Samus's Theatre (pt. 4): The Twisted Game
Let's see what Johan has in storage for the Smashers. What will he throw out?
Religion…
While some groups remain peaceful throughout the passage of time and truly do have good intentions, the clear majority have done nothing but divide people…
In most cases, religious doctrine allows many to commit atrocities in the name of the unseen Creator, whose existence and true intentions have yet to be seen…
Those who do not submit to the ruling group of their respective lands may face persecution, if not the threat of death…
Unnecessary wars have resulted in the wake of religions attempting to prove their superiority…
Reasoning and progress have also suffered due to stagnation by doctrine…
Worshipping the black rose will only hide the horrible truth behind the object's true nature…
The red rose contains otherworldly beauty, but it should not be treated as a deity to be worshipped, lest harmful doctrine is created…
"Attention, all Smashers who are not traveling with Mario or Falco. This is Lillian…"
He could hear the maiden's voice inside his head, but the lack of physical and mental strength meant that he was unable to respond. Besides that, his vision was nothing but a complete sea of darkness; there was no sense of direction whatsoever, and no matter how hard he tried, he simply could not force his eyelids open. It was as if they were suddenly too heavy to be lifted.
"The Lords are using a magical spell known as Återuppliva, which offers advanced regeneration to its users…"
Återuppliva?
He had never heard of the name before, but the sound of it made him a bit nervous. If the maiden's statement was indeed true, then he and the other Smashers were up against a powerful force to be reckoned with. Furthermore, he now had a reason to believe that the wretched bugs inside the organic blob were under the spell's influence as well, for when he shot a few of them, he noticed that their wounds healed up so quickly. But…
There had to be a flaw to this spell, right?
"It can essentially withstand any injury except for burns, such as those from fires, and dismemberment…"
So, dismemberment and burns were the only two weaknesses of Återuppliva. As far as he was concerned, his firearms could blow apart opponents if used correctly, and his grenades were even more efficient in this task. On top of that, most of the other Smashers in all five groups had at least one attack that could blow apart, slice up, or roast a foe. Well, at least the entire organization had something to badly cripple the Lords…
"Also, beware if you encounter a captain; captains are recognizable by the red emblems on their robes and are extremely dangerous because of their ability to revive from death, alongside additional powers unrelated to Återuppliva…"
The last statement really struck a chord in him, perhaps more so than the others. He was not sure how many captains there were among the unknown number of Lords, but if his group even encountered one, the following battle would be an absolute nightmare. With added abilities and no known weaknesses, the captain would simply be able to slay the Smashers with ease. Only luck could prevent such an unlucky encounter, but this was very unlikely.
After Lillian stopped speaking, an unspecified amount of time passed by. How long that period lasted, he would never know. But afterwards, he slowly but surely awakened in what appeared to be a high-tech base of sorts. While he was not able to obtain a full view due to confinement in a cell, along with heavy pain in his body, Snake noticed that the larger room was tall enough to be divided into multiple floors. Several consoles surrounded what appeared to be a pedestal surrounded by a force field of sorts, and on top of said pedestal was a portal reminiscent to the one back at Magmoor. This one, however, was glowing a type of sinister purple that almost appeared black. At the far end of the room was a functional doorway, sealed tightly by an electronic lock. Lastly, there were other cells that were embedded into the walls, each of them containing an unconscious Smasher.
"Oh, shit…" the soldier gasped. "This looks bad." Seconds after he spoke, the other Smashers, sans Olimar, began to wake from their slumber, but they were not able to do anything else when Johan's voice suddenly echoed from built-in speakers.
"Hello, my friends!" he announced. "I am so glad that you've awakened just in time for the game. Now, I've used a little bit of good ol' Hjärta to keep some of you alive long enough for all the fun."
"I knew it," Wolf growled to himself. He struggled to sit up due to Igel's effects, and even his arms failed to sustain him for long. "I knew we shouldn't have trusted that sonuvabitch… If I wasn't feeling so numb right now, I'd rip his throat out in an instant…"
Thanks to one of the cell's installed microphones, the captain overheard the threatening comment. "Rip my throat out, you say? Oh, you really don't know what I am capable of, do you? Still, if you can complete my game, you may be able to find out in due time."
"What is your game, anyway?" Fox, also plagued with numbness, grunted.
"Oh, nothing much. I want to see how well you can fare against a little pet of mine. It's not all that complicated. You just-"
"Defeat the foe," Meta Knight interrupted. "Is that all you want us to do?"
Johan let out a childish snicker before continuing. "There is more to come, little guy. But for now, get ready for a brawl!"
Whoosh…
"…?" Samus, now reduced to only her Zero Suit, gasped in confusion. She recognized the place as the area of Glacier One where she received one of her visors, but that mattered little right now. The cell doors opened to let the Smashers weakly stumble out, an action which only Olimar failed to do. Meanwhile, the force field quickly deactivated as quickly as a sudden power outage, effectively bringing down the only barrier protecting the Smashers from a new threat.
"Pikachu…?" the Mouse Pokémon mumbled in confusion. The dark portal began to slowly increase in size until it was tall enough to surpass the Smashers in height and wide enough to occupy a good portion of the room's center. Inside the opened portal, a black void was all that the fighters could stare at; it made them feel very hollow inside, for they were staring at the purest embodiment of nothingness… the ultimate form of emptiness. Maybe Johan was just bluffing, as there was almost no way that something could emerge from an empty place…
WHOOSH!
…until a clawed hand reached out and almost impaled the nearby Samus.
"Woah!" Fox yelped. Clumsily rolling out of the way, he tried to reach for his blaster, but…
"Huh?! The Lords must've taken my blaster while I was out!" Indeed, his blaster was missing, far removed from the comfort of the holster. A closer glance revealed that his reflector was also stolen.
"Same here," Wolf groaned. "Come to think of it, I don't think my reflector's on me, either." Seconds later, the full threat came into light. In front the group was a hideous monster that, unbeknownst to all, closely resembled Lars's own creature. Its skin was the same shade of white, the horns were still present, and the rest of the features were unaltered. The only real difference was the present of an orange titanium collar around its neck, the only polished feature of the otherwise horrific abomination of nature.
"Play nice, fellas…" Johan chirped.
"Okay, now this is gonna suck…" Fox grunted. "Do any of you guys have something that can burn or blow apart this thing? I heard Lillian talking about the weaknesses of the Återuppliva spell while I was out."
"I had some explosives on me," Snake answered, "But the Lords took all that away. The only thing they didn't steal was my knife."
"Pika," Pikachu answered, electrifying its cheeks.
"Galaxia is no longer with me," Meta Knight sighed.
"My blaster must have also been taken," Samus added. "We don't have a lot of resources by our side, but we'll just have to fight with whatever's left of our respective arsenals."
"Are you sure-"
WHOOSH!
The mysterious warrior was interrupted by a quick claw swipe, which he barely dodged. With his numbness beginning to fade into nothingness, Fox launched himself into the creature with his signature Fire Fox, but despite the burns inflicted on pale skin, the Star Fox leader failed to force his opponent into flinching. In return, he was swatted away with inhuman strength. Deciding to wait for the right moment instead of attacking directly, Snake activated his suit's camouflage and pressed himself against one of the consoles to blend in. Meta Knight, unarmed and unable to provide any significant contribution, warped over to Olimar's position with his brand of magic.
"Olimar, wake up," whispered he, gently pushing in the process. The Hocotatian did not budge on the first few attempts, which almost led the sword-wielder to assume that the poison already completed its job despite Johan mentioning the use of a cure. However, all worries were dispelled when Olimar finally responded on the eight attempt.
"…?" the tiny Smasher responded. Like most of the other Smashers, numbness was present in his body when he woke up. However, when combined with his worse injuries and slightly greater dose of Igel, he could not even sit up at all. "Where am… I…?"
"Johan has us trapped inside a base of sorts, and we're now against a hideous monster that is out to kill us. The Lords stripped us of our equipment and… Wait a minute, what happened to your Pikmin?"
Upon hearing that last statement, the Hocotatian was struck by panic's sudden grip, for a quick scan revealed that his plant-like comrades were nowhere near him. They were here when he was incapacitated by the insectoids' poison, he confirmed, so Johan had to have done something to them. If they were captured or, even worse, dead…
WH-WHAP!
"DAMN!" Wolf yelped loudly. A powerful barrage of slaps sent his Fire Wolf off-course by the bare minimum of forced readjustment required to send him into a wall. His extended foot nearby suffered a painful fracture on impact, an injury that would have been just as serious as getting impaled by a poisonous stinger. Thankfully, he quickly rebounded to avoid getting slashed by sharp claws. Pikachu unleashed several rounds of Thunder Jolt, which inflicted minor damage, and then one focused burst of Thunderbolt.
CRACK-ZAP! BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The damage from the far more powerful attack was enough to burn the creature in several areas and even outright stun it, but it was not an instant kill like it was when utilized against the insectoids. A loud roar echoed throughout the room, and it was strong enough to rattle nearby ears, if not outright make them bleed. The Mouse Pokémon then teamed up with the recovering Fox to initiating a cutting combo…
SLASH! SLASH!
…which did very little to hinder the monster. In fact, most of its wounds began to mend at a rate far too quick for any ordinary organism to achieve.
"Chu?" Pikachu muttered confusedly. While it could certainly handle minor cuts, Återuppliva was not designed to withstand burns. However, the burns inflicted from before were still not enough to bring the monster to the gates of death. So, why was it able to withstand electricity-related injuries with no problem at all?
"Pika!" Determined to earn a hit that could at least stun its adversary, it began charging up one of its lesser-used moves: Skull Bash. Meanwhile, Snake finally leaped out of his hiding spot and quickly stabbed his foe with a knife equipped with a bizarre but effective Taser function. The electrical jolt was strong enough to stun the creature for a few seconds, giving Samus the opportunity to leap up and pounce on its skull. However, a single swipe was all that was required to knock all active Smashers except Pikachu into the room's perimeter.
"Ow…" Fox grunted. As imaginary parasites threatened to burst out of his body due to pain, he witnessed Wolf sustaining impalement at the left shoulder thanks to a sharp claw. The lupine growled in pain as he felt his new injury instantly catch fire, and only upon freeing himself did he realize how serious it was. As if his uniform was not bloody enough, even greater amounts of red began discoloring both his uniform and his natural fur. The wound itself was deep enough to create a gaping hole in his body, which could allow the monster to tear his arm off with minimal effort. Pikachu, now ready to attack, launched its body at ridiculous speeds, with a small explosion accompanying this event.
"Pika!" the Pokémon shouted. It earned a clean hit on the back of its foe's head, but the attack only inflicted minor dizziness, which almost proved costly for Pikachu when a retaliatory coup de grâce almost left it impaled in five different areas. Samus and Snake grappled the creature's legs in the hopes of toppling it over, but even with their amazing strength, they could feel lactic acid setting their bodies alight with a fiery sensation. On top of that, the monster itself began swiping at them with its claws, which would have immediately been fatal for any slower target.
"How heavy… is this bastard…?!" Snake grunted in a strained manner. Once again, he brought his specialized knife into play, stabbing and electrocuting his foe in its right calf before tossing the weapon over to the huntress. After Samus tore a deep wound into the left calf, she and the ex-FOXHOUND operative, both ignoring the throaty roar that once again overtook the room, pulled long and hard to nearly drag their foe down. The addition of a swift Wolf Flash at the creature's face was the last nail in the combined attack, resulting in a deep thud that rattled the mechanized room.
"That thing's gotta weigh over a hundred kilograms if it can shake up a room from its fall," Fox muttered to himself. The vulpine nearby had his footing snatched out from underneath him when the tremor's shockwaves reached him. Nevertheless, he gathered his composure for a spinning drill kick right into his foe's gut, inflicting minor pain in the process. Samus was about to throw out a kick of superhuman strength, but being grabbed by the foot and then getting tossed right into the inactive Meta Knight completely ruined her plans.
WHAM!
"Ugh!" the mysterious knight gasped in pain. His earlier stab wound felt like something was digging into the inside of his body, all while provoking a sharp pain to overload his nerves. Olimar fared no better, for when Meta Knight was knocked into him like a bowling pin, his most severe injury made him feel like he was stuck inside a painful hell.
"Want some more?" Wolf taunted. Without his bayonet to support him, he resorted to slashing up the abomination with his claws, but it was for naught…
SHINK! WHAP!
…when he was impaled and then buried into the floor. The impact created a hole that extended down by no more than two meters, at least from Snake and Fox's view. Speaking of which, the latter adventurer rushed in with his Illusion and earned several clean blows, but on his ninth pass, he was hammered in the gut by a curled fist. This sent him careening into an invisible force field that prevented access to the upper floors via flight.
"Argh…" he moaned. As he plummeted back down, his body felt like it was swelling up uncontrollably, a more exaggerated statement regarding the body's response to most injuries. Although his ears were stricken with continuous ringing, he could still hear Pikachu screaming in pain due to a serious blow, most likely a slap or a punch. On the other side of the field, Samus slowly regained her stance after the brutal hit from before.
"Okay, let's try something different," she sighed. Rushing back into the field without paying any mind to the two wounded fighters behind her, the bounty hunter tapped into her enhanced speed to confuse the monster, who was about to execute Pikachu with a tipped horn.
"Pika," the rodent-like Pokémon chirped, albeit weakly. As its fellow fighter dashed with grace across the room, the monster shifted its priorities to slaughter its faster victim, albeit with very little success. Swipes and stabbing motions were frequent and, especially considering the monster's bulk, surprisingly quick enough to impose a challenge, but they were unable to lay even a minor scratch on Samus's limber body. This scene was enough to formulate an idea inside the Pokémon's mind; if it could charge up one of its lesser-used moves, preferably with being noticed…
"Pika-pika," it grunted. Fighting through its pain, it stood back up and began dashing around the room's perimeter to build up energy for a move rarely witnessed in Smash battles…
"Pika-pika-pika-pika-pika…"
"I can already tell this is going to take forever to put this thing down," a recovering Fox weakly whispered. With a burst of the quick Fox Illusion, he latched onto the monster's demonic horns and struggled to hold his ground as tipped claws tried to disembowel and impale him. Nearby, Wolf felt his strength begin to fail him as he desperately fought to avoid falling over; his legs ached horribly throughout, and certain points were even plagued with the sort of pain associated with sharp objects. Dizziness was also a major issue due to it cutting his mental concentration in half.
"Okay, that really hurt," moaned he. "But that doesn't mean I'm gonna hold back now. I better give it the punishment of a lifetime, and if I have to do this without my weapons, then so freakin' be it."
"PIKA-PIKA-PIKA-PIKA-PIKA…" Pikachu's body now harbored an intense glow around it, with large sparks to boot. With enough energy by its side, it proceeded to slam head-on into the creature's gut.
"PIKAAAAA…"
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
"CHUUUUUUUUUUUU!" The impact of the mighty Volt Tackle emitted a noise loud enough to overshadow the monster's loud roar of pain. A massive patch of burnt skin was noticed by the Lylatian mercenaries and Snake just seconds before another earthquake rattled the room. Most of the Smashers leaped into the air to negate the tremor's negative effects, with Pikachu and Samus obtaining the greatest height. Unfortunately, Olimar was nowhere near as lucky; when Meta Knight attempted to lift off with the Hocotatian in his hands, the tremor forced his grip to fail against his own will.
"…!" Olimar could feel a migraine-like sensation in his head-on impact despite the helmet giving him a form of protection. A small cracking noise associated with glass was audible, and even though the Hocotatian could not twist his head around by a hundred and eighty degrees from neutral, he instantly assumed that his helmet had cracked from the fall.
"Try this one for size, big guy," Wolf snarled, now ignoring his pain completely. With his claws brandished yet again, he hopped onto his opponent's face and began cutting thick flesh and even an eye with a level of brutality expected from someone of his ruthless personality. Black blood gathered on his hands and even splashed onto his face and upper uniform when a slash resulted in the monster's right eyeball rupturing in a sickening manner, but Wolf cared very little about the mess he was creating. He just desired to kill his foe, no matter what it took. As assistance, Samus and Snake grappled with the legs to prevent a rampage, but this was easier said than done, mainly due to abomination's ludicrous strength. Fox and Pikachu began cutting at Volt Tackle's burn patch with Fox Illusion and Iron Tail, respectively, but even full investment in raw power could not expose internal organs to the chilly environment of Glacier One, a base long abandoned by the eradicated Space Pirates. Meta Knight, now joining the fierce battle for survival, began his quick approach towards the creature, but as soon he was within striking distance…
WHAP! SHINK!
"What in the?" Snake gasped. After watching Meta Knight get slapped away, he was introduced to a disturbing image of Fox having three sharp claws passing through his torso like it was composed of paper. The headstrong Arwing pilot did not scream or even croak weakly; in fact, his pain instantly left him unable to produce any noise with his vocal cords. The world became silent and still for him, his sense of time lost and his hearing drained away from his eardrums. While most of the Smashers temporary froze and then continued to fight as soon as the vulpine was harshly tossed away, Wolf remained frozen for a longer length of time. He was unsure if he was to be upset or joyous over his rival's potentially fatal injury.
Ever since the Lylat Wars of years past, he and Fox were unyielding rivals that harbored allegiances to different groups, with Fox serving the Cornerian Army and Wolf himself paying all loyalties to the twisted Andross. Their motives were also different, with Wolf only working for the money and Fox seeking to protect the Cornerian people. The defeats he suffered at his heroic rival's hands only strengthened his resolve to prove his superiority, and after the Lylat Wars, the rivalry had all but boiled down to one motive: to prove who was the better mercenary. But there were many events that caused the conflict to falter, among them the Aparoid invasion that nearby sent the entirety of Lylat to an infected hell. Wolf was forced to set aside his hatred of Fox to obliterate something that was arguably more powerful than the Venomians who followed Andross's will.
And this adventure…
Already, the lupine was beginning to feel a deep-seated hatred for the Lords despite not encountering their full army yet. The Svärtad Orm had already inflicted mass destruction and murder upon many realms in millennia past, and if he allowed that damned spirit to be revived, then even he would not escape tremendous guilt if he still lived. From what very little he obtained from Lillian, the Lords appeared to be a very vicious sort of people that would not hesitate to mercilessly slaughter opponents when necessary. Lastly, even though he was blatantly arrogant, he would not go so far as to allow another Smasher, even Fox or Falco, to perish in times of danger.
In times like these, rivalries were small matter compared to the threat of a great evil.
"Hope you're still alive after this, McCloud," he sighed while staring at his rival's bloodied form. He rushed towards the monster to attack again, but he was easily swatted away.
"I think we better contact Lillian about this," Snake grunted, having sprinted away from the battle and towards the wounded vulpine. "For some reason, I think this creature is under the influence of something greater than Återuppliva."
"Are you… sure, Snake?" a sitting Fox, now pressed against a wall, moaned in a slow manner. Drops of blood trickled his mouth as he spoke. "It could be… that the creature… is just bulky…"
"Maybe, but I'm going to go out on a limb and call her anyway since that's the safer option right now." Opting to act now before one of his teammates was torn to shreds, the aged clone of Big Boss proceeded to set up a telepathic connection with the maiden herself.
"Ugh… Snake?" whispered she. "What brings you to contact me in the middle of the night?"
"Wait a second, it's nighttime?" Snake was caught off-guard by the statement; if it truly was nighttime, then he had just awakened her at a very inconvenient time. On top of that, he also realized that Johan's electrical prank had left him unconscious for much longer than he initially believed. Regardless, it was now up to him to warn her about the monster…
"It is. Now, what do you want from me?"
Snake activated his camouflage before continuing. "We have this monster that's about to kill us all, and the Lords have taken our equipment away from us, so we're having a tough time fighting back. Do you know how to defeat it?"
"What does the monster look like?"
"It's got white skin, a pair of horns, sharp claws, and vicious-looking teeth. Is that description good enough for you?"
"Hmm… It is. Yesterday, Falco reported to me that he had battled a creature almost identical to the one that you are facing right now. Given from what he told me, the only way to slay the creature is by attacking its heart. The skin will be too tough to cut through without the aid of a very powerful attack, so entering the interior is your only chance of putting the abomination down for good."
Snake stared the rampaging monster, who was now attacking Wolf and Samus, for what felt like a minute. This task was risky due to the probability of getting butchered before it could be achieved, but if what the maiden just stated was true, then the plan would have to fall through. One opportunity was all that he needed…
"Sounds like a crazy plan, but it doesn't look like there's any alternative. Thanks for the tip, Lillian."
"Good luck, Snake, and try not to get yourself killed." With Lillian's final statement in mind, the man who successfully halted Shadow Moses slowly began approaching the monster's position to avoid drawing attention to himself. Fox crawled towards the console farthest away from his antagonist and remained there to recover his stamina while avoiding further battle.
"Geez, this is even worse than I thought," he muttered. His hands were coated in blood after he rubbed them over his deep stab wounds, which were the primary contributors to his slow but lethal hemorrhaging.
"I should take my chances with this one," Meta Knight sighed. His wings carried him over almost every cubic meter composing the upper half of the room as he attempted to disorient his foe with pure speed. When combined with Samus's active prancing in the aftermath of being kicked off, this left the creature unsure of what to do. It was unsure on which target to attack first, and after a few seconds, it was smacked by a free hit from Pikachu…
SPLACK!
…which gouged out its remaining eye. Unfortunately, this also led to one unforeseen consequence.
"Wrgh… WAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGH!"
"I think you just pissed it off even further, Pikachu," Wolf grunted. Indeed, with its last eye destroyed, the creature was instantly consumed by a desire to rampage endlessly without considering the risks associated with the act. And erratic was its assault; its claw swipes and slaps were now being thrown out in a very aimless fashion, with the majority missing the Smashers, sometimes by a long shot. The few that did inflict damage, however, were much stronger than what was demonstrated before.
WHAP!
"Sonuva…!" Wolf yelped. His body was thrown a great distance across the room, all the way to the locked door.
WHAP!
"PIKA!" the Mouse Pokémon shrieked. It was thrown right into a console, which then got smashed on impact. Electrical sparks leaked out and even showered Pikachu's body with their intense energy. Thankfully, its hidden ability, appropriately called Lightning Rod, allowed it to absorb the electricity and even utilize it to power up its next couple of attacks, starting with another Thunderbolt. Meanwhile, the hideous creation slowly began to approach Fox's position.
"Oh, damn," the vulpine gasped. "Better get moving." His feet were quick enough to carry him away from the action, but just before he could join up with Olimar, one of them made an erroneous step and forced him to trip. His nose and jaw received the full brunt of the fall, although his wounds also flared up to give him more pain than necessary.
"Can't stop now." Unable to stand up due to the stinging pain, his only option was to roll across the floor. Narrowly avoiding a fatal blow from his approaching enemy, he swiftly reached Olimar's position in a matter of seconds.
"It's show time," Snake grunted. With his enemy now close enough for a sneak attack, he leaped up and stabbed his foe right in the center of its back, striking the spine in the process. Ignoring the painful roar, he proceeded to ascend with the help of his knife, creating bloody spots that closely resembled ink blotches from a pen. Snake's suit was stained by the creature's blood, but this was not very noticeable by the Smashers for two reasons; first, his suit was dark enough on its own, so the blood would be very difficult to notice without a closer look, and second, the erratic motions of the monster blurred out most of the suit's details. After reaching the top of the head, he was about climb down the face… until the plan faltered when he was grabbed from above.
"Huh?!" he loudly gasped. Upon being thrown across the room, he nearly lost his grip on his knife, and it was only through a stroke of luck that he was barely able to keep it close to him. The harsh landing fell a few centimeters short of striking a wall, which would have doubled or even tripled the amount of pain he was experiencing now. While coming to a grinding halt, he noticed Samus getting slashed at the abdomen.
"I got your back, Sammy," Wolf announced. However, he was unable to fulfill his statement when a backhanded strike knocked him out of his Flash. Still not ready to accept defeat, he then launched himself with Fire Wolf, but his efforts were once again in vain. Meta Knight kicked at the head several times, but no noticeable damage was done. Pikachu unleashed a powerful Electro Ball at the creature's face, stunning it and leaving it vulnerable to subsequent attacks.
"Pika!" the smaller creature squeaked. With the power boost gained via Lightning Rod, it fired off several Thunder Jolts from its red cheeks, all of them striking the large patch of burnt skin. A subsequent Thunderbolt only worsened the horrific enemy's pain, but when Pikachu tried to follow it up with an Iron Tail, it was grabbed by its tail, still marked by an ugly wound, and then tossed into the floor.
"Let's try that again," Snake coughed. Before activating his camouflage for the third time, he snuck all the way to the creature's rear-facing blind spot with the help of the consoles.
I better help Samus before she gets killed, Meta Knight pondered, having just witnessed the huntress getting forced against the ceiling by an erratic hand. With Pikachu's electrifying assistance, the reclusive fighter wrestled with the creature by grabbing one of its horns. The task would normally have proven to be far too great for someone of his size to handle, but because Pikachu's raw electricity was preventing the monster from throwing out any significant resistance, everything was much easier. Samus, who was bleeding from the cuts, unleashed a two-footed descending kick upon the nose, allowing her and Meta Knight to pull the creature down to the floor.
"Score one for the fighters," Wolf chirped. "And there'll be more points for us to earn." His claws were ripping through the burn patch, still struggling to heal, and black blood once again dampened his body. Despite the cuts healing after they were formed, Wolf allowed his mind to completely overlook this fact and even proceeded to scratch harder. As most of the other Smashers came to realize, the vicious persona inside of him had gripped his mind and rendered any form of self-restraint useless. It truly was the epitome of his brutality, and not even the worst of Smash battles could represent this. At this point, Fox had regained enough stamina to continue battling with the monster, and he took advantage of this by jamming both of his feet into the empty yet bloody eye sockets.
"How's that for a smaller opponent?" he taunted. However, as he continued to dig into the enemy's skull, a loud roar exacerbated by his position to the creature's vocal cords swiftly shattered his otherwise strong concentration. Despite completely blocking his perceptive ears with his hands, Fox could still feel the piercing soundwaves relentlessly rattling his skull to the point of cursing him with a temporary headache. The other Smashers, even the distant Olimar, were adversely affected as well, but not to the same extent as the unlucky vulpine.
"If I hear another loud roar, my ears are going to bleed," Samus sighed after the creature quieted down. While she continued to pounce her foe, Snake finally seized his opportunity to dive into the belly of the beast. Leaping out of his hiding spot, he proceeded to dive into the mouth, albeit at the cost of several sharp teeth cutting his skin.
"Snake?" Wolf muttered confusedly. "What in the actual hell are you doin'?"
"Did he just jump into the…?" Fox added. But before he could continue, the creature suddenly stood up, forcing the mercenary out of its sockets.
"I don't know what Snake has in mind," Samus grunted, "But he must do it quickly."
The genetically engineered son of Big Boss could barely retain his grip as he slid down the creature's esophagus. The erratic motions only exacerbated his situation, for they made sure that he would inevitably descend into the stomach without some form of assistance, of which there was only one. Snake plunged his knife into the organic wall in front of him, creating a deep gash that stretched a few good meters down before abruptly stopping. As he passed through the forged pathway, he could notice the smell of the digestive system fade away, replaced by a weaker scent that was incapable of provoking nausea from most people. Since the cramped environment and the abundance of unpredictable jerking rendered all attempts at finding solid ground impossible, Snake was left with no choice but to cling onto the ribs. The general lack of lighting was also a problem with navigation; in fact, the only source of light was one of last of things that Snake ever expected to behave as a form illumination: the creature's heart.
"That's the heart," sighed he. "Once I make my way up to it, the monster shouldn't pose any danger once I leave it my kindest regards." His strength kicked in to avoid falling and possibly getting completely thrashed, and as he approached his destination, his knife was readied for the killing blow…
"ARRGH!" Wolf yelled. One of his existing stab wounds was caught by one of the monster's tipped claws, resulting in further bleeding and a sharp increase in pain levels. His own claws were ineffective at forcing it to release him. While still holding the ruthless mercenary, the hellish being utilized its other hand to catch Fox.
"Huaaaaah!" the son of James McCloud squealed. His stab wounds suffered the full brunt of the strike, leaving him entangled in a fate very similar, if not outright identical, to Wolf's.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu yelled. It launched a second Electro Ball at its opponent, but despite the damage inflicted, Fox and Wolf were not freed from their dilemma.
"Man, this is gonna suck…" Fox moaned, preparing for the worst of possible scenarios. But in a sudden twist of luck, he noticed the monster suddenly freezing in place, almost as if it was unsure of what action to undertake. Stranger still was the sight of it attempting to block out its pain by clenching its chest, resulting in the two Lylatians being dropped to the floor.
"What's happening now?" Samus asked herself.
"I believe Snake is attacking the thing from the inside," Meta Knight responded. As he watched on, the creature collapsed to the floor in pain because of its sudden inability to support itself. The roaring became louder and more painful than ever before. Wounds slowly stopped regenerating altogether. Muscles were locked in place to reduce the pain, but only to fail in the endeavor. To the Smashers, it almost felt like time was slowed down for them to experience the uncomfortable scene, but their perception of the endless flow would return to normal when the room suddenly filled up with an empty silence, that one form of silence that was seldom encountered in daily life…
Squelch!
…which was accompanied by a familiar soldier cutting his way out of the defeated monster's chest.
"Kept you waiting, huh?" he sighed. His uniform and hair were now completely soaked in black blood, allowing for the impression that he had just traveled through an organic, life-threatening mess and miraculously lived to tell the tale.
"Woah, how did you kill that thing?" Fox questioned. Curiosity was asking him to receive the secret to Snake's success, and it needed said secret immediately.
"I had to contact Lillian for this one. She said that Falco encountered one of these monsters yesterday; from what he said, the heart was the weak point. It took me a while to get to the goal, but hey, it's all worth it."
"That sounds like useful information for-" But the vulpine was unable to continue when Johan's voice sounded over the speakers.
"Congratulations, my dear friends!" The captain's voice was still as lighthearted as ever. "You have defeated my precious weapon! I wasn't expecting you to survive, but what the heck. You have proven yourselves to be quite powerful. Now, if you're looking for the staff piece, there's only one more test for you to endure."
"And what might that be?" Samus questioned. But before she could say anything else, the portal in the center of the room suddenly transformed into a black hole that was strong enough to drag everyone in. Even when some, including Snake and Fox, attempted to cling onto the consoles, the Smashers were eventually sucked in to a dark void that, unlike the portal from before, was silent and blank. The time spent inside was much shorter, clocking in at only around three seconds. Before long, the Smashers were introduced to a new room that was decorated with a glass roof. The roof harbored a Gothic-style feel to it; even when discounting the night's low lighting, the greenish windows were very dim to the point where almost no light could enter, and it was arched into a shape most commonly noticed in long-standing European cathedrals. The rose windows at each end were also reminiscent to what was noticed in cathedrals, with a circular shape arising from an assortment of columns that jutted out from the center.
Aside from all these features, however, Samus recognized the room to be the external connecting bridge between Glacier One's elevators, each one leading to a lab. There were some significant differences from before, among them the removal of all Space Pirate equipment, the repairs to a wall that was smashed by a tower, and the presence of very dim candles.
"Where are you, Johan?" Fox interrogated. "Come out and fight us."
"As you wish," the young man replied. With the cancellation of his invisibility spell, his original appearance was fully revealed for the first time; while his bright uniform was still present, it was partly obscured by a black robe marked by a red serpent-like logo. His hood was down to reveal his childish face.
"So, you must be a captain for the Lords," Wolf snarled. "And that means you've been tryin' to fool us with your bullshit prior to revealing your true intentions, right?"
"Yep," the captain responded. "I'm in charge of the forces out here in Tallon and I was trying to fool you for the longest time possible. I gotta say, it worked out quite well. Now I could just leave with the piece, but since I'm feeling generous today, I'll give you a chance to obtain it for yourselves."
"What's the catch?" Snake questioned.
"Nothing much. Just defeat me as quickly as you can, preferably before the poison gets to most of you fellows. I'll be giving back your equipment for a fair fight, 'cause it's no fair when everything's too one-sided."
"Fine." In seconds, Johan conjured a small portal that vomited out all confiscated equipment, which the Smashers quickly retrieved. Oddly enough, Olimar's Pikmin were also in the pile despite being living entities; they were in the process of waking up by the time the Hocotatian retrieved them.
"Okay then," a rearmed Samus grunted, "Ready to fight?" After speaking, she noticed the captain drawing out what appeared to be an old flintlock pistol.
"Ready? Lady, I'm always ready…" The Smashers and Johan prepared themselves for a fight to the death…
Well, as bizarre as he is, Johan looks like a dangerous opponent to go up against, perhaps more so than Liquid or any of the Beauty and the Beast Corps. If what Lillian said is true, then I better be careful when dealing with him. However, I was expecting him to be a little more… biased when it came down to advantages.
As a side note, that painful jolt from before reminds me a lot of a certain someone's torture device. Not that I would ever wanna experience that again…
-David, AKA Solid Snake
And we're about head into the final fight of Samus's theatre. How will it go down-
Johan: Oh, you want me to tell you the whole story?
What the?! What are you doing here, Johan? Get outta here! I really don't want you to be spoiling things for the readers!
Johan: But I can assure you that they want to know! C'mon, just for a minute? Pretty please?
I don't think so. Just get out before I start pummeling you.
Johan: Fine. I'll just take my leave then…
Thank you. Now, in what actually matters, how will the fight go down?
This monster fight is a bit shorter than usual, but if you're not dealing with the variant that emerges from an existing creature or a monster paired up with its master, then I guess you can get a valid excuse for the reduced length. But I will say that the battle with Johan will be longer…
A/N:
-If I haven't explained it too well in the story, the area where Samus and her group battled the monster was where the Thermal Visor could be obtained in Metroid Prime.
-The variant of Volt Tackle seen here is not the one that activates after receiving a Smash Ball. It is the incarnation originally seen in the Pokémon anime.
Anyway, R&R.
Johan: And come talk to me if you want the full story.
JOHAN!
Johan: Sorry…