Arc 1: Familiar Faces

Chapter 3: It Begins

11:00 AM

Wario was surprised, and it took a lot to surprise this grizzled old crook! ..er… honest businessman. It was on every news channel, every blog, h***, he had even received snail mail regarding High President Altea's note. Alleged note, Wario grumbled. In all of the time he had had the misfortune of knowing that weak, insipid, goody-two shoes that Smash Kingdom called president, Altea had never been reckless or stupid, of which this note was both! But everyone else had left their common sense at home, because it was a monkey house out there! Everyone, from the oldest veterans to the youngest schoolchildren, were driving themselves insane trying to find the 'computer chip'. Despite Not-Altea's description that 'you'd know it when you see it', all the wild-goose-chasers(as Wario had taken to call them) had gone around smashing everything that even looked like a computer.

Watching the madness go down from his main office in Wariotower, Wario's first thought was "How can I profit off of this?" The answer was obvious, Wario realized as he sent a call down to his factory manager, Jimmy Thang.

"Thang!" Wario barked, barely holding in his anticipation. "Begin mass-production of...Model Gold!"

2:00 PM

"VP Harkinianl! What's your opinion on your alleged contest?"

"Vice-President! Tell us the credibility of the Central Park Letter!"

"Ms. Harkinian! If someone destroys the so-called chip, how will you react?"

"Ms. Vice President! Will you go on a date with me?"

"Attention everyone! The President is not at liberty to discuss matters of the state, but the Government of Smash Kingdom can affirm that the note is a hoax. Please refrain from doing anything rash." Vice-President Zelda Harkinian deflected the reporter's inquiries as she heads toward her office.

"Well, this is a grade-A clusterf***." Her blue-haired escort muttered. He was the cop that had been assigned to escort her to the Grand City Hall, and he was not pleased.

"F***ing politicians and their stunts. I bet you engineered this thing so people would actually care who gets elected next month. But noooo, I'm stuck here with some stuck-up assistant instead of being out there actually helping people."

Normally Zelda would retort with some clever wordplay(How dare he call her an 'assistant'!), but she just couldn't find a response. High President Marth hadn't been seen since he went home three nights ago, and Zelda didn't want to incite a panic by reporting that the trusted President had gone missing after a whatever-the-coffee-shop-thing-was attack. Of course, that was a non-issue, as everyone in Smash City had gone crazy anyway after finding the note.

The note. The source of all of Zelda's current problems, of which there were quite a lot. The worst part was, Zelda didn't even know about the legitimacy of the note. She wanted to discard it as just an elaborate hoax(Stranger things had happened before, after all), but Marth had seemed a bit depressed lately, and talked about how no one cared about what happened in 'the high places' , and Marth had never been the most conventional High President…

No, if the note wasn't true, than she needed do dispel this hoax as quickly as possible, which meant finding High President so he could officially disprove the note. And if..if it was true, then Zelda needed to find that chip as soon as possible to make sure someone who actually cared about the people would remain in power, which meant finding the only person who knew where the chip was, who would be the person who hid it in the first place…

"Officer, uh, Greil!" Zelda shouted, trying to speak with authority. "You say you want to help people in this mess? You can do that by finding the one person who can. High President Altea!"

Greil responds to her rousing speech with a raised brow and sour expression. "I'd love to lady, but I've got orders to stay here and protect you. Orders are orders." His previous anger seems to have boiled down to resigned apathy.

"Well, you'll still be protecting me. After all, I'm going too."

7:00 PM

Maxwell Hand had not slept in the past 3 days. Oh, he has entered his hibernation pod, but rather than sleeping, he had been formulating a plan and using surveillance magic to monitor the situation. After it had used to power of Order to do...something, Maxwell had been trying his best to find exactly what was changed, until he saw the special news broadcast about the note. Maxwell had no doubt that was what was changed! Something like that was very out-of-character for High President Marth. The reason Maxwell had chosen him long ago was exactly so he wouldn't do something like this!

All he had to do to resolve this was to confiscate the note, and wipe the memory of everyone who's seen it. Which was... the entire city.

Even for a man of Maxwell's talents, that was not a likely prospect. No, the best way to nip this in the bud would be to cut it off at the source. Which would mean making President Marth declare the note counterfeit. No, that's much too complicated, and even if you manipulated his mind, that had the risk of alerting his loved ones. The much easier solution would be to make a counterfeit 'chip' and deliver it into the hands of a worthy successor of the reins of Smash Kingdom.

Oh no. nononononononono. In all of Maxwell's planning, he forgot to deal with the fact that someone may find Multiversal Internetworking System #3. That must be the chip that it was referencing in the note. If some ignorant treasure-seeking buffoon were to destroy it, that would allow it to gain a foothold in this world, and what has happened before would happen again. Maxwell would never allow that to happen. Quickly preparing Quantum-Dimension-Letters with his reasoning and the location of Multiversal Internetworking System #3, he sends them to Simon, Gann, and Break with orders to protect it at all costs. With that out of the way, Maxwell begins work on the counterfeit chip, and brainstorming who he will elevate to the rank of High President.

11:00 PM

Lucina had cold feet. Both figuratively and literally. She huddles under a blanket outside of the library, but since most of that is used up covering her laptop, her lower legs are exposed, and her cheap sweatpants and bunny slippers do nothing to alleviate the chilling wind. Well, she thinks its wind, as she feels it, but she hasn't been able to hear at all since the coffee shop. She has been lucky to have minor, grazing wounds, but luck won't allow her to kill her target. The coffee shop incident was a small nuisance, but with dedication, she has made up for lost time.

Robin Sterling, roommate to Chrom Ylisse, studying at the Smash City Community College, living in Dormitory 20, room 12, both studying to become police officers. In an ideal world, Lucina could have found a quick, painless way to murder him, but this wasn't a perfect world. In a perfect world, she wouldn't have had to grow up in hell. In a perfect world, she wouldn't have had to watch her only friends get brutalized.

In the back of her head, she thinks that she should have had a panic attack by now. After all, her last one was when she remembered Inigo, and...Owain, and….what's her name….Severa! Lucina was forgetting them, and not just their names. All her experiences growing up were riddled with uncertainty and plain forgetfulness. It was the same with her other memories too, now that Lucina checked. She frowns, if she forgot her mission before it was accomplished...no, it wouldn't come to that. She closes her laptop. Her timetable has just been moved up. She takes out the Falchion. Father, forgive me for what I'm about to do.

11:00 PM

Rock was glad he had a nice warm bed. Of course, he wasn't in it at the moment, but he was glad he had it. Watching cartoons at 11:00 PM wasn't the best way to spend ones night, but Rock wasn't exactly the paradigm of health. Rock hasn't really slept since the coffee shop incident. Every time he closes his eyes, he sees Orange's lifeless body in Ridley's hand and the broken cop. Ness had tried calling him, but Rock just ignores the doesn't need to talk. He can get through this on his own. In fact, the only people that Rock communicated with since was his sister, and even then only sparingly. Dad and Blues were off at their separate jobs, and Roll had already gone to bed.

For the fifth time that night, Rock finds himself thinking of the random blue-haired girl. Who was she? Why did no one notice her? Was that a legit sword she used? Rock's pathetic attempts at distracting himself are interrupted by a knock at the door. He might as well check it, as he doesn't have anything better to do.

"Who are you?" Rock demanded. It was some random blonde in a red sweatshirt. Whatever, the faster he got this over with, the faster he could get back to watching Tomodachi Guy.

"Excuse me, I'm a doctor from the Smash Hospital ER, Shulk Howden. I..uh..was the doctor who was trying to treat Orange Ink when she..uhhhh..expired. I'd like to ask you-" Despite the fact that Shulk was presumably old enough to have a real job, Rock was not impressed. His youthful-looking face, unkempt appearance and British accent did not help his first impression of this timid, awkward 'doctor'.

"Look I don't know anything. I'm just a kid that was in the wrong place in the wrong time. Good. Night." Rock curtly replies, and slams the door before Shulk could ask any questions. He was not the first to ask about Rock's 'experience', and Rock was not in the mood to relive the worst day of his life. Shulk would just have to live the fact that sometimes life doesn't resolve all of it's problems.

Strangely, watching Tomodachi Guy does not end Rock's thoughts on Shulk. He wondered why he chose Rock to talk to instead of literally anyone else. According to Rock's medical file, him and Orange had entirely different symptoms. The only thing they had in common was the time of arrival. So why would Shulk associate the two?

Some random WarioCorp commercial about golden computer chips is on, so Rock opens a window to clear his head. It did, but also made him hear a familiar British accent.

"I'm sorry, what did you just ask me?" Rock hears Shulk incredulously ask. Rock has a sneaking suspicion of why Shulk would be talking in an alleyway by Rocks apartment building, and it's not anything good. Please don't be Bowser Jr,. Please don't be Bowser Jr,. Please don't be Bowser Jr,. Please don't be-

"I asked ya to hand over your, uh, stuff if you wanna keep living!" A familiar high-pitched, raspy voice rings out. Its Bowser Jr., the bully who lives in the above the Light Family's apartment. They've bullied all the kids, but were relatively harmless. They don't look harmless from Rock's view in the window. They've cornered Shulk in an alleyway and are packing a nasty assortment of hammers and baseball bats.

Rock honestly had no idea how to react to this situation, or if he even could react. Fortunately for Shulk, a challenger approaches. A eerie tune whistles through the air. Rock's eyes widen, It's Blues! But Blues isn't the strongest physically, he needs help! He rushes out the door, hoping that there's still time.

"Going from name-calling to armed assault? That escalated quickly, don't you think, Junior?" Blues asks, in the most infuriating, patronizing, tone possible. And his full name is Bowser Junior, darn it!. He hates the nickname so much, which is why exactly that darn Blues uses it. But still, Blues is all talk. He's had a crippling disease since birth that makes him much weaker and have less energy. He won't be a problem. Bowser Jr. gestures to Iggy and Lemmy to take Blues out. They can't let Blues get in the way of the mission. She would be disappointed in them if they fail.

"Give us the thing!" He yells at the blonde wimp. Or tries to yell(His voice is still sore after the hot tub incident)

"What thing?" Blondie seems to have stop being scared and started being confused. It looks like Bowser Junior has to spell it out for this dummy.

"You know, the Monando-the Mondo-the Mona-the thing!" He screams. He's mad now. He bet Blondie did this on purpose, playing stupid to make Bowser Junior mispronounce the complicated word in order to make him look bad! Well guess what! Bowser Junior is gonna make Blondie's face look bad!

"Wait, you know about the Monado? How?" Blues wonders aloud. He's already knocked out Iggy and Lemmy?! How?! Its darn near impossible to find competent help! Bowser Junior turns towards Blues and readies his hammer. He's not going to dignify that smart-mouth with a response.

Bowser Junior charges at Blues legs, and barely misses. He keeps up the attack and Blues starts falling back in order to dodge, eventually tripping. Serves him right! Bowser Junior has him right where he wants him. He jumps in the air ready to bring it down, when Blues grabs a trash can lid of the ground and holds it in front of him. The hammer comes down with a crash and the lid wobbles, tearing Bowser Junior's hammer out if his hands. He's still won this round, though. That simple, barely-a-fight has left Blues exhausted and panting. Bowser Junior's already won, that dummy just doesn't know it yet.

Rock runs down the stairs in record time and tears open the door. He hasn't even put on shoes! He can take it. Blues can't take a hammer to the face though. As he skids into the alleyway he notices that most of Junior's gang is swarming Blues who is miraculously still standing. He's leaning on the wall, trying to bat away attacks with a garbage can lid. Rock picks up a baseball bat from one of the two unconscious ones and enters the fray. At first he's on the defensive, just trying to draw attention away from Blues. Rock doesn't want to kill anyone after all.

Then Rock accidentally smacks the star-eye one upside the head with his bat. He doesn't seemed fazed at all! What. The. H****. After that they all turn their focus on Rock, the imminent threat .Rock stops holding back. He uses every dirty trick in his repertoire, not that it does anything. What are these kids made out of? They don't seem to bleed, or take any damage whatsoever. Thankfully, the big star-eyed one was the only one to be completely invulnerable, as a good swipe from the bat hits them back a bit, knocking them out. Hopefully it doesn't do any real damage. Soon, Star-eye is the only one left standing, letting out a rage filled bellow that is thankfully cut short by Blues smacking him on the head with his lid. Rock notices a strange white glove on Blues' left hand that isn't part of his style or McWario's uniform. Rock makes a note to ask about it later, along with how Blues got so strong; but for know, there's Shulk to worry about.

"You alright, mister?" Blues asks. Rock wanted to lead the interview, but arguing would make the brothers look bad. Maybe Rock can ask Shulk about it later.

"I'm fine, Thank you, mister-?

"Blues."

"I'm Shulk. Shulk Howden. Uh..this is kind of awkward, but what do you know about the Monado thing? I've been having these kind of..dreams that-"

"Hahaha, suckers! I'm going to call the cops on you! Let's see how heroic you look when you beat up a bunch of children! Hahhaha!" Wait, Bowser Jr is still awake? Come to think of it, the rest of the gang is starting to groan and wake up. One thing's for sure, Rock can't let Bowser Jr. call the police. This situation is weird enough without legal intervention.

On an impulse he picks up a hammer from the ground. Bowser Jr. notices and starts running away. There's no way Rock can catch up to him. But maybe...Rock on impulse throws the hammer, and suddenly he knows exactly how to hold it, the stance, the amount of force needed, everything. The hammer sails through the air in an arc on smacks Bowser Jr's phone, shattering it.

How did Rock know that? He was a fast learner, but nothing like this. More importantly, the same hand the Rock had the incredible transforming pain in was now tingling. Because of course it is.

"Rock, Shulk, I'm sorry. You didn't deserve to get caught in the middle of this. Right now, I'm needed elsewhere but I promise I'll explain later." Blues explains, and before Rock can react, Blues is engulfed in light, which shrinks into a small beam that rockets into the sky.

"So," Rock begins, turning to Shulk, "You wanna talk about this over some Tomodachi Guy?"

I actually finished it. No legit excuses this time, I just hit a real roadblock writing Rock's sections, and of course school isn't helping.

Well, as always, a hearty thank you to everyone who favorited and followed!

I'll see you next chapter!

-Adrael out.