Today was a surprisingly good day for Ike. Not because the day itself was anything spectacular; he still went through the daily routine of waking up and going to class; but he had woken up this morning and found he'd aced his pre-calculus test. It had been something he dedicated the past week to studying for, and seeing his efforts pay off put a skip in his step.
Now, on his way back from a grocery run that afternoon, Ike froze. For a split second, he could have sworn he heard the sound of someone screaming. Curious, he tried to follow the direction the noise had come from, rounding a corner and almost missing the skirmish happening in the alleyway. The sight was quite unusual; what appeared to be a mutant koopa was going after another boy, this one with fluffy white wings on his back. The smaller of the two was frantically trying to keep his distance as the other charged at him, claws outstretched.
Ike cursed his distraction; now wasn't the time to be standing and gawking, that kid needed help! He dropped his grocery bags and rushed towards the boy, pushing him out of the way as the koopa's claws scratched against his arm, ripping his shirt and drawing a bit of blood.
The koopa growled in frustration, now turning its full attention on Ike. He barely had any time to react as the beast opened its mouth, fire blooming in the back of its throat and rushing towards his face. The bluenette cursed, throwing his arms up to block his face. The earth followed his movements; concrete cracking as the ground rose to create a makeshift shield in front of Ike. It worked, as all he could feel was the temperature rise. No flames licked at his skin, and the beast roared in anger. It slashed against the wall of dirt, ripping it apart with sharp claws.
Ike flinched, waiting for them to slice against his skin, but the blow never came. Instead, an arrow flew towards the creature. Though the tip was blunt and it harmlessly bounced off the scales, it caused the monster to turn its attention back to the boy Ike was trying to rescue. Why hadn't he run away yet?
Again, it charged towards the kid, and Ike took the opportunity to run up behind it and swing his leg out. His foot collided with one of the spikes decorating its shell, and the force was enough to knock it onto its back. The monster grumbled, flailing its limbs in an attempt to flip back onto its feet.
It wasn't having much luck, and Ike didn't want to wait around to see how long it would take the creature to right itself again. Instead, he took the boy by the arm, stopped to pick up his groceries, and ran.
They didn't stop until they were a couple of blocks away from the fight, the younger of the two panting for breath.
"Thanks for helping me back there," he huffed. "I thought I was a goner!"
Ike nodded, accepting the gratitude, but his face hardened. "What the hell was that thing and what did it want with you?"
"Honestly, I have no idea. I'd never seen it before until just now," the kid shrugged. "At first I thought it was just trying to, like, mug me or something, but it wouldn't leave me alone! Oh goodness, what if it was trying to abduct me?" Ike could see him visibly shudder at that thought.
"Don't worry, you should be safe now. But you shouldn't have stuck around when you had the chance to run, and you probably shouldn't have been in that alleyway either. Try to be more careful next time."
With that, the older of the two turned to head back to his dorm. He only took a few steps when the boy spoke up again. "Wait!" Ike stopped, turning around to look at him again. "Would you mind walking me home? What if it comes back?"
He seriously doubted that monster would come back, especially since it was still daylight and there were other people around, but Ike also did not want to eat his words and have something horrible happen. After all, he had been the only one to step in during the first attack, so there was no guarantee that someone else would if a second one occurred.
"Alright." He said, watching as the other perked up.
"Thank you!" The brunette said, starting off in what Ike assumed was the direction of his home. He followed. "My name's Pit, by the way, what's yours?"
"Ike."
Pit looked like he wanted to say something, but Ike's short answer gave him little to work with. They continued their trek for a few silent minutes, before the bluenette's eyes wandered to the bow and container of arrows Pit was carrying. The arrows looked identical to the one back in the alleyway, and Ike assumed Pit must've been the one who shot it. "You do archery?" He asked.
"Yeah!" The brunette smiled. "I'm a pretty good shot, too. It didn't help much back there, though. I guess these practice arrows are too blunt. Sorry."
"You really should have just gotten away when you had the chance." Ike shrugged. He didn't mean to be so harsh on the kid, but he figured that if no one told him of his mistakes, Pit would keep making them, and put himself at risk again in the future.
The boy in question pouted. "But you were still in danger; I couldn't just leave you, especially when you stepped in to help me!" he said, and Ike quietly grumbled in response. He had no real argument to make against Pit's thought process, but he still couldn't get himself to agree with it.
Silence fell over them once more, but it only lasted a few moments, as Pit spoke up once more. "I saw the way the ground moved to block you earlier. Was that you who did that? Does that mean you have powers?"
Ike nodded. "Yeah, do you?" He said, looking at the fluffy white wings sticking out of Pit's shoulders.
"Sure do! Why do you think I have these?" Pit ruffled his feathers for emphasis. Ike had never really seen someone have a mutation for a superpower, but he supposed there was no other logical way to explain it. "It kind of stinks, though, I can't fly with them. They're just there."
The older hummed in response, unsure of what to say. Pit was right, that did stink. It sounded to him like having wings that couldn't fly would be more trouble than it was worth, but at the same time he didn't want to accidentally insult the other. It wasn't like the brunette chose to have them.
They rounded a corner, office buildings and stores giving way to a small neighborhood. A few houses went by before Pit walked up the sidewalk of one with a slightly unkempt lawn and a white car in the driveway.
"Thanks again for everything, Ike!" Pit said, digging out a house key from his pocket. Before the boy could use it, the door swung open, and a rather youthful, green-haired woman stood in the entrance.
"Welcome home!" She smiled, moving out of the way so Pit could walk inside. Looking up, she noticed Ike standing a few feet back. "Oh, who's your friend?"
The boy unceremoniously dropped his bag by the front door. "That's Ike. I ran into some trouble on the way home, and he helped me out! Ike, this is my mom!"
The man in question was starting to feel a little awkward. He hadn't planned on sticking around for so long, but now he was trapped under the scrutinized gaze of a stranger. "Your kid nearly got abducted," he blurted.
The mother's eyes widened as she looked to Pit for confirmation. The brunette nodded his head, and she turned back to him. "My goodness," she said, and Ike couldn't help but notice how well she was in control of her shock. He could still hear her voice waver, but her calm demeanor stayed relatively unaffected. "I can't thank you enough to helping him, then. Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't. Is there any way I can repay you?"
Ike shrugged. He didn't really feel like he needed a reward. "Don't worry about it."
But the woman didn't look happy at the idea of taking no for an answer, frowning and scrunching her eyebrows in thought. "I know!" she suddenly exclaimed. "Why don't you stay over for dinner?"
He paused. For someone who had been eating dorm food for quite some time, the thought of a home cooked meal (even if it was made by people he hardly knew) sounded very appealing; especially if it was free. What was the worst that would happen if he accepted? "Okay."
"Great!" She smiled, then held the door open so Ike could step inside. "I'm making my famous vegetable surprise tonight, I hope you like it!"
The bluenette had to admit, vegetables were not his favorite, but he couldn't help but wonder what he had just gotten himself into as Pit's face suddenly paled.
Disappointment settled into the bottom of Peach's stomach. It was almost always a tragedy when she passed through the produce section and saw the products looking a little less than in good condition. This store in particular did an absolutely terrible job with caring for the herb plants on sale, and by the abundance of them still on display, Peach was sure she wasn't the only one who noticed.
But unlike other people, she was someone who could do something about it. The blonde looked around, checking to make sure no one was watching, then tapped her fingers against a wilting basil plant. It immediately responded, the leaves springing back to life and the entire thing turning a much healthier shade of green. Satisfied with her work, Peach turned to a batch of rosemary.
"That doesn't look like a very good business practice," a voice sounded. Peach squeaked in surprise, pulling her fingers away from the rosemary as a light blush covered her cheeks. She looked up; the source of the voice was that of a rather tall hylian girl, brown hair framing the small smile on her face.
"I'm sorry, you caught me," Peach put her arms behind her back, as if she was a child scolded for sneaking dessert before dinner. What she was doing wasn't exactly illegal, but she supposed the girl was right. Her powers worked more as a 'pick-me-up' than a permanent fix for unhealthy plants, and were certainly no substitute for giving them proper care. If someone bought any plant that received her help and then neglected to take care of it, the plant would eventually degrade into an even worse condition than the original wilted state. "They just looked so sad, I couldn't help myself."
The brunette girl laughed. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me." Peach sighed in relief. Footsteps sounded behind her, and the girl's eyes widened ever so slightly. The blonde turned around, seeing Lucina place a bag of lemons in the shopping cart. She looked up afterwards, making eye contact with the hylian. There was an awkward pause.
"Ah, sorry," the brunette started, embarrassed that she had been caught staring. "You just look so much like this one guy in my history class, it caught me off guard."
Peach didn't know if anyone else noticed, but Lucina flinched. "Really? That's weird." She commented.
"Yeah," the girl scratched at the side of her head. "I guess you wouldn't know him. I think his name is like, Marth, or something."
Lucina was quick to deny that she knew anyone named Marth, and their conversation ended there. Peach and Lucina continued on their route through the store, while the hylian girl went her own separate way.
The blonde was starting to get suspicious. When the trio of time travelers first confronted her in her shop, Peach wouldn't deny that she'd been skeptical. Regardless, she'd invited them to live with her and Olimar, but only partly out of the kindness of her heart. Peach wanted to keep a close eye on them in case they tried anything funny, and what better way was there than to have them under their watch? Of course, they'd proven themselves trustworthy over the course of their stay, and Peach was starting to enjoy having the three live with them, but Lucina's attitude towards the strange hylian girl was not something she could ignore.
A few aisles later, Peach stopped the cart and looked to Lucina. "Okay, what was that all about?"
The bluenette looked surprised. "What?"
"That whole thing with that girl earlier. When she asked you about her classmate, I could tell you were feigning ignorance."
"Was it that obvious?" Lucina cringed, looking at the floor. No, she hadn't been that obvious, Peach was just observant, but the blonde nodded her head anyways, urging Lucina for an explanation. "It's a long story, but that girl's name is Zelda. She's one of the people we told you about."
Peach suspected that wasn't the only reason Lucina acted the way she had, and that her "long story" had much to do with it, but she still went along with the slight change of subject. She'd just have to bug the girl about it later, when they were in private. "She was? Why didn't you say anything?"
Lucina shrugged. "I don't think she would've believed me if I did." Peach shook her head. That was a poor excuse; after all, they had been quite blunt when they approached her and Olimar. It sounded more like the girl was just being shy.
"With that attitude, we're going to have a tough time accomplishing what you three came here for. There's no way to tell people what you know without it being awkward or unbelievable, so you've just gotta bite the bullet." Peach scolded, sighing at the end of her sentence. "The next time you see someone like that, let me know. If you don't have the guts to say something, I will."
Lucina nodded, hanging her head in shame. It made Peach feel a little guilty that she'd been so stern with the bluenette, but she still felt it was necessary to get her message across. The blonde started pushing the cart once more. "Come on, we only need to grab a few more things," she said, pulling a box of cereal off the shelf.
"I'm gettin' real sick of this!" Robin cringed as Bowser slammed open the door. His face was twisted with rage as he stomped across the carpet and took a seat in what he claimed as his own armchair. Personally, Robin didn't understand why Bowser would come into the study to vent his anger when it was supposed to be a place of peace and quiet, but now wasn't quite the time to comment on that.
They closed their laptop and turned to Bowser. Robin wasn't quite interested in what the koopa was so angry about, but they figured he would more than likely get angrier that Robin didn't care, and proceed to tell them whatever it was anyways. "What's the problem?"
A low growl rumbled in his throat. "Every time I try to nab someone new, something always gets in the way!" He practically shouted. Robin couldn't say they were very upset about that. "It's been happening all the time with Peach. You know I've wanted to get her for the longest time, right?" They nodded. "But she's practically never alone these days, so there's never a good time I can catch her off guard!"
"Maybe she's caught on," Robin shrugged. It wasn't too far-fetched; after all, Bowser was terrible at stalking people. Stealth was not something that came naturally to him.
The koopa in question huffed, small traces of steam curling from his breath. "There's no way, we've hardly done anything to gain public attention, so how could she possibly know anything? Besides, it's not just her. There's this kid I've also kept an eye on, and today the little idiot decided to try a shortcut down an alleyway on his way home. So naturally I'm thinking, 'Perfect! Here's my chance!'"
Robin raised an eyebrow, but Bowser paid little mind as he continued his tirade. "Then this buff guy comes out of nowhere and steps in like he's picking a fight! The worst part is, he managed to flip me over onto my shell, and by the time I got back on my feet, they were gone! It was humiliating!"
Robin tried to hold back a snicker at the thought of Bowser wildly flailing his limbs around in order to flip himself off of his shell. They opened their mouth, about to say something, but paused when the door opened for the second time.
"Ganondorf." Robin nodded their head in acknowledgement. The man grunted, looking between the two already in the room.
His eyes settled back to Robin. "How's your research coming along?"
"Well, I'm working on it, if that's what you're asking," they shrugged. Ganondorf didn't look very pleased with their answer.
He gestured to an old clay tablet that rested on Robin's desk. "What about that thing? Has it helped you any?"
They nodded, though it was a half-lie. Perhaps if they were more inclined to study it further, the object would help with Robin's research. However, before it was a display at the local art museum, it had been one of the few artifacts that people had managed to bring out of the Crata ruins. There was a reason hardly anything was known about that place. All investigations done of that area ended with some form of bad luck or tragedy, and Robin, like the rest of the scientific community, was not afraid to admit that they took these superstitions very seriously. Even if Lucario already checked its aura, and nothing was legitimately unusual about it, the tablet still seemed to radiate an energy that left Robin unsettled.
"Hey, Ganondorf, I need to talk to you for a second," Bowser cut in, getting up from his seat and heading towards the door. The man grunted, shutting the door behind the two of them, and left Robin in silence once again. They shrugged it off, figuring Bowser just wanted to have another person to express his earlier grievances to.
Ike was forever thankful that they'd gone out for dinner instead of staying in that night. Pit's mom, who had introduced herself as Palutena, had somehow managed to screw up her vegetable surprise so badly that she took the oven down with it. At first, Ike had felt rather guilty about it. Here they were, treating him to an expensive meal at a rather fancy restaurant, when they would eventually have to find the money to fix their oven.
Of course, Pit was quick to rectify the situation, explaining that they were actually very rich, and they could afford to be a little frivolous if the situation called for it. This made Ike wonder why they chose to stay in such their smaller house when they could've been living in a bigger one, but the bluenette didn't really think it would be polite to ask. Instead, he enjoyed the meal they were willing to pay for and made sure to show his gratitude. No matter how wealthy these two were, Ike was still surprised they were willing to be so generous to someone they'd only known for a couple of hours.
Overall, the dinner was very enjoyable. Not only was the steak Ike ordered cooked to perfection, but the two he was with were very pleasant company. Pit was quite talkative, and had a great sense of humor that never left the table in an awkward silence. Palutena was also very friendly, quick to make small talk that gave both parties the opportunity to learn more about each other.
That night, as Ike gathered his things and was prepared to take his leave, Palutena stopped him at the door.
"Thank you again, for what you did today." She said, but Ike only shook his head.
"It was nothing, really. I should be the one thanking you for this evening."
"You've already thanked us enough" Palutena giggled. "Actually, if you don't mind, there's one more thing I'd like to ask you."
Ike raised an eyebrow. He didn't think Palutena was the type of person to suddenly try anything suspicious, but the sudden request threw him off guard. "What is it?"
"Pit's taken quite a liking to you, and I can certainly see why. You're a nice kid, a good role model, and it's not every day we meet someone else who has superpowers. I think it's really great that you two made friends with each other." She paused, examining Ike's expression. While he certainly wouldn't call himself a good role model (especially concerning the trouble he'd gotten himself into recently), it was true that Pit and him had gotten along very well that night. "But, you see," Palutena continued. "He's been struggling a bit with his classes lately, so I was thinking about the possibility of you being interested in tutoring him? I'll pay you, of course."
Of all the things Ike was expecting, this was not it. The bluenette had never really thought of himself as someone smart enough to tutor somebody else, but here he was, the offer being thrown right at him. It was almost too good to be true; Ike really didn't mind the idea of helping the brunette with school, and he was pretty sure he could handle helping the other understand an eighth grade level curriculum.
"Are you sure?" He asked. "I mean, yeah, I'll tutor Pit, if you're alright with that."
"Of course I am! Otherwise, I wouldn't have asked." Palutena laughed once more, giving Ike a light pat on the back. "I'll call you sometime later to work out the details. It's getting late, so you should probably get back to your dorm soon. Want me to drive you?"
The bluenette shook his head. "That's alright, the walk isn't too bad. I'll be fine. Thank you anyways; I guess I'll see you later." He stepped out the front door, making his way down the steps.
Palutena stood by the front door, waving as he left. "Alright, then. It was nice meeting you, Ike!" She called after him before gently shutting the door.
As he made his way through the streets, Ike couldn't help but think about how lucky he had been. Who knew he would have gotten along so well with the kid he had helped earlier that day? Now, not only had he gotten a free meal that night, he'd landed himself a part time job and met two incredibly nice people. This day really had been a good one.
This chapter was not fun to edit. I still don't know if it's exactly how I want it, but whatever. I already had to rewrite an entire section. This chapter should also answer the guest reviewer's first question. Of course, all other story related questions will be answered within the story. Formatting, however, is a different subject. I'll have to admit, I spend more time thinking about which sections go in which chapter than I do about their order; mostly because there are some chapters that have will have no sections with direct correspondence (and can go in any order), and some whose sections do correspond. I'll try to experiment with the order of the sections that do correspond; let me know what works better and what doesn't. Also wow I can't believe I wrote an AN this long. As always, thank you for reading!
