Yep, I've been gone for an eternity. No excuses. Here's a chapter to show that I am indeed alive. And yes, to some of my fans out there, there will be death. And, if the government is reading, I don't own Smash. Nope. Not at all. So suck on that, overly paranoid governmental systems. Since it's been a while, I probably got the chapter number wrong as well.

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Chapter 6

Minus

A brand new day in the slowly-spreading crisis. You'd think it unlikely that so much would happen, so many deaths, so many journeys beginning, all in just a day. But then again, it's completely lucky. But all days must end. Unfortunately for our heroes, a new one takes its place immediately after. For some, it wouldn't change much, but for our space-traveling vulpine, it was about to get much, much worse...

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The first feeling that Fox registered was pain. Followed by more pain. Followed by even more pain. Followed once more, not by pain, but by discomfort. Followed by a nagging cold, and finally followed by the distinct stench of blood. A habit that Fox has had over the years was to feel around with his hands, and listen to his surroundings before actually opening his eyes. A sort of fox-meditation, if you will.

First off, the source of his pain was mostly concentrated in his head. After feeling it around a bit, he felt a small, but noticeable bump. Possibly where he was clubbed? There was also a more wet feel to it in certain spots. While it was probably blood, that wouldn't be sufficient to create such a strong odor. If it was really bleeding that badly, he would be dead by now.

Next, he was laying on a stone-cold floor. He could feel the slight bumps, scratches, and gaps that pointed to ill-care. Perhaps a sewer? Maybe a prison cell?

Definitely a prison cell. If he had seen Bowser, he wouldn't be put into an area where he could easily escape. Even a dimwit such as Bowser would know that. Or, maybe Kamek told him to. That's open for interpretation.

Another way Fox realized he was in a prison cell was that he heard slight gasp of pain coming from near him. Perhaps another foolhardy hero chained to the wall? Perhaps another smasher is here? If so, who?

The gasps sounded female. Definitely belonging to a woman. Fox would check later.

After feeling his sides, he noted that his blaster was taken. Expected, of course, but Fox was still frustrated. How would he get out without a weapon? Even his Fire Fox generator and Reflector were taken. He had his Illusion device, but the bars were to large for him to dash through. Thus, it was useless.

Sadly, his communicator was also gone. Not as if there was any reception in a prison cell, but it would've been a nice comfort to have, just in case Slippy or Krystal had survived Wolf's invasion.

Finally, Fox decided to sum up the situation. Wolf was apparently alive, had killed Falco, his best friend, and stolen his ship. He may have killed his other friends as well, or hopefully thrown them overboard in the Mushroom Kingdom. They would've survived in that case.

Fox decided to open his eyes. He was indeed in a cell, with a hard, gray, cold stone floor, steel bars, and a small light bulb on the ceiling. Doing a quick scan of the room, Fox saw two things: One, Bowser had neglected to put in a bed or toiletries, and two, there was somebody chained to the wall. All Fox could gather about the woman was that she was blond, as her head was down, hiding all facial features. Her clothes were brown and tattered, and there was a strange black leather vest strapped to her chest.

"Hey there!" Fox said, tilting his head to the side, "You okay?" In response, the figure looked up. She had a face hat would've looked beautiful, except it was covered in swirls of eyeliner and lipstick, carried astray either by sweat or tears. Her blond hair was ragged, and little strands stuck out, as if once being in a fashionable hairstyle. Lastly, she had a pained expression. Very, very pained.

And yet, there was a familiar, regal look on her face, despite it being nearly smothered in pain, misery, and more pain.

"Peach?" Fox called, shocked. The woman began to speak, but winced in pain and stopped, only nodding. "What happened to you?" Fox said, coming closer. Peach raised her hands and shook her head desperately, only to scream in pain. Fox jumped back.

"An ingenious contraption," a new voice began. "A pressure vest. Slowly, the vest tightens, a centimeter per day. Not only that, but rigged with motion sensors. Anybody comes close enough, the vest immediately kills her. Designed it myself, if I may add. Quite ingenious." the voice finished. Fox looked to the source. The voice was male, definitely, but the man himself was hooded in a brown cloak. Fox couldn't make out anything else.

"Why would you do this?" Fox breathed, broken out of his drowsy stupor. "What has she done? And who are you?" The man laughed, a deep, cruel laugh.

"Simple answers. One, she got in the way. Two, she tried to stay in the way. Three, not answering. If you notice, you have no means of escaping your cell, you silly vulpine, you. However, if I may offer you an ultimatum..." the figure tossed a box through a small cell window. It landed just below the motion sensor's range, next to Peach. Fox could see the handle of his blaster, along with his reflector and Fire Fox device. Fox cried in outrage.

"Well, that's useful! I can't get it, Peach will die!" The figure laughed again.

"That's the idea, brainiac. The boss wants you out. Whether you eventually decide to or not is completely your choice." With that, the hooded one walked away, chuckling to himself. Fox shook his head.

"YOU BASTARD! YOU SICK, CRUEL BASTARD!" Fox yelled. Fox paced his side of the cell, wondering what on Lylat he was going to do. Fox's tail just barely brushed the motion sensor's range area, and Peach gasped in pain. Fox immediately jumped to his wall.

"F...fo...ff....Fox..." Peach barely breathed, before gnashing her teeth in pain. "Get your blaster...and ge...guh...augh...get out of...f....here..." she said, gasping with each breath. Fox shook his head.

"No, Peach, I'll get you out of here, and we'll both escape this place! I just need to think..." Fox realized he still had his Illusion device. Laughing in triumph, he set the dial to Five Second Delay, and pushed the ACTIVATE button. Fox tossed it towards the box in such a way that it would warp the box in Fox's direction. However, the device merely stayed there. Nothing happened. With a shiver down his spine, Fox realized that his captors had removed the batteries. Peach merely looked at him, pained, and motioned for him to come and get the box, gasping again while doing so.

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Samus awoke sharply at 5:40 AM, packing and showering in exactly forty seconds. Drying herself off in fifteen seconds, she dressed herself in a red Zero Suit in another eight seconds, and carted all her bags out of the door in two. As she patiently waited for exactly ten minutes, she grimaced. How had her shower taken so long? Forty seconds? She was losing her edge.

After the ten minute wait, R.O.B. shuffled out of his room, and Mr. Game and Watch followed, dragging a still-sleeping Kirby.

"Yep, that's a leader, alright..." Samus remarked, motioning to the dormant puffball.

"Whatever. Let's just leave, shall we?" Game and Watch replied. Minutes later, R.O.B. had checked them out of the hotel, and they drove away in their van. It was pouring rain outside. How R.O.B. managed to get through without short-circuiting was a complete mystery to Samus. R.O.B. claimed that he was waterproof, or something. Samus chuckled to herself, remembering how reluctant Mario was to use his F.L.U.D.D. In the Melee tournament, for fear of destroying R.O.B. Ironically, the robot never fought in the Melee tournament, and Mario had given up his F.L.U.D.D. for nothing.

Oh, Mario. Such a brave, honest hero, meeting such an unfitting end. Why was Ness doing this? Mario and Wario, both dead, because of that psychic. Who knows, maybe he's the one who killed Meta Knight and King Dedede. Star Fox has been silent. Did Ness have a hand in that, too?

Oh, Lucas. He had such a bright future ahead of him, and now everything was going wrong. His best friend is a murderer, people were dying, and he could be targeted. Samus should've stopped him. She noticed him running. She could've easily caught up and stunned him, bringing him along to Lylat. For safety. But, no, she didn't. And now, it wouldn't surprise Samus if he was found dead.

The woman swallowed her regret. She had to be strong. Tough times were certainly upon them.

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Lucas had reached Onett. Small town, Lucas noted. If Lucas wanted to find Ness, which he certainly did, he would find his fellow psychic here. Lucas needed answers. If it took him years, he would do it. He had no family, no friends, nothing to hold him down. He would track down Ness and make him talk.

But first, he needed money. With a quick trip to the local post office, he was made a paper boy, mainly because the interviewer thought his PSI powers useful. Oh, well. It should pay enough for an apartment pretty soon.

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Fox continued his pacing, making sure to stay clear of the motion sensor field. He couldn't get his equipment without killing Peach. He couldn't escape the cell without his equipment. He couldn't take back the Great Fox if he couldn't escape the cell.

The vicious cycle. That was what Fox was trapped in. He couldn't kill Peach. He wouldn't do that. He had to find a way to avoid it.

The bars of his cell were to strong to kick through, as if Fox expected any differently. The wall, as well. On her end, Peach moaned in pain, then stopped with a quick gasp. Fox cringed as he heard creaking and a snapping noise, followed by the princess' howl of hurt. How could she stand this? Fox would've given in by now. The vulpine whirled around to face Peach.

"Peach..." he sighed in pity. Peach looked at him, her eyes bloodshot.

"Fox...go." Fox shook his head, and resumed pacing.

"I'll find a way to save you, Peach. I'll save you, and I'll get us both out!" he said, while pacing.

"No," was the simple reply. Fox stopped, shutting his eyes and muttering a curse.

"No. You...can't save me, and you...you know it. You're only...only...only telling yourself this so that...agh...so that you don't have to face reality."

Fox sighed, his head hanging. "What reality would this be?"

"The reality...that, if you don't get your stuff and go, we'll both die...you'll starve, they'll kill you...urgh...but if you get your stuff and go, you...can survive, can take back my kingdom...from that...MONSTER," Peach stated, putting emphasis on the last word. Fox looked at her, tears coming to his eyes.

"I can't kill you, Peach. You have a kingdom to run!" Fox muttered. Peach glared.

"Bowser...he killed all of my Toads. Laid waste to the villages, and...disguised it all in a twisted illusion...sniff...my kingdom is dead, Fox." Peach's glare intensified. "And I will die with it. You...you're my only hope for...vengeance. Don't...don't you dare let this great kingdom be defiled...by Bowser...and that Me...GAH!!!!" Before she could finish, the vest tightened again, and she screamed. Fox's eyes widened.

"Me...who? Who were you talking about?" he said. Peach coughed up more blood.

"If...if I say it, they'll tighten it more, before I can finish. Fox..." Peach let out a sob. "Go. Get out." Fox turned away from her.

Peach was in pain. A pain that she'll never escape until death. Fox knew it, as much as he tried to deny it. He would starve to death in this cell, unless he killed Peach. The Mushroom Kingdom was taken over by Bowser, destroyed. Dead. Peach had nothing to rule but memories.

Fox looked directly at Peach, one last time.

"Peach, I swear to God, I will avenge you and your kingdom," Fox rasped, tearing up again. Peach smiled, her eyes brightening.

"Fox...thank you." With that, Fox shut his eyes, stepped directly into the sensor field, and picked up his equipment.

There was a bloodcurdling scream and several sickening snapping sounds, and Fox felt blood and pieces of bone his the left side of his face. And then, silence. Fox looked at where Peach was.

The lower half of Peach's body laid on the floor, blood spewing from the waist. Some pieces of Peach's spine and pelvis were jutting noticeably from the bloody pulp. Peach's torso was nowhere to be seen. Some pieces of skin and bone were caught in the pressure vest, which had now completely tightened. Fox could only assume that the gore all over Peach's wall was what remained of the torso. Meanwhile, Peach's head had rolled to Fox's feet, still attached to the neck and right shoulder. Her eyes were almost completely red, and her mouth was still hanging open with the ghost of her final scream.

Fox sobbed. He had killed her. Peach was dead. He took his blaster, shooting open the cell door. He clipped his reflector and his Fire Fox device on his belt, along with the Fox Illusion device. If her found batteries for it, he'd make sure to insert them. Still holding the blaster, he stepped out of the cell, and began walking down the hallway.

Bowser was going to pay.

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Meanwhile, in the Great Fox, things were going just swell. Sonic sat in the captain's chair, merrily flying the Great Fox around Lylat to his heart's content. Nobody was going to stop him. Without their precious ship, the Smashers had no real hope of winning. They were all going to die, and this world would be washed red with blood.

Two carcasses lay at his feet, rotting. One was some annoying frog thing, and the other was some kind of blue-purple fox. The frog was pretty easy to kill, only taking a swipe of Caliburn for the stupid thing to die. The fox actually posed a challenge, with her magic. Still, Sonic prevailed, by running around to her blind side and stabbing her through the neck. Much to Sonic's delight, she had managed to choke "Damn...you..." before dying.

Everything was working in the Minus' favor.

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Okay, that...was pretty creepy. I had some memories of Saw, writing this chapter. Apologies if the gore was a bit gratuitous, but I felt it necessary. Also, explaining something, Sonic's sword skills come from Sonic and the Black Knight, where he wields the sword Caliburn. And, if you somehow couldn't figure out who died at the end of this chapter, Slippy and Krystal have met their end. Poor Fox, nothing is going his way. So, if I recall correctly, the death list is now...

Wario

Meta Knight

King Dedede

Falco Lombardi

Mario (presumably)

Princess Peach

Slippy Toad

Krystal

Several hundred Toads and other Mushroom Kingdom residents

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