AN: I am so sorry for not updating. I flew to China and thought about working on my fic there, but my stupid "Do it later" attitude got in my way. I also lost inspiration, and for that I am so so sorry. Nothing can excuse me from this behavior. You can beat me up and kill me later, but for now, please read the chapter.
Chapter 13: Departure
Andie hardly got any sleep last night.
Maybe it was because of the thunder, after all, she was a light sleeper. Maybe it was because she was excited for her first quest. Maybe it was a mix of both. Either way, she didn't really get much sleep.
"Your thoughts are going to make me deaf," Red joked.
Andie sighed. "I know I'm being a bit loud, but bear with it for a while. You can't blame me for being excited," she shrugged. Red walked to Andie's bed, slightly concerned.
"You also keep on thinking about this "Kirby" person," she said.
A frown made itself known on Andie's face. "He reminds me of him," she muttered, turning away from the dragon. She sent an image of the puffball, just in case Red wanted to know what he looked like.
Red made a confused sound. "Hey, doesn't this little guy look more like Meta Knight than him?" she asked. Andie turned to face Red and gave her a pointed look.
"Personality wise, not by their appearance," she said, an "it-should-be-obvious" tone to her voice. Red nodded.
"I can see that. But there are things about this pink ball's features that I can compare to his. His smile is almost, if not wider, than his smile. His eyes hold the same kind of innocence and determination too," she observed.
Andie gave Red a curious look, wondering how she hadn't noticed most of what Red had said.
"I definitely noticed the smile, though," she whispered, a forlorn expression appearing on her face. But as soon as it came, the young warlord wiped it off her face. Red looked at Andie thoughtfully.
"What?" she asked.
"Do you want to make friends with him?"
Andie stared at Red, a stone cold expression on her face. She pursed her lips, thinking about her answer.
"No, I don't," she decided. Red looked at her with a strange face.
"What? Why not? You said it yourself, he reminded you of him," she said. Andie sighed.
"That doesn't mean that I want to be his friend. In fact, it makes me want to avoid him more," she stated. Red looked annoyed at the warlord's attitude.
"It's because you think you can't protect him, huh?" she guessed. Andie stayed silent, but Red could see her shoulders tense just the slightest bit. The dragon decided to continue.
"Andie, you can't keep on holding on to the past," she scolded.
The warlord steeled herself, and opened her mouth to deny the dragon's statement.
"Don't! Don't even try to deny it, young woman. You know that I know you as much, or even more, than you know yourself," she snapped.
Andie closed her mouth and wisely decided not to further irritate the dragon.
"You will never be able to move on. Trust me, moving on would be the better than holding on to the past."
For a few moments, silence ruled the room. Andie stared at Red, not a single emotion flitting across her face.
She abruptly stood up, walking briskly past the dragon and in front of the door.
"We'll see, Red."
With that, the warlord opened the door and exited, slamming it shut. Red stared at Andie's bed, a worried expression on her face. "We'll see, huh?" she echoed.
Line B-R-E-A-K
Andie walked to the bathroom at a rather fast pace, which made her seem like she was in a hurry to do something.
Would letting go of the past really help her? She didn't know. But Red did say so, and she is an ancient dragon with a surprisingly large amount of knowledge…
Oh, who was she kidding? She needed to stop depending on Red whenever she broke down every time. This time, she would think about what Red said herself, regardless of her being an ancient dragon with large amounts of knowledge or not.
She took a deep breath, calming herself down. Her steps became slower and slower, until she no longer looked like she was in a rush.
She rounded a corner and caught sight of Peach, Samus, and Zelda, walking side by side.
Zelda had apparently spotted Andie, for she smiled at her and waved her over. Peach turned to Andie as well, a bright and cheerful smile on her face.
"Hey! Care to join us?" she asked. Andie smiled at her and Zelda, and nodded to Samus. Samus nodded back.
"I wouldn't mind. In fact, I think it would be great," she said. Peach cheered and Zelda's smile grew.
"Yay! Another member for the girls' team!" she exclaimed, giggling gleefully. Zelda laughed along with her, while Samus rolled her eyes at them. Honestly, Andie wanted to roll her eyes too, but she was worried that they might see it as a disrespectful gesture.
They walked to the bathroom, content as they chatted about recent events in their worlds. Speaking of which, Andie wondered if Lily got her letter yet. She was certainly taking her time with it.
"Anyway, I was thinking about inviting Blue over here. You know, the toad that was super smart?" Peach rambled. Zelda smiled at her.
"Super smart? I think you should invite her here. After all, maybe we could talk for a while," she suggested. Peach seemed to brighten at her words of encouragement.
"Good idea! What are you up to, Samus?" she asked.
Samus shrugged, but allowed a small smile to creep up her face. "I'm not too sure. I haven't been getting any missions lately. It's actually been quite dull," she said.
Andie bit her lip. They weren't going to steer the conversation to her, were they? After a few moments of chatting, Andie decided that they weren't.
"How about you, Andie? Anything interesting happen in your world?"
Damn. It looks like she spoke too soon.
"Oh. Well, we just finished another war. It was actually one of the longer ones, and it seemed as though our enemy had the upper hand. But we won, though, so I guess it was a happy ending?"
She wanted to refrain from telling more, but she couldn't ignore the curious looks on the princesses' faces. Samus looked slightly interested, but other than that she was mostly indifferent.
Andie's lips were curved up into a smile.
"They had these big metal dragons with them. I wasn't sure how they acquired those, but they did. They were extremely powerful, as they had destroyed almost half of the village before we managed to drive them out," she explained.
Zelda nodded, and looked like she was taking mental notes as she spoke. Peach just had a pleasant smile on her face, happy that Andie was willing to share some information with them.
"It was exhausting, to say the least. I got a pretty bad injury, but it should be all right now," she said, stopping herself before she could say, "thanks to Red'.
Actually, she had been thinking about that.
Should she tell them about Red? Well, she made it this far, so she might as well. And from the looks of their little stories, they have seen weirder things. Surely, they wouldn't mind a dragon.
She sealed her lips shut as they arrived at the bathroom.
No matter how many times she went there, she was sure that she could never get used to how grand it was. Seriously, you could fit more than thirty people in it.
She and the others took off their clothes, and headed for the bathtub. Actually, no- it was more like a pool. A very warm pool.
Mist filled the bathroom, so it was a bit hard to see, and the floor was a bit slippery.
Peach bounded to the tub, while Zelda and Samus followed her closely behind. Andie followed with a bit of hesitance. It seemed like they were close friends, and she sometimes felt like she was intruding on their time together.
She got into the tub after the others had settled in. Peach was playing with bubbles and basically just enjoying her time, Zelda somehow managed to look relaxed and thoughtful at the same time, while Samus just closed her eyes and let her body rest.
Andie, meanwhile, was really tense.
Samus seemed to take notice and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't be so tense. Learn to relax," she said, the smallest hint of a smile on her face. Andie let out a breath she did not realize she was holding, and smiled back at her.
"Yeah, okay."
"Hey, Andie, do you mind telling us a bit more about your world, or maybe just you?"
Andie turned to Zelda with a raised eyebrow. Zelda smiled sheepishly while Samus shook her head.
"You know, Zelda is the Triforce of Wisdom. She's naturally curious. Maybe even too much for her own good," Peach teased. Zelda nodded and nudged the other princess playfully.
Andie smiled. It would be nice if she could be a part of their group.
"I have friend. She went with me here, and, to be honest, she was the one who encouraged me to be friends with you girls," she said.
They looked at her, slightly surprised. Well, the princesses were, at least. Samus just looked curious.
"Who is she?" Zelda and Peach asked. Andie smiled fondly.
"Her name is Red. Actually, you saw my sword, right?"
The girls nodded. Samus pursed her lips. "It looked heavy. I bet your enemies would be shocked that you could carry a sword like that," she smiled.
Andie chuckled. "Well, yes. After all, it's not every day you get to see a fifteen year old carrying a large sword around," she joked.
"And even more so when said girl is a warlord," Peach pointed out, which elicted a small fit of laughter from the group.
"Anyway, she- the sword –can actually transform into a dragon. Although I'm sure that's not the strangest thing you girls have heard," she said. The girls nodded, but they were still impressed.
Zelda smiled at Andie, but then opened her mouth to ask another question.
"So, how did you become a warlo-"
"Selected Smashers, you are needed in the living room"
Andie kept herself from jumping this time, but she and Samus shared a look.
"Time to go, I guess," she said, getting out of the tub and drying herself with one of the towels hanging on the rack. Samus followed her, and soon after, they were fully dressed and waving goodbye to the princesses, who were still in the tub.
"Be sure to come back in one piece!" Peach exclaimed, still waving enthusiastically at Andie and Samus. The two girls nodded, and Zelda gave them a smile that said "good luck".
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Andie, Samus, Meta Knight, and Mario waited patiently in the living room. Master Hand floated in the middle of the room.
It was uncomfortably quiet.
Master Hand sighed. "What is he doing this time?" he muttered to himself. Andie's patience was running thin too. In fact, Samus was also losing her patience. Mario fidgeted around while Meta Knight stayed completely still.
How does he do that?
Andie shifted in her seat, then she glanced at Samus. The bounty hunter was impatiently tapping her finger against the armrest of the couch. She looked at Mario. He was awkwardly looking around, his feet tapping the wooden floor.
Meta Knight looked like he hadn't been waiting for ten minutes and instead for ten seconds.
Master Hand finally had enough. "All right," he boomed, gathering the attention of the four Smashers.
"As you all know, our mission is t-"
The door slammed open, Captain Falcon walking into the room with a toothy grin. Andie stared at him, and so were the other Smashers. She looked at him with an unamused face, not sure whether she should laugh her arse off in relief, or to look at him with the most intimidating death glare she had.
Master Hand was fuming, frustrated at Captain Falcon for being late and for interrupting him.
"So, did I miss anything?" he asked, looking around the room with a grin. Andie almost found it hilarious how he remained oblivious to the irritated and unimpressed stares he was getting.
"Nothing," Master Hand growled. Captain Falcon shrugged and took a seat next to Samus. The woman narrowed her eyes at him, as if daring him to even make a move on her.
Master hand coughed pointedly, one again getting the attention of the Smashers.
"Now that we're all here, I just want to ask if you know what this mission is about. The Smashers nodded at him.
"Good. Now, in order to find the source of this storm, you need to go above the clouds. Basically, you need a plane," he explained.
"It's either we use Samus' ship, or Falcon's "Blue Falcon". What will it be?" he asked.
Andie and Samus looked at each other.
Andie raised her hand. "I think it would be best to use Samus' ship," she said. Captain Falcon stood up from the couch.
"What? No fair! Besides, mine might be faster," he argued. Samus glanced at Andie, who was glaring at the racer.
This debate was not going to be fun.
Line B-R-E-A-K
In the end, after a lot of screaming and mocking, they decided to go with the Blue Falcon.
Needless to say, Andie was not very happy. The Blue Falcon was parked outside of the Mansion, Smashers gathering around it to say goodbye. Master Hand had created a dome around the mansion, just in case the Smashers wanted to go outside.
She stood outside with the other Smashers. They were given a chance to say goodbye to their friends before leaving, which she thought to be quite sweet.
She and Samus were saying their goodbyes to Peach and Zelda.
After a lot of hugs and good lucks, Zelda decided to stay and see them off. Peach went away to say goodbye to Mario. Andie watched as the princess kissed him on the nose, the plumber getting slightly flustered.
She tapped Samus' shoulder. Samus looked at Andie.
"Are they a couple?" she asked, gesturing to Peach and Mario. Samus chuckled, amusement dancing in her eyes.
"With how Peach treats Mario, they should be. Sadly, Peach insists on her actions being "purely platonic"," she said.
Andie sighed.
"What a typical girl in denial," she muttered. The two girls shared a small laugh.
"That is enough. Selected Smashers, please get ready for your journey," Master Hand ordered. Andie waved one last time to Peach and Zelda, before turning around to enter the Blue Falcon.
Before she entered it, a pink puffball whom she recognized as Kirby, dashed towards her.
He was holding a watermelon which had a red ribbon wrapped around it. Andie looked at Kirby curiously. He offered the watermelon to her with a bright smile. Andie smiled back, still confused, but accepted it nonetheless.
The moment she touched it, she had a flashback.
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A little boy who looked no younger than eight dashed to a slightly younger version of Andie. The warlord looked at him, slightly annoyed.
"What do you want?" she asked. The boy smiled at her, and help up a package wrapped with a pink ribbon. Andie looked at him, surprised.
"For me?"
He couldn't really talk because he was mute. Instead, the younger one nodded. The warlord reluctantly took the box and smiled.
"Thanks. You rarely do this. Most of the time, you just act like an ass," she said.
"Language!" a male voice exclaimed.
"Whatever, bro!" Andie yelled back.
The little boy frowned at her. He pushed her playfully and crossed his arms over his chest.
Andie laughed. Okay! Sorry," she muttered, ruffling the boy's already messy hair.
He huffed at her but smiled. Andie squeaked as he jumped and wrapped his arms around her.
"Yeah, yeah. Big sis will come back after the war, okay? Just don't get hurt. And stop pestering our neighbors, for Immorta's sake!" she scolded.
He blew a raspberry at her and turned around, running back into his home. Just before he entered the house, he turned to Andie one more time and waved.
Andie waved back at him, a soft smile gracing her face. As he entered the house and closed the door, Andie watched and put down her hand.
"Goodbye Ethan," she whispered.
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Andie almost stumbled back from the shock.
Kirby looked at her, slightly confused. Andie blinked several times before gathering herself once more. She gave Kirby another smile, but it seemed to show less emotion. She quickly thanked him and entered the ship.
Samus smiled at her.
"From Kirby, correct?" she guessed. Andie shrugged. She decided to examine the watermelon more.
"Yeah, actually. How did you know?" she asked. The watermelon looked fresh. She absently licked her lips. Samus chuckled.
"He gives new arrivals a gift everytime they go on their first mission," she explained. Andie hummed to herself and nodded.
"He seems like a swell fellow," she commented. Samus hummed in agreement. Andie grinned at Samus, and Samus smiled back.
But as the engine started, Samus' expression became more serious.
"Get ready," she said.
Andie nodded, making herself comfortable on the chair. She wiped her face of any emotions from the earlier events. The harsh gleam returned to her eyes, and she gave off a stone cold aura once more.
Her mission started now.
AN: Me- the worst person at chapter endings. Anyway, I'm sorry for not updating, and I'll try to make it up to you guys. This chapter didn't really come out as I had expected it to, but I think it's still pretty good.
Leave a review and fav! They make me feel better. Ciao!