bijoukaiba: Hey everyone! We're at the proverbial "beginning of the end" of Swordplay! ... Not really much to say, other than get some popcorn - and maybe some tissues - we're in for a dramatic and action-packed chapter.
I claim no ownership of Super Smash Brothers Melee or any of its related characters and their respective franchises.
Enjoy!
AUTHOR'S NOTE: There is some possibly semi-AU content ahead, but I will explain at the end of the chapter.
In addition, there is also a reference to Metroid: Other M. In other words, there are SPOILERS for Other M in this chapter. If you want to skip the spoilers, skip Samus's flashbacks in this chapter.
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Chapter 24: Sacrifice
"Congratulations!" Master announced.
The fighters in the room applauded as Ness exited the elevator, successfully completing the very first All-Star Match the Battle Royale Suites had ever held. He had battled his way against one-on-one matches against Dr. Mario, Fox, Marth, and Kirby. He had then faced a team of his clone and Donkey Kong, a team of Link and Pichu, a team of Ganondorf and Samus, and a team of Jigglypuff and Yoshi. In terms of three-on-ones, Captain Falcon, Pikachu, and Mario had fought him, followed by Luigi, Falco, and Zelda. Young Link, Peach, and Roy had fought next, and finally Bowser, Mewtwo, and the Ice Climbers. His final match was against an army of Game and Watch clones.
"Ness, you were great!" Marth complimented.
"Yoshi!" (Good job!)
"It's a good thing we can't be hurt, otherwise I'd probably be feeling that baseball bat right now," Popo remarked. "Nice job, by the way."
The psychic boy grinned as his friends showered him with praise and compliments for fighting so well.
"Our very first All-Star Match... and yet no new fighters come around? Pretty suspicious... wouldn't you agree, Captain Falcon?" Crazy taunted.
The bounty hunter shook his head at the crazed man, walking away without a word.
"We will now take a quick break for lunch. Afterwards, we will be having standard one-on-one fights. Captain Falcon and Marth, your match is first."
"Samus," the bounty huntress found Captain Falcon's hand on her shoulder. "I need you to round up Mario, Peach, and Luigi for me. Tell them to grab lunch to go, because we'll be meeting outside, by the willow tree."
"Why are you - "
Before Samus could ask her fellow bounty hunter what he was doing, he had already approached Marth, speaking to him about something. The prince seemed to agree with whatever he was saying - but he also appeared just as confused as she was.
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"A pizza picnic-a?" Luigi asked. "This-a sounds like-a my kind of-a lunch!"
The plumber was seated between his brother and the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom.
"Now, hold on a minute," Peach cautioned, looking at the bounty huntress seated beside her. "Samus said Captain Falcon wanted to speak with us about - ah, here he is now!"
Sure enough, the racer was approaching them, with the three swordsmen behind him. Each of them had a paper plate in hand with a slice of pizza as well.
"Sorry if we're a little late," Falcon apologized. "Just everyone sit down and... well, eat. But I needed to talk to the seven of you specifically, and privately."
"Is everything okay, Captain?" Link asked, taking a seat beside Marth.
"I just... I really need to ask a big favor of you guys. And it because it HAS to be today... well, as a little kid would say, I probably 'won't ask for anything else from you guys ever again'." Captain Falcon smiled briefly at the last part, but resumed his serious composure.
"Sure, anything!" Roy assured, grinning.
"I need the seven of you to forfeit your matches today, along with me,"
Murmurs or groans arose from the seven seated fighters.
"I'm sorry, but it had to be you guys! This is probably the only chance I have! If Bowser or Ganondorf had been among the fighters, there's no way I could have asked. And I probably couldn't have waited for another day because... well... we have twenty-five fighters now. Twenty-five! Sure, Master and Crazy probably won't make twenty-four people fight in one day, but even with just twenty people fighting... I doubt I could ask twenty people to forfeit their fights."
"But-a why ask us to-a forfeit?" Mario asked. "Yesterday, you were-a just jumping off the track-a to lose on-a purpose. Why couldn't we do-a that?"
"The thing is, it would still count as a fight. We'd still have to wait for that whole hour for the next fight, the next person to lose on purpose, and then repeat the cycle. It's just a wasted day. Besides, how would YOU decide on who commits 'suicide' or forfeits to lose the match? And if only one of you forfeits, Master and Crazy would probably just throw someone else out there to fight the left-over opponent. No, it has to be a mutual forfeit. And by all of us, at the same time."
"So you think... if we all forfeit... then we don't have to waste all those hours sitting around and doing nothing." Peach confirmed. "Why do we need all that free time, then?"
"Event Matches," Captain Falcon stated. "We're down to the final three. And one requires Marth and Link, and one requires Marth and Roy."
"So it also kills two birds with one stone; we forfeit the fights and compete in the two... hold on. I thought you said there were three Events?" Roy asked.
"There are," the bounty hunter replied. "I will be competing in the third."
"I-a see, that's why you-a needed Luigi and-a I to forfeit as-a well," Mario concluded. "And-a I guess Samus and-a Peach have to forfeit for-a safe measure? To make sure time-a doesn't overlap?"
"Pretty much. Like I said, there probably won't be another chance like this. I've got to take that chance now."
Some of the gathered fighters exchanged a look, but finally they nodded.
"We'll-a do it,"
"Good luck, Captain,"
As the swordsman also voiced their agreement, a voice surprised them.
"No."
Captain Falcon turned around in surprise.
"Samus?"
"There's something you're not telling us. What are you planning to do in your Event Match?"
The bounty hunter appeared uneasy.
"That's something... I can't tell you. It's part of a plan I've crafted."
"A plan?" Samus asked. The other six fighters appeared interested now. "Then why can't any of us help you?"
"You already have. By agreeing to do this for me, you have probably played the biggest part in helping to set this up. And I'm grateful... to all of you... for doing that. But this is the part that I have to do."
"So, none of us could handle this part? Marth has fought the giant hand. Mario has fought the giant hand. They could surely handle fighting two of them -"
"Samus, calm down!" Marth finally begged.
The two bounty hunters turned to the prince.
"I'll admit it. I'm not so sure about this plan either. You have a point; I don't know why Captain Falcon has to do this. I'm... I'm even kind of worried."
"Marth, you can't drop out on me," Captain Falcon argued. "As my opponent, you're probably the person I need most to forfeit."
"I know," Marth replied. "And that's exactly why I'm going to forfeit. I may not agree with it, but I know that you need this. You ask for my help, you get it. I know that you... only want to do the right thing, Captain."
Captain Falcon turned to Samus, who seemed to be thinking about it.
"Samus...?"
She sighed.
"Fine, I'll do it. I'll forfeit. But I still don't see why any of us could fight. I know I'm certainly capable..."
"I know everyone here could fight. And I know you're capable as well," Falcon agreed. "... But that's exactly why I don't want you - any of you - fighting."
"Okay, we'll all-a forfeit our matches, we've-a established that. Now can we go inside-a?" Luigi complained. "It's-a looking like it's-a going to rain-a!"
Sure enough, the clouds had cumulated in the sky, changing it into a cottony gray barrier overhead.
"Good point," Link agreed. "Besides, lunch is probably almost over anyway. And Master and Crazy will be looking for us."
The eight fighters returned inside, most of them finding a seat to fraternize with their friends in the remaining minutes of their lunch break.
Captain Falcon finally spotted Ness at the back of the cafeteria, with a huge piece of paper spread out in front of him. He also had several paper plates beside him, each with a pool of colorful paint.
"Finally made that card, huh?" he asked, reading over the signatures. Ness, Zelda, and Fox were among the signatures he recognized, as well as a giant hand print - likely Donkey Kong's - and two different, tiny paw prints - Pichu and Pikachu.
"Yeah, I think it's looking pretty good," Ness responded. "Hey, Captain! You... you wouldn't want to sign it, would you?"
"I was actually just about to ask you if I could," the racer confirmed, slipping off his right glove and placing it in his left hand. "Hmmm... this red paint seems to stand out quite a bit. Nice and visible."
He dipped his fingertips into the red paint, and traced his signature onto the paper, right below Zelda's name.
"You know, where I'm from, that signature would probably be worth quite a lot," Captain Falcon added.
"Anyway, thanks!" Ness waved his hand - stained slightly with blue paint - at a certain prince. "Hey, Marth! Come here!"
As Captain Falcon started to stand up, his glove still in his left hand, he stumbled slightly and ended up planting his entire bare palm right in the red paint.
"Well, I better get going," the bounty hunter stated, showing off the red paint that freshly coated his right hand. "I should probably get this paint off my hand before my match starts."
"Don't take too long," Marth warned, placing his fingertips into the blue paint. "It's almost time for lunch to end, and I know Master and Crazy would throw a fit if you were late."
As if Marth had predicted it, Master and Crazy were entering the cafeteria right as the racer was leaving - in fact, he bumped into Master quite literally on his way out.
"Heading somewhere, Captain?" the mysterious man asked.
"I was going to head upstairs, get some medicine for Marth," Captain Falcon lied, folding his hands behind his back. "He's got a little bit of a headache."
"Well, it'll have to wait. I was just heading in to gather everyone for... well, you know. It's time for your matches."
Falcon frowned. "You won't even spare some medicine for Marth?"
"This isn't a good time to argue, Captain," Master growled. "After your fight, Marth can have all the pills he wants. But for now, fighting gets first priority."
Captain Falcon stepped back, allowing the head of the Battle Royale Suites into the cafeteria to announce the end of lunch.
And now, we wait... the bounty hunter thought, watching the other man.
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"Very well, our first match this afternoon will be between Marth and Captain Falcon." Master stated, after everyone had gathered in the taller building for their matches.
"Actually, Master..." Marth stated. "I would rather compete in an Event Match, if possible. I'd be willing to forfeit my match, if Captain Falcon would."
Wow, Marth is quite the actor!
"I suppose I'd be okay with it," Captain Falcon confirmed. "You did have those two matches you missed yesterday."
"Well, that's a bit of a problem," Master shook his head. "You'd have to fight Link in your first event, which would require him to forfeit his match - and he can only do so if Luigi agrees to it as well."
"I don't-a mind, do you?" Luigi asked, turning to the Hylian. Link shook his head, giving Master a thumbs-up.
"Well, the other match requires Roy to fight as well, so the same rule applies." Master stated, though his voice seemed a little faster... almost as though he were a bit more hesitant.
"Mario and I are fine with that!" Roy agreed, the plumber nodding.
"And just in case there's any problem with time, we can forfeit as well," Peach agreed.
"No, that should be plenty of time for two event matches," Master said.
"Actually, make it three," Captain Falcon stated. "If Marth is stepping out of his match to fight in an event, I'd like an Event Match challenge as well."
"Well, Peach and I are still willing to forfeit, if that's the case," Samus commented to her fellow bounty hunter, before turning to the announcer. "Is that okay, Master?"
"I don't like all this rearranging, but I suppose it will do. Very well, then, we'll start with Marth and Link, competing in the forty-first Event - 'En Guarde'."
The two swordsmen entered the elevator, and appeared on the screen shortly after, competing at the Temple arena.
The two swordsmen leapt at each other, Marth swinging his blade but missing Link. Despite landing in the crevice between the smaller pillar and the main temple itself, Marth quickly turned around and jumped back up. Link swung his sword twice at a lower angle, striking Marth once, but the prince knocked him back slightly with a swipe from his blade. Link retaliated with a strike of his own. The Hylian whipped out his hookshot, attempting to grab the prince, but he had already dodged behind Link. The blunette attempted to strike the Hero from behind, but fell short. Scooting forward by an inch, Falchion was able to connect with Link's shoulder in a smash attack. Link was knocked back slightly, but attempted to come forward for an attack; Marth repeated his same attack, knocking Link backwards once again - and even once again, as the Hero of Time tried to draw near for another attack.
Link landed in the crevice, pausing briefly to throw off Marth's timing. He jumped out again, this time out of the range of the prince's smash attack and even attempting to kick him.
Captain Falcon watched Link and Marth exchange a few blows, before Marth began repeating Smash attacks to knock the Hylian off the left side of the arena. The bounty hunter turned his attention back to Master - he couldn't let him leave the room, nor let him out of sight until...
"GYAHH!" the blond's cry distracted Captain Falcon. The racer returned his attention to the match, but still kept watch on Master out of the corner of his eye.
Link ducked into the crevice, waiting for Marth to follow him. The prince took the bait, striking Link with a forward sweep of his blade in mid-air. Link spun rapidly in the air, blade in front of him, creating a whirling vortex that struck Marth twice. The prince quickly recovered, and then used that forward smash attack he had become so fond of suddenly to knock Link out of the crevice, then jumped out of the pit himself to chase Link.
Marth jumped a little too high, though, and felt the Master Sword thrust into his hip. The prince was tossed onto the upper floor of the temple, where Link jumped up and struck him a few times with the sword before Marth put up his energy shield.
I almost forgot we could use these!
He rolled out of the way to dodge, but the Hero was quick to turn around and slash him twice. Marth ducked below the upper platform to the lower floor of the temple. When Link followed, he repeated his 'smashing strategy'. The Hylian dodged backwards, out of the way of the sword's range, and attempted to fire an arrow - but came up short. The prince put up his shield when the Hero drew closer, expecting him to attempt using his bow again, but was surprised instead when the hookshot caught the front of his tunic and dragged him closer to the blond.
With almost little effort, Link lifted Marth above his head and knocked him upwards with a slash from the Master Sword. Upon falling, Marth was knocked to the side by a sweep from Link's blade. The prince shook it off quickly, though, and retaliated with an aerial strike from Falchion. The Hylian, who had landed on the upper platform, ducked underneath to resume fighting, only to be struck backwards by a smash attack yet again. Marth repeated the same strategy that he had used to knock Link off before, but was thrown off when the Hylian dodged one of his strikes. Thinking quickly, Marth still managed to hit Link with his mid-air attack where he swung his blade twice around his body; this time, however, Link was caught on the backswing and knocked the opposite way.
The Hylian jumped back towards him, attempting to catch Marth underneath a piercing attack from the Master Sword; the prince, however, rolled out of the way in time. One last smash attack from Falchion was all it took to knock Link out of the arena for good.
"A new record!" Master triumphantly declared.
Link and Marth emerged from the elevator, the former with his arm around the prince's shoulders.
"We should do this more often," Link commented. "You're such a great swordsman, I love fighting you!"
"I love y... your swordsmanship, too!" Marth stumbled with his words briefly, but caught himself.
"Our next match will be 'Fire Emblem Pride', contesting Marth and Roy against an opponent! Any volunteers?"
"I'll fight again!" Link offered, raising his hand. "Now I can have my rematch!"
He grinned at the prince, who chuckled at the Hylian's eagerness. It also seemed kind of funny to think that four steps out of the elevator, they had turned around and walked back in, with Roy as company.
Captain Falcon's attention seemed even more focused on Master, and the bounty hunter was almost starting to feel nervous. Any second, the man could notice one of the keys to his plan, and then... all would be lost. He mentally requested that Marth, Roy, and Link keep their match short.
Indeed, Roy had been finished off pretty quickly - almost as if he hadn't been trying very hard - and exited the elevator as Link knocked Marth off the right side of the arena for his first KO of the prince.
"You finished pretty quickly," Peach remarked to the swordsman.
"Well, you heard them," Roy replied with a good-natured shrug. "They love sword-fighting with each other. I figured I'd let the two of them worry more about each other than me."
Yes, but can they make the match a quick one?
"Captain. You're still sure you want to go through with this?" Samus whispered to him. She was also watching Master now, though she didn't really see what the big deal was.
"Leave it to me," he confirmed softly, and paused for a moment. "... Since when did you start caring about me so much?"
Since you started reminding me of someone I...
"A new record!" Master announced as Marth flew off in the background of the temple.
Just like last time, Link and Marth emerged from the elevator together, but this time Marth had an arm around Link as well. Bowser shook his head at the sight of them together.
To think... they had both gone through two Events - two very exciting ones where they were pitted against each other in battle, and each had gotten a chance to rise victoriously above the other - could this day get any better?
A roll of thunder interrupted Marth's thoughts.
"Well, then... there's only one Event match remaining. The Final Destination Match," Master stated. "Would anyone like to volunteer...?"
"I'll go," Captain Falcon declared.
"Hmmm. Yes, somehow, I just knew you'd say that. Very well, Captain. Crazy and I will join you on the elevator ride, as we must be there to control the mechanical hands."
The two brothers made their way over to the elevator.
"Marth."
The prince turned his attention away from Link at the sound of his name.
"... Captain?"
"Remember the 'Reset' button they showed us when we started competing in Event Matches?" Captain Falcon asked, watching the prince nod in reply. "When I tell you, I want you to press it to get me out of there. If I don't say anything, DON'T press it."
Marth nodded again, and smiled. "Good luck with your Event Match! You're actually in the last fight... this could be the match to end them all!"
It could be, Marth. It could be.
"Captain!" Master shouted. "Don't keep us waiting!"
The racer silently turned and walked towards the elevator, entering it with the other men.
And as a low roll of thunder echoed outside, the images of the doors to Sector Zero closing and locking behind her commanding officer ran through Samus's mind as she watched the elevator doors close behind Captain Falcon.
Master and Crazy seemed to dissolve from sight, as Captain Falcon found the urge to close his eyes. Upon reopening them, he found himself standing upon that large battlefield where his fellow fighters had always fought that same giant gloved hand. Sure enough, glancing behind him, he saw a gigantic gloved hand - based on the position of the thumb, it appeared to be the left hand. And across from him, the right hand...
Captain Falcon smirked.
His plan had been a success!
Back in the lobby, the fighters were looking forward to watching Captain Falcon fight against the gloved hands... when they noticed something unusual.
"What's wrong with the hand on the right?" Falco asked out loud. He had pretty much vocalized everyone's thoughts.
The hand on the right was no longer clad in its usual white glove; it seemed to have red blotches all over it - like stains... bright red paint stains!
"Brother? You look - " came a voice from the left side of the arena - it almost seemed as if the left hand itself had spoken!
"HUSH!" a voice on the right side - possibly the right hand? - replied. "Umm... this is just Master on the, um, intercom. I think we may be having technical difficulties, causing the mechanical hand to appear brightly colored. Or it might have also been a prank pulled overnight. Or - "
"Or you could be lying to everyone!" Captain Falcon shouted. He removed the glove from his right hand, and turned in a slow 360, so the spectators of the match - wherever they were watching from - could see the red paint that stained the racer's bare palm. "After all, I never believed a word you said... I just had to find the right time to catch you red-handed!"
Any other time, one of the fighters would have likely groaned upon realizing that a corny pun had been used. But today... this was no laughing matter.
"You do know where we came from as fighters, don't you? Starting with our initial group, and continuing with the mysterious introduction of Marth and the others. In fact, you probably know about Marth a little too well, don't you?"
"What is Captain Falcon talking about?" Marth asked, a look of concern on his face as he watched the screen.
"But then, his memories started popping up again." the painted hand clenched into a fist, as though uneasy. "He has a hidden memory of two giant, gloved hands crushing his friend, Shiida, and his sister, Elice. And yet, how strange... with all the mystery surrounding the two 'mechanical hands'... with nobody knowing who Shiida or Elice are... only TWO people conveniently happen to know they died in a supposed accident!"
Marth gasped, his eyes widening.
"Master and Crazy..."
"Do you see why they both knew something only the 'hands' and Marth would know? Do you see why that hand called the other one 'brother'? Do you see why they start acting strangely before a new fighter is introduced? Do you see why Master disappeared mysteriously before Classic Mode was held? Do you see why..." Captain Falcon paused to tug his right glove on again, preparing for a fight. "... after I found a way to mark your hand - by bumping into you on purpose after I had been working with fresh paint - the exact same marks and stains show up on the 'hand' that were left on Master's glove? Do you see why Master and Crazy wear these gloves in the first place?"
"Captain..." the glove on the right seemed to growl at the bounty hunter. "... Stop. Talking."
Captain Falcon pointed a finger at the glove on the right. "Master and Crazy don't CONTROL the hands! They ARE the hands!"
A surprised sound came from both the gloves, and their audience even seemed skeptical as well.
"He can't be serious, can he?" Fox asked.
A slow chuckle finally came from the glove on the right.
"Well, well. It seems as though we underestimated you, Captain Falcon," commented the right hand. "You are correct. We are the Hand Brothers. I am Master Hand, and he is my brother, Crazy Hand."
"It's hard to say, really... would we consider ourselves warlocks with skills in technology? Or perhaps engineers who got hold of some high-power magic?" the hand on the left added.
"A couple of criminals, if you ask me," the bounty hunter snarled. "You kidnapped us, held two women hostage, killed them, and turned us into a fighting experiment for your own entertainment. Why did you do that, anyway?"
"If you want to know, you'll have to defeat us first!" Crazy Hand taunted.
"And since we underestimated you outside of battle, I KNOW we won't make the same mistake in an actual fight," Master Hand exaggerated. The hand floated slightly higher, before snapping its fingers. The spectators could hear the sound of thunder clapping outside.
A weird sensation swept through Captain Falcon's body after Master Hand snapped his fingers. He oddly felt more aware of his presence in the arena. It felt like gravity was in effect in this stage, with a slight bit of added pressure weighing down his body. The room around him seemed slightly cooler than before. Compared with how he had felt in all of his fights previously, this was a strange and foreign sensation for battle.
"What... did you do?" the racer asked.
"You seem to be the real genius among your fellow fighters. A real warrior," Crazy Hand explained. His voice suddenly filled with venom. "So we're going to make this a real fight."
"Falcon, watch out!" Marth cried out.
Although the bounty hunter couldn't hear the prince, he turned around just in time to see Master Hand sweep towards him in a slapping motion. The hand collided with Falcon with enough force to knock the beloved helmet from his head. The hunter fell onto his stomach on the ground but had no time to gather his thoughts, as he had to roll along the ground to dodge Crazy Hand slamming his palm into the ground. The rolling left Captain Falcon slightly dizzy, but he tried to ignore it as he got to his feet. No sooner had he straightened his posture than he was suddenly knocked forward again by Master Hand flicking him powerfully in the back. Captain Falcon's side skidded along the rough metallic turf, finally rolling to a stop on his stomach. He tried to catch his breath, opting to just lie there instead of returning to his feet.
"What is he doing?" Bowser roared. "Quit hamming it up and fight! He hasn't even touched them yet!"
In contrast, Pichu seemed to be in tears.
"Pi... chu..." (Cap... tain...)
Samus picked up the smaller electric Pokemon, trying to comfort it.
"It's okay, Pichu... pull yourself together! Captain Falcon will be okay. I know - " Samus flinched as Master Hand took on a jet form and collided with Captain Falcon, who was tossed onto his back with a shout. " - I know things look bad, but he can't really be hurt."
"Pi pichu pi... pichu?" (Then why is he... bleeding?) the Pokemon whimpered.
Samus's head shot up, her eyes focused on the screen. In her shock, she accidentally dropped Pichu - who was barely caught in a diving save by Pikachu.
"Bleeding?"
"He's what?" Marth gasped.
Crazy Hand took on an eerie pose, his fingers crooked much like a spider's legs. His arachnid-like form crawled across the stage, capturing Captain Falcon like a fly in a web. The bounty hunter was caught in a cloud of dark energy, unsure of what the deep purple cloud would do to him and not wanting to find out. Unfortunately, he got his answer as he was dragged along - tiny needles of dark energy raked across his body, tearing small shreds in his uniform and flesh. The watching fighters gasped at the gashing sounds and Captain Falcon's agonizing shout of pain.
Master Hand repeated the sweeping slap attack, knocking Captain Falcon onto his stomach in the middle of the arena. Now all of the fighters could see a gaping hole along the side of Captain Falcon's uniform, revealing two long slashes on the side of his torso that leaked blood. The right hand signaled for Crazy to stop.
For a moment, the fighters thought the bounty hunter had finally succumbed to the Hands' power. Then, much to their relief, he stirred, pulling himself onto his elbows and knees. Panting heavily, he shifted himself onto his hands and knees in a more upright position.
"Marth..." Captain Falcon lifted his head, a small stream of blood leaking from his mouth. He started to lift himself onto his feet. "Don't..."
Don't...? Marth panicked. Don't what? Don't end the match? Don't let the fight continue?
Falcon stumbled forward, back onto his hands and knees.
"It's like they say," Crazy Hand commented disdainfully. "How are the mighty fallen!"
The bounty hunter glared at the hand, planting a firm hand on the ground and lifting himself to his feet. He stumbled, but caught his balance quickly, holding his fists in front of him in a fighter's stance.
"He's still trying to fight?" Ganondorf questioned. "This is a joke!"
"It's a suicide mission, that's what it is," Falco stated coldly.
Samus held her breath, the scene replaying in her mind...
Flashback
Samus gripped the doorway, staggering to her feet.
"Hold on, Adam," she stumbled, but caught her balance quickly. "What are you planning to do with the Metroids here in Sector Zero?"
"Leave it to me. I'll deal with this place," he stated.
"You have a plan for dealing with Metroids that can't be frozen?" she asked.
The cold had always been the weakness of the Metroids... if the genetically engineered creatures had no weakness to freezing... then how could Commander Malkovich possibly defeat them? There was something he wasn't telling her, and Samus did not like it.
Then finally, he spoke.
"... Sector Zero has a self-destruct protocol. If the sector receives a significant amount of damage, the unit is programmed to detach and self-destruct. A powerful explosion will eliminate the Metroids and MB without leaving a trace."
"Don't you dare, Adam! Let me go in. I'm the only one who has a shot against the Metroids. We have to take the chance!" Samus took a step closer. "Please, Adam! You have to trust me! You have to trust me, just give me a chance..."
End Flashback
"You still want to fight?" Crazy laughed. "This is a riot! The noble Captain Falcon... he won't go down until he's dead! Well, don't worry..."
Crazy formed a fist, hovering overhead. The racer narrowed his eyes.
"We'd be happy to oblige!" the hand practically screamed, punching the ground.
Captain Falcon rolled out of the way, dodging the fist cleanly, then leapt towards Crazy Hand, kicking off of the glove's firm wrist for an added jump.
"Kind of like one of those wall-jump things Captain Falcon has done before," Kirby commented, though nobody paid attention.
Everyone's eyes were on the bounty hunter, who now leapt towards Master Hand, his fist drawn back and glowing with power.
"FALCOOONN..."
"Do it, Captain!" a few fighters cheered.
"PUUNNNCH!" the racer extended his arm in a powerful punch, striking Master's index finger. The hand howled in agony at the blow.
Cheers arose from the crowd of fighters, as Master's on-screen HP took a serious plunge. However, the cheering did not last long; for where there is a right hand, there will be a left.
Seconds after Captain Falcon had delivered the powerful punch to Master, Crazy Hand swept forward, grabbing the bounty hunter cruelly by his extended arm.
A sickening snap sound could be heard, followed by an excruciating yell from Captain Falcon.
"That was an odd noise, brother..." Crazy commented, as the bounty hunter futilely tried beating his free arm against the giant hand's fingers to release him. "It reminded me of a branch cracking. Or maybe it was more like the sound of a carrot being snapped? I can't decide. Tell me, Master..."
The left hand floated to the center of the stage, Captain Falcon's arm still in his clutches.
"Did it sound like this?" Crazy Hand cruelly clenched his fist until another crack was heard, eliciting a garbled shout of pain from his victim. "Or maybe like this?"
He clenched his fist again, laughing wickedly at the racer's suffering. Crazy threw Captain Falcon to the ground, slamming the back of his head and shoulders against the flat arena. The fighters gasped in horror, and even the crueler ones flinched at the attack.
"That... hurt..." the glove growled, flexing his index finger before clenching into a fist.
"Come on, Captain! Get up!" Zelda pleaded.
"It's no good, Zelda," Peach told her fellow princess, "I think he's out cold!"
Master hovered above the racer's collapsed form, poised to attack.
"Marth-a, get him out of-a there!" Luigi yelped. "They're-a going to kill him!"
The prince was frozen with shock, his mind screaming at him to press the button, but he was too horrified to move - like a deer caught in headlights.
Do something! Samus mentally begged the prince.
"Now everyone can see what happens when challenge our authority!" Master declared, drawing his fist back. "Captain Falcon's death will set a good example for you!"
"NO!"
Marth was knocked onto his side, his world going dark for a few moments. For a brief moment, he thought he might have passed out after watching his friend get killed, but then realized he was still awake.
"You okay, Marth?"
The prince opened his eyes to see Link kneeling beside him. The Hylian helped the royal get to his feet. He seemed fairly calm, considering that Captain Falcon had just been...
"What happened?" he worriedly held onto Link's arm. "I panicked and couldn't... I tried not to... is Captain Falcon... he's not..."
He glanced behind Link and saw Samus bent over the 'End Match' button instead, having slammed it herself. On screen, Master Hand had frozen in midair above Captain Falcon, perhaps a foot away from hitting him. Marth pieced it together and realized she must have knocked him over in the process of activating the button.
The screens went black, indicating the match had officially ended.
"I'll get Dr. Mario," Fox told Zelda, before sprinting out of the room.
"Thank you, Samus... I'm sorry, I panicked and then..." the prince approached the bounty huntress. "... Samus?"
Flashback
Adam cocked his gun, turned, and took the steps that would lead to his imminent death.
"Wait!" Samus called, starting to run after him. Her Power Suit was returning to its normal functions, however, which briefly stunned her body. "Adam!"
She forced herself to move, still trying to stop the man. He continued walking, as though he hadn't heard her.
"Wait! Adam!" the doors out of the room opened for the Commander, closed behind him, and locked. There was no going back now.
"Please, wait!" Samus begged, hammering her fists against the windows on the doors. "Adam!"
As she watched the doors to Sector Zero open, she continued to scream his name, trying to somehow change his mind. Malkovich slowed to a stop, and turned to face her one last time.
She couldn't hear him, but knew what he had said. It was like tradition.
'No objections, right, Lady?'
Samus's vision blurred as she gave him the usual reply - a thumbs down.
For a moment, she thought she saw the briefest trace of a smile on his face. Then he turned and walked down the hallway, the doors to Sector Zero closing and locking behind him.
Samus's fingers feebly grasped at the window, a few tears escaping her.
Adam was gone.
End Flashback
"I watched someone I cared about walk to his death," Samus stated. "I wasn't going to go through that again."
The sound of the elevator arriving caught the attention of everyone in the room.
"Captain?" Link asked, watching the doors open.
Master and Crazy - in their human forms now - left the elevator, the former leaning on Crazy as he limped out.
"Damn it! I knew that punch of his hurt, but I didn't think it would leave me... crippled!" Master spat. "I'll probably have my foot in a cast for weeks!"
"It's okay, brother - we beat him, that's what matters. You know, I can't believe Falcon actually thought he could defeat us. With all that snooping he's been doing, I think he had it coming. I say he deserved it," Crazy said to his brother with a nod.
Master looked around the room at the fighters that were either glaring at him in malice or staring at him in shock.
"What? You think any of you can do something about this? You all know Captain Falcon is one of the best fighters among you. If he can't stop us, what makes you think any of YOU can?"
Before anyone could protest or retaliate, Master and Crazy had left the building.
Marth ignored them, as he was far more worried about his friend than dealing with the dastardly duo. He looked in the elevator and saw his friend... on the floor. Marth tried to blink back the tears in his eyes as he knelt beside the racer.
Captain Falcon was a proud man, with radiating confidence and a handsome smile. The type of man who stood with his back straight and chest puffed out - the look of a true champion who knew no fear.
Now he was on his back on the floor, unconscious. His uniform had been shredded in several places, and his skin underneath was bruised or bleeding. His left arm was draped over his chest, the right - which Crazy had clenched - was extended by his side. A hole in his uniform's sleeve revealed a swollen area in his lower arm.
Samus placed a hand on Marth's shoulder for comfort, kneeling beside him. She gently placed two fingers against Captain Falcon's throat.
"He's still alive," she tried to reassure. Her tone dropped. "He's just... hurt."
The doors burst open, with Fox literally dragging in Dr. Mario, their clothes dampened by the rain. Joy jogged in after them, a stretcher under her arm.
"I was-a in the middle of-a giving Alice her check-up, you know-a!" the doctor complained.
"I'm sure... she can wait," Fox panted. "But this is an emergency... Captain Falcon's hurt."
"Pardon-a me," Dr. Mario said to the prince and bounty huntress, getting to his knees beside the racer.
Marth and Samus stood up and stepped back, allowing the doctor to examine the bounty hunter's injuries. The huntress collected Falcon's helmet in the process. Dr. Mario checked for a pulse and leaned over the racer to listen for breathing. He examined the rest of the Captain's injuries visually, but did palpate a few areas. The doctor finally beckoned Joy over, placing the stretcher parallel to Falcon's body.
"How is he, Doctor?" the nurse asked.
Dr. Mario tried to keep his voice down, to discuss the matter confidentially, but the room had become so quiet that he was still audible to the fighters present.
"There doesn't seem-a to be anything life-threatening... his pulse seems-a good, but his-a breathing could be better-a. He might-a have a pulmonary contusion or broken-a ribs, so-a I'd like to run an x-ray on-a his torso. I also want-a an x-ray of his-a right arm to check the extent of-a the damage."
"Extent?" Joy asked.
The doctor shook his head grimly.
"If I had-a to guess, I'd-a predict he has a closed-a distal radial fracture. All I know-a is, he's-a definitely broken his-a arm."
The doctor looked up at the rest of the fighters. "Is-a there anything else I should-a know?"
"He... he hit his head and shoulders..." Zelda answered timidly.
"Hmmm... a head-a injury..." the doctor murmured, still trying to keep his voice low. "Don't-a have a CT scan for-a that, but we'll hope-a for the best..."
He glanced up.
"Now-a then, I just need some-a help with moving-a him to the medical ward. I need-a something to use as a temporary splint-a, first," the doctor ordered, speaking up.
"Wait a minute," Link took one of his arrows and broke off the point and tail. "I don't know if this'll do, but..."
Dr. Mario tested the arrow. "It's-a a little more flexible than-a I would like, but it-a should be fine. I also need-a something to tie it with, and something soft for-a cushioning Captain Falcon's arm-a."
"Here-a," for a moment, Dr. Mario was surprised by the sound of his voice, but then remembered he had a duplicate in this world. Mario - the one more often clad in red - was holding out a folded yellow cape to him, likely the one he used in fighting. "I hope this-a helps."
"And I have some strings," Ness added, holding them up.
"Yes, those are both-a fine," Dr. Mario confirmed. The sight of Ness shuffling his feet across the floor puzzled the doctor, before he realized that he had unlaced his sneakers to give away his shoestrings.
As Dr. Mario prepared Captain Falcon's splint, Marth's eyes wandered across the room to Mewtwo. Pichu was clinging to the psychic Pokemon's leg, clearly still upset by the incident a few minutes ago, but the taller creature did not seem to be making any effort to comfort the electric Pokemon. Come to think of it, Mewtwo did not seem to be affected by Captain Falcon's injuries at all...
"I'm going to need-a some help moving him onto the-a stretcher," Dr. Mario continued, having finished setting the splint. Luigi and Roy exchanged a look.
"We can do-a that,"
"Yeah..." Roy added, his voice notably softer. "... Hey... Falcon's going to be okay, right?"
Dr. Mario shook his head. "I can't-a be sure... but, as-a a doctor, I will try everything in-a my power to help him-a recover."
Roy, Luigi, and Dr. Mario carefully shifted the racer onto the stretcher. The doctor carefully positioned the Captain's arm so it wouldn't dangle from the stretcher while he was being moved.
"We could help carry him out too, if you'd like," Roy offered.
"Yes-a, that would-a be very helpful. Thank you," the doctor replied, as a roll of thunder was heard outside. "Now, if there was someway to keep-a him warm..."
Marth stepped forward silently, unfastening his brooch, and undraping his cape from his shoulders. He covered Captain Falcon with it from the shoulders down, letting a hand linger on his older friend's shoulder.
"Please be okay. I'm sorry," the prince whispered, stepping away from the bounty hunter.
Roy and Luigi lifted the two ends of the stretcher, with Dr. Mario and Nurse Joy on either side, and departed the room. The other fighters silently watched them leave.
"You know... for a long time, I was just happy fighting here for fun..." Ness commented sadly. "Then something like this happens... and it makes me realize just how long I've been here. How long it's been since I got to have a steak dinner with my family... how long it's been since I actually went to school... and it just makes me wish I could go home again."
A lot of fighters in the room murmured in agreement then fell silent yet again.
Peach glanced around the room in confusion, finally breaking the silence.
"... Where's Samus?"
Out in the stormy weather, Samus watched from the side of the building as Captain Falcon was moved into the fighters' housing facility. She held the racer's helmet tighter against her body, raindrops and teardrops falling against its surface.
-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l-
"Why did I freeze up?" Marth asked, his face buried in a pillow. "If I hadn't been so shocked by what happened... Captain Falcon would probably still be okay..."
Link, seated beside the prince on his bed, gently rubbed the royal's back.
"You were just surprised by what happened. Nobody was expecting Master and Crazy to actually hurt Captain Falcon... heck, I don't think anybody expected Captain Falcon to have some sort of secret plan revealing that Master and Crazy were actually the floating hands all along."
He patted the prince's shoulder.
"If you don't feel like going down to dinner, I'll bring back some food for you. Okay?"
"Okay," Marth replied, muffled by the pillow.
The Hylian left the room, literally bumping into Samus in the hallway.
"Sorry about that," Link apologized. "Hey, Samus."
"Hi, Link."
"So... what's up?"
"I just finished dinner, so I was heading back up to my room," the bounty huntress replied. "You?"
"I've just been talking with Marth," Link answered. "I was actually about to go get dinner for us as..."
The Hero's voice trailed off as the door to the medical ward opened and Nurse Joy stepped out.
"Nurse?" Samus addressed the pink-haired woman.
"Good evening. Miss Aran. Link," she smiled briefly. "Or should I say, 'greenie'? I was just about to go get dinner."
"Wait," the bounty huntress requested. "Captain Falcon... how is he?"
Joy sighed, knowing they were going to continue asking until they got an answer. She lowered her eyes to the floor.
"I'm very sorry..."
-End-Chapter-
bijoukaiba: Looking back at previous chapters - when Samus referred to Adam Malkovich and hinted at his death - I realized that based on the timeline of the Metroid games and based on when they coincided with Super Smash Brothers Melee, Adam would probably still be alive at this point in the timeline. However, I started writing this fanfiction - and had this chapter planned - before Other M and this part of the Metroid canon. So I hope you will pardon this error in the timeline. I did, however, want to use the dialogue to portray the scene. So think of the AU as... same event, different timing.
Wow. The ending seemed a little rushed, but... wow.
I know... some readers might argue - "Hey! He's Captain Falcon! He can't be hurt or killed! He'll Falcon Punch you for trying to hurt him!" But when you watch the anime, or play F-Zero, you have to realize... he's only human. An awesome human, yes. But as a human, there is still only so much he can physically take before being hurt.
And actually, being able to overcome pain... being able to overcome injury... or at least enduring it to protect or help someone else... I think that shows more strength than someone who has no weakness and goes through the same thing.
I can't believe... he went through so much. Captain Falcon... I almost cried at the end of writing his fight. SERIOUSLY, I almost did. Especially when all those fighters were helping make a splint for Falcon and helping move him to the medical room... it just shows how strong the friendship between our major characters is.