Gamer4 in. The other day, I found an old, dusty copy of Persona 3 sitting in my gaming closet. Knowing my reputation for greatly enjoying old games I find in my closet that I forgot I even had, I plugged it in to my Playstation 2 and started it up- and haven't been able to stop since. I've been going on a Persona binge lately, which reminds me... I never actually identified the source material for the Winter of our Discotent chapters from Bottle of Lightning! And after I said I was going to... well, they took inspiration from the first two episodes of the second volume of Persona 4, the Animation, which was my first exposure to the Persona series- which made a huge impact on me, and, if my memory is correct, is what pushed me into getting Persona 3 in the first place. Yeah, finally bringing that up, however many chapters late... but hey, better late than never! Okay, enough waffling- Luna's been waiting long enough! Let's get started!
Disclaimer: Carry on, my wayward son! There'll be peace when you are done! Lay your weary head to rest- don't you cry no more! Whoo, glad to finally get that one off my chest. Alright, next time on Disclaimer Radio... honestly, I don't know. I guess we'll see.
Chapter X
The Melancholy of Melia Antiqua
"Alright, Mario, time to get up," came a voice through the darkness. "Better hurry- Mom's freaking out. Man, even when we go out of our way to pack up the night before, we're still rushing..."
Mario cracked his eyes open to find himself in Link's room at the top floor of Ordon Cottage. Link was just leaving through the door and heading downstairs. Mario sighed, getting to his feet, grabbing his suitcase, and following his friend.
Except, when he went through the door, it was not the top floor of Ordon Cottage he saw- it was a strange hallway, black as midnight, eventually culminating in a door that was somehow even blacker. He looked behind him, but Link's room had vanished- he could only see more of this strange hallway. Turning again, he made his way towards the door. Slowly, he reached out one hand and pushed against the wood- but it refused to budge. No matter how hard he pressed against it, it remained resolutely shut.
For some reason, he wasn't keen to leave this door behind, uncooperative as it was- instead, he simply leaned against a nearby wall, glaring at the polished onyx, running any possibilities through his mind of how to penetrate that door's mysteries...
XXXX
"Alright, Mario, time to get up," came a voice through the darkness. "Better hurry- Mom's freaking out. Man, even when we go out of our way to pack up the night before, we're still rushing..."
Mario opened his eyes again- this time, it was his and Link's room in 774, Silent Hill that he saw. Link was already at the door, rushing back downstairs. Mario rubbed his eyes, pressing as hard against them as he could. Yeah, he could feel the pressure- this was reality. "My dreams are getting way too literal," he muttered.
As he was throwing the very last odds and ends he'd brought to the house into his suitcase, he heard what appeared to be an explosion from below- from what he was hearing, Kirby and Meta had decided, in a fit of creativity, to use their powers to swallow their suitcases, carry them to the Great Fox in their stomachs, and regurgitate them there. However, it seemed the suitcases were a little too much for even the twin puffballs to handle- they'd accidentally let them go early, sending them careening down the stairs, and directly into Peach, who'd been crossing the hallway at the time, a piece of toast in hand. With Uli's yells of fury came Sonia Reed's renewed screeches of prejudice.
"YOU MORONS COULD HAVE KILLED HER! WHO EVEN THINKS TO CARRY THEIR SUITCASES IN THEIR-"
"THE MUD BEING SMEARED OVER THE HOUSE OF MY FOREFATHERS COULD NEVER BE SCRUBBED CLEAN, NOT EVEN WITH-"
"IS IT REALLY THAT DIFFICULT TO JUST ROLL THEM ON THE GROUND?! WHAT DO YOU THINK THOSE WHEELS ARE FOR, YOU FOOLS?!"
"ALL THOSE YEARS OF STAUNCH PURENESS OF THE FAIRER BLOOD TYPE, RUINED BY THAT HALF-WIT SON OF MINE!"
Before Mario could reach the door, it crashed open- Zelda rushed in, large bird cage in hand, quickly turning and slamming the door shut, a rather haggard look on her face. "You might not want to go out there for a bit," she addressed Mario, who nodded. Noticing him looking at the aforementioned birdcage, complete with Parakarry the albatross, she elaborated- "he just got back from last night- my parents are really proud!" Her eyes glowing slightly, she asked, "So, you ready?"
"Just about- is Peach alright?" Mario asked, concern in his voice.
"Yeah, she wasn't hurt all that seriously to begin with," Zelda assured him. "It still might be a bit, though- Toad still isn't back from whatever job Philanthropy set him on, and Simon's saying we can't go until we have a full guard."
"We're going to Seatac with a guard?" Mario asked, his eyebrows going up.
"Well, more accurately, you're going to Seatac with a guard," Zelda admitted.
"Why?" Mario asked exasperatedly. "What, Tabuu's gonna be hanging out behind a vending machine or some smeg?"
"Mario, it's Simon we're talking about, you know what he's like," Zelda pointed out. "Let's just hope either he budges, or Toad gets back soon- we don't want to miss the-"
"EVERYBODY WHO'S GOING TO THE SMASH MANSION, DOWNSTAIRS, NOW!" came Uli's voice, still raised in agitation. "EVERYBODY STAYING BEHIND FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR, GO AHEAD AND STAY UP THERE!"
Mario and Zelda shot nervous looks at each other, leapt up, grabbed their suitcases, and surfed them down the stairs.
Sonia was still going at it, but nobody was even bothering at this point. Uli grabbed him as soon as he jumped off his suitcase on the bottom step, raising her voice as much as she could to be heard over her significantly less-awesome counterpart. "MARIO, YOU'RE WITH ME AND KRYSTAL! DON'T WORRY ABOUT YOUR THINGS, SIMON WILL TAKE CARE OF IT- AND ROY, YOU AREN'T COMING WITH US, REMEMBER?!"
Mario turned to see a large wolf with blue eyes padding rapidly down the stairs, tongue hanging out and panting happily.
Uli's glare slowly faded away, until she settled for rolling her eyes. "Love of... okay, you know what? Do whatever you want- but I'm washing my hands of any consequences!"
The blue-eyed beast nodded his acceptance, and Uli turned around, swinging the door open and beckoning everyone out onto the perpetually-foggy streets of Silent Hill.
Taking a headcount of everyone around them, Mario couldn't help but notice a discrepancy with what he'd been led to believe- "Where's Krystal?"
"We're meeting her at the corner between Crichton and Koontz streets," Uli explained.
As they pulled up on said curb, it was to find a young girl with light red hair and a dress to match. Mario blinked. "Excuse me, Miss?" he got her attention. "Have you seen a... talking vixen around here?"
"No, but I've seen a dumb pyromancer," the girl smirked.
"Huh?" Mario was taken aback.
"Oh, come on, it's me, Mario!" the girl spoke with a voice of mischief. She closed her eyes for a second, and when they opened, her former round, black eyes had become narrower, and a familiar, light shade of turquoise. Another blink, and they were back to being round and black. "And I see we have an extra traveler with us today."
Mario turned- and broke into laughter. Roy was currently gamboling around the street, fulfilling just about every single 'overjoyed dog' stereotype in the book- chasing his own tail, diving into clusters of birds, running around streetlights, benches, and trees... he just seemed so happy to finally be stepping out of that dusty old house.
"So, how we getting to Seatac this year?" Link asked as he and Zelda caught up.
"We have to go on foot today," Uli muttered. "Silent Hill doesn't have a taxi service... Rusl tried to get us some government cars, but you've already caught on to what Ryan's like... we're lucky if he'll lend us a quarter for a vending machine..."
It was about a half-hour walk from Silent Hill to Seatac Airport, which we'll go ahead and gloss over due to the lack of anything whatsoever happening during that time. When they arrived at the large building, it was their lot to seek out a special water park advertisement against a certain wall, designed in such a way that the water would ripple around if touched. One by one, everyone covertly made their way over to it, only to pass right through to Platform Q. Mario felt a great warmth in his heart as he gazed up at the large, sci-fi ship currently docked there. After all that crud, he was finally going back...
A few minutes later, Simon appeared, limping along, dragging a large cart of luggage behind him. Glancing around, Mario spied Fox also making his way to their rendevous point, hand on his blaster. "Any trouble, Simon?"
"Aside from that wretched mushroom never showing up, no," Simon shook his head. "Something's gotta be done... this is the third time this week he's been a no-show..."
Fox shook his head as well, before putting on a smile as he turned to the students about to take off. "Take care of yourselves," he said, shaking hands with them, one by one. "If you're ever in trouble, we're only a letter away."
"But be careful what you write to us," Simon put in. "Remember, those demonic sons of b****es have eyes everywhere. If it's something you're not comfortable putting in writing, you're better off talking to Samus- remember, she's in Philanthropy, too."
"Glad to have met you all," put in the young girl Krystal was currently disguised as. "But don't go forgetting about me too quickly- I'm guessing we'll be meeting up again sooner than you think."
A voice rang out from the ship- "Aaaaaall abooooooaaaaarrrrrd!"
For a brief moment, the blue-eyed beast raised itself onto its hind legs, placing its paws up on Mario's shoulders, but Uli quickly dragged him back down. "Have some common sense, Strider!" she hissed. "What if somebody sees you?"
Mario, Zelda, and the Farons rushed on board the Great Fox, suitcases in tow. No sooner had they finished climbing the stairs than they raised up, shutting like a hatch, and the ship shuddered as it lifted off from the ground.
"Maybe Uli was right," Zelda bit her lip. "Maybe he shouldn't have come."
"Nah, I'm with Ro-er, Strider on this one," Link put in, shaking his head as he momentarily struggled to adjust the name he was using for their favorite red-haired swordsman. "Poor guy needs a chance to get out and breath some fresh air every now and again."
"Well, we'd love to stick around here with you guys," Kirby spoke up.
"But Teddy n' us have important things to talk about!" Meta finished. "Catch y'all on the rebound!"
As they bounced off, Zelda raised an eyebrow. "Is that an actual English term?"
"Who cares, my feet are killing me," Mario shrugged. "How about we go find a compartment?"
Link and Zelda cringed. "Er... well... y'see... the thing about that is..." Link stammered out.
"Link and I are supposed to go meet up with the other prefects first," Zelda closed her eyes as she explained.
Mario blinked. "Oh. Right. Of course- silly of me to forget."
Zelda still looked uncomfortable as she added, "Well, it's not like we'll be there the whole trip! The instructions just said to head up there for orientation, then... well, patrol from time to time, but aside from that..."
"Yeah, of course," Mario felt pretty uncomfortable himself. "Well... until then, I guess."
"Looking forward to it," Link assured him, sharing in the discomfort of his two other friends. "You know... you know I'd rather spend the whole trip with you, right? I mean, it's not like I'm Rob- this isn't something I enjoy."
Mario forced a smile as he waved them off. "Yeah, I know. Go- go get the information... all that good stuff..."
He wasn't lying- any resentment he'd had towards them had already disappeared last night- but it didn't stop him from feeling very strange as he watched them go- almost as wrong-footed as back when he'd first ridden this ship, as an uncertain noob of a first year...
He felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to see Peach giving him a look of sympathy. "Come on- let's go find a compartment, see if we can't save it for them, huh?"
Mario nodded mutely, hoisted his suitcase, and followed Peach through the corridors of the Great Fox.
However, Peach's proposal was easier said than done- just about every compartment they passed was packed full already- or, at the very least, had enough people in them to make saving Link and Zelda seats was unfeasible. On top of that, Mario was being met with very strange behavior as they moved along- several people were giving him some very strange looks, and his mere appearance seemed to be inciting several conversations. Eventually, he remembered that these students had probably spent all summer reading about him as the butt of several jokes in the Fourside Tribune. So, then, the question became... How many of them were wondering if it was all true, and how many of them believed it already?
He was broken out of his reverie with a delighted-sounding "Mario! Peach!" A moment later, he felt himself being crushed in a bear hug. Turning, he saw Luigi Luigi, another of his friends from the Smash Mansion, wrapping his arms eagerly around him. As ever, his pet saturn, dubbed simply Mr. Saturn, was sitting on top of his head.
"Hey, Lu," came Peach's amused voice as Luigi finally released him. "What's up?"
"Ah, nothing. Just having some trouble finding a seat- everywhere's full."
"What are you talking about?" Peach asked, gazing into the compartment nearest to them. "This one's just about empty- only one person in it!"
Luigi suddenly burst into stuttering- something about not wanting to impose. Perhaps it could be seen as rude, but Mario couldn't help but notice that he was blushing violently as he did so...
"Oh, don't be ridiculous, it's just Melly Antiqua, she doesn't bite," Peach shook her head as she pulled the door open and ushered the two boys inside. "Hey, Melia," she spoke up again. "We're having trouble finding seats- mind if we sit here?"
Mario blinked as he spied the girl. She had silvery hair, kept close to the sides of her head in an almost 'Princess Leia' hairstyle- curled into buns. She wore a pink dress, boots, and socks that rose up almost to the top of her legs, but the physical feature that immediately caught Mario's eye was the pair of wings sprouting from the sides of her head. At her side, she carried a staff of sorts, and in her hands, she carried a magazine- that she was currently reading upside-down. She looked up at Peach, then simply nodded. Peach thanked her, and they all took their seats- Luigi, face still red, doing everything he could to look away from her. 'Melia' seemed largely indifferent, continuing on with her magazine.
"So, Melia," Peach spoke up, prompting some conversation. "How was your summer?"
"My summer was perfectly acceptable," Melia spoke- her voice carried a high-class British accent- the Queen's English. Glancing at the boys, she introduced herself. "Melia Antiqua. If I'm not mistaken, you're Mario Mario."
"Yeah, that's me," Mario agreed, blinking.
"Pleasure to meet you," Melia nodded, before turning to Luigi. "Hmm... I'm afraid I don't know you."
Luigi cringed, blushing harder than ever. "Lulila! Loleeloo! Lalilulelo!"
"Calm down, Lu, breath into this," Peach said gently, offering him a paper bag. "This is Luigi Luigi. And guys- this is Melia Antiqua. I don't know if you guys remember the FOT from last year, but she was part of my band, along with Maya and Lucina. She's in the same year, but in Retro."
"Nintendoes will die for each other," Melia spoke up. "Sierras will kill for each other. Hals will die together- but Retros will find a way for everyone to survive."
"Yeah... sure," Peach nodded.
"Interesting..." Luigi agreed, eyes on his shoelaces. Turning to Mario, he seemed to brighten. "Oh, hey, Mario, guess what I got for my birthday!"
"Another Sound Stone?" Mario guessed, recalling the translucent blue, round object Luigi had received several years ago.
"Nah," Luigi shrugged. "Though that wouldn't be a bad idea- I lost that other one years ago... but check it!"
He produced from the inside of his pocket a set of five blue, triangular chips. "Blue star chips!" he announced proudly. "These things are rare- they're tied to smashing Phys. Ed, and I'm honestly not sure if even the Smash Mansion has a set of these babies!"
Mario blinked. Most people wouldn't guess from looking at Luigi's rather lanky frame, but he was actually pretty athletic- Phys Ed. was easily his best class. But even with that said, Mario couldn't see what these five blue chips had to do with anything physical. "What... what are they for?"
Luigi froze. "Well... I don't know," he admitted.
"You were so excited about them, but you don't know what they do?"
"No, no, I know what they do," Luigi corrected him quickly. "I said I don't know what they're for. What they do is that- well, you put them together, and they make a pull star- and those mess around with the gravity of the area, let you do some really unique workouts! Check it out!" He pushed the chips together, locking them in place. When the final chip was added, the blue star they formed created a circle around it, floating into the air. Mario watched with interest- there was something beautiful about it...
Until the gravity in the compartment abruptly went haywire, sending everyone and everything flying around in an insane twister. Mario yelped as he clung onto his hat, Luigi and Peach screamed and clutched onto each other, and Melia retained an expression of complete indifference, licking her thumb and turning the page of her magazine as she went hurtling through the air.
Finally, Luigi, the buttons on his overalls coming undone, managed to grab onto the pull star, reaching out, grabbing a corner, and pulling as hard as he could. The chip removed itself from the whole, and everyone went crashing back down to the ground- Mario and Peach landed in a clump like they'd just participated in an intense game of Twister, Melia ended up on her back in her seat, with Luigi landing right on top of her, overalls undone around his waist, bulbous nose pressed into Melia's chest.
Mario was just wondering if everything could get any more awkward when the compartment door slid open, revealing Pauline Dama, seeker for the Retro Smash-Up team and Mario's not-so-secret crush. Looking up from his attempts to disentangle his limbs from Peach's, Mario turned almost as red as his hat. "Oh... hi."
"Hi, Mario," Pauline repeated. "I just wanted... to see how you were doing. Glad to see you're doing fine... bye."
And the door shut. Mario groaned as he finally separated himself from Peach, pulling his hat over his head as Peach took the seat next to him. Of all the times for Pauline to walk in on him...
When he finally looked up, it was to see Melia and Luigi still in the same position from a minute or so ago- Melia flat on her back, still reading her magazine, as Luigi stared, wide-eyed, at the rather compromising position in which he'd landed on her. Eventually, as she casually turned another page, Melia spoke. "Would you mind getting off me, now? It is starting to get a bit uncomfortable."
Luigi quickly leapt off her, pulling his overalls back on as they were intended to be, nervously spluttering all the while. Melia honestly didn't seem to care overly much- she simply returned to her old sitting position, and continued reading.
And so it came to be that the next hour or so was spent in an incredibly awkward silence.
XXXX
A silence, in fact, that was only broken as the door slid open again, revealing Link and Zelda, finally arriving. "Something up?" Link asked, staring at the red faces of everyone except Melia.
"Nothing, nothing," Mario shook his head quickly. "So, what's the buzz?"
"Well, there are two prefects from each group," Zelda recalled. "One boy and one girl. Three guesses who Sierra chose..."
"You have got to be kidding me," Mario muttered, rubbing his eyes. "It can't be..."
"Right in one," Link nodded, ushering Luigi out of his seat next to Mario, pressing him into the window seat next to Melia. "Bowser flipping Dragmire."
"And because they chose the boy so well, they went ahead and made that total winnicott, Maria Sheikah, the girl prefect," Zelda grumbled, taking the other seat next to Melia.
"What about Hal?" Mario asked.
"Lucas Ikari and Chie Satonaka," Link recalled.
"As far as Retro goes, it's Shulk Clairvoya and Fado Kokiri," Zelda added.
"You went to the Festival of Trees with Fado Kokiri," came a sudden voice. Everyone looked around, surprised, until they saw Melia, putting the magazine down momentarily, looking at Link.
"Well, yeah," said tunic-wearing swordsman agreed, looking surprised. "I... I remember that, too."
"She didn't have much good to say about that," Melia recalled. "She said she wished you danced with her more. Personally, I wouldn't have minded- I don't care much for dancing."
With that, she went back to her magazine. Link opened and closed hismouth a few times, looking around at the others for explanation. Mario was shrugging, Zelda, facepalming, Peach, struggling not to laugh, and Luigi was back to just looking uncomfortable.
"Well, we're... we're supposed to run a couple of patrols up and down the ship every now and again," he said, still looking uncertain. "Hand out punishments if people are misbehaving... so you can guess I'll be springing on Ganondorf and Wario."
"I won't let you abuse that badge, Link," Zelda spoke up, looking firm. "There's a lot of meaning behind it, I won't let you disgrace-"
"Who's disgracing it?" Link shrugged, leaning back. "Besides Bowser, that is."
"So two wrongs make a right?"
"No, but three rights make a left," Link smirked. "Besides, it's Ganondorf and Wario we're talking about- I don't have to frame them for anything- they'll get into it all by themselves."
"That's an impartial way of thinking about it," Zelda scoffed.
Ignoring her, Link turned to Mario. "Hey, Mario, what say we give Wario some lines to copy out? Eh, eh? I must not walk around with a butt for a chin?"
Laughter went around the room at this, but the hardest laughter came, not from Mario, or from Peach, but from Melia, who absolutely fell apart, cackling almost like a witch. Tears were streaming from her eyes as Parakarry and Riki awoke and began looking around, afraid a hyena had somehow found its way aboard the ship.
Link blinked, turning to Peach. "Is... is she making fun of me?"
Peach shrugged, while Mario directed his attention to the magazine Melia had been reading. Looking at a list of headlines in the issue, one in particular caught Mario's eye- Roy Alluvia- A Villain? Or is he Just Drawn that Way?
Mario looked up at Melia, a spark of hope in his stomach. "Mind if I gloss over this real quick?"
Melia nodded, still laughing as she waved for him to go ahead.
Mario flicked it open. Sure enough, this magazine was the Alcamoth Times- the very magazine Gordon Freeman had given to Rusl to pass on to Roy. Finally, he found the article-
Roy Alluvia
Vile Mass Murderer or Beloved Rock and Roll Legend?
Fourteen years ago, a heinous crime took place- the murder of twelve muggles and two smashers, alongside the betrayal of two of the most prominent fighters in the war against the Great Darkness. At the time, there seemed to be little doubt that the perpetrator was none other than erstwhile friend of several of the victims, Roy Alluvia, whose life sentence in Subspace Prison ended two years ago with his startling escape. With the government commencing one of the largest manhunts in history for him, there seems little doubt in anyone's mind that Roy deserves every moment of suffering he endures at the hands of the floows... but does he?
To the Times' surprise, evidence has come to light that Mr. Alluvia may, indeed, be innocent of the crimes for which he was convicted. In fact, he may not have even been in the same country that the incident took place in.
"What many people fail to realize is that Roy Alluvia was leading a double life," says Hanna Clamp, London. "In one life, he is, indeed, Roy Alluvia, but in the other, he replaced Paul McCartney just after his death, many years ago, at which the Beatles have hinted at so many times. It was a great shock to me to see Paul in the paper, being sent to Subspace for those gruesome murders, especially considering that, at the time of the murders, we'd been enjoying dinner at the Rainforest Café. I have written to the Government, and expect them to give him a pardon any day now.
Mario blinked as the article came to a close. This... this was a joke, right? There was no way that article was meant to be taken seriously, was it? He knew the Miami Herald often had joke columns by Dave Barry... clearly, something similar was going on here. If he just turned the page, he'd find a much saner article, like...
The Checkered Past of Andrew Ryan
Andrew Ryan, current President of Smashing, has denied on several occasions that he has any animosity towards any of the various races that inhabit the world of the smashers. He has always insisted that he fully supports cooperation, not just between traditionally warring races, such as toads and goombas, but between smashers from all walks of life. However, his past and future plans may indicate something a tad more sinister.
A former issue of the Times has already revealed that Andrew Ryan was the 'Gunman from the Grassy Knoll' who truly assassinated John F. Kennedy all those years ago, framing alleged killer Lee Harvey Oswald. However, in said issue, we were unable to provide a motive for why he would do such a thing. Now, three months later, we have our answer.
Sources close to the President would indicate that Andrew Ryan has a secret ambition- to construct a city beneath the ocean, far away from the rest of civilization, where smashers specifically of the human race would congregate, to live under true laissez-faire principals- with no intervention from the government, where every person is entitled to the sweat on their brow. No doubt JFK came too close to the truth... One is now left to wonder what they will do when the time comes to determine who will scrub the toilets.
Mario stared. So... apparently, they thought President Ryan had secret plans for an underwater city that would shun any smashers not born as humans? Okay, he'd readily admit that he knew Ryan had his flaws, but this seemed ridiculous even to him. Was there a single sane article in this magazine?
Apparently, Zelda didn't think so- she snorted when she saw him flicking through it. "Oh, come on, Mario, why are you reading that? Every word printed in the Alcamoth Times is a load of bull, everyone knows it."
"Excuse me?" came Melia's voice, suddenly very cold. "My father decides what articles get into that paper."
Zelda's voice caught in her throat. "Well, on the other hand- that is to say, I mean..."
"If you're quite finished with it," Melia scoffed, snatching it back from Mario, who simply stared.
Before any further conversation could commence, the compartment door opened again, revealing Bowser Dragmire, flanked, as freaking ever, by Ganondorf and Wario.
"Once, just once, I'd like to enjoy a ride on the Great Fox without you three smegging it up," Mario muttered, turning to them. "Alright, say what you want and get out. Just be quick- it can't be much longer until we land."
"You'd best be showin' some respect, dawg," Bowser reprimanded, a smirk crossing his fang-filled mouth. "Time for you to bow down to yo' superiors and respect mah authoritah!"
"Thanks, Cartman," Peach scoffed.
"Now, now, Peach, don't be too harsh," Mario reprimanded her. "Cartman doesn't need you flinging that kind of mud on his name."
Bowser frowned. "Yo' pretty smug for losin' out ta Faron, homey. How's it feel to be second-best to the guy who has to forage through the dumpster fo' every meal?"
"Bowser, we realize you're trying to emulate gangsters," Zelda sighed, "but it really just comes across as... stupid."
"'Least I got somethin' o' my own," Bowser scoffed. "'Least I don't gotta skulk 'round Seatac like a flippin' dog, dawg. Well, that's all I gotta say. See y'all at the Smash Mansion."
Zelda quickly shut the door behind the 'Smash Mansion Dark Trio' as they left, chuckling. When she turned to Mario, he could see she shared his fears- was it just a coincidence that Bowser should refer to dogs skulking around Seatac the same day Roy arrived, disguised as an ancestor to the modern canine? He wished they could talk freely- unfortunately, however, Luigi and Melia were present, and while Melia might recognize Roy as Paul McCartney, there was no telling what Luigi would think.
The sky didn't seem to know what to do with itself as they continued their travel towards the Smash Mansion. It grew dark, foggy and gloomy, only for the sun to come out and break everything up, only for the clouds to consume it all over again. Mario had been eagerly awaiting his first sight of the Smash Mansion, but signs began to indicate it wouldn't be coming any time soon as the clouds finally came back and signaled their intention to stay by shedding some heavy rainfall.
Finally, the Great Fox landed on the ground with a light bump. Link and Zelda left prematurely, fulfilling their prefectual duties of overseeing the disembarking of the ship. Mario waited for Peach, Luigi, and Melia to make their final preparations, then headed out into the hall with them.
As they stepped out into the Kurain Village Airport, Mario kept his ears peeled for the long-awaited call of "Noobies! Noobies be comin' dis way! All da noobies be comin' ova heah!" But it never came.
Instead, there came another voice- a cold female one, calling out, "First years! All first years, over here! All first years to me!"
Mario looked through the darkness to spy Kjelle Sheh, the traditional substitute teacher of Smashing Creatures and Wildlife Manager when the Crazy Hand was absent. "Wh- where's Crazy?"
"No idea," Peach shrugged. "Come on, let's get up to the carriages..."
Mario felt cold as he followed Peach up the usual path. Where could Crazy have gone? Seeing the insane hand again was one of the things he'd been looking forward to the most! Maybe... maybe he just has a cold, or something. Right. He's not... he's not in any danger...
XXXX
"Comin' 'long, buddies! Brudda, come on! We gotsta get goin'- we gotta get out 'for dey be findin' us!"
"L...L...L...LOOOOOOOOOOOVE!"
XXXX
Peach led him up the hill to where the usual horseless carriages waited to carry them up to the Smash Mansion. As Peach looked around for Link and Zelda, Mario found himself face-to-face with... wait a minute.
The carriages... they were... well, they were still horseless, but... they were now being pulled by something. A very strange something that sent shivers down Mario's spine. They seemed to be floating black balls with a dark aura around them, but with faces... evil, wicked-looking faces... large, dark eyes, and wide, grinning mouths with two prominent fangs... Why? he couldn't help wondering. Why were these things suddenly so necessary to pull the carriages that had shown themselves, in the past, to be perfectly capable of independent movement?
"So, what do you think about Crazy?" came Link's voice from behind him. He turned to see the swordsman approaching. "I was surprised to see that Kjelle woman again..."
"Hard telling," Mario shook his head. "Here's hoping he's okay..."
"That son of a b****," came an agitated-sounding voice- Mario and Link both spun, wondering if Simon had somehow followed them, but no- it was Zelda. "Bowser," she established when she saw them gaping at her. "He was threatening to get that second-year back there expelled if he didn't get out of the carriage he wanted... this is going right to the Master Hand, no prefect should be acting like that..."
As the Golden Trio and Peach got into the carriage, Melia arrived. "Mind if I join you?" she asked.
Mario shrugged and reached out to help her up into the carriage, before turning to Link. "So, what do you think those things are?"
"Things? What things?" Link asked obliviously.
"Those balls pulling the carriage!" Mario pointed in front of them- Link was less than a foot from the one behind him.
And yet, when Link turned, looked, and turned back, it was with a look of confusion on his face. "What are you talking about?"
"They're right there!" Mario said agitatedly. "Right... freaking... there!"
When Link still looked confused, a sneaking suspicion began to overcome Mario. "You... you do see them... don't you?"
"What are you trying to show me?"
"The things pulling the carriages!"
Link blinked. "There's nothing pulling them, Mario. They're pulling themselves. Like always."
Mario was bewildered- he glanced at the floating orbs one last time- no, he couldn't be hallucinating... they were right there... weren't they?
For the second time that day, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Melia giving him the same look of sympathy Peach had given him earlier. "Don't worry about it," she spoke gently. "You're not going mad- I see them too. They've been here all along- I've been able to see them since my first year. You're just as sane as I am."
Mario would never say it out loud, but recalling the magazine she'd been reading earlier, along with the general sense of... 'out-there-ness' she'd been giving off... he didn't find that thought to be the most comforting in the world.
XXXX
So, how about that Civil War? I saw Civil War, it was a good Civil War, I think you guys should go see Civil War, too. Did I mention I like Civil War?
... Yeah, if you guys couldn't guess, I really enjoyed Captain America, Civil War. I got together with my family for Mother's Day and went to go see it- which happens to be part of why this chapter's coming out so much later than I said it would. Before we wrap things up here, though, a few quick answers to deal out, starting with... Feline Within!
Q: So, Rusl's a manakete? A: Well, I hadn't really thought about that, but then again, we never did establish what his power is...
Q: Did the Master Hand turn into his relative? A: Well, he certainly borrowed his clothes and some hairstyling tips. The rest of the resemblance was more down to simple genetics.
And, just a quick shout-out to Feline Within for guessing two things- correctly identifying, first off, the Haruhi Suzumiya chapter titles that we're beginning to see, and second, for guessing, way back at the end of Bottle of Lightning, that Melia would be Luna! Maybe some of you disagree with me, but going back and playing Xenoblade, she really stuck out to me- she's one of my favorite characters, and while she's not exactly like Luna, (obviously,) she shares enough traits with her that I couldn't think of anybody better suited. Hope you guys like her as much as I do!
Alright, that's about all for this chapter! Until next time, please R&R, constructive criticism embraced, flames, not so much, Gamer4 out!