So this may be my first multi-chapter fic! Hoorah! As if that means anything...

Alright, down to business. First off, this is set between Brawl and SSB4. The pairings will not be mentioned at the moment, so they remain a surprise for now. There's really only one major one anyway, so I suppose I'm open for suggestions.

Oh, and many of the female smashers and assist trophies are main characters. So, if that's your thing, read on. If not, you can still read it anyway. There will be a few extra characters from other series, they are not OCs.

One more thing: This will be a dark fic with mentions of character deaths. Consider yourself warned.

Disclaimer: I don't own this game or the characters.

Chapter One: Trophy Room

He thought she looked a bit like a porcelain doll sealed in that glass case, with her pale skin and blank expression. Trapped, motionless, fragile. For a moment, he simply stared silently into those hollow eyes, hoping for a sign of life, an answer, but found only his own solemn expression staring back at him.

Fingers reached out to touch the smooth glass surface, as if a sign to tell her someone was out there and someone cared. But nothing he did now could help her. She had been placed in the hands of fate, and all he could do was wait.

Of all the people, why did it have to be her? Someone so full of life and meaning. Someone who could make a difference. He knew his life had been thrown away long ago, cast into the depths of shadows that fell beyond the peaks in the horizon of the path he chose. So, it made sense for him to be here. But her...

In a way, it was sad. What did she feel? Was she even conscious? To him, she appeared as a work of art, a caught fish, resting on the border between life and death.

A small smudge on the case caught his eye. Barely noticeable, but there nonetheless. It appeared almost as if she'd been tossed back in here and left abandoned, along with all the other unused equipment.

A cold draft crept through the walls, chilling straight to the bone. It was eerie, this place. Dark and cold and forgotten, like evidence to a crime that one shouldn't have witnessed.

A few rupees lay in a small pile near the corner, a myriad of colors and sizes. Their shine had been dulled by the blanket of dust that had settled throughout the years. He had just discovered this room merely a week ago, and found himself contemplating how long she may have been here, on the fringes of some kind of mind-purgatory. It couldn't have been more than a year ago they'd last spoken. Unless, somehow, time warped throughout the different worlds and it had been much longer than that.

Only, she looked very much like the last time he saw her. He was glad to see her newly established position of power hadn't changed her into a different person. He'd already known someone else like that.

A sudden noise behind him caused his muscles to tense as he quickly spun to locate the source. Another swordsman, much like himself but still worlds away (literally) stood in the half exposed doorway, an unreadable expression across his elvish features.

Upon recognition, the first man relaxed. The two stood there for a short while in silence, attempting to find the right words to explain the situation. He'd been caught, but the look on the others face indicated that he couldn't care less why someone was in here, seemingly occupied by his own thoughts.

There was a gesture to allow entry, and the blond Hylian slipped through the crack into the room, careful to avoid contact with the old creaky door. Almost as if he'd been in here before...

With a slight tilt of the head towards the display case, Link asked, "Someone you know?"

The mercenary turned back to examine the object of his attention, already giving his answer.

"What is this place?" He asked quietly as the Hylian sidled on over to something lying at the foot of a shelf. His eyes followed the movements of his friend, as he reached down to grab something.

Link was a man of a few words, but that just made what he did say so much more important. His mind was always running, always calculating, and despite his appearance or personality, he was actually a very intelligent and caring being. He would fight to the death for what he believed in, and he'd always put those closest to him first.

At this moment, he examined what appeared to be a broken mask. Busted right in half, as if a weapon had cleaved through it.

"It's storage," the Hylian replied in an even tone, his emotions undecipherable.

"But why store broken things?" Ike asked, his anger beginning to form inside of him. That wasn't the real question he wanted to ask. He wanted to ask why there were potential assist trophies down here. Well, one Trophy in specific.

"Because the new tournament hasn't started yet."

"And?" Ike came to stand beside his friend now, who had set the mask back down carefully, as if it wasn't just a piece of broken junk left abandoned and forgotten.

The reply came out with slight hesitation. "There's nowhere else to put it..." The Hylian had moved on to a small box of stickers.

These were things that hadn't been used in the last tournament. Either they were planned for the upcoming tournament, or they had been used in a previous tournament and retired. The second option seemed much more likely.

"Why is she here?"

This time, there was no response.

"Link."

Silence. He didn't know the answer. Or if he did, he didn't plan on sharing. The real question should've been, 'Why are any of us here?' But he knew the answer was the same. None of them knew, and if they did, they wouldn't say a word, because then their life could be in danger.

Ike watched as the Hylian stopped in front of a cardboard box and reached inside. His movements were slow and careful, yet smooth nonetheless.

For a brief moment, a wispy spider web stole the mercenary's attention. He quickly swatted it aside and took a few steps closer to get a better view.

The object in Link's hands was a glass bottle, similar to the case but much smaller. Inside, Ike saw what appeared to be a small ball of light.

With wings.

It didn't move, but Link stared at it as if it were a long lost friend. After a moment, he glanced over his shoulder at the mercenary, and beckoned him to follow.

Apparently, there was a secret door. Link yanked it open with a loud creak and a blast of mildew smell. Ike wrinkled his nose in reflex, before following the Hylian. The little ball in the bottle served as a light for the dark hallway, even though the glass around the bottle appeared slightly foggy.

The hallway gradually became more and more cramped. Ike had to wonder if perhaps this transformed into a crawlspace. He hoped for both his sake and Link's that it didn't. Either way, the Hylian didn't seem at all bothered by the narrow, dark, corridor.

The mildew smell now had vanished, but it was replaced by a thick scent, or rather, a thick feel, of dust. Ike could practically breathe it in the air, and he bet if he reached out, his fingers would be coated in the grey stuff.

Suddenly, Link halted in front of him, almost causing himself to be trampled. Ike slammed on the brakes just in time to avoid collision. The Hylian just stood there for a moment. Not moving, not speaking.

Ike scowled as he waited for his friend to show some sign of life. The room was dry and stale, with a very uncomfortable atmosphere heavy of dust and dried wood. It almost caused him to sneeze.

After what felt like forever, he heard a faint noise. The mercenary glanced up as Link held the now-opened bottle in front of him. His fingers dipped inside momentarily, grasping the little ball of light.

It reminded Ike of a dead insect. Something you didn't really want to touch but had to. Although, Link treated it differently. Instead of pinching it by the wing to touch as little of the thing as possible, he scooped it up in his palm and gently pulled it from the bottle.

As soon as the thing was free, Link set down the bottle and held the ball in both hands. He raised it up a bit, shocking Ike at its similarities to that of a lantern, and what it revealed shocked Ike even more.

A set of armor, very similar to Marth's, save for the designs and the fact it appeared a bit heavier, hung on the wall, almost ceremoniously, yet hidden so deeply, it made Ike question it even more. The dull light washed out the royal blue color, making the sharp gold insignia more pronounced. Ike hadn't noticed it before, perhaps because of the dim lighting, but a few burn marks had made their scars around the metal edges, chipping off a bit of paint here and there.

However, that's not what caught his attention. There was a huge gash across the breastplate, almost exactly where the heart would be if someone were wearing this. It was deep, too, almost as if someone had actually intended to kill.

Ike glanced over at Link. No normal weapon could do this, and judging by the angle of the cut, it had been a sword of some type. The only other option would be that another factor came into play. Gravity, a trap, a smash ball, something. Some unknown force ten times the strength of an average human.

Ike couldn't take his eyes off of the display. Beside him, he figured Link felt the same. He assumed whoever once owned this had been in a previous tournament before he arrived. He also assumed that this person wouldn't be needing the armor anymore, not that it helped in the first place.

Deciding to break the silence, and knowing full well the Hylian wouldn't do it, Ike asked, "what happened?"

It was a moment before Link spoke. And when he did, his voice was so quiet Ike wasn't sure if it was only in his head or not.

"He was killed..."

Ike figured that much. But weren't the tournaments just for fun? Nobody really got hurt, they were always stopped before injuries could get too bad. Unless there was a malfunction or... something.

The mercenary contemplated his next question. With a hard swallow, he asked, "by who?"

He knew it was serious when Link wouldn't look at him. Instead, the Hylian placed the little ball of light back in the jar and proceeded to head back down the hallway. However, Ike stood in front of him blocking the way.

He knew Link didn't like conflict. Sure, he was one hell of a fighter in the arena or when provoked. But there were no stories told of him starting a fight. Ike fell back on that belief, hoping it would be the thing to save him in that situation.

In close quarters such as this, Link had the advantage. Being smaller and faster, he'd destroy Ike, hands down. That's why Ike hoped he would stick true to his beliefs.

And he did. The Hylian simply stood in the hallway, his face neutral, his stance calm. He would wait it out if he had to. Unfortunately, Ike didn't have that patience.

"Just tell me, Link."

A pair of blue eyes met his own. They were calm, as if to match his personality. But Ike knew that was just a shield to cover the real feeling. He could sense things better than he let on, and even he knew Link was hiding something.

If he wouldn't say it, then he would show it. And the one emotion reflected back to the mercenary confused him.

Fear.

Link wasn't afraid of anything. But whatever this was, whatever he was thinking, it had him scared. And then, a thought came to Ike.

"Link, it wasn't..."

The facade began to crumble.

"You... You're not the one..."

And down came the floodgates.

"Who killed him..."

The Hylian's face betrayed him, for a fraction of a second, before he regained control and shook his head rapidly. Ike didn't believe him. Not for a second. Suddenly, he didn't feel safe being in a dark chamber with Link. If he dropped that ball of light, Ike could say goodbye to his vision. And his life.

But, he knew his friend wasn't a murderer. So that meant something else had to happen.

"I know you didn't do it," Ike finally spoke. "You wouldn't intentionally kill someone. And that looked like murder to me."

In the darkness, the Hylian scowled. So rare an expression for him that Ike let down his guard long enough for Link to slip past.

"You don't know anything," he spat, surprising Ike by the intensity of his voice. And then, back in that cross between sad and hopeless, he added, "Its more complicated than that."

So Link was no longer a suspect. Well, maybe still a little. But if he didn't want to talk about it, then Ike needed to know, "why did you show me, then?"

Link shut his eyes briefly, as if dealing with some inner conflict. "I know what it's like to lose a friend."

So whoever this guy was had been friends with Link and someone killed him. Link still wouldn't say who, and Ike still didn't even know who this mystery guy was. But he would find out. He'd be back.

"Just, don't go asking around," Link continued. "Bad things will happen..."

But he didn't have to finish that sentence. Ike knew what happened to people who knew too much. They ended up like that hollow shell of broken armor hanging on the wall.

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