CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
"You mop twenty-three rooms and whaddya get?" Nick sang out to himself as he pushed a mop through the dining room where Gig and Ness were eating lunch. After this, he had to head outside to get all the leaves off the back lawn: the mansion was surrounded by trees. It was good that everyone was becoming so comfortable here though…comfortable enough to eat with their mouths open. By GOD, Ness was a pig!
"I don't know HOW you can debate this. Captain America is NOT better than Superman." Ness insisted. "Supes was the first."
"Being picked first does not necessarily mean being the best." Gig argued, shaking his head back and forth as Nick put the mop away in a large brown bucket, panting slightly as he wiped his brow. He shipped to do his trick, this was his duty and he intended to earn the right to stay in the mansion. "Captain America is a skilled fighter! And his lack of cape is far more impressive, as is the shield. Besides, he hasn't got heat vision, the ability to fly or ice breath, he's skilled like an Olympic Athlete with the mind like Patton and the courage of the bravest soldier. He has, as you might say, guts." Gig said, waving a spoon covered in pudding in the air.
"I concede the shield, ol' chum!" Ness admitted as he sighed and shrugged. "But if I had a tommy gun pointed at my face, I wouldn't want "guts". I'd want bullet-impervious skin. I admit, they BOTH punched-out Hitler."
"What of their villainous counterparts? The Red Skull is a Nazi. You do not get much eviler than that."
"True, but Lex Luthor became the PRESIDENT, didn't he?" Ness asked Nick as Nick put the mop into a nearby closet.
"Yeah. So I guess that's pretty darn evil. And he and Lois Lane had a relationship in the animated series." The brown-haired youth added, shivering slightly.
"…you know, I think we should drop the conversation." Gig said, his face becoming disgusted as a vivid mental image popped up in he and Ness's heads.
"I'm going to go watch some television. There's less violence on there than there is in my "Action Comics"." Ness decided as Nick headed out to the back yard with a rake, Link in the middle of building some kind of device of some kind, complete with pulleys, rigs and lots and lots of wood.
"What exactly are you making?" Nick asked, one eyebrow raised as Link yanked on a lever, a large stuffed dummy filled with pillows rising up, Link holding up his sword as it remained sheathed.
"I need to keep practicing. One can't be stagnant, always satisfied with the skills one has. Until the day you die, you must always be a student, always learning." Link insisted as he began striking at the dummy with the scabbard-covered sword. "Once Zelda and Ms. Erin have returned from their journey into my afflicted world, I shall demonstrate my new techniques to Zelda to see how she judges them."
"Why didn't you want to go with them and Alex?" Nick found himself asking as Link stared back at him.
"She said she was perfectly alright with the other two, she did not need further assistance from me." Link said, raising an eyebrow. "You…believe I should go after her?"
"Well…" Nick's hair began to shift as it became white, his vest transforming into a jacket as the sleeves elongated, his jeans becoming white leisure pants as he leaned against the dummy, chuckling as pink eyes glittered. "If it were ME, Romeo…I'd wanna make sure my lil' Juliet didn't get in over her head."
"…Romeo?" Link repeated.
"Oh c'mon, Casanova. Ya know what I'm talking about!" White insisted.
Stupid expression. Dumb blinking.
"…look, Galahad. Wouldn't going after her be the chivalric thing to do? Rescue the damsel in distress?"
"Distress? Zelda? She's not that frail, sir." Link chuckled as he shook his head back and forth, putting his sword back on his back. "She is most skilled, as is your beloved, Ms. Nightshade, am I correct?"
"Yeah, but still…if it were me, I'd always want to be there in case anything went wrong." White muttered, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "You can't protect someone every single hour of the day, but…just thinking about her being alone and me not being there by her side makes me…uncomfortable."
"You are really so concerned for your beloved." Link admitted as he began to blush. "Truthfully…I have felt I should seek Zelda out as well, for I have been having…a hunch. A hunch that she might need outside assistance even now."
"If you really do want to leave for Hyrule, it can be arranged!" Master Hand announced, flying into the backyard as he looked around it. "ECH! It's HIDEOUS."
Zip-Zip-Zip-Zip! In an instant all the leaves were now deposited in large piles as White dusted his hands off.
"Better."
"You could really get us there? Right now?"
"Of course. Quite a bit of evil has vanished from the worlds. You've been doing a spectacular job, all of you! Dreamland's moments away from freedom if all goes well, and I can open up a portal to Hyrule right here and now if I so wish." Master Hand chuckled, drawing a circle in the air with a giant finger as a glowing portal began to form before their eyes, Link bowing in gratitude.
"I am in thy debt, Master Hand."
"This will deposit you in Kakariko Village. I'd say "keep your eyes peeled", but since everything's stuck in night without end, I'd recommend you just hold each other's hands and shuffle forward carefully so you don't hit anything by accident." Master Hand admitted as White crackled his knuckles.
"Won't THIS be fun?"
…
…
…
…Alas, poor Yoshi was in a bit of a bind. But NOT from Nightmare. Oh no. Nightmare was watching, sure enough, disguised among the dark clouds above the arena as Dedede watched with interest from his hovering announcer's booth. The crowd was seeing Yoshi taking a beating, but it was not from Nightmare, sinister overlord of Dreamland, but from Yoshi's opponents, who had ganged up on him, three-against one, after Tufyal had been knocked out.
Tufyal had been the lucky one.
"You guys are seriously screwy! And I've played tennis with a pink dinosaur dude who thought he was a girl and wore a bow on his head!" Yoshi yelled out, struggling against the strange device that was attached to his nostrils. Sharp metal clamps were digging into his nose, the rest of his body tied to a pole as the leader of the team who was opposing him and Tufyal in the fight laughed hysterically, riding on a bicycle machine that generated electricity. Shockwaves of electrical power were coursing up Yoshi's nostrils, making him shriek over and over, Dedede nervously gulping. He'd hired these thugs to just plain KILL the meddling kids and that there Kirby, not go all "It puts the lotion on its skin" on them!
The head of the gang got off the bicycle machine and twirled a nunchuck around as he smirked in front of Yoshi, the crowd murmuring amongst each other as his lackeys all joined in his evil laughter. "So…still think you've got a chance against us?"
"I'm…asking you nicely…" Yoshi muttered. "…let me outta this right now…my friends need me…"
"Such a loyal steed. All the good that'll do you. Your other friends are already being taken care of…if you know what I mean." The head lackey chuckled darkly as Yoshi began growling and snarling like a wild beast, spit flying from his mouth. "Ha-ha-ha! You're not as bad as you thought you were, huh?" He chuckled as one lackey flipped on a stereo and evil music began to boom out from the speakers. "Oh, I laugh at you! I laugh at you, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
He and his horrendous gang turned away to laugh maniacally up at the sky, Nightmare joining in as Dedede slapped a hand over his face and groaned. This had been a bad idea.
Luckily though…Yoshi was close to the torture instrument rack. Or at least, close enough for one particular body part to reach. He concentrated, taking a deep breath as he stretched his tongue out towards the rack with it's dozens of sharp weapons, aiming for a hammer. Just a little bit further and he had wrapped his tongue around it. Now…now was the tricky part. He knew that the shutoff button was above his head, in the center of the machine, a great big red thing that had to be SLAMMED down to deactivate the straps that were keeping him tied down.
There was only one chance. He heaved the hammer high and it soared up into the air, spiraling around and around as it whizzed down towards Yoshi in the machine, Yoshi silently praying that it would work. Oh please, oh PLEASE let it work…
It hit home. With a TWHUNK it knocked the button deep into the machine, the straps releasing him as Yoshi sat off the torture device, withdrawing his tongue into his mouth as he advanced towards the leader, who was still laughing.
"Oh, I laugh at you! Ha-ha-ha-ha! Haaa-ha-ha-ha-"
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The guy looked to the right to see a green hand tapping on his shoulder, slowly turning around to see Yoshi glaring at him.
"Oh crap." He mumbled, Yoshi's fist raised high.
THRUCKA! The guy was knocked clear into the lackey carrying the stereo, the channel flipping to a fine rendition of "Little Willy" as Yoshi's high-jump kicks knocked several of the others into each other, finally delivering a swift spinning back kick to the leader as he tried to get back up.
But it was Yoshi's TONGUE that caught the crowd's apt attention. The bulb-ended beauty whipped through the air like a snake, striking at the cappy lackeys, tossing them left and right as Yoshi let out swift "hi-yahs" and "hoo-hahs". It was as if the tongue were his partner in a double tag-team event.
Left side, east side, little willy-willy wears the crown, he's the king around town!
Glancin', prancin', willy sends 'em silly his star-shoe shimmy shuffle down!
"Such power! Truly he has the Heart of the Tongue, hiyaaaaah!" One cappy exclaimed, leaping through the air at Yoshi only for Yoshi to grab him by his stubby arm and sweep him across the fighting field, the guy being tossed over the slowly-regaining-consciousness form of Tufyal, who gaped in surprise.
"How can we beat him?" Another asked the leader, tugging her face down as Yoshi's tongue propelled him into the air and he landed on another lackey, stomping them with his feet. His very-hard-soled feet.
Heeeey noooow…staaaaay doooown!
"OW! Why is this dinosaur wearing shoes?" The unfortunate underneath his feet exclaimed as Nightmare fumed overhead, Dedede sheepishly holding up a "Resistance isn't Futile" sign with a cute little smiley face drawn on it.
"You got so many questions, ask why our mouths are still moving even after we talk!" One cappy exclaimed, the rising sun slowly hovering above him as he shook his fist angrily.
"Or why I'VE got a female voice actor even though I'm a girl?" Tufyal wisecracked, his kick knocking the critic into the wall outside the ring, the guy letting out a groan as he fell out of the crater he'd made.
Little Willy-Willy won't…go home! But ya can't push Willy 'round, Willy won't go!
One cappy growled and took a step towards Yoshi, only to have the tongue slither up right in front of his face and essentially pimp-slap his face left and right, the guy passing out on the spot as Yoshi struck a flamboyant martial arts pose, tongue hovering in the air like a cobra poised to strike. The dinosaur blinked in surprise as two of the cappys got up, both of them twirling strangely-decorated scarfs in the air before stretching them between their respective hands, holding them taught like they were nooses.
"Ahhhh. SISSY STYLE." Yoshi chuckled.
The scarfs shot out, wrapping around his arms and sending him flying forward with a cry as the leader rushed forward, HEADBUTTING poor Yoshi squarely in the head, the dinosaur groaning heavily as he staggered back before hitting the ground face first.
"Not so "Chosen" now, are you?" The leader chuckled, his men giggling with him.
That is, until they saw his tongue loll out, slowly pushing him up from the ground and suspending him higher and higher into the air. Their eyes bugged out in surprise as he then began to slowly turn around and around, the tongue twisting on the spot.
Little Willy-Willy Won't, Willy Won't, Willy Won't, Little Willy-Willy Won't, Willy Won't, Willy Won't! Little Willy-Willy Won't, Willy Won't, Willy Won't, Little Willy-Willy Won't, Willy Won't, Willy Won't!
It was then that Yoshi suddenly came twirling back DOWN, his rapidly-spinning form whipping up a tornado that launched them all back as he leapt through the air, landing expertly on his feet as his tongue landed in midair by his side, Yoshi looking around the arena at the fallen foes that surrounded him.
Little Willy-Willy-Won't…
"My work here is done." Yoshi said, nodding firmly, quickly retracting the tongue back into his mouth as Tufyal stepped up to him and patted him on the shoulder, the crowd laughing hysterically at the strange but VERY entertaining way in which he'd defeated the torturing troublemaking terrors.
Nightmare, however, was spastically shaking. He quivered with fury, shaking like a leaf in the middle of a harsh hurricane, dark clouds gathering around him even as the sky he was surrounded by brightened with every laughter and chuckle that the Cappys below let out, Yoshi bowing so low that his saddle slipped over his face and he let out a stupid "Uh-duhhh" as he put a single finger to his nose.
"I! AM! ANGRY!" Nightmare roared out furiously, Dedede gulping as his boss's true form made itself clear in the skies above, the single-eyed beast howling and snarling as he shook around. "G-gonna k-kill you, gonna kee-kee-kee-kee-KEEEEEEEL YOOOOUUUUU!"
Tufyal, however, "got" it and chuckled at the crowd as he raised an eyebrow up, arms folding. "It's like he's trying to speak to us, I'm sure of it." The kid chuckled, Yoshi seeing the friendly mark atop his head momentarily glowing as he turned to look back at Dedede…a mark now on HIS forehead, just barely visible underneath the cap the penguin king wore.
"Hee-hee. That's a guddin'."
"KEEEEEEEL!"
"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say he wanted to kill me." Yoshi exclaimed loudly to the crowd as people began to laugh and laugh, more and more symbols becoming quickly visible as Meta Knight and the others slipped into the main hallways that led from the chairs to the outdoors, surprised at what they saw, none more so than Meta Knight, who now had a mark of his own faintly gleaming and clearly visible to our heroes.
"Are you…seeing what I am seeing on their foreheads?" Meta Knight found himself asking as the people kept laughing and laughing, Nightmare spluttering madly as lightning crackled around him, sparking off, Yoshi and Tufyal continuing to crack wise, Yoshi even using one lightning bolt on a marshmallow on a stick he'd somehow acquired to toast it JUST right.
"Yes. Yes, I am." Sude murmured in delight. "Ohhh, it's happening, Meta Knight! Look! Dreamland is turning into back into the paradise it was meant to be! Nightmare hasn't got a chance!"
"The People's Champions have won hearts, minds…and funnybones...of all Dreamland!" Tiffany chuckled as she clasped her hands in front of her chest and beamed, seeing the smiles return to her people's faces. Waddle Dees and Waddle Doos, birds, mammals, the strangely smiling flora, all were joining in the laughter as Nightmare got darker and darker in color, shrinking with every chuckling snort.
"Now…" Sude nervously licked his lips. "The hardest part."
"What's that?" Meta Knight inquired.
"Hey! Nightmare!" Yoshi exclaimed as Tufyal tossed something through the air and Dedede handed Yoshi his hammer. "I GOTTA ask you!"
SPLOOOOORT!
The crate of blueberries was flattened all over Nightmare as he hovered in front of Yoshi, stupidly blinking as the juice dribbled down over him, Yoshi hoisting the hammer onto his shoulder as Tufyal stood by several crates worth of fruit. A fine choice indeed. A FINE choice.
"What's so black and blue?" Yoshi chuckled.
And with that, a pun so corny, so terrible, so CHEESY in its strength, Nightmare let out a tiny squeak. "When Crazy finds out…ohh…eye am so, so dead."
POP.
And then…he was gone. As if he never were.
And in an instant, what had been a gloomy, foul land of nightmares finally saw the light of day, as cascading, gentle rays of warmth swept across a formerly barren land. Waddle Doonesbury gasped as he looked down at his slowly-healing body, the battered and scarred form of he and thousands of others healing steadily with the land whilst a beautiful, pure wind swept the fine scent of blooming flowers into everyone's nostrils, all around him was changing, and changing swiftly.
The clouds were slowly reverting from gray and black to white, a beautiful, pearly shade of white, the sky a deep, lovely blue, the grass never seeming more green as the once-towering skyscrapers and dark-toned buildings of Dreamland suddenly changed as well…now they were dotted with beautiful swathes of colors, like a postmodern piece of splatter art. The whole place looked like a vibrant painting come vividly to life, and Kirby eagerly bounced up and down, cheering with delight at the sight of his Dreamland returned to normal, the Fountain of Dreams standing where the hellish arena had once been, rising high into the air, a pearly/golden sight with crystalline-clear waters.
"I'm surprised the skyscrapers are still there." Sude admitted to Meta Knight, looking him squarely in the eye as Meta bowed his head and nervously shuffled his feet.
"I wanted Dreamland to be better off, more developed, more cultured. I was having those things built by my clan BEFORE Nightmare changed everything. Maybe instead of looking for a quick fix…"
"You should have tried to work alongside Kirby and the Cappys." Sude finished as he put a large hand on Meta Knight's head, patting it as he knelt by the caped being. "This land is very beautiful, Meta Knight. Don't ever forget how beautiful it is right now…and you'll be just fine."
"The voice of one who lost his land." Meta Knight murmured softly as Sude nodded quietly. "…you speak like one who is missing something important from his life. I found a way to fill this need thanks to Kirby and his friends…but what of you?"
"I'm working on that." Sude said as Kirby danced in the Fountain of Dreams, spinning around like a ballerina along with Dedede, Tufyal and Tiffany, the spray of the fountain flickering tiny sparkles of joy through the sunlit sky of Dreamland, Kirby's happy paradise.
…
…
…
…Ratchet of Veldin was a lot of things. But he was also good enough in terms of hearing to be able to tell when someone within range was evilly gloating. As such, he'd taken upon himself to sneak into Tachyon's ship, hitching a ride with an old friend of his. A simple man. A helpful man.
"Do you know the Plumbing Man, the Plumbing Man, the Plumbing Man! Do you know the Plumbing Man will snake two sinks for free?"
"What verse is he on?" Ratchet mumbled out as he hid in the suitcase of the Plumber, a small, disguising layer of tools on the outside to protect him and Clank's cover in case the ship was searched as it landed in the docking bay of Tachyon's flagship.
"I believe the term is "Second Verse, Same as the First, a little bit louder and a little bit worse"?" Clank chuckled a little.
Ratchet was determined to get some dirt on Tachyon, and he knew how he could do it: that machine Tachyon had bragged about at the big gala event, the "Medical" technology Tachyon had said "sought out specific DNA sources" to correct mistakes in their biological makeup. He was 99.9 percent certain it was actually something bomb-related. Stuff like that which was set to be unveiled before large crowds by evil scientists were usually bombs.
There was a point .01 percent chance that Tachyon was being HONEST, but every time Ratchet tried to think of the words "honesty" and "Tachyon" in the same sentence he kept bursting into laughter.
"Eyyy, lookit this, Mitch." One Cragmite remarked as he poked a claw down at a newspaper that showed President Qwark sitting at his desk, looking almost depressed as he leaned slightly to the side. "President Qwark vaguely disappointed by lack of assassination attempts. "All the great ones had someone take a crack at them. An assassination attempt really would have elevated my status in the pantheon or presidents. I mean even Former President Dorf had Squeaky Frumme."
"Yeah, ya wanna get taken seriously as a president, ya gotta have someone try ta throw a bomb ur a shoe atcha." Mitch agreed, clapping his friend Mike on the back before noticing that a spaceship had parked in their docking area. He quickly shouldered his rifle and scuttled down from the ramp, giving the Plumber an intense look. "Who are you?"
"I'm here to fix the plumbing."
"Pleasedon''tsearchtheshiptoohard…" Ratchet whispered in his head as the cragmite looked in the backseat of the ship, then turned to the Plumber.
"Pop yez trunk, alright?"
Phew. The trunk. Nothing in the trunk to give them away. Soon they were all clear and Ratchet and Clank were being carried into the nearby bathroom on the first floor of the flagship, and, frankly, once they were out of the suitcase, Ratchet could see why they needed the bathroom. It was a pigsty that defied description and any attempt to describe it…well, since some of you might be eating whilst reading this, I will refrain.
"Let's geh oudda here thru dah ventz." Ratchet said, putting a clothespin over his nose as he and Clank shimmied up a bathroom wall and quickly unscrewed the vent cover with Ratchet's Omniwrench. The Plumber would screw the cover back on and they'd be safe to sneak around the ship, which they proceeded to do right then and there, Clank's sensors picking up the frequency they were looking for: that of an extremely powerful device located on the second floor.
"You're SURE it's the thing?" Ratchet whispered to Clank as they shimmied up a 90 degree angled vent shaft.
"Absolutely. It does appear to be some kind of strange medical technology, it is operating on the 2hz frequency, but the wave patterns are…irregular." Clank murmured as the little antenna atop his head popped back inside. The two of them finally climbed up to a small window that revealed what they were looking for: Emperor Percival Tachyon and his device. Angela was there as well, Tachyon demonstrating the inner mechanics of the device on a chalkboard nearby.
The machine itself was positively enormous, a dome-like thing with a chair located right in the center, dozens of tiny little node wires to be connected to whomever sat inside the chair, all of which were floating down from the glassy dome. A control console was connected to the dome which Tachyon was standing by, along with aforementioned chalkboard.
"Fractal secant per mass square divided by…or was it MULTIPLED by…" He rubbed his chin. "How did that rhyme go again? Oh, yes, hey that fractal's lookin' fair, cosine, tangent, there's a square…ROOT! Ha! Yes, the square root!" He finished the calculations and stepped away, folding his arms in front of his chest. "That wasn't so hard. Mnemonic devices. I use them all the time. Take this person." He grabbed a nearby guard and pointed at him. "Look at him."
The drophyd guard blinked stupidly, Tachyon rapping on the helmet he wore. "He's slimy, he's ugly, even by drophyd standards."
"My mum dropped me down the drain once by accident, she did."
"The only way anyone would EVER be interested in him would be if he was a fish fillet. Fillet rhymes with Fray, his name is Fray Swiggle."
"Yeah, that's how most people remember me." Fray the guard mumbled.
"I'm kind of…feeling queasy." Angela admitted as she held her head, coughing a little. "I think I'd better go lie down." She murmured, the guard escorting her out of the room as Tachyon waited calmly…then whipped around and pressed a button on the nearby console for his device, lights shimmering around it as he turned and looked right at Ratchet and Clank.
"Why, Ratchet…Clank. How good to see you. Please come in. And let me tell you how I'm about to conquer the universe." Tachyon asked, spreading his arms slightly as he gestured at the machine around him.
Ratchet kicked the vent opening down and he and Clank stepped out, Ratchet twirling his Omniwrench as he glared darkly at the Cragmite Emperor. "We're gonna stop you, whatever you've got planned!"
"I can have my guards here in an instant. You'd be swarmed by a hundred guards in an instant, all with intent to kill. Or, I could simply activate this EMP device right here, and take your friend Clank offline." Tachyon asked, holding a small, circular slab-like thing from his pocket in the air.
"You'd fry YOUR tech too!" Ratchet growled back.
"True. But you don't want your friend harmed…do you?" Tachyon asked quietly. "Especially if there's a chance that, even if you rebooted him, he'd not be returned to his normal, Clank-y self?" He went on, speaking persuasively.
Ratchet grunted angrily and slowly lowered the Omniwrench as Tachyon put the EMP device back, clapping his clawed hands together. "So typical. So noble. And, as promised, I'm going to show you how I intend to conquer this universe. Take a look at this: my Genetic Imprint Device-O-Tron…"
"That's not so impressive."
"3000."
"…better." Ratchet admitted reluctantly as Tachyon ran one hand down the dome.
"It's purpose is, in fact, to seek out specific DNA sources, correcting certain mistakes in their biological makeup. I was being quite honest in that regard. HOWEVER…" Tachyon grinned darkly. "Such mistakes also include…irregular thought patterns. What it shall do is take MY thoughts and burn them into the minds of all beings in this galaxy who's DNA I've encoded into the machine. And since I've had so many events in my name, there's been quite a lot of DNA they've left behind at each one. I've got sources from THOUSANDS of species."
Ratchet's eyes widened. A brainwashing scheme, so THAT was it!
"There shall be exceptions, of course. This slot here…" He pulled one slot down from a wall on the control console, pointing inside. "Is tuned to specific people's DNA. I've Angela in there, and I, naturally, will be excluded as well. Angela's thought patterns shan't be touched, so the question becomes…what to do with YOU?"
He rubbed his chin, looking Ratchet over. "Clank shall be unaffected, but you…should I place your DNA in this slot, or have you think as the trillions across the galaxy will soon think: that your race, as I've always known, were hypocritical, foul liars, and that my race was unfairly cast into an alternate dimension!"
"Your people deserved what they got! They were committing genocide across the galaxy!" Ratchet yelled at him, pointing an accusing finger at him.
"LIAR!" Tachyon roared. "Your people weren't nearly so noble! They only spared me to stroke their own conscience, not out of any genuine pity!" He chuckled darkly as he rubbed his hands together. "But I'm willing to be merciful, Ratchet. I've got grand plans for you…" He cooed darkly. "Like Angela, you'd make a fine host, oh yes. I could even make it pleasant…so, should I force you to think I'm your rightful master…or allow you to keep your mind, forcing you to live in a galaxy that will hate your kind for all eternity?"
It was then that Angela burst into the room, panting and heaving, Tachyon blinking at her in surprise…
"I…I don't feel so good." She muttered out before falling to the ground, her muscles spasming before they became locked in paralysis. "C-Can't…can't f-feel my legs…"
The symptoms. No. It couldn't be, but…
But this reminded him all too much of the mysterious disease Max Apogee had died of.
"Not you too." He murmured, rushing to her side. "Angela. ANGELA." He whispered, turning her on her back and putting her head in his lap. "You're going to be alright. You can't die. You can't. I won't let you, I WON'T."
…
…
…
…meanwhile, Alex, Erin and Zelda were in Kakariko Village, Link and White listening intently as the Goddess Farore explained the situation, White rubbing his chin thoughtfully, looking over at Alex as he turned invisible, then visible again, on and off, on and off.
"Guess who I am?" Alex chuckled. "Ring goes on…" He turned invisible. "Ring goes off." He turned back to normal. "Ring goes on…" Invisible again! "Ring goes off. Ring goes on-"
"Ha-ha. Very funny, Frodo." White chuckled.
"I do not doubt you can follow unseen. The problem is that…" Link sighed slightly. "I do not know how to REMOVE the Triforce from-"
"We are the Goddesses of Hyrule." Farore said, momentarily speaking with grandeur and might as she rose up to full height, thumping her fist against her chest. "What we bestow-ed, we can taketh away!...oh wow, I sounded like Din for a minute there." She murmured, holding a hand over her mouth and giggling slightly. "Just watch."
She rested her hands over Zelda and Link's hands and concentrate as a shimmering golden sheen rose off from both of them, passing into Farore as two triangles began to hover in the air around the green-haired goddess…the pieces of the Triforce. What the Godesses had given to them, one had indeed now taken away.
"We've no guarantee Robotnik will keep his word. In fact, I do not think he will." Zelda admitted.
"Ro-BUTT-Nik almost never does. If anything DOES go wrong, just whistle loud and I'LL come running. Chronokinetic and all that." White chuckled as he jabbed a thumb at his chest. "I wanna see everything blow up in his face."
"Be careful." Link insisted as he took Zelda's hand and squeezed it, the two staring into each other's faces for what seemed to be a long, long time, a thousand words of concern and comfort expressed in two being's faces as they gazed into their beloved's eyes.
"…I'll come back." Zelda insisted. "I promise."
…
…
…
… Farore rapped against the large doors to the former home of her sister Din, now the current hideout of Dr. Eggman, Alex silently and stealthily slinking after her as she looked around the room. The reptilian and rock-based life forms that called the place their home were all being forced to sit down against the walls, Din and Nayru sitting in a circle as-
It couldn't be. But it was. Alex drew in a harsh breath as he took in the sight. The women were tied down by bonds of pure bone, the bone of beings slightly larger than they were. Their wrists, their legs, their arms, all were held down, skulls placed over their head as they groaned in pain, sweat pouring down their brow as tattoos glowed brightly over the bones, burning black flames rising from the torches on the walls.
"You came! Good…a little help would be MOST appreciated!" The fiery dragon Volvagia announced, shackles around his wrists like the rest of his kind. He was in the middle of having his ribcage opened, but evidently the sight of the Triforce caught Dr. Eggman's interest FAR more than a heart that was literally on fire inside of a chest made of silver bones, luckily for the dragon. Eggman cackled as he stroked one side of his mustache, walking away from his workbench as the large table that Volvagia had been on slid into the wall, Volvagia being dumped on the ground as Eggman chuckled.
"So, Farore. You have come with the Triforce. Good. VERY good."
"You KNEW I would." Farore muttered hatefully as Alex scuttled on the wall, eyes peering out at Dr. Eggman. "Now what about my sisters? How did you even find the bones? How'd you even know this spell?"
"Our partnership with E.G.O has been most helpful. A very useful psychic told me the necessary spell I'd need. He's actually here in Hyrule at YOUR old home, my dear, getting something for me." Dr. Eggman chortled.
"W-wait. The Temple of Time! He's THERE?" Farore gasped in surprise, taking a step back in horror.
"Oh yes. You see, this is actually part of my plan." Dr. Eggman went on as he clapped his hands, several clunky-looking robotic servants taking the pieces of the Triforce and bringing them to the "good doctor". "With Ganondorf dead, the final piece has returned to the Temple of Time. I shall take these pieces here and go to the Temple."
"You'll never get away with this, you…you..." Volvagia stuttered.
"What he said!" Darunia growled. "You'll pay for what you've done to my people. Millions are suffering across Hyrule because of your selfishness!"
"Now release my sisters and the hostages. Release Hyrule and we'll go easy on you." Farore insisted, wagging a finger at him.
"Oh, I shall give you your release. The greatest release one can give to another in this world of life…the boon of merciful death." The evil scientist said coldly, steepling his gloved fingers. "And then, wearing a protective gas mask as my friend from E.G.O is right now, I shall leave this place, and I shall walk without fear…"
Dr. Eggman grinned darkly. "Through a World of the Dead."
"You're going to release the gas? Even though the ransom's been paid?" Din yelled angrily, struggling to break free of the bony bonds that held her tight to the ground. "You psychotic, stupid, fat, lunatic!"
"You must be mad, INSANE!" Nayru exclaimed.
"Noooo!" Dr. Eggman growled, twisting his mustache. "Merely strong because I do not make pity make a weakling and a coward of me. And this is only the beginning! When I am finished here…" He remarked, waving his hands at the cave around him. "I shall move on. With this technology and its power amplified by the Triforce, I can exact tribute from other worlds…ALL WORLDS!" He roared out, curling his fingers as he waved his hands madly in the air before his bulbous nose. "The world shall be at my mercy!"
"You're a FIEND! A cold-hearted fat old fiend!" Alex roared out.
"Who said th-"
KRUTCHA-KRACK!
The robots that had been holding the triforce pieces shattered and fell to the ground as Alex stood triumphantly before Eggman, flexing his claws in his Experimental Form. "And I feel like making scrambled eggs." He hissed.
"I EXPECTED you would try something such as this." Dr. Eggman mumbled angrily at him as he snapped his fingers, and a form slowly stepped out of the shadows. "Luckily, I have another partner to assist me. Try to stop me NOW!"
Dark Link held up his sword, slowly lowering it at Alex, his red eyes glittering darkly. "Now, young Skywalker…" He growled, his sword sizzling with burning red energy that slowly sloughed off to the floor below. "…you will die."
He wasn't Link…but he would do. Oh yes. He would do.