*________Chapter_13________*
Saki and Lucario waited for Jigglypuff and Kirby to finish their reunion before they started up again. Saki glanced nervously at the mysterious Pokémon standing beside her. He had some sort of blue aura coming from his hands and a dark look on his face.
"What?" He asked her, noticing her look.
Saki looked surprised. "You… you can talk?"
Lucario sighed. "I get that a lot," he said, "You know, not all Pokémon are prone to repeat their name as a form of communication."
"Jiggly!" Jigglypuff glowered at him.
"Hey, I don't mind," Saki said, "I'm glad there's someone here that I can understand."
"Well if the small talk is over," Lucario said, becoming impatient, "Shall we begin to do something productive?"
The three of them looked at Saki expectantly. "What?" She asked.
"I'm assuming that since neither of these pink fuzz balls are in charge, that makes you the one to come up with the plans," Lucario said.
"Oh," Saki said, "Well alright then. I want to see if we can find the knight guy and the oversized penguin." She turned to Kirby, "Do you know where they might be?"
Kirby looked around, and then seemed to notice something in the sky. His big eyes grew even wider and he pointed upward.
The rest of them turned to see King Dedede floating above, carrying two other figures.
Saki recognized one of them. "Pit."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Lucas, would you hurry up?" Popo called.
"S-Sorry," Lucas stuttered and ran a bit faster.
"Leave him alone," Nana said.
"If we stop, then there's a higher chance of those meanies finding us!" Popo said.
The three started running again, but this time, Nana had to stop.
"I have to... um… yeah." Nana excused herself and walked over to a tree. "Don't look!" She yelled.
Lucas and Popo turned away. Minutes passed.
"Are you done yet?" Popo called.
No answer.
"Nana?" Lucas called too. The two turned around. Nana was nowhere in sight.
Suddenly, a bag was pulled over each of their heads.
"I finally caught all of you kids!" Bowser cheered. He continued to drag all three bags in the direction of the castle.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Samus had taken over the controls of the Falcon Flyer while Snake and Captain Falcon fiddled with the ship's radar and tracking devices. Pikachu was drinking more coffee. He seemed to like the caffeine a bit too much…
Captain Falcon was pressing some buttons on a keyboard. Snake was attaching some wires to the comm. unit.
"Alright," Snake said, "I'm ready when you are, captain."
Captain Falcon clicked a few more keys.
"I got it," Samus said as a blue dot appeared on her radar, "It's accelerating steadily. It seems to be heading in the direction of Mushroom Kingdom."
"Why the hell would they be heading there?" Snake asked.
"Honestly," Captain Falcon said, "I don't care where they're going, as long as we know where." He walked over to where Samus was seated and reclaimed control of his ship. "Setting course for Mushroom Kingdom," he said, then looked up with a smile, "Ready to pay a visit to the Mario Brothers?"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Bowser arrived in the dungeon, and tossed his baggage into the cell containing other trophies. "So all of those annoying brats are taken care of," he said.
"Good," Ganondorf said, "Dedede is bringing Marth and Pit now."
"And Falco should be on his way," Wolf said.
"For your sake, this better work," Ganondorf said coldly.
"Relax," Wolf said, propping his feet up, "He'll come in here with a blaster and an arrogant attitude, pull a few fancy stunts, and demand their release. He may be good, but he's careless. I can take him down single-handedly."
"Good luck," Bowser said and left the room.
"What if he comes with backup?" Ganondorf asked Wolf.
Wolf scoffed. "That bird likes to do things his own way."
/\/\/\
Indeed, Falco did like to do things his own way. He was driving directly toward the castle, and wasn't stopping. He had set a crash course.
"Fox, if this doesn't kill me," he muttered to himself, "You owe me big time."
/\/\/\
A steady beeping sounded from the security system. The radar showed an object approaching at a fast rate.
Wolf smirked. "That must be him."
Fox tried to peer through the bars to see what they were looking at. He caught a glimpse of the radar, and noticed Wolf reloading his blaster. But something else occurred to him. The object was moving quickly. Falco wasn't on foot, but he wasn't in an Arwing either. And whatever he was in, he wasn't slowing down.
Ah crap, Lombardi, Fox thought, Don't be an idiot.
/\/\/\
An alarm on the Blue Falcon was going off as well.
Warning! Warning! A robotic voice said, Impact approaching!
"Shut up, you damn vehicle!" Falco yelled at the car, "I don't need you telling me I'm about to smash into a freaking building! I think it's pretty obvious!"
/\/\/\
"Aim at the door," Ganondorf instructed, "That's the only entrance to this room. And don't mess this up. You're slipping as it is." Ganondorf opened some sort of portal and stepped through it. It disappeared as soon as he did.
Wolf stuck his middle finger up in the direction he had gone. Then he turned to Fox and grinned. "I hope you'll enjoy watching him go down. You're next, after all."
Wolf turned to face the door again. He could hear a noise coming closer, but it didn't sound like footsteps. It sounded more like…
BOOM!
Well, like the engine of a racecar that had just crashed right through a wall. The blow sent Wolf flying backwards, breaking through the entire security system.
Falco emerged from the wreckage, holding his side and coughing through the dust. He glared up at Fox.
"Wow," Fox said, "That was a flashy entrance."
Falco ignored him and the stabbing pain in his side. He whipped out his blaster and took a few shots at the lock on Fox's cell. It broke easily, and he proceeded to the next one. Fox walked over to the other side of the room to inspect Wolf.
"Heya, Mario," Falco said to the plumber, who had seemed to sleep through the whole fiasco, God knows how.
Mario drearily lifted his head. "Mmph…" he murmured, then took realization to what was going on. "Holy macaroni! F-Falco?"
"Stand back," Falco commanded. Mario did as he was told, and Falco blasted his lock off too. "Hey Fox," Falco called, "How's that fur ball doing over there."
"My God, Falco, I think you actually killed him this time," Fox said as he dragged Wolf over to where Mario and Falco stood. Wolf squirmed a bit. "Or not."
"Put him in one of these things," Falco said, "Someone's bound to find him." Fox found an open cell and tossed the unconscious animal inside.
It was just then that Fox finally noticed the slightly smashed up car sitting in the middle of the room. "Holy shit, Falco!" He exclaimed, "How did you get this?!"
"It was there and I took it," Falco said, "Simple as that."
"Do you realize that he's going to murder you?" Fox said.
"And do you realize that I just survived breaking through a stone wall?" Falco said, "And I never even heard a thank you!"
Fox smirked. "Do you want a hug or something?"
"Any form of appreciation," Falco said, "But hugs are off limits."
"What makes you say that?" Fox asked.
"Real men don't hug," Falco stated.
"Too bad!" Fox said and swung his arms around Falco's waist.
(A/N: BROMANCE!)
"You freak!" Falco shouted and squirmed, "Get the hell off of me!"
Fox laughed and released him.
"You've insulted my manhood," Falco said.
"What manhood?" Fox chuckled, "You're a bird."
Mario interrupted them before Falco could answer. "We should-a get the others out too," he said, indicating all of the trophies in the next two cells.
"Go get your headset and blaster, Foxie," Falco told him, "Mario, go open the other cell."
"Since when are you in charge?" Fox asked as he began to search for his supplies.
"Since I'm the one who saved your ass," Falco said and shot at one of the cells.
After the lock was off, Falco proceeded to recover the trophies: Mr. Game&Watch, the Kongs, Luigi, Olimar, The Pokémon Trainer, and Yoshi, while Mario saved Lyn, the Ice Climbers, Kat and Ana, Ness, Jeff, and Lucas. After short reunions, all of them left in the Blue Falcon.
"Where to now, sir," Fox mocked.
"I was thinking I should return this car," Falco said, "Then I figure we should find our Arwings. Afterwards I'm taking all of these guys back to wherever the hell they came from; especially the monkeys."
Fox glanced at Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, cringed slightly, and focused his attention back on the road.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The four in the Falcon Flyer still had a long way to go before they reached Mushroom Kingdom. Captain Falcon was still at the wheel. Samus was idly looking out of the window. Next to her, Snake was trying to find anything to keep himself occupied. And Pikachu… well, Pikachu had crashed after downing twelve cups of coffee, and was now asleep on the floor.
Snake glanced over at Samus. He let out an over dramatic sigh.
She looked over at him with a look of aggravation. "What?"
"I'm bored," he stated.
"Yeah, well, this isn't exactly my idea of fun either," Samus said, "But it's not supposed to be. We're on a job."
"Would you at least strike up a conversation?" Snake pleaded.
"Alright," Samus said, "What purpose does it serve you to make a fool out of me?"
"What kind of question is that?" Snake asked.
"Just answer it," Samus said.
"I don't know," Snake shrugged, "I can't help but to be an ass around you."
"Well, congratulations," Samus said, "Mission accomplished."
"I don't mean to be," Snake sighed, "I just-"
"It stopped," Captain Falcon said, interrupting their conversation. The two walked over to him. He pointed to the dot on the screen, which was now not moving at all. Moments ago, it had been speeding in its direction.
"Did it slow at all?" Snake asked.
"That's the thing," Captain Falcon said and began pushing buttons, "It didn't. It just stopped."
"What does that mean?" Snake asked.
"It crashed," Samus said. Captain Falcon clenched his fist.
"Well it can't be a total mess if we're still getting its signal," Snake said.
"So we just keep going," Captain Falcon said.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Pit? Marth?" Link called into the forest, "Are you guys coming or what?"
Zelda had now turned herself back into Sheik, and she and Link were standing in the forest. They had only gone slightly ahead, the two should be right behind them. Just then, she heard a noise. Link heard it too.
"Guys…" Link said hesitantly, "Is that you?"
Meta Knight emerged from the bushes. Link drew his master sword, but Meta Knight held up his hands. Link relaxed a little, but still stayed on guard.
"I don't have much time," Meta Knight explained, "There's just something you should know."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
King Dedede had Pit slung over his shoulder, and dragged Marth behind him. However, he dropped them both when he approached the gaping hole in the dungeon wall. He ran inside.
"GET ME THE HELL OUTTA HERE!" Wolf yelled, slashing at the cell bars.
King Dedede ignored him and hurried to the cell where Ike was being kept. Luckily, he was still there, although all of the other trophies were not. He returned to Pit and Marth and tossed them in with Ike. Then he averted his attention back to Wolf.
"You're lucky nothing happened to him," Dedede said, pointing towards Ike, "That would've gotten you killed for sure."
Wolf growled. "Just open the damn cell!" He shouted.
But before he could, Ganondorf returned through another portal. Dedede quietly ran out of the room.
Wolf glared at Ganondorf, who returned the look. "I gave you another chance," Ganondorf said, "You ruined everything."
"So your little trophies got away," Wolf said, "Big deal. If it makes you feel any better-"
"Makes me feel better?!" Ganondorf screamed, "You think you hurt my feelings?! You ruined EVERYTHING! IS THIS NOT PROCESSING IN YOUR PRIMATIVE MIND? DO YOU REALIZE NOW THAT EVERYTHING WE WORKED FOR IS GONE?! NOW THE BATTLE WILL BE OUTNUMBERED AND WE WILL LOSE!"
"I don't care about your battle," Wolf shouted, "All I wanted was my freakin' revenge! I would've been better off with my team!"
"You would have gotten your revenge if you had just waited!" Ganondorf said, "You would be better off with your team!"
Wolf stopped short, then grinned. "Maybe they would be better off with us."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
(A/N: I have no idea how all of these people fit inside of this car.)
Warning! Warning! The same robotic voice from earlier said, Unknown object approaching.
"How do you-a shut this thing-a off?" Luigi yelled.
"I wish I knew!" Falco said, "Captain Olimar, what's the radar say?"
"There seems to be another vehicle heading towards us," he said.
"Yeah, I figured that," Falco said, "Got anything useful to say?"
"Calm down, Falco," Fox said.
"I'm sure we can take them," Lyn smiled.
"Well," Jeff said, adjusting his glasses, "It depends on the capacity of their medium. If it has a higher volume, there could be more people. We could very likely be outnumbered, pertaining to the law of chance."
Mr. Game&Watch made his usual beeping noise.
"Everyone shut up!" Falco said, "I'm trying to think!"
"Yes! Falco is going to come up with a plan! Now we're saved!" Fox cheered sarcastically.
"Didn't I just save your fluffy ass?" Falco asked.
"And nearly got yours killed," Fox reminded him.
"Well, it worked!" Falco said.
"He's right," Ness said.
"But he did leave a big enough mess to piss off the villains," Popo said.
"I'm just glad we're outta there," Ana said.
"Yoshi!" Yoshi agreed.
"Quiet!" Falco said, "Let me park this thing."
/\/\/\
"There she is," Captain Falcon said. His Blue Falcon was in sight now. He landed the Falcon Flyer and stepped out, waiting for it to come closer.
Snake, Samus, and Pikachu were watching from the inside.
/\/\/\
"Crap," Falco said as he saw the captain, "Everyone stay inside. I'm going to try to explain things."
Falco stopped the car and stepped out. Captain Falcon looked a little surprised.
/\/\/\
Snake laughed to himself as he saw Falco step out from the car.
"What?" Samus asked.
"This is ironic," he said, "He's a blue falcon in the Blue Falcon."
Samus rolled her eyes, but laughed. "You're a moron."
/\/\/\
"Falco Lombardi," Captain Falcon said.
"I'm surprised you remember my name, Douglas," Falco laughed.
"Cut the crap," Captain Falcon said, "What are you doing with my car?"
"I can explain," Falco said, "See, Fox was in trouble, and I needed to get there fast. Your car was the only thing available at the time."
"Well how is she?" Captain Falcon asked.
Falco sighed. "Come take a look."
Captain Falcon approached his racecar.
"She's a little banged up," Falco said, "But it's not so bad."
Captain Falcon stared dumbstruck at his car. He turned to Falco. "I'm going to kill you!"
/\/\/\
"Uh-oh," Snake said, "Looks like something's starting."
The three watched the little scuffle. It was mostly a blur of flaming joints from Captain Falcon, and plasma blasts from Falco.
"We should stop it before it gets worse," Samus said.
"I'm not getting into that!" Snake said, "I know what an elbow feels like! I don't want to witness a Falcon Punch."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu said.
"Did you just call me a wimp?" Snake asked the Pokémon.
"Never mind," Samus said, "I'll handle it."
/\/\/\
Fox had also come out of the vehicle to try to stop the fight. He gave Samus a nod and then grabbed Falco's arm.
Samus got a hold of Captain Falcon before he could Falcon Kick.
"Look," Samus said, "I'm sure it was an accident. In the mean time, we could use extra help."
Captain Falcon sighed.
"Here's what I say we do," Samus continued "You, Snake, and Pikachu will take your car. I'll choose some teammates and take the Falcon Flyer." She turned to Fox, "That alright with you?"
Fox nodded. "We were just going to pick up our Arwings anyway."
"Okay," Samus said, "I'll take Fox, Mario, Lyn, and the kids."
"Do I count as a kid?" Red called.
"Whoa, hold on a second," Falco said, "Where does that put me?"
"You'll be continuing on foot," Captain Falcon grinned, "With everyone else."
"Fox…" Falco said, wide-eyed, "Fox you're not going to let them do this to me… are you?"
The separate teams left minutes later, leaving Falco standing with Mr. Game&Watch, Diddy and Donkey Kong, Luigi, Captain Olimar, Red (who did not count as a kid), and Yoshi.
"Sorry, Falco!" Fox called as the Falcon Flyer took off, though his tone expressed that he didn't mean it at all.
"Ungrateful son of a bitch," Falco muttered.
"Come on, team!" Red yelled with excitement, "Let's rock and roll!"
Dear God, Falco thought, just kill me now.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Wolf disconnected the comm. unit and turned to face Ganondorf. "They're on their way," he said.
"Just so we're on the same page," Ganondorf said, "They will be under my command."
"Oh, of course," Wolf said, "I wouldn't dream of defying you."
Ganondorf shot him a look. "Just be glad I let you out of that cell."
*________________________________________*
A/N: Phew this was a long one. Anyways, thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated. –Vicki