Chapter 40

"Urghh...remind me again why Master Hand teamed me up with you two..."Wolf grunted as he pulled himself up another ledge.

"I think it was something about your fur and your armor keeping you warm,"Popo remarked as they pulled him up. It had been at least an hour since they had started climbing the mountain, and Wolf was pissed, to say the least.

"Did it ever occur to him that wolves AREN'T MEANT TO CLIMB?"Wolf screamed angrily, stomping his foot as his shout echoed across the moutain. The Ice Climbers frantically shushed him.

"Quiet, Wolf!"Nana whispered worriedly."We're in an avalanche zone!"

Wolf blinked in surprise."Seriously? How can you tell?"They glanced at each other, then back at him.

"Well, we sorta just...taught ourselves,"Popo said with a shrug.

"Plus, we kind of, umm...caused an avalanche here one time,"Nana said sheepishly, shuffling her feet in embarrassment.

"Uhh, got it,"Wolf said, looking around nervously."No more shouting."They continued their hike, the kids using their incredible jumping abilities and Wolf using his claws to support himself. The Ice Climbers were having an easy time; heck, they were loving it. It had been so long since their last climb, and they were thoroughly enjoying every second of it, even though they were having to help Wolf often. They didn't mind it in the slightest; and the pilot couldn't help but notice how patient and professional they were, for kids, anyway. He was actually a little impressed.

"Hey, kids,"Wolf said as they continued up. The duo looked at him."I have a question."

"Yeah?"they asked in unison, jumping up to another ledge.

"Why did you guys first climb this mountain?"Wolf asked curiously."Somehow, I doubt you did it with your parents' permission."

"A mean condor stole our veggies,"Popo said. The space pilot paused.

"...Say that again?"

"A mean condor stole our veggies,"Nana repeated."It took them all the way to it's nest on top of the mountain."She pointed up in case Wolf might have thought she was talking about some other mountain."So we climbed up there to get them back."

"...I never thought I'd hear the day where kids would go through so much trouble just to eat their vegetables,"Wolf muttered, pulling himself to his feet.

"Why don't other kids like veggies, anyway?"Nana asked curiously, looking up at him."They're yummy!"

"Other kids don't have vegetables as their main source of food,"Wolf replied."Just shows how tough you kids are being raised out here in a frozen wilderness."He grabbed onto the cliff face to start climbing again.

"Wait, Wolf,"Popo said, causing Wolf to look at him with a raised eyebrow. They both pointed past him."We can walk for a while, see?"Wolf turned his head to see another path that curled up and around the mountian. Sighing in relief, he followed the two kids along the path, trying not get too much snow in his boots.

After a while of walking and silence, Nana's curiosity got the better of her."Hey, Wolf? Why don't you like Fox?"

Wolf froze (pun intended) in his tracks. The Ice Climbers did the same, turning around to look at him and tilting their heads. At that moment, Wolf wanted to whip out his blaster, aim it at her head, and threaten them never to ask him that again. Most of the smashers knew better than to ask about his past with Fox.

But...they were just kids. In fact, they were the youngest smashers in the mansion. They couldn't help being curious.

So, with a heavy sigh, he simply said, "I don't want to talk about it."The kids looked at each other, then shrugged and began walking again. Hesitating only for a second, Wolf followed wordlessly.

XXXX

"Sir, we've detected three life forms currently climbing the mountain,"a primid soldier said. The commander sitting in another chair rested his chin on his fist.

"Bring up a visual,"he said in a strange, high pitched, and nasally voice. The large screen in front of him showed a distant view of the mountain, then began to close in on three figures. His eyes widened when he realized who one of them was."Wolf?"He growled in frustration."Of all the smashers to come here with those kids, it had to be Wolf!"He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed irritably.

"Your orders, sir?"a Scope Primid asked.

"Destroy them!"the commander growled, pounding his fist on the arm of his chair."I don't want to see one molecule of them left!"

XXXX

"It's getting dark,"Wolf grumbled, stating the obvious as the sun began to set over the horizon."We should probably find some sort of cave or something to rest in."

"Don't worry. We know the perfect place!"Nana chirped."It's just around around the corner!"

"You say that like we're in a neighborhood or something,"Wolf muttered.

"Well, it kind of is,"Popo said, looking back at him."Animals live on this mountain. But they're not ante-ample-antler-umm...like you."

"Anthromorphic,"Wolf corrected with a sigh.

"Yeah, that,"Popo said as they approached the mouth of a cave."Here it is!"They walked inside the cave, where it was a bit warmer than the coldness of the outside, though the pilot wasn't really surprised at that. He placed his backpack down, rummaging through it a bit before pulling out some firewood the villagers had given them.

"No, no, no!"the kids said, quickly taking the wood away from him. Wolf blinked at them.

"We have to save this for later, Wolf,"Nana explained."For when we get a lot higher on the mountain where the cold gets REALLY bad."Wolf's face fell.

"Oh, good. I'd hate to think I'll be warm tonight,"he muttered sarcastically, then began rummaging through his pack again."Eh, at least we have blankets."He then yanked out a large, black blanket for himself, noticing Popo and Nana doing the same, pulling out a blue and a pink blanket respectively."So, how long does night time last here?"

The Ice Climbers glanced at each other in confusion, then looked back at him."About 9 hours. How long didja think it'd be?"Popo questioned. Wolf shrugged.

"Back in my galaxy, most ice planets have nights that last for days,"he replied."Sometimes weeks."

"Our world isn't an ice planet, Wolf,"Nana said."Only half of it. The other half is sunny."Wolf blinked at that.

"Huh,"he mumbled, then shrugged again."Eh, I've seen weirder planets."He stood up and brought a claw to his eye patch."Hold still for a moment."The Ice Climbers blinked as his electronic eye patch flashed once.

"Did you just take our picture?"Popo asked.

Wolf his shook his head."Nope. I just registered you two on my alarm system. If anything gets within 30 yards of us from any direction, I'll know. This way we'll be able to sleep tonight without worrying about any intruders."

"That's pretty neat,"Nana said with a smile.

"That's technology,"Wolf replied calmly, fishing around his backpack for a moment before pulling out a package of ribs. Feeling hungry themselves, the Ice Climbers rummaged through their own backpacks and got a few carrots out. By the time the trio had their fill, the sun had disappeared from the sky, and the temperature noticeably dropped. Wolf yawned and stretched, cracking his neck. He reached into his backpack, then pulled a out large, dark grey blanket, the kids doing the same with their blue and pink blankets. Wolf quickly detached the sharper peices of his armor so as not to rip up his blanket while Popo and Nana curled up in their own blankets, lying against a wall and each other.

"Good night, Nana."

"Good night, Popo."

"Good night, Wolf,"they said in unison, closing their eyes and drifting off. Wolf leaned back against the back of the cave, musing to himself. How did those two do it? How did they always know what the other was thinking? It always astounded him and the other Smashers that they weren't twins. They had often joked that the kids had a psychic connection to each other, which had actually prompted Ness and Lucas to spy on the two psychically. Okay, Ness was the one with the idea, he had just dragged Lucas into it. The whole ordeal didn't end well for anyone...

Anyway, Wolf decided to leave the thought for another time.

"See ya in the morning, kids,"he muttered, closing his good eye. Soon, he would realize how wrong that statement was. For only a few hours later, his alarm went off, and his eye snapped open in an instant.

XXXX

End of Chapter

Cliffhanger! Oh, the humanity!