It was morning, the sun was shining brightly above Toad Town. The mushroom-like residence of the town began to go about their own cheerful routines. Men and women went to work, the children went to school, it was just a normal day in the Mushroom Kingdom.
Back In Mario's house, three of the Smashers were sleeping peacefully in the living room. Zelda was sleeping on the couch, Sonic was sleeping on the chair, and Fox was sleeping on the floor.
Fox's nose twitched, he began to smell something delicious. He lifted himself from the floor and stretched. Shortly after, Zelda and Sonic began to do the same thing.
"Aw..." Zelda sat up. She began to rub her neck, she was slightly sore.
"You OK?" Sonic asked. Zelda nodded, "I'm just not used to sleeping on the couch."
"Morning, everyone," a pleasant voice yelled from the kitchen. The three Smashers got out of their seats walked into the kitchen, only to find Mario making pancakes and bacon.
"What time is it?" Fox asked, yawning.
"It's about 11:24," Mario said, flipping another pancake, "You guys must've been really tired."
"Well, it's nice to see you in such a bright mood," Zelda said as she sat down at the kitchen table. Sonic and Fox joined her at the table, afterwards.
"Thank you," Mario said joyfully as he stopped making pancakes, "We can't just sit around and be glum, you know?"
Mario began to serve his guests two pancakes, each. Afterwards, he served each of his guests some bacon. After serving his guests, the plumber began to sit down in the remaining seat, between Fox and Sonic.
"Well, I never thought you would be this nice," Fox said as he ate his bacon, "usually, I'd expect this from Luigi."
"Well, Luigi isn't really here," Mario said, frowning a bit, "Plus, you guys are pretty far from your homes, so I thought it would be fair to be a little more hospitable."
"Fair enough," Sonic said shrugging, "But first, where are we going, after this? We can'y just go to the World of Trophies without something wierd happening." Afterwards, the hedgehog took a bit from his pancake.
Zelda pulled back a couple loose strands of hair and stuck them behind her long ears. "Well, I've been thinking that we should head over to Final Destination. It's the only place other than the Smash Mansion where the Hands live."
"I really hope Crazy doesn't bother us, too much," Fox said, wearily, "You guys know how he can get."
"Oh, you mean like the one time where he made the Kongs switch bodies?" Sonic asked.
"Let's not forget the time where he decorated the living room with pink frosting," Zelda said, giggling a bit, afterwards.
"Yeah...and my favorite one was when he started throwing those toy dolls at Master Hand." Fox said, thinking of the two hands. Mario nodded in agreement, "Ah...those were good times."
The four Smashers continued to eat their breakfast, they even talked a bit about the Smash Mansion as well as the things happening in their universes. It was a very heartwarming moment, especially for Mario, having to talk to his fellow Smashers in his own home...aside from the Smashers who already lived in the Mushsroom World, of course.
After breakfast, the four Smashers began to head into Toad Town, with Mario taking the lead. Within the town, Toads could be heard whispering to each other, watching the strange, yet familiar, characters follow Mario like ducklings following their mother.
"Is that Zelda?"
"What is Fox doing in a place like this?"
"I can't believe it, Sonic's in our town."
Zelda looked over at the Toads, curiously. She furrowed her eyebrows, "These guys are quite...strange, aren't they?"
"Well, I think this is the first time Toads have seen you guys," Mario said, "Well...except maybe Sonic."
"Wait a minute," Fox barked, "Wasn't I in Super Mario RPG?"
"Not important," Mario said, ignoring the vulpine, "We just have to make our way over to Final Destination."
Fox scowled, he looked down at Sonic, "Someone's feeling impatient."
"You don't have to tell me twice," Sonic whispered, "And this is coming from the fastest thing on Earth."
Fox and Sonic snickered at that comment. Mario glared at them, how he wished they wouldn't talk about him behind his back.
"Oh, just ignore them," Zelda said, sternly, "If they want to talk about you, let them," the Hylian had a thoughtful look on her face, "...even if it is true."
"Hey!"
"Oh, relax, I was only kidding," Zelda said, giggling a bit. Mario shook his head, if only Link was here to see what was going on.
The group continued to move until they came across a green pipe, coming out from the ground. Mario lead them all through the warp pipe, taking them into a new area, the underground part of Toad Town. In this area, there were many warp pipes, coming into many different colors. Blue, green, red, purple, yellow, and there was even a black one.
"Whoa," Fox looked around at the warp pipes, his tail twitched from excitement, "I've never seen so many Warp Pipes, before."
"It looks like you could go anywhere you wanted to go," Zelda commented, "It would definitely make saving Peach much easier."
Mario shook his head, feeling a little emberassed, "Well, believe it or not, most of the Warp Pipes don't like to work unless you've been inside the other end of them. It also works that way in the Beanbean Kingdom."
"Well, that sucks," Sonic said in a low voice.
"Believe me, it does," Mario said. He looked back at the hedgehog with a raised eyebrow, "And what are you complaining about? You don't need a warp pipe to go anywhere."
"Hey, just because I'm fast doesn't mean I'll make it everywhere on time."
"Well, I think that since you're the fastest thing on Earth, you would-"
"Would you guys stop? The Sega-Nintendo war died a long time ago," Fox yelled, interrupting the two gaming Mascots. Mario lowered his eyelids, looking back at the Smashers, "How about we play the Quiet Game, then? Whoever is quiet the longest wins!"
"All right, fine," Fox said, impatiently, "You don't need to treat us like babies."
"All right, on the count of three."
Mario counted down with his fingers. After that, there was no more talking from any of the Smashers. They traveled deeper and deeper into the ground, searching for the entrance to Final Destination.
Still, the underground looked like it had a different atmosphere. Usually, Goombas liked to patrol the area. However, almost every Goomba, here looked like they were hiding from something. Mario had to admit, he was feeling Sorry for the poor Goombas. If only he knew what they were feeling.
The past hour or so has gotten to be very boring. No enemies were around to bother anyone, there didn't seem to be any pipes...not to mention that the Smashers were playing the Quiet Game. While Zelda didn't seem to mind, Sonic and Fox felt like they were going to lose it, there had to be something to do, down here.
"Are we there, yet?" Fox asked, irritated.
"Looks like someone lost the quiet game," Mario said, triumphantly.
"So did you," Sonic retorted.
"Look, enough of this, where are we going?" Fox grumbled, "We've gotta be near Final Destination, by now!"
"Would you just be quiet!" Mario yelled, "You're not making things any better!"
Zelda sighed, folding her hands, together. She watched as the boys continued to argue. I guess I won the quiet game? I forgot we were playing that to begin with.
The area began to feel gloomy, something wasn't right. Zelda began to wave at the Smashers. "Mario!"
Mario looked at Zelda, "Yes?"
"I think now's the time that we get out of here!"
"What makes you say that?" Sonic asked, butting into their conversation.
The area seemed to have a different atmosphere to it, it seemed much darker. It didn't take long until barking was heard. A round ball and chain fell from the ceiling, its round eyes glaring at the Smashers, it barred its sharp teeth like a wild dog.
Sonic stared at it for a moment, "Is that a-"
"A Chain chomp!?" Mario yelled, "What's a Chain Chomp doing here?"
"Wait, something's wrong," Zelda said, "there's something different about the Chain Chomp!"
Zelda was right, this chain chomp appeared to have a dulll look on its eyes, as though it were being controlled. Without hesitation, the Chain Chomp began to chase after Mario.
"Mama mia!" Mario yelled as the Chain Chomp almost bit his head. Mario ducked from the incoming attack. Not a moment too soon, a blue blur tackled the chain chomp onto its side.
"Hey, buddy! You're too slow!" Sonic taunted. The Chain Chomp growled, trying to bit the hedgehog. Not surprisingly, Sonic dashed out of the way before he could be eaten.
Shortly after, Mario began attacking the Chain Chomp with fireballs. This time, with Fox shooting lazars at its side.
Zelda grabbed onto the Chain Chomp's chain, "What's gotten into this creature?"
The Chain Chomp turned its attention to Fox. He escaped from Zelda's grip and attempted to bite the vulpine. Fox dodged swiftly. An illusion trailed behind him, hurting the Chain Chomp.
Growling maliciously, the Chain Chomp tried to bite Zelda. Unfortunately, it was struck by Din's Fire. Zelda glared at the Chain Chomp, "Don't you even think about it."
Afterwards, the Chain Chomp was laying on the ground, whining. It no longer had the dull look in its eyes, it was no longer being controlled.
"Hm," Mario frowned a bit, "I wonder what's gotten into this thing?"
Fox began examining the Chain Chomp, "Well, he doesn't seem to be broken. I'm sure he'll be fine."
"At any rate, we should keep moving," Zelda said, "We've wasted enough time, here."
Sonic looked at the Chain Chomp, sympathetically, "Sorry, buddy. It won't happen again."
Once the Smashers were gone, the Chain Chomp began to head off, opposite of the Smashers. It might have been looking for its home.
Afterwards, the Smashers began to keep Moving. One thing was certainly on Mario's mind. Where did that Chain Chomp come from? And why did it randomly attack?
Somewhere within the underground, there sat a red door. The door had a bright yellow circle in the center of it. On the lower left side of the circle, there was an off-center crosshair, resembling a Smash Ball.
The four Smashers made it to the bottom of the underground, where they spotted the door. Fox began to mumble under his breath, "Finally, it took us long enough..."
"So, Zelda," Mario turned his head to face the Hylian, "What if Master Hand isn't even in Final Destination?"
"Trust me, he will," Zelda said with certainty. Mario looked at Sonic and Fox, the animals looked about as certain as Zelda was. Without any type of delay, Mario opened the door to Final Destination.
...I will admit, this chapter feels a little sloppy...I tried, I really did *face desks*
On the bright side, I've got some good reviews. So that's a plus. Let's hope next chapter won't be as sloppy as this.