Chapter 3: The Kickoff Approaches: An Odd Encounter
An SSBM Fan Fic, by Smoke_Rulz
srssbm.cjb.net
I.
Sun shines across the Mushroom Kingdom, and the birds fly amongst the townspeople whistling their songs. Up in the castle, Toad serves Peach and Princess Zelda of Hyrule some tea as they discuss public reaction to the announcement of the Super Smash Tournament League. "So you tell me Hyrule is in a buzz?" Peach says.
"Very much so. Termina, as well." Zelda replies.
"News spreads fast."
"Indeed it does."
"This league should be excellent. I wish we could have made it happen sooner."
"One thing bothers me, though..."
"And what would that be?"
"The tournament invitation extended out to universes past ours."
"Yes..."
"Well, I didn't expect the league to be for all comers. I expected only our warriors."
"Oh, I know, but I don't think the league seemed complete..."
"Hmm?"
"Of course all of our warriors would be great, but I don't think they would encompass the league..."
"I think I see..."
"And we couldn't get all of them anyway. It just seems incomplete, you know?"
"Yes, I know."
"Plus they all know each other too well. I think some new faces would spice up the league."
"I like the way you think."
Peach chuckles. "I don't see any harm in it. And I'm intrigued to see how it plays out."
"Yes, I know..."
Zelda trails off and looks out the nearby window. "Oh, you look so worrysome. Don't be." Peach states.
Zelda nods, but says nothing. I just don't know... I feel as though something is wrong. Why do I always get this feeling? She sighs and stands up to leave. I just pray I'm wrong this time.
Peach watches Zelda leave with a look of curiousity.
II.
Just outside Mushroom Kingdom, there lies a forest on a hillside. A perfect cover. A ship begins landing within a clearing. The same ship from Ikana Canyon not long before. Some small animals scurry away from the clearing as the ship's landing scatters dust and leaves. It comes to a complete rest, and its door opens, expelling the walking ramp. Out strolls Infernus and Juno, the door closing behind them. Juno looks around at the trees. "Where there's a forest, there's a clearing just large enough to land a ship." He says, chuckling.
"Well, it's probably used for something. Who knows." Infernus says.
He then looks up for a moment, then suddenly leaps up to the top of a tree. Juno watches, and then shakes his head annoyingly. He follows with a leap of his own. Once at the top, he sees a large kingdom dwarved by a huge castle. A stain-glass window depicting a blonde-haired woman is near the top. "So this is Mushroom Kingdom." Juno states.
"Indeed." Infernus says, leaping over a few more trees to the main pathway leading to the Kingdom.
Juno follows, and the two begin trekking toward it. "I assume they allow outsiders if they leave it so open." Juno says.
"Yes... And that has sort of proved to be a mistake in the past." Infernus says.
"Well... They show a pretty lady in a massive window at the top of the castle. Someone ought to be jealous."
"That would be the Princess. And I think you could be right."
They both laugh as they approach the overhanging stone entrance. One of the villagers sees them. "Why hello, outsiders! What brings you to our humble Kingdom?" He says.
"We're just passing through." Infernus says.
"Well... Stay a while if you wish. And don't be causing no trouble." The villager says, motioning toward Juno's sheathed gunblade.
He then walks away. Juno shrugs, and the two walk into the main square. "Huh... They all have mushrooms for heads." Juno says.
"Yeah, the Toadstool people. You'll get used to it." Infernus says, laughing.
"I don't suppose you'd know where to find someone who could give us our information."
"Well I do wish to go visit an old friend back near the castle. I can leave you here to the main square if you wish to try your luck."
"Sounds like a plan."
Infernus nods, then turns around and walks away. Juno continues walking through the square. Several villagers eye him curiously. Juno tries his best to ignore their glances. Then, a kickball flies toward him. He throws his hand up and blocks it. It goes upward for a moment, before coming back down into his hand. A small group of children then approach him. "Whoa, sorry mister." One says.
"Nice catch, though!" Another says.
Juno smiles, then twirls the ball around a bit on his finger before tossing it to one of the kids. "Feel lucky that I'm not a window." He says, winking.
The children giggle as they run off and around a corner. Juno continues, and then sees a strange building, decorated with strange objects. A few are even ornate blades and shields. Lots of beads. As he tries to recognize one of the items as being from a familiar culture, a villager notices him staring. "That place catch your eye, foreigner?" She says.
"Yes it did." Juno says, without looking at her.
"A strange fellow lives there. One of us Toadstools. He traveled a lot. He returned a few years back, and suddenly he's a fortune teller. Maybe even a shaman. Strange fellow indeed." The villager explains.
"Well... My curiousity bests me then." Juno says, as he begins walking toward the building. He enters, and the household is quite dark. Various lighted lanturns adorn the walls, giving off dim glows of red light. Juno continues forward, through a doorway with beads overhanging. Lit candles and cloth drapes adorn this room. Scented candles. They give off a strange scent. Juno feels a bit strange as he inhales the scent. "Well, not many people come in here." A voice states.
Juno glances toward the hanging cloth drapes. They are not see-through. He enters through an opening to a makeshift room. Inside is a Toadstool, a bit old. His eyes are closed. Several ornaments of pottery and plaques are around him, many having strange insignias. Juno can recognize none of them. The man is sitting on the ground on a large ornate carpet with his legs crossed, hands on his knees. Candles are lit in a line behind him. A large red jewel of some sort rests in front of him, resting in a strange wooden tray that looks almost like upturned tree roots. "You may sit. You obviously didn't come in here for sight-seeing." He says, his voice deep and coarse.
Juno shrugs, and sits down on the carpetry. "You're correct on that assumption." Juno says.
"Oh, it's no assumption. I heard your conversation with the woman outside." He says, his eyes still closed.
Juno raises an eyebrow. "Very well then. So did she speak the truth?" He asks.
"Possibly. I could be a shaman, a madman, a simple fortune teller... They have many assumptions toward me. But none truly know, because I don't tell them."
"So I guess you won't tell me either. Do you at least have a name?"
The old man opens his eyes. "You may call me Thantus." He says.
Juno glances at Thantus curiously. Thantus' glance seems to almost pierce his soul. "So what did you come here for?" Thantus asks.
"I'm hoping to find some information. A hunch says you may know something." Juno states.
Thantus closes his eyes once again. He then takes a deep breath. He exhales after a moment, and Juno notices the red jewel in front of him is beginning to let off an energy aura. "You're a warrior. One of noble means, I sense, but circumstances arise where you lose your sense of what is just." Thantus says.
Juno raises his head, a bit surprised. "Go on." He states.
"You came into this Kingdom with another. ....You both seek someone. Someone who has wronged you in the past. Someone of evil intent." Thantus continues.
"You're more than what you seem." Juno says.
"Well, Juno, you may want to head to the far east end of the Kingdom. You'll find something of interest there." Thantus says, opening his eyes.
Juno arches back in surprise. He had never revealed his name. Thantus says nothing more. Juno stands up and begins leaving. Thantus closes his eyes once again. After hesitating a moment, Juno hurries out of the building.
III.
The far east side of the Mushroom Kingdom. One of the Inns rests here, as well as the Flourist. He's outside his shop, tending to the flower beds. A girl approaches him. "Oh, hello, Cherry. Here to get working?" He says.
"Yep. You know how much I love flowers, Grandpa." She says.
"Of course. But hey, have you heard the news going around town?"
"You mean about the league? Of course! It's big news!"
"All kinds of great warriors are going to take part in it."
"You should take me to see it, Grandpa!"
He chuckles, and then notices several of the villagers looking out toward the east entrance to the Kingdom. I suppose an outsider is coming... He thinks.
Suddenly, a large ball of purple energy flies into the line of peering villagers and explodes. The old flourist braces himself. His granddaughter runs into the shop behind him. The villagers left standing watch a being in a long purple cloak walks into the kingdom. His entire body is black and shifting as if he's a shadow. Only eyes can be seen on his face. Purple energy surrounds his amorphous hands. One villager starts backing up, but trips onto his back. "W-Who are you? What do you want?" He says.
The shadow man chuckles. "I've come to seek the warriors." He states, his voice low and raspy.
Another villager to the right of him begins speaking. "We aren't warriors! None dwell here!"
The shadow man turns toward him. "Don't play me for a fool, peon. I know of the warriors that reside in this universe. I believe a popular one is named Mario." He says.
"Well you'll find no warriors here!" The villager says.
"Well then. Perhaps I shall have to pay a visit to that large castle."
"N-No! You stay away from the castle!"
The shadow man extends his hand, and the villager flies backward into a wall. "Just you try to stop me." He states.
As he does this, the flourist slowly approaches him from behind, with a pitchfork in hand. As silently as possible, he jabs forward. As he does, the shadow man disappears. The flourist looks around in confusion, before the shadow man reappears in the same spot, this time facing the flourist. "That wasn't very smart old man." He says.
With that, the shadow slams his hand forward into the flourist's chest. The flourist begins to glow purple. The shadow slashes his hand upward out of the flourist's shoulder, as the flourist begins disintigrating. From the flower shop nearby, his granddaughter looks on in horror. The shadow then glances up toward the shop, noticing its name on a sign. He holds his hand up. "The dead man no longer needs his shop." He states.
The little girl screams. A blast of purple see-through energy suddenly overtakes the flower shop, virtually disitingrating it. The villagers that were once standing around are now running for their lives. The shadow then begins laughing evilly. His laughing suddenly stops, as a blast of ice comes firing toward him. He jumps backward at the last second to avoid it. He glances to the right, spotting Juno walking toward him. "I saw that." Juno says.
"And just who do you think you are?" The shadow exclaims, turning toward him.
"You may call me Juno, but feel lucky I give you the privledge." Juno states, drawing his gunblade.
The shadow chuckles. "You don't seem like one of the warriors of this universe. So what you doing here?"
"I think you may already know that. Now identify yourself!"
"Heh heh. I am Darkstalker, and that is the last time you will ever hear my name."
Darkstalker begins channeling his purple energy to his hands. Juno grips the barrel of his gunblade and holds it in front of him, it's clear blue blade letting off a small sheen in the shining sun. Without warning, Darkstalker speeds toward Juno. Juno raises his other hand upward, and a blast of ice comes up from ankle level and impedes Darkstalker's approach. Juno then leaps forward and slashes with his gunblade, but Darkstalker dodges. Darkstalker immediately counterattacks and strikes Juno's side, sending him toward one of the houses. Juno drags his feet across the ground to stop himself, and charges again. Darkstalker suddenly materializes one of his hands into a blade shape. Juno attacks with his blade slash by slash, while Darkstalker attempts to match him by blocking each shot. Juno goes for a forward stab, and Darkstalker blocks it just in front of his face. Juno then reachs up with his other hand and pulls the trigger of his gunblade, causing a large explosive shot to fire at Darkstalker, who barely materializes sideways. Juno then extends his hand and begins firing a constant beam of ice. Darkstalker scurries around a few buildings, Juno's ice following him the whole way. He then leaps into the middle of the square and lets off a dome of purple energy, which extends out toward Juno, who flips backward to avoid it. Darkstalker lets it off, then chuckles a bit. A pathway of ice encircles around the fighters that travels across the ground and walls of nearby houses. Darkstalker stands ready, waiting for Juno's next move. Juno clenches his fist, and begins concentrating. Suddenly, the pathway of ice begins shifting and lifting off ground. Darkstalker looks on in surprise. The ice then materializes into snow, and a vicious blizzard begins raging around both fighters. Juno is immune to the effects. He watches for signs of attack, but instead sees Darkstalker fly right out the top of the blizzard, a large pair of black dragon-like wings sprouted from his back. He then fires the same blast that nuetralized the flower shop toward Juno, who promptly lets off his blizzard maneuver and dodges. He comes to a stop, but senses another attack. He glances to the right and ducks as a large lizard beast lunges toward him. The lizard lands on his feet and faces Juno with almost a hungry glance. Juno readys his blade, as Darkstalker comes to a landing, his wings retracting back into his body. "Oh... And did I mention I'm not alone?" He states.
"Impressive maneuvers, ice man, but I'm afraid your life is at its end." The lizard states, his voice high and raspy.
"You two ain't seen nothing yet!" Juno yells.
Juno then slams his fist to the ground, a dome of ice instantly extends around him at a high radius. Darkstalker and the lizard beast are overtaken, and they begin slowly freezing. Juno keeps his first firmly planted, drawing out his ice energy to keep the dome up. Darkstalker begins glowing purple, and the lizard green, as they attempt to fight back the ice magic. Their energy grows bigger, and the ground around begins to quake. The sound of things falling within the houses can be heard. Darkstalker and the lizard let out yells as their energy explodes, shattering the ice forming around them, and destroying a few houses at the same time. Juno is blown backwards into a house, and his ice field dissipates. He slowly stands up, his energy drained from maintaining the field. He can tell his two adversaries have used up a lot of energy as well. "Nice work. You almost had us." The lizard says.
"And now you're weakened. You stood no chance from the beginning!" Darkstalker says.
Juno readies his blade, knowing he could very well lose. The two are about to attack, when suddenly, a massive blast of fire comes barreling toward them through the square. The blast strikes the lizard with massive force, sending him flying back near the Kingdom exit. The fire blast stops in midair, and then speeds again at Darkstalker, sending him flying toward the lizard. The fire blast then flies upward and curves downward to the ground, where it forms into an oval. The oval dissipates, revealing Infernus. He stands straight and glares at the two opponents as they get up shakily. He sneers. "Darkstalker and Scalea. Well. What a surprise to find you two here." He says.
"You're here as well Infernus? I should have known you'd be tracking us down." Scalea says.
"Ah. So you do work for him, don't you? I'm not tracking you two at all." Infernus states.
"Fine. You caught us red-handed. Doesn't mean you have the power to stop us." Darkstalker says.
"You may have pulled a number on Juno, but you wasted your energy. Fight me now and I kill you both." Infernus says, sternly.
"That I doubt!" Scalea says.
"Stop! There will be no more fighting!" A voice suddenly rings out.
Infernus glances behind him as the Princesses Peach and Zelda walk up. They both extend their hands, and a bright flash is emitted. A golden aura surrounds the entire area, houses and all. Darkstalker and Scalea find themselves becoming weakened while within it. "Damnit! Anti-evil aura!" Darkstalker says.
"Such deeds will not go unpunished in my kingdom. Time to pay!" Peach says.
"On contrare!" Darkstalker says, as he lifts his hand high.
A portal of darkness and fire appears behind him. "What? In the aura? How?" Zelda says.
"We will see each other again, I'm sure. But for now, we leave you in fear!" Scalea says.
The two leap into the portal, which prompty disappears. Peach and Zelda sigh and dispel the aura. Infernus looks at them. "I thank you for putting an end to that." Infernus says.
"No, I should thank you. Both of you. For stopping them before they could do any more damage." Peach says.
"What are you doing here, anyway?" Zelda asks.
"We just came to see if we could find some information on a certain person. Turns out those two are his accomplises." Infernus says.
"Well, what matters is you stopped them. That is commendable." Zelda says.
"Come with me to my castle. I can help your injured friend. And maybe you could tell us more about this person you are seeking." Peach says.
Juno sheathes his gunblade. "But what about the damage done?" He asks.
"I'm afraid I alone can do nothing to help that. But I will dispatch my workers. Worry not, and come with me." Peach says, as she begins walking down the square.
Infernus, Juno, and Zelda follow. As they go, Zelda stops and looks back toward the eastern exit, where the two disappeared into the portal. I knew something was wrong... And I always have to be right. We have a new threat now.
THE END
Next: Chapter 4 - The Kickoff Approaches: Preparations