Hello all.
Firstly, many thanks to Shadow Blues, NinjaSheik, lupyne and Diabowserker for reviewing. I greatly appreciate them and thank you for your kind reviews and comments.
I had originally planned this chapter to be slightly longer, but decided to move the final parts of this chapter to the next one, instead.
Hope you all will continue to enjoy the fic, and thank you all once again for your support. Reviews are more than welcome.
hawk
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Remembrance – Chapter Two
The heavy double doors swung open.
The blue-furred jackal-shaped Pokémon and the stealthy soldier padded quietly into the room. Lucario looked around him, blue Aura flickering nervously about his blue paws. Snake walked silently, bandana flipping slightly behind his head, almost like Lucario's Aura Filters.
They faced a large mahogany desk, placed in the far corner of the large rectangular room. As exquisite as the desk was, the entity behind it was even more intriguing. Master Hand floated a few inches off the ground, facing Lucario and Snake. The giant disembodied glove didn't have apparent eyes, but a queer, cold focus permeated the room as Master Hand appeared to stare at the duo.
Lucario bowed, dipping his head to his yellow-furred torso. Master Hand. I believe that great danger is imminent, and it may concern all. Master Hand didn't respond, so Lucario took it as a cue to continue.
I sense new unfriendly Aura. From the roof I have observed a small explosion of Aura – and most of it malevolent. I also fear Smashers may have been in contact with this new Aura.
Master Hand stirred a little. From where did it originate? Lucario started, and tried to pinpoint in his mind's eye the roof's dusk sky. Towards the west, Lucario murmured, remembering pointing his nose along the western axis of the Mansion.
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The Smash Mansion was like Final Destination, in that it rested on an apparently suspended platform, floating in the middle of nowhere. It was also like Battlefield, in that the platform was apparently hewn from a large rock. The Mansion was situated on it such that it rose, large and intimidating, from its foundations.
The Smash Mansion wasn't alone in the Smash Universe – that would have been an awful waste of space. And as such, the Hands had suspended their two central stages in a wide orbit around it, such that from the Mansion one could travel via the teleportation platforms, but the stages would remain unseen, imperceptible, from the Mansion.
And from the unseen depths of the rapidly darkening sky, a small spark of light flashed for a brief instant, and then was swallowed by the oncoming dark.
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In the Smash Lounge, some of the Smashers relaxed or gathered together. The younger Smashers decided to abandon their game and have a brawl, and the Ice Climbers, Toon Link, Ness and Lucas rushed out the Lounge door, and made for the teleportation room for the first available stage, chattering loudly in Japanese and Hylian, with an assortment of squeals and laughs.
"Kids", grunted Ganondorf.
There was a dull thud. Then a scream shattered the night silence, followed by more thudding like a giant's stumbling footsteps. Luigi tripped over his own feet, Bowset turned his large head, and even Ganondorf looked up with curiosity.
The Lounge door slammed open.
But instead of the young Smashers, the Smashers were surprised to see a bloody Fox and Falco, with reddened marks stark against their fur and feathers.
Fox was panting heavily and gripped his knees, his chest heaving as he struggled to make a coherent sentence. Falco made several hacking noises, fluttering his wings agitatedly.
All this time, the other Smashers didn't move. They were either shocked into submission or were gaping uncontrollably at the badly wounded duo.
At length, Fox straightened up, and shook his head to clear his mind. He stepped forward and stuttered "T – T – Tab – " before suddenly seizing up and crumpling to the ground. Fox's collapse brought about a sudden change in the Smashers – the nearer ones quickly started forwards and tried to help Fox up.
No one noticed as the door to the Lounge swung lazily on its hinges behind them.
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Master Hand had wanted Lucario rescan the horizon. Lucario stood in the middle of the large rectangular room, kneeling, closing his eyes as the Aura Filters on the back of his head rose.
A flash of blue, and then Lucario's Aura vision settled into place – Lucario discerned the odd Aura of the Hand, and the Aura of Snake, then allowed his vision to travel through the Mansion walls, and suddenly found the oddity in the Aura signature in the darkening sky. It appeared as a small blip in the smooth faint currents of Aura in the sky, emanating faint traces of emotion which Lucario could not discern but felt uneasy nonetheless.
Lucario suddenly shut his eyes tighter, realising something. The blip had gotten bigger – it was definitely easier to spot now then when he was still on the roof. What more, now he was within the Mansion itself...
The Aura Pokémon shook his head, eyes still screwed shut, permitting his Aura vision to sweep momentarily across the Mansion. He involuntarily jerked his head backwards at a certain sight near the Smash Lounge – the Auras of some Smashers were faint, ebbing away –
Snapping his eyes open, Lucario spun around on one hindpaw to face Master Hand. Something's wrong at the Lounge! Some are injured! Even their Aura is receding – Lucario closed his eyes again, raising his forepaws to his temples, shaking his head violently. Snake started to look a little worried, and subconsciously his hand went for his Grenade pouch.
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Fox stumbled to his feet, and cleared his throat the best he could. "I – uh – Tab– " but once again he was interrupted. The cause of the interruption this time was slightly more disconcerting – Fox felt the electric twinge of the Blaster shot surge through his right shoulder, as the collective shot brought him once again to his knees.
Behind him, Falco had apparently turned a violent shade of purple, including his feathers, his gear... his Blaster was held in an outstretched purple hand, the smoking barrel now pointed at Fox's head. Only the uncontrollable shaking of that hand – or indeed, the entirety of Falco's body – had caused that first shot to miss its target between Fox's ginger ears.
There was a moment of silence.
And then Falco fired.
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Lucario's ears picked up the Blaster shots while speeding through the corridors in the Mansion – Snake kept pace with him, all stealth forgotten, as the duo darted through the long corridors from Master Hand's office to the Lounge.
"I only hope we're not too late –" Snake's voice was slightly subdued. Lucario said nothing, but focused on running.
They rounded the corner, and Lucario had barely a split-second to register anything before his reflexes activated, leaping over a fuzzy green obstacle which his hindpaws would have otherwise crashed into. At the same time, Lucario detected the weakening Aura as he sped past, causing him to come to a sudden and complete halt, his forepaws abruptly gripping the floor once again.
Toon Link lay on the floor, bloody and panting, but alive.
What the – Lucario paused momentarily, but launched a hindpaw into the now-closed door of the Smash Lounge, sensing malevolent Aura directly behind it.
The door broke off its hinges, knocking into the purple Falco and throwing his Blaster out of his grip. Lucario involuntarily took a step backwards upon seeing the grotesque scene – The room was peppered with Blaster shot scars, Fox lay face-down on the floor, and the other Smashers stood poised, but unready for battle.
But by far the most startling thing was Falco: totally covered in purple, wings and legs moving like an ancient wooden puppet Lucario had once seen, already jerkily pulling out another Blaster from a hip pocket – every inch the grim and grotesque messenger of death.
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The night sky closed in around the Smash Mansion, draping it in a cover of darkness. In the shadows, something loomed against the black background, travelling slowly, but surely, and increasingly faster, in a large descending spiral around the Smash Mansion.