Made changes to the previous chapters. Frankly, I felt like Samus was a little too quick to take up Link's request, and I thought that looked out of character. I probably wrote that really late into the night.

14shiffna: I'd say Meta Knight is more like Batman from the Justice League animated series (it's the closest comparison I could make), as while he isn't an official part of the team, he sometimes throws money at them and will only stick his neck out for them if they really need help, or if their goals align. Unlike Batman, however, his goals are much less aligned with the team, so we'll be seeing less of him.

The bunker itself was one vast chamber, a refreshing change from the tangled maze of halls that was the Halberd. There were large beams strung across the room, dotting the perimeter. High above them, a few lamps hung off the ceiling from a series of cables, and the walls were so far apart you could feel the cold air between them. At the center of the room, under the focus of a bright spotlight, was the gemstone, held within a cage lined with energy that frazzled and popped loudly. While to others, the room might have seemed grandiose, to someone as small as Pikachu, he was practically an ant compared to the walls that stretched high overhead.

"So this is the place, huh?" Link said, letting his eyes wander to every corner of the giant bunker.

Mario whistled. "This Meta Knight guy must be loaded if he built something like this. The castles back home ain't much bigger than this, an' that's not counting for the flying palace he's got hanging around."

Silence settled over the eight of them. Mario, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Link, Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Samus, and Fox. A few of them, namely Link and Yoshi, shuffled around, eager to take a look around.

Fox was the first to speak, grappling control of the silence. "Well, since we'll be working together, I think we should choose a leader for our little band."

No one seemed too enthused about that idea. "Yeah, you do that," Mario said, waving a hand behind him. "Me an' my pals'll stick to ourselves, thank you."

Yoshi nodded, and Donkey Kong didn't raise a complaint. Neither of them was against it. On the other hand, a look of irritation flashed across Fox's face.

"We all have a common enemy here. I think it would be best if we could work together to take them down."

"We don't got a common enemy," the plumber shot back. "They all just decided to stick to the same boat. Don't mean they had to get all buddy-buddy with each other, so why should we do the same?"

The others exchanged looks, but no one dared comment.

"Now, how's about we find where they keep the food, eh fellas?" Mario turned to give Yoshi and Donkey Kong a passing glance. "I could really go for somethin' to eat right now."

The floor clacked as Mario stepped back around and left for a nearby doorway. Yoshi and Donkey Kong ran after him, all too happy to get away from their meeting, and the eight was reduced to a five.

"Alright, anyone else have any complaints? The 'shadow dragon people' could be here at any second, so I don't want to waste time with pointless chit-chat."

"The plumber has a point," Samus said. "I think I would rather work on my aim in this time than trying to adjust myself to you lot."

Without another word, she left. The five was reduced to a four, and the three others that remained exchanged awkward glances under Fox's scrutinizing watch. Link seemed to see something on the smooth, stone floor that he really liked, as his attention was entirely fixed on it like a lost child, and Jigglypuff stared at Pikachu for support. Normally such would have been endearing to him, but with the other set of eyes on him, he couldn't find himself focused enough to give her his attention.

At last, he got to his feet and walked out. Jigglypuff didn't hesitate to follow. Together they headed through a door to the right, half-hidden by a stack of crates leaning against the wall. Behind it, bits of scrap metal and steel plates were piled on the floor, leftover from whatever project the bunker had housed before (presumably the ship). There were other things too, scattered in between the mounds of spare armored plating, and Pikachu and Jigglypuff immediately took it upon themselves to look through them.

Underneath one, Pikachu found a giant mechanical claw made of brass. Nestled between the two pincers was a cannon, and the wiring exposed behind it caught his eye. There were machines too, varying from some kind of radio to half of a sonar device. From her part of the room, Jigglypuff held up a camera, capped with a dome-shaped blue cover, smiling like she had uncovered some great treasure.

They were just scraps, but Pikachu was used to working with scraps. While he was by no means an excellent engineer, he did know how to string together a few traps, and as he eyed the parts, his mind raced as he began to assemble some of the pieces together in his mind.

Motioning to Jigglypuff, he started dragged a few pieces out of the room, and into the main chamber. The grating sound it made as it slid along the floor resounded through the room, irritated Pikachu's ears, but for the most part, he brushed it aside. There wasn't much in the way of obstacles as he pulled the mechanical parts to where the gemstone was kept. The others had already left to go do their own things, as he had. Wordlessly, he started stringing together the parts, rewiring weapons and machinery with his tiny paws. He was so focused on his work, he didn't hear the footsteps approaching him until they were a few feet away.

"What are you working on?" Fox asked.

Pikachu didn't bother giving him a reply. This was more important. He could feel Fox's suspicious gaze on the back of his head, but he kept his full attention on the pieces he was trying to weave together.

"We're all working together on protecting this thing, you know. It wouldn't hurt if you told me."

Again, Pikachu remained silent. A few sparks flew out from the wires in front of him, and he barely flinched as they touched his fur, before they flickered and died.

"I know you're probably used to working alone, but can't you lend me a hand here?"

When Fox continued to stand over his shoulder, he felt annoyed at his persistence. Why was this person so insistent on getting to know what he was working on? He didn't need him to help with his work. Couldn't he see how he was disturbing him?

The hiss of metal being dragged against metal signaled the arrival of Jigglypuff as she entered the room, bringing more spare parts behind her. When she saw Fox looming over Pikachu, she stopped and stared. She quickly shook it off, but Fox noticed her hostility.

"Alright, fine. You don't have to tell me. You'd better know what you're doing, though."

Unlike before, Pikachu did listen for his fading footfalls as he turned around to leave. Only until the room fell back into silence did he finally allow himself to relax.

...

Huh. When did he get so riled up with Fox?

I really felt kind of iffy with this one. It's shorter than the stuff I usually write, but I couldn't really bring myself to write more. I wouldn't say nothing happens here-it's just that what does happen is kind of small. Still, I really want to try my hand with these slower character moment-type segments, so I might start speeding up the pace I get these out. Maybe two chapters a week? I don't know.