Before you begin to read, I just want to say that I am not a pro or competitive Smash player by any means. The closest I have played 'competitively' was at my college's Brawl tournament the past year. I mostly like to play it as a pastime and with friends (although I get a kick on playing For Glory, 1 v. 1 specifically).

I do put some research when it comes to a character's move sets and strategies (sometimes my own input), but don't expect the battle scenes here top notch and too technical. I prefer to add some emotion when writing battles, but that doesn't mean they will be unrealistic either. I try to keep it as close to the characters and setting as possible, and with so many different analyses and guides on characters I have seen or read; it's hard to choose what's best. It's also the fact that Smash 4's metagame is still in development, so things are subject to change. In short, I do what I can. Besides that, I hope you enjoy reading the rest of Day One. Thank you.


Chapter 2

Day One – Midday to Evening


"What are you doing?"

"Just hang on Princess, I know what I'm doing. It's time to get serious, we're going to visit an old friend of mine. A little warning though, he can be pretty nasty."

Recalling those sentences made the Princess of Ylisse tense. Here, she was being teleported with Mega Man to somewhere foreign. Lucina knew it was for their training, but the transportation itself was slightly uncomfortable. It was nothing like the travel back in time to save her father and Ylisse. This teleportation was more rapid and rigid, a completely different atmosphere. The blue light had moved Lucina and her partner to the new area, their feet landed on a stage's floor. Mega Man released the princess gently, who was a little queasy from the trip.

"Sorry about that! Usually humans don't get any side effects when I teleport them," Mega Man mentioned uneasily, taking note of Lucina's groggy facial features. "But I guess you couldn't handle it well..."

He moved his eyes to his helmet, having a quizzical expression. "Unless my teleportation ability is faulty..."

Lucina began to recover her composure, signaling Mega Man she would be fine. "I'll be fine." As she regained alertness, she looked at her surroundings. "Where are we?"

Mega Man smiled at the simple question. "Take a guess."

The princess inspected the area, noticing the large green platform beneath her boots, rails, and a mechanical castle in the background. The W and skull embedded on it brought a conclusion. "Isn't this... the Wily Castle stage?" she asked, reminiscing on a couple of battles she had on here before.

"That's right," Mega Man confirmed. "Do you know which world it's from?"

Her companion pointed at himself, Lucina blinked. "It's yours, right?"

"Yeah, you got it! We're on my turf — well... sort of. It's more on the turf of my arch nemesis... but you get the picture."

"I see, why are we here?" inquired Lucina. There was the thought that since the stage was based off Mega Man's world, no doubt he would choose it at some point for their training. She wanted to make sure so she imposed the question.

"I managed to snag the place to ourselves before anyone else," Mega Man replied. "Here is where we will do some training for today and where I will analyze you. It's been modified slightly to correspond to our training, but not much. Unfortunately, we don't have much time because other teams have scheduled times to use it. So, better start."

The princess nodded at Mega Man's explanation. "How we will start?"

"You wanna know? That's easy, draw your sword."

"What?"

"You heard me," Mega Man commanded, he moved his eyes to the sword on Lucina's sheath. "I'd like to see you use that Parallel Falchion in action."

"Are you asking for me to fight you?" Lucina suspected, Mega Man's sudden request perplexed her.

"Just for the time being, it's a chance to see how you do up close. It's the first step I have for our training, think of it as a warm up. Are you all right with that, Princess? Or do you want to change things?"

Lucina wasn't hesitant to listen, she was interested in where this was going. Whatever Mega Man had in store, she was willing to take — as long the two were involved and it sufficed their training together. "Very well," she said firmly, complying with Mega Man's command and drawing out her trusted sword. "Do you want me to go easy?"

The blue robot prepared himself for combat. "That's up to you, but I don't mind getting rough. Whatever makes you comfortable."

He has some tricks up his sleeve, Lucina thought to herself, alluding to suspicion. While this was just practice, it seemed that he was beckoning her to fight him. I shall uncover them, she thought. Father, I hope your teachings on using this blade will aid me here.

"I hereby take the challenge," she spoke strongly.

"All right, let's do this!" Mega Man cried with conviction, entering in his fighting stance.

And with those words stated, the battle between the blue metal hero and Ylissean warrior had begun.

"Three... Two... One... GO!"

For Father and all of Ylisse, I will not lose! Lucina cried in her thoughts. She dashed toward her opponent, her sword firmly gripped for combat. She was ready to swing her blade at him, ambitious for the first strike.

So she's going straight for an attack, Mega Man thought, attentively focusing his eyes on the hankering princess. All right Lucina, let's see if you can handle this. The robot released a metal blade from his hands and placed it on the platform, leading Lucina to slow herself a bit.

That blade, if I go toward him he might throw it! she thought in alarm. Maybe if I attack from up or can get behind...

As she was near toward the robot, she jumped up to perform her neutral aerial attack. By doing this, she can bring her sword to slash twice close and back. Lucina believed that this attack was good to use defensively and offensively, if she made the first hit; Mega Man would be swept away from his blade and she would snatch it. From there, she would apply her second attack on her opponent, and throw the metal blade at him for extra damage. Alas, Lucina was ignorant on that Mega Man had picked up the metal blade when she jumped; initiating a distraction of his own by throwing the metal blade in the air. There was a clanging sound when blade collided with the Falchion, affecting Lucina's use of her sword — stunning and hurting her.

What?!

She was not prepared for the next move, Mega Man jumped up to meet her and quickly summoned his flame sword to attack, burning her in the process. The princess yelped from pain of the flames scorching through her body and was flung down onto the platform. Smoke arose from Lucina's slightly torn clothing, her armor managed to protect her from major burns. However, she had endured some hits and it increased her damage percentage from zero to over ten. She winced from pain and rose up to face her partner. "Ngh!"

Mega Man smirked, grateful that his plan worked. Of course you would try to attack me from above, Princess. Luckily my metal blade can be thrown in all directions.

"You have to try a little harder than that, Lucina!" he called out, riling up his ally. "Not sure if you knew this, but the metal blade can be thrown anywhere!"

He then remembered the way she sprinted toward him prior to his tricks, inducing himself to caution. Her speed is impressive, he thought warily. She could have a slight advantage over me in that department, I might have to be careful.

Lucina shot a glare at her partner. The glare alone was enough to provide that she was envious Mega Man conducted the first hit. His projectiles... I already sense nuisances. However, if I can overcome them he should be easy to take down. He better not be a campy opponent...

She proceeded to run again, her sword skidding across the platform. This time more determined and attentive to any projectiles that may come her way.

In alert of her, Mega Man unleashed his Mega Buster, discharging a crash bomb to disturb Lucina's movements. The swordswoman was bewildered by the small bomb implanted on her chest, but she did not stop. Instead, she unleashed a swipe of her sword against her partner, and Mega Man swiftly dodged the slash imposed on him.

Woah!

I have to get this thing off me before it explodes! Lucina thought, adamant in ridding the bomb off her. She pursued to keep Mega Man at a close distance so she can transplant the crash bomb to him, shielding herself a few times to avoid damage. As she did, the Blue Bomber attempted to unleash shots from his Mega Buster to drift her away; but was countered by the Falchion when he released a shot — knocking him far. Yet by performing that counter, Lucina was vulnerable to activate a shield, and the bomb erupted on her chest — hurting her.

Mega Man slid across the stage, avoiding collision to the ground. He let his knuckle hit the floor and stopped.

That counter, it's fantastic! he thought in amazement, regaining his momentum. The way the Parallel Falchion just protects her as a whole and then she unleashes the attack... it's simple but efficient. She even got the timing of it right, I'm enjoying this.

Meanwhile, the Ylissean princess aimed her blade at her opponent confidently, ignoring the pain. She was proud of inflicting some damage at her foe. "You were saying about trying harder?" she mocked at Mega Man, returning back to his previous comments. Her eyes slightly narrowed.

Mega Man chuckled at her gesture. "Heh... not bad, Princess. You have some nice feats, but we're just getting started."

A sudden siren was heard throughout the stage, startling the princess and wondering where it came from. Lucina rapidly moved her eyes at Wily Castle and gasped as she saw yellow pieces shooting up from it.

Mega Man smiled lightly, welcoming the presence. Here it comes.

Lucina immediately moved away from the area. The yellow pieces landed onto the stage platform, and much like puzzle pieces that formed into one — a giant robot spawned out of it.

"What — what is that?!" she cried in disbelief, disturbed by the appearance of the giant.

"That's the Yellow Devil," Mega Man replied coolly. "An old foe of mine. Guess Master Hand requested Dr. Wily to bring back the thing for the stage, even though I've defeated him before. Brings back memories."

Lucina was puzzled by such disclosure. "You have fought this monster before?"

"Yes, it can be quite the challenge and is this stage's hazard. Now, your task is to defeat it while I observe you."

Lucina's mouth was agape from she had heard. "What?! Is this part of the training? Is this how you plan to do your analysis on me?"

"I did say our battle would be a warm up for the real deal, correct?" Mega Man reminded at Lucina. "And here it is. Now go out there and slay it. I'll be watching from a far and analyzing what techniques you use to defeat Yellow Devil."

The Princess of Ylisse was speechless. This young machine was ordering her, a warrior, to defeat one of his enemies while he would sit and watch?! Slight irritation rose within her, he was taking charge of their prep and Lucina took the burden of their training. She personally preferred the warm up instead, at least her partner had some sort of participation in it. Wouldn't it be better if they worked as the team they are to defeat this enemy instead?

At the same time, she recalled that this was being done for the sake of analysis. Mega Man would use her data to help think of some possible combos and strategies for them to merge into a powerful team. The princess scolded herself for thinking so hastily with anger.

"Fine, I'll do it," she finally spoke, stepping toward the Yellow Devil.

Mega Man nodded in response, stepping back. "Good luck."

The princess felt slightly nervous, her trembling hands holding her sword while cold sweat broke out from her face. She hadn't encountered something so... strange. Not since Grima or the risen back in the Ylissean war, but this Yellow Devil creeped her out with its abnormal appearance and its single red eye shooting a menacing glare. It vigorously clenched its fists, at least Grima looked more appealing to the eye.

Her partner reviewed the apprehension coming from Lucina. She looks tense, he mused. Just like I was when I first saw the Yellow Devil. I wonder if she was like that when she met her enemy. Now that I think about it... we have something in common... I wonder what would happen if I were to face Grima.

Lucina carefully entered into her fighting position, her hands still trembled but she forced them to grip her sword properly. May all go well.

She rushed at the Yellow Devil, chucking the Falchion at it mercilessly, inflicting damage. Then jumped and used an up aerial attack against it. The swordswoman continued to slash her sword in different directions at the mechanical monster, while evading the lasers shot out from the Yellow Devil's eye.

Mega Man quietly observed her movements, absorbing Lucina's play style. He started to calculate possible damage percentages by her attacks alone. One attack in particular, the Dancing Blade caught his attention. Composed of variations of slashes, he was quite intrigued by the swordplay. He viewed that Lucina was able to change direction of each swipe she made with the sword so quickly. Each input she did reminded him more and more of the Hero King Marth.

She attacks quite rapidly and efficiently, they look pretty light too, but fast. At least compared to other sword users such as Ike or Shulk in which their attacks are slow, but powerful. Marth was truly a major influence in her play style, must run in the family.

The sound of rumbling rapidly protruded through Mega Man's ears. He hastily left his position as the Yellow Devil began to split into sections, move across the stage and reform.

"Watch out!" he yelled. "When it is split into pieces they can hit you!"

Lucina took heed of Mega Man's warning and jumped away from the parts. The Yellow Devil was whole again when the sections rejoined on the other side of the platform. Seeing it there, Lucina ran down and jumped on a small floating platform to attack the monster from behind.

If I attack here, it can't touch me since its beams hit from the eye. It will not stop me!

Her teammate slightly frowned at her strategy. Not only couldn't Mega Man see Lucina unleash her moves well, but he didn't find the tactics completely useful.

He stuck to his belief once the platform started to rise up, away from her target. "Oh no!" Lucina cried in fear, not willing to succumb to a loss. She hopped away from it and clung herself onto the larger platform for support. Mega Man sighed at the setback while the princess lifted herself back on the green stage.

"I must defeat this thing," Lucina muttered. She was getting a little tired and her damage meter increased to a higher percentage. She hoped that the Yellow Devil was almost at the end of its life.

The yellow robot repeated the process of breaking apart and heading to the other side, annoying the princess. Mega Man ran toward Lucina, believing that he should give her some essential information.

"Princess! You have to forwardly attack him," he advised instantly. "You shouldn't hit him from behind a lot, especially since his weak spot is at the front."

"What?" Lucina asked in surprise at Mega Man's guidance.

"Yeah, see the — AH!"

The robot's advice was interrupted as he was hit by a moving projectile of the Yellow Devil, Lucina called out his name worriedly when Mega Man fell to the floor.

"I'm fine..." he mumbled, urging Lucina to move on. "Look, go and finish him off, find his weak spot. He's almost done for... you'll see what I mean..."

Lucina quickly obeyed and faced the Yellow Devil, clutching her sword. His weak spot... ah!

She avoided a red blast from the devil, and looked for the source. She lightly gasped, it was found. Of course! The swordswoman prepared for one final dash, charging her Parallel Falchion to thrust it onto the eye, and destroy the hazard once and for all.

"I say when it ends!"

Unfortunately, the fate of the match was changed when another blast knocked the sword out of Lucina's hands, stunning her movements. Her eyes widened as the Falchion flew out of her reach and out of the stage. The blue warrior was separated from her prized weapon, making her invulnerable and unable to finish the job.

No!

"Rush! Retrieve the Parallel Falchion!"

Mega Man summoned his companion and the mechanical dog obeyed the command. Rush transformed into a jet, flying down to get the Falchion that had almost disappeared into the abyss of the Wily stage. He caught it with his mouth and flew back up to return the regalia sword to its owner.

"Th — Thank you," Lucina said bashfully, receiving back the sword.

"Sorry Lucina," Mega Man chimed in, passing her to reach the Yellow Devil. He decided to change his plans by intervening, if not the Yellow Devil would return back to Wily's Castle. Also, he sensed the devil was weakened at this point. "But I got to..."

So long, Yellow Devil.

He leaped toward the eye of the monster, his glaring blue eyes met with the lone red eye of the devil. From there he blinded the yellow robot by slashing across the eye with his slash claw, ending its life.

"...do this!"

The giant robot started to erupt, and the Blue Bomber pushed his partner away from the bursting hazard to avoid any more damage. "Get down!"

Once the yellow robot exploded and the hazard was over, Mega Man lifted Lucina's cape up which protected them from the explosion. He checked to see if everything was clear and smiled in relief.

"We did it," he declared proudly at the princess. "I managed to learn a lot from observing you in combat, and gathered some analysis. You are pretty quick and versatile. Your reflexes aren't that bad either since you managed to avoid most of the Yellow Devil's attacks, except for the last one. Regardless, good job overall."

Despite the compliments, Mega Man could view the solemn expression of his teammate's face. "What's wrong?"

Lucina was disappointed, how could she allow her sword to slip from her grasp? She almost defeated that dreadful thing and could not perform the final action. She criticized herself for her errors.

"I failed to defeat it," she mumbled sadly to her partner. "How despicable."

Mega Man placed his hand on the shoulder of his upset ally, willing to alleviate Lucina's troubles. "Hey, you did fine. Don't let a simple error infringe on our prep, use it to improve Princess. It's okay, we can try and fight him again later. Most of it was for the sake of analysis anyway. Remember, we have an entire week ahead of us, we're only getting started."

Lucina looked up at Mega Man who grinned. The smile alone proved that he had confidence in her and the belief that they would be a good team before the tournament. It was so innocent and it slightly warmed the princess' heart in seeing such prominent fighter smile. Now, feeling relieved and more determined to get better, she smiled lightly. "You have my gratitude."

"It's what teammates do, Lucina. You look a little tired, how about we take a break?"

.

A cool, gentle breeze swept through the fields of Acorn Plains. The blue duo sat on the grass while they set up their lunch, admiring the blue skies and sun shining upon them. To them, this was a perfect spot for their break.

Lucina imposed a question to her ally. "Do you think Master Hand will mind if we are using the omega stage for our late lunch?"

"I doubt it, this stage is vacant for now. Who says stages can't be used for other purposes besides fighting? Besides, I really like the view here," Mega Man replied, admiring the tranquility.

"I suppose," Lucina mumbled, taking a bite of her lunch.

Her robot ally took off his helmet to cool himself, exposing Lucina to what he looked without it. He inhaled the air pleasantly. "This feels good."

Lucina's eyes were awestruck at her partner without his helmet. He's so young...

Mega Man pulled out an E tank he stored at an earlier time in case he needed to replenish himself. He lifted the top to open and took a sip. His partner viewed the drink he was sipping on, curious on what it was. "What is that drink made of? I have never seen it before."

The blue robot ended his drinking and placed the can down. "Oh, I don't think you want to drink this..."

"Why?"

"It's not for humans per se... uh, Lucina what are you doing?"

The princess took hold of the Energy can, examining it thoroughly to figure out its contents. Mega Man protested in response. "Ah, you really — "

She decided to smell its flavor, and immediately backed away in disgust. "Gods!" The sickened warrior placed the can back down, regretting the decision to investigate it in the first place.

Mega Man laughed uneasily, a sweat drop ran down his head. "Told you, it isn't exactly the most appealing smell to humans."

"To humans?" Lucina asked in disbelief. "But... aren't you a human yourself?"

There was silence, the dead quiet between the two led to an awkward moment. Lucina could not understand why, all she asked was a simple question. Unless...

Mega Man blankly stared at her partner, giving Lucina the red flag, something was wrong. The princess asked for a response, which brought Mega Man to burst out laughing. From there Lucina grew more dumbfounded by the scene, what was so funny? Was it the way she asked her question, her wording? She wanted to comprehend and yearned for an answer.

The Blue Bomber ceased his laughing to clarify things. He wiped a slight tear. "You didn't know? I'm not human, Princess."

Lucina's eyes widened at the stunning revelation, trying to process the truth. "You're... not human?"

"Nope, I'm a robot."

"A robot?! But, you look exactly like a human!"

"True, my design is similar to that of a young man. However, I'm just a machine... I don't have all the functions of a human. I thought you figured it out by now."

Nothing could hide the fact that Lucina was completely dismayed and embarrassed at the outrageous discovery. She perceived her partner as a little strange — but to think he wasn't a human didn't even cross her mind. I always thought that this fighter was human... with armor. Like Samus... she thought. He's a machine, my partner is a machine...

Feeling ashamed in realizing this at the very moment, Lucina slightly hung her head down. How could I...

"Princess?" Mega Man asked worriedly, reaching a hand toward her for attention. He was not liking Lucina in such a frozen state. I hope this doesn't interfere with our partnership...

The blue haired warrior was out of her trance, her senses indicating the appearance of Mega Man's gloved hand near her shoulder. "Sorry."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm... just shocked," Lucina admitted to her partner timidly. "Forgive me for my ignorance, I thought you were human."

"My appearance and behavior can trick others into thinking I'm one, but again I'm a robot," Mega Man interjected. He twitched his lips up awkwardly... trying to relax the tension. "Android, specifically. My design is pretty unique compared to others, but pretty cool right? You got an android as your first partner for a tournament."

Perhaps it shouldn't had been such a total surprise, it was common knowledge that the fighters of Smash were diverse. Ranging from humans to Pokémon, animals, and even robots, Lucina acknowledged such fact. Even so, she was impressed that Mega Man's appearance and behavior was so human like. As the day was passing, she was learning more and more about her partner, and even if they were surprises; they were so intriguing. Mega Man had become a fighter of fascination, and she liked it. The princess took with great honor assigned to this striking Smasher as her partner.

The princess let out a nod, conveying to Mega Man that she was fine with it. "I suppose so. Your creator must be a genius to have made someone like you. I've never seen a machine so... alive."

The blue robot lightly blushed at the compliment, shying away from the attention on him. "Aw shucks, I thought you would get freaked out by me or something. I feel pretty flattered to hear that, Princess. Thanks."

Lucina shook her head and grinned. "No, Mega Man. I hope to learn more about you as we go through the week."

"Heh, you probably will. Again, thanks."

"Moving on, so is what you're drinking... some sort of energizer for you?" Lucina inquired, munching on her food.

"Yeah. It's called an E tank," Mega Man explained, he grabbed the can. "Energy tank, or can. It helps me regain my health back, and refuels energy. Since I'm not human, I can't really eat the food you guys can. So, this is equivalent of a meal for me."

"I see."

"Back when I had to stop my enemy Dr. Wily and the robot masters under his control, I would drink these once in a while. There are also different types of can variations for different purposes."

"Hmm, this is somewhat similar to healing staves back in my world," Lucina said. "Within the Shepherds there were healers with different types of staves. Some that would heal one unit, or teleport them to a secure area. Some healers would use combat even if they had a healing staff, like magic."

Mega Man rose an eyebrow, eager to hear more. His interest piqued. "Really? That's awesome. Could... you tell me more about them?"

Lucina chuckled, finishing her meal. "As much as I would like to, shouldn't we be training first?"

The Blue Bomber's excited face faded at that reply. "Ah right, we should get back to that. Sorry."

.

"And finally, this is leaf shield," Mega Man announced, performing his down special move and aiming it at the sandbag in the training room. Lucina observed Mega Man releasing the moving shield, and the leaves cut the sandbag. The two resumed their training in a white platform with only the sandbag as its support. For the past hour or two, the Blue Bomber was showing the princess his move set.

"Believe it or not, I have seen fighters underestimate this attack," he lectured, while pulling out another leaf shield and throwing it at the sandbag. "While it does block projectiles, the cost is one leaf. However, it can be punishable and gives me access to grapple approaches. When I go against opponents using the leaf shield, they may shield themselves from it and that's when I reach for a grab. Or I can roll around while using it and the opponent will have taken some damage. They shield, I grab."

"Wow, I didn't think the leaf shield could cause peril," Lucina commented on the lecture.

"Indeed, it gets better. When the opponent is near the edge of a platform, I can use it and the leaves can block an opponent from reaching the ledge — and they fall. They may try to jump back up, but they're out of luck if they get hit by the leaves."

"Impressive."

"Hopefully, what I said about my abilities inspire you to help come up with team strategies for us," Mega Man said, ending his lecture. "I'm open to ideas so let me know, I don't want to leave my ally in the dark."

"I will, thank you for your lessons on your moves."

"You're welcome. Any questions — oh no!"

"What is it?" Lucina asked over her partner on full alert.

"I forgot!" Mega Man cried anxiously. "I have a home run contest scheduled for today, and it starts soon! Darn, looks like we have to cut it short. I'll see you later, Princess." He started to depart from the training room, heading to Home Run stadium, leaving his ally behind.

Just as Lucina was to say something — Mega Man stopped in his tracks, remembering something. "Hey."

The Ylissean warrior shot a curious look. "Yes?"

"When this is over, can you tell me those stories? It's late afternoon, the day will end soon and we did a lot for today. Think you can share them for tonight?"

Lucina blinked with awe, feeling flattered that Mega Man was interested in hearing more about herself, even if it was her war experiences. It was difficult to deny and agreed they accomplished some training, ending their first day with personal stories didn't seem like a bad idea. It gave an opportunity for them to know each other a bit more. She beamed sweetly. "That can be arranged."

The robot smirked, pleased with her answer. "Thanks, I'll be back soon. Let's meet at the courtyard again in an hour, in the meantime go and relax yourself Princess. See you."

"See you, Mega Man. Good luck."

And with that, he disappeared. Not long after did Lucina follow pursuit.


In the gardens of the Smash Mansion, the Princess of Ylisse was seen having afternoon tea with the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom and the Hero King of Altea. It just so happened that Lucina had encountered Peach and Marth on her way back to the mansion and was invited for some refreshing tea. Seeing that it was too good to resist, Lucina sat down with her royal companions to indulge in the warm drink. They talked about their day, Peach disclosed amusing stories regarding her training with her teammate. Marth mentioned some irritation coming from Smashers not participating in the doubles tournament on certain areas that were closed off for team prep. Daily activities and competitions were limited; especially for Smashers in the tournament.

When Lucina's turn came, she told about her partner, her breakfast with Pit and the group, and her training — including that awkward moment when she discovered that Mega Man wasn't human.

"I was so flustered and ashamed that I apologized," she said as Peach poured more tea into her cup. The pink princess and Hero King laughed lightly at the story.

"Oh, there is no need to be ashamed," Peach remarked, placing the tea kettle back on the table. "I thought he was human at one point too."

"We all make mistakes Lucina," Marth added, sipping his tea. "Did he accept your apology?"

Lucina nodded. "Yes, my Lord. He was so kind to me about it, Mega Man is very... intriguing."

"That's wonderful," Marth congratulated. "It's good that you and your partner are getting along, it's an essential step to a strong team. If this continues you and Mega Man can do wonders."

The princess smiled at her ancestor's compliments. "Thank you, Sir."

"But don't forget there are other teams just as willing to win," Peach winked, teasing at Lucina. "If you two go against me and Greninja, don't think we'll go easy on you."

"Of course not," Lucina assured. "We will give it our all, Peach."

"I wonder what the prize is for this doubles' tournament," Marth mused, changing the subject.

"I think it's the same as always," Peach replied to her fellow veteran Smasher. "A lot of gold maybe?"

"Actually, I read on the bulletin that it might be more than just gold," Marth said in speculation. This captured Lucina's attention on what the prize is, and possibly strengthening her ambition on winning the tournament. Something more?

"Really? Well, since Crazy Hand helped set this tournament up maybe the prize is something different," Peach spoke. "Great, now I'm curious."

"Exactly, I won't know since I am not even participating," said Marth, he then cracked a small joke. "So Lucina, for all of Altea — I mean Ylisse, your old man here asks of you to win for us."

Peach giggled at the comment and Lucina choked on her tea. The Hero King loved to tease to Lucina that because she was his descendant, he must be so old.

"O — oh, Your Grace," she mumbled.

"I will be rooting you and Mega Man on," Marth declared softly. "Do your best, all right?"

Lucina's face was flushed with red by her ancestor's support. "Thank you."

"Hey, why don't we turn on the TV and see what events are going on?" Peach inquired sweetly. She turned on her small television on the table and flipped to a channel, anticipating for some Smash news. A channel was found, and she turned up the volume.

"And we're back!" a voice called out from the TV's speakers, showing a white gloved hand with a microphone. "Welcome back to today's Home Run Contest! This is Master Hand speaking, with special guest Jerome 'Doc' Louis who will be narrating the show!"

The deity tossed the mic toward the coach, who caught it. "Thank you Master Hand," Doc Louis spoke, a crowd was cheering in the background. "Now before we start, I just wanna give a shout out to my boy Little Mac and his gruff partner, the Gerudo King Ganondorf for participating in next week's doubles tournament! You and Ganon can do it Mac, you got a whole week to prepare! Make sure to hit the other teams hard, I believe in you son!"

"Mac and Ganon are a team?" Marth asked amusingly at the info, musing on what that duo would be like. "Oh boy."

"And now we are near the end of the contest," Master Hand announced. "Our last two contestants are ready to begin. First, we will start with the Pokémon fighter from the Kalos region, Greninja!"

Peach clapped her hands with joy in hearing Greninja's name. "Oh, it's my partner!"

"That's right, Greninja steps up to the plate!" Doc Louis cried with enthusiasm at Greninja standing on the platform. "He looks so chill, but he gots some gleam in his eyes that says otherwise!"

"You can do it Greninja!" cheered Peach at the television, her support was strong for her ally. Lucina and Marth attentively looked at the screen.

"READY? GO!"

"And he begins with a whopping sweep kick!" Doc Louis yelled, showing off Greninja's feats. "Just look at the way he pulverizes that poor sandbag! Oof, he is jabbing that thing like mad, pulling off those sweet ninja moves! And oh, he's grabbing the bat! He is hitting it to increase its damage... five seconds left, can he do it?"

"Let's go Greninja!" cried Peach toward the television. Marth and Lucina stared at her strangely, for they had never seen the pink princess so enthusiastic. "Make your partner proud! Come on, come on!"

"Three ... Two... One... Grenin!"

From there, Doc Louis reported how Greninja successfully swung the sandbag to over two thousand feet. Princess Peach cheered at the milestone of her teammate, Marth on the other hand was impressed. "Wow!"

"And that was a mighty fine job done by the water Pokémon," Doc Louis concluded, noticing Greninja leaving the platform. "Greninja is now in the lead... he might take the gold! Unless the final opponent can do it better... oh, here he comes!"

Such anticipation and hype for this contest made the three royals to glue their attention to the television, awaiting who the final contestant was.

"And the final contestant is no other than the Blue Bomber, Mega Man!" Master Hand cried out. The crowd cheered for his appearance as he stepped on the platform. He waved at the crowd in response.

"What?!" Lucina exclaimed with bewilderment at Mega Man's appearance. The princess' face was stunned... even adding to the effect were Marth and Peach's expressions just as equal.

"That's right, the Super Fighting Robot Mega Man is here to slay! Can he beat Greninja's score?" Doc Louis asked with suspense. "We'll see!"

"Good lord! Mega Man is participating," The Hero King remarked. "Well Lucina, time to show your support!"

The Ylissean princess said no words, it did not occur that she would even hear about Mega Man's contest until after. Nor would it be on television, she secretly wished her partner luck.

"READY? GO!"

"Looks like he starting soft by shooting those pellets at the bag!" Doc Louis commented. "What's this? The robot is throwing a metal blade! Oh, but that's not all... a spark shock! Ooh, and he cracks up the bat, hitting that bag crazy..."

"Let's go Mega Man!" Marth cheered, while Peach sweated anxiously. "Greninja will stay on top, I just know it!" she cried.

"Five seconds left on the clock... just look at him go!" Doc Louis continued. "It looks like he has this game in the bag!"

"Lucina, show your support!" Marth urged at his descendant. "Chant his name!"

"Oh! Um... go Mega Man!" she cried timidly, she was too focused on Mega Man's participation to even show support.

"Three... Two... One...!"

From the TV, the three royals watched Mega Man initiate a cracking noise with the bat, punishing the sandbag by hitting it across the field hard. There was total silence for a few moments, but it was broken when the bag landed on the ground, indicating the end. The crowd cheered widely once Doc Louis issued how far the sandbag went and the score appeared on the screen.

"Oh my lord! The sandbag went over 2,500 ft! Approximately 2,901 ft! That is incredible, the blue robot broke a new score, beating Greninja's by 401! Does that mean we have a winner?"

"Oh no," Peach stated sadly at the news, her face was crestfallen while Marth cheered profoundly. "Way to go!"

"Now let's tally up the scores," Doc Louis said, watching for the results to display. "And the winner is..."

Peach crossed her fingers, pleading fate that maybe Mega Man's score was an error, and her teammate was the true victor. Lucina and Marth did not withdraw their eyes from the television, they were anxious for the results as she was. The camera that broadcasted the event zoomed onto the stadium's screen where the results pulled in, highlighting the scores of each fighter who participated in the contest. Then the screen changed to the winner, who was the Blue Bomber.

"Mega Man! The Super Fighting Robot wins this contest!" cried Doc Louis with glee. The crowd screamed with joy and chanted Mega Man's name, and the robot received a gold medal from Master Hand. Greninja and the third place fighter received their own medallions not long after.

"Incredible. Just incredible," Marth said in astonishment, witnessing the ceremony. "Lucina, Naga has blessed your team with this fantastic ally."

Peach smiled sadly, but also slightly thrilled for Mega Man. "At least Greninja put up a good performance... but wow, your partner is amazing Lucina. I might have to warn other teams about you two, hehe."

And as Lucina saw Mega Man smiling and waving at the crowd while proudly wearing his medallion, a small grin swept across her face.

.

"Sorry it took so long, I was on my way here and I got a lot of congrats on my victory. That and I ran into Sonic whom I hadn't talked with in a while," Mega Man explained at his ally who sat patiently on the courtyard bench. Lucina had not forgotten their meetup after her afternoon tea, and she shook her head in response.

"There is no need to apologize, I completely understand. I saw you and your event on television."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, you did wonderful Mega Man. Well done."

The android's face was elated in happiness, especially when hearing a compliment from his own ally. "Thanks Lucina!" He sat next to his royal partner, staring at her intently with bright eyes as the sun set upon them. "Well, it's almost night time. You know what that means, right?"

"I do. Anything in particular you wish to hear about?" asked Lucina sweetly.

"Hmm, how about we continue about those healers... maybe a story... an experience you had with them?" Mega Man inquired excitedly. He could not wait to get started. Lucina laughed lightly at his jovial anticipation to hear about her experiences, finding them cute. "Very well, I do have one story."

"Go on."

"I must warn you it is of great length."

"I don't care how long it is Princess, I want to hear it."

The princess smiled at her ally, willing to end their first day of training with tales of her life in Ylisse. It seemed that her partner had taken an interest in her and as Marth said, if this continued — then maybe she and Mega Man could be a strong duo and sweep the doubles competition. Yes, such idea pleased her. They would adapt to each other in no time, and claim victory. It was a belief that had cemented within her.

"Back in my world — in Ylisse, my father has a younger sister named Lissa..."