A Walk Among Giants, Chapter 47: Ready? Set. Go!
Welcome all to the one and only! SMASHER GAMES!
A spectacular thanks to:
UltimateCCC: Indeed, the hunt is afoot!
"Just make sure to keep him off me, he's going to be a little emotional after all." Dark Link says while placing a taser into his little arms.
"It's completely pouring out there, won't it be risky playing with electricity?" He asked his big brother.
"That's the fun part!" Dark Link says with a sadistic smile.
"Ah I see, you're using the rain to amplify it." DTL says with a mischievous grin while flicking the thing on and off.
"Once he gets a taste of that rage he'll be full of hate and anger again, he'll be back to how he was when we found him and he'll see the error of his ways." Dark Link remarked while looking out of a window towards the stormy night.
"And if he doesn't, we can still have fun with it!" DTL says while flickering the taser.
"Go now, take your position. I just need to make the last final preparations and the main event will kick off." Dark Link says while nudging the little hylian off. Just then Lucina entered the room with a small packet in her bands.
"Hey I couldn't find the usual stuff, but there is this, will that do?" She asked, holding out a packet of tea towards him.
"Yeah that's fine, it's really no big deal to be honest." He shrugged, "go on ahead I need to grab something real quick," he says while she nods and skips off. He turns around and drags out a box from under a clothed table. On the top of it was the little box with the bracelet on it, he smiled to himself sinisterly while taking the little box into his hands.
DTL took cover in some bushes under a tarp outside, it wasn't long before he saw Dark Link come running towards their meetup. He was laughing to himself very sadistically before perching himself up on a tree stump. It isn't long before Dark Pit comes storming out of the mansion in a fury. After a brief back and forth the two dark warriors begin a battle. STL stayed vigilant throughout however he couldn't hear a bit of banter between the two due to the pounding rains. Afterwards when Dark Pit starts to get the upper hand is when he makes his move, taking out some specialized darts he's been working on.
"Looks like he's still got some juice in him, but not for long!" DTL remarked as he took the taser Dark Link gave him out. He grinned to himself as he flicked it approaching the dark angel. However what he wasn't expecting was the angel grabbing his arm with surprising speeds considering the state he was in. His arm gets twisted making him release the device with a cry of pain. He looks back up and much to his horror the dark angel plants his foot on his face sending him to the floor. DTL covers his face while screaming out in pain, it was apparent now that the dark angel was no longer pulling his punches. He looks back up to see a cold hard stare from the angel, all he saw in those eyes were pure rage. He steps towards the dark child he stumbles backwards away from him, the flame in those eyes terrified him. He whimpers and backs away before he turns and scurries off completely frightened. As he nears the bushes he was hiding in before he heard Dark Link cackling to himself.
He looks around his hiding spot for any more darts and or possibly any other device that could help hinder the angel. He hears the loud grunts and aggressive attacks the two dark smashers were dealing to each other. He wiped some tears from his eyes as he desperately searched for his hiding spot. He knew if he didn't find something the dark angel might end up breaking his older counterpart. Which worried him because that's exactly what his brother intended to happen. "Why did we think this would ever work!?" He says wiping more tears from his eyes, he then hears his older counterpart let out one final gurgled yell before it all went quiet. All he heard were the pounding rains around him and the soft rumbling in the sky. He peeks out and sees Dark Pit slowly hobbling back towards the mansion. He peeks out and sees his brother laying on the pavement completely defeated. He could see the thin smoke trails emitting from him, DTL gasps and hurries back to him in a panic and knelt next to him while shaking him.
"DL wake up! We need to leave the plan backfired! DL wake up!" He says frantically while shaking his older counterpart. "I told you not to do it!" He adds while wiping some tears from his eyes, "we've always been better off without anyone else, it's been like that since the last tournament!" He exclaimed. "Why did you have to go through all that trouble for an outsider? Wasn't my company enough? You were never alone, you always had me!" He says with a more angered tone slamming his little fist on the dark hylians chest. Some commotion is then heard from from the entrance, a group comes out with flashlights flashing them every which way obviously looking for them. DTL stood up while wiping his face which was necessary since the rain washed away his tears regardless. "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" He says kicking his older counterpart to no avail. The group all start calling out to each other before they begin heading their way. DTL panics and falls backwards before getting back up and looking around. There is no way he'll be able to drag away his older counterpart in time to get away, not unless he leaves him behind.
He is then grabbed in the arm by his older counterpart, "go, I'll take the blame" he says in a raspy voice.
"Why?" DTL says while crossing his arms stubbornly.
"Just go!" He says shoving away the little hylian. DTL looks up to see the others approaching. DTL turns and runs but takes one last look before he runs off again into the foliage. Knowing full well there's a chance he wouldn't see his older counterpart again, there is no way MH lets this slide like their usual antics. "I'll make sure you get off lightly just don't get caught out here so you can feign ignorance…" DL says as DTL flees and he slowly gets up to face the inevitable. The group, who upon closer inspection consisted of Link, Zelda, Palutena, Pit, and lastly Samus. Samus and Zelda begin to drag away Dark Link and scold him harshly in the process. Link then begins flashing his light around at the bushes clearly looking for the little dark hylian.
"Come out DTL I know you're out there, make this easier on yourself and turn yourself in, otherwise you'll only make it harder on yourself." Link says while still looking around.
"We promise we won't hurt you… Much!" Toon Link appears while slamming a baseball bat in his hands menacingly.
"Toon? What are you doing out here!?" Link says while placing his hands on his hips.
"Are you kidding me? I get to beat the crap out of DTL and get rewarded? I wouldn't miss this for the world!" He exclaimed while slamming the bat on his own head.
"Why are we looking for him again?" Pit asked as he too was looking around with a flashlight.
"He's an accomplice, wherever DL and his antics are, that little turd isn't far behind." Link says while shaking his head.
"He's right, I would know" Toon Link says before squinting and looking off into the distance. "Come on out and face me like a man!" Toon Link shouts when he can't spot anything, while also tearing off his shirt and puffing out his chest.
"Put your shirt back on you idiot!" Link exclaimed while throwing his shirt back at him.
"Why should I? I gotta assert my dominance!" Toon Link protested in a gruff voice while still having his chest puffed.
"Because you'll catch a cold moron!" Link states while poking the little hylian on the chest making him deflate.
"Both of you inside now," Zelda says while coming down the steps.
"But…"
"BUTT… "
They both begin but she holds out her hand, "Master Hand said not to pursue, he'll come back on his own." Zelda says while the Links' look at one another.
"Why would he ever do that?" Toon Link says completely puzzled.
"Would you stay out here? In this weather?" Zelda says motioning towards the sky to make her point. The sky rumbled as the rains continued to pour.
"Fair point…" Toon shrugs and picks up his shirt and walks inside followed by his older counterpart.
Before the doors close DTL walks towards them while keeping out of sight. He sees Marth holding DL who was now bound, and Zelda and Samus holding back Lucina who was angrily trying to rush at him and yelling obscenities at him. The door shut and DTL turned and ran into the woods while being drenched by the pouring rains. He was about to surrender himself when he remembered he actually had somewhere he could hide out so he wouldn't have to. An old dusty tree house he built with Dark Link in the previous tournament, they never really finished it and it was slowly forgotten over time. Mainly because of the subspace war and the immediate aftermath of that whole mess. He eventually finds the old wooden structure, looking old and forgotten as expected. He clawshots himself up as the ladder was missing and most likely wasn't around anymore. A flash of lightning briefly illuminates the area and he sees old wooden planks laying around and an old box of tools. He grabbed a rolled up carpet and placed it in the corner where it was stable and dry. He grabbed some of the planks of wood and placed them against the window on the other side, to block out the howling winds and pounding rains. It somewhat worked, and he went and laid on the carpet using his cap nestled between his hands as a makeshift pillow. Although he had a hard time even getting any sleep at all as he felt lost. He didn't even know what he was going to do next, seeing how Dark Link was apprehended his return wouldn't be any better. He growled to himself while slamming a fist on the floor, before he turned looking straight up at the ceiling. He had many opportunities to deter his older counterpart from going through his ridiculous plans. Although one reason he didn't was because of all the time he got to spend with DL again, just like old times.
Ever since he got acquaintanced with the dark angel it felt as if he got distant from the little hylian. They always did practice matches, smash runs, and even did minigames together, all things DTL once enjoyed with his older counterpart. But then he turned into the third wheel, and eventually he was barely even noticed anymore unless he specifically made his presence known. During their meals DL was no longer interested in listening to DTLs achievements and or 'diabolical' plans. He was always more interested in the story's Dark Pit would tell about how he'd mentally torment his new partner. All the other children had no interest in mingling with the dark child either, since he was painted in a bad light by his counterpart. And all the other villains weren't interested in acquaintances with the little hylian due his childish nature, which they all greatly disliked. Therefore sadly all he had was Dark Link to acquaint himself with. Afterwards when the dark angel's partner went stoic and the fun for him was over, he went through a slow and steady change. He was no longer interested in getting amusement through the tormenting of others, and more importantly his love for fights died down as well. This began to bother Dark Link when the dark angel began to get more distant from them, he began spending more time around his partner and also those he once considered enemies, the heros. He was intermingling among them as if he was one of them and it all had to do with his partner. It's not known exactly what went down between the two of them but after she went stoic he started to soften up. It wasn't just Dark Link however, Dark Pit seemed to slowly distance himself from all the other villains, especially Ganondorf.
Dark Link however took it personally, and began to curse his partner's name. He believed she had 'corrupted' their friend and changed him for the 'better'. It was at this point however that Dark Link came back to DTL, to help him with his diabolical plans to split the duo apart. They were back! The dynamic duo! DTL once again had his older brother, they would spend time doing activities again, though it may have been to discuss their schemes in secret he enjoyed the time nevertheless. He actually began to hope that the dark angel and bluenette had become inseparable. And his hopes had come true when one of their schemes went underway, they locked up Link in a cellar in the forest so that Dark Link could imitate his counterpart. As they came to learn that one of the most important members, Marth, had a great disdain for the dark angel and also wished to see the duo split apart. So Dark Link used the old 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend' schtick to further his goals. Under the guise of being the green clad hero he put together a notion within the Elite Six that would allow them to split them up. It seemed foolproof and it all went along smoothly, they even managed to slowly get all the other members on board. It was foolproof… Or so they thought… When presented with the opportunity both the partners rejected the notion and decided to stick it out together till the end. Much to the dark hylians and blue prince's frustration, the latter decided to physically vent his anger out on his counterpart. It was a good sign for the little dark hylian, even if that event led to the detainment of his older brother for a time. But once he was out it was back to the drawing board.
For a while it seemed as if Dark Link was about to give up on his whole charade, until the worst came to be. They split apart, Dark Pit managed to piss off his partner just enough for her to literally throw him out of her life. This catastrophic event led to a raging fire to spark within Dark Link to push even harder. This led him to the overkill of a plan to literally blip the blue princess out of existence. DTL however still followed his older counterpart and his scheme although he started to have doubts in the plan. He even thought about sabotaging the whole plan, but if he did that he had no doubt his older brother would renounce his brotherhood with him. Then he'd be truly alone, there would be no one left to do anything with him. So he kept his head down and remained silent despite all the doubts he had. He knew they were only digging the hole deeper when Dark Link began using all the loopholes Ganon carefully through years of trial and error acquired, loopholes in all of Master Hands' defenses and limits. This wasn't going to end with the usual slap on the wrist they usually received, he knew that not only would the others come to dislike them further, but their only allies would also alienate them for exposing everything they worked so hard to achieve.
The next morning wasn't much better, it was cold, wet and damp. He tried to make his way back to the mansion but much to his frustration, Marth and Samus were there on the steps waiting for him, even if it was very early in the morning. As he tried to back away he ended up tripping and shaking the foulage he was in alerting the two smashers on the steps. "There!" Samus called out and immediately dashed towards the area. DTL freaked out and started making his way deeper into the woods. He eventually claws, shoots himself into the tops of the trees and begins jumping from branch to branch. He stirred a flock of birds and created the perfect distraction for him to make his escape.
He eventually finds himself wondering until he comes to a park near the outskirts of the city. He sat in the bushes watching all the civilians going on about their day. He had been wandering the woods all morning and he was not lost on what to do next. Until he smelled something good, he turned and saw all the food vendors standing in an open area. His stomach growled and he stared hungrily at the pictures of the food on the side of the carts. Luckily for him however a little girl wasn't so enthusiastic about the food and dumped a nearly full plate of food in a bin nearby. Well she tried at least but being too short to reach the top she simply placed it next to it much to the little hylians relief. He claws shots at the paper plate and quickly brings it into the bushes with him where he begins stuffing his face from it. But his little stunt didn't go unnoticed; however, the previous owner of the plate saw the claw shoot out of the bushes and make off with the discarded food. "Hello?" She called out while peeking around the bin towards the bushes, however received no reply. Even the loud obnoxious chewing had stopped, she would've thought it was nothing more than a wild animal, but animals don't exactly use tools, and those that do are non-existent in that part of the city. "Are you lost?" She called out but still no reply. She peeks into the bushes and only finds the ravaged plate of food.
Curiosity getting the best of her, she quickly runs off to buy a bag of popcorn in hopes of finding whatever it was in those bushes. She placed it down next to the bin again and then walked off while also keeping an eye on the bushes. Once again that metallic claw shot out and dragged the snack away followed by quick and steady crunching coming from the bushes. She stealthily managed to go around the bushes and peek inside she saw a dark figure in there stuffing his face. He turns around and shrieks before taking off into the woods. Although she waited there for some time he never returned, and she tried to find him again the next day and the day after that. It wasn't until the 3rd day she tried as usual leaving something tasty behind.
And this time she actually caught a bite, the little metallic claw shoots out and grabs the bag of cotton candy she left. She cautiously approached again seeing the little shoving cotton candy into his mouth. He stops halfway through however when he notices he's being watched. He looked about to leave until she held out her hands to him. "Wait!" She says quickly before pulling out a pack of jerky for him. He sniffs it and then starts looking back and forth from her and the package. "It's yours" she says holding it out to him, he reaches for it but before she pulls it back slightly. "But first a small proposition," she says. And trust me there will be more where this comes from." She adds while shaking the bag of jerky.
"I'm listening…" He says, crossing his little arms.
It all seemed so simple enough, he'd promise to be the little tykes friend. All he had to do was pretend to tolerate her and she'd keep the snacks and goodies coming. She supposedly sweetened the deal one day by offering him a playroom to stay at. It was perfect, it gave him someplace to stay and wait for that whole mess he was in to blow over. It was perfect… Or so he thought, it was fine at first but more and more he was restricted from going anywhere or doing anything, other than playing make believe or attending tea time. In a cruel twist of fate he ended up becoming the very thing he was trying to avoid, a prisoner. So he dropped the charade and has tried being mean and nasty in hopes of being released. Didn't work though, that delusional little girl still had it set in her mind that they were actually friends. Things only got worse when he saw someone he was hoping he didn't have to, the intergalactic bounty hunter herself. He wasn't sure if it was better to be where he was, that being trapped but with the alternative of good food. Or having a room all to himself however with mediocre or downright terrible food. Those cells in the smash manor were quite cozy afterall, if the objective was to not want smashers to be in there well they did a banger of a job assuring the opposite. Then again, Samus might end up locked in there with him as well. That little girl could be quite cunning and manipulative when she wanted to be…
"Who are you?" The little girl asked, holding the little stuffed bear from earlier in her arms. Samus thought for a moment before replying, she had to say the right thing to keep her from having a freakout and alerting the others in the home. It could afterall lead to some huge controversy about smashers breaking into random persons homes. Samus knelt near her to be at level and come off as less intimidating.
"Listen, I'm not here to cause any trouble for you or anyone else. I'm only here because I'm looking for a run away and I only want to bring him home that is all." She says while the girl looks down at her bear.
"You mean you're here to take away my friend, little grumpy?" She says as a matter of fact.
"Well judging by the name I'm guessing he's not as enthusiastic about that friendship as you are, trust me I'd know." Samus says while the little girl shyly looks away. "I'm sure you can make much better friends than a brat like him anyway." Samus adds while she takes a moment to think.
"But he's special," she says, prompting a confused look from the hunter.
"How so?" She asked curiously.
"He's a smasher, like you!" She says while she swings herself right to left with a gleeful smile.
"What makes you think that?" Samus tried feigning ignorance.
"I practically know you all by heart now, I'm your biggest fan, even disguised as you are I can still pick you out from a crowd. Just like how I figured Ness out earlier, though he wasn't really trying with his disguise, was he." She replies. Samus goes quiet however, but still keeping a stoic face not giving away her thoughts.
"If that's true, why do you believe someone as horrible as Dark Toon Link can be your friend. Just so you know he literally tried erasing someone from existence a few days ago because he was bored." Samus says sternly.
"Yeah… He kinda told me about that, you should know though he had no hand in that, it was all his meanie brother's doing Dark Link." She tells the hunter.
"And you believe him?" Samus asked.
"Well I don't need to, I know exactly when I've met him and how long he's been with me." She replies.
"Really?" Samus says, crossing her arms. "So when did you meet the brat?" She asked knowing full well if her story adds up or not.
"Exactly six days ago." She replies, Samus again goes quiet, it adds up. But then again it could've been DTL manipulating her since she claims they're friends. It won't matter though he'd get his just deserves as soon as they get back to the mansion. "Well regardless I'm afraid I still have a job to do and I have to bring him with me now, afterall us smashers aren't supposed to be in the city for extended periods of time much less go interacting with citizens to an extent such as this." Smaus informed her.
"But he's my friend…" She is saddened. "Would you stay and be my friend instead?" She suggested while once again swinging herself side to side and giving Samus big sad puppy dog eyes.
"I can do you one better, how would you like some VIP tickets to the tournament, I'll give you a special backstage pass so you can meet your favorite smasher even." Samus offered the little girl, she looked as if she was thinking it over but that glint in her eye confirmed her answer however.
"I thought you guys didn't do vip, since that incident in melee I read about on the internet." She said that spark in her seemed to have died now as she now believed to have been lied to.
"Well I can make exceptions for my friend," Samus assured her while patting her on the shoulder. She smiles back at the hunter and nods her head before walking towards the back and pointing at some shut closet doors. Samus walks over and swings it open, finding the dark little hylian tied. He then began to what appeared to be berating the girl for giving him up. "You have no idea the trouble you've caused us," Samus says before picking him up chair and all and hoisting him over her shoulder. "Oh and I believe this is for you" Samus says, taking out her tablet and a little white card shoots out of it. A green light flashes over it before they hear a few beeps of conformation. "Show that to any security Mii at the next match and I'll take it from there." Samus told her while she looked at the card with the biggest smile.
"This is the greatest day of my life!" She exclaimed excitedly.
"I Hope you understand, but can you keep what happened here to yourself, ya know for publicity sake. Otherwise that little gift might go to waste." Samus turned to the little girl.
"You can count on me buddy!" She says holding up a thumbs out.
"Thank you, now I'm going to make my discreet exit, see you soon Michelle." Samus says while Michelle stood there stunned.
"How did you…?" She was baffled.
"You're not the only one who knows things," Samus says before she walks off leaving the little girl baffled.
*outside*
She stood there not the slightest bit surprised, there was an obviously knocked out Lucario being puppeted by the others. Which explains why he stopped replying to her earlier, and the hat was there to no doubt to hide an obvious bump on his head, and the sunglasses for him to appear awake. "I'm not even going to ask, it's been quite a day and I just want to get home and away from all of you." Samus says simply while tossing DTL in the back of the van.
"Yeah, sure and everything is totally normal here, right Lucario?" Link said while patting the unconscious pokemon on the back. He turns to Samus and nods in a janky manner.
"Right, lets go" She says getting in the front and putting in the directions for the mii driver.
When they arrive she goes straight to the Master Hands office, with DTL in tow. As she pushes open the doors they are greeted by the sight of Zelda and Dark Link by the desk.
"Ah and there he is as promised!" Master Hand states to Dark Link.
"DL? What's going on?" DTL asks but his older counterpart turns and lowers his head.
"I'm afraid he's not at liberty to discuss that with you, however you are exempt from punishment as it has come to my attention you had no hand in the affair." MH says to which DTL turns to Dark Link who gave him an apologetic look. "Zelda, if you'd please be so kind as to escort Dark Link back to his cell I'd be most obliged." MH instructed. She nods and begins dragging him away, as he did he turned to give another sorrowful look at DTL before he was out the door. The little dark hylian didn't know if he was glad to see his older counterpart again, or if he was because of what DL put him through because of his pettiness. "Run along now little boy, you're free to go," MH waved the little boy off.
"What!?" Samus instantly exclaimed, "do you have any idea what I had tk go through to get him back!?" She says slamming her bands on the desk.
"Yes, well thank you for that, and because of that I got more out of Dark Link than I ever could." MH says while leaning back in his seat.
"So I was just a means to an end?" She says in a frustrating manner.
"Hm, I can't help but notice you seem upset…" He says while she rolls her eyes.
"Gee I wonder why!" She replied sarcastically.
"So can I go?" DTL asked timidly.
"Go, before she changes her mind," Master Hand quickly ushered him off and he scurried off.
"This is a mistake, and you know it, that little brat is just going to go and continue causing trouble for everyone around him." Samus says while MH shrugged her off.
"Oh what harm can he possibly do without DL there." HM assured her. "Now I believe you had other matters to finish up, and after that we would have tied up all loose ends!" He says with excitement in his voice.
"Right, then I better go, lots to do." She said and walked off without another word.
*later that day*
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the one and only SMASHER GAMES!
A loud overhead system blared out, all the smashers, well nearly all were gathered outside the hedge maze waiting for the game to start. It seemed simple enough: find the puzzle, crack the clue, get your next assignment, all while traversing the labyrinth of hedges. ALL powers and abilities were gone, meaning none of the flying smashers could utilize their power to get an edge on the competition. There were at least four different entrances and each one had a podium where you could enter the competition with whatever partner(s) smasher chose to have. Lucina and Robin stood ready while reading their first clue to help them solve the first puzzle, assuming they found it first. All it said was "The great Deku Tree" and there were alot of puzzled faces. Including the Links, who gave each other puzzling looks.
Smashers… On your marks! Get set! Go!
A loud horn blared and the smashers and began running into the hedge maze and going off into all the different possible paths. "Lucina!" Robin called out.
"Right!" She said, taking his hand before they both quickly ran in along with the others. One thing to note was that it was very easy to get lost and more importantly seperated in the maze. So to keep their troubles to a minimum they decided holding onto the other would improve their odds. Naturally a strategy utilized by the tactician. They were going to have to be careful about the steps they took because it was impossible to keep track of where they were, as the hedges were on a five minute interval before they changed position and thus completely changed the hedge maze itself. And with literally millions of combinations it was impossible to keep track of any layout. "Wait why are we running in blindly, isn't that how we get ourselves lost?" Lucina calls out to him as they go in deeper.
"We're not, remember what the first clue said?" He asked her while she thought about it for a moment.
"Yes?" She replied.
"Think about it, now look towards the northwestern region." He says before she spots a tree within the hedge maze itself.
"That's not the deku tree or a deku tree for that matter." She says puzzled before he turns to her with a sly smile.
"The puzzle is not about the deku tree itself, rather what it represented in the hero of time's journey." He says while she still looked a little lost.
"As in, his first destination in his journey was the deku tree itself, as is ours, our first destination is the great tree in the back of the hedge maze." He explained before it all clicked and she smiled to herself.
"You clever bastard…" She remarked, earning a slight chuckle from the tactician.
"We just have to hope that our path there is a favorable one." He says while looking ahead. Through the thickness of the tall brush they could slightly see the top of the giant tree. "We have about three minutes before the hedges start to shift." He says before they stop at an intersection connected by several paths.
"How are you so sure?" She asked.
"I synchronized a pocket beforehand while studying the hedge maze while preparing my strategies." He says taking out the little device and showing it to her before slipping it back into his coat. "Now which path do you reckon looks the most favorable?" He asked while looking around.
"I'd say the one furthest from the tree, as it would be too obvious taking the one that looks like it goes straight there." She says while pointing down the path.
"Hmm, true but what are the odds that the hedge maze is trying to trick us into thinking that?" He asked.
"Shit good point," she states before looking around again. "Then we compromise, we go down the middle and avoid overthinking it." She says pointing towards the path ahead.
"Hmm and interesting notion, let us proceed then!" He replies before they head off again. In the distance they could hear shouts of smashers who already found themselves lost in the maze, and calling out for their missing partners. Smashers had two failsaves, the first being a beacon of light they can use to find their partners, and the second was for the more hopeless of the bunch, which was an instant teleport out. Although doing so would instantly count as a disqualification so it was only a last resort. Lucina seemed to have been worried about getting separated as Robin noticed she started to squeeze his hand tighter. A lot was riding on this game for her, she could end up losing several of her assets if she doesn't get the funds to pay them off. So of course she'd feel more pressured to try and give it her all. They are quickly approaching another intersection before they spot the stealthy duo of Greninja and Sheik dash past.
"They seem to know where they're headed…" Lucina remarked while motioning her head towards the direction they went off too.
"Could be, but are we willing to take that risk?" He remarked.
"Screw it, let's just keep to the original plan, we're only getting distracted." She says shaking her head before they head off again. Right before they feel the rumble of the area begin, "oh no!" Lucina calls out as they see the path ahead of them begin to close off.
"Run!" He shouts and they begin rushing towards the closing path, just when it looks like they won't make it Robin throws both himself and Lucina to the other side at the last second. Before all the roots connect and the path closes off. "Phew that was close!" Robin said getting up and dusting himself off before offering his hand to her. They suddenly hear some voices from the other side of the hedges that just closed off.
"Dammit fatass, I told you to pick up the pace!"
"You can't talk to me that way, I'm a king!"
"Whatever, lets go we got a lot more ground to cover your highney!"
"We should go" Robin said motioning down the path with his head, she nodded and they headed off. They go down several more twists and turns before the inevitable happens again…
"Argh!" Lucina stomps as they hit another dead end, the last thing anyone wants to see in this challenge. "I did overthink it, I knew it!" She says in a frustrated manner and runs a hand through her hair.
"Perhaps not, we were probably on the right path before those previous changes occured." He tried assuring her but she just kept looking around.
"I think we can make our way around, we can practically see the tree over us now." She says before he tugs her back.
"Or perhaps not, I have a little theory I'd like to test out if you're willing to wait. After all, I doubt we could make it anywhere in the thirty seconds that are left before the next big change." He says while looking down at his pocket watch.
"I guess we can wait and see if your hunch is right, I probably would've gotten us lost anyway." Lucina states with a soft sigh.
"Oh come now we can't be the only ones who've made a few wrong turns, just take a listen," he assured her as the distant calls of smashers were heard. "At least we're still together this far in which can't be really said about the others." He adds while holding up their hands.
"I guess" she says, just before the rumbling begins again.
"Get ready!" He says as they both turn towards the dead end. The vines slowly begin to split apart and open up the path ahead of them. Not just that though, but the tree was straight ahead again. Robin turns to her with a sly smile before motioning them forward. "Shall we?" He says with a tint of excitement in his voice.
"How did you..? There's too many combinations!" She said startled, now thinking this man had a super computer in his head constantly crunching numbers.
"I didn't have to memorize anything actually, it didn't require much thought really it was yet another simple puzzle. As we trekked across the maze I took notice of several things, one of which was that whatever part of the hedge had this it meant that part would open up next." He said holding up a little white flower for her to see.
"The flowers… I didn't even give them much thought honestly." She says while looking the little plant over.
"And I do believe neither did anyone else." He says while sticking the little thing in her hair. "Hmm that look suits you very well actually."
"You think so?" She says while running her hand across the flower.
"Indeed I do, brings out the color in your eyes more." He said while cupping her face in his hands and staring into her eyes. "Beautiful…"
"Erm… uh, yeah… We should probably get going right?" She pulls away from him while a slight blush comes across her face. He nods and holds out his hand for her so they may continue.
They didn't have much to go and when they reached the clearing with the tree on it they found a large table with a bunch of next clues sitting on it. On top of that was a banner reading in big bold letters: "Congratulations!" Followed by: "for solving the first clue!" In slightly smaller letters under that.
"I can't believe we made it! I think we're actually first too!" She says excited while rushing towards the table. She takes one of the clues and begins looking it over. Robin however noticed the mess on the far side of the table, meaning someone took a clue and made all the others fall. Not to mention the footsteps, if he had to estimate he'd say there were at least two other teams here before them. He decided to keep this to himself however as to not deter his partner, she seemed to be in high spirits at the moment and they could really use that. And it was then he noticed she was actually speaking to him and he was lost in his thoughts.
"-see this is the clue that gives it away, 'four pallets four ghosts' meaning the maze of Pac-Man. There are four large pallets in each corner that help him deal with the ghosts that are constantly chasing him. So the answer must be one of the corners or quite possibly it could be any of the corners!" She explained.
"Hmm spot on! So now we need to make our way towards the edge." Robin says before rolling up the clue and placing it in his coat.
"Something I don't get, if there are answers to puzzles everywhere, what's stopping us from finding other answers from other clues before we even get the clue?" She asked.
"Oh I actually read up on that, and it has to do with the clue itself, if you don't have that clue the answer is pertaining to then that answer is not visible to you. The clues themselves activate the answers around the maze, all through the weird magic that surrounds this place." He explained while she silently 'ohed' to herself.
*elsewhere*
She couldn't believe it, it wasn't just half of them like she initially believed, it was all of them. All of the other Elite Six members were bending rules for their own personal reasons. She only suspected Link and Peach and of course Marth, but to think Zelda and Mario were in it too. She buried her face into her hand while thinking things over, she knows she has to report this to Master Hand. He's expecting it and of course a special promotion was in it for her accord to him, meaning she'd have more resources at her disposal and not to mention more dominion over the mansion. Her job would be a breeze and nothing would ever get past her ever again. Samus sighed as she downloaded the files of her findings to her tablet to compile a report for Master Hand.
Once the files finish uploading she takes the tablet in her hands and stands from her seat. Turning around and seeing the blue prince standing at the door, arms crossed. "So you finally found what you wanted, was it worth it?" He asked in a monotonous voice.
"You mean all the tedious things you all have been doing, beside clearly out of everyone else knowing full well all the established rules?" She replies.
"If you choose to have a dogmatic view of events that is," he says simply.
"Really? Is that what you're going with? You can't stand there and tell me all this has some justifiable reasons behind them!" She says sliding the tablet across the floor to him. It stops at his feet and he looks down briefly before looking back up at her.
"Did you actually look into the incidents or just skim through them, because if you had we wouldn't be in this position." Marth says with a heavy sigh.
"I shouldn't need too, rules are rules and you know that, they are there for a reason and it's not to interpret them as a challenge!" She quickly fires back.
"True, however even you have to admit some rules should be broken for the better." Marth states. "And is this really the path you've chosen, throwing all your comrades under the bus and for what? A promotion? Is that really worth it to you?" He adds.
"It's not all that unreasonable, I'll simply have more clearance than the rest of you and I'll also be appointed as the supervisor since you can't be trusted." She shrugs. "And like I stated before there is no valid reason you did what you did." She reiterates.
"She was going to die, and you know it!" He fires back.
"You don't k-"
"Yes we do know, we both saw the reports, the reports nobody else saw. Sure she made it out to the infirmary but we both know she was only on borrowed time." Marth quickly cuts her off. "We've both seen this before we witness it all before, when we sat around twiddling our thumbs playing by rules." He says before sliding the device back to her. "Or did you so soon forget?"
"I haven't, our greatest failures have always stuck with me. Which is why I'm doing what I'm doing, to prevent anything like that from even starting in the first place!" She retorts.
"Well it did, nobody is perfect Samus, we all make mistakes some more than others but mistakes are a part of our lives, it's how we learn and grow as a person in the long run." He explained. "You think it would be fair if she went through that too? We all where the when it was confirmed he died, we only managed to save him by sending him home, you think that would've been fair to her?" Marth insisted she however stared down at the device at her feet. "I did what I did, and I wouldn't take it back for the world, and it wasn't just bias because she's family, I would've done the same for anybody else in her position and you know that. And if I'm going to go down for that I'll do it with no regrets and my head held high." He finished.
"Why didn't you come to me with this? Instead you decided to go over my head and keep it from me, You didn't even think to ask for even a sec, you picked Roy of all people. Aren't we supposed to be partner's in this?" She said softly while he half scoffed.
"You really have to ask? Because it's you! You're all business, it's what everyone knows Samus Aran for. I mean there is a reason Master Hand puts more trust in you than even Mario himself. No bias, no remorse and more importantly no compassion, the perfect obedient underling." He says while slowly shaking his head.
"Is that what you truly think of me?" She asked sternly.
"Because that's how you set yourself up to be, you're too closed off and uptight that even your closest friends Zelda and Peach tiptoe around you. We are what we make of ourselves and you choose to be the outcast." Marth states. "You remember the story you told me about your days as a cadet?" He asked, "you know what it means to follow your gut instead of what is expected of you." He adds.
"I didn't do all this for my own benefit either, you know that." She replies.
"Yet you're ready to burn down all the bridges you've slowly built over time." He says. "I hope you're able to live with that fact once your at the top." He adds before turning and walking off. She picks up the device off the floor with all the data on it, she sighs heavily while slumping her shoulders. However her mind was set, she grabbed her things and heads off.
*Outside*
"Yes! We got it! The seventh clue!" Lucina exclaimed in excitement before unrolling the piece of paper to find the next and final clue.
"Can't believe we've actually managed to get this far, judging from the scoreboards there aren't many teams left. Only ones left are those that are stubborn and thick headed enough to stay." Robin remarked with a hint of amusement in his voice.
"And right now we have the thickest of heads!" She remarked while trying to make sense of the new clue. "12… 26… 39… 58?" Lucina reads it aloud again. "Can you make any sense of this?" She hands him the clue and looks it over.
"Hmm interesting, these numbers represent the number of fighters that have been in each of the smash tournaments." He says while looking it over deep in thought.
"Alright and what does that mean?" She asks.
"Hmm actually this one is a bit of a thinker to be honest." He says still looking it over while his mind raced.
"The smash brothers" she says while looking off towards the mansion.
"What?" He asked, snapping out of his thoughts.
"We're overthinking it, there's no complex answer to it. The answer is simple, each of those numbers represent one thing and one thing alone, the super smash brothers." She explained, "I think the final step is simply finding the exit that leads back to the mansion." She explained while he hummed to himself.
"That makes sense, we should move, we don't know who else is left and or how far they are." He says motioning back into the mess of passages. She nods and holds out her hand for him and he takes it into his before they both sprint off. "This part shouldn't be too much of a hassle since the mansion is always visible from beyond the hedges." He explains.
They make it pretty deep into the hedges until they come to one of the dreaded dead ends. They could see the outer walls of the hedge maze just over the hedge blocking their path. "We should be around, it shouldn't be too hard to find a path around." He suggested until she noticed something that made her shake her head.
"No, no we should wait it out, look the path ahead will open up on the next shift. And in that time we might end up getting further if we try going around." She says while motioning to the little white flowers on the hedge.
"I suppose it wouldn't be so bad if we wait it out," he shrugged before he took out his pocket watch. They've been in there for at least three hours now, there couldn't be that many teams left as it got more and more quiet as time went by. And by now there wasn't as much of a commotion as there was earlier.
"I got a great feeling about this, we might actually be the only ones who've come this far!" She says while pacing back and forth nervously. Her words said one thing but her actions said another. She had a tense look upon herself and of course it should be expected with all that was at stake for her.
"I think we might just be the only ones left, we definitely got this!" He says placing a hand on her shoulder and giving her a confronting smile. Just then the hedges began to rumble again signaling that they were about to shift again. As the path before them opens up and they take a few steps forward a loud horn blares throughout the vicinity. Signaling that the game was over and the winning team had been decided already.
"NO! NO! NO!" Lucina shouts angrily, "we wasted time waiting here, we should've gone around, we could've made it, we had to be faster!" She rambles on before falling to her knees in despair. The area rumbles and all the hedges retreat and all paths open up allowing the remaining smashers to exit the vicinity with ease. Robin looked around and there were only three other teams around. Sheik and Greninja, Zelda and Link, and lastly Bayonetta and F Corrin. The latter were actually just behind the winning team actually, the winning team were currently jumping around shouting cheers and dancing around. Well one specific member was, there in the middle of a stand was Dark Pit dancing around and celebrating his victory. He wasn't alone though, there was of course Mr Peppers there with him and one other person they weren't expecting. Raven, she was the mysterious third member helping them out, so it's no surprise they made it first.
"Let's go…" Lucina grumbled to herself and walked off, she wasn't about to stick around and watch Pittoo rub his victory in her face. Robin quickly rushed after her and joined her at her side as they silently walked back towards the mansion. Raven actually spotted them however and she met the eyes of her twin briefly and gave him an apologetic look.
Once inside they head over toward one of the common rooms where Lucina threw herself face first into one of the sofas. "Gods! I ruined everything!" She said muffled through one of the couch pillows she had buried her head in.
"Come now Lucina, you can't place all the blame on yourself, we did our best out there and gave it our all, there was nothing more we could've done." He assured her while taking a seat next to her on the sofa. He then reaches into his coat and takes out an envelope and looks at it for a moment before speaking up.
"In fact here, I want you to take this, consider it an apology from me for letting you down." He said making her lift her head and turn to him to see him holding an envelope filled with money, lots of money from the looks of it which would most likely settle her debts.
"Oh Robin, I can't take your money! That'll just make me feel worse knowing I made you have to pay out of your own pocket because we lost!" She says in a frustrated manner before burying her face into the pillow again.
"Please Lucina, it's no bother for me anyway, I want you to have this victory or not you shouldn't have to feel guilty about it." He assures her but she simply replies with a long groan. He figured he would probably leave it in her room instead since he doubted she would physically take it off her hands. They hear a knock at the back and Robin turns to see his twin awkwardly standing there at the door frame. Lucina looks up and sees the other tactician standing there timidly. She cleared her throat before stepping in further while Lucina sat up straight in her seat.
"Lucina… I uh… Um," she begins. She was holding something behind her back. "I have something that I think rightfully belongs to you," she says before bringing out the large trophy from the game filled to the brim with paper bills.
"What? Why?" Lucina asked, puzzled.
"I didn't do this game for my own purpose, I did it for you, it was my only goal which is why I gave it my all. Your partner came to me and explained your predicament…"
*Flashback*
"Oh you should try the strawberry cheesecake, I've been obsessed with it since I first had it." Raven suggested, "and uh do you drink coffee? Can you drink coffee?" She asks Mr. Peppers who sat on the table across from her and the dark angel.
"Fraid not miss, wasn't to my liking" he shook his head, "however I am perfectly fine with a cup of warm milk with whipped cream over it." He says while she looks over the little menu in her hands.
"I don't think that's actually something they serve…" She says while holding up the menu to him.
"Oh it's quite alright, they know me here already and know my personal preferences." He explained.
"You come here?" Pittoo asks surprised, he figured MH wouldn't let him out of the mansion like he does with Kirby.
"Of course where do you think I go during my morning walks? I don't just go and walk around in circles like everyone else seems to like doing, I actually have a destination." He explained while Dark Pit blew air out his nose in amusement.
"Alright folks what'll it be this time?" The waiter comes to their table with a little notepad and pen.
"Give me the usual stuff, strong as usual, and uh I guess one of your strawberry cheesecakes." Pittoo orders while motioning to the little menu.
"And you miss?" He turns to the tactician.
"I think I'll try the iced coffee today" she says pointing towards the menu options.
"Alrighty and Mr Peppers the usual?" He turns to the dog at the end of the table.
"You know it," he replies while making finger guns.
"Right I'll be right out with your orders, it's always a pleasure to have smashers coming around." He says while the other two give him puzzled looks.
"You knew?" Raven asked him, puzzled.
"Well you guys have been paying with cards, which kinda gave it away. But don't worry every business here is under contract not to out smashers who come to their establishments." He says before walking off to get their food and drinks.
"Why did I even bother with this stupid disguise!?" Pittoo grumbled and crossed his arms.
"Well they may be under contract, however every other citizen we may encounter is not. Or have you forgotten what happened at the supermarket?" She says while he shrugged.
"I guess." He mumbled before she took out her own notebook from her coat.
"Alright so where were we last time?" She says while skimming through her notes. "You were telling me about that magical chariot, correct?" She asked before flipping the page.
"Actually today I thought I'd pick your brain a little," he says while leaning back in his seat.
"Oh?" She replies curiously, "what is it you want to know?" She asks while putting her pen away and leaning her head in her hands.
"Well it's actually about my partner…" He says nervously before clearing his throat.
"Ah I see, what happened now?" She asks more curiously now.
"Well I'm sure you're fully aware of the incident earlier today correct?" He says while twiddling his thumbs.
"You mean that race that was terribly rigged this morning? Yes I am fully aware of it and the outcome." She says.
"Well I may have lost some of our smash funds during that whole ordeal…" He says sheepishly, "now we might be in debt since we won't be able to make any of our next payments." He explained while she nodded along.
"So where do I fit in all this?" She asked.
"Ah well here's where you come in actually, the both of you!" He says while slamming down the flier to the game later on the table.
"So you're here to recruit me, is that it? Did your partner agree to this?" She asks while he slumps in his chair.
"She didn't even give me the time of day, but I'll show her we'll all show her when we're at the winners circle!" He says before slamming his hands down on the table.
"I'll help you," she says plainly.
"You will?" He says somewhat surprised.
"Under one condition however, and that's that my split of the winnings go to her, otherwise I want no part in it." She states while he leans back and thinks for a moment.
"Eh fine by me, in fact that will let me rub it in her face even more for doubting me." He says with a mischievous grin. "Mr peppers here will be our guide in the hedges, while you'll be there to help me crack the clues that get a little more cryptic, I know you like to spend most days with your nose in a book and we could use that accumulated knowledge." He explained the plan.
"I do not!" She protested with a huff.
"Ok yesterday what did you do that didn't involve you having a book in your hands, that wasn't any of the times you were eating." He says while she looks in thought for a moment. "You can't, can you?" He says with a smirk.
"I'm thinking!" She fires back.
"Alright folks here we are," the waiter came with their items and one thing caught the dark angel's attention.
"Woah what's that?" He says motioning towards the food item Mr Peppers received.
"A 'Croisscon' a creation of my own actually." The hound replies.
"A what?" The dark angel says, puzzled.
"A croissant entirely made of bacon" Mr Peppers says.
"Ooh, actually you think I can get one of those?" Pitto tells the waiter.
"Certainly" he says before walking off to retrieve the dark angel's order.
"Alright so are we in agreement with the whole partnership in the games?" He asks the tactician.
"Well you have my terms already." She shrugs.
"Then it's a done deal" he says before they shake hands…
*End Flashback*
"I figured the least I could do was help you out of your troubles for the troubles I may have caused you…" Raven finished explaining while looking down at her hands.
"Raven, you know I can't stay mad at you! Especially now!" Lucina says before tackling the tactician into a hug. "I forgive you," Lucina whispered to her. Just then they hear another knock and Pittoo steps in awkwardly.
"Hey, am I interrupting something?" He asked before the bluenette turned to glare at him.
"You!" She says with an angered tone, "what do you want here to gloat?" She says before crossing her arms.
"Actually I was going to keep this to myself however it's beginning to nag at me so what the hell I'll just come out with it. We never lost our funds in the race earlier. I just said that hoping it would motivate you to help me win the games. Not only will I have gotten the funds I missed out on earlier but also redeemed myself." He says, "so we were technically never in any financial trouble" he adds while smiling sheepishly.
"So it was all for nothing!?" Raven says in disbelief. "I feel so… Used…" She mumbled to herself.
"Not exactly, I mean look you two made up!" He says, "yeah you're welcome!" He adds with a tisk.
"You stupid bastard, do you know how worried you had me!?" Lucina exclaimed before taking a magazine off a nearby coffee table and rolling it up and smacking the angel upside the head.
"Ow! I said I was sorry! Geez!" He says while trying to get away from her but she pursues him still letting him have it. "Oh come on blue what happened to forgive and forget? Ow! Remember that?" He says as he runs down the hall with the bluenette hot on his heels. The tacticians stood there laughing in amusement at the whole ordeal.
*meanwhile*
They were all gathered before his desk while he was tapping his fingers on the desk which was never a good sign. All the members of the elite six were suddenly summoned to Master Hand's office for what he said was very important. Just then the doors opened up and Samus stepped in.
"Ah there she is, well now we can begin! We have much to discuss, so I hope you all weren't planning anything today because we are going to be here for quite a while!" He had excitement in his voice. They all looked puzzled at one another before turning to the hand again. "Well go on them Samus show us your findings let's not keep them waiting!" He says like a giddy child.
"Yes well here's what I found" she says while all the other members turned to her now. Marth in particular had a hurt look upon his face, she turns from him and looks back at the hand clearing her throat. "Turns out sir we had a glitch in the system, and there were no major incidents to report." She says plainly before placing the tablet on his desk.
"What? What? What?" MH said completely lost, "ok you got me, good one samus, now tell us what you really found!" He says afterwards but she simply shrugs him off.
"I'm not one for jokes sir, and you have your proof there" she replies crossing her arms and motioning to the tablet on his desk.
"But you said… I… You?" Master Hand blurts out.
"Like I said sir, there was a glitch in the system, but it's alright I have it all sorted now." She replies while turning to look at her comrades who smiled back at her warmly.
"but…" He says going through all the data which didn't match the earlier records nor what she reported earlier. He wasn't buying her story one bit but it seemed that it didn't matter to her if he did or not. He grumbles to himself while still scrolling, there was no evidence or records now thanks to her the system was scrubbed squeaky clean.
"Sir?" Zelda says as he mumbled to himself.
"Out!" He says plainly.
"What-a now?" Mario says scratching his head.
"All of you out! Now!" He says in a frustrated manner before they all shrug and walk out. Once they were gone he ran his hands across his face while groaning to himself. "Drat they got to her… I was so close too!" He slumped back into his seat and deflated into it.
"Alright Samus, I knew you didn't have it in you to betray us like that!" Peach says while throwing her arms around the bounty hunter.
"Thank you, for understanding" Zelda and Link say while nodding towards her and Mario tips his hat to her before they all walk away with excited chatter.
"Well, what do you have to say?" Samus says when it was just her and Marth left.
"Nothing much, I knew you didn't want to go through with it, I only gave you the final push to realize it." He says, "but truly I sincerely thank you for understanding our plights, you're a great partner and friend." He says before flashing her smile and then walking away, leaving her alone with her thoughts. She looks back at the doors to MHs office one more time before walking away and smiling to herself. Luckily nobody was there to witness the rare event.
Alrighty folks that ends this chapter, and it was a nice long one for you folks, also we're only getting one step closer to the end… boy oh boy am I only prolonging the inevitable…
Anyway, catch you guys on the flip side!
Next Chapter: A Series of Unfortunate Events…