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The Smash Freshmen, Chapter Sixty-Six

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The Smash Freshmen

Chapter Sixty-Six: Rekindled Friendship

    Villager bolted awake, sweat drenching his face. In his mind’s eye, he could still see those terrible images that had haunted him in his dreams. A metal spike protruding from Olimar’s back, blood spraying, the astronaut’s body going limp. He could still hear the crack as Fox broke Olimar’s neck. He could also see Fox’s stunned face as Villager’s axe plunged into his chest and sent him flying through the energy barrier. What worried Villager most was his disappointment at how easily Fox had been KOed. He’d wanted to hurt him more. He’d wanted to make him suffer. But then it was over, leaving him unsatisfied.

    Villager looked around. He and the others with him had camped out on the grassy field atop the Smash Run for the night, resting for the upcoming battle Phantom Hand had promised. Most were asleep, curled up in a soft patch of grass, while others were patrolling the area and keeping watch. Villager himself had been leaning up against a tree where Jazz and Lassy had set him down last night. Jazz was leaning against the tree as well, fast asleep, her head lolled to the side, and her nose whistling slightly as she breathed.

    Villager smiled slightly and silently stood up, careful not to disturb her or Lassy, who was curled up in the grass nearby. He tiptoed his way around the slumbering group. He had to hold back a gasp as he passed Little Mac and fully took in his stripped, wireframe form for the first time. Slowly, he made his way over to where Rock was sitting on a boulder, tapping at his arm console. Rock acknowledged him as he sat down beside him, and then went back to his arm.

    “Whatcha doing?” Villager asked.

    “Just trying to get a good signal,” Rock replied. “A couple of nights ago, I got in touch with some friends of mine from back in my multiverse, and they should be arriving sometime soon. The thing is, I can’t get ahold of them.”

    “Ah.”

    Rock continued to tweak his systems a bit before giving up entirely. He dropped his arm to the side and looked up at Villager. “So,” he said, “how are you holding up?”

    “Oh, I’m . . . fine, I guess,” Villager replied, fiddling with his hands.

    “You seemed a little shaken up today.”

    “Maybe a little.”

    Rock nodded knowingly. “Witnessed your first casualty of war, huh? Been there.”

    “Who was yours?”

    “My brother Cut Man.” Rock fell silent, looking at the ground.

    “What happened?”

    “Doctor Wily.” Rock’s face hardened. “There were originally eight of us built by Doctor Light. Wily was his lab assistant. We were built to help and serve humanity, but Wily saw a different potential for us. He reprogrammed my brothers and twisted them to his evil designs, leaving only Roll and I untouched. I asked my father to equip me for combat so that I could free my brothers and stop Wily. I didn’t expect that I’d have to end up destroying most of my brothers in the process.”

    Rock stopped and looked up at the sky. Villager had never seen a robot cry before, but he felt that he was getting dangerously close to the experience.

    “Sorry,” Villager said.

    To his surprise, a small laugh escaped Rock’s lips. “It’s okay,” he said, looking down at the ground. “It was years ago. I—I’ve gotten over it. Mostly.”

    “How do you deal with something like that?”

    Rock shrugged. “You kind of go numb after a while, I guess. Maybe Mario or Sonic have found a good way to deal with it, but I haven’t yet.”

    “Why do you guys keep doing it? Game after game, facing the same thing over and over again?”

    “Because if we don’t, who will? What if Link just sat back and let Ganondorf destroy Hyrule? What if Sonic saw Eggman enslaving all of those animals and did nothing? I guess that that’s what it is to be a hero. Someone who puts themselves, their life, and sometimes their sanity on the line for the good of others. Someone who willingly puts themselves into situations where they will see and do terrible things because someone else will die if they don’t. That’s what being a hero means, and that’s why we’re all here as Smash Fighters.”

    Villager listened and hung his head. “I guess so. I don’t know if I have what it takes to be here. I’m not a fighter. I’m just a fanboy with delusions of grandeur.”

    Rock chuckled and leaned back. “Come on, Vil,” he said. “You’re talking to a guy who was programmed to be a cleaning robot. I’m a glorified vacuum cleaner.”

    “Yeah, but unlike you, I can’t exactly be upgraded for battle.”

    “So, work with what you’ve got. Mario started out as a plumber, for crying out loud.”

    “He’s also got a superhuman jumping ability and magic mushrooms.”

    “And you’ve got really deep pockets and an assortment of household weapons that could make MacGyver proud. You’ve also got more enthusiasm for this tournament than any other fighter here. You’re actually not as out of place as you might imagine.”

    Villager smiled a little. “Thanks,” he said.

    “No problem, buddy,” Rock replied, punching him softly on the arm. The two fell silent as they looked out at the distant skyline.

    “You know, it’s nice talking to you again,” Villager said.

    “I know, right?” Rock added. “Seriously, when this whole this started, I figured you and I were going to be the ‘Harry and Ron’ or ‘Donkey and Diddy’ of this whole thing. What happened?”

    Villager shrugged. “I don’t know. You went and did your own thing for a while, and I became more of a duo with Ja—the Wii Fit Trainer over there.”

    “Yeah,” Rock said, glancing back at Jazz. “Speaking of which, what’s going on with you two? You got a thing for her or what?”

    Villager blushed. “No! I don’t . . . have a thing for her. We’re just friends. Why would you even think that?”

    Rock raised an eyebrow. “You do realize that I am a robot and do have sensors that can detect changes in blood pressure and body temperature, right?”

    Villager blushed even more. “Just shut up,” he said, turning away.

     

High above the Smash World, not far from the Mario Galaxy stage, seven koopas helped an eighth into a round bulbous hovercraft with a clown face, matching those flown by his fellows.

    “Easy, easy,” the Koopaling named Ludwig said, using a small baton to direct the others as Larry slid into his craft.

    “Man,” Larry pouted, “Why am I always last?”

    The young prince Bowser Junior grinned and spun his clown car around to face the planet below them. “Now that we’re all back together, we can finally get revenge on those stupid newcomers for beating us.”

    “Really?” his sister Wendy whined. “The battle’s over. We lost. This is normally the time I go get a mani-pedi on Daddy’s credit card.”

    “Yeah, and I’ve got to get my glasses fixed,” Iggy added.

    The other Koopalings started to voice their own concerns. “Enough!” Bowser Junior shouted, silencing them all. “We are not going to just sit back and let ourselves get beaten again. I can stand being beaten by Mario, but not by those lame newcomers. You guys are the Koopalings for crying out loud. My Papa’s most trusted generals. How can any of us show our faces back home if we just let this defeat stand.”

    Each of the Koopalings remained silent, glancing at each other. Wendy let out a grumble about still wanting her mani-pedi.

    “The kid is right,” Ludwig spoke up. “Are we men, or are we koopas?”

    The Koopalings’ silence continued until Roy shouted out, “Koopas!”

    Morton joined in, adding an excited growl to the mix. Soon they were all shouting, “Koopas! Koopas!”

    Bowser Junior chuckled. “Alright, now let’s go get that kid and that white girl. Rosalina too.”

In this chapter, Villager and Rock discuss recent events while Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings reassemble.
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mickeydisneyfan's avatar
Ahhhh, nothing better than a new friendship! :D

Man, those kids just never know when to give up, do they?