~Chapter Thirty-Four: Heated Battle~
It didn't take long for word to spread around the Smash Mansion that Sonic and Mario were having a rematch. Some of the newcomers who didn't know of their history were a bit confused at first, but after some of the veterans filled them in they too became excited for the match.
Meanwhile, Sonic and Mario had taken to training; they'd decided that no matter what their relationship status was they were going to have a fair fight, no going easy on each other. As they'd put it to some Smashers who had asked, in this point in time they were rivals first and a couple second.
Eventually it was Friday, and with the spectator room packed with nearly every Smasher Master Hand turned to Mario and Sonic who were waiting outside the transporters, faces stoic as they stared the other down.
"Would you two step into the teleporters please?" Master Hand asked, Mario and Sonic giving each other one final glance before clasping hands.
"Remember - no goin' easy on me," Sonic started in a low tone. "I don't want all of my trainin' to go to waste."
"Oh, I'm not planning on going easy on you," Mario replied rather bluntly. "So you better not go easy on me!"
"I'm just hoping you can handle it. After all, it's been quite some time since we've done this. I don't wanna be too rough on ya."
"You should know by this point that I can handle anything, no matter how long it's been or how rough it is."
From the stands, Palutena blinked and turned towards several of her peers. "So, just to be clear, they are talking about fighting, right?"
Corrin's face went red as Samus sighed, giving the goddess an annoyed glance.
"Stop being immature," she muttered, while Pit cocked his head in confusion.
"Well, what else would they be talking about?" he questioned rather innocently, while Palutena grinned and ruffled his hair.
"You'll find out when you're older, sweetie," she sang sweetly, causing Pit to pout.
"But I'm almost two centuries old..." he whined before being shushed as Mario and Sonic were heading into the transporters, the stages randomizing until one was chosen - Omega Green Hill Zone. From the stands, a few Smashers complained.
"They're using that stage again? But it's already been used too much!"
"Oh, shut up and just watch the damn match. Stop complaining about everything."
As requested by both parties, items were once again switched off. The two materialized onto the stage, the timer counting down as the two prepared themselves.
"GO!"
The two launched into action, Mario going for a fireball while Sonic shielded, dodging out of the way of the grab Mario had attempted to lock him in. Gritting his teeth he launched into a homing attack, Mario shielding himself before beginning to charge up F.L.U.D.D.
Sonic grimaced as he was doused with the water from F.L.U.D.D., before curling into a spindash and barreling towards Mario. Mario swiftly dodged out of the way of the attack, though Sonic quickly U-turned and sent Mario flying back. Mario tried another fireball, before racing forward and using his Super Jump Punch.
Sonic winced as he was sent flying up into the air, before quickly stomping onto the ground and grabbing Mario, tossing him up into his quills and using a spring to follow Mario into the air, successfully landing a powerful mid-air kick.
Mario slammed back down onto the stage, shakily standing and quickly shielding as Sonic attempted to homing attack him. This time he managed to successfully grab Sonic, spinning him around before tossing him into the blast zone and depleting Sonic's first stock.
"You're faster," was all Sonic said after he'd respawned. Mario shrugged.
"It must have been your influence on me," he replied. "But enough chit-chat. We have a battle to finish."
"Right."
With that Sonic jumped back down onto the stage, and the two were at it again. For anyone who had seen the original match, they noticed how much more defensive the two of them were being. It made sense in a way, after spending so much time around each other they'd grown accustomed to each others moves. They knew each other like the backs of their hands - it certainly made for a more entertaining match.
Five minutes morphed into ten, and soon inched closer to fifteen. Mario panted, grinning up at Sonic after respawning from having his second stock depleted, leaving them both at one each.
"You know, I'm surprised you've been able to last this long!" he called across to Sonic.
"That trainin' really paid off," Sonic called back, a smirk on his face. "I feel like I take anythin' you dish out to me!"
"Oh I highly doubt it!" Mario shot back.
The two charged at each other once again, exchanging blow after blow until both their damage meters were over 100%, neither one of them wanting to let the other win. Eventually though Sonic grabbed Mario, and from the way they were positioned on the stage Mario knew that if he didn't break free Sonic was going to win.
"Y'know, it's been fun," Sonic started, gazing into Mario's eyes and smirking as he struggled in his grasp. "But it's about time I finished you off."
With that he leaned it to peck Mario on the lips, before he backflipped and tossed Mario into the blast zone, hearing the satisfying sound of his rival's last stock depleting.
"GAME!"
/~/
The spectator room was silent as Mario and Sonic exited the transporters, the two crossing the room to each other.
"Well... you won," Mario said softly, smiling at his partner. "Congratulations."
The two embraced, while several Smashers around them applauded Sonic's victory.
"Good job, Sonic!" Pit exclaimed, bouncing on his heels. "We should go celebrate!"
"Maybe later Pit," Palutena giggled, grabbing him by the wrist while her other hand was clasped in Corrin's. "I think these two probably want some... alone time."
Pit, still oblivious, turned to Corrin. "Do you know what she means?" he asked, Corrin sighing and shaking her head.
"Unfortunately, yes." she muttered, as Palutena dragged them both out of the room, while the rest of the Smashers began to trickle out, most of them congratulating Sonic on their way out. Mario frowned as the last Smasher exited the room, before eyeing Sonic warily.
"Was Palutena alluding to what I think she was?"
"Yeah," Sonic confirmed.
"Oh..." was all Mario said after that, coughing in embarrassment. Sonic meanwhile laced his hands behind his head and grinned at his partner.
"So... anythin' else you wanna do today?"
"Pit said something about celebrating, right? I think we should take him up on that offer."
"Sounds good to me."
The duo headed out of the room to seek out Pit, who would most likely be in the living room or kitchen. On the way there Sonic slipped his hand into Mario's, before a thought came to Mario's head and he stopped, forcing Sonic to halt as well.
"So that spindash you do is pretty useful, right?" Mario questioned, Sonic quirking an eyeridge and nodding.
"Yeah, it is pretty useful. Helps me get around quicker an' has the added benefit of steamrolling any enemies in my way."
"So do you think you could teach me how to do it?"
Sonic blinked, an amused look on his face. "You want me to teach you how to spindash?"
After nodding in confirmation, Sonic folded his arms and considered it. "Well it's really no different than a somersault. Can you do a somersault?"
"Of course I can."
"So then why do you need my help?"
"So that I could possibly use it as an attack as well. What do you say?"
Sonic sighed, before eying Mario in amusement. "Sure, we'll see how it goes. I hope you're prepared for some trainin' though, 'cause in order to learn how I do it properly it's probably gonna take more than a few hours."
"Is that a challenge?"
Sonic smirked, before nodding his head slowly. "Sure, it's a challenge then. If I manage to teach you how to spindash within a few hours, I have to go through three rounds of Smash Tour in a row."
"And if I can't learn how to in a few hours, I have to do the exact same thing," he extended his hand for Sonic to shake. "Deal?"
Sonic quirked an eyeridge at the outstretched hand in front of him, his eyes trailing up to meet Mario's. "Seriously? A handshake? C'mon Mar, you gotta be a bit more creative then that."
With that Sonic grabbed the collar of Mario's shirt and dragged him down to his level, bringing their lips together and effectively sealing the deal with a kiss.
"I agree to your terms," Sonic murmured when he pulled away. Reclasping his hand in Mario's, he began to lead them down the hall again. "Now let's go find Pit."
Replies
TheGameNguyener: It is gonna suck when the story ends. By the time it wraps up I'll have spent a year working on this fanfic, which is honestly kinda weird to think about. And yeah, I feel bad for Mario too, considering what he went through was based off of real life events. Thank you for the review!
Inuyasha572: Yeah, poor Mario. Like stated above, based on real life events! Thank you for the review!
The Reviewer 2.0: I just didn't think there was anything worth noting within that first month, considering that they probably had Smash matches and training and personal hobbies. Don't worry though, we still have a few chapters left with what is hopefully cute interactions and shipping. Thank you for the review!
TemUltimate: Both those moments you quoted were actually throw-it-in moments, so I'm so glad someone liked them. Thank you for the reviews!
AN: Bottom line, when I saw the trailer for Super Mario Odyssey and saw that somersault Mario did in the desert looking area, I immediately thought of Sonic's spindash and of course started joking with my friends that he learned it from Sonic. Then I realized it would be a good plot point for this story. *shrugs*
Thank you all so much for reading. I'll see you all next week.
~Steel