Chapter 15
The Threat
Dr. Mario snuck through the halls. He had to find Peach quickly and speak with her alone. He knew the secret of Mario, and he had to make sure she was aware of it as well. That would clear up a lot for her, he thought, and allow her to proceed with her plans far more easily. Normally, the medicine man wouldn't have been putting himself at risk like this, but there were far larger things then him going on here.
Finally, he found her. She was sitting at the edge of the fountain, dipping her hand gently in the water as she contemplated the next move. The afternoon sunlight streaked through her golden hair, adding to the brilliant accent of her pink dress. Of course, Dr. Mario thought she looked absolutely beautiful, but she was Mario's now, and he couldn't stand in the way of that.
A hand gripped the back of his neck as he began to approach and pulled him behind a corner. As he turned to see who it was, he found a hand clasped over his mouth. He stared fearfully into the face of Mario, who had a sadistically evil grin plastered across his face. He spoke to Dr. Mario, but the voice was far too deep to be his own.
"All you suspect," he informed the doctor, releasing him from his grip, "Is true."
"You's 'a gonna be done," the Doctor stated matter-of-factly. "I'm 'a gonna tell the princess about everything."
Mario's deep voice chuckled at the Doctor. "You do that," he taunted, "And see how quickly I destroy everything – and every one – precious to you." Dr. Mario had no words, so the false Mario continued. "That's right," he stated. "You rat on me, I kill your princess, destroy your castle and your kingdom, and you will be the first one to witness the destruction wrought by my hand."
"You's a monster," Dr. Mario whispered.
"Indeed," Mario stated, "The worst kind.
Falco aimed a swift kick at DK's temple. The giant ape caught his foot, however, and sent him flying up and over his head in the opposite direction. The birdman landed on his agile feet and began another charge toward DK, intent on finishing the beast with his next attack.
DK wasn't happy about the speed this one possessed. He was far too quick for comfort, and his bulk was doing very little to help him deal with it. He was slow, due to all his muscles, and all he could hope for was that his powerful attacks would finish Falco before he could weave too many in.
With this plan in mind, he slammed the ground with his open palms, sending the bird off balance and into the air. He quickly jumped up after him, but was met by a stiff leg smashing into his forehead. The large ape landed on his back, and soon found Falco's knee driving painfully into his stomach. Angered, he clapped his open palms over Falco's head, sending a ringing pain through the bird man as could plainly be seen by the look on his face. Not losing a moment, DK grabbed him by the head, dashed toward the edge of the arena and threw him out of it. Falco slammed into the wall, but was quick to recover. A burst of flame sent him back into the stone arena before his feet ever touched the ground.
"You're trying to be too strong," Fox told him from the sidelines. "You've got to take more advantage of your speed or the monkey will walk all over you all day long."
"I know!" Falco snapped, but in his heart, he knew it wasn't true. He wanted to overpower DK now and again and then a third time, just to prove to himself that he was that strong. He was now sure, however, that the plan had already failed, and his sight only confirmed the thought as he looked into DK's grinning face. He leapt toward him again, and as DK aimed a fist toward him, he created a diamond-shaped field of energy about him. The fist bounced off as the impact sent pain shooting up DK's arm, and Falco took advantage of the moment to weave inside for a swift kick to the chin.
DK smashed downward in retaliation, but caught only stone as Falco quickly leapt out of the way. The next spout of pain he felt was at his back as Falco dug into it with his extended heel. He swerved about with a sweeping backhand to catch him, but the bird had already moved out of the way. The next blow came to DK's side, a burst of fire blasting him from his position and toward the edge of the arena. "That's the way to do it!" Fox encouraged him, "That's why Team Fox is the greatest!"
Falco had a broad smile on his face as he looked back to Fox, giving the Victory sign. However, Fox seemed a bit less enthusiastic as he frantically pointed back toward DK. Falco turned an instant too late as his whole middle was caught in DK's grasp. He felt his innards trying to collapse on him as DK squeezed the life out of him, then only a painful release as he was thrown to the dirt outside the arena.
"Arrogance," Samus stated amusedly, "Is as big a fault in you as it is in the Fox." Both of Team Fox's players scowled at her, but the entire remainder of the Smashers in the area couldn't help but nod in agreement.
The Links could see that Zelda's smile was genuine as Mr. Game and Watch helped the Ice Climbers out of the chopper and toward the medical quarters. Nana and Popo both seemed to be in pretty bad shape, and she could only imagine what Mr. Game and Watch had done to put them in it. Regardless another two Smashers was never a bad thing, and she could only offer commendations to the shadowy construct for his fine work. However, Link beat her to it.
"I didn't know you had been officially welcomed to the group yet," he stated happily. "Let me be the first to welcome you." He extended a hand to shake Mr. Game and Watch's, and was ultimately surprised when he was handed a file casing as well. "What's this then?" he asked himself more then anybody else.
"That's mine," Zelda stated quickly. She moved toward Link to take it from him, seeming to glide more then walk. Grace was in her every move even as she did so simple a thing as taking the file from Mr. Game and Watch and retreating to her tent to look those files over. Link's stare never left her until the tent flap covered her form from his view.
"She's got you whipped!" Mr. Game and Watch teased, not failing to notice his fixation.
"No!" Link said defensively, whirling around to face Mr. Game and Watch. "I cannot be made to this 'Whipped' status you speak of!"
"Ah, but you can," the shadow stated plainly. "I've just seen it in your eyes as you watched the Princess."
"Be silent," Link resentfully commanded. "Help your old friends to the medical quarters, if you have nothing else to do." He didn't know why he was getting so defensive about this. He had openly admitted to Zelda that he was in love, so why should he be ashamed to say that in public? Perhaps there was more to his feelings then he knew.
"You'll come around," Mr. Game and Watch promised. And with that, he did exactly as he'd been told: He helped Nana and Popo to the medical tent.
Yoshi couldn't help but rack his brain over his old master. Something had changed about him, there was no doubt in his mind about that. He just couldn't put his tail on it. Outwardly, he appeared to be the same. No alterations had been made to his form, and he displayed no personality quirks that weren't there before. Why, then, did he feel that he mistrusted him so much now? And why did everybody else seem to mistrust him as well? Something was odd, and the dinosaur resolved right there and then to discover what.
He ran into Kirby on his way back to the room for his snack. The encounter snapped him out of his thoughts and back into the present. Seeing the ever-hungry puffball reminded him: They'd never settled their arena match. When, then, would the bout finally be settled? It didn't matter, Yoshi supposed, as there were bigger things then their match going on.
The following section has been translated for both the author's and reader's convenience.
"Yo, wussup my homie?" Kirby inquired.
"Not a whole lot, honestly," Yoshi responded, slightly amused by Kirby's attempt to sound ghetto. He'd never been successful with it, mostly because he tried too hard.
"We never finished our last fight," the puff reminded him with a smirk. His grin was indeed a wide one.
"There are bigger things going on now," Yoshi stated plainly.
"Ya, like Mario," Kirby commented. "That guy's been acting strange lately." At this, Yoshi's eyes grew wide. So, it wasn't just him. Other people were noticing it, too.
"How so?" Yoshi asked sincerely.
"Can't put my finger on it," Kirby stated off-handedly. "Something's definitely wrong, though, I don't trust 'em." Yoshi didn't respond. "Well," Kirby called as he started moving again, "I'll see ya' later. I've got a pizza with my name written in anchovies all over it." Yoshi chuckled and gave a short "Bye" before heading off himself.
It was a starry night as Roy stood alone in the conference room. A lot had happened in the past couple of weeks, and he wasn't sure if he could handle all of it alone. According to Marth, he had to be on guard, because somewhere among the Smashers, there was an imposter. But, if somebody had the ability to suddenly take a Smasher's place without much effort or consequence to himself, how could he hope to stand up to the beast in their inevitable meeting?
Of course he knew he wasn't truly alone in this. Marth, Zelda and Peach were some of the ones he could still trust, but according to them, nobody else, including Roy, was able to be. He hated having to second-guess everybody in the Smashers group, and he hated that they weren't shaking down the ranks to find this imposter and deal with him. According to the royalty, though, that would have little affect, save to alert the imposter to their knowledge of his existence. And that, Marth had stated, would have dire consequences.
Mario smirked at the edge of the forest as he saw the golden sparks flying in the air, the signal that his men were ready. He sent up the red sparks he'd been using to imitate Mario's fire attack – the signal for them to begin their assault. Without missing a beat, he ran back indoors to complete the façade that would secure his position with the Smashers. And just before there destruction, too. It was a shame, really. He was just beginning to like playing with them.
Roy breathed a sigh of relief as the first of the Smashers walked through the door. He turned to see who it was, staring into the face of Link of Hyrule. "What are you doing here?" he playfully asked. "You're the champion of Hyrule! I didn't see you needing instruction in battlefield tactics."
"I'm just that, Roy," Link began explaining, "A Champion. I'm not a general. When I fight the enemies of Hyrule, I don't do it with vast armies under my command. I do it with a sword in my hand and a shield on my arm. I'm a powerful warrior, not a clever commander, and I need you to realize that if I'm to learn anything here."
At that, Roy smirked. "You've got courage," Roy stated, "I see that in every battle you fight. And you're clever, too, if stories of your exploits ring true." He approached the Hylian and patted him on the shoulder. "We'll make a fine General out of you yet," he stated.
"Your confidence is truly inspiring," a third voice cooed from the rear of the room. It was Marth, leaning casually against the back wall. Somehow, Roy was the only one surprised at his presence.
"How long have you been there?" he asked.
"A long time," the reply came. "It's disturbing to me, watching you rack your brain over matters beyond your control."
"They shouldn't be beyond my control," Roy stated bitterly, "Or anybody else's, for that matter." He was looking back out the window a moment later, lost once again in his deep thought.
At that instant, Mario burst through the door. "We've 'a got 'a trouble in the main 'a grounds!" he shouted out.
There you have it, Chapter 15. R&R, please, I love to hear what you guys think of my work.
