AN: After re-reading the second chapter, I felt it wasn't very…coherent to me. I'll try much harder on 3! And ninnyan(sorry if I spelt it wrong) I didn't exactly understand your review…
Chapter 3: Regroup
Samus jumped onto a ruined building and scanned the area. Around her for miles were the remains of a city. Ruined skyscrapers and stores littered the area in a hundred mile radius. Everything was grayed with time. Few specks of color caught her eye; a billboard ad advertising toothpaste, a neon sign by some miracle still working, and a roaring fire with a trail of smoke rising from it. She instinctively reached to adjust her visor to magnify the fire, but only touched her hair. She cursed silently and jumped down from the building.
She landed with a cloud of dust and began running toward the fire, oblivious to the trail of fire behind her.
Link and Ness traveled steadily through the rubble. Ness easily jumped over the tall debris and waited patiently as Link had to climb up the face of the ruin. When Link reached the boy he was out of breath and lay on the ground panting.
"God, I wish I had my hookshot back there…" he said through gasps. He got into a sitting position and looked at Ness. Ness, however, was not paying any attention to the hero. He had his back turned to Link and was looking at something in the distance. Link got up and went to where the boy was standing. He put his hand over his face to block the sun and peered into the distance.
"Do you see the fire?" Ness asked. He pointed to a small red prick of color a few miles away.
Link strained to see if that red dot was actually a fire but couldn't see a thing. "I don't see how the hell you're able to tell what that red dot is."
"The trail of smoke," Ness pointed out. He pointed above the red dot and Link could see a thin black line hovering above the dot.
"Oh"
"Someone else would have had to make that fire. We should head that way," Ness said as he started down the ruined building. Link reluctantly followed him down the side .
Samus jumped over a particularly large pile of debris and landed in a crouch position a few hundred feet away from the fire. She slowed down her pace and walked the rest of the way. Gravel crunched beneath her new boots and the sound caught the attention of the people around the fire.
Samus continued walking slowly into the campsite and stopped a few feet away from the fire. The figures relaxed slowly and began walking towards Samus. One wore a bright red shirt and blue overalls, his warm smile greeting her.
"Samus! What's-a up?" Mario asked with a smile. The fire had died down a little and Mario sent a fireball into the heart. Sitting on a rock was Princess Toadstool. Her dress was ripped in various places and there was a thin layer of dust covering her. She didn't seem to be in the happiest of moods. She waved half-heartedly at Samus and then decided to stare into the fire.
"I've been better," Samus replied as a gust of wind made her shiver. She wasn't used to being out of her suit. She walked over to the fire and tried to warm herself up. Mario sat down next to Peach and tried to console her. "Is anyone else here?" Samus asked.
"Just me," a voice replied. Samus looked over her shoulder and watched as Fox McCloud walked in with a pile of tinder for the fire. He laid it down away from the fire and sat across from Samus. He absent-mindedly began to swish his tail across the ground. Fox took out his trusty blaster and began to systematically clean it.
"Do any of you know what happened? Like how we got here?" Samus questioned. No one answered her. She sighed and began to draw in the dirt with her finger. Silence filled the campsite for hours as they watched the fire die down. Fox finished cleaning his blaster and holstered. He got up and began putting more wood onto the fire.
Samus looked over to where Mario and Peach were and saw that they had fallen asleep, both leaning against each other. She turned to Fox instead and saw that he was lying on the ground, his back facing Samus. She got the hint and curled up into a ball and tried to get some sleep.
As night began to take over Ness and Link lost the fire. It had seemed to burn out and without their beacon, Link and Ness were lost. Link looked over to where he thought the fire used to be and saw a trail of fire moving along the ground. He nudged Ness and silently pointed to the trail of fire.
Ness took one look at the fire and began to run towards the flames. "C'mon!" he yelled behind him. Link cursed loudly and ran after the boy.
Samus writhed in her sleep. Sweat covered her body and she moaned as she rolled on the ground. Instantly she wakes up and opens her eyes. Beads of sweat trickle down and blur her vision. Frantically she wipes the sweat out of her eyes and gets up. She tentatively opens her eyes and stares at a conflagration surrounding the campsite. Suddenly the roar of the fire reaches her ears and screams drive nails into her ears. Samus looks behind her and stood frozen.
Peach was screaming as Mario and Fox lunged at a pillar of flames. Mario's hands erupted in flames and he plunged them into the roaring fire. Wincing as the flames seared his arms he pulled an arm out into the open. Fox was ready and he unleashed a barrage of laser-fire onto the arm. A high-pitched screech filled the area and the pillar of flames died down.
Standing there was a slender naked woman, flames weakly flowing around her body. Her red hair flowed around her, whipping the air into a frenzy. Her arm was covered in sores from the blaster and Mario still had a steadfast grip on her arm. She screamed and thrashed ferociously but Mario held fast. Fox aimed for her chest but wasn't able to get a clear shot. The woman ran towards Fox and slashed him across the chest. He flew backwards and crashed into a rock. Samus rushed forward as the woman slashed at her. Samus rolled beneath the attack and grabbed the extended arm. She flung the woman into the air and delivered a screw-kick into her chest.
She dropped to the ground and the flames died down. Fox groggily raised his head as Samus made her way over to Peach, bent on shutting her up since she was still screaming. Mario finally let go of the arm and kicked the body a few times. Nothing happened. He turned to the others and gave them a thumbs-up.
"Shut up you damn woman!" Samus yelled as she slapped Peach across the face. Peach was stunned and just stood there, touching the place where she had been slapped. Fox rested against the building, clutching his chest as blood began to seep through his fingers. Samus noticed this and rushed to his side.
"You're bleeding! Damn, nothing here to bandage the wound," Samus said. She looked around and saw Peach just standing there. She rushed over and ripped off a length of her dress. Peach did nothing. Samus carefully bandaged the wound and helped Fox sit against the slab of rock.
Mario meanwhile was examining the woman. She was face-floor on the ground, no apparent sign of a pulse. The flames surrounding her had also disappeared. Mario smiled evily and glanced around to see if anyone was watching. Peach was on the verge of a nervous breakdown and Samus was tending to Fox. He slyly rolled over the body and began examining the body in full detail.
The woman's eyes opened as Mario's head was turned. She straightened her good hand and plunged it into Mario's chest. A violent ripping noise filled the area as she began tearing at his insides. Blood steadily flowed down her arm and he spat out blood as she plunged deeper. Eventually she ripped through the other side and her hand emerged blood-stained, bits of Mario's insides stuck underneath her nails. She then erupted into flames.
Peach heard the ripping noise and turned to watch as her beloved Mario was being killed and mutilated before her eyes. She stood there, horrified, silent and quietly fainted. Her limp body hit the ground as the woman's hand emerged out the other side of Mario's body.
Samus heard the ripping noise as well and knew it was too late for whomever was being ripped apart. She heard another ripping noise and she dared to look over her shoulder. Peach's limp body lay on the ground as Mario's was being ripped apart by the woman's. She stood up and looked directly at Samus, her eyes smiling with relish as she licked the blood off of her hand.
"You never thanked me for those boots."
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AN: Hope this one is more coherent and easier to follow than the last! Tune in next week to find out what happens to Samus, Fox, and Peach!