Hey guys. I'm here, so let's just get this over with so I get to something more substantial.
Althea Sirius: You'll just have to wait and see what Shulk has planned. Still, glad you liked the chapter. Also, no. I don't find the idea of a friendship between Sonic and Shulk weird.
Super Smash Bros. © Nintendo/Masahiro Sakurai
*Classic Mode arena*
Shulk was now about halfway done with his run at Classic Mode. He had just finished his third battle against Lucario, Bowser Jr., Mario, Zero Suit Samus, and Mewtwo. Now Shulk only had three more battles to go through before reaching Master Hand himself at the last battle.
Shulk watched as more statues resembling his fellow Smashers fell from the sky in groups. There weren't quite as many as last time, but Shulk knew this was because he only had to fight these guys in two battles before going up against a squad of Miis. After that, he would face Master Hand.
Shulk went up to a group of Smashers consisting of Pac-Man, Ike, and Ganondorf. They appeared to be standing on a picture of the Pirate Ship stage. Once Shulk touched one of the statues, he was instantly teleported to the deck of the ship. His opponents arrived as well as the announcer called out the fight.
"Shulk vs.: Pac-Man, Ike, and Ganondorf!"
"Ready? GO!"
Once the fight began, Shulk made the first move by executing an Air Slash against Ike, who was standing on a platform connected to the ship's mast. He tried catching Ganondorf in this attack as well, but the King of Darkness instead landed a strong punch on both Shulk and Pac-Man, who had jumped up to join the fight. Pac-Man was knocked toward the stern of the ship while Shulk was knocked onto the top platform of the mast.
Pac-Man got up and attempted to throw a cherry at his opponents, but missed. Likewise, Shulk jumped off the mast and attempted to land a Back Slash, but only managed to hit Ike's cape. Once he landed, Shulk ran forward and swung his Monado at Ike, knocking the mercenary back a few feet. But just then, Ganondorf came up and grabbed Shulk by the throat before throwing him to the ground with dark magic. Ike charged forward in an attempt to swipe his sword at all three of his opponents, but Shulk was faster. He rose to his feet and swung the Monado around him, sending Ganondorf and Pac-Man flying toward the ship's bow, while Ike was knocked off the ship and had to hang onto the stern to avoid falling in the water.
Shulk ran up and attempted to attack both Ganondorf and Pac-Man, but the evil king kicked Shulk in the face, sending him back a few feet. Pac-Man then ran up and sent some kicks toward Shulk as well. Ike then swung his sword, knocking back both Shulk and Pac-Man. Once Shulk landed, he stopped for a second to catch his breath.
"Can't afford to be so careless again." Shulk muttered to himself.
Ganondorf then performed his signature warlock grab on Pac-Man, only to have the yellow ball get up and hit the wielder of the Triforce of Power onto a smaller ship that had just appeared behind the pirate ship. Shulk jumped up and attempted to hit Ike, who was currently on top of the mast, but missed. Ike jumped off the mast and made his way toward Pac-Man and Ganondorf.
On the smaller ship, Ganondorf attempted a Warlock Punch on Pac-Man, but missed. Pac-Man retaliated by sending a ghost powered punch at Ganondorf, which wound up KO'ing the King of Evil. Shulk then came up and landed one of his most devastating attacks on Pac-Man.
"Back Slash!" The Monado wielder screamed.
The attack did some damage, but not enough to KO Pac-Man, only knock him in the water. Shulk then jumped back onto the larger ship. As he was in the air, Shulk attempted to hit Ike, who was standing on the stern of the ship, with the Monado, only to have Ike parry the attack. Shulk landed behind the mercenary and jabbed the Monado at his back. Once the blue glowing blade came out, Ike was thrown off the ship. As the smaller boat had fallen back, Ike landed in the water.
Pac-Man then pulled a fire hydrant out of seemingly nowhere and threw it to the ground in front of Shulk. Two gusts of water came out of the hydrant, knocking both Shulk and Ike back, but Shulk did manage to hit the hydrant off the ship with the Monado's long reach. Shulk then landed another Back Slash against Pac-Man, who was thrown back several feet. The future seer then pointed the Monado in Ike's direction, hitting the mercenary off the ship with the Monado's long blue blade. Ike attempted to jump back on the ship, but just fell in the water instead.
Pac-Man then sent a couple kicks at Shulk's back, and then attempted to grab him. But the grab was unsuccessful as Shulk sidestepped behind the dot muncher and grabbed him instead. After hitting Pac-Man with the handle of the Monado, Shulk threw the yellow ball forward with a swing of the powerful blade. Both he and Ike made it back on the ship, only for Shulk to swing the Monado in a circle around his feet, knocking both of them off again. The attack was powerful enough to knock Pac-Man into the stage's invisible barrier, KO'ing him.
"Two down, one to go." Shulk muttered.
With only Ike left on the stage, Shulk activated one of his Arts to end the fight quickly.
"Smash!" Shulk yelled.
Ike, who had been saved by the small boat that had managed to catch up again, jumped back onto the main ship. Or at least, he tried to. Before he could get on, he was hit with a swing of the Monado, which sent him falling into the water between the two sea vessels. Once Ike did make it back on, he attempted to land his signature Aether move on Shulk, but missed. Shulk then ran forward, grabbed Ike, then threw him upward before jabbing him with the Monado, throwing him even more skyward.
While Ike was still in the air, Shulk attempted an Air Slash, but Ike dodged. Once both fighters made it back on the ship, Ike swung his powerful sword at Shulk, sending the blonde toward the bow of the ship. The two ran at each other, and ultimately, Shulk struck first, hitting Ike all the way toward the small boat thanks to the Smash Art. Shulk ran onto the boat as well in an attempt to finally KO Ike and end the match, but the mercenary jumped back on the main ship before this could happen. By now, the Smash Art had deactivated.
Once Shulk made it back on as well, Ike quickly grabbed him, hit him with his sword's handle, then punched Shulk into the air. Once Shulk landed, he was hit with another powerful attack from Ike, only for Ike to be hit with a bomb that had been launched from a tower several feet away from the ship.
As soon as both combatants made it back on the ship, Ike attempted to KO Shulk by hitting him off the bow of the ship, but Shulk sidestepped his way behind Ike and hit him with the Monado, which ultimately wound up KO'ing Ike, ending yet another match.
With his fourth victory under his belt, Shulk prepared for his final battle against his fellow Smashers. Or, in this case, Smasher. There was only one lone statue sitting at the center of the arena. Shulk recognized the figure as Rosalina, protector of the cosmos, keeper of the Comet Observatory, and mother to all Lumas, or at least, that's what Mario said. By her side, she had a yellow star shaped creature. This was a Luma. Shulk had seen them around the mansion before. They always seemed to follow Rosalina like moths to a flame. She appeared to be standing on a picture of a stage known as Woolly World.
Shulk went up and touched the Rosalina statue. As soon as he did, he was instantly taken to the stage.
"Shulk vs.: Rosalina & Luma!" Cried the announcer.
Once both combatants made it to the stage, they stared each other down.
"You've done quite well so far, Shulk, but now you must face me alone. I'm afraid there's no chance another Smasher can eliminate me for you." Rosalina said.
"I welcome a good challenge." Shulk returned.
"Ready? GO!"
Shulk ran toward Rosalina, aiming to make the first hit, but she sent one of her Lumas forward to intercept him. It didn't work, as Shulk jumped over the Luma. Rosalina then jumped over Shulk, only for the Monado wielder to grab her when she landed. Shulk then threw Rosalina behind him with a little help from the Monado. Shulk then tried to land another attack on Rosalina but missed. She then grabbed Shulk and threw him to the ground.
Upon getting back up, Rosalina sent a backflip kick at Shulk, sending him into the air. As he came back down, he swung the Monado at Rosalina, but missed. She then hit Shulk with her wand, sending him back a few steps. Shulk then sent an Air Slash at his opponent, knocking her airborne. Once they both landed, they found themselves at the edge of the stage. Shulk, hoping to end this quickly, jabbed the Monado in Rosalina's direction. It hit, but it was not quite enough to KO her. Shulk tried again, but Rosalina dodged by hitting Shulk with her wand repeatedly. The space princess then made her way toward the center of the stage.
At this point, a sign with up arrows appeared in the background of the stage, and the background itself seemed to change from grassy fields to clouds. This told both Shulk and Rosalina that the ground was about to fall away. They both jumped onto one of the platforms hanging above the stage.
Once they were both on a cloud shaped platform, Rosalina used her superior air fighting abilities to jump up and send a backflip kick at Shulk. He was knocked onto a platform that appeared to be made of wood. Rosalina jumped up and kicked Shulk once again, sending him back a few feet.
The two danced around each other for a few seconds until both found themselves on a thin, cloud shaped platform. Shulk attempted to hit Rosalina with the Monado, but he was struck by a Luma before the attack could connect. Then Rosalina herself swung her wand, blasting Shulk back and off the platform, though, he did manage to get back on.
Shulk then swung the Monado at Rosalina, but missed again. Shulk then had a vision of the future complete with his signature glowing eyes. The Luma then hit Shulk twice, but before a third hit could be landed, Shulk jumped back, then swung the Monado at Rosalina. She was hit and thrown back. However, she quickly recovered and continued the battle.
Shulk's attack from earlier caused the yellow Luma to become separated from Rosalina. It fell down and was KO'd, leaving Rosalina without any support. The guardian of the cosmos was then hit with an upward jab from the Monado. Rosalina was knocked skyward, but when she landed, she managed to dance around many of Shulk's attacks.
Shulk ultimately managed to grab Rosalina and throw her behind him with a little help from the Monado. Still, she jumped back on the stage, and even managed to dodge another one of the Monado's attacks. But just then, Shulk jumped up and gave the Monado a hard swing in Rosalina's direction. This attack was enough to launch the space princess into the stage's invisible barrier, KO'ing her, and ending Shulk's fifth match.
Shulk knew that he was now done fighting in battles against his fellow Smashers. His remaining opponents would be a squad of Miis, then Master Hand himself. He prepared himself for his final 2 battles.
With Rosalina defeated, Shulk was now standing alone in the center of the arena. When he looked up, he saw several statues falling toward him. The statues landed in a circle, completely surrounding Shulk. These statues all resembled Miis. Some had their fists raised, some were holding swords, and some had arm cannons that looked like they were borrowed from either Mega Man or Samus. Shulk knew he was about to go up against a large group of Miis in battle. He was slightly nervous about this battle. While Miis were easily launched and not very difficult to KO, they were still formidable opponents, especially when they fought in a group. The Miis were notorious for attempting to swarm their opponents like bees. Still, Shulk was determined to see this through to the end. He touched one of the Mii statues and was instantly taken to the Battlefield stage.
"Shulk vs.: Fighting Mii Team!" Screamed the announcer.
Shulk noticed that there were 5 Miis on the stage to start off with, 2 fighters, 2 swordfighters, and a gunner. Three of them were on the main part of the stage, while the other two, and Shulk himself, were on small platforms floating above the stage.
"Ready? GO!" Called the announcer.
Shulk's eyes instantly began scanning for the gunner, as he felt that said gunner would be his greatest threat at the start. But because of this, Shulk didn't notice a fighter run under his platform and jump up in front of him.
"Surprise!" The Mii yelled as he was face to face with Shulk.
Before Shulk had a chance to react, the Mii fighter punched Shulk in the face, knocking him off the small floating platform. Shulk fell on his back as some of the Miis approached the fallen fighter. Shulk quickly got to his feet and swung the Monado around him. The attack managed to knock back 2 Miis. They almost fell off the stage, but managed to get back on.
The same Mii fighter that had punched Shulk attempted to hit him again, but Shulk's eyes began to glow as he had a vision. Once it ended, Shulk instantly jumped back and the Mii hit the ground. Shulk then swung the Monado at the Mii, almost KO'ing him. But the fighter did manage to land back on the stage.
Shulk then activated his Smash Art as two Miis, a swordfighter and a gunner, came up on him. The swordfighter swung his weapon at Shulk, but the Monado wielder had another vision of the future and reacted accordingly. He dodged the sword swing, and retaliated with a sword swing of his own. With the extra knockback granted by the Smash Art, both Miis were launched far backward. One of them was KO'd, while the other one tried to get back on the stage, but failed. The Mii fell into the abyss below the stage, resulting in a KO. Two more Miis spawned onto the stage in their place.
Right after landing his devastating attack, Shulk was hit by a punch from another Mii fighter. Once he recovered from the attack, Shulk swung his Monado in a circle around his feet. The fighter that had just punched Shulk was caught up in the attack and was KO'd. Shulk then performed the same move, resulting in the KO of another Mii. It was during this series of attacks that the Smash Art deactivated itself.
Shulk was quickly hit by an attack from a swordfighter, only to be knocked upward by a fighter, and was then hit in the face by the arm cannon of a gunner that had just spawned right in front of Shulk. As he was falling, another gunner blasted Shulk off the stage, almost KO'ing him. But with the help of a well timed Air Slash, Shulk managed to get back on the stage.
Once he was back on, he sent a few minor attacks at the horde of Miis before sending a strong one at a Mii gunner. Just then, two Miis jumped up on the platform above where Shulk was currently standing. Shulk took advantage of this by pointing the Monado upward and extending his energy blade. The resulting attack launched both Miis upward until they hit the barrier around the stage. Both were KO'd.
Shulk then swung the Monado at another Mii fighter, only for a gunner to take his place and hit Shulk with a series of laser blasts, knocking him back. Another fighter came up to Shulk and kicked him off the stage. Shulk managed to get back on only for a gunner to blast him with a short series of laser blasts, twice. Shulk responded by sidestepping two Miis and jabbing the Monado at them. Both were thrown off the stage and did not get back on, resulting in 2 KO's.
Shulk attempted to jump over one of the Mii gunners, but the gunner sent a series of short blasts over his head, hitting Shulk. Once he gained his bearings, Shulk swung the Monado at the ground, sweeping 3 Miis up in the attack. One was immediately KO'd while the other two were thrown far enough off the stage that they could not recover. They fell beneath the stage and were KO'd.
"So far, so good." Shulk muttered to himself as he knew he was now done with about half of the Miis in this battle.
Shulk reactivated his Smash Art in an attempt to finish off the remaining Miis. The first thing Shulk did once the Art turned on was run up to 2 Miis and swung the Monado at them. With help from the Smash Art, they were both KO'd. Just then, a Mii fighter came up and kicked Shulk in the back, sending the Bionis resident falling on his face. But Shulk quickly got up and swung his Monado on his way up. This swing hit one of the Miis and KO'd her.
Shulk then ran for the right end of the stage and grabbed one of the Miis. Shulk then threw the Mii to the ground before jabbing the Monado at the Mii. The recoil was enough to launch the Mii into the air and KO him. Shulk then danced around the attacks of several Miis as his Smash Art wore off.
A gunner came up to Shulk and blasted him off the stage. Shulk almost got KO'd, but thanks to an Air Slash, Shulk managed to grab hold of the edge of the stage. Three Miis were standing at the edge of the stage, waiting for Shulk to come up. Unfortunately for them, Shulk used the opportunity to jump up and swing the Monado at them before they could react. Two of them managed to jump back on the stage, but the third one couldn't quite manage it and was KO'd.
Two Miis then tried jumping up and land behind Shulk. But Shulk saw their jump and intercepted them. He jabbed the Monado upward, and its energy blade hit the Mii gunner and swordfighter. Both of them were launched upward and KO'd.
There were only two Miis left, a swordfighter and a fighter. The swordfighter swung his weapon at Shulk, launching him off the stage. Shulk just barely managed to grab hold of the left edge of the stage. The swordfighter stood at the edge of the stage and waited for Shulk to make a move. The move Shulk made was to swing the Monado at the Mii while jumping up. The Mii was launched clean across the stage and fell into the awaiting abyss, resulting in a KO.
Only one Mii left. The fighter kicked Shulk, once again throwing him off the stage, only for Shulk to once again grab hold of the edge. Just like the swordfighter before him, the fighter stood at the edge of the stage, only to be hit by the Monado. But unlike before, this Mii managed to get back on the stage. However, before he could do anything, Shulk ran up and sent a horizontal slash of the Monado at the Mii, resulting in the last KO. Shulk had won his second to last battle.
Shulk knew he only had one more battle to get through before this whole thing was over. He also knew that this last battle would be harder than any other he had ever faced in all his time at Smash Bros.. Even then, there was something Shulk planned on doing once this battle was over. Something he believed would be even harder than this upcoming battle. Still, he was determined to see his plans through to the end.
Back at the auditorium of the Smash Mansion, all the Smashers were watching Shulk 's progress intently. Many of them were impressed that he had made it this far, but they also knew that the worst was yet to come. It was for this reason that some of the Smashers had concerned expressions on their faces. One of these concerned Smashers was none other than Lucina. Though she did not doubt Shulk's fighting prowess, this did not keep her from worrying about him. She had seen what he would face next, was could only hope he got past it unscathed.
Back at the arena, Shulk found himself completely alone.
"So, what do I do now?" Shulk asked no one in particular.
All of a sudden, a black hole emerged beneath Shulk's feet. This black hole quickly expanded and engulfed the entire arena, Shulk included, in darkness.
"W-what is this?! What's going on!? HEY!" Shulk yelled as he was consumed by the darkness.
Six battles down, one to go.
We're almost at the end of this Classic Mode arc. Once it's over, I finally get the chance to return to something more substantial. Still, one more chapter before that happens. Even so, I do hope you enjoy the next chapter, and this one as well, for that matter. Even if not, keep anything overly negative to yourselves, please.
I know that at this point of Classic Mode, the fighters change into alternate costumes and use alternate moves, but I just couldn't think of a way to incorporate either into this story. Not in a way that made sense, anyway. So I kept them in their regular costumes and had them use their regular moves. If you recall, I said I prepared for this by playing Classic Mode, wrote down who and where I fought, then went back and re did all the fights as regular Smashes, since you can't record entire playthroughs of Classic Mode. The exception to this was the battle against the Miis. I flat out copied that from a YouTube video of Shulk going through Classic Mode. Though, I did make a few changes. In the original video, Shulk was KO'd once and used a variety of items in the battle. Since I didn't want to incorporate either, I simply wrote around them as necessary. I intend to do the same thing for the final battle.
Coming up next on this story: Take a wild guess.
I should have it out fairly soon. So, until the next 3-4 days, tops, I'll see y'all around.