Okay, so this chapter was supposed to be posted last week, but stuff happened and I had to upload a week later. And by stuff, I mean I traveled to New York and spent about five days there. It was great and amazing, and now I have an adorable Dark Pit Amiibo (I almost screamed when I saw there were only two at Best Buy, after chasing after him since day one) in my very small collection.
New York is great, but anyway…
"So you want me to help you getting inside an unconscious Smasher's mind?" Mewtwo asked, once everyone finished explaining the current situation. "I must say, that is quite a peculiar thing to ask me to do."
"We are desperate," Robin said.
"From what you told me, I can see why. I cannot blame you for acting so desperate. The fear of loosing someone so dear to you… I can sympathize."
"So are you going to help us?" she asked, hopeful.
"No, I don't think so."
"But you said-"
"I said that I sympathize with you, not that I will help you."
"And there he goes," Peach muttered under her breath with arms crossed.
"But why?!" Lucina exclaimed. "Don't you see what is at stake?!"
"Yes, your friend's life. Lover, in your case. However, I have no business with him," Mewtwo shrugged it off.
"Isn't there anything we can do to change your mind and..." Robin paused, furrowing her eyebrows at his statement. "Wait, I never said anything about Rob being my lover."
"You didn't need to."
"Don't tell me that after all these years you are still reading people's minds like there's nothing wrong with it!" Peach angrily exclaimed.
There was a collective gasp from the three newcomers, followed by a gruff from Peach. If Mewtwo had the power to read someone's mind, then he should be able to help them getting inside Rob's mind. At least that was what Robin was thinking. Both Shulk and Lucina were still kind of shocked to think about anything else.
"What can I say? Old habits die hard," the Pokemon said sarcastically as he crossed his arms. "Though I admit I have been getting better at controlling my mind reading powers."
"Well, then control it better," she snarled.
"Your passive-aggressiveness is dully noted."
Robin shook her head, wondering what she could do to convince Mewtwo otherwise. That is until she noticed the sudden discomfort Shulk was showing. He had a strong grip on his Monado that was strapped on his back, switching the symbols that usually showed above his head when he switched between power-ups. His usually friendly blue eyes were full of hostility towards Mewtwo and he was gritting his teeth just a little too strongly.
"Ack, Master Hand never gave me the Purge Arts," he hissed under his teeth.
"Shulk, whatever is the matter?" Lucina put a hand on his shoulder.
"Yes, Shulk, whatever is the matter?"
"Oh, don't come with this sarcasm! You can read my mind," he growled. "I'm pretty sure you know what is the matter."
"I am not doing it at the moment, if that's what worrying you," he raised his paw. "I was not lying when I said that old habits are hard to die. It is hard to turn my mind off from other people's thoughts. I have been practicing it since I was banned from Melee."
"Mewtwo used to read his opponent's minds when he fought against them back in the Melee days," Peach huffed, ignoring the Pokemon's roll of eyes. "Don't try to deny it. Your soul knows it's true."
"I was never going to deny it. Too bad it didn't work for everyone. Ness and Kirby somehow always managed to block my mind reading."
"Mewtwo, just let me ask you something. Are you capable of helping us?" Robin asked, clearly not caring about Mewtwo's contrived past.
"Truth be told, I never tried such thing for me to say that I can. But I suppose it is possible," the Pokemon mused. "In fact, that would be an interesting experiment."
"So why don't you want to help us?"
"And get on Master Hand's bad side? I'd rather pass."
"What can I do for you to reconsider?" she asked, her voice showing a growing desperation. "Whatever you want in exchange, I'll do anything in my power to get it!"
"Are you really that afraid that once the male Robin will have all memories erased, he will never love you the same way he does now? Are you that desperate that you are willing to degrade yourself to begging?"
Now that hit a nerve. Robin clenched her fist and bit her lip hard, looking at Mewtwo with pure hatred. Shulk also got up from his seat and looked like he was ready to cut the Pokemon in two pieces with the Monado. Lucina and Peach tried to keep their composure, but it was clear they also were very displeased with his commentary.
"That's it, I'm done," Shulk growled, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Robin, let's think of another alternative. Mewtwo won't help us. He's too good for us."
Mewtwo let out a gruff.
"No," Robin simply said, shaking his hand off. "You know what, Mewtwo? You're right. I am afraid of Rob not loving me anymore if he has his memories erased. He won't live the same experiences, he won't have the same thoughts and he might become a completely different person from who he is now. I'm also pretty sure Master Hand suspects about us and will be more cautious with letting us stay together."
He looked at her with a curious expression on his face.
"But you know damn well this is not the only reason," she continued. "I do care about him, we all do. We don't want to see him get erased like this because of Grima. We don't want to lose our friend, Mewtwo. Even if he comes back, you know it's not going to be… Him. He will be a different Rob."
"I see."
"You can read my mind, can't you? Then you know I'm telling you the truth."
Mewtwo closed his eyes and paced back and forth, ignoring the discomfort that grew in the other Smashers. Robin in particular would not relax her shoulders, watching him with anxious eyes, while all that Shulk wanted was to leave that apartment and not deal with Mewtwo anymore.
"Very well, I shall help you," he raised his paw as soon as he saw the hopeful looks he was getting. "IF you can bring the male Robin here."
"Oh, nothing can be that easy with you, can it?" Peach groaned.
"Considering that I was not willing to help because I don't want to get on Master Hand's bad side and I ask nothing else from you, I would say I am being very generous here," Mewtwo said, coldly. "I simply refuse to break into his laboratory. If you want my help, then bring the male Robin and we may try your plan out. This is my only request."
"I still think we should try another method," Shulk mumbled. "Peach, are you sure there isn't anybody else that can help us?"
"Not as far as I know… I could be wrong, but I can't think of anyone else."
"We don't have time, Shulk," Lucina said as she got up from her seat. "If Mewtwo was not trustworthy, Peach would never have suggested we saw him in the first place. I have faith in him."
"Lucina, you're too kind," the princess commented.
"No, I just really want to believe that there is hope in Mewtwo's powers."
"Well, we shall see that in a few hours."
"Thank you, Mewtwo," Robin said, giving him a genuine and hopeful smile. "Thank you so much."
Once they left the apartment, there was a general agreement that there was no time to waste. They had to get into Master Hand's laboratory and get Rob out of there as soon as possible. If they could talk Master Hand out of his plan of giving him a new soul, that would be great, but nobody had any faith in that thought. If Master hand said no, not only they still would be forced to take Rob away from him, but they would have revealed where they planned to take him. As long as the hand didn't know where they were going, they would be fine for a while.
Master Hand might be omnipresent, but he was in no way omniscient.
Robin asked Peach to go get Crazy Hand to assist her and Shulk, which the princess made no objections against, as she knew she was the only one capable of finding him in such a short notice. Lucina thought it would be for the best that she stood behind and watched over Mewtwo until they returned. It wasn't as if she didn't trust the Pokemon wouldn't be there whenever Robin and Shulk returned, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Peach told her he was prone to changing his mind about something at the last minute, so she would make sure that that would not happen.
The plan in theory was very simple, at least at first. Robin and Shulk would get inside Master Hand's laboratory with Crazy Hand's help, find Rob there and take him away to Mewtwo's apartment with help from Crazy Hand's similar powers of teleportation.
That was to say, it was a simple plan, as long as Master Hand wasn't there, which was highly improbable, considering the new soul he was creating must have been nearly complete up to that point. It had already been a day since he started making it, according to what she could deduce, so of course he would be there. They would need to get near Rob and get him without Master Hand's interference. If only they could distract him from Rob, somehow...
"It's okay," Shulk said once they arrived at the hotel. "You and Crazy can go get Rob out of there. I will distract Master Hand."
"Don't worry, Crazy will make sure you get out of the lab before Master Hand can get you," Robin said, putting a hand on her chin.
"Still, I wouldn't mind if I was left behind, but it's up to you," he shrugged his shoulders. "I cannot promise I will be able to hold him for more than a couple of seconds, so you and Crazy will have to make this as fast as possible."
"Shulk, are you sure you don't want to come with us back to Mewtwo's place?" Robin asked, hoping he would change his mind.
"Robin, it's not like I will be of any use once you get back to Mewtwo's apartment. The best I could do was give emotional support," Shulk scratched the back of his neck. "Besides… I really don't want to see Mewtwo again. I don't like having him involved in this plan, to tell you the truth."
"Yeah, what was that all about? It's not like you to be so wary of others like this."
"I don't trust mind readers," he simply said. "I've had awful experiences with them in the past."
"I see..."
"During my journey through the Bionis, I've encountered creatures that could read minds and were born solely to to bring death and destruction to every living being in my world. They were called Telethia and let's just say they were one of the most hideous and violent creatures I have ever seen."
"So… Mewtwo is like a Telethia to you?"
"Kinda, sorta, not really. But being near him doesn't makes me feel at ease at all. I'd rather stay at the hotel and face whatever punishment Master Hand will give me if he finds me soon, than have to deal with that... Thing... Again."
Robin was glad Shulk was so willing to help her in getting Master Hand distracted, but she still felt rather guilty for having him stay behind and have to hide in some other Smasher's room in the meantime. The only consolation she got was that it was that she would probably have to go through the same punishment once the hand also caught her, so it wasn't like it was going to be unfair for either of them.
They both met with Crazy Hand near the elevators on the ground floor, who seemed a little too excited with everything that was about to happen. Peach was also there, but only to wish them good luck and remind Crazy of what she had asked him for, before taking her leave and leaving everything else up to them. The younger hand guided them up to the last floor, where Master Hand's office was located.
"Wait, why are we at his office?" Robin asked.
"Oh, girl Robin, you don't think that his office if the only thing in this floor, do you? It would be a total waste of space."
"You mean his lab has been near us this entire time?" Shulk asked.
"Not the entire time. Bro's original lab used to be underground a few years ago, but he decided to build another one here because he had space. You guys, the more recent Smashers, were all born up here! Melee, Brawl and full-time veterans were born underground."
"Well then, where is the entrance?" Robin asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
She looked around her, searching for anything that could indicate an entrance, but she found nothing. There was no other visible door on that spacious and empty office that could serve as the entrance to the laboratory. But maybe that was why Crazy referred to it as a secret lab to begin with. Crazy Hand floated towards the largest bookshelf in that office, one made entirely of metal, and pressed a small button (small for him, but for an average adult Smasher, that thing could be big as their hand) that was on its top.
Robin and Shulk jumped a little in surprise as the bookshelf slowly started to slide to the side, eventually showing the large metal door that was behind it.
"Crazy, I don't think I know how to thank you enough for everything you're doing," Robin said in awe.
"Anything to not see you cry."
"I thought you wanted to see me cry?"
"Oh, yeah," he mused for a while, fingers twitching excitedly. "I did want it, didn't I? Ah, that doesn't matter now. Let's go."
He turned the big doorknob (so big, in fact, the it probably required at least two Smashers to turn it) and slowly opened the door.
Shulk held his breath as they were greeted with the lab's sight. It looked very much like the one he had in his vision a few days ago, which only made him even more nervous. Apparently, Robin thought the same thing, because she was breathing heavily and her knuckles practically turning white from his how tightly she closed her hands into fists.
The laboratory certainly was bigger than what he assumed it was from his vision, though it wasn't a lot bigger. The walls were all white and the whole place was incredibly well-lit, giving a very sterile air to the lab. Robin could see some strange-looking pods on the wall, but had no idea what they were for. She could see that one of them was occupied by… Something, someone, she couldn't make out what it was due to the figure looking really blurry through the foggy glass. There were two tables at the other side of the room with various glasses with chemicals and other things she had absolutely no knowledge in, as well as a large desk with a big computer on it.
But what really caught her attention was the simple, rectangular metal table in the middle of the room and the person that currently laid on it, as well as the enormous hand that floated above him, tinkering with a strange, white, orb-like machine that hung on the ceiling.
"Rob..." Robin whispered as she saw her unconscious lover on the metal table a few feet away from her.
"Broooo, I brought guests!" Crazy Hand happily exclaimed, bringing his brother's attention down to the newcomers.
"What?!"
Master Hand floated downwards, clearly furious at the sight of Robin and Shulk there. He was just a few minutes away from perfecting Rob's new soul and the last thing he needed was to see Robin, of all Smashers, standing there with a face of sorrow.
"Crazy Hand, what is the meaning of this?!" he asked, his voice bursting with anger. "Why did you bring the female Robin and Shulk here?!"
"Because they are his friends," Crazy replied innocently. "They should be here, no?"
"Master Hand, Crazy told me everything," Robin said, her voice and body shaking slightly. "Please, don't do this. Please, please, please let him live! There must be another way!"
"Robin," he said, softening just for a moment as he saw small tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "I need you to understand I am also not very fond of this solution, but it is the best one I could come up with."
"No, no, don't do it..."
"Master Hand, please reconsider," Shulk said.
"It will be for the best for you. He won't suffer anymore from headaches and from Grima trying to take over him. You won't be in any more danger," he explained. "I wish I could retain his memories of his life here, but it won't be possible. It's a small price he has to pay if he wants to get better."
"...Can I at least say goodbye to him?" she asked, wiping the newly formed tears away.
Master Hand looked at his brother, who seemed to shrug her request off. "...Of course, you may. I can see you are very close to him," he said, though there was something in the tone of that sentence that made Robin shiver. "One last goodbye and that's it, understood?"
She took a deep breath and walked towards the table, being followed closely by Crazy Hand, while Shulk walked just a few steps behind. Her heart seemed to beat faster the more she got closer to him, the palm of her hands sweating like crazy. One missed step, and it was over.
"By the way, Robin," Master Hand said as he followed the group. "I was thinking about giving you separate rooms once this is all over. Maybe it is about time you each got your own space. It was foolish of me to think that not giving each of you your own space didn't matter."
Robin simply let out a hum in acknowledgment and kneed beside Rob.
"Hey, Rob," she whispered to the unconscious man, leaning over him just enough so her lips were inches away from his ear. "Sorry we took so long. Don't worry, we're getting you out of here."
Master Hand floated close behind her, wondering what the female tactician was whispering. That didn't last long, however, because no more than three seconds later Robin threw herself at her counterpart and firmly enveloped him in her arms.
"Shulk, now!"
"Jump!"
It happened everything so fast, Master Hand had barely time to react. Shulk jumped in the air and swung the Monado at their creator, taking him by surprise and making him retreat a bit, not from the impact from the ethereal blade in itself, but more from the surprise that one of his Smashers dared to attack him outside of Final Destination. It hurt, yes, but the Monado could not do much damage to him and no cut actually appeared on his body.
Taking advantage of Master Hand's brief daze, Crazy Hand quickly grabbed both Robins and floated away from his older brother and towards Shulk.
"Crazy, what are you-"
"Sorry, bro!"
"Oh, no, you won't!"
Master Hand flew towards the younger brother, ready to hit him and get Rob back, but was intercepted by Shulk, who hit him with a swift air slash and made him flinch. The hand let out a frustrated groan and pushed him out of the way, slamming Shulk against the wall.
"Just go without me!" the Homs shouted.
"Okay!" Crazy screeched.
"Wait, Shulk-"
And in less than a second, Crazy Hand vanished, taking both tacticians with him. Master Hand was left there, completely dumbstruck at the events that had just transpired in front of him, trying to process them all in his mind.
There was a ping sound from above, which made Master Hand look up and find a bright, glowing orb floating out from the machine and being held by its antennas. He then looked at the empty table bellow him, a white, hot rage growing inside of him the more he stared at where the male Robin was supposed to be.
A scream threatened to escape from him, but Master Hand regained his composure before he could lose it. Once he found the female Robin, he would make sure her punishment would be severe.
Meanwhile…
"Shulk."
Shulk seemed to freeze at the cold voice the hand had. Master Hand seemed a lot less frightening in the scenario he had been imagining before. He started to tremble as he floated closer to him, realizing that if Master Hand decided to kill him right now, nobody would hear him scream.
Lucina had to admit that Mewtwo wasn't nearly as bad as she thought initially. Sure, he wasn't someone she would invite to a party… Or to anything else, for that matter, but if she found herself stuck in an elevator with him, she would be able to strike a decent conversation with him just fine. At least he was polite and offered her some tea while she was there.
"So you have been thinking about returning to the Smash Bros tournament?" she asked, not really sure if she should look forward to that or not.
"I have been practicing on how to contain my powers so I won't mess with my opponent's mind too badly," Mewtwo said. "I am positively sure that Master Hand will accept me back."
"So what Peach had said about you was true."
"To an extend, though she likes to exaggerate her facts a lot, especially when it concerns to people she doesn't like. I did read my opponents' minds and tried to use that to my advantage, but that was because I simply couldn't shut their thoughts out."
"You couldn't?"
"No, and let me tell you, it was a nightmare. There were days when I simply wanted nothing but disappear so I wouldn't have to listen to everyone's inner voices talking all at once. When in battle, I simply tried to make the best out of a situation I was not very fond of."
"That must have been rough," Lucina said, growing just a little bit more of sympathy for him. "So from what I can understand, you were expelled because of your powers."
"No, I asked to leave," Mewtwo shrugged it off. "I wanted to practice my psychic powers better, alone. Even though my mind reading was unfair to my opponents in theory, there were moments when I just wanted peace and quiet, but all this mental noise kept pestering me. I couldn't even concentrate on my own thoughts sometimes."
There was a knock on the window that made the two Smashers stop talking immediately. Lucina got up from the small green couch and went to take a look at the window, only to find Crazy Hand floating outside, carrying both Robins on the palm of his body. Mewtwo opened the window, shivering slightly at the cold breeze that started to invade his apartment, and gave Lucina way so she could help them get inside.
"I didn't expect that you would get through the window," Lucina commented as she helped Robin get Rob inside first.
"I don't think security would think it would be okay to let some strange woman with an unconscious man into the building," Robin said.
"I liked this idea better," Crazy said, trying his best to stand still and not twitch his fingers.
"What took you so long?"
"We would have arrived earlier, but SOMEONE ended up getting the wrong address!"
"Yeah, you," the hand said, shamelessly trying to shift the blame to the tactician. "If you spoke more clearly, we wouldn't have appeared inside the mall."
"How do you even get a residential neighborhood confused with a mall?!"
"They both have a lot of people."
"And then you made us appear in an abandoned zoo park!"
"Stop judging meeeee!"
"Um... Where is Shulk, by the way?"
"He decided to stay and distract Master Hand…" Robin sighed. "I really hope he's alright."
"Robin, just get inside so we can get this over with," Mewtwo said in irritation, preferring to ignore the fact that Shulk would rather face a very angry Master Hand than be around him.
Lucina extended her hand to Robin and helped her get inside by acting as a support. Mewtwo wasn't all that pleased with how her boots were dirtying the couch as she stepped inside the apartment, but the sooner they got that over, the sooner he would find peace.
I based Mewtwo's personality on the one from the movie though I'm pretty sure you guys have noticed that. I've always seen him as arrogant and a loner, but also acting kind every once in a full moon.
LegitElizabethWWEFan: Well, after this chapter, what do you expect what will happen to Rob? I'm really happy you enjoyed Lucina's character! I sure had fun writing about her, so it's great to hear that! I can't buy both, my wallet won't allow it! Games are super expensive for me… I really will only buy one version because I wouldn't feel comfortable spending so much money on two different versions of the same game.
NitroTheKidd88: What it matters is that you got and that you're not mad. What about now? Does the sound of the feelstorm sound close? Well, if you wanna think that would count as the most painful memory, then sure. I left it vague because I couldn't figure it out, I'm really sorry. Mewtwo's characterization here isn't anything new or groundbreaking, but that's how I see him and how I feel like he would really act. Well, your train of thought isn't that far off from what actually happened in the library. You really think I write Crazy Hand differently? I don't know, I just can't imagine him being hyper on sugar, I just like to imagine that the twitching of his fingers is kind of something he can't control and that he can be a big clutz.
Wotahbotah3k: Thanks! Not wanting to spoil anything, but yeah, I think now it's pretty obvious somethign's definitely going to happen in his brain. I can't take both! My heart says yes, but my wallet and my consciousness say no.
PozzyP: But aren't records being sold even to this day? Crazy is super into the times! I never confused Marth with a girl, believe it or not. I never understood the tiara, but he had a clear male voice to me. And for some reason, I always got confused because I thought him and Roy would look cute together, but I was just an ignorantten year old back then, so I guess I used to ship Marth/Roy without knowing it was possible. It was complicated. I'm really not fond of the self parody/meme characterization people like to give Peach, mostly because it's just too easy. I don't find it funny because it's mostly people telling the same joke over and over again. And gossip/cake maker" is also too boring, so there. Both Birthright and Conquest have same-sex marriage, but Birthright has same-sex marriage between the female avatar and Shara (Tharja 2), while Conquest has the same-sex marriage between the male avatar and Zero.
Gamerfan64: Oh, I'm glad you're liking. That's funny, a lot of you really are liking Crazy Hand a lot, despite him appearing very few times.
SmashBrosFan96: I mostly skipped the videos that were only sidequests, so I guess it all comes down to how you watch his LPs. Peach just didn't like how Mewtwo used to mess with his opponents with his mind reading powers. She's no different than Shulk when it comes to disliking mind readers, only she copes with her distaste a little better. I think it's because the Mewtwo hype is finally over and we can go back to beating up Captain Falcons once again. The same goes to the Roys and Ryus of FG. I really like Medusa's design and personality, but eh, I can't get into her character that much.
Oh, that's too bad. I'm not that excited for this crossover, surprisingly enough. I could barely recognize Chrom, or any other character that wasn't Tiki there, and that sure didn't please me a lot.
TinyMouse: In two days?! I'm so happy to hear that you're enjoying it so much! I swear I can't say this enough when you guys tell me how much you're liking this story! I know right? Conquest looks so much more interesting and betraying your step siblings that you grew up with for your entire life seems pretty harsh. But I really don't like that it will be played like more classical Fire Emblem titles…
ShadowFenix98: I really don't know what I'm doing right with Crazy Hand, but I'm glad you guys enjoy reading about him. Conquest just seems so much better, but Birthright has Awakening privileges, so yeah. It's hard. At least you have made up your mind.
Makokam: Oh, I didn't make those mistakes out of distraction, I really just made them because I thought I was writing them right. And that makes me really sad. Sometimes I get prepositions confused. Like Peach said in the beginning of the chapter, she suggested Mewtwo because she really didn't know anyone else. Even if Ness was able to get Robin inside Rob's mind, nobody there thought about that possibility. Also, Magicant doesn't really count, because the only one who went to Magicant in the game was Ness. Meanwhile, Paula, Jeff and Poo just watched him sleep and probably were wondering if he was dead. I don't know if it is confirmed that Ness can read minds, but I imagine that if that was the case, he wouldn't tell a single soul about this and would keep his powers to himself, so nobody would suspect a thing.
It's okay. Like I said, his story was pretty spoiler heavy, so I don't blame you for skipping it if you still plan on playing Xenoblade Chronicles. Oh, now I understand what you meant. Yeah, the soul here is implied to be connected to his mind and heart and all of that, so his memories are strongly linked to his soul. Hey, Crazy was already invading her personal space, she might as well use it to her advantage. I can imagine Robin trying to sleep, but the events of what happened a few hours earlier just wouldn't leave her head and she would spend the night awake in her bed, unable to get some peace. At best she would get a one hour rest before she woke up again. From what I can gather, Birthright will have a more Awakening gameplay (easy level grinding and easy way to get money), while Conquest will play more like other Fire Emblem games.
Yes! Someone who supports Peachcina! This ship needs to set sail soon.
Bighat12: Wow, did you send this review just in time. I was going to upload this chapter last Wednesday. I'm really sorry for your computer and iPad, I really am. Well, Lucina did call herself Marth at one point, but right in the beginning people thought she was a boy. So she was a boy/girl Marth? Ahhh, these people who can buy Amiibo freely… I envy you. And your poor wallet. What? Wouldn't you deliver terrible news at the local library? Where else would you do it? I guess we all have different views on this. Lucina still thinks that him not knowing what will happen to him is for the worst, but at least we can all agree that this "Reform" is beyond wrong. Paper Peach for Smash (no, please don't, give us another representative that isn't from Mario)!
Oh, no! You're not going to get out of this question easily. At least give me a top three list of your favorite characters in this story! Maybe there will be a deluxe bundle edition. Who knows? Everything is possible. Yup, this quote is totally right. We are all individuals. All of us.
Okay, so I have only question again:
-Who is the ultimate Smash Bros waifu or husbando to you?
I'm not even going to bother answering this one, because I think I made my opinion pretty clear.