BornToDream03: A tired Meta Knight is a sad Meta Knight.
Zhenxuan20002: Glad you think so!
14shiffna: Are we on the same brainwaves or something? Also, don't hate on Kirby. Not in here, please.
"Here we are."
Link turned to look out the gunship's windshield. From what he could see, the planet's surface was covered in a canopy of dark green leaves, dripping with vines woven between thick tree trunks like threads in a shawl. Off in the distance, towering peaks dotted the horizon, the tallest one spilling smoke out into the clear blue sky. As far as he could tell, Neo Star was a planet choked with tangled jungles and volcanoes waiting to explode. The place was wild and untamed; not somewhere he hoped they would have to stay for long.
"So," Mario said, clutching the wall with one hand, inspecting the other hand in front of him, "this is it, eh? The final standoff between the good guys and the bad guys."
"There will still be evil once these villains have been put back behind bars," Link replied. "It was here before this, and it will still be here after this."
"Not like this, Link," Samus said. "This is on a different scale. The Space Pirates don't usually work with anyone outside their faction. After this, they won't do it again."
Without warning, the floor beneath them shifted as something rocked the ship. The sudden movement threw Link off from the window, and he crashed into the other wall. Behind him, he heard a loud grunt from Donkey Kong and a startled squeal from Yoshi. It seemed like he wasn't the only one caught off guard.
The ship's comlink crackled to life, and the voice of Fox came through. "Samus? Are you alright? Your engines just stalled."
"We're fine," Samus replied. She glanced at a monitor on her dashboard, and her eyes narrowed. "There's an electric field. It cut off our engines. You'll see soon enough."
"What do you–"
The radio cut off for a moment, and a sharp static replaced it on the comlink. It passed after a second, and Fox's voice returned.
"I see what you meant." He paused, before he added, "You think this is because..."
"Pikachu?" Mario said. "Probably."
"They must be using him to store the Star Rod energy. Whatever they're doing is displacing his electricity."
"We must be getting close," Samus muttered.
"You said it." Mario then turned to Link, slowly picking himself off the floor. "On the topic of the little scamp, where's his pink partner?"
"Jigglypuff? I told her to stay put back on the Halberd. When we do rescue Pikachu, I'm sure he won't be happy if he found out I brought her along."
"You have a head on your shoulders. Good on you, kid."
Link gave him a smile, before he turned back to look out the window. As the ship streaked overhead, the treeline began to pull back. Patches of grass seeped through the thick blanket of leaves beneath, and a clearing began to emerge in the middle of the jungle.
"Samus," he said, turning to the seat at the front.
"I see it," she said, and she glanced down at a blinking red dot on the monitor beside her. "Fox, we're nearing the rendezvous point."
"Copy that. Let's just hope Meta Knight is waiting for us there."
"Hey," Link said, "what about Meta Knight's workers?"
"They're still busy dealing with the Federation breakout," Fox replied. "He said they'll send a team to pick up the legion people when we're done with them."
"Oh. So we're on our own, then?"
"Yeah. It's just us."
"Better us than no one at all, I guess," Mario said.
"Alright, listen to me," Fox said, and his voice became firm. "We lost last time because we let them split us up. If we want to win, we need to work together."
"Use teamwork. Got it," Link said with a grin.
"We just watch each other's backs? Should be no problem, right, guys?" Mario turned to look at Donkey Kong and Yoshi standing behind him. Yoshi gave him a nod. Donkey Kong hooted and raised a fist to the air.
"We're here," Samus cut in. Link felt the floor shift beneath him as the ship slowed down. Warily, he glanced out the window. The treeline was a good distance away from them now, and below them, he saw various crates scattered around the clearing. Two stone pillars reached up from the ground, towering over the grass, and there were a few pieces of machinery lying on the ground. Aside from that, however, the small yard was empty.
"There's no one here," Mario said, walking up to stand beside Link and peer out the window.
Link turned to the red plumber. "Do you think they forgot the welcoming party?" he asked.
A loud boom interrupted him before he could reply. Their attention immediately snapped back to the window. Outside, Link caught a glimpse of a beam of blue energy tearing through the air. The beam ripped straight through the Arwing's side, and a large fire burst out from where one of the Arwing's wings had been moments ago, smoke billowing behind the craft as it swerved out of control.
"They're here!" Fox said. " I'll see you all on the ground!"
They watched as the Arwing spiraled forward, leaving a dark trail behind it. At the last second, the glass cockpit threw itself open. An orange blur flew out of the Arwing, tumbling to the ground as the Arwing crashed into a rock face behind it. The craft immediately went up in a bloom of red and orange, scrap metal raining down on the clearing below.
Link released a breath. He slumped back from the window, relieved. It didn't last for long.
The monitor next to Samus suddenly flashed red. The gunship gave a shudder. Link lost his footing, and he fell to the floor with an undignified squawk.
"We've been hit," he heard Samus hiss. "They must have re-opened a wound in the engine compartment."
"Re-opened? Whaddya mean?" Mario said.
"The Meta Knights didn't have time to fully repair my ship. It isn't as strong as it should be."
Link pushed himself off the floor with a grunt, rustling the weapons on his back. As he got to his feet again, he caught sight of a streak of white and pink pass by the window.
"Samus!" he called, pointing to the sky. "Up there!"
Samus looked up. Then she cursed. "It's that wolf again!"
"We ain't gonna be able to do anything if he's pelting us with bullets from above," Mario said, clutching on to a hatch on the wall.
"Then I'm going to have to drop you off."
"Okay." Mario reared his fist back and slammed it into the hatch with a loud clang. The hatch popped off, flying out behind the ship. Air came rushing in, screaming into their ears from how quickly they were moving.
"Wait!" Link said, his panic rising. "Can't you go a little lower before you drop us off?"
"There's no time," Mario yelled over the wind. "Donkey Kong, grab the kid, and get outside."
Link barely had time to hear Mario say, "Let's-a go!" and leap out of the ship before a large, furry arm wrapped around his waist and dragged him to the hatch. One second, he was inside the ship, looking out onto the grass below. The next, the wind was whipping at his face. The ground rushed up to meet him, and he let out a scream.
Well well well. Here we are. After eighteen whole chapters of bringing together the team, having them fight amongst themselves, and overall throwing them into the fire, we've finally reached the big finale. The climax. The fun part.
The action here might take a bit more time to get out since I've been getting busier lately, and since I also have to commit to Over the River, I don't think I can write those 4,000-word long chapters like I did with the bunker fights. Maybe I'll manage, but maybe life will just throw me to the pits, who knows?
Next chapter comes out November 19th. Probably.