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 0.7, 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.
There is a near-infinite number of theories on what happens to a man when he comes face-to-face with pure, unbridled evil. Does his body become paralyzed? Petrified. Does it turn to stone merely by looking evil in the eye? Does the mere sight and presence drive a man to madness, making him into the evil that he so fears? These are all reasonable and, on some level, correct. That is what first led me to believe that Mario of the Mushroom Kingdom is not a mere man. He stands upright and with great posture as he stares down the newly-freed Black Mage.
"The medal." Mario said calmly. "It's gone?"
"It was never real." Black Mage clarified. His voice was monotonous, yet dark and chilling.
"Hey!" Wario said sitting half upright. "What the hell?" Without turning to look at the defeated Wario, Black Mage's eyes brightened and glowed. Just as they lit up, a chunk of foundation was ripped from the ground of Wario Ware and lifted skyward. Mario watched it go higher, and higher, before driving itself down into the skull of Wario, knocking the foe unconscious.
"Wario was simply my pawn. What he informed you to be the Grand Medallion was merely a corrupted Smash Ball in which I was trapped and concealed. I only needed the right fool to come along. Luckily, Wario didn't take long to find me. I watched from the inside of the medallion for months until the opportunity finally presented itself."
"But why?" Mario questioned. "Why here? Why us?"
"I have taken it upon myself to eliminate those who spend their lives attempting to oppose the forces of darkness and chaos. Game Shark is my creation, made with the malleable energies necessary to transcend dimensions and the same philosophies as his creator. But he became too much of me in likeness and one day betrayed me, sealing me in that cursed medallion. He became more intelligent at a pace that far exceeded my expectations. But I would not let his betrayal be my last undoings. I used my influence and power to grant Wario what he needed to improve Wario Ware and to defeat you before you became trapped in this dimension of mixed worlds. This took much of my energy, but it was worth it. I knew that if I persisted, eventually I would get close enough to you. Utilizing all that power within that small space allowed me to hone my abilities even more so. I am now powerful enough to defeat not only you and the scrap behind me, but the rest of you foolish heroes."
"All of this. You did all of this just because you're on some self-righteous bullshit mission?" Mario's voice raised with a passion.
"Predictably, a lower life form such as your self has no idea nor ability to fathom my true purpose, despite having it explained to you."
"Fuck, YOU!" Mario angrily shot a fireball to the nearby wizard. Black Mage lifted his hand and spawned his own fire spell within his palm. It engulfed Mario's on impact.
"Is that the extent to your magic?"
"I could be home!" He charged at the mage, wildly missing a right hook. Black Mage weaves clear and shifts just behind Mario's right shoulder. "I wouldn't have to deal with this shithole!" Mario swings back with his right elbow. Black Mage palms it, pulling his knife to stab the hero in the shoulder. Mario let out a loud cry and dropped to one knee.
"You will beg me to grant you a fatal release before this over, Mario."
Tails led Sonic back to the Casino Night Zone. It was finally a time to relax, relatively speaking. But Tails was an intellectual. Unlike his blue counterpart, he was a master of seeing the forest through the trees. And he would do his best to help Sonic see it as well.
"When you fought Eggman here, what went through your mind, Sonic?"
"What do you mean?" Sonic questioned.
"When you fought him here, as you did, why did you do it?"
"To stop him."
"You were saving animals in a place like this? Just think about it Sonic."
"Think about what?"
"The real reason you never killed him. The real reason I eventually had to."
"Anger issues?"
"No. Your own unresolved ones. At some point, it became okay to you to let him live just so you wouldn't die of boredom. Even if others died from the resulting genocide."
"Are you blaming me?"
"At some point, you got soft, Sonic. You realized you didn't have to kill your enemies to win, to be great. You stopped fighting for us all a long time ago. And started fighting for yourself. The triumph of victory became your chemo high. All that you fought for."
"That's enough Tails."
"It is now. Now that your foolishness has gotten us here." Sonic snapped at Tails' last sentence and charged at his friend. Sonic ducked and lead with two low punches and an uppercut. Tails barely blocked the first two hits, but was forced to eat the upward fist from Sonic. Tails stumbled back a few steps. Before Sonic could take a full step forward, the two-tailed fox pointed his electron cannon at the hedgehog. "You've got a real temper."
Black Mage had drawn his weapon from the plumber's shoulder and clubbed him in his wound. Mario had since been on the ground, not far from his unconscious straw-hatted foe. His vision faded and returned repeatedly as he struggled to maintain his own consciousness. His fight with Wario had done more than he thought.
"Are you even worthy of my wrath?" Those were the last things he heard Black Mage say before he no longer felt the wizard's presence. He stood up slowly, holding his wound. He saw a trail of blood leading away from him. He followed it to the Nexus east of the stage. Once there, he noticed a new path to a new stage. This had at once been a dead end. He hated how this small world could so easily lead to a "dead end" when there was no neighboring stage. He followed instinct and phased through the Nexus to this strange new world. Once he'd phased completely through, he looked around the stage.
"What is this place?" Mario asked aloud. Just then, a circular green aura appeared in front of him, spawning the dark wizard he was looking for.
"It's Chaos Shrine." Black Mage said before striking him across each jaw and attempting to stab him again. Mario caught the attacker's wrist, stopping the blade and struggling to push the offender away. "And it's the last place you'll ever be." Black Mage taunted before backing away, reconcealing his weapon. Mario charged at his opponent, attempting a sliding kick from below. Black Mage leaps clear of the attack. Seeing this, Mario spins his legs about the ground, tripping Black Mage as he lands. With the wizard on his back, Mario leaps above him and clasps his hands together for an attack. Black Mage's eyes flash as the airborne plumber is struck by lighting. As the plumber falls, Black Mage quickly gets to his feet and catches him. He lifts Mario above his head before slamming him on the ground. At Mario's landing, a rock formation rises from the foundation of Chaos Shrine and strikes the plumber's spine with a vengeance. Mario is sent flying further away from his foe. Black Mage is surprised to see him land on his feet and trip a few steps before sliding face-first across the stone floor. "Good thing you know how to take a beating. Because I haven't even begun to show you what I'm capable of.
"Well hey, if you're anything like your pet a few months ago" Mario struggled to his feet and turned around. "Then this won't take long."
"Your confidence is annoying." Black Mage responded as he charged Mario. Mario responded in kind. As they closed in on one another Mario began seeing several afterimages of his opponent. He stopped in a panic when his opponent suddenly disappeared. Expecting the green aura from before, he was caught off-guard when Black Mage suddenly appeared in front of him, unleashing a vicious combo and clubbing him several times before sending Mario backward. The stone floor was not kind to his back as Mario bounced against it multiple times before stopping. "Are you starting to see the futility in your cause?" As Mario sat half upright, Black Mage teleported behind him, grabbing his arm and attempting to dislocate the wounded shoulder. Mario couldn't hold back a loud wail. "Or does the message have to be beaten into you? Slowly. Excruciatingly. Methodically." Mario attempts to kick the offender from his downed position. Black Mage spots it and catches his foot. Limbs in-hand, Black Mage slowly lifts the hero as high as he can before releasing him and quickly kneeling. Mario's ribcage landed on Black Mage's knee. Mario could barely let out his scream before the wizard pushed him to the ground, as if Mario were a spec of dust dirtying his robes. "You're pathetic." He stomped and rested his foot on Mario's neck. Mario could not move to free himself nor could he see any expression on Black Mage's face. He only assumed there was a smile, shrouded in the shadow of his wizard's hat. He felt the temperature around him rise exponentially as Black Mage faced his palms upward. Fire in his right hand, lighting in the other. The temperature grew more and more as Black Mage charged for his final attack, the elements in his hand getting more unstable. Was this how Mario would meet his end? He thought on his failures. Disappearing while the Mushroom Kingdom was in turmoil? Leaving the princess without a guardian for who knows how long? Allowing his enemy Wario to make his life even worse than it already was? "As much as Wario would have enjoyed killing you, I know I'm going to enjoy it even more."
"The HELL you will." Black Mage heard a different voice shout.
"Hm?" Black Mage's concentrated power stalled as he looked up to see Wario's rear end falling at him with intent. The lighting in his left hand disappeared as the fire in his right intensified slightly. He cocked his right fist downward as Wario drew closer. "Fool!" Black Mage said as he sidestepped Wario, launching him back into the sky as he landed an uppercut full of flames. He allowed Wario to hit the ground near them with a thud. "You just don't learn do you?" Black Mage walked in Wario's direction. The influx of oxygen allowed Mario to think with more clarity.
"That attack." Mario thought to himself. "It was almost like Luigi's Flaming Uppercut, except Luigi's is always more devastating." More thoughts ran through as Black Mage walked away from him. He couldn't allow Luigi to defend the Mushroom Kingdom on his own. And he couldn't let Wario be the only reason he was still alive. "Hey!" Mario shouted as he slowly stood back to his feet. "Is that all you got?" Black Mage stopped, equidistant from either of his targets, and turned around to see Mario still standing.
"Hm." Black Mage smirked.
"Because if it is" Wario exclaimed as he too got back to his feet. "Then this shouldn't take long!" Black Mage looked back at Wario, surprised. He only wished that either opponent could see the evil grin that immediately followed.
"You poor ignorant dimwits." Black Mage said calmly, his eyes beginning to glow once more. "I'm going to put my utter disdain for you on physical display." Mario and Wario sprinted toward their target. "Bare witness to your dysphoric ends!"
What makes one a friend? What makes them an enemy? What makes them the best of either category? Taking all things into consideration, a true friend, unmatched and unrivaled, is someone who thinks on you, always. A true friend never knows exactly how valuable they are. In this world, Lloyd knew he had but one friend. Despite what this world had turned him into he knew that if worse had come to worse at any given time, Link would have his back and his front. But could he reciprocate? If the time ever came again where they were both in danger, could he do as Link had done and save his friend? The Tower of Salvation shocks the two into thinking straight, if only for a few minutes at a time.
"This is your territory? This is where you spend time?" Link questioned.
"Well hey, your shit's in ruins!" Lloyd replied defensively.
"Calm down. I'm just saying. Get some streamers. Spruce up the place a little bit. This is more depressing than Final Destination. I almost get why you are the way you are."
"Yeah well, of all places, this territory is relatively unscathed and unstained by blood."
"How long do you think that'll last?
"What do you mean?"
"Well when do you think you or any of us will be forced to die here?"
"Why the hell are you asking me that, Link?"
"Oh. Sorry. I didn't know it was still Taboo."
"What was?"
"The fact that we're all going to die here. Sooner or later."
"What?"
"Just think about it Lloyd. Something transported us all here in some meshed abomination of mixed up worlds, where strange people from other dimensions come possessed by demons to bring our downfall. Where people that only Mario seems to know come promising a way out but end up causing more misery. I mean come one, Lloyd. How far does your willing suspension of disbelief go? When was the last time you ate something?"
"Is that a real question." Lloyd asked confused.
"Yes. Do you remember the last meal you had. Do you remember eating more than once every 72 hours or so? Because I don't. Just take a moment to think about it Lloyd. The only time there's even a chance of food being around is during the heat of battle. How are we still alive Lloyd?" Lloyd saw the forest beyond the trees now. He understood where things were going. "Lloyd, I'm not saying I'm entirely sure what's going on here. But whatever it is, it's powerful enough to have us dead whenever it wants us to be."
I had always known Link to be an intellectually gifted individual. I have an eye for intellect. But I am disturbed at how deeply he delves into the forces around him and beyond his control. I fear that this may one day come to harm him. Knowledge can be a double-edged sword. When an attack is blocked with a double-edged sword, there is always a chance that the defender may be cut by his own blade. His own defenses. In the Chaos Shrine, Mario was unsure if his alliance with Wario would come back to harm him. All that either partner knew was that there currently posed a threat greater than either of them. And that threat was Black Mage.
"Pathetic!" Black Mage said as he manipulated the stone floors of the Shrine, knocking Mario back a few steps. He turned around to face Wario, freezing him before Wario could land a punch. He stared at the frozen villain, taunting. "Weak! And weak-minded. Such power you were given. And you managed to do nothing of worth." Black Mage clubbed Wario out of his icy prison, turning his attention back to Mario. Mario slides low, knocking the wizard of his feet, but causing the wizard to fall onto him. "Imbecile." Black Mage said as the stones beneath them shifted. Struggling beneath his opponent, Mario suddenly felt himself restrained. Black Mage stood up, slowly, taking a look at Mario, who was partly buried beneath the stone floor. "Does this change your perspective?" Black Mage taunted as he charged one hand with ice. Hearing Wario coming from behind, the wizard turned around and inflicted his ice upon Wario, freezing him once more. "Or do you need more time to reflect?" Black Mage asked as he lifted the ice block that held Wario. Trying to stare at Wario's face within the ice, Mario was frightened, if only for a moment, when the ice reflected his own face. Mario noticed the face getting closer and closer before Black Mage smashed the entire block of ice into his forehead, knocking him unconscious.
It is the business of the princess to deal with any and all threats, for the good of the kingdom. When Mario had mysteriously disappeared months ago from the true Mushroom Kingdom, the Princess slowly began getting used to seeing unsummoned and unannounced visitors. It prepared her for instances wherein Kirby would walk into her castle, pleading.
"Princess Toadstool, it is of dire importance that you start cooperating immediately!" Kirby's surprisingly deep voice moved the princess who stood up from her seat.
"You are. . ."
"I am not important." Kirby interrupted. "But you are. Upon further reflection I have good reason to believe that you may be just as responsible for all of this as Wario. I don't believe you are evil, but your sins will go unforgiven if you don't give us some answers."
"Us?" The princess questioned.
"Yes. Myself and others who are far more concerned about everything going on here than you seem to be. Let's just say I'm the nice one."
"And the others?"
"Have only gotten more volatile as time has passed."
"So now I'm the villain?" The Princess sat back down. "Hm. You're smarter than you look, whatever you are. But smart as you are, you still don't know the half of it."
Mario came to, slowly. He saw everything in blurred afterimages. Turning his head, he could see the faint images of Wario and Black Mage continuing the fight. His vision snapped into focus as Wario landed next to him, face-first. He watched as Wario quickly squirmed to pull a small sack from his torn overalls. Wario dropped the sack next to Mario as Black Mage lifted and threw him away from Mario.
"These must be truly desperate times for you." Black Mage said approaching the struggling Wario. Wario grunted as he limp-leggedly charged shoulder-first at his opponent. Black Mage shuffles and teleports before unleashing his previous combo that Mario had experienced. Black Mage teleports once more behind Wario and sends him sliding back towards Mario. Mario noticed the stone covering his arm was cracked from Black Mage's attack with the ice block. He spawns fire in his hand while flexing his arm hard as he can. "I'm going to force you to watch each other die." Black Mage teased. "As much as you two can't stand the sight of each other, it's the last thing you'll ever see." Mario managed to bust one arm free of the stone and grab the sack Wario had pulled from his clothes. He tosses the sack to the nearby Wario, with Black Mage approaching from behind. He only hopes Wario knows what to do with whatever it is. Wario sticks his hand deep as possible into the sack and pulls out the crumbled remains of the Grand Medallion. They still glow with energy.
"No way." Mario says as he watched Wario absorb it's power. As Black Mage got within killing distance, a flash blinded the area. When Mario could see again, he was amazed at the sight. Wario, in his super hero persona, Wario-man, holding Black Mage by one foot. The wizard clutched his hat to prevent it from falling. Wario thrusts Black Mage into the ground and pounds him repeatedly before throwing him straight up. Black Mage shoots a gigantic fireball as he descends out of desperation. Both Mario and Black Mage watched in awe as Wario opened his mouth to consume the flames. He meets Black Mage in the air, slamming him back to ground. He holds Black Mage down as he uses the consumed flames unleash the Flammable Wario Waft. The two were engulfed by methane and flame. But only Black Mage was harmed. The smell still found it's way to Mario, who was still trapped partly in the stone floor. He cringed. As the cloud cleared, it revealed Wario holding the wizard by his robe, just off the ground. Wario turned to grin at Mario before finishing the wizard off. Mario frowned back at him. "The fuck are you looking at. Finish it!" Wario's grin quickly faded as he turned Black Mage upside down.
"How's two birds. . ." Wario said before leaping high directly above Mario, with Black Mage firmly in grasp. He shouted as he reached his apex. "ONE STONE!" He began driving downward for the trapped Mario.
"Oh, no." Mario said softly as he realized what was happening. "FUCK YOU!" He replied as the bodies got closer. The two landed on top of Mario, breaking all of the stone and some of Mario's bones. Black Mage was essentially piledrived on his head while blood shot high into the air from Mario's mouth. The effects of the Grand Medallion went away with the landing. All three fighters, strewn about the floor of the Chaos Shrine. Largely immobilized.
The intensity of battle rattles the surrounding territories. Among those close enough to sense it were Goku. In the Planet Namek, Ness, Naruto, and Ichigo notice the Saiyan's muscles tense up.
"Well?" Naruto asked. "Are you gonna show us how it works?" Naruto and the others were attempting to learn how Goku's immense power worked.
"Something's wrong." Goku said. "For a second, I. . . I could almost sense energy again."
"Who's energy?" Ichigo questioned. Goku cringed slightly before answering.
"It's gone."
The lights of the Central Highway surge with the energy that leaves. And Megaman knows it. He picks up on it with a sixth sense he was almost sure he wasn't manufactured with. Because of this, he was not caught off guard when Sora approached from the Western Nexus.
"What do you want?" Megaman asked with extreme caution. He hadn't seen him since the Twilight Town Tournament.
"I've been through a lot." Sora replied. "I was just walking around to see what's changed." Megaman was surprised at how calmly he gave his answer. His persona and aura was not at all like the possessed warrior he had heard of. The removal of Game Shark really had made a big difference. But not that much.
"Well there's nothing to see here. You can be on your way."
"Uh, right." Sora replied simply as he turned to leave.
Wario's attack on Black Mage and, as it happened, on Mario, had taken much from him as well. No longer was he in the form of Wario-man, his stronger alter-ego. He was simply the third body littering the floor of Chaos Shrine, though he was a bit more able-bodied than the other two. He peered over his two enemies. Mario lie flat on his back, eyes closed, hyperventilating with blood lining the side of his cheek. He was free from his stone prison, but wouldn't be going anywhere for a while. Black Mage lie on his stomach, breathing very slowly in contrast to the red-hatted fighter. His eyes were still very much open. Dark golden spheres still staring at Wario with reckless intent. As if they were attempting to do what the wizard's body was too damaged to do. Wario noticed a broken stone next to him, sharp enough to cut the tension and more than enough to finish off either foe with the right application. He grabbed the stone and struggled to his feet, staggering towards Black Mage.
"It's over." Wario said as he approached Black Mage.
"No." Black Mage said softly as his body began to flash with a white aura. "Not . . . yet it . . . isn't." Wario stalled for a moment, preparing for a possible counter attack before continuing towards.
"Have it your way." Wario said getting dangerously close. "Race to the finish!" He increased speed.
"Don't worry." Black Mage said facing the floor of the Chaos Shrine. "I'll be back." He turned to the downed plumber next to him. "And I'll kill them all." His body and clothes turned completely white and a circular green aura surrounded him before he teleported away, vanishing before Wario could land the finishing blow. Consequentially, Wario fell over, landing where Black Mage was, right next to his hated enemy, Mario. Wario took a moment to think about his next move. He scowls as he turns his body away from Mario and begins crawling away. Opening his eyes and seeing this, Mario quickly rolls over in pain, attempting to drag himself after his hated foe.
"Where . . . do you . . . think you're going?" Mario could barely speak through a largely damaged respiratory system. Wario peered back over his shoulder to answer.
"I'm going to kill you, Mario. But first I'm going to let you live, knowing that if it wasn't for me, you'd be dead. It's the only thing better than finishing you off right now. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone I helped you here today. And I know you sure as hell won't either. As far as any of those other idiots know, you saved the day from me and that straw-hatted freak. But inside, the truth will eat you alive. And when it's devoured you from the inside out, then I will finish you off." Wario turned his head to continue crawling away. "So long."
END OF ACT II
