Hello all.
Thank you all for reading. This is the first chapter of Remembrance, a Lucario-based fic. It will be dark, more so than Claustrophobia. However, due to the nature of the plot, I doubt it will be as Lucario-centric, but nevertheless I hope you will enjoy it all the same.
I belive that the Lucario in SSBB is the same as the one in Lucario and the Mystery of Mew – an admittedly typical cheesy kids' movie, with apparently random plot devices, but somehow Lucario makes it more worth watching.
One more note, though – Snake talks in Japanese, hence his dialogue will be in Japanese unless otherwise stated. Lucario is also able to speak Japanese – he can speak human language, as a rule. If there are any discrepancies, please PM or review, and I will try to rectify it.
So without further ado, please enjoy. Thank you for reading, reviews are more than welcome.
hawk
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Remembrance
The sun – or whatever provided the light – had started to set, spilling slits of red across the Smash Mansion. Shimmering rays of light picked out various Smashers in the Mansion's open Garden, or probed their way into some Smasher's empty rooms. One particular ray descended around Smash Mansion in a graceful arc, past the roof, and found a blue-furred Pokémon staring straight back at it.
Lucario sat cross-legged upon the roof of Smash Mansion, allowing his large red eyes to travel, past the Smashers at play, the sliding disappearing rays of light... and then froze. The Aura Filters on the back of his head rose imperceptibly, and he stiffened as his eyes remained focused on a single spot in the sky.
Solid Snake had crept onto the rooftop – without the use of his box – and immediately saw the jackal-shaped silhouette at the edge of the roof. Careful not to fall off, he picked out a path across the roof, eventually settling down beside Lucario. Then Snake noticed that Lucario didn't even acknowledge his presence, but was staring straight into space, red unblinking eyes fixed intently, ears bolt upright, with an occasional twitch.
After a long, awkward pause, Snake decided to break the silence. "Rukario?" Lucario didn't move, even at the mention of his true Japanese name, but his voice sounded in Snake's mind, in fluent Japanese. I saw you come. His voice sounded slightly faint, but otherwise alright. Snake grunted a little, then proceeded to rearrange himself in a more comfortable position.
Trouble. Lucario's telepathic voice suddenly intruded upon Snake's thoughts. Snake looked at Lucario, to find Lucario continuing to stare into space. Solid Snake didn't mingle with the Aura Pokémon much, but he could sense the seriousness in Lucario's voice.
"How do you know?" Lucario didn't move, but his left ear twitched slightly. There's a disturbance. In the Aura. I know not what caused it, nor where it is, but – his voice broke off, and suddenly Snake found himself staring straight into Lucario's deep red eyes.
It is there. And closer than we think.
---
Fox and Falco retreated to their corners on Battlefield. It had been one long, drawn out friendly brawl, and both of them were panting as though they had swallowed a good portion of Peach's infamous curry broth. Falco attempted a grin, suddenly dashing forwards and attacking at close range with his wings. Fox merely smiled and clashed with Falco, his fast-moving legs more than enough to meet Falco's wingtips.
The mad dance continued for a minute or so, both of them grabbing items, wishing for a powerful Pokémon, and Falco narrowly missed Fox with a Bob-omb, thanks to the fox's quick reflexes and rolling skills. Fox, in return, swiped a newly-spawned Smart Bomb and primed it, and then sent it flying towards Falco. Immediately, Falco met it with a Blaster shot, detonating the bomb in midflight in the middle of the Battlefield stage.
Fox cursed under his breath as Falco smirked, both of them falling back to avoid the blast range.
The Smart Bomb swallowed up the immediate vicinity in a spherical violent flame, and once again Falco was grateful for his quick thinking - that could have hurt. He cocked his Blaster, ready to fire once the Smart Bomb's effects had disappeared.
So it was no surprise that Fox was equally stunned when the Smart Bomb's violent flame suddenly turned a violent purple hue, and suddenly exploded once again in a shower of violet sparks.
---
Snake pressed on with his questioning. "Closer? Where? Your homeworld?" Lucario closed his eyes and put his paws to his temples, shaking his head slightly. Here. The Smash Mansion. The Aura Filters dropped lifelessly to his collar as Lucario suddenly stood, surprising Snake.
There is a danger we do not know, Lucario voice sounded tired. I do not even know what is causing it or where is it exactly, but it is so close. Snake stood up, a head taller than the blue-furred jackal-shaped Pokémon, his boots scraping on the roof, as Lucario swiftly turned once again to fix his eyes on the horizon, which was now awash with a blood red glow.
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The two anthropomorphic animals leapt backwards as the purple sphere expanded explosively, shedding a thick layer of violet sparks. They balanced on the respective tips of Battlefield arena, as the purple sphere consumed even the solid foundation of the stage, the craggy piece of stone Battlefield appeared to be hewn from.
Eventually it stopped expanding and the animals could get a closer look at it. Violet sparks continued to fall around them, until Fox saw one up close and realised that it wasn't a long-lived spark, but more of tiny fuzzy ball, like nightmarish snowflake parodies – and then the realisation hit him so hard that he nearly lost his balance on the precarious ledge of Battlefield.
The huge violet bubble embedded in Battlefield glowed darkly, and within it several imperceptible sparks of light lit it up sporadically from within. It seemed to hum a soft hum, but it could have just been Fox's imagination...
"Fox? Fox!" Fox jerked back to attention. Falco's voice drifted through from behind the sphere. "Yeah?" "Good, I thought you dropped off Battlefield on me. Your orders?" The falcon's voice was clear and serious, all toying around had been suspended.
Fox looked around him. Already the surrounding sky was a dark scarlet, threatening dusk was almost upon them. The once-mighty Battlefield now had a huge sphere stuck into the middle of it, even swallowing up part of the rocky ground. Fox decided to make a call, and hoped he wouldn't regret it. "Let's go."
With a leap, a fox and a falcon disappeared from this world and entered the enigmatic twilight world of Subspace once again.
---
Lucario swiftly ran through the corridors, snout pointed forwards like a determined missile and his forepaws stretched out behind him at an angle, his long blue tail streaming from behind him. His hindpaws appeared to barely graze the ground, yet Lucario sped forwards at high speed. Snake followed him, running as fast as he could while still remaining relatively silent.
"Where to?" Snake was about to ask, but Lucario's voice answered it before his could ask it. Master Hand. We will see what Master Hand says. Snake didn't reply, but followed the blue-and-black blur as they raced towards the large double doors.
As fast as he was moving, Lucario skidded to a halt in front of Master Hand's doors, halting his momentum by screeching silently to a halt. Snake plodded up behind as Lucario rapped his paw sharply on the large double doors. Master Hand. I request an audience. Snake sighed internally – Lucario apparently had served a royal subject, and was accustomed to formalities and frequently employed such formalities and politeness. Lucario, however, saw no fault in it, and so continued his behaviour.
Enter. The voice of Master Hand echoed in both Lucario's and Snake's minds. Lucario put a paw on one of the doors, then turned to look at Snake. Snake nodded. Lucario paused, looking down at the foot of the door for a second, before decisively swinging the large door inwards.
---
"Well."
Fox and Falco stopped struggling, kicking, and attempting to untie their knots, but instead looked around wildly for the source of the voice. Instead, all they saw were masses and masses of Primids, more Primids, larger Primids, and assorted small fry and commanders who were responsible for their capture. Even the Star Fox pilots could not fight off such ridiculous odds, especially when the pathway back to the Smash Mansion had been blocked off.
"No one looks up."
Instantly, their necks popped as they looked upwards, seeing for the first time in a long time the ruler of Subspace. Tabuu floated majestically in midair, his blue humanoid body glowing and rippling with data streams flowing on, around and through it. He was still in that perpetual false "thinking" position, a shimmering blue hand on his chin.
That gives the impression he's pondering deeply, but probably was wondering the best means of torture or death for us, Fox thought grimly. Sorry, Falco.
"Now. I won't torture you. Or kill you. Yet." Tabuu's voice seemed to come from all around, although by tilting their necks at impossible angles, Fox and Falco could make out Tabuu floating in the Subspace sky.
"Yeah, and we're not going to be your Shadow puppets again, I suppose? Or is all this for a nice refreshing cup of tea? Kill us if you want, but don't play games with us!" Falco's voice rang out behind him, loud and clear. As they were tied back-to-back, Fox couldn't see Falco, although his bound wings were trussed up next to his paws, and at least one of them was bleeding pretty heavily.
Tabuu said nothing, but a Primid moved forward and disappeared from Fox's sight. A second later, there was a stifled oof, and Falco's back was pushed roughly against Fox's. Falco hacked a little, and then coughed raspily.
"I won't kill you. Yet." Tabuu continued on, as if Falco had never spoken. "I need a messenger. Send word." Falco looked up at Tabuu's blue face, and could have sworn there was a slight smirk on it.
"I return." These two words were spoken in a different tone, a more menacing one, and it sent shivers down the spines of both fox and falcon.
"Go." Primids advanced, but instead of winding them with more punches, they cut cleanly through the thick ropes binding them together. The Star Fox pilots stood up uneasily, rubbing their sore wrists. Meanwhile, the Primids cleared a path for them, standing on either side of a clear road towards the portal back to Battlefield.
Fox caught Falco's eye, and nodded. At the same instant, both of them took off running, heading for the shimmering colourful portal at the end of the Primid-walled road. Fox ran through Falco's face through his mind again at that instant he looked at him – Falco was bleeding from the forehead, probably a result from the Primid punch just now. That was the arrogant Falco he knew, and there and then he felt proud of his co-pilot as they raced towards the portal.
---
Messenger. Tabuu thought to himself, lazily stretching out one hand towards the back of the two sprinting animals, a tiny golden arrow slowly materialising on a fingertip, spinning carelessly.
Singular.