"Those…" Link stared at them oddly. "…have to be the absolutely WEIRDEST things I have ever seen!"
"No kidding!" Fox managed to utter.
The two creatures just stared back at them, an unnerving gleam in their eyes. One resembled a yellow mouse, but its ears were more like a rabbit's and it had a lightening bolt for a tail. The other was round, fat, and pink with big, blue eyes. They glared at Fox and Link unrelentingly.
"So what do we do now?" Fox muttered to Link without taking his eyes off of the newcomers.
"I… guess we're supposed to fight them," Link replied similarly. "…but… they look so small and harmless… I mean, what are they gonna do? Kick us in the shins?"
An amused smile played across Fox's face, and Link could not help but join in. Soon, the two of them were snickering until they finally broke down into laughter.
The yellow creature's expression shifted from nonchalance to anger, its bright red cheeks sparking with electricity. The crackling sound did not go unnoticed. Link tapped Fox on the shoulder to let him know something was up. The pilot's laughter quickly came to a stop.
"Is that lightening I see?" asked Link.
"Looks like it." Fox twitched his nose and stepped towards the little monsters. "I'll check it out."
"Wait!" Link insisted. "It could be dangerous!" Fox simply glanced over his shoulder at his friend, his expression telling Link to get real.
"Like you said," the pilot shrugged. "What are they gonna do? Kick us in the shins?"
"Pi… ka…" the yellow mouse threatened.
"Yeah, whatever…" Fox sneered as he approached and moved to kneel down for a closer look. The mouse's cheeks crackled with even more electricity, so much that even from a distance, Fox could feel his fur standing on end. He was starting to think twice about doing this, but there was no turning back now; his pride would not allow it.
"So…" Fox smirked as he got in the creature's face. "What're you gonna do? Bite me?"
"…CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!" The mouse's cheeks practically exploded with electricity, sending an incredible amount of voltage through Fox's body. Link could only cover his pointed ears and watch in horror as his friend was agonizingly electrocuted for the second time that day.
"FOX!" Link screamed.
When the thunder had stopped and the blinding light faded away, Fox McCloud lay in a smoldering heap on the ground. At first, Link was sure Fox was dead, but a few involuntary twitches and a choking cough confirmed that the Arwing pilot was still very much alive. The attacker stepped back, breathing heavily as though exhausted from the effort that it had made. Cautiously, Link came over to Fox's side.
"Are you ok?" The pilot suddenly sat up and coughed up a few irritating ashes. Shaking his head caused the smoldered strands of fur to flake off onto the ground. Taking a deep breath, the pilot uttered:
"Damn…that… little freak…packs one hell of a punch…"
Link winced at the coarse words. It was rare for him to have even heard the curse back home, let alone utter it himself. Nonetheless, he shook off his shock and pulled Fox to his feet.
Just then, the pink monster chose to make a move of its own. Not taking any chances, Link drew his sword and pulled Fox back, away from the feisty little freaks. The creature reached behind its back for something Link was sure was going to be a weapon of some kind. Much to his surprise, all that was presented was a marker, and Link lowered his sword curiously.
Having regained some of his strength back, Fox loosed himself from his friend's support to stand on his own.
"I don't know what that one's gonna try to pull off…" he growled. "but let me just tell you-be ready for ANYTHING!!"
"Right…" Link nudged a still-unsteady Fox a bit more behind him.
The pink creature took in a deep breath, raising the marker to its mouth like a microphone.
"Jig…allypuff… Jig-a-lee-e-e-puff…"
Link, who had been tense with anticipation with what the critter might pull off, nearly facefaulted when, of all things, it started singing--- singing! No electricity, no kicks, no punches, nothing-just singing! And whatever this thing was singing, neither Link nor Fox understood a word of it.
The Hylian lowered his sword, assuming that no harm would come his way if this was the best that the monster could do. He even found the song soothing and much to his liking. It wasn't until he found himself rubbing his suddenly sleepy eyes that he realized something was wrong.
Fox picked up on the suspicious singing immediately. His highly sensitive ears easily detected the hypnotic tone in the song and acted quickly.
"Link! Snap out of it! Quick!" the pilot gave his friend's shoulders a sharp shake, snapping the forest boy back to his senses.
"Huh!? What!?" Link looked around wildly as though he'd been in a trance.
"Don't listen to its singing! It'll put you to sleep!"
"What?"
"That 'Jigglypuff' thing! It's trying to put us to sleep with its singing!"
"Are you sure?" Link peeked over his shoulder at the pink blob, which had stopped its performance to growl angrily at Fox.
"Well, look at you! You almost fell asleep just now!"
"You're right! We've got to take care of these two!"
"Cool…" Fox pulled the gun from his pocket and cocked it. "Let's do this!"
From somewhere around them, a voice echoed the word "GO!" signaling the start of a rowdy battle. Fox took aim at the mouse and began firing while it nimbly dodged hopping out of harm's way. Jigglypuff raised the marker to its mouth to sing again, but a clever swipe with the Master Sword sent the pretend microphone clear off the side of the structure.
"Jiggly…" the blue-eyed balloon seethed, puffing itself up to look tough.
"If that song's your strongest attack, you'd better give up now!" Link smirked.
Furious, Jigglypuff dashed forward and landed a keen punch to the Hylian's gut. Link recoiled momentarily before steadying himself to counterattack. Jigglypuff came at him, intending to knock his stuffings out, but Link had other plans. He leapt back and pulled a bomb from his pocket, taking aim and throwing it where he had just been standing. Instead of colliding with Link, Jigglypuff struck the bomb head-on, the explosion sending her nearly into orbit.
Seeing that he couldn't touch Fox in close combat without injury, Pikachu decided to take the distant approach. He backed up, continuing to dodge the shots being fired at him, and shot a jolt of his own in the enemy's direction. Fox cried out, the milder voltage still hurting his already worn out body, but not so much as to knock him out. Pikachu fired several more bolts at him, but Fox successively put up his Mirror Shield and bounced them back.
The punching, slashing, shooting, and bashing bounced back and forth between the competitors. Every time one team seemed to gain the upper hand, the other team riled back up against them. A sharp jab sent Fox sprawling, and the two monsters surrounded Link to put him out of action. But as they leapt at the Hylian, paws and claws extended, the hero retaliated with a spinning slash that sent the two of them flying. Fox recovered from his last unpleasant blow in time to hear the invisible spectators cheering his and Link's names.
"I don't know where that's coming from," Fox smiled. "but I like it!"
Pikachu and Jigglypuff lay flat on their backs on the very edge of the building. A weak spark of electricity crackled harmlessly from the yellow monster as he struggled to his feet, only to collapse under his own weight. Jigglypuff attempted to do the same, but could barely stay on her feet, her rotund figure the only thing keeping her even remotely upright. Fox and Link eyed them suspiciously, still on the defensive.
"Looks like they've had enough." asked Link. "What do we do now?"
"You're asking me?" Fox drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, keeping his gun aimed perfectly. "I know about as much about these things as you do!"
Something rolled along the ground and tapped against Link's boot. It was one of the red and white balls. Curious, the Hylian picked it up and stared at it pensively.
"Hey,…" he finally uttered. "Those things came out of these balls… If we could get them back inside…"
"Then they can't get out!" the pilot snapped his fingers and looking around for the other ball. He spotted it only a few feet away from the wobbly Pikachu. "Damn it!"
"You go get it," Link pointed with the Master Sword. "I'll cover your back in case they've still got some fight left in them."
"Right."
The Arwing pilot tip-toed cautiously forward, still a bit jumpy about getting even the slightest jolt; he had definitely had more than his share of electrocution for a lifetime! Pikachu's cheeks sent out a few weak sparks, but he could do no more. Rather than putting his hand in danger, Fox reached instead with his tail, rolling the ball closer little by little.
The movement suddenly gave the monsters a bit of a second wind. With his back turned to them, Fox failed to notice it, but Link caught it in time.
"Fox!" he called.
The pilot turned around to find Pikachu charging up for nasty bolt. He wouldn't be able to get away in time! Fox could already feel his fur standing up on end.
"FOX!!" Link yelled as he hurtled the ball desperately at Pikachu. Fox could only cringe and await the painful voltage. The ball struck Pikachu in the head and opened up, emitting a red beam that surrounded the yellow creature and immediately drew him in. The ball snapped shut and fell to the ground, the light on the button brightly illuminated. When the impending electricity didn't strike, Fox nervously opened his eyes and looked around. All he could see was the red and white ball beside him; it wobbled to and fro, then stopped when it's light went out.
"That's it…" Link uttered. "You throw the ball at them to put them back in it!"
"Are you sure?" Fox picked up the empty ball and glanced at the now occupied one.
"You're still alive now, aren't you?"
"Heh, yeah, I guess I am.
Jigglypuff could see where the situation was going and struggled to make her getaway. She managed to scramble a few feet before her efforts were noticed.
"Oooh no you don't!" Fox grinned as he reared back and whipped the empty ball at the escaping pocket monster. As expected, the ball popped open, zapped the monster inside, and wobbled for a bit before falling dormant. Fox then proceeded to pick the balls up and examine them.
"They look plain enough." Link shrugged as they looked the spheres over. "But my instincts tell me there's a button right about… here!"
The Hylian's finger depressed on the button in the middle of the ball and it promptly popped open. He stepped back to let the Pikachu materialize in front of him. When the creature opened its eyes, it seemed confused and befuddled by its surroundings. It looked to and fro, trying to make sense of the world around him.
"Kachu?" it muttered in a flustered tone.
"Hey there," Link knelt down to the creature's level. "Are you ok? What happened?"
"Probably the same thing that happened to us." Fox deduced. "And I'll bet my laser gun that that giant hand had something to do with it."
"Pikapi!" Pikachu nodded fervently.
"And you don't remember anything about fighting us, do you?"
Pikachu shook his head.
"Are we noticing a pattern here, Fox?" asked Link.
"Definitely, and if I'm right, we're gonna have to fight everyone that we encounter in these weird places!"
"Pika pika…" the electric mouse tapped Link's leg, seemingly pointing to the other ball he was still holding.
"You want you're friend to come out too?" the Hylian smirked. "Sure thing!"
He promptly tossed the ball, freeing Jigglypuff.
"About this time's when the doors should appear…" Fox looked around.
Sure enough, moments later, two doors appeared, and the group approached them wearily.
"Looks like we've got to split up again." Fox sighed. "So, who goes with who?"
As if in reply, Pikachu hopped onto Link's shoulder and perched himself comfortably there.
"Guess I'm going with little Miss Opera singer over here" the pilot pointed. "Watch your back fairy boy." he added with a friendly smirk.
"You too, Fox." Link nodded.
They passed through the doors simultaneously, heading for whatever new, weird worlds lay on the other sides.
~~~~~~~~~~~
This is Chapter 9. Where would you like to go next?
