"Mmm, this does feel better." Back in her Zero Suit, Samus was sitting on the edge of the roof, watching the rising sun. Behind her Zelda, in a new dress – though one could never tell – smiled,

"I knew it would."

Samus bit back a sarcastic comment – she didn't much like picking on girls.

"This is pretty weird." She said instead, "I mean, me hanging out with you guys." Zelda raised an eyebrow, and Samus went on, "I don't even like you guys, why on earth am I hanging out with you?"

"Umm," the princess ventured a guess, "Because you're a good person, and you're as worried about Pit as the rest of us?"

"Yup," Samus laughed, "You've got me down to a tee." She rolled her eyes, muttering something about no-one knowing her.

"Well that's got a simple explanation," Zelda said cheerfully, sitting down next to Samus and letting her feet dangle off the edge, "You never let any of us know you. Maybe if you'd hang out with us more often…"

"So, the screams last night?" Ness was grinning as he leaned across the table, "I betcha I know where they came from!" Across from him, Luigi shivered,

"And where might that be?" While the man in green was wide-eyed, Fox wasn't fazed in the least.

"Easy." Ness said confidently, "Ghosts!" He held his arms up in the air, "That manor must be haunted!"

"Haunted?" Luigi jumped, and Fox laughed,

"Keep on dreaming, kid." He stood to go into the kitchen, and nearly ran into Link on his way out, "Hey Link."

The hero looked up, "Oh… hey." He seemed distracted, so Fox let him go by, and went into the kitchen. The manor's chef, Kirby, looked up as he came in.

"Hi-i-i!" Kirby grinned, and Fox rolled his eyes,

"I just want an apple, honest."

Minutes later, when he came back into the dining room, Ness was standing up on the table, telling the entire room about the "ghost of Brawl Manor".

"He was assigned to be a new character in Brawl," he said, eyes wide, "But he got in a terrible accident before he could join the roster, and now his spirit haunts this place; this place that was supposed to be his fame and fortune. He is… the Ghost of Brawl Manor!" Luigi and Lucas looked freaked out, but everyone else seemed entertained.

"He only haunts those who talk about him," Ike piped up, "You might want to keep an eye out, Ness."

Ness glanced behind him, and everyone laughed. Fox rolled his eyes again and sat down beside Falco.

"This could be interesting."

Ness continued his stories, with additions from both Ike and Fox, but Peach had heard enough. She knew as well as anyone that the screaming had not come from a specter, but that it had been very real. Strange occurrences were common around the manor, and most everyone was already over the disturbance, and even making light of it, but Peach didn't let go of things that easily.

Something was going on, and she wanted in.

She dismissed herself from her table, telling Mario she had to go to the washroom, and headed down the hall. Going up the stairs, she had an idea of what she was going to do.

Clearly, Marth knew what was going on - he had been the one telling her to go back to bed the night before, and perhaps Samus did too. She hadn't seen Zelda all day, which was a clue in itself, and where Zelda was, Link was. Thinking about it, she hadn't heard from Pit or Kasey for a while either, and though she didn't know Pit too well, Kasey was a good friend of hers, and so not seeing her was cause for worry.

The princess stopped at the top of the stairs, thinking over her options. She could continue to Marth's room, or Zelda's, or she could head for the clinic and see what Kasey knew.

In the end, she didn't have to make the decision at all, as Marth walked down the hall, going right past her, but not seeing her. He headed down the hall, and then up the stairs to the roof. Peach's curiosity got the better of her, and she tried her hardest to stay quiet as she went up the stairs after him.

The roof of the manor was designed to look like a garden, a relaxing place for the brawlers to come after a tough match, or a hard night. The design was a big help to Peach now, as she was able to sneak around behind everyone and hide behind shrubs, where she had a perfect view of everything going on, but no-one could see her.

She was a little surprised to see how much she had gotten right – Zelda and Samus were sitting on the edge of the roof, and Link was leaning up against one of the guardrails. Marth was a little to the side, staring at the horizon, and Captain Falcon was sitting on one of the lounge chairs, looking at his hands.

What was going on here?

"So…" Zelda looked behind her, at the boys, "What do you guys want to do?" There was a pause before anyone answered,

"Do?" Link's voice shook, "I don't want to do anything. I just… I don't know."

"What he said." Marth nodded, and Falcon shrugged.

"Oh, don't even bother." Samus stood up, rolling her eyes, "When a guy gets depressed, it's best to let it run its course." Zelda pulled away from the edge, looking up at the taller woman,

"Oh?"

"Trust me." Samus grinned and headed over to where Link was staring into space. With a single move, she grabbed his arm and flung him effortlessly over the edge.

He screamed, caught off guard, and yanked out his clawshot. By the time he got it latched onto the building, he was on the second floor, and as he climbed back up, the others turned to Samus, shocked.

"What was that?" Zelda cried, throwing her arms into the air. Captain Falcon had gotten out of his chair, and Marth was staring at her indignantly. Nobody even bothered to check if Link was alright – they all knew he was on his way.

"What was what?" Samus asked casually, leaning back against the same rail she had just tipped the hero over.

"You pushed him off the edge!" Zelda flung her arms out, "You could've killed him!"

"You don't mean that," Samus pointed at her, "He had his clawshot on him."

"But you don't push him off the roof!" Marth took a step forward, "That's crazy!"

"We do it all the time in brawls."

"This isn't a brawl." Zelda crossed her arms,

"Well.," Samus shrugged as if to say "what can you do?", and Falcon shook his head,

"Now, look," he said, his voice calm, "Just because–"

"Link!" Zelda ran to the edge as Link's head emerged. She helped him back over the railing, and he turned to Samus.

"What was that for?" he asked angrily, and Samus shrugged again,

"I was trying to help."

"Help?" Link's eyes were disbelieving, "How did that help?"

"Well, you're not brooding anymore, are you?"

There was a slight pause as the others considered this. It was true – she had gotten both Marth and Falcon back from their little guilt-trips, and Link was feeling a little better about the whole thing as well.

"Well, what do you know?" He leaned back against the railing, suddenly not angry, and Samus smirked,

"If you're asking about yourself, not a whole lot." He glared at her, but then rolled his eyes,

"Thanks for pushing me, I guess." Samus grinned, "But don't do it again!" He added as an afterthought.

"Sure, sure," she laughed, "Only for the rest of my life!" She reached over to tip him again, but Zelda stepped in,

"Not right now," she smiled, "This is why we have brawls."

"So we can beat up Link?" Samus cracked her knuckles.

"Not what I was going to say."

Still behind the shrubs, Peach couldn't help but giggle, and she clamped a hand over her mouth when Zelda look up.

"Did you hear that?" she asked the others. Everyone shook their heads, and Peach breathed a sigh of relief. If they discovered her eavesdropping on them, things could go bad quickly.

Marth came back over and sat in one of the lounge chairs – the one nearest her hiding spot, and the others joined him.

"Are you guys thirsty?" Zelda asked, looking up at the sun. It was a pretty hot day, and being on the roof, they got the full brunt of the heat.

"Yeah, kind of." Link admitted. Marth and Falcon nodded as well. Samus smiled sweetly,

"Be a dear and fetch us some drinks, Zelda?"

"So, the sleep meds should be wearing off any minute now." Joe and Kasey leaned over Pit's sleeping figure.

"He's going to wake up," Kasey said, biting her lip, "Will it be better this time?"

"I don't know," came the doctor's honest reply. For anyone else, he would have said "of course", but he knew Kasey well enough, and, as his assistant, she knew everything he did. "He was delusional last time," Joe continued, "Not himself; he'd lost too much blood."

"But…" Kasey looked down, "He's still lost a lot of blood."

"Yes, but he's had a while to rest now, so…"

"So?"

"Hopefully he'll be better. And if not, we can put him back to sleep with the click of a button."

"Are you gonna…?" She hesitated, twirling a lock of hair around in her fingers,

"Gonna what?" Joes glanced up at her.

"You know, make sure he can't get away this time?"

"Hmm?"

"Joe," Kasey folded her arms. "Last night, he tried not only to get away, but he physically attacked you… us!"

"He wasn't in his right state of mind."

"I know that!" Kasey threw up her arms, "But you have to be sure, right? I mean, what if he still isn't? I…"

She trailed off when there was a sound from the bed. The angel was attempting to roll over, and Joe gently held his shoulders to the bed so he wouldn't roll onto his wing or arm.

"He isn't going to take this well." The man's voice was softer now, and Kasey shook her head,

"No," she agreed, "He really isn't."

Pit's eyes flickered, and Kasey held her breath. When he opened his eyes, they looked weak. Weak, and pain-filled, she thought, but they didn't look delusional. They looked … normal.

"Pit?" She whispered, and the boy turned his head.

"K-Kasey?" His eyes were barely open – he was squinting at her, and she did her best to smile,

"Good morning." She said, attempting to keep her voice cheerful.

"Good… what?" Pit blinked. He had just woken up, and he had no idea what was going on, or how he had gotten there, or why he was hurting all over…

"How are you feeling?" Joe came over to the left side of the bed so Pit wouldn't have to turn around again. Pit didn't reply right away, but first spent a moment looking around the room, and then turned to look at his right wing and arm, which were throbbing strangely. Before he had a chance to see anything, however, Joe gently took him by the chin and turned him back to facing them. "Feeling any better?" Pit blinked again,

"Better?"

"Yes," Kasey chimed in, "How are you feeling?"

"Umm… confused?" He really had no idea what was going on. Kasey smiled sympathetically,

"Other than that?" She asked, her voice kind. Pit shrugged,

"My wing hurts…" he said slowly, "and it feels … funny…"

"Funny?"

"I don't know." He turned his head again to look at his wing, but again Joe intercepted, and Pit looked up at him, confusion in his blue eyes.

"Why are you doing that?" He asked carefully. Joe shook his head,

"Not yet," Was all he would say, but whenever Pit attempted to turn around from then on, he stopped him. Eventually, Kasey pulled the blankets up over his right side, telling him not to worry about it.

"Not worry about it?" Pit was fully awake by now, "But something's wrong!"

"What do you mean?" Kasey asked innocently. She didn't want this to get rough – Joe had stepped out for a moment, and had left her in charge or making sure Pit didn't see anything he wasn't ready for.

"What do I mean?" the boy's brow furrowed, "I have no idea what's going on here – I just woke up in the clinic, the hospital, and my wing hurts and my arm hurts, and you won't even let me look at myself!"

"Pit…" Kasey sighed, "Not yet, okay?"

"Not yet what?" Anger flashed in his eyes, and he made to sit up. Kasey jumped at him, pushing him down as gently as she could. Though she was older, Pit was typically stronger than she was, but in his current condition, he could do nothing against her, and he flopped back against the pillows.

"I'm gonna figure this out eventually." He said, not meeting her eyes.

"…figure what out?"

"What's going on" He looked at her, "Why I'm here, what happened, and why you won't let me look at my injuries."

"You… don't remember what happened?"

"No," Pit shook his head, ""No, I don't." This surprised Kasey – he hadn't hit his head according to their x-rays and checkups, but he had been in shock…

"What do you remember?" She sat in a chair, leaning close in case he decided to try getting up again.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"That's what I said." He paused, "The last thing I remember is leaving to watch Falcon's race this morning. I was in Marth's car…"

"That was yesterday, Pit." Kasey smiled at him kindly, "You've been … out for a while."

"Yesterday?" Pit was as confused as ever, "I've been sleeping for an entire day?"

"Yup," Kasey figured he didn't remember his "episode" the night before, and she certainly wasn't going to bring it up.

What a relief…

"Man, I overslept. I need to get up." He moved to get up again, but Kasey shook her head.

"Don't make me tie you down, boy." She said, her voice teasing, but serious. Pit stopped,

"You wouldn't really."

"Try me."

He lay back again, "But I have a brawl today!" he said, surprisingly whiny, "I can't just lie here forever! I'm supposed to fight Pikachu!"

"Pikachu can wait." Kasey looked over at the many machines and gadgets hooked up to the boy, which all seemed to be doing well. Pit followed her gaze.

"Is that really necessary?" He looked down at his left arm, noticing the needle stuck through it for the first time.

"Yes."

"But–"

"No arguing, Pit." Her voice was serious, and, as everyone knew, when Kasey was serious, you didn't try and argue with her. It was another unspoken rule of the manor.

He lay back on the pillows and stared up at the sky as she fiddled around with things. After a while, she went over to her laptop – as well as the manor's assistant doctor, Kasey was a university student, and so was usually very busy – but she kept an eye on Pit the entire time, so he couldn't steal a glance at his wing.

After a while, Joe came back, and after some serious interrogation –

"How're you feeling?"

"Same as before."

"Any pain anywhere?"

"My wing, my arm… and I wish I knew why."

– he gave Pit some medication.

Soon, the boy started to get drowsy. He was aware of Kasey and Joe watching him as he drifted off, and he realized that the pain meds had probably been more than that, but at that point he was too tired to care. The last thing he heard before it went black was Kasey, talking in her sweet, caring voice:

"Poor kid," she said, "This isn't going to be easy for him…"

"Hi-i-i!" Kirby grinned as wide as he could when Zelda entered the kitchen, and she returned the smile.

"Hi, Kirby," She said quickly, "I'm only here for a few drinks, if you could just…" Kirby's mouth dropped, and he grabbed up his translator from the counter.

"Zelda!" he said, shocked, "I didn't know you drank! That's…" She cut him off,

"Not that kind of drink Kirby!" She opened up the fridge, "Got any Pepsi?"

"Oh." Kirby laughed nervously, and headed for the other fridge – on of five in the large room. "Sorry. I tend to assume the worst when it comes to these things… you know… living here…"

Zelda nodded, understanding completely.

"I'm sure it's a good time." She said, gratefully taking the Pepsi cans he placed on the table. "Thanks."

He went back into the fridge, "Anything else?" he asked, suddenly very cheerful. Zelda began inching towards the door,

"No no," she said quickly, "We'll be fine with just this," Kirby looked up, his eyes big and begging,

"Are you suuuuure?"

This likely would have gone on for a very long time, but thankfully Zelda was saved by Kirby's watch going off on his wrist.

"Oh no!" Kirby cried, leaping up, "I have a match in five minutes! I forgot!" He swept through the kitchen, having everything tidy in a matter of seconds. "Sorry, Zelda, gotta go!"

And just like that, he was gone.

Shaking her head, and smiling to herself, the Hylian princess started back up the stairs.