Disclaimer: Brawl belongs to Nintendo. Not me.

Note: Ha! You all thought I was dead, didn't you? Now I'm back with revisions! :D

Chapter 10: The Party Begins Again

As the Smashers sat in the living room of Smash Mansion, eating and voicing their fears of what would happen to Marth, the first to be taken by Crazy Hand, Meta Knight's eyes changed color. Yoshi noticed the change in his puffball friend immediately.

"What's wrong, Meta Knight?" the green dragon whispered.

"Nothing's wrong," he whispered. Then, loud enough for everyone to hear him, he said, "I'm going to talk to Master Hand. I'll be back."

Every Smasher in the room looked at him, concerned. "Be careful man," Ike told him. "We don't need anymore mishaps –"

"Which is exactly why I'm going. I've learned to always keep my weapon on hand, and I can take care of myself."

"Are you sure that you don't want someone else with you? I mean, considering the circumstances –" Bowser asked, the slightest amount of worry in his voice.

"No. That would be one more Smasher put in danger if anything was to happen."

There were others words of advice and goodbyes, but the small swordsman noticed Jigglypuff's silence. Looking at her, he said plainly, "I'll be fine, Jigglypuff. I promise."

She just looked at him evenly, her eyes saying more than words could hope for. His heart raced as he nodded to her and turned, heading towards the door. The love he felt for her spread across the room.

The door closed behind him, and Jigglypuff cried.

Finally, with nothing to interrupt him through the journey, Meta Knight reached the room which held Master Hand. Cautiously, he knocked three times before hearing a weary, "Come in."

As the door opened, Master Hand suddenly sighed with relief, "Oh, Meta Knight. Thank goodness… I'm assuming you have an idea?"

Smiling behind his mask, the puffball nodded. "Yes. But I will not carry it out without your consent, since your priority is keeping us together."

"You want to go in there, don't you? And try to get Marth?"

"That is my plan, yes."

"But, Meta Knight, you do realize that you have to go into a Party to even attempt that, right?"

"I figured I could do it alone."

"Have you lost your mind?" In a mad gesture, the hand accidentally knocked over the PA system that let him communicate throughout the mansion if he wasn't up to being mystical.

The device turned on as it hit the floor.

Pikachu, Peach, and Samus had all gathered around Jigglypuff, hugging her and holding her hand. Every Smasher knew how she felt about Meta Knight… Well, every Smasher but her.

Suddenly, Master Hand's voice came out of the speakers placed throughout the mansion.

"Have you lost your mind?"

"…Have you?"

The hand screamed in frustration. "Meta Knight, to attempt a Party alone –"

Everyone gasped as they heard his words. In her anxiety, Jigglypuff almost flew to Master Hand's office, slamming the office door open as she arrived.

"Meta Knight, you are insane!"

"What? How did –"

Jigglypuff gestured pointed to the speaker on the floor. "The PA's turned on!" she yelled. Tears were running helplessly down her face; despite the onslaught of emotions, she couldn't help but inwardly be amused at her best friend's surprised expression. Her speech continued, "Why do you have to do everything alone, huh! You have friends for a reason! And everybody wants Marth to come back safely!"

She took a deep breath before continuing, "Meta Knight, you don't have to do this alone."

Master Hand had gave a small moan. "Well then, I guess we're going to have to have another Party. Who all's willing to attempt to save Marth?"

Besides Meta Knight and Jigglypuff, Ike, Zelda, Link, Donkey Kong, Bowser, Peach, Yoshi, Pikachu, Mario, Luigi, and Samus all volunteered immediately. "All right, we have plenty of volunteers, but one Party can only have four members at a time… And I'd rather make balanced teams than base them on groups, so the first Party is: Bowser, Meta Knight, Samus, and Jigglypuff."

After the four of them had gathered, Master Hand yelled, "To the Party wing!"

With the snap of a finger, they were gone.

"Pick your board, ladies and gentlemen; from what I've discovered, Crazy Hand can get to any one of them from wherever he is."

It was decided that the group would venture to DK's Treetop Temple.

In the darkness, Crazy Hand laughed.