Lucas was the new addition to the Brawl roster, so it's been a tradition that those invited get to stay in the Smash Manor.
He has been known to be a shy and scared child, but he had a reason. After witnessing the death of his brother, he thought that he would never experience such horror again. When he entered the manor, everything seemed normal. He was greeted with warm happy smiles by the others. Some of the faces were very familiar, like Mario, Link and Peach. Others were very much new to him. Lucky for him, there were also kid brawlers. Those made the PSI-youth feel better.
They all welcomed Lucas as if he was part of their family. But despite their smiles and happy gestures, it was making Lucas unnerved. To top it off, he realized that the location of the manor is in an area which is away from the sun. It was deep in the forest.
"Welcome, Lucas!" Link greeted. "We hope you will like your stay here like the rest. The other children are in the room at the end of the hall." He still had that strange smile planted on his face. It was beginning to send chills down the boy's spine.
As Lucas walked down the hall, there was a dark, elusive aura enshrouded within it, but he tried his best to ignore it. As he drew nearer, he could hear the innocent laughter of the other kids. As he opened the door, the children turned around to see Lucas coming.
"Oh! Hi Lucas! We're so excited that you're here with us in the Smash Manor!" A boy clothed in a blue parka greeted first.
"We've been waiting for you ever since we heard about you being invited here!" Another boy with his cap tipped sideways said.
"We know you will like being here! We can play all day!" A girl wearing a pink parka jumped up and down.
A shadow emerged and stood tall from behind the other children. It appeared to be a boy and he probably was the oldest. He reached out to Lucas and greeted him. "Hello, Lucas. I'm Red. Just like Nana said, we know you'll like your stay here. We do." Another innocent smile was found on his face as well.
Lucas was then introduced to the rest. The boy in the blue parka was named Popo; the girl in the pink parka was Popo's twin sister, Nana; a younger looking Link with cat eyes was known as Toon Link while the other Link look-alike who very much looked like the Hylian was called Young Link. Finally, the child wearing a striped shirt and shorts, much resembling to the clothing Lucas was wearing, was Ness, who came from the same universe as him. Red mentioned that there was another child, an angel to be exact, but no one knows where he went or where he is now.
"May I ask you a question Red?" Lucas asked one time during his stay in the manor. They were all playing when the question was brought up.
"Sure, go ahead."
"Why is your eye covered with bandages?" It was true. Red's right eye was covered, but it didn't seem to have signs that it's bleeding or anything.
"Oh. Well, you see, my eye was defective ever since I was little, and my parents never knew how to cure it. I felt ashamed, having only one working eye, so I wrapped it instead." Red answered.
"I see. But then, can you tell me why the other children have bandaged body parts or facial features? Maybe along the other adults I saw as well." Lucas wanted to know more. The place began to scare him bit by bit.
"How should I say this? Since this place is ideal for the battlers, accidents usually occur. We're lucky enough that some of the adults know a thing or two about medicine, so they oftentimes treat those wounds." The boy clothed in red explained.
"Oh." It was Lucas' only reply.
Red was staring out at the window, seeing the sky change from the twilight orange to a deep blue as the crimson moon rose.
"My! It looks like it's finally time for us to all play!" Ike said as he came to the room. His bandaged neck was writhing.
Everyone turned around to gather to the centre room, where events are usually held.
"Now, what should we play?" Samus, with her wrapped right hand, asked.
"Hey Red, what are we going to do?" Lucas asked the trainer.
"It's very simple, Lucas. Every night, when the early dawn comes, all of us brawlers play a game." Red replied.
"But...Whatever for?" The PSI child wondered.
"You'll see." The brunette said with a smile.
"Let's play tag!" Young Link suggested.
"No! Let's play London Bridge!" Nana said.
"Better yet, let's play the circle!" Toon Link said. Everyone agreed with joy, except Lucas. "What's the 'circle'?"
Using her foot, because of her missing arm and wrapped hand, Zelda turned on the cassette, making it play a children's song.
"Um, maybe I'll pass." Lucas said as he began to walk out of the room. Marth blocked the way, even if his eyes were covered by bandages. "Please join us, Lucas!" He said. "I...I don't know." Lucas said with worry. "Come on, Lucas! You'll love this game! Don't run away!" Luigi tried to persuade, despite his deformed head.
"Well, I guess I could play for a little while." The PSI child finally gave in.
"Looks like you lost the game, Lucas!" Ness exclaimed.
Lucas wasn't the one who liked to play games moreover the one who usually wins. He was then forced to stay in the centre of the circle while everyone else surrounded him, holding hands. The song was being repeated over and over, the brawlers were singing along to it, while holding each others' hands or sleeves for those who had a missing arm.
Well, this is the worst.Lucas thought to himself. The people were still smiling at him. But there was something different this time. Their eyes had a glint of evil in it.
"You see, Lucas? The game wasn't that bad!" Marth said with a smile.
"Yeah…" The blonde boy muttered under his breath.
"Well, you know the rules Lucas. The one who lost the game receives a little consequence." Red said. "I know…" Lucas sighed. Could this get any worse?
"Well, what's the consequence?" He asked. The brawlers kept smiling at him.
"Be sure of only one thing. That you won't run away, whatever it is." Red told him. Lucas had trusted him very much from the beginning, so he agreed. Red held Lucas' hand and both walked out to the room.
As they went past the other rooms, the hallway seemed to extend more and more. It began to get darker and darker.
"Red, are you sure this is the right way?" The blonde asked the darkness. He couldn't see Red anymore but he knew he was still there.
"But of course!" Red replied.
A hand was felt on Lucas' shoulder, making him jolt.
"Red, where are you?! I think there's something else with us!" Lucas exclaimed in fear. But there was no reply. Red was gone.
"Hello, Lucas. Don't be afraid." It was revealed to be Link, but now he was wearing something that appeared to be a lab coat. Behind him were the other adults.
Lucas, with the help of his instincts, immediately realized that something is wrong and began to back up. But he felt something or someone stop him.
"Aw…I thought you promised us you won't run away." Realizing that it was Ike's voice, the blonde boy merely trembled in fear.
Lucas stood still as he was surrounded by the adult brawlers. Sheik, whose mouth was bandaged, drew nearer with a needle in her hand. She injected a weird fluid onto Lucas' skin. After that, the PSI boy didn't feel anything else but numb.
He could see that everyone was hiding something behind their back. But he couldn't make it out on what it was. The smiles on their faces were still there. Lucas began to tremble even more.
"Don't be scared, Lucas." Peach said in a soothing manner. "Just hold still or you may not want to end up like the other child Pit now." Wasn't Pit the name of the other child Red kept referring to? Lucas said in his mind. The adults in front of him: Mario, Snake, Samus and Marth moved out of the way to reveal another child.
There were blood-stained feathers scattered next to the body that was on the floor. The arms were pulled out from the sockets of the shoulder. A leg was cut off. What was worse is that the head was cut off as well, disembodied from the neck. Blood was splattered all over his face and his body.
"It was such a shame for Pit. He could've lived a bit longer if he didn't struggle." Ganon said.
"Now then Lucas, please hold still." The last thing Lucas ever saw was Samus holding a sharp knife next to his neck.
"Lucas! Would you like to play with us?" Ness asked, his wrapped fingers toying with his yo-yo.
"Of course I would!" Lucas said as he ran to the others. His neck still hurt, but he didn't care.
The only thing heard within the manor was the 'innocent' laughter of the children.
Everyone knew that Lucas as well will never die, just like them despite their deformed, broken or missing parts.
They then played forever within the Smash Manor.
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