10. Similarities
Arganan was discharged from the hospital wing after a few days, with tests for him acting as an Assist Trophy to take place in about a week from now. Dr. Mario had insisted that Arganan shouldn't go running straight into combat yet in any form, just to make sure the former Count was for sure in good shape before trying to be an Assist Trophy.
Asthar thought it was convenient – the former Count might not be able to be a Smash fighter, but at least he could occupy his time in some way. It made the General wonder how things would go for the foreseeable future. He was glad that he'd made it onto the Smash roster, but he thought about what Isabelle had mentioned a while ago.
He, Dagran, Zepha and Arganan couldn't make it back into their own world. But others could still visit them from this one. Therius, Calista, and Zael's other friends had already visited the Smash universe once, back when Zael was announced as an official Smasher, but that was before Zepha and Arganan came back to life.
I wonder if this might be worth sending a letter to Sir Therius about…after this yoga session, of course.
Wii Fit Trainer practiced yoga often, so she'd opened up her sessions to all the other Smashers if they wanted to participate. Asthar thought it would be interesting to see if it actually helped with flexibility and so on, but at this point he was just here because he found watching the others amusing.
Peach was elegant as always, Toon Link was struggling but trying, and Kirby was…well, Kirby.
"Poyo!" Kirby's tree pose was pretty good, considering that Kirby was a round, pink puffball of a creature. It seemed that he didn't always get what was going on throughout the session, but it was cute to have him around and everyone liked his presence.
"I think that's where we'll finish off for today." The Wii Fit Trainer called, just as everyone got out of their poses. "Good work, everyone! Make sure you practice every day to keep strengthening yourself."
"Thank you, Wii Fit Trainer!" Many of the attendees chimed in, and soon everyone began to pack up and go. Asthar glanced toward Kirby, who was now snoozing on his yoga mat.
"Should we wake the lad up?"
A soft chuckle left Wii Fit Trainer at that as she turned to face Asthar – it'd been slightly unnerving to see her not quite have a face like the other humanoid Smashers did, but he got used to it after attending her yoga sessions for some time. "I think it's best that we let him be. Apparently he was up watching the stars last night with Rosalina, so…"
"I see then." Kirby continued to snooze on the mat, and Asthar realized that, at some point, a little nightcap had appeared on the puffball's head. Where that came from, he didn't know, but it was adorable.
"Asthar!" Asthar turned to see Zael dash in, huffing. "S-Sorry to interrupt, but I got a letter from Calista…"
"You did?' Asthar knew that Zael had been sending regular letters to Calista. Despite being from different worlds, this somehow just didn't affect the mailing system that much. "What is it?"
"Zangurak," Zael breathed, looking up at him, and Asthar felt his shoulders tense upon hearing that name. "He's back – possibly."
Dagran stepped into the library – a large area full of many shelved books, with some still being shelved…
Actually, he thought, glancing at the giant pile of books on one table with a sign attached to said table reading "For Library Staff Only," a lot of books still being shelved.
That was new. The manor had a giant library filled with lore and background information of the fighters' respective worlds. It was an ever expanding library, and despite some Smashers petitioning to store the books in "electronic" format to save room, Isabelle and many others insisted on having physical, normal book copies.
He'd come here for some peace and quiet either way, hoping to get some reading in. It would help for future spars, Dagran guessed, and future battles too. Not that he expected to go to any Smasher's world or anything, but the knowledge could be useful regardless.
"Isabelle, is that you!?" Dagran noticed a sliding ladder appear- with Arganan hanging onto it partially for dear life. "I'm having trouble finding the lore books for the Pikmin, and…oh." Arganan blinked once, twice, then asked, "What are you doing here?"
Dagran frowned. "That's a question I'd like to ask you."
A sigh left the former Count as he climbed down the ladder carefully, turning and facing Dagran properly. "Isabelle recruited me to help reorganize the library." He managed. "She does a very good job of sweet-talking people into doing what she wants."
"You don't seem to be too badly affected." Dagran pointed out, and Arganan shrugged.
"It gives me something to do outside of being an Assist Trophy, so I don't mind. Speaking of which – how did that spar with Samus go, by the way? I know was I summoned in there to help her out a bit before leaving."
Being an Assist Trophy meant being a temporary boon to battle for whoever summoned them. In Arganan's case, it meant getting a few good hits on his opponent before using his healing magic to heal whoever summoned him to begin with – in this case, Samus. Nothing super flashy, but at least it gave Arganan the temporary thrill of battle.
Being an Assist Trophy also meant that one's powers were significantly reduced, or 'nerfed' as others in the Smash Manor called it.
"I still managed to win anyway." Dagran shrugged. It hadn't been too hard to defeat Samus after he got to the Smash Ball before she did – though she got pretty close to winning otherwise. "How have things been adjusting to being an Assist Trophy?"
"It's not life threatening, so that's helpful." A low chuckle left Arganan at that. "Granted, I don't interact much with the other Smashers…though the few that I have observed are interesting."
"Interesting?" Dagran raised a brow. "Good or bad?"
"Well, first, Sora's well-meaning, and kind. But you can tell he's been through quite a lot to be able to say what he wants to say to help others." Arganan put the book down on the shelf, before fully turning to face Dagran. "Mewtwo's blunt, harsh even, but honest. Sure, he dislikes humans, but I'm not surprised considering what I know about him – it – them – " The former Count paused, frowning. "I know Mewtwo was created by humans, but does he – she – they – have any specific gender they prefer?"
"I think he's pretty flexible on those, last I asked, but most of the others use 'he' when talking about him." Dagran scratched the back of his head lightly. "Anyone else caught your interest?"
"I've already spoken about Isabelle. And then there's the trio that has different parts of the Triforce – Ganondorf, Link and Zelda. To think they'd be connected by generations and reincarnations is certainly rare."
"Do you think something like that might happen with our world?" Dagran asked.
"I doubt it. And I hope not. That just seems like a never-ending problem. And speaking of which," Arganan's working eye met Dagran's own, "Zael did help me catch up on what happened after my demise."
Dagran knew that this conversation had to happen at some point. He'd avoided it, mainly because it was awkward, and also because everyone was still adjusting to Zepha and Arganan being around these days. "If you're angry, just say it."
"Oh, trust me, I was pissed for a while." Arganan huffed, shaking his head, and Dagran was pretty sure that was the first time he heard the former Count using crass language. "But then I started thinking about what you wanted to achieve, and, you know," he pushed a strand of hair out of his face, looking Dagran in the eye again, "I've thought about it for a while. You and I aren't so different. Neither of us started off with many advantages to begin with and we had to claw our way through to get what we want – to the point of going to desperate extremes. As angry as I am, I also understand why you did it."
Dagran frowned. "You grew up in House Arganan and eventually became its Count after Calista's father died."
"I might not have been a mercenary and lost a home village like you did back then, but it's not exactly like I had it easy, either." The former Count frowned. "Do you know why I even had virtually no position of power before becoming Count?"
"Because you lack proficiency for magic in a family that's well-known for it in their bloodline?" That seemed obvious in the merc's opinion.
"One reason, yes. But the other was simply because they didn't know what to do with me after I went down with a rare illness, and got three limbs amputated as a last-ditch effort to save my life and stop the disease from spreading. No one thought I would survive." Arganan crossed his arms, looking Dagran in the eye. "My basic needs were met, and of course I was educated, but no one trusted me with any political position whatsoever because they thought I'd keel over and die anytime despite no chance of the disease returning. I'd be lucky if I was even allowed to attend special occasions and parties that the rest of the elite had. The rest of House Arganan intended for me to simply rot away unnoticed by anyone or anything."
"But all that changed when Calista's father died."
"It did. From being forgotten to the most important member – it does strengthen your ego." Arganan sighed, closing his good eye briefly. "I'm aware that what I've done to Calista is unforgivable. There were probably many other ways I could've handled gaining such a position well in ways that wouldn't hurt the people closest to me. But I can't change the past, and I would understand if she never wanted to talk to me or look me in the eye again. It's what I deserve."
Dagran was about to speak when he heard the library doors slam open, and Asthar, Zael, and Kirby came running in.
"What's going on?" Dagran asked, just as Zael huffed and panted for breath.
"I got a letter from Calista." He managed. "It's Zangurak – he might be alive again."
"What!?" A gasp left the former Count, gaze snapping toward the younger man. "That's impossible – you said that he died."
"I know we killed him, so this doesn't make sense!" Zael shook his head. "Unless…I brought him back by accident using my Final Smash?"
"But if that's the case, why isn't he in this realm?" Dagran asked, nose scrunching as he looked toward Zael. "Asthar and I were resurrected here, and later Arganan and Zepha."
"What if he was here, but somehow made it back to our world?" Zael frowned, glancing between the others. "He has the power of the Outsider just like I do – and unlike you and Arganan, he has a lot more experience using it."
"So you think he might've teleported himself out of this world and back to the Gurak Continent or Lazulis?" The General spoke.
A soft "Poyo" came from Kirby, and Dagran glanced down at the pink puffball. "What's he doing here, anyway?"
"He wanted to come along." Asthar managed, and Dagran noticed a sheepish grin on Asthar's face. "It was hard to turn him down."
"Can he even understand us?"
"I think so. Mostly."
"Poyo!" Kirby seemed to confirm this with a little wave and a smile, and Dagran thought he saw a smile spread across Arganan's face at the sight of him.
"Well, Kirby, do you have any way we can defeat Zangurak?"
"Poyo!" Kirby hopped onto the closest table, before making an eating and swallowing motion with its body - a classic tactic that this puffball did in battle as is.
A sheepish chuckle left Zael at that. "I'm…not sure if we can all eat Zangurak, let alone eat him alive." Something about that didn't sit right. "Not all of us can instantly swallow him up like you could."
"Poyo!" Kirby shook its body as if saying 'no,' before proceeding to point at Zael and make some motions of combat. "Poyo poyo!"
"Are you saying we should let you eat Zangurak, then we can all beat him up with your assistance since you'd be copying his powers?" Asthar asked.
Kirby's face lit up, and it nodded, hopping up and down. "Poyo!"
"Good lad." Asthar gave Kirby a pat on the head, and Dagran, Zael, and Arganan all stared at the General, likely all thinking at once: How the hell did he figure that out?
Before the others could speak up, Isabelle and Zepha both came in.
"A letter came from Calista!" Isabelle called, just before she stopped in her pace. "What's going? Why is Kirby on the table and what are all of you doing here other than Arganan?"
Dagran shrugged. "Just came here minutes ago. Then Zael and Asthar rushed in with news that Zangurak's apparently alive again."
"What? Impossible." Zepha frowned, before Zael shook his head, taking a piece of paper out of his pocket and offering it to him.
"I got this letter from Calista earlier today…you can read it if you want. And, Zesha's alive, too."
"Zesha?" Zepha stared down at the paper, before snatching it out of Zael's hands, scrambling to open it.
"Zesha is Zepha's twin brother, right?" Isabelle looked up at Zepha, a smile spreading across her face. "That's great! Maybe we can have him visit…"
Zepha pored over the letter Zael gave him, before taking the one out of Isabelle's hands and opening it.
"Hey!"
Zepha ignored her, quickly reading it, before offering the new letter to Zael.
"It says that she and the others will come visit tomorrow. We should be prepared."
"She and the others?" Zael quickly read the new letter.
Dear Zael,
I know that this is soon after my last one, but I want to let you know that Zesha, Yurick, Mirania, Lowell, Syrenne, Sir Therius and I will be coming tomorrow to this realm to see you and the others. If the news of Zangurak is true, we have much to deal with very soon…
Zael swallowed as he looked up at the others. "Looks like we really are getting that visit…"
Dagran noticed Arganan make a face, and the merc looked him in the eye. "You said that you didn't think Calista would bother talking to you? Well, here's your chance to test that out."
Isabelle looked toward Kirby, frowning. "What do I have the feeling that this is going to get awkward?"
Kirby could only shrug in reply.
Assist Trophy: Count Arganan. As an Assist Trophy, Arganan appears and delivers several blue shockwaves to his opponents using Mitra's guarded half of the Outsider, before promptly healing whoever summoned him. His healing power is enough to cut down one quarter of the damage the person who summoned him already got during battle so far. After that, Arganan vanishes. I decided to do this for Arganan since he is known to use healing magic in-game, but I also wanted to reflect the fact that he tried controlling the Outsider as well.