You Killed My Brother

After dropping Luigi off at the second fight of his route, Master Hand floated over to his private viewing area, with a comfy, reclining seat and panoramic windows. Charlie approached him with a cup of coffee for the Hand of Creation and a glass of wine for herself.

"You think he'll handle this one?" she asked as she gave MH his coffee and hopped into the seat next to him.

"I'm confident that he will," said MH as he saw Luigi appear on the Melee Brinstar stage.

"I don't know if he's going to be terrified, angry or both," mused Charlie.

"Charlie, you and I both know that he's endured worse than that," MH told her. "I have faith in him. He'll keep his emotions under control."

The two then sat back and watched the action unfold on Brinstar.

Brinstar was infamous for its occasionally rising pool of acid and its destructible fleshy blob holding it together. Once the blob was hit with enough attacks, the main platform would separate, creating a chasm ripe for stunning upsets. The aforementioned acid could also be used as assisted KO's, and the only place where the fighters were safe was a small platform hovering above the main one. Any fight on Brinstar, be it a 1v1 or a free-for-all, would quickly devolve into a heated struggle to hold that single platform.

Now, Luigi stood on the left side of the main platform. His eyes sparkled with fire, and his skin glowed in the light refracting off the cavernous walls. He could hear the low rumble of acid bubbling below and feel slight tremors rock the area every so often. The sound of his breathing echoed around him, and the air around him was cool, with an earthy smell.

Across from him was a pair of yellow, beady eyes belonging to a winged, purple creature. This creature unfolded his wings and rose to his full height, standing over the plumber. A mirthless chuckle escaped his lips.

"'Too big', they said," he said in a booming voice. Chuckling again, he went on. "Well, if anything, that short, fat brother of yours was too weak! But he did provide me with some nourishing cells to feast on. You wanna know the marvelous snapping sound his scrawny little neck made when I rammed my tail straight through it? Or the gurgling sound he made as I was skewering him? Or the look on his pudgy little face once I had him dead to rights?"

Luigi didn't give him the benefit of a reaction. Instead, he stared at the giant-sized Ridley with a calm, focused expression. Samus had told him what happened that day when they were exploring a reactor. Later that day, they'd gone through the camera footage, and the man in pink would never forget the image of his big bro being speared by that tail. Luckily, the end of Mario's game had been temporary. Not that it made it any better.

"A little quiet, are we?" chortled Ridley. "Well, I promise you, that won't last long." He grinned sadistically as he bared his claws.

In response, Luigi raised his fists, the look in his eyes becoming a hardened glint. He knew the Space Pirate would try to provoke him like this; all villains did nowadays. But as long as he ignored Ridley's gloating and kept his focus on the grueling battle ahead, he'd have a fighting chance.

"Ready?" boomed Master Hand's voice. "GO!"

Luigi jumped toward the topmost platform, but Ridley cut him off with a cackle, slashing him twice with his claws and stomping him back down with his foot. The plumber flipped himself back up and delivered a back kick to Ridley's gut before fast-falling and dealing out a harsh forward smash. Ridley got even with an explosive blast from his mouth, but Luigi threw a handful of fireballs from the ground and performed another kick attack while getting up. Next, he tether-grabbed Ridley and slammed the giant monster behind him, giving himself time to leap to the safety of the top platform.

"Impressive!" Ridley said mockingly.

He leaped up to join him and was met with a flurry of karate chops, and then a flip kick, and then a downwards kick which meteor smashed him to the floor. Ridley then swiped at Luigi with his wings and his tail; unfortunately, Luigi fluidly dodged his strikes and hit him with another d-air. With a growl, Ridley got back up and thrust both wings upward, sending Luigi reeling into the air. The Space Pirate positioned himself above his foe before viciously stomping with both feet, plowing Luigi into the stage. Luigi picked himself up and tried to cartwheel to safety, only for Ridley to grab him and savagely grind him against the stage as he dragged him across. Afterward, he tossed Luigi, and then stabbed forward with his tail, landing a clean hit. But Luigi still rocketed himself back onto the stage and into Ridley, sending him stumbling.

Firing his plunger at Ridley, Luigi slammed the beast down and hit him with a d-air, then a fastfalling n-air, then two more d-airs and finally an awesome up-B, sending Ridley tumbling and smoldering. Luigi jumped after him and trapped him in a Cyclone, but the Space Pirate broke free and stabbed three more times with his tail before smashing Luigi downward a second time.

The man in pink shook off the pain and once again faced Ridley, who sneered down at him.

"You're a tough cookie, aren't you? No matter." Ridley's eyes narrowed. "I'm going to do to you what I did to your beloved brother, only worse!"

I'd like to see you try, thought Luigi.

Ridley charged at the plumber then, but Luigi slid behind him and delivered a solid side kick, knocking him forward. He ducked Ridley's claws and plowed several heavy punches to the Space Pirate's midsection, and then reared back and attacked with a hard-hitting headbutt. Ridley was launched into the air, but got his bearings and stomped downward. This time, Luigi dodged and plowed another explosive uppercut into him.

There was a tremor, and the acid pool sloshed ominously as it rose to cover the stage. Ridley grabbed Luigi and tried to toss him into the acid, but the plumber escaped the grab and fired a forward smash, sending the beast into the dangerous liquid. Ridley yowled as he was launched straight back upward, and Luigi calmly snagged him with a plunger before slamming him back down. He repeated this until the acid settled back down, at which point he began hopping and dodging all around Ridley, attacking sharply yet quickly, dropping down for a down smash or two, or maybe a forward smash, but most of the time, he played it safe, mainly using his aerial attacks to rack on hurt or setting up combos with his throws.

Finally, Ridley had enough. He flew up and then tackled Luigi to the floor, pinning him down, angrily slashing with his claws and then stabbing again and again with his tail. With a grunt, Luigi kicked Ridley off of him and retreated to one of the upper platforms. Ridley spat out five large fireballs at him, but he vaulted over, sidestepped or ducked under them all.

The two charged toward each other, Luigi attacking first with a ferocious karate chop, followed by another and another, then air-dodging Ridley's attack, throwing out a jump kick and then a fast-fall flare kick. As the beast zoomed offstage, Luigi crouched down, focused every drop of contempt he held toward Ridley inward and then blasted off in a glorious Misfire! For Luigi, the feeling was delightful, as if he was released from a spring, the wind screaming in his ears and heat flashing around his body as he soared across the stage and collided hard with his foe. The Green Missile (or Pink Missile) encountered Ridley's chest with a satisfying thud. Samus's archnemesis plummeted off the stage and into the lower blast line as Luigi coldly watched.

"GAME!"

"No one messes with my bro," Luigi said in a low voice. "No one."

Master Hand got up from his chair and turned to Charlie. "Told ya," he said before departing to escort Luigi to his next battle.

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