Away from Midair Stadium's liveliness, the Great Fox continued its quiet interstellar voyage toward that bright beacon of the Nassazar sun ahead. Not surprisingly, though, inside the mothership's bridge, the team ended up having quite disdainful reactions to the second match's surprising outcome.
"D'aagghh," groaned Fox, face-palming as he saw Kirby's act that claimed victory from Mario. Instant replays of the match's highlights started rolling with flashy animations and music to accompany it, so Falco nibbled on the end of another energy bar and shook his head at the screen.
"... Well, screw that," he added crudely. "I kinda figured our man had this in the bag."
He kicked up his slip-on shoes onto the edges of the control board. "Huh, guess not. Nothin' comes easy anymore, 'specially havin' high hopes."
"D'aw, c'mon you guys," Slippy then joined in, sounding much more jovial than he had been. "It was pretty awesome though, ya gotta admit! I think Mario still did pretty well and put up a good fight, even when he was hangin' there at the end."
"Yeah, I guess, but..." Fox tried to find reasoning through a baffled gesture up to the screen. "He dominated Kirby in the first one. I mean, what happened here?"
"... A change of tactics, that's what." Last but not least, Peppy gave his say on the matter with a chuckle, "Somehow I knew Kirby had somethin' up his sleeve."
"Ha, you're one to talk, Pep," Falco butted back in. "Have you ever even smashed before? Yeah, I thought not."
The hare, obviously tired of the bird's near-constant vocal antics, retorted, "And? Ya got a point?"
"My point is," Falco went on, "If I were Mario, ya know how many things I would've done differently in that match? For starters, I'd have actually thrown out another punch or two, insteada keepin' my fists in front of my face the whole time."
Fox then scoffed and thought to point out, "Well, just remember man, it's always easy saying that in good ol' 20/20 hindsight..."
Onscreen, those Koopa Paratroopa sideline crew members were assisting Mario by hoisting him back up to the smash platform. Once he'd gotten on his feet again, he simply smiled and nodded, honorably shaking hands with a beaming Kirby.
Thus the two stood there in the very center of everything a second time, each basking in that glorious adoration from the crowds. Mario, however, despite giving his best effort in the fight, couldn't have been upset at the outcome. Like the Dreamlander, he was purely a good sport at heart and he accepted his mistake of not having another tactic to fall back on. All too often, things like this just were the way they were.
Peppy scratched his fuzzy chin for a moment, watching it all with interest. After thinking another beat, he finally said what was likely on the others' minds. "Well, boys, it's the tie-breaker now, so it's gonna be real interestin' to see how this one plays out."
"Hell yeah, it will." Fox cracked his knuckles and gave a quick flick of his bushy tail.
For the best live-showcasing of everything going on in Midair Stadium, the team had settled on watching the Mushroom Central News Network's coverage. It was only appropriate, perhaps, since it was the national 'home-field' channel of the Mushroom Kingdom, so to speak.
Nevertheless, now that it was mid-match again, Mario, Kirby, and the Toad referee were receiving another refreshment break from the sideline crew. Then the view onscreen became cropped, as the time was nigh for a group of commentators and analyzers for the smashes to begin their second discussion. They sat around a large glass table, up in one of the many press boxes over-looking the vast arena.
Each of them talked about all kinds of technical aspects like Mario's and Kirby's individual performances, also delving into key points during the match where something could've been done differently. At the same time, extravagant motion-graphics accompanied a montage of the match's highlights with footage of either smasher as the commentators discussed, ever enthusiastic in their analysis.
Peppy nudged those small rounded glasses up on his broad nose and scoffed. "I 'spose the slow-motion replays do help a bit, but honestly, I can't see mucha what's goin' on anyway. These smashes... They're all just a blur in my eyes."
After popping the last piece of an energy bar into his mouth, Falco of course seized this opportunity for another quick potshot.
"Even with those specs on, Pep?" He teased amid his chews, "Heh. Maybe you'd better get 'em checked, again..."
The hare sighed, answering calmly, "I'm not gonna start this with you now."
Their little 'talk' defused, but that's when Slippy looked back over his shoulder and smiled in seeing ROB 64 now standing at the primary operations dashboard, behind where the team was sitting. He'd successfully repaired their mothership's manual controller robot and was feeling rather proud of himself; likely in spite of Falco's frequent teasing whilst they'd worked together before Fox came up.
Sure, Slippy may have been a mechanic first and a pilot second, yet he also boasted a real knack for electrical work.
"How's everything looking back there, ROB?" He asked the robot, which moved its metallic fingers across sensor pads and analyzed various mainframe panels.
"All systems are normal," confirmed ROB 64 in that distinct fabricated voice. Hearing this, Fox's pointy ears perked up as he figured to throw out a question himself:
"... Yo, ROB? How much longer again 'til we reach the stadium?"
The robot tapped on another menu interface several times to find the information. "According to the calculated route, the Great Fox will enter Planet Veradeena's atmosphere in approximately thirty minutes. The final destination, Midair Stadium, will take an additional fifteen minutes."
With that in mind, Fox shot a rather amused glance over to Falco who sat relaxed with his hands behind his head. He still wore those semi-dirty clothes from working earlier and could surely use a cleanup, so the vulpine figured he'd follow vocally on that train of thought.
"... Ya hear that, Falco?" He asked, tilting his head slightly at the same time. "What was that you said earlier about...?"
"Ugh..." The bird let out a damp sigh and rolled his eyes somewhat. He knew Fox was right about it, though. "Yeah, guess I do wanna be all sharp and pretty like ya when we get there. I just wanna see how this last match between Mario and Kirbs turns out."
He slid his feet down off the control board and leaned forward, meeting the vulpine's green eyes with his blue. "Then I can go shower up and come out lookin' spiffy, capiché?"
Fox shrugged. "Sounds like a plan to me..."
Then his attention promptly shifted back up to the screen. Mario and Kirby had finished their mid-match refreshments, and were now preparing for the tie-breaker round.
"... Oh...! Alright, here we go guys...!" He eagerly got comfortable in his chair again, as did the rest of the team. They waited, watching intently as Mario and Kirby walked apart once more.
Indeed, the scene had been reset a third time. The two smashers stood on their respective ends of the platform, with the Toad referee waiting off to the side. All that needed to come now were those magical few numbers from the announcer.
The moment finally arrived, and for the most anxious occasion yet, the countdown commenced once more.
"Three..."
The view onscreen cut to a closeup of Mario's face. His eyes bore a great sense of determination amid his otherwise eager expression. The stark shade-line from his cap struck downward in the day's light, right across his large round nose. Now he was the one who needed to change his strategy for the coming fight, yet the overarching question was: Would he succeed? It seemed like his very confidence of advancing in this bicentennial tournament had suddenly been put in jeopardy.
"Two..."
Next, the view cut over to Kirby's face. He looked quite calm on the contrary, despite that filling sensation of victory inside him from the prior match. Still, he needed to fully retain his focus, for he too had a decision to make: Would he repeat his more reactive approach that worked? Or, would he attempt something else to surprise his red-shirted opponent? He had to also try and predict what Mario was planning this time, and had to decide quick. After all, he'd earned himself another chance to advance in this grand tournament.
"One..."
That same, seemingly eternal silence filled the stadium's space a third time. Likewise, the Star Fox team held their attention collectively glued to the screen as those very same questions and thoughts swirled about in their minds, pondering all the possibilities for what was about to come.
"GO!"
'Third time's the charm' so the saying goes, but that could be said for either smasher now. There was everything to lose in this match, so neither Mario nor Kirby were willing to hold anything back.
No hesitation got shown after that final word. The two sprinted straight at one another, intending to clash there in the middle of the platform. With his fist clenched tightly, Mario sprang into the air and was going for another aerial approach, while Kirby kept running to attempt a counter-assault from beneath.
They were mere meters apart from one another, when all of a sudden, without any warning the screen flickered before totally losing visual coverage of Midair Stadium. An abrasive hiss and white blizzard of static took over both the sight and sound instead.
The team was left sitting there, baffled as the realization hit them.
"... Whoa, hey!?" Fox exclaimed, "What happened? What happened to the signal?"
He leapt up from the comfort of his chair and swiftly reached over on the control panel near him, attempting to re-calibrate that static-filled screen with its storm-like audio, but to no avail.
"Ugh, this can't be happening... This CAN'T be happening...!" He bit down on his tongue and banged a fist against the side of the mainframe.
Falco nibbled lightly on the tips of his feathered fingers, tossing those used wrappers of his energy bars in a can back behind him. "And it was just startin', too. This is some bullshit."
While an annoyed and muttering vulpine kept trying to re-calibrate the screen, both Peppy and Slippy didn't really know what to say. This match didn't matter as much to them like it did to Fox and Falco, since they'd come along just to be at the stadium and watch this bicentennial tournament casually.
Regardless, the old hare gave his own speculation, "Hmm... Might be a storm, or some sorta atmospheric interference from the planet."
"Wha-...?" Fox retorted, "Didn't you see how the weather looked down there, Pep? It was clear skies the whole time. How could it possibly be a storm?"
"I know, but I'm just sayin'... Maybe it's interference comin' from somewhere higher up in the ionosphe-"
As Peppy was clarifying, an alarm started going off on the mainframe navigational console. The team collectively glanced back as ROB 64 stepped over to that monitor and checked it before announcing:
"Warning. A surge of electromagnetic energy has been detected, rapidly approaching the Great Fox's rear starboard quadrant."
"Electromagnetic energy...?!" inquired Peppy, his large rabbit ears perking up. This was a very unexpected announcement that even he'd turned around in his chair. "Whaddya mean electromagnetic energy, ROB?"
The robot analyzed the streaming flow of statistical information, explaining, "A significant electromagnetic pulse has manifested in a rear sector, 179 degrees to starboard, behind the Great Fox's present bearing. Calculations determine this energy to be in the form of a focused beam, originating from an unknown source. No nearby star or other celestial mass is currently expelling large amounts of comparable energy."
Fox and the others shot confused glances to one another, but that's when the alarm blared faster and faster.
"Be advised," ROB 64 then alerted, "The beam will cross in front of the Great Fox's present bearing in five, four, three, two, one..."
Sure enough, a bright white light began pouring in the giant bridge windows from outside. It was so sudden and so intense in its luminance that it took the four completely by surprise.
"What the-?!" Slippy exclaimed, confounded as he and the others promptly shielded their eyes from this blinding light. Then the entire structure of the Great Fox started rattling, and the alarm's rate quickly reached that of a constant tonal noise.
"Aghhh! Guys I can't see anything!" Slippy fell out of his chair clumsily, but worse was just about to hit.
"Partial impact with the beam immanent," ROB 64 announced. "Recommend evasive maneuvers to bearing point three-one-eight-..."
WHOOM! A huge brunt of that energy struck dead-on, cutting the robot off mid-sentence and jolting the entire mothership violently. The rest of the Star Fox team got cast from their chairs, tumbling across the metallic floor. Now even more blaring alarms went off at the mainframe dashboard. Something very strange and frightening was happening.
"ROB! What the hell is going on?!" Fox yelled into the overwhelming barrier of illumination. He struggled to stand up and blindly feel his way around.
Luckily, the team's robot could still function fully. Amid all this violent rattling of the ship and blinding light, ROB 64 went about analyzing the mainframe computers.
"The beam of electromagnetic energy is currently grazing along the Great Fox's starboard side. Weapon firing systems have just been surged out. Primary power transfer modules to the warp engines have also been surged out."
"Wha-?!" Falco shouted into the brightness likewise, "Bu-... But what about the HULL!?"
No such answer came from ROB 64, however, because all that blinding light and rattling suddenly ceased the very next moment. Everything delved back to a cold and outright eerie stillness. Even the alarms had stopped blaring, but the big screen hanging above still displayed a lifeless static.
Fox cautiously uncovered his eyes, breathing rather shakily as he looked all around the bridge. Much to his surprise, nothing appeared broken.
"... What just happened...?" He uttered at last. The others regained themselves and glanced around nervously as well while their robot was busy deciphering data.
"No discernible damage detected on the hull exterior," declared ROB 64. "Only minor physical damages are detected within the main Arwing hangar."
"... N-No exterior damage...?!" Dumbfounded, the vulpine stared after retrieving his communicator headpiece. "But... Our shields weren't even up...!"
"You're right, Fox, they weren't..." Peppy had gone over and was now observing another monitor's info. "This is real weird. The scanners clearly identified an electromagnetic pulse, but the fact that it came like a solid beam from behind, and there's no damage to the hull..."
He ended up falling quiet, likewise becoming confused as his eyes darted around the screen through his pair of small circular spectacles.
Fox, Falco, and Slippy eyed the old hare in an anxious silence of their own, awaiting any kind of a further explanation on what might have happened. Nothing came from him for some time, though.
"... W-What did you mean by 'minor physical damages' in the Arwing bay, ROB?" Slippy then asked out of his own concern, to which the robot clarified:
"Affirmative. The Arwing fighters and other objects throughout the main hangar have been dislodged from stationary mounts due to the magnitude of vibration. Recommend to manually inspect the hangar at once for any further, undetected damages."
To this, the mechanic lowered his wide head into a dense face-palm and shook it while the others exchanged worried looks.
After exhaling hoarsely, he uttered, "Well, guess I'd better go down and check out the hangar then. One of us has to."
His tone in particular came across as dour, since this really was a sudden and big inconvenience. Their Arwing fighters, the very pride and joy of their former combat services, had apparently been cast around like glassware in a metal box.
Right before Slippy could leave the bridge, however, his attention got caught from Peppy finally starting to say something more.
"Look, boys, I... I just don't know what to make of this data..." His face contorted in the attempt to explain, "We've lost every function for the firing control systems, plus any ability to reengage max warp-speed..."
Fox and Falco glanced at one another again, lost for words.
"Then there's this..." Peppy went on, "All the ship's other internal functions, communications, and radar are still online... But, the only thing we seem to have lost are the TV signals. The whole dang receiver musta been fried up."
To prove his point, he gestured at the screen which continued emanating that hiss of grey nothingness, both visually and aurally.
"Other than that, though..." Peppy exhaled, slowly and somewhat reassuringly, "Everythin'... Seems to be alright..."
Long, uneasy moments passed between the team still. Falco then offered the blank screen a mere glance as well, developing a strong shade of frustration within his blue eyes. He shook his head and breached the silence, spouting a single sharp word:
"FFFFFuck..."
Despite Fox understanding why he'd said it, his eyes still darted over and came to focus on his fellow pilot's backside. The avian leaned on the chair with his head hanging down, staring at his feet in those slip-on shoes. All he could let out next was an agitated groan.
True, there was no way now to witness the tie-breaking match of the first bracket between Mario and Kirby, so it'd left an understandably sour feeling teeming inside them both.
That was the very least of their worries, however. To much more of a consequence, it sounded like their Arwings had just been damaged from this strange energy anomaly.
"... Right, guys, I'm headin' down to the hangar. I'll keep y'all updated on what I find..." With that, Slippy turned and rather awkwardly scuttled his way out of the bridge to go begin his investigation.
This soon prompted Falco to push his chair forward roughly.
"... And I'm gonna go clean up." He quickly walked out as well, leaving Fox and Peppy standing there amid that low ambient hum of the ship's engines drifting through the air.
The vulpine lowered his head, realizing the only thing they could really do now was wait out the remaining time until their arrival at the stadium. Still, that smash of his great interest was going on regardless of who was watching, and who wasn't.
* Planet Veradeena – Midair Stadium *
Mario and Kirby's final fight went in full swing, and the swells of ecstatic cheers spurred the action on as the pink puffball got knocked back by a strong slug from his mustached opponent. He slid along the AstroTurf a good several meters, yet like the times before, the Dreamlander may have been down but he wasn't out. He rebounded onto his feet and dashed back towards Mario, who conjured a brilliant amber fireball in the palm of his hand and cast it, sending it bouncing down the platform.
Kirby hopped over it gracefully, the flame barely licking the soles of his shoes. Now he flew straight at the plumber and readied another one of his mighty forward air-kicks.
Rightfully so, Mario wasn't going to be fooled a second time. He threw his fists up to block, but then the Star Warrior swiftly angled his kick downward and struck his unguarded abdomen instead. The force was surprisingly strong and launched Mario through the air. He landed flat on his back, emitting a sharp grunt as many in the crowds squealed gleefully at Kirby's cuteness whilst standing there in perfect posture after finishing that flashy move.
Determined as he was, the mustached man immediately leaped back up to his feet. Now the two of them stood on opposing sides of the platform, facing one another; waiting to see who would try the next approach first. Not that it really mattered much, though.
Adrenaline quickly struck their very cores simultaneously, and just like the opening move a mere minute ago, they bolted towards one another again.
Mario was the first to swing out with a clenched fist, catching Kirby in a sharp upper-cut that sent him skyward. He reeled his arm down and back to prepare an even stronger upward blow, but Kirby took advantage of the time gap. He enveloped Mario in a rapid downward spin-kick and fell right smack on top of him, causing the both of them to pile up in a tangled heap of limbs.
Frenetically they scrambled to get back on their feet and thus stumbled away to wait on opposite ends yet another time.
Mario and Kirby could feel the immense pressure of this ongoing match as they both stood in their fighting stances, wrapped in a sweat amid this contrasting feeling of the midday sun against that cool high-altitude breeze often whisking across their faces. Somehow the whole sensation burned every nerve within them.
No doubt this tie-breaker round appeared to be very much a stalemate, unlike the prior matches where single actions proved much more influential. Still, the two smashers managed to keep their breathing steady and their reflexes at the ready, yet the problem was that neither of them could work a strategy around the other.
For the rest of Sector N, though, there surely did seem to be a stark proverbial rift down the middle over whom the exuberant crowds desired should prevail in this bracket. First came that mythical-sized chant of Mario's name from one side of the arena, and then came Kirby's in a counter-hymn from the other. With all their fervent support for either smasher, the stadium truly was in a state of dissonance.
Mario stood firmly in those semi-worn athletic sneakers of his. He took a deep breath and exhaled calmly, wiping his forehead free of some sweat that'd gathered above his brow. His mind was racing with a thousand things at once. All sounds swirling in the air around him became obsolete. He had to bring this match into his favor, but how? His very reputation of being a true veteran smasher in this generation was on the line if he couldn't make it past this first round.
Kirby likewise lowered his eyelids a bit from the sunlight's intensity. He too felt just as determined as Mario was to advance to the next round, so the stakes were equally as high for him.
At last, another neurotic kick sparked deep in the two's minds for an attacking lunge. The cheers swelled to an absolute peak again as Mario and Kirby sprang towards one another, for what might possibly be the clash to determine the rest of the match.
But then, above all the commotion here in the stadium already, an even deeper and downright ear-shattering noise suddenly struck through everything.
CRACK! A gigantic bolt of pure energy and blinding white light split straight through the open-roofed arena, blasting into the middle of the smash platform with a thunderous force that knocked Mario and Kirby quite far backwards in opposite directions.
The entire stadium cried out with panicked surprise as both smashers landed hard on their backs, struggling to shield their eyes from this utterly overwhelming illumination. At the end of the exit hall, Luigi stumbled and clumsily fell back a good couple of meters from the energy's blast force. Lucina, Ike, Captain Falcon, Little Mac, Red, Pikachu, and Yoshi all had to turn away, protecting their eyes as well.
What was going on? Everyone must've thought it was a lightning strike of some sort, but it wasn't. It couldn't have been, because the bolt mysteriously lingered there in the same place whence it struck, as if it were snapped in a foreboding freeze-frame.
In the wide-open blue skies above Midair Stadium, this beam expanded farther upward and revealed to be a mere arc coming down from an even more massive, sparking web of similar beams. They all blasted out from a truly gargantuan horizontal pillar of pure light and energy which stretched all the way across the massive sky, with naught but scattered white swirls of clouds so very far below.
There was no way it could've been part of a storm either. No such clouds were to be seen anywhere. The whole sky for that matter was clear up here, and it had actually come from somewhere much higher above: From space.
All across the rest of Sector N, on many different lands and worlds, those countless families, friends, and fans alike who'd been tuned into the tournament similarly fell flabbergasted to witness their TV screens blank out to the grey hiss of static.
Their voices rang out in what sounded like a great unison of dismay; some in bewildered rage, with others doing so through a peculiar kind of fright. A number of the broadcasts and news feeds forcibly cut back to confused anchors, who could only claim there were technical difficulties of some kind going on.
Most of all, however, this sudden blackout felt eerily identical to what'd happened to the Star Fox team hardly a minute ago.
* Skyworld – The Temple of Communication *
Within that dark stone chamber, even the mysterious altar of observation lost its mirage of Midair Stadium through the resettled surface of water. Now its volume came out plain and clear, emitting neither light nor sound. Heavenly ambiance which once prevailed all but faded to the soft whistles of wind, echoing in from the outside.
Yet, there still wasn't a single soul around to even notice how the altar had strangely become void.
Music: "S.T.A.Y."
* Midair Stadium *
That blinding blast abruptly dissipated into thin air. Nothing remained other than a distant crackle of thunder, emanating from somewhere high across the clear skies.
Everything had appeared to resettle, yet almost no sound could be heard other than that ghostly breeze drifting amid all those colorful banners and flags. Sure the entire arena fell dead-quiet before, but not like this. This was a very different kind of quiet. It held a sense of fear, unlike before.
Smoke and flakes of a black ash now rose slowly over much of the smash platform. Nobody in the higher seating sections could even see the aftermath down there. Those giant hanging display boards had been knocked out, not showing a single lit pixel.
Lying flat on their backs, Mario and Kirby opened their eyes at last. They observed the massive framework of the stadium's retracted roof, as well as the sky still beyond it. From their upward view it almost looked like nothing had happened, although something certainly had. Their ears rang deep inside from the thunderous force of that blast, with the air all a muffled blur.
Finally, Mario shifted his head and gazed down the platform, past his shoes to see that a large smoking crater had been blown into the AstroTurf.
Groaning, he grasped his left shoulder and got back on his feet. The man slowly began to approach, yet as he drew nearer, he spotted Kirby through the dense veil, already standing on the other side. Not only that, he appeared to be staring down at something.
Unsure at first, Mario soon realized amid the thinning haze what the pink Dreamlander's eyes were in fact fixated upon. His own blue eyes squinted, then widened greatly at this sight here before him in the middle of the smash platform.
A body of a person shown. It was a boy with blonde hair who lie face-down in the crater, motionless.
Mario and Kirby stood there, frozen in place and utterly speechless. All they could manage to give each other was the same shocked look, without any idea of what to do at first.
This boy couldn't have been older than his early twenties, but more peculiar still was his clothing. He appeared to be wearing silver athletic pants, a dark wool sweater, and felt boots which had been somewhat charred and torn like the rest of his figure.
At the same time, a subtle flow of voices arose as the stadium's crowds finally started to murmur amongst themselves in a low albeit unsettled tone. Nobody knew, or could know for that matter, what was going on right now due to the lingering shroud of smoke.
Nothing even came from the announcer way up in the main press box. The PA systems and other electronics were obviously surged out, almost as if this had indeed resulted from an EMP of some sort. People all across the crowds tried checking their phones or tablets, only to discover not a single device worked anymore. All the scattered camera crews were similarly baffled to find their broadcast equipment fried.
Moments of this haunting stillness kept passing nevertheless, enveloping the entire stadium.
Kirby now watched, glued in his attention as Mario stepped down into the crater and carefully rested a hand upon the boy's shoulder closest to him, seeing if he could garner any physical response. There came nothing.
"... Hey! You two alright!?" An anxious voice then called from behind. It was the Toad referee who emerged through the veil of smoke, covering his mouth.
"Are either of you hurt? What about your-..." He froze mid-sentence upon seeing the body lying there in front of them. "... Trophies...!"
Mario turned back, meeting the confounded gaze of the referee. "... I think-a-we need some help-a-out here..."
Wide-eyed, the referee put a hand on his forehead and attempted to form understandable words, "Wh-Where did... How did... How did this boy get here...?!"
They had not the slightest idea. It was as simple as that.
Mario just shook his head with his own mouth partially agape. He could only dart his eyes along the backside of this human boy, trying to collect a shred of sense from it.
"But... I-Is he alive...?!" The bewildered referee also sought any kind of explanation.
Mario swallowed unsurely, "... I don't-a-know..."
Kirby and the Toad referee watched the plumber gently grasp the boy's upper torso, turning him over carefully so he now lay on his back. At least he faced upward for his front side to be given a share of the day's sunlight.
All the same, the three stared at him through pure unknowing. There was just something indelible about this boy. His eyelids hung shut, his short blonde hair stood ruffled and messed up, plus the fact that his body made not a single movement.
It seemed as though he might very well be dead, but Mario was determined to find out for sure. Something sudden then caught his eye, however.
Right on the middle of this boy's sweater was a stark white symbol: A jagged and tree-esque shape, what looked like some kind of abstract insignia.
Mario couldn't help but feel a chill run all the way down his back. Wait... Why does his sweater have THAT-a-symbol on it...?
The thought churned through his mind darkly, contorting his face somewhat, yet he soon snapped back to the vital matter at hand. Mario conducted some quick touches on the boy's body before straightening his limp limbs with care. Then he took off his cap and laid his head down against the boy's chest, listening closely for a heartbeat.
He looked like a true doctor at work here, and the Toad referee couldn't help noticing.
"You've had... Medical training, Mario...?" He inquired, watching the plumber's every action on this strange human.
Mario nodded only once as he continued listening for any viable signs of life. "Mm... I've-a-had-a-physician's training for-a-few years..."
At last, he seemed to have found the sign. A soft albeit slow thumping reached the plumber's ear amid the other ambiance in this vastness of the arena, so his eyes widened with a glint of optimism.
"There... There is a heartbeat...!" He declared, taking his right glove off and resting a pair of fingers on the bottom-left area of the boy's neck. Just to be sure, he checked for a confirming pulse while Kirby watched all of this with uncertainty.
"Poyo?" He wondered. The mustached man soon found his result, however. Like the soft thump he'd heard, the tips of his fingers also felt a subtle rise and fall of the skin.
No doubt this human boy was in fact alive! Mario slid his glove back on and picked his cap up, giving the Toad referee a reassuring glance and a single nod to accompany it.
"O-Ok then," he uttered nervously. "I'll call for the paramedics...!"
The referee tried clicking his PA device several times, but nothing responded. He pulled the headset off and stared at it, bewildered.
"Agh... I-I can't contact anyone...!"
Thinking quick, he scampered over to the edge of the platform where the walkway ramp would normally extend across the chasm to join from the training facility. He cupped his hands over his mouth and yelled across:
"Hey! Somebody activate the ramp!"
Still standing on the other side were Captain Falcon, Little Mac, Ike, Lucina, Red, Pikachu, Yoshi, and Luigi, who'd picked himself back up and readjusted his cap straight. They too could hardly see anything on the platform, other than the frantic Toad referee there in front of all that smoke clouding out the center.
"Yo, ref! What happened over there?" The F-zero racer shouted. Then he and the others heard swift footsteps from behind. Someone else quickly came up and stopped beside them; it was that Shy Guy event coordinator.
"Look, just do it!" The anxious referee insisted, "Extend the ramp! We need the paramedics out here now!"
"... Right... I'll get them...!" The coordinator swung about face, waddling as fast as he could back down the hall on his short legs. He opened those glass doors into the training facility whilst calling back, "Hurry! One of you activate the ramp!"
"Huh...? The PARAMEDICS...?!" Captain Falcon repeated those words, exchanging brief but dreaded looks with the others. He obeyed what he heard though and glanced to his left, seeing a control panel on the wall which housed a number of buttons, levers, plus labels.
"... It's that big green lever on the right," hollered the referee. "Pull it down all the way!"
Sure enough, the F-zero racer found that lever indicated so he yanked it down. The heavy mechanical whirring of those hydraulic motors came to life, and the ramp itself began extending outward to join with the smash platform once again.
To this, the Toad referee breathed a sigh of relief. At least not all the stadium's electrical equipment had been surged out by that strange blast.
By now though, many more of the smashers had come over and were trying to see what in fact was going on out there on the smash platform. They all began clustering densely, behind the few already standing there at the edge of the walkway ramp. Some of them, namely Link, Marth, Roy, Jigglypuff, Squirtle, Greninja, Charizard, Donkey Kong, and Diddy Kong managed to worm their way through this gathering crowd and make it up to those at the very front.
Link and the two Kongs came to a silent standstill beside Captain Falcon, Luigi, and Little Mac; while the Altean Prince and his red-haired friend joined with their fellow Heroes of the Emblem. The troupe of Pokémon on the other hand huddled closely beside Pikachu and their trainer, Red.
Murmurs of uncertainty accompanied their steadfast gazes over what could've possibly transpired out there, when suddenly, much more serious voices rang out from behind them.
"Move aside! Clear a path, everybody! Paramedic team coming through!" Maneuvering amidst this whole crowd of smashers now was a group of stadium paramedics comprising Toads, Koopas, and Shy Guys clad in white-and-red medical coats. They also carried several cases containing emergency medical equipment.
The paramedics scurried their way across to the smash platform, where the Toad referee hastily guided them into that smoky veil still clouding out the center. But then, through the thinning flakes of ash, the smashers all fell surprised to spot both Mario and Kirby standing on their feet, free of any injuries.
Everyone began worrying even more, mumbling hoarsely amongst themselves why the paramedics were actually being called out.
"... M-My bro's not hurt...?" Luigi observed warily.
"No... No, he isn't..." Red shook his head likewise. "But neither is Kirby...?"
A suspicious Captain Falcon then thought to add, "So... Why the heck are they goin' out there, then?"
None of them could've imagined the true extent of what had actually just happened, nor what all was to come. Something similar would unfold elsewhere, up aboard a certain Cornerian mothership which was just beginning to enter the planet's atmosphere.
The day was about to take a drastic turn.