…
C11: Gathering Grove
…
Serena opened her eyes slowly, groaning as she tried to get herself upright.
"Could you be more careful next time?" She muttered, still not fully awake.
Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and yawning, she looked around. What she saw made her completely silent. A wide, well-kept, grassy field stretched out as far as the eyes could see as the sun's rays continually beamed from a corner of the sky. Its rays reflected off of a house-sized fountain near the center, with a gigantic marble Smash Ball in its center and an "N" carved into the stone of the base. Water flowed from the edge of the fountain into the clear-water pool, constantly flowing. Around the fountain circled a variety of trees that all pointed to a mountain in the distance. Serena looked at the Genetic Pokémon that had saved her, who was hovering near the fountain, meditating. Greninja had decided to play in the fountain's large pool, and Red and Charizard were both lying, unconscious, on a mound of grass that was shaded by a large platform that floated several hundred feet above the ground alongside a shifting cloudscape.
Curious, Serena walked over to the hovering Mewtwo, several questions in mind.
Just as she was about to open her mouth, Mewtwo interrupted, "You know I can read your mind, right?"
Serena, flushed, embarrassed, as Mewtwo continued.
"I am sorry… I was in a hurry to get us to escape the attack, and to those inexperienced with teleportation, it saps your energy quickly. Either way, what I am about to tell you is something you should not know, but since you are here, I cannot hide the truth from you."
Mewtwo dramatically paused to gesture at the land around him with one hand.
"The truth is, you've been here before. Everyone has. Doesn't this fountain seem familiar? Whether or not you remember it now, I'm sure you will."
Serena blinked, looking to the side as Greninja jumped up from the fountain, soaked in water, and tried to hop up towards the top of the stone Smash Ball. As soon as her eyes were closed, she saw an image of Greninja charging a Water Shuriken against another Pokémon, whose arms had scythes of green energy and a leafy tail, which charged at Greninja under orders from another boy with a white hat and a black headband.
Serena gasped, her eyes open wide. "Wh-what?" she stammered.
Mewtwo nodded. "I see you're confused… But, I must say, that battle you had against Brendan's Sceptile was amazing. Even though the Smash Zone eliminated all type effectiveness, you made quite a comeback near the end."
Serena groaned, holding her head in both hands as a sudden migraine occurred.
Mewtwo chuckled. "Don't worry… your brain is just piecing together the dots… 3… 2.. 1…"
Serena's jaw dropped as her migraine, as Mewtwo predicted, suddenly faded.
"This… I remember this place. Greninja and I battled for a spot in the tournament against another Trainer. But… how?"
Mewtwo sighed. "I'll start from the top." Serena looked back at the Psychic-type, her eyes twinkling with curiosity.
"Way back in the days of the Premier Tournament, this area was used by Master Hand to test different fighters to see if they were capable of having a Smash-able moveset. Back then, we could only use three total Special moves: a Standard, Up, and Down. From the get-go, however, Master Hand had a set number of roster members he wanted to include: 12. His first star, Mario, clearly made it in, along with Kirby for… reasons. However, that left ten new roster spots to decide. He pulled characters from a lot of different worlds, including the Kanto Region, where I come from. However, with a strict number of limitations and since I was, in essence, a final challenge or legend that some people barely even knew about, Master Hand was disinclined to include me. In addition, I barely had a standard array of melee attacks.
"But, enough about me. 17 characters were pulled, but only 12 made it in. Once the trials had been completed, Master Hand made everyone forget about this place— that he could, anyways."
Greninja, who had given up on his bath, walked over and started listening to the story.
"Ninja Grenin?"
Mewtwo nodded. "Yes, Greninja. The same thing I told you as soon as we got here."
Serena asked, "What do you mean, 'that he could?' "
Mewtwo smiled. "Ah, I was just about to get to that part. Though I was not the only one there with Psychic powers, even then, my power levels were extremely high. Therefore, Master Hand could not force me to forget anything. Thus, as a last resort, he made me the temporary guardian of this place."
"Ja ninja gre?"
"Good question. I still made my dwelling in the Cerulean Cave, in my home region, but I was given the ability to teleport here at will by Master Hand. I became its caretaker, repairing the fountain in the event prospective fighters destroyed it, keeping the grass trimmed, fixing trees, and the like. However, it gave me a new place to hone my skills and prepare a moveset for the next tournament. And, since I was doing Master Hand a big favor by keeping this place in top form and I had figured out my moveset, he allowed me to compete in the Melee tournament, as long as I limited myself to my moves. I'll admit, even though I lost my qualifier for the first tournament, regardless, against Captain Falcon, that wasn't the first time this place was used for fighting."
Both Serena and Greninja were baffled by the Legendary's words.
"Again, what do you mean by that last sentence?"
"Ninja nin gre!" The Water- and Dark-type demanded.
Mewtwo relented, pointing to the floating platform that Red and Charizard were lying under.
"Of course, even before we were called by Master Hand, this area was heavily populated, and Master Hand began what I'd call Tournament Zero— not much is known about it, but there were very few fighters that were too similar and the project was quickly scrapped, the city was abandoned, and the ghost town was eventually plowed over and transformed into the paradise you see now. That platform is where several of the fighters used to duke it out, and it's been a part of this place since Tournament Zero. However, I've heard rumors that the cast of fighters rebelled against Master Hand for making them join the tournament in the first place… and that their rebellion was quickly quashed and, as a punishment, they were transformed into another form and never seen again.
Both Greninja and Serena shared a glance of shock. Mewtwo continued without batting an eye.
"But at least this area had some use. It helped me prepare my skills for the next tournament and, in addition to fighter trials, during the Melee era, this place was used to rest before the All-Star matches, where one person would fight all others in succession with very little recovery. However, the roster was much smaller at that time, so it was easier for all of us. There used to be a teleportation pad here for that reason, but Master Hand linked a different area for Brawl's All-Star rest area, so that was deactivated and eventually removed."
Serena had to ask, "So you've been mentioning this place for a while, but you haven't given us its name at all."
Mewtwo chuckled. "That's because it's had a couple names over the years. If I remember correctly, the city itself was named Ryuoh, which is what I called it during the first years. However, once it was mainly used for All-Star and fighter trials, I gave it its title— Gathering Grove. It's a natural paradise where both friends and foes gather to rest between their important fights or to prove their talent, skill, and experience."
Serena nodded. "So, how are we going to get back into the fight?"
Mewtwo shrugged. "Once Red and Charizard are awake, we'll head back to the Smash Complex. I assume everyone will still be-"
Mewtwo's eyes suddenly began glowing in a harsh violet light. He scowled and immediately took a battle stance. Greninja stepped in front of Serena protectively, forming water swords in both hands.
"What's going on?" Serena panicked.
Mewtwo glared. "I forgot to disable the defense systems in my haste, and so we're about to have some company."
"Gre?"
"A group of old enemies. They were used during the Brawl tournament, if I remember correctly, to practice against multiple opponents. They are…"
Suddenly, a multitude of Subspace portals opened up around them, releasing different-colored warriors. One of them held a boombox and set it down behind the circle of creatures that had formed around them. As soon as the group had all formed, the boom box started blaring. Mewtwo gave a frustrated sigh.
"The Alloys."
(If you wish, play the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers theme here- I did.)
"GO GO POWER RANGERS!"
The group of Alloys struck a group pose before charging at both of the Pokémon, who were ready for an intense battle.
"MIGHTY MORPHIN' POWER RANGERS!"
The battle was faster-paced then Melee as Greninja and Mewtwo vanished and reappeared all throughout the battlefield, thinning the herd with each attack. Mewtwo teleported to the side and jumped, cloaking himself in electricity that short-circuited several of the Alloys before creating a burst of dark energy that destroyed another few. Greninja used Shadow Sneak to create an opening with an all-around strike and swiped down with his water swords, finishing off several more before using Hydro Pump to blast through another group.
Serena cheered on the group as the music continued.
"NO ONE WILL EVER TAKE THEM DOWN,
THE POWER LIES ON THEIR SIIIIIIII-"
In the blink of an eye, Mewtwo teleported to the jukebox and crushed it with another dark energy burst.
"That song is so very annoying," he noted.
Greninja gave one last swipe with a water sword and stepped back, letting his water swords dissolve into little fountains of water that spouted from his hands as he stood in the midst of Alloy wreckage.
Serena commented, "Well, that was anticlimactic."
Mewtwo sighed. "That may be, but the Alloys run on a source of interdimensional energy… the same type of energy that Master and Crazy Hand use. Thus, their distruction might cause a disturbance large enough that someone might have noticed… So, we'd best be on our guard."
Greninja and Serena both nodded as they looked over to the still-unconscious trainer and Flame Pokémon with downcast expressions.
"Please wake up soon…" Serena thought.
…
Meanwhile, the Smashers were in a slump. Not only had Greninja, Charizard, and Mewtwo failed to return, but the next battle was not going well.
Though only Ness had played on their stage before, it had been a long, long time since he had battled on Planet Zebes. Ness was giving it his best shot, but Lucas was an absolute beast. For Each PK Fire that Ness threw out, Lucas would use his PSI Magnet to absorb the hit and counter with a different PSI move. It seemed, at first, that the two youths were evenly matched, but Lucas' extra grab range and PK Freeze's longer range gave him the edge. Ness had, through a lucky lava flow, managed to catch Lucas off-guard and take a stock using PK Thunder II. Lucas returned, more enraged than ever, rushing after him with repeated jumps into PSI-empowered spins that did plenty of damage. Just as Lucas was charging up a downward-facing burst of PSI-energy, a tear fell down Lucas' face. Ness' eyes widened and he yelled,
"Take Tabuu down now, before he gains too much power from our troph-"
Ness was finally hit by Lucas' attack and flew off the stage. The battle ended instantaneously, Ness' trophy falling onto the platform next to Lucas, who let another tear fall from his eyes before both of them were whisked away by Tabuu.
In a flash, the Subspace ruler, himself, appeared on the screen.
"I hope you heard the pitiful child, Master Hand. I was just wondering how much more of your children you would see vanquished before you intervened."
The creator-being clenched his fist. "I know better than that. The core has given you too much power. Even if the lives of my children are at stake, I won't recklessly charge in."
Tabuu chuckled again in his grating noise that made everyone cringe.
"Suit yourself. Either way, I've had my fun for now. You can have the rest of your Smashers back until I'm ready for the next series of battles."
Immediately, Pikachu, Falco, Toon Link, Rosalina, Duck Hunt, Falco, Mario, and Captain Falcon were ejected from the portal, all taking battle stances before they realized where they were. Pikachu used Quick Attack in a panic, trying to go through the portal once again, but the doorway vanished, leaving Pikachu to go crashing into the wall behind the warp station, unconscious. ZSS quickly rushed over to its aid as various others crowded around the other Smashers, who were still a bit dazed.
"Until we meet again, Smashers." Tabuu finally vanished from the screen, which went black.
Everyone looked to Master Hand, who sighed.
"I think we need to have a bit of a talk." He finally admitted.
…
As soon as the conversation was over, Tabuu teleported back to a different area of Subspace, where all the trophies he had captured previously were huddled on a platform around some sort of device. Tabuu gave out a sigh.
"So, I assume the project is going well, then?"
Wolf and Snake, who were both crouching in front of said device, nodded.
"It should be up and running in less than half an hour." Wolf answered.
Tabuu nodded. "Perfect."
S3thl0n, who was currently sparring with Lucina, dared to ask a question.
"So, Master… what's the reason you're fighting?"
Tabuu harrumphed. "I seek to return to the world from which I came and regain my intended form. This, of course, involves gaining the power of the core."
Lucina turned to him after barely blocking one of S3thl0n's attacks. "Where do you come from? Is it a game world, like everyone else's?"
After a moment, Tabuu answered, "Yes and No."
Everyone except Wolf and Snake paused what they were doing to listen to their master's tale.
"The form you see before you once belonged to a simple character, living in a world that never quite managed to make it to a console. I'll explain more when the time is right."
S3thl0n chuckled haughtily. "Seems pretty lame to have a motive like returning to your homeworld."
Ness just gave him an odd look. "Isn't that why you cut guys scrambled back here in the first place?"
S3thl0n was silenced by this. He blushed, embarrassed, amidst several snickers from everyone around while Lucina just gave him a quizzical glance.
Suddenly, the machine that Snake and Wolf were working on began sparking and whirring to life. Everyone looked at the machine, then to Tabuu for more information.
"It's detected a disturbance in another world."
They all glanced at the screen where they saw a fountain surrounded by the wreckage of several alloys and five figures. But, above all, a familiar floating platform framed by a mountain in the background garnered Tabuu's attention.
The Smashers all gained odd looks.
"Wasn't that the All-Star Rest Area in Melee?" Nana piped up.
Lucas nodded. "It seems a little… familiar to me."
Tabuu slammed his palm down on the stage, causing all of his servants to jump.
"Pi… chu pichu?" Pichu asked timidly.
" 'What's wrong,' he asks." Lucario translated.
"The time is right," Tabuu began. "The world you see before you is the remnant that I have left… of friends, family, and the open coffins of bad memories."'
…Begin_Flashback/Many_Years_Earlier
Lyon Gop was a simple man living in the Ryuoh Town area of the continent of Requas. Very few people actually visited this area, which made the town's latest arrival somewhat of a shock. Even though the local martial arts studio that Lyon had founded had garnered some fame, he had never expected a gigantic floating hand to stage a tournament with him and three of his friends. Early in the tournament, the fighters were eager to battle it out, enjoying the opportunity to fight one another and finally test their skills. People from the surrounding areas of Requas flocked in to see these grandmasters fight it out.
But, the day they were disillusioned was when a messenger interrupted the tournament when all the fighters were on break.
"Hmm? What is it?" Lyon asked.
The messenger turned to one of Lyon's friends and noted,
"Mr. Rafe Irmew… your wife… she's become grievously ill and can't leave the house."
Of course, Rafe reacted immediately, speaking to the Hand.
"Get me out of here. I quit."
Master Hand, however, blocked the door, aiming his finger gun at the martial artist.
"I'm afraid I can't let you leave. This tournament rides on the continuous participation of all four contestants. If one of you leaves, the tournament will be offset."
Lyon stood, glaring at the floating Hand. "I think I speak for all of us when I say that when you don't allow us to see our wives for even the slightest of emergencies, we will all leave."
The other two nodded and turned to the door as all four stepped outside without looking back.
…
Master Hand, later on, threatened the four to return to their battles or their families would be destroyed.
"It's best not to anger me," he cautioned.
So, amidst their fear, the four returned to their fighting, returning home each day more and more exhausted. In their delirious fever, the four men conspired to fight against Master Hand.
Of course, they didn't know what would hit them.
As soon as Master Hand entered the dojo that morning, the four fighters attacked the Hand with the strongest punches they could muster. Master Hand began glowing blue, a lowercase Greek "Alpha" symbol appearing on his wrist, and trapped all of them in an orb of psychic energy. Master Hand began spazzing, his aura turning slightly purple as he said,
"I warned you. Now, all of your world will suffer!" A gigantic fireball of oblivion blasted out from the heavens and, upon exploding, dissolved the entire world into a wasteland. The citizens of Ryuoh were turned into nothing more than ones and zeroes, dissolving into so much useless code. Master Hand then spoke up, looking completely different, a purple aura surrounding him and eight fingers seizing and flailing all over the place.
"You four have a special punishment for disobeying me. You will lead an army of horrendous beings against fighters that, unlike you, regain some sense of loyalty to the one who provided popularity and a name for yourselves. But, above all, you will most likely lose… all the time."
Various, rough-edged purple blobs appeared beneath them in all sizes and shapes.
Master Hand chuckled. "You'll be taking their forms and leading the Fighting Polygon Team."
…End_Flashback
Everyone just stared in shock, fully registering the actions of a being they had all deemed as benevolent. Tabuu decided to continue the story from there.
"In addition, once we had served in full on the Premier Tournament, Master Hand decided to take his little pets along with him to the Melee Tournament… and we quickly became the leaders of the Fighting Wireframes. Of course, I managed to, during one part of Cruel Smash, touch the core of Battlefield and suddenly vanished to this black abyss you see now. In absorbing the energy of Subspace, I gained an unfathomable amount of power. The red core I had before was found on one of my journeys through this realm. It became my new "heart," so to speak, and it prolonged my existence as a Wireframe creature, but expanded my features into so much more detail. Once Smash Brothers was a success, I was no more than a stupid failure, a "taboo" subject, if you will, which led to my rebirth of identity. I took a more humanoid appearance and bided my time, using my newfound strength to look into other places that had been abandoned by their gods in favor of other, better creatures, such as the Isle of the Ancients, where I found the R.O.B.s. doing their work. Though it took some convincing, they joined my noble cause. My Ancient Minister served me well in my quest for revenge against Master Hand and the Smashers who had both beaten me up on numerous occasions and took my place. The primids, however, were found after I found the scientific marvel of Mr. Game & Watch. My core at the time allowed me to manipulate the Shadow Bugs inside of him to create countless other members of the Subspace army, including Spaaks, Greaps, and the powerful Galleom. Of course, trapping Master Hand with my whips wasn't enough, and I fought against you Smashers, intent on returning the favor he had dealt to me. You managed to destroy me with the help of Sonic, who weakened my wings, which were the manifestation of my core's power. You should know the rest from there."
Even S3thl0n was silent at the shocking story of Tabuu's mysterious past.
Snake managed to say, "You were the lucky one, weren't you?"
Tabuu nodded. "I know. Master Hand destroyed all of the Wireframes after the Melee tournament's completion, replacing them with mechanical monstrosities known as Alloys. Call it cliché, but I'm the last survivor of the Dragon King Tournament of fighting."
Lucas spoke up. "We won't let you down, Master."
Tabuu nodded at the boy's claim. "I thank you for your loyalty. In addition, once this machine is fully operational, I will make sure that my goal is completed."
Ganondorf was the one to ask, "What does it do?"
Wolf answered quickly. "We're building another warp system… Master ordered us to."
Tabuu said, "Yes… we will seek out other worlds that have been neglected from the Smash Tournaments and use their power to increase mine exponentially."
Dr. Mario asked, "But how are-a we going to power it, Master?"
Snake smirked before opening his pack and pulling out something everyone recognized - a Smash Ball.
Tabuu nodded. "Once the machine is ready, we will begin our recruitment mission. Every world will know our names."
...
Well, a lot happened, eh? I hope that can see the upward trend in these chapters, and I hope you eagerly await the next ones to be posted.
Regardless, I hope you like it! I'll see you guys as soon as I feel like posting the next chapter(s?).
Until next time...
This is the Emerald Dynamo, signing off!