Zelda was now rushing through the halls of the Smash Headquarters at a breakneck speed. She took long, yet quick strides; her dress seemed to be of very little concern to her. Ike, on the other hand, was having a bit of trouble. Aether wasn't designed to be a maneuverable sword. The tip of the blade in its sheath hit the backs of Ike's thighs with every heavy step, causing him to occasionally stumble. His armor wasn't exactly the most lightweight ever, but he still managed to keep up with Zelda through sheer force of will.
The two were on the second floor of the massive hotel. They had already seen the training room. It was a large room, Ike remembered, filled with multiple training dummies, a shooting range, and strange equipment that were apparently supposed to aid in physical training. There was also a small juice bar, run by a different employee of the Headquarters, where they served supplemental powders and juices, along with serving some minor snacks for before or after a workout. They were now heading across a balcony that had looked over the main lobby.
Zelda turned her head to see who was down there and saw her good friend, Link. She stopped abruptly and Ike rejoiced for the break. He took Aether off of his back and leaned it against the balcony, putting both of his arms on the ledge of the railing. A single trail of sweat broke from his brow. It wasn't as if Ike was in bad shape, quite the contrary really, but Zelda seemed to have the uncanny ability to zip from place to place and Ike was often just barely able to keep up with her.
"Link!" Zelda called down. The man in green that Ike had assumed to be Zelda's brother or cousin or something looked up and smiled warmly at Zelda. "You guys still down there?" she teased.
"Nah, just want lunch," Link replied, his voice was rather husky; a stark contrast to Zelda's clean soft voice. Link looked at Ike and asked, "That your guy?" There was a small hint of something in his voice, a hidden implication that Ike couldn't quite make out.
"Yep, where's yours?" Zelda responded. Ike scanned the area and saw that Link was the only one in the foyer at the time.
Link chuckled and said, "He went on ahead, almost wacked me with that scythe of his. He looks like he knows how to use it. Gonna be a tough fight in the ones coming up." He scratched the back of his back nervously.
"Just don't forget your shield this time and you'll do fine." Zelda soothed. She glanced at a clock on the wall and then shouted, "Look, we have to go, we'll talk more later, so just wait until after the fights, okay?" With that, she began her speed walk off. Ike grunted and pushed himself of the railing as Link shot him a knowing, yet sympathetic look. He grabbed Aether and ran off after Zelda.
(=)(=)(=)(=)
"Here," Zelda was saying, "Are the Intermediate Fighter's bedrooms." She opened the door and Ike stepped inside. It was much more spacious than the beginner's room, and much brighter; it still only had one window, but it was larger and had a potted plant in it, adding a little bit of color to otherwise bland room. The color scheme was primarily the same, except for the bed, which, instead of the usual bed was a giant pillow with several holes poked into it. "This was Bowser's room," Zelda explained.
"That explains the holes in the pillow," Ike responded, remembering that Bowser was the giant turtle-thing with the spines on his back. "Why do they separate people's rooms based on their fighting ability?"
"It's an incentive thing mostly. Most people are on this floor, but obviously people are rather fickly and it gives us a reason to want to improve our abilities as fighters. Also, your rank shows up when you fight, so if you want any sort of respect around here, you need to have at least be on this floor."
"Is anyone on the bottom floor?"
Zelda sighed and said, "My good friend, Peach, is on that floor. Fortunately, so Ganondorf; he's kidnapped me so many times back in my universe it's not even funny."
Ike laughed and asked, "Who saved you?" There was a great dose of sarcasm in his voice.
"Link," Zelda replied flatly. She wrung her hands slightly and said, "I can handle myself, but in our world, Ganondorf is much stronger, and Link is even stronger than that."
"So when you got the opportunity to come here, where you were all on an even playing field, you jumped at the chance," Ike finished. "Am I right?"
Zelda nodded and there was another awkward silence between the two. She closed the door behind Ike and then began to walk off towards some stairs, glancing at the clock along the wall in the hall.
As the duo walked up the carpeted steps, Ike noticed a dramatic change in the coloring of the walls. Rather than the bland white-orange, they were painted a light blue, only slightly darker than sky blue. The carpet was now white with green floral designs etched along its border. Pictures of different fighters hung outside certain doors. Zelda kept walking as Ike desperately tried to put faces to names with the pictures provided. A man in a blue jumpsuit and red blazer helmet was probably Captain Falcon; he had the same arrogance in the picture as he did when he fought. They passed by several rooms that had pictures that Ike didn't recognize, such as a pink marshmallow type thing with a face and an anthropomorphic falcon. Zelda suddenly stopped and Ike just barely managed to do the same without running into her. He looked at the picture on the wall next to the door and saw Link. Zelda pulled out a small key from a pouch on her dress and opened the door. Inside, there was a queen sized bed, messily made and with a green comforter. Hung on the walls were various machines and weapons, and on a desk which held both a television and computer, there was a picture of him and Zelda, making a funny face with Samus in the background, rolling her eyes at the two.
"How do you know Link?" Ike asked, curiosity getting the better of him. "Is he your brother or cousin or something?"
Zelda stifled a laugh. "No, he's not of any relation to me. Let's head down up to the next floor so I can show you what you're really aiming for and I'll explain on the way." Zelda closed the door and shut the door, locking it behind her, and, as her usual, she was off once more. "Link and I have been friends for over a decade now. I met him when I was strolling through one of the villages around Hyrule, near the castle of course. As we were walking, I saw a boy huddled under a crude shelter, he looked half frozen. I ran over to him, against my father's wishes, but I did it anyway. So I ran up to him and he kind of cowered away from me, but I pushed him into the open, and right into my father, who's a rather big man, mind you. I asked him where his mommy and daddy were and he said they had left him for dead, and that they didn't want him because he was such a hassle." That sentence struck a chord with Ike and his face contorted as memories flooded back to him. He shook his head clear and kept walking, trying to keep his face as even as possible. "After a few more questions, I basically asked my dad if we could take Link in, and he said that we could, but he'd have to become a squire to one of our knights. And ever since, we've been best friends."
"Have you guys ever considered dating each other?" Ike asked, but soon regretted it when Zelda stopped in front of nothing in particular. She stared into space for a moment and then continued walking.
"I've entertained the idea, but I don't think it will ever happen," Zelda responded quickly and in almost a whisper. Zelda dropped the subject as quickly as she seemed to walk.
After several minutes, Ike and Zelda stopped at an oak paneled door. They were on the fourth and final floor of the Headquarters, which Zelda explained to be an actual mansion. "This is my room, for now at least, the Elite rooms!" She smiled broadly and brought out an elaborate key, decorated with small jewels and the like. She pushed open the door and Ike's jaw dropped.
Inside, the walls were a deep shade of navy blue, twisting designs painted in shimmering gold and silver danced across the walls and glimmered beautifully in the mid-morning sun. The walls were bordered with white marble and were in the shape of twisting vines and bunches of grapes. The floor was an almost beige color, with a repeating diamond design sewn into it. The room itself was much bigger than the Intermediate rooms, and even the Experienced rooms. In the center of the room was a four-poster bed. White satin curtains veiled a bed with a red comforter and multiple feather pillows. On the wall that it was facing was a flat screen television with some sort of device below it. To Ike's right was a small kitchen area that Ike hadn't remembered seeing in any other room. The kitchen had a full sized refrigerator, something Ike had remembered seeing in the kitchen, and several counters with different things on them. To the right of the bed, just next to the kitchen was a wall of windows with a door leading out to what looked like a small balcony made of marble. To the left, there was a slightly less opulent door, which Ike assumed led to the bathroom. Only the Experienced and Elite rooms had private bathrooms, a definite incentive.
"Come outside with me," Zelda said, enjoying the astounded expression on Ike's face. She gingerly took his rough hand and pulled him towards the glass door that led to the balcony. She slid it open and pushed Ike outside then stepped outside himself.
Ike squinted in the sun, but enjoyed the warm feeling it spread to his whole body. After his eyes adjusted, Ike looked over the marble railing that bordered the floor he was on. The view was amazing, to say the least. Ike saw rolling hills filled with lush greenery. The bright blue sky seemed to just disappear into the mountains in the distance, being eaten by the mammoth land masses that had snow capped peaks. The sun gleamed on the valley directly below where a yellow mouse and another pink marshmallow, but with a different face, and a bipedal Anubis-like beast were walking.
"Hey Samus!" Zelda called to Ike's left and he saw that another balcony was about twenty feet away from where he was standing.
The blonde woman who had spit at Crazy Hand turned from where she was standing, a trail of smoke following her. She wore the skintight blue jumpsuit with glowing designs all over it that she had been wearing earlier. The only difference was that she now held a cigarette in one hand. "Yea?" Samus responded, inhaling deeply into her tobacco. She lightly blew out, causing a massive amount of smoke to obscure her face.
Zelda grimaced, "I thought that Master Hand said you weren't to smoke for a while."
Samus rolled her eyes and said, "I don't really give a damn what the talking hand says, you know that by now." She blew out a final bit of a smoke and then dropped her cigarette onto the cold marble, snubbing it out with the heel of her boot. "Besides, my guy wanted to know if we were allowed, so I took him up here and figured I might as well have one." Samus glanced through her window into her room and shook her head.
Sighing Zelda asked, "Where is your guy anyway?"
"He had to go to the bathroom, so I let him use mine. God, what's his name…something related to a penis…" Samus trailed off as a gruff man in grey combat fatigues stepped out of the door. He had brown hair and quite thick stubble.
"I heard that," he grumbled. His eyes narrowed at Samus, but she remained emotionless.
"You'll get over it," she countered, causing the army man to lose the stare down. Samus stared at him smugly and then pushed her bangs out of her eyes.
"Name's Snake, though some people call me Solid Snake, don't know why," Snake called to Ike and Zelda, who, in turn, introduced themselves.
Samus straightened and shouted, "See? I told you he was named after his daddy's dick!" Ike laughed hysterically and even Zelda had to cover her mouth, trying to act a little more mature than he friend. Snake blushed heavily and reached for his pistol; Samus noticed this and commented, "Don't even try it." Snake froze as Samus' eyes gleamed with anticipation, daring Snake to draw and see what happened. Snake dropped his hands and walked into the room, murmuring something about being in the hall.
There was an awkward silence broken solely by Zelda's cough. "Well, Samus, we'll see you later…the fights are going to start in about thirty minutes." She wrung her hands uncomfortably
"Mhm, I'll see you later Zel. Ike, good luck." Samus said with a mock salute. Ike let Zelda through the door first and as he was about to go through, saw Samus pull another cigarette out of her case and light it with a chrome lighter. She sucked in deeply and exhaled the massive puff of smoke, sighing contently.
(=)(=)(=)(=)
Ike and Zelda were now walking down the hallway, quickly and quietly. Ike finally got the gall to speak. "Is she always like that?"
"No," Zelda said concisely. "She's just really stressed…she and Marth are the only two who consistently manage to be able to stay in the Elite Suites. Fox and I usually bounce between the two with Link and Kirby. Lately though, Samus has hit a rough spot and has started to slip, but she's still one of the best fighters…just never good enough for herself."
"I take it the smoking isn't helping her any?"
"No, it's not, but it hasn't hurt her either apparently. Scans show that Samus is as healthy as can be despite her smoking habit, but it's still disgusting." Zelda sighed heavily. "I'm really sorry that you had to see her in such an aggressive mood, she's actually pretty nice; although, the whole making fun on Snake's name…that's Samus through and through."
The duo remained in silence for a while they walked down two flights of stairs into the second floor hallway, at which point they had to cross in order to get to the stairs on to the first floor. Ike glanced at a clock and it read 11:45, they had fifteen minutes to get there, so there was plenty of time. "Hey, Zelda," Ike said.
"Yes?"
"You said that Marth was one of the top fighters here, but I haven't seen him…or Roy for that matter."
"Oh…Well, they're around…I think, you know, doing things." Zelda grunted and then sped up her already quick pace, so that she actually began jogging a little.
"Okay, if you didn't want to tell me, just say so!" Ike called, a bit of playfulness in his voice to show that he was joking, mostly.
Zelda stopped long enough for Ike to catch up and then said, "Look, I can't tell you…at least not yet, and I don't know if I ever will, but they'll be here for the placement fights, I know that they're not fighting each other…unlike you and I."
The two got to the stairs and quickly headed down as Ike said, "So I'll be fighting a pretty princess then?"
"Pretty princess my ass," Zelda whispered to herself, a small smile growing, but she hid it from Ike.
(=)(=)(=)(=)
"ALL OF THE PEOPLE-THINGS ARE BACK! YAY!" was the first thing that Ike heard when he entered the crowded foyer. Indeed, he and Zelda were one of the few stragglers who were walking into the area, although most of them came from the Café.
"Yes, well then," began Master Hand, "As you all have probably figured out by now, the Placement Fights will begin shortly, and all new members will be fighting their guides, and members who did not have one will fight each other. In these fights, we encourage you to go all out, and show almost all of your tricks…almost I said. This will be a test of your ability and we will give you a rating of 1-10 and that will be your rating for the next month until when the scores are tallied up once more, at which point you will move up, move down, or stay at the same area. You've all seen the rooms, and I'm sure they're more than enough incentive to fight well. Now, the goal of these fights is not to run your opponent through or to blow their brains out, but merely to knock them far enough off of the side of the arena so that they can't get back on, no matter what they do. Once you fall to a certain point or go far enough sideways, a teleporter will bring you back here, and all of your injuries will be completely healed, not that you'll have more than a few bruises here and there. Now, if you look towards the screen behind Crazy Hand you'll see what round you'll fight in. There will be about seven rounds total, 6 fights per round, so here are the first two rounds' combatants.
Round One:
Samus-Snake
Link-Wanderer
Mario-Wario
Copycat-Mewtwo
Falco-Wolf
Peach-Luigi
Round Two:
Ike-Zelda
Eon Angelos-Yoshi
Mr. Game and Watch-R.O.B
Captain Falcon-Eve Vacant
Ganondorf- Alanis
Marth- Shade (My own character)
"And those are the first two rounds of match-ups. We ask that anyone not fighting in said fights be patient and find something to do for the next thirty minutes or so. Those who are fighting in first round fights, make your way over to one of the six teleporters on the far end of the wall. Those who are fighting in the second round, go in after them. Two people can fit in one teleporter, so just go with it. The first round fighters will be teleported to one of our many practice fields. They are flat and only have three platforms, so it will be a good start for some of our more complex arenas. The second batch will be teleported to the waiting rooms with a random combatant that's not the one in your teleporter or your opponent. Now, let the first fights of the season begin!" Master and Crazy Hand clapped together loudly, sending shockwaves through the very foundation of the mansion.
Ike watched as the first round fighters all filed into the teleporters. They were wide tubes with a reflective back wall and a glass door. A blue circle made up the entirety of the floor. "I wanna push the button!" Crazy Hand exclaimed. Master Hand made a 'go ahead' gesture with his whole body and Crazy pushed the button, causing a bright blue light to fill up the area. Ike turned away and covered his eyes and when he turned around, everyone was gone. The doors opened up once more and Crazy shouted, "ALL ABOARD!"
Ike stepped in nervously, a knot having formed in his stomach. He wasn't really worried about the fight, but rather about being teleported after his last lovely experience. A girl, Alanis, if he remembered correctly stepped inside and the glass door shut. She wasn't as tall as Ike, but not short in comparison to others. Her hair was shockingly white and uncut coming down to her shoulders. Her shoulders were shrugged and her head was down, seeming to stare at her black bodysuit and equally dark jacket. She clenched gloved hands and looked up, revealing one crimson eye, the other covered by her hair. Dark circles were under her eye and she seemed tired, high strung, and ready to pounce on Ike. Ike quickly looked away and Alanis put her head back down. Suddenly, a familiar light enveloped Ike and he put his hand back against Aether to keep it from going anywhere.
(=)(=)(=)(=)
Ike had closed his eyes, but didn't feel a thing. No rush of air, no movement, no sickening sensation, nothing; instead he felt the feel of the floor change. Whereas it had once been hard and tough, Ike was now standing on a blood red carpet in a white room with six television monitors showing six empty stadiums. He straightened and saw another man standing in the same room with him.
The man had to be Shade, he just fit the name. His hair was long, about to mid-neck, and it was black, but had deep red highlights with white tips. Thick stubble adorned his face which had a long scar running from his left ear, down his left cheek, over misshapen lips and onto his neck. His eyes seemed to sparkle with kindness, but there seemed to be something hidden beneath them. He wore a white t-shirt with a picture of an eye that seemed to be crying blood and a heavy leather overcoat with the same insignia on the back. His black jeans were faded gray and leather work boots adorned his legs. Two black swords were in their sheaths on either side of him. He leaned up against the wall and looked up at the TV screens.
"They're starting," he said, his voice deep and rich. Ike turned to the screen and saw that all of the fights had indeed started. It was obvious who hadn't been in the fights before as they were the ones that were panicking and desperately trying to avoid the incoming attacks of their more experienced counterparts.
After a few minutes, it seemed that the new members got into the swing of things and they started to fight back. Ike watched as Samus, now in a full orange battle suit shot beams of energy at Snake, who seemed to be setting different things up here and there, his mind working a thousand miles per second trying to figure out Samus' weaknesses. Alas, all of the careful planning was put to waste when Samus got close enough to wrap Snake in a whip of energy. She pulled him in close and Ike could just imagine her smiling as she slung him into his own explosives, which were placed at strategic locations around the field. Snake felt himself being pushed to the edge and he almost fell off, but managed to stop himself at the last second. From off of his back he pulled out a giant gun and fired a single missile, then rolling out of the way of one of Samus' bombs. Samus seemed to laugh as she stepped out of the way of the incoming missile; however she stopped when she picked up a faint sound behind her. She turned and her eyes widened when she saw the same missile coming straight back at her!
She instantly leapt up, but still it followed her. After scanning the area and finding Snake, Samus saw that he had the control and was actually telling the missile where to go. "Clever," she conceded to herself. "Just not clever enough." Samus sprinted towards Snake with missile in tow and slammed her cannon into his midsection, sending him flying off of the arena floor. She then jumped straight up and did a small back flip. Since Snake couldn't control the projectile, it went straight forward and careened into him with an explosion that shook the stadium. When the smoke cleared, Samus was left alone in the middle of the battlefield, he helmet tucked underneath her arm and a smirk on her face. She then disappeared in a flash of blue light.
(=)(=)(=)(=)
About ten minutes later, the fights concluded and Master Hand appeared on the screens all over the premises. "Congratulations to all fighters! Those were very good first battles, and we will be announcing your scores at the end of the second round along with those scores. The following combatants have won this round: Samus, Link, Mario, Copycat, Falco, and Luigi. Congrats to all of you. Now, to all of those in the waiting rooms, you will have several minutes to orient yourselves once you get onto the battlefield, and then when you hear me shout 'Go!' you may commence fighting, anything except tampering with the field goes! Enjoy!"
Ike felt the sensation of the teleportation and groaned. "I don't think I'm ever going to get over this…"
(=)(=)(=)(=)
When Ike opened his eyes, he was on a field. It was just a circular platform with several, smaller, and floating platforms above it, held in place by some mysterious force. The battlefield was a good size, large enough to avoid attacks, but close enough to keep them in range. Ike saw Zelda on the other end of the field waiting patiently and eyeing him carefully, no doubt devising a strategy against Ike. However, Ike figured what it would be. He knew that she possessed powerful and long ranged magic, allowing her to hit him without ever getting in range of his blade; Ike knew how to fight this.
"Combatants, to the ready!" boomed a voice from nowhere. "3, 2, 1, BEGIN!"
Zelda instantly dashed forward, a small red orb in her hands. Ike walked to the middle of the stage as Zelda did exactly what he predicted, ran to an edge and shot a huge fireball at him. He held up Aether and the magic fizzled out against the blade. Zelda raised an eyebrow, impressed at how stood his ground and she knew that she'd have to get at an angle his sword couldn't reach. Zelda charged up another fireball, but this time she held it in one hand while forming a green orb in her other hand. She shot the green orb at Ike, but more so at his feet. Ike backed up and gasped as roots began to encroach around him, he desperately tried to move, but found that he was stuck tight. Zelda glided around the edge of the stage, flinging fireballs to and fro. Ike watched as at least ten fireballs came in all directions. He held up Aether, channeled energy in it and watched as the balls went up and into his blade.
At this, Zelda looked confused. Ike grinned and slammed Aether down on the roots, right between his feet. The blade sent a shockwave of fire over the branches, sending them to their crispy fried doom. Zelda was a little winded, that strategy usually worked, but she hadn't expected Ike's sword to actually be able to draw in magic. Suddenly, Ike got down on one knee and put his blade so that the tip was behind him. Zelda watched him curiously, ready to jump at the first sign of movement. Out of nowhere, Ike shot forward with blinding speed, crossing the entire radius of the field in a matter of seconds. His blade swung into Zelda and she grunted as she was thrown back off the platform. She took a deep breath and then disappeared, reappearing behind Ike and she thrust her palm into his back, using magic to send him sprawling to the ground.
He quickly got up and then fell right back down at what he saw. Standing where Zelda once was, there was now an androgynous figure glaring at Ike. He or she sprinted forward with a speed Ike had never seen and then disappeared in a puff of smoke. Suddenly, Ike felt a hundred tiny pinpricks hit his back, but his armor did deflect most of the needles. He turned just in time to hold up Aether as another volley bounced harmlessly off of Aether's gleaming blade. The mystery person then launched a chain out of seemingly nowhere and wrapped it around Ike's sword hand.
Ike quickly threw the blade to the other hand as he felt himself being pulled towards the unrealistically strong person. He swung Aether with as much grace as he would have if he had done it with his main hand and chopped the chain in two. Ike recovered from the attack just as the unknown person leaped up to get on top of one of the platforms. Ike threw Aether up as the blue-clad figure tried to land on the platform. Aether's spinning caused the figure to be slammed to the ground and Ike, timing it perfectly, executed a kick right on the midsection of the man or woman. He or she slid against the ground, trying to stop itself.
Ike caught Aether and smiled, but his smile turned to a gasp as he saw the mystery person veil themselves in a sparkling light. When it faded, Zelda was back, an amused smile on her face. "Surprise!" she said with a gesture. Ike remained stunned. "I think it's time to end this…" Zelda moved both of her hands over each other and a ball of electricity formed in between them, crackling wildly. Ike had regained him composure, but the next few things happened too fast for him to react.
Zelda thrust her hands forward and an arc of lighting forced Ike to the very edge of the stage, where Zelda had teleported. She threw another magic-reinforced punch and sent Ike flying back across the stage. Ike dug Aether into the platform, trying to stop, but it was no use as he felt himself falling and falling…and falling…until he was back in the lobby.
(=)(=)(=)(=)
Ike looked around at the group gathered, who were applauding. He was back in the main area of the mansion and had not a single scratch on him. He felt perfectly fine, except maybe a little shamed for losing like that.
Out of nowhere Zelda appeared. The audience of finished fighters applauded once more and Ike and Zelda were standing. "That was a good fight. Thought you weren't gonna make it Zel, for a second at least."
Zelda blushed. "I'm a bit rusty, but I think the best part was when I transformed."
"Yea, what the hell was that?" Ike almost shouted, but managed to keep him voice restrained.
"She is Sheik, my alter ego of sorts," Zelda explained. "I can use my magic to transform into her at will, and as such, my fighting style changes. It also confuses most people, like you!" Zelda and Samus roared with laughter as Ike hung his head.
"Don't worry 'bout it too much, Kye-," Samus started.
"Ike."
"Whatever, don't worry, she gets everyone with that trick, just 'member to keep your wits with you." With that, Samus pulled yet another cigarette from her pocket, lit it, and inhaled deeply. "That's the stuff," she sighed, letting out a cloud of smoke.
"Master Hand said you weren't supposed to do that for at least a week," said a voice behind the group that had gathered. They all turned and saw Link and a man that had to be Wanderer walking towards them. Link's sword and shield were sheathed and Wanderer held aloft a giant scythe that rested against his shoulder.
Zelda smiled and wrapped one arm around Link friendly. "I saw your fight; Wanderer here almost got you a few times." She turned to Wanderer who seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. "You're very skilled."
Wanderer seemed to not here Zelda but after a few seconds, he responded, "Thank you." His voice was smooth, almost sage-like, and it had a peculiar tone to it, like one who had been lost for a long time. His hair was long and shiny, jet black as well. His eyes were a misty grey, as if a resin had formed over them. He wore a black shirt with an orange and black striped vest over it, with black jeans and brown boots. His muscles were veiny and large, a stark contrast to Links agile, lighter form.
Samus was about to draw a comment from Links earlier statement, but Master and Crazy Hand clapped, extinguishing Samus' cigarette in the process. "Dammit!" she cursed, reaching for another, but was interrupted by Master Hand.
"SAMUS!" he roared, "I told you not to smoke until a week after the new recruits arrived!"
Samus sneered and retorted, "Stick it up your ass…wait…that doesn't make any sense…"
A tumult of laughter followed from the entire crowd and The Hands had to clap once more in order to regain control.
"Alright! With all of the fun and games out of the way, it is time to give you your scores! We based this, not on whether you won or lost, but rather on your fighting style and how you overcame different challenges your opponent gave you. If you look on the screen, you'll see…wait a second…are Marth and Shade still going at it?" The Master Hand seemed stunned and he tuned the screen to the camera that was showing the two men's battle.
Both of them looked somewhat tired and Shade had both of his blades out, trying desperately to parry Marth's lighting quick attacks. Shade finally found an opening and lunged at Marth, who was hit square in the stomach, forcing him back a few steps. Shade then slammed his foot down and a dark red and black spike emerged from the ground, forcing Marth to jump on it to avoid it.
This back and forth momentum went on for several more minutes before Master Hand said, "I think it is time for us to have a winner." He snapped his massive fingers and a glowing silver ball appeared on the screen. It had the tournament logo on it and exuded sheer power, a Smash Ball if Ike remembered correctly.
Marth saw the ball and with one swing of his sword, destroyed the ball, infusing himself with the mystical power. Shade sighed and sheathed his swords; he knew what was about to come. Marth moved forward in a way that shouldn't have even been possible. It didn't even seem like he moved; one second he was in one spot, the next, he was right in front of Shade; his sword had already been swung and Shade was now back in the lobby.
Marth appeared soon after and Master and Crazy Hand clapped, impressed with the two fighter's skill. "Excellent you two!" cheered Master Hand. Shade nodded and Marth smiled kindly. "Now, we shall see your scores. The winner will be placed above the loser, with each score next to your names and your rank next to that. Here are the scores:"
Samus- 9.4- Elite
Snake- 6.2- Intermediate
Link- 8.5- Advanced
Wanderer- 6.0- Intermediate
Mario- 5.8- Intermediate
Wario- 5.3- Intermediate
Copycat- 7.5- Advanced
Mewtwo- 6.1- Intermediate
Falco- 8.6- Advanced
Wolf- 4.7- Intermediate
Luigi- 4.3- Intermediate
Peach- 2.1- Basic
Zelda- 9.1- Elite
Ike- 8.2- Advanced
Eon Angelos- 6.8- Intermediate
Yoshi- 3.5- Basic
Mr. Game and Watch- 5.7- Intermediate
R.O.B. - 6.0- Intermediate
Captain Falcon- 7.9- Advanced
Eve Vacant- 6.8- Intermediate
Alanis- 9.0- Elite
Ganondorf- 4.5- Intermediate
Marth- 9.6- Elite
Shade- 8.8- Advanced
"Congratulations to all! If you see us after we get the next round of fighting begin, we will give you your room key. Until 6 months have passed, you are in this ranking; however, you may move rooms if given consent by the current owner." Master Hand explained enthusiastically.
"DISMISSED!" shouted Crazy Hand.
(=)(=)(=)(=)
Several hours later, Ike was in his new room, checking out his bathroom, and trying to figure out how all of the complicated machinery worked. "Damn, how do people live with such complex things?" he asked out loud as he pressed down on a small leaver attached to a white object. Suddenly, the water went rushing down the opening at the bottom of the whole and Ike jumped back several feet.
"Scared of the toilet are you?" a female voice questioned while seeming to suppress a giggle.
Ike turned to see Zelda, leaning up against a doorway. Alanis, Shade, and Falco were behind her. "I'll figure it out," Ike said nonchalantly, but his face betrayed him and everyone laughed…well, except for Alanis, who continued to stare down at the floor.
"Laughing at another's misfortune will only bring the wrath of hatred up you," she said, her voice solemn and melancholy.
Zelda looked perturbed, but turned to Ike and said, "Now, we have business to discuss. It is time you found out why this place really exists and where Marth and Roy have been…"
A/N: Another chapter done! A bit more action in this one, but we're still not at the main plot, but I need to set people up, so be patient! Also, just in case you missed them, the five OC's are: Alanis, created by Kuroshitsuji, Eon Angelos, created by Eonight, Wanderer, created by Leonlink, Eve Vacant, also created by Kuroshitsuji, and Copycat, created by Forgotten Tactic. If your character didn't make it, it's nothing personal, I just chose which characters I liked the most and which I could build off of. All of the ones picked will have ties into the main plot. Also, for those who know of my fic, The Mark, I am working on, but it's kind of slow going.