Well, the only real purpose of this chapter is just to provide a small glimpse at some of the newcomers, possibly get a couple chuckles out of you, and really just provide a break from the battles.

I also might as well say this, I do not own any of the characters presented in this story, they are all owned by Nintendo, Sega, or their appropriate companies. Only the mansion is mine.


Chapter 12 Intermission

Upon hearing that Master had called an intermission, nearly everyone got up and stretched before beginning to converse. One of the first groups to form was Pikachu, Plusle, and Minun, with the larger mouse congratulating the smaller ones.

"You guys did great! Congrats on beating those two!" Pikachu exclaims, shaking the other two's paws.

"Thanks, as long as we fight as a team..." Minun's sentence drops off, allowing Plusle to finish with, "We'll always come out on top!"

Pikachu laughs at their enthusiasm. "You two are going to fit right in here. Hang out with me for a while and you'll learn the ropes in a day or two."

Plusle and Minun nod to show that they understood. "Hey...where'd Pichu go?" Minun suddenly asks.

"Eh, he's probably getting attention from the princesses. The little guy loved to hang out with them in Melee...hey, how about I introduce the two of you to another friend of mine?" Another nod from the colored mice is given before the three scamper off towards the far end of the room towards Samus...who was approaching Aile and Ashe.

"Aile?" The bounty hunter asks, donned in her Varia Suit. "Ashe? May I have a few words with you?"

The two teens look up at the armored bounty hunter, with Ashe replying, "Sure."

"I wanted to congratulate Aile on her victory and ask...what exactly is that 'Megamerge' thing you mentioned in your match?"

"Well...its a little complicated." Aile replies.

"I'll probably understand."

"Okay. Well first off, on our planet of Neo-Earth there are several relics called Biometals, and they're sort of like these small intelligent robots."

"And each one has its own personality quirk." Ashe quickly adds.

Aile laughs a little, "Yea, they do. Anyway, a Biometal chooses someone to be its partner, and that allows the two to combine into a more powerful being called a 'Megaman'. That's what Megamerging is without going into tons of detail."

"Interesting." Samus mutters, "So you actually combine with something inorganic? It doesn't become armor?"

"That's right. Well...it does become armor, but it also infuses the human with special powers."

"So why do you ask?" Ashe asks.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sound nosy. I'm an interplanetary bounty hunter that's had to deal with all kinds of technology from the most crude to the hyper-advanced, but I've never heard of Megamerging or Biometals before."

"Samus!" calls Pikachu's voice, getting the three to turn towards the approaching mice. "Plusle, Minun, I'd like you guys to meet Samus, one of my best friends here." The large mouse says while gesturing to the armored figure. Before either of the newcomer mice could say anything, Samus reached down to lift Pikachu off the floor and plant him on her shoulder.

"Its nice seeing you again you little rascal." Samus says, removing her helmet in the process and allowing her long blond hair to fall out, and getting a gasp from the other four.

"You're a girl?!" Plusle and Minun ask in surprise.

"Isn't it obvious from the shape of this armor?" Samus asks, chuckling a little as Pikachu nuzzles against the side of her head.

"So...you're a female bounty hunter?" Aile asks. Samus nods. "Huh...I thought that Ashe and I were the only female hunters here."

"You two are bounty hunters?" Samus asks, raising an eyebrow

"More or less." Ashe replies, "And we're some of the best on our planet."

Suddenly Ashe feels a little weight on her shoulder and looks to see that Plusle had climbed up there, and over on Aile's shoulder was Minun. "Heh, you're kinda cute." Ashe mutters, scratching Plusle under the chin with a finger, much to the red mouse's delight.

"Guess Plusle and Minun have taken a little liking to you." Pikachu comments, still up on Samus' armored shoulder.

Aile giggles a little. "I've taken a little liking to this guy." she says, scratching Minun behind his left ear. "You want to be friends?"

"Sure!" Minun squeaks, happy that a cute girl had grown fond of him so quickly...not like that was hard.

"Say Aile, Ashe...my Varia Suit has a scheduled maintenance check tomorrow. Would you two care to help out? Maybe chat about tech a little afterwards?" Samus asks.

"Why not? I've got nothing better to do." Ashe says, still scratching Plusle under the chin.

"I'll come too."Aile adds.

"Alright. Meet me in the gym after breakfast. Plusle and Minun, you two are welcome to tag along as well."

The small mice nod, they were too hypnotized by the affection Ashe and Aile were giving them to do much else.


Meanwhile, not too far from the group of six, Pit and Toon were going over what to cook up for dinner when Y-Link approached them.

"Hey guys." Y-Link said.

"Hey Young, what's up?" Pit asks.

"I heard that you two were the cooks now, and I wanted to know if I could also be one."

"You want to be a cook?" Toon asks.

"Actually, I already am a cook. I was one during the Melee tournament with Roy. It took forever to teach that guy how to use the stove and blender...anyway, I was hoping you guys would let me be a cook again."

"Sure, we could always use another pair of hands...even if it is just to keep Kirby in check." Toon says, then holds out a hand of friendship, "Welcome back aboard!"

"Thanks guys. I'll do whatever you tell me to, or I can just keep Kirby at bay." Y-Link says while shaking Toon's hand. "Geez, I still remember how much trouble he was during Melee."

"If you mean he was a great annoyance three times per day, then he hasn't changed much." Pit states, "I remember during Brawl he actually painted himself pure white to try and blend in with the tiles. It almost worked since we were so busy with the cooking...until I tripped over him."

"Heh, you think that's bad? I remember during Melee, he tricked Roy into chasing him into the freezer, then darted back out and locked him in! He managed to swallow three large steaks we were getting ready before I found and let Roy out...poor guy never did go near the freezer again." Y-Link counters.

"Yea, that Kirby is a tricky little pest." Toon says, "Hey, speaking off the little puffball, where the hell did he go?"

The three cooks begin glancing around the crowded living room, but see no sign of Kirby. After about ten seconds, the three turn to look at each other while their eyes grow wide.

"Kirby!" Pit yells before speeding out the living room door.

"Get out of the kitchen!" Toon and Y-Link add, hot on Pit's heels.


Lloyd was stretching a little over by one of the couches, getting a kink out of his neck, when Marth and Ike approached. "Hey, its Lloyd right?" The prince asks.

"That is right, but who are you to ask my name?" The young man asks while turning to face the prince.

Both of the other swordsmen stare at him with a blank look. "...what?" Ike finally asks after a couple seconds.

Lloyd sighs, "Who are you?"

"Oh...well, I'm Ike." The mercenary says.

"And I'm Marth. We're some of the other swordsmen, and we wanted to welcome you here."

"Hmm...would you mind if I saw your swords?" Lloyd asks.

Ike is the first to unsheathe his sword, a long golden blade that had a bulge at the end and a large, ebony-black handle, balancing its weight easily in one hand. "This is my blade, Ragnell."

"Impressive, you're using a two-handed blade in one hand." Lloyd comments.

"I'm that strong. So you'd better watch yourself when going against me." Ike growls.

Lloyd cringes a little at the large man's tone, only because it was so harsh. Marth gives Lloyd a friendly pat on the back before saying, "Don't worry, Ike always sounds that way." He ignores a glare from the stockier man and draws out his sword, a fine weapon that had a long silver blade, a red jewel in the handle where it met the blade and a green jewel down at the other end. "This my noble blade, Falchion."

Marth then gestures to the left at Link, "That guy over there also has a powerful blade, the Master Sword and...uhh..." Marth pauses to look around, "Meta Knight's blade is called Galaxia, but I don't know where the little guy went off to."

"It doesn't matter." Lloyd replies, drawing his two blades and holding them across one another in the shape of an 'X'. They resembled simple blades, with a basic brown handle and a long blade that had a notch at the end, but the interesting was that they both had a faint glow to them, one blue and the other orange. "These are my blades, Vorpal," he gestures at the blue sword, "and Flameberge," he tilts the orange one a little, "however they can combine into the Eternal Sword."

"Hmm, sounds powerful." Ike comments. "We'll have to see if its as strong as Ragnell."

"If I do not fight you in my introductory match, I extend a challenge for a normal one." Lloyd states.

"Challenge accepted kid, just don't be upset when I win." Ike replies.


"So Blaze, are you enjoying your stay here?" Lucario asks, "Its not too boring is it?"

"Boring? Are you kidding? Its awesome watching those fights!" Blaze replies.

"Just wait until the season really starts, then its going to be fun."

"Excuse me...Lucario?" asks a voice from behind the Pokemon. He turns to see Colette there.

"Yes Colette? What is it?"

"I wanted to say thanks again for that berry, it really helped me."

"No thanks are needed Colette, it was my pleasure to help a newcomer feel welcome. Aguav berries can get pretty bitter, but nothing works better for upset stomachs." Lucario replies, giving the young angel a short-lived smile in the process.

"Hey! Luca!" yells Falco's voice, "Get over here! I want ya to meet Krystal!"

"Pardon me ladies." Lucario politely says while bowing, then departs to see his other friend.

"So Colette, you're part angel?" Blaze asks.

"Uh-huh." Colette replies while nodding, "I was supposed to become a full angel, but after journeying with Lloyd, my friends and I found a way to save our world without sacrificing me in the process...its a little complicated, sorry."

"Don't apologize, its alright." Blaze says, waving her hand to show that it was fine, "You can always tell me later."

"Thanks." Colette says with a giggle.

Before either one could say anymore, Rouge walks up to the two of them. "Excuse me Colette, but I need to borrow Blaze for a sec..." She sighs, "...Sonic and Shadow are after one another, again."

Blaze groans while putting a hand to her head. "Ugh...why in the world did Master want to keep the two of them under the same roof again?"

"Because he thought they were great fighters?" Colette suggests.

Blaze and Rouge give Colette a curious look before leaving to go stop the hedgehogs from pummeling one another. The angel shrugs and wanders off towards Peach and Zelda.


"Luca, this here is Krystal." Falco says while gesturing at the vixen. "Krystal, this is my good buddy Lucario."

"Its a pleasure to meet you Lucario." Krystal politely says while extending a hand.

"It is my pleasure to meet another hero of Lylat." Lucario replies, gently shaking her hand while bowing.

Krystal giggles and blushes a little from his compliment, "Well...I don't know if I'd call myself a hero..."

"Nonsense Krystal." Fox says, putting a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder. "You're as much a part of the StarFox team as Falco and I, so you also get credit for helping us in our missions."

"I do not mean to interrupt your...moment..." Lucario says, "But Krystal, I'm quite interested in that staff of yours. Where did you get it?"

"I got it during my travels on Sauria, a planet in the Lylat system. On those travels I learned how to both use it as a weapon, and as a...well, I guess the best way to put is a 'magic wand' of sorts. Its been at my side since I found it, minus an incident on Sauria, but since I've joined Fox's team, I've had to use blasters instead."

"Hmm, it definitely seems like your talent hasn't dulled." Lucario comments.

"Why would it?" Krystal asks, "I still practice with it whenever work is slow...and there's only been the occasional accident."

"Occasional accident?" Lucario repeats. "Define it."

"She was practicing her Fireburst when Slippy walked in and surprised her." Falco answers, "She got startled and guided the fireball at frog-boy and well...tell him Krystal."

"I...kinda...blew him out the door and into a wall..." Krystal mumbles, her white cheeks turning red from the blush.

Falco however was chortling with laughter, "I've never seen Slips move so fast! I even got a pic of the of aftermath...ah come on Krystal cheer up. We've all accidentally done something embarrassing."

"You mean like how you flew your Arwing into a mountain on Fichina?" Fox smugly asks.

"Wha...How did...FOX!" Falco yells.

"You crashed?" Lucario asks, "I thought you were an ace pilot!"

"He wasn't paying attention and just crashed...he claimed it was a malfunction in the Arwing, but I doubt it." Fox answers.

"That's it! Get back here!" Falco yells before proceeding to chase after his team-mate. "You're going to pay for that Fox! You're going to be bald everywhere by the time I'm done with you!" were the bird's last words before he and Fox disappeared down a hallway.

"I'm sorry Lucario...those two sometimes act like little children." Krystal mumbles.

"Believe me, I know. I was with the two of them through allof the last tournament, remember?" Lucario asks, "Besides...I just tune them out whenever they get this way."

"Same here." Krystal replies with a laugh.


Red was lounging over in one of the chairs, with Squirtle to his left, Ivysaur to his right, and Charizard behind him. He was just glancing around when he happened to notice May over to the right, giving her Pokemon a couple treats. Red smiled to himself when he saw her...it was nice having another Pokemon trainer around. Sure he could hang out with Pikachu and Jigglypuff during Brawl and they were nice company, but he couldn't really talk about trainer stuff with other Pokemon...and he had a hard enough time talking with Lucario about anything.

"Go on." Says a voice behind him. Red turns to see that Squirtle had hopped up onto the arm of his chair. "Go and chat with her while this intermission lasts. What's the worst thing she'll do? Bite?"

"Squirtle's got a point Red." Comes Ivysaur's voice. "You might as well, since there's nothing better to do."

Red shrugs, gets up, and begins walking towards the new trainer. When he's about two feet from her, Red's about to say hi, but as he takes his last step May's Mudkip suddenly darts by and startles him. To keep from kicking the small Pokemon, Red freezes his foot in midair, but momentum kept him going forward and to sum up, he fell...flat on his face beside May.

He groans while lifting his head, muttering "Ow..." as he does so. Red sees a hand lower in front of his face and hears May ask, "Need a little help up?"

"Yea...thanks." Red replies while accepting her help.

Once he's upright, May lets out a couple nervous laughs, "Sorry about that...my Mudkip's pretty energetic and..."

"Oh no no don't apologize. Its alright." Red says with a laugh, "I've fallen enough times to get used to it." May gives him a weird look. "I meant when I'm exploring as a trainer, not here as a smasher."

"Oh...I was hoping you meant as a trainer."

A little silence passes before May asks, "So, are Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard your only Pokemon or do you have others here?"

"Well, I've got more than just those three, but they all hang out at Oak's lab when I'm here. I don't really know who has the other six."

"Don't you mean seven?"

"No, I mean six."

"There's Pikachu, Pichu, Plusle, Minun, Jigglypuff, Mewtwo, and Lucario." May says, counting off the pokemon with her fingers. "That's seven."

"Lucario doesn't count."

"Why not? Does he have a trainer?"

Red rolls his eyes, "Its the opposite, Lucario doesn't have a trainer."

"So he's a wild Pokemon?" A nod from the male trainer is her answer. "It'd be so cool to..." she's cut off when Red puts a hand over her mouth.

"Shh!" He frantically whispers. "Trust me, you don't want to say that when he's around. It really ticks him off."

May pulls Red's hand away from her mouth so she can speak. "Why?"

"Beats me, but I know he's not a fan of trainers." Red replies, "Look, I'm not saying he's a bad guy or anything...he's just not inclined to talk with trainers. Believe me, I've tried during Brawl and all I got was a cold glare."

May gives a quick glance towards the tall Pokemon, who was still chatting with Krystal, before turning back to Red. "So what about the others?"


Other such conversations were being shared between those who were left in the living room, although others did move elsewhere to enjoy their break. Kirby did indeed slip into the kitchen...but was caught by the three chefs and quickly tossed out before he could get anything, much to his dismay. Sonic and Shadow were chasing one another around the foyer...that is, until Blaze singed their tails and forced the two to stop.

To sum up what happened over the first half-hour of the intermission in a few words, most of the newcomers began to converse with the veterans, making friends and picking up tips for their turn in the Smash System. In short...

Peach and Zelda welcomed Midna and Kumatora to the mansion, although Zelda and Midna seemed to have a little friction between them.

Meta introduced himself to Mewtwo.

Soren got into a little conversation with Shiek...but not much.

Knuckles disappeared, probably to go check on his emerald.

Mario and Luigi helped themselves to a snack in the kitchen, bringing Kirby a little food on their way out to cheer up the puffball.

Bowser, Dedede, Ganondorf, and Wario snuck off somewhere, probably to discuss their failed evil plans and concoct new ones.

Wolf was passing the time by arm-wrestling with Link, and the swordsman was winning 5 to 3.

ROB drove off to check on the status of the R-Units.

Ness, Lucas, Popo, and Nana wandered off to the game room.

And finally, Snake stopped sulking in his room and came out, although he still shot the occasional nasty glare at Rouge. She totally ignored him.

The next half-hour though, well...one word described it; random. First, Knuckles came storming into the living room and accused Rouge of stealing what he called "the Master Emerald", which was probably that giant-jewel that he brought with him. Rouge denied it which only angered Knuckles even more and he was about to slug Rouge when he saw Kirby happily walk by with the emerald held proudly over his head.

The last anyone saw of the two until intermission's end was Knuckles tearing after Kirby up onto the second floor.

Next, Wario returned from wherever it was he disappeared to with several cloves of garlic in hand. After scarfing them down with little regard for manners...his belly began to bloat. It was only thanks to the quick efforts of Sonic, Wolf, and DK that he let it rip outside instead of in the living room and spared the newcomers a most unpleasant experience...although Olimar's white pikmin are going to have their work cut out trying to decontaminate the front yard.

Finally, the last thing that happened was actually somewhat hard to understand...Samus was reclining in one of the chairs, still clad in her Varia Suit minus the helmet, and Pikachu was contently sitting on the floor beside her. He never really liked sitting on Samus' lap when she had that suit on, it was too hard.

Anyway, Pikachu was sitting there, humming a tune to himself, not really paying attention to his surroundings. From behind, Colette approached, hoping to make some more friends. It was supposed to be simple, just walk up and say hi, then start up a conversation...but it didn't work out that way. Somehow Colette suddenly fell over and landed on the mouse, and as could be expected, the shocked Pokemon released a bolt of electricity into the angel.

The lightning not only zapped into Colette, but also arced outward towards all of the nearby smashers. Of course Samus was hit, being only two inches from the mess meant that she also got a big jolt...or at least her suit did which caused it to overload and break apart, revealing her whole body wrapped in the skin-tight Zero Suit.

Some of the male newcomers were fairly surprised at seeing such a woman present...or at least, they would've been had giant bolts of electricity not been flying everywhere. Some of the faster smashers were able to leap out of the way of the painful bolts, although a few casualties were inevitable. Wolf has zapped in the rear, and yelped in such a high-pitched voice one would've thought he was a little girl. May's Grovyle was quick enough to get away from one, but the bolt wound up knocking Blaziken off his feet. Midna had good enough reflexes to dodge by bending backwards and it worked, she avoided the whole blast, bu the end of her long ponytail was singed. Perhaps the worst injury was Soren's...the poor guy took a bolt straight to the chest that pushed him into a wall and knocked the wind out of him.

After a couple seconds of the pandemonium, Pikachu managed to crawl out from underneath Colette while ending his electrical frenzy. The large mouse cracked his back before turning around to look at the angel, who had now sat up...and he winced at what he had done. Colette's blond hair was standing on end and spread out in all directions, there was a black scorch mark in the middle of her dress, and she was twitching slightly as the remaining electricity in her body steadily discharged.

Before he had a chance to say anything, Colette opened her mouth and said, "I'm sorry Pikachu, I didn't mean to fall on you."

"Don't worry about it. I should actually apologize for zapping you." Pikachu replies, nervously scratching at the back of his head.

"I'm fine." Colette replies, in an oddly cheerful tone, "Don't worry about me." She adds before reaching out and scratching Pikachu behind the ears in a wordless apology.

Watching this whole mess from behind the couch was Lucario and Blaze. After staring in awe at where the strange scene unfolded, the feline turned to Lucario and asks, "Does that happen often?"

"More than you'd think." Lucario replies. "In this mansion, the insane is ordinary. If you try to understand it, you'll just get a headache."

Blaze smiles a little at his words just as Master's voice comes back through the loudspeakers. Attention all...the intermission is now over. The Brawl Room has been fully cleaned and the next match will be between Falco and Ashe. Anyone wishing to watch can head to the living room. Also... the sound of a snap comes through the loudspeaker, and instantly the damage that Pikachu's outburst caused to the living room was repaired, There...my mansion is back in order. Finally...Knuckles, Kirby hid your emerald behind the weights in the gym storage room. Now would Falco and Ashe please report to the Brawl Room for the first of the latter-half of the introductory matches!

Ashe, who had ducked behind a table to avoid the lightning, quickly got up and left for the Brawl Room, shortly followed by Falco.

The two reached the room and were relieved to find that what Master said was true. The can in the corner was vomit-free and there wasn't even a hint of its smell in the air. Falco took his place on one panel, Ashe took the one to his right, and the two glanced at one another before signing in.

"I'm hoping you're on the same level of skill as Ashe is." Falco states, "Otherwise, this fight'll get old quick."

Ashe smirks at him, but doesn't respond right away. Instead, she twists her head to one side and cracks the bones in her neck, then twists it the other way and cracks them again. "You'd better be on your toes Falco. I'm one dangerous gal."

Falco, after suppressing the wince reflex at such a grotesque sound, taps his button with a feathered finger, before Ashe does the same. The pillar of light grows up from their panel and spirits the two away, shooting them into a battlefield that was, yet again, new.


The surrounding scenery was a wasteland as light-posts rushed pass at a breakneck speed. All around the stage was nothing but barren rocks and grass-less plains burnt to a deep-brown shade by the sun above. The stage, in its current form, consisted of a perfectly flat rail car at the end of a high-speed transport train, and the two combatants appeared on opposite ends of the car, Ashe at the open rear end and Falco near the coupler that held this car to the one that was off-screen to the right.

This...is the Speed Convoy stage. A high-speed arena from Neo-Earth with a lower floor (the rails) that threatens to leave a smasher behind if they fall onto it.

"You ready for a beating, bird?" Ashe yells out over the simulated wind, "This is from my home. You're in trouble."

"Bring it Ashy!" Falco yells in reply.

3!

2!

1!

FIGHT!


Sorry about this delay, but an English project demanded more of my attention and interfered. Hope you enjoyed this brief glimpse into life at this mansion when there aren't fights.