A Journey Worth the Soul
Chapter 12
Can Only End in Death? Part I
The hospital room was instantly transformed into pure chaos as the two groups of combatants clashed together. The screams and cries of lizafos and bokoblins rent the air while the sound of steel, the twang of a bow and the thunder of magical explosions ricocheted off the walls.
"And you faced these guys single-handedly?"
The exasperated voice of Pit sounded as he was staring wide eyed at Toon Link while being pushed backwards by several lizafos, their cries stinging both their ears.
"Yeah," Toon Link responded as he rolled behind one the monsters, delivering a rapid upward thrust to the creatures back. It shrieked in agony, whirling around to face the new threat, leaving the angel with a brief respite. The creature roared as it sent its sword smashing into the ground as Toon Link rolled away, sending bits of shattered tile flying across the room. Several pieces cut into the boy's arm as the youth barely rolled away in time, grimacing at the pain. The young boy heard another shriek, this time a cry of pain as the creature fell to the ground, shattering the tile below it with a sickening crunch, a single cerulean arrow sticking out from the creature's skull. The monster disappeared into a puff of smoke as several of its neighbors moved forward to fill the void.
"I can see why you don't like these lizard things," Pit huffed as he pulled back his bow and let another arrow fly into the throat of a bokoblin that had tried sneaking up behind Toon Link. The monster let out a small gurgle, then it too flashed away in a wisp of black haze. "They just keep coming."
"Yeah, but there is an end," replied Zelda as she threw a large orb of Din's fire into a group of bokoblins advancing on Shiida and Malon on the opposite side of the room. The two women looked over in Zelda's direction, with Shiida flashing a quick thumbs up before impaling a lizafos on her massive lance.
"Thanks again Zelda!" Malon cried as she maneuvered a rolling cart in between her and a bokoblin. The creature growled in frustration as it tried moving around the cart, only to have Malon laughingly run over the creature with it as it moved. Zelda watched on in amusement as Malon pulled the cart back over the creature before grabbing its own club and began beating it repeatedly.
"No problem," came the swift reply as another orb of fire was sent across the room. After several more blasts, "Although I think Malon might be enjoying this a bit too much," Zelda mused as shook her head. "I guess that might be the reason why her husband stopped teaching her how to defend herself…" Zelda glanced back towards Malon after blasting another bokoblin back with her blue aura of Nayru's Love. "So Malon, how is your husband doing?"
Malon flashed a grin. "Doing pretty well, although he is a bit scared of me now with the training he gave me. Although I don't hold it against him."
"Why's that?"
Malon picked up an empty drawer that was laying nearby and swung it like a bat into the face of a nearby bokoblin, knocking it out instantly. "Even Link and Zelda up at the Castle are a little nervous about how much I think this sort of stuff is fun."
Zelda held back a nervous laugh as the redhead went after another group of bokoblins with nothing but an IV drip. Going back to her own fight, after several more blasts of Din's fire and a well placed Nayru's love that sent monsters spinning across the room, Zelda was beginning to grow annoyed.
"I've had enough of this," she muttered as she threw her hands into the air and was quickly enveloped in a crystal of aquamarine light. Several bokoblins gathered around the light, confused at where their enemy had gone when several knives cut through the air, impaling several of the bokoblins as a deft figure leapt from the cloud. Sheik landed on the ground, smiling behind her cowl as Toon Link gave a quick laugh as the Sheikah began her killing spree, spreading instant terror among the smaller enemies.
Malon laughed as she watched Zelda dodging in between her enemies as they fell before her lightning quick attacks as Sheik. The red-head threw aside the broken IV drip and reached into another medical drawer, throwing needles, various medical instruments and pretty much anything else she found into a nearby lizafos. The creature howled in pain as a scalpel penetrated into its left eye, scratching frantically at its face to get the implement out. Finally finding a surgical knife, Malon ran towards the monster, and, using her momentum, slid underneath it as its sword slashed the air haphazardly where she had just been. In an instant, she was on the creatures back, sending her small blade directly into the base of the creature's neck is it twisted to turned to throw her off. It slumped to the ground as she leapt off its body, landing deftly on the floor as Shiida blocked the ax thrust of another lizafos with her lance. The blue haired princess twirled the ax in a circle before tossing the weapon aside easily while impaling the creature while it was confused at the loss of its weapon.
"Thanks again," Malon huffed as she jumped towards a bokoblin that was cowering in terror at the sight of the maniacal wild-eyed redhead. A quick slice to the face and the creature was gone in a puff of smoke while Shiida impaled two bokoblins with a single thrust of her spear. With great effort, she lifted both the lance and the creature up and over her head, sending both of the monsters crashing upside down on the ground. The lance severed the cloud of black smoke that appeared as it whistled around towards another enemy, connecting with the side of an Iron Knuckle. A loud clank sounded through the air as the lance rattled its owner's frame from its collision with the mass of metal and flesh. Quick as a flash, a figure leapt onto the lance, running down its length before jabbing a single surgical knife into the open eyepiece of the monster as it raised its massive broadsword. The Iron Knuckle grunted in pain before falling limp to the floor, disappearing in a cloud of smoke as Malon jumped off the lance, landing next to a wide-eyed Shiida.
"I didn't know you could do something like that," the Bluenette said, a bit stunned at the red-heads agility. She was greeted with a cheery grin.
"Neither did I," came the quick reply as the two squared off against the oncoming hoard of bokoblins and lizafos advancing on them. "But it never hurts to try something once."
"I think you are taking too much pleasure in this Malon, maybe you should take a break for a while. You aren't supposed to like this, it isn't fun to kill anything as you are taking a life."
Malon's faced darkened and her eyes took on a steely tint. "You try watching your father being torn into pieces by bokoblins and lizafos, then fed to their mounts. After that, then even you might find you can do this without blinking."
Shiida shivered at the information that her friend gave her, wondering how she could change her friend's mind from her revenge to being the peaceful women that she had been with just hours before…hopefully.
-O-
A cry of agony echoed through the hospital turned battlefield as Ike's blade tore through the armor of an advancing Iron Knuckle. The enemy stopped midstride, stunned that anyone could get through its armor as Ike rammed the creature in the chest, knocking it backwards and onto the floor. Several bokoblins tried to run but were in the end, crushed beneath the creature's massive girth.
"Man, these things just keep coming," Ike stated, awe-struck as another wave of enemies flooded through the destroyed double doors.
"It sure seems like it," Master Hand grunted as he slapped a lizafos across the room. The whole room trembled as the gigantic glove shot it when it impacted the wall, destroying it instantly without even a cloud of black smoke to leave a trace that it even existed. Several bokoblins stopped and stared; first at the black spot on the wall, then at the floating hand in front of them. They shrank back from the Hand before running towards the opposite end of the room towards Toon Link, Sheik and Pit were fighting.
A loud beeping sounding in Ike's ear as he decapitated an oncoming wave of bokoblins with Ragnell, turning to see where it was coming from..
"What do you mean you need some help?"
Ike turned to see Master Hand literally screaming into a small radio built into the tip of his gloved index finger.
"Snake? Snake? Are you still there? Snake!"
"What was that about," Ike questioned as the radio disappeared into Master Hand's finger.
"I don't know," came the hasty reply. "But Snake just called for backup and then the radio went dead."
Ike tensed slightly as a wave of fear swept into his body. Snake? Asking for help? What could possibly be happening to make a proud guy like that call for backup?
"Master Hand, do you think everyone here will be ok if I leave to help Snake and Samus?"
The glove smacked several lizafos back against the wall, before crushing them with his fist as they fell to the floor. "I sure think we're doing fine. Go help them out. If Snake is asking for backup, then it must be serious."
Ike nodded as he sprinted towards the door, using Ragnell as a battering ram in front of him as he charged. As he neared the doors, King Bulblin grinned wickedly down at him.
"What, a little lost puppy is running away?" he cackled as he drew up his large ax in front of him. "I think the poor thing needs to be put down."
Ike snarled at the hulking monster as it swung its massive axe towards him. At the last moment, Ike leapt over the weapon, feeling the weight of his pass beneath his head by inches. Time seemed to slow as he watched it pass effortlessly under him and as the floor started to speed up towards him. He rolled across the ground and underneath the creature, and then began sprinting down the hallway toward the basement.
King Bulblin looked at his axe then to the floor as he stood puzzled by where the man charging him had gone. Eventually he shrugged his enormous shoulders while fiddling with a large pouch he had attached to his belt. He smiled as he brought out a large gun with purple stripes down its side and aimed it at the massive glove that was busily wasting his troops.
"I guess with the tiny brat gone, Boss told me that the big one will have to do."
-O-
Ike passed by doorway after doorway as he sprinted down hallways towards the basement. Flinging himself over the second floor balcony, he landed in the massive living room, surprising several of the smashers and assist trophies still in the room.
"Ike? What are you doing here?" Lyn stated, jolting to her feet and pulling at her sword as Ike raced past. "I thought you were with Master Hand and the others?"
"Snake and Samus need some help," Ike yelled towards Lyn, who was jogging towards him, as he began sprinting towards the opposite end of the room. "Send some people up to help out Master Hand and have several follow me," he called as he disappeared down the hallway and into the shadows. Lyn stood for a moment, bewildered at the suddenness of his appearance and disappearance before realizing the gravity of his order when she saw the look in his eyes.
"You all heard him," she yelled at the assembled crowd. "Fox, Captain Falcon, Bowser. You three follow Ike. Kirby, Metaknight and Falco, follow me to the hospital. Let's go!"
The smashers rushed to obey the Sacean's orders as they split off into their respective groups, each rushing headlong into the unknown. Lyn bolted up the stairs, one hand melded into the handle of her sword, Mani Katti. Metaknight and Falco were quick to follow, both following right behind Lyn as the threesome made their way towards the hospital.
Fox meanwhile dashed down the hall after Ike, only to pause at the door when Captain Falcon and Bowser didn't follow.
"You heard the woman," Fox yelled as the giant Koopa grumbled at the far end of the room. "Snake called for help, and you've been asked to help him out."
"I don't care if Snake asked for help!" the Koopa roared back as Captain Falcon tried pushing the massive turtle forward. "I was told to guard the doors, so guard the doors I will."
The fox slapped his forehead as he slowly turned and walked away down the hall. "Falcon, get him to follow us, just, do anything you want to get him to come." The racer grinned ear to ear as he gave a quick salute to Fox before scratching his chin.
"You won't get me to move an inch," Bowser scoffed as Falcon looked as if he had got an idea.
"I bet my Falcon Punch can move ya," Falcon retorted. Bowser's eyes widened as the racer began pulling back his arm.
"Falcooon…"
"Alright, I'm going! I'm going!" Bowser yelped as he sprinted far quicker than a person his size should be able to as he tried escaping from the most feared attack in the mansion. Captain Falcon laughed as he brought his fist down and started racing after the Koopa.
"Looks like I didn't even need to show him my moves."
-O-
Ike raced down the hall and towards the final stairwell, past the supply room off to the side when he careened to a stop. He paused in front of the door, before ripping it off its hinges and began searching through the several dozen items that the smashers used in their brawls. Quickly picking up three of the items, he sprinted down the hallway while placing one of them onto his head, tying it securely on as he felt his speed increase fivefold. As he bolted down the stairs, one thought pulsed through his mind.
I hope I can get there in time…
-O-
Lucas whimpered fearfully as another gut-wrenching sound happened in a darkened corner of the room, followed the creaking and finally loud sound of something heavy toppling over. The psychic was hiding in the corner of the room, trying his best to shoot his pk fire into the darkness whenever he thought he saw Liquid running about, but the darkness was too thick for him to even make out his hand in front of his face, let alone an enemy as quick as Liquid was.
Another sound of fists connecting to flesh sounded in the young man's ears as he heard a rough sounding grunt coming from the center of the room. Lucas created a ball of fire in his hands, giving him enough light to see a blue colored fist connect into the side of Liquid's skull, knocking the mercenary back as well as disorienting him.
"Lucas, hit him quickly!" Samus shouted as she spun low, knocking Liquid off his feet and onto the floor with a loud crunch. The man's lower back arched up as Samus sent her fist crashing into the man's chest causing him to gasp in pain as a thin sliver of blood dripped from the man's mouth..
Lucas began trembling as he watched Samus pull Liquid to his feet, holding his arms tightly behind his back while holding him in a chokehold in front of her.
"Lucas, attack him now!"
The young boy trembled as he reared back his arm and began to throw a bolt of PK thunder forward when Liquid broke free of Samus' grip. The boy stopped the attack quickly as the bounty hunter screamed in pain as Liguid grabbed her hair and pulled her forcibly over his shoulder and onto the floor in front of him. In an instant, the fire in Lucas' hands went out as he stepped backwards in fear while the room was again enveloped in a suffocating darkness.
The sound of fighting continued for a minute as another familiar low voice apparently joined the fray. For several minutes all he could hear was the sounds of hand to hand fighting until he heard a loud groan and something slump to the floor. For a moment all was silent. Lucas hesitated to speak as his chest rose and fell quickly, his eyes panning the darkness for his friends.
"Sa…Samus? Snak…Snake…Mario? Are you guys alright?"
He heard the shuffling of feet, then felt a cold, metallic feeling press against his forehead. He looked up to see the barrel of a gun pointed directly between his eyes and the masked face of Liquid looking down at him.
"You shouldn't have spoken up boy," the mercenary gasped as he clutched at his side. Lucas looked down in shock to see a knife sticking out from between two of his lower ribs. "Now I'm afraid I'll have to kill you too although I'm not too fond of killing kids." Lucas heard the gun cock as Liquid pressed the weapon more firmly into the child's head.
"Sorry about this kid, Boss' orders."
The boy closed his eyes as his brain was flooded with memories. He watched as his first day at the Smash Brothers mansion passed before his eyes, the time in his room where he vowed to everyone that he would grow the courage he needed to participate in the tournament. The night when he found out Lucas was going to be joining with him, another friend to help and support him. Wave after wave of images flooded his mind as he cursed himself for being so easily frightened.
I'm sorry everyone…he thought as he heard a sound coming from the stairwell. I should have learned to be more brave….
-O-
A loud explosion was heard which caused every head, including the monsters in the room to turn towards the sound. A bright flash filled the air, surrounding the spot where Master Hand had been floating in the air seconds before. The light swirled, then exploded into slivers until it entirely disappeared, revealing an empty void where the large hand had once been.
"That's funny," King Bulblin laughed as he stared at the barrel of his large weapon. "Boss said that was supposed to turn him into a statue." His raucous laughter filled the air as he threw the weapon behind him. "Must be broken," he said as he began walking farther into the room and towards the Smashers, his depleted forces giving way before him. "Guess I'll have to do this the old fashion way then as I can't do what Boss said to do."
The smashers formed into a line in front of him, with Toon Link and Sheik at the head of the group.
"That's a nifty trick, Princess," King Bulblin said as his throaty, gurgling laugh echoed through the room, being joined by the roaring of his henchmen and the hisses of the remaining lizafos. "Maybe I should tell Link about it after I kill all of you.
"I can show you another nifty little trick if you want," she whispered as she readied several small throwing knives into the palm of her hands. "And you better just tell us where Link is or you are going to be in a world of pain."
The beast smirked and hefted his massive axe. "Can't do that, however, if you can best me, I might tell you where he is. I always relish a challenge."
Sheik tried to dark forward, but felt a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from moving.
"Don't attack him Zelda," Shiida pleaded as Sheik stared back into her friends eyes. "That's what he wants; although I'm sure I could change his mind so he would tell us where Link is." Shiida passed her lance over to Pit, letting it fall into his hands as she took a step forward towards the brute in front of the tiny group.
"King Bulblin, I'm sure this isn't what you really want to do now is it? I thought that Link and Zelda were friends to you?"
King Bulblin snorted. "That's all in the past now, I work for whoever is strongest, and Link and Zelda are far from that now."
"It doesn't have to be like that though," Shiida pleaded again as Bulblin spat on the ground between her feet. Toon Link gave a quick ewww while Shiida pressed on. "I'm sure that they could provide amnesty for you and your group if you left now, wouldn't you Zelda?"
Shiida turned back towards the shiekah, begging her with her eyes to say yes. The sheikah growled in annoyance.
"I'm sure that we could grant you amnesty, again, for this, as long as you tell us where Link has been taken."
King Bulblin gave a raucous laugh, his whole frame shaking, making him look like a living blob of green jello. "Although the puny blue haired girl makes a great offer, I cannot accept. Boss would kill all of my family if I did so, no matter what promises you make to me." He cast his eyes downward as he glanced back towards Shiida. "Although there is one deal I can make that won't anger the boss."
"What is it?" Shiida asked, a bit excited at the prospect of not having to fight against the brute.
"If you can beat me in the next minute, I'll take you to where Link is."
"That sounds…"
Shiida stopped midsentence as a blue blur darted past her as King Bulblin grinned.
"Looks like we have a taker."
Bulblin lifted his war ax towards the Shiekah as she made a final leap to his side, throwing several of her knives into the creature's side. She smirked under her cowl as Bulblin howled in rage, turning towards her with an annoyed look on his face.
"You guys defeat the other monsters," she shouted as she dodged a massive blow from the creatures ax as it crushed the floor into pieces. "I'll handle this traitorous pig in thirty seconds, and then we'll all go find Link."
-O-
The boy cringed for a moment as he heard a loud battle-cry ringing through the air. The metal barrel lifted from his forehead quickly as he heard the gun discharge barely inches away from his face. He opened one eye watching as Liquid fell backwards onto the ground. Then, completely to Lucas's shock, he watched as the mercenaries head was smacked back and forth on the ground, without the aid of anyone, or anything to cause the movement. After several jerky motions, Liquid was lifted off the ground, then flew through the air, disappearing into the darkness as the sound of his body crashing into a wall reverberated through the room.
Lucas heard the shuffling of feat coming towards him as he crawled backwards into his corner.
"Stay away, whoever you are… just, leave me alone."
"Don't worry Lucas, it's just me, Ike."
The boy paused for a moment, staring into the empty space in front of him
"Ik..Ike? I thought you went with Master Hand and why are you invisible?"
"I did go with him to answer your first question," the voice replied. "And for the second," Ike paused, "I thought it might be a good idea. Now stay here while I kill this cretin for what he has done. Keep up your PK fire. I'm going to need it down here. Can you do that for me? Can you be brave for all of us?"
Lucas nodded slowly as he created a ball of fire in his hands while the voice trailed off in the direction of where Lucas had seen Liquid fly. The young boy squared his shoulders as he put more power into the fire in his hands, making the ball grow in size and in power. He might have failed before, he thought as he threw the ball into the air above him, letting its light shine across the room. But he would not fail again.
-O-
Sheik crashed against the wall, crumpling to the ground with a soft thud and a low cry of pain. The fighting in the room stopped instantly as Bulblin's massive laugh filled the air. Everyone halted what they were doing; sprinting over to the prone figure huddled in the corner. Sheik tried pushing herself off the floor, trembling in the effort only to collapse in pain and exhaustion. Malon growled in anger as she saw a dark stain beginning to form around a large splinter of glass jutting out of the side of Sheik's left leg; her gaze turning towards King Bulblin as she could feel her anger bubbling over into a pure rage.
"You cretin. You are so going to die for this now."
The beast roared again in laughter as Malon took off her neckerchief, tying it around a bloody portion of Sheik's leg, all the while not taking her eyes off of the bulking girth of the boss of the bokoblins.
"We made a deal, and she lost. Now I don't have to tell you where Link is," King Bulblin bellowed in response as he picked at the edge of his axe.
"How dare you hurt Zelda!" Toon Link roared as he charged towards the behemoth from a corner of the room, ignoring the frantic pleas of Shiida and Pit behind him.
"Oh, now the little boy wants to play, doesn't he? Same deal goes for you as well," King Bulblin laughed as he swung his axe towards the lithe young boy. Toon Link dodged beneath it, rolling around behind the giant and striking him across the back with his sword as the ax splintered the ground. The beast roared as it turned around to face its foe while Toon Link rolled between the beast's legs and back to where Pit was standing. The angel gave him an apprehensive pat on the back as Toon Link shot him a quick grin.
"I learned that from big brother," Toon link smiled as glanced back towards Bulblin. He eyed the large red gash across the creatures back as it turned back around to face him. "I think I did a good job."
"No," Pit replied as he stepped backwards, aiming his bow at King Bulblin, "I think you just ticked him off." King Bulblin let out an angry roar that rattled the very walls of the room as Toon Link shuddered involuntarily from the noise.
"You know what," the young boy responded as Pit released his arrow straight into the behemoth's chest. The creature grabbed the arrow before it hit him, snapping it in half as he ran forward, his steps shaking the ground. Toon Link took a step backwards as the hulking monster ran towards them. "You know what…I think I did too."
Both Smashers leapt in opposite directions as the monster plunged between them, sending his axe crashing into the floor right where they had been a split second earlier. He howled in pain as Pit and Toon Link ran to different edges of the room, both pelting him with arrows. The creature would turn in one direction to attack, only to turn again as soon as he was hit by an arrow coming from the opposite direction.
"You meddling kids! You're almost as bad as that pathetic, blue haired cretin who I killed earlier when he tried to stop me."
"You didn't kill him!"
Everyone in the room turned to face Shiida, who was by Zelda's side, tending to her wound.
"Oh, did he mean something special to you?" Bulblin cackled as he eyed the limp body of Marth underneath a partially destroyed hospital bed. "I guess you must be wallowing in despair to know that I killed him."
"But you didn't kill him!" Shiida cried as she tried to reason with the monster. "I don't think you could kill him, you don't have it in you. That is why you didn't kill Zelda, er, Shiek. It is because this isn't you. You don't want to do this."
"I like your spunk kid," Bulblin retorted as he began to grin, "however, I have to disagree." Bulblin chuckled as he hefted his massive war-ax across his shoulder while Shiida looked at him cryptically. "I have my orders, and if you think that I can't kill somebody of my own accord, watch."
Shiida's eyes widened in fear as Bulblin took several slow steps towards the fallen prince.
"What are you doing?" she asked hesitantly, her voice betraying her nervousness.
"Finishing what I started."
With a massive bellow, Bulblin lifted the ax above his head, then threw it across the room with horrific speed towards the unconscious form of the blue-haired prince. A course scream split the air as Shiida watched the ax literally rip apart that portion of the room, causing the ceiling and walls to collapse in a flurry of dust and smoke.
Shiida turned towards Bulblin who was grinning broadly before she bolted towards him, readying her lance for a lunge. "Told you I could kill someone."
"Shiida!" Malon yelled towards her friend "Don't charge him! He'll kill you"
"I…don't care...!" Shiida roared as she plunged her lance directly through the awaiting Bulblin's chest, the only obstacle standing between herself and Marth. The lance slid through his bulging gut, cutting through to the other side in a gory mess. She glared up into the creature's eyes as he stood in shock at the suddenness of the attack.
"I'm sorry for this, but you left me no choice."
A strange gurgling sound came out of creatures mouth as he stepped backwards, sending a surprised glance at the weapon sticking out of his chest. His steps became more unsteady as Shiida twisted the lance in her hands, sending rivulets of blood leaking down the lance and onto her arms, covering her in the filthy bile. He glanced down at her, a slight grin on his face as he let out a wheezy laugh.
"Thought…I could've taken a hit from a weakling like you…too bad, I can't help you find…Link though."
The room rocked as King Bulblin fell backwards onto the floor, shattering the tile underneath in a mighty, booming echo. For a moment, the room fell into silence as everyone was shocked by the climatic ending of the battle.
"Wow," Pit mouthed to Toon Link as both men watched Shiida as she left the form of Bulblin and began sprinting towards the pile of rubble hiding the prince of Altea underneath. "I don't want to get on her bad side."
Shiida scrambled through the rubble, pushing aside masses of bricks and mortar as she scrambled to find Marth. Her eyes stung as salty tears ran down her cheeks, all the while she murmured the same things over and over again.
"Please be alright… please Marth… please…."
Her hands clawed through the wreckage as doubt and fear began slowly replacing any hope she had of her friend being alive. Her movements began to slow as she pushed against a large block of cement, her emotions finally taking control of her mind as she collapsed against the rubble, her hands pressed against her tear-filled eyes.
"Shiida…are you ok?"
"Don't worry about me," she choked back, as she tried again to push against the massive block of stone. "Just help me save Marth. I know he is still alive."
She watched as two sets of hands were placed on either side of her own, and with a moment of effort, the block was lifted off, rolling to the side in a large cloud of dust. She glanced slowly up into the caring eyes of Pit and Toon Link who stood on either side of her, their warm, compassionate eyes filling her soul with hope.
"Don't worry," Pit said as he placed a hand onto her shoulder. "Zelda made sure that he was protected before the wall collapsed onto him."
For a moment, confusion filled Shiida's eyes as she glanced across the room to where Sheik and Malon had been; trying to understand what was being said. She saw Malon, helping to hold up a tired and limping Zelda who had a blue glow emanating from her hands.
"He's going to be alright," Zelda grimaced as the blue glow pulsated in her hands. "Just get him out before my magic runs out."
Her warning was not ignored as Shiida, Toon Link and Pit managed to scrape away the remaining rubble, revealing Marth who had a stately blue sphere surrounding his completely unharmed body. The blue shield slowly disappeared as Zelda dropped her hands to her side while letting out a tired sigh. Malon helped her to sit as Zelda offered a weak smile to her friend.
"Marth should be ok, so don't be worried now, alright?"
Shiida ran over to her friend and gripped her in a tight embrace as her tears stained her cheeks and tunic.
"How can I ever repay you," Shiida cried as Zelda weakly returned the embrace.
"Maybe if you got off my leg," Zelda pleaded. Shiida looked down, then jumped back a foot as Zelda moved her hurt leg from underneath her friends' knee.
"I'm so sorry Zelda, I…."
"No problem," Zelda laughed painfully as Malon gave the Hylian a bottle of blue liquid to drink. "I think somebody wants to see you though."
"Shiida…?" Shiida turned as she heard the voice sounding behind her, her eyes widening as Marth pulled himself up into a sitting position. "Is that really you?"
Their eyes met, and in an instant Shiida was by Marth's side, holding him tightly against her chest as her tears fell freely. "I'm so glad you're alive. I-I don't know what I would have done without you."
Marth gently wrapped his arms around Shiida as he returned her embrace. "I know. I'm glad you're alright as well."
The two held each other close as their friends watched on, completely oblivious to all else happening in the room for several minutes, the only sound coming from Zelda as Malon wrapt her leg in gauze, a bit too tightly for Zelda's wants.
"I hate this mushy garbage; it is so sickening to watch it makes me want to retch!"
Every person in the room stopped as several thunderous booms reverberated through the room. Marth's froze as a large shadow covered both Shiida and himself in darkness. Both Zelda and Malon screamed a warning as Pit and Toon Link were knocked across the room. Pit body flew into a nearby medical cabinet, sending medical implements flying this way and that while Toon Link crashed through one of the remaining windows, his small body disappearing quickly from view. Shiida froze as Marth released his grasp around her, trying to reach for his sword as a massive hand wrapped itself around Shiida's body, squeezing the very essence of life out of her. She gave a startled cry as she was lifted into the air and turned around as a pair of squinty, beady eyes peered down at her.
"Why are you doing this!" Shiida cried as the creature's grip tightened. "I didn't want to hurt you, so why do you want to do this to us?"
"Because I have to."
Marth let out a cry of horror as Bulblin slammed Shiida into the ground in front of him and on top of pieces of broken tile. She gave a startled cry as a loud snapping sound echoed from her left leg. Marth tried getting up, but was knocked back down by Bulblin as the creature ripped a pillar from the wall and readied it as a golf club.
"I'll try to make this quick, as you seem to be a nice person," he gurgled as he swung the pillar backwards, holding it aloft while Shiida attempted to crawl out of reach of his newly found weapon.
The pillar rose, and fell quickly as Marth's breath held in his throat as the pillar connected with Shiida's body. All Marth could do was scream her name.
-O-
"Come on out and fight like a real man!"
Liquid glared across the room, his eyes darting this way and that as he looked for the camouflaged Greil Mercenary. He twisted his body around as the sound of shuffling feet came from behind him, yet as he looked, not a soul was in sight.
"I know you're here…show yourself!"
An eerie pause permeated the air, only interrupted as stifled footfalls and the jangling of metal sounded here and there in the mysterious darkness. Finally, the sound of running steps could be heard, but not seen, severely annoying the assassin.
"Fine, I think I will."
Liquid turned towards the sound, only to feel a gauntleted fist crash into the side of his face. A loud splintering sound accompanied a cry of pain as part of Liquids jaw cracked as he landed on the floor with a loud thud and a moan.
"I think you've had enough now. I will let you live if you surrender."
"I'll never do that."
Liquid tried pushing himself up to look in the direction of where the voice had come from, crimson blood streaming from his broken jaw. His vision began to blur as he stared forward, the room becoming hazy in front of him. Or was it….
A figure materialized out of thin air in front of him, a small round object held in an outstretched hand. Ike glanced at it once, before dropping it to the floor. The cloaking device fizzled and popped as his heavy boot crushed it to pieces, revealing only tiny fragments of the glorious invention that had been so lethal in his hands.
"I've heard you're quite good at thievery," Ike grimaced as he took a quick leap towards the fallen man, sending his boot into the man's face. Liquid flipped backwards, landing painfully onto his back as Ike withdrew his massive sword, Ragnell, from its sheath. "Wouldn't want you stealing that now, would we."
Liquid glared up at Ike as he pushed himself into a sitting position. "I don't need something like that to kill you," he spat, pointing to the remains of the cloaking device, "or any other pathetic person in this mansion."
"It's because you simply can't."
The smooth, yet angry voice came from behind Liquid as he felt a sharp pain rip into his back. His back arched as a hardened scream passed his lips as Samus' paralyzer whip jabbed into his back, shocking him with the strongest electrical current it was programmed to handle. His body fell to the floor with a thud, a small cloud of dust and dirt flying into the air around him as Samus limped past his body.
"Filthy cur." She spat the words out as she kicked him in his side, earning a low grunt of pain from the mercenary. Her gaze turned back to Ike, who was looking at her; both concerned, yet angry all at the same time. His usual tame azure eyes were burning with an intense inner fire she had never seen in them before…and it both unnerved, and excited her to finally see such raw energy burning inside of him that she had been trying to get out of him since he joined the brawl tournament.
"Glad to see you could make it to our gala, Ike," Samus said as she walked past the mercenary towards the small huddled form of Lucas in a corner of the room. "You can get up now kid, the bad guy's gone." The small child sat shaking in the corner as she patted him on his head. "Come on, it alright," she murmured, holding out her hand to the blond child. The boy still resisted her offered hand as help and continued to stare past the bounty hunter towards where Liquid was.
"I don't think he will be getting back up anytime soon after what Ike did to him," she finally added, casting a backwards glance towards the Greil mercenary who had his arms folded across his chest. Ike looked over at Samus at the mention of his name and offered a tiny grin at the compliment. However, as he continued to look towards Samus, her eyes began to widen, then she bolted towards Ike at full speed.
"Behind you!"
In almost slow-motion, Ike turned, just in time to see Liquid no longer huddled on the floor, but standing erect across the room, his 9mm pointed towards Ike's chest. His hand reached for a small box in his pocket as a tiny puff of smoke appeared from the barrel or the gun while a sharp crack filled the air.
Ike suddenly felt an immense force bludgeon him in the stomach as he pressed a button in his pocket, knocking all the breath out of him in an instant as he staggered backwards from the impact. He instinctively pressed his hand to his stomach, feeling for any wound. As he withdrew his hand, he noticed how it was completely drenched in his blood while he felt an innate coldness beginning to sweep over his body. An intense wave of nausea passed over him, making him want to vomit as his vision began to blur and the sounds around him began to dim. He managed to notice a bluish blur racing past him as he felt himself tumbling backwards to the ground.
So this is what it must feel like to die… he thought as the cold, metallic feeling began flowing throughout his body.
-O-
Samus leapt past Ike as he fell, wishing she could have caught him, but realizing a more dire threat was still around. She leapt over him as his body clunked to the floor, her broken ankle screaming for her to stop and rest, as she tried to get to the man who had just shot her friend.
Liquid paused for a moment as he aimed the gun towards Samus, but only heard a click as he pulled the trigger. A few choice words ran through his mind as Samus neared, her right hand bowling up into a fist. He instinctively ducked as her fist swept through the air over top of him, the hand whistling with its speed and intensity. Several more punches were thrown in his direction as he blocked each one with his arms, trying to protect his face from the blows as he formulated a plan.
Samus was running purely on rage as she fought against Liquid, her mind causing her fists to fly ever faster than she had thought possible in her fury. However, time and again her frustration only grew as he managed to block each successive hit. After several quick minutes, she finally found an opening in his defense, sending a blow directly into his side. Her mind exploded with delight as she watched him squirm from the hit; only for her anger to boil over again as she saw that he was smiling.
In a sudden movement, she heard a sharp crack and howled in agony as Liquid caught her by her broken ankle and twisted her to the floor violently. She landed face-first, her mind racing as to what had just happened as she felt a large hand grab her by the throat and lift her almost effortlessly off the ground. Her eyes met his as her feet dangled above the floor, each breath becoming harder and harder to take as the hand around her neck tightened. Liquid's chest was rising and falling heavily as he somehow managed to laugh through his broken jaw.
"And to think that boss had warned me about the two of you," he garbled while spitting blood from his mouth as he spoke. "He told me how you two were some of the most fearsome fighters here."
Samus glared down at him, her hands clutching his arm as she tried to put enough pressure on it to release her from his grasp. She coughed loudly as his grip tightened, forcing her to release her hands from around his arms as stars began filling her vision. She tried punching him in his side, although with each passing second, the energy put into the blows weakened significantly until her hands finally fell to her sides.
"You're even feisty in death, ain't ya lady," Liquid gagged over the blood in his mouth. "Well, I guess you'll just get to join your friend over there shortly now, huh."
Her eyes burned with hatred towards Liquid as she felt the last bit of air escaping from her lungs. She glanced towards the fallen form of Ike, lying in a dark stain of blood that covered the ground around him.
I guess it won't be too bad to die... she thought as her mind started going dark, the last sound she heard as she began blacking out being the sound of Liquids mangled laugh. At least it wasn't a Space Pirate…
-O-
The feeling of being jostled and moved about finally stopped. The young man tried to groan, however, the duct tape around his mouth prevented even that welcome reprieve. Slowly, but steadily, his eyes opened, a dark, blurry and hazy mist greeting him.
Ah, I see that you are awake finally…
The voice rang inside his mind like a chilled knife, sending shivers down his spine. He recognized it before it had even finished. He wanted to shout, to curse out loud the name of his captor, yet, only a shadowed chuckle formed in his mind.
You already know that I don't need to hear you with sounds to understand your thoughts, so why don't you let me hear them in your mind.
"Why are you doing this?" Link thought as he tried blocking out the voice inside his mind. "You know why Master Hand had to let you go so why are you doing whatever you're doing? Is it revenge?"
This time, a hollow laughter reverberated through the darkened room, the chills in Link's spine returning.
"Revenge?" the voice laughed, aloud this time. "That is something only a fool would dare try against that incompetent fool of a boss. I, and my master, both know better ways of ruling the world than simply taking revenge. Besides, we have come to an agreement that all we need really, is you."
The tape across Link's mouth ripped off suddenly, a painful cry escaping from his bloodied lips as he watched it float across the room before dropping into what must have been a garbage can. His captor was incredibly clean as always.
"Why did you almost kill Marth and Dr Mario if you only needed me? If they aren't important to your plans, why hurt them? Why didn't you let them go? You could have just frozen them, taken me and left? Why hurt them as well?"
"My master's minions have been begging to spill blood these past many months. Your friends will provide the succor for their incessant craving. Besides, only the strongest should survive as fit servants for my master."
Link felt his blood beginning to boil as he scanned the darkness for where the voice was coming from, a hard task as someone had tied a belt around his forehead, keeping his head plastered to the pillow underneath.
"Oh, you seem angry about this," the voice gleefully responded as it sensed Link's anger. "Maybe you would like to see what is happening upstairs now wouldn't you? I'm sure your friends are doing just fine…."
Images flooded his mind instantly, as wave after wave of images of his friends fighting passed through his mind. One by one, images of his friends crying out in pain flowed into his mind like a veritable stream of pain and agony as he was forced to watch the horrid pictures show out, one by one.
"Stop…"
The images slowed as one particular movie began coalescing in his mind. Toon Link sat limply against a shelf, his small chest shuddering with each breath as an Iron Knuckle clanked towards his frail little body.
"Stop.."
An image of Ike, falling slowly to the ground, his eyes echoing the shock of feeling his life slowly slipping away. The image switched to the look of horror on Samus' face as the bounty hunter reached out towards the mercenary, a single tear dropping from her eyes.
"Please, stop.."
Another movie, this one of Zelda, huddled in the corner of a room, the monstrous form of King Bulblin standing over her battered and bruised body, his massive weapon falling in slow motion towards her like an executioner's ax.
"I'll do anything! Just stop!"
Link sat weeping on the table as the image slowly trickled away, his mind becoming clearer as Soul's mind left him to his own thought.
"Very well then, I guess you have had enough for one night."
The lights in the room turned on suddenly, blinding Link momentarily with their brilliance. His eyes slowly began to adjust as found himself lying in what appeared to be a massive laboratory. Gizmos and gadgets whirled and chugged along the walls while beakers full of chemicals and frothing liquids filled his nostrils with their pungent smells. His eyes finally fell across a large, gun like device creeping towards him on a pre-set track, it's tip glowing bright red in the light.
"Oh, don't worry about that," the voice echoed from behind him. "It is just what will kill you, although I guess kill might not be the best term in this case to use."
Momentary panic flooded into Link's mind as he tried struggling against the cords holding him to the bed. His eyes flashed back towards the device as it crept slowly towards him, its tip coming ever closer to his head until it lay inches away from between his eyes.
"It won't hurt that much," his captor growled. "At least, that is what I have programmed it to do."
Link closed his eyes as the laser edge began glowing more brilliantly, sending lightning sparks across the room. As Link struggled against the belts holding him to the bed, his captor finally came around to the side of his bed, placing his three fingers onto Link's forehead.
"Let me just clear your mind here for a moment, don't want just any thoughts wandering around in there that might mess up this experiment."
Link's mind went blank as his body slackened against his bindings as the laser began increasing in light and volume while his captor let out an odd chuckle.
"I should probably put some goggles on. This might be a bit bright..."
Ok, need to clear up a couple of things that my friend pointed out when reading this. #1 Malon will be a far different Malon then what she normally is portrayed as in games, so you will NEED! to check out my profile page to read up on her history to understand her a bit more. #2 This story is rated T for a reason and this chapter is why! So remember that when reading this. #3 Look for double entendre and hidden meanings of words. They will have a great importance in the coming chapters….that's all I can say for now.
