Chapter 13 of book of memories
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Book of Memories

Chapter 13


As the group of smashers continued to traverse the hazy wasteland of subspace, Lucario found himself getting more and more frustrated. Roy took notice of this.

“What’s the matter, Lucario?” Roy asked him, not dropping his pace.

“It’s strange,” Lucario said. “Instead of the aura signature focusing, it scatters more and more.”

“Are we heading in the right direction?” Roy inquired, but then looked down from the stern look Lucario gave him.

“Yes, I am sure,” Lucario said, not unkindly. “This direction is the only one that Mewtwo’s aura is emanating from. There must be something that is scattering his aura.”

“What do you mean?” Roy asked, not fully understanding.

“There must be some sort of structure that is causing his aura to be dispersed in different directions,” Lucario explained.

“Like how cloth scatters light when placed over a bulb?” Snake said, listening in on the conversation.

“Exactly,” Lucario said. “Which means that the object in question could be anywhere within a large radius.”

“And how large of a radius are we talking about here?” Snake asked, dread hinting at his tone.

“Hard to tell,” Lucario replied, closing his eyes in thought. “Perhaps a few miles or more.”

“It wouldn’t be too bad under normal circumstances,” Snake sighed. “But this atmosphere both hinders our vision and is taking a toll on our stamina.”

Ike, who had also picked up on their words, looked down to see an exhausted Lucas, Ness and Toon Link trudging along, trying to keep pace with the group. Pikachu had resumed his place atop Ness’s head after much walking, tired and panting with his ears down. Ike couldn’t help but sympathize for them, their youth taking away from their endurance. He then looked over to Snake. “Hey, do you think we should stop and rest?” he asked Snake.

“What for?” Snake asked gruffly. Ike motioned to the younger smashers. Snake thought about it for a moment before answering. “I’m not sure about it, but I guess we can take a five-minute break. However, the longer we remain in subspace, the worse off we are.”

“Right,” Ike agreed. He then addressed everyone else. “Okay everyone, we’re going to take a short break.” The rest of the group let out a small sigh of obvious relief at the announcement.

“Thanks Ike,” Lucas said gratefully between breaths before sitting down. Ike nodded with a small smile before he sat down himself, setting his sword down by his side.

“What’s with the air in this place?” Toon Link panted as he collapsed down to the ground in a resting position.

“To put it simply,” Snake said, “the air here traps heat in, making it so we can’t cool down as fast as in our other world.”

“How did you guys stand being here before?” Toon Link said, letting out an exasperated sigh.

“To be honest,” Snake said wearily, “I have no idea. But the air wasn’t as bad as it is now. Perhaps it has something to do with Tabuu’s fall.”

“When you defeated him last time?” Toon Link asked solemnly. Snake nodded. Snake was silent for a moment after that.

“How did you all know that Zelda was in trouble?” Snake asked, breaking the silence between them.

“I just had a strange chill,” Toon Link pondered while scratching his hair in thought. “The others also felt a weird feeling. Ness then used his psychic ability to sense where you guys were and said that Zelda had been hurt badly.”

“At least your arrival helped all of us out of a dilemma,” Snake admitted. “We were unsure whether to continue on while carrying Zelda or to stay there and treat her more. But even that option might not have been wise to take.”

“Why not?” Ness asked, joining the conversation.

“Zelda’s injuries were severe,” Snake said, “nearly to the point of fatality. And we only had a relatively simple first aid kit. We couldn’t fully treat her wounds, but hopefully Dr Mario will.”

“Wow,” Toon Link said quietly with a shiver. “Poor Zelda…”

Lucario had been sitting adjacent to Ike and Roy, quietly observing his surroundings. Ike had been thinking about something, the fact that he was debating in his mind was evident on his face. He then turned to Lucario.

“So why exactly are you so willing to help out after what Mewtwo did to you?” Ike asked.

“That’s right,” Roy said to Ike after a moment’s pause. “You weren’t there when Lucario explained it to us.”

“Don’t worry,” Lucario said to Roy, silencing him before he could continue. “I’ll explain it to him.” He then addressed Ike without looking at him. “I was perhaps the reason for this turn of unfortunate events. I had been approached by Tabuu to take the book and use it against Mewtwo to have revenge on him. However, I could sense that Tabuu had darker intentions than helping me gain vengeance and concealed Mewtwo’s book within the library, which was an unwise decision on my part.”

“But that still doesn’t explain why you’re helping,” Ike pointed out.

“I wasn’t finished,” Lucario stated flatly. “Yes, I know what he did was wrong, and I still haven’t fully forgiven him yet. But this is far beyond anything I could wish upon Mewtwo; no one deserves this kind of punishment. And I feel that I have blame in all this, I can’t rest easy knowing that my actions have lead to
this.” Lucario was silent after that.

“I see,” Ike said, pondering on Lucario’s words. He then scratched the back of his head nervously. “To be honest, I still don’t fully understand the significance of Mewtwo’s book.”

“You mean you came here without even knowing why it’s so important in the first place?” Roy asked. Ike shrugged.

“All I know is that Mewtwo needed help and that I was able to give that help,” Ike defended. “It wouldn’t have mattered either way.” He then stood up after a moment. “All right, we should move on.” He then faced the others. “Come on guys, let’s get moving.” The others didn’t argue, and were soon on their feet again and ready to continue. “Lead the way, Lucario.”

“The most concentrated amount of aura appears to be coming from ahead of us,” Lucario confirmed, and started walking. The others followed; Link, Ike and Roy just behind Lucario. Fortunately, the youths’ energy appeared better now that they had the rest. Little did the smashers realize they were going to need the energy gained from their moment’s rest. As they walked on, the haze started to thicken even more densely, and spots of glowing red formed just outside the distance they could see.