Welcome, one and all, to the finale of the Classic Mode arc. I need only finish this chapter, then I can return to chapters with more story to them. But first, I must write out the final battle. How will it go? Well, stay tuned to find out.
Althea Sirius: You are correct. And here is that last opponent. Also, this story will be transitioning to 'Ultimate' very soon. I hope you enjoy it.
Blackhawks8: I'm glad you like my version of Classic Mode. And you will know by the end of this chapter whether your prediction was right or wrong. Do tell me whether you were or not.
Super Smash Bros. © Nintendo/Masahiro Sakurai
"Where am I? Is anyone there? 'ello?" Shulk asked.
Shulk could see nothing but unending darkness wherever he looked. He didn't know what had happened. One moment, he had finished a battle against a horde of Miis, and the next, he was consumed by a black hole.
Suddenly, the darkness began to disappear, and Shulk saw that he was on a stage called Final Destination. Shulk now understood. This would be where his last battle took place. He then heard the announcer call out the fight.
"Shulk vs.: Master Hand and Crazy Hand!"
The Monado wielder made ready to fight the large disembodied hands as they approached him. He was ready to end his run at Classic Mode.
Master Hand then approached Shulk with a sinister laugh, while Crazy Hand approached from behind with an equally sinister cackle. The two hands pounded against each other as if fist bumping before approaching Shulk.
Shulk made the first move. He ran up to Master Hand and swiped the Monado at him. Master Hand responded by swiping himself clean across the stage, smacking Shulk in the process. Crazy Hand then created a large purple ball of energy and slammed it to the ground. Shulk managed to dodge it, however.
What he did not dodge was a punch from Master Hand. The large hand had curled himself into a fist and brought himself down onto the stage, taking Shulk with him. As Master Hand shook off the force of the punch, Shulk rose to his feet and struck Master Hand twice with the Monado, once from below and once from above. One more attack from Shulk sent Master Hand toward the right end of the stage, close to where Shulk was standing, while Crazy Hand went left and hovered a few feet above the stage.
"Crazy, prepare for the Power Ball attack." Master Hand ordered.
"Okie day! Let's play super ping pong!" Crazy Hand babbled.
Master Hand then created a moderately sized bluish-green ball of energy and flung it at Crazy Hand, who immediately smacked it back toward Shulk. The ball hit Shulk and he was thrown off the stage, but managed to get back on. Right after the first ball was launched, Master Hand created another one, which was also hit by Crazy Hand toward Shulk, although this one missed.
The two hands then switched positions. Crazy Hand was now floating close to the stage while Master Hand was several feet in the air. Crazy Hand then created a large ball of energy, similar in color to the ones his brother had created, and hurled them at Master Hand, who flicked them toward Shulk. Crazy Hand created three of these balls, but none of them hit Shulk, who dodged each one.
Shulk returned to the offensive as he managed to strike Master Hand once before the next attack was landed. Master Hand spun himself around before launching himself upward like a rocket. He then came back down hard. Shulk had a vision predicting this attack, and jumped out of the way before counterattacking. But unfortunately, his foot slipped, causing Shulk to be caught up in the last few spins of Master Hand's attack.
While Master Hand was performing his move, Crazy Hand came up behind Shulk and attempted to grab him. He did, and Shulk found himself in the grip of the large hand. Despite his attempts to escape, Shulk couldn't get out of the giant fist he was trapped in. Crazy Hand squeezed his fist a few times, constricting Shulk even more. Crazy Hand then released Shulk by throwing him toward the edge of the stage. Shulk managed to land on his feet, and after taking a brief moment to stretch his muscles, prepared to continue fighting.
Crazy Hand then positioned himself on the center of the stage and extended his middle finger.
"Well, that's just rude." Shulk said.
Crazy Hand then blasted himself off like a rocket, flying off far beyond the stage before flying back at a high speed. He seemed to be locked onto Shulk. At the last second, Shulk managed to jump up and avoid being hit by Crazy Hand's still extended middle finger.
Master Hand then prepared another punch attack, but Shulk saw it coming and tried to run from it. Unfortunately, Master Hand followed him and did not unleash his attack until Shulk held still. Master Hand then brought himself down, but Shulk managed to dodge the punched this time by sidestepping out of the way.
Shulk now found himself near the center of the stage, where Crazy Hand was preparing another attack. Crazy Hand lied on his back and started twisting and shaking violently, almost as if he were having a seizure. Shulk managed to stay out of range of the attack, however. He then used the Monado's long reach to attack Crazy Hand while he was on the ground. Crazy then got up and continued to attack Shulk.
Master Hand then landed another attack by waving himself so fast that the wind was visibly blowing at a high speed. There were even a few ice blocks coming from the wind. Shulk was blown back by the heavy winds, but managed to keep his footing. He had to sidestep some of the ice blocks, but eventually forced his way to Master Hand. He then swung the Monado at Master Hand, stopping the wind attack. Shulk then looked up at Master Hand.
"It's gonna take more than that to stop me." Shulk said.
"Your battle is far from over, Shulk." Master Hand replied.
Master Hand then sent a powerful smack at Shulk, sending him flying across the stage. Shulk almost fell off, but managed to stop himself before falling off completely. He then got up and landed another attack on Master Hand. When this attack hit, time seemed to stop for a split second. Crazy Hand disappeared in a burst of purple flame as Master Hand floated toward the center of the stage. He then started shaking and jerking violently until a mass of black particles emerged from within Master Hand.
Master Hand seemed to violently explode as the black particles began to take shape. Shulk had heard from some of the other Smashers that this mass of particles was collectively called the Master Core. He had also heard that the Master Core took on many different forms. Master Core then morphed itself into its first form. It looked like a giant.
Shulk quickly activated one of his Arts in preparation of his fight with the Master Giant.
"Busta'!" Shulk said with his heavy accent.
With the Buster Art activated, Shulk jabbed the Monado upward, extending it's energy blade. This attack seemed to destroy the particles making up the head of the Master Giant, though it quickly reformed.
Five dark purple balls with red glows appeared around the head of the Master Giant. Shulk didn't know what they were, but guessed that it probably wouldn't be good. He then had a vision on the Master Giant pounding him into the ground with these purple balls before they exploded. Once the Master Giant brought its head down, Shulk quickly stepped back from the attack and swung the Monado at it. However, Shulk was unable to escape the explosion of the purple balls. They all blew up into blue, plus-shaped energy beams. These beams hit Shulk and threw him a fair distance off the stage. He managed to get back on and continue his attack.
As he was falling back on the stage, Shulk saw the Master Giant swipe its massive arm across the stage. A split second later, a massive blue laser came racing across the stage above Shulk's head. The Monado wielder guessed it was trying to hit him but missed as its arm was swiped while he was still in the air. Shulk landed back on the stage and continued to attack, even though his Buster Art had finally worn out.
All of a sudden, a vortex appeared in the Master Giant's head, trying to suck Shulk in. Shulk attempted to run away from it, but then purple balls of electricity raced across the stage. Shulk managed to dodge the first one, but the second one shocked him and knocked him into the Master Giant's vortex. Once inside, Shulk was hit with a number of devastating attacks before throwing him to the ground with enough force to throw him into the air.
As he was falling to the ground, Shulk landed another attack on the Master Giant's head. Upon landing, Master Giant released a powerful shockwave from its head, hoping to knock Shulk off the stage. However, the Monado wielder managed to sidestep the attack and land a counterattack.
Suddenly, a number of energy balls appeared above the stage. Shulk wondered what they were doing all the way up there until the Master Giant grabbed the edges of the stage and lifted it up. Shulk had to do some quick maneuvering in order to avoid being hit by the energy balls. The Master Giant then released the stage and it fell back into its proper place.
The Master Giant then unleashed another arm swipe across the stage, which resulted in another blue laser racing across the stage. Shulk managed to dodge the attack yet again as he approached the monster.
Shulk then jumped up and attacked the Master Giant. It seemed to explode in a mess of purple electricity as the black particles seemed to reshape themselves. The black particles landed on the stage and took the shape of some kind of monster with large teeth and a tail shaped like a scorpion's. This was a form known as the Master Beast. The Beast was fairly large, taking up almost half the stage.
Shulk quickly activated another one of his Arts in an attempt to protect himself from this enormous monstrosity.
"Shield!" Shulk yelled.
Shulk quickly landed an attack with the Monado before the Master Beast jumped high off of the stage and came back down hard on the right side of the stage. The force of the impact was enough to shake the entire stage. Shulk was almost knocked off his feet and fell on his backside. Luckily, he managed to stay upright as the stage evened itself out.
The Master Beast then approached Shulk before quickly flying off the stage and flying back quickly toward the stage. It brought its teeth down on Shulk, knocking him off the stage. He was only barely able to get back on and continue the fight.
Once Shulk was back on the stage, the Master Beast approached Shulk once again. But unlike before, where the creature tried to take a bite out of Shulk, this time, it called a powerful bolt of lighting from the sky, not unlike Pikachu's thunderbolt attack. Shulk had a vision of himself being electrocuted by the attack and being KO'd. In retaliation, Shulk jumped back once the lighting bolt hit and swung the Monado at the Master Beast. Unfortunately, Shulk got too close to the creature and was caught up in the last part of the thunderbolt attack. He was knocked off the stage, but quickly got back on. Shortly afterwards, the Monado's Shield Art shut off.
As Shulk was getting back on the stage, the Master Beast jumped up again and slammed down on the left end of the stage. Once the monster came back down, Shulk jumped up and hit it from above. The Master Beast then tried sending a shockwave attack at Shulk, but since he was airborne, it didn't work. Once Shulk landed back on the stage, Shulk swung the Monado behind him, once again hitting the Master Beast.
The Master Beast then approached Shulk again and flew off and attempted to take a bite out of Shulk again. However, Shulk managed dodge the attack this time around. He then swung the Monado at the Master Beast a few times before backing off to avoid another electric attack.
Shulk then landed another attack with the Monado. This caused the Master Beast to leap into the air yet again. The creature came down again, shaking the entire stage once again. Once the stage steadied, Shulk again hit the Master Beast with the Monado. In retaliation, the Master Beast sent another shockwave type attack, having spikes come out of the ground. Unlike last time, the attack hit and Shulk was thrown several feet into the air and almost KO'd.
Once Shulk landed back on the stage, the Master Beast slowly walked up to Shulk and prepared another thunderbolt attack. Shulk saw this coming and quickly backed away to avoid the onslaught of lightning that was about to come.
As soon as the lightning ending, Shulk again swung his powerful blade at the Master Beast. The creature roared in pain as another spew of black particles emerged from the creature. The Master Beast disappeared and in its place appeared a sword. Then the sword split into 5 separate swords. This was the next form of the Master Core. It was referred to as the Master Edges.
"How many forms does this thing have?" Shulk said with a groan.
Shulk again activated his Buster Art as he prepared to combat the Master Edges. Before the blades could even land a single attack, Shulk attacked with his own powered up blade. When the Master Edges floated several feet in the air, Shulk jumped up and jabbed it with the Monado again. When he landed, he jumped up and performed the same move on the swords again.
The Master Edges made their way to the right end of the stage and delivered its first attack. All five blades swung themselves twice. With each swing, a large ball of electrical energy came out of the swords. Shulk managed to avoid the first swing from the Master Edges, but was hit by the second one. He was sent reeling by the attack, and as a result, he was hit by both of the large electrical balls. Still, Shulk quickly recovered from the attack, and made ready to keep fighting.
The five blades of the Master Edges split apart and each took a position around the stage. The largest blade was directly above the center of the stage, while the other four swords were on the edge of the stage, two on each side. The blades quickly began swiping across the stage in an attempt to slice and dice the future seer. Shulk managed to evade the first two blades, but was violently knocked around by the other two. The fourth one actually knocked Shulk upward into the fifth blade, that had yet to fall. Shulk then fell to the ground. As soon as he landed, he had another future vision of himself being hit with the final blade, which was about to come down on him at a high speed. Once the vision ended, Shulk quickly got out of the way as the final sword came down. Before the Master Edges could do anything else, Shulk quickly struck it with the Monado.
The blades of the Master Edges quickly converged back together and prepared another attack. With a brief flash of light, all 5 blades gave a mighty swing across a good portion of the stage. Shulk managed to dodge the swing, but just barely. As he jumped out of the way he could see the edge of each blade mere inches from his face.
The Master Edges then performed the same two swings that summoned the electric balls from earlier. But this time, as opposed to two large balls, it summoned four smaller balls. Shulk managed to destroy two of them with the Monado, then promptly attacked the Master Edges themselves. The other two electric balls flew off into the distance before coming back around toward Shulk.
In response to Shulk's attack, the Master Edges launched two large balls of electricity once again. Shulk easily dodged them, but was hit by the two smaller balls of electricity he did not destroy before. Despite that, he quickly regained his bearings and set out to finish this fight.
"I've got to keep going!" Shulk said, despite the fact he was starting to get tired after this incredibly long fight.
The Master Edges again attempted its five part attack again, but this time, Shulk knew what to expect, and he expertly dodged them. Just then, Shulk struck the Master Edges with the Monado. This caused four of the blades from the Master Edges to promptly disappear. The one that remained quickly turned into a swarm of black particles just like the Master Giant and Master Beast before it.
Shulk wondered what form it would take next, and hoped it would be the last one. Much to his shock, the black particles took a form that looked just like him, only taller. It even had its own version of the Monado.
"W-what is that thing?" Shulk asked.
Shulk realized he would have to face this dark copy of himself. He only hoped he was strong enough to defeat it. Shulk knew he was a fairly tough fighter. Shulk ran up to his dark copy and swung the Monado upward, knocking the clone into the air. But then the clone jabbed its own Monado, complete with energy blade, downward, hitting the real Shulk. Shulk then swung upward again, knocking the clone upward again. Upon landing, the dark Shulk ran for the edge of the stage with the real Shulk in tow. Shulk prime attempted to land a Back Slash on his opponent, but the clone dodged with ease.
Shulk then sent his copy off the stage with a punch, kick, and Monado swing. But the clone, which had also gained Shulk's Monado Arts, activated its Jump Art and got back on the stage.
"It even has its own Monado Arts!" Shulk said in shock.
As the dark copy jumped back on the stage, Shulk attempted to jab the Monado at his clone, but missed. He then sidestepped behind the shadow clone and sent another punch, kick, and Monado combo at it. Shulk then noticed that the copy was a little shorter than it was when it first spawned. That's when Shulk realized, attacking it made it smaller, so all he had to do was wail on it until it was small enough to destroy.
The clone jumped back to the center of the stage, where Shulk quickly tried to attack it again. He missed, and the clone grabbed him and threw him to the ground with the help of the dark Monado. After recovering from that attack, Shulk attempted to jump over the clone, but it jabbed its Monado upward, striking Shulk with the energy blade. As he was falling down, the real Shulk swung his Monado at the clone, clipping it in the head and causing it to fall down.
Upon getting up, the clone sent its own punch, kick, Monado combo at the real Shulk. It was at this time the dark Shulk's Jump Art deactivated. Ironically, Shulk immediately knocked the copy off the stage right as the Art shut off. As it couldn't reactivate Jump just yet, the copy instead activated its Speed Art. It got back on the stage and quickly sidestepped the attack the real Shulk tried to land on it.
The copy then sent a quick Monado swing at Shulk but he managed to dodge by ducking behind the clone. Shulk then jabbed the Monado at the dark clone's back, almost knocking it off the stage, though it did recover. Shulk noticed that the copy was now shorter than he himself was. He hoped that meant he would defeat this thing soon.
Shulk cycled through his Arts until landing of the Buster one. It activated as the Monado took on a purple glow. It was then that Shulk had another vision. Once it ended, Shulk quickly sidestepped an attack from the dark Shulk and landed a powerful counterattack. Shulk then ran for his dark counterpart and jabbed it with the Monado. This finally defeated the creature.
The dark Shulk exploded as the swarm of black particles buzzed around where the copy had been before jettisoning in every direction, encasing Shulk's vision in darkness. Shulk then felt the particles pass over and around him as they formed up into a large fortress like structure with a single tunnel leading into it. This was (Shulk hoped it was) Master Core's last form, the Master Fortress.
Shulk slowly walked into the tunnel where he saw a glowing orb at the end of the path. But as he approached it, enemies made of the same black particles spawned in his path. One of them appeared to be some sort of knight like creature, complete with sword and shield. The other two appeared to walk on four legs and have some sort on cannon on their heads. Shulk quickly tried to attack the knight, but it jumped back. When Shulk tried again, his attack was blocked by the creature's shield. Shulk then, somehow, managed to grab it and threw it behind him while also hitting it with the Monado. The creature was instantly killed by this attack.
While this was going on, a large purple light appeared on the heads of both of the other creatures. Shulk quickly jumped behind them before he saw what they were. Both creatures blasted a large purple laser from their heads. But since Shulk was behind them, he was not hit by them. The Monado wielder quickly destroyed them with one swing of his blade per creature. Once they were out of the way, Shulk looked at the glowing pink orb. He decided killing it was probably what he was supposed to do, so he jabbed the Monado at it. It was promptly destroyed and Shulk heard something going on above him.
He then made his way back toward the entrance of the tunnel and found that a second tunnel had formed up above the first one. He also found a black sphere with a purple glow at the entrance. This sphere quickly launched a purple spear at Shulk. It missed, and Shulk retaliated with a swing of the Monado, which quickly drove away the sphere. Shulk then entered the second tunnel and was met with another one of the laser shooters and three spider like creatures climbing the floor and ceiling. After quickly dealing with these enemies, Shulk saw a strange, acid like substance on the wall. However, he ignored it and jumped down a chute at the end of the tunnel. He landed on a platform above a pool of what Shulk assumed to be acid. He then saw another one of the laser shooters prepare to fire its weapon, but Shulk quickly jumped over to it and knocked it into the acid with the Monado. The creature completely disintegrated upon contact with the yellowish-green substance.
"Note to self: Avoid the acid." Shulk said to himself.
Shulk jumped on a series of platforms above the acid, taking care not to fall in by mistake, and found another pink orb near the top of the cave he was currently in. After attacking it once, numerous enemies spawned to defend it, including two laser shooters and three spider creatures. He was attacked by one of the spider things, but fortunately, landed on one of the platforms below him. He then jumped up and killed two of the spider creatures. Shulk was then hit with the laser from one of the other monsters. Once the laser stopped firing, Shulk quickly regained his bearings and did away with the thing that had created the laser. He then went on to kill the other one before turning his attention back to the pink orb. He attacked it yet again, and destroyed it. He was then flung outside the Master Fortress, and found the same two tunnels from before waiting for him.
After deciding to go through the top tunnel, Shulk activated his Speed Art in an attempt to finish this quicker. He came across several enemies along the way, and also found both the ceiling and floor covered in patches of acid. After fighting his way past all the enemies and dodging all the acid, Shulk found himself on the opposite end of the Master Fortress. He saw another pink orb and swiftly destroyed it after disposing of the monsters guarding it. A slew of black particles then raced over Shulk, and when they stopped, Shulk saw that a new path had been created. Shulk also saw another black sphere in his path. Not wanting to take any chances, he quickly destroyed it before it could launch any sort of attack at him.
Shulk, who's Speed Art had run out at this point, quickly went down the newly created path, only to find himself above another pool of acid. There were also two knight monsters waiting for him. Shulk quickly sidestepped around one of them and knocked it into the acid. He then went for the other one, grabbed it, and threw it into the acid as well, where it shared the fate of its colleague. After walking into another cave, avoiding more spiders, and jumping over another pool of acid, Shulk destroyed two more monsters that were waiting for him, a knight and a laser creature. After dealing with them, Shulk found himself at the edge of another acid pool.
When he looked up, he saw one more pink orb. This one was much larger than the other three, and seemed to resonate some sort of dark energy. Shulk assumed this to be the last one, and quickly went about destroying it.
After killing another laser creature, he jumped up and destroyed all the monsters defending the orb. These included two black spheres, and one more laser creature sitting near the orb. He hit the orb with two strong attacks, but this only caused more monsters to spawn. Shulk did his best to ignore them and went back to attacking the orb.
After two more strong attacks from the Monado, the orb finally exploded in a burst of colors as all the black particles scattered away. Shulk then found himself back on Final Destination. A green ball with the Smash Bros. symbol in it then fell on the exact center of the stage. Shulk assumed this was the true form of the Master Core. After seeing so many other Smashers go through Classic Mode, each one encountering this ball at the end, no matter what they wagered, he knew what he had to do with it.
Shulk activated his Buster Art and started wailing on the Master Core. It slowly changed from green to yellow to dark red. Once it was red, Shulk deactivated the Buster Art and replaced it with the Smash Art. After an attack with the Smash enhanced Monado, the Master Core was launched off the stage and exploded in a flurry of black, white and purple. Shulk closed his eyes to protect them from the blinding light.
When he opened them again, he found himself back at the auditorium of the Smash Mansion. The other Smashers began to clap and cheer for Shulk for having made it through Classic Mode at the highest possible difficulty. Master Hand, who had seemingly reformed himself after turning into the Master Core, then went up to Shulk.
"Congratulations, Shulk. You have successfully cleared Classic Mode. I must admit, I'm very impressed that you managed to defeat all the forms of the Master Core. No one else here who has attempted to do so has succeeded. As you wagered the maximum amount of Smash Coins and succeeded, your rewards will be great. Behold." Master Hand said.
The giant hand then gestured to a large pile at the center of the auditorium. This pile consisted of a large amount of Smash coins, various collectable trophies, and numerous other prizes. Shulk was awed at all he had won, but was still hoping for one more prize before he would be satisfied.
"Is there anything you wish to say to your fellow Smashers?" Master Hand said.
This was it. Shulk knew this was it. He was going to try and get what he had hoped to get from the start of this whole thing. He knew this would not be easy, perhaps even harder than the battle he had just endured, but he was determined to see it through.
"Yes, there is. Lucina, would you come down here, please?" Shulk asked.
Lucina was confused as to why her boyfriend was calling out to her, but she did as he asked and walked down to where Shulk was. Once she was in front of him, Shulk took her hands.
"Lucina, we've known each other for nearly four years, and have been together for about three of those years. I know that's not truly that long a time, all things considered, but it's long enough for me to tell how I really feel. And, though I might not say it too often, I love you, Lucina. With all my heart and soul, I love you." Shulk stated.
"Oh my. Shulk, I…I love you too. I always will." Lucina replied.
Lucina then leaned in for a kiss, but Shulk stopped her.
"I'm not done yet. Now, listen closely, because this won't be easy for me. Public speaking, or overly affectionate talk was never a strength of mine, but I felt like this was something I had to do. There's something I want to ask you. Again, this won't be easy for me, but here goes. I felt like I had to do something grand before asking this. That's why I volunteered to go through Classic Mode. Now that it's over, I'm ready to ask."
Shulk then pulled a ring out of his pocket and held it up.
"I was wondering if… well… m-maybe… I-I was wondering if… *deep breath* if you would like to marry me." Shulk stated.
Lucina's eyes widened and she quickly covered her mouth to cover her gasp. She processed Shulk's words before finally speaking.
"O-oh my! Oh gods! I… well… y-yes. Yes. I will. I would love to." Lucina stated.
Both Shulk and Lucina now had large smiles on their faces. They could not be happier. Shulk slipped his ring onto Lucina's finger before they engaged in a passionate kiss.
Mario was the first to stand up and begin clapping for the newly engaged couple. Marth quickly followed, and soon, nearly all the Smashers were clapping for the still kissing couple. Others, like Dark Pit and Mewtwo, simply smirked at the couple, but were still happy for them. Even Master Hand and Crazy Hand were snapping their fingers for the couple, as they could not clap.
"I think they'll have lots and lots of happy years together." Crazy Hand said in a rare moment of clarity.
"You know, brother, I think you're right." Master Hand replied.
"I hope they get a pizza flavored wedding cake!" Crazy then said.
Shulk and Lucina attained support level S.
I take back what I said two chapters ago. THIS is the fastest I've ever gotten a chapter out. Only a little over 24 hours. I sincerely doubt I'll ever get another chapter out this fast, though. The only reason I got this out so fast was because I just had to write out a pre-existing fight, then a quick epilogue. Nothing that required me to really think of a story. But don't worry, next chapter, we will return to something with more story. Something that actually requires me to think before I write it down. Over the past three chapters, I didn't really have to think, only see. Plus, the intro and epilogue to this arc was something I had planned out months in advance, so again, little thinking.
But, I'm glad that the next chapter will require me to think. I truly enjoy thinking out what scenarios I will use and thinking up what I will make my characters say. Still, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If so, leave a follow, favorite, or review. I really appreciate it when you guys do that. If you didn't enjoy it, either do nothing or keep your comments in the realm of constructive criticism. Outright hate will not be tolerated.
Coming up next: We have a wedding to attend! I don't believe I'll have it out before the release of Super Smash Brothers: Ultimate. So, whether it's in this story, or on the battlefields of Smash, I hope to see all of you later.