The End of An Era

Smoothie Skies

(... what the actual Development Hell happened to me-?)

2:49 pm, Sunday, April 25, Meta's Lab, Crystal Empire

It's done. The lab has been destroyed. Whatever research, complete or incomplete, was now wiped from existence. The demolition team that was assigned scavenged the ruins, looking for anything that could have been used to escape. Nothing was found because the charges set off previously by Meggy, Luigi, and Megan completely decimated the entrance tunnel.

That didn't stop Peach however, she ordered full extensive searches for other tunnels or secret passageways into and out of the Empire.

From atop the Cast's second-story balcony, Andrew keeps watch through the installed binoculars to what unfolds within. Tari walks outside, seeing him visibly stressed.

"Hey... you alright? I brought cookies." She asked, offering the plate.

Andrew looks at her, the pink in his eyes and hair pulsing slightly as he takes one, chewing on it. Surprisingly, it's slightly crunchy with a chewy interior and melted chocolate chips inside.
"... where'd you get the chocolate from?" He asked, trying to stay calm and holding back tears.

Tari shrugged, setting down the plate on a table and chair set next to Andrew and sitting down on the chair. "I just... found them in the fridge. Checked the expiration date, they're still good so I used them. Same thing with the cookie mix, I didn't really know how to do it so I followed the directions as much as I could."

"Well, I'll tell you as an amateur chef, when you're starting out it's better to stick to a recipe but as you get more experienced, you can start experimenting, going off-book and eventually, you'll have it memorized and you won't need the book." Andrew explained, looking towards the Crystal Empire. "The sky looks like a strawberry smoothie, like impending doom but cutesy." He jokes, trying to keep a high mood until he takes a closer look at the area he's scanning. "Looks like they're trying to scout for tunnels or any areas that can lead outside of the Empire. We gotta go inside, now."

Tari nods as she grabs the plate and follows Andrew inside. "We've got trouble, are there any other tunnels leading in and out of the Empire?"

Megan looks up, having polished her Splattershot. "None that any of us know of... why?"

Meta walks in, having worked with Alyssa to devise a new strategy. "There is one but the area is too dangerous without the Empire plus the crystallizing terraformation of that dome makes it even more deadly. But if it's our one and only shot..."

"It shouldn't. We can't risk anyone dying, we don't have the numbers or the skills to continue without each other." Luke chided, scared out of his mind.

Mario chimes in, barely reassuring. "... I might be a dumbass but even I gotta agree with Glitchy. I can't live without Luigi or my beautiful Meggy." He says, holding Meggy's hand with a serious expression. "I think Andrew knows more than we do, seeing as he still has that pink diamond the three big crystals shot out at us."

Andrew looks confused, reaching in his pockets and pulling out the diamond as a look of mixed confusion and realization forms on his face. "There... there are areas that haven't crystallized, areas that... we can tunnel through."

"What, is it engraved on that diamond or something?" Alyssa snarked, making a crude joke to help her own mood.

"Yeah actually, it is."

Saiko stares at the boy, bewilderment plastered on her. "How the hell do you see that?!"

Andrew shrugs. "That time we went to the authors' world with the redesigns? Yeah, I got changed to have a cyborg arm and glasses that can provide a load of abilities... like zooming in and scanning text."

"... huh. Guess I should have seen that coming."

"So that's it? Tunneling into the Crystal Empire and then what? Do we storm the castle?" Luigi asks, not quite sure how to handle the situation.

Meta looks around, deciding to use what he has available like the old times. "We tunnel and storm, think on your feet."

"Wait, how are we gonna fight an entire army without weapons?! The most we have is mine and Megan's Splattershots and that's it!" Meggy exclaims, nearly throwing her weapon at the scientist.

"It's not gonna be easy but I have backup stocks of supplies for times like these. That's the reason this house was even conceived, I needed a place to keep things safe in a disaster or emergency." Meta explains, sighing and wiping his glasses. "I can create a drill to help tunnel and give you some tools to help fight."

"So that's it? Tunnel, storm the tower, maybe take out whatever the hell's controlling Peach and taking back our city?" Andrew asks, barely containing his incredulous tone. "... alright, I'm in."

"Me too." Megan says.

The rest of the Crystal Cast shares the same sentiments. "Same here." "Alright then." "Let's suit up." "I'm gonna break so many crystals!" "I'm ready to fight!" "Are we even ready?"

Meta smiles, the first in weeks, as the ideas run wild for him. "Let's free our home then!"