Chapter 9: VS Yoshi and Young Link
They were walking through the Smash Mansion. The corridors were a lot darker than before as they had lost all reserve power. Now more than ever the pressure was finally setting in. What started out as being a believable task in the beginning had now become harder and harder. Cautiously they walked around, half expecting that every shadow would conceal one of the remaining Smashers and that they would jump out and attack them.
The true daunting task was finding the Smashers, as Marth was positive that they were running through the mansion doing their best to avoid meeting up.
"We aren't getting anywhere with this." Link sighed.
"Agreed." Popo replied. "How are we going to find them now?"
"And with less of them its becoming less likely that we would run into them." Roy replied.
Marth sighed. "Is there a way that we could track them?"
"Well if my PSY was stronger I could probably be able to see where there exact positions are in the mansion." Ness replied.
"Then allow me." The Melee Master replied. He tried to focus however the conversation he had with Marth telepathically, the constant healing of the Smashers, not to mention the extracting and absorbing of the virus had been leaving him progressively more and more exhausted.
"Its all right." Marth replied. "We will just have to keep on searching."
"Then allow me to help." Link said. "I can at least find Young Link since we are connected." Everyone stared at Link, each feeling incredibly stupid that they had forgotten something so basic.
"So why didn't you bring this up before?" Kirby asked.
"Well we really didn't actually need to search for anyone since we would just run into them every step that we take... Now lets begin." Link closed his eyes and began to concentrate. Everyone just stared at him. About a minute later his eyes opened. 'I know where they are!" He announced and with that he led the group through the mansion. Eventually they got to the hallway containing the doors to their bedrooms.
Yoshi and Young Link were waiting for them at the end of the hallway. Link had all ready stepped forwards. Marth could see the determination in his eyes, as he wanted to fight his younger self. However Young Link had other plans. Young Link raised his sword up to his neck.
Link suddenly froze. He didn't dare draw his Master Sword or summon his Weapon of Heart. Marth could understand why. Standing across from them was potentially the most dangerous weapon that Kai had. At any moment death of Young Link would mean the collapse of the universe.
"You forget that you were once under Kai's control." Young Link laughed. "He knows your weakness." Link cursed.
'Did Kai plan this move?' Marth thought. 'Did he know that Link would want to fight Young Link to make sure that no unnecessary harm would be done to him?'
"You're weak if you can't find the strength to attack me!" Young Link laughed. "You're weak if you won't take risks to come out on top of the battle!"
"Self sacrifice?" Link shouted enraged. "Is that a risk that YOU are willing to make Kai or just your puppets? Are they nothing more than pawns to you? Its disgusting that you set us up against our own friends in a fight to the death!"
Kai appeared in front of Young Link. "Disgusting?" Kai laughed. "What is disgusting is how you fight for entertainment and yet you are ultimately a hypocrite! After all is that just what you live for just to fight, for the adrenaline rush in the fight? This is just another fight in your violent monster lives!"
"Our fights are different at the tournament though." Link replied. He didn't seem discouraged by Kai's presence. If anything Kai's presence was empowering him and giving him strength to go on. "There we fight with honor and sportsmanship to see who is the strongest amongst us all. To see who has risen above the rest and is the new peak that we must climb up to!"
Kai remained calm as a smug look crossed his face. "Honor? Sportsmanship? Tell me Popo where was that honor and sportsmanship in your match?"
"I didn't do it!" Popo shouted.
"You did," Kai laughed. "You've just convinced yourself otherwise due to that tragic backfire."
"That's enough that I've heard out of you!" Popo shouted running forwards he swung his mallet down towards Kai however Young Link blocked the attack.
"Don't you remember Popo?" Young Link asked. "You asked me to turn off the safety!"
"LIES!" Popo shouted. Young Link over powered Popo and sent him flying towards the wall.
Kai looked at Popo. "If you say something enough times you will believe it. However it will always be a lie."
Marth walked towards Kai. "I don't care if Popo intentionally turned it off." Marth said. "If he did he has clearly repented enough to make up for his mistake."
"So you are going to let him get away with what he has done?" Kai laughed.
"I said I don't care. What's done is done!" Marth replied. "Besides I've done some thinking I was pretty arrogant going into the first two matches. After that event everyone was disturbed by the 'anything can happen' atmosphere. But what would you understand?"
Kai just began to laugh. "I understand a lot more than you do!" Kai faced the freed Smashers. "I know all of your secrets. Come back to me and I can help you live in paradise. I can release you from your worldly confines and give you what ever you desire, love, power, money!"
"So we can be mindless puppets again?" Bowser and Ganondorf shouted charging forwards at Kai. Kai however rushed in front of them and knocked them back.
"But when you were under my control you were happy trapped in your own ignorant bliss!"
"You just used us for this sick game!" Ganondorf shouted back.
Kai began to laugh. "Is what I'm doing any different than what your so called mentor Master Hand has been doing?" Everyone was suddenly quiet. "I think we all know the truth but you just don't want to admit it. A conspiracy, or actually a logical guess."
"A conspiracy?" Everyone muttered.
"Didn't you ever think that Master Hand is really just training you to become his own personal army, and when the time comes to fight he won't get his hands dirty?!" Kai laughed. Everyone felt like asking for proof of such scandalous accusations. However they knew he would say it. "Why do you think that he gave you all Smash Shards in the invitations? Doesn't that seem sort of odd? You all agreed to come, some of the smarter ones amongst you made the connection and that you would all come back to him eventually. However there were a few of you who would have the ability to hide the Smash Shard in your hometown."
Marth drew his sword. "You're stalling for time!" He shouted enraged.
"Don't you think that he will betray you?" Kai asked. "Or are you too stupid to make the connections."
"I think you are too busy looking for things that aren't there." Marth moaned.
"You are all being used!" Kai laughed. "Soon you'll see!"
Marth glared at Kai. "Since you seem so hell bent on telling us we're being used why don't you tell us who sent and used you? We all know for a fact that Dr. Mario couldn't have created you!"
"Prepare to be severely disappointed." Kai laughed. "You will learn when the time is right." With that Kai disappeared and they returned their attention to Young Link and Yoshi.
They stared at each other for a few seconds. "Marth you get Yoshi." Link ordered.
"You idiot!" Marth said. "Kai would have anticipated that, we have to fight as a team and defeat them."
"I'll be fine and you should be fine." Link replied. Before Marth had a chance to retort Link rushed off to fight his younger self.
Marth stared at Yoshi. He really only knew one strategy for dealing with Yoshi, avoid his tongue at all costs. Instantly Yoshi began to try and swallow him. Marth however just rolled out of the way. He tried to look and see how Link was doing in his battle however Yoshi threw an egg at him and sent him across the room.
"That hurt..." Marth muttered slowly getting up using his sword as support. "How did that egg explode?" Marth however didn't have time to ponder such a question as, Yoshi tried to eat him again. Marth dodged however he tripped and fell onto the ground slowly Yoshi approached him, and was about to eat him.
Link threw a bomb in front of the two of them. Yoshi was unable to stop his attack and ate the bomb. It quickly exploded and Yoshi began to cry out in pain at a bad case of indigestion. With that Yoshi curled up into a ball and was crying in pain.
"That must hurt." Marth said.
"Ya." Link replied. "Even with his unnatural stomach he is out."
Young Link stared at the two more experienced swordsmen. "If you think I'm done then you are mistaken!" he shouted. He held out in front of him a mask. "You should know what is coming next." Young Link laughed putting on the mask. For the next several seconds it sounded like his bones were being crushed, and then he shouted out in a scream of agony. Within a few seconds standing there waiting for them was a warrior twice their size. His eyes were white and hollow. His hair was white and old.
"He's stronger now." Link sighed. "He now has a body that has seen millions of battles, and participated in them."
"So what can we do?"
"Fight, don't give up, and don't get hit. If you can hold him still I should be able to play the Song of Healing and kill two birds in one stone."
"What does the Song of healing do?" Marth asked.
"It heals the soul, it also has a second effect of removing the masks off forcefully." Link explained.
"And you know this song."
"Sort of." Link sighed. "Like all songs in order to activate their magical powers you must understand their deep meaning. I think I know what the Song of Healing means, however I have yet to try it."
Fierce Deity Link rushed towards the two warriors, he swung his giant sword and the two quickly dodged it. "He's become a lot more violent!" Marth shouted. Fierce Deity Link looked at Marth and charged towards them rapidly and blindly swinging his sword. Marth blocked several attacks and intentionally got stuck in a deadlock with Fierce Deity Link. Link quickly grabbed his ocarina and began to play the song. However when the song stopped Fierce Deity Link still stood. He kicked Marth away and began to laugh.
"You don't understand the meaning of the song!" Fierce Deity Link laughed. "But you wouldn't be able to understand it with out feeling the pain!" Fierce Deity Link jumped towards Link who was unable to block. Link went flying back against the wall. "The pain of your body being ripped apart and transforming slowly into a new form! Until you are able to understand what that pain is the song will be nothing more than a few notes. Why do you think I taught it to you? I knew you would be unable to use its true power!"
Marth rushed up behind Fierce Deity Link and stabbed him through the back. "If you think that we don't know what pain is then you are mistaken!"
"Marth is right." Link replied getting up off of the ground. "We suffering because of Kai, he will kill you if we don't heal you." Fierce Deity Link knocked Marth away and rushed towards Link slashing him constantly. If Link was any normal person he would probably be dead by now. But since he had a fairy in a bottle it appeared and healed him. Link just simply stabbed Fierce Deity Link with the Master Sword, his body began to surge with power and eventually the room was filled with a blinding light.
The Fierce Deity mask fell to the ground with a dull thump. Young Link also fell down to the ground.
"What happened?" Everyone was wondering.
"The Fierce Deity Mask contained an evil spirit, one that lived for battle." Link explained. "His lust for blood corrupted the mask and gave it a mind of its own. By stabbing him with The Master Sword the mask had to force itself off of Young Link otherwise he would have been purified."
"And why aren't you purifying the mask now?" Mario asked.
Link stared at the mask. "I'm in no condition to do so." He replied. "The only thing that I can do is remove the spirit from the mask, however it will just go back into Young Link, its best if it stays in the mask." The Melee Master was healing Yoshi and Young Link. "Besides if I purify the mask it will lose its abilities and I think we might need it in the future."
"We only have 5 Smashers left to free." Roy said breathing a sigh of relief. "Soon this will be all over."
"Soon," Marth muttered looking at his sword. "I've decided that I will slay Kai. I can not allow a second outbreak. Please forgive me."
"We will stick behind your decision." Link said. "Each of us wants to slay Kai but we all know that only you will be capable of doing it."
"it will probably be difficult even for you." Zelda replied. "He knows your moves from the fights that you had with us. We watched you train and suffer."
'Will I really be able to slay Kai?' Marth thought to himself. 'No I must.' Everyone stared at Marth, perhaps able to sense his self-doubt. "Friends, please continue to lend me your strength and help me."
"We've been doing this for a while" Kirby said. "We will help you until the bitter end!"
Marth smiled. 'They will help me! They are truly my friends.' Marth faced the next doorway. "Thank you, know that I will defeat Kai, and free our last five friends: Donkey Kong, Samus, Mewtwo, Captain Falcon, and Dr. Mario. We will get to the truth!"
To be continued...
Hmm... I think now I just want to finish this story... I just don't want to write it anymore... Sigh... So I'm sorry if it feels rushed. I think the bit of plot that was revealed justifies the short fight. A conspiracy? Was Master Hand's change of heart just a staged act?
After reading a comment: I realized I was a bit unclear about Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach, all three of them showed up at the end of Chapter 3, they were the group that faced off against The Melee Master. I didn't do an actual fight for them since... well I don't like doing original character fights VS actual game characters (unless the game characters were going to win, but clearly this wasn't the case) since it basically says "Hey look fanbase my original character is better than all of your favorite characters." It really only results in angry fans and The Melee Master sort of has to stay likable for one more story...
Fun fact: The Melee Master was originally going to be a fusion of all 26 Smashers and share there attributes as part of his appearance...