~Chapter Two: Fighting Onward~

Mario honestly couldn't tell if he and his group were going around in circles or not. The scenery around them meshed their worlds together in a disorienting collage making it difficult to tell if they were making any progress or not. Captain Falcon had been oddly quiet the whole time, disturbing Mario greatly. Even though he'd never been a fan of how he flirted with every women in the mansion, he'd give anything to just hear something about how Samus was playing hard-to-get or how Lucina seemed eager to, ahem, "Go for a ride on Big Blue." Anything for just a hint of normalcy.

But no, his face was set in a tight frown and Mario could tell under his mask that he was glaring. He turned his attention towards the others in the group, Isabelle and four of the Villagers; Rose, Michael, Nori and Plum. The poor kids had joined hands as if reassuring themselves that their friends were still with them. Isabelle meanwhile held onto the spirit of her brother for dear life as if he'd float away if she let go.

Speaking of spirits... Cappy was gone. Mario hadn't realized it at first - too many other things going on after all - but the Bonneter that resided in his cap was nowhere to be found. He hoped his friend was somewhere in this awful mess they'd found themselves in.

"Mario," Captain Falcon broke the silence. The hard edge to his voice unnerved Mario enough to look up at him. "I'm just gonna be blunt with you, what the hell is your deal with Sonic right now? You clearly love him, he clearly loves you..." Captain Falcon threw his arms up in the air. "Isn't that normally when people start dating?"

Mario winced - Captain Falcon had a strong point. He helplessly shrugged. "It's... complicated. And not something I'm willing to go into around..." he glanced over at the Villagers hoping Captain Falcon would get the hint.

He did. Shaking his head Captain Falcon let out a frustrated sigh. "We're talking properly when we get the chance." he stopped, frowning. He squinted at something in the distance. "What's that?"

Mario followed his gaze to find an airplane on a tarmac in the middle of a pond. He blinked. "That's... odd. Is there a way to get to it?"

"We could use that boat!" Isabelle excitedly pointed out, referring to a small dinghy at the shoreline. Her smile quickly vanished though as, "But... there are no paddles."

"And using our hands to paddle wouldn't be that efficient either." Mario mused, crossing his arms.

"Kapp'n will be able to help!" Digby's spirit spoke up, twirling around the heads of the Smashers. "If we can find his spirit, then we'll be able to cross the lake, I'm sure of it!"

"Do you know where Kapp'n is?" Isabelle asked, tightly holding onto the hand of Rose who was just getting more and more upset by the situation by the minute. Digby hummed, floating a bit higher up into the sky in order to get a better look at their surroundings.

"I... don't know. I know he's around though, I can sense him." Digby paused. "It's like... all us spirits are connected to each other somehow."

"The other group might find him," Captain Falcon spoke up. "Looks like we have no choice but to come back later when we've found Kapp'n or someone else who can get us across. In the meantime we should see if we can find any more of our friends."

Mario turned to look back at the airplane as the group began to wander away. He just knew one of their fellow brethren was behind that barrier. "Don't worry, we'll free you soon enough." he murmured, unsure of whether he was trying to convince himself of that fact or not.

/~/

While Captain Falcon didn't outwardly show it, he was incredibly concerned for his group and the repercussions it would have on the little ones. He didn't want to see them suffer and it was bad enough Isabelle had to fight her own brother. And as for Mario and his relationship woes, he was resisting the urge to Falcon Punch him in the face. He may be smart in the field of medicine but not in the department of love.

...Then again, he wasn't exactly either. But still, after all the advice he'd given to Sonic and the advice Samus had given to Mario he had been expecting the two to rekindle their romance. But no, even though it was clear as day obvious they'd landed in an incredibly awkward friendzone.

It was infuriating and pissed Captain Falcon off more than he'd like to admit. He had an inkling of what had happened with them and Mario not wanting to talk about it around the Villagers seemed to confirm it, but that just led to more questions that made his head hurt.

Whatever, they were adults. Technically it was none of his business, just frustrating as a bystander watching it happen.

"Looks like we have more spirit battles." Mario spoke up, looking ahead to see the warped vessels of their friends with glowing red eyes glaring right at them. A chill shot down Captain Falcon's spine, one of them was him.

"We've got this!" Isabelle told the Villagers who nodded and brandished their weapons. Captain Falcon took a breath to ready himself and nodded at his group.

"Let's set them free!"

/~/

Liquid lava poured over his head, down his body to his feet. He was used to the feeling at this point, it happened with such frequency that it was more alarming when it didn't happen. He still couldn't remember anything, but felt the presence closest to him reaching out.

And so he tried to reach back, but couldn't quite make the connection. He could sense colors though, black and gold and blue coming from that presence.

Another wave of heat went through his body followed by a dull thunk. What was happening? Who was the other presence?

...

Was this... normal?

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SilverXephon: I'm happy this is continuing too! It's about time haha. Thank you for the review!