Hey guys! Sorry about the longer than normal wait. I'm still alive, but insanely busy as of late. However, I'm back at the end of this month to bring out a brand new chapter ready for you all to read! This wraps up another section of the story as we see another group that hasn't shown up in a while. As always, don't forget to fave, follow, and review! Now, without further ado, let's get into this chapter!
Holy Mountains, World of Light
The Toad Brigade ship landed in the snowy region of Galeem's world where they would be isolated from the Lord of Light.
When every fighter got out of the vehicle, they were instantly relieved by the wide open spaces of the mountain range. Even if it was freezing.
Sonic was the first one to feel the weather of the region. "Wow, it's cold out here!... I knew I should've brought a parka."
"Don't-a worry." Responded Mario as he was gathering nearby firewood. "I'll get us a fire going."
Wolf went off on his own, but found something that could benefit the group as a whole. "Hey everyone! I found a cave we could set up shop in!"
This prompted everyone to converge on Wolf's position with Mario's fireballs and Rosalina's Lumas lighting the way further into the cave.
It wasn't a long enough cavern, but it was wide enough to hide the Toad Ship with enough room to spare.
Once a decent flame got started from Mario's fireballs, everyone gathered around it to stave off the cold as much as possible.
However, Falco was still inside the heated Toad Ship within the cave, fixing R.O.B.'s programming.
Once the plumber got inside, he was surprised. There were tools spread everywhere, along with parts of R.O.B.'s minister armor that were stripped away. "I see you're hard at-a work."
"It looks like a tornado touched down in here." Added Cappy.
Falco was busy with R.O.B., but acknowledged the plumber and hat's presence. "I'm just trying to get rid of R.O.B.'s new programming and bring him back to his old self. Hopefully that happens soon."
"Okey dokey." Responded Mario. "I won't-a disturb you. Just-a do what you can."
Falco soon got back to work, for all he cared about was bringing R.O.B. back. Mario didn't want to bother him any longer, so he left and rejoined the others.
When he got back out, he could see the less than ideal shape the group was in.
Samus, in her zero suit once more, was laying on the rocky cavern ground with a worried Pikachu by her side. The bounty hunter was in and out of consciousness while her armor was depleted of power, slowly recharging with each passing hour. Lucario was also by her side, providing necessary healing to her body.
Rosalina was still worried about the safety of her remaining Lumas, but tried to hide it from the rest of the group.
Finally, Wolf and Sonic were playing a round of rock paper scissors to pass the time, knowing full well there wasn't anything else to do,
As Mario was about to head toward the fire, a sudden rumbling shook the mountains they were on.
"Is this a quake?" Said Wolf with extreme uncertainty and worry.
As everyone else was confused, Rosalina immediately looked up in the sky to see a large Lightspace warship touch down on the lower flat mountain ridges, several miles from where the group was.
The rest of the group saw the ship land under the trees, hidden from view. Understandably, the heroes immediately got worried that the enemy had already found them.
Falco also got out of the Toad ship after hearing the commotion happening outside. "Is that what I think it is?"
"Indeed." Said Rosalina. "Galeem has already found us."
"Well, we're on his planet after all." Added Wolf.
"What do we do?" Asked Sonic.
Lucario was thinking a little bit before coming up with a plan. "We should send a small scouting team to the ship's landing site. If it's an enemy, the team will not, under any circumstances, engage it. They will head back to the camp immediately and let us know what is there."
"Good plan, but who's gonna be a part of the team?" Asked Wolf.
Lucario didn't take long to respond with his answers. "Sonic, Pikachu, and Rosalina should go."
This caught the cosmic princess off guard. "I figured you'd send Sonic and Pikachu, but why me?"
"I believe you can provide support, strategy, and morale for the other two." Replied the fighting type Pokemon.
Rosalina was alright with this answer. "Okay. I accept your plan."
"What will the rest of us do?" Asked Wolf.
Lucario was quick to respond. "We all have a role to play in keeping this cave safe from the enemy. You will keep watch while Mario keeps us warm with a fire. Falco will continue to work on R.O.B.. Finally, I will watch over Samus and keep recuperating her from her last battle."
"Alright! That sounds like a good enough plan to me!" Replied Sonic. "We'll be back before you know it!"
With that last piece of reassurance from the Blue Blur, Sonic went down the mountain first with Pikachu and Rosalina immediately following the warm trail of steam the hedgehog left behind.
"Don't-a fail us, guys." Said Mario in a worried tone.
Lower Vanilla Slopes, World of Light
Lucas, Red, and Mewtwo were securing their landing on the bottom boreal forest of the mountain range before exiting out of the enemy warship.
Red was the first to get out of the vessel, only to be greeted by a cold breeze and nearby falling snow. "Wow! This place is freezing!"
"Don't worry." Responded Lucas. "I can use PK Fire to keep us warm."
The PSI wielder then looked toward Mewtwo, who seemed really pensive, before experiencing a sudden shock. "Lucas! Red! Get down!"
Before the psychic could do anything, he was struck in the torso with a spinning blue ball.
The ball then backed away and turned into a blue hedgehog. However, he ceased his attack when he saw Lucas and Red. Fighters the speedster recognized from the Subspace War.
Sonic saw the two fighters helping Mewtwo up from the blow he took, and immediately realized what he did. "Ooh. Didn't see you there Lucas... You too Red. Sorry about hitting your friend guys. My bad."
The psychic was understandably enraged by what Sonic did. "How dare you attack me!"
Luckily, Lucas and Red kept him from hurting the hedgehog. "Stop, Mewtwo! He's an ally!"
"Yeah! He only hit you because he didn't recognize who you were right?" Asked Lucas as he turned his head toward Sonic.
The hedgehog initially hesitated, but ultimately nodded in response.
Pikachu and Rosalina soon caught up to the commotion. Lucas and Red noticed them, and were confused. Mewtwo also noticed them, but his mood was completely shifted once he saw Pikachu.
The electric type first saw Red, and recognized from his attire that he was a trainer.
"Pikachu?" Muttered the electric type in curiosity.
Red looked at the Pikachu and was immediately confused. "What's a Pikachu doing on an unknown planet? Never mind that. What are you doing here, Sonic? And why's a Gardevoir tagged along with you?"
Rosalina was confused but decided to speak up. "How do you know these people, Sonic?"
Sonic immediately decided to clear things up and proceeded to fill in Rosalina about the Subspace War, as well as explain to Lucas, Red, and Mewtwo on the situation the rest of the group was in.
This got the trio confused and even worried, but ultimately remained confident that they had hope lying in the belly of the beast, waiting for the right opportunity to make their move.
"What the hedgehog just explained to you isn't the full story either." Added Rosalina. "I also had an encounter with Galeem."
The cosmic princess then decided to fill in the others on how Galeem attacked her group and also how the Lord of Light stole the power core of the Comet Observatory.
After Rosalina finished her explanation, Lucas, Red, and Mewtwo were curious about the development.
"So Galeem is after power too, and is gathering as much as possible." Surmised Mewtwo.
"Sounds like that to me." Added Red. "I mean, he's got a huge army after all."
Lucas got increasingly worried. "Still though, we have to find a way to stop him here and now."
"Do not worry." Replied Rosalina. "We have people higher up on the mountains. I can take us over there so that we can all be in one place."
"Who's all over there?" Asked Red.
Sonic was undoubtedly quick to respond with a smirk. "You'll see." Replied the hedgehog before getting into a running position. "Let's head back up!"
The Blue Blur then sped up the mountain slopes with an instant with the rest of the group following behind.
Inside the Toad Ship, Vanilla Mountain Peaks
Falco was working on R.O.B.'s programming for hours. He was successful in preserving the robot's old memories, but there was a lot of corrupted data he needed to get rid of. Undoubtedly Galeem's doing. "Come on… Come back to me, old friend."
When he tweaked a few more circuits and reconfigured a couple more wires, the Star Fox pilot was more than confident that his friend was mostly free of Galeem's influence.
Just when he was about to perform some final adjustments, he heard commotion coming from outside the cave. Falco made his way over there and left R.O.B. on the center table, still possessing some of his Ancient Minster exo-parts.
However, just when the pilot exited the vessel, the robot's eyes started to blink on in a blue color. "Reboot completed."
Falco got to where the rest of the fighters were, and saw three new faces who took him by surprise. Two of them he recognized from the Subspace War, but he didn't know about the one that looked almost catlike.
"What's going on?" Asked the Star Fox Pilot.
"We just got some new help!" Answered Sonic. "I'm sure you recognize them."
Falco then looked at the three individuals coming on the mountain. However, he only recognized two of them. "Of course I recognize Lucas and Red, but what about the cat there?"
Mewtwo heard what the pilot said, and decided to clear things up with the rest of the group. "My name is Mewtwo. I am a Legendary Pokemon that has chosen to be on your side against Galeem."
"Legendary huh?" Said Wolf. "Let's see you live up to that, pussycat."
"Don't-a mind him." Chimed Mario almost immediately. "We're-a glad to have-a you on board!"
The plumber then stretched out his right hand in a handshake gesture.
Mewtwo obliged without hesitation, indicating that he was more than ready to help the team in any way he could.
Meanwhile, Red got a good look at Samus, who was still lying down after her battle with Dark Samus.
"What's wrong with her?" Asked Red.
Lucario was quick to explain. "She's lost consciousness after a horrible battle just a few hours ago."
"I think I may be able to help." Said Lucas as he got closer to the zero suited bounty hunter.
Once he was close enough, the PSI wielder stretched his hand across Samus's chest as it lit in a white aura. "Heal!"
This light shone for a few more seconds until it finally faded away. Once it did, Samus opened her eyes and looked around her.
After she took a few deep breaths, she attempted to speak. Albeit with a little confusion. "What… happened?"
"We're still on the World of Light." Responded Lucario. "We're just in a region of the world free from Galeem's reach for the moment."
Memories of the previous battle soon came back to the recovering bounty hunter. "Where's… my evil twin?"
The aura Pokemon explained what he saw back on the Shining Volcano. "She was disintegrated by your blast. It's likely we won't run into her again."
"Don't count on it." Responded Samus. "She's just as persistent as my other enemy, and that monster's been after me since I was a kid."
"You're talking about Ridley right?" Said Falco as he was approaching Samus and the others.
The bounty hunter nodded back to confirm the Star Fox Pilot's question.
"Can you stand?" Asked Falco.
Lucario was quick to answer. "It will take her some time for her to fully stand and fight without any additional support. Lucas's healing didn't fully restore her injuries. It only sped up the mending process."
"I see." Said the Star Fox pilot to himself.
Three hours later
As everyone was gathering around the fire to warm up, Lucario decided to speak up about the next plan of action the group needed to take. "We can't run from Galeem forever, guys. I believe we should form a plan for how we can stop him once and for all. No more innocents should be harmed on any world he comes across."
"How can we stop something that's powerful enough to change the entire galaxy?" Asked Rosalina. "He stole my observatory's power after all."
"And he'll steal more power if we don't take a stand." Said a new voice.
Everyone looked in the voice's direction and saw that it was coming from the Toad ship. However, at a closer inspection, they saw their old friend R.O.B. with minimal Minster parts attached to him.
"R.O.B!" Said Falco. "You're back!"
Mario, Lucario, Samus, Pikachu, Lucas, and Red all experienced similar excitement about their rebooted friend.
"I'm-a glad you're-a back with us, R.O.B.!" Said Mario.
"Thank you. I can see you're all excited to see me free from Galeem's influence. To put it more simply, I was never really gone." R.O.B. then turned his head toward Falco. "I have you to thank for bringing me back, Falco. Without you, I would've remained hostile towards every one of you."
"I'm just happy you're with us again!" Responded Falco.
"I know, but we can save the celebration after we beat Galeem." Said R.O.B..
This statement got everyone back on the mindset that would help them against the Lord of Light.
"I have knowledge about Galeem that you all may not know about." Explained the robot. "To put it more shortly, I know how to defeat him."
"What do you know?" Asked Sonic.
R.O.B. was quick to explain. "When I was under Galeem's control, I carried out his every order unwillingly, but I could remember everything. It was like being a prisoner inside your own body. Because of that though, I retained enough information about Galeem, his forces, and his base to use against him."
Falco and Wolf then remembered about the fortress they escaped from.
"You said you knew his base right? We can infiltrate it and stop Galeem where he stands." Declared Falco.
"Yeah." Added Wolf. "Don't you have the schematics of that fortress laid in your memory?"
After scanning through his artificial mind, R.O.B. could provide an answer. "I do. Among so much more that the Lord of Light possesses. Most importantly though, I know his goal."
"What is it?" Asked Lucas.
R.O.B. was hesitant at first, but decided to oblige with giving the hard truth. "Complete power for universal subjugation and absolute order. He has a process for achieving this goal. He calls it 'purification.'"
"That makes sense." Chimed in Rosalina. "He stole the Comet Observatory's power to increase his own."
"That was but one of the few viable sources of power for Galeem to fully consume." Explained the robot. "Two more of these sources are targeted at the moment. If Galeem absorbs both of them, another event similar to the Great Light Convergence would occur. Only this time, we would all be under his control. His puppets to use as he sees fit. It is absolutely imperative that we keep him away from these power sources at all costs."
"What are these sources?" Asked Samus. "I know he's not after Phazon or Rosalina's Observatory anymore, but what more can he get?"
"These sources both resided on the World of Trophies. However, according to my last memory recording, a Lightspace Warship is bringing one of them here. The source itself is a creature of great size that has enough power to supply an entire city." Continued R.O.B..
"Then we have to stop it from getting it to Galeem." Said Lucario.
"Not quite." Answered the robot. "He will absorb the creature's power through a conduit that he has stationed in a power plant a few miles from the fortress. Once the creature's power is inside the conduit, it will shoot out into a stream of light that will head straight to Galeem, regardless of where he is on the planet."
"So we destroy the conduit and Galeem can't get his power. Is that it?" Asked Sonic.
R.O.B. showed some admiration for the hedgehog's enthusiasm before answering his response. "It is not so simple, Sonic. The conduit is a highly durable alloy, along with being protected by an indestructible barrier. Only I have the codes to bypass the barrier and permanently deactivate the entire plant. Only when I achieve that directive will Galeem's threat end."
"So what's-a the plan?" Asked Mario.
"Now that you've given us a lot more information, R.O.B., I suggest we take a two pronged approach to this." Inquired Lucario.
Wolf grew intrigued at the aura Pokemon's suggestion. "How's that gonna work?"
"One team will enter the plant and permanently deactivate the conduit that will provide Galeem his power." Said Lucario. "The other team will provide a distraction for Galeem and keep him busy there until the conduit is destroyed. Once it is, we will all go to where Galeem is and destroy him once and for all. He can't handle every one of us."
Red decided to speak up. "Hold on, Lucario. Who's gonna be on which team?"
"I believe the best power plant team will consist of you, R.O.B., Lucas, Wolf, and Pikachu. Just because it's not the fortress doesn't mean there will not be enemies." Proposed the Aura Pokemon.
"So this-a means the rest of us are going to be on the distracting-a team." Surmised Mario. "I have-a no objections to that-a plan."
The plumber then looked toward each one of his comrades. "How about the rest of-a you?"
Everyone responded with a nod, indicating they were up to the challenge.
As the group was about to disperse, something slipped Cappy's mind. "Hold on, R.O.B.. You mentioned there were two power sources right? What's the other one?"
R.O.B. realized he forgot to explain the other source, and his robotic mind was briefly overwhelmed with shock. "I apologize. It slipped my circuits. The second power source is a human being of great power that is considered among the residents of the World of Trophies as a powerful deity. Galeem's underlings attempted to capture this being before, but somehow escaped. According to my most recent knowledge, this deity is either deceased, or living among the residents of the World of Trophies. If it is the latter outcome,I doubt Galeem will attempt to capture the being again without going to extreme lengths.
"I see." Thought Lucas. "I hope nothing more happens to the residents in the World of Trophies. They can't afford to go through another war again."
Lucario then put his paw on the PSI wielder's shoulder. "Trust me. I'm confident it will not come to that."
Lucas felt reassured after hearing the fighting type's encouragement. "Thanks."
"I suggest you all get some rest." Proposed R.O.B. "I may not need it, but you organic beings do."
The robot then went back inside the Toad Ship and put his systems on sleep mode.
Everyone in the group heeded R.O.B.'s word and soon found resting places all along the mountain.
Mario, Sonic, Lucario, Lucas, and Red all slept around the fire which would last them through the night. Samus was sleeping along with them as well with Pikachu curled up in Samus's lap.
Meanwhile, Falco, and Wolf decided to sleep inside the Toad Brigade Ship along with R.O.B..
As they all slept through the night, each of them possessed an unbreakable resolve. A resolve that will never stop until they put an end to Galeem's reign for good.