Chapter 3: Ultra Smash is Ultra Trash, Amiright? ...Unfunny Doesn't Begin to Describe Me.
As the two entered the temple. They saw a quick glimpse of what seemed to be the heart of it before it was quickly sealed off.
Toad let out an annoyed sigh. "I'll go get the candles…"
All of a sudden, the candles in the room lit up one by one, the place soon being quite immuninated, giving off a nice glow and warmth. Then, a voice sounded.
"visit'rs of the temple of bask. Bef're thou art p'rmitt'd to proceed, a displayeth of art is requir'd.
Toad snapped his fingers "Use English, pachino. No one understands you if you took a meat cleaver to your words."
Mario quickly turned his head to face the mushroom retainer. "Toad!" he hissed, trying to shut him up.
The voice let out an obviously annoyed sigh. "Visitors of the Temple of Bask. Before you are permitted to proceed, a display of skill is required."
Toad huffed again as he crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "Great, another tutorial…"
Suddenly, the walls opened up a bit, displaying an illuminated button. "What the heck does this mean?" Mario and Toad simply stated in confusion. Then, without warning, a section of the floor rose, spitting out a tennis ball. Hastily, Mario hit it, miraculously hitting the wall the displayed the graphic.
A sounded chimed as that section of the wall went into the ground and another wall opened up, sharing a similar picture as the last one. Mario just sighed, preparing himself for what was to come.
Soon, enough, the trail seemed to be over, and the mysterious voice sounded again. "I sense great amounts of strength and honor in each swing, as well as an immeasurable amount of potential. I do believe you have what it takes to overcome any hardship and trial. But I must test you one last time. Please do prepare yourself."
Mario gave a determined nod and Toad… just kinda fell asleep.
Hey, let sleeping bups lie, you know?
More cryptic lights shown on the walls in front of Mario, the plumber performing different techniques for each unique one. Eventually, after he went for the tenth shot, the ground began to shake, making Mario almost lose his balance, as well as waking Toad up. Then, the entrance to the heart of the temple opened up.
Mario let down a gulp and turned towards Toad. "Well, I guess this is the way forward. You ready?"
Toad got up and just nodded. The two went forward, unsure of where to go. They eventually stumbled upon what appeared to be a dead end, only a handful of torches illuminating the place.
Mario took a good look around. "What the?" he simply asked himself out loud, unsure what to make of his new surroundings.
Suddenly, the voice from earlier sounded again, startling the two heroes. "Master Mario! I have been awaiting your most fated of arrivals! Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Aster, humble guardian of the noble King Bask. It is my duty to watch over the one known as Lucien."
Toad's eyes narrowed a bit. "Lucien? That's a pretty dumb name. Not gonna lie, it sounds really fancy, though."
Aster just sighed. "Please allow me to finish. Anyhow, as you are probably aware of by now, Lucien is the name that was given to an almighty racket once known as the Infinity Racket, its power being powerful enough to control people and giving those who wielded it immeasurable power. Many moons ago, King Bask once took hold of the racket, and with it, vanquished the kingdom and all who inhabited it. However, with the last piece of sanity and power the king had left, he sealed Lucien away, dividing its power into five separate stones known as the Power Stones. Said stones were hidden within throughout the island, and Lucien was sealed away within this very temple. Eons passed, and eventually, the racket has now fallen in new hands."
Toad shivered a bit before placing a hand to his chin. "That's…disturbing to say the least. I swear I've heard this from somewhere before, though…"
"Lucien had no trouble taking over two men so wholly motivated by greed, and, in general, were impure of heart," Aster continued. "I fear that the racket will try to gather the Power Stones and return to its original power."
Mario and Toad both jolted at this claim.
"It also appears that the racket is trying to bring this world to an end and create it anew."
Mario and Toad gasped at this. "Wait, WHAT?!"
"Allow me to explain," Aster simply stated, his tone becoming more melancholy. "It appears that seperate to this universe lies another that is occuring at the same time as this one." He stopped his monologue for his moment before continuing. "Master Mario, Luigi is your brother, correct?"
Mario simply nodded, already feeling tense.
Aster made a small sound that indicated worry. "I assumed so. There's another thing I had forgotten to mention. Lucien can link its power with the person it's controlling. Even from here, I can sense that your brother channels the same amount of potential as you, Master Mario. With that in mind, with the current power Lucien is at now, the entire multiverse is on the verge of collapsing! At this rate, it is only a matter of days until time and space collapse in on each other!"
Aster's voice began to turn to that of desperation. "The only hope left is for you to gather the Power Stones before Lucien does! However, I can sense that in the near future, you will have to fight Lucien."
Mario had completely frozen up at this point. He didn't know how to handle the information that was being handed to him. There was so many thoughts going around in his head that he had pretty much shut down, his eyes becoming clouded and dull.
Toad quickly tried to get Mario to snap out of his stupor. "Mario, please! You can't lose hope now! I…I know it's really scary, but I believe in you!"
"Master Mario, please listen to what I have to say," Aster added. Suddenly, life bursted back into Mario's eyes as he looked upward. "You cannot make it though with just raw power alone," Aster continued. "You must master a technique that has been passed down for eons known as the Special Shot. Do that, and you may just pervail."
Toad's face turned to that of hysteria. "'May just?!' Wow! That's uplifting!"
All of a sudden, a figure made of light formed, looking just like Mario.
"In here is a contraption that allowed the ancient people of the Kingdom of Bask to train," Aster explained. "Here you may discover new powers within."
Mario got into a stance to show that he was ready, yet he still couldn't shake of the information he had just be given earlier, causing him to get a little shaky. Letting down a gulp, he tried to compose and ready himself.
"In order to use the Special Shot, you must first master a new power known as the Zone Shot," Aster began. "Though, with your natural prowess, I'm certain you'll not have much trouble detecting the star point. If you jump high at one, you'll be able to hit the ball to various spots on the court. Please do give it a try, Master Mario."
Mario nodded before throwing the ball into the air and giving it a good whack, the clone(?) of him returning it with precision. That's when Mario noticed what seemed to be the star point. He went over to it and jumped up high. Upon choosing where to hit the ball, he sent it crashing down. When he landed back on the ground, he felt a bit lightheaded.
"Superb!" Aster exclaimed. "Using the Zone Shot has the potential to damage the opponent's racket. As you'd expect, too much damage would cause it to break, leaving them unable to continue, and thus be crown the loser. Perfect the Zone Shot, and the way you play the glorious game that is time will be forever changed. That is no exaggeration-merely fact. If you think of the Zone Shot as an attack technique, that must mean there's a defensive counter."
"Jesus, this guy likes to talk a lot," Toad thought to himself, rolling his eyes.
"What I'm alluding to is called Zone Speed," Aster continued. "Using it sharpens your focus to unimaginable levels, seemingly letting you slow the flow of time so you can easily chase the ball down. Master it, and all distractions will seem to melt away!"
Mario served the ball once again, the copy of him soon returning it. Mario nodded before crossing his arms and closing his eyes. "This is it. MY ZONE SPEED!" He extended his arms outward as every color around him turned inverse for a second. Then, everything was almost completely still. He put all of his focus on the ball, hitting it almost within an instant. Then, time resumed, the ball zooming past the copy of him.
Aster made a noise that indicated that they were impressed. "Exceptional. You're a true natural, though that execution was a bit exaggerated. No matter, though. Regardless, Zone Speed is a good way to catch up to the ball. And do not worry-executing such a technique won't reduce the power of your Zone Shot. It's also advisable for you to master your block timing so you can protect your racket from Zone Shots."
Without warning, the copy of him jumped up in the air, red flakes of power swirling around the court. Then, the tennis ball came crashing down. At the last second, Mario was able to use his Zone Speed to help him block it with ease. He let out a sigh of relief as his copy failed to continue the rally.
"Might you be weary, Master Mario? You'll need to store up energy in order to execute Zone Speed and Zone Shots. Your energy needs to be at least a third full in order to use much moves."
All of a sudden, a small, electronic device fell in front of Toad. He was startled at first, but soon eye the machine curiously. He picked it up, and a small screen displaying Mario's stats emitted from it. Toad cocked his head in confusion.
"In order to off of such potent moves, you will need to find ways to increase your energy," Aster explained. "For one thing, your energy will increase gradually as you continue rallies and perform Charge Shots. There's also such a move known as the Max Charge Shot. As the name might imply. using it will store up more energy than a standard Charge Shot."
Mario took a deep breath before serving the ball again. When it was approaching his side, he quickly went towards it and began tightening his focus. Then, when the ball reached him, he whacked it with full force, the copy of him just barely being able to return it. Mario proceeded to return the ball with another Max Charge Shot, his copy not being able to get to the ball in time.
"Exceptional!" Aster exclaimed. "Anyway, one good method of increasing your energy is by performing a Trick Shot. A Trick Shot makes use of your particular skill set in order to help you reach balls that are afar. You can use this to your advantage by making the opponent think they have the upper edge, only for you to easily return the ball. However, Trick Shots are like a double-edged sword. Lest your timing be off, you'll lose energy insteading of gaining it. In short, it's a high-risk, high-reward type of shot. It all revolves around timing."
Mario nodded again, serving the ball soon afterwards. When the ball was being returned to his side, Mario took quick note of the star point. Putting all of his focus into it, he quickly jumped to it with incredible speed, silhouettes of him following behind him very briefly.
However, he just barely missed the ball. Hey, the Trick Shot is hard as hell to do. Don't blame him.
The second time, though, he hit it with perfect precision, which Aster was quick to point out. The rally continued, as did Mario's performance of Trick Shots getting better and better. Eventually, the copy stepped to the side, causing the rally to end.
"What a wonder Trick Shot!" Aster beamed. "Alight. I do believe it is finally time for you to unleash a Special Shot. It is a move with huge amounts of raw power and potential. Using such a move can potentially change the entire momentum of a match. Upon releasing your stored-up energy, you'll unleash a Special Shot that is uniquely you! Only when you have max energy can you perform such a technique. Now, let out the Special Shot lying deep within you!"
Mario served the ball once more, the plumber storing up more energy by performing Charge Shots. Suddenly, the screen displaying from the weird machine Toad was holding on to let out a couple beeps.
"Mario! I think you're able to use the Special Shot now!" Toad announced.
Mario faced Toad for a brief moment and nodded. He then brought his attention to the tennis ball and performed a small fist pump. He proceed to jump up, leaping from invisible wall to invisible wall. Then, he focused on where he wanted to hit the ball. He eyes gleamed as he sent the ball careening down.
When he made contact with the temple floor once again, he was obviously fatigued from performing such a powerful move. He held a hand to his head before beginning to fall down, but Toad was quick to catch him.
"Truly mesmerizing, Master Mario! It seems you are weary, after all. With time, though, you'll be able to use the Special Shot with ease. However, you have now learned all that I have to teach you. You truly are a first-rate tennis hero, Master Mario.
Toad helped to push Mario back up to his feet, the plumber still very dizzy. "Thank you, Aster!" Toad beamed. "But…where do we go?
Then, a small map appeared before Toad, he picked it up and unrolled it, the picture on it depicting the whole island. I mean, what did he expect? A portal to Narnia? God, I wish.
"The marks on the map show you where each Power Stone lies. If you need instructions on how to find each stone, feel free to check out the map I've given you two."
Toad scanned the map before looking up and giving a determined nod. "Okay. We'll do our best, Aster."
Aster made a noise that indicated content. "Excellent. I await your safest of returns and I wish you the best of luck."
Toad nodded and helped Mario up, who had since fallen down. With that he helped to guide Mario out of the temple. As they exited, Toad gave a small wave to Aster, even though he is likely a disembodied voice.
...Aster is a boy, right? Apparently, it's a girl name meaning "star". It's also a type of flower. ...That's not to say guys can't like flowers. Sorry if you thought that. I don't really know if Aster is referred to by any pronouns in game. The wiki just said he was a guy.
That, and I kind of stopped playing the game at the part where there's the spooky mansi- oh shit SPOILERS!
I should be dead.
I guess I should mention something. Quite a while back, I got a review mentioning how a tennis racket having the power to end the world is stupid, to say the least. To them I say, "Oh, how little you know."
It only gets worse from here, folks, and I'm not just talking about the quality of this story.
