Chapter Three: A Touch Of Hope.
Zelda
All four of us was walking towards the Smasher area. On the left side of the hallway was Samus, with me being trailing her. On the right side was Link, who was being trailed by Fox. This tournament held a new perspective, and could have many interesting twists and turns. Usually, Link would be my partner, and Captain Falcon would be Samus' partner. But after the event, Captain Falcon and I had only two choices: Either team up, or not be in this tournament at all. Not that either of us mind. It would be quite interesting; two Smashers on different sides of the timeline. Just like the team of Samus and Link. Of course there was one HUGE difference: The racer and I could probably get through a match without trying to kill each other.
I looked to my right, just in time to notice Fox turn his head forward. I saw a bit of crimson creep across his face. Was he blushing? I shrugged. Maybe he was just tense.
Fox tapped the shoulders of Link and Samus, than stopped. The two fighters looked at Fox.
"Look, even though I'm also in this tournament, Falco and I really want to face you sometime," he stated. "You two want the same thing: A shot at each other. So I want you two to shake hands and agree to work together." Both Link and Samus shifted their footing a bit and gave off a scoff. "I said SHAKE!" The two sighed and shook hands. There was always something about the vulpine teen. Despite the fact he was seventeen years old, he had a look that commanded respect. I guess that is what anyone should expect from one who leads a team of mercenaries. Especially a group of mercenaries that has Falco in its ranks. The two fighters walked forward and pushed through double-doors.
Mr. Game and Watch
Hi. The name's Mr. Game and Watch. Of course, I decided to do a little bit of watching. Donkey Kong and I already went through the placing match against the Fighting Polygon Team.
The Fighting Polygons are a bunch of androids that are based on us, the Smashers. They use our moves and poses, but they are considerably more easy to knock off. The problem is, they look like origami figures, so it's sometimes hard to distinguish between a two of them.
Everyone was done with placing themselves in the seeds of the tournament, except for the last three teams. No one didn't clear all of the Polygon team, which was normal. Not that we couldn't, we just didn't feel like it. Everyone had their reasons not to. Me? I just didn't take it serious. I only take matches against other Smashers seriously. And even than, you'd hear a lot of puns and one liners from me your truly.
I grabbed the microphone to announce the match.
"Ladies and Gentleman, how'd you like that performance by Mewtwo and Pichu?" I yelled. The crowd erupted into euphoria. I smiled at the result. I found it a little strange, those two. Pichu was a good buddy of mine and is very cheery (and might I add could be more crude than Falco when it comes to sense of humor. "This the flat-man, Mr. Game and Watch, announcing the next match. If you were here last night, you saw the suspension of Link and Samus Aran." As I expected, there were a lot of boos. Not as much boos as I thought I would here. But boos none the less. "But now, with a decision by the Master Hand, these two will team up and qualify!" There was some mix reaction. I shrugged and continued. "HERE THEY COME!"
Link and Samus appeared side by side, in the middle of the arena. I gave the usual introductions.
"At seven feet tall, with a left iron hook and one hell of a right blaster, weighing in at 120 lbs without the suit, the mightiest Bounty Hunter of all time, SAAAAAAAAAMUS ARAN!" Samus crouched down, looking at her left fist. She than raised her right blaster up in the air as she suddenly stood up, flames bursting out of her blaster. I than took a look at Link. Instead of the usual green tunic, he decided to go with the sun-fire yellow tunic. The look was the same overall, but it was nice to see him wear something else than usual green.
"And her partner, from the Hylia, packing the Hylian Shield and the Master Sword Of Time. Weighing in at 150 lbs, the Hero Of Time, LINK!" Link twirled his sword around in the air a couple of times, than lowered the sword, making it glow. "Now let the match begin!" Man I love being the announcer.
Link
I closed my eyes as the arena turned black. After a few moments, I wasn't in the arena no more. I was floating on a huge platform in space. Above it were two three more platforms. Two were the same distance above the main platform on two different sides. The middle platform was twice as high. I immediately got ready, my back towards Samus, and vice versa. That was the Battlefield for you.
"THREE!" The first android hit the top platform. "TWO!"
"Here we go," I muttered out.
"ONE! LET THE MATCH BEGIN!"
"Let's go!" Samus yelled. The first fighter I saw looked like me. I slashed first, knocking it into space. A huge THUMP! signified one for us. I turned around to see Samus send an iron fist to the jaw of a fighter that either was supposed to support Ganondorf or Captain Falcon. Personally, I hoped it represented the former. Either way, it was launched from the Battlefied.. Two more fighters appeared. One was Kirby and one was Jigglypuff. Or was it the other way around. It didn't matter, however, beacuse Samus and I were focused on the fighter that looked like an origami Donkey Kong. We both jumped up and kicked the fighter upward, sending it to some distant star system. We quickly discarded the two featherweights with absolutely no problem.
The next three were representations of Mewtwo, Samus, and I. Samus and I both agreed to forget about the Mewtwo-bot and go after each other 'clones.' Samus had a charged shot ready for my clone, blasting it sky high. I pulled out my signature bomb and blew Samus' clone away.
"Expect that in out match!" Samus yelled to me. I didn't answer back. I was trying to get through this match. The match went on like this. Everyone was cheering "LINK! LINK! LINK!" Than everyone was cheering "SAMUS! SAMUS! SAMUS!" This went back and forth. The crowd erupted into euphoria! The last android to appear was an origami Bowser. As he dropped to the main platform, Samus' grappling hook wrapped him up. At the same time, my longshot grabbed hold of him. We were playing tug o' war, with no one winning.
"Let go of him, he's mine!" Samus yelled. I shook my head. I pulled out my bomb and she cut one end of the of he plasma hook, grabbing it with her left hand. Than she readied a missile. We launched out explosives, both of them impacting on the poor android at the same time. After the smoke cleared, we both saw the 'paper-Bowser' fly into the background. The crowd erupted. Mr. Game and Watch was obviously excited.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, SAMUS ARAN AND LINK!!!!!" the '2-D caper' yelled on the microphone. The crowd were chanting our names. This would of been a better moment if it wasn't for the fact Samus and I were not seeing eye-to-eye.....to say the least.
Falco Lombardi
Fox and I were applauding deeply. Our plan worked well so far. Fox and I wanted to face Samus and Link. So, we aimed for the lowest seed, while Fox and Zelda urged Samus and Link to try to win at all costs, making them aim for the top seed. Now we had to work our way up while Samus and Link had to work their way down. After the small celebration, Fox and I took our usual seats in the Mansion's cafeteria. This time, we were joined by Mr. Game and Watch. Fox didn't mind. But being the loner that he is, if no one went over and sat with him, he'd always eat at the cafeteria by himself.
"So, Fox, think we'd face the gruesome twosome in the finals?" I asked. Fox merely shrugged. He wasn't one to count his chickens before they hatch.
"It's a good match and all, but I want to know who you two are going to ask out for the Smash Ball," Mr. Game and Watch chimed. I smiled. I like this guy.
"So, Fox, how's it going? Finding a date an' all?" Fox frowned a bit, and looked left and right. "Well....there is....nah, I can't tell you." Fox shook his head. I whistled a bit. That was that. I couldn't get anything else out of him. I might later on. Mr. Game and Watch looked towards me."
"How about you, Falco?"
"Eh....I might bring someone from my home system." I smiled a bit. "I have many choices."
"You know, Falco, hookers from the past do not count." All three of us laughed at my expense. That's the vulpine for you. He had a large enough arsenal of one liners to fill all the available space in Great Fox. I stopped laughing when I noticed Fox eyes were looking somewhere else. At first I though he was in one of his deep thoughts. However, his eyes slightly moved slowly and smoothly. Mr. Game and Watch and I looked in his direction and chuckled a bit. His eyes were on Zelda.
"So, Fox," I said, snapping him out of his gaze. "What about Zelda?"
"Yeah, why not?" Game and Watch added. Fox shook his head. I'm not going to lie. Zelda was one hot chick. But I don't think Zelda would be interested in a guy like me. My slate isn't as clean as Fox's. Don't get me wrong, Fox's slate isn't THAT clean, but hell, compared to me, Fox is a saint that never sinned in his life.
"She's...already Link's girlfriend," he answered. Game and I gave a simultaneous 'OOOOOOOHHHH.' Unknowingly, we were spoon-fed a huge lie.
"Well, that's a good reason, because it probably be best if you didn't ask her out," Game said with a nervous laugh.
"Why's that?" Fox asked.
"Link," I reiterated. "This guy has little vocal usage in conversations, a not-so-little sword, skills that match both Marth's and Roy's, and a look that says 'Who wants to die today?' to complete the package. If it wasn't for his history, he would of reminded me of a certain Leon from the past." Fox and Game laughed and nodded in agreement. I smiled. Fox than changed the subject.
"Falco, Link and Samus want us to train with them tomorrow." I coughed on my chicken leg when I heard that. I wasn't so much fact that Link and Samus want to train with us that surprised me (it was customary for two teams on opposite seeds in the tournament to train with each other), as it was the fact that BOTH of them wanted to train with us. After all, they are not in this tournament for the trophy, not for the money, not to prove themselves, not even for the glory. They're merely in this to get the chance to tear each other apart without getting suspended.
"So, they want to train with us. How swell," I answered, making a play on my usual response to Fox whenever he saved by blue-feathered ass. "We better be training. If you and I have to stop those two from getting at each other's throat, I will leave something cold and sticky in their bed tomorrow night."
Game laughed out loud while Fox shook his head. He knew from first-hand experience that I'm not kidding. One day, Fox pulled a prank on me. Usually, I enjoyed a prank as much as the next guy. However, I really wasn't in the mood. So, one night, he went to bed....and slept near a huge ice cube coated with expired oatmeal, fresh out of the fridge....after ten days.
"I have a feeling that won't happen," Mr. Game and Watch assured.
"If it does, Falco's gift won't be alone," Fox said with a smile. I nodded. I knew he wasn't kidding.
Samus Aran
I looked around my room, taking my attention away from my book for a minute. Link and I decided to train with the Star Fox crew. It was one of the few things we agreed on. I've been pondering a bit. Was I wrong for saying what I said about Link? I shrugged inwardly, kicking the thought out of my head. I'm so good at doing that. Guess it's a skill I developed as a bounty hunter. Than again, most of my assignments were very honorable.
I looked around my room. It had everything that suited my fancy: A roof that showed the night sky during the night, but was opaque during the day. The glass was one way. I could see out, but no pervs can't look in. The bed hovers off the ground whenever I wanted it to with the flip of a switch. The controls of everything else, including the entertainment system, was voice activated, with the exception of the Gamecube, the 64, and Super Nintendo and NES.
I heard a knock on the door. Pulling on my hood so my face wouldn't show, I told the visitor to come in.
See, the only Smasher who ever saw my face was Fox. Not that it was anyone else's fault. We were sparring when he accidentally kicked my helmet off. We were the only one in the gym, so I wasn't worried about anyone else seeing me. Not that I'm insecure. Well, I am a little. But I mostly keep the helmet on to give a scary appearance. Just to even things up, he told me his deepest, darkest secret.
The door opened to reveal a small little pokemon. It looked like Pikachu at first, but it was a lot more younger. I smiled under the shadow of the hood. It was Pichu.
"Hello," I said with a monotone voice. The only emotion I ever showed was anger, the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat. The small creature ran from the door to the top of my shoulder in record time.
"Are you Link friends now?" he asked.
"No," I said coldly.
"I thought as much. Even though Link is male, it seemed like both of you were going through that time of the month." I shook my head, holding in my laugh. This little child was more crude than Falco Lombardi. And that's an understatement. "Did Link go through a sex change?"
"I heard that!" Link said as he walked into my room. I frowned. Pichu whistled softly.
"Um....I think um....Mewtwo called me...." The pokemon ran for it, running into the doorway as he did so.
"What do you want, pansy?" I hissed out. I know that wasn't nice. But considering our hatred between each other, my words could be a whole lot harsher.
"I wanted to remind you of our training session with Fox and Falco tomorrow.," he said, not even showing anger. I nodded. He turned around, about ready to leave. I decided to at least make him leave on a good note.
"Hey elf," I called out bluntly. He turned around with an eyebrow raised. "Fighting on your side isn't that bad after all." He looked at me, than nodded in thanks.
"Just don't forget what we're fighting for," he answered, no emotion present in his voice.
Zelda
All four of us was walking towards the Smasher area. On the left side of the hallway was Samus, with me being trailing her. On the right side was Link, who was being trailed by Fox. This tournament held a new perspective, and could have many interesting twists and turns. Usually, Link would be my partner, and Captain Falcon would be Samus' partner. But after the event, Captain Falcon and I had only two choices: Either team up, or not be in this tournament at all. Not that either of us mind. It would be quite interesting; two Smashers on different sides of the timeline. Just like the team of Samus and Link. Of course there was one HUGE difference: The racer and I could probably get through a match without trying to kill each other.
I looked to my right, just in time to notice Fox turn his head forward. I saw a bit of crimson creep across his face. Was he blushing? I shrugged. Maybe he was just tense.
Fox tapped the shoulders of Link and Samus, than stopped. The two fighters looked at Fox.
"Look, even though I'm also in this tournament, Falco and I really want to face you sometime," he stated. "You two want the same thing: A shot at each other. So I want you two to shake hands and agree to work together." Both Link and Samus shifted their footing a bit and gave off a scoff. "I said SHAKE!" The two sighed and shook hands. There was always something about the vulpine teen. Despite the fact he was seventeen years old, he had a look that commanded respect. I guess that is what anyone should expect from one who leads a team of mercenaries. Especially a group of mercenaries that has Falco in its ranks. The two fighters walked forward and pushed through double-doors.
Mr. Game and Watch
Hi. The name's Mr. Game and Watch. Of course, I decided to do a little bit of watching. Donkey Kong and I already went through the placing match against the Fighting Polygon Team.
The Fighting Polygons are a bunch of androids that are based on us, the Smashers. They use our moves and poses, but they are considerably more easy to knock off. The problem is, they look like origami figures, so it's sometimes hard to distinguish between a two of them.
Everyone was done with placing themselves in the seeds of the tournament, except for the last three teams. No one didn't clear all of the Polygon team, which was normal. Not that we couldn't, we just didn't feel like it. Everyone had their reasons not to. Me? I just didn't take it serious. I only take matches against other Smashers seriously. And even than, you'd hear a lot of puns and one liners from me your truly.
I grabbed the microphone to announce the match.
"Ladies and Gentleman, how'd you like that performance by Mewtwo and Pichu?" I yelled. The crowd erupted into euphoria. I smiled at the result. I found it a little strange, those two. Pichu was a good buddy of mine and is very cheery (and might I add could be more crude than Falco when it comes to sense of humor. "This the flat-man, Mr. Game and Watch, announcing the next match. If you were here last night, you saw the suspension of Link and Samus Aran." As I expected, there were a lot of boos. Not as much boos as I thought I would here. But boos none the less. "But now, with a decision by the Master Hand, these two will team up and qualify!" There was some mix reaction. I shrugged and continued. "HERE THEY COME!"
Link and Samus appeared side by side, in the middle of the arena. I gave the usual introductions.
"At seven feet tall, with a left iron hook and one hell of a right blaster, weighing in at 120 lbs without the suit, the mightiest Bounty Hunter of all time, SAAAAAAAAAMUS ARAN!" Samus crouched down, looking at her left fist. She than raised her right blaster up in the air as she suddenly stood up, flames bursting out of her blaster. I than took a look at Link. Instead of the usual green tunic, he decided to go with the sun-fire yellow tunic. The look was the same overall, but it was nice to see him wear something else than usual green.
"And her partner, from the Hylia, packing the Hylian Shield and the Master Sword Of Time. Weighing in at 150 lbs, the Hero Of Time, LINK!" Link twirled his sword around in the air a couple of times, than lowered the sword, making it glow. "Now let the match begin!" Man I love being the announcer.
Link
I closed my eyes as the arena turned black. After a few moments, I wasn't in the arena no more. I was floating on a huge platform in space. Above it were two three more platforms. Two were the same distance above the main platform on two different sides. The middle platform was twice as high. I immediately got ready, my back towards Samus, and vice versa. That was the Battlefield for you.
"THREE!" The first android hit the top platform. "TWO!"
"Here we go," I muttered out.
"ONE! LET THE MATCH BEGIN!"
"Let's go!" Samus yelled. The first fighter I saw looked like me. I slashed first, knocking it into space. A huge THUMP! signified one for us. I turned around to see Samus send an iron fist to the jaw of a fighter that either was supposed to support Ganondorf or Captain Falcon. Personally, I hoped it represented the former. Either way, it was launched from the Battlefied.. Two more fighters appeared. One was Kirby and one was Jigglypuff. Or was it the other way around. It didn't matter, however, beacuse Samus and I were focused on the fighter that looked like an origami Donkey Kong. We both jumped up and kicked the fighter upward, sending it to some distant star system. We quickly discarded the two featherweights with absolutely no problem.
The next three were representations of Mewtwo, Samus, and I. Samus and I both agreed to forget about the Mewtwo-bot and go after each other 'clones.' Samus had a charged shot ready for my clone, blasting it sky high. I pulled out my signature bomb and blew Samus' clone away.
"Expect that in out match!" Samus yelled to me. I didn't answer back. I was trying to get through this match. The match went on like this. Everyone was cheering "LINK! LINK! LINK!" Than everyone was cheering "SAMUS! SAMUS! SAMUS!" This went back and forth. The crowd erupted into euphoria! The last android to appear was an origami Bowser. As he dropped to the main platform, Samus' grappling hook wrapped him up. At the same time, my longshot grabbed hold of him. We were playing tug o' war, with no one winning.
"Let go of him, he's mine!" Samus yelled. I shook my head. I pulled out my bomb and she cut one end of the of he plasma hook, grabbing it with her left hand. Than she readied a missile. We launched out explosives, both of them impacting on the poor android at the same time. After the smoke cleared, we both saw the 'paper-Bowser' fly into the background. The crowd erupted. Mr. Game and Watch was obviously excited.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, SAMUS ARAN AND LINK!!!!!" the '2-D caper' yelled on the microphone. The crowd were chanting our names. This would of been a better moment if it wasn't for the fact Samus and I were not seeing eye-to-eye.....to say the least.
Falco Lombardi
Fox and I were applauding deeply. Our plan worked well so far. Fox and I wanted to face Samus and Link. So, we aimed for the lowest seed, while Fox and Zelda urged Samus and Link to try to win at all costs, making them aim for the top seed. Now we had to work our way up while Samus and Link had to work their way down. After the small celebration, Fox and I took our usual seats in the Mansion's cafeteria. This time, we were joined by Mr. Game and Watch. Fox didn't mind. But being the loner that he is, if no one went over and sat with him, he'd always eat at the cafeteria by himself.
"So, Fox, think we'd face the gruesome twosome in the finals?" I asked. Fox merely shrugged. He wasn't one to count his chickens before they hatch.
"It's a good match and all, but I want to know who you two are going to ask out for the Smash Ball," Mr. Game and Watch chimed. I smiled. I like this guy.
"So, Fox, how's it going? Finding a date an' all?" Fox frowned a bit, and looked left and right. "Well....there is....nah, I can't tell you." Fox shook his head. I whistled a bit. That was that. I couldn't get anything else out of him. I might later on. Mr. Game and Watch looked towards me."
"How about you, Falco?"
"Eh....I might bring someone from my home system." I smiled a bit. "I have many choices."
"You know, Falco, hookers from the past do not count." All three of us laughed at my expense. That's the vulpine for you. He had a large enough arsenal of one liners to fill all the available space in Great Fox. I stopped laughing when I noticed Fox eyes were looking somewhere else. At first I though he was in one of his deep thoughts. However, his eyes slightly moved slowly and smoothly. Mr. Game and Watch and I looked in his direction and chuckled a bit. His eyes were on Zelda.
"So, Fox," I said, snapping him out of his gaze. "What about Zelda?"
"Yeah, why not?" Game and Watch added. Fox shook his head. I'm not going to lie. Zelda was one hot chick. But I don't think Zelda would be interested in a guy like me. My slate isn't as clean as Fox's. Don't get me wrong, Fox's slate isn't THAT clean, but hell, compared to me, Fox is a saint that never sinned in his life.
"She's...already Link's girlfriend," he answered. Game and I gave a simultaneous 'OOOOOOOHHHH.' Unknowingly, we were spoon-fed a huge lie.
"Well, that's a good reason, because it probably be best if you didn't ask her out," Game said with a nervous laugh.
"Why's that?" Fox asked.
"Link," I reiterated. "This guy has little vocal usage in conversations, a not-so-little sword, skills that match both Marth's and Roy's, and a look that says 'Who wants to die today?' to complete the package. If it wasn't for his history, he would of reminded me of a certain Leon from the past." Fox and Game laughed and nodded in agreement. I smiled. Fox than changed the subject.
"Falco, Link and Samus want us to train with them tomorrow." I coughed on my chicken leg when I heard that. I wasn't so much fact that Link and Samus want to train with us that surprised me (it was customary for two teams on opposite seeds in the tournament to train with each other), as it was the fact that BOTH of them wanted to train with us. After all, they are not in this tournament for the trophy, not for the money, not to prove themselves, not even for the glory. They're merely in this to get the chance to tear each other apart without getting suspended.
"So, they want to train with us. How swell," I answered, making a play on my usual response to Fox whenever he saved by blue-feathered ass. "We better be training. If you and I have to stop those two from getting at each other's throat, I will leave something cold and sticky in their bed tomorrow night."
Game laughed out loud while Fox shook his head. He knew from first-hand experience that I'm not kidding. One day, Fox pulled a prank on me. Usually, I enjoyed a prank as much as the next guy. However, I really wasn't in the mood. So, one night, he went to bed....and slept near a huge ice cube coated with expired oatmeal, fresh out of the fridge....after ten days.
"I have a feeling that won't happen," Mr. Game and Watch assured.
"If it does, Falco's gift won't be alone," Fox said with a smile. I nodded. I knew he wasn't kidding.
Samus Aran
I looked around my room, taking my attention away from my book for a minute. Link and I decided to train with the Star Fox crew. It was one of the few things we agreed on. I've been pondering a bit. Was I wrong for saying what I said about Link? I shrugged inwardly, kicking the thought out of my head. I'm so good at doing that. Guess it's a skill I developed as a bounty hunter. Than again, most of my assignments were very honorable.
I looked around my room. It had everything that suited my fancy: A roof that showed the night sky during the night, but was opaque during the day. The glass was one way. I could see out, but no pervs can't look in. The bed hovers off the ground whenever I wanted it to with the flip of a switch. The controls of everything else, including the entertainment system, was voice activated, with the exception of the Gamecube, the 64, and Super Nintendo and NES.
I heard a knock on the door. Pulling on my hood so my face wouldn't show, I told the visitor to come in.
See, the only Smasher who ever saw my face was Fox. Not that it was anyone else's fault. We were sparring when he accidentally kicked my helmet off. We were the only one in the gym, so I wasn't worried about anyone else seeing me. Not that I'm insecure. Well, I am a little. But I mostly keep the helmet on to give a scary appearance. Just to even things up, he told me his deepest, darkest secret.
The door opened to reveal a small little pokemon. It looked like Pikachu at first, but it was a lot more younger. I smiled under the shadow of the hood. It was Pichu.
"Hello," I said with a monotone voice. The only emotion I ever showed was anger, the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat. The small creature ran from the door to the top of my shoulder in record time.
"Are you Link friends now?" he asked.
"No," I said coldly.
"I thought as much. Even though Link is male, it seemed like both of you were going through that time of the month." I shook my head, holding in my laugh. This little child was more crude than Falco Lombardi. And that's an understatement. "Did Link go through a sex change?"
"I heard that!" Link said as he walked into my room. I frowned. Pichu whistled softly.
"Um....I think um....Mewtwo called me...." The pokemon ran for it, running into the doorway as he did so.
"What do you want, pansy?" I hissed out. I know that wasn't nice. But considering our hatred between each other, my words could be a whole lot harsher.
"I wanted to remind you of our training session with Fox and Falco tomorrow.," he said, not even showing anger. I nodded. He turned around, about ready to leave. I decided to at least make him leave on a good note.
"Hey elf," I called out bluntly. He turned around with an eyebrow raised. "Fighting on your side isn't that bad after all." He looked at me, than nodded in thanks.
"Just don't forget what we're fighting for," he answered, no emotion present in his voice.