"Mmmmmmnnngh," a moan escaped Mario's mouth as he awoken from his drunken slumber.

"He's waking up!" Zelda thought to herself.

"Unnnnghhhh," Mario finally sat up in his chair and rubbed his eyes several times to clear his blurry vision. He then looked beside him and saw a short-tall rubbing his eyes for the last time, he finally identified the blurry figure, "Princess Z-Zelda?"

"Greetings Mario. Are you alright?" Zelda asked. Mario looked around his surroundings to get a full understanding of where he rubbed his aching forehead due to him repeatedly slamming it on the wooden, round table.

"Princess Zelda? What are you a-doing here?"

"I was going to ask you the same question, but I already know your reasons. Peach was worried for your whereabouts,so I joined her in her journey in search for you. And now I've found you," Mario made a loud, depressing groan which surprised Zelda, but then she remembered reading his thoughts and realized why he seemed so lost in the clouds, "Mario, I think it's time for . I need to inform Peach that your safety is secured.

"Oh what's the point? Miss a-Peach barely knows who I am anymore," Mario said depressingly.

"Her memory is still intact Mario," Mario slowly rose his head from the wooden table and looked at Zelda.

"Wait a minute. How do you know about her a-memory?" Mario asked.

"Well um. You see Mario, when I found you here in your slumber, I read your mind and scanned your previous thoughts. My only reason for doing so was to know what were your reasons for thriving in this...environment," Zelda explained.

Mario grabbed the 1-UP beer bottle from the table and threw it the wall in front of them.

"Mario!" Zelda screamed as she looked back at Toadstool who gave a friendly wave to the both of them before going back to washing the shot cups,"Mario! There's no need for you to act like this! Everything will be alright!" Zelda whispered.

"How do you know that everything will be alright?! You don't what it's like to lose a-someone that you loved for years!" Mario screamed. Zelda stared deep into Mario's eyes and could see the fire burning deep in them and sighed to herself.

"Me and Link have parted ways Mario," Zelda quietly said. Mario's angered expression had quickly changed to a shocked expression. He never imagined the most eldest couple to break up after what they've both been through.

"You and a-Link broke up?" Zelda's answer to Mario's question was a nod.

"So is that why your mascara is running down your a-face? Because you've been crying?" Mario asked.

"Mascara on my face? What are you-" Zelda rubbed her left cheek with her gloved hand and saw the dark mascara on her hand, "I've been looking like this since yesterday! And Peach didn't even inform me!" Mario groaned in sadness in hearing the maiden's name that he had known for decades, "Oh! I apologize Mario," Zelda said as she grabbed a chair from another table and sat beside Mario.

"Why did you and a-Link break up?" Mario asked as he looked Zelda. She sighed to herself as she looked at the knife carvings on the wooden table. She honestly didn't want to talk about her feud with Link because deep down, she knew it was her fault that Link had hated her. But in order to break Mario from his depression, she had no choice but to release the burden that caused hers'.

"Our reason for separating was because... we both realized that us being together could put Hyrule in peril, so we decided that being companions was the wiser decision," Zelda said. Mario looked at her as if she was talking to him in a different language.

"T-that was your reason?" Mario said. Zelda barely nodded her head in response while avoiding eye contact with him, "well at least Link knows your existence."

"Look Mario," Zelda placed her hand on Mario's shoulder to comfort, "I know things may not be the same with Peach. But no matter what circumstance or what situation you're in, things will always turn out right in the end."

"How can things be normal when Miss a-Peach can't barely remember who I am anymore?" Mario whined.

"Mario. If Peach forsaken your existence then she would have never attempted to come search for you here in the first place. Her bond for you is so strong, every ounce of her memory could disappear, and she would still think of you. Don't lose sight of what's important to you Mario," Zelda said.

"Y-you really think things will be a okay?" Mario said as he slowly began to rise his head up.

"Mario, where hasn't been the time where you saved Peach from the most impossible rescue missions?" Zelda said. As hard as he tryed push out Zelda's wise words, he couldn't help but admit that she's right. He's saved Peach from impossible rescue missions. How hard would it be to save her from this problem? Toadstool grabbed a remote from under the counter and pressed the power button to turn on the T.V. at the front of the bar.

"Hello welcome to Smash T.V.! I am your one and only news reporter Waluigi and we are recording live at the Smash Bros. stadium!" Waluigi announced.

"What? Waluigi is reporting the tournament?" Mario asked.

"Today we are currently recording the Super Smash Bros. Invitational tournament and we are in the finale week of the tournament! The tournament is being hosted by the marvelous and wonderful Smash Bros. housefather, Crazy Hand!" Waluigi said as Crazy Hand floated from the left side pf the screen.

"Ah ha ha ha! Thank you for that wonderful entrance Waluigi! It sure is a wonderful day to smash isn't it? And I'm sure viewers all over the world who are viewing the tournament right now are anxious to see who will come out on top today!" Crazy Hand as he held the microphone between his index finger and thumb.

"They aren't the only one who's anxious! Seeing these warriors come out and beat each other up makes me want to join the battle as well! I think I'll be great representative, Don't ya think Crazy?" Waluigi as he nudged Crazy Hand's thumb several times.

"Oh I wouldn't count on it! Ha ha ha!" Crazy Hand laughed as Waluigi pouted in disappointment; his dream of being a representative for Smash were crushed.

"Ahem!" Crazy Hand cleared his throat.

"Oh! Well Mr. Crazy Hand, do you think you could give us any highlights of the top ranked fighters?"

"Well I certainly love to! We have a handful of fighters who are doing a decent job holding their name in the tiers. But the top 3 fighters who cripple the competition are Samus Aran from the 'Metroid' series, Little Mac from ''Punch Out' series, and Mr. Video Game Himself, Mario!"

"Hmph. I would have been surprised if my Luigi made it into the finals, but his brother ehhhh not so much," Waluigi said.

"The tournament will resume in an hour! To all those who are viewing, make sure you tune in if you want to find out who makes it into the grand finals!" Crazy Hand said before Toadstool muted the T.V.

"Mario, we need to get you back to tbe mansion so you can get ready for your match," Zelda said.

"Oh what's the point? Everything is pointless at this a-point," Mario said.

"But Mario-"

"Mario. You need to go to the mansion now," a kid-like voice made Zelda and Mario turn their heads to the figure looking back at them.

"Toadstool?" Mario said.

"I thought his name was Stooltoad," Zelda thought.

"Mario you need to get to that tournament if you don't to be disqualified," Toadstool said.

"Why do I have to? Peach probably forgot that it's my a-fight."

"Why do you think she would forget? The only thing Peach cares about the most besides the Mushroom Kingdom is you Mario," Marios lifted his head up from the wooden table and looked at Toad.

"How do you know that?"

"Are you kidding? Princess Peach always talks about you whenever I'm on duty! She always says how she's thankful for having a hero like you, and even said that the kingdom wouldn't be safe if it wasn't for you!"Toad said.

"Re...really?" Mario said.

"Mario, are you really doubting yourself right jow? You are Princess Peach's beacon in the storm!" Mario listened closely to Toad's encouraging words and looked at Zelda who politely smiled at him.

"Well Mario? Are you-" before Zelda could finsh her sentence, Mario grabbed his trademark cap from the wooden table and placed it on his head.

"Come on Zelda! We have to get down to the stadium!" Mario said. Zelda's face lit up with happiness after she heard those words come out of his mouth.

"Right away Mario," Mario soon jumped out of the wooden chair and took off while Zelda waited for him completely leave the bar. After he was fully out of the door, she turned to Toadstool and crouched down to his size, "Thank you Toadstool for giving Mario some words of encouragement."

"No problem Princess Zelda! By the way, my name is Stooltoad," Toadstool said. Zelda gave him an irritated look and walked in slience.

"This kingdom is peculiar." Zelda thought.

"So are you ready for the big tournament?" Little Mac asked.

"I have no interest in this naive tournament. I don't think violence should be authorized for meer entertainment," Samus said as she drank the rest of her coffee.

"Wow. Really?"

"Yes...what's wrong?" Samus asked.

"Huh?"

"Well, after I gave my opinion on fighting, you had a shocking reaction as if I said something wrong..."

"Oh yeah. Well I was surprised that you're against fighting since uhhh-"

"Since what?" Samus cut him off. Sweat began to drizzle down on Little Mac's neck. He didn't think Samus would act susceptible over something as small as this. But then again, women were masters sensing something wrong.

"Well...it's just that...well since you're a bounty hunter, I thought that you were just used to-"

"Killing?" Samus guessed the word Little Mac was trying to say. He slowly nodded his head in response, "you should be aware that I never murdered an actual human being before."

"How many bounties have you collected?" Little Mac asked.

"According to my Federation record, I have collected approximately two-thousand four bounties," Little Mac chocked on his graham bar after Samus finished her sentence, "what's wrong?"

"Sorry *cough* I'm just amazed at the amount of bounties you have!" Little Mac said.

"Oh well thank you, but it's nothing that special."

"It's not special to you? I don't think anyone has ever reached that number before...not that I know anything about bounty hunting anyway," Little Mac said.

"I appreciate your congrats but *beep beep*," Samus looked down on her iPhone and jumped out of her chair in shock.

"What? What is it?" Little Mac said concerned.

"I'm an fifty-three minutes late for my mission! I have to get going!" Samus quickly turned around and ran out of the mess hall.

"Wait!"But before he could stop her, Samus was already at the end of the corridor. Little Mac sighed to himself. He wad once again left alone, "I didn't even get her name..."

"ALL REMAINING FIGHTERS REPORT TO THE TRANSPORT ROOM TO BE LAUNCHED TO THE ARENA. THE TOURNAMENT WILL RESUME IN TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES!" Crazy Hand said on the intercom.

"Well. I guess I'm going there alone," Mac said as he dragged himself to his destination. He didn't even feel like fighting anymore.

"Alrighty Crazy! The tournament is almost done! What are going to a-do after it's finished?" Waluigi asked.

"Hmm well I'm not sure. Thanks to this tournament, I have more than enough money to keep running the Smash Bros. program, so maybe I'll stick to keeping my brother's dream running. He is the reason why Smash Bros. was created," Crazy floated to the large window that gave a view to the stadium, "after my brother died, the Smash Bros. program was very close to being shut down. But in order to keep his dream alive, I decided to take his spot as the director.

"Well it's a good thing you did huh?" Waluigi said. Crazy Hand shook his head in response.

"I'm not so sure. My brother always talked about how much he loved this job. It was literally his life. On one part of me, I feel that I have continued his dream and made him proud...but I felt like I've tarnished his image as the director of Smash. I always wonder what would he have said if he were still here..."

"He might've wondered why I'm STILL not a representative for Smash," Waluigi said.

"HAHHAHAHA! Oh Waluigi. I wouldn't make you a fighter for Smash even if I was stabbed in the back!" Crazy Hand said while Waluigi pouted in disappointment once again.

"Hellooooo!" Crazy Hand and Waluigi turned around to see Mario entering the Transport Room with Zelda and Peach walking behind him.

"Well if isn't my nemesis's brother!" Waluigi said.

"*Gasps* YOU," Mario said.

"Good afternoon Madam Peach," Waluigi said as he took hhis cap off in respect.

"Ummm, hello," Peach leaned in close to Zelda, "who is that weird-looking skinny man?"

"I-I don't know. "If Waluigi knows who's Mario brother is, then Peach should recognize him. Her memory is definitely slipping away!" Zelda thought to herself.

"What are you a-doing here? It's bad enough that you're an assist trophy!" Mario said.

"Hmph! Well since you're so curious, I wanted to be a good citizen, so I'm helping Crazy with the tournament," Waluigi explained.

"This doesn't have anything to a-do with you anything to do with you wanted to be a fighter for Smash Bros. is it?" Mario asked with a raised eyebrow.

"N-no! Of course not! I'm not THAT evil! H ehehehehe," Waluigi nervously said.

"Good. Cause you'll never be a fighter for Smash Bros.!," Mario taunted.

"Why you!"

"Waluigi!" Crazy Hand's deep voice made Waluigi froze, "Mario's fight will be starting in ten minutes! Do not waste his energy!" Waluigi put his tennis racket back in his pocket and growled. After a moment of silence, the automatic doors opened which revealed Little Mac slowly walking in.

"Good afternoon Little Mac," Zelda greeted.

"Hey," Little Mac said.

"Hi Little Mac!" Peach said as she ran to him and pinched his cheek, much to the dismay of Mario.

"Hello Mac! Are you ready for your match today?" Crazy Hand said.

"Umm...sure," Zelda could sense something troubling Little Mac, but she thought it had something to do with the match.

"Hmm? What's wrong Mac? Nervous about the big fight?" Crazy asked. Little Mac shook his head. The automatic doors opened once again to reveal Marth, Lucina, and Ike walking in, "Ahh! More new recruits!" Mac turned his head around to look at Ike, who was staring dead at him. Tension began to fill the room the more they continued to stare at each other. Ike looked as if he wanted to say something, but was too cautious to do so.

"Crap. He's here. Well, there's no way to avoid him, so I guess I just gotta be the bigger man," Ike thought to himself. He slowly walked towards the now intimidated boxer in hopes making up from their earlier fray. He stopped in front of the boxer and due to his size, looked down on him.

"So umm, Little Mac. *Sighhhhh*," Ike rubbed the back of his head, "good...luck with your ma-"

"No!" a moment later, Little's Mac boxing glove had soon connected with his face in a flash.

"Ah ow!" Ike's sudden shriek had made everyone turn their heads towards the incident.

"Oh my God! Ike you're bleeding!" Lucina said as she ran towards him, "what happened to you?"

"Gah! That little punk squared me in the nose!" Ike said as he pointed at Mac.

"Only because you were gonna hit me first!" Little Mac yelled back.

"I was trying to give you a hand shake!"

"Whatever! You were probably trying to break my hand or something!"

"BUT YOU BROKE MY NOSE!" seconds later, the automatic doors opened again to reveal Doc Louis in the doorway with a turkey leg in his hand.

"Man oh man this leg is good!" He walked over to where Ike was standing, "hey Ike! I found those found those legs tou told me to look for. Why is your nose bleeding?

"Your junkie student just broke my nose!" Ike yelled. He didn't mean to raise his voice at Doc, but the situation had turned him into an angry time bomb.

"I'm not a junkie! I'm a boxer! Ahhhh!"

"Wait Mac!"Due to how powerful he was, Doc had struggled to keep Mac from attacking Ike.

"YOU'RE DONE," Ike dropped his sword and prepared to charge towards Mac.

"Ike, stop!" Marth and Lucina both screamed as they grabbed his arms to pull him back. Even with their strength combined, it was challenge to hold back the radiant swordsman.

"Hey Hey! Both of you gentlemen need to calm down! Kill each other when your match starts alright?" Crazy Hand said.

"How heartless. He really doesn't care about his fighters at all," Zelda thought.

"Let go of me!" Ike rudely pushed Marth and Lucina from his arms and stomped to the exit.

"Wait Ike! Where are you going?" Lucina asked with concern.

"What do you think I'm gonna do? I'm gonna clean my nose!" Ike stomped out of the exit with rage in his voice.

"Ike wait!" Lucina was about chase after him, but felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

"Let him go. He needs time to calm down," Marth told her. Doc Louis turned around to face Mac.

"Mac, why did you whack him in the nose?" Doc Louis asked.

"I thought he was gonna hit me Doc!. Little Mac replied back.

"And that immediately gives you green light to hit him back? You just don't go around whack people in the face when you're mad Mac," Doc Louis lectured.

"You don't get it Doc. He talked about my mom!"

"It's still wrong Mac! No matter what someone says or does to you, it's not right to use boxing as a weapon for violence!" Doc Louis yelled. After realizing how high his tone was, it was too late to say sorry because Mac was already filled with rage.

"Why are you taking his side? He's the one who started all of this!" Mac said. Doc could tell that Mac was broken from the scolding, but he needed Mac to learn how to be more proactive.

"I'm not taking anyone's side Mac. I just don't want you to go down the same road I did. You gotta understand this," Doc pleaded.

"Oh. I get it now," Little Mac said.

"You do? Well that's great," Doc said with a now enthusiastic tone.

"You just don't want me to surpass you when you were my age!" Doc couldn't believe the words that passed through his eardrum. What could have possibly made Mac believe that?

"Mac, that's not-" Little Mac grabbed Doc's turkey leg and threw it on the Warp pad.

"Mac! What's gotten into you?!" Doc screamed.

"Hey! No littering in the Transport Room! I just polished the floor," Waluigi whined.

"SHUT UP," Mac screamed at Waluigi.

"Yessir," Waluigi quickly Mac turned around to face his mentor.

"I don't need you as my trainer anymore! I can train myself!" Little Mac roughly pushed Doc out of the way and ran out of the automatic doors while Marth and Lucina quickly moved out of his way.

"Wait! Come back Mac! Doc screamed after him as he watched his own student run out on him. He knew he was way too out of shape to chase after him. The room became dead silent.

"AHEM!" Everyone except Doc turned to look at Crazy, "well that was umm... very inintriguing."

"I agree Crazy. That was a-very interesting. This will probably be the best match of the tournament. So much tensiontension will be on the battlefield!" Waluigi said.

"Speaking of the match, how much time do we have till it starts?" Crazy asked. Waluigi looked at his clock.

"Seven minutes."

"SEVEN MINUTES? Where are all of the fighters! Where's Samus?! She's never been late to a match before!"

"I-I don't know who Samus even is!" Waluigi exclaimed.

"Does anyone know where Samus is?" Everyone looked at each other and silently shook their heads at Crazy, where could she be!?"

The gunship came to a halt as it stood still in the depths of space. The giant rocket thrusters in the back of the gunship had ceased to emit flames. The inside of the cockpit could easily melded into the rest due to no sound being made. The hunter impatiently waited as if she were something else to arrive.

"Where could they be? This is the rendezvous point right? I couldn't be wrong," she said to herself. She looked at the hologram by her arm cannon and realized that was indeed late. The hunter made a disappointed sigh and typed in a code on her hologram computer. She slumped on her pilot seat and stared off into the blank space. The dark void ironically resembled the loneliness and isolation that always felt, but she was always used to those feelings. She even tryed to ignore those feelings as if they weren't real; just like tryed to neglect her past.

"INCOMING TRANSMISSION! INCOMING TRANSMISSION!" the computer beeped. The alarm broke the the hunter's tranquility and made her refocus on her main objective. She pressed the hologram pad to receive the transmission.

"This is Samus Aran speaking. Please identify yourself and state your current position," Samus said. There was no answer. Samus checked the volume wavelength to see if she was loud enough for them to hear her, "this is Samus Aran speaking. What is your current position?" There was still no answer from the transmission. Samus began to lose her patience. Was soneone trying to pull a prank on her? If so, who would be bold enough to try to do that?

"This is Samus Ar-"

"Someone out there!? Can you please save us!?" a voice echoed on the transmission. Samus the decreased the sensitivity of the transmission so she could hear it more clearly.

"Hello?! Identity yourself and state your current position!" Samus screamed.

"Someone help us! We need backup! She's slaughtering the platoon! Marlo behind you!" The voice said with terror. Samus began to scan the transmission's coordinates in order to pinpoint where the distress call.

"I'm trying to find your location now! Tell me-"

"No! I surrender! Please stop! Arggghhh!" the voice died out.

"Goodnight my sweet child. Hehehehehe," a female voice said before the transmission finally ended.

"Damn," Samus said.

"MAP UPDATED. COORDINATES HAVE BEEN UPLOADED. SHIP IS READY FOR DESTINATION," the conputer announced. Samus roughly pushed the thruster pedal and rubbed the holographic ship gear.

"I hope I'm not too late," the gunship flew into light speed and disappeared into the darkness.

I am extremely tired today. Districts have started and I have to run 5 races in my track meet tomorrow: 100m dash, 200m dash, 4x1, 4x2, and 4x4. Worst part of the meet is waking up at 6:45 in the morning. Anywho, the Smash Bros. Ballot is still open for suggestions. Who are you voting for? Since Ridley is sadly off the list, I voted for Ray 01 from Custom Robo, and Dark Samus from the Prime series. I still have my fingers crossed for Metroid at E3! Don't forget to review!

~The ShineSparkers