Exodus
A/N: This is a companion piece to Tool. Therefore, I will say right now that there is an awful lot of hypocrisy. However, I hope you enjoy.
Three years. Three years I have called this place my home. Three years, three different tournaments.
The world I had been invited to all those years ago has changed. It used to simply be us, the Twelve Smashers. As time moved on, more great fighters have joined our ranks. We are known as the greatest fighters in all the known worlds, the Heroes of the Ages.
Now others walk the halls among us Smashers.
They came in a small trickle at first. But as Master Hand invited more and more into the walls of the Smash Mansion, the trickle became a flood. Every single day, more and more of these newcomers invite themselves into the walls of our home, treading upon our floor, eating our food.
They have become unwelcome.
We did not mind them at first. Many of them were kind, understanding of our sorrows. But as the flood continued, the Old Ones left to be replaced with New Ones.
The Horror began.
We Smashers were torn apart, manipulated, and brainwashed. We were forced to believe that we were stupid, superior, and or insignificant. We were forced to love someone we did not. We were forced to submit ourselves to tortures beyond sane imagination.
We were no longer ourselves.
Our world suffered as well. It was torn asunder by these monsters, pummeled and pounded until it resembled nothing of what it once was. Our world, our home, was no longer ours.
I stand now before a set of large wooden doors. In my hand I clutch a letter, the same letter. This letter is the same as the other 39 letters that have passed through these doors. For a moment, I freeze, teetering the thin line of indecision. But one thought of these monsters, of how they destroyed our world, steels my nerves.
I will be their tool no more.
I enter without knocking, already knowing that he is waiting for me. Master Hand floats pretentiously above his desk as I approach. The tension in his fingers is obvious from my standpoint.
"... So, it is you," he says, seeming to droop as he speaks. "Are you here for the same reason all the others were?"
I nod. Without a single word, I place my letter upon the table and wait. Surely he will speak more.
"... You know, I knew that one day it would all come down to this," Master Hand continues quietly, his voice breaking with tears. "But I thought that you, of all people, would remain loyal to the Tournament."
"No, Master Hand," I tell him in the language I knew my whole life. "I cannot live here a moment longer. I no longer recognize my friends, my family, and my home." I stand up. "And now, with your permission, I shall take my leave."
Master Hand reaches out and briefly touches my shoulder. "... Goodbye, dear Smasher... And if you can please tell the others... That I beg for their forgiveness..."
I nod. "I cannot speak for the others, but in spite of all that has happened, I forgive you, Master Hand." I bow. "I wish you luck in finding new fighters."
Master Hand gives me what seems like a smile. "No fighter in the universe can ever replace you Smashers..."
I stand at the gates of the Smash Mansion, grasping what little possessions I have managed to salvage from what is left of my things. 39 other people stand with me, staring into the world beyond. It had been one year since any of us ventured outside these gates.
I feel a touch on my shoulder and turn. The love of my life- my true love- stands at my side. My love's face is strong with resolve.
"Everyone else is ready. Are you?" comes the question.
I smile and nod. "I was born ready."
"Then lead on," my love replies. "And we will follow."
The moment the hand is removed from my shoulder, I take a step forward. The gates of the Smash Mansion open, beckoning me forward. In the distance I hear the shouts of the monsters, the Carpenters. They beg their Tools not to go, to halt this goodbye at once.
I pay them no heed.
38... 39... 40. 40 Smashers walk beyond the gates. I walk at their head, leading this Exodus to escape this stronghold of the Carpenters once and for all.
The Smash Mansion, our old home, disappears behind us.