Level 10: Just Desert
"Angel's log, #777; Having bravely escaped from the underground caverns, I resumed my journey to find the mysterious orbs. However, with the Wings of Pegasus' powers limited by the world-merge, I am forced to make my quest on foot…as usual.
"However, my progress is being hindered by a nefarious demon, who though helpful at one point, has become obsessed with harassing me every step of the way."
"Doing your own narration won't make me go away." Morrigan chided, playfully rolling her eyes.
Pit sighed, not even bothering to turn around. He knew that if he did, he would see the same thing he did the last time he turned to talk to Morrigan- the sight of her laying seductively on a swarm of bats that used to be her wings. Ever since they pulled themselves out from the underground caverns, Morrigan followed Pit around, either trading barbs with him or trying to tweak the angel with come ons.
"So, tell me more about this quest you're on," The succubus said, "How does getting some balls work for you?"
"Was that a legitimate question, or another veiled innuendo?" Pit asked cautiously.
"Legitimate. Though, now that you mention it…"
"I don't know how the Orbs are supposed to fix things!" Pit yelled quickly, determined not to let Morrigan complete her sentence. "But Lady Palutena asked me to retrieve them, and she's never steered me wrong before."
"So, you're just an errand-boy after all," Morrigan sighed, "Doing your duty without a second thought. Typical angel."
"Hey, I have faith in Lady Palutena," Pit defended himself, "Besides, I'm sure if we hadn't been cut off from each other, she would have told me why these balls- these Orbs are so important."
"If you insist," Morrigan let her eyes wander upward and then focused on something. "What is that?"
Pit followed Morrigan's gaze and saw it too; far in the sky was a massive vessel held up by helicopter blades and pushed by a pair giant rockets that had a giant rudder sandwiched between them. It looked like the lovechild of a 18th century galleon and a helicopter- several helicopters, in fact.
"Oh God, is that thing made of wood?" Morrigan asked, somewhat bewildered by the sight.
"That's the Airship I fell from!" Pit exclaimed, "Come on! There's another Orb there!"
Pit ran off, kicking up a small amount of sand in his wake. Smirking, Morrigan began to follow, and then paused. Glancing back, she glared at the shadow of a particularly large rock. After a moment, she shrugged and went after Pit.
Stage 1: Valley of the Grain
Angel and demon ventured across the sand, and at first it was a simple matter of avoiding pitfalls and min-canyons that littered the way- for Pit, at least. Morrigan wasn't really used to this sort of adventuring, and several times almost fell because she didn't pay attention to her footing.
"Not very good at this, are you?" Pit teased. After taking the brunt of Morrigan's jabs, it was nice watching her lose her composure.
"Oh, shut up," Morrigan's head-wings flapped peevishly. "Some of us prefer head-on duels to all of this running around."
"Well, it's the jumping you should worry about, not the running."
The path had dangers other than death from falling, of course. The desert was filled with dangerous creatures, such as giant scorpions popping out of the ground ("They're not so big…" Pit commented, "I mean, puppy-sized, yeah, but not what I'd call giant."), vultures swooping down from the sky, which were unceremoniously killed by Morrigan, and finally, cacti coming to life and trying to impale the two onto their needles. ("Seriously?" Morrigan remarked.)
As they went further on, the Airship seemed to go lower in the sky. At first, it appeared to be disappearing into the horizon, but the pair noticed that, slowly but surely it started to become larger from their perspective.
"It's landing?" Pit asked, confused. "What for?"
"Either it's having engine trouble or there's something here. Either way…" Morrigan's eyes shined with anticipation. "Sounds fun."
And so they journeyed on. Along the way, the local fauna changed from desert-themed to Koopa-themed. Koopa Troopas and Goombas of all kinds littered their path, which were summarily dispatched with ease by Pit and Morrigan. Though, there was this cute incident were a Troopa shell ricocheted off of a wall and got Morrigan in the head. The circling birdies vanished the minute Pit started laughing, as the demoness glared daggers at the angel.
"Hey, you're the one who was bored." Pit defended.
"Forgive me when I say that unlike some I could mention, my taste in entertainment is bit more mature." Morrigan replied coldly, rubbing her forehead. She hoped she didn't develop an ugly lump.
They kept going, bashing Koopa creatures and desert vermin aside until they reached a fenced off area. In the center of the circular space was a ramshackle podium made from scrapped timber, on top of which stood a wooden chest with a giant, metal lock.
"What do you think is in there?" Pit asked Morrigan, gesturing to the chest (The WOODEN one, you perverts) with his bow. "Let's check it out!"
Morrigan raised an eyebrow. "And why should we do that?"
"Because everyone knows you find useful stuff in random treasure chests! C'mon!"
Pit shot the rusty look off of the fence's mangled gate. The gate fell in, allowing the pair to enter. Morrigan watched bemusedly as Pit jogged up to the podium.
"Isn't breaking and entering, as well as stealing someone else's property a bit evil for an angel?" She asked with faux-curiosity resting her chin in her palm.
Her words took a step out of Pit's stride, though he recovered on the next. "Yeah, I suppose, but I'm a quest to save the world on the order of my Goddess, I'm sure no one will mind," He said, "Besides, it might be a weapon these Koopas have, so taking it out of their hands is a good thing!"
"Some of them don't have hands." Morrigan pointed out.
"Okay, so we might be taking something dangerous out of their fangs," Pit countered, "Anyway, let's be careful. Usually, these things have a monster or something lurking nearby-"
Predictably, before Pit could finish his sentence a big, scaly fist burst out of the sand, clocking him in the jaw and knocking him back into Morrigan's front. Morrigan, for her part, was less interested in the angel in her cleavage and more focused in the giant turtle that just appeared, bigger than the normal Troopas, and swinging a pair of well-toned arms.
"You ain't getting this!" Boom Boom growled, and charged at the two.
Morrigan held Pit to her and jumped over Boom Boom as he ran underneath her. Managing to stop himself before hitting the fence, Boom Boom whirled about and made another a series of charges at the demon and angel. However, rather than just avoid his assaults, Pit used his bow and fired a slew of light arrows at the Koopa, causing slight damage.
Not one to be outdone, Morrigan also got into the fight. But instead of blasting away at their attacker with her demonic energy, she choose a more personal approach; When Boom Boom's spinning tackle brought him close enough, she let him have it with an overhead kick, bringing her heel down on his head.
"OWWW!" Boom Boo shouted when she did it the first time, "That's sharp! What'd you do, put that shoe on a grindstone!?"
Morrigan chuckled darkly. "Maybe."
It didn't take long for Boom Boom to go down. Two against one were never good odds, and after taking several hits Boom Boom fell back on his shell, his eyes spinning.
With that taken care of, Pit hopped up onto the podium and opened the chest. Inside of it was an orb very much like the one he and Morrigan found underground. Pit held it up for all to see.
You got the Orb! (Now get down before you fall and break something)
Stage 1 complete
Hopping down, Pit noticed that Morrigan's eyes were darting this way and that. "What's up? Don't tell me that you're bored already!"
"No, your heroic pose is quite…compelling," Morrigan murmured, her gaze narrowed. "But…it feels like something is missing…" That dark presence that's been following us…where did it go?
ELSEWHERE
Ganondorf raced towards the now grounded Airship as fast as he could run. He didn't even bother hiding his presence in the darkness and shadows. While he had originaly followed Pit and Morrigan in hopes that they would lead him to a second Orb. However, that plan was abandoned when he sensed the power inside the flying battleship. Not only could he feel the presence of an Orb, but there were other great forces kept within. One was very dark- no doubt the being Pit described to Morrigan- but it was one of the others that gripped his focus so.
No doubt about it… Ganondorf thought, kicking up sand with his pace. Zelda's in that ship! Not only is an Orb within my grasp, but I can claim the Triforce of Wisdom as well!
…And woe to any who would get in my way.
Stage 2: Crashed Landing
As Ganondorf ran towards the Airship, he saw a small party of Koopa Troopas coming away from it.
"I still don't see why we couldn't land closer to the site." One grumbled.
"I just hope we'll be able to take off," Another said, "Whaddya think happened with the engines?"
"I hear it's because Rocky Wrench was using zombie juice as a coolant," A third remarked, "Magikoopa sure was upset when he found out…"
"All right, quit talking," The Troopa leading the party snarled, "The heat's bad enough without listening to all your…Hey, who's that?"
By this time, Ganondorf had caught up with the Koopas. With his mouth curved into a feral grin, the evil thief clenched his fist and gathered dark power around it.
"I think it's that guy from last time…Ganon-something," The first Koopa remarked, and began to wave. "Heeey! Gaaanon! What are ya doing out here?"
BOOM!
Ganondorf pressed forward, leaving behind the burnt, bruised, and shell-less bodies of the Koopa Troopas in his wake.
"You…didn't have to shout…" The Koopa Troopa coughed before falling unconscious.
Dodging pitfalls, inappropriately placed cacti and other traditional desert obstacles, Ganondorf mused on what he had heard from the Koopa Troopas.
The Airship is damaged, is it? That could be bad…I don't have enough power to leave this arid wasteland by myself…
Pressing on, Ganondorf soon reached the landing site of the Airship. Evidently it's landing was not a soft one. The ship was tilted slightly as its hull was partially into the sand. There were Koopa creatures mulling all around it, trying to adjust its position by pulling at it with ropes. It was, as far as Ganondorf could tell, a completely useless endeavor. The Airship was so large that even if all of them pulled at once, it's position wouldn't budge an inch. There was scaffolding set up everywhere to help them up towards the ropes. Ganondorf couldn't have asked for a more perfect arrangement. Rather than go in through the front door (Which was probably buried in the sand or elevated beyond reach), he could just use the scaffolds to reach a porthole and enter the Airship through that.
The Koopas were too busy with their own pointless efforts to notice Ganondorf at first, and continued to stupidly tug at the Airship. Rather than go out of his way to alert them to his presence, Ganondorf simply stuck to the shadows caused by large rocks or equipment that had been displaced from the Airship in the crash. Once he reached the scaffolding, however, that changed. The Evil King of Thieves was in no mood to tarry, and forced himself upwards at a hurried pace, knocking Koopas off left and right as he jumped and climbed up the structures.
One Goomba, clinging to a rope by his teeth, said, "Mmey, jour mammon, marn't moo!"
"What?" Ganondorf asked, pausing to regard the mushroom creature.
The Goomba spat out the rope to talk clearly. "I said, 'you're Ganon, aren't you- AAARRGH!'" Without something to hold on, the Goomba went plummeting.
Without a second glance, Ganondorf continued his ascent. He jump from one scaffold to another, occasionally using ropes whenever he couldn't find a ladder. Of course, there were flying Koopa creatures to deal with as well. Paratroopas and Paragoombas kept buzzing about him in a vain attempt to knock him back down, but they were easily dealt with. One particularly determined Lakitu littered Ganondorf's path with Spikeys, trying to get the evil thief to suffer the "Agony of De-feet", which proved to be rather pointless when put against Ganondorf's dark power. However, all of the fighting caused the scaffolding to become unstable- it began to collapse, forcing Ganondorf to ascend at a much faster rate lest the floor give out under his feet. Luckily, a porthole was within sight. Taking great leaps, (And using Paratroopas stupidly hovering in a path as stepping stones) Ganondorf managed to grab the edge of the porthole with one hand. With his free fist, he broke the glass and then pulled himself inside.
The first thing Ganondorf saw a flagpole of sorts. With a disgusted frown, he shattered it with a punch.
Stage complete
Now inside, Ganon decided to enter 'stealth mode'. Becoming one with the shadows, he cast out his senses for Zelda's location. He soon found her, but something felt off...Almost as if something different had been tossed in.
CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS
M. Bison sat in his chair, staring at the image being projected from Magikoopa's wand passively. Well, he was passive on the inside. An outside observer would think that illusion of Bowser Koopa had the Shadowloo leader's undivided attention. Bison prided himself on his poker face.
"…So Wesker said he got Princess Peach, so I GUESS you're off the hook," Bowser said, "But don't screw up again, got it?"
"I assure you, such a thing will not happen," Bison replied evenly, "In fact, I have good news for you. Not only did I retrieve another Orb at the amusement park ruins, but I have two more specimens for Wesker to work on."
"Huh? Really?" Bowser grunted, "Who?"
Bison smirked. "One is a wolf, of a breed I'm not familiar with. It is quite the canine. It possesses powers that can block even my Psycho Power."
"That right? This must be one heckuva dog!" Bowser chuckled before asking, "What's the other one? A big cat, or something?"
"No, a girl," Bison explained, "In fact, one could say she would make a fair replacement for the lost Princess Peach. She has quite a power within her."
"Really? Who's this wonder girl?" Bowser asked.
"Dunno, but she kinda reminds of that Zelda princess from last time," Magikoopa answered, "She's gotta triangle mark on her hand like Zelda did, that's for sure."
"You've got Zelda?! I don't believe this!" Bowser guffawed loudly, "That's great!"
"And once your men collect the next orb and repair the damage they've done to the Airship, we will return to the Castle immediately," Bison finished, "Unless you have anything you'd like to add?"
"Naw, that's fine. Just get here," Bowser replied, scratching himself. "Wesker's on his way too, so we'll have the whole gang assembled," He began to laugh again. "Zelda! This is gonna be excellent!"
And with that, the light vanished from Magikoopa's wand, and once it did the wizard visibly relaxed. Even when he was bellowing at someone else, the Koopa King was scary when upset. Luckily, it seemed that Wesker recapturing Peach, as well as their finding another Orb and getting Zelda had defused Bowser's temper somewhat…for now.
Bison allowed himself a nasty grin. What he didn't tell Bowser (Or indeed, anyone else, even his own Dolls) was that before having Zelda imprisoned, he put a little something
inside of her, to keep her compliant…and obedient. Should someone try to take her away, like Megaman did with Peach, they would find resistance from the most unlikely sources.
"That went pretty well," Magikoopa remarked, placing his wand into one of the folds of his robe. "Let's go see how Rocky Wrench is doing with the engines. That lousy mole better have sorted everything out, or…"
But Bison wasn't paying attention to the Koopa wizard. Instead, the leader of Shadowloo was staring elsewhere, technically looking at a wall, but his gaze focused on something out of sight.
"Something got aboard the Airship." Bison said, making Magikoopa look at him in confusion. Then, there came a loud thud from somewhere within the Airship.
"Now what?!" Magikoopa groaned, and teleported from the cabin. this was going to be one of those days, for sure!
Bison did not move, at first. Then, his eyes narrowed and he strode out of the room, his cape billowing behind him.
AIRSHIP'S BRIG
Her body was held down by chains coated with a power almost as bad as Yami's, but Amaterasu was not completely imprisoned. Though there was a school of thought that claimed being chained down wasimprisonment enough, this belief did not take the existence of 'traveling artists' into account. And the lock's insides didn't have any dark power surrounding it...
"One…more…push!" Issun's voice echoed out from within the chain's lock. This was followed by a loud crack and him yelling, "Augh! My back!"
Okay, maybe she was completely imprisoned.
Issun pulled himself out from the lock, looking more like the bug people mistook hi for with his crawling. "This is hopeless, Ammy. There's no way I can pick this lock…I might as well try drawing up a key or something!"
Amaterasu stared at Issun, cocking her head.
Issun slapped his forehead. "Doy!"
A few minutes later, the chains were off, and Amaterasu blasted her way through her cell.
Stage 3: Airship Bowels
Amaterasu ran through the deep recesses of the Airship, while Issun clung to her fur.
"Okay, now that we've got outta that cage, let's see if we can find out where that Zelda cutie was put!"
Amaterasu 'ruffed' in response, leaping over a chain that was hanging from one wall to the other across. It might have been an obstacle for anything that couldn't jump very well. There other chains ahead of the Goddess, set up in more imaginative patterns. Amaterasu had to jump very carefully in order to get through.
Then, she sensed it. The power that had been inside Zelda, it was near. Looking around, Amaterasu saw a door that had several chains over it. A simple usage of Brush Technique Slash was enough to send the links clattering to the floor. Thankfully, the door was the kind that opened by pushing, as a wolf like Amaterasu would never have been use the door knob (No opposable thumbs). Forcing her way into the room, Amaterasu sniffed the air as Issun bounced about on her head.
"Hellooo? Ms. Zelda? Yoo-hoo! Are you here?" The 'Traveling Artist' called out, before remarking, "Geez, it's dark in here. Where's the light switch?"
Amaterasu's answer was to paint a small sun into the room with the Sunrise Brush Technique. With the false star's illumination, they saw that this room was very much like the one Amaterasu had been trapped in; dirty and featureless. Not even a window to look out of. However, they saw a figure lying in a corner, though it wasn't as filled out as Issun would have liked. However, it was Zelda's, and that was good enough for Amaterasu.
"There she is," Issun commented as the Goddess padded over to the maiden. "Looks like she's in good shape, overall…I mean, we haven't seen her since they stuck us in that cell with those awful chains. I sure hope that guy in red didn't do anything weird to her…"
Amaterasu stopped. Zelda's eyes had opened, but the iris' weren't the same color they were before. In fact, she didn't have irises at all- her eyes were now completely purple, before shifting towards a dirty yellow color. Amaterasu jumped back in alarm, almost causing Issun to fall off.
"Gah!" Issun yelled, struggling to keep his grip Amaterasu's nose.
Zelda began to rise, her body limply dangling like a marionette whose strings were being manipulated by an novice puppeteer. Her skin turned a pale, sickly green, and there was a flash of purple light. When it faded, Zelda was wearing a white dress with a purple shirt, with a front adorned with a triangle and bird symbol. Her shoulders had gold-plated armor on it, and there was a tiara of sorts on her head.
"For…Master Bison…" Zelda murmured, a sword appearing in her hand.
Zelda vs Amaterasu
With a wave of her sword, Zelda sent a ball of Din's Fire at Amaterasu, who leapt around it and charged at Zelda. The disc on back of Nippon's sun Goddess transformed into a sun, and she slashed at Zelda several times. Every time the blade connected, Zelda's body flashed purple, as if something inside was reacting to Amaterasu's power.
After the fifth or sixth slash, Zelda teleported away on Farore's Wind, reappearing behind Amaterasu, blasting her with random magic. Yelping in pain, Amaterasu leapt forward, almost hitting her head against the wall. Whirling about, Amaterasu sent out a huge gust of wind, pushing Zelda back. Changing her sword into a beaded necklace, the Goddess rushed at Zelda and began to attack, but Zelda deflected it with Nayru's Love. The Hylian then rushed forward, sending out more of Din's Flame, which Amaterasu dodged.
Amaterasu could sense a vile energy within Zelda, the same dark power that the one called 'M. Bison' was brimming with. She knew she had to purify Zelda of it, but first she had to stop Zelda's attack!
What followed was a mad series of magical explosions as Goddess and Goddess-reincarnation to blast each other in smithereens, in a variety of ways. Amaterasu's quick reflexes and four-legged nature allowed her to dodge the smaller blasts from Zelda, and whenever something bigger came Amaterasu would nimbly dart around it. Then, the Sun Goddess would try to hit Zelda with either her sword or beads, though Zelda would either deflect it with Nayru's Love or teleport away on Farore's Wind.
But as the fight went on, Zelda's body seemed to move slower, and her bursts of magic were less powerful. Realizing that the evil power controlling her body was weakening, Amaterasu knew that she had to act. Using the Brush Technique Slash, Amaterasu cut Zelda's sword in half, and the possessed Hylian dropped the useless blade to the floor. Zelda was briefly stuned by this action, and the Sun Goddess leapt upon the opportunity- and the Spirit Maiden. The force pushed Zelda back, and she hit her head against the wall. The Hylian went down, and didn't get back up.
End battle
"Good job, Ammy!" Issun applauded, before adding awkwardly. "But, did you really have to beat her up? Gonna make getting her out really hard…"
Amaterasu ignored him. She the used the Brush Technique Restoration, and Zelda's body briefly glowed. After a few seconds, Zelda's pallor returned to normal, and the Spirit Maiden pulled herself up, blinking sleepily.
"What…happened?" She asked no one in particular.
"Are you okay, Zelda?" Issun asked, bouncing up and down on Amaterasu's nose.
"Yes…" Zelda shook her head, trying to regain her senses- and sense of self. Bison's mind control had affected her on a much deeper level, disrupting the energies of the Triforce that had somehow become part of her body. Ever since she touched the Orb at the amusement park ruins, Zelda had become vaguely aware of her past lives- or was it her future lives? With the universe disrupted by the merging of worlds, what was and will be were completely out of sync. It was hard to keep her mind stable and not be overwhelmed by the random influx of information, and if she wasn't careful she would forget who she was entirely. Thankfully, both the Triforce and Amaterasu's restorative spell were easing the turmoil in her head.
"In that case, let's run!" Issun declared, "I think the whole ship might have heard your tussle, and if we want out we got to go before some guards show up!"
"No," Zelda said firmly, "We can't leave yet. We have to get the Orbs from M. Bison."
"What? Why!?" Issun cried out, "Can't we just go while the getting is good?"
But Amaterasu understood what Zelda wanted. That Orb contained dangerous power, power that an evil man like Bison can use to put others under his control like he did with Zelda.
With that in mind, the two (Well, three if you counted Issun, but no one ever did) returned to the corridor. Like Issun predicted, someone did hear the duel between celestial powers, and the now the hall was filled with Koopa creatures. Not that it mattered much, as Zelda and Amaterasu were able to blast aside any that came too close.
However, the Koopas were not one to remain punching bags. A few set up a few cannons further up, firing Bullet Bills at the pair. Getting in front of Amaterasu, Zelda cast Nayru's Love, blocking the living artillery shells, and continued to do so as she and the Sun Goddess moved forward, until they got close enough to leap over the cannons, sending the Shy Guys operating them running.
Going upwards proved to be a slightly tricky matter, though. For some reason, the makers of the Airship neglected to include stairs. Instead, the way between floors was a shaft, with platforms sticking out of the walls. While Amaterasu and Zelda were able to make their way up with ease, one couldn't help but wonder how the non-flying shipmates were able to get around.
On the next level, things were much less straight-forward. Because of the crash-landing, much of the flooring had been damaged, resulting in pitfalls and jagged timber acting as obstacles. Zelda and Amaterasu were able to by pass them easily at first, but something changed. The corridor's position shifted as the ship tilted back and forth, and began to tremble.
"What's going on?!" Issun cried, "Are we sinking?!"
Zelda figured out what was going on in an instant. "The Airship…it's taking off!"
Now there were boxes sliding all over the place, which meant the two not only had to work to keep their footing, but also had avoid being knocked around. Eventually, they came across a large red door with spikes on.
Stage complete
MAIN HOLD
Zelda and Amaterasu looked about their surroundings. A great darkness lay out before them, with little illumination provided by portholes leading outside- one of which was being obscured by a pair of bodies entering in the ship.
"And we're in!" Pit declared as his sandals hit the floorboards. He ducked to avoid being hit by Morrigan's sweeping legs as she also came in through the porthole. With a figure far more curved than Pit's, the effort required some maneuvering.
Amaterasu lifted her head and panted happily as she caught sight of the familiar face. She wasn't the only one.
"At last!" Issun cried out happily, "After being trapped in this desert, the valley of paradise lies before me!"
Issun jumped off of Amaterasu's head and hopped over to Morrigan. Just before he could reach his final destination, the demoness' hand shot out and caught the celestial envoy between her thumb and index finger. "Ack!"
Morrigan rolled her eyes with disdain, but warmed up when she saw the Sun Goddess padding up to her. Keeping Issun compressed between her digits, she bent down to scratch Amaterasu behind the ears with her free hand.
Pit was distracted by this comedy routine by the presence of a far fairer maiden. "Zelda? You're here, too?"
"Pit." Zelda replied, more as an affirmation of his presence than an answer to his redundant question. She knew (Technically) who he was due to the Triforce and her past lives, and he knew her from the last merger of worlds- but it was still awkward.
Then the lights turned on. And the four realized they weren't alone.
Standing in the center of the hold was a large beast. It was a massive, hideous, insect-like thing. It had a green shell on its back, with pulsing brown flesh, jagged claws, a three-fanged maw, with patches of green fur visible under the shell. Its segmented green eyes twitched while its elongated neck twisted as it surveyed the good guys.
"Ugh, what is that thing?" Morrigan asked with a mild amount of disgust, putting Issun crushed body back on Amaterasu's head. "It's hideous."
"I dunno," Pit replied, wincing as the thing drooled a bit. "Sure glad it's in that cage."
Hiding in the shadows, Ganondorf chuckled darkly. Pretending to grasp the cage's lock with his right hand, he snapped the fingers of his left hand. The lock became undone in a crackle of dark energy, falling to the floor and making an ominous thud once it landed. The cage's door swung open with an even more ominous creak as all present watched this happen. The creature cautiously put its foot out, looking almost comically as if it were testing whether or not it could leave its cage. The it leapt out and roared, making a disgusting roar.
"Whoop! My bad!" Pit gulped, taking out his Bow. Amaterasu's hackles rose and she growled, while Zelda put her hands together to channel some magical energy. Morrigan, for her part, gave the shadows a glance before focusing her gaze on the approaching monster.
Boss Battle: Arachnus
The first thing Arachnus did was slash at the air with its claws, creating blades of energy that shot towards the four. Maiden, angel, demoness, and Goddess leapt in separate directions to avoid being sliced to bits. From different angles, the four blasted at the alien beast with their respective magics. Arachnus curled up into a ball, and his shelled body shook as holy and unholy energy impacted it. Rather than uncurling, Arachnus began to roll around the hold, getting faster and faster as it went. Although no one was hit by the rampaging alien directly, poor Zelda received a high-speed scrap to the shoulder as Arachnus brushed past, knocking her to the floor. Arachnus, meanwhile, eventually hit the wall, coming to a shaking halt.
"It's stopped moving!" Pit yelled, cocking his bow. "Let's get it!"
"Save your arrows," Morrigan told the angel, not letting her eyes off of the alien. "We can't get it like that."
"What?"
"Its armor is too strong," Zelda explained, pulling herself up. "We have to strike at its underbelly."
At this point, Arachnus had turned around. Hissing in fury, it raised its claws, as if to unleash more slashes. Taking point, Pit and Morrigan let the alien have it with some shots of their own, and this time the divine and demonic energy definitely had an effect on Arachnus. The creature reeled back in pain, shrieking as its flesh was battered by the bolts. Amaterasu leapt forward and slashed at the creature with her sword, but by this time Arachnus was tired of taking hits and decided to fight back. But instead of slashing, a blast of fire came from its maw. Amaterasu gave a yelp, bounding away to avoid being seriously burned. Arachnus began to roll around again, heading towards Zelda, but the Spirit Maiden was ready this time. Just before the alien could run her down, Zelda cast Nayru's Love, surrounding herself in a prism-like forcefield. The result was Arachnus bouncing off of the spinning blue shield like a tennis ball thrown, landing flat on its back, flailing its claws in confused fury.
Morrigan, seeing her chance, turned her wings into a jet and launched herself at the alien, and once close enough swung her leg down to deliver a crushing kick into its gut. Rather than slowing the alien down, Arachnus took the blow as a message to quite screwing around and in less than a second was back on its hind legs, unleashing slashes. Down to her close proximity, Morrigan was struck several times, and flew back to recover. Pit, meanwhile, blocked the slashes with the Mirror Shield, and once Arachnus stopped its assault he fired several shots from his Bow. However, only one hit its mark as Arachnus curled up again and rolled at Pit, moving much faster than it did before. Luckily, Amaterasu was already in motion and pulled the Captain of Palutena's army to the side by the skin of her teeth, just missing the alien's assault. But instead of hitting the wall like that time, Arachnus stopped, uncurled, and whirled about to unleash more fire from its maw, this time at a much larger capacity. Zelda then had an idea. Casting Din's Fire, she sent the ball of pyrokenesis towards the alien and into the maw(It was tricky- she had to maneuver the fire around the flames caused by Arachnus)! Arachnus paused- then clutched its chest as smoke wafted out of its maw. Morrigan, Pit and Amaterasu leapt on this opportunity, and began to strike at the alien. In the end, Morrigan delivered another sweeping kick, sending Arachnus flying flat on it's back. The alien struggled a bit, then went limp. It's left leg spasmed once before rigor mortis set in.
No one moved. After a moment, Pit cautiously leaned forward and nudged Arachnus' claw. When the alien didn't' react, everyone relaxed somewhat.
"Well, that happened." Issun remarked as Amaterasu sniffed Arachnus' corpse.
"But how did it get loose?" Pit asked, "I mean, that lock looked pretty secure a minute ago. Couldn't have just broke by itself…"
Morrigan cast her eyes around the hold, but saw nothing. She and Zelda's gazes met, but before anything could be done a cage appeared around them!
"Whoa! Where'd this cage come from?!" Pit cried out in alarm. He reached out to touch the bars- and reeled back in pain. "Ow! Hot!"
Amaterasu sniffed the cage sniffed and growled; It was the same as the chain that held her in the brig, only this time the energy was more potent and concentrated. Issun wouldn't be able to cut the lock this time.
Morrigan wasn't concerned with the cage. she was looking past the bars and at the presence approaching them. "M. Bison."
The leader of Shadowloo, flanked by his Bison Dolls, strode up to the cage, his hands tucked behind his back and into the folds of his cape. On his face was a grin that seemed equal parts devilish and psychotic as he took in his captives.
"Well, well, Lady Aensland," Bison said, "I didn't think I would see you again. It's been too long, my dear."
Pit's focus was pulled from his hand to Bison, then Morrigan. "You! You two…know each other?"
"We've met," Morrigan said flatly, never letting her eyes off of Bison. "I was hoping the man you described earlier wouldn't be this one…but when have a demon's prayers been answered?" She had never really liked the criminal, having met and fought him during the second time her universe and another's were merged. The man was just so…unbalanced. His soul had the feel of a factory's industrial runoff.
Bison chuckled darkly. "How poetic, though your killing that alien we captured could of used more finesse. At the very least, I should thank you for bringing me another Orb."
Bison raised a hand, and Pit gasped as the Orb he and Morrigan retrieved suddenly floated out of his robes and into Bison's grip.
"No! Give that back!" Pit yelled, running up to the bars. Both Zelda and Morrigan had to stop him from making contact and burning himself.
His power's increased, Morrigan thought, Is it because of these Orbs?
Zelda, meanwhile, asked, "Why do you want those Orbs? What good are they to you?"
Bison turned his back on Zelda and walked away, saying, "Such concerns…Will be the least of your worries."
As Bison and his Dolls left their new prisoners alone, Magikoopa appeared before them in a puff of purple smoke and pretty sparkles.
"Mr. Bison, I've got good news and bad news," He reported, "Good news, the ship's engines are fixed. We'll be able to reach the castle."
"And the bad?"
Magikoopa looked a bit evasive. "You know that intruder that was reported earlier? The guards couldn't find him. It's like he's vanished off the face of the world!"
"Have you identified him, at least?" Bison asked.
Magikoopa adjusted his glasses. "Yeah. And that's the bad news- It's Ganon, a nasty warlock from Hyrule. We could be in big trouble if he finds out about the Orbs."
Bison hummed thoughtfully. He could still feel a dark presence aboard, but Morrigan was now caged- it couldn't be her. "Maintain our course, but continue searching the ship. If they find anything, they are to report it to me immediately."
Magikoopa nodded, and began to relay the orders through his wand. As he spoke, Bison considered everything that was happening. Everything was falling into place- He had three Orbs, one that the Koopas didn't know about, and had even captured Morrigan along with this Zelda girl that Bowser was interested in. It would only be a matter of time before everything became his. There was no way some wild card would ruin his plans. Then again, this Ganon's presence might be useful- if only to distract the rest of the alliance from Bison's own goals...
M. Bison was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice, that underneath Magikoopa's coke bottle glasses, the turtle's eyes were a piercing red color.
Level 10 complete
A/N Wooo, it's been a long one, hasn't it. I've been having less time to write here in the real world- new jobs, social obligations, and most of all, SMASH BROS FOR THE 3DS! And it is the Bomb! I've been so wrapped up that it's hard finding time to just sit, concentrate, and write.
This chapter turned out a bit differently than I expected. I was originally going to have Zelda and Amaterasu escape, and team up with Pit and Morrigan outside the ship, but I realized that it would be easier for the rest of the story if they got captured. Convinient? Yes. Lazy, probably.
Tune in next time!