Hello! I'm here with a brand new story, based off The Amazing Race! I plan to make this story very long, with there being chapters ranging from 3-5 on each leg, with a team possibly being eliminated at the end of every one. Please review once you reach the end, and enjoy!
...
"The Mushroom World...a beautiful, albeit a bit strange universe in which many different creatures thrive. The grass is green, the sky is a permanent shade of brilliant blue, and there are towering mushrooms as far as the eye can see. This world is where the well-known hero, Mario, lives with his long-time girlfriend, Princess Peach in her beautiful castle. Why am I here, you may ask? Well, this wonderful world is also the beginning of a brand new competition, where ten teams of two will all race to earn the grand prize of a trip around the world and 250,000 Smash Coins, which can be converted into any currency, with the amount retaining its value." Master Hand introduced, his loud, deep voice booming across the area he was in while the rushing waterfall behind him struggled to keep up with the audacity. "Welcome...to The Amazing Race!"
...
Team One: Popo and Nana.
Nickname: The Siblings.
Standing: COMPETING.
...
Team Two: Pikachu and Jigglypuff.
Nickname: The Playful Friends.
Standing: COMPETING.
...
Team Three: Mario and Princess Peach.
Nickname: The Lovers.
Standing: COMPETING.
...
Team Four: Diddy and Donkey Kong
Nickname: Uncle and Nephew
Standing: COMPETING.
...
Team Five: Link and Princess Zelda.
Nickname: The 'Friends'.
Standing: COMPETING.
...
Team Six: Bowser and Bowser Jr.
Nickname: Father and Son.
Standing: COMPETING.
...
Team Seven: Wario and Ganondorf.
Nickname: The Fighting Duo.
Standing: COMPETING.
...
Team Eight: Male and Female Wii Fit Trainers
Nickname: The Gymnasts.
Standing: COMPETING.
...
Team Nine: Kirby and Meta Knight.
Nickname: The Friendly Opposites.
Standing: COMPETING.
...
Team Ten: Fox and Falco.
Nickname: Best Friends.
Standing: COMPETING.
...
"In this all-new gameshow, the ten teams will travel the world as they complete challenges and race against each other in an attempt to reach the Victory Mat, which will secure their place in the next leg of the race. However, in every leg, the last team to reach the Victory Mat MAY be cut from the race, and will lose their chance at the grand prize! They may make friendships, alliances and possibly even rivalries to further their game, and there could even be some romance along the way! All I know for certain, however, is that every single contestant has their eyes on the prize." Master Hand spoke loudly and confidently, his fingers moving around almost like a mouth. Hearing laughter that was a mix of nerves and exciement coming from his left, Master Hand swooped in the direction like an eagle snatching its prey. "And here come our first team!"
Far in the distance, trekking through the thinly-cut grass and stumbling like it was brand new territory, came two small figures. They wore light brown hiking boots that had eight sharp silver spikes on the soles that punctured the grass as they walked, and two thick, no doubt warm parkas covering them from their necks to their knees; one was dark blue, while the other was light pink. They also wore dark brown mittens, completely hiding their hands. Their chubby, round faces gave off radiant smiles as they walked closer to Master Hand; without doubt, these were the Ice Climbers, missing only their prominent wooden mallets. They approached Master Hand, waving up to him kindly.
"Hey! We're the Ice Climbers! I'm Popo, and this here's-" the boy, named Popo, paused to point to his sister. "-my sister Nana! On my own, I don't think I would have any chance in this race, but when we're together we're practically unstoppable! We're definitely gonna win this!"
"Welcome, Ice Climbers. Please stand over there." Master Hand instructed the siblings to a large, circular yellow mat directly next to the powerful waterfall which was placed so it barely avoided the specks of water that flew off the vertical wave. The two ran to it and excitedly waited for the next team to arrive, bouncing up and down anxiously.
The next two to show up were small animals known to most as Pokémon, who scampered over the field, running as fast as they could to the mat. One was yellow and ran on all four legs, with a bouncy tail shaped like a lightning bolt and light red cheeks of which electricity fizzed out of. The other was light pink and circular in shape, and ran on two legs despite looking extremely clumsy whilst doing it. It had large, green eyes, a curious round mouth and a tuft of pink hair on top of its head. They both had strange-looking necklace-like objects around their necks made out of metal that had beeping green lights on them.
"Pikachu and Jigglypuff, welcome to the race." Master Hand greeted, his body absolutely humongous compared to the two tiny creatures. Jigglypuff hugged Pikachu happily, who replied with a despondent sigh, hating it when Jigglypuff hugged him as she always squeezed too hard.
"We're so excited for this! We're gonna have so much fun, Pikachu, and maybe even make some new friends! Of course, we'll try our hardest to win the prize as well, but the main thing is that we enjoy ourselves!" Jigglypuff squealed playfully, the contraption around her neck vibrating as she talked, revealing that it was a translator. Normally, they would just make noises, so the translator would definitely aid them in the race.
The two Pokémon scampered over to the mat; well, Pikachu was really just running away from Jigglypuff who was running after him with her arms outstretched, desperately trying to wrap him into a tight embrace again. She managed to grab his paw and pull him into her, squeezing him so tight that he couldn't breathe. His ears and tail began tingling, moving back and forth rhythmically, slow at first but then gaining speed. His body started glowing a bright shade of yellow, and electric sparks formed all around his body, but Jigglypuff didn't notice. As his body began shaking violently, Pikachu let out a scream and a lightning bolt escaped his body, plummeting directly into Jigglypuff and causing her to scream as she flew up into the air, black as coal.
"Well...honestly, she sort of had that coming." breathed Nana after the initial shock of what happened had sunk in, shrugging. There was a large black stain in the originally bright yellow mat, affecting its appearance drastically. Pikachu awkwardly scampered over to the unmoving Jigglypuff lying on the mat, looking down at her apologetically.
"...This is going to be...interesting..." Master Hand murmured, unsure, as Jigglypuff wobbled to her feet, bouncing back and forth, extremely dazed. As Pikachu led her gingerly to a spot on the mat next to Popo and Nana, who were watching Jigglypuff in extreme concern, two silhouettes appeared on the horizon; one short, while the other was considerably taller. As they got closer, slowly walking along the field and enjoying the fresh air, their appearances became visible.
The one on the left had a very expertly styled black moustache stretching from one cheek to the other, which shivered occasionally in the light breeze. Just above it was a round, plump nose and two large, blue eyes that were as pure as the ocean. He wore a plain red shirt and a pair of blue overalls that were secured onto his body via two golden buttons that slid through the holes with ease, and white gloves on his hands. On his feet were two well-used brown shoes, and on his head, resting on his dark brown hair was the most prominent thing about the plumber; his ruby red hat, with the letter 'M' in bold font enclosed within a white circle. This was the famous Mario, known for rescuing the princess of the kingdom on multiple occasions.
Speaking of the princess, the person to the right of the plumber had long, blonde hair that rolled down to her hips and reflected in the light of the hot sun, and circular blue earrings that hung down from her ears, occasionally falling behind her long locks of hair when they swung gently back and forth. She wore a bright pink dress that began from her neck and went down to her feet, mostly obscuring them, but sometimes her dark red high heels could be seen when she walked. In the centre of her chest was a blue jewel that had a golden outing and, like her loyal boyfriend, she wore white gloves made out of the purest silk that went down to just past her elbow. She wore pink lipstick and mascara on her eyes, and was smiling warmly as she approached Master Hand, clutching Mario's hand in affection.
"Mario and Princess Peach, welcome to the race." Master Hand gave a friendly wave. "This leg takes place inside the very kingdom that you two reside in, so I find that you both will try your absolute hardest to succeed?"
"We'll be trying our hardest to suceed in every leg that we compete in, Master Hand. I may not be the best physically, but together with Mario I'm sure we can win this race," Peach began, looking up at the host confidently before looking at Mario for a moment then proceeding to glance at the mat. "And we'll be taking home that prize!"
"I like your confidence. We'll see soon if that'll come through for you in the race." Master Hand replied, then pointed with his finger to the mat where two teams stood, waiting for everybody to be introduced. Mario and Peach walked to it and Popo and Nana greeted them with a friendly wave, which the two returned with a smile.
...
Confessional: Popo & Nana
"We've decided that, based on our physical abilities, we can not win this race if we work alone, especially compared to the other teams we're competing against." Popo said, his eyes shining as he spoke confidently into the camera. Nana, who was sitting next to him, folded her arms.
"That's why we're trying to get friendly with some of the other teams, so later on we can ask them to form an alliance with us. We feel that way we'll make it further in the game." Nana spoke with her eyes closed while her brother nodded along. "We both think it's a strategic move."
...
"The next team are arriving!" Master Hand announced, and the three teams making small talk with each other immediately fell silent as they turned to look back at the green field where small patches of multi-coloured flowers grew in clumps in some areas, while others were completely bare. Running across the field at a high speed, both their hands and feet pounding the ground as they propelled themselves forward, were two apes. Their freshly-washed brown fur blew back in the air they were creating with their long strides and they both gasped in amazement as they stared up at the humongous gloved hand towering high above them. The larger of the two was too focused on Master Hand and forgot he was running, resulting in him tripping over his own feet and tumbling head-first into the hard ground. The second bounced up and down on the ground, his hand to his forehead as he burst out laughing at what had happened. The first one growled in annoyance and grabbed the smaller, and the two started rolling around on the field, demolishing flowers and crushing grass.
As they rolled, the contestants and Master Hand got a better view of the two, every bit of their bodies exposed as they tumbled over and over. The larger monkey had shiny, white teeth and large, intimidatingly kind eyes. He wore a red tie firmly around his neck that had the initials DK in bright yellow at the bottom, and his humongous feet made the ground shake slightly every time he planted them on the floor. His partner was about a quarter of his size, but was clearly feisty as he was easily holding his own in their playfight. He wore a red shirt that had a golden star on the bottom right and another at the top left, adding to the personality of the piece of clothing. He also wore a red baseball cap that had the name of the game company 'Nintendo' in the centre. Finally, he had a white backpack securely stuck to his back like glue, with the straps clutching strongly to his shoulders. These two were the well-known adventuring mammals, Donkey and Diddy Kong.
When they had finally finished fooling around, the two stood up and dashed to where Master Hand floated, looking down at them with an unimpressed look on his face. The two gave him an awkward grin and chuckle and turned to the contestants, giving them a friendly wave.
"Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, Uncle and Nephew, welcome to the race." Master Hand said and the two looked at each other and grinned, high-fiving cheerfully. "How do you think you'll fare on this race?"
"We're all about the teamwork, Master Hand. We'll dominate any challenge you throw at us that we can work together in a team in! We're the definitely the closest team!" Donkey Kong said confidently, smiling goofily and pulling Diddy closer to him. His last statement was met with a chorus of disagreeing groans from the other teams.
Immediately after the two apes stepped onto the starting mat, another couple had started walking across the field. Upon seeing Master Hand, the two looked at each other and smiled; the gesture was a mix of excitement and pleasantness. They continued walking, picking up the pace in an attempt of reaching the host more quickly. As they got closer, the others recognised them almost immediately; they were two of the most famous people in the world.
The one on the left, who occasionally glanced at their partner and smiled, almost gratefully, wore a dark green tunic that most of which's stiches had become undone, revealing patches of his white shirt underneath. He wore a brown leather belt around his waist that had a gold-coloured metal buckle. He wore fingerless gloves of the same material and colour of his belt that went just below his elbow, and thin white trousers of which the bottom few inches were stuffed into his brown boots. On his left arm was a leather gauntlet that had a drawing of the mystical symbol, the Triforce, in gold at the centre of the clothing piece. He had piercing blue eyes and fringed blonde hair, mostly hidden with a dark green elf hat that fell just past his neck. The Hero of Time, Holder of the Triforce of Courage and protector of Hyrule, Link, had joined the game.
The partner he would be playing with was fairly obvious to guess. She was fairly the same height as Link, if anything slightly taller, and wore a white and purple dress which made her regal atmosphere more prominent. She wore solid golden shoulder pads that had a single blue jewel in the centre of both, and historical patterns engraved above the gems. She had long, brown hair; part of which had been tied into two straight front pigtails via many white hair ties, and a golden tiara that had a diamond-shaped purple jewel in the centre held between two pieces of gold. She also wore a necklace, and there was a beautiful pattern that had been stitched into her dress when it was made depicting the Triforce and different patterns surrounding it. She wore elbow-high white gloves and thick leather boots. This was Princess of Zelda, the ruler of Hyrule. She gently tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and rested one hand on top of the other in front of her waist as she walked.
"Welcome, Link and Princess Zelda. I hear that this world is foreign to you, and neither of you both have ever stepped foot into this realm. Do you suspect that'll affect your performance?" Master Hand asked curiously. Link and Zelda shared a glance before looking back at him.
"We're both very quick learners. Even though we've never been here before, I think we'll be able to gather the basics and use them to win this leg, and eventually the entire race overall." Zelda responded politely, her posh accent coming through in her speech; the tone comforting yet slightly worrying.
"You'll be surprised at what this world hides within its toadstools. It may not be as vast as yours, but it does have its perks, that's for certain." Master Hand answered, planting a seed of worry into the minds of the two competitors. They walked over to the mat and stood next to Mario and Peach. Noticing the couple, Link looked at Zelda and shifted around uncomfortably.
...
Confessional: Link
"Okay...I'm just going to say it. I love Zelda. I've loved her for years...but...I've just been too scared to tell her. We're so close; so, so close, and I don't want that to be ruined if she doesn't feel the same way. What if she doesn't want to talk to me ever again? But...I did come on this show to finally admit it to her, and I don't want to back off. I don't want to be a coward." Link said. "It would be so amazing if I admitted it after we'd been crowned the winners...that's why I'm going to try my absolute hardest to win this race."
...
The ground suddenly began shaking, causing the introduced competitors to wobble and struggle to remain on their feet. Jigglypuff fell to the floor and started rolling quickly towards the rushing waterfall, bouncing awkwardly on the ground, but Pikachu managed to scamper after her and grab her leg just as her body was leaning towards the powerful flumes of water. Zelda's knees buckled and she let out a small yelp of shock as she fell towards the ground, her arms outstretched in front of her to break her fall, but she suddenly stopped moving, a gentle force having stopped her from hitting the floor. Looking curiously, Zelda realised that it was Link; his hand was on her chest, having prevented any possible minor injuries. He gingerly pushed her back up and Zelda looked at the swordsman, giving him a small smile and nod of appreciation. The Ice Climbers held each other in a triangular formation to stop themselves from falling, and they all looked towards the field inquisitively to find out the source of the disruption.
Stomping towards the eleven of them, with what appeared to be an irritated grimace on its face, was a turtle-like creature. Hot steam blew out of its nose when it snorted, hanging in the air for a few seconds before disappearing into the atmosphere. Upon seeing it, the Ice Climbers shrieked and attempted to jump into each other's arms, but this just resulted in them slamming against each other and landing on the ground in a daze. The creature's body was a bright yellow, with a white stomach in the middle of its chest. Attached to its wrists, arms and neck were hefty black objects that resembled bracelets and a necklace. They were pure black in colour and had six sharp, silver spikes that stuck out dangerously from the accessories. He had a small but heavy spiked tail which was being dragged effortlessly across the ground as the creature walked, the former occasionally picking up dust and crushing flowers. It had a giganic, solid shell on its back, covering every aspect of it. It seemed to be a mutated turtle shell that the animal would slide into when frightened. It was green in the centre and white around the edges, with slightly yellowed white spikes protruding from the body part, making the creature appear incredibly intimidating. It had quite a large head. Its mouth and nose both connected in an apricot colouration, and took up over half of its entire face. Inside its gaping mouth, rows of pure white teeth could be seen along with an unnaturally large pink tongue which licked over them occasionally, as if it were tasting its prey. Its eyes were terrifyingly red, and above them were two thick, bushy red eyebrows. It had dark red hair, the same colour as its eyebrows, slicked back to form almost like a quiff, and two deadly horns at the two edges of its head. This was the villain of the Mario world, Bowser.
His partner was minuscule compared to him, and hopped along joyfully, bouncing on foot to foot, his hands clenched and his eyes shining in excitement. He had the same body shape and shell genes as his father, simply smaller, and he also wore two metal, black bracelets on his wrists, lacking only the frightening spikes. He also didn't wear a necklace, mainly because he had no such neck to speak of. He had only two teeth, showing that he was still extremely young, possibly a toddler or at the very most a child at four. His eyes were pure black and his eyebrows were less bushy but still prominent, shining in the sunlight as he bounced along with his elder. His horns were practically stubs, and his hair was styled into a small ponytail, being held up by a metal ring of some sort. The thing that mainly separated him from his father, however, was his white bib that he wore around his neck, being supported by a small but expertly-tied knot. Scrawled hastily onto the fabric of the bib in what appeared to be red, purple and black crayon was a set of a menacing jaws with sharp teeth that he likely modelled after his father. Patches of white could easily be seen, implying that the young boy had done this quickly. The boy in question was Bowser Jr, Bowser's only legitimate son out of his eight children who lived with him, who had an unknown mother. As the two approached, they both had widely varying reactions upon seeing Master Hand. While Bowser snorted, unimpressed, with his arms folded and his head turned away, Bowser Jr gasped in absolute amazement and started leaping up and down. He definitely appeared to be the most excited of all of the contestants introduced thus far.
"Bowser and Bowser Jr, Father and Son, welcome...to the race!" Master Hand announced loudly and Bowser Jr erupted into wild cheering, continuing to jump up and down, while Bowser plainly ignored the statement. "Bowser, you don't seem to be that excited with this situation. What are you thinking?"
"I came on this show just to get away from the kids for a while. They're all so annoying! But when I saw HIM," Bowser stopped to point a thick finger at Mario, who was in the process of glaring at his mortal enemy. "I knew that I had made a HUGE mistake. Honestly."
"But, Dad, if we win we get money AND a trip around the world! If we win you'll be able to get away from the others and without Mario even being there! Don't you think it's worth it?" Bowser Jr proposed, slightly surprising Master Hand with his sudden ourburst of intelligence. Despite him being young, he was definitely no idiot. The others made sure to remember this, as it could become important later on for them during the race. Bowser, listening to his son, realised what the better option was and snorted again, turning away from Master Hand and walking to the mat, standing as far away as possible from Mario. Bowser Jr stood next to him, trying to act calm and civilised but it could clearly be seen that he was shaking in excitement.
...
Confessional: Bowser and Jr
"I've been against Mario for over thirty years, so how do you think I felt when I found out that Mario was playing this stupid game with me!? Not happy! Not happy at all! Now I'm gonna have to spend weeks with him, and I'm not even allowed to burn him to a crisp! I can't even place a hand on him, 'cause the producers think I'll 'hurt' him or something stupid like that! Well, you bet I would! They're treating Mario like such a celebrity, but I'm just as famous as he is! He's so smug, with his stupid moustache and hat! I'll show him! GWAHHHHH!" Bowser yelled as his immense frustration turned into rage and he kicked his chair back, proceeding to breathe fire on every portion of the confessional room as he continued to scream wildly. Bowser Jr, who was sitting next to his father, smiled awkwardly and looked back to the camera.
"But...apart from that, we're both really happy to be here!" he said as Bowser picked up a stage light and threw it full force at the camera, cracking it and causing the video to cut to a standby screen.
...
As Bowser tapped his foot impatiently, the seventh pair started walking across the field, appearing almost immediately after the prior team, making them appear very eager. Looking at them, the contestants and even Master Hand were surprised to see the two of them together.
The first member, the one on the left, was extremely short compared to his partner, and waddled when he walked due to his incredibly large weight and lack of length. He wore a bright yellow shirt of which the sleeves went halfway down his arms, that was mostly obscured behind his purple dungarees that resembled Mario's, being the exact same garments with only the colours changed as the buttons were also in the same place, just in white to blend in with the purple. His shoes were forest green, with the toes curled up to resemble an elf's boot. He wore white gloves, also similar to the famous plumber's, conceiving that he was almost copying him. The gloves had a single letter on each of them in dark blue; the letter W. Despite him being overweight, his arms were surprisingly muscled, portraying that he enjoyed working out or had a job that involved carrying or lifting heavy things. He was grinning creepily, his teeth sparkling white, and his black eyes scanned the contestants, judging them silently. He had a large pink nose and a black moustache that was styled in an unusual way; it went up then down constantly, forming the letter W over and over. He had pointy ears and light brown hair that, also like Mario's, was hidden underneath a hat. This hat, however, was yellow like his shirt and had a blue 'W' within a white circle that was edging slightly out of it. This man was another of Mario's enemies, Wario.
The second man, on the right, was considerably taller and held a constant smug smirk on his face, as if he had looked into the future and saw that he had won the race. He wore a black shirt and trousers that blended into his iron armour that had many mystical symbols and designs inscribed onto its smooth surface, such as shapes of different sizes and colours. He wore large, heavy-duty boots that had gold lines running through them to make the appearance look more enticing, and a golden belt around his waist. On his arms were two metal gauntlets of which had seven jewels embedded deep into the surface; one yellow, and six red, and in addition he wore black fingerless gloves. His skin was a sickening grey, making him appear to be incredibly ill, and his fingernails were black, as if he had been digging around in coal. He wore a long, flowing dark purple cape that fell down to his heels, that was slightly frayed at the end. Completely unfitting to the rest of his body, his hair was ginger in colour and very short. In the centre of his forehead, surrounded by smaller, purple versions of the same object was a large yellow jewel, that glowed occasionally and made his orange eyes flare up slightly. He walked confidently, planting his feet firmly on the ground and leaving indentations on the grass when he stepped off. Without a doubt, this cruelly evil man was Ganondorf, Link's mortal enemy. As he stopped walking to greet Master Hand, he looked at Link and smirked.
"Wario and Ganondorf, welcome to the competition! What are your thoughts on the current competitors who have already been introduced?" Master Hand asked them as he hovered in mid-air. Ganondorf turned towards them, and all of a sudden his unnerving, smug grin completely disappeared from his face, being replaced with a genuine, warm smile.
"I know I may look menacing, and you have likely been told that too." Ganondorf spoke softly, proceeding to look at Link accusingly, his eyes narrowed, before he continued to speak kindly to the others. "But I only do that to keep up people's views of me. I really am not like how I'm portrayed, and I'll show you all during this race. I'm a good person."
As he and Wario walked to the mat and stood at the corner, every pair except for Link and Zelda all shared an unsure glance, not convinced with but also not against Ganondorf's strangely out of character words, wondering if they could trust him during the race. The two who knew him extremely well, however, both looked at each other and saw the mix of worry and frustration in their eyes. This couldn't work out well.
...
Confessonal: Ganondorf and Wario
"Did you mean all those things you said back there, when we were being introduced? You don't usually act that...nice. It sorta freaked me out." Wario said dismissively, shivering as he thought back to the moment. Ganondorf scoffed, folding his arms and breaking into hysteric laughter.
"Of course I didn't mean it! I was trying to gain their trust, so we can form alliances and get further in the game! I couldn't quite believe myself that I said that, to be honest, but it makes sense in strategic eyes. One by one, I will crush their trust and crush them, eliminating them and getting us closer to that amazing prize! Ahahaha!" Ganondorf explained before laughing again, and Wario's eyes widened and a mischievous smirk formed on his lips as he understood the plan. The former stopped laughing for a moment and a conflicted frown took over the previously happy expression. "But Link and Zelda most likely know I didn't mean those words, as they've known me personally for years. We have to get rid of them, before they spill the truth to the other teams."
"You'll figure something out." Wario replied, grinning, and Ganondorf returned the gesture.
...
"Here come the next pair!" said Master Hand and the contestants, once again, all turned towards the field, expecting to see two people walking slowly along the field, enjoying the warm breeze like the majority of them had. However, they all gasped in shock and admiration to see two very tall and athletic people front-flipping into view, landing on the grass without so much as a wobble. The two looked at each other and grinned, before continuing to advance towards Master Hand by using many different gymnastic and athletic moves, such as front-rolls and walking upside down using their hands. Everyone watched in utter bewilderment, completely stunned on how anybody could keep this up for longer than a minute without collapsing in exhaustion.
The one on the left, the male of the group, had short grey hair, creating a small choppy fringe at the top of his forehead. His skin was purely white, causing him to be difficult to look at as the sun constantly reflected off him and hurt the eyes of those who glanced. He was completely barefoot, but that didn't appear to be an issue for him. He wore grey shorts with green trimmings at the bottom, and a green and grey shirt that said the words 'Wii Fit' in white at the centre of his chest. He was clearly very fit, as shown during his many advanced, complex moves he was performing without breaking a sweat, and his muscles in his arms and legs were also very toned, revealing that he no doubt exercised regularly, possibly every day. After performing five front rolls at once, he stood up and dropped to the floor immediately again, proceeding to push-up while also traversing along the field in a straight line.
The one on the right, who was female, had skin identical in colouration to her friend or training partner. Her hair was tied up in a small ponytail that went to just above the base of her neck, and she wore long grey trousers that had a small portion of material took out of them at the bottom. She was also barefoot, but she was running along as if she were wearing the most athletic shoes available. She wore a blue belt around her waist, most likely to hold her trousers up, and a small, light blue tank top that also had the words 'Wii Fit' on it in white. Her stomach was slightly visible, revealing her toned muscles in that area. She seemed to be the more graceful one of the two, as she did the more flexible positions as she made her way towards Master Hand at a high speed. When the two were only a few paces away from the host, they gripped each other's hands and both flipped in the air together, performing an extremely accurate backflip before kanding on the ground again, their arms in the air.
"Male and Female Wii Fit Trainers, welcome to the race!" Master Hand said warmly but also affirmitavely, and the two nodded in appreciation. "That was quite a spectacle you performed there, on your way to us. Will you be continuing to do that while proceeding in the race?"
"Definitely." replied the Female Trainer almost immediately after the question was asked. She placed her hands on her hips and moved her waist in a circular formation as she talked. "Our skillset is in gymnastics and athletics, Master Hand. There's no way we wouldn't bring that to the table, and we know that none of the other teams have even half of what we have. We're confident we can win this, and get first in every leg of the race!"
Even though the others groaned in disapproval, they all felt slightly nervous as they thought about it coming down to a footrace between them and The Gymnasts, and all realised that they would win with ease. They would all have to rely on what intelligence they had to defeat the two trainers. After Master Hand had finished talking to them, he directed them to the mat and the two walked there calmly, slightly surprising the contestants as they had taken every other opportunity to show off.
The ninth team arrived only a few minutes after the prior. The two people involved were extremely short, and circular in shape. They both waddled when they walked, coming across to the others as being incredibly adorable. While one of them ran around happily, seemingly not caring about how long they took to reach Master Hand, spinning and jumping around in the flowers and grass, the other was walking briskly towards the host, his eyes set firmly on the gigantic hovering glove. The both seemed like complete polar opposites.
The happy-go-lucky blob who was running around, not stopping for a breath was light pink in colour. He had two short, stubby arms that were the exact same colour as his body and wiggled up and down as he ran joyfully. He had no legs to speak of, but two unnaturally large dark pink feet that were capsule-shaped that seemed to be the main reason for his quick speed. He had two large, blue eyes that looked like they could never feel negative emotion, and a small, cute mouth that when open formed a triangular shape and revealed the creature's lack of teeth. His cheeks were extremely light pink, even lighter than his body, conceiving that he was blushing constantly. This adorable pink squishy blob, despite not seeming like it, was the Hero of Dreamland, Kirby.
Kirby's partner, despite being the exact same size and having the exact same squishy feeling, exerted a lot more of an intimidating personality than the former did. His walk itself passed off an air of conflict, and many of the contestants wondered why these two chose each other to go into the competition with. His body was dark blue, but that was the only natural thing that could be seen on him as every other body part was covered by some sort of clothing. Firstly, his entire face was obscured by a helmet, revealing only small slits for his creepily yellow eyes which stared, unmoving and unblinking. He wore thick mittens which hid his hands which were likely equal to Kirby's stubs as they appeared to be of the same species. He wore purple, metal boots which shone brightly; they had likely been cleaned lately. He also wore black and gold metal shoulder pads that had the letter 'M' barely visible scratched finely onto the surface of them. Lastly, he wore a dark purple cape that hung down from his shoulders and blew gently in the wind. This mysterious competitor was Meta Knight, the leader of his own army in Dreamland and controller of the airship, the Halberd.
Once Kirby had calmed down and seemed slightly exhausted, he made his way tiredly over to Master Hand where Meta Knight was already waiting, his cape drawn over his face so only half of his eyes could be seen; it was completely impossible to tell if this was due to embarrassment or irritation, or something else completely, as he was extremely hard to read.
"Kirby and Meta Knight, welcome to the competition!" Master Hand greeted them, using his entire body to give them a comforting wave. Meta Knight's eyes simply flickered in response, while Kirby waved happily, standing on one foot to appear taller. "I think it's safe to say that I, and many of the contestants, are quite shocked to see you two together. Your personalities seem so different!"
"Oh, Master Hand, people always say that about us! We may act different, but we really do have a great bond, and we're gonna prove that in the race! Right, Metty?" Kirby cheered, nudging Meta Knight playfully. The latter glanced at the pink ball of joy, and despite not showing it, Kirby could tell that he seemed uncomfortable by that nickname and dropped the smile.
"Sure." he replied quietly before turning swiftly towards the mat and standing on it, facing away from everyone else. Kirby had a despondent look on his face as he stood next to him, but that quickly changed as he thought about them being on the race and he leapt into the air happily.
...
Confessional: Kirby and Meta Knight
"I really am sorry about giving you that nickname. I didn't think it would offend you, I was just trying to have some fun! You can call me Kirbs if you want, I HATE that nickname and usually anyone who calls me that gets the hammer but in your case I really don't mind!" Kirby offered kindly as he moved back and forth on his chair as if he were sitting on an old rocking horse in his grandmother's attic. Meta Knight slowly looked at Kirby and nodded.
"I forgive you, Kirby. I know you didn't mean any harm. I just hope nobody got any ideas when they saw how unhappy I got about the name...I don't want us to have any enemies during this race." Meta Knight said, rubbing his chin softly with his mitten-covered hand, seemingly deep in thought. Kirby nodded in agreement.
...
"The final team are arriving!" Master Hand pointed a huge yet slender finger in the direction of the field and the talking silenced as the contestants turned to look at the field, relieved and excited that the introductions were almost over. Two anthropomorphic animals appeared on the horizon, standing at the highest point of the field, the sun glaring at their bodies and causing them to look like shadows, making it impossible to see what the animals themselves looked like, when they suddenly leapt into the air and landed further down the field, running at a high speed towards the host, revealing every aspect of their bodies.
The one on the left appeared to be a fox. His fur was light brown and looked extremely soft, with a white triangular stripe running down his forehead and furry white eyebrows. The end of his long tail was tipped white, and he had pointy ears which looked incredibly helpful for hearing. He had relaxed, green eyes and a small, dark brown nose connected to his mouth that when opened revealed many rows of small albeit sharp teeth. He was definitely not lacking in clothing, as he wore a white leather jacket which hung loosely on his shoulders, unzipped, revealing his red neckscarf underneath. His jacket was very detailed, with small gold metallic buttons placed just underneath the neatly-made collar, and the sleeves were rolled up showing a small portion of the fox's brown-furred arms. He also wore fingerless black gloves that had gold buttons where the top knuckles would be, and dark green trousers that had small pockets within its material. He wore heavy boots that were a mix of black and red, with orange fasteners that were tightly strapped down to assure that the shoes wouldn't fall off. Finally, he had a strange-looking contraption attached to his left thigh that glowed occasionally, releasing an ominously relaxing blue light which shone against his trousers. This agile animal was Fox McCloud, or more commonly referred to as Star Fox or just Fox in general was the protector of the galaxy of Corneria.
His partner seemed to be quite good friends with him, as while running the two would occasionally dash side by side and, both running at the same speed, would grin at each other cheerfully. He seemed to be a bird of some sorts, most likely a falcon. His feathers were mostly dark blue, with them getting slightly lighter near the tips of his wings and head. His eyes were dark green, and he had red rings around them and also his eyebrows, which were of a gentle orange colour. He had a long, pointy yellow beak with two small holes, the nostrils, nearing the end. Like Fox, he was wearing a lot of clothing which indicated that the two of them were quite fashion-forward. He wore a dark red hoodie-like piece of clothing that was almost completely hidden behind his red neckscarf and white unzipped jacket which blew wildly in the wind when he was running at a high speed. At the tip of his jacket, just above his rolled-up sleeves was a small grey icon of what seemed to be a spaceship. It was long and sharp near the nose, and definitely seemed like it would be good to glide quickly through the air. He wore dark red trousers that had a leather pistol holder tied around his waist that once again had the mysterious symbol that could also be found just above his sleeves. However, the pouch that would originally hold a gun was empty; likely because no weapons were allowed to be brought on the show by the contestants to assure their safety. His hair was mostly flat, except for the back which had been styled to point directly upwards like an arrow cutting finely through the air. Lastly, also like Fox, he wore extremely heavy-looking metal boots that were silver and black in colour. This graceful yet forcefully powerful falcon's name was Falco, Fox's right-hand man as he flew through space protecting the galaxy. The two of them had been best friends for years, and were heavily anticipating the start of the race.
Fox and Falco made it to Master Hand and stopped running immediately, acting as if they had never ran at all as they were continuing to breathe fine and were not sweating at all. The not as physically adapted contestants sighed once again, disappointed at how many teams there were who were generally fitter than them. Falco looked up, placing his feathered wing just above his eyes to block out the glaring, hot shine of the sun so he could see Master Hand better, while Fox placed his hands behind his back and stretched forward, baring his teeth and groaning slightly.
"Fox and Falco, the best friends, welcome to the race!" Master Hand announced for the last time, and the two anthropomorphic animals grinned and high-fived each other, looking at each other confidently. "You are the last team to have been introduced. Looking at the other teams, do any of them intimidate you in any way?"
"Of course they intimidate us, Master Hand, but that won't affect our progress! We may have been the last team to have been introduced, but our placing is no doubt gonna be first!" Fox answered, clenching his fists excitedly as he spoke while Falco nodded along in agreement. Master Hand nodded and pointed them towards the mat. As they stood there, the two realised that the mat was now completely full and there was no spot for any other teams. The other teams soon realised this, and the excitement set in their minds shortly after. After waiting a few moments, likely to prepare himself, Master Hand slowly turned to face the contestants.
"A trip around the world...a prize sum of 250,000 converted into any currency...and the title of the Winner of The Amazing Race: Super Smash Bros...is what you all have a chance of winning!" Master Hand announced loudly, pointing his slender, intimidating finger at the left of the mat before proceeding to slowly scroll across until he reached the end of the right side. Some of them erupted into cheers, some silently hugged each other, some only had a simple smirk on their faces, but all of them were excited for the race to begin. "I'm sure you all know the rules, but for our viewers I'll recite them. After receiving your first clue, you must go wherever it instructs to find your next. This could be a challenge, or simply more directions. There are many different types of challenges, which will be explained later on when the first team arrives at them, whoever they may be. The first team to reach The Victory Mat, where I will be standing, is the winner of that specific leg, and may receive some sort of advantage in the next. The last team to reach The Victory Mat MAY be eliminated."
The contestants all listened intently, but occasionally their eyes would drift over to their bags which were sitting at the opposite side of the field, just before a long, winding dirt path which led down to downtown Mushroom Kingdom. An envelope made out of card, decorated with black and yellow stripes and a small symbol of the Smash Ball as a seal, was lying on top of them; ten to be exact, one for each of the teams. As soon as they tore off that seal, lifted up the fold, took out the piece of paper, read it...the race would begin. From then on it would be non-stop running, chasing, riding, betraying, competing, until the very end when the winning team would step on the final Victory Mat. They all dearly wanted it to be them. But at the end of the day, only one team out of ten could win; two contestants out of twenty.
"That's all from me. Now, I will begin a countdown from ten; as soon as I hit zero, you may leap off this starting mat and read your first clue; from then on it's all up to you. To win this race, you'll have to be smart, witty, strong-minded, willing, but you may choose whether you woukd like to be compassionate or manipulative. After all, it's all part of the race." Master Hand said and, even though nobody could see it, he was smirking slightly. Suddenly, his palm opened wildly and his held his fingers up. "Good luck, and I hope to see you at the Victory Mat first."
Then, the true impact of the situation hit the contestants; only ten seconds remained. As Master Hand slowly began counting down, each second hitting them like a drum, thoughts were whirring through their heads like a high-powered desk fan. They were nervous, they were excited, they were scared, they were exhilarated, but most of all they were inspired. Inspired to succeed.
"Eight, seven..."
Their eyes did not move from the clue perched upon their bags at the end of the field.
"Six, five..."
Their foreheads sweated; they felt the liquid slowly rolling diwn their skin before dropping off and landing on the summery, warm grass below.
"Four, three..."
They exchanged small glances with the other contestants; some smiled comfortingly and supportively, while others grimaced and smirked smugly.
"Two, one..."
They all took a deep breath, holding it in their lungs. Their hearts pounded, their ears listened, their wrists shook, their eyes stared...this was it.
"GO!" Master Hand yelled, diving down to the floor before rising up again as if he were swinging down a starting flag.
The contestants all started running at their fastest pace possible, making sure not to trip over their own feet, the feet of others or any other small obstacles such as bushes or tree roots on their way to their bags. Jigglypuff struggled to run at a high speed and her body began leaning forward as she ran, resulting in her feet tottering along as he struggled to remain on her feet. Eventually she couldn't stay upright anymore and she tumbled over, hitting her head on the ground as she proceeded to roll over and over, plummeting into the bag. As she hit into the soft material she reached forward and grabbed the clue, hitting a tree and stopping herself. Pikachu grinned and dashed to catch up. Jigglypuff tore open the clue and they both read it intently, hoping to get moving before the other teams reached their clue.
"Head to downtown Mushroom Kingdom and travel to the heavily well-known and tourist attracting Star Tower, a very famous monument known for its incredible height." Jigglypuff read out quickly, glancing up to notice the other teams were approaching at a rapid pace.
"There, you must climb the twenty sets of stairs and reach the top to find your next clue." Pikachu said and immediately afternhe finished the final word, the two pounced on the dirt path and ran down it as fast as possible. They noticed the summit of the Star Tower far away in the distance, the five-sided shape hanging unmoving proudly in the air, towering over the other minuscule buildings of downtown Mushroom Kingdom.
Ganondorf, who was incredibly out of breath, noticed that Wario and himself were in last place by quite a large margin. Being the heaviest and arguably most unfit out of the twenty contestants, it didn't surprise him too hard that they were falling behind. Knowing they couldn't keep this up throughout the entire leg, as they would no doubt get eliminated if they did, he laid his eyes on the team currently in second-last; Kirby and Meta Knight, and his lips formed into a wicked grin, revealing his slightly yellowed teeth. Taking a deep breath, he let out a scream of shock. Being the only two contestants other than Wario who heard it, they both skidded to a halt and spun around to see Ganondorf staring in extreme horror at the rushing waterfall. Meta Knight felt slightly suspicious and moved to place his hand on Kirby's shoulder in an attempt to stop him from leaving his side, but the heroic pink puffball had already started running. Ganondorf grinned triumphantly, knowing he wouldn't be able to resist helping somebody given the opportunity. Kirby looked up at him with his wide eyes, waiting for him to explain what the problem was while Master Hand shook his head in disapproval from far back.
"My...my ring! No! It fell in the river! I've had it for years; it's so beloved to me. I can't believe it's gone...will you please help me?" Ganondorf said, his head buried in his hands for a moment before he thrust it up quickly, staring into Kirby's unsure eyes. The latter noticed there were tears brimming in his eyes, filling them up as quick as a small water jug being put under a power shower.
"Kirby, we must leave." Meta Knight said in a powerful, convincing tone, his voice not wavering whatsoever. Turning slightly, Kirby noticed that more teams were starting to read their clues and run down the pathway, while the few remaining, slower teams were almost at their bags. If he stayed to help Ganondorf, they would fall drastically behind. He didn't want to be eliminated first! But on the other hand, he couldn't just leave him...he was in distress! Looking extremely remorseful, Kirby looked at Meta Knight apologetically before turning away from his friend and running to the edge of the field, looking down carefully into the foamy, dark blue water and wondering how he was ever going to find a tiny ring in such a beautiful yet dangerous wonder of nature.
"Thank you so much, Kirby." Ganondorf said, appearing to be very thankful, but his face read something else entirely. He was smirking smugly, and in his eyes nothing but corrupt madness and evil could be seen. Whilst grinning mischievously, Ganondorf crept towards Kirby while his back was turned and, while the compassionate, adorable pink ball of kindness carefully looked for a flash of gold in the mass of blue, the villain gripped his shoulders roughly. Before Kirby could react Ganondorf had already shoved him extremely powerfully, and as soon as his feet left the safety of the grassy edge Kirby realised he had made a huge mistake; he had been tragically tricked, and thus he and his teammate would likely receive huge consequences in terms of placing in the leg.
He fell through the air, suddenly feeling extremely warm as hot fear embraced every aspect of his body, but just before he tumbled with a splash in the freezing cold water he landed on a small patch of landing jutting out of the wall of solid dirt, saving him from a possible injury. Thankful that he was unhurt, he looked up to see Ganondorf staring at him, grinning, no hint whatsoever of guilt on his malicious face. Up on the field, upon seeing his friend being shoved entirely off the edge, Meta Knight glared fiercely at Ganondorf. The two started running in opposite directions to each other; Ganondorf ran towards his bag with a slightly surprised but sadistically pleased Wario panting next to him, while the army leader ran as fast as he could across the field, hoping dearly his friend was okay. As the two passed each other, Ganondorf winked at Meta Knight.
"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be okay...Metty." Ganondorf said quietly before cackling in laughter, extremely proud of what he had done. Meta Knight shivered; both at the nickname, and at Ganondorf's awfully scratchy voice. He stopped running for a moment, and the thought of immediately getting revenge on Ganondorf crossed his mind but he pushed it to the far corners of his mind, knowing that Kirby's safety was the necessity right now. He continued running towards the cliff edge as particles of dirt started breaking apart from the tiny platform Kirby was standing on.
...
Confessional: Kirby and Meta Knight
"...So much for not making any enemies." Meta Knight said quietly with a sigh, a slight tone of irritance in his calm voice. Kirby nodded in agreement, folding his arms and glaring at the camera, imagining it to be Ganondorf and Wario.
"They're going down." Kirby growled, completely betraying his usual constantly excited personality.
...
Ganondorf and Wario made it to their bags, both panting heavily and clutching their chests in fear of passing out. They realised that every other team except for The Friendly Opposites had already grabbed their bags and left, and the two noticed a couple of teams stumbling down the pathway not that far ahead of them. Ganondorf knew that, for his team to win the leg, he would have to keep up his mischievous, sneaky ways and trick people whenever he was given the opportunity. Despite him knowing that he was extremely talented at the subject, he would no doubt not be able to do it all himself, and after they tore open the clue and started walking at a fast pace down the path, he turned to Wario.
"What I did back there was entirely strategy. There was nothing personal about it; I don't have the time or want to be dealing with any of that anyway. But if not for tricking Kirby, we would currently be in last place by quite a large distance. I had to do something. You understand, don't you?" Ganondorf asked, and his partner nodded and grinned sickly when he thought about the innocent creature getting pushed into the waterfall. "That probably bought us a lot of time. However, our lead won't last forever, and if The Opposites are eliminated this leg, then we'll be in last place. I can't let that happen, so I'll need your help to assure we are confidently in first when we cross the finish line."
"What do you need?" Wario asked as the two started to pick up the pace, running in a slow jog, his pure black moustache twitching in the breeze. Ganondorf smiled, happy that he was agreeing with no qualms.
"We need to continue manipulating people. Basically, whenever I feed false information to a team or something else along those lines, just agree with me. I need my points to be reinforced, you know?" Ganondorf suggested, and Wario nodded. "And if I ever try to sabotage a team like I did with Kirby again, help me with whatever I'm doing. That way I know we'll be getting that prize."
Wario nodded once again, knowing that his friend was evil but completely bewildered that he could act so cruel yet intelligent. They both walked away from the scene, trying their best to ignore Kirby's shouts for help as Meta Knight continued to run back the way he originally came, hoping dearly he could rescue him before it was too late. Worry filled his mind and he was extremely unnerved as he was visibly the only person left standing on the field, as everyone else had left in the space of about three minutes. It suddenly felt a lot less welcoming, and a lot more intimidating. A cold wind whipped past him, slashing at his face as he reached the cliff edge and glanced down, at first not noticing anything except the ocean blue water speeding along, but when he looked more closely he saw a pink blob-like creature pressing itself against the crumbling dirt wall as the platform it was standing on got dragged away piece by piece.
"Kirby!" Meta Knight yelled, his voice overpowering the screaming wind that had kicked up all of a sudden. The hero of Dreamland, who was in extreme danger, glanced up and his fearful expression immediately relaxed. "I'm going to get you up from there! Just hold on!"
Meta Knight realised quickly that the only way he could get to Kirby was by scaling the cliff-like wall down to him. Taking a deep breath to calm his growing nerves, he grabbed hold of the edge while his feet searched for a foothold, then let go and began climbing down the wall towards his friend while the other teams got further and further away from him with every passing second. Kirby waited, occasionally having to shuffle the position his feet were in around as the space he had got smaller and smaller, and soon they were directly against the wall and he was clinging onto a plant sticking out of the dirt to avoid plunging into the freezing cold depths.
...
"Hey you guys!" Mario greeted cheerfully to Link and Zelda as they ran side by side, both teams currently at the middle of the pack. Peach was starting to get fatigued, so he had been helping her by gently pulling at her hand while she ran. The sun's hot rays beat down mercilessly on the four of them, which definitely did not help their physical abilities at the time as they ran down the seemingly endless path of dirt and stones. Sweat dripped down their foreheads as they struggled to keep up the sane running speed, all of hem panting in exhaustion. Their knees shook, and all they wanted was a drink of water as the back of their throats were extremely parched due to the summer sun. However, they knew they couldn't stop, especially since the race had only been going on for about ten minutes.
"H...hello..." Zelda whispered, wishing she hadn't brought such a long dress with her to the race, as it was severely affecting her physical performance. The further they ran, the more details they could make out on the approaching buildings, such as the cracks in the old stone used to form the structures, and the larger the small specks of Toads and other creatures roaming the streets of downtown Mushroom Kingdom got.
"I know it's too early to be forming alliances and whatnot, and I have no intention tom but if myself and Peach don't win, I hope you two do!" Mario said kindly and appreciatively, causing Link and Zelda to smile thankfully in response. "After all, the power of love beats all, right?"
"..." Immediately the smiles dropped from both people's faces. While Link started blushing fiercely and turned his head away from Zelda so she wouldn't see and ask, the latter's expression simply turned solemn and she waved her hand dismissively in the air as if she were swatting flies. "Oh, we're not in a relationship."
"Oh, really? Sorry, I apologise." Mario replied, seemingly feeling guilty, then started ushering Peach to pick up the pace as the two began overtaking Link and Zelda. As they were running, Peach glanced behind her shoulder and smiled slightly when she saw Link's awkward expression, immediately realising what was going on. She then swung her head back around again and focused her eyes on the path ahead of her. The Star Tower was getting closer with every second, and she wanted to be the first team to make it there.
...
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter; please review and tell me your thoughts! Do you like the characters? Which team are you hoping to win? Please follow & favourite and the next chapter will be coming out soon!