Bound by Blood
Is it me or has this chapter come out faster than usual? Eh, I know for a fact that it's shorter! :D
Disclaimer: I still don't own anything.
"Can we go home now?" Eric complained. He had been wandering through the mansion for at least half an hour now and there was absolutely no sign of Wolf's Guardian. The Smash Mansion was a huge place and if he really was going to have to search the entire thing, it would take him days, weeks even.
His cloaking device would probably only last another hour.
"Eric, you made a promise to Teal," Lucario said sternly. "It should be only natural that you keep it."
"But I'm tired, my cloaking device is running out of juice, and I'm pretty sure that I don't wanna end up as chopped liver in Tabuu's next meal," Eric argued. He glanced nervously over his shoulder as footsteps echoed around the mansion's halls. Uncertain whether or not those footsteps belonged to him or something else, he started treading lightly. "Besides, I bet Heather can handle herself. If she needs to get back, she can always walk… or run…"
"A vow is a vow, Eric," Lucario said simply. "And kindly don't attempt using the running into Smasher bodies excuse." he added.
Eric nervously fingered the Smashball in his pocket, not for the first time feeling the temptation to crush it so he was at least ready if there was a surprise attack. Lucario had said that once he crushed it, the power would remain in him until he chose to unleash it. Once done, he would be completely unstoppable for at least a couple of seconds.
However, with such great power, there was always a price to pay. Using the Smashball would greatly drain his energy store, the Pokemon had said. In addition, the Smashball power wasn't nearly as potent as it used to be. If Eric ever intended on at least blasting this god forsaken mansion away, he would need a lot more Smashballs to do that.
Well, that meant he had to do things the hard way.
He closed his eyes and checked the aura wafting all around him. In a place as sprawling and maze-like as the Smash Mansion, it was extremely difficult for Eric to be able to pick out one aura from another. The deep purple aura of the Primid and the dank gray aura of the slaves seemed to mesh together into a indiscernible mass. Though it should've been easy to pick out Heather's deep red aura from all of this bleakness, the mere size of the Smash Mansion was more than enough to confuse both Eric's and Lucario's senses.
"I cannot sense her either, Eric," Lucario said, answering an unasked question. "We will have to stay here for quite a while if this keeps up…" he paused. "… I truly hope that your stealing abilities are up to scratch. You may need to resort to stealing food from the pantries."
Eric grimaced. The idea of having to attempt to sneak into the kitchen to steal things didn't really appeal to him. Frankly, he didn't even know how long his cloaking device would last. It was still a prototype, after all. "You know, I'll bet Ridere's cooking up something great back at the base… If it comes to it, I think I'll-"
"Eric…" Lucario said dangerously. In spite of himself, Lucario's Guardian sighed. The jackal Pokemon was right. If he abandoned Heather here, he would be just as bad as Tabuu.
"So what's the plan, Lucario?" Eric asked as he stopped in the middle of an intersection between two hallways. One smelled like it led to the factories while the other was dark and completely silent. Instinct told Eric that he should head for the darker hallway, since Heather was most likely going to battle this Gerudo woman where not many people would interrupt.
"Hm… I am currently sensing a sudden uprising in black aura heading towards the end of the darker hallway," Lucario reported. "Such a thing shouldn't happen, unless-"
It hit him. "Unless… unless there's something… or someone there that could cause something like that…" Eric charged into the second hallway, not caring that his boots were making a huge amount of noise as they thundered towards the source of the sudden uprising.
He kept his aura vision on at all times as he ran, checking desperately for even the smallest tinge of dark red. It was absolutely vital that he made it to Heather before the mass of jet black aura did. One wrong move and it would be all over. Even if he and the Scion of Rage were forced to team up against the possessed Smasher bodies, there was no way that either of them would survive.
There it was! He saw a bright flash of red right in the center of this hallway. By the looks of things, the Wolfon would be completely surrounded by the possessed Smashers if she was not warned of the danger soon. There was also a rather large gold- colored mass on the floor, possibly the Gerudo woman Heather had talked about. Her aura flickered and waned, showing that its owner was on the very brink of death. Eric redoubled his speed.
"Heather!" he shouted as the bright flame of the Wolfon's aura grew brighter. "Heather, come on! We have to get ou-" he skidded to a stop. His aura vision faded.
He was too late…
All 40 Smashers of old surrounded Heather in a large circle, but not nearly large enough for her to make any kind of escape. Many of them were carrying weapons painted jet black from Shadow Bugs and as Eric watched, each weapon began to glow a deep red. Lucario had told him that his soul had been ripped from his body after he had been blasted by a red light. Now it was all too evident that Tabuu had somehow harnessed this power from the Shadow Bugs and had no passed it on to the weapons his legendary soldiers wielded in battle.
On the floor was the completely limp body of a woman. She was built in exactly the way Cimar and Rinku had described the Gerudo women to be built: tall, tan, and willowy. A blood curved blade lay next to her blood covered hand, more blood gushing through a gaping wound in her chest. In spite of himself, Eric recoiled from the gory sight.
At the sound of his voice echoing off the walls of the mansion, a few of the Smashers- namely Lucario, Red, and Bowser- looked around to check for the source. Thanks to Eric's cloaking device, he was completely hidden from their sight at the moment. As for Heather herself, Eric saw her eyes widen as she listened. Her great orange eyes quickly flicked around the circle of Smashers surrounding her, as if she was trying to search for the young pilot.
"We cannot allow ourselves to be touched by any of those," Lucario said sharply as Eric reached for his gun. "One touch and your soul will be forfeit as well. Unfortunately, I do not believe Tabuu will see you fit enough to possess."
"But we can't just stand here and let her soul get taken either," Eric argued quietly. Again, his voice created a slight stir in the Smashers. Even at a whisper level, it echoed ominously off the walls.
"Not possible," Lucario shook his head. "I am afraid that even if we try fighting with her, my fellow Smashers will easily overpower you both. What we need right now is to quickly return to the base and call for reinforcements. Once that is done, then-"
"Lucario, then Heather's going to be completely screwed. Look, if we can just crush our Smashballs and create enough distraction among the Smashers, we'll be able to escape…"
"You do not understand, Eric. You are only allowed to have one Smashball! Until we finally defeat Tabuu once and for all, Master Hand is unable to make more! You must save your Smashball for the final battle against our foes."
"If Heather and I don't get the Hell out of here now, there won't be any final battle for us," Eric hissed. His hand dived into his pocket, where the precious Smashball pulsed. A warm energy washed through him as his fingers enclosed the sphere.
"Eric, no," Lucario said gruffly. "I shall not allow you to do this!"
Eric's fingers tightened on the Smashball. Already he could feel the colorful protective covering caving in under his strength. "I'm sorry, Lucario… but it has to be done…" he closed his eyes and tightened even more. His pocket began to glow. His pulse started to race. The sphere began to quake…
"ERIC! LISTEN! HEATHER IS SPEAKING!"
"I see… it must come down to this, doesn't it?" Heather's voice cut through Eric's concentration. He released his hold upon the ball. Not wanting to miss anything, he quickly checked his pocket. He had managed to create the tiniest of cracks upon the Smashball.
The Smashers surrounding her said nothing, flashing their deadly weapons in front of them. Eric noticed that as they did so, Heather's hand dived into her pocket and stayed there, knowing that that was the very pocket where she kept her own Smashball. He only had a second to react as she yanked it out of her pocket and held it aloft.
"HEATHER, NO!"
She crushed it. The multicolored energy from the Smashball filled her as soon as the shards disintegrated in her fingers. She stood up, her eyes glowing bright yellow as the Smashers recoiled from her light. A fire flashed in her eyes that sent fear into the hearts of everyone present. He could practically feel the intense heat simply radiating off her. It was as if her rage was manifesting itself into a new form. He saw flashes of everything he had ever held dear reflected from deep within the Scion's fiery eyes and shivered.
He knew it was coming before it came. It was just as the old legends foretold…
"LANDMASTER!"
"Eric, get out of the way!" Lucario shouted just as something huge and black fell from nowhere. Eric dived just in time to get out of the way of the giant black and red tank. From the sound of things, the Smashers had jumped and proceeded to attempt to break into the tank with their weapons. But the Landmaster held too strong for their weak attempts.
It was a horrible looking machine indeed. Built to look exactly like Wolf's old Landmaster, this one had a black body with red streaks upon it. Adorning the canon head was a Hylian symbol that stood for "rage". It was built for defense and- as soon was proven to Eric- packed almost as powerful a punch as Wolf's.
It was well known and studied among the people who managed to escape the clutches of Tabuu that Fox, Falco, and Wolf each had their own Landmasters. It was also well known that though that all three Landmasters were the same in each respect, there were a number of differences- aside from color- that the Landmasters possessed that set them apart from one another. Falco's was faster, Wolf's was stronger, and Fox's was generally balanced between the two. Also, while Fox's and Falco's lasted 15 seconds on the field, Wolf's only lasted 10. There were a number of other differences too, but those were the basics.
Eric backed up against the wall, fear welling up inside him as Heather's powerful tank thundered past. The sheer tremors of the ground as it moved was enough to rattle his bones to the very core.
BZZT!
He watched as a powerful electric blast of red light shot right out of the cannon on top and slammed into the possessed body of Wolf O' Donnell. The lupine had no time to cry out as he fell to the floor. The couple of Smashers standing next to him reflexively leaped backwards as their comrade hit the floor with an echoing bang!
"Heather… the final smash…" Lucario was having trouble speaking. Then again, Eric realized, so did he.
BAM!
This next blast was directed at Link, who easily avoided it and slammed his sword directly into the cannon itself. Quick as a flash, Heather's utilized a barrel roll to shake him off, slamming into even more Smashers as she did so. The Fire Emblem trio ran forward and each tried jamming their swords into three different spots on the Landmaster, but they proved no match for Heather's cannon. Three bodies were sent flying off down the hall.
"ERIC, WATCH OUT!"
Eric only just roll- dodged in time to avoid a flying sword. Now that Marth was no longer wielding Falchion, the blade he held- or once held in this condition- was jet black and created from the very essence of Shadow Bugs themselves. The blade gave off an aura that could only be called "evil". From the looks of it, one tiny cut and any mortal's soul would be ripped to shreds. Eric backed away from it as quickly as he could, his focus shifting from the unfolding battle to the various weapons and things falling all around him.
Heather's Landmaster whirled around and leveled its blaster at Pit, who had flown up and was now aiming a stab at its cannon. Eric smirked at this action, knowing that once a blast connected with the angel, it was all over.
But then…
The Landmaster started fading. It had barely been out ten seconds and now it was fading. It was at this moment that Eric noticed how much like Wolf's this great machine was. It was powerful, yet slow. He had no doubt that it would have trouble getting into the air. Heather's last line of defense against every Smasher in the mansion was fading right before his eyes and there was nothing he could do about it.
"Eric, beware!" Lucario warned. "My body still possesses my aura powers! And there is no way for you to prevent me from seeing you!"
At that same moment, Heather landed on the ground, wobbling on her feet. Eric could easily see that she was weak, too weak to take a stand against the Smashers still standing. In fact, while the Landmaster was still on the field, Heather had only managed to hit Wolf. The Smasher was still lying on the ground, unmoving. But from the slight rising and falling of his chest, both Eric and Lucario could see that he was alive.
"It seems that she can't fight much longer," Lucario observed. Indeed, Heather was leaning on her long sword like a crutch. "We will have to return to the base soon…"
"Earlier, you said that I wasn't going to go home without her," Eric muttered irritably. As much as he had wanted to save Heather, something inside had told him that no matter how quickly he got here, he could provide no help for her.
Smasher and Guardian watched in dismay as the Wolfon crumpled to her knees, her great sword falling from her grip. Quick as a flash, Link's Clawshot was wound around her wrists and it was not long until the second one latched onto her ankles. Finally, Ganondorf's body easily lifted the limp form of Heather onto his shoulder as the Smashers all raised their fists in triumph.
"We're so screwed…" Eric whispered, watching as the second oldest Guardian was dragged away. There were many things Tabuu wished to do to each of the Guardians, he knew, but there was no telling what would happen if Heather was brought before him. She had obviously been a thorn in his side once before and to have her brought before the Subspace Lord, weakened and vulnerable… Eric shuddered at the thought.
"… What am I going to tell Teal?" Eric muttered to himself as he watched the Smashers leave. Wolf's body, which was still on the ground, gave a shuddering sigh. Quick as a flash, Eric had his gun out and an Aura Sphere ready to be thrown. When the body made no sign of getting up and attacking him, he dispelled the sphere but held the gun aloft.
Eric could feel Lucario studying Wolf's body with a critical eye. From reading his thoughts, the pilot could tell that the Pokemon was currently checking Wolf's aura. There was something… off about it, according to Lucario, but whether or not it was off in a good way, he did not know. At the moment, Lucario's silence was starting to get on Eric's nerves. The longer he stayed here, the more vulnerable he was to an attack.
If he was caught off guard…
"Eric, look at his aura and tell me what you see," Lucario ordered. Eric jumped slightly at the sound of his voice. An ice cold hand gripped onto his heart, causing him to start shivering all over. If Wolf were to somehow recover and jump at him, there was no way he could avoid or even stop the attack.
"You're kidding, right?" he whispered, staring at the body. Even though his cloaking device was in place and working quite well, it would be useless against Wolf's keen sense of smell. "He'll rip me to pieces!"
"He won't rip you to pieces," Lucario insisted. From his tone of voice, the Smasher was obviously a bit annoyed. "But I know for a fact quite a few Primids wouldn't mind doing so if you do not simply follow my instructions!"
"Fine, fine, fine," Eric mumbled, lowering his gun. After deactivating his cloaking device, he blinked once and "turned on" his aura vision.
For a moment, he saw nothing, save for the jet black aura of the Primids that shuffled about behind the walls in front of him. Like the aura of Tabuu himself and the Shadow Bugs, the Primids' aura showed their mindset of total obedience to one intelligent being and an insatiable thirst for bloodshed. This, combined with the cruel, emotionless pulse of the aura as it flowed around them, was enough for make a recipe for pure evil. Though seemingly harmless, it was all too obvious from reading their aura that these were truly dangerous enemies. No matter how many times you killed them, they would just keep coming back again and again and again and again…
"Observe the aura pulsing on the ground right in front of you, Eric," Lucario ordered. "Tell me what you see. Does that look like Subspace scum to you?"
Eric now turned his attention to the floor, where a patch of gray was swimming around the sea of black. Though not very different from the black aura surrounding it, this gray aura pulsed with something that the others didn't have: life. Compassion... Emotion…
Humanity…
"Oh God," Eric started trembling. "It can't be… he's-"
"He must be woken up immediately," Lucario said. "There is no telling what will happen if we simply leave him like this. His eyes will give everything away and he will either be destroyed or repossessed in an instant!"
Eric quickly turned off his aura vision and knelt down, picking up one of Wolf's clawed hands in the process. After making sure he could feel the faint pulse upon the lupine's wrist, the young pilot proceeded to slap the Smasher in the face in an attempt to wake him up.
"Harder, Eric," Lucario glanced worriedly over his Guardian's shoulder. "You don't have much time. I can sense a small group coming. And if they find either of us-"
"Wake up, damn you," Eric hissed. He now abandoned his slapping and simply grabbed both of Wolf's shoulders. He started shaking him. "Wake up!"
Before he knew what had happened, Wolf's claw shot out and raked Eric right across the cheek. The pilot recoiled, eyes watering slightly as the sharp pain seared across his skin. He grabbed Wolf by the wrist in a vice-like grip, fearing that his and Lucario's assumption had been wrong.
For the first time since he had been blasted by Heather's powerful cannon, the lupine opened his eyes. The possessed Smashers' eyes had long ago turned yellow to show that they had Shadow Bugs flowing in their veins, but at this moment, Wolf's eyes were nothing like them. They were the all too familiar sharp blue eyes that had not been seen in over a hundred years. Eric, shocked by this change, immediately dropped the other pilot's claw.
"He has returned…" Lucario whispered, his voice wondering. "His aura is exactly that of a hundred years ago…"
Eric watched as Wolf experimentally flexed his claws. It was strange to see one of the fiercest of Smashers like this. He was acting like a young infant that was just learning how to use his limbs properly. Then again, he realized, it had been a hundred years since he had a body to call his own.
"W-Wolf…" Eric said hesitantly. He and Wolf locked eyes as he spoke. "W-Wolf… are you…?"
He watched as a roguish grin slowly made its way across the lupine's face.
"I'm back, bitches!"
Eclipse leaned against the wall and watched as dim gray light broke through the heavily caked clouds along the horizon. He shivered slightly as a breeze wafted its way through the tiny crack in his window. Despite not having any sort of timepiece to tell him, he knew exactly what time it was.
Dawn.
Dawn represented hope. It was the time when a rooster's crow welcomed the coming day. It represented another step in life, another pace closer to- or farther away from- your hopes and dreams. Currently, Eclipse knew for a fact that the hopes and dreams of the Guardians lay in the hands of a group of ragtag teens who had hoped against all hope that they would be able to save their friends from the very core of evil in this world: the Smash Mansion.
"It's pretty, isn't it?" Mima asked. She had appeared to him not long after he managed to… fart his way to victory. For the past few hours, she and Wario had done nothing but argue.
"Bah! Who cares about the sun? Wario wants money! Money is ten times better than the sun!"
"But the sun brings light! And you need light for photosynthesis! And without photosynthesis-"
"Stop! You're making Wario's brains melt!"
"Why don't you both shut up?" Eclipse muttered, reaching under his bed. Though he had hoped against all hope that the garlic eating "plumber" and the witch would quiet down, it was all too obvious that they wouldn't. Trying his best to push the arguing spirits to the back of his mind where he wouldn't hear them, he groped around until his hand touched a long, smooth box. Smiling quietly to himself, he pulled it out.
Music was important to him. It filled him with hope when he felt down. It brought meaning and color to the gray world Tabuu had created. There were even times when he played the violin that he would forget that horrible day when he was forced to leave his home behind, the even more horrible night when the shard of Tabuu's wing pierced his chest.
The day when his curse became completely unbearable.
He pulled out the small instrument and experimentally plucked a string. A high note rang out, echoing around the room. Frowning, he adjusted the tuning slightly and tried again. Once he was done making sure that his violin was as in tune as possible, he picked up the bow and strummed his first note…
"HOLY VIOLIN, PICHO! IT'S A VIOLIN!" someone shouted from the door. Eclipse glared up at it just in time to see a certain sparkling shirt disappear around the doorframe. Scowling, Wario's Guardian adjusted the strings once more and placed the bow on the strings. He tried again…
"HOLY GIRLY INSTRUMENT, PICHN! ECLIPSE PLAYS A GIRLY INSTRUMENT!" this time, Eclipse looked up to see a mess of black hair disappear.
"Will you two please leave me alone?" he demanded. He felt the strings of madness pulling at him, but he just barely beat them back down.
Don't wanna give in, after all.
When neither twin replied, Eclipse assumed that they were gone. Mima and Wario were now arguing over garlic bread, so they would be of no help to him. Picking out a song to play, he placed his bow and carefully played an E flat...
Nothing happened.
"Oh God, you're not going to play another freaking Mozart, are you?" Mima complained. Eclipse scowled and whacked the side of his head with his bow in hopes of hitting Mima.
Big mistake. "OW!"
"Why? Why must Wario be stuck with an idiot for a Guardian?"
THWACK!
"YEOWCH!" Eclipse rubbed his temples. "You two stop making me hit myself already!"
"It's not our fault! You're the one stupid enough to hit yourself!"
"Stop blaming Wario when that stupid bitch over there is the real blame!"
"SHUT UP!" Eclipse whacked himself again. If the blow jarred the two arguing spirits at all, they showed no sign it did.
"HOLY HITTING HIMSELF, PICHO! ECLIPSE IS HITTING HIMSELF!"
"Will you two stop bothering me?" Eclipse glared at the door. He could hear the laughter on either side of the doorframe.
Keep the madness down…
Biting his lip in an attempt to keep his anger under check, Eclipse strummed the opening bar lines of Pachabel's Canon. It was a lovely piece, one that would not be missed at weddings. He enjoyed playing its complicated rhythms and great leaps, so much in fact-
"Holy boring music, Pichn! He's playing boring music!"
"That he is, Bro," Pichn agreed as he cheerfully walked into the room. Picho, who was tossing a small ball of Ness' PK Fire back in forth between his hands followed him. Both boys gave Eclipse identical evil grins.
"What, so you two think you can play this song better than I can?" Eclipse snapped. He hated it when his music was insulted in this way.
"Careful Eclipse, these two aren't worth it," Mima said warningly. She observed both boys carefully, taking in their youthful, unlined features that signified fun loving personalities. "They look like the type that would just love to come back for revenge…"
Picho snorted. "Play better? We can just pick a better song than the boring crap you're trying to entertain us with!"
Eclipse snorted. "Well, if you think you can think of a better song, go ahead!"
Picho and Pichn exchanged looks. Then they both hummed a note.
"He's gonna take you back to the past!" Picho sang.
"To play the shitty games that suck ass!" Pichn continued.
"HE'D RATHER HAAAAAAAVE A BUFFALOOOOOOO TAKE A DIARRHEA DUMP IN HIS-"
"SING THAT SONG AND I SWEAR, I WILL CASTRATE YOU SO BAD THAT- ARGH!"
Xavier opened the door to the infirmary. "Sorry about that. Cam's having some weird reactions to the sedatives I made for him." he shrugged. "Maybe I'm putting too little caffeine in it… or sugar… maybe I should put more sugar…" he continued mumbling to himself as he closed the door.
"Well, that has got to be the worst song I've ever heard," Eclipse said smugly as he picked up his violin again. "Nothing compared to the music I play. In fact-"
"I WANT TO BE THE VERY BEST!" Picho interrupted.
"NO! No singing that song in this base!" Lin shouted as she walked by.
"Aw… but I like that song…" Mima grumbled.
Eclipse's smirk widened. "You see, children, real music comes form the soul. It is something that-"
Pichn jumped up and down. "DUCK TALES! WOOHOO!"
Eclipse slammed his hand over the boy's mouth. "Do… not… sing… that!"
Mima and Wario both ran around inside his head screaming their heads off. Evidently, just those two lines were enough to get the song stuck in their head.
Pichn looked at his brother. Picho smirked and nodded. Ripping Eclipse's hand off his face, Kirby's Guardian took a deep breath and…
"DON'T STOP BELIEVIN'!"
"HOLD ON TO THAT FEELIN'!"
"STREET LIGHTS! PEOP-"
"THAT'S IT! GET OVER HERE SO I CAN KILL YOU!" Eclipse grabbed his masamune out of nowhere and slashed it at the boy. Pichn nimbly dodged as Picho grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the room. Both boys were laughing their heads off.
"Eclipse, no!" Mima shouted. "They're only boys!"
"THEY'RE NOT BOYS, MIMA! THEY'RE EVIL! EVIL!" Eclipse gave chase. He could see the two young Guardians at the end of the hall. They were running as fast as they could and laughing their heads off.
"Wario says you just fart at them!" Wario insisted. "It makes them fall on the ground… and SUFFER!"
"No! That's too mean!" Mima argued.
"But then you can get your daily fart out!"
Eclipse finally found the two boys hugging Sakura and (fake) sobbing into her. "THERE YOU ARE YOU-"
Picho jumped. "It's him! He wants to kill us, Miss Sakura! Don't let him kill us! We have so much to live for!"
Pichn gave her the puppy dog eyes. "We've been good! Honest! We even picked flowers for you and tonight, we were going to bake cookies!" his bottom lip quivered. "We don't wanna die before we can finish the cookies!"
"And we wanna save the whales!"
"And then we were going to… uh… bake more cookies!"
"And then we were gonna try helping you guys save the world!"
"And… um… bake even more cookies!"
Eclipse twitched. Those two were obviously doing the "innocent little angels" trick. And by the look on Sakura's face as she glared at him, it was working quite well. Eclipse scowled and put away his sword.
He would get them later.
"Honestly Eclipse, why would you want to harm them? They're so adorable!" Sakura said as she watched Picho and Pichn run off.
"They're evil…" Eclipse grumbled.
Before Sakura could answer, she was immediately cut off by the sound of huge jets landing outside. Eclipse could almost feel the tension in the air as the planes landed outside. Looking out the window, he counted only the Sky Claw and the Arwing.
"Where's… where's Eric's Wolfen…?" Eclipse asked, not knowing that half of the Guardians in the base at the moment were also asking that.
"Don't just stand there!" Mima hissed. "Get out there and find out what's going on!"
"Those people don't look too happy," Wario noted. "Maybe we should get some garlic while we're at it. Wario could use a garlic pick- me- up!"
By the time Eclipse and Sakura managed to get out of the base, a number of Guardians were already there. MS and Miles immediately grabbed Green as he hobbled out of the plane and started punching him. Evidently, they were rather ticked that he had them worried so much. Wario's Guardian also couldn't help but notice that MS was also using this as an excuse to show Green his new red beam katanas.
The weapons group was handing out the numerous weapons they could find. Eclipse recognized Ragnell, the Sword of Seals, and Falchion among them. When Rinku pulled a certain yellow motorcycle out of nowhere, he could've sworn that Wario let out a happy little fart at the sight of it. Also among the weapons were the Kokiri Sword, Galaxia, Samus' plasma ray, the three anthromorphic animals' blasters, and even a chest full of Chaos Emeralds. As each weapon was placed upon the ground, Eclipse could only gain a second- long glance at it before it was snatched up by the Guardian it belonged to.
Nao and Teal were both trying to help Sam out of the plane. Xavier, who had run out immediately upon seeing the planes, was having an animated chat with Teal about healing methods. From what Eclipse could gather from the few words that reached him, Sam was suffering from an infection of a wound he had received while being tortured. If not treated immediately, it would fester and lead to something much worse.
JB and Drake were both being supported by Mah and Chester respectively. By the looks of things, JB was gasping desperately, as if he could never get enough air into his lungs. Drake, on the other hand, had set his jaw and was trying to walk upright, despite the limp in his right leg. From the bloodstains on Game and Watch's Guardian's clothes, it was easy to tell that wherever he had been, he had been stabbed in one way or another all over his body.
Joe had to literally be carried out. Master Hand had to float down and allow Aly and Mars to load him onto the giant palm. It was strange to see the pilot, who had practiced his Falcon Punch over and over again over the past couple of days, looking so defeated. His limbs hung off of him like they were made of rubber.
Chi was the last of the kidnapped ones to come out. He was rather shaky on his feet, but Beeh and Pikana were both there to grab him if he fell. Aside from the shakiness and the fact that both his eyes were swollen and red, he seemed to have suffered the least out of all the kidnapped Guardians. Eclipse now turned his attention to the open doors of the two Arwings, waiting in anticipation for the two Guardians that were still not celebrating among the group.
Nothing.
"Where's Heather? Where's Eric?" those two questions rippled throughout the group of Guardians that did not go on the mission. All eyes turned on the Guardians that did go. Some of those Guardians shifted uncomfortably while others lowered their eyes. Finally, it was Kage that spoke up.
"We were forced to leave Heather behind… we didn't have any choice. If we stayed a moment longer, they Primids would catch up to us and none of us would be here right now…"
"Eric stayed behind to wait for her," Fyre added. "But we haven't heard a thing from him. If either of them were caught…" he trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
"Nice people no come home?" Crazy Hand said in disbelief as he floated outside. "Good peoplez no come home and bake cookiez?"
Aly looked at the giant left hand. "Sorry Crazy, but since Eric isn't coming back, I'll take those cookies!"
"NOEZ! DA COOKIEZ ARE FOR NICE PEOPLEZ ONLY!"
"Let's get another rescue mission going, then!" Lin said, running forward. She was already unbuckling Charizard's Pokeball from her belt. "I'm game!"
"We can't," Kage told her, giving her a sad shake of the head. "Aly and Mars said that their planes don't have enough fuel to make another trip."
"The skies are also crawling with those stupid cloud and ghost things right now anyways," Mars said as he came up to the group. From the look of his face and clothes, he had been changing the oil. "If we're ever going to get in the air again, it'll be during the final battle. I've had enough plane rides to last a lifetime."
"But we need to-"
"There will be no more rescue missions today," a strong voice said from behind Eclipse, a note of finality ringing in it. The Guardian of Wario didn't need to turn around to know that it was Master Hand, who had just come back from putting Joe into the makeshift infirmary. "I will not risk another batch of Guardians again before the final battle."
"Master Hand, Eric and Heather could be dying for all we know," Chester argued. There was a strange expression on his face that Eclipse couldn't quite recognize. "I know we're all exhausted and everything, but-"
"But it's too dangerous, Chester," Master Hand said firmly. As the hand brushed past him, Eclipse felt a stabbing pain in his chest.
"N-No…" he stammered, taking deep breaths in an attempt to reduce the pain. This had happened to him before only a few hours earlier when he was alone in his room. Tabuu had spoken to him then. The Subspace Lord had taunted him, laughing at his every attempt to wrench the shard from his chest and cast it away.
"Eclipse, no!" Mima shouted.
"Don't let that bastard get in here again! Wario almost pissed his pants last time he was here!"
"I-I-I…. c-can't…" Eclipse was struggling just to keep his hold on the outside world. Everything, from the landscape to the hands to the Guardians were starting to distort and fade before his eyes. He was once again starting to descend into the inky blackness where his connection with Tabuu would reach breaking point.
The very brink of the madness within him.
"We have no choice but to wait for Eric's return," Master Hand continued. Eclipse found it harder to hold onto his words with each passing second. "He has a ship of his own. He has enough fuel to make it back. If he survives the Smash Mansion, I have no doubt that he will return."
It was a struggle to even hold onto Master Hand's voice. It was the small thread by which he hung by that prevented him from totally blacking out. The more Eclipse struggled, the harder it became. He could only faintly hear Mima's and Wario's urgings…
"You're not going to try attempting another pathetic little rescue mission, are you?" the high, cold voice pierced his thoughts.
"Mama mia! Not you again!" Wario snarled. "Get outta here before Wario kicks your ass!"
"Wario, shut up!" Mima hissed. Eclipse was starting to get a headache. "You're only making it worse!"
"W-What… do you w-want…?" Eclipse's voice was so quiet that none of the other Guardians heard it. At the moment, from what he could gather, Master Hand was relaying plans for the final battle. It was crucial that he listened to these.
But everything he knew, Tabuu knew as well.
"I see that you are reluctant to listen to your so- called leader," there was a definite sneer in Tabuu's voice. "What's wrong? Afraid that you will accidentally allow your pathetic plans to slip into my hands?"
"Get out of my head," Eclipse hissed. He could feel his entire body trembling with the effort of staying conscious. "You're not welcome here… get out of my head… get out of my head and I'll make sure your end will come slowly…"
"Your pathetic efforts amuse me, Eclipse," Tabuu continued. The Subspace Lord was obviously ignoring the not- very- subtle threat. "How you Guardians, no matter how many blows you take, remain ghastly loyal to each other and that idiotic floating limb you call a leader. How though you are hopelessly outnumbered and weak, you insist to stay and fight me. How though your Smashers have been nothing but burdens to you all this time, you continue to bear them with pride…"
"Wario is not a burden!" Eclipse's Smasher snapped angrily. There was a thump! as Mima silenced him by hitting him over the head.
"You haven't yet showed your true form to the others yet, have you?" Tabuu mused. "How amusing… you insist to be working for the better and yet you continue to poison your words with lies… how long until they see what you really are, I wonder…"
"Get out…"
"And now we come to the reason why I am here… Eric and Heather… Guardians of Lucario and Wolf… a weak young pilot and a complete psychopath…" he laughed. "What shall you do about them? What will happen when I finally get my hands on them? Those questions and more can be answered if you all just merely turn yourselves in. I shall be merciful… I shall allow you to live… one or two may be annihilated because of utter defiance… but every single one of your fellow Guardians is very, very valuable to me…"
"GET OUT!"
"You amuse me so, Eclipse… so amusing…"
Tabuu's voice faded away quickly, leaving Eclipse with only an intense burning in his chest. He could hear shouts from the other Guardians as they finally noticed his condition. He felt a pair of strong arms wrap around him, dragging him to who knows where. But all of that was nothing compared to what he felt.
His chest was on fire. The pain he felt spread like a net, completely covering his entire body. It was eating away at his flesh, ripping his nerves to shreds. Whatever that was left of his consciousness was slowly slipping away now.
He felt himself being thrown on the ground…
His coat, his hat… ripped off…
Screaming…
No…
Wolf took a deep breath. He knew that for this plan to work, he had to be the best actor possible. It was bad enough that he had to pretend to be completely under Tabuu's control and all of that, but standing here like a useless mutt was just horrible. Did Tabuu do this to his Smashers every day? Make them stand next to that stupid chair he called his throne and wait for something to happen?
Then again, he knew that in order for this to work, he had to be the best actor he could possibly be. One slip up and it would all be over for both him and the Guardians. It was absolutely imperative that he break Heather out as soon as possible. At the same time, he also had to learn what Tabuu was planning for the upcoming final battle. The only thing he knew at the moment was that it would take place in about three days time upon the plain where the first Smashers fell. He shuddered inwardly at the thought, knowing that that place would have a very, very negative effect on that first group of Smashers.
Eric had told him that if he needed any sort of backup, he should call immediately. That's why he had a telecom in his ear hidden in such a way that anyone looking at his ear would think it was just part of his scouter. Apparently, even when his body was under Tabuu's control, he and the other two pilots had continued to wear their scouters. Wolf wasn't really sure if it was just because Tabuu was too lazy to make them take it off or because some part of them still lived within them.
The lupine blinked several times as he surveyed the room, still unused to the yellow film on his eyes. Eric had to use Lucario's aura powers to create the illusion that his eyes were yellow in order to effectively disguise him. After all, it would look pretty weird if he spent his entire time walking around the Smash Mansion with his eyes closed. Still, that didn't mean he had to like this yellow stuff.
Wolf flexed his claw experimentally, barely able to contain his excitement and frustration as it moved with his command. He was excited because having his own body again meant he was free. He would no longer be restrained under the control of a human or otherwise. Frustrating because he felt like a babbling infant that was just learning how to walk.
"Bring her in," Tabuu yawned, causing Wolf's anger to spike. It was infuriating the way Tabuu offhandedly ordered Heather to be dragged in, like she was nothing more than a piece of trash. Gritting his teeth, he forced his heart rate to calm down before turning his attention to the double doors on the other side of the room.
Of course, nothing could ever prepare him for when his Guardian was dragged in. She was completely covered in blood from head to toe, almost to the point where it was hard to discern her pale skin from the red liquid. The cuts all over her arms and legs told Wolf that evidentially, she had been forced to suffer through some of the most horrid of tortures before being brought here before the Subspace Lord. She was chained up and on her knees, looking so defeated that Wolf was almost sure that they had the wrong girl. But the look in her great orange eyes told him that she was Heather.
And she had been captured.
"This is the girl, Clark?" Tabuu asked, turning to the corner of the room that was nearest to him. Wolf frowned and narrowed his eyes, just barely being able to make out the tall, imposing figure of a man hidden deep within the shadows.
A chuckle emitted from said figure as he stepped into the light. "Indeed, Lord Tabuu."
The resemblance this man bore to Heather was very slight, but amazing. Just like her, he was tall and imposing. To an extent he also had the same orange eyes, the same shape of his face, and the same muscular bod. But what truly amazed Wolf the most was the way she looked at him.
He could see nothing behind her eyes but pure, burning hatred. Her mouth was curled into a snarl, her orange eyes were practically on fire. For a moment, Wolf was still able to see Black Heather stir behind the Wolfon's eyes, always threatening to break free, always watching…
"You look well, Heather," the man remarked lightly, dark eyes flashing maliciously. "The new look suits you."
"Clark," Heather spat. The hatred in her gave her voice a very, very sharp edge. Wolf almost recoiled at the sound of her voice.
"Now, now, young niece… is that any way to speak to your dear old uncle?"
"Your crimes have made you a monster…" Heather hissed. "You are no uncle of mine."
Clark Wolfon, Heather's uncle, let out a low chuckle. From the sound if it, he saw Heather as nothing more than a spoiled brat throwing a temper tantrum. Wolf gritted his teeth yet again, his right claw curling into a fist. He had to keep himself under control…
"Your defiance amuses me, Heather," Clark said, shooting a small smirk in Tabuu's direction. "And yet… your altruistic behaviors disgust me beyond all reason."
"I live only to help purge the world from monsters like you, Clark Wolfon."
This time, Clark let out a barking laugh. It echoed slightly around the room, only adding to the sinister atmosphere. The mere sound of his laugh was enough to send a shiver down the lupine's spine. Wolf shivered slightly as this happened, not wanting to admit to the fear he felt surging within him.
"How pathetic you are, Heather Wolfon…" Tabuu whispered, lacing his fingers together. "You think that by sacrificing yourself, you will protect those blasted teens you call your friends? You think that by doing this, you are honoring the memory of your long dead family? HAH! You don't even know the half of what happened to them, child!"
"I know enough!" Heather shouted. "I know that it was you, Clark! You who murdered them! Their blood is on your hands! I can see it!" Wolf could hear Black Heather's voice slowly creeping to the surface.
"C'mon Heather… hold her back…" he muttered under his breath. If Blackther came out, there was no telling what would happen.
"HAH! You think that, don't you?" Clark let out a rancorous cackle. It was enough to make even Tabuu wince. "You think that it was all done by me? You are more of a fool than I thought you were, Heather Elecktra Wolfon!"
With that, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a single sheet of paper. It was a rather unremarkable thing, being black ink on thin papyrus with a rather ordinary seal. But something large and red at the very bottom of this paper soon drew Wolf's sharp eye, something so large and horrible it was a wonder why that paper had not been burned long ago.
It was Heather's signature, written in blood.
Wolf heard Heather sharply breathe in at the sight of it. Vaguely, he was able to remember that one time he had managed to see a tiny bit of Heather's memories. It was during that battle with Arenafan. He remembered seeing this paper somewhere, on a table in front of her. He remembered feeling a chilling smile on Heather as she carefully slit her hand with a knife and let it drip into an inkwell…
"You recognize this, don't you?" Clark asked, smirking triumphantly. "I know you do, Heather… I can see it in your eyes…"
For the first time since Wolf had met her, he saw a flash of fear cross the Wolfon's face. "How-"
"Oh, how did I come across this?" Heather's uncle cut in. He started gently stroking the papyrus. "Don't you remember, Heather? That one time I visited you and swore to protect you and the entire Wolfon family from big bad Tabuu?" here, he stopped and gave a respectful nod to the Subspace Lord. "How I promised that no matter what, you would all be able to live in peace away from his influence? And all you had to do in return was… oh… do what I said when I said it…"
Wolf watched as Heather paled and said nothing. From the lines of her jaw, he could tell that she was gritting her teeth. The Black Heather- like spark in her eye was now nonexistent.
"You were so young back then…" Clark mused. "So… easy to goad into foolish decisions…"
Again, Heather said nothing. She only trembled slightly, unable to tear her eyes from the piece of paper her uncle was holding in front of her.
"Well, Miss Wolfon, you are a young woman now… no longer the little girl you once were," Clark continued. "So it is time that you should know…" his mouth curled into a sneer. "You believe that it was I alone that initiated the death of our family, Heather? You are so sadly mistaken… for it was you as well that caused their deaths!"
"No…" Heather whispered, her chest heaving. Wolf retrained the urge to leap out and strangle Clark Wolfon right there.
"Foolish girl! Your begging and denial will get you nowhere! Do you not know what this is? This is a Blood Pact! A contract signed by your own blood, by your own will!"
"No… NO!" Heather screamed. Tears rolled down her cheeks. "IT CAN'T BE! NO!"
(flashback)
"Cam, stop it!" Beeh sniffed. "It's too scary!"
"No! Keep telling it! More scariness! More blood! MORE BLOOD!" Picho cackled. Beeh shot him a dirty look.
Wolf snickered as Cam smirked. It was around midnight in the Smash Base. Despite that, the little ones had refused to go to bed. It wasn't until Cam had volunteered to tell them a story when they agreed to allow themselves to be (forcibly) tucked in. Heather, who was there to make sure that Cam's story didn't get too graphic, smiled as the children eagerly leaned forward to hear more.
"Well, alright… so in order to claim his father's kingdom for his own, Ashnard ordered the old man to activate the paper he had his father sign," Cam explained. "That paper was probably the most deadly thing in all the known worlds… it was…" here, Ike's Guardian paused for dramatic effect. "… A Blood Pact."
"What the Hell is a Blood Pact?" Wolf muttered. At the same time, Pichn asked the same thing.
"Alright, well… a Blood Pact is a document that someone- usually a king or lord- signs in exchange for something. Thing is, those things are dangerous because the holder of the Blood Pact has every opportunity to activate it if the signer doesn't fulfill their end of the bargain." Cam looked around at the confused looks of the younger ones. Frowning, he tried to think of another way to explain it. "… Alright… so… Lin, let's say I pull out a Blood Pact right now and ask you to sign it. I give you… say… ten tons of candy a year while in return, you have to slap yourself twice a day."
"What? Only ten tons?" Lin asked. "RIP OFF!"
"I'll take the candy!" Beeh said.
"NO! MY CANDY!" Pichn shouted.
"YOU'RE BOTH WRONG! MY CANDY!" Picho laughed. Wolf couldn't help but laugh along. Kids were pretty hilarious when they were young like that.
"… Whatever," Cam muttered. "So let's say you sign it and I give you ten tons of candy a year. Thing is, you keep forgetting to slap yourself twice a day. So then I can activate the Blood Pact and slowly, everyone you care about will die. It will start with one person one day, two people the next day, three people the day after that, and so on."
Lin's eyes widened. "All of that for a slap, Cam? Geez!"
Cam rolled his eyes. "I'm not really going to murder everyone you care for over a couple of-"
"HELP! HELP! CAM'S A MURDERER!" Picho shouted.
"HELP US, HEATHER! CAM'S GONNA EAT US!" Pichn yelled.
Ike's Guardian looked to Heather for help.
Heather laughed. "Alright, everyone, time to head to bed."
Everyone groaned.
(end flashback)
"Well, Heather, from the look in your eye, I can tell that you know exactly what a Blood Pact is," Clark said, snapping Wolf from his memories. "Excellent… you're a lot smarter than you seem…" he looked at the Blood Pact thoughtfully. "You know, Heather, I've been contemplating something… you seem to care quite a lot for your Guardian friends, don't you? And you've been quite the naughty little girl lately…"
"Don't you dare," Heather hissed. Wolf heard the fire in her voice, knowing that any moment, Black Heather would be out and running rampant.
"Oh? And what's stopping me, Heather? You?" he let out a barking laugh. "How can you protect those pathetic little worms you call friends when you can't even protect yourself?" he gestured to the blood all over her, the numerous cuts running all over her body. "You are truly naïve and weak! Your compassion for others has done nothing but hinder your potential! You shame me, Heather Wolfon!"
Wolf let out a low growl. It was low enough so that none of the Subspace denizens caught it, but he could've sworn that Tabuu inclined his head slightly in his direction at the noise.
"You have no choice, Heather… the Blood Pact is clear… follow my every order without complaint nor hesitation when I give them or your loved ones will die again… just like our family, Heather Wolfon… you will watch and grovel on your knees as one by one, a Guardian is struck down… dead!" Clark's sneer widened. "And there is nothing… nothing any of you Guardians can do to stop me!"
"I don't think so," the female Wolfon said quietly. She surprised Wolf with the way her voice was still unshaken, despite the pain Clark Wolfon was indirectly inflicting on her.
This time, Tabuu leaned forward and leered at her. "Are you truly willing to sacrifice your precious Guardian friends?"
"… Clark… Tabuu… strength without compassion… merciless slaughter of those who gave you no harm does not a ruler make…" it was easy for Wolf to tell, after living within her for so long, that she was choosing her words with great care. "You care nothing for the mindless slaves you call your loyal subjects… the Primids. You cloak your desire for 'peace' as you call it, in the warped world you have created with pretty speeches and death threats, but it is a petty avarice nonetheless!" her orange eyes flash. "Bound to serve you I may be, but know this! The Guardians will rise up and defeat you!"
Tabuu laughed. "What a petty little speech you're making, Heather Wolfon… the very thought of a bunch of teens having even the slimmest chance of overthrowing me when Clark is passing my orders to you is priceless!"
"… Allowing you, Clark, to plant the seeds of disaster and wipe out the lives of my entire family is a failure for which I must answer…" Heather whispered. "But the Guardians will see themselves through this trial… they will give Smashville the future it deserves…" Wolf watched as her eyes slid over to the piece of paper still clutched in Clark Wolfon's hand. "No matter the cost…"
"Bah! I tire of you, girl!" Clark snapped. He turned towards Wolf and the two Smashers standing next to him, Fox and Falco. "Take this woman away and lock her up! Make sure she is punished until she learns to keep that stupid mouth of hers shut!"
Reluctantly, Wolf trudged over to Heather, flanked by Fox and Falco. While he and Falco each took one arm and dragged her away, Fox followed behind them with one of Tabuu's Chains of Light. Every so often, he would lash out and whip Heather right across the cheek, drawing even more blood from the deep gashes littered all over her. The whole time, she did not utter a sound, except for but one vow.
"I will be strong, Guardians…"
Miles stared in horror, Eclipse's coat hanging loosely from his hand. For the first time in his life, he felt like he was completely unable to run. Even Sonic, who prided himself in speed above all else, was currently thinking nothing of running away.
He could only see the horrible Guardian- no, thing- in front of him.
"What… the… fucking… Hell…" Sonic choked. Miles could only stare in sheer shock at the thing in front of him, unable to move at all.
The women- every single one of them- were screaming. Sakura and Mah seemed to have the most control over themselves. They each had pulled Lin and Beeh respectively into a protective embrace, shielding the two young ones' eyes. Nask had tried doing the same thing to Ridere, but the little boy was already under his box before she could do a thing. Pikana had attempted to shield Picho and Pichn's eyes with her little arms, but they proved much too short for the job. Golfer had reached over and snatched Traca's dragon stone away from her just in time. Aly pulled out every single gun that was on her body and aimed it at Eclipse's unmoving form. Psyche had fainted.
The others continued screaming.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?" Mars shouted. He shoved Aly aside and pulled out his own gun.
"CALM DOWN, GUARDIANS!" Master Hand tried to shout. But his efforts were to no avail. As soon as the words came out of him, every available weapon had been pulled out and pointed at Eclipse. Even Cam and Joe, weakened though they were, had come running out of the base to see what was going on. The moment Cam saw what was happening, he made a grab for the blessed blade Ragnell that was still lying on the ground, no questions asked.
The thing currently lying on the ground was unlike anything they had ever seen. Eclipse's glowing eyes were closed, his face contorted in an expression of utter pain. A huge rainbow colored shard protruded from his chest, black blood flowing freely all around it. But what truly horrified them the most was his skin.
It was exactly like Tabuu's, only green in color. It swirled exactly like his did, pulsated exactly like his did. Heck, it even smelled a bit like him. If it weren't for the rainbow colored shard in his chest or the fact that he was human sized whereas Tabuu was a giant, it was very possible that many of the Guardians could've mistook him for the Subspace Lord himself. A closer check by Miles showed that he lacked the special wings Tabuu had.
Miles, his heart beating so loud it was deafening, unsheathed the dagger that was hanging off his belt with his right hand and grabbed Eclipse with his other. Taking extra care, he positioned the weapon in a way so that the point was just barely touching the Tabuu- look-alike's throat. He could see that Eclipse was starting to come to, as his eyelids quivered ever so slightly. As soon as those shining yellow eyes were open, Miles pressed the knife a little harder against his throat.
"Who are you?" he hissed. There was a slight hesitation as Eclipse took in everything around him before he spoke.
"I'm Eclipse! Guardian of-"
"Don't lie to us," Fyre said calmly. He was standing nearest to Miles and from the slight crackling in the very back of his throat, he could tell that he had a breath of flame already prepared in him. "We see what you look like, you son of a bitch. So tell the truth or we'll take extra care to kill you slowly and painfully."
"Calm down, Fyre," Miles said quietly. "We don't want to threaten him too badly…"
"I've told you," the thing spat out. "I am Eclipse, Guardian of Wario!"
"Lying piece of shit," Sonic hissed. Miles fought back the urge to hit himself. Though it was true that the presence of a being that looked so much like Tabuu was unnerving, he had to keep his cool. After all, you never know of the thing turns out to be something useful.
"… Eclipse…" Miles took a deep breath. "I can't say I don't believe you… but I will say that there's something about you you've been hiding from us all this time. I mean…" he gestured to Eclipse's glowing green skin, the multicolored shard protruding from his chest. "You've been trying to hide those things from all of us… why?"
The place where Eclipse's mouth was supposed to be crinkled slightly, as if he were pursing his lips. "I… you guys…"
"Can I just burn this lying son of a bitch right now?" Fyre demanded. The crackle in the back of his throat now sounded like a roaring furnace.
"Fyre!" Miles snapped. "No!"
"Listen to his words, Guardians," Master Hand said sharply. Miles noticed that the circle of Guardians around him and Eclipse had tightened a bit ever since they had ripped off Eclipse's coat. "Everyone has something to say in his defense. Let him speak."
Miles removed the point of his dagger from Eclipse's throat, but his grip remained firm. "Start speaking. Now. From the beginning."
Eclipse sighed. "… My name… my name is Eclipse… I come from Gensokyo. It was the place where I was born and raised, adhering to the simple way of life in my country. My life was mostly uneventful… until that one fateful night…"
"Oh boy, here we go… his mom died or something…" Sonic groaned. Miles glared up at him before motioning for Eclipse to continue.
"I saw a shooting star… it came at me quickly, too quickly… the next thing I knew, there was a great pain in my chest. Whatever it was had embedded itself within me. No matter how hard me or anyone else in my village tried, no one could pull it out. Every day, bit by bit, I changed... I transformed… into this…" he held up one glowing green hand. "I didn't understand what was going on… no one else did… eventually, they had no choice but to turn to superstition for my condition… I was deemed to be possessed by an evil spirit… when they failed to exorcise me, they ran me out of the village… I wandered the world cold and alone…"
"Oh, so great journey story?" Sonic yawned. Miles took a deep breath to resist the urge to strangle the hedgehog in his head.
"I came to a temple after about a month of walking… and out of nowhere, a portal opened and I came here…" Eclipse shook his head. "That is my story… that's all I can tell you… that's-"
"One Hell of a stupid lie if you ask me," Cam snapped. He was using Ragnell to support himself, being still very weak from his fight.
"Cameron!" Master Hand scolded.
"What? It's the truth!"
Miles let go of Eclipse's collar and stood up. "… I can't tell if this guy's lying or not… but he's still Wario's Guardian…"
"And no matter how much this bastard lied to us, we still need him on our team," Mars spat. He put away his gun. "He's a Guardian either way. And we'll need all 40 Guardians to stand a chance against Tabuu."
Master Hand nodded. "Indeed… Eclipse, forgive me, but we will have to watch you quite closely from now on… Guardians, please… please go back to doing what you all should be doing at the moment. I have much to speak with Eclipse about."
One by one, each Guardian put away their weapon and went their separate ways. Pikana shocked Psyche to wake her up before helping Picho and Pichn drag her into the base. Miles, being the last to leave, shot Eclipse a small glare as he left.
"Well, what a day we've been having, eh?" Sonic asked. The hedgehog was in a good mood, despite the fact that one of the Guardians had turned out nothing like what they thought him to be. From his thoughts, Miles could tell that the Chaos Emeralds were causing this mood.
Miles sighed. "You can say that again, Sonic… you can say that again…"
Pit sighed. Ever since Eclipse's "big revealing", she had been awfully quiet. It had been pretty awful while she was unconscious, as he was forced to exit her mind in order to see what was going on. But what had truly made him feel the guiltiest was that she was forced to learn this- all of it- from him as soon as she woke up.
This was one of the moments when he hated having to share memories with her.
His Guardian's thoughts were unusual tonight. Most of the time, her thoughts were occupied with either memories of the past she had long put behind her or nervousness and anticipation at the upcoming battle. It was many a night when he would find her awake in bed just staring at the ceiling.
But she had never ventured outside before.
"You really shouldn't be out here…" he said quietly. "It's dangerous… being out here was exactly how Joe and the others got Guardian-napped."
"Can't I even get one moment of… you know, alone time? Without you constantly trying to get me to do something I don't wanna do?" his Guardian asked. Despite the rather biting words, her tone was much softer than it was when they first met. "I mean… well…"
Pit sighed. "… Look… I know we don't exactly get along well…"
Much to his surprise, Psyche let out a light chuckle. "I can't remember the last time we've actually had a civil conversation, Pit."
Pit laughed. "Well… yeah. You're always out there ready to jump in and give up your head in the name of whatever."
She crossed her arms, but grinned. "And you're always up there nagging me to stop!"
"And you're always messing up words when you're reading!"
"And you're always yelling at me for messing up the words when I'm reading!"
"And you still can't aim properly with those arrows!"
"And you still can't figure out how to draw the bow with my weak-sauce arms!"
"And you're still stubborn!"
"And you're still uptight!"
Pit grinned. If he had a body at the moment, he knew he would be playfully shoving her. "Uptight am I? Who was the one that made those little kids swab the table over and over again because they kept missing spots?"
"They deserved it! They used your bow to carve cuss words into the wood!"
"Well… I thought it was pretty funny… I mean, it at least gave it some type of decoration. You do get pretty tired of a plain wood table after you've been staring at it for a hundred years."
Psyche shrugged. "Yeah… I guess you can say that…"
Silence fell between them. It was often like this, especially after they were finished having one of their infamous arguments. But then again, the silence was different this time. It felt more… reminiscent than angry. And truth be told, Pit actually liked it a bit more like that.
"Listen, Psy-"
"Pit, I-"
They fell silent again. It was rather strange hearing both of their voices speaking at the same time, using the same rather apologetic tone. Hoping that she would somehow be able to feel it, Pit gave her a small smile.
"Go ahead, you start."
"No, you go. I mean, you're the Smasher and every-"
"Guardians first. I insi-"
"No, really! You go! Please!"
The angel laughed. "Alright, alright! Hold your horses now!" he took a deep breath. "I… I just kinda wanted to say that I'm… well…" how was he supposed to say this? "I-"
"… Apology accepted, Pit," his Guardian said quietly. There was a small smile on her face as she said this. Pit couldn't tell from her thoughts if she was smiling at him or something else.
"I… well… yeah…"
"You're just like him, you know that?" Psyche asked, hugging her knees close to her chest. "He used to apologize exactly the way you did…" her smile fell a little. "Never knew exactly how to apologize…"
"… You two were awfully close, weren't you?"
"Closer than brother and sister…" Psyche said quietly. Pit could tell that she was blinking back tears. "We went through everything together…"
"I… wow… I'm really-"
"No need for pity, Pit," she interrupted, drawing circles in the dirt. "I've… I've moved on… I mean…" she gulped. "Things happen… time moves on… I'll stop and mourn for a bit, but..." that circle she was drawing was starting to look an awful lot like a heart. "But… but it just happens… he's in a better place now anyways. And… and I know that he's up there somewhere, watching me…"
"Sounds a bit like a stalker if you asked me," Pit joked, trying to break the ice a bit. When that didn't serve to do much, he tried another route. "Well… if I can still talk to Lady Palutena, the first thing I'd ask her is whether or not he's up there and he's doing well."
Psyche's smile returned. "Thanks Pit… thanks a lot…" she shifted uncomfortably as she carefully scratched out the circle heart thing on the ground.
Pit sighed and looked up at the sky. The stars were out tonight, scattered throughout the dark skies as if they did not know where to go. Strangely, the sky looked an awful like the last one he saw before his soul was ripped away from him and stuffed into a glass prison. It also looked a lot like the one he saw as he was flying through the skies, following a force he did not know, searching for a young human he had never met in his life.
Weird…
"Amazing how far we've come, isn't it?" he asked offhandedly. "I mean… it only seems like yesterday that I was still stuck in that stupid jar…"
Psyche nodded. "Yeah… and I was still working on those Smashballs in the factories… over and over…"
"Pretty soon, I might get my body back," the angel mused. Strangely, he wasn't as excited as he used be at the thought of reclaiming his body. It meant more burdens, being forced to relearn how to use it after a century, and possibly even plain awkwardness.
Oh well, at least it meant no more simultaneous death, right?
"Listen… if I get my body back… and… and if I don't make it out…"
"You'll make it out, Pit, I know you will," she grinned. "You can just nag Tabuu to death."
Pit chuckled. "Yeah, sure, whatever… but I-"
"ERIC!" Psyche leaped up as twin lights illuminated the skies. It wasn't long before the rather bulky shape of a Wolfen appeared and started to descend its powerful jets blowing air around like a hurricane.
Pit could see lights in the Smash Base, as well as voices. By the sounds of things, Psyche's scream combined with Eric's jets had woken up the entire base. It wasn't long before the voices reached him.
"ERIC!"
"HE'S BACK!"
"I'M GOING TO KILL THAT SON OF A BITCH!"
"YOU HAD US ALL WORRIED, MAN!"
Pit was happy that Eric was back, he really was. But he felt a slight twinge of regret as Psyche got up and quickly ran up to the young pilot. He let out a small sigh.
Looks like he'll have to wait another day.