Post by bobsnicket on Sept 27, 2008 19:48:23 GMT -5
Chapter 16: The Fortress
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{3} Trophy Attack
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themushroomkingdom.net/sounds/mid/dk64_rambi_theme.mid
Rambi the Rhino charged through the Link Frames with Young Link on his back, knocking them aside with his bulk and horn. Above, the Great Fox continued to rain destruction upon the Wire Frames, which were now scattered about randomly; Metal Link, however, had vanished completely.
“Yahoo!” Inside the Great Fox, Peppy did a little dance as his piloting skill saw to the end of yet another cluster of Link Frames. “I haven’t had this much fun since--OW, my back! Dagnabbit!” The old hare cringed as his foolish sudden movement took its toll on his spine. He sat back down and refocused on the battle.
Meanwhile, the rhino carried Young Link across the field of fallen Horse Frames and Link Frames, most of them either decapitated or incinerated, and finally reached the only colored figures out of the whole field. Rambi came to a skidding halt next to Link and Epona, allowing Young Link to dismount. “Thanks, Rambi.” But then he saw his older self. “Link! No!” The boy ran up to the dying figure.
Rambi gave them a sad sympathizing look, but then narrowed his eyes, turned to the nearest Wire Frames, and charged away.
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50 Midna's Theme.mp3
Young Link knelt down and tried to pull out the Biggoron Sword from Link’s chest, but this only caused the Hero of Time to scream in pain. “Aaargghh!!!”
The Kokiri boy began to cry, not knowing what to do. He looked over at Epona, but all that was left was a smoldering horse skeleton--the metal sword which should have been sticking through the middle was gone. But, of course, Young Link did not know that. He just shook his older self until Link’s eyes opened halfway and spoke in a faint voice.
“Hey, kid…don’t worry about me…even though you are me, we both have separate fates…because we live in separate times. Save Zelda…even Ganondorf…don’t let the Alliance fail…and don’t forget the power of the Triforce of Courage…” Link lifted his left arm and matched it up to Young Link’s; on the backs of both hands glowed the golden triangle which they both possessed. But then one of the triangles faded away, and the hand which had hosted it fell to the ground.
Young Link’s child-like thoughts were first of disbelief, then despair, then self-blame, then anger, then hatred, and finally of vengeance. He suddenly stood with flames in his eyes, unsheathed his Kokiri Sword, and ran out into the everlasting struggle of war.
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www.sound-test.org/soundtracks/banjo/banjo-kazooie/
11. Gruntilda's Lair (Primary Theme)
The Star Fox Team and Star Warriors did not dare venture any further into Master Hand’s Room, for they, like the rest, were deeply intimidated by the scene before them. So, after the mouse hole was shut, the three Arwings and fifty warriors landed not far away, and awaited further direction from those in the front. This included those who had been here before as prisoners during a time which seemed so long ago: namely Marth, Mario (still piggybacking his infant self), Nana (Popo was close behind), and Ness (quivering in fear and anxiety). The four heroes, with the rest clustered a few yards behind, could not believe that after the terrible things they had witnessed here, they were now returning to the very place in which they’d been imprisoned. For a long while, everyone simply stared at the disproportionate expanse beyond.
It was as if one had been shrunk to the size of an ant, but in reality, everything was just bigger. The vast stretch of empty floor space constituted about sixty percent of the room, and from end to end it was about a mile and a half long and the same distance wide. And the walls rose up to nearly half that amount. Along the right wall were the colossal shelves bearing the various Nintendo gaming systems the same size as they had been inside the Dimension Conflux with the SONY television in the center having a screen larger than the most imposing of theater or drive-in screens. Along the left-hand wall was a gigantic four-poster bed, above which were several posters depicting images of some of Nintendo’s most famous of characters, including even some of those down below. In the far left corner was a corner-fitted wooden desk complete with a lamp, clock, computer, pencil holder, and assortment of paper documents. Finally, in the very center of Master Hand’s Room was the great table on which towered Master Hand’s fortress. It was built of dark grey stone, only had windows which were dark and barred, and was very square in shape with flat square battlements consisting of traditional crenels and merlons. There was no flag or insignia visible, and from their current position, neither the contents of the table nor the entrance of the fortress could be seen.
Nothing within the range of experience of all those who had just entered Master Hand’s Room could ever match the awkward dauntingness which made each individual feel so small and insignificant as to the point where they began to doubt their ability to continue their mission. This place, if it were shrunken to a normal size, would simply look to be a common combination of an office and a bedroom with a castle model on a table; but as it was, they felt every bit as terrified as did the boy from Jack and the Beanstalk while traversing the giant’s household. It seemed to make their goal impossible.
The silent emptiness of Master Hand’s lair also added to the suspense. Some had half-expected to find the room filled with even more Wire Frames, but it was completely empty. After the long period of awe had passed, however, Mario took up leadership and snapped the Alliance soldiers and heroes out of their hopeless trances.
“Let’s a-go!” the plumber urged, stepping forward. After movement had finally been made, everyone else worked up the courage to follow.
“I think I’ll stay here,” Roy called from the very back next to the mouse hole. “In case something happens…” This was not an act of cowardice by any means; it was merely a sensible volunteering to guard and protect the single entrance into the room, regardless of it being locked. Marth handed the red-haired prince the key before they continued on.
For everyone else, the long apprehensive trek across Master Hand’s Room had begun. They went at a very brisk pace, but not at a charge; each soldier, hero, Star Warrior, and pilot was extensively wary of their surroundings, searching constantly to detect any kind of movement. But there seemed to be nothing in their way or blocking their path. It was as if Master Hand had invited them to his room, instead of the invasion this was supposed to be. So they went on for at least an hour or two before they reached the legs of the giant table and finally had to decide what to do next.
And, of course, the two most experienced climbers in the Nintendo World were the ones who stepped forward with the solution. Popo rode on the wing of Fox’s Arwing to the very top of the table, jumped off, and holding one end, threw down his climbing rope to Nana far below. For most anyone else, the drop from this table would seem terrifying, being over a hundred feet above the ground, but for the Ice Climbers, height was all they lived for.
After setting up harnesses, end knots, and several soldiers on belay, Popo and Nana gave the go-ahead for people to start climbing. Nana remained at the bottom, instructing them on how to hold the rope and use it to ascend. Mario, Marth, and the other heroes went first, followed by the soldiers. The horses had to be left below; even the giant nail to which Popo had tied the end of the rope would not be strong enough to pull the weight of such animals. A steady line of climbers had soon formed, taking about five minutes for each individual to reach the top of the table.
Meanwhile, the three Arwings helped quicken the process by taking constant trips on their Arwings from the floor of the room to the tabletop, bearing four persons on each round. Luckily they had filled their ships’ fuel tanks to the brim for this war, or else they never would have been able to stay aloft so long. Meta Knight led the Star Warriors in a vertical formation which were up in moments, waiting on the table for the rest. For hours on end these methods were put to use non-stop, slowly decreasing the number of fighters still on the bottom and increasing those at the top.
Finally, after Nana had pushed herself over the wooden edge of the table and pulled up the rope, the five hundred Hylian and Fire Emblem soldiers were all clustered in the corner of the enormous table along with the heroes and resting from their tiring climb. The only ones who didn’t seem fatigued and in need of a few minutes’ rest were the Star Warriors and the Ice Climbers themselves. But although successful, this tedious task took a large amount of time. Outside the room, the sun was already beginning to set. King Dedede was commanding the armies of Dreamland to retreat; Mr. Dragon Patch was firing his final succession of flaming beach balls; E. Gadd was pursuing his evil cousin through the perils of Reeka’s factory. They had consumed a great amount of time already, and hadn’t yet even reached the fortress. Time was now of the essence after their necessary rest.
Now that they were on the table, the contents of the surface could be seen. But unlike in the beginning of this story, the forest model in front of the Fortress was no longer there. In fact, it was now completely barren, polished white like a normal-sized tabletop, except for the rows and columns of objects lined up before it. Nothing moved before them nor appeared to stand in their way to the two black stone doors at the front of the fortress. So, as the heroes led the army forward once more following their rest, they were taken aback as they realized what these ordered objects were.
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264 SSE Dungeon.mp3
Trophies. Hundreds of them, lined up perpendicularly all across the table. Standing on each of the circular trophy stands were many familiar objects, creatures--and people; from every realm of the Nintendo World and Universe, Master Hand’s collection sent a chill down the spines of each of the invaders as they walked slowly past each row. They recognized Chunky Kong, The Master (from the Toad Town Dojo), Birdo, Darknut, Megaman, Andrew Oikonny, Wario, Waluigi, and Sonic the Hedgehog from the list of those missing after the Battle of Fourside. But there were many, many others, and about a third were inanimate objects such as a Fire Flower or Screw Attack. All sorts of creatures from Hyrule, the Kingdoms, Dreamland, the jungle, and space could be seen. Many inanimate Space Pirates seemed to silently threaten those passing by with their mutated insect-like features. It was a very unnerving thing for Mario and Luigi to walk past the Wario Bros, posing obliviously and completely lifeless. Shadow stopped again at Sonic’s trophy and spoke quietly under his breath, “Don’t worry, Sonic; soon we will bring you back.”
Some of the heroes noticed a spot on the wooden surface different from the rest, covered with some incredibly hard white substance (super glue?). They knew that below this, no doubt, was the hole which led to the old Resistance HQ, mysterious because the tunnel descended from the top of a table but went down and down underground instead of coming out through the table’s underside.
Another thing they noticed: the trophies of Pikachu, Peach, Samus, Captain Falcon, and potentially Zelda were nowhere to be found.
When at last they had reached the end of the life-sized trophy collection, organized like statues in a courtyard, the dark stone doors were before them. But instead of knobs, in place of them were white hands with open palms, just daring anyone to twist them. No one wanted to touch much less grab such uninviting hands, even if they were not real. But it had to be done. Mario and Marth approached the doors timidly but bravely, slowly reaching out to grasp the white hands…
They each grabbed a hand, twisted it, and with a heave, began pulling outwards. But as soon as the white hands had been touched, a surge of some invisible force swept across the entire room, causing some to shudder. And then, before the two heroes could pull the heavy doors open any further, panicking yells erupted behind them. They turned around to behold a truly disturbing scene.
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55 Ridley.mp3
The hundreds of armored soldiers, clustered throughout the Trophy collection, were in an uproar. For several, even dozens of what had been thought to be inanimate objects were now showing signs of life--unfriendly signs of life. Each of the grotesque Space Pirates had suddenly cease their pretense of being frozen in place atop Trophy Stands, and ambushed the soldiers, killing several immediately with energy scythes, Phazon-powered weapons, and other unfairly matched means of destruction. They advanced mercilessly, letting out cruel inhumane roars as they defied the many jabs from steel swords which were far from able to penetrate their superior armor. Even though they were not many, about 24 different mutations, only the weakest of Pirate Militia were at all harmed by the soldiers’ defense. Fox, Falco, and Slippy had to exit their Arwings before they could lend their assistance, for it would not do for them to fire Arwing blasts which could harm their own.
And as if that weren’t enough, across the room on the computer desk, a purple beam blasted through the computer monitor in the direction of the table, missing, but shattering the screen and revealing what was hidden inside. It was Mother Brain, the debatable commander of the Space Pirates. Her huge, spiked, slimy mass had been awaiting their arrival with the other Space Pirates the entire time, inside the massive computer monitor which served as her energy source. The single dark throbbing eye in her front had been what had shot the beam, and already she was preparing to fire a second.
And far below, appearing from behind a towering trash can, the 65 foot, 110 ton reptilian monster known as Kraid stomped terribly towards the mouse hole, with only a single person to defend it--Roy. The prince was frightened beyond belief, thinking that he would fight the Black Knight any day as opposed to this, but bravely raised his sword infused with the powers of fire.
Naturally, Marth, Mario, and the other heroes were temporarily stunned at the entrance to the fortress. But then Marth shouted over the chaos in a commanding voice, “Mario; Luigi; infants; Ness; bomb-wielding man in a space suit; Pac-man; Popo; Nana; Shadow. You must all go on. Now, while there’s still time. I must stay to defend my people as long as I live. But you are the only ones left to complete the mission; hurry! I know not how long these space fiends can be held off. No matter what happens, defeat Master Hand and Crazy Hand and find a way to reverse the effects of the Trophy Transformer. I bid thee all farewell.” Not one to be swayed, Marth dashed away from the fortress into the masses of soldiers towards the nearest Space Pirate, not expecting to survive.
Mario and the rest were aghast, but knew Marth was right. The red plumber, with a heave, pulled the door outwards until the opening was wide enough for them to enter. “Let’s a-go!”
“Waaaah, ho hwa huaa!” Luigi wailed, standing slightly separated from the rest, shivering with his knees buckling and his hands pulling his hat down over his eyes.
Mario glared at his cowardly brother. “Luigi! Not even the Babies are crying! And somewhere in a-there, the Princess is a-waiting for us to rescue her! We must a-do it! And…” Mario looked down. “…we need your a-help.”
Luigi stopped shaking, and looked up, realizing his older brother was right. They were on the final stage of the journey; they couldn’t quit now. “Let’s e-go!” he agreed, shifting the dawdling Baby Luigi on his back.
And so, together, the ten Nintendo heroes entered Master Hand’s Fortress, while the massacre went on behind them.
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{4} Break-in and Break-out
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www.sound-test.org/soundtracks/starfox/starfox-assault/
9. Sargasso
The Black Rose tore through the sky, maneuvering around lasers and Aparoids and Cornerian war ships, until it rejoined Star Wolf and the Bounty Hunters. The encounter with Pigma had already passed, after which Panther had broken off to assist Kirby. The push against the Wire Frames may still have been greatly outnumbered, but the defense below still seemed to be holding, regardless of the departure of a certain hammer-wielding penguin. And with the expertise and swiftness of the group of flying rogues, the combat against the Aparoids was going even better. There were only a few of the parasite creatures left, and the Cornerian Fleet was taking high priority in finishing them off.
“Alright, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m done here,” Krystal said impatiently over the radio communicators. “I need to find Fox…” The Cloud Runner then turned away from the group and made a direct course for the arched door of the mouse hole.
“Krystal…wait!” Panther replied with a surprising amount of sincerity. “Panther wishes to help as well.”
Wolf could see where this was going. “Leon, are you in? Where one member of the Elite Star Wolf Squadron goes, the team follows.”
The chameleon shrugged. “More victims? Sure, why not?”
Behind them, the Bounty Hunters, as independent as they were, were communicating in some strange alien language. Finally, Sylux responded. “Most of us are tiring of this place in any case. We will accompany you to this ‘Master Hand’s Room’ as well out of pure curiosity.”
“This way, then,” Krystal said as she led them across the sky at a lower elevation towards the arch. “The path looks clear, but the door is shut…” And indeed, thanks to the Great Fox, all the nearby Wire Frames, especially Link Frames, had been chased away from the arch several hundred yards. If they had looked carefully, they might even have spotted Link and Epona on the ground several hundred feet to the north.
“But…this door leads nowhere!” Trace the bounty hunter spat.
“Oh, I’m sure it does,” Wolf objected. “Otherwise, McCloud and the others wouldn’t have completely disappeared through it…”
“Only one way to find out,” the blue fox said through gritted teeth as she fired several lasers at the wooden door, thinking about Fox. But, with the stubbornness of everything related to Master Hand, anyone could predict that this did not work. The smoke from the blast cleared to reveal the arch to be exactly the same as before.
The other ships waited as Krystal landed the Cloud Runner in front of the door and got out, hurrying up to the door. “I’m not usually one for ridiculous formalities, but…” Krystal knocked on the door.
As they waited, the Black Rose suddenly tilted slightly on its own as if it had gained an extra burden of weight. “Hm?” Panther looked outside his cockpit on both sides, but saw nothing.
“What’s wrong, Panther?” Wolf asked gruffly.
“Hm…must have been shrapnel, Panther thinks…” the black cat pondered.
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www.sound-test.org/soundtracks/starfox/starfox-assault/
13. Corneria
Roy’s hands shook as he faced the oncoming Kraid. Those claws and belly spikes looked so very sharp…
Then he heard something that he least expected: a knock on the door. He wasn’t usually one for ridiculous formalities, but he was getting desperate here…
“Hello?” Roy called over the noise of the chaos going on both inside and outside the Room. Kraid was getting nearer.
A muffled voice: “This is Krystal! I need to get to Fox! Please let us in!”
“Us?” But at this point, Roy figured that whoever was polite enough to take the time to knock on the door would be much less dangerous than facing Kraid alone. He opened the door, and was flung backwards as the Cloud Runner, followed by three Wolfens and nine other ships, zoomed into the room. The red-haired prince hurriedly closed the door and re-locked it before anything else could get inside.
The newcomers’ reactions were not unlike that of the other invaders; if anything, they were even more taken back by the chaotic scene before them. And, upon realizing the involvement of the Space Pirates, the Bounty Hunters backed away from a single other.
“Are you in on this, Weavel?” Noxus hissed.
“As sure as Phaaze I’m not!” The singled-out Bounty Hunter boomed. “I’ve been separated from the Space Pirates for years, and I would never side with this Master Hand freak!”
“Hmph. Fair enough,” concluded Spire.
The general consensus was still suspicious, but mostly the same, so they continued onward after Krystal’s lead until finally locating Team Star Fox below.
“Fox! There he is!” Krystal didn’t hesitate to land her ship next to the Arwings and join with her team. She carried her blue staff, but still was clad in the Cornerian suit.
But Fox was astounded, even angry, as he combated a Pirate Trooper. “Krystal? You shouldn’t be here--“
“--Save it, Fox. I’m helping. You can’t expect me to sit in Sauria and wait for you to return or die.” Krystal prevented the Trooper from blasting Fox from behind by whacking it with her staff.
Fox sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Krystal. Just…be careful…”
Krystal smiled, and the two faced the enemy together.
Meanwhile, the still-airborne rogues looked about them.
“That swordsman looks like he needs assistance,” Rundas said (the events of Metroid Prime 3 had not yet occurred), and he flew off to help tackle Kraid.
“Is that…Mother Brain???” Gandrayda and Ghor left to approach the deadly single-eyed enemy.
The remaining six Bounty Hunters and Star Wolf had also been about to land and attack the Space Pirates, but at that moment, dozens more revealed themselves from behind gaming systems, potted plants, and miscellaneous items on the desktop, and began firing weapons at them and the soldiers, creating an even more chaotic crossfire across the room. Roy and Rundas simultaneously fell upon the roaring and slashing Kraid. The four members of Team Star Fox alone were strong enough to fight back against the Space Pirates on the table, so it was a poor situation indeed for the soldiers from Hyrule and the Land of Fire.
“It looks like our hands are full,” Wolf growled, looking around at the nearly overwhelming enemies.
“You don’t say,” said Sylux.
“I will destroy them all!” Kanden bellowed. The superhuman and the rest of the Bounty Hunters departed into the fray.
“This is cowardice!” Leon raged. For once, the vile reptile was unable to take in all of these new victims at once.
“Urmph…”
Wolf’s instincts sensed something very bad, and he turned his Wolfen to the Black Rose, which had now become a sickly bluish-purple.
“Panther?...are you alright?”
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midi.thehylia.com/midifiles/n64/donkey-kong-64/hideout-helm-offline.mid
The stone door slammed shut behind Mario and the rest, echoing throughout the wide hallway they were now in. The interior of Master Hand’s fortress was sparsely lit, only illuminated by the torches forever being gripped by the white hands attached to the dark stone walls. The ceiling was rather low, only a foot or so above Luigi’s head (who was the tallest among them). The floor was mostly covered by a surprisingly clean dark red carpet, with narrow strips of stone still visible at the edges on each side. The air seemed very musty and old, almost ancient (it was a good thing Luigi had gotten over his dust allergies previously). It extended hundreds of feet to what seemed to be a dead end at the wall on the other side.
Shadow was the first to step forward, and he lead the rest apprehensively down the dark empty hallway. Shadows flickered everywhere from the small flames on each side. They continued on, wary for any sort of surprise to leap out of the darkness, but nothing hindered them. At last, they reach the end of the hallway, but, as mentioned before, it appeared to lead to nothing but a solid stone wall composed of large blocks.
Ness, along with the rest, stopped and stared at the dead end. “Um…what now?”
“Hm…” Shadow folded his arms. “I have never been through this way, so I couldn’t tell you…”
“Wait a-minute!” Mario approached the wall and crouched down to inspect the stone surface. He ran one of his gloved hands across it. “This stone is a-newly placed! It’s still a-wet. Master Hand must have a-known we were a-coming. If only Bombette or Bobbery were here…”
He turned around after a round pink fist tapped him on the shoulder. Bomberman was waving his arms frantically, pointing to himself in obvious exasperation.
“Ooh, charades! Wait…I know this one…” Ness guessed, not knowing Bomberman well enough to be aware of the fact that he couldn’t talk. “Um…a bird? Swimming? No? A constipated butterfly?”
“Wha ha ha!” Luigi laughed, pointing at Ness. “It’s not a game, Ness. This is Bomberman; he can’t a-speak, but he can bomb this a-wall for us. He blew up nearly a whole battalion of Wire Frames in Saffron a-City.”
Bomberman nodded, and with a furrowed brow, motioned for everyone to back away as he drew out a smooth black bomb with a skull on it, signifying that this was no ordinary bomb; it was a Dangerous Bomb, which the master of bombs used only for special circumstances such as this. After the fuse was lit, Bomberman tossed the Dangerous Bomb so that it landed very near the center of the wall, and backed away.
BOOM! A forceful red blast consumed the wall in fire and smoke, and fragments of stone and debris flew past them. The blast cleared to reveal that a strangely symmetrical hole had indeed been blasted in the wall, inside which a curving staircase wound its way up and to the right. The Zelda Secret Jingle echoed throughout the hallway from nowhere in particular.
“
Wh-what was that?” questioned Ness in a quavering voice in response to what he thought to be a perfectly random sound. It was most likely a lame but fitting inter-franchise reference added in by the author.
“Way to go, Bomberman!” the Ice Climbers cheered simultaneously as they began to ascend the stairs. It rose to what would seem to be the second of about four or five floors composing Master Hand’s fortress, curving around and ending in another stone door with another white hand in place of a doorknob. They were all rather intimidated by this creepily repetitive pattern of lifeless hands; even the escapees tensed as Pac-man opened the door into the next floor.
And now they had finally reached the floor which was so familiar to the former prisoners, for before them lay the very Trophy Transformer which had solidified Pikachu and Princess Peach. The circular room contained nothing else save still more hand-born torches which did not satisfactorily illuminate the room--or at least, not for the cautious heroes slowly entering it. Across from them was the familiar pair of red double doors, and to their right was another hole in which a staircase continued the climb with more stone steps.
“We must a-go through the red doors,” Mario decided. “If Master Hand still a-keeps any prisoners alive, that’s a-where they will be.” And everyone knew what Mario meant by alive: still breathing and moving, as opposed to being a helpless Trophy.
So, always constantly glancing around and behind them, the party approached the red double doors and hastily pushed through them without being challenged. Beyond they found, as they expected, the old hallway from which branched all the cells and such. The complex of hallways was actually based on a complete circle with several straight hallways extending periodically around it and ending a distance out, so that the layout would look like a sun with rays coming off of it, the Trophy Transformer room being in the center of it all. These hallways were, of course, like all the rest, dark and inadequately lit by hand torches. And occasionally there would be a large stained-glass window, depicting, most predictably, a hand.
They found the first “sun ray” hallway directly through the red doors, with three black, steel cell doors along each side. At the far end was a wall with a stained-glass window covering most of the space. Looking through the small barred window upon each door, however, they found each of the six dark cells empty.
“There are more,” Nana urged.
The Ice Climbers, being in back, turned around with the rest and led them back to the roundabout hallway where they continued clockwise to the next one. But they found the second and third groups of six cells completely empty as well, and in the fourth found only dust-covered dishes, moth-eaten blankets, and over-gnawed bones. At the fifth straight hallway, which was exactly opposite the first, they heard sounds coming from the farthest cell on the left. It was also to be noticed that instead of a window was only a huge gap open to the sky (if the interior of Master Hand’s Room could be called that) where the wall should have been, and there were scorch marks on the floor.
Mario frowned with anxiety. This was the very hall where he, Peach, Marth, Ness, and Pikachu had been imprisoned, and where Metal Bowser had sent him tumbling out the window with clothes aflame. Now they were back to turn the tables.
The ten heroes rushed over to the cell, and Mario looked through the barred window to find the dark outlines Master Hand’s few remaining prisoners. Inside, although dark, he could make out four figures of different sizes. “We a-need to break down this a-door,” Mario said urgently. He looked around at the rest.
Stand back, Bomberman motioned, as he drew out another bomb. He rolled it towards the door, and it went off with a mild-sized explosion. But the dust cleared to reveal the rusty steel door still perfectly intact, and now seemed to glow with a purple sheet of invisible force.
“It’s protected with magic,” Shadow muttered. “That means these must be some high-security prisoners…”
“Hello!” Luigi yelled through the door. “Stay calm!” We’re a-here to rescue you!”
“Luigi!” One of the taller figures rushed over to the door, peering through the window, but they were still separated by the force field. The brown hair, yellow dress, and flowery tiara revealed Princess Daisy to be the speaker. “You came to save me? My hero!” Despite Daisy’s ceaseless energy, it could be told from her voice that she was weary, and in very poor condition.
“Er…yeah…don’t worry…” was all Luigi could say.
The other figures looked over at the door, but didn’t seem to think that they would be able to break through it.
“Now, how are we going to a-get through?” Mario pondered, but he had no bright ideas.
Suddenly, the entire hallway grew even darker, but with an artificial, unnatural darkness. Everyone seemed to be frozen in place. “Chaos…CONTROL!”
A burst of colorful light pierced both the force field and the door, and the strange darkness left. Everything went back into motion, and the heavy door collapsed inwards.
Daisy staggered, coughing, out of the cell, followed by Toadette, Goombella, and Princess Zelda. Each of them looked extremely fatigued, dirty, and pale, like Marth and Ness did when they were brought back. But they were all still alive, and still able to move around.
“Are you all alright?” Mario asked.
Zelda pushed back a strand of hair from her face. “…Yes. Thank you for coming for us. But why are you all that come? Where is everyone else?”
Pac-man explained how they were now at war, both in the Battlefields and the Room, and that they were the only ones who made it to the fortress without being confronted by other enemies. And now they had to find a way to reverse the effects of the Trophy Transformer.
“Hm…so that’s why Master Hand emptied the fortress…wait…” Zelda’s left hand pulsed and glowed with the Triforce of Wisdom. “I sense that both of the other possessors of the Triforce are in grave danger. Now that you have broken the magic caging us here, I will take these others to safety, and see what the situation is. I am sorry I cannot render you additional aid here, but this is important, and if everything which is said about the Original 25 is true, it could mean the difference between victory and failure. I thank you again…”
“Where’s…where’s Goombario?” Goombella asked weakly.
“And my Toad? Is he safe?” Toadette worried.
“Don’t worry about them, they’re fighting with the rest for our success,” Nana answered comfortingly. “And I’m sure they can look after themselves.”
“Luigi…be careful,” said Daisy, giving Luigi a hug.
Zelda used her magic to create a swirling current of green energy: Farore’s Wind. As the prisoners were swept away by the magic, Zelda’s voice echoed, “It’s all up to you now. Goodbye, heroes…and good luck...” And then they were gone.
Luigi was shaken; he did not know what to think anymore.
But Shadow spurred them back into action. “Let’s move on,” he said simply.
They proceeded to the sixth hallway, but found it also empty. In a cell on the left-hand side of the seventh hallway, there was a lone inmate. After Pac-man had rolled into the door and destroyed it, the small immature green man known as Tingle hobbled out and thanked them in a squeaky voice. But before they could ask for his help, he hollered, “Kooloo-limpah!” and vanished in a shower of confetti. They moved on again.
Finally, in the eighth and last hallway, a great surprise awaited them in the first cell on their left. Ness shattered the door with a PK Flash, and inside were three characters no one had expected to find--especially Shadow.
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227 His World.mp3
“Tails? Knuckles? Amy? How can this be? You were taken back to the Microsoft World when the escape raft was seized upon by their warships…” The black hedgehog couldn’t believe his eyes.
And indeed, it was Tails, Sonic’s furry yellow fox friend with two very useful tails; Knuckles, red and flatter-headed with a firm stance; and Amy, cute with a pink coat of fur and a red dress. But they all looked even more exhausted and worn than Zelda’s group had, for they had been here even longer--over a year, even.
Knuckles spoke in a hoarse voice. “Is that what Master Hand told you, traitor?”
Shadow looked down, closing his eyes. “I did betray Sonic, I will confess. But I’ve changed. My companions will attest to the fact that we are here to end this war and preserve the Nintendo World’s natural order, as well as rescue everyone who’s fallen into Master Hand’s clutches. I am sorry for the trouble I have caused, whether you forgive me or not. But if not for me, will you all at least help such great heroes such as Mario put an end to Master Hand’s reign once and for all? For Sonic’s sake?”
“Are you kidding?” said Tails. “We’ve been here for so long, my tails are acting like dust collectors! Hardly fit to spin at this point…”
“Yeah, sorry, Shadow,” Amy Rose huffed, “but we’re in no condition to do anything useful at the moment. You’ll have to come back for us when this is all over. Just try not to destroy the fortress in the process…”
“…Very well, then,” Shadow said. “Be safe. Mario, I think we are done searching. Time to get to the bottom of this…or in this case, the top…” He and the rest turned to go.
“Good luck, Shadow,” Knuckles, Tails, and Amy called simultaneously as they left. Shadow smiled. They really did care.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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Character Locations
NORTHERN BATTLEFIELDS:
Armies: Pokemon, Bowser's Army, Dedede's Army (fled), Mushroom Kingdom, Beanbean Kingdom, Host of Hyrule (minus Hylian Soldiers), Delfinians, Waffle Kingdom, Shy Guys
Heroes: Bowser, Ganondorf, Goombario, Pichu, Jigglypuff, Mewtwo, Mr. Game & Watch, Prince Peasley, Toad, Lance, Wes, Gary
Villains: (known) King Boo
SOUTHERN BATTLEFIELDS:
Armies: Kongo Jungle, K. Rool's Army, Icicle Mountains, Yoshis, Jinjos
Heroes: Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Lanky Kong, Tiny Kong, Dixie Kong, Professor E. Gadd, Banjo & Kazooie, Mumbo Jumbo, Humba Wumba, Dr. Mario
CENTER FORMATION: (Master Hand's Room)
Armies: Fire Emblem, Star Warriors, Hylian Soldiers
Heroes: Bomberman, Link, Marth, Ness, Pac-man, Mario, Baby Mario, Luigi, Baby Luigi, Ice Climbers, Roy, Fox, Falco, Slippy, Peppy, Shadow the Hedgehog
Villains: (known) Space Pirates, Mother Brain, Kraid
MISCELLANEOUS/VARYING:
Armies: Cornerian Fleet, Bounty Hunters, Timber's Island, The Great Sea
Heroes: Pit, Wolf, Leon, Panther, Shadow Sirens, Diddy Kong, Rito Postman, Kirby, Young Link, Zelda
[glow=yellow,2,300]Trophy:[/glow] Pikachu, Princess Peach, Samus, Chunky Kong, Sonic, Wario, Waluigi, Captain Falcon[glow=gray,2,300]DECEASED:[/glow] The Shadow Hand, Bottles, Orca, 49 Hammer Bro Soldiers, Pigma, Nascour, Darunia, Professor U. Reeka, Epona, Link, Ganondorf?
CRAZY!
[M:-5]
