Well, there's no turning back now.

Tears rain down a young boy's face almost like a waterfall. Door slamming behind him, he flew down the front steps of a mansion. He couldn't bear to witness the horrors that lay within that House any longer. For in that House…lay death.

That's all it ever is these days, constant, impending death. Cursed to watch the other tenants succumb to an icy cold fate, it was only natural for one to try to escape. All attempts thus far have failed, though, so why would this one be any different? Well he can dream, right?

The boy hoped that this would work. It's his only option before giving up completely. Unfortunately, for him things seem to never work out the way he wants them to anymore.

Getting as far as approximately half a world away, the boy tripped over his own feet, his crying having become more severe. He slammed onto the concrete below, the speed at which he was running causing him to collide with the ground harsher and faster than normal.

Holding back a sob, the short teen groaned. He had scraped his hands and knees. Well, the fall in general wasn't exactly pain-free, but perhaps it wasn't as important. No, what was more important was that the kid was bringing himself to his feet. He lightly hissed as he moved, but other than that, he seemed almost unmoved by his trip.

Wiping the tears out of his eyes, he took a deep breath. He had to calm himself. The boy spotted his red cap, which had fallen off his head when he fell. Picking it up, he inspected it, checking for dirt and once he deemed it acceptable, placed it back upon his head. Almost absentmindedly, Cap Boy brushed himself off as he looked around, anxiety ridden.

The wind kicked up and the sound of shuffling paper could be heard. Oh, looks like he dropped more than he thought.

The pencil he had on him was nowhere in sight, but at least his notepad could be savaged. Idly flipping through it everything was still there. He had been fortunate enough to keep some sort of documentation of what has been happening.

Speaking of which, what has been happening? Death and misfortune were mentioned, but that's about it.

It's a peculiar situation that Cap Boy has been in. It's one that has driven him to near insanity, or at least, that's what he would say. He would say that one would start to go insane too if they had to watch their entire group of friends die repeatedly; more correctly, the entirety of the other tenants, friend or not.

It was so strange, it was. How exactly does something like this occur? How does it end? Will it end? Only a sea of questions remains.

Never mind the questions for now, for there is something mysterious and perhaps foreboding in the air. The boy feels it. It's different from the feeling that he gets when he's about to abruptly start the day anew, but somehow familiar. This makes him anxious and worried, so why was there acceptance?

He didn't know what he was accepting, but he did know that whatever it was, he wanted to get away from it. With some contradiction, Cap Boy turned around and started towards where he had been previously going. He needed to keep going.

About halfway down the road he heard footsteps behind him. Stopping, he looked forward. Such little distance there was now between this world and the next. He was almost there. He wondered what would happen after he steps over that metaphorical line. Would everything return to normal? Or would he wake up again, doomed to a repetitive life?

The footsteps from behind had ceased. Someone was definitely behind him, and he wondered if he should take a quick gander at who it was. After all, everyone was supposed to be dead.

Maybe he should have been worried, but Cap Boy found the desire of getting away lessens with each second. He didn't want to turn around, but that too faded. Curiosity still intact, Cap Boy whipped around. All he saw was a black figure before a gunshot resounded and darkness consumed him.

…

Ness gasped, jolting upright. He sat there for a moment, processing nothing around him as black dots left his vision. His mind stopped lagging and caught up to speed as he remembered. Okay, he didn't remember everything, which confused him. How did "yesterday's" loop end? He remembered stopping just before he would have entered the next world, but what happened after that?

There was a sudden gust of wind and Ness shivered. Who left the window open? No, it shouldn't have been possible for the window to be open. This was when Ness realised his surroundings. He was, in fact, not in his room. He was currently outside of Smash Mansion-or as he likes to call it, Smash House-and boy was it cold. It had to be just before dawn. But wait, how did he get here? He wakes up in his bed every time a new loop is born into existence-unless…this wasn't a time loop.

At this revelation, Ness scrambled to his feet. He noticed that he had those scrapes that he obtained in that last loop; providing more proof that he wasn't trapped in those accursed things any longer. He could cry.

Checking to make sure that he still had that notepad, Ness was eager to open the doors that he had flown out of earlier. Fortunately, the doors were unlocked and he slipped inside, being careful not to let his excitement get the best of him.

Everything inside looked normal, as it should be. A grin appeared on Ness' face as he scoured for a clock that he could legibly read. It was still pretty dark.

Eventually, he was lead to the digital clock in the kitchen. It was easy and quick to read. To his excitement, the time on the clock was just about before dawn. Some of the early bird Smashers would be up and walking soon.

Walking into the dining area, Ness briefly thought how odd it was that the chairs were stacked on the tables. Taking one down and sitting on it, he took time to look around and appreciate the room for what it was. It seemed a bit silly, but it was refreshing to see the dining room like this again. It was calm, tranquil. It was free of blood and the smell of death.

Coming back to this felt kind of surreal. It was almost like at any moment Ness could just suddenly wake up in his bed again, this just being some cruel sick joke. Ugh, he had had enough of that day and the tradition that came along with it. Suffice to say, some of the deaths had been…interesting. That one time when Shulk was impaled with items considered harmless while he was still in the clown get-up was certainly a spectacle to have witnessed. Unexpectedly gruesome, it hadn't been a quick death.

Ness didn't like to think about that, though. It had been enough that Shulk had been dressed as a clown, something that Ness happened to have a phobia of. Well, at least he wouldn't have to see that anymore.

Outside, the Sun began its ascent into the sky, stirring the lives of those who let it. Its rays lit up everything it could; promise an optimistic day full of warmth. Too bad it could never outshine the cold hard fact that it was only temporary, deceiving. Oh, what a liar it was.