Prologue: Our Stories are Different, but They All End the Same: Crappily

You don't expect one day to be all fine and peachy, only for the next day to turn into a post-apocalyptic hellhole overnight.

Oh, but it did.

And Dark Pit sure as hell didn't expect it.

The dark angel was at home when the world had taken a spiral downfall into chaos. He was reluctantly getting ready to visit his twin brother Pit and his smartass of a girlfriend, Palutena. It would've been a normal, somewhat-bland visit: listen to Pit blithely tell the usual corny jokes and let Palutena poke annoying fun at him for looking "all dark and emo." Just the usual crap he deals with on a biweekly basis.

Dark Pit heard a scratching on his front door. He paid it no mind, however – it was probably his next door neighbor's Pikachu once again, most likely begging for those black cherries Dark Pit always had on stock. Greedy bastard, always wanting his precious cherries.

"Damn rodent thing," the fallen angel mumbled as he looked for his keys. Where the hell were they? He checked under the pillows, in the drawers. Dark Pit could only imagine the complaints Pit would say if he was one minute late.

The scratching became more prevalent. "Hold the hell on!"

Finally finding them – under the couch, of course – Dark Pit quickly ran to the kitchen and grabbed the plastic bag. He opened the freezer, grabbed some frozen black cherries, and threw them in the bag. Some dropped to the floor; he planned on cleaning that up later. That annoying Pokémon better be cool with the prospect of frozen fruit.

Opening the door, Dark Pit was met with two surprises: 1) Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the neighbor's dead Pikachu and 2) the neighbor was at his door, eyes bloodshot and blood covered his face.

"What the hell?!" Dark Pit exclaimed, quickly retreating to the inside of his house. His neighbor stumbled towards him, teeth bared and yellowed. Fresh blood dripped from his mouth. He snarled and moaned, his soulless eyes lusting hungrily for his target. Dark Pit knew what was happening: the zombies have finally taken over the Gods damn world. He played too much Left 4 Dead and watched too much The Walking Dead to not know when a damn zombie apocalypse was beginning. Just freakin' great; life's gonna be screwed from now on. No more luxuries, no more fancies; just surviving and a-livin'.

It is what he was born to do.

The dark angel reacted promptly and quickly like one would in this situation: he ran to the living room closet, swung it open, and grabbed his most prized possession: a purple staff that he affectionately called the Dark Pit Staff. Granted, it was more of a rifle than a staff, but it never ran out of bullets, which made it the ideal undead killing machine.

His ex-neighbor continued to head towards him, wobbling and running into furniture. It would've been quite amusing if his neighbor wasn't, you know, dead. Dark Pit held the staff in one hand, pulled the trigger, and watched as the brain matter of his neighbor splattered onto the walls and fell to the carpet, which he just vacuumed. Oh well, it's not like he'll be coming back here. No more mortgages to pay. The dark angel quickly thought of three priorities.

First, food. The angel grabbed a bookbag that he had randomly lying around, walked into the kitchen, opened the pantry door, and started throwing food into it. Water bottles, canned food. Thank the Gods he had brought all this crap last week. As he filled the bag to the brim, he eyed the bag of black cherries and his second priority came into play: save the black cherries.

It took the black-haired angel five seconds to realize that he dropped the bag of black cherries he'd already had. Dark Pit took a glance at the living room; the neighbor's corpse laid upon the black cherries, which had spilled everywhere. He won't be eating those anytime soon. He opened the freezer and grabbed bags upon bags of black cherries, stuffing them into a plastic bag. He'll be damned to leave his favorite snack behind for someone else to steal.

Third priority: save his brother and his brother's girlfriend. Hopefully just his brother. Ah, screw it, he'll save Palutena too. Can't have Pit going into a depression because his gal had gotten eaten by zombies, now can we? Dark Pit decided to leave out of the back, and promptly noticed that the world had already gone to shit. People were screaming as their limbs were torn off. Someone had already set a fire; other people were already stealing food from the neighborhood grocery market. How did this happen without him noticing? Oh well, it's here now and he's gonna have to deal with it. Now let's go see that those priorities are met.

"Dark Pit's late," he complained. "He's never late! We have to go see if he's alright!" he cried. "Pittoo, oh Pittoo, please be safe! Big Bro is on the way!" Oh, why does Pit has to be so overprotective of his twin? Yeah, sure, Dark Pit was the younger of the two, but only by four minutes! It's usually Dark Pit saving Pit's ass! The younger watching over the older like the older one's too incompetent to take care of himself (which, Palutena will grant, he kind of is). But no, Dark Pit's late for five freaking minutes, and Pit has damn near a heart attack. And now here they are, outside of the safety and comfort of Pit's air-conditioned home, watching people getting eaten, blood being shed, and agonized screams filling the air.

Well, there goes Palutena's day of eating tangerines and insulting Dark Pit. Damn.

The two stood and watched in horror as people lost their lives right in front of their eyes. Guts and flesh everywhere, yelling, pleas for help. Yep, this was indeed the apocalypse. Yep, they were indeed living it. And…yep, they were probably most likely indeed screwed.

Palutena grabbed Pit, who was currently frozen in shock, by the shoulders and started shaking him. She could tell that the angel was completely dumbfounded by the situation they were thrown into, and this was not the time to completely zone out.

"Pit? Pit!" she cried. "Stop standing around! People are getting eaten by people who have suddenly acquired the taste for flesh, and as much as you don't want to believe it, it is happening. This is reality, okay? If we don't leave the neighborhood now, we're gonna die, understand?"

"D-die? D-d-die?" the angel stammered. Palutena nodded slowly. At least he understands the gravity of the situation.

"Yes, Pit. Die. Now, I'm gonna go back in the house and grab my staff. You stay there and, for the sake of Viridi, scream if something happens. I'll be back."

The divine goddess ran back to the house to grab weapons and food. Pit continued to stand there, looking around, the pleas for help sounding so unreal to him. People were actually dying? No, no, no. Something like this doesn't happen out of the blue. Something like this doesn't pop up from the darkest depths of hell. This only happens in the video games and shows that Dark Pit likes. This is reality, the truly real world: it couldn't be happening. It's all a freakin' fantasy.

But the proof was right in front of Pit's eyes: a human eating another human, the blood pooling and the yells fading. Holy Hades, the whole world has just came crashing upon them and Pit wasn't sure if he could handle it.

"Pit! Watch out!"

The angel did hear Palutena's screaming, but he didn't move. Shock will do that to you. After all, you don't expect to see old man Dyntos rushing towards Pit, blood caked on his beard. He was a grouchy old man, that Dyntos, but he made the greatest of weapons the couple has ever seen, some of which he even gave to Pit and Palutena. It was his hobby, his prime passion; now his hobby was eating the flesh of the living, but it's still a hobby, ya know?

"Pit!" The brunette winced as Palutena swung her staff at Dyntos's legs, causing him to trip. A crack was heard, and his leg immediately split in two, the very muscles severing from the bone before Pit's eyes. He gasped as Palutena began to bash the infected's skull in, brains and spewing, the moans and grunts of the old man dying out. And by the time she was done, the angel was crying hysterically, which was quite understandable.

"Pit, darling, are you alright?" No response. "Pit, answer me!"

"D-D-Dark Pit!" he sputtered out, the thought of someone doing that to his brother frightening him. "Pl-please, Pal, we have to save him! We have to make sure he's alright, please, please, please – "

The brunette's tears reduced him to nothing more than a stuttering mess. Palutena sighed. She knew that without Dark Pit, Pit considered himself basically nothing. He was the only family he had left, the only person that could truly support him. Not even Palutena herself could provide the kind of comfort Pittoo could provide. Knowing Dark Pit, the fallen angel was currently on his way to save them on the blazing saddles of hell, mowing down zombies in the process.

Might as well meet the reckless boy halfway.

Palutena picked the bow she had grabbed for Pit off the dirty ground and handed it to him. He shakily accepted it and held it close to him. Together, the goddess and the angel ran off, hoping to meet Dark Pit along the way and survive while doing it.

"Oh Gods, Gods, Gods, Marth, we're going to die."

"Lucina, we won't die."

"Can you see the future, Marth? Can you the Naga damn future?"

"No, but – "

"Then, please, just let me panic as quietly as I can."

Marth sighed inwardly. He really didn't wish to have this whisper-argument with his younger cousin right now. They were currently hiding under one of the cash registers at The Plegian Supermarket, the store with good quality goods for low prices! They had bags and bags of canned food and water bottles with them, ditching more of the perishable food they had originally gotten. Marth's plan was to silently sneak out of the store and make a run for it, but first Lucina would need to do a little thing called shutting the hell up.

Too bad she doesn't really understand that concept right now.

Marth wrapped an arm around his cousin and pulled her close, hoping to quiet her down and provide some much-needed comfort. He could tell she was worried about her family, and he couldn't blame her. Neither Chrom, Robin, Reflet, nor Morgan would answer the phone, which was obviously worrying the usually calm and collected Lucina. Then again, it was really hard to keep your cool when someone's trying to tear your skin apart, but he really needed Lucina to calm down.

Once again, too bad she doesn't really understand that concept right now.

Right now, the store's cashier was currently searching for the two bluenettes, and judging by the moaning, he was right above them. It's a shame, too; the cashier was the boy Lucina had a crush on for as long as Marth could remember. Yarne, or something like that. He was some weird Taguel thing, and Marth had always thought he was too timid for a strong and independent woman like Lucina; and he basically proved it by not fighting back when some elderly woman that became zombie-fied came after him.

"Marth, I'm worried about my family," Lucina whispered, trying her hardest not to cry. "Do something." Her father Chrom and mother Robin…could they possibly be dead? No, Chrom wouldn't allow that to happen. What about Uncle Reflet and her little brother Morgan? Oh, dear, she should be with them. Ever since her college had started spring break, she's been hanging out with Marth 24/7. She's only really seen her family three times since she's been out, and she only visited today because Morgan bothered her about it. And now there's a chance that she may never see them again. It was bothering poor Lucy, and trying to convince yourself that your entire family isn't dead yet really makes a person cranky.

"I'm trying, Lucy, but we have to wait for the perfect moment. I'm trying to make sure we continue to live. It'll be alright, it really – "

"No it won't! I should be with them right now, Marth! I should be spending my last moments with them! But what's happening instead? I'm stuck inside some fucking supermarket, waiting to die!"

Lucina was being a little too loud for Marth's liking. One would think that Lucina, the person who stomped on spiders while Marth crawled away in fear, would stop panicking. "Lucina, just be quiet and – "

"No! To hell with that! I need to save my mother and father, Marth! My brother and Reflet!" Lucina scrambled from underneath the cashing station, leaving the shopping bags behind and ignoring Marth's protests. "I have to make sure Morgan's okay."

Lucina stood up, not realizing that a zombie was standing behind her, waiting for some mere human to snatch up and chomp down on. Her long blue hair was grabbed and she quickly fell backwards, screaming and flailing. They both fell to the floor, Lucina trying her hardest to keep the zombie away from her face. Marth quickly left their hiding spot and saved his cousin the only way he could think of doing: by picking up the cash register and throwing it on the zombie's head, nearly missing his younger cousin's face. Blood and guts splattered on both Lucina and the floor.

"Oh Gods," Lucina said, placing her hands on her blood-stained hair, "Marth, it's on me. The blood's on me. It is on me it is on me it is – Oh Gods." Lucina quickly sat up, grabbed the nearest plastic bag, and threw up. Marth quickly ran to Lucina's side and pulled her into a protective hug.

"Shush, little cousin, I've got you. No need to worry; you'll be safe with me." Lucina nuzzled into her older cousin's shoulder, crying hysterically. "I'll get you cleaned up and everything." Marth looked at the store's entrance. With all the screaming Lucina did, someone was likely to have heard her, and they were probably on their way here. Probably weren't of the living variety either. Marth helped a trembling Lucina stand and released her from his grasp.

"Don't let go of me!" she screamed. Marth quickly grabbed her hand, apologizing. They both grabbed their food and left the store and the bloody mess behind. Marth himself wanted to just break down into tears: the world had quickly turned to straight to hell, and they were weaponless, but he couldn't cry now. Not now and most likely never. He was sure that Lucina would have a mental meltdown if he had shown any sign of giving up, and he needed Lucina more than she needed him.

"You ready?" Marth asked, his voice cracking slightly.

"Y-yeah," Lucina replied, sniffling.

"Okay, let's go see if everyone's alright."

Marth still held his cousin's hand, squeezing it firmly, walking over bodies that'll soon reanimate to brainless killers. They both walked in the direction of home, hoping that Chrom and Reflet put up a barricade of some sort. Hoping that they all escaped and left a note behind, telling the bluenette's to meet them at a certain location.

Hoping that there will still be a family to see.

"C'mon Snivy, you can do it," Link said, clapping his hands softly. "Just a little more." Now that the Hylian thought about it, the Pokémon should be the one giving him this encouragement. Such a shame that he could only say his own name.

The Grass Snake Pokémon followed the exhausted Hylian to the Smashville Bus Station. He found this young Hylian frantically swinging a sword at a large horde of infected, panicking as he tried to stay alive a bit longer. Using the attacks his previous and now-dead owner taught him, the Pokémon quickly helped out and tagged along with Link, searching for the blonde's missing wife, Zelda, and son, Toon Link.

"Zelda?" Link called. "Toon Link? Where are you? Please, please, please, where are you? Zelda!" Link called for his missing family to no avail. One moment, they were having a nice afternoon snack of Hylian biscuits and jelly and the next moment, they were running from a very bothersome and rude horde of flesh eaters. Along the way, they were somehow separated and the young husband and father found himself all alone, armed with a sword passed down from generation to generation in his shaking hands.

Well, until this Snivy came to his rescue. It was amazing that, out of anyone, an animal would come to his need. A snake-type-thing, in matter of fact. How does one even repay a Pokémon for such a kind gesture? It's not like he could provide him so nice Pokémon luxuries; the world won't allow for that anymore. Link should give him some the Hylian biscuits he had stuffed in his pouch when shit hit the fan.

Unable to walk any further, Link fell to the ground, dropping his sword in the process. The Snivy ran to him and helped Link roll over onto his back. The blonde was breathing heavily. Arms weak, legs heavy, the apocalypse was really taking a toll on him. Damnit, the world just had to end when he was having a good time with his family. Couldn't happen when he actually had to go to work, huh?

"Snivy, I'm alright," he breathed, trying to get the Pokémon to stop poking at his shoulder. "I…I just need to rest for a second. We'll walk to the bus station and see if any of the buses work in a little bit, 'kay? Just…need to think and rest and…"

The Pokémon continued to prod at his acquaintance, not to bother him, but to warm him of the incoming horde that was headed in their direction. The sounds of faint moaning were getting ever-so closer, and if the Pokémon could get him to move closer to the bus station, maybe they could hide and, oh, I don't know, live.

"Snivy, what the hell's wrong with you?" The Hylian sat up. "Oh shit."

Link scrambled to his feet and grabbed his sword. "Damn, damn, damn, I really need to learn how to take a hint." The two companions quickly attempted to analyze the situation as they ran the remaining few yards to the station. Link immediately headed to the sole bus left while Snivy kept watch.

Link examined the bus, realizing two things: how does he get in without making too much noise, and how the hell does he operate a bus? The last time he checked, he worked in an office, not as a fucking bus operator. He walked towards the back of the large vehicle. It's not like when he drives Zelda's car or his motorcycle. It's a damn bus and –

"Who the hell punctured the back tires?" The Hylian noticed two large holes in the rear tires, making it pointless to drive anyway. He exhaled heavily. Life was really deciding to screw the poor Hylian over. He didn't really know how to handle a zombie apocalypse. No one does! It's not like he can suddenly become Rick freakin' Grimes or whatever and just adapt to this. Who in their right mind can just decide, "Zombies? Zombies. Let's do this!" (Unbeknownst to him at the time, he will meet the batshit-insane dark angel that decided exactly just that).

Link gave up, deciding that they'll just have to escape by foot when a blood-curdling scream startled him. The scream didn't sound human to him, so he left the bus behind and ran into an encounter with pure hell.

The Grass Snake Pokémon was currently struggling against an infected's strong grasp. Others were attracted by the yelps and agonizing cries of the Pokémon, and quickly went towards him. Link judged he had about a minute to save Snivy.

"Damnit," he muttered. "Here I come, Snivy! Hold on a little while longer!" Snivy's cries were unsettling to Link. "Snivy! Oh crap, shit, damnit! Hold out Snivy! This isn't happening, this isn't – Snivy!" He couldn't let this animal die, not after what he has done for him. To the Hylian, it didn't even feel like legs were moving. Just save the Pokémon and save his family. Simple. He didn't even remember when he managed to save the Pokémon from the zombie's grasp, or when he himself managed to escape from the zombie horde. He just knew three things:

1) Link was sick and tired of life already.

2) He was in some part of town he didn't recognize, and

3) Snivy was dying in his arms.

The Pokémon had gotten a large gaping wound on the side of his body during the scuffle. Blood poured out like running water from a faucet. Link put the Snivy carefully on the ground, the blood from wound staining his brown gloves. The Pokémon's breathing was labored, and Link knew that Snivy would leave him and he'll be alone yet again. It was taking all of the Hylian's strength and energy to not cry.

"You know, my son would've loved you," he said, his voice breaking at this horrid sight. "Are you hungry? You must be. Tired, too. Here, take this."

Link reached in his pouch and pulled out a crushed Hylian biscuit. Before Snivy came, he was going to eat it as his final meal. Now, it'll be the poor Pokémon's last craving for food. He held the Snivy's head slightly up, feeding it the biscuit and smiled as Snivy managed to swallow it down.

"Good, isn't it? Zelda, my wife, made it. She's a great cook. You would've loved all her cooking." Link rubbed the Snivy's head. The Pokémon purred at the comforting touch. "Oh Goddesses, Snivy, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. You know, you can sleep now. I won't keep you awake any longer."

Snivy cried in both protest and pain, but Link continued to pet it.

"It's alright, little Snivy. You're tired. Don't worry; I'll keep an eye on you while you sleep. I promise."

The Snivy nodded and slowly closed his eyes. The heavy breathing transitioned to light, short breaths before stopping altogether. Link, knowing what happens once you are bitten and die, retrieved his sword and reluctantly brought the merciful weapon into the air and down upon the Pokémon's head, quick and graceful.

The Hylian picked up Snivy's lifeless body and moved it towards a large oak tree. He placed the body down and used his sword to make a medium-sized hole. He placed the Pokémon's body gently in the hole and covered the dirt over him. He said not a single word as he used his sword to etch into the tree "Here lies Snivy, a very dear friend. Let him rest; he deserves it."

Link stared at what he written, tears finally streaming down his face. He walked away from the tree, continuing what he had started as: alone.

Fox McCloud and Snake David Kojima were the only people at the Smashville Gun Range and Store when the shooting director had sudden taste for the flesh of a quick-thinking vulpine and a smart-ass bounty hunter. After taking out every idiot employee who decided to not use the countless guns at their disposal to save their own ass, Snake and Fox stocked up on weapons that they had first-access to: rifles, pistols, shotguns. They ditched the store and went to the parking lot to get in their respective cars and ditch town.

Actually, it's kind of hard to ditch town when their cars have been stolen.

"Damnit!" Snake exclaimed, anger marring his features. "The hell we're gonna do now?"

Fox sighed. He had known Snake for years, a fact that still surprised the fox every now and then, and still couldn't get used to Snake's bouts of frustration. "Calm down. We'll think of something."

Snake put the bag of guns down, deciding to light a cigarette as a response. Fox rolled his eyes and sighed again. Did he really have to pop out a smoke while in the middle of an apocalypse? What will he do when he runs out of lighter fluid or cigarettes?

Oh God, that'll really be hell on Earth. Fox shuddered; it was a scary thought.

"Snake, smoking isn't the answer to – what the hell is that?"

"Hmm?" Fox pointed north. The bounty hunter turned to see a pink go-kart decorated with a large parasol headed straight towards them. Snake rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing straight. What the hell was going on? Does the end of the world make you high or something? Were these cigarettes finally fucking with his head?

The pink kart pulled up in front of them. The words "Birthday Girl" were displayed on the hood. A blonde girl stepped out of the kart, her clothes and the tennis racket she held covered in fresh blood. The girl looked straight at the two before hurrying to Fox, leaving a dumbstruck Snake just staring at her.

"Hello," the girl said sweetly, surprisingly calm for a person with guts staining her frilly pink dress. "My name is Peach Toadstool. I am sixteen years old. I cannot find my boyfriend, Roy Pherae, and I just killed my best friend, Daisy, because she was bitten. I'm scared and hungry, and I doubt this tennis racket will provide any more protection. My car can only hold four people, but I have another car back at my house. If you'll come with me, we can get the car, and help other survivors. Please?"

Fox and Snake stared at the mysterious girl awkwardly. She comes out of nowhere, covered in blood, releases all of the personal information, and expects them to help her? Well, her eyes did showcase prime fear, and she looked a little too young and delicate to be completely alone.

Though, the fact that she killed her ex-best friend in cold blood effectively took away the damsel-in-distress status.

"That thing is a damn car?" Snake asked. Fox sweatdropped, annoyed that the kart is the first thing he asks about.

"Yes," Peach replied. "Well, no. It's a kart, but it provides sufficient transportation."

"Snake, I think we should help her," Fox said. He had a knack for reading into people's feelings, and under this girl's collected blue eyes was someone who was scared the hell out of her wits.

"Sure, whatever," Snake said, taking another puff of his cigarette.

"Damnit Snake, this girl needs our – wait, you agree?" No protests or talking back? Is this really the Snake David Kojima I know?

"The girl has a ride," Snake explained. "She's useful. That, and she did have to kill her friend with just some measly tennis racket. She needs us." Snake gestured to the girl. "Peach, you have any food at that house of yours?"

Peach shook her head. "No, I'm afraid not. Roy and I were going to get some food when everything went so terrible."

"Alright, no food, but we have guns and countless ammo." Snake placed a finger on his chin. "Hot damn, we're in business! C'mon girls, we got food to find. Peach, you're driving; I'll ride in that frilly crap, but you can't expect me to drive it."

Snake grabbed the bag of guns and hopped into the back seat while Peach stepped into the driver's seat. Fox shrugged, deciding to take when he can get and sat next to Peach in the passenger's seat. Peach put the kart in reverse, turned around, and quickly drove off.

The ten-year-old Nana Climber searched everywhere for her twin brother, Popo. She left the babysitter slumped against the wall of her ravaged home, after Nana determined that she wasn't breathing anymore. The young girl held a shard of broken glass in her hand. It was the only protection she had with her.

Currently Nana was venturing into a neighborhood she seldom visited. If she remembered right, her brother Popo was visiting his friend, Lucas, at one of these houses. She had a vague vision of what the house looked like, and hoped that Lucas and Popo were just hiding somewhere, all safe and sound. Nana felt more fear than bravery right now; she just wanted to get her brother and his friend, find their mother and father, and get to somewhere safe.

"4408, 4408," she chanted quietly to herself, remembering what she believed to be the Lucas's house number. "4408, 4408…aha! Here it is!"

Nana didn't remember Lucas's house looking so colorful with its purple paint and pink roof. In matter of fact, it was downright tacky, but that was just Nana's opinion. The front door was open, which meant either good luck or bad luck. Most likely bad luck, but Nana didn't want to think that way. She has always tried to be an optimistic girl, no matter what. It was one of the few traits that differentiated her from her twin brother, the grand pessimist.

Though, pessimism doesn't sound too bad right now.

Nana entered the house. Tables were knocked over and curtains torn. Definitely a bad sign. She took a look around, searching for any signs of life or infected. She caught something blue out of the corner of her eye, an article of clothing lying on the couch. She went to it and grabbed it. There was blood on it, but she recognized this light blue jacket from anywhere.

Nana began to panic. Could her brother…? No, he couldn't be. Popo was the cool and more collected of the twins. He could handle a situation like this; he wouldn't have let anything happen to him, knowing his little sister was left behind, scared out of her mind.

The brunette checked the pockets, searching for a note. To her luck, she pulled out a folded piece of paper. She unfolded it and immediately read the chicken scratch that was her brother's handwriting.

"Nana, if you are reading this, then I have obviously left and you made it here safe and sound. What a miracle; I think that optimism of yours is rubbing off on me. Anyway, I've left a baseball bat for you. You remember how we used to play baseball when we were younger? Yeah, I know you do. When trouble arises, swing that bat as hard as you can, 'kay? Don't look in the closet, either. Nana, I'm not sure where I'm headed, but I know we'll meet again. Don't be scared; I'm alright, and you'll be, too. Love, Your Big Brother Popo."

Nana looked over her shoulder and saw the bat lying on the floor. She placed the note back in her brother's jacket and picked up the bat. She headed back to the front door, passing the closet that Popo forbade her to enter. Curiosity began to bother young Nana, and she slowly grabbed and twisted the doorknob, her brother's jacket slung over her shoulder and the baseball bat raised high above her head.

She swung the door open, revealing a pale-skinned Lucas slumped against the wall. His sunflower-colored hair was dyed in red, and part of his skull was exposed. Nana swiftly closed the door, swallowing the bile she so desperately wanted to puke out. Did Popo do this? How hard was it for him to do this to his best friend...? Nana shook her head; she wouldn't think about it. She wouldn't cry about it. She'll just have to be a big girl until she reunites with her brother.

Nana stepped back out into the outside world, walking out to the center of the street. It wasn't the world she loved anymore; that much she understood. The faint sound of engine roaring caught her attention. She turned her head to the right to see a pink go kart in the distance.

She held the bat high in the air, swinging it around as hard as she could, calling out to her saviors.

"EAT LEAD, BITCHES! YEAH! OOH, HEAD-FREAKIN'-SHOT. NICE ONE!"

The rowdy, rambunctious combined voices of Ice and Snow Yukimura gained the attention of more than a few zombies. However, their attention was cut off when fast-moving bullets connected with their blood-caked faces.

Snow and Ice Yukimura were the local celebrities of Smashville, being the semi-popular exercise trainers of Wii Fit Studios, where you'll feel the healthy, fun burn! They were twins, with Snow being the older, more mature one. Ice was always mischievous and a bit on the immature and playful side, something that would always grate on Snow's nerves.

But, now that the world has ended, you might as well let your hair (and bullets) fly loose.

The twins soared down the streets on their vehicle of choice: motorcycles. They carried duffel bags with them, said bags filled to the brim with guns and chocolate bars. They originally felt bad for stealing the supplies, but when a large horde of zombies came their way, it was either kill or be killed.

So they rode side by side, the smell of burning rubber bothering their noses, shooting down any hostilities. With the world gone to shit, they had to look out for each other, and Ice will be damned to lose his precious sister to these flesh-eating bastards.

"Where are we going, Ice?" Snow called, her dusty brown hair flowing in the wind.

"Dunno," Ice replied. "But I do know that we are getting the hell out of this town. We aren't famous anymore – just a pair of survivors riding in the wind, hoping not to die in the process. It's the Smashvillian dream."

"Thanks for the reassurance," Snow said, the sarcasm clearly evident. Ice smiled.

"No problem at all, Little Snowflake…?"

Snow raised an eyebrow at her brother, a bit worried by his voice suddenly trailing off like that. He had the look of "Oh crap" on his face, something that is not an amazing sign. Before Snow could open her mouth, Ice simply pointed ahead of him, and Snow directed her attention to a slick-looking red car and a pink go-kart headed in their direction.

That was such a fucked-up combination that Snow didn't even wish to comment on it.

However, cars rushing towards them meant survivors, and the fact they weren't being shot at probably meant they were friendly survivors. It was totally a hopeful miracle…maybe. The twins simultaneously pressed their foot to the pedal and sped to the oncoming vehicles.

"Hey!" Ice yelled as he inched closer to them. "We are totally cool people! Fucking amazing, in matter of fact! We won't harm you, so don't, like, kill us, please!"

The rival vehicles came to complete stop, and Snow and Ice followed suit. They hopped off their motorcycles as people left the vehicles, weapons in hand. The pale-skinned twins eyed the seemingly-mismatched group warily.

Standing before them were two good-looking bluenettes; a timid angel holding hands with some green-haired tall woman; some mercenary-looking dude and a freakin' fox packing heat; a Hylian that looks like he has seen some things holding a young girl that has probably seen worse in his arms standing next to a girl that dressed like a revenge-obsessed princess; and, at the forefront, another angel that looked hella edgy and looked totally prepared for the zombie apocalypse.

Ice grinned. He has found his people.

The dark angel was the one to walk forward, taking the initiative of meeting these two strangers. Ice decided to meet him halfway, much to Snow's consternation. There was the recklessness again, shining brightly and proudly.

The two men stopped right in front of each other, staring directly into each other's eyes. Blood red met with pure white, and a sense of tension fell upon the dark angel's group and Snow. One stupid move, and people could instantly die. It was nerve-wracking, and Snow knew she could not handle an entire group by herself should something go wrong.

"So you two were the ones riding down the street, shooting down these undead fuckers?" The dark angel smiled slyly, his feathers ruffling slightly. "Nice."

"Thanks." Ice placed his gun on the ground, showing non-hostility, and put his hands on his hips "Gotta go full-out for situations like this."

Ice watched the raven-haired boy place his weapon on the ground and mimic his body language. "That's damn right."

Snow sighed, utterly relieved. She looked at the group and saw relief plastered on their faces as well. All was somewhat-well in the world now.

Ice's eyes trailed from the angel's face to his large wings.

"Dark teal wings, eh?" he remarked, smirking. "I like, bro. Totally badass."

"And I like the way you handle yourself: reckless as hell. Reminds me of, well, me. We need people like you. You two wanna join our group?"

Ice glanced at Snow, who simply shrugged in response. Being with a group meant a larger chance of survival, and with them, the odds of survival looked damn good.

"Hell yeah."

The dark angel smiled. "Good. Name's Dark Pit, by the way."

"And I'm Ice, and the woman over there is my twin sister, Snow."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Snow greeted politely.

"Ready to kill these flesh-eating bastards?"

Ice and Snow smirked, revving their motorcycles as an obnoxious sort of war cry. "You know it," they said in unison.

Five days since the initial outbreak and the utter end of the world. There were still stragglers in the town of Smashville, trying to escape the rise of the undead. The majority weren't very successful, but it was the effort that counted.

The purple staff connected with the side of the infected's skull, quick and swift, blood and brains splattering everywhere in an almost-cartoonish way. A foot stomped what was left of the zombie's head, making a disgustingly gooey sound. The dark angel smirked, taking a look back at his crew. "That, ladies and gents, is how you kill like a badass."

Snake clapped his hands, the only one besides Ice amazed by the efficiency and gore of the kill. "Damn, Dark Pit, you handled the situation better than I could have. Did I ever mention that's a damn fine weapon you've got there?"

Dark Pit smirked. "Thanks. And no, I don't believe you have ever mentioned my damn fine weapon."

"Well, I am now." Snake nodded. "A damn fine weapon," he repeated. Fox, Lucina, and Marth rolled their eyes. They were all aware of the dark angel's Dark Pit staff being a "damn fine weapon". They really didn't need to be reminded of it via constant bragging.

Ice chuckled. "Hey, they know good things when they see them. Right, Snow?"

Snow rolled her eyes, smiling. "Yeah, Ice. It's all grand and cool."

Ice scowled. "It's nice to hear your enthusiasm."

"We should get going," Link said, holding a sleeping Nana in his arms. "I think we've exhausted all the remaining supplies in Smashville."

"Where else where we go?" Peach asked.

Dark Pit placed his staff on his shoulder. "Onett," he stated firmly. "Onett's a small town, smaller than Smashville. Shouldn't be too much trouble there. We'll just drive through Fourside to get there."

"He has a good point," Marth said. "We could also see if there's any more supplies there, too. And since we have to drive for Fourside to get there, we'll check that out, too. Get what's left before it's all gone."

Dark Pit headed to the red GLA parked behind Peach's Birthday Girl. "C'mon everyone, we got places to be." He hopped into the driver's seat and put the key in the ignition, bringing the Mercedes to life.

The survivors got into the vehicles, with Snake, Fox, Link, and Nana getting into Peach's Birthday Girl and Marth, Lucina, Pit, and Palutena riding with Dark Pit. Ice and Snow hopped on their motorcycles, revving them up. The dark angel pulled off first, with Peach trailing behind him, then the twins. They drove past the destruction and horror the town has experienced in the past five days and moved onto the rural road that led to Fourside. Perhaps Onett was worse than Smashville. Perhaps it wasn't. Only time would tell. What time did tell them was that if they want to live, they better learn how to survive.

Well, here is Death Toll: You Better Learn How to Survive, a Zombie!AU I started long ago but deleted it for various reasons. When a fellow writer asked me what happened to it (I was so surprised someone actually remembered!), I told her that it'll come back during the summer. Well, it's here, and it's here to stay.

The original prologue was 5,269 words. This one is 6,800 words, not including the author's note. I added a few more details here and there to the original prologue, but the biggest addition is the inclusion of Snow and Ice Yukimura (the Female and Male WFT, respectively), two characters that were not in the original prologue. I don't see the Trainers in a lot of stories (especially the male one), so I decided to add them.

So, this is something I've wanted to do for a long time. It's mainly horror/adventure/action, with some romance (with the main pairings being Kurocina and Marth x Link). I don't really ship Kurocina (I'm more of a Kurolina, Dark Pit x Rosalina girl), but it kinda works for this story, so I'm just going with it. I'm also trying to decide on another sub-pairing besides Pit x Palutena, but it's not a top priority.

Also, like another story of mine, Dyed in Scarlet, Vermillion, Crimson, Carmine, this story isn't a big priority like I Hear You and RCHK, so don't expect fast updates. I'll be able to focus on this one more once I finish the previous two.

So, I'll see you all in Chapter 1: Shingeki no Zombies ~Attack on Undead.

Oh, and here is everyone's ages and full names, just as a bit of trivia:

Dark Pit and Pit Lumière Kuroi: 22

Palutena Déesse Athena and Marth Anri Lowell: 24

Lucina Chromia Lowell: 19

Link Kokiri: 23

Fox McCloud: 30

Snake David Kojima: 34

Peach Toadstool: 16

Nana Climber: 10

Snow and Ice Yukimura: 21