CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
To War!
After retrieving Tetra's pirate companions, the army set out for the Aokigahara. They put the plan into action, splitting into several groups and staying high in the hills. In the valley leading to the haunted forest, hundreds upon hundreds of Moblins marched around, ReDeads stood still and ready to strike, Kargarocs circled overhead, and worst of all was that the Helmaroc King was perched on a large stone pedestal at the rear. The massive bird kept a watchful eye out at the hills, nodding off every once in a while and shaking itself to stay awake. It managed, and though it may have seemed odd, it was bored. It would do whatever its master wished, but why did its master have…
"HEY, YOU BIG TURKEY!"
The Helmaroc King swivelled its head and narrowed its eyes at the loathsome little creature who had called out to it. The younger Link (who will henceforth be called Toon Link) had a smug look on his face as he anchored his massive Skull Hammer on his shoulder. The nearby Moblins found it a wonder he could even properly hold that thing let alone use it for such a cocky pose.
"Yeah, that's right!" Toon Link called. "You remember me and this awesome thing, huh? 'Course, I already caved your face in for kidnapping my sister, but hey! Why not do it again? It's fun!"
The Helmaroc King let out a loud and irritated shriek, not just a show of its anger but also a demand that the Kargarocs leave this prey to it. It launched off of its perch and glided down toward the young hero right as he let out a shrill whistle. As the whistle rang out, the elder Link dashed down the hill as fast as he could with his massive ball and chain in hand. The two young heroes sprang into action, the elder shooting to the left and the younger zipping to the right, and the Helmaroc King realized far too late that it was in for a world of pain once the two swung their hefty weapons inward. When they smashed against the great bird's mask, a single crack snaked along the center. From there, it kept splintering and cracking until it finally broke into dozens of pieces and exposed the Helmaroc King's vulnerable face.
"Oh, so you crippled our big bird." Juri spat as she dashed toward the two. "Big deal. That ain't gonna stop me from kicking your asses!"
Neither Link answered her, instead looking to the other side of the valley.
"NOW!" they bellowed.
Their voices echoed throughout the barren landscape, alerting every monster to the young heroes' presence, but after a few seconds of silence. There came a low rumbling, and Juri slowed to a stop once she heard everything she was afraid she would hear. Shouting. The sounds of swords unsheathing and guns loading. And then they came. A number of the heroes running down the opposite side of the valley. The Helmaroc King lifted off and began to fly toward them when two more groups ran down the eastern and western sides. Though the enemy vastly outnumbered them, this proved completely meaningless once the two armies clashed. Moblins, ReDeads, Kargarocs, and even the newly spawned Stalfos were no match for might of these assembled heroes.
"Everyone!" Marth shouted. "Keep pushing forward! Don't let even a single one escape!"
"Not planning on it!" called Samus. "Everybody heads up! That huge bird's coming for us!"
The Helmaroc King let out a shrill call and began to glide toward them with its talons poised to strike. Thankfully, there was yet another part of the plan to put into action once they'd decimated some of the enemy numbers, and this part began once Chris called into his headset.
"Air team! Bring the rain!"
From high in the sky came Kirby, Meta Knight, Pit, Morrigan, Lilith, Mewtwo, and the Star Fox team who all piloted the streamlined and deadly Arwings to engage their foe.
"Now you're gonna eat it, ya big turkey!" Falco shouted.
"OPEN FIRE!" Fox hollered.
Arrows and blasts of soul energy and plasma shot through the air, the massive bird arcing out of the way and lunging at them again. As they all dodged, Meta Knight and Kirby flew inward and landed on the Helmaroc King's back, running quickly toward its head.
"Blasted bird isn't making things easy for us…" Meta Knight growled.
Meta Knight prepared to stab through the great bird's skull only for it to buck its head forward and launch him off. The four Arwings all approached from different directions, firing off whatever they had as their avian opponent started to peck at them or beat its wings to blow them away. The four ships trembled in the strong gust as their pilots tried their best to make their way closer. They fired and fired, Pit and the two succubi joining them. Some of the laser fire made contact with the Helmaroc King's feathers setting them ablaze, but a quick flap of its strong wings was all that was necessary to douse them.
On the ground below, the foot soldiers fared somewhat better now that they weren't at the risk of getting mauled by Ganondorf's "pet". The sword-wielders swung, the marksmen fired, and the dark forces fell before all of them in a showy display. The only one who didn't seem to be achieving much with their weapon of choice was Phoenix. He fired his gun again and again, either missing or barely whiffing his targets.
"Phoenix Wright!" Palutena called. "Perhaps you might fare better if you tapped into your own abilities?"
"What are you…what, you mean my lawyer skills? What am I supposed to do with them?!"
"Just let them loose! Give them everything you've got!"
Phoenix shot the goddess a look that clearly let her know he thought she was out of her mind, but he turned to the oncoming Moblins nonetheless, sucked in a deep breath and pointed his finger forward.
"OBJECTION!"
Some weird force of nature was at work here. When Phoenix shouted, his exclamation had physically appeared in front of him in big red letters in a spiky speech bubble that flew out like a bullet. It slammed into the incoming Moblins and exploded like a grenade of sorts, sending them flying in different directions and of course leaving Phoenix standing there with his mouth wide open in shock and awe.
"How in the world did I…" he started and finding himself unable to finish.
He shook it off. If shouting one of the words people most associated with lawyers acted like some kind of mobile bomb, who knew what else he could pull off? And of course there was nothing stopping Phoenix from using his fists as he took off his suit and threw a few strong punches before yanking up a briefcase and kicking it open. A Stalfos began to bear down on him just as he heaved up a large law book.
"Time to book ya!" Phoenix shouted before casting the book forward, striking the Stalfos and knocking it to pieces.
"Aw, come on, man!" Dante Omega called. "You can make better puns than that!"
"What did you expect? Devil-hunting's not my day job!"
The two Dantes swung their blades and fired their guns, bringing down dozens upon dozens of Moblins and Stalfos and jumping out of the way as a particularly large Stalfos slammed down its blade.
"Whoa, nelly!" Alpha laughed. "Gotta learn how to aim, sucker, or you're never gonna get far in this world!"
"Not that we really want him to get far, anyway." added Omega. "I mean, with a face like that?"
The Stalfos swung again, this time with the two demon killers hopping onto the flat side of its blade and riding it until they jumped off directly behind massive Stalfos knew now that it was finished when the two stood back-to-back and aimed their guns true with their trademark smirks.
"JACKPOT!" they shouted in unison.
The bullets knocked the Stalfos' skull clean off its neck and it clattered to the ground in a useless heap, the two Dantes shooting each other cocky half-smiles.
"Not bad for a kid." said Alpha.
"Right back at ya, old-timer." replied Omega.
The battle raged on, the dark forces continuing to fall until a familiar omnipotent being popped in to have a quick look at what was going on.
"Oh, dear." Hades sighed. "Honestly, Han, it's like I just can't trust you with anything."
"Hades…" Palutena growled as she and Pit launched toward him. In turn, Hades smirked at her.
"Palutena…"
"Hades." said Pit.
"Pit."
"Hades."
"Palutena."
"HADES!"
"PIT!"
"HADES!"
"PALUTENA!"
"HAAAADEEEEEEEES!"
"PIIIIIIIIT!"
"HAAAADEEEEEEEES!"
"PALUTENAAAAAAA!"
After engaging in the above rather pointless shouting match, Pit and Palutena prepared their weapons while Hades cracked his gargantuan knuckles and the three shouted in unison.
"IT'S ON!"
The immortals clashed high above and as Juri saw that their forces were steadily getting annihilated and Hades couldn't care less, her rage started to fluctuate until her Feng Shui Engine began to go completely berserk. She set her sights on the closest hero to her (which in this case was Samus. Not the best idea, fighting a six-foot tall armour-clad bounty hunter with just your fists), but didn't manage to close the distance when Ryu, Ken, and Chun-Li stepped in front of her.
"Oh, my." Juri hissed. "Two tough guys and one tough girl against little old me…sounds like a lot of fun."
"I've had enough of your crap, Han!" Chun-Li said sternly. "If you know what's good for you, you'll stand down! Look at this! You really want to be a part of destroying the world as we all know it?"
"What can I say? I'm just a really bad girl. And you really REALLY won't like getting between a bad girl and what she wants…especially when that girl is me."
Before any of the three could stop her, Juri unleashed a bloodcurdling battle cry and an intense violet aura encircled her like a flame. She clenched her fists and slammed them against the ground several times before letting out a massive Fuhajin, but little did Juri expect Saya to drop in out of nowhere and reflect the blast of energy with one swing of her sword.
"I think you're raising yourself a little higher than you really deserve." Saya said with a sly grin on her face.
"You!" Juri shouted, letting out another battle cry and lunging forward, her face ending up on the receiving of Ken's foot.
Ryu, Ken, and Chun-Li all gave Saya quick approving smiles before proceeding to engage the infuriated Juri. Just as well when tons of Moblins and Stalfos began to pile on top of her, Ness and Lucas jumping to help and launching numerous blasts of fire, ice, lightning, and light. One particular Moblin shoved Ness a good distance away from the duo, and as the young boy started to jump back to help his friends…
"Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssss….I'm h…a…p…p…y…"
"No…no, no, NO!"
The darkness encircled the helpless Ness, and the screaming red cloud appeared before him yet again. Ness found himself stuck again, too frightened to move for a good numbers of seconds, and even then it was too late as Giygas fired the same attack that he couldn't recognize. The pain flew through Ness's body and he let out a loud scream as he was sent flying backward, tumbling head over heels until he came to a stop on his back.
"Oh, God, somebody get me outta here…"
Ness got to his feet, flaring his nostrils and launching one powerful blast of PK Flash. Giygas released a resounding scream, but there was otherwise no effect.
"Ness…NessNessNessNessNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSS!"
The last call was shrill, ear-piercing, and haunting. Everything Ness didn't want to hear as he fell to his knees and covered his ears. That's what Giygas wanted. To torture Ness. To frighten the poor boy so much that it may have killed him.
"It's not right…it HURRRRRRRTSSSSSS!"
"SHUT UUUUUP!" Ness screamed.
The darkness struck Ness again, his strength dried up in an instant. Without any energy left to fight, Ness let himself collapse onto the ground gasping for breath. He was alone, he was frightened…he didn't care that this wasn't the real Giygas. He was getting hopelessly annihilated and there was nothing that could save him.
"Ness…"
Ness fidgeted at the sound of his name. He so desperately wished that Giygas would just stop talking to him and trying to converse with him, but then he came to a startling conclusion as he took a second to analyze the voice. It wasn't Giygas that had spoken. He heard the voice call to him again in his head, softly whispering to him…and he recognized the voice in an instant.
"Ness…can you hear me?"
"Paula?"
It was indeed his dear friend Paula Polestar, calling to him with her own PSI ability. She was praying for him. He remembered. This was how they had defeated Giygas the last time, and while the prayer didn't have any negative effect on Giygas, it was certainly steadily beginning to return Ness's strength to him.
"Get up, Ness. You have to keep fighting. I know you can do it…"
Then there came more voices, and Ness was relieved and happy to hear every single one. First came an accented and intelligent-sounding voice.
"Come on, Ness! You can do it! Just keep fighting!"
"Jeff…"
Then came another voice, this one loud and brash. And then came the voices he was most relieved to here.
"Don't you go quittin' now, man! You've never given up on anything in your life! Don't you even think about goin' down if I'm not there to help ya!"
"Poo…"
"You can do it, big brother! Show 'em who's boss!"
"Tracy…"
"Keep on fightin', sport! We're behind you all the way!"
"Dad…"
"Just believe in yourself, sweetheart. You don't ever need to be afraid of anything again.
"Mom…"
As all these voices resonated in Ness's mind, he felt a newfound strength rush through him and he steadily pushed himself to his feet. His friends and family. They were back home, cheering for him. That alone was enough to get Ness to face Giygas once again, but Paula wasn't finished.
"You can do it, Ness. We're all waiting for you to come back home. Now maybe it's time you sent Giygas home, too."
Send Giygas home…Ness understood in an instant. He looked at the red swirling mass and closed his eyes, concentrating his thoughts toward his foe and speaking to him.
"Giygas…do you remember her? Do you remember Maria?"
"Maaaariiiaaaaaa…" Giygas moaned in response. He seemed to be trying to make sense out of what Ness had said. Difficult considering his mind was utterly scrambled.
"Remember her, Giygas. She raised you from birth like her own. Isn't it time you went back to her? Isn't it time you went home?"
There came a bright flash, and Giygas let out another moan as he steadily began to waver away, all the while whispering the same thing again and again: "Maria…Maria…Maria…" He was remembering. Steadily regaining his awareness and realizing what he was doing, where he was, and most importantly, where he wanted to be and who he wanted to be with. He kept muttering Maria's name again and again until the sphere of darkness steadily faded away, taking Giygas with it as he muttered one last word that was carried away in the wind.
"Mother…"
Ness smiled. Somehow, he felt satisfied. It wasn't the real Giygas, sure. The real one probably wouldn't have gone down so easily, but he wasn't afraid anymore. No matter how much he thought of Giygas now, he didn't feel any bit of fear spring up in him, but he did feel somewhat intimidated once Juri landed in front of him with a very disturbing smile on her face.
But he decided to go and make a snarky remark instead. He seems to be good at that, eh?
"Oh, it's you." he said with a small smirk. "You're looking good…not really since you're a crazy broad, but hey. You're still kinda hot."
"If you think your joking around is gonna stop me from killing you, you really don't know a thing about me."
"I wouldn't count on it. Heck, I'd say you'll be taken down in a matter of ten seconds."
"What could a little punk like you possibly do to take me down now?"
"There's the fact that a certain someone didn't listen to their mother and look both ways before crossing the street."
"Wha…"
There came a loud honking before Juri was struck head-on by (funnily enough) a bright red go-kart driven by none other than Mario. Ness had wondered where Mario and company had gone, but never in a million years did he think this was what was going on.
"Start your engines!" the plumber cheered. "IT'S-A MARIO KART!"
Mario took off down the field with the remainder of the other Mushroom Kingdom residents coming zipping after him, Luigi in a blue dragster-like vehicle, Peach on a bright pink motorcycle, Yoshi in his own small vehicle that resembled the eggs he produced, Bowser on a rather large ATV, and DK riding what looked like a kart sculpted out of a wooden barrel with Diddy clinging onto a fenced-in platform on the back. Juri looked at the six vehicles in confusion, Luigi shooting her a very strange and intimidating look as he shot past her. A strange deathly stare that she feared she'd remember until the day she died…partly because for a time it would spread across the internet like wildfire.
"Oh, my!" said Rosalina with a light chuckle. "This looks exciting!"
"Come on, Rosalina!" Peach called. "Join us! You know you want to!"
Rosalina sighed with a small grin on her face, the Luma floating next to her chirping softly to her.
"What do you think, little one? Shall I give it a go?"
The Luma giggled and the celestial queen's smile grew, and with a single wave of her wand, starlight rained down from the heavens, parts of it shaping around Rosalina herself and other parts shaping into a solid object in front of her. The light faded and revealed a shining cosmic-blue motorcycle in front of the now catsuit-clad Rosalina, Rosalina herself jumping onto the bike and joining Mario's group in speeding across the landscape.
"I know it's sort of against my nature to act this way…" Rosalina said before adopting a mischievous grin. "But this is gonna be fun."
"Here comes the big one!" Luigi cheered as he let loose with a series of green fireballs burning up all the dark forces before them.
"Oil slick? Grappling hooks?" Bowser started before pulling out a tiny bomb. "Bombs? You want it? It's yours, suckers!"
There were explosions and shells shooting everywhere, DK and Diddy even dropping some banana peels to trip their opponents up while Rosalina began casting a number of explosive stars. A familiar streak of blue sidled up alongside Mario and its pilot shot him a quick thumbs-up.
"What do you say we take it to the big fella?!" Captain Falcon called, jerking his thumb at Hades and pulling off his glorious Falcon Punch at some poor sucker who got too close.
"You got it!" said Mario. "Let's-a go!"
Now numbering at eight, they all boosted toward Hades as he continued to do battle with Pit and Palutena. The dark god saw them ahead of time and scowled.
"Oh, come on, how is that fair? Don't I get a little leeway here? A tiny little sidekick to fight them off for me? Some sharks with laser beams attached to their heads? Throw me a freaking bone, will you?!"
After slaying another large Stalfos, Dante Alpha shot Hades a glance and chucked a large bone right at his head, the god casually flicking it away as it came close.
"…okay." he sighed. "I'll admit that was a little bit funny. Bravo for you."
With a stomp of his foot, Hades ripped up enormous shards of earth and tossed them upward, but as they twisted about in a strange path-like manner, an idea quickly popped into Mario's head and he turned his head back to his companions.
"Alright, guys!" he shouted. "This is-a gonna get nuts! Engage anti-gravity!"
Their wheels flipping onto their sides and expelling a light blue aura that caused their vehicles to float an inch or so off the ground, and as they crossed onto the steadily collapsing ramp, the vehicles did indeed flip upside-down, but remained firmly attached to the track. In fact, they even seemed to be picking up speed.
"Hm…wasn't expecting that…" Hades muttered. "Do you all road rage often?"
"Only when it comes to those stinkin' Bloopers." said Bowser. "Man, it's like you're drivin' along minding your own business and then a freakin' squid drops down in front of you and…wait a second, why am I telling you this?!"
"Because number one rule of the road: don't get distracted. And you just broke it. Congratulations! Here's your long overdue trophy!"
Said long overdue trophy being a gigantic pile of debris, Mario and company veering out of the way to avoid it crashing into them and knocking them off the track. Pulling out his last Bob-omb, Bowser took care of the next pile of debris Hades launched, only for another to come straight after that.
"This guy just doesn't let up!" the Koopa King snarled. "Anybody got anything left?!"
"Sure do!" yelled a voice from nowhere steadily growing louder. "A fashionably late ally!"
"…Mario? Is that who I think it is?"
"That depends-a." said Mario. "Who do you-a think it is?"
"That hedgehog guy. Y'know, the one we played against in the Olympics? What's his name?"
Yep. The one and only Ironic the Edge Bog…okay, now I'm just teasing you.
As the last cluster of debris hurtled toward the defenseless Mario, out of nowhere came a streak of blue kicking it out of the way. Mario himself could only sit baffled as the scene played out before him, but grew a large smile once the blur began racing alongside his kart.
"Phew!" he sighed with a hint of laughter in his tone. "About time you showed up!"
"Sorry to keep you waiting, bud!" said the blur, now revealing itself as a certain anthropomorphic and cocky-looking mammal. "Tails and I hit a bit of turbulence over Okinawa!"
"Nice of you to join us, hedgehog!" Bowser shouted. "Mind helping us knock Senor Smug off his feet?"
"You got it!"
Hades eyed the strange blue creature running toward him at the speed of sound in a pair of red and white sneakers and vaulting himself high into the air.
"What's this? Another sick internet fantasy?" the god scoffed as he swatted at his incoming foe.
"In your dreams, pal!" said the hedgehog as he shifted himself around Hades' arm just in time. "Sonic's the name, speed's my game!"
"That really doesn't help with the internet fantasy thing, you know."
As Sonic quickly veered down toward Hades, Falcon launched himself from his vehicle and prepped his Falcon Punch. Mario meanwhile had a particularly dastardly trick up his sleeve as he produced a large blue shell with spikes dotted around its top.
"Been-a saving this one for a rainy day…or when I'm-a too far from-a first and feel like-a being a jerk. Whatever you like."
Mario threw the blue shell with all his might, and combined with the force of Falcon's punch and Sonic's kick, Hades found himself tumbling over and slamming against the ground. He could hardly believe it himself, but there he was. Taken down by a spiked turtle shell, a talking hedgehog, and a perfect god among men…I don't know why I keep doing that.
"Well…" Hades muttered in his dazed state. "This isn't very much fun, is it?"
There remained one more colossal obstacle, but the Helmaroc King seemed to have finally met its match once Link and Toon Link took notice of it, the latter getting a sly wink from Tetra. He smiled and reached into his pockets, flicking out a jewel-encrusted baton.
"Ladies and gentlemen, silence in the audience, please." he said smugly. "…nah, never mind. We all know that stupid bird's not gonna shut up."
Pushing that aside, he directed the baton down, then to his right, then to his left, and finally skyward. He repeated it several times before a large cloud conjured over the mighty bird, steadily swirling all about until down came a massive tornado. Unable to fight against the strong wind, the Helmaroc King found itself dragged to the ground, but as the tornado faded, it started to beat its wings again before it opened its beak, spewing wave after wave of fire.
"Okay, since when was he was he able to do THAT?!" Tetra shouted as everyone ducked in cover.
"Ever since Ganondorf started tampering with whatever creature he could to make it even more of an abomination…" the elder Link growled. "…Saya, what are you doing?!"
As the Helmaroc King started to lift off of the ground, Saya took the ultimate leap of faith, foot-stooling off of a nearby Moblin and seizing the great bird's tail feathers. It didn't notice her as she heaved her way up, but the second she landed on its back, it looked over its beating wing and scowled at the tiny nuisance that had dared to try and touch. With a quick roll, it forced Saya to seize the creature's feathers to stop herself from falling, but with a strong shake while it glided upside-down, Saya lost her grip and began tumbling to the ground far below.
Then came the moment of truth: as Morrigan and Lilith began flying toward Saya as fast as they could to catch her, Saya shut her eyes and focused. She could stop this…she could stop herself from falling…she could master Yami's power whether he wanted her to or not, and she felt that power coursing through her before breaking into a climactic peak, and when she opened her eyes…
…she soared.
"Holy cow!" said Ness. "Saya…she's got wings!"
And with those wings, Saya flew in front of the Helmaroc King with her blade drawn.
"And just where do you think you're going?!" she shouted. "I'm not done with you yet!"
The Helmaroc King let out a mighty call and blasted more flames from its beak, Saya breezing out of the way and launching herself toward it at high speed, hellbent on finally taking this overgrown avian down for good. She slashed as soon as she was close enough, making a sizable impact on the Helmaroc King's left wing and causing it drop out of the sky a little ways, giant bird shaking as much of the pain off as it could. While it was defenseless, Saya swerved downward and landed on its head, only for it to start bucking about just enough to cause her to lose her grip on her blade. She watched it tumble to the ground in a mix of despair and fury, and the fury quickly won out.
"Okay, fine! I'll take you down with my bare hands if I have to!"
One punch drove to its skull drove the Helmaroc King very near to the ground. The King let out a furious shriek and bucked its head, sending Saya tumbling backward until her arm was seized by the gloved hands of Mario, Ryu, and Sonic as the Helmaroc King began to glide high into the sky once again.
"Thought we'd-a hitch a ride." said Mario.
"Our buddies down there have the finisher all ready to go!" said Sonic. "We just gotta get the big turkey here low enough!"
Said buddies on the ground being the two Links, both with their bows loaded with arrows of brilliant glowing light. All they needed was one good shot. Saya nodded.
"Alright! Let's bring this bird down!"
"Got it!" shouted Ryu. "Now! Run as fast as you can!"
The four ran up the titanic bird's back side-by-side as quickly as they could, fighting against the strong wind and the beating wings. They pumped their legs harder and harder, their breath starting to run out and their feet already starting to slip, but they reached the Helmaroc King's head just in time. In perfect unison, the four jumped with their fists raised and slammed them against the back of the King's head. The King screamed again as it fell from the sky, leaving its chest wide open for attack as its wings hung uselessly beside it. With that, the two Links drew their arrows back nearly to their strings' breaking point.
"One swift stroke," they said. "No hesitation."
The arrows flew fast, their light glowing radiantly and emanating a soft hum until they struck their target a millisecond before it crashed against the ground. The Helmaroc King let up one final pained shriek before it let its head collapse onto the ground. It twitched several times, the intervals between twitches steadily growing and growing until it finally stopped and the great bird faded away into a large shadow, melting away like all the Poltergeists before it.
"Oh, man." Saya panted. "That was nuts. Thanks, you guys. I mean, taking down a giant bird like that, just…wow."
"No worries." said Sonic. "That's pretty much how I spend all my time. Nice wings, by the way."
They were the same translucent wings from her ultrabursts, and Saya herself couldn't help but be marvelled by them now that she could take a good look. Even better was the exhilaration she'd gotten from flying. Zelda was even more spot-on than either she or Saya must have thought. Her power was starting to become far more friendly to her than she had ever imagined.
There had been no better time to take down the Helmaroc King as the last Moblin fell before Vergil's blade. With their forces completely annihilated, Juri and Hades could do nothing but stand there shocked at what had just happened before them. Hades in particular let his eyebrows droop as he brought a hand to his chin, keeping this expression when Pit stared up at him smugly.
"And?" asked the angel.
"…hm. Well, I think I've had my fun." Hades sighed with his trademark shit-eating grin working its way back to his face in seconds. "Really, I'm not sure what I was thinking letting that Dohma idiot boss me around. Could've taken him down with just a snap of my fingers."
"So why didn't you?"
"Easy, Pitty. Because I knew you and your girlfriend would drop by being the goody-two-shoes that you are, so hey. Why not have a little fun?"
Pit pinched the bridge of his nose and bit his lip while Palutena started stifling a laugh as she glanced in his direction. Finally, he sucked in a breath and adopted a stern expression before turning back to Hades.
"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!"
"Yeah, sure. Whatever. You two take care of yourselves. Oh, and Saya?"
Saya raised her brow as the dark god called to her, giving her a sly wink and a thumbs-up to go along with it.
"Give that oaf Ganondorf a good kick in the pants for me, yes?" he said before giving the army a quick two-fingered salute. "Hades out!"
And without another word, he was gone, leaving the army to stand there wondering what his beef was. Beef? Hades is lacking in beef. Hades is beefless…sorry.
"Okay, I know this is kinda an understatement," said Ness. "But that guy took one too many trips to the nuthouse."
"You've got no idea, buddy." said Pit with a smirk.
As if Juri couldn't possibly get anymore furious, Hades had to go and abandon her.
"Damn you, you coward! Get back here and fight!"
She received no answer, bared her clenched teeth and turning her attention toward the nearby Saya. She'd had enough of this stupid little girl. She was done playing with her. She was done showing mercy. Now there was hell to pay.
"You…" she seethed as she raised her fist and bounded toward her target. "You rotten little piece of…"
"Oh, shut up!"
One strong punch to Juri's forehead was all it took for Saya to knock her unconscious. The Korean brawler lay there in a heap as Saya rubbed her fist, looking over her shoulder at the smirking Ryu.
"I'm not gonna lie." she said with a smile. "That really felt good."
"Kinda comes with the victory." said Ryu with a light chuckle.
The army seemed ready to celebrate now that the enemy ranks all lay dead before them, but to their dismay, the battle was not yet over. They heard the shouts and shrieks of more dark creatures over the hills, and they could only stand there shocked as hundreds upon hundreds of Moblins and Stalfos began pouring the hillsides. So many that it was a wonder the whole valley could fit such a massive army.
"Oh, man, I didn't think there'd be this many…" Link grumbled.
"Alright. Everyone keep fighting them." commanded Saya.
"What do you mean? Where are you going?"
"Into the forest. I'll go it alone from here."
"Are you crazy?!"
"No. I'm confident."
Link as well as the rest of the small group gathered around Saya opened their mouths to protest, only for Amaterasu to come forward and hold up her hand in dismissal.
"This is Saya's battle to fight. All she needs from us is our faith in her."
Amaterasu turned to Saya and smiled that wonderful smile the young girl remembered from her years under the goddess's care. The warm smile that lulled her to sleep after a terrible nightmare, that was the perfect welcome home from a long day. In Amaterasu's smile, Saya saw the same smile as her mother.
"Go now, my child." the goddess said. "Bring this war to an end."
"Oh, boy…" Link sighed, but managed a smile nonetheless. "As much as I don't like sending innocent people to their deaths…yeah. I think we both know who's gonna come out on top. Knock him dead, Saya."
With a nod, Saya took off from the ground, summoned the Master Sword back into her hand, and made her way to the mouth of the Aokigahara, landing in front of it as she felt the dark energy seeping out weigh her down. She stared into the darkness, the memories of what laid within coming back to her at full force.
"I swore to myself I'd never go near this place again…" she muttered to herself. "But no evil spirits or lurking demons will keep me from him. Ganondorf…I'm coming for you."
And thus, she ran headlong into the darkness. Or rather, she would have had someone not stepped in her way with their arms spread defiantly. She half-expected it to be Juri having woken up in a matter of minutes, but the person blocking her was not her enemy. Far from it.
"Lucas, what are you doing?" she demanded.
She could hardly believe that Lucas would stop her from bringing this conflict to an end, but there he was looking like he was about to start crying. What in the world was he doing?
"I…I can't let you go any further."
"Don't be stupid. I have to do this. With the Master Sword and Yami's power, I might be able to defeat Ganondorf."
"And what if you can't?! You saw what he can do! Now he's even more powerful!"
"I know that, but I have to try. Even if I fail, I have to at least try."
Lucas lowered his arms and head and let Saya walk past him, but as an unwelcome memory flashed in his mind, he quickly spun around and seized her hand before she could go any further.
"Then let me go with you!"
"No. It's too dangerous."
"If you have to try to defeat Ganondorf, then I have to try to help you."
"I don't know if I can beat him, but I certainly know you can't. I don't mean to doubt you like this, but I won't let you throw your life away like an idiot. Too many people have done that for me. This is my battle to fight. Alone."
"No! I can help you! I don't know how, but I…"
He couldn't finish his sentence once Saya's stern look turned into a fiery glare. Her wings flexed and she drew herself to her full height, unknowingly greatly intimidating him. She couldn't believe he was being so stubborn and he was really starting to try her patience. Under normal circumstances she would have wholly accepted his help, but these weren't normal circumstances. She wouldn't let him do this even if she was only just a little frightened for him. The victory over Ganondorf wasn't worth it if Lucas wasn't there.
"Lucas, you're not listening to me! If you go in there with me, Ganondorf will have you bleeding out in seconds! I'm not going to let anyone else die for me! Do you understand?!"
"But I…"
"No, Lucas! If you go in there, Ganondorf will kill you!"
"I DON'T CARE IF I DIE!"
Lucas' raised voice was enough to catch Saya's attention and hold it, but what really sold it for her was what he had said and how much his expression had changed. His teeth were gritted, his fists were clenched and his eyes were streaming tears. Had he really meant such a thing? Did he even understand what he was saying? Was he really willing to die so Saya could defeat the great evil king once and for all?
"Saya…everything I've been through taught me that I can't stand by and let things happen." Lucas continued, his voice sounding choked and shaky and growing steadily raspier the longer he spoke. "My mother said the same thing to me when we were in trouble. She told me and my brother to run…and she died because of it! I'm not going to let the same thing happen to you!"
He squeezed his eyes shut and lowered his head, trying his best not to burst into tears and just barely managing it. He didn't want to show even more weakness than he already was. He couldn't see it, but the longer he spoke, the more she found herself wanting to stay there with him.
"I can't…I just can't. My brother and my mom are gone because of me…because I couldn't do anything. If you were to die because I failed to act, I could never forgive myself. I don't care what happens to me. Not anymore. I want to help you in any way that I can. And I know that I don't seem like much help anymore now that you're able to do so much, but I just…I just want to be with you. Even if I can't help, I don't ever want to leave you!"
His eyes opened and when they met Saya's, he could see that there was some understanding in her gaze. Indeed there was. She understood his concern. She understood that he was scared for her and didn't want to let her fight Ganondorf alone. She understood that they'd made a promise to each other and she was determined to keep it. She had no other option, though. She had to do this, but there was no way she'd leave him shaming himself like this.
Before Lucas could speak, Saya gently brought her hands to his cheeks, her eyes shut as she slowly moved in. Lucas opened his mouth just before the gap was closed and he felt her softly press her lips to his. The warmth flushed to their faces while Lucas took a moment or two to try and convince himself that she'd be alright. As much as it pained him to let her go, somehow he knew…she could do it. She could defeat Ganondorf. He didn't know how a kiss convinced him of that, but it didn't matter. Not anymore.
She parted from him but kept their faces close together, her eyes a bit teary and her lips stretched in a smile.
"Don't say things like that, Lucas. It's people like you that have made me realize how beautiful life is, even after all my centuries in this world."
"Saya…"
"I promise you, Lucas. I will come back to you. I will defeat Ganondorf and we'll go to the Nowhere Islands together just like we both swore to each other. But you have to stay alive until then, okay?"
"…I will."
Saya gave one final smile and one final hug, whispering "I love you" into his ear before she turned away from him and broke into a run. He watched her slowly disappear from his view and brushed his fingers against his lips, savoring her taste on them. He looked up and let himself smile, his heart burning with confidence and happiness. He found new life in those short moments of Saya's kiss. He only wished it lasted longer. He wished she was still there with him, but it didn't matter. She'd be back, and they'd move on to a better life together.
"She can do it. Ganondorf doesn't stand a chance now."
Turning away from the forest, he found a dozen Moblins marching toward him. Before, this was trouble. Now, it was a cakewalk if he ever saw one. He let his courage well up inside him and sparked his hands, furrowing his brow with a cocky smile and sinking into a fighting stance.
"Alright! Who's first?!"
A giant fight scene, another cute moment with Saya and Lucas, AND Sonic the freakin' Hedgehog all in one chapter, and was it all worth it? In my opinion, that's...not up to me to decide. But here's to pichufan101 for suggesting Sonic. ;) Next chapter: the fight you've all been waiting for!
Now let's talk about the future. Nah, none of that crystal ball crap. I mean what I'm doing next in terms of stories. Firstly, i think it's important to say that this entire story will be forty chapters long. The actual story is technically only thirty-nine, but I've reserved the fortieth chapter for two epilogues that feed into two stories I'm working on, one of which is a Star Fox story that will start its run once this story is finished. Said Star Fox story is the crossover story I mentioned a while back.
For those of you who don't remember, here was the hint as to what I'm crossing Star Fox over with: a very famous comic series that got a movie two years ago and will be getting another one next year. To help out, here's your second hint: said famous comic series brings together a group of "superb and heroic individuals", the movie version of this group consisting of five men and one woman.
SOUNDTRACK SO FAR
Saya, Ness, and Lucas- "Pollyanna" from Earthbound (SSBM)
Marth to the rescue- "Together We Ride" from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (SSBM)
X and Zero versus Kirby and Meta Knight- "Meta Knight's Revenge" from Kirby Super Star (SSBB)
Link versus Morrigan- Morrigan's theme from Marvel versus Capcom 3
Link versus Dante- "Never Surrender" from DmC: Devil May Cry
Krystal and Trish versus the Moblin horde- "Lock and Load" from Devil May Cry 1
Krystal versus Mewtwo- "Poké Floats" from Super Smash Bros. Melee
Saya versus Ghirahim- Ghirahim's battle theme from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Frank versus Ghirahim- "On a Mission" from Dead Rising
Courthouse caving in- "No Redemption" from DmC: Devil May Cry
Samus escapes- Metroid Prime main theme
Chun-Li versus Samus- Chun-Li's theme from Street Fighter IV
Standoff on Mount Fuji- "Douchuumen" from The Mysterious Murasame Castle (go on Youtube and look for a version by a group called ysk1210)
Saya and Lucas- "Love" from Mother 3
"LET'S ROCK!"- "Devils Never Cry" from Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
The Devil Trigger- "How Old is Your Soul?" from DmC: Devil May Cry
Ryu and Ken versus Juri- Ryu's theme from Street Fighter IV
Jedah's assault on the airship- Airship theme from Super Mario Bros. 3 (SSBB)
S.I.N. versus B.S.A.A.- "Ride on Sea" from Resident Evil: Revelations (or Biohazard: Revelations if you live in Japan)
Ike to the rescue- "Eternal Bond" from Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Saya's sorrow- "Kinder Days" from Sin and Punishment: Star Successor (known as Successor of the Skies in Europe and Australia)
An army of twenty-one- Main menu theme from Super Smash Bros. Melee
Dante versus Dante- "Empty" from DmC: Devil May Cry
Saya's rage- Tabuu's theme from Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Tetra's pirates- "The Great Sea" from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
The Lagiacrus- "Sea and Land Tremble" from Monster Hunter 3
The Ancient Mother- "Shenandoah" from Endless Ocean
Vergil versus Lilith- "Super Ultra Violet" from Devil May Cry 1
Moblin attack on Tokyo- "Taiyo High School Rooftop" from Rival Schools: United by Fate
Mac and Batsu to the rescue- "Minor Circuit" from Punch-Out! Wii
Star Fox reunited- Star Fox: Command's ending theme
Amaterasu's "little game"- "Humoresque of a Little Dog" from Earthbound (SSBB)
Halberd going down- "Crisis" from Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Samus versus Ridley- Ridley's theme (any variation you choose but my pick is the one from Other M)
X versus Ridley- "Dr. Wily's Castle" from Mega Man 2 (look for the version by SongeLeReveur)
Captain Falcon to the rescue- "Mute City" from F-Zero (SSBB)
Wild Pokemon to the rescue- Pokemon Red and Blue theme
Attack of the Shadow Queen- "Shadow Queen stage 2" from Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
Sheik to the rescue- "Temple" from Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (SSBM)
Attack on Aokigahara- "You Will Know Our Names" from Xenoblade Chronicles
Their last chance at escape- "Justified" from Dead Rising
Amaterasu's confession- "Luma" from Super Mario Galaxy
Saya and company versus Takamaru, Lilith, and Giga Bowser- "Final Destination" from Super Smash Bros. Brawl
A surprise return- Super Mario Galaxy theme
Ryu's rampage- Akuma's theme from Marvel versus Capcom 3
Link returns- "Song of Healing" from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Link and Morrigan versus Jedah- Legend of Zelda theme (there's an awesome rock remix by a guy called Elias Bardsen on Youtube. Go check that one out.)
To war!- "Into Free" from Dragon's Dogma
"IT'S-A MARIO KART!"- "Mario Kart Stadium" from Mario Kart 8
Sonic to the rescue- "Reach for the Stars" from Sonic Colors
The kiss- "The Roost" from Animal Crossing: Wild World (SSBB)