Author's Note:
Super Smash Flash 2 is based on the popular fighting franchise by Nintendo and is currently going through its beta stages. This story, which is based on version 0.8, takes the characters, unlockable and otherwise, and the stages as they are to form the map of the imaginary world of Smash Flash. Each update twists the story drastically. Despite the title, this is the very first chapter in the series.
On the Namekian stage, Tails the fox informs Son Goku of what has recently transpired.
"Life is not a game. At least that's probably what most are told. The intended metaphor being that you don't get extra lives in life. You of all people could sense the invalidity of that statement. In a sense, we were all given new life when we were brought here to be together. It was never intended that there be a power vacuum. I suppose what happened was unforeseeable and yet inevitable. For now us, those that seek vengeance, combat those that seek power. The line between good and evil becomes blurred after while. After countless times of conflict, we were granted the new chance we needed at peace. It was not us who took that chance for granted. Rather, the reawakening of chaos was spurred by the fox whose name is so, and a dangerous street racer who goes by the name of Douglas. Though we can still walk from stage to stage. It is never safe to do so. The power balance is gone. So many of our former friends now serve Douglas, with the utmost loyalty. Though we outnumber them, I am ashamed to admit that we are outmatched. Quality will always stand where quantity falls. But you are quality. You are the needle in the haystack. You are the wolf among us foxes. The man amongst boys. Our only chance."
"And what about your hero? He's beaten me in battle time after time. Why not call upon him? Exactly how much did I miss?"
"When Fox came here he hosted a The Great Fox tournament that we all competed in. Didn't you fight Wario in the tournament?"
"Yeah."
"You were rendered unconscious and thought dead for a very long time. They knew you would be a troublesome foe for them so they made sure to disable you until their goal could be achieved. Their mistake was not killing you."
"Get to the point. Why are you telling me all this rather than answering my question? Am I supposed to save a world that's filled with heroes?"
"You know just as well as I do that not all heroes are created equal. Now in our hour of need that is most true. We can make a stand but not without you. Your absence heavily impacted the outcome of the Battle of Konoha. A great man is dead because of your absence. You are not to be a savior, but an ally, a valuable one!"
"Konoha?"
"Wario took the fall in the next match, which was against his new ally, Fox Mcloud. Fox would later progress to the final match of the tournament, in Sector Z versus Mario, atop the Great Fox space vessel. Though it was a long, and surely a grueling and painful match, Mario eventually emerged victorious."
"As always."
"As promised, Mario was taken to his 'prize'. Fox took Mario inside the Great Fox space vessel. There they flew into a wormhole. Mario was surprised to see his nemesis, Wario, in the new stage they had entered, The Sand Ocean desert, atop the racing vehicle of Captain Douglas Jay Falcon. Deceived, and weary from battle, Mario began to attack his foe, but was betrayed by Fox. Together, they overwhelmed Mario before the race cruiser increased speed and flew out of the wormhole at light speed. It soon crashed in the nexus next to Konoha. Wario escaped to Hueco Mundo, where he fought and mortally wounded Ichigo, but not before disclosing the deal made between him and Fox. Fox escaped to Chaos Shrine, where he recruited Black Mage for his cause. In the end, it was only Mario who stood alone against Douglas Jay Falcon, F-Zero Pilot, in the village hidden in the leaves. Mario fought as best he could against the pilot. But Captain Falcon's combination of speed and strength is unmatched, especially by a worn out fighter.
On Mario's first missed attack, Douglas floored him with a knee to the torso.
As Mario attempted to gain his bearings Falcon executed the hero with the attack in his arsenal that was not a combination of speed and power, only power. The Falcon Punch.
Son Goku, Mario of the Mushroom Kingdom is dead.
We have all since set up operations at Hyrule Temple. We will plan our attack from there. Falcon's combination of power and speed is second to none. But you are second. That is why we need you. Sonic and I could barely keep up with him when he invaded us in the sky temple. I myself was knocked unconscious during the fight. When I awakened, the two foes stood and stared at each other, no longer fighting. Falcon stood tall and strong, while Sonic stood weakly, his left arm hanging in disability. I could see the look of defeat in his eyes. Losing in the first round of the tournament really hit his ego. Whatever Falcon did to Sonic, it broke what little will he had to fight. I've trouble getting him to go to action with me since. If he is not to aid us in our fight then he may as well be dead. In this sense Falcon has killed three of us and his men's loyalty to him increases with each life he takes. The day Falcon defeated Sonic and I, Sonic fled from battle and left me. The pilot could have killed me then, when I was lying there, disabled."
"Why didn't he?"
"Are you saying you would have preferred such a thing?"
"He left you alive for a good reason, what was it?"
"He told me of the Battle of Konoha. He wanted me to tell everyone else of it."
"Why?"
"I fear to even try to understand his mind. My guess is that he'd left no witnesses when he murdered Mario, and wanted everyone to know that he'd killed our icon."
The saiyan raised his fist to chest level, aura visibly flowing around it. "I'll obliterate him. There won't even be an ash left to the wind. Take me to him."
"I won't. It would be suicide to approach him while his men are around."
"Then what do we do?"
"Falcon often sends his men out on 'search and destroy' missions."
"Search and destroy what?"
"Us. I will send Link and Lloyd as decoys. The enemy doesn't know that we've setup at Hyrule. Whoever finds either of them will follow them back to us. At that point we will know that at least some of his men have left his right hand. That is when we will strike."
"We?"
"Fox McCloud seldom leaves Falcons side. You'll kill no one so long as he serves as their bodyguard. If Fox McCloud is there, it is safer that I go with you."
"What, because you're a fox? Is it a territorial thing? There can be only one or some shit like that? What if we're still outnumbered?"
"Naruto's shadow-clone jutsu will prove its worth."
"Naruto's coming with us?"
"Yes. Goku, I should tell you, there is no guarantee that all of us will come out alive. I don't want anyone to die. I'm simply trying to restore order."
"What gives you the right to do so?"
"My best friend is mentally damaged to the point that he is no longer useful in battle. And perhaps no longer my friend. Also, I wish to go on living. Don't you?"
"If Falcon sends his men on 'search and destroy' missions, we should go to Hyrule now before we're discovered."
"Follow me."
The path to Hyrule Temple included both Konoha and Hueco Mundo, the former first. Though not the greatest at typical conversation, Tails tried anyway as they walked through Konoha.
"You ever read?"
"What?"
"Read. Reading. You know, like books, history, any sort of print whatsoever."
"I've never been that kind of guy, no. I'm a man of action. Why do you ask?"
"President Andrew Jackson was a strong advocate for Indian Removal. After a string of political processes, the Choctaw, and many tribes thereafter were removed and forced to walk what one chief described to the grateful media as a 'trail of tears and death'. Many of those removed didn't survive the trip. Hence the name. The metaphor isn't exact, but I feel like this is a trail of tears. This was the dying place of Mario, and that of Ichigo lies just ahead. Falcon and Fox are two of the greatest fighters I've witnessed."
"You never witnessed Fox. From what you described, none of us did, except those who fought him in the Great Fox Tournament. And they all ended up joining him, except Mario of course. And Fox even lost to Mario. How do you know he's so great?"
"Just trust me. Fox is a league above most. It's no wonder Mario was so weak after defeating him. It's really a testament to how great a fighter he was. The combined power of Fox and Falcon is nearly unstoppable. I know that they are not above winning at all costs. Through it all, I feel certain that there will be more bloodshed, a trail of tears and death."
"You don't sound so optimistic."
"There's no room for it. I'm just trying to make sure you're prepared to face not just anything, but everything. It will happen."