Thinking Outside the Box
Chris clapped at his comrades' success. They were situated at their base, an old house. It wasn't too far from the Super Smash Bros. Arena, making it a valuable asset to the team just as Chris' swords or the ninjas' prowess. He sat in the old lounge chair in the middle of the house, facing his teammates. His pile of sharpened swords was sitting beside him. Their success was astounding even him. He was hoping it wouldn't let up, because that way they would succeed in their goals. Just like the old man had promised when he made their deal. And the more people they managed to capture, the faster they could get what they were promised. Chris' golden eyes looked at Daniel to Steve and then finally to Sam, lingering a bit longer to soak up her beauty.
"You guys did great," Chris said after a while.
Steve whispered something to Daniel. The geomancer nodded at Steve's secretive statement. They caught Chris' deadening gaze and quickly stopped their shenanigans. And if Steve were smart, he'd keep quiet. If he spoke the truth, he'd get hurt. It's better if he kept quiet and received whatever punishment for shutting up.
"What is it?" Chris asked. Actually he demanded the answer. He rarely questioned anything, because if he were denied the right answer, he wasn't just going to sit there and take the lie.
"Nothing," Daniel said. He was smart.
"Someone's getting a bit soft now with a woman on the team," Steve bluntly declared. See, if he were smart. Nope, his mind must've missed the memo.
In an instant, Chris was on his booted feet. A sword from the pile rose and found itself in Chris' grasp. And it was the big one too, the massive claymore. Steve scrambled and was already up the stairs when Chris stood up. Like it was going to matter, Chris enjoyed toying with his prey before he struck. But Sam didn't allow that and appeared before Chris as he was starting to climb up the stairs.
"Chris, you aren't going to hurt him," Sam said, her naginata pointed down at him. "As much as most of us hate to admit, we do need him."
Chris thought about, no they didn't. It was actually their boss' idea to add Steve and Sam to the team. And Chris could've done without Steve. Sam was at least bearable to keep around. But not Steve, Steve hounded Chris and that always caused for Chris to clench his hands into tight fist. "No we don't. It could've been just Dan and I, like in the beginning, and it would've been fine. But apparently it was better to have two ninjas added so we don't screw things up. In my opinion I think we would be more effective."
"So, does that mean you don't even need me?" Sam asked, her voice wavering a bit. "And I'm a shinobi, not a ninja!"
"Now your splitting hairs," Chris said as he pushed away her blade. "And we do need you, Daniel and I aren't exactly the speediest people around. We need at least one person to be nimble. Not two though, so I'm more than happy to remove the dead weight. And Steve is weight, and soon he'll be dead weight."
Sam brought her naginata back to him. "You cannot just march upstairs and dispel anyone you want! Why don't you just calm down and-"
"I am calm," Chris said in his indifferent way. "If I weren't, than I couldn't lead our little group, now could I? I'm always calm, Samantha."
"And what did I tell you about calling me that?" she asked. She pushed the blade closer to him. Her aquatic blue eyes narrowed in a fit of annoyance. "I told you countless times that I do not like being called that. My name is Sam, got it?"
"I'm sorry," Chris said as he pretended to clean out his ears. "Something was in my ears. You were saying? Look, I'm going to kill him whether you like it or not. He has pissed me off more than I would allow. And I don't like being pissed off, so I'm going to rid myself of this pest." He heaved the claymore to his shoulder. "Now step aside before I make you step aside."
"You wouldn't dare!" Sam said. She pitched her voice a bit higher, "Come on Chris, you know you won't."
And there she went again, using that woman in her to have her way with Chris. Chris can only ignore her for so long before she brought out that secret weapon. And it was practically the only thing anyone could use against him, and only one person had access to it. Chris gave a half grunt, half sigh and looked away. He prayed for something to come in and change the subject.
"Do you think they'll continue?" Daniel asked from the couch. He laid himself out and used his arm as a pillow. "The big N people, think they are going to keep the tourney going even though they will keep losing fighters? That latter ain't going to go anywhere if we keep taking them. And I was just getting used to eating those greasy nachos."
Chris sighed and thanked whoever made that happen. He went back to his chair, "I'm sure of it. I gave John a message he won't soon forget. So they'll keep scheduling fights and we'll keep taking fighters. And if they don't, guess we're going to be a bit more hands on right?" He dropped his sword onto the pile. He cracked his neck and looked up to Sam, "No need to worry, I'm calm enough by normal standards. And I'm not going to go on a rampage."
Sam sighed, "Good, last thing we need is for the team to fall apart because of something stupid." She went back up the stairs and disappeared behind her bedroom door. The audible slam was confirmation enough.
Chris sighed and put his feet up on the coffee table. He started to massage his neck with his eyes closed. He looked up when Daniel got up and strode over to the telephone. The punching of numbers was heard from the other room as Chris ran his fingers through his coal black hair. Life was definitely not easy. Being the villain, or villains in this case, seemed a lot easier on television. Chris figured it was because they were actually succeeding in their plans. Something many other bad guys didn't get. Daniel came back to the living room and plopped down on the couch and grabbed the remote. An episode of The Simpsons was playing. Chris didn't know it was getting that late. Must've been six or seven
Hours passed and Chris was now looking at stapled pieces of papers. A few packets were scattered among the magazines that littered the coffee table. Some under the box of pizza Daniel ordered for the two of them. Sam and Steve usually disappeared at dinner. Ninjas, what can you do with them? He rubbed his eyes as the fatigue of reading too much settled in. He took a slice of the Hawaiian deep dish Daniel ordered and took a bite out of it. He would've killed for a can of soda. He dropped the slice down into the box and stood up to stretch. His muscles throbbed and ached from being stationary.
"Don't you ever rest?" Sam's voice said from behind.
Chris didn't turn around. He simply sat back down on his chair, picking up the pamphlet he had before and began to study again. His eyes moved back and forth, but they knew that Sam snuck here way over. Ninja or not, Chris picked up that Sam was reading with him too while she sat on the chair's arm. She chuckled a bit, driving Chris a bit bonkers. He liked quiet and serenity when he was doing a bit of research. And this time was no different.
"What was so funny?" he asked. Again, his questions were just commands.
"And why should I tell you?" Sam asked. She was always a defiant girl. Even faced with someone who could somehow wield six different swords she would be rebellious.
"If you're going to annoy me, than at least have the decency to tell me what you're annoying me with," Chris said. His eyes were still on the paper. It's amazing how the guy never wavered, even when a pretty girl was bothering him. And he always so short and simple, he wasn't longwinded or anything.
That drove Sam a little batty. "I annoy you if I want to. And I don't need a reason, or subject, to use to annoy you."
Chris finally turned his eyes over to Sam. The electricity in the air was astounding. Chris must've really hated being pissed off. He gazed into Sam's blue eyes with his golden ones, "Samantha, I do not have time to deal with you. So what is it that you were giggling at?"
"Uh," Sam stuttered. "Link looks cute."
Chris rolled his eyes. He was looking at the bio for Link, the hero from the Legend of Zelda series. Also one of the most sought after men in video game history. And Chris sort of saw what was so great about him, but it annoyed him to see how far his fans, the girl ones, would go just to have a poster of him at bedside. Much like the Orlando Bloom of video games. "He's another enemy, another to capture."
"I know, I know," Sam said. "But sue me if I like him a bit."
"Have you met the guy?" Chris asked. "You'd know he's like a block of wood. No personality to him whatsoever."
"And you're so much different?" Sam asked. "He shows emotion and expresses himself. Sure he doesn't talk a whole lot, but he sure isn't just an empty head. You're the one who sits there without so much as saying hello in a good fashion. Your more robot than anyone I know."
Chris cocked an eyebrow. "Interesting…"
Sam gave up, "Your impossible." And with that she disappeared back to her room. She was a little steamed.
Chris chuckled a bit when she was gone. Looks like he was happy about winning the little bet he made with himself. If he was bothered, he tried to quickly rid of himself of the pest, or at least the person bothering him. Chris wouldn't group Sam with Steve. Not while she was somehow breaking down the walls around his heart.
( . ) -----------\
"I think I have it," Link said.
The Nintendo characters, the ones invited to the tournament, where having a bit of a meeting at the arena. They were getting a bit worried that the King of Koopas, the F-Zero Champ, leader of Star Fox, and the blazing swordsman were easily beaten and captured by some unknown forces. That caused for a bit of chaos within their ranks but some decided it would be best to come together and think of something, anything that can help them in keeping themselves safe so they could repay the fans that made them stars. They weren't going to allow some rogues win and make then run with their tails between their legs. And Link, had just thought of something.
"What is it?" Mario asked. He took off his hat and wiped his forehead with a rag. Bowser was his greatest enemy and it sort of unnerved him to see him so easily beaten. Maybe Peach should get some self-defense lessons from Sam. That would be a blessing for Mario.
"Divide and conquer," Link said. "From what I've seen, they have been exploiting whatever weaknesses some of us have to their advantage. Bowser was slow and he breathed fire. So whatever mastermind in the field leader's mind thought it would've been a cakewalk if they sent out a speedy acrobat that has mastery over water. And its always one on one, so one person could not help the other. I think if we could increase our numbers on the field, than we can have a better chance in keeping safe."
"Yeah, it's a technique Star Wolf used once," Falco spoke up. "There were four of them and four of us. So we had a pretty tough time since their Wolfen machines are superior to the Arwings. Good thing it took more than a good ship to win a dogfight. It's like Link said, we have to watch each other's backs instead of our own."
A murmur of agreement went through the crowd of characters. Mario and Link managed to shush them by a raise of their hands. Mario looked to the crowd, "Okay, we want to keep going. It's been a good three decades and we have so many people to thank. So we'll keep fighting for the fans, but we're going to have to bring it up."
"Falco gave me the idea," Link said. "A four way brawl. That way, even if two or even three show up, they will still be outnumbered. It's the best we can really do right now."
And it was true. Security was a bit lenient, especially with all the people coming dressed as someone like Link or Marth. Swords were able to get pass through, probably that's why people didn't look twice if they saw Chris. And with so many people dressed as Sheik or what not, Steve and Sam were just more fans in the crowds. And technically, Sam was a fan… of Link.
So starting the next day, capturing the characters of beloved game series wasn't going to be as easy. Depending on how you look at it, that's a good thing for the Nintendo All Stars or a damper on the villain group. Either way, it says the same thing. And so far, some of the more renowned heroes haven't been targeted. What's to happen when and if Daniel, Steve, Sam, and Chris are met up with the resilience of Mario or Link?
And as everyone began to file out and head to their hotels where they were staying, a few heroes stayed behind. Link and Mario included, with Samus and Donkey Kong right there with them. They were just a handful of the oldest characters that graced the virtual world. Yet, they were perhaps the most loved beyond even the shallowness of characters of today's games.
"Anyone else getting that feeling where something bad is going to happen?" Mario asked.
Link nodded, "I felt it before, and this time is no different." He took a deep breath, "Let's just hope that our plan works a lot better than I think it will."
"We just keep getting caught by surprise," Samus said. "We've been around years, and we seen it all. We wont be taken down that easily."
"You could've said the same with Bowser," Mario sadly said. He looked down a moment before returning to look at his friends. "Looks like we gotta to be on our toes from here on out. No thinking that just because we are what we are that we aren't above them. They can fight just as good as we can."
Donkey Kong scratched his head and pulled out a banana from somewhere. He peeled it and began to eat it. He had nothing to give for the conversation.
"We just got to stick together," Link said. "And after this is all over, we have to find our friends. We can't forget them either."
The four nodded in silence and they left the arena. Tomorrow would be a big day for them. They would have pull out every trick in their respective books to put on a good show. But they couldn't hold anything back if the bad guys came back. They were fighting for survival, and no way they were just going to get caught. They had loads of things on their mind, but they would not forget their main goal. They were going to put on a great show for their fans.
( . ) -----------\
Chris went up the stairs so that he could get some rest in his room. He was nearing Sam's room when the door violently swung open. Chris looked at it a while before Sam popped her head out. He sighed, looks like it was going to be a long night.
"You're just now getting some sleep?" she asked.
Chris nodded, "Yes I am."
Sam threw something at Chris and yelled out 'get some sleep loser'. Chris looked down to see a penguin in his hands, dressed as a 1920's gangster. He raised an eyebrow at the penguin and questioned why Sam would throw something like that at him. He shrugged. He decided not to think about it too much and went into his room at the far end of the hall.
Dropping his swords on the floor, and the penguin on his bed, Chris fell back to his bed. He sighed and rolled over, he wanted to see his mother. He hoped that things would pick up so he could see her once again. He didn't care how tired he would get to do it, he was going to see her somehow. He closed his eyes and sleep came. But the next morning he would have to rethink some things when he would get the news about the new tournament rules.