Chapter 11
Teeming Darkness
"So~...this is how it feels like to be on the Final Destination..." Orvus muttered as he stood on...well, the Final Destination. "I always did wonder how it feel to be the fighter and not the spectator..." The demon shrugged. "Oh well. I won't stay here for long." He straightened his new hat.
After his little er..."episode" a while ago, Litnor went to grab the card dealer a new suit. One that was a bit more...colorful. It helped make him look less suspicious to the public, yes, but it was still a bit too childish for him. Gone was his pitch black suit and cloak. Instead, Orvus wore a violet suit with.s bright red bow tie. His hat was now a similar shade of violet, but it seemed to have a bluish shade in it. In his opinion, he looked like a circus clown...
A small price to pay really.
"If it means I get to watch the hand burn, a little public humiliation means nothing to me." He said, watching his opponent land on the stage.
Falco himself was basking in the lime light. The crowd cheered as he gracefully leapt off the platform, preformed a few mid air tricks, and majestically landed on the stage, earning him a loud roar if applause.
Though not everyone seemed to enjoy his theatrics. Most notably Fox, who simply rolled his eyes at the display. They did crazier stunts like that almost every day! It was nothing to get too worked up about...Unfortunately his team mate Slippy wasn't as self controlled as he was...
Falco laughed as he watched his leader scold the toad, only to get scolded himself by Crystal. This kind of stuff was normal to him, especially if you're living with the Super Smash Bros. Falco continued his waving just to get a few more cheers. It was the last match of the day. He just had to put on a show.
Orvus raised an eyebrow. This was his opponent? Please...this would be over quicker than he thought.
"Here we are folks! The final match of the day!" Master's voice boomed through the cheering crowd. "Newcomer Orvus Creig and veteran fighter Falco Lombardi are sure to have an...interesting battle..."
"More like a slaughter..." Asia muttered, which did not go unheard by his god-like companion. "Can't you do anything?" If Master had a head, he would've shaken it.
"If I do now people will get suspicious." He whispered back. "I thought we had match ups like this under control..."
"I've already sent a few alloys to look into it." Asia replied. "Though I think we should've expected it...Litnor does have that "special" ability of his..." The two shuddered. The masked demons "special" ability was terrifying...
"True..." Master Hand sighed. "I just hope the blessing can even defend against the one who placed it..."
You know those moments when you're scared and you feel that nasty little chill climb up your spine? When you feel like something big is about to happen, but you don't know what it is?
Well, certain members in the crowd felt that way right now.
Zelda had noticed a slight shift in Master Hand's mood...even if it was subtle. The princess could feel a rise in tension, even if most of the crowd was oblivious...The sheer presence of the man with a top hat seemed to make Master tense up and she could understand why.
So could Marth. The man radiated some kind of dark authority. The way he walked around the stage was also starting to bug the altean prince. He only glanced around, barely paying attention to the crowd...and yet he looked so confident.
Jake wasn't sure how he reached this conclusion. The card dealer wasn't smiling or anything. Heck, he looked pretty bored actually. But when he looked at Falco, he gave a light chuckle, almost as if he was asking himself "This is it?".
That tiny action was enough to infuriate Fox. Who does this guy think he is? Some kind of god? As if! This guy was going to regret underestimating his partner/best friend...
But part of Kaze was still a bit weary of him. He wouldn't act like that without a reason. And from what she's heard about the Smash Bros., Falco was no pushover, so he'd need a very good reason...
Tsuchi shrugged the thought off. Whatever reason this guy had, it probably didn't matter. He may thinks he's the strongest, but underestimating your opponent is the first step to a major defeat...Hey, didn't he meet that guy before? The gunner shook his head. That could be answered later. Right now, he just wanted to watch the fight...
But even though the stadium cheered in Falco's favor, Himawari couldn't help but wonder if the card dealer was just being overconfident...or if he knew what he was doing.
And everyone feared the later.
"Well, not who I expected to be my first opponent this year, that's for sure." Falco said as he walked around the Final Destination. Orvus copied him, always being on the opposite end as they trailed along the stages edges. "But hey! I'm not complaining. A fight's a fight and that's good enough for me!" Falco never left his stance down as he walked. He's been waiting for this for way too long.
Orvus raised an eyebrow. He was not amused. "Pitiful." He stated.
Falco stopped. "Huh?" He watched Orvus shuffle through his cards.
Stopping at one card in particular, the demon continued. "I was hoping to get decent smasher, if you know what I mean..."
Falco growled. "What?!"
"You heard me pigeon." He smirk, taking examining the card in his hand. "Do you really believe you have even a sliver of a chance against me?"
That one little line provoked in uproar in the crowd. Though what really got everyone on edge was how smug he looked saying it. His normal expression returned soon after, but he still seemed so damn confident...and very pleased with Falco's enraged expression.
"Oh, you are so going to get it..." Falco said, readying himself. "I'm gonna wipe that smirk off your face!" Falco wanted to charge and beat him to a bloody pulp, but Master had yet to start the match.
"Oh please..." Orvus said. The card wielder raised his hand. The entire stadium fell silent as he pointed into the sky.
"...One hit is all I need..."
If story had visuals, you'd probably be able to see Master and Asia fall apart like broken glass.
Everyone in stadium was either surprised, outraged, or had their jaws hanging wide open from the demon's bold proclamation. He had to be joking, right?
Even Falco saw some humor in it.
The arena booed Orvus, who still remained there with an unreadable expression. Some laughed at him and others were telling Falco to kick his purple heiney.
It took a lot of willpower for Orvus not to lash out and kill the idiot who insulted his suit. It may be childish, but a suit is still a suit!
"You're joking, right?" Falco asked between laughs. He wiped a tear from his eye and straightened himself."You got a lot of guts to say something like that. Especially in a Smash Bros. tournament." The pilot readied himself. "Let's see if you can back that little claim of yours up!"
While everyone cheered for the falcon, Master was currently banging his er..."head" on the table. Asia was patting him, doing his best to comfort him.
"He's doomed..." Master muttered. "Oh so horribly doomed..." The martial artist gave him a cheesy smile and faked a cough.
"Forgive the um..." He spoke into the microphone. As much as he wanted to prolong the wait as long as possible, the show must go on. "...delay. Let's get this started, shall we?"
The crowd roared in agreement. The Falco was more than happy to start so he could beat this guy to a pulp!
As for Orvus...
He sighed, putting all his attention into shuffling his cards. He didn't even bother looking up at Falco, which only served to infuriate him even further.
"3!"
"This should be entertaining...not." Orvus thought, still shuffling his cards.
"2!"
"Oh he is so dead!" Falco screamed in his head. This guy was about to be history once he was finished with him. Falco shut his eyes. The second the match started, he was gonna make him pay!
"1!"
Just one more second...
"GO!"
Falco's eyes shot open. He dashed towards his opponent at full speed while Orvus...still kept shuffling his cards, not even bothering to look up at the impending threat charging towards him.
"Whenever you're ready...I'll let you have the first strike..."
Falco growled. Was this guy really that confident? Falco wasn't the strongest smasher, he recognized that, but he could still hold his own in a fight. And now this guy was treating him like nothing!
Falco sped up. He jumped into the air and kicked the unsuspecting Orvus in the stomach...
...only to phase right through him.
Falco stumbled as he slides to a halt. Had Orvus disappeared? Falco turned around only to see the card wielder standing there, still shuffling his cards and he had black smoke coming out of where Falco hit him.
"What?" Falco muttered as his opponents stomach rematerialized. Orvus was still too busy to even notice his confused expression.
"I said whenever you're ready." The man said, still shuffling his cards.
Falco growled. So that's how he was gonna play, huh? Fine then.
The Arwing pilot charged at the card dealer, dashing towards him at full speed using his Falco Phantasm. He aimed a kick towards the mans head, who simply ducked underneath it. Falco kept at it with a barrage of kicks and punches, but Orvus seemed to dodge every strike. Falco roared in irritation, trying to land a punch in his face, but again, Orvus's body had reduced itself to smoke. The card dealer himself reappeared again several feet away, yawning.
"This is getting boring..." He said, examining one of his cards. Falco tried shooting him with his blaster, but the attacks went right through him and did nothing to phase him.
"Stop running away and fight me!" Falco yelled.
"Oh Heavens no!" Orvus whined, taking out another card. "While your combat skills are to minimalistic to provide a decent battle, I must say it is quite entertaining seeing you get so worked up."
That tiny stick that was Falco's cool just broke in half.
Not even waiting for another smart remark, Falco appeared in front of the card dealer instantly. Orvus's eyes widened, before jumping back, just barely avoiding an overhead kick. Unfortunately for him it didn't end there. Falco recovered quickly and dashed towards him using Falco Phantasm, once again catching Orvus by surprise, and landed one swift kick to the card wielders stomach, followed up by a barrage of punches. He stopped abruptly, quickly charging up a forward smash that hit Orvus before he could react, sending him flying towards the edge of the stage.
Orvus could hear the crowd cheer Falco on as he slipped his feet back onto the floor, slowing down his flight to a stop. He was still pretty far from the ledge, but that didn't matter...
He smirked. "Impressive..." He patted his clothes, wiping of any dust that might've gotten on them. "Apparently you seem to get stronger the more I agitate you...I never expected you to land a hit." Falco cracked his neck.
"Yeah, well there's a lot more where that came from! Come on! I can do this all day!" He exclaimed, readying himself for another attack. Orvus chuckled at the scene.
"That won't be necessary..." He said. Falco, and most likely the rest of the crowd gave him a confused glance. He stopped shuffling his cards, stopping at one card in particular. He took it out of his deck, admiring it as he held it between his fingers. "One hit is all I need..." The card engulfed itself in dark purple flames, as did the rest of Orvus's hand.
Zelda's eyes shot open when she saw the flames on his hand. Her tensing up did not go unnoticed by the two men beside her.
"Zelda?" Ike asked, concern in his voice. "What's wrong?" The hyrulian princess said nothing as she kept staring at Orvus flame. He body paled and trembled in horror.
"T-that darkness..." She whispered, earning confused glances from Ike and Tsuchi... "I-it feels just like..." Before either could question it, Zelda clutched her head in pain, shrieking as she felt something burn through her skull.
"Zelda!" Ike yelled, catching her as she fell over, still yelling. "Zelda, what's happening?!" She continued to scream for a while before she stopped. Ike, concerned, looked at her, only to see she was unconscious. "W-what was that?" The mercenary looked over at Tsuchi, only to see that he wasn't paying attention to her...
No. Tsuchi could only stare at Orvus's flame and wonder what it was about it that made Zelda faint like that.
It wasn't like that little power lash. That was barely noticeable. Heck, he was pretty sure the only two who did notice it were him and Zelda...
But this? That tiny flame felt like hell...or worse...
"...Are you three okay?" Jake asked as he eyed his three friends. He placed GIR in his lap so the robot wouldn't disturb the three in their...condition.
All three of them started trembling, Barren the most. They all looked spooked all of a sudden, just as that character in the top hat summoned that flame.
"D-define okay?" Cain managed to say as he trembled more than a naked man in Antarctica. "B-b-because I-I'm not quite s-sure right now..."
"Do y-y-you guys f-feel that?" Barren asked, looking for said to side, almost as if he was searching for something.
"Feel...what exactly?" Jake asked.
"Yeah! What's up?" GIR asked. Even with his happy-go-lucky programming, he could tell something was wrong.
"T-that dark power all of a s-sudden..." Hima said barely in a whisper. "H-how did you not sense it?" Jake raised an eyebrow, before glancing back at Orvus...
Did...did he have anything to do with it?
In Skyworld, the goddess of light Palutena was watching the tournament with great interest. She enjoyed watching these bouts ever since Pit was invited last year. She loved the whole prospect of the tourney...and she loved what it had done to her precious little angel. So when he was invited again, she was ecstatic! She couldn't wait for this tourney to win.
However, her excitement soon turned into confusion as soon as she saw Orvus stand onto the stadium. He looked...familiar to her somehow. Not physically, but there was some kind of air around him and...and his eyes...there was something very familiar about him.
She wondered what it possibly could've been...That is, until she saw Orvus's hand catch on fire.
She felt the surge from all the way in Skyworld. A darkness that made her stumble a little when she first felt it. She recognized that darkness all to well...
"Oh no..." She whispered, her face painted with horror. That couldn't be...It just...
Well, it did give a more decent explanation as to why Thor and Master Asia going to be commentators in the tourney, but still!
She sighed. The feeling of dread still lingered in the air.
"I guess...the time has come..."
"So you're finally going on the offensive, huh?" Falco smirked before charging towards him. "Okay! Show me what you got!" Orvus rolled his eyes.
"As you wish..." He whispered, putting one foot behind him. "Can't say I didn't warn you..." Falco jumped towards him, readying a kick to his face...
Only for Orvus to slam his burning hand into his stomach.
Time seemed to stop for a moment. The only audible sound that was heard was the sound of Falco wheezing as the wind was knocked out of him. Orvus smirked as he moved closer to Falco's ear.
"One. Hit." He whispered, malice dripping in his voice. "Is all that I need..." Falco stared confused until he felt a Orvus hand burn brighter. It didn't just burn like a normal fire. Falco could smell the stench of darkness rise up as Orvus charged whatever it was he was doing. "Black...Pulse..."
What came next felt like Hell. Imagine being stung by fifty highly venomous scorpions along with being trampled by a steam locomotive. Then imagine being stabbed through the heart with a rusty knife that's being twisted inside your body and then you get trampled by another locomotive.
Yep. That's what Falco felt right now.
A large pillar of darkness burst out of his hand, almost like some dark and mystical version of Samus's Zero Laser. Falco screamed in pain as the attack blasted him away, all the way off of the stage.
"GAME SET!"
It took a good ten seconds for everyone to realize what just happened. And another ten seconds for the crowd to start cheering again.
"That was awesome!" A voice from the audience yelled.
"He actually managed to pull it off!" Another one added. This one sounded female.
"Wow! I didn't expect anyone to be this good! Heck, out of all the contestants so far, I think he just might be the most likely to win!" A third voice said.
"You got that right dude!" The first replied back.
Master Hand wanted to die now. He really wanted to die right was to paralyzed from what just happened. Thankfully Falco respawned normally, albeit Falco wasn't standing on the revival platform. He was laying down on his back, a trails of saliva hanging from his mouth and spiral were where his eyes once were.
Both him and Master Asia sighed in relief. The blessing held up after all. What happened to Falco could've been worse...Much worse...
"Orvus Creig has" Master gulped. "made it to the next round!" The might've just been paranoid, but he could've sworn he saw Orvus smirk. "After that very...exciting match, it's time to end today's matches."
The stadium let out a collective groan.
"But don't worry!" Master Hand said reassuringly. "We'll be back before you know it! So tune in next time to watch the continuation of Super Smash Bros. Unlimited." The crowd lightened up after that and began to cheer again...However, no one seemed to notice Master Hand's nervousness.
"He's getting stronger." Asia said. The hand remained quiet as he stared at the card dealer, leaving the arena. "I'm afraid we will have to prepare him sooner than we expected..."
"...Did you feel it?" Master asked. The white haired fighter was confused for a moment before nodding. "He let his power out...and it wasn't even a fraction of his original strength. Yet he still managed to beat an opponent in one blow..." He gave Orvus one final glance. "Just how much power do you have Orvus?"
Barren whistled as he watched a few fighting alloys carry Falco's unconscious body off the revival platform and drag him somewhere. "Wow. That guy did quite a number on that bird..."
"Indeed." Jake agreed. "He talks a big game and has the skills to back it up. It's hard finding a fighter like that."
"Well yeah but..." Barren trailed of before shuddering. "I don't know...I'm getting a really bad vibe from him..."
"I think we all do Barren." Hima said, earning a nod from Cain and Jake. "That disturbance we felt when he started up that attack was no coincidence." Jake raised an eyebrow.
"Disturbance?" He asked, quickly remembering their little trembling incident. "What exactly did you feel?" Cain sighed.
"It's hard to explain dude..." He started. "You see, Grandpa trained us to sense certain kinds of aura. When that guy used that attack, his aura felt..."
"Evil? Diabolical? Satanic even?!" Jake asked, leaning towards the group of cousins. They all stared at each other before turning back to him.
"No." They all answered, much to the fencer's confusion. "It was really cold." Jake face faulted.
"Cold?!" He yelled, sitting back up. "You were shivering like that because it was cold?!" The three nodded. "Are you kidding me?!"
"W-well it's...complicated." Hima admitted sheepishly. "Our aura reading is pretty simplistic...We can only read the aura of certain attacks and we can't tell exact details about it either. All we can tell is if it's hot or cold."
"What difference does it make?"
"Well hot auras are usually righteous, filled with the power of light and belong to good natured people. Cold auras on the other hand are vile, ruthless and demented attacks that usually belong to villains." Cain explained, before giving Orvus a weary glance. "The thing is...we've never seen a guy with an aura as cold as his..."
Jake glanced at the card dealer before glancing back at his group. The fencer could only wonder if they were being paranoid...or if there was a lot more to him than meets the eye.
"Well, no point in worrying about it now." Barren said, getting up from his seat. "Come on guys. Let's go to the mansion." The boys nodded, getting up as well. The ruby eyed warrior took two steps before stopping. And it wasn't because GIR jumped on his head and started chewing on his Mohawk. "Uh, guys?" The group looked at him. "The stadium is just a bunch of floating platforms that teleports us to where ever the match is gonna be, right?" The trio nodded. "...How do we get down?"
"For those of you wondering how to exit the arena," Master Hand's voice boomed over the intercom. "There's a teleporter the top right corner of the platforms. They've been programmed to send you back to the transport station that brought you here. Thank you."
"Well, that answers that." Cain stated. "But what's a transport station?"
"Oh, that's how I got here." Hima explained. "They're these special terminals throughout the city that can send you wherever you want, as long as it's nearby. Some of them were rented for the tournament to teleport spectators to the tournament grounds."
"Eh. Makes sense." Jakes said. "I guess that means we'll be sent back to the transporter inside the mansion."
"And I'll be sent to the public one right across the street." Hima said. "Looks like I'll be headed to the hotel a bit early today..." Barren put a hand in his chin.
"Hey guys, do you think Master Hand lets visitors in the mansion?" He asked, earning confused glances from the group. Even GIR stopped chewing on his "snack" to stare.
"Uh...Maybe." Jake said. "Why is that?"
"Well I was wondering if he'd let Himawari in every once in a while." Barren stated, surprising the young sorceress.
"Huh?" She asked, tilting her head.
"Oh come on Himawari..." Barren whined. "We haven't seen each other for over a year! It wouldn't hurt to know if you can come over and hang out every once and a while."
"B-Barren, I don't know if I..." Hima trailed off as soon as he saw Barren's pout. He looked so adorable! She hated/loved it when he did that! After about ten seconds, she caved. "...Ugh~ Fine..."
"Yay!" Barren cheered before pulling Hima into a very tight hug. "I still have to see with Master if it's okay! But either way, thanks Hima!"
"Y-you're welcome..." She wheezed. "B-but can you let me go now...need...air..."
"What was that?" Barren asked, completely oblivious to the fact he was depriving his cousin from getting any oxygen. Cain laughed at the scene while Jake just chuckled...
Although, the fencer the could've sworn he saw a light blush on Himawari's face...
Eh. He was probably imagining it.
"Okay Barren, let the girl breathe." Jake said. Barren's eyes shot open in realization.
"Oops." He whispered. Poor Hima's face was already blue and was already starting to turn purple. He quickly let her go, and the girl quickly breathed in as much oxygen she could. "Hehe...Sorry..."
"It's *pant* okay..." She wheezed, still quite out of breathe.
"Let's go already!" Barren's little robotic companion chimed in. Judging by his expression, GIR had gotten bored of his snack and was more than happy to go home. "I'm bo~red!" Barren chuckled.
"GIR's right..." He said.
"That's a first..." Jake muttered, earning a glare from Barren.
"...Ignoring that last comment...Come on. Lets get back to the mansion."
To say Ray was bored was an understatement.
Having been one of the first to exit the stadium and return to the mansion, the half-chimera quickly left the transporter room before the rest of the contestant filled the place up. And he did not want to be there when the place was crowded.
"If that was the case, why'd you even accept the invitation?" He asked himself. It was rather confusing that he willingly chose to come live with probably the most bizarre group of people in the world!
Or was it the universe?
Multiverse?
He shook his head, his ears flailing a bit at the gesture. That was a subject for another day.
What mattered now was a simple question...What now?
The next few matches were only going to start in three days. So what were that going to do until then? Goof around in the mansion? Please. He had enough of that at home! (His friend Laura would kill him if she ever heard him say that...) I mean, he heard that the smashers would stay at the mansion and that they usually had various...misadventures, to put it lightly...
The young man sighed in frustration. He really should've expected this...Why the bloody heck did he sign up for this?! He growled, about to continue his internal discussion...
Until he heard a hiss, a crunch and felt an absurdly large amount if pain coming from the snake he called his tail.
Ray yelled his breath, holding in a yell. The weight of what ever it was flattened the poor snake tail like a stem roller. With a fluid motion, he swiped his tail from underneath whatever it was that pained him. Said thing jumped back. She covered her mouth with one if her hands, staring wide eyed at the half-chimera, who glared back with burning ferocity.
"Watch where you're going genius!" Ray growled, holding his tail and tending to the part she stepped on. The teal haired girl stared at him worriedly.
"Oh my God...I-I'm so sorry!" She started, reaching to inspect his tail for any injury, only for Ray to brush her off. "I-it was an accident! I swear!" Ray said nothing as he dropped his tail back on the floor and marched off down the hall, mumbling something under his breath. "Wha- Hey! Wait up!"
Oh jo~y! Already someone shows up to piss him off!
Ray accelerated his pace, but the teal haired girl managed to catch up with him. "What?" He spat, making her gulp.
"L-look, I'm really sorry for stepping on your tail..." She started, here eyes darting to the snake tail. "I-I didn't notice it when I came in-"
"Didn't notice?" Ray asked incredulously. "My wings and tail are easier to see than lantern in a dark room. Got any other excuses kid?"
"I-I...I just wasn't paying attention!" Ray rolled his eyes at the rather poor defense. "Look, we're getting off at a really really bad start..." She jogged in front of him, stopping him. She held out a hand. "My name's Amy. Amy Yukine. What's yours?" Ray stared at her for a second before hesitantly grabbing her hand.
"...Ray."
"It's nice to meet you Ray!" Amy said, smiling brightly. However it faltered slightly as she let his hand go. "I'm really sorry for stepping on your...tail..." Ray glanced at his tail and then back at her.
"Eh...I guess I kinda overreacted. Its not the first time this has happened to me." He said before walking past her.
"H-hey! Where are you going?" Amy asked, running up next to him.
"Going back to my room to get some shut eye before my roommate shows up."
"But its still 6:00 PM!" She declared.
"I'll wake up in an hour or two." He defended, ignoring her attempts to slow him down.
"Come o~n!" Amy whined, hopping in front if him, making him stop again. "There are plenty of things to do here! You can't sleep yet!"
"Like what exactly?"
"Well," She took out a list from her back pocket...a very long list. "there are all of the multi-man battles, target test, the home run stadium, the theater room, the bathhouse-"
"We have a bathhouse?" Ray asked, a bit surprised. Well, maybe "surprised" is too strong a word. More like "perplexed".
"Hey I didn't design the place! I just live in it! Now what else...Oh! There are the training room, the living room, arcade and the-"
"You do realize I stopped caring, right?" Ray yelled. During Amy's little countdown, Ray had already taken off. Amy squealed when she saw the half-chimera already far away from her.
"Hey!" She yelled. "Stop doing that!" Ray sighed as she ran up to him again. "Oh come on! You have to admit they at least sound more interesting than falling asleep!"
"True. But falling asleep is less headache inducing." He took two steps forward...
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." A voice said, getting Ray and Amy's attention. Sure enough, Lucario stood there, leaning on the wall. His eyes were closed shut as he was in deep thought. Opening one eye, he saw Ray's confused expression. Even though he didn't actually speak per se, the two heard what he said thanks to his psychic ability. "Getting any sleep here during the day is nearly impossible. Even Kirby has difficulties trying to do so." Ray rolled his eyes.
"If I can manage to sleep living in a house with twenty three of the most annoying people I know, I think I can handle sleeping here."
"Can you?"
A small moment of silence.
"...Ugh~...No..." Ray growled. Before anyone could say anything however, a blur of white and blue came running towards. Realizing a collision was imminent, the blur yelled and skid to halt...before tripping on Ray's tail and landing on his face, effectively crushing Ray's tail under his weight.
"Son of a-" Ray's eye twitched as a sharp pain came from his tail. He let out a growl before swiping his tail from underneath the newcomer, flipping him onto his back.
"Ow~..." The young man said, his eyes being replaced with spirals for a moment. Amy and Lucario circled around him as Ray tended to his injured tail.
"Why is it always the ta~il?" He whined to himself, comedic tears rolling down his face. "Why not the wings for once? They don't do anything anyway!"
Amy and Lucario stared at the newcomer curiously. His eyes still swirling with little chibi heads of Spiderman, Iron Man and Thor flying over his head. The two sweat dropped at the scene.
"Uh...Are you okay?" Amy asked.
The man's vision began to clear up as an audible moan escaped his throat. While still blurry, he made out the faint outline of two people standing over him. His eyes shut and opened themselves up again multiple times before he could get a clear view.
"Ow~..." He moaned. Lucario held out a hand to help him up, which he gladly accepted. He clumsily made his way onto his feet. "Thanks..."
"Are you okay?" Amy asked.
"Oh, su~re! Worry about the guy who flattened my tail like a pancake!"
"Y-yeah. I'm fine. Just took a bump to the head. Nothing to serious." The man said, rubbing said head injury. "I'm Marc by the way."
"I'm Amy." She smiled grabbing his hand and shaking it. "It's nice to meet you!"
"A~nd they're ignoring me...Figures..." Ray muttered before storming up to the three. "Hey!" He yelled. Marc recognized the half-chimera (Technically he recognized his tail which he used as a cushion, but you get the point.) and jumped back a bit in shock.
"Oh! Uh...Sorry about landing on your tail dude." He said. Ray grumbled under his breathe before sighing.
"Not the first time someone's crushed it...Shorty over here already beat you to it." The chimera muttered, ignoring Amy's protest at being called "Shorty". She was not that short! "Now that that"s out of the way, I'm going..." Rau trailed off when he noticed something. Marc kept staring at him. More specifically, he kept staring at his wings.
"..."
"Er...Is there a problem?"
"Are you cosplaying someone?" Marc asked. Ray's eyes twitched as he heard Amy snicker and a light chuckle from Lucario.
"Uh...No." Ray affirmed. He gestured to his wings and tail. "I've had these things for awhile now. I guess you could say I'm a half-chimera."
"Oh. Cool." Marc said with a smile. "Sorry for the dumb question..."
"Trust me. I've heard dumber." Ray recalled certain...experiences with people back home...Yeah. Not all that pleasant. Marc, not realizing he was being serious, laughed.
"Well, that makes me feel better." He said. "Hey, you guys wouldn't happen to know where the Marvel superheroes went, do you." The three shook their head, making Marc's smile fade. "Aw man...I've been looking for them all day! Where are they?"
"Have you tried the living room yet?" Lucario asked. "That's where most of us go when we're not fighting or spending time in the bathhouse."
"Again," Ray started. "Why do we even have a bathhouse?"
"To bathe, obviously."
"Don't play cute." Ray growled, earning a laugh from the other three. "Ugh...You know what? I'm going to the training room!" He said, stomping down the hall. After two steps, he stopped. "Unless, of course, some kind of sick deity that finds my misfortune funny decides against it that is! If so, strike me down from where I stand!"
"Make way!" A trio of voices yelled. Before the chimera had time to react, GIR leapt forward and and kicked him to the ground before taking off. Then Barren and Cain came running after him, accidentally stepping on Ray's tail as they barreled passed him.
"GIR! Get back here!" Barren shouted, dodging a bolt that was thrown at him by GIR. "And will you knock that off?!"
"Where is he even getting these things anyway?" Cain asked. Barren shrugged. He was about to respond when a bolt hit him in the forehead.
"Okay! That's it! You're dead GIR!" Barren roared as he and Cain chased the eccentric bot down the hall. And completely ignoring the whimpering half-chimera a few feet away from them.
Ray bit his tongue to prevent an outburst. Instead of a yell, an oddly loud cat like whimper escaped his throat as he held onto to his tail.
"I didn't mean it!" He internally shouted from his place on the floor. He tried getting up, but stopped when he heard another pair of footsteps running towards him. Brown boots filled his vision before he looked up.
Jake held out a hand to help Ray up. "Sorry about that." He spoke as Ray obliged. "GIR had a strange freak out from the transport and he started calling himself "The Cabbage King" and he thinks he's actually a cabbage for Planet X-2097, who are slowly plotting to conquer the world one grocery store at a time. Then he started throwing bolts he got from who-knows-where at Barren and Cain stating that 'human tyranny is over and the cabbages shall prevail!' Then he took off prompting Barren and Cain to go after him." It took ten to fifteen seconds for Ray to understand what he said.
"What?" Was all that came out of Ray's mouth.
"Yeah~, that was my reaction too..." Jake replied. Ray muttered something under his breath before dusting his clothes.
"Well thanks for helping me up..." Ray started, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I'm-"
"And who might this lovely lady be?" Ray heard Jake's voice say. The chimera blinked twice, only to realize Jake was no longer there. Instead, Jake was a with Amy, Marc and Lucario...Well, to be a bit more specific, Jake was on one knee, holding Amy's hand and smiling up at her. Said girl quirked an eyebrow at the strange gesture.
"Uh..." Amy fumbled to find any words to say. "I'm Amy." Jake's smile grew.
"Amy, eh? Such a pretty name..." Jake said before placing a kiss on the back of her hand. Amy laughed and leaned over to Marc.
"He's funny!" She whispered, showing absolutely no signs of knowing Jake was hitting on her. Marc quirked an eyebrow, his deadpanned expression screaming "REALLY?!" Marc shook his head and turned to Jake.
"It's nice to meet you." He said as Jake picked himself up.
"Like wise." The fencer replied, not really paying attention to him.
"They're ignoring me again. Joy." Ray muttered. This day was starting to get confusing. "Can't I have a normal day for once." Jake heard him talking to himself and turned to him.
"From what I've seen so far, I'm pretty sure its impossible to have one of those here." He said, earning a groan from the chimera.
"Oh for God's-" Ray stopped himself short. "Why did I even come here?!" He snapped, though not really directed to anyone. Jake watched in amusement as he started rambling. "First I get bored as heck with nothing to do! Then this teal haired girl steps on my tail-"
"-Hey! I said sorry!" Amy said.
Ignoring her apology, Ray continued. "-and starts annoying the living crap out of me! Then that comic fanatic steps on my tail and accuses me of being a cosplayer!"
"It's not my fault you look like one..." Marc muttered. "And stop talking about us like that. We're right behind you!"
"And then those two morons coming rushing up pushing to the ground and stepping on my tail again!"
"I actually expected Barren to do something like that." Jake replied. He had his chin in between the space between his thumb and index finger, forming a classic "thinker" pose. "Though I didn't expect the culprit to be a psychotic robot apparently driven on a cabbage based alien conspiracy theory..."
"What's next?!" Ray shouted, throwing his arms in the air. "A meteorite just randomly falls on top of me?!"
Everything was quiet for about three seconds.
Then a meteorite about the size of a car crashed through the roof and landed on Ray, crushing not only his tail, but the rest of his lower body as well.
"OH COME O~N!" He wailed as tried to crawl his way out from underneath the space rock, unsuccessfully of course. "What did I do to deserve-" His rant was cut short when part of the meteor chipped off and landed on his head, leaving a rather large hole in the rock base and an even larger bump on Ray's head.
To everyone's surprise, something started crawling out of the hole. Three something's actually. Three leafy things. Cabbages. Each holding a small ray gun with their non existent hands.
"Glurg!" One of the cabbages growled. It was green, like a normal cabbage.
For the sake of keeping this story moving forward, I shall translate for you all:
"Theodore, are you sure this is the right place?" The darker cabbage growled. A small...dark blue cabbage came up to him.
"Absolutely Sargent!" The small cabbage saluted. His voice much more childish than his. The dark green cabbage chuckled maniacally.
"Muwahahaha! Yes!" It exclaimed. "The Smash Mansion is home to the greatest warriors and defender of all time! Here we can learn all of planet Pekopon's defenses and secrets to prepare for the invasion!"
"Shouldn't we wait for the rest of the platoon though?" The third cabbage said. Unlike the other two, he was dark red. "You heard what happened to the Keronians when they tried invading this place. The Armpit Platoon got stuck having to serve a family of Pekoponians in their house!" The smallest one shivered.
"I hear they're still living there..." It muttered. The Sargent scoffed.
"Nonsense!" It exclaimed. "The Keronians are weak! It's no wonder they could never conquer this planet! But us-" He gestured to him and his platoon. "The cabbages of Planet X-2097 , are for superior to frogs if Keron my friends! SARGENT KORORO!" It exclaimed, jumping into the air.
"PRIVATE FIRST CLASS TOMUMU!" The dark blue one yelled as well. The red one stared at his companion before sighing...and then jumped into the air as well.
"CORPORAL GORURU!" The three landed, each preforming a small pose, with Kororo in the middle and his two pals at his sides.
"WE ARE...THE NOSTRIL PLATOON!" A swirl of color appeared behind them, reminiscent of early Power Rangers shows...Then they noticed Jake, Amy, Lucario and Marc staring at them and Ray struggling to get out from underneath the rock.
"Aw lettuce! We've been discovered!" Kororo shouted in horror. "Quick! They must not know about our plans! To the attic! They'll never look for us there!"
"Aye Aye Sir!" The blue one saluted. The red one gave what seemed to be a nod before the three took off down the halls.
All the while, the group just stared, dumbfounded.
"Well," Marc started. "that just happened..."
"Aye...It did." Jake agreed.
"CAN SOME ON GET THIS DAMN THING OFF OF ME?!" Ray bellowed as he continued to struggle from underneath the meteor. "AND HURRY UP! I THINK MY BLOOD STOPPED CIRCULATING IN MY LOWER BODY! MY LEGS ARE GONNA BE ASLEEP FOR HOURS!
"Should we help him?" Marc asked, pointing at Ray, who glared un response.
"Oh! I had forgotten about him." Jake admitted. Ray muttered something explicit under his breath as the group walked up towards the meteorite.
"Just hurry up and get it off!" The chimera yelled as he continued struggling.
"Alright, calm down." Lucario assured him. He and the group circled around the space rock and put their hands underneath. "On the count of three. One. Two. Three!"
The three of them heaved the rock just high enough for Ray to no linger be crushed. The chimera sighed in relief...Unfortunately, fate was a cruel mistress.
"Ooo! A penny!" Amy said when she noticed the one cent coin under the meteorite. She crouched down to get it, but when she let go, the meteor dropped to the floor again, not only crushing Ray, but Lucario, Marc and Jake too.
With a chorus of "Ow"s and "Oof"s, the four boys groggily laid down as the meteor crushed them like flapjacks. Amy gasped, putting a hand over her mouth and taking two steps back.
"Oops..." She whispered. Ray was the first to regain his senses. Lucario and Jake soon after.
"Great!" The chimera spat. "Now we're all stuck here!"
Jake squirmed under the weight of the meteorite. "Couldn't we- Ow!-try to pick it up from underneath?
"We can barely move our arms Jake." Lucario spoke calmly, though he wasn't exactly fond of his current predicament. "The meteorite has literally rendered us immobile. I'd use Psychic but I can't move something this big with it."
"Well that's just dandy!" Ray yelled before hearing a groggy moan next to him. Marc was still out with chibi superheroes around his head again.
"D-don't panic!" Amy yelled. Though from her reaction, she should probably practice what she preaches. "I-I'll run and get help! I'll be here before you know it!" She took off in a random direction, tripping over herself and knocking over a vase as she ran out of Ray's sight.
They were all quiet for a what felt like an hour.
"...She's not coming back in the near future, is she?" Lucario asked.
"Nope." Jake and Ray responded. The three groaned in disappointment.
"Well now what do we do?" Ray asked.
"...We could talk about our place in the universe?" Lucario suggested.
"We could talk about girls?" Jake suggested.
"...Comics..." Marc moaned, his eyes still swirling. Ray groaned before burying his head into the floor. If the rest of the non-tournament days were gonna be like this...Well, only one thought crossed his mind.
"This is gonna be a long three days..."
Okay, here we are! We've finally reached the part of the story I wanted to do the most! The three day in between match intermissions!
First off, an explanation for my delay in posting this. No, I did not become Mr. Year long hiatus again. I was actually writing lots of thing at once. But once I saw how long it was taking, I went back to writing one thing at a time. Hence why this chapter may seem a bit rushed.
However, as I have stated various times, I have not given up on this story. In fact, the next few chapters are gonna be more important to me than my Jotkoh ones.
You see the next three chapters will each represent one of the three days. These chapters are basically gonna be the humor aspect to the story. The fun and zany misadventures the smashers go through along with plot and character development. You know, like those "life in the mansion" fics.
There's only one problem however...I'm a bit scarce on ideas. I have one or two ready, but I really wanted to make something much more diverse. Simply put, I'm asking for ideas. Feel free to send me one if you'd like to contribute to this story.
Well, that's everything! See you next time!
