Okay, after about a month of procrastinating and a week of hard work, I've finally started this project. Yay for me.
As most of you have probably guessed, this is a crossover fic. Some of the more game savvy among you may have already figured out what the second party is due to this story's summary. Or you were just one of the people that helped me conspire with this. Either way, kudos to you. If you aren't so sure what it is and can't wait until next chapter, just let me know and I'll PM it to you.
This fic is T-rated for typical stuff in my work: violence, blood, and the occasional innuendo. While none of it is that heavy, if you have a serious problem with any of these, scram! If you think you can handle it in return for a well-spun tale, then by all means, read on.
Anyway, this chapter will start out fairly light-hearted compared to what will likely be written in the future. So bear with me, alright?
Disclaimer: The Super Smash Brothers franchise is the copyrighted property of Nintendo. All characters within the franchise belong to their respective owners. The only thing that I claim to be of my creation is the plot of this story.
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Dear Lucario,
Please come to the ISP chamber today at 1:00 PM. Come in your battle clothes and be ready to fight. Attendance is not optional.
Signed,
Master Hand
Lucario turned the note over in his hands again, still reading the same message he had found on it earlier that day when he found it just inside his bedroom door. Shaking his head, he surveyed his surroundings.
He was in a large room clad in grey metal. Straight lines ran this way and that across the surface of the pristine walls, showing every slab of metal that constituted the place. A closed observation deck jutted out from the ceiling, several windows of tinted glass separating the gadgetry inside from the world outside. Seeing as it was roughly the size of two football fields, the room could have easily been a hangar.
And in a way, it was. In the center was an archway, seamlessly constructed into the floor. It was several meters in height, easily able to let through a school bus if it needed to. Despite its unassuming appearance, Lucario knew quite well what it was. It was the ISP, the Inter-System Portal, the only way to leave or enter the world in which the Smash Mansion resided. It was the heart of the operation of the Super Smash Brothers tournaments, so nobody was allowed near it unless they had a match scheduled or wanted to take 'shore leave.' And since Lucario had requested neither, he was confused as to why Master Hand, the proprietor of the Super Smash Brothers, wanted him there.
Well, I'm here, he thought, but Master Hand isn't. Strange...
"Boo!"
"Ah!"
Lucario jumped and turned around in surprise, only to see a certain pink feline giggling her pretty little head off.
"Mew..." Lucario sighed to himself, relaxing a little bit.
"Oh man, I can't believe you fell for that!" Mew let out between breaths. "What happened to the hardened warrior of Cameran?" She started laughing out loud, the force of it sending her tumbling backwards as she floated in midair.
"Up to your old tricks again, I see?" the canine asked, crossing his arms and smirking.
"You bet'cha!" Mew responded, managing to reduce her laughing fit back to a giggle.
Lucario chuckled. How a creature that was practically a goddess could manage to act so silly was beyond him.
He perked his ears, suddenly remembering why he was there. "Hey, Mew, I got this note from Master Hand to be here, and-"
"I know."
Lucario cocked his head, witnessing the biggest, toothiest grin he'd ever seen plastered on Mew's face. Glancing at the glistening rows of sharp fangs between her lips, he idly began to wonder if she was ever this friendly when she got hungry. Or, worse still, if she was this friendly when she was hungry!
"What? How would you... wait. Don't tell me you're my opponent!" the humanoid pokemon blurted out, feeling a bit panicked.
Mew giggled. "No, I'm not; you don't have to worry about getting your furry blue butt handed to you by a pretty little kitty," she finished, clasping her paws together and fluttering her eyelashes. She then smirked evilly. "At least, not today."
Lucario blushed slightly from indignation. "Well then, how do you know about this letter?" he asked incredulously, trying to change the subject.
The small pink cat brought a finger to her chin as her hips pivoted back and forth, making her look like a guiltily innocent schoolgirl. "Because I sent it," she chirped.
"...Oh, fine then....wait, what?"
Before anything else could be said, the distinct swooshing noise of automatic doors opening was heard from the other side of the room.
"Well," an irritated-sounding voice echoed, "I'm here, Mew. What exactly did you-?"
Lucario looked to see who it was, and groaned inwardly when his crimson eyes connected with two violet ones.
"...What is he doing here?" Mewtwo snarled, glaring at his counterpart.
"I'm right here, you know," the canine in question said calmly, lazily turning in the direction of the clone.
"I wasn't talking to you," he responded, leaning in toward the shorter pokemon.
"Alright, break it up!" Mew barked, floating between the two and holding her arms out as if to distance them. "Y'see, this is why I brought both of you here."
"So you were the one who sent me that note? Not Master Hand?" Lucario asked.
"That I did," Mew said proudly.
"You got duped into coming here by a note? Okay, before I was just peeved I got replaced by you, but now I'm outright insulted," Mewtwo muttered, shaking his head.
Lucario opened his mouth to say something, but a stern look from Mew convinced him to keep his mouth shut.
"Now do you get it?" she inquired, looking at both of them in turn. "The hostility between the two of you is enormous; I'm betting some of the psychics back home can feel it, not to mention Ness and Lucas! This little rivalry is getting neither of you anywhere." Lucario glowered at the ground, his hands at his sides. Mewtwo, on the other hand, had his lean arms crossed over his chest, and threw his head to the side and let out a disgruntled 'hrrmph.'
When neither of them responded, she shook her head. "Look, I care about both of you, so I can't just stand by and let you two hate each other like this. That is why I'm going to put an end to this whole thing once and for all."
"And how do you suggest we do that?" Lucario asked, looking up.
"Considering that we're in the ISP chamber, I'm guessing a battle is involved," Mewtwo drawled.
Mew nodded. "Yep. The way I see things, this is all about whether Mewtwo got replaced unfairly or not. Am I wrong, Mewtwo?"
A pause, while Mewtwo collected his thoughts, deciding the best way to reply to his pink friend. "...No, you aren't."
"Well," Mew continued, pacing in front of the two of them, "I'm thinking that a good old brawl would settle things. If Lucario wins, then you, Mewtwo, have to admit that he earned his place in this tournament and leave him alone. If Mewtwo wins, then you, Lucario, have to admit that Mewtwo's place had been given away unfairly and do all within your power to get him back in." The two glanced quickly at each other, before turning away.
"So, gentlemen," Mew finished, turning toward the two, "do we have a deal?"
A silence fell over the trio. The two rivals stared out into space, absorbed in their own thoughts.
"I guess I will," Mewtwo conceded. "It's not like I have anything to lose here."
"Well, if he's willing to end this, then so am I," Lucario said, not skipping a beat.
"Perfect!" Mew exclaimed, clapping her paws together and spinning. She hovered over to the door. "You two stay here; it'll take me a few minutes to set up the match."
"How do you plan on getting into the system?" Mewtwo asked.
"Yeah," Lucario added, "aren't the only two people who know the password Master Hand and Crazy Hand?"
"What, you guys don't trust me? I have my ways." She turned around the corner before she popped her head back in again. "Oh, and no hurting each other outside of the arena. Unless you find a mud pit, of course; then you just need to call me over ASAP." With one final wink of her sapphire eyes, she was gone.
Then of course came the awkward silence.
"...Was she always like that?" Lucario asked, slightly perturbed at what the female feline had just suggested.
Mewtwo glanced over at the smaller pokemon and scoffed. Without a word, he glided over to a spot in front of the ISP, crossed his legs, and started to meditate.
Lucario sighed. This is going to be a long 'few minutes'...
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Mew laughed mischievously as she sped up the flight of stairs that would take her to the control room. She was still imagining the looks on her clone's and her guardian's faces after her 'parting words.'
Then again, she thought hesitantly, since I'm trying to get those two to get along, maybe I shouldn't have said that...
The feline's second thoughts were interrupted as she skidded to a halt in front of the large mechanical door that she was looking for. It slid open at her approach, and she gawked slightly at what she saw inside.
The room was completely clad in electronics. Large devices that did only Arceus-knows-what covered three entire walls, not a single space between. The fourth wall was the observation window, three solid slabs of tinted glass overlooking the coveted ISP. Below the window was one long interface, filled with buttons and switches roughly as big as she was. She had never seen so much technology in one place before!
"Hello," a monotone voice greeted. "I am TEC-XX. You may call me TEC. Welcome to the ISP central control."
"Hey," Mew said, her voice full of recognition, "aren't you that peeping tom of an X-Naut AI that had a crush on Princess Peach?"
"Yes, and you are that pervert of a pokémon goddess that has ten gigabytes of hentai stored on her laptop," the computer shot back.
"How did you-?!"
"I know everything," the AI interrupted. "And yes, you should be very ashamed of yourself."
"Hey, I'm not on trial here!" Mew pouted. "Are you denying me access to the ISP or not?"
There was a pause before TEC spoke again. "While you are not either Master or Crazy Hand, if you have the password, I am not authorized to stop you. Please, use the keyboard toward the front to input the access code. If you have it, that is."
It was then that Mew noticed a revolving chair situated in front of a small screen and keyboard.. She drifted up to it, letting herself down on the seat.
Uh... now what was the password again? She shook her head. I knew I should have written it down! Curse my lack of pockets!
She closed her eyes, trying to concentrate. Come on... think...
"I've got it!" she exclaimed, her eyes snapping wide open. "Gate... of... legends," she mumbled as she typed the code in with her stubby paws. She triumphantly hit the Enter key, and waited for a response.
"...Password accepted," TEC stated. "You are now free to choose the match parameters. Destination?"
The feline slipped her tongue out of the corner of her mouth, once again chanting the words as she typed them. "Pokémon... stadium." Just like before, she hit the enter key.
Nothing happened.
"Um... Pokémon Stadium?" she said inquisitively, typing in her answer over again. She hit the answer key once more.
Again, nothing happened.
"Uh... TEC?" Mew called out, worried. No response.
Just then, the screen she was working on went completely blank, becoming an empty sheet of black. She was about to get up and leave when a small, pixilated Pikachu walked on-screen. It had its hands behind its back, and it was marching exaggeratedly, each foot going high into the air.
When it reached the center of the screen, it turned to face forward, toward Mew. The Legendary leaned in, puzzled.
The virtual Pikachu closed its eyes and let out a synthetic, female giggle. "Follow the truth, follow the lies. Nobody wins..."
Its eyes suddenly snapped open, a demonic smile plastered across its face.
"EVERYONE DIES!"
Mew let out a loud scream as she felt a searing pain assault every inch of her body. She managed to open one eye to see a swelling light pouring out of the interface and into her. Was that...
Electricity?! She screamed mentally. How could that be?! I've been shocked plenty of times before and wasn't even phased! Why does THIS hurt so much?!
Her thoughts came to a stop as she felt the intensity of the stream increase. So many volts coursing through every nerve in her body... she didn't even have the energy to scream any more.
With one final pulse of energy, the current stopped, sending her flying across the room. Her back slammed into a control panel with a loud thud, followed by a small thump as her limp body fell to the ground.
Mew was now on her side, her eyes struggling to keep open. She could faintly register her tail twitching of its own accord due to leftover voltage.
Is this... how I'm going to die...? She mused.
As her vision blurred and she closed her eyes for what she thought was to be the last time, she heard a female voice coo:
"Nighty night, little kitty..."
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Augh... what is taking her so long?
Lucario was leaning his back against the wall of the ISP chamber, his arms crossed over his chest, currently bored out of his skull. He was one patient pokémon, but once he expected a fight, his body got ready far before he did.
The blue canine turned his gaze toward the meditating Mewtwo several yards away.
I wonder what he's thinking about, Lucario speculated. Can't be anything spiritual, judging by how bitter and removed he acts toward everyone. And he certainly can't be in his 'happy place', whatever that would look like; I don't think I've ever even seen him smile. Maybe if I just took a peek at his Aura...
He shook his head. No! That's an invasion of privacy. Whatever's got him so preoccupied is none of my business.
"That's never stopped me before."
Lucario practically jumped at the sound of the psychic's voice. He quickly caught his breath, stuttering, "You, you were-?"
"Reading your mind?" Mewtwo finished for him, still in his meditative stance. "Well, what little there is to read, anyway. But I guess I shouldn't expect so much from a Fighting-type."
The blue pokémon gritted his teeth. "Those were my own private thoughts. You had no right to go snooping around in them!"
The psychic shrugged, still with his back to the irritated canine. "What's the point of power if it is not exercised? Besides, it's not like you were thinking about anything personal such as a secret love affair or melodramatic homesickness like all these other inane simpletons."
"Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should," Lucario growled.
"Please, save your talk about honor and valor for someone who cares," the clone sighed. "In case you haven't noticed, the era of knights in shining armor is long gone. In this day and age, might makes right, not virtue. If you refuse to keep up with the times, then maybe Master Hand will put you in a museum where a prehistoric mutt like you belongs."
"What... did you call me?" Lucario snarled, his hands balling into fists.
Mewtwo turned his head, glancing at the enraged Aura pokémon with a single violet eye. He lifted himself off the ground, standing at full height. Lucario had forgotten exactly how intimidating the clone was. Even though Lucario was unusually tall for his species – a little under five feet – Mewtwo still towered over him at six feet tall.
The Legendary glided over to the Fighting-type, looking down at him as he said, "You heard me right. I called you a mutt. See also: cur, mongrel, and bastard. Want to make something of it?"
Before the argument could escalate, however, the ISP sprang to life. What was once empty air was now occupied with a blue substance that spanned the entire archway. It rippled as if it were the surface of a lake, light dancing off of its surface as it undulated.
"Well," Mewtwo said after a moment of silence, "I suppose that's our cue."
"Very well, then; ladies first," Lucario sneered with a sweeping bow.
"Whatever you say, she-male," Mewtwo sniped as he floated toward the gateway. He paused just before entering, looking back at Lucario as if to say something. Then he just raised his tail in the air, flourishing his hips and giving out a 'humph' of irritation. Without another word, he stepped into the portal, the liquid-like substance forming around him, and with one last flick of his tail, he was gone.
Lucario, flustered at both Mewtwo's comment and the following tail-up insult, simply stood there and fumed for a moment. "Immature, dishonorable wretch of a Legendary...."
The disgruntled Aura-sensitive hound stepped forward to follow his adversary when he noticed a nagging feeling at the back of his mind, a sense that something wasn't quite right about the whole thing.
He shook his head. It's probably nothing; just pre-battle paranoia, he reassured himself.
With that, he stepped into the ISP himself, eager to finally have a thorn in his side removed.
But fate had other plans in mind, for the both of them...
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Well, there's the kick-off. While I do appreciate your comments, I would appreciate it even more if you were honest with me. If you have any concerns, be they OOCness or otherwise, feel free to voice them. Also, if you think I need to up the rating to M, please tell me. I really hope it doesn't come to that, though, and since there isn't going to be anything sexually graphic, I don't think it will. Still, if you think otherwise, go ahead and say so.