Well, this is it!
Roy: The Final Battle against the final boss! Woo!
Marth: ...
Link: Oh come on Marth, don't be a spoil sport.
Fox: Well, we won't delay at all today. Authoress doesn't own anything but her OCs and Desert.
Roy: Warning! Character Death!
Chapter 14: Resolution: Saying Goodbye
Zelda stood in the middle of a stage, looking for the entire world like an ethereal statue. She was elegant, very lady-like, and quite fragile. She stared straight ahead, a solemn look in her eyes that almost seemed to cry out in sadness, yet were as silent as a new dawn. To either side of her were a similar statue of Pikachu and a statue of Pichu. Pikachu was smiling, eyes bright, his arms on his tummy, tail poised to the left towards the silent princess. Pichu looked equally happy to see the smashers, though he really couldn't; one ear was down slightly in a goofy manner, his tiny black tail to the right, also pointing towards the princess.
"Pichu!" Katan cried out, horrified. Young Link sobbed as he saw all three of his friends in their frozen state.
"Zelda!" Link dashed forward, forgetting all care except for his princess. This was a terrible mistake. A barred door fell, separating Link from the other five. They cried out in alarm, banging on the door.
Link did not realize this, or chose not to; instead, he kicked the Trophy stand, causing the Princess to wobble and fall into his arms with a shocked cry.
"Link!" She gasped as her strange statue-like trance was ended. Pikachu and Pichu were released as well from their frozen states, where they fell down in shock at being able to move once again. They blinked at the reunion before running to where their friends were banging on the cage door, squeezing easily through the bars into worried open arms.
"Pichu!" Katan scooped the tiny baby mouse up into her arms where he proceeded to sob.
"What happened? The last thing I remember was getting those banana bombs…" Pikachu screwed his face up. "Wait…"
"LINK! ZELDA!" Marth cried out, but it was too late. The two had been too busy apologizing for not protecting one another, that they hadn't realized a large statue had come to life, a huge sword in its hands. Link turned his head in shock, but it was too late.
Katan screamed as the huge sword went straight though Link and Zelda's midriffs, their bodies connected in a terrible death. Yet inspite of their sudden ending, a look of peace, joy, and love was still on their faces as they both died in each other's arms. Young Link joined his own scream of frantic terror and grief with that of Katan's.
"No!" Marth wanted to turn away, but refused to do so, watching his two first friends in the Smash Mansion die together, linked forever in death.
Falco bowed his head as Link and Zelda's bodies both slid off of the giant sword, their crimson blood intermingling and splattering as they hit the ground with sickening thuds. Then, much to the horrified amazement of the seven still alive, Link and Zelda's bodies turned into pure golden light, slowly mixing with the current light and disappearing forever.
Young Link let out a choked sob before Falco turned away. "Let's get out of here, there's nothing further we can do." The killer of their friends returned to its place, without even the satisfaction of blood remaining on its blade. The choked up smashers turned to see Falco looking a strange box-like contraption. Before Link had run into the room, he had sunken the Master Sword into this strange contraption that just so happened to control the ship.
"I don't think you guys are going anywhere." A familiar voice met the ears of the smashers. They turned and looked down the hallway.
"No… Way…" Marth choked more.
"Its amazing what the Primids can do." The figure smirked.
"No…" Katan gasped, tears running down her face. "Lu…"
Luan stood in the middle of the hallway, a cocky smirk on his face. "Not happy to see me, sis? Even though I discovered how to make you into your most powerful form?"
"You're not Luan." Katan hissed abruptly. "Luan didn't care about power."
"Hm, you're right." Luan's form seemed to blur and not take on any particular shape.
"Eula?" Marth too hissed.
"No, he's dead. You made sure of that." The thing hissed. "No. You don't know me. But I know you."
Katan narrowed her eyes as the figure took on a more defined shape. The man was tall with dark brown hair and cruel violet eyes. He wore no shirt, showing a large sword scar on his lean stomach. His pants were made of a strange material that closely resembled dragon scales. On his feet were heavy leather boots. A leather strap running across his well-defined chest held a huge claymore to his back.
"You're… Demetri." Katan hissed. The man raised an eyebrow.
"How do you know, child?" Demetri allowed a cruel grin to split his features.
"Izu told me about you." Katan narrowed her eyes. "Why wouldn't he? You're the one that killed him, after all."
Marth and Falco hissed, remembering the fateful day they had crash-landed on Desert; when Izu had entered the tent, and Nix had begun to introduce him as having died from being stabbed, only for him to tell of his father killing him with a poisoned sword.
"Ah, so you met my brat of a son." Demetri grinned cruelly. "I hope he enjoyed that poison, or his sister having to sit and watch him die. They deserved it, after all."
"No!" Marth yelled abruptly. "You sick ba-" Demetri had disappeared, only to reappear, his hand neatly knocking the wind out of Marth. The others backed off warily, leaving Demetri to turn to them, Marth effectively de-winded.
"Anyone else have any smart remarks?" Demetri still had the cruel smile on his face. "I hope you enjoyed watching your little friends die just now. I know I did."
"You…" Falco began to hiss, but a touch to the shoulder from Pit stopped it.
"Why are you doing this?" Pit asked, keeping himself levelheaded.
"Why?" Demetri's voice fell to a deep, silky bass sound that tickled their ears in disgusting delight. "Because, I want power. As you may know…" Demetri patted his stomach, "My son killed me as I tried to gain power last time. And I killed him in return. Likewise, I shall kill all of you for standing in my way."
Katan grit her teeth. "You terrible creature, you don't deserve to live." She growled. She drew her nameless sword and held it in front of her. "Prepare to die."
Demetri's eyes gleamed in delight. "Oh, a battle? What a delight! Ju-" The sound of steel on steel rang through the air as Katan launched herself forward. Demetri drew his claymore with frightening speed, blocking the attack. "You can't hurt me! No matter how sharp your blade is, little dragon, I am a God!" Little did he know, Marth had regained his breath. Back on his feet, Marth drew Falchion and swung his sword in a downwards arc. The tip of Falchion sliced neatly across Demetri's arm, causing crimson blood to fly.
"What! That's impossible!" Demetri roared, throwing Katan back with a nice swipe.
Smashers and enemy alike laid eyes on Marth. His face was shadowed, and in his hands, Falchion was glowing an eerie blue. On the end of the hilt, Samus's old bracelet dangled, glowing an electric purple as well. Demetri let out a terrible caterwaul.
"Damn you!" he swung the huge claymore at Marth, who threw Falchion up just in time to block the attack. He was pushed into the wall, letting out another dangerous breath of air. Young Link shot several silver arrows at the man, but oddly, they bounced right off. Pikachu let loose a thunderbolt that wrapped around the man, yet left him unaffected. He laughed cruelly.
"Katan, use your Smash Ball again! Normal attacks won't work!" Pit was glowing blue as well, the rainbowy ball disappearing into his arm causing him to begin to glow a pure gold color. His eyes turned a fiery red, and a deity of a beautiful woman appeared behind him. With a roar, Pit cried out. "Final Smash! Come, my Centurions! Let us join in battle once again!"
An army of tiny fairy-like men appeared, flying through the air in a suicide mission against the Primid Boss. They would shoot a single burning arrow at him, each piercing his thick skin like needles. They would then fall to the ground and puff out of existence, like so many bees.
Falco too took out his Smash Ball. Using it, his blaster became what looked to be a normal beam sword. With a shrug, Falco launched himself at Demetri, faster than ever, Beam Sword in hand. "Final Smash! Falcon Beam!" With an aerial roll, sword out, Falco sliced through the end of Demetri's claymore like a hot knife through half melted butter. Demetri neatly avoided the rest of the beam sword, dodging to the side as Marth came at him again with Falchion.
Instead of returning to safety however, he ran straight into two twin balls of pure electricity. Pichu and Pikachu attached themselves to either arm and shocked the man with all the electricity they could gain from the Smash Ball. The man roared in pain, unlike their last attempt. They bounced away before he could smash their fragile mouse-like bodies into the wall, thus ending attack and possibly life. He turned to confront Falco, only to get a face-full of fire; Katan roared, reaching out with a clawed front paw, talons gleaming crimson after a well-aimed slash to the sword arm. Demetri was then thrown into the ceiling, where two triforce symbols held him. Young Link had his Kokiri Sword drawn, the Smash Ball's energy forced into it. He slashed what seemed to be a hundred times before falling back to the ground.
Demetri fell to the ground with an enraged roar. He swung his broken claymore, a burst of wind energy flying out of it, neatly knocking Pichu, Falco, Pikachu, Young Link, and Katan back. Katan roared in pain as a black wing snapped neatly, her right front leg mirroring it perfectly. She transformed back, her sword arm broken. He turned, using the wind energy to send Marth flying into the wall. Marth hit the wall with a loud bang, and crumpled to the ground, where he didn't move.
"Is that the best you can do!?" Demetri screeched with joy. He was quite injured alright, but he seemed to be getting a kick out of the pain. "I guess that's alright though! If you killed m-"
Demetri let out a horrified screech as a familiar blade forced its way through his stomach. Falchion seemed to glow even greater with Marth's pain and rage. He didn't notice as Demetri's claymore glowed with a deadly purple color. Katan and Pikachu, both recovered enough to see the immediate danger, rushed forward, their faces horrified.
"MARTH! MO-" for the second time that day, the timing was too slow. The blade seemed to explode, sending Marth flying with several terrible crunching noises against the unyielding wall, Katan with her own cracking noises against the other wall. Pikachu was crushed as the ceiling caved in overhead, a section of the roof falling on him. He didn't return. The others were thrown through the air, landing upon one another or sprawled across the floor. The resulting smoke was thrown through the hole in the ceiling, the darkening purple sky peeking through.
Katan came to her senses quickly. Looking about, she saw the other Smashers slowly sitting up, moans of pain being issued where they were due. She turned and saw a broken golden tail shaped as a thunderbolt sticking out from under a chunk of steel; then she saw Marth. Katan's body screamed in pain; she could not feel parts of her lower body as she somehow managed to crawl painfully to where Marth's scorched body lay, broken and tattered.
"Ma-arth." Katan managed to gasp. She touched the ex-prince's burnt face, causing him to twitch and cough up a large amount of blood. "You can't die Marth. Not now… Not here…"
"T-tell S-s-s-Samus I lo-love her." Marth managed to gasp. A strange sucking noise was emanating from his armor. Katan squeezed her eyes shut, recognizing the tell-tale signs of a pierced lung. Tears stung at her eye lids, and she opened them to Marth's sad face.
"No, you can't go Marth." Katan sobbed. "You can't…"
"I… I'm sorry Kat… You're a… great friend… Tell Roy he's a good friend… and Link… no… Link's gone too… Tell Samus I'm sorry I won't be there when… when…" Marth coughed more blood, not finishing his sentence. "I… see Zelda… and Link… Pikachu too… They're here to take me with… them… They say good bye too. Katan… Tell S-S-Samus I…" The ex-prince breathed shallowly several more times, and then gave a soft, strangled sigh. The Ex-Prince of Altea was no more.
Katan let out a pained wail. The death keen of a dragon brought the others to their senses. Pichu began mourning the loss of his fellow lightning poke'mon, who was being rescued from his heavy prison by Falco. Pit hurried over to Katan's side, seeing that both her legs, her sword arm, and her back was broken. Young Link didn't seem to be looking at anything as he pulled the Master Sword out of the control panel. The five were going to be in shock for a very long while. And still, the dragon cried.
Mario had heard a lot of what was going on inside the ship; from the attack on the Primids, Katan's transformation, the finding of Zelda, Pikachu, and Pichu, Link and Zelda's deaths, the meeting of a mysterious man named Demetri, the battle against him, the deaths of Pikachu and Marth, and the death keen of Katan. The hole where the roof had been blown off was within sight as well, smoke still slowly drifting lazily away from it. The ship was loosing altitude as the Master Sword drained its power. It would eventually crash. With a pained sigh, he turned to Lucas.
"Lucas, call-a Master Hand. We-a need reinforcements immediatly." Mario sighed.
"They're already on their way." Lucas informed, pain heavy on his voice. "We lost four, huh?"
"Yes-a." Mario looked outside, spotting the reinforcement team as they appeared from the clouds. "I-a fear for-a the worst."
Team Two had waited for Master Hand's signal with worry. Master Hand hadn't informed them on anything that was happening. Roy worriedly tapped on the hilt of his sword. Samus silently drove the transporter, keeping it well hidden within the clouds. Popo and Nana were quietly discussing something, and Doctor Mario was wringing his hands with worry. Ike was first to hear Master Hand's summons.
"Master Hand wants us on the ship's head immediately." Ike reported. Roy's heart froze.
Samus silently gave the transporter a boost, and soon, they were above the clouds and heading for the ship. They passed over the silent ship, as it seemed to be falling slowly towards the ground. Directing the transporter towards the head, Team Two could easily see Team Four's transporter lying abandoned near a hole where smoke was rising.
As they neared, they spotted Young Link being pushed out of this hole, followed by a bundle wrapped in a blanket. Pichu appeared then, and the two younger smashers, with pained faces, looked up to the oncoming transporter before turning to the blood-stained bundle. Lucas and a hobbling Mario appeared from the other transporter. Falco soon appeared, his face stone.
Landing quickly, the fresh team jumped out. "Where's Katan?" Roy asked quickly.
Falco sighed. "She's badly injured. Pit's bringing her out."
Sure enough, Pit was flapping his wings hard, lifting Katan from the hole and laying her down on the ship's top, where she gave a cry of pain and misery. Immediately, she continued to keen her song of loss as Roy gave a cry of terror and ran to her side. Samus appeared, her face unknown behind her helmet. Falco's face became even harder as Pit descended into the hole again.
"Where's Marth?" Samus asked. Falco turned his head away, causing Samus's eyes to widen. "No…"
Pit reappeared, lifting a cape-wrapped bundle. Blue hair dangled from one end, a golden tiara tangled within the navy locks.
"No!" Samus cried, rushing to meet the struggling angel. Throwing her helmet off, she pulled Marth's body from his grip, much to Pit's relief. Pit descended one last time to retrieve Katan and Marth's swords, not wanting to face the pain any longer.
Samus rapidly unwrapped the cape, revealing Marth's burnt face. He seemed to be sleeping almost, if it weren't for the damage to his face and the rest of his body. Roy looked up, crying out as he spotted his friend. If it weren't for Katan, he would have been with Samus and the lost Marth.
"We also lost Link and Zelda." Roy then overheard Falco saying to Mario. Roy spotted the blue avian, whose head was bowed in defeat. "Otherwise, we were successful. We fought the leader… apparently only Smash Balls could harm him, though Marth was somehow able to do without… Marth then… killed the leader, but that turned out to be suicidal. Katan and Pikachu recognized the danger and went to save him, but it was too late. They were thrown against the walls by an explosion… I guess Marth's lung was pierced and Pikachu was crushed. Katan broke several bones…"
A loud, painful wail broke loose. Everyone turned to see Samus bury her face against Marth and Katan's capes that bound Marth's prone body. Icy shivers ran throughout the group of Smashers as some strange bond allowed them to feel Samus's pain.
"R-Roy… is… that you…?" Katan wheezed. Roy turned back to Katan to see her staring at the sky, eyes dull. Her lip quivered, tears rolling steadily down the sides of her dirty face. Her keening was still going on, deep in her throat, which was quickly growing sore.
"Yes, Kat, its me. Shh, now, we'll get you to safety soon." Roy murmured to her as Doctor Mario bent down and gave a quick examination. He gave her a soft kiss, and she stopped keening, swallowing painfully.
"Broken back, in two places. Her right tibia and fibula are shattered, the tibia on her left leg as well. Right humerus shattered as well. Second-degree burns on her arms, neck, and face…" Doctor Mario shook his head. "That's all I can tell for now. She shouldn't have been moved, but what's past is past."
Falco closed his eyes for a moment, turning his head skywards while Mario watched the clouds pass by. Ike stood respectfully behind Samus, his eyes closed in silent respect for the fallen swordsman and the mourning bounty hunter. Young Link sat against Team Four's transporter, Lucas next to him, offering word of condolence while Nana wrapped her arms around the young hylians, offering her own words of comfort. Popo and Pichu sat in vigil around the bundle of Falco's jacket where their crushed friend lay in silent death. Pit joined Roy, Katan, and Doctor Mario.
"We must leave. The ship will crash, and we'll just loose more lives." Pit spoke sadly.
"Right. Ike, please help Samus with Marth. Doctor Mario, I'll leave Katan to you. Can anyone control a transporter?" Mario raised his hand. "Alright, you control a transporter. We need to move people." Falco took command, though it pained him to see looks of unhappiness and pain on his friends' faces.
Samus could not lift Marth on her own, no matter how she tried. Though she wanted to move him on her own, she finally gave into Ike's silent gaze and allowed him to help. They lifted his body into one of the transporters. Doctor Mario retrieved an emergency stretcher and with Roy and Pit's help, lifted Katan onto it where she again burst into tears from pain and loss. Roy and Pit then lifted the stretcher and carried it into the same transporter as Samus and Ike had gone to. Falco went to pick up Pikachu, but saw that Popo had already done it while Pichu wailed, sparks flying uncontrolled from his cheeks.
"Pichu, calm down!" Falco pleaded, unused to having to deal with the younger Smashers. Nana picked up the baby mouse with soft murmurings, calming the devastated poke'mon down. She followed the silent Young Link into the other transporter, followed by Lucas and Falco. Pit emerged from one transporter and went to the other, to even out the numbers. Mario followed Pit, and soon, the Transporter was loaded. Falco sighed, carrying Falchion and Katan's sword into the transporter where they lay in death and pain. Doctor Mario was again at Katan's side, Samus still mourning her lover's death.
Falco sighed, slipping into the pilot seat. With that, the two transporters took off, leaving the ship as its descent began to pick up. Ten minutes later, the ship fell to the ground, where the explosion could be seen from far away.
One Week Later
The Smash Mansion had been in various states of disrepair when the tattered Smashers had returned to its comfortable folds. Master Hand, though just as devastated as the Smashers at their losses, had cleaned the place up. The injured had been sent to the hospital wing, some for longer stays than others. No one wanted to be alone. Soon, the remaining Smasher population had removed themselves to the hospital wing, creating a safe haven for the injured, both mentally and physically.
The death total was six of the twenty-nine who had set out originally, plus Crazy Hand's disappearance. Yoshi had been slashed across the throat; Luigi's body, recovered by Master Hand, had been gruesome, and only his close friends and family were allowed to see him. Mario was devastated at the loss of his younger brother and the green dinosaur that had always been there to help him, even before becoming smashers. Link and Zelda's bodies were never recovered, as they had disappeared immediately after their deaths. Pikachu's skull had been smashed, causing his brain to be cut and smashed as well. A punctured lung killed Marth.
For a while, Doctor Mario was unsure as to whether or not Katan would pass on to join her six fellow departed smashers as well. A broken rib had scratched her heart, and she was slowly fading. But much to his amazement, the scratch healed quickly, and she began her long road to recovery.
Fox, to his amazement, had been suffering from a concussion from his crash-landing. Two of his fingers were badly broken, yet he had not noticed the entire time. He recovered quickly. Pichu and Young Link suffered from first and second degree burns while Falco's feathers had protected him. Pit had not only crushed part of his fragile right wing, he had also strained the muscles, and would not be able to fly for some time. Red's Charizard suffered similar strains in his wings, as well as several pulled muscles. Donkey Kong managed to pull a leg muscle in catching the falling transporter, though it didn't keep him off his feet. Ness and Lucas were psychically exhausted, and slept for days before awakening.
It had been a whole week since the day the Smashers had fought the Primids, and won. Master Hand floated into the Hospital Wing, where extra beds had been set up. Not a single Smasher didn't have a haunted look to their dull, tired eyes. Some hadn't said so much as a word since the battle, such as Samus or Young Link. Nana and Popo didn't leave Young Link's side once. Pichu, though torn up from his loss of his fellow mouse, stayed with Roy and Katan, not wanting to part with them for a moment. Pit helped Doctor Mario by running errands, finding things, or whatever he could without using his delicate wings. Red also had his poke'mon helping. Charizard could heat water that his Squirtle would spit into a bowl, and Ivysaur could use its vines to lift whole beds without awakening or moving its occupant. This came especially helpful when Doctor Mario needed to move Katan.
One night, the night of the full moon, Doctor Mario used a special technique he had learned during his time away to safely heal Katan's broken back. She would now be safe to use a wheel chair, and eventually, crutches.
The day after this happened Master Hand decided it was time for a very important matter. It was gently raining the day he summoned the Smashers, giving each a black box. "Please put these on." He asked gently. Upon looking into the boxes, the smashers found black clothing; funeral clothing. More tears were shared here as Smashers split to change. Peach accompanied Katan to help her.
Within half an hour, the smashers again were summoned; each wore their clothing; many wore black versions of their own clothes, such as Mario, Peach, Fox, Falco, Popo and Nana, Young Link, Donkey and Diddy Kong. Kirby's natural color was subdued to match the moment. Samus wore her clothes from Desert, which had been dyed black for the occasion. Roy and Ike wore black dress clothes Master Hand had secretly retrieved from the Fire Emblem world. Katan wore a black robe that allowed easy changing. Doctor Mario wore a black long coat, Captain Falcon, Ness, Red, and Lucas wore black jackets and slacks. Lucas and Ness wore their tennis shoes. Jigglypuff wore a black bow behind an ear, while Pit donned black robes from his home in the heavens. Katan wrapped a black scarf around the quiet Pichu's neck before holding him tight.
The procession was silent as they made their way to the silent gardens. Roy pushed Katan in a wheelchair, as she was too weak to try her crutches. Friends were close together, couples holding hands tight. Umbrellas were passed around and shared. Few words were shared.
They arrived in the gardens, sadness heavy upon the air. One grave already lay there; Mr. Game and Watch had been alone all this time in his earth-laden grave. Now he was to have eternal company.
Near to Mr. Game and Watch's grave, six caskets were laid out. Some of the more emotional Smashers could be heard breathing heavily. Someone could not hold back a sob however.
Master Hand hovered over the caskets. The Smashers gathered around, tears running down many faces. "Friends." He began. "Family. That was who these smashers were. They gave their lives to save their homes, their families, their friends, and the other worlds from certain destruction. They knew the dangers, and they faced them bravely. Now they lay, waiting to move on to the next world."
A horde of Peach's Toads appeared and soon, the six caskets were being lowered into their final resting place. The Toads retreated solemnly, standing off as one by one, each smasher came forward and began to bury their friends and family. Soon, six identical mounds lay in silence; four filled, two not.
"Mr. Game and Watch. Crazy Hand. Yoshi. Marth. Pikachu. Link. Zelda. And Luigi. These eight will never leave our memories, or those who to this day, are still missing." Master Hand sighed. "Because of these losses, the Smash Tournaments can go on no longer. A portal, to each of your homes, shall be created, and a device for each will be given. This device will allow you to communicate with anyone who also carries this device. Eventually, we shall have a reunion, but for now, wounds need to heal. I will, however, never disband the Super Smash Bros. Once a Smasher, always a smasher. This is not the end, but merely, a new beginning."
Sad eyes rose to watch Master Hand as his voice continued to grow strong. "For now, I will send each of you home with your communicators. Smashers…" he looked around one last time. "Dismissed."
Well, how'd you like it?
Pit: Hmmm... Rather depressing, if you ask me.
Ike: I agree with Angel Boy.
Pichu: One more chapter after this! The Epilogue, of course.
I do plan, in order to tie up all the loose strings, to do a SHORT sequel that will take place oh... 15 years in the future? It won't be action-packed or anything, so please don't expect too much out of it.
Pit: Review please! The authoress would like to know what everyone thought of this chapter.
Ike: And we'll be back sooon with the epilogue. Review!