"And so it is here…the end result of the culmination of the work of the ages of the pirates in the ninja outfits who turned into zombies…Where was I going with this?
"Uh, anyway, this is the last chapter. You've all been so kind about your enjoyment of this. I would like to thank the following: Lxzrules, The Great Fairy, Chibi-princesa, Suber Smash Brothers, Hawktakesflight, XBlank Dot Paper Dot MoonX, Laguzgirl13, the hostess; NaruHinaForever13, and Souldin. I'm glad you all like this so much!
"So to start the final chapter, I'm going to have Master Hand say the disclaimer. Sir Hand? If you please?"
"'Foxpilot does not own Smash Bros. That is my job, even though I rarely have anything to do with the fighters.' Wait, I do so have a lot to do with the Smashers! I made the Smash Mansion and turned it into the Smash Compound, for the sake of—!" Master Hand is cut off when he is sealed in a dome of soundproof glass.
Foxpilot releases the button before speaking. "Heh heh…has anyone else noticed that he hardly does anything? How'd he get to be the leader, anyway? Ah well. Let it…Begin!"
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It was far too quiet, too peaceful for the scene of an upcoming battle. There was surprisingly little noise despite the approach of a massive, if stereotypical, dust cloud. The only way to know that the dust was actually an army was the feeling of the earth beneath the Smashers' feet trembling.
Then the cries came.
Roaring, screeching, hollering, and agonizing calls pierced the air as the Pokémon force charged forth, howling more viciously than a pack of feral and rabid dogs could ever hope to match.
Though Red's rally had completed, the fighters were still a little reluctant to attack the oncoming mass head-on. These weren't just any creatures. Sure, most of the fighters had faced large packs of dangerous animals, ranging from puffballs to dragonoids to titanic beasts made by pure evil, in their homelands. But these creatures—these Pokémon—weren't an enemy force as they were used to.
They were a legion of mostly-intelligent organisms that were defending their territory and ideals.
Several Smashers—Red and Squirtle, Marth, Ike, Lucario, Pikachu, Jigglypuff, and the so-called villains—had begun to charge, but most stopped a few steps later when they realized the rest of their force had hung back.
The calls were getting louder, the rumble of the ground rising in strength. The intense noise was working rather hard to drown out these Smashers as they tried to convince the others to attack, even as Ganondorf, Bowser, Wolf, Dedede, and Wario forged onward into the fray, not caring about harming the Pokémon. Red did his best to convince the remaining fighters to help nonetheless.
"C'mon, guys! If we don't stop them, the Compound will be destroyed! They've already broken through the fence bordering the forest. We have to stop them before they get to the rooms—our homes! If we don't fight, they'll crush us!"
Zelda stepped forward and rested a hand on Red's shoulder. Turning back to the group, the princess put in her words. "He's right. This isn't just a place to gather and fight. This is our second home, all of us. If you don't defend your own home, then what are you willing to defend?" Eyes shifted to the ground, guilty looks showing in them.
Marth spoke up from his position a few steps forward. "Zelda's right, too. I once had to abandon my home, leaving Altea to be torn apart by Dolhr. I will never forget that feeling, leaving my country when they needed me most, just so that I may live another day. I know that none of you are afraid to fight, afraid to defend what you believe in. Call me sappy, but I intend to live to see Caeda again as well as keep the Smash Compound safe from further harm." Marth's speech was met with incoherent mutters of shame. In the distance, Wolf's howl celebrated the fall of a large, grey snake that seemed to be composed of rock crashed to the ground with a mighty roar of pain.
"That's it. I've had enough. I'm going in." All eyes turned to Link, who was unsheathing the Master Sword. "Zelda, red, and Marth are right. This is our home so much as any other land. We should defend it as such."
"You're just saying that because your girlfriend is siding with the kid and the pretty boy," snarled Snake. Link flushed as Marth frowned and Zelda gasped. Red merely looked angry.
"She-I-we…She's not my girlfriend! And that's beside the point! Come on, don't tell me you of all people are scared, Snake! You've gone and faced giant metal monsters that could easily take ten times more what any of these creatures can!" Link gained composure and feeling as he continued his war rally. "You"—Link pointed to Mario and Luigi—"have fought creatures and terrifying ghosts that only a freak like Bowser could come up with." Link turned to Olimar. "You travel through space, one of the most hostile and dangerous climates ever."
Link rounded on Fox and Falco. "You two have fought enormous bio-weapon things on the surface of a star, and destroyed entire races. And you're willing to let your biggest rival show you up?" Before either could protest, the Hylian switched to the Ice Climbers. "You two scale tall mountains for fun, not caring about the creatures you had to get past!"
As Link rounded on Pit, the angel cut him off. "Link, it's not that we're afraid." The divine captain, though obsessed with olives, had a knack for calming people. Some said it was a gift from Palutena to help keep peace. "It's that these creatures aren't just enemies. They're Pokémon! We fought alongside them in our battles, learned to respect them for their powers. For Red and the Pokémon Smashers, this is a normal Pokémon battle. The…darker Smashers don't have the respect that we do, so they plunged into this easily. And Marth and Ike have fought against creatures with mystical powers before, so this is familiar." Red, the Pokémon, and the Fire Emblem holders all nodded in turn.
"At the same time, though," said Fox, "Link is right. At the very least, we can't allow ourselves to be shown up by the 'darker Smashers,' as you say. So if nothing else, we should do this for our pride." A number of fighters rallied behind the vulpine's epiphany.
"Hell, you're all right. This is our home, these creatures are nothing we can't handle, and we have our pride as the best on the line. If we don't do this, we all have something to regret." Snake's homily rang true for everyone in some way. "Good lucks" and "I'm ready"s were exchanged, weapons were prepared, and powers were called upon. Together as one at last, the rest of the Smashers charged forth, screaming various battle cries. The action ahead ceased momentarily as the force made for the conflict. The darker Smashers, beaten, burnt, wet, and bloody, had to turn back to the fight to hide their grins. The real battle had just begun.
The main body of the Smasher army hit the Pokémon platoons head-on. Each fighter made their way, in ones, twos, and small groups, into the horde to take on the maximum number of opponents possible.
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Ike slammed Ragnell down once again, using the flat of the blade to concuss a large, poison-spitting flower into unconsciousness. He then turned and delivered a sideways flat-slash to a tree-like creature, sending it back into a Pokémon Ike recognized as a Meowth. The mercenary's instinct kicked in, telling him to duck just as a ball of flame flew through the space where his head had just been. Ike lashed out with a foot, sending a red, tiger-striped dog back into the mass. The Greil leader then performed a Counter on the incoming foot of the tree creature, which had managed to stay awake. Or perhaps it was a different one? Ike had stopped trying to tell anymore, busy as he was with fighting for his life, home, and, of course, friends.
Ike pulled a quick Eruption to send much of the force back a bit, giving him some breathing room. As Pokémon fainted, their bodies were swallowed by the thronging crowd, presumably pulled away for healing or just to be out of the way. Ike could have sworn he saw the same giant pink cow four times in the past…how long had it been?
The rush of another Eruption almost drowned out the scream. Wasting no time, Ike whipped around and lunged with a Quick Draw. In a mass of super-powered creatures, there was no time to wait and hope someone else could take care of the victim.
An Eruption. A Quick Draw. A Counter to send a particularly strong charging bull into a large, purple snake. Then an Aether—why hadn't he thought of this earlier?—to help him see where the scream had come from. In the split second Ike was in the air, his eyes caught sight of the origin. There, a few dozen feet to his left, was Zelda, pinned under the feet of a large, armored kangaroo. The Princess of Hyrule was fighting back with all her might, but the kangaroo, child in tow, wasn't letting her do anything. Ike also spotted Link fighting his way toward the princess. But Ike was closer.
Ike landed hard, cleaving a—fortunately hard-shelled—purple bug out of the sky and crushing giant red flower. Ike leapt off the flower immediately, remembering Red saying that a Pokémon like this was known for its vile poisons. He was just in time: the flower pushed a cloud of orange dust out of the tube in the middle of its flower. Ike rolled backwards, knowing that the dust was certainly a devious toxin with devastating effects. Several of the surrounding Pokémon breathed in the spores and promptly collapsed, stunned and unable to move. They were quickly absorbed by their comrades.
Ike stood up, slashing himself a new circle in the process. A small break in the crowd gave him his bearings and let him find where Zelda was again. She had thrown the kangaroo thing off of her, but she was still grappling with it. The princess was sending sparks of magic into the Pokémon, but the creature seemed pretty resistant. As Ike swept aside a two-headed giraffe, he managed to catch the sight of the kangaroo head-butting Zelda, causing her to lose her grip on the creature. Zelda was instantly piled on by several smaller creatures.
Ike roared in frustration, causing a few meeker species in front of him to pause. He used this advantage to cut his way a little closer to the princess. An inch at a time, each opponent as they came, Ike forced his way through the army towards Zelda's position. He wouldn't, couldn't let her die here! The princess was struggling to get the Pokémon off her, but as each was repelled another joined the pile on her body. Ike didn't know how long she'd last, or even how long he'd be able to hold up. He just had to get to the princess…
A rage-fueled swipe sent a black-and-grey dog scurrying. Finally, the path was clear! Charging forward, Ike tried a spinning slash. Ragnell's weight gave the move too much momentum, but it gave him enough room to begin prying the little Pokémon off of the struggling Smasher. Stumbling, Ike surged forth and swiped two away at once, sending a purple rat and a small brown bird into the mass of their kin.
Ike's presence seemed to empower Zelda. One more time, the princess let out a great burst of magic—the repelling move Nayru's Love. As the small creatures landed, Ike sent them away with blasts of Eruption. As Ike turned to check with Zelda, he was hit by a solid weight in the back of his head.
Ike must have blacked out for a moment, for he didn't remember hitting the ground. When he came to, his face was in war-churned dirt that tasted of metals and battle. "Ike!" That's right, the princess! Ike rolled over and forced himself up. The Hyrulean noble was once again locked with the kangaroo, holding back with everything she had left. Through the fog-inducing pain, Ike managed to grasp the situation.
On his left was Peach, using her infamous sports and pantry paraphernalia to fend back the throng. To his back was Kirby, repelling the onslaught with his hammer and kicks. And holding his right flank was Link, Master Sword little more than a blur. He'd been out longer than he thought. Crap!
The mercenary wasted no more time. He lunged forward and bashed the hilt of—wait, where was Ragnell? All he hit the kangaroo with was a fist! It bought Zelda her needed distraction, though. Pumping magic through her hands, the Hylian noblewoman threw the injured creature back. It hit a large, send-colored hedgehog. Both creatures crashed to the ground and lay still.
Turning back to where he lay, Ike noticed his blessed broadsword in the dirt where he had lay. The blade, though invulnerable to damage, was still dirty. Blood was absent though—"Pokémon don't bleed for reasons unknown to even top scientists," Red had once said. Grabbing the sacred weapon, Ike whirled around and whacked a large green bug with scythes for arms across the head.
Ike took up a place between Zelda and Peach, seeing that their line had the heaviest offense. Though many Pokémon still remained, the creatures' numbers seemed to be thinning. Over to the left, he could see Marth and Lucario back-to-back, fending off opponents with skillful blade-work and Aura strikes. And a little ahead, Mario, Luigi, and Bowser had teamed up in a threesome to repel enemies using all sorts of flames and physical attacks.
The mercenary reached out with his sword arm, taking down a purple moth. As the adrenaline began rushing in his system once more, he noticed things that began to worry him. All of the fighters had seemed fine from the ground, but now he heard ragged breaths; saw bloody wounds; sensed the weakness from his compatriots. Another look at Marth and Lucario showed the prince with blood caked onto his armor and hair, while the Aura master's paws glowed brightly with damage-fueled Aura energy. The Mario Bros. were panting heavily, showing fatigue whenever they finished an attack, while Bowser's flames came in shorter and shorter bursts. The commander had little doubt that things were going to end badly.
Countering a vine, Ike turned to Zelda. The princess' dress was ruined completely and her face had taken a horrible fire attack. Her moves came more slowly and with less force; the Pokémon in front of her were now able to take more than a couple of attacks. Ike's head was throbbing uncontrollably and red flashed in his vision. They couldn't last much longer.
It was time to confess.
"Zelda," Ike croaked. His voice was weaker and less confident than usual, which drew the inquired party's attention. Repelling a blast of electricity, the princess looked at Ike in concern.
"Z-Zelda—" Ike burned a walking blueberry before continuing. "Princess, I-I know this isn't the place, but I don't know if we can make it." Zelda nodded, blasting a three-headed bird away. "I think that you should know that…that I admire…no I love you! I think you're the best woman ever! I can't understand why you prefer Meta Knight, but I suppose I can respect it. After all, it's not my place to judge—."
"Ike, I thank you for your kind display, but I don't like Meta Knight in that way." This caught Link's attention. He glanced back, a look of surprise and hope that only Ike caught. Zelda reversed a fireball before continuing.
"I don't know what gave you that idea, but if it has anything to do with Link's drama-recording act, then I can explain."
"I saw you kissing him earlier today."
"So it was you at my door?" Ike remained silent. "I wasn't kissing him. I was helping him!" Zelda turned to Ike, ready to explain herself. Big mistake.
The sound of a rock shattering was accompanied by fragments of a boulder raining onto Hyrule's princess. With a yell of pain, the noblewoman collapsed, finally reaching her limit. As a foot came down to crush her, two blades caught the appendage. Looking up, Ike and Link met eyes before following the leg.
Charizard. The once-loyal Pokémon had used its Rock Smash move to take out Zelda before trying to crush her body. The circle of five, now four, tightened to cover their disabled member. As Snake and Peach fended off several great purple shadows, some humanoid, others just a face and hands, Link and Ike readied themselves. Each growling their own curses at the dragonoid, the two stuck out with their weapons.
Charizard blocked both with its wings, using the appendages' surprising strength to keep the weapons from harming its body proper. Link took advantage of this, though. He pulled out his Gale Boomerang and threw it, point blank, at the lizard. There was no avoiding it.
As Charizard reeled back, the swordfighters lashed out again. Link hit the rebellious Pokémon with a Spin attack as Ike pulled out the strongest slash he could muster. Charizard flew back into a bald, blue tadpole-thing, but recovered itself. Red had trained it wonderfully.
Charizard lunged forward to meet its foes, only to slam into crossed blades. Though dazed, the creature still had its senses. It hit the warriors across their faces with its wings, sending them stumbling a bit. But neither would allow Charizard to get to its primary target. Link fired a quick shot with is Bow, giving Ike room to damage Charizard with an Aether. "RRRAAAAAAAHHHHH!" The move hit one, two, three, five, seven times before the Greil commander brought his target to the trampled ground.
But that was his last mistake. When he landed, Ike left himself wide open to the oncoming hail of seed pellets. He crumbled under the weight of the move, shunting all energy he had into staying awake. He wasn't going to stop, not now!
Link silenced his attacker with a bomb as Charizard gathered itself to charge. Seeing the danger, Link did the only thing he could and threw himself in front of his fallen comrades, catching Charizard's head on the gleaming flat of the Master Sword's blade.
A struggle for power ensued. Neither party was willing to give in. Charizard had brute strength to aid it, but Link had done this before when fighting Ganondorf. It was an incredible struggle between power and skill, neither giving an inch. Time slowed; both allies and enemies' actions drawing to a near stop. Ike watched as Link, through sheer will and courage, slowly repelled the dragon-like Pokémon. He could do it too! And when Charizard was off balance…
It never got there. Drawing upon its evolutionary advantage, Charizard lashed out with a wing again. The hit sent Link sprawling to the side, where he was mobbed by several other creatures.
No, Ike thought, it can't end like this! Charizard stood over him, victory all but assured. It gave a mighty roar before drawing its foot up to crush Ike.
"PIKA…CHUUUUUUUU!" A round bolt of blue slammed into Charizard, electrifying it and sending the creature onto its back. The rebellious fighter didn't get up.
"All troops: move out!" Ike must have been going crazy. The sky was raining angels, each hitting targets with surprising accuracy. The mercenary could even believe he was hearing hypnotic music as an enormous octopus, clearly in two dimensions, worked its way through the mass of bodies, tearing a path.
Heavy arms fire finally connected it for Ike. Looking over, he saw three tanks, two with blue trims and one with red, fire their cannons into the crowd and sending the Pokémon into the air. Final Smashes. The cavalry had come, so to speak.
The Pokémon, seeing these ultimate moves before them, knew the battle was lost. They began to flee back into the woods they had come from. As the heavily-thinned army retreated back into the forest, Ike made out Red returning Charizard to its Pokeball. A concerned pink face appeared above him, covered in bruises and other injuries. It began, of all things, to sing, a lovely song that lulled the seasoned mercenary to sleep. Ike fell into peace with the one word of lyrics echoing in his ears.
"Jigglypuff…"
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Dark. He was panicking. It was dark, more shadows than the deepest night could muster. He hadn't felt a fear like this since…how long ago was that awful battle? Minutes? Hours? Days? …Weeks or months? How long had he been out?
His breathing became shallow and rapid, fear clutching at his heart. He became aware of a beeping sound. His arms weren't reacting to his commands. Were they paralyzed? Were they destroyed?
Were they…gone?
He let out a scream. He thought it was silent, in his head alone, but a surprised voice, one he'd heard before, began to call to him.
"Link?" It started small. "Link?" It was more afraid now. "Link, wake up!"
"Wake up"? What did that mean, "wake up"? He became aware of a pressure around his eyes. Weak pressure, but familiar. His eyes were closed.
Link snapped his eyes open, blinking as the world came into focus again. Raising his head, he found that one side seemed heavier than the other.
"Link, are you alright?" The voice…it was real. Link turned his head and saw Zelda staring at him. Her eyes face was a mess, with scratches and cuts marring the once-pristine skin. At least, one side of it: the entire left side of her head above her mouth was covered by sterile gauze. Her dress was fresh, though, clearly put on recently. Her hands were trembling, and Link could tell that she was exhausted.
Link tried to respond, but all that came out was a sort of croaking cough. His mouth was dry, clearly unused for some time. Link let his mouth fill with spit to moisten it, swallowing before he tried again. "Pr…princess? I'm…I'm okay. How about you?" He gave the most reassuring smile he could pull forth.
Zelda smiled back—suddenly she didn't seem so tired. "Link, thank the Goddesses you're awake. I was so fright—concerned." The slight of tongue didn't get past Link. He was already recovering his instincts and senses. Training and often taking beatings were great ways to learn to pick oneself up quickly. "You should rest. You're really a hero tonight, Link."
The Hero of Twilight looked at his princess. "I…I am?"
"You don't remember much, do you?" Link shook his head. Though he was gaining his wits, he also had learned from experience that remembering things through the fog of pain was difficult. And he had a splitting headache at the moment.
Zelda continued gently. "You saved both Ike and I from Charizard. You fought wonderfully and to your breaking point. Charizard got you, though, on the head.
Charizard…fight…of course! Link started as the memories of the fight came flooding back. Red's pep talk. The initial charge. Hearing Zelda scream. Defending a fallen Ike. Holding out against the numerous beasts that wanted their blood. His last meeting with Charizard. The wing…
Link tried to bring a hand to the side of his face, but his arms still wouldn't move. He remembered this feeling now: he'd had this same experience after stopping Ganondorf the last time, after meeting the buff wizard in a sword clash. He wouldn't be able to use his strained arms for some time.
Zelda kept speaking. "You've been out for a while Link. I think you need the details. Apparently, Red's Pokémon went into the woods at night to get on a sort of Pokémon high. They would provoke Ghost types into using a move called Confuse Ray on them. While they were in the confused state from the aptly-named move, they would tell other Pokémon exaggerated stories about our Brawls and the way they were generally treated. Eventually, they began to believe their own stories and planned a sort of revolution. Thankfully, several Smashers had the presence of mind to go to the storage sheds during the fight and grab Smash Balls. They used their Final Smashes to herd the Pokémon back into the woods. Red and the Pokémon from the Compound are working to calm the forest down as we speak."
It made sense. Link had heard talk—merely small rumors—that Red's friends had been acting strange lately, getting lost or attacking things that weren't there. This "Confuse Ray" sounded like the kind of thing that would make them behave oddly.
"Link?"
"Yes, Princess?" Link looked over and saw Zelda looking at him like she had something to say. "What is it?"
"Link…I already told Ike this—he was up a while ago—but you should know, too. You were in Ike's plot, after all. The reason Meta Knight was in my room…well, Master Hand had noticed some strange things happening in the woods and wanted Meat Knight and I to look into it. It turned out that it was the Pokémon planning their revolt. Meta Knight lost his mask during the fighting and got burned on his tongue by a yellow horse-thing. Red called it a 'Numel.' We went back to my room to get some first-aid, and I was applying dressing to his burns. Meta Knight was trying to thank me when Ike came by, and he thought we sounded like a kissing couple. I must admit, I did too. And the scene you caught of us in the ballroom? Well, that was Meta and I discussing defense plans. Needless to say, they weren't ready before the attack, but you did manage to see our moment. I promise you, Meta Knight isn't my type."
Link looked at Zelda. "So are you and Ike dating now, then?" Link couldn't keep the disappointment out of his voice.
"No, it's not like that, either." Link let surprise write itself on his face. "No, Link. The one I really like is…"
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It had been a few days since the attack. Work crews had repaired most of the damage from the enormous Pokémon battle and the scene was beautiful again. Falco looked up from his desk, where he was playing an online card game with Fox, and beheld the beauty for a moment. Grinning, the bird put the game on hold before opening the window and drawing a breath.
"What a wonderful day! Oh, it's such a beautiful, wonderful daaaaaaay!" Falco's horrible off-key singing drowned out the quiet opening of his door. Feet padded across the carpet, and as the avian steeled himself for the next verse, two feet lashed out. The kicks were well-aimed, striking the bird in the upper back and sending him toppling over the windowsill and onto the ground below. "AAAAAAAAHHHH!"
Thump! As Falco cursed his attackers and dragged himself off to the infirmary again, he could hear the giggles of whoever had pushed him this time.
In the bird's room, Link and Zelda couldn't control themselves. They escalated from chuckles to laughter, falling on the floor and kicking wildly. It was very immature, but neither was embarrassed. That is, until they had calmed down and heard the sound of something hitting the bottom of a bowl.
Turning around, tears in their eyes, they saw Pit holding a plastic container of olives. An awkward moment passed before the angel spoke up.
"So," Pit began, putting a fruit in his mouth, "finally together, huh?" Zelda and Link's faces turned to scowls.
"How many do you want, Pit?" Both Smashers knew the angel wouldn't keep this quiet without a cost. They weren't ready to reveal it yet…
"A carton a week."
Link sighed while Zelda said, "Deal."
Pit turned to go, but stopped. "By the way," another olive in his mouth, "Ike's got a new crush. Some girl named 'Liliana' or something. Didn't that old guy Roy know someone like that?" Zelda and Link exchanged glances. The mercenary had gotten over his infatuation quick…or maybe he was looking for a replacement? "Meh, that's all. I expect my first payment of Sunday." Pit walked off.
Once Pit was out of earshot, Link turned to Zelda. "For an angel, he really knows how to take advantage of people." Zelda nodded in agreement.
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"And that is all, folks! I think I went pretty much all-out on this chapter. And I think it turned out pretty darn well. But I'm speaking as the creator, and am biased.
"A little look into my creative process. Snake was supposed to be Fox, but then I came up with the Landmaster-herding thing. I realized that our vulpine friend wouldn't be able to get to his tank. So I put in Pikachu. Then I realized that other FSs would be useful and Pikachu would have the same problem as Fox. So I used Snake. But I thought about using Snake's FS. I discarded it because I had changed it enough and I figured that Snake would have a hard time getting a helicopter out in the Compound.
"My next chapter will either be 'Blue Sun' or 'Ruto Tortures,' so for fans of both, hang in there. Until such time, ciao chow!"