Author's Note:
Apologies for not getting this out yesterday as predicted. I still update this thing on a relatively frequent basis, however, so I don't really think that you all would mind that much, however presumptuous that assumption of you all that may be. Still, the chapter is here for your enjoyment, and I do hope that you all find some large amount modicum of enjoyment in it!
Disclaimer:
Iji, Super Smash Brothers, and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.
Dimensions and Realities
Chapter Eight: On Your Marks…
Cue music - Fire Emblem: Awakening soundtrack - "We'd best prepare for combat, just to be safe."
"So what you're basically saying is that I'm going around, defeating enemies, and picking up these "power-ups" along the way in preparation for a final battle?"
"That about some it up, yes," the female counter-part to Robin confirmed, as they ate lunch. It was still about a half an hour before the event began, after all.
"Doesn't really sound too hard," Iji said after a gulp. "Guess that depends on what I encounter during those five minutes, though."
"Indeed. Oh, and if you come by the other three competitors, feel free to either ignore them or fight them and steal their buffs." Iji nodded her head as she gulped down the last of her orange juice, feeling refreshed from the mildly exhausting battle that took place a couple of hours ago. It was still a bit hard to believe that she was fighting amongst the wide array of beings present here, be they other men (however strangely dressed a few of them were) or ninja-like anthropomorphic frogs with the ability to produce water from thin air.
'This is all still so strange to me… I wonder if I'll ever really get used to it…'
"Robin. Iji," a feminine voice said, coming into the dining room. Iji blinked, immediately taking note of the young-looking woman's large resemblance to Marth. The face, hair color, eyes, even the clothing - they were all so strikingly similar! "I do not believe that we have previously met, fellow newcomer. You may call me Lucina," she said formally. 'The wording, too,' she thought. She told the Marth look alike, "Well, you already know me. Nice to meet you, too." She mulled over her next words carefully. "Sorry if I sound rude when I ask this, but why do you look so similar to Marth? Are you once of his kids or something?" She closed her eyes, sighing at this quandary. "No, because that would mean that Marth is really an old man… Hmm…"
Lucina looked amused at her plight, giggling softly. "I get that quite a bit, believe it or not. I'm actually his descendent from a few thousand years in his world's future." Iji was flabbergasted at this revelation.
"A few thousand years!? How do you look so much like him, then? That's not how genetics work; even I know that!"
"I know not of what these "genetics" are; I merely know that I am very much like him, and proud of it, however unlikely the parallels are," she said a bit more seriously, despite the smile on her person. "Upstanding and courageous… Not to sound full of myself, of course! It is just that Marth clearly has both of those qualities, and I strive to match his example!"
Iji chuckled a bit, herself. "Yeah, I got it. So, you also here for lunch, then?"
"Indeed," she unintentionally quoted, grabbing a couple of slices of bread from the nearby package located on the refrigerator, putting them in the toaster. A full minute passed with her staring at it. A blush slowly creeped its way up her face. "Oh, dear," she muttered. The two others present in the room swiveled around to face her. "Erm… I have never actually used of these… "toasters", was it? Yes, toasters, before. Would one of you two kindly…?" Iji got up, answering her unfinished question with a "Sure". She strolled over to her, explaining, "It's pretty simple. All you've gotta' do is pull the lever down, wait a few minutes, and the now-toasted bread'll pop out. Put whatever you want on it, and you're all set to eat!" Lucina grinned at her helpfulness. "Much appreciated, Iji. I had inferred such, but I was not willing to take the risk of breaking this contraption, you see…" Iji shrugged.
"It's fine. It was hardly any trouble." She went to sit down and finish off her meal, doing so a just when Lucina sat down to begin on her own.
"See ya'," she said as she left, waving behind her.
"I shall see you later, as well," Lucina said, grabbing the glass that she had poured some orange juice into. "Now, "orange juice", do you really taste like your name sake…?"
Iji walked along the halls of the manor-like building, not really having any particular destination in mind. She was merely exploring, it seemed. A good couple of minutes passed by as she walked, until she came by a door. The door itself was nothing special in and of itself, aside from the words "Training Room" inscribed upon it in cursive. No, rather, what really drew her attention were the masculine grunts of exertion coming from inside. Opening the door and casually walking through the threshold of the room, she observed a man with black hair and what appeared to be boxing attire wailing on a sandbag with odd, almost googly eyes. "… Hello?" she uncertainly said to the man. A couple of more punches and a painful-looking uppercut to the sandbag later, and he turned around to look at her, letting out a curious-sounding grunt. "I'm Iji, a newcomer here in Smash Brothers. Who're you?"
He didn't seem to be a man for manners, simply saying, with a slightly accented twinge, "Name's Little Mac. Newcomer here, too." He glanced at her for a second longer, seeming to completely ignore the rather large gun in one of her hands, before going back to his training session, this time doing little leaps around the bag as he punched it. Iji shrugged, not really caring that much for manners, herself. If anything, she appreciated his to-the-pointedness; it was a bit refreshing, actually. "See you later, I suppose." Little Mac merely let out a slightly louder-sounding grunt, as if to affirm that he had heard her. Iji waved a bit as she exited, with the evident boxer not seeming to notice the gesture. Unbeknownst to the young woman, however, the burly, yet short smiled, if only slightly, at her wave.
Some more wandering around on the woman's part, and she eventually came upon a stairwell. Going up it and coming to the unexplored second floor of the building, she went through the hallway in front of her and exited the door at its end. She was greeted with many bright rays of sunlight, and she let out an uncomfortable grunt at the sudden, drastic change in lighting. Waiting several seconds for her eyes to adjust before heading outside, she exited the building and went into onto what appeared to be the roof. She could finally catch a real glimpse of this world's outside! The sky was a bright cyan, with the sun almost reaching its apex in the sky. The grass was a bright green, and several trees of varying types dotted the immediate landscape. A road went off into the horizon, and a town could barely be seen in the distance, likely connecting this building and that area. Iji felt quite gladdened at this sight, but was greeted by a wave of depression only a few minutes later. Leaning against a guard rail, she said out loud, in a quiet, solemn voice, "My world may be saved with Master Hand's help, but there's still a chance his efforts will fail. Even if they do, I might not live long enough to see this kind of sight back on Earth…" She sighed.
"Erm… Excuse me, miss? What are you talking about?" a timid voice spoke up from her left. Turning towards it, she came almost face to face with a cartoonish man with a strange moustache in blue and green. A cap the same shade as the rest of the clothes of that color rested on his blackish-brown hair. Iji blushed in indignation, and stumbled in her words, "N-Nothing! Nothing of importance! Who are you, anyway?"
He seemed uncomfortable to begin with, but the way she worded her question seemed to amplify this. "L-Luigi! I'm Luigi!" He stroked the corner of his moustache with a singular finger, as if it were a sort of comfort trigger for him. He gazed back a bit expectedly.
"Oh, ah, my name's Iji."
A silence whose awkwardness was practically palpable made itself known, broken only by the gentle breeze. They both simultaneously opened their mouths to speak, but clamped them shut, as they saw that the other was about to speak. Iji was the first to open her mouth again, but was interrupted by the intercom (which she still could not find in any of the rooms; it was as if they were actually invisible!). "Would Iji, Lucina, Yoshi, and Ganondorf kindly report to the central teleportation room? Smash Run shall begin in approximately fifteen minutes, so finish up your respective immediate businesses if you can and come down as soon as possible."
Iji sighed exhaled softly in relief. She was genuinely not sure what she was going to say when she opened her mouth a few moments ago. "Well, I guess I'll be seeing you later, Luigi…" Iji waved as she left yet again, the cap-wearing man doing the same as she turned her back on him and left. He sighed himself as the door clicked shut behind the gun-wielding human. "Another chance for a friend, wasted…" he said none too depressingly. Were it not for the overall sad tone of this scene, one could easily consider it comical, especially considering how many times this has essentially happened to him collectively over the Smash meetings…
"Are you all familiar with the rules and regulations of Smash Run?" Iji and Lucina both let out a word of affirmation. Yoshi let out happy-sounding noise, with the two women glancing at the dinosaur-like being with a sort of awkward trepidation. 'It looks friendly enough,' they both thought, 'but it likely wouldn't be here if it couldn't hold its own.' They both had already ascertained that Ganondorf was a threat, and probably a large one at that. Said man let out a grunt of confirmation to Master Hand's inquiry. "Good. We shall be getting started here in a few moments, then. Give me a minute, just to confirm that everything is ready…"
They did so, with the two women shuffling on their feet in anticipation. Yoshi was hopping down, clearly incapable of holding in his own excitement. Ganondorf, with the exception of his breathing, was stock-still, arms crossed over his chest and glowering at nothing in particular. "Right! Everything is set to go! Step onto your respective telepads, and we shall get started!" They readily complied. Master Hand began counting down as the teleporters lit up and warped them to their respective destinations…
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
"GO!"
