"Let's get ready to Brawl!" the announcer shouted over the cheering crowd. "Today's match takes place on Final Destination! A four-way Brawl to the finish, one stock for each character!" The crowd became ecstatic as the Final Destination stage materialized in front of them, the background shimmering gloriously behind it.

"I know you're ready for this, folks! Let's get the fighters in here! Player One… Lucario!" A dark blue aura began to bubble up on the far left side of the stage. Suddenly, a slim, black and blue figure began to spin out of the energy field. Once Lucario freed himself, he spread out his limbs and gave a mighty battle cry. The crowd's deafening roars became even louder, while shouts of Lucario's name came out in scattered cheers.

"Player two…" the announcer continued. "…Diddy Kong!" A light brown barrel dropped from the heavens and smashed into the mid-right side of the field. Diddy Kong jumped up from the remains in a hyper frenzy, apparently unharmed by the drop. Again, the cheering crowd screamed his name in delight.

"Player three… Ike!" A ring of light appeared on the right side of the field. Ike, donning his red cape and long sword, jumped out of the ring, holding up his ridiculously large weapon in triumph.

"We like Ike! We like Ike!" the crowd screamed in tribute to him.

"And finally… Player four…" The announcer paused in a futile attempt to create suspense, although the crowd already knew who was coming. "…Samus Aran!"

A bright pod rose up from the ground of the stage between Lucario and Diddy Kong. Samus, wearing her orange armored suit, strode out of the pod and immediately took a defensive stance, eager to get the fight started. She was not one to liven up a crowd, although that didn't stop her loyal fans from screaming in ecstasy at the sight of her.

"Alright," the announcer spoke again. "The fight will now commence. Fighters! Are you ready?" The other three fighters joined Samus in taking a defensive stance. "Three… Two… One… Go!"

It was a flurry of activity as the four brawlers dove at each other. Samus, uncomfortable from being stuck in the middle, dove into her morph ball and escaped to the outer part of the battlefield before diving back in. Lucario and Diddy Kong immediately went at each other, throwing punches and kicks wherever they could. Ike leapt over the duo in an attempt to strike Samus from above. Samus, quick to react, dodged away, planting a bomb where she had just stood. Ike, unable to pull back, fell directly into it and stumbled away after the small explosion, but Samus took her opportunity to counter him.

The crowd roared and cheered ever louder at watching the four competitors. Not a single spectator held back their excitement at such a marvelous sight. Not one, that is, except for a small group of acquaintances sitting near the front.

Dr. Mario, Mewtwo, Roy, Young Link, and Pichu all sat together, watching the spectacle that unfolded before their eyes. None of them were cheering, and it seemed that Roy was the only one innately interested in the battle. "Man, it'd be awesome to be out there right now," he said, staring out at the field in a somewhat dreamy fashion.

"Well, we're not," Mewtwo replied coldly. "And we never will be, so you may as well accept it."

Young Link came to Roy's defense. "Hey! Calm down, will ya? You don't have to be so negative."

"Why's that?" he continued spitefully. "Does being a reject mean I can't accept the truth now?"

"Chuuu…" Pichu lowered his head dejectedly.

"Come on!" Young Link persisted. "We'll never accomplish anything with that attitude!"

Mewtwo grunted. "And what's making you so happy about this, huh?"

Young Link smiled. "Well, it's not so bad for me. I mean, in seven years, I'll be the adult Link again, and then I can join up with the rest of them!"

"Hate to break it to ya, kid," Roy interjected. "They put in the Twilight Princess Link. Hero of Time's done with now."

"What!" Young Link jumped to his feet in disbelief. "They've replaced me? Why?"

Mewtwo shrugged. "He's more modern, I guess."

Now it was Young Link's turn to act depressed. Slumping down in his chair, he rested his chin on both hands. "Well, he's no Hero of Time, that's for sure…"

Dr. Mario had been sitting by, listening to the conversation without giving it much thought. Here, though, he had to laugh. "I guess it's-a pretty hard for you guys to realize you've-a been outdated, huh?"

Mewtwo glared at him defiantly. "Hey, genius, they booted you, too!"

Dr. Mario shook his head. "I've-a spent eight years in medical school. I'm-a just overqualified, is all."

"Keep telling yourself that," Mewtwo muttered. "Besides, it's not like they were going for strength when they chose who would go on. They still decided to keep that pom-pom of a Pokemon."

Roy turned back, finally joining the conversation. "Well, yeah. The original fighters were sure to get in this time. We were newcomers back in Melee."

"So was-a Game and Watch," Dr. Mario pointed out.

Roy thought about that one. "Guess they just needed a comedic relief."

Dr. Mario looked at him skeptically. "As if Wario wasn't enough?"

Roy had no comeback for that. "Good point…" He turned his attention to the stage and immediately began to cheer as Ike slashed through Lucario's defensive shield. "Yeah! Go Ike! Kick Lucario's butt! No! Go into defensive!"

Mewtwo stared at him in disgust. "You're actually cheering for the guy who replaced you?"

Roy turned back. "Hey, he's the closest thing to me in the game, and that's the best I can hope for at this point. As long as he's winning, I can be content."

Young Link stood up, confused. "So… you're ok with being cut?"

"Of course not! I can't believe they cut me! I'm worried about what my fans will think."

Dr. Mario looked around a bit. "Well, I'm-a sure they'd-a be content with him." He pointed up at Ike, who had just turned away from Lucario and slashed his sword down on Samus. "He really packs a punch. And the crowd-a really seems to like-a him!"

"WE LIKE IKE! WE LIKE IKE!"

Roy shrugged his shoulders. "Well, yeah I guess so. Still, they kick me out and keep Marth? I mean, you couldn't even tell that guy was a dude until you got the trophy!"

Young Link put a hand on his shoulder sympathetically. "We're in the same boat. They just didn't want clones, I guess."

Dr. Mario chuckled. "Yeah, that's-a what they told us. Then they keep-a Ganondorf and add in Wolf, Toon Link, and that little annoying kid who-a cries all the time.

Roy nodded in agreement. "I know, right? And besides, they say I'm a clone of Marth? I mean, sure he's got speed, but my sword can freakin' light on fire! You can't beat that! What's he got that I don't?"

"A high tier number?" Mewtwo suggested.

Roy glared at him menacingly. "Oh, you should talk, Mr. I'm-the-most-powerful-Pokemon-in-the-universe!"

This apparently took Mewtwo by surprise. Frustrated, he exclaimed, "Hey! Shut up! I'm a legendary! Not like that stupid little fur-ball out there" He gestured slightly to Lucario up on the battlefield.

Young Link looked up at the fight. Smiling a bit, he added, "You have to admit, though. He's a lot cooler. I mean, his hands glow blue all the time, he's a really good martial artist, and he even gets stronger when he's hurting! He might not be legendary, but he's still pretty awesome!"

"And besides," Roy joined in. "Didn't they make, like, fourteen new legendaries in Diamond and Pearl?"

Young Link laughed at the idea. "Oh yeah! Including that stupid Manaphy! What's up with that?" He and Roy doubled over in laughter.

"Seems like they'll make anything a legendary nowadays," Dr. Mario added. Mewtwo turned away, trying to keep his attention on Lucario, who had just slipped on one of Diddy Kong's banana peels. "Besides," the doctor continued, "you were pretty much outdated as soon as Deoxys came out, right?"

Mewtwo turned around defensively. "Who cares about all that? The original 150 are the only ones that matter!"

"Piiii-chu!"

"Shut up, Pichu!" Pichu gave off a few sparks in its anger before calming itself down.

The crowd's cheering became louder now, and Mewtwo looked up at the fight to see what was happening. In shock, he exclaimed, "Wait! What's he doing now?"

Without turning back, Roy asked, "Who?"

Mewtwo just stared at him sullenly. "The pope. Who do you think, moron? Lucario!"

Dr. Mario glanced up nonchalantly. "He's-a charging for an energy attack, it looks like!"

Mewtwo's eyes went wide in horror. "That's my attack!" he objected. "That stupid little ninja stole my attack!"

Lucario finished charging and directed his attack across the platform. The ball of energy spun up and down as it glided towards Diddy Kong, connecting with deadly force with its target. Young Link clapped in amazement. "Wow! He even managed to make that look cool!"

Mewtwo waved his arm, flipping Young Link upside down in his seat. "I'd like to see him steal that trick," he said.

Now the crowd had become ecstatic as a bright light hit the stage. The group turned to see that a small, round object was floating quickly across the screen. "A Smash Ball!" Roy exclaimed.

Young Link repositioned himself in his seat, immediately forgetting his annoyance at Mewtwo. "Wonder who's gonna get it?" Mewtwo found it amusing to watch the four fighters pummeling and climbing all over each other in their attempt to get the Smash Ball. Such a huge fuss for such a limited burst of energy.

Dr. Mario studied the powerful little ball with intrigue. "You know, I a-wonder what our Final Smashes would have been if-a we were in the game." Pichu jumped excitedly, charging up his electricity in an attempt to show off how powerful his would have been. After a few seconds, it let out a small cry and then fainted out of exhaustion.

"…Huh. It's a wonder they didn't let him into the game," Mewtwo thought.

Young Link was equally excited. "I know what my special attack would have been!"

Mewtwo laughed. "That stupid Triforce slash like the other two Links?"

"No way! I'd use my Goron mask and roll across the terrain, killing everything in my path!"

Dr. Mario considered the idea. "Actually, that's-a not bad. What about-a you, Roy?"

"Limit-breaker," Roy said without turning around. "Go! Get the Smash Ball!"

Mewtwo glared at him. "Original. Well, mine would definitely be better than Lucario's. I'd create this giant ball of energy and send it plummeting down onto all of my hapless victims!" He smiled mischievously as he envisioned the massacre.

Dr. Mario sighed. "You and your balls of energy. That was pretty much the only thing going for you in Melee."

"Alright, wise guy. What about you?"

"Easy. I'd-a create a cure for cancer and save-a the world!"

"…Riveting."

Roy jumped up in the stands, waving his fist in the air. "Come on, Samus! Get the Smash Ball! Get it!"

Young Link faced him. "Wait. I thought you were rooting for Ike."

"Well, yeah!" Roy said distractedly. "I want Ike to win. But I really want Samus to get the Smash Ball."

"Why's that?"

Roy opened his mouth to speak, but stopped in his tracks. Turning around awkwardly, he replied, "Uh… no reason." Mewtwo started to laugh a bit, but Young Link didn't understand what he meant. As he listened to the rest of the crowd, though, he realized that most of them had started cheering for Samus, more so than usual.

The crowd cheered even louder as Samus reached up to smash it, but Diddy Kong leapt on her face and gave her a deadly head butt, sending her plummeting back down onto the stage. He jumped up from her and attacked the Smash Ball, breaking it into pieces. The crowd began to boo, but that didn't stop Diddy from unleashing his special attack. Taking out a rocket barrel jetpack and two pistols, he flew up into the air and started blasting away at the other three contestants.

"Dang it!" Roy bellowed with a disappointed expression. Regaining his composure, he said, "Oh well. Hang in there, Ike!"

Ike's painful, amplified scream could be heard throughout the stadium before the announcer's call. "Player three DEFEATED!"

"…Well, crap." He slumped back down in his seat dejectedly, no longer interested in the battle's outcome.

"Hey, Young Link," said Dr. Mario. "I've-a got a question."

Young Link perked his head up in interest. "What's that?"

"So, being the Hero of Time, you defeated Ganondorf as an adult, right?"

"Yeah!"

"And you went-a back in time to-a seal the temple so that Ganondorf could never abuse its-a powers, right?"

"Right…"

"So… That-a means that all that stuff you went through never actually happened."

"…What's your point?"

"Well, how-a does everyone know about it… if it-a never happened?"

Roy turned to the conversation in interest. "Hey, that's a good point. Isn't that like a…" He snapped his fingers repeatedly, trying to find the word. "Uh, what's it called?"

"A paradox," Mewtwo suggested.

"Yeah that!"

Young Link laughed and stood up from his seat to face the others. "Alright, I get it. I know, it seems like it doesn't make any sense, but it's easy if you look at it like this—"

A deafening noise cut him off as a small explosion filled the place where he used to be. As the smoke cleared, Young Link had disappeared. The group looked around until Mewtwo pointed up in the sky. "There!" They looked up to see Young Link flying away at a hundred miles an hour. To the right, Diddy hovered in his jetpack laughing maniacally, his peanut popguns smoking hot. Finished with his mischief, he flew away and returned to the field.

"Mumma mia!"

"Piii-chu! Pichuuuu!"

"NPC DEFEATED!"

Roy looked up at the announcer in offense. "Oh come on! That's a low hit!"

The group stood around each other awkwardly for a few seconds. Finally, Mewtwo spoke up. "…So, what should we do now?"

Roy thought about their next plan of action. "…Anyone up for pizza?"

"Pichu!" Pichu jumped up excitedly.

"As-a long as you put the mush-a-rooms on the pizza, I'll-a be fine," Dr. Mario insisted.

Roy cringed in disgust. "Doc, you're the only one that can stand those stupid mushrooms."

"…Then, let's-a get half?"

"Hey," Mewtwo added. "Can we get some of those… uh, yellow Poke-blocks, too?"

Roy stared at him. "You're kidding, right?"

"Hey, I may be able to talk, but I'm still a Pokemon! That stuff's tasty!"

"Piii!"

Roy considered the offer. "…Alright, whatever… So, half mushroom, half pepperoni, and we'll get a packet of those Poke-blocks, alright?"

The group nodded in agreement and made their way out of the stadium. Perhaps they had not been accepted into Brawl, but at least they were starting to become friends.

The End.

Whew! So yeah, I was playing Brawl the other day, and I began to wonder what the melee veterans who didn't make the cut would be thinking. Also, there's a couple things you may be wondering that I wanted to point out in the story.

1. Yes, I know that the crying kid's name is Lucas.

2. I know that adding an A to the end of a couple words does not necessarily make an Italian accent (I'm lazy...)

3. And I KNOW some of you out there have been guilty of hoping, against better judgment, that Samus ends up getting the Smash Ball...

So, enough said! I hope you enjoyed this little one-shot of mine!