(Hello, everyone! This is Xybur7! In this chapter, yes, I actually do it. It was hinted at in the previous chapter at the end, but now, it will happen. I'm a horrible person, aren't I? I still feel as though I'm about to screw with a lot of people. Well, I guess I'm just gonna have to wait and see, then count all the hate mail...
DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own anything but the plot. Any and all characters/places/objects belong to their respective owners.)
Chapter 8: On the Verge of Collapse
Lucario opened his eyes after a well-deserved nap. It felt like forever since the pokémon had actually slept instead of keeping one eye open all the time. He yawned and stretched and felt something small, warm and slightly electrified on his lap. He looked down tiredly at the sleeping Pikachu in his lap then to side at Red, passed out beside him. The castle was dead silent. 'Finally, a quiet day,' the pokémon thought to himself. All the people in the room were fast asleep. Lucario tested his aura sight. Many of the fighters were asleep in the room. A few others were talking around the castle. No twisted aura could be found outside. Lucario homed in on two auras in the banquet hall. One flickered green and the other glowed turquoise with a speck of ruby red on its chest. 'Link and Marth,' Lucario recognized. 'What are they talking about?' The pokémon opened his eyes and scanned over the sleeping warriors. He spotted a white wing hanging out of a small bunk on the other side of the room. 'Finally able to ditch Pit, huh?' Lucario gently lifted Pikachu, placed her beside Red, and carefully hopped over the sleeping fighters. He made his way to the banquet hall where the two swordsmen where talking.
"You're sure it's alright?" Link asked the Altean prince.
"Yes. The primid army immediately ran after me and Ike after we abandoned it. It shouldn't be too much in shambles," Marth answered.
"We're going to move?" Lucario joined in. The swordsmen looked up at the approaching pokémon.
"It's been a few days already and the castle's condition is getting worse," Link started to explain. "The wall, no, our entire fortress is about ready to collapse. We need a new base before this one fails, so I was asking Marth about his castle."
"I was saying Ike and I held out as long as we could," Marth began. "Our castle is so heavily fortified, it had to take millions of primids a week to break in. And it was just Ike and me. Two people. Eventually, though, they broke through the siege and got to us. But even then, as soon as we left, they did. The primids weren't interested in destroying the castle, just trying to get to us. So the castle still stands and is much better for a defensive fortress. When we get there and with the amount of warriors here, we can hold the Subspace army back forever."
"Sounds feasible," Lucario agreed. "When do we move?"
"We're discussing that." Link pointed at himself and Marth. "We think soon. We just need to prepare everyone. Umm… where are they?" Lucario and Marth stared at him weirdly.
"Link," Lucario slowly said. "They're all exhausted. They're in the clinic asleep. Like you probably should be."
"Oh, right… Yeah, I knew that. I'm, uh, good. Not tired. I'm busy anyway." Link rubbed his face a little. Lucario narrowed his eyes. The Hylian was lying. There were dark circles below his deep blue eyes and his shoulders sagged. His green tunic was slightly smudged with dirt and ripped. Lucario felt just as tired but at least he had given himself a break.
"Uh, Link? When's the last time you've slept?" Marth narrowed his eyes as well and leaned forward, curious.
"For more than a couple of hours," Lucario added.
"Umm… Like… two, three…" Link looked up at the high ceiling and started raising his fingers one by one. Marth and Lucario stared in shock as he counted. "Little more than a week…" Link finally answered. "Why you ask?" Both Marth and Lucario blinked.
"Link! You need sleep!" the pokémon burst out.
"Uh, yeah, I'll get to that." Link brushed it off groggily. "Anyway, Marth, you're sure your castle's ready at any time?"
"Well, yes," Marth answered. "I'll go tell Ike that we're going back." He gave a worried glance at Link before walking briskly to the clinic. Link turned, half asleep and stumbled. Lucario leaped forward and caught him.
"What have you been doing all this time?" the pokémon asked the tired warrior.
"Battle plans, moving plans, meetings, checking injured, arranging rooms, tending the statues… fighting… more fighting…" Link listed a few.
"I can just imagine how tired you are." 'In fact,' Lucario thought 'it feels like I'm just as tired. That nap didn't do a thing.'
Link sat down and sighed. "It's like I'm in charge of everything! I feel like I can't take a break. I feel bad too, that we're gonna abandon Peach's castle soon. Aw man…"
"Link!" Zelda shimmered into the room in her spirit form. "And Lucario! How are you doing?"
"Tired," the pokémon answered.
"Not," Link said as he rubbed his eyes.
"I'm sorry…" the princess apologized politely.
"I was just with Marth talking 'bout relocating to his castle," Link said.
"How soon?"
"Soon. Thanks, Lucario, for, uh, not letting me fall. Usually Pit does that but I didn't wanna wake him."
"Of course. You're welcome." Lucario nodded. Then the pokémon's eyes widened and he glanced down at his feet. Something rumbled deeply beneath the ground.
"Lucario? What's wrong? What do you sense?" Zelda asked quickly.
"Eh- earthquake? I don't feel one," Link said. Lucario moved his feet a little and put one paw on the ground. The rumbling suddenly grew more violent. "O-o-okay, I-I-I f-feel it-it n-now!" Link exclaimed. Lucario closed his eyes and focused. He shot his mind's eye around the castle. At the edge of the bordering forest, large spherical auras appeared out of nowhere and rolled straight for the castle.
'Great Giratina!...' Lucario's eyes shot open. "TAKE COVER-!" The entire castle shook as the wave of greaps rammed the outside walls. The force vibrated throughout the fortress and cracked the walls and ceiling. Blocks descended from above. Link and Lucario screamed and dove out from under the large falling rubble. Zelda shrieked and disappeared within rocks.
"ZELDA!" Link screeched and ran against the rocks, pounding them with his fists. "ZELDA!"
"Link! I'm fine!"
Link and Lucario jumped a little as Zelda's transparent spirit pushed right through the solid rocks. The princess huffed a little and caught her breath.
"My goodness! That frightened me!" She looked back at the pile behind her and put one hand over her heart. "Look, Link. I'm okay! I'm okay. I can't be harmed, alright? I'm okay." Link breathed heavily and his sad, blue eyes welled up with tears like a child.
"Nearly gave me a heart attack!" He wiped his eyes with his hands. The castle rattled again, and two loud crashes sounded. "What's going on now?" Link shouted.
"Greaps!" Lucario exclaimed. "They're running over themselves to ram the castle! They're going to bring the castle down with us inside!"
"Oh my god! What is going on?" Marth and Ike rushed into the room.
"The castle's crumbling!" Link and Lucario answered at the same time.
"Okay, that's it," Link started to strategize. "Marth, Ike, I hope your castle's ready 'cause we're getting out of here. Let's go." Marth and Ike nodded and rushed into front door. It didn't budge. Lucario focused with his aura sight on the other side of the door. There was nothing but a wall of rocks.
"No good! The overhang broke again! There's rubble blocking it," Lucario announced.
"That must have been what one of the crashes was," Zelda pondered.
"Plan B." Link switched quickly. "Back door. Zelda, could you safely secure the route with Marth and Ike?" The Hylian stressed the word 'safely' incredibly. Zelda nodded once and swiftly dissipated behind the back wall. "Lucario, direct everyone from the clinic this way. I'm going for the statues so tell Fox, Falco, Mario, and Luigi to head my way." The pokémon was taken aback by the young swordsman's tactical change in personality but nodded as well and rushed toward the clinic. A crowd was already evacuating the clinic. Lucario focused with his aura sight as fast as he could and filtered through the panicked group of fighters. The castle shook again and more small pieces of rubble fell from the ceiling.
"Starfox! Mario Brothers!" Lucario called out. Two people called out "Here!" and a green and red cap bounced up and down in response. "Link needs you in the statue room!" The four fighters pushed through the crowd. "Everyone! Get to the banquet hall and go through the back! Calmly!" Lucario pointed the way and waved people through the rumbling, crumbling hall.
"Lu-Lucario!" Pikachu bounded beneath the feet of the fighters and leaped into the aura guardian's arms. The electric pokémon hiccupped and shuddered against his chest. "I was so scared! The rumbling-! The crash-! I woke up and- and you weren't there! And you were gone-! Red and I didn't know where you-! I thought- I thought something bad happened to- I was so scared!"
"I'm sorry I scared you…" Lucario hugged Pikachu close. 'She's the only one I can do this to.' The thought floated through the aura guardian's mind. 'My… cursed… spikes. No one can get close.' "You're alright, correct?" He patted her head carefully.
"Yes, but the clinic!" Pikachu exclaimed.
"What?"
"The ceiling collapsed!"
Lucario gasped. "As in-!"
"The clinic's been divided in half!"
"…There's only one door… Did anyone?..."
"Yeah!"
Lucario pushed himself into the destroyed clinic. True enough, the ceiling had fallen in and practically buried the middle of the room with rocks. Broken bed posts stuck out from beneath the pile and pieces of sheets flapped in the intruding wind from above.
"The second crash…" Lucario realized and looked up though the small hole. "Part of one of the towers broke off and fell."
"Lucario?" Red poked his head in. "You're okay! I was worried and Pikachu freaked out!"
"Red, good." 'My turn to nearly have a heart attack.' Lucario breathed out. "Red, go with the others out the back."
"Wait, what? What are we doing?" The trainer exclaimed, confused.
"We're moving bases."
"Now?
"Right now. Go!"
Red reluctantly turned and ran. Lucario put one paw against the stone pile and focused. There was a small yellow-pink aura shivering while a brilliant white one was pulling another small blue-red aura out from under some little pieces of wood and rock. The brilliant white aura patted the yellow-pink one's head and successfully saved the other small aura, flapping its wings in excitement. 'Wings!'
"Pit! Are you on the other side!" Lucario called out.
"Huh?" the aura gave a muffled reply. "Yeah! It's me, Pit! Who's-"
"Lucario!"
"Oh!... Hey! Hi! How're ya doin'?"
"You're okay?"
"Fine! I've got Ness and Lucas over here with me. They're both okay too. Man, how're we gonna get out?" Another crash. Lucario hugged Pikachu closer and heard Ness and Lucas shriek as Pit covered them. "Hey, hey! What good timing!" The pokémon heard Pit exclaim. "There's a hole in the wall, Lucario! We're using it to escape!"
"Make your way to the back."
"Gotcha! Come on, kids! Let's scram!"
Lucario pressed his ear against the pile and heard the scrambling of rocks as the boys slipped through the busted hole. The pokémon got out of the decimated clinic, started for the banquet hall but bumped right into Link.
"Link? I thought you were moving the statues!" Lucario exclaimed.
"The guys said they could handle it," the Hylian huffed out. "We're missing people. I came back to check."
"The clinic collapsed. Lucas, Ness, and Pit were trapped on the other side moments ago-" Link breathed in sharply at Pit's name. "-but another wall was destroyed recently for them to go through." Link breathed out again.
"Alright then," Link said then screamed at the top of his lungs, "PIT!"
All of them could hear a very muffled "Yes?" from behind the wall.
"YOU GET OUT AND DO NOT COME BACK IN!" Link shouted.
Another muffled reply sounded. "…Okay…"
"That's that. Now, let's go!" Link and Lucario took off down the hallway, Pikachu still held in the aura pokémon's arms. The castle rumbled again from the force of the greaps' ramming. More crashes echoed distantly throughout the castle and reverberated off of the crumbling walls. Zelda flew in beside the running pair, shimmering and sparkling in her spirit form.
"Mostly everyone has evacuated," she informed.
"The rest are on their way," Link quickly assured.
"Good, but we must hurry. Mushroom Castle is weak. I don't think it will stand much longer." As soon as the princess finished, the fighters turned the corner. Another deep, jerking rumble and the rest of the hallway ceiling and wall fell. Lucario put on the brakes and snatched Link back, away from the collapsing bricks. The two fighters stared at the impeding rubble and the Hylian warrior combed his bronze hair with his hands.
"For the love of Nayru-" Link began to curse.
"It's impossible for us to crawl over that," Lucario stated bitterly. Link raised an eyebrow as he looked at the top of the pile of debris.
"Us? No," Link agreed. "But there's enough space for something small to squeeze through. Like a mouse." He pointed to the top right of the pile. The rocks and bricks had shifted to one side, leaving an empty hole connecting to the banquet hall. Lucario looked down to face the small, shivering electric pokémon in his arms who was staring at the hole as well.
"Pikachu," he began.
"No, no, no…" Pikachu repeated over and over, half crying, as she wrapped her tiny arms as far around him as she could and buried her little face in Lucario's chest.
"Pikachu, please."
"No. No. No! I don't wanna leave you! No!"
"Please. You'll be safe-"
"No! No!"
"Please! For me!"
Pikachu looked up with huge, watery dark brown eyes, her black-tipped ears drooping.
"For me," Lucario repeated, almost whispering. Pikachu sniffed and gave a couple of small nods.
Link looked up at the princess hovering slightly above him. "Prin- Zelda, would you please guide Pikachu out safely?
"Of course, Link," Zelda answered gently and calmly. "Just promise me you'll catch up quickly?"
Link gulped. "I- I'll try, my princess." Zelda gave a tiny groan, not receiving the response she wanted, and flew part-way through the debris. Lucario carefully lifted Pikachu up to the hole and helped her squeeze through. Zelda coaxed the small mouse over on the other side and beckoned her to follow.
"Link! Lucario! See you soon!" Pikachu and Zelda called out one last time before bounding off.
"Yes… " Link and Lucario's answers died down to almost a whisper. "See you soon." Then the two warriors looked at each other, mildly surprised to be in harmony. The castle shook violently again and more of the hallway's ceiling collapsed, filling in the hole Pikachu recently slipped through and more of the alley. Lucario focused his mind and looked ahead through the other hallways and doors. 'The only true way out is through the banquet hall...' Lucario realized. 'If we go this way and… got it! There's our path!' The pokémon ran down the hallway a little, then turned and waved at Link.
"Come! Follow!" Lucario called out. "We don't want to keep them waiting, do we?" Link gave a small smile and rushed after him while the entire castle tried to crush them from within.
(What do you think? Please write a review! Tell me how you felt about it, or if I made any mistakes. Thank you so much for reading my story! See ya next chapter...)