12th installment of the VGNU.
The time has finally come.
Heroes are called from all corners of a universe self-destructing.
A mysterious figure has gathered them to save their worlds before it is too late.
Will they stop this great calamity?
Or...
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By now they were used to seeing the stone obelisk slabs floating in the bubble of green smoke and pink fire. Tiny sparking cinders circled the stage as they rose into the smoke, popping like firecrackers every once in a while.
The rules were set. Thirty seconds until the bombs dropped, but no time limit over all. Neither knew what "300% damage" meant, but they weren't looking forward to finding out. Just as well, they weren't sure what it meant to reach 999%, or what punishment awaited them if they failed to 'comply' with these rules.
As if they had a choice..
4
It was horribly unfair, bringing Luigi into things this late... There was so much Mario wanted to say, and in about a minute that chance would be gone. He wanted to apologize for not listening to him, for overlooking the obvious danger Feldman presented just because he didn't want to deal with what they'd gone through in the Mushroom Kingdom. He hadn't meant for that to cause such a drift between himself and his family, but he'd just felt so numb to it all... even up until now everything had felt numb...
3
It was horribly confusing, being thrown into things this so late... There was so much Luigi still couldn't understand, and his chance to ask would soon be gone. Why did Mario lock himself away from home? How did the other fights work? What did Mario mean by this not being a fair fight? What did Link mean by their stories being erased? And most importantly, were Earth and the Mushroom Kingdom safe?
2
But he was awake now. Seeing Luigi here, alive and okay, and knowing that wouldn't last through this fight, was a slap in the face. It'd been hard to take anything seriously for the longest time, but being put up to face his brother in mortal combat was just... All he could do was tell himself that he'd fix it all afterwards. Somehow, when-- when-- reality was put back together... Luigi would be okay then. He had to be.
1
But he was fine. Knowing Mario was okay, Luigi figured he could just ask afterwards. He still had time for all the questions he hadn't asked. He still had time to catch up on everything. He still had time to make amends between them, to tell Mario he'd already made amends with their mom. Whatever was happening here, whatever this tournament for reality was, wasn't going to tear their family apart. He wasn't going to let that happen again.
GO!
As soon as the match started both Mario and Luigi fell to their knees, groaning in pain. All at once they found out just how much 300% damage hurt. High fever, heads spinning, all their joints hurt, and the feeling like someone took an axe to their guts. It was like being sick with the flu but worse. Taking everything into account, Mario realized that his previous fights hadn't actually been too bad, and he had no intention of letting either himself or his brother get any worse.
