-Present Day-

Snake sat at a table, a pile of papers in front of him, a couple of alloys sitting on either side, and Master Hand hovering in front of him.

Snake had been summoned to the Main building, the building the Shuttle landed on the roof of the day before, to go over the extensive contract and sign paperwork to compete in the Super Smash Brothers Tournament. The board room was spacious but the atmosphere was stiff. It was hard to pay attention to Master Hand's droning. The hard wooden chair he was sitting in didn't help either. His back was starting to hurt.

As he found out, if anything should happen to him there wasn't any legal action he could take. This place and it's laws were completely of Master Hand's design, so he was at the Hand's complete mercy while on the island. But he wouldn't have anything to worry about as long as he followed the rules. If he'd gotten hurt, he'd be taken care of. If any of his things were taken, they'd be promptly found, if not then replaced. Snake would be pampered and catered to with any and all of his needs being met, just as long as he didn't step out of line. As nice as all the perks sounded, those kind stipulations never sat right with him.

Snake had met another alloy here. It was apparently one of more importance than all the others, as Master Hand introduced her as his personal assistant. She was a standard purple alloy, but Snake could see it's purple color was a slightly pinker hue. Her name was #64. Indeed, she was different than the others.

Master Hand had now reached the subject of and was currently reciting the "House Rules" - rules of the island that needed to be stringently followed or else one could get kicked out of the tournament, and even off the island itself. Master Hand said this was not something he liked to do, but will. He'd apparently done it before.

"No fighting outside of the Ring between competitors," Master Hand dully recited. "All fighting will only take place in the Super Dome during matches. Any physical altercations outside of matches will be severely dealt with, the highest punishment being expulsion. Do not brandish any weapons in a threatening manner to other competitors, staff or civilians outside of the ring. Violations of this rule will be severally dealt with, the highest punishment being expulsion. As you will see Snake, some of the competitors will carry their weapons around with them at all times. You are free to carry yours too, so long as the safety stays on and you never point it at anyone."

Snake almost clicked his tongue out loud. Then what was the point of carrying it? Does that mean Snake would always have to be on his guard then, if everyone else had their weapons? What would he do if they attacked him? Throw the rule book at them?

Master Hand went on. "Do not leak any information about the tournament or ranking positions to any of the media or outside sources. As you know, this is a televised event, so keep everything about the tournament to yourself. This includes your friend, the Doctor, too. You can talk to him about your matches, just don't reveal any crucial ranking information to him."

Not like there's anyone Otacon'd tell it to, Snake thought but nodded anyway.

"This next rule pairs with the previous: Absolutely no outside parties are allowed anywhere behind the fenced off area. Do not destroy, steal or deface any property of the Main building, including all outside property and the Super Dome. Outside property includes recreational areas for the competitors and areas for the employees, such as the gardens, livestock ranches, garages, farms, you get the idea. I trust you can distinguish these places. Also, do not threaten or be a nuisance to the alloys. They are here to work and to help you, but they are still sentient beings like you and I. Treat them with respect." Master Hand warned. Snake glanced at the two alloys beside him.

"Respect all the other competitors. Do not steal or deface any of their property. Do not enter their rooms without their express permission. There will be no sabotaging of others. And most importantly, there is to be absolutely no intimate relationships between competitors. Failure to comply with any of these rules will result in massive point deductions. Violations of the last two rules will be immediate expulsion." The Hand finished.

Snake humored himself. "What about after the tournament ends? Are relationships allowed then?"

"If the both of you have been permanently dropped from the Roster then yes, I don't see a problem with it." Master Hand responded, quite nonchalantly. Snake was surprised. He had been joking, but apparently some competitors can actually become romantic with each other. This place is just full of surprises.

"Those are the House Rules Snake, do you think you will be able to comply with them?" Master Hand asked.

"Should be no problem." He replied.

"We'll give you a copy of the House Rules in case you forget them. Please be sure to give them a once over, there are plenty of smaller rules I did not mention that will also result in point deductions, although minor."

#64 slid a small booklet across the table to him. Snake took it.

"Do you understand all these rules as I have explained them to you?" Master Hand asked. Snake grunted his acknowledgment. "Then please, sign your name on the dotted line."

He took a moment to skim over the contract in front of him again, re-reading all the rules Master Hand had said aloud, to make sure he didn't miss any fine print. He picked up a pen.

"Your REAL name, please." The Hand added. Snake looked up at the glove. It appeared Master Hand knew that as well. He proceeded to sign.

Snake handed the paperwork to #64, who walked back to Master Hand and displayed the signature to him. "Excellent! Everything appears to be in order. You are officially on board. Welcome to the Super Smash Brothers Tournament, Snake!" The Hand said cheerily, "Now, we can continue onto other matters."

One of the alloys on Snake's side passed over another stack of papers along with what looked like a credit card.

"This is your GC Card. I'm sure you're familiar with debit cards and how they work." Master Hand said, "This is essentially the same thing. This will hold all of your winnings and how you will pay for everything on the island."

Snake picked up the card. It was gold and black, the symbol of the circle and the four intersecting lines adorned the front. It only had about ten numbers and a weird looking barcode in the corner.

"All money here is electronic. No physical cash of any type. When you go back home after the tournament is over, all the money on this card will be transferred to any bank accounts you have. You keep all the money you've earned from matches." Master Hand added.

#64 finally spoke. "But first, you'll need to open a GC account so we'll have a place to put your earnings. Every competitor is granted three thousand GC, or Gold Coins, to start off." Her voice was strangely soothing.

Snake raised his eyebrows. Three thousand? Just to start off? He was impressed at first but the feeling quickly disappeared. Three thousand was a lot back home, but this place and it's currency was no doubt completely different. Who knows how much a single GC, or gold coin, was really worth here.

Gold Coin? That's the name of their currency? Sounds kind of childish, like something out of a video game, Snake thought.

#64 went over the paper work with him. Like any bank, he would be charged a small monthly fee just for having an account. Other than that, there were no major setbacks. He signed the paperwork and was informed his card was already active.

"It appears everything has been squared away. The paperwork has been signed and Snake, you have been made aware of all the rules." Master Hand said. " From here on out you are free to do as you please until the tournament begins. I just ask that you stay out of trouble."

Snake had caught the tone of the hand's floaty voice. He couldn't help but smirk.

#64 spoke again. "We'll summon you again at a later time. You'll still need to be educated on how the tournament system works - the Grid, the Point System, what weapons will be allotted to you and in-ring regulations that you must also follow. Be sure to check your Terminal for the notification."

"There is a tour guide waiting for you outside Snake. He will show you all the shops and buildings on the property." The Hand added, "This place is pretty big and one can easily get lost. I suggest you take the tour."

Snake muttered a thanks, and got up to leave, tucking the GC card in his pocket.

"Oh, and Snake?"

He turned around. "Yeah?"

"Some places are smoke-free. There are signs posted. I ask that you take all of your smoking breaks outside, if possible. There are children here." Master Hand finished.

Children? "What about in my own room?" Snake asked.

"That would be a smoking hazard. House rules."

Snake twisted his face into a grimace. Can't even smoke in my own room. "Okay." He said, a bit in defeat, "Can I even buy cigarettes here?"

"The General Store sells them. You'll find everything you need there." The Hand answered.

Snake's mood went from slightly sour to absolutely elated, though he didn't show it. He waved another thanks and left, closing the door to the boardroom behind him.

The restricted smoking was a real kick in the gut but he was relieved to know that they did sell cigarettes here. He didn't have to smoke a stick once a week in order to ration them. Might as well celebrate right now.

Snake reached into an inside pocket of his trenchcoat and pulled out his pack of smokes. He shook one out and carried it in his hand until he reached the outside of the Main building. He stuck the cig in his mouth and flipped open his zippo.

"Excuse me, Mr. Snake?" Said a voice.

His precious smoking time was interrupted, was there a no smoking sign around? A yellow horned alloy appeared next to him, holding some papers in it's glowing orb-hand. Uh oh. Was he going to get a write-up?

"I was calling to you back inside. Guess you didn't hear me. Master Hand has asked me to show you around the place, as is customary for every newcomer." The alloy said.

Whew, so he wasn't busted after all. "You're the Tour Guide?" Snake asked.

The yellow alloy took the paper it was holding and unfolded it. It was a detailed map of the grounds. "Yes sir. I'll show you the areas you have access to and others that are off limits. We can start back in the lobby of the Main building, there you can learn the history of how the Smash Brothers Tournament started. We'll make our way up each floor from there, and then we'll go outside to the grounds to-"

Snaked raised his hand. "Uh, thanks but no thanks. I'd rather go looking around by myself, if that's okay."

The alloys' head shot up from it's map. "Huh?"

Snake pointed to the paper. "You can just mark off what areas I'm not allowed in, and I'll stay away. I can memorize a place a whole lot better if I explore it myself."

And he could. Due to extensive military training, Snake had developed a superior mental mapping ability. The nuclear installation Shadow Moses and the false clean-up plant Big Shell were both massive complexes that Snake explored from top to bottom, mapping it all out in his mind. Even now he could recall details of what hallways lead to where and even the locations of water heater and storage closets. This was no different. If Snake could explore the place himself, poking his head into every room, getting lost wouldn't be a problem.

The alloy just kind of stared at him, rubbing it's round head.

"We can refuse right? The tours are not mandatory?" Snake asked.

"Well, no. You don't have to take them..." The alloy replied.

Snake waved his hand with assurance. "It has nothing to do with you, it's just that I prefer to go it alone. I'll tell your bosses you gave me the tour, if they ask."

It shrugged. "Well, okay, if that's what you want."

The yellow alloy took the time to mark areas on the map, where Snake could go and what places where off limits to all non-personnel. Had Snake gone with the alloy, he would have been able to enter these rooms.

After thanking the alloy, Snake folded up the map and tucked it into his trenchcoat pocket. Of course he would look into the the off-limit areas. He knew better than to just blindly trust any organization, especially one appearing so generous. He'd learned the hard way that everyone and everything has it's dark secrets.

What to do now though? It was only just afternoon, maybe he could check out the stores in town. But a rumbling in his gut told him he should get something to eat first. He didn't exactly have a proper breakfast. For the first time in ten years he had overslept. He only had time to drink a cup of gross-tasting coffee before he was taken to the Main building. Damn that mattress was comfortable. He couldn't wait to go to sleep tonight.

According to the map the Cafeteria was somewhere in Town, just down the main road that led from the Main building. Snake walked down the concrete sidewalk, which was sprinkled with rocksalt to melt the ice. The crunching beneath his boots was a welcoming sound to his ears. It was something he hadn't heard since moving from his old home in cold, snowy Alaska. He remembered the front and back porches of his cabin were always decorated with rocksalt, so much so, it had permanently discolored the wood.

Lines of tall, naked trees ran parallel to the sidewalk, and in-between them were ornate, black steel street lamps. The sidewalk splintered out to the entrances of the local shops.

Snake eventually came to a giant stone fountain which, according to the map, was directly in the center of Town. The road split into many directions from here. He stopped to observe the fountain for a moment. It was a giant stone sphere with two intersecting lines cut into it, along with an assortment of other angular shapes and jagged edges. Snake thought it was a bit gaudy. The fountain wasn't on, of course, but he couldn't imagine where water would spout out of the thing.

He continued his stroll to the cafeteria. He pulled the rule book out from his pocket and began to idly flip though the pages. He read the extensive list of minor rules to himself.

"Do not steal food from the gardens. Point deduction. Do not steal or borrow tools from the Garages. Point deduction. Do not pick, stow away, hoard, or grow your own pikmin plants. Point deduction. ...What's a pikmin?" He wondered aloud. He flipped through more pages. "No public drunkenness. No public lewdness. Geez, what are these people, animals?"

The Codec rang in his ear. He answered.

"Hey Snake. How's the second day out there on the other side of the universe?" Came Otacon's voice.

"Not bad. Just got out of a meeting with Master Hand and his shiny team of executives. Looks like I'm officially onboard now." He replied.

"I thought you were officially onboard when you accepted the invitation?"

"I had to sign some paperwork. Don't know why exactly, this whole place is Master Hand's creation. Everything is basically his law. But he did bestow upon me a credit card, a half-inch thick rule book, and a map. Of the whole place." Snake grinned.

"Looks like you have some exploring to do."

"An alloy was even kind enough to mark the off-limit areas too."

"So, what will you hit first?"

Snake stopped to look at his surroundings. "I was thinking of getting the obvious out of the way, looking around town. But there's so much ground to cover here." Snake took the map out of his back pocket and glanced over it. "I'm in the middle of town now, just passed the...main square...there's a lot of shops and buildings here. Lots of connecting roads too. According to the map these buildings are nothing but repair shops, tailors, a forging shop and garages. There's even a dentist office and a dry cleaners."

"Sounds like any old normal town. What do the buildings look like? Are they, you know, alien-looking?" Otacon did a poor job of hiding the excitement in his voice.

"If you're referring to anything from your weird cartoons, no. These buildings look like the ones back home. Brick and concrete. The only thing alien-looking is the Dome. It floats."

"The Super Dome? Where all the matches are going to take place?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"When those alloy-people hooked up the deep-space satellite receiver, aside from watching the tournament in high definition, it also gave me access to their aptly-named 'Smasher Encyclopedia.'" Otacon replied. "It's an database of everything to do with the tournament, from the competitors, to the rules, and the Super Dome itself. I've read all about it." There was a hint if smugness in Otacon's voice. "Well, read what I can. The Encyclopedia is not complete. I suspect it won't be until the tournament officially starts."

"I see. Otacon, it'll be your job to keep an eye out for any updates. If you need to, I'm sure you can hack into the database no problem. I'll do recon from this side." Snake said.

"Come on Snake, did you forget who I am?" Otacon retorted.

"Right. Master Hand mentioned there's a merchant Port Town at the other end of the island during the meeting. He says most of the shops there are closed but there are some businesses open. Until the tournament starts, we're free to go and do as we wish-"

"Hey mister!"

Snake stopped mid-sentence when a tiny voice called out to him. He turned around and came face to face with two boys. He recognized them as the same two boys that he saw snowball fighting yesterday when he drove past in a shuttle. Snake was slightly jarred by their strange faces again.

"Who was that?" Otacon asked.

"Uh, just a couple of kids. I'll call you back." Snake disconnected the Codec, but not before hearing Otacon's bewildered "Kids? Alien kids?!" He quickly folded up the map and stuck that, along with the tiny rule book, back into his trenchcoat pocket.

Snake pointed to himself. "You talking to me?"

"Yeah you," The black haired child with the small eyes answered. "We saw you on the shuttle yesterday. Are you a new Smasher?"

"Smasher?" Snake repeated. Did he mean competitor? "Uh...yeah, I am."

Both boys shared a look of excitement between them. The black haired boy spoke again, "Whats' your name?"

"Solid Snake."

The boys both laughed. It was the cat-eyed child's turn to speak. "That's a funny name!"

Snake put his hands on his hips. "Well what're your names?" He asked. His tone was a little more defensive than he meant it to be.

"My name's Link." The cat-eyed child answered.

"And I'm Ness." Said the other boy, pointing to himself proudly. "We're Smashers too!"

Snake scoffed. "You're fighters? You're just kids."

"And we're tough!" The child named Link held up his arms, showcasing his "guns."

"Don't underestimate us because we're kids." The boy named Ness declared.

Snake stared at them. "Uh huh. You two are fighters. Where are your parents?"

Both children responded oddly to his question with looks of confusion. Link's expression changed to one as if he were trying to recall something. Ness glanced at his companion and then looked back to Snake. "Where are yours?" He asked.

Snake made a face. "I'm a grown man."

"Grownups have parents too. So where are yours?" Ness asked again.

Snake narrowed his eyes at the child. "Alright, you got me. What do you kids want?"

"We just wanted to say hi. You're brand new here, just like me." Link said.

"Like you?"

"And because you're new, you have to be shown the ropes," Ness butted in. "Luckily for you this is my third time Smashing, so I know all about the place. If you need anything Solid Snake, you can come to me." Ness gave him a winning thumbs up.

Just who was this kid? "Uuh, thanks. Catch you two later." Snake picked his pace back up but unfortunately the kids followed.

"Hey, who were you talking to earlier?" Link asked.

"A friend." Snake answered.

The children looked around. "But there was no one else there."

Snake tapped his ear. "I talk to my friend in here. Two-way radio implant."

"In your mind? Hey, are you the one Pit's always talking to?" Ness asked.

"Pit?"

"No, Pit said his friend's name was Palu...something." Link said to Ness. Guess the kids missed the part about the internal radio, if they even knew what that was. "So, where are you going Mister?"

"Get some grub."

"You're heading to the Cafeteria right? You passed it." Ness said.

Snake stopped. He took another look around. How did he miss it? He was sure he just had to go down the main road and he'd eventually reach it. Probably because he wasn't looking at his map, he was just trying to get away from the kids. That and he had no idea what the building looked like.

Ness pointed in the opposite direction. "You have to take that street back there and you'll see it. It's a big glass building."

"Oh right...thanks."

"Why don't we just take you there ourselves? I'm feeling hungry, what about you Link?" Ness asked his friend.

"I could eat." Link replied happily.

Snake was about to protest when the boys each grabbed a hold of a jacket sleeve and tugged him along. Snake nearly fell over, hunched low in their little grasps. He complained that he didn't need their help, he could find the place on his own, but the boys ignored his grumblings.

They dragged him to the side street Ness had pointed out. Immediately a large, pointed building came into view. Part of the building jutted out like an arrow, and was covered top to bottom in windows. That whole place was the cafeteria?

Snake didn't let up on his grumblings and the kids still ignored him. They pulled him down the street, chatting noisily until they abruptly came to a halt.

"Uh oh." Said one kid.

"Trouble." Said the other.

Trouble? Snake was finally able to shake his arms free of their tiny grasps. There was a scene going on down the road. The first thing Snake saw was giant spiked...turtle shell? That was some strange statue, he thought, until it moved. It wasn't a statue at all, it was some kind of huge scaly monster!

Snake then heard another child's voice. "Give it back!"

The monster laughed. "Come an' get it!" It held something in it's clawed hand, out of reach of yet another child, who was trying his damnest to get it back.

"Give it back I said!" The boy demanded again. The creature held the object low to him and the child made another desperate grab for it, only for it to be snatched away again. The monster let out a bellowing laugh.

Ness and Link took off running toward them. Snake called after the boys to stop but it was no use. Muttering about a situation he was about to involve himself in, he followed.

"Hey you big ugly lizard! " Little Link bravely called out. The spiked creature stopped teasing the other child and turned around.

Snake was able to get a better look at it now. The creature could have been nine feet tall if it had stood up straight from it's sloping posture. It had two curved horns and flaming red hair in a mohawk style. The monster's skin was scaly and green, with yellowed claws and a massive shell on its back, also covered in yellowed spikes. The lizard wore a spiked collar, and spiked cuffs on both wrists and biceps. Snake thought the creature's 80s punk rock accessories made it look like a ridiculous, ugly pet.

"Well, if it isn't Hat-kid and the Smaller Link." The creature growled. Then it looked at him. "And who's this? Your bodyguard?" Snake narrowed his eyes but said nothing. It lifted it's jowls in an evil smirk. "Lookie here, it's a newbie! You brats recruit him into your little club yet?"

"Give that back, or we'll make you." Ness warned, pointing a finger at the creature. It laughed, a deep guttural sound. His big belly jiggled. Snake could smell a faint whiff of smoke.

"You mean this?" The monster held up the object in his claws. It was a purple colored toy in the shaped of a snake. "Aren't you kids a little too old for toys?" He said.

A toy?

Outraged, the other kid cried out, "My friend gave it to me!" He charged at the monster. With one swing, the creature knocked the child down against the sidewalk. Snake had seen enough.

Angered, Ness and Link charged forward, shouting war cries, but Snake caught both boys by the hoods of their jackets and pulled them back behind him. They complained loudly but Snake ignored them. He was going to take on the monster alone.

He marched right up to the monster's scaly face. "Hey, Anguirus! You get off beating up a little kid?" He growled, "Or are you just too weak to pick a real fight?"

"A-Anguirus?" The creature snarled, offended by the nickname. He jabbed Snake in the chest with a yellowed claw, "Listen here newbie, the name's Bowser! King of the Koopas! And don't you ever forget it."

The smell of smoke was stronger now. Snake realized it was coming from Bowser. "Coop-a king? ...Like a chicken coop?" Snake laughed, "So, you're king of the chickens, huh?"

Ness and Link snorted loudly from behind him. Bowser's scaly face twisted into anger.

"I am not the king of chickens! I am the king of Koopas!" He retorted.

"Makes sense, they say chickens evolved from dinosaurs." Snake taunted and the kids burst into laughter. Sometimes he was too witty for his own good.

The smoke smell became foul, like burning sulfur. Snake saw embers flutter out of Bowser's mouth. What this creature about to blow fire?

"I'm gonna make you pay for that, Scruffy!" Bowser snarled.

Snake was not about to back down."You know, fighting between competitors outside the Ring is forbidden. House Rules." He threatened.

"I don't see the Hands around, or any alloys. So whose going to stop me?"

"I will."

The chicken king laughed again. "You're real funny, Scuffy. Too bad I'll never get to hear more of your jokes!"

Bowser moved to attack, he opened his mouth wide, heat and light emitting from the back of his throat. With lightning quick speed, Snake punched Bowser right on the nose. Instantly the light in Bowser's mouth died and he cried out in pain, clutching his snout.

"D'Ooow!"

This had taken Snake by surprise. His first instinct was to just punch the lizard in his loud mouth, but he didn't realize how soft and fleshy his nose actually was.

If his nose was that sensitive, then maybe...

Bowser whimpered, then growled angrily again, "Now you're gonna get it!"

Snake curled his fist and buried it deep into Bowser's gut, which had been the same flesh color as his nose. The large reptile doubled over, dropping down on his fat knees. Snake grabbed a hold of his nose and squeezed it in an iron tight grip.

"D'oooow! Stohp, stohp, stooohp! Let gwooo!" Bowser pleaded.

"I told you I'd put a stop to you, didn't I?" Snake growled.

"Stohp! That really hurts!"

"Are you're going to leave the kid alone?" Snake asked. When he didn't answer, Snake twisted Bowser's nose painfully the other way.

"Alwight! Alwight! Fine, I'll stohp! Just let gwoo!" Small tears began to pool in the corners of his eyes. Snake loosened his grip and Bowser immediately scooted away. He nursed his nose for a second before turning to Snake again.

"This isn't over Scuffy!" Bowser pointed a meaty claw to him, "When we're in the ring...not even the Grid can save you!"

Bowser could threaten all he liked, but Snake couldn't take the talking Godzilla costume seriously, with his swollen red nose, tears running down his scaly cheeks and the way he kind of limp-ran when he retreated down the snow covered street. He slipped once on the ice, much to the children's amusement.

"That was awesome!" Link cheered.

"You really showed that big dumb lizard." said Ness.

Snake bent down and picked up the purple snake toy Bowser had dropped during their scuffle. It was one solid, bright color, with a red tongue that was sewn on, and plastic eyes that gave off a thousand yard stare. It looked a bit silly.

The other child stood nearby. He looked at Snake in awe. Snake approached him, bent down on one knee to his level, and held the toy out to him. "Here you go kid."

"Th...thanks for that." The child mumbled, taking the toy back. He inspected it for damage. The boy had a blond cowlick, and, Snake noticed, small eyes just like Ness' eyes. Could the two be related?

"No problem. What's your name?" Snake asked.

"Lucas." The child murmured.

"Hey Lucas, my name's Snake."

"Snake?"

"And my name is Link!" The children appeared next to him again. "And this is Ness."

Link had a big, friendly grin plastered on his face, but Ness' expression did not match his friend. He was eyeing Lucas, scrutinizing him, like a child inspecting a wrapped present. This scrutiny did not go unnoticed by Lucas either, who furrowed his brow in confusion.

Ness grabbed a hold of the timid boy's face, cheeks squished, and moved Lucas' head to the left, then right, examining him. Ness put an ear to the boy's head, as if trying to listen to his brain. He gave it a couple of knocks.

"Yep! You and me are the same." Ness declared, letting go of the other boy's face.

Lucas backed away, fixing his slightly mussed hair with a gloved hand. "What do you mean?"

"You're a PSI user. I am too!" Ness proudly pointed to himself.

Lucas' eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Uh huh. I can feel the very same power resonating from you. You and I should be friends." Ness gave a big smile.

Lucas returned a small one. "Okay."

Snake grunted in confusion. What was 'psy?'

"We were just about to get a snack with our new friend Snake. Do you want to join us Lucas?" Link asked.

"Sure. I was heading to the Cafeteria too, when that big monster stopped me." Lucas replied.

Ness snorted and waved his hand airily. "Don't pay any attention to that ol' overgrown turtle. Bowser likes to pick on people who are weaker than him, or who he thinks are weaker than him. He's all talk mostly."

Lucas nodded at Ness' words. He stuffed the purple toy snake into his jacket pocket.

"Besides, if things get hairy again, our friend Snake can defend us." Ness added.

Snake huffed. "Say what? Aren't you guys 'competitors' too?" He used as much sarcasm as he thought necessary for the children to understand, but they completely ignored that too.

Ness declared that they should all get going and Link pulled on his jacket sleeve again, dragging him along. Snake grumbled.

The atmosphere was peaceful and quiet, almost eerily still, in the Gardens. The tall, snow covered hedges made for excellent walls, which help to conceal the small group of people gathering in one of the Garden's many snow covered gazebos. Four people milled around inside, chatting about nonsense things to pass the time.

Samus and the two princesses sat on the concrete benches while Captain Falcon stood, arms crossed, by the gazebos' doorway. It was a nice gesture to let the women take the seats, Falcon was a gentleman like that, but Samus' butt was starting to get cold. The snow crunched. All heads turned to the two heavily clad figures approaching.

The two figures entered the gazebo and removed their snow dusted hoods. One of them was a young man with choppy blond locks and pointed ears similar to Zelda's. The other was a taller, older man with head of short, deep blue colored hair. A glinting, gold tiara adorned his head.

The men first bowed to the princesses in a show of respect and greeting. Zelda and Peach nodded back. This was the first time Samus had seen either of these men since her arrival here, and they were just as happy to see her.

The blond haired youth was the first to greet her, giving her his warm, genuine smile she knew so well. He bowed to her too, though not as low. "Samus! It's been so long. How are you?"

This lad was a knight in service to Princess Zelda. His name is Link. Determined, kind, a bit clumsy, and when he slept, he slept like a rock, Link was truly the definition of a knight. Samus had been friends with him since the first tournament. She greeted him with a warm hug, relieved to get off the cold bench.

The other man had been a newcomer last year and, thankfully, had returned again. He was kind, diplomatic and valued his friends and allies like they were gold. No, even more than gold. This man was also royalty, like Peach and Zelda, he was a prince. His name is Marth.

"My dear friend Samus," He greeted with a nod instead, "How have you been all these years?"

She directed her answer to both men, "Under too much stress and in too much danger. But I'm sure it's been the same for both of you. Zelda has told me about your latest escapade, Link." The Hyrulean knight laughed nervously. "What about you Marth? I hope things have been good for you and the people of Archeanna."

He gave her a smile, though she could see there was a sadness behind it. "I will not lie and say things have been easy. They most certainly have not been during our years apart but," Marth looked away, his cheeks turning red. "I did get married."

There was a rush of congratulations from everyone, mostly from an overly excited Peach.

"Congrats Marth! Whose the lucky gal?" Falcon asked, giving a hearty pat to the princes' back.

"Her name is Caeda. She is the princess of a neighboring kingdom. We were childhood friends." Marth replied.

"Caeda? Wasn't she was one of your allies in the war for your kingdom?" Zelda asked. Marth nodded.

"Hold on, that makes you a King now, doesn't it Marth?" Peach piped, putting a finger to her chin. He nodded again.

Link's head turned so fast, Samus was surprised she didn't hear his neck crack. He looked at Marth in absolute horror and quickly fell to one knee, bowing on the ground before him. "F-Forgive me Sir! I had no idea!" He said.

Marth waved his hands frantically. "It's alright Sir Link, I didn't tell anyone! After all, this place is ruled by another. Rank doesn't seem to have any meaning here, among anyone."

But Link remained on his knee, apologizing profusely. The princesses muffled their snickers. Samus and Falcon looked at each other. She knew this was an odd a sight for him as it was for her.

They all chatted some more, catching up on the goings on in their lives since last they'd seen each other. There was another crunching in the snow and two more figures appeared in the garden. One of them was loud and bickering with the other.

"Tell me why again we had to meet out here?" One of them, a blue colored, bird-shaped anthromorph complained. He shook a layer of snow off of his feathery arms, feathery head of hair and heavy jacket as he entered the gazebo. His companion, a brown colored fox anthromorph, push past, rolling his eyes in annoyance and dusting show off the shoulders of his jacket.

"Quit complaining already." The fox sighed, "Apologies for being late everyone. You know how Falco is."

"Hey!"

"It was no problem Fox," Falcon said. "Did you see Mario and Luigi on the way here?"

"Unfortunately they can't make it," Fox replied. "We'll just spread the word to them next time we see 'em. So, since it looks like everyone's here, let's go ahead and get started."

"The sooner the better." The bird named Falco griped.

Zelda began the meeting, standing to address everyone. "First, I want to thank all of you for making your way out here in this cold. You've been summoned here today to discuss the issue of certain competitors returning for this years' Smash Brother's Tournament. As you all know, the dark wizard Ganondorf has been invited back to compete once again. Bowser has returned as well."

Samus spoke too. "Just as we did last year, it looks like we'll have to band together again to prevent those two from winning the grand prize. Which explains why we're meeting all the way out here Falco," She sighed, addressing the anthromorph, who was still complaining under his breath. "We couldn't take a chance of being overheard by one of the staff in the cafeteria, or anywhere else. There are no alloys out here because there's nothing to tend to at the moment. All of these flower hedges won't bloom until spring."

Falco just huffed at her response and muttered again about how he was still freezing.

It was Falcon's turn to speak. "I don't think anyone needs to be reminded that sabotaging of others is a major violation of the rules. We all signed the same paperwork when we got here. This pact alone would get every one of us disqualified. But I'm willing to risk it if it means the safety of my friends, and potentially all life as we know it."

Falcon continued, "There is also the potential issue of the new arrivals. I have it on good authority that the very last invitee arrived yesterday. According to the updated Encyclopedia, as of this morning, there are thirty five competitors this time, including the kids and the Pokemon." He motioned to Samus, "Samus brought up a good point, that some of these new arrivals may not be good people, in fact we may have incurred even more trouble on our hands than before. That being said, not all of these newcomers will be our enemies either."

"You mean we could have gained some new allies?" Link asked.

"That's exactly right." Zelda replied, "What we're asking all of you to do, is to scout out these new arrivals. Befriend them. Assess them. Find out what kind of people they are. But most importantly, if we can trust them."

Everyone voiced their agreement, and one by one, announced that they were in.

Zelda nodded. "We'll meet again at a later time to discuss what we've found out. Is everyone okay with that?" Everyone nodded back to her. "Alright, this meeting is adjourned. Please everyone, be careful."

Author's Note: In this story Rope Snake does not talk, because he doesn't appear too often and is not a major character.