SUPER SMASH BROTHERS : Your Journey [ REUPLOAD ]

Ch. 06 - Infiltrating Master Hand

You stepped into the  bleachers that all stared out and circled the arena. Joker was in his  match right now, and it was your task to wait for him to be done. You  looked at the fight at hand: Joker vs. Wario on Moray Towers.

The match was just  ending , too. Joker had been pushed off the edge by Wario's wario bike  attack, but managed to save himself with his recovery; resulting in  Wario falling to his loss, crowning Joker the winner of this match. The  crowd cheered as Joker adjusted his glove and his black and white monster chat, Morgana, popped out from  behind him saying, "lookin' cool, Joker!"

After that, the match  was over. Joker went to the locker rooms to freshen up (your cue to get  out of there), then headed out. He took forever though, as Sora congratulated him and started up a long conversation with him, so by the time  he'd finished changing from thief to school uniform, the main gang was  already there.

"Joker," Shulk spoke up,  as Joker walked past them unknowingly. The teenage boy was caught by  surprise and turned to the voice. He saw the squad of six, eyeing you  specifically. There was something about you that he could just tell  was... destined for something.

"Hello Shulk," Joker said, "what do you need?"

"We need a thief to  sneak into the Master Hand's room and collect the security footage for  us. We think that some suspicious things are going on," Shulk  responded.

"Ah, so I've heard," Joker replied, putting his hand to his chin as though he were thinking.

"Bowser's ship was taken, and Midgar was bombed," Cloud said.

"Yes, I heard about that."

"So, will you help us," Pyra asked. Joker had to think on it, but when he looked into your eyes, he nodded.

"very well. I will help.  Let's go during dinner. Master Hand is holding a big speech, that will  be our best chance at not getting caught."

Your group agreed, and  then you all went about your day minding your own business. Shellsea and Pyra left to hang out together, Cloud went to stare off at the remains of  Midgar, and you went to Battlefield to practice against Chrono.

Veen and Joro watched  you two spar on the sidelines as you both threw punches or swung weapons  at one another. Joro was always so amazed by the warm up battles the  two of you had, cheering for you every time. Veen on the other hand, was  always quietly observing.

"Stand still," Chrono  shouted as he put his hand up above his head, activating his time  ability. To you, he went lightning speed, but to him, everything was in  slow-motion. He ran at you and round-house kicked you across the stage.  When time returned to normal, you flew across the map and skidded across  the smooth rock ground.

"C'MON, [Y/N], Don't  take that from him," Joro shouted, looking worried and shocked at  Chrono's upper hand. You hissed to yourself as you turned your head to  look at him. Usually you weren't this upset upon the attack, but you  found yourself unsheathing the dark sword and lunging at Chrono. He  simply used his time abilities and dodged your swings and slashes,  keeping a smug grin on his face with every dodge. It was so effortless  for him, especially since he knew his limits.

You did not know your  limits though, and continued to swing until you just couldn't anymore.  Your arm shook as you looked at the dark sword. It was emitting darkness  like usual, but something felt... different.

"Looks like I win," Chrono said with a cheeky grin.

"That makes... 15 wins for [y/n], and 15 wins for you," Veen said, rising from her seat.

"You both must be  starving now. Let's head to the mess hall, dinner is going to be ready  soon, and Master Hand has an important announcement for all the  smashers."

You and Chrono exchanged  glances to one another, before Chrono said, "yeah, we'll meet up with  you two later. We've got some business to attend to."

---

The two arrived at the  mess hall, but weren't planning to stay. They simply sought out Shulk  and Shellsea, then exited once they grouped up. Cloud was already by the  hallway near Master Hand's chambers, with Joker beside him, eating some  instant noodles.

Joker looked at the  squad, before tossing his noodles far away from him so that he looked  professional and merely waiting. Shellsea let her eyes track the cup,  watching as the noodles rolled between some bars on the stairway railings,  about to crash to the floor below.

"So," Shulk spoke up, "are we uh, ready?"

"Yep," Joker said,  before peaking around the corner. There were no security guards near  Master Hand's chambers, so it would be easy access. Joker bolted towards  the room, making sure his foot steps were as quiet as possible while  still being quick.

"Should we go after him," the inkling asked. Shulk shook his head no, but kept it at that. The group then sat down and waited.

In the chambers, Joker  kept himself hidden among the shadows, until he finally made it to the  big monitors and computer. All he needed to do was get the security  footage, then leave. But truth be told, he wasn't a very good hacker  like his friend Futaba. In fact, to be honest, he had no idea how to do any  of what he was just assigned to do. So he was a sitting duck here. He  inserted the flash drive that he'd been given by Cloud while they waited  for Shulk to arrive, but from there, he had no real idea what to do.

"Joker," a voice  questioned. the disguised thief felt a shiver go down his spine as he  slowly turned around and saw the hand himself.

"What are you doing in my chambers," Master Hand asked.

"I... uh... " Joker  hadn't thought of an excuse, as he usually did that with his fellow  thieves. He had not done that with Cloud or Shulk.

"Well, staff asked me to back up your security on uh, the flash drive."

"Oh, that staff," Master  Hand let out a chuckle, "always knowing to make sure all is well with  me. I can be a bit forgetful at times."

Joker sighed silently, relieved that  Master Hand had fallen for his excuse. He then ejected the flash drive,  not realizing that it wasn't completed yet.

"Well, my work here's  done. have a good evening," Joker said. Though he did have to wonder...  didn't Master Hand have a speech earlier? Was it really that short?

Well,  that was for another time, Joker thought as he approached you and your  squad. He handed Cloud the flash drive and said, "good luck with  whatever you're doing," and submerged into nearby shadow, leaving no  trace that he was ever there.

"Alright, let's head to my room so we can examine the footage," Shulk said.

"Yeah," Shellsea cheered, "I'm pretty savvy with the computer."

"Right," Cloud said.

Everyone seemed happy  (except Cloud), and all headed to Shellsea's room at Smash Mansion so you  could examine the footage and get your lead on the strange events  occurring. The only pause was when Chrono pulled you to the side and  asked you a question.

"hey, I saw your sword was getting... enveloped in its dark aura earlier... but this was more intense than usual. What was up with that?"

Your expression was  dampened. You didn't know what was happening with the dark sword. You  had felt yourself losing yourself to the sword, but you didn't want to  express that to Chrono. He was your friendly rival, but you knew he'd  tell Veen if you told him- you didn't want her getting involved. So to  put it simple, you shrugged your shoulders, and headed on after the  group.

Chrono was suspicious though, and wasn't going to let this slip from his grip. For now though, he would let it slide.