Super Smash Bros adventures chapter 13
The scenery at Palutena's Temple looks quite beautiful, but not when you're fighting a crazy powerful tactician who uses both a sword and magic.
"Arc-Thunder!" Robin cries, firing a powerful Ball of Electricity at Mario. The plumber jumps over Robin's blast, but the skilled tactician meets him in midair and landed an Air Levin Sword attack.
"Ugh!" Mario grunts as the sword slams into his chest, zapping him with a little purple energy. The magician tactician is merciless, and has countered most of Mario's moves, having studied the plumber closely. But, Mario will not stand for this any longer. He rushes towards Robin, ducking under his Arc-Fire, and throws a flurry of Punches. He then jumps up and follows it with a Kick, sending Robin crashing to the ground.
Robin tries to dodge Mario's Fireballs, but the red clad plumber jumps into the air and delivers a crushing Air Punch on Robin, sending the swordsman flying.
Robin clenches his jaw and tries to control his breathing. He twists in the air and lands on his feet. He sees that Mario is charging towards him again. Smirking, Robin welcomes this attack.
Mario charges forward, and brings back his arm to swing at Robin.
"Nosferatu!" Robin calls out, grabbing Mario and taking a bit of strength from the plumber.
Mario struggles to break free. He finally is able to shake Robin off, but he feels drained.
"Time to tip the scales!" Robin shouts.
Mario is expecting Robin to try to attack him again, but instead, the tactician maneuvers to the top of the temple. "What could he be up to?" Mario wonders to himself. Cautiously, the plumber follows.
As he gets closer, Mario sees that Robin is standing by Palutena's statue, his arms folded calmly across his chest, but ready to strike back if the plumber makes an attack on him.
Mario was about to go on the offensive, when the glint of the bright sun shines in his eyes. He squinted and tried to angle himself so the sun wouldn't be a bother to him. He looks around and finds that the light is reflecting off of the gold from Palutena's statue. For a brief moment, Mario realizes how majestic the goddess looks; strong and commanding, yet good and gentle, too.
"Ha!" Robin screams. Seizing his chance, he deals a powerful Levin Sword smash attack to Mario's body, almost strong enough to send him into the blast zone.
Mario falls to the ground, avoiding Robin's sword. He gets up and clenches his fists in anger. How dare Robin try something like this? He charges towards the tactician, his rage driving him, and puts all of his power into his next punch.
Robin stares in shock. Mario doesn't look like himself… By the time Robin realizes what has happened, it is too late. "Aahh!" Robin screams in pain as he is sent out of bounds.
When they arrive at the mansion, Mario marches up to Robin, his eyes narrowed in anger. "Good match, but that was a really twisted trick using Palutena's statue to distract me like that!"
"I didn't!" Robin says defensively. "I simply brought you higher up so I could KO you easier!
"Oh, you did?" Mario asks, sorry that he had accused his friend like that.
"Yes." Robin says testily. "Why are you so upset? You won, didn't you?"
"I'm… sorry." Mario muttered. Weird… why had he gotten so angry like that? It was just a Smash battle.
Robin takes a deep breath, realizing he shouldn't be angry at Mario's behavior and speaks. "It's fine." He says. He pauses for a moment. "Palutena's statue distracted you? Why? Do you… like her or something?"
Mario's heart starts racing and he begins to sweat. Truthfully, he didn't know. Sure, Palutena was a good friend, nice and caring and helpful… but no! Mario couldn't just forget everything that happened with Peach. He wasn't allowed to like anyone else yet… was he?
"No!" Mario declares quickly. "I'm not ready for that yet."
"Oh, well, good match, anyway." Robin says, and he shakes hands with the plumber.
Mario and Robin walk out of the Smash room and head to the mission request board. "So what do you want to do?" wonders Mario.
"I don't know actually. There's a lot more jobs than before." Robin muses, scanning the message board, piled high with requests.
While Robin is looking at the mission board, Mario turns and notices Little Mac, who had been jogging with Wii Fit Trainer. Little Mac and the Wii Fit trainer say their good-byes and the boxer turns to face him.
"Oh, hey guys!" Little Mac greets.
"Hey Little Mac, want to come with us on a mission?" asks Mario.
"Sure." The boxer agrees. "What kind of mission did you guys choose?"
"Guys." Robin calls, his eyes resting on a particular mission request. "I found a quest we can undertake, but it'll be dangerous." He reads the post out loud to them. 'Escort me back to town.' Mario and Little Mac listen carefully. "This request is from my world." Robin explains, knowing that his world was one of the more dangerous realms that had been included in Smash.
"This is great. You can visit your friends again!" Mario cries enthusiastically.
"I… haven't seen them for a few months." The tactician muses to himself. "Alright then. Let's do this mission."
"Now you're talking!" Little Mac exclaims, and they all enter the portal.
"Mario, Little Mac, welcome to Ylisse." says Robin.
"This place is huge." Little Mac says, gazing in awe at the vast kingdom lay out before him. A shining castle stood in the distance, and the streets were bustling with shopkeepers calling out their wares and citizens going about their daily lives.
"Compare to Ylisse, you're little." Mario teases, nudging Little Mac in the arm. The short boxer didn't find it funny.
"Where's the person we're escorting?" asked Mario as the three of them entered the woods surrounding the kingdom.
"I don't know. Since the portal took us here then she should be around here somewhere." Robin calculates. He glances up at the darkening sky. "Be careful. Sometimes, bandits hide in these woods at night. We might be ambushed-"
However, just as Robin finished speaking, an ear-splitting shriek cuts the night air. "Help!" A woman's voice cried out. Then, the trees near them rustle, and a red headed girl bursts into their little clearing, carrying what appeared to be a bag of merchandise.
"Anna!" Robin exclaims, hurrying to the girl, who is out of breath. "Anna! What's wrong?"
The girl shivers as she speaks, only able to utter one word. "B-Bandits!" she chokes out.
Robin is about to ask her something else, when a gruff voice startles them. "There she is!"
Suddenly, the sounds of galloping horses and foot soldiers can be heard closing in all around them. In no time, the group is surrounded by about fifty men, each carrying an axe or sword or whatever their weapon of choice is.
"Hey! It's that tactician! The one who humiliated us before!" a bandit exclaims, pointing a finger at Robin. "But, who are those other two with him?"
Robin quickly tries to concoct a plan of action, the gears in his head turning rapidly. Then, he notices that the bandits are all distracted momentarily by Mario and Little Mac. Grateful they had come with him, the tactician begins giving orders. "Mario! Attack the ones on the left. They have swords, so keep your distance and use your fire."
"Got it!" Mario cries, leaping into action.
"Little Mac. Attack the group of archers on the right. You're small and fast, so they should have a harder time hitting you." Robin directs.
"I'm not small!" Little Mac protests, but does as he is told.
The fight went relatively quickly. The enemy didn't stand a chance against Mario and Little Mac, their other worldly fighting styles giving them an edge. Robin moved quickly, striking down anyone who opposed him with his Levin Sword or a good magic spell. Anna is still recovering from her shock, but the three Smashers do all right on their own.
"That was easy." Mario says once the bandits are defeated.
Robin looks at Anna with concern. "How did this happen?" he asks.
"I-I was on my way home from the shop, when these bandits attacked me." Anna explained. "I thought I could lose them in the woods, but then it got dark and… well, you know the rest."
Robin nods gravely.
"Who are your friends?" Anna asks, eager to meet the strange people who had rescued her.
"This is Mario and Little Mac." Robin introduces. "They're part of a tournament I'm in."
Anna stares at the two otherworldly men. "You've got a nice big nose, Big-nose!" she says to Mario.
"What'd you call me?" Mario wonders angrily.
Anna turns to Little Mac. "You're really short!" she criticizes.
"You want to fight?" the boxer asks, affronted.
"Uh-Let's get going." Robin suggests, eager to break up the fight and get the group moving at the same time.
As they are traveling through the forest, moving through dense trees and thick undergrowth, Robin freezes, having heard something. The others stop near him and look at him as if to ask what is wrong. Robin gets a bad feeling suddenly and prepares himself.
"We're not done yet!" he calls out just as a volley of arrows falls all around them.
"You mean more bandits?" Little Mac asks incredulously.
"Yes!" Robin responds. "Do as you did before."
Mario and Little Mac quickly try to keep it together and follow their orders. Robin attacks the mages in the group with his sword, and anyone else is met with gales of wind and bursts of fire. Winged mounts were struck down with lightning from the skies. Anna also helped out with her sword and offered Vulneraries and Elixirs to whoever needed them
"For a price, of course." She says, handing a Vulnerary to Little Mac, who had been hit with a powerful arrow.
Soon, all of the remaining bandits are defeated, and only the leader remains. "Look who we have here." Says a burly man wearing a cape and a suit of armor. There was a wicked gleam in his eyes, as if he hungered for destruction to show off his power.
Robin scowls. "Garrick." He says, his voice dripping with resentment. "I thought you've been captured."
"I escaped and wanted revenge" Garrick explains, "so I thought to capture your friend, and maybe grab a few shiny trinkets while I'm at it."
"You will not harm her!" Robin declares, raising his Levin Sword.
"Let's see you stop me." The bandit says menacingly as he readies his weapon, a silver axe with a wickedly sharp blade.
Robin quickly turns to Mario and Little Mac. "Keep Anna safe and out of harm's way." He instructs, "Let me handle this." Robin faces his opponent and readies his weapons.
"Ya!" Garrick screams and swings his axe
Robin sidesteps the blade, the wind ruffling his hair as the axe sales by his head. The tactician raises his arms, focuses his energy, and fires a Thoron. Ka-boom! A thunderous noise shakes the ground as Garrick is blasted backwards with a powerful Bolt of Lightning.
"Ugh! You won't get away with this!" Garrick cries, enraged, and swings his axe again.
Robin tries to dodge, but the bandit is too quick. A sharp pain explodes from Robin's arm as he is struck with the axe. Shakily getting to his feet, Robin hurls a Arc-Fire at the bandit, who is too busy laughing to dodge in time. Robin then rushes forward and deals a powerful blow to Garrick's chest with his Levin sword.
Robin takes the time while the bandit is down to reposition himself by a thick, sturdy tree.
Garrick stands again, his eyes wiled with anger and fear. In one last desperate attempt, he swings his axe wildly, but Robin sidesteps the blow at the last moment, and the axe becomes embedded in the tree.
As Garrick is trying to free his weapon, Robin charges forward and slashes with his Levin sword.
"Nooo!" Garrick screams, as he is defeated.
Robin and the group rests, waiting for the soldiers to capture Garrick and take him back to prison. When they are relieved of the bandit, the group heads back to Ylistoll.
After a while they arrive at the Sheppard's headquarters.
"We're here." Mario says, plopping down on the floor, completely warn out.
"That was a long trip." says Little Mac, yawning with exhaustion from all the fighting.
"Thank you very much Robin, Big-nose, and Shorty." Anna says happily, giving them each a small satchel of gold.
"What did you call me?" Mario and Little Mac ask unanimously, their tempers rising. But, then they look down at their gold coins and decide to let it go for now.
"Robin!"
Robin turns at the sound of his name and smiles as Chrom and Olivia enter the room. "It's been a while." he greets.
"How are you and Lucina? Are you both well?" asks Olivia, wondering about her daughter from the future.
"We are." Robin responds, "We have challenged many new warriors."
"That's good." says Chrom, nodding.
Chrom and Olivia then notice Mario and Little Mac. "Who are these two?" asks Olivia, staring at the two other worldly Smashers.
Robin introduces his friends and they all exchange pleasantries.
"Why not stay for dinner?" asks Olivia.
Eager to taste some Ylissian food, Mario and Little Mac agree, and Robin continues conversing with his companions.
"I wish I'm in that tournament." says Chrom as he puts a piece of steak in his mouth.
"I'm surprised Sakurai didn't put you in. You would be a challenging fighter." says Robin.
"Do you have a girlfriend, Shorty?" asks Anna.
"Please don't call us that." says Little Mac. "And no, I don't have a girlfriend."
"How about you, Mario?" asks Olivia, while eating some salad.
Mario froze after hearing the word, "girlfriend", and didn't answer.
Robin whispers to Olivia's ear about him and Peach. "Oh my gosh. I'm sorry for asking." Olivia respectfully apologizes.
"It's all right." says Mario, putting a piece of steak in his mouth.
After everyone finishes eating, a Smash Portal appears.
"Thank you for the meal. We have to go back now." Robin thanks in gratitude.
"Tell Lucina I say hi and to come back and visit." says Chrom, hoping to see her daughter again.
"I'll probably put up more requests for help with my store. I'll also give a discount on my products for helping." says Anna, giving a wink to Mario and Little Mac.
"We'll look forward to that." says Little Mac, giving a thumbs up.
Mario, Little Mac, and Robin wave bye to Chrom, Anna, and Olivia, and head back to the Smash mansion.