Chapter summary: The liberation of two villages from Subspace's grasp hinges on the ingenuity of two ragtag parties.
Chapter Five: To the Metal
They follow the guide's directions, finding their destination in a decrepit corner of the forest village. At least half the houses have peeling boards, and the wooden, graffitied fences that divide the properties don't look like they've been repaired in a while.
It's a little too quiet, but none of them say so. Captain Falcon takes the lead and they creep towards the wooden house, alert in case of an ambush. Wolf reaches for the door handle but it jams part way.
"It's locked," he grumbles.
"There's no windows large enough to let us in," Mewtwo reports after doing a quick round of the house.
"Gonna have to break it down."
"That'll attract attention," Falcon replies. "Anyone good at picking locks?"
"Uh..." Olimar says as he rummages around in the pockets of his suit. Eventually, after locating a scrunched up piece of paper, an empty wrapper and three pens, he procures two metal strips. Wolf snatches them out of his hands and gets to work.
"You're welcome," Link mutters.
Olimar sends his Pikmin through the broken window to scout. Pichu watches the plant creatures march around the first room and feels himself deflate.
If only I were of some use...
"Pichu."
The tiny mouse Pokémon squeals in surprise and turns to face Mewtwo, who is standing behind him with his arms folded.
"You are small," says Mewtwo. "Not much ought to be expected of you."
Pichu's ears droop and he bows his head in agreement.
"In time, however, you will grow. You will get stronger. Personally, I will likely never experience such growth, but I sense potential in you. After all, you did send me flying when we first met—not what I expected."
Pichu feels a spark of encouragement rush through him, and dares to make eye contact with the powerful Mewtwo.
"Though my reasons for telling you this are selfish. Your negative energy has been a constant bother to me all day."
Pichu hangs his head again.
"Got it," Wolf announces. He turns the knob experimentally but doesn't yet open the door. "Are we going in?"
"Hang on," says Olimar. He whistles softly to call back his Pikmin, whispering to them for a moment before giving the others the go-ahead.
They enter the house. It is dim, the curtains block most of the afternoon sun that had managed to leak through the dense forest. The first room is lightly furnished with a circular rug and some wooden chairs to the left next to a small, empty fireplace.
Link unsheathes his sword.
Falcon resumes his place as lead, and peers around the first doorway to the right. An empty bedroom with a single bed roughly made. Falcon gestures for the others to wait and crosses the room to open the wardrobe.
"It's clothes," he announces, and returns to the group.
The next two doors open to a study and a linen cabinet. The rooms are only big enough to hide a small child, so they dismiss those two.
Next is what appears to be the kitchen and dining room. The space is too large to get a good scope of without entering, so Falcon is silent as he advances.
He looks in.
There's even less light here. The windows are small and curtained, and the back door is boarded up. To the left is a dining table. To the right is the kitchen. Along the right wall are some wooden cabinets, and in the middle of the kitchen is a bench.
A column of orange light flares out.
Falcon ducks but the others are hit and are blasted backwards. Falcon darts behind the dining table and looks back at the bench to find an ape with flames for hair standing on the table top.
"Use Flamethrower!"
The column of fire heads for Falcon once again. It misses and Falcon scans the room. If he could find the source of the voice...
"Iron Tail!"
The Infernape leaps from the bench and flips through the air towards the dining table. Falcon dodges as it swipes its metal tail through the wooden table, splitting it in two. He's about to tackle the Pokémon when a firm hand grabs his shoulder and he's shoved into the wall.
"Leave it to me," says Mewtwo. "There are courtesies when fighting other Pokémon."
There's a ping and a flash of light, and a large, blue, amphibious Pokémon rushes forward, nearly trampling Mewtwo.
"Never mind. Pichu!"
"Y-yes!"
Pichu sprints forward and headbutts the newly appeared Quagsire. He readies an electric shock.
Mewtwo backs away. Lightning shoots through the air, passing through Pichu before bouncing along to the Quagsire.
"Ouch!" Pichu cries.
"Be careful!" Mewtwo yells.
"I'm sorry..."
"I found the little!" Wolf snarls, dashing towards the bench where a shadow is moving along the ground. He springs over the bench but his target is quicker, bounding the other way and arming himself with a chair.
Link shoots out his grappling hook at the person and it latches onto the backrest. The person pulls but Link bends his knees and pulls back hard, causing the former to lose his footing. The person lets go of the chair and it goes flying towards Link. He ducks and the chair smashes into the wall behind him, leaving a web of cracks.
"Oops."
In the time it takes for Link to regain his composure, their opponent rushes past him and down the hall presumably towards the front door. Wolf barges past soon after and leaps, managing to snare their potential escapee by the legs as they both crash to the floor. The person flails his legs, manages a kick to Wolf's face, and slips out of Wolf's grip, but Wolf whips out his blaster and aims three shots in his back.
The person jerks in the air before tripping over his own feet.
"He's still moving?" Wolf growls. With the apparent weakening of his blaster, there was now officially too much going on in this place.
In the midst of Wolf's surprise, Captain Falcon catches up to their opponent and pins him to the floor. The Infernape on his heels stops in the kitchen doorway and starts screeching and stomping on the spot.
Falcon and Wolf cover their ears.
"Infernape, peace!" their opponent snaps, holding up a weak hand. The Infernape calms itself.
Falcon turns their opponent around roughly, looking closely at the man in the dim light.
"It's the village doctor!" Link exclaims. His expression is crestfallen but hard with anger. And he's right—the wide-brimmed glasses and wild brown hair match those of the doctor, and he's still wearing the apron they'd seen him in at the medical centre.
"Guess you were in it for the money, too," Wolf says.
"It's shameful, I know," the man sighs. "I was just in a bit of a tight spot."
"Well, it's not us you should be apologising to," says Falcon, loosening his grip on the man's collar a little. "But I'd like to make sure we're talking about the same thing, unless there's another grand conspiracy going on around here: you're involved with hiding a captive."
"That's correct."
"But this isn't your house."
"I suspected I should check up on him."
"You weren't tipped off about us?" Wolf accuses.
"No."
"I don't buy it, but good on you for covering your buddy's back. What do you plan on using the money on?"
"Medicine, mostly vaccines. Those are important in a place like this."
"A place like this?" Link brightens with curiosity, though with a shade of disrespect lingering in his expression.
"The junction of worlds, of course. It's remarkable there haven't been any major upsets around here considering how much from the other worlds passes through here, except for this latest robot uprising of course. That's not going to be good for the local economy, among other things. People are scared of that monster, we don't know what it's going to do."
"I think it's only interested in cutting this place off from the rest of the world," Falcon says. "It's doing a good job so far." He decides to step off the doctor and pull him to his feet, but doesn't quite let him go yet.
"We want to help," Link says.
"Maybe you can make up for my transgressions," says the doctor, scratching his head. He then calls to his Quagsire, "Return!"
He holds out a Poké Ball and the Quagsire returns in a flash of light. He stares at the red and white sphere in his hand as if in a trance. Mewtwo and Pichu emerge from the kitchen a little singed.
Captain Falcon clears his throat. "Our subject?"
"Y-yes! Right this way. It's not a trap, I promise."
The doctor and his Infernape, now quiet, lead the group through the small house, past the kitchen to a storeroom. He pulls a string and a feeble light illuminates the room. The numerous shelves are mostly empty. At the far end of the space is the person they've been looking for, still transformed to metal.
"Ouch," Falcon mutters when he sees the boy's expression. His arms are shielding his face, which from what is visible is frozen in a candidly terrified expression.
"Cover your eyes," the doctor commands as he steps forward. He bends down and touches the statue's golden base.
"—AAAGH!" There's a yell and a heavy thump as the light fades. They open their eyes to find their subject in a heap on the floor, tangled in his cape.
"Hello, mister—" the doctor starts.
The boy untangles himself and reaches around for something that isn't there before staring up at the doctor. His eyes dart around the rest of the room.
"I'm sorry," the doctor says. "Your confusion is warranted."
"Was I captured?" the boy asks.
"Yes, but I'm letting you go."
"I don't remember your face. Was I knocked out?"
"That's right. We picked you up from somewhere else."
"Then why are you letting me go?"
"I've realised the mistake I made."
"Oh." The boy looks pleasantly surprised but not entirely convinced. "Who are the rest of you?"
"We rescued you!" Olimar squeaks, then covers his mouth in embarrassment. "Well, not really. Do you want the entire story?"
The boy thinks for a moment before saying, "Perhaps later. Would you happen to know where my sword is?"
The doctor pales. "I'll get Infernape to go grab it," he says quickly. He gestures to his Pokémon, and it bounds out of the room. They hear the front door open and shut. "He shouldn't be too long, sorry for the inconvenience. What's your name?"
"Roy. And you?"
"My name is Forrest. Is there anything else I can do to help you, Roy?"
"I... think I might need help reorientating myself."
"O-of course." The doctor is silent for a moment before turning to the rest of the group, "Would you like to come over to my house for tea? I know it's a little awkward, but I'd like to make up for all this, you know."
"Uh..." Falcon looks to the rest of the group. Wolf opens his mouth but shuts it again, and no one else speaks against the doctor's idea. "Sure."
*.*.*.*.*
After digging into the varied dishes the innkeeper had provided for lunch, the group minus Jigglypuff sit back for a little while. They hear the Balloon Pokémon's voice waft in from the kitchen as she and the innkeeper do the dishes and sing some tunes. Jigglypuff's voice seems to override any of the missteps the innkeeper makes in their song. Snake feels his eyes getting heavy.
"I'm so tired," Nana slurs.
"If you go to sleep now, you'll be awake all night," Popo says, failing to suppress a yawn himself.
Snake looks across to Lucario to find that her eyes are shut and her head is beginning to lean precariously forward. Just as it seems like she's about to hit the table top, she jerks awake with a snort. Popo giggles and Nana smacks him.
"Pardon me," Lucario apologises. "I don't know what came over me..."
"Probably a pretty melody or three," Snake says.
"Hmm." Lucario gazes in Jigglypuff's direction as it all comes together.
*.*.*.*.*
The late afternoon sun shines down hot on Tayll Village. A weak wind winds through the empty streets. Jigglypuff feels beads of sweat forming on her forehead as she stares at the wooden arches that mark the village entrance.
She clears her throat and does a quick set of scales under her breath.
It's now or never...
She holds her head high as she strides over to Indeom, which is sitting on its haunches and staring into the distance behind Jigglypuff.
For a moment she loses her voice. Shakily, she raises a stubby arm and waves at Indeom. Its head turns to face her with a mechanical whirr. The prongs on its helmet glint like knives in the bright sunlight.
Jigglypuff takes a breath, then sings a single note.
Indeom's gaze doesn't wander.
Jigglypuff takes a step to the side and begins a melodious tune[1]. As she continues, the full power of her voice begins to return to her and she finds herself stamping in the dirt in time with the melody, almost transitioning into a dance. Her voice remains strong even as she spots a pair of crates slowly creeping across the dirt.
Popo peers through the hole in the crate so they could follow the one in front.
"Sorry in advance if I trip on your feet," Nana whispers from behind him.
"You don't usually show this much foresight, Nana."
"Hey, I try to cut you some slack one time—"
"You're right, sorry."
The crate in front of them stops and they stop, too. Snake had instructed them to imitate his movements until he threw off his own cover, after that they were to decide what the best course of action was to gain advantage over the robot, ideally without going all out and rendering it useless to them.
Lucario, their wildcard, is nowhere in sight.
Jigglypuff had manoeuvered herself in a half circle, and Indeom had followed, so that its back was now to the village and the moving crates. She'd transitioned to a slower, gentler song now, and they had to think fast before they became victim to her lullaby.
Snake remains still for an impossibly long moment. Nana feels her feet begin to tingle. Indeom's not showing any obvious signs of whatever drowsiness robots are capable of feeling, but it is completely still. After he's convinced that Indeom won't turn around, Snake slowly, slowly lifts the crate, places it to the side, and begins creeping towards the robot.
Nana and Popo remove their crate and remain motionless, mallets in hand.
Jigglypuff finally sees Indeom's eyes begin to close. She doesn't dare break her gaze, or her melody. This might be one of the most important performances she's done in her life. She sings sweetly, not too loud, coaxing the robot into a complacent stupor.
Snake quietens his breath as he stands behind Indeom and looks for footholds on its complex exterior. All he has to do is hold on once he grabs them—he doesn't have a running start for this.
He bends his legs, lowers his body and springs upwards.
He finds the handholds and grips them tight. Indeom swivels around.
Nana and Popo's warcries cut Jigglypuff off as they run at the robot.
Indeom points an arm at the siblings. The appendage shifts, folding back its outer layer of metal, and launches a missile at the ground. Nana tackles Popo out of the way of the blast and is back on her feet in an instant. Indeom shoots another missile, but she dodges and closes the gap between them. She leaps and swings her mallet at its transformed arm. The attack connects and dents the metal a little—seems its interior layers are a little more fragile.
"Popo, the arms, if you can!" Nana shouts, and circles the robot as her brother gets to his feet.
Indeom grabs at her but she ducks beneath it and whacks it in the backside as a distraction—just above where Snake is dangling.
"Not here!" he yells.
"Right!"
As Indeom turns around, Popo approaches and blasts its undamaged leg with ice. It swipes at him but he ducks and continues icing the leg. Frost begins to form on its surface.
"I'll keep it on me, then!" Nana says. She shoots a burst of frost at its arms to attract its attention. "Popo, follow it around!"
"Yes!"
Popo tries his best to ice over the robot's leg as Nana dances through its many attacks. Snake grabs another foothold even as the robot continues to swivel and stomp around with increasing difficulty, and hauls himself up. The pilot's seat on its head is an arm's length away.
Then, with a fierce whirr, Indeom stops spinning, raises its hands, and smashes its fists into the ground. Nana and Popo are blasted by the impact and Snake is thrown off the robot's back.
They see a blue flash behind their eyelids as Lucario appears on the scene and delivers a mighty punch to Indeom's face.
Indeom swipes once, twice, but Lucario weaves through its attacks. It sends a fist forward as Lucario completes her second manoeuvre. She is flung back, bouncing through the dirt. She eventually skids to a stop, coated in a layer of dust—battered, but curiously invigorated. Her aura senses tingle.
"Hey!"
Popo throws himself at its missile arm and hangs on tight. His fingers burn as Indeom shakes its arm. Its other hand comes around and plucks him off, tossing him into his sister who'd just gotten back to her feet. There's a dazzle of light.
Lucario flies forward with a vicious growl, eyes and paws engulfed in an intense blue aura. She delivers a mighty kick to Indeom's face with lightning speed. The robot flies back through the air before hitting the ground, producing a crater and a cloud of dust. It doesn't move immediately.
Snake makes a beeline for the robot. Lucario sends a volley of Aura Spheres ahead of him to prolong the robot's paralysis.
Indeom props its arms and raises its head as Snake makes one final leap.
[1] What song is Jigglypuff singing? There's not really a 'canon' answer, but personally I think she's singing the Route 3 melody from Gen I-I'm relying on Bulbapedia to tell me that Jigglypuff is found there. I guess it's her national anthem or smth /brick'd
Guest replies:
Guest: This wasn't the trajectory I was thinking of taking this story, but that did get me thinking about other things. Thanks!
Brick: To preface: I'm probably being frivolous with canon compliance so this story might end up going a weird direction. I wasn't thinking about introducing other Items into the story, but it seems I've created that opportunity with the inclusion of the Ray Gun. Smash Bros in this version of the universe hasn't yet come to the point of including Items in battles, so there's no rule that all the Items that could be used currently exist, if that makes sense. I would assume the Smash Ball came from a greater power, such as Master Hand (wink wink), but I guess the others can be manufactured by more mortal hands. Thank you!
a/n: Forrest is actually an OC from my novelisation, appearing in Chapter 29. I didn't have a name for him back then because he wasn't as important as he is here, but he did connect this story to that one.
Also: remember Galleom from the SSE? Indeom and Thalleom are its larger brethren. If you look at the periodic table, gallium, indium and thallium are elements in the same group (column)! I put some other details in as well, not that I would have noticed if I hadn't written this myself: Galleom is purple, Indeom is green, Thalleom is orange - secondary colours in the colour wheel! Galleom has one prong on its head, Indeom has two and Thalleom has three! I'm so clever! /double brick'd
Have a nice day, and feel free to review!