Chapter 8

Let the Tournament Continue!

Yoshi flung his head at Kirby. Kirby breathed deep and sucked the whole of Yoshi's body in to his mouth. He could feel the lizard struggling to get out, so he quickly copied his DNA patterns and spit him out. He felt his tongue grow long and sticky, and he smirked evilly as he turned to Yoshi. He flung his tongue out and stuck it to Yoshi's head, then used it to slam him into the stone floor behind him.

Yoshi quickly turned and bit Kirby's tongue. In pain, Kirby released Yoshi from his grip. While he was distracted, Yoshi flung his head at the puff once again. This time, it connected solidly and sent him flying through the air. The puff reacted rather quickly for having so much pain. He puffed up and began forcing himself the other way, moving toward his adversary.

Yoshi didn't need an invitation to know what to do next. He leapt as high as he could into the air to try and smash Kirby to the ground, but to no avail. Yoshi flew straight up, and was unpleasantly surprised when a one hundred pound weight fell on his face. The lizard shouted out in surprise as it fell back down to earth.

Kirby looked down at Yoshi as he took his normal form back. There was only one thing to do in this situation. He charged energy in his hands and slammed the ground with it, creating a sonic wave, blowing Yoshi to the edge of the arena. He would've been out, had it not been for a very nice recovery. The lizard stuck his tongue to the edge of the arena and pulled himself back in. Ho, ho, ho, what fun this was!

A happy-go-lucky type attitude came over Yoshi as he realized that beating Kirby wouldn't be as easy as lick-gulp-eat, like most enemies were. He was thrilled with the challenge. Unfortunately, his happiness prevented him from thinking quite clearly, and he was smashed into the arena floor by Kirby, who grabbed him by the neck, jumped in the air and used Yoshi as a cushion to his rapid fall.

Yoshi got to his feet, dazed. "Yosh..." he muttered. He looked around him at his opponent, who was primed and ready to fight. A fire ignited in Yoshi's green eyes as the mini-Dino stared at his opponent. Slowly, menacingly, Yoshi started toward his opponent.

Kirby drew back. He was cowed by Yoshi's hellish demeanor. He scrambled away for a moment, but then his face became scrunched up in displeasure. He turned bright pink, his way of blushing. He had let himself become afraid. He wouldn't let it happen again!

Angrily, Kirby threw himself at Yoshi. He used the DNA he had copied to grab Yoshi and bring him in, proceeding to spit him several feet into the air. He kicked up as Yoshi came down, but was met with a firm foot to what would have been his jaw. He plummeted to the floor, a bright star issuing from his mouth. He knew that his tongue had returned to normal, which meant he had lost a major asset. "WRAFLLEBOB!" Kirby shouted, pounding Yoshi off of him and through the air, clean across the arena. He ran after him to follow up with another devastating blow, but he was abruptly cut off by a dark presence coming at him hard in the face.

Yoshi got up to face Kirby, but instead, found a tall cat-like creature floating. It would have stood on two legs, if it touched the ground. Its hands emanated a purple-black glow, and while its body was white, its tail was purple. It had no visible mouth, but its blue eyes clearly had a look of malice in them.

Alarmed, Yoshi looked around the arena. Kirby was nowhere to be found. There was only the cat-man standing there. "Yoshi?" Yoshi asked. He abruptly jumped out of his skin as a voice sounded inside his head.

My name is Mewtwo. My purpose here is to prove that I am the strongest being in the world by killing you all. Now, prepare to meet your end Mewtwo shouted. He unleashed a blast of dark energy at Yoshi, who quickly jumped up and over it. He bounded down to Mewtwo, but the large cat-man anticipated his move. Yoshi was met with a small ball of the energy that seemed to disagree with every fiber in his body. He fell to the dirt of the arena floor, writhing in pain.

Kirby awoke from his trance on the outside of the arena to a blood curdling laugh. He jumped in fear, then peeked over the side of the arena to see a giant half-cat man standing in the arena. Marth and Roy both stood, their swords drawn, on the edges of the arena. Samus, Luigi, Link and Pikachu were sprinting out from the bunkhouse, Fox and DK leapt hastily off the roof, and Captain Falcon was bounding over the boundary of the stands. The cat-man in the middle of the ring crossed his arms and looked around at his newly acquired opponents. You truly think you can defeat the great Mewtwo Mewtwo asked.

"You're outnumbered," Roy observed.

"You're outgunned," Fox added.

Mewtwo scoffed at their words. "You're outmatched," he stated. He tossed balls of energy wildly at them. The fighters dodged around and took cover, and Mewtwo kept them all pinned to their newly acquired posts. Kirby was the only one left who wasn't in the line of fire.

The fans screamed in terror at the fact that their heroes were out of control of this fight. They fled from their seats and rushed toward their cars. Mothers grabbed their children and carried them as swiftly as they could to the exits, which were by this time crowded and moving extremely sluggishly. Somewhere amid the chaos, several children cried. Anger flared up in Kirby at the sound.

"WRAGGLE!" Kirby shouted, bolting from his hiding place and closing to Mewtwo with impeccable speed. Mewtwo started to turn and confront his new enemy, but by the time he had turned even half way, Kirby had his foot in the cat's stomach. Mewtwo grunted in pain, then flung an energy ball in Kirby's face. The pink puff fell to the ground, not far from Yoshi, and began wriggling along with the still-inflicted dinosaur.

"I'm going to enjoy killing you, little one," Mewtwo stated. "You will not escape this one!" He pulled his hands back and called a dumbfounding amount of energy to them. "This is your last breath!" he shouted, unleashing the attack at the lain-out heroes.

Kirby felt serious pain, then mild warmth, and then, the pain was gone. He looked up from his grounded state to find a lady in a pink dress standing over Yoshi and him. "Yoshi?" Yoshi asked. "Vorgle?" Kirby shadowed. The other Smashers had risen from their cover to engage Mewtwo, but a single white hand raised toward them.

"You're outmatched," she stated. "I'll deal with this one."

Link kneeled. "As you wish, Princess Zelda," he said.

"Thank you, Link," Zelda answered.

"A bit overconfident, aren't we? You've seen my power. Do you honestly think you can win?" Mewtwo asked.

"Yes," Zelda replied, "I know I can win." She smirked. "You see, your point is my point. I have seen your power, and I know it's not strong enough to defeat a sage!"

"We'll see about that!" Mewtwo shouted, as he unleashed a surge of energy at the princess. She held up one of her hands, pointing its palm at the beam of darkness. As it impacted her hand, an invisible force pushed it away, forming a sphere around Zelda. The dark energy washed over it and off the back of it. Then, Zelda placed both of her hands behind her and crouched low. She brought her hands forward. A ball of fire issued from them and headed straight for Mewtwo. The cat jumped over it, let it pass behind him, and then landed. "Is that truly the best you can do?" he asked.

Zelda smirked. "Obviously, you don't understand Dinn's Fire. Look behind you." Mewtwo spun. He gasped when he found the fireball right where it had been when he had landed. It was practically in his face. "HYA!" Zelda exclaimed as she thrust her hand upward. The ball of fire exploded in fury, knocking Mewtwo high into the air. He stopped himself and looked down at Zelda, who stood calmly in the same spot she had sense she apparated into the arena.

"Damn you for your power, Zelda!" Mewtwo shouted. Then, in a puff of smoke, he was gone.

The smashers cheered in delight. Link gave a deep bow and entered the arena. "You have won the battle, Princess," he observed, smiling.

"No, Link," a voice said from behind them. Link turned to see Princess Peach and a rejuvenated Mario standing next to a blue colored Yoshi, which had a soggy turtle shell in front of it. "The battle's just beginning."

"My Lady," Marth said as he approached Zelda. She extended her hand to him and, in accordance with the accepted customs of the time, Marth took it and kissed it. Roy followed him, mimicking the gesture. Then, likewise, the young prince and his general approached Peach, and were likewise greeted. "I am pleased that you have graced our tournament with your presence," Marth stated.

"We regret to inform you," Zelda said, "That the tournament is to be immediately discontinued."

Roy staggered back. "What?" the dumbfounded General asked. "But... why?" he asked. "We have a purpose that you yourselves hailed as 'of utmost importance!'"

"Your cause is a good one, but we have gathered new information that compromises your efforts," Peach told him.

Marth got ready to say something, but an irate Roy cut him off. "What could POSSIBLY be more important then finding and killing the Master Hand?" Roy asked. Then, before the princesses could answer, he gave another outburst. "Like I thought, nothing! I refuse to give in to the will of a few adolescent females who happen to have their little tiaras and scepters tied in a knot, especially when the stakes are this high! Uh-uh, no way!"

"Roy!" Marth shouted, "You will show the princesses respect!"

"Don't worry about it," Zelda stated. Link looked shocked.

"We understand how this could make anyone angry, especially if they truly understood the risks involved and the alternative to success. However, I assure you, if you knew what we know, you'd be eager to lay down your arena passes and help us with our fight," Peach informed them.

"It's really that important?" Marth asked. "I do hope you'll start with the basics."

"Very well," Zelda said. "We know who let the Master Hand out."