How the world fares
Super Smash Bros. Brawl fanfiction by Shade-Duelist
disclaimer: I own no one in this story save the OC's Stella and Player Shii. I do not own SSBB or any of the games that feature in it. I do own this story, so be wary of my wrath when using it in the wrong way. And I determine what is wrong.
(brief Author's Note before starting: I intend this to be a challenge to JonAxDrayda, who is dear and beloved to me. I know he writes (or wrote) fanfiction about his favourite characters and therefore I issue this dare to him:
write a SSBB fanfic with the following elements:
- a Yoshi relationship, you decide who and what kind;
- one of the new chars getting together with one of the 'old' chars (from the original SSB or Melee);
- a player controlling your least favourite character defeating your favourite character in a way that is relevant to the story;
- and finally, at least one Final Smash, one Hammer use, one 66-stock battle and one reference to Solid Snake. (why? Because I am interested in reading about good ol' Snake)
Manage this in one story and you'll get something good, I guarantee you.)
Chapter 1: Welcome to the Brawl
Wings rustled: a group of pigeons flew by. The wind blew harshly over the Mansion where the brawlers resided during the tournaments. It was a gathering place for people from all over the Video Game Universe, and also a place to hone one's skills against opponents from other places, with other abilities and other backgrounds. This was the third season of the tournaments, the Brawl season, and visitors came from far to either watch or participate.
One of those coming to participate now stood on her balcony, contemplating the relative calm before the storm. She smiled as she saw her friends run around below her. Yoshi bounced about on the grass, merrily eluding the two men chasing him and shouting in his simple language from time to time to egg his pursuers on. One of the pursuers stopped, his hands on his knees, and looked up while checking his overalls. As he saw her stand there, he blushed and quickly returned to the game – unlike his slightly shorter brother, who waved up at her with a broad smile. Peach giggled and waved back at Mario, turning her gaze elsewhere. A small ways from the group, a small yellow critter bounded from tree to tree, followed swiftly by two round pink figures. Kirby made valiant attempts to follow the two Pokémon, but failed each time. Peach knew they were just playing and sighed contentedly. Off to the side, underneath the shade of some trees, Peach saw the familiar figures of Zelda and Link sit together with Samus, who had left her Power Suit in her room apparently since she now wore a bright blue, skin-tight suit. Peach smiled and turned around, starting to walk to her door to join the others in a leisurely afternoon, when behind her she heard the rustling of wings again, but this time a large figure swooped by, casting a large but fleeting shadow in her room. When Peach turned back around, startled, she saw nothing or no one, however, so she attributed it to her tiredness. 'Must have been Yoshi, I wonder where he keeps those Blue Koopa Shells...', she mused as she walked over to her tall mirror. She looked over herself in it briefly and then walked outside when she was sure that her dress still looked picture perfect.
In the hallway, she met Bowser. Even though the Koopa leader was a ferocious enemy back in the Mushroom world, here he was civilized when talking to her, sometimes even bordering on friendly. He was the one that made sure none of the brawlers would fight outside of the tournament grounds – and usually his size and ferocious appearance were enough to discourage anyone.
"Master Hand sends for you, Peach. New brawler arrived, you need to show him around." His gruff voice was contradicted by the fact that he now held a large beach ball which he was carrying outside. Peach nodded, smile never leaving her face, and went up the other flight of stairs to the office of the two Hands, where the new brawler would be waiting.
"Peach, glad you could get here. This is Lucario, he's from PokéWorld. He'll be staying in the Pokémon wing together with Pikachu, Jigglypuff and Red." Peach eyed the dangerous looking Pokémon warily, as she wasn't used to any Pokémon being as tall as she was. The ominously glowing eyes didn't really contribute to that fact. But then his eyes returned to normal, he nodded once, and Peach immediately felt better at ease.
"I am princess Peach Toadstool, pleased to meet you!", she chimed as she curtseyed in front of the new guest. He bowed in return. "I'll first show you the wing where you'll be sleeping and then inform you on the other facilities such as the Brawl stages, the contests, the Stadium and the less tiring parts..."
Clouds rushed past. Birds dodged him, and each time he encountered one of the small feathered creatures he sent a silent word of thanks to Palutena, his goddess and his light. Pit Icarus loved her with the profound love of a child for its mother, combined with a deep respect for her might as a goddess and her wisdom as a leader. He praised her every day, even when in her presence, and in return she guided him. He chuckled softly as he remembered how Palutena's words had been chosen carefully when she sent him to the world below, and he smiled as he heard her say them again in his mind:
"Times are peaceful now, dear Pit, but one day Medusa might escape from her prison again and cause havoc in our beautiful Skyworld. To prepare for this, you must practice your skills and become even better than you are now. Master the sword, the bow and the wings that I give you, my fine young warrior, and return to me a better general..." His smile grew broader as he remembered the following words she'd spoken, softly and almost demurely, "...and return as a man, my boy, so you can take your rightful place as my general..." Technically, angels did not age, Pit knew – he looked like a boy since the dawning of his self-awareness – but his mind would accumulate the knowledge and the experience of ages and his body would grow to reflect that. Palutena had wished him to become wiser and more experienced inside of battle and outside, and he would follow her bidding.
The mansion came into sight now, and Pit swooped down, his wings tiring slowly. The glide he used now gave his wings a good chance to recuperate before landing. He circled the mansion once to catch a glimpse of its inhabitants. Pit had avidly accessed the libraries of Skyland to read up on the brawlers of the previous seasons, and he now knew most of them. The first one that came in sight was Mario, as if guided by fate. The plumber hero of the Mushroom Kingdom was playing a game of football with his brother, Luigi, and a very uninterested Wario, cousin to the two others. Underneath a tree sat Link, Hero of Time and denizen of Hyrule, and princess Zelda of Hyrule. Next to them, a woman clad in a light blue suit rose from her sitting place at the treetrunk opposite Zelda – Pit did not recognise the woman from any of the pictures he'd seen, but he knew the rumours that the legendary bounty hunter Samus Aran was a woman and labeled her as the woman inside the suit he'd seen and read about. Three smaller creatures bounded through the Mansion grounds – the yellow mouse was the electric Pikachu, and he guessed that the smaller pink creature was Kirby judging by the sight of it inhaling several food items, which meant the other pink fluffy creature was Jigglypuff the singing Pokémon. Chasing them was a large turtle with a spiked shell, bright orange hair and a gritty, rumbling voice as he shouted for the three faster creatures to stop running away: Pit knew this had to be the awe-inspiring villain of Mushroom Kingdom, Bowser. He still missed a few, but shrugged, figuring he'd see all his fellow brawlers during the upcoming tournaments. As he rapidly approached the ground, he flexed his wings and flapped, stabilizing himself as he slowly lowered his body to the ground. As soon as his feet touched solid earth, his wings shrunk back to the small white state they were usually in. He stepped through the large cast-iron gate and ended up inside the Mansion, where an arrow labeled 'new smashers' indicated he needed to take the steps upstairs to the first floor.
"Ah, you must be Pit Icarus, our new brawler from Skyworld!", came a rather deep and sonorous voice from the owner of the tournament, Master Hand – Pit didn't blink as he shook the extended thumb it held out, since he'd already read about the peculiar Twin Hands and how they controlled this world and, more specifically, the tournament. "Palutena made sure your filled out forms already reached us, so we'll just go through them briefly before I send someone to give you a tour of the Mansion, which will be your home for the coming Brawl season. So your name is Pit Icarus?"
"Yes, sir."
"Specialties are sword, bow, flying and speed?"
"Yes...", Pit supplied, smiling. Palutena had been very generous in her description.
"Lightweight, medium height... seems about right... What weapon will you be using?" Pit showed his bow, and Master Hand studied it for a few moments before nodding. "Palutena's bow, double function as twin blades and stringless bow which shoots arrows of positive energy called Arrows of Light." When Pit nodded, the hand scribbled something else onto the paper before turning back to the angel. "Final smash: calling forth the legions of Palutena's army to attack opponents, correct?"
"Yes, sir."
"...Okay, that's all the information I need to officially enroll you as a brawler! Congratulations and welcome on our team, Pit. There's a few rules that I'd normally tell anyone else, but you're an angel and you probably will behave. Just so you know, the Stadium and the Brawl stages are the only place where there's fighting. Bowser is our resident bruiser boy, and we are very proud of him. ...Now, to give you the tour...", Master Hand said as a green dinosaur bounded up the stairs. "Yoshi will be your guide. Yoshi, make sure to show him everything, starting with his room. Your stuff has been sent ahead of you by one of your couriers, everything is in your room already. I hope you enjoy your stay."
"Thank you!", Pit said brightly, respectfully shaking Master Hand's thumb again before turning to Yoshi. "And thank you for being my guide, Yoshi – I am honoured to have one of the brawlers from the very first season to show me the Mansion." The dinosaur nodded wordlessly and motioned for the angel to follow, which Pit did without reserve. They mounted three more flights of stairs until they arrived at a floor where lots of doors were visible. Yoshi walked to the one on the far left and pushed it open.
"Yoshi!", he said brightly, and Pit knew he meant to say that this was his room. It was a beautiful cerulean blue and white, with a definitive Ancient style like he was used to seeing in Skyworld. Yet, to his amazement, he lacked no modern comfort. His room also seemed to be the only one on his floor with an open balcony: there were rails barring the other balconies to prevent the owners of those rooms to fall a hundred feet to the ground, but Pit guessed Master Hand thought it superfluous to give him safety railings when he'd probably find them more like a nuisance. Yoshi was still patiently waiting by the entrance of his room, the key in his hand. Pit exited again and Yoshi swiftly closed the door again, looping the chain from which the key hung around Pit's neck with a smart 'hop!' sound. The two then descended again, exploring the ground floor. Yoshi stopped in front of a large double door at the opposite end of the hall, right across the entrance, and punched his hands and feet in a display of battle moves, accompanied by some grunts. "Pam! Pam! Hrrm...", Yoshi said with an accompanying frown, and Pit concluded that those doors led to the Brawl Stages and the Stadium where the brawlers would fight each other and various enemies. A smaller and less imposing-looking door on the left of the entrance hall elicited a "Mlam!" sound from Yoshi as the dinosaur stuck out his tongue – Pit marvelled as it extended more than ten feet away from the mouth.
"The kitchen and mess hall?", he asked, and Yoshi nodded, dragging him onwards. A small door to the right of the doors to the Brawl stages were accompanied by a sound of hurt from Yoshi, whose "awawawawaw..." had a sad hint to it. Pit nodded, knowing that that would be the medical bay, where those in need of medical attention would be cared for by a team of doctors and healers. He pushed open the door slightly to get a better look inside. There was Doctor Mario, a retired brawler that had battled only once or twice in the original season, and there were a few nurses that all looked very beautiful. Pit blushed slightly as one of them waved to him with a giggle.
Now Yoshi got a bright smile, and Pit easily knew why when they went outside. "Pnam pnam pnam...", Yoshi said as he tentatively walked on the spot, telling Pit this was where the relaxation would be found. There were tennis courts, a large golf court and soccer field, as well as a small go-cart race track. But most alluring of all was the swimming pool which sparkled like an emerald in the lush green of the surrounding grass. Pit eyed the pool mischievously and looked at Yoshi, a smile pasted on his face.
"Hm?", the dinosaur said, but then was taken aback when Pit's wings grew larger again and he lifted off with one fell beat of his wings, flying up above the treetops before plummeting straight into the swimming pool. "Wie-ea!", Yoshi called after him as he took a small approach and ran to the swimming pool, splashing into it with a crash.
Peach giggled as she saw Yoshi bound into the swimming pool. That little dragon was too much sometimes, his energy level kept at a high at all times due to his seemingly endless supply of melons. She blinked as she saw someone else in the pool, however, swimming toward the edge. It looked like a boy in the last years of youth or the first dawning of adulthood, she noticed as he hoisted himself up from the pool. He wore a tunic with black shorts underneath – which she only noticed when he pulled the short tunic off his body to wring it out. Yoshi came out of the water as well, shaking himself not much unlike a dog would, and then noticed her. He drew the attention of the young man with him by shaking his hand, then pointing in her direction and voicing "waaw!".
"Yoshi, it's impolite to whistle at girls!", Pit said with a snicker as he turned around, looking into a beautiful face framed by blond hair. He immediately knew who she was and bowed. "Especially when the girl is a princess. Princess Toadstool, it is an honour to meet you." As she extended her hand for him to shake, he kissed it tenderly and Peach blushed.
"Well, aren't you charming!", she chirruped, and the boy in front of her grinned.
"Only in the company of someone as charming as you are. ...By the way, my name is Pit Icarus." Just when she wanted to ask him about his last name, he turned around to Yoshi and she noticed the two snow-white wings that had been hidden all that while. She stood awestruck, not even noticing how fascinated she'd been staring at the wings until Yoshi started waving his hand at her.
"O-oh... But the wings – you must be a..." Peach trailed off, it sounded ridiculous in her head, so how would it sound to him? Pit, however, laughed lightly and grinned.
"I come from Skyworld, the world where the lovely goddess Palutena reigns. I am her general. ...Yes, princess, I am an angel, and it doesn't sound that ridiculous...", he added. Yoshi jumped up and down a few times while Peach digested the information, and Pit nodded, accepting the wordless challenge the green dinosaur posed. "With your leave, princess, Yoshi and I are going to have a little race. Okay, Yoshi, the first one to reach those cookies gets to eat them!", the young angel shouted, and the two ran off, leaving the Princess to her thoughts.