A/N: Hello again! I'm still recovering from this season's 3-hour premiere. That's a lot of show. But time to get cracking on Season 2 here, since I'm already thinking about the casting for Season 3. Heh.
And a note on that. I hope I'm not confusing too many people with the recasting. If every character over every season was going to be an individual Nintendo character…well, I personally don't even know that many characters. So each season, if a Smasher dies OR disappears and won't be heard from again, they'll be recast into a new role. Anyone with a recurring role will stay in that role. I hope the character list at the bottom will be keeping you up to speed.
I do not own NBC, Heroes, Nintendo, Super Smash Brothers, Sega, or anything contained herein.
(Open on the pub in Eagleland. Mario is sitting with Ness; Lucas and Meta are behind him.)
Mario: So what do I have to do to get my life back?
Ness: Just a favor. There's a big baseball game going on. Betting house (A/N: Is that the real term?) will be full of cash.
Mario: I told you I'm not a thief.
Ness: You don't have to be. Just distract the guards long enough for us to take care of them. Then we'll take the cash box.
Mario: (raising an eyebrow) So I help you get that box, you give me mine.
Ness: Exactly. Everybody wins.
(Mario nods. Then he picks up thoughts from behind him.)
Lucas: Not everybody, short stack. That money is mine.
Mario: (turning around to look at him) What did you say?
Lucas: (looking confused) Me?...Nothing.
Mario: You said you were going to try to take the money.
Lucas: (getting angry) You accusing me of something?
Ness: He didn't say anything.
Mario: (matching the anger) Why would I lie?
Ness: (grabbing him roughly) You see this tattoo? (He shows Mario an elaborate tattoo on his forearm) It's the family crest. He's got one, you don't. That makes him family. And I trust him a hell of a lot more than I trust you.
(Cut to Game Cubeland. Sonic and Amy walk through a town tiredly.)
Sonic (translated): We should stop and take a break. I don't know how much farther you can go.
Amy (translated): I'll be fine. We're getting close to the border.
Sonic (translated): Still, I'm worried about you.
Amy (translated): It's just the running. If only we had a car.
(Sonic nods and looks around. He goes to a car parked on the side of the road. He wraps his hand and smashes the window. Immediately, a cop from down the corner spots them. They start running and the cop starts running after them.
After ducking down an alley, Sonic helps Amy get over a fence. He jumps to climb the fence after her, but the cop catches up and grabs him. The cop handcuffs Sonic as Amy peeks back from around a building.
Cut to Hyrule. Zelda and Pit sit in a car, looking sad.)
Pit: I just don't want to leave.
Zelda: This is our chance to get out of town.
Pit: What about dad?
Zelda: I promise, any time you want to see him, I'll make that happen. But we need to start over.
(Pit gets tears in his eyes and jumps out of the car. He runs off, and we see they're parked next to a graveyard.
Pit runs in and stops at a grave. Zelda runs after him and hugs him. They look at the gravestone: "Link Hawkins, 1976 – 2007. Father, Husband, Hero."
Cut to a beach. Lounging on a beach chair is a half-blue, half-pink creature on a wheel. There's another beach chair next to it, blocked from view. The creature's phone rings, and it answers.)
Duon: Yeah. (Pause) No, he's fine, still sleeping. (He hears a groan) Oh, he's waking up, I'll call you back.
(He hangs up the phone and turns over. We see that he's looking at Mewtwo! He's on the chair in a Hawaiian shirt. He slowly wakes up.)
Duon: Welcome back. Want to go for a swim?
Mewtwo: Unh…where am I?
Duon: Seafoam Islands. Beautiful, isn't it?
Mewtwo: (still groggy) And who are you?
Duon: Call me Duon. I used to go by Gaimen. Ever since I yanked you off the Royal Plaza, the cops have been looking for me, so I had to change my look.
Mewtwo: You dragged me off the Royal Plaza?
Duon: Yup. You get stabbed in the chest with a samurai sword. You've had eight surgeries already. Don't move, or you'll rip your stitches.
(Mewtwo looks down at his chest, not seeing anything.)
Mewtwo: What stitches? I don't see any.
Duon: It's what I can do. Make you see whatever I want.
Mewtwo: (grabbing him) Show me what's really going on here.
Duon: Buddy? You really don't want to know.
Mewtwo: (pulling him close, threateningly) Show me!!
(This movement makes him gasp in pain. He sits back as the beach slowly dissolves around them. It changes to the interior of a shack, Mewtwo sitting on an operating table with Duon seated next to him. There's a massive patch of gauze taped on Mewtwo's chest. He screams in pain.
Cut to outside the Bennet house in Pallet Town. Following the point of the roof is the title card: "Chapter 3: Kindred."
We push into Peach's bedroom. She's reading Cranky's book on her bed. Peppy knocks on the door and comes in, Peach hiding the book quickly.)
Peppy: Your mom made waffles. (Peach nods, and he enters the room, sitting across the bed from her) I'm sorry about yesterday, you were right to be angry. You wanted to talk to me and I just yelled at you.
Peach: It's OK Dad. I know we're supposed to be in hiding and everything.
Peppy: Well, whenever we're in the privacy of our home, you can ask me anything. So do you have any questions?
Peach: (worried) If someone here...found out about me, what would happen?
Peppy: We'd have to leave immediately. Go deeper into hiding, maybe even forgo jobs and school altogether. (Peach nods) But that's just the worst-case scenario. You don't need to worry about that.
(Cut to school, sometime later. Doug closes his locker to reveal Peach standing behind it.)
Peach: It was a pedicure.
Doug: (laughing) What?
Peach: I was doing a pedicure. When you came by last night.
Doug: (starting to walk away) You're not very good at it.
Peach: (following) Why were you even at my house??
Doug: Just trying to lend you a book.
Peach: Lend me a book? I'm not interested in starting a book club with you, OK? Just stay way from me.
Doug: (stopping and turning to her) Fine. I'll stay away from you if you admit you cut off your toe.
Peach: I just dropped the red nail polish. It looked like it was bleeding.
Doug: (with a smirk) You're a really bad liar.
Peach: I'm not lying!
Doug: So I guess I didn't see you cut off your toe then grow it back, huh?
Peach: You're such a smartass! Just leave me alone!
(She turns and stomps off.
Cut to Diddy's apartment in the Mushroom Kingdom. D.K. wakes with a start next to the sleeping Mew. He slowly gets out his gun and creeps into the kitchen. He jumps in when the figure there turns around. It's just Diddy, putting a kettle of tea on.)
D.K.: (surprised) Diddy! You're back.
Diddy: Just got in last night. I'm done with field work and they're setting me up in a lab here in town. I'll be able to help out with Mew more and everything.
D.K.: Oh, so you're going to be doing your spy work in our own backyard. Great.
Diddy: (with an eyebrow raised) Hmph, someone's grouchy when he doesn't get his sleep.
D.K.: It's not that. Mew's struggling at school. She's still having nightmares. I can't babysit both her and you.
Diddy: Who said I need you to babysit me?
D.K.: I did! No offense, Diddy, but you're a professor, you're not exactly 007.
Diddy: I promised to help bring down the Company, no matter what it takes.
D.K.: They abducted me! Remember? They're evil! Who knows what they'll do?
Mew: Diddy! (She runs into the room and jumps into his arms) You're back!
Diddy: I am. And I'm never leaving again.
(He and D.K. look at each other with significance.
Cut to an office in Tokyo. Roy's at work, playing video games on his computer. Hiss boss comes by the outside of his office.)
Boss (translated): (angry) This is how you spend your time at work??
Roy (translated): (closing the game) I'm sorry, sir. I was just taking a break.
Boss (translated): You think just because you spent a few months with the CEO, you can do whatever you want now? Get back to work!
(He leaves. Roy sighs and looks over at a filing cabinet. He checks to make sure the boss left, then opens a drawer. He pulls out Falchion and looks at it. He turns it over in his hands and notices something. There are carvings on the bottom.)
Roy (translated): (reading them) "Roy open."
(He realizes and opens the bottom of the sword. Seeing something inside, he turns it over in his hand. A few small scrolls drop out. Roy opens one and starts to read.)
Marth's scroll (translated): Roy, I write to you from the greatest adventure of my life.
(Cut to Japan in 1671. We watch the arrows strike Anri and he drops to the ground again.)
Marth's scroll (translated): I have landed in Japan in the time of Takezo Anri. And I have befriended him!
(Marth pulls out an arrow and Anri dies. But then the wound closes over and Anri opens his eyes again.)
Marth: (amazed) Godsend!
Marth's scroll (translated): And something amazing has happened. Anri has a power too!
(Anri slowly gets to his feet, confused.)
Anri: All this blood...and no wound.
Marth: You have a power! An amazing power. Now you can truly become a hero!
Anri: This isn't possible.
Marth: (nodding) Yes it is.
(He pulls the other two arrows out.)
Anri: (after a second) Aaaggghhhhh!
(They watch these wounds close over as well.)
Anri: (gasping) You've cursed me.
Marth: (confused) What?
Anri: Lazarus risen. It's a curse. (He takes his armor and starts to walk off)
Marth: (following) It is not a curse. It is a gift. Now you can defeat the 90 Angry Ronin. And the Great Black Bear.
Anri: I'm not doing any of that. (He climbs up on a horse) You're a devil. Get away from me.
Marth: Wait!
(Too late, Anri rides off. Marth watches him go.
Cut to the back of the pub in Eagleland. Mario has his shirt off and holds his hand out.)
Mario: Lightning! (Nothing happens.) Sparks! Lightning!
(Still nothing happens. Jigglypuff appears in the doorway.)
Jigglypuff: Is that how it works? Call it out by name?
Mario: I don't know. (He walks over his shirt and puts it back on) So far, nothing's working. I know I can do all these things, but now I just feel powerless.
Jigglypuff: It must be tough, not knowing who you are. Maybe you're some kind of extraterrestrial escaped from a government facility.
(Mario laughs and looks at her questioningly.)
Jigglypuff: Don't worry about tonight. I'll be there to guard your back.
Mario: Why should I trust you?
Jigglypuff: I haven't told any of them what you can do, have I?
Mario: Well, why are you lying for me?
Jigglypuff: (with a shrug) Girl's gotta have her secrets.
(Cut to Game Cubeland. The police officer leads Sonic into the jail. He notices a wanted poster with sketches of him and Amy on the board. The cop throws him in a cell and leaves.
In the next cell, a guy sits up. He's quite round, with an orange mustache and no hair. He looks at Sonic with some curiosity.)
Eggman: Dude, you look like ass.
Sonic: (sighing) No English.
(Cut to Peach's science class in Pallet Town. All the students take their seats. Doug sits next to Peach again, and she looks angry about it.)
R.O.B.: OK class, today we're talking about mitosis. (Doug raises his hand) Yes, Doug.
Doug: I have a question about yesterday's talk on regeneration. I know lizards can regenerate and humans can't. But what if…a human mated with a lizard? Could there offspring regenerate? Because I think I met a lizard girl.
(The class kind of laughs. Peach gives him a death glare.)
R.O.B.: This doesn't strike me as a particularly productive conversation.
Doug: But seriously. What if that lizard girl was to...accidentally cut off an arm, or a leg, or, you name the appendage, in some horrifying...spa debacle?
R.O.B.: (over it) Where are you going with this?
Doug: I want to know. Do you think the lizard girl's arm would reattach itself?
(Peach looks like he can't believe he's asking. She just gets up and storms out of the classroom.
Cut back to Roy in the office. He reads more of Marth's scroll.)
Marth's scroll (translated): Turning Anri into a hero and righting history won't be easy.
(Cut to Japan in 1671. Marth walks with Elincia through the woods.)
Marth's scroll (translated): Especially because I have fallen in love with his princess.
Marth (translated): I'm sure Anri didn't run away. He swore to help your father.
(They spot Anri by a tree in the distance.)
Marth (translated): I'll go get him.
(He runs over to Anri. He sees the man drawing a knife across his arm as he leans against the tree. Each time he does it, the cut just heals over.)
Anri: I don't believe it.
Marth: You see? You are a true hero. I am one too.
Anri: You are?
Marth: Yes. I stop time and move through space. See?
(He closes his eyes and disappears. Anri looks shocked. Marth reappears on the other side of the tree, Anri's knife in his hand.)
Anri: Amazing.
Marth: Some say they are a gift from God. Some say it is evolution.
Anri: (unknowing) Evolution?
Marth: You can heal from any wound.
Anri: Really? Sword, snake, fire?
Marth: Yes, any of them.
Anri: That's great! (He smiles and Marth does too) This'll make me richer than the Pope!
Marth: No! You are supposed to defeat Medeus! You must get the scrolls to find his camp.
Anri: (thinking) Uh huh. Since you know my story so well, why don't you do it for me? (He starts to walk away)
Marth: You have to stop walking away from your destiny, Anri!
Anri: Who's going to stop me?
(Marth sighs and hands him his helmet. Anri puts it on, still smiling.)
Anri: No one can! This is extraordinary!
(Marth takes his shoulder and shuts his eyes. The two disappear.
Cut to the base of a temple. Marth and Anri reappear. Anri looks shocked.)
Marth's scroll (translated): I knew Anri wouldn't become a hero unless I forced him to.
Anri: Where are we?
Marth: The Fire Temple. You must get the Fire Scroll from the top.
(They see warriors running down the temple steps.)
Anri: And who are they?
Marth: The 90 Angry Ronin. Sworn to protect it.
Anri: (almost to himself) What are they so angry about?
Marth: (handing him Falchion) Good luck.
(He closes his eyes and disappears. Anri looks up at the temple and looks resolute. He steps forward, brandishing the sword as the huge mob charges at him.
Cut to Peach's high school in the present. Peach is outside on a bench, crying. Doug comes up behind her.)
Doug: So I take it you're annoyed.
Peach: (wiping her tears away) What do you want, Doug?
Doug: I just want you to admit you're different.
Peach: (rounding on him) Okay, fine! I'm a freak, alright? I am such a freak, in fact, that I have to tiptoe around this school pretending to be a brainless Barbie doll so nobody notices how different I am! Cause if they found out? I'd be carted off to some human zoo so I could be poked and prodded at for the rest of my life. So yeah, Doug, I'm different, and you can tell the world if you want to because I am sick and tired of pretending to be someone I'm not.
Doug: Peach. (He steps closer to her) Shut up.
(He takes her in his arms. And then lifts off the ground. Peach looks at him in amazement as he adjusts her in his arms. He flies up into the sky, a smile breaking out on Peach's face.
Cut to a betting house in Eagleland. Jigglypuff and Mario sit in the front of a van.)
Mario: They said wait a few minutes. The guards should be moving out soon.
Jigglypuff: Be careful.
(Mario exits the car and walks up to the building. Two guards are coming up to the door of the building from their armored car. One buzzes the intercom.)
Guard: Here for the money pickup.
Mario: (approaching) Hey! (The guards turn) Hey, I want my money back!
Guard: (going to him) Alright, take it easy.
Mario: Come on, the Yanks were supposed to be a sure thing for the playoffs. (A/N: HA HA!)
(He lets the guards walk him away from the building. Suddenly, Ness, Lucas and Meta jump out of the bushes behind them, holding guns.)
Ness: Grab 'em, get 'em out of here.
(Mario and Meta hustle the guards away. Ness and Lucas run up and wait outside the door. Another guard wheels out a locked box. Ness suddenly cocks his gun in the guard's face.)
Ness: I'll be taking that.
(The guard steps back, nervous. Mario watches, also nervous. The guard suddenly hits an alarm on the wall. Ness looks at him angrily, but the guard looks defiant. Ness hits him with the butt of the gun, knocking him out.
Ness and Lucas grab the box and hustle toward the car. More guards start coming out of the building. They raise guns and start shooting at them. Mario looks distressed. He instinctively waves his hand and, suddenly, the armored car screeches to the side, blocking the guards from view.
Jigglypuff looks in amazement as Mario looks down at his hands. But he runs to the car and jumps in the front seat as the other guys pile in the back with the box.)
Mario: Go, go!
(Jigglypuff starts the car and peels away.
Cut to Douglas Mendez's lab in the Mushroom Kingdom. Ash looks through some old comics as several workers load paintings into crates. Diddy walks in.)
Diddy: Isn't this Douglas Mendez's loft?
Ash: Yes, it was. Until Mewtwo killed him.
Diddy: (worried) Mewtwo killed him?
Ash: And now it's your lab. Built especially for you. You're so valued here at the Company that we have people assigned to keep a close eye on you. To…anticipate your every need.
Diddy: That's very generous. But I prefer to work alone.
Ash: Doctor. (He takes Diddy's shoulder, grinning.) You're part of the family now.
(He leaves. Diddy looks freaked out, and looks around nervously.
Cut to Japan in the past. Marth and Elincia wait by Anri's tent.)
Elincia (translated): Perhaps he has been killed. Or he has run off again.
Marth (translated): No. He is coming. He knows you are waiting for him.
Elincia (translated): Sometimes…it seems like he is two men. One is a brute, the other…gentle. (Marth smiles at this.) There was a moment…back under the cherry blossoms…I felt like I was home.
(Marth looks up and opens his mouth to say something. But they both see Anri walking towards them. He's holding a scroll.)
Elincia (translated): Anri! (She runs to him and hugs him.) I'll never doubt you again.
(They kiss, and hug again. Anri looks over her shoulder at Marth. It appears the battle has softened him up a bit, as he nods at Marth. Marth nods back, then just looks sad.
Cut to Dreamland in the present. Zelda and Pit arrive at a house in a cab. They get out and walk toward the house.)
Zelda: Things are going to be better now. You'll be staying with family.
Pit: But I don't even know them! How is this any better?
Zelda: It will be, trust me. And remember what we talked about. No powers.
Pit: But why do we have them if we're not supposed to use them?
Zelda: This is our chance at a normal life. These people are normal, they wouldn't understand. (She starts to tear up) I won't be gone long. When I come back, we'll be together forever. But I have to do this.
Pit: (worried) That's what you always say before you do something bad.
Zelda: (hugging him) I love you, Pit.
Pit: I love you too, mom.
(They walk up to the house and knock on the door together. The door opens to reveal a tall blue penguin in a red robe. He smiles at them.)
Dedede: Welcome to Dreamland!
(Cut to Game Cubeland. Amy sits outside the jail, thinking. She gets up and goes inside.)
Amy (translated): I'm here to get my brother.
Cop (translated): (not looking up) The fine is 2500 rings.
Amy (translated): (going in her purse) I have…Nintenworldian money…14 dollars.
Cop (translated): A fine is a fine.
Amy (translated): (distressed) Please. I need to get my brother out. I'm sick, we have to get to Nintenworld.
Cop (translated): Sorry.
(Amy looks around the station. She notices the wanted notice featuring her and Sonic. She goes to the board and grabs it, showing it to the cop.)
Amy (translated): You see this? This is me and my brother.
(The cop looks at the notice, then back at her.)
Cop (translated): Grab her!
(Another officer appears and they grab Amy. They start to cuff her. As she's leaned over the desk, Amy gasps. Her eyes start to fill with blackness.
Cut to the cells in the station. Eggman and Sonic look out, hearing a commotion.)
Eggman: What's going on?
(Sonic shakes his head, unsure. Then Eggman's eyes fill with black too. He slumps to the ground. Sonic hears and turns. He realizes what's happening.)
Sonic (translated): (calling out) Amy? Is that you?
(Amy appears with the cell keys, her eyes still black.)
Sonic (translated): (in fear) You killed them…
Amy (translated): (going to him) No…I didn't mean to…I couldn't leave you.
Sonic (translated): It's OK. Here, take my hand.
(He takes her hand through the cell bars. He concentrates and, again, the blackness transfers from her to him. It disappears and he catches his breath as Amy opens the cell. They turn to get out of the building.)
Eggman: (gasping) Wait…take me with you. I have…a car.
(Sonic and Amy look at each other, then nod. They run and open his cell too. They grab him and hustle out of the building.
Cut to the parking lot. Eggman points out a silver Nissan Altima (A/N: Hmmm, wonder where that came from…). The three pile into the car and drive away.
Cut to the pub in Eagleland. Ness pries open the cashbox. Everyone cheers.)
Lucas: (pulling out a gun) Well, I'll be taking that now.
Ness: Very funny. Lucas, the traitor.
Lucas: I'm serious. Deadly serious.
Mario: (with anger) So I was right.
Lucas: (also angry) Yeah you were! Congratulations, Mario!
(He turns and fires two bullets into Mario's chest. He drops to the ground.)
Jigglypuff: (worried) Mario!
(She starts to go to him, but Lucas turns the gun on her.)
Lucas: Don't do that. Just give me the money.
Ness: Never.
Lucas: All right then –
(He's cut off as he flies through the air. He slams against the wall, dropping the gun. He's pinned to the wall.
Mario stands up, hand extended. Everyone looks at him in amazement. He looks at his chest as the bullets get pushed back out of his body and the holes heal over.
He looks back up and his face becomes furious and evil. He closes his hand, starting to choke Lucas. He's gasping for breath.)
Jigglypuff: (pleading) Mario, stop!
(Mario's face changes from fury to surprise at what he was doing. He releases Lucas, who drops to the ground. The man looks back at him, then runs. Ness and Jigglypuff look at Mario in amazement.
Cut to Japan in the past. Anri and Elincia share a moment under a cherry blossom. Marth is writing on one of the small scrolls by a tree.)
Marth's scroll (translated): Everything is fixed. Anri is on his true path.
(Marth rolls up the scroll and puts it in the sword hilt, closing it. Anri walks over to him, and Marth smiles.)
Marth: I was afraid you would not come back. But you did. Now you can find the other scrolls and find Medeus's camp. Help Elincia get her father back. I can leave now.
Anri: I don't know if I want you to. What if I can't do this without you? Only you can keep me from my returning to my heathen ways. You're like a conscience…only I take heed of you.
Marth: (smiling) I almost broke history by staying when I should have left. If I stay now, I run the risk of doing more damage.
Anri: I don't know what to say, Carp. You've done this grubby soul a great kindness. Thank you.
(They bow to each other. Marth hands the sword to Anri. Elincia comes over to them.)
Elincia (translated): You have been a true and honorable friend. Thank you.
Marth (translated): Goodbye.
Elincia (translated): Goodbye, Marth.
(She walks off with Anri. They stop under the cherry blossom. Anri shakes it to make the leaves fall, Elincia laughing.
Marth is about to cry. But he turns and closes his eyes. He starts to concentrate…but doesn't go anywhere.)
Marth's scroll (translated): I'm sorry, Roy. But I cannot come home yet.
Marth (translated): (opening his eyes) Anri, wait!
(He runs after the other two. They stop, looking back to see him following them.
Cut to the shack in the present. Mewtwo sits at a table. He's holding his hand out, trying to make the "Have a nice day!" coffee cup slide over to him. But it's not working. Duon wheels in, setting down a plate of breakfast.)
Duon: Made you something.
Mewtwo: I can't make it move.
Duon: What?
Mewtwo: I used to be able to do things. Freeze things, move them with my mind. (with rising anger) I thought you were supposed to be taking care of me.
Duon: (ticked) I'm sorry, are you still breathing? Are you bleeding? At least you're still alive.
Mewtwo: You don't understand. I was special.
Duon: Once you're healed, the Company will help you get your powers back. I can help you.
Mewtwo: You? How're YOU gonna help? You gonna make me some more eggs? (He pushes the plate away)
Duon: I can make it easy…make it fun. I can take you anywhere you want to go. MacBeth, Onett, Japan. And I can make you experience anything you want to. (He shifts into a geisha) Whether it's something exotic… (He shifts into a set of blonde twins) Or more mundane… (He shifts back into Duon) Whatever you want to see, you can.
(Mewtwo stands, smiling. He moves toward him.)
Mewtwo: You are extraordinary.
(He picks up the coffee cup, which Duon doesn't notice. Mewtwo steps forward again, and suddenly brings the cup up and smashes it against Duon's head. He falls to the ground, bleeding and stunned. He looks at Mewtwo in fear.)
Mewtwo: I am going to get my abilities back. And I'm starting by taking yours.
(He moves toward Duon threateningly. The sound of ticking clocks is heard.
Some time later. Mewtwo stands up from kneeling. He tosses a shard of the coffee cup aside.)
Mewtwo: So this is what you really look like.
(We see he's looking down at Gaimen's flat, almost 2-D body.)
Mewtwo: Don't know why you tried to look so different and intimidating. (A/N: And honestly, I'm serious about that; I don't understand the existence of Duon at all.) It's silly to try to be something you're not.
(He gathers himself and closes his eyes.)
Mewtwo: All right. Seafoam Islands. (He waits a second, but opens his eyes to see nothing happened.) OK…Onett. (Again nothing happens. He looks worried.) Japan. (Nothing.) JAPAN!
(His yelling strains his chest, and he doubles over in pain.)
Mewtwo: No. No.
(He stands up, furious, and stalks out of the shack. Once outside, he gasps again. Partially in pain, partially because he's in a shack in the middle of the jungle. He has no idea where he is.
Cut to the back of the pub in Eagleland. Jigglypuff is using the family tattoo set to put the family crest on Mario's arm.)
Mario: Ow!
Jigglypuff: Oh, quit being such a baby, cute stuff!
(At this, Mario gives her a look. They smile at each other. Ness comes in with a beer in hand and Mario's box.)
Ness: Well, I may not know what you are, but I know who are you. And that's family. And there's no secrets amongst family.
(He puts the box on the table, then goes back out to the pub.)
Jigglypuff: Well?
Mario: (pushing it away) Well what?
Jigglypuff: Are you gonna open it? Your whole life is in that box.
Mario: What if it's a life I don't want? When I had Lucas against that wall, I could have killed him.
Jigglypuff: But you didn't.
Mario: There was something evil inside of me. I'm not sure if I want to know why.
Jigglypuff: I can tell about you, Mario. You're a good soul.
Mario: What if I open this box and I find otherwise?
Jigglypuff: (taking his hand) Do like where you are right now? Who are you? (Mario slowly nods) Well, then. Maybe for now, just leave it be.
(She leans toward him. The two kiss. As they're kissing, the family crest on Mario's arm fades away. It fades into just the circular symbol for a second or two, then disappears completely.
Cut to a beach outside Pallet Town. Doug and Peach sit in the sand.)
Peach: I think yours is cooler. Any time your parents annoy you, you can just…fly off.
Doug: Are you kidding? You're indestructible! You can skydive without a parachute!
Peach: You can skydive without a plane!
Doug: True… (They laugh.) I mean, you could eat fire –
Peach: I feel pain, Doug. I just…get over it quickly.
Doug: Oh you do? What if I did this? (He pinches her arm.)
Peach: Ow! Oh yeah?
(She pinches him back, and the two end up pushing at each other. They look into each others' eyes. Doug slowly leans in, and the two kiss.
After they're done, Peach opens her eyes. She notices two tiny parallel slash marks on Doug's neck.)
Peach: What are those?
Doug: (after a pause) A couple of years ago, when we were living in Celadon City, I was just riding my bike to school, like normal. Next thing I know, it's the next day and I'm in my bed.
Peach: The next day? How did that happen?
Doug: I don't know. The last thing I remember was someone calling my name. He came out of the bushes, this tall rabbit.
Peach: (getting worried) Who was it?
Doug: I don't know. I just remember how he looked at me, like I was…something he wanted to trap. I try to put him out of my head. But sometimes I still see his face. The rabbit with horn-rimmed glasses.
(Peach looks ill at this revelation.
Cut to Diddy's lab. Ash brings a vial up to Diddy.)
Ash: I've got another vial for you.
Diddy: (sighing) I'll get started on it right away.
(Ash's phone starts ringing. He looks at who it is.)
Ash: I have to take this outside.
(He leaves, Diddy watching him go. He wants until Ash leaves the loft. Then Diddy gets out his own phone and starts dialing.
Cut to outside the loft. Ash speaks to someone on the phone.)
Ash: Where are you?
(Cut to Ash's office in the Mushroom Kingdom. Zelda is on the phone.)
Zelda: In your office. (worried) Are you sure you're gonna be able to cure me?
Ash: (through phone) Yes, we will. But we're going to want something from you in return.
(Zelda nods, accepting.
Cut back to Douglas's loft. Diddy's looking through the crates as he's on the phone.)
Diddy: They're moving all of the paintings somewhere, I don't have much time. This was a terrible idea. He's watching my every move, I'm in way over my head.
Peppy: (through phone) Don't worry. As long as I'm alive, you'll be taken care of.
(Diddy finds a painting with "8/8" labeled on the side. He pulls it out and looks at it.)
Diddy: That's exactly the problem.
Peppy: What are you talking about?
Diddy: (holding the phone out) I'm taking a picture of the last one and sending it to you. The others have already been shipped off somewhere.
(Cut to Peppy's office in his house in Pallet Town. He brings up a computer screen with 8 squares on it. The top left one is filled with the image of Ike's death.)
Peppy: Well, we know how it begins, with the death of Ike Nakamura. How does it end?
Diddy: (through phone) Not well, I'm afraid.
(Peppy receives the image and opens it. It's a painting of him lying sideways on the ground in the foreground of the painting. There's a bullet hole through his left glasses lens and he's bleeding, obviously dead. In the background is Peach in a blue cheerleading outfit. She has her eyes closed and she's standing in the embrace of a dark male figure. The figure is partially blocking Peach and is faced away from Peppy's body.
Suddenly, Peppy hears a door close. He looks up to see Peach walking up his office. He quickly closes the screen. He and Peach look at each other for a few seconds.)
Peppy: (with a small smile) Good night, Peachy.
Peach: (with no smile) Good night, dad.
(She leaves. Peppy turns back to his computer. He brings up the image again. He looks at it, shocked and afraid.
Slam to black.)
A/N: Wow, I got through that one pretty quick! I wonder what my boss would say about that, heh. Anywho, new characters:
Niki – Zelda (25th Smasher/38)
Micah – Pit (26th)
D.L. – Link (27th)
Michelle/Candice – Duon/Gaimen Watcher (28th)
Sylar – Mewtwo (29th)
Derek – Eggman
Nana – Dedede (30th)
R/R if you'd like. The action picks up around Chapter 5 or so. And in the future there's also a flashback chapter, where we find out what happened to Mario and Luigi after the explosion. (And again, if you watch Heroes, none if this will be a surprise, heh.) See you again soon!