Disclaimer: All characters, Samus Aran, Link, Mario Mario, Pikachu, Mewtwo, Zelda, Peach, Luigi Mario, Impa, Daisy, Fox McCloud, Krystal, Captain Falcon, Jody Summer, Ness, Kirby, Donkey Kong, Sheik, are © or R to Nintendo corp.
The OC's (Original characters) of Toadrice, Chef Gamdin, Apollo, the black haired, green eyed boy, and the made up tribe of Sheikans are all owned by Wolf—Shadow/WolfTrust/Wolf—Shadow's—Ghost, or whatever username she is using at the moment, and are not to be used without her permission. (Seriously people, I've invested a lot of time and effort into this story, and I really don't want my ideas to be ripped off)
Chapter 3: Of Races, Bets, Friends and Food
Mario Mario had had to make several leg adjustments so that his friend and mount, a green yoshi aptly named Yoshi, could continue his jog trot to the mansion. The reason for the adjustments was because both he and Peach, who was riding with him, had started to get saddle sores in the last few hours of their journey.
Mario turned his head to glance at Link riding his horse Epona, then swiveled his head around to look outfrom under his red cap at the other three, Princess Zelda atop her palomino, Impa on her grey, and Apollo on his bay.
"We should have all gotten our own rides, instead of sharing." he thought slightly annoyed at himself. A thought suddenly struck him and he twisted his back around to look at his brother Luigi. He nearly laughed aloud at Luigis' expression of discomfort. One eye was bigger than the other and his mouth was twisted into a grimace. Mario could see Daisys' face over Luigis shoulder, she also wore an expression of discomfort, though it was not at all funny.
He turned his head still farther too look at Peach, her long, bright blonde ponytail streaming out behind her, pink dress almost glittering in the sunlight.
"She is so beautiful." He thought to himself, but then said aloud "Would you mind if we went a bit faster? The sooner we get there the sooner we can get off."
She looked relived "Yes please."
He returned his gaze back to the front and noticed something strange was going on with Yoshi. He was glaring at Epona who seemed to be glaring right back. The mare and dinosaur were running at the same pace but each seemed to be trying to pull away from each other. He noticed that Link seemed to be just as puzzled by Epona as he was at Yoshi.
"What's up?" he called to the Hylain. Link looked up at him, his green hat and tunic being pulled at by the wind.
Link shook his head, his fair skinned face mystified. "Not sure, she hardly ever acts like this."
Mario could see that Zelda looked concerned, Impa looked puzzled and Apollo looked… about ready to laugh? Yep, that was Apollo alright.
"Hmm, hey Yoshi, would you mind going a bit faste… Ahhh!"
Yoshi took off so suddenly that Mario and Peach almost got thrown off. Quickly Mario grabbed onto his cap to keep it from getting blown off and seized on to one of Yoshis' spikes for support. Peach gasped and her grip around his waist tightened.
"What's gotten into Yoshi?" she called to him
"I'm not sure-a." Mario called back "Yoshi, what's going on my friend?"
Yoshi squealed angrily in a high pitched voice and Mario was startled to hear an answering angry whinny. Hoof beats pounded heavily and Epona galloped up beside them. Mario didn't dare look round to see if Luigi and Daisy had sped up to keep pace with them or if Links party had pushed their horses ahead as well. Mario was getting nervous, he could feel Yoshi straining beneath him, stretching his neck out trying to get more speed.
"Link!" he yelled to the elf
Link looked over at him, light blue eyes filled with excitement.
"I think we got caught in a race!" He heard Peach make a small nose in her throat.
Link gave them one of his lopsided grins "Then may the best rider win!" Mario watched in astonishment as Link urged Epona forward.
"You might as well try to beat him or Yoshi is going to be mad at you the whole time we're here." Peach called to him.
Mario turned his head around to her, thoroughly shocked "Are you sure?" She nodded.
"Okay…" he turned his head back to the front. "All right Yoshi, go for it!"
"Yoshi!" Pushing off with great agility Yoshi sped passed Epona and continued to run flat out down the road. Within a few seconds however, the mare and her rider had pulled along side them once more. Now Mario heard more than Eponas hooves thudding against the ground and more than Yoshis' feet, now he heard the thundering of five horses and the pitpat of three yoshis. The entire group seemed to have joined the race and all together sounded like some kind of storm. The effect of this, plus the wind that rushed passed him almost deafened Mario. The thrill of the race kept fear from entering his mind.
"Almost there.", he though to himself. He felt Yoshi straining his muscles and in turn pulling and stretching Mario and Peachs' legs as they moved with him to maximize speed.
"You can do it Yoshi!" Peach called to their friend. Mario wanted to give Yoshi some kind of encouraging word but he was too busy keeping hold of Yoshis' front spike to say anything more, not to mention Marios' saddle sores had started to sting and ache. The open main gate was rapidly approaching and no one had gained, nor given any ground.
Yoshi panted trying desperately to pull ahead of Epona, they were only a few feet away from the gate and then… they were past it and speeding down the path way, past flower beds and toward the stables. Yoshi skidded to a halt in front of the open stable door. Mario slumped his shoulders and sighed then quickly slid off Yoshi and offered his arm to Peach. She slid off and they stood next to Yoshi who had his hands on his knees and was panting.
"Ohhh…. Did you have to get into a race?"
Mario, Peach and Yoshi all turned their heads around, Luigi was standing next to the light blue female yoshi named Bella. Mario noticed that Luigi was standing a bit bowlegged "Couldn't you have just ridden in at a nice slow pace instead of taking off and stirring up all of our rides?"
"What? Can't take a little race?" Apollo grinned, trotting his sweat coated mare past Luigi and stopping next to Link, who still sat on a sweat shining Epona.
Daisy slid off Bellas' right side and looked up at Apollo, her brown hair slightly disheveled, and her eyes full of travelers weariness .
"Number one, Mr. Apollo, riding a Yoshi is nothing at all like riding a horse, your thigh muscles are rubbed along the Yoshis back a lot more than a horse, and thirdly-
"I don't think Apollo meant any insult from his comment your Highness." Impa had dismounted her grey gelding and was leading him toward the stable door. She looked over to her husband who was wearing body armor that was similar to hers. "You were not intending to be rude, were you?"
Apollo shook his head, dark grey hair flicking around his strong chiseled face, light crimson eyes sparkling "No of course not, I was just having a little fun, your highness."
Daisy sighed "Thirdly, please just call me Daisy, it gets confusing when you have three princesses on one team."
"I agree." Princess Zelda walked up to Impa leading her palomino mare behind her.
"I would like it if everyone would call me Zelda, not Your Highness, Princess or Your Grace." Her silvery voice was amused but serious.
Impa frowned "But, Princ-
"That goes for you too Impa, you're more like family to me than anything and if I have to order you to call me by name, I will."
For a moment the two women looked at each other, Mario noticed that Zelda had a look of amused defiance, while Impa looked stern but thoughtful. Suddenly Impa smiled and said with a mixture of pride, irritation, understanding and pleasure. "All right, I suppose I don't have a choice."
"Yes, you two are right." Mario turned around, Peach was looking between Daisy and Zelda her ponytail being pulled at by the breeze. "We are all a team, so we should not be separated by rank that has nothing to do with what we are trying to accomplish." The other two smiled and nodded.
"Ahem, uh, not to be too rude, but, who won the race?" Link said, still sitting atop Epona.
"Yes, who did win?" Mario said looking around at the others.
"I think Link and Epona pulled away at the last moment." Apollo responded, swinging down off his horse and landing without a sound.
"It looked like Yoshi got ahead by a nose, at least, I think so." Luigi said as he and Daisy walked up to stand beside Mario.
"Does it really matter who won?" Impa asked tilting her head to the side.
"Of course it matters." Apollo responded patting his mare on the neck 'Whoever won has bragging rights for the entire stay, and it shows which steed is better."
'Is he out of his mind?' Mario thought with a mixture of horror and amusement.
Impas already straight back stiffened, and her ruby red eyes narrowed, giving the white markings beneath them an even more dangerous look. There was a flurry of movement out of the corner of his eye. Mario saw Link quickly slide off Epona so that the mare was between him and the others.
"Oh sure, he gets a shield." he thought with a bit of nervousness, and fidgeted.
Impa, still glaring at her husband, had just opened her mouth to say something when…
"Now wait a minute." Everyone turned. Yoshi, who had been watching over his shoulder, straitened up and swiveled around to face them. At his full height Yoshi's head came up to Epona's shoulder which meant that Yoshi was as tall as Link, but shorter than Apollo who stood a few inches above Impa.
"I was the one who started the race and Epona was just eager for a good run against someone." His voice was hard to describe, not to high, but not very deep. "Impa's right, it doesn't matter who crossed the fence first, I just enjoyed having someone to pit myself against, though I don't think Mario and Peach did." He looked over at them and grinned sheepishly.
"Ahem," Mario jumped and looked behind him, "Oh, hi Toadrice, you snuck up on me. " he said cheerfully, giving the old toad one of his usual bright smiles "How long have you been standing there?"
"Not very long sir. I would like to welcome you all back to the Smash Mansion . Masters Mario." He bowed his head to Mario and Luigi in turn, they both bowed back, "Princess Peach, Princess Daisy," Toadrice bowed low, Peach and Daisy bowed back, each pulling their dresses out of the way. "Good sir Yoshi," Toadrice bowed his head at the dinosaur "Princess Zelda, Seventh sage." Once again Toadrice bowed low and Zelda returned the gesture "Madam Impa, Sage of Shadow." He nodded his head and Impa did the same, short white hair bright against the earthy colors around the stables "Master Link, Hero of Time." Link had come around from Epona's side and now stood at her neck, he inclined his head to Toadrice "Master Apollo, ummm… of the Sheiklans."
"Not much to your name, is there?" Link said in a teasing tone, grinning at Apollo who folded his arms across his chest and glared at him. But before an argument could start, Epona snatched Links hat off his head, exposing his bright golden hair, and as he yelped and tried to get it back, Apollo laughed, Zelda bit her lower lip to keep from giggling and Impa gave a small grin.
"All right I'll take your saddle off, but give me my hat back!" Link said in exasperation.
"Sir." A blue cap toad came forward out of the stables large sliding door and walked down the tile path until he stood in front of the elf. "Would you like us to take care of your horses so that you can rest?" he said looking around at all of them.
"No, thank you I'd rather get her unsaddled myself." Link responded leading Epona though the door. The others agreed.
As Zelda and Impa led their horses past him Mario suddenly remembered the yellow Yoshi who had carried their luggage. He turned to Toadrice slightly worried, but he didn't even have to ask. Toadrice was talking in an undertone to a green cap who had been working on a flower bed near by. "Hurry up and get that pack horse unloaded, the others were way to slow about unloading that Yoshi."
"So out luggage is in out rooms?" Daisy said suddenly causing Toadrice to jump.
"Yes, M'lady, every thing is in order."
Daisy nodded "I'm going to change into something more comfortable." She gave Luigi a kiss on the cheek and started to walk down the tiled path to the front door,
"I'll come with you, I need a change as well." Peach also gave Mario a peak on the cheek, "Thank you for the ride here Yoshi." With that she hurried off to join Daisy.
"Well," he said turning back to Yoshi and trying to hide his blush "Do you need help cleaning yourself up?"
Yoshi cocked his head "No, I'll just take a shower ," he grinned "I have opposable thumbs, remember? I don't need to be taken care of like a horse does."
"Watch out!" called a voice from within the stables. Epona, free of the saddle and minus Links hat, cantered out through the door and made a wide circle around Mario, Luigi and the two Yoshis, before setting off across the walk way toward the back and eventually into the field. Another warning was spoken and Impas gray, followed by Zeldas palomino, and Apollos bay, cantered out the same way as Epona.
"They couldn't get out of those saddles fast enough." Zelda remarked as she and Link came back into the sunlight, Impa and Apollo close behind.
"Wouldn't you be eager too?" Mario asked as they all began walking to the front door. Apollo stopped next to Toadrice and contemplated the outside of the stables. "You repainted the trim." he stated
"Yes Sir, the old paint was chipped and worn." Toadrice responded
"I like it, it is a good color choice." Apollo nodded in approval.
"Smeargle! Smea, rgle Smeargle!"
Mario started and looked up at the stable roof. Three Pokemon were jumping up and down waving their paintbrush like tails in the air and shouting with big triumphed smiles.
"I wonder what got into them." Zelda said, her golden hair shining in the sun and
contrasting beautifully with her pale skin.
"Who knows?" Toadrice said in an annoyed tone and walked off. A few moments later, Mario followed the others close behind.
When they reached the great hall, Toadrice bid them Farewell and ambled off.
"Yay! You guys finally got here!" Pichu stood on the table waving her small paws in the air and smiling.
Mario smiled back, happy to see the young Pokemon.
"Took a bit longer than we thought it would." Luigi said as he walked toward the table.
Samus Aran sat on the opposite side of the table, she gave a small grin and nodded at them. Pikachu was sitting on the table next to Pichu and a delicious looking platter of food. Peach and Daisy sat on either side of Mewtwo who gave a vague wave of his tail in greeting. Peach and Daisy had both changed out of their usual long dresses and into tee shirts and pants. Peach was wearing a light pink shirt and Daisy was wearing a dark green one.
"Did you have a good trip?" Samus asked as Mario sat down beside Peach.
"Ran into some bad weather when we first set out." Impa answered settling herself on Samus' right, Apollo sat next to her.
"But other than that it was fine." Link said as he and Zelda placed themselves next to Apollo. They continued to share small talk for while, asking how the Federation was doing, who had won the most recent Pokemon League, how the mansion plumbing was doing lately and other general small talk. After a minute or so, Yoshi came in and sat next to Mario, looking slightly dejected.
"Bella took off?" He asked him in an undertone so the others wouldn't hear.
Yoshi nodded glumly then brightened "Oh well, her loss."
"Yes it is." Mario agreed firmly.
For the next hour the Speaker system turned on and off every few minutes, barely giving them time to speak to each other, let alone the new arrivals.
"Please welcome back Donkey Kong of the jungles,
"It's been awhile since…
"Welcome back Bounty Hunter, Captain Falcon and Jody Summer of…
"Not many good bounty's lately."
"But there have been some good races…
… Ness … Nana and Popo… Welcome back Kirby… house keeper Toadrice please come… Marth and Roy from…
"Nice to see you all again…
"And now that Mr.Game and Watch is here we only have a few Smashers yet to come, thank you, that is all."
"Yep, Fox, Krystal and Falco." Pichu said now sitting on a specially made chair that allowed her and Pikachu to see over the table while sitting on the bench.
Who wants to bet that they don't show up for at least two hours. Mewtwos voice traveled though all of their heads, stopping every conversation and causing everyone to look round at him.
"What kind of bet?" Captain Falcon asked leaning forward. Mario noted that Jody who was sitting next to him, rolled her eyes and folded her arms. Jody didn't like Falcon much, he observed.
If I win, everyone who took place in the bet has to call me Sir, Master or Lord, every time they speak to me. there was muttering around the table.
"What if we win?" Apollo asked raising an eyebrow. The markings beneath Apollos eyes had similarities to Impas. But instead of having three prongs that pointed downward, only the middle prong pointed down while the others curled up and inward, they looked kind of like an arrow head.
If you win, you get to address me however you want, put whatever kind of face junk on me that you feel like, and take pictures of me. Mewtwo said in a monotone voice.
"So we can dress you up in ladies outfits, put make-up on you and take pictures that we can look back on and laugh till we hurt?" Popo called from down the table looking almost unrecognizable without his thick coat.
Yes.
"I'm in." Falcon said immediately
"It sounds intriguing." Apollo stated making Impa close her eyes and shake her head.
"Us too!" the Ice Climbers cried.
"I'll do it." Link said, Zelda and Impa shared an exasperated look.
This kind of bet was common for the start of the stay at the mansion. Mewtwo made almost ridiculous bets, such as betting that the Star Fox Team would be hours late, while they were usually fourth to return, it was very strange therefore, for them to be even this late. However Mewtwo seemed to have madly gook luck and it would be fun to have a little revenge after all the things Mewtwo had made them do.
"Count me in as well." Mario said, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Peach lean her head on her hand.
"Sure." Grunted Donkey Kong
Anyone else? Mewtwo asked looking around the table. Samus?
"Thanks, but I'd rather face the SA-X again than take place in another one of your bets." She said with a small smirk.
No one else? there where a few mutters around the Hall but no one answered.
All Right, betting is closed, and don't forget you can call me Sir, Master or Lord, which ever you prefer.
The next hour passed very slowly and although Kirby accidentally sucked up and spat out a very annoyed Ness , there was no sign of the Star Fox Team. The next hour passed, if possible, even slower. This might have had something to do with the fact that smells from the kitchen started wafting into the hall, and while the snacks tasted good, they were not filling.
Mario was checking the clock every five minuets, the Ice Climbers looked like they were taking turns, every ten minutes or so, one of them would turn, glance at the clock, look at Mewtwo then resume the conversation. Falcon had his own time keeper on his arm band, and kept one eye on it the whole time he was talking to Kirby and Marth, at least, Mario thought so, it was hard to see Falcons expression under his helmet. Donkey Kong didn't look like he had any kind of pattern; he just looked at the clock as though he had forgotten that he had just checked it a moment ago. Link was very cool about it and only glanced at the time twice during the first hour and three times in the now rapidly retreating second hour. Apollo was the calmest of them all; he never once looked up from his conversation.
"This is a mansion wide announcement." The speaker system came on with out any warning making everyone start.
"The representatives from the Lylat System, Fox and Krystal, have arrived. Will head house keeper and head grounds keeper Toadrice please come to the landing pad to welcome the Smashers? That is all."
"Ha!" Nana cried triumphantly pointing at Mewtwo. "We won the bet! Now we get to dress you up funny!"
Mewtwo looked bemused, never a good sign. Not yet, they have to be in the hall itself for you to win.
"What?!" Mario cried shocked.
"You never said anything about them being in the Hall to win!" Falcon said angrily, the others nodded in agreement.
You never asked, you just jumped right in, feet first. Mewtwo smirked in an irritating way it's important to know all the rules before you play the game, besides, he glanced at the clock you still have, mmmm, about five minutes before the two hours are up, and since you think I treated you so unfairly, then it will not affect the bet in anyway because Falco doesn't seem to be here.
The hall was silent, even the people that hadn't taken place in the bet were quiet, some because they had taken place in other bets and wanted to see who won, others because they knew that even the slightest noise could cause the players to snap. The only sounds came from the kitchen where the food smells still wafted in from There was one or two faint whinnies from the horses that were grazing in the field, and then, finally…
The ding of the elevator, the almost silent hiss of the elevator door and Krystals voices sounding annoyed came down to them.
"Oh, hurry up." Link hissed
"I told you before we left, I told you three times to look at your left thruster, but did you listen to me?" Krystals voice grew loader as she approached, clearly very annoyed.
"All right, all right, I messed up. I'm sorry." Fox said a note of pleading in his voice, their footsteps stopped.
"Fox, I may be the newest member of the team, but I know the ships well enough to see when something's wrong, and if you'd just-"
"Fox, Krystal!" Donkey Kong yelled, a bit panicked.
Fox and Krystal walked up to the door way and stopped, looking puzzled, Krystal's blue fur was all on end showing her emotional state. Fox's light brown was ruffled where he must have run his fingers through it.
"What?" they asked in unison.
"Get in here." Falcon said his muscles tense.
"Why?" Krystal responded, thoroughly confused.
"Just do it!" Mario, Link, Popo, Nana, Donkey Kong and Falcon yelled. Apollo hadn't said a single thing since the Star Fox Team had landed.
They walked into the room and toward a free space at the table, still looking confused.
"I believe we won." Falcon grinned
Mewtwo said nothing, munching on another floating snack, pointed his tail at the clock behind him, it was two minuets passed the hour.
"You must have cheated and pushed the clock hands forward with your powers." Donkey Kong said astonished.
Or, Mewtwo said you where all so concentrated on getting Fox and Krystal in here that you forgot to watch the time.
"How can we be sure that you didn't use you powers to win?" Apollo said raising an eyebrow.
"He's got a point." Yoshi cut in.
Mewtwo held up his right hand and said very seriously, I swear on my honor as a psychic Pokemon that I did not use my power to win the bet, besides he dropped his hand It's not a very high price to pay, I could have asked something much more embarrassing of you, but I though that you could use a break.
Nana and Popo muttered something to each other, Falcon looked very annoyed and Link sighed but other than that the result seemed acceptable.
"I think we missed something big." Fox stated, staring around, but they were spared giving a long explanation by Chef Gam walking out of the kitchen with a large grin on his face and a very tasty looking plate of food. Others followed behind him each carrying food that looked fit for a God. Vegetable salad, fruit salad, and an alien salad that tasted like a cloud had fallen from the heavens, and every kind of sweat, tart and tangy flavor you could imagine, just as long as you didn't know exactly what it was made of. Then there was meat, beef, pork, and other varying animals, from every universe thinkable, all sweetened or spiced differently, thick and juicy, from rare to well done. There was also many kinds of bread, pastries, rolls, biscuits and slices of home cooked white bread, whole wheat and rye, all warm and sweet. Every dish contained something different, and why wouldn't they? Hundreds of thousands of recipes from every Samshers home port, must have made it hard for the cooks to chose only some of them.
Once all the food had been brought out, most of the cooks ran back to the kitchen and came out a few seconds later, carrying pitchers and clear crystal glasses. Chef Gam stood at the head of the table watching as the glasses were set in front of the Smashers and filled with varying transparent colors, blue, tan, red, olive, wines from every galaxy and cellar. Each Smasher had their own preference and each was served accordingly.
"You outdid yourself again, Chef Gam." Daisy commented as the silverware and plates were set before them. "I feel a bit bad eating the food that you all worked so hard to make, and you only get to try the leftovers."
Chef Gam's smile broadened, "Oh my lady, as cooks we get pleasure out of all of you enjoying the food we prepared for you, and anyway," he waved a hand exuberantly. "We have access to many amazing and challenging food recipes, and as cooks, there is nothing we enjoy more. Not having to worry about supplies and money while we mix and invent superbly excellent dishes is another reason we do what we do. Right, everyone?" the question was directed at his workers who had finished their work and were standing behind him. Most of them were toads, but there were two Mr. Mime Pokemon and the black haired green eyed boy as well.
"Right!" they all answered with zeal, except for the boy. Chef Gam bowed "Now, we leave you to eat, do not forget to save some room for the dessert." They returned to the kitchen and everyone's eyes turned to Mario. Somehow it had turned into tradition that he give an opening speech before they ate. It was a little unnerving to have so many different colored eyes all focused on you, from shades of blue, to red, purple, brown, green and even unknown, like Captain Falcon. He stood up, cleared his throat and raised his blue wine filled glass.
"Here we are all again, united against common enemies, but also through common similarities, as well as differences. We are different species, we come from different lands, we believe in different Deities, we have different ears, eye color, some of us have fur all over our bodies, and some are born with the capability to wield elements of the earth we live on," He paused, no one said anything, no one moved "but we all breath air, we all look to the stars and wonder what other incredible things are out there, we all had mothers and fathers, even if they weren't the ones we were born to, we all live, we all die, but most importantly," he paused again and looked round at all the faces of his teammates "We all had a choice, a choice between what is right and what is easy, a choice to hurt or to help, a choice to destroy or to heal. A choice… between good and evil. We have all chosen to be right, to help, to heal… we have chosen good. That is what makes us so alike. No matter how we do it, we all enforce good. Good for ourselves, for the people around us, weather we like them or not, good for future generations, for our children, for peace." He raised he glass in the air, the others all did the same, said as one. "For peace.", and drank deep. Everyone, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Mewtwo, Pikachu, Pichu, Fox, Krystal, Jody, Falcon, Link, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Mr. Game and Watch, Marth, Roy, Ness , Samus, Apollo, Impa, Kirby, Yoshi, all together, united for a greater good.
After everyone lowered their glasses, Mario said in high spirits "Now that I've talked your ears off, let's all dig into Chef Gam's savory meal."
The food was amazing, from the wildly exotic fruit that Samus had procured off other worlds, to familiar things like pasta and pizza. Every bite seemed to have its own sensation, even the butter tasted unique and foreign, everything tasted even better than it looked.
The talk was cheery and everyone was in a good way. An hour and half later, the sun had set and dinner was winding down. When everyone appeared to be finished the cooks bustled out from the kitchen and begin to remove the food that had not been eaten. It would be stored and saved for later meals. Plates, spoons, knives and forks, were taken away and replaced with clean ones. Refreshments were offered as they had been throughout dinner, only Donkey Kong and Falcon had drank more than one glass of wine.
Once all of the cutlery was replace and all the glasses refilled the workers vanished back into the kitchen. One moment later Chef Gam and the black haired boy walked out, carrying what looked like a two foot tall statue. A brown dragon sat on its hunches, its wings folded to its back, small spikes running the length of its back and tail, mouth open, exposing rows of sharp fangs. It looked almost real, but as it drew nearer Mario could see that is was made entirely of chocolate. Every tiny detail beautifully etched. Each individual scale shone, the claws on its feet glittered with a sugar coating, its eyes must have been painted with black and gold frosting, and it even looked like it had muscles. Right behind the first dragon came a second, carried by the Mr. Mime, it was identical to the other except that this dragon was a pure white.
Chef Gam stood back after placing the brown dragon near the middle of the table, the white one was placed beside it, only a foot away. "The brown dragon is chocolate coated, chocolate cake, the tail is chocolate covered custard." Practically everyone's mouths were open, Mario knew his was. "The white dragon is white chocolate covered white cake, the tail also is made of custard, and for those who don't like either…" he stepped aside as four toads came though holding up a large bowl full of ice cream of every flavor thinkable. "I also have dragon eggs." There was silence as everyone looked back and fourth at the Chef then at the dragons.
How in the name of the Elite Four, did you manage to make those? Mewtwo asked, shocked, an extremely rare emotion for him.
"Head Chefs little secret." Gam answered with a wink.
"It looks too real to eat." Krystal breathed.
"If they taste half as good as they look, then we're in for heaven." Jody said eyes wide.
"Pichu, since you're the youngest, would you like the first piece?" The Chef asked with a beaming smile.
"Um, okay." Pichu said with some hesitation. Carefully Chef Gam cut a small slice from each dragons shoulder and a small scoop of Pichu's favorite ice cream, strawberry, and set the plate in front of the young Pokemon. Everyone watched as she took a piece from the chocolate slice, regarded it, then popped it in to her mouth. For a spilt second she did nothing then her green eyes misted over and her small frame relaxed.
"Wow." She said in awe before starting in on the rest of it.
The Chef, still beaming, as well as the black haired boy and the Mr. Mime walked back to the kitchen. Wow, was really the only way to describe the dessert, nothing else even came close. The chocolate had a satisfying crunch but if left it to melt it would spread and soak into the already moist, rich cake. The white chocolate was much the same way, its super sweetness crawling into every crevice, and combining perfectly with the white cakes gentle flavor. Along with whatever kind of ice cream and after the extremely large dinner they had eaten before, no one could eat more than one serving.
Once more the plates were cleared and the remains of the dragon were removed, and for about another half an hour they all sat around and talked. Then Samus suddenly stood up and said "I'm going to bed now. I had a rather long trip and after that meal I might actually sleep in." she started off "Good night everyone, and thank you Chef Gam, and you helpers, for the best meal I've had since the last time I was here."
The Chef came out and leaned on the kitchen doorway, "Your quite welcome, Miss
Aran." He grinned
"I think I'm going to bed too." Kirby said through a yawn thankfully not hard enough to suck anyone up.
"Thanks Gam." Ness said in a tired but happy voice.
Beside him Yoshi got up and joined the others walking toward their rooms. Mario was also sleepy. He stood and offered Peach his arm. She smiled at him and took it.
They walked down the halls of the second floor until they reached a door whose gold lettering spelled out Princess Peach. Mario opened the door for her and she stepped into it.
"Thank you." she said softly and kissed him on the cheek "See you in the morning." She smiled and shut the door.
Mario gave a goofy smile and started walking to his room. He ended up right behind Impa and Apollo. They had their arms around each others waists and were talking to each other in their own fast, elegant language, but speaking softly.
He had reached his own door but continued to watch as they walked down several more doors and reached their own. Apollo quickly reached forward, opened the door and stepped aside. Impa raised a white eyebrow before laughing softly and entering the room. Mario caught Apollo's eye and grinned, Apollo grinned back before following his wife through the door. Mario opened his own door and went straight to the room that held his bed. His head had barely hit the pillow before he was asleep.
The next morning dawned bright and beautiful. Mario awoke feeling hungry, which was slightly odd considering how much he had eaten last night. He got up, put on his usual red shirt, blue overalls and red cap, and headed off to eat.
Down in the great hall most of the Smashers were already up and having breakfast whiched ranged from cold cereal to last night's leftovers, they weren't picky. The rest must have been still upstairs. Kirby and Ness were having a staring contest while their food became cold. Link was talking to Pikachu and Pichu. Donkey Kong and Falcon were discussing something or other and Yoshi and Fox were sitting together, chatting politely. He sat down next to them just in time to hear Fox say "No, Falco couldn't make it, said something about having business to take care of, and I know better than to ask anything else."
Yoshi cocked his head "That's a bummer, that guy is always such a laugh riot."
"Morning." Mario said pulling a clean plate towards himself.
"You two, so is anyone going to explain to me what was going on when Krystal and I got here?" Fox responded turning his head.
Mario had just opened his mouth to tell the whole long tale when the alarm blared. Immediately everyone that had been sitting jumped up and sprang into action, they all put a SALD (Speaking And Listening Device) into their ear so that they could communicate long distance. "Mario." He said his own name and heard the others do the same, it was their way of knowing who was on. "Samus?" he asked, he had not heard her come on.
"One second," her voice came over then there was static as her suit formed around her. "I'm here."
"What's going on?" Luigi asked though the SLAD, he must still have been upstairs.
"From what my sensors and the mansions security system can pick up, it looks like it was some kind of massive energy surge, about a mile… North West of here. But there's still remnant energy so I don't know anything beyond that. The sensors can't penetrate it." Samus responded. She could tap into the mansions security system and had all it's readouts right in front of her eyes.
"So what do we do?" Roy asked.
"We can't risk it, it might be a full frontal attack from our enemies." Apollo stated firmly. "I believe we should investigate." Agreement came though from all sides.
"All right, lets move out!" Mario called out and took off running. The others in the Great Hall followed right behind him. When he reached the entrance hall, Samus in full armor, jumped down from the top stairway and began running flat out.
In a split second the Entrance hall was filled with the sound of many pairs of feet, and Smashers came out from upstairs, and then he was out in the crisp morning air, all around him were his teammates running, hovering, flying all heading toward the same unknown challenge.
Quietly everyone. Mewtwo reminded them all as they drew near the source of the energy. Carefully everyone readied their weapons and showed their pace to keep as silent as possible. Link drew his sword, sparks jumped from Pikachu's cheeks, Popo and Nana griped their hammers tighter. They reached the slight hill that stood right next to the energy. In an arranged pattern, the Smashers formed together so that some where in front and the others right behind. His muscles tense, Mario climbed up to the top of the hill and dropped to the ground so that who ever was on the other side couldn't see him. Pikachu, Samus, Ness , Zelda and Kirby lay on ether side of him the others right behind, ready to jump in, should a fight start.
He had expected to see some kind of evil looking device or a monster from another dimension, but what he saw shocked him. The tall green grass was flattened out in a wide circle about a yard away from the hill, as if some giant animal had just sat down for a moment, before going on its merry way, but the earth all around it was completely untouched. The wide circle also incased one of the rare large grey rock that were dotted throughout the countryside. But it wasn't the grass flattened or untouched, or the rock that had shocked him so much, it was the two unconscious figures that lay within the circle. He narrowed his eyes, they where both female and they lay three feet apart. The one nearest was lying on their side, face turned away from them. She wore a skin tight black body suit without any sleeves, and black shoes. She had long blonde hair that was all different shades; the skin he could see was pale cream. Her left arm had a scar running down from her shoulder to her elbow, and she had some kind of gun holstered at her waist.
The other lay on her stomach, her face was also turned away from them. She had bright, snow white hair that was held in a high pony tail, and… he leaned forward a little so as to get a better look. Yes, she had long pointed ears like a Hyrulean. Her skin was darker than the others; it wasn't tan, so it must have been naturally darker, but not by much. She also was wearing a skin tight outfit, it was dark blue and the sleeves were only two inches long, and the legs came down so that they where four inches above her knee. Her boots reminded him of the ones that Impa wore.
"Samus?" Mario murmured thought the SALD.
"The blonde is human, she has a laser pistol, so she might be from my universe or Falcons. The one with the white hair is Hyrulean. She could be a Sheikah. Beyond that I don't know, my scanners are still mostly blocked, when there is an opening in the energy and I try to get deeper something jams me."
"Did everyone get that?" Mario whispered, conformation from everyone "All right, I think we should…" but at that moment the blonde shifted then lay still, the white haired one hadn't moved all.
Who where they? Where did they come from?
