Chapter 14: Boss Battle: The Dam
The Smashers fastened their pace to reach the elevator; with Marth, repeatedly tapping the button to activate the machine. When the doors finally opened, the fighters were shocked to what they found.
The interior was heavily degraded than the exterior. Corrosion was rampant, taking its toll on the metal framing of the elevator; giving it dark red color similar to blood. The windows had many cracks on its crystal clear surface; the slightest nudge could break the glass into many small pieces. Finally, elevator's carpeted floor has rotted away; leaving a thin metal grating in its place. If the fighters didn't know any better, they would assume it came straight out of a horror movie.
"This elevator looks worse than it did on the outside! Is it even functioning anymore?" Said Wii Fit Trainer.
Snake ran inside and observed the button panel. There was only six inputs:
(3)
(2)
(1)
(GL)
(- -) (- -)
The solider moved his finger to the top button, pressing against it as hard as he could. The knob immediately began to light up; a clear sign to show it was still working. The doors began to slide inwards, but was stopped by Snake; who put a held a hand against the right door; preventing it from closing.
"It's still working!" Said the solider; gesturing the others to come inside. "Come on! We got no time to waste!"
"Are you crazy?!" Shouted Brawler. "This elevator looks like it's about to fall apart! We can't ride it!"
After the fist-fighter was done talking, a loud sound could be heard from above. The group looked up to see that cracks on the dam had expanded slightly; small chunks of rock falling to the ground down below.
"There's no other way Brawler!" Mewtwo said to the Newcomer. "That dam could fall any minute; this is the best option we have! Now shut up and get on!"
The trophies scramble to get inside the machine. "Damn it." The Mii said to himself before he joined the rest of his teammates. Snake then let go of the door, allowing it to close. The elevator than began roar to life; gears and electrical buzzing could be heard as the cab was moving upwards towards the sky.
"So how the hell would freezing the damage on the dam solve this problem?" The fist-fighter said to the group of fighters "It'll probably work temporary, sure! But what happens when the ice finally melts? Our hard work would be undone, and the world would suffer anyway; making this whole entire plan useless."
"No need to worry Brawler!" The jackal telepathically said to the Newcomer. "I'll be assisting in sealing the cracks as well. My powers would also be needed in fixing the damage."
"Oh really?" The trophy said with skepticism. "How so?"
"One of the applications of Aura Manipulation includes inserting your own aura into: objects, locations, and even living things." Continued Lucario. "Once the Ice Climbers is finished with their task of freezing the fractured area, I'll channel my aura into the ice; enchanting it so that there will never rise in temperature, it'll maintains it's form, and be resistant to tampering."
"In other words; inserting my aura into the ice will prevent it from melting, it will simply last forever."
"You can do that?!" Brawler said with a surprised look on his face.
Despite the severity of the situation; the jackal couldn't help but chuckle "Yes I can do that. It's an advanced technique to pull off, but I've done enough training to know my limits. Just stay on guard, and let the twins and I do the work."
"Huh, and here I thought you were just boring stooge, I got to admit, that's quite…awesome." Said Brawler; trying his best to hide his smile. "Do you think you can teach me that?"
"Sorry Brawler, but I don't think that's likely; the Lucario's most profound trait is to control aura. It's not something that can be taught on a chalkboard. And even then it takes: self-control, relentless training, and being at inner peace with yourself to able to develop such abilities. If you like, I can settle you with some spiritual meditation when this is over."
"Um…yeah, I'll pass." Said Brawler; now losing interest in the conversation.
"Whiles the group was conversing, Marth notice something out in the distance, he squinted his eyes to see tiny specks flying in the air. He took his pair of binoculars and took a look, and was shocked to what he saw.
"Hey guys, we have company." The prince unsheathed his sword, preparing his stance for the upcoming fight.
"What now?" Replied Snake; upholstering his pistol. "Who's paying us a visit?"
"Bird Ghouls." Said Mewtwo; forming a shadow ball in his paws.
"Bird Ghouls?" Questioned the fist-fighter; taking the binoculars from Marth to take a look.
There was a flock of avian-like creatures heading their way. Just like the skeletons, they were void of flesh and blood; their eyes glowing red as they opened their beaks in rage. Despite not having any feathers, the birds still manage to maintain their ability of flight; extending their claws towards the fighters; hoping to take a bite.
"What the hell?!" Said Brawler, "I though the only ghouls around here were the humans?"
"It was like that a first! But soon animals had migrated here for a source of food and shelter." Explained the prince. "When the animals died, they became ghouls as well, they're not as lethal as their human counterpart, but they sure do pack a punch."
"Oh great!" Sarcastically said Brawler; cracking his knuckles. "More freaks to deal with!"
"They're getting closer!" Shouted Nana; raising her hammer of the ground.
"We can't waste our time on these things; we're running short on time as it!" Commented Popo.
"Don't worry you two; even if these things attack us. They won't slow us down. As long as this elevator keeps moving; we don't have to worry about wasting time!" Replied canine; charging up his fist with aura.
"But we have to stay on guard! Everyone get in formation! Protect all the entrances!"
All the Smashers got in a circle: Snake and Mewtwo took the right window, Marth and Ice Climbers took the left window, Lucario took the back window, Brawler had his back against the door, and Wii Fit Trainer stood in the middle unsure about what to do, feeling quite panicked on the upcoming assault.
The birds had finally reached the elevator; they landed on the glass with their claws, pecking the cracked window with their beaks; creating even more cracks. "Here they come! Give it all you got!" Shouted Lucario as sounds of broken glass overtook their hearing.
Mewtwo took first blood; using his telepathy to kill four of the birds on his sidewhiles Snake used his trusty Pistol to shoot down each of the creatures on their position. Some of the ghoulish avians took swipes at Marth, pecking and scratching at the prince as he tried to slice them in half with his sword. The twins raised both of their hands; releasing a cold blast of ice and snow.
The monsters attacking the swordsman became frozen, they broke on impact hitting the metal grating; shattering into many tiny pieces. Marth took a glance at the floor before looking at the siblings; they both were blasting cold energy out the window; holding the position from the birds.
Pope turned his head towards the blue hair, giving a quick wink before focusing on the ghouls; Marth also gave a quick nod before slicing apart any stray birds that got through, protecting the climbers from potential harm.
Lastly, Lucario was firing blast of aura at the birds, fairing his own. Despite how efficient he was at destroying the monsters, he was getting overwhelmed. He called back to the rest of the team, shouting "There's too many coming from this side, I need help!"
However the only Smashers available were Wii Fit and Brawler; the others were too focused on their respective position.
"Oh god, I don't know how I can-" Said the instructor before being brushed past by the Mii "Move!" Shouted the fist-fighter, as he joined the jackal in protecting the backside of the elevator.
With a combination of Lucario's aura abilities, and Brawler's strength; they managed to keep the ghouls at bay. However one lone bird had evaded the two Smashers, landing in middle of the cab's floor.
Wii Fit Trainer yelps in fear as she backed up against the doors, trembling in fright as the bird got closers. The creature was about to attack when Brawler stomped on the avian monstrosity; incapacitating it in one feel swoop.
The woman then took a sigh of relief; thankful that the ghoul was now gone. When the Smashers realized that all the birds have been terminated, they realized that they had passed the first floor, and was now reaching the second.
"Oh thank god that's over; I was worried that we were done for!" Said Wii Fit; wiping the sweat off her forehead.
"What the hell was that?!" Brawler said disapprovingly; folding his arms in anger.
"Huh?"
"Why did you freeze up?" The fist-fighter picked up the bird, the creature appearing dead within his hands. "This little freak of nature was about to tear into you like a fleshy piñata. We're you actually going to stand there and let it have its way with you? Come On!"
Wii Fit began to feel a bit nervous from Brawler's tone, she was about to respond when the Mii continued talking. "I know it's your first day and all, but seriously! Stop being a scardy cat and get a damn grip!"
"BRAWLER!" Shouted Lucario; fuming with outrage. "Leave Wii Fit alone; she's just frightened; not to mention she is still new to this world!"
"So was I. I literally hadto fight for my life, right after I was born!" Said Brawler; making the Newcomer confused. "What? You think I'm harassing her or something? That's not what I'm doing at all"
"Then what is it, Brawler?" Questioned Mewtwo; sounding condescending whether he knew it or not.
Brawler clenched his teeth in anger as he continued his rant. "I'm trying to show her the reality of the situation, this is not something you can just sugar coat!" If you don't show them the cold hard truth of the matter, they'll never grow, they'll never mature, and they'll never adapt to this freak show of a world!"
"You have a point there, but that still doesn't excuse how you treated her right now! She literally just came to existence, you expect her to know all this stuff, to embrace this world by day 1? That's not how it works! She needs to learn how to crawl before she can walk! Besides, I doubt she'll take you seriously with your sour attitude. A lot of people are infuriated with you, and yet you wonder why no one likes you! You have a short fuse! You need to calm the hell down!" Said Mewtwo.
"First of all; this isn't some bad attitude, this is my true nature. Deal with it!" Fired back the fist-fighter. "Second, I'm showing her what could've had happen if no one had stepped in! She could have easily overpowered this dumb thing, but instead she just surrendered for no reason. That's. Just. Stupid!"
"In order to survive in this world; you got to put your head on straight, not lose it every time when it becomes scary!" Ranted Brawler; tossing the bird out of the elevator.
"Brawler, listen. I-" Spoke the canine before he was interrupted by the elevator cab suddenly stopping, taking all the Smashers by surprise. "We'll continue this later!" The Pokémon said to Brawler before turning to Snake. "What happened, why did we stop?!"
The solider pressed the button a few more times before turning to the jackal, "I think it's broken; we on the second floor."
"How are we going to get up there now!?" Questioned Nana.
Popo observed the surface of the dam; there was a large assortment of cracks, pipes, and rope on or near the wall; which gave the sibling an idea. "Climb it."
"What?" Replied his sister.
"We can climb it!" Reasserted Popo; pointing over towards the dam. "We grab onto the objects on the wall! It'll be fool-proof!"
"I wouldn't say its fool-proof, but it's the best option we have right now. What do you guys say?"
The fighters were hesitant, not wanting to take the risk of falling off; but then they heard more cracks from up above, to which Lucario finally responded. "Got no other choice. Snake! Open up the doors!"
The solider nodded and pressed the button; sliding the doors apart. When the doors open, skeletons were scattered on the scaffolding on the side of the dam. They immediate riled with rage upon seeing the fighters, to which the shambled towards them with arms out and teeth opened.
"More ghouls!" Shouted Snake; reloading his pistol in hand. "We don't have the time to deal with them! Make a run for it!" All the trophies sprang to the action; sprinting pass the monsters, occasionally attacking or incapacitating stray ghouls that dare to get close.
Upon gripping their fingers onto the wall, pipes, and bolts; they began to pick their bodies up as they used their strength to reach the target. Strain was felt through each of them as they continued to climb.
Down below, the skeletons were gathering up, extending their bony hands at the adventurers, fortunately the fighters were out of reach to be grabbed by the ghouls.
Except for one.
A single skeleton took a hold of Wii Fit Trainer's Right ankle; attempting to bring her down. The woman screamed with panic, desperately shaking to get the monster off of her, but she was unsuccessful. The monster pulled harder, getting her closer to the ungodly horde, she thought her life was done for until-
*KLANG*
A metal ball slammed into the skull of the monsters; the creature was incapacitated as it let go of the Newcomer; allowing her to be free.
She went up a couple of feet before taking a few fast-paced breaths, once she calmed down, she looked up above. She saw Brawler; grabbing on to a pipe with on hand and carrying a metal ball with the other. When he noticed she was okay, he dematerialized the ball in his hand and spoke to her. "Come on!" He shouted; climbing further as the instructor followed behind.
The Smashers climbed for around 5 minutes; but they were only halfway to the third floor; the cracks were getting larger than before, sprays of contaminated water and chunks of concrete rained down below; if they didn't do anything soon, the dam will surely be broken.
"We can't reach to the top at this pace!" Said Marth "The damage is too far away!" There's got to be something we're not seeing. Does anyone see anything that might help us?"
"What could we possibly find on the side of the dam, Marth! " Asked Brawler.
"I don't know, anything would be helpful at this point. Just search!"
Lucario took the swordsman's advice and looked around, to his luck; he did find something that'll be useful. A long study rope was hanging behind the Smashers; starting from the bottom, it was tied to a big bolt that was screwed In the wall beneath the fighters.
Following the trail, the canine could clearly that it was roped around the railing of scaffolding on the third floor; on the very end of the rope, a large piece of concrete was attached to the bundle of string; presumably a piece of the dam that had fallen off before hand. Upon seeing this, Lucario knew in his mind what he had to do.
He leapt from the rock wall; he seemed to fly into the air as he grabbed a hold onto the rope. Once the canine had a firm grasp, he looked towards the Ice Climbers and said "Climbers! Quick, get on the rope!"
"What?!" Replied Popo "Why?!"
"No time to explain! Just do it!"
The twins obeyed the Pokémon and jumped onto the cord; hanging just above the blue jackal. Lucario then looked down below at Marth, who was looking at them with confusion.
"Marth! Cut the rope now!"
The prince, in any normal circumstance would have questioned what the animal was planning; but because they were running out of time, he went along with it. The veteran pulled out his sword with a free hand and sliced the bottom of the rope with one quick swipe.
Upon being cut, the concrete chunk plummeted to the ground. As it was falling, Lucario and the twins were rising; the downward force of the rock was pulling the fighters up to their destination; getting closer and closer to the cracked area.
"Ahhhh!" Screamed the Ice Climbers; being surprised with the force of speed their bodies were being accelerating at. Meanwhie, Lucario was calm; focusing his sight on the third floor. Once they came to a close distance; the canine warned the two siblings.
"Ice Climbers! We're almost to the third floor! Get ready to grab the railing!"
Despite the amount of adrenaline and stress the Eskimos were going through right now, they understood what the Pokémon was saying; they gave him a give nod, as they prepared their bodies.
They were almost a feet from the third floor; the scaffolding coming at them at record speeds.
"JUMP!" shouted Lucario, at they leaped off from the rope, using their double jump to grab onto the thick railing of the big metal platform. The concrete block that contribute to their momentum crashed into the walkway of the second floor; sending it, and the skeletons to the ground.
The three veterans pulled themselves onto the scaffolding, when they were able to stand on solid ground; the twins immediately sprang into action. The siblings began to hold hands, extending each of their free arms at the cracks; streams of cold air and energy flowing free from their palms.
The temperature of the dam was decreasing dramatically; patches of frost were forming on the hard concrete. Within a matter of seconds, a thick layer of ice covered the cracks; sealing the damage. After the twins were done, it was Lucario's turn. He pressed his paw's against the frozen water; pouring his own aura into the make-shift barrier.
The process took a strain on the Pokémon, but he did indeed complete his task. The ice began to glow with blue hue as it radiated a kind welcoming energy. Once the Veterans knew that they were no longer in any danger, they took a deep breath; slumping to the floor in pure exhaustion.
It was only 10 minutes when the rest of the Smashers joined up with Lucario, Nana, and Popo. They climbed over the railing, with all of them clearly anxious. "Hey guys!" Shouted the Wii Fit Trainer; sweat dripping from her forehead. "Guys! What happened? Did we stop the dam from breaking?"
The jackal pushed himself off the ground to meet the eyes of his fellow trophies. "Not to worry Miss Fit. We took care of that; the world is saved once again." The canine gestured to the icy barrier. The fighters who had just climbed to the third floor sighed in relief; feeling more relaxed that it was all over.
"How the hell did this happened?!" Questioned Brawler, feeling quite irritated. "Why was there an explosion on the dam in the first place?"
"It must have been that device that was attached to the wall." Replied Snake.
"But who would do such a thing?" Questioned Nana.
"Yeah! Why did someone want to bomb this place?" Commented Popo.
"I don't know, Ice Climbers. Let's just be glad that we stopped a major disaster from happening." Marth was going to continue talking, when he boot stepped on something hard. He looked down to see that there were shards of metal and glass on the grating; all covered in a blue stick substance.
"Is that pieces of the bomb?" Said the instructor; as Mewtwo used his telekinesis to lift the pieces off the ground, observing it in great detail, all the broken junk appeared to be insignificant, except for one large shard that caught his eye.
"Gentleman, you may want to take a look at this."
"Did you find something Mewtwo?" Asked the prince.
"Yeah, a clue to who may have planted this bomb." He rotated the pieces to the team; pointing to some words that were printed in black on the scrapped metal.
PROPERTY OF FW
INVENTOR OF TESSERACT
"Who is FW?" Said the pink Eskimo
"No doubt the bastard who cause this mess!" Replied the fist-fighter.
"Wait!" Said Marth, "Does anyone actually know who this FW character actually is?"
"Nope. This is the first time I heard that name." Answered Snake.
"'First time you heard that name'? Don't you guys live here? Shouldn't you know what happens on your own world?" Sharply asked the Mii.
"We're not 'all-knowing' Brawler; some things pass our radar, our home computer back at base could only do so much." Said Lucario, after he was done talking to him, he took a plastic baggy from Snake's backpack, and put the slimy shards inside. "We can worry about who the culprit is later; we need to get back home so we can analyze the evidence. Hopefully that will give us some results."
"Okay. That's great and all, but how are we going to get out of this hell hole?" Said Brawler; looking over the railing. "The elevator is broken, and a swarm of those freaks have gathered down below. Unless you want to have your ass torn to pieces, I suggest we search for another exit. Does anyone have any bright ideas?
"How about over there?" Spoke the instructor; pointing to the path that was on the scaffolding. "Maybe we get out this way!"
"Will that work, Snake?" Questioned Marth.
The solider was rubbing his chin in thought; he stay liked this for a moment before he nodded. "Actually it might. This dam is connected to the tunnel. If we just continue to walk on this platform, we'll have a high chance of escaping here in one piece."
"Well then! What are we waiting for? Let's be like Librarians and book it!" the blue Eskimo happily exclaimed. The fighters began to tread on the metal grating; continuing their journey.
Brawler was about to walk along when he saw something glowing on the floor. The light was barely visible but the Mii did indeed notice it with his two eyes. He picked up the item with fingers and brought it close to his face.
The object in questioned appeared to be a small red sphere, about the size of a marble. It gave off a hue had a similar appearance to fire; feeling warm to the touch without the effect of being burnt. The Newcomer examined the ball more until a voice call out for him.
"Brawler, pick up the pace! You're going to be left behind!"
"I'm coming Lucario! Just give me a second!" Hollered the fist-fighter, he put the mysterious object in his back pocket. Once he secured the item in his pants, he did a slight jog to catch up with the rest of the group.