The Mii Fighter Chronicles
Chapter Thirteen: The Takeoff
"Chibi, how are our systems looking?"
The tiny robot looked up from the dashboard where he was plugged in. He held up his hand and gave a tiny mechanical thumbs-up. "Everything looks good up here, boss."
Reggie grinned and gripped the steering mechanism. He glanced through the periscope to see the banks of the fake Hudson River around the sub. He tapped the intercom next to him. "Erin, is Mario ready yet?"
"Not yet, Reg," Erin replied. "Just a couple more-"
Erin trailed off. Reggie could hear Mario's voice saying something, but he couldn't make it out.
"He thinks he's got it. Try it now."
Reggie switched on the flight controls and pumped the ignition. Several uneven waves of vibration roared through the craft as it started to raise out of the water. A loud puttering erupted from their back end and the engine died, sending them splashing back into the water and making waves on the neighboring shores.
A few brief Italian curses came across the intercom followed by a coarse "hang on."
After a few seconds of muffled tinkering sounds, Erin's voice said, "Now. Try it now."
Reggie tried again. The engine puttered and screeched for one agonizing moment before roaring to life and rocketing into the air. Reggie was thrown back and had to hold tight to the wheel for a few seconds. The ship veered sharply to the left for a second, ramming into a cardboard skyscraper and knocking it into the one behind it. Reggie pulled hard on the wheel to correct their course.
"Yes!" he said.
He could hear Erin and Mario cheering on the opposite end of the intercom. "We did it," Erin shouted.
Reggie steered the submarine in and out of a few of the surrounding buildings, real and fake, just to test how well it flew. With the exception of one tight turn, the ship sailed as smooth as Lon Lon Milk. "It's working," he shouted over the intercom. "How are we looking down there?"
A loud beeping started on Chibi-Robo's console at the front of the room. On the screen before him, a cluster of glowing dots appeared, coming toward them and growing fast.
"What in the world?" Reggie said. He glanced through his periscope to see what was going on. At first, he didn't see anything, but then four objects streaked past his view, orange, pink, red, then blue. Reggie pulled back in surprise. He glanced at Chibi-Robo's screen. It now displayed that the cluster of dots was behind them.
"What the-"
Before he could finish his sentence, something large and heavy slammed into the side of the submarine, knocking him to the floor. Reggie scrambled to get to his feet while the craft tilted sideways and loud scratching noises met their ears. Reggie got his arms around the wheel and peered through the periscope to see a large green dragon animated like something out of a Disney movie frantically clawing its way past its unexpected obstacle.
After a few seconds, the dragon pulled free of the sub and launched into the air, knocking it away. Reggie tried his best to correct, but it was too late. The sub slammed into the side of a very real building, shattering glass and crunching metal in the process. Reggie pulled and twisted on his controls desperately trying to break free. After a few aggravating moments of metal screeching and people screaming and running inside the building, Reggie finally managed to pull free and turn the ship around.
The door behind him slid open and Erin and Mario ran into the room. "What happened?" Erin asked, running to Reggie's side and grasping his shoulder.
"I don't know," Reggie said, breathing hard. "A dragon . . . Chasing something." He pointed straight ahead. "I have a feeling we should follow too."
Princess Daphne swiped at Samus with her dagger. Brawler fiddled with his controls, making Samus dodge to the side while firing off a blast of her arm cannon. Daphne took it in the shoulder, scattering her pixels momentarily before reassembling back together.
Behind them, Villager, Jazz, and the Pac-family watched the fight unfold. "How do we find the controllers?" Jazz asked.
"We need a plan," Pac-Man said. He peeked out and gestured at the controller in Brawler's hand. "See that gamepad. It's wired to detect amiibo signatures in the area, which means we might be able to use it to locate the Dragon's Lair amiibos that created Dirk, Daphne, and the dragon."
"What about the amiibos on the train that they're looking for?" Villager asked. "Won't it just lead us right to them?"
"Don't worry about that," Pac-Man said. "We've got some friends handling it."
Villager and Jazz gave each other a look. "Okay," Jazz said. "So, what do we do about the princess and the player over there?" She jerked her head in the direction of the fight.
Mrs. Pac-Man glanced over the wall. She held up another pellet. "I've got one more," she said. "I can eat the princess. It won't defeat her, but it should reduce her to eyeballs for a short time. In that time, we talk to the Mii over there and get him to help us."
"Also, we might be able to follow her eyes back to base," Pac-Man said, "but that depends on if she's programmed like the ghosts in our game."
Mrs. Pac-Man took a deep breath. "Alright," she said, handing the baby in her arms over to her husband. "You three stay down and keep quiet for a second."
Pac-Man took the baby and patted his wife on the arm. "Good luck, Cyl," he said.
Mrs. Pac-Man quietly stepped over the burnt-out wall and crept up to the princess while her back was turned. About two or three feet away, she popped the pellet into her mouth and morphed into her giant form. Princess Daphne flashed blue, but before she could turn around, she disappeared inside Mrs. Pac-Man's mouth. A pair of small round cartoon eyeballs flew out and rolled around on the wall of the tipped train. They didn't seem to be going anywhere, simply settling in a corner and glaring up at Mrs. Pac-Man.
Samus dropped her weapon as Brawler stared at the giant yellow ball with a bow. "What the-," he said. "How many of these things are there?"
"Come on," Pac-Man said as he, Villager, and Jazz hopped over the wall.
Brawler's eyes went wide and he punched in the targeting controls for Samus. Samus raised her gun arm and prepared to fire at the newcomers. "Whoa!" Brawler shouted. "Just who are you guys supposed to be?"
Pac-Man, Villager, and Jazz slowed to a stop and raised their hands. "Take it easy, kid," Pac-Man said. "We're on your side. We need your gamepad."
"Uh-huh, sure," Brawler said. "I bet you're with those glitches too, aren't you?"
Pac-Man rolled his eyes while his wife reverted to her normal state. He glanced around for a second. "Alright," he said. "Look at this baby. If I was with the bad guys, would I have a baby in my arms?"
Brawler considered for a moment. "Maybe it's an evil baby."
"Right, sure. Okay, then, punch me. If my pixels scatter, I'm a bad guy. If they don't, I'm a good guy. Work for you?"
Brawler scratched at his chin. "But you're holding a baby," he said.
Pac-Man took a deep breath. "Okay. Punch him then." he gestured to Villager.
"What?" Villager asked. Brawler ran at him, raising his fist. Villager tried to block, but Brawler was too fast, striking him in the arm.
"Ow!" Villager shouted.
Brawler nodded, watching Villager's arm for signs of pixellization. "Alright," he said. "You guys are solid. What do you need?"