Thankfully this chapter is much, much, much shorter than the last... Less editing Yay!
Day 29: New Years Eve
I was having a dream.
I was currently in a rather unfamiliar building. From what I could tell, it looked like a log cabin. I was currently in what appeared to be a giant mess hall. Nearby there was a window. I walked over to it and looked outside. Outside there was a beach and a large body of water. Was it a lake, or the sea? I didn't know, but I just kept on hearing the waves crest.
"You're here!" I heard a voice said. I turned to face the person.
He was completely unfamiliar to me. If I had to guess he was slightly younger than I was currently. I looked at the window, and sort of saw my reflection. I was much older. My hair was beginning to go white, it was also rather long and unruly, like it hadn't seen a comb in a while, just going down to a few inches beneath the back of my neck. I really hoped I was either super stressed out or over 35 because it was looking like age wasn't exactly kind... I had a rather clean shaven face, I guess I had just seen a razor.
"I'm glad you came back Nugai." he said. "Everyone has been rather nervous the past little bit. After the last attack. Not to mention all of the Smashers are afraid now that Zenith has captured Master and Crazy Hand."
I was really confused as to what was going on. "That isn't good..." The words escaped my mouth. I was just talking by myself, I had no control over what I was saying. It was like I was observing events as an outsider through my own eyes. "I suspected that they were getting ready for something bold, but not this bold."
"Do you think they will cut them up?"
"Most likely." I responded.
The kid flinched. His hand reached up for a Smash Pendant that was hanging around his neck.
"Andrew, what should I do? Why did you put everything on me?" He said.
Wait, he knows my real name?
"What if I make the wrong choice?"
"That won't happen." I said. "I'm positive."
"How are you so sure?"
"Look, I'm crazy, not stupid." I said. "I know you've got what it takes to make the right choice. That's why I chose you after all"
I chose him? This person I don't even know the name of? I've never seen before... Wait, this has to be at least a few years in the future. People can greatly change over the course of a few years maybe I do know him. Or I meet him later...
"You've endured every challenge so far." I said. "Fought others, defeated giant monsters, plenty of other stuff too."
"I've just gone with the flow though." He said. "I fought back in self defense, I thought that fighting the monsters was the right thing to do to protect others and send them back to their world. But now, everything's just been going way too fast. Before school ended I was just a normal person, getting ready to go to college next year. I was supposed to enjoy my last summer."
"How far are you willing to go?" I asked. "After accomplishing all that, you must want to see this through to the end. After it's all over, you can do whatever you want, you can return to your old life or start a new one, I promise."
"I do but... Are you going to tell me the truth?" He asked.
"Soon." I said. "When this is all over."
The truth? What's the truth?
I wanted this dream to continue, so that maybe this truth could shed some light on a few things. Not to mention, I really wanted to know who this person was. Why did I choose him? Unfortunately, my dream was about to end...
I woke up in quite a bit of shock. I just laid there in the town hall, looking up at the ceiling. Whatever that dream was, it was way too weird for me.
Zenith capturing Master and Crazy Hand? Who was that guy? It's not my subconscious as it all ready has a physical form. It's not the Observer... Was it a premonition?
I eventually decided that right now it wasn't that important. I tossed and turned a few times, but was finding that my blankets were a bit too warm. I then got up and walked around the room a bit. I made sure not to step on any of the kid Smashers. Eventually I got back to my makeshift bed. The heat had all disappeared, and it was quite cool now. I just went down and covered my self once again.
I just closed my eyes and tried to fall back to sleep, I was hoping that I would get another dream that would answer the questions I had.
That sadly wasn't going to happen.
There was suddenly loud explosions off in the distance. Everyone began to bolt up. Each of the kid Smashers were looking both surprised and afraid.
"What the hell is that?" I asked.
"I don't know." Ness said.
"Did Crazy Hand set off fireworks in his sleep again?" Popo wondered.
"Let's just hope it's just that."
"Crap..." Claus muttered. "I was having such a nice dream."
Toon Link began to mutter something that I couldn't make out. Red also wasn't too happy either.
We all made our way to where the other Smashers were staying for the night. Well, at least the male Smashers. They were all awake and rather grumpy, each of them was echoing my previous comment. Some of them looked absolutely terrified.
Mewtwo just closed his eyes, and tried to concentrate. "It seems like something happened at the ships."
Despite their attire, almost everyone quickly began to rush out to the parking garage to get the ships. The smarter Smashers seemed to have grabbed a few blankets to keep warm in the cold winter morning. Others such as Roy, rushed out only in his boxers.
In December.
In snow.
In below freezing temperatures...
I'd be surprised if his equipment didn't freeze off, if you know what I mean.
We all made it to the ships. Waiting outside was Samus, Captain Falcon, Fox, Falco, and Wolf. I was confused. They were all there, what was the source of the explosion?
I looked and noticed that all three ships, Samus' gunship, the Great Fox, and the Falcon Flier, were actually parked strangely. They were in a triangle position. Each one was facing the other.
"What happened?" Mario asked.
"We decided to leave a trap for the Mole." Samus said.
"It was Fox's idea." Captain Falcon said. "We'd sleep in the Great Fox, and make it look like we were in our own individual ships, and then, we would wait. We were thinking that the Mole would attack one of us, since we made ourselves easy targets, and were practically announcing that we were going to be alone. And it looks like we were right, the mole is pretty stupid."
Everyone just looked at Samus' gunship and the Falcon Flier. "When someone was detected inside one of the ships, the shields would go up, trapping them in, and then, the guns would go off to notify everyone else. And it seems like the person went into my Falcon Flier."
We all looked at the ship. The shields went down and Fox, Falco, Wolf and Samus entered with their weapons ready. A few minutes later they came out. Each of them looking rather shocked. "It's empty." Samus said. "No one was in there hiding."
People began to look around panicked.
"So, it was just a misfire." Link said. "Well then... I guess we can all go back to sleep for the rest of the night."
Everyone else seemed to nod in agreement.
"Just a misfire, and it interrupted my dream." Wario muttered.
No, it wasn't a misfire.
I was positive that the Mole tried to kill Captain Falcon. As everyone was walking back to the town hall, I stopped and listened in on Fox, Samus, Falco, Wolf, and Captain Falcon's conversation.
"It shouldn't have activated without the mole or someone else in there." Fox said.
"Someone was definitely in there." Samus said. "They just managed to make their way out somehow."
"Well, whoever the mole is, when I find out I'm going to make sure that they pay for the damages on my ship." Captain Falcon said.
They were right, the Mole once again managed to do something to disappear into thin air. And then be present with all of us to act as an alibi. I don't know how many others had noticed and decided to count the other Smashers while we were waiting, but all were present and accounted for.
How did the mole do it? Wait, maybe teleporting?
It was the only real explanation. But who all could do it? Having my memories of what everyone's capabilities were, and what they did in their own games restored, I quickly went down the list of who could do it.
Zelda with her Farore's Wind, as long as she set up a checkpoint. Zelda would have a nice advantage too, since the only people with her were Peach and Nana... with her sheika training she could probably sneak out without waking them. Link could probably do that too. Toon Link could use the Wind Waker, but it would probably of required being outside to actually use, not to mention we probably would have noticed the large amount of wind. And Toon Link was in the room when the explosion happened. Pikachu and Pichu, it wasn't so much as teleporting as just being able to move quickly. Mewtwo... He could teleport. But with everything else he had said and done, I doubted he could have been the mole. If it was him, he could easily paralyze us and then kill us all. Meta Knight could use his dimensional cape to go through the barrier, but at the same time, he probably wouldn't of been able to make it back to Smashville. Ness could teleport, but I seemed to remember him needing room to run, and while the Falcon Flier had a bit of space, I doubted it had enough. And once again, he was in the room when the explosion happened. Ganondorf, could also teleport, open portals and a bunch of other powerful magic spells.
Wait, what if I'm doing this the wrong way?
Fox, Falco, Wolf, Samus, and Captain Falcon were rather suspicious too. What if one of them was the mole. I was sure that the Great Fox had a teleportation device, or something. One of them could have snuck in, or snuck out. Or caused it to fire, or did something to make the Great Fox think that there was someone inside...
What if the mole wasn't as stupid as we thought he was?
That was another possibility too. He might of caught on to their plan and caused a misfire from the Great Fox remotely.
When we made it back to the town hall, everyone pretty much got back to their bed. I think most people figured that the mole wasn't going to try and strike again tonight. I made it back to the room with the other kid Smashers. They were all just talking about anything. Now they seemed to have decided that they were going to try and stay up until morning. Unfortunately, one by one they all fell asleep, and I too fell asleep.
I was woken up later by several other Smashers moving around. I just noticed the sunlight coming in through the windows, and decided to get up. As I got up, I saw out of the window. Smashville was still in ruins. The wireframes that had been working through the night had reconstructed some of the houses. But at the moment, they were nothing more than empty shells.
"Was that all just a dream?" Ness asked.
"The explosions waking us in the middle of the night? No." I replied.
Everyone just groaned. Not all to impressed about it. "This mole is pretty sneaky." Toon Link said. "I wonder how he gets from place to place. Imagine the pranks you could pull off with that ability."
"You'd get in more trouble than you all ready are." Claus said.
I just got up, trying to ignore them. Honestly, I didn't want to get dragged into any discussions of who I thought the mole was, or how they were able to do it. I was sure Ness had all ready read my mind and was offended that I even suspected him.
"Hey, Nugai! Do you know what today is?" Claus asked.
The question caught me off guard. I just looked around at all of them a bit confused.
"Monday?" I said confused.
"It's New Years Eve!" Lucas replied. "We get to say good bye to 2007, and then welcome 2008!"
My mind seemed to flash back to home. I imagine under normal circumstances, I'd be drinking it up with friends tonight, maybe even the Reaper if he was still alive. But here I was. Stuck with the Smashers.
"You don't think of us as your friends?" Claus said rather offended.
"Stop doing that!" I said. "Can I have a little privacy! My mind isn't an open book."
"Depending on who you ask, it is." Ness said.
I just glared at them. "I meant my friends back home, okay." I said. "You guys are my friends too."
"Sure you did, you're just saying that to cover yourself." Claus teased.
"And if we're friends, why don't you come over here and help us catch the mole." Ness said. "I'm sure you've got your own theories about how the mole does things."
I just looked at them, and walked over. "Listen, I'm only going to say this out of concern." I said. "Who ever the mole is, they're dangerous. Don't go looking for them."
"So, you finally decide to act your age." Claus said. "Why don't you take your own advice though? You were going to look for him all by yourself."
This little shit!
"I heard that." Claus said.
"Stop reading my mind!" I snapped. "Listen, I respect you guys, you're great friends. You've made the time that I spent in here enjoyable. So please, don't go looking for the mole. I don't want to see you get hurt."
"You're underestimating us, aren't you?" Popo said. "We're Smashers too you know. You don't have to discriminate because of our age."
I just cringed. "I don't want to see you guys get hurt, okay." I said. "That's all there is too it. I don't want to see any of the Smashers hurt."
They all looked at me a little frustrated. I figured that the best way to get them to stop this was to just tell them what I thought. Ness and Claus seemed to smile realizing they won.
"I think the mole can teleport." I said. "If you try to confront him, he or she could quickly get out of Smashville, or teleport away after killing you, or behind you. That's at least what I think with no one being in the ship early in the morning."
"Someone who can teleport..." Ness said. "Well, there are a lot of Smashers who have that ability."
"I know." I said. "I think the only way to guarantee everyone's safety is to expose the mole whenever everyone is together."
"Any idea who the mole is?" Toon Link asked.
"Unfortunately, no." I said.
"Any thoughts on who isn't the mole then?" Toon Link asked.
"Toon!" Ness said.
"The only people I can say without a shadow of a doubt that aren't the mole are you guys." I said. "I was awake when the explosion happened. And I had looked around the room, so unless one of you was able to have a duplicate, you were all present."
"Well, I guess that only puts Popo under suspicion then." Toon Link said. "Maybe Nana was filling in for him."
"Toon, that's not even funny!" Popo shouted. "Besides, that's not even taking into account using a wireframe to copy your appearance and act like you would, or you being able to use the command melody."
Toon Link just looked at Popo. "That' was a rather quick response, maybe you had it ready just in case. How do we know you're not Nana? Maybe you should drop your pants just so we can be sure."
Ness just smacked Toon Link over the head. "No one wants to see that."
"Toon Link, stop." I said. "First of all, Popo isn't the mole, second of all I think it's far too early to say who the mole is." I said. "All we know is that it's a member of the Smashers. And beyond that it's just speculation. If we continue down this path, we will end up fighting each other. That being said, have you heard of Knox's ten commandments for mystery novels?"
They all looked at me a bit confused. "What?"
"There are 10 rules for writing a mystery novel. Here, let me tell you them. 1. The criminal must be someone mentioned in the early part of the story." I figured this would at least stop them from just rushing out and looking for the mole, and it would at least be a way to pass some time.
"So, in this case, someone who is in the Smashers." Popo said. "We all ready know that."
"Correct." I said. "2. All supernatural things are ruled out."
"Not in this place where there are how many psychics." Ness said.
"But that in itself makes it suspicious, don't you think?" Claus said. "How come we haven't been able to read the mole's mind, and figure out who he or she is? In that case, wouldn't it be a psychic?"
"Well, Nugai showed that there was some way you could block reading someone's mind." Lucas said. "Although that way was rather unnatural. But I'm sure there might be natural ways to do it."
My mind just suddenly flashed to Snake. I remembered in Metal Gear Solid how he fought against someone who could read his every move, or rather read the players inputs on the controller, and then by switching the controller port, he immediately could no longer be read. I just thought about that for a few seconds. Snake was an expert at sneaking too, if he was the mole, he probably wouldn't have been caught in that trap, and could of returned back to the Smashers by using the cypher unit. He could have simply landed on the ground and just joined us all with out anyone noticing. But I doubted it was Snake. If he was the mole, he would have killed me back when he had the chance in the forest.
"Still, to block your mind from being read, you have to be a powerful psychic, or know one, as Mewtwo said." Ness said. "What's the next rule Nugai?"
"3. Only one secret room or passage is allowed. And then, it has to be in a house or building for which it is appropriate due to age or purpose."
"So, do the Smash Mansion's, and the ones in Smashville count in this case?" Ness wondered.
"I don't think so. All of the Smashville ones were destroyed with the exception of one. And we only found out about it yesterday..." I said. I suddenly paused.
Wait, how did yesterday's events play out if the Reaper wasn't killing everyone? They wouldn't know about that... we would have had no reason to retreat...
"I went exploring yesterday before bed." Ness said, "And then I found the passageway, but you're right it was blocked by a mound of dirt, when I tried to move it, more dirt just poured in."
"As for the Smash Mansion, it was made with the intent of us ever being attacked to be able to quickly escape to somewhere safe." Popo said. "Master Hand had explained that to us when we came for the Melee days, and the war was getting a bit worse."
I nodded. "4 No undiscovered poisons may be used. Or anything that requires a long explanation at the end."
"I don't think this really pertains to us, since he's been trying to kill us using rather obvious methods." Red said. "Push crate, squish humans. Attack person while they are sleeping."
"Yeah." Ness said. "This mole isn't exactly going for subtle."
"5. Don't make it obvious."
Everyone just looked at me blankly.
"Well, it's more or less for writing, I also kind of reworded it, it just means that basically don't make it the special guest star that week in a TV show, or a minority that is commonly depicted as a criminal or villain." I explained.
"Well, I guess since the Mole hasn't been caught so far, it hasn't been obvious." Toon Link said.
"Okay, just stop for a second." Ness said a bit confused. "How are you able to remember all this stuff off of the top of your head?"
"Well, I figure, it's completely useless information that I will never have any practical use for." I sighed. "That's why I'm able to recall it."
The Smashers just groaned.
"That, and last month, in November, I was attempting to write a mystery novel." I said.
Everyone just looked at me a bit confused. "A mystery novel?"
"Yeah…" I said. "I was participating in something called NaNoWriMo… National Novel Writing Month, it's something in my world where you try to write a novel of 50,000 words in 30 days, normally taking place in November."
"That sounds interesting…" Lucas said. "I'd like to try it sometime."
"And yeah, I was deciding on a mystery novel. And I just stumbled across them as part of my preliminary research." I laughed rather embarrassed. "Although I eventually decided to write something else, so these are just sticking out in my mind as useless factoids."
"Okay, so what's the next rule?" Claus wondered.
"6. No accident can help the detective. He also can't have an unaccountable intuition which proves to be right."
"So basically, the detective can't just be 'I know now!'" Ness said.
"Yeah, I guess that's fair enough." I said. "7. The detective can not commit the crime."
They all just looked at me. "Well, did you?" Toon Link teased.
"No. How could I?" I asked. "I was nearly crushed by that giant crate too! I can't be in two places at once!"
"Maybe you can, and you're just hiding it. It might also explain why you were awake for the explosion." Ness teased.
"Moving on, 8."
"You're avoiding the subject." Claus teased. "That's awfully suspicious."
"And you can read my mind like a book." I replied back. "You all ready know I'm innocent."
"Fine, fine, you win this round." Ness laughed.
Although, I think in theory I actually could be in two places at once, since I still had a small fraction of Dialga and Palkia's power... but I didn't have it back then...
"Anyways, 8. The detective must not light on any clues which are not instantly produced for the inspection of the reader." I said. "It's just to stop there from being no clues, and pretty much pulling the answers right out of the detective's ass."
"Still, these ones for writing aren't exactly doing a lot for helping us solve this mystery." Claus said. "We would have actually had to of seen the clues, and discern them for ourselves."
"9. The friend, assistant, of the detective, must not conceal any thoughts which pass through his mind."
"I'm hungry, can we go get breakfast?" Ness asked.
"I want a nice long hot shower." Toon Link said.
"I'd like to just relax in my own bed." Red said.
"I hope the Reaper dies in a fire." Popo said. "Along with the mole."
"You guys aren't really helping." I muttered. "10. Twin brothers and doubles generally must not appear unless prepared."
Everyone looked at Lucas, Claus, and Popo.
"Oh come on!" The three of them shouted.
"Well, Lucas was with the Reaper once..." Toon Link said. "Maybe Claus was continuing the tradition. And everything yesterday was just a front."
"I'm innocent." Claus said. "Ask Nugai."
They all looked at me. "Is he innocent, Nugai?"
"Yes." I said.
"How do you know?" Popo wondered.
"It would take far too long to explain." I said.
"We have all day." Red said.
I let off a heavy sigh. I looked at a nearby pillow and just waved my hand above it. Soon the streams of data barcodes came out. "Can you see this?" I asked.
"Yeah, it looks like a bunch of barcodes."
"This is data." I said. "I can edit it. So, for example..." I figured I would just do something simple, like just changing the color of the pillowcase. From a plain white to a bright orange. "I can do more complex stuff, but that's far more taxing."
Ness looked a bit shocked at me.
"Like psychics I can use this method to read Claus' mind, and see everything that happened." I said. I placed my hand over Claus' forehead and suddenly he had a blank expression on his face. "I can go through his memories, and all that. I just quickly read the data. Even if there was a psychic block I'm pretty sure I'd be able to find it, and it wouldn't be any match for me."
I figured that would be the best explanation. I took my hand away from Claus' forehead and he regained consciousness.
"With that ability, why don't you use that to find the mole?" Red asked.
"To go up to each and every Smasher?" I said. "I'm pretty sure the mole would figure it out. I'd only have a few chances before everyone got suspicious."
"There's got to be some way, without raising suspicion right? I mean, what if you began to hug everyone to say good bye." Ness suggested. "Like say you're suddenly going back to your world, or something."
"That would never work..." I muttered. "It takes a while to read through all of the memories, and I'm sure the Mole would get suspicious with all of the long lasting hugs."
"So, you have to figure out who the mole is some other way." Ness sighed. "Even if you have it, you're just about as clueless as us psychics."
"Yeah, well, you'll share all your thoughts on who the mole is with us, right?" Claus asked.
"Listen, I want to avoid further discussion of the mole with you guys." I said. "I honestly think of you as little brothers, and I don't want to discuss this stuff with you."
They all looked at me both confused and surprised.
"I think the mole right now is trying to separate the Smashers by causing everyone to suspect each other. Once we begin to fight, and start doing the blame game, we will be easy targets." I said. "So please, let's not talk about this any more. I'll catch the mole. Just trust in me, please."
They were silent until someone's stomach began to growl.
"Guys, really I'm hungry, let's go get breakfast." Ness said.
They all nodded. I'd like to of thought that I at least distracted them long enough, and hopefully they decided to do something else besides chase after the mole. We made our way outside. There was a tent set up. Inside of it was a bunch of wireframes cooking some food. Just pancakes, some bacon, some eggs. We grabbed some plates and then went back into the town hall to eat.
We all ate our food quickly, and made our way back into the tent for more. I was finding myself really hungry. With all of the events catching up to me. I don't know about the other kid Smashers, but that was at least the reason I was eating so much. The others I just assumed because they were growing.
When we were done. We all pretty much just collapsed on our makeshift beds and looked up at the ceiling.
"I ate too much." Ness moaned.
"The mighty Smashers, defeated by breakfast." Claus laughed.
It wasn't very long until Princess Peach came into the room with a megaphone. "All right you slackers, get up off of your beds, and it's time to get moving!"
"Oh crap." Ness muttered. "If one of you are the mole, can you kill me now?"
"Please do the same to me." Popo said.
Red, Lucas, Claus, and myself just looked around rather confused. "What's going on?" Lucas asked.
"It's time for setting up for the party tonight." Toon Link whimpered.
Much like Toon Link said, we were immediately put to work, with clean up, and other tasks.
Sometime in the afternoon, I had my first break. I just sat on a nearby tree stump and had a nice cold drink. I didn't care how cold it was outside, I was personally really hot. I took a few minutes to watch everyone else. Hoping that the mole would strike out of desperation to get out of work.
"Sonic, don't do your job so quickly! It's sloppy!" I heard Princess Peach shout through the mega phone.
Several wireframes were also setting up a stage and speakers. Behind where they were setting up the stage there were boxes and boxes of fireworks. It looked to me like Master Hand had spared no expense with the New Years Eve party; I just hoped the Reaper didn't crash it.
A wireframe gently pushed me, and I moved out of the way. I looked to see them just carrying another box filled with fireworks. Boy, how I'd hate to be one of the Smashers with enhanced hearing tonight.
"Nugai!" a voice called out. "Can you come over here and help out?"
"Sure." I said.
I rushed over to Princess Peach, she then directed me to a storage room in the city hall. There were several tables and chairs all stored away for events like this.
"Can you move the tables out in accordance to this map?" She asked, handing over a piece of paper. I looked at it. There was several tables dedicated to food, some to hot food, others to desserts. Some for drinks. Then there were several tables out for us to sit at. All under a giant tent.
"I'll do my best." I said.
"Thanks, Nugai." She said.
I was practically alone setting up the tables, but that wasn't a problem. My time as a Smasher had made me stronger. These tables were also more awkward than anything. Being the only one to move them, I had to balance them from the centre, and I found myself hitting the walls, and doors quite constantly. Every single time I did that though, I could see a wireframe visibly cringe, perhaps knowing that they would be the ones to repaint it.
Eventually all of the tables were set out. I made my way back into city hall and into the kitchen. Nothing was cooking there. Everything was going to be catered.
At least from the looks so far I had to say that the Smashers certainly knew how to throw a party.
I took an apple that was on display in a fruit basket, and began to eat it. When I was done with the apple, I went to throw the core into a garbage can. It had one of those revolving doors. So, I just decided to throw the apple core into it. It went in.
"Ouch." I heard a voice say.
I walked over to the garbage can and looked into it. There I saw Toon Link inside it. I did my best to just keep a straight face.
Ew. Gross. Disgusting. Don't come near me...
"Nugai!" Toon Link whispered. "What are you doing?"
"Working?" I said
"You should be like everyone else and hiding, besides the wireframes will do the work."
I just rolled my eyes.
"Nugai, there you are." Princess Peach said. "Have you seen Toon Link?"
I glanced down at the garbage can, I used aura to see inside. He currently had the Master Sword up in the air and ready to go through the garbage can if I gave the wrong answer. "Not recently." I said. "Is there anything you want me to do?"
"Empty all of the garbage bins." She said. "They seem to be rather full."
I just nodded. She went away, and I just looked at Toon Link. "I suggest finding a new hiding spot, or you're going to be finding yourself in the dump."
Work continued until the evening. I found myself making my way back to the makeshift beds and just collapsing on one.
"You should of hid like everyone else." I heard a voice said. In the corner there was a pile of pillows. Underneath it was Ness.
If I had something within my reach, I probably would have thrown it at him. "I'll remember this..." I said, just really making an empty threat.
I had a quick nap, and was woken up by Ness shaking me. "It seems like everything has begun." He said.
I just glanced up at him. "Oh..."
"Food's ready and all of that."
"Okay." I muttered. "Let me sleep."
"Come on, you're not going to sleep on New Years Eve, are you?"
"It's just like every other day of the year." I replied. "At midnight, nothing spectacular happens and we continue on with our lives."
Ness' hand just sparked with electricity and he zapped me. I jumped up and glared at him. "What was that for?"
"To wake you up." Ness said. "Besides, once the fireworks start no one is going to be able to sleep in a five mile radius of this place. So, come on, let's go get food."
We made our way outside. There was a stage that had been set up and currently there was a band on it playing some music. There was also a large amount of pyrotechnics, though I imagine that was because the band wanted to stay warm. We then went into the tent with all of the tables. There were several caterers lining the tables with some food. Behind the tent there was a trailer, I'm guessing that was where they were cooking all of the food. I just grabbed a plateful of food, and sat down with the rest of the kid Smashers and we began to eat.
"There are a few other people here today." Ness said. "All of the assist trophies for starters."
"That's great." Popo said.
I didn't really pay that much attention to their conversation. I just slowly ate the food. When I was done my plate, an announcement came through some speakers.
"Attention all Smashers, can you please come out to in front of the stage?" Princess Peach's voice rang.
We reluctantly made our way to the stage. It was currently empty, however Princess Peach went up onto it and there was much clapping. "Welcome everyone to our New Years Eve party!" She said. "Now then, Zelda and I are happy to of thrown this party, and I think it's time for us to decide who will be running next years New Years Eve party!"
"All ready?" I muttered. "Geeze, this year still has a few hours left still."
"But first, we're going to do a tradition for all of the Smashers, at new years." Peach said. "All of the new Smashers are going to get up, on the stage and say their new years resolution!"
I think all of us had the same reaction. "WHAT!?" Even Ness, and the older Smashers were rather shocked. I had a feeling that this was just an initiation ritual to shame us, or at least for them to get to know us a little bit better.
"We'll be doing it in alphabetical order." Princess Peach said.
"WHAT!?" Claus shouted suddenly afraid, realizing that he would be first. I had to do my best to hide a devilish grin. I was so glad I didn't tell anyone my real name. Claus was panicking so much I doubt he even would of been able to read my mind. Besides, even if he did and found out that alphabetically I was first, he would only be delaying the inevitable by what? 3 seconds?
We were forced up, and then forced to line up. King Dedede protested that the King was apart of his name, and that he should get to go later, but Princess Peach and Princess Zelda just replied that it was a title, and he is still going second.
Lucario was also uncomfortable in the line, and wanted to quickly run away. The once cool and composed Claus was breaking down into fear. I was glad that I hadn't told anyone my real name so that I was 8th out of the 16 instead of first. Towards the end of the line, they were rather annoyed, but didn't have any of the nervousness. They figured that they had all the time in the world to make up something.
"Okay, Claus why don't you tell us your resolution."
Claus walked forwards. Everything about his movements was now stiff. I couldn't help but laugh. I wasn't alone either. His face went red when he heard several of the laughs. "Um, well, my new years resolution is have at least a 50 percent win ratio on the Smash Battles."
People began to applaud. And he quickly went down to his seat.
"Dedede." Peach said.
King Dedede walked forwards, still upset that he was going second as opposed to fourth. "My new years resolution?" He said "I plan to beat Kirby here in the Smashers!"
"Diddy Kong." Zelda said.
Diddy Kong quickly rushed up to the microphone. "My new years resolution is to grow some banana trees here in Smashville!" He said quickly jumping down and returning to his seat.
"Ike." Peach said.
Ike walked up to the podium. He was one of the few Smashers who didn't have any nervousness. "My goal for the next year is simple. It's to hone my skills and place in the top 5 of the Smashers."
Several people cheered. I could swear I saw Fox grinning, anticipating the fights.
"Lucario." Princess Zelda said.
Lucario walked up to the podium. "I have no goals." He said, before walking away.
Several of the Smashers were just a bit shocked. It took Princess Peach, and Princess Zelda at least ten seconds to recover, and call up the next person. "Lucas."
Lucas walked up. He was dragging his feet, and then when he got to the podium, he reached up to adjust the microphone. "Um... well... I don't really have a new years resolution." Lucas admitted. "I guess making more friends in the Smashers."
Lucas walked down to his seat and then Meta Knight went up, not even waiting for Princess Peach or Zelda to call out his name. It was then I realized that I was next. It was now the fear began to hit me. So much that I didn't even hear Meta Knight's new year's resolution. "Nugai." A voice said.
I began to walk towards the podium. I got there and looked at the crowd of Smashers. "Um, my new years resolution... I didn't really think of one. Though if I was pressed I'd say beat the Reaper and return home."
I just made my way down to the other kid Smashers and stood there. The nervousness had instantly vanished. I just stood there, hardly paying attention to any of the other resolutions, only clapping when others clapped. When it was done, we were allowed to go back into the mess tent. The kid Smashers went in and I followed. We stopped at a table and each got a mug of hot chocolate. We claimed a table, and the kid Smashers began to talk amongst themselves once again. I just looked around not really paying any attention. When my mug of hot chocolate was empty I went up to get another, but beyond that I didn't really move.
After a while I began to notice that it was really getting stuffy in the mess tent. I looked around and eventually stood up.
"Nugai, is something wrong?" Ness asked.
"I just need some fresh air." I said.
Ness nodded in agreement. "I was just thinking about getting up to go outside too. Mind if I join you?"
"Not at all."
We walked out of the tent and made our way away from the festivities. The music had started up again and it was blaring. You could hear it from anywhere in Smashville.
We got to the small river that flowed through the town and just sat at the bank. We began to pack up some snowballs and throw them in. "So, you plan on beating the Reaper."
"Well, it's a good thing I've got all the time in the world, right?" I laughed. "No, I plan on our next encounter being our last. He's only a shell of what he once was."
"Nugai, I just wanted to say my good byes right now." Ness said.
I looked at him rather confused. "Why?"
"Last night I had a dream." He said. "I think we're never going to see each other again after you beat the Reaper."
I was a bit confused.
"Why?" I asked.
"I don't know. In the dream, you were gone." Ness said. "Maybe when you beat him you go right back home."
"Come on, that's stupid." I said. "I've got all the time in the world now. I can go back home and come back here any time I please." At the time, I was so exhausted from setting up for the party that I had completely forgotten about how I programmed separating the two worlds.
"Still." Ness said. "I hope you stick around a bit when you do beat him."
"Why?"
"Well, there are things I want to know about you." Ness said. "Hey, maybe you could take us into your world and show us around!"
"Sorry, I'm trying to prevent our two worlds from fusing." I said. "I don't think people would take well to fictional characters being around them. That and my place is far too small for the Smashers."
We just sat there and talked for a little while, until I suddenly froze. I couldn't help but feel that we were being watched. I tried to use aura, but Ness just interrupted me. "Well, I think we've been away from the party for long enough." Ness said. "Are you coming?"
"Yeah, sorry." I said.
I got up and we began to walk back to the party until I suddenly fell forwards. I landed on the ground, and Ness looked rather surprised. "Are you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, I think so." I replied.
"What happened?" He asked.
I looked back. "I think I tripped on a rock or ice or something." I said.
"Well, do you need help getting back up?" Ness asked. He extended his hand, and I grabbed it. He pulled me up, and we walked back together. I hadn't sprained my ankle or anything. It was just more surprising than anything. So, I didn't think very much of it. I was also quite exhausted, so that might of contributed to it too.
We made our way back to the party and just enjoyed our time. At about 10:30 fire works began to go off. Each of the younger Smashers seemed to enjoy it. Everyone looked up at the fireworks, which turned into various Smasher's faces and even one that was the Smash Logo. I took a drink out of the hot chocolate and continued to look up memorized by the lights. The fireworks continued for a while. Eventually like all good things they came to an end.
However we all saw something else in the sky. An aurora. It just danced across the night sky.
"That aura? What is it?" Peach asked.
I looked into the aurora and could see earth.
"That's my way home." I said. I was honestly excited. And then I just froze and looked at it. "No, that's a lie. I could always return home. That is the graphical representation of the amount of time our two universes are remaining linked. Looking over it, I have just about 5 days to return back before I'm permanently stuck on this side."
"And how do you know all of that?" Pikachu asked.
"I just looked at it and knew." I replied. It wasn't a lie. I just did. I let off a weak laugh, was it just a coincidence, or did I subconsciously program the two universes to be separated permanently to coincide with the 35 day limit I had? It was just a big fat joke. Everything was a joke, and I was the punch line.
I just began to laugh. The stress was finally getting to me.
Damn it... I don't want to say good-bye...
But it was too late for that. The rest of the night continued. I spent my time going around to other tables. I stopped by Fox, Falco, Wolf, Snake, and Captain Falcon, they were playing some cards.
And then 5 minutes before midnight we were all directed outside in front of the stage again, and handed some drinks. The older Smashers got alcoholic beverages to do a toast, while the younger Smashers, were given a hot apple cider. There was now a big screen which was counting down. Most of the Smashers were just talking amongst themselves until the final minute where they then focused on the big screen.
And then the countdown began.
"10!" I heard a bunch of Smashers say.
"9!"
"8"
"7"
"6"
"5"
"4"
"3"
"2"
"1"
"0"
"Happy new year!"
From above us confetti fell down from some party balls opening. And then, around Smashville the start of the final batch of fireworks went up into the sky to mark the new year. They began to toast glasses and drink a bit. I drank some of the apple cider.
A new year...
I felt just like walking away and making my way back to the makeshift bed. However I quickly noticed I was boxed in by everyone who was looking up at the fireworks. I just looked up at the sky figuring that it would be over quickly. I was tired and I wanted to get back to bed so quickly. My eyes were closing a bit, and looking at several other Smashers I was seeing they were having the same trouble too.
More and more fireworks began to go up into the air, and then they exploded. Bright flashes of light went off with different symbols. I just kept looking up and watching them, and all of the different shapes; a chaos emerald, Mushrooms, Wario's 'W', Sonic's head, a pokeball, a crate, swords, eggs, a Smart bomb, the normal fireworks that just did the starburst explosion. After about five minutes of fireworks they ended. I just stood there still looking up at the sky. All of the events of the past 29 days were playing in my head, and then, suddenly everything clicked.
Everyone was beginning to disperse, but I had to stop them somehow, the Mole would most definitely strike again tonight...
"That's it!" I shouted. Everyone looked at me both confused and surprised.
"What's it?" Snake asked, coughing up some coffee.
"I know who the mole is!" I said.
Everyone looked at me rather shocked.
Finally the homestretch… ALMOST DONE THIS STORY! MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Probably just broke one of the Knox's ten commandments too... There are some hints spread out throughout the story... although I don't exactly think I'm that good at writing mysteries...
The NaNoWriMo thing, some background information: this was originally started as a NaNoWriMo one year, way back before Brawl was released. I got the basic situation down, before deciding to write something else. I had tried writing this story, or one like it a couple times before, only involving Melee. Nugai and the Reaper were two different characters, there was no amnesia, they weren't fighting each other, they were just cousins or best friends that were sucked into the game one night by accident. Some stuff remained the same, such as them learning how to fight and the training. I don't remember if there was much for a plot otherwise though.
Random Note: I've never done a new years eve in Animal Crossing... I'm with family or friends, and we're playing other games. Mario Kart, Smash Bros, Kirby Air Ride. Animal Crossing is kind of the farthest thing away... Maybe this year in New Leaf. Then again since X/Y I haven't been in my town, I'm afraid to go back...
So, next chapter, you find out who the mole is, and this story passes 200,000 words. Hopefully it will be posted tomorrow.