Link awoke with a start, fighting to remove the blankets that he was covered in. For some reason he couldn't recall, he had fallen asleep at his desk as opposed to his bed. He wracked his brain, futilely trying to remember how he had gotten back to his room after the party. He remembered walking down the hallway, and being dead tired. What he didn't remember was doing any drinking during the night.

He reached for his pocket, hoping he had written something on his pad of paper that could spark his memory. Unfortunately, he realized that he had forgotten to reclaim his notepad from Lucina's room during the party; he was too preoccupied with supporting Peach during her would-be altercation.

Link came to the conclusion that he was still half-asleep, and any attempted thinking was useless at best. He needed to go into the bathroom to splash water on his face, and as he opened the door and turned on the sink, he tried to mentally retrace his steps from last night.

I remember walking down the hallway with Peach. And…I went in her room? Yes, and I set my bag down and then…

The Hero rubbed the cool water onto his face, feeling refreshed and alert. Alert enough to notice another presence in the room.

"Um…"

Link slowly removed his hands from his face. Standing before him, stepping out of the shower, was Peach. She had a look of absolute embarrassment on her face. And she was completely naked.

Slowly, painfully, Link connected the dots in his head, one by one, until he arrived at the truth. I don't think I went back to my room at all.

Five seconds passed. Five entire seconds. Link came to the realization that while thinking, he was absentmindedly staring at the Princess' body. Upon this epiphany, he fell backwards through the open door.

"Augh!"

Link laid motionless on the floor, pressing his hands into his eyes so hard that he started to see colors. Peach hurriedly grabbed a towel and wrapped herself up, but suddenly her frantic movements paused.

"Link, did you just…say something?"

But Link didn't have time to question something like that. With his heroic reflexes, he jumped to his feet and sprinted out into the hallway, leaving Peach half-naked, pondering whether 'Augh' would count as a first word.

The Hero was understandably distraught. Even though it was an accident, he still felt like he had invaded the Princess' privacy in the worst possible way. He wasn't even sure how to possibly make penance, or if he even could. The only thing on his mind was to return to his room, lock the door, and hide from the world.

As he neared his door and began to execute his plan, something in the Hero's peripheral vision sent up a red flag. A door some ways down the hallway was left ajar. He could just barely make out Ryu's name on the plaque. Normally, Link wouldn't be concerned, but it just so happened to remind him of Shulk's door being left open. And, remembering who Ryu had in his company, the Hero had a sinking feeling that there was now a fourth kidnapping victim.

Slowly, painfully, Robin woke up. His skull felt like it was on fire. As he looked around, trying to regain consciousness, he noticed that Lucina was already awake.

"Oh, good morning, Luci." Robin said, groggily. But Lucina didn't respond, or even make eye contact. She appeared pale to the Tactician, and had a look of deep thought on her face. "Luci? What's wrong, what happened?" he asked, fully awake now. As he sat up, he looked at the face of the Exalted Lady, and made a shocking discovery.

"Lucina, are you…naked?" She slowly nodded, but it was unnecessary. Even a cursory glance from Robin could tell that she was wearing naught but a worried visage. He was going to inquire as to why she was naked, when he made a second discovery.

"…Am I naked?" He lifted up to covers and confirmed his suspicions. Then, it dawned on him. "Lucina, did we…what happened last night?" Lucina didn't say a word, but the look she gave Robin told him everything he needed to know. The two just sat in silence on the bed, until Robin heard Lucina mutter something.

"What? I didn't hear you." he said. Lucina took a deep breath, stared straight down, and said it again.

"Was it…any good?"

Robin was completely and utterly at a loss for words. He had rarely seen Lucina like this, so insecure and fragile. "What do you mean?"

"It…was my first time. So…was it…did I –"

Suddenly she was cut off as Robin planted a passionate kiss on her lips.

"Lucina, it was my first time too. Honestly, I don't know if it was good. But I know that it was with you, and that is enough for me. I love you, Lucina."

And all at once, the color returned to Lucina's face. "Robin, I love y –"

Out of nowhere, the door to the room burst open, and Link sprinted inside.

"Link!" the lovers said in unison. The Exalted Lady jumped to cover her exposed body with a blanket, and Robin tried to question Link about his appearance.

But Link ignored both of them, and frantically searched the room for a notepad. Finally, he found Shulk's journal. He threw it open to the last page, scribbled a message, threw it at the two on the bed, and sprinted out again.

Robin lifted the journal and saw, for half a second, the name on the front of the notebook. "Shulk's journal?!"

Lucina snatched it from Robin's hands, flipped to the back page, and gasped. Before the Tactician could ask what it said, Lucina held the page up to his face. Scribbled across the paper was:

RYU KIDNAPPED. HELP.

Ryu regained consciousness. He noticed that his hands were bound behind him, and his legs were tied to the legs of the chair he occupied. The bump that was forming on his head sent throbbing pain shooting through his skull. Instinctively, he began to struggle against his bonds, testing the strength of the knots.

As he regained vision, he saw that Samus was a few feet to his left, and in a state of similar makeshift imprisonment. She appeared worn down, as if she had spent a few hours trying to break free and eventually resigned to her fate. After seeing Ryu move about, she seemed at least a little less worried. Before Ryu could ask if she was alright, he heard that familiar voice again.

"Hello, Wanderer. I was wondering when you would rejoin us."

"Who are you? I know your voice…" Ryu called into the darkness.

"Yes, my voice. I'm afraid that's all I am, that's what I've been reduced to. No name, no face, only a voice."

And with that final clue, Ryu finally remembered.

"You… you're the Announcer!"

Suddenly, the loud whirring of a large machine sprang in the Wanderer's ears. One by one, the monitors of a giant computer came alive, all broadcasting live footage of the premises. Connected to the machine by a mess of cables and wires was some kind of stasis pod, in which the Blue Bomber appeared to be asleep.

Silhouetted against the harsh light of the screens was a thin and wiry man who truly wasn't threatening in the least. At least, he wouldn't be, except for the gun he had pointed at Ryu's head. Seeing this, Samus redoubled her efforts to escape from her bonds.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that, Ms. Bounty Hunter. After all, I'm the one with the gun and, unlike your little stun gun, this one kills." the Announcer said, approaching Ryu. Samus stopped fidgeting, and the Announcer smiled.

Ryu was desperate for answers. "What are you doing to Megaman?"

The man's bravado faded slightly.

"Exactly what I have to…"

Robin and Lucina had quickly leapt out of bed and thrown on their clothes so they could join Link in search of their now-misplaced friend. In their haste, Robin forgot about the journal he previously thought to be Link's. The Hero had rushed back to their door, frantically motioning them to hurry up. Finally, they all rushed out with their swords drawn, sprinting down the hallway towards Ryu's now-empty room.

"I don't understand… why kidnap the fighters?" Ryu asked, partly to understand and partly to stall. He saw his friends approaching on the CCTV's behind the Announcer, and the Wanderer was biding his time until they arrived to save he and Samus.

"Fighter. Singular. At least, that was the plan; I only wanted Megaman. The other two just happened to be sticking their noses in my business, and, well, I couldn't tolerate that." Something about the way the Announcer said those words made Ryu despair to think about their fate.

"These cameras here record every match from every angle. I had an idea, seeing as how Megaman was a robot… If I could download the recording of every match into Megaman's memory, I could make him the best fighter hands down. And as long as I keep him under my control… well, no one could really stop me, could they?"

Suddenly, Samus interrupted the Announcer's monologue. "How did you kidnap three able-bodied fighters in broad daylight?"

The Announcer smirked, as if he was still impressed with his plan. "Well, you should know, I had your help." Seeing her look of confusion, he added, "Well, not your help, per se. You see, I somehow figured out a way to control your power suit remotely from this computer. Don't ask me how, it was mostly luck. But it was also the break I needed to set my plan in motion."

"What plan?" asked Ryu. "Why do any of this? What do you gain from having Megaman at your command?"

"You really can't figure it out? If I control the strongest fighter, I control the fights. If I control the fights, I control the game. It's quite simple: Hold the fighters hostage to take the game, hold the game hostage to get to them."

Ryu wanted to press the Announcer further, but suddenly the door to the maintenance room burst open. Robin, Lucina and Link all dashed through the doorway, readying their blades and preparing for a fight.

Instinctively, the Announcer leveled his gun at Samus' head and began threatening to shoot. "I swear I'll kill, just back the hell off!"

Lucina and Link were confused. "Kill her? I thought she was the one who kidnapped Ryu…" The Exalted Lady said.

"Why would I kidnap Ryu?! I only just met him!" Samus spat back, clearly terrified.

"That's not important, we just need to save them." Robin said, trying to be reasonable.

But the Announcer did not appreciate reason at this point. "EVERYONE SHUT THE HELL UP OR SHE DIES!" To emphasize his point, he fired a warning shot at the ground near Samus' chair.

The sound of the gunshot hung in the air, and then…

Silence. No one moved. No one dared to breathe.

Robin silently evaluated his surrounding, trying to find the optimal strategy that would save the day. And while Robin was studying the room, Link was studying Lucina. Namely, Lucina's sword hand.

There was an unmistakeable twitch, and the Hero feared the worst. Ryu was using the silence to stealthily untie the ropes behind his back, and he was just about free…

And then Ryu saw Lucina's eyes.

Lucina drew Falchion with lightning speed, and dashed towards the Announcer. And it almost worked.

Ryu broke his bonds, and jumped out of his chair to stop Lucina.

"NO!"

Bang.

Samus' body hit the ground at the same time that Ryu tackled Lucina to the floor. Falchion clattered away into the darkness. Robin was frozen in stunned silence, while Link quickly jumped forward and knocked the gun from the Announcer's hand. The whole thing seemed very unreal to Ryu, but one glance at Samus' body brought a tidal wave of emotion over him. I swear to everything holy…

I'll kill him.

He slowly stood up and walked towards the Announcer.

"L-look, I said I would shoot if they moved, you c-can't blame this on me…"

But Ryu wouldn't listen. Without a word, the Wanderer wrapped his hand around the Announcer's throat and lifted him into the air.

"I-I c-can't… breathe…" the Announcer slowly coughed out.

Ryu stared into the Announcer's very soul with his piercing red eyes.

Without a second thought, Ryu threw the Announcer into the collection of monitors as hard as he possibly could.

The cacophony of shattered glass was only eclipsed by the sound of splintering bones as the Announcer's body impacted the computer, sending sparks of electricity and splashes of blood across the , Link, and Robin were all horrifically shocked.

"Ryu… what's wrong with you? That was just… violent." Robin pleaded.

Ryu turned towards the fighters, a smirk revealing the pointed teeth he now bore.

"...Violence…is who I am!"

Author's Notes - Oh. Oh God. I am so sorry. This chapter should have come out months ago. I'd like to say that I started college, and that there was a lot more work to do than I really expected, but I feel like making excuses in this instance is just insulting. So I'm sorry. All I can do is promise to have Chapter 10 out in way less time. Until then, thanks for reading (and sticking with me if you have) and remember to settle it in Smash!