building. I was pretty close to Pit's biosign, it was in a room down the hallway. There were many identical and plain looking doors, the place looked like some sort of medical building. I sprinted, not even going for stealth anymore, then barged into a room labeled "kitchen". I half expected to see a perky 5'3' angel happily eating ice cream off the floor, but curiously, all I saw was a R.O.B. unit preparing a salad. He, yes it's a he, don't worry I have a minor in robot anatomy, I can tell. It had a chopping board with an array of vegetables organized on it. The R.O.B. unit had turned to face me, it was quite shocked to see me. I was holding a knife in one hand, apparently about to dice up some eggplants for the salad. One robot, no angel. I was a bit perplexed. But my scanner told me that he was in the room. Then I noticed the R.O.B. was holding one of the eggplants, and strangely, this one had a pair of legs!

I put two and two together.

"DROP THE KNIFE AND EGGPLANT!" I ordered realizing the gravity of the situation. R.O.B. did as he was commanded, intimidated by me pointing my cannon arm at him.

PHEW! It took a bit to write that one too, had to decide on what stuff I wanted to reveal, and how much in this chapter. Don't worry, I know this chapter took almost a month, but I haven't forgotten this fanfic, in fact it's my main priority, It's just I had to do more behind the scenes work for this one.