So, I've been cranking these out daily, and I'll try to keep it that way. The tournament has started! By the way, I'm treating each match as 1-stock and itemless (easier to write). Well, here you go…
CHAPTER 4: THE TOURNAMENT BEGINS
"And we're live in 5…4…3…2…1."
"WELCOME ALL SMASHERS TO THE SUPER SMASH BROS. TOURNAMENT!" yelled the announcer into his microphone.
It was a week since Ike had arrived, and in that week, about 20 other competitors had shown up as well. They were all standing in a large room assembled at the foot of a stage. The announcer, a short, chubby man with a moustache and a booming voice, was standing on the aforementioned stage, a huge screen flashing the SSL logo, a circle with two lines intersecting in the bottom left portion, taking up the wall behind him. The tournament was about to start.
"YOU WILL EACH BE ASSIGNED A COMPETITOR DAILY. YOU WILL FIGHT YOUR OPPONENT ON A PREPICKED STAGE. IF YOU WIN, YOU ADVANCE IN YOUR LEG OF THE TOURNAMENT, IF YOU LOSE, YOU WILL BE DISQUALIFIED FROM THE TOURNAMENT, THOUGH YOU MAY STAY AT THE FORTRESS IF YOU WISH. ANY QUESTIONS? NO? GOOD. THEN LET THE TOURNAMENT BEGIN!"
The gigantic screen suddenly changed, and a fight generator map came up. Everyone's face was in a box at the top, with two selection boxes at the bottom.
"THE FIRST COMPETITOR WILL BE…" boomed the announcer as faces began to flick through the selection boxes at alarming speeds, "MARIO!" A short, plump, mustachioed man in overalls and a red hat immediately jumped onto the stage and stood next to the announcer. "AND HIS OPPONENT WILL BE…" the man said as the faces flashed in the other box, "LUCAS!" Ike looked around to find that a small boy with short blond hair had appeared at the man's side almost before he had finished announcing his name. "THEY WILL BE FIGHTING ON THE…" yelled the announcer once again as the screen switched to the stage selection map, "ONETT!" The boy named Lucas smiled at this fact. The screen flashed a picture of a seemingly peaceful suburban neighborhood, three buildings in particular, one with a tree hanging over it, one with awnings jutting out from it's sides, and one with a telephone line directly overhead.
"NOW, IF YOU WILL PLEASE STEP ONTO THE TELEPORTERS, YOUR BRAWL WILL BEGIN IMMEDIATELY."
They did as they were told, and stepped onto the indicated glowing pads. They disappeared and reappeared in the stage on the screen. Ike was impressed by this feat of technology. "But then again, I'm impressed at a lot of things," though Ike as he looked over at Samus, who, noticing his stare, blushed a bit and looked back at the screen.
Returning his attention to the fight, he was just in time to see Mario and Lucas appear in the stage. The announcer counted down, "3…2…1…GO!" and the two instantly engaged each other in combat. Ike was astounded at some of their attacks. Was Mario a Fire Sage? How did Lucas pick Mario up without touching him? These were a few of the things that ran through Ike's mind as the fight went on. He had no idea that some of these things were possible. The fight terminated, Mario being the victor.
"OH, SO SORRY LUCAS. HOWEVER, YOU WILL GET THE CHANCE TO FIGHT ANOTHER BATTLE AND, SHOULD YOU WIN, YOU WILL FIGHT MARIO AGAIN IN THE NEXT ROUND. DO YOU ACCEPT?"
Lucas nodded his head, hope in his eyes. This hope was shot down when his opponent for the remedial battle was announced: "SNAKE!" The crowd grew silent as the man in military gear I had seen my first day took the stage. Lucas looked scared out of his mind.
"YOU WILL BE FIGHTING IN…SHADOW MOSES ISLAND!"
The screen showed a picture of the exterior of what looked to be a military compound. It was large, cold, and bleak. Snake and Lucas walked on to the teleporter pads and disappeared. As soon as the fight started, Snake took out a bazooka and aimed it at the cowering Lucas. He said coldly, "You're not worth my time," and fired the rocket, sending Lucas flying off the screen.
Ike was flabbergasted. Snake had made such short work of Lucas. Ike had never seen a fight that was so short. "Well, that explains why Lucas was so scared of him." Snake wordlessly walked back into the crowd of competitors, while Lucas was taken to the medical ward to treat his injuries.
The next two matches went by rather quickly, with Kirby, a small pink puffball who could swallow people whole, beating R.O.B., a robot representing the Fortress in the tournament, and Wario, an ugly, fat man that reeked of garlic, defeating Pikachu, a small yellow mouse with electric properties. Both losers declined the offer of another challenge. Then it was Link's turn to fight.
Ike flashed a smile at Link as he walked to the pads. Link was fighting Captain Falcon, a bounty hunter in racing gear with a falcon emblem on his helmet. They were fighting on the Bridge of Eldin, a famous landmark in Hyrule. It was a very long, flat, narrow beam spanning a deep ravine. Link looked confident as he appeared on one end of the beam. The fight was commenced and Captain Falcon sent a flying kick in Link's direction, which Link easily blocked with his shield. Falcon let loose a flurry of quick jabs, but Link blocked every single one. They engaged in this manner for a long while, Captain Falcon on the offensive, and Link on the defensive. Captain Falcon was starting to tire. Wanting to end the fight, he charged up his secret weapon, the Falcon Punch. But the charge was a second too long. Sensing an opening, Link quickly swung his sword, striking Captain Falcon in gut, and knocking him into the ravine below. As Link emerged from the teleporter, he looked directly at Zelda with a look almost implying that he was seeking approval. Zelda merely turned a deep shade of crimson and looked away.
Link's had been the last fight for the day, and everyone went back to their rooms. The staff of the Fortress had arranged a party for the winners, but Snake and Wario hadn't showed up, much to the delight of many of the competitors. They ended up celebrating Kirby and Link's victories and getting quite drunk in the process. Several of the guests needed to be carried back to their rooms, while others simply passed out in mid-sentence. Ike tried to stay away from the alcohol for fear of fighting the next day. He was one of the only ones who did. As the party began to wrap up, he went back up to his room, carefully avoiding stepping on the hung-over bodies of those who had failed at this simple task. As he went to bed that night, he thought of Samus and how beautiful she had looked that day.
END CHAPTER 4
Well, that was fun. In case you couldn't tell, I've decided to make Snake somewhat evil. The fights continue and there will be a twist of sorts in the next chapter, so stay tuned.
I'm planning on having this become a kind of saga, so it will be very long by the time I'm finished. I've come up with a lot of great plot ideas, but if anyone has a good idea, I'm completely open to them. Remember, reviews make the world go round, and I live in California, so I'm used to flames, but I don't like them.