Super Smash Bros.: The Glory of Custom Moves
Strokes of Brilliance
"I wanna bring an Inkbrush!"
"Nah, Rollers. Oh! Let's bring the Krak-On Roller!"
The Duck Hunt dog panted. Not because he was hot. Inkopolis was actually only slightly temperate. He was panting because he was a dog after all. The duck, on the other hand, was bored beyond his mind. Roosting atop the dog's head, the duck eyed the two squids arguing.
Two Inklings, a girl with orange tentacles barked back and forth between herself and the boy with blue tentacles. Duck thought they sounded like Dog.
The black asphalt and the gray concrete walls of the firing range were coated in unfinished splatters of orange and blue. Remnants of testing dummies laid on the floor, all of which were either in pieces or splattered with splotches. The only part of the testing range not covered in the color was the boxes and the weapons that Duck Hunt was sitting on.
Dog didn't mind being brought along. It was nice and warm in Inkopolis, and he was dog tired. To amuse himself, Duck flapped around in a circle.
The girl with orange tentacles for hair huffed and crossed her arms. "What is it with you and Inkbrushes?"
The boy with a mop of blue tentacles cocked his eyebrow. "What is it with you and rollers?"
The female made a rectangle with her fingers and pointed it towards him. "Okay, Brine, so picture this: 'Battle lasting for a while. Link and I are at high percents.'"
"Why Link? Oh, is it because of the Mario Kart thing that happened last year?" Brine inquired with a hint of sarcasm.
"He doesn't remember that!" she cried, "Probably."
"'High percents', Oceia," Brine reminded as he leaned on the concrete wall, "You were talking about high percents."
Oceia huffed. "I was getting to that. So, Link goes in for the kill. He thinks he's got me, he's got his sword out, and then WHAM! I whoop him with the roller! He'll never know what hit him!"
The dog barked in approval. The duck just yawned, which was pretty uncharacteristic of a duck.
The black mask that was Brine's eyes narrowed, unconvinced. "What's stopping him from just, I dunno, shooting you?"
Oceia pouted and waved him off. "Like you've got a better shot with a brush."
"I'd close the distance and smack him up a bunch," Brine told her.
"Unbelievable," Oceia rolled her eyes.
"It works when I do it!" Brine scowled.
"That's because the guys you play suck!" Oceia complained, "Link would never fall for that!"
"Ooh, how would you know! Who are you, 'Princess Zelda'?" Brine questioned and stepped toward her.
Dog snored. His tongue flapped in the air as he snoozed. On the contrary, Duck was invested. Whenever one of the Inklings began to squabble, Duck would squawk in approval. He didn't really care who won the argument but was invested nonetheless.
"Okay, you wanna use Rollers?" Brine tried to scream, only for his voice to crack at the end.
Oceia laughed in his face. "Yeah!"
Oceia was surprised when the brush smacked her across the face. On the way hurling towards the wall, that surprise was quickly replaced with searing anger. Shifting into an orange squid, she rocketed upwards with a burst of ink, carrying one large paint roller with her. Falling fast, Oceia pointed the roller at the ground where Brine was standing. Brine saw her coming, and judging by the blue streak across her face and the orange fire in her eyes, he really didn't want to stick around.
His mind kept repeating "retreat", but something within his little squid heart (or three) was telling him to stand his ground. So Brine did, and fired back with a flurry of brush flicks. His hearts turned out to be wrong, and he paid the price dearly as Oceia slammed into the floor, launching him towards the concrete wall of the range.
Duck squawked in surprise. Flapping his wings, he hovered just above Dog's head and snapped at his ear with his bill. Dog awoke with a loud yip and leaped from the box into the ink with a splash just before Brine fell on top of it. Duck cawed while Dog barked, each dodging bullets and columns of ink launched back and forth.
Brine had found a Splattershot and was already putting the squirt gun to good use. Volley after volley of ink was sent Oceia's way. Darting through the orange puddles on the ground, Oceia vaulted clear of the shots and swung her Roller. A pillar of orange smacked the wall behind where Brine was standing.
While the fight raged on, Dog and Duck found it increasingly more difficult to dodge the ink. Neither one of them were happy about the orange and blue stains on their fur and down, but each ink projectile socked them like a sucker punch. They scurried to the nearest dry spot to dry spot as more and more of the turf was covered.
Over time, the battle escalated to the point where nothing was drenched in ink. Duck Hunt had managed to hide in one of the puddles, though neither of them was too happy about sitting in ink.
Both of the Inklings' tentacles were lit up like a Christmas bulb. Ink bubbled off the top of their heads and shimmered vibrantly in spite of it being the middle of the day.
"I'm ending this now!" Oceia screamed from across the shooting range.
"Y'know what? I agree!" Brine shouted back. "Eat this!"
The Duck Hunt duo's eyes collectively widened in horror as Brine pulled out a large bazooka from nowhere. Across the stage, a missile appeared on Oceia's back along with a small, suspiciously-similar-to-a-Gamepad controller out and tapped the screen. The missile on her back jetted up into the air, lifting up with a cloud of orange smog just as Brine pulled the trigger. A thin, fast tornado spun out from the bazooka and sliced through Oceia, and with a final, angry scream, she exploded into a mess of blue ink.
"Ha! Inkbrush it is!" Brine shouted in triumph.
His victory ended prematurely as the missile exploded over him, drenching him in a hurricane of orange ink. When the storm passed, all that was left of Brine was a white shirt and a pair of shoes. Same for Oceia.
Duck Hunt, mouths wide open, gawked at the battlefield. Duck pecked the top of Dog's head and squabbled something rather quickly in duck-speak. Dog barked back in his trademark dog-speak, then the both of them turned back to the remains of the Inklings. Their clothes eventually sank into the ink and disappeared. The Duck Hunt Duo was speechless. Both stared at one another in silence for quite some time, then each nodded sadly.
"The Inklings are dead?" Master Hand's voice boomed, whether in outrage or disappointment was difficult to place, "Even before they could decide on their movesets?"
Dog barked earnestly while Duck nodded his head.
"They were arguing and it spurred into a fight sequence?" Master Hand asked, articulating his fingers.
Dog panted and replied with a "Woof". Duck followed with a "Quack".
"And on your way here, you saw Ness stuck inside a well?" Master Hand inquired, pressing his thumb up to an invisible chin in thought, "This is truly a predicament!"
Duck Hunt Duo laid on the chair they were sitting in and howled/quacked sadly in agreement. Master Hand's digits drooped.
"Well, it seems we'll have to delay the universe map tour. We'll have to contact the representatives at Nintendo. Not to mention getting you two a new marksman. Shame, too." Master Hand sighed, "We could've allowed them to use whatever weapons they wanted."
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?"
Master Hand and Duck Hunt were shocked. They turned to the door of the office space, and there they were. The two Inklings rushed up from behind Duck Hunt's chair and planted their hands on Master Hand's decorative desk, each one staring up at Master Hand with excitement in their eyes.
Master Hand shot a glance at Duck Hunt, who in turn just shrugged, then back at the kids. "You're alive."
"We respawned!" The Inklings cheered. Each squid was coated in sweat and gasping for breath as if they had run a mile. Or a few hundred.
"...I heard that right?" Master Hand muttered, scratching his palm with his index, to which the Inklings replied with a nod, "Still attempting to understand the Inkling language… Then I suppose you've figured out what weapons you're using?"
"Yep!" The Inklings nodded.
"We've got it all figured out, trust me," Oceia explained.
Brine nodded and beamed back up at Master Hand. "We compromised."
"Perfect," Master Hand announced as he snapped his fingers, procuring a sheet of paper from thin air, "Well, it appears as though you have everything in order. One last thing?"
"Anything!"
"Which one of you is going to be the default costume?" Master Hand inquired.
Both Inklings were motionless for about a second. Slowly, the two of turned and faced one another. Sparks shot out of their eyes as they stared. Suddenly, Master Hand and Duck Hunt appeared very uncomfortable. Duck Hunt practically flew out of the chair and Master Hand did his best to cover his desk as the two pulled out weapons.
"...And just like that, the studio was invaded by a Guardian," Robin explained, "Had it not been for Link, it would've been over."
Link, who had inexplicably begun feasting on a slab of meat, nodded back to him as he walked. Lucina and Lissa gave him a funny look, and Lucina tripped on her dress.
"Unf!" Lucina grunted, quickly standing on her feet, nonetheless flustered, "I don't see anyone can fight in- What?"
Lucina pressed her hand to her dress. Taking hold of the large gown, she shook it rapidly, out popping a sizable silver bow. Everyone shot her a funny look, much to her befuddled, embarrassed self. Doing her best to crouch down and retrieve the bow with her own dress in the way, she almost didn't even notice the orange and blue explosion rocket off in the background.