The hype engine roared, and the cheers of the audiences intensified.
"WhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAT'S UP, LADS 'N LADIES! IT'S SMASHING TIME!" A loud voice boomed across the coliseum of an arena.
Everyone began to scream louder, joyously awaiting a particular match many had been looking forward to. The match had been long overdue, but much to their relief, what was to come had finally come.
"Everyone!" One of the hosts exclaimed with exuberance. "I thank you for coming to watch the first Smash Brothers match featuring our latest newcomer! While there's no need to know my name, I would like to refer to our guest announcers for the day! Please welcome Falco Lombardi and Mewtwo!"
As if on cue, Falco Lombardi, group member of the bounty-hunting organization known as Star Fox, jumped in. "'Ey! I'm the fan-favorite Falco, according to at least a million people out there. Glad to be here."
"…Hm," Mewtwo said in the most unenthusiastic fashion ever, causing a bunch of people to get hyped for him for absolutely no justified reason at all.
"So, Falco!" The host exclaimed with excitement present in his voice. "Today, our newcomer is going to be in a special match with the creators of the Smash Bros tournaments! What will he be going against exactly?"
Falco straightened his uniform, dusting off some random dustball that managed to stick itself on the clothes.
"Well, if you ask me, the Hands- yes, Master Hand and Crazy Hand- are one heck of a combo. Moreso than the Ice Climbers, obviously. The Hands got way more moves than Jaegar, so the newbie's gonna have to get ready in recognizing their random pattern of attacks."
"How random would it be, Mr. Lombardi?" The host asked amidst the cheers of the crowds.
"It could get more random than a Youtube Poop, and that's seriously saying something considering how creative people could get with those things. And by creative, I mean by creative in an unoriginal, yet somehow effective way. Both of them are mighty strong on their own, but once the Hands start working together, it goes DOWN from there."
"Sounds legit! Mewtwo, what are your thoughts on our newcomer?"
"I'm going to kill all of your loved ones."
"Thank you for your insight, Mewtwo!" The host said enthusiastically. "The match should be starting very soon! Stay tuned to the Smash Brothers Network."
Some things felt familiar to Mac.
He could hear the cries of excitement roaring above him. The tension, the scene, the gloves: not everything seemed different as he thought it would be. The scale of everything he encountered, however, was far greater than that of the boxing scene's.
Everything he achieved so far felt weak compared to what lied above. No, the boxers at the WVBA were certainly no slouches, but there was something that ultimately set apart the boxers and the Smash Brothers fighters. Something about watching others fight each other in the universal tournaments felt different from the boxing circuits he climbed his way through.
Being a world champion was hard not only to his physical condition, but also to his mind. The World Video Boxing Association taught him well, for he remembered how weary he had become with facing the same boxers that wanted to put him down over and over and over again. Perhaps the Smash Brothers were different due to how many people like him were gathered up in one place. He was no champion here, and he was not even sure if he could become a champion in the first place. In a sense, he only carried a single weapon; his past.
Mac was not an ordinary boxer anymore. He kept on reminding himself that, yet it felt so strange. One day, he would be unable to lift a forty pound dumbbell for more than forty seconds. The next month, Mac found himself carrying hundred pound dumbbells. Now he had to do jumping jacks with the dumbbells to sufficiently work out.
The fact that simple strength was not a key factor in winning the Smash Brothers tournaments. Perhaps it was the idea of facing people like him that excited him. The scene he would soon box in would not just make Mac rely on tactics that could be used over and over again. People thought hard like he did in order to win the Smash battles. Robin, for instance, was a tactician. As a tactician, he needed to set up good strategies against a slew of opponents that could change their fighting styles as well. The tournaments required brain power to great extents, and lacking such brain power would ultimately put one at a disadvantage.
Would the tournaments really grant Mac a place he could finally fight in with satisfaction?
Who knew. Maybe Doc Louis and his wonderful chocolate bar analogies would rough him up for a reality check; and Mac hoped that reality check would show results that please him.
Light crept into the large, dark waiting room he had been waiting in. The time to fully show his face to this strange world had finally come.
The ground, which was actually a platform, slowly rose from the darkness. Light spread its brightness upon Mac like a virus. He felt his heart accelerate, his eyes growing wide as he braced himself for what was to come.
As he rose, he heard an announcer speak, a microphone apparently causing his voice to echo throughout the entire stadium.
"Stinging like a bee and biting like a mosquito! Hailing all the way from Planet Earth to yours truly, he boasts the power of fighting with an innate strength that cannot be compared to a mere atom bomb!"
Mac clutched onto his hoodie, taking a deep breath.
Show 'em what you got, Mac baby!
The boxer closed his eyes.
"From New York, the Bruiser from the Bronx has decided to join the competition! Recently proclaimed as a new hero, he has come for attention… and attention he will get starting from today!"
You got this, Mac. You got it all figured out!
Mac breathed in.
Hit 'em baby!
Shake it out, son!
Mac breathed out.
The platform fully rose out of one of the lower walls of the stadium. As the platform started to move diagonally, Mac clutched his hoodie tighter. The cheers of so many people… It overwhelmed him, yet it did not faze him.
Now truly might have been a good time to return to what he loved doing.
"He is no giant, but he is no pushover! He is the champion of the World Video Boxing Association! He is…"
Time ticked by so slowly, and the boxer felt his nervousness creeping up his entire body. Whether he could control his emotions, he did not know. He began to worry on how he would perform in his first match.
World's waiting for you, kid!
But he had no time to worry about trivial matters, anymore.
The platform moved towards a somewhat intimidating battlefield. It was flat; flat like a boxing ring. As he quickly ran off the platform, jumping towards the platform like a dare-devil hot on its heels, Mac finally realized what he was experiencing.
The champion spirit within him had awakened once more.
"LITTLE MAC!"
Mac threw his jumpsuit off, stylishly letting the pink clothes fly towards the platform he had once been standing on before he jumped onto the battlefield known as Final Destination. Now standing in the center of the stage, the boxer watched the crowds go wild. Much to his pleasant surprise, a fair share of the audience carried pink or green signs that had "Neon Vigilante!" and other silly titles given to him.
A dark undershirt, green boxer shorts with orange-white lines decorating its sides, and his memorable green boxing gloves: the three pieces of equipment defined what Mac was.
As soon as Mac made several jabs at the air, he saw Master Hand and Crazy Hand fall from the open skies. His surroundings became darker, and soon enough, Mac's environment changed to that of empty space. The Final Destination glowed in the dark as stars slowly began to appear around him.
This was it. Only he and the Hands were present on the battlefield.
"Take a load of that outstanding introduction!" The Host yelled, impressed by the reaction to Little Mac appearing. "Mr. Lombardi, what does Little Mac have to offer?"
"Two things: power and speed. I never saw anyone as fast as that guy for real. He can't jump well, but it's stuff like what he has that makes me want to stay in the air all the time."
"I see!" The Host said, turning to Mewtwo. "Any of your thoughts, Mr. Mewtwo?"
"I will consume the entire world with destruction and death."
"Thank you for the helpful insight, Mewtwo!"
Mac took one last breath before finally charging forward. Doc Louis told him everything he needed to know about this battle.
To beat Master Hand and Crazy Hand, you gotta beat 'em senseless cause you won't be sending any of the Hands flying, son! They'll probably try to get you off the stage as much as possible after roughing you up, so always make sure to dodge! Dodge, dodge, and always, ALWAYS make sure to punch them as hard as you can from the ground!
Mac instantly dodged a massive bullet Master Hand shot out of nowhere. Unlike most of the fighters he would be facing, he needed to deplete the Hands' Stamina. Hitting them enough would eventually defeat them, but the question was how much he had to hit them. A fight that dragged on certainly was no problem for Mac himself, but he needed to beat them quickly before the Hands themselves began to recognize his attack patterns and defensive reflexes.
The boxer saw the left hand make some sort of jet motion before flying off of the stage. He turned to his left, only to see the large hand going straight for him. The hand planned on ramming into him, apparently.
As he prepared to roll out of the way, however, he saw Master Hand rising over the platform. The right hand was clenched into a fist.
Before he rolled back, Mac instead rolled forward, barely dodging an airplane and an explosive fist that crashed into the Final Destination. He soon saw the Master Hand return back to where he was.
Now.
Right when the foe began to recover, Mac sent an uppercut at the Master Hand, causing the hand's fingers to twitch briefly. He did some damage! It, however, was obviously not enough. As the boxer looked behind him to see what the Crazy Hand was doing, Master Hand began to "walk" across the Final Destination with two fingers. Mac found himself colliding against one of the fingers, which sent him flying towards the left hand.
Crazy Hand grabbed the boxer in the middle of his flight. Clenching tightly, the hand attempted to squeeze the lightweight boxing champion like a bottle of ketchup. Mac made a comeback by smashing away the hand's fingers, causing the left hand to scream like a little girl just because he was forced to let go.
"It's on! They're going at it with equal power, people! And our newcomer remains calm even at some dangerous moments that have appeared early on in the battle!"
"But that ain't Falco!" Falco said, attaching a little bit of ego to the statement. "On another note, if he really does stay in the air, he's gonna be in for a whoopin'."
"Indeed! What do you think, Mewtwo?"
"This world must die."
"Good."
Mac landed on the ground, dashing straight towards the Master Hand again. The Master Hand, who flew straight up, attempted to punch Mac from the side, only to have the boxer roll out of harm's way.
"Stop trying to punch the reader; you're gonna hurt their feelings!" Crazy Hand yelled at the Master Hand.
"…What?"
"Nothin'. Hey, Mac; I'd shower you with coconut cream pies."
As if on cue, the left hand flew over Mac before dropping an armada of explosives at the boxer. Mac leapt out of the way, rolling several times before delivering yet another uppercut at the hand.
As the Crazy Hand talked to himself about "expanding dongs," Master Hand suddenly took out a glowing square about his size.
"Crazy Hand," he said calmly. "It's paper time."
"Shut up, mom."
As if throwing papers was the hardest thing one could accomplish in life, Crazy Hand and Master Hand began to throw the squares onto the Final Destination. Each square rose into the air… straight into the dreaded danger zone. Mac witnessed several people getting knocked out of the stage by simply being kicked into the skies on the television as of recent days. He did his own share of research; enough to know that the squares would lead to him getting defeated.
The lightweight boxing champion daringly jumped off of a series of squares. Each flight of squares made him near the danger zone, much to the crowds' tension. But each time he landed on a square, he wasted no time in escaping the attack of flying squares. He soon found his feet touching the ground again.
After the sheets were sent towards him, Crazy Hand seemed to take interest in flattening Mac, for he rose over Mac's head, clenched tightly in a fist. Master Hand began to fire lasers at his fingertips, so Mac decided to use the preoccupied right hand to his advantage. Focused on the left hand, the boxer readied himself.
Crazy Hand suddenly stretched his fingers out before slamming himself against Final Destination. Mac actually let the left hand hit him, for he proceeded to directly smash one of the hand's fingers before clenching his unused hand tightly. Charging up an attack, Mac delivered a forward punch, slightly knocking the hand off of Final Destination.
"OWOWOWOWOW MOM GET THE CAMERA," Crazy Hand screamed as he retreated to the side of Final Destination.
The right hand responded nicely to the left hand for once, for he attempted to deliver revenge on a steaming hot dish. Turning into a drill, Master Hand drove itself onto the surface of Final Destination, spinning around with great speed. Mac rolled back, barely avoiding the drill. Making high risks for a higher reward, Mac began to deliver a spree of punches at the right hand that attempted to thrash out of the ground to recover. Ending the combo with a hook, the boxer flew straight up into the air, spinning as he attacked Master Hand from below.
"A stunning counter-attack! It seems that Mac attack patterns are far too random for the Hands to directly control. Is this a one-sided battle?!"
"Not really, actually," Falco butted in. "A few hits off of the stage and it's all over for that boxer. In a sense, he's really hanging onto the edge of the battle because he has only one safe zone, which is the stage itself. He's doing really great against opponents that usually send people flying, though!"
"Interesting! Any thoughts on this, Mewtwo?"
"I smell death."
"Thank you for your thoughtful input, Mewtwo!"
Master Hand backed away from the boxer before preparing to fire more bullets. After rolling away from yet another airplane attack delivered by Crazy Hand, Mac sent two- no, three charged punches straight at the left hand, dealing a great amount of damage. Crazy Hand shook himself, quickly shrugging off all forms of pain before attempting to grab Mac again.
The boxer dropped himself, letting his back touch the ground. Right after he dodged the grab, he slammed himself back up before punching the left hand right across his middle finger.
"GRRRRRRR," the hand of destruction growled before beginning to flail his fingers about. "MASTER HAND! LET'S DO THIS! IT'S HAM TIME!"
"Oh boy!" The host exclaimed as he noticed just what Crazy Hand had in mind. "This one's going to be something Little Mac must avoid!"
"He'd be stupid if he doesn't roll out of this one," Falco agreed. "That thing put a fair amount of our newcomers to shame."
Whatever the Hands had in mind, Mac had to avoid. Suddenly, he saw Master Hand wagging one of his fingers at Crazy Hand, who clenched himself more tightly than ever. For some reason, the boxer had a feeling that he knew what they were about to do. Dodging might have been an acceptable decision, but thinking back to his boxing career, Mac thought about an interesting alternative to simply dodging an attack.
As soon as he thought about his decision, Crazy Hand flew backwards, clenched tightly into a balled fist. Time slowed down as Mac brought back his own fist. It seemed like a perfect time to go for a Total Knock Out. The giant fist flew towards Mac with great speed, and Mac himself began to swing his own fist toward the incoming hand.
The lightweight boxing champion had no idea that his fist just caught on fire due to the sheer speed and power he swung his fist at Crazy Hand. The Star Punch had never looked so strong before.
The two forces collided, and everyone became dead silent as Mac and Crazy Hand crashed into each other, both of them using their own attacks. Crazy Hand himself seemed dumbfounded at the sight of Mac delivering an uppercut that dealt so much damage, even he found it to be confound.
"GRAGHGHHHGRHGHHHHRHGHHHHAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Everyone roared out of amazement as Mac sent Crazy Hand flying out of the stage. As several flashy explosions indicated that the Hand had been defeated, Mac turned to Master Hand, who immediately proceeded to fire more bullets at the boxer. Zipping past each bullet, the lightweight boxing champion approached the lone Hand that remained.
"And there he goes!" The host exclaimed as the crowd went wild. "Defeating Crazy Hand in a fabulous stand-off, Little Mac now faces Master Hand! He has so much strength behind his punches, it's not even funny!"
"But can he handstand when he needs to and stretch his arms out just for you?"
"You suck at references, Mr. Lombardi!"
"Say goodbye to your loved ones."
"Good feedback, Mewtwo!"
Mac prepared to charge up another punch to hit Master Hand with. The right hand, however, suddenly backed off.
What the…?
Twitching erratically, Master Hand suddenly formed a sword composed of… black dust?
What's… Master Hand thought as he attempted to regain control of his body. What's going on?!
The boxer backed away from the Hand, fully on-guard.
"Urgh," the white hand barely managed to grumble before swinging the dark sword at the boxer.
"What the…?!"
Falco glared at the sword Master Hand had suddenly summoned. For some reason, it looked familiar… Its presence felt dark, though the crowd seemed to speculate that it was simply a new attack invented to spice things up.
Even Mewtwo seemed interested in the sword.
Raising his gloves closer to himself, Mac rolled away as he dodged the strange attack. The sword burst into a stream of b͏̯͙̟̝̗ḻ̫͕̥̺̣͜a͓͙͚͓͔͉c̞̻̣̗͝ḳ̵͍͎̙ ̖du̠s̢̮̩͙̜̦̬̼t͠, which Mac f̵̫̪͕̻̤̹̱̠͉o̸̵̝̙̖͜u̘̫͚̪̕n̨̤̗̣̗͠ḑ̛͇̺̞̻͈̲͎͡ ͉͙̼̬̤̰̀h̸̫̳̱͉͎̱͚̬͎́i̯̰̩̖̹m̸̧̰̤̗s̛̤̳̯͕e̕͞͏̻̘̤̗͓ͅḷ̡̩̗f̪͇͞ getting surrounded and caught u̷̷̡̬̫͉̫͔͇̰͕̇͋̋̿̉̄͆̐̂̒͋̇̎͢͠p͛̔͋ͮ̊ͫ͑̈́̃͊҉͉̣̗̲̝̮̙̞͙͎̠̯̞͞ ̿̌͋̓̏̒̈́ͥ̃͛ͧ҉̸̧̨̭͉̹͔i̎ͨ͊̔͂͌̎ͥ͂̈́҉҉͙͉͖̣́n̷̨̗͔̟̬͕̙̆ͭ͑ͯ̐̐̉͊̉ͬ̕͟-
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I̶̘̬̩̯̻̣̖ͬ̏̈́͗͋̂̽͌̀̕ ̨̻̞̲̬͖̲͈͔̩̺̳͕̋̎̎̌͆̍̾ͯ̇͐͌ͣ̇́ͭͮ̀͟͜͠H̪̭͔̼̩̘͕͍̫͓̠̲̩ͭ̏ͮ̊ͥ́͟ͅẠ̷̵̷̫̪͖̹͈͔̰̲̫̠̟̳͙͖̞̦͉̪̾̃ͪ̒̍͗͒̓̊̆̽ͭ̀͐ͣ͟͠V̐̓͆̄̆͂͐̊̔̋ͩ̉͂͑ͫ͊҉̨͓͕̱̩͇̼͈E͑ͯ̅̓͑͏͍̻͖̱̩̟̘̝́͡ ̸̵ͮ̋̿ͨͧ̃ͥ͐̌́̑̃̍ͥͣ͗͏̹͚͍̦̭W̶̶ͤ́̌̄͗͊ͧ͟҉͓͉̣̳̙̜͉͞A̧͉̳̻̖̰̫͎̰͇͚̖͙̙͇͐͂̏͒͌ͭ̌͐̊̈́̓͒̓̀͢Ì̴̷̲̤̪̮ͦ̐̓͝T̷̺̱̥͔̮̼̟͇̳̃̐̆͒̊̓̈́͌̐̒̋ͥ̔̀̚ͅE̶̟̥̤̜͖ͨ̾̏̋̇̌ͪ͆̂̔̒̋̃͜͝͝Dͣͩ͊̂̍̽̔ͣ̋̍̓ͦ͋͘҉͕͖̮̥̲̫̠̥̲̳̖̳̩͝͠
̘̝̪̦͇̻́ͭͭ̏̂̌͌ͬ̒ͪͣ͆̽̊́͞.̧̜͍̹̹͎̥̳̘͍͙̤̪͖̥̙͍̝̓ͥ̉̈̓̌̓̆ͭͪ͌̉ͯ̈̚͞.̙͉͙̩̮̫̗̬̬̎͋̋̇̋ͪ̆̌̂ͩ̌ͩ͊ͪ́͟͟͡ͅ.̧͉͚͓͍̰̦͔̘͚͙̮̤̯̘͖̽̋͗̾͑͋͘͝͡L̨̨̡̩̬̼̭̪̦̎ͬ͌̄͘ͅǪ̵̷̩͕̝͐͊̒ͦ̏ͧͨ͟͞Ņ̛̭͇̦͕̻̖͙̠̫̹͍̤̗̥̱̙̇ͦ͂͗ͨ̓̂͂̾̀ͅḠ̨̘͙͍̲̮͇̖̱̗̒̉ͭ̔̉̓͆̒͌ͧͫ̋ͤͣ͞.̧̧̥̮̣̲͎̫̹ͦͫͪͣ͂ͣ͊ͧͥͪ͑͋͆̽ͩ͢.̧̮̙̪̲̤̻̩̮̰̳͙̫̙ͮ͒̂̐́͗̿̈́ͯ̓ͯ̕͟͢͞ͅͅ.̵̧̜͕̠̰̱̥̥̳̤̻̻̗̬̱̼̈̓̈́̏͂̓́̇ͦͮ̏ͮ͐̎͝͠l̹͓̭̖͇̬̑͆͆͋ͪ̔̏ͧ̐̾̉̓͐ͣ͗ͫ́͝o͊ͯ͂̓͊̎͡͝҉̺̮̪̦̪͇̮̖̯͔̘̹͓n̷͉̣͍̪͙͎̬̤͓̮͖͆̑͂ͮ̽̀̋̽ͬͫ̔ͮͫ̉̏͑̓͑̃͘ğ̶̢ͣ̏̄ͨ̄̈́̓ͤ̌̎ͣ͜҉̤͎̙͚̙͎̹̻̜̥͎̯̖.̸̸͍͕͕̹̦̦̞̺̼̳̙͙̘̹͉́̐̇͛̈́͂ͨ̔̉͆͑ͯ̄.̧̡̆̋͐͊͐̆ͦ͌̍̎ͥͬ̈ͥ͂̔ͭ͒͜҉̙͇̗̬̱͉̟̰͈͍.ͥ̆̂̆̏̈́̊͛̈́̕͏͏̨̝͖̲͍̫̪͈̀ͅa̢ͭ̆ͭͯ̓̈́́̅̈̀̇͊͞͏̮͖̜̦̼̪̮̗̲̜̪̀͘g̵̼̱̙̝͈̳̲͇̪̟͙̱͔̗̜͉̤ͭ͆͊ͨͨ̋ͥ̒ͨ̄ͪ͟͠o̴̝̮̻̝̽ͯ͗ͭͫ̓̓ͪ̊̌̓ͬ̃̽ͤ̅̂̔̀́̚͞͡.̧̛̟̻͉̗̟͖͙̩̰͓̋̄̊ͬͪ̎̑̑ͭ͗ͬͧͧ̿̋͜͞.̷̷͖̗͕̱̱̫̆̆̽͋̚̚͟.͇̟̗̤̯͉̯̞̫̭͙̇̂͆͂͐̀́̈͂̈́ͩ̐̂̆ͬ̚̚͝ͅͅ
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The boxer woke back up, quickly swinging his gloves at the dust that surrounded him.
A hallucination attack? Mac thought, confused by what he just heard. That… was weird.
Still trusting Master Hand, the boxer raised his fists once more, prepared to fend himself off against the hand. Master Hand seemed to return back to his normal patterns, as he began to "walk" across Final Destination. Out of surprise, the lightweight boxing champion quickly began to charge up a punch.
Two seconds later, his punch connected directly with the Hand, causing Master Hand to cry out in pain before retreating.
He had defeated Master Hand and Crazy Hand in his first Smash battle.
"The winner is… LITTLE MAC!"
Everyone cheered, and Little Mac looked around him, watching his surroundings return back to normal. The smiles of many showered praises at the newest member among the Smash Brothers.
With innocent intentions, Mac smiled back, striking the air with one boxing glove.
A victory was, after all, a victory. And victories meant chocolate bars.
Lots of chocolate bars.
But not everyone thought of celebrating Mac's victory immediately. There were people like Robin who found the intentions behind Master Hand's blade attack strange and disturbing. Glaring at his dormitory's television (which only had the Smash Brothers Network channel on it), Robin, for some reason, felt curious.
Because clearly, the black sword Master Hand tried to strike Little Mac with had a dangerous amount of killing intent in him. Robin dared not to think of it too much, for there were too many theories that could stem from the single action alone.
Whatever it is, Robin thought as he turned off the television, I hope it never shows up again.