Ha ha! Told you I was going to start updating this story more!
Chapter 44:The Power of Ice
Wolf had lost track of how long he had been following the strange entity. It may have been minutes, it may have been hours, he didn't really know anymore. He had been too caught up in what the ice spirit had been telling him. As it turns out, there was a reason Popo and Nana knew each other (and the mountian itself) so well. The spirit told Wolf that long ago, it had foreseen the mountain being invaded by the Subspace, and told him of their intentions. Andrew had been tasked by his superior to assimilate Infinity Mountain and the power it possessed:the power to control all ice in the multiverse.
Wolf had nearly tripped after hearing that.
After getting over his initial shock, Wolf asked what the Ice Climbers had to do with all this. The being replied that it had devised a way to counter this imminent threat in the form of two newborns whom it had imbued with the mountain's power, giving them limited control over ice which slowly grew over time. Wolf had given the being his undivided attention by that time. He asked if that power was the cause of the Ice Climbers' connection, but the spirit told him that their connection was what drew it to them in the first place, and said that once they had met, the power they possessed had inadvertantly strengthened that bond. The spirit told him it couldn't planned it out any better, really.
And then came the day that Master Hand arrived in Infinite Glacier, word of Popo and Nana's power and accomplishments reaching his nonexistant ears.
Needless to say, the residents of the village had been understandably scared out of their wits by the near-omnipotent glove's arrival, but once he had assured them all he meant no harm, they decided to listen to what he had to say...
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One year earlier...
"Ah, Popo and Nana, it's a pleasure to meet you in person,"Master Hand said as the two kids walked up to the front of the crowd, staring at the glove with wide eyes.
"W-who are you?"the duo asked timidly.
Master Hand chuckled."You may call me Master Hand. I am the head of the Super Smash Bros. organization, and I have a proposition for you."
"Super Smash Brothers?"Popo asked.
"W-what's that?"Nana asked.
"The Super Smash Bros. are a group of heroes (and the occassional villain) I have brought together to keep peace throughout the multiverse, as well as take part in a fighting tournament of my creation,"Master Hand explained.
"What?"the kids' parents asked incredulously.
"There is no way we're letting our son compete in a fighting tournament!"Zolo said angrily.
"How dare you ask such a thing?"Nata said, equally angered.
"Ah, perhaps I should clarify that better,"Master Hand said quickly."The tournaments I hold take place in a simulator."The villagers stared blankly, and Master Hand sweatdropped, remembering this world wasn't quite as advanced as others."Er, a simulator is basically a big computer game. The tournament's battles will take place in this computer, where it's impossible for anyone to be seriously injured."This seemed to somewhat mollify the duo's parents, though they still looked rather skeptical."I assure you, I will take full responsibility for their well-being. We now have one of the greatest doctors in the multiverse, and he can heal just about anything."The parents looked amongst themselves.
"I don't know..."Nato muttered uncertainly.
"It still sounds fishy to me,"Zolo said.
Seeing their doubt, Master Hand looked at the kids."Popo, Nana, may I ask you a question?"
The kids blinked, tilting their heads in unison."Yeah?"
"If you had power, what would you do with it?"Master Hand asked.
"Protect Nana."
"Protect Popo."
The two spoke in unison and at once, then they smiled at each other. Master Hand nodded (sort of), pleased at their responses.
"If you say yes, the other fighters and I can help you become strong enough to always protect one another, I promise you that,"he said, prompting them to look at him again before looking back at each other. The two huddled together and began whispering to themselves, everyone watching them in anticipation. Then, after a few seconds, they both pulled away and looked at Master Hand.
"Will anyone there call us freaks?"Popo asked.
"We don't like bullies,"Nana said.
Master Hand chuckled."If anything, you'll fit in better than you would in any other place in existance. Some of them will make you two look like completely ordinary kids."
"Really?"the two asked, stunned by the thought.
"Really,"Master Hand confirmed. The two looked at each other again, then nodded and looked back at him.
"We'll do it!"they cheered.
"Kids, are you sure about this?"Nola asked, frowning in concern.
"This could be dangerous,"Zolo said.
"You could get hurt,"Nato continued.
Nana tilted her head innocently."But he said he'd take respa...resper..."She scrunched up her face, trying to remember how to pronounce the word Master Hand had used.
"Responsibility, Nana,"the glove corrected kindly.
"Yeah, that,"Nana said.
"Besides, we wanna make new friends!"Popo said. The four adults looked amongst themselves.
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"So, I take it they agreed, eh?"Wolf asked, panting a bit as he continued after the spirit.
The being nodded."Indeed, though they were still reluctant about it. After the Melee tournament ended, they returned to their homes much stronger than even than I dared to hope. Their parents were very happy, too, needless to say."
"Then the Brawl tournamount invites went out,"Wolf started."But the Subspace came to the Smash Dimension and started mucking everything up before the tournament even started."The spirit nodded silently, prompting him to continue."And once the others took them out, we had our tournament. After that ended, NiGHTS came to the mansion, and then Leon showed up. And now, the Subspace is somehow back and hounding for him..."He blinked."Come to think, what does he have to do with all this? Why does the Subspace want that weird kid?"
"...I cannot tell you everything,"the spirit said after a moment."But I will tell you this:The Leon you know is by no means a kid."
"Okay, so he's a teenager,"Wolf said, rolling his eye."Big whoop, I'm pretty sure I'm older than him."
"Leon is several thousand millenia older than you are,"the icy specter said pointedly.
Wolf tripped, falling on his face. Shaking it off, he looked up at the spirit in disbelief."What? Then what the hell is he?"
"I've already said, I cannot tell you,"the spirit said as he stood back up."However, you're old associate can give you the information you want."
Wolf's lone eye narrowed."Then bring me to him. I wouldn't mind brushing up on my interrogation skills."He grinned fiercely.
"Very well."
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"Popo, I'm scared,"Nana whimpered, looking around the room fearfully from the small cage they were in, looking at the many beeping machines and computers in confusion.
"Me, too,"Popo admitted, holding his friend close to protect her. The two had tried to freeze the bars of their prison to break out, but every time they tried, the bars would simply ignite themselves and melt the ice instantly, as well as make them dizzy from the sudden burst of heat.
Andrew, sitting in his command chair, turned his head to look at the two children with a smirk, and they glared back at him as much as they could."Comfy?"
"L-let us go!"Popo demanded, trying not to feel intimidated.
Andrew laughed."Now why would I do that? I already I told that we need you for our plans."
"But why? We're just kids!"Nana said, tearing up a little.
"Oh, you're so much more than that,"Andrew replied, turning completely to face them."Have you never asked yourselves just why you two, two kids who were born in two completely seperate places, had the same strange power to control ice?"
"Well, yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?"Popo asked, confused.
"You two really are naive,"Andrew sneered."You two were given some of the mountain's power when you were born because of your weird connection."The duo blinked in astonishment."Do you know exactly what kind of power this mountain has?"Their confused looks were the only answer he needed."This entire mountain has the power to control all the ice in the entire multiverse!"The Ice Climbers simply stared, utterly speechless."Why else would we want this gigantic chunk of ice?"
"But what do you need us for?"the two asked in unison.
"Jeez, that's weird..."Andrew muttered to himself. Then he cracked a rather nasty grin."Like I said, you two have part of this mountain's power. A pretty big part, actually. So, once we've assimilated the mountain into the subspace, we're take you with it!"As the Climbers gasped in shock, Andrew seemed to pout."Of course, we would've assimilated this stupid mountain days ago, but it's just so big! And it'll take more time to finally finish covering it!"He cracked another evil smile as he leaned back in his chair."Even so, without you two to guide him, Wolf doesn't have a chance of reaching us before that happens."
"Think again, you miserable chimp,"a familiar voice snarled. Eyes going wide, everyone in the room (primids included) turned their heads to the entrance to see Wolf standing there, flexing his claws, and a fierce look in his eye. To their shock, a strange, humanoid spirit wreathed in an icy whirlwind floated next to him.
"Wolf!"Andrew and the Ice Climbers cried in terror and joy respectively.
"H-how did you manage to get here so fast?"Andrew shouted in disbelief.
"With some help from my new friend here,"Wolf smirked, nodding at the spirit floating to his right. He frowned, then glanced at the spirit while tilting his head, as if listening to the strange specter. After a moment, his eye went wide."He did WHAT?"He suddenly glared at Andrew with such ferocity that the monkey nearly soiled himself in fear. With a howl of rage, he charged forward, claws beared, then the primids spread throughout the room quickly started flocking towards Wolf in an attempt to stop him.
The end result was not pretty.
Wolf's claws flashed through the air, slicing through and destroying each primid with a single swipe. He tore through them like tissue paper, rending the puppet-like creatures to shreds with little effort. One particularly stupid primid, instead of a running as far away as possible like anyone with a brain stem would do, tried to throw a double punch at the lupine. Wolf responded by grabbing the creature's fists and ripping it clean in half before continuing forward as if nothing happened. Andrew and the Ice Climbers gaped as Wolf surged through the subspace monsters, rapidly depleting their ranks without pause in his rampage to rip and/or blast Andrew's head off. After another terrifying minute of brutality, the room was completely of primids, and Wolf was charging straight at Andrew.
The former army leader screamed in fright as Wolf lunged at him, grabbing him by his collar and lifting him out of his chair with one arm.
"YOU MADE THE DAMN CAVE DRAWING?"he roared, not caring that the Ice Climbers could very clearly hear him at the moment."YOU DID THAT JUST TO SCREW WITH ME, YOU SON OF A BITCH?"Whimpering, Andrew nodded meekly, and Wolf very nearly ripped his head off right then and there, the only thing stopping him being the sight of the two kids cowering together in their cage, staring at him in fear. Wolf stared at them for a very long moment, rapidly losing the wild look of rage on his face before he let out a deep breath he hadn't known he had been holding. He looked at Andrew again, and, had he not still been rather pissed off at the moment, he would have laughed at the look on his former teammate's face."Release them. Now."
Andrew immediately did so, pressing a button on his glove. With a pneumatic hiss, the front of the cage opened up, and Wolf dropped Andrew back in his seat."Stay."With that said, he walked over to the cage's opening and knelt down to look at his young charges, who looked almost as terrified as Andrew, and his expression softened."You can come out, kids. I'm not gonna hurt you. The others would make me into a pelt if I did."The two children gave small smiles at his last statement, then slowly walked out of their prison as Wolf pushed himself to his feet, cracking his back and glancing at Andrew, who gulped. The Ice Climbers picked up their hammers as they approached, looking at the ape expectantly.
"Alright, I already know what you were trying to pull here,"Wolf started, glaring at Andrew."But what I don't know is why the Subspace wants Leon. What's so important that weird guy? And how is that he's millions of years old?"
"What?"the Ice Climbers asked, obviously surprised.
Wolf glanced at them."Seriously, he is. No idea how, though."He looked back at Andrew."Well?"
"I-I can't tell you that..."Andrew said weakly. Wolf cracked his knuckles."No! I-I mean I really can't! He'll kill me!"
"Who will?"the Ice Climbers asked. Andrew said nothing.
"If you don't start talking, I'll kill you,"Wolf threatened."I suggest you pick your poison. I can pretty much guarantee that I'll put you through worse than whatever your boss can manage."
"Trust me, no you couldn't,"Andrew replied ominously."You're going against someone more powerful than you could possibly imagine."
Wolf raised an eyebrow."Oh? And just what would that be?"
"...A god,"Andrew said finally.
"A god?"the Ice Climbers echoed, looking shocked.
Wolf rolled an eye."Big deal. Plenty of the others have fought gods before on their own. What's so bad about this one?"
"You don't get it,"Andrew whispered, a look of both dread and awe in his eyes."He's not just a god. He's an Elder God, one of the first beings to ever exist! He could destroy this entire planet with just a thought!"Wolf frowned in alarm at that, he and the Ice Climbers looking at each other before looking back at their captive.
"What kind of god is this guy?"Wolf asked."What's his specialty? Time? Death? What?"Andrew did not respond, making Wolf growl. But before he could make good on his threat, Andrew froze, looking behind them with an expression of pure horror.
"No...NO!"he screamed, causing Wolf and the duo spin on their heels to see...an arrow. Just a simple, wooden arrow with a metal tip, but oddly, it was somewhat transparent."NO! PLEASE! GIVE ME ANOTHER CHANCE!"Before the heroes could ask just what the heck was going on, the arrow suddenly shot straight past them and landed in the chimp's chest. Andrew stared at the projectile in disbelief, and then he disappeared. There was no flash of light, no strange sounds. One second, he was sitting there, and the next second, he was just...gone. The three remaining simply stood there for a long moment, trying to register what just happened.
Finally, an incredulous Wolf asked "What the heck was that all about?"
"He has been erased,"a familiar (to Wolf) voice said, prompting the three to turn around to find the ice spirit floating there.
"What do you mean 'erased'?"Nana asked, understandably confused.
"He has been wiped from existance,"the spirit replied."The one you know as Andrew no longer exists.
"You-you mean he's...gone?"Wolf asked in shock."Not just dead, but actually flat out gone?"
The spirit shook it's head."No, it is impossible to truly destroy a soul, even for the gods. A more appropriate term would be...dispersed, his essence scattered back into the All-Cosmos, from which all souls originate."
"Whoa..."the trio said, floored by the thought.
"But...but we never got the information we wanted!"Wolf complained.
"Didn't he tell us who his boss was?"Popo recalled.
"I meant about Leon!"Wolf clarified."Why would an Elder God want him?"
"Wait..."Popo said, a shocking thought coming to him."If a god wants Leon, and Leon's millions of years old, then that means..."
"Leon's a god, too!"Nana realized.
Wolf's eye widened."Of course,"he said, a revelation coming to him as well."How else would he be able to do all that weird stuff he pulls off? That's how he was able to beat that gigantic primid before!"
Nana frowned in confusion, looking at the icy spirit."But...what kind of god is he?"
"I'm afraid that's something you'll have to find out on your own,"the ice specter replied apologetically.
Wolf shrugged."Eh, whatever. We'll probably find out when we get back."
"But what do we do about all this stuff?"Popo asked, motioning to the machines around them.
"We can always send someone to get this stuff,"Wolf said dismissively. And suddenly, as if on cue, the machines all blinked out of existance, causing the Smashers to blink."Or...that could happen..."
"Their purpose here has been disrupted, and so, the rogue diety has rid them from this place to avoid having it stolen,"the spirit explained, glancing around.
"Hm, can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing,"Wolf remarked, looking at the spirit."By the way, I never got a name from you."
"Me?"they could hear an amused tone in the spirit's voice."I am the spirit of Infinity Mountain. It's guardian. The Disciple of Everlasting Ice..."There was a gust of wind that forced the trio to shield their eyes. When the wind died down, they looked back at the being, and could now see it's, or rather, her, very beautiful face, two icy blue eyes looking at them from a human face."I am Celsius."
Wolf nodded."Thanks for the help, Celsius."Glancing down at the kids, he beckoned them with a claw."C'mon, let's get out of here already. I think my tail's going stiff from the cold."
"Okay."the kids nodded.
A few minutes later, the three found themselves standing at the very top of the mountain, and Wolf was at a loss for words at what he saw.
Lights. A beautiful aurora was spread across the sky, lighting the starry expanse with every color in the visible spectrum. It was an incredible sight, and Wolf felt the last of his rage and anger melt away from seeing the many different colors.
"Jeez..."he said finally, not in the mood to swear.
"It's so pretty,"Nana murmured, she and Popo looking more wistful than awed.
"Yeah,"the boy in blue said.
Wolf shook his head, suddenly remembering that he was really cold at the moment. He brought up an arm and pressed a button on his guantlet. It beeped once, and he nodded, satisfied he managed to recieve a signal from where they were."My ship will be here in a couple of minutes,"he told his two young allies.
The two blinked, snapped out of their trip down memory lane as they looked at him."Your ship?"Popo asked.
"It's coming to get us?"Nana asked.
"Well, duh,"Wolf said, rolling his eye."I'm sure as heck not climbing all the way back down."
"But...if you're ship can fly up here, why didn't we use it instead climbing up the mountain in the first place?"Popo asked.
There was a long, long moment of silence as Wolf considered this.
"Kids,"he said in a deceptively calm voice.
"Yeah?"
"Go over there and cover your ears,"Wolf said, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder without looking at them. The two children looked at each other worriedly, then immediately did as they were told.
Wolf's screams could be heard all across Infinite Glacier.
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End of Chapter
And so ends the Ice Climbers' (and Wolf's) arc. Next up...
I'm not telling you. XP