Super Smash Bros. Brawl: Depression
It has been a week since 24 of the Smashers have been killed due to certain circumstances that were present at an old mansion in America. They believed that it was all the work of Slash, a master of throwing knives that had already killed a few of them. However, they soon found out that one of their own Smashers had also been killing people: Sheik. Captain Falcon, thought to have been dead, reappeared and stopped Sheik's evil intentions, while Slash aplogized for his actions, and was accepted to join the Smashers. But, now the current Smashers must deal with new Smashers, and the pain from losing their old Smashers.
9: 47 A.M.
"So, this is the new roster, eh?" Luigi mumbled half-heartedly. The twelve Smashers that were currently in the Smash Mansion were gathered by the News Bulletin Board that was usually covered with schedules for matches. Instead, it had the new roster that was to be put into effect tomorrow, when the newcomers arrived.
"Yep, it sure seems that way," Mario, Luigi's older brother, replied. Both of the pumbers were missing thier signature hats, revealing a mess of hair. Their usually neat mustaches were jagged and rough, and they had dark circles around their eyes. One of Mario's gloves even had a hole in it, letting his ring finger slip into the open air. But, neither of them cared in the least. Who could blame them? Just last week, they had lost 24 of their close friends. Ever since, the losses had taken quite a toll on each of the Smashers. Just behind the plumbers stood the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, Princess "Toadstool" Peach. She was usually optimistic about everything that happened, no matter how bad. But, even the happy-go-lucky princess looked horrible. She was mssing her jewel-encrusted crown, and her brooch. She, too, bared the same dark circles around her eyes as the Mario brothers. Next to the princess stood Link, the Hero of Time, Protector of Hyrule, Weilder of the Triforce of Courage, and the whole nine yards. However, the elf had gotten perhaps the worst of it from last week's events. He had lost his closest friend, whom he was trusted to protect, Princess Zelda. Plus, another one of his close friends, Sheik, had revealed that she had killed Zelda, as well as a few others. Link was always getting comfort hugs and such from Peach and Samus, and pats on the back from the guys. The Hero of Time was missing his green hat, revealing that his golden blonde hair was in the worst of messes. Link was also not carrying around his wide variety of weapons, including the Master Sword, bombs, and a boomerang. The hero's eyes were also red and his face soaked from crying during the night, where he dreamt about Zelda, Sheik, and sometimes even Ganondorf, his archnemesis. Link had his hands on the shoulder of Toon Link, one of his incarnations. Standing next to Toon Link were his friends, Ness and Lucas. Ness and Lucas were PSI kids, which meant that they possessed magic-like powers, including fire, telekinesis, and thunder. Toon Link was just like Link in every way, except he was smaller, younger, and more cartoon-ish looking. The three kids were confused to everything since last week when they went to the mansion, and had mostly just stuck together nowadays. Next to the children was Meta Knight, from Dreamland. Although his mask hid it, the usually cold, uncaring knight showed that he, too, missed the others. It was mainly because of Kirby's death that Meta Knight hadn't slept well for the past week, but the small knight wasn't going to admit it. On the other side of Peach was Wolf O'Donnell, leader of the Star Wolf team. His fur was jutting out unevenly on one side, as the wolf hadn't groomed it as often or precise as he used to, leaving it to look as if he only just woke up everytime someone saw him. Ever since the incidents at the mansion, Wolf was just as depressed as everyone else, but he wasn't sure why. What reason could possibly have kept him from howling at the full moon last night? Such a thing was very hard to do to say the least. He hated those fools anyway; they were weak. Next to Wolf was Samus Aran, a famous bounty hunter. She was always getting unwanted attention from the guys, repaying them with pain, suffering, and rejection. Generally speaking, she was cold, and seemingly uncaring, but she still helped to watch the kids of the mansion. Rather harshly at that, but she still showed genuine concern for them. But, lately, she had started to change. Usually, whenever the kids misbehaved, Samus would yell at them. But, lately, she found herself just telling them to be careful in a quiet voice, and not try to discipline them as much. She had also been seen wearing her Zero Suit more than before, thankfully not getting the same unwanted attention from guys as usual. Her ponytail had long since come undone, and her pale yellow hair drooped over her face, hiding her empty, pale blue eyes. Next to her was Pit, an angel. Pit was like Samus's coworker, helping her to care for the children. Although, with Samus's changes, Pit had worried about his coworker's well-being, and hadn't slept well either. His crown was absent from his head, and his overall appearance was messy. Next to Pit was Slash, a master of throwing knives. Slash himself had killed several of the Smashers back at the mansion, but had promised to change his ways, as well as ask to come live the Smashers. But, he still felt guilty and out of place about the whole thing. Slash wasn't wearing his usual black mobster hat, revealing his long black hair that still drooped around his head. His gray eyes gave off a faint red glow, and he wore a black leather jacket. His jacket concealed his bright red shirt that bore a picture of the devil with "Satan" written around it. Slash also wore a belt that had two containers of throwing knives clipped onto them, and he also had on black, baggy jeans and tall black boots. He also had on black, fingerless gloves he had bought a couple days ago.
All twelve Smashers looked horrible. It was hard to believe that they were to go right back into fighting the next day. Of course, this was Master Hand's doing, but it was to ensure that the Smash business stayed alive, which many fans had followed since the original Smash Bros. The Smashers completely understood this, and didn't treat the hand any less kindly.
"Well, I'm going down to the bar," Wolf announced, leaving the group and heading down the hall towards the mansion's bar. Meta Knight followed after the wolf, craving a few drinks himself. Pit led Toon Link, Ness, and Lucas away from the group and took them towards their rooms to play. Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Link also headed back for their rooms, leaving just Slash and Samus to stare at the new list.
"Hard to believe we're going to be going right back into normal tomorrow," Samus blurted out. Slash sighed.
"Well, Master Hand's gotta keep the business going. If it were to shut down, things would be worse," Slash reminded her.
"I know, but..." Samus started, stopping in midsentence.The two stood there for another few minutes, staring at the roster in silence. Slash saw a tear start to form in Samus's eye out of the corner of his eye. Feeling confused, he began to slowly pat her gently on the back in an effort to comfort her. Samus didn't make an attempt to stop him, and just stood there, trying not to break down and cry in front of Slash. After a couple minutes, Samus spoke up.
"I'm going up to my room," she told Slash, walking off. Slash nodded, and decided to head up to his room as well.
As he turned the corner, Slash accidentely bumped into Pit.
"Sorry," Slash quickly apologized. Pit nodded, and looked back down the hall that Slash had emerged from. Samus was still walking down the long hallway. Slash looked at Pit, and then where he was staring.
"Wait, how long were you standing there for? I thought you took them kids back to their rooms," Slash suddenly remembered. Pit faced Slash.
"About a minute actually," Pit admitted. Slash raised an eyebrow at the angel.
"Were you spying on Samus, or something?" Slash inquired. Pit shook his head.
"If you're insinuating that I have... an attraction to Samus, then you're mistaken. It's just, when I first came here, I found myself caring for the children when I wasn't at a match or anything. But, whenever I had a match, they always seemed to get in trouble, leaving me swamped with my real job, and my volunteered job," Pit explained to the knife master. Slash nodded in understanding, but was unsure what Pit was trying to explain. Pit continued.
"Then, after a while, Samus helped me out with caring for the kids, disciplining them like I couldn't bring myself to do even when I knew I had to. From there, we were pretty close friends, but not... lovers or anything like that. I"ve admired Samus for what she's done for me, and how she treats me. She's like... a sister to me, you know?" Pit asked. Slash had never had a sister, but nodded in understanding. Pit sighed.
"But, lately, she's been restless and sad. When I see her like that, it just... makes me feel sad. I really want to help her, but I don't know how, and it just drives me crazy," Pit explained. Now Slash nodded with genuine understanding, finally getting what Pit was trying to tell him.
"Hey, you can't control how she feels, you do realize that?" Slash asked, surprised he came up with that kind of advice. Pit nodded.
"I know, but... I just want to see her smile again, you know? I just want to see her happy again," Pit told Slash. Slash put his hand on Pit's shoulder.
"Listen," Slash ordered the angel, looking him hard in the eye. Pit stared into Slash's eyes.
"Just give her some time. She'll get over this eventually, just like everyone else will. You can't just force her to be happy," Slash told Pit. Pit sighed, and nodded.
"Okay, I'll wait," Pit agreed. Slash took his hand off Pit's shoulder, and smiled.
"Good, now you run along," Slash finished. Pit walked off back to his room, leaving Slash standing there in the hall for a few minutes before he decided to head back to his room.
--
8: 30 P.M.
Pit and Samus returned from tucking in Toon Link, Ness, and Lucas to bed, and settled into the living room with the other Smashers. Wolf and Meta Knight were passed out on the floor from their drinks earlier that day, and no one made any movement to wake them up and send them off to bed. Mario and Luigi were flipping through the channels, looking for something to watch. Peach was reading a book, Link was polishing his sword, and Slash was sitting in the recliner, listening to his iPod. Samus and Pit took a seat next to Peach on the couch. Bored, they decided to see what the Mario Brothers would watch. As they were passing through the news channels for the third time, Samus saw something that caught her interest.
"Wait, go back!" Samus blurted out in the room, catching everyone's attention. Mario flipped back a channel, and everyone saw why Samus asked him to go back.
"... reported that 24 of them were killed inside the mansion. Details are unknown, as the Smashers and Master Hand will not agree to give them to us. As a result, new Smashers will be going to the Smash Mansion tomorrow. How will things play out for the newcomers and current Smashers? Tune in tomorrow and find out! I'm John Genericanaman, with my co-host, Lady Lady, saying, good night..."
With that, Mario shut off the television, leaving the Smashers in a deathly silence.
"You know what? I think I'm going to head up to bed now," Link announced, breaking the silence. He picked up his sword and sword polish, and left the room.
"Same here, I'm tired," Luigi agreed, following after the elf. Mario and Peach followed after the two, stopping to drag Meta Knight and Wolf to their beds. That left Pit, Samus, and Slash. Slash took out his earphones, and turned off his iPod, stuffing it in his pocket. Slash then sighed heavily, and placed his hand to his head. Samus felt tears return to her eyes once again. Pit began fiddling with his fingers, not sure what to do. Then, he felt a familiar feeling in his lower stomach.
"Uh, be right back. Nature calls," Pit quickly explained, walking off for the bathroom. Samus watched him go out, and then stared at Slash. Then, out of nowhere, she felt herself begin to cry, something she hadn't done since she was a kid. Slash heard her cries, and looked over. Samus was curled up in a ball, and was trying to hide the fact she was crying. Slash gulped softly, and walked over next to Samus. He helped Samus stand up on her feet, and was about to pat her on the back, when she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Slash was taken by surprise, and was about to pull away, but decided not to. He returned the gesture, and hugged her back, letting the bounty hunter cry into his shoulder.
"You miss your friends, don't you?" Slash asked, feeling guilty again. Samus stopped crying, and sniffed.
"Mmhmm," Samus mumbled, her face still buried into Slash's shoulder. Slash sighed to himself, not sure what to do. Samus pulled her head out of Slash's shoulder, and rested her chin on it instead.
"I've always lost people close to me," Samus blurted out. Slash felt confusion rise to his face.
"Always? What do you mean by that?" Slash asked, taking the chance of Samus breaking down again. But, Samus kept calm, and answered him.
"When I was little, my parents were killed," Samus explained. Slash felt a pinge of sadness at this, especially when she had said "parents". He even felt a few tears coming to his face, but held them back.
"I... I never knew that. I'm sorry," Slash replied. Samus sniffed again.
"And then, Marth and Zelda were killed. Marth was the only guy that treated me like a human being. Well, at least one that considered me a friend, too. And Zelda... she helped me deal with a lot of problems in Melee and Brawl, like an older sister of some sort. And now, they're gone," Samus finished, feeling tears return to her face again. Slash felt... lost at the moment. Samus, a girl he had even tried to kill before, was opening up to him with all these things. Maybe, if she could do it ...
"... You're... not the only one who's had a rough past," Slash admitted.
"Wait, you too?" Samus inquired, feeling herself relax a little. Slash sighed.
"When I was little, my parents died in a car accident," Slash explained briefly. Samus didn't know what to say. She had never given any real thought about Slash's past. The two continued to hug for the next few moments, calming down from their sadness. They let go of each other, and stared at each other. Slash fixed Samus's ponytail, and threw it back behind her head.
"There, much better," Slash commented, smiling lightly. Samus felt a smile creep to her face, and wiped her wet face. The two stared awkwardly at each other for a few minutes. At that same moment, neither of them noticed that Pit had walked back into the room. Pit kept silent, and watched to see what would happen. Samus reached her hands up, and brushed Slash's hair out of the way, showing more of his face. The two blushed, and smiled even more. Slash's hands somehow found their way to Samus's, and Samus let him. Then, the two began to lean towards each other. Pit gulped, and watched the scene before him. Their lips drew closer, and closer... Samus opened her eyes, and pulled away. Slash had opened his eyes too, and leaned back so that he stood up straight.
"Ummm..." Samus stuttered, her cheeks growing on even brighter red.
"Yeah, uhh," Slash mumbled as well, scratching the back of his head. The two chuckled lightly for a few seconds.
"So, we almost... right there, huh?" Samus asked, feeling extremely confused.
"Yeah, that close," Slash responded, closing his thunb and first finger close together. Then, they looked to their sides before facing one another again. Samus sighed.
"LIsten, Slash. Don't take this the wrong way, but it's just... I don't want to end up losing another close friend again, you know?" Samus explained, feeling an uncomfortable pain in her stomach. Slash nodded.
"Yeah, I get where you're coming from," Slash answered. Samus nodded slowly.
"Thanks for listening to me. It felt good to just... let it all out," Samus then thanked, smiling at Slash. Slash smiled as well, and nodded.
"No problem, anytime!" Slash assured her. Then, Samus yawned, stretching her arms up.
"Well, I guess I'm heading up to bed now, good night," Samus changed the subject.
"Good night Samus," Slash returned. Samus turned, and was about to head off for her room, when she turned around, and gave Slash a quick kiss on the cheek. Samus felt herself blush again, and giggled to herself before walking off to her room. She didn't even notice Pit. Slash just stood there, sliding his hand up to where Samus kissed him. He took a seat on the couch next to him, and smiled to himself. For the first time since he got here, and most of his life, Slash actually felt happy. Pit smiled as well from the doorway, and headed back for his room to sleep. Only, this night, he could sleep peacefully, knowing that there was hope for Samus's happiness.
8: 44 A.M.
The twelve Smashers were gathered in the main lobby, as they were to greet the newcomers that would arrive any minute now. They had each dressed their best to make a good impression, but nothing could be done about how tired they looked. Regardless, they hoped their big, fake smiles would distract them from the dark circles around their eyes. Soon, the first newcomers arrived, who were none other than the five from Melee that got cut. That included Dr. Mario, Young Link, Mewtwo, Pichu, and Roy. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Link, Samus, and Ness greeted them easily, while Toon Link, Pit, Meta Knight, Wolf, Lucas, and Slash introduced themselves.
"Its good to be back again!" Dr. Mario shouted with glee, sighing. Pichu and Young Link agreed with the doctor, but Mewtwo and Roy disagreed.
"Yes, but the reason why we're back seems enough to me that it's not good to be back," Mewtwo retaliated.
"Yeah!" Roy agreed. Before there were any arguements, Link stepped in.
"Shut the hell up all of you! Just get in here, and take your damn stuff into your room, and get your fricking picture taken for the roster!" Link ordered, flames burning in his eyes. The five Smashers blinked a few times before doing what Link told them, and headed up to their assigned rooms. The others just stared at Link for a few seconds before looking over at the door as it opened again. In flew Ridley, with Samurai Goroh, Shadow Mario, and Bowser Jr. walking close behind.
"Never would have thought Master Hand would call me back in to be a character in Brawl," Ridley commented as the Smashers greeted him. Just as this group was being introduced to the Smashers, even more newcomers walked in. This time, it included Dixie and Funky Kong, Krystal, Marcus, Midna, Tails "Miles" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Shadow the Hedgehog, and Big Boss. The Smashers shook hand after hand of the newcomers, hiding the fact that they were slightly tired from shaking everyone's hands. About a minute after the newcomers had retreated up to their rooms, the last of the newcomers walked through the door, which included Daisy, Waluigi, Birdo, Mallow, and Geno. After the five of them had headed up to their rooms, the twelve sighed, and remembered that they had to report to the auditorium for Master Hand's official welcoming speech in about an hour.
"So, what do we do for an hour?" Meta Knight asked. Mario shrugged.
"I'm going to go eat some breakfast, anyone want to join me?" Wolf suggested. Within the next few seconds, Wolf, Peach, Link, Luigi, and Mario were heading to get some breakfast, along with Samus, Toon Link, Ness, and Lucas. Meta Knight decided to check in on the newcomers, and see how their pictures were going, leaving Slash and Pit.
"Soooo," Slash broke the awkward silence. "How are you spending your hour?" Slash asked. Pit shrugged.
"Beats me. I didn't have any plans to do anything," Pit admitted. Slash sighed. He looked back over at Pit, and saw that the angel was smiling at him. Slash cocked his eyebrow.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" Slash asked, feeling a little creeped out by Pit's smile.
"I saw you and Samus almost kiss last night," Pit blurted out, making Slash blush a little.
"Errr, well..." Slash stuttered, not sure what to say. Pit laughed.
"I thought you said that you couldn't force her to be happy?" Pit joked, remembering Slash's advice from yesterday. Slash chuckled.
"I'm not forcing her to be happy. Besides, we're not... like that," Slash replied. Pit nodded.
"Okay then, if you say so," Pit let the subject drop. After a period of silence, Slash sighed.
"Okay, so maybe we do have feelings for each other," Slash admitted. Pit faced Slash again.
"It's just, we don't really know each other that well," Slash explained to Pit. "All I know is her name, that her parents died when she was little, and that she usually got a lot of unwanted attention from the guys," Slash told the angel. Pit nodded in understanding.
"Not to mention, if she knew all about my past, I don't think she'd even want to come near me," Slash added, sighing heavily. Pit clicked his tounge.
"I'm guessing you weren't exactly an angel in your younger days, huh?" Pit inquired. Slash nodded.
"I've done some things that I regret now," Slash admitted. The two stood in the lobby for awhile before deciding to have some breakfast.
--
9: 59 A.M.
The newcomers were gathered in the Smash Mansion's auditorium, chatting among themselves. The veterans and Slash were gathered on stage, waiting for the speech to start. Master Hand floated over to the microphone, and cleared his throat. The crowd immediately calmed down, and listened to the giant floating hand.
"Welcome one and all to the ever famous Smash Mansion!!" Master Hand began, letting the crowd cheer like crazy for a few seconds before calling for silence again.
"Okay, before we begin any kind of Brawl activities, you are going to be introduced to people that have been here long enough to be able to help you if you need it. Well, except for one, who is a newcomer just like you," Master Hand added. Mario and Luigi took the stand first, and stood in the spotlight.
"First up are the Mario Brothers, Mario and Luigi. They're plumbers that hail from the Mushroom Kingdom. Both have been in every Smash Bros. game to date, so they are very familiar with this place. Both have fireball attacks, and also use hand-to-hand combat," Master Hand introduced. Peach then took the spotlight.
"Next, we have Princess Peach, princess of the Mushroom Kingdom. She has been in Melee and Brawl, so she has some experience. She uses quick attacks, so watch out," Master Hand warned. Link and Toon Link stepped up next.
"This would be Link and Toon Link, both Heroes of Hyrule, Weilders of the Master Sword, Holders of the Triforce of Courage, you get the idea. They has a wide arsenal of weapons at their disposal, so be ready for anything from either of them!" Master Hand advised. Samus stepped up next.
"Next up we have Samus Aran, a rather famous bounty hunter. She uses weapons such as missles and guns, so you better be prepared to take some hard hits," Master Hand moved down the list. Next up was Pit.
"This is Pit, from Angeland. He possesses a magical bow with light arrows that can transform into twin swords, so be ready to dodge both," Master Hand told the newcomers. Meta Knight was next.
"Okay, here we have Meta Knight, from Dreamland. He is a skilled swordsman that can also fly. Basically, if you're not careful, he'll kick your ass!" Master Hand joked. Wolf took the stand next.
"Next up is Wolf O'Donnell from the Lylat System. He has razor sharp claws, and isn't afraid to get his hands dirty, so watch out for him," Master Hand continued. Ness and Lucas stepped up next.
"Next up are the PSI kids, Ness and Lucas. Basically, they have magical powers, like fire and thunder. So, just because they're kids, don't go easy on them, or they'll get you!" Master Hand informed the newcomers. Last up was Slash.
"Now, this is the other newcomer, Slash, from America actually. I don't know much about him, except that he's a master of throwing knives, so watch out!" Master Hand warned. With that, the twelve Smashers all stood up, and stood in the spotlight.
"Now that we're all aquainted, the sign-up for Brawl matches is now open! You can find them in the main lobby, where-" Master Hand was drowned out as the newcomers piled out to go fight one another. Only the twelve on stage stayed behind. Master Hand chuckled.
"So eager," he commented before facing the others.
"How about you guys? You gonna brawl?" he asked. Meta Knight shook his head.
"We'll wait and see how these noobs fare first," he explained. Master Hand shrugged, and floated back to his office, leaving the twelve alone yet again.
"How's about we go see how they're doing?" Wolf suggested. Everyone nodded, and headed off towards the room that displayed all the brawls that were taking place. They laughed at each of the newcomers as they tried to fight each other, while dealing with the hazards of the stage for what felt like hours, pointing out obvious flaws in someone's fighting techniques, or commenting on how badly someone was owned. It was the most fun they had in a week, but it could only last for so long.