Aww, hyphens don't appear in chapter titles on the drop-down menu...now the previous chapter and this chapter's titles look less 'badass' and more 'Engrish'.
Minor issue aside, it's now time to end the Wolf story. Tragic, I know. If parts of this chapter are filled with suffocatingly large amounts of typos, it's because I couldn't see the keyboard through my tears.
Rebuilding
Chapter 50: The Last Plan – Execution
Bodies hit the floor.
One of the first things the Ancient Minister realized, when he saw dead Alloys falling to the ground, was that he was being distracted. There was no chance that Master Hand and his secondary fighter group were launching an attack on the Isle of the Ancients without knowing that the plan to rebuild the Aura was nearing completion. The next thing he realized, while looking out at the sky for the first time during the fire-fight, was that the daylight was fading, and at some point Group Bravo would have to grow tired.
Especially as there were only about four or five of them left.
Over on the grassland between the research facility and the bomb factory, the sky imposingly switched from a pleasant blue to a harrowing red-orange. Falco, Luigi, Jigglypuff and Mr. Game and Watch worriedly looked around the area, almost expecting to see the Primids returning from their hangar war, victorious and triumphant. Nobody came. Of course, the Smashers were also anxiously awaiting Ganondorf's decision. Three minutes ago, Wolf had asked Ganondorf where his allegiance would lie during the final stages of their mission. He hadn't answered yet, and from the looks of things, he still wouldn't.
The anticipation was terrible. All of them hoped that Ganondorf would come with them, but in the deepest realms of their consciousness, they all knew that he would have to join Wolf. And that sent them all off on mental tangents; what would each of them do in Ganondorf's shoes, why did Wolf need Toon Link to join him as well, why can't there be a better way to resolve this conflict than blowing up the island...
And where are they supposed to go provided that they do escape? This question pushed every other question into the backs of their minds.
Wolf's questioning facade ended. He had given up, staunchly pulling his gaze away from Ganondorf. The increasingly red sky grew a little cloudier, but the mechanised glint of the bomb factory's exterior kept things illuminated. And then Wolf spoke, breaking an awkward silence one more time:
"Okay, stick to the rest of the plan, everyone. Escape. Get out of here. Tell this whole story to the rest of the Super Smash Brothers. Have them start up the endgame," said Wolf briskly.
"We w-want to stay and help you!" blurted out Luigi, one hand in his overall pocket. "You don't w-want to take on the Minister alone, surely?"
Luigi removed his hand from his pocket, accidentally revealing that he was clutching a photo of a pretty blonde woman in a pink dress. He quickly shoved it back into the pocket, looking around nervously.
"Dammit Luigi, he gave us an order!" barked Mr. Game and Watch. "And I'm following it! Doing anything other than that, why, that's as good as heresy!"
"Yeah, besides, all we have to do is escape while Wolf does everything hard," Falco chuckled. "I thought you'd have liked that, Luigi. Aren't you a neurotic coward or something? Besides, she's not even here; you don't have anyone to prove yourself to."
"Wolf wants to take down these bad guys himself!" reaffirmed Mr. Game and Watch. "And while our tenure as his pawns has been fun and all, it's time for us to get back to the others! And Luigi, that includes Peach, doesn't it?"
"Y-yes, but Wolf doesn't want to take them down alone," mumbled Luigi. "He's taking Toon Link for some r-reason. And Ganondorf won't help him!"
Ganondorf remained silent, drying his eyes.
"Exactly! I always knew Ganondorf was a filthy good-for-nothing Falco-esque traitor!" raved Mr. Game and Watch. He darted up to Ganondorf and spat pixellated spit on his shoes.
"Just escape," said Wolf wearily, silently relishing the fact that he was listening to his last pointless argument. "When all these Subspace bombs explode-"
"Nothing will happen because Mr. Game and Watch won't die?" offered Jigglypuff sweetly.
"Stop it," ordered Wolf sharply. "Anyway, for the last time, Mr. Game and Watch, it'll kill you if you're not far enough away. So move fast. All of you."
"You got it, Walter!" smiled Jigglypuff dutifully.
"Well, I guess this is it," said Wolf, managing a smile. "Take care of yourself, guys."
Wolf nodded encouragingly to Falco, Luigi, Jigglypuff, and Mr. Game and Watch, before casting a sour glance on Ganondorf.
"Some of you know a lot about taking care of yourself," finished Wolf spitefully. Ganondorf still remained silent.
Wolf raised his arm and pointed to a nondescript, battered door. It was the door they had left the research facility from. The Smashers turned to look at this door. Wolf stepped in front of them and vaguely flicked his finger across the metallic horizon created by the corpse-laden hangar. He narrowed his eyes, and then pointed at his own Wolfen, lying abandoned on the hangar, a bystander to the loss of Group Bravo. Mapping out the route for the Smashers, and seeing how determined they were to escape and find help, gave Wolf a little twinge. It was almost admiration, followed by an intensifying hatred for Crazy Hand.
Because of him, their simple lives have been altered beyond recognition, Wolf thought grimly. And Jigglypuff's still happy all the time. Mr. Game and Watch is happy in his...way...Falco's always been an apathetic smartass, though. Even Luigi seems a little pleased at the thought of seeing this girl he likes again.
Luigi nervously stopped admiring his photograph. The other three Smashers curiously looked at him.
I'll give him hell, Super Smash Brothers.
Wolf's rush of admiration was quickly disillusioned when he looked back at Ganondorf, who was still motionless, still tangled in shock and depression, still unwilling to accept the truth.
Even if you won't go out of your way to help me.
"All of those Primids, not to mention the Minister himself, are going to identify you as soon as you go through that door and into the hangar," said Wolf. "They won't be happy to see you. So be ready to keep moving, and protect each other at all costs. Yes," he added, seeing Mr. Game and Watch indignantly open his mouth, "that means you can't use Falco as a sacrificial lamb."
"Right, gotcha...make sure Falco doesn't die, of course...I'll make sure to do a lot of....that..." Mr. Game and Watch sulked.
The hangar fight raged on, even as the moon began emerging from behind red-tinted clouds. The Smashers cautiously edged their way through the door in a tightly-knotted single file line, first Mr. Game and Watch, then Jigglypuff, Luigi, Falco, and lastly Ganondorf. Mr. Game and Watch led the other four along the wall as inconspicuously as they could manage. The large number of Primids took no notice, instead firing wildly on the few Alloys left, the Bravo leader included. But the Ancient Minister, no longer participating on the fight, saw them at once.
"Keep hugging the wall!" whispered Mr. Game and Watch. "They'll never notice us!"
The Ancient Minister entertained the prospect of shooting a Robo Beam and quickly dispatching all five of them, but he decided against it upon seeing that the 'stick to the wall' strategy would invariably end with the Smashers practically walking into the Towtow pen. But as Crazy Hand's underlings struggled to defeat the last of Master Hand's underlings, the Minister began to wonder where Wolf was. He couldn't possibly know about the Subspace bombs' mass detonator, surely...so why wasn't he out here, orchestrating a more successful escape?
He stopped his musings on the Smash Brothers' dazzling stupidity and the grey masses of Primid drones and the fruitless efforts of Master Hand's Alloys and the forced breath of Lucario's body beside him as soon as he saw the furry grey claws of Wolf O'Donnell tapping on the research facility's famously tiny window. He was furiously trying to rouse the Smashers' attention, thinking that the Minister wouldn't hear him. And beside him, Toon Link stood, resigned and tired-looking, yet unmistakeably un-brainwashed. The Minister noticed O'Donnell ruthlessly smash the slit of glass with his elbow.
"No, no!" shouted Wolf. The five Smashers jumped, startled. "You want the Ancient Minister to see you! Make him chase you down! That'll buy Toon Link and me enough time to get to the bomb factory. Just keep him away from us!"
"Lucario, what is the meaning of this?" demanded the Ancient Minister, confused and furious about it.
Lucario made a weak groan of resistance.
"Don't think I don't know you can't lie to anybody!" roared the Ancient Minister. "You're the manifestation of good! You'll tell anybody the truth!"
"He's tricking you," spluttered Lucario, looking disgusted with himself. "Get to the bomb factory as soon as possible."
"I just hope I can get there and do what I need to do while the Ancient Minister stays out here!" shouted Wolf, this time glaring at Lucario and the Minister instead of the Smashers. With that, he nudged Toon Link's shoulder, and the two turned heel and ran out of sight.
Enraged, the Ancient Minister immediately picked up Lucario's body by the neck and set off after them. He ignored the noises of badly concealed jubilation behind him, as the five Smashers celebrated successfully pulling off their own little trick.
"T-the Minister fell for it!" exclaimed Luigi gleefully. "He didn't kill u-us! Let's go!"
"Get ready, everyone," smirked Falco, pushing off of the wall and leading the charge straight into the fight...
Wolf and Toon Link's gambit may have paid off, but Wolf wasn't celebrating yet. He beckoned Toon Link across the grassland and through the bomb factory's entrance, now blown apart, indistinguishable from any other hole in the wall. The tiny halls he led Toon Link through to avoid detection forced the two to compress together into a grey-green knot on several occasions. The floors were littered with grit, shards of metal, and what they hoped was motor oil rather than blood. It was not long before the only light they had to guide their way was the small blue pulse coming from Toon Link's Triforce emblem.
The Ancient Minister furiously dragged Lucario across the tiny grassland and through the hole in the wall too. He stopped for a moment, and made his way through the light, regular halls, ignoring the dark, cramped ones mostly created by damage. It seemed all too obvious that O'Donnell would think he would be safe there, the Minister processed. And besides, this way he could easily see where O'Donnell and the boy were going. This way he would not lose them. This way he would end it.
Hours and hours later (or so they thought; it was really only a few minutes), Wolf and Toon Link became accustomed to the cold steel and the tight space. Then, there were flickering lights. The tiny side halls eventually opened up to another large room, much like the one Wolf and Ganondorf had found Toon Link in. The only real difference was that every bomb on the wall was entirely operational. Wolf and Toon Link drew themselves to their full heights, ready for any danger not entirely visible in the strictly periodical light. There was a weak sound. A cough. A splutter. And from Toon Link, a yell of recognition.
"Is that really you?" asked Toon Link, approaching the source of the noise. "You're okay?"
As the light flickered, Wolf saw a large, white, hand shaped figure chained to the wall. Streaks of red and smudges of brown were peppered all over him.
"Wolf," regarded Master Hand, trying not to talk too much. "Good to see you again."
"The idiots told me you died," said Wolf apathetically. "To their credit, they weren't far off. Is your brother anywhere nearby, Master Hand? I'd like to meet him. Word around the evil fortress is that he's a real toughie."
"I'm sorry Wolf, but he's more than ready to meet you. He's apparently been preparing for this...inevitable showdown," apologised Master Hand, a trace of bitterness in his voice. "I'm afraid we're all guests to the grand rebuilding he has planned."
"I've always hated party chatter," scoffed Wolf. "I'll just skip straight to taking his Army down...Master Hand, the Ancient Minister's coming for me too. We don't have much time."
"We're not alone in this room," coughed Master Hand. "Wolf, this is the room you want. This is the room you need in order to blow up the island. But somebody here wants to stop you."
As if on cue, the flickering light was petrified into a constant (though slightly dim) glimmer.
"Well hello, Wolf O'Donnell," Crazy Hand smirked coldly.
"The Overlord of the Subspace Army in the flesh, what an honor," scoffed Wolf. "I'll be telling the boys back home about this, that's for sure."
"You know, I've realized that this is the first time you and I have spoken face to face," Crazy Hand sneered. "May I add that it is also the first time I have spoken to a Super Smash Brother face to face in quite some time?"
"No, you cannot add that," snarled Wolf. "I am not a Super Smash Brother. I'm merely helping them do what should have been done a long time ago."
"I am sure that you have a lot of questions for me, Wolf," laughed Crazy Hand sardonically.
"Only one, really," Wolf shrugged. "How can the leader of an army like this possibly want to waste his time on the Super Smash Brothers?"
"Wolf, there's...um, he's here," said Toon Link fearfully, jerking his head over to the way they had come in.
The Ancient Minister stood in the doorway, seething with mechanised anger at everybody else. Toon Link looked back at Wolf pleadingly, expecting another trick to save their skins. But Wolf said nothing at all. For a fraction of a second, he glanced down at Lucario's limp form, almost apologetically, and then Wolf quickly ripped a small machine from his back and threw it at the door. A bright pink Reflector burst forth from the machine, blocking the Ancient Minister's access. Crazy Hand looked beside himself with glee.
"Well," grinned Crazy Hand. "My tortured former lackey returns after all. ROB, our letter disputes have caused quite a lot of unnecessary hostility among my Subspace Army. Though I stand by what I said in those letters. You will surely reconsider deserting my Army once you see the Aura's rebuilding."
"He's caused a lot of hostility among me and my idiots during the last couple of weeks," remarked Wolf. "You really think that the rebuilt Aura will be yours to control?"
"In a matter of minutes, you'll be eating those words, O'Donnell," snarled Crazy Hand. "I suggest that you enlist in my Army too, if you expect to make it out of this little encounter alive."
"Looks like we have a problem," chuckled Wolf derisively. "Thing is, I doubt any of us will."
Primids and Alloys ran screaming and shooting in all directions, as the five Smashers fought their way through the last moments of the full-scale hangar war. Super Scope fire, explosions, and dead bodies periodically rained down along the hangar's wide, long area.
"Behind you!" cried a Yellow Alloy.
His Green Alloy cohort, now one of the last ones left, whipped around and decimated a string of Primids with a shot from his Cracker Launcher. The short-lived triumph ended when one of the Towtows charged out of his pen, goring the Green Alloy with its curled horn. Blood or oil or whatever the Alloys have gushed out of the Green Alloy's wound, and he collapsed.
The Yellow Alloy let out a dismayed cry, picking up his friend's Cracker Launcher and firing wildly. The shots rang out through the air, and the Smashers ran as fast as they could amidst the multicoloured explosions. Mr. Game and Watch came perilously close to the final shot, and screamed in horror.
"Holy shit!" cried Mr. Game and Watch, frantically trying to see the others. A Scope Primid was brought to attention by the cry, and fired his Super Scope at Mr. Game and Watch. He ducked under the shot, and hastily ran to join the others. "This thing's getting too out of hand!"
The Smashers continued to run through the chaos. Every piece of battle litter imaginable continued to soar above them. A wound-covered Red Alloy suddenly stumbled and fell in front of them, trying and failing to cover a deep gash in his head.
"I think that's the Bravo leader!" gasped Falco, shocked at the sight.
The Bravo leader lay on the ground for a moment, coughing up a small amount of blood. Painfully, he mustered the strength to sit up and face the Smashers.
"Tell the rest...that Group Bravo...tried their hardest..." coughed the Bravo leader. His eyes rolled into his head, he went limp, and the body sagged back to the floor.
A moment later, yet another explosion rocked the body away, and the Smashers dived for refuge behind the Towtow pen's fence. Gooey Bombs and Super Scopes raged on, though the number of Group Bravo survivors was approaching zero – and fast. The five Super Smash Brothers huddled close, trying to catch their breath.
"Falco, I want to make amends," said Mr. Game and Watch bleakly, mopping his non-existent brow. "See, all these times I've insulted you...I think it all started due to a misunderstanding. I mistook you from someone who was...ugh...from Brooklyn."
Falco's face lit up for a very brief moment and quickly sank back into a sulk.
"I am from Brooklyn," scowled Falco.
"I'm scared!" sobbed Jigglypuff. "I want to go home!"
The fence of the Towtow pen broke off in another explosion, scattering tiny pieces of metal fencework on the Smashers.
"Watch out!" cried Falco, curling up into a ball.
"This is it!" panicked Luigi. "They're coming to kill us! I-I'm going to die alone in this fight! I never e-even told Peach how I feel..."
"Oh, bummer," scoffed Falco angrily.
"Dammit Luigi, man up for a second here," Mr. Game and Watch ordered. "We need to figure out a way to escape this place before Wolf sets off those bomb thingies!"
Another explosion went off, and an Alloy's arm careened over the broken fence and landed in Ganondorf's lap. He remained silent. His face was frozen in deep contemplation.
"Ganondorf! Get rid of that thing!" cried Mr. Game and Watch. "And start saying stuff! You're the smart one here! Help us escape!"
Ganondorf made a despondent moaning noise, his eyes darting back and forth amongst his thoughts.
"Uh, Ganondorf?" asked Falco tentatively. "Are you okay?"
Ganondorf's moans became more strangled, and he glanced back at the door to the research facility.
"We don't have time for this!" shouted Mr. Game and Watch. "Wolf'll be done any second now! We've got to step on it! Keep moving!"
The bomb factory standoff was not going much better. Wolf's mind was casting ideas aside left and right, searching for a way to avoid Crazy Hand and the Minister and start detonating the bombs. It felt like an impossibly long time since Wolf had parted ways with the Smashers. He moved to the side silently, but Crazy Hand arrogantly glided to the side to meet him. There wasn't a moment when the large white hand wasn't obstructing nearly all of Wolf's view. The only sounds were the heavy breathing of both Toon Link and Master Hand, out of fear and out of weakness respectively, and the whir of the Reflector.
I could just shoot him, thought Wolf. No, that's stupid. I doubt a Blaster will take him down. Besides, he'll be expecting it. He raised his hands above his head, showing no inclination of drawing a weapon. Crazy Hand remained similarly composed; his only movement being a periodical twitch of the finger, more out of habit than imminent threat.
Thinking he would go unseen, Toon Link craned his neck to see over Crazy Hand's thick thumb.
"Wolf, there's the detonator!" noticed Toon Link. "Should I get to it?"
"How did you get out of Subspace control?" snapped Crazy Hand at once.
"Simple. I busted in and saved him," retorted Wolf. "You should have expected me to cause a little trouble during my visit here, Crazy Hand."
"Should we really be doing this?" asked Toon Link uneasily, cowering before Crazy Hand's imposing figure. "I mean, there are a lot of bombs here...are you sure it's a good idea to set them all off?"
"Is that what you're doing here?" Crazy Hand sneered, sounding a little bored. "That sounds helpful. We've got all the ingredients for the Aura together here, don't we? There's the Benevolent Aura, those bombs must be about three-quarters of the Malevolent Aura, but...oh? Where's that last quarter?"
Crazy Hand noticed the blue glow of Toon Link's hand, where the figure of Mewtwo briefly flickered before Toon Link squealed and plunged his hand into his tunic.
"That's why you needed the kid back, then?" smiled Crazy Hand, cruelly satisfied. "To show Ganondorf what he really is, hm?"
"I've known about what you put him through since the moment Master Hand picked me for this mission," snapped Wolf furiously. "It's despicable torture."
"I'm sorry," scoffed Crazy Hand offhandedly. "Wolf, you've done a good job leading most of the Aura together for me, but the Subspace Army will no longer require your accidental help. Let's get rid of that barrier of yours."
Wolf did not know what to do or say. In one fluid motion that was both impressive and terrifying, Crazy Hand snapped his fingers. Wolf felt a sickening feeling, but he didn't know why. He shook his head and looked up at the fingers. A large missile erupted from the spot where the thumb and middle finger had met, but it did not aim for Wolf. It soared over his head, and Wolf could not look, but he heard the unmistakeable sound of his Reflector exploding into a million pieces.
"What the..." gasped Wolf, almost stupidly; he sluggishly turned around, confused by the sudden movement.
"ROB?" asked Crazy Hand casually. "Please kill Wolf O'Donnell."
For a moment the Ancient Minister stared back at him, outraged that he was still being given orders. The pause bought Wolf enough time to throw down his hands and draw his Blaster. But when the Minister saw Wolf take aim, he was overcome by his instinct. He charged up his Robo Beam as fast as he could. There was a dreadful intake of breath somewhere else, from either Master Hand or Toon Link or...
Wolf let out a strangled cry as he squeezed the Blaster's trigger. "Bring it o-"
The Minister ducked. The shot missed. And in one short second, too quick for the Minister to process any strategy at all, he fired his Robo Beam as hard as he could. The large scarlet laser blew right past Wolf's still-outstretched Blaster and into his chest. The next moment was a horrifying nightmare. The Minister's eyes were still searing from the laser and Wolf seemed to be neither alive nor dead. There was a weak, yet defiant whisper that could have been an attempt at a frustrated curse, and the next thing everyone in the room knew was that Wolf O'Donnell was lying dead in the middle of the bomb factory.
"NO!" shouted Toon Link at once. "Mewtwo, do it! I know what he wanted us to do!"
Toon Link swung his hand up, and the ghost of Mewtwo burst forward, oddly composed under the current circumstances. The Ancient Minister barely recognised the apparition, and Toon Link charged at him as fast as his stubby legs would carry him. His face was paper-white.
As soon as Mewtwo got near him, the Minister started to see things. Bombs were exploding. ROBs were being blown up in the explosions. Duon and Galleom were angrily destroying ROBs who were reporting that the Smashers were alive. ROBs were being smashed to pieces. The metal was being used to make skiffs and reinforce bombs. More ROBs being smashed to pieces. The metal was being used to build a bomb factory. The metal he was standing on. And then, there was an image of himself.
He was looking down at two ROBs preparing to detonate a bomb. The ROBs...his ROBs...happily waved at him. An explosion. Scrap metal from his friends flying at him. A new image. He was inspecting a squad of Primids. He picked a spare Super Scope up off of the ground. The metal was sloppily put together. He was staring at the gun. A disused ROB eye stared back at him. He turned the gun around. 'ROB Model 8425' had been scraped away. 'Super skope' had been hastily engraved in its place.
Bombs were exploding. His ROBs were dying. His ROBs were becoming tools of war. No. Not 'were'. 'Are'.
The Ancient Minister snapped back to reality, looking down at Wolf's corpse spread-eagled on the metal floor. Wolf's corpse spread-eagled on top of the remains of hundreds, possibly thousands, of dead ROB models.
"Well, well, well," snarled Crazy Hand cruelly, floating down towards Wolf's face. "It looks like the hero loses this one, O'Donnell. Kill the boy too, ROB."
"Don't do it, Minister," called Lucario weakly, struggling to stand up and limp closer to the Minister. "I know there's some good in you..."
"Where are your friends, Ancient Minister?" asked Toon Link and Mewtwo, talking at the same time in a fierce tone. The ghosts of Roy and Pichu appeared out of the Triforce mark as well, joining in the chorus. "Where are they? Where are they?"
"Where are my friends, Crazy Hand?" asked the Ancient Minister, still looking directly at Wolf's body.
"You will call me Overlord!" raged Crazy Hand. "The thousands of expendable robots out there mean nothing to me! Focus on killing my brother and Wolf's accomplice!"
"ROB, I had every intention of building my third Smash Mansion on this island!" said Master Hand boldly, wincing slightly as he floated to his full height. "I picked this island so that you could join my Super Smash Brothers, while still keeping a close watch on your people. It seems that Crazy Hand had gotten here first, enslaved your ROBs, and developed his Subspace Army!"
The Ancient Minister bleakly moved his gaze from Wolf to Master Hand.
"This is your chance," said Master Hand pleadingly. "This is your chance to prove that you can be trusted to see what's right. If you reform, there will be no more need to have your underlings destroyed. Doesn't that sound better than your current torment?"
"He can see as many ROBs as he damn well pleases after I convert the world to my perfect Subspace utopia!" bellowed Crazy Hand, twitching in anger.
"You don't have to wait!" cut in Toon Link eagerly. "Once we're finished here, all your ROBs will be free!"
"No they won't," said the Minister flatly, now avoiding having to look at any of them. "The only way for me to apologise to my people is to do it in Subspace, after the Aura destroys this place..."
Toon Link despondently looked around the room for help, and then caught sight of something approaching down the hallway towards them.
"Actually, you won't have to wait long for that, either," smirked Toon Link, pointing.
The Minister heard a strange noise from somewhere behind him – it was incredibly throaty panting. At that very moment he heard shouts of surprise from Lucario and Master Hand...but also from Crazy Hand. When he turned around and saw who it was, he was no longer sure of whether to feel a burning hatred or a suppressed relief.
It was Ganondorf.
"Hi there," grinned Ganondorf, both of his hands glowing with a mysterious purple flame that vaguely resembled Lucario's own blue flames.
This time, it was Toon Link who was shocked. While he had not been particularly outspoken during the revelation of what Ganondorf really was, he had still been there, an observer of Ganondorf's disbelief. Toon Link gaped at his fellow Smasher, unaware of what he was going to do next. He desperately hoped one of the others in the room – even Crazy Hand – would be the first to speak.
"It's you!" smiled Lucario, relieved.
"Wolf was right, you were grieving!" gasped Toon Link. "You've came out of your depression!"
"That's right," beamed Ganondorf. He gave Toon Link a reassuring grin. "Stage five! Acceptance!"
The Smashers forced themselves to keep running around the Primids. Now that there were no Alloys left, all of the gunfire and explosions were concentrated on them. The sunset outside was spiralling into darkness just as quickly as daylight had spiralled into sunset. As inconvenient as it was, the explosions were the only lights guiding their way soon enough.
"Jigglypuff, watch out for that Proximity Mine!" called Falco.
Jigglypuff frantically jumped over the mine, breathing heavily. But the figure behind her, an apparition resembling Ganondorf, stepped on the mine. The sight of the explosion engulfing Ganondorf's figure shocked Jigglypuff into tears, and Mr. Game and Watch cursed, frustrated to have lost someone who wasn't Falco. Luigi felt cold and nauseous. However, Falco was the only one indifferent to the others' grief, as he continued running amongst the Primids.
"Ganondorf! No!" sobbed Jigglypuff, falling to her kne...falling.
"What the hell are you guys doing?" demanded Falco over his shoulder. "Why are you stopping? Move!"
The smoke from the explosion gradually cleared, leaving a puddle of fiery purple goo on the floor.
"Oh my god!" squeaked Jigglypuff, wringing her hands. "Ganondorf melted!"
"I don't care!" hollered Falco. "I just want to make it out of here alive so that I can resume my busy life of doing nothing!"
"Help me scoop him up into a glass or something!" panicked Jigglypuff. "We can still save him!"
"I think Ganondorf's g-gone," piped up Luigi, realising what had happened. "He r-really is the Malevolent Aura. Rem-remember when Lucario left an imprint of himself in Aura? Ganondorf must have escaped and left behind the same t-thing!"
Jigglypuff was about to cry out in excitement, but one look at the urgent expression on Falco's face and she restrained herself. As soon as Luigi had explained the situation, Mr. Game and Watch was sprinting to catch up with Falco, and Luigi shot Jigglypuff a worried glance before running off to join the other two. Jigglypuff continued to dance around in ecstasy for a few moments before she was shot at by some Primids, annoyed by the dance.
"Jigglypuff, hurry up or we're leaving you here!" shouted Falco.
Ganondorf's appearance had affected everybody in the bomb factory. Everyone apart from Crazy Hand was uncomfortably anticipating the inevitable event that would surely come in a few moments. Crazy Hand was twitching with a silent pride. Wolf was dead, and nobody would be controlling the Aura but him...
Ganondorf looked around the room and recognised the hurt-but-alive Master Hand with a proud chuckle. He acknowledged the conflicted Minister, not showing any emotion towards the robot. He gave a friendly grimace to Lucario. He waved at Toon Link yet again, cementing his acceptance. He saw Wolf's body and froze.
"Wolf...died?" asked Ganondorf curiously. "That's terrible...I wish he knew that I've accepted the truth now. I'm so sorry, Wolf...I'm sorry I didn't believe you...and I'm sorry for what I said before you left...the last thing I ever said to you. I told you I hated you...just know that I've accepted who I really am. It's like you said. If I hadn't come to terms with it...I'd have been tormented by it for the rest of my Subspace-governed life."
"Ganondorf, whatever you're planning to do, you should do it quickly," advised Toon Link. "I can't stand the sight of his body any more."
Ganondorf nodded sympathetically, and then, noticing the Minister, he asked: "How much longer until he cracks? I assume Mewtwo's doing what he did to me to show me the truth?"
"I don't know how much longer he can take it," said Toon Link pleadingly. "Listen to me. When I activate the detonator, merge with Lucario to rebuild the Aura in my favour. But...this could all go horribly wrong for you..."
"It would only go horribly wrong for me if I was a mortal," smiled Ganondorf reassuringly. "I can't die, remember? I'm immortal. I'm"- he took a deep breath -"the Malevolent Aura!"
Ganondorf rubbed his hands in anticipation, and caught Lucario's eye with a smirk. Everyone was still. All of a sudden, Ganondorf quickly grabbed Lucario's arm. Both of them started convulsing wildly; the colour was drained out of both bodies and they began to convulse in a glowing pattern of blue, purple, blue, purple, over and over again.
Ominous crackles danced and sparked around them. The rebuilding was not quite complete. The gruesome, symbiotic marriage of Lucario and Ganondorf, Benevolent and Malevolent, looked over at Toon Link and nodded its heads. Toon Link looked the half-Aura in the eye, wanting to nod back at it. Its eyes were different. They were neither Ganondorf's nor Lucario's. They were almost formless, receding back into a slightly digital-looking blue human head. The Aura stood up in a sluggish fashion, still convulsing and sparking. It slowly grew in size. As it grew in size, it also grew in resemblance to a human man. A smooth, electric-blue, naked, featureless human man, but a human man all the same.
"What's going on?" demanded Crazy Hand. "Why's the Aura siding with that kid?! It was me who went to the trouble of setting up this rebuilding!"
"Toon Link, please!" gasped Master Hand, aghast as he caught on to Toon Link's plan. "We don't have to resort to these measures to resolve the situation! We can defeat the Subspace Army in a more civilized way, can we not?"
Toon Link shook his head, and as he recalled Mewtwo to his hand, the Ancient Minister swayed from side to side, disoriented.
"Wha-just what..." panted the Ancient Minister. Without warning, his artificial cloak shattered, revealing the ordinary ROB underneath. "What have I done?! I've caused the deaths of...so many of my brothers...I'm a monster..."
"Great job, Mewtwo," whispered Toon Link, patting his hand.
"I...Master Hand, I pledge allegiance to the Super Smash Brothers," said the Ancient Minister. "I can't continue this Ancient Minister facade after seeing what I've done...from now on, call me ROB. It's the...the least I can do to honor my fallen comrades..."
Toon Link nodded at ROB, satisfied.
"We're done here," grinned Toon Link. With that, he hit the detonator.
Instinctively, Toon Link squatted to the ground, covering his head. The explosion did not ring out immediately, but the Aura began crackling even more wildly. Red pulses were being cast off in all directions.
"Something's happening with the Aura!" noticed Master Hand.
A pulse hit the reformed ROB. A trophy was left behind. Alarmed, Toon Link looked over to Master Hand for guidance.
A pulse caught Toon Link directly in the stomach.
"You have got to be kiddi-" lamented Toon Link, before succumbing to the cold existence of a trophy.
Then the explosion began. Each bomb, in turn, became a violently violet inferno of Subspace, pulling everything around it into its grasp. The two trophies and the two hands were sucked in, and with each second the bursts of purple seemed to amplify the humanoid form the Aura had assumed. The rest of the bomb factory was rapidly enveloped, dragging any sentries in the ruined hallways with it. The explosions generated a cold wind, tearing debris off of each other before it was all taken into Subspace.
The hangar was slowly being ravaged by the approaching Subspace rift. Primids and Alloys, dead or alive, but mostly dead, were engulfed. The Smashers stayed ahead of the danger, finally reaching Wolf's Wolfen. The moon was now low in the sky, almost equal with the hangar's opening. Falco wrenched the cockpit open and began fiddling with the controls. And as the other Smashers looked, they saw the approaching purple shape. And they screamed. And they panicked.
"Here comes the explosion!" screamed Luigi in terror. "Falco, please hurry!"
"Shit!" cursed Falco loudly, pounding his fists on the controls. "The controls got all damaged in that stupid fight!"
"Fix them!" bellowed Mr. Game and Watch. "Are you an ace pilot or not?"
Falco looked around wildly, trying not to see the gaining purple vortex of Subspace. He noticed Jigglypuff first.
"Jigglypuff!" shouted Falco. "Get yourself out of here safely, don't worry about us!"
"I'm scared!" cried Jigglypuff, running as fast as she could to one of Group Bravo's Subspace skiffs.
One of the last remaining Primids, on his hands and knees to escape the explosion, decided to take his chance. He threw his boomerang directly at Jigglypuff, striking her in the back. She burst into tears, at first from pain, and secondly from the realisation that she was falling. She had been knocked over the hangar's edge; plummeting helplessly to the ocean several feet below the Isle of the Ancients. Even at her light weight, the speed of the fall was considerably high. Jigglypuff shut her eyes, ready for the crash into the water. She could faintly hear the cries of her friends:
"W-we've only got a few more seconds!" Luigi was crying. Indeed, from the outside of the island, there was only a small sliver left untouched by the explosion. It grew smaller every second.
"Jigglypuff! No!" bellowed Falco, both in frustration and dismay.
It felt as if nothing was ever going to happen to any of them again. Suddenly, a blue streak whizzed through the air. It rose upwards and skimmed the edge of the bomb's path.
She wasn't sure how, but Jigglypuff could hear herself breathe.
That wasn't all.
She could hear other people breathe too.
And there we have it! Fifty chapters! I hope there were plenty of surprises this chapter. Hell, I hope there were plenty of surprises throughout the whole Wolf plot. But it's over now. A shame, too, I really enjoyed that part of the story.
Join me next time for....a hundred different synonyms for "Pit, I believe you might be homosexual" and "Zelda hurt somebody"....that's right, the 'funny guiz'. Oy vey, that's going to be a jarring change. Stupid crackfic main plot...
(but hey, it was good enough for a livejournal kink meme...?!)
Read and review please!