Doors (The List Again)

Three weeks later…

The 25 Smashers were now fully situated in Melee, and the first matches had been fought. Everyone had been introduced to Master Hand's unpredictable twin brother, Crazy Hand, known as the Hand of Destruction. Despite his rattling disposition, all held their own in a battle against the two Hands during the final level of Classic Mode.

As far as matches were concerned, they were arranged like the ones in the first tournament. The day's bouts were tacked up on the poster board every morning, and they consisted of stock matches or time matches, either with or without items. They'd become noticeably more rigorous, so that everyone was tuckered out by the time the fights were over. But at least they all had time to cool off in the refurbished steam room or be pampered by Wireframe spa attendants. Master Hand made up for the increased intensity of Smashing by spoiling his fighters rotten, and they loved it.

Brand new techniques were present in Melee, as well. The most prevalent of these was wavedashing, allowing many fighters to traverse a given stage in record time. Luigi was among the best wavedashers, given his low traction, and he used this hidden blessing to beef up both his defensive and offensive strategies. To succeed in Melee, learning how to wavedash was key. Other clever moves included Fox's laser techs, his short hop single and double lasers and the inclusion of side-special moves. You'll hear more on those later.

Now that the Melee fighters had some victories and losses under their belt, the time had come yet again. Master Hand woke up and gobbled down some blueberry muffins for breakfast before making himself comfortable at his new Windows XP desktop and opening his email page. And there, in the Unread folder, was a message from Sakurai.

The new tier list was ready.

Master sighed deeply. He wished he didn't have to go through this again. After what happened last time—

He shook himself out of it. The Smashers had learned from their mistakes and reconciled in time to end the first tournament on a happy note. Hopefully, they'd remember the friendships which nearly crumbled to dust before starting in on that crap again…

With a heavy heart, MH printed the document and lifted the warm sheet of paper from the printer's tray. "Let's get this over with," he muttered as he floated out of his office and toward the Main Hall.

Once again, MH had to pass through the hallway in which the Smashers' rooms were located. Twenty-five doors cracked open, revealing twenty-five curious pairs of eyes fixed on MH's every move. Of those 25, 12 knew exactly what the glove was holding in his hand. And the other 13 were about to find out.

From the door across from Mario peeped the fair-haired Peach, the benevolent ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. Despite frequently spending time in another castle, Peach was an effective leader, keeping her constituents optimistic in times of strife. She always rewarded Mario's efforts to bring her back from that other castle with a sweet kiss and an even sweeter cake. The two of them had been going strong since he first helped her restore peace to her kingdom. Together, they hosted sporting events, parties and kart racing tournaments. However, almost always being in another castle was starting to wear on her, which was why she said "yes" to Melee. With her trusty Toad, her Parasol and her Vegetables, among other things, she'd show Nintendo that she was no damsel in distress!

Through another door peeked two green eyes under bushy red brows. They belonged to King Koopa, the thorn in the Mushroom Kingdom's side and the sixteen-year bane of the Mario Bros' existence. Koopa was the reason why Peach spent so much time in another castle. Some say that he was a lonely turtle looking for love. Others say that he just wanted her kingdom to herself. And some argue a combination of the two. But either way, Mario was always one step ahead and foiled Koopa's endeavors for total power. He was so happy to be invited here—so many shrimps and twerps to show who's boss, and finally—finally—a chance to beat those Bros to a bloody pulp! But the downside was that the object of his desires could finally unleash her wrath on him, and these tournaments only caused the animosity between him and those plumbers to escalate to titanic proportions. Oh, well. He still had fun pushing the other Smashers around.

Out of another door close to Mario was—another Mario! Dressed in white scrubs, a red tie, gray slacks and a white coat, his stethoscope and other doctor's tools at the ready—presenting Dr. Mario! After things between him and Koopa settled down for a bit, Mario had decided to go back to school and earn a medical degree. Peach, secretly a registered nurse, helped him take on pesky viruses using their miraculous Megavitamins! In 1990, they set up a clinic to help ailing Toads, but Mario's medical excursions paled in comparison to his more heroic deeds. However, he was thrilled when Master Hand offered to allow him to present his "first, do no harm" alter ego onto the battlefield. Despite being snubbed as a clone, Dr. Mario was popular among the Smashers, and he wouldn't trade a day of this experience for the world.

Out of a door neighboring Link peeped Zelda, Hyrule's wise Princess and the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom. After listening to Link's tales of the first tournament, she decided to accompany him to this go-round, figuring that he and the other Smashers would need her counsel. Zelda had come loaded for bear with magical and sometimes fiery attacks. And let's not talk about the "other her"—Sheik, the last of the Sheikah tribe and a swift, lethal ninja. As Sheik, Zelda had plunged Smashers into a living nightmare on the Stage of Broken Friendships, aka the Temple. Outside of matches, Zelda swiftly became Peach's BFF, and they'd hold sleepovers in one or the other's room.

Out of the other door neighboring Link glared Ganondorf, the King of Evil and the bearer of the Triforce of Power. Time and time again, he'd try to grab the Triforce pieces for himself and then take over Hyrule, with little or no success, courtesy of a certain young elf. Ganon was the Koopa to Link's Mario. They hated each other. When the Gerudo took MH up on his offer to join, he hoped to strike fear into the hearts of other Smashers, almost immediately winning Koopa over as a best buddy. The two of them enjoyed bullying Smashers to their heart's content, which only made their victims more determined to thrash them on the battlefield. Link and Zelda especially enjoyed giving their rival what he deserved, working out their enmity and frustration toward him whenever they could.

Out of a door across from Link peered a considerably younger Link—how about a seven years younger Link? Young Link, known to his friends simply as YL, was Link's clone, but he looked up to his elder counterpart and lovingly called him "Big Me". He also thought of Zelda as his "mama", and he frequently turned to him or Dr. Mario for comfort whenever he was singled out for being a clone. YL was also good friends with Ness, and they were often found playing baseball in the yard or video games in the lounge.

Out of the door beside Fox glowered the ace pilot of Star Fox, Falco Lombardi. Falco and Fox loved to hate each other, but when danger called, the blue avian would fight at the vulpine's side in a heartbeat. Falco hailed from Brooklyn, and he was thus drawn to another New Yorker, Luigi, who also shared a cultural and linguistic background with him. Though Falco was known to be brash, and he left or threatened to leave Star Fox a number of times, he was still a reliable asset to the Star Fox team. Fox had secured Falco's place in Melee to make up for the avian "being left out" in the first one, even though Falco had stated that he wasn't interested.

Out of some other door hovered Mewtwo, the mysterious Psychic Pokémon. Mewtwo used telekinesis and energy projectiles to fight and had a tense relationship with Pikachu and Jigglypuff. This because he'd stirred up some trouble back in their home world and had put Ash and Misty, among others, in danger. Mewtwo was a malevolent clone of the adorable Legendary, Mew, and he tended to look down on the "mortals" in the Smash Mansion. He didn't bully them, but he displayed apathy toward whatever problems they confided to him.

Out of the door next to Pikachu's room peeped an electric mouse even cuter than Pikachu—Pichu! This pre-evolved form of the iconic electric mouse was just starting out in tournaments in his home world. Pikachu hoped that Melee would be good training wheels for Pichu to cut his teeth. Since Pichu was a baby, many of his electric attacks could hurt himself, but the tenacity he displayed was impressive. He, too, was picked on for being a clone, but he knew how to handle it, bonding with YL and Dr. Mario, along with non-clones like Ness, Kirby and Jiggs.

Out of yet another door poked two heads—Nana and Popo, the Ice Climbers! These young mountaineers were nearly forgotten; they were only known for their one huge excursion up a mountain in 1985. But MH was determined to revive old legends, and thanks to him, the Ice Climbers were back in the limelight. They were close friends with Ness, YL, Pichu and Kirby, and they were known to double-team opponents in battle. Sometimes, Popo being launched off the stage counted as a K.O; other times, it was Nana. A popular technique of the Ice Climbers was "the Wobble", in which there would be one Ice Climber on either side of an opponent, pummeling to kingdom come! These two may be childish, but they were nothing to joke about on the battlefield!

Out of a twenty-third door peeped Marth Lowell, the exiled Prince of Altea. Marth was an obscure hero, only recognized in Japan, and mostly preferred to speak Japanese while taunting or celebrating a victory. He was instantly recognizable by his charming looks, his mop of blue hair, and his divine sword, Falchion. Marth was a beast in Melee due to his Tipper, his Shield Breaker, his Counter and his Dancing Blade.

In the neighboring room resided the fiery-haired Roy, the Red Lion and the Lord of Pharae. Sparks had flown between him and the bluenette well before Melee. Roy's weapon of choice was the Sword of Seals, which could light aflame at his command. His motto was: "For those whom I must protect, I will not lose!" So far, he'd followed this to the letter, even though he was considered Marth's clone.

And finally, speaking of classics, there was Mr. Game and Watch, peeking out of a twenty-fifth door. G&W, a monochrome, 2-dimensional man, was considered the father of modern gaming. In planning Melee, Master Hand wanted to tip the hat to legends past, and by including G&W, he'd accomplished his mission. G&W only spoke in BEEP and BOOP, but he was still a great guy to be around, flipping steaks, sausages, chicken and fish for hungry Smashers and ringing his bell often. During a heated battle, he could swoop in with a "NEIN"—er, a "nine", from his Judge move, fill a bucket with energy-based projectiles to dump on opponents, literally juggle foes, or execute whimsical moves to pay homage to the games from the original Game and Watch series. He was quite pleased to discover that his participation in Melee had reignited interest in his old games.

Finally, Master Hand reached the Main Hall and tacked the familiar piece of paper onto the board. Then, he retreated to his office, waiting for the fireworks to start—

The fireworks go off next chapter. Stay tuned.