Author's Note:

Super Smash Flash 2 is based on the popular fighting franchise by Nintendo and is currently going through its beta stages. This story, which is based in version 0.8, takes the characters, unlockable and otherwise, and the stages as they are laid out on screen to form the map of the imaginary world of Smash Flash. Each update twists the story drastically. Despite the title, this is the very first story of the series.

Tails the fox and Son Goku arrive at Hyrule, where their remaining allies are.

"How is everyone doing?"

"Fine now that you're here, oh great all-knowing Tails."

"Your sarcasm comes off as ungratefulness Princess Toadstool. If you think you'd do a better job then, well you are a princess. The gift of administration is in your genes, is it not?"

"Fuck off, Tails!"

"Now that I think about it, your presence here may threaten the rest of us. You do have a reputation as a damsel in distress. Only now you don't have-"

"I will rip the tails from your-"

"We're not solving anything by arguing!" Goku interrupted angrily "Tails, tell them about your plan."

"Right, we're going to become the hunters. As you know, Falcon's men constantly hunt us down and have nearly killed us on numerous occasions. That is why we must stay together. But to become the hunted, we must bait them. The moment that they take the bait, will be Falcon's weakest moment. If we take out Falcon, the alliance will fall. Link, Lloyd, the two of you will venture out into the stages. The moment you are targeted, you will rush back here. Once we see you here, Naruto, Goku and I will go and find Falcon. We shall not return unless we are successful in killing him."

"And what if you're not successful?"

"Don't doubt us Lloyd."

"Don't doubt you? What about the holes in this plan? What if Link and I don't make it back? What if you don't make it back from your trip? What if they find the princess and the other's while we're gone?"

"These are not holes, they are inevitable inconveniencies. You will split up when you venture out into the stages to double your chances. There will be enough people here to protect themselves against outside threat. And I have faith in Goku. But the look of doubt in your face still exists. If you've a better plan, then by all means, tell me." Lloyd fell silent, as did everyone else. "I didn't think so. Now go. We don't have much time before even this location is discovered. I have faith you'll be back in one piece." The two swordsmen left on their mission.

Douglas Jay Falcon missed the familiarity of the Sand Ocean desert stage. But the Flash manifestation of the Chaos Shrine, which served as Black Mage's resting place, seemed a much more fitting place for Falcon's throne. The chair from his F-Zero vehicle was taken and driven into the floor in the center of the shrine. Falcon did it himself and in front of his men, to demonstrate his strength. All those who followed him were astonished by his strength, except Fox McCloud, who had learned to expect such things. The act had left the room silent for several minutes, while Falcon held a smirk on his face. Finally, he said something to one of his men.

"Sora, you once fought Mario, didn't you?"

"I did."

"Were you successful?"

"What do you think?"

"You'll find it in your best interest to watch your tone with me. Was it not a fight to the death?" Sora raised his keyblade and stared at it intently.

"It was supposed to be a fight to the death. He could have killed me if he wanted to. Sometimes I wonder why he didn't."

"You enjoyed being evil when you were, didn't you?"

"It did have its perks. They all stopped what they were doing to pay attention to me. And I experienced what was perhaps the most thrilling fight of my life. He truly is a great fighter."

"Was a great fighter. He's dead now. By my hand his fate has been sealed."

"Perhaps."

"Perhaps? Sora, do you mean to doubt my word?" the captain said with a smile.

"I have no doubt that you killed him, but had he not fought a full tournament before?" Falcon turned to the right of his new throne and looked at his right-hand man for an answer. Fox answered.

"That he did."

"And I assume you did not go easy on him." Sora said

"I didn't. I knew he was supposed to win the tournament, but it had to be a convincing fight. But even if I had defeated him, I would have taken him to Falcon anyway. It was the only way to get him out of the way for our ascension."

"That's what I'm saying," said Sora "win or lose, Mario would have met Falcon in a weakened state. It's no wonder you beat him so easily." Captain Falcon clutched his fist in anger.

"Are you questioning my strength? I wouldn't mind proving myself to you, personally." Fox was familiar with the pilot's temper. He knew it was best to intercede, for Sora's sake. They were already understaffed against the enemy.

"Captain, calm down. He's not that smart. He's just curious. He didn't mean any insult."

"Let's hope not." Falcon said as he began to relax back into his throne. "It's about time for them to recognize us for the threat we are. Wario, go out and see if you can't find anymore of the flies to swat. Sora, for your own safety, I suggest you accompany him."

"What am I not safe from?"

"Me! Now go."

"Why do we constantly have to go out looking for someone to murder?" Wario asked

"We won't have to do it much longer. We just have to let the enemy see its own blood on our hands. That is when they will be at their weakest." The captain stood and saluted, signaling the two onto their mission. "Am I a fraud, McCloud?" The captain's question shocked Fox.

"What do you mean, captain?"

"I think part of what Sora said may have been right. Though Mario was perhaps one of the greatest to ever grace this world, I didn't fight him when he was at his finest. I did it at his potential weakest. I feel as though my victory over him has lost much of its validity."

"Captain, even on his best day, he wouldn't have beaten you."

"You know that, and I know that. But the rest may doubt me. I feel incomplete now. I must remedy this feeling."

Both swordsmen were nervous as they wandered about the stages. The silence between them finally broke when they had gotten to the Waiting Room stage and Lloyd asked the question.

"Do you think we're going to die?" Link couldn't ignore the fact that he had been spoken to, but he could ignore the question with the right reply.

"Tails told us to split up, Lloyd."

"You know just as well as I do that if either of us are found alone, we are as good as dead! At least this way, one of us is sure to make it back to relay the message to the other's that the guard dogs have left their owner."

"We might never find them this way. You have to stop following me."

"He said there wasn't much time before we were all discovered anyway. What's the point? Besides, Falcon's men hunt in packs. We're just fighting fire with fire."

"That will leave us with ash! Impotent, useless, ash!"

"Oh believe me" said a voice, "the ash is looking down on you."

"Sora" shouted Lloyd "show yourself you traitor!"

"If you say so." Sora said as he dropped down in front of the swordsmen. The three stood for about a dozen seconds with their swords erect. Link finally lowered his weapon and approached Sora. Sora lowered his in kind. Confused, Lloyd asked:

"What are you doing?"

"Don't worry." Link replied "Sora, I fought Mario in The Great Fox Tournament and in many times before then. I lost to him in the first round. He beat me by a landslide that time. But he sensed when I'd had enough and ended the fight, despite Fox's insistence that he kill me. Like me, Mario has also spared your life in the past. Why betray us and ally yourself with the man who killed him?" Sora clinched his weapon hand and looked down. Link saw a single tear hit the ground beneath them. Sora replied with his head still hanging.

"He weakened me, permanently." Sora said with his weapon hand still clinched. "I can never return to the strength I had then. But I can level the playing field. I can weaken you. I can weaken you all." With a quick movement of the blade, Sora sliced Link's front torso open. Link cried out and exclaimed in agony as he fell to his knees:

"What have you done?"

"Link!" Lloyd cried.

Sora continued, head still facing the ground. "With the blood of my enemy on my hands, it is at it's weakest."

"You bastard!" Lloyd cried as he began to rush in on Sora. A heavy and deliberate weight came crashing down on Lloyd before he got within full striking distance of Sora, who was now staring at the downed Link. The wind momentarily knocked out of him, Lloyd heard an obnoxious laugh as the weight lifted itself from him. "W-huh, Wario?"

"In the flesh, baby." Wario grabbed Lloyd by the leg and tossed him into the air. Just as Lloyd began to descend, his back was met with Wario's corkscrew attack, his foe literally drilling into his spine. Lloyd hit the ground, nearly paralyzed with pain. He was losing consciousness. Just then, a bulky new figure leaped over him. Lloyd thought he was saved until the figure landed on his stomach, as if to finish what Wario had started. The weight was even greater than that of Wario. That was the last thought Lloyd had before he blacked out.

"Am I that unlikeable Goku?" Tails asked as he and Goku stood on the lowest platform of the Hyrule temple stage.

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone seems to give me nothing but negativity, despite my efforts to save us all."

"They're just upset that Mario's gone. Especially the princess. That's why she keeps snapping on you. You have to shake it off. You might not be as popular as Mario was, so it's probably hard for them to take orders from someone who served as Sonic's sidekick, you know?"

"But with so much rejection, I fear it may lead to a misstep in the plan, resulting in only more blood."

"If there's anything I've ever learned from being a hero, it's that things seldom go according to plan. But they always seem to work out."

"If there is anything my past has taught me, it's that things aren't always as they seem."

When Lloyd finally came to, his attackers were gone. He stood to his feet and stumbled over to Link, who was lying on his back.

"Link, buddy?" Link was unresponsive. When Lloyd got close enough, he could see the open wound in Link's neck, where Sora's keyblade had been. The blood was still slowly flowing from Link's neck and pooling where Sora's tears had been. As Lloyd looked at the puddle, his own tears fell in and mixed what was already there. It was as if sorrow and loss were mixing to form a single substance. Lloyd lifted his friend's still-dripping corpse from the ground and slowly carried it back to Hyrule. He couldn't fight back tears as he made the journey. These tears and Link's blood formed a trail behind them. A trail of tears and death.