Chapter 73: A Trip to the Mall

The pick-up truck had been driving on the road without stop until the group was certain that the monsters lost their trail. The vehicle stopped on the side of the road, the snow had faltered but it's was still raining down flakes. Shulk parked the car and opened the back window. "Hey… Gunner right? You still have the map?"

The girl shuffled through her pocket and handed it over to the window. "Good. But someone else has to take the wheel. That fixer-up had drained me."

"I'll do it." Wii Fit volunteered. "I used to own a car."

"Great." Shulk handed her the map and opened the car door. "I'm going to lay now."

"You're not sitting up in the front?" Villager asked.

"Nah, you can give my spot to someone else." The Hom's breath fogged up against the window of the door. "If anyone wants to sit up front you're more than welcome too."

"Ooh! Hey Mega Man! Why don't you come join us? It'll be like old times!" Beamed the mayor. Even after traumatic and stressful situations like this, he'd always managed to keep his head up; a quality that Shulk always respected.

"Alright." Mega Man replied. He jumped out of the back and entered through the passenger door that Villager generously opened. Shulk got minimal assistance from Greninja getting over the tailgate and joined with the Newcomers and the rest of the goodies they managed to grab. When everyone was in their assigned seats, the car moved and sped down the asphalt.

Shulk rested his back on one of the large bags of loot. He yawned but quickly coughed as several pieces of snow entered his windpipe.

"You ok?" Mac asked.

The Hom coughed again, swallowing his own spit. "Yeah, just accidently inhale some snowflakes is all." He sighed. "That was close."

"No kidding." Gunner agreed. "I still have goosebumps from that… horror show. How did they find us?"

"Those deer-creatures must have followed us after we left the gas station." Rosalina hypothesized. "Could be a result of them tracking out scent and attacking when they thought we were cornered. But that's only a theory."

Brawler absently played with the rotating mechanism of his revolver. "There was so many of them that I used all my remaining ammo for this thing. Can't believe I'm saying this, but thank god for Villager for bringing my shotgun."

Greninja tapped on his clipboard with his ball-point pen. "Don't you mean the previous owner's shotgun?"

"You know what I mean." Brawler glared.

"Yeah I've been meaning to ask about that." Shulk said. "When we came back to the house I notice there were several makeshift graves by the door. Those were the previous owners?" He asked the question and they all cringed. Had he struck a nerve? "Oh… did those things… catch them?"

"No." Brawler stopped spinning his revolver and out it back in his pocket. He retained eye contact with the Hom; never daring to break it. "We found them in the attic. From what we investigated it was a combination of murder, suicide and euthanasia."

Shulk's eyes widened. "What? My go- what happened?"

"According to a journal we found, something bad was happening to the kids. There wasn't much details but it did mention them growing horns." Sword said.

"Horns? You mean like those monsters that attacked us? Wouldn't that mean that whatever has been going on is infectious?" Shulk rolled up his sleeve and inspected his arm. Like the last time he saw it, there was no damage."

"Don't worry." Little Mac reassured. "If this is a disease or transformation epidemic, I don't think it will infect Smashers like us. Trust me." Smasher? What did he mean by that? He was going to ask but Sword kept talking.

"Anyway, the father wrote that he was convinced that all of them were going to die, but he was dedicated to "ending his children's suffering" as he put it. The wife rejected this notion and… you can pick up the pieces from there."

Shulk slumped. "Oh… I get it."

The car ride somehow became even colder. Every day that they survive reality showed and pushed their faces into a mess that they had no part of. If there was a lick of humor in among the rust and scattered expired marshmallows in the bed, it was certainly gone now.

"This is getting depressing. We should change the subject." Gunner pointed out the obvious.

"I second that." Wrote Greninja.

"What was the plan again?" Brawler spoke. The car hit a small bump, making the Mii bonk his head against the frame of the car. "Ow! Dammit! I thought she said she was good driver."

Little Mac chuckled. "Oh chill out, Brawl. It's just a bump. It's not going to kill you."

The Mii in red rolled his eyes. Shulk took the question as his own and repeated it. "So the plan?"

"I believe we are going to the Pinecreek mall and settle there until further notice." Rosalina said. "The journal stated that a camp was put in place there when the outbreak began. If that's indeed the case then it should have supplies we can use."

"Hopefully more bullets too." Commented Brawler.

"What about after that?" Shulk said. "You mention you were trying to get back home to the WOT. How are you going to get there exactly?"

Sword took a breath and tapped his foot on the ground. It was a question no one wanted to ask but it unavoidable. "We don't know. We said we've been teleported to the middle of nowhere. We meant it. We could be reckon anywhere I reckon, the WOT is always "updating". Adding new lands and areas every now and again. Not to mention there is always uncharted sections as well."

"Rats in a maze." Said Brawler.

"Not necessarily. We just need to get a better vantage point, it'd hard to see in this snow and fog. When we do, we can evaluate our options better. If we can get to the mansion on land, we walk. If it's across the ocean we get a boat and steer it. And if it's really far, we'll just make our own damn airplane and fly it across the sky if we have to."

Shulk scooted forward as Sword continued. "You see, the WOT, as well as our friends are undergoing a potential crisis as we speak. I refuse to sit idly as our homeland is in danger, I bet everyone else has the same sentiment too. I doubt our friends back home are worried of our absence, and they're doing everything in their power as well to get us back home too. Because what else are we going to do? Sit on our thumbs whiles we freeze like a Popsicle? Not a chance."

A single motion of clapping was heard, they turned to the back window to see Villager clapping with a smile on his face. Soon, the Newcomers began clapping as well, even Brawler gave his some support for his teammate.

"That sounds like quite the journey. I hope you'll be able in remedying the crisis." Shulk rubbed his chin as his head shuffled against the fabric of the bags. "I might be able to help you actually. If I manage to get contact back with my colony I could get support to help your cause."

The clapping stopped to Shulk's confusion. Greninja wrote on his pad and showed it to the Mii swordsman. "Do you want me to tell him?"

Sword said. "No… I got this Greninja."

"Got what?" Sword questioned.

"Shulk… I'm so sorry you have to hear this but… you can't go to Colony 9. It's physically impossible."

The Hom sat up straight and stared at him with unsure eyes. "What do you mean I can't return? I don't know where Bionis is, but we can find a boat and-"

"You think the WOT and the titans were on the same plane of reality?" Inquired Sword. It gave much clarify to the rationale of Shulk, but he'd had to give true clarity. "Shulk… we are in a separate dimension that the one the Bionis is on. In fact, there already is another "Shulk" in Colony 9. You are a Smasher, just like us."

The Hom was getting uncomfortable now. "Another Shulk? What on earth are you talking about? I just met you people I don't know what a Smasher is!"

"You wonder why you suffered no injuries after that monster bit into your hand?"

"Sword." Rosalina interrupted. "Maybe we should wait to tell him when we have a better time."

"This is a better time, Rosalina. We have to tell him eventually, might as well be now." Sword opened a bag and shuffled his hand inside. He pulled out a screwdriver; he'll gain percentage but it'll be so minimal it won't even matter. "Watch."

Shulk understood what his demonstration was his hand dove down towards his right knee. "Woah!"

And was utterly surprised when the instrument failed to pierce his flesh. He was shocked when Sword stretched out his arms from his torso and created a bubble of red energy around him. "What I can do, you can do as well. This is what a Smasher is capable."

"I… I…" Shulk slumped back on the bag. Is that why that creature's teeth tore off his skin? "How… I don't understand."

"Well we'll help you understand." Sword dissipated his force-field and rested his hands on his lap. "You might want to sit and listen, Shulk. This is about to be a long ride."

Immortality. Power-hungry gods. Cloning. The Omniverse. These were all the concepts that Shulk have been taught for the entire car ride. He didn't want to believe it, but he's no fool. He never really left Colony 9; is he even a real person. "You're saying we were the creation of a pair of greedy hands and now we're the only one that stands to safeguard the Omniverse?! Unbelievable."

"Well it must be if we told you multiple times." Said Brawler.

"No! I mean… I always knew the universe was infinite but not like this." Shulk head was throbbing, his brain is having trouble comprehending the situation he's in. How can anyone normal. Why was he chosen out of the infinite souls of the Omniverse? "How are you so calm about this? Knowing who you truly are?"

Rosalina raised her hand to get the Hom's attention. "To tell you the truth… we all had similar reactions when we were told too."

"And some had worse reactions than others." Gunner rubbed both arms in her chest in embarrassment.

"But we all coped in our own separate ways. It's hard at first, but it gets easy when you realize that the past doesn't define you. I'm still adjusting to life here, but I made my piece. There are others who were here longer than any of us, I couldn't imagine what they had to go through. Even though we cannot go to the home you see in your memories, know that they'll never leave you. The "magic" will always be in you." Rosalina said.

Tapping came from the back window, Wii Fit opened it and said. "We're here." The car parked in front of the mall. The mall was very large- at least the length of two football fields combined. The structure was in better condition than farm, with the exception of the front entrance; the revolving doors were closed shut but the glass was shattered into pieces on the ground.

Wii Fit shut off the engine and inserted the key in her pocket. "The car won't fit through there. We're going on foot."

Gunner reared her head over the side of the pick-up truck. Peering inside through the doors. "Are you sure that's safe? It's too dark inside."

"It's dark out here too, but at least the walls will protect us from being spotted miles away. It'll be our new shelter. That's why we came here after all. Besides, we'll ran through most of the gas. We aren't going anywhere."

"This place has seen better days, what do we do if we encounter more deermen?" Villager asked.

"Simple." Brawler pumped his shotgun. "We'll send them back to hell."

"And the darkness won't be a problem either." Little Mac opened the bags and pulled out several flashlights, glow sticks and lighters. "Take your pick."

The Newcomers reached onto the boxer's gloves and took their individual light source. "Hold on, we need to carry these bags inside without straining ourselves." Sword said. He looked to the side to see a lone shopping cart knocked over by a handicapped sign. "There."

He hopped out of the vehicle and ran to go fetch the object, when he came back the Newcomers pilled their goodies inside the basket. Wii Fit locked the car door. "If everyone's ready, let's go. We'll find a good spot to sleep on the way."

"You have a place in mind?" Wrote Greninja.

"Yeah, the security office." The fitness trainer suggested. "Those places are usually secured and stockpiled with weapons. Maybe if we're lucky we can get a hand of some tapes and find out some information.

"If no one has any objections, then we should check there first." Gunner said. "I'm stand displaying a map of the place so we can find out way alone."

"Yeah… let's go." Shulk said as he passed by Greninja. It was right there that he noticed that his cheeks were slightly wet.

They packed closed together, lights combining to generate and aura of brightness to illuminate the darkness. The inside was way worse off: Shattered display windows, knocked over benches, piles of trash… the only saving grace was so far were the skylights welcoming the faint moonlight from outside. The only living souls here were the couple of cockroaches skittering around. Gunner shivered at the sight of them.

"Those are the first living creatures I've seen since our arrival." The shooter stated.

"Are you actually surprised? Those disgusting brown specks can survive a nuclear holocaust. I'm shocked we haven't encountered them sooner." Brawler said. "What was god thinking when he made these?"

"Brawler don't be mean. Bugs are very helpful for the environment." Villager pointed out.

"If feasting on a corpse or dung on the side of the road counts as helpful, than Mother Nature deserves a therapist."

"Wait… Brawler are you scared of bugs?" Little Mac asked as he pushed the cart. "Are you scared of that more than those monsters?"

"No!" Brawler immediately retorted. "I just can't stand the sight of them; they're everywhere and linger around like a bad smell. I'm not scared of them."

"I don't know, I could have sworn if heard your voice quiver for a second." Replied Wii Fit.

"Oh don't act like your fearless. You flipped out when you discovered those "little snacks" were 400 calories a piece."

"Hey, losing weight is a serious challenge for adults. I'd be doing my body a disservice if I start shoveling refined grains and unhealthy food in my mouth. I would destroy everything I had gained!"

Brawler's eyelid twitched. "For the last time… You. Can't. Get. Fat."

Rosalina found her break to stop the bickering. "Hey, look over there." She pointed to a pamphlet lying on the seat of a wooden bench. Luma picked it up and handed it to the blonde princess. "Directions."

"Great, let's keep it with us. Where is the security room?" Sword questioned, the eagerness to sleep was becoming overwhelming. He could see that the eyes of every trophy was sagging. It's been a long day.

Rosalina's eyes scanned left and right before he pupils stopping somewhere in the middle column. "It's not far, we get there by turning right-"

"We can do that easily." Mac exhaled, the strain of the cart was getting to him.

"-and climbing up five flights of escalators." She finished.

The boxer sighed. "Yeah, I was afraid of that."

"We can use the elevators." Villager said.

"The mall is out of power." Greninja wrote.

"True, but with Mega Man's electric powers we can restart the power for the whole place, right?"

"On the contrary I can only power up small gadgets, I can't actually supply a hole building. That's out of my league." Explained the android.

"Oh."

"Look… can we please worry about transporting the load upstairs after we survey our options? I don't feel comfortable standing in the dark like this." Gunner held the glow stick in her hand tightly. She felt like a chick in a horror movie to be honest, she's praying that journey won't end up like one.

"I guess… C'mon." Sword lead the group down past several shops before turning right. On the way they encountered tents, army vests and heavy duty containers around the area. "It looks like this world's military had stayed here." Shulk said.

"Yeah sure looks like it." Wii Fit commented.

"And they looked better equipped than us. How did this place come to ruins then?"

"Well…" Sword licked his lips to prevent his mouth from drying out. "Remember that journal I mentioned earlier? Well it states that this family did seek shelter in the mall earlier during the outbreak but… uh." Sword scratched his head, he only took a good look at the journal once. "My memory was a bit foggy on that part. I think they were forced to… leave or evacuate because of something… I think it was an attack."

"If there was an attack then where are the bodies?" Brawler's shotgun never left his armpit. "I don't see any signs of a struggle."

"It could be a sign that they evacuated with no problems?" Gunner said.

"Or maybe those creatures… ate the evidence." Shulk slowly stated.

Gunner gulped. "Yeah… that's a possibility too."

"Well I don't see any of those deermen." Brawler peered into several of the halls to the left and right. "That's a good sign. We are alone for the moment."

"Let's hope the moment lasts a long time." Mega Man said.

All ten of them stopped in front of the escalators; no power. Villager looked up. "The good news is that the escalators of each floor are packed closely together is that they act like a flight of stairs. The bad news…"

"It's self-explanatory. I get it." Little Mac let go of the cart. "It will be a nightmare dragging this cart up. Can we all grab two bags individual and climb the escalator?"

"No, that stuff is hard to carry as it is. It'll be torture carrying stuff when you're walking on an uneven ground." Answered the Pokémon. "And there's the bonus of it leaving us vulnerable to attack."

"We're not in a rush. Can't we just leave it here and come get it in the morning?" Mega Man spoke.

"But if do that, we'd be risking of our supplies being taken or destroyed." Rosalina said.

"I don't see any other solution."

"There is one thing we can try." Villager took center stage. He stood by the cart and threw his arms up. "I can store the entire grocery cart in my pocket."

Shulk brain froze for a moment. "…What?" The Hom thought he was joking, but then he noticed that the rest were treating this as a serious option.

"Your pocket can only hold stuff if it's not big. That cart is two times bigger than you, buddy." Little Mac clarified.

"Not if it's a projectile." Villager reminded. "Remember when I pocketed Samus' and Mega Man's energy attacks? If we do it that way it should be acceptable."

"But that will require us throwing the cart at you." Said Rosalina.

The boy smiled. "Don't worry, Miss Rosalina. I once cut and caught my own tree in my pocket, I won't even break a sweat."

Sword inserted his blade put in its sheath. "It would save us a lot of trouble. And he has been getting stronger with his specials."

Brawler cocked his head, surveying the goodies in their cart. "We need to haul ass to lift that monster up."

"Then haul as we shall." Sword crouched by the left side of the cart "In positions everyone."

Shulk blinked several times as the rest of the Newcomers circled the cart. "Shulk, what are you standing there for? Haul your ass." Brawler pressed. The teen was still unsure, but decided to go along with the plan. He gripped by the front. With the combined efforts of the nine Smashers, they were able to lift the hunk of metal over their heads.

"Oh! This is heavy. Villager, hurry." Wii Fit pleaded. Villager stood proudly and extended his hand towards his team.

"I'm ready."

At his word. The Newcomers dropped the cart on him. For a second, Shulk was horrified to see convey crush him, but then was horrified again when the cart shrunk and morphed within the span of a second- right into Villager's pants pocket.

"See? I told you I can do it!" He beamed.

Shulk stared at the kid, then to the nearest Smasher, which happened to be Greninja. He took out his writing tool and showed his answer. "Living in this environment, you're going to be experiencing a lot of weird stuff. So do you want to take the lead or stay in the back?"

Hey guys, I had to split this chapter because it was so long. I'm currently on a trip out of state but I'll still try to deliver quality chapters. Hope you enjoy.