*cue the vegetables being thrown at me*

Hey ya'll! Paradigm of Writing here with a brand new chapter of Brinstar Depths, #4: Jurisdiction. This one has definitely been quite the doozy to type up as action is not my strong suit, and getting all technical with the brawling has never been fun nor easy. But in a Smash story literally set in the 'mansion', I can't not have brawls happen. I explain things a little differently than what people probably would expect factoring in damage percentages and KO's, and stuff. I've been recently thinking about the plot for this piece and there's been a few roadblocks I'm hitting in how long certain ideas and arcs should play out for, but nothing major. I, once and ceremoniously again is off track with updates, but I shrug and grin and get back onto my A-game.

Last chapter is a build up of two new characters to the scheme of things, Wanda Forrest and Shulk (his last name I gave him, if I did, is fleeting me and that ticks me off...), building up the main duo of Samus and Will. A brawl is on the horizon, and we'll start to get into the true meat and potatoes of the piece. Thank you to TemUltimate, Maxcy Leland, itanimulli, and Metroid-Killer for reviewing, they mean a lot to me, as usual!

"Big skirmishes over small misunderstanding make things bad in a relationship." ~ Girdhar Joshi

Will shades his eyes as he walks into the brightly lit dome. Multitudes of cheering and adoring fans fill the stands, a wave of colors that he is unable to discern from as they cheer on his name in specific sections. There are four exit tunnels to correspond with each point of the square, and above each particular tunnel is a portrait of whichever Smasher is to come through those doors. Greninja's steely eyes stare through Will's soul from afar, the creepy and salivating pink tongue still acting as a scarf. Diddy Kong's jubilant bright eyes warm the athlete's heart momentarily, but there is a sharpness to them as well; a feeling of victory courses through the primate's eyes. Palutena is as ethereal digitally as she is in the flesh, her iridescent hair blown across her face, hiding the true ferocity of the goddess.

The stage is nothing major, a good forty by forty sized space of 1600 square feet to brawl on. It is a rolled out mat sky blue in color, red trim lacing the outer edges. Safety nets are lined up around the pitfalls of the stage, and Will shudders at the thought of hitting them. It hurts when getting slammed into coarse rope at forty miles an hour. Four teleport mechanisms stand by the corners, and next to each is the gear for the Smasher occupying said space. Will rolls his eyes and wonders why Master Hand ever thought that hula hoops and soccer balls would ever make for wonderful weapons. Next to Greninja's water acrobatics and glaives, to Diddy Kong's peanut gun and jetpack... even Palutena's caduceus could give someone a concussion if they were walloped on the head with in the right spot.

Will's mind is still unable to fully comprehend how the specifics of the arena work. None of the weapons inside a brawling match can physically hurt another Smasher. Instead, they are ranked up by a percentage that can shown by the scoreboard. All Smashers participating in a Brawl wear a special arm bracelet that detects the damage thus far racked up. It physically causes the Smasher to be easily knocked back the higher the number goes. Will likes when he's sent skyrocketing by an uppercut, as it is the only time he as a human is able to fly. Outside of the arena, most of the weapons are kept locked up because they can cause severe damage to someone without the protective markings and encasings. Some powers, such as Mario and Luigi's, or Ness and Lucas's, can't be kept under a lock and key. It's partly the reason why people do not trust Ganondorf. With one thought of malice intent, he could level the mansion low if he wanted to.

The crowd's cheering gets louder and louder as the other participants enter the ring. Diddy Kong gets the largest amount of applause, already having a reputation to uphold from being in the Brawl era. Nine years to get acquainted with an audience does a lot for one's personal ego. Will slaps on the damage bracelet, it firmly gripping his skin like a vice. Should the match be played on a Time sequence, or be a fight where there are stocks more than one, the bracelet resets the counter. Once a Smasher goes flying into the safety nets, unless the match is over via no stock for that particular fighter, the net drops open and the fighter is teleported back to their starting spot outside of the stage. The fighter has to step back into their portal and resume fighting. Should it be the last stock the Smasher has, once they're out of the game, they have to lay there. Will has, time and time again unfortunately, sat in the net for ten minutes or more to simply grumble at his mistakes; stupid mistakes and mess-ups that caused him the game and the laurel. He's not one who gets last place often, he'll have everyone know that.

Separated from the crowd stands, which are chairs adorned with all sorts of fancy features and gizmos, is the Smasher viewing section. It goes all the way around the stage as well, except, instead of more comfortable seating, it is hardened gray bleachers. Those playing in tourneys sit there and wait for their doom. Time drags on in the waiting room, usually. Will looks over to see his sister sitting there. She isn't alone, two figures alongside her that he's unable to distinguish any features from. He leans against the rail, almost tipping over. He can make out a ponytail of blueberry hair, a sword sheath patting the person's waist. Will blinks. Why is Lucina standing next to his sister? Squinting further, Will finds out that the other person next to Wanda is Lucario, the Aura Pokemon, a wise councilor and even better brawler.

Will does not have time to mull decisions when the countdown above initiates. The crowd silences down with a hush, the teleportation device revving to life. He grabs a few black cylinders that were laying next to the bracelet and hooks them into the lining of his sweatpants. His brow is glistening with sweat as the sun beats down on the arena from above, light streaming in through the glass ceiling that looks as if it could shatter any minute. He steps into the portal, closing his eyes. The countdown booms in his head.

5

4

3

2

1

Just like how Will is unable to explain what the arena functions on, he is never able to formulate into well-comprehensible sentences how teleporting works. It is as if he is there one minute, and then not there the next. He relegates it to sleeping, at the times where one closes their eyes and is unable to remember the dreams they were going through. Will feels a cold chill settle on his arms as his feet can no longer touch solid concrete. It is as if they are levitating on the open air, before they're placed down on the blue mat of the stage.

The white in his vision clears, and he blinks the spots away. Will sees his three opponents starting to accompany themselves with the surrounding, to get the feeling back into their bones once more. The crowd hangs in precious tension, bated breaths filling the silence. Will feels his sister's eyes boring into the back of his head, corneas sizzling as she mentally drives her thoughts into him, and he's ready to win another match.

0

Chaos erupts in the dome. Screams of excitement fill Will's ears as he begins to run towards the center. He's found it that being somewhere in the outskirts on the stage causes his matches to end earlier than he hopes, and so by sticking in the thick of things, he can bruised and battered, but perhaps survive. Palutena thrusts her staff out, a sunburst orange wall of glass blocking any projectiles that'd go her way. It happens in the nick of time, as Diddy Kong pulls out his barrel gun to fire a few rounds at the iridescent haired woman. Each peanut chinks off the shield like a pebble to a wall; his attack is futile.

Greninja examines the fighting between Diddy and Palutena, the strategist part of his mind cutting the corners and leaping for Will. The athlete blocks his webbed hand with his arm, pushing the frog back. He skids on the mat with ease, eyes glaring lowly. Will clutches one of the canisters around his waist, the one resting against his right hip, and pulls out a small pink ring. He clenches the ring shut in his fist, until it starts to enlarge. Will's feet do not stay in the same spot for more than a few seconds, dodging crystal shurikens that could in any other circumstance, cleave his head from his neck. The ring has grown to full size, now a hula hoop in his hand. He gets closer to Greninja, the frog backing up warily. Will swings outwards with it, clapping the ninja in the elbow. He knows that the damage he's racking up is minimal - usually each hit only deals about four percent or so, and the rule of thumb to send opponents flying is around a hundred - but every hit counts. The smack against Greninja's elbow is not meant to be painful, so the frog leaps at Will over the hula hoop.

The athlete reacts fast, swiping the hula hoop up so the frog is caught in the circle. It slowly starts to tighten around Greninja, the ninja squirming around as the hoop starts to grind against the slimy body trapped inside. Will gives a quick look at the scoreboard to see that the makeshift prison for his stealthy foe is slowly racking up two points of damage as it continues to squeeze. He races off, luckily having Greninja preoccupied. While he was distracted with Greninja - Will swears that he needs to start understanding the lesson on not only focusing on one goal at a time - Diddy and Palutena have been going at it like cats and dogs.

Diddy swipes out an arm, Palutena blocking with her staff. She spreads her wings out, blinding the monkey, as that is all the advantage she needs before Palutena smacks him in the head with it. Diddy goes flying to the right, colliding into Greninja who had just worked himself free. Will sneaks up from behind on the goddess, dropping another hula hoop ring onto her body. For a moment his eyes light up, until it hits him that her wings are too large and the hula hoop only has a certain maximum diameter they can reach across. Palutena smirks at Will, sending her staff backwards which collides right between Will's groin.

The air goes whoosh out of Will's lungs, and he drops to his knees on the stage. The audience oohs in disapproval of Palutena's actions. Playing dirty by hitting a man in the nether regions is never usually a good thing. Rosalina, in her heels - true story - once kicked Ganondorf in that area as a last resort. It downed the warlock with a groan that Link nor Zelda ever let him live down, and then the astronomer flung Ganondorf off the stage with her wand, chuckling all the ever while. Palutena joins the fray of Greninja and Diddy Kong, laughing airily while Will writhes in agony. Apparently the only part of his body still capable to being injured is the one where it counts.

Diddy Kong's eyes widen as Palutena starts swinging her staff like a sword, clocking Greninja in the tongue. The frog croaks out a bubble of frustration and pain as he skids back. The primate does not want to be hit by her power again, he'd rather not face the brutality of her staff once more. His jetpack is strapped around his shoulders, and he flicks it on. The ground around him heats up as the boosters are filled with fuel, smoke caching around him as he tries to launch out sideways. His face brightens with elation, until Palutena whirls around. She shakes her head lowly, the tip of her caduceus glowing the hot brilliance of a star. Two balls of light - perhaps the core of a star from long ago - are ripped from the glow and pummel into the boosters on Diddy's jetpack. His smile fades as the sudden gaining of air he had been recently in dwindles to a soft puh, and he falls back to the stage. Diddy has very little time to recover before Palutena's staff hits him right underneath the jaw, and that is it for the primate. His damage meter around his wrist screams, and he goes flying back. His pitiful howl goes all the way from his last spot on the stage into the net. A loud THUD for emphasis lets the audience know for those who can't see that a brawler has been exited from the stage.

Over the loudspeaker, an deep and automated voice announces, "Diddy Kong, Brawler 4, defeated."

Will stumbles back to his feet, the pain in his groin receding. He frowns, wondering why the announcer calls Diddy Kong defeated, and then he remembers that the match is set to only one stock. There are five separate brawls to be played out in the day, Will's fight being the first, so there is an afternoon of triumph and loss. The athlete throws himself into the duel between Greninja and Palutena. The frog is leaping from glass wall to the next, not letting the obstructions stop his perceived victory. Palutena is shooting out a combo of light and barricades, hoping to inflict some damage when she is able.

The athlete steals another glance at the board, seeing that underneath Palutena's portrait, in a dark hued pink, is the number 98. A wicked grin settles itself on his face. Palutena's time is almost up if she does not watch her back. He clutches at the canister against his left hip, pulling out a small rubber bouncy ball. He presses into the center, and it starts to expand until it is the size of a normal soccer ball. Will fills another one with air, reaches for a third, and goes until he's clutching five in his hands. Placing them on the ground, as Greninja is starting to bombard the goddess with shurikens of his own, Will starts lobbing the soccer balls at Palutena as if they're lemmings. Two collide into the side of her face, breaking the goddess out of her current brawl plan. A shuriken hits her chest, propelling her back a few feet, and then Will throws the last two of his soccer balls. He kicks the last, still settled by his foot, and all three slam into Palutena. Her damage counter spikes to 127 and her damage meter groans. Palutena's face mirrors that of exasperation before her body is flung off the stage.

"Palutena, Brawler 1, defeated."

Will locks his eyes with Greninja, the frog tilting his head up as if he's daring the athlete to make a move. The brunette's hands linger around the canisters, but he raises them back up. Gimmicks could very well win him a brawl, but it'd be easier to duel mano-e-mano with fists and feet. The audience wants a true show, don't they? He cracks his knuckles, and his neck, then leaps. Greninja rolls his eyes, preparing a water shuriken. Will lands on the ninja's face, before he's blasted in the face with a sudden shower. Greninja's webbed foot hits him in the chest, the frog leaping onto his back. Will tries clawing him off of his back, turning out to be unable to do so as the frog's skin is slippery and hard to grasp.

It is quite comical as Greninja smacks Will in the face with his hands, before Will heaves him off by grabbing his tongue, using it like a lasso to flip the ninja onto his back. The ninja rolls out of the way as the athlete's fist collides with the stage. Will glares, throwing himself at his foe with a flurry of punches and kicks that surely must be winning him the match. Greninja blocks each expertly and swiftly, grabbing the brunette's wrists before more damage can be exerted. He throws Will back, the athlete's hair glistening with sweat, a halcyon sheen coating his arms, and a crazed madness glowing in his emerald eyes.

The athlete starts to take another go around the block, when he feels something wrap around his ankle. Will looks down to see Greninja's bubble gum tongue tightening around the bone. He looks up, panic lacing his eyes, unable to wrench his foot free, and the two brawlers lock their gaze. Greninja gives a sultry nod before slamming Will into the stage, rearing him up, and then sending him flying. Will lets out an anguished yell before slamming into the net.

"Will, Brawler 3, defeated."

The audience explodes in cheers, deafening roars of applause drowning out all other sounds. Greninja's name is chanted on the wind. "Greninja! Greninja! Greninja!" The frog takes a bow, and stands studiously underneath the veil of glory and his victory. Will rolls his eyes, partially jealous. "That should be my name on their lips," he grumbles to himself, and then his body is teleporting back to the original location.

He is given only a few seconds to recuperate before the pain starts again. "How could you forget his tongue? Will, you are sometimes the stupidest twin brother in the whole world!" A bombardment of magazine pages hits Will's exposed arms, the athlete laughing out loud as he tries covering himself from Wanda's rage.

"I know, I know," he crows to her, a slight hint of defeatist attitude in him. "When you're in the heat of the moment... you just kind of forget stuff like that."

Wanda drops the magazine, her eyes lightning as she really wants to smack her brother upside the head like Palutena, but she gives it up. "You could've won had he not used it like the cheater he is."

"Greninja isn't a cheater. He's a literal frog ninja! That's quite badass if you ask me," Will smirks.

"No one's asking you anything," Wanda snips.

The audience is still cheering despite Greninja being off the stage. Will looks around to see Donkey Kong talking to his best friend under the shadowed tunnel where the smaller primate had come from originally. Palutena is being flocked by Pit, the white winged angel bombarding her with statements on how awesome she is, or how wonderful her perfectly timed strokes were, and it looks like the goddess wants to take an eternal nap just to stop being under the duress of her biggest fan's crowing.

"Palutena's staff hurts," Will groans, rubbing the back of his neck. "Don't let her hit you down there."

Wanda winks playfully at him. "I don't have anything precious to protect down there, Will. But I'll keep it in mind if I have to brawl her in the future."

"What was Lucina and Lucario sitting with you for?"

His sister raises an eyebrow. "They were wanting to watch the match, and they sat by me. Mario wandered in after Diddy had been clucked from the stage, and then left as soon as Greninja won, but besides him, it was just us four."

Will frowns. He had only seen three other Smashers. His sister, Lucina, and Lucario. Who else would she be talking about if Mario is not to be included in the four?

"I don't- there was only, what-" he starts, but the words stop in his throat as Wanda nods mischievously, bowing her head and moving out of the way for another person listening to their conversation to walk up.

Stunning sunshine hair tied back in a ponytail. Diamond blue eyes. A sleek and quite appealing jumpsuit.

The water in Will's mouth dries up.

He hadn't been expecting this.

Samus.

Samus Aran.

Samus Aran watched his brawl.

*grins manically* That was fun! I had a whole lot of fun writing this chapter, I'll be honest. How did the pragmatism and practical explanations of the brawling work? Are they too hard to understand? Trying to explain damage percentages, and stocks, and other things with the main series gameplay can be difficult to translate correctly, so this is what I came up with. I was meaning to add an extra scene at the end of the chapter, but then I realized how it would totally ruin the mood of the chapter, and that's not my intention, so I am leaving it here and will tack that scene onto the beginning of the next chapter. How did the fight go? I didn't want Will to win, but I didn't want him to lose, so here's this building where perhaps he isn't the most humble person in the world? It could be a stretch since he and the technically female counterpart are characters that don't have a necessarily discernible personality, him being cocky and arrogant and jealous about fighting could be the deterrence from possible Gary Stu like qualities should they arise? Based on hints from this chapter, can you guys now more easily guess the supporting group of four characters in this piece? Remember, Samus, Will, Shulk, and Sonic from the summary tag are the four main characters... so who's the side cast? They shouldn't be that hard to spot. I want to say thanks for reading! Please review and let me know what you thought, as I am constantly improving and there's no limit to where my work can go with the right guidance and advice. I'll be putting out Chapter #5: Edification, sometime next week. I am planning for a Syrenet update on Friday, so look out for that as well! Once more, as I do not never know when to stop thanking, am grateful for your views and reviews! Have an amazing day! I love you all so much! Bye!

~ Paradigm