Reviewers, you were all very nice about the previous chapter. Thank you a lot!
...My only concern now is trying to follow it up. Oh boy.
Anyway, my hope is that productivity will slowly increase as I am free over summer! But as productivity increases, length decreases; the letters are now over, so that makes for shorter chapters. Maybe.
Rebuilding
Chapter 48: To Leave a Message...
Wolf O'Donnell paced back and forth in the empty space of the Subspace Bomb Factory, wiping away sweat and the tear he had shed revealing the truth only moments ago. There was silence in the room. The only sound was the soft whir of Mewtwo's ghostly form billowing out of Toon Link's hand, having been called up to hurtle the room in and out of time and space.
And as Wolf paced and Mewtwo whirred, Ganondorf stood completely dumbstruck in the middle of the floor. Purple fog hung around his feet. Wolf's feet had clear patches of steel floor around them, and Toon Link was sitting on a desk with his feet above the floor. But Ganondorf alone had a pool of purple surrounding him.
The purple fog streamed slowly, but gently, up his legs. After a stunned minute it had progressed to his torso, becoming more and more formless until it ruffled his hair feebly, vanishing lightly. Soon, the bombs stacked against the wall issued their own purple vapour, which became fog within seconds. This time, instead of whirling around as the last batch of fog had done, the new fog darkened Ganondorf's body again, vanishing as its predecessor had.
A rough little piece of fog sprouted out from the back of Wolf's jacket. After a brief second, Wolf surmised that it was probably the blood of a Primid killed earlier. Crazy Hand broke Ganondorf down and made his bombs, his army...remembered Wolf, watching the shocked Ganondorf. He still would not move.
Toon Link still did not want to talk. Even if he could, he doubted he would have anything to say. For generations, Hyrule had been ravaged and devastated by the Malevolent Aura, rather than some incredibly evil human. It made...sense...but the young Hero of Winds found it hard to accept.
And then he jumped.
Wolf had sidled over to him, and now he was whispering something about being on guard in case Ganondorf became unstable. That seemed likely...he was probably extremely angry that the Hands used him in such a way. We'll soon find out, shrugged Toon Link.
If only he would say something or even move...
In the isolated communication room, there was a lot to watch and listen to for Falco and Mr. Game and Watch. Jigglypuff had once again been deputized with the all-important task of staring out the doorway at the adjacent hallway.
Luigi was meddling about with all sorts of dials on both the Game Boy Horror and the master communication panel Mr. Game and Watch had found. As it turned out, the panel was only one of a large set of buttons, spanning nearly the whole room. The interface of the device was nothing but a large map, with red dots indicating Subspace technology. The highest concentrations were taking over places marked with red Xs.
Nobody in the room knew it, but the Xs marked a location where any Super Smash Brother had set foot in the last few months. Tangled lines of red Xs lined every border and every coast, creating a bright red belt around the map.
All this time, Luigi's bored gaze stayed on his Game Boy Horror. Every time it seemed a little closer to picking up Master Hand's location, everyone would perk up. And every time it turned out to be nothing more than a small Primid squad, everyone's eyes would glaze over again. Neither Luigi nor even Falco noticed that Mr. Game and Watch was inadvertently messing things up by idly hammering a button with his elbow. He would pass off the map careening several countries to the right as a wind change.
Luckily, Jigglypuff was too intent on admiring the hallway that she never asked what they were doing. She merely stood there making excited noises whenever a Subspace Army member walked by without recognizing her as a threat.
At once, Mr. Game and Watch rose up out of his seat. He marched over to the wall, and ripped an iron bar off with ease. Then he boldly walked back over to Luigi and clubbed him over the head. A second later he did the same thing to Falco, who fell out of his chair. Mr. Game and Watch picked his bar back up and hit Falco between the eyes a few times, and then threw the bar away, hitting Jigglypuff.
"Owww!" sobbed Jigglypuff, bursting into tears.
"What are you doing?" demanded Falco, rubbing his bleeding face.
"Why did you hit me?" asked Luigi, patting down a bump on his head.
"Sorry, didn't mean it, Jigs. Falco, it was for funsies. Luigi, I just wanted to know what you're doing right now," said Mr. Game and Watch, nodding to each in turn.
"I'm trying to reach Master Hand...like you told me to..." said Luigi, bewildered.
"No, I know that," scoffed Mr. Game and Watch. "But how's it going?"
"A-Actually, I just picked up a Subspace communication device not linked to an enemy squad!" beamed Luigi, looking at the Game Boy Horror. "I think it c-could be him! I just can't figure out a way to link it up to this panel."
"Try sticking four or five different things in and blowing the fuse," said Falco.
"How would that help?" asked Luigi.
"How about Ctrl Alt Delete, would that work?" asked Falco eagerly, looking at the thousands of tiny buttons. "Which ones are they?"
"Falco, I don't want to break this thing," said Luigi. "Do you have any suggestions for using it to find M-Master Hand?"
"You really want my help?" asked Falco curiously.
"No, I'm just being polite-" Luigi began.
"Then tell me what you've done so far, and I can help get you going!" grinned Falco.
"I managed to guess the security password to get rid of the encryption lock on this surveillance map. Then I used the Game Boy Horror's former Boo Radar to act as a radar for Subspace technology, which all has the same power source as the Isle of the Ancients. But the two devices aren't compatible physically as far as I can tell, while I want this surveillance map to act as an amplifier for the signal we want to send to Master Hand through the Game Boy Horror, assuming Master Hand is in possession of some kind of communicator like the one Crazy Hand used to give out orders to the Ancient Minister. So I'm trying to pinpoint the same location on both devices, in the hope that they'll respond for a short window of time until becoming d-dormant," explained Luigi.
Falco rubbed his chin in thought.
Luigi smiled expectantly.
"Shove a knife in it?" asked Falco, shrugging. "That worked for me last time I had, uh...problems with...that..."
"Oh my god," grimaced Luigi, squeezing his eyes shut.
"Yes, and maybe it would, um...work better...if the knife was on fire..." continued Falco timidly.
"I-I don't mean to offend you...well, I do...but Falco, you are the worst kind of t-tech support ever," said Luigi.
Falco merely gave a quick shrug. Luigi sighed and tried to continue his work, while Mr. Game and Watch basked in the fact that somebody other than him had demeaned Falco.
Mr. Game and Watch got out of his seat to tell Jigglypuff the good news, but he didn't make it two steps before Falco tripped him up. Mr. Game and Watch fell face-first onto the iron bar.
"Now we're even," mouthed Falco.
It was no secret that the grand revelation of a long time – in actuality, barely three minutes – ago had left an impression far bigger than Wolf's or Toon Link's on Ganondorf. The King of Evil-well, the Malevolent Aura's mouth twitched, trying to find the words, any words.
Ever since Wolf had first told him, Ganondorf had been nearly motionless. Before Wolf had told him, he had been a quivering mess. Indeed, before Wolf had told him, he had been a living person, from his perspective. He watched Wolf very closely, not paying attention to anything else he might say, but rather as a defensive instinct, in case Wolf tried to secure him and rejoin him with Lucario.
But did that explanation really make sense? Ganondorf still failed to see what a large majority of those flashbacks had to do with the Aura. For whatever reason, could Wolf be simply trying to psyche him out?
That's what it is! Ganondorf thought. That's exactly what it is! There's nothing to worry about! I'm not the Malevolent Aura! That'd be stupid!
Ganondorf felt a wave of relaxation, and it must have shown. All Wolf could see was the hulking figure go from stiff and tense to comfortably calm. Wolf glanced at Toon Link, whose hand had shot up to the sword in his sheath, and the young Smasher quietly lowered his hand. Daring to push against the boundary, Wolf flashed Ganondorf a reassuring grin.
For a brief second, Ganondorf's eyes locked with Wolf's, and he did not like the feeling one bit. It made Wolf hear some kind of inconspicuous taunting, almost as if somebody in the room dared not to have complete trust in him. But then Ganondorf looked away again and Wolf forgot all about it.
Chuckling slightly, Wolf raised his eyebrows, and Ganondorf knew that he was about to ask how he was feeling. I'm feeling pretty good, fellow living being!
"You're absolutely fucking stupid!" beamed Ganondorf sweetly, flashing Wolf a toothy grin.
Uh-oh, thought Wolf. Denial. He doesn't have to go through grief about it...that's a bit much...
"Okay, I thought you would be a little bit humbled after that ordeal," snapped Wolf.
"You think I'm the other half of the Aura?" demanded Ganondorf angrily. "How dare you think I'm some evil energy source thing!?"
"Why don't you believe that?" asked Wolf casually. He may as well have been talking about his favorite book or movie or fanfiction.
"I'm a living person!" shouted Ganondorf, furious. "I was born the normal human mammal way! I remember being young and small! I don't remember being some symbiotic parasite crap to Lucario! Want to see me breathe, asshole?"
"Do you honestly think Master Hand would want you to remember the torture you went through separating from him?" asked Wolf, raising his voice a little.
"Well....um...ha, I know! I don't even use Aura like Lucario does!" retorted Ganondorf.
"Granted you don't use as much as him, but that's only because your Aura was split up to make the bombs and everything!" shouted Wolf, gesturing at the wall. "What do you think that purple fire around your Warlock Punch is?"
"Bullshit!" bellowed Ganondorf, covering his ears. "Every bit of it! Toon Link, he's crazy!"
"Ganondorf, please," pleaded Wolf. "You've been through a lot, and you need to calm down. I need you. We need you to beat this Army."
"The hell you do!" shouted Ganondorf. "Toon Link, fight him off!"
Ganondorf picked Toon Link up and threw him at Wolf. Nothing happened.
"So it's less crazy and makes more sense that you're immortal," said Wolf dryly. "And that you're the only man in an all-female tribe."
"Yeah, it does make more sense!" argued Ganondorf. "It's far less contrived and far easier to comprehend!"
"....Immortal..." repeated Wolf slowly. "Im....mortal...right..."
"Yeah, that's right," smiled Ganondorf cockily.
"Can't die like a human," sighed Wolf, rolling his eyes.
"Go ahead, try and kill me," Ganondorf sneered. "Won't work."
Wolf turned his back on Ganondorf, waiting expectantly. The first stage of grief should pass through Ganondorf any minute now...but he still stood there cockily, his eyes darting back and forth proudly. Soon enough, his eyes were not so proud. His arms had been leisurely swinging by his sides before. Soon enough, he balled his hands up into fists and tensed his arms. Anger.
Ganondorf spoke to Wolf. But the brutish dialogue didn't sound like any sort of words Wolf recognised. An incoherent hissing noise steamed from his mouth, and Wolf turned back to him with raised, expectant eyebrows. Toon Link nervously backed away from the other two, not wanting to see what would happen next.
Then as soon as the slightest red tinge appeared in Ganondorf's cheeks, Toon Link dropped down in a dead faint.
Meanwhile, Luigi was settling his (well, Mr. Game and Watch's) business fairly quickly. After a brief dispute following Jigglypuff asking if she could help, Falco had been unanimously nominated (forced by Mr. Game and Watch) to lock her (and himself) in a nearby supply closet. Luigi was getting closer to hacking the communicator (turning on the squatbox, as Mr. Game and Watch called it). Unfortunately, this had not come without its complications. The two most successful hackers in the world sat half-buried in a sea of cables and wires.
"Luigi, how's it coming?" asked Mr. Game and Watch, spitting out a few leads.
"I think I'm done!" gasped Luigi excitedly. "I just f-found some Subspace technology without any Subspace troops nearby!"
"Is that Master Hand, then?" demanded Mr. Game and Watch urgently.
Luigi was about to answer, when there came a thunderous hammering from the closet.
"Guys!" shouted Falco's voice. "Let us out! Come on!"
Mr. Game and Watch gave the closet the finger.
"H-he can't see you," pointed out Luigi.
"I'm giving you the finger!" shouted Mr. Game and Watch.
"But Jigglypuff fell asleep in here!" yelled Falco's voice. "She won't bother us any more!"
"Fine then, get out of there," sighed Mr. Game and Watch, unlocking the closet and sticking his foot in the doorway. Falco fell over immediately, becoming ensnared in the cables. "Luigi, is that Master Hand or not? Try talking to him! You can get to his communicator, right?"
"How about if someone else gets up off of their lazy bitch ass and talks to him!" snapped Luigi. "I just spent hours hacking the technology of a goddamn terrorist g-group!"
Mr. Game and Watch looked aghast. Falco looked delighted. Luigi embarrassedly clapped a hand over his mouth.
"I'll do it, only because that was completely epic right there, Luigi," grinned Falco appreciatively, swimming through cables. "Give me the Game Boy thing."
Luigi handed the Game Boy Horror to Falco, still red in the face. For a few moments, everyone waited with bated breath to talk to Master Hand. The little group of three gave each other nervous looks, and Falco switched the Game Boy Horror on.
There were static noises. Then there were tuning buzzes. Then there was a loud explosion. Then there was the sound of piles of rubble crashing to the ground.
The plethora of noise belting out of the Game Boy Horror was on a far greater scale than Luigi or Falco or Mr. Game and Watch had imagined Master Hand's return to be. But then at last the voice spoke, and it wasn't Master Hand's calm, cool monotone. It was an exhilarated sounding female voice.
"Hello?" asked the woman. "Who is this? Wait – you Subspace bastards still have that communications device stuck on me, don't you? Dammit! I forgot you could hear us and track us!"
A pause, filled only with confusion.
"Well?!" shouted the woman. "Aren't you going to say anything, Minister? We're in hiding; you can't kill us today, sorry."
"What should I say?" whispered Falco hurriedly, covering the Game Boy Horror.
"Who cares?" hissed Mr. Game and Watch.
"I-I was so sure that'd be Master Hand..." stammered Luigi feebly.
"Um, hello there," said Falco, taking his hand off of the Game Boy Horror. "This is...uh, the Subspace place. Can I take your order?"
"Finally spoke up, huh?" challenged the woman. "You don't sound like the Minister. I bet he sent one of his Primid cronies to threaten us, huh? Tell me, do you think we're completely stupid? You can track our every move, why are you putting out these newspapers that say we're missing? You're too afraid to admit that this Wolf O'Donnell guy is giving you an even harder time than we are?"
"Oh...right...there's...um...nobody's here to take your call right now," said a bemused Falco.
"What?!" raged the woman.
"I've got some paper right here," said Falco, pulling a tissue out from his pocket. "Would you like to leave a message?"
"I don't believe this!" fumed the woman. "I thought the Subspace Army were smarter than this! What kind of bumbling idiot are you? I'm almost not worried about you people finding and assassinating us!"
"Finding...and...Hey, does assassinating have two s's both times?" checked Falco, scrawling down the dialogue.
"This isn't the message, you stupid Subspace peon!" screamed the woman. "Tell your Minister that we've been training in secret for a couple of weeks now, and we're ready to challenge him! We're going to take down your army, mark my words!"
"W-what is she talking about?" asked Luigi, petrified.
"I don't really care," shrugged Falco. "But it really sounds like she's getting riled up! This is great! Oh, wait, she can still hear me. Uh, miss? I'll let the Minister know you're waiting for him...He's been working out a lot, you know. Push ups and everything. Just FYI."
"We'll still beat him!" declared the woman. "Long live Super Smash Brothers!"
"Yeah, whateve-what?!" spluttered Falco at once. Mr. Game and Watch and Luigi exchanged incredulous glances.
Then the Game Boy Horror shuddered violently. The woman was screaming in surprise, her cocky attitude melting away. Then there was an explosion, a stampede of footsteps. The three Smashers jerked back, covering their ears. Other voices were joining the woman, screaming and cursing heavily.
There were a couple more explosions. Then the sounds of Super Scope fire rang out through the tiny Game Boy Horror, followed by some cries that were unmistakeably Primids. Screams of pain from both sides burst out of the device, and the three Smashers listening in scrambled to disconnect the entire set of wires and cables. The noises had turned to clattering, and the woman could vaguely be heard giving quick orders to some uncoordinated sounding teammates.
Eventually, the device was shut off. Luigi's face glistened with a panicked flop-sweat. Falco lifted one hand and dramatically mopped his brow. Mr. Game and Watch bewilderedly looked at the other two's faces, trying to glean some answers.
Falco spoke first. "Did she say she was-"
"Yes," replied Luigi, astonished.
"And they're being-"
"Yes," panted Luigi hollowly.
Rubbing one eye, Jigglypuff stepped out of the closet in a daze, walking even more lightly and daintily than usual. She sheepishly looked around at her friends and smiled.
"Did somebody here just make a noise or something?" asked Jigglypuff sweetly.
Ganondorf's facade of grief-stricken anger eventually faded away, and Wolf expectantly whirled around to face him again, waiting for the bargaining phase. Toon Link quickly stopped hiding his face and looked at Ganondorf once more. The anger in his eyes had changed to sorrowful pleading instantaneously. Wolf waited patiently for Ganondorf to speak again. If he would, that is.
Every expression quickly flashed across Ganondorf's face, now a mere emotional pallet. Tired of waiting for somebody to talk, Toon Link tentatively walked between Wolf and Ganondorf. The talker wouldn't be him of course; he was far too shaken from being disfigured, kidnapped, brainwashed, and hurtled through time.
For a brief moment, Ganondorf's mouth had dropped open again, but it closed up again just as quickly. Wolf had had about enough of this pathetic grief charade.
"Listen here Ganondorf," said Wolf sternly. "It really doesn't matter to me whether you believe what I've told you or not. Either way, you're an instrumental part in beating the Ancient Minister."
"If it doesn't matter, why do you need me?" asked Ganondorf pleadingly. "I'd do anything to let another Smasher help you."
"Pfft, which one?" fumed Wolf, annoyed. "The four we left behind are completely incompetent! And I shudder to think what the rest of you people are like!"
"How about Captain Falcon?" suggested Ganondorf. "He fights the way I do, and he doesn't have that speed problem that I have! He's perfect, isn't he? Let's go and save him instead of doing whatever it is we're doing here! Please?"
"I didn't want to save him the last time you asked me and I don't want to save him now!" shouted Wolf.
"Why not?" demanded Ganondorf, raising his voice too.
"Even if I knew exactly where he was or if he was actually still alive, saving him would just add more confusion to the current situation!" boomed Wolf. "He knows you're the Malevolent Aura too! Master Hand let it slip to him before you joined the Super Smash Brothers, so that he could show you a fighting style that didn't give your true identity away to anybody else, most of all Crazy Hand!"
"Oh haha," scoffed Ganondorf. "I guess now you'll be telling me that all those times he said I had to show him my moves he was just testing to see if I got them right, huh?"
"Well, yes," replied Wolf indignantly. "Your Smash Brothers are a competitive organisation. You pretty much have to be. So Master Hand told Captain Falcon to turn Show Me Your Moves into a tagline, so that nobody would expect that you were getting preferential treatment. It makes no sense, I know, but I don't know why they picked Captain Falcon to mentor you...there must be a special reason. I just don't know."
"You don't know something!" jeered Ganondorf. "Oh, I've waited for this moment! Toon Link, grab some streamers, we're celebrating this!"
Toon Link made to stand up, but Wolf glared at him. Toon Link sheepishly sat back down on the table.
"Ganondorf, did you seriously think that I know everything about all of your Smash Brother shit?" snapped Wolf, looking disgusted. "I've given you some of the answers you wanted, but I'll never have all of them. Now focus, the Ancient Minister and the Subspace Army are an enormous threat to millions, and we're getting close to thwarting them. I need you to-"
A high-pitched alarm screamed throughout the bomb factory and Toon Link was panicking and the bombs were ominously rattling. A light display next to Wolf displayed a bright red warning message.
Threat detected.
Toon Link's face was paper-white. Wolf shut his eyes and groaned. Ganondorf looked around frantically for the source of the noise.
"What's going on?" asked Ganondorf, worried.
"They found out that we're in here," Wolf sighed, shaking his head. "Either they know about us, or one of the idiots did something stupid. Follow me; we may have to take a more secluded route out of here. Stay calm."
Wolf fought an air vent open, and shimmied inside.
"Come on!" called Wolf, slightly muffled. "Move!"
"Okay, fine!" snapped Ganondorf. "But Toon Link, if you make Mewtwo throw me through time again, I'm going to fuckin' brain you."
Frantically, Luigi, Falco and Mr. Game and Watch set about cleaning up all the communication link cables strewn across the floor. The alarm was becoming more and more shrill, not entirely like an alarm any more – more like the world's sharpest nail and the world's least resilient chalkboard conspiring together in ear-destroying harmony. Primids were also battering on the firmly locked door, screaming that the Isle's intercoms had just said something about "Long live Super Smash Brothers!" As a result, every Subspace lackey wanted to get their hands on the insubordinate traitors. With a small degree of difficulty, the door was barricaded and all of the cables were out of sight.
Then the worst of it happened. The four Smashers weren't feeling particularly safe to begin with, but the Primids had begun hollering 'Minister! Minister!' over and over again, hoping that their metallic savior would destroy the traitors. It was hell. Together, the four Smashers slumped to the floor in a greenish bluish blackish pinkish pile of fear. It didn't help that the alarm had jumped an octave, echoing the angry sentiments of every Primid.
"Can anyone else hear that or is it just me?" asked Jigglypuff casually, patting her ear.
"Yes. Yes, I think if I struggle real hard, I can forget about the blood in my ears and start hearing the alarm again," snapped Falco.
"Luigi, you better not have set that off," fumed Mr. Game and Watch.
"Well, if I recall, I told s-someone else to talk to whoever that woman was," said Luigi nervously. "And F-Falco did. If he hadn't, we wouldn't have been f-found!"
"Excellent point," said Mr. Game and Watch icily, glaring at Falco.
"Uh, guys?" asked Jigglypuff, before Falco was lynched. "Look through this little window! It's Master Hand! Wow, he looks mad."
Everyone huddled around the room's tiny window in a tight circle. The alarm persisted in becoming higher and louder. Master Hand's white, hand-shaped, timely form was menacingly floating up the cloud fortress' hangar, closer and closer to the horde of Primid enemies surrounding the room. Floating became gliding, and the Smashers watching Master Hand became motionless. Suddenly, Master Hand roared something about stopping the Army himself if he had to, if there was but the slightest chance there were Super Smash Brothers in trouble. A rocket erupted from his index finger, exploding violently over about a quarter of the Primids.
The remaining three-quarters set out at once to kill the leader of the Super Smash Brothers. All around Master Hand, a gray wall formed, pinning the hand down with Super Scopes, Beam Swords and Primid Boomerangs a-plenty. And then Master Hand shot up like a dart, outstretching every finger. With a sickening thud, he came to land, crushing any Primid who dared stand directly underneath.
Up until now, the Smashers watching all of this through the window had flirted with the prospect of joining Master Hand against the Primids. They were just little gray ragdolls, being tossed around by the huge white puppet master. Oh, so wrong. The big guns had arrived; Greaps, Towtows, Armanks, the works. A couple of Gamygas, huge papier-mâché totem pole-looking creatures, even sprouted around Master Hand.
The only comforting fact was that the Ancient Minister hadn't arrived on the scene. Yet.
All four thought Master Hand can help himself, right? All four prayed the other three thought the same.
"Those Subspace guys look madder," gulped Jigglypuff.
"Falco, get this window closed right now!" ordered Mr. Game and Watch, albeit in a higher voice than usual.
"Sure, sure..." muttered Falco, slowly pulling a tiny curtain over the window.
As Falco pulled the curtain, everyone grew quiet. It was so quiet that you could hear the soft whirr of Luigi's Game Boy Horror, now acting without the rest of the equipment.
Luigi had taken matters into his own hands in a rare flash of determination.
"I've got him!" declared Luigi. "M-Master Hand has his communicator on him out there!"
"Can you talk to him?" asked Mr. Game and Watch enthusiastically.
"Y-yes!" chortled Luigi eagerly. But as soon as the energy and spirit had arrived, it left, and Luigi was doubtful once more. "But Mr. Game and Watch, should I really ask him for h-help? What happens if I do it and he gets distracted out there?"
"Then he'll shake it off, kill all those guys, find Wolf and Ganondorf, and bust us all out of here!" replied Mr. Game and Watch excitedly.
"T-think about it," said Luigi firmly, taking a stand.
Luigi clenched his fists, feeling respectable for the first time in a long time. His stance became several times more confident, and he looked a little less frail than normal. But that wasn't the biggest change in his behaviour.
Luigi was smiling confidently. Every inhibition or fear he had felt towards his fellow Smashers quickly faded away, washed out by the integrity and power with which he spoke. And when he spoke, the growing pride in himself was easy to see. Even his stutter was gone.
"Maybe the reason Master Hand hasn't been helping us throughout this whole mission is because sooner or later, we'll have to learn to fend for ourselves against greater enemies. What does it mean to be a member of an elite fighting force if we can't save ourselves once in a while? If Master Hand saves us right now, we won't get any credit for our brave efforts even if we do get killed on this island. I think I finally appreciate what Wolf told us when we first got here...there won't be any stage barrier lines or items or Master Hand or damage percentage systems taking the pain to save us. And that's not even mentioning the time Wolf ranted at us that we're meaningless without Master Hand! Let's show the world that the Super Smash Brothers have changed! Let's make a difference! Let's show that we can do this all on our-"
Mr. Game and Watch yanked the Game Boy Horror out of Luigi's hand and cleared his throat.
"Save us, Master Hand!" screeched Mr. Game and Watch. "We need you! Save me! Save Jigglypuff! Save Luigi! Think twice about Falco!"
"-own...." finished Luigi sadly, looking very hurt.
"I thought about it," snapped Mr. Game and Watch, covering the Game Boy Horror. "What happens now is what's always happened. Master Hand saves us, we live. Don't screw around with the fundamentals."
"Uh, guys?" panicked Falco. "Jigglypuff's gone! I think those Primids took her!"
"No! My plan was to have the Subspace Army capture and torture you!" sobbed Mr. Game and Watch. "How dare those enemies ruin my plans?"
"And M-Master Hand couldn't even save her!" cried Luigi. "My entire perception of power is thrown off-balance! We thought we could call in our large, white t-trump card to fix all of our problems and instead we got our s-small, pink friend killed! I d-don't know if I can live with myself k-knowing that I'm responsible f-for-"
"We're saved!" cheered a slightly grimier Jigglypuff, sliding out of the air vent. "While you guys were talking, I jumped up this air vent to look for a way out, and Wolf's coming back to save us! Oh, I'm so glad! I've never felt so alive!"
Everyone looked at Luigi, who was quickly reverting back to his old quiet, reserved demeanour.
"O-or maybe she's here..." mumbled Luigi, blushing.
"So what were you saying about Jigglypuff being dead?" Mr. Game and Watch chuckled, slapping Luigi on the back.
"N-nothing," muttered Luigi. "Can we ch-change the subject?"
"Nah, man," laughed Falco. "Your entire perception of power was thrown out of balance, right? I think that's pretty serious! Forget this searing alarm and the possibility that those enemies are overwhelming Master Hand! We've got bigger problems right here! Aw man, I love it when other people get embarrassed."
"I...uh..." stuttered Luigi.
Mr. Game and Watch strode forward and punched Falco in the stomach.
"No overkill!" reprimanded Mr. Game and Watch. "There's nothing I hate more than beating a dead horse!"
And then all at once, the alarm stopped blaring and the sea of Primids outside ceased their fire. Such silence breezed through the research facility and grew cold and grew frightening to the point where the four Smashers were quite sure they had never been so terrified. And the memories of the destruction that had ravaged the other places they had seen – New Pork City, Corneria, even the Fountain of Dreams – all seemed to fade away into one jarring realization.
If there was the slightest chance Master Hand was down, not even Wolf had a chance taking down the Subspace Army.
Through the window once more, the Smashers truly saw where they were for the first time. Everything was exactly as it had been when they had watched Master Hand fight off their attackers, but now nobody familiar was there. There was the abandoned wreckage of the Porky mech, lying in a heap directly under their window; there was the melancholy cycle of ROBs entering and exiting interchangeable doors, and there was the Towtow pen, holding the sleeping beasts.
One of them had fallen asleep with a very small, thin piece of white rubber in its mouth.
"Damn," cursed Mr. Game and Watch, sullenly moving away from the window.
And that's forty-eight. Two more chapters left of the Wolf arc, bringing it to a climax for chapter fifty!
Enjoy your summers, and I hope you read, review, and manage to get some sleep despite worrying over the fates of these fictional depictions of fictional characters!
And hopefully Captain Falcon's backstory/the mystery caller Falco talked to's identity/Master Hand's fate have given you a few things to ponder rather than sleep...