A/N: Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 83: Waitlist
"WE STILL HAVE MORE ROOM FOR EXTRA SMASHERS. . ." Master Hand organized the stack of papers on his desk neatly, while Crazy Hand did the opposite.
"ReAlLY?!" Crazy Hand said.
"YEA. LET'S OPEN UP A WAITLIST FOR THOSE WHO STILL WANT A SPOT IN THE ROSTER."
Crazy Hand stopped clashing his papers together and stared at Master Hand with his invisible eyeballs. "WHAT IF THAT CRAZY GUY COMES BACK AND RUINS EVERYTHING?"
"OH, THE TERRORIST WITH THE CRAZY BOW? DON'T WORRY, WE'LL KEEP THE ANNOUNCEMENT UNDERGROUND. HOPEFULLY, WEIRDOS LIKE HIM WON'T GET THE MESSAGE."
(oOoOoOo)
Few days later. . .
July 1st
10:12 A.M.
The news spread like wildfire in the Smash Mansion about a waitlist for more Smashers to join in the roster as everyone prepared themselves to meet challenging and intriguing people.
Many of the Smashers decided to wait near the front entrance to see if anyone would show up as a waitlist character. Even some of them decided to bring a chair from the dining room with their snacks and drinks to wait like it was a Black Friday sale.
"I hope the wrong people don't show up. . ." Corrin walked beside his new roommate, Pac Man, who was eating a cheese stick.
Pac Man looked up at the dragon boy and arched his eyebrow. "What the heck do you mean by that?"
"Oh! Nothing. . ." Corrin smiled nervously, as he stood by the wall to watch the large doors with the other fellow Smashers. Miru stood a few feet from Corrin and sighed with his hands stuffed into his pockets.
"Do you guys usually stand here and wait for someone to show up?" Miru asked Marth, who was beside him. Marth shrugged.
"It wasn't much a tradition, but now we're all bored just fighting the same people." The prince explained.
"It gets pretty boring fighting Marth all the time. I wanna fight someone feisty!" Roy grinned, stretching his arms.
"Are you saying I'm boring?" Marth glared at the boy.
Roy shrugged. "Weeeeeelll. . ."
"Be honest, Roy." Ike joined in the conversation.
"Yea, Roy." Marth eyed him.
Roy hesitated and shook his head. "It's better for you to know the lies in this world that we live in-"
"Choke on a dick," Marth muttered and turned his head away from Roy.
"Mar-Mar!" Roy whined.
Mario checked one of the security cameras that had the whole front view of the front entrance to the Smash Mansion, seeing quite a few familiar faces and some he didn't know.
"Should we open the gates?" Zelda stood right next to the red plumber.
"I think we should. . ." Mario was in charge of opening the gates, as he pressed the red button of the remote. The large gates didn't budge a bit, so he tried pressing again.
"Um. . ." Mario kept pressing A. "I think it's broken."
"You're kidding?" Zelda sighed.
(oOoOoOo)
Outside of the Smash Mansion
Makato was in walking distance to the front gates, as she walked alongside with her older brother, Haruhi, who volunteered to come with her.
"I shall be your chaperon in case anything goes wrong, and in case you decided to change your mind," Haru said. He wore a brown heavy cape with a sleeveless top dark top to show his buff arms, baggy pants, and long combat boots. He had his left hand barely gripping unto his twin blades.
Makato wore a pink, short kimono with a yellow ribbon tying her waist, long white socks to her thighs and pink sandals. She only carried a small bag where her bit-sized luggage was in. "Are you still angry when I called you a lolicon during breakfast?" Makato frowned.
"Of course not!" Haru was still crying internally, but only showed his sharp teeth when he smiled.
The two of them made it to the gates and they both came to a stop. Makato observed the strangers all gathered up in front of the closed gates.
"Is there some kind of event going on?" Haru asked.
"Maybe?" Makato shrugged. She noticed the Smash Mansion more brand new and larger than it was before.
"Oh! Hey!" A tomboyish voice called out to her. Makato looked left and then right to see who was calling her. A light tap was felt on her shoulder, as she turned back to see Daisy with a large orange luggage.
"Daisy," Makato greeted. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm obviously here for a relationship with Marth!" Daisy smirked, putting her hands on her hips confidently. "And that's not all! I'm going to get my chance again to be a Smasher!"
Makato was confused. "A Smasher?"
"Did you not hear the news?" Daisy relaxed her arms to her sides. "They're doing another tournament to get in the Smash roster, and I am going to compete!"
'Tournament, huh?' Makato stared into space. 'That would explain the many people standing at the gates. . . Do I have to fight? I mean. . . I was invited.'
"When was the last tournament?" Makato asked.
"Oh. . . um, it was about two weeks ago. . ." Daisy said.
"ATTENTION PEOPLE AT THE FRONT ENTRANCE. THE GATES ARE HAVING SOME TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES. PLEASE WAIT A MOMENT." What seemed to be Master Hand's voice spoke in the intercom. After that sudden announcement that got the whole crowd muted, elevator music started to play.
"Oh, come on!" Daisy exclaimed. "We've been waiting for hours!"
"Is that so?" Makato looked at the gates. A certain Smasher appeared in her head, now wondering if he would be shocked to see her again.
"UGH, SUCH NONSENSE!" A large roar from the sky echoed into everyone's ears. Makato, Haruhi, and Daisy also heard it as well and froze. Some people began panicking, from the demonic voice.
"What the-?!"
"What was that?!"
"I don't know man!"
A strong, heavy wind began to come toward their way and everyone was able to spot the creature with a thin, scrawny body with large wings. The creature looked very dangerous and terrifying at the same time, which brought people to ditch their opportunity to become a Smasher. Many people left, leaving a remainder of nine standing at the winged beast. "MOVE IT, BITCHES!"
The creature rammed its head straight into gates, bursting the iron bars into many tiny pieces. The leftover people shielded their faces for safety, as they all felt the harsh impact.
Everyone stared at the creature, as it made its way inside the mansion.
"You sure about this, Makato?" Haru asked.
Makato stood silent for a couple of seconds. ". . .I'll be okay." She sweatdropped.
"Personally, little sister, we should just forget about this and snuggle in bed together~" Haru folded his hands together, thinking about the fantasy in his head.
"Um, I don't think so." Makato walked ahead of her brother when she saw others doing the same.
"Wait for me~" Haru grinned happily, wrapping his arm around Makato's shoulders.
(oOoOoOo)
"UGH, CURSE YOU-!" Ridley was immediately tied up when he crashed doors into the mansion. Ike enjoyed the pain and struggle Ridley was dealing with, as the creature attempted to untie himself from the heavy ropes.
"Just because we kicked you out, doesn't mean we'll let you roam around freely," Ike smirked evilly. Many of the Smashers surrounded the giant creature, just in case the ropes were to snap.
Samus patted Ike's shoulder. "Good job, Ike."
"Well. . . the gates are open now?" Mario sweatdropped.
"Yep, and we'll need to call some repair guys," Zelda added. Both of them made their way to the front doors and saw Ridley roaring his nostrils out.
"Hey, Mario," Pit called out to the red plumber. "I see more people standing at our door."
"Oh, must be the people trying out for Smash." Mario smiled under his mustache.
"There's not a lot of people. . ." Marth squinted his eyes. The more he squinted the more he saw a girl in an orange dress running straight towards him.
"I'm back!"
"Ahh-!"
Daisy tackled Marth in a hug, as the prince fell head first, leaving him unconscious.
"Hi, Daisy!" Peach wasn't surprised to see her cousin.
"Father!" Lucina saw her father amongst the crowd. Chrom waved to her with a smile while giving a quick glance to Robin, who became nervous.
"Hello, Lucina! Surprised to see me here, huh?" Chrom approached the two with a grin.
"O-of course!" Lucina said.
"Yea, I'm pretty surprised. . ." Robin said.
Chrom stared at the tactician with an arched eyebrow. "Something tells me you-"
"-Don't want you here in Smash? Of course not! You're welcome here!" Robin interrupted, Chrom, as he wrapped his arms around his shoulders.
"Why are you here?" Donkey Kong was shook to see King K. Rool with two luggages in his hands.
"Well, duh! What else does it look like?! I'm here to crack a cold one with the boys! King K Rool, answered, reffing to all of the King Dedede, Ganondorf, Bowser, and Wario.
"EYYYYYYYY!" The villains cheered, exchanging secret hand gang signs and high fives.
"OMG, Simon, Richter! You made it!" Pit approached the vampire hunters with warm hugs.
"We heard there was a vampire you want to be exterminated," Richter said, looking around the mansion. "And we might as well take the opportunity to become a Smasher."
"Yep!" Pit nodded.
"Um, did you call what I think you just called?" Dark Pit asked the happy angel.
"Uh-huh!"
Bayonetta eyed the two before walking off.
"Makato," Miru with wide eyes sprinted toward the princess to hug her but was cut off from her big brother.
"Hey, buddy! How's it going?!" Haru hugged him instead and laughed.
Miru was felt feeling disgusted hugging a man. "Uh. . . why are you here?"
"I'm her chaperone!"
"Hello, Miru. How have you been?" Makato said.
"I've been managing. You look tired. . ." Miru broke the hug from her brother.
"Really. . ." Makato averted her attention toward her small feet.
"ATTENTION, EVERYONE!" Master Hand appeared in front of everyone with Crazy Hand. "THOSE WHO ARE PARTICIPATING IN THIS EVENT PLEASE FOLLOW US, SO WE CAN GET YOU READY."
(oOoOoOo)
1:00 P.M.
The competitors had two hours for training in the training room when it was announced to be an 8-man battle. Since it wasn't by elimination, the requirement to join in the roster was by skill and strength.
Everyone seemed, confident. Everyone but Makato. She watched her competition, as they each went into a separate training room.
Nothing but discouragement shown in her eyes, as she passed two buff men with chains and whips. 'Those two, Richter and Simon look like they belonged here. Even Lucina's father is here.'
The next training room she passed was Daisy, who was using Luigi as her punching bag.
'Daisy wants a rematch. . .'
The next training room she gazed upon was Ridley burning everything. Ridley felt her stares through the glass walls as he glared at her. Makato swiped her head back to her corresponding direction and kept walking.
'And I think Ridley just wants revenge. . .'
She saw a little girl with bright orange hair, holding what seemed to be a water gun that squirted out orange paint. Makato wasn't sure what the substance was but only curved her lips to know she had a bright future ahead.
'Everyone has their reason to be here. . . but what about me? What did I come back for?' Makato finally spotted an empty training room with a few sandbags and boxes of equipment for the trainer to use.
'I was a guest, but I wasn't a Smasher. Since I'm here, I might as well prove my stay. . .'
"Hey, Makato!"
"Roy?" Makato turned her back to see Roy waving at her.
"I thought you might need some help, so I asked Ryu to be your personal trainer!" Roy said.
Makato gasped quietly and pressed her hands against her cheeks, feeling awfully flustered about her admirer. "Ryu, from Street Fighter? He's here?"
"Yea! He's always in the trainer room by himself, so people forget about his existence. What a loner!" Roy laughed. "I'll show you to him!"
"Ok!"
Roy showed Makato to Ryu's training room that was more bigger and spacious than other training rooms.
"I never said I'll do it," Ryu responded harshly.
"Aww, come on!" Roy rubbed his red hair. "She's a big fan of yours, right, Makato?" He turned to her for an answer.
"Yes." She nodded.
"Every time we play Street Fighter, she'll always be Ryu: the strong and confident one! Right, Makato?'
"Sometimes Chun-Li. . ." Makato added.
"Oh, me too! But instead of Chun-Li, I go for Juri cause Ryu can get kinda bor-"
"AHEM." Ryu crossed his buff muscles.
Roy gulped and laughed nervously. "I mean it's true! Hahaha!"
Outside of the Ryu's training room stood Marth, Ike, Haru, and Miru watching them from a mild distance.
"Oh, so this is what Roy's been up to," Marth said.
"Makato grew up as a princess, not a fighter. I can't even imagine her struggle right now. . ." Miru frowned.
"Same," Haru said. He then glanced at Ike, but he didn't say anything.
"Fine." Ryu sighed, giving up. "I'll train you."
"Really! Thank you!" Roy cheered on the behalf of Makato. Makato smiled shyly and thanked him as well.
"But first, let's see what you got," Ryu said, as he walked away from her to bring a gap between them. He got into position, making a defensive fighting stance. "Come on."
"Um. . ." Makato knew nothing about martial arts, so she mimicked his fist and put them, and placed them a few inches away from her face.
"Makato's going to fight him. . .? Is this a joke?" Marth said.
"What a poor stance," Miru said.
"Hmph, why Ryu?" Ike said.
"Why didn't she ask me to train her? Her lovable, adorable older brother." Haru pouted.
Ike scoffed at him. "Who likes to make moves on Nana right in front of Popo."
"We're just friends and she's probably 18!" Haruhi puffed smoke from his nose, referring to Nana.
"That's what they all say."
Roy sat on the mats and watched with a warm cheese stick he kept under his shirt. Only five minutes had passed, and Ryu was growing impatient.
"Don't just stand there. Come at me with all of your strength."
"My strength?" Makato nervously took a small step. She looked up at him as he kept the serious face he would make against his opponents.
"You can do it!" Roy said in his Cooking Mama voice. "Go for the nut sack!"
"W-what?"
"It's every man's weakness!" Roy said.
"Roy, shut up." Ryu furrowed his eyebrows at the boy.
"Oh, what's going on here?" Robin saw Marth, Ike, Haru, and Miru watching a training room that had Roy, Makato, and Ryu in it.
"We're watching Makato," Marth answered.
Robin took a glance inside the training room and nodded. "I see. . ."
(oOoOoOo)
"Your skills show no type of physical training." Ryu came down to a conclusion when Makato only brought a small light punch to his chest. "I think you find someone else. . ."
A hard punch hit her chest. "You're right. . ." Makato lowered her head and sighed.
"Ryu! How could you say something so discouraging?" Roy said.
"Roy," Makato placed her hand on his shoulder.
"But-"
"He wouldn't care if he started lying to me. I think it's better if I knew the truth. . ." Makato faked a smile. "Besides he never told me to give up."
"Yea, and also, you should give up on becoming a Smasher," Ryu added.
"I spoke too soon. . ." Makato laughed.
"Ryu!" Roy growled at him.
"What's up, guys?" Robin decided to barge into Ryu's training room and conversation. "I couldn't help but observed your training with Ryu, Makato." Robin faced her with a smile.
"Robin," Makato looked at him.
"I agree with Ryu on one part, however. You don't specialize in physical attacks. What you need is magic attacks, skill, and resistance."
"Magic attack, skill, and resistance?" Makato asked.
"We can discuss it further if you're willing to let me help you."
"What's with the kindness act, Robin?" Roy smirked at Robin and elbowed him. "You never help anyone other than Lucina and yourself."
"Can I not help a friend?"
"You never helped me when I needed help!"
"Roy, it doesn't matter," Makato said. "I want Robin to help me."
"Very well!" Robin clasped his hands together. "Let's go to a separate training room."
The three of them left the training and met Marth, Ike, Haru, and Miru facing them. Makato stared at Ike when he wouldn't look at her and she would face away when he gave a glance to her. The letter that Ike sent her brought even more awkward tension between them, and she only recalled his letter to make her jealous. She rejoiced in her head to see he was only bluffing.
"What are you guys up to?" Haru smiled at the three of them.
"We were curious," Miru said.
"Yea." Ike only said one word.
"Well, I planned to help Makato to awaken her magical power," Robin said. "She might have a better understanding with that, being a wizard and all."
"Hold up, Robin." Another voice joined the chat.
"Fucking. . ." Robin cursed quietly when he recognized the voice of the man with 15 resistance.
"You promised me to help me with my training." He said. Everyone noticed his body was covered in sweat and they all made a mental question if he even needed training.
"You don't need training, Chrom," Robin said. "I think you're better off on your own."
Chrom ignored Robin and turned to the girl who wanted to train with his tactician. "I'm sorry, miss, but you'll have to make an appointment with him another day."
"Uh. . ." Makato was confused.
Chrom looked at Robin and grabbed his two front legs, making Robin falling head first. "Let's go, Robin." He began to drag him, far from the others who watched him.
"No, Chrom! Wait! Let me gooooo!"
"Was his intentions really to train Makato?" Marth muttered to himself. "Well, Makato. What are you going to do now? Chrom literally dragged your trainer partner away from you."
"For now. . . I'll find my own strength and meditate on what Robin said. I don't have that much time. . ."
"In fact, you only have about an hour left. . ." Miru glanced at the clock in the training room that read 2:04 P.M.
"I'll be fine by then, promise." Another fake smile was placed on her mouth, as she left the others hanging on the edge.
(oOoOoOo)
After making several magical hand gestures and yells to somehow release her inner magical powers, she gave up. Makato circled herself into a ball and bawled out her eyes. Everything at this moment was impossible.
"It's not possible. . ."
"Little Sister." Haruhi entered the room and sat by her. He tried calling her name again, but she didn't budge from her position. While she ignored his calls, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and comforted her.
Makato looked up to her brother with the same ocean eyes. "How do you use your powers?"
"My powers, huh?" Haruhi showed his large hand to her and lit up a tiny flame, hovering above his palms.
She gazed at the flame with large eyes, as if was the only light source. "Amazing."
"This is only child's play," Haruhi smirked.
Makato tried mimicking him, but nothing related to her magic came out. She frowned deeply, glancing back at her brother.
"Why can't I do the same? Aren't I like you guys?"
"No, you're different. And that's a good thing." Haruhi smiled. "Your powers work from the mind when you make potions, don't they? You don't shootout potion bottles from your hands, right? Your type of magic is more intellectual than any other Tachibana, and it involves high skills and craftsmanship."
"Oh, I get what you're saying." Makato felt somewhat comforted. "So, how will I fight?"
"Easy. Use an object as a vessel to your powers. Like me for example." Haruhi showed his twin blades, hand-crafted the way he wanted. "You can control your powers from there and it'll be easier."
"An object as a vessel. Okay, I think I got it!" Makato smiled brightly at her brother, before giving him a big hug. "Thank you so much for giving me hope!"
"That's what siblings are for." Haruhi hugged her back.
(oOoOoOo)
3:00 P.M.
An hour had passed and most of the Smashers came to watch the top eight compete against each other in the coliseum. Since it was stated as an underground tournament, not many people showed up to watch.
The fighters were lined up against the wall with their weapons prepared. Ridley wasn't trusted, so for the time being, he wore an electric collar that would shock him full voltage if anything deviant was acted against him.
"WE'RE CHANGING IT TO A 1 VS 1 MATCH INSTEAD. CRAZY HAND AND I DECIDED THAT. WE WANT TO TAKE A LOOK OF YOUR TRUE POWERS INDIVIDUALLY." Master Hand explained the sudden changes.
"EVERYONE IS ASSIGNED A FIGHTER BASED ON RACE AND CATEGORY. AND YOU BETTER NOT COMPLAIN!" Crazy Hand said. He then showed the paper of all their faces targeted with the fighter they were fighting:
Daisy vs. Marmalade (Inkling)
King K. Rool vs. Chrom
Simon vs. Richter
Ridley vs. Makato
"Wow, we're versing each other, aren't we?" Richter grinned at Simon. Simon sighed and shook his head.
"Fighting this shrimp will be easy!" Daisy laughed.
"Hey! Just because I'm a squid, doesn't mean you can make rude remarks of underwater creatures!" Marmalade exclaimed.
"Let the best man, win, I guess." Chrom offered a hand to King. K. Rool.
The alligator spat at his hand instead and laughed. "Shut it, sissy boi!"
"Heh, a little girl, huh?" Ridley turned his bony neck to the princess and hissed at her. "You won't even last a second once I send you off to your grave."
Makato stared at the creature and looked up at the sky. "I'll visit every month."
"Hey! You can't give up that easily." Daisy spoke to Makato.
"My opponent is Ridley." Makato frowned. Daisy turned to the giant creature and gasped.
"Oh. . . What can I say? I'll send you souvenirs of my honeymoon with Marth." Daisy patted her shoulder with a wink.
"THIS IS A BATTLE OF STRENGTH, SO I WANT EVERYONE SINGLE PERSON AND THING TO GO 1000%!" Crazy Hand added.
"1000%?" Makato gulped and glanced at Ridley. Ridley did his evil glare and pointed his sharp finger at her.
"I'm gonna enjoy ripping you to shreds."
A/N: Thanks for reading! Till next time!
