Okay, here's another chapter! I'm on a roll!

ENJOY!

Chapter 14.: Two Heroes Emerged!

It will take about a few days to a week for a typical Smasher to complete Classic Mode, so the Smashers had to wait anxiously for Mario to come back alive. Luigi was still afraid of his older brother's safety, but Peach was there to cheer him up. Yoshi was also worried to the point of not eating, so Luigi and Peach had to escort him out of his room to eat something.

One day, Shulk was practicing against Mewtwo in the Training Room. With a final Back Slash, Mewtwo was sent flying offscreen. When he returned, they both called it quits and returned to the room.

"That was a good match, Mewtwo!" Shulk smiled.

Mewtwo nodded, but sighed. "It feels great to be back, but … I feel that I'm not good enough to return."

"Hey, now," Shulk said, placing his arm around the Psychic-type's shoulders, "you're just a little rusty, is all. It happens to everyone. If you train hard enough, you'll get back up in no time!"

Mewtwo thought this over, and nodded. "Thank you …"

Suddenly, someone burst in the room. The two friends were startled, but realized that it was just Lucina.

Sighing, Lucina looked down, not wanting to tell them the bad news.

"Lucina?" Shulk asked, "What's the matter?"

"Mario …" Lucina took a deep breath before she continued, "has been defeated. Alive, but defeated."

The two gasped in shock. "Seriously?!" Shulk cried.

"Yes," Lucina nodded sadly, "he's in the Smash Hospital. He's in a stable, but critical condition."

After waving Mewtwo off, Shulk followed Lucina there. Inside, Mario was laying on a hospital bed, clearly injured badly; his head was bleeding, blood was coming out from his mouth, and he had two black eyes, with one swollen shut. Nurse Peach was on the case, taking care of him as Bowser and Luigi watched.

"M-Mario!" Luigi sobbed, "Please don't do that again! You almost died back there if we hadn't come!" Tears stained his face as he cried.

"See?" Lucina pointed, "He was unable to destroy this black swarm, and he's hurt."

"My God …" Shulk gasped. He then remembered how aggressive Master Hand was even before things were out of control; the hand capturing him just to make someone challenge him to a fight, squeezing the life out of him … he gulped, worried about how powerful Master Hand had become.

Lucina also said nothing, racking her head over the unseen nightmare.

Shulk went towards Nurse Peach. "Is he .. okay?" He asked, his tone sounding worried.

"He's critical, but stable," Peach answered, "it scares me to think about what he was up against …"

"So now what?" Shulk wondered, "Is this swarm … continuing?"

Mario coughed up blood, but had the strength to answer his question. "Y-yes … i-it's still … there." Lucina clutched her chest, taking a deep breath as she began to think.

"Lucina?" Shulk asked upon seeing Lucina grabbing her chest. "You all right?"

"I-I'm fine … just … thinking." She knew what will happen if she said what she wanted to say; it will be met with protest with not just Mario, but also Shulk.

"Y-you think that this swarm … would go after us?" Luigi asked, shaking.

"Yes," Lucina answered, "if it can overtake Master Hand, who knows what it would do? Even when we destroy it, it might only be temporary."

Luigi's eyes widened, and he began to sob loudly, "I-I don't wanna be eaten by that thing!"

Shulk knew that he had to do something. Mustering up his courage, he then spoke up. "I'll stop it."

Lucina turned to him, and she nodded. "And I'm going with you."

Shulk stared at her in shock. "Lucina, it's dangerous to fight it. You could get killed!"

Lucina shook her head. "I won't let you go on in this alone. If it's powerful enough to almost kill Mario himself, then we need two people to stop it. And it'll be us."

"Bu-"

"Shulk, I know what you're going to say, but I want to say my piece. I don't want anything happen to you, like with Laurent. If I lose you as well …"

"I feel the same way with you, Lucina," Shulk protested, "I can't lose you either like I lost Fiora!"

Lucina hesitated. "Well ...I won't let you go in this alone. Someone has to stop this swarm."

Shulk also hesitated. "You're right …"

There was an audible cough, and the two turned to see Mario. "P-please be careful … you two … I know you can do it … I heard that you had changed fate … before … so I'm sure that … you can change fate again …"

Shulk and Lucina nodded, and they turned to each other. "Well," Lucina said, "we'll be on our way. If something happens to us …"

"No, Lucina," Mario said, coughing up more blood, "you won't fail. I KNOW you two can do it!"

Lucina smiled. "Thank you Mario."

When Lucina went out, Shulk was about to follow, but he heard a male voice behind him.

"Wait."

Shulk turned to see Chrom and Robin standing. "Shulk, right?" Chrom asked.

Shulk nodded. "Is there something you want, Sire?"

"Please," Chrom held his wife's hand tightly as she let him spoke, "take good care of my baby girl. I don't want anything to happen to her."

Shulk smiled and nodded, partially glad that he wasn't warning him not to do any funny business with her. "I will, Sire."

With that, Shulk followed Lucina outside.