Mask Madness
Chapter 5: Let the Battle Begin!
Down in the dome-shaped building that was off to the left of the Melee Mansion, all types of emotions were being expressed among the faces of the waiting Smashers: nervousness, anxiety, fear, anger, impatience, and, for one particularly large Smasher, relaxation. Zelda twirled a strand of her golden hair continuously, Young Link kept checking that he had all of his weapons, and Link focused his attention on Ganondorf, still thinking about why he was here, and why he had brought "Young Link" with him to this tournament.
Link's thoughts were interrupted, however, by Fox and Falco coming up to talk to their little group. "Are you guys nervous?" asked Fox.
The three of them nodded, and Zelda said, "I just, well, I'm not really sure as to what I should expect... I mean, how does all of this work exactly?"
Fox shrugged, "I'm not sure. Master Hand didn't really explain himself very well..." "
Well," began Falco, "I just wish that Master Hand would get here already. I hate this waiting."
The little group mumbled their agreement, and they all once again became silent, listening to a few Smashers whispering to each other. After a couple of more tense minutes, Master Hand finally arrived, catching everyone's attention and shouting, "Welcome, Smashers, to the first battles! Now, this is how today is going to work; I am going to randomly choose names out of this hat,"
At this, a large magician's hat appeared in Master Hand's fingers, and little scraps of paper floated lazily down inside, "Today, we are having one on one battles. Tomorrow, today's winners will compete against each other. Now, this does not necessarily mean that you are out of the tournament if you lose today. You will lose this type of competition, but there are others that will follow, such as team battles. Each winner of each competition will receive a nice first place trophy. However, the overall winner of everything in the tournament will be the ultimate champion, and so the winner of the grand prize of money mentioned in the invitations."
Master Hand looked around at all of the Smashers' expressions, seeing that this made some happier and others skeptical. Master Hand then continued, "Are there any questions?" Mario raised his hand, then asked, "What are the other types of tournaments?"
Master Hand smiled, "You will find out later on. Anyone else?" The tense group remained silent, and Master Hand continued, "Excellent. Now, let's choose the opponents for the first battle. We will do one pair at a time, so that while another battle is occurring, you will not be tempted to give your known opponent, well, disadvantages."
Master Hand then drew out a piece of paper, and called out, "Kirby, you are going to be in the first match with," Master Hand paused as he drew out another piece of paper, "Jigglypuff!"
Both poofed up and looked at each other, then they both kept poofing up more and more as if it was some sort of contest of pride. "Okay," started Master Hand, and both Kirby and Jigglypuff shrunk back down again, "go over onto to those warp pads, and then I will transfer you to a random course."
Kirby and Jigglypuff nodded, then walked onto the warp pads, both looking a bit apprehensive. "Now," Master Hand, now behind a large control panel, hit a large round red button, and a scroll of the courses came up onto the screen, then as one was selected, the computer shouted, "Pokemon Stadium!" Master Hand then pressed another switch, and both Kirby and Jigglypuff warped out of the room, but then reappeared on the screen.
Fox, Falco, and Samus looked fairly impressed, while the swordsmen and a certain princess practically had their jaws touching the floor due to the fact that they were gaping so widely. "How...?" However, as the computer shouted "Ready? Go!" and the battle began, everyone completely focused their attention on the screen.
Match #1: Kirby Versus Jigglypuff
Jigglypuff quickly ran across the length of the course, then aimed a punch at Kirby. Kirby simply sat there, and even Falco asked, "What is he doing...?" However, when Jigglypuff got close enough to Kirby, he opened up his mouth widely, almost his full body length, and, to everyone's surprise, Jigglypuff flew right in.
Roy gasped, "He ate her!"
Everyone winced when Kirby swallowed, Peach shouting, "That can't be allowed!"
"Wait, look!" yelled Ness.
Kirby spit out Jigglypuff, who now looked slightly damp and extremely surprised.
Some of the Smashers sighed in relief, while others went, "Ewww..." Then some started to outright laugh as they caught sight of Kirby's new hair, "He's got a curl, just like Jigglypuff!"
Kirby then started to roll toward Jigglypuff, sounding A LOT like her. Jigglypuff looked outraged, believing she was being mocked, and poofed up as far as she could go.
Then, BAM! As Kirby had come rolling toward her, Jigglypuff had punched Kirby right in the stomach, sending him flying backwards.
Jigglypuff smiled in a satisfied way, but then her eyes widened when Kirby came back and slammed her with his hammer.
"Jigglypuff!"
Jigglypuff went soaring to the other side of the stage, which was now changing. Huge rocky cliffs grew out of the ground, and one managed to come up in time so that Jigglypuff slammed right into it. As Jigglypuff slid down from the enormous rock, Kirby came to the other side, ready to take her out for good, now that her percentage was high.
However, as he did, a party ball appeared and he walked up to it curiously. Jigglypuff got back up to her feet, and also walked up to the party ball curiously, though still keeping a distance from Kirby. He hit it a few times and managed to crack it open, and, to his and Jigglypuff's delight, a whole variety of foods came pouring out.
Both of their eyes widened, and they hurriedly started to eat it, though pushing and shoving and hitting each other out of the way. At one point, Jigglypuff managed to get in a good punch, sending Kirby flying back a few feet.
Enraged, Kirby came up to Jigglypuff and swung his hammer as hard as possible.
"Jigglypuff!"
Jigglypuff went soaring over the edge, but was able to catch herself and puff her way back onto the stadium. However, Kirby was waiting for her, and he again hit her with his hammer, though this time she flew out of sight screaming, "JIGGLYPUFF!"
Kirby waved happily, "Bye!" and the computer shouted, "Game!"
Both Kirby and Jigglypuff disappeared from the screen and reappeared in the room with the Smashers.
"Jiggly..."
The screen then showed the results of the battle, shouting, "And the winner is Kirby!" This was recorded, then Master Hand once again faced the Smashers.
"Excellent match. Now, Kirby, you'll be fighting tomorrow, and Jigglypuff, you can rest. But remember, you still have a chance at another competition."
Both of them left the warp pads, and Master Hand pulled out his hat again, "Now," he drew out a piece of paper, announcing, "in the second match, it is Donkey Kong against," he pulled out another paper, "Mr. Game and Watch!"
Donkey Kong stood up straighter, putting out his chest, as Mr. Game and Watch jingled his bell. "All right, onto he warp pads." said Master Hand. Both Donkey Kong and Mr. Game and Watch took their places as the computer scrolled through the courses, eventually landing on, "Flatzone!"
Match #2: Donkey Kong Versus Mr. Game and Watch
Donkey Kong and Mr. Game and Watch appeared on the screen, DK glancing around with a raised eyebrow and Mr. Game and Watch dancing with glee to be on his own territory.
The computer yelled out, "Ready? Go!" and DK immediately started to wind up his arm. Mr. Game and Watch came tottering over to DK, then, at a certain distance, began to toss sausages out of a frying pan. Mr. Game and Watch was successful in causing DK to not finish up powering his arm, however, he did not do any damage, as DK sat with his mouth wide open, eating the sausages...
"I wonder what those taste like?" asked Kirby.
Samus frowned, "Probably taste horrible."
When Mr. Game and Watch noticed this, he simply stared blankly at DK at first, but then went back into action. Both of them ran towards each other, and when Mr. Game and Watch got really close, he turned his head into a helmet and went to head butt DK, but he was too slow as DK threw out his arms and slammed together his enormous hands, crushing Mr. Game and Watch between them and sending him soaring to the other side of the course.
The observing Smashers winced visibly.
As Mr. Game and Watch got back up to his feet as quickly as he could, he scuttled away from the end of the course, not wanting to be easily hit out of the game. This time, he used his quickest move against the large monkey; he pulled out an old instrument that when pumped, blew out streams of air.
DK became trapped and was struggling to get back up. However, before he could completely escape, Mr. Game and Watch took out his torch and sent a flying, flaming monkey to the other side of Flatzone.
DK, who now had black smoke billowing off of him, quickly jumped back up to his feet, and furiously charged toward Mr. Game and Watch. At this time, tools began to fall from the ceiling. Mr. Game and Watch noticed this, and barely jumped out of the way of a bucket. DK was completely focused on Mr. Game and Watch in his rage, and just when he was poised to attack, a wrench smacked him on the top of his head, sending him flying off of the course entirely.
The computer shouted "Game!" and most of the Smashers, especially Samus, were simply gaping at the screen.
"He..won?"
Mr. Game and Watch came back ringing his bell victoriously as DK silently fumed. When the bell kept ringing, its owner ignoring Master Hand's attempt to recapture the Smashers' attention, DK let out a low, warning growl. Soon after, DK launched himself at Mr. Game and Watch, but the two were soon separated by Master Hand.
"Stop it, or you will be disqualified from the entire tournament!"
A tense silence rang about the room, then Master Hand continued, "Thank You. Now, remember DK, you still have a chance later on..."
The hat appeared, and Master Hand drew out a piece of paper, "The next match will be Ness versus," he dramatically pulled out another piece of paper, "Young Link!"
Young Link gulped, but then narrowed his eyes in determination. Link patted him on the shoulder and gave him an encouraging smile, and Young Link nodded back before joining Ness over on the warp pads. The computer rolled through the courses, and landed on, "Jungle Japes!"
Match #3: Young Link Versus Ness
Young Link and Ness both then appeared on the screen, Ness looking around curiously as Young Link smiled slightly, relieved that they had not gone to an exceedingly unfamiliar stage such as Flatzone.
The computer shouted "Ready? Go!" and Young Link tensed up immediately. As Ness ran toward him, Young Link observed him, and, feeling highly unintimidated, also ran toward Ness. They both ended up in the center of the stage, and as Young Link threw his boomerang, Ness threw out his yo-yo, which tripped up Young Link. In the end, though, the boomerang smacked Ness in the back of the head as it returned to its owner.
Smashers raised their eyebrows at this, never having thought of using kid's toys as weapons. Falco outright shouted, "You've got to be kidding me!" Link retorted, "What are you talking about? The boomerang is an excellent item!" Falco simply frowned back at Link, "Right... When we get back, I'm going to have to show you some real weapons." Link shrugged, and returned his attention back to the fight, where Ness had just hit Young Link to the far left platform with his home-run bat.
Young Link looked bewildered at this, but then narrowed his eyes and drew out his sword. He charged at Ness very quickly, and Ness only barely jumped out of the way. However, this did not faze Young Link as he simply turned his sword upward and jumped beneath Ness, making contact and sending Ness into the air.
Most of the Smashers winced, Peach exclaiming, "Ouch!" as Falco yelled, "Damn!"
As Ness came falling back down, Young Link went back up with his sword pointed upwards, and many of the Smashers cringed.
Ness again went flying as Bowser chuckled and said, "He, he, volleyball." then looked very thoughtful. The Smashers looked at him blankly, then turned their attention back to the screen.
When Ness came down this time, however, he first sent down a large star of green light, causing Young Link to jump out of the way. A party ball appeared in his place, and it instead was blown to smithereens. As Ness made his way back to the platform, Young Link picked up a gun and frowned at it, pondering, 'What kind of piece of junk is this? It's just a piece of metal!'
Falco groaned, "What is he doing? He's got an awesome gun, shoot it, SHOOT IT!"
Link looked over at him in question, "He's got a what?"
Falco gaped, then smacked his forehead, grumbling, "medieval people..."
As Young Link had wasted time observing the gun, Ness came at him quickly, and, not having enough time to bring up his sword, threw the gun at Ness, which sent him flying off of the course.
Falco gaped a bit, "Okay, guess that works too..."
The computer then shouted, "Game!" and they both reappeared in the control room.
"Well done!" said Master Hand as Link and Zelda congratulated Young Link, while Ganondorf frowned a bit. The results of the match appeared on the screen, then Master Hand again received everyone's attention as his hat appeared and he drew out two pieces of paper, "The next match will be Bowser against Mewtwo!"
Both lazily got to their feet, Bowser causing the floor to vibrate and making the Smashers have to regain their balance as Mewtwo swiftly glided. They both reached the warp pads, and the computer scrolled through the stages, coming up with, "Yoshi's Story!"
Match #4: Mewtwo Versus Bowser
Bowser and Mewtwo appeared on the screen, Bowser on the top platform and Mewtwo on the bottom. Immediately after the computer shouted, "Ready? Go!" Mewtwo jumped up beneath Bowser and flipped upside down, promptly smacking the koopa in the face with his long tail.
A few of the Smashers chuckled slightly as Ness laughed out loud.
Bowser roared in fury, then hopped down to Mewtwo's platform and swiftly grabbed the pokemon.
"UGH! That's horrible!" shrieked Peach as most of the other Smashers cringed slightly.
After Mewtwo backed off a bit from Bowser, the large koopa opened his mouth, where fire poured out and burned Mewtwo slightly before he managed to jump up on the above platform and out of the way.
Link blinked blankly a bit, then recalled how he had thought about this characteristic on the plane, "Well, so he can blow fire out of his mouth after all..."
A party ball appeared on the top platform, and both Mewtwo and Bowser jumped up for it. Bowser smacked Mewtwo out of the way with his humongous arm, then slashed open the party ball. A bunch of weird little creatures fell out along with an umbrella.
The Smashers looked oddly at the creatures as Bowser picked one up, and Ness cried out, "Mr. Saturn!" Some of the Smashers looked back at the boy in question, but then turned back toward the screen.
Bowser then looked over at Mewtwo, and, not sure what to do with the creature in the middle of a fight, promptly threw it at Mewtwo, who flew back a bit, having been completely surprised by this move.
Bowser laughed, then Mewtwo came back angrily, picked up Bowser, (which was followed with a "Damn, he's strong!" from Falco), then tossed him in the air and held him there as he pelted him with dark purple energy balls. After the attack, Bowser landed on the far right platform, but then jumped up, and spinned around in his shell with his spikes protruding, heading toward Mewtwo. Mewtwo was knocked off of the stage, but managed to catch himself just in time, teleporting back onto the lower platform.
Bowser grabbed the umbrella, then drifted down to Mewtwo's level as Falco commented, "And there goes a heavyweight Mary Poppins..."
Before Mewtwo had much of a chance to recover, Bowser came down and whacked him with the umbrella, this time completely sending him off of the course, his percentage having been very high.
The computer announced, "Game!" and the two Smashers reappeared in the control room. As the computer showed the results of the match, Bowser roared victoriously, scaring many of the Smashers out of their wits.
Master Hand raised his voice, "Nicely done. Now, on to the fifth match." Master Hand drew out two more pieces of paper, then, after glancing at them, announced, "We have the Ice Climbers versus Falco!"
Fox patted Falco on the back, "Go get 'em!"
Falco stood up straight, "I'm ready." He looked around, "So, who's the monster?"
The Ice Climbers came out onto the warp pads, and as Falco went over to them, he had to work really hard to not burst out laughing. 'This is too easy!' The computer scrolled through the courses and landed on, "Fountain of Dreams!"
Match #5: Ice Climbers Versus Falco
Falco and the Ice Climbers appeared on the screen, Falco on the bottom platform and the Ice Climbers on the top. When the computer shouted, "Ready? Go!" Falco gathered flames around himself, then propelled himself up at the Ice Climbers, setting them on fire and throwing them off of the platform.
Falco laughed a bit, and the Ice Climbers climbed to their feet with narrowed eyes. They hopped up to the top platform, then created a "blizzard" in both directions. Falco's eyes widened, noticing too late, and became frozen into an ice cube in that position.
This time the Ice Climbers laughed, and stuck out their tongue at the immobile Falco. However, after a bit, Falco broke free of the ice. With a new fire burning in his eyes, he charged the Ice Climbers at light speed, knocking them off of their feet. He stopped, then turned around to do it again, but the Ice Climbers had gotten back up and were now spinning toward him with their hammers out in front.
They smacked into him several times before he escaped. However, when he got to the other side, the Ice Climbers circled back the other way and trapped him once again.
Falco was getting frustrated, and vocal, "Ow!" SMACK "Stop" SMACK "that" SMACK "you" SMACK "little" SMACK
Falco then jumped out of target. As the Ice Climbers came to a stop, Falco had flames spring up around him, then pointed himself down at the Ice Climbers. The two went flying in opposite directions, and Falco savored his achievement with a smirk plastered upon his face.
As the Ice Climbers clambered back onto the stage, Falco focused his attention on Nana, using his light speed attack on her almost immediately after she managed to get back onto her feet. Nana went flying, then Falco faced Popo with a smirk.
The smirk soon disappeared, however, as Falco was hit with a block of ice. "Hey!" Popo was obviously furious, continuously sending blocks of ice at Falco.
Falco jumped out of the way after the second hit, landing on the far right platform. Popo followed Falco onto the platform, but only to be kicked upwards into the air. As Popo came back down, Falco again kicked him upwards, this time sending the Ice Climber completely off of the course, causing the computer to shout, "Game!"
Falco and the Ice Climbers reappeared, the former looking very pleased with himself. As Falco rejoined Fox, Fox rolled his eyes, and Falco laughed.
"Okay," started Master Hand, "Another brilliant match. Now, let's move on."
The magician's hat appeared, and Master Hand withdrew two more pieces of paper, "In the sixth match, we will have Pikachu compete against Yoshi!"
"So, a mouse against a dinosaur?" asked Fox with a confused look on his face.
Roy added, "This should be interesting."
After scrolling through the various stages, the computer landed on, "Green Greens!"
Match #6: Pikachu Versus Yoshi
Pikachu and Yoshi then appeared on the screen, Pikachu on the bottom and Yoshi on the top. When the computer shouted, "Ready? Go!" Pikachu raised his arms, then used thunder on Yoshi.
Yoshi streamed up into the air along with the electricity, then landed on his side, looking very frazzled. Pikachu came up to the top platform, but was unprepared for the long tongue that came lashing out at him. Yoshi then swallowed Pikachu and turned him into an egg.
Some of the Smashers gaped, while Falco said, "I'm glad my opponent didn't eat me..." and Bowser licked his lips while mumbling, "Pikachu omelett..." To the relief of the Smashers, Pikachu broke free of the egg.
Pikachu then spinned around on the ground as he let off electricity, taking Yoshi with him for a bit before sending the dinosaur flying off of the platform. The trees rustled, and large red apples fell down from them. One smacked Pikachu in the head, who then rubbed his head a bit, before smiling and picking the apple back up.
Pikachu went down to the lower platform, then threw the apple at the charging Yoshi. SMACK! "Yoshi!" Yoshi shook his head, then picked up an apple and threw it at Pikachu. SMACK! "Pika!"
Apples flew back and forth between the two Smashers, the two really going at it. SMACK! "Ow!" SMACK! "Pi!" Soon enough, both ran out of ammo, but a party ball appeared just in time.
Pikachu picked it up and tried to throw it at Yoshi, but he dodged it, so Pikachu hit it open, where a couple of poke balls fell out along with an umbrella. Yoshi came over to the items and managed to grab the umbrella, but Pikachu then sent him soaring with and electric bolt.
Pikachu opened the first poke ball, but it was only Goldeen. Yoshi came drifting back to the main platform with his umbrella, when Falco commented, "And here comes a smaller, yet still reptile version, of Mary Poppins..."
As Yoshi landed, Pikachu opened the second poke ball, which contained a... "Pikachu!"
Some of the Smashers gaped, Master Hand mumbling, "Oops" as Yoshi stood looking horrified.
"Pika pi!" Pikachu nodded his head, "Pika!" They then both turned toward Yoshi with evil smiles, and simultaneously sent off an electric bolt, which streamed toward Yoshi before he could jump out of the way, and was sent flying entirely off of the course. The second Pikachu then disappeared, his duty complete, as Pikachu waved happily, "Pika Pika!" The computer shouted, "Game!" and the two Smashers reappeared in the control room.
As the computer revealed the results of the match, Master Hand apologized, "Um, as you can see, there are still some, well, minor glitches, but I'll tend to them immediately... Besides that, spectacular match! Now, on to number seven!"
The top hat appeared, and Master Hand once again drew from it, announcing, "In this match, we will be having Mario fight against Roy!"
Marth and Roy spoke to each other in their strange language, then Roy walked over to the warp pads, where he and Mario stood confidently. The computer scrolled through the courses, and landed on, "Princess Peach's Castle!"
Match #7: Roy Versus Mario
The two appeared on opposite sides of the screen, and the computer shouted, "Ready? Go!" Both went for each other, jumping over the center tower. When they met in midair, Roy slashed out sideways with his sword, and hit Mario backwards.
Mario fell flat on his face on the bottom platform as Roy gracefully landed on top of the tower. Roy started to jump down toward Mario, and suddenly Mario quickly jumped to his feet and continued straight to Roy, hitting him six times in the attack, and gathering coins at the same time.
Roy then landed on his back, looking both bewildered and furious. He looked up at Mario and shouted, "Thief!" Mario shrugged, then, as he seemed to spot something, his eyes widened and he jumped down from the top of the tower and went to the opposite side of the course.
Roy raised an eyebrow at this, then looked back at what Mario had seen. Roy's eyes also widened at the sight, mumbling, "Oh, sh--!" before hurriedly jumping out of the way of a large bullet with some kind of face painted onto it. Roy hopped down next to Mario, then swiped his sword, landing a hit.
Roy then jumped with his flaming sword pointing upwards, taking Mario with him and setting him on fire. "Mama mia!" Roy could not help himself and allowed a smirk to appear on his face, though not for long, as Mario began to throw fire balls at him.
After being hit by two of them, Roy managed to jump out of the way. However, as Roy jumped up above Mario, Mario came up and once again hit Roy six times in a single attack, causing coins to appear.
Now enraged at this, Roy came charging at Mario, his sword raised high as he shouted out a battle cry. Mario looked slightly afraid at this sight, but then kicked into action by catching Roy in his tornado attack.
Roy went soaring above Mario, who was again coming up to get coins. Roy saw this coming, and so swiped his sword downward, sending Mario hard to the ground. Roy then came down to slash Mario out of the game for good, but was then surprised to find himself becoming dizzy as Mario held him by the feet and swinged him around in a circle.
Mario then let go of Roy when he reached top speed, sending the swordsman to the other side of the course, and straight into a wandering bob-omb. "Aahh!" Roy was completely blown off of the course, and the computer shouted, "Game!"
As the two Smashers returned, Mario's group cheered as Marth whispered to Roy. "Roy," said Link, walking up to the two swordsmen, "You looked pretty good out there." Roy mumbled, "I wasn't doing great... But I still might have won if it hadn't been for that stupid walking bomb." Link nodded, "Absolutely."
Before either of them could say anymore, the loud cheering that came from Mario's group died down and Master Hand spoke up, "Yet another amazing fight. Let's continue this then, shall we?"
Master Hand had his hat appear once again, and drew out two pieces of paper, "In match number eight, it is Fox versus Pichu!"
As the small pokemon appeared from within the crowd, Falco smirked over at Fox, "I don't know, Fox. Think you can handle him?"
Fox rolled his eyes, "Shut up, Falco."
Falco shrugged, "Just asking. But, just in case, good luck anyways."
Fox smiled, then turned toward the warp pads as the computer scrolled through the courses and landed on, "Great Bay!"
Match #8: Fox Versus Pichu
On the screen, Fox appeared on the main platform while Pichu stood upon the back of a giant turtle. The computer shouted, "Ready? Go!" and Pichu came running toward Fox swiftly, immediately sending off a small bolt of electricity that bounced along the platform and toward Fox.
Fox, however, was ready, and so lifted his shield and reflected the attack. Pichu jumped out of the way harmlessly, and continued his merry way toward his opponent. When Pichu reached him, Fox flipped over and kicked the air with feet, catching Pichu with them and sending the pokemon flying into the air.
Fox then jumped up and repeated the move in midair, sending Pichu even higher. Fox came up once again as Pichu started to fall, seemingly determined to continue his game of Pichu Ball.
However, Pichu did not want to play anymore, and this time came down with a downward electric attack. Fox was electrocuted in midair as Pichu dropped underneath him, then used his thunder attack, again shocking Fox in the sky.
Tired of playing Pichu's game of "Shock the Fox", Fox surrounded himself with flames of fire, then dive-bombed Pichu, sending him into the water. Pichu grabbed onto the edge of the far right platform, and Fox hopped down onto the left. He then took a great leap toward Pichu, who had now scrambled onto the platform and was looking at Fox curiously, and began to perform his light-speed attack.
Pichu recognized this and again hung onto the far right side of the platform. Fox came zooming to the far right platform, but did not quite make it, and ended up having to grab the edge of the platform.
Pichu then smirked a bit as he seized his chance; he let off a large bolt of electricity, and as water conducts it, Fox got hit by the electricity extremely hard.
At this, Falco, who had been watching the match a bit tensely, shouted, "Come on, Fox! Get out of there!"
Fox had let go of the platform, but when the attack finished, he managed to grab it again, heaving himself up and practically kissing the ground. Pichu quickly got to his feet, then attacked the vulnerable Fox. Fox went flying into the air, almost too high, but managed to stay within the boundaries.
As he came back down, he again had fire swirling around him as he dive-bombed Pichu, though sending the pokemon to the opposite side of the course instead of completely off of it. Though it was close.
As Pichu struggled to get back onto the stage, Fox went to open a nearby party ball that had only appeared not too long ago.
"Please have a gun!" he pleaded.
However, what came out instead was a... "Wand?" Fox frowned at this, but then turned around as Pichu hopped up on onto the main platform. As Pichu came toward him, he swinged the wand wildly, and, to his surprise, a large, yellow star came out the end of it and hit Pichu, sending the light pokemon soaring off of the course entirely.
Fox smiled down at the wand as he observed it, "Not bad..."
The computer shouted, "Game!" and the two Smashers appeared in the room. Falco punched Fox in the arm in a friendly gesture, and Link shook his head amusedly. As Pikachu comforted Pichu, Master Hand came up to the front of the room, "Nicely done, you two. Now, onto match number nine." Master Hand had his hat appear with a pop, then drew out two more pieces of paper, causing the now small pile to shrink down even more, "Luigi shall be fighting against," Master Hand frowned a bit, but the continued, "Ganondorf."
Ganondorf smirked a bit, then went over to the warp pads. Link, Young Link, and Zelda scowled at him, but he only smiled in their direction.
'Please let Luigi win,' thought Link desperately, 'though, the poor guy is probably going to be pulverized.'
When Luigi came out onto the warp pads, he looked horrified at the sight of his opponent. The computer ran through the various courses, then chose, "Battlefield!"
Match #9: Ganondorf Versus Luigi
Luigi started on the top platform while Ganondorf appeared underneath on the main one. The computer shouted, "Ready? Go!" and Ganondorf did not waste any time. He jumped up, grabbed Luigi, relased some dark magic, which painfully went through Luigi, then pushed himself off of the plumber and sent him harshly down to the ground, seemingly on fire.
As Luigi tried to recover, Ganondorf came up to him, then kicked frontward and backwards with his huge leg outstretched, kicking Luigi back and forth before causing him to soar off to the right platform.
Ganondorf chuckled as he came up to Luigi, but this time, Luigi fought back; Luigi jumped to his feet and rocketed himself sideways, crashing into Ganondorf and setting him on fire. Ganondorf was no longer laughing; he growled in rage, and charged for Luigi.
Ganondorf smacked Luigi in the chest, sending him across the main platform. A capsule appeared, and, as Luigi regained his footing, Ganondorf went to open it. An umbrella fell out, and Ganondorf seized.
He then used the umbrella to drift down to Luigi, as Falco, who liked to mention this particular thing, commented, "And here comes the most ugly Mary Poppins you will ever see in your entire life..."
When Ganondorf reached Luigi, he smacked him with the umbrella, sending him entirely off of the course. Ganondorf smiled as the computer shouted, "Game!" and the two Smashers returned to the control room.
Ganondorf looked at Link pointedly before returning to his original spot, while Luigi looked like he was in pain, but relieved at the same time that he had survived the match. After the results were recorded, Master Hand once again had his hat appear, though it was much emptier than before the fighting had started, and drew out two pieces of paper, announcing, "In this match, it is Peach against Dr. Mario!"
Peach and Dr. Mario looked a bit surprised at this, but then nodded and shook hands with each other respectfully. They walked over to the warp pads, and the computer landed on, "Mushroom Kingdom!"
Match #10: Dr. Mario Versus Peach
Peach and Dr. Mario appeared on opposite sides of the course. When the computer shouted, "Ready? Go!" Peach walked over to the main platform while Dr. Mario ran. At the edge of the far left platform, Peach took out a radish, then threw it at the charging Dr. Mario.
As Dr. Mario was thrown back, Peach daintily jumped over to the main platform. Dr. Mario then came toward her with his fist raised, and sent her soaring up into the air and nearby brick blocks.
As Peach painfully came back to the ground, something seemed to awaken inside of her, and she came charging at Dr. Mario. She jumped up, then attacked Dr. Mario with her hip, setting him on fire and causing him to bounce of off brick blocks.
Peach posed, "Sweet!" Dr. Mario came charging back at Peach, but she had been ready; she faced him and SMACK sent him flying with her tennis racket...
Link glanced over at Mario, recalling this morning, then looked over at Zelda, "Is that what she hit Mario with this morning?" Zelda frowned a bit, "I don't think so... I think it was something heavier..."
Dr. Mario came back at Peach, and caught her in his tornado attack. Peach bounced off of the brick blocks that had reappeared, then crashed back down to the main platform. Peach then quickly got up and punched Dr. Mario up into the top center brick blocks.
Right before he hit the ground, Peach kicked her leg straight up, and sent Dr. Mario soaring into the block free sky. However, he managed to stay within the boundaries and again came down to Peach, though now prepared to attack.
Though, it turned out that this attack was no match for Peach's frying pan; a loud metallic WHACK! sounded out throughout the course as Peach made contact.
Most of the Smashers winced, Link especially as Zelda exclaimed, "That was it!"
Dr. Mario went flying away into the horizon, and Peach posed as the computer shouted, "Game!"
While some of the Smashers had returned a bit bruised and singed, Dr. Mario was the first one to return with a massive headache and a case of dizziness. "Mama mia..." His group helped him come back into the room, and Master Hand again had his hat appear, and as he drew out the pieces of paper, Link tensed up as he thought, 'There are not many left now... I could be picked next... Or Zelda really... In fact, what if we end up fighting against each other?'
Master Hand then made his announcement, "In the second to last match, we have Samus competing against Marth!"
Link breathed out in relief, but then was struck with another thought as the two Smashers went up to the warp pads, "But wait... Doesn't that mean that only I and Zelda are left? Or am I forgetting someone...? But, if so, how does that work?"
Link's thoughts were interrupted as the computer announced the chosen course, "Brinstar!"
Match #11: Marth Versus Samus
Samus appeared on the top platform while Marth ended up underneath on the main platform. The computer shouted, "Ready? Go!" and Marth reacted instantly; springing up with his sword upwards. He performed a half circle with his sword as he struck Samus, then flipped over back down to the main platform.
Samus came down on Marth, and stretched out her arm, which acted as a flame thrower. Marth was set on fire and stumbled back a bit as Samus landed.
At this point, the stage seemed to shake a bit as the yellow acid moved higher. Samus saw this, and jumped to a higher platform. Marth, however, had only gotten the fire on his body to go out when he saw the horrible substance spilling onto the main platform.
His eyes widened, and he jumped up the far right platform, but the yellow acid rose even higher, quickly, touching Marth's foot as he tried to jump out of the way. He landed on the top platform, but then hopped on one foot as he tried to extinguish the fire on the burning foot.
Samus smiled, then smacked Marth off of the platform. He went head first into the acid, then jumped up in pain, soaring into the sky. He landed back on the top platform, but this time, he knocked Samus off.
Her eyes widened in surprise as she fell into the acid, then too came soaring up into the air while on fire. She came back onto the top platform, then both took little swipes at each other as the acid finally fell back down to a lower level.
When this occurred, Samus smacked Marth with her gun that rested on the end of her arm, and sent him flying off of the platform. Marth managed to jump up back onto the main platform, then looked up at Samus, who was in return looking back down at him.
Deciding it would be better if Samus came down to him, he started to look around aimlessly. Samus was becoming impatient when Marth a type of jelly substance that seemed to be supporting the right platform. He sliced at it with his sword, cutting through part of it. As he Samus jumping down into this platform, he smiled, and, right when she landed, cleaned through the support with his sword, causing the platform to tilt.
Samus waved her arms in surprise, attempting to regain her balance as Marth charged his sword. Samus came sliding down to him, and Marth aimed; Samus rolled up into a small ball, then flew up above him instead.
Marth's eyes widened in surprise as he stopped his attack. Samus then dropped a small bomb onto him, causing him to shield his eyes. As he looked up, he knew it was too late; Samus came charging toward him and struck him with her gun, sending him flying off of the course. Marth went past the boundary lines, and the computer shouted, "Game!"
Samus went off to one side of the control room as a very frazzled Marth rejoined Roy. Link barely saw this as he was completely focused on what was going to happen next, 'I can't fight Zelda...'
Master Hand came up to them, had his hat appear, then drew out two more names, "In today's last match, Link will be fighting against Captain Falcon!"
Link looked at Master Hand blankly at first, but then sighed in relief. However, remembering that he had a fight coming up, he steeled himself. Zelda and Young Link wished him good luck, then he headed over to the warp pads, looking for who his opponent was.
When Captain Falcon showed up, Link frowned at the tight-shirted man, who in turn winked at him. Link, now disgusted, looked over at the computer screen as it landed on, "Mute City!"
Match #12: Link Versus Captain Falcon
Both Smashers appeared on opposite ends of a single, small, moving platform. Link looked down past the platform in bewilderment, observing the speeding cars below. Though he recognized that the cars were a smaller, faster version of the bus he had ridden to the mansion, he did not recognize the roadway at all. He knew that Captain Falcon must have, however, as he happily went, "Oh yeah!"
When the computer shouted, "Ready? Go!" Link steeled himself for the current match. Captain Falcon jumped toward Link, then fire swirled around him as he charged him. Link saw this, and so jumped out of the way and to the opposite side of the platform, landing behind Captain Falcon.
As "Falcon Punch!" was heard, fire went everywhere, and Captain Falcon tried to turn around quickly afterwards, but as he did, a bomb was heading toward him, and it blew up right in his face.
Zelda and Young Link cheered, receiving various looks from the other Smashers, though most were smiling slightly with a few rolling their eyes.
Captain Falcon got back up to his feet, and this time tried a faster attack, throwing quick jabs at Link. Link received a few of them, but then managed to jump out of the way. The platform lowered itself into the road, where there were two more, smaller platforms above it.
Link came at Captain Falcon swinging his sword in huge arcs, landing two smash attacks. As Link made his way toward Captain Falcon, he stopped abruptly as his ears perked up.
'What is that sound...?" he thought.
He soon found the source as several cars came speeding his way. Link's eyes widened slightly, but he quickly acted and jumped to safety on the far right platform. Captain Falcon was not as lucky, however, as the cars smacked into him, sending him into the air. He landed hard on the left platform, but then quickly jumped up onto his feet.
The two platforms dissolved as the main platform reappeared, both Smashers jumping onto it. Captain Falcon lifted his leg high in the air, which was shaking a bit.
Falco laughed a bit at this, "Is there an indivisible fire hydrant there or something?"
Link looked at Captain Falcon oddly, but then got an idea: he took a bomb, then threw it underneath Captain Falcon's raised leg. Captain Falcon saw this coming too late, as Link had been very close and almost in range for his own attack. The bomb exploded, and Captain Falcon cringed, as did the observing Smashers.
Even Link winced a bit, giving Captain Falcon some room as he tried to walk. With tears of pain in his eyes, Captain Falcon charged Link, who had been starting to feel slightly guilty, and managed to land a "Falcon punch!" on the surprised Link.
Link went flying off of the platform, and barely managed to grab the edge as they soared extremely high over the raceway. Captain Falcon met up with him, and immediately after Link climbed back up onto the platform, he smacked him right back off.
Link managed to catch himself, then, instead of grabbing for the edge, he spinned around very quickly with his sword, propelling himself upward toward Captain Falcon and cutting him in the end.
Captain Falcon was thrown back off of the platform, but grabbed the edge and scrambled back on as Link landed in the center. When Captain Falcon went to punch Link, Link retaliated with a swift, powerful swipe of his sword. Captain Falcon went flying off of the platform and left the course completely as the computer shouted, "Game!"
The two Smashers appeared in the control room, then went their separate ways. Master Hand quickly announced, "Excellent matches today, everyone!"
Zelda frowned a bit, then raised her hand, "Um, excuse me, but I have not battled today!"
Master Hand blinked at her stupidly, then scanned the room as he counted everyone, "Twenty-five... Oh." Master Hand looked awkward, but then continued, "All right, how about this. If you can destroy all of the targets within a certain amount of time, and on your first try, then you can continue on tomorrow."
Zelda nodded, then went over to the warp pads. Master Hand fiddled with the computer a bit, then Zelda appeared on a small platform on the screen. After jumping onto other platforms, Zelda destroyed four targets. Then, from where she started, she teleported up and hit another target. She then finished the course in that fashion, managing to pass all of the requirements.
She reappeared in the control room, and Master Hand exclaimed, "Nicely done!" Zelda went over to Link, "That was pretty easy." Master Hand then continued, "Okay, here are the results everyone." On the screen were displayed the winners of today's battle: Kirby, Mr. Game and Watch, Young Link, Bowser, Falco, Pikachu, Mario, Fox, Ganondorf, Peach, Samus, and Link. "Now, I'll see the winners here tomorrow, same time, same place. Enjoy the rest of your day!"
Everyone started to talk almost immediately as they left the room, discussing all of the various battles. "Hey!" called Falco, joining up with Link, Zelda, and Young Link. "So, what-" Falco was interrupted by a large growling sound. Everyone looked at Fox, who replied, "Okay, so I'm a bit hungry." Falco laughed, "Yeah, me too. Let's get some grub, then talk over the matches. Everyone nodded, then trudged off toward the cafeteria with everyone else. That is, except for Ganondorf, who glanced around before heading off in his own direction.
A/N: Wow, this chapter turned out to be much longer than I had planned on. Nevertheless, I hope everyone enjoyed it. And of course, thanks for the reviews! And lightpaladin, Majora works more in the background of everything, and is not in the tournament, but he will be making an appearance later on. And who knows? He may be involved in a battle later on… Well, I'll leave you with that. Please, please review!