Disclaimer: I do not own anything mentioned in this story!
Super Smash Brothers: United
Chapter 3: Rising to the Call of Duty
Samus Aran paced slowly through one of the center's many corridors. The metallic echoes of adjoining metal ensued each of her steps. Dr. M decided to allot the group some time to familiarize themselves amongst each other while he worked on a suitable strategy. He knew that cooperation was going to be the key to success. However, Samus wasn't a social person; she was always a loner. She intended to keep it that way.
Unlike the majority of the brigade, she never left her home to join the doctor's struggle. She didn't have an actual home to leave. Instead, she just traveled to where she was needed. Typically, the Galactic Federation summoned her for whatever tasks proved too difficult for their troops. Last time, however, they didn't.
Samus recalled the events that transpired to her alignment with the doctor.
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It was an ordinary space venture that led her particularly close to Earth. Unexpectedly, her vessel's computer had detected a distress signal emitted from the planet. A major city was under assault. She flew downward through the atmosphere to the exact location – Aeropolis. It took her longer than she had hoped to arrive. She landed in the middle of
the wreckage and immediately surveyed the area.
The city was demolished and littered with cadavers. Blood now tarnished the once grand Aeropolis. Some of the citizens were trampled by the fallen debris of the formerly towering structures that gave the city its name, and others were literally torn apart; Torsos and appendages were separated, blood-drenched entrails spilled from torn abdomens, and cerebral fluids leaked from shattered skulls that were fractured by the force of meeting the pavement. No one was spared from the massacre; Samus could even identify the carcasses of children. What monster could have been capable of such destruction?
Samus chose to remain on Earth until the threat was eliminated. It was creating a panic on the continent. The people seemed to be evacuating the planet and boarding the space colonies orbiting it. This made her especially wary of any life forms she detected in the area, since now they most likely weren't human.
One memorable hunt left her in Mute City. It too was abandoned, just as she predicted. She cautiously paced through the empty streets, frequently surveying the area.
"Unknown life form detected east," the suit's CPU warned her.
Samus jolted right to see the enemy herself. Against the wall of what looked like a nightclub was an elderly man, and before him was a living, man-shaped wire frame. The man tensed with each step the miscreation took towards him. Samus leaped forward as she charged her Power Beam. In preparation of a punch, the wire frame drew its arm back. A whip of blue energy wrapped around its wiry wrist and forcefully pulled it to the ground. The old man took the opportunity to escape his predicament and ran from the dazed abomination. The wire frame climbed back onto its feet and searched for its new opponent. When it finally faced Samus, she brought her arm cannon onto her hand and took aim. With a burst of energy, a fully powered Charge Shot was released at the wire frame. It wasn't quick enough to dodge the blast, nor endurable enough to withstand it. It disintegrated, seeming to subside along with the fatal flash of light.
"I am indebted to you," an aged voice thanked her. Samus turned her head towards the man. "I take it… you are after it as well?"
This man obviously knew about Samus, either due to her remarkable reputation as a bounty hunter or savior of the galaxy.
"Yes." Samus simply replied, lowering her arm cannon. She knew what 'it' basically was, just not entirely. She examined the man. He appeared to be unharmed, just edgy. Samus then started to return to her hunt, continuing north down the walkway.
""We can not defeat it individually," Those words stopped her. "…but we are not the only ones with a common objective."
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That led to her alliance with him. Even then she never thought she'd join individuals who were foreign to this supercluster of galaxies.
'So much has happened so fast…'Samus thought, ceasing her meandering. 'It's surprising none of us appear overwhelmed by it all… or perhaps some of us are just used to concealing what lies beneath our exteriors."
Samus regained her pace. She didn't have a specific destination. Her mind was preoccupied with everything that had happened, and everything that just might.
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Popo and Nana didn't volunteer to come to this reality. The two Ice Climbers just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. From what they had told Dr. M, upon reaching the tip of Icicle Mountain, they were consumed by a wormhole that had formed directly above it. Fortunately, they entered this dimension relatively close to the Control Center. An hour or so ago, Captain Falcon witnessed their arrival and brought them into the Analysis Lab. Despite the slight inconvenience, they handled the situation fairly well and maintained their friendly dispositions.
"What is it?" the small, parka-wearing figure questioned. He was puzzled by all the innovative technology the lab had to offer.
The good doctor continued to labor on the main supercomputer of the laboratory. He had recently remembered its avatar and activated it, which prompted amazement in the two Ice Climbers.
"This is Mr. Game-and-Watch. I suppose you could consider him as my assistant," Dr. M clarified as he brought a hand to his chin thoughtfully. He chose not to inform them of the avatar's custom 'personality programming'. He wasn't aware of their home's degree of technology. Judging by their reactions, they may not have had computers themselves.
A faceless, black silhouette was featured on the colossal monitor that sat directly above the console and in the center of the wall. His shape was rather exaggerated; His head was larger than his torso, and his thin limbs were attached to bulbous hands and elongated feet.
"Beep! Salutations doctor! It has been a while, yes?" The avatar greeted. "How are you doing on this absolutely lovely afternoon?"
He had to be humoring the doctor. Sinister, ominous clouds hung in the darkened sky and stymied the sun's light from reaching the earth below. You wouldn't know it was the afternoon.
"You could say things are beginning to look better," The doctor replied, nodding at his own words.
"Hopping dimensions again are we, Doctor?" Mr. Game-and-Watch noticed the Ice Climbers. "-I thought you retired from that line of work…"
"The presence of these two is the result of a mishap,"
"So it's a mistake they're here with us then,"
Nana wasn't sure if she should have felt offended by that remark. Perhaps it was how he had said it, or how he so simply surmised.
"Not at all, Mr. Game-and-Watch. I didn't intend for their arrival in this cosmos is what I meant," Dr. M corrected the cyber being. "Would you please display a map of Port Town?"
"Ah, of course doctor,"
With that, the silhouette dematerialized and a map of the ruins of Port Town was displayed on the monitor. The doctor clasped his hands behind his back and faced the siblings.
"I'm sure you're already quite bored here. Would you like to have one of the others show you around?"
Popo and Nana faced each other and smiled warmly. They turned towards the doctor again and nodded profusely. For a moment, the doctor considered who to escort the two.
"Mr. Game-and-Watch, please call in the Princess. I'm sure she wouldn't mind…"
"You're too demanding, doctor," he replied. Despite his disappearance, he was still active.
--------------------------------------- Leisure Hall Sector 1 -----------------------------------------
"Princess Peach, would you please join the doctor in the lab?" a voice echoed from the intercom.
The Princess had been seated with Mario and Luigi at one of the many tables in the spacious room. The capacity seemed to serve no function. Perhaps it was used as a leisure hall of some sort. Whatever its purpose, it wasn't clear to them.
"I'll be right back," Peach winked to the plumbers as she proceeded to the right-most entry way. She entered the platform it concealed and boarded it. It shot downward, seemingly vanishing along with Peach.
"What do you think the doc wants?" Mario asked his brother, tearing his attention from where the platform once was. Luigi merely shrugged.
"What do you think will happen?" he asked the question that had been plaguing his mind for the past two days.
"Eh?"
"Do you think we'll actually succeed?" his tone was slightly dismayed. He came face to face with his brother.
"I know we will, Luigi." Mario saw doubt in his younger brother's eyes. He couldn't say he was surprised by it, however.
"I hope you're right…" Luigi took some comfort in Mario's confidence. He was still uncertain of almost everything.
Luigi wanted to believe their efforts weren't futile. He wanted to, but he just couldn't.
-----------------------------------------Leisure Hall Sector 2----------------------------------------
A member of a lost tribe unknown to neither Fox nor Falco now stood in Zelda's place.
She had completely metamorphosed. Her build, while still slender, appeared more athletic. Her flowing, blonde hair was mostly concealed by a white wrapping. Her attire no longer consisted of the extravagant, pink dress but now a form-fitting blue suit. She
They hailed from the Lylat System. It was one that was dominated by science; Most of the inhabitants had put their faith into machines and technology. The concept of this 'magic' would be incomprehensible to them.
Princess Zelda possessed the scared knowledge of the magical arts, and she was more than adept at performing those very incantations. Typically, she was modest of her talents but in she had just been requested to prove her worth to the cause.
"How did yo-" Before Falco could ask, she vanished with a cloud of smoke.
"I guess she proved her point…" Fox commented as he glanced around the area. He was only able to see the scarce tables that resided in that particular sector of the Hall.
"Is there any more doubt in my abilities?" The two pilots jolted around in surprise.
"I guess we'll have to wait until we can see you in action before we can decide on that…" Falco spoke somewhat dumbly as he came eye-to-eye with 'Sheik'.
She secretly smiled behind her concealments before she vanished once again. This time, she had left the immediate area altogether.
"Alleging her of being weak…" Fox's voice was blatantly accusing as he and his comrade stalked out of the Hall and into the nearest corridor. "Great way to ruin our conversation, Falco!"
"I just asked she came here! She looked like one of those typical damsel-in-distress types! How was I supposed to know she was one of those freaky, oddball princesses that practice voodoo and-"
Their voices trailed off as they ventured deeper into the corridor.
----------------------------------------------Briefing Room-------------------------------------------
Everyone was called into the Briefing Room (Although they weren't called, so were the Ice Climbers). Apparently, the doctor was ready to disclose his strategy for the first tear. The group was much more punctual this time around; everyone was seated in a matter of minutes and just as quiet as before.
"I trust you all took the opportunity to become acquainted…" Dr. M said, glancing particularly in Samus's direction. "It's vital for you all to cooperate,"
With his hands clasped behind his back, he turned around and faced the monitor.
"Mr. Game-and-Watch, a map if will!" at this command, a direct view of Port Town was displayed onscreen. The doctor cleared his throat.
"I will not be able to assist you from this center. The farther away from it you are, the stronger the signal it will broadcast as I communicate to you, and a powerful signal is easy to detect. We must not let them know of this Center! We will take the Transport-System to get to the warehouse located east."
As the doctor spoke, a glowing, blue sphere pinpointed the location of the warehouse on the map.
"We mustn't stay there long. From the warehouse, I will guide you through the ruins. There is a path that branches into three distinct ways. You will need to divide into three separate groups to clear these paths of all the units there."
The paths were depicted on the map as he spoke. The doctor turned around and faced the brigade.
"I mentioned to you all before that there was little activity in the area. It has increased more than I expected it to. Exercise extreme caution! Now, prepare yourselves. We are about to begin this monumental undertaking."
As quickly as they entered, the crowd swarmed out soundlessly, leaving the doctor and the Ice Climbers.
"What's…going on?" Popo questioned the doctor, tilting his head.
"…There is a great struggle in process," the doctor replied. He almost considered not telling them. "We are going to fight this enemy now…"
"Is that why we were brought here? Were we meant to fight it, too?" Nana asked. Dr. M looked down at her. Popo and Nana shared the look of determination that linked everyone involved in the effort.
"You just may have been," The doctor reciprocated.
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Author's Notes: Okay, I don't like writing this chapter or it came out, which should be obvious, as it's shorter than the last few. I'm just trying to give the characters some time in the limelight. I may just revise it sometime. Hopefully all the action in the next chapter will make up for it. It's the chapter I've been waiting for.
As always, suggestions and constructive criticism are always welcomed.