Dark Dawn Chapter 3:
Dark Dawn Chapter 3: Traitor
The room was the most sterile in the ship. It was completely white save for the multiple beds lining one wall. Near the beds was sophisticated computer, currently on standby. On the other wall sat a large tank of green liquid in which an odd creature was suspended, unconscious. The red headed swordsman, Roy, sat on one of the beds, bandages covering most of his body. He was conversing with an older but shorter man wearing a lab coat and a stethoscope around his neck. A nametag bearing the words, "Dr. Mario MD" was on his coat.
Now that Roy got a good look, he noticed that the man did indeed look like Mario, the pudgy red-wearing man he knew from the tournament. There were differences but the man was eerily similar to Mario, he'd have to ask about that sometime…
"Well, your X-rays looked good, no broken bones or anything," the doctor began. "Though there was this strange black goo in some of your wounds. Any idea how that got there?" he asked.
Roy thought for a minute before speaking. "Uh, could it be blood? One of the things collapsed on top of me when it died."
"Hmmm, blood, huh? Either way, I've never seen anything like it before" he responded.
"Yeah, neither have-" Roy suddenly broke off into a hacking cough. He tried to inhale but found that he couldn't, he just continued coughing, spitting up more of the black substance.
"Roy? Roy!?" Dr. Mario cried. He leaned forward, reaching for his stethoscope and pressed it to Roy's chest. What he heard chilled him to the bone.
"This body will do fine for now." The voice wasn't Roy's but it seemed to be coming from inside him. Dr. Mario jumped back just as a black sword whipped through the air where he had been moments before. Roy lifted his head to meet the doctor's gaze; his eyes had gone completely gray. The sword in his hand seemed to wave in and out of existence, but remained just as sharp.
"Who are you!?" demanded Dr. Mario, taking up a fighting stance.
"A dead man would have no use for that information," Roy responded.
"I don't plan on dying yet," the doctor said as he whipped his hand forward, tossing a large capsule toward Roy and dashing to the side.
"Besides," he continued, "that body is still injured." The capsule flew toward Roy, who simply sliced it in half, not expecting the powder that burst from its center. Roy's face was covered in the powder, but he didn't even blink it from his gray eyes. He dashed forward and slammed the sword into the wall next to the suspended creature's tank, narrowly missing the doctor.
"You seem to have some fight in you," Roy observed, ducking under a furious punch.
"I don't plan on fighting, either," Dr. Mario said as he slammed a button on the wall behind him. As soon as he touched the button, a green tank, the same kind that contained the floating creature, descended around Roy.
"What is this!?" he shouted, pounding the transparent material with a vaguely clawed fist.
"It was originally built to hold mental patients," Dr. Mario said, smiling. "I think you qualify."
"You think this can hold me!?" Roy snarled, his voice becoming distorted.
"Yes," confirmed the doctor, "I think it can hold you for a while, but I need to inform the others of this development." Dr. Mario began to exit when Roy spoke again.
"Stop. Release me… or the boy dies." The doctor whipped his head around to find Roy holding the dark sword to his own throat.
"You said yourself, this body is injured; I can do without one for the time being"
"I can't do that," Dr. Mario said angrily, clenching his fists.
"Very well," Roy said. He drew a line across one of the scars on Roy's face with his free hand. The scar turned black, and then burst into flame. Roy screamed.
This time it was Roy's voice, not the distorted version, which screamed in sudden pain. Dr. Mario winced and looked away, closing his eyes.
"You became a doctor to relieve the pain," said the voice again. "You would let this one suffer?"
He had clearly struck a nerve, as Dr. Mario's face set in a determined expression and he turned to the wall. He looked at the button that would release Roy.
"No," he said, and slammed the button next to it.
Green liquid poured into the container, submerging Roy completely. He mouthed something and slashed at the tank with the sword, failing to penetrate on the first strike. He then drew his arm backward and gestured with his other hand. The sword he held erupted into black fire and stabbed forward, shattering the container that held him. The liquid poured to the ground. Dr. Mario took a step back, and then felt the sword pierce his chest, having continued its path of destruction across the room.
The doctor fell to his knees clutching his chest, but he didn't remove the sword. It was cold, despite the dancing flames. He felt himself being lifted off the ground by his coat and heard a deep growl from Roy's direction.
"Why," he asked, "is my information on the Smashers so faulty!?"
He dropped Dr. Mario when he didn't answer.
"First Mewtwo, then you," he continued, glancing at the tank that held the suspended creature. "At least I got your names right."
A loud tone sounded as something slammed into Roy's back, and he turned to find Dr. Mario breathing heavily; his arm extended. The doctor lifted his other hand, preparing to throw another capsule.
"Not…" he said slowly, "…without a…fight." He hurled his weapon with the last of his strength.
Roy held up his hand and gestured again; the capsule slammed into a solid black barrier that formed a hemisphere around him.
"You fools are too unpredictable," he said angrily, "I wasn't prepared for this."
Roy stepped forward and forcefully removed his sword from the doctor, who collapsed immediately. He didn't move.
"Good riddance," said Roy, "this detour took entirely too long."
Roy walked to the door and took one last look at the tank of liquid in one corner, then left. The creature stirred, seemingly in the midst of a nightmare.
Dr. Mario waited until he was sure it had gone. He got up slowly, one hand clutching the wound. He reached into his coat and produced a white cloth, about as large as a cape, and pressed it to his chest. The bleeding stopped immediately. He then limped over to the computer in the corner of the room and hit a few buttons.
Glancing up at the security camera, Dr. Mario saved the record of the last few minutes. Then he began to cough harshly, spitting up blood and some kind of black substance. When he saw the strange ooze, the color drained from the doctor's face. The coughing continued to get worse until he could no longer breathe.
He grasped the mouse in panic and hastily clicked the 'send' button. With his task complete, his body slid to the floor limply.
"The detour continues," was all he said.
--
Roy entered the large cockpit of the ship to many surprised faces; those that fought in the battle and a few others. The old hare, Peppy, sat in the pilot's seat, next to a robot of some kind, looking at numerous monitors. A large green frog and a purple-furred fox sat with Fox and Falco.
"Hey," Fox started, "you're out of the infirmary early."
"Mario's one great doctor," Roy returned, searching his memory for a name, "Fox"
Falco decided to speak up, "Yeah, but what's his relationship with the other Mario? Their nearly identical!"
Roy shrugged, said, "I don't know," and continued forward, approaching the pilot. Peppy turned around when he drew close.
"Well what can I do for you?" he asked.
"We need to land, now," Roy said urgently.
"I'm sorry, Roy," Peppy said, "but we don't have time for that. If we don't report this soon, those creature could wake up and start wreaking havoc again."
Roy remained quiet for a moment, concentrating on something, then, "they already have."
Everyone in the room seemed to freeze, and then dashed to the nearest window. Various voices cried in alarm.
"He's right!"
"They're moving!"
"We have to go back!"
Mario raised his arms above his head and shouted, "Stop! We need to go now or we won't be able to get reinforcement back in time!"
"Smashville has already been evacuated," Samus added, "what did you think we were buying time for? The city is lost, there's no reason to go back."
No one seemed willing to argue, so the protests died quickly. Everyone returned to their respective activities as an uncomfortable silence descended around them. Roy, who remained standing, turned back to Peppy.
"Very well, if you will not land," he said, "then crash."
"…What?" asked a bewildered Peppy.
"Crash!"
While the others were stunned by the outburst, Roy lifted his hand into the air and formed a black sword from thin air. He kicked the hare and plunged the sword into the control panel. It burst into flame and began sparking erratically.
"What have you done!?" shouted Peppy
Roy laughed. "Simple. I killed the Smashers"
With that, his body became living shadow, completely black and shapeless. He simply melted through the floor to the valley and city below.
"Brace yourselves! We're going down!"
Author's note: Brawl characters will start appearing next chapter.