Hey guys, I managed to get my studying done, And I managed to post this chapter in record time. That's good!
On the the questions.
MikySP: Not Excatly, I plan to touch upon their world in a sequel, perhaps in that story. But it's not what I have planned. i still need to think of how to structure it.
Anyway, back to the story.
Chapter 13: A Toxic Situation
The place known as Tox Falls came into view of the Smashers. However it didn't seem gloomy as Lucario described. There was indeed a power plant but it wasn't abandoned, it seemed to be in good looking condition; the lake was gorgeous. The water being crystal clear; with fish joyful swimming through it. To top it off, the sun could be seen from the entrance, providing a nice sunset for the trophies.
"This is Tox Falls!?" Exclaimed Brawler; shaking his head in disbelief. "How the hell is this dangerous? I don't see why a place like this has a high mortality rate!"
"That's because you're seeing a false image." Said Snake; pulling gas masks from his backpack. Handing them to the rest of the group as they began to put them own. "It's imperative that we put these on."
"Why?"
"Because you are breathing in poison right now." Replied Lucario; attaching the mask to his snout.
"What?!"
"I'll explain in a minute, just put this on." The jackal handed him a spare. "The more exposure you have, the deadlier the side effects will be."
The fist-fighter although skeptical did indeed put the mask on, the area began to morph from beauty into ugliness, and Brawler was stunned to what he saw.
All water sources such as ponds and lakes were polluted, boiling intensely as it glowed brightly with green; the ground and the remaining structures were dulled of their color, with rampant corrosion visible on the surface. Lastly, clouds of ash and vapor covered the sky, the sounds of thunders could be faintly heard from up above. Placing the finishing touches on the grim atmosphere of the land.
"I imagine you're wondering why the appearance of the area changed when you put that gas mask on." Continued the Pokémon. "You see, when the reactors exploded, not only was Tox Falls exposed to high levels of radiation; thousands of chemicals were released into the air. These chemicals are hazardous to living things; causing hallucinations, insomnia, mental degradation, and in some cases. Death."
"Well ain't that something." Sarcastically commented Brawler as he looked on. "This place looks like hell on earth!"
"Yep, sure is" Said Snake, picking up the backpack. "Let's get a move on. The quicker we get this done; the better."
The group walked out into the world, treading on the cracked concrete sidewalk of the plant. They were tracking the signal on Snake's device. Walking towards the direction of where the Newcomer was located.
"So the story is that the all the reactors exploded at once?" Questioned the fist-fighter; looking at his surroundings as he continued to walk.
"We're pretty confident that's what happened; it's been well documented on the information we gathered." Said Marth; his gas mask slightly muffing his voice.
"'Information we gathered?" Replied the puzzled Smasher "You guys didn't witness the actually explosion?"
"No. This happened along time ago; during the Brawl Era" Answered Popo.
"Occurred right before we formed the Super Smash Bros. *sigh* If only we came together sooner we could have prevented this." Lamented Nana; looking at the reactors with sadness.
"There's nothing we could've have done about it, Nana." Said Mewtwo "The best we can do is to give it our all, to use every ounce of our will to prevent these tragedies to ever happen again."
Brawler rolled his eyes, looking away from the creature in disgust. 'Oh please. A bastard like you doesn't deserve the honor of saving people.'
"What was that?" The Pokémon said sharply, the fist-fighter could feel him piercing the back of heads with the white of his eyes. The Mii looked back at Mewtwo in confusion as he said "I beg your pardon?"
"Just because you're not flapping those lips does not mean I can't hear you. A trained telepath can read the thoughts of others, and your thoughts are quite vile if I do so say myself."
"Well those thoughts aren't meant for you to hear." Fired back the Trophy "My mind is a place of privacy and sanctuary; you shouldn't have been snooping around in the first place. Not my fault your little feelings were hurt in the process." Mocked Brawler.
"I think your ego suffered more damage than my emotions." The fighter in red clenched his gloved fist, clenching his teeth in disdain for the Pokémon. He was about to say something in retaliation when a noise got the attention of the group.
"OoooaAAagggHHHh!"
A monster spotted the fighters and alerted its pack of their presence. They began to shamble towards the smashers at a fast pace; with an intention to kill.
They creatures in question looked like walking skeletons. The bones were filled with cracks and grime; the eye sockets glowed red like blood, staring down their potential prey; lastly there was a green glowing aura that shrouded every single one of the monsters. With it being so hot that it left scorched marks on the ground as it moved.
"Ghouls up ahead!" Shouted Marth; unsheathing his falchion.
"Are those the 'unfortunately souls' you talked about earlier Lucario?" The fist-fighter said to the canine.
"Indeed they are." Replied the blue jackal; forming an aura ball in his paws. "These are the very creatures I warned you about! These are one of the most dangerous beings within this area!"
"They don't look so tough!" Said Brawler; forming a metal ball in his hand. "I bet we can take these bastards head on!"
"There's no need for that Brawler." Said Mewtwo. Stepping away from the group as he extended his hand towards the 5 monsters that were coming towards them; with his eyes glowing light blue. The fist-fighter was about to harshly question to what the Pokémon was doing when he noticed the skeleton's change in behavior.
The ghouls were now gripping the skulls in pain, howling in agony as they collapsed to the floor; twitching for several seconds as the green aura dissipated into nothingness.
"Problem solved." Said Mewtwo, as he looked back towards his group. "Five less monsters to deal with."
"What the hell was that!?" Demanded the Mii. 'What did you just did you do to the skeletons!"
"I freed them. They won't be hurting anyone, anymore."
"Freed them?!" Shouted Brawler in confusion. "How the hell did you freed them?!"
"Remembered when I told you that these ghouls were once living and breathing humans?" Lucario asked the Newcomer. "Well. We found out that before they all died from the fallout, they wrote in detail about the stress and misery they experienced from the radiation poisoning in their notes in journals. We found out that it's much easier and more humane to deal with these creatures by making them relieve their last moments before death. This is why we needed Mewtwo on this mission; his telepathic powers are very effective against these monsters."
"Okay, bringing Mewtwo along I understand, but why force them to relive their most painful memories. That doesn't sound humane, much less free them? That's the most back-watered, half-assed thing I ever heard!"
"Brawler. I know it's sounds cruel and unusually to that against these ghouls, but it's the only way of taking them down permanently. They are spiritual tied to their corpse, and they have a strangle hold on it. Forcing them to remember breaks the curse they all have; allowing them to be free of this world. If we just kill them normally like slashing, shooting, or even disintegrating them, then they'll just materialize elsewhere. I feel bad that we have to do this, I hate hurting the animals of this world; even if they attacked me or my crew. I only fight them if I have no other choice. I'm glad that you care for them as well."
"Trust me Lucario, I don't care for these things at all." Replied the Mii, as he looked at the fallen skeletons on the ground. "You should never give your enemies mercy, because they will never give it to you if they had your head within their jaws. The only thing I care for is to know why these creatures are so dangerous. How can something so frail? So weak? Be a major threat to this world?"
"It's because they can potentially kill anything living thing in one hit." Said Snake; putting his handgun back in his holster.
"Kill anything in one hit?" Questioned Brawler.
"Yes. You see, their bones carry a very deadly disease; if they manage to bite or scratch someone. That person will become infected. The virus is a fast-acting one; shutting down major organs and ceasing brain activity in under a minute. That's why these monsters are a major threat. Even though they can't kill us; they can turn us back to our trophy with only a couple of attacks. Even though we can be defeated easily; they can take us down just as fast."
"So they're glass cannons. That's fine, I can handle these freaks. I bet I can probably snap their spine in half with only my hands."
"You should never underestimate your opponent Brawler, you don't know what tricks they have un-" Said Lucario before he was interrupted.
"'Under their sleeve'." Yeah, I heard that crap before; you don't need to shove it down my throat every time I brag. Just put a sock in it. I can handle myself just fine."
"Didn't you get beat up by Peach so bad that you had nightmares about her?" Said Marth.
Brawler gave the prince the stink eye "I thought we all agree to never talk about that again."
"That's enough chit-chat." Said Mewtwo as he turned to Snake. "How close is the target?"
"According to the tracker it's only a mile away from here."
"Then let's pick up our speed; it's wise not to stay in one place for too long."
The Smashers sprinted over to the dam, hoping to find the Newcomer in time.
When the fighters arrived to their destination, they came across a huge dam, about the height of a skyscraper. Despite its structure being old and withered; it was still standing.
On the very bottom of the dam, leaks of glowing green contaminated water flowed from large open cracks; the poisonous liquid pouring into a large pond. The water was so murky and dirty that it was impossible to see more than a couple of inches.
Right next to the pond, was a woman; sitting cross-legged on the ground; seemly meditating. The woman skin was white as snow; giving the appearance of a mannequin. She also wore dark grey yoga pants and a blue athletic tank top with the words Wii Fit written in white on the front of the shirt.
"Do you think that's the Newcomer?" Said Marth.
"She has to be, the device is pointing right towards her." Replied Snake.
The women overheard the voices nearby and open her eyes. Upon seeing the trophies she smiled and gave a friendly wave. "Hello there, Nice day we're having." Said the woman; changing her current pose to do some push ups. "Care to join me for some yoga?"
The team were stayed silent, not sure how to react. The silence was broken when Brawler whispered to the group, asking. "Why the hell is she exercising in a place like this? She must be very brave, or very stupid."
"She probably doesn't realize the situation she's in." Lucario telepathically said to his teammate. "The air is most likely making her to hallucinate her surroundings. Let's bring her back to reality."
The group walked over to the woman; with the jackal stepping forward, saying: "Excuse me, Miss! You're in grave danger. You are currently in a hazardous area. You need to come with us so we can escort you out of this place."
"Huh?" The Woman stopped what she was doing and rose to her feet. She rubbing her eyes to see what was in front of her. She couldn't see clearly because the strangers were far away, but now they were up-close.
She couldn't believe what she saw: there was a blue jackal, a solider, a man with black hair, two Eskimos, and some strange purple creature, all wearing gas masks over their faces. Think that this was some strange dream; she shook her head and played along.
"Um…What? I'm in danger? What on earth are you talking about? I'm only near the waterfall, keeping my distance. How is that dangerous?" The woman gestured towards the dam. The effects of the contaminated air making her see a beautiful waterfall instead.
"Listen. Miss…uhh?"
"Fit." Answered the Woman. "Wii Fit"
"Well Wii Fit. I know you may find it hard to believe, but you are currently being poisoned right now. You need to put this on and come with us. It's the upmost of importance." Lucario took another gas mask from the backpack; handing it to the white woman.
Wii Fit was hesitant to putting the mask on, taking a step back whiles looking at the group in confusion. "Poisoned!? What do you mean? I feel perfectly fine! I don't feel sick at all!"
"There's no time to explain!" Butted Snake. You're hallucinating right now, what you seeing isn't real. This mask will prevent you from getting anymore sicker." As he talked; something white and dirty slowly emerged from the pond; looking straight at the Smashers; it began to slowly move towards the group.
"Look! I don't know who you are or what you're doing, but you're making me feel uncomfortable!" Said the newcomer; taking a few steps backs. "I find it hard to believe that I'm in danger. Just look around me, there's nothing wrong. I'm sorry, but I'm not putting that thing on. I don't know-"
"Argh! Screw this!" Said Brawler; snatching the gas mask and walking over towards Wii Fit. "I'll handle this!"
"Hey! What do you think you're-" Before the woman could react; the fist-fighter grabbed the Newcomer's head, and forcefully attached the mask to her face. The fitness instructor freaked out, she tried to take off it, but stopped in her tracks to what she saw.
The peaceful scenery she saw before turned into a hellish nightmare; The lively green grass morphed into dead yellow weeds; the sky became cloudy and misty; and the waterfall wasn't even a waterfall anymore, it had turned into a huge dam; soaring high into the air.
"Why'd did you do that Brawler!?"
"She wasn't going to put on the mask Lucario! I took matters into my own hands."
"You might have compromised the mission, you can't just-"
"WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WATERFALL?!" Wii Fit Shouted over to the Smashers. "WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?!"
"The people trying to save you." Snake said; getting the Newcomer's attention. "As we said before, you were breathing poison. The effects of the chemicals caused you to hallucinate your surroundings. We came here to rescue you from this place. It's very dangerous. Not only is it radioactive; it also contains deadly monsters."
"Monsters?" Said the instructor, she was about to ask what he meant, when all of a sudden; nana pointed a finger at her and screamed. To see what the fuss was about, Wii Fit turned around and saw a walking. Living. Skeleton it's eye glowed red as it shambled towards her. In her fright, she turned around to run away, but was stopped moving when Snake pointed a gun at her.
She raised her hands up in the air; pleading to Snake. "Wait! Don't Shoot!"
"GET DOWN!" Shouted the solider, lining up his sights at the monster. Wii Fit ducked to the ground, giving Snake the chance to fire his gun. The bullet pierced right through the Skeleton's skull; allowing the ghoul to fall to the ground; twitching sporadically. Mewtwo focused his telepathy on it and released the soul trapped within the corpse; taking it down permanently.
Wii Fit looked at the skeleton for a couple of moments before turning to Snake. "Was that the monsters you been talking about?"
"Yes, these are one of the many creatures that inhabit this land; if you want to stay in one piece. You're going to have to come with us."
The woman was in a state of shock, not knowing what to do in this situation. She quickly regained her composure however; and went up to the group. "Alright, I believe you. Let's get out of here before we're put in more danger!"
"Alright then." Said Marth; taking out a compass and examining it. "Follow us, Miss Fit. The exit is close by, stay close."
The Smashers were about the leave the area, but stopped in their tracks when they heard water splashing behind them. They turned around to see more skeletons emerged from the pond, their teeth clenched with a primal rage as they moved towards them; there were at least five of them.
"More ghouls!" Said Popo.
"Let's book it!" Shouted Nana.
The fighters tried to ran away from the pond, but was blocked by 5 more skeletons; glowing green with madness. All 10 monsters surrounded them in a circle; trapping them. They approached slowly; their groans and moans getting louder by the second.
"Where did they come from?!" Shouted Marth.
"We don't have the time for this!" Angry commented Brawler.
"Everyone, listen up!" Lucario Telepathically shouted. "We can let them corner us! Get in ring formation and take these monsters down! Don't let them break the circle!"
Everyone except Wii Fit nodded, getting into their fighting stance. Marth and the Ice climbers were the first to go; the twins came up to two of the ghouls. The both of them leaned against each other, back-to-back. The sibling spun around in a circle as they slammed both of their hammers into the each of the skeleton's shins; breaking their femur as they fell to the ground. To finish the job, the Eskimos raised their hammers and smashed both of the monster's skulls to pieces; incapacitating them for the count.
A lone ghoul tried to sneak up on the two but was stopped when a sword pierce through the monster's mouth. The Ice climbers turned around to see Marth sliding the skeleton of his Falchion, giving the two a thumbs up, to which the twins returned the gesture.
Next was Lucario, Brawler, and Mewtwo; up against 4 of the ghouls. One of the skeletons did the first attack, trying to slash the fist-fighter with its claws. The Mii however dodge the swing; counter attacking with an uppercut the spine. The punch separated the ghoul in half; with the upper-half flying a couple of feet away.
Lucario used his extreme speed to get behind one of the skeletons; using his Force Palm; he shot a short blast of blue aura at monster; disintegrating it to pieces. Another ghoul tried to sneak up behind him, however, the canine notice it approaching; he grabbed the bony attacker at the neck, he then coursed his aura into the enemy, incapacitating it with extreme prejudice.
After he was done taking down the fiend, he looked over to his right where he saw Mewtwo telekinetically suspending a skeleton above the ground, after he was done using his telepathy on it, he tossed it to the ground; when he was finished, he teleported near the jackal, asking "I can see you're managing yourself fine Lucario." "As do I, my feline friend." Replied the blue canine; looking into Mewtwo's eyes.
Brawler was walking over to the bisected skeleton, ready to stomp his head in until he heard a loud deafening shriek. He turned his head around to see Snake and Wii Fit fighting up against 3 ghouls. The solider pulled out his Socom and aimed at their heads. He fired two bullets; each going to their respective monster's head; taking them out of commission.
He was going to kill the last ghoul when heard a click from his pistol, he widened his eyes in surprise 'the gun is empty, I'm out of bullets!' thought Snake, he then saw the skeleton; coming awfully close to his face. He used his firearm to pistol whip the monster but it proved to be ineffective. In response; his enemy tackled him to the cold hard ground.
Snake struggled to push the skeleton off him as it tried to take a bite out of his flesh; trying all in his power to not get attacked.
Brawler was so distracted; he didn't notice the bisected skeleton crawling towards him. It grabbed a hold on one of his legs and took a big chomp out of his ankle, causing the fist-fighter to howl in pain.
"BRAWLER!" Exclaimed Lucario, his adrenaline began to rise when he saw the Mii getting injured by the monster. The jackal and the Psychic began to move to the puncher when they were suddenly blocked by 3 more skeletons.
"We don't have the time for this!" Shouted the blue Pokémon; raising his fist shining with aura.
Before he can act, he felt a Mewtwo resting a paw on his shoulder, he turned around to see a determined expression on his face; saying "I handle them. Just go!"
The jackal nodded, he ran as he jumped over the ghouls; leaving Mewtwo behind as he went to save Brawler. The fist-fighter shouted in agony again when the monster clenched harder on his ankle, refusing to let go. The Mii tried to kick it off him but to no avail. He then saw Lucario run up to him; taking a firm grasp on the skeletons broken spine. "LET HIM GO YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Yelled Lucario; managing to pull the creature of the fighter. When the monster was off of Brawler; he gave a fierce stomp onto its head; killing it temporary. The canine then ran over to Brawler, kneeling over him as he began to examine him.
Elsewhere, Snake was desperately trying to get the skeleton off him but to no success. In his struggle, he notice something metal in the distance, he turned his head slightly to see his army combat knife lying near him; it must have fallen out when that ghoul tackled him to the ground.
The solider extended a free hand towards the knife, but was unable to grasp due to it being out of reach, he then looked over to the fitness instructor; panicking from the intense stakes of the situation.
"FIT!" shouted Snake, getting the attention of the white woman "My knife! Give it to me!" Snake was losing his strength against the creature, who was only a breath away from his face.
Wii Fit was frozen with shock; she hasn't been in a situation like this, she not a fighter! She can't do this!
The ghoul was even closer, only slightly brushing his teeth against his cheek. "NOW FIT!' Pleaded the solider; the man's arms would begin to give any second now.
Wii Fit, despite her petrifying fear; she obeyed the Smashers order. The Newcomer picked up the knife and tossed it over to him; Snake barely managing to grasp the weapon. He grasped the handle with the last of his remaining strength and dove the blade right to the monsters temple.
Upon penetration, the skeleton stopped his assault; lying motionless on the man's chest. Snake pushed the creature off of him; taking a few forced breaths before resting silently on the ground.
"Are you okay mister?" Said Wii Fit, clearly worried about his condition. "I'm fine!...I'm fine." Responded the solider; slowly rising to his feet to face the woman. "You did good Fit; you did good." Said Snake, as he looked around his area; there was no more of the creatures around them; clear sign that they survived to live another day.
"Man! That was a close one Mister…?"
"Snake. Solid Snake." Answered the solider; offering a hand shake, to which the woman accepted.
Before any of them could speak any further, a voice was heard throughout their minds. "Snake! Wii Fit!" Someone was telepathically speaking to them, they turned around to see Mewtwo in the distance; floating several inches off the ground.
"Mewtwo! Are you alright?" Questioned the solider.
"I'm fine, Brawler however, got bit."
"Got bit? What does that mean?" Said Wii Fit Trainer.
"Where is he!?" Shouted Snake.
"He's right there!" Answered Mewtwo; pointing over to Lucario kneeling over the fist-fighter.
"Oh crap, we got to help him. Come on!" The solider said to his comrades; the three of them sprinting over to the downed fighter. Brawler felt disoriented from the pain in his ankle; despite the fact that he was a Smasher, and can't get physically injured. It still hurt likes hell!
"How much does it hurt?" The Lucario asked the Mii.
"Ugh…feels like my foot's on fire, but I'll manage."
"Nonsense, You could've have taken a lot of percent from the bite alone! Where is Snake? SNAKE!" The canine shouted around his area; to which a certain bearded solider responded.
"I'M HERE!" Yelled Snake; kneeling right next to Lucario, as the rest of the group huddled around in a circle. "How bad was the bite?"
"Brawler told it bitten him once!"
"That's not that bad. This should heal him up!" Snake pulled a something from the zipper of his backpack. It was a tomato, with a big black "M" on the front of it. Brawler looked at the fruit with suspicion, until Snake continued talking.
"It's called a Maxim Tomato; it's supposed to reduce percent. Here. Just take a bite out of it." The fist-fighter, slowly took the food, and put it in his mouth; taking a huge bite out of it.
Almost immediately he felt relieved, as if a huge weight has been removed from his body. Marth Came up to the Mii and help him up to his feet. "You're okay Brawler?" Asked the blue-haired prince.
"Yeah, I'm fine; just pissed off!" Answered the Newcomer; dusting his pants from the dirt he fell on.
"That's great, now that we defeated all the ghouls. I suggest that we leave; we don't want any more casualties, now would we?" Said Mewtwo; channeling his telepathic powers into the remains of the dead skeletons; killing them permanently.
Murmurs of agreement sounded through the crowd; they were just about ready to leave, when they suddenly heard a series of very loud beeps; coming from the top of the dam; they turned around to something blinking red on the upper surface of the structure. The light was so intense it could be seen with naked eyes.
Snake pulled a pair of binoculars from his pack and took a look, what he saw surprised him. There was a device firmly attached to the concrete of the dam; it looks like a glass jar, with wires running from a silver box fused to the bottom of the cylinder; into the container; the metal stands being submerged in an indefinable blue liquid.
There was something else in the jar; inside the blue liquid was a red glowing object. The light it was giving off made it impossible to describe its form.
"What is it?" Said Nana.
"It's so bright!" Commented Popo.
"It appears to be a machine of some kind." Answered Snake; giving the binoculars to Lucario.
"A Machine?" Asked Wii Fit.
"Yeah it looks like a jar of with some blue liquid inside it. It looks brand new; someone has deliberately place that on there. I wonder why-"
"Hey! It's Changing!" Shouted the canine; looking through the binoculars.
"What do you mean it's changing?" Said Marth.
"The light! It's beeping faster. Look!" Answered Lucario; pointing to the dam. Everyone look at the light to see it indeed beeping at a faster pace. It stay liked that for several seconds before turning green. Afterwards it let off a huge explosion; the shockwave sending the fighters on their backs.
Right where the light used to be were a series of huge cracks; the containement water beginning to seep from the fissures. "It's Leaking!" Exclaimed Marth; looking at the damaged dam.
"If we don't do anything soon, it's going to break!" Shouted Snake. "We got to do something!"
"We don't have the time for this; why not just leave!" Questioned Brawler. "The exit is close by! If we hurry it up, we can make it time!"
"You don't understand Brawler! Tox Falls is nearby the WOT's biggest rivers. If that dam falls, the pollution will spread from this area to the land's water sources! It'll be a ecological nightmare! We must fix this now!' Said Lucario; charging up his aura.
"But how on earth are we going to seal up the cracks?!" Asked Wii Fit; being clearly distressed. Mewtwo was brainstorming; trying to think of a plan when he suddenly got an idea.
"We can use the Ice Climbers to freeze up the cracks; that way we can seal up the damage!" The Pokémon said; looking over to the twins.
"That's a smart plan! Ice Climbers! Do you think you're up for this!?" The Solider asked the siblings.
The Nana and Popo gave a salute. "You can count on us Mr. Snake!" The both of them said in perfect synchronization.
"But how are we going to get up there? It's so high up!" Said Brawler; more cracks forming on the dam. The team looked for possible way up, before Wii Fit Said "There!"
She was pointed to an elevator; it was right next to the pond. It seemed to lead right up to the damaged area. Despite looking old and rusted, it seemed to be in working condition.
"Good Job, Fit!" Said Snake before turning to the rest of the Smashers. "Listen! Everybody! We need to get to that elevator before it's too late. We can not afford that dam to fall. Come on!'
The group hollered with confidence as they began to sprint towards the elevator, hoping to save the world from a horrible disaster.