Samus: (gently shakes Captain Falcon awake) Get up!
Captain Falcon: (yawn) Huh… what?
Samus: Something's happened, there's an emergency! Last chapter…
Captain Falcon: (gasps) We forgot to end the episode!
Samus: Chapter. But yes! And that's not the only thing that happened…
Captain Falcon: (reads through the end of Chapter 21, then gasps) Wait… WHAT? Let's introduce this chapter quickly so everyone can read!
Samus and Captain Falcon: bijoukaiba claims no ownership of Nintendo, the Super Smash Brothers series, or any of its related characters and their respective franchises.
Samus: We're starting to sound like a couple… (shakes head) Enj… well, I guess I can't really tell the reader to 'enjoy', considering what happened last chapter.
Captain Falcon: So, uh… thanks for reading, everyone?
Chapter 22: One Remains
"Why…" Marth sobbed. His emotions of sorrow suddenly turned to rage. "Why did you do this to him? To me?"
He glared up at the hand hovering over Link's body. His eyes were red from tears and fury. "And what about the others? What happened to them?"
"We have our… reasons…" the hand answered.
A low roar rumbled behind the gloved hand. A large, scaly foot stepped forth. A dragon? The rest of the creature's body was hidden by the shadows. The prince was too intent to stare at the mysterious creature to notice the hand that had previously held him had now released him.
"What is…" Marth yelped as the creature reached out a clawed hand and pinned him to the ground. It felt like his bones were being crushed. The prince stared up in terror at two red eyes glowing in the dark.
"That…" stated the hand that had previously gripped Marth. "… will be the demise of you and your little friends."
The creature applied more weight to its clawed hand. Marth cried out as he felt several of his ribs crack. It was getting harder to breathe… now he feared he might have punctured or crushed a lung.
"But… why?" Marth wheezed. "What do you want from us?"
"Oh, Marth, were you always so blind?" the hand mocked.
Everything began to fade into black. It seemed death was taking its toll on the prince. He felt the creature shaking his body within its wretched grasp.
"Open your eyes and wake up, Marth!" the hand declared.
Oddly, his voice seemed to be much clearer than before. Was this something that happened right before a person died?
"Marth… wake up! Look at me. Open your eyes, Marth!"
The prince opened his eyes and found himself staring up at the ceiling. He panted, recalling the horrific events he had just witnessed. But how… who…
He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned his head.
"Link!" a relieved smile passed over Marth's face. As he looked up at the confused Hylian, the image of his friend covered in blood flashed through the prince's mind. Marth's smile disappeared as tears formed in the corners of his eyes. Marth threw his arms around Link, burying his face in his shoulder. "You're okay… I was so scared… I thought you were…"
The Hylian blushed, but he gently patted the other boy's head. "It's all right, Marth. I'm okay, see?" Link started rubbing Marth's back comfortingly. "You were screaming in your sleep. You woke us up."
"Us?" Marth asked, looking up at the blond. Sure enough, behind Link, he could make out the forms of Captain Falcon and Luigi standing in the dark room. Embarrassed, the prince quickly pulled himself upright and out of Link's arms.
"Yeah… it's not exactly the most pleasant way to wake up, with someone screaming at two in the morning…" the racer grumbled. "I don't know what happened, but… it was just a dream, Marth."
"I don't-a know," Luigi mused. "I've had my share of bad-a dreams too. Ghosts and-a Bowser and-a all sorts of stuff, but as long as I've lived-a with my brother, he's never told-a me anything about screaming in-a my sleep. I don't think-a this was an ordinary bad-a dream."
"What did you see?" Link asked the prince. "In your dream, I mean."
Marth frowned. He'd only been awake for a few minutes… yet he had already forgotten so much of what had happened?
"I don't really remember…." the prince admitted. "I just remember seeing Link… seeing you…" Marth struggled to finish his statement, still uncomfortable with the one image that remained frozen in his memory. "… covered with blood. Dead."
The Hylian made an uncomfortable sound, and even Captain Falcon and Luigi grew uneasy at the idea.
"I guess seeing something like that in my dreams would freak me out too," Captain Falcon admitted. "But I still don't think you have to worry – "
"But what if it means something?" Marth asked worriedly. "Ness told me he and Zelda went to the beach after having a dream about it, and that was when they found me!"
"Well, Zelda and Ness certainly aren't here, are they?" Captain Falcon argued. "If they were also freaking out about a dream with Link covered in blood, I think we'd all be a lot more worried."
The bounty hunter was silent for a moment, then released an exasperated sigh. "I didn't mean to snap at you, I'm sorry. It's just that I really want a good night's rest."
"I wouldn't have screamed in my sleep if I could've helped it, either," Marth replied. "Sorry for waking you guys up."
The bounty hunter and the plumber stepped out of the prince's room, softly closing the door behind them.
"Try and get some sleep, okay?" Link reassured. He turned around on the bed to stand up, only to feel Marth still clinging gently to the back of his pajamas.
"Please don't leave me just yet," Marth sighed quietly.
A look of concern passed over Link's face, though the prince couldn't see his expression in the dark.
"… It was really that bad, huh?"
"…" Marth turned his head away from the Hylian.
"Look at me," he ordered gently. Link softly cupped the sides of Marth's face with both his hands, turning the prince toward him. "I'm all right. Nothing is going to happen to me. Or you, for that matter."
Link pulled Marth into another embrace.
"You promise?" Marth asked against his shoulder.
"I promise. In fact…"
Still holding the prince in his arms, Link shifted himself so he was seated against the headboard of the bed, allowing Marth to recline in his arms.
"… I'll stay here with you until you fall asleep."
Marth blushed, embarrassed. "Oh, you don't have to…"
"I want to. I want you to know everything will still be all right in the morning, okay? Now… just close your eyes, and think happy, peaceful thoughts."
Marth closed his eyes, smiling into Link's shoulder.
Happy, peaceful thoughts? He thought to himself that maybe, just maybe, there was hope that Link loved him back.
A small amount of light through the blinds awakened Marth the next morning. The sky outside appeared to be a royal blue with hints of orange streaking the clouds, a sign the sun was just starting to come up.
He expected to find himself tucked comfortably under the covers, his head cushioned by his plush pillows. Instead, he realized was sleeping on Link, his head tucked underneath Link's chin, and the Hylian's arms wrapped around him, his hands resting against the small of his back.
Careful not to wake the blond hero, Marth gently shifted his head out from under his chin and sat up a little straighter. He smiled at the sight of his beloved sleeping peacefully. Sure enough, everything was still 'all right' that morning.
The prince waved his hand briefly in front of Link's eyes, making sure he was truly asleep. Marth sighed in relief, whispering his thoughts in front of the blond hero.
"Thank you for staying. I wish you knew how much it means to me, just like how I…" Marth blushed, then leaned forward to give the sleeping Hylian a quick, gentle kiss on the lips. "… I wish you knew how much I love you."
Leaning his head back, he checked the time on the clock by his bed. It was only six-thirty; another hour or two of sleep couldn't hurt. Marth rested his head against Link's shoulder and closed his eyes.
"Marth,"
Someone gently squeezed his shoulder.
"C'mon, sleepyhead," Link chuckled. "It's half past eight. We should eat breakfast soon."
The prince yawned softly, lifting his head. Link had an arm wrapped around his shoulders, and his head was still resting against the Hylian's shoulder.
"Good morning," he greeted sleepily, a dreamy look still in his eyes.
"Morning," Link replied, helping the prince sit up. "And see? I'm still here."
Of course, it hadn't been Link's intention to doze off while cradling the prince that night, but they had both gotten their rest… why should it matter where they had slept?
"I'm going to get dressed now. Why don't you change too, and I'll join you for breakfast?" the Hylian offered.
The prince nodded in agreement, climbing out of bed and walking over to his wardrobe. Link stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him so Marth had privacy to change. What color tunic to wear today? Perhaps white would be a nice color today. Marth brushed his teeth, combed through his hair, and neatly applied his tiara.
He stepped out of his room, greeted by Link (clad in his blue tunic), and went down for breakfast.
Ruby had prepared scrambled eggs for everyone, and it was greatly enjoyed. Apple, grape, and pineapple juices were available for drinking, as well as milk and hot tea.
"Morning, Captain," Marth greeted, as he took a seat across from the bounty hunter. Link sat beside the prince, across from where – who else? – Samus was seated. "How did you sleep?"
"I slept all right. Went right back to sleep after crawling into bed," the racer turned to the woman seated beside him. "How about you?"
Samus shrugged, and for the first time Captain Falcon noticed that she appeared a bit tired.
"I slept so-so. No big deal," Samus admitted. Her expression seemed to suggest otherwise; she appeared troubled by something. "I just had a few weird dreams last night."
"About what…?" Marth was the one who appeared troubled now, casting a glance at Link.
"Oh, it's okay. You… you wouldn't understand. It had something to do with my past…"
There's nothing to fear. We look different… but inside… we have the same 'heart' that you do, so be at ease…
The voice from one of her dreams replayed through Samus's mind, from one of her earliest memories…
"… Samus?" Captain Falcon's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Is something wrong?"
She shook her head, picking up her empty plate of food to return to the washing line.
"It's fine. I… I just have to prepare for my match now."
Two confused swordsmen and a bounty hunter watched her walk off.
"But… your match isn't for a few hours…" Captain Falcon remarked quietly.
Because of the uneven number of fighters, Jigglypuff was the random fighter granted a 'free day' for the matches to proceed normally.
"Jiggly jig jigpuff ig Jiggly igpuff puff jig iggly," (Sometimes I wonder if Master doesn't want me to fight,) Jigglypuff sighed sadly.
"Aw, don't feel bad, Jigglypuff!" Roy tried to reassure. "Just wait until the next time you fight… if you do a knock-out job, why, I'm sure Master will realize he took you for granted!"
The balloon-like Pokemon gave the swordsman a smile, before turning to watch the matches unfold.
Marth and Zelda were first, in a rematch at Onett. Just like in the previous fight, Marth came out victorious. Zelda couldn't help but notice how Marth had eagerly run over to Link, as though excited to talk about the fight, but then suddenly seemed quieter and a bit more timid in the presence of the Hero, as though he were experiencing some sort of shyness…? Her thoughts were interrupted by Fox placing an arm around her shoulders and 'consoling' her for a loss; she knew he just wanted a little affection, so she returned the gesture and thanked the pilot for his support.
Yoshi and Luigi were next, with the green dinosaur falling (literally) in defeat to the green-clad plumber at the Rainbow Cruise. It was after this fight that Captain Falcon noticed Crazy appeared slightly antsy while watching the fight, squirming as though he was waiting for something. Master elbowed his brother, glaring back at Captain Falcon.
The bounty hunter was about to walk over and ask why Crazy was acting so strangely, when he felt someone tap his shoulder.
"Excuse me, Captain," Princess Peach commented. "Our match is scheduled to start now, you know."
Falcon cast one last glance over his shoulder at the two men, before following the princess into the elevator-like transporter that brought them to Pokefloats for their match.
"I thought he'd never leave," Master mumbled. He gripped Crazy's shoulder fiercely and dragged him aside.
"Owowowowowow!"
"You fool!" Master hissed. "It's bad enough that Captain Falcon is growing suspicious of our plans – "
"Oh, I thought he already WAS," Crazy couldn't help but snicker.
"Shut up! What I mean is, we don't want him becoming any more suspicious of us than he already is. It's easier to break one's trust than earn it, you know."
"I know, I know, it's just…" Crazy started doing his 'antsy-dance' again, hopping from one foot to the other. "I've just been getting so anxious waiting for the chance to introduce the newest addition to our collection…"
"I know I've made you wait a while, but it will be worth it! We shall send 'him' or 'it' or whatever out there after another match or two. Samus and Pichu's match should be a good opportunity. It would be an excellent way to eliminate the huntress…"
"But what if you're wrong, and she doesn't win?" Crazy shook his finger in Master's face in a scolding gesture. "You've been wrong about this sort of thing before, you know…"
"Don't remind me," Master muttered through clenched teeth, glaring across the room at Marth, ironically standing near Link and Pikachu, cheering for Captain Falcon in his fight. "But she'll win. Pikachu is much more formidable than he appears, and he won by sheer luck. Pichu, on the other hand, should prove easy to defeat."
Crazy folded his arms, watching Captain Falcon get hit by a turnip, before striking the princess with a Falcon Kick.
Well, it had better be worth the wait!
The match came to an end after Captain Falcon had kneed the princess in the stomach, with enough force to shoot her out of the side of the arena.
Ness and Mario were matched up next, and the younger boy managed to pull off a victory after summoning Lugia from a Pokeball about three minutes into the fight (it had been excellent timing, as Ness had taken a fair amount of damage by the time he'd gotten the item).
After waiting so desperately for what was almost forty-five minutes, Samus and Pichu's match finally arrived. They would be doing combat at Termina, much to Master's relief, as there weren't any possible disadvantages from the field's setup.
The match started with Pichu jumping from the lower dock and attempting to hit Samus with one of its Thundershock attacks. She put up her shield without any hesitation to absorb the attack. Because of her vulnerability to her own attacks, Pichu had already taken a few points of damage. Samus pursued the small electric Pokemon onto the dock, swiping her cannon at the creature below her. Pichu took a hit, but retaliated with a headbutt. Not a powerful one, but she was fighting back at least. Samus smashed her cannon-arm forward into the face of the electric Pokemon (surely a devastating hit if it weren't for the fact that the fighters did not suffer any pain or injury). By some strange luck, Pichu ricocheted off the bottom of the metal platform and down into the water, sinking like a brick.
"GAME!" Master declared. He smirked at his brother, mentally teasing him. I told you so… Crazy rolled his eyes, handling the remote in his pocket, as his brother finished his announcement. "This game's winner is… SAMUS!"
A victory scene of the bounty huntress kneeling down and firing a barrage of flames with a confident nod was displayed, before a familiar scene appeared.
The screen faded to blue and the 'A NEW CHALLENGER HAS APPEARED' alert was displayed.
"If anything happens to her…" Captain Falcon growled at Master.
"You'll what? Haven't you noticed that every time one of these new fighters appears in this world, everything turns out okay? That nothing goes wrong? Honestly, Falcon, you should be more trusting," Master glared at the racer. "… or would you care to continue questioning me at the risk of being confined to your room again? Must bring back memories of being a teenager, grounded for the weekend. Remember, Captain, 'shut in' or 'shut up'."
"I'd rather be locked up for the rest of my life if it meant protecting someone I – "
"Captain…" Marth placed a calming hand on the bounty hunter's arm. "I… I think Master's right. You shouldn't worry too much about Samus. She's a good fighter, remember? She'll be okay."
For a brief second Captain Falcon wanted to ask Marth how he could be so naïve before he noticed the prince's eyes. It seemed like he was begging him to step away from the problem and let it be over, simple as that. He released a deep breath.
"… You're right, Marth," Captain Falcon agreed, though his voice held a tone that suggested he did not like to admit it. "Samus will be o – "
The two fighters caught sight of a flash of light outside, where the mysterious chamber had reappeared. Marth dashed over to the door, catching up with Link, Mario, and Pikachu, who were anxious to see if there was a new fighter awaiting them.
Captain Falcon shot one more glare at Master before heading for the elevator-like portal, where Samus returned.
"You're okay?" he asked her.
Removing her helmet, she nodded. "The fight… honestly wasn't that bad."
Much to Samus's surprise, Captain Falcon also removed his helmet, so he could speak with her eye-to-eye. "What happened?"
"Well… I ended up at that one stage… the one where you guys have to fight that 'hand' or whatever it is. But there was no hand… there was a weird white and purple creature there. I shot a missile at it, expecting a fight… it dodged, but at the last second," she frowned in thought. "It… well, maybe 'he'… he sort of spoke then."
"Sort of?" Captain Falcon asked.
"I didn't see his mouth move, but I heard a voice. It sounded masculine, so I think this thing might have been male. It was weird, though, because the way I heard him talk... it was like hearing his voice in my head, like he was telepathic," Samus explained.
"What did he say?"
"He said something about his powers not fully working… that he had been weakened somehow. I didn't really pay attention because I charged at him and tackled him. I started fighting with him, and finally knocked him off the arena. He seemed to be psychic, it was a little like fighting Ness… but he also seemed like he was a Pokemon. But… he was nothing like Pikachu or any of the Pokemon that come from the Pokeballs…"
"Well, we can figure all this out in a little," Captain Falcon commented, nodding to the door. "The room is back. He's joining us as a fighter, apparently."
They stepped outside to where the chamber had previously been, just in time for it to dissolve away into the thin air.
Sure enough, the same white and purple creature that Samus had battled remained once the chamber had vanished. It glared at all the human fighters around where it was seated, until a voice caught its attention.
"Pika!" (Mewtwo!)
"His name is what?" Peach asked.
"My name is Mewtwo," the creature stated telepathically.
"If Pikachu knows who you are, I'm going to guess that you're some sort of Pokemon, right?" Falco asked.
"That is correct," the psychic Pokemon replied.
"Ah, so you are our newest fighter!" Master greeted casually, stepping up behind the two bounty hunters. Mewtwo's eyes narrowed at the sight of the silver-haired man.
"You are the one in charge, correct?"
"Yes, my brother and I - "
Much to the surprise of everyone, Mewtwo suddenly levitated itself upright, before charging forward at the two.
"Wait, stop!" Marth exclaimed, grabbing onto the Pokemon's arm.
"What has happened to my power? Why have I been weakened?" it questioned the two men. Mewtwo turned to the prince. "And you, let go of me!"
"They're in charge here! If you attack them, you'll get in serious trouble!" Marth stated, shaking his head.
"The boy is right. We have weakened the powers of several fighters here in case of mutiny or the risk of seriously hurting others," Master explained, his gaze shifting from Mewtwo to Ganondorf. "We have you here for the purposes of fighting for entertainment, and as a way of taking a 'study', if you will, on fighting styles."
"I do not wish to be used for your experiments. Now, tell me - where am I?" it glared at Marth briefly, yanking its arm out of the prince's grasp.
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice. We're in a very remote... 'location', if you will, as we did not want to risk any external conflict with our fighting studies. Again, this is not a science experiment. No dissecting, or blood tests, nothing at all like that. You will be treated well here. Each fighter is special, not a specimen. You will have a place to live, food provided for you, medical care if necessary, and plenty of other beings to interact with."
"Only the first three matter to me. When do we leave?"
Even Captain Falcon seemed to want an answer to this question, as he turned to glare at the man with ivory hair. Master frowned, but smiled shortly afterwards and chuckled.
"Don't worry. That will be taken care of when the time is... 'right'. Now then, I believe it's almost time for lunch! We should see what Ruby has prepared for us today! Oh, and we'll also need to assign you a room, and you also need a tour of the grounds. Any volunteers?"
Mewtwo glared at the crowd of fighters, especially at the one that had held onto its arm. Of course, none of them would volunteer. It knew all of them were already intimidated.
Or so Mewtwo thought, as it felt something lightly brush against one of its ball-like fingertips. It was the tiny paw of a small yellow Pokemon - a Pichu, to be more precise.
"Pi! Pi pichu, chu pichu pi!" (Hi! Don't worry, you'll like it here!)
The tiny Pokemon had to jump up in order to properly hold onto Mewtwo's finger.
"Pi Pichu. Chu pichu?" (I'm Pichu. Who are you?)
"I am Mewtwo, the - "
"Pichu pi chu PI?" (Is there a Mew-THREE?) the electric Pokemon asked curiously, her eyes growing large with wonder.
"No, and I do not think there - "
"Chu, pichu! Pi pichu pi chu pichu!"(Well, come on! We gotta get you a room!)
She tried to drag Mewtwo along to the main building, but its size was too great for her to even budge its arm. Mewtwo finally hovered along behind the electric mouse Pokemon, opting to see what its living conditions would be like.
The other fighters watched the two Pokemon, wondering what the new fighter would be like.
"Did-a you see the way he looked-a at you?" Luigi asked the prince from across the table. "I'm-a telling you, he hates-a you already."
"Do you really think so?" Marth asked. "I didn't mean to upset him... or it... I just didn't want Mewtwo to get in trouble immediately after arriving here."
"I'm sure Mewtwo will understand... in time. Remember, just like us, 'he' probably has no idea what's happened to 'him'." Link offered, trying to reassure the prince.
"Our best bet is probably to wait until Mewtwo's more familiar with the Suites. Until then, we ought to keep our distance..." Captain Falcon's voice trailed off as he caught sight of Pokemon they were all talking about, entering the cafeteria while Pichu was continuing to be its "guide".
"Pi! Pichu Pi Pichu? Pi pichu pi Chu pi Pichu Pichu! Chupi, pi pichu pipichu pichu, chu pi chu!"(Wow! You're in Room Thirteen? That's right next to Marth and Captain Falcon! Anyway, this is the cafeteria, where we eat!) the small electric Pokemon explained.
Mewtwo glanced up at the table where the four other residents of the third floor were seated.
"Oh, great-a. Karma. I talk-a about the new-a guy, and he ends-a up living nearby-a." Luigi groaned. "What-a do we do now-a?"
Marth turned in his seat to face Mewtwo, then - much to Luigi's horror - waved at the psychic Pokemon. "Mewtwo! Pull up a chair and sit with us!"
"What-a are you doing?" Luigi asked in a loud, hissing whisper. "I thought-a we just agreed-a we were going-a to avoid him-a!"
"If he's going to be staying on the same floor as us, then there's no point in trying to avoid him. We'll be seeing Mewtwo everyday, so why not try to make the best of our time together?" Marth suggested.
"He has a point," Captain Falcon pointed out to the plumber beside him. "Plus, there was a fifty-fifty chance Mewtwo would've wound up staying with us, since there were only two rooms that..." his voice trailed off, the bounty hunter suddenly appearing troubled.
"Captain?" Link asked.
"Now that Mewtwo's with us, there's only one empty room left. So that must mean..."
"... there's another fighter left?" Marth asked, finishing the racer's thoughts. Captain Falcon nodded.
"One remains..." Link mused as Mewtwo telepathically shifted a chair to the table and sat down.
"So, Mewtwo... what is your fighting style like?" Marth asked.
"Although my powers seem to have been weakened by being brought here, I rely on my psychic ability to fight."
"Oh. So... what is it like to be psychic? Or at least, what was your power like before you came to the Battle Royale Suites?" The prince watched the psychic Pokemon, eating a piece of fruit as it replied, amazed that it could still communicate with him because of these psychic abilities.
"I had more power, to put it simply. I would've been able to total this building with my powers. I could read minds clearly. It was like listening to a conversation. Before, I would have been able to hear what each and every person in this room was thinking. Now, everything sounds like a muffled whisper. It is almost completely inaudible."
"What about stuff really deep in the mind, like old memories? Do you think there might be any way to get your powers back? I'd be willing to help!" The prince realized how excited he had become, softening his voice. "I'm sorry, I probably seem like all I care about is your powers. It's probably been difficult for you to get used to things around here. It was for us when we first got here too. If I've hurt your feelings - " Marth paused when the Pokemon glanced up at him abruptly, then shook its head. Mewtwo did not seem pleased by the prince's statement, but not offended either. Its expression was completely unreadable.
"No, you have not offended me in any way. However, I am done eating my meal. I want to be alone for a while."
The Pokemon left with a tray half-full of food, disposing of what it hadn't eaten, before leaving the cafeteria. On the way out, Pichu tried to stop Mewtwo, as though she were trying to talk with the psychic Pokemon some more - perhaps even inviting him to play with her later. Regardless of what she had said, Mewtwo seemed to have denied her request, leaving the small electric Pokemon looking disappointed.
As Marth watched the psychic Pokemon levitate out the doorway, several thoughts crossed his mind.
One, that Mewtwo definitely had great powers. Powers that could possibly solve the problems he and his friends had been dealing with, such as what his dream about Link meant, or maybe some way to prove to Captain Falcon that Master and Crazy had no intentions of harming the fighters at the Battle Royale Suites.
Two, that the psychic Pokemon did not seem to want to have anything to do with the prince.
Three, that Mewtwo would need someone to help him get used to life around the Battle Royale Suites; someone that the psychic Pokemon could go to if it was dealing with any stress.
And four, that the only way to solve those other problems was to befriend the psychic Pokemon - no matter how hard that would be.
Captain Falcon: Finally! Finally, she updates the story! At last, we finally know Link's fate... and we finally have a new fighter - Mewtwo!
Samus: bijoukaiba... you've gotta do something about your inspiration problem. You keep talking about some "Hetalia-inspired" character you created named Aaron, yet there's no sign of him anywhere in your fanfiction or fanart.
Captain Falcon: Yeah... ever since she really started to embrace her college life at UF, she's been really focused on that Aaron character of hers. What about us, though?
Samus: Well, she updated. That's a start. Here's hoping the next chapter will get here faster (glares at the author).