The Mii Fighter Chronicles
Chapter Fifty-Three: The Captain
One by one, the blocks kept on falling. Erin and Rock had long since given up on the bottom three rows and were now doing everything they could to keep the Tetris blocks from reaching the top. Lucario kept at it, attacking them, knocking blocks in the wrong direction, and generally doing everything he could to get the stack higher.
Erin wiped sweat off her forehead. "Just a little longer," she said.
Rock creaked with every movement. "I hope so," he said. "I'm not sure I can hold out much longer."
"Look," Erin said, as a long vertical string of blocks appeared above them. "That one's perfect. Slide it into the hole on the far side."
Erin and Rock blasted the block with their laser cannons, sending it to the opposite end. Lucario appeared on the wall behind it and shot it with an aura sphere, knocking it back a space. "I'm getting just about tired of that fox," Rock grumbled. He shifted his aim to shoot at Lucario and the Pokémon hopped away. He and Erin blasted the blocks back into position just as it started to pick up speed. The blocks fell right into position, making three straight rows across the board. The blocks beneath Erin and Rock started to flicker and they jumped out of the way.
"High Score!" a voice shouted through the darkness. Large digital numbers flashed in the air over the blocks. The entire stack started flickering.
"Does this mean we won?" Erin asked.
"I, um, think so," Mega Man said. As before, the blackness around them began to fade, revealing a new world beyond. This time, the walls and ceilings were bright white, enclosing a massive space filled with rows upon rows of shelves stacked with toys. Kids ran here and there, checking out the Barbies and Transformers and stuffed animals. Some guy in a giraffe costume wandered here and there, occasionally getting hugged by a child. Lucario landed on the linoleum floor beside them and bowed gracefully. He broke apart into pixels and disappeared, leaving behind his amiibo. A child ran past and snatched it up.
"Cool," he said. "A Pokémon toy."
"W-Wait," Erin shouted, turning to go after him, but the child found himself stopped by the man in the giraffe costume.
"Now, now, Tommy," the giraffe said in a goofy voice. "Wouldn't you like to play with this nice cool Nerf gun instead."
The little boy stared up at the giraffe blankly, glanced down at his Lucario amiibo, then at the Nerf gun. "Trade ya," the giraffe insisted, holding out his hand. After a couple seconds of deliberation, the boy picked the Nerf gun and handed off the amiibo. He ran off and started pelting his friends with foam balls.
The giraffe stood and tossed the amiibo in the air. "Kids, huh?" he said in a more serious, familiar voice. He held out the figurine. "I believe this belongs to you."
Erin took the figure. "Thanks," she said. "Um, who are you?"
The giraffe chuckled. "Well, the kids here call me Geoffrey," he said. He reached up and pulled off his head, revealing the same brown-haired clerk who'd been behind the counter at Game Stop. "You can call me Kevin."
"Kevin?" Rock asked. "Are you a glitch?"
"Or one of the Game Masters?" Erin asked.
Kevin grinned. "Well, I'm no glitch," he said. "And my friends used to call me a game master, but I don't think I was ever a game master the way you mean game master."
Erin raised an eyebrow. "What?"
Kevin waved off the question. "Don't matter," he said. He nodded to Rock. "Nice to see you again, my old friend."
Rock stared at him. "Do we know each other."
"Kind of," Kevin said. "Come here. I have something I want to give the two of you."
He led them through the aisles, pulling off his giraffe costume as he walked, revealing a red-and-white letterman jacket emblazoned with a big red "N," with a yellow t-shirt and tattered blue jeans underneath. "So, Rock, you still have the Legacy Collection from Game Stop?" he asked.
Rock held up the game box. "Right here," he said.
"Good," Kevin said. "Hold on to that. And you, Erin." He stopped in a section full of video game stuff. He pulled a small plastic gun off the shelf. "Now, I know you already have a gun of your own, but you'll probably be needing this in the next round." He held it out to her.
Erin stared at it. "The old NES Zapper?"
"You got it."
Erin gingerly placed her hands around it and took it. "Um, thank you," she said.
"And one more thing," Kevin said. He rolled up his sleeve, revealing a thick gray glove decked out with a bunch of buttons and wires. "I suppose it's time I passed this on, eh?" He pulled the glove off and folded it gingerly. He handed it over to Rock. "Take care of it for me, will you?"
Rock stared at him for a moment. "Who are you, really?" he asked.
Kevin smiled, a little sadly this time. "A relic of the past," he said. "You may remember me in time. But for now, I'm just here to guide you on your way." He gestured to the large glass doors at the entrance. "Your final trial awaits," he said. "Good luck, you two."
Rock and Erin thanked him and headed for the door. "Hey, Rock," Kevin called. "Say hi to Pit and Simon for me if you see them."
Rock turned back to respond, but Kevin had disappeared, leaving behind only an empty Geoffrey the Giraffe costume on the floor. Rock and Erin walked out the door, and the toy store disappeared behind them.
"What was that all about?" Erin asked, studying her new Zapper. "Who was he?"
Rock regarded his Power Glove with care. "An old friend, I think," he said. He looked up and turned toward the final door. "One more?" he said. He and Erin stood before the door emblazoned with a giant red target.
"Well," Erin said, flipping her zapper around. "There's a good chance he was right. I will be needing this after all. Come on." She pushed the door open, and the pair stepped through.
The smell of fresh morning grass filled their noses. A cool breeze blew past them, making Erin shiver in her new tank top. The sound of ducks quacking could be heard every couple of seconds. "Oh, my," Erin said. "Are we—." She looked around. She and Rock now stood in the middle of a large open meadow with grass coming up to their armpits. A tree stood in the middle of the meadow, contrasted against a bright blue sky. "We're in Duck Hunt?"
"Awesome," Rock said. "Maybe we'll get to shoot that dumb dog." He stared up at the tree beside them. "Did you know this thing was a fruit tree?" He reached up into its branches and pulled out a round, yellow fruit. He offered it to Erin. "Want a lemon?"
Erin stared at the fruit and suppressed a blush. "Um, maybe later," she said. "We have a job to do."
Rock considered for a moment, then stuffed the lemon away in his chest compartment. "So, where's our opponent?" he asked.
"Why, I'm right here, Silly." The long grass parted and the green hazy form of Reboot stepped out, followed by Mario character Rosalina in her flowing blue dress and platinum blonde hair. A number of star-like Lumas floated around her.
"How do you feel about two opponents?" Reboot asked.
