Author's note:

Hello, everyone. :) Happy New Year!

My name is Connor, and I usually write Earthbound fanfics. So when I decided to try and branch out a bit, Smash Bros seemed like the natural course of action. You don't have to know too much about Earthbound and Mother 3 to understand this fic, but I'm going to assume that you at least have heard about Ness and Lucas and know that they use weird attacks with their mind where they make fire and stuff (something they can't actually do in their games btw).

Anyways, the pairing of Ness and Lucas is... weirdly popular within the Earthbound fandom (which in itself is weirdly large). I'm going to try my hand at the pairing... sort of. I can't promise a final romantic relationship between the two, but this fic is going to go through a series of adventures they have together and talk a lot about their feelings for each other (some of which are Platonic).

It's a little late, I know, but this first chapter is set on New Year's Eve of 2017.

At the end of each chapter there will be a few terms that I explain from various games or mechanics from Smash Bros that might not be common knowledge. Most of these aren't integral to understanding the story, but what's a smash fanfic without references?

Reviews are always appreciated. :)

I hope that 2018 is a good year for all of us! :D

As Ness entered the grand dining hall through the gold-plated double doors inside the Smash Skyscraper, his eyes skimmed past the massive chandelier and mahogany furniture and locked onto the food.

His stomach rumbled, and Ness licked his lips.

The next few moments passed in a blur, and the next thing Ness knew he was sitting down at one of the long dining tables with a plate piled high with steak, hamburgers, and french fries. Ness took a moment to breathe in the aroma of the meat mixed with the starchy scent of the fries, feeling the warmth of the food in the air around his dish.

Truly, the American diet was a wonderful thing.

"You know, where I come from humans think of ourselves as omnivores and not carnivores."

Ness turned around to see Princess Zelda standing behind him, carrying a plate of fish and asparagus. She tilted her head and smile before pulling a chair out next to Ness and sitting down.

"I assume it's okay if I join you?" Zelda said.

Ness rolled his eyes, and took a bite out of one of his hamburgers instead. She had asked the same question yesterday when they ate together in the cafeteria with Lucas. And five days before that when they celebrated Christmas together. And the week before that when they decided to try and bulk up on protein shakes.

Usually Lucas was there to answer the same question for the zillionth time. It was like a little ritual between the two.

"I just didn't want to seem rude by plopping down next to you without saying anything," Zelda said. Looking over at Ness' plate and scrunching her nose, "Although I guess I shouldn't have worried."

"Hey," Ness said through a mouthful of food. "Are you implying something about the quality of my food?"

Zelda hesitated, and then picked up one of the french fries that had landed on top of a steak flank when Ness had heaped all the food onto his plate. She held the french fry up above Ness' plate, and drew her lips tight as it dripped with steak juice.

"No need to waste good sauce, right?" Ness said. "I swear they taste better in steak juice."

"If you say so."

"Why don't you try it out to see?"

"Me?" Zelda looked at Ness, and then back at the french fry. "I don't know…"

"Aw, come on." Ness bounced up and down in his seat. "I promise it's good."

"I swear, Ness. You're going to get a heart attack when you're forty if you keep eating like this."

"So that gives me plenty of time to keep stuffing my face with steak, and it gives you plenty of time to try that french fry. Come on, Zelda. Please?"

Ness clasped his hands together and looked up at the princess of Hyrule with the unwavering stare he had perfected after years of asking his mom for new toys and video games.

"I don't know why you care," Zelda said, shying back, "But if it really means that much to you…"

Zelda popped the french fry in her mouth. After chewing for a few seconds, she shrugged and swallowed.

"Tastes fried and fatty," she said, "Like I ingested an entire stick of cholesterol. But it wasn't a bad taste, I suppose. I can see why you like it."

Ness laughed and clapped his hands together. "Victory. You are officially converted to the Ness unhealthy foods club. It's an honor to have you with us, your highness."

Zelda hesitated, and then smiled along. "A pleasure to join. Please, pass me one of those hamburgers."

Ness crossed his arms. "Are you sure? I mean, they have lettuce and tomatoes. That's getting close to vegetables right there."

"Well, I think I should take my descent into saturated fat a little slowly."

Ness blinked, looking at the patties and buns piled up on his plate. "Do you actually want one of these?"

"Sure." Zelda shrugged. "I mean, why not?"

Ness passed Zelda the hamburger that looked the least squished, and she nodded in thanks. She took a bite, chewed, cocked her head in thought, and swallowed.

"I must say that this hamburger is quite different from food we have in Hyrule," Zelda said. "I think it would be a big hit in Hyrule Town."

Ness jumped out of his seat, kicking his chair back. He thought he heard it land on the floor with a dull thud.

"We have to introduce it to the people in your world," Ness said. "I can't believe that they're missing out on such delicious foods."

"I think it would make everyone fat," Zelda said.

"Hashtag worth."

Zelda grunted. "You're turning into Peach."

"Yeah, I just need to grow out my hair to my waist and then we're set."

"That would look weird with your plaid shirt and shorts," Zelda said.

"Of course it would." Ness grinned. "Why else would I want hair that long?"

Zelda laughed and took another bite out of the hamburger. "Well, 2018 will be a year of new possibilities. Grow out your hair, get all the Hylians fat, find a cute girl to date… you know, serious goals. Happy New Year's Eve, Ness."

Ness raised an eyebrow? Where did the girlfriend suggestion come from? As far as Ness knew, Zelda and Link weren't dating, so she really shouldn't be the one talking.

"For a psychic who can use telepathy," Zelda said, "You're really not that good at hiding your own thoughts."

Ness felt his cheeks flush with warmth. "I, uh…"

"Trust me, I'm keeping romance in mind for myself as well," Zelda said. "But you just seem to have more fun with people than I do."

"Right, so I don't need a girlfriend." Ness shrugged. "I can just have fun with whoever's around."

"I guess that's one way to look at it."

Ness moved to sit back down in his chair and realized that he must have knocked it aside at some point, because it was lying down on the floor a couple paces away. Ness looked over at the fallen chair, and then at Zelda.

"What?" Zelda said. "If I reminded you every time you K. a poor chair, then we wouldn't have anything else to talk about."

"Ehh." Ness waved a dismissive hand. "I can do what the government always does and call this casualty 'collateral damage' so everything will think it's okay."

Ness walked over and picked up the chair, dragging it back over to the table. Before sitting down, he looked around the tables for people he knew.

Well, okay, he knew basically everyone. Pikachu was unwrapping and gobbling up some rare candies in the corner, and Olimar was pointing towards a giant blender as a team of Pikmin heaved a convertible-sized strawberry across the table. In fact, it was easier to notice who, out of the people Ness knew, that he didn't see.

Namely, Lucas.

"Scanning the field for potential hook-ups?" Zelda said. "Even I know that it's easier to hit up the web. I'm sure that you have plenty of fangirls by this point."

"Do not." Ness sat down in his chair. "Earthbound's a weird-ass game, and I'm convinced most of the people who like it are men with overgrown neckbeards in their twenties who spend their time arguing on the internet about how video games are art."

"Dang, dissing your own fanbase." Zelda shook her head. "And are you denying that video games are art?"

Ness shrugged. Whatever.

"Well, if any of your fans just heard you, I'm sure they'll forgive you for wanting to draw the conversation away about your embarrassing secret crushes."

Ness crossed his arms. "I don't have any."

Zelda leaned in. "Mm hmm. Sure."

"Well, what about you and your embarrassing crushes?" Ness said.

"Princesses aren't allowed to have crushes, you know. Just a desire for political alliances."

"A… what?"

Zelda frowned. "In Hyrule, the nobles marry to bring families together and secure political influence. If my father were still alive, he would have married me off to a key ally."

Ness felt the blood drain from his face. "You're not serious."

"It wasn't so different in parts of your planet until pretty recently," Zelda said. "Just give us time."

"Wow. I'm sorry that you lived in that kind of place."

"It was necessary. Besides, I'm out of the entire loop now, so I can fall in love with whoever I want."

"Meaning Link?"

"I'm not quite sure yet. But I always have the option to go back to my own world and live my life out as the King of Hyrule."

"The… king?"

"Right. If I declared myself queen, then whoever married me could call themselves a king and claim the kingdom for their own. So I'll be the king, and they'll be the royal consort. If I want to go down that path, at least. Women kings also existed in your world too, by the way. I don't know why all of this is coming as such a shock to you."

"I guess the truth is stranger than fiction, sometimes."

"Right." Zelda rolled her eyes. "A woman claiming the same powers as a man is unbelievable."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"Hmm."

"I swear, Zelda. You know I'm not like that."

Zelda's lips cracked into a smile. "I'm just messing with you. But you do need to watch what you say, sometimes."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Sorry for saying something offensive about you and half the multiverse's population of humans."

Zelda laughed and stared off into the distance. "I just wonder how much longer we're going to be here together. I hope that another Smash iteration will come out, but if it doesn't we might have to pack up and go home in a few years. For people like me and Peach that means managing our kingdoms. For you… well, I just don't want you to lose everything here and have nothing to go back to."

"I think I'll be okay," Ness said. "My mom will be glad to see more of me, at least."

"How long is it before you're expected to enroll in a university?"

Ness grimaced. "Three years."

Ugh, college. Ness' mother had been sending him packets of schoolwork to do in his free time to keep up with his classmates for the past few years, and at first Ness had actually tried to do them. But fighting took up so much time, and communal living with the other Smash fighters meant that he always had someone to talk to in his free time. Ness wasn't going to pass by someone in the hall and not chat with them about upcoming tournaments and video games and whatever. Even his mom encouraged him not to be that one kid who always hung out in his room day and night. Which was crazy, now that Ness thought about it, because there was no way in Hell that Ness would hide in a corner when he could be talking with people at the center of the party.

Anyways, Ness hadn't really done much of his schoolwork in the past year or so. And by not much, it was really more like none at all. Ness was absolutely unprepared for college, or any sort of career in the real world. Unless being a psychic counted. But with the reports that his mother was sending about how the public was getting more and more wary of PSI after Ness' departure for Smash Bros, he was becoming less and less certain that he could make a living by levitating rocks or whatever.

"I think it's great that you're pouring your heart and soul into fighting," Zelda said. "But a relationship might be the one thing that will stick with you if Smash Bros goes out of business. Just keep that in mind, all right?"

Ness gulped and nodded. He looked back down at his plate and forced himself to munch on some french fries.

"Ness?" Zelda said. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, no. I'm fine."

"You're only eating one french fry at a time. I'd say that this must be some sort of personal catastrophe."

Eating fries one by one? Ness would never…

He looked down and saw a single french fry sticking out from his mouth. He grunted and sucked it into his mouth like a spaghetti noodle before looking up into Zelda's concerned expression.

"I'm sorry," Zelda said. "I thought that this would be an exciting conversation for you, since you seem to like people so much. But I guess I didn't really understand you to begin with."

"It's not your fault. I just… don't know if I'm ready for a committed relationship yet. And I don't think I could give someone I love the attention they deserve while working full-time as a Smash Bros fighter."

Zelda's eyes narrowed, and she nodded before turning back to her plate of food. As she stared at her fish and asparagus, she gripped her fork and knife tight in her gloved hands. Ness had seen that posture before. It meant she was thinking hard about something.

Thinking, perhaps, because she saw right through Ness' fat lie.

"Well, I'm still sorry," Zelda said. "Just let me know if you need anything, all right? So far as I'm concerned, you're part of our friend group."

Along with who else? Lucas, and Peach, certainly. Did Samus and Rosalina count? Hell, would they ever return from their hiatus? While Ness certainly didn't miss Rosalina using gravitational pull on his PK Thunder, Bayonetta and Cloud were winning so many tournaments that Ness was actually missing five-minute matches when Rosalina would run away and hide behind Luma the entire time or explosive matches where Zero Suit Samus would paralyze her opponent and send them down into oblivion with her flip kick.

"Hey hey," came a voice from behind Ness. "What's up, bitches?"

"Peach." Zelda didn't bother to look up from her plate. "Nice to see you."

"Aw, why the cold shoulder? Happy New Year's Eve and all that. Now if you'll excuse me…"

Peach plopped down in a chair next to Ness, leaving him sandwiched between her and Zelda. She swirled a wine glass in her right hand and took a sip. She offered Ness a motherly smile.

"So, what juicy gossip are you ladies up to this time?"

"Oh, not much," Ness said. "We're worried that Smash Bros might disband in a couple of years if a new iteration doesn't come out."

"Wait." Zelda placed a hand on Ness' arm. "Are you not offended that she just called you-"

"Oh, so that's why Zeldy was talking to you about romance," Peach interrupted. "Too bad there aren't many cute girls here around your age. I swear, if we recruited Toon Zelda then I'm sure that you two would hit it up."

"Can you two both stop asking me about girlfriends?" Ness said. "Last time I checked, you don't bug each other about getting boyfriends."

Zelda and Peach exchanged a glance.

"What?" Ness said, crossing his arms. "I can tell that you're dying to say something."

"Well, we both just thought that it would be nice for you to get the bitches for once," Peach said, "Instead of just being a part of a group that I sometimes address that way."

"That," Zelda said flatly, "Was not my rationale for asking you about romance."

"But come on, Zeldy," Peach said. "Wouldn't it be cute to see a bunch of teenage girls swooning at the sight of Ness?"

Ness squirmed in his seat. Either way he scooted, he would be closer to someone who wanted to pester him about girlfriends. Ness bent over his plate and cut himself a piece of steak. Hopefully his tense shoulders would tell Peach and Zelda to stop talking about him when his words didn't work.

"Ness told me it would be awkward for him," Zelda said, "So no. It wouldn't be cute. And could you please not call people you don't know 'bitches'? In fact, please don't address Ness or Lucas with that word, either."

Okay, crisis somewhat averted. Ness scooted his chair towards Zelda.

"But you're not complaining about when I call you a bitch?" Peach said, raising an eyebrow.

"When you're just saying 'wazzup, bitch' like you always do, then sure. I can take it. But you have to remember that Ness and Lucas are kids. The dynamics of our friendship with them have to be a bit different."

"I think you're just no fun," Peach said, pretending to pout.

"And I've wondered multiple times if you're a legitimately bad influence on them." Zelda sighed. "I wish Samus were around so I could get her to shut you up."

"Hey," Ness said. "Have either of you seen Lucas?"

Ness was met with two blank faces. Both Peach and Zelda got out of their chairs for a second to look around, giving Ness a moment to breathe.

"He should be here," Peach said, frowning. "I think I'll go look around for him."

"I'll look as well," Zelda said.

"And I'm coming too," Ness said.

Peach and Zelda turned their heads simultaneously to meet Ness' gaze.

"He's my friend too," Ness said. "I want to make sure that nothing's wrong."

Peach gave Zelda an eyebrow raise that Ness interpreted as "he knows?"

Zelda shrugged in reply, and motioned for Ness to follow as she walked between the long tables of the grand hall.

Yes, Peach. Ness did know how Lucas had tried to kill himself multiple times in the past couple of years, and he cared just as much as she did about making sure that Lucas didn't try again.

So, it turned out that there were rooms connected to the grand hall, each one with its own unnecessarily large chandelier, red carpets, and gold-framed paintings on the walls. And attached to each of those were even more rooms, most of which only contained a couple of visitors from other worlds that Ness didn't recognize.

A couple visitors, that was, and in one case a blond-haired boy eating omelets in the corner of the room by himself. As in, sitting down on the floor in the literal corner of the room.

Of course. Because screw the party, and screw the steak and caviar. No matter how the world changed around him, Lucas was going to keep sitting off to the side eating omelets.

Zelda was the first one to widen her eyes and walk towards Lucas, but Peach put a hand on Zelda's shoulder and shook her head. Zelda's body stiffened, like she was going to put up a fight, but then she stepped back and motioned for Ness to go forward.

All right, then. Time to put on friendly Ness face.

"Yo," Ness said, grinning as he walked towards Lucas. "Happy New Year's Eve, man. We should totally do something fun to start out 2018."

Lucas held up a finger while chewing his omelet, and then swallowed. He looked at Ness with the same curious expression as always, but at least this time he didn't look so tense.

"Well, that's in a couple hours or so," Lucas said. "Plenty of time for me to keep hiding over here. I didn't make you worry, did I?"

"No, of course not," Ness said. "We just wanted to see what you were up to."

Lucas snorted. "Liar."

Ness sat down on the floor across from Lucas. "You know, it really isn't fair trying to lie to a psychic."

"I didn't have to read any of your minds. You're all open books." Lucas looked up. "Except Peach, I guess."

"Well, okay," Ness said. "You did worry us."

"I worried Peach and Zelda, so they recruited you to cheer me up. You can tell me the truth, Ness."

"It's more complicated than that," Zelda said. "We always hang out together anyway. I'm glad to see that you're doing all right. If you need some time alone, I think we all understand."

Lucas sighed. "Look, there are times when my brain chemicals go to shit, I get super depressed, and I need you to treat me like a baby until I can get back on track. Just because I'm eating by myself doesn't mean I'm like that right now. You can talk to me like a regular person, Zelda."

"I…" Zelda's grasped for the right words. "You mean speak more casually?"

"I think she's worried that you were deliberately trying to avoid us," Ness said. "Doesn't matter if you're depressed. If you need some alone time, then you need some alone time. I get it."

"Do you?" Lucas raised an eyebrow, "Can you really empathize with someone so awkward and introverted when you always find a way to fit in with people?"

"Just ask Zelda," Ness said. "I was alone when she found me in the other room."

"Because you were preoccupied with food."

Ness crawled over and flicked Lucas' shoulder. "No mind reading. Bad Lucas."

Lucas shook his head, flashing an "I honestly can't believe this kid," sort of expression, but he did crack a smirk for the first time that conversation. Ness grinned back.

"My therapist says that I shouldn't mind read anymore," Lucas told him. "Sometimes, it's better to be alone with my own feelings than trying to fit into the mess of thoughts outside my mind. So I don't use telepathy anymore."

"Yeah, and it's rude."

Lucas smiled. "I guess it is. But I don't need psychic powers to tell that you and food are a match made in heaven."

"I like to think that food and all of us are a match made in heaven, given that we need it to survive and all." Ness looked over at Lucas' plate. "So how are the omelets?"

"Good," Lucas said. "But not like my mother made them."

Right, right. Zelda and Peach seemed to flip-flop every week on whether Lucas was having trouble accepting his past or having trouble letting go. Ness could see how it was complex for them to deal with a kid who refused to go home and yet painted the walls of his room to look like a sunflower field just because his mother liked them.

And if it were complex for them, he didn't want to think about how it must have felt for Lucas himself.

"Well, is there anything fun you want to do after you're done eating?" Ness said. "We could try ice skating again. Ooh, and there's always the basketball court. You've been getting pretty good at free throws recently. I don't know if we could get Zelda and Peach to play, but…"

"Hey," Peach said. "I was in Mario Hoops, you know. I bet I could destroy you boys in a pickup game."

"That's just because they're not tall enough to block you," said Zelda, flashing a thin smile.

"None of you want to stick around for the party and the ball drop?" Lucas said.

"It's not my tradition," Zelda said with a shrug. "I don't care."

"Right," Peach said. "The Mushroom Kingdom has its own calendar as well."

Lucas looked Ness in the eye.

"Nah," Ness said. "I don't need to see some ball drop when I can drop some basketballs in the hoop myself."

Peach clapped Ness on the back and gave him a thumbs-up.

"And besides, the distinction between years has to land on a random day," Ness said, "Because there's no marker when the sun's orbit is really 'complete'."

Lucas' eyes lit up. "Have you actually been doing your homework?"

Ness scowled. "No, but I'm not an idiot. And besides, having fun with you means more to me than watching some ball land on the ground. Especially when I'm not even old enough to celebrate the New Year with alcohol."

Lucas laughed. "Well, there is something I want to do, but it's a little boring…"

Ness scooted closer. "You can tell me. I'll keep a secret."

Lucas rolled his eyes and leaned away. "Since the doubles tournament is coming up pretty soon, I was wondering if we could get some practice in."

"Oh, so you want to play tennis?" Peach said. "In addition to wrecking noobs at basketball, I also play a mean serve game."

Zelda blinked. "You know he means practicing doubles for Smash Bros fighting, right?"

"Wait, what?" Peach spun around to face Zelda. "He wants to do work on a holiday?"

"I'm all up for doubles," Ness said. "I mean, this is the perfect time. I'm sure Cloud is at the party right now, so he can't ambush us and ask to join our rotation."

Ness shuddered. He had felt too many team combos on him end with Cloud's Finishing Touch to practice doubles on a regular basis.

"I'd be up for some practice," Zelda said, "Although with Peach drunk, we might be at a bit of a disadvantage."

"Excuse me?" Peach put a hand on her hip, using the other one to take a sip from her wine glass. "I always carry your sorry ass in doubles. Ever since those Sheik nerfs, you've never been able to keep up."

"How about if I team with Zelda, then?" Lucas said. "That way, you two can duke it out over whoever's the better doubles player."

"Oh, yeah," Peach said. "Bring it on. I'll whoop both of your asses any day."

Zelda turned towards Ness. "Are you okay teaming with Peach? If not, I can be the sacrificial cow."

Sacrificial… cow? Maybe they didn't have lambs to sacrifice in Hyrule.

"I think we'll be fine," Ness said. "I mean, it's just practice. I don't think it matters too much even if you wipe the floor with us."

"That's the sort of attitude that's going to get us fucked up," Peach said. "Come on, Ness. We're going to wreck their sorry asses and do a victory lap around the Great Cave Offensive afterwards."

Zelda raised an eyebrow, as if to say "Are you sure about this?"

"Sure, whatever," Ness said. "Let's go and hit the practice arenas, then."

"So here's the strategy," Peach said, walking over to Ness. "Sheik can't kill and Lucas can't approach, so we run away from Lucas and kill Sheik."

"About that," Zelda said. "Lucas and I used to team together pretty often, so I was thinking that it might be more fair if I went Zelda instead of Sheik. Besides, I feel a little bad that Ness has to deal with a drunk teammate."

Peach snorted, but Ness could see a twinge of fear in her eyes. Losing was bad enough, but the prospect of losing to someone who wasn't even trying their hardest had been enough to drive Smash Bros fighters out of the scene before.

RIP Pichu. Ness hoped to see him again in Smash 5.

…Not that Pichu had actually cared about his opponents trolling him or anything.

"Sounds good," Lucas said. "Let's head over to the practice stages, shall we?"

Lucas shoved the rest of the omelet in his mouth and walked off. He didn't look back as Peach and Zelda exchanged a glance and shrugged, following behind a moment later.

If Lucas' depression wasn't crippling him, then why would he be sitting on the floor eating omelets by himself on New Year's Eve? Ness shook his head and followed behind.

Maybe he could put the pieces together during their practice session.

Turns out, Ness did not have the time to put the pieces together while he was getting his ass whooped in the practice session.

It didn't start out so bad. Lucas and Zelda won the first game with two stocks and both of them at high percent. Going into the second game, Ness and Peach had a nice combo to get some early damage on Zelda.

But then Lucas turned up the heat. He landed a nasty up-smash that killed both Ness and Peach at the same time.

As the match went on, Lucas and Zelda got more and more comfortable working together, and Lucas in particular was always where he needed to be. And he played mean, too. Like, I'm-going-to-PSI-Magnet-your-PK-Thunder-to-stop-your-recovery kind of mean.

Honestly, it made Ness feel a bit like Rosalina was in the game.

After a couple dozen attempts, Ness and Peach still hadn't won a single match. Once they hit their groove, Lucas and Zelda combed off of each other's hits effortlessly, and Peach seemed to hit Ness with her attacks more often than she hit her opponents.

Maybe Lucas felt bad for completely eviscerating Ness during the practice session, because afterwards he invited Ness over to his room to review the footage and work on tips to improve. After bidding Peach and Zelda goodbye, Ness walked through the metal halls of Smash Skyscraper until he arrived at Lucas' room.

Lucas' door had a black and white picture of a sunflower on it. Really, it functioned better than a nameplate. Even before becoming friends with Lucas, Ness had heard about Lucas' dead mother (thanks, internet) and how much she liked sunflowers. When Lucas looked at the picture even now, his gaze softened just a bit. He closed his eyes and placed a hand over his heart before reaching for the doorknob and turning.

Ness wished that Lucas would show his vulnerability more often instead of hiding in a corner and eating omelets on his own. He did know that Ness and the others were here to help, right? Ness hadn't exactly pledged his support for Lucas all right, but Zelda and Peach both told him that the best way of helping Lucas would be to act normal. According to them, Lucas needed another boy around his age to do fun activities with. The two of them could handle emotional support, and the therapist could help Lucas get back into the right mindset.

But what did "acting normal" really mean? Trying too hard to seem normal would be abnormal, wouldn't it? Or perhaps that would be the most normal behavior of all for someone Ness' age. Ness had been away from school too long to remember.

If only Paula were here. She would know exactly what to do.

Lucas motioned for him to enter the room, and Ness followed Lucas inside. Not the first time Ness had seen the walls painted like a mural displaying a sunflower field, but Ness caught his breath anyway. Each time, for just a moment when he stepped inside Lucas' room, it looked like he actually was standing right under the clouds in a meadow of sunflowers.

Too much time spent in Smash Skyscraper jumping from world to world in an instant when selecting stages, probably. At this point, he had been to so many worlds that he didn't know if anything was capable of surprising him anymore.

"Ahem," Lucas said.

Ness looked over to see Lucas standing next to a figure that bore the body shape of Rosalina. The body shape, perhaps, but not the body itself. The figure's face and dress looked like a slice of outer space, and stars twinkled all over her clothing and skin.

Ness yelped and stumbled backwards, falling on his rear.

"He's not super observant, is he?" The figure's voice sounded distant, as if projected through a radio.

"He does his best," Lucas said.

"Lucas." Ness rose to his feet. "What is that thing?"

"I," the figure said with a smile, "Am the Cosmic Spirit. Your friend sent me here."

Okay, she smiled and Ness could make out lips. Still the same dark backdrop as the rest of her body, of course. And right above her lips was a small nose. But Ness looked further up, and saw no eyes. As the Cosmic Spirit turned her face towards him, Ness got the sense that she was looking directly into his soul.

"Are you sure he should hear what I have to say?" the Cosmit Spirit said.

"He'll be fine," Lucas said. "Please, give us the memo."

"Right. You know when Rosalina went missing a couple months ago around Halloween?"

"Oh, right," Ness said. "And when did Samus go missing? A month later?"

"Samus is missing?" the Cosmic Spirit frowned.

"She went to chase after Rosalina," Lucas said.

"Wait, what?" Ness said. "She didn't tell me."

"She didn't tell anyone," Lucas said, rolling his eyes. "And yet Zelda and Peach figured out why she left as well. I see why you two get along so well together. Neither one of you can put two and two together sometimes."

Ness and Samus? He didn't think that they got along especially well together. It was just… might as well be nice to the other Smash fighters that he would have to live with for years, right?

"I should have guessed," the Cosmic Spirit said. "I guess I'll have to track Samus down in the meantime. But Rosalina just sent me to tell you that Porky has been detected again."

"P-Porky?" Ness said.

Oh, did Ness remember his old next door neighbor turned pilot of a massive spider mech and wanted to destroy the world… or something. In retrospect, half of Ness' adventure to save the world felt like some sort of crazy dream.

"And where did she detect him?" Lucas said.

"In a place called Dalaam." The Cosmic Spirit frowned. "She said that you would understand what it meant."

Ness' heart skipped a beat.

Lucas nodded. "Thanks for the information. Have a nice day."

The Cosmic Spirit nodded and vanished from sight. Lucas let out a yawn and plopped down on his couch. After snuggling up into a ball, he looked down at his watch.

"Looks like it's 2018," Lucas said. "Happy New Year."

"Uh, yeah."

"A year of new opportunities." Lucas smiled. "Maybe. Do you have any New Year's Resolutions?"

"I just…" Ness shook his head. "Porky's in Dalaam."

"That's not really a resolution."

"Why would he be…?" Ness shook his head. "And why now?"

"Listen, I just thought that it would be good for you to catch up about what's going on across the worlds," Lucas said. "We can work out how to deal with Porky later. I think we'll be plenty busy training for the doubles tournament anyway. I know that Porky's appearance is odd, but I'm sure it will all make sense in time."

Something about Lucas' casual attitude sounded off, but maybe Ness was just overreacting. And at this hour, who knew if he would actually be able to think straight if his life depended on it?

"Okay," Ness said. "I guess. Yeah, we'll have plenty of time in this new year to deal with our problems."

Lucas flashed a weak smile. "I'm sorry for dragging you into my conversation with the Cosmic Spirit. I thought that she was going to give us an update on Rosalina instead of starting off your 2018 with a whole new source of stress."

"No, I'm glad that I heard what's going on."

Lucas nodded in appreciation. "Thanks for being strong. And thanks for practicing with me. I know that it probably wasn't the most exciting New Year's celebration for you, and it really means a lot that you wanted to spend it with me."

Ness felt heat rising in his cheeks. "Better than dressing up like we did last year, you know? At least getting destroyed by you and Zelda was simple."

Lucas laughed. In that moment, he really did look like just a regular teenager. "Do you think we'll have more time to practice together this year, Ness?"

"I'm sure we will."

"But you're so busy all the time."

"I'll take fighting more seriously. Call that my New Year's Resolution. We're going to win that damned doubles tournament together, whether or not Rosalina comes back to snatch all of my PK Thunders away with her Gravitational Pull."

"That's a pretty big promise." Lucas yawned. "And I'm ready to help you with that goal in the morning. Or, I guess, later in the morning."

Ness nodded. It would probably be best to leave Lucas in peace for now, anyway. He walked over to the door and opened it. Right before closing it behind him, Ness looked back at the figure of Lucas lying down on the couch.

"Good night, Lucas," he said.

Lucas smiled. "Good night, Ness."

Ness closed the door behind him.

Key terms:

Ness-Rosalina matchup: This is considered to be not only one of Ness' worst matchups, but also one of the worst matchups any character can have in the game. Ness has little to deal with Luma, and when he tries to get back to the stage he needs to use PK Thunder to hit himself. The problem is that Rosalina's Down-B, Gravitational Pull, draws the PK Thunder away so that Ness kinda... falls to his death.

Cloud in doubles: In the competitive smash scene, Cloud dominates the doubles metagame. Many people are calling for bans.

Cosmic Spirit: A Rosalina-shaped... spirit, I guess. She's from Super Mario Galaxy 2 and gives they player help if they fail the level too many times, but other than that is pretty enigmatic. I use her in non-canon ways.

Porky: Ness and Lucas both knew him from their games, and he appears as an enemy in the subspace emissary. His role ranges from annoying nextdoor neighbor to cult member to supreme leader of a fascist organization while he chugs around in a spider mech... the Earthbound games are weird, man.

Dalaam: A Tibet-inspired area from Ness' world in Earthbound.

Paula: One of Ness' friends, and a party member in Earthbound. Token female character, and the game hints at a possible relationship between her and Ness.

As one final note, I'd like to say again that reviews are greatly appreciated. :) I'm planning to have Ness and Lucas go to different worlds within the Smash universe, and while I have some planned I also could try to incorporate some of your suggestions. If you want Ness and Lucas to go to a specific place within the Smash multiverse, feel free to leave a review and let me know. :)