FINALLY! Man, I'm super excited to release this chapter! I know ALL OF YOU won't know who these characters are, but I don't expect you to. This is an introduction to another friend's story and his characters. Along with that, now this story has a cover! Sorry mobile users... but, woohoo! Enjoy!
-Joost
Shattering the Stars
Chapter 12: Rushing and Blushing
The early morning sun drenched the land in a soothing, warm light. There was a slight breeze drifting through the dense, bustling city, its inhabitants chattering away without a care in the world. On the outskirts of the metropolis stood a fine, reputed art academy, a couple of students rushing to class as the first bell rang. However, in the vast lot separating the two main buildings of the campus, a little turf war was raging on.
"AAAHH!" Ink splattered along the wall as someone ran to hide behind it, a boy, wearing a large gas mask. He huffed, his stunted breath fogging up his eyepieces. He waited urgently for his friends to join him behind cover, away from the enemy forces.
"FREDDY!" A girl screamed, diving for the wall and joining her friend. She ducked out of the way of the ink blasts and reformed behind cover, panting. Brushing her purple hair away from her eyes, she stared down at her friend with an annoyed rage. "Why'd you just dip, huh?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I panicked, alright? You know me!" Freddy replied meekly, peeking out from the wall to see what else was going on. He quickly pulled back, a little overstimulated. It took him a second to notice that his other teammates weren't present. "Wait, where's Amy and Crystal?"
"I dunno! They were right behind m- Oh there they are," the purple gal pointed across the parking lot, seeing her friends rush ink a wall and climb up to hide on the above ledge. There was a small, measly alcove that gave the pair a little bit of room to breathe.
"Okay, good, we're all here. Violet, do you still have your armor?" Freddy turned to his friend, but she quickly scoffed at his words and put on a sassy expression.
"Look around us, Freds!" Violet gestured to the lack of their team's ink along the playing field. "Do you think I have it charged?!"
"R-Right, sorry… I just know we had a plan and all…" Freddy retreated into himself at Violet's harsh attitude. He thought for a moment that she had managed to get some ink along their turf, but apparently he was wrong. Looking down at his weapon, the trusty, custom E-Liter he so cherished, thought about his options. "I mean… I still have my special!"
"And it's Baller, you dork! What's that gonna do?" Violet didn't think Freddy's ability would be very helpful with the four of them pinned down. Baller had a good history of being useless, at least in Freddy's hands.
"Well, actually, I had an idea-" Freddy smirked under his mask, then turned to shout towards his other two friends. They were still hiding up above, Amy occasionally using her Dualies to counter some of the incoming ink. "Amy! Crystal!"
"Huh? Yeah, Freddy? What is it?" Crystal peered over the edge of the metal grating, keeping as low as she could so she wouldn't be an easy target. She couldn't really fight back at the moment, her weapon specializing in close-range combat.
"Uh, oh! Remember when we were doing Rainmaker here a while back? When we planned out those distractions?" Freddy knew he was reaching a bit, calling back to a match that had happened over a year ago, but he always remembered it vividly. Using his mask to help focus, he had a layout of the area in his head and mustered up an idea. It had the off chance of working out, if everything worked out.
"Yeah, why?" Crystal asked from afar.
"Didn't we lose that match?" Violet asked Freddy, equally humored and confused.
"Well this is different, alright? Shush," Freddy frowned at Violet's remark, then turned back to shout at his friends. He was coming up with the strategy on the spot, but it felt like it had some merit, at least to him. "Okay, well, this time I'll be the distraction! Violet can signal you when it's time to attack! Alright?"
"Whatever you say, Freddy!" Amy yelled as she reached to pull Crystal back further onto the platform, away from the ink sailing by.
With a deep breath, Freddy activated his special, having just enough ink around the arena to do so. Encasing himself in the plastic ball, he rolled out of cover and into the open, the enemy inklings taking notice right away. They concentrated all fire on Freddy just so the Baller wouldn't burst, nearing them as his timer counted down. It'd be too late for them to realize it was a trap, and right as the Baller exploded, three of the four enemy teammates were splatted at once.
"Go, now!" Violet shouted to Amy and Crystal, the two agents immediately jumping from the ledge and onto their turf. They quickly finished off the last member of the team, leaving the entire arena theirs for the taking.
Freddy raced up onto higher ground and parked himself with his E-Liter, using his careful sniping skills to keep the enemies at bay from a distance. Violet, always confident with her Undercover Brella, kept her finger on the trigger, letting the ink fly. Lastly, Amy and Crystal worked their magic, the inseparable pair keeping each other safe with the far reaching Dualies and the close-up Octobrush. Liquid soared through the air like a whimsical melody, the group's confidence rising with every second. It'd been some time since they had worked together in tandem so effortlessly, but when they all had the same goal, fate almost seemed to be on their side.
Three seconds remained, then two, then one! Then finally, the buzzer screamed, ending the match and both teams ceasing their assault. It was finally over. Back on the metro, the opposing forces waited as the judges tallied up the score, trying their best to hide their eagerness to receive the results. Judd and Lil Judd paused for effect, until suddenly the senior of the two prevailed, signaling that Team Inkstrike had won.
"BOOYAHH!" Amy shouted with joy, dropping her Dualies and jumping into the air. Pride flooded in like a tsunami on the team, cheers and excitement going around as the other team just grumbled at their loss.
As Team Inkstrike left the train station and reentered Deca Tower, Violet, feeling a little generous on this particular day, struck up an offer with her friends. "Hey guys, I was thinking… When we get to town, since we won and stuff, how about a couple of drinks at the Crust Bucket, on me?" She wore an odd, but welcoming smile as the others thought about it. Breakfast was just an hour ago, but what harm could a few drinks do to their appetite.
"Really? You, Violet, are paying?" Amy knew how much Violet loved to spend, mainly on things just for herself, so hearing that she'd treat the rest of the gang to food was cause for suspicion.
"Yeah, I am, what of it?" Violet raised an eyebrow, talking with sly, knowing smirk. "I'm feeling… uhm, what's the word," She put a hand to her chin. "Oh! Charitable. I'm feeling charitable today, so I'd take the offer while it stands if I were you."
Amy, Crystal, and Freddy all shared a glance, before returning their eyes to Violet. The purple-haired inkling just grinned, completely aware that her friends wouldn't pass up the opportunity for free drinks. They all just smiled as they left the lobby, walking out into the brisk, cool air blanketing Inkopolis Square. Friendly faces were seen all around, Team Inkstrike being a little on the popular side of the media spectrum.
The whole team eagerly waited in line at the Crust Bucket, Crusty Sean, the owner of the food truck, working hard to serve each and every of his customers. He whipped up various foods branded with some rather silly naming schemes: Shwaffles and Seanwiches. Nobody really minded, though, as the food tasted wonderful, and even came with some hidden benefits for those skilled enough to tap into them.
"Hey, what's kracken, you four? What'll it be?" Crusty Sean knew Team Inkstrike well, as they were frequent customers to the truck. Violet casually walked in front of the others and pulled out her wallet.
"Four of the usual drinks, please," Violet said, digging around in her bottomless pit of a wallet. "I'll be paying up front, this time, got it?"
"Maybe a Galactic Seanwich for us to share?" Freddy inched up from behind and asked Sean quietly. Sean simply looked over at Violet.
"Freddy!" Violet snapped, wearing a nasty, angered expression on her face. She didn't want to use too much money. Another look back at her friends forced her to reluctantly at the Seanwich to the order, forking over another pile of coins to pay for the entire meal. Amy and Crystal beamed with happiness, thankful that Freddy of all people had the courage to ask.
"Alright, peace!" Crusty Sean put together the order in no time at all, waving goodbye as the team left to sit at an appropriately sized table to feast. Violet grumbled at the amount of money she was forced to spend, but secretly, she enjoyed seeing the looks of joy along her companions' faces.
Amy, Crystal, Violet, and Freddy all sat down at a table and splayed out their drinks and food along the metal surface. They each took their favorite flavors and set the huge sandwich at the center of the table to tear apart as they so pleased.
"Ah, this…" Crystal sighed as she took a sip of her drink. "This is nice."
"Yeah," Amy smiled.
"Mhm," Violet and Freddy said simultaneously.
For a while, the whole team just sat out in the open at their table, enjoying the weather while it lasted. Apparently a storm was coming later that night, so the bright, just slightly cloudy sky wouldn't last forever. A few birds chirped as they flew near the large sandwich, the group needing to shoo them away if they got too close, just in case they tried stealing their food. They were crafty like that. Regardless of the nuisances, the four enjoyed the day, the solitude away from all the other inklings a breath of fresh air.
The air itself started to pick up, in fact. A couple of trashed newspapers floated through the wind before another gust came. With the strengthened breeze, a few of the napkins on the table with the sandwich were stolen by the wind, flying away and across the vacant street. Amy, Crystal, Violet, and Freddy all looked to each other before quickly putting their fingers to their noses.
"Not it," Violet said first, as if she was prepared.
"Not it," Amy followed.
"N-Not it!" Freddy was the most worried about being dead last in the little competition. All that remained was one more.
"Huh? Wha-?" Crystal saw that she was the only one not with a finger on their nose, meaning only one thing. "Oh, crap!" The octoling blushed at the sight of all her friends looking at her expectantly before she scooted from her chair with annoyance. "Why am I always last? I can never have good reflexes, can I?" she whined, standing up and taking her drink with her.
"Sorry, nothing personal," Freddy said bashfully.
"Gotta be ready for it," Violet added.
Crystal said nothing as she went to gather up all the scattered napkins. She bent down and picked them up one by one, until the last few were caught up in the wind again and flew further down the street, landing right by the mouth of an empty alleyway. With a groan, Crystal followed, knowing her friends were notoriously messy and would need all the napkins. She grabbed one, but her senses went on alert, her ears picking up something rustling around in the alley before her.
"What the-?" Crystal mumbled as she took a cautious step forward, trying to see what had caused the noise.
"P-Poyo?" A little creature said, its body colored very similarly to Crystal's own hair.
"AH!" Crystal leaped back with a start, dropping her drink and falling to the ground. She instinctively started to scoot away from whatever her eyes had landed on, but one closer look at it caused all her fear to wash away.
The creature was a round, stout, pink little fellow, with large, adorable blue eyes, glistening like the ocean. It looked distressed, just as cautious about Crystal as she was of it. For a moment, it stared, until quickly hiding, tending to something just out of sight.
"Crystal?" Amy called out, having heard her girlfriend's shout. "Is everything alright over there?"
"Uh, guys?!" Crystal shouted, standing on her feet and ignoring her spilled drink. Her interests were far too invested in whatever she had encountered in the alley, slowly sneaking further in to check it out. Something about that little creature resonated with her.
"Hey, Crystal? What's going on?" Freddy joined Amy and tried to find Crystal, equally worried. They caught up with their octoling friend and tapped her on the shoulder, bringing her out of her trance. "Hey, what happened? Why'd you scream?"
Crystal just pointed to the alley, the sound of a trash bag falling out of the nearby dumpster validating her worry. Amy and Freddy slowly snuck around, Crystal right behind them to investigate, wondering what the matter could've been. What they found was almost hallucinatory, Freddy nearly fainting at the sight. It wasn't a dream. It couldn't have been a dream.
On the ground laid a tired man, clad in a deep but vibrant green, a sword and shield on his back. Next to him sat two unconscious men, both beaten up and wounded. They were overalls, their shirts red and green respectively. On their heads were little white emblems, those being the letters of their first names. Finally, there was a little, purple fairy, trying to heal the green fellow in the overalls.
"Poyo…" The pink creature said dejectedly.
"Is-Is that… Kirby?" Freddy asked, coming out of his delirium, recognizing the pink creature from all the video games he played.
Just twenty minutes before, in the exact same alley, everything was silent. A couple of birds sat on an above windowsill, one keeping the eggs in the nest warm. The other bird had something in its beak, a worm, which it waited to feed to its mate when it decided it was hungry. There wasn't a soul to be seen beyond the entrance to the alley, the place not a particularly good hangout spot.
Suddenly, a blinding flash scared the male bird, flying up into the air and away from the danger, while its mate still stayed put, determined to keep its eggs warm. A bright blue tear in reality opened, the dimensional doorway taking on a distinct star shape. The rift lingered on the ground for a moment, before a faint echo came from beyond.
"AAH- Ow!" Luigi landed on the ground with a thud, his brother, Mario, right on top of him. The red plumber flailed around, trying to escape his brother's surprisingly strong grasp. Then, Kirby jumped through, joining the Mario Brothers.
"Poyo!" Kirby watched as Mario fought against Luigi, his eyes glazed over with concern. He nearly went to help them calm down, but then turned back to see Link exit from the portal at last, Tael right behind him.
"Alright, there," Link said exhaustedly, swinging the Ultra Sword to close the portal. He made sure the portal was gone, certain that he and his allies were safe from Shatterhand's forces. The first thing his mind raced to was what they were going to do next, his own senses failing to alert him to something coming from right behind. "Okay, we should be fine for now. Kirby, Tael, you guys-"
Mario punched Link right in the face, sending the Terminian to the ground ungracefully.
"What the hell was that for?!" Link shouted in response. He got no answer, instead receiving a kick in the stomach from the plumber's boot. Without any remorse, Mario grabbed ahold of Link's collar and brought him up so they could see face-to-face. There, he decked him again, making sure Link stayed down on the ground where he thought the 'hero' belonged.
"Take us back! We can't just leave that guy to kill everyone!" Mario was livid, going for another punch before Luigi and Kirby stopped him, using all their strength to stop the force of his enraged fist. "How- How could you do that, huh?! What makes you think you can… you can…"
Mario's screams of hatred slowly devolved into incoherent stutters, then into a broken sob. He fell to his knees and began to cry, thoughts of what Shatterhand would do to Peach now that there was no one there to defend the Mushroom Kingdom infecting his mind. Terror swelled inside Mario's mind as his entire body went limp, crumping to the ground and panting. Luigi witnessed for the first time that his brother's fortified confidence be completely desiccated and destroyed by an enemy.
"You know…" Link groaned, slowly standing up, towering over Mario. "The only reason I did that was because if we stayed any longer, we'd would've been killed. Then there'd be no-one! No-one to defend any of our homes!" Link retaliated, tackling Mario out of Luigi's arms and falling down with him, getting into a childish fistfight.
Grunts came from the two grown men as they wrestled with each other on the ground, all their honor completely wasted. Emotion surged through their veins as they took all their anger out on the other, their scuffle doing nothing to quell the direness of the situation.
"Guys! Quit it!" Luigi shouted, only to get shoved aside.
"Irk- GAH!" Mario pushed Link off him and the two stood on opposite ends of the alley, staring at each other like wild, ferocious animals. "To think I was- I was willing to work with you. You're some hero… 'my friend'!"
Mario lunged at Link, clinging onto Link's left side like a child unwilling to leave their parent, only far more aggressive. They again struggled, Mario digging one hand into Link's pocket and using the other to grab his hand, trying to force him to fall. The pocket eventually tore, a small piece of paper flying out and drifting away. Mario felt something on Link's hand and thoughtlessly ripped it off his finger, the sound of a small, metal object dinking onto the pavement, right alongside the paper.
"Wha- Huh?" Mario stopped his squabble with Link and let go of his tunic, looking at the two objects on the ground. One looked like a wedding ring, the other a photo of a woman he didn't recognize. "Is that-"
Link hit Mario as hard as he could, sending him crashing into the brick wall across from them and slumping over, unconscious. Breathing heavily, Link went over and picked up his wedding ring, putting it back on and stuffing the photo of his wife into his untattered pocket. Link's words were filled with disdain, "You have no idea… who I'm fighting for, plumber! Who I had to leave just to start this goddess-forsaken journey!"
There, Link's exhaustion easily caught up with him. He had completely forgotten all the wounds he had gotten from the battle against Shatterhand, his arms riddled with cuts and face bruised from Mario's punches. Slowly, he sat down against the wall, next to Mario, and fell asleep, his body too worn down to keep going.
"Poy…" Kirby whispered, tears in his eyes. "Poyooo…"
Luigi and Tael looked at their friends with deep concern. Tael had only seen such rage come from Link when he faced his darker half. Luigi, on the other hand, hadn't seen such an emotional side of his brother ever.
"Where even are we?" Luigi finally asked, looking around the alleyway.
"I… I don't know," Tael started. Quickly he turned to Luigi, looking at how he clutched his chest. "But you, you need to rest too!"
"What? Why?" Luigi asked.
"Well, you have a broken rib, remember? I'm surprised you can even stand!"
"Oh yeah…" Luigi looked at himself, how he unknowingly held his damaged chest. "I honestly kinda forgot about that…" The reality of how much he had been through finally settled down on him. "Actually, some rest doesn't sound so bad…"
Luigi staggered forward and collapsed, just as tired as his brother. "Just… Just five minutes…"
Kirby and Tael were all that remained of the team, the others in no condition to continue. They needed to find something, some place, or someone to help them. One look between the fairy and the pink puffball just confirmed that they were thinking the same thing.
Tael rubbed his hands together and flew down to help Luigi, using his limited healing abilities that he had been granted from his mother's side of the family. As he worked and Kirby surveyed the area, the fairy thought to when he first tried healing, back on Link when he returned to the Stock Pot Inn, bloodied up and barely awake. That terrible day he had in Ikana, after the defeat of Majora. Such an effort back then tired Tael out, but now it was seamless, his mastery over his own abilities allowing him to be a critical ally despite being unable to fight. He felt useful at last.
"What the-" A foreign voice said.
"P-Poyo?" Kirby said quietly, hearing some footsteps approaching. Tael hid behind the dumpster as whoever had found them yelped in surprise. Kirby joined Tael, out of sight from the stranger, until another voice came from the distance.
"Crystal?"
"It's just not possible…" Freddy concentrated aloud as he paced around the living room of Violet's large, whole-floor apartment, hand on his chin. Amy and Crystal just watched him walk around the room over and over again for the past half an hour, mumbling to himself.
"Uh, Freddy? You've been… at this for a little while now," Crystal said worriedly as her eyes tracked him, "You… You gonna tell us what's on your mind?"
Freddy continued to ramble to himself, his footsteps clearly imprinted on the luxury carpet. He didn't want to ignore his friends, however the absolute insanity of what they all discovered just a few hours before still racked his brain. Violet had gladly offered for them to stay at her place, surprisingly. Freddy noticed that she seemed to be weirdly fascinated by Link. The fact that he could describe one of the men they found as the Link simply blew his mind.
Amy grew fed up with Freddy's long bout of silence and got up, walked over to him, and snapped her fingers in front of his mask, startling him. "I know I shouldn't do that, but we need to talk. What's got you so… distracted?"
"I just…" Freddy could barely manage his own thoughts, let alone discuss it. At first he thought to was just really, really convincing cosplay, but seeing the wounds along their bodies proved that it couldn't be. "N-No… It couldn't have been Sheldon, why would Sheldon bring them here…"
"Freddy, what- What are you talking about? What's Sheldon got to do with this?" Crystal hopped off the couch and joined Amy.
"Is it…" Freddy went wide-eyed and gasped, "Is it a new Smash game? Are they here to invite…?" Freddy quickly determined that such an idea was silly. He moved away from Amy and Crystal and continued to pace around the living room, much to the chagrin of his friends. "Why would they have already been fighting if they were going to invite us? Stupid…"
"AAAAAAAAHHH!" Violet screamed from the hallway. Immediately Amy, Crystal, and Freddy rushed to see what had happened and why she had screamed. When they saw her, they stopped, and all wore the same, baffled stare. Violet had her hands to her cheeks, a crimson blush accompanying her smile.
"Ooo! Guys, guys! Look!" Violet had the door closed, muffling her scream of joy. She gathered the others close to her and looked into the bedroom beyond, letting them get a glimpse of the sleeping Kirby. "Isn't he just the cutest thing?"
"Alright, that's enough," Amy grabbed Freddy and Violet's arms and pulled them aside. "You two have been acting really weird since all this started. Like, really, really weird!" Amy pointed to Freddy, "First of all, I've never seen you nerd out so hard about something," Then she pointed to Violet, "And second, you were WAY to eager to let these strangers stay here, and to top it all off, you're acting too… too cutesy right now…"
Freddy and Violet looked to each other for a moment, realizing that Amy was right. The blue inkling knew something the others didn't, and Violet's change in attitude was apparent even to her. There needed to be some explanations for why they were acting so off kilter.
"I'm sorry, Amy, j-just…" Violet opened the door again, seeing Kirby sleep peacefully. "Like you have to admit that's pretty adorable, right?"
Amy crossed her arms, "Yeah, but what about the other one? The tall, green one. We all noticed how you looked at him when you first saw him, didn't we?"
"I mean, yeah, I did," Crystal commented.
"True, it was a little weird…" Freddy added. Violet just started blushing again, avoiding eye contact with Amy or the others.
"No, no, it's not like that," Violet masked herself with a veil of coolness, walking over to the room that the Terminian was sleeping in and opening the door slightly. "I just thought…" Violet, almost right away, fell into a trance when she laid her eyes on Link again, watching him stir in his sleep.
"My point exactly," Amy closed the door before Violet could act any creepier. "You, my friend, you like him!"
"What?! No, I don't like him, he's just…" Violet trailed off, her blush intensifying. Amy just glared at her vacantly, waiting to be proven correct. In fact, Violet's silence already proved her correct, and the longer the purple inkling stalled, the more obvious it became.
Behind Amy, Freddy started to zone out again, his thoughts running back to just how to explain everything in front of him.
"Hey, Freds, don't think I forgot about you!" Amy turned around to question Freddy, still wondering why he had been so quiet about the events unfolding. He seemed to know a lot more about these mysterious people than the rest of the team. "I wanna know what's on your mind, okay? There's something you're not telling us!"
"Well, it-it's hard to explain," Freddy stated, his voice delicate and nervous. Amy cocked an eyebrow, thinking she could take it. "You guys don't really play video games, so you don't know just who these guys all are!"
"Wait, wait, they're just from video games?" Crystal put her hand on Freddy's shoulder. "Freds, why didn't you tell us? Those games you play are simple, right?"
"A little bit, yeah, but these guys were… different…" Freddy couldn't put his finger on how they were different exactly, but something about the vibe they gave off told him that there was so much more than just the stories from the games they apparently hailed from. "Way, way too different to just be from the stuff I've seen, you know…?"
"What do you mean, 'different'?" Amy asked.
"Look at Link," Freddy went over to do the door and peeked inside the room. Violet did her best to refrain from gushing over the sight of the hero asleep, but Freddy pointed out something he had noticed the second he saw him, back in the alley. "His hair isn't supposed to have that silver streak, and his hand. He has a ring on! He might be married!"
"Wait… he might be married?" Violet's face became engulfed with horror as she repeated Freddy's words.
"None of the Link's from any of the games have been married, so there's something very different about him, and perhaps the others, too!" Freddy closed the door, letting Link get some proper sleep. "All of this is just making me so confused…" The inkling sighed, rubbing his temples, trying to ease his headache. "Look, it's really late, we're all tired, and I think we should get some sleep. We can meet up tomorrow, and if they're awake, ask more questions."
"Amy, let's get some sleep. Freddy's right," Crystal yawned loudly, "I'm tired…"
"Crystal, I-" Amy never liked to argue with Crystal. She was also tired of simply thinking about all the madness surrounding her. Taking Crystal's hand, Amy smiled, starting to walk out of the hall.
"Poyo?" A small sound was heard. Kirby, rubbing his tired eyes, looked up at the three inklings and octoling, wondering what was going on.
"Uh… Hey, buddy…" Freddy addressed Kirby nervously, fighting not to act all nerdy and such.
"Oh… my… gosh…" Violet pushed past Freddy and picked Kirby up. He was squishy and malleable, like rubber, but also gave off the warmth of life. It was weird to think that something so cute could really live, but Violet didn't care. She hugged Kirby and held him like most would hold Judd or Lil Judd and walked off with him to the living room to watch something on her phone with him.
"I need to rest, my brain hurts," Freddy said to himself as he, Amy, and Crystal left Violet's apartment, heading to their own and finally getting some sleep. Tomorrow would surely be an interesting day.
Amy, Crystal, Freddy, and Violet all belong to Kirbnation1 on Twitter!