Wow, the positive reactions to this story are merely amazing! You guys in this section of FF are merely some of the most supportive I've seen yet! Thank you so much, so to celebrate, here's a new chapter! I merely wrote it a little while ago, since I was so merely hyped. I hope you guys merely enjoy, and of course, please leave a review if you merely want to. I merely appreciate some good feedback, and it gives me a nice thing to read when I wake up in the mornings, although it's merely a distraction.
(Was that enough "Merely's" for you "Bertrum123?)
It Was an Accident - Chapter 3
The room was cold and silent as Yoshi looked around him. His eyes darted across the various places in the room where the Smashers had gathered, including Peach, who was sitting next to Mario, smiling sweetly. The dinosaur couldn't bear to look at her for longer than a second, so he averted his eyes, feeling them sting from his previous tears. He clenched his fists, anger starting to flood his mind until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He could tell it was Greninja's from the webbed paw, and he couldn't help but calm down.
Everyone had gathered in the main living room after finding out the news, and nobody was saying a word. He could see Lucas looking at him with a sad look, while Bowser gave a resigned expression. It made the dinosaur feel all the more alone at that point. He had one week, just one week to find something about the mansion that had changed him for the better. What could he do? What could anyone do? Master Hand had made it clear of the consequences, and the dinosaur was nearing his limit. It had been a long day, despite him sleeping through most of it.
"Yoshi," He heard Samus say quietly, everyone turning towards the bounty hunter. "I know it must be stressful, especially after what you told us, but you can't give up, okay." She give him a small smile to try and cheer him up. He merely sighed, seemingly waving her away.
"Yeah, Yoshi, you're one of the first," Ness pouted. "If that doesn't mean anything, then what does it say for the rest of us."
"That nobody's safe," Yoshi grimly muttered. He let his eyes be drawn to the ceiling, where he could see the outside through a skylight they had installed. He knew that Master Hand was somewhere up there, residing in the Final Destination, waiting for the week to end. "I should just say my goodbyes now."
"Don't talk like that," Rock stated, giving Yoshi an annoyed look. "Where I come from, we were taught to keep on fighting. Being bitter about everything isn't going to get you anywhere!" The Blue Bomber then pointed towards Ganondorf, who's eyes glared towards the robot. "That guy's been bitter his entire life. Do you want to end up like him?"
Yoshi continued to look up, sighing once more. "Like Ganondorf? Heck no... I'm up against stuck-up Princess Peach over there." The Princess in question merely turned her head, huffing, leaving poor old Mario to try to calm her hidden rage. "Mario, you saw what happened. What did you think of it?"
The plumber turned to him, deep in thought. "I'd have to say... You both did some pretty silly stuff," He mused. "Peach didn't feed Lucas, was in a bit of a mood and stuff, but you didn't need to rub it in." For a moment, everyone was silent, that was until Mario realized what he had said. "Mama Mia! Princess, I didn-"
THWACK!
The plumber sailed across the room and onto the green fuzzy carpet on the floor, while sitting where he was, the Princess sat, holding a large frying pan. She smiled at everyone, although Yoshi swore he could see fires burning in her eyes. "Yoshi, I realize I may have been a little off today, but you really didn't need to accuse me of not feeding Lucas. We talked it out, he said he wanted to make his own breakfasts from now on."
"Actually, that's true," Lucas mumbled, trying to summon a smile, but failing drastically. "Still shoulda fed me this morning," He mumbled, taking a few steps towards the door.
Peach merely waved him off, turning back to the dinosaur, who was just about fed up with this group meeting. He needed sleep, and he needed privacy to think, and he knew just where to go. As he was about to stand up, Popo and Nana gave him a wave, Popo wanting to give a contribution to the meeting.
"Uh.. Yoshi, not brawling isn't that bad. Maybe you could... uh... get Master Hand to lower the sentence, just ban you from brawling for a while?"
"Out of the question," Peach stated quickly. "He insulted me and accused me of crimes I did not commit."
"Peach, this is getting out of hand," The calm voice of Zelda spoke, the Hyrulean Princess getting up from her seat. Her eyes locked with Peach's own, both of the Princesses trying to stare the other down, while Yoshi just wanted to get away from everyone. "Peach. I don't know what happened to you today, but you are not acting like a royal, you are acting like a spoiled little brat. What happened to the nice and caring Peach that we've known for so long? Hmmm? Just because you are having a bad day, doesn't mean you have to tak-"
"You don't understand Zelda!"
"I DO UNDERSTAND PEACH! I am not going to see Yoshi get kicked out of this mansion because of you being a royal m-"
"TOADSWORTH PASSED AWAY!"
Yoshi's eyes widened in shock, Zelda gasped, while Mario merely looked at the Princess with a sad expression. Everyone in the room suddenly went silent, and everybody drew their eyes to the Princess that was crying in the middle of the room. "I-I got the letter this morning," She cried out, dropping to the ground in emotion. A wave of unsettlement seemed to pass around the room, and Yoshi couldn't believe his ears.
"P-Peach... I'm so sorry," He mumbled quietly. He had known the old Toadsworth well. The Toad had helped out many times throughout Mario's adventures through the Mushroom Kingdom, so it must have been a big shock for them. "I didn't kn-"
"Just stop Yoshi." She looked at him, and he feared the worse was about to happen. "H-He wouldn't want me acting like this... Master Hand... Let Yoshi stay, I-I've been a fool..."
Peach... It's not easy facing the death of a loved one, but I'm sure you can get through it. With your words, I will permit Yoshi to stay. I admit, I acted rather rashly with my challenge... However, Yoshi, since I was looking forward to an answer, I have a... proposition.
Everyone looked around surprised at the sudden appearance of the hand in their minds. Within a few moments, everyone was struggling to stand as the after-effects of the transmission began to take into affect.
Master Hand, your transmission is kinda making everyone sick. So what's this proposition?
Well I w- Wait! Why did nobody tell me my telepathy made you sick? I just assumed you were all feeling a little giddy... Well, I'll make this quick then. You see, I'm still not sure about you brawling in your current mind-set. The Tournament will be starting in just under a month, and I need to see if you are ready to fight. If you find something meaningful here at the Mansion, I'll allow you to fight in the tournament, but if not, you will be restricted to Practise Battles only. I'm doing this more for your own benefit than you know... Trust me.
B-But I've done nothing wrong!?
But you've done nothing right, either. It shouldn't be too hard to come up with something. I trust that you will deliver... In one way or another.
The transmission suddenly ended, and with that, everybody dropped to the ground, clutching their heads in pain. Yoshi, thinking through the pain, was confused. Master Hand knew something that he didn't? But what was it? He made a very shaky mental note to ask the Hand about it during the week.
When Yoshi finally felt ready to move around again, he noticed that Peach had already withdrawn from the room, along with Luigi and Mario. The others were all still recovering, except for one other Smasher, who seemed to be just fine.
"You okay?" Greninja asked, pulling Yoshi up from the ground, giving him some space to walk off anymore pains. "You guys looked ready to feint."
"Huh, you weren't affected?"
"I'm a ninja, remember. I got mental training against this as I grew up," The Pokémon replied, looking around at the room. "Evidently they did not..."
Yoshi merely smiled, taking a few steps towards the door. He wanted to go somewhere quiet, but his room was destroyed, and the Mansion would be full of noises, so he decided there was only one place he really could go. "I'm heading out for a bit guys. I'll see you later Greninja."
"What? We are roommates you know, as in, I still want to get to know you better," The Frog smirked, giving a rather hilarious wink. For a ninja, he wasn't exactly subtle.
"You're worried about me," The dinosaur grinned. "I'm honoured, alright then."
With that, the two Smashers exited the living room into the main hall. Yoshi quickly opened up the main doors, Greninja silently following him.
As they walked out into the night sky, Yoshi could feel a calm and peaceful breeze beginning to blow across the front garden of the mansion. He could see leaves swaying in the wind, and there was that fresh plant smell that he liked so much. The sky was twinkling with hundreds of visible stars, creating bright rays of moonlight across the entire mansion. It looked stunning, and as Yoshi began to walk down the path around the mansion's side, he began to realize why he liked it so much out here.
"It's so peaceful," He sighed, stretching his arms up in the air with a smile. For a moment, he forgot about Master Hand's warning-turned-challenge, relishing in the opportunity to sleep outside for the night. He even had a few covers hidden outside in case he ever wanted to sleep out here.
"It has its charm... Nature is a wonderful thing, Yoshi," Greninja replied, letting his tongue scarf wave in the wind, as he smiled at the serene peace of the Smash Garden. "So where are you headed?"
"There's a small glade just beyond the treeline. There's a small pond there that manages to reflect the moonlight right at midnight. I call it "Midnight Glade" because of that. Sometimes I sleep there when I need to clear my head," The dino replied smiling.
They had reached the trees, and Greninja thought he could see a small clearing through the trunks and branches of the forest. As it turns out, he was correct, and as they emerged into the clearing, the Ninja's eyes filled with wonder.
Hanging around the glade were trees laden with various fruits and berries, from the universal apple, to the Pokémon specific oran berries. There seemed to be an abundance of fruits and berries on the trees, but that was just the outside of the glade. The entire area was filled with tall grass and a variety of colourful flowers, most of which were also from different worlds. He recognised the normal poppies, sunflowers and bluebells. But there were some flowers that he didn't know about.
The main feature though, was the shimmering lake that sat in the very centre of the glade. Yoshi believed this to be a pond, yet it spanned a great distance of the area, and was definitely more of a lake than a pond. The soft water rippled across the banks, swishing around quietly, leaving Greninja in a slight trance. His element was strong here, and he was greatly enjoying the peace and quiet this place had to offer.
"It's pretty magical right," Yoshi whispered, causing the frog to jump out of his stupor. He could hear Yoshi chuckle. "I've never actually shown this place to anyone else. It's so close to the Mansion that they never think to look here. Mario's more of an "Explore far away" kinda guy."
"I can see why you'd want it to be kept a secret," Greninja replied, walking towards the lake's edge. "It's beautiful..."
Yoshi walked over to a small tree trunk, where Greninja could see a sleeping bag hanging. He quickly realized they'd be sleeping out here, but as Yoshi walked back, Greninja realized one problem.
"Uh... Yoshi, there's only one sleeping bag..."
The Yoshi took a moment to comprehend what Greninja said, the realization dawning on him. They couldn't go to the mansion since their room was fried, but... That would mean sharing a sleeping bag.
"I-I'll just sleep out on the ground," Greninja blushed, taking a spot on the grass just near the lake. Yoshi merely shrugged, getting into the rather large sleeping bag.
However, nature seemed to have a different course in mind for the two Smashers that had only known each other for the day, for just as they were both getting to sleep, a cold wind made its way through the clearing. Greninja tensed up, feeling the wind burning his skin from the cold. It didn't seem normal, but he was shivering before long.
Yoshi just looked with a sad expression at his shivering friend, but the Greninja was determined to try and stick to his idea. Little did he know, that idea wasn't going to work. Suddenly, the wind gusted where Greninja was sleeping, causing the frog to jump upright. He turned, looking towards the mansion, then to Yoshi, who was merely staring.
"Look, Greninja, you're freezing without a sleeping bag, just share for the night. We don't have to mention this again, but you've not really got an option," Yoshi reasoned, looking away slightly as the Greninja sighed with, what seemed to be, resignation. The frog quickly walked over to the large sleeping bag, and very quietly, slipped inside.
Yoshi almost didn't notice until he felt the warm fur of Greninja's chest against his side. It was surprisingly relaxing, having the Pokémon next to him, and although both of them were blushing a beetroot red, it was obvious that they weren't disgusted by their sleeping arrangements.
"Greninja, the moon... It's midnight," Yoshi pointed out silently, looking up towards the moon.
The ninja's eyes widened as the moonlight shone right onto the lake, reflecting the shimmering light across the entire clearing. What was once a rather darkened glade, was suddenly brightly lit with a white light, and it was a true sight to behold. Yoshi sighed in, what Greninja thought was, content, closing his eyes. "See... I said it was... cool..."
Greninja merely chuckled in response, looking at the Yoshi who was now sleeping next to him. The dinosaur was one heavy sleeper, and he was grateful for it. The awkwardness of the situation was enough to keep the frog awake for a little while longer, as he just listened to the sounds of nature around him.
But when Greninja fell asleep, he didn't even stop Yoshi from nuzzling his head into the Pokemon's neck, and when the Pokemon draped an arm protectively across the dinosaur, they knew on the inside that something had changed.
Little did they know that the next day would strain their rapidly growing friendship, and put them to the test.
Jeez, talk about a cuteness overload at the end! So, I can tell you that the fated brawl will be in the next chapter, and I can also reveal that... Well, that things are not as they seem in the world around them...
Poor Peach though, I do think my explanation makes up for her "bitchyness," though, if you've ever dealt with losing a loved one.
Anyway, I hope you guys can review, and I'll see you next time!
~Cenobia100
(P.S - If anything seems off with the chapter, it may have to do with me losing the file for this chapter, and then having to scour back-ups until I got it opened in WordPad (Everything was jumbled together, so I had to fix it, I probably did miss a few things, but hey)