Chapter 8: Mac's Past

Tonight's weather consisted of pouring rain and crackling thunder. The sky had a darker hue, and the clouds kept the moon and the stars from being visible. Heavy rain flooded the ground around the Mansion, hitting its brick walls in torrents of liquid. Lightning arced across the sky in bright flashes and thunder boomed, shaking the windowpanes.

Ryu looked out of the window in his and Little Mac's room, fascinated. Being one who enjoyed nature, he loved watching the rain. He blinked whenever lightning flashed and echoes of thunder reverberated throughout the Mansion, his eyes fixated on the downpour.

"Damn…this is beautiful," Ryu commented.

Little Mac on the other hand, wasn't enjoying the storm as much as his crush was. As he sat on his bed, every time he looked over at the window, his expression changed into a frown and tears welled up in his eyes. Luckily, he managed to hold back his tears but his fear remained.

"Don't you think so too, Mac?" Ryu's voice interrupted the boxer's thoughts.

Little Mac looked up at him and nodded. "Uh, yeah! I-I do enjoy it!" he stuttered.

Ryu smiled. "I'm glad. Mother Nature's way of showing her powers is fascinating." After his statement, he yawned. "Let's go to bed. We have another match tomorrow."

"Right," Little Mac agreed, nodding.

Ryu approached his own bed and took off his trademark headband, tying it around one of the posts of his bed before lying down. "Night, Mac," Ryu said.

"Night."

After that, the two fell asleep.


"Don't tell me what to do!" a fifteen-year-old Little Mac yelled at his mother's face.

Carla, his mother, stared down at him, her eyebrows lowered and her teeth gritting. "Mac, don't talk to your momma like that!" she growled.

"I agree," Max, Little Mac's father, called out from the living room. "You need to treat us with respect!"

"I don't CARE!" Little Mac yelled, "I HATE you! BOTH OF YOU!" After his statement, he stormed off to his room, slamming the door shut.

The teen sat on his bed with his face buried in his hands, tears welling up in his eyes. "Idiots…" he muttered.

A few hours had passed and Max knocked on Little Mac's door. "Mac?" he called.

"What the hell do you want?!" Little Mac yelled.

The teen could hear his father's sigh. "We're just going to the grocery store. Want anything?"

"No! Just go! I don't want anything!" Little Mac growled.

Max sighed again. "All right. Love you."

Little Mac could hear his father's footsteps fading away, then the front door opening and closing. They were gone for the night…

Forever.

Hours had passed and the rain began to pour down on the apartment Little Mac and his parents lived in. Because their building was old and only had a few units in it that all faced the street, when lightning flashed across the dark sky, the brightness was unobstructed and every loud boom of thunder caused him to wince.

When his parents still hadn't come home by dinnertime, Little Mac raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Weird. They should be home by now…he thought.

Grabbing his cellphone, he dialed his father's number and placed the phone to his ear.

Riiiiiiing. Riiiiiiing. Riiiiiiiiing.

Nothing. Little Mac sighed in frustration, his forehead crinkling up as he tightened his brow. "Where the hell are they?"

That was when he heard a knock on the front door.

The teen walked out of his room and headed to the living room, opening the door to see a policeman standing there with a grim expression on his face. "Hello," the officer greeted, pressing his lips into a thin line afterwards.

Little Mac raised his eyebrows so high they disappeared into his hairline, his eyes wide. When a policeman visited a home in any neighborhood, it indicated that something was definitely wrong.

"What's going on, officer?" Little Mac asked.

"I want to talk to you about something..." the officer trailed off.

"Officer? What happened? What's going on?" Little Mac asked, his voice filled with concern.

"I have to ask you a few questions," the officer said. "Are there any adults at home? Any family members or guardians?"

Little Mac shook his head. "No sir."

The officer gulped down a lump in his throat. "I see…"

"Officer, please tell me. What happened?"

The officer turned to see a red Jeep driving up to the apartment and parking along the curb. Little Mac's grandparents climbed out of the car and his grandfather walked around the front end to wrap his arm around his sobbing grandmother's shoulders.

"Grandma? Grandpa?" Little Mac questioned. What in the world happened?

His grandmother glanced up and saw that Little Mac was speaking to the police officer. With a gasp, she hurried up the steps to him and enveloped him in a tight hug. "Oh Mac...Carla and Max...they…" she sobbed.

"Huh? What?" Little Mac asked, confused.

The officer piped up then. "I hate to be the one to say this, but…" He held his breath for a second before he continued, "Your parents have been murdered. They were shot."

Little Mac gasped and tears welled up in his eyes. "Mom…? Dad…? Th-they're dead?"

He couldn't believe it. Shaking his head, he accused the officer, "Y-you're lying! This is a load of crap!"

The officer ignored the teen's antagonistic response as he spoke in a low voice, "I am sorry. They're gone…"

Little Mac felt his tears rolling down his face and he held his grandmother closer. "Grandma...I can't believe it...Mom...Dad…" The teen and the old woman shook, tears streaming down their faces as the rain poured down on them, their tears mixing with the drops of water…


"AH!" Little Mac cried out, jolting awake and shooting upright in bed. He felt tears running down his face and attempted to wipe them off, sniffling as quietly as possible.

He heard groaning from the other side of the room, and Little Mac froze upon realizing that Ryu was awake.

Ryu turned over in his bed and faced Little Mac, his eyes cracked open. "Can't sleep?"

Little Mac shook his head. "N-no. I'm good," he lied.

Ryu shrugged and rolled back over, falling asleep quickly and heading back to dreamland.

Little Mac sighed with relief as he laid back down on his bed. However, the thoughts of his parents' murders remained in his mind…


The next morning…

Ryu noticed that Little Mac had been acting strange lately. During their match for the day, the boxer hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings and his stock was brought down to one out of three, while everyone else was still at three. Without Little Mac's help, the two lost the match, shocking the audience. Usually, they won their matches and they were considered the "Unstoppables" thanks to their good records of wins versus losses.

When Ryu confronted his friend about the match, Little Mac said, "I'm just tired" before walking off.

He also noticed that the boxer's mood had changed. He snapped at the other Smashers to the point that he even made some of the children Smashers cry. Anyone who questioned his attitude ended up getting yelled at.

Worried for his friend, Ryu decided to confront Little Mac. Upon seeing the boxer sitting on the couch watching the television, the martial artist approached him.

"Hey." Ryu cracked a smile at his friend, waving at him.

Little Mac however, was not in the mood to talk. He glared at the older man, huffing in annoyance.

Ryu raised an eyebrow and questioned, "The others said that you have been sour lately. Is something wrong?"

Little Mac shook his head, gritting his teeth. "I'm fine."

"C'mon," Ryu said, "something must be wrong. Tell me—"

"I said I'm fine," Little Mac growled. The nightmares he had last night haunted him...his mom and dad getting shot and killed...not getting the chance to tell them how sorry he was for yelling at them…tears began to form in his eyes again, but he tried to hold them back to no avail.

Ryu noticed this. "Mac," Ryu said sternly, grabbing him by the shoulders to force him to look up at him. "There's definitely something wrong. You know I'm here if you need to talk—"

"SHUT IT!" Little Mac's shouted, his face red as he narrowed his eyes at Ryu. "I don't WANT to talk now! Don't you GET IT?!"

"Mac—" Before Ryu could say anything else, Little Mac got up from the couch and punched him in the gut. Ryu cried out in pain and hunched over, falling to the ground with his arms around his abdomen. As Ryu was groaning in pain, Little Mac pivoted on his heel and stormed off, tears falling down his face.

When Ryu finally recovered and looked up, Little Mac was long gone. "Mac! MAC!" he called out, his features pinched together in pain, causing his forehead to scrunch up with worry.

What had gotten into his friend?


That night…

Little Mac walked through the cemetery as he looked around at the graves that stretched out around him, as far as he could see. Names were carved on the graves, names of people that he did not know. His sneakers crunched on the grass; it was night outside, and the dark clouds covered up any stars that may have otherwise been visible. The boxer gripped a handful of red roses in one hand.

Finally, he reached his destination: two graves with the names Carla and Max carved into the stone. In front of the markers, lay two red roses but compared to the red ones in his hand, these were withered from old age, their petals faded and dry.

Upon approaching the two graves, he kneeled down.

"Hey, Mom and Dad," he whispered, his eyes hidden by his pink hoodie. "How are you two? I hope you're doing well up there...wherever you are."

Sighing, he looked down at the graves, trying to hold back tears. Despite that there was no response, he answered, "I'm doing well. I met a lot of friends in the Smash Mansion. Doc had been taking good care of me since we first met back in Bronx. I'm happy and healthy. But…" he trailed off, as tears began to trail down his face. "I...I wish that you two were still here...to see me grow and fight for you two…" Sniffing, he looked down at the ground, trying to hold back more tears to no avail.

"Hey."

Little Mac's head shot up and he turned to see Ryu, who was standing behind him.

"Ryu?" the boxer asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Wondering where you went. What are you doing here? And…" Ryu noticed his friend's tear-stained face. "Why are you crying?"

Little Mac's eyes widened and he pulled the hoodie down to hide his eyes. "I-I'm not crying!"

"I can tell that you are. Don't lie to me, Mac."

Little Mac sighed. "All right...I am."

Ryu kneeled beside him, his eyes narrowing over at the two graves. The two tails of his red headband began to flutter slightly in the breeze.

"So you know them?" Ryu asked.

Little Mac nodded. "Y-yeah...they're my parents."

Ryu's eyes widened. "Your parents...are gone?"

Little Mac sighed. "Look, I'm not in the mood to talk, all right?"

"Mac..." Ryu stared at him, placing his arm around the other man's shoulder. "Look at me, Mac."

Little Mac reluctantly stared up at Ryu, his eyes red and filled with tears.

"It's going to be all right." Ryu smiled slightly, wiping away any stray tears that came down from the boxer's eyes. "I'm so sorry for your loss. I lost my parents as well, so I know how you're feeling right now."

Little Mac stared at him, his eyes widening in shock. "You too?"

Ryu nodded. "Yeah...I don't even know what they look like. They died when I was just a baby. My Master took me in and told me what happened to them…" Ryu sighed, also holding back tears.

Little Mac leaned closer to Ryu, placing his head on his arm. "My parents were murdered by someone. The bastard was never caught to this day. That was why I wanted to learn boxing; I wanted to protect everyone close to me."

Ryu placed his hand on Little Mac's, squeezing it gently in a comforting manner. "Don't worry...I won't let anything like this happen."

"Same, Ryu…"

The two stayed this way for what appeared to be hours, saying nothing as they stared down at the graves.


Bison watched the two men intently as a smirk spread across his face. "Interesting…" he spoke, chuckling. Pressing a button, the screen zoomed in to focus on Little Mac.

"I have the perfect plan for you," Bison said in an intimidating voice. He turned his chair to face his two henchmen, Vega and Balrog. "You two, tomorrow, come with me. We're going to snag the boxer. Drag him out as bait for Ryu."

"Yessir." Vega and Balrog agreed simultaneously, saluting.


Constructive criticism is welcomed!

Beta reader: h34rt1lly