Bored with nothing to do, Ness, Lucas, Toon, and the Ice Climbers were loitering in the cafeteria with nothing to do. Usually, they would engage in arranged matches, watch their fellow brawlers battle against each other, or play in the backyard. Yet, today was a rainy day and none of them dared to play hide-and-seek in the freezing weather. Also, all of the matches were canceled due to the mysterious thievery, so there was nothing to watch.

"Man, I wish we still had our Wii U!" Ness grumbled. "If we did, then we can play Wind Waker on it!"

"I wish someone would catch that thief!" Lucas sighed unhappily. "Then, we can get our stuff back!"

"It has been really boring ever since that thief took everyone's stuff." Toon whined.

Nana and Popo nodded in agreement. "Well, I don't want to sit around the cafeteria all day." Popo spoke up.

"Me neither." Nana replied.

"Let's see Link!" Toon suggested. "He always have suggestions on what to do!"

"Alright, but where is he?" Lucas asked.

"I think he is in his room." Ness answered. "If he isn't, we can always look for him in the mansion!"

All of the five child brawlers exited the cafeteria to look for Link.


At that moment, Roy and Pit woke up from their restful sleep. The two teens were pacing down the hallway to the cafeteria for breakfast, still half-asleep.

"I had this strange dream." Pit said to the redhead. "I dreamed that I was angel stature covering my face. Whenever someone turned away from me, I lunged at them and mysterious twisted their heads off with some magical power."

"That's creepy." Roy remarked with a smirk.

"Do you think it has a meaning?" Pit asked.

"I think so, but I'm not sure." Roy answered. "I'm not a psychologist!"

Marth, who was in Link's room with the Hylian and Villager, heard the two talking. He carefully got off Link's bed and began to walk out of the room.

"Marth, where are you going?" Villager curiously asked.

"I hear my friends Roi-kun and Pitto-kun coming." Marth answered with a soft smile. "I'll be back soon."

Villager and Link watched Marth leave. "Goodbye, Marth!" Villager quietly called. The little boy turned to Link. "What should we do now?"

"Usually, I would venture around the backyard, but it's raining really hard." Link answered. "We could try to go to go to the café. It's a really nice place close to the Smash Mansion."

"I would like to go there!" Villager replied, hopping off Link's bed. "Let's go right now!"

Link chuckled as he went to his closet and put on a dark forest green jacket. "Alright! Just give me a minute!" He reached for his light green umbrella.

At the moment when Link and Villager were about to step of the room, they heard a voice that exclaimed, "There's Link!"

Toon quickly hurried towards the older Hylian with a beaming grin. "Hey Link! We want to ask you if—" He sentence dropped like a rock in deep water when his eyes made contact with Villager. Along with his statement, his smile fell into a frightened look.

"What's wrong, Toon—?" Lucas started to ask when he and the others caught up with Toon. The little Hylian, lost in his dismay, could only point at Villager with his shaking finger. Lucas gasped and covered his mouth in fright. Ness began to tremble as he prepared to flee. Nana and Popo began to whimper as tears filled their large eyes.

Yet, the five child brawlers were not the only ones afraid. Villager, who completely did not know who were those five children, timidly cowered behind Link. Were those children mean? Were they going to attack him?

Link noticed the tense moment between the children. His ears slightly lowering, he calmly said, "Children, don't be afraid."

"He's behind you, Link!" Lucas whispered loudly.

Link only raised an eyebrow in response. The children gathered together in defense, ready to fight Villager. Villager tightly clutched Link's arm for protection. "Please listen." Link sternly began. "Villager is just like you guys."

"But, we saw him with an ax!" Ness spoke up.

"Ness, I have a question to ask." Link replied. "How many brawlers wield a dangerous weapons?"

Ness was too lazy to count. It did not matter anyway, as everyone had a dangerous weapon, such as a sword, magic, or a gun. "Uh, all of them?"

"Are you afraid of them?" Link asked.

"Well, some of them." Ness answered. "Mainly because I know that they are nasty people."

Link went closer to the gathered child brawlers. "Children, all of you are just assuming that Villager is a dangerous person. He isn't, once when you get to know him. He's just like all of you guys."

There was an awkward moment of silence. Finally, Nana softly spoke. "Are you going somewhere?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm taking Villager to the café." Link answered. "Do you want to come along?"

All of the child brawlers looked at each other for a moment. Should they come? Well, they were a tad afraid of Villager, yet could be a good chance to get to know him.

"Ermmm, sure." all of the child brawlers answered hesitantly. "We'll go with you."

Raindrops nosily pattered on Link's umbrella as he and the children walked down the drenched street to the café. The cold weather did not bother him. Although the fresh, freezing air stung his ears, it revived his senses. He did not notice any raindrops dripping onto his warm clothes.

Yet, one little thing did bother him. Ness, Lucas, Toon, and the Ice Climbers were clustered into one tight group at Link's left side in effort to avoid contact with Villager, who was walking by Link's right side. Really? That was not how you get to know someone! Link sadly glanced at the children and sighed quietly.

"Hey, guys." Ness silently whispered to his friends.

"Yeah, what is it?" Lucas quietly asked.

"Pay close attention to him." Ness pointed to Villager, who did not seem to pay any attention to them. "He might attack us!"

"Got it." Toon replied.

After five minutes, the brawlers arrived at the café. In contrast to the frosty, wet weather, the building was humid and had the sweet smell of coffee. Lots of people were sitting in seats, either surfing the Internet, doing their work, or enjoying a warm cup of tea or coffee.

"So, do you guys want some hot chocolate?" Link softly asked the child brawlers.

Ness, Lucas, Toon, and the Ice Climbers quickly nodded before scurrying away to take a seat on the large soda. Villager answered, "Yes!"

Link nodded in reply and went into the growing line of people. Trying not to show signs of shyness, Villager took a seat on the sofa and looked at the floor. The child brawlers could only awkwardly gaze at him. There was one huge gap on the sofa between the children. It could be considered to be a humorous or heartbreaking sight for the viewer.

A few moments later, Link returned holding two cups of hot chocolate and placed it on a small table sitting in front of the sofa. After when he left to make a second trip, Villager got out of his seat and gave the cups to Lucas and Ness. The children were stunned by this sudden act of kindness.

"Uh, t-thanks." Lucas replied as he began to slowly sip on his drink.

Villager smiled. "You're welcome!"

There was another moment of silence between the children. All they heard were people whispering to each other and the sound of typing.

"You know, I'm really sorry for taking your Wii U." Villager started. "I could not help it."

"Why?" Ness doubtfully asked.

"Collecting things are part of my game, Animal Crossing." Villager answered.

Toon gasped softly as his small pointy ears twitched. "Animal Crossing? I like that game!"

"That's nice." Villager replied. "How many games did you play?"

"I've played Wild World." Toon answered. "I'm going to get the one for the 3DS."

The children looked up and saw Link set another two cups of hot chocolate into the table. He left once again to make a final trip. The Ice Climber helped themselves.

"Were you invited to the Smash Mansion?" Nana asked. "I did not see you on the first day."

"No, I wasn't." Villager began. "This weird portal appeared in front of my house one day and I decided to enter it. That's how I arrived at the Smash Mansion."

"There weren't a lot of newcomers." Ness spoke up. "There's Megaman and Wii Fit Trainer. That's all. I'm kinda disappointed."

"I heard that the Hands are still thinking on inviting more people to the mansion." Popo said. "But, I don't really think its true."

"Why?" Villager asked.

"Pit and Roy told me." Popo answered. "They always jump to conclusions."

"I hope it is true." Toon said. He noticed Link strangely walking towards them, clumsily trying to hold three drinks. One of the drinks was dangerously balanced on another drink, thus making Link a bit nervous. Toon hurried towards him and took two drinks out of the older Hylian's procession, which relieved him. He gave a drink to Villager and continued. "It would be kinda boring if there were no newcomers."

"Yeah..." Lucas agreed. "You know the Melee Tournament? I heard that some of the brawlers didn't return."

"That's true." Ness spoke, nodding his head sadly.

"Why did some of the brawlers did not return?" Villager asked after sipping his warm drink.

"Actually, they were rejected." Ness explained. "Apparently, fans complained that some of the rejects were boring and stuff like that. Some of the reasons were really stupid." Ness made eye contact with Nana and Popo. "Remember Mewtwo? People said that he was really cruel and scared their children. That was the friggen' reason why Mewtwo had to leave."

"It isn't right in my opinion." Popo added. "Mewtwo wasn't actually cruel and mean like everyone assumes. He might seem cold, but when you get to know him, he's understanding and protective."

"Yeah..." Nana said softly, remembering the Melee Rejects. "I miss them. It doesn't really feel the same without them."

"At least we have Roy." Link spoke up, sitting next to the children.

"Roy?" Villager asked. "That's Marth's friend. Was he a Melee Reject?"

"Yes, he was." Link began. "Well, kinda to be honest. For some reason, the Hands needed to disqualify either Marth or Roy. They settled on Roy, since Marth was more liked. However, they couldn't tell Roy, as it would hurt both Marth and his feelings. So they asked Marth to tell him he was disqualified from the tournament. Marth also couldn't tell him, so in the end, the Hands ended up turning Roy into a trophy and hiding him away."

"What happened next?" Villager asked.

"When the Brawl Tournament started, Pit, one of my friends, managed to find Roy. He tried to keep his existence a secret, but it was revealed quickly. After a series of events, the Hands agreed to allow Roy in future tournaments." Link concluded. "I would get into the details, but it's a long story."

"I think being a brawler at the mansion is really fun." Villager spoke. "I've been watching all of you guys, and you seem to be having lots of fun!"

"Erm, maybe we can ask the Hands if you can become a brawler here." Lucas suggested.

"The Hands?" Villager asked curiously.

"The Hands are the owners of the Smash Mansion." Ness explained. "They run every tournament held at the mansion."

"Where are they?"

"They are always in their office." Toon answered.

"Are they nice?"

"Master Hand is stern yet understanding." Link answered, joining the conversation. "Crazy Hand is silly and hyperactive, however he could be as serious as his older twin brother."

"Do you think they will let me become a brawler?" Villager softly questioned. "I mean, I stole everyone's belongings, so they probably wouldn't let me in..."

"Hey, when they see that you're a nice person, they'll let you in!" Popo replied.

"Really?" Villager's voice rose in hope.

"Yeah!" Popo said.

"Why don't we introduce you when we arrive back at the mansion?" Nana suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea." Villager replied. "But, I need to tell everyone that I'm the one who stole all of their stuff..."

"Yes, you need to confess." Link said. "But don't worry! We'll back you up!"

"Ok!" Villager said cheerfully.

Unbeknownst to the child brawlers and Link, they did not notice a certain wolf and an evil clone of a famous plumber hiding in the corner, listening to their conversation.

"That kid is the thief!" Wolf whispered sneakily into Wario's ears.

"Let's-a tell everyone and the Hands!" Wario replied evilly. "Ooh boy, I can't-a wait to receive my reward!"

"You need to split it with me." Wolf added with an annoyed huff. "Both of us found him."

"Let's-a go!" Wario quickly spoke up. "Or Link will-a notice us!"

The two villains stealthily snuck out of the café, excited to announce the news to the other brawlers. Unfortunately, Link and the child brawlers did not notice.


Author's Notes: Oh boy, I don't like the looks of this...

Sorry for the slow updates. School has been really busy for me. (AS USUAL!) Judging by this chapter, I feel that the story will be finished in at least 2 chapters. This kinda gets me excited, since I had this AU story I really wanted to upload. The climax will be in the next chapter.

PS: Please check out my poll if you hadn't!

Story Questions:

Judging by the events of this chapter, what do you think is going to happen next?

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