Hello all.
Many thanks goes to NinjaSheik, Shadow Blues, Xaniagal as well as lupyne, as well as all those who have read the fic. All your kind support is greatly appreciated.
I have wondered if the chapters contain too much action, or are too draggy and wordy – I would appreciate your input on this, and indeed any other means of improving. Thank you all for reading once again.
hawk
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Remembrance – Chapter Five
Disregarding common tactical sense in battle, Lucario twisted his head, following the Hands' flight. Many Smashers did the same, and with a jolt Lucario realised so were many of the Subspace Army minions. The Hands soared, giant disembodied fists, heading straight over the heads of everyone present... Lucario's sight followed their trajectory and suddenly discovered the intent of the Hands.
Tabuu half-knelt, half-stood in midair, suspended majestically over the ruined exit to the Gardens. The blue entity was no different from when they last encountered him, his figure still thrice as large as the biggest Smasher, and yet exuded far more intimidation than possible.
The Hands careened towards Tabuu at high speeds, and Lucario's stomach twisted as he read a smirk in Tabuu's Aura. No doubt he was confident that once again, the Hands would crash into Tabuu, who would overpower them, and the fight would be over before it had even begun. Aaron-sama, Lucario stared up at the Hands' suicidal plan, what is happening?
Yet, Tabuu's reaction was even more drastic. He simply ignored the Hands' advance, merely spreading out a set of large, multicoloured wings which faded into existence behind his back. Lucario snapped out of his reverie, as did the entire population of Smashers.
The Off Waves. Tabuu's most devastating attack, with the wings releasing giant bands of energy which instantly brought any Smasher in contact with it to their knees in total defeat. Sonic had supposedly weakened its effect, but that was a long time ago... and now the technique appeared to be back in full force. Lucario glanced over at Sonic nearby, who was staring at the reformed wings with a mixture of horror and surprise. The power required for the attack was so great, Tabuu would not be able to use it again for a while, but of what importance was that if he could defeat all in one fell swoop?
The giant wings flexed, and Tabuu was ready to unleash its devastating power against the Smashers once again. Lucario tensed, ready to dodge, and doubt in his ability to survive momentarily flashed across his mind. Too late for that now, he thought, surveying the other fighters who assumed similar defensive positions and horror-stricken expressions.
The smirk in Tabuu's Aura signature widened.
The wings beat once, strongly, that with pure physical force it generated forceful winds, blowing debris throughout the Hall and into the Smashers' faces. But the shockwave of the beat travelled on, visible and shimmering in the air, ready to swallow all the fighters in its wake.
Suddenly, there was a resounding crsssh as the shockwave abruptly ground to a halt, screeched, and dissipated. A golden barrier suddenly shimmered into view, and contained the blast as Tabuu floated upwards, visibly surprised, the wings curling back into nothingness. Lucario immediately realised what was happening, and looked skyward for their saviours.
Master Hand and Crazy Hand floated opposite Tabuu, each glove lifting its index finger up. A small golden circle had appeared at the tip of each finger, and was rapidly rotating. Around them the golden barrier shimmered slightly, and Lucario saw the boundary of the barrier, stretching from the one end of the Hall to the next. This effectively divided the battlefield into two, separating the Hands and Tabuu from the rest of the combatants.
Crazy Hand laughed again, a shrill, piercing wail. Master Hand flew across the Hall to meet him, the two hands slamming into each other in a resounding clap which echoed throughout the hall.
The Subspace Army suddenly started their charging once more, as if they had just been released from a dream by the clap. The Smashers suddenly tore their eyes away from the aerial battle and focused once more on the battle close at hand. The two contingents rapidly closed the gap between them, and there was the sound of screaming and yelling and metal on metal.
Lucario bent low, gripping the first Primid foolish enough to charge at him, whirling it around and sending it careening into three of its peers. Jumping into the midst of a mass of Primids, he gathered a few small, yet powerful, Aura Spheres. The resulting explosions effectively dealt with the Primids, blasting the Primids five feet back and two feet up. In a couple of seconds, he had a dead circle of enemies about him, while he himself was virtually untouched.
Yet clearly Tabuu did not orchestrate this full-scale invasion with only mere small fry, which he knew the Smashers were well able to take care of... Lucario glanced around, seeing how the other Smashers managed to dispatch the remnants of the first wave with ease. Again, something was not quite right...
A loud crash resounded through the battlefield, and in spite of himself, Lucario looked up. What he saw amazed him.
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Master Hand – and occasionally, if the Smasher was deemed strong enough, Crazy Hand – would face Smashers in a challenge. Although they did not lose, but simply forfeited after a set amount of hits, the Hands were always difficult to beat, pummelling the Smashers with a series of quick slaps, jabs, and claps.
But for the first time, the Smashers saw the Hands at their true highest in combat.
Crazy Hand executed moves that no one had ever seen, twisting, writhing, and launching fist and palm full force into Tabuu. Although Tabuu did not visibly flinch, shockwaves emanated across the data pools on his surface, and each impact let out a deep and sonorous ring. Master Hand let loose a barrage of spells, each one causing a violent explosion in Tabuu's immediate vicinity. Occasionally both hands would fire a rapid stream of powerful bombs from the tips of their fingers, forcing Tabuu to teleport, leaving the bombs to explode harmlessly but violently against the golden barrier.
Together, the Hands were indeed a formidable team, especially when they combined their collective power. Their claps formed visible shockwaves emanating from their center, and a few times they caught Tabuu in their clap, blue electricity fizzling from their palms.
But Tabuu was no easy pushover either – with a simple movement he could paralyse or fling back a Hand, or occasionally utilise his Off Waves to throw a Hand, or both, to the far end of the Hall. The three entities locked each other in combat, and neither side appeared to have an immediate advantage.
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Lucario was suddenly brought back to reality with a jolt, realising that a new wave of Subspace Army members approached. He turned to face not small fry, but bigger, tougher enemies of varying types. Unflinching, he leapt once again into the fray, but quickly found that these enemy commanders were made of a much tougher mould than their inferior counterparts.
A well-placed hit connected with Lucario's snout, sending him stumbling backwards into the vice-like grip of a large Primid. His paws flared with Aura and he spun, allowing his paw-spikes, propelled by Aura, to slice the Primid clean into two. But for every foe he defeated, two took its place – and never-ending swarms of smaller Primids kept surging forward. In their great numbers, they could very well overwhelm the Smashers entirely.
Lucario barked, baring his fangs, as the blue staff once again materialised in his paw. He brought it heavily down upon the nearest advancing foe, then twirled it around before slamming its tip into the ground, daring any other opponent to meet him in battle.
Immediately, ten Primids of varying shapes and types charged at him.
Intimidation tactics are useless here, Lucario noted wryly, a little too late. He jumped aside, his staff knocking away a Primid which was about to drive its weapon into Meta Knight's back. Meta Knight returned the favour by felling the Primid about to drive his axe into Lucario's tail. Lucario quickly readied a strike, and propelled a Primid backwards into another as Meta Knight slashed repeatedly at a towering Primid with his sword.
However, their successes were not total – scores of Primids had breached their defences, scoring multiple hits on the Smashers. Lucario did not have the luxury of time to look around at the other Smashers, but he himself suffered several deep cuts and minor wounds along his forepaws and torso, and while Meta Knight showed no visible wounds, his cape was tattered and torn, and his breath came ragged through his scratched silver mask.
They continued in this manner for an undeterminable amount of time. Even Lucario's well-disciplined body began to feel the pressure, fatigue starting to claim his limbs. No doubt the other Smashers and Assist Trophies felt it too, the battle having stretched on for an interminable time.
Just as Lucario delivered a finishing blow to yet another Primid, suddenly there was a blood-chilling scream, cutting through all the noise and rabble of the fight. Instinctively, the battle momentarily paused as one, hastily searching for the origin. There was a sudden loud crack, then a noise like the shattering of a thousand glass bottles at once, and jagged golden plates of translucent rained down among the combatants. A large white-and-black thing thundered downwards, falling heavily and was smashed across the floor of the Great Hall, finally stopping in the far corner of the Hall. The floor marked its descent – a long winding gash where it had first hit, and finally a small crater in which it now rested. It twitched violently, and then its fingers fell back limply onto the ground.
Tabuu struck Master Hand with the full length of his multicoloured whip, the whip cracking loudly with a resounding snap. Master Hand, nearing the end of his stamina, attempted a comeback, but was easily dodged; the whip cracked once again and the Hand was thrown across the length of the Hall, hit the remaining standing wall, and disappeared from view in a cloud of dust.
The blue figure stretched itself, then reverted to its normal half-kneeling, half-standing posture, and surveyed the decimated terrain and the exhausted, fatigued Smashers struggling to finish off the remnants of his Army.
The Hands had fallen.