"Alright, folks!" shouted Daisy, stood above her assembled group on a large rock, her legs spread side and her fists on her hips as she looked down at them all. "Are you maggots ready to show your stuff?" The princess emphasized her question by pointing dramatically in front of her. The small crowd below her turned their attention to that direction, taking in the lengthy pit of lava Daisy had shepherded them toward. At the end of the pit was a tall wall with a red flag planted at the top.
"So," Lucina asked cautiously, the overwhelming heat making her wipe some sweat from her brow, "is the idea here just to see who can clear the lava?"
"Ding Ding Ding!" Daisy said. "It's a nice, simple exercise to start out with, dontcha think?"
"And terrifying!" Lucas screeched.
"This is pointless." intoned Dark Pit, snatching one of his wings away from Larry, as the blue-haired Koopaling attempted to fan himself with it.
"Easy for you to say," said Larry, "this sort of thing should be easy for you."
"Aww," cooed Daisy, floating down from her perch and plucking Larry out from his Koopa Kar, holding him in her arms, "I'm sure you can make the jump easy, Larry. Just watch, everyone." With that, Daisy widened her stance yet again and reeled her arm back, the others all shouting in shock as she readied herself to toss Larry over the gorge like a football.
"Wait!" Larry shouted, attempting in vain to stop the sporty Princess. "Wait wai- AAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
The Koopaling was launched by Daisy, soaring through the air as the others looked on in shock.
"What an ARM." Zelda, Link, Ashley, Kumatora, Ness, and Toon all noted together, in awe of Daisy's strength. Kumatora turned to Lucas and gave a playful roll of the eyes as she found the boy couldn't bring himself to watch. Larry's shout continued unabated until he landed smack against the wall on the far side of the lava pit, groaning weakly before he slid down into the lava itself. The moment he made contact, Larry was sent shooting into the air yet again, steam coming off his tail as he raced through the air and landed back into his Kar face first. The somewhat awkward silence that has reigned for a moment was broken by Ashley and Dark Pit breaking into undignified laughter.
"Hey!" came the rich voice of Ludwig, stopping his own siblings' burgeoning laughter as he approached Dark Pit with a glare. "No one can laugh at our brother's misfortune but us!"
"Well what are you gonna do about it?" Dark Pit asked, getting in Ludwig's face with an annoyed glare of his own. Before any violence could break out, Dark Pit found Lucina pulling him away by the arm, just as Ludwig was pulled away by Daisy's grip on his hair. "Hey!"
"Ow, ow, ow!"
"Alright!" Daisy shouted, pumping a fist in the air. "How's that for a first go? He didn't quite make it to the flag, but he sorta cleared the lava. Give him a hand folks!" The princess then released a grumbling Ludwig and crouched down next to the still smoking Larry as the rest of the crowd gave halfhearted or confused applause.
"How ya feelin, Larry?" she asked, as the one in question got himself rightside up despite looking about to pass out.
"Never better, Princess D..." Larry said, giving a weak thumbs up before grabbing the rim of his Kar to steady his nerves. Daisy gave Larry an appreciative pat on the head, before turning innocently to the remaining "contestants."
"Who's next?" she asked.
"I think I'm gonna stay in my Kar for my go." said many of the other Koopalings in tandem. Just then, Young Link looked up at Link Prime and Zelda, before giving a determined nod and rushed in before leaping over the chasm. Young's arc peaked halfway to his goal, and just as he began his descent down towards the lava, the adolescent Hylian pulled out his hookshot and fired. The contraption speared itself onto the wall, pulling Young along with it until the boy was stood triumphantly next to the flag.
"Hey, that's cheating!" Toon shouted instinctually once Link Prime and Zelda began clapping for Young's win. "...isn't it?"
"There's nothing in the rulebook that says he can't use a hookshot," Daisy noted jovially. "Mainly cause I didn't write a rulebook."
"Don't worry so much." Zelda said, crouching down next to Toon and giving him a reassuring smile. "You have a hookshot too, right?"
The young boy looked away and muttered quietly in response.
"What was that?" Zelda asked, cupping a hand to her ear to hear better.
"Master Hand confiscated it." Ness clarified for his friend, shaking his head in mock disappointment.
"Well why on Earth would he do that?" Zelda asked, head tilted.
"Yeah," asked Link Prime with a more accusatory tone, directed at Ashley, "I wonder why."
"We used it for a pulley system to yank Luigi out of his bed for a prank one time," was the witch's casual answer, shrugging her shoulders as Prime and Zelda glared at her. "It was funny!"
Any further conversation was stifled when everyone heard Toon yelling dramatically as he leapt off the ledge and over the chasm of lava, having had enough of the talking. Sadly, the boy only managed to propel himself a little over halfway across before falling onto the lava and suffering a similar fate to Larry earlier. In fact, he landed right on top of Larry himself, both boys groaning in pain as the other Koopalings laughed and Daisy provided enthusiastic encouragement.
"Toon!" Ashley yelped, rushing over along with Ness and Lucas and putting a hand on Toon's shoulder. "Are you ok?"
Toon gave a curt nod, looking not at his friends but at Young, who had quickly recaptured Prime and Zelda's attention upon arriving back over the lava. "I'm fine. And whatever weird game thing is up next...I'm gonna win."
"It's Sandbag Time!" Daisy cried after the lava-hop had come to a close. Without the brunette princess tossing them like sports equipment, the other Koopalings had actually managed to complete that trial successfully, giving them only further cause to tease their brother.
Dark Pit had remained bored as crossing the chasm proved not remotely difficult, though if one was paying attention they'd see a bit of pride on his face as Lucina (who hadn't quite made it herself) praised him for the accomplishment.
Zelda was met with similar praises by Prime when they had respectively succeeded and failed. As her shout would indicate, Daisy had led them all to the Sandbag field. "You know the deal, people! Who can hit him the furthest?"
"I'm going first!" Toon said, eager to make up for his performance over the lava pit. Wasting no time, the green clad boy proceeded to wail on the bag before grabbing for the bat and, at the last of ten seconds, sending the poor bag flying. Everyone present used a hand to better their vision as they tracked the sandbag through the air, and then eventually sliding along the ground until it reached a stop.
"522.6 meters!" Daisy yelled, throwing her arms up in excitement. Toon was met with Prime and Zelda ruffling his hair, a light punch on the shoulder from Ashley, and an encouraging smile from young, before the moment was rudely interrupted by Morton snatching the bat and shoving Toon away by his face.
The Koopalings, Dark Pit, Lucina, Prime, Zelda, and Young all took their turns, and it was on that last one that Toon waited with bated breath.
"522.6 meters!" Daisy yelled.
"WHAT!?" Toon and Prime yelled in shock and bemusement as Ashley tried to stifle a laugh. Ness grinned, walking up and clapping Young Link on the back before taking his own turn, Paula and Poo providing emphatic encouragement. The dark haired boy, already more than used to a bat, sent the Sandbag flying only a bit further than his contemporaries.
Up last was Lucas, surrounded by Kumatora and Boney. The blonde shifted nervously from foot to foot, looking at the bat in his hand, then into the eyes of Sandbag.
"I...I can't!" he stuttered out, "I don't wanna hurt it!"
Sighing, Kumatora merely patted the boy on the shoulder and directed a shrug at Daisy.
"Don't you worry a hair on your cute little head." Daisy said quickly, kneeling beside Lucas and gently grabbing the bat from him. "You don't have to do anything that you don't want to. I don't want anyone here to feel pressured."
With that said, the princess stood up and, in one fluid motion, reared back and smacked the bat against the Sandbag. With Lucas crying out in shock and everyone else keeping their eyes on the bag, they watched as it ended up landing with a clean smack, bottom first, farther than any of the rest of them had managed. The crowd stood staring at Daisy with their jaws on the floor.
"How did you-?" Ness started.
"No time to talk next thing let's go!" Daisy said, pulling Lucas and Kumatora with her as she led the others onward, Boney following along happily.
Daisy gleefully led the others on a further series of games, including target smash. The idea was to knock a bomb in such a way that it would take out the most targets upon exploding, but Daisy had to call that game off when the Koopalings opted instead to see who could ricochet their bomb off walls and platforms in just the right way to explode on Dark Pit, followed by Ness, then Lucas.
The assurances that the boys were alright were the only things that stopped almost everyone else present from outright attacking the Koopa Kids. They, of course, had abandoned the game only AFTER Young Link got a higher score than the frustrated Toon Link.
The next game up was a test of archery, in which Dark Pit was the clear victor, with Link Prime a close second and Zelda, Toon and Young trailing close behind.
Ness had barely hit any targets, but seemed to enjoy himself all the same, and Kumatora had decided to take Lucas' hands in her own and help him draw and aim his bow.
Both were ultimately clueless and needed up hitting zero targets, but rather than disappointment their time was filled with good natured laughter at their shared klutziness.
Lucina did decently, while the Koopalings once again ignored their designated targets altogether and instead settled for chasing each other around and pelting each other with arrows.
Whilst the others took to congratulating the haughty Dark Pit, Ashley couldn't help but notice that Toon had taken to standing apart from the crowd, staring at his feet and absentmindedly kicking the dirt.
"You ok?" The raven-haired girl asked, reaching out to place a hand on Toon's shoulder. Before she could get an answer, the little swordsman pushed her behind himself and put up his shield, just in time for a wayward arrow to lodge into it with a loud "THWOK!"
Ashley was distracted from her questioning of her friend as she went over to rant at the careless Koopalings. Toon sighed and watched as Roy was outed as the offender by his siblings, Ashley yanking the bow out of his hand and breaking it over his head.
"SWIMMING!" Daisy announced succinctly after she dragged them all to the Great Bay. "First to the over side of the bay wins! Losers suck toes!"
"This should be a sure win for you." Ashley said, patting Toon on the back as they stood amongst the others waiting in line for Daisy to start them off. "You grew up surrounded by water, right?"
Toon only nodded apprehensively, saying nothing as he stripped down to his undershorts. The blonde's sudden near-nakedness caused Ashley to fling her hands over her eyes, her cheeks as red as her clothes.
"Jeez!" she yelled, rushing away from the impromptu starting line. "Warn a girl first, would ya?"
"Hold my sword and stuff please." Toon asked, tersely, ignoring her comments.
"On your marks!" Daisy yelled, arm raised. "Get set!"
"Uh, hey," Dark Pit's voice rang out, him being the only one who hadn't changed into some kind of swimwear, "can I sit this one out? The wings aren't really conducive to-"
"GO!"
Dark Pit was cut off as the rush of smashers diving into the Bay knocked him into the water where he proceeded to flop and splash uselessly like a Magikarp.
"CANNON BALL!" Morton shouted as he pounded into the water, the splash coating all those who had stayed on land to observe (in this case Ashely, Kumatora, Paula and Poo), with Poo blinking hard as the girls wiped damp hair fr out of their faces. Morton himself quickly hit the bottom of the bay...and found that he was too heavy to rise up again. "...uh oh." he said, before covering his mouth in a panicked effort to conserve air.
The other Koopalings had taken the smarter approach, ticking into their shells and sliding over the water as they spun to the other side of the Bay. Lucina managed to keep pace with Daisy, and when both girls reached the end they gave a high five, before noting that the Koopas had already made it and were huddled together, leering at them haughtily.
The next to arrive were Link Prime and Young Link, the two sharing a wide smile as they sat together on the shore, Prime commencing a chat that only got more animated when Zelda arrived on shore.
A ways away, Lucas and Ness arrived in tandem, followed closely by Toon Link. The Hero of the Winds looked far off to see where the others had surfaced, his frustration and disappointment clear on his face.
"Did EVERYONE get here before me?" he asked.
"Um..." Lucas started, stepping his fingers before smiling halfheartedly out at the water, "you were faster than Boney".
Toon looked back out at the water to see the small, fluffy dog paddling without a care in the world, only halfway across the Bay at this point. He reeled back around on a now scared Lucas, growling "Surprisingly that doesn't make me feel better!"
As Lucas shrank away, Ashley arrived in a puff of purple smoke that made all three of the young boys around her leap in surprise.
"Got your clothes." the witch said plainly, holding out Toon's garments for him. The girl's head remained tilted away from her friend, her cheeks still ablaze. Without even looking at her, the boy took the clothes and began to put them on, still staring at Young, Prime, and Zelda.
"Look at them." Toon muttered. "They're so caught up in each other they didn't even see that I'm here!"
"What?" Ashley, Ness, and Lucas all asked in unison. Ignoring them, Toon stormed off into a nearby brush, though his three friends followed closely behind.
"Toon!" Ness called after the blonde pushing his way through the foliage. "What's gotten into you? It's just a race, right? No big deal."
"Don't tel me you're jealous of Young Link." Ashley said, eyes narrowed and arms crossed.
"No!" Toon shouted, louder than he'd meant to. He'd stopped walking, but still hadn't turned to face them. "I mean- that's- UGH! It's not just Young, ok? It's everyone!"
"W-what do you mean?" Lucas asked.
"I MEAN I've been failing or middling through all of these games!" Toon finally turned to face his friend trio, his face red and eyes watery. "The bombs, arrows, the chasm- I couldn't even beat you two at swimming!" Here he pointed at both Lucas and Ness, before turning to Ashley. "Like you said, this should've been easy for me. But I couldn't even stand out here."
"Well to be fair," Ness said, "you have really little legs. That probably didn't help." This comment was met with a hard punch from Ashley and a glare from Lucas. "Ow! ...sorry."
Toon chuckled. Then he moved to a nearby tree, slumping against it and burying his face in his hands with a frustrated squeal.
"There's only, like, fifteen of us here today doing this stuff. When the REAL games start, I'm gonna have to prove that I deserve to be here beyond some dumb luck of Master Hand wanting everyone around. I'm gonna have to stand out when there's more than sixty of us! And I-I...just can't."
The boy sat down and buried his head in his arms, his friends all unsure of what to say or do. They looked at each other, all unaware until then that Toon held such an insecurity.
Ashley was the first to move, sitting beside Toon Link and hesitating, before placing a hand on his shoulder. Before either of the other boys could move, they all became aware of a shadow hovering over them. Looking up, the kids were only momentarily startled before recognizing the figures as Daisy.
"Hey there kids!" the Princess greeted brightly. "All the others were starting to get worried about ya, so I said I'd come looking around for you. What's got all of you huddled over here?"
Rather than receiving any quick answers, Daisy watched as Toon Link simply huddled back into himself, Ashley almost instantly forgetting the older woman's presence in her attempt to coax him back into good spirits.
Ness and Lucas looked between each other, the latter giving a nervous shrug before the former looked up and began to explain the situation. Daisy knelt down in front of Ness to be more on his level, and her face fell as she heard of the fears that her games had brought out in Toon Link.
"Oh..." She said once Ness had finished. "Oh man..."
The princess stood up and walked over to Toon, squatting down next to him and tapping his shoulder. "Hey Toon...?"
"Yeah?" The green clad child asked.
"I'm sorry."
"What for? You didn't do anything wrong."
"No," Daisy insisted, "I did. I didn't mean to all this pressure on you guys- these games were just supposed to be harmless fun. I wasn't looking to make anyone prove themselves to me or anything. I should've noticed one of you was feeling down about the whole thing, but I was so caught up in giving everyone a good time I shot myself in the foot." The princess clapped her own forehead dramatically. "Classic Daisy, getting carried away again..."
"...'s okay." Toon said with a sniff. "I didn't mean to bring down the fun times. I don't even know why I'm so worried about this stuff. It's not like being more lame than anyone else is gonna get me kicked out anytime soon. It's just...it was hard enough to stand out when it was just me under Prime's shadow. Now there's THREE of us, not to mention the rest of you. You're all so cool! I feel like I have to try as hard as possible not to-to..."
"Hey." Daisy said gently, running a hand through Toon's blonde locks. "Like I said, this was supposed to be about fun. And isn't that what this whole thing is about? Forget about being better or worse than anyone else, or even standing out. I cribbed pretty much all my moves from Peach, but I don't let that bother me because what matters is that we're all having a good time. Plus, it's not like you have to worry about standing out TOO much when you're easily the cutest of the Links."
The princess punctuated this with an exaggerated smooch to Toon Links cheek, making the boy giggle and push her off of him. Ness and Lucas smiled seeing their friend laugh again, but Ashley merely narrowed her eyes and gripped Toon Link's arm.
"Ha!" Daisy said with a pointed finger. "Made ya laugh. Now come on you big sad sack. The way I see it we're only here to enjoy ourselves; if that ever proves a problem for ya again, let Aunt Daisy know about it and she'll put a smile back on your face. You don't ever have to worry about proving yourself to anybody. Sound good?" She extended a hand to help Toon up as she asked her question.
"...Sounds good." Toon answered, grabbing her hand and letting himself be lifted up. Ashley's continued grip on his arm went without comment, though it was quickly joined by Ness and Lucas glomming onto the other pair for a group hug. While Ashley squirmed, slightly uncomfortable, Toon returned the hug gratefully.
As the small group reconnected with the others, Daisy and the kids were greeted warmly by their friends. Lucas and Ness gravitated toward Paula, Poo, Boney and Kumatora, while Prime stepped over to Toon and ruffled his hair playfully, earning another giggle.
This time, Ashley gave a small smile at the sound.
"Hey buddy." Prime said, gesturing Toon over to Zelda and Young. "We missed you there for a minute. Everything ok?"
Toon looked from Ashley, to Prime, to Zelda, and finally to Young, sharing a smile with each of them.
"Everything's great." He said.
"Hey look!" Ashley noted, pointing to the water. "Looks like you weren't the last one here after all."
Arriving long after even Boney, flopping onto the shore red faced and out of breath, was Dark Pit, glaring at the others as the all failed to stifle laughs at his absurdly late entrance.
"I...hate...swimming!" The dark angel muttered between breaths, flopping onto his back and panting heavily.
"...5,6,7,..." Daisy muttered, performing a headcount on the Koopalings. "We're missing someone!"
The Koopa Kids all looked around at each other, momentarily confused before a collective gasp rang out.
"MORTON!"
Without another word, the Koopalings all dived back into the water in search of their missing sibling, each one yelling a curse or insult to the large brown sibling's intelligence before they dove in.
"Oh boy..." Prime muttered. More amused than concerned, he nudged both other Links with an elbow. "Wanna help them look?"
"Yeah!" Toon said, tanking off his shirt and pants as Young gave an enthusiastic nod, making Ashley blush and look away again. "Sounds like it could be fun!"
"That's the spirit!" Daisy said, joining the three Links as they ran out to the water. Sooner rather than later, Morton was found and lifted sputtering from the bottom of the bay. Rather than stop there, however, the assorted smashers all decided to make the most of the bay and simply play amongst themselves in the water. For a few hours they went about enjoying themselves, all having so much fun that Toon forget why he'd ever been upset in the first place.
All except Dark Pit, that is. He stayed on the shore, pouting like a grump
A/N: Not gonna lie, for as much time as this took and as long as it is, this chapter felt a bit rushed from the inside looking out. We were eager to get it out before the Smash direct on the 8th (fingers crossed for playable Ashley). Here's hoping you enjoyed it despite some wonky pacing. The subject matter of next chapter is up in the air, so if anyone has suggestions/things they want to see from this story, we'd love to hear them.
Addendum: Looks like we didn't make it (and neither did playable Ash). BUT DID YOU SEE THAT DIRECT THOUGH! MY GOD SAKURAI, GIVE YOURSELF SOME REST! YOU'RE TOO GOOD TO US!