Disclaimer: All characters, Samus Aran, Link, Mario Mario, Pikachu, Mewtwo, Zelda, Peach, Luigi Mario, Impa, Daisy, Fox McCloud, Krystal, Captain Falcon, Jody Summer, Ness, Kirby, Donkey Kong, Sheik, are © or R to Nintendo corp.
The OC's (Original characters) of Toadrice, Chef Gamdin, Apollo, the black haired, green eyed boy, the made up tribe of Sheikans, Star, Grace, Lucky, Mercury, Gabriel, Zip, Wing Kass are all owned by Wolf—Shadow/WolfTrust/Wolf—Shadow's—Ghost, or whatever username she is using at the moment, and are not to be used without her permission. (Seriously people, I've invested a lot of time and effort into this story, and I really don't want my ideas to be ripped off)
Chapter 4: Hard Landing
Voices, murmurs, screams, they whirled around, inter- mingling, all becoming a jumble of sounds. She tried to concentrate, she couldn't drown out the mental turmoil that was threatening to pull her in, she had to regain consciousness.
Slowly she rose above the churning of her mind and memory, and managed to pull herself out of unconsciousness and wake her body. She forced herself to remain still, if there was any danger she wanted to look as though she was still knocked out and helpless. Slowly, cautiously, she gained control of every nerve, bone, muscle and sinew in her body and along with the control, came the pain. It felt as if every molecule in her body had been pulled apart then pieced back together, she ached all over, and the scar on her left arm burned white hot. Now her mind churned dizzyingly and her body wailed in agony, chaos seemed the most effective way to describe it.
She clawed her way even higher, above the pain, trying to assess her surroundings, as best she could, without opening her eyes. She was lying against something soft, but it itched against her bare skin, the air was clear and cool, laden with fragrances that crawled out from the dark corners of her memory, and yet were almost alien. The sounds were also very off to her, a gentle rustling, chirps and whistles, probably from birds. But how was that possible?
A softer sound pulled at her attention, breathing, very light, even breathing. Her mind had quieted and the pain had subsided into dull throbbing, she had learned everything that she could from this position and it was vital the she know who was near her. She opened her eyes and was nearly blinded by the light, 'how could it be so bright'? The stuff she was lying on was dark green, 'Grass? But… how?'
She moved slightly, getting used to her physical surroundings. Deliberately her right hand drifted down to her waist and touched cold smooth metal. Good, she still had her pistol, so she wasn't a captive. She reached out her right arm from underneath her body, and pushed herself up, a strand of blonde hair falling into her face. A stretch of green and blue hit her eyes, grass was growing freely everywhere she turned. The sky was bright, clear blue smattered with a few clean white clouds. The sun shone, completely unobscured, bathing everything within its grasp in a warm glow, the air that she breathed was crisp, fresh and free of dust particles or ash.
A glint of white and silver torn her eyes away from the shockingly beautiful landscape. She felt her stomach twist as she realized who was lying almost motionless beside her.
Grace." She whispered, it sounded calm but there was an underline of worry. She quickly scrambled, as quietly as she could, next to the Hylain. Grace's white hair was blindingly bright as the sun beat down upon it.
She placed her hand on Graces right shoulder and shook her ever so slightly, "Grace." She whispered again, still straining her ears to hear if a threat was nearby. She shook Grace again. What happened next came so fast that had she not been expecting it, could have killed her. One second Grace was lying on the ground apparently comatose, the next she had whipped up and around pressing the now unsheathed blade up against her throat. The blade had not broken skin but if she did anything besides breath blood would be spilt. So she patiently waited, sitting on her knees, her blue-grey eyes gazing unafraid into Grace's ruby colored ones.
"Star?" Grace asked as the mist clouding her eyes vanished and her kill or be killed instinct evaporated. Grace lowered the blade, but did not place it back within its sheath.
"Are you all right?" Star asked with concern, tilting her head to get a better look at her friend, lose blonde hair falling into her face. Over the course of their lives both Star and Grace had been told over and over, that they looked like younger versions of their Mothers. Grace had markings beneath her eyes, three white prongs came down from beneath her eye lids, the middle one pointed straight down while the ones on ether side curled up and toward the sky.
"I believe so." Grace replied her face sliding back into its usual stern thoughtfulness. "However I must confess that I haven't the faintest idea where I am." She continued looking around with much the same confusion and shock that Star had when first she had taken in this new turn of events.
She stood up, her tight, black outfit moving with her almost like a second skin, her bare arms hot from the sun. Where in the name of Adam where they? There was a wide circle of flattened grass all around them, slight rises in the land beyond the circle created a sort of minuscule valley in which they where near dead center.
A small sudden noise made both Star and Grace whip out their weapons and turn around so fast that in the time it took a person to blink, Star's gun was charged, humming and vibrating in her hand and Grace's short blade was back up, glittering in the light as both teenagers faced the rather large hill that had been at their backs, pointing the weapons at the crest of the rise.
The only movement they made was to breath, Stars sleeveless outfit flexing and stretching with her well toned abdomen and shoulders. They held themselves still for almost a minute, never moving an inch, then, beside her, Grace lowered her blade but her eyes continued to flit left and right along the crest.
"Hmmm," Star said quietly in her throat, "I don't see anyone, or anything, for that matter." She muttered in an undertone to Grace, who stood up beside her, high ponytail of white hair brushing around her sharp pointed ears. She opened her mouth and began to speak in a fast dialect that, to anyone else would have sounded like gibberish, but which Star understood perfectly, as she had helped create it.
I cannot hear anything, but they still might be there. Grace informed her I'd advise speaking in low tones, and not saying anything that could compromise who we are. She sheathed the weapon and the eye with the single teardrop engraved just below the hilt, glinted brightly.
I agree, Grace, especially since the experiment had every thing to do with time. she nodded as she decharged her weapon and placed it back within its holster.
A low moan made them both twist back around to stare at the large grey rock behind them, this time they did not draw their weapons as they knew who had made the noise.
"Wing." Star said worry plain on her face.
She and Grace quickly ran up and around the bolder. Lying just behind it in a
semi-unconscious state was a small human girl, dressed in a body suit that was similar to the ones that Star and Grace both wore, except that hers consisted of two pieces. Them top half was light pink, and had hot pink shoulder pads that extended a centimeter past her small shoulders, and sleeves that came all the way down to her wrists. The pants of the suit were four shades darker than the top, and the boots that came right up to her knees were a sort of purple pink. She had short, light brown hair and was lying on her side, so that her face was exposed. It was a small, rounded angelic face with cupids bow shaped lips. She was anywhere between ten and eleven years old.
Grace swiftly knelt down next to Wing and placed her right hand against her throat.
"Her heart is beating and she is breathing." Brace then slid her hand from Wings neck and up to her skull while Star stood above them watching with concern and listening for any more noises from the hill. "She has a small abrasion on the back of her head." Grace spoke up still running her fingers though Wings short spiky hair "I was afraid that she might have hit her head against the boulder, but it doesn't seem like it. It isn't serious, she will be fine." Grace removed her hand. She wore dark blue fingerless gloves that bore the same eye symbol as her blade. It would have looked exactly like the Sheikah eye of Truth, except that in the center of the eye stood three miniscule animals, to the left was a stag, the prongs of his horns jutting upward proudly, to the right was a wolf, it's head held high, it's muzzle wide in a silent howl, in the center was a large Eagle, wings outstretched and its head pointing downward. In the tear falling from the eye was a single tree sapling, thin, delicate limbs twining skyward defying gravity, tiny buds sprouting from every direction. Each tiny detail was embroidered in a bright crimson on the back of Graces gloves. This was Grace's personal sign, a combination of both religions she had been born into, and a constant reminder of her parents.
"When will she wake?" Star asked of her friend.
As if she had heard her leaders remark, Wing groaned, shivered a little and open her large emerald eyes. Grace shifted so as to get a better view of Wings face, and Star knelt down on her other side. She brushed a few strands of hair out of the young girls face as Wing began to blink the fog from her eyes.
"How do you feel?" Grace asked gently.
Wing did not answer immediately, instead she brought her arms up from under herself, pushed up so that she was sitting on her knees and surveyed the immediate area. Star could see her take in the circle of grass, the boulder, the clean air, everything that Star and Grace had both seen and been shocked by, was sinking into Wings mind, and while she observed the same details, her reaction was quite different than the other girls's had been. She looked between Star on her right and Grace on her left several times before asking in a light, childish, yet serious voice "Are we dead?"
To anyone else this question might have sounded silly, a funny question asked by an uninformed little girl, something to laugh about while eating a meal. But for Star and Grace who had seen many miserable things in their lives, the question was quite valid.
"I don't know," Star said, once more gazing around herself, she could have sworn she had just seen a butterfly flit by. "It doesn't seem possible, does it? How everything is so…" she trailed off, groping for the right way to describe this impossible situation.
"Peaceful." Grace finished for her.
Star pushed herself up and adjusted her dark orange belt strap so that she had a better angle to quick draw the now holstered pistol. "Yes……. Wing." She looked back down at the girl, and Wing looked up at her, some of the confusion had gone from her eye and been replaced with determination.
"Look at the charts you made, try and figure out what went wrong, how we can fix it and where we might be."
"What about the others? Where are they?" Wing said as she withdrew a small square screen from out of a nearly invisible pouch.
"We haven't seen or heard them." Grace replied standing up next to Star.
"But they have to be around here somewhere. If we all ended up in the same time frame, they should all be right here, correct?" Star said still looking at Wing who looked up from the illuminated touch pad which had many difficult graphs, diagrams, charts and math equations, scrawled all over the screen.
"Theoretically, yes."
"Theoretically?" Grace asked, arcing a snow white eyebrow. "If the calculations were off enough to send us, Din knows where, wouldn't it be plausible that the others might have been dropped off years ahead or years behind?"
Wing shook her head, short hair waving. "No, the only way that this works, is that once the time leap stops turning, everyone who was pulled along must stop at exactly the same moment in time. Time flows like water, always moving, and like water, it can be manipulated. But unlike water, time has its own unexplained rules, sometimes the rules can be figured out, other times they just can't be, so we just have to accept them for what they are. Time travel is tricky business without trying to figure out every rule atom by atom, and it probably will never be entirely perfected, there are just to many variables. I did warn you something like this was very probable, but if I can find the old machine, or build another one, I'm positive that I can figure out what happened and fix it."
Grace nodded but Star had on more question. "That still doesn't explain why the others didn't land here with us. If we all stopped at the same moment in time why not in space?"
Wing looked slightly bemused "Star, when you plan a trip to somewhere you can almost always correctly calculate how long it will take you to get there right? But can you calculate the exact spot your feet will touch when you get there, the way you will be standing, and what exactly you will see in front of you?" Wing waited a few moments before answering it herself "No, and it applies triple to time travel, especially since something made the calculations go off so badly." She looked back down at the pad and began to move the shapes around with her fingers. "Besides, the range of the machine wasn't that far so they are nearby somewhere. "Anyway," she chewed her lower lip "we'll probably hear them before we see them, the way they act."
"All right, Grace and I will keep a look out while you work on that." Star replied as she began to walk a little ways off of the boulder, Grace right behind. Once she was out of Wings earshot, she turned to the shadow warrior, "In every other respect, she is a child, but in her intelligence, she is triple her age." she murmured to Grace.
"You are quite scientific minded as well." Grace commented cocking her head.
"Not with time, that always gets my head spinning, I can wrap my mind around wormholes, plasma malfunctions, alien anatomies, and I can even tell you where to find the most reliable place to find the needle in the haystack, but time, forget it." Grace had opened her mouth to reply when,
"YHAAARRGG! Slow down dude! RGGG! Slow down!"
Star and Grace had both reached for their respective weapons and tightened their bodies preparing for a fight when they recognized the voice. It bespoke of a young man entering puberty, despite the way it was yelling.
"Mercury." Grace stated, narrowing her eyes and folding her arms.
"Oh come on, you've handled worse!" yelled a different voice, another young man, this one however was deeper, he had already entered puberty.
"That's Lucky, what are they doing?" Star wondered furrowing her brow.
"They're coming closer," Wing said from behind them, "and it sounds like they're coming from over there." She pointed away from the boulder and to a bluff opposite the one that the older girls had first heard a sound from. This one was not quite as high, and as the three stood and listened the breeze swept past them causing the grass outside the flattened circle to dance and sway. Subconsciously Star noted that the sun glittering on the grass coupled with the way the breeze blew it into the shadows and back into the light, made the ground look like a large beast breathing.
Another yell from the first voice and this one was definitely closer than the last, "Dude!" now they could hear something running, a fast steady pace sounding like a heartbeat. It was faint at first but it became louder and louder. Someone who hadn't known what was approaching would have been scared by the strange thump, thump, thump, that came nearer each second. Star, Grace and Wing however, were well acquainted with that sound and were not remotely frightened. The thumping continued, closer and closer, it was on the other side of the bluff, it was climbing… then something large and bright green towered over them at the top of the bluff, but only for a second, for then it leapt up and off, emitted a shrieky-snarling sound and landed with a slight whomp three feet in front of them. As soon as its feet were planted on the ground, one of the two people that had been on its back slipped and fell off on his backside, the young teenager still sitting on the green creatures back laughed and said, "You're never been able to hang on when Green stops running, Mercury."
Mercury looked up from his spot on the ground "Ha, Ha, very funny Lucky." Mercury had bright, yellow blonde hair that hung down in loose spikes, the tips of which faded into a bright red color. His eyes were sky blue and he had a sharp pointed chin. His outfit consisted of a dark orange tee-shirt with light orange flames coming up from the bottom and shooting up to his midriff, which he wore with loose dark blue jeans and red and gray tennis shoes. His body was of the shorter, stocky build and his skin was light cream.
Lucky chuckled. His hair was dark brown and stood up in every direction, the tips of his hair were also colored differently then the rest of his hair, standing out a deep green. His eyes where a shade of navy blue, his face was finely sculpted, with a strong jaw and high cheek bones. He also wore a loose tee-shirt, his a sage green with a stark yellow "L" that was shaped almost like a check mark, his pants and shoes where exactly like Mercury's, but his body shape could not have been more different. While Mercury was shorter and stocky, coming about up to Stars chin, Lucky stood right at her eye line, his legs and torso were very long, almost lanky. Both of their measurements, however , would soon become irrelevant, as both boys would soon reach their respective growth spurts.
Green was the creature that Mercury and Lucky had been riding. She was a large bight green Yoshi, though she looked very little like one. Instead of a large rounded snout with a small pleasant mouth, she had a long pointed muzzle. She opened this muzzle and with a noise that sounded like a laugh, showed off all of her sharp fangs. Her tongue was long and thin like that of a snake. While regular Yoshis had wide eyes on the front of there heads, Green had sharp, narrow, golden colored eyes on ether side of her face, the pupils of which were black slits. Her head flowed smoothy into her long, powerful neck,which then flowed into her shoulders and chest. Her arms where long and well toned with muscles, her hand boasted long claw like fingers, each one ending in a very sharp tip. At that moment, Greens hands were relaxed and flexible, but when she wanted them to, they would stiffen, become hard, and just as deadly as any sword.
Greens legs were ripped with powerful running muscles, thigh moving backward and into her knee joint, down to her calf, then into her ankle and finally curved into her feet. She wore no shoes like other Yoshi's, but then there was probably not a shoe in existence that would stay on Green's feet. Two long white claws grew out of the end of the green flesh, unlike Greens fingers, however, these were always hard and sharp. Able to tear through even the toughest of metals like they were tissue paper, but as deadly as they were, they were not the most intimidating thing about Green. On the inside of each foot was another claw, or rather, talon. It was placed farther back along than the others, and it curled and shaped itself into a hook. It was at least three and a half inches long, Green had separate control over it than the others, allowing her to dig it into a victim further without jamming the straight ones in as well. Her tail was longer than normal Yoshis, giving her balance as she ran at forty plus speed, the spikes lining her back were red and sharp. Over all, Green looked more like a Valsaraptor from ancient earth than one of the peaceful Dinosaurs from Yoshis inland. Only her coloring seemed to remain true. She had the typical white on her cheeks, throat, front side of her neck and under belly, all the way to the tip of her tail.
Green opened her muzzle and spoke, her voice was low, somewhat gravely, but pleasant all the same, "Seems like you aren't used to going fast." She hissed a little at the end of her sentence, her way of showing amusement. Lucky slid his legs around from Greens back and landed lightly next to her, Green stood about as tall as Star.
Mercury turned his eyes and glared up at Green, "I am just used to riding Red, thank you very much, he runs differently than you do."
"Yea," Wing called from where she was still sitting, she grinned at Mercury, "Slowly."
"I'm glad to see you women are safe." Lucky interjected as he helped Mercury to his feet.
"We're glad to see you too." Star said as she and Grace walked up to the boys. She cuffed Lucky on the shoulder in greeting and he did the same to her. Grace and Mercury exchanged the same greeting. Star quickly and as quietly as she could whispered to the three We've heard sounds from over the hill behind us, someone might be there, don't say anything that could compromise us. She stepped back a pace knowing that they understood and would follow the order, then she looked up at Green and said in a normal voice "How are you doing, Green?"
The Yoshi turned her head to look at her with one golden eye. "Bit sore from landing, fine otherwise."
"Good," Grace said "Have any of you seen Gabriel?"
"No we've only seen each other and you three, have you seen Red?" Mercury said
worriedly.
"Not a claw or scale of him." Wing answered walking up to stand just behind Grace and Star, still holding the glowing screen.
"Have you found out what happened?" Grace asked. Star noticed the worry that flit though the shadow warrior's eyes, but it was gone as fast as it had come.
"I'm getting there, I've almost got it figured out." Wing replied, looking up at Grace though wisps of dark hair
"I'm sure Gabriel's fine, he can handle himself." Lucky said with confidence.
"He probably landed with some of the others." Mercury added "So there's nothing to worry about."
"Yes, I know, but it is my duty to worry about his safety." Grace responded with a tired smile.
"If they don't show up within the next hour we'll…", Stars words were cut off by a loud yelp.
"Zip?" they all said in unison and turned toward the left of the bluff that Lucky, Mercury and Green had run from. Thump, thump, thump the sound of a running Yoshi came at them again, but the pauses between steps were longer and somehow each step sounded heaver.
"Here they come." Lucky said rubbing his hand just below Greens jaw line, she made a sort of clicking noise and leaned into it. Another yelp but this one was much lower in pitch.
"There is Gabriel." Grace said, some of the tension gone from her shoulders.
"Pikaaaa!" A bright yellow bolt raced down the slope as they stood watching. It ran almost up to Star, gave a mighty bound into the air and landed in Stars' arms.
"Kassandra.", Wing said happily looking up at the female Pikachu. Kassandra was a brighter yellow than most Pikachu; her back was bare, missing the two brown strips that were normal for most of her kind. The tips of her ears were colored black as was usual, but below that were two black rings, each had a quarter inch of yellow between each other. Kass like the others of the team was quite different than one would expect. "Chuu…" Kass hummed jumping on to Stars shoulder and balancing herself so that she was looking back from where she had run from.
"Glad to see you're okay." Star said to Kass, running her fingers behind the Electric Pokemons' ears.
They all continued to watch as the noise came closer, then a large red came up over the hill and thudded to a stop in front of the others, the two young boys sitting atop his back slid forward slamming into his thick strong neck. The boy in front gave a small squeal, and the one on behind him rammed his muzzle into the others back.
"Red!" Mercury said cheerfully coming up to stand next to Red. Red had the same body shape as Green, from the pointed muzzle to the long deadly talon, but Red was different in the respect that while green was long and lean, built to be a runner, Red was heavily muscled, his legs and arms thick and powerful. Red stood only a little taller than Green. The five spikes running down his back were as dark orange as Mercury's shirt, his skin was crimson and shone in the light, he was just as impressive as Green was to look at.
"Owww," the boy in the front said his voice still muffled due to the fact that his face was still planted in the back of Reds neck.
Quickly Star stepped forward and grabbed onto the furry arm of the boy behind and helped him down off of Reds high back. "Zip you might want to be a bit more careful next time you decide to ride Red."
Zip was not human, he was not Hylain either. In fact, he was a young fox cub from the Lyact system, with thin tawny colored fur and wide pale blue eyes, his muzzle was thin pointed and had a small brown nose. The fur under his jaw a light white, his ears were large, almost too big looking for his head, but that was typical for a fox his age. In between his ears was a sort of blaze of dark frosty blue fur, it started at his forehead and ended at the back of his neck. His white tee-shirt was mostly hidden by the sleeveless grey-green vest that he wore. His tight blue jeans with a hole in the back for his bushy tail, were held up by a black belt. Like Star he also had a gun holstered at his hip, but his was a Blaster, not a Laser Pistol.
"Hey, I would've been just fine running here by myself, but nooo, he said that it would be smarter and faster just to ride Red, because Red could smell you guys out and Red was faster then us, even though Red had to, like, sit on the ground for us to be able to climb on, and even then, Kass beat us here." Zip complained as Star set him on the ground. He only came up to her waist.
The boy still on Reds back pushed himself off of the Yoshis neck and back onto the white trimmed saddle. "Well he did find them faster then we would have." Gabriel said disorientated, running his fingers though his short wheat colored blonde hair.
"Never mind that," Grace said holding out her arms to help Gabriel down, 'if we let you two continue this conversation it will turn into an argument." She finished as Gabriel slid down into her grip.
"Okay." Gabriel said with a sigh as Grace set him down. He was almost two inches taller than Zip and his ears were long and sharp like Graces, but his skin was much lighter in color, and his eyes were a shade of expressive navy blue. His tunic was white with a brown leather strap that held the scabbard in which sat his short sword. The belt around his waist and the boots he wore were also leather of very good quality, and except for a few small scars that they all seemed to have, his arms were bare.
"I was worried about ya Red." Mercury said, flicking a strand of red hair out of his eye.
"No need to worry." Red's voice was even deeper than Green's and more gravely, but it also was pleasant. Green came up to Red and rubbed her head against his neck, making a sort of crooning noise.
"Well," Wing said walking up next to Gabriel and Zip "I told Star and Grace that we would hear you before we saw you."
"And you were right.' Star said scratching Kass under the chin.
"Maybe you should have bet on it, Wing." Lucky said leaning against Green.
Wing giggled "Probably."
"Hey," Gabriel interjected "where is Junior?"
"And Ree?" added Zip, the breeze ruffling his fur, a few strands of blue now visible though the tawny brown.
"You haven't seen them either?" Grace asked.
"Nope, just you guys." Zip replied scratching behind one of his overly large ears.
"Pika, chu chu, Picha?' Kass said holding her lighting shaped tail high into the air.
"No, Kass, we didn't all land here," Wing said looking up at the electric mouse "Grace, Star and I landed here. Lucky, Mercury and Green landed somewhere over there, and you four landed over in that direction."
"Wait a second," Lucky said holding up his hands and looking confused, "did anyone else see that pattern, three, three, then four and if Junior and Ree landed together, two, what is the deal with that?"
"I've been thinking about that," Star replied "from what Wing has explained to me, it sound like the reason we got split up the way we did was because of our mass. Gabriel, Zip and Kass are smaller, Red is pretty big, Mercury, and Lucky are about average, Green is only a little smaller than Red, Wing is smaller, Grace and I are larger than Lucky, but smaller than Red."
Grace nodded "That makes sense."
Mercury chimed in "Yea, and Junior is huge, while Ree is kinda tiny."
The breeze suddenly changed direction, now it was coming from the bluff at their backs, Green and Red instantly stiffened, thrusting their heads upward and began to sniff the air, Kass fur stood on end and she too started inhaling the air.
There are people behind that hill. Green growled
Lots of people. Red added clicking his tongue.
"Pikaaa…" Kass rumbled. Star and Grace glanced at each other, grim acknowledgement on their faces.
We heard them a while ago. Grace told the others, foundling the handle of her blade.
What do we do Star? Mercury said, purposely not looking at the hill so as to keep suspicion down.
Star considered for a moment as the others pretended to talk about important things in dialect so as to buy time.
We wait for Junior and Ree, and then we'll see if they're hostile or not. She concluded shifting her weight around as Kass jumped off her shoulder. The others all nodded their agreement.
A few moments passed, while they stood quietly, bodies tense and rigid. Wing sat back down and continued to work on the screen, Lucky absentmindedly rubbed Green just above her brown saddle, Mercury was kneeling in the grass talking to Kass while Red stood over and watched. Grace and Gabriel discussed something about tradition, while Zip listened in, torn between amusement at how the discussion was turning out and fear at who was behind the hill. Star stood a little off to the side, lost in her own thoughts. In the present company she was the eldest, then came Grace, Lucky, Mercury, Zip, Gabriel and Wing. Junior exceed her by about double, and no one knew how old Kass and Ree were, it really wasn't important. Red and Green were about the same age as Luck and Mercury, though as Yoshis had a different maturity rate, they could easily pass as twenty. And yet, she was their leader. Even though Junior was by far the eldest, she had been chosen to command, to make the tough decisions, to know where everyone was and what they were doing, and, in situations like this, to bring all the pieces of the puzzle that had been brought to her together, and try to make the right decision. It wasn't easy, but then, what in their lives had been?, she thought bitterly.
The mood was tense, all talk had slowly dwindled and still there was no sign of Ree nor Junior.
Maybe they're farther away than any of us were. Zip said nervously winding his fingers around the fur on his tail.
Ree should be able to sense where we are. Red rumbled.
It might be a good idea if we went looking for them, we've had pretty good luck all coming to this one spot, but now we might have to risk it, and just walk away from them. Lucky said grimly. The others all turned and looked at Star, who thought for a moment. I agree, lets… but her order was interrupted by a feeling that touched their hearts and minds, that seemed to say, 'No matter what happens every thing will be okay'. It wasn't a thought, just a feeling.
Ree is coming. Wing said, her eyes closed, enjoying the warmth that was always soothing.
"Mew." said a soft, mystical, silky voice. They all shifted to look to the rise that was in-between the two that the others had come from, as over it something rose It was bright, the sunlight reflected off of it making it hard to look at, but as it hovered higher into the air it became more clearly defined. It was a Mew, one of the most powerful and rare Pokemon in existence.
"Hi Ree." Gabriel said smiling, though his hands were still fisted.
Like the rest of the group, Ree was quite different than others of her race. As she drifted closer, they could see all of the things they knew about Ree and more, because of the bright light. Ree had very short soft fur covering her body, it's color was a powdery baby blue, which shone and glittered in the sun. She hovered even closer, now drifting down the hill, her eyes were large and very bright pink. "Mew, me, mw Mew.", she said, stopping at the bottom of the hill. She waved her long tail up between her long feet and leaned backward, as if sitting against something. Another wave of calm passed over them, Ree using her physic powers to help them think straight.
"Ahem, sorry for being late." said a very deep clear voice Everyone, including Ree, looked back up to the top of the rise. A large, hulking shape rose up, Junior in all his glory. On his back was a large green shell with pale gold, foot long spikes Two horns grew out of either side of his head; in between them his flaming red hair was combed neatly back against his skull, orange eyes stared out from behind large, thick, black rimmed glasses. The skin on his face was as dark green as his shell. His mouth, which was lined with sharp fangs, was yellow orange as were his thick muscled legs and arms. White claws tipped the ends of his thick fingers and toes. Out of the bottom of his shell, his short orange and yellow tail waved back and fourth as he walked. Junior was a true Koopa royalty in all his adult prime and glory.
He began to follow Ree down the hill, surprisingly making no sound despite his size and weight. "I'm afraid that I am not quite as fast as the rest of you." Junior reached the bottom of the hill and, Ree following alongside him, approached the rest of the group. "Ah, it looks like we all created a circle of flat grass when we landed," He reached up and adjusted the glasses on his face.
"Side effect of the jump." Wing said, her emerald green eyes narrowed in concentration as she moved things around on the pad.
"Yes, I surmised as much." Junior nodded his horned head.
"Why didn't Ree just contact us when she sensed where we were?" Star asked looking up at Junior who towered over her by at least three feet.
"Mew, me, mew" Ree answered.
So you sensed them too. Mercury stated switching the dialect back into the swift code. Ree nodded.
Could you tell who they are? Green asked. Ree gave a slow shake of her head.
Something blocked her. Junior added.
Star, now that everyone is here, what are we going to do, about them? Grace said, her hand resting on Gabriel's shoulder.
Star had just opened her mouth to answer when sounds erupted behind them, and her reflexes kicked in. In an instant she had once again pulled her laser pistol and pressed the button to load the energy inside of it, while she whirled around and brought the gun up to point at the top of the hill. The others had all done the same, the shing of two blades being pulled from their scabbards, the crackling of electricity, snarling from both Red and Green, the shifting of feet on grass as Lucky and Mercury got into fighting stances, a sort of shimmering hum as Ree formed a bubble of energy around herself..
Yes, physically they were ready for whatever fight would come their way, but nothing they had ever done could have prepared them, mentally, for what they saw. Twenty-odd people lined the top of the hill, each pointing some kind of weapon down at them. They were also fanning themselves out along the other hills, slopes and dips that encircled them, so that they could not easily escape. But being outnumbered and outgunned was not what caught Star off guard, every single face, from human, Hyrulean, Pokemon, animal and even unknown, were faces that she knew by heart, and thought of constantly. Automatically her eyes searched for one in particular, while still holding her weapon high. Her blood ran cold as she found the one she was looking for, a tall figure clad in orange amour, a green cannon on the woman's right arm. No this couldn't be, fate could not be this cruel, not now. Why? Why?
She could sense, rather than see, the others behind her also search for faces that they remembered from very young ages. She continued to stare with wide, shocked eyes at the armored woman, staring into the green visor, fighting down absolute shock, fear, and deep grief. No, this could not be happening. She managed to tear her eyes away from the line of people and look back at her own team, their expressions were very similar to her own. Grace's face was a white as her hair, the boys were all tense, with varying expressions in their eyes, the Yoshis where still growling softly. Junior wore an expression that was a curios mixture of mild surprise and interest. Her eyes snapped back around to the woman.
Nether side moved, it seemed to last an eternity. Stars team was too paralyzed with shock to say anything and the others seemed to be waiting for them to make the first move. The tone was broken only by the faint rustle of the wind, now completely unimportant.
"Err… who are you?", someone finally broke the silence, but Star's brain would not come into focus. She needed to turn her head, needed to see who had spoken, but all she could center on was that person, the person that could not be there, after everything that had happened… .But she couldn't be like this, she couldn't break, the others were all feeling the same thing and they looked to her for guidance. She had to be strong. With great effort Star pulled her eyes away from the woman she had known so well, and found the one who had spoken.
He was a rather short man with a black mustache, blue overalls and a red shirt and cap, she knew that Mercury was probably staring very hard at this man or at the bright blonde haired woman beside him.
She opened her mouth, trying to find the words that would say that they all meant no harm. The trick was to do it without telling them anything about who those in her group were. "Uhh…" she said lamely, her mentality still numb. Then something kicked in, a sort of barrier to her emotions, it helped her think clearly without fear and sorrow ruling her decisions. But before she could say anything Wing gave a small gasp.
Uh oh… she said
Uh oh? What do you mean uh oh? Star heard Mercury say in a voice throttled with panic and terror whenever you say uh oh, its always a really bad thing.
It is already a really bad thing. Grace said her voice devoid of emotion.
What have you found out, Wing? Star asked in a voice that she did not recognize, her eyes trailing away from the red capped man and onto the others that stood on either side of him.
We went father back then I thought… Wings voice was hushed, as Star continued to stare at the people on the hill. Four elven people, blonde, grey and white haired, a Pikachu, a Pichu…
Guys, we don't exist here, they don't know who we are, we aren't born yet.
There was utter silence as everyone took in Wing's words and what they meant. On the top of the hill the adults were getting restless, speaking in low voices to each other or fidgeting with their weapons.
Are you sure we're not dead? That would make more sense. Gabriel replied. No one answered him, they all knew Wing spoke the truth.
Stars eyes shifted over the two short people with mallets and on to a large purple cat- like Pokemon. Unlike the others he was not in any kind of fighting stance, he merely hovered above the ground, arms folded, scrutinizing them. As if he had felt her gaze on him, his head slowly came round, large liquid purple eyes looking deep into her blue-grey ones. A voice passed though her mind, a voice that only she was allowed to hear.
I know who you really are.
If it was even possible, she felt more blood drain from her face, she thought back hard, knowing that he would hear. Then do you know how dangerous it could be if they knew?
Mewtwo did not have time to answer for at that moment a strong, female, oddly metallic voice called out, "Mario asked you a question, are you going to answer him or are you going to try and fight us?" Star removed her gaze from the hypnotic eyes and turned to locate who had spoken. She found herself once again staring at the woman in the technologically advanced amour. She became dimly aware that she was still holding the loaded pistol pointed at the top of the hill.
"Well?" the woman asked again, not moving an inch from where she held the green arm cannon.
The barrier around Star's emotions strengthened, and something inside her brain clicked, this kind of thing seemed to come with the territory of being leader. She pressed a small knob on the pistol, unloading the energy within it and lowered it so fast that some of the people on the hill started and griped their weapons tighter. Quickly she slid the light grey weapon into the holster at her waist. She held her hands in the air as a sign of truce, and said something that had been spoken many times in the things that her ancestors had called movies, and though usually the person who had spoken turned out to be a liar, in this case, Star truly meant it when she said "We come in peace."
She made a slight movement with her fingers, signaling the others to relax. The crackling of electricity stopped, the vibration of energy ceased as Ree lowered the pink bubble around herself, a shink as Grace and Gabriel put away their blades, metal on fabric as Zip holstered his blaster, many loud clicking noises as Red and Green relaxed their hands the bones in their fingers refitting themselves, and finally the rustling of grass as Lucky and Mercury stood up straight, all indicating to Star that her team had done exactly what she asked of them and hopefully made themselves less threatening.
There was no response from the other side, Star and her group waited to see what would happen next. The others on the hill were clearly trying to decide if this was some sort of trick. As if it would answer that question for them, a rather tall man wearing blue overalls, a green shirt, cap and a black mustache, stepped forward, squinted down at them and asked, "My brother asked who you are. If you would tell us that maybe we could decide if you really mean no harm."
If you knew who we truthfully are, your brains would probably explode. Zip said. On the hill the blue vixen shifted and held her staff closer.
Grace must have turned and glared at Zip, for a second later he added What? They can't understand what I'm saying.
Code names, everyone, stick with codenames. Star hissed then said "I am called Star, I cannot tell you more than that as it may cause irreparable harm."
"We heard you speak of time travel, are you from the past or future?" asked a tall dark haired woman wearing a light pink jumpsuit. Wing would be watching her, Star knew.
"I am Grace." Grace shot back straightening her shoulders even more than they already were.
Before anyone on the hill could say anything Gabriel jumped in, "Gabriel is what they call me."
"And I'm Zip." added the young fox.
The others had caught on, if they kept them busy telling them their names it would give them a chance to come up with satisfying answers.
"I'm Lucky," The brown and green haired human added, walking closer to Star and Grace, "this is Ree," he gestured to the blue Mew who was still hovering above their heads "and this is Kassandra, we just call her Kass." He nodded to the mouse.
"Mercury." Mercury grunted, Red and Green just made little growling sounds that sounded relatively like their color orientated names.
"I'm sure some of you have guessed mine," Junior said, his deep voice mellow. Star turned her head to look at him, and remembered that he was probably the reason that the others still held their weapons tightly. Junior reached up and adjusted his black rimmed glasses, "I am Junior." Star turned her head back around.
Every singe person, pokemon, animal and unknown, was staring wide eyed at Junior.
Mario spluttered "Junior? Bowser Junior? Not, not Bowsers son?" He finished his rambling but his mouth remained open in shock.
"The very same, who else could I be?" Junior responded, Star could just imagine the small grin that he had on his face, a blend of smugness and humor as if he had just told a rather amusing joke.
"A brother or cousin perhaps?" said a brown haired woman who wore a small golden tiara on her head. She stood next to the man with the green cap. Star furrowed her brow, burrowing deep into the blackened corners of her memory, trying to bring up their names, oh, the man was Luigi and the woman was Daisy.
Junior gave a short laugh but said nothing. The blonde women with long elf ears, blinked and shifted her fingers to get a better hold on the needle like daggers that she held, then said in an undertone "Well that answers whether they are from the past or future."
What was her name? Zelda, yes Zelda. Star could now dreg up the names of all the people on the hill. Well, at least the ones that she had not thought about for awhile, the rest had been burned into her memory.
"If you are allies with Bowser's son, then how can we trust you?" retorted a tall dark man, Captain Falcon, though she thought his first name was Douglas . The others all along the hill murmured their agreement and began to whisper to each other, looking down on them with suspicion. Star opened her mouth to answer, then closed it What could she tall them without revealing who they were. She glanced round at the others, looking to see if they had found an answer to that problem. Grace's brows were knitted in thought, Gabriel and Zip had the exact same expression of blank thought, Ree had placed her head against her paw and was clearly thinking very hard without success. Kass was sitting back on her haunches with a sort of mixture of confusion and thought. The rest all wore similar expressions. Even Junior looked nonplussed, not a good sign.
She turned back around, her mouth dry, "I'm sorry, but I can't give you a good reason for that right now."
There was more muttering, and more shifting of weapons. It didn't look like they were getting out of this easily. 'So what else is new?' she thought bitterly. Then something happened that shocked both sides and gave her team some small relief.
I vouch for them. Mewtwo said, his voice echoing through all their minds.
She turned back to Mewtwo. He still held the same pose in the air, but his head was turned and he was gazing calmly at Mario, who stood several places down from him, and, like the rest of the group, looked as though the ground had been pulled out from under him and that gravity had gone with it.
"What are you saying, Mewtwo?" questioned the red haired swordsman, Roy, in righteous anger. "That you trust them?"
Completely. Once again the others looked like they had been caught in a sonic boom, most of them reeled back, some winced and the rest glared down at them as though trying to see what Mewtwo could possibly trust.
"We don't need very much." Wing whispered to Star, the others all pulled closer to hear what she had to say. "I just need a quiet area to work in and a few supplies. I don't think the machine came through with us for some reason. None of you saw it did you?" she turned and looked at the others, they all shook their heads. Ree flicked her long tail and looked up at Mewtwo.
"We don't even know 'em how can you trust 'em?!" hollered Donkey Kong waving his tree trunks for arms in the air.
I do know them. Well enough to trust them, and to know that they are telling the truth.
"You've met them before?" asked the tall white haired Hylain woman, Impa.
"Or did you just scan their minds and find out they were good people?" added the orange armored woman, her voice laden with sarcasm.
Number two.
That did it, arguments broke outright, questions were shot at Mewtwo, pairs of people bent their heads together. Star could see that this was getting them nowhere fast. She couldn't give them any reason to trust Junior, and not trusting Junior made Star and the rest untrustworthy as well. Despite how dangerous it could be, and whatever repercussions could follow, Star knew that she had to take charge of the situation. She glanced at Grace who nodded her agreement.
"Excuse me. " she said loudly. The Smashers who had not engaged in discussion looked down at her, Kirby, Pichu, Marth, Daisy and Ness were now totally focused on her, but that wasn't enough, "I need to speak with you." she called, even louder than before. A few pairs broke up and stared down at her, Fox, Krystal, Impa, Apollo, the Ice Climbers, and the trio of Roy, Captian Falcon and Jody Summers.
Star raised an eyebrow. How on Zebas had these people managed to defeat their enemies like they had, if they were so lax about watching a still possible threat? Sure her side was quite outnumbered, but didn't they know that situations could change in the blink of an eye or that things were not always what they seemed?
Well the subtle approach wasn't working very well, they'd have to try a more direct line. She twisted to look at the others, inclined her head at them, then turned back around and placed her thumb and forefinger into her mouth. With timed perfection that had been honed over years of battling, Star, Grace, Gabriel, Lucky, and Mercury all blew hard though their fingers, creating a short shrill blast that reverberated around the small dips and valleys within the large plain. Wing and Zip didn't do it as they didn't know how and the rest had impractically shaped mouths for the job. All talk ceased and everyone's attention was upon Star.
"Mewtwo vouches for us, I can give you my word that as big of a threat Junior seems to be, he will cause no trouble." Stars eyes flitted up at Ree, who looked down at her and giggled, "We do have a Mew with us and you out number us. Doesn't any of that count for something?" Silence, save for the breeze running though the grass and the wild birds.
I vow that they will not cause any harm, they did not come from the future to destroy the past, and-
"I'm still not convicted," Apollo said "They could be tricking Mewtwo's mind. What if they are some kind of assassins? They have the weaponry for it."
"And what does having a Mew with you count for anything? Why hasn't it spoken?" added the blue haired prince Marth, "I find that suspicious."
"What are those raptor things? They look very dangerous by themselves. Put them next to Junior there and you could tear a whole city down." Fox Mcloud held his blaster at his side and was glaring at Red and Green who both made growling noises at him.
"You expect us to let you walk around our base of operations fully armed and with powerful allies?" questioned the warrior clad in green, Link that's what his name was, his eyes roved over Ree, Junior, Red and Green.
"They are just kids you know, how bad could they be?" chimed in a black haired boy with a red and blue baseball cap.
Star had heard enough. She turned around to her group and motioned them all closer so they could speak freely, but not before hearing the Smashers Pikachu saying "Look who's talking, Ness ."
What do you think?" she asked when they had all pulled together.
This sucks. Mercury said tiredly. Red nodded his elongated head in agreement.
I think she means how do we get them to trust us enough to let us stay outside of their prison, not how do we feel about the situation. Junior said delicately
Weapons handover? suggested Lucky, blowing a strand of green hair out of his eyes.
I concur, if we show them a gesture of good faith, perhaps they would be more inclined to trust us. Grace replied tracing a finger around her eye markings.
Mayhap, but I don't like the idea of handing over your weapons. Red growled.
What if they take them apart and learn things they aren't suppose to know? Green added, her long tail whipping around in the air. And we don't like having you weaponless. Red dug his long talons deep into the earth as he growled his agreement.
However, Junior cut in gently They wont be defenseless, they've learned how to fight in each others styles, so they are deadly with, or without their weapons.
"Chuuu, pika, kachu, pi." Kass said, a look of worry on her small pointed face.
Kass is right, that still doesn't solve the problem of them finding out too much, if and when they take apart are weapons, not to mention that they are probably going to ask for blood samples or something, to check for diseases, or what not. What happens when they look at our DNA? Gee, doesn't that look familiar? Mercury snapped his arms folded. It was unusual to see him like this, he was usually happy-go-lucky, but Star could see why this situation would change his outlook. It had already changed hers.
He has a point… Zip said sadly
Star thought about it for a moment. She could feel the people on the hill becoming more and more uptight with every second that passed.
Mewtwo knows who we are. she replied quietly.
What? Wing asked startled.
How do you know that Gabriel asked.
He told me. When our eyes met he spoke to me. He did scan us and he really knows who we are. I'm not sure what else he knows. she answered in the same quiet voice.
How do we know that he won't tell them? Mewtwo is not an easy personality to predict. Grace reminded her. He is not a bad person, but he plays life differently than most do, you never know why he does the things that he does, not until much later.
Star considered this, but she had already reached the only conclusion that she could think of. We'll give our weapons to Mewtwo, and only Mewtwo. He'll keep them in a very safe place, right Ree? Star looked up at the Mew, the sunlight glittering her blue fur.
"Me, ew, mew, me. " she said, pink eyes shining.
Good, does that sound allright to everyone else? She looked around the circle. They all nodded, Mercury, Zip, Red and Green with some reluctance. and we'll trust him to know what he's doing with the information he has, at least for now. They all pulled apart and faced the top of the hill.
"You know that we are from the future," Star started, choosing her words carefully. "We are not assassins trying to change the course of events. We landed in your time period by accident, we need a place to stay and some supplies if we are going to get back." She paused then added, "Or forward, if you know what I mean. Red and Green will cause no more damage than Junior, I give you my word."
"As we give ours." Junior said holding his right clawed hand in the air. Red and Green followed suite.
"And as to walking around your HQ armed such as we are," Star continued, pulling her pistol from its' holster, (the others on the top if the hill all jumped) and holding it out on the palm of her right hand where it gleamed in the sun and its cold surface sank into her flesh. "We extend an offering of truce. We will entrust our weapons into the care of Mewtwo, just Mewtwo. If he agrees, he will keep them in a safe place, where no one can get at them, until we are ready to leave." Behind her Grace undid her blade from her belt, Gabriel did the same with his sash, Zip removed his blaster and held it out much the same way Star did, and Wing slowly removed a light red bracelet from her left wrist. It looked perfectly normal, but the jewel at it's center fired a pretty powerful laser. The rest stood still, having nothing that could be taken away.
Not a sound, this was quiet a turn of events. "You still haven't said why it is important that you have a Mew on your side." Marth said lamely, a poor excuse to buy more time for them to think about their proposition.
Mew rarely appear, Mewtwo answered for them and when they do it is only before pure-hearted people, or if there is an extremely worthy cause, that is why having… Hmm, Ree?, on their side is a good reason to let them stay. Mewtwo looked back down at them I accept your gesture of good will and agree to hold your weapons in a safe place. Now, all you need is permission from the collective Smash Brothers team.
The Smashers… she had forgotten that's what they called themselves.
"One moment please." Mario said. The Smashers all turned together and started to speak among themselves. "Well I suppose we should… "But what if… " "I still don't like…" Star could hear every word they said but decide not to pay too much attention to detail. She ran her fingers down her scar, she was beginning to notice how the sun made her fine skin burn, and her black suit wasn't helping much either.
"Pika, chu, chu pik." Kass said flopping down on her back side at Stars feet.
"Mew, mew, em." Ree said sitting on Graces shoulder, her long tail falling down behind Graces back.
"Yes," Grace agreed softly "it is very strange to be back in the light."
The Smashers above them seemed to have come to a decision. They all moved back into their positions, then Mario stepped forward, cleared his throat unnecessarily and said "We've agreed to let you stay. We have guest quarters that you may spend the nights in, and those of us that have knowledge about this sort of thing are willing to assist you."
"Thank you, you are most generous." Grace said, giving a short bow of her head. Her eyes flicked to Impa, and the tall, dark, grey haired man that stood next to her. Star looked too, both faces had a slightly startled look to them. Star's throat tightened. Out of all the Smashers (Excluding Mewtwo) those two were most likely to realize who her group could be. She pulled her eyes back to Mario. Not all of Mercury's valid points had been addressed yet.
"We must insist, for the safety of all those involved, that you do not ask for, or take, any kind of blood, skin, or hair samples from us. This also means that you may not scan us with any kind of computer either. I know for a fact that we carry no kind of virus or disease."
They must have already considered this for Luigi answered instantly "Agreed."