Even as Tendo began the fight, Mario continued to think about what was different about the two Wario brothers. He was so wrapped in his thoughts, he didn't even notice that Luigi seemed to be getting sick beside him.
"Are you alright, Master Luigi?" asked Toadsworth. Luigi's teeth were chattering, and he was shaking.
Tendo turned around as the fight had started, and saw Luigi.
"Is he ok?" asked Tendo, directed towards Peach.
"We don't know," she replied. Kirby was also patting Luigi's shoulder, with a worried look on his pink face. Tendo's eyes narrowed in what might have been slight concern.
"You want some air?" he asked. "Take a breather; we don't need you getting sick."
Luigi wobbled upright, nodded, and went to the stairway exit, hobbled down the stairs, and exited the main entrance.
It was still bright outside (one could see that from the stadium) and the sounds of nature filled the air. Luigi took a deep breath. He shuddered at the presence he had felt from Wario and Waluigi, as if they were entirely different people, transformed. Their very presence had made him sick to his stomach, but he couldn't place why they had made him feel that way.
Luigi sighed, wondering why he had entered the tournament with Mario: he then began to sob as he remembered how Mario had basically forced him. However, Luigi wasn't allowed much time to dwell on his misery, as he heard a rustling noise from the trees.
He looked into the brush, but saw nothing, as the foliage was far too dense. He put his hands up in a makeshift battle stance, and inched towards the thicket, shaking.
"H-helloooo?
As Luigi stared into the darkness of the thicket, suddenly, two spherical shapes flew out of the trees, right at Luigi. Luigi screamed a shrill scream, and fell on his back. He clenched his eyes, and waited for the inevitable end….nothing happened. Luigi peeked out of one quenched eye.
What stood, or more accurately, floated in front of him was like nothing he had ever seen before, even after his many crazy adventures with his red clad brother. Floating before him were two ornate spherical beings, both emanating with a strange light: one glowed with a hazy blue light of many hues, the other, an orangish-red light that reminded Luigi of the sun.
Once Luigi got over the shock of the two beings in front, he realized they were speaking. As he began to listen, he heard them talking. "- he alright, Prea?" said blue one, in a high pitched voice. "-dunno, Crea."replied the red one, in a similar voice.
Then, both saw Luigi was awake, and listening, and they flew closer to his face, causing the green brother to draw back a bit.
"I don't recognize him." said the blue one.
"Neither do I." replied the red one. "Are you a reploid, mister green?"
Luigi had never heard that 'r' word before, and thus, he replied with the smartest answer he could think of: "Huh?".
The two orbs were about to speak again, but they were cut off by another louder rustling emanating from the same brush. Both the orbs cried out in fright, and hid behind Luigi's body.
"Can you help us, mister?" asked the red sphere, fear making its voice quake .
"Can you? Please?" repeated the other, seemingly shivering.
Luigi was so confused that you could see the questions on his face, but all of the sudden, a squadron of humanoid beings burst from the trees. Luigi's eyes widened and his jaw dropped about 6 inches. They were blue in color, and seemed to be clad in a thin, but futuristic armor, armor Luigi had never seen before. But the strangest thing about these beings is that they had no face, but instead had a red orb where their eyes, nose, and mouth should have been. Also, rather than a hand, one of their arms had a blaster attached to it.
Luigi, again, had never seen anything like these creatures, and he silently cursed his luck, tears beginning to form in his eyes.
"Uh oh…."said the red orb.
There were about 7 of the beings, and now that they had stepped from the shadows, they clearly looked robotic.
"Pantheons!" cried the blue orb.
One of the so-called "Pantheons" pointed the blaster at Luigi, with clear malicious intent….but all the sudden, Luigi had put his two feet through the Pantheon's head in an unconventional kick.
The single pantheon flew back, and exploded, and Luigi cried, "Yaaay for me-a!" and began to dance, clearly proud of his successful sneak attack.
All the other soldiers seemed to be surprised, but after a split second, they quickly turned to Luigi, pointing their blasters directly at the green brother. Luigi abruptly stopped dancing, his eyes getting wider by the second: a moment later, every single Pantheon fired a torrent of yellow energy bullets directly at Luigi. The green brother let out a shriek of disbelief as the blasts cascaded around him, each exploding on contact, until a fiery blast obscured the small area, including Luigi and the two spheres.
As the air vortexed around, the Pantheons stood completely still, still pointing their blasters into the smog, waiting to detect any kind of movement. Slowly, the light and dust dispersed…..but there stood Luigi, shaken up, and frozen in a fetal position, but alive.
"Crea?" asked the red orb, looking around.
Luigi snapped out of the fetal position, and looked around, before also noticed the blue orb was gone.
Then, a familiar high-pitched voice spoke, "I'm here, Prea."
Luigi looked around quickly, looking for the source of the voice. The red orb, Prea, also looked around, before then staring in the direction of Luigi, right at him in fact.
"Um, Mister Green?" Luigi looked at Prea, and then looked at himself, and was shocked at what he saw. He realized that his body, as well his clothes, were now tinged with a slight blue color. Blue numerical data fragments appeared, disappeared, then reappeared, spiraling around him in a radical aura.
"Beat those guys up!" cried the voice, which Luigi finally realized was actually inside his head, but he was so enthralled by his transformation that he scarcely heard it . The voice sighed, and said, "Mister Luigi!"
All the sudden, Luigi was focused, and his head snapped up. His teeth began to chatter, and he watched as the pantheons seemed to be assessing the situation. They pointed their blasters at Luigi, and fired once more, multiple shots careening at the green plumber.
Luigi's eyes widened as the blasts arced directly at him, but not in fear. Luigi saw everything in slow motion: his vision had been seemingly enhanced. Blue glyphs kept flashing through his sight, showing him everything that was happening.
"Dodge!" cried the voice of Crea in his head.
Luigi heeded the voice's advice, and quickly strafed around every blasts, dodging with extreme precision. He skidded from the speed, and bounded straight at the group of pantheons, his hands drawn back , and he stuck downwards with a cry. The effect was immediate, as a colossal explosion overtook the area.
Prea gave a small cry as air cascaded around her, and gasped as something small hit her head, or body would be more accurate. It was a piece of a blaster: blue robotic parts littered the area, and some small pieces, like the one that hit Prea, rained down from the sky.
Luigi's mouth was agape with the destruction that he had just incurred with so little effort, and fell back on his bottom. The red sphere flew over, and cried, "Wow!" to Luigi, who was so shocked he didn't even reply.
Then, his body glowed a bright blue for a moment as the blue sphere suddenly exited from his chest. The blue glow faded away from Luigi until he was 'normal' colored again, and no data flew around him.
"Good thinking, Crea!" said the red orb.
"Thanks, Prea!" replied the blue orb. "This is Mister Luigi." The name snapped Luigi back to his senses. He asked in rapid Italian how the orb knew his name.
"Well, I was inside your body…. So I glimpsed fragments of your data." said the blue orb. Luigi scratched his head, clearly not understanding.
"I'm Prea, that's Crea." spoke the red orb.
"We're lost." spoke Crea, sadly. "We were supposed to be safe with Miss Ciel….now we keep being chased by everyone else, and we're tired!" whined Prea.
They both looked at Luigi. "Will you help us?" asked both of them.
Luigi registered the name, "Ciel", but he didn't recognize it. In fact, there was nothing about this situation he was comfortable with: getting attacked by rogue robots was not something he wanted happening all the time. But Luigi knew he couldn't turn down the two spheres, and he could tell that despite their strange figure, they were children, and couldn't just leave them to fend for themselves.
He nodded, saying, "Oki-doki." and beckoned for the two to follow him, and began to walk back toward the stadium, the two orbs following close behind, squealing with delight and anticipation.
Mario was the first to see Luigi returning from the outside and cried, "Luigi!" He then saw the two creatures floating behind him.
"Hm?" he asked Luigi, who scratched his head, seemingly embarrassed.
Peach and Toadsworth clearly wondered the same thing, but Kirby actually jumped up and began hopping around the two orbs, laughing jovially, clapping. Crea and Prea laughed and swirled around Kirby, playing like they were old friends, as Luigi quickly explained what had occurred as he had went out. Prea suddenly stopped playing with Kirby, and hovered over to the group before swiveling toward the red plumber.
"You look like Mister Luigi." Mario introduced himself easily enough. Peach smiled, and said, "They're adorable!" Luigi looked at Mario, and asked if they could watch the creatures until they could get them home, wherever 'home' was. Mario nodded, and Peach quickly said, "Of course!", as the orbs introduced themselves.
"Hmm, maybe that crazy professor would know where these two originated from-" spoke Toadsworth, but then he was cut off by a large explosion that came from the arena. Debris blew back that buffeted the stands.
Mario shielded himself, as well as the orbs, as Luigi was blown back, and crashed into the back of the first row, and landed in a crumpled heap with a dazed look in his eye. The air slowly settled…. Mario ran forward, and looked down, and his eyes widened in shock. There, on the ground in an unconscious heap, were Fox and Falco, clearly out cold.
"Wha?!" cried Mario, who looked at Tendo in surprise for a possible explanation, but Tendo's eyes were wide in apparent surprise.
"What happened to them…..", he muttered.
Mario heard, but when he looked down, Wario and Waluigi looked the same as they had always looked. However, the same menacing presence still hung around them.
Mario grimaced, as Wario and Waluigi leaped back onto the far side of the first row. Tendo snapped his fingers, and Fox and Falco disappeared into the light. Kirby continued to prance around on his toes, as if the explosion hadn't fazed him in the slightest, but then he ran forward, and leaped into the arena, and said in a high piched voice, "Next!", waving at Tendo.
The serious look on Tendo's face melted to a look of questioning. He looked at Metaknight, and pointed at Kirby.
"Um, he wants the next round to himself? You don't want to go down there and give him a hand?"
Under the mask, it sounded as if Metaknight was chuckling.
"Let him go," he responded. Mario gasped, gesturing frantically at Metaknight.
"Calm down." Mario quieted down, and looked into the arena at Kirby, who was happily dancing around the arena. The spectators muttered to themselves in disbelief, including some of the fighters.
Tendo looked around, and saw the team he was looking for. He closed his eyes, and sighed, muttering, "How did these guys even sign up?" Then he finished, "Pikachu, and Raichu?"
Two mouse creatures looked up, one smaller than the other. The smaller one was about the size of a basketball, with yellow fur and black stripes on its back, and a zigzag black and yellow tail. It also had red dots on its cheeks. "Pika?" it asked. The other one was bigger, and looked meaner than Pikachu. It growled, and electric volts sparkled from the dots on its cheeks. It looked similar to Pikachu, but instead, it had golden fur, and a longer tail, and longer ears.
Raichu leaped into the arena, and yelled, "Rai!" growling. Pikachu leaped down after him, with both of them facing Kirby, who stopped dancing, and stood there for a moment. Then he waved at the two Pokémon with the same smile he had on earlier.
Tendo slapped his forehead in exasperation.
"Go ahead guys…" he said. Raichu's cheeks sparked and he shot a bolt of golden electricity at Kirby, who easily backflipped out of the way. Raichu growled, and suddenly, Pikachu charged forward, shooting bolts of electricity at Kirby, who, while still laughing, dodged every strike, finally ending by leaping into the air.
Kirby looked up above him, and to his surprise, saw Raichu, who lashed out with his long tail a multitude of times, but Kirby swiveled out of the way of every blow. Raichu's tail shot forward a final time, but this time, Kirby grabbed the tail. With a yell, the puffball swung around, and released Raichu, sending him flying to the ground. Right before he hit, he used his tail to steady himself, and landed on his feet.
"Rai!" cried Raichu, his cheeks sparking again, and Pikachu cried, "Pika!", his cheeks sparking as well, and the both yelled "CHUUU!" at the same time, sending a large stream of yellow lightning straight at Kirby, who was in no position to dodge.
"Mama mia!" cried Mario.
Peach gasped, and Luigi ogled, still dazed from his collision. Crea and Prea let out a cry of fear, but Peach quickly but her arms around them, shielding them. Metaknight said nothing, but just watched.
Kirby opened his mouth, and began to inhale. He kept inhaling, a vacuum being created as, to everyone's surprise, he inhaled the lightning into his mouth. Air spiraled upwards into his mouth as he consumed the lightning.
Mario's jaw dropped, his eyes wide. Peach fell backwards in shock, losing her grip on the spheres. Toadsworth stuttered inaudible words, as Kirby ate the lightning, and fell towards earth like a comet, hitting the ground with a large boom, sending dust and debris outwards
. For a moment, nothing happened. Then there was a large gulping sound, as if someone had just swallowed something, and suddenly, an arc of golden lightning blasted back the dust, and there was Kirby, yellow electricity surrounding him, with the tail of Raichu, and also a "hat" that resembled the top of Raichu's head, ears included.
Toadsworth fainted, the sight being too much for him.
"Whoa," Said Tendo, clearly surprised.
Metaknight closed his eyes, and chuckled, "Heh."
Raichu growled and charged at Kirby, and lashed a forepaw at Kirby, but Kirby dodged at lightning fast speeds, far faster than before, and suddenly he was under Raichu's defenses. Time seemed to slow.
From the stands as this was happening, Mario asked, "Wha-…wha?" He turned as he heard Metaknight's voice to his side.
"He may not look it, but Kirby is a warrior who is quite capable in a fight. He has the unique ability to absorb an enemy's attacks, or themselves, and take their abilities for his own. That alone…"
Kirby drew his stub fist back, and electricity crackled around it, and Raichu's eye's widened with shock as he saw this.
"…Makes him extremely lethal." Metaknight finished, and Kirby drilled a punch right into Raichu's gut, blasting him backwards past Pikachu, so fast, the air tussled Pikachu's fur.
Pikachu's eyes were wide, but he growled, and he began to run at Kirby, who looked questioningly at Pikachu. Pikachu's entire body began to spark with energy as he ran faster and faster, until it was pouring constantly out of his body in an apparent Volt tackle technique.
He tackled Kirby as Kirby raised his arms, catching Pikachu, pushing himself back as he tried to resist the force. Tendrils of lightning flared everywhere as their two energies clashed…then Kirby stopped being forced back.
He took a shaky step forward, then another, and then, with all his might threw Pikachu into the air. Pikachu let out a cry of surprise. Kirby drew his body inward, and muttered "Raaaiii…" as his body began concentrating the lightning around him, then, "CHUUUU!" and fired a lightning bolt right at Pikachu, zapping him in midair.
Pikachu fell to the ground, dazed, but clearly unable to battle. Kirby smiled, and sat down, and the tail and "hat" melted off his body, leaving only his original puffball form. The crowd was silent for a moment, but then roared its approval. Kirby looked up, and waved, smiling happily as if he just had had the time of his life.
"He's strong…"said Mario, still wide eyed.
Metaknight nodded, then beckoned to Kirby, who looked up, saw and then got up, and hopped up to the first row.
Tendo nodded at Kirby in a show of respect.
Luigi had finally gotten up, but he'd also gotten the gist of what had occurred in the ring: he looked at Kirby slightly fearfully.
"Finally, the last fight," spoke Tendo with a sigh. He snapped his fingers, and Pikachu and Raichu's bodies disappeared in the same flash of light. "Last two teams! Roy and Marth! Link and Zelda! Get down there!"
A blue haired swordsman in blue dressings and a cape stood up, along with a red haired swordsman, in blue and gold dressings and a red cape. A green clothed elfish man with a sword also stood up, in a green cap, not unsimilar to one of the sleeping variety. Also, an elfish woman stood up, in dressings similar to Peach. Both teams looked at each other, apparently sizing each other up.
Mario watched intently, for some reason expecting this fight to be an extremely interesting one to watch.
The red-haired swordsman jumped down into the arena. The elfish woman looked down in indignation, but the green swordsman put his arm in front of her to stop her, and jumped down into the arena with him.
"Only Roy and Link?" asked Tendo. "Marth and Zelda, you're ok with this?"
Marth folded his arms, and nodded, a slightly bored look on his face. Zelda looked worriedly at Link, but nodded. Link smirked, and the spectators were silent. Mario gulped in anticipation; even Metaknight seemed to be paying rapt attention to this fight.
"My name is Roy," said the red haired swordsman. He drew his sword. "Don't make this too easy."
Tendo sighed, and waved his hand elaborately, saying, "You know what to do.", and Mario watched, ready for the last fight of the preliminary rounds to begin.