Smash Brothers Civil War
Chapter 53: To the Core
Path To the Core
Collective Repeater Tower
The Smashers raced towards another warp zone in the area. Finally, the warping pad took them to back down to the first floor of the tower, but this time, the area they were at was more centralized, and most of the network cables were condensed as well as the warping pads themselves, meaning they were nearing to the heart of the tower. The heroes drew steps closer. Nanite soldiers guarded the path ahead. It was time for them to act accordingly.
"We need to get to the Core. That might be a way up to the top", said Bowser while rushing towards the enemy.
"Yeah. And if it's true, then maybe we can transmit the signal we want to send", said Mario as he too ran.
"And if it's false, then hey, there are other methods to getting above and beyond", told Samus.
"Such as?", asked Lucina.
"Climbing, duh", replied Samus. "We'll save that for later though."
As they ran to the next warp zone, another team of nanite troops intercepted them. Lucario and Greninja blasted a series of energy based bombs. Marth and Lucina slashed away at the remaining nanites before the dust settled. As they continued on, stronger nanites began to emerge from every warp zone available. These nanites, unlike the other ones, are Nanite Elites. They were skinny in stature but were leaking lots of energy. Their tendrils were longer and they had a mix of carrying weapons to nothing at all.
"Be careful everyone! These nanites are giving off more energy than the regular ones", warned Lucario.
"Then we'll strike harder than ever before", Ike tried to slice the Elite, but it grabbed the sword with ease and gut-punched Ike.
"Are they even human or what?", Captain Falcon carefully dodged one of the Elite's attacks.
"They're machines!", Bowser saw that they appeared like half creature, half machines. "They're hybrid machine mutants!"
"A hybrid cannot stop me!", Dark Pit was busy taking on an Elite. They both held equal ground.
"Don't let up, team!", encouraged Mario.
"FALCON...PUNCH!", Captain Falcon punched one of the Elites with a fiery punch, going right through the chest.
"Well, alright!", Roy was feeling pumped to strike at every last Elite with a burning slash.
"PK FIRE!", Lucas, Ness, and Claus shot PK Fire Omega at the same time, lighting the Elites on fire.
"Divine Light Retribution!", Palutena used her staff and fired off a streak of light based energy, eradicating the last of the Elites.
Meta Kamek, who had been monitoring the Smashers' movement, was scared by the progress they've made in such a short time. He was near the core along with two others.
"Gah! Not even the Elites could stop them! What in the hell is going on?!", Meta Kamek was shocked.
"Make sure those fools don't make it further than they already are. We'll lock the entrances with metal gates if we have to", a man in a circular pod spoke.
"Grr! You're right. If they come in here, I'll have my assistant here deal with them", Meta Kamek referred to the person next to him, who has a dark metal helmet and unbreakable armor masking his identity.
"Perfect. Now we wait for the Smash heroes to be destroyed once and for all", said the man in the pod.
"Hehehehehe", Meta Kamek cackled.
"Hohohohoho", the man in the pod laughed as well.
Elsewhere, the Smashers traveled closer to the Core of the Collective Tower but as they got closer, more nanites began to appear more frequently. From Nanite Nukers, Skitters, Derringers, Juggernauts, and Elites, all variants of nanite troops began to close in. The Smashers refused to back down against the likes of the nanite forces. The Smashers had one goal in mind: get to the core of the Collective Tower and hopefully find a way to the top of the tower itself.
"Keep pushing! We've almost-a won", Mario stated.
More nanites appeared from the warping pads. They were now clustered in groups. All of them were shoving inside warping pads all at once, getting more bold and stronger. Every nanite agent somehow got a boost in power and resistance to the Smashers' crushing attacks. They seemed almost as invincible to every attack thrown at them.
"What's going on? Why have they suddenly gotten stronger for some reason?", questioned Lucina. A nanite soldier maneuvered every single one of Lucina's sword attacks. The nanite disarmed Lucina and kicked her to the floor.
"It looks like they've adapted to all of our attacks. They're evolving!", explained Samus.
"PK FIRE!", Lucas shot a PK Fire directly at a Nanite Skitter. Unfortunately, the Skitter seemed immune to the psychic fire. The Skitters themselves had elemental resistant properties.
"Take...THIS!", Roy rushed at a Nanite Juggernaut with a fiery blade launch. The Juggernauts withstood the striking launch all statuelike. The Juggernaut swiped the sword away from the red headed duke and broke it in two, and swooshed Roy away with a deadly punch.
"Argh...AETHER!", Ike launched a Nanite Elite into the air, but it grabbed hold of Ike's mighty blade and slammed him to the floor.
"I'll take care of this one", Zelda transformed into Sheik and fired off a series of daggers that damaged most of the enemies.
Lucario utilized a portion of his incredible Mega Evolution power in an effort to sustain his ultimate strength and prevent the nanites from adapting to it. He readied a simple Aura Storm energy wave and blasted it off, destroying all the nanites in their path.
"We're close! Let's move!", Bowser signaled.
The Smashers were now closer than ever. Once they reached the room to the Core of the Tower, they were blocked off by a grand metal gate door, which looked impossible to open. The only way through was busting it open. Even with the brute strength of Bowser, Donkey, and Dedede, they couldn't even open the gate.
"PK...Starstorm!", Lucas and Ness used the horizontal Starstorm method, but it didn't budge.
"Hrr! Rahhhh!", Lucario powered up and was ready to transform into Mega Lucario and shoot a full powered Aura Storm when Palutena interrupted him.
"Huh? What the? Palutena?!", Lucario was vaguely surprised. He began to turn red.
"I got this", Palutena used her almighty Divine Arrow move, which instantly broke the gate open. "No need to thank me, Lucario."
"What a powerful woman she is", Lucario blushed only a little. Greninja tapped him and whispered.
"Why were you blushing?", Greninja asked.
"...I don't know why. But now is not a good time to reveal my affection", Lucario told his friend.
As soon the Smashers entered, the area was near to a freezing absolute zero and filled with dim lights and about millions of cables connected everywhere. The eerie sounds of hollow and dark music were heard from the walls. The Smashers slowly paced until they arrived at what they were about to face: the Core of the Collective Tower, the key to ending the nanite threat.
To the Core
Collective Repeater Tower
The Smashers were greeted by the mysterious man in the pod and the other one. Meta Kamek was seen in a small chamber that headed up to the tower. The Smashers already knew they were headed for some real trouble.
"Quick! Get him out of here!", said the man in the pod.
The man turned around to face the Smashers. His body looked like an egg, his mustache crooked, the glasses and goggles completed his look, along with a red spandex suit and the circular pod. It was...the last person anyone would never expect...except for Sonic.
"EGGMAN?! So you're behind all of this?!", Sonic pointed an accusing finger at his arch nemesis, Doctor Eggman.
"Hohohoho! I'm flattered by the accusation, Sonic. But really, I'm the one who helped develop the nanites in the first place. The nanites themselves were created by my superiors", Eggman declared. Sonic was about to talk back when Wolf intervened.
"Well, since you created these little buggers in the first place, you certainly have a lot of answers we want. Tell us how to get to the top of the tower", said Wolf.
"Never! Besides, it's not in my jurisdiction to tell you anything", retorted Eggman.
"Perhaps I was being nice. Tell us all the dirt you have, or else they won't able to put the two thousands pieces of you back together after I'm done", Wolf began to make a threat.
"Oh, hohohoho! Like I'm supposed to be afraid of second-rate heroes", Eggman laughed.
"You sorta remind me of Pigma. A clever guy. Ended up playing too smart for his own sake. If you have the brains to give up, now's the time to do so", Wolf recalled an old ally and got Eggman really angry.
"Errgh! I've heard enough of your babbling!", Eggman began making preparations to escape. "You know, it's not too late to join us. Think about what we can accomplish by tearing down this World of its foundation", Eggman tried to convince Wolf to join the Collective.
"The only thing getting torn around here is you, old man. I'll let you guess where", Wolf coldly and rudely dismissed the offer.
"We know what you're plotting. It won't work", Eggman ordered the other one to fight the Smashers as he teleported away.
Eggman made his way to escape to the Core. The other person began to grow something from its back. The tendrils on its back grew longer, but there was something else behind its back; a lizard-like tail that moved in an odd and motionless fashion. The unknown was revealed after taking off the dark helmet.
"MEWTWO?!", the Smashers jumped back as they seen a ghost.
"He survived?!", Lucario was the most surprised. "It's impossible that he managed to survive my ultimate move", Lucario thought.
"Lucario, you have to finish him off", encouraged Palutena. Lucario froze up and turned around in shock.
"Palutena, I can-", Lucario was briefly interrupted by a brief hug by Palutena.
"Good luck, Lucario. I believe in you", Palutena waved at him as he blushed red but kept a calm composure.
"I'll end it where we left off!", Lucario shouted.
"...", Mewtwo said nothing and placed his helmet back on.
Lucario instantly transformed into Mega Lucario and went straight to attack head-on. Lucario repeatedly punched, jabbed, and kicked at Mewtwo's armor. Lucario charged up his knee with aura and kicked Mewtwo in the stomach. Mewtwo's armor started to crack. All of the attacks were not doing any real damage. Mewtwo wasn't getting any weaker.
"How can this be? I can tell he's gotten stronger since our previous battle. But I never considered that he'd be on a whole different level", Lucario thought.
"C'mon. What are you waiting for? You're not worth a challenge!", Mewtwo spoke as he returned the favor by kicking Lucario in the skull before anyone saw it happen. Lucario recovered.
"Huh?", Lucario didn't see Mewtwo move until he saw a flurry of punches and strikes delivered to him.
"Pathetic", Mewtwo's voice was heard by everyone.
Mega Lucario decided to increase his speed to catch up to Mewtwo's attacks. Unfortunately, it was still not enough. The brutal attacks coming from Mewtwo gave Lucario a harder time. It was as if Mewtwo had both power and speed on his side. His power from previously was indeed legendary, but now he developed a power even greater than even Tabuu at a normal level. Mewtwo performed a barrage of psychic punches. He then elbowed Lucario in the face and slammed him to the floor. Mewtwo muttered under his breath but everyone could still hear him. Lucario's eyes opened wide as what the psychic Pokémon had in store.
"Psychic Bomb!", Mewtwo shot Lucario with a psychic ball that explodes on contact.
Lucario sustained heavy damage from the close range Psychic Bomb. Mewtwo picked up his injured body and placed a hand close to his heart. Mewtwo's hand had dark matter emerging from it. A dark choir could be heard from the scene. Lucario closed his eyes as he could no longer move and no way out.
"Farewell", Mewtwo was about to fire away a psychic energy wave when Palutena shouted.
"Leave him!", Palutena shot a Divine Arrow straight for Mewtwo.
"Get lost", Mewtwo instead threw Lucario's body in the direction of the arrow.
"GAHHH!", Lucario felt a sensation of pain near his abdomen. The Divine Arrow made him bleed.
"LUCARIO!", Palutena rushed to his aid.
Greninja, pitching to avenge his fallen friend, transformed into his Mega Evolution and tried to fight off Mewtwo. Greninja was a lot faster than Lucario and able to match speed with Mewtwo. Mega Greninja and Mewtwo were now at equal speed, but Mewtwo still had the upper hand with greater strength. Palutena healed Lucario.
"Will-will you be alright?", droplets of water began to form from Palutena's bright green eyes.
"I'm fine...you've already healed me", said Lucario.
"I'm so sorry for doing that!", she said.
"You didn't mean it. It's alright", he restated.
Palutena helped Lucario up and fully recovered. His heart skipped a beat. It was racing immensely. Her warm hand touched his chest to examine him. Lucario had to say something.
"Palutena, I need to tell you something important", said Lucario.
"What is it, Lucario?", Palutena asked politely.
"Since the first day of our arrival to this World, I thought of you as playful, optimistic, and quite annoying. But I wanted to say that I-", Lucario began to stumble on what he said.
"Lucario, this isn't the best time!", Palutena acted stern. It's as if the roles had been reversed for Lucario.
"Poor choice of words?", Lucario faintly asked but that only seemed to infuriate the goddess.
"No. We're not gonna talk about this anymore. Right now, this is more important", Palutena told him.
"Grr, why did I have to speak?", Lucario thought in anguish.
Mega Greninja and Mewtwo were locked in arms as they continued to fight. Though Greninja is significantly faster than Mewtwo because of the armor on Mewtwo, Mewtwo himself possessed greater power to mop the floor with Greninja with a psychic move. Once the opportunity opened, Mewtwo fired a string of small psychic energy waves. When Greninja managed to dodge the energy waves, Mewtwo was able to grab a hold of his head.
"It's over", Mewtwo wasted no time and slammed Greninja across the floor repeatedly.
And finished it with a Psychic Bomb. However, Greninja had enough momentum to evade the attack just in time. Just as Greninja escaped the Psychic Bomb, Mewtwo teleported and knee kicked him in the stomach, plowing him to the ground. Greninja deactivated his Mega Evolution.
"It's unbelievable that disease ridden heroes such as yourselves are capable of opposing the cure for this World", Mewtwo spoke. He began charging up a darker and larger version of Psychic Bomb.
"Die, Smashers!", Mewtwo prepared for the Atomic Psychic Bomb. "Atomic Psychic Intense Bomb!"
"It's not over by a long shot!", Samus used her Zero Laser and fired off.
"Yeah!", Mario did his Finale.
Mewtwo's Atomic Psychic Bomb proved to be too much for a combined energy wave. However, Lucario seemed to be their only chance at evening the odds. Brushing off Palutena's rejection, Lucario instantly went Mega Lucario and charged his body to the limit of going Buff Mega Lucario, with his raw power boosting up to tremendous heights. His veins popped and his muscles bulged. His aura was a mix of dark blue and red. Buff Mega Lucario charged the Super Aura Storm attack.
"It's over now! Super Aura Storm!", Lucario fired away.
The force of Buff Mega Lucario's attack proved to be overwhelming for the Atomic Psychic Bomb. Mewtwo could not withstand the intensity of a Mega Evolution ultimate attack as the Aura Storm sucked up the Psychic Bomb. An explosion went off, shaking almost half of the tower. Mewtwo's armor was nearly shattered and torn to scrap. Lucario panted as the strain of his body began to appear. He wasn't fully used to his buff state.
"He's not finished", Lucario panted.
"Lucario, are you gonna be okay?", Palutena began to feel worried as she was no longer mad at Lucario. The sudden outburst of Lucario's power surprised her. Although Lucario was still not able to regulate his buff evolved state, Palutena was astonished at the way Lucario released his energy in such a short time. "Lucario, do you-"
"No!...I don't need your help", Lucario seemed irate as the strain in his body made him bubble up anger. He was upset at Palutena for some reason.
"I'm sorry. I'm just worried about you", explained Palutena.
"Don't be. I'm fine. I don't want to hear any of it", said Lucario. To Palutena, he was acting salty.
"Maybe I shouldn't have told him off. What was he going to say after he called me annoying and such?", she thought.
"That is truly impressive. Your power increased in such short notice. However, it's still not enough to subdue me or the Collective", said Mewtwo.
"I can take it from here", Claus immediately stepped in place.
"Masked Man, you can still come back to the Collective. You were separated from us before but can return", said Mewtwo.
"The name's Claus, and I'm afraid I won't be returning at all. In fact, I'm taking you down", Claus rejected the offer.
"Very well. You were given the chance to be cured, but it seems that you'd like to die with the disease that surrounds us", Mewtwo replied.
Claus started off with a PK Love Omega attack, proving to have no effect at all. Mewtwo fired a psychic sphere, but Claus deflected it. Claus used PK Flash Omega, also has absolutely no effect what so ever. Mewtwo went straight to using a small Psychic Bomb, which carried almost a full amount of energy as a normal Psychic Bomb. Claus wasn't aware until he deflected it. The Psychic Bomb exploded when Claus made contact. Claus went sent flying across the air and crashed into a wall.
"A battle with a psychic child is not worth my time", Mewtwo was bored. He then changed direction to Lucario.
"Do you still wish to challenge me? Can you survive long enough in that form?", Mewtwo asked for Lucario to fight once more.
"Hmph. We'll see! Let's uneven the score again", Lucario retorted back.
"Lucario, don't! Your body might give out, and you could die!", Palutena warned him not to fight.
"I'm well aware of that! Just worry about yourself", Lucario turned away and gleaned a smirk, making Palutena scared.
"He actually smiled?!", Palutena was so shocked and scared at the same time.
Greninja, who recovered on his own as he didn't sustain critical damage from his fight with Mewtwo, spoke to Palutena. "His body and emotions are clouding his common sense and mental state. In a form that strains the body, it doesn't take long for the mind to be loosened up", explained Greninja.
"I-I...it's all my fault. I got angry at him and that's probably why he's acting this way. I mean, I've never seen him smile like that", said Palutena.
"His emotions are interfering, plus the form he's in, is what's causing this change", said Greninja.
"It's something else he wants", said Palutena.
"You know, he cares about you", told Greninja. It was up to him to say something to save Lucario.
"I know", she responded.
"You have to tell him that you care about him or else he could die of the strain much quicker", told Greninja.
Buff Mega Lucario was on a whole different level for Mewtwo, who couldn't stop each of his attacks. Every hit felt like hell for Mewtwo. Although Lucario was much slower, he easily overpowered Mewtwo in raw strength alone. Mewtwo started to cough blood as every punch was harder than the last. Lucario was sweating and his muscles started aching. His body was almost to a stiff halt. Palutena then got his attention.
"Lucario! There's something I've wanted to say as well. I care about you too!", Palutena told him, with many of the Smashers having their eyes open wide.
"You what?!", Lucario paused.
"Yes. It's true. I care about you. You're a great guy; real silent and like a leader of this team. I know but please don't use the buff form to win this. I believe in you!", Palutena waved him.
Lucario got out of his buff form and continued the fight in Mega Evolution. With Palutena by his side, he increased his power without the use of muscle strength. Instead, he sharpened his mind and fought Mewtwo again. Even though Mewtwo had greater speed, Lucario was able to read all of the incoming attacks and dodge them. Mewtwo had no chance of catching him at this rate. This relentless speed was defined as the extreme measurement of fast reflexes and instincts. Every attack that the Psychic Pokémon delivered was dodged by Lucario.
"Your efforts at avoiding me were all in vain", Mewtwo landed a punch on Lucario's face. But it had no effect.
"Was it? This...this is the true power of Mega Evolution! It's time to free you, Mewtwo. They have you under control", Lucario did a series of aura boosted punches.
The aura barrage was so fast that it seemed almost slow motion to the other Smashers. Mewtwo tried another psychic punch, and Lucario immediately grabbed his wrist. Mewtwo used his other hand and Lucario caught the balled fist. They were locked in a struggle. A whirlwind of power generated, as a result, continuing to build upon itself. Mewtwo bashed Lucario's skull his own head. Lucario did the same. They butted heads until when Lucario utilized enough force to knock Mewtwo's helmet off. Both of their heads experienced heavy and partly bloody bruises. Lucario had one option of finishing this. If the whirlwind pursued on because of the struggle, the tower would collapse and presumably kill everybody inside. And that would mean the Collective wins if the Tower can't function properly. Lucario went for the opportunity and deadlocked Mewtwo in full nelson.
"NOW! Hurry! Administer the cure!", Lucario screamed.
Quickly, in no time, the serum was injected into Mewtwo's bloodstream. Mewtwo collapsed to the floor and fell unconscious. The Smashers gave him space in order to wake up. The long tendrils on his back retracted. When Mewtwo woke up, he felt normal and looked up to see the Smashers. He jumped back and got defensive. He saw Lucario and stared at him all agitated.
"What has...where am I?", Mewtwo began throbbing in pain in his head and it wasn't the skull bashing. It was the pain of the nanites in his body.
"You were taken over by nanites injected into your bloodstream, but we managed to cure you", explained Lucario.
"Wait...I remember now. I remember being given those nanites to increase my power, but I refused. I was forced to be injected. I remember it was Ganondorf who put me under this pain. That bastard! I allowed him to control me! This will not stand! The Collective must pay for his affront", spoke Mewtwo.
"So, will you join the team?", asked Bowser.
"For now, yes. You will need my aid to succeed. But when the time comes, you will think twice before asking for my help", Mewtwo agreed to join the Smashers. "As for you, Lucario. We will settle our fight, rest assured."
"Hmph. Fine by me", Lucario nodded as retracted his Mega Evolution.
"Alright. What's the next step?", asked Lucas. The Smashers turned to the direction where Eggman fled.
"We'll hunt down the first of our victims. The bloated doctor will suffer for his role in constructing the nanites", Mewtwo told them. The Smashers moved in after Eggman.
The Collective Core
Collective Repeater Tower
Eerie and dim instrumental sounds could be heard. The area was nearly dark, except for the light from the Core itself. The Core was colored light navy blue and surrounded by large metal cables. Thousands of wires attached and there Eggman stood on his pod. He laughed as he locked any entry of escape.
"Hohohohoho! You're in my room now, and there's no way out to escape!", said Eggman.
"We're locked in?...Good. A perfect way to censor the massacre that's going to happen", Wolf cracked his knuckles.
"Errr! You're starting to get on my nerves! I'll be sure to destroy you after Sonic", yelled Eggman.
"If you think that's bad, wait till you have to face our new friend. And I gotta say, he's not too happy you controlled him", Wolf pointed at Mewtwo. Mewtwo was unamused but played along.
"You'll be one of the first to die by my hands before I destroy the Collective", said Mewtwo.
"Mewtwo, you can still come back to us. The power you had was recorded to be off the scales. You were even stronger than the likes of Ganondorf. Think about it. All it takes is modifying the nanites in your body, and you'll reach powers you've never thought you can obtain", Eggman tried to goad Mewtwo to return back to the Collective.
"I am not a puppet to your schemes. Have the honor of surviving this long. I'll end it now! Psychic Bomb!", Mewtwo fired a Psychic Bomb at Eggman. The pod was destroyed, but luckily not the Core itself.
"I did not anticipate for what you've just done", Eggman was alive because of the barrier encased around him.
"You could have chosen the easy way, but instead, you chose...this", Eggman's barrier shone, nearly blinding everyone.
"Eggman, you won't get off that easy", Sonic faced his archenemy.
"Won't I?", Eggman expanded his barrier and set off an explosive wave. The Smashers couldn't destroy the barrier by damaging it. All attempts did not work.
"PK...STARSTORM!", Ness, Lucas, and Claus all used PK Starstorm, bringing about little effect. The barrier blew another explosive wave.
"Psychic Bomb!", Mewtwo tried another Psychic Bomb, but it did nothing.
"Aura Storm!", Lucario used Aura Storm, but that even that had little effect.
"Whoa! Man, this shield is tough!", commented Sonic as his repeated Homing Attacks weren't having any effect.
"Maybe I can do something about it", Rosalina unfolded a powerful cosmic star and threw it at the barrier, having some effect.
"The time has come! Psychic Sphere!", Mewtwo fired a giant deadly dark bomb, placing even more damage on the shield.
"In that case, how about another Aura Storm!", Lucario fired another Aura Storm, with Mega Evolution level power.
"And consider this parting gift", Palutena did Divine Arrow, finally destroying the barrier.
Eggman was left defenseless and unable to fight off the Smashers. He dashed for a desperate escape. He found himself in a chamber that led him to the top of the Tower. He manically laughed as the chamber shot him up to the top. "Hohohohoho!"
"Darn! And we weren't done with him yet", Wolf snapped his fingers in anguish.
"We'll catch up eventually", said Fox.
"Let's-a move. The elevator is not-a far from here", told Mario.
"We might also meet with Ganondorf", said Bowser, making Mewtwo smirk.
The Smashers ran to the next area to find a large lift that spanned across almost the entire area. Once stepped in, Samus activated for the elevator to move up to the highest floor that could take them. They patiently looked at their surroundings as moved up closer to the top of the Collective Tower. They still had a couple steps to take.
