I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Mario, Link, Fox, Pikachu, Samus, Pit, King Dedede and Ike struggled up the snowy mountain. Icy winds blew around them and every so often snow would tumble down onto them and they would be forced to stop and dig their way out.
"Mario!" called Ike. "Are you sure this is the way?"
"Yes!" Mario replied. "It's been a while since I saw him, but this is where he usually is! I know he can help us find Crazy Hand."
"Usually? That's not very reassuring," muttered King Dedede. "Who exactly are we looking for?"
Mario was about to reply, but he was cut off by a pile of snow crashing down on top of them from one of the other peaks. The eight Smashers were buried in snow. Lasers erupted from Samus and Pit's weapons, carving the snow away. Mario shot flames into the snow, melting it into water instantly. The others moved the displaced slush out of the way until they were finally out.
"Well," said Pit, "that could've been..."
His voice faltered as he looked up and saw who was standing on a snowy ledge a few feet away.
"Lucario," said Link.
That's right.
All eight Smashers had met Lucario before, but it was still a shock to hear his voice in their heads. Lucario couldn't talk, but he could communicate telepathically. Especially after the recent experience with Crazy Hand, it was unnerving. However, while Crazy Hand's voice was high-pitched, Lucario's voice was wiser and lower-pitched.
"Lucario, we need help," said Mario.
I probably could've guessed that, considering you walked for miles and miles across a snowy, icy mountain range.
"So you wanted to find Lucario," said Pit. "How can he help us get to Crazy Hand?"
"As we all know, Lucario can sense and track Aura," said Mario.
"Yes, but Crazy Hand's Aura is shielded!" said Pit.
"Usually," said Link. "But the his recent activities, such as the fadeouts, might have opened him up to be tracked with Aura."
"I see," said Pit.
"Lucario, can you find Crazy Hand?" asked Fox.
Well, yes, I can. But nobody can get to him. If it was possible, I would have gone after him myself by now. He flew off the side of Final Destination into the space around it. I don't know what's there. Perhaps I could if I saw it in person. But it doesn't matter, because no Smasher could survive going there. If you jump off the side of Final Destination, you'll stay alive for five seconds until the energy kills you.
"We have to get there!" said Fox desperately. "But we can't waste our lives like that. There has to be a way to survive!"
"There is," said a voice.
Everyone turned around to see none other than Sonic the Hedgehog.
"Sonic!" said Link. "How did you get here? And what do you mean, there's a way?"
Sonic grinned. "First of all, I got here because I felt the fadeouts, had a heart-to-heart chat with Crazy Hand, and came to the same conclusion you did-that Lucario could help us find him. I got here so quickly because I'm the fastest being in the universe. And there is definitely one way you could probably survive going off the side of Final Destination."
"And what might that be?" asked Samus.
Sonic turned toward her. "Are any of you familiar with the seven Chaos Emeralds?"
Mario frowned. "You mean the seven powerful items that together can transform someone into a super-powerful form, and do other stuff too?"
"Exactly," said Sonic. "Anyway, if you jump off Final Destination while holding one of the Chaos Emeralds, its power would probably protect you. And if you had a jetpack or something, you could fly to Crazy Hand. I use the Chaos Emeralds to turn into Super Sonic, so I never thought I'd part with them, but I guess this is pretty important. I'll let you use the Chaos Emeralds to get to Crazy Hand, but you have to let me come with you."
"I think that's fair," said King Dedede. "Sonic should come. But there's only seven Emeralds. So if Sonic has one, that means only six other Smashers can go too."
"I'm going," said Ike. "I need to show Crazy Hand what happens to those who kill my friends."
"I'm going too," said Mario.
"Me too," said Samus.
I have to go. I'm the only one who can guide you to Crazy Hand.
Eventually, the Smashers decided that Sonic, Mario, Ike, Link, Pit, Lucario, and Samus would each take a Chaos Emerald and fly off Final Destination.
Fox stepped forward. "I'll take Pikachu and King Dedede with me in the Great Fox. We'll fly around outside the entrance to Final Destination. I wish we could just follow you in, but any machinery larger than some kind of jetpack wouldn't make it through."
"We'll need six jetpacks," said Samus. "Pit can fly on his own, but the rest of us can't."
"Pika pika," said Pikachu.
"I have some on the Great Fox," said Fox. "I'll call Falco to fly them here. Sonic, do you have the Chaos Emeralds?"
"Right here," said Sonic.
"Then let's get ready," said Link. "Everyone take an emerald."
"There's just one thing you should know," said Sonic. "Galleom is hunting us. I barely escaped him on the way here."
After Sonic finished speaking, the Smashers were silent for a moment. The only sound was the icy wind blowing across the mountain peaks. Lucario finally broke the silence.
Well, there's no good in panicking about it. If we get moving, Galleom won't be able to find us before we make it into the area beyond Final Destination.
And that was as far as he got before a fadeout enveloped the group. The Smashers fell to the ground, gasping for breath. Ike stabbed his sword into a nearby snowy rock and pulled himself desperately to his feet. Lucario tried to summon Aura energy to shield them, but the breaking down of molecules around them blocked his power. Mario thought he even saw snow fading and disappearing, vanishing completely from existence.
"It's happening," he said to the other Smashers, trying hard to speak even as space and time broke away around them and crumbled into nothing. "The fadeouts are increasing in power."
Ooh, goody! All my friends are here! Now it's time to PLAY!
Ike screamed in rage at Crazy Hand's mocking voice echoing in their minds. He swung his sword through the empty air, trying to reach the source of Crazy Hand's voice.
Crazy Hand, this has to stop. This power you're getting isn't natural for anyone to have. Where is this new power coming from?
The blue bunny rabbit wants to know! Awwww...little Lucario! How sweet!
It was strange to hear the conflicting voices arguing inside everyone's heads. Strangely, it was easy to tell the difference between the speakers.
I know what you all are doing! You'll never make it to...HEY! Stop it! Didn't I tell you if you tried to escape one more time, I would...
Crazy Hand's voice unexpectedly disappeared and the effects of the fadeout vanished. The Smashers rose and stared at each other, confused.
"Who was he talking to?" asked Samus. "Is he keeping someone prisoner?"
"Maybe Marth isn't dead!" said Ike. "Maybe Crazy Hand captured him and left behind a fake corpse! He could do that."
"It's possible," said King Dedede. "But we can only find out if we get moving to Final Destination. If he's got Marth, we'll definitely save him. But we'd better get going before Galleom finds us."
The Smashers turned away from the peak and began the journey down the mountain and towards Final Destination, where either their questions would be answered or they would face death.
Please review my story! And, just so you know, I'm really excited about writing the next chapter. I have a lot of interesting ideas for the story!
