Ace walked up to Clay, holding a pair of sports drinks that tasted awful, but somehow always made you feel better afterwards.
"So how is it so far?" Ace asked her partner, leaning against the fence next to him.
"One game to one game, and it's been Deuce back and forth for the last five minutes. It's Sasha's serve."
Ace looked up and blinked a few times, "Sasha... Sasha... wasn't she the over-fixated Junior we trounced last year? I attended a 'well done' party for a friend of hers. I think you know who."
Clay nodded. "That's her! Sasha. Apparently, they bunked her with someone as too serious as her and with just as bad a memory about having fun while doing this."
"Hikari? Heh. That pig-tailed girl has such a thing with wolves going, it's a wonder she doesn't sprout a tail and howl at the moon."
Ace shuddered. "Don't even joke. Ever since that those ETs had to hold that alien wolf woman here, the last thing that girl needs is werewolf rumors starting about her."
"Yeah, I heard how SHE was giving her a hard time."
"You mean Tori?" Ace sighed. "Let it go Clay, she's always been a perfectionist. It's almost too bad her old partner graduated, you know who, I always thought he acted as her conscience."
"Well, maybe she'll turn around if she learned anything from... WHAO! Did you see that?"
"I almost didn't! The girl has a knack for it, that's for sure. I didn't think any of the Juniors this year could pull off a power shot like that."
"No! I meant... Sasha actually SMILED!"
"Clay, you've been hanging out in the Male Dorm for too long."
"I'm just glad I'm not seated next to the new glasses boy, I feel like I'm near a snake that's thinking of how many ways it can bite me every time I'm near him."
"Snake? Not a lion?"
"Why would I say a lion?"
"Well, I heard Kensuke's nickname is Leon."
"Lions, panthers and wolves... Forget what I said about having fur or not, those three are a regular jungle troop all the same."
Leon watched Sasha's singles ranking match from the farthest corner of the court, sitting behind a big ball machine, where nobody would see him. He also saw Wolfie, standing at the edge of the court, cheering her friend on. He could see the joy in the young girl's face and the happiness for that human girl.
"I'm not worried..." he told himself. "Not about what Wolf is doing in his - or her - free time, and not what kinds of friends she wants to have. I'm rather worried that there isn't much of Wolf left within her..."
He sighed. If only Panther were here... then he had at least someone he could share his worries with. But it was said that he had to stay at least three more days in hospital before he could come back to the academy.
"Dangit!" Leon shouted and punched the ball machine in frustration. "I hate this! I'm so mad, I'm ready to BLAST something. If only I could at least do some blaster practice instead of this kiddy stuff..."
"You know, it's not the ball machine's fault when you're upset," a chuckling voice next to him spoke up.
Leon looked up and right into the face of the girl he had saved when that armored Space Pirate had attacked. What was her name again, Tori?
He frowned. How many of the stuff he said had she listened to? "What do you want?" he asked harshly.
She smirked and sat down next to him, leaning against the ball machine as well. "I haven't seen you today and was wondering where you were. Are you cheering your friends on from back here? I don't think they're gonna hear you from here."
"I'm not cheering," Leon grumbled. "I could never have fun while playing this... childish game!"
Tori frowned. "If you think this game is so childish, why did you sign up at the academy in the first place?"
Leon growled. How could he make the girl understand that he never had sent those application papers to the academy in the first place?
Wait a minute... why was he bothering with Tori anyways? He didn't need to tell her anything!
"None of your business..." he grumbled. "I just wish I could do some REAL training to let off some steam."
"You mean... like blasting something?" Tori winked. She laughed at Leon's surprised face. "Yeah, I heard you when you said that. And I think everyone saw the Power Shot your little friend Hikari..."
"Her name is Wolf!" Leon hissed.
"Okay then, your little friend Wolfie has used against that horrible, armored monster. It was unlike anything we've seen at the academy before, Coach Mark said so himself. Heck, the only student from this school who managed to do a Power Shot this flamboyant was my old partner, Elroy... gosh, he was one of the best... but still, what he did resembled in no way the show Wolfie put on. I mean, what is it with her and wolves? First, her name... then, there was this alien wolf-woman that supposedly was also named Hikari... and now, that Power Shot. It almost reminded me of the Power Shots Mario and his friends used back when they had an exhibition match at our school."
She looked closely into the eyes of the former mercenary. "Who are you and your friends, Leon? Where are you from? In what kind of place do the people teach you how to use firearms instead of sports games? What is it with your animal names?" She smirked. "Are you, perchance, a lion deep within you?"
"A LION?" Leon shouted. "No way I'm related to those flea-infested felines! I'm a chameleon, got it?"
It was only after his outburst when he realized what he had blurted out. "Um, f-forget what I just said, okay?"
Tori's smirk widened. "I KNEW it! A lizard, huh? Kinda fits the cold shoulder you're giving everyone. But still, you saved me back then..."
Leon was taken aback when suddenly, the pink-haired girl leaned up against him and put her head on his shoulder. "Gosh, I just LOVE strong, mysterious men..." she giggled.
"Wh-what are you doing?" Leon stuttered. "Stop that, you're freaking me out..." He wanted to stand up and leave, but Tori took his hands.
"Please, don't go," she said softly. "Look, I'm sorry if I overdid it, but... I really, really wanna learn the truth about you."
Leon tried not to look into her eyes. "The truth, huh?" he whispered. "You don't want to hear that..."
"Yes, I do," Tori insisted. "After nearly avoiding death, I don't think there are many things that could scare me. Are you from some top secret military school for kids? Are those animal names your codenames? Were you infused with magical drugs?"
"What? That's silly, there is no such thing as magic!" Leon insisted.
Tori blinked. "Huh? Of course there is, have you never heard of the awesome power-up items the residents of the Mushroom Kingdom produce? I've also heard about magicians that come from the land where the evil Koopas live..." She lowered her voice to a whisper.
Leon thought about it. After all, he had no real explanation for how he could have turned into a human, or how he was brought here. A mutation? A wormhole? And that floating hand they had fought...
"So it's magic..." he muttered to himself. He sighed. "No, we aren't from a military school, we are... mercenaries."
"I thought it was something like that," Tori said. She shook her head. "Honestly, who is stupid enough to turn anyone who's as young as we are into a mercenary?"
"It was my own choice, okay?" Leon said. "Team Star Wolf, that's what we are! We are free spirits, and we don't listen to any rules or laws, we go wherever we want to go."
"Star Wolf, of course," Tori nodded. "It had to be something with WOLF again. Well, I guess that's a pretty cool name." She sighed and once again leaned against the former chameleon, this time looking up at the sky. Leon winced, but didn't push her back this time. "I'd like to see myself as a free spirit as well, you know? I thought I could do something else by becoming an ace tennis player... but obviously, I am still bound by the rules of the academy." Another sigh. "And now Elroy's gone, too..."
Leon felt a bit uncomfortable, but all of a sudden, he felt bad for having yelled at her earlier. "Listen... if you really like to, we can form a team as long as Panther... I mean, Toji... is still in the hospital."
Tori smirked. "I'd be part of the team as well, huh? What would my codename be? Ya know, I've always had a thing for weasels... they are so sneaky. Tori the Weasel, how does that sound?"
"Tori... you wouldn't want to be part of Star Wolf..." Leon muttered.
"Oh yes, I would!" she shouted, turning around to face him. Sparkles of excitement were in her eyes. "I want to be as free as you, I want to know more about the life you are leading, I want..."
Leon couldn't stand it anymore. "YOU DON'T WANT TO BE LIKE ME!" he yelled. "YOU DON'T WANT TO BE A KILLER!" He gritted his teeth and ran off the court.
Tori was shocked. Not just at the words, but also at the coldness in his voice. "Why...?" she murmured. She leaned back against the ball machine and looked at her feet. "Why is he pushing me back? Can't he see... I'm lonely...?"
Suddenly, Wolfie appeared next to her. "What happened?" she asked. She wasn't too sure what the reason for Kensuke's behavior was, but she had a feeling that either of them could have said something that had upset the other.
Tori stood up and this time, she took Wolfie's hands. Wolfie was totally surprised at the other girl's behavior... this was the first time she hadn't sneered at her in a deprecative way.
"Please, Hikari... Wolfie... can't I become part of Star Wolf? Can you tell me what I must do to become like you? I... I want Kensuke... Leon to accept me. What must I do?"
"T-tori!" Wolfie gasped. "How do you know..." She sighed. "Of course... Leon. He blabbed, didn't he?"
"I don't mind," Tori said. "Ever since Elroy left, the game wasn't as fun as it used to be... I had a partner, a purpose. We wanted to do everything together... but he didn't keep that promise..."
Wolfie blinked. Were those tears in the usually so headstrong and cocky girl she was seeing?
Tori sniffed. "I... I guess I acted like I did to take out my frustration at somebody else. I never wanted to hurt you... or Sasha... I just wanted my Elroy back. And when I met Leon for the first time... you know, it was as if I was looking at my old partner. He's different, I know that... but back when that alien attacked us... he saved my life!" Wolfie was surprised when she saw that a happy smile had appeared on Tori's face. "He risked his life to save me... nobody ever did that for me. He must feel something for me. Please, Wolfie, I beg you... let me join your team! Let me show Leon that I'm not a scared girl. Let me have... a purpose again!"
Wolfie winced. 'Oh boy...' she thought. 'What now?'
"Tori..." she hesitantly began. "I'm not too sure if that is possible... the Star Wolf Team of old is not what it used to be. We've been forced to accept different roles in life... and I'm not too sure if Leon has already accepted his. A group of impostors has taken over the roles we were supposed to fill. And our enemies were obviously able to follow us here, or else that Space Pirate had never appeared here. You remember how he savagely shot at you and the other students? You remember how he never cared about the lives of others? Do you want to meet such people on a daily basis?"
Tori was appalled when she saw the pig-tailed girl's face. It was frightening.
"Can you even imagine how it is to fight for your life?" Wolfie whispered. "To sit in your spacecraft and fly through dozens, even hundreds of other fighters that want to shoot you down? There is no Deuce in outer space, Tori... one wrong hit and you're dead! Yes, we were free, but we were also hardened against the horrors of the battlefield! We had no other choice! Yes, we could have chosen the other side of the battle, but it was either facing Andross' butchers or the Cornerian forces! Which side would you choose? Both sides in a battle are in mortal danger during every fight, and both side have to take lives regularly. Could you do that, Tori? Could you honestly do that?"
"I... but... I thought... this isn't just a normal kid's gang, isn't it?" Tori whispered. "I... I thought he was just joking... or using some sort of code... oh god... oh my god... you actually WERE mercenaries?"
"Not just any mercenaries, Tori!" Wolfie said in a dead serious tone of voice. "We were on the side of the bad guys. Can you imagine how many people Andross made us slaughter until I came to my senses? The Cornerian army at least was just defending their home planet... but I had to be stubborn... just because of some stupid, childish grudge! Too many lives were lost because of my stubbornness..." She closed her eyes. "Even Fox's father..."
"Wolfie?"
Wolfie thought her heart would stop. She turned around and saw Sasha standing behind her, her mouth gaping open.
'Oh no!' Wolfie thought. 'Not again... please, not again...'
"Sasha..." she stammered. "Sasha, I... I can explain..."
Sasha closed her mouth and looked at Wolfie sternly. Then she walked to her friend and gave her a massive hug. "No, Wolfie!" she whispered. "Don't explain. Don't you remember? Whatever you did, whoever you were, you are my friend now, and nothing will ever change that. I don't care what you did, Wolfie, I know you are not a bad person."
"But Sasha, I..."
Sasha looked deep into her friend's eyes. "Look at me and repeat after me, Wolfie: I - am - not - a - bad - person!"
"I... I am not a bad person..." Wolfie muttered.
Sasha smiled. "There, that wasn't hard, was it? Now... I believe you have a friend to talk to, haven't you?"
Wolfie looked at Sasha in confusion.
Sasha grinned. "I mean Kensuke, you dummy!" she smirked and gestured over to the cafeteria, where Kensuke had run off to."
"Oh... right," Wolfie muttered and turned around to leave. But then, she looked back at Tori and said: "Tori, I... I hope I didn't scare you too much... I'm sorry." And then she left.
Tori looked after the slender girl. Her head was spinning. "Sasha..." she said.
Sasha looked back at her. "Yeah?"
"What do we know about them?" Tori murmured. "Can we risk being friends with them? What if more aliens come after them? What if all our lives are in danger?"
Sasha shrugged. "I can't tell you that, Tori, all I know is: I will never abandon Wolfie. Ever. She... is my friend. And will always be."
"I've put Lucas' brother into my cabin," Tetra said as she came back up on the deck of her ship. "I gave him some sleep potion... he will be asleep for the next hour. I also took care of his wounds."
"Well done!" Celebi nodded. "I see that you are still a good captain, even with your former crew missing."
"Well, you said that I can bring them back if I do what you say," Tetra answered back. "So, the way I see it, it's time you fess up. For what reason do you need those three teams... especially our team?"
"Yes, I think that's what we all would like to know," Ness nodded.
"Very well," Celebi said. "I've told you all the story about the Subspace Council that wants to rule the whole cosmos, and for that reason, they try to find the 'Artifacts of Destiny'. I am not too sure what they need them for, but it is said that they are building some sort of powerful weapon that requires a huge amount of energy to work."
"And what does that have to do with us?" Link asked.
"Aw, just let him talk, Toony, he's getting to it," Nana said.
Link blinked in confusion. "Toony?"
"Yeah," the female Ice Climber giggled. "The way you look, with your big head and big eyes, you almost remember me of a cartoon I've seen."
"What in Din's name is a cartoon?" Link wondered and scratched his head.
"Can we get back on topic?" Tetra asked. "Thank you. Now, an explanation, please..."
"Yes, as I wanted to say, Master Hand is a deity of creation, and the patron of the champions," Celebi explained. "You all are champions, in spite of your young age. You are heroes that influence the history of your home worlds tremendously. To reach their goals, the Subspace Council has removed several heroes from their rightful place in history to tilt the balance of good and evil to their own side. To counteract, Master Hand took several individuals from a dying world that would have died otherwise and put them in the places of the missing champions, to restore balance. Those 'replacement heroes', or, as I prefer to call them, the 'children of destiny' make up the first and most important of all groups: The Champion Heroes.
Now, since their world was recently destroyed - well, not really destroyed, but let's not get into details here - they are, as you might imagine, quite confused and uncertain of their future. To boost their confidence, and to save even more residence of the lost world they come from, Master Hand and I agreed to hire a couple of more souls to replace certain individuals that have been kidnapped by the Subspace Council. But these souls are not 'children of destiny', but rather their parents. And on top of that, the Champion Heroes mostly believed them to be dead. In a way, bringing their parents back to them is like a gift as a sign that we really are on their side. Still, I have a couple of missions for those 'Parental Heroes' in addition to boosting their children's morale, but that's not important right now.
Well, let's talk about the last group, then... the 'Kid Heroes'... your own group."
"Finally," Link sighed. "Say, are you implying that we are, somehow, also connected with these 'Champion Heroes'?"
"In a way, you are," Celebi nodded. "But each of you in a different way."
Celebi looked at Lucas. "Lucas, you have met one of the Champion Heroes and have formed a bond of friendship with him. You know who I'm talking about?"
"Shinji!" Lucas gasped. "He... he said that he was from another planet and that he had taken Kirby's place... so, he's one of these Children of Destiny you spoke of?"
"That's right," Celebi nodded. "Ness, as for you, you haven't met anyone, but you are indirectly connected to Shinji... through Lucas."
"What?" the psychic boy from Onett shouted. "But... but I've never met either of them before."
"Maybe, but what connects you with Lucas is that you are from the same world... only that Lucas live in a time that is your future... and Lucas, Ness lives in a time that you see as your past. Still, you both have the same enemy..."
"Who... who do you mean?" Ness asked.
Celebi looked at them sternly. "Pokey Minch... known by everyone under the nickname 'Porky'... although in the future, he also has taken the title 'The Pig King'."
"WHAT?" Ness shouted while Lucas let out a gasp of surprise. "But... but we beat him! Him and Giygas..."
"He was thrown in a rift between space and time, and would have probably stayed there forever, if not for the intervention of the Subspace Council. It was only thanks to their help that he was able to escape, become the Pig King in Lucas' time and brainwash his brother to become the Masked Man."
"You... you've fought Porky as well?" Lucas muttered.
"He... he was my neighbor, in my home town..." Ness replied. "Man, I can't believe this..."
"Well, you see, you are a part of this, since Porky is still a member of the Subspace Army."
"But... but we defeated him..." Lucas protested.
"Can't you imagine what happened?" Celebi asked. "He was, once again, saved by the Subspace Council. He is now one of the high-ranking generals in their army. Everything is connected."
He then turned to face Tetra. "As are you, descendant of the royal family of Hyrule. Did you know where your alternative name, 'Princess Asuka', comes from?"
"Yes... that's what all female members of the royal family are called," Tetra said. "Every princess to be born..."
"That's true, but only because of an incident in which one of the Children of Destiny is involved," Celebi said. "You know, one of the individuals kidnapped by the Subspace Council is a member of the royal family... one of the princesses. And her name... was Princess Zelda."
"But... that can't be!" Tetra protested. "Every female of the royal family has always been called Asuka. Always!"
"Only ever since Princess Zelda got removed from history," Celebi said sadly. "Originally, it has been your destiny to become another 'Princess Zelda', but... since Zelda was replaced by a girl named 'Asuka'... another survivor of that lost planet, I might add, and another Child of Destiny."
"That... that cannot be..." Tetra muttered. "All of my heritage... my ancestors... all of it... was it just a LIE?"
"Not a lie," Celebi said. "Princess Zelda was a noble and wise ruler, as Asuka is in her place. (In another place and time, Asuka Langley Soryu had to sneeze) Her current companion, called Link, is one of your ancestors, Link."
"The hero of Time?" Link asked in a hopeful voice.
Celebi shook his head. "No. The Hero of Twilight."
Link and Tetra looked at each other dumbfoundedly. "Um, I've never heard of such a legend before..." Link admitted.
"Of course not," Celebi sighed. "With the interference of the Subspace Army, and the infection of Palkia, space and time are in turmoil... although I still have to find out how my superior, Dialga, could miss all of these changes..."
"And what about Popo and Nana?" Lucas wondered.
"Ah, yes, they are a special case," Celebi said. "You know, they are not connected with the Children of Destiny in the same way as you are..."
"They aren't?" Link wondered.
"No," Popo said softly. "But... we are from the same planet as they are."
"You... are from the same world as Shinji?" Lucas asked in surprise.
"Just like the Champion Heroes, they are really replacements for the true Ice Climbers," Celebi said. "It was a complete coincidence that they had the same names, though..."
"Do you know either of them?" Ness asked.
"No," Nana answered. "But our sister Hikari does. She is the former classmate of Shinji, Asuka and Rei."
"Correct, and your job will be to bring her back on the right path... although it won't be easy."
"I know, you told us earlier," Popo said. "But to save my sister, I am willing to do this."
"Yeah, as am I," Nana nodded.
"Okay, then it's settled," Celebi smiled. "You six will work together and help the Champion Heroes from behind the scenes, so to speak. Still, I have one additional mission for you... the main reason why I wanted to set up a team made of young and brave children as yourselves... It is a mission that..."
He hesitated when, all of a sudden, it became dark on the ship.
"Hey!" Tetra shouted. "Is it an eclipse today or what? Nobody forecast a storm or anything..."
"N-n-no..." Lucas stammered. "It... it's s-something else..." And he gestured upwards.
They all followed his gesture... and gasped in surprise when they saw the enormous, winged, dragon-like creature that was hovering above the ship.
"I've finally tracked you down, Celebi!" the monster screeched. "Now surrender, so I can take you to my master!"
"Oh no..." Celebi murmured. "The Space Pirate Leader himself... Ridley!"
Author's Notes:
The first scene with Ace and Clay (the main characters of Mario Tennis Power Tour) was being written by fellow author and friend Alex Warlorn. Thanks for the inspiration, Alex!
Also, I've slightly changed Evangelion canon by giving Hikari a brother and a sister instead of two sisters.