9 March 2008

Smash Mansion

Dear Diary,

All of our stuff had been neatly packed several days prior. After a quick breakfast, Mario and I grabbed our luggage and went to Peach's castle to await our transportation to the Smash Mansion.

DK and Diddy were already there, doing stretches on the lawn. Peach stood with her own luggage in hand, smiling at the prospect of another tournament ahead of her. And there was Wario with his bags, chewing on a clove of garlic.

"Hey!" said a voice.

It was Daisy, running over with Waluigi in tow.

"Hey, Daisy," I said, giving her a kiss.

"I'm really gonna miss you—again," she said.

"I can always visit Sarasaland," I told her.

Waluigi rolled his eyes. "Do you wanna hear my news?"

"What news? You've been invited to the tournament, too?"

"Yeah!" His face fell. "As an assist trophy."

Mario frowned. "What's that?"

"I'm not one of the fighters, but what I have to do is basically help the Smasher who 'summons' me. MH will tell you about it, I'm sure."

"Maybe I'll get my chance someday," Daisy said optimistically.

Waluigi laughed. "That'll be the day."

I whipped toward him, lancing him with a glare.

Daisy put her hand on my shoulder. "Forget him," she said. "I'll watch you on television."

"I'd like that," I beamed.

A horn honked in the distance. A minivan with the Smash symbol painted on it drove up to the castle. Two metallic-looking humanoids hopped out, introduced themselves as Alloys, and opened the doors for us. Daisy gave me a good-luck kiss, and we clambered into the van.

"Welcome to Brawl," said the red Alloy. "Now, let's roll."

The driver put the minivan into "drive", and we rode off.

"Hey, The Killers have dropped a new album," said the green Alloy. "Wanna take a listen?"

"Sure," I said.

Smiling, the Alloy slid the CD into the CD player. Within seconds, the first notes of "Human" began wafting throughout the minivan. We simply leaned back, gazed at the scenery and enjoyed the ride to the Smash Mansion.

"Wait a minute—is it 'denser' or 'dancer'?" Mario asked as we pulled up at the drop-off area.

"I think it's 'denser'," I said. "It makes more sense."

"No, it's 'dancer'," said Wario. "I heard it quite clearly."

We all climbed out of the minivan and grabbed our luggage. A yellow Alloy waited for us at the check-in window.

"Hi, guys!" they said cheerily. "Right this way."

The Alloy led us into the Main Hall, where muffins, pastries and other snack foods waited for us on tables located at different sides of the room. We served ourselves before finding a place to sit.

Shortly after our arrival, Koopa lumbered in, blew Peach a kiss and shoveled several muffins onto a plate.

Peach wrinkled her nose. "He'd better not try anything," she said. "I'm not in the mood for his b.s. during this tournament."

"Hey—welcome back!"

Hand-in-hand, Link and Zelda walked in, accompanied by Toon Link, Ganondorf walking behind them.

"Hi," said TL. "It's very nice to meet you."

"When he heard that Young Link wasn't making it back, Toon Link was quite happy to represent our universe," said Zel.

"Don't let my size fool you," TL boasted. "I can wield a sword just as well as Big Me!"

"He can," nodded Link. "I learned the hard way when we sparred."

Dorf laughed nervously. "You don't have to tell me, either," he said. "What's up, Koopa? How've you been?"

"Dorf!" Koopa approached his fellow villain and glomped him. "I recently tried to take over the whole universe!"

"And…?"

Koopa rolled his eyes and gestured toward Mario.

"Wow—that's rough, man," said Dorf.

The two of them walked off, grumbling about Mario.

Yoshi walked in, then, accompanied by Samus, clad in a tight-fitting bodysuit.

"Hi," I said. "You must be Zero Suit Samus."

"Just call me Samus," she said.

"My driver picked her up along the way," said Yoshi. "So—Brawl, huh? A cooler name than Melee, I admit."

"My suit's in a special suitcase," said Samus. "I'll unpack it the minute I get to my room."

"Poyo!" said Kirby, puffing into the Main Hall.

"Welcome back, Kirby!" I said as I shook one of his appendages.

A blue penguin with a hammer and a navy puffball with a mask and a cape regally strode in.

"Poyo poyo," said Kirby, introducing the pair to me.

I held out my hand. "Hello, Your Highness. Sir Meta Knight," I said.

The penguin grinned. "Just call me DDD," he said in a distinctive Southern drawl.

"Okay—DDD," I said. "I'm Luigi."

"Uh-huh. And what have you heard about me, Luigi?"

"You—stole food. And broke a Star Rod. Granted, it's because Nightmare wanted to use it for his own ends, but stealing food? Low blow, buddy."

"I—realized that," said DDD. "And after I helped Kirby defeat Nightmare, we kinda—made peace. We have picnics and compete in friendly races. And now—he lobbied for me to join Brawl."

"Poyo!" chirped Kirby.

"I'm glad you two made up," I said. "Our rival—I don't think we'll ever become friends."

"Hey—you'll never know," said DDD. "They used to say the same about Kirby and Meta."

"Well—we weren't serious enemies," said Meta, speaking with a gentle Hispanic accent. "My airship, the Halberd, made landfall in Dreamland, and I guess Kirby assumed I wanted to invade it. We battled it out, and I was so stunned at his swordsmanship that I took him in as a pupil."

"Meta—I've heard a lot about you. Why did you sit out the first two tournaments?"

"I wanted to step back and see how well Kirby performed. As the other game franchises started getting more representatives, I didn't want my pupil to feel underrepresented, so I applied to join, along with DDD. And I'm glad I did."

"So am I," said DDD. "C'mon, Kirby. Let's get something to eat."

As the three Kirby representatives strode toward one of the food tables, I finished my own food, dumped my trash and wandered around the hall, searching for both familiar and new faces.

"Hey, L," said a voice.

I turned. Fox and Falco stood behind me, along with a smirking, anthropomorphic wolf.

"I'd like you to meet Wolf," said Fox. "He's one of Star Fox's greatest archrivals."

"Hey, there," said Wolf, offering his hand to shake, which I accepted. "I'm the leader of Star Wolf, and as Fox here mentioned, Star Fox always foils our plans."

"How'd you get interested in this?" I asked.

"Read about it in the newspapers," shrugged Wolf. "Figured that these tournaments could use another villain—a hardcore villain."

"Koopa's pretty hardcore," I said. "We recently stopped him from taking over the universe."

"Uh—actually, Mario did," said Wolf. "I read all about that, too."

"Wolf…" Falco said in a warning tone.

"It's fine, Falco," I said sweetly. "Nice of Wolf to remind me."

"I'm just going off what I read," shrugged Wolf.

"Wow, you actually believe everything you read?" I asked.

"Well, I—oh, [bleep]," said Wolf.

"I got to collect some Power Stars and even a few Grand Stars, and when a young girl got separated from her family during the chaos, I kept her safe," I told him. "After I accompanied him for a while, Mario insisted that I sit the rest of the mission out. But—no sense fussing over things of the past."

Wolf laughed. "You got that right. Can't wait to face you one-on-one."

"Neither can I," I said smartly before leaving the trio to their own devices.

Pikachu and Jigglypuff entered, followed by the Pokémon Trainer and Lucario.

"Pika!" Pikachu called in greeting.

"Hello, Pikachu," I said. The relationship between us was still undergoing repairs following the incident with our side specials, and I could tell that Pikachu was testing the waters himself.

"Pika," he said solemnly.

"I know," I said.

"Pika pika pika pi?"

I shrugged. "I really don't know. But I can try."

Pikachu grinned. "Pika!"

"C'mon, you guys," said Jiggs. "Brawl is a clean slate. Who knows? A situation might arise which requires us to work together."

"I'll—keep that in mind," I said.

The cat-like Lucario sidled up to me, looking me over.

"Uh—what are you doing?" I asked.

"Oh! Apologies," he said. "I was just reading your Aura."

"Aura—of course," I said. "That's—where you get your power."

"The Aura will help me fight in this tournament," said Lucario. "It can increase the power of my attacks, and I'll also use it to counterattack."

"Interesting."

"People are saying that I'm a Mewtwo clone. I mean, can't you believe that?"

I frowned. "Mewtwo's a Psychic-type. You're a Steel and Fairy-type. That's a very big difference."

"Try to tell them that," said Lucario. "Oh, my gosh—Red?!"

He whirled and gave the Pokémon Trainer a big hug. "It's so good to see you," he breathed.

"Good to see you too, Lucario," said the Pokémon Trainer, a.k.a. Red. "How's it like to be an independent Pokémon?"

"Uh—still getting used to it," said Lucario, "but I've made some new friends. Like—say, what's your name?"

"Luigi," I said.

"Yeah, like Luigi. And I've stayed in touch with Pikachu and Jiggs. Wait—where are your Pokémon?"

"They're resting right now," said Red, indicating the three Pokèballs in his satchel. "It's been a long trip."

"Luigi, this is Red," said Lucario. "I've known him since I was a Riolu. I used to be among his Pokémon."

"Hello, Red," I said, shaking his hand. "You—look a bit like Ash."

"Ash Ketchum? Yeah, I do, don't I?" smiled Red.

"How is he?" I asked.

"He's still catching Pokémon," said Red, "and he's doing quite well. When I see him again, I'll tell him you said hello."

"Thank you," I said.

"I joined Smash because I've heard Pikachu and Jiggs talking about it, and I've heard other Trainers and Gym Leaders talking about it—so I decided to try it out for myself. But—what's the difference?"

"The fights aren't turn based," I said.

Red grimaced. "Thanks for telling me that. I'm sure my Pokémon will adapt. I have Charizard, Ivysaur and Squirtle, and MH says I can switch them out at any time."

I nodded. "I think that's a good strategy." I tossed a wave at Captain Falcon as he entered the hall.

"Excuse me—may I borrow Luigi for a minute?" asked Marth as he approached us.

"Sure," said Red. "Nice meeting you, L."

"Same here," I said.

Marth led me toward a man with short, blue hair and a very big sword.

"Luigi, I'd like you to meet Ike," said Marth. "He's a Griel mercenary, and he fought in the Crimean War. The sword he's holding is called Ragnell, and trust me—it can really hurt."

"Hello, Ike," I said, shaking Ike's hand.

"Hi, Luigi. Look, I may look like Roy's replacement, but there's something else you need to know about me," said Ike. "I fight for my friends."

"So do I," I said.

"I've heard," said Ike. "Marth and Roy told me about what you did for your brother. Even after almost seven years, the tale is so—inspiring."

"And almost seven years later, it's still a very important moment in my life," I said. "I still have the Poltergust, you know."

"Do you see yourself doing that again?"

"If I have to," I said.

"Good man," said Ike. "I'll see you on the battlefield."

I went back toward where Mario was sitting, stopping cold when I saw a blue hedgehog with red shoes, sitting next to him.

"Oh. My. God," I said.

"Yup," sighed Mario. "They invited Sonic."

Sonic was SEGA's breakout character and mascot. He and Mario had been involved in a small professional rivalry since 1991. It had long since simmered down, but still—

"Hey, Luigi," said Sonic. "I was just catching up on old times with Mario. Didn't think you'd see me in something like this, did you?"

"Well…" I began.

"They call me a 'third-party' fighter because I'm from a different video game company," said Sonic.

"It's—good to have you here, Sonic," I said. "How about Tails—he wasn't interested?"

"Not really. I think tinkering with stuff is more of his style," said Sonic.

"And Amy?"

Sonic grimaced. "I'm glad to be away from her," he said. "Anyway, I can't believe that Nintendo and SEGA's greatest powerhouses are together again, ready to duke it out! I hope you can keep up, Mario, because I gotta go fast!"

I rolled my eyes, tuning out Mario and Sonic's bantering. Then, I saw Ness, holding hands with a blond-haired boy in a yellow and orange striped shirt and denim shorts. Excusing myself from Sonic and Mario, I went over to the two boys.

"Luigi! You're just in time!" said Ness. "This is my new friend, Lucas."

"Hi," Lucas said shyly. "I—my brother and I played some of the Mario games. Sometimes, I was you, and other times, he was."

I shook Lucas's hand. "You have a brother, too? I can only imagine what that's like," I said.

"His name's Claus," said Lucas. Dropping his head, he added, "He couldn't make it."

"That's all right," I said. "There could be another tournament after this…" I saw the tears in his eyes as he looked up. "…oh. I'm so sorry, Lucas. I didn't…"

"That's okay," murmured Lucas. "I'd rather not talk about it right now."

Ness put his arm around Lucas. "Whenever you're ready, I'm all ears," he said.

"You can come to me, too. I've experienced a loss myself," I added.

Lucas smiled wanly. "Thanks," he said, "but frankly, I joined Smash to get my mind off of it."

Ness and I exchanged concerned looks. Before we could do or say more, a brunette angel walked up to us, holding a tray of sweets.

"Any of you care for some baklava?" asked the angel.

"Sure," I said, taking a piece, with Lucas and Ness following suit.

"My name's Pit," said the angel. "I'm the Captain of the Guard to Palutena, the Goddess of Light."

"Uh-huh," said Ness.

"You've never played Kid Icarus, huh?" asked Pit.

Ness sadly shook his head.

"How about you?" Pit asked me.

"Nope," I sighed.

"Eh, no big deal," said Pit. "It's a pretty obscure franchise, anyway. Always overshadowed by that portly plumber."

"Pit—I'm his brother," I said calmly.

"Oh—gods! I didn't mean any offense!" cried Pit. "Wait—Mario has a brother?"

"Yes," I said.

"Funny nobody mentioned that," shrugged Pit.

"Well, we're the Super Mario Bros," I said.

"Forgive me. I've only played the one-player mode. I mean, I heard somewhere that he has a brother, but they really didn't tell me that brother's name."

"My name's Luigi," I said.

"Luigi? That's a nice name. Say, how come they don't make you the protagonist? You're more handsome, and you have the better moustache."

"They have one game starring me," I said. "It's about hunting ghosts in a haunted mansion."

"Haunted mansion? I have no idea what that has to do with the Mario universe, but I'm sure it's a fun game!" said Pit. "I think you and I will get along quite well, because we both know what it's like to be overshadowed."

"It's no big deal," I told him. "I'm used to it."

"Always thinking about the bright side of things," nodded Pit. "That's awesome."

He patted me on the shoulder and left, offering baklava to every Smasher he passed.

"Look!" shouted Ness. "Pikmin!"

"What…?" Glancing toward the entrance, I saw tiny, red, yellow, blue, white and purple creatures with flowers in various stages of bloom on their heads, gathered around a small man in a spacesuit and helmet.

"You know them?" I asked.

"Yeah," said Ness. "That's Captain Olimar, of the Hocotate Freight Company. When his ship crashed, he had to rely on those cute critters to survive. We're friends on Facebook. Hey, Olimar!"

Olimar tossed Ness a wave as he tended to his Pikmin.

My eyes slid over to a familiar-looking robot. I recognized him from the Famicom system, way back in the 80s. He was wandering aimlessly about the Main Hall, his head turning this way and that. He paused when his head swiveled toward me, and he gave me a little wave before continuing on.

"That's the Robotic Operating Buddy," I mused. "Everyone would call him R.O.B."

"How do you know that?" asked Ness.

"He's from the 80s, like me," I said.

Leaving Ness with Lucas, I plunked myself onto an ottoman, beside a carboard box with an exclamation point on it.

"That's odd," I murmured as my eye fell on the box.

Which then tilted upward to reveal a bearded man in a gray sneaking suit and a black headband.

"Hey," he said, in a gruff but friendly tone.

"Hi," I said. "What are you doing in a box?"

"Old habits," shrugged the man. "My name's Solid Snake. I'm a mercenary, you see."

"Hi, Solid Snake," I said. "My name's Luigi."

"Just call me Snake," he said. "I work for an organization known as FOXHOUND, and we're tasked with fighting against nuclear devices known as the Metal Gear. We've been around since 1987."

"Nuclear devices?" I repeated.

"What do you do?" asked Snake.

"I'm a plumber," I said to him. "I tackle leaks and clogs along with my big bro. But most of the time, we fight a giant turtle."

"Giant turtle, huh?" asked Snake. "Everyone in my home world talks about that. This giant turtle—he seems to have a thing for lovely Princesses?"

"Yup."

"Has he ever considered finding someone else?"

"He's hard-headed and stubborn, so—no."

"Which one of us has it worse?" asked Snake. "Maybe I should quit FOXHOUND and become one of her bodyguards. I'm getting too old for Metal Gear, anyway."

"That's something to think about," I said.

We shared a laugh, and then we sensed a powerful presence in the room. By now, the rest of the Smashers had gathered in the Main Hall.

Master Hand had teleported in, floating above us, along with Crazy Hand.

"Hello, Smashers," he said to us.

"Hi, Master Hand," he said.

"It is my pleasure to formally welcome you to Super Smash Brothers Brawl," said MH. "The layout, styles and modes of each match has stayed the same—except now, spectators are able to stream their matches online using our brand-new Wi-Fi service. This mansion is now staffed by Alloys, who will also serve as your opponents in various Multi-Man Brawl events. I'll get you checked into your rooms in a minute, but first—there's something I'd like to show you."

He held up a strange, multicolored orb with the Smash symbol on it. "This is—the Smash Ball," he said, holding it out for us to see. "Destroy this—and you will unlock your true hidden power."

Whispers.

"Mario—would you like to demonstrate?" asked MH.

We watched as Mario stepped forward, warily eyeing the Smash Ball MH held in front of him.

"All you have to do is break it," said MH.

Mario drew in a breath and then punched the Smash Ball until it finally gave way. Instantly, my big bro was surrounded by a multi-colored aura.

"Whoa," he gasped, gazing down at himself. "I feel so—wow." He clenched and unclenched his fists, and when he looked up, we saw that his eyes were glowing yellow. Instinctively, we all took a step back.

"All right, Mario," said MH. "Let her rip!"

Bright red fire swirled round Mario's hands, his glowing eyes now flashing with excitement. "Oh, yeah!" he exclaimed, shooting both palms forward. "HIIIYAAAAHHHH!"

Two large swirls of fire ripped from Mario's palms and shot across the room. We stood there, rooted in our spots, watching the bright tongues of red-orange, feeling the heat even from where we stood.

"Dio," I gasped.

Before the fiery swirls hit the wall, Alloys ran forward and assailed them with fire extinguishers. The hall remained perfectly intact, with not even a scorch mark.

"Mario—that was amazing!" I cried.

"That felt amazing!" Mario gasped. "Master Hand—how did you pull that off?!"

"I've spent nine years working on that," said MH. "Nine years, and I finally got it stabilized. These Smash Balls have the ability to turn the tide in a Brawl. And as for your true powers you can now access, I'd like to call them—Final Smashes."

"Final Smashes?" asked Mario. "Well, it does have a nice, dramatic ring to it."

Now, we were all interested in our true powers, especially me. What would my true power look like?

Well, I had to wait to find out, because as with the previous two tournaments, the first day was a leisure day. We all received our room assignments and spent the rest of the day relaxing and pondering over this newest addition to Smash Bros.

Luigi

10 March 2008

Smash Mansion

Dear Diary,

My first Brawl was against none other than Ike, the Griel mercenary. I discovered that Ragnell was wielded with two-hands—which was bad news because that meant that it was a heavier sword than I thought. My playstyle hadn't changed much since Melee—I was still quick on my feet with surprisingly powerful attacks and fast aerial attacks. But all it took was one swing of Ragnell for Ike to take the lead. And his Aether—dear God, his Aether. The execution was similar to Kirby's Final Cutter, slashing me up into the air and then slamming me back down—except instead of Kirby's sword, it was f—ing Ragnell, the biggest, widest and longest sword I'd ever seen. Geez—was he compensating for something or what?

Anyway, I spent my first match of the third tournament in a defensive stance against Ike. Marth was cheering wildly for him in the stands, along with a few more Ike fans and what I could assume to be his fellow mercenaries. I blocked that out, though, focused on nothing but evading that big f—ing sword and using his slower attacks as an opportunity to move in close and whale on him with Smash attacks.

"Prepare yourself!" he kept saying, and I did. Oh, yes, I did. With a sword that size, it's a good idea to prepare yourself. Because if you don't, I guarantee that it will hurt.

Don't worry, though. Halfway through the match, I barely paid attention to Ragnell's strikes. I was so slicked up (with sweat, that is) by then that size really didn't matter anymore. I even got in a Super Jump Punch! Unfortunately, I lost the match by one point. Losing your first match of the tournament—not a good start. At all.

"You'll get no sympathy from me," said Ike as his victory was announced.

"Holy [bleep]!" shouted Marth. "That was awesome!"

"Lots of practice," smiled Ike.

"Good fight, Ike," I said as the two of us shook hands.

"You did great, L," he assured me. "Just keep practicing."

"Okeydokey," I said.

As Ike walked off, I caught Marth's hand. "Hey," I said.

"Yeah?"

"How come his is so much bigger than yours?" I wanted to know.

Marth gave a [bleep]-eating grin. "In the Fire Emblem universe, the bigger, the better!"

We laughed.

"We're—talking about the swords, right?" I asked.

"Oh, yes," Marth said quickly. "Uh—as a matter of fact, you just got me pumped for my next match. I gotta get ready."

"Good luck out there," I said.

We shook hands before Marth departed.

I got to Brawl with at least half of the newcomers today. I'm not gonna describe every last one of them, since that'll take too much room. So, let me rattle off some highlights. I was pitted against Meta Knight's graceful sword skills with his blade, Galaxia, where I also showed off some footwork of my own, but overall evaded the overly flashy stuff to exploit the flaws in his swordsmanship. Later, I went hand-to-hand with Wolf. His fighting style was similar to Fox and Falco's, except he could throw out brutal strikes with his claws and throw me off with some well-placed slashes to the limbs. After lunch, I tangled with Wario, ZSS and DDD, which meant that I had to deal with two heavyweight bruisers and one lightweight but still dangerous fighter. ZSS could stop me in her tracks with her Paralyzer beam, leaving me open to my other two opponents. Wario liked to fart in my face, try to run me over with his bike and even chomp on me, in addition to his dirty boxer fighting style. And DDD attacked primarily with his hammer, although he inhaled me, almost like Kirby, and tried to squash me flat. How did I try to negate this? By staying out of a situation which made me an easy target for the three of them. I fought from the side, using fireballs and long-ranged attacks, and then amped up the aggression when a single fighter was in my clutches. It worked in the first two tournaments, and it could certainly work now.

By the time the bulk of my matches was behind me, there were dull aches and bruises all over my body, my lip and nose a bit bloodied. But I was still wired—which was a good thing because I had several trickier opponents ahead of me.

And after dealing with those trickier opponents, my first day of Brawling concluded with a match against Snake. He fought with a combination of punches, kicks and what he called C4—missiles and grenades and stuff. Surprisingly, I managed to fight the guy to a standstill. Me, the cautious, lesser known Mario Bro! I had a missile, too, the Green Missile, and one lucky Misfire could wind the C4 expert. I cartwheeled over his explosive traps, easily cut him down with flurries of aerial kicks and knocked him off me with forward knifehand strikes. When things became deadlocked between us, I just kept pushing and pushing, conscious of a select few spectators chanting my name.

I guess MH noticed the deadlock and decided to do something about it. Snake and I glanced upward at the sound of a collective gasp and saw it floating just above the battlefield. A Smash Ball. Without a second to waste, I kicked Snake away and chased after it, furiously hacking at it with f-airs as Snake also tried to swipe at it. But it was me who landed the final strike.

An acute powerful feeling stirred within me, starting at my navel and then spreading to my limbs. But there was also something else. Something—darker. Dangerous. I was caught up in a swirl of memories, of watching Mario appearing on Larry King in 1981 while I was still a nameless mechanic working for Mr. Lanser. Of watching those Toads swarm around him, leaving me in the dust. Of everyone I've met—well, almost everyone I've met—stumbling over my name or just giving up and calling me "Green Mario", "Mario's little brother" or "that green guy". Of being locked out of the loop, thrice so far, while Mario went on this adventure and that adventure, saddling me with the task of keeping the MK running. Of winning that tennis tournament, just to have Mario ruin it all by stepping on my foot. All of those memories hit me at once—and I felt such hatred. Hatred and rage and frustration—and I wanted everyone to feel my pain. EVERYONE. Every. Last. F—ing person. In that room. I just couldn't take it anymore—I was gonna explode. Unless—I did what I did best in these situations.

I danced.

I danced and danced and danced, twirling and twisting my body in ways I never have before, dancing away the bitterness and envy and resentment. As I danced, I could see those negative feelings emanate from me in the form of a spherical aura. Everything and everyone it touched had their color scheme inverted, like a photo negative. I saw a flower sprout atop Snake's head as he dizzily stumbled around. I saw various audience members sway in their seats before falling into a deep sleep. Mysterious, mystical music played, music that only I could hear, as I continued my dance, a nonsensical incantation spilling from my lips.

The orb of inverted colors remained after I finished my dance. My fists clenched as I stormed toward Snake, wound up, and landed one good Smash attack on him, sending him offstage and taking his last stock.

And then I stood there, breathing heavily, those feelings continuing to swirl around me as the sweat poured down my face—and then the aura receded. The orb shrank and shrank until it had completely disappeared, those violent emotions dispelling from my system. All of the spectators recovered, murmuring in disbelief. And then something clicked, as they noticed that I was the last fighter standing, and I'd won the match.

Then, they all cheered.

Wearing a big smile, I raised my arms in victory.

I'd just discovered my Final Smash.

But what was it? What was my true power, and where on Earth did it come from? Did it come from being in Mario's shadow for so long? And if so, should I tell Dr. Toadley about it at our next therapy session?

Whatever it was, it was one heck of a Final Smash!

I'd better get some rest. More Brawls await me tomorrow!

Luigi

16 March 2008

Smash Mansion

Dear Diary,

Has it really been almost a week into Brawl? Time flies even faster by the second. At this point, I've fought all of the newcomers at least once and most of the veterans several times, and I've witnessed their Final Smashes. Kirby's, for example, utilized his Cook Ability, sucking nearby fighters and items (if they were allowed) into a giant cooking pot and heaping on damage before ejecting the fighters and sometimes KO-ing them. Marth and Ike shared a Final Smash, which functioned as some sort of Limit Break, as did the Star Fox representatives, which consisted of controlling a Landmaster for about a minute. Also, I couldn't count out Ness and Lucas's, the aptly-titled PK Starstorm, a visual spectacle of a meteor shower. All of these Final Smashes were spectacular in their own right. But they all paled in comparison to mine.

Day after day, people are talking about my Final Smash and asking me about it, questions that even I can't answer. Where did I learn something like that? I don't know. Did I know that I had that type of power? Not really. Did I know that I had the coolest Final Smash? Well, I did now. What was my name for this Final Smash? I called it—the Negative Zone. First, because the scene looks like a photo or film negative, and second, because it's powered by negative feelings.

The Negative Zone, to me, is a double-edged sword. When I'm struggling in a Brawl, and I get that Smash Ball, I can turn the situation around in an instant. However, having those negative feelings flood through me kind of takes a psychological toll. I went to Dr. Toadley and spoke with him about it, and he postulated that these feelings started exploding from me because I'd kept them suppressed for a protracted period of time. Over twenty years, to be exact. Now I really wish I hadn't waited so long to heed Josh's advice.

We were eating lunch when I came upon a pleasant surprise—the Butters! Grace explained that Master Hand had offered her, along with Roland, a job helping him around the Smash Mansion. Their hours would be more flexible once Gavin started preschool later this year.

"The benefits are just awesome," gushed Grace. "VIP seating is only the tip of the iceberg. We get to feel the heat of the Mario Finale and the cold of the Ice Climbers' Final Smash—see all of the fighters up close."

"And—what about my…"

"We just duck when it comes," said Roland. "Interesting Final Smash you've got, by the way."

"Thanks," I said. "It's a blessing and a curse."

"A—curse?" Roland raised an eyebrow.

"The blessing is that with my opponents otherwise—distracted—I can hand their butts to them," I said, taking Gavin's presence into consideration. "The curse is that those feelings are stemming from my relationship with Mario. And—given what happened last year…"

"It wasn't your fault," Grace said comfortingly.

"I still can't help but feel that way," I said. "I hid those feelings because—I didn't want petty jealousy to interfere with my job. And my job is to help Mario defend the MK."

"You guys are still in therapy?" asked Roland.

"Yeah."

"Then keep at it," said Roland. "I'm sure the therapy sessions will help sort this Negative Zone business out."

"I hope so," I said.

"We'll see you round," said Grace before the family went to get their meal.

Luckily, with each utilization, I learned how to command and control my Negative Zone so it wouldn't affect the spectators. In free-for-alls, I'd activate it in the area with the most opponents. During one-on-ones, I'd activate it in the middle of the stage, so at least there would be a chance that my opponent would run straight into it. But luckily for me, most of the Brawls were without items, and in the times items were allowed, he'd summon the Smash Ball sparingly. So mainly, I used my speed, my fists and even my slipperiness to win—or try to win—a Brawl.

Late this afternoon, I had the immense pleasure of squaring off with Mario. The two of us fought on the Battlefield stage. No gimmicks—just us. And it was perfect. Mario's style had changed drastically since the beginning. He could wind up and unleash short bursts of fire. He could headbutt and sweep his legs around, as I could. And his forward aerial since Melee was "the Plunger".

What can I say about the Plunger? Mario would swing his fist in a downward arc and smash the other fighter downward. It had the ability to meteor-smash someone into the stage or in the lower blast zone. Need I mention it hurt? His Tornado move was now a downward aerial attack, and the special move replacing the Tornado was—F.L.U.D.D.

So, Mario was able to get his equipment into the tournament, but I wasn't. Better luck next time, I guess. At least I have my mansion as a stage, but that's for another time.

Anyway, Mario and I duked it out, both of us holding nothing back, his aggressive, bruiser style clashing with my aggressive, yet more cautious and fluid style. The spectators cheered around us as we fought, and over the sounds of battle, I heard the familiar calls from Josh and his family. They were able to make it today. And then I remembered—today's Jas's b-day; she's turning eleven! This must be her birthday present, allowing her to watch me face off with Mario. The family was seated in their usual area, dressed casually, even though Jas was wearing the tiara Peach gave her last year. They all smiled and held up motivational signs when they saw me, and just seeing them was enough to alleviate the heavy emotions I was feeling lately.

Both of us wound up heavily damaged, but I still managed to K.O. my bro with a Super Jump Punch to the base of the chin. Fighting my bro also serves to defuse things between us, too. I shouldn't count that out.

It was the last match of the day, so I showered, dressed in clean clothes and gave Jas a card along with a Smash Ball pendant.

"Happy birthday, Jas," I said as I presented my gifts to her.

"Thanks, Luigi," said the birthday girl. "My, you're a really good fighter."

"You really think so?" I asked.

"Totally," smiled Jas. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"You can say—I taught myself," I admitted. "Plus, I spar regularly with my bro."

"Being a Smasher sounds like fun," said Jas. "Maybe I can—join the tournament once I'm old enough."

"Jasmine!" Jackie and Jules gasped in unison.

"Mom, Dad—it's not like anyone gets badly injured," sighed Jas. "Besides, I didn't say right now."

"The most we can do right now is sign you up for taekwondo lessons," said Jules. "And Jake gave you the Smash Bros game yesterday as an early present, remember?"

"How can I not forget?" asked Jas.

"I'm glad you could make it today," I said.

"We finally managed to fit something into our schedule," said Josh.

"Is your gym still doing okay?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah—it's not going under anytime soon," smiled Josh. "Jules comes by at least once a week to help me run it. But Jules—what if something happens to me? You'll have two gyms to run then."

"Should the worst happen, I have plenty of colleagues willing to step up to the plate," Jules assured him. "We won't let you down, Dad."

"Wait—why are we talking about…?" I began.

"L, face it. I'm getting old. I've got some aches and pains—it's inevitable. But best not mull over that, because our priority should be just—living. You know?"

"I do," I said.

"Keep up the good work in Brawl," said Joan. "Whenever we can and however we can—we'll root for you."

"But one last thing," said Josh. "What if there was a little—shake-up—in this tournament? Wouldn't that be refreshing?"

"In a twisted way, yes," I said. "But that would give us an opportunity to band together, so we can fix things."

"Hm. That's a good way to think," said Jackie. "We have to get Jas home, so we can have some more of her birthday cake."

"Bye, Luigi," said Jas.

"Bye," I said. "Keep in touch."

"Will do!" they all said.

But it would be a sight, wouldn't it? Heroes and villains of various franchises working together to stop something or someone threatening this tournament. That sounds like an excellent video game idea if you ask me.

Luigi

25 June 2008

Smash Mansion

Dear Diary,

I think I finally understand how I can harness the power of the Negative Zone. My suppressed feelings made me the perfect host for the Chaos Heart, but I'd learned to fight back by finally confiding in Mario and seeking professional help. But despite the monthly visits to Dr. Toadley, I still have a lot of unresolved feelings to tangle through. And that's the makeup of the Negative Zone.

But even though it helps me in a heated Brawl, I don't like taking things out on people. That's not my style. My first instinct is to remove myself from the situation and channel those feelings and emotions through constructive things. Exercising, for instance. And Brawling. Holding my own against various opponents is like applying a detangling spray to my hair and then running a comb through it, rooting out the little snarls and making the hair smooth and healthy. Maybe that's why my blows are so powerful—I'm using what I'm feeling inside as fuel. But after a long day of Brawling, I have time to think, and what I'm thinking now is—maybe I should be even more open with Mario. Getting rid of those negative feelings would allow me a higher quality of life, and I'd just have to think of a new Final Smash. A small price to pay, don't you agree?

I can think of a new Final Smash off the top of my head right now. A certain ghost vacuum, perhaps? Where I can suck in my opponents and then launch them into the blast zones for the win? That would be more practical than my current Final Smash.

But there are lots of other things going on here in the Smash Mansion. Sonic and Mario are trying to 1-Up each other at every turn, and there's something going on between Marth and Ike. What happened with Roy—did he and Marth break up in the interim? It's none of my business, so I don't ask.

Oh—I still haven't told you about the stage based on that mansion. It has simplified versions of the rooms Grace and I explored, and it's destructible! Once it's completely destroyed, it magically rebuilds itself, and knocking it down serves as a battle strategy to get some free damage points on your opponent. The ambiance is nothing to sneeze at, either, with a large full moon in the background and several ghosts and Boos appearing each time you wreck parts of the mansion. It's a pretty cool stage—in a creepy sense of the word.

However, something more pressing has captured my attention. Koopa, Wario and Dorf are now close-knit friends, and I think they're planning something. Whispering in dark corners, sneaking passersby furtive looks. I don't know what they're planning, but it can't be good. And when I tried to talk to MH about it, he seemed a little—dismissive. If there was a plot brewing that was detrimental to the tournament, then shouldn't he at least be a little more concerned? But the red flags REALLY started going up when those three accosted me just hours after my visit with MH, telling me that I should stay out of their business if I know what's good for me.

Something was definitely up. Either MH was in on this scheme or—I don't even want to say it.

I'm still keeping my eye on the four of them.

Luigi

1 September 2008

Smash Mansion

Dear Diary,

Apologies for the long hiatus. Before I get into the details, I just want to say that I was proven right. Koopa, Dorf and Wario were up to something, but I think they were played just as much as the rest of us.

Okay, here we go:

After arguably one of the most intense line-ups I've had in my nine years as a Smasher, I was hot and cross and needed some introspection. The first thing I did was chat with all of my friends over the phone. Josh and his son talked about their respective gyms and Jas's adventures (and misadventures) in sixth grade. Grace talked about Gavin's first days in preschool and how much he loved learning. Now that their son was in school, she could find time for herself and for Roland for the first time in three years. Speaking of Roland, trouble was starting to brew between us again. Following a two-year détente, I know it without a doubt—Roland doesn't like me around his wife. He's trying to keep it subtle, but it's there. When I'm on the battlefield, he's cheering for me, but I don't see it in his eyes the way I see it in everyone else's. I want to say that it's just another phase due to separation anxiety from his son, but I'm not sure this time around.

All right, back to the story.

So, I talked with my friends long-distance for a while before getting out my earphones and listening to music from my iPhone, and then fiddling around with my Wii. Those activities calmed me somewhat, but not enough. After charging my phone and grabbing a bite to eat in the lounge, I went for a little walk, taking a hiking trail recently erected near the Smash Mansion.

I decided not to whip out my earphones, instead choosing to move in silence and solitude. As I moved further away from the Smash Mansion, the sounds of hustling, bustling and Brawling melted away, replaced by the breeze and the songs of various birds. My fingers trailed along the long blades of grass around me, and when I approached a flower, I leaned in to smell it. Every few miles, I paused to take a swig from the water I'd brought with me. I stepped cautiously down steep slopes and sweated my way up sharp inclines. There were showers and restrooms scattered about the trail, and when I needed to use them, I used them. I paused at a lake and took a seat at one of the benches surrounding it, refreshing myself with the cool air and another drink of water. Then, I dozed for an hour.

When I woke up, I felt more refreshed than ever. Everything inside me had simmered down to a manageable level. I wasn't even stressing about my Negative Zone anymore. Pushing myself off the bench, I knelt beside the lake, rolled up my sleeves and splashed some water onto my face and arms. And then, I stood and continued on my way.

Not long after, I happened upon a restaurant and a mini mart. Perfect timing—my stomach growled. I walked into the air-conditioned building and was soon seated at a booth, sipping on a soda and surfing the Web on my iPhone.

Around me, the restaurant staff was discussing something, but by that time, my food had arrived, so I wasn't really paying attention. It was none of my business, anyway—or was it?

I finished my food, paid the bill and made my way to what looked like the ruins of a lost city. And among those ruins were small, weird-shaped creatures with beady eyes that waddled about to and fro. Not knowing whether or not they were hostile, I approached cautiously. When one of them waddled towards me, I snapped into a fighting stance, but the creature passed me by with no incident.

Okay—they weren't so bad, after all. And they looked kinda cute—

That's when another one toddled up behind me. Startled, I leaped up and got right back into my fighting stance.

"J—s! Don't scare me like that!" I admonished. "And furthermore, where did you guys come from?"

The creature blinked at me and waved. I waved back. Then, they invited me to pet them, and I was just about to take them up on their offer when something rock-hard smashed into me from behind.

I barely had time to scream or even react to the pain before everything went black.

When I came to, I was seated in a ruined castle, my back throbbing, something sticky over my nose. Delicately, I smoothed my hair and was about to touch the thing on my nose when I heard a voice. "Luigi?"

I glanced over—and started. "Ness?! What happened?! What are we doing here?!"

"Last thing I remember, Wario was menacing Lucas with a cannon thing, and I pushed him out of the way," said Ness. "Now, I have what looks like a badge on my shirt—wow, you have one, too!" Swiftly, he yanked the badge from my nose, causing a slight stinging sensation.

"It's not a badge," I realized as I took a closer look at it. "It's a—brooch. And it has DDD's face on it." Then, it all hit me at once. "Ness—we were turned into trophies, and these brooches revived us! DDD wasn't trying to hurt us; he was trying to help!"

Looking over, we saw the trophified King of Dreamland lying among some rubble. Ness and I stood up, walked over and touched the base of the trophy, reviving him.

"Wha…?" muttered DDD as he stirred and looked around. Then, his face lit up when he saw me and Ness. "They worked!" he cried, hugging us. "They actually worked!"

"Wait a minute—did you hit me in the back with your hammer?" I demanded of him. "Furthermore, WTF were those things waddling around that hiking trail? What's your plan? And what in the Inferno happened while I was gone?!"

"Just—bear with me, L," said DDD. "The Smash Mansion is located in the Smash World, which is close to a place called Subspace. Subspace is ruled by a guy named Tabuu. His goal is to take over the Smash World, and he's turned everyone into trophies so they wouldn't resist his conquest."

"Ev—everyone?" I gaped. "Dio! While I was taking a walk, Mario was turned into a trophy—along with everyone else?!"

"I created the brooches you found to counteract that blue S.O.B's power and give us a fighting chance," said DDD.

"Well, there's no time to waste, then," I said. "It's up to us to help the other Smashers! Can I—count on you?"

"You sure can!" said Ness and DDD.

"Our other friends are counting on us too," added DDD. "Kirby, Meta…"

"Lucas," said Ness. "He probably risked his life to help me after our run-in with Wario."

"And Mario, Peach, Yoshi, DK, Diddy—and all of my friends here in Smash," I finished, holding hands with my three companions. "We're all they have right now."

Ness nodded. "Let's do this."

Bravely, the three of us marched into the darkness of Subspace.

DDD was the brawn of the group, with his girth and his Hammer helping us clear out scores of enemies we've never seen before. But Ness and I didn't slouch around either. Ness used his psychokinesis to throw enemies while also fending them off with his bat and yo-yo. I was helpful when it came to explosive traps like mines, throwing fireballs at them to prematurely detonate them and using blistering Smash attacks to plow my way through enemy hordes. My high jumps helped me to reach high platforms, but DDD would also give me and Ness a boost off his hammer. He truly had a heart of gold.

Ness and I shared the roles of the brains and the heart of the group, encouraging each other and DDD to keep going and thinking of the quickest ways to defeat enemies. There were shadowy creatures called Primids who fought like the Alloys, black wheel-shaped enemies who spat out either fire, ice or lightning and small creatures known as Mites, to name a few rogues greeting us in Subspace. There were also obstacles like those mines, along with stone walls and exploding blocks. DDD, Ness and I worked together to pool our skills in order to surmount those obstacles.

Along the way, we revived any Smasher within our reach, beginning with Samus. With each revived Smasher, the three of us learned more about what happened.

It had all started after a heated match-up between Kirby and Mario, with Peach and Zelda among those spectating. The Halberd had flown into the stadium, but something had been—off—about it. Groups of Primids dropped onto the battlefield, but Mario, Peach, Zelda and Kirby had easily fought them off—before Petey Piranha had gotten the jump on the ladies and Mario had been blasted off by a Subspace bomb, which had been manned and armed by two R.O.B.s. Kirby defeated Petey, but then Wario had arrived on the scene, turned Zel into a trophy and made off with her. Peach and Kirby had escaped to safety on the latter's Warp Star as the Subspace bomb had detonated. After trekking through a field, Kirby had been distracted by something, and when he turned back around, Peach had gone.

We'd later find out that Koopa had surprised and trophified her, using what were called Shadow Bugs to create a False Peach, which attacked a nearby Link and Yoshi. Mario, who'd been aided by Pit after that Subspace Bomb had knocked him into the sky, arrived on the scene and misconstrued the situation. Cue a fight.

Well, the four of them straightened things out rather quickly and decided to stop Koopa, who also made off with DK's bananas, just for [bleeps] and giggles. DK and Diddy defended their stash, but DK wound up trophified in his nephew's defense, sending Diddy on a mission to save him. While this was happening, Lucas was attacked by Porky Minch while wandering around an abandoned zoo; Ness helped him fight Porky off, only for the boys to run afoul of Wario. That's when we were told of the Dark Cannons, which Dorf, Koopa and Wario used to turn people into trophies. Ness took a Dark Cannon blast for Lucas. Guilt-stricken over putting his new friend in danger, Lucas set out on a rescue mission, where he encountered Red. The duo further bonded as they searched for Ness and Wario, fighting fearsome bosses along the way. Lucas even saved Red's life at one point!

Wario, meanwhile, had crossed paths with Koopa and swiped the Peach trophy from under his nose. After DDD had ambushed me, he and those cute little guys, which he called Waddle Dees, set up a perimeter for Wario. Their strategy worked, and DDD swiped Wario's trophies and made for his castle, but not before running afoul of Mario and his group, which Kirby had joined. Mario had seen Peach (but not me, for some reason), which motivated everyone to give chase. Kirby had used the Final Cutter to sever part of DDD's cargo hold, forcing the king to cut his losses and retreat to his castle, where he stuck his brooches on me, Ness and Peach. He was knocked out after someone attacked his castle. The attacker had been Koopa, who took Peach back.

While searching for DK, Diddy had run into Fox, and later Falco. The trio had encountered Samus and Pikachu. Samus had told of how she'd found Pikachu held captive in some facility which apparently greenlit the use of torture. Their bond had strengthened once Sam freed the electric mouse, and they'd even fought Ridley together! How did Ridley get involved in this, anyway?

More R.O.B.s were running rampant. Olimar saw one of them and ordered his Pikmin to attack, but they could hardly put a dent in the R.O.B. Captain Falcon, however, could. The duo investigated together and eventually met up with Samus, Pikachu, Diddy and a revived DK at a factory mass-producing the R.O.B.s, the operation being overseen by an entity named the Ancient Minister.

The Halberd, as it turns out, had been commandeered by Tabuu. In his mission to retrieve his ship, Meta Knight had encountered Marth, Ike, Lucario and the Ice Climbers. The commandeered Halberd was engaged in a firefight with the Great Fox and had wound up colliding with an icy mountain. When Meta and Lucario boarded the ship, they came across Snake, and they fought off the invaders, freeing Zel and Peach in the process. The ladies decided to get in on the action, with Zel turning into Sheik, and they sneaked onto the top deck as Fox sought to destroy the Halberd's Combo Cannon. A misunderstanding caused Sheik to attack Fox, forcing him to eject from his Arwing. Luckily, Peach cooled things off with some tea!

Meta retook his ship as Snake, Lucario, Fox, Zel, Peach and Falco battled and subdued Duon, who dropped Mr. G&W's trophy upon its defeat. As it turns out, Tabuu had created the Subspace Army using the Shadow Bugs in G&W's blood, and he was also behind Pikachu's capture and torture to power his facilities. Peach reprimanded G&W before giving him her umbrella; chastened, the monochrome man had joined with the heroes.

Falcon and Olimar's group had infiltrated the Bomb Factory, where a R.O.B. squad and the Ancient Minister had waited for them. A hologram of Dorf appeared and ordered the rest of the bombs to be detonated, which would allow the entry of the brand-new Subspace Gunship. The Ancient Minister moved to stop the R.O.B.s, but Dorf somehow overrode their programming, causing them to turn on their leader and arm the bombs as the Smashers present had endeavored to stop them. Dorf ordered in some more minions and signed off, and the Ancient Minister cast aside his burnt cloak, revealing himself as the R.O.B. present during the opening ceremony. After DDD, Ness and I revived R.O.B., he told us that Tabuu had threatened his race living on the Isle of Ancients to force him into compliance, and yet reneged on his supposed promise by perpetuating a mass suicide anyway. Once DK rescued R.O.B. against his will, he was now the last of his kind. Everyone evacuated the doomed factory on Douglas's Falcon Flyer, but had to tangle with Meta Ridley before they could get out safely. Following Meta Ridley's defeat, DK, Diddy and their group joined with the Smashers who had been revived up to that point.

The Halberd, now back in Meta's hands, next confronted the Subspace Gunship, captained by Koopa and Dorf. After a brief dogfight, the Halberd was easily destroyed, only for Olimar's Hocotate Ship, the Falcon Flyer, Samus's gunship and an Arwing to emerge and begin rapidly firing on the gunship. Koopa and Dorf returned fire, but they didn't notice Kirby fly in on the Dragoon and disable the gunship's main artillery, forcing the baddies to retreat.

The recently-revived Smashers entered Subspace and fought their way through, only to notice Master Hand bleeding on the ground with Tabuu floating over him. Everyone moved to attack, but with a single flap of his butterfly wings, Tabuu unleashed his attack—the Off Waves, turning everyone into a trophy.

If it hadn't been for DDD's brooches, all hope would've been lost.

"Wait—Josh and his folks—were they at the stadium?" I asked Mario once he'd been revived.

"I didn't see them, thank God," said Mario. "After Pit first revived me, I gave Josh a call. He said he watched me on the TV in his gym, but then the feed cut off. He knew something had happened."

"D—mit, Mario—I…"

"Don't," Mario stopped me. "This isn't your fault. Nobody anticipated this."

"I was taking a walk when I came upon a restaurant," I said. "I heard the staff talking about something, but I wasn't paying attention. Perhaps this was it."

"So—you were on a walk when DDD…"

"It was for the best. If he hadn't done that, then we'd all be trophies, subjected to Tabuu's wicked whims," I said. "Mario, there was a lot going on in my mind, and that hiking trail was the perfect place to think."

"You're still thinking about it," said Mario.

"About that and—my Final Smash and where it came from," I added.

Mario shuddered. "The Negative Zone," he said.

"I haven't been entirely open and honest with you, but that's about to change," I told him. "In our adventures, I've been relegated to a secondary role. And in the games based off of those adventures, I'm the second player. And even though I've come up with some of the key strategies we use, everything goes to you when all is said and done, and I can't help but feel left out. That's where the Negative Zone comes from."

"Luigi," breathed Mario. "I…"

I cut him off, wrapping him up in one of our brotherly hugs.

"I can't read your mind," said Mario. "Next time you feel like that—could you please just tell me?"

"I explained why I was reluctant to do that," I said. "I'm happy for you. You've got a steady job—two steady jobs, that is—and a loving relationship. But…"

"Regardless, nothing is more important than your well-being," said Mario. "Got it? I put you above everyone else, including myself. And now—look what you and DDD and Ness accomplished. Risking your lives to save everyone else's—you're far from useless. It's time to take a deep breath, step back and stop letting those negative feelings weigh you down. Because you're better than you think you are."

I kissed the top of Mario's head. "Th-thanks, Mario," I said.

As the Smashers we revived moved on ahead, DDD, Ness and I came across Koopa's trophy. Hesitantly, we revived him, and the first thing he did upon awakening was attack DDD. Ness and I rushed forward to defend the blue penguin, but DDD halted us with a gesture and handily defeated Koopa using his trusty hammer.

Koopa roared at DDD when the latter revived him a second time, only for DDD to flick him in the face, glaring at him.

"Are you out of your mind?!" I snapped at Koopa, also glaring. "Smash is at stake, and you're attacking the person who saved you!"

"Well, he…" Koopa started.

"It was for her own good," huffed DDD. "Look over there, Koopa. Look!"

He pointed, and Koopa followed DDD's finger to stare at MH, limp on the ground.

"Wha..?" he asked. "He was—I—that glove was duped, too!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Ness.

"I knew that you, Dorf and Wario were up to something," I spoke up. "When I told MH, he didn't act that concerned, and that same day you tried to strong-arm me into staying out of it. Now, I know why. Tabuu was manipulating you. All three of you."

"Even Dorf?" asked Koopa. "He—betrayed me. I thought…"

"Without MH, we won't have a tournament," I said. "Is that what you want?"

"No," said Koopa.

"All right, then," said Ness. "Who you should take your anger out on is pretty obvious, isn't it?"

Koopa huffed. "Guess so," he muttered before lumbering off.

Continuing on to the Great Maze, DDD had a touching reunion with Kirby. Just as we approached the stairway leading to the entrance, Wario pounced on DDD and started beating him up for stealing his cargo. Ness and I quickly ran over to stand with DDD, sobering Wario up enough for him to recognize us as two of the trophies he'd carried with him. Nailing him with a death glare, we pointed out the stairwell behind him. Picking his nose, Wario followed our gaze.

"You've been played, Wario," I said. "Are you gonna help us fight the real bad guy, or are you gonna sulk around over some stolen loot?"

Wario grinned, revved up his bike and rode on ahead of us. "See you there, losers!" he chortled.

Now, all 35 of us entered the Great Maze and did battle with the bosses some of us had encountered before. This Great Maze was composed of pieces of the Smash World Tabuu had colonized, and we could see the tournament's stages floating in small bubbles around him. Compounding the danger were Tabuu's standard enemies from most of the Nintendo multiverse, as well as false copies of ourselves, created from the Shadow Bugs while we were still in trophy form. Tabuu warped us all into separate rooms, where we each confronted our shadowy clone. The false version of me briefly reminded me of the man I'd been turned into last year, but I fought back the memories and did amazingly against my clone, knocking him away inside of thirty minutes.

Having cleared the Great Maze, we all confronted Tabuu, defiantly facing certain death as Tabuu folded back his wings to unleash a second, game-ending strike. But before he could, a blue blur cut two diagonal slices into his wings and landed on the ground in front of us.

"Sonic!" we all gasped.

"Where in the Inferno have you been?" asked Mario.

"Busy," explained Sonic, "but I appeared to have arrived in the nick of time."

"Several minutes ago wouldn't have been so bad, either," I said.

Tabuu recovered from the surprise attack and glared malevolently at us.

"Let's stop this now!" I shouted, raising a fist in the air. "Charge!"

And the final battle began.

Let me tell you, all of us brought our A-game to the table during the fight against Tabuu. Due to the limited space, only two Smashers at a time could confront him, but that didn't make our offensive any less powerful. Samus and Falcon were the first two to face Tabuu, and they had a little "battle couple" thing going on as they launched coordinated attacks against their foe, Samus's Charge Shot, Missiles, Bombs, Screw Attack and her other moves backing up Falcon's Falcon Punch, Falcon Kick, Raptor Boost and Falcon Dive, along with his other punches and kicks. He had a small sidearm on his hip—how come he didn't use it? Was it for show only? But I digress.

Tabuu was a crafty fighter, teleporting all over the stage, flinging his fighters around by turning into a bracket-shaped—thing, spitting out copies of himself, firing lasers from his eyes and lashing out with his Chains of Light and energy swords. However, Sonic's attack hadn't completely disabled the Off Waves; it had just reduced their power. Instead of turning everyone back into trophies, the attack merely knocked the duo off the stage. Luckily, the rest of us were there to catch them.

The next two challengers were Ike and Marth, the former favoring brute swings with Ragnell while the latter danced gracefully about the stage, performing intricate moves with Falchion, favoring his Dancing Blade and Shield Breaker attack. Their blades could clash with or deflect Tabuu's, and Falchion could easily slip through to stab the opponent. Unfortunately, they, too, were surprised by the weakened yet still powerful Off-Waves, the two of them trying to Counter it but failing.

As pairs of Smashers stepped up to face Tabuu, Master Hand seemed to be recovering from his torture at the fiend's hands, summoning healing items and Beam Swords for us to utilize. I'd never forget seeing him bloodied like that—before then, he was a powerful authority figure. Maybe after this was over, MH would tell us where Tabuu came from and how we can prevent him from trying something like this at future tournaments.

Peach and Zelda were a great team when they decided to face off against Tabuu. The latter alternated between her current personality and her Sheik personality. The former plucked Turnips and flung them at her enemy, shouting out, "Time for you to eat your vegetables, you meanie!" She'd also bring the pain with her frying pan, tennis racket and golf club—along with her Peach Bomber hip bump. Zel zapped Tabuu with her magic, while Sheik mounted a more aggressive offense of lightning fast moves. When Tabuu unleashed his Off Waves, Zel tried to shield herself and Peach with a magical barrier, with no success.

There had to be some way to counteract those Off Waves.

My thoughts were cut off when Mario tapped me on the shoulder.

I turned and met my bro's hard, determined gaze.

"Let's-a go!" he said, pumping his fist.

Crisply, I nodded. "Okeydokey!"

Mario and I marched onto the stage, to gasps of "Be careful" and "Watch out for those Off Waves". Tabuu smirked when he saw us, two common plumbers taking him on. He wouldn't be smirking for long.

We opened the fight with several stinging strikes to Tabuu's legs. As Tabuu winced, I sent a Super Jump Punch into his stomach. Yelling out, Mario smashed several f-airs into Tabuu as I recovered, and then we attacked him together, preceding our assault with a loud battle cry. We would've done better if MH had allowed our Hammers into the tournament, but we did well enough with our fists, feet, fireballs and coordination. The Mushrooms we ate made sure of that.

Mario pounded away at Tabuu, while I leaped and danced fluidly across the battlefield, slamming as many f-airs, u-airs and b-airs as I could into our blue foe. I slid about on the ground to evade the Chain of Light and his eye beams and dodged between his copies. But most of the time, I just covered Mario. Whenever he started getting exhausted, I was there to pick up the slack, switching from aerial attacks to Smash attacks. Whenever MH dropped down a healing item, I always tossed it to Mario. Whenever Tabuu managed to catch Mario off-guard, I'd take the attack in his place. It granted me plenty of good karma points, as Mario immediately did the same for me. Mario's aggression and force and my caution and clever tactics went hand in hand, and it showed as Tabuu took one Inferno of a beating from us.

Still, Tabuu managed to get his shots in. The Chain of Light lashed out fiercely across our faces and shoulders, and his bracket attack flung and slammed us about. He'd use his copies to distract us before attacking with his sword. But the attack we were really worried about was his Off Waves. They were no longer apocalyptic, but they were still a one-hit KO. The Smashers before us had only tried shielding, reflecting or using a counter move against it—but they hadn't tried dodging.

Dodging—

It was worth a shot.

"Hey, Mario," I said.

"Yeah," he panted.

"I know how we can avoid those Off Waves," I said.

"Really?"

"Shielding and using a reflecting or counter move won't work on them," I said. "We'll have to dodge them, and time our dodges perfectly. If he curls his wings, then he's about to release the attack. When you see him do that, move to the center of the stage and wait for my signal. He'll release the Off Waves in groups of three—we need to dodge all three of them."

Mario's eyes sparkled. "Luigi—that's—brilliant!" he exclaimed.

"I don't know if it'll work," I said honestly, "but we have to try. If we can't get past those Off Waves, then we can't win."

"Okeydokey," said Mario. "Here we go!"

The two of us moved back into the fight, keeping our attacks in sync and covering the other's back. We heard the Smashers below cheering us on as we continued holding our own against Tabuu, blocking and shielding his attacks while being on the lookout for that one move. This was more than just a fight for the victor's spoils. This was a fight for our lives and for all of Smash. We weren't about to let our new friends down. So, we let our fireballs fly and used our Smash attacks to pound him from all sides, shouting defiantly as we did. We were delighted to see that it was working—Tabuu was slumped over, breathing heavily, and purple liquid seeped from the cuts on his face and arms. If he could bleed, then he wasn't invincible!

Then, I saw Tabuu curl his wings and shouted a warning to Mario. We darted to the center of the stage and watched as he charged the attack. And then he flexed his wings, three concentric circles shooting toward us.

"Now!" I commanded.

Sucking in a deep breath, Mario and I dodged the Off Waves in quick succession. As they passed, it was as if we were looking at each other through the surface of a wrinkly pond. The edges of the waves brushed us; blowing our hair back, knocking our caps to the side. Small thrills of pain still coursed through my body, and the waves took my breath away, but it was better than being knocked off the stage, I'll tell you that.

I caught my breath as the attack passed, Mario and I still on our feet, exchanging a quick look to see if the other was okay before giving Tabuu a look that said, "Yeah, we did that. Deal with it."

But we didn't waste any time gloating. The attack had taken a lot of energy out of Tabuu. It was time to capitalize on it.

The other Smashers murmured in astonishment, but we paid them no mind, pounding the stuffing out of Tabuu with all we had. I seized a Beam Sword and used it to block Tabuu's blade as it descended toward Mario, allowing him to attack unperturbed as Tabuu and I continued our swordfight. By now, however, Mario and I had decided that tiring Tabuu out was our best course of action. To accomplish this, we maintained a mostly defensive stance, allowing Tabuu to swipe at us as many times as he pleased, while we simply dodged or blocked the attacks and retaliated with only quick, light blows. We'd also bait him into using his Off Waves, now that we knew how to avoid them. Our timing only served to improve, anyway.

It took a while, and we took many blows. But thanks to our efforts, Tabuu was soon reduced to taking sloppy swipes at us, swipes we could easily evade and deflect.

"I think he's on the ropes!" I shouted.

"Then let's knock him over!" Mario shouted back.

We went back on the offensive, sending Smash attack after Smash attack into Tabuu as the other Smashers hollered in delight.

"Not so tough now, are you, Blue Guy?" I heard DDD jeer.

Suddenly, Tabuu froze in place, as if pinned by an invisible force. That's when we saw Master Hand, flexing his fingers, casting some sort of spell on his former captor.

"MH! You're alive!" Mario exclaimed.

"It's good to see you!" I added.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily," said MH. "Now, enough chitchat. Finish him!"

And with one last spirited battle cry, Mario and I did just that, simultaneously landing a blistering uppercut on Tabuu.

Tabuu let out a nightmarish shriek and began to writhe in agony. I could see his hold on the stages loosening. Then, the fiend was enveloped in a blinding light as he imploded.

Our fellow Smashers helped us down as the ground began to shake. MH ushered us as far away from Tabuu as he could before commanding us to take cover. The light and the shaking grew more and more intense. What was happening?

I soon figured it out. With Tabuu's defeat, he'd lost his grip on the Smash World, which was now returning to its proper state. Someone should've warned me that it was gonna come with intense light and earthquakes. But I diligently stayed in my duck-and-cover position as the quaking and light grew to unbearable—and then lessened and finally stopped.

"It's alright, Smashers," said MH. "It's over."

Slowly, we got to our feet—and gawked.

We all found ourselves standing on a cliff, looking out at the Smash World. A saddened feeling swept over me when I saw the bright "X" where the Isle of Ancients and R.O.B.'s home world had been. Everything else was relatively intact, save for some slight damage. But this damage would be repaired; we'd work together to ensure that.

Just like with 9/11, we would heal.

Luigi

23 September 2008

Smash Mansion

Dear Diary,

The Smash World is finally as good as new, and protective measures have been enacted to ensure that the Smash World never comes under attack like that again. Earlier today, MH honored all of us for our bravery, first during Koopa, Dorf and Wario's campaign, then during the trek through the Great Maze and finally during the final fight. DDD, Ness and I received additional accolades for our trek through Subspace, reviving the other fighters when all hope seemed to be lost. Our Subspace adventure, as this came to be called, also ushered in some long-lasting changes. We were less likely to quarrel among ourselves. Rogues like Koopa, Wolf, Dorf and Wario were still considered villains, but we learned to tolerate them more. And most importantly, instead of saying "The Super Smash Brothers are…", we began to say "The Super Smash Brothers is…".

Tabuu's failed campaign made us an "is".

Luigi