OH ME GOSH, GUYZ! I'M WRITING AGAIN! AIN'T IT A MIRACLE?!

Hey guys! Warrior Kitty is back with another story, even though I have, like, two that I need to be working on at the current moment, but this one is another big one...Plus, I hope it won't be that long. Anyways, I'm sorry for not uploading anything for a long time! I've been focused more on Deviant Art, I'm currently planning an original story of mine, and school has been eating me alive. Everything has been a rough road for me. ^_^'

Anyways, so just a month ago I have written and finished the spin-off Smash Rescuers story, "Five Nights at Light's." Well, just a few weeks ago I came up with another AU Smash Rescuers story, and this time it's about...zombies! Okay, I actually got inspiration of this story from a Sonic fan series on YouTube that was about zombies and was inspired by "The Walking Dead" games.

Well I decided to watch "The Walking Dead" myself and now, I am presenting you guys with this story! I've been planning it for the past few weeks and I'm pretty excited about it! So let's begin! Enjoy!

WARNING: This story will get DARK. Like, this will probably be the darkest thing I've ever written on this site. Also, this story will wield a large sledgehammer and it will smash your feels to smithereens. This is just a heads-up about what's to come!

Convalescence

Chapter 1: Remainders

"It came out of nowhere. It all just...happened...and no one know how. It started out as just a little virus. Two or three of the Smashers caught it and grew sick; we thought it was just a simple cold. But then...news got out. More people were being infected with this virus in the different lands all over Nintendo. Now it was an outbreak. However, as much as both Mario and Master Hand had researched, they couldn't find a cure. They didn't even know what this virus was, for they couldn't find it when researching either, so they only called it 'The Virus.' From then on, that's when things went downhill.

"Since they couldn't be cured, the Virus had spread to more of the Smashers and got them sick as well. Finally, it got severe; their skins had darkened and began to kind of rot away. Their eyes went bloodshot and got this wild gleam to it and gurgled spit would foam from their mouths. The Virus started to attack their brains. All of the diseased Smashers lost their minds and became wild animals; they lost control. They had broken from the mansion's infirmary and started to attack the other Smashers that hadn't caught the Virus. When they bit them, those Smashers got the disease as well, and started acting just like them.

"That was when I know what was going on and I can say for a fact, we're all screwed..."

Faint morning sunlight filtered in through many holes that were in the ceiling. Silence filled the empty air, for not a thing was stirring. Usually, there were bird Pokemon that would sing lovely melodies in the mornings at around this time, but there were none in sight. It wasn't that surprising, considering what had happened the previous day, every living thing that was still healthy had fled. Despite it not being surprising that no sign of life was in sight, it didn't make it any less melancholy...

Hollow wind blew into the deserted Smash Mansion. Everything was a mess inside it. Walls and furniture were torn up from the attack of the madness that took place. Along with the wreckage, there was also a good number of blood that was spilled all over the place as well.

In a far corner in the living room, a lone, small tent perched up. There was a flashlight, a couple sleeping bags, and a few bags of snack food inside it. Sitting on top of one of the sleeping bags was a Mega Absol. She was young, so due to that she was smaller than a normal Absol. She also wore a creeper toque on top of her head. This Absol was known as Light, one of the Smash Rescuers.

Light sat quietly, her head lowered and her bright red eyes concentrating intently on the little notebook in front of her. She even had a little pencil gripped in her claws. Right after she had written it down, the outrageous events that took place the previous day replayed in her mind.

The Virus had finally taken over the infected Smashers' minds and they had went crazy. Breaking out of the infirmary, they started attacking. All the healthy Smashers went into a panic, as well as the Smash Rescuers, and they all swarmed about in a haste to escape. Many of them were attacked and bitten, but some did mange to get away. During the chaos, Light had realized what exactly the frenzy was but before she could act on it, she was grabbed by Sonic and they, along with Mega Man, retreated into the mansion's basement. Once a few hours had passed, they came out and found that the entire mansion was deserted.

The three had looked around and soon found Pikachu, Warrior Kitty, Pichu, Yoshi, and Lauren hiding in the items room. But everyone else was gone. They were alone.

Now it was the next morning and while Sonic, Mega Man, and Pikachu had went to look for possible food, Light Warrior Kitty, Yoshi, Pichu, and Lauren had stayed near the tent. After a moment of silence, the Mega Absol gave a sigh and closed her notebook, putting it away.

Y'know, I always thought that fighting in a zombie apocalypse would be a bit...exciting. She said to herself as she exited the tent. But instead, I feel this deep sense of dread. For good reason, too... Light shook her head to get rid of the horrible images from yesterday and continued to trot through the trashed living room. She soon spotted three familiar people a few feet away. Sitting on top of a knocked-down tv, Yoshi, Pichu, and Laure were all looking up at the cloudy sky that was visible from a large hole in the ceiling.

"I see...a cloud shaped like a pancake." The dino said, looking at the puffy white clouds drifting across the sky.

"I see an eagle." Lauren said as well. "What about you, Pichu? Do you see anything."

"I see us all living a doomed life..." Pichu muttered and gave a loud sigh. "What are we even doing? First, that entire chaotic episode yesterday comes right out of the blue and now we're just sitting here, looking up at clouds? Shouldn't we be, I don't know, worrying about what happened?" A crestfallen gleam shone in Lauren's eyes as she looked down at the ground.

"Of course we're worried about what happened." She replied. "To be honest, I don't even know what took place yesterday, it just all came out of the blue. But...even if we did know, I don't think there's something that we can do."

"Yeah, it was the Virus that caused all of the others to attack us." Yoshi pointed out. "Mario and Master Hand couldn't even find a cure for it, so whatever's going on...I don't think it's anything we can stop." The three spoke no more as they let the events of the previous day come rushing back to their minds. The sick Smashers bursting out of the infirmary, the screams of panic from everyone in the mansion, and the bloodshed as nearly all of them were attacked. The sounds of scrapping claws then caught their attention and the three snapped out of their little trance. Turning, they saw Light approaching them from the tent.

"Hey guys." The Mega Absol said with a little smile, trying to seem cheerful. "Watcha doing?"

"Oh, y'know. Looking up at the pretty clouds and letting the memory of the frenzy from yesterday run in out heads." Pichu said passively with a shrug. "The usual." Light's smile went away a bit as the little Pokemon said that, for the images were pushing their way through her mind again.

"Soooo...Where's Warrior Kitty?" She then asked, noticing the absence of the Sylveon.

"Over there." Lauren replied, pointing behind her. At the very far side of the living room, a little bundle of pink and white fur wrapped in a gray hoodie lay still on the floor. The living room's couch was flipped over upside down and Warrior Kitty was huddled underneath it. She was curled in a ball with her paws covering her mouth and her brown eyes were wide open, glistening with pure fear as she stared off into nothing. Back at the tv, Light Lauren, Pichu, and Yoshi were looking at their friend with growing concern.

"Is she alright?" The Mega Absol asked.

"I don't know. She's been there all morning and hasn't moved since." Yoshi explained.

"I think she might be a bit shocked about...yesterday." Lauren mumbled worriedly.

"Here, I'll go talk to her." Light rose back to her paws and trotted toward the Sylveon on the floor. She approached the flipped-over couch and crouched down beside the opening, peering inside at Warrior Kitty. "He WK. You alright?" Light spoke to her.

Warrior Kitty didn't reply. She stayed absolutely still and continued to stare out into space. Her breathing was low and quiet. It only took a couple seconds until she jumped and blinked a few times, coming back to reality. Warrior Kitty noticed Light's presence and turned to face her.

"Uh, oh hey Light." She greeted with a little smile. "Did you ask me something?"

"Yeah." Light replied, a little bit relieved that the Sylveon was acting normal again. "I asked if you were okay."

"Oh, yeah I'm fine. I just, uh...lost in thought. But really, I'm okay!"

Approaching footsteps met their ears and they turned to see Lauren, Pichu, and Yoshi walk up to them.

"You feeling alright, Warrior Kitty?" The little electric-type asked with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Warrior Kitty reassured. "I was just daydreaming that's all. So...What now?"

"I think we should go check in on Sonic, Mega Man, and Pikachu to see if they found any food." Lauren suggested. As if on cue, Yoshi's stomach growled loudly.

"Yeah, I think we should." He agreed. The others all nodded and together, they began to head toward the mansion's kitchen.

(Page Break)

Loud clattering noises echoed all around as many pots and pans were being tossed out of a cupboard. Within the mansion's kitchen, Sonic, Mega Man, and Pikachu were all moving around, silently searching for any trace of food that was left for them. The blue bomber was busy digging through the cupboards, the hedgehog was looking in the pantry, and the Pokemon searched the refrigerator. They kept looking for a few more moments until Pikachu let out a disheveled sigh and closed the door to the fridge.

Sonic's ears perked as he did this and turned to look at him. "You okay, Pika?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Pikachu didn't answer at first and lowered his eyes to the floor. Worry was beginning to eat at him and he started getting a sickening feeling in his gut. Sonic spotted the look in his eyes and Mega Man had noticed the silence as well and stood up from the cupboard, looking at his two friends. Concern was beginning to nibble at them as they looked at the Pokemon. Finally, after a moment that seemed to go forever, Pikachu spoke.

"There's nothing." He said quietly, taking his eyes off the ground. "There's no food left, is there?"

Sonic and Mega Man glanced at each other nervously. "I'm afraid not." The blue bomber said, lowering his head.

Pikachu let his ears fall flat against his head. "So we have nothing to eat. This is bad news." He then turned to look at the two. "What is happening to us? That whole virus thing started up, soon there was this entire massacre, and now look! Everyone else disappeared, we're the only ones left in the mansion, and all of the food is gone! This is nothing but a big, confusing mess that we can't even comprehend and if we don't figure it out soon, we're all going to possibly die!"

Right then, the door to the kitchen creaked open as Light, Warrior Kitty, Pichu, Yoshi, and Lauren entered. However, as they approached the three Smashers, Yoshi had lifted his nose in the air and took a big sniff. With a smell reaching his senses, he licked his lips and snuck off unnoticed by the others.

"Hey guys." Light said to the three. "Did you find anything to eat?" Sonic, Mega Man, and Pikachu said nothing as they all looked over the younger girls with uncertainty. It was only then when Pikachu replied.

"There's nothing." He said solemnly. "It's either all of the food was eaten by the insane Smashers, or anyone who was able to escape from that mess took whatever they could until there was none."

"That means we have nothingto eat?!" Pichu said in disbelief. "So we're gonna starve?!"

"We don't exactly have no food." Light pointed out. "We still have barbecue chips and stale marshmallows back at the tent."

"Yeah, but that's not enough." Mega Man countered.

"Plus, those aren't the right kind of foods you should be eating when it's short." Pikachu reasoned. A sudden chuckle interrupted their conversation and everyone turned to see Sonic leaning against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest, a grin on his face.

"Don't worry about it guys." He said. "I have just enough food to last us." Nothing but silence could be heard as Pikachu, Mega Man, Light, Lauren, Warrior Kitty, and Pichu gave him blank and confused expressions.

"...I have a feeling we should be concerned..." The floppy-eared Pikachu whispered, breaking the silence.

"Can you tell us what you mean, Sonic?" Mega Man asked.

"Gladly." Sonic responded. "Inside this very kitchen, hidden in the pantry, I have a huge secret stash of, get ready for this...chili dogs!"

The little glimmer of hope that was starting to spark within Pikachu died in an instant. "Are you kidding me?" He said, looking at the hedgehog in disbelief. "Chili dogs? Really?! Sonic, when I said we need the right kind of food, I literally mean the right kind of food. Fruits, vegetables, meat that hasn't been processed in a factory!"

"Hey! Any food is important in this state of emotional crisis." Sonic argued back. "C'mon, just follow me." He turned and began to make his way through the kitchen. The others all glanced at one another, but followed him anyway. They all weaved their way through the wrecked kitchen until they reached the large pantry door.

"Alright, guys." Sonic said proudly as he gripped the doorknob. "Prepare yourselves 'cause tonight, we feast like gods!" He then opened the pantry wide and stood tall while the others peered inside at his, supposed, stash of chili dogs. However, they all held blank looks as they stared wordlessly into the pantry and what was inside it.

"...Sonic." Warrior Kitty finally decided to say. "It's empty."

Immediately, Sonic's eyes snapped wide. "What?" Turning, he looked to see that the pantry was indeed empty. Not a single chili dog in sight. However, it wasn't necessarily empty. Inside, laying in the middle of the floor was none other than Yoshi. The dino was flopped on his belly and was licking away at the food remains on his hands with splotches of chili staining his face. Well, this explained where he snuck off to. Yoshi then realized that the door was opened and his eyes widened as he looked back at his friends in the doorway. Everyone remained silent for a moment until Sonic, while holding a shocked expression on his face, slowly fell to his knees.

"It's...It's over..." He said hollowly. "It's game over, guys. We're gonna die now."

"No we're not." Light replied, turning to face all of them. "We're all gonna be fine."

"How do you know?" Mega Man asked, slightly panicked. "Everyone else in the mansion is gone, we have no food for us to, and everything around us is destroyed. I mean, we don't even know what's going on! A strange virus comes in from nowhere and next thing we know, boom! The Smashers turn into wild animals and attack everyone! Like what in the name of Wiley is going on?!"

"I'll tell you what's going on." Light said in a serious tone. She began to pace in front of everyone, starting to explain the chain of previous events. "I've seen enough shows and played enough games to recognize the atrocity that happened yesterday. Honestly, it's not even that hard to see. Think about it; this virus infected some of the Smashers until it finally got to their heads, causing them to lose it and attack every moving thing in their sight. Then, everyone that they bit became just like them? Don't you see it? A zombie apocalypse is happening right on top of our heads!"

Not a word was said as Sonic, Pikachu, Lauren, Pichu, Warrior Kitty, Mega Man, and Yoshi (who had walked out of the pantry) let her words sink in their heads. "...No really, what's going on?" The little electric-type suddenly asked, disbelief shining in her eyes.

"Zombies, that's what's really going on! Like I said, I know how disasters like this start. A zombie infection is what took over the Smashers and is spreading to probably more lands of Nintendo as we speak!"

"Zombies, okay." Pikachu muttered, rubbing his temples. "Well, even if that is what's going on, then where did it come from? Master Hand and Mario weren't able to find any information on the Virus, so what is it even? Where did it come from, how does it affect one's brain to make them act like this, and most importantly, how do even survive from it?! I mean, you saw how viciously they act. How can we be sure that we can stay alive with infected beasts running loose out there?" The atmosphere gained heavy with dread as the little group started contemplating this thought. How will they survive? Knowing that if even the slightest nibble from a zombie can turn them into one as well, how will they manage to live unscathed? Plus, all these unanswered questions of the Virus' origin wasn't making this any less complicated...

As everyone went over these thoughts, an idea came to Yoshi's head. "I know this may sound dangerous, but why don't we leave the mansion?" He suggested. "If we do, we could try to find a safe haven, some survivors if there's any, and maybe even an answer about the Virus. Besides, we can't stay here anyway, since we're out of food."

"Now that's thinking like a survivor." Light replied to the dino with an approving smile. "If we want to find out about this little cluster-flux, we need to leave."

"Leave?" Lauren repeated in a shaky voice. "But if we go out there, how are we even gonna defend ourselves from infected residents that could be in Smashville?"

"Well, not only do I just know about zombie attacks, but I know how to survive in them." Light replied, facing all of them again. "We need weapons, supplies that can help us defend ourselves and to help us survive."

"Well, you're really prepared about this situation." Mega Man complimented.

"One can never be too prepared." Light replied with a smirk.

"Sooo, what then?" Sonic asked, crossing his arms. "If we do leave the mansion, where exactly do we go?" As soon as his words were spoken, Pikachu glanced over towards the front of the Smash mansion. One of the windows was shattered, but it showed a clear view of the empty land in beyond. Smashville stood tall in the silent outside atmosphere. An idea began to spark in his head as he perked his ears.

"We can head for Smashville." He then said. "Surely there'll be a few shops that'll contain items for potential weapons and we can go to the Nintendo Mart and stock up on food." Everyone took a moment to think about his suggestion and they all then nodded in agreement.

"Sounds like a plan." Sonic said.

"Then c'mon. Let's get moving!" Light said and began to head for the front door. The others wasted no time and followed after her, however, Warrior Kitty remained in her spot. The Sylveon had been silent the whole discussion. Hearing about the current predicament, how this Virus had infected everyone's minds so bad that it turned them into zombies, it made a deep sense of dread hit her hard. She didn't know what to think... Warrior Kitty quickly shook her head to get rid of these thoughts and trotted after her friends. If they were truly living in the start of what can only be a horrible apocalypse, she can't all of these negative thoughts cling to her mind.

At least, she hope she wouldn't.

And that ends the first chapter! Oh boy, won't this be a "colorful" fic...

But thank you guys for reading! Tell me what you think of it so far and I hope you're interested! The next chapter will be up soon, see ya!