Post by bobsnicket on Apr 15, 2008 22:10:52 GMT -5
(The {} indicate which parts of the chapter, by the way)
{1} A Strange New Dimension
E. Gadd’s laboratory looked perfectly untouched because of the strength of the specially designed steel walls and the flat pewter rooftop. A couple lightning bolts and a downpour of acidic rain weren’t enough to damage, dent, or scratch it in the slightest. Therefore, it was fairly safe to say that a conversation on the roof couldn’t be overheard or accessed without an excessive amount of effort on the eavesdropper’s part. Of course inside would be even safer, but E. Gadd felt too busy to waste time plugging in security codes and verifying voice identifiers, so the Koopa Clown Car landed on the rooftop, and Bowser and the professor stepped off onto the solid metal surface, then stood across from each other so they could speak.
“So,” E. Gadd said hurriedly, “what did Pichu hear at the tournament that’s so important?”
“Well, er…” Bowser wasn’t sure where to start. But then he decided to first repeat the conversation between Sonic and Shadow. He told of how Shadow revealed himself to be a servant of Master Hand, and how he had helped plan the terrible trap that was the tournament. He described how Shadow had escaped from the Microsoft world, and how the black and red hedgehog had revealed Master Hand’s plan to transform the finalists into trophies. “and the Original 25, whatever that is,” Bowser finished.
“Hmmm,” Gadd pondered. “So there have been breaches of the Microsoft World. Very interesting. And the tournament was a plot to add to Master Hand’s vain life-sized trophy collection. And he is specifically after the Original 25. Very interesting.”
“But professor, what exactly is the Original 25?” Bowser looked confused.
“ Well, the definition is simple: the Original 25 are the 25 characters that were invited to compete in Master Hand’s Melee Tournaments which, as far as we know, were created for his own amusement. Some were not invited at first, but for some reason Master Hand decided to add to the list later on. No one refused because of the temptation of proving themselves greater than the others. As one of them, you know many of these tournaments took place, with mainly the same competitors, but they mysteriously stopped six years ago, when Master Hand began to think about world conquest. But as for the depth of its meaning, I am not an expert on that. We’ll have to see some sort of philosopher about that. Is that all, Bowser, or is there more?”
Bowser grinned. “Oh, there most certainly is!” Bowser went on to repeat the words spoken during the final match between Sonic and the Shadow Queen. He expounded to Gadd how the Shadow Queen had revealed herself to be another servant of Master Hand, and how she claimed to be a fused form of both a Floormaster and the Shadow Queen. He stopped for a few seconds, then said, “Oh yeah, and the name of the professor who created it, and who serves Master Hand, was Professor U. Reeka.”
“NOOOOO!!!” Professor E. Gadd shouted, looking crazed. And then he seemed to calm down. “Sorry about that. I was just in denial that he could have returned, but…the truth is the truth, I suppose.”
“Wait a minute.” Bowser looked confused again. “You mean you actually know this U. Reeka person?”
E. Gadd sighed. “Well, it’s a long, long story.”
“Hey, I’ve just told you my story. Now it’s your turn.”
Gadd sighed again. “Very well. But the responsibility will fall upon you to tell others if they wish to know also. I was born in a mansion in the depths of the Spooky Forest…”
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gh.ffshrine.org/song/402/27
At first Mario had thought that they were dead. The step into the light seemed to have numbed their senses for several seconds. And then, in place of the blinding whiteness, was a plain, bright, almost dull blue. It essentially looked just like a plain cheesy blue background, the color not varying in the slightest all around him. And then Mario noticed that he was floating.
The other 53 figures were doing the same nearby. Everyone was just drifting slowly through the air, like outer space, except with no details to define where they were. Some of the Hammer Bros. began to laugh and do acrobatics in midair (or whatever it was), flipping and stroking through the space like water.
But then things began to change. They couldn’t tell for sure which direction was which, but from below most of the characters, a light purplish tinge began to spread upwards around them. And after about half of the space was purple, the bottom began to change again to reveal glittering stars and streaks of beautiful red, dark purple, and deep blue colors, giving them a more reassuring sense of existence. The plain blue and light purple areas grew smaller and smaller overhead until they were completely gone.
And they only had a few seconds to take in their extraordinary surroundings when several massive shimmering objects appeared a short distance from the group on all sides. They shimmered more and more slowly until they stopped moving. It took Mario and the others several seconds to realize what these shapes were.
They were the giant devices that were so well known to be among the strange objects in Master Hand’s room. However, usually there were two to four plugged-in objects with buttons and analog sticks all over them on one side, and usually there was a giant cartridge with some Nintendo-related picture on it inserted in the giant slots on the top. Some were more square and simplistic, while some were rounded, and a couple of them were vertical and had an enormous screen on the front (one even had two screens).
In case you hadn’t already guessed, these were what we know as Nintendo gaming systems, and in this instance every system up to the Nintendo DS was present in a massive form, each rotating slowly. To the Nintendo World, these were mysterious machines used occasionally by Master Hand and Crazy Hand for their own entertainment. There were rumors that these devices served as systems by which Master Hand and Crazy Hand, looking on the television or the screen, controlled digitally animated figures that resembled characters in the Nintendo World.
Even stranger, or even creepier, was the fact that all around them echoed strange sounds that we know are made by these systems, such as beeps, whirs, and buzzes. But these sounds were not coming directly from the floating systems, rather from random directions, which disconcerted many of the Hammer Bros.
After several moments of floating and turning around wildly, Mr. Game and Watch drew up some resolve and began stroking openly towards the one he recognized the best: the Game and Watch.
“Wait, STOP! You don’t know what will happen!” General Hammo panicked as he noticed what Mr. Game and Watch was doing. But the 2-D silhouette paid no heed to the general; he just continued to approach his old home, calmly and intently.
“I SAID STOP!!!” The general was so infuriated and frightened that he actually threw a hammer at Mr. Game and Watch. However, because of their environment, it moved extremely slowly, rotating forward as it moved. Mr. Game & Watch saw the hammer, and dived away to avoid it, but now the hammer had nowhere to stop; it kept moving at the same angle in the same direction, which happened to be directly towards the Nintendo DS.
“NOOOOOO!!!!!” Hammo dived towards his straying hammer in vain, crashing into Mr. Game & Watch as the hammer came into contact with the touch screen. It simply disappeared into it.
Then the DS’s power seemed to turn on, and the DS logo was displayed on the top screen with the well-known sound to accompany it playing at an almost deafening volume. The touch screen turned extremely bright, with all substance and matter and air being pulled into it like a vacuum, and all 53 explorers began to be rapidly sucked towards the DS. Screams were heard as the first to disappear into the DS, Hammo and Mr. Game & Watch, vanished completely. The starry background rotated faster and faster as Mario, the Ice Climbers, and the rest were pulled into the silver machine, and once again, everything was enveloped in whiteness.
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Inside Dimension Door: Mario, Mr. Game & Watch, Ice Climbers
Fourside City: Slippy Toad, Peppy Hare, Bowser, Yoshi, Young Link, Lanky Kong, Kirby, Fox, Ganondorf, Bomberman, Falco, Goombario, Banjo and Kazooie, Pit, Pichu, Tiny Kong, Dixie Kong, Professor E. Gadd
Messengers: Prince Peasley, Jigglypuff, Parakeet, Toad, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Meta Knight, Roy, Toadsworth, Luigi, Star Wolf, Rito Postman?
: The Shadow Sirens, Shadow
[glow=yellow,2,300]Trophy:[/glow] Pikachu, Princess Peach, Samus, Chunky Kong, Sonic, Wario, Waluigi, Captain Falcon
[glow=purple,2,300]Captive:[/glow] Marth, Ness, Goombella, Toadette, Princess Zelda
[glow=gray,2,300]DECEASED:[/glow] The Shadow Hand, Bottles, Orca
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Hmmm...Twilight made me come to realize that this chapter will have a whole lot of Mario stuff in it...but oh well, everyone loves Mario!
This one will also be the longest, the strangest, and possibly most boring, depending on how much you enjoy reading about things happening in 2-D...
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{2} The Tragic History of Professor Elvin Gadd
www.imeem.com/evilcucumber/music/NmfpREru/nintendo_luigis_mansion_medley_luigis_mansion/
“But back then, the Spooky Forest was not spooky at all; it was known as the eloquent, beautiful, colorful Woods of Serenity. I lived in a large mansion in the middle of the northern region with my wealthy parents. I used my money to invent the first of my wondrous inventions, such as the very first R.O.B. model and edible silverware.
“I had an uncle called Miles Reeka who lived not too far away in the woods, but he was poor and lived in a small filthy shack with his only son. Countless times my parents offered to bring him out of poverty with no payback necessary, but Miles was too prideful, and always refused, insisting that he didn’t need his spoiled brother’s help.
“As time went on, I went to school all the way in Fourside City with Miles’s son; by that time I had made my first hovercraft, so I was able to secretly pick him up each day without his father’s knowledge, who supposed that there was some random school in the middle of the woods that his son went to instead.
“My cousin, who I just called Reeka, turned out to be equally ingenious. At the very beginning we saw this similarity as a reason for friendship, but very soon that short friendship turned into a heated rivalry. No one else was even close to our level of ingenuity, so at every science fair, for every school assignment, project, or test, the rest of our class enjoyed the daily displays of the intense and well-matched rivalry between Gadd and Reeka. It was in high school where everything went wrong.
“You see, as we matured, the nature of our inventions and projects began to clearly differentiate. While I invented a device that allowed wood lice to speak English, Reeka invented a stimulant to make them go into a rage and eat anything they touched. While I discovered the formula to turn water into chocolate milk, he changed it into deadly acid. People began to see me as the beneficiate of the Nintendo World, and Reeka as a dangerous warmonger. Neither of us was favored more than the other by the crowd as a whole, but two separate parties supporting each inventor were formed, often criticizing and mocking the other group.
“One dreadful day, our teacher paired us up and assigned us to create a model of Death Mountain. As luck would have it, Reeka and I were forced to work as a team. While others gathered vinegar and baking soda and brown construction paper, we argued for hours on end on the way we should make our model. I wanted to make it spew out fireworks, but he wanted to make it spurt out actual lava. ‘The more realistic, the better!’ he claimed. We ended up building two separate volcanoes, such was the height of our disagreement and growing dislike. I built mine like the others, just much more authentic-looking and detailed. As for his… well, I’ll tell you.
“After displaying my fireworks, Reeka invited the class on a short field trip to a rock quarry just outside our woods. In the middle of a large ring of rocks, his volcano towered to at least half the height of the Fourside Skyscraper. Reeka explained how he had actually drilled through the ground and created an actual volcano, and had then shaped precisely all the rock formations of Death Mountain. He then said he was going to test his experiment when I intervened. I told him that it was far to dangerous to create such a lava flow so close to the woods, and that he mustn’t do it. He wouldn’t listen, so I tackled him to the ground before he could activate the controls. He responded by smacking me terribly hard with his Iron-Fist glove. This blow sent me rapidly into the control panel on the volcano, and the force of my body’s hit caused the volcano to malfunction.
“The ground began to rumble. Reeka couldn’t control anything because of the damage, and said, ‘you idiot!’ Our class screamed as an enormous jet of lava spurted out of the top of the Death Mountain replica. Because of the malfunctioning, it was tilted at an angle, one that, while not hitting any towns or our class, sent the lava pouring onto our dear forest.
“The fiery destruction caused by that incident not only destroyed the entire forest, but burnt down both my house and Reeka’s, killing my parents and his father. Reeka blamed me for the tragedy, yelling that I should not interfere with his experiments, and threatening that the next experiment he made would be aimed towards my demise. He then disappeared for many years.
“However, one day, the daily news reported that his dead body had supposively been found on Mountain #32, the coldest mountain in the world, where he had built a laboratory to conduct all manner of sinister experiments. I never heard of or saw my cousin again.” Professor E. Gadd finally finished.
“Until now,” Bowser added. “What was his first name, anyway?”
“His first name?” Professor looked like he was still in heavy flashback mode, but then he suddenly snapped out of it. “Oh, that doesn’t matter. What’s important is that you know that Professor U. Reeka, my only cousin and my greatest enemy, has somehow survived, and is now wreaking havoc with his terrifying mind under the direct order of Master Hand.”
“Wow.” Bowser yawned. “That was long. And slightly sad. Well, thanks for the story and all, but I need to be getting back to my castle. Where do you want me to drop you off?”
Slightly sad? Gadd thought solemnly. But he didn’t say it aloud. “At the Training Dojo, if you don’t mind.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once again, they found themselves in a plain blue environment. This time, however, they were not floating, but were sprawled on an invisible surface, dazed and confused. But after just a few moments, the top of the blue area began to disappear to reveal a blue sky with clouds that had faces. The blue area decreased, revealing more and more of their new surroundings, like a picture being loaded on a computer. After only a few seconds, they had a complete view of their new environment (by now, everyone had gotten back onto their feet).
gh.ffshrine.org/song/3501/61
They appeared to be in a courtyard, one that looked very familiar to Mario and some of the Hammer Bros. There were a couple of sparkling fountains, several trees dotted across it, and evenly cut grass dominating the hilly ground. There was, in front of them, a large white-and-red castle with three pointed towers, the one in the middle being the widest. On the top of this tower was a flag bearing a mushroom, the emblem of the Mushroom Kingdom. There was a small mote that encircled it, and a stone bridge that led to the front doors.
“It’s a-Princess Peach’s Castle!” Mario exclaimed in surprise.
“Yeah!” General Hammo agreed. But both his and everyone else’s eyes were wide in surprise. “Except everything’s, well…different.”
Indeed there was a very strange and distinct difference about everything in this Mushroom Kingdom. Except us, Mario noticed. It is hard to describe, but it was like the art style of a photo being changed on Photoshop (sketch, watercolor, etc.). It was that kind of different. Imagine the graphics of a colorful game such as Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga. Now take that overhead view, and try to see it from a ground perspective. This is what Mario and the others saw. It was as if someone had lowered the world’s resolution.
It took a couple minutes for everyone to get used to their strange environment, and then General Hammo bellowed, “Attention, troops!” There was a quick scramble, and then all of the helmet-clad Koopas were lined up perfectly straight and still, their hands saluting. The General went down the line, fixing positions and taking a quick count, but when he got down to the last Hammer Bro., he exclaimed, “What the flip…There are 53 of you! Troops, we have 3 imposters among us! Name off!”
“One!” A Hammer Bro. near the far end of the line took a step forward.
They went on until 19. After #18 stepped forward, no one else responded.
“Nineteen!” Hammo barked. “Name off now!” But there was no response.
“Oh, no!” Number 18 began shaking. He looked rapidly down the line to his left and right. “Dennis? Where are you?”
Immediately General Hammo marched over to #18 (Mario, Mr. Game and Watch, and the Ice Climbers were just watching from behind the general) and said, “What happened to Dennis?”
“W-well,” Number 18 stammered, “when we g-got sucked into th-that strange m-machine, Dennis tried to stroke himself away, but he collided into a giant button that said ‘POWER’ on it! T-then everything went white, and I didn’t see what happened to him! I just assumed he would come with us, but he’s g-gone!” (“How can they tell between themselves? They all look exactly the same from here!” Nana asked in a whispered voice. The others just shrugged their shoulders)
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Hammo said sadly. “But if #19 is gone, then who’s in his--AHA!” He was pointing at a Hammer Bro. near the end of the right side. But on taking a closer look, it was obvious that this one was different. The biggest reason was that he was between one and two feet taller than all the others, and his facial features seemed to be less dynamic than the others’. Also, now that he was being singled out, he was beginning to tremble just like #18, but of a different kind of fear. The fear of being discovered.
“Dang it! How could I have missed that?” The general scolded himself. “Imposter! Reveal yourself!”
The misfit looked left and right, and stuttered in a non-Hammer Bro-like hopeful voice, “I’m, er…a new recruit?”
But the imposter’s hope was dashed when Hammo charged forward and tackled him to the ground and tore off his head (or, rather, his mask) to reveal the masquerader’s identity.
“Luigi?!” Mario exclaimed, shocked like the rest. “Luigi! What are you a-doing here? You’re supposed to a-be in the Outer Islands!”
The general got off of Luigi, staring suspiciously at him. It was apparent that Luigi had found or stolen a Koopa shell and a mask to disguise himself as a Hammer Bro.
Luigi was sobbing. “I’m a-sorry, Mario! I just couldn’t a-miss another adventure! I was a-tired of being left out! Please let me a-stay!”
Luigi was kneeling before his older brother, begging and sobbing.
“Now, Mario--” General Hammo warned, but Mario cut him off.
“He a-might as well. We don’t a-know how to get a-back anyway. Come on, Luigi.” Mario helped Luigi stand up, and patted him on the back.
“Thanks Mario,” Luigi said gratefully.
“Wait,” said the general, still suspicious. “If #19 is gone, and you’re here, then…” He paused to count on his fingers for a few seconds. “…then there are still three more imposters among us! But how…”Hammo snapped his fingers. “I know! Troops, line up for a recital of ‘Bowser’s Battle Hymn!’ One, Two, Ready, GO!”
We are the loyal followers of Bowser our great King
Whose greatness can’t be matched in any place that can be seen
We’ll strive to help him rule in every land and everything
His Koops are marching on!
This was the first verse of a truly irritating and ridiculous song which, as could be guessed, went along to the melody of “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” The voices of the Hammer Bros. were surprisingly in tune and in unison; it was the laughable lyrics that ruined it. However, by the end of the third verse, Hammo appeared to know who the imposters were. He called off the singing. But just to make sure, he ordered another count-off, watching in particular three consecutive Hammer Bros. in the middle that appeared to look and react just like all the others. Finally, #50 had named off and stepped forward, leaving these three, who had not answered because of the fact that they did not have numbers.
“You three!” The General pointed at the imposters. “Reveal your true selves, or we will incapacitate you.”
www.sound-test.org/soundtracks/super-mario-bros/super-mario-sunshine/ (The Short-lived Kidnapping)
The phonies froze, staring at Hammo, Mario, Luigi, Mr. Game and Watch, and the Ice Climbers. Then suddenly, they turned and fled towards the castle.
“After them!” Hammo yelled, and the entire party, with the heroes and the general leading, pursued them.
The imposters threw open the front door and dashed inside, slamming it shut behind them right before the first of the pursuers reached it. Hammo flung it open, and then saw the three Hammer Bros. dashing up the staircase. With Mario and the general in the lead, they chased the surprisingly nimble intruders up the right side of the curved staircase leading to another door at the top.
As they rushed through these doors, they entered a large hallway famous for its long, large carpet and its ornately designed pillars. However, like the outside, the inside of the castle had that lower resolution that made everything look and feel so old-school.
At the far end of the hallway, in front of the next door was a Toad with a brown mustache standing next to a lacy pink baby carriage. He was startled by the sudden outbreak of noise and the dozens of foreign figures that appeared to be running straight towards him. He let out a cry and stood in front of the carriage with his arms defensively in front of him, a wailing now coming from the carriage.
The imposters seemed not to mind the idea of trampling innocent bystanders, as they showed no sign of slowing as they approached the panicking Toad and the baby carriage.
But when they were just yards away from colliding into them, something blurred and spinning shot out of the ground and knocked the fake Hammer Bros. backwards onto the floor, looking dazed.
gh.ffshrine.org/song/3501/21
Landing in front of them now were the two tiny figures who had popped out of the ground, each wielding a large metal hammer that looked much too heavy for them to be carrying. They were two infants, both in diapers; one had a red cap with an M on it, the other a green one with an L. The red one was holding up a single uncovered bean, oblivious to all the newcomers around him. This was apparently the prize they had been seeking underground. It was Baby Mario and Baby Luigi.
“Babies!” Mario and Luigi shouted in unison. They couldn’t resist leaping forward and embracing their long separated infant selves. The babies laughed and giggled as they were thrown up and down in the air. It had been too long.
“I hate to break up the reunion,” General Hammo said impatiently, “but these imposters need to be dealt with now!” But suddenly, the three grounded Hammer Bros. sprang back up, ran towards the right side, and…jumped out the window, shattering one of the pricy stained glass depictions of Princess Peach. Everyone who could fit crowded around the hole to see them fall directly through a hollow tree stump swirling and throbbing with watery white and blue swirling patterns.
“No! Don’t!” Popo held Hammo back from jumping in after them. “You never know what will happen!”
The young Toadsworth, with his infant Princess Peach, asked Mario what was going on, who explained to the best of his ability where they had come from and what they were trying to find.
“Hmm,” Toadsworth pondered. “I have heard of some sort of Power of Dimensions, but it does not exist in this world. Strange portals of the sort your enemies fell through appear occasionally, but no one who enters them ever returns. But it is so good to have you back, Masters Mario and Luigi! Let me offer you some supplies!” Young Toadsworth then proceeded to lead them to the castle shop, where Mario and Luigi filled up on every Bros. item they had ever used. Additionally, they each bought badges for themselves and the babies that allowed the Bros. items to never decrease after use.
“I suppose there’s no way to stop the young masters from joining you,” Toadsworth said as they were preparing to follow the imposters into the portal. “So I suppose I can only wish you the best of luck, and one final piece of advice: Dimensions are not the sort of things you want to mess with. If a single thing goes wrong, if a single atom is in the wrong position, the whole universe could be distorted horribly and do unimaginably horrible things. So do be careful! Good luck saving the future Princess! Farewell!” Toadsworth and the tiny Princess Peach waved as one by one, the party jumped into the swirling hole, with dimensional balance added onto their list of things to worry about.
gh.ffshrine.org/song/1314/23
On the other side of the courtyard, peering through a gap between two hedges, a seething figure cloaked in red observed this intriguing phenomenon. His strange helmet repaired, and his swirling glasses polished, Fawful whispered to himself, “So...[glow=red,2,300]Red[/glow] and [glow=green,2,300]Green[/glow] have returned. Now I shall spread my mustard of doom throughout the entire sandwich industry! Then…we shall see the finale of the most final finale! I HAVE FURY!!!”
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Inside Dimension Door: Mario, Mr. Game & Watch, Ice Climbers
Fourside City: Slippy Toad, Peppy Hare, Bowser, Yoshi, Young Link, Lanky Kong, Kirby, Fox, Ganondorf, Bomberman, Falco, Goombario, Banjo and Kazooie, Pit, Pichu, Tiny Kong, Dixie Kong, Professor E. Gadd
Messengers: Prince Peasley, Jigglypuff, Parakeet, Toad, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Meta Knight, Roy, Toadsworth, Luigi, Star Wolf, Rito Postman?
: The Shadow Sirens, Shadow
[glow=yellow,2,300]Trophy:[/glow] Pikachu, Princess Peach, Samus, Chunky Kong, Sonic, Wario, Waluigi, Captain Falcon
[glow=purple,2,300]Captive:[/glow] Marth, Ness, Goombella, Toadette, Princess Zelda
[glow=gray,2,300]DECEASED:[/glow] The Shadow Hand, Bottles, Orca
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So? How was Part 2?...
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{3} The Feathered Rats
www.imeem.com/perfect-blue/music/SprPe2E2/how_to_play_super_smash_bros_brawl/
The Training Dojo in Fourside City had been specially prepared to train both experienced and inexperienced fighters in the art of battle. Anyone who chose to enlist themselves in the Great Nintendo Army (as they called it) was taken to this place, and depending on their previous experience, was enrolled in the appropriate training program. There were six basic levels of skill: Very Easy, Easy, Normal, Hard, Very Hard, and Intense. Most everyone who had never fought before was placed in Very Easy; if they had fought in the Battle of Fourside, they started in at least Normal. The only ones allowed into the Intense difficulty were those who had a well-known history of fighting, and a longtime allegiance to good (those who had fought through the first ten chapters of this story to get there, for instance).
In each level, there were four modes of training to participate in. Each method took up a different branch in the dojo. The first, the simplest, was Sandbag Mode, where one practiced their attacks on one of Gadd’s Sandbags which were specially made to never break. They also worked on combo moves and throwing skills.
The second method was Platform Mode, where one began in an obstacle course that was generated to be unique for each character and difficulty. The goal was to land on each of ten special platforms which blinked red if they hadn’t been landed on, and turned green when they had been cleared.
The third mode was Target Test, in which an obstacle course was also generated to match each character and skill level. Ten targets, moving or rigid, were placed throughout the course, and one was challenged to destroy all ten targets in the fastest possible time.
The fourth branch was Melee Mode, which was where one could practice fighting other fighters of his/her skill level. Gadd had a special simulator that created a stage for them to fight on, which depended on the difficulty.
When one had mastered each area of training on their current difficulty (except Sandbag Mode, which was for pure practice), they were allowed to try the next skill level, and so on. There were currently hundreds of fighters participating, and progress was booming; Super Toad’s brother Bert T., for example, had excelled from Easy to Very Hard in just one week.
Professor E. Gadd was supervising from behind a glass wall the current Melee battle, which was a Normal fight between Dixie Kong and a Koopatrol. The Koopatrol was more aggressive and armored, while Dixie was nimble and speedy like Diddy. The simulated stage they were on resembled a simple platform with two smaller platforms above each side and a higher platform in the middle.
Then a door on one side of the spacious room opened, and two similar-looking people entered the branch and walked up to the professor.
“Professor, can we please --” Link began, but Gadd cut him off.
“No! I’ve already told you, you can’t go alone to Master Hand’s Fortress to try to save Zelda! You will most certainly fail, and I’m telling you again that we need you to go to Hyrule and rally troops!”
“But she’s in great danger, and we could try to save the other prisoners too!” Young Link whined.
Professor E. Gadd sighed, and said more calmly, “Look at these fighters.” They turned to face Dixie and the Koopatrol’s battle, which was still indecisive, but very active. “What are these fighters fighting for?”
“The safety of the Nintendo World from Master Hand’s oppression,” Link said reluctantly.
Gadd nodded. “Exactly! But what would happen if they went alone to Master Hand’s Fortress?”
“They’d lose! But we’re stronger --” Young Link was interrupted by Professor Gadd again.
“Irrelevant! The point is if you go alone you will have no one to support you, no one to watch your back, and it will be impossible for you to go there and escape because of your sheer lack of numbers compared to Master Hand’s legions! Besides, chances are Zelda is already --”
“Don’t say that!” Link shouted. “She’s too strong to be taken that quickly! They will save her for later, when the weaker prisoners have already been dealt with! We still have time! My younger self and I could still do it!”
Professor E. Gadd was getting impatient. He still had not managed to get his point across. “Take Mario as an example. His princess has been gone from the beginning, and yet he does not run off alone towards Master Hand’s room because he knows it is far too dangerous and his skills are needed here. He is now part of a party in another dimension searching for a lost power source. And what have you two been doing? Spending your time trying to convince me to let you leave and mourning yourselves to death over Zelda’s loss! If you two don’t go to Hyrule, who else do I have to send? Ganondorf?” This idea got a laugh out of all of them: Ganondorf, going to Hyrule to ask for their troops to follow him. “Besides,” Gadd continued, “the only way we will be able to save Zelda is to defeat Master Hand and Crazy Hand and their armies, and that CANNOT be done alone! Do you understand?”
Link and Young Link stared at the ground longingly for several seconds, and then Link nodded slowly; Young Link followed his lead.
Professor Gadd smiled. “Good! Now go! You can take one of my Poltergust 3000’s in the garage. Choose whichever color you prefer, but don’t take the prototype; that one is prone to start out in the wrong direction. Good luck!” The professor shooed them away, and got back to watching the battle before he remembered something. It’s time to see what has happened to the underground headquarters, he thought, and called for Banjo and Kazooie.
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gh.ffshrine.org/song/402/27
Mario and the others found themselves back in the strange astronomic environment they had been in before. As before, the giant replicas of the Nintendo systems rotated slowly, and all around them echoed bizarre beeps and rings originating from these systems.
As they expected, the three Hammer Bros. were nowhere to be seen. They spent several moments looking around, trying to find a sign of where the sneaks might have gone.
Suddenly they all felt a strange wave coming from a certain direction. It was hard to describe; they couldn’t physically feel it, but it was more of a mental wave, passing through all of them. It was like a disturbance in the water causing ripples that can only be felt by the instinct one has when he senses something he can’t see or feel. And it was clear the disturbance had come from the enormous SNES.
General Hammo looked inquiringly at Mario, who gave an approving nod while piggybacking his younger self, and the General started floating purposefully towards the SNES. Mr. Game & Watch, noticing this, began leaping towards the old system as well. Hammo was seconds away from touching it when Mr. Game & Watch landed on the General’s red helmet, and pushed off of it, propelling himself into the SNES, into which he disappeared. The others felt a familiar force pulling them towards the system, but this time they did not resist, knowing that no harm would come to them…unless…
“Number 18! Stay away from that Power Button!” Hammo cried, but #18 simply yelled, “DENNIS!!!” as he dove into the purple Power switch. Unlike the others, however, his screaming figure turned white, then suddenly disappeared with a flash and a line of white light, like a TV shutting off, his scream still echoing among the peculiar sounds. This was the last thing any of them saw before disappearing into the SNES, with #50 bringing up the rear…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
gh.ffshrine.org/song/5356/57
Fear and apprehension flowed through Professor E. Gadd, Banjo, and Kazooie as they traveled back down the dark tunnel towards the place which they had thought up until now had been a safe place. They could see the path through the dirty and rocky ground where Orca had dragged himself painfully towards the end. As they approached the cavern headquarters, they could hear no sound, no familiar talking and laughing which they had become accustomed to hearing.
Finally, the entrance was in front of them, but there was only darkness beyond. They could see using Gadd’s last remaining Lightatron R.O.B.
“Quiet,” The professor whispered to Banjo & Kazooie. He signaled for them to stealthily enter the headquarters. E. Gadd pointed at the wall directly to their right so the R.O.B. would shine on it. “There’s the light switch. I wonder if it still works…” He then stepped forward and switched it on.
About one-third of the ceiling lights turned on; the others were broken and shattered on the ground. Because of this, there were lots of areas and corners hidden in darkness. The spacious room revealed itself to be geologically the same as always. However, the place was otherwise in ruins. In addition to the lights, all of the tables, chairs, and various shelves, dishes, and papers were scattered about. Tables and chairs were broken or laying on their sides. Loose papers, shards of glass, and splinters of wood covered the ground and other surfaces. In place of where the small stage and podium had been where Bottles had always given announcements was a mass of splintered wood. The one good thing was that there was little or no blood in view, and no bodies could be seen. It was completely silent.
Professor E. Gadd, Banjo, and Kazooie were too devastated to move. Despite their knowledge of what was coming, it was still a huge shock to see years of work and ideas trashed just like that.
After about a minute, Gadd finally recomposed himself and spoke, “Alright. Let’s search for these three survivors. I think we can assume they are here if anywhere, because we would have seen them coming down the tunnel, and they would be fools to leave the other way…”
As the professor looked around, he saw a large scorched area, most likely compliments of Metal Bowser. And as he lifted up some wood, he realized that there actually were numerous bodies buried in the ruins. None of them could he recognize by name, but he felt a deep grief for each life that had been lost, and wondered what percentage of them had been captured instead of killed.
Banjo & Kazooie decided to search the opposite side of Gadd, which was the west side. They too discovered that many Resistance members had been killed, but they noticed that there was hardly any blood at all; the bodies were brutally bruised or broken. Finally, they reached a dark area behind a natural pillar. They saw nothing, but then…
gh.ffshrine.org/song/5356/35
“Hey Banjo, do you hear that scuttling noise?” Kazooie was pointing towards the dark area with her wing.
“Yeah, I do, Kazooie…but what is it?...” Banjo began lifting up objects in the dark area, but then felt something alive move across his hand. “Yeargghh!!! What was that??!!” Banjo quickly pulled his hand back.
Kazooie stared harder at the spot, but couldn’t make anything out. “It’s no good, I can’t see…HEY PROFESSOR, GET OVER HERE!”
“Yes?” E. Gadd stumbled quickly over the broken objects to where they were.
Banjo asked, “Could we get light on that spot right there?”
The professor pointed at the dark area, and the R.O.B.’s two jets of bright fluorescent light turned to point at it. It revealed the spot to be littered with splinters and such like the rest of the headquarters, but sitting on top of it were two large mice.
“Oh,” Kazooie sighed disappointedly. “Just stupid mice.”
“Wait,” Professor E. Gadd said. “Those aren’t any ordinary mice…” Then Kazooie noticed that both mice had tiny red feathers sticking out of their heads, one with three feathers and the other with one feather. But suddenly the mice darted forward and behind them. “Get them!” Gadd shouted.
The three of them pursued the two zooming mice as they made for the entrance to the tunnel. Finally the mice reached the entrance, but stopped and turned to face them. Gadd, Banjo, and Kazooie stopped in front of the mice.
And before their eyes, the two mice transformed into much larger forms, the feathers still sticking up from their heads.
It was Mumbo Jumbo and Humba Wumba.
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Inside Dimension Door: Mario, Mr. Game & Watch, Ice Climbers
Old Headquarters:Professor E. Gadd, Banjo and Kazooie, Mumbo Jumbo, Humba Wumba
Fourside City: Slippy Toad, Peppy Hare, Bowser, Yoshi, Young Link, Lanky Kong, Kirby, Fox, Ganondorf, Bomberman, Falco, Goombario, Pit, Pichu, Tiny Kong, Dixie Kong
Messengers: Prince Peasley, Jigglypuff, Parakeet, Toad, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Meta Knight, Roy, Toadsworth, Luigi, Star Wolf, Rito Postman?
: The Shadow Sirens, Shadow
[glow=yellow,2,300]Trophy:[/glow] Pikachu, Princess Peach, Samus, Chunky Kong, Sonic, Wario, Waluigi, Captain Falcon
[glow=purple,2,300]Captive:[/glow] Marth, Ness, Goombella, Toadette, Princess Zelda
[glow=gray,2,300]DECEASED:[/glow] The Shadow Hand, Bottles, Orca
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And there's part 3...I'm estimating 7 or 8 just for this chapter.
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{4} The Dimension Conflux
www.imeem.com/groups/xL-8C3KT/music/4uir9cRd/nintendo_mario_kart_ds_waluigi_pinball/
“Watch out for those a-falling a-viruses!” Mario warned.
The world they were now in was even simpler than the last one. Now it was completely 2-D, including the newcomers. It was very strange because they had a sort of almost third-person view where they could see their own flat shapes as well as others. Mario, Luigi, the Babies, the Ice Climbers, and Mr. Game and Watch happened to be enclosed in two separate groups within two huge rectangles against a blank white background. Because of their rather limited perspective, they could not see outside the boxes. From the top of the boxes, red, yellow, and blue-colored viruses were falling every few seconds, their faces distorted in expressions of mischief, insanity, and creepiness. Once they landed, the viruses began moving towards the boxed in characters, hopping and cackling mischievously.
The Ice Climbers and Mr. Game & Watch stood back-to-back facing away from each other. As each Virus fell down, either Mr. Game & Watch destroyed it with his black flame, or the Ice Climbers eliminated it with their hammers. Meanwhile in the other box, Mario and Baby Mario as well as Luigi and Baby Luigi worked in pairs to defeat the viruses.
Popo had a thought. “Where are the Hammer Bros?” Nana shrugged, and used a spinning technique with her hammer to slam a yellow virus into the side of the box and flatten it.
Suddenly, the boxes and viruses disappeared, and the newcomers were left in complete whiteness.
“Wha…?” Luigi and Baby Luigi blurted out simultaneously.
They turned left and right, confused and lost. Then, about five seconds later, a whole swarm of viruses fighting the Hammer Bros. popped up out of nowhere.
“Mama-mia!” Mario and Baby Mario cried out at once.
But there was nothing for it but to join the fight. The viruses, although small, were very pesky and nimble, and had already weakened many of the Hammer Bros. The fight went on for what seemed like hours, and the viruses seemed to be replenishing themselves innumerably. Then Luigi had an idea.
“Mario!” he shouted. “It’s-a Copy Flower time!”
Mario nodded in agreement, and Mario and Luigi simultaneously threw Copy Flowers in front of them, and from the Copy Flowers appeared hundreds of Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi copies that began bulldozing over the swarms of viruses. Within a matter of minutes, there was only one of each color of virus left, and they seemed to have used up their ability to multiply. The viruses were encircled by the copies, the Hammer Bros, the Ice Climbers, and Mr. Game & Watch.
The viruses seemed to converse quietly for a couple seconds. Then the red virus screamed manically, “Self-destruct! Self-destruct!” The three viruses leaped into the air, and began glowing white.
There was a scramble as all the Hammer Bros. and copies panicked and began running away. But just when shafts of light were beginning to come from the three lone viruses, three megavitamins fell from above and collided with each virus. They all stopped glowing, landed on the ground, groaned, and disappeared with a pop.
gh.ffshrine.org/song/402/37
Seeing as the danger was gone, all of the copies disappeared, revealing a lone figure in the middle of the blank space where the viruses had been. Mario, Luigi, the babies, the Hammer Bros (minus two which had been lost to the viruses, now numbering 47 including the General), the Ice Climbers, and Mr. Game & Watch turned to see who it was, and all of the Melee participants gasped.
“Dr. Mario!” Mario said, surprised. “It’s a-you! Do you live a-here?”
Indeed, it was Dr. Mario, the exact form of Mario except with a white doctor’s outfit and the circular object strapped to his head in place of the red hat. He had the same voice as Mario too, of course.
Dr. Mario walked towards them. “Yes, I a-do. But I do not always stay a-here. You were a-lucky that I a-happened to just get a-back…” Dr. Mario had been present at many of the SSBM tournaments, but no one really knew where he came from or how he got there. And Mario was especially curious to meet himself.
“Can you a-help us find the…er…Power of the Dimensions?” Luigi asked.
Dr. Mario raised his eyebrows. “Is that a-what you a-seek? But a-why have you a-come such a long a-way for it?”
In about ten minutes, Mario summarized everything that had occurred in the Nintendo World since the last SSBM tournament had ended.
Dr. Mario stood there deep in thought, his hand on his chin. “Hmm. I have missed a lot, haven’t I? So you a-need the Power of the Dimensions to defeat Master Hand! Well, I a-guess I a-need to get out of the Dimension Conflux more often. I a-think I will be a-helping you.” The others were glad, but looked confused. “Oh! That’s a-right! You don’t a-know what the Dimension Conflux is! Well, it’s a-basically the world beyond the Dimension Door. It’s a-made up of every dimension which no longer exists, including my a-world. I a-happen to be the Overseer of this Conflux, and I spend my a-time making a-sure all the other dimensions are in order. I a-happened to have just gotten a-back from ‘Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland.’ The first Kirby was babbling about a-some enemy mix-up that occurred some a-years ago…but anyways, back to the Power of the Dimensions.”
“Now, the Power of the Dimensions is not a single object. There are actually five a-parts that a-make it up. One of them I have a-with me. Two of them are in ‘Super Mario Bros.’ for the NES. One is in ‘Paper Mario’, and the last a-one…I do not know of. It is a-said that the one who a-has all five components is unstoppable,” The doctor finished.
General Hammo was brimming with curiosity. “So let’s see this part that you have, then! What does it do?”
Dr. Mario reached into a pocket of his white coat and brought out a remote-like object with a glass covering over the top. Beneath the glass was a large green button, with two arrows moving in a counterclockwise circle on it.
“This,” the doctor explained, “is the Reset Button. But it’s not just any reset button that a-lets you start a game over; this Reset Button, if pressed, will cause the flow of time in whatever world it is in to back up exactly 13 a-seconds. It has never been a-used before, and it is said that once it is a-used, it will cease to a-work.”
“But why 13 sec-onds?” Mr. Game & Watch asked.
“I don’t a-know…it must have seemed like a good number to choose at the time.”
“Alright,” Nana said, “so we need to collect these components so we can use them to stop Master Hand! Let’s go!”
“Wait, I’m not quite a-finished.” Dr. Mario held up his right index finger. “There is one more important thing. The one thing in the Dimension Conflux you must NEVER do is a-leave something in a world that doesn’t belong in that a-world, or move something from one world to another. This will upset the time continuum, and could a-cause anything to happen, more likely than not disastrous. Now, since I am the Overseer, I have the power to a-travel between worlds at my desire in a much more convenient a-way. So I will a-lead you to find the parts which I a-know of; but as for the last a-part, I will be of no help. To Super Mario Bros. NES first, I suggest?”
“Let’s a-go!” Mario agreed.
Dr. Mario proceeded to take out a red and yellow megavitamin and throw it at the empty space in front of him. The megavitamin created a miniature explosion, and seemed to slowly dissolve the whiteness to reveal a very pixilated world with a plain blue sky and brick ground. The dissolved area grew larger until it was big enough for everyone in the large group to fit through, and, with Dr. Mario leading, they entered the artificial rip in the world of Dr. Mario, and came out in the historic world of Super Mario Bros.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
gh.ffshrine.org/song/5355/90
Professor E. Gadd, Banjo, and Kazooie stared in bewilderment at Mumbo Jumbo and Humba Wumba standing before them. Then, finally, the professor recomposed himself enough to speak.
“How…er…when…er…what happened?”
Mumbo looked out at the destroyed headquarters, tapping his skull-tipped staff in his left hand, and then looked at E. Gadd. “It long story. We here thinking of way to get into fortress, then Wire Frames suddenly burst into room with Metal Bowser and Peach. They destroy everything, kill many, and take many prisoner. I turn Humba and me into mice so we escape. Knock-off Indian shaman ungrateful, but…”
Humba folded her arms and turned away from Mumbo in a huff. Then she began where Mumbo left off in a similar accent but a higher voice, still looking away. “We think they turn prisoners into trophies. Big heap Metal Bowser kill many. We only remaining except shirtless warrior Orca and walking yellow ball Pac-man. Orca go down tunnel to city, but stupid Pac-man go after army to save prisoners. He probably no come back.”
At the mention of Metal Bowser, E. Gadd was reminded of his conversation with the real Bowser a little while back. He recalled himself saying, “We’ll have to see some kind of philosopher about that...” Perhaps a shaman would have an answer…He decided to chance it.
“What do you know of the Original 25?”
Mumbo and Humba gasped. Humba said, “We know all about Original 25. They be Master Hand’s chosen and only bane.”
“Wait,” Kazooie said, who for once was paying close attention to the discussion. “Are you saying that the Original 25 are the only ones who can defeat Master Hand, who hand-picked them himself? No pun intended?”
“Yes,” Mumbo answered. “Master Hand create smash tournaments, and chose 25 fighters to participate. In so doing, he unintentionally selected the ones who can kill him. But, unless they all fight against him together, he still be invincible.”
“Unfortunately,” Humba continued, “he find out this secret, and now wants them out of his way by turning into trophies. He no kill them unless he have to.”
“Well,” Banjo said, “we’ve seen just about all of the Original 25 around here, haven’t we?”
“Regrettably, no,” Gadd said. “Several of them were taken to Master Hand’s fortress about two months ago. We know now for a fact that Pikachu, Princess Peach, Samus, and Captain Falcon of the Original 25 are now trophies. Ness, Marth, and Zelda remain Master Hand’s captives. Several others are now scattered across the Nintendo World and beyond seeking warriors to aid our cause. This leaves only two of which we do not know the whereabouts of: Dr. Mario and Mewtwo.”
Mumbo responded, “Me think Dr. Mario live in another dimension. He cannot be from here because Mario here also.”
E. Gadd nodded. “Perhaps Mario’s company will come across him. Which leaves the captured ones and Mewtwo to us…anyone know where Mewtwo lives?”
“Pichu-Pi!”
“Puff!”
The five characters turned around to see Pichu and Jigglypuff in the entrance of the tunnel leading to the city. Both of them had said simultaneously, “We do!”
Professor E. Gadd was delighted. “Great! Now that you’re here, may I ask you to go find Mewtwo and convince him to support our cause?”
Jigglypuff and Pichu looked at each other uncertainly, and then nodded to Gadd, Jigglypuff saying, “Puff, Jigglypuff puff,” which meant something along the lines of, “We’re not sure, but we can try; our trainer has had dealings with Mewtwo before…”
“Superb. Feel free to use either my Eleportationizer 1.0 or a Poltergust 3000 in the garage,” E. Gadd said.
“Pichu Pichu,” Pichu said decidedly, which meant, “Mewtwo’s location is so discreet that I don’t think your Eleportationizer will work, so we’ll take the Poltergust with the Pokeball designs on it…I call driving!” Pichu began rushing back along the passage without another word.
“Puff!” Jigglypuff said, which meant, “Oh, no you don’t!” Jigglypuff began spinning, and used Rollout to chase after Pichu.
The professor sighed pleasantly. “It’s good to have such loyal Pokemon on our side…but what shall we do about the others?”
“Perhaps Pac-man will come through with Marth and Ness.” But none of the ones who were there had said it.
They were obliged to turn around again to face the tunnel leading to the tabletop surface where the voice had come from.
“Pac-man, you’re back!” E. Gadd said ecstatically. “And you’ve brought--"
“--Marth and Ness, yes,” Pac-man said with a huge grin on his face. “I didn’t see Zelda, though…” Beside him stood, as Pac-man said, Marth and Ness. They both looked very shaken and weary, but they seemed alright otherwise.
“Now,” Gadd said, looking thoroughly pleased, “all that is left for us is to prepare.”
“For what?” Humba asked.
“For the war, of course,” Gadd replied.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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Dimension Conflux (Dr. Mario, Nintendo 64): Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Mr. Game & Watch, Ice Climbers, Dr. Mario, 3 Imposters
Old Headquarters:Professor E. Gadd, Banjo and Kazooie, Mumbo Jumbo, Humba Wumba, Marth, Ness, Pacman
In Search of Mewtwo: Pichu, Jigglypuff
Fourside City: Bowser, Yoshi, Young Link, Lanky Kong, Kirby, Ganondorf, Bomberman, Goombario, Pit, Tiny Kong, Dixie Kong
Messengers: Prince Peasley, Parakeet, Toad, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Meta Knight, Roy, Toadsworth, Star Wolf, Fox, Falco, Slippy, Peppy, Rito Postman?
: The Shadow Sirens, Shadow
[glow=yellow,2,300]Trophy:[/glow] Pikachu, Princess Peach, Samus, Chunky Kong, Sonic, Wario, Waluigi, Captain Falcon
[glow=purple,2,300]Captive:[/glow] Goombella, Toadette, Princess Zelda
[glow=gray,2,300]DECEASED:[/glow] The Shadow Hand, Bottles, Orca
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Chapter 12: The Shamans and the Sneaks
{1} A Strange New Dimension
E. Gadd’s laboratory looked perfectly untouched because of the strength of the specially designed steel walls and the flat pewter rooftop. A couple lightning bolts and a downpour of acidic rain weren’t enough to damage, dent, or scratch it in the slightest. Therefore, it was fairly safe to say that a conversation on the roof couldn’t be overheard or accessed without an excessive amount of effort on the eavesdropper’s part. Of course inside would be even safer, but E. Gadd felt too busy to waste time plugging in security codes and verifying voice identifiers, so the Koopa Clown Car landed on the rooftop, and Bowser and the professor stepped off onto the solid metal surface, then stood across from each other so they could speak.
“So,” E. Gadd said hurriedly, “what did Pichu hear at the tournament that’s so important?”
“Well, er…” Bowser wasn’t sure where to start. But then he decided to first repeat the conversation between Sonic and Shadow. He told of how Shadow revealed himself to be a servant of Master Hand, and how he had helped plan the terrible trap that was the tournament. He described how Shadow had escaped from the Microsoft world, and how the black and red hedgehog had revealed Master Hand’s plan to transform the finalists into trophies. “and the Original 25, whatever that is,” Bowser finished.
“Hmmm,” Gadd pondered. “So there have been breaches of the Microsoft World. Very interesting. And the tournament was a plot to add to Master Hand’s vain life-sized trophy collection. And he is specifically after the Original 25. Very interesting.”
“But professor, what exactly is the Original 25?” Bowser looked confused.
“ Well, the definition is simple: the Original 25 are the 25 characters that were invited to compete in Master Hand’s Melee Tournaments which, as far as we know, were created for his own amusement. Some were not invited at first, but for some reason Master Hand decided to add to the list later on. No one refused because of the temptation of proving themselves greater than the others. As one of them, you know many of these tournaments took place, with mainly the same competitors, but they mysteriously stopped six years ago, when Master Hand began to think about world conquest. But as for the depth of its meaning, I am not an expert on that. We’ll have to see some sort of philosopher about that. Is that all, Bowser, or is there more?”
Bowser grinned. “Oh, there most certainly is!” Bowser went on to repeat the words spoken during the final match between Sonic and the Shadow Queen. He expounded to Gadd how the Shadow Queen had revealed herself to be another servant of Master Hand, and how she claimed to be a fused form of both a Floormaster and the Shadow Queen. He stopped for a few seconds, then said, “Oh yeah, and the name of the professor who created it, and who serves Master Hand, was Professor U. Reeka.”
“NOOOOO!!!” Professor E. Gadd shouted, looking crazed. And then he seemed to calm down. “Sorry about that. I was just in denial that he could have returned, but…the truth is the truth, I suppose.”
“Wait a minute.” Bowser looked confused again. “You mean you actually know this U. Reeka person?”
E. Gadd sighed. “Well, it’s a long, long story.”
“Hey, I’ve just told you my story. Now it’s your turn.”
Gadd sighed again. “Very well. But the responsibility will fall upon you to tell others if they wish to know also. I was born in a mansion in the depths of the Spooky Forest…”
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gh.ffshrine.org/song/402/27
At first Mario had thought that they were dead. The step into the light seemed to have numbed their senses for several seconds. And then, in place of the blinding whiteness, was a plain, bright, almost dull blue. It essentially looked just like a plain cheesy blue background, the color not varying in the slightest all around him. And then Mario noticed that he was floating.
The other 53 figures were doing the same nearby. Everyone was just drifting slowly through the air, like outer space, except with no details to define where they were. Some of the Hammer Bros. began to laugh and do acrobatics in midair (or whatever it was), flipping and stroking through the space like water.
But then things began to change. They couldn’t tell for sure which direction was which, but from below most of the characters, a light purplish tinge began to spread upwards around them. And after about half of the space was purple, the bottom began to change again to reveal glittering stars and streaks of beautiful red, dark purple, and deep blue colors, giving them a more reassuring sense of existence. The plain blue and light purple areas grew smaller and smaller overhead until they were completely gone.
And they only had a few seconds to take in their extraordinary surroundings when several massive shimmering objects appeared a short distance from the group on all sides. They shimmered more and more slowly until they stopped moving. It took Mario and the others several seconds to realize what these shapes were.
They were the giant devices that were so well known to be among the strange objects in Master Hand’s room. However, usually there were two to four plugged-in objects with buttons and analog sticks all over them on one side, and usually there was a giant cartridge with some Nintendo-related picture on it inserted in the giant slots on the top. Some were more square and simplistic, while some were rounded, and a couple of them were vertical and had an enormous screen on the front (one even had two screens).
In case you hadn’t already guessed, these were what we know as Nintendo gaming systems, and in this instance every system up to the Nintendo DS was present in a massive form, each rotating slowly. To the Nintendo World, these were mysterious machines used occasionally by Master Hand and Crazy Hand for their own entertainment. There were rumors that these devices served as systems by which Master Hand and Crazy Hand, looking on the television or the screen, controlled digitally animated figures that resembled characters in the Nintendo World.
Even stranger, or even creepier, was the fact that all around them echoed strange sounds that we know are made by these systems, such as beeps, whirs, and buzzes. But these sounds were not coming directly from the floating systems, rather from random directions, which disconcerted many of the Hammer Bros.
After several moments of floating and turning around wildly, Mr. Game and Watch drew up some resolve and began stroking openly towards the one he recognized the best: the Game and Watch.
“Wait, STOP! You don’t know what will happen!” General Hammo panicked as he noticed what Mr. Game and Watch was doing. But the 2-D silhouette paid no heed to the general; he just continued to approach his old home, calmly and intently.
“I SAID STOP!!!” The general was so infuriated and frightened that he actually threw a hammer at Mr. Game and Watch. However, because of their environment, it moved extremely slowly, rotating forward as it moved. Mr. Game & Watch saw the hammer, and dived away to avoid it, but now the hammer had nowhere to stop; it kept moving at the same angle in the same direction, which happened to be directly towards the Nintendo DS.
“NOOOOOO!!!!!” Hammo dived towards his straying hammer in vain, crashing into Mr. Game & Watch as the hammer came into contact with the touch screen. It simply disappeared into it.
Then the DS’s power seemed to turn on, and the DS logo was displayed on the top screen with the well-known sound to accompany it playing at an almost deafening volume. The touch screen turned extremely bright, with all substance and matter and air being pulled into it like a vacuum, and all 53 explorers began to be rapidly sucked towards the DS. Screams were heard as the first to disappear into the DS, Hammo and Mr. Game & Watch, vanished completely. The starry background rotated faster and faster as Mario, the Ice Climbers, and the rest were pulled into the silver machine, and once again, everything was enveloped in whiteness.
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Character Locations
Inside Dimension Door: Mario, Mr. Game & Watch, Ice Climbers
Fourside City: Slippy Toad, Peppy Hare, Bowser, Yoshi, Young Link, Lanky Kong, Kirby, Fox, Ganondorf, Bomberman, Falco, Goombario, Banjo and Kazooie, Pit, Pichu, Tiny Kong, Dixie Kong, Professor E. Gadd
Messengers: Prince Peasley, Jigglypuff, Parakeet, Toad, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Meta Knight, Roy, Toadsworth, Luigi, Star Wolf, Rito Postman?
: The Shadow Sirens, Shadow[glow=yellow,2,300]Trophy:[/glow] Pikachu, Princess Peach, Samus, Chunky Kong, Sonic, Wario, Waluigi, Captain Falcon[glow=purple,2,300]Captive:[/glow] Marth, Ness, Goombella, Toadette, Princess Zelda
[glow=gray,2,300]DECEASED:[/glow] The Shadow Hand, Bottles, Orca
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Hmmm...Twilight made me come to realize that this chapter will have a whole lot of Mario stuff in it...but oh well, everyone loves Mario!
This one will also be the longest, the strangest, and possibly most boring, depending on how much you enjoy reading about things happening in 2-D...
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{2} The Tragic History of Professor Elvin Gadd
www.imeem.com/evilcucumber/music/NmfpREru/nintendo_luigis_mansion_medley_luigis_mansion/
“But back then, the Spooky Forest was not spooky at all; it was known as the eloquent, beautiful, colorful Woods of Serenity. I lived in a large mansion in the middle of the northern region with my wealthy parents. I used my money to invent the first of my wondrous inventions, such as the very first R.O.B. model and edible silverware.
“I had an uncle called Miles Reeka who lived not too far away in the woods, but he was poor and lived in a small filthy shack with his only son. Countless times my parents offered to bring him out of poverty with no payback necessary, but Miles was too prideful, and always refused, insisting that he didn’t need his spoiled brother’s help.
“As time went on, I went to school all the way in Fourside City with Miles’s son; by that time I had made my first hovercraft, so I was able to secretly pick him up each day without his father’s knowledge, who supposed that there was some random school in the middle of the woods that his son went to instead.
“My cousin, who I just called Reeka, turned out to be equally ingenious. At the very beginning we saw this similarity as a reason for friendship, but very soon that short friendship turned into a heated rivalry. No one else was even close to our level of ingenuity, so at every science fair, for every school assignment, project, or test, the rest of our class enjoyed the daily displays of the intense and well-matched rivalry between Gadd and Reeka. It was in high school where everything went wrong.
“You see, as we matured, the nature of our inventions and projects began to clearly differentiate. While I invented a device that allowed wood lice to speak English, Reeka invented a stimulant to make them go into a rage and eat anything they touched. While I discovered the formula to turn water into chocolate milk, he changed it into deadly acid. People began to see me as the beneficiate of the Nintendo World, and Reeka as a dangerous warmonger. Neither of us was favored more than the other by the crowd as a whole, but two separate parties supporting each inventor were formed, often criticizing and mocking the other group.
“One dreadful day, our teacher paired us up and assigned us to create a model of Death Mountain. As luck would have it, Reeka and I were forced to work as a team. While others gathered vinegar and baking soda and brown construction paper, we argued for hours on end on the way we should make our model. I wanted to make it spew out fireworks, but he wanted to make it spurt out actual lava. ‘The more realistic, the better!’ he claimed. We ended up building two separate volcanoes, such was the height of our disagreement and growing dislike. I built mine like the others, just much more authentic-looking and detailed. As for his… well, I’ll tell you.
“After displaying my fireworks, Reeka invited the class on a short field trip to a rock quarry just outside our woods. In the middle of a large ring of rocks, his volcano towered to at least half the height of the Fourside Skyscraper. Reeka explained how he had actually drilled through the ground and created an actual volcano, and had then shaped precisely all the rock formations of Death Mountain. He then said he was going to test his experiment when I intervened. I told him that it was far to dangerous to create such a lava flow so close to the woods, and that he mustn’t do it. He wouldn’t listen, so I tackled him to the ground before he could activate the controls. He responded by smacking me terribly hard with his Iron-Fist glove. This blow sent me rapidly into the control panel on the volcano, and the force of my body’s hit caused the volcano to malfunction.
“The ground began to rumble. Reeka couldn’t control anything because of the damage, and said, ‘you idiot!’ Our class screamed as an enormous jet of lava spurted out of the top of the Death Mountain replica. Because of the malfunctioning, it was tilted at an angle, one that, while not hitting any towns or our class, sent the lava pouring onto our dear forest.
“The fiery destruction caused by that incident not only destroyed the entire forest, but burnt down both my house and Reeka’s, killing my parents and his father. Reeka blamed me for the tragedy, yelling that I should not interfere with his experiments, and threatening that the next experiment he made would be aimed towards my demise. He then disappeared for many years.
“However, one day, the daily news reported that his dead body had supposively been found on Mountain #32, the coldest mountain in the world, where he had built a laboratory to conduct all manner of sinister experiments. I never heard of or saw my cousin again.” Professor E. Gadd finally finished.
“Until now,” Bowser added. “What was his first name, anyway?”
“His first name?” Professor looked like he was still in heavy flashback mode, but then he suddenly snapped out of it. “Oh, that doesn’t matter. What’s important is that you know that Professor U. Reeka, my only cousin and my greatest enemy, has somehow survived, and is now wreaking havoc with his terrifying mind under the direct order of Master Hand.”
“Wow.” Bowser yawned. “That was long. And slightly sad. Well, thanks for the story and all, but I need to be getting back to my castle. Where do you want me to drop you off?”
Slightly sad? Gadd thought solemnly. But he didn’t say it aloud. “At the Training Dojo, if you don’t mind.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once again, they found themselves in a plain blue environment. This time, however, they were not floating, but were sprawled on an invisible surface, dazed and confused. But after just a few moments, the top of the blue area began to disappear to reveal a blue sky with clouds that had faces. The blue area decreased, revealing more and more of their new surroundings, like a picture being loaded on a computer. After only a few seconds, they had a complete view of their new environment (by now, everyone had gotten back onto their feet).
gh.ffshrine.org/song/3501/61
They appeared to be in a courtyard, one that looked very familiar to Mario and some of the Hammer Bros. There were a couple of sparkling fountains, several trees dotted across it, and evenly cut grass dominating the hilly ground. There was, in front of them, a large white-and-red castle with three pointed towers, the one in the middle being the widest. On the top of this tower was a flag bearing a mushroom, the emblem of the Mushroom Kingdom. There was a small mote that encircled it, and a stone bridge that led to the front doors.
“It’s a-Princess Peach’s Castle!” Mario exclaimed in surprise.
“Yeah!” General Hammo agreed. But both his and everyone else’s eyes were wide in surprise. “Except everything’s, well…different.”
Indeed there was a very strange and distinct difference about everything in this Mushroom Kingdom. Except us, Mario noticed. It is hard to describe, but it was like the art style of a photo being changed on Photoshop (sketch, watercolor, etc.). It was that kind of different. Imagine the graphics of a colorful game such as Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga. Now take that overhead view, and try to see it from a ground perspective. This is what Mario and the others saw. It was as if someone had lowered the world’s resolution.
It took a couple minutes for everyone to get used to their strange environment, and then General Hammo bellowed, “Attention, troops!” There was a quick scramble, and then all of the helmet-clad Koopas were lined up perfectly straight and still, their hands saluting. The General went down the line, fixing positions and taking a quick count, but when he got down to the last Hammer Bro., he exclaimed, “What the flip…There are 53 of you! Troops, we have 3 imposters among us! Name off!”
“One!” A Hammer Bro. near the far end of the line took a step forward.
They went on until 19. After #18 stepped forward, no one else responded.
“Nineteen!” Hammo barked. “Name off now!” But there was no response.
“Oh, no!” Number 18 began shaking. He looked rapidly down the line to his left and right. “Dennis? Where are you?”
Immediately General Hammo marched over to #18 (Mario, Mr. Game and Watch, and the Ice Climbers were just watching from behind the general) and said, “What happened to Dennis?”
“W-well,” Number 18 stammered, “when we g-got sucked into th-that strange m-machine, Dennis tried to stroke himself away, but he collided into a giant button that said ‘POWER’ on it! T-then everything went white, and I didn’t see what happened to him! I just assumed he would come with us, but he’s g-gone!” (“How can they tell between themselves? They all look exactly the same from here!” Nana asked in a whispered voice. The others just shrugged their shoulders)
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Hammo said sadly. “But if #19 is gone, then who’s in his--AHA!” He was pointing at a Hammer Bro. near the end of the right side. But on taking a closer look, it was obvious that this one was different. The biggest reason was that he was between one and two feet taller than all the others, and his facial features seemed to be less dynamic than the others’. Also, now that he was being singled out, he was beginning to tremble just like #18, but of a different kind of fear. The fear of being discovered.
“Dang it! How could I have missed that?” The general scolded himself. “Imposter! Reveal yourself!”
The misfit looked left and right, and stuttered in a non-Hammer Bro-like hopeful voice, “I’m, er…a new recruit?”
But the imposter’s hope was dashed when Hammo charged forward and tackled him to the ground and tore off his head (or, rather, his mask) to reveal the masquerader’s identity.
“Luigi?!” Mario exclaimed, shocked like the rest. “Luigi! What are you a-doing here? You’re supposed to a-be in the Outer Islands!”
The general got off of Luigi, staring suspiciously at him. It was apparent that Luigi had found or stolen a Koopa shell and a mask to disguise himself as a Hammer Bro.
Luigi was sobbing. “I’m a-sorry, Mario! I just couldn’t a-miss another adventure! I was a-tired of being left out! Please let me a-stay!”
Luigi was kneeling before his older brother, begging and sobbing.
“Now, Mario--” General Hammo warned, but Mario cut him off.
“He a-might as well. We don’t a-know how to get a-back anyway. Come on, Luigi.” Mario helped Luigi stand up, and patted him on the back.
“Thanks Mario,” Luigi said gratefully.
“Wait,” said the general, still suspicious. “If #19 is gone, and you’re here, then…” He paused to count on his fingers for a few seconds. “…then there are still three more imposters among us! But how…”Hammo snapped his fingers. “I know! Troops, line up for a recital of ‘Bowser’s Battle Hymn!’ One, Two, Ready, GO!”
We are the loyal followers of Bowser our great King
Whose greatness can’t be matched in any place that can be seen
We’ll strive to help him rule in every land and everything
His Koops are marching on!
This was the first verse of a truly irritating and ridiculous song which, as could be guessed, went along to the melody of “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” The voices of the Hammer Bros. were surprisingly in tune and in unison; it was the laughable lyrics that ruined it. However, by the end of the third verse, Hammo appeared to know who the imposters were. He called off the singing. But just to make sure, he ordered another count-off, watching in particular three consecutive Hammer Bros. in the middle that appeared to look and react just like all the others. Finally, #50 had named off and stepped forward, leaving these three, who had not answered because of the fact that they did not have numbers.
“You three!” The General pointed at the imposters. “Reveal your true selves, or we will incapacitate you.”
www.sound-test.org/soundtracks/super-mario-bros/super-mario-sunshine/ (The Short-lived Kidnapping)
The phonies froze, staring at Hammo, Mario, Luigi, Mr. Game and Watch, and the Ice Climbers. Then suddenly, they turned and fled towards the castle.
“After them!” Hammo yelled, and the entire party, with the heroes and the general leading, pursued them.
The imposters threw open the front door and dashed inside, slamming it shut behind them right before the first of the pursuers reached it. Hammo flung it open, and then saw the three Hammer Bros. dashing up the staircase. With Mario and the general in the lead, they chased the surprisingly nimble intruders up the right side of the curved staircase leading to another door at the top.
As they rushed through these doors, they entered a large hallway famous for its long, large carpet and its ornately designed pillars. However, like the outside, the inside of the castle had that lower resolution that made everything look and feel so old-school.
At the far end of the hallway, in front of the next door was a Toad with a brown mustache standing next to a lacy pink baby carriage. He was startled by the sudden outbreak of noise and the dozens of foreign figures that appeared to be running straight towards him. He let out a cry and stood in front of the carriage with his arms defensively in front of him, a wailing now coming from the carriage.
The imposters seemed not to mind the idea of trampling innocent bystanders, as they showed no sign of slowing as they approached the panicking Toad and the baby carriage.
But when they were just yards away from colliding into them, something blurred and spinning shot out of the ground and knocked the fake Hammer Bros. backwards onto the floor, looking dazed.
gh.ffshrine.org/song/3501/21
Landing in front of them now were the two tiny figures who had popped out of the ground, each wielding a large metal hammer that looked much too heavy for them to be carrying. They were two infants, both in diapers; one had a red cap with an M on it, the other a green one with an L. The red one was holding up a single uncovered bean, oblivious to all the newcomers around him. This was apparently the prize they had been seeking underground. It was Baby Mario and Baby Luigi.
“Babies!” Mario and Luigi shouted in unison. They couldn’t resist leaping forward and embracing their long separated infant selves. The babies laughed and giggled as they were thrown up and down in the air. It had been too long.
“I hate to break up the reunion,” General Hammo said impatiently, “but these imposters need to be dealt with now!” But suddenly, the three grounded Hammer Bros. sprang back up, ran towards the right side, and…jumped out the window, shattering one of the pricy stained glass depictions of Princess Peach. Everyone who could fit crowded around the hole to see them fall directly through a hollow tree stump swirling and throbbing with watery white and blue swirling patterns.
“No! Don’t!” Popo held Hammo back from jumping in after them. “You never know what will happen!”
The young Toadsworth, with his infant Princess Peach, asked Mario what was going on, who explained to the best of his ability where they had come from and what they were trying to find.
“Hmm,” Toadsworth pondered. “I have heard of some sort of Power of Dimensions, but it does not exist in this world. Strange portals of the sort your enemies fell through appear occasionally, but no one who enters them ever returns. But it is so good to have you back, Masters Mario and Luigi! Let me offer you some supplies!” Young Toadsworth then proceeded to lead them to the castle shop, where Mario and Luigi filled up on every Bros. item they had ever used. Additionally, they each bought badges for themselves and the babies that allowed the Bros. items to never decrease after use.
“I suppose there’s no way to stop the young masters from joining you,” Toadsworth said as they were preparing to follow the imposters into the portal. “So I suppose I can only wish you the best of luck, and one final piece of advice: Dimensions are not the sort of things you want to mess with. If a single thing goes wrong, if a single atom is in the wrong position, the whole universe could be distorted horribly and do unimaginably horrible things. So do be careful! Good luck saving the future Princess! Farewell!” Toadsworth and the tiny Princess Peach waved as one by one, the party jumped into the swirling hole, with dimensional balance added onto their list of things to worry about.
gh.ffshrine.org/song/1314/23
On the other side of the courtyard, peering through a gap between two hedges, a seething figure cloaked in red observed this intriguing phenomenon. His strange helmet repaired, and his swirling glasses polished, Fawful whispered to himself, “So...[glow=red,2,300]Red[/glow] and [glow=green,2,300]Green[/glow] have returned. Now I shall spread my mustard of doom throughout the entire sandwich industry! Then…we shall see the finale of the most final finale! I HAVE FURY!!!”
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Character Locations
Inside Dimension Door: Mario, Mr. Game & Watch, Ice Climbers
Fourside City: Slippy Toad, Peppy Hare, Bowser, Yoshi, Young Link, Lanky Kong, Kirby, Fox, Ganondorf, Bomberman, Falco, Goombario, Banjo and Kazooie, Pit, Pichu, Tiny Kong, Dixie Kong, Professor E. Gadd
Messengers: Prince Peasley, Jigglypuff, Parakeet, Toad, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Meta Knight, Roy, Toadsworth, Luigi, Star Wolf, Rito Postman?
: The Shadow Sirens, Shadow[glow=yellow,2,300]Trophy:[/glow] Pikachu, Princess Peach, Samus, Chunky Kong, Sonic, Wario, Waluigi, Captain Falcon[glow=purple,2,300]Captive:[/glow] Marth, Ness, Goombella, Toadette, Princess Zelda
[glow=gray,2,300]DECEASED:[/glow] The Shadow Hand, Bottles, Orca
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So? How was Part 2?...
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{3} The Feathered Rats
www.imeem.com/perfect-blue/music/SprPe2E2/how_to_play_super_smash_bros_brawl/
The Training Dojo in Fourside City had been specially prepared to train both experienced and inexperienced fighters in the art of battle. Anyone who chose to enlist themselves in the Great Nintendo Army (as they called it) was taken to this place, and depending on their previous experience, was enrolled in the appropriate training program. There were six basic levels of skill: Very Easy, Easy, Normal, Hard, Very Hard, and Intense. Most everyone who had never fought before was placed in Very Easy; if they had fought in the Battle of Fourside, they started in at least Normal. The only ones allowed into the Intense difficulty were those who had a well-known history of fighting, and a longtime allegiance to good (those who had fought through the first ten chapters of this story to get there, for instance).
In each level, there were four modes of training to participate in. Each method took up a different branch in the dojo. The first, the simplest, was Sandbag Mode, where one practiced their attacks on one of Gadd’s Sandbags which were specially made to never break. They also worked on combo moves and throwing skills.
The second method was Platform Mode, where one began in an obstacle course that was generated to be unique for each character and difficulty. The goal was to land on each of ten special platforms which blinked red if they hadn’t been landed on, and turned green when they had been cleared.
The third mode was Target Test, in which an obstacle course was also generated to match each character and skill level. Ten targets, moving or rigid, were placed throughout the course, and one was challenged to destroy all ten targets in the fastest possible time.
The fourth branch was Melee Mode, which was where one could practice fighting other fighters of his/her skill level. Gadd had a special simulator that created a stage for them to fight on, which depended on the difficulty.
When one had mastered each area of training on their current difficulty (except Sandbag Mode, which was for pure practice), they were allowed to try the next skill level, and so on. There were currently hundreds of fighters participating, and progress was booming; Super Toad’s brother Bert T., for example, had excelled from Easy to Very Hard in just one week.
Professor E. Gadd was supervising from behind a glass wall the current Melee battle, which was a Normal fight between Dixie Kong and a Koopatrol. The Koopatrol was more aggressive and armored, while Dixie was nimble and speedy like Diddy. The simulated stage they were on resembled a simple platform with two smaller platforms above each side and a higher platform in the middle.
Then a door on one side of the spacious room opened, and two similar-looking people entered the branch and walked up to the professor.
“Professor, can we please --” Link began, but Gadd cut him off.
“No! I’ve already told you, you can’t go alone to Master Hand’s Fortress to try to save Zelda! You will most certainly fail, and I’m telling you again that we need you to go to Hyrule and rally troops!”
“But she’s in great danger, and we could try to save the other prisoners too!” Young Link whined.
Professor E. Gadd sighed, and said more calmly, “Look at these fighters.” They turned to face Dixie and the Koopatrol’s battle, which was still indecisive, but very active. “What are these fighters fighting for?”
“The safety of the Nintendo World from Master Hand’s oppression,” Link said reluctantly.
Gadd nodded. “Exactly! But what would happen if they went alone to Master Hand’s Fortress?”
“They’d lose! But we’re stronger --” Young Link was interrupted by Professor Gadd again.
“Irrelevant! The point is if you go alone you will have no one to support you, no one to watch your back, and it will be impossible for you to go there and escape because of your sheer lack of numbers compared to Master Hand’s legions! Besides, chances are Zelda is already --”
“Don’t say that!” Link shouted. “She’s too strong to be taken that quickly! They will save her for later, when the weaker prisoners have already been dealt with! We still have time! My younger self and I could still do it!”
Professor E. Gadd was getting impatient. He still had not managed to get his point across. “Take Mario as an example. His princess has been gone from the beginning, and yet he does not run off alone towards Master Hand’s room because he knows it is far too dangerous and his skills are needed here. He is now part of a party in another dimension searching for a lost power source. And what have you two been doing? Spending your time trying to convince me to let you leave and mourning yourselves to death over Zelda’s loss! If you two don’t go to Hyrule, who else do I have to send? Ganondorf?” This idea got a laugh out of all of them: Ganondorf, going to Hyrule to ask for their troops to follow him. “Besides,” Gadd continued, “the only way we will be able to save Zelda is to defeat Master Hand and Crazy Hand and their armies, and that CANNOT be done alone! Do you understand?”
Link and Young Link stared at the ground longingly for several seconds, and then Link nodded slowly; Young Link followed his lead.
Professor Gadd smiled. “Good! Now go! You can take one of my Poltergust 3000’s in the garage. Choose whichever color you prefer, but don’t take the prototype; that one is prone to start out in the wrong direction. Good luck!” The professor shooed them away, and got back to watching the battle before he remembered something. It’s time to see what has happened to the underground headquarters, he thought, and called for Banjo and Kazooie.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
gh.ffshrine.org/song/402/27
Mario and the others found themselves back in the strange astronomic environment they had been in before. As before, the giant replicas of the Nintendo systems rotated slowly, and all around them echoed bizarre beeps and rings originating from these systems.
As they expected, the three Hammer Bros. were nowhere to be seen. They spent several moments looking around, trying to find a sign of where the sneaks might have gone.
Suddenly they all felt a strange wave coming from a certain direction. It was hard to describe; they couldn’t physically feel it, but it was more of a mental wave, passing through all of them. It was like a disturbance in the water causing ripples that can only be felt by the instinct one has when he senses something he can’t see or feel. And it was clear the disturbance had come from the enormous SNES.
General Hammo looked inquiringly at Mario, who gave an approving nod while piggybacking his younger self, and the General started floating purposefully towards the SNES. Mr. Game & Watch, noticing this, began leaping towards the old system as well. Hammo was seconds away from touching it when Mr. Game & Watch landed on the General’s red helmet, and pushed off of it, propelling himself into the SNES, into which he disappeared. The others felt a familiar force pulling them towards the system, but this time they did not resist, knowing that no harm would come to them…unless…
“Number 18! Stay away from that Power Button!” Hammo cried, but #18 simply yelled, “DENNIS!!!” as he dove into the purple Power switch. Unlike the others, however, his screaming figure turned white, then suddenly disappeared with a flash and a line of white light, like a TV shutting off, his scream still echoing among the peculiar sounds. This was the last thing any of them saw before disappearing into the SNES, with #50 bringing up the rear…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
gh.ffshrine.org/song/5356/57
Fear and apprehension flowed through Professor E. Gadd, Banjo, and Kazooie as they traveled back down the dark tunnel towards the place which they had thought up until now had been a safe place. They could see the path through the dirty and rocky ground where Orca had dragged himself painfully towards the end. As they approached the cavern headquarters, they could hear no sound, no familiar talking and laughing which they had become accustomed to hearing.
Finally, the entrance was in front of them, but there was only darkness beyond. They could see using Gadd’s last remaining Lightatron R.O.B.
“Quiet,” The professor whispered to Banjo & Kazooie. He signaled for them to stealthily enter the headquarters. E. Gadd pointed at the wall directly to their right so the R.O.B. would shine on it. “There’s the light switch. I wonder if it still works…” He then stepped forward and switched it on.
About one-third of the ceiling lights turned on; the others were broken and shattered on the ground. Because of this, there were lots of areas and corners hidden in darkness. The spacious room revealed itself to be geologically the same as always. However, the place was otherwise in ruins. In addition to the lights, all of the tables, chairs, and various shelves, dishes, and papers were scattered about. Tables and chairs were broken or laying on their sides. Loose papers, shards of glass, and splinters of wood covered the ground and other surfaces. In place of where the small stage and podium had been where Bottles had always given announcements was a mass of splintered wood. The one good thing was that there was little or no blood in view, and no bodies could be seen. It was completely silent.
Professor E. Gadd, Banjo, and Kazooie were too devastated to move. Despite their knowledge of what was coming, it was still a huge shock to see years of work and ideas trashed just like that.
After about a minute, Gadd finally recomposed himself and spoke, “Alright. Let’s search for these three survivors. I think we can assume they are here if anywhere, because we would have seen them coming down the tunnel, and they would be fools to leave the other way…”
As the professor looked around, he saw a large scorched area, most likely compliments of Metal Bowser. And as he lifted up some wood, he realized that there actually were numerous bodies buried in the ruins. None of them could he recognize by name, but he felt a deep grief for each life that had been lost, and wondered what percentage of them had been captured instead of killed.
Banjo & Kazooie decided to search the opposite side of Gadd, which was the west side. They too discovered that many Resistance members had been killed, but they noticed that there was hardly any blood at all; the bodies were brutally bruised or broken. Finally, they reached a dark area behind a natural pillar. They saw nothing, but then…
gh.ffshrine.org/song/5356/35
“Hey Banjo, do you hear that scuttling noise?” Kazooie was pointing towards the dark area with her wing.
“Yeah, I do, Kazooie…but what is it?...” Banjo began lifting up objects in the dark area, but then felt something alive move across his hand. “Yeargghh!!! What was that??!!” Banjo quickly pulled his hand back.
Kazooie stared harder at the spot, but couldn’t make anything out. “It’s no good, I can’t see…HEY PROFESSOR, GET OVER HERE!”
“Yes?” E. Gadd stumbled quickly over the broken objects to where they were.
Banjo asked, “Could we get light on that spot right there?”
The professor pointed at the dark area, and the R.O.B.’s two jets of bright fluorescent light turned to point at it. It revealed the spot to be littered with splinters and such like the rest of the headquarters, but sitting on top of it were two large mice.
“Oh,” Kazooie sighed disappointedly. “Just stupid mice.”
“Wait,” Professor E. Gadd said. “Those aren’t any ordinary mice…” Then Kazooie noticed that both mice had tiny red feathers sticking out of their heads, one with three feathers and the other with one feather. But suddenly the mice darted forward and behind them. “Get them!” Gadd shouted.
The three of them pursued the two zooming mice as they made for the entrance to the tunnel. Finally the mice reached the entrance, but stopped and turned to face them. Gadd, Banjo, and Kazooie stopped in front of the mice.
And before their eyes, the two mice transformed into much larger forms, the feathers still sticking up from their heads.
It was Mumbo Jumbo and Humba Wumba.
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Character Locations
Inside Dimension Door: Mario, Mr. Game & Watch, Ice Climbers
Old Headquarters:Professor E. Gadd, Banjo and Kazooie, Mumbo Jumbo, Humba Wumba
Fourside City: Slippy Toad, Peppy Hare, Bowser, Yoshi, Young Link, Lanky Kong, Kirby, Fox, Ganondorf, Bomberman, Falco, Goombario, Pit, Pichu, Tiny Kong, Dixie Kong
Messengers: Prince Peasley, Jigglypuff, Parakeet, Toad, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Meta Knight, Roy, Toadsworth, Luigi, Star Wolf, Rito Postman?
: The Shadow Sirens, Shadow[glow=yellow,2,300]Trophy:[/glow] Pikachu, Princess Peach, Samus, Chunky Kong, Sonic, Wario, Waluigi, Captain Falcon[glow=purple,2,300]Captive:[/glow] Marth, Ness, Goombella, Toadette, Princess Zelda
[glow=gray,2,300]DECEASED:[/glow] The Shadow Hand, Bottles, Orca
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And there's part 3...I'm estimating 7 or 8 just for this chapter.
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{4} The Dimension Conflux
www.imeem.com/groups/xL-8C3KT/music/4uir9cRd/nintendo_mario_kart_ds_waluigi_pinball/
“Watch out for those a-falling a-viruses!” Mario warned.
The world they were now in was even simpler than the last one. Now it was completely 2-D, including the newcomers. It was very strange because they had a sort of almost third-person view where they could see their own flat shapes as well as others. Mario, Luigi, the Babies, the Ice Climbers, and Mr. Game and Watch happened to be enclosed in two separate groups within two huge rectangles against a blank white background. Because of their rather limited perspective, they could not see outside the boxes. From the top of the boxes, red, yellow, and blue-colored viruses were falling every few seconds, their faces distorted in expressions of mischief, insanity, and creepiness. Once they landed, the viruses began moving towards the boxed in characters, hopping and cackling mischievously.
The Ice Climbers and Mr. Game & Watch stood back-to-back facing away from each other. As each Virus fell down, either Mr. Game & Watch destroyed it with his black flame, or the Ice Climbers eliminated it with their hammers. Meanwhile in the other box, Mario and Baby Mario as well as Luigi and Baby Luigi worked in pairs to defeat the viruses.
Popo had a thought. “Where are the Hammer Bros?” Nana shrugged, and used a spinning technique with her hammer to slam a yellow virus into the side of the box and flatten it.
Suddenly, the boxes and viruses disappeared, and the newcomers were left in complete whiteness.
“Wha…?” Luigi and Baby Luigi blurted out simultaneously.
They turned left and right, confused and lost. Then, about five seconds later, a whole swarm of viruses fighting the Hammer Bros. popped up out of nowhere.
“Mama-mia!” Mario and Baby Mario cried out at once.
But there was nothing for it but to join the fight. The viruses, although small, were very pesky and nimble, and had already weakened many of the Hammer Bros. The fight went on for what seemed like hours, and the viruses seemed to be replenishing themselves innumerably. Then Luigi had an idea.
“Mario!” he shouted. “It’s-a Copy Flower time!”
Mario nodded in agreement, and Mario and Luigi simultaneously threw Copy Flowers in front of them, and from the Copy Flowers appeared hundreds of Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi copies that began bulldozing over the swarms of viruses. Within a matter of minutes, there was only one of each color of virus left, and they seemed to have used up their ability to multiply. The viruses were encircled by the copies, the Hammer Bros, the Ice Climbers, and Mr. Game & Watch.
The viruses seemed to converse quietly for a couple seconds. Then the red virus screamed manically, “Self-destruct! Self-destruct!” The three viruses leaped into the air, and began glowing white.
There was a scramble as all the Hammer Bros. and copies panicked and began running away. But just when shafts of light were beginning to come from the three lone viruses, three megavitamins fell from above and collided with each virus. They all stopped glowing, landed on the ground, groaned, and disappeared with a pop.
gh.ffshrine.org/song/402/37
Seeing as the danger was gone, all of the copies disappeared, revealing a lone figure in the middle of the blank space where the viruses had been. Mario, Luigi, the babies, the Hammer Bros (minus two which had been lost to the viruses, now numbering 47 including the General), the Ice Climbers, and Mr. Game & Watch turned to see who it was, and all of the Melee participants gasped.
“Dr. Mario!” Mario said, surprised. “It’s a-you! Do you live a-here?”
Indeed, it was Dr. Mario, the exact form of Mario except with a white doctor’s outfit and the circular object strapped to his head in place of the red hat. He had the same voice as Mario too, of course.
Dr. Mario walked towards them. “Yes, I a-do. But I do not always stay a-here. You were a-lucky that I a-happened to just get a-back…” Dr. Mario had been present at many of the SSBM tournaments, but no one really knew where he came from or how he got there. And Mario was especially curious to meet himself.
“Can you a-help us find the…er…Power of the Dimensions?” Luigi asked.
Dr. Mario raised his eyebrows. “Is that a-what you a-seek? But a-why have you a-come such a long a-way for it?”
In about ten minutes, Mario summarized everything that had occurred in the Nintendo World since the last SSBM tournament had ended.
Dr. Mario stood there deep in thought, his hand on his chin. “Hmm. I have missed a lot, haven’t I? So you a-need the Power of the Dimensions to defeat Master Hand! Well, I a-guess I a-need to get out of the Dimension Conflux more often. I a-think I will be a-helping you.” The others were glad, but looked confused. “Oh! That’s a-right! You don’t a-know what the Dimension Conflux is! Well, it’s a-basically the world beyond the Dimension Door. It’s a-made up of every dimension which no longer exists, including my a-world. I a-happen to be the Overseer of this Conflux, and I spend my a-time making a-sure all the other dimensions are in order. I a-happened to have just gotten a-back from ‘Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland.’ The first Kirby was babbling about a-some enemy mix-up that occurred some a-years ago…but anyways, back to the Power of the Dimensions.”
“Now, the Power of the Dimensions is not a single object. There are actually five a-parts that a-make it up. One of them I have a-with me. Two of them are in ‘Super Mario Bros.’ for the NES. One is in ‘Paper Mario’, and the last a-one…I do not know of. It is a-said that the one who a-has all five components is unstoppable,” The doctor finished.
General Hammo was brimming with curiosity. “So let’s see this part that you have, then! What does it do?”
Dr. Mario reached into a pocket of his white coat and brought out a remote-like object with a glass covering over the top. Beneath the glass was a large green button, with two arrows moving in a counterclockwise circle on it.
“This,” the doctor explained, “is the Reset Button. But it’s not just any reset button that a-lets you start a game over; this Reset Button, if pressed, will cause the flow of time in whatever world it is in to back up exactly 13 a-seconds. It has never been a-used before, and it is said that once it is a-used, it will cease to a-work.”
“But why 13 sec-onds?” Mr. Game & Watch asked.
“I don’t a-know…it must have seemed like a good number to choose at the time.”
“Alright,” Nana said, “so we need to collect these components so we can use them to stop Master Hand! Let’s go!”
“Wait, I’m not quite a-finished.” Dr. Mario held up his right index finger. “There is one more important thing. The one thing in the Dimension Conflux you must NEVER do is a-leave something in a world that doesn’t belong in that a-world, or move something from one world to another. This will upset the time continuum, and could a-cause anything to happen, more likely than not disastrous. Now, since I am the Overseer, I have the power to a-travel between worlds at my desire in a much more convenient a-way. So I will a-lead you to find the parts which I a-know of; but as for the last a-part, I will be of no help. To Super Mario Bros. NES first, I suggest?”
“Let’s a-go!” Mario agreed.
Dr. Mario proceeded to take out a red and yellow megavitamin and throw it at the empty space in front of him. The megavitamin created a miniature explosion, and seemed to slowly dissolve the whiteness to reveal a very pixilated world with a plain blue sky and brick ground. The dissolved area grew larger until it was big enough for everyone in the large group to fit through, and, with Dr. Mario leading, they entered the artificial rip in the world of Dr. Mario, and came out in the historic world of Super Mario Bros.
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Professor E. Gadd, Banjo, and Kazooie stared in bewilderment at Mumbo Jumbo and Humba Wumba standing before them. Then, finally, the professor recomposed himself enough to speak.
“How…er…when…er…what happened?”
Mumbo looked out at the destroyed headquarters, tapping his skull-tipped staff in his left hand, and then looked at E. Gadd. “It long story. We here thinking of way to get into fortress, then Wire Frames suddenly burst into room with Metal Bowser and Peach. They destroy everything, kill many, and take many prisoner. I turn Humba and me into mice so we escape. Knock-off Indian shaman ungrateful, but…”
Humba folded her arms and turned away from Mumbo in a huff. Then she began where Mumbo left off in a similar accent but a higher voice, still looking away. “We think they turn prisoners into trophies. Big heap Metal Bowser kill many. We only remaining except shirtless warrior Orca and walking yellow ball Pac-man. Orca go down tunnel to city, but stupid Pac-man go after army to save prisoners. He probably no come back.”
At the mention of Metal Bowser, E. Gadd was reminded of his conversation with the real Bowser a little while back. He recalled himself saying, “We’ll have to see some kind of philosopher about that...” Perhaps a shaman would have an answer…He decided to chance it.
“What do you know of the Original 25?”
Mumbo and Humba gasped. Humba said, “We know all about Original 25. They be Master Hand’s chosen and only bane.”
“Wait,” Kazooie said, who for once was paying close attention to the discussion. “Are you saying that the Original 25 are the only ones who can defeat Master Hand, who hand-picked them himself? No pun intended?”
“Yes,” Mumbo answered. “Master Hand create smash tournaments, and chose 25 fighters to participate. In so doing, he unintentionally selected the ones who can kill him. But, unless they all fight against him together, he still be invincible.”
“Unfortunately,” Humba continued, “he find out this secret, and now wants them out of his way by turning into trophies. He no kill them unless he have to.”
“Well,” Banjo said, “we’ve seen just about all of the Original 25 around here, haven’t we?”
“Regrettably, no,” Gadd said. “Several of them were taken to Master Hand’s fortress about two months ago. We know now for a fact that Pikachu, Princess Peach, Samus, and Captain Falcon of the Original 25 are now trophies. Ness, Marth, and Zelda remain Master Hand’s captives. Several others are now scattered across the Nintendo World and beyond seeking warriors to aid our cause. This leaves only two of which we do not know the whereabouts of: Dr. Mario and Mewtwo.”
Mumbo responded, “Me think Dr. Mario live in another dimension. He cannot be from here because Mario here also.”
E. Gadd nodded. “Perhaps Mario’s company will come across him. Which leaves the captured ones and Mewtwo to us…anyone know where Mewtwo lives?”
“Pichu-Pi!”
“Puff!”
The five characters turned around to see Pichu and Jigglypuff in the entrance of the tunnel leading to the city. Both of them had said simultaneously, “We do!”
Professor E. Gadd was delighted. “Great! Now that you’re here, may I ask you to go find Mewtwo and convince him to support our cause?”
Jigglypuff and Pichu looked at each other uncertainly, and then nodded to Gadd, Jigglypuff saying, “Puff, Jigglypuff puff,” which meant something along the lines of, “We’re not sure, but we can try; our trainer has had dealings with Mewtwo before…”
“Superb. Feel free to use either my Eleportationizer 1.0 or a Poltergust 3000 in the garage,” E. Gadd said.
“Pichu Pichu,” Pichu said decidedly, which meant, “Mewtwo’s location is so discreet that I don’t think your Eleportationizer will work, so we’ll take the Poltergust with the Pokeball designs on it…I call driving!” Pichu began rushing back along the passage without another word.
“Puff!” Jigglypuff said, which meant, “Oh, no you don’t!” Jigglypuff began spinning, and used Rollout to chase after Pichu.
The professor sighed pleasantly. “It’s good to have such loyal Pokemon on our side…but what shall we do about the others?”
“Perhaps Pac-man will come through with Marth and Ness.” But none of the ones who were there had said it.
They were obliged to turn around again to face the tunnel leading to the tabletop surface where the voice had come from.
“Pac-man, you’re back!” E. Gadd said ecstatically. “And you’ve brought--"
“--Marth and Ness, yes,” Pac-man said with a huge grin on his face. “I didn’t see Zelda, though…” Beside him stood, as Pac-man said, Marth and Ness. They both looked very shaken and weary, but they seemed alright otherwise.
“Now,” Gadd said, looking thoroughly pleased, “all that is left for us is to prepare.”
“For what?” Humba asked.
“For the war, of course,” Gadd replied.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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Character Locations
Dimension Conflux (Dr. Mario, Nintendo 64): Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Mr. Game & Watch, Ice Climbers, Dr. Mario, 3 Imposters
Old Headquarters:Professor E. Gadd, Banjo and Kazooie, Mumbo Jumbo, Humba Wumba, Marth, Ness, Pacman
In Search of Mewtwo: Pichu, Jigglypuff
Fourside City: Bowser, Yoshi, Young Link, Lanky Kong, Kirby, Ganondorf, Bomberman, Goombario, Pit, Tiny Kong, Dixie Kong
Messengers: Prince Peasley, Parakeet, Toad, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Meta Knight, Roy, Toadsworth, Star Wolf, Fox, Falco, Slippy, Peppy, Rito Postman?
: The Shadow Sirens, Shadow[glow=yellow,2,300]Trophy:[/glow] Pikachu, Princess Peach, Samus, Chunky Kong, Sonic, Wario, Waluigi, Captain Falcon[glow=purple,2,300]Captive:[/glow] Goombella, Toadette, Princess Zelda
[glow=gray,2,300]DECEASED:[/glow] The Shadow Hand, Bottles, Orca
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