Hello all.
First off, sincere thanks to lupyne and Shadow Blues. Thanks also goes to those who have read the fic, as well as all past reviewers, your support, too, is appreciated.
Apologies for not being able to update yesterday – this chapter did not turn out as planned, and had to be rewritten. Hopefully future chapters will not be delayed.
Without any further ado, please enjoy. Reviews are definitely welcomed.
hawk
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Remembrance – Chapter Four
Rain continued to fall across the Mansion, each raindrop a miniature bombshell bursting open on skin, clothes, fur and ground. The Smashers remained gathered around Falco's grave in the Smash Mansion's Garden, watching silently as Fox fell to his knees and gripped the nearby grass so tightly until his knuckles paled.
Lucario bowed his head in their direction, but averted his eyes. Looking up, he took in a deep breath of air, taking in the fresh scent of mud, grass and rain, remembering life. He closed his eyes with a slight shudder, remembering what it was like to die painfully – and hoped that Falco did not suffer too much in his final moments.
After a short period of time, the Smashers started to disperse and made their way back to the Mansion. Lucario glanced a last time in the direction of the grave, and turned to go. Suddenly, he felt a paw on his shoulder, and turned to meet Fox's green eyes. "Ru... Rukario?" The Aura Pokémon paused. Fox removed his paw, and looked down at the muddy ground, studying Lucario's black-furred hindpaws, his ginger tail lightly sweeping the muddy ground. "Thanks... for what you did."
Lucario hesitated, lost for words for once. I – I am sorry – about – Fox laughed mirthlessly, clapping his hand once again on Lucario's shoulder. "He'd have thanked you," Fox smiled sadly at Lucario, his ginger fur streaked with rain. Lucario didn't say anything, but the edges of his eyes appeared to catch a bit of the falling rain.
Without even using his sensitivity to Aura, Lucario knew how much Falco had meant to Fox. Meeting up to fight together against a common foe and never looking back – just like Sir Aaron Lucario whom had met, and served under. The difference was that Lucario had always viewed Sir Aaron has his master, although they were each others' closest – in Lucario's case, only – friends. Great friendship only multiplies sorrow through death, Lucario though bitterly, and Fox and Falco – as well as Sir Aaron and himself –
Lucario shook his head, Aura Filters swinging and colliding with each other, then bowed his head once again, resting his head on his yellow torso fur. More raindrops fell noisily to the ground, as the clouds seemed to notice their sorrow and poured rain upon the Smash Mansion with increasing intensity. Silently, they turned made their way slowly back into the Mansion together, leaving the Gardens alone behind them.
Above them, a black star twinkled, as though it was laughing, and grew imperceptibly bigger as Battlefield soared in a tighter arc about Smash Mansion.
---
Master Hand had instructed – or rather, commanded – each Smasher to prepare for the imminent arrival of the Subspace army, and to gather back in the Hall by dawn. When an unfortunate Smasher tried to question the glove's instructions, Master Hand lost his temper and slammed down hard on the Hall floor, the resounding echo reverberating loudly, and the impact enough to leave a crack in the ground.
There were no more questions.
Some Smashers, remembering how easily Master Hand was defeated by Tabuu in their previous encounter, started to murmur, and the whispering grew to a loud buzzing amongst the Smashers. Many Smashers questioned if they would be able to withstand the attacks, while a few simply gave up hope and milled about looking despondent. This was quelled by another single-handed clap by Master Hand, who promptly floated out off the Hall, exuding a general aura of general irritation.
Lucario stood quietly in the corner of the hall, blue tail swishing slowly from side to side. Without even considering his options, he knew that he'd be one of those who would stay his ground and fight – even to the death – he knew that part to be true by his past experience. Still, Lucario did feel a rare sense of nervousness, and not for the first time he wished to be by Sir Aaron's side once more, and to take his orders and execute them without fear.
---
Lucario stood in the middle of his small room. For the first time he noticed that he had no possessions whatsoever – the small mattress in his room was loaned from the Smash Mansion, after several Smashers had forcibly pushed it into his room, insisting that he sleep of it instead of the room floor.
He had previously slept on the hard floors, and although he had had experience sleeping on a proper mattress in Queen Rin's castle, this mattress seemed to him softer and sunk whenever he pressed his weight on it. He had struggled to get up after lying down on it for the first time, but had gradually gotten used to it. Lucario allowed himself a small smile – that was the first thing anyone in the Mansion had done for him.
---
"You. Sleep. On the floor?" King Dedede reacted as if he had never heard that sentence before, repeating it over and over again. Lucario nodded slowly, slightly afraid that he may have said something wrong. Remembering that the Smashers came from exceedingly diverse backgrounds, perhaps where the penguin monarch came from sleeping on the floor was a federal offence, he reasoned, but that particular line of logic somehow didn't comfort him much. Or perhaps that penguin was insane.
After repeated nodding at many similar gawking Smashers, most of whom were vaguely humanoid in shape, they eventually left Lucario alone, finally allowing him some shut-eye in the small room. Lucario curled up on the floor, mentally fatigued from the day's events, and mentally mumbled something about Aaron-sama.
There was a sudden slamming on his door, at which Lucario jumped bolt upright, paws awash with blue Aura. Seeing no one, he hesitantly opened his door a fraction of a crack, only to see many pairs of eyes staring back in his surprised red ones. The door was then pushed open, Lucario taking a step back as the Smashers pushed something relatively large, rectangular and squishy into Lucario's small room, effectively taking up half of its floor area.
"Master Hand was always stingy about rooming," muttered a Smasher. There were mumbles of assent amongst the crowd, who then turned their collective attention to the blue-furred Pokémon. Lucario uneasily averted their gaze, then looked inquisitively at the mattress. Having not seen – or slept on one – for at least a millennium, and even the one he had seen was of the different, ancient variety, he was not exactly well acquainted with the modern world. What is it?
"A mattress," came the response, after a rather awkward pause. "You, uh, sleep on it. It's more comfortable that way..."
Needless to say, that meeting ended awkwardly. But the very next day, after trying out – and getting used to – the apparently magical properties of the mattress, the usually silent Lucario went around and personally thanked each of those Smashers in his low telepathic voice.
---
The Aura Filters on the back of Lucario's head jumped, as a long, glowing, blue staff suddenly materialised in Lucario's paw. Consolidated out of Aura, he had expanded a negligible amount of his Aura to create that staff. Experientially striking with the staff, the swift actions resulting in audible swishing noises, as Lucario completed a series of swipes. Satisfied, he allowed the staff to dissipate and dissolve into nothing, blue motes of light falling around his paws.
Suddenly, he heard a commotion outside his door. Before his paw grasped the handle, his sight was involuntarily layered over with his Aura vision, and he immediately detected a malevolent – no, a positively hostile – Aura signature above the grounds of the Mansion, emanating waves of desire for destruction and revenge. Tearing out of his room, he rushed ahead of the other Smashers into the Hall, his paws tilted backwards as he sprinted down the long hallway.
Exiting the Hall, Lucario burst out onto the Mansion's Garden grounds. Even in the night sky, the nightmarish Battlefield stood out starkly, the large glimmering and unnatural purple sphere against the black sky, suspended over the Garden grounds. Even more unnatural, and significantly more threatening, was the large mechanical Gunship halfway protruding from the sphere, which was now pointed directly at Lucario.
The Gunship – Tabuu's original masterpiece, designed to generate Subspace portals via destruction. Coming equipped with its own formidable defences, it was responsible for the destruction of the Halberd, and almost the entire Smasher population's ships. It had definitely suffered from when Kirby's Dragoon ship had pierced straight through it – but all of them had committed the grave mistake of mistakenly assuming it was permanently destroyed. Doubtless Tabuu had his Subspace minions repair it, and now there it was, ready to haunt the Smashers in its new lease of life.
Lucario barked in alarm, mentally slapping himself for committing such a grave technical error – like that time he had casually strolled straight into an ambush by Registeel. The turrets along the length of the Gunship exploded in rapid bullet rain, forcing Lucario to roll, skilfully evading the barrage of energy projectiles. Many shots got close, however, and Lucario felt them barely surge past his fur as he leaped back into the safety of the Mansion, slamming the great double doors shut.
The other Smashers, and indeed the entire population of the Smash Mansion, including Assist Trophies, other Pokémon and the like, were standing uneasily in the far end of the Hall, having just reached but yet witnessed the attack of the Gunship. Lucario turned towards them, noticing them, but immediately sensed something –
Move! Don't stand there! He yelled telepathically, rushing forward towards them. Some Smashers took a hesitant step forward, while others didn't seem to want to move any closer to where the Gunship waited behind the doors. Lucario continued running, his Aura Filters suspended behind him in his run. Get away from the wall –
The wall started to collapse, exploding from the top where it was joined to the roof of the Mansion. The corner of the ceiling of the great Hall fell apart, and was immediately sucked into a whirling purple vortex which was now forming there. The Gunship struck again, producing a second expanding sphere of violet and destruction next to the first, effectively persuading the Smashers to break into a run and meet Lucario in the centre of the Hall.
There was a resounding crash and the unbearable grinding of rock against rock as Battlefield finally grounded itself on the Mansion's ground, and an instant later the double doors connecting the Hall to the Gardens – indeed, the entire wall separating the Hall from the Gardens – ceased to exist as the Gunship fired a single shot.
The Smashers were now effectively trapped in the Great Hall, with the crashed and captured Battlefield as well as the fearsome Gunship on one side, and the entire force of the Subspace Army pouring out from the two newly formed Subspace portals on the other, cutting off their escape route.
Holding up his paws, burning with blue Aura – his Aura – Lucario bared his fangs and snarled at the oncoming Army, while the other Smashers and assorted Assist Trophies took up similar defensive stances. As half of the Mansion's fighters faced the Gunship, the other turned to stare down the Army – and neither looked to be very appealing options.
Mario, true to his form, assumed command of the fighters. As he was about to give the command to attack, he sighed, closed his eyes for a second, and opened them again. Around him, the Smashers glanced at him through the corner of their eyes, only awaiting his signal to attack.
Lucario crouched slightly, his paws flaring with blue fire, his red eyes set and determined. Beside him was Snake, holding a grenade in each hand. "Rukario." He glanced at the Aura Pokémon, who returned his gaze, and nodded his head once quickly.
"It's showtime."
Lucario smiled a small, sad smile, then returned to his defensive position and closed his eyes. I know.
---
The Subspace Army suddenly moved forward as one, their speed increasing as they charged towards the fighters. The Gunship's various turrets began to charge up their fire, ready to release them upon the first Smasher of Assist Trophy who got even close, the guns responding with a drawn-out whine.
Behind Lucario, Mario raised his arm and gave a cry. The Smashers echoed it, and then charged forward to meet their opponents.
They were still some distance apart when there was a sudden low rumble, and a hollow laugh echoed softly but clearly throughout the hall, even in the chaos already unfolding. This was immediately followed by a sharp, high-pitched cackle which chilled the fighters to the bone.
The doors behind the Subspace Army were burst open, their fragments sent spinning dangerously, felling quite a few Army units in the process. Twin streaks of white hissed past the Army, not caring much for how much Primids were knocked over in their progress. In this manner the streaks travelled half the length of the Hall, and bursting from the boundary of the Subspace Army nearest to the fighters, lifted into the air, continuing their reckless flight.
Lucario felt the strong blast of wind blow past his body as Master Hand and Crazy Hand swept past the fighters, spiralling higher and higher, above the battlefield, even as the entire power of the Subspace Army bore down upon the fighters.