Chapter 1: The New Arrivals

As the bus screeched to a stop, the clear glass doors swung open to reveal a pathway leading up to an enormous door. The door itself connected to a huge mansion with foliage surrounding every wall.

"So, we're finally here, are we?"

The voice came from a tall, blue-haired man behind him. Fox noticed the man had a radiant golden sword at his side and a cape that was tattered at the end. He couldn't remember the man's name to save his life, but he thought it was short and simple.

"Well go on, stop blocking the door. Are you going to stand there all day, Fox?"

Fox realized in embarrassment that he was still in the way of the door. He stepped off of the bus and allowed everybody to walk past so he could get another good look at the mansion. Shimmering some yards away was a gigantic swimming pool. A closer look revealed that it was a circle with an off-center cross.

Suddenly, somebody called his name from the mansion door, "Fox!"

Fox tried to focus on the figure shouting at him. He soon identified the figure as Link.

Link shouted again, "Are you coming or not, Fox?"

Fox gathered his suitcases and headed for the door. He felt a bit out of it. As he had sat on the bus with hardly a thing to do, it took a surprising amount of energy from him. Fox had to lie down somewhere; just not here.

He hefted his bags down the main hall and into the cafeteria. As he noticed everyone else had gathered at individual tables, he stumbled over to the nearest one. Sitting at it was Pikachu, Diddy Kong, Yoshi, and Pit. They paid no attention to his arrival, so he set one of his bags on the table and the other on the ground.

Opening the suitcase he took out a small pillow and laid it on the table. He quickly closed the suitcase and set it aside. He rested his head on the pillow and started to drift off to sleep when a multi-colored man appeared from a door on the opposite side that Fox had come in. He looked…digital.

The digital man sorted through some papers and then spoke up. "Welcome, smashers. We'll begin the evening with a meeting over dinner. I want all of you to go back to your rooms once I've passed out these papers to everyone. Clean up, put on some…less casual clothes, and come back down to the dining hall. It will be right through the door behind me."

He began going to the tables and handing everyone the same sheet. Eventually a copy landed on the table in front of the drowsy canine. Fox felt the paper brush past his nose, so he opened his eyes and read down the letter:

Dear Smashers,

Before reading this letter, I want to congratulate all of you upon entering the competition. I'm sure some will find staying here a blast, others less so. But while you are staying here, willingly or not, you must abide by some rules.

1. Do not physically harm others outside of matches.

2. Do not exclude others from activities.

3a. No males in the female living quarters between 10:00PM and 8:00AM if you do not have a pass for the night.

3b. No females in the male living quarters between 10:00PM and 8:00AM if you do not have a pass for the night.

4. In the case of a minor injury, you have the ability to pass on match participation once. If the injury is worse, you will not participate until you recover.

5. Smashers' living arrangements are not final. If you wish to switch, please inform me between my office hours of 9:00AM and 6:00PM.

If you have any questions, please see me in my main office as directed by the maps provided.

Tabuu

Fox McCloud:

Room 214

Fox picked up the letter and stuffed it into his pocket. Once Tabuu had finished passing out the papers, he dismissed everyone to find their rooms. Fox stumbled out of the cafeteria and over to the elevator. When he pressed the "up" button, the doors split and opened to a huge, empty space. Fox then dropped his bags and pressed "2". Before the elevator had a chance to ascend, others came along with bags of their own. Fox quickly reached for the "open" button so they could share the ride. Once again, the doors split apart and the elevator was flooded by participants. Fox had to hide in the corner so everybody could fit. Big as it was, some people had to use the stairs. Fox even considered it but he couldn't manage to move in-between the crowd and reach the door.

He sighed and leaned his head against the wall. It was going to take some time. The elevator groaned and began its ascent. With his ear to the wall, Fox could hear every part of this metal crate as it rose up to the next floor. He quickly adjusted his head so he could look at the glowing number above the door. Sure enough, it said "2". Fox picked up his bags and squeezed through the crowd to exit the elevator.

Once he was out, Fox carried his bags down the hall to the door labeled "214". He turned the handle on the unlocked door and peered inside. The room had been furnished with a king-size bed, a large dresser, a solid oak table, a T.V. fixed on top of said table, and one door on the opposite side. Fox dropped his bags next to the bed and stumbled over to the other door. Fox briefly checked over the bathroom as his gaze adjusted to the darkness. One sink, one toilet, one bath, and a "boxed" shower.

Not too bad, Fox thought.

He closed the door and collapsed back onto the bed. He shut his eyes and instantly entered his waking dream world.

Fox woke up abruptly. He looked at the alarm clock. The numbers that shone back at him were 6:47. According to the schedule on the door, dinner was at 7:00. He leapt out of bed and ran over to the shower. As the water reached a steaming temperature, he stepped in let it soak into his fur. He took one of the bottles of shampoo and lathered it all over himself. Then he allowed the water to wash the suds out of his fur and cover him once more. Fox turned off the flow of warm water and stepped onto the cold tile, which nearly caused him to leap right back in. Instead, Fox took one of the fluffy towels and dried himself off.

He walked over to his dresser and pulled out his snow-white tuxedo outfit. Fox grabbed a pair of boxers and slipped them around his bare legs. He pulled the slacks up his legs and slipped a belt through the loops. Then he slid his arms through the sleeves and pulled the tuxedo over his shoulders. After buttoning up the front, he looked at himself in the mirror. He had to admit, he looked irresistible. Fox glanced over at the clock. 6:56 was the reply. He snatched the key from the table and flung the door wide open. Fox slammed it shut, locked it, and rushed for the elevator.

At first, Fox thought he would make it in time. Then he had the weight of his conscience boosting him forward. He was going to make it. He was going to make it. A few feet away, Fox noticed the elevator closing. With one last bound, he slipped through the nearly-shut door. He couldn't stop in time, however, and ended up banging his nose against the wall. Fox withdrew and slapped his hand across his aching nose. He cursed for being so clumsy, only to notice the presence of somebody standing next to him. Fox turned around sharply to observe the other, but gasped as he realized exactly who it was. Wolf.

Wolf couldn't help but snicker as he watched the astonished vulpine stutter. Finally, he spoke up.

"Surprised to see me?" Wolf inquired. Fox didn't answer. "I had no idea I was that attractive."

Fox clamped his jaws shut and leaned against the wall, never looking back at the grinning lupine. "I was just caught up in the moment, is all."

Wolf laughed, "Yeah, yeah. You don't look that bad, either. In fact, you look pretty handsome…to say the least."

Wolf almost lost it when Fox's ears perked up, only to flatten as his cheeks blushed. Still, he made no attempt to respond. It was bad enough to see your arch-nemesis in the one place you wouldn't expect, but to receive a compliment from him as well? No. Something had to have been wrong. Fox sighed, "Thanks…I guess."

The bell rang as they reached the first floor. Fox couldn't help himself as he burst through the thin slot in the elevator door. He just had to get away from this guy. Wolf held his sides together as he had trouble staying on his feet while walking out of the huge, moving crate.

Fox sped down the hall looking for the dining area, unaware that he was about to collide with an arrow sign. One second before collision, Fox spotted the object and skidded to a halt. After sliding into the sign and having it topple over onto his chest.

Wolf was now tearing up due to the lack of oxygen intake. He dropped to the floor and began a coughing fit. This was brilliant. He wasn't sure how long Fox could keep this up, but it was awhile before he could breathe again. Wolf managed to balance on his two feet again (albeit hardly) before walking over to the dining area.

Fox saw a room filled with waiters, warriors, and odd creatures that made up the participants. He searched for an open table. To his luck, there was one only a few feet away. Everyone else, he noticed, had only one dinner mate, with the exception of Peach, who had been escorted by Mario and Luigi.

Oh no, Fox whimpered. I'm going to have to sit with Wolf…what did I do to deserve this?

As if by queue, Wolf appeared in the doorway, searching for an open seat. With an expected grin, he spotted the one across from Fox and made his way towards the table.

Fox closed his eyes and shook his head. Please make this go by quickly.

Wolf sat down and fixed his eye on the vulpine before him. Fox could sense his gaze piercing through his skull. After about a minute, the waiter came by and handed them their menus and took their orders. Eventually, Wolf went back to staring at Fox. Fox couldn't take it anymore. He had to ask.

"Wolf?" Fox asked. "Why do you have to stare at me?"

Wolf chuckled. "Well, you're always looking at something, even if it is the back of your eyelids."

Fox sighed. He hated word games. With one final gesture, he added, "Well, could you please stare somewhere else?"

Wolf couldn't help but smile even wider. "I don't think I could even if I wanted to."

Fox's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets. Was this what he assumed it to be? Did Wolf think they were on…a date? It couldn't be; Wolf had despised him when he first left. But the way he was acting now, and on the elevator, it….

Fox had practically gasped out loud when he felt Wolf's hand placed ever so gently on top of his own. And to Fox's further dismay, he wasn't able to pull it back. Fox tried, but he didn't have the fortitude. So that's how it was until the meal came: Wolf stared at Fox intently with his claw upon the other. Once the waiter was within view, Fox snatched his hand back. However, he thought he heard a small whimper emanate from Wolf. His thoughts were put to rest when he caught the scent of spices waft across his nose. He peered down to notice the gigantic slice of steak laid on his plate. His mouth had become a reservoir, ready to burst.

With barely an attempt to cut the steak, Fox brought it up to his mouth and allowed the bit of flaming cow to slide into his mouth. He almost swallowed it immediately, because the assortment of flavors that came with it was nearly too much for Fox to hold in. He chewed out the taste slowly, enjoying every last gram of it. When the piece had finally run out of flavor, he let it slide down the back of his throat. A satisfactory smile appeared on Fox's face as he brought his silverware down for more. It had been an interesting start to the evening, he admitted, but it now it was coming to an unbelievable end.

Before Fox could realize what time it was, he gazed down at his plate to find not a speck of steak was left. He sighed and looked up at Wolf, who was back to staring at him. Fox let it pass this time. He was too content to even say much at the time. Tabuu came out later, and after a short speech about match regulations, dismissed all of them back to their individual activities. Fox stood up quickly and tried to get away on his own, but he was intercepted by Wolf. Together, they took the elevator back up. Neither said anything until they had reached Fox's room.

Wolf was the first to speak. "You wanna go night swimming?"

Fox cocked his head. "What?"

Wolf repeated, "Swimming at night? You know, in the pool behind the mansion? C'mon Fox, it'd be great."

It took Fox a second to comprehend what he had said. A couple days ago, Wolf would have been aiming a blaster at Fox's head. Now he wanted the two of them to go night swimming. Fox thought about it for a second, then replied. "I'll be out in only a second."

Wolf's face lit up instantly. "Okay, I'll meet you outside!" It wasn't so much a request as it was an order. He rushed down the hall to his own room and slammed the door behind him. Fox chuckled and entered his own room.

His alarm clock greeted him with the numbers 8:13 as he opened his suitcase and pulled out a pair of swimming trunks. He stripped himself of the tuxedo and slacks (as well as the boxers beneath) and slipped the trunks over his exposed genitals. Fox couldn't help but notice they were a bit breezy, so he grabbed one of the fluffy towels from the bathroom and wrapped it around his waist. With one final "snap" of the closing suitcase, Fox picked up the key and locked the door behind him.

His trek down the hall only led him to the same situation as before: Wolf was waiting in the elevator. Fox hurried over to the closing doors and slipped in between.

Wolf snickered, "We really have to stop meeting like this."

Fox grinned, "This time it wasn't on accident."

Wolf couldn't contain the muffled laughter that came out next. It was contagious, as Fox had giggled because of it. Before they knew it, both were emptying their lungs of all the spare oxygen from laughing so hard. They had trouble gaining it back, as the elevator was pretty much sealed tight. Once the door opened on the first floor, the canines were gasping for air. They stepped out of the "death crate" and walked to the back door, side-by-side.

Wolf flung the doors open to reveal a beautiful sunset fading behind the mountain range in the distance. It cast a golden beam on the surface of the pool, which apparently was a target with an off-center cross. Fox had trouble restraining his self before they reached the pool. However, he did tear his towel off in an instant and tossed it aside on one of the patio chairs. He dove into the refreshing pool and happily greeted the water that soaked his fur.

Wolf was not short on joining him. Together they swam and dove into the pool multiple times. At about 9:30, they had grown tired on decided to relax in the hot tub. Both canines felt the soothing effects of the warm, bubbly jets. They sighed simultaneously and sat next to each other, with Wolf's around Fox's shoulder. Fox, in response, leaned his head against the older lupine's chest and closed his eyes. The evening had gone by so rapidly. Where had the time gone? Fox wished that every day could be like this, but with a sudden realization, both canines would have to go back to being rivals in only a few months. He almost felt like crying his eyes out. In a mere 3 hours, Wolf had grown from a nemesis to a companion. The degree of the relationship was unknown to him, though, so he couldn't quite figure out what to call Wolf.

"Hey", whispered Wolf.

"Huh?" asked the confused fox.

Wolf leaned in and touched Fox's nose with his own. Before Fox could register what Wolf was trying to do, he followed his instinct and pushed back, opening his mouth ever so slightly. Wolf tilted his head one way and Fox titled his in the opposite direction. Briefly, their gaze met. Both canines closed their eyes and let everything fall into place. Fox and Wolf pushed one last time and kissed.

The instant spark had made it the most passionate kiss Fox had ever experienced. He could feel Wolf's tongue breaking through. He opened his mouth a little more and let the tongues meet, swirling around each other as if both had perfected it. Fox could swear he was in ecstasy, as was Wolf, and he was enjoying every second of it. When he was out of air, he pulled his tongue back and let the oxygen flood his lungs. Both canines were gasping for air. Neither spoke for a minute, but stared into each other's eyes.

It was Fox who finally broke the silence. "I think I know what to call you now."

Wolf's ears shot up. "What's that?"

Fox blushed."Boyfriend."