This time, I'm not going to lie to you guys. Not that I did before, anyway. Writing intros is equally as hard as writing the chapters themselves, especially when I'm trying to avoid recycling one of the previous forty-six. Speaking of which, forty-six?! Daaaaayum.
Last ever letter this chapter! Hit 'End' for a free spoilery plot twist.
Rebuilding
Chapter 47: Dr. Back to the Quantum Leap Who?
Dear Minister, from the leader of the One Great, Subspace Army:
I am not in the least bit surprised that you have chosen to defect from this organization. But I cannot pretend not to be disappointed.
My only hope is that once the Aura is rebuilt, you will see things differently. Everything unworthy of its presence will be obliterated, leaving behind only a perfect utopia.
It is my dream, Minister. Neither my brother nor I have had the chance to achieve the fame that the Super Smash Brothers achieved. He organises the tournaments, I scout out battlefields, but we do not participate. Surely we deserve some sort of acclaim for the Super Smash Brothers' success? Suffice to say, I am a tad bitter about the complete lack of respect I get. Maybe everyone will see things differently after I create a heaven on Earth using the Aura.
Maybe they will respect me, for giving them this perfect world. Maybe they will fear me, for destroying the smug, arrogant, foolish Smash Brothers. Sacrificing them for a universe in harmony seems like a fair deal to me.
But Master Hand does not see things my way. If he must be lost, so be it. If this was my brother's vision, if this was Master Hand's vision, I would assist him, no questions asked. But his devotion to the fools he has assembled over the years has left me furious, more than anybody can imagine.
After the events of the past few months, I have come to hold him in very little regard, as if he were one of the Super Smash Brothers himself. I want him here, under my control. Like the old days.
I am well aware that you disagree more and more with my letters as time progresses and our deeds become more horrible, to the point where I am sure that I am the only person wholly determined that my goals are correct.
But I will make them see their errors.
You have to understand one final thing, Ancient Minister. The Aura, like anything else, will still linger after being broken down. Lingering in pieces. Two pieces. I have told you this already. But the two pieces are both on the Isle of the Ancients at long last; entirely unaware of the terror they went through to become their current forms.
You have resigned from your duties, but I urge you to witness the rebuilding. You will not find a trick. You will only see that the work of Master and Crazy Hand will finally come full circle. You will only see the Aura coming together to slowly craft the world in my image.
And this is not hope. This is prediction. This too, is my final letter.
Sincerely,
Crazy Hand
Certainly, everything came as a shock to Ganondorf. Wolf and Mewtwo's ghost were trying to calm him down, but he was deaf to everything but his own anger. Toon Link himself was completely subdued, shaken and unable to speak to anybody. It seemed like it would be a long time before Mewtwo would fade out and allow the ghosts of Roy or Pichu to speak. It was only natural; Mewtwo was definitely the smart one.
Wolf gently hoisted Toon Link's body up on a table, stretching his own arms in relief. Toon Link eventually found the strength to sit up, and they all waited until his breathing became more of a pleasure than forced choking on air. Even Ganondorf warmed up a little bit to the sight of his nemesis – but fellow Smasher – rejuvenating.
"So we've come all this way for him?" spat Ganondorf, trying to maintain appearances. "Toon Link's the little punk who switched sides and stole Lucario, remember?"
"Yes. I was worried that the Subspace Army would've killed him now that he's no longer necessary," explained Wolf. "But remember, Lucario told you that remorse is our ultimate weapon. I eventually pieced that together with something else Master Hand told me about last time you guys faced off against the Minister. Mewtwo?"
Toon Link nodded, still unable to speak, and tapped his Triforce mark. Mewtwo reappeared at once, and there was a blinding flash.
Time and space moulded around everyone. Bombs fell away into nothingness, replaced with only tall buildings and ruined streets.
Ganondorf, shocked, stared around at New Pork City. There was a swarm of Primids there this time, surrounding a small group of Smash Brothers. Ness and Marth were there. So were Falco, Luigi, Mr. Game and Watch and Jigglypuff.
A nasty suspicion crossed Ganondorf's mind.
And then he saw himself. A second Ganondorf was part of that crowd surrounded by Primids. Had Mewtwo done this?
Wolf pointed to the left. The Ancient Minister was leering excitedly at a beat-up figure on the ground. Captain Falcon, Ganondorf recognised. And over him, with a gun, was a still very much brainwashed Snake.
Back in time?! Ganondorf thought, looking at Snake and then back at his past self. Nobody noticed him or Wolf or Toon Link.
"Okay...you win..." said Captain Falcon resignedly. "Kill me, then. Looks like you'll thwart the SSB after all..."
Ganondorf gasped, remembering what happened next. Wolf merely nodded along. He hadn't been there, but still, he knew what would happen.
"Snake?" asked the Ancient Minister expectantly.
"I did it, alright?" coughed Snake sadly, silent tears streaming down his face. "I k-killed Captain Falcon, happy?"
"Do you see that?" asked Mewtwo, echoing in a ghost-like fashion. "He's crying."
Ganondorf opened his mouth to ask something.
"Yes," cut in Mewtwo, reading his thoughts. "I'm doing this. A little ability I didn't know I kept in death."
Ganondorf struggled to look away from Mewtwo, and looked back at the past event.
"He was..." began Snake, choking on grief. "He was my hero fifteen years ago, and now that he's gone I realise the error of my ways..."
And then everything slipped away. Ganondorf then looked at Wolf. He looked deep in thought, not noticing Ganondorf's glare on him. This was surely all a trick; we couldn't be careening through time, thought Ganondorf. Although some of this is starting to come together...
As quickly as they had left, Wolf, Ganondorf, Toon Link and his ghosts reappeared in the bomb factory. Everyone clutched their heads, shaking off the strain of what they had seen.
"Did you see that?" asked Wolf. "When Snake removed himself from the Subspace Army, he was crying. Right after he thought he had killed his old hero."
"So it was remorse..." said Ganondorf slowly. "And that remorse was a sign of benevolence, which...um...destroyed their malevolence, right?"
"Exactly right," nodded Wolf.
"But what does this have to do with finding Toon Link?" asked Ganondorf.
Toon Link made an angry noise.
"Sorry," snapped Ganondorf quickly. "But what's the point?"
"Lucario said that remorse is our ultimate weapon," repeated Wolf. "In a way, he was telling us that every Smasher who's been brainwashed will come back around once they've been subject to some remorse."
"And this is the thing that'll help us beat the Subspace Army?" asked Ganondorf quietly.
"Toon Link felt the most remorse," explained Wolf. "He was the first to know that some of your Smasher friends had died. Mewtwo, show him."
There was a flash, and the surroundings changed immediately. Ganondorf decided that the experience was hurting less, due to overexposure.
Ah, Snake again! Ganondorf tried to see if he had been un-brainwashed by this point, but Wolf held him back, whispering to him to just watch.
This time, everyone was in Shadow Moses Island. A searchlight swung over Snake, illuminating him for a few seconds. The light then approached Wolf, Toon Link, and then Ganondorf. None of the three were lit up, unable to be seen or heard by the people of the...past? Present?
And then, Snake smiled a smile so sinister, strange...fierce.
"Oh, you've found more? Excellent...I've only got one over here, I killed the other three. Two Pokemon and a swordsman. Can't be Link, he wasn't there when we searched the old place and caused that molecular separation. Smart guy, that doctor of yours. And it's not Marth, someone was protecting him. Captain Falcon or somebody. Must be Roy, according to the list he gave us," Snake said quietly. "I'll meet you there."
"He's talking on his codec thing," wheezed Toon Link, as everyone else looked puzzled.
"And there I am," said Mewtwo, grimacing.
Everyone looked at where Mewtwo was indicating. Three dead bodies were lying there. There was a moment when nobody talked, all too shocked.
"There I am," whispered Toon Link shakily, pointing at his past self crying before Snake.
Mewtwo carefully left the scene, hurtling everyone back into the bomb factory in the present.
Once again, everyone winced upon reappearing.
"Imagine carrying around three ghosts of your dead friends," said Wolf hollowly. "But now, I may as well fill you in on the Aura's history. I remember a lot of what Master Hand told me. It was a very long time ago, when Super Smash Brothers was just a concept. The Aura had forged as if from nowhere, and Master Hand and Crazy Hand had got control over it."
This had all happened an inconceivable amount of time ago, Ganondorf realised. His ancestors surely knew about this...why wasn't this all ancient Gerudo tribe legend or something? All the coming and goings of legendary heroes, and nobody mentioned the Aura? Ganondorf stared at the ground, gathering his thoughts.
In those days, the world couldn't have been very populated. Surely some word of this had reached Gerudo ears? These were the times where Nayru, Din and Farore were creating the world. These were the times where time and space were only just falling into the control of those two Pokemon I've heard about. And these were the times before I, the immortal King of Evil, was born. It must be that long ago, otherwise I'd surely know this!
Full of curiosity, Ganondorf looked back up at Wolf, who seemed to be waiting patiently to tell him the rest. Wolf's face was in deep concentration. It seemed as if he was one thought away from a serious brow-furrowing.
"Uh, go on," said Ganondorf quietly, snapping to attention.
"The Hands had two different ideas of what to do with the Aura," continued Wolf. "The Super Smash Brothers was Master Hand's idea. The Subspace Army was Crazy Hand's idea. But there was only one Aura, and two ideas of what to do with it. And that's where things got interesting."
"So did they try to find another Aura?" asked Ganondorf, in awe.
"The Aura's a life force, it's alive," said Wolf. "So Crazy Hand thought that in order to get the Aura to do what he wanted it to do, he'd have to take matters into his own hands. Er, own hand. Mewtwo?"
Toon Link had just begun to fall asleep, still exhausted. He opened one bleary eye and half-heartedly tapped his Triforce mark. Mewtwo's ghost burst forth and created another flash.
When the flash was over, Wolf, Toon Link and Ganondorf all crashed to the cold, wet ground of the Fountain of Dreams. They scrambled back to their feet, and their attention was driven towards the three figures they could see climbing up dream clouds below them. They squinted to see who was there. The past versions of Lucario, Jigglypuff and Ganondorf took no notice, and kept ascending the clouds. Ganondorf winced as his past self walked through his present, invisible form, carefully climbing. Jigglypuff and Lucario's past selves followed.
The three past Smashers were talking among themselves, and Wolf and Toon Link scurried over to hear. Ganondorf tried to remember which conversation this was part of. He remembered as soon as he heard his past self speak.
"What does that have to do with the Aura?" scoffed Ganondorf.
"Everything," replied Lucario wisely. "When Master Hand and Crazy Hand split us, Master Hand got the Benevolent Aura, which if you remember, is me. He prefers to create, so he did not take any of my powers for himself. This is why I remember everything about the splitting. Crazy Hand prefers to destroy, so he took much of the Malevolent Aura's power for himself. He used the power to manufacture devices that can reverse time, change size, brainwash, create Subspace bombs, and much more. All of those are powered by Malevolent Aura, so the Malevolent Aura itself must be severely damaged."
Suddenly, Wolf gave a nod to Toon Link, who got Mewtwo going again. Back to the present one more time.
Back in the bomb factory again, Wolf glanced at Ganondorf, hoping he was getting an idea of what was going on.
"I remember! Lucario told me and Jigglypuff...the Hands ripped the Aura apart!" said Ganondorf excitedly.
"And do you remember what I just told you?" asked Wolf. "The Aura is a life force. It's alive. They ripped apart a living thing."
Ganondorf's look of excitement flipped to horror instantly.
"They mutilated it?" repeated Ganondorf hoarsely.
"Like dissecting a frog, if the frog was the embodiment of all good and evil," nodded Wolf. "They caught the Aura off guard, and attacked it and attacked it until the point of death. When it was about to die, it split apart into two different beings, polar opposites of each other."
"Right, the Benevolent and Malevolent Aura," said Ganondorf.
"Mere shadows of the Aura's immense power," continued Wolf. "Neither of them have their own true, free mind. True to their names, one of them is completely good."
"And that's Lucario," said Ganondorf, thinking along with Wolf.
"Lucario was everything about the Aura that created and protected. Birth and healing and things like that," said Wolf. "He was ripped off first, because he doesn't know how to hold his own in a situation like that. Being as pure as he is, he'd never had to. Master Hand backed out at that point; he kept Lucario for himself to become a Super Smash Brother one day. Then the Malevolent Aura was left alone, but Crazy Hand wouldn't stop. Master Hand told me he watched as his brother kept attacking it, splitting it up until he had his Subspace Army, his bombs, his trophy cannons, everything. And the rest..."
Ganondorf suddenly felt a twinge of sympathy for the rest of the Malevolent Aura. It was so sudden, an incomprehensible nightmare. His mouth hung hopelessly open, full of fear. Instantly upon meeting Wolf's curious gaze, he snapped to attention once more.
"The rest of it was incredibly weak, and that was the remains of the Malevolent Aura," finished Ganondorf slowly.
"It has no memory of what happened to it," nodded Wolf sadly.
The horror of the story was nearly enough to make Ganondorf fall to his knees; instead, he weakly edged himself to the wall and slumped against it, daring not to speak.
Falco walked from one faded wall of the room to the other, getting slower and slower each time. He looked at the other three Smashers, lying around, occupying space. Not at all an active part of the mission in the bomb factory, not even a little.
"That does it, now even I'm completely bored," Falco sighed, taking a seat. "Hey, Luigi, I want you to kill me if I start foaming from the mouth from insanity. I swear I'll crack under the boredom soon."
"Kill him now," said Mr. Game and Watch idly, looking around at a control panel nearby.
"I'm so bored and depressed that I might just d-do that," muttered Luigi, his head and arms lazily draped over the desk.
"Now we're agreeing with each other," mumbled Mr. Game and Watch. "This is lame."
Jigglypuff silently fell asleep next to the door she was supposed to be looking out of.
As soon as she was asleep and nobody else was looking, the Ancient Minister's robotic figure drifted past the slightly ajar doorway, his cloak trailing across the steel floor. Falco turned briefly and raised an eyebrow, but just as quickly shrugged it off, laying his head in one hand.
Then Mr. Game and Watch let out one of his maniacal laughs.
"Luigi, check this out! Hurry!" urged Mr. Game and Watch, pointing at the control panel.
"What is it?" asked Luigi, slouching over to the control panel.
"That Game Boy Horror thing you used to track me down in Mirage Island," said Mr. Game and Watch. "You've still got it, surely?"
"I think s-so, I mean, it might have gotten lost while we were being chased by Porky or being sent through Subspace again or maybe even...hold on..." Luigi stammered, rummaging in his pockets.
"Just answer me," scoffed Mr. Game and Watch.
"Yes," said Luigi timidly, pulling out the Game Boy Horror.
"Great, I've got an idea!" Mr. Game and Watch grinned. "This is the Subspace base, so it probably has some kind of communication link to the Primids scattered around the world!"
"And you think this panel here controls it?" asked Luigi, nervously fingering his Game Boy Horror.
"It's got to be somewhere! Look, they have those monitors of all the Smashers, and all these unfinished plans, so this must be the room where they tell the Primids what to do!" beamed Mr. Game and Watch earnestly. "It's obvious, man, come on!"
"I-I'm not sure I follow," admitted Luigi. "Are you just babbling? Hold out your hand and I'll give you the blue pill again."
"No, I hate the blue pill!" protested Mr. Game and Watch. "And I mean, this control panel is linked to everything in the army! We can talk to anything related to the Minister or the Overlord or whoever! The power of the world wide web, boy!"
"You're starting to m-make a little more sense," nodded Luigi. "Are you saying that if we wanted, we could deliver orders to the Primids?"
"And can your Game Boy Horror track where they are?" asked Mr. Game and Watch, hungrily eyeing the diode that Luigi had used in his mansion to flush out ghosts, and most recently, that he had used to save him and Jigglypuff from Mirage Island.
"P-probably," considered Luigi, looking down at his little device. He surreptitiously hid it from Mr. Game and Watch's desperate gaze.
"Start it up," said Mr. Game and Watch softly, rubbing his hands together.
"O-okay," Luigi relented, reluctantly turning on the Game Boy Horror. "Who do you want me to find first?"
"Luigi, I want you to find Master Hand," Mr. Game and Watch smirked crazily.
"So we can ask where the other S-Smashers are?" asked Luigi inquisitively.
"No Luigi, so we can ask for his help," Mr. Game and Watch grinned. "So we can ask him to come here. So we can ask him to save us. So we can ask him to defeat the Minister. So, Luigi, we can ask him to wipe out the Overlord, his brother."
"Mr. Game and Watch, are you saying that the Overlord is Crazy Hand?" asked Luigi, dumbstruck. "How long have you known?"
"I've always known. It's not that hard to figure out," shrugged Mr. Game and Watch. "Now hurry up and find Master Hand with that thing!"
For quite a few moments, Luigi just stared in awe at his fellow Smasher. Eventually, he lowered his eyes to the Game Boy Horror, and got to work.
Wolf and Toon Link both seemed to fade away. Every scattered piece of bomb shrapnel in the factory was merging into one until they lost their blur and refocused into the present day room.
The next thing Ganondorf knew, the purple smog was drifting about the roof over him and he was lying on cold steel. He seemed to be the only one being seriously affected by the constant time-travel. Neither of the other two seemed to want to touch him.
"Don't s-show any more flashbacks," coughed Ganondorf. "Please."
Ganondorf struggled to his feet, and stumbled around until he laid a hand against the wall to steady himself. But the bombs were so close together that they seemed to merge into one wall; Ganondorf felt a little surge from one of them and withdrew his hand. The purple smog was becoming warmer now, taunting the three people it enveloped with its heat. For a few more seconds, the bomb factory was the quietest room in the entire island. There were no ROBs outside anymore; there were no more bombs shattering, there were no more words exchanged between Wolf and the two Smashers. The smog was the only source of noise; a sort of raspy sound eerily close to breathing.
The strangest thing, Ganondorf thought, was that not only did neither of the other two see how much pain he was in, but Wolf kept insisting on finishing his goddamn story. Ganondorf was hurting too much to care about Master and Crazy Hand, the Aura, or whatever fucking legends Wolf had so conveniently heard. But he knew that as soon as Wolf opened his mouth, he would feel strangely motivated to listen. Perhaps Wolf was just a powerful speaker.
Toon Link was still saying nothing, glancing at Wolf and getting his Triforce hand at the ready whenever another flashback was needed. Wolf waited for Ganondorf's breathing to sound less fragmented, and continued his story in a calm voice.
"As Crazy Hand's torture came to a halt, the remains of the Malevolent Aura were left alone," said Wolf. "Crazy Hand had all his army and weapons and what have you; he didn't need it. So Master Hand took it. He took it, except he needed to avoid the possibility of Crazy Hand seeing him with it. So he hid it for years. And then, several months ago, the time came for the third Super Smash Brothers tournament. The first tournament where both pieces of the Aura would be together...as you can imagine, it was making him nervous, and he admitted to me that he felt very awkward leaving the Smashers when this all started. Mewtwo?"
Wolf, Toon Link and Ganondorf fell into a small hotel, and their eyes caught sight of a large group all being addressed at once. Ganondorf sat up at once, interested to find out why Master Hand had left in such a hurry at the start of the Subspace predicament. He and Toon Link looked at the crowd of twenty-five Smashers, trying to find their past selves. They both shouted "There I am!" together, and then Toon Link gave a sudden retching noise as he saw himself before his embarrassing disfigurement that had left him looking like a cartoon.
"Look familiar?" asked Wolf, pointing at Master Hand at the head of the crowd.
"Some of the new Smashers you will be familiar with, some you will not." Master Hand continued. "Applicants from all over have requested staying at the Mansion."
"Well, how are we going to get there?" asked Bowser.
"I'm glad you asked that," smiled Master Hand. "And I can only reply that it's YOUR PROBLEM, FOOLS!"
Master Hand floated out of the hotel's window, flying off in the opposite direction from where the Mansion was.
"I was wondering why he just ran off like that..." gasped the present Ganondorf. "It didn't seem like him at all."
"Remember when we found Lucario?" asked Wolf. "Master Hand called me and said that the first place he went was here, the Isle of the Ancients. He met the Ancient Minister there, and filled his robotic head with information on the Aura. He must have been desperate to find somebody, a potential Smasher, to keep the Aura apart."
Ganondorf glared back at the past Super Smash Brothers. Mario, Fox, Link and Pikachu had just left the hotel. He looked back at Wolf.
"But over the course of the last few months, it became abundantly clear that the Ancient Minister was working for the Subspace Army to rebuild the Aura. So he had to pick somebody else to stop this," continued Wolf. "And he picked me."
"So he told you everything," said Ganondorf slowly. "That's how you know all this, isn't it?"
He looked at the past Smashers again. Kirby was talking into a phone, standing on Luigi's shoulders as everyone else watched.
"Yes," replied Wolf. "That's how I know most of it, anyway. After Master Hand scattered you guys around after the New Pork City incident, he sent out a telepathic message to me. The message came with an explanation of the Aura, from the beginning right up until that point. Mewtwo, show him."
Toon Link snapped out of the reverie of seeing himself and tapped his Triforce again. Mewtwo's ghost made another flash.
This time, the flashback started instantly. The buildings of New Pork City were slightly more shaken up than they had been in the earlier flashback, and in the middle of the square floated a large white blob which may have been anything. The blob turned around. It was addressing a smaller, slimmer grey blob. At once, the blobs became clear, and Ganondorf was able to focus on the past versions of Master Hand and Wolf.
Master Hand was speaking first.
"There's a group of fighters who survived a bomb attack on this city, and I cast them away. There's a malevolent robot running around brainwashing innocent Smasher hopefuls. It got Snake and Sonic, but luckily they somehow broke free. I need you to round up the last few Smash Brothers before they fall into the wrong hands."
"Are you talking about the Ancient Minister?" butted in Wolf at once. "It attacked the Lylat System searching for that Krystal chick, but it turns out she's not joining the SSB. But it was a joke back then...are you saying it's stronger?"
"I am," replied Master Hand. "Does that concern you?"
"I'm not exactly excited about that," muttered Wolf.
The present Wolf nodded at Mewtwo, who brought them out of the flashback at once.
There was a new light in the bomb factory this time. It was entirely independent from sunlight, lamps, or fire. It was a single, dim, gloomy purple light from one of the bombs. Without flickering, it instantly shut off as soon as Wolf, Ganondorf and Toon Link returned to the factory. The three all turned to look at it quickly, but it was gone before they could see it. Then the three all shrugged, grateful that the bomb hadn't exploded or done anything dangerous.
"I'm sorry I'm showing you all these," apologised Wolf at once. "But you need proof for the next few revelations; you might not believe some of them. Anyway, my past self mentioned Krystal back there. You remember, of course, that we killed her back in the Mushroom Kingdom?"
Ganondorf nodded breathlessly.
"Do the rest of the Star Fox team know that Krystal's dead?" asked Ganondorf.
"Not as far as I know," replied Wolf. "Not even Falco, so don't tell him once we get back to the others."
"Actually, it's more than just Krystal," butted in Mewtwo's ghost. "May I?"
Without waiting for an answer, Mewtwo started up another flashback.
Wolf and Ganondorf both groaned this time as they landed in another past location. At once, Wolf looked bewildered. Ganondorf didn't know why, until Wolf pointed up at the 'STAR FOX HQ' sign.
Without knowing why, everyone walked through the entrance. Nobody noticed an F-Zero machine lazily parked outside. A single black figure was walking through the large headquarters, so Wolf motioned for everyone else to follow the figure.
At once, they followed him to three dead bodies. Ganondorf quickly identified the figure as the past version of Mr. Game and Watch, Wolf quickly identified the dead bodies as Peppy, Slippy and General Pepper. All turned cold.
The floor was rapidly turning red with blood, but no footprints were left. Being 2-D, Mr. Game and Watch had none. Being from a few weeks in the future and so invisible to everyone else, Wolf, Ganondorf and Toon Link also had none.
"Damn, I'm too late!" cursed Mr. Game and Watch, looking at the dead bodies of Slippy, Peppy and General Pepper. "Wolf must have killed these guys and kidnapped Jigglypuff! I bet he's back at the Star Wolf place!"
"Well, I don't need to see anything else here," said Wolf in a slightly higher tone than usual. "Let's go back again."
Back in the bomb factory, Wolf, Ganondorf and Toon Link returned and paused for a few moments to listen for ROBs. There was still no sign of movement. All they could hear was each other's panting breath. There was a cold silence. Eventually, Wolf shuddered for the last time and continued speaking.
"I didn't want to do this mission," admitted Wolf. "As you saw with Mr. Game and Watch there, I was afraid some of you wouldn't trust me and would turn on me when you heard this story. Master Hand wrongly assumed I wouldn't care enough of what you people thought of me."
Ganondorf felt touched for one fleeting second.
"What are we going to do with Toon Link now?" asked Ganondorf, walking over to Toon Link, who was looking a little more worn out.
"We're going to take him with us, and we can use Mewtwo to show the Malevolent Aura the truth," said Wolf. "Once the Aura is rebuilt, it can turn on the evil Overlord responsible for its suffering and separation. It can fix everything that was done to the Super Smash Brothers. And what was done to the innocents like the Star Fox team and the residents of New Pork City. And what was done to me. It can defeat Crazy Hand."
"Crazy Hand, fair enough, but what about the Ancient Minister?" asked Ganondorf, exasperated. "How do we defeat him? We're supposed to stop him from rebuilding the Aura, and he's going for the Malevolent Aura right now! Are we even going to try finding it before he does?"
"No, not really," Wolf shrugged.
"What do you mean, no?" demanded Ganondorf, drawing himself to his full height.
"When New Pork City was attacked and the Subspace Army lost Snake, the Benevo-well, Lucario showed up to try and stop the bomb from sending you to Subspace," said Wolf. "But he failed, so Master Hand separated you all again. If he hadn't done that, the Minister would have known where you all were, and he would have shown up to kill you instantly. So Master Hand put the two pieces of the Aura in two different places, where he wrongly thought you were safe."
"So where did he put the Malevolent Aura?" asked Ganondorf, not entirely sure he followed the whole story. "And why are we here? Shouldn't we be checking the safe places Master Hand picked?"
"Listen, Ganondorf," said Wolf testily. "Lucario was the Benevolent Aura. So when he was stolen by the Ancient Minister at the Fountain of Dreams, he was kind enough to tell his...closest friend...what had happened to him. But the method he used...well, only one person could use that method."
"What do you mean by that?" asked Ganondorf uncertainly, remembering the strange, purple apparition of Lucario at the fountain.
"I mean that I know more about you than you do," replied Wolf, almost pleadingly. "The immortal King of Evil. Have you ever wondered why people call you that?"
"What?" whispered Ganondorf. His tone was sickening, hollow, subdued.
"Have you ever wondered how it's possible that you are apparently the only male born to the all-female Gerudo tribe?" asked Wolf. "Have you ever wondered why Mr. Game and Watch and Toon Link were both sent to Port Town by Master Hand, Jigglypuff, Falco and Luigi were all sent to Corneria by Master Hand...and you were sent to the deserted Mushroom Kingdom by Master Hand?"
Wolf gave a half-glance towards a stunned looking Toon Link, who immediately tapped down on Mewtwo's ghost.
And after the now-familiar hurtling sensation through time was over, Wolf, Ganondorf and Toon Link were in the abandoned Peach's Castle. Wolf was facing his past self. Ganondorf was facing his past self. Toon Link resolutely stared at Jigglypuff's past version. But while Wolf and Toon Link were shaken, yet upright, Ganondorf was trembling uncontrollably. His memory whirred, but he could not remember having any company until Wolf and Jigglypuff had arrived that day.
The past Wolf and Jigglypuff approached the past Ganondorf, with a confident stride and an eager skip, respectively.
Blood-filled goblets made from the skulls of fallen moblins lay everywhere, and the old pink tapestries of Princess Peach had been replaced with tattered and withering decorations in a sickly brown colour. A suspiciously elf-shaped punching bag lay discarded on the floor (with a knife through it), and Ganondorf sat against the wall of his vantage point by the hole.
"Well, sorry the place is a mess," said Ganondorf, noticing and subsequently misinterpreting the look on Wolf's face. "Would have cleaned up, but whatever."
"So how long ago did this whole New Pork City incident happen?" asked Wolf, trying to ignore the blood goblet next to him.
Toon Link ignored the stale ruination of the past Peach's Castle, and readily looked at Wolf, ready to jump times again. He had been ignoring all of Wolf's story as well, far too tired to care. He merely enjoyed his half-slumber while it lasted. The three past figures were leaving the castle; the flashback was nearly over.
Like a magnet, Wolf was staying close to Toon Link, cautious in case they needed to use another flashback or in case Ganondorf became unstable. He apprehensively stared the King of Evil down, knowing how fatigued he must be.
Ganondorf looked shades and shades different from the tall, imposing figure who had first accompanied Wolf to the bomb factory. Now he was pale, a mere fraction of his brash appearance remained. The terrible suspicions running through his head were stifling his brain even more than before.
"It's the reason you and Lucario were always at odds with each other," continued Wolf. "You couldn't even touch each other. Mewtwo, go ahead."
And another flashback started.
The sensation of travelling wore off quickly; everyone was merely outside the castle instead of inside. Yet this was some time after Wolf and Jigglypuff had first recruited Ganondorf. After the present time travellers had struggled to their feet, they saw the hunched past figures of Wolf, Ganondorf, Jigglypuff and Lucario. The current Ganondorf reeled back, remembering that this is when they had found out from Master Hand that the Ancient Minister was a ROB.
"And then we wondered where he was going..." muttered Wolf to himself, also remembering the situation.
"Without any way to know where he's going, I'm at a loss..." admitted Wolf. "Lucario, any ideas?"
The quiet Aura Pokemon looked up quickly.
"I'm not sure either," apologised Lucario. "Sorry."
"Why the hell does the Minister want Aura anyway?" demanded Ganondorf. "Lucario seems useless to me!"
"See what I mean?" asked Wolf, looking expectantly at the speechless Ganondorf. "Keep watching."
Ganondorf continued to stare. Wolf and Toon Link joined him. The group of the past were now struggling to fit in the older Wolf's Wolfen. If Ganondorf was alarmed earlier, now he was surely terrified. How he felt was reflected in his gaze; his eyes were bulging, his mouth agape, a nervous sweat beading down his forehead. Seeing himself did not help alleviate his fear.
The difference was glaring: the snake to the worm, the bull to the mouse, the Ganondorf of several weeks ago to the current Ganondorf.
"Jigglypuff, sit between Ganondorf and Lucario!" barked Wolf suddenly, as Ganondorf slowly outstretched his arm to sneak a punch at Lucario.
Jigglypuff squeaked and absorbed the punch.
"Okay Walter!" cried Jigglypuff, dazed with a black eye.
"It's not just because you were getting unstable," said Wolf gently. "It was more than that. Mewtwo, we're done here. Take us back to the bomb factory. For good this time."
As the bomb factory swirled back into place, Ganondorf was feverishly rubbing his hands and panting. He was trying to find the words, but they were nowhere to be found in his mind. He couldn't think clearly, he couldn't breathe clearly...if he could, he wouldn't be able to move properly. No past encounter with Link had ever measured up to this.
Then Wolf spoke. He was not shouting or even speaking loudly, but every background sound faded away to Ganondorf's ears, rendering Wolf's words as clear and icy as possible.
"Ganondorf..."
Ganondorf gulped at the mention of his name and tried to look anywhere except Wolf's determined gaze.
"...you're not the immortal King of Evil. No living person is immortal, at least, no living person...."
It was a lie, it was a lie, hoped Ganondorf. It was a lie, a horrible, torturous, true lie!
"...you're the other half...."
No, no, no, no, yes, no, NO!
"...it's you..."
It can't be! It is! But it can't be!"
Ganondorf shut his eyes, unable to listen to the final words Wolf had to say. Even Wolf looked sympathetic, a tear beading down his cheek as he looked at Ganondorf's internal suffering.
"You are the Malevolent Aura."
I've been waiting for a long time to write that part! Please let me know what you think about the chapter, or even what you think about the "Luke, I'm your father"-esque revelation!