Round Two: Settle It in Smash
Olimar, Alph, and Li'l Mac—along with the gym trainer, Pac Man, and their paper-thin mutual friend, Mr. Game-and-Watch, meet up in the auditorium, where all the other participants have gathered to witness the battle at hand. On the silver screen is an image of a bright-colored island setting, and the two combatants duking it out.
One of the combatants, a boy in blue armor, is taking the offensive course, combining long-range and short-range attacks to trap his opponent in a corner. The other, a mundane-looking boy with a perpetual smile, is sticking to more evasive strategies. The blue-armored child, labeled onscreen as 'Mega Man', appears to have a wide array of weapons and moves, from fiery claws to attachable bombs; many of his attacks are executed from his right arm, which doubles as a blaster gun. The mundane boy, labeled as simply 'Villager', uses regular, everyday items, such as shovels and watering cans. The latter is clearly outmatched.
As the mundane boy is edged closer to the water, the blue bomber's blaster arm starts glowing. Oddly, the mundane is not doing anything to interrupt him. The blaster fires a large shot of plasma, which flies straight at the boy. Then, just as all seems lost, the boy grabs the plasma shot and puts it into his pocket.
This shocking twist has raised Olimar's awareness, believing perhaps that the Villager has greater potential than first impressions make of him. The rest of the match, he watches his moves closely, analyzing and speculating. The two, upon closer examination, use similar strategies, despite their differing movesets. Seize control of the territory, then trick the enemy into dropping their guard before hitting them where it hurts. Their unique approaches to a common nuance is what makes them especially brow-raising.
After a whole minute of the fighters playing a game of keep-away with each other, Mega Man stops to charge his blaster. The resulting shot isn't quite as large, but the Villager, his damage count already in the red, jumps out of the way. He strikes back with his shovel, digging a hole right underneath Mega's feet. With the armored boy trapped, the Villager brings his hands to his pockets and whips out the plasma shot from earlier, sending him flying out of the scene. A second later, a shining, floating platform brings Mega Man back onto the field, but by then, it's a second too late, as the announcer calls "Time!"
Long after the match has ended, Olimar is still thinking about it—not that he has much else to think about. With Mega Man and the Villager proving to be potential threats, and Pac-Man proving to be, well, a bit nerve-wracking, he cannot help but wonder what else the newcomers are capable of.
"Captain, you've been awfully quiet," Alph says. "Got something on your mind?"
"Yeah, the newcomers," he mutters. "I wonder if we stand a chance against them."
"Aw, don't worry about that. If you're still freaking out over that Villager kid, let's ask him to be our friend."
"We're not here to make friends. We're here to fight and fend for ourselves and win."
Alph stops smiling and averts his gaze. "I thought this was supposed to be fun." He heads over to the door. "If you need me, I'll be down in the game room."
Olimar sits on the foot of the sleep pod, wondering why he feels so reluctant to leave. He accepted the letter and allowed himself to be taken to this strange place. But with so many unfamiliar faces and even fewer friends (Snake and the Ice Climbers were the only people he felt were worth interacting with, for whatever reason), he feels alone. Well, there's always Alph. Young and innocent and curious, he is more open to new experiences. Meanwhile, Olimar himself has lost that adventurous spirit over the years, after losing everything else. What else does he have to lose?
Not willing to spare another moment moping, he steps out and tries to look for the game room. Damn, lost again. He turns and starts down the last hall when he spots two figures cleaning the floors. As he gets closer, he recognizes them almost instantly. The smaller one, Villager, stops sweeping. "Hi, pal! Are you lost?"
The captain blurts out, "I, um, no. I mean, yes. I mean, maybe a little." He glances at the second figure—Mega Man. "You two are friends?"
The boy in blue chuckles. "Of course! I didn't expect to make friends, but everyone here's really nice."
Not quite everyone, Olimar wants to say, adding a few notable examples.
"We met up after the last fight, and hit it off instantly." Holding up his broom, he scratches his helmeted head. "We saw a big mess, and, well, here we are."
A roach crawls by, which the Villager crushes and sweeps away. "If you wanna help, we have an extra broom, pal."
"No thanks. I just need help finding someone. You know where the game room is?"
Both of them point two different ways. "Down this hall, and to the left," they say, alternating in sync with their assigned directions.
Sure enough, the game room is right where they said it is—more precisely, at the very end. The room is simple but colorful, with a plethora of screens and devices of all sizes. The designs are different from what he's familiar with (the purple box reminds him of a pyramid-shaped machine his son owned), but Olimar can definitely tell their function. The room appears to separate their game consoles by date of origin, with bulky arcade machines in one corner and the purple box and white rectangles in another. Towards the back is a small lounge area, with small, hand-held devices littering the coffee table. For the kid or kid-at-heart, this room is equivalent to heaven, and it's absolutely packed at the moment.
Olimar spots Alph playing with one of the white boxes—called a "Wii" by the Hands of the estate—and he waves back, waving a small, white remote. "Ollie, you're here! Did you come to play?"
"I really shouldn't," he stammers. "I'm not too great with games." At least, not this particular console. The last time he played with this thing, he lost his grip and the controller wound up dug deep into the recesses of the TV. And no, that incident had nothing to do with his loss against Dedede; why would he lose his temper over a silly game?
"You sure 'bout that?" Olimar doesn't get a moment to react, as he's pushed aside by a giant blue penguin. Speak of the devil—er, Dededevil? The penguin picks up a spare controller. "I'd like to see your face when I smash you off-course again!"
Alph furrows his brows. "Hey, I'm the one playing here. Challenge me instead!"
"Stay outta this, runt. This is between me an' the spaceman." He shoves Alph to the side, obviously to push Olimar's buttons. "Let's settle this in Smash!"
Olimar glares at Dedede, then shifts his eyes on the shelf carrying the spare controllers. "I accept your match." He grabs a black controller, normally meant for the purple cube, and thrusts it. "But we're playing by my rules."
With both controllers plugged in, they boot up the game and start a match. Olimar isn't quite sure why there are games based on current and past Smash tournaments, but they're believed to provide extra insight into the fighting styles of the various combatants. But whatever their original intention, most people use them to settle old grudges or flare up new ones. Going by the Captain's rules, they choose to do something a little different: playing as each other.
Their characters appear on the "Battlefield" stage, and the fight begins. Right away, it's obvious that they have no idea how they work. They spend a good minute mashing buttons, getting used to their avatars' patterns. Once they learn a few basic moves, they proceed to go all out. Dedede is a rather aggressive sort, but is surprisingly competent in the air, and his grabbing potential is killer. Fortunately, his weakness is visible once he leaves the center stage, and Olimar uses his few projectiles—cuddly Waddle Dees and spiny Gordos—to knock him away before using a series of chain grabs to gain the upper hand. Driven purely by their determination, the two are equally matched, knocking each other down to their last stock.
Eventually, the in-game clock runs out, and they are forced into a Sudden Death match. They hesitate—a single hit can make or break their chances—but rush onward. After avoiding each other's moves, they move in for the kill. Everything ends in a flash, as the announcer shouts, "Game!"
Neither of them know what to expect. But by then, they don't seem to care. They shake hands and congratulate each other for a good match. Then the game's announcer calls out the winner's name: "King Dedede!" Momentarily dazed by the results, Olimar and Dedede stare at each other, then laugh.
As Olimar exits the game room, Alph has been praising him non-stop, to the point where he has to be told to stop. "As much as I appreciate it, it's not really that big a deal."
"But Captai—"
"Just. DON'T."
Alph bites his lip and bows his head. The captain takes a glance at the young alien boy's face and turns away. Trying to put his thoughts into words, he opens his mouth to speak when the Koppaite yells, "Captain, look out," and pushes him to the side.
A cobalt blue blur zips by before skidding to a stop. The blur—now a hedgehog-like creature—skims its surroundings, then zips in a different direction. The moment is brief, but upon closer observation, the captain notices its pointed ears shifting about—possibly a warning.
Sure enough, the impending danger arrives. A cluster of seven sinister figures riding on round, clown-faced hovercrafts, blaze over the hedgehog's path, splitting up at the fork. Olimar and Alph separate and pursue them. They soon reunite, along with the figures, which trap their target in a corner. The figures resemble turtles with spiked shells, but colorful and varied in appearance. The one in the lead, most notably, has a large head of blue hair. The leader, wielding a sparkling rod, waves it and summons a spark of magic straight at the hedgehog.
At the last second, the hedgehog curls up into a ball and leaps, avoiding the blast. It then unleashes a spinning fury upon his foes, striking from above. With its supersonic speed, they never stood a chance. The seven pursuers lying unconscious on the floor, the hedgehog relaxes its stance. "Hey, buddy," it says with a grin; its voice visibly male. "Sorry I stole all the action. I'll let you have first hit next time."
He offers his fist, which Olimar bumps with his own, rather awkwardly. "Don't worry about it, Sonic. Who were those hooligans, anyway?"
"Dunno. But they look an awful lot like that Bowser creep."
He hasn't a chance to speak further on the subject when an announcement blares out. "Will Sonic please proceed to the backstage? The match will begin shortly. Thank you."
"Huh. Go take care of them for me, will ya? Gotta blast!" He zooms off, leaving the two space cadets alone.
As soon as the blue hedgehog is gone, the hooligans finally regain their senses. The lead hooligan scratches his hairy head. "Hey, where'd that blue thing go?" He glances at Olimar, then jabs the rod in his direction. "You! Short one! Get out of our way, or else."
Olimar raises his fists, but Alph steps in to interfere. "Hold it! We'll do what you want! Just drop your weapons." The leader and his accomplices comply, as does the Captain. "Good. We can start talking like fellows now. Let's start with—"
"We don't have time for introductions," says the azure leader. "Get to the point, or we will show no mercy."
"Let me handle this," the Captain mutters as he steps forward. "You there. Do you happen to know anyone by the name of Bowser?"
"Bowser, King of Koopas. Yes, he is our leader. We carry out 'special orders', if you may. But he's preoccupied at the moment, so we're carrying out our own mission."
"Is chasing innocent creatures part of your 'mission'?" Alph butts in.
"He was in our way," answers one of the henchmen, sporting a pink polka dot bow. "We were looking for someone else when we bumped into him."
His interest piqued, Olimar continues. "Who are you looking for?"
The brown-and-white minion is about to open his mouth when another, wearing pink shades, covers it. "That's none of yer beeswax, shortie!"
Olimar speaks on, unfazed. "Surely you can't give us a name, at least? Perhaps we can help apprehend him."
The leader shoots a glare. "You'll know when you see him. And when you do, tell him the Koopalings have arrived." With no apparent desire for further conflict, he and the others make their exit.
-Round Two Post-Script-
On the rooftops of the Smash Tower, a crystal-blue figure, bearing a strong resemblance to a certain mustached plumber, squeezes himself out of an air vent. Finally free from all pursuers, he transforms into his true self: a small, green turtle-like creature with a spiked shell and red-orange hair in a topknot.
He pulls off the bandanna covering his maw and sighs in relief. "So this is the Smash Tournament everyone's talking about," he muses while observing the red-and-navy-blue cosmic horizons. The skies are clear enough that he can count every star, if he could. Yet somehow, it all feels familiar, like something he's seen in a dream. "I don't see what the big deal is. Dad's been going to these sorts of things all the time. So why won't he let me fight?"
Suddenly, he hears a noise in the distance. Two, in fact. He turns around, wary. A short distance away is a brown dog, accompanied by a purple duck. The dog barks and the duck quacks, confirming themselves as the source of the sound. The dog approaches him and lies on its back.
Petting the animal's belly, he cannot help but smile. "Hey, boy. What's your name?" He reads the engraving on the collar's tag: IF FOUND, RETURN TO HUNTER. "Hmm. I guess I'll call you Hunter. 'Til we find your owner, anyway." He glances at the duck. "And I'll call you Ducky." The duck quacks in disapproval, but he pays no mind.
Another noise, loud and rumbling goes off. Hunter rolls over and perks up, with the duck following suit. He turns to watch what's provoking the animals. Up in the sky, a small speck turns into the shape of a spaceship as it grows closer. The spaceship shakes and trembles in the air for a while before it crash-lands at the foot of the Tower. Curious, they gather near the edge of the building, watching as the smoke clears.