Author note: I do not own Super Smash Bros. Nor do I own the song that inspired this fic, 'Fight Inside' by Red. I do own my OCs, though.
This is the sequel to my fic 'Monster.' For those of you who have not read it, I suggest you read that first before reading this one.
Hey there, all of you readers out there; from those that are anonymous to those who have fanfiction accounts! I'm so glad I'm finally beginning the sequel (albeit a lot earlier than originally planned), and I'm looking forward to reviews from you guys (all reviews are welcomed-except for flames and any that's irrelevant to the fic because there's no point in really writing any...)!
Warnings: Violence, mentioned swearing, pairings (some are obvious at the beginning, but some will occur later on), blood and gore (though not graphically described too much), and a little crossdressing at times.
Constructive Criticism would be great, and I hope you guys read and review! Thanks so much! :)
Fight Inside
It's been two weeks since the twisted tournament of Cagemaster Illustria ended. The Cagemaster has dissapeared, the surviving Smashers have started to rebuild the tournament the way it should be, and they are recovering from the past eleven months of Illustria's tournament.
1. The Unexpected Return
The Magician stood in the courtyard, his eyelids closed. Taking a deep breath, he caught the sweet scent of the fragile blooms nearby, and he let out a deep sigh as he looked around, opening his light blue eyes to the early afternoon sun. A small smile appeared on the Magician's face, content with his surroundings. A light breeze sailed through the courtyard for a moment, and the Magician pushed aside a few locks of light blond hair from his face. The atmosphere was as peaceful as always, and the Magician was thankful for it.
Being in this place gave him more time to think, and he had much more time to think ever since the tournament ended. Back in those days, the only time he had to completely process his thoughts was whenever he took a shower. Yes, things had been much more chaotic then; though it came with a few good moments, despite the painful events that had happened, especially in the last few weeks of the tournament.
"Magician?"
The Magician turned to see the Hierophant walk over to him silently as he looked at the Magician with those amber eyes of his. The older man appeared to be concerned about something.
"Is anything the matter, Hierophant?" The Magician asked. "Don't tell me Death got the kitchen on fire again or something..." He trailed off, remembering the previous day in which Death had attempted to cook lunch and ended up with the stove on fire.
"No, it's nothing like that, I can reassure you." Hierophant responded. He hesitated before speaking. "It's just that you've been acting awfully cheerful lately, despite everyone else being all mournful for the dead fighters and for the Cagemaster. It's almost unnatural..."
"I-I'm fine!" Magician responded quickly with a quick smile, and he faltered slightly before he finished. "Blame me and my old habits, I suppose, to smile whenever there are tough times."
"That is true." The Hierophant paused, pushing a lock of dark brown hair behind his ear before continuing. "I don't think it's just that, though; it's like you're hiding something."
"Hiding?" The Magician faltered again before responding, "I'm not...trying to hide anything. Or maybe I am. I can't decide which one."
"I think it's the latter." The two made direct eye contact as the Hierophant spoke. "I understand that you're trying to stay cheerful for everyone, but everyone has the time to mourn. You don't have to always be like this, Magician...You don't have to hide your real feelings from everyone else."
There was silence. And then the Magician burst into tears, clinging onto the Hierophant's shirt and sobbing into the older man's chest. The Hierophant sighed quietly as he tried his best to wipe the younger man's tears away with a hand; he didn't have a handkerchief available right now.
"I know that...It's just...It's so bloody hard to try to be cheerful while everyone is gloomy and not smiling!" Magician continued to speak while he was sobbing, which made it difficult for himself to be heard at times. "I don't want to stop smiling and let anyone down; especially not you or Link or Miss Samus! I don't want to be weak at times like this!"
"I understand." The Hierophant stroked a few strands of the Magician's hair, holding him closely. "I didn't mean to..."
"It's not your fault. It's mine. It's my fault alone for bottling up my own feelings when I know I probably shouldn't have..." The Magician paused before continuing to speak. "It's not just that I'm sad about. I usually can just know on instinct if someone is dead. I know Illustria, I mean the Cagemaster, is gone, but I can't shake the feeling that she's not dead. That she might be out there." He whispered the last line so that only the Hierophant could hear.
"Oh?" The Hierophant paused before speaking again, in a whisper. "That's...certainly intruiging. Tell me more."
"Lucario...how long exactly do you plan on using that punching bag?"
Lucario paused, turning to see Strength. The aura pokemon paused before he answered.
"Just a few more punches. I'm only at 195 so far, and I want to get to 200 without breaking the punching bag." Five punches later, Lucario stepped back. "You can use it now."
"Actually, I wanted to talk with you..." Strength trailed off. He hesitated before he continued. "I'm just wondering...what was your reaction when you read my history? The Hierophant told me that he, along with you, Magician and Falco, read all the histories. I just...want to know how you reacted when you read mine."
Lucario thought for a moment before answering. "I was always wondering, during the tournament, why you regretted killing Gannondorf on the first day of the tournament. When I read your history...I could understand why. You don't like killing, unlike half the Arcane back then. It's...understandable."
"You're not...mad that I technically killed my own stepmother and failed to protect my sister?" Strength asked, confused.
"Of course not!" Lucario responded. "You never meant to let either one of them die...and it's not your fault it was coincidentally hunting season when you and your sister ran into the woods to escape your abusive parents! You tried so hard to protect those close to you; and you have succeded at times! It's no wonder Illustria named you Strength; you are strong, and you shouldn't weaken yourself with degrading statements like that."
There was a moment of silence, and the Strength nodded quietly with agreement.
"Thank you..."
Everyone was in the dining hall, eating and drinking and talking with each other. Samus smiled in amusement as she watched Kirby eat half a ham in one bite. Sun, on the other hand, was trying to ask Kirby to slow down, in fear that he would get a stomachache later in the evening. The red-haired Arcane fighter had always acted as a sort of parent figure towards Kirby; something Samus was glad about. It was because of Sun that Kirby had never fought in that twisted tournament, after all.
"Samus?" The bounty hunter turned to her left to face the Devil. She swallowed a bit, wiping her mouth with a handkerchief before speaking again. "I feel as if something out of the ordinary will happen tonight." The Devil remarked.
"Like Death getting the kitchen on fire for the second time?" Samus joked.
"Um...no." Devil paused, brushing back a lock of black hair before responding. "I'm thinking it's as if something or someone will return to us. Someone or something very close, I might add..."
"And...why do you feel this way?" Samus asked, confused.
The Devil shrugged, her golden eyes blinking a bit. "No reason...Unless you can think of the theory of the Cagemaster ever coming back." She responded quietly.
"Devil, you know Illustria is dead. Stop acting like she's still alive and wandering about somewhere...It's not good for you."
"I'm not the only one feeling it. The Magician feels the same; I spoke with him earlier about this. And...I think it just might happen about now."
Just as Devil finished her sentence, all of the lights went out. The Hierophant let out a shriek of terror and clung onto the Magician tightly, who quickly held him close and reasurred him it was just a simple blackout; that everything was okay and there was no evil creature out to get them. Some of the Smashers started grumbling to themselves while others let out sounds of frustration or panic.
"Alright, who turned off the lights!?" Fox demanded. "It better not be you again, Toon Link, just so you can freak us out!"
"I'm nowhere near the light switch!" Toon Link protested.
Before anyone else could start arguing, the lights went back on. It took a moment to realize that there was one more person in the room.
A figure, cloaked in black from the shoulders down, a hood obscuring their face, stood still at the entrance to the hall. Then, without warning, the figure collapsed.
Pit caught her in his arms before the figure could hit the ground, and the dark hood fell back to reveal...
"I-Illustria?" Pit whispered aloud, looking at her in shock.
Illustria's colour-changing eyes gazed at him weakly. "Pit...All of you..." She started to speak as she touched Pit's face with one hand, but then she fell into unconsciousness.
Death stood, knocking aside the chair she had been previously sitting in. "Cagemaster!"
"GET HER TO THE HOSPITAL WING! HURRY!"
"She's dying, she's bloody dying!"
"Help her, quickly!"
"HOW!?"
Lucario put up a paw to silence everyone's panicked cries.
"I can help her. I can transfer some of my aura and replenish her health in that way..."
Mewtwo turned to Lucario, alarmed.
"Are you sure about this!? Once you give up some of your aura to help someone in this drastic a situation, you might lose all of it in the process. You could die of aura loss-"
"Mewtwo." Lucario gave him a serious look. "I can handle this. We can't just stand by and let Cagemaster Illustria die. We can't."
With that, Lucario kneeled by the Cagemaster's side. He extended a paw to her forehead, and closed his eyes. The aura filters on the Pokemon's head rose into the air, and a soft blue glow surrounded the Pokemon, slowly transferring itself to Illustria's body. Soon enough, both Illustria and Lucario were both glowing, and then, suddenly, the glow faded. Lucario's crimson eyes opened, looking a bit blood-shot.
Strength put two fingers to Illustria's neck for a pulse. "She's alright." He spoke. "She's going to be okay..."
Some of the others sighed with relief.
It was then that Lucario stumbled onto the floor, unconscious.
"Dang it, no!" Meta Knight shouted, dashing to Lucario's side.
"Get them both to the hospital wing, NOW!" Mewtwo shouted. He knew that they had no time to waste. The Magician shouted something about keeping an eye on Lucario and Illustria before he left the room, and everyone else followed.
The wait took so long...and everyone was so tensed up that no one could get themselves to stop worrying.
Was the Cagemaster really alright? What would happen to Lucario?
Was Lucario even still alive?
The Magician walked out of the hospital room Lucario and Illustria were in, and everyone turned to him. "How are they?" Link asked.
"They're both stable. They will have to stay here for some time to rest, but they could probably be let out in a week at the latest..." The Magician trailed off.
Link sighed with relief. "Thank goodness..."
"But..." Everyone froze when they heard the Magician continue. "Illustria's alright. Her lifespan has been extended a good twenty years at the least. But Lucario..." The Magician cringed, before letting out a statement no one else ever thought they would hear. "Lucario only has approximately six months to live."
