Nothing says short story like a good old-fashioned chase scene!
SUMMARY: When a valuable golden nugget is discovered in the middle of a brawl, Kirby, Charizard, Mario, and Falco are determined to win the money. The first Smasher to get the gold piece to the Town Bank wins!
Chapter 11-Gold Rush
SMACK!
Kirby was tossed aside like a piece of trash. He crashed into the side of Smash Mountain, Cappies circling his head. Groaning, Kirby tried to stand up, but felt a wave of nausea in doing so.
It was an all-out brawl in the outskirts of Smashville. Kirby, Mario, Ganondorf, and Falco were fighting each other on the South-Western Clearing outside of Smashville. It was a small clearing, and there were many like them around the village. The area was large enough for a decent fight, and it was located right at the base of Smash Mountain. Perfect for brawls.
But it was pretty clear that Kirby wasn't doing so good. Ganondorf had smacked him aside like he was nothing, sending him flying into the mountain's side. Kirby couldn't get up, for nausea clouded his vision whenever he tried. "Looks like I'm watching for a bit…" Kirby mused half-heartedly.
Ganondorf, after dealing with the little pink midget, had gone after Mario. With a powerful kick, Ganondorf slammed his foot into the side of Mario's head, sending the plumber flying. Falco, meanwhile, was just targeting Mario with his blaster, but now THIS guy was in his way. Ganondorf was hit in his right flank with three intense shots. Angrily, the King of Darkness charged the bird, but Falco caught fire and launched himself at the incoming threat. At the last moment, Ganondorf jumped for a side kick again. The explosion that followed blew Falco and Ganondorf away, with Ganondorf falling right on top of Mario.
Kirby knew this was his chance. Shaking off the last bit of nausea, he drew his hammer and willed it to catch fire. The hammer burst to life, shaking in Kirby's hands. Slowly, using most of his effort to control the weapon, Kirby inched his way over to where Mario and Ganondorf lay. Ganondorf was oblivious to the threat, being knocked out and all. Mario tried desperately to get the big lump off of him, but he was too fat. His eyes widened as Kirby brought down the hammer.
BAM!
Ganondorf was all but destroyed by the impact. He flew right over the mountain, screaming in pain and rage as he went. Mario crashed with his back against the mountain, shaking it with the sheer force of the impact.
It was the shaking that had caused the problem. That was when the gold fell.
It wasn't much, just a small nugget no bigger than a thumbnail. At first, Kirby thought Mario had dropped a coin, but then realized it was a real, honest to god, gold nugget. Worth ten thousand dollars in Smashville currency.
Kirby wanted it. Falco wanted it. Mario wanted it. Ganondorf probably would, but he was on the other side of the mountain right now.
Falco, being the healthiest, dashed in the direction of the gold with renewed purpose. Kirby was knocked over face first in the ground. Mario tried to stop Falco, but was in no shape to help. Instead, Mario (being the closest), blasted fire in Falco's direction. The Star Fox pilot stopped and shielded the blast. Mario crawled to the nugget and put it into his pocket. Angry now, Kirby spit the dirt out of his mouth and ran at Mario. As defense, Mario jumped in the air, hitting Kirby repeatedly with golden coins. Kirby landed hard next to Falco.
Laughing, Mario ran off in the direction of Smashville. His goal was to sell the coin at the Town Bank, where he would receive payment.
But suddenly a shadow fell upon Mario. He looked up, eyes wide, as a huge dragon slammed into him. The nugget fell out of his pocket and landed at Charizard's feet.
Mario stood up, rubbing his butt. "What the heck are you doing here?!" he demanded.
Charizard growled. "You make my mountain shake, and I'll make you pay!" He scooped up the nugget. "And this will pay me b-e-a-utifully."
Mario gritted his teeth. "Not if I have a say in the matter!"
Charizard sneered. "You don't! You'll have to deal with them first!"
Mario turned just in time to get hit in the face with a sword. Kirby glared at the dragon. "That nugget is mine! I made it fall off the mountain!"
Charizard narrowed his eyes. "So you're the one I have to slaughter because you woke me up from my nap?"
"Um…" Kirby noted the rage in the dragon's eyes. "Mario did it…"
"WHAT!?"
Without any warning, Charizard flew at Mario and slid into the ground, knocking him over. Kirby saw his chance and jumped on the dragon's back, drawing his hammer. Charizard, sensing the danger, shoved his wing bones upward, launching Kirby high into the air. As Kirby came down, Charizard jumped and twirled in the air, knocking Kirby senseless. The little pink dude was shot down hard. Satisfied, Charizard flapped his wings and took flight, heading for the Town Bank. He, too, wanted the money.
But he hadn't expected the other contender to give chase. Falco ran as fast as he could, matching Charizard's fast flying pace on the ground. With extreme speed, he drew his blaster and shot Charizard in his right wing. The dragon shrieked and plummeted to the ground, dropping the nugget that was held so tightly in his claw. Falco scooped it up and ran off, leaving the clearing.
Mario and Kirby were in hot pursuit. Groaning, Charizard stood up, glaring at the two fighters as they ran past. Once again, Charizard took to the skies and barreled after Falco. Almost too easily did he pass Kirby and Mario's slow running pace. Kirby suddenly got an idea.
"Can you shoot your water thingy at Charizard?" he asked Mario, running beside him. Mario shrugged and pulled out the F.L.O.O.D. A huge jet of water blasted Charizard square in the chest, sending him, once again, spiraling downward. Mario ran right past the fallen dragon and almost caught up to Falco.
Kirby, however, had other ideas. Opening his mouth impossibly wide, Kirby engulfed the gigantic dragon. Charizard withered and fought inside, but Kirby's mouth kept firm. Orange wings and a bony orange head grew on Kirby. Satisfied, Kirby spit out the spit-covered dragon. Using his new (copied) wings, Kirby jumped and flew in the direction Mario had taken off. Angered, Charizard flew after him, but Kirby was now just as fast.
Falco, meanwhile, had entered the town's market area. Fruit stands and ice cream carts littered the place, with rows of festive flags lined in the higher area. It kind of looked like Delphino Square. Falco was determined to keep up the pace when Mario jumped enormously high and crashed down onto the bird's back. Falco shrieked in challenge, but Mario succeeded in wrestling the nugget out of his hands. Without stopping, Mario ran off.
Falco cursed and hit the pavement. Above him, a little pink blob with dragon wings flew past him, sticking his tongue out as he went. Falco was annoyed now. He stood up only to be smacked down again as Charizard barreled into him. Falco desperately grabbed Charizard's face to keep from falling.
Charizard didn't like that at all. Roaring, he grabbed Falco and threw him as hard as he could forward. Falco, being a bird, smoothly shot through the air, gaining speed as he went. An astonished Kirby had to dive so Falco couldn't hit him. As Falco passed Kirby, he stuck his tongue out.
Kirby glared at Falco. While he was distracted, he accidently drove himself into the hard ground. Kirby bounced back into the air uncontrollably for a few seconds. Then Charizard crashed into him. Kirby screeched as the impact shot him into a fruit stand of watermelons. Charizard kept flying, surprisingly unfazed by the impact. Kirby pumped his fist into the air.
"I'll get you for that!" he vowed. Angrily, he took a huge bite out of a broken watermelon slice.
Falco, as luck would have it, had been launched straight at Mario. He spread his wings and angled them downward, snatching the nugget from Mario's hands and flying away.
"Ha ha!" he cheered before crashing into a brick wall on the side of a random building.
Mario rushed up, attempting to grab the nugget again. Falco recovered easily and smacked Mario away. As he landed, Mario pulled out the F.L.O.O.D. gun again and pulled the trigger. Falco flinched, but nothing hit him.
Mario cursed and reloaded the gun. Falco laughed in triumph and ran into an alleyway. He emerged from the Market Area and was now it the residential area. Everyone's houses came into view.
But since when was there a…toll booth?! In the middle of the street dividing the residents from the Market Area, a lone toll booth blocked the road. Falco approached it nervously.
"Hello?" he called into the empty booth.
"Yes?" Kirby, wearing a police officer's hat, badge, and shades (as well as a fake mustache) was in the booth. "I take it you want to pass into the Residential District?"
"Um…" Falco didn't recognize Kirby. "How long did this booth exist?"
Kirby glared. "I'll be the one asking questions here!"
"You're not interrogating me."
"Am I?"
"…"
"That's what I thought," Kirby said. "Now, if you want to pass, you need to hand over a golden nugget."
"A GOLDEN NUGGET!" Falco exclaimed. "How in the world is that fair! Where does this money go anyway?"
"Um…" Kirby's mustache fell off. Anxiously, he put it back on. Falco narrowed his eyes. "This isn't a real toll booth, isn't it?"
"Um…"
Falco jumped the gate and ran. Kirby called after him, "The law will catch up to you!"
"Yeah, right…" Falco muttered.
Charizard landed at the fake tool booth. "Is this where the line starts?"
Mario jumped on Charizard's head and bounced over the gate. Enraged, Charizard bashed through the gate and flew after him.
Kirby looked at the destruction and sighed. "Guess I'm going to have to return this costume too…"
Mario was matching Falco's pace. Falco seemed to realize this, so he abandoned the sidewalk and jumped straight into a random person's backyard. Palutena shrieked as she was watering her plants. She lost her footing and fell into the pool. Falco ignored her and hopped the fence connecting her to her neighbor. Mario burst into the yard, also ignored Palutena, and jumped the fence after Falco. Charizard wasn't so kind. The fence burst as he flew through it, and he flew through the other fence too. Kirby followed on foot, walking through the holes Charizard had made to Palutena's fences. He gave her a look. "You might need to fix that," he pointed. Then he continued running after the others.
After hopping the fences for a long time, Falco finally came to the end of the street. He had a choice: keep going straight into the park, right for more residents, or left to backtrack into the Market Area, which is on the way to the Town Bank. Falco paused as he considered his options.
That's when Mario jumped him. Falco shrieked as he hit the floor. Mario held up the nugget proudly before Charizard Flare Blitzed into him. The action had shot Mario and Falco into the street, groaning. Unfortunately, the immense attack also hurt Charizard, and after bashing through all those fences, his head wasn't feeling so hot. The three lay in their spots, groaning. Kirby walked up casually, plucked the nugget from the ground, and turned right, not wanting to cross the streets.
A car turned the corner and ran right over Mario and Falco, sending them in opposite directions. Charizard stood up, swaying slightly, and ran after Kirby. Mario also picked himself up and ran after him. Falco, however, was content with laying on the ground for a little bit.
Larry was walking his pet Chomp-Chomp down the street when he noticed Falco lying unconscious on the sidewalk. "What the heck is he doing there?" he wondered. But he shrugged and continued on his way.
Kirby, running desperately now, turned a corner and dived into an open window. Little Mac, Duck Hunt, and Fox were playing Smash Tour in the living room of Fox's house when Kirby dove like a superstar through the window. Kirby stood up, said "Hi" awkwardly, then made his way to the kitchen, opening the window there. Before he left, he stole a glass of lemonade from Fox's freezer.
Charizard wasn't so gentle about his appearance. He crashed through the window, smashed the board, smacked Little Mac out of the way, and once again crashed through the kitchen window.
Mario, though hurt, gracefully jumped clear of the destruction and hopped out the hole in the kitchen wall.
Fox and Little Mac stared at each other with wide eyes. Duck Hunt used his trademark laugh.
Kirby had landed in a trash can when he fell out the window. A garbage truck picked up the can and dumped its contents and Kirby into its storage area before driving off. Charizard and Mario watched it leave, stunned. Kirby smiled and raised his lemonade glass like a toast before taking a swig.
Mario grabbed Charizard by the tail and flung him in the other direction before running full speed after the dumpster truck. Charizard crashed (he's been doing that a lot lately) through the front door of Robin's apartment. Robin (female, dressed like a phantom), stopped her mediation and stared at Charizard. "You must be the Ancient Phantom of Knowledge," she said in awe. "I had no idea this Summoning Spell would work!"
But after taking a closer look, she scoffed. "Darn it Charizard! You're not the Phantom! Get out of here!" A blast of Thoron shot Charizard out of the house.
Kirby had watched Mario's ever quickening pace. In a few moments, he would catch up to the truck. Kirby realized this, swiftly drank his lemonade, and started throwing stuff at him. Banana peels, cereal boxes, some weird brown squishy thing, old magazines; all were chucked at Mario in his attempt at catching up.
Swiftly, Mario managed to dodge all of the incoming attacks, but fatally slipped on a banana peel. Mario fell flat on his butt, wasting a couple precious seconds. Charizard flew by him at top speed. Kirby, unable to do anything else, stared at the flying dragon with wide eyes. Charizard picked Kirby up, snatched the nugget with little resistance, and threw him down into the truck's contents. Kirby was stuck in the garbage.
And do you know what happens with the trash in Smashville? It doesn't go to a dump, it gets tossed in a guve lava pit located in a tunnel in Smash Mountain. The trash trucks follow the tunnel to the pit of lava, dump the contents, and then go to wherever trash trucks go after they've done their job.
Kirby screamed as his truck entered the cave.
Charizard roared in victory and flew in the direction of Town Square, where the Town Bank was located. On his way, he passed a small bit of the Town Park. As he flew overhead, Falco, determination in his eyes, shot a grappling hook that latched around Charizard's feet. The dragon didn't seem to notice. The cord pulled Falco immensely high into the air, landing him on Charizard's back.
With a surprised grunt, Charizard fell to the ground. On the way down, he let go of the nugget. Falco snatch the nugget in midair, rolled as he landed, came up, and ran away. Charizard just crashed to the ground.
"Nothing can stop me now!" he said happily.
He exited the park and came into the school area. As soon as he stepped on the sidewalk (which was school campus), he heard somebody shout. "STOP!"
Falco stopped and turned. Mario was looking at him, eyes narrowed and hands on his hips. "What are you doing here?" he asked innocently. "Don't you know it's Spring Break?"
Falco covered the nugget protectively. "It's mine! I had it first!"
Mario sighed. "As school principal, it is my job to make sure my campus is safe from harm. So, as principal, I order you to give up that nugget."
"That's not fair!" Falco whined.
"Life's not fair. My girlfriend was captured too many times to count. Now hand over the nugget before I expel you!"
"Seems harsh."
"I want that nugget."
Falco sighed. He knew he should have been on the other side of the street. "Fine," he said glumly. He tossed the nugget to Mario.
But Mario wasn't done yet. "There is also a strict no running campus rule that you've seemed to have broken. As punishment for that, you must remain standing there for five minutes."
"WHAT!?"
Mario laughed. "See ya, chump!" before walking away. Yes, he walked also.
Charizard was smart. He had to walk on campus too. But unlike Mario, he speed walked. Cheater!
He passed Falco, standing there like a dope. Charizard smacked his tail into Falco's face as he passed, laughing hysterically.
Falco grumbled to himself. "Stupid school rules…"
Mario entered Town Square. Unfortunately, it was a VERY busy day.
Pedestrians flocked the streets and sidewalks. There literally no place Mario could go without getting lost in the crowd. Not that it was a problem, Mario thought. He'd taken care of Falco after all.
Feeling confident, Mario pushed his way through the crowd of citizens, anxiously trying to get to the bank. On the front steps to it, however, he came face to face with a hammer.
SMACK!
Mario's eyes glazed over as Kirby's hammer struck him full in the face. The nugget was dropped and Kirby picked it up, satisfied. The crowd gasped at the spectacle. Some Smashers in the crowd drew weapons, thinking that Kirby was going to attack them all. Everyone thought at the same time: get Kirby!
The crowd launched forward. Kirby shrieked as he was buried under a swarm of angry Smashers. A lone nugget, unnoticed by the crowd, bounced its way down the steps. Falco picked it up and ran into the bank, with Charizard not two meters behind him. Mario picked himself up and ran full speed in their direction.
Kirby saw this, swung him hammer wildly around, making the other back up. Kirby, too, ran into the Town Bank.
Only two people were in the bank today: Sonic, who was depositing money in his account after a victorious Coin Collecting Smash, and the banker, who was helping Sonic.
But Sonic was going to be interrupted. Falco burst into the room, holding a golden nugget in his hands. He kept shouting, "I got it, I got it!" when just then Charizard burst into the room, slid into Falco and stole the nugget. Charizard approached the banker. "I'd like to exchange this for coins," he said. Falco recovered and grabbed it from Charizard. "It's mine, you stupid Pokémon!" Mario burst into the room and grabbed the nugget from Falco. "Victory!" Kirby grabbed it from Mario. "It's mine! Give me my mon-hey let go!"
The nugget switched hands constantly. Mario, Kirby, Mario, Charizard, Kirby, Falco, Mario, Falco, Charizard, Kirby, Falco, Mario…
"STOP!" The banker yelled. The four Smashers stopped fighting.
"Let me study the nugget," he said calmly. Mario tossed it to him.
The banker studied it carefully. He weighed it, looked at it, magnified it, studied it, bathed it, dated it, licked it, rubbed it, was it. Then he came to a conclusion. "This isn't gold."
"…"
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?"
"I said this isn't gold," the banker repeated.
Charizard hit the floor. "Forget this!" he said, seething in fury. He stomped out of the bank.
Falco threw his blaster on the floor and stomped on it. He picked it up dusted it off, and left angrily. At the door, he called, "Falco is out! PEACE!"
Mario was also disappointed. He punched Kirby before leaving. Kirby raced after him, determined to punch him back.
That left Sonic and the banker alone again. The banker sighed. "Nobody ever lets me finish…"
Sonic, leaning on the counter, narrowed his eyes. "What'cha talking 'bout?"
The banker continued. "This isn't gold, it's a rare diamond with golden coloring. That means it must be freshly made."
Sonic was interested now. "How much is it worth?"
The banker was still staring at the diamond. "Over one billion coins, easy."
Sonic's eyes flashed the dollar sign. "O-one b-b-billion?"
"That's right. And considering that there is nobody here to pay for the diamond, I'll just pay you."
And with that, the banker gave Sonic a huge bag, filled with one billion coins. Sonic put it all in his checking account.
When Sonic left, he started to think. He knew about the lava pit in Smash Mountain. He also knew that immense pressure and heat formed diamonds (he was a Minecraft pro). He knew how to put two and two together.
There were rare diamonds forming in Smash Mountain. Sonic suddenly felt a strong urge to buy a pickaxe.
