"GAH!" Marcia yelped when multiple Bullet Bills came shooting past her. "What in the world is that? Some sort of spell?"
"No, but I admit, I've never seen missiles with arms before," Maya winced when one of the Bullet Bills nearly singed her hair.
"How can we make it stop?" Marcia yelled.
"We've got to destroy the cannons they are being shot from," Maya shouted back. "Or maybe even the whole airship..."
"A flying ship... now I know the world's coming to an end," Marcia the young Pegasus Knight sighed. "I've fought rogue bird Laguz before, Wyvern Riders and even dragons, but... what good is my spear against something like this?"
'Looks like we need some fire power to take those things out,' Kaji growled. 'No one's hurting my trainer!'
Maya blinked. This was the first time that Kaji had openly called her his trainer. Just how much were his mind and those of the other NERV employees becoming like those of Pokémon?
"You think you can destroy the cannons?" she asked.
'Probably, but I need to fly in close...'
"Gotcha! Marcia, you need to do us a favor."
"You have a plan?" Marcia asked while her Pegasus dove to avoid another volley of Bullet Bills.
"Yeah, but we need you to get the attention of those cannoneers, so we can get in close and destroy the cannons."
Marcia sighed. "So I'm going to be the bait? Oh well, works for me... c'mon, girl!" And she spurred her Pegasus on to fly faster.
While Maya and Kaji turned around to make it seem they fled, Marcia's Pegasus flew around in front of the battleship.
The Koopas that were manning the cannons frowned. "She's mocking us," their Hammer Bro lieutenant shouted. "Blast her out of the sky!"
"Okay, I really hope you'll be able to keep this up, girl," Marcia told her flying mount nervously. "And I also hope that girl knows what she's doing..."
Meanwhile, covered by the clouds, Kaji flew a circle so they could approach the airship from the other side.
"There's still a chance that they might react in time and shoot us, so we need some additional distraction," Maya said. "Butterfree, we need some Stun Spores. Misdreavus, go and scare the wits out of them!"
"Free-ee-ee!" the butterfly Pokémon nodded.
Misdreavus grinned. "Dreeaaaavusss..." Finally, a job that was after her fancy.
"What are you doing?" the Hammer Bro shouted. "Shoot her down!"
"Sir, she's flying way too fast," the Koopas protested. "We are not used to shoot at things that move around so quickly."
"Sir, another flyer approaches us from the right!" a second Koopa who was manning the opposite row of cannons gasped.
"Then shoot her already!" the Hammer Bro barked.
"I... I can't," the Koopa said. "I can't take a clear shot... some strange, glittering dust is in the air and obscuring my view."
"Do I have to do everything by myself?" the Hammer Bro shouted and shoved his soldiers out of the way. "Let me do this!"
But before he could even reach the cannons, a pair of ghastly eyes suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
"GAH!" he yelped and jumped back. "WH-what is that thing?" When the floating, ghostly body of Misdreavus appeared, he took one of his hammers and threw it at her.
But, since she was a Ghost Pokémon, it didn't affect her. She grinned and opened her mouth. "MIIIIIISSSSS!" she screamed. Her voice was so shrill that every Koopa was covering his ears and ran around in a panic.
"Stop running around like a bunch of scared Toads!" the Hammer Bro barked. "That's just a..."
He was getting goose bumps when all of a sudden, he felt the Ghost Pokémon's breath on his neck. In a panic, she flailed around, but his arms passed through her like through empty air.
Misdreavus chuckled in her scary voice.
The Hammer Bro gulped. "A g-g-ghost..." he muttered. "I hate ghosts..."
"This thing is even scarier than a Boo Hoo..." another Koopa whimpered. "It reminds me of my wife..."
In the meantime, on the bridge, Larry Koopa was getting impatient. "What are those fools doing?" he grumbled. "How difficult can shooting a winged horse and a lizard out of the sky be?" He spoke into the intercom. "Bridge to cannoneers! What the heck are you buffoons doing?"
"MOOOMMMYYYYYYYY!" a high-pitched scream made his ears ring.
"You idiot!" Larry shouted. "I'm not your mommy! I'm your commander! Just what is going on down there?"
Knowing that her appearance had caused enough chaos, Misdreavus floated back through the walls of the airship and back to her mistress. She chuckled. That had been fun.
Now that the coast was clear, Kaji dove down and opened his muzzle wide.
"Aim at the cannons!" Maya shouted. "FLAMETHROWER!"
Kaji roared and spat out a huge plume of flame that engulfed the cannons that were jutting out of the hatches... and the Koopas that were still manning them were jumping back when they touched them.
"YEOWCH!" they yelled. "HOT! HOT! HOT!"
"G-get a hold of yourself!" the Hammer Bro stuttered. Now that the ghost was gone, some of his fighting spirit was coming back to him. "Give me the gun powder! I'm gonna blast them this time..." He dragged the heavy barrel with gun powder to one of the cannon, not even noticing that it was overheated.
"NO, SIR, DON'T..." one of his men protested, but it was too late. The Hammer Bro hefted the barrel up and began to pour some gun powder into the cannon...
Larry Koopa felt how the whole ship was shaking beneath his feet as a massive explosion was occuring in the lower decks. Another one quickly followed.
"The explosion has damaged the left propeller," a Rocky Wrench technician informed him. "We are losing altitude!"
"Abandon ship! Abandon ship!" another one shouted.
"Hey, I'm giving the orders around here!" Larry yelled. He reached for the intercom. "All crew, listen to me: Abandon ship, everyone! Now! That's an order! Captains and Koopalings first!"
And then he ran to a big chest standing in the back of his cabin, trying to get a parachute before his men.
Marcia and Maya watched with satisfaction when the airship was slowly dropping down below the clouds, leaving a long trail of smoke behind. Several turtles with parachutes were gliding down as well. One of them, a turtle with a spiky shell and a large, blue mohawk, was shaking his fist and yelled something when he saw them.
"Not too bad for our first battle, don't you think?" Maya grinned.
Marcia nodded. "Definitely! But we should head back to HQ and tell Titania that the enemy has such flying ships at his disposal."
"Do you think he has more of them?"
"I'm not sure, but we have to be prepared for everything."
From one of the windows of his castle, the Black Knight was watching how Larry Koopa's airship was crashing into a hilltop.
"Those foolish reptiles..." he grumbled behind his helmet. "I gave them the order to patrol the skies and inform me of every enemy they spot, and they let themselves being shot down by a Pegasus Knight and a miniature dragon... I should have known that Bowser's children are not much more capable than he is."
"I won't let you down, sir!" the black-furred ape standing next to him proclaimed. "My troops are not like those Koopas... they are skilled spies and guards. They will spot any intruder as soon as they enter the castle."
"I hope for yourself that you are right, Dread Kong," the Black Knight said. "For the Subspace Council does not overlook failures."
He turned around and left the room. A few steps down the corridor, he entered another door. This room was warmed by a chimney, and a soft carpet was lying on the floor. On a comfortable chair, the beautiful, green-haired princess of Crimea was sitting. Opposite of her, on another chair, a handsome man with long, black hair was sitting, dressed in a white and purple robe.
"Princess, Prime Minister... thank you for your time." The knight's eyes gleamed with mockery. "I hope your cell in the dungeon was not too uncomfortable..."
"I would feel much better if I wasn't your prisoner, thank you!" Princess Elincia frowned. "Just what is it you want from Crimea?"
"Why, I want to conquer it... after all, I served under King Ashnard, didn't I? I want to follow in his footsteps..."
"You are speaking nonsense, and you know it," the Prime Minister of the Begnion senate spoke up. "I know the real Black Knight, and he is not nearly as diabolical as you picture him. He had his own reasons to serve Ashnard, but he would never invade Crimea just because he felt like it. You are not the Black Knight."
"Prime Minister Sephiran told me everything," Elincia said. "About the true identity of the Black Knight. It's General Zelgius... isn't it?"
The man in the black armor stayed silent for a while.
He then chuckled. "Of course you knew, Sephiran," he said. "Why else would you come all this way from Begnion?"
"Right after I learned about what the Black Knight was supposedly doing in Crimea, I didn't want to believe it. But Zelgius was missing for some time, so I had to make sure and came to see it myself... now I am sure: You can't be Zelgius!"
The Black Knight nodded. "Well done, Prime Minister! But you know we can't let you free with this information, don't you?"
"Who are you then?" Elincia demanded to know. "If not the true Black Knight, who is it that is threatening my home country and took us prisoner?"
"Your dear friend Zelgius is no longer on this world, Sephiran," the knight stated. "My master brought his trophy away after luring him to the Final Destination... where he was beaten. And now, I can take his place in history... as the new Black Knight!"
He slowly took off his helmet, revealing the face of an elderly, grey-haired man.
"I am General Fuyutsuki," he said. "The right hand of Emperor Commander Gendo Andross Ikari of the Subspace Army!"
Sasha and Wolfie were still at the hospital. Wolfie had insisted on staying here, so she could wait until Toji would wake up again. And Sasha didn't want to leave her friend behind. So they were still sitting outside of Toji's room on padded chairs, waiting for his awakening.
But today's endeavors had taken too much out of the two young girls, and soon enough, they fell asleep.
Sasha was having a strange dream.
She was dressed in a yellow, futuristic outfit that looked like a mix between her usual outfit and a space suit. She was standing on a bridge and looked down at a huge city that looked like it was right out of a science-fiction movie. The buildings were taller than any house she had seen before. Hovering cars and small aircrafts were zooming around the streets and through the air. A huge billboard on top of the skyscraper across the street was promoting a drink called 'Cornerian Cola'.
Down on the street, she saw how Toji, Kensuke and Tori were leaving a café. They looked like they were having fun with each other, as Toji and Tori laughed after Kensuke said something. They were dressed in similar, futuristic clothes, but that was not the weirdest change... they all looked like they were half animal. They still were of the same age and size as before, but their human bodies now had the characteristics of animals. Toji was a black panther. Kensuke was some sort of lizard... a gecko, or a chameleon? And Tori looked like a weasel.
"Hey, why don't we go down and join them?" a familiar voice behind her spoke up.
Sasha's dream self turned around. Sasha couldn't do anything, it was like she was a passenger in her own body. Behind her, Wolfie was standing, dressed in a similar manner like the criminal wolf-woman she had seen at school... only that this outfit was small enough to fit her girlish frame.
She also looked like a wolf, of course.
"I had to think about our last assignment," Sasha heard herself say. "And I don't think I'm ready for such a mission yet..."
"Aw, balderdash!" Wolfie shouted. "The general told me in person, he's impressed with your progress. In a couple of month, you probably will be even better than Lombardi!"
Sasha felt herself blush. "But... but I've just recently become a pilot..."
"So what? You're still the best pilot Star Wolf ever had... except for me, maybe," she grinned. "Trust me, you can do it! And flying a Wolfen through an asteroid isn't as difficult as it sounds. If you want, I can give you some hints."
Sasha smiled. "You'd do that?"
"Hey, what else are friends for?" the wolf-girl grinned. "C'mon, cheer up! I've been so happy after you joined my team..."
Sasha giggled. "Yeah, you were even willing to accept Tori..."
"Well, there's not much I could do about it..." Wolfie grumbled. "After all, she wants to keep an eye on her boyfriend..." Together, they looked down to where they could see Kensuke and his weasel girlfriend and chuckled.
Sasha then hugged her friend. "Thanks, Wolfie! Thank you for taking me along with you! Although this job is dangerous... flying through space is absolutely wonderful! And it's even better to have you as my commander..." She grinned.
Wolfie smirked. "Well then, Pilot Sasha, my first order as your commander is to go down there and buy me some lunch!"
Sasha chuckled and saluted. "Yes, ma'am!"
And then they walked down to the cafe, where their friends and team mates were already waiting for them.
And while Wolfie was already waving at them, Sasha could see her reflection in the café's window...
The reflection of a young, cute raccoon girl...
Sasha woke up with a gasp. She looked around. She was still in the hospital corridor. Next to her, leaning against her shoulder, was Wolfie, still as human as she was.
Sasha shook her head. 'Wow, what a strange dream...' she thought as she leaned back. She then giggled. 'Imagine... me, a member of a mercenary group on a faraway planet... how crazy!'
But still, the more she thought about it, the more she had to admit that she liked how she had looked in her dream... that snazzy pilot outfit... the cute, furry ears... and the striped tail...
She sighed and looked at her sleeping friend. 'Well, if there is one person I would follow into outer space... it would be you, Wolfie!'
