Day 10: The Fight Against Marth

I couldn't sleep at all. I just tossed and turned. Underneath the bed sheets I was too hot. Above them I was too cold. There was no happy median for me. And amongst all of this, the anxiety had finally caught up to me.

I didn't know what time it was, but there was a sudden knocking at the door. I slowly got up and opened the door, not at all thinking to look at the clock. Standing there, in tears, was Lucas.

"What's going on?" I muttered, trying to feign that he had just woke me up. I could only imagine that I was an absolutely horrible actor, and Lucas was in too much distress to actually notice.

"It's Ness!" Lucas replied.

"What's wrong?"I asked.

"He is grabbing his stomach and screaming in pain."

I'm pretty sure that happens after you eat 60 scoops of ice cream...

"Why are you telling me?" I asked.

"Well, Ness said that all people can't sleep on the night before their first match, it's all the nervousness."

I sighed. "And what do you want me to do?"

Lucas just stood there, trying to think of something to say. Meanwhile, I didn't know if I should break the news that Ness was clearly throwing the match, and Lucas couldn't put two and two together.

"Bring me to Ness." I sighed.

Lucas began to lead me through the hallways and eventually we got to Ness' room. Ness was lying on his bed with his arms around his stomach. I felt like yelling at Lucas for leaving him alone, but I figured Lucas was worried for his friend and only did the logical thing.

I wondered how I should react. I thought about punching him in the stomach a few times, watching him vomit and then not helping him clean up. And then shouting at him for eating his weight in ice cream.,,

Is Mewtwo rubbing off on me? I shouldn't be having these sadistic thoughts...

Ness glanced up at the door and through his pain he was able to see that I was standing there. I figured that he was hoping that Lucas was going to get someone else, preferably someone who was named Dr. Mario.

"Sorry," I said, "but you should know that Dr. Mario doesn't do house calls."

Ness let out a painful laugh. "Why did Lucas get you though?"

"Because someone has to chastise you for being stupid. And if it was anyone else, I'm sure you'd lie directly to their faces."

"Are you psychic?"

"No." I muttered. "I was with you, and know that eating your weight in ice cream is unbelievably stupid. Although am wondering if I should tell Lucas abut this?"

"Don't." Ness muttered.

"Well since I'm not a doctor, I have no idea what to do with you. I guess you could try to throw it up…" I replied. I doubt my advice was actually going to do anything. "And next time you want to avoid something, don't eat every single flavour of ice cream."

"Yeah…" Ness weakly muttered. I was getting the feeling that he wasn't going to try that stunt again.

I glanced at Lucas who looked nervously at his friend. "I'm not a doctor, but I can tell he probably won't be at the fight today. He might also try milking sympathy from some people."

"Sorry Lucas." Ness nervously laughed. "I was looking forwards to fighting you today. I wanted to be your first Smash opponent, but now that looks like it won't happen."

"I wanted to fight you first as well." Lucas said.

"I think you should arrange to have your fight the first chance you get." I said.

Lucas nodded. I walked towards the door and took one look back before I left the room.

I began a trek through the hallways. Everything was different at night. Everything was silent. When I got back to my room I just collapsed on the bed. I don't know how or why, but I was suddenly drained of all of my energy and exhausted. I fell asleep instantly.

I woke up just before the alarm rang... Today was the big day. It had all come down to this. A fight against Marth. The alarm went off and I quickly reached towards it. I wasn't the person I was when I first came here. No I had changed. Now I was someone completely different. I changed into my battle clothing that I was given and began to walk outside. Waiting there for me was Mewtwo.

"You still have half of the day." Mewtwo said smiling. "I'm sure you can wait a while..."

"I'm ready for this." I said. "I can beat Marth!"

"Are you sure?" Mewtwo wondered.

"Yeah." I replied.

I don't really have much of a choice.

"Listen," Mewtwo calmly said. "I know you're nervous, and you will soon be getting butterflys in your stomach, so I want you to stay in your room for a bit and calm down. I want you to focus and make your mind a blank slate. Just think about how you are going to fight and how you are going to win. I don't want anything else in that head of yours."

"Great..." I muttered. "Now I'm sure that I'll be deep in life changing philosophical discusions with myself."

"Just do what ever you can to relax." Mewtwo said. "The nervousness and stress involved in your first match, could lead you to slip up. Don't worry, they won't even consider dropping you from the line up until about your 10th match."

If I live that long...

"Okay then," I sighed. "I'll do my best."

Mewtwo placed his hand on my shoulder and forced me back into my room. He then closed the door. "Now concentrate."

I looked around the room. I guess all I could do was sit on my bed. I crossed my legs and tried to clear my mind. It was hopeless. Every time I thought my mind was blank, another thing just seemed to pop in to it. My biggest fear was that Mewtwo was still outside my room, and constantly projecting these thoughts into my head.

I looked at the dresser and saw incense on it. I went over and lit a stick up. The scent began to go through the room. I just closed my eyes and breathed in.

The scent seemed nostalgic. Somehow, it managed to clear my mind. Everything was completly blank. I closed my eyes and it felt like I was floating in darkness, a giant void of nothingness. "Good, you've cleard your mind." Mewtwo telepathically said to me. "Can you constantly keep your mind in that state?"

"I don't know." I replied.

"Marth is a skilled fighter. Before becoming a Smasher, he fought with his life on the line to rescue his country. On the battlefield he learned how to control his emotions and how to read his opponents. This won't be an easy victory."

"I know." I calmly replied.

"In fact, I've been revewing so much for this fight, I'm uncertain if you will be able to win. I think you only have a 1% chance of victory."

"Is that all?" I wondered.

"It's probably lower. If Marth figures you out, and you get lost in his pace, it will be over."

"Then I won't let that happen." I replied.

Mewtwo was able to make me fight a mental projection of Marth based off of the previous fights. However, I could tell that Mewtwo was making this intentionally difficult. In some mental battles Marth would slash his sword, in others he would thrust them. Regardless, I learned a few things. The important thing being that Marth's sword dealt the most damage if you were hit with the tip.

Mewtwo had also read my mind, and found out about the little incident with Lucas and Ness in the early morning.

"I've read your mind regarding the ice cream." Mewtwo said.

"Oh?"

"Unfortunately, Smash Debut matches are a bit different." Mewtwo sighed. "Lucas will still have to fight, it just won't be against Ness."

"Wait what? Why didn't you tell me this yesterday?"

"Well, yesterday, I didn't even know about this rule existing. Yeah... there is a brief period, the first ten matches, where they have to happen no matter what." Mewtwo explained. "I told you earlier that you won't be dropped until your tenth match. However your first ten matches are trial matches, set up to see if you can fight. Technically, they are part of the job interview. Even if you lose all ten matches, as long as you leave a good lasting impression on the judges, you can get in."

"Okay, it's nice knowing about this now." I muttered. "Of course, I doubt I'm actually going to reach the end of this job interview, but I'm okay with that."

"Unfortunately for Lucas, his opponent coming up with a stomach cramp doesn't hamper his ability to fight. Only a few things can stop a Debut match, so, unless Dr. Mario decides that Lucas isn't physically or mentally capable of fighting today, Lucas will have no choice but to fight."

"It will just be against a different opponent, right?" I asked. "And if Lucas is worried about Ness, he might not perform that well during his Smash Debut, right?"

"Right, but they don't exactly take into consideration the feelings of others." Mewtwo explained. "While we are all friends outside of the ring, once we step inside we are expected to put aside our grudges and friendships and just fight and give the best matches we can."

"Ness didn't know about this rule, did he?"

"Probably not." Mewtwo replied. "This situation hasn't happened before... and I only found out about it earlier today when trying to find ways to put off your match against Marth!"

Thoughts of Lucas and the revelation that I heard yesterday flowed through my mind. And then I thought about Ness, the fact that he intentionally threw the match in order to not have to fight against Lucas. If Lucas had to fight, his mind would probably still be on Ness. "Mewtwo, can I ask you for a favour?"

"What?" Mewtwo asked.

"Can you get Dr. Mario to sign a note saying Lucas isn't in any condition to fight today?" I asked.

"Why do you care about him?" Mewtwo's question had thrown me off guard. "You're gone in 25 days. What does it matter to you if Lucas doesn't fight Ness today."

"They're friends." I replied. "And, they want to fight each other for Lucas' first Smash Match."

"I see." Mewtwo replied. "I'll see what I can do."

For the time being he vanished, and I was left to my own devices. I got up off of my bed, however I immediately fell down to the floor. Having been sitting on my bed cross legged for a while, my feet and legs were asleep.

"Damn it!" I shouted outraged.

As feeling returned to my feet I got up and out of my room. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what Smashers normally did before their matches. I aimlessly walked around, something I felt comfortable doing for some reason, until Mewtwo teleported in front of me.

"Well, I managed to do it." Mewtwo said. "Dr. Mario will sign the form saying that Lucas isn't in any condition to fight today."

"That's good." I replied.

"However, there is a small matter of the price."

Ah crap...

"What is it?" I asked, not exactly wanting to know.

"Well... Dr. Mario said that you have to win the fight, and the rest of your winnings are his, along with the pay you get for participating in fights..."

I did my best to remind myself that if I got out of this world, all my money that Mewtwo just threw away would be of no value in my world.

That actually didn't do anything to lessen the seething hatred, and the strong urges I was now feeling to murder him.

"Are you all right?" Mewtwo asked. I could only imagine that the question was rhetorical.

"I just need to be alone for a few hours." I replied. "I really don't want to see anyone until after the match."

"Very well then." Mewtwo said.

By now I was hungry. I made my way down to the cafeteria. It was strangely empty. Thankfully, I could just grab what I wanted to and sat down. While I was eating, Captain Falcon had come over. "Nugai!" He shouted

"That isn't my name." I muttered. It was hopeless to tell anyone that.

"Just a word of advice, I wouldn't eat anything before your matches if I were you. You would throw up and it wouldn't exactly look good."

I shot a glare at Captain Falcon. He clearly wasn't intimidated by it. "But I'm not you. And I'm really hungry."

"Very well then. Good luck Nugai!"

After I had finished my food I glanced up at the clock. I still had a good hour until the fight. So I decided to make my way down to the stadium.

I didn't know what to do. I made it into the empty seats and looked around. Within an hour all of these seats would be filled. I just went through the seats, looking for an ideal seat if I was watching the fight instead of participating.

"Attention, may the combatants in today's matches please get ready. The first fight is 45 minutes away."

Why do I need all that prep time?

I walked out of the seats and began to walk towards the locker room. However before I could reach it something happened.

"Excuse me." A familiar voice said.

I turned around and we stood face to face. This person, I had seen him yesterday in the press event. He was the one who had asked the final question, the one that ended the event early. "The press isn't allowed down here." I said. It was true, I had passed a sign saying Smashers only.

"I'm sorry, it's just my first time down here and I got lost. Can you please show me the way to my seat?" He asked.

There was something about him. I don't know how, but I could tell he was lying. "Sure." I said. My instinct was telling me the last thing I should do was show my back to this guy. Regardless I took the lead. "Although, I do have to apologize if I get lost, I'm still trying to get adjusted to this place. I often find that it's too big."

"Do you like it here?" He asked.

"I don't know. I've only been here for a week and a few days. Today would be the tenth day." I replied.

"Time flies, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, the past nine days have all been a blur." I replied. "Trying to learn everything, get adjusted in. And trying to avoid being homesick."

"Do you miss your friends and family?" He asked.

"A bit, I'm sure I'll see them again, maybe they will even come out and watch me fight, but for the time being everyone here will be my friends and family." Who was I trying to kid, I don't even remember any friends of family. All I had was Chocolate. Speaking of which, the cat suddenly appeared at the end of the hallway and walked towards us. He then began to rub against my legs. I bent down to scratch him. "Hello Chocolate."

"Listen, do you know why Lucas cried yesterday?" He asked.

I froze. I turned back and he was looking at me. His gaze was piercing through me. "I do." I replied. "However, I think it would be best if what Lucas told us, stayed in that room. I'm sure he doesn't want anyone else to know. He doesn't want people going easy on him during the matches. So, you will understand why I won't tell you."

"Oh, I understand." He said. "But I all ready know what happened. That's why I asked the question last night. I wanted to see if anyone else knew."

"Knew what?" I asked. I was terrified. Did someone else leak it and he was just bluffing?

"Lucas' mother was killed by a Drago."

He knows! Just who is this person? Who told him? Ness? No it couldn't have been Ness, Lucas was with him all of last night, and this morning! Marth? No, Marth wouldn't do something like that. He said that he wanted Lucas to grow... or something like that. The Manager? No the Manager all ready knew, if she wanted the press to know they would of known beforehand.

"How do you know about that?" I managed to ask.

"Because, you told me."

When, when did I say that? When did I tell anyone that? Was he psychic? Was he reading my mind?

Either I was petting Chocolate the wrong way, or he was beginning to dislike this person as much as I was. He just began to hiss at the person. He let off a meow, before pouncing, and clawing his leg. I had to commend Chocolate. It was a cunning plan, that only had two problems. Unfortunately, Chocolate was declawed, and this person was wearing pants.

"Chocolate, bad kitty."

Good kitty, why did I get you declawed? Sigh, even if you weren't your claws wouldn't have ripped his legs off.

Chocolate seemed to flee away. I got up and looked back at this person, I motioned for him to follow me and tried to lead him away. I was hoping that he say something along the lines of animals not liking him. I wasn't expecting what he actually said next.

"You know, Lucas is suicidal." He said. "He can't stand the pain that he has suffered. Losing his mother and-"

I finally lost control. I quickly turned around and grabbed him by the shirt and pushed him against the wall. "Liar!" I shouted, I couldn't accept the thought of Lucas being suicidal.

"It's true. He was brought here to try and recover. So they could make sure that he didn't jump in front of a train. Or slit his wrists again. They were positive that someone would always be watching over him."

"Lucas is innocent!" I shouted. I didn't care if my shouts would attract attention. I wanted to punch this guy's face in.

"Please, don't tell me you're so naive to believe that children are incapable of horrible acts." He said calmly. "Maybe your innocent little Lucas is something you don't want to see. There's still some time before the match, why don't you go to Dr. Mario and see his files." His hands reached up for my wrists, and he began to press a pressure point, I let go of his shirt. "Now then, we don't want to attract any attention." He began to walk away. "Good luck, I'll be watching. I know you can win." It was at that moment I realized that this was the exact same person who had called me last night.

I was terrified. Just who the hell was this person.

Panicked I rushed to the hospital wing. The door was open, and Dr. Mario was nowhere to be seen. In hindsight, I probably should of looked for a security camera or something. I quickly rushed to some files and began to sort through them. Eventually I found all of the Smasher files. And then Lucas'.

He's lying! He has to be!

I opened up the folder. I didn't like what I saw. Prescriptions to anti depressants. Records for serious medical attention. Self inflicted harm. "It's not true. It can't be." I muttered. I still wasn't convinced, I had to hear it from the source itself. I looked up at the clock and noticed that I still had some time before the match. Quickly, I put everything back where I found it and ran off.

Lucas... It's a lie right? It's a lie...

I didn't care if what I just did was an invasion of privacy, and most likely illegal. In 25 days it wouldn't matter. I'd be dead.

I ran up the stairs in a frenzy, until eventually getting to Ness' room. I knocked. "Who is it?" Ness asked.

"Me." I replied. "Is Lucas still there?"

"Yeah." Ness replied.

"Can I talk to him?"

A few seconds later Lucas walked out of the room. He looked at me rather shocked. "Don't you have a fight to be at?" he wondered.

"Yeah." I replied. "But, I need to ask you something. Lucas, on my way to the match I met someone, he seemed to know a lot about you. I want to know if what he said was the truth or not."

Lucas seemed nervous. "What did he say?"

"He said you were suicidal, but that's a lie, right Lucas?"

"Yeah, that's a lie." Lucas said, in the most unconvincing way possible.

Note to self, when I'm done this match, make Lucas a better liar...

I broke down. "No way. I thought he was lying."

"No, I just told you that that person was lying!" Lucas protested. He reached for me. And I grabbed his hand. On his wrists were scars.

"If that person was lying, what are these from?" I asked.

"I tried to pick up that black cat, but he cut me on the wrists!"

"Chocolate has only been here ten days, scratches don't heal that fast, they would still be scabbed over." I replied catching him in the lie.

"I used my PK Healing to speed up the process." Lucas continued.

Was he telling the truth... I didn't know. Psychic healing was completely new to me. "Dr. Mario's medical files, you were prescribed some antidepressants." would he admit to this? Probably not, but it was worth a shot. Lucas just gulped slightly afraid. "Lucas, listen. Just tell me to the truth."

I could tell he wanted to be somewhere else, anywhere but here. Lucas just began to break down. He wanted to run away, but I still held onto his wrist. He tried discharging a bit of psychic energy to force me to let go, but, I had blocked it with some aura. "Let go!" He said.

"Lucas, I can't." I replied. "I don't know what you will do. You might go try and hurt yourself again. I can't let that happen."

"Only Dr. Mario and the manager were supposed to know." he cried. "Not even Ness knows."

"Lucas, I won't say anything else." I managed to say. "I'll keep it a secret."

"Who told you though?" Lucas wondered.

"It was that person from yesterday, the one who reduced you to tears during the interview." I said.

Lucas clenched his fist.

"You should go back in; your friend needs you right now." I said.

Lucas looked up at me. He then suddenly jumped. Rubbing against his leg was Chocolate. Lucas quickly went down and picked up Chocolate. "Chocolate, why do you disappear and reappear when we aren't expecting it?" Chocolate just began to let out a faint purr, as Lucas rubbed his belly. "Now then, Chocolate, make sure that Lucas doesn't do anything rash."

Lucas looked up at me. "Good luck."

"When my match is over, I'll be right over to get back my cat." I said.

I made sure that Lucas went back into Ness' room. Suddenly Mewtwo teleported beside me. "I'll make sure that he doesn't do something stupid." Mewtwo reassured me. "I'll be watching the match. Break a leg."

"Break a leg?"

"Wishing good luck is generally bad luck upon performers." Mewtwo explained. "That's why I said break a leg."

"Okay. Thanks. And Mewtwo, about Dr. Mario's medical files-"

"Don't worry about it." Mewtwo said. "You won't be the last person who looks through them. Others have gone through them to see why their opponent didn't show up to the match. The only people Dr. Mario doesn't allow to see the files are the media."

I froze. "Then, how did that person know?"

Mewtwo looked at me confused. "That person?"

I cringed. "Never mind. I'll talk to you later!"

I began to run back down to the stadium. I could only imagine what Lucas and Ness were talking about now in the room. I wondered if Lucas was going to tell Ness the truth. I ran down the stairs, through the twisting halls. Eventually I got to the changing rooms.

Standing in front of the changing room doors was a woman I had never seen before. "You're late!" She said sternly. "Didn't you hear the call a while ago?"

Yes, but things came up.

I cringed. "Who are you?" I questioned.

"I'm an assistant." she replied. "I'm here to make sure that you are prepared for the fight. You all ready appear to be dressed in your fighter's uniform…"

"Okay, can I go now?" I asked.

"No." She said, pulling out a box, she opened it and inside was a watch. "Put it on." She ordered. I did so. "This watch doesn't tell time, rather it tells you the damage percentage of those who are participating in the fight. It will constantly switch between you and Marth during the fight at 5 second intervals. In case you lose track of who's percentage you're looking at there will be a small picture of your or Marth's head. And in the background there will be a symbol representing the franchise that you come from."

I noticed Marth's symbol was a sword. While mine seemed to be a dragon.

"There is one other thing you need." The assistant said. She pulled out a small jewel box, one that would normally hold a ring. She opened it up, and inside was a necklace. At the end of the necklace, there was a strange pendant, shaped like that of a Smash Ball. "Don't take this off. Not even after the match." She said.

"Why, what does it do?"

"Absolutely nothing." She replied. "Just wear it, its better if you don't ask questions."

If it does absolutely nothing, why do I need it?

She walked away and I went into the changing room. In there, sitting on a bench was Marth. "So, you finally decided to show up."

"Yes." I replied. "I've been looking forwards to this fight too."

"Good." Marth replied.

"And I'm looking forwards to beating you!" I said. I figured some friendly smack talk before the match might get rid of a small bit of nervousness that had been building up.

"You think you're special." Marth laughed. "You think you're quite the big shot! Well here is a reality check for you! You aren't! You aren't any different than any of the other thousands from your world who has found their way here! You're a sad, miserable, stain of existence! That's what you are!"

You really didn't have to be so blunt about it...

"I won't lose here, I can't lose." I replied. "I'm supposed to be a legendary hero that will save the world!"

Marth really let it all out. "So, they told you that lie too?" He said. "They told you that lie to give you hope and optimism as you're dying. To give someone purpose in their last days! Do you know how many 'legendary heroes' we go through? You would think that you could buy them at the super market. I'm tired of this charade that we subscribe to. I'm tired of this world constantly dragging in other people from yours."

"Then, help me close off the connections to the world. Help me sever those ties." I suddenly said. "I want to go home. I don't want to be here knowing that my days are numbered. Even if I'm supposedly living a fantasy dream come true. There are things I want to do in life, I want to get married, I want to have kids. I want to play video games with them. I want to see their first day of school, and the day they graduate. I want to live."

Marth was surprisingly silent. "You may die to close off the connection. Would it be worth it? You would be unable to fulfill any of those things you wanted to do."

I paused. If there was no point of return, if I had to die to do it, would I be able to? It was here that I realized that everything else had all ready been chosen for me. This would be my first choice that I had in this world. Marth looked rather impatient with the length it was taking for me to make a decision.

"I don't know." I replied.

"You don't know?" Marth asked.

"That's right, I don't!" I said. "You're asking someone to decide to die! But, to prevent another person like The Reaper from coming into this world, I think that it would be worth it. Any dreams and aspirations I have would end. But, if I could save the lives of billions, well, then this sad, miserable stain of existence then at least did something worthwhile!"

Another assistant came into the changing room. "Please follow me." He said.

Marth stood up and I followed. We were led into the stadium and Marth began to warm up on the battlefield. I decided to follow suit and also warm up. I stretched out my legs and swung my arms around.

While stretching I looked up towards the crowd. There was a small group of Smashers bunched together in some VIP seating. There were people from the media in a media booth, some cameras and video cameras were set up. Up above there was a scoreboard that currently said:

Marth VS Nugai

00:00:00

Thousands of faces looked down at me. And I began to feel nervous. I glanced back at Marth, he was also looking at me.

Marth and I stared at each other. "Look at this place." he said. "All of them are looking forwards to this match. Don't worry I'll be sure to humiliate you as much as possible!"

"You can still back out now..." I said grabbing onto my beam sword.

"Funny," Marth laughed. "I was going to say that to you!"

He drew his sword and shifted his stance. I stared. "This match is 4 stock, with items turned on along with the premier of a new item the Smash Ball!" The announcer said. "Betting is now closed! There will be five minutes until the match while the stage is decided by the council!"

Everything was silent. In my ears I could hear my heart beating. It was deafening much like a drum. "Do you really think that beating me will restore your honor?" I asked Marth. He just looked at me and scoffed.

"No." Marth laughed. "My honor as a warrior means nothing to me, I only started fighting to save my country. I was humiliated in that match against Pichu, and I knew that the media would blow that loss out of proportion. But I don't care about that now."

"You said something about others, all of these other legendary heroes." I said. "Were they why you were bitter towards me?"

"I refuse to accept you as the one sent here to defeat the Reaper. I fought him once, he was an arrogant guy. But he was skilled. If you can't beat me here today you won't be able to scratch the Reaper!"

"Was it all just an act?"

"Some of it. I really did hate you... You appear out of nowhere, bet on Pichu, and win big. But part of that battle was my fault... I was cocky, I sprained my ankle before the fight, and was just in an irritable mood that day."

"Tell me... Why did you enter this?" I asked. "Why did you join the Smashers?"

Marth just smiled. "At one time I thought it would be fun I guess." Marth laughed. "And for the first little while it was... but then it just got serious... In a lot of ways you remind me of the Reaper. I'm sure if you weren't destined to kill each other you could have been friends in a different time and place."

"Two minutes to the battle." The announcer announced.

"But the time for small talk is over, it's the time for action now. Give it your all and surpass me. But know I won't make it easy!"

"I wouldn't have it any other way!" I smiled.

"He smiled like that too before the battle. But his reason was different than yours... his was sadistic. You smile because you're having fun..." Marth said. "Bring it... human."

This caught me off guard. "We're both human though..."

"I remember his words... 'I'm human, you are just data made for our enjoyment. You're not real Live in shame and know your place!' he said them to me after I was defeated."

"Thitrty Seconds!"

I was rattled. I didn't know how to respond. "I don't know what to say... For the past 10 days you guys are all I remember, and you're real enough for me... Let's fight this battle as friends and look back at it and smile!"

"Three!"

Marth smiled.

"Two!"

"Yes, lets..." Marth laughed.

"One!"

"Fight!" We both shouted at the same time.

"GO!"

We were on a perfectly flat platform. "Final Destination!" The announcer said. There was nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide, I wouldn't have had it any other way.

The two of us ran for each other. We jumped into the air, and slashed our swords. The sound o fmetal hitting metal rang out. I didn't have much time to ponder how a blade of energy made a metallic sound, since Marth quickly went on the offensive.

He ran towards me and began to rapidly thrust his sword. I jumped into the air and over him to avoid the attack, however Marth quickly rolled backwards and was right in front of me again. This time I quickly threw a kick at him, however he swung with his sword. Somehow, when the two collided, my foot wasn't cut off.

I was temporarily surprised, however this was long enough for Marth to rush in and slash me with his sword. "You still receive damage!" he said. "Just your limbs aren't cut off."

"I figured that out." I said, slashing my beam sword towards Marth. He got hit and was sent a few inches back. Quickly I ran towards Marth and used a palm thrust on his abdomen. He was pushed back several feet. I quickly threw a roundhouse kick at Marth, however he blocked it with his sword.

"I'm glad this isn't like he first season." Marth laughed. "Back then, Link told me something was wrong with the damage calculation, and any attacks on the Master Sword gave him damage."

"Consider yourself lucky." I taunted.

I heard a sound behind me. Quickly I jumped back and picked up an item that had fallen on the ground. A strange white ball. I didn't know what it was, so I threw it at Marth. Upon contact multicolored smoke began to come out, not to mention that it was apparently adhesive and was sticking to him.

Please have breathing problems!

Marth however just rushed towards me. The smoke was actually covering his moves, making it harder to read. I swung my sword, hoping that I had created enough wind to push away the smoke, however, any smoke that was pushed away was quickly replaced by more pouring out of the ball.

Just how much smoke does it have?

As soon as I ended that question, the smoke stopped coming out of the ball. Marth quickly slashed me and followed it up with a combo, stabbing me several times. I glanced down at the watch. 70%. Marth was at a low 20%.

Marth rushed towards me and swung his sword, this time I quickly put up a barrier. Marth however cut through it. I was actually terrified. "I don't believe it!"

"Sorry, you've only been making barriers for a week," Marth scoffed. "As opposed to me who has been able to make them for several years."

I quickly delivered a kick sending Marth sliding a few feet back.

This is bad, Marth can beat me in sword combat, I can't block the attack, and now all I have is my own physical strength! And against that sword, I'm just going to be fighting a losing battle!

Another item dropped on the ground. This one appeared to be a gun. I grabbed it and pulled the trigger, however it began to make a sound as though it was charging. As Marth rushed towards me the gun fired a giant energy ball. Marth was actually surprised, and was hit sending him flying off of the edge. Quickly he recovered.

Anticipating that, I began to charge up the gun again. However a smile appeared on Marth's face. This time when it fired, it hit Marth but a strange sound was made, and suddenly the giant energy ball hit me and sent me flying.

There was an explosion of colors and I was above Final Destination on a revival platform. I now noticed a strange badge on Marth's clothing, he must of picked that up when he recovered. I dropped down, perhaps feeling a bit of pressure, I rushed towards Marth and began to wildly swing my beam sword. I got in several hits, however Marth remained perfectly calm.

He quickly rolled behind me, and slashed upwards, however I blocked the attack with my beam sword. Temporarily shocked, I took this as an opportunity to hit him with my elbow in the abdomen. He stepped back, rather annoyed. I slashed down my sword, this time he was unable to block it and was sent flying. He did his best to recover, however he was unable to reach the platform, and fell down, exploding into a bunch of colors.

Marth reappeared on the floating platform, not at all irritated that he was knocked out. "Three stock remain." He said dropping down.

Another item appeared, this one was a Smash Ball. It floated in the air. A smile crossed Marth's face. Quickly he ran for it and jumped into the air, slashing his sword against it, however it didn't break. I ran for Marth, slashing my beam sword, and getting a clean hit in. Quickly I turned my attention to the Smash Ball. I followed suit and attacked it. However, the Smash Ball didn't break, instead it just flew to the other end of Final Destination.

Quickly Marth and I ran for the Smash Ball. While running we began to fight with our swords, both of us trying to prevent the other from reaching it. I quickly swung my foot down, trying to trip up Marth, he fell and I ran for the Smash Ball. I slashed it and suddenly my body felt strange. Marth was clearly nervous, he didn't know what my Final Smash was.

Then two things of the utmost importance occurred to me.

The first, I didn't know how to activate the Final Smash.

The second, I never decided on what my Final Smash was.

FFFFF- Mewtwo how do you activate the Final Smash!

Marth didn't wait for me to attack. He ran in directly towards me. I dodged, and figured there was only one thing to do. Ooze with passion, scream loudly, and hope that my Final Smash manifested itself out of thin air!

It didn't work as planned.

I got the scream loudly part down, but that was more in terror. "How the hell do you activate the Final Smash!" I shouted.

And then there was silence. Marth stared blankly at me. "Just say a one liner or a loud scream or something while doing an overly dramatic pose."

"Fine then." I punched my hand against my fist. "Let's finish this!" I don't know how but my voice suddenly echoed. I suddenly felt much stronger. I rushed towards Marth with a speed he could barely keep up, and a delivered several punches. The attack sent Marth flying backwards, he was clearly not expecting my Final Smash to be like this.

I drew my beam sword and swung it, it's reach suddenly seemed much longer, and it hit Marth sending him flying off of the platform. He tried to recover, however I punched the air and the air pressure sent him flying away, and exploding into a bunch of colors.

He was down to two lives, I was still at three. I still had the advantage. And my Final Smash hadn't ended yet.

However Marth didn't get off of the revival platform. He just stood there. "Get down here!" I said. "What are you waiting for?"

"Your Final Smash to end." Marth calmly replied, stepping off of the platform.

Oh, crap…

Marth ran towards me, however he suddenly stopped. I stared puzzled. It was then I heard something hissing. I glanced behind my shoulder, I hadn't noticed but a bob-omb had appeared behind me and activated, it then exploded. I was sent flying towards Marth, who was ready with several sword attacks.

I managed to stay on the platform; however I had received a great deal of damage. And in a moment, my one life lead would be rendered useless.

I don't know if it was the after effects of the Final Smash but my eyes were beginning to get blurry.

Crap, what now? Why now?

Once again, I was in that room. I looked at the screen. I was actually shocked to see that it wasn't myself on the screen but rather Roy.

"Well, since you humiliated me last time with Pichu, I figured I should learn that trick." Someone said.

I didn't know how to react, I thought I was alone in this room. And his voice, it was familiar... it was the exact same as the person who called me last night. I looked over, but he was concealed in the shadows.

My mouth moved on it's own and words escaped. "Your just a sore loser, it takes more than just that to beat me. Do you think you can win with a trick that you just learned?"

My eyes focused back on the screen. Marth rushed for Roy and slashed down his sword.

I was brought back to the battlefield. Marth had done the exact same move and had slashed through my shoulder. If this was a normal fight, I'd be dead right now. Instead I just felt a bit of force on my shoulder.

"Don't daze off!" Marth snapped. "Fight me seriously!"

"Okay!" I replied kicking him in the side and forcing him away from me.

"I didn't come here to lose!" Marth snapped.

"Neither did I." I replied.

"To be beaten by a newcomer, it would be embarrassing."

I did my best to remain calm. Everyone was counting on me. I wouldn't let them down! Unforutnately, I was at a prefect distance for Marth to hit me with the tip of his sword. The attack sent me flying away and exploding in bright colors.

"I don't believe this." I muttered. Focusing my attention back at Marth as I stepped off of the revival platform.

Marth rushed towards me. This time I swung my sword towards him, slashing across his chest. Quickly I did everything in my power to make sure that Marth couldn't attack me. I stayed at a distance, where his sword couldn't reach.

"Nugai! Nugai!" The crowds cheered.

"Shut up, that isn't my name!" I shouted back. This was a bad idea, as Marth immediately rushed in and attacked me. The one moment I was distracted allowed Marth to unleash a combo which badly damaged me. I looked at the watch. I was currently at 82%.

Then another Smash Ball appeared. Marth immediately ran for it and slashed it. I ran over to try and get the Smash Ball to even the playing field, however Marth was ready for me. He threw something at me. I don't know what it was, but when it hit, it exploded in a flash of light and I was in a daze. Everything was spinning around me.

I then heard the Smash Ball breaking. I could make out Marth landing in front of me and swinging his sword. He then rushed right for me.

Marth's sword stabbed right through me. I wanted to let out a scream of pain. But, it strangely didn't hurt. There I was, standing there with a sword impaled through my abdomen, going right through several of my internal organs. But yet, it didn't hurt.

I suddenly went flying, and exploded in another blast of color.

I stepped off of the revival platform. This was it, this was my final life.

"I won't lose!" I shouted. "I won't lose against you!"

I ran towards Marth and slashed my beam sword. He also slashed his sword. Our weapons clashed, creating sparks. I went all out, getting a few hits on Marth, but he also had attacked me several times. We attacked each other and pushed each other back. At my feet was another bob-omb. I picked it up and immediately threw it.

Marth however just jumped into the air to dodge the bob-omb.

I didn't know at what point I stopped trying to win, at what point I realized that it was probably hopeless to win, where I decided to just have fun, and when I let Marth know I wasn't going down without a fight. I looked at the watch. All the small scratches I had received had accumulated themselves to 94%. The most I probably could do was at least knock Marth down to one stock.

I ran for Marth. It was reckless, stupid, and a big mistake. Marth just smiled, in his hand was something, a green shell. He threw it and it hit me sending me flying.

The match was over. The virtual backdrop disappeared, and we appeared on the ring. I lied on the ground. Defeated.

"This game's winner is Marth!"

The audience applauded.

Marth approached me and stretched out his hand. "It was a good match." Marth said smiling. He helped me up off of the ground.

He enjoyed it... that's good...

I smiled. "I'm sure everyone enjoyed watching it." Marth motioned towards the audience. "But still... I must apologize for everything, the way I've been acting up until this point. Mewtwo set everything up and ordered me to act like this..."

But I couldn't help but feel down. "Because of me, now Mewtwo, Roy, Pichu, and Dr. Mario will have to leave..."

"Dr. Mario is staying. We need someone to tend to our wounds after all. It just turned out that he couldn't balance between being a Smasher and a Doctor." Marth replied. "Roy has duties to return to for his kingdom. His father is ill and will soon pass away. Pichu although is leaving the Smashers, he can't leave due to legal matters. He would be out in the world without a guardian. He is staying with his father Pikachu. As for Mewtwo, he never was one for company. I thought he was going to stay to train the new comers but who knows."

"So I was tricked. Mewtwo just used all these coincidences to motivate me. And even if I won I would be unable to change them leaving."

"Don't worry, things always work out." Marth said. "I'm sure you'll figure something out, after all you're destined to save this world, aren't you?"

"To be honest," I muttered. "I don't think of myself as someone as who can save this world."

"Why's that?"

"If I can't even beat you, what are the chances I have against something else?" I replied. I didn't hear Marth's response. The battle had taken its toll on me. Perhaps combined with the lack of sleep the moment I closed my eyes I lost consciousness.

Once again I was in that black room. "How was that?" The voice asked. I was looking at the result screen. Marth had won.

"You're good." My voice replied. "I didn't expect you to improve that much since two weeks ago."

"I wasn't going to lose to you again." He laughed. His voice… it was the exact same as that person I had met in the halls.

Who was this person? What was this room?

"It's three in the morning now." He sighed, checking his watch. "Guess we should be going to sleep now. We can play some more when we wake up."

I just nodded. A few seconds later I felt my head going against a pillow.

When I opened my eyes I was greeted with the all too familiar ceiling of the hospital wing. Around me I could feel the presence of several Smashers. "He's awake!" Lucas said.

I moved my head and saw Lucas sitting on a chair. In another chair was Ness, who was dressed in the hospital gown.

Also there was Mewtwo and Marth. Dr. Mario also was standing in the doorway with a clipboard in his hands. "I have to say Nugai, that was an entertaining fight."

"That's not my name. Stop saying it." I snapped back.

"Nugai, are you feeling all right?" Marth wondered.

"Nugai, I thought you told me not to do anything crazy." Lucas said.

I just sighed. Until I remembered my own name I guess it would work as a placeholder. Even if I remembered my own name, would they still call me that?

"Well, as far I can tell you're fine, just exhausted." Dr. Mario said. "So try not to do anything else that is strenuous today."

I weakly laughed. "I didn't plan on it."

"Okay, that's good." Dr. Mario said. "Everyone else, can you just leave for a few seconds."

They left as per the doctor's orders. He just looked down at me and began to take my pulse. "You know, I don't think you needed everyone else out of here just to take my pulse." I muttered.

"There are a few things I want to ask you." Dr. Mario replied. "I know you went into my files and saw Lucas'."

Ah crap…

"Yes…"

"Why did you look into it?"

I realized that the reason why he was taking my pulse was to make sure I wasn't lying.

"Someone told me that Lucas was suicidal. I wanted to double check that."

"I see." Dr. Mario replied. "And who was this person?"

"I don't know." I replied.

Dr. Mario let go of my wrist. "Very well then, you are free to go, don't do anything stupid now."

"Of course." I replied.

I got out of the bed and walked towards the door. I walked out of the room, and looked at everyone in the hallway. Marth had all ready left, and Mewtwo was still floating there. "Well, I'm free to go." I said.

"Then I'll see you around." Mewtwo said teleporting away.

I looked at Lucas, and Ness. "So Lucas, Ness? What are you guys going to do?"

"Unfortunately I have to stay here for the night." Ness muttered. "So I'm stuck here."

"I see. Well, I'm not staying in the hospital wing any longer, it sucks to be you Ness!" I said walking away.

"Sorry Ness, but I'm going to go with Nugai!" Lucas said. I didn't even bother trying to correct him. Lucas just ran after me. "Nugai, can we talk about your match."

"No, not really." I muttered, wanting to forget about it.

"What was it like?" He had so many questions that I tried my best to answer. His questions went from the matches themselves, to if I felt nervous. Finally he asked the question that I was dreading. "You got Dr. Mario to stop me from fighting, didn't you?"

"Yeah." I replied.

"Why?"

"You seemed like you wanted to fight with Ness as your first Smash Bros Match." I replied.

He nodded. "Yeah, I wanted that to happen."

"Well, Mewtwo said it was the only way, you would have to fight someone else if Ness wasn't capable of fighting."

Lucas nodded. "Then during my Debut match, will you be watching and cheering me on?"

"Of course, we newcomers have got to stick together." I replied.

Lucas smiled. "Can I show you something?" He asked.

I sighed. "I guess so." I was tired, it had been a long day and quite frankly, I wanted to go to bed and fall asleep. Lucas however began to lead the way.

"So, where are we going?" I wondered.

"Outside." Lucas said.

"Outside?" I questioned.

"You know, fresh air, snow? All that stuff!"

I just sighed. "Can this wait until tomorrow?" I asked as a yawn began to escape me

"No," Lucas replied.

I sighed, we eventually got outside. "What do you want to show me?" I asked.

He turned around and pointed at the Smash HQ. Someone had put lights across it. It illuminated the night. "Isn't this nice? I never had seen anything like this while I was in Nowhere Islands."

"Where I come from, I've seen it every single year." I replied. "Building and houses are always lit up like that."

"Really?" Lucas said. "I'd love to see them."

I honestly had no idea, but quite frankly, I was in the cold without a jacket on, I was freezing. I wanted to get back inside. However, standing at the door was someone I didn't want to see.

It was that same reporter.

I glared at him. "Why are you still here?" I asked

"Now, now Nugai, please no hostility!"

"I'm glad I met up with you. I wanted to ask you a few questions. How did you know all that? How did you know about Lucas?"

He just laughed. "I know a lot of things."

"But how?" I shouted.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk!" he taunted. "I was almost willing to tell you, but if you're going to treat me like that it looks like I'll just leave."

He began to walk away. In a bout of frustration I shouted. "Do you think this is just a game?"

He glanced back at me, with a terrifying smile across his face. "Yes." He replied.

I suddenly froze. It was at that moment that something clicked inside my head. I knew who this person was, and he was dangerous.

"I look forward to seeing you again." He said.

There was no doubt in my mind. He was the Reaper.

Lucas also looked like he had figured it out. When the person was gone I confirmed. "Was that who I think it was?" Lucas just nodded.

"At least I think it was." Lucas replied. "I've never actually seen him before… Very few have and lived to tell about it."

We went back into the Smash HQ, and we both separated to go to our own rooms. Upon reaching my room I went in and collapsed on the bed.

"Now that I'm done that battle, I need to find a way out of this crazy world." I muttered.

I closed my eyes.

"Tomorrow…"

My cell phone however began to let off a ring. I reached for it, I had received a new text. It only said one thing.

Survive Nugai

I drifted to sleep.

To be continued…