Tari smiled as a snowflake fell onto her dainty nose and melted. It was Winter in the Mushroom Kingdom, and the Mushroom Kingdom was already happy to get into the festivities of this time of year. Already, the city streets were decked out in Christmas trimmings; red and white tinsel dangling from the streetlights across the roads, golden bells wrapped in green shrubbery and plastic red berries lining every doorway. It was snowing, hence the snowflake, and the pavements were covered in that wonderful crunchy white sheen. This was fresh snow, before it...devolved, into black ice and compacted pure slippery-ness, so they had time to play in it.
And that was great, Tari thought. It would be just what Meggy needed to get back on track.
She looked back from the hospital parking lot to see her being wheeled out by Saiko. She was dressed in puffier, warmer clothing; a puffy jacket, thicker beanie, scarf and a blanket draped across what remained of her legs. Her expression was still quite...pained, but at least she was sort of smiling now. It was a broken smile, but hey it was a start. They had talked in the hospital room, during the couple of days until she was cleared to go.
She remembered it well, being as it was only two days previous. She and Saiko and that Traveller guy had waltzed into her room, the day after her awakening. Her mood had not improved. She had barely touched her food (unsurprisingly, Traveller chuckled) and her face was stained with tears. It broke Tari's heart to see her like this; last time she was this messed up, it was when she was grieving for Desti. It didn't really leave until she won Splatfest...and kicked all this off.
Hmm. Bad memory.
"Hey Meggy..." Tari said softly, her voice barely above a whisper, "How're you...how're you feeling?"
"...Like shit," Meggy sighed.
"Understandable," Traveller said stoically, "There will always be a grieving process upon losing a limb. Not many are equipped to handle the stress."
[Dude,] Saiko growled, her expression one of indignation, [If this is gonna work, you gotta have some damn class.]
"Right, of course," Traveller said, "Apologies."
"It's okay..." Meggy sighed again, "I'm kinda used to being talked down to. Desti, Francis, those Killer Ink types..."
[Yeah well fuck 'em,] Saiko crossed her arms and scowled, [We don't need them, they are BENEATH you.]
"Not after the change in height," Meggy sobbed bitterly.
"Meggy!" Tari exclaimed in shock, "Oh my...I'm sorry this happened...l-look, we want to help. I-In any way possible."
"We want to make you more...comfortable, with this life change," Traveller said, his tone slowly shifting to something a tad more careful, "It isn't the end of the road, Miss Spletzer. Just, a change of tracks."
"Yeah!" Tari cheered, "We're gonna get you back on top and feeling like a new woomy before you can say 'Sir Duckington!'"
[And we KNOW you can say that pretty fast,] Saiko chuckled.
"Thanks guys..." Meggy sighed, "But it's gonna take a lot of work to fix this hole. Like...how do you even handle this sort of thing?!"
"I may be of some assistance on that front," Traveller said, "Let's just say I'm very...experienced with dealing with grief and lost limbs. Well, the same limb. Multiple times."
"Hooray," Meggy grumbled, "What're you even doing here? You got that guy, didn't you?"
"Well I need the others' heads on a pike now, don't I? Like a really gruesome kebab," he chuckled, before clearing his throat, "To be real, though. I've done a lot of travelling. A lot of...bad things, to all sorts of people. Settling down for a bit, doing some good. Might do me some good too. I need to get back in touch with my old, jokier self."
"Well...I guess I appreciate it," Meggy said, "Doc said I'll be good to leave in a day or so."
"Then we'll take you out for a fun day on the town!" Tari said, "Get some snacks, some noodles, play in the snow! Like we did a couple years ago. When you didn't know what Christmas was."
[...Wait what?]
"It's a long story," Meggy giggled, "...Alright. I'm in."
/
"Oi, Tari!" Traveller's voice cut through the flashback, "You growing some icicles on your nose or something?"
"Oh!" Tari yelped, before quickly bounding back to the group, "Sorry. Was kind of...having a flashback."
Tari pulled a light blue beanie out of her jacket and stretched it across her head; it fit with her zip-up shirt and scarf perfectly. They asked Meggy what she wanted to do first. Her response was short and sweet; a walk. Well. not a walk for her, but a little milling around the city for a bit. To take in the sights and the sounds. The others nodded in agreement and began to walk around the square, Traveller eyeing Saiko curiously the entire time.
[...Something take your fancy back there?]
"It's just...how the hell are you not freezing cold right now? Not even a beanie or a scarf!"
[Burning hatred for Inklings kinda goes a long way, you know?]
"True."
It was 11:30 by the time they got to the main parts of the city. It was a beautiful snow day. Not too sunny, so the snow wouldn't melt, but not too windy, so SMG4 wouldn't have to thaw them out later. Meggy remembered the LAST time he had to do that. It was when Mario decided, in his finite wisdom, to kick a baby penguin. Then the mother penguin dressed Meggy up as a penguin and threatened to give her..."dinner", then she was a snowboard, then they were on a freezing lake...blurry memories at best. Maybe she just didn't want to remember. She still wasn't sure if SMG4 had deleted the photos he took. He SAID he did.
...Gah, where was she going with this? Ah, yes, the city. The streets were paved with snow and a bit of salt, the same tinsel and bells hung across the narrow streets, and the shops were draped in gold and red. The sound of a band playing Christmas music was in the background. The streets were stuffed with people still shopping for presents, gifts or just a bratwurst. Humans, minions of Bowser's, even some Inklings. But...nowhere near as much as there used to be. No-one expected human-Inkling relations to just...dissolve, after Splatfest. They weren't welcome here anymore. At least they let some in, she supposed.
Suddenly, a crash! The group stopped and looked towards the source of the crash. It was that plumber fellow again. He was running, his posture rigid, one of those new consoles in his hands. He was screaming, "YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE! AAAAAAA-" while running off. He was chased by a security guard...with a monitor for a head? Traveller stared dumbfounded at the sight. He had been all across the worlds. He had seen worlds made of sweets or under oppression from a personified concept of order. But this? This was something else.
"There is something wrong with that plumber," Traveller muttered under his breath.
"Forgive Mario," Meggy said, "He can be a little...out there, but he's a good friend. Sometimes."
[Guy's a freakin' nutjob,] Saiko grumbled, [...But he's good company, yeah,] she continued to push Meggy along the street, [I just hope we don't run into that terrible twosome.]
"What, Bob and Boopkins?" Tari asked, "Aww come on, they're nice people."
[Bob? Nice person?] Saiko sputtered, [He's this whirling mass of blades and douchebaggery. He sees Megs like this, out come the tasteless jokes and selfish begging.]
"A wisecracking blade or so?" Traveller mused, "I know a guy like that."
"Yeah and you ain't used him for over two years," came a muffled voice from within his pocket.
"Shut it, you're not in this story!" Traveller growled to his pocket, before he turned to the girls, "Sorry. I'll explain later."
Meggy looked around at the world. She was in good company, it was a beautiful day, the world was red and gold. It was Christmas. All was well. But...she couldn't stop crying. Tears wouldn't stop leaking from her eyes. How could she forget? How could she just dismiss what happened to her? Reminders were EVERYWHERE. Dancers in the streets. Children jumping up and down in icy puddles. Shoe shops on every corner. She could see them. Her most wanted Christmas present of the year. A brand new pair of boots. Similar to her old ones, but a darker shade. Black soles and laces, a pattern running down the sides. They were in the window, lit by ringed lights.
"G-Guys..." she sobbed. The others turned to her, before they turned to the shoe shop in question. They realised with horror they had parked her too close to it.
Traveller knelt down by her, "It's okay, it's okay. Just breathe slowly. In, then out. In. Out. Nice and slow."
"I'm sorry..." Meggy cried, "I'm just so...useless without my legs!"
"Meggy don't say that!" Tari cried too, "It...i-it's just shock talking. We're gonna be here for you every step of the way."
"...Okay," she whimpered, "Please...g-get me out of here."
[Right...right...] Saiko sighed, pushing Meggy away from the shop. She would never, ever, EVER admit it, but...Meggy was a true friend. Like Tari. And it tore her up inside to see the usually peppy, energetic Meggy - the kind to merrily throw out roundhouse kicks and uppercuts to defeat the bad guy of the day - so distraught. She had to fight the bubbling, burning hatred of Inklings. Now was not the time for that. Later, perhaps. But not now. She had to get her out of here and help cheer her up. She had an idea.
/
The city centre wasn't working out, it seemed. So the trio came up with a new idea. The cul-de-sac. One of the areas with less people out and about. They'd be nice and alone to do whatever they wanted to. No shoe shops. No Bob. No...whatever Mario's latest scheme was. Well, apart from steal a new console. Just them, probably a snowman or two, total peace and quiet. They stopped by a coffee shop first. Got some drinks. They were all used to drinking powerful coffee, for varying reasons. Traveller just got some tea, with perhaps a few too many sugars for the tastes of the others. It was a quiet affair, Tari and Traveller discussing all sorts of things, while Meggy was content to sit there, drinking her coffee. She dared not look down, looking anywhere but there, sometimes to Saiko. She was staring out of the window, so Meggy did too. She smiled, ever so slightly - she really did have some good friends.
Coffee over and done with, the group walked to the cul-de-sac. A nice place at the top of a steep hill, nice wide patch of grass covered in snow. Some children playing here and there, nothing too busy. It was perfect. They wheeled Meggy to the middle, and she got it; no people, no distractions. Just a bunch of snow. A natural canvas. They asked her what she would like to do.
Her response was brief and certain; she wanted to build a snowman. The others nodded in agreement and went about gathering the snow. Tari wheeled Meggy across the snow while she bent forward to roll the snow into a ball. Tari...wasn't exactly strong enough to push the thing easily, never mind when it was resisted by the snow, so she was having a difficult time. But she kept going, if it made Meggy happy. Soon enough, the bottom part was done, and Saiko took to pushing the body part, while Traveller rolled up the head and went off to fetch some vegetation for the face. No coal, modern sensibilities would probably frown on that, so he ran off to grab some brussel sprouts. They were like coal. About on the same scale of edibleness, at least. A carrot and some loose pebbles for the smile, that'd do. He arrived just to see the torso completed, with branch arms and all. Traveller attached the head and put on the face. They stopped. No top hat, and no-one wanted to give up their beanies. They ummed and erred for some time, until Tari suddenly lit up and dug into her pockets; out came...a rubber duck? A befuddled Traveller looked on as Tari placed the duck on top of the snowman's head. Then, they all stood back, marvelling at their creation.
"What a wonderful looking snowman!" Tari said happily, "The rubber duck really ties it all together, you think?" she got a chuckle out of Traveller and a sincere giggle out of Meggy. Her heart warmed and her smile widened as she tussled the beanie girl's hair, "See, I got a giggle out of you! Alright Meggy, what do you want to do next?"
"I wanna...hmm," Meggy thought deep and hard for a few seconds, "Ooh! Snowball fight!"
"A snow scuffle, huh?" Traveller smarmed, "Alright, I'm down. Me and Meggs, up against you and Tari. I push, she shoots."
"This is gonna be fun!" Tari cheered.
[You better watch out, punk,] Saiko smirked, rearing up her arm, [I've got a mean right hook.]
"And I have a game-trained aimbot arm!" Tari backed up. She stopped, looking down at the limb, "...Wait."
"Well that's nice, ladies," Traveller said, digging something out of his pocket, "But I have something custom-built for the job..." with a hefty tug, he pulled it out. It was a sort of rifle, white in colour, with a large tank at the back and a large muzzle. It almost looked like a giant Splattershot, actually, "Give a warm...well, cold welcome to the Mark 90 'Snowstorm'. A fully automatic snowball launcher, developed for the military."
[WHO THE HELL MAKES A FULLY AUTO SNOWBALL LAUNCHER FOR THE MILITARY?!]
"You...would be surprised what they have to fight in some timelines," Traveller shrugged. He removed the tank and plunged it into a deep pile of snow. When he brought it out, it was full, to which he then attached to the gun. He handed it to Meggy, "There, should be good for eighty-two shots. Right, ready Meggs?"
Meggy pumped the launcher's pump, "You bet!"
Tari suddenly felt very scared, "...Oh dear."
[RUN!]
The two ran like headless chickens as Meggy opened fire. A titanic flurry of snow came flying towards the two, threatening to bury them right there and then. They screamed, darting this way and that, but Meggy was a good shot and Traveller a good wheeler. The two skidded across the impromptu arena set up by making the snowman, firing snowball after snowball around the place. At least Meggy looked like she was having the time of her life.
Finally, the two girls took cover in a snow trench. Snowballs roared over the pair; how many snowballs could that blasted thing hold?! Tari mimed talking into an old transceiver, "Command this is Duckworth! We're pinned down, I repeat we're pinned down!" she turned to Saiko, a look of fear on her face, "Saiko what do we do?!"
[I just gotta get one good shot in! WOAH!] Saiko ducked further as a particularly lucky shot nearly beaned her, [But not like this. I got a plan. But you ain't gonna like it...]
"Huh? Why?" Tari asked. Saiko leaned in, whispered her plan into her ear. Tari's expression dropped, "Oh...okay," before she darted out of cover, limbs spread everywhere, "LOOK AT ME I'M A TARGET!"
Meggy couldn't believe her eyes, Tari was drawing fire? Well, whatever. She was gonna get snowed on all the same. Traveller chuckled grimly, before letting out a, "Get 'er!" and wheeling Meggy after the fleeing gamer. Meggy fired the snow launcher once more, spraying snow this way and that. Tari was limber and thin enough to dodge most of the shots, stumbling through this wild goose chase with a look of fear on her face. Traveller was headfirst into this chase, now. He didn't see Saiko spring up from cover and let a dense snowball fly.
"What th-OOF!"
It smacked into him with the force of a professional baseball. Times about a hundred. Traveller had been in all sorts of scuffles, but he had NEVER been hit like that before. The snowball was enough to send him flying, tumbling head over heels across the snow before finally landing in a crumpled heap before the snowman. He groaned, his head a whirling mess of concussion and confusion.
[DIRECT HIT!] Saiko fist-pumped in victory, [Nice work, Tari!]
She turned to the gamer, now caked in snow from some of the unluckier dodges. She shivered, her cheeks a flushed blue, "...I can't feel my arm..." she shivered, before she remembered; "Oh, right."
Saiko's celebration was short-lived, however. Another groan caught her ear. A softer groan. Her heart rose to her throat as she remembered who Traveller was pushing around. She dared not to look. And yet, she did. A few yards from Traveller was the flipped, somewhat roughed up wheelchair, resting on its side with a single wheel spinning pathetically. And only a few yards away from that, was Meggy. Lying in the snow, shivering and seemingly bruised from the tumble.
[...Oh shit!] Saiko screamed, rushing over to the body and desperately getting the excess snow off of her. Her voice was shocked and alarmed, [Meggy, I'm sorry, it was an accident!]
"I know..." Meggy growled, her whines soft. She lay in the snow for a little while longer; "I can't...I can't move..." she looked like she was going to cry. But then she...stopped. A new resolve possessed her, all of a sudden. Like she had a change of heart. A deep, determined frown buried itself onto her face, "NO..." and with a heave, she shifted herself onto her belly and began to roughly drag herself towards the wheelchair, "Gotta...get up..."
Tari also saw the scene after checking on Traveller (he was fine...sort of) and rushed towards the group. She saw Meggy drag herself forward, grunting with excretion with every metaphorical step. She looked like she was struggling. Tari bent down to scoop her up, "Meggy, it's okay. Just take it easy. I can he-"
"I don't need help!" Meggy arrogantly batted Tari's hand away. She grabbed the wheelchair and heaved trying to flip it back up, "I won Splatfest. I became a cop. I got my own place, I survived SMG3 trying to delete us from history..."
"What?" Traveller mumbled as he swayed wearily towards the group.
[Long story.]
"I won't...let...this... beat me!" Meggy cried out, having flipped the chair and was now in the process of lifting herself into it, "I'm stronger...I have to be...aaah!" it was no use. Her arms just weren't in good enough shape. She lost her grip on the freezing cold wheelchair and tumbled back onto the snowy ground. Such a humiliating defeat seemed to do in this second wind, and she screamed in pained fury, "I CAN'T LET THIS BEAT ME!"
"Meggy..." Tari said softly, so softly as to almost cry herself, as she hoisted the girl into the wheelchair and dusted off the snow. She stroked Meggy's hair, "It's okay. You've done enough this year. It's okay to cry..." Meggy took this...well. As if her friend's reassurance was enough to knock away the last of her resolve, she devolved into heavy, heaving sobs. She tried to muffle them with her scarf, but it did little to hide the sorrow. Tari brought her in and let her cry onto her jacket while she patted her back. Tari herself began to softly cry, "It's okay. It's okay..."
Saiko broke from the group. This was a new emotion she was feeling...guilt? Had she ever felt guilt before? She was now, and it SUCKED. She didn't mean to send Meggy flying. She didn't mean to derail the day. It just...happened. She stewed in her self-pity for a while, before she heard a growling, angry voice above her, "Well, that went pear-shaped fast."
Saiko looked up. It was Traveller. And he looked unhappy. Well, he ALWAYS seemed to look unhappy, but this more than any other time previous. Saiko sighed wearily but cautiously, [...My bad?]
"YES YOUR BAD!" Traveller exploded with such fury to even shake Saiko a little. She could swear the tips of his limbs and spines were turning as white as the snow, only for a bit, "You trying to take my head off with that throw?! You TRYING to give her a face-full of icy slush?!"
[Hey don't step up to me, Spikes!] Saiko yelled in anger, shooting up to standing and jabbing a finger into his chest, [I didn't think it would lead to this. I thought you'd let go!]
"Well I didn't. So now what? Hmm..." Traveller calmed, and the white tint drained from him. He assumed a sort of thinking pose for a while, before something went off in his head, "Okay. What about your other friends?"
[Axol said he'd try making something with Inkweaver, once he's repaired the damn thing...] Saiko merely crossed her arms as she explained, though her voice became tinted with a bit of embarrassed disgust; [SMG4 is making supportive memes.]
"Helpful," Traveller grumbled, looking upon the two girls still embraced. He tilted his head ever so slightly to the side, "Perhaps a new approach is needed. A slightly more drastic way of circumventing a loss of a limb. Like, a NEW limb."
[Right, and where are we gonna get a brand new...] Saiko trailed off. She looked down at Traveller, who was already pointing his gaze towards Tari. Towards her arm. Her robotic, prosthetic, better-than-the-original-in-every-single-way-arm. Saiko's face lit up like a Christmas tree, [Holy shit, YES!]
"...Get her home and details over coffee?"
Saiko cracked her knuckles, [Let's do this, spiky boy.]