Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS: The Glory of Custom Moves

Sheik's Malicious Melodies

The Smash Brothers waiting room was rather mellow compared to the usual. While normally stuffed to the brim with fighters ready and willing to beat down one another, it was...not very active at the moment. The seats were almost completely empty, save for a small fraction of a remaining handful.

Sitting adjacent to the walls was a person. The person's face was covered from the mouth up in a white fold, as was her blonde hair jutting out of a white, wrapped cap. She wore a ragged tunic with sleeves ripped at the edges, bandages covering her wrists and a large eye insignia that shedded a single tear was emblazoned on the blue vest across her chest. She dangled her right leg over her left with a twitch as if ready for action at any moment, her eyes closed shut.

With bandaged yet fully operational fingers, she reached up at a small golden harp in her left hand with white strings that gleamed despite the lack of proper sunlight in the room. She strummed it once and hummed along as a string of notes followed, strung together in a calm chime.

"Match call!" The announcer's boisterous voice invaded the room.

The person ceased the strums quickly. She quickly holstered her harp behind her and stretched her hands. Without hesitation, she sprinted towards the doors at the back of the room. They opened as she approached and shut behind her as she entered as if by an unseen magic. The empty room was left in a melancholy silence except for a small buzz that rang out as the doors shut.

Beneath the several cloaks that shrouded a majority of her face, Sheik's eyes opened. She stretched plainly and glanced around her new battlefield. Her bandaged fingers fidgeted with three needles restlessly as her eyes darted around to and fro.

The sound of a train whistle alerted her.

She glanced down. She stood tall on top of a wooden roof of a caboose connected to a train moving rather quickly. How Sheik was not immediately flung off was somewhat bizarre. Gigantic mountains and modest trees appeared to blur as the train passed by and the wheels clacked as they travelled the tracks.

Across from her stood her opponent. Luigi shivered on the top of the main train car as he adjusted his green cap. Whether it was from frayed nerves or the fact that the wind chill must have been extreme at the rate the train chugged along, he trembled with the most nervous look on his face. Sheik closed her eyes.

The announcer's voice rang out and startled Luigi, "Three! Two! One! Go!"

With the sound of an invisible crowd's cheer in the background, Luigi hopped up in shock. He reached from behind him and shakily pulled out a red vacuum cleaner and aimed it towards Sheik as if he would shoot her down where she stood. On the other side of the stage, she hardly made a move. As if imitating him, Sheik reached from behind her and pulled out the golden harp she had played earlier. At the sight of the gorgeous harp, Luigi ceased his shivers and gawked at her. Was she going to lull him to sleep with it? The thought did not sound too bad to be honest.

The melody that followed might have done the trick. While the locomotive vehicle they stood on rattled and steamed noisily, somehow the harp's sound was not interrupted by the hustle and bustle. Sweet plucks of music danced in Luigi's ears like the grass. He could not help but relax as the sounds wrapped him in audible comfort.

Then the music ceased. Luigi could practically feel his mustache droop in disappointment. He gawked at Sheik with a sort of morose stare, his previous petrification replaced with a morbid desire for encore.

Sheik did not glance at him at first. She paused as she watched the train chug by; she stared at the world as it appeared to rush past them. The grasslands the train tracks were built on started to give way to mountainous, rocky terrain. Sheik glanced up and stared across her opponent, still in a music-bound trance. A hint of sulfur made its way into her bandana. She noticed large, crimson, ominous mountains that spewed smoke. A stream of orange and red dripped down the sides of them slowly; a tree that stood tall exposed to the river of lava was incinerated nearly instantaneously.

A thought of inspiration had invaded her head. If she had not worn several layers across her face, Luigi might have seen her smirk. As she smiled wickedly underneath her cloak, she took up the harp and strummed once more. She strummed a dramatic song of rising notes of what an army that marched through hostile territory might hear echo throughout their heads.

Luigi became absorbed in the music. So absorbed, he almost did not notice his short brown boots catch smoke. But thanks to his nose, he sniffed, and stared straight down.

"Aiiiiieeee!" He screamed in fright as he kicked off embers that seemed to manifest out of the blue.

The minor embers and the fact his precious boots were slightly burnt were the least of his worries. Throughout the chaos, he hardly noticed the red insignia that materialized underneath him slowly. He only just barely managed to notice as he ceased his panic. He wiped sweat off of his head, and sniffed once. The burning smell of smoke was still there. It smelled like-

Italian.

Luigi's eyes widened. A burst of magma spouted out from the red incantation circle under his feet and launched him straight towards the stars with quite the fearful whoop. He went off a comet; burning and bright, before vanishing into the sky. Sheik continued to strum underneath the sky and savored her small victory.

Luckily for Luigi, instead of freezing as he left the atmosphere while simultaneously coping with burning, the world around him began shifting to a desolate ruins space with a single spotlight. In front of him, Sheik stood poised and strummed her harp with a hum.

Immediately, he decided to be polite despite having been flung into orbit by a miniature volcanic eruption. He clapped patiently and thanked his lucky stars that he wore gloves. Sheik seemed to be finished with her impromptu performance however, she slammed something towards the floor. A plume of smoke masked her as she escaped, with Luigi's last impressions similar to a cat who had difficulty with a hairball.

As the smoke cleared, Luigi found himself sat down on a chair back in the waiting room, the twin doors at the back shut. He sighed to himself and shifted uncomfortably. He had not even gotten to try out his Poltergust 5000.

Although, it seemed as though Sheik had no time to waste. As soon as she reappeared in the room, her harp at her side, she sprinted, nearly crouched towards the ground as she moved with swift feet. As the doors shut behind her, Luigi turned his attention back towards his prized vacuum cleaner. He boredly rubbed a green bulb on the back of the machine when someone dropped right next to him.

"Rrargh!" Cursed the orange dragon as it shook its head.

Charizard shook its head irritably. Water splashed down onto Luigi from his wings and head as it dried itself. He felt somewhat relieved, after all, it was soothing compared to the freezerburns he had suffered through before. However, he was quite curious. Why would a dragon whose life was staked on a bonfire on the end of its tail be completely drenched?

Charizard let out a gruff growl. Luigi certainly did not speak reptile, but he could have sworn the dragon said something along the lines of "Sheik", although it could have just been using its tongue like a snake, the lean plumber thought. Of course, when Sheik popped back in the room, her fingers still held onto the beautiful little instrument, it seemed difficult to pass it off as just a coincidence.

Especially now that Charizard snarled at the sneaky person. Sheik calmly turned her head towards the dragon and gave a light salute, as if to pacify the monster's irritation with respect. The lizard with wings simply crossed its small arms and snorted a peppery puff of air out of its nostrils. With that said and done, Sheik sprinted off into the fray once more.

Yet another person- Or monster, who knew, popped down into a chair across from them, and Luigi briefly wondered if this was going to become a recurring theme. A young man, eyes blue and hair blonde, promptly landed across from them.

"The Monado-" Shock crossed his face. "It didn't predict it."

Holstered on the side of his dark crimson jacket and violet pants, a sword of sorts, with a hollow circle by the middle of the hilt, laid next to him with azure sparks that flew out every so often. He sat on the chair for quite a while as he stared at the ceiling in shock. Luigi blinked and pointed the head of his vacuum cleaner towards the boy. With a flick of a switch, the vacuum blew air at him and the makeshift wind rustled his hair as it passed towards him.

He blinked in surprise. "Eh? Oh, it's over…but that was some fight."

Luigi waved at him from across the room. He greeted him by his name with a little hello.

"Ah, hello." Shulk spoke up, his name revealed by Luigi's surely riveting line of dialogue. "Did you see Sheik out there? Just- I couldn't believe it. She had...unfathomable power. Each time she strummed it felt like a storm blew past."

The plumber's mouth gaped open. The harp. The songs she played. Of all of the tricks she could have pulled, the HARP was the problem?!

He sighed and brandished his weapon, a thin saber constructed of azure light unsheathed from the blade itself. The two other losers backed up in their seats. "It was...astounding. I'm not sure how the Monado couldn't foresee it," Shulk said as he stared down at his weapon, "But she was really- Uh, powerful out there."

As if to emphasize his point, even more challengers popped in the room from the ceiling. A busted up, round pink robot armor dropped onto the chairs with a huge thunk. Kirby's Robobot armor steamed and jittered uncomfortably. Out from the top of the cockpit, a small pudgy pink puff packed with power popped out and hopped onto a separate seat, all the while Kirby's blue eyes swirled about dizzily on the seat. Next to him, Luigi's brother popped in and landed on an adjacent chair.

Luigi gasped in horror. "Mario!" He yelped, two gloved hands raised parallel to his face.

Around the red plumber's cap, a shadow danced around his head. Mario glanced around blindly and grasped at the air, his pupils gray. "Luigi?"

Without hesitation, Luigi flicked the switch on his Poltergust machine and aimed it at his brother. A gust of wind pulled at his cap until the darkness that seemed to enjoy its waltz around his head was caught in the suction. The shadow appeared to grip onto Mario's red hat for a while until the Poltergust finally pulled its grip away from its cap and absorbed the shadow.

Mario blinked and swiveled his head around the room in panic. Once vision flooded back into his optic nerves, he sighed in relief and laid a gloved hand on his overalls.

Just then, Sheik reentered the room same as the others with her instrument still gripped in her right hand. She played a victory strum, which might have been soothing, but none of her victims wanted anything of it. The orange dragon hissed and backed away into a corner, Shulk shielded himself with his sword, Kirby ducked back into his destroyed armor with a yelp, and Luigi-

Well, Luigi just screamed again.

Almost as if she savored the fear, Sheik grinned at them as she stood in the middle of the room. Each of the challengers avoided her gaze; Mario even went as far as to plug his ears as if that might help ward against the murderous music. She relished the panic and played on and on-

"Hyah!"

Until he entered. Sheik's eyes grew wide. He stepped in and glared at Sheik with big, bright, bold eyes. Not to mention shorter...everything else. Toon Link had his hands on his hips, his sword sheathed behind him. Sheik glared back at him and played her harp rather menacingly for a harp.

Toon Link responded with a surprise comeback; he reached into his pockets and pulled out a strange, white baton. He spun it about somewhat and created a rather loud hum that permeated the room.

The two of them stared at each other for a while with their weapons/instruments at the ready. Then, as if they had read each others' minds, the both of them took off for the doors at the back of the room. Behind Toon Link, multiple cheers erupted, not to mention multiple words of encouragement before both he and the ninja were spirited off to battle as they entered the doors, the sound of applause faded behind them as they did so.

The train chugged along briskly in the daylight of the grassy plains. Over the train, a flat yet regal platform constructed of the similar gold and wood appearance of the long vehicle down below. Already, clouds spun over the duo as it appeared as though the two would spin a ballad.

Sheik started a strange shanty, the black clouds above them buzzed with a irritated energy. A boom shattered the noise of the train below them as a flash of lightning flashed down, along with the downpour of rain. In response, Toon Link raised his baton. He aimed up, then to the left and right; a friendly chime surrounded the air. The wind around them, as if gripped by a new hesitation, changed direction. The clouds above followed somewhat as the whirling wind dashed by.

Of course, lighting is not generally deflected by wind. As the rapid whirls of air spun away at the clouds, a flash of light bolted towards Toon Link. Quickly, Toon Link took his brown shield from his back and raised it towards the sky. The bolt dissipated as soon as it struck the shield, but the concerto was far from over. The ninja stood poised and strummed her harp. A menacing, gloomy song invaded the air. Under Toon Link's brown boots, a dark violet vortex emerged.

He began to sink, but he was far from going out. He twirled his baton, and a soft jig emerged. As the train rolled past, stones rocked back and forth with a nervous energy. As the notes played, the rocks lifted up from the earth and followed the train. Sheik noticed from the corner of her eyes and ducked, small pebbles scratched at her as they flew past. The earth assembled under Toon Link and lifted him from the shadows which gnawed restlessly at the rocks.

Sheik's eyes narrowed underneath her mask. She placed her harp back in her cloak and swapped it with a handful of needles. Without a second to spare, she sprinted towards Toon Link as the rocks around him swirled with the shadows. His already huge eyes widened as he attempted to think of another tune. She began to scale the sheer rock wall that assembled under him.

Toon Link bit his lip and stuffed his baton back in his pockets. Quickly, he fumbled as he looked for something, anything he could use to combat her. He realized that he had only his instruments. He reached back and attempted to unsheath his sword, but grasped at nothing but air. He gasped and glanced down; his Master Sword was embedded in the wooden roof of the train. Had the wind been that strong?

Sheik continued climbing with her needles ready to strike. Toon Link gulped and reached into his pockets. It was now or never. This time, he pulled out a new instrument.

His opponent's eyes widened. Toon Link held a simple flute with two green tassels that drooped from the wood handle and several colored chutes that already whistled readily as the wind blew past. However, she would not let her winning streak be finished; she continued to scale upwards regardless of the instrument.

Toon Link shut his eyes and blew. Three quick, light notes sounded off out of the flute. Then, with a flick of her wrist, Sheik pierced the flute and knocked it out of his hands. With a frown, Toon Link backed away and readied his shield as she ascended towards the top. Sheik acrobatically leapt onto the top of the rock wall as the shadows chewed away at the bottom and brandished several more needles.

Her pointed ears pricked up. The distinct noise of a bird's caw approached. She spun around with her needles at the ready. Without warning, a crew of seagulls dive-bombed Sheik, much to her shock. She lost her footing on the rocks and fell down towards the train tracks. As she slipped, the train whistle blew one last time before she felt herself slam into the tracks as the train roared behind her.

Meanwhile, at the waiting room, each contender sat up straight and glared at the doors eagerly. They hardly moved an inch since the challenge began. Charizard twisted its tail around and waved its flame in the air impatiently. Luigi and Mario sat with their heads held between their gloves. Kirby pet his mech reassuringly while Shulk inspected his Monado blade closely, gasping in surprise as the sword flashed once. His eyes blinked azure for a moment.

"Guys-" He spoke up for a moment.

Then they reappeared. Toon Link and Sheik stood side by side, though Sheik clearly dwarfed the other in terms of height. Neither said a word, (though they might not have been able to) the other fighters stared in silence.

Suddenly, Toon Link threw his hands up into the air. Everyone's mouth could have fallen to the floor. In his childlike hands, he held up the harp. Retracting his arms, he began playing a sweet, sweet tune of victory. Pandemonium broke out. Charizard roared in satisfaction and the Mario Bros. high-fived. Kirby's Robobot shifted and blinked back to life with a cheery hum.

Shulk simply grinned at the smaller swordsman. "Way to go!"

Toon Link could not help but grin, until he felt a hand fall on his shoulder. He looked back up and gulped; Sheik glared at him through the many fabrics she wore and the spiky hair that drooped down from her head. Much to everyone's surprise, her eyes lit up, almost as if she had smiled. More bizarre was the fact she pat Toon Link on the head in a congratulatory friendliness. She made her way for the exit. Without further hesitation, the group burst into cheers and lifted Toon Link in a simultaneous effort and paraded him out of the room.

Sheik giggled underneath her cloak. "Admirable work, hero."

She strut off as a bunch of silly fighters celebrated behind her.

AN: I thought the way they used the instruments like the Wind Waker and the Goddess Harp in Hyrule Warriors was fantastic. Why not the Spirit Flute? Maybe they do use it, I don't know, I haven't purchased the 3DS version or the DLC packs.

Thanks for reading, this is ThePizzaLovingTurtle, see you.