A/N: Sorry, I didn't get nearly as much writing done on vacation as I had expected, so this is coming a bit late. This chapter is the "blast from the past," showing the origins of the heroes. I'll go through the list of characters again so we're all on the same page:
Hero – Name here (Nintendo character)
Mohinder Suresh – Diddy Kong
Peter Petrelli – Mario Petrelli
Niki Sanders – Zelda Sanders
Hiro Nakamura – Marth Nakamura
Claire Bennet – Peach Bennet
Ando Masahashi – Roy Masahashi
Charlie Andrews – Pichu Andrews
Deputy Davidson – Deputy Wolf (formerly Star Wolf from Star Fox)
Lloyd – R.O.B.
Gabriel Gray/Sylar – Gabriel Giovanni/Mewtwo
Chandra Suresh – Cranky Kong
Matt Parkman – D.K. Parkman
Eden McCain – Jigglypuff McCain
The Haitian – The Dragon (formerly Bowser)
Jackie Wilcox – Velvet Wilcox (formerly Velvet Dark)
Lori Tremmel – Maria Tremmel
Sandra Bennet – Vivian Bennet
Bad Glasses Man/Mr. Bennet – Evil Glasses Rabbit/Mr. Bennet
Tina – Navi
Hal Sanders – Daltus Sanders
Nathan Petrelli – Luigi Petrelli
Heidi Petrelli – Daisy Petrelli
Angela Petrelli – Samus Petrelli
Mr. Linderman – Mr. Ganondorf
Tom McHenry – Funky McHenry (formerly Funky Kong)
Jessica Sanders – Sheik Sanders
D.L. Hawkins – Link Hawkins
Brian Davis – Sabrina Davis (formerly Sabrina from Pokémon)
Micah Sanders – Pit Sanders
Janice Parkman – Candy Parkman (formerly Candy Kong)
Disclaimer: I do not own Heroes, NBC, Super Smash Brothers, Nintendo, Sega, or anything herein.
oOoOoOoOoOoO
(Open on a wide view of the planet.)
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose. The earth spins at a thousand miles an hour as we desperately try to keep from being thrown off.
(Cut to Diddy, looking at the computer screen, displaying "Are you sure you want to quit?")
Like the first blush of winter that signals the great migration, is there any warning for their arrival?
(Cut to the rooftop in the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario stands on the edge, preparing to fly.)
A sign? A single event that set this chain into motion?
(Cut to the shooting range outside Hyrule. Sheik fires a rifle at a target.)
Was it a whisper in God's ear? Survive. Adapt. Escape.
(Cut to the time-stopped subway in the Mushroom Kingdom. Future Marth walks away from Mario.)
And if we could mark that single moment in time –
Future Marth: Save the princess, save the world!
– that first hint of the prophecy of approaching danger…
(Cut to Douglas's loft. Marth looks out the window to see a gigantic explosion approaching, destroying everything.)
…if we had done anything differently, could it have been stopped?
(Cut to the top of the steps outside Peach's school. Mario and Peach run up the steps.)
Peach: What about you?
Mario: Don't worry about me. Go. (She pauses) GO!!
Or was the die long ago cast?
(Peach runs off. Mario looks after her, then turns around, looking right into the face of the killer. He grabs Mario, they struggle, and then they both fall over the railing.)
And if we could go back, alter its course, stop it from happening, would we?
(Cut to a booth in the diner in Katina. Marth looks at Roy.)
Marth (translated): I can bend time. I can go back.
(He closes his eyes and concentrates. There's a flash of white light and we cut to the same booth, with Marth appearing in it. He opens his eyes and looks around, amazed. Pichu comes up to his table and pours him a cup of coffee.)
Marth: My name is Marth Nakamura! I'm here to save your life!
(Pan around to see the counter. Many of the diner staff, plus Deputy Wolf and R.O.B., stand around a cake with the candles lit.)
Wolf: Come on, Pichu! Come blow out the candles!!
(Pichu turns and acknowledges them, then turns back to Marth.)
Pichu: Hold that thought, OK? I have to make a wish.
(She walks over to the cake, laughing, then turns back. She motions for Marth to join them. He smiles and walks over, and one of the waitresses takes a picture of the two of them.
Cut to inside a watch shop in the Mushroom Kingdom. The title card, "Chapter Ten: Six Months Ago," appears in the air. Pan over to see a large white cat-like creature. He's working on a watch with his three-fingered hands, obviously skilled at his work. Cranky Kong knocks and enters.)
Cranky: Gabriel Giovanni? (The creature looks up and nods) My name's Cranky Kong, I was hoping you could help me.
Gabriel: (looking back down at his work) Your watch is broken.
Cranky: (taken back) I'm sorry? My watch is fine.
Gabriel: (looking up) No, it isn't. The restrictor coil's loose, it's running two seconds slow. I just have a way of knowing when things are broken. I just seem to know how things work, how the parts should go. (He motions to Cranky) May I?
Cranky: Oh yes. (He hands him the watch and Gabriel begins working on it. Cranky points at what he had been working on) That watch looks quite complicated.
Gabriel: (working on Cranky's watch) Yes, the housing is standard, but the inner parts are special order from MacBeth. I've been working on it for seven years. (He snaps the watch shut) There you are. No charge.
Cranky: (taking it back) Oh, thank you. But, um…
Gabriel: I'm sorry, yes. What did you come here for?
Cranky: Well, actually, I came here to find you. I'm a geneticist and I've been working with the Characters Genetics Project. We've discovered people with mutations in their DNA, who have been exhibiting…strange new abilities. (Gabriel looks amazed) I believe it has something to do with the next stage of character evolution, and I believe you are a part of it. (He hands him a copy of Activating Evolution) Read this and, if you're interested in it, you can reach me at the number or address I wrote inside the cover. (He smiles and shakes Gabriel's hand) Have a nice day, sir.
(Cranky leaves and Gabriel looks bewildered. Cut to a bridge in Viridian City. D.K. gets out of his parked patrol car, his lights flashing. He walks up to a convertible as his cell phone rings. He ignores it and comes up to the driver's door to find Jigglypuff behind the wheel.)
D.K.: License and registration, ma'am.
Jigglypuff: (smiling blandly) I don't have them. I…kinda stole this car. You know. Had a drink. (She motions to the passenger seat, where a half-empty bottle of liquor sits)
D.K.: (hard) Get out of the car, ma'am.
Jigglypuff: No, I don't feel like it.
D.K.: (snapping) That wasn't a suggestion.
Jigglypuff: Well, here's a suggestion, why don't you get back in your car and go eat a dozen donuts? That's what cops like to do, right?
D.K.: What did you just say to me!? Get out of the car. NOW.
Jigglypuff: (her voice getting distorted and echo-y) No. Get back in your car and go eat some donuts.
(D.K. looks confused, but finally turns and walks back to his car. Jigglypuff watches him, smirking. She turns forward again and finds the dragon standing in front of her car, staring at her.
Cut to Peach's bedroom. She's reading on her bed when there's a knock and Velvet enters.)
Velvet: Major news! It seems Maria Tremmel skanked her way through the entire football team.
Peach: (getting up) Who told you that?
Velvet: (smirking) The entire football team. Anyway, obviously we can't keep her on the squad any more. So, now there's a spot open for you! You can be the cheerleader you've always wanted!
Peach: Um…wow, Velvet! That's great! Thanks!!
Velvet: (producing a cheerleading uniform) Yeah, I even brought your uniform over. You can put it on and we can commiserate the event!
Peach: Uh, I think you mean commemorate, Velvet. But that's OK, I don't want to try it on now.
Velvet: What are you talking about? Are you really this ungrateful for what I did for you!? (She turns to leave) You know what? Maybe I'll find someone else who really wants to be on the squad.
Peach: I do want to be on the squad, Velvet. I'm just a little busy now. Just gimme the uniform. (She grabs it out of Velvet's hand)
Velvet: No, I don't think you really want it. Forget it. (She tries to grab the uniform back)
Peach: Velvet, it's mine! (Pulling back)
Velvet: Let go!! (Pulling back)
Peach: No!!
(Peach pulls again, but her hand slips off and crashes through the front pane of a glass cabinet next to her.)
Peach: OW!!
Velvet: Ohmygod.
(Peach looks at her hand, all cut up and bleeding. Cut to downstairs in the kitchen. Vivian tries to mop up the blood with a towel.)
Vivian: Well, this won't help the actual cut. I'm taking you to the emergency room. (The phone starts ringing) Honey, could you get that? We'll be back. (They leave)
Bennet: (entering the kitchen) Sure thing, dear. (Picking up the phone) Hello?
Cranky: (over phone) Mr. Bennet? My name is Cranky Kong. I need to speak to you about your daughter, Peach.
(Bennet looks apprehensive. Cut to the diner in Katina. Marth follows Pichu around as people congratulate her.)
Marth: I from future! I here to save you!!
Pichu: (dismissing) The future? That sounds a little crazy, Marth.
Marth: You no come work tomorrow! If you do –
(There's a clap of thunder outside. Marth looks out the window to see it pouring rain. He looks confused.)
Marth: Rain?
Pichu: (sadly) Yeah, April showers.
Marth: April? No, October.
Pichu: No, it's April thirteenth. It's my birthday.
(Marth stops following her.)
Marth (translated): (to himself) April? Oh no, that means I went too far back!...But if I try to teleport again, who knows where I'll end up?...I'll just try to stay here then.
Pichu: (approaching him with cake) Cake?
Marth: (waveringly) Happy birthday!!
(Cut to a classroom in Hyrule. Zelda stands up at the front, at a podium. There are a large number of people in chairs, looking at her.)
Zelda: Hi. My name is Zelda, and…I'm an alcoholic.
Crowd: Hi, Zelda!
Zelda: I'm one year sober today –
Navi: (in the crowd) Happy anniversary!!
Zelda: (smiling at the interruption) My life is pretty crappy right now. I work sixty hours a week, my son's so smart that he's flunking out of school, and my husband can't work because no one wants to hire an ex-con. And all of this…really makes me want to take a drink.
(She's looking through the crowd when she sees an older guy with blonde hair sitting in the back. This is Daltus Sanders, Zelda's father. She looks angry to see him. Cut to outside the room after the meeting ends. Everyone leaves as he approaches Zelda.)
Zelda: Dad. Why are you here?
Daltus: A father can't just be there for his daughter anymore?
Zelda: (raising an eyebrow) Be there, huh?
Daltus: I just want you in my life. But I understand why you wouldn't want me to be in it since…I was such an awful father to you…
Zelda: You weren't awful, dad, you just weren't there.
Daltus: (forcing a smile) But I'm here now. I want to get to know Link and Pit, and even you, if you'll let me.
Zelda: Well I don't want to get to know you.
(She storms out. Cut to Mario's apartment in the Mushroom Kingdom. There's a knock at the door and Mario winds his way through the large crowd there to answer it. He opens the door to find Luigi, Daisy, and Samus. They all come in as Luigi hands Mario a box.)
Luigi: Women's nursing shoes for our new nurse! Congratulations!!
Mario: (laughing) Great. Thanks, bro. Come in, you guys.
(Luigi and Daisy walk past, and Samus pulls Mario aside.)
Samus: I wanted to tell you that your father is proud of you, Mario.
Mario: (ruefully) And he still couldn't make it?
Samus: Well, Ganondorf's in Zebes, so your father had to meet him there.
Mario: Mom, it's OK. I chose to become a nurse without dad's blessing, or his money. So I guess it's only fitting that I celebrate my graduation without him.
(Samus smiles and kisses him on the cheek. Cut to sometime later. Mario and Luigi sit, talking, while Daisy comes up to them carrying a bottle of wine and a glass.)
Daisy: (sitting down) So, Mario, what do you think your specialty's going to be?
Mario: Hospice work, I think.
Luigi: Taking care of dead people?
Daisy: (pouring a glass of wine) No, honey, he'll be caring for people that are dying, helping them…prepare. (smiling) I think it's a great choice for you, Mar.
Luigi: What's the pay?
Mario: (sarcastic) Oh, it's great. That's actually why I picked it, you know, for the pay.
Daisy: (rolling her eyes) I'm gonna call the sitter, but when I get back, you're dancing with me, Luigi.
(She gets up and leaves. Luigi turns to Mario, looking concerned.)
Mario: What's going on, Luigi?
Luigi: (sighing) The district attorney wants me to prosecute Ganondorf.
Mario: (shocked) But he's dad's biggest client.
Luigi: Yeah, but they say that if his mob ties run as deep as they think, if we take him down, the whole empire will crumble.
Mario: But if you take down Ganondorf, you'll be taking down dad, too.
Luigi: Are you defending him now?? You used to accuse him of being a criminal by protecting other criminals. This is a chance for us to set the record straight, and clear the family name.
Mario: He's still our father, no matter what he's done. If you go after him? You're never going to forgive yourself.
(Luigi nods as Daisy comes back up and takes his hand.)
Daisy: Come on, Luigi. Dance with me.
Luigi: Of course. Mario? (He hands him the glass of wine)
Mario: Sure, yeah.
(The two get up and start slow dancing as Luigi looks at Mario knowingly.
Cut to Cranky's apartment. He pins a picture of Luigi up to his giant map. There's a knock and Gabriel enters.)
Gabriel: Mr. Kong? I read the book, and…I think it's great. I want to see if I have one of these…abilities.
Cranky: (smiling) Well, that's fantastic. Here, this book will show you some of the medical side of what we'll do…
Gabriel: (looking through it) Are you gonna cut me open??
Cranky: (laughing) No, certainly not! They'll be noninvasive tests for the most part. First, I'd like to put you in an MRI.
Gabriel: MRI? So you're trying to map the brain.
Cranky: Well, the brain does control every action, voluntary or involuntary, along with every breath, heartbeat, and emotion. If the soul exists, scientifically speaking, it exists in the brain.
Gabriel: (chuckling) When I was young, I used to wish that someone would come and tell me that my family wasn't really my family. They weren't bad people, they were just...insignificant. And I wanted to be different. Special. I wanted to change. A new name, a new life. The watchmaker's son...became a watchmaker. It was so futile. And I wanted to be...important.
Cranky: You are important, Gabriel.
Gabriel: (curious) What do you think my ability might be?
(Cut to inside the Compositech Paper facility. Jigglypuff sits in a chair with a piece of tape over her mouth. Mr. Bennet sits across from her, reading a folder, while the dragon stands to the side, staring at her.)
Bennet: Quite a list of accomplishments you've made here, Jigglypuff. Grand theft auto, larceny, robbery, arson, and suspected of murder in Fortuna. That's no way for a young lady to behave, now is it? (He closes the folder) I think you need a goal, a purpose. Something to work for.
(He takes the tape off her mouth. She spits on his glasses and he sighs, taking them off and cleaning them.)
Jigglypuff: (in the distorted echo-y voice) Let me go.
Bennet: (putting his glasses back on) With that ability, there's no way anyone could say no to you. (He turns to the dragon) But now there is.
(Jigglypuff looks nervous. Cut to the diner in Katina. Marth picks up the pay phone and dials.)
Marth (translated): Yes, transfer me to Roy Masahashi please. (He pauses) Thank you. (He waits for the call to connect, and the phone clicks) Hello, Roy!? You must help me!!
(Cut to the office in Japan. The Marth from six months ago answers the phone.)
Six Months Ago Marth (translated): Roy is out sick today. My name is Marth Nakamura, how can I help you?
(Cut back to the diner. Marth's eyes go wide and he slams the phone down.)
Marth: Great Scott-o!!
(Cut to Viridian City. D.K. is in his squad car, holding a donut and staring out the window. Funky pulls up in a squad car next to him.)
Funky: What are you doing, D.K.?
D.K.: (snapping out of it) Huh?
Funky: The detective test is in an hour, man, you better get going.
D.K.: Oh…yeah. Second time's gonna be the charm, right?
Funky: Definitely. Hey, what's with the donut?
(D.K. looks down and realizes he's holding the donut. He throws it back in the box.)
Funky: (laughing) You're like a walking cliché, man.
D.K.: Well, after today, I'm gonna be a new man.
Funky: (smiling) Absolutely.
(Cut to the diner in Katina. Marth clears some tables as Pichu approaches him.)
Marth: Pichu! I have gift for you! (He hands her a book off the table.)
Pichu: Oh wow, a Japanese phrasebook! Thank you, Marth! (She opens it and immediately reads out a sentence in Japanese) You are a kind and generous man.
Marth: (stunned) Amazing.
Pichu: Yeah, I just seem to remember everything lately. It's weird.
Marth: Yes, you have big power. Strong memory! Only get stronger in future.
Pichu: The future? Oh right, I forgot that's where you're from.
Marth: Is true! I bend time and space.
Pichu: Uh huh, of course.
(There's a ding from the kitchen.)
Cook: Pichu! Order's up!
(She turns to him as Marth makes his concentrating face.)
Pichu: OK, be right there!
(She turns back to Marth, who is now holding a bouquet of flowers.)
Marth: These for you!
Pichu: (taking them) Oh thank you, Marth! I didn't know we had a flower shop right here in the diner! That was fast!
Marth: No! They are from shop down the street! I stop time and get them!
Pichu: Oh, you're a magician then? Making things appear like that!
Marth: Not magic! Super power! Listen to me! There is bad man, who will come, and… (He stops, realizing he doesn't want to continue) …yes. (He pauses) Tomorrow, the swallow will slay the dragon.
Pichu: What's that mean, Marth?
Marth: (smiling) You see.
(Cut to a graveyard in Hyrule. Zelda sits on a grave, in tears, looking at the headstone: "Sheik Sanders, 1976-1987, Beloved Daughter and Sister." Link walks up and sits next to her, nodding towards a bottle wrapped in brown paper.)
Link: Having a drink with your sister?
Zelda: (smiling through the tears) Thinking about it. I just…don't want to forget her. It's important not to forget. (She pauses and sighs) My father's here. He came to my meeting today. He wants to meet you and Pit.
Link: (putting an arm around her) Hey, no one's meeting anyone unless you want to, OK?
Zelda: (nodding) Yeah, it's just…he has money, and we've wanted to get Pit into private school, and…
Link: Well then, let's have him over for dinner. We'll all say a prayer for Sheik.
(Zelda nods and looks at him lovingly. Cut to a freeway. Luigi drives his convertible with Daisy in the passenger seat.)
Luigi: Can you believe Mario? A hospice nurse?
Daisy: I think it's great. He's selfless and empathetic.
Luigi: He's self-righteous, is what he is.
Daisy: Luigi, what are you talking about?
Luigi: Choosing to be a nurse when we have our family tradition? And criticizing dad for working with criminals? My father always did what he had to so he could take care of the family. He made certain choices and now I have the same responsibility. I didn't ask to be Dad's favorite. I never asked to be loved more than Mario. But that's just the reality.
(A large black van comes up behind them. There's no one else on the road, so it looks like the car's after them.)
Luigi: What's this guy doing?
(The van bumps the car from behind.)
Luigi: What the hell??
Daisy: Luigi!
(She turns to look back at the van, then back at Luigi, but he's not in the seat.)
Daisy: Luigi!?
(Cut to up in the air above. Luigi hovers, looking helpless and not in control of his ability.)
Luigi: Daisy!! (He reaches a hand out toward the car.)
(Cut back to the car. Daisy looks ahead and sees the car heading for a barrier on the side of the road.)
Daisy: Aaaahhh!!
(The car crashes into the water barrels. Cut back to Luigi, who looks distraught.)
Luigi: Daisy!
(He falls from the sky. Cut to Mario's bedroom. He wakes up with his hand reaching upwards, breathing heavily. The phone next to the bed rings.
Cut to sometime later. Mario runs into an emergency room to find Luigi sitting with his head in his hands.)
Mario: Luigi!
Luigi: (looking up) She's been in surgery for ten hours. They said it's, it's something with her back, her spine…I don't…I need your phone. Mom has the kids, I need to tell them.
Mario: OK, sure. (He hands him his cell phone) Are you hurt?
Luigi: No, landed three hundred feet away from the wreck. No idea how I got there…no idea about a lot of what happened. (He starts dialing the phone)
Mario: This cut on your forehead's pretty bad. You need to lie down, OK?
Luigi: No, I can't, not until Daisy's OK. (He hangs up the phone, frustrated) No signal.
Mario: Well, do you remember the other car?
Luigi: (snapping his head around) What other car?
Mario: The other car, that pushed you off the road!
Luigi: (looking around to make sure they're not overheard) Who told you that?
Mario: I had a dream, right before you called.
Luigi: (laughing and taking Mario's shoulder) My wife's in surgery, and you're dreaming. That's great.
Mario: There was another car, wasn't there?
Luigi: (sighing and looking up at the ceiling) Yeah, it was Ganondorf's men. They must have heard about the DA's plan. Don't know why I even considered it…
Mario: It's not your fault, Luigi. It's dad's fault, and it's not gonna end. Not with them still out there.
Luigi: …Will you give a deposition?
Mario: (stunned) What?
Luigi: Against dad, if I take the case?
Mario: Yeah, sure. Of course.
Surgeon: (entering) Mr. Petrelli?
Luigi: (turning to him) Yes?
(He motions Luigi over. They talk lowly for a while. The surgeon goes to comfort Luigi, but Luigi hits his hand away. He looks back at Mario, frightened.
Cut to the diner in Katina. Marth enters and puts his hands in the air.)
Marth (translated): They did it!
(He runs up to Pichu, showing her a newspaper.)
Marth: I said they would do it. Swallow defeats dragon!
Pichu: (taking the newspaper and reading in Japanese) Yesterday, the Tokyo Swallows defeated the Chunichi Dragons despite being down two runs in the ninth inning.
Marth: (amazed) You read Japanese very well!! See? You have power, I have power too!!
Pichu: (closing the newspaper) Baseball? Just 'cause you said they would win doesn't mean you're from the future.
Marth: (changing his tack) There is ancient Japanese of origami –
Pichu: Yeah, I read about that! It says if someone folds 1000 cranes, they'll be granted one wish.
(Marth concentrates hard, and suddenly they're surrounded by a huge number of origami cranes, all hanging from the ceiling.)
Pichu: What the! Marth, how'd you do that!? They're beautiful!!
Marth: (handing her a plane ticket) I don't care if you no believe me. Just please, take this. Go. Be safe.
Pichu: (looking at the ticket) Tokyo? Wow! But…only one ticket??
Marth: (producing another one) In case you said yes.
Pichu: (smiling and nodding as she takes the ticket) Hai! Hai!
(Marth throws his arms around her, beaming. Cut to Cranky's apartment. Gabriel is hooked up to all kinds of electronic equipment while he talks to Cranky at the table.)
Cranky: Why do you repair watches, Gabriel?
Gabriel: It was my mother, actually. She said she always expected the men of the family to just follow in tradition. He repaired watches then, so that's what I do.
Cranky: (checking the equipment) Why don't you just do what you want to?
Gabriel: You use a phrase in your book… evolutionary imperative.
Cranky: (nodding) That which we are destined to do.
Gabriel: Yeah, it's like that. Turtles returning to die on the same beach on which they were born, spiders eating their young. They don't want to, they have to. I guess I'm the same.
Cranky: (turning off the machines) Well, the good news is that you're healthy.
Gabriel: What, you mean normal? You mean there are still no signs?
Cranky: None at all.
Gabriel: (standing up) Well, maybe it'll just take a while. Maybe something will come up in the CT scan tomorrow.
Cranky: (slowly) We…need to be prepared for the possibility that I was wrong about your potential powers.
Gabriel: (getting angry) I am so close. I can feel it. You came to me! I am on your list! Just don't give up on me!
Cranky: There are other people on the list, too. Maybe they'll show signs of abilities. Now if you'll excuse me…
Gabriel: (angrily ripping Post-Its off the map) What others!? Like this girl, Sabrina Davis?? You think she's, she's telekinetic? Or Mew Walker? Or are you just going to toss them aside too?
Cranky: I want you to leave, Mr. Giovanni. Now.
(Cut to outside the apartment building. Gabriel huffs out, trying to catch his breath. He looks down to see the Post-Its of Sabrina and Mew still in his hand. He walks off as a cab pulls up and stops. Mr. Bennet gets out and looks up at the building ominously.
Cut to the house in Hyrule. Daltus enters with a large box, smiling at the Sanders family.)
Daltus: Here, this is for you Pit. I heard you like computers, so here's a brand new laptop for you.
Pit: Wow, thanks grandpa!
Zelda: That's very generous of you.
Daltus: Well, I owe him something with interest over 10 years.
Link: (with a smirk) Well, then you got off cheap.
Daltus: (laughing) Right. Well, why don't you go break the Internet or something, little man?
(Pit runs off with the computer as the adults sit down.)
Zelda: He's so smart. I just wish, you know, we could get him into a better school. But the money…
Daltus: If you want to ask me for something, it's already yours.
Zelda: (smiling) Thanks, dad.
Daltus: (relieved) I just feel grateful that you even let me in the door, after all the things that I've done…
Zelda: You didn't do anything, dad.
Daltus: (concerned) Why do you keep doing that?
Zelda: What?
Daltus: Pretending nothing happened. You know, you're only as sick as your secrets.
Zelda: (her smile faltering) I know all the mantras, thanks dad.
Daltus: (uncomfortable) Well, I'm gonna go check to see how he's doing with the laptop.
(Cut to Pit's room. He's already completely taken apart the laptop and is tinkering with the insides. Daltus comes in the room, shocked.)
Daltus: What are you doing!?
Pit: Just playing with the parts.
Daltus: What are you thinking!? That cost me 2000!!
Pit: (standing up) I, I'm sorry.
Daltus: Sorry!? You're sorry!? (He starts advancing on him)
(Link and Zelda run in the room.)
Zelda: Dad, what are you doing?
Daltus: (trying to calm down as he turns to leave) I shouldn't be here. I have no business being here.
Zelda: (following him) Then why'd you come?
Daltus: I owe you more than an apology could ever do. (He hands her a check from his pocket) This should make your life easier.
Zelda: What did you do that was so bad that I can't have my father back?
Daltus: (opening the front door, looking at her in disbelief) You really don't remember, do you?
(He leaves and Zelda turns to look in the mirror next to the door. She sees herself looking confused, but then her reflection changes its expression to one of contempt.
Cut to Cranky's apartment. Bennet looks at the map while talking to Cranky.)
Bennet: A genetic abnormality? How will that affect her, exactly?
Cranky: I honestly don't know. In fact, nothing might happen at all. I could be completely wrong.
Bennet: (looking at Peach's picture) She's just growing up so fast. I can't stop it.
Cranky: (putting a hand on his shoulder) We never can.
Bennet: Do you have a daughter too?
Cranky: I had a son. Kiddy. He was five when he…
Bennet: (sadly) I'm sorry.
Cranky: (waving it off) No, it's fine, you didn't know. Some mutations are like cancers, diseases meant to eliminate a species. Kiddy's abnormality is what caused me to start my work on the Characters Genetics Project. I hope…no one will have to suffer like he did.
Bennet: What will you do if you discover anything?
Cranky: Change the world. Give people hope for the future. That is your daughter's destiny. I'd…like to meet her, if that's all right.
Bennet: (smirking) That might be a problem for my family. I'll…think on it, and get back to you.
Cranky: Of course, certainly.
Bennet: Well, thanks, professor. (They shake hands) The meeting was…educational.
(Cut to a hotel room. Daltus reads on the bed when there's a knock at the door. He opens it and Zelda comes in without saying anything.)
Daltus: (following her) So you do remember?
Zelda: Ohhhh, how could I forget?
(She turns suddenly and grabs him by the throat, pushing him up against the wardrobe.)
Daltus: Zelda! What are you doing!?
Zelda: Not Zelda. It's me, daddy. Sheik. The daughter you threw your beer bottles at? The daughter that you choked? The daughter that you killed?
(She pushes him further up, using only her right hand.)
Daltus: Ack! I…didn't kill anyone!! It was an accident!!
Zelda: It wasn't an accident, what you did.
Daltus: (gasping) I came…to apologize…to Zelda…
Zelda: Shouldn't you really be apologizing to me?? (She lets him go, but as he stands up again she slams her forearm against his throat) Zelda doesn't remember…but I do. Someone had to be there to protect her. I remember the stink of alcohol on your breath. I took every punch so that she wouldn't have to.
Daltus: (in disbelief) You're not Sheik.
Zelda: (grinning evilly) You have no idea who I am.
(She throws him onto the bed and he scampers away from her.)
Daltus: Zelda…you need help…
Zelda: Yes, she does need help. I thought she'd learned to protect herself – (she takes out the check) – but no such luck. You're going to go away and never come back.
(She shoves the check into his gaping mouth, then turns and walks out.
Cut to Peach's bedroom. She stands in her cheerleading uniform, looking at herself in the mirror. Mr. Bennet knocks and comes in.)
Bennet: (smiling) I can't wait to see you cheer for your first game. Here, this is for you. (He hands her a teddy bear.)
Peach: Thanks, dad! (She takes it)
Bennet: I dunno, don't you think you might be getting a bit old for our "bears from around the world" tradition?
Peach: (adding the bear to a pile next to her bed) No, definitely not. (She pauses and turns back to him) Am I a terrible person?
Bennet: What are you talking about, Peachy?
Peach: Well, I want to be a cheerleader, but not like Velvet. 'Cause sometimes, she can really be a…
Bennet: Bitch?
Peach: (shocked, then smiling) Yeah, a bitch.
Bennet: No, it's your actions that make you good or bad, cheerleader or not. (She nods) Come on, let's take a look at that hand.
Peach: (as he unwraps it) Yeah, the pain went away, but I still think…
(He finishes the unwrapping to find the hand completely healed. They both look surprised.)
Bennet: That's...healed really nicely.
(Cut to the Parkman residence. Candy reads on the bed when D.K. comes in, looking dejected.)
Candy: Hey, baby.
D.K.: (sitting, looking sad) I didn't pass. Again.
Candy: (putting down the book) Honey, maybe you should just tell them the truth. I mean, it's not your fault –
D.K.: That I see can't read it? That most of the letters are backwards? I know. I just…I don't think it will help.
Candy: (walking to the door) Come on. I'll go make us something to eat, then we can spend some time together tonight…
D.K.: (looking incredulous at her back) How can you want to kiss me?
Candy: You're my hero, don't you know that?
D.K.: (resigned, not noticing she didn't speak) Yeah, your hero. OK.
(Cut to Mario's apartment. He puts on a suit and ties his tie when Luigi comes in.)
Mario: Hey, just let me finish this tie, and we can go.
Luigi: There's not gonna be a deposition, Mar.
Mario: What are you talking about? I'm ready –
Luigi: It's dad. He's dead…heart attack. (Mario turns to him, stunned) Just take comfort in the fact that he didn't know his sons were about to stab him in the back.
(Cut to outside the diner in Katina. Pichu stands, looking sad. Marth runs out, excited.)
Marth: Pichu! Look! Samurai film festival, in Aquas! Tonight!
Pichu: But…that's over three hundred miles away.
Marth: We can still make it. See Yojimbo, Seven Samurai, and Hidden Fortress. Then we will be ready for trip to Japan!
Pichu: Oh, I don't know, Marth…
Marth: Come! (He takes her hand and tries to leave, but she stays)
Pichu: Marth…
Marth: (sad) You no want to go to Japan anymore?
Pichu: No, I do. (smiling slightly) You make me very happy, Marth.
Marth: (smiling) You make me happy too.
Pichu: It's just, I don't usually let people close to me, because…I'm dying. (Marth looks shocked) I have a blood clot, in my brain. Really close to an aneurysm.
Marth: (in disbelief) But… I'm supposed to save you.
Pichu: (taking his hand) You did save me, Marth. Before you got here, I…wanted to give up. But you made me feel joy again, more joy than I could have ever imagined. Marth… (Her eyes fill with tears) I love you.
Marth: I love you too.
(They close their eyes and lean in to kiss. Suddenly, there's a great whoosh, and Marth opens his eyes. He's in the middle of a park, surrounded by Japanese workers doing exercises.)
Marth: (startled) What –!!
Worker: (noticing him) Hey, Marth! Aren't you and Roy supposed to be on vacation in Nintenworld??
Marth (translated): Vacation? I'm back in the present?? No!! Pichu!! (He closes his eyes in concentration, but opening them, sees nothing happened) What?? No!! (He tries again, but nothing happens again) Pichu!! (He tries again, but falls to his knees as nothing happens) Pichu…
(Cut to Gabriel's watch shop, still six months ago. Gabriel's working on a watch when a tall woman with long dark hair knocks and enters.)
Woman: Hello, somebody here called me?
Gabriel: (looking up) Can I help you?
Woman: Yes, I'm Sabrina Davis?
Gabriel: (recognizing the name, he stands) Yes, hello. I'm… (He looks down at the Post-Its of Sabrina and Mew's names) I'm…Mewtwo. Mewtwo Giovanni.
(Cut to sometime later. Mewtwo watches as Sabrina looks at a cup on the table. It shakes a bit, then moves slowly across the table, still quivering.)
Mewtwo: (amazed) It's incredible.
Sabrina: Can you make it go away?
Mewtwo: (stunned) Why wouldn't you want such an amazing ability?
Sabrina: I…don't want to hurt anyone. I don't know what could happen. I don't want it. Please. Help me.
Mewtwo: (something shifting in him) …You're broken.
Sabrina: Excuse me?
Mewtwo: (handing her Cranky's book) The professor was right, everything's in the brain. Even these abilities.
Sabrina: (looking at the book) So you can help.
(Mewtwo looks to the side to see a large chunk of quartz.)
Mewtwo: Don't worry, Sabrina… (He picks up the quartz) I can fix it. It's an evolutionary imperative.
(He slams the quartz over her head and she drops to the floor. Mewtwo looks both excited and stunned by what he's done.
Cut to the room in Compositech paper, still in the past. Bennet talks to Jigglypuff, the dragon still watching over them.)
Bennet: Whatever evil you've done in the past is done. You have a chance here to start again, make a new life. But if you don't want it, we can put you back in your old one. I don't know how long you'd last without any protection, but maybe you'll make it.
Jigglypuff: (looking up at him) What do you want me to do?
Bennet: I want you to get close to a genetics professor, Cranky Kong. And remove the name Peach Bennet from his list.
(Cut to Cranky's apartment, still in the past. He and Mewtwo sit at the table, Mewtwo looking hard at a glass. It moves smoothly across the table and stops at the end. Then it suddenly flies off and smashes into the wall.)
Mewtwo: (hiding excitement) Whoops, sorry about that.
Cranky: (stunned) Oh, don't worry about that. It's…incredible.
Mewtwo: (standing, speaking calmly) I want to apologize for my behavior the other day.
Cranky: Oh, please, don't worry. A man can do or say many things when he's angry.
Mewtwo: I just feel…different now. Like I've been given a chance to start over. A new life, a new identity, a new purpose.
Cranky: (also standing) Well, I came halfway around the world to find proof of my theories, and I threw you right out the door. No one will even return my phone calls now. They think I'm insane.
Mewtwo: I don't. (Walking over to the map) All of these characters…just waiting to be told that they're important. Waiting to unlock their true potential. (He turns back to Cranky) I can feel it. We'll find them together. (Cranky begins to look uneasy) We are the future.
(Cut to the diner in Katina, present day. Roy sits in a booth, when the door to the diner opens. He looks up hopefully to see Marth enter, looking sadly at his feet.)
Roy (translated): Marth? (His companion looks up at him) Marth!! (He runs up to Marth and hugs him) You came back! You teleported back!!
Marth (translated): No.
Roy (translated): What?
Marth (translated): I didn't teleport. I took a plane and a bus here.
Roy (translated): (now concerned) What happened?
Marth (translated): I had to, I couldn't teleport. And I couldn't save Pichu, no matter how hard I tried. My power…it's bigger than me. I can't change the past, no matter how much I wish I could. (He holds up a paper crane) I failed.
(Cut to Diddy's office. He looks at the list of names on his computer.)
This list, these characters, their future is written on their DNA.
(Cut to the back room of the diner in Katina. Pichu stands still as blood runs down her face.)
Just as the past, it seems, is written in stone.
(Cut to outside the football field in Corneria. Peach looks at her father.)
Was the die cast from the very beginning?
Peach: There's something I have to tell you.
(Cut to outside the amphitheatre. Mario is led away in handcuffs.)
Or is it in our own hands to alter the course of destiny?
(Cut to up in the hills. The dragon jumps out at the killer and he falls to the ground.)
Of all our abilities, it is free will that truly makes us unique.
(Jigglypuff bends down and removes the killer's hat, revealing it to be Mewtwo.)
With it, we have a tiny, but potent, chance to deny fate.
(Cut to the restaurant outside Hyrule. Link scrambles to get in the car. A gunshot rings out.)
And only with it…
(Cut to the diner in Katina. Marth pins the paper crane next to the picture of him and Pichu.)
…can we find our way back to being human.
Marth (translated): I loved her.
(Roy puts a hand on his shoulder in sympathy.
Slam to black.)
oOoOoOoOoOoO
A/N: Well, that's it for this chapter. Next up is "Fallout", dealing with the aftermath of "Homecoming," along with a vision of the future. Hope this peek into the past was insightful – there will be two more similar "time-shifted" chapters in the future of this story. But you'll hear more about them when we get close to them. R/R, if you please, and I'll see you next time!
