A/N: Okay, time to get this rolling again.
Ed: Where have you BEEN? (bop)
OW! ROY!
Roy: (burn) 8D
Ed: O.O WAAAA! (runs in circles)
Eliwood: Ooh... (stares at pretty fire)
Kim: Ooh... (does the same)
Link: -.-;
Blame the stupid document manager for the delay. So, ONWARD!
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Chapter 10: The Search
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Night's gloom was still covering the world, but the great full moon hung in the sky and provided a good amount of light. They reached the mountains quickly, and Roy led them to the cave where they would start off. We few investigated the cavern, the others waited patiently while observing their surroundings, as well as the view.
"Wow, this view is great!" Link gazed out while standing on the cliff beside Marth. "Betcha it looks even better during the day!"
"We'll have to come up here on a clear day and see." Marth pointed eastward. "Hey, and you can kinda see a bit of Hal too!"
The elf turned to see for himself. "Where?...oh, yeah!" Against the darkness of the night, he barely caught the sight of a few of the taller buildings of the nearest city of Hal. "Neat!"
As others roamed about the area, it was much quieter in the cavern as Roy slinked across the ground, swift eyes scanning for tracks, which were plentiful.
"...I don't think I was out for that long," he announced his conclusion to the few within. These tracks are only a couple hours old."
"So, they've had a two-hour head-start, eh?" Mario sighed. "That's great..."
"Yeah, but the group's big, and they have a dragon traveling with them, so we're bound to catch up," Fox reasoned.
Roy tried to ignore the "dragon" part of that comment, as it would only get him depressed over Ryka. When his eyes caught something else among the prints, he sought to change the subject, scraping up a handful of dirt and holding it up for the other two to see.
"You see those red speckles in there?" he asked, and the two looked at the clump of sand carefully.
"Oh, yeah, I see them!" said Mario.
"That's the dragon dust Jasper used."
"What is dragon dust, anyway?" Fox asked.
"It's the condensation of dragon breath," Roy replied, turning his cupped hand and allowing the dust to pour back onto the ground. "Loads of magical properties in it."
"Ah, so it's used in a lot of charms and spells, right?" Mario ventured.
"Yeah... Mainly... taming spells..." he responded softly, closing his hand in a tight fist when the last speck of dirt fell to the ground. Knowing the worries in his heart, the plumber and kitsune exchanged glances.
"...Hey, don't sweat it, Roy," Mario assured with a smile. "Ryka's a tough girl. I think she'll be able to hold on a bit longer for us."
Hearing this, Roy sighed and nodded, then turned his attention back to the tracks on the ground. Tracing their path with his finger, he followed them out of the cave with Mario and Fox trailing behind.
"The henchmen roamed around a bit, then they all exited the cave as a group..." he mused to himself, gaining attention of the other Smashers. "...they hiked down the mountains and went..." He stepped up to the cliff's side in-between Marth and Link, pointing his nose up and taking a whiff of the air. With the desired odors crawling into his nostrils, he turned and pointed eastward like a bloodhound. "That way. They traveled straight that way."
"What, towards Hal?" Marth asked skeptically. "Not the smartest move, I'd say. A group like that would draw attention to itself in the city, even at this time at night."
Fox shook his head. "I don't think they even reached Hal. It's more than a couple hours away on foot, especially for such a large group."
Mario thought about this, than said, "Unless they went underground."
They all turned to him questioningly, and he explained. "There's an underground cavern just west of Hal. It's a mining area that used to dig up silver, but it was closed down years ago when it dug up all there was. I think it's connected to a couple abandoned subway stations."
"Oh, I get it," Link mused. "Jasper hides Ryka down below while he sneaks back aboveground and continues his operations in the city."
"Huh. Gotta admit, that's pretty crafty." Fox faced Mario. "Any idea where the entrance to this mine is?"
Mario ruefully shook his head. "Nope. They sealed it off and even regrew the grass around the area. No one has found it yet, though I'll bet Jasper finally uncovered it."
"Well, we don't want to draw unwanted attention, so we'll just have to find it too," Marth confirmed.
A deep groan snapped everyone's attention back to Roy, who looked to be in some strain, his face contorted and fists clenched. Instantaneously, Marth was at his side.
"Roy, are you alri- whoa!" The prince pulled away in shock as the boy's cape began to slither around his neck as if alive, migrating to his back, where two lumps of flesh and bone pushed themselves out and extended further and further. The fabric of the cape seemed to melt into the shifting flesh, and with a small glow and a slight flap, there upon Roy's back was a pair of bat-like wings, their length reaching down past his waist. After taking his time to recover, the half-dragon opened his eyes to the thundershocked gapes on the other Smashers' faces.
"...Whoa, Roy!" Link exclaimed, darting up behind him and poking the spiky ends of each spur. "Oh, so cool! I thought you said you couldn't transform!"
"I can get the wings down, but not the whole thing." He faced the others, striving to explain. "I wanna get an aerial view so I can find the entrance."
Mario blinked. "...You can do that?"
Roy nodded. "Yeah, but I need some help getting off the ground." His wings gave another flap as if reminding the others of their presence. "They look big, but they're too small to lift of by themselves to reach the altitude I need. I'll need a bit of a launch."
"A launch, huh?" A female voice drew attention to Samus, who stepped up in her suit, sans her helmet, with her long sandy blonde hair in a bun. "I can help you there."
"...for once," Link finished, a smirk hiding behind his hand.
"Shut up, Point-ears," the bounty hunter growled at the sarcastic elf, ignoring his chuckle and turning back to Roy. "What do you say?"
He nodded. "Thanks, Samus."
"What do we do?" Mario asked.
"Me 'n Samus will launch from up here," Roy answered as if he had already considered this. "The rest of you head on down the mountain and trek east. If the entrance is west of the city like you said, I'll find it somewhere between here and Hal."
"Right, and we'll meet you there when you find it," Mario agreed, facing the majority group of Smashers. "Alright, guys, let's head on down, eastward!"
"Have a good flight, Roy!" Link grinned, giving him a tiny salute. Marth nodded in encouragement, and the two began their hike down with the rest.
Roy watched them leave silently, then glanced down questioningly at Samus, who was for some odd reason adjusting the boots of her suit. "So... how are we gonna...?"
"Easy." She gestured a finger over her shoulder. "Climb on."
Roy's eyes shifted to the jet boosters upon her back. "...You sure about that? I mean, I know I can't be carried because I need the freedom of my wings, but..."
"I know," Samus replied nonchalantly, turning a couple knobs and screws.
"But the jet boosters..."
"I'm not using the jet boosters." She smirked. "I'm testing out a new feature."
She pressed a switch on the side of her heel, and a column of blue plasma energy poured out of the bottom. Roy stared in surprise.
"Jetboots...?"
"Damn right." She pressed the switch again, and the energy disappeared as she checked it over one last time.
Roy blinked. "What's the difference?"
Samus gave him an inward glance. "Well, for starters, it's on the feet."
Roy rolled his eyes. "Well, no duh."
"Hehe," Samus chuckled as she stood. "Anyways, it not only suspends flight a bit longer, but it also allows me to carry cargo like you without toasting it."
"Ah..." Roy nodded, and in spite of himself, he grinned. "Cool."
"So what're you waiting for? If she's under that nutjob's spell, Ryka won't be saving herself."
With that brought to his mind, Roy grew serious and climbed onto her back, clamping his hands onto her round shoulder pads tightly. With experience, he tilted his wings and tested the wind as Samus lifted up her helmet.
"You can let go when you've got your momentum, right?"
"Yeah."
"Alright." She settled her helmet on, then clicked the heels of her boots together.
As the energy was released, Samus pushed off the cliff, giving her the momentum to shoot upwards like a bullet. Roy almost fell off, but held on with digging fingernails, the back of his body waving like a flag. But his wings were kept stiff, floating above the wind and catching it like a parachute, forcing him to slow down while Samus kept moving forward at an alarming speed. But though Roy's fingers began to slip, he felt completely in control as the graceful feeling of flight began to take hold. So he released his grip with a slight push in order not to strain himself further than he had to, and at last, he was truly in the air.
To Roy, this was the best part about being a dragon. The gargantuan strength and abilities of flame were great and all, but the power of flight was incomparable. The exhilarating feeling of the wind smacking against him and making his hair and clothes dance, the swift speeds he reached, the grand sensation of freedom as all the cares were left on the ground below him... Roy lived for the experience that lifted his heart and freed his soul.
But there would be time for enjoying this wonderful feeling later, as there was a much more dire situation at hand and a task he had to complete. He glanced down briefly at the Smashers, pointing upwards and announcing his presence above them with cheers. Motivated by their encouragement, Roy began his search, scanning the grassy plains with his enhanced eyes for any signs of something odd.
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"Look! There he is!" One of the children Smashers pointed up towards the heavens at the small dot against the navy blue tapestry that flew overhead. They all watched and cheered as Roy circled above them, allowing them to catch up as he searched.
"Wow!" Link grinned, dazzled at the thought of his friend soaring in the sky. Waving, he shouted, "WOO! GO ROY!"
Marth couldn't help but smile and shake his head at the Hylian's carefree behavior, then glanced up himself at the half-dragon as he gave a few flaps of his wings to keep his balance. The prince was amazed himself, remembering how Roy had willed the partial transformation with such ease. He knew the Pherean's love of flying, and now that he could create a good pair of wings anytime he wished, Marth could only imagine how elated he would be when he realized he could now fly whenever he wanted to.
As he was thinking this, he was quietly watching Roy's floating figure, when suddenly he stopped abruptly, suspended by the continuous flap of his wings. It seemed he had spotted what he was looking for as he began to descend towards a high hill not too far away.
"He found it!" someone announced, and the group immediately began to migrate to where Roy had swiftly landed, couching beside the hill and investigating it. The Smashers watched as he leaned on the hill's side, digging his fingers into the dirt and laying down his head as if listening for something. When he was satisfied, he stood and announced, "This is it."
Fox blinked. "You sure?"
"Yep. Jasper sealed it well, but it's here. Now, everyone back off," he ordered, and the Smashers did so without protest. The boy turned back to the hillside, then held out his hands, and with his interior glow lit, a small flame began to grow. But when it reached a medium size, he compressed it with his hands, shaping the fire into a compact ball. Carefully, he set the ball down on the hillside, and it planted itself to the ground like a motion sensor bomb. He stood and took a few steps back, one of his fists clenched as if holding the ball in its form. When he was a safe distance away, he released the fist, and the ball lost its sustenance, exploding in a fiery inferno. Tiny embers leaped onto the grass, igniting small fires here and there, but Roy only had to twirl his fingers, and they snuffed out with trials of smoke. Clouds of kicked-up, charred dirt soon cleared away to reveal an opening, framed with wooden planks, leading downwards like a mining tunnel. If you ignored the burnt edges around the rim, it looked as if this entrance was never covered.
"Ooh..." the Smashers gazed down the tunnel, amazed at how easy it was to find it. They then looked at Roy, who suddenly began to sway dizzily, falling into Marth's arms.
"You alright, Roy?"
"Ugh..." He blinked his eyes rapidly, and his reptilian eyes shifted and became human again. "Unh... I think it wore off."
"The potion?"
"Yeah." Recuperating himself, Roy stood and gazed down the cavern. "But now at least we know where we're going."
"Right on!" Mario trilled, gesturing to the Smashers like a motivated commander leading an army into battle. "Come on, guys! Let's beat that Jasper creep!"
There was a wild cheer, and they all flooded into the entrance like an anxious school of fish. This time, Roy was the one in front of them group, driven on by fierce determination.
Just hang on, Ryka...We're coming!
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A/N: Huzzah! I is almost there!
Ed: Only a few more chapters before we're OUTTA HERE! (does a dance)
Roy: Aw... I don't WANNA go...
Kim: You can stay during the sequel, alright?
Roy: WOOHOO! 8D
Link: Oh, goddesses... ANOTHERstory to spent with him?
Eliwood: (stare) ...Why is it your attitude is totally different from the one in the story?
Link: Because that's HER story. Not mine.
Eliwood: We need like... a personality switch for you.
I'm already working on that! 8D
Eliwood: Hooray!
Link: O.O (growing very afraid)
Review, please! And if you don't mind, could you go look at my other story, Keyhole? It's a joint fic between me and Skye Agony, and has no reviews as of it. I'd really appreciate it!