Chapter 25 Starting a Vacation
Lucario nonchalantly stands in the foyer leaning against the wall with shoulder and his bag hanging from his free one. The pokemon stifles a bored yawn while humming a tune in his head; something to pass the time as he waited for the others...why it took so long to put things into a suitcase, he'll never know.
Master Hand had made an announcement that the Smash System, after the valiant deeds of a handful of smashers, has begun its self-repair procedures and would also be undergoing a critical update; a procedure that would mean a week without any access to anything linked to the system. No Clashes, no Stadium events, no arcade, no music...pretty much nothing.
Shortly after that announcement, Master delivered another that was much more uplifting; a week-long vacation for everyone! While the hand never told them where they were going (he claims he wanted it to be a surprise) everybody was so elated that they didn't even care. All of the smashers were excited to spend a week at some resort, even if nobody knew where they were staying. One thing was for sure though, Master booked the most luxurious resort possible...how the crowd of fifty-two smashers are actually going to get to the resort is another matter entirely.
That was five minutes ago...
...and it only took Lucario three minutes to get his things and move downstairs to wait; only because he chose to walk instead of run.
Lucario's bored-yawn comes back and wrenches itself out at full force, getting his canines to glint in the light. Mew had gone back to Pokenoa for whatever reason and wouldn't be joining, so until any of his friends finished packing he was stuck.
The pokemon shakes his head, What in the world is keeping them? I thought for sure Sonic would be done minutes ahead of me.
As if to answer his question, a quick blur of blue rushes across the second-floor landing, down the stairs, and up to Lucario; leaving Sonic behind. "What up dude?" the hedgehog asks, setting his suitcase down next to him before leaning back against the wall and putting his hands behind his head.
The pokemon shrugs, "What took you?"
"There are some things I can't do at the speed of sound." Sonic replies, chuckling a little at Lucario's reaction. "Everyone has to."
Lucario half-grunts in reply before shutting his eyes. Sonic would've thought his friend was trying to get some sleep had Lucario's tail not been rhythmically swinging back and forth; maybe that was his way of not dozing off.
The rest of the smashers file into the foyer over the next fifteen minutes, anxious for Master Hand to show up and start their vacation. The right hand arrives on schedule and surveys his guests for a quick second. "Well, I can see everyone is ready. If you'll all just follow me."
The hand snaps to open the front doors, then leads his guests out of the mansion and around back. They behold the wonderful rolling hills, but no visible form of transportation. Just as some open their mouths to ask, a faint form moves out from behind the clouds. The small white dot seems to steadily grow larger...almost like it was getting closer.
Before anyone realized it, the Halberd is looming over the crowd; its massive size casting the large group into shadow. Since there isn't any special dock the battleship can't completely land, but it does begin hovering about twelve feet or so off the ground.
A hatch opens on the bottom of the ship to let a ramp lower itself. Once the metal entryway touches the ground, a small green creature quickly runs down the ramp and up to the crowd; meeting up with Meta who was near the front.
Its whole body was coated in light green armor and a magenta-red mask covers its face. Despite not having any visible eye-holes, the creature still seems to be able to see just fine. Completing his attire is a dark-red sash around where his waist seems to be, holding a simple silver sword against his side.
"Tell me Blade, are the preparations complete?" Meta inquires, firmly speaking to his soldier.
"Of course Lord Meta Knight." Blade replies, giving his commander a slight bow. "We've managed to scrounge enough furniture to accommodate our passengers in relative comfort during our flight, and Sword is entering the coordinates into the computer as we speak."
"Excellent." Meta replies, his eyes flashing pink for a millisecond. "Show the others where to stay during our flight. I'll be waiting in the command bridge when you're done." With that, Meta spreads his wings and takes off, taking his suitcase with him.
Blade walks up to and looks up at the rest of the crowd (he wasn't any taller than Meta). "You heard the commander, if you all will just follow me we can get on our way. And please, don't touch anything along the way."
"Bon voyage my guests!" Master exclaims, "Have a good time on vacation! Don't cause any trouble for your new host!"
"You're not coming?" Yoshi asks, looking up at the hand. "Then how are we going to talk?"
Master waves himself, "I can still keep reality warped enough so you all may talk one language, I just won't be present. Someone needs to look after the Smash System as it restores itself and, quite frankly, I'll grow three eyeballs and a beard before letting Crazy watch over something as delicate as my System." Master replies, "Farewell! Have fun! See you all in a week!" He flies back to the mansion, leaving his Smashers to board the tremendous airship.
The inside of the Halberd is stark metal walls and piping, clearly beauty was way down on Meta's construction list, but the room Blade leads the Smashers to is acceptable. It was pretty large and was probably (normally) a spare storage room. The walls and floor are still metal, but a few rugs have been laid out and plenty of cushioned chairs sit in small clusters around the room. There are several windows in the left wall for them to look out of, but apart from that the only entertainment is...well...nothing.
"I apologize for the lack of amenities, but this is a battleship first. These should keep you all happy during the approximately hour-long flight. If need be, there are a few bathrooms further down the hall that you might be able to fit in. The only requests Lord Meta Knight has are; don't destroy the furniture, don't damage anything, and don't kill each other." Blade explains. The little knight bows, then turns on his heel and hurries off to who knows where.
The crowd of smashers barely have enough time to enter their room before a deep rumbling rolls across them while the Halberd starts vibrating, then begins to lift up. Suddenly, a much louder roar tears past the crowd as the ship lurches forward and starts accelerating.
The deafening noise subsides after a second as the Halberd levels off at roughly the speed of a bus; giving the passengers plenty of time and little trouble as they diffuse across the room and claim seats, setting their luggage at their feet. As could be expected the Smashers clustered into the groups of friends; with Lucario's gang claiming some seats beneath a couple windows.
"So where do ya think Master's sending us?" Falco asks, glancing at the fluffy white clouds outside the window. "We're not goin' very fast, think its somewhere on this planet?"
"Attention passengers." States Meta's voice as it comes in through the intercom. "Please brace yourselves, we're about to accelerate to escape velocity."
Without even giving the smashers a second to even breathe; another roar comes tearing through the cabin as the Halberd lurches again and begins rapidly accelerating. Most if not all of the Smashers get shaken out of their seats and tumble back against a wall, landing in several large piles.
The roar quiets down as the battleship's speed levels off again, only this time its easy to tell they are going very fast. Much, much faster than even Sonic could go.
The groaning piles untangle themselves before the smashers stagger back to their seats. Nobody was seriously injured (thankfully Bowser landed away from everyone else) but they were all sore.
"Would it kill Meta to give us more than half-a-second warning when he does something like that?" Sonic angrily hisses, rubbing at the spot on his head where skull connected with metal wall.
"The message did say 'brace yourselves'. I don't se how that was so hard." Lucario replies, he was the only one that didn't budge.
"Easy for you, we can't cling to stuff with aura." Sonic retorts, childishly sticking his tongue out at the pokemon.
Lucario rolls his eyes before glancing out the window, now finding stars outside instead of clouds. "Guess our leaving the planet strikes the idea of a local vacation." he comments.
"Any guesses as to where we're going?" Blaze asks, doing her best not to look outside.
"I don't know of many deluxe resorts on Corneria." Falco answers. "Think we're going to...uh, Hyrule?"
Shiek shakes her head, "Hyrule isn't the best vacation spot. There are some beautiful places, but none large enough for us."
"We've got resorts on Mobius, but I doubt we're going there." Sonic remarks.
"What makes you say that?"
"Everytime...and I mean every. Freaking. Time my friends and I try having a vacation, Eggman shows up and ruins everything. I really doubt he'll last long against all of us, but just one Eggman speech is enough to ruin a vacationing mood, right Blaze?"
"Ugh, you've got that right." The feline replies. "Pokenoa maybe?"
Lucario shrugs, keeping his eyes trained out the window. "I've seen plenty of resorts, but none large enough for us. What about any of the others?"
"The Mushroom Kingdom?" Falco suggests.
"Falco, Bowser is going to be with everyone else. Why would we vacation in the Mushroom Kingdom if we've got their arch-enemy on-board?" Shiek questions.
"I don't know, they keep inviting him to so many sports tournaments its hard to tell if he's an enemy or not." Falco replies. "Umm...lets see...Neo-Earth seems a little too dangerous going off what Aile and Ashe said...I don't remember Samus mentioning any "scenic, peaceful" planets...I've got no clue."
"Guess we'll just have to wait and see." Lucario states.
"If all we can do is wait, I'm going to take a nap." Sonic states, turning around in his chair to lay his head back on one arm and lets his legs hang over the other. He exaggerates a yawn before shutting his eyes. "Wake me when we get there."
"Blue boy's got the right idea. G'night guys." Falco adds, doing the same as his hedgehog buddy.
"If the takeoff is anything to go by, they're in for a rude awakening." Shiek whispers to Blaze, getting the latter to giggle.
While the two ladies begin to talk between themselves, Lucario zones out; hypnotized by the lights speeding by the window. For whatever reason, he just couldn't shake a nagging feeling that something is going to happen this vacation; whether it would be a good something or a bad one, he couldn't tell.
Dammit...why can't I settle down? Then again, after what happened with Negative-DK yesterday...maybe I'm just wound up too tight. Once we get there and I can relax, I'll be fine. His thoughts pause for a second. So why am I not convincing myself? I've-
"Lucario?" a voice asks, snapping the pokemon from his musings.
"Hmm?" The pokemon grunts while turning to the voice, finding Blaze looking at him for the neighboring chair.
"You alright? I said your name four times before you responded."
Lucario nods, "I'm alright...just spacing out."
"Don't want to sleep?" Blaze asks, gesturing to their now snoring companions.
"Can't. Something's bugging me."
"What?"
"I don't know." Lucario replies while shrugging. "I just feel like...something weird is going to happen on this vacation."
"Weird?" Blaze parrots.
"Best word I got. Don't worry about it, I'm probably just on edge from what happened at the mansion, that's all. A few days of relaxing, and I'll be fine. So what's up? Where'd Shiek go?"
"She went to go sit with Link, Zelda, and Midna. The two princesses were starting an argument, so she went over to break it up and save poor Link."
"Poor Link?"
"They were fighting over him."
"Ah..." Lucario nods. "What about you? You ready for a vacation?" The pokemon pauses, "Without Eggman ruining it?"
"Yes." Blaze simply answers. "Don't tell Sonic this, but I'm hoping that we're staying somewhere tropical and coastal. I like lounging on the beach or walking down the shore with an ocean breeze ruffling through my fur." The feline sighs as she gazes out the window, with no planet in view her acrophobia isn't kicking in. "Sonic hates water, but I love it...weird for a cat, huh?"
Lucario shrugs, "So you like swimming?"
"Well...I'm the kinda girl that likes being around the coast, but I'm not much of a swimmer. I can, I just don't like to."
Lucario 'hmms' before quieting down.
"What about you? Do you like the coast?"
"Its not bad. Like you, I enjoy letting a sea breeze blow across you, or sun-bathing on the sand. Its nice, but not my favorite place in the world...mostly because trainers like to gather on beaches as well."
"There's a pretty good chance that wherever we're going won't have any trainers except Red and May, and I heard Master made them leave their empty pokeballs behind."
"That's a bit of a relief." Lucario says before turning silent.
Blaze quiets down for a few minutes before asking, "Kinda reminds you of our 'date' atop the mansion huh?"
Lucario turns a little red. "D-date?" he stutters.
"You know, our dancing? When everyone else was at the ball? All these stars remind me of then." Blaze explains, "Thanks again Lucario...that was one of the kindest things anyone's done for me."
"It really wasn't anything, but you're welcome Blaze." Lucario replies, still blushing a little. "I wouldn't call it a date exactly..."
"A guy and a girl spending a night together? How is that not a date?"
Lucario shrugs, the back of his mind racing for something that would help his argument. Nothing from that night seemed to deny that they were on a date, but something else catches his attention...something Blaze said...'If you need to talk about something, I'm here, okay?'
"Maybe you can help with something..." Lucario mumbles.
"What was that?" Blaze asks.
"Uh..." Lucario pauses, he didn't realize he talked out loud. "Blaze? You said you'd be here if I needed to talk about something...right?"
"Of course."
"Well, I don't really need to talk so much as ask a favor..."
"Just name it." Blaze replies.
"Do you think..." Lucario's throat starts to dry out, "Umm...do you think you could keep an eye on me?"
"I'm not completely following."
"Just keep an eye on me in case I start acting strangely."
"What do you mean strangely?" Blaze asks, curious and a little worried at Lucario's words.
"You understand that sometimes I need to vent aura, right?" She nods, "Well...sometimes when my aura gets too energized, but not plentiful enough to become painful, I start acting differently. I get irritable and violent...keep an eye on me and, if I do start acting that way, help me get away so I can calm down."
Blaze watches her friend for a few more seconds, going over his words and his tone in her mind. She got the feeling that he wasn't telling her the whole truth, but if she starts asking about it he's probably going to retreat behind his wall like he did after the Negatives were destroyed. Maybe she needed to try a new technique...
"Sure thing Lucario. You start acting like a jerk, and I get you out of there." Blaze replies, "But on one condition. If I do, I want you to talk to me about it later. Deal?"
"Deal."
Blaze holds a hand out in front of her friend and only extends her pinky, "Promise?"
Lucario gives the princess a half-smile and rests one of his much larger fingers into hers. "Promise."
Their hands separate and the two go back to looking out the window.
The hour slips by without notice, only marked by the intercom buzzing before Meta informs, "Attention passengers, we are no about three minutes from our destination. Brace yourselves for deceleration."
Once again, no time is given before the ship starts slowing down. At least the change in speed wasn't quite as dramatic as before, so the smashers (except Lucario) just toppled out of their seats instead of getting thrown against a wall. After getting up, the smashers cluster around the windows for a look at the new planet.
The place was pretty big, not as giant as Staria, but still big. An enormous sparkling blue ocean covers most of the surface while the land seems to be divided into three continents; a small southern one coated in green, a large northern one painted white, and a huge central one big enough to wrap around the sphere and onto the far side; and this isn't counting the handful of islands scattered across the sea. This large one is mostly green, but has a large brown area at one end that seems to be a desert. The moon (if there are any) isn't visible, but it (or they) could simply be behind the planet.
Before any of the others could ask what this place was, both Colette and Lloyd cheer. "We're going home to Sylvarant!" Lloyd exclaims.
"Sylvarant huh? Is it a nice place?" Link asks.
"I like it." Colette replies. "Good weather, friendly people, pretty places."
"I wonder where we'll be staying...oh, maybe another mansion!" Peach exclaims before her eyes start sparkling and her giggles ring out.
"That's a good question...Colette where are we staying?" Lloyd asks, turning to his blonde friend. "As far as I know, mansions are only at Meltokio...but that city really doesn't seem to be designed for vacationers."
"Good point Lloyd...hmm...Iselia's too small, same with Izoold...and Luin." The angel looks up at the ceiling, deep in thought. "Oh! Altamira!"
"Duh! Of course!"
"Altamira?" Some of the others question.
"Its this big, luxury resort on the coast. Its got an amusement park, outdoor theater, boardwalk, casino, and miles of beautiful beaches." Lloyd explains, "Not to mention the most luxurious hotel on the whole planet...if not the whole galaxy."
Colette nods in agreement. "And the whole town is owned by our friend. He's really nice and generous, so I'm sure he's the one Master Hand contacted."
The rest of the crowd begins to eagerly chat among themselves, fantasizing about the waiting resort. Even Sonic, though somewhat put-off by its "coastal" status, quickly perked up after hearing that it wasn't on an island.
Lucario, however, still seems a little out of it. He too was anticipating a great time, but there was still that distracting voice saying something was going to happen.
The three minutes pass in three seconds, with the only noticeable change being the stars replaced with clouds. Suddenly a loud splash is heard while water gets tossed up by the windows before the whole Halberd starts to gently rock back-and-forth. Seems like the only place large enough for the ship to land was some sort of inlet.
"Attention passengers, we have now arrived at the Altamira Resort. Please gather up your things and follow the arrows out to the main deck, where a ladder is already in place to let you descend."
"You guys want me to wait?" Lucario asks. His bag his is still hanging from his shoulder, but the rest of the luggage is all in a pile from the landing procedures.
"Nah, go on ahead. We'll catch up." Falco answers. "Make sure you don't spook the locals!" he jokingly adds.
Lucario rolls his eyes before leaving the room, finding a simple red arrow on a piece of paper pointing his way. After rounding a few corners and coming out a door, Lucario is indeed out on the main deck; just behind Main Cannon #2. He can hear three voices talking with each other down by the right side of the ship, but can't tell who they are.
Just as the pokemon comes out from behind the large weapon, Meta leaps up on deck. "Well the locals definitely are friendly." The little knight states. "And easily impressed."
"Its hard not to be impressed by this flying fortress Meta." Lucario replies.
"True, true."
"Hey, how'd we get to a whole new planet in an hour anyway?"
Meta seems to snicker. "Someone's never heard of star-gates before. If you'll excuse me, I must get my own bag from the bridge." With that Meta bustles past; eager to get his things and starts his vacation.
Lucario continues on, reaching the right side of the airship and looking down; finding a simple wooden pier at the bottom of a rope ladder and two people standing down below. The pokemon gracefully leaps from the deck, front-flips once, and elegantly lands on the pier below; barely eliciting a creak of wood from the twenty-foot jump.
Now at their level, Lucario finds the locals to be two men; one an adult and the other an adolescent. The adult is wearing a fine black suit with a dark-navy tie; a nice compliment to his long, cobalt hair which seems to be in a similar style to Zelda. Clamped over his wrists are two metal bracelets and encasing his feet are leather and metal boots that don't stop until halfway up his shins. His blue eyes show a bit of surprise at the leap, but are otherwise unstartled. The most noticeable feature is how muscular he is; not overly so, but he's probably strong enough to give Ike a good arm-wrestling challenge.
The other one, the teenager, is in much less formal attire; a simple pair of sky-blue shorts and a sky-blue T-shirt. His silvery blue hair is quite spiky with three prominent ones that dwarf the rest; one coming down from each side-burn and the third sprouting from his forehead. He's a bit short and slim, but it seems natural for him. Like his older companion, this native also has blue eyes; but this pair is much darker, almost a navy, and wide in surprise.
"Whoa!" The teenager exclaims, "I haven't seen someone jump like that before!"
"Indeed, that was the quite the impressive feat." The adult adds, his calm tone almost contradicting his words.
Lucario accepts his praise with a half-nod. "Its nothing." he replies, "And you are?"
"Oh, my apologies." The adult replies before extending a hand. "Regal Byrant, head of the Lezareno Company and owner of the Altamira Resort." Lucario gives the man a polite nod before shaking his hand.
"Genis Sage," the teen adds, extending his own, "I don't have any title really, but I'm a good friend of Lloyd, Colette, and Regal."
Lucario gives Genis the same polite nod before shaking the teen's hand. "A pleasure to meet the two of you. Lucario." The pokemon replies, even though he was pretty sure they both knew his name already.
"Oh no. No. The pleasure is all mine." Regal corrects. "It is a true honor for my resort to host some of the most renown celebrities on Sylvarant and Tethe'alla."
"Please, I'm not that famous."
"Yes you are!" Genis replies, "I myself am a huge fan of yours, and I know of several dozen others that are fans as well. I haven't missed any of your matches since I carry my view-crystal everywhere."
"View-crystal?"
Regal and Genis pull a small cubic crystal out of their pockets. "We use these special crystals that Master Hand created to watch the matches." Regal explains, "We really haven't developed a household version of what he called...TV yet, so he lets us use these instead."
"Practically everyone has one, and we're all big Smash Brothers fans." Genis adds, pocketing the small gem.
"Hmm...I always wondered about that." Lucario mutters, "May I ask where the resort is?"
"About a mile to the west." Regal answers, "This inlet is the closest place that could fit this flying ship."
"If you want, I can lead you there." Genis suggests.
"Wouldn't it be better to wait for some of the others?"
"I've got some guides on their way here right now, its fine if you want to go with Genis." Regal states. "Don't worry, your friends will be along soon enough."
"Alright." Lucario shrugs, "Lead the way Genis."
The teen nods before leading the pokemon away from the Halberd, leaving Regal to greet his guests whenever they came out.
The two walk in silence for a ways before Genis tries to strike up some conversation. "You're going to love it at Altamira, Lucario. Its got to be one of the best places to relax in the world."
"So I've heard."
"And the best thing is that they just finished the construction of two additions to the hotel about a week ago. All the construction is cleaned up and the place looks wonderful."
"Cool, new rooms?"
"Plenty. The only problem is...Altamira's so popular that it frequently gets booked up, and the busy season is starting. I heard Regal mention something about so many reservations already made that most of you guys have to share a room with another smasher."
"Really? I better not get room with Snake or there's not going to be any peace."
"Regal takes really good care of his guests, I'm sure he and Master Hand had a long conversation to work out the arrangements. I really doubt anyone is going to have to lodge with someone they don't like." Genis says, then pulls what looks to be a few gummy candies out of his pocket. "Gel?"
"Sure." Lucario answers, grabbing a red one and popping it into his mouth. Immediately the sweet taste of apples floods his tongue. After swallowing, he remarks, "Delicious...I'll have to give you a berry later."
"Nah, you don't have to." Genis says, putting his hands behind his head, "Its repayment enough just being able to walk with someone as cool as you."
Even though he didn't notice, Lucario almost looked...upset from that last comment. The frown only lasted half-a-second, but if it was spotted, one would almost think Lucario was...hurt.
The two continue on in silence the rest of the way, passing the other guides about halfway there. The two reach Altamira and Genis can't help but smirk at Lucario's awe-struck look.
The city truly is beautiful; the streets are all tan cobblestone, gardens occupy every space that a souvenir or snack cart doesn't, and past the front area is what looks to be a roller coaster reaching up into the sky. The most dominating and gorgeous feature, apart from the pale beaches and sparkling blue ocean, is that gigantic glass tower just inside the gate; it must've had at least twenty floors and just behind it are two replicas about three-quarters the size of their friend.
"Impressed?" Genis asks.
"Yea..."
Genis chuckles to himself. "The towers are the hotel, you can check in right past the doors. I'd help, but I'm probably needed back at your friend's ship. Can you handle this alone?"
After a nod, Genis hurries back the way they came; leaving Lucario to enter the city and the hotel on his own.
The instant the hotel doors slide open, the pleasant trickling of water greets his ears as he finds a small ornate bridge in front of him. The bridge leads to a center platform where the reception desk is, and from there are paths onward, left, and right which lead to another door (which most likely allowed access to the new additions), an information desk, and an elevator respectively.
Resting below him is a sunken pond with many small, slate-gray rock islands poking out of the water's surface along with a handful of lily pads. A large mass of rock by the elevator is home to a couple of waterfalls, which probably circulated the water to keep it clear. Behind the reception desk and the receptionists, all pretty young women in white suits, is what looks like a large water droplet hanging from the ceiling.
Lucario crosses the bridge and is quickly greeted by one of the receptionists. "Hello! Welcome to Altamira, name?" the blonde asks.
"Lucario." The pokemon replies. She wasn't surprised at all by this weird creature suddenly walking in, but then again...Regal probably did let his staff know about the smashers. She probably even knew his name already, but was just following normal etiquette.
The woman flips through a couple pages before finding his name and handing him a brass key. "Here you go Lucario, you're in room 2314. Its right out that door," she pauses to point at the door across from the main entrance, "go to the building on the left, up to the third floor, and it should be to the right of the elevator."
"Thank you. Have a good day." Lucario says, somehow getting her to giggle and blush. The pokemon ignores it and follows her directions, easily finding room 2314 near the end of a hallway.
The first element of the room that greets Lucario is the large panoramic window that was the whole back wall and offered a gorgeous view of the ocean; complete with a set of doors on the right that opened to a balcony overlooking the blue expanse. A black curtain can be seen at each end of the window, tied into place with a stunning gold rope. Resting near the left end of the window is the bed, easily big enough for three of him to rest in, coated in dark-purple sheets. Standing up at each corner of the bed is a pillar, all four of which are holding up a soft-black canopy. Tied to the pillars in more of the gold rope are semi-transparent lavender curtains.
The bed and its night-stand companions (one on each side) are resting on a small platform, evidenced by the two steps surrounding that area. Opposite the bed is a wardrobe with a mirror and table for a partner. To the left of the door is another table with three chairs and a loveseat while to the right is another door (probably leading to the bathroom) whose only company is a small waste-basket.
"Well...a little large..." Lucario remarks, shutting the door behind him and walking up to the bed. "Then again, if I'm sharing this room with someone, it probably won't feel as big."
The pokemon sets his bag down on one of the nightstands before putting a hand down onto the sheets; finding them to be just as soft as the ones back at the Smash Mansion. The pokemon sighs before sitting down on the bed, "Its got a beautiful view; I can see the ocean, but not the part of the resort over there...I wouldn't mind living here."
Lucario shuts his eyes before leaning back onto the sheets, sighing again as the soft fabric cradles his body. "Wishful thinking...but wishes never hurt anyone..." he glances out the window and (despite the world now upside-down) sees a bit of orange in the sky. "Hmm, guess the sun's setting. Don't know how I'll spend the rest of the day but-"
Lucario stops when he hears the clicking of the door-knob and lifts his head to see who's coming in. Imagine his surprise when he sees...
"Blaze!" Lucario exclaims, getting the feline to look up.
"Lucario?!"
Just in case you forgot, Staria is the name I thought up for Mario and co.'s homeworld. Also, to clarify for those of you who've played the Tales of Symphonia games, I'm using the map from Dawn of the New World, not the original. Mainly because...well...technically speaking, both games have already happened so thus the planet had its landmasses changed. Also, its easier to have a single world instead of trying to deal with shifting between two...the jury's still out on whether the place is called Sylvarant or Tethe'alla.
Oh yea, and Blade isn't an OC. He, along with referenced counterpart Sword, are Meta Knight's...umm...apprentices? Friends? Something like that, but they're actually from the Kirby anime.