Author's Note:

Super Smash Flash 2 is based on the popular fighting franchise by Nintendo and is currently going through its beta stages. This story, which is based on version 0.6, takes the characters, unlockable and otherwise, and the stages as they are to form the map of the imaginary world of Smash Flash. Each update twists the story drastically.

I believe that overcoming any fighting challenge requires not rage, but concentration. It was through attentiveness that each fight in the Twilight Town Tournament was won. It was through focus that Mario triumphed so handily over Sonic the hedgehog. Before Mario, Kirby, or Sonic could leave Final Destination, a strange warrior wielding a keyblade descended from the sky, landing in front of Mario and Kirby. Sonic only rolled over and sat up slightly to see the new face.

"Congratulations." said the spiky-haired foreigner. Startled, Kirby planted a foot back, in a defensive state.

"Who are you?" asked the pink fighter.

"I'm Sora. You must be Kirby. And I'm guessing you're Mario."

"How do you know of us?" Mario asked, panting a little from the battle.

"Let's just say a friend told me."

"A friend?" Mario repeated.

"Yes. As winner of this round of the Tournament, you're now to face me in the final round in Twilight Town."

"This tournament is over!" Mario said, irritated.

"Oh no." Sora insisted. "I give you credit for making it this far, but this tournament doesn't end until someone faces me in Twilight Town."

"And just what gives you the authority to say so?" Kirby asked stepping forward. His eyes still locked with Mario's, Sora answered.

"You tell me." Sora's eyes turned red as he answered. They were the same red Mario saw in the eyes of the creature he met at the Comet Observatory.

"You." Mario said as he took a step back.

"I'm glad you remember me." With the red eyes, Kirby too recognized the figure. He drew his hammer as he responded.

"Leave now! Neither of us will have anything to do with you!"

"I agree." said Mario "I've done enough fighting for a while."

"Fair enough." said Sora, his voice now replaced with that of the creature inside him. "I'm sorry you feel that way." He leaped over Kirby and Mario and glided over their heads, landing behind the still-downed Sonic. He grabbed the hedgehog around the upper-neck and raised him off of the ground. "This is my last offer. Are you sure you won't participate in the final round of the tournament?" Mario's face didn't change expressions, nor did Sora's possessed face. Only Kirby became panicked at the situation as he looked back and forth at each warrior. After a brief silence, Mario finally responded.

"Release him, I'll fight you." Sora's eyes returned to normal, as did his voice.

"Of course you will. Follow me." Sora said as he dropped Sonic back to the ground. "Leave the pink companion; this is a matter we can settle alone."

I have always wondered if technology was great enough to give birth to a being sentient enough to have emotions. As I gazed down at Megaman while he walked the grounds of Castle Wiley, it seemed so.

"I'm the most sophisticated piece of machinery. My processors can clearly analyze the actions and thoughts of other living things. But with the way I'm treated, I'm beginning to wonder if there's a prejudice. Man versus machine."

I was beginning to worry that Link and Lloyd would worry too much of there existence in this world. They are not ready to learn. Not yet. I was relieved when they took up a walk to think of other things. Their walk took them to the Battlefield.

"Do you think we should go watch?" Link asked Lloyd.

"There's no point if neither of us won?" Lloyd replied

"What do you suppose we would have gotten if we won? Satisfaction?"

"Of course not."

"Then why did we even participate?"

"This tournament was for Mario and Sonic. Not much else."

"He ranked us."

"That was the hook."

"Damn, he's good."

Ichigo was up, walking, and hurting in Konoha. He paced back and forth with a tenacity that both bothered and angered Naruto. He eventually forced the ninja to yell at him.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Sit down, why don't you?" Naruto said.

"Don't you command me! I have the matter of my death to consider!" Ichigo replied with the firmness of an insulted alpha male.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Mario is still going to kill me if I don't kill him first."

"You're still hung up on that hallucination?"

"Are you saying I'm crazy?" Ichigo's voice volume dropped dramatically as he grasped the handle of his sword. Seeing this, Naruto placed his hands together, ready to counter if needed.

"No." Naruto answered.

"You know I could kill you. I could kill you and there'd be no justice to stop me. That's the problem with this world. I could get away with it."

"Would you rather Mario be your end" Naruto said as he grabbed at a kunai "or me."

Twilight Town has a recent history that is tainted with so much blood, that ambiance of death distracts from the beautifully orange skies. This is the Twilight Town Tragedy. But the sky did catch Mario's eye as he stood on the rooftops. A scene that rivaled that of the Comet Observatory. But he would not admit that to himself. His internal conflict was broken by Sora's voice.

"It is a pretty nice scene, isn't it?"

"It's alright." Mario said, turning to Sora, who stood a few rooftops away.

"It's a true injustice."

"How is it?"

"I have to kill you. And I have to do it here. As if there weren't already enough suffering." The stillness of Sora's voice startled Mario. But he didn't let it show.

"But this is not a death tournament." Mario's eyebrows lowered as he said it.

"Don't think of this as the final round of the tournament. Think of this fight as the reward for making it this far. And you get to die beneath the sky of neutrality. Wherein this orange sky will fit your demise. I apologize in advance for killing you here. No one else should have to die here."

"No one else?"

"We've talked long enough."

"You're certainly one of the weirdest adversaries I've ever had to stop. What do I get from fighting you?"

"Satisfaction."

"I doubt that. Life in this world is abysmal as is. What is there to lose if you do kill me? I don't know what your situation is, but you're certainly the greatest enigma I've faced."

"You'll fight me" Sora said as his voice deepened and his eyes turned red "or you're all going to die. And you'll never make it back to your homeland."

"How did you know?" Sora's eyes returned to normal, as did his voice before answering.

"I don't. This thing inside me does. And if you do not rise to face me, he and I will surely destroy all of you. It's your choice."

"What?"

"That's all I can explain to you." Sora's eyes flashed red.

"What, what are you?" Sora's voice changed briefly to answer.

"I am your unmaking."

"What?" Mario replied, raising his fists in defense.

"Defend yourself." Sora's own voice said as he leaped into the air and began gliding at his opponent. Not knowing what to expect, Mario simply braced himself for attack. When he got close enough, Sora threw his keyblade at Mario. Mario leaped over it and prepared to uppercut his opponent when he got close enough. As Sora drew near, a smirk crept onto his face as he reached his hands out. Pondering for a second, he quickly rolled clear of his opponent when he heard a whirling noise behind him. The boomeranging blade got a clean slice of Mario's arm as it came back to its owner. Mario fell to one knee.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Mario screamed in pain. Landing behind Mario, Sora turned around and approached his downed opponent with an expressionless face. Mario turned around and spawned a fireball at his opponent. Sora blocked the attack with his blade before raising it skyward.

"Thunder!" The spiky-haired villain shouted. Before he could stand up straight, Mario was struck by Sora's lightning attack and sent flying in the air. Sora glided in pursuit. Mario's back hit the cement rooftop with deliberateness. It hurt his back more than anything. Seeing his opponent dropping at him, sword erect, Mario quickly rolled clear. Sora landed where his opponent should have been. Sensing his opponent had a clear advantage at a distance, Mario rushed his foe. He dodged Sora's instinctual stabbing counter attack and unleashed the Star Spin, unleashing his fists in a whirlwind spin. Sora stumbled back and turned around, stopping just before tumbling off the roof top. Hearing his opponent from behind, Sora shouted: "Fire!" A ring of fire surrounded him and caught Mario in the worst way. Mario was sent flying over head and just grabbed the ledge of the next building over, hanging above certain death. Seeing this, Sora tossed his key at the plumber again. Hearing the sound, Mario quickly put his pain aside and wall jumped over the key, back towards his enemy. Sora's weapon hit the wall. Realizing it had missed, it began flying back towards its owner once more. As Mario flew over the key's path, he spawned a fire ball and clinched it in his fist. Still waiting for his weapon, Sora got the worst of a falling fire-punch. Sora's body scraped the ground as he flew backwards. Not catching himself, Mario's body hit the ground as well. Still attracted to its wielder, Sora's keyblade managed to gash Mario's back as it flew back to Sora.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Mario let out another painful cry as Sora stood up holding his face. A twinkling sound was heard as a ba-bomb landed in front of Sora.

"Someone's not looking out for you." Sora said as he picked up the explosive. Just as Mario struggled to his feet, Sora tossed the bomb at him. The explosion sent Mario back to the next rooftop. Landing on his gashed back sent a pain through him that no scream could alleviate. So he lay there. He heard Sora's footsteps. Then he heard his voice. "Some people just don't know how to die." Hearing this, Mario came to a firm decision that he wasn't quite ready to die.

"I am going to find a way back." He said as he stood up. Sora charged at him. At Sora's first missed stab, Mario side-stepped and used his opponent's momentum to drive the blade into the ground. As Sora tried to pull out the sword, Mario landed a charged fire-punch to Sora's face again. Impressively, Sora did not fall, but held onto the handle. Mario fire-punched him again. Sora clearly felt the hot pain, but did not release the handle. Mario fire-punched him once more. Sora finally stumbled back, but not before yanking the blade from the cement of the rooftop. As he tumbled back Mario pursued and back-flip kicked Sora into the air. He followed with the Super Jump Punch, sending his opponent further into the air. Landing before his opponent, Mario capitalized and grabbed Sora's legs before he landed, slamming his opponents head to the cement. With Sora's legs in-hand, Mario spun around multiple times before throwing his opponent the opposite direction. Sora's head hurt like hell, and after Mario's combo, the rest of him didn't fair much better. But at least he had the blade in hand.

"You are pitiful." The being inside Sora said. "I will not allow this body to go to waste."

"No!" Sora said "I can beat him."

"No, Sora. You cannot. You will not." As Mario approached the downed Sora, he could hear the spiky-haired fighter grunt as he fought in vain for control over his body. Mario stopped a few feet short when a blue aura surrounded Sora's body. His opponent stood up, eyes redder than before, an evil smile on his face. The deepened voice had returned as well.

"Who are you?" Mario asked.

Is there such thing as a selfless act? In the wild, what stops one herbivore from eating more than his fair share of fruit from the tree? What then motivates him to alert the others when he sees a predator lurking quietly? For that one animal that signals the others shall surely be the predator's first choice. Does he truly believe it is worth it so save the rest? Even if helping his species satisfies him, that too would be a selfish act. In the end, his actions would probably benefit the survival of his species. Laws of nature. Kirby had no real reason to help Sonic from the ground. Sonic was arrogant, and his well-being did not benefit Kirby. But for whatever reason, Kirby chose to aid him. He brought him back to the Green Hill Zone. He placed Sonic on the ground where he sat upright.

"Don't think this means anything, Kirby." Sonic said.

"It does mean something. Mario finally gave you the fair once-and-for-all shot at him. You failed. That is all. If that battle meant nothing to you, then what does?" Kirby said to the still-sitting Sonic.

"I was referring to you dragging me here." Sonic said as his head lowered. Kirby pondered this briefly with slight embarrassment.

"This only means that I pity you enough to drag your sorry ass back here. You. So in a way, you're right. It means nothing." With that, Kirby left the injured blue hedgehog.

Back in Twilight town, the being within Sora finally and properly introduced himself to the hero of Mushroom Kingdom.

"I am a doom bringer born of chaotic intent. By design, all things are meant to crumble into chaos. It is therefore more efficient to catalyze the process of deterioration. But men like you: the so-called heroes; you are the greatest obstacle in the way of the inevitable. That is what I am here to rectify. I am Game Shark." Mario was curiously frightened.

"You seem to think you're speaking factually. Why do you choose to make yourself into the catalyst?"

"It is my design. My destiny."

"I'm sorry. But killing you will be the ultimate and only disproof to your narrow-minded escapade."

"Silence yourself, Mario. And die!" Mario rushed his enemy. As Mario missed his Super Jump Punch, his foe grabbed his leg and slammed him to the concrete. Returning the favor. His opponent continuously flapped his body on the ground beneath them like a dirty rug. When he stopped, he looked at the cut in Mario's back. "I'm going to rid this world of you, Mario. Slowly. Only the pain itself will be the final thing to end you." He said this just before driving his foot into the wound.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Mario's screams echoed off the buildings.

"Hm. Yes. Your screams. The fuel of my fire." He turned his foot. From under the twisting pain, Mario tripped his adversary with his feet. Mario used the opportunity to get back to his feet. Turning around, he saw his getting back up as well. Mario clasped his hands together and aimed at his foe's face. Sora's hand grabbed Mario's fists and squeezed as hard as he could. Mario could hear the bones in his own hands cracking.

"F-Fuck." Mario said as the debilitating pain drew tears from him as he dropped to one knee, his hands still in the possessed warrior's grip. Sora slammed Mario's hands onto the roof and froze them there. He took his keyblade and jammed it through Mario's right hand, pinning it to the ground in-ice. A twinkle was heard once more. Sora looked up and turned around. In the air, he saw a floating multi-colored orb. Mario saw it too. He thought back to when he once fought Lloyd and it appeared. He had tried to attack and consume it, but the raw energy was too much at that time. Now here it was again and a possessed Sora would surely absorb the energy within.

"The Legendary Smash Ball. Outstanding! I shall be the first to consume it." The possessed fighter jumped and latched onto it in-air. He struck it several times before dragging it down to the ground with him. The instability of the orb shook it within his grip as he held it and struck it repeatedly. He began to get frustrated, as he could not absorb its power. He clutched it and punched it as hard as he could once more. He released it as the real Sora began to fight for control of his body from within. Mario watched confusedly as the spiky-haired fighter grabbed his head and began talking in two different voices. An internal conversation. "What is wrong with you?"

"I need my blade." Sora said as they continued to fight for control. As the internal turmoil continued, the Smash Ball floated its way toward the incapacitated Mario. It stopped and hovered just in front of him. But his hands were still frozen to the ground, the keyblade still stabbed through his right hand. Knowing this, he tried for a second to get free, but it would not happen this way. Calming himself, he lifted his head to eye level with the Smash Ball and squinted.

"Maybe someone is looking out for me." Mario said as he cocked his head back as far as his position would allow him. With one swift and strong motion, he landed a fierce headbut to the orb. The sound of the absorbed energy snapped Game Shark out of his battle with Sora. He looked at Mario. He was still pinned, but his body was set ablaze with green fire. A blinding flash occurred. The possessed Sora grabbed his eyes in pain. When he recovered enough to uncover them, he saw that Mario was no longer pinned down. His clothing and eyes too had changed to a fire-red theme.

"But how?" Mario held up the keyblade that had once pinned him to the roof as he gave his opponent the death stare.

"You meet your end here, Game Shark." Mario said as he tossed the keyblade back at his enemy, tip-first. His opponent sidestepped and caught it by the handle.

"You will regret that." Game Shark said as he glided at Mario once more. When he had gotten close enough, he swiped at Mario. The plumber made him pay for it with a Flaming Jump Punch.

"LET'S-A-GO!" Mario said as both fighters went sky high. As Mario's opponent began to descend, Mario turned his face back to the earth and dived down headfirst, burning through the atmosphere as he fell. This meteor-like attack met with the possessed Sora just before he landed, creating a crater around him and knocking the wind from him. Mario flipped back up and landed a few feet from him. Game Shark pushed Sora through the agony and forced his body to stand. "You are not the Mario I know of. What are you?"

"I am your reckoning. I am raw excellence. I am a perfected flame, envied only by the pits of Hell. I am Fire Mario." For just a moment, Game Shark stared at this transformed Mario and felt fear for the first time.

"No." Mario's opponent said as he summoned another lightning strike. Mario rolled clear of it, closer to his opponent, and unleashed the Firewall Star Spin. The attack sent Sora skyward once more. Mario leaped away from his opponent and began charging a fireball. He finished charging it just as Sora landed. Mario short-hopped and flipped his hands as they spawned the Mario Finale. The twisting flames grew in size as the got closer to Sora. "Sora. We must flee."

"No." Sora said weakly in his own voice. "I can't move."

"Then relinquish complete control of this body to me now!"

"No."

"If you don't we could both die!"

"We will both die."

"What?"

"You failed me. This is where we end."

"No!" It was the last thing heard before the gigantic twin flames met with Sora's body. The sound of cooking flesh drowned out any screams that would have occurred. When the giant flames had finally burnt out, Sora's body lay burnt to a near crisp. The attack drained Mario and he fought the reflex to change back to his regular state. His outfit and fire aura disappeared and reappeared repeatedly as he approached the body. As he got closer, a shark-shaped spirit rose from the body. "Not. . . over." It said as it fled into the sky and faded from Mario's vision.

"Oh, yes it is." Mario said softly as the creature escaped. He changed back to his regular form. As the creature faded away completely, a pink heart container floated gently into Mario's hands. "Excellent. I could really use this." Before he could absorb it, he heard a twitching sound. He looked up at the dying Sora. It surprised Mario to see that Sora's weapon not only survived the attack handily, but it still rested in its owner's hand. Despite Sora's terminal state, Mario saw that Sora still clutched the handle of his keyblade, ever so slightly. Realizing that Sora was still alive, (but surely not for long) Mario took a second look and a second thought on the heart container. Looking back up at his defeated opponent, he then said: "Of all things, Mercy is the greatest burden."

End of Act I