"Excuse me, coming through!" Robin said to the passing smashers blocking his path as he dashed across the halls as fast as he could. Which is at rather underwhelming speeds, Robin wasn't the most physically fit fighter, since the use of magical tomes and strategy is a more mentally demanding task. It wasn't long until Robin had to stop in the middle of the hallway to catch his breath.
"Robin! where are you going?!" Luigi came to a stop to check on his tactician friend gasping for air.
"I need to... *huff* get to her room... *puff* before she reads it!" Robin could barely speak back as he slowed down to walk as far as his remaining stamina could take him.
"You told me you were going to confess to her!" Luigi was disappointed in his friend.
"I will, just... not like this..." The exhausted tactician wheezed out. He had his sights on the door he was walking towards. Each bedroom in the Smash Mansion was made up of 2 roommates, with the exception of the Koopalings and Rosalina and her Lumas having their specialized bedrooms for familiar reasons. Robin's eyes were only focused on one of the two names written on the door.
"Lucina-"
-Lucina's Room 9:34 PM-
Robin noticed that the door was unlocked and slightly open. He carefully opened the door and peeked his head in to see if the room was clear, and indeed it was. Strangely, the room's desk had a computer screen displaying the entrance to Peach's room in the hallway viewed from the roof. Robin was surprised, he never really took Lucina as someone who was able to use such technology.
"Umm... hello Lucina, it's me Samus!" Robin was slighty startled by the disembodied voice of the female bounty hunter, only to realize it came from the audio device set up on the small desk next to Lucina's bed.
"Now the following message is intended incase one of these following events occurred, A: You have been captured by your fellow Smash Ladies and you have returned with a princess gown or any sort of dress stuck onto you.
B: You decided to ignore my advice of staying in the room and have returned after realizing that it is the only safe place for you at this moment.
C: You are Captain Falcon and you are trying to search for ways to flirt with her by rummaging through her personal stuff.
D: You are Robin and you are here to get back that poem that was laying on her bed before I even got to set up any of these devices you see right now." Samus's voice went on and on.
"Assuming you are not Lucina, I will now go over message C: Captain Falcon, if you are hearing this, get the hell out of here creep! Just because you gave up on hopelessly flirting with me after 3 tournaments does not mean you should treat Lucina as your Plan B girlfriend!" Samus's recorded voice said in a hostile tone.
"Now for message D: Robin, please don't write poetry, you are only embarrassing yourself. Don't take it the wrong way, I am sure your heart is in the right place, and I trust that you will make her very happy if she feels the same way. Just man up and tell her yourself, because that would tell her she is worth the courage that you apparently don't have!" Robin could tell she was serious.
"I will, just not right now..." He muttered to himself.
Ignoring the rest of the message, Robin snatched the poem from the bed and tightly grasped it so it doesn't slip from his hands ever again. He was going to end this once and for all.
"Arcfire!" Robin sharply commanded without even taking out his tome. The paper held in his fist was consumed by small flames that emitted from the palm of his hand. After the sheet of paper was reduced to ashes staining the carpet of the room, Robin gave a deep sigh of relief. It's over now. All that was left to do was to teach Falco a lesson.
-The vast hallways of the Smash Mansion-
"Hey Mario, I was just looking for you!" Robin waved at the red plumber passing by.
"Robin! Bro! What can I do for you?" Mario happily greeted his brother and the tactician.
"Are we still able to submit clips for this week's Smash Highlights?" Asked Robin.
"Sure! In fact, I've been having a little trouble finding any good clips this week. Follow me to the Replay Room."
"I came up with an idea that can make this week's highlights a little special!" Robin forced a cheerful tone so Mario doesn't pick up on his vengeful intentions.
"I'm all ears! Just like that time I picked up a Bunny Hood and a Tanooki Leaf at the same time, hehehehehe!" Mario chuckled at his own joke.
The tactician rolled his eyes, they finally reached the Replay Room and Robin was determined that his new plan will return the favor to Falco for his treachery.
"Okay Mario, I need you to find me every recorded battle with Falco this week please." Robin humbly commanded.
-Later in Hyrule Temple-
Now that Charizard's pride was destroyed, Falco returned to his regular business and was currently in a Stock Match against Megaman, Donkey Kong, and Toon Link. The blue bomber and gorilla were not present in the battle right now because they were already defeated for losing their 2 stocks earlier in the match. It all came down to a tedious 1v1 battle between Falco and Toon Link, who were already down to their last stock. Because Hyrule Temple was such a large stage, Toon Link resorted to defensive tactics in a desperate attempt to hold back his aggressive opponent.
*SHINK!* *FWOOSH!* *BOOM!* The sounds repeated in the same pattern as arrows were shot, boomerangs where thrown, and bombs were being chucked.
"Hnnngh... Cut it out will ya!" Falco growled in frustration as his opponent Toon Link played keep-away by throwing all of his projectiles in his disposal to prevent up close confrontation. Although the Hylian boy carried the Master Sword, he and his older counterpart Link developed a habit of relying on their endless arsenal of arrows, bombs, and boomerangs to rack up damage. Although the strategy is normally effective, the two heroes received negative backlash from their fellow smashers.
Falco also has a projectile in his disposal, but his pride drove him to take on his last opponent in close range. Believing he would drag himself down to his level if he also tried to camp him out.
"Hyaah!" Toon Link cried as he continuously spammed his projectiles.
Falco swiftly evaded away from the arrows, ducked under the boomerangs, and jumped over the bombs. The opponent was only a few feet away and continued to attack with long-range projectiles on a target at close range.
"Alright, this is gettin' old fast." The space bird grumbled.
*BLEENG!* Falco activated his reflector and kicked it towards the swarm of projectiles. The shining, hexagonal ring reflected the arrows, bombs, and boomerangs back to their sender.
*BOOM!* The reflected bomb was increased in power and exploded on Toon Link after he was pelted by his own arrows and boomerangs. The Hylian boy was seen flying out to the offstage and a bright directional explosion followed, confirming that he was knocked out of the stage.
"This battlefield ain't a campin' ground Elf Boy!" Falco boldly commented at the direction where his opponent was defeated.
"GAME!" The announcer enthusiastically shouted.
"The winner is... Falco!" The space bird was standing with his arms crossed.
"Ya'll ain't worth the trouble!" Falco spat to his competitors. Megaman, Donkey Kong, and Toon Link were clapping for the victor as it is a rule that was strictly enforced by Master Hand. The only exceptions to this rule were Jigglypuff because her arms were too short to meet, and Mewtwo because of popular demand from outside forces. Mewtwo's bad sportsmanship and stubborn lack of respect for others is what got him banned from entering the third tournament in the first place.
-Entrance to the Battle Room-
After being teleported back to the Mansion, the smashers walked out from the Battle Room and exchanged praise and words of encouragement until Toon Link approached Falco.
"That was fun match, I hope to battle you again someday!" Toon Link said cheerfully and extended his hand for a hand shake.
"Sure, I love to bash the skulls of little, camping, elven brats like you!" Falco said sadistically. The young Hylian's eyes began to water and he ran away crying.
"That was a little too harsh Falco!" Scolded Fox as he joined into the group.
"Whatever, he had it comin' to him for campin' in the ledge all day!" The blue bird responded.
Meanwhile, holographic screens began to pop out throughout the entire mansion, and the tournament's new anthem began to play.
"It's time! For this week's Smash Highlights!" The announcer could be heard through the whole mansion so everyone could see and hear this weekly event.
"To start off, we will be looking at hilarious incidents that ocurred this week in the category, Super Smash Blunders!" The title was made up of goofy letters which popped on the screen.
The screen then suddenly transitioned to a recorded battle of Falco fighting Yoshi. The green dinosaur was trapped in Falco's spinning Jab attack, the finishing blow sent Yoshi flying back into the offstage. Falco arrogantly followed him offstage with the intent of spiking him down. When the two fighters were face to face offstage, Falco used his Down Air spin kick too soon and was then punished by Yoshi's Forward Aerial headbutt, dunking him hard into the bottom of the screen.
Falco's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped as he remembered that embarrassing battle that took place 2 days ago. He could hear Donkey Kong and Megaman suddenly burst into laughter. The song, Yoshi's Island - Obstacle Course began to play, which provided comic effect as it transitioned to multiple clips that all involved Falco missing the spike and falling offscreen afterwards.
Clip after clip, Falco's ego fell as the screen kept showing what he dreaded the most, failure. He could never tolerate it, although many would say that it helps becoming stronger by learning from mistakes, failure felt like the universe was taunting him for not being good enough. This made Falco obsessed with avoiding failure, every bit of success got into head and warped his mind. 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger' they said, but you never know what will actually kill you, and Falco wasn't going to let failure kill him anytime soon.
*CRASH!*
A hole was left on the roof of the mansion. What seemed to be a meteor that fell from the sky has crashed down right on Falco. The incapacitated bird suffered a few cracked ribs from the impact. He felt the object that was crushing him, it was like holding a puffy beachball. It wasn't heavy at all, but getting hit by it with tremendous force and speed would be painful to anybody. Dazed, Falco opened his eyes and was greeted with pink and two light-blue eyes filled with vengeance.
Jigglypuff has finally returned after she was sent flying because of her broken shield. Donkey Kong, Megaman, and Fox stared in confusion. Her sudden reappearance also made them realize why she was absent for all the battles that she was scheduled to participate in today.
"Puff!" Jigglypuff squeaked in fury, she grabbed Falco by the throat and brought his face closer to hers. Falco immediately knew what horrible fate he was going to meet when she fell asleep right on top of her betrayer.
*KEEEEEEING!* The sound echoed through the entire mansion.
-Later in Robin's Room-
Robin jumped to his bed after finally returning to his room, after a day of dishonorable schemes, guilt, and injuries. He sighed in relief as he never truly needed a well deserved rest until now. His roommate Luigi sat in the bed next to Robin's, quiet and deep in thought as always.
"Umm.. Robin?" Luigi's voice interrupted Robin's slow descent into sleep. The tactician turned his head and faced him to signify he was paying attention.
"Yes Luigi?" He said quietly because of his exhaustion and deteriorating drowsiness.
"About the time when I fought Charizard, did you really mean to say those things to me?" Luigi asked, his roommate remembered when he told him he was stronger than he thought, and asked him what he would do when Mario isn't with him anymore.
"Yes and no."
Luigi was confused at his roommate's oxymoronic answer.
"Yes, because I truly have faith in your abilities, and you are better than what you give yourself credit for. No, because it was a desperate move of me to pressure you like that with such a personally sensitive topic." Robin further explained.
"It's okay Robin, it's just that I thought about what you said during the fight and it triggered something in me. I felt angry and like my bro's life depended on me, my instinct told me I couldn't afford to lose that fight." The green plumber said.
"The bonds that you share with your brother are impressive." The white-haired Plegian said.
"I'd say Mario is very lucky to have a brother like you, the reason why you are strong in battle is because of your selfless motivation. Unlike most fighters, you don't pursue victory for praise and glory, but you dedicate all of your strength to protect those close to you." Robin could see how much he had in common with his roommate, remembering his hours of studying strategy and tactics to keep all of his comrades alive before every skirmish.
"Thank you...friend." Luigi said softly while giving a sincere smile.
*Knock* *Knock*
Their moment of silence was broken when they heard someone knocking on the door.
"Excuse me, I'd like to request permission to come in." Robin froze at that familiar voice.
"It's me Lucina, Sir Meta Knight told me Robin wanted a word with me?" 'That dastard!' Robin thought. He could no longer delay what he actually desired, Luigi nodded at him with a "Now-or-never." look.
"P-p-please c-come in!" Robin stuttered uneasily, feeling much like his Italian roommate.
The door knob twisted and Robin saw the gate of heaven open. He was speechless at the sight of seeing the Ylissean princess. Expecting to see the Exalt in her regal combat attire and Falchion in her hilt, he was greeted with a young blue-haired woman wearing a simple white dress. Robin couldn't help but admire her natural and delicate beauty. Before she is a princess, before she is a warrior, she is a woman, this was Lucina in her purest form.
"Lucina, why are you wearing that?" Robin couldn't help asking, causing Lucina to slightly blush. Even she knew that it was unusual of her to be wearing such casual clothing.
"The other Smash Ladies persuaded me to wear a dress, I didn't realize Princess Toadstool was so strict with her princess dress code." Robin wasn't so sure that she was being completely honest after remembering the message Samus recorded in her room. Saying that her fellow Smash Ladies would hold Lucina against her will to use her as their dress-up doll.
"I hope it isn't too showy, is it?" Lucina said shyly.
"Not at all, you are modest by nature, I can see why the other girls picked that dress for you. You actually look... kinda cute." Robin's comment made her blush again, realising what he just said.
"Back to the topic at hand, is there something you wanted to say to me?" The bluenette snapped out of her trance.
"I believe Meta Knight is mistaken, I have nothing important to say." Robin said hesitantly, his roommate frowned in disbelief and Lucina gave a slight expression of dissappointment. Robin immediately felt regret gouging at his heart in his decision.
"Oh, I deeply apologize if I wasted you time..." She said sadly as she slowly turned to leave the room. Guilt then joined regret in torturing Robin's emotions, he quickly got up to approach the princess without thinking.
"Lucina wait!" He said in a slight panic, he was now tightly grasping her arms. His grip softened when he realized he was making Lucina uncomfortable. At his point he realized there was no turning back, he stared into her blue eyes and spoke. Gods, those deep, beautiful eyes...
"I wasn't really being entirely honest with you, I have something I have been hiding from you. Something I should've told you long ago."
"You are a comrade and a dear friend of mine, we fought together and have supported each other in time of weakness. But something in my heart keeps making me wish we were more than that." Robin's face reddened along with Lucina.
"I am in a time of weakness right now because..." Robin said struggling with his emotions, his heart was beating at an alarming rate. Why did he have stop before these very words?
"Because what?" Lucina asked uneasily, Gods! Robin couldn't hold it in any longer, his emotions combusted inside of him like a lit propane tank and said...
"Because I have fallen in love you!" Robin bursted, all that was left inside of him was the aftermath of this emotional catastrophe. He could no longer face the bluenette and covered his face with his hands.
"What?" Lucina blushed even harder at his confession.
"I am sorry, I've fallen helplessly in love with you! All this time I've been avoiding you is because I couldn't have the courage to try to court you. I'm sorry..." Robin weakly repeated in his dismantled state.
Everyone in the room stood silent for what felt like hours, Lucina took in everything Robin has said to her and was putting together a proper response.
"Robin..." She said softly, the tactician slightly turned his head to look at her.
"I just want to say that... that-" Lucina too began to stutter, Robin could only brace himself for the coming words that were about to come out of her. Whether she accepts or rejects him, those words were going to haunt him for the rest of his life.
-TO BE CONCLUDED!