Author's Note:
I feel so ashamed, I've been putting these updates off FAR too long because I'm working steady now at a hospital in the evening shift from 3 to Midnight, essentially. But I'll try to keep a semi-steady update flow all the same. Please have patience with me. ;)
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
The whole of Hyrule was clouded in darkness. A black, inescapable fog covered the land, blanketing all in its black. Yet despite all of this, despite the inescapable lack of sigh, despite the feeling of pure despair and terror that the inky cloud created, there was light, lights piercing through the darkness, rippling on the edge of Death Mountain, faint slivers that shot through the black for all to see if you just looked at the right place.
And look they did. The Diggers held their eyes up, Link's father clutching his mother tightly to his side as his friends offered up their prayers for their boy, knowing, KNOWING he was somewhere up there. A scholar, a former thief who had lost his hands, who had never found himself a faithful man found himself putting faith in a hope, the hope that the darkness would end. The people of Hyrule's Castle Town expectantly gazed far through the inkiness at the far-off slops of Death Mountain, and they waited…and waited…and waited.
Soon their wait would be rewarded, or their hopeful patience would be utterly dashed. There was to be nothing, absolutely no in between. If the right party atop Death Mountain didn't stop things now…there would be no continuing night without end, there would only be the eternal sleep, for everyone would die. And two members of this "right party" were trying to find their way up to their friends.
"OW!" White groaned, rubbing his sore nose as he and Link slowly rose back up, White growling angrily as he dusted himself off with his tipless-gloved hands, Link feeling around the rock face that they'd run into, finding a slivery little passageway about five feet to their right. "Never, EVER get super speed. You run into so much as a TELEPHONE POLE it feels like Muhammadi Ali decided he didn't like your face and wanted to change it!"
"Telephone?"
"After your time. My apologies." White said as Link led him through the narrow, slightly dusty passageway towards the cavern that was witnessing a clash of giants. A clash so intense that new openings to the cavern were being ripped and torn and slashed open every few seconds.
"How does a dark doppelganger of a chosen hero from faintly Middle-Ages timelines know of contemporary and popular science fiction epics?" Alex inquired calmly, allowing his fighting to do most of the work as he quickly spun in the air, dodging Dark Link's harsh and burning cuts, the evil swordsman's blade dripping with red-hot sizzling flame as the red-haired monstrosity continued his unrelenting assault.
"Oh, I surf the net." Dark Link coldly remarked, his smile the work of demons as he spun his sword in one hand, the other on his hip as he chuckled a bit before launching forward, quickly stabbing at Alex, who back-flipped again and again. "And you are familiar to me, personally. I have many names, Mr Hardie. This is simply one of my most common forms. A form I…enjoy. Immensely." He added, doing a swift upward slash, Alex dropping quickly to his knees and thrusting a fist forward, striking at the thing's leg.
There was a satisfying cracking noise as Dark Link staggered back, reeling in pain as Dr. Eggman, adjusting his goggles, sneered, sneaking towards an exit as Volvagia freed Nayru and Din from their bonds as best he could, though it took him several hard yanks. The "good doctor's" robotic servants rushed forward to stop him, but they'd forgotten about Darunia, who calmly grabbed them by their heads and slammed them into the wall.
"Your toys break easily." He announced.
"It's this damn economy, I can't afford quality material!" Dr. Eggman protested. "BAH! No matter!" He insisted, wagging his finger in the air. "This is not the end, my boy. I shall return!"
THRACK! A harsh, very powerful punch to the back of his head knocked him flat on his face as White and Link entered the cavern, seeing Zelda tying Dr. Eggman up with some rope she'd snuck along as Erin waved her hand in the air, letting out a long and loud "ooch". "His fat head hurt my hand." She mumbled. "How does he escape Sonic so often when he's this tubby?"
"It's those thin, spindly legs." White said, going to her side and embracing her tightly. "My girl! Nobody like her in all the world!" He bragged. "C'mon. Victory kiss." He insisted.
"DUCK!" Zelda pulled them both down as Dark Link's sword swung over their heads, the red-eyed, black-clothed and dark-skinned being snarling a bit. Clearly he didn't like being ignored.
"You'd best save such wishes for after you've seen me beaten. Which shall not happen." Dark Link growled before Alex quickly yanked his cap down and back, almost doubling-up the evil monster. He then promptly tossed Dark Link clear through the air, a loud KRATCHA-KRANG filling the air as he collided with the wall, exploding once again before reforming into wispy black smoke that solidified into solid form.
It was annoyingly aggravating. No matter how many times Alex had slashed, stabbed or exploded this annoying dark doppelganger, Dark Link continued to come right back to life!
But…
There was a hopeful ray of light piercing through his dark environment though…literally. The machine that was producing the smog was at the Temple of Time, and a single figure looked it over. The device was a sickeningly dark-toned mechanical monstrosity of malevolent machinations oozed out the foul gas that had ensnared all of Hyrule in its clutches had one source that was hovering in the center of a specialized container, an all-too familiar dark-skinned being with a fairly large nose…and eyes wide open, as if wishing to scream.
The man who wanted to be king had never seemed in more agony, and considering that he had been impaled by the Blade of Evil's bane at least twice, and once in the head, this was saying something. His mouth and nose were covered by a large mask that had some breed of suctioning tube attached to it, which was stripping away whatever was within him again and again, reproducing it into gas that flew up into the skies above, the poor unfortunate soul's arms and legs bound behind his back in a twisted, scrunched-up pose.
As tempting as it was for this single figure that gazed upon Ganondorf Dragmire to just let him rot…as incredibly tempting as it was…she couldn't honestly bring herself to do it. But it wasn't for his sake that she was helping him. It was for Hyrule. If she freed him…the nightmare ended. And she WOULD end it. If only HE would stand-
"Whatever makes you believe I'd stop you?" The being asked calmly, a small smile spreading across his face.
"I imagine that Dr. Eggman's end would be something of a benefit to you."
"My organization doesn't much like competition. One way or another, we…deal with them. And frankly, mad scientists such as Eggman are…a dime a dozen. And considering he would have gone back on his word regardless of what was given to him…"
The blind being began to slowly step backwards into a portal, bowing his head slightly in the direction of Navi's voice. "Tell them SHE'LL be waiting there…in HIS special place…his sacred place…"
And with this, he was gone from Hyrule, the blue fairy left alone, a hovering little soft light that flickered around in the air by the insidious device of Dr. Eggman. "Oh my. This DOES look important." Navi chuckled slightly as she hovered into a small crevasse, an exhaust vent that led inside of the machine. "No. This simply won't do." The sound of creaking and cracking filled the air within seconds.
"Oh my. How dreadfully, dreadfully rude of me."
KLUNKA-KLANG! The machine began to be broken down, falling apart into chunks of metal and scrap, the dark fog slowly dissipating bit by bit…as light began to filter in through the dark clouds hovering over Hyrule, light beaming into the cavern, striking against Dark Link's skin as he gasped slightly, a harsh, singing feeling rising on his arm as he reeled back.
"Oh. You don't LIKE the light, do you?" Alex chuckled darkly as he held one claw up and smashed it squarely into the wall closest to him, a thick beam of sunlight shooting through and bathing over Dark Link's chest. He howled in pain, his red eyes widening as he staggered around, his flesh sizzling with each beam of sunlight he touched. His screams were frighteningly human, but Alex didn't care. This being had lied to Zelda, manipulated her, had terrorized two goddesses of Hyrule and was trying to kill him. There was little sympathy in his heart, if any, for this nonhuman, nonperson. "You made two mistakes."
"No!" Dark Link screamed out, gasping and howling as Alex began to punch new holes in the wall, more and more light streaming in, everyone's eyes on his spasming, pulsing form. "STOP! Please! I beg you!"
"Mistake number one. It ISN'T wise to have your weakness be so obvious. If you can be defeated by a ray of sunlight, you really should have all your fights deep underground." Alex remarked coldly, ripping another large piece of cavern wall free, Dr. Eggman crawling on his stomach out of one of the many back entrances, slithering on the ground by his stomach like a snake as he struggled to get out unnoticed. Luckily for him, nobody WAS noticing. Dark Link's terrible cries of pain and pleas for mercy were catching everyone's immediate attention.
"PLEASE!" Dark Link howled out, now trapped in the middle of the room, a sizzling, steaming wreck, tiny little bubbles popping out on his skin like he was a chicken pot pie that was being left in the oven for far, far too long. His skin was becoming pasty and sweaty, and yet despite how warm it was, he was shivering as if in frigid temperature. "Please, no…please…"
"And number two." Alex whispered, crawling up to the top of the cavern, which now resembled Swiss cheese, and beginning to carve a large circle at the very top. "Be careful who you disrespect…you bloody FREAK."
He yanked the top off, sunlight pouring directly in from above, bathing over Dark Link as the evil being let out a final, wailing cry before dissipating into nothingness before their eyes, Alex dropping to the ground and dusting himself off.
"Sorry, but my mother always told me to put on the light whenever I entered a room." He finished. "And in this case, put out the "dark"." He added as the goddesses approached him, Link looking at Zelda as White and Erin held each other tightly, kissing deeply.
"I…apologize." Link admitted, his face filled with shame as he nervously looked down and to the side. "I had come here to aid you, only to find you had things well in hand. I shouldn't have jumped to the conclusion that you needed help-"
"You were only trying to be helpful, Link." Zelda insisted, putting a hand on his shoulder and shaking her head back and forth as she took his hands in hers and tenderly smiled at him. "Link, I love that about you. You haven't any need to prove anything to me."
"My friends, we…wish to apologize. Most sincerely." Farore insisted as she clasped her hands together and bowed her head before them all, especially at the surprised Alex. "For years we've been trying to find different ways to benefit Hyrule. Yet even now, at a time when we walked among our people we were so easily and embarrassingly caught off guard, I mean…that kind of stuff doesn't CUT it!"
"It's RIDICULOUS." Din grunted. "We totally failed as protectors of Hyrule. We had to rely on outside help again…and again and again. And this time is no different, even at a time when we were trying to be something different."
"We are…unsure…of where we are meant to go now." Nayru admitted. "Unsure of what we are to do. We attempted to have a role in the background for eons. And for several decades here we lived among our people, actively assisting. Yet still it does not seem to have been enough, and…" She adjusted the tiny glasses on the bridge of her nose, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "I am loathe to say it, but…I feel my time has been wasted, my LIFE has been wasted. I must ask something of you." She wanted to know, looking into Link's eyes.
"Ask me anything." He said to her, a bit confused as to what she could want.
"How do you…well, "do it"?" She inquired. "How do you continue to move forward? How do you find contentment and peace?"
"I just help people whenever I can and however I can." Link insisted, putting a hand on his chest.. "No matter what time or region of this land I am from. I am out in land, doing all I can. That is enough."
"…what's good for the goose." Nayru said with a small smile. "My sisters…I have an idea…" She turned to Alex. "How would you like your curses removed?"
She turned to Zelda, White, Erin and Link. "And we do mean ALL of them."
"Aw, I loves a happy ending." White chuckled, before the unmistakable sound of a portal opening up ripped through the air behind him and Erin. "Eh?"
"We need you back at the mansion." Master Hand told him, an aura of genuine concern lingering in his voice. "Your friend "Perry" has need of your assistance."
"P-Perry?" Nick's voice squeaked out a bit from White's body.
"As you know, I've got more and more footholds in the worlds you've visited the more comfortable and "Safe" they are to the side of Good. And I've learned through one such foothold…that Angela is dying."
…
…
…
… Angela struggled to stay conscious, swimming in and out of being awake and being asleep as Tachyon sat in a nearby chair inside of the medical examination room, the latest and greatest medical equipment scanning her as she laid on a bed. The entire room was one giant computer, similar, in a sense, to a CAT scan. But it was getting more than just a magnetic image, far more. In a few minutes she'd be x-rayed, scanned for infrared, her bloodwork taken…
But just as it had been with Max Apogee, Emperor Percivcal Tachyon knew that the answer would be one big goose egg. Nothing could be done. Ratchet and Clank stood nearby, looking from Angela's faintly murmuring form and Tachyon's deeply bowed head, realizing just how…small he seemed. How sad and unhappy, how…miserable.
And Angela. Angela genuinely loved him, Ratchet thought to himself. They couldn't just let her die.
"There's got to be something we can do." Ratchet insisted.
"There might be one person who could assist." Tachyon spoke up quietly, looking through his clawed hands and turning to face the lombax, an idea coming to him. "The former Gamemaster, the Guide, that human youth, Nick. He's capable of doing things that aren't possible in most worlds, of altering reality around him. I've heard tales he brought a woman back from the dead. Curing Angela would be easy!"
"We do not wish to give you false hope." Clank admitted apologetically. "We have no doubt that Mr. Grey's skills are considerable, judging from what WE have also heard."
"I heard that Zim shoved a road flare up…" Ratchet trailed off, shivering a bit.
"NOTHING HAPPENED BETWEEN ME AND ZIM!" A voice yelled out in a galaxy far, far away…which, due to a portal shooting open to their right, now ended up much closer than everyone thought. Nick stepped through the portal, frowning angrily as he folded his arms across his chest. "I'm tired of telling everyone that! Now what's going on with Angela?" He insisted as several other members of the "Smash Pros" stepped inside as well to do a full examination of their own, Ratchet surprised by the floating purplish/white cat that was Mewtwo.
The two stared into each other's eyes, tilting their heads slowly to the right…then to the left…then centering their heads once more before Ratchet spoke up.
"Orphan?" He guessed.
"Orphan."
Ratchet nodded quietly. It was just one of those things that those who had lost such dearly beloved knew about others in the same boat. You could just "tell".
Mewtwo hovered over to Angela, putting his paws on the side of her head as he concentrated, "Perry" explaining the full situation to Nick as Fox looked down at Clank in awe. Or rather, IN Clank.
"I feel so violated." Clank grumbled as Fox flashed a small little laser light around in Clank's opened chest compartment, the furry pilot's eyes widening like he was Bambi before his dad, tail whipping excitedly back and forth in the air.
"Simply fascinating. Internal power drive regulated by dilithium crystals that fluctuate-"
"Oh geez, he's going geek again." Samus muttered, whacking him on the back of his head, Clank smiling a little as Fox backed off and the blond-haired bounty hunter put the lid back on Clank's chest.
"Much appreciated."
"I am not sensing any degree of…mental tampering." Mewtwo finally intoned, hovering slightly away from her as he folded his arms before his chest, growling a bit in annoyance. "I do not like…failing."
"There's always "nature's shortcut"." Samus remarked quietly as they all crowded around the bed, Sude stepping forward, putting one tender claw on Angela's chest and trailing it in a circle as he chanted under his breath.
"What's that?" Ratchet asked, looking confused.
"You know. Put her out of her misery. If this thing IS fatal, and supposedly it is…"
"Ms. Aran, allow me to explain things very, very succinctly. If you so much as look…the wrong way…at her…" Tachyon hissed, scuttling up to Samus's form and glaring deep into her eyes, his claws twitching in slight, spastic motions. "I am going to tear your head from its shoulders."
"You want a piece of me, crab boy?" Samus snapped. "I don't much like seafood!"
"Oh you little-" Tachyon growled, the two grabbing each other's shoulders and pushing hard, trying to knock one down to the ground before Sude let out a horrified cry.
"Oh no, oh NO!" He gasped, reeling away from Angela, slamming into the wall behind him, panting and heaving heavily before he wiped his forehead free of sweat, turning to the others. "I…I know the cause behind this strange affliction. Nick…we need to talk. Privately."
Sude rested a hand on Nick's shoulder, escorting him through the portal, which closed up behind them. At least, for now.
What they didn't know was that Pikachu was listening to every single word in the tree they were talking under, the same tree he had been eating his lunch in. The yellow electric rodent stiffened a bit as Sude's words came on, quiet, sad…and yet with an air of "I knew this would happen" lingering in them.
"This is the work of your…type."
"What do you mean by THAT? My TYPE?" Nick said, looking genuinely offended as his fist clenched a little. "MY TYPE? There's no humans in that universe as far as I-"
"No, not humans." Sude sighed as he held his head in one hand and let out a long, deep sigh. "…how did Emperor Tachyon say he was released from that other dimension? Who got him out?"
Blinking stupidly, mouth slightly hanging open, Nick thought. And thought hard. Who? Who had helped-
Oh no.
"You're from Ratchet and Clank's realm!" Nick gasped, pointing at Tachyon. "But...but wait! How can you be in E.G.O? You're not from anywhere CLOSE to a cartoony realm of existence, this...this shouldn't be possible?"
"My dear boy, if you have power, ANYTHING is possible." Tachyon mused.
"Especially if you've got a golden emerald that was given to you by a drop-dead gorgeous, fox eared big-breasted human." Angela added as Tachyon motioned for them to follow him down another hallway.
"Yes, yes, that helps too!" Tachyon said in a chipper fashion, rubbing his hands together. "I owe my life to Susan Marie. Charming girl. Very nice BEHIND. She helped me when I was trapped in a desolate dimension, stuck on a small planetoid...my life was saved by a force you're well aware of, Mr. Grey." He mused. "You might remember her by another name as well...MARIAN?"
Nick stiffened up on the spot. "Aw, DANG." He whispered. "Those…stupid Sues!"
"Your very existence in a reality affects things. Reality is as you perceive it due to your nature, correct?"
"I see people as basically good, I see them as redeemable, I see them as capable of doing great things. So they become that…for the most part. No matter what world I might visit, no matter how things change, they stay the same." Nick agreed. "I remember. I'm meant to exist to bring out people's best potential."
"True, because your influence is, in a sense, a kind of "good infection"." The Seraphi explained, nodding his head as he patted Nick's shoulder with a large hand. "You are indeed the invading force, but you bring goodness, kindness, morality, and not smallpox blankets."
"…did Marian give Angela a disease? A literal blanket filled with some virus?" Nick wanted to know.
"The blanket was not literal, and not given to her. No, her interaction with Tachyon left a taint on him. He was around that…that WOMAN…" Sude hesitated to use the word to describe a thing like Marian. "For so long he built up more of an immunity to her poisonous presence, but anyone he has gotten intimate with…"
"Wait. You said "MORE"." Nick's eyes widened as he gripped Sude's arms. "More? More's not good! That makes it sound like-"
"It's killing him. Tiny bit by bit. I could sense it." Sude admitted. "I am Entity of Life, and I AM powerful, but if we wish to cure them…we need to seek out a little "hair of the dog that bit them". We have to find out where she is. And we need to do it in the next twenty-four hours…or Angela Cross shall die."
…
…
…
…even in the midst of death, though…there was hope. Especially for Alex Hardie.
"I haven't felt this happy since I met with Green in Hawaii! Or that day I met with Elvis. Hoo-hah!" Alex chuckled as he looked over himself in the mirror at Link's home in the Diggers Community. "No tail! No fangs! No claws! Goodbye, werewolf form, thank-you-GODDESSES! I might have to convert." He told Link and Zelda, who were sitting on the bed, one hand upon each other's. "What's the name of your paganism? Are you Hylianist? Or maybe "Trinitist", since there are three of them?"
"Your gratitude should be thanks enough." Zelda insisted. "Link, you're certain Navi said "sacred place"? And a "she"?"
"I'm certain Master Hand will have more answers." Link insisted before he stood up and headed for the door, closing it behind him as Farore stood outside, hands behind her back, nervously tracing a foot on the dirt floor below whilst the Din spoke with Link's mother and father about new training regimens for the latest in a new life of Digger defenders. And Nayru? Well…
"You seem…preoccupied." Link admitted as Farore chewed on her lip, her green hair bobbing up and down slightly as she nodded.
"We're going to be leaving soon, and I don't even know if we're really ever going to see you again." Farore added as Navi hovered over her shoulder. "We need to take Ganondorf with us. Teach him a lesson about not, you know, enslaving Hyrule." She chuckled. "But there's something we wanted to tell you before we left. In case…we never get another chance to talk."
"What is it you have to say?" Link wanted to know, confused by Farore's attitude. Was it…embarrassment?
"There was a time when we Goddesses chose a hero. And the hero refused to help. That resulted in us being left with no choice but to flood Hyrule in a desperate attempt to stop Ganondorf." Farore murmured out. "We entreated him to assist, but he would not heed our warnings or commands. He felt insulted. He put his desire to live his own life free of our influence over the good of all Hyrule."
Link was quiet for what seemed to be a long, long time as he looked down at Farore. She did not seem so…big. She seemed much, much smaller now than she'd been before. And she seemed so…young.
"He wanted to make his own choices. There's nothing wrong with that. But this was something he should have…we just expected…the point is we…we NEED…people like you." She admitted. "We NEED people who are willing to give up normal lives in the name of making sure millions of others can have them!" Farore insisted, placing her hands together and bowing deeply before Link. "We can't DO this sort of thing on our own. We tried that, and we learned that when you get all this power, you…you can't come home." She sighed. "Our isolation is the price that the powerful and the responsible pay. At least you, once it's all over, get to do anything you'd like with your life. We…we don't have a life. Not really. So…what I'm saying is…"
She looked over Link's shoulder and at the room for a moment before looking back at him. "We're going to call on you from the towers we stand on. Again. And again. And again. And I am so, so, sorry. But please. PLEASE don't hate us for this. Please just try and be patient and strong. And PLEASE…forgive us for what we put you through, even inadvertently. We really are just trying to do everything we can to make this world a good place."
She felt a hand on her shoulder, and slowly looked up, Link's gentle face smiling down at her.
"My Goddess…you didn't need to ask for something you've always had." He insisted, slowly turning around and heading back inside the room as Navi slightly sniffled.
"I knew he'd say that." She murmured. "…oh, Link. I'm so proud of you. What a fine young man you've become."
"Why didn't you tell him you were-" Farore began to say.
"You need him. But he doesn't need me. When he needs me…I stay. But when he just wants me…I must go. And now I have to go." Navi said softly, floating through the air. "…one day maybe he'll need me again. Until then…Navi'll wait for him in his old room…and wait for him to remember when the wind in the forest's branches woke him from slumber."
…
…
…
… "Perhaps we shouldn't be so surprised she's decided to hide out there." Mewtwo admitted angrily as he looked over the map that Master Hand was bringing up for them, everyone having assembled in the drawing room at the mansion, some sitting on chairs, others on sofas, the younger and smaller Smash Pros sadly regulated to the floor and/or the bigger Smash Pro's shoulders. Ness was positively gleeful.
"It feels like my patookie's getting warmed-up." He announced as he sat on Donkey Kong's shoulder. "Thanks for being so hairy!"
"Think nothin' of it." Donkey Kong insisted, adjusting his tie. He had felt a bit too hot…he'd had to lose the coat. Yet he had a sneaking suspicion there was more to his desire to get rid of the coat than just a change in body temperature.
"A return to our home." Pikachu said quietly, placing his paws together as he bowed before Master Hand, Jigglypuff looking over a small notepad in her stubby hands, scribbling something down. "In truthfulness, I am not ungrateful. It shall be a good thing to see Lucario once more."
"It was Lucario who informed me that Arceus had returned from the depression he'd sunk into." Master Hand admitted as he drew his enormous hand/self across the map, changing it into an enormous photo album before their eyes. "Unfortunately, what he entered into was something much, much worse."
A foul, messy vortex of unnatural colors, like a crude watercolor painting blended together by someone who was high out of their gourd. Hundreds upon thousands of Pokémon struggling to stay on top of tiny little islands that floated around in this cascade of color, others tragically falling to their demise, mouths open in screams the Smash Pros could hear within their minds, their eyes filled with terror and despair…and in almost all the pictures, the unmistakable image of Arceus at the center of the vortex, eyes filled with an unholy anger and rage…and a humanoid figure sitting atop his head. A familiar, furry figure.
"Susan Marie." Nick hissed.
"Evidently she's made him completely lose his marbles." Jigglypuff said darkly. "And when the Creator of OUR universe loses it, then…"
"How DID Arceus…y'know…come to be?" Erin wanted to know, scratching her head as White sat on the armchair of the couch she was on.
"Well, he was born from an egg in the midst of nothingness." Mewtwo explained.
"Sounds iffy. I mean, how'd it get there, what was there bef-" Erin began to say.
"It's PERFECTLY simple. Big egg. In the middle of space. End of story." Jigglypuff snapped. "We'll have the cure for the Common Cold any day now!"
Everyone looked at her as she blushed. "Er…sorry, I didn't mean …anyhow, I've PLANNED for this sort of thing. I have ways to taking down even ARCEUS if he gets out of hand."
"You? Come up with a decent plan?" Nick found himself asking, whipping his head in her direction. "I'm sorry, Jigglypuff, it's just that…well…" He struggled to find the words to say.
"Just that what?"
"…your plans always fell apart because of REALLY stupid things. Like that one time you left that "off" button on your mech's back. Or the time you had that coin-operated laser cannon and you ran out of-"
"I KNOW!" The Balloon Pokémon shrieked, waving her stubby fist at him as she puffed up to full size. "But this time is DIFFERENT. I'd made up plans to take out every single member of the Legendaries. Whatcha can't outpower or outthink or outsmart…outplan. And I did that. Heck, I've already begun making plans for all of you!" She told them cheerily, everyone nervously glancing around at each other as she glanced over at Ness. "YOURS involves rap music."
"…wait, wrap music?"
"Yes. Through temporal manipulation, I found the WORST songs in the multiverse!...I'll be using Chris Brown."
"You ROGUEFUL DEVIL INCARNATE!" White gasped in horror.
"What IS this plan?" Mewtwo insisted. "You try my patience."
"Don't be silly, Mewtwo, you know you don't have any patience since you lost your doctor's license." Captain Falcon chuckled.
"You have attempted to make a joke. I shall go wild. Ha. HA." Mewtwo muttered balefully.
"I guess they didn't include a sense of humor when they programmed you. Ah well. I suppose you all want to know what I've got up my sleeve." Jigglypuff bragged.
"Sleeves imply arms." Captain Falcon chuckled as the pinkish Pokémon tossed him a glare, Pikachu rubbing his own arms with a tiny hint of pride on his face as Captain Falcon pinched Jigglypuff's stubs. "Ceci n'est pas une pipe."
"…that was actually somewhat amusing." Mewtwo begrudgingly admitted.
"Just take a look." Jigglpuff said, pulling something out of one of her many pouches, a scribbled-out diagram of Arceus. "Arceus has plates. These plates are where he draws power from, and each of them correspond to a Pokémon element, a type of power that different sub-species use. I'M a Normal type. Mewtwo is Psychic, Pikachu is Electricity, follow me so far?" She asked the others, who all nodded.
"And Arceus?"
"He's a normal type…EXCEPT for all these plates. He can switch them around as he pleases and access incredible powers that would normally only be limited to Pokémon of that type. We break the plates…he loses so much power he's practically just a really big horse." Jigglypuff said, scribbling out big "X's" on the plates that surrounded her drawing of Arceus, giggling madly. "And since so many Legendaries are of multiple types, we'll simply link up with them and-"
"It shan't be that easy, I'm afraid, Ms. Jigglypuff." Master Hand informed them, snapping his fingers as a new page of the photo album appeared, showing just where the Legendaries were…in a floating cage that Arceus was actually sitting on. "Lucario was lucky enough to break through the vortex to get these magical images for me with the tools I sent. But he isn't strong enough to break the cage. I wish that more of you could go, but none of you have the proper elemental alignments needed. Simply put…"
"Only Pokémon shall work for this? Then we are going to be prepared to "pick up the slack"." Pikachu said calmly. "I will shatter it into pieces with his aid, whilst Mewtwo keeps Arceus at bay for as long as he can."
"Do not be surprised if I defeat him." Mewtwo commented calmly, chuckling a little.
"Nick, you, Zelda and Link must follow me in the garden outside." Sude insisted, waving a claw in the air. "There's a development in your abilities that might be of some assistance if we can get it to manifest, a development that might allow you to be of some use to the others in this upcoming skirmish." The white dragon led them towards the back door, heading for the grassy little garden outside as a tiny wind blew through the flowers to their sides.
"Link…Zelda…your instruments?" The Seraphi asked, giving Link a small little ocarina, Zelda being given a harp. "Now tell me, Nick. How much do you know of…well, "classical" music?"
"It's mostly all instrumental, I think. I like it, but I've never really…" Nick shrugged. "You know. Done things with it to my ability."
"Now you'll get the chance." Zelda said, smiling as she lightly strummed her harp, Link tapping his foot against the ground to the rhythm of her playing. "We are to function as a group, an enormous team devoted to saving and protecting our worlds. Our individual abilities shall serve to benefit each other and help our powers grow, and what we are capable of doing shall serve to help you develop your own powers, if my guess is correct."
"We've seen your special breed of magic function around song, but what of the simple beauty that our instruments can bring?" Link mused. "Zelda suggested we discover what we could reveal through this."
"Well…go ahead. I'll…give it a shot. Somehow." Nick said with a shrug. "It can't hurt, after all."
Zelda began to strum her harp as Link began to blow upon his ocarina, a flowing melody entering Nick's ears, his eyes slowly closing as he bobbed his head to the tune, tapping his foot as Sude began to hum and harmonize, his heavenly voice rising and lowering in pitch to the song that Zelda and Link were playing, faint trickles of light flowing up from them all as Nick…began to DANCE.
He weaved and twirled, arms spread wide, posing as he danced around in the garden, flower petals flowing around him in circular motions as the song continued, whatever clouds that were above in the skies slowly vanishing, the sun's gentle rays beaming down upon the small group as everyone else from the house slowly found themselves drawn outside, gazing in awe at the performance.
And as they watched, a sensation, a realization of thunderous proportions came over them. Whatever fear, whatever nervousness had been in their hearts…all of that became stripped from them, as a sense of faith entered them, an innate knowing that their duty was the right way, the best way, and that they WOULD succeed, no matter what they were to face. Perhaps this was a manipulation of their minds, perhaps their spirits were being bent to the will of the melody that now filled the air as vivid and beautiful as any fine orchestra. Perhaps.
Yet they knew, they knew it was not. It was a discovery of an absolute truth.
And the truth was that they, at their core, were meant to be heroes, and they were meant…
To win.