"Hey, we want to play!"
The annoyed, childish voice came from no one else but Ness. The red-capped boy was flailing his arms around as his dark eyes were focused on Link, Sonic, and Captain Falcon. The older Brawlers ignored him, knowing how much it annoyed the proud child. "Oh! I got you good, Falcon!" Sonic cheered, smirking widely as he sent said Captain flying off the screen. Falcon rolled his eyes, "Oh please, hedgehog, I'm still ahead." A scowl etched itself onto Ness's face and he folded his arms, the Ice Climbers behind him simply staring at him.
"Ness!"
Said Brawler raised his eyebrow and turned his head. The source of the harsh whisper was Toon Link, who was motioning for him to follow him. Aiming one last glare at Sonic, he rushed over to the green-clad Hylian. "What is it?" Toon Link was about to answer, but glanced at the other Brawlers, not wanting them to overhear what he had to say. Popo and Nana were looking curiously at them, their heads tilted. "Um, let's go somewhere else..." the short blonde suggested, not giving Ness a say in the matter as he grabbed the darker-skinned boy's wrist and pulled him along.
"Hey, what are you-?"
"Shhh!"
Toon Link finally released his friend when they reached the main room, which surprisingly no one was in at the moment. He turned around and faced Ness, whispering, "There's something wrong with Lucas." The red-capped boy's violet eyes were instantly focused. Ness had always been overprotective of his friends. "Did someone hurt him?" he demanded, a little louder than Toon Link was comfortable with. The green-clad blonde gave him a slight glare, warning him about how loud he was, and shrugged, "I don't know, I've heard him crying for a while...and I thought we could both figure out what was wrong." They were both silent for a few moments, Ness's eyes swimming with different thoughts. He nodded, "Of course," his face grew serious, which was rare when not in a brawl, "But if I find out anyone hurt him, can I-?"
"Yes, you have my permission to beat them with your bat."
