Captain Falcon: (yawns) You awake?
Samus: (nods groggily) Yep. I can't believe she started writing this chapter at 11 at night...
Captain Falcon: (shakes off sleepiness) Well, she did say this was going to be an exciting chapter... something must have really electrified her inspiration...
Samus: (mumbles incoherently) I'll go wake up somebody to do the disclaimer...
Nana: (cute little yawn) The author claims no ownership of Super Smash Bros. Melee, Nintendo, or any of its related characters or their respective franchises.(goes back to room)
Captain Falcon: We're just exchanging gifts... what could be so excit... (blinks then gasps) Um, Samus...? You might want to see this...
Samus: What? What's so... (looks down) Oh. Oh, wow...
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Chapter 18: We Have a Winner
Marth stepped out of his room, now clad in more casual attire for the day- a blue sweater and denim jeans- but also with a box under his arm, neatly wrapped in green paper with a fancy blue ribbon.
"Excited?" asked Captain Falcon. He certainly appeared excited, with a huge smile on his face.
Marth nodded as Link stepped out of his room carrying a box wrapped in blue paper with a simple green bow.
"I wonder who got my name?" Marth commented to his friends as they headed down to the cafeteria- with a little extra speed.
"I don't know," the bounty hunter replied. "I suppose you'll have to wait and find out!"
The three of them took their usual seats with Samus, but a table consisting of Fox, Luigi, Zelda, and Ness had been pulled up closer to theirs.
"Good morning, fighters!" Master greeted. He appeared much more pleasant this morning, considering that the holidays had finally arrived. "I know how much you've all been awaiting this morning, so I thought we'd exchange gifts before eating breakfast. That should also give Ruby some extra time to prepare meals for everyone. Crazy, you were more involved with this, you start the ceremony."
"All right!" Crazy cheered, stepping forward. He was dressed in a red business suit with matching pants, and wore a white shirt underneath his suit. What really stood out was his green tie with small lights that flashed repeatedly (and quite annoyingly).
"I know he's just trying to have fun," Marth commented to Samus, sitting next to him, "But that outfit of his is so tacky."
Samus smirked as she watched Crazy adjust the microphone. Master mysteriously left the stage and then the building after that. Captain Falcon was suspicious and almost thought to follow him, but decided to give him a benefit of a doubt... only because it was a holiday.
"Since Ruby has to make everyone's breakfast, I think it'd be easiest if she gave her present first," Crazy explained, turning to the chef. She was clad in a green dress underneath her off-white apron.
She picked up a blue box from behind the cafeteria line and walked amongst the fighters, looking for her 'Secret Santa', until at last she spotted him.
"... Happy holidays, Roy," she commented as she handed it to him. He held it in his hands for a moment, looking at it, until Mario gave him a gentle nudge with his elbow.
"Go on! Open-a it!" he encouraged.
Roy ripped the paper off and opened the box, to find a plastic bag inside... filled with dried meat. Beef jerky, to be more precise. Roy removed a piece from the bag and started chewing on it.
"Oh, wow!" he remarked with his mouth full. "Id's preddy spicy! Bud id's really good! Fanks!"
Ruby chuckled with a small bow, before returning to the cafeteria to prepare food for the awaiting fighters.
"We'll follow a sort of chain pattern, so we don't accidentally call anyone up twice or forget anyone. So that means it's Roy's turn to give a gift," Crazy explained further.
Roy swallowed the bite in his mouth, his face turning red... and it wasn't from the spicy meat. He picked up his small box with one hand and walked over to the beverage bar.
"I... I got this for you, Miss Malon," he said, handing her a purple-wrapped box with a red bow.
She unwrapped it and found a cute charm bracelet inside, made with beads that resembled cowbells... upon removing it, she heard a soft jingling sound and realized some of them actually were small bells.
"I love it," she commented, slipping it onto her wrist. "Thank you SO much, Roy!"
She gave him a quick hug before he returned to his seat, appearing slightly sheepish.
Malon didn't need any explaining, she knew exactly where to go and whom to give her present to.
"Happy holidays, Link!" she cheered, giving him a fairly flat box with blue paper.
He unwrapped it and found a picture frame, as well as a few fishing lures, included inside the box.
He thanked her and then noticed a note on the back of the picture frame.
Just in case you want any pictures of a certain 'close friend' of yours.
- Malon
Link blushed and tucked the note away into a pocket on his tunic.
"What'd it say?" Marth asked.
"... N... Nothing..." the Hylian replied. He picked up his present, but didn't have to walk far to find Mario and present him with a set of new khaki overalls, complete with brass buttons that bore the emblem of the Triforce on them.
Mario went next, giving a red box with blue ribbon to Zelda.
"Ah, so you were the one lucky enough to draw her name..." Fox's voice trailed off as Zelda unwrapped her present to find a cute set of earrings shaped like the red and white Super Mushrooms.
"They're darling!" Zelda cooed, reaching over to hug Mario with one arm.
It was very interesting that Mario had drawn Zelda's name; for she had drawn Luigi's name and he was sitting right across the table from her. She gave him a knit hat made of soft green fibers.
"I was surprised to see this hat available in the gift catalogs," she commented to the plumber. "Last year, these were quite popular amongst members of the royal court in the winter."
"Very nice-a," he replied, removing his traditional green cap to try on his new one.
Luigi went next, presenting Peach with a set of pink golfballs and tennis balls.
"For-a your racket and club-a," he explained as she giggled.
After Luigi returned to his seat, Peach went up to present Popo with a set of new mittens and syrups of various fruit flavors, ideal for snow cones.
"Remember, you have to share!" Nana told her friend. He rolled his eyes and grinned up at Peach.
Popo's Secret Santa had turned out to be Donkey Kong. Inspired by the fact that Donkey Kong was always wearing a tie, he had gotten the large ape a set of scarves that featured the initials DK embroidered into them, just like on his ties.
"Thanks!" Donkey Kong grunted happily.
"My Secret Santa was Alice," he declared, carrying a long box over to the female dancer.
She appeared a little nervous at first, expecting a long rope or a bunch of bananas to be inside... instead, he had gotten her a set of five fruit-scented perfumes- in cherry, strawberry-banana, pineapple, blueberry, and raspberry.
"Th... thank you..." she finally said. She felt a little bit insecure about hugging him, but she at least patted his shoulder.
Spike glanced up at her, standing a few feet away. Her eyes met his, even though they were underneath a pair of glasses. He sighed and glanced back out at the other fighters. He could already tell by the look in her eyes that she hadn't gotten him.
Alice brought her gift over to Dr. Mario, a set of dancing shoes and a few bottles of medical lotions and creams, ideal for moisturizing skin to prevent blisters on the dance floor.
The doctor gave Pikachu a pack of vitamins made specifically for Poke'mon, perfect for promoting a shiny coat, a strong immunity, and simply good health overall.
Pikachu had gotten Nurse Joy for its Secret Santa, and gave her a brand new wristwatch.
"Perfect!" she exclaimed, slipping it on her wrist. "But how did you know?"
"Pika Pikachu chu pi ka chi pipichu, ka pi chuka chi chu pikapi," the electric Poke'mon explained. (Dr. Mario helped me read the magazine, but I didn't say who it was for,)
Now it was Joy's turn to give her present, and she carried box wrapped in pink paper over to Samus.
"You got my name?" Samus asked, glancing over at Captain Falcon in confusion.
"Yes," the nurse replied.
Samus opened her present and was delighted to find a new novel, Shall We Dance?, inside the box. She politely thanked Joy and waited for her to leave before she turned to Captain Falcon.
"I thought you had my name!" she said to him.
Captain Falcon smiled and shook his head.
Rather than question him further, Samus gave her orange-wrapped present- an assemble-it-yourself model of a Chozo statue- to Diddy Kong. He appeared very excited and told her he couldn't wait to start building.
Diddy gave his special present to Falco, a baseball cap. Falco wasn't much of a hat person, but didn't tell Diddy, thanking him kindly.
Falco's gift exchange was very awkward, having Yoshi for a secret santa. Unsure of what to give him, he had ordered a few boxes of cookie mix. However, Yoshi appeared thrilled with his present, holding up the boxes and commenting (in his own unique language) on how he couldn't decide which recipe to try first.
Yoshi went next, glancing over at Malon. She nodded with a smile and winked at the creature. It was very curious to see Yoshi carrying a large stick with a little bit of string attached at the end.
"Yoshi, Shi, arara hup hur yo," (Okay, Spike, you have to close your eyes,) Yoshi ordered.
Although a bit confused, the dancer did as he was told. Yoshi pulled out a very small green-wrapped box and carefully opened it. Inside, there was a small green plant with what appeared to be white berries.
"What's with the plant?" Marth asked Samus.
"Oh, brother..." Samus laughed, shaking her head.
Yoshi tied the stem of the small plant to the end of the string.
"Can I open my eyes yet?" Spike asked.
"Hur hup!" (Not yet!) Yoshi ordered.
Malon then grabbed Alice by the shoulders and began to shove her forward roughly.
"Hey, what... Malon?!" the dancer questioned
"Yoshi! Hup!" (Okay! Now!)
He swung the branch forward so the string dangled right above Spike and Alice.
"I... I don't get it..." the dancer muttered.
"Oh..." Alice whispered, then looked up and blushed. "It's m... mistletoe..."
Spike blushed as well. "Oh..."
"Hur hup shi arara!" (You can't escape tradition!)
"Knock it off!" Malon groaned. "Stop being so shy! I know both of you like each other!"
Link didn't see it, but Malon also sent him a glance his way.
At last, Alice consented and leaned up on the tips of her toes to gently kiss Spike's cheek. A few 'awww's were heard amongst the fighters.
Finally, Spike also leaned down and gently pressed his lips to Alice's forehead. She blushed and smiled, wrapping her arms around him and placing her head against his shoulder. He placed his arms behind her shoulders and pulled her closer, leaning his chin against the top of her head.
"Thanks," Spike mouthed to Yoshi with a grin. The green dinosaur laughed softly and pulled the mistletoe away.
He finally let go of Alice, softly explaining that he had to give his present now. She nodded and smiled softly, releasing her tender hold on him. He held up a box with blue paper and walked over to the table of the familiar four.
"Have an awesome holiday, Captain," Spike said with a grin, awaiting the bounty hunter to unwrap his present.
Inside was a handsome black jacket, but when Captain Falcon turned it around he saw the words "Show me your moves!" embroidered on the back.
"It's awesome," the racer laughed. "Thanks, Spike."
The dancer nodded, returning to where he had been standing (and cuddling) with Alice.
The racer stood up, holding up his present inside a fairly flat box. It was wrapped in red paper and had a blue bow on top. Then, with that familiarly excited smile he'd had the same day he drew the name of his Secret Santa, he handed the box to the person sitting directly across from him at the table.
"Merry Chr... ahem, Happy Holidays, Marth,"
"For me?" the prince gasped in excitement. He gently placed the bow aside, then ripped the paper off the box, quite unlike his normally reserved nature. He opened the box and found a royal blue T-shirt inside, with the golden emblem of a falcon on the front of one shoulder, and the numbers '07' and the word 'FALCON' on the back.
"It's so cool!" Marth gasped, practically hugging the shirt. "It's got such nice color, and I've always been so interested in those car races of yours! It's wonderful!"
Captain Falcon laughed. "Well, I'm glad you like it!" Personally, I'm glad he didn't ask about the Fire Stingray I mentioned when I was ill...
"I guess it's my turn, then," Marth announced pleasantly. He gathered his box and went over to the boy sitting a few chairs down from him.
"I made this for you, Ness," the prince admitted shyly.
The younger boy opened the box and found a brand new baseball bat - signed by a lot of his friends, too! - inside.
"Whoa! You made this?" he asked, lifting it out of the box.
"Well, technically, I ordered it pre-carved... but I sanded it down smooth and got everyone to sign it," the prince explained. "Maybe it'll bring you good luck the next time you fight!"
"I'm not going to use it to fight, no. This is too special. But I'll keep it in my room. Who knows? Maybe it can bring me good luck from there..."
Marth returned to his seat beside Samus, surprised to find her practically glaring over at Captain Falcon.
"What's that look for?" he asked, puzzled.
"I saw you looking straight at me when you pulled a name for the gift exchange," she replied. "I thought you had gotten my name!"
"Nope, you must have been sitting with Marth that day. I pulled his name, as you already know," he explained.
"I really thought you had gotten me something..." she said, folding her arms.
"Sorry, but I didn't. I didn't realize you'd be jealous-"
"I am NOT jealous," she stated defiantly, turning away from her fellow bounty hunter with a frown.
"Yeah, sure," Captain Falcon muttered sarcastically while Marth tried to suppress the urge to laugh.
Ness was up now, giving his present to Bowser.
"A cookbook?" Bowser groaned. "C'mon, you could've done better than that!"
But as Bowser flipped through the pages, he came across mainly meat and mushroom recipes, and realized that many of these recipes actually did sound appetizing to him.
"... Thanks..." Bowser finally mumbled. "Wait, there's a page bookmarked here..."
Ness turned and walked back to his seat, hiding a grin on his face.
"Hey! Why did you mark the page for 'turtle soup'?!"
Mario and a few of his friends laughed at the giant koopa's response.
Bowser grumbled and gave his present to Jigglypuff, a metronome, a songbook, and a note attached that said 'For practice in your room ONLY'. There was one more thing in the box... a bottle of teriyaki marinade.
"Ig jigglypuff, puff iggly jig?" (I love my present, but what's that for?)
"Bodywash," Bowser replied with his typical ruthless grin.
"Not even the holidays can stop Bowser from being Bowser," Peach said with a sigh.
Jigglypuff giggled with delight, giving her present to Kirby... a cute little chef's hat.
Kirby's Secret Santa was Ruby, and he gave her a brand new apron and a set of oven mitts.
"Well, we certainly have come full circle!" Crazy announced. "I'll just give my present now, so we can keep going. Now, where's Fox..."
Spotting the pilot in the crowd, he made his way over to give him a new jacket and headset.
Fox's present was for Nana, giving her a new coat, a set of hair ties, and a huge toy shovel.
"For flinging snow," he explained with a grin. "Just don't test it out on me first, okay?"
She nodded with a laugh, then ran up on stage to give Crazy his present- five mittens of different colors, but all for the right hand. There was also a bag of choclates, but it was really the mittens that intrigued him.
"Just in case your other hand gets cold," she explained.
Crazy laughed, but thanked her.
"And that's the end! Now, how about we start serving breakfast?"
"Wait a minute..." Zelda commented. "What about Master? Doesn't he get anything?"
"Perfect timing," remarked the man from behind the doorway. "I don't care for anything, but I do have a surprise for everyone."
He walked into the room, and was greeted by a chorus of "Awww!"s from the girls and Marth.
In Master's arms was a small yellow creature that greatly resembled Pikachu, but with pink cheeks and wider, flatter ears.
"Pika Pichu!" (It's a Pichu!) Pikachu remarked.
"Yes, this is Pichu," Master explained as the little Poke'mon looked around the room at all the new, unfamiliar faces.
"He's so cute!" Peach cooed.
"Pi chu pichu," (But I'm a girl,) the little Poke'mon remarked. (1)
"Yes, I know," Master said to the Poke'mon. "This Pichu is actually a female, Peach."
"Oops! My mistake," the princess apologized.
"Now then, after breakfast, we'll need someone to show Pichu around. Any volunteers?"
"Pikachu!" (I'll do it!)
"Me too!" Ness added.
"All right. I believe we should eat breakfast first, and then we can worry about touring the Suites." Master commented, gently releasing the Poke'mon from his hold as he stepped off the stage.
Ruby smiled as she willingly got to work preparing another plate of food. She had baked a delicious cheese and bacon souffle, and had distributed it onto twenty-two plates (just eight more to go!) already. The fighters formed a line- willingly letting Master and Pichu go first- to enjoy their delicious holiday meal.
After breakfast, Ness and Pikachu spent the day showing Pichu around the dorms. When the time came for her to choose a room, Pichu ended up filling in the last spot on the first floor, in Room 3. They introduced her to all of their close friends as well, except for Captain Falcon, Fox, and Zelda, who had been confined to their rooms. Nevertheless, Marth, Roy, and Link put in a few good words about them. By the end of the day, Pichu had become very fond of everyone, even one person who wasn't very fond of her (it wouldn't be hard to guess that it was Bowser).
Pichu had to spend the weekend with Pikachu, however, as Ness had business to return to. As he had discussed with Marth on Friday morning, he was willing to start training again. Saturday morning passed into Saturday evening, into Sunday morning, and then into Sunday evening.
Malon, Spike, and Alice returned to the cafeteria room after delivering meals to the bounty hunter, pilot, and princess confined in their rooms. They had arrived just in time to see Master announcing the fights for Monday. Pichu had been nervous about fighting, but after Pikachu and Ness explained that she couldn't be hurt, she definitely seemed a lot more excited.
"Now, then... the matches for tomorrow..." Master stated, as the display screen came down to show who was fighting who.
Day Off: Jigglypuff
Icicle Mountain, 10:00 am
Zelda vs. Pichu
Mushroom Kingdom II, 10: 30 am
Captain Falcon vs. Falco
Venom, 11:00 am
Ice Climbers vs. Roy
Fountain of Dreams, 11:30 am
Peach vs. Fox
Big Blue, 12:30 pm
Yoshi vs. Luigi
Onett, 1:15 pm
Mario vs. Donkey Kong
Corneria, 2:00 pm
Kirby vs. Marth
Poke'mon Stadium, 2:45 pm
Link vs. Dr. Mario
Mushroom Kingdom, 3:30 pm
Samus vs. Pikachu
Hyrule Temple, 4:15 pm
Ness vs. Bowser
"Oh, great..." Ness groaned.
"Ha!" Bowser taunted, a table away from Ness. "You're going to regret that turtle soup joke of yours!"
"I was hoping I'd get lucky and maybe end up fighting Pichu or Kirby, someone a little less stronger than me..." Ness complained.
"Come on, that's no way to talk. I said similar things when I was matched against Link. I lost, yes, but that didn't stop me!" Marth tried to reassure. "Maybe you will lose. On the other hand, maybe you'll win! But until you can remember that, there's no way you can ever win."
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The hours of night finally crept back into the morning. Ness was going through a turbulent emotional rollercoaster... he was confident when he remembered what Marth told him, but nervous when he remembered his opponent was Bowser. Perhaps the hours would go by slowly? Or the matches would be dragged out for so long that they would have to cancel the last matches of the day because it would have been so late?
Not a chance.
Zelda and Pichu's match lasted about fifteen minutes. The shifting stage of Icicle Mountain was a bit confusing, but Pichu finally got the hang of keeping up, especially since she was a pretty fast creature. Zelda wasn't nearly as fast, and couldn't duck underneath platforms as quickly as Pichu could. She ended up too high on the platforms- therefore, out of bounds and defeated. Now, once again, Ness was the only fighter who hadn't won a single fight.
Ten-thirty soon approached, and Captain Falcon battled Falco in the Mushroom Kingdom II stage. This match ended even quicker. Captain Falcon swept forward and caught Falco with a Raptor Boost technique. The pilot was sent upward in a burst of flames. The bounty hunter jabbed his elbow forward, smashing Falco in the jaw and sending him into a pit on the right side of the arena. Falco nearly recovered, but Captain Falcon finished off his combo by leaping over the pit and slamming his feet down onto Falco's neck, smashing him into the depths of the pit.
The Ice Climbers defeated Roy at Venom with the help of a Motion Sensor Bomb and their hammers. Popo had thrown the bomb against the side of the Great Fox's dorsal 'wing', while Nana grabbed Roy and headbutted him in the stomach several times. He broke away briefly, only to be smashed by a forward swing of their hammers, slamming into the bomb, and hurling off into the sky as a star.
Peach defeated Fox at the Fountain of Dreams using the power of Poke'mon. This, by far, was the quickest match of the day, since Peach had only needed one Poke'ball to do the job. After all, it had held the legendary Lugia inside...
Already, it was lunch time. Ness ate his pizza in silence, watching Bowser from across the room.
"Relax, okay? It's not like this is a life or death situation..." Link told him.
Ness swallowed the bite of food in his mouth before replying. "Yeah, but after I made that turtle soup joke... Bowser would never let me live it down. I'd be mocked by him for... however long we'll be staying here!"
"I bet if you put up a really good fight, he'll at least be a little bit respectful," Marth consoled.
"I guess I can try..." Ness decided, picking up his pizza to take another bite.
"Hey, what did I say to you before? It's time for you to stop trying, and time to start doing," the prince reminded him.
Link looked over at Marth with a smile, impressed with the prince's words.
"I have a challenge for you, Ness. Don't try your best to try to defeat Bowser. Do your best. And do defeat Bowser," Captain Falcon challenged, adding to Marth's pep talk.
Something came over the twelve-year-old at that moment. He smiled confidently and nodded.
"Okay. I'll do it."
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Most of the matches after lunch took a little longer, but time still seemed to fly as the final match of the day approached.
Luigi defeated Yoshi at Big Blue after the green dinosaur had fallen off of the high-speed cars and rolled onto the road and out of bounds.
Donkey Kong hadn't gotten along very well with the cars at Onett, and once Mario had managed to grab hold of DK, he swung him around in a circle and threw him out of bounds.
On the stage of Corneria, Kirby had absorbed Marth's powers to wield a miniature version of Falchion. Kirby could only copy Marth's Shield Breaker technique, but the prince could easily counter the move. In the end, a few Dancing Blade combos, a hefty shot from an Arwing, and a powerful Shield Breaker of Marth's own had led to the prince's victory.
A Super Scope barrage from Link, a well-aimed boomerang, sword slashes, and punches were exchanged in the battle between Link and Dr. Mario at the Poke'mon Stadium. Link leapt up onto one of the platforms where a Warp-Star was waiting. Dr. Mario tried to follow, but once he realized what Link's strategy was... it was already too late. The powerful explosion of the star rocked the doc off of the left side of the arena.
With so many brick ceilings overhead, Pikachu couldn't use its Thunder attack at the Mushroom Kingdom, giving it a major disadvantage. It fought to the best of its ability against Samus, but without its most powerful electric attack, the Poke'mon stood no chance against the bounty huntress.
The Poke'mon and bounty huntress completed their match at 3:45, leaving thirty minutes until Ness would have to combat Bowser.
Ten minutes went by.
Now it had been twenty.
Twenty-five.
Ness sat on his bed, holding the baseball bat in his hands, looking over his friends' signatures. He clutched it tightly with a smile, then placed it back into its box. Adjusting the brim on his hat, Ness left his room and headed back to the battle arena.
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Marth took a deep breath, his chest feeling tight. Once excited about the final match, he was now nervous. His heartbeat felt heavy inside his chest. Caught between a mix of excitement and anticipation, the thrill was making Marth's adrenaline go haywire.
At last.
Hyrule Temple appeared on screen, Marth noticing that the battle music in the background was the same one he had heard when he battled Link there about a month ago.
Ness appeared on the left side of the arena, Bowser on the right. Ness stood upon the grounds of some sort of temple ruin, whereas Bowser stood behind a thick pillar.
"Ready... go!" Master declared, initiating the fight.
Ness ran forward as Bowser leapt onto the pillar. The king of the koopas began to spew flames from his mouth, but Ness had seen this coming and jumped up as he ran off the temple grounds.
Starting to land from his jump, Ness held out his hands and released a few sparks of energy, managing to zap Bowser once. It had only delivered 3% damage, but getting the first hit in the match was definitely a good sign.
Bowser stepped off the pillar, flipping his body upside down to drill the sharp spikes on his back against Ness for 5% damage. Ness was stunned briefly, but swung his yo-yo out in a low, back-and-forth sweep, raising Bowser's damage to 10%. Ness leaned backwards a little bit, holding out his arms for balance, and delivered several quick, low kicks against Bowser's knees, bringing his damage up to 18%. Bowser made a short hop quickly and spun his shell around, raising Ness's damage by 13%. They were even now.
Ness held his baseball bat- the one he had always used to fight -back, ready to swing, but couldn't bring it forward fast enough. Bowser swept his claws forward twice, then grabbed the boy, headbutted him twice, and tossed him forward. At 45%, Ness bounced off the pillar and tumbled behind the koopa, landing in the underground passageway.
Ness collapsed on his stomach, but when Bowser approached, he swung his feet around as he stood up, kicking the king backwards for an extra 6%. The monstrous turtle was the one who hit the pillar now, but stood up without a sign of weakness. Ness leapt forward and used another spark attack, this time shocking the koopa multiple times. Landing, Bowser swung his spiked shell again to knock the psychic boy away, then crouched down to slash at him twice in a low, swooping motion.
Ness fell again, but kicked out like he had before, knocking Bowser off of him. He quickly pulled out his baseball bat and managed to score a hit on Bowser. When the koopa fell to the ground, Ness swept him into the air with a low strike from his yo-yo. Ness's damage stood at 70%; Bowser's at 69%.
Remembering that Bowser could use a powerful, crushing attack in mid-air with his whole body - the "Bowser Bomb" - Ness rolled out of the way where the koopa would be landing. Not that it mattered. The koopa grabbed the edge of the temple grounds and hauled his massive body up. Bowser stormed off towards the small gazebo, remembering there was a set of two thin floors that led to what was likely the "cellar" of the temple.
Ness was also familiar with the cellar and followed the underground passage to prepare for Bowser's arrival. The koopa ducked under one thin floor. The psychic boy had to act quickly.
"PK FLASH!" Ness shouted, generating a large cloud of green energy. He tried to aim it where Bowser would be landing, but the koopa managed to avoid it easily, using his Bowser Bomb technique to gain speed and land right on top of Ness. The attack threw Ness over the two floors, almost to the small gazebo. He shook off the shock in midair, and was soon ducking under the thinly tiled ground to pursue Bowser. The koopa seemed to have some sort of plan, as he started to make his way down to an ever lower level, where the only ground to stand upon was a pillar. However, there wasn't really a plan; Bowser turned around once Ness arrived, and just in time to spot the psychic boy attempting to zap him again. The koopa leapt up forcefully, driving his spikes into Ness's body. Ness was slammed against the layer of dirt where the underground passage led to the cellar, then landed on the tiled floor of the cellar. He stood up, waiting for Bowser to come near.
The fighters rooting for Ness (all of them, naturally) were starting to become concerned. The boy's damage was now at 111%, whereas Bowser was still at 69%. With his small size, one good hit from the koopa was all it would take for Ness to lose another fight.
The psychic boy jumped over Bowser and released sparks from his hands, shocking the koopa. Watching where Bowser was falling, Ness swooped his yo-yo in a circular arc, catching the koopa in 'mid-fall'. He then swooped his yo-yo in a low sweep to knock Bowser into the air above him.
Unfortunately, this knocked Ness backwards, almost far enough to fall off the edge of the cellar. Ness's damage now stood at 131%, Bowser's at 95%. Ness jumped up quickly off the ground, a good move, as the monstrous king began to breathe fire. While in the air, Ness kicked both his legs out behind him, delivering a powerful shockwave to Bowser's head. He was thrown backwards from the blow, far enough to land in the lowest part of the upper passage. Bowser stood up quickly, though, and marched his way back down to combat Ness underground. The psychic child leapt over to Bowser and attempted to spark him... but Bowser anticipated this and rolled out of the way, behind the boy.
"Ness, watch out!" Nana shouted.
The giant koopa used another forceful leap, smashing his spikes into Ness. The boy released a shout as he was slammed against the ceiling of the cellar then back onto the ground. Nevertheless, he swept his legs out and kicked Bowser away from him, then rolled his yo-yo in a low swing... sending the koopa into the air above Ness once again.
Cue the Bowser Bomb, and Ness being slammed against the ceiling of the cellar and back into the ground once again with another shout. Ness's damage now stood at 167%, Bowser's at 123%.
The psychic boy leapt over Bowser, attempting to hit him with another strong kick like he did before, but missed. Bowser scratched him once, then grabbed the boy and headbutted him before tossing him up onto the passageway.
Ness tumbled back down, ready to continue the fight, but landed low enough that Bowser could leap up and make an upward slash, knocking Ness further up the passageway. The twelve-year-old's damage now stood at 202%. He dashed back down the passageway and leapt forward, zapping Bowser several times with a spark attack. Quickly, Ness pulled out his baseball bat and smashed it against Bowser's neck, sending the koopa backwards. The monstrous beast stood up soon, only to be confronted by another attack from the psychic boy.
"PK FIRE!" A small yellow spark of energy soon erupted into a flaming column, trapping Bowser in the heat.
Ness attempted another PK Flash attack, but released it too high. Bowser was wide open to strut forward and grab the boy, knocking him against the spikes on his back in a spinning attack. Ness was thrown against the ceiling, then came back down just in time for Bowser to spin his body around rapidly, catching Ness in another vortex of spikes. He was thrown against the ceiling and crashed back onto the ground, near enough to punch Bowser away when he stood up. Bowser was hit upward slightly, just enough for Ness to smack him with his bat. Bowser crashed upwards onto the secret floor between the temple grounds and the cellar. Ness's damage had risen to 235%, Bowser's to 179%. The koopa ducked back down to the cellar to fight, only to receive another spark attack that threw him against the ceiling, then against Ness's baseball bat. The monstrous king flew up onto the secret floor, now with his damage at 204%.
"Ness is starting to catch up..." Samus remarked.
Bowser rolled back down to attack Ness, who had pulled out his baseball bat. They attacked each other at the same time, so quickly that no one really knew what happened to them. But Ness was thrown through the passageway, and Bowser had been thrown up through the secret floors and onto the temple grounds near Ness's starting point. Ness and Bowser both stood up at 248% and 220% respectively.
The psychic boy made his way back down to the cellar, Bowser in hot pursuit. Upon landing, Ness swung his yo-yo in a circular arc to try and knock Bowser away if the koopa was about to land nearby. On the contrary, the monstrous turtle was high above Ness, and was able to unleash another Bowser Bomb attack. The psychic boy cried out as he was slammed into the ceiling, then fell down to the lower passageway from the cellar. The koopa turned to pursue Ness, which gave the boy perfect timing to turn around and use another powerful jump kick that zapped the koopa with psychic energy. Bowser roared from the shot and fell backwards.
The boy ran up and attempted to hit the koopa with his bat, but Bowser swung his claws out, knocking Ness away. Ness dashed forward and tackled Bowser. Normally, the boy couldn't knock away an enemy of such great size, but the damage Bowser had taken was proving to be a handicap for the turtle.
"PK FIRE!" Ness hit the koopa only once with the pillar of flames, but it was better than landing no damage.
Bowser decided to fight fire with fire, spewing flames from his mouth. Caught in the inferno, Ness had no choice but to back up. The boy leapt over Bowser in an attempt to attack, but the koopa swung his claws yet again, slashing Ness so hard that he was thrown up the passageway and above the upper level of the temple. At 283%, Ness seemed done for...
"I can't watch!" Marth squeaked, covering his eyes.
"It's all right," Link reassured, gently lowering Marth's hands away from his face. "Look, he's coming back down!"
The prince looked up at the screen to see Ness coming to a landing - on his feet - in front of the gazebo. The boy ducked underneath the floors and back into the cellar. Bowser had attempted to pursue him by jumping into the upper passageway.
"I get it," Captain Falcon remarked. "As long as he's in the cellar, Ness can only get bounced off the ceiling. He can't go flying off into the sky like he would if he was fighting out in the open, like on the actual temple grounds."
"PK FLASH!"
Ness charged up a green flash of energy, sending it floating over to the edge of the passageway. It would've been a knock-out hit... if Bowser hadn't been standing higher up.
"Nice aim, loser," Bowser scoffed.
"PK FLASH!" Ness shouted again. He aimed too high, causing the energy to be absorbed by the ceiling.
The koopa leapt down, shell-side first, stabbing Ness with a few spikes. The boy recovered quickly and dashed forward, knocking the king backwards with a shock from his hands.
Instinctively, Bowser attempted another Bowser Bomb attack, hoping Ness would be underneath him... but he wasn't. Ness was standing a little to his left... and when the koopa landed, he got an armful of baseball bat.
"Nice aim, loser," Ness scoffed.
This time, Bowser was the one sent flying, up over the temple grounds. Everyone in the room held their breath... but Bowser wasn't hit hard enough to fly off out of bounds.
Ness remained in the cellar, waiting for Bowser to come down the passageway. Sure enough, he heard the loud footsteps of the massive turtle-like king as he marched toward his opponent.
"PK FLASH!"
Ness's aim was off yet again. Bowser took advantage of this and smashed him with another Bowser Bomb. Ness bounced off the ceiling, landing near the koopa king. The psychic boy kicked the koopa king away as he returned to his feet, only to be greeted by a smack to the face. Bowser slashed him again, then caught the boy in a whirling vortex with his spiked shell. Ness shouted as he was thrown into the upper passageway. However, he returned to his feet and dashed back down. Bowser anticipated this and began to breathe fire, managing to singe the boy multiple times.
Ness jumped up as Bowser stormed towards him. The koopa attempted to headbutt him, but the psychic boy slammed his foot down into Bowser's neck with a powerful kick. Several fighters cheered.
The score now stood with Ness's damage at a whopping 344%, compared with Bowser at 293%.
Returning to his feet, the monstrous king began to breathe fire once again, burning the boy. Bowser marched toward Ness again, but the boy jumped up and performed another slamming kick into Bowser's neck. The koopa king hit the ceiling and landed behind Ness. The psychic boy quickly turned around and smaaaaashed him with his baseball bat. Bowser bounced off the ceiling and landed behind Ness yet again. Ness's damage had reached 352%, Bowser had reached 327%. A single hit could decide this fight at anytime.
Ness spun around quickly and smashed Bowser with his baseball bat once again, knocking the koopa king over the edge of the cellar at 340%. All the spectators gasped.
Bowser whirled his body around rapidly to recover...
... but fell short of the edge of the cellar.
The room of fighters fell silent as Bowser gave a defeated roar as he fell into the depths below the hovering temple.
"GAME!"
Had it really happened?!
A stirring string melody began to play as Ness appeared on the victory screen. The boy looked around in surprise, then modestly rubbed the back of his head with a huge smile.
A loud cheer erupted in the room.
"He did it! He really did it!" Marth celebrated, throwing his arms around Link's neck. Nana grabbed the prince's waist in a group hug.
"This game's winner is... NESS!" As Master made the announcement, he couldn't help but grin.
Marth let go of Link as the elevator opened. Sure enough, a certain winner came dashing out, nearly tackling Marth in a hug.
"I did it! I finally did it!!"
"You were great! I think that's the best fight they ever held here!" Nana cheered, hugging her friend as well.
"Everyone is free for the rest of the day. See you all at dinner," Master announced.
With no other fights planned for the day, the only thing the fighters could do now...
... was celebrate.
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(1) I don't know what Pichu's gender is, but I've always assumed it was female, considering that it wears those little red ribbons and bows. For the purposes of this story, Pichu will be female, even if in Smash it's supposed to be male.
Samus: (smiles) That was a great chapter.
Captain Falcon: The author said that this was one of her favorite chapters to write.
Samus: Do you think we'll have a chapter dedicated to the party?
Captain Falcon: Probably not. You know what I just realized? This was the end of that mini story-arc revolving around Ness.
Samus: That's too bad. These last few chapters have been pretty enjoyable.
Captain Falcon: From what I've seen based on the author's notes on Swordplay, the next story arc will really revolve a lot around Link...
Samus and Captain Falcon: Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it!