Disclaimer: See Summary.

A/N: Well, that was fast. So, something I forgot to mention in the last chapter was that King Dedede will be portrayed as his appearance in Kirby: Right Back At Ya, because why not. Also, I mentioned a "Meta Knight Clone" for reasons that will likely be expanded upon in the near future. Also, I have plans for what happened with Metal concerning why he went missing, but I want to save that for a oneshot. It will tie into this story, but I feel that the contents of that story might venture into M rated territory, cause I'm a bit of a pansy.

Warning: Some language and mild themes in this chapter.

Anyway, let's continue where we left off, shall we?


With every blow she landed on the punching bag, she felt her anger rise. She grunted and shouted as she continued driving her fists into the blank stare of the sandbag.

"Those...stupid...damned...hands," She grunted, emphasizing each word with another punch. "I...fucking...hate...both...of...them!" With a scream, she punched the bag so hard that it snapped off the chain and sailed into the wall.

Samus panted as she rested her hands on her knees. "Damn those oversized hands." She hissed. "Why the hell would they do this to me?"

"Want a sparring partner?" called a new voice.

Samus swung around, and to her surprise, Ryu was standing in the doorway to the dojo, arms crossed over his chest. "Oh," Samus panted, as he walked over to her. "Hey, Ryu. Why aren't you down in the mess hall, with everyone else?"

Ryu sighed. "You opened fire on Master Hand and stormed out on us." He explained. "After that, everyone just left to go do their own thing. Honestly, I can't say I've ever seen you that angry before."

"Well," Samus huffed. "How would you react if someone you hated was added to the tournament?"

Ryu pondered the question for a moment. "Honestly, I'd be more surprised than anything else." He replied. Then he held up an arm and adopted a ready stance. "How about we have a friendly spar, so you can vent."

"Sounds like a good idea." Samus replied, aiming a high kick at the wandering street fighter. He blocked, and she tried a different angle of attack. "So," She continued, "Why'd you decide to find me."

"I figured something was wrong when you stormed away like that." Ryu answered, casually blocking her attacks. "Is something bothering you?"

"Yeah," Samus replied, taking a swing. "Ridley was added to the fight. I don't like that."

"Okay, I got that." Ryu said. "But why?"

Samus paused in her attacks to catch her breath. "He devoured my parents when I was just a child." She said, through gritted teeth. "He ravaged my home, and left. He's been after me since."

Ryu nodded as he deflected a side punch. "I know the feeling." He admitted. "I was devastated when I returned home one day and saw my sensei, supposedly killed by his brother, Akuma. Granted, I found out later that he had survived, but that's besides the point. I'm guessing that Ridley being here has you worried about your wife and daughter."

"Yeah," Samus confirmed. "And I don't want my baby girl to have to suffer the way I did. And I sure as hell will not let that bastard anywhere near anyone I love while he's here. So as soon as this tournament ends, I'm putting his ugly purple ass back in the ground."

She stepped back and paused to catch her breath. Ryu nodded, apparently having not even broken a sweat. "And what are you going to do about Master Hand?"

"Well," Samus sighed. "I'm going to go let those two what I think about their brilliant decision."

"Hopefully, it won't involve you blowing either of them up." Ryu joked, smirking.

"I would never," Samus gasped, feigning offense. "But yeah, they'll be getting an earful from me about this. By the way, why did you want to help me with this?"

"Because," Ryu explained solemnly. "I know what it's like to allow your anger and rage to take control."

Samus frowned. "Oh, right." She said. "The Satsui no Hado."

Ryu rolled his shoulder and stared at his fist. "I have much more control over it than I used to, but the fear that I might lose that control again still haunts me. I just don't want you to be consumed by your anger. Your family doesn't need that."

"Alright," Samus sighed. "I'll try to keep it together."


"So, you couldn't have at least told me that you decided to invite Ridley?" Samus asked. She was currently in Master Hand's office, with the Hand himself sitting across from her, still in his human form.

The Master of Ceremonies laced his fingers together, resting his elbows on the desk. "Now, honestly, you took the news slightly better than my brother and I expected, and I knew you would react the way you did. And I have an explanation. You see, at the end of the last tournament, we had an idea to bring everyone back who had ever participated in the Smash Brothers Tournaments."

"Yeah, you told everyone that earlier." Samus added.

"Yes," Master Hand continued. "Well, we also looked for recommendations for new characters to add to the roster. So we sent invitations to anyone we felt could stand a chance at joining the tournament. Among those who were also requested were Banjo and Kazooie, Bandana Dee, Shadow, Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon."

"But they didn't make the cut, did they?" Samus asked.

"Actually, most of them declined." Master Hand explained. "Banjo and Kazooie were off on their own adventure, Bandana Dee preferred to remain one of King Dedede's supporters, and Shadow actually sent a letter recommending Metal Sonic instead."

"He WaS vErY vOcAl AbOuT nOt WaNtInG tO bE lAbElEd A cOpY oF sOnIc." Crazy Hand added.

"And what about Crash and Spyro?" Samus asked.

"We haven't received their response letters yet." Master Hand shrugged. "We are going to accept a few late responses, but if they don't respond by then, they won't be added."

"Okay, then." Samus nodded. "So you basically sent a bunch of other people their invitations, and most of them declined or have yet to answer. That means that Ridley came of his own accord. I understand now. I'm sorry for lashing out like that."

"No need to apologize, Samus." Master Hand reassured. "Your reaction was entirely understandable."

"Well," The space traveller replied. "Could you please do something to keep Tall, Dark and Ugly from killing anyone here, especially my wife and daughter?"

"Absolutely." Master Hand said, standing up and walking around to face Samus. "I promise that Ridley will not be a threat outside of the battlefield." He extended his hand to shake hers.

"Alright, I'll take that." She said, taking his hand. He winced as she crushed it in her grip. "But I will be holding you and your brother to that promise. Got it?"

"Loud and clear." Master Hand replied calmly.

"Good." Samus smiled as she released his hand. "I'll be seeing you guys at dinner. I have a wife and kid to catch up with."


"So yeah, that's the mansion for you." Sonic said, as he guided Metal to their room.

The synthetic human whistled at how pristine the room was. "Nice digs, bro."

"Heh, would you really expect any less of me?" Sonic teased.

"Nope," Metal replied with a smirk. He tossed his bags onto the top bunk on the left, claiming it as his. "So, aside from beating the snot out of each other, what else do you guys do for fun around here?"

"Lots of things." Knuckles answered. "There's karaoke, video games, and we watch movies every so often."

"Yeah," Sonic added. "And besides, the Tournament doesn't technically start until December 7, so we're all going to have to entertain ourselves in the mean time somehow."

Metal nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense." He said. Then his face fell. "So, uhh...how's everyone been lately?"

Sonic's face scrunched up in thought. "Eh, same old same old." He said. "Rouge and Alexa are still dating. I think Maria's planning on reworking Eggman's old stuff, or something like that. Other than that, yeah, not much has changed."

"And what about..." Metal hesitated. "What about Bianca?"

"Honestly," Sonic shrugged. "I don't know. She was doing well when I got the invitation for this tournament. Why?"

"Did she...ask about me at all?" Metal asked nervously.

"Well, she said she missed you." Sonic explained. "She's worried about you, bro."

"I figured," Metal said. "But I still don't know if I can even face her after what I did."

"Maybe if you told us what the heck happened," Knuckles said. "Then we could help you."

"And I've already told you," Metal snapped, before he tried calming himself down. "I'm not ready to talk about it yet. Besides, you guys are smart. Put the pieces together." Then he sighed. "Look, I've done things that I'm not proud of. And when I feel confident that I can talk about it with you, I'll do that."

"I just have a question, Metal." Tails asked softly. "Did you miss us at all, while you were wherever you were for those past few months?"

Metal took a deep breath. "I did." He admitted. "Every day."

"Then why didn't you come back?" Sonic asked.

"Because," Metal said. "I'm a monster. I'm a powder keg of anger, just waiting to explode again. I had to keep reminding myself that you guys didn't deserve to be associated with me because of that."

"That's total garbage, bro." Sonic replied. It caught the robotic human off guard. "If that were the case, we wouldn't hang out with Shadow."

"Yeah, well..." Metal argued. "Shadow didn't know any better. Besides, he doesn't like hanging out with you guys."

"That's just how Shads is." Sonic countered. Then he put a hand on his brother's arm. "But the point is, no matter what happens, you're still my brother. Through the good, bad, and ugly."

"So you're just going to sweep the fact that I killed Eggman and threatened you under the rug?"

Sonic winced, but didn't remove his hand. "That's in the past, buddy." He said. "But if it helps, the others aren't going to hold it against you either."

"Not even Bianca?" Metal asked.

"Especially not her." Sonic assured. Metal smiled a little. "Hey, it's like I said. We've got your back, bro." The blue blur pulled his brother into a hug. "Don't ever forget that."

"Yeah," Tails added, as he and Knuckles joined the bro moment. "We'll get through this together."

Metal sniffled. "Thanks guys." He choked out as he wrapped his arms around all three of them. "I'm sorry for running away."

"You just needed to clear your head." Knuckles reasoned. "I do that all the time."

"But you didn't do it after you'd just killed someone." Metal argued.

"Can we just move past that?" Sonic asked. "What's done is done. We can only move forward from here."

"Yeah," Metal agreed. "Yeah, you're right."


Link found his girlfriend out by the outdoor pool, reclining in one of the chairs. The sunglasses on her eyes made it hard for the Hero of Wilds to tell if she was awake. Then she sat up and looked at him.

"Hey, Link." She said, offering him the chair next to hers. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." Link replied. "I'm just worried about Samus."

"Oh, yeah." Corrin replied, remembering back to earlier that day, when Samus opened fire on Master Hand in a fit of rage. "She really hates Ridley, doesn't she?"

"Apparently," Link began. "He killed and ate her parents when she was a kid."

"Yikes," Corrin gaped, eyes widening. "I guess that would make me want to blow up Master Hand."

"Yeah," Link continued. "And with Zelda and Rinka here, I can see why Samus is so angry."

"Same." Corrin agreed. "If I were in her position, and someone I considered my nemesis had been invited to the tournament, I'd certainly be concerned for the safety of my spouse and my child."

Link's face flushed, and he seemed like he had something to add on the matter.

"Is something on your mind, Link?" Corrin asked.

"Uh..." Link's brain shut down. "Would you like to...go grab something for dinner with me?" Nice save, dude, he thought.

"Are you asking me out on a date, Linkie?" Corrin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I, uh, well, yes." Link stammered. He'd never really been good talking to girls. It was a miracle he'd made it this far in his relationship with Corrin at all. "If...If you're not busy tonight."

"Hmm..." Corrin pondered, cupping her chin. "As long as you change out of that goofy tunic."

Link raised an eyebrow, and looked down at his clothes. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"I'm pretty sure we only need to wear our battle outfits for matches during the tournament." Corrin explained.

"Okay then," Link said. "Yeah, I'll go change."

"Great." Corrin said, smiling. "Where did you want to go?"

"Well," Link began. "I saw this cute little Pizza place in town. We could try going there."

"Sounds good." Corrin said, standing up.

"Where are you going, Corrie?" Link asked.

"If this place is like any of the other places in town, it has a 'No shirt, No shoes, no service' policy." Corrin explained, gesturing to her bare feet. "I'm going to put something more appropriate for a pizza date on."

"Yeah, you're right," Link said, following her. "I'm going to go get changed now, too."

As the two walked back up to the Mansion, Link spotted his roommates smiling back at him. "Hey guys," Corrin said as she passed them.

"'Ey, Corrin." Shulk said.

"So," Cloud said, turning to Link with a smug grin. "That's your secret to women? Stumbling over your words and pretending you're not about to pass out?"

"Shut up," Link grumbled playfully as he tried to ignore them.

"Oi, Link." Shulk piped up. "We'll be sure to remember your advice, mate."

The Hylian only responded to the scientist's snide remark by flipping them both the bird.

A/N: Yeah, a shorter chapter this time around. But honestly, between this story and "Two Souls, One Goal", I have a lot to think about right now.

Anyway, to clarify, Bianca in this situation is Circus Baby, and I'm (eventually) going to write a story about why she changed her name. But in the words of Mr. Hippo, "That is neither here nor there."

And yeah, Metal actually did kill Eggman off, which explains why he was so ashamed to show his face to his brothers again. Now, Sonic and company have already put the pieces together that Metal did it, but what Metal doesn't feel ready to discuss is why it happened. That part comes later.

So, next chapter is going to sound familiar, because it's the events of "Nothing to Fear" absorbed back into this story. I'll give this chapter a few days to settle in before uploading chapter 3.

Until then, please read, review, favorite, and follow, and I'll see you all next time. Peace out, and may the Force be with you. Always.