The next day, two familiar angels were playing a card game in the lobby.
"Have any threes?" Dark Pit asked his twin.
Squinting at the cards briefly, Pit soon shook his head. "Nope. Go fish."
Grumbling, the dark angel took a card from the pile, and added it to his hand. Now, it was Pit's turn. He looked at the cards he had. Lady Palutena had bought him a deck of fish-themed cards to hopefully help his counting skills by playing card games. He didn't really need it, but it was nice to know what the symbols for each number looked like. A thought came into his head. He only needed one more eleven, and he had his first book.
"Any elevens, Pittoo?" he asked, leaning back in the wooden chair.
"It's been six years, and you still call me that," he groaned as he pulled a card out of his hand, and handed it to Pit. "Here."
"Yes!" Grouping the elevens together, he placed the book of cards face up next to him on the pub table. "Your turn."
"Any aces?"
"Aces?" the white-winged angel perplexed, raising an eyebrow.
"The cards with one fish on them."
"Oh yeah! Them!" He pulled out two cards from his hand and gave them to Dark Pit. Then, his clone pulled out the other aces he had and laid them out in a book. It was his second book, now. He wasn't real happy that Pittoo was winning at the moment, but he still had to be a good sport.
"Now… any sixes?" Pit asked.
"Go fish," Dark Pit said bluntly. The angel took another card from a pile. A smile danced across his face as he saw the three fish on the card. The number the dark-winged one had asked for a little earlier.
"Let me guess, you have a three now," the dark angel groused, eyebrows lowering.
"How did you know?!" the brunette exclaimed.
"It's on your face, Pit-stain," Pittoo jeered. "What, did you think I wouldn't notice?"
"Oh, fine, fine, here's your three." Pit surrendered his first three over to the black-haired boy, and he smirked as he formed yet another book.
The two kept taking turns, taking cards off of one another and making books, when a certain blue-haired swordsman interrupted their game.
"Hey, have either of you two seen Roy?"
Blue and red eyes turned their attention onto Marth, the Hero-King. A look of worry was obvious on his face, deep blue eyes filled with concern.
"No," Pit replied. "I haven't seen him since the next tournament was announced."
"Me neither," Dark Pit agreed.
"Well, if you see him, tell me," Marth requested. "I'm getting a little worried. He usually shows up to spar with me, but not today."
"I can help you." The white angel immediately shot out of his chair, alarming the dark one.
"Wha- We still need to finish our game, Pit!" Pittoo protested.
"Later, Pittoo. This could be important! What if Roy went missing?" Pit argued.
"I don't want to think about that," Marth complained.
"Sorry, sorry. But either way, I still want to help!"
The blue-haired swordsman smiled. "Thank you, Pit."
"No problem! Anything to help a friend!"
Dark Pit leaned back in his chair and put his feet on the table. "Whatever. I'll be waiting for you to get back."
"Alright, then. See you later!" The two walked off as the brunette waved goodbye to his clone, and now, they were heading deeper into the Smash Mansion.
"Where did you last see him, Marth?" Pit asked.
"Yesterday morning. He was walking to the courtyard with Dr. Mario," the prince told him.
"Wait, Dr. Mario? Not just normal Mario?" Something must have gone wrong if the plumber was in his doctor's outfit.
"Yes, Dr. Mario. I don't know why," he confirmed.
"Well, then why don't we go look in the courtyard? Maybe someone has seen him there."
"…You're right, actually." Marth's cheeks started to glow red with embarrassment. "I don't know why I didn't think of that before."
"Then let's go!" Pit grabbed his friend's hand, causing him to yelp out in surprise. They ran to the entrance of the courtyard… only to find that it was boarded off.
"You have to be kidding me," the blue-haired swordsman muttered. He looked around. "There has to be someone here who can explain why." Almost immediately was his wish granted. Floating by was Master Hand himself.
"Oh, Master Hand, Master Hand!" Pit called. "Do you know why we can't go in the courtyard?"
The floating hand stopped, and turned around to face the duo. "Hello. Yes, I do know why, actually."
"Which is…?"
"Mewtwo was found unconscious there yesterday. Dr. Mario and a few companions took him into the infirmary, and since then… it's gotten worse," Master Hand explained. "Mewtwo has an unknown disease, and it's spreading."
"Is Roy alright?!" Marth immediately interrupted.
Silence was heavy in the air, and eventually, the hand gave out a great sigh. "I'm sorry to say this, Marth, but Roy… got infected."
The swordsman was speechless, but Pit had something to say. "Who else got infected?!"
"Jigglypuff got infected, too. I can show you the camera feed if you want proof."
"No, no, I believe you," the angel reassured. "It's just so weird though! Where did it come from?"
"I just said, Mewtwo was the original carrier of the disease," Master Hand clarified.
"No, like, where. Where did he catch it?"
"The courtyard, probably. Why, did you see him in the courtyard two nights ago?"
"Yeah, actually! He was just sitting on the fence."
"Hmm…" The floating hand started to act as if he was stroking an invisible beard. "The most probable explanation is that something from the Land of the Exiles bit him. After all, it was built near the border between here and there."
"You're saying you don't know?" Marth interrupted. "My friend is infected! You have to find out where it's coming from!"
"You know, Marth," Master Hand started, "that gives me an idea." Snapping his fingers, a familiar booth suddenly appeared next to the courtyard's entrance. It was made out of mahogany wood, and white letters spelling, 'The Detective Squad,' was written on the front of it.
"The Detective Squad's coming back?!" Pit exclaimed. Before the hand could answer, he added, "I have to go tell Robin and Lucario!" and ran off.
The first place Pit thought of was to check the Pokemon Daycare, where all of the Pokemon slept. As far as he knew, Lucario did not really like it there, but he had to for the sake of keeping order. The angel burst through the door, and looked around. Surrounded by sky-blue walls and a floor the color of grass, only Charizard was sleeping heavily in the center of the room. He sighed. Lucario was not here.
Time for the next best solution! The brunette walked up to the dragon, and yelled, "Charizard! Wake up!" Still snoring, the Pokemon rolled over, exposing its belly. "Charizard!" he shouted once more. When he did not wake up, Pit kneeled down next to him, and shouted his name once more.
This seems to have done the trick, as Charizard shot up and looked around frantically. When he noticed Pit in his presence instead of the Pokemon Trainer, he gave an unimpressed snort.
"Charizard?" he muttered. It translated to, "What do you want?"
"Do you know where Lucario is?" the angel asked. "I'm looking for him." The Flame Pokemon shook his head, and frustrated, Pit decided to try to find Robin instead. He thanked Charizard for the help and moved on.
The white-winged boy headed towards the hallway where all of the rooms for the Fire Emblem characters were located. When he reached the male Robin's room, he knocked on the door, calling his name. Thankfully, the tactician, who was not wearing his robe, opened the door and gave a half-hearted smile.
"Hey there," he greeted. "What brings you here?"
"Master Hand's forming the Detective Squad again!" Pit exclaimed, giving an excited grin.
Robin's eyes widened. "He is?!"
"Yeah! He brought back the booth and everything!"
"Why?!" the white-haired man cried. "I thought that ceased to exist after we found Mario."
"Well, we have another emergency, my good friend. Some kind of disease is spreading around the Smash Mansion."
He raised an eyebrow. "Can't he get Dr. Mario to do that?"
"The thing is, no one knows what it is." The brunette scratched his head. "I think it'll take a long time before we get a cure. So, in the meantime, we just have to find the source!"
He sighed. "If you say so. Let me put on clothes, though." Robin shut the door, and after a few minutes, he reopened it, wearing his robe. "Where's Lucario?"
"I don't know," Pit replied. "I asked Charizard; he doesn't know where he is either."
"Let's go look for him, then," Robin suggested.
"Exactly!" The angel started to run off.
"Hey, wait up!" the tactician called, running after him.
The two ran through the halls, looking in every nook and cranny for a sign of the blue canine. Everyone they asked said that they have not seen him. It was not until they found Fox that they got some sort of answer.
"Lucario?" Fox queried. "I thought I saw him head into the training room."
"Thank you!" called Robin as Pit speeded off towards the aforementioned room.
Once the duo had reached the training room, Pit immediately burst inside. It was currently selected on the Garden of Hope stage. Robin was a little more hesitant, waiting until signs of nothing bad happening were evident before stepping into the room. The angel looked around, and started to call the Pokemon's name. Though no answer came, they eventually found Lucario sitting on the pot, meditating.
Hesitantly, they approached the Aura Pokemon. "Lucario…?" the brunette asked. "Are you alright?" Still, he did not answer, causing his wings to droop a little bit.
"Please, Lucario, talk to us," the white-haired man prodded. "We're your friends, aren't we?"
He turned his head, a red eye focusing on the mage and the angel. "I shouldn't have left them alone," his voice suddenly projected in Pit's head.
"Woah, Lucario! Don't use your telepathy on me!" he cried. "Seriously, it's kind of creepy."
"Don't you talk with Palutena via telepathy normally?" Robin pointed out.
"Yeah, but that's normal! Lucario usually outright speaks to everyone," the white-winged angel argued.
"Let's get back on focus." Robin turned to Lucario. "Who are you talking about?"
"Roy and Jigglypuff," the Pokemon replied, now speaking. His ears drooped a little bit. "I could have protected them from getting bitten."
"Bitten?" he puzzled.
"Master Hand told me that Roy and Jigglypuff were infected with whatever Mewtwo has," Pit interrupted. Feeling bad for the Pokemon, he refocused his attention on him. "Did Master Hand already tell you?"
"I've known since last night," he said solemnly. "I was the first person Dr. Mario told when it started."
Robin dipped his head, and then said, "I'm sorry." A frown slivered onto his face. Pit had no doubt the same feelings of pity were going through his head as well.
"Anyways, Lucario, we came here to tell you something," the angel continued. "Master Hand is forming the Detective Squad again, and it won't be complete without you."
"Why?" The Aura Pokemon got up onto his feet, and jumped off the pot, to the ground. "What is the mystery here?"
"Where the heck this disease even came from," he replied. "In the process, we might find a cure as well."
The last sentence seemed to have gathered Lucario's interest, and he gave an eager nod. "If that's the case, then I'm in."
"Great!" the brunette cheered. "Let's go back to Master Hand, now."
The three ran out of the training room and back to the courtyard's entrance. The scene had not changed much, except that Marth was up against the wall with his back turned. Master Hand still floated, and when he noticed their arrival, he went up to them.
"I assume you have already figured this out," he started, "but I am giving you the task to figure out where this disease came from, and stop it before it is too late."
"Thanks for the reminder," Lucario muttered, regaining his usual composure.
"Now, onto to it!" Master Hand did a dramatic pose, pointing to the Detective Squad booth. The trio gathered behind it, and then the floating hand handed them a few papers. "This is the lab report, as well as a log of the events since Mewtwo was brought to the infirmary. All provided by Dr. Mario."
"Thank you," Robin thanked as he skimmed through the papers. "This will be immensely helpful." Though he did not want to admit it, they were not helpful at all for Pit, as he, despite Lady Palutena's efforts, still could not read. "…Though, you might want to bring Dr. Mario along." He chuckled. "We use magic to heal people in my world, not medicine."
Robin's wish was granted when Dr. Mario suddenly dashed into the area. He stopped at the sight of Master Hand, breathing heavily. Looking up at the white glove, he uttered a few terrifying words to the shock of everyone.
"The a-infected Smashers have-a broke out of the a-infirmary!"
A/N: Well, here's the next chapter! I feel like the ending was rushed a little bit, but nonetheless, it served its purpose. I don't have much comment on otherwise, so Branchwing, out!