Chapter 8: That's gotta smart...
by storm_the_castle
Falco stood his ground against the tide of mice, focusing only on the fat orange cat who stood in the way. He drew his blaster and took aim.
"A blaster?" shouted Garfield. "You think you can stop me with a mere blaster? And I thought Odie was stupid!"
"Say goodnight, tubby!" Falco muttered as he squeezed the trigger. The laser bolt impacted against Garfield's head, which exploded spectacularly. "I got him!" Falco exulted. "I got him! The lasagna is dead; LONG LIVE THE LASANGA!"
*
Back in the medicenter, Fox was not improving. "ROB, what's going on out there?" Peppy shouted into the com.
"I found him," ROB reported. "He took a shot at me as I approached, and is now lying on the ground mumbling something about Italian cuisine. His gas mask is operating at only 88 percent efficiency; I think he got a wiff of this gas, if you catch my meaning."
"Well that's just Prime," Peppy complained. "All right, get the pills and get back here. We may need some of your parts to get these life support systems working again."
"Roger that," ROB replied sullenly. Fortunately, there were no more delays, and soon enough Fox was on his way to recovery.
"How's Falco doing, ROB?" Link inquired.
"Sailor Moon is after me! Help! HELP!"
"He's doing just fine," ROB answered.
"So," Peppy asked Samus, "what brings you and your friend all this way?"
Samus explained everything that had happened in chapters 1-5. "And if you could give us a ride to pick up Cpt. Falcon, we can get back to Hyrule Castle as soon as possible."
"Roger that," croaked Slippy, "but will the Great Fox make it in this condition? Between those enemy fighters, and Andross... or whoever it was... we're in pretty bad shape!"
"I've been with this ship for 30 years, Slip, and I know her better than I know my Arwing. She'll make it. Next stop: Mute City!"
*
Far, far away, the cloaked man was admiring his handiwork. He walked in a circle around Ness and the psi-dampener, inspecting with a slow cautious manner. Satisfied, he strode over to Toadstool's cell. He gazed through the bars at the Princess, who was chained to a wall within the cell.
Toadstool was nearly naked, her modesty preserved only by a ripped sheet she had dragged with her from the castle. Yet the cloaked man was beyond such such decadent concerns. He saw not a woman, but a pawn, a lifeless object to be used and discarded.
Peach ("I'll never get used to calling her that," the cloaked man thought) suddenly noticed her observer, and started shouting for answers and explanations. The man didn't speak, but simply walked away. Two of the four were now in his power, and soon enough, the Kube would be as well. As he walked back to the Command Center, he whispered the ancient riddle.
"First, in innocence, to speak with thought.
"Next, in beauty, to speak with compassion.
"Third, in duty, to speak with fire.
"Now, in youth, to speak with the sword."
The cloaked man's quiet laughter spread through the gloom. Soon, Roy would be his, and then the boy, and finally, the Kube...
*
"A short-a-cut, huh?"
"Yoshi!"
"Shut-a up, Luigi, and-a help me with the map!"
"That map is-a worthless! It was-a printed back when-a Mega Man was still a Nintendo exclusive!"
"Perhaps *I* can be of assistance?" came a cultered, accented voice.
The Mario bros and their friend Yoshi turned to see the speaker. Before them stood a young man wearing a fashionable medieval tunic and a flowing blue cape. More eye-catching than the sword that hung at his side was his bright blue hair.
"Um... yes. We are-a little lost. Canna you tell me how to get to-a Kongo Jungle?"
"Prince Marth sure can! He knows everything! He's the greatest!" The new speaker was dressed in the same style as Marth, except his outfit was a bit more colorful and ornate. His hair was a normal, heathy red.
"Calm down, Roy. I *am* the greatest, but I'm sure our guests aleady knew that." He turned to Mario and winked. "Sidekicks, you know how it is."
The five debated for a while, and were on the verge of figuring the map out when something altogether unexpected happened. There came a flash, the sound of thunder, and when the smoke cleared, the King of Evil stood before them.
And Bowser, too. "Wow," coughed the Koopa King, "you're gonna have to teach me that trick."
Ganondorf flicked his cape dramatically, and pointed with his huge sword at the heroes. "Get them."
Bowser lept into action with an agility impossible for a creature his size. "Like the new hat, Mario?" Bowser asked, motioning to the silly-looking bunny ears that now sat on his head. "It was a present my friend here." But Mario was fast, too. He attacked Bowser, mixing his street fighting moves with a magical ability to toss fireballs. Luigi backed him up, but this time, Bowser came out ahead. With his massive strength, he was able to shrug off the attacks of the Mario Bros. They, however, proved unable to take more than a few hits from the Bwahaha Bard.
"Well, that didn't take much," Bowser commented as he gazed at the unconscious bodies of the plumbers.
"Yeah, but this will!" Marth struck while Bowser was distracted, lashing out at the lizard with the tip of his sword. Marth might have won, if he had used strategy and fought with both brains and blades, but he didn't.
Almost as if he thought he were being recorded, Marth made one grandstanding play after another, grinning slyly like a cinema star. It didn't take Bowser much to knock the swordsman back. "Now you die, little man."
"No one can defeat Prince Marth!" Roy knocked Bowser upside the head with his flaming sword. The Koopa King grunted, and fell to the ground with a massive boom. He moaned once, and stayed down. "You did it, Marth!"
"Yes, I did, didn't I?" Marth replied as he scrambled to his feet and struck a heroic pose. "Now, let's wake the Mario Bros and-" he ended his sentence by sailing into the sky covered in purple flames.
Ganondorf quickly turned to Roy, and blasted the young sidekick with a bolt of paralyzing energy. By the time Marth's unconsious form hit the ground again, the battle was over. Yoshi, his eyes glowing purple, looked to Ganondorf. "Good work. Take Roy and get out of there before any of the Cloaked Man's forces arrive. And bring Bowser. He may not be very high in the Cloaked One's organization, but a spy is still quite useful." Ganondorf nodded once. He swung Roy over his shoulder, and walked away, dragging Bowser by the tail.
To be continued...
by storm_the_castle
Falco stood his ground against the tide of mice, focusing only on the fat orange cat who stood in the way. He drew his blaster and took aim.
"A blaster?" shouted Garfield. "You think you can stop me with a mere blaster? And I thought Odie was stupid!"
"Say goodnight, tubby!" Falco muttered as he squeezed the trigger. The laser bolt impacted against Garfield's head, which exploded spectacularly. "I got him!" Falco exulted. "I got him! The lasagna is dead; LONG LIVE THE LASANGA!"
*
Back in the medicenter, Fox was not improving. "ROB, what's going on out there?" Peppy shouted into the com.
"I found him," ROB reported. "He took a shot at me as I approached, and is now lying on the ground mumbling something about Italian cuisine. His gas mask is operating at only 88 percent efficiency; I think he got a wiff of this gas, if you catch my meaning."
"Well that's just Prime," Peppy complained. "All right, get the pills and get back here. We may need some of your parts to get these life support systems working again."
"Roger that," ROB replied sullenly. Fortunately, there were no more delays, and soon enough Fox was on his way to recovery.
"How's Falco doing, ROB?" Link inquired.
"Sailor Moon is after me! Help! HELP!"
"He's doing just fine," ROB answered.
"So," Peppy asked Samus, "what brings you and your friend all this way?"
Samus explained everything that had happened in chapters 1-5. "And if you could give us a ride to pick up Cpt. Falcon, we can get back to Hyrule Castle as soon as possible."
"Roger that," croaked Slippy, "but will the Great Fox make it in this condition? Between those enemy fighters, and Andross... or whoever it was... we're in pretty bad shape!"
"I've been with this ship for 30 years, Slip, and I know her better than I know my Arwing. She'll make it. Next stop: Mute City!"
*
Far, far away, the cloaked man was admiring his handiwork. He walked in a circle around Ness and the psi-dampener, inspecting with a slow cautious manner. Satisfied, he strode over to Toadstool's cell. He gazed through the bars at the Princess, who was chained to a wall within the cell.
Toadstool was nearly naked, her modesty preserved only by a ripped sheet she had dragged with her from the castle. Yet the cloaked man was beyond such such decadent concerns. He saw not a woman, but a pawn, a lifeless object to be used and discarded.
Peach ("I'll never get used to calling her that," the cloaked man thought) suddenly noticed her observer, and started shouting for answers and explanations. The man didn't speak, but simply walked away. Two of the four were now in his power, and soon enough, the Kube would be as well. As he walked back to the Command Center, he whispered the ancient riddle.
"First, in innocence, to speak with thought.
"Next, in beauty, to speak with compassion.
"Third, in duty, to speak with fire.
"Now, in youth, to speak with the sword."
The cloaked man's quiet laughter spread through the gloom. Soon, Roy would be his, and then the boy, and finally, the Kube...
*
"A short-a-cut, huh?"
"Yoshi!"
"Shut-a up, Luigi, and-a help me with the map!"
"That map is-a worthless! It was-a printed back when-a Mega Man was still a Nintendo exclusive!"
"Perhaps *I* can be of assistance?" came a cultered, accented voice.
The Mario bros and their friend Yoshi turned to see the speaker. Before them stood a young man wearing a fashionable medieval tunic and a flowing blue cape. More eye-catching than the sword that hung at his side was his bright blue hair.
"Um... yes. We are-a little lost. Canna you tell me how to get to-a Kongo Jungle?"
"Prince Marth sure can! He knows everything! He's the greatest!" The new speaker was dressed in the same style as Marth, except his outfit was a bit more colorful and ornate. His hair was a normal, heathy red.
"Calm down, Roy. I *am* the greatest, but I'm sure our guests aleady knew that." He turned to Mario and winked. "Sidekicks, you know how it is."
The five debated for a while, and were on the verge of figuring the map out when something altogether unexpected happened. There came a flash, the sound of thunder, and when the smoke cleared, the King of Evil stood before them.
And Bowser, too. "Wow," coughed the Koopa King, "you're gonna have to teach me that trick."
Ganondorf flicked his cape dramatically, and pointed with his huge sword at the heroes. "Get them."
Bowser lept into action with an agility impossible for a creature his size. "Like the new hat, Mario?" Bowser asked, motioning to the silly-looking bunny ears that now sat on his head. "It was a present my friend here." But Mario was fast, too. He attacked Bowser, mixing his street fighting moves with a magical ability to toss fireballs. Luigi backed him up, but this time, Bowser came out ahead. With his massive strength, he was able to shrug off the attacks of the Mario Bros. They, however, proved unable to take more than a few hits from the Bwahaha Bard.
"Well, that didn't take much," Bowser commented as he gazed at the unconscious bodies of the plumbers.
"Yeah, but this will!" Marth struck while Bowser was distracted, lashing out at the lizard with the tip of his sword. Marth might have won, if he had used strategy and fought with both brains and blades, but he didn't.
Almost as if he thought he were being recorded, Marth made one grandstanding play after another, grinning slyly like a cinema star. It didn't take Bowser much to knock the swordsman back. "Now you die, little man."
"No one can defeat Prince Marth!" Roy knocked Bowser upside the head with his flaming sword. The Koopa King grunted, and fell to the ground with a massive boom. He moaned once, and stayed down. "You did it, Marth!"
"Yes, I did, didn't I?" Marth replied as he scrambled to his feet and struck a heroic pose. "Now, let's wake the Mario Bros and-" he ended his sentence by sailing into the sky covered in purple flames.
Ganondorf quickly turned to Roy, and blasted the young sidekick with a bolt of paralyzing energy. By the time Marth's unconsious form hit the ground again, the battle was over. Yoshi, his eyes glowing purple, looked to Ganondorf. "Good work. Take Roy and get out of there before any of the Cloaked Man's forces arrive. And bring Bowser. He may not be very high in the Cloaked One's organization, but a spy is still quite useful." Ganondorf nodded once. He swung Roy over his shoulder, and walked away, dragging Bowser by the tail.
To be continued...
