"Drip, pluck, cluck." The raindrops sang as they clunked on the roof. Covered in dusty newspapers, Marth was lying on the old mattress in a defenseless blue ball. His tousled blue bangs covered his closed eyes, which were shut in sleep. His clothes were a bit damp.
Outside, the sun sank below the shadowy buildings as the rain nosily pounded on the streets. There were no pedestrians anxiously strolling down the treacherous, shady streets. The ghostly orange light emitting from the tall lamps illuminating the raindrops that fell into its glowing aura.
A pitch-black car driving down the soaked street halted in front of the abandoned building. Two detectives dressed in heavy long coats stepped out and gazed at the building with their eyes, which were covered by pitch-black glasses.
"A few days ago, residents here had spotted a figure sneaking into this building." One of the detectives spoke to his partner. "It might give us a clue to a recent murder!"
"I understand." The partner replied. "If we encounter an armed suspect, what do you want me to do?"
The detective reached into his jacket's large pocket and felt his loaded gun. "Exit the building as soon as possible, drive away, and report the incident to the police. I'll buy you some time." The partner shook his head in understanding as the detective took a small key and unlocked the stiff front door.
Marth was jolted awake by heavy footsteps slowly stepping up the squeaky stairs. His sleepy blue eyes widening in fright, he stayed as still as a rock and kept a sharp eye on the door leading to the hallway. Who was it? Was it a serial killer? Was it a thug? All of his muscles immediately tensed as adrenaline rushed through his boiling veins. Both of his hands began to shake wildly.
"Do you hear anything?" a voice asked. Marth's entire body jerked in anticipation.
"No." a different voice answered. "Most of the rooms are boarded up except for one…"
"Let's check it out!"
"Be careful!"
The detective and his partner cautiously opened the door and carefully looked into the room. Let's see… The room is filled with old furniture covered in sandy tarps. All of the windows except for one were boarded. That's how the figure managed to enter. There was another door leading to another room. Gee, it was awfully dark and shadowy. Were there any sources of light?
"Look, a light bulb." The partner went towards the hanging light bulb and turned it on. Immediately, the room erupted into colors. Yet, the corners of the room were still covered in shadows. As soon as when the light flashed on, it revealed Marth cowering underneath the newspapers.
"I see someone!" The detective instantly took his loaded pistol out of his pocket and pointed it directly at Marth, who gasped and froze. His eyes were glued to the deadly weapon held in his hands.
The partner gasped in bewilderment. "Wait, don't shoot!"
"I'm not going to shoot!" The detective replied. Marth could only awkwardly stare as his fight-or-flight response twitched in his mind.
"He looks familiar!" The partner added.
"What do you mean?!" The detective gave his partner a strange look, taking his eyes Marth for a split minute.
"Doesn't he look like the missing brawler?" The partner asked.
"Look, we're here to investigate a murder base of a famous celebrity." The detective began to explain. "Not the missing brawler case!" He took another look at where Marth was. "Hey, he's gone! Darn it!"
Marth hurriedly dashed down the streets. As his quick footsteps splashed in the puddles and raindrops pounded on his shivering body, thoughts began to race through his anxious mind.
Why was this happening to him?
What were friends? What was a family?
Was this the fate of Marth Lowell?
What would happen next?
Was his happiness just an illusion?
What was the meaning of happiness, strength, and courage?
Marth's weak legs finally gave out of him and the exhausted prince collapse onto the ground, right in the middle of a lonely street. He wearily looked up at the pitch-black sky and watched the rain plummet onto him. Chills erupted through his fatigued body. His stomach growled at him for nourishing food.
He was cold, starving, miserable, and helpless. All he could do was stare desperately at the sky, pathetically wondering and hoping. The same thoughts echoed in his heavy heart.
"Why?"
"I wish..."
"I just want to be happy..."
"Ike, should we stop our search?" Roy asked the mercenary as the two Fire Emblem characters sat in a bus stop, watching the rain patter on the soaked street. "It's really late and I think the others are worried."
"Do you still sense that Marth is here?" Ike replied.
"Well, yeah." Roy answered.
"Then we'll keep on looking." Ike said with a tired smile.
Roy smiled back. After carefully looking around his shad surroundings, he reached into one of his blue jacket's large pocket and took out Marth's trademark gold tiara. It shined dimly in the light. The sapphire was a dark speck of midnight blue.
"Roy, why did you bring it?!" Ike gasped to the redhead.
"I brought it for good luck." Roy answered cooly. "Also, if Marth refuses to come back, I'll try to knock some senses into him with this."
"Don't you think it's dangerous to bring it here?"
"Nah, I think it's fine."
Unbeknownst to the two swordsmen, two suspicious men hiding in the nearby shadows saw Roy holding the prized gold tiara. Their faces were covered with a black mask. Their dark coats were as black as coal. A small yet dangerous shotgun was held in their hands. A sharp, gleaming dagger sat in their pockets.
"Hey, that boy is holding a tiara!" the thief with black hair whispered to his partner.
"I see..." the brunette thief replied. "That thing must be made out of pure gold! It's worth a lot in the market!"
"Let's snatch it from him, no matter what it takes!"
The two thieves abruptly raced out of their hiding place and lunged at Ike and Roy. Roy gasped in shock as his face went a deathly pale. As he shoved Marth's tiara back into his pocket, his reflexes jolted him out of his seat. Ike immediately stood up and threw a violent punch at one of the thieves, which sent him falling to the ground like a rock. His vision went completely black and soundless.
"Roy, run!" Ike shouted to Roy.
Roy turned to run away from the scene, when he suddenly slipped on the slippery, wet ground. A gnawing hand grabbed him by his flaming red hair. An arm firmly wrapped around his abdomen, making it hard for him to breath.
"Give me the tiara, boy." the thief hissed in his ears.
"Iiiiiiike!" Roy screamed for the bluenette, struggling wildly in his captor's arms.
Ike jumped in fright. He was about to lunge at the thief like a cat and brutally pull Roy out of his arms, when the thief suddenly placed the barrel of the gun against the side of Roy's fragile forehead. Roy froze like a stature. No... He was not going to pull the trigger, was he?
"Make any suspicious movements and your friend goes." the thief threatened.
"Iiiiiiiike!" Marth's mournful eyes widened in fear as he heard a cry for help. That youthful, frightened voice... It sounded like Roy! Marth took a quick glance at a corner of the street, shakily yet hurriedly got up and raced towards the source of the voice. T scream came over there! Why did Roy go to Southern Tokyo? Was he looking for him? A small tear rolled down Marth's cheek as the thought.
From the corner, Marth saw Ike facing a shady stranger holding Roy firmly in his hands. He watched Roy reach into his pocket and take out something made of shiny gold. Its shape looked too familiar... Marth's sharp eyes widened in fury as realization hit him like a truck. Roy and Ike must have been searching for him. Roy must had brought his tiara to remind him of the good times he had at the Smash Mansion. In the meantime, they ran into this thief, who threatened Roy's life for the tiara!
The blood of Anri, which was passed down from generation to generation in the Lowell Family, began to boil in Marth's bloodstream. He still wasn't sure if Ike and Roy were truly his friends. But, that did not matter now! Roy and Ike needed help! With a startling battle cry, Marth rushed towards the thief, lunged at him, and violently tackled him to the ground.
"What the—" the thief exclaimed before Marth gave him a slap on the face. The sudden force caused him to release Roy.
"LEAVE THEM ALONE!" Marth screamed frantically.
"Marth!" Roy exclaimed, scrambling to his feet. "Ike, look! It's Marth!"
"Marth!" Ike shouted, rushing to his friend's aid. As the thief threw Marth off, the mercenary grabbed him by the flailing arms and punched him in the throat, knocking him out.
"Urk..." Marth weakly said as he slowly got up. Roy and Ike rushed towards him.
"Marth, are you ok?!" Roy asked urgently.
"Aiku-kun, Roi-kun, I'm ok." Marth softly answered as the angry blue flame in his heart burned out. "Are you?"
"Yeah!" Roy replied with a cheery smile.
The rain began to gradually stop. Ike nodded yes and looked at the unconscious thieves. "We need to let the police know of these thieves. Roy and Marth, keep an eye on them. If they awaken, knock them out." Ike went to a public pay phone.
Sadness and worry. That was what all the brawlers and visitors sitting in the foyer felt as they hopelessly gazed at the ticking grandfather clock. What happened? Why did Ike and Roy vanish along with Marth?
Link sat in a large sofa with Pit, Princess Zelda, Princess Peach, Mario, and Luigi. Link's knees were drawn up as he looked down at the floor sadly. Pit was playing with his wings' feathers as he worried about his three other friends. Princess Zelda, Princess Peach, Mario, and Luigi were having a small conversation. Sitting on the sofa across from them were Lilina, Wolt, Eliwood, and Marcus. As Eliwood gently hugged the troubled Lilina and Wolt, Marcus just blankly stared at a blank wall. All of the child brawlers sat in the middle of the front hallway, patiently waiting for Ike, Roy, and maybe Marth to enter. The Greil Mercenaries stood quietly in a corner, waiting for their leader to return.
"Hey, Pit." Link spoke to his angel buddy.
"Yeah?" Pit softly replied.
"Did you see Chrom and the others today?" Link asked.
"Nope." Pit answered. "I was focused on looking for Marth."
"I did." Link said, his pointy ears drooping in bother. "Well, I didn't actually see them. Lucina had to call my name to get my attention. They are still here, it's just that their body literally disappeared!" Pit clutched his brown hair and moaned softly at the terrifying fact.
The Hands were sitting in their office, trying to call the police. However, whenever they dialed 911, there would be an unusually calm voice saying that the line was too busy. It was a punch in the stomach for the two. Three brawlers were now missing, and the police were too busy to be informed?!
"This is really stupid." Crazy Hand said to Master Hand. "Apparently, the police think it is more important to solve a celebrity murder case than to find three missing brawlers!"
"I agree with you." Master Hand replied with a tired sigh. "I'm going to try to call them again. If it says the line is too busy, I'll ask some of the brawlers to report the incident to them."
Just as when Master Hand reached for the phone, it suddenly rung and shook wildly, like if it was excited to tell the Hands something. Wondering what was the thrilling news, Master Hand quickly picked up the phone and answered it.
"Hello, this is the Smash Mansion." He said. "Yes. Oh, you found him along with two other brawlers? That's wonderful! We will pick them up tomorrow, since it is very late. Is that ok? Oh, thank you very much." Master Hand hung up. If he had a facial expression, he would be smiling happily.
"What was that about?" Crazy Hand asked curiously.
"The police just found Marth, Ike, and Roy." Master Hand answered calmly.
With a crazy, ecstatic scream, Crazy Hand suddenly rocketed out of his seat, rammed through the door, and joyfully zoomed through the mansion. "THEY FOUND THEM!" He screamed into poor Link's sensitive ears. "THEY FOUND MARTH, IKE, AND ROOOOY!" The gloved hand's hysterical shout jolted all of the brawlers and visitors from their positions. The ones sitting on the sofas clumsily tumbled out of their seats.
"Err… That's great?" Link asked out loud as Crazy Hand dashed down the hallway to the cafeteria. The Hylian rubbed his throbbing ears. He, the brawlers, and visitors were a bit confused for a few moments.
Ike, Marth, and Roy were sitting in a large, comfortable sofa at an empty police office. The lights were turned off, making the office a room filled with different shades of black and white. A blue nightlight turned its surroundings into a slight shade of light blue.
The three swordsmen were covered by a large spare blanket. With a soft huff, Marth lightly clutched the blanket and snuggled against Ike and Roy, who were already asleep. Ike was snoring quietly. Roy twitched a bit and licked his lips.
Marth was unsure whether he should be glad that Ike and Roy found him. Well, maybe they did not found him. He found them. Tomorrow, he will be returning to the Smash Mansion. Would everyone be glad and overjoyed? Or, would they not care at all?
"Erm… Marth?" Ike stirred as he awoke. He took a look at Marth, who coyly looked back.
"Yes, Aiku-kun?" Marth replied quietly.
"I'm glad that we found you." Ike said with a sleepy smile. "Everyone was worried. Except for Ganondorf and his friends."
"Oh…" Marth sadly looked down.
"Don't worry!" Ike replied. "I'm going to make them pay! How about this: they follow all of your orders, whether they like it or not!"
"That sounds good." Marth giggled mischievously.
Ike gave Marth a small hug. "I really missed you. So did Roy, Link, and Pit."
"Really?" Marth asked with wide eyes.
"Yeah! Did you actually think that Lucina replaced you?" Marth sadly looked down and nodded. "Just because we ignore you and talk to someone else doesn't mean that we don't want you around. We just wanted to make Lucina feel welcomed."
"Oh…" Marth felt embarrassed. If the lights were on, Ike would've seen Marth's deep blush.
"You know, if a billion Marth clones suddenly appeared in the mansion, I'll do anything to find you." Ike spoke. "Nothing can ever replace you."
"Doumo arigatou." Marth quietly thanked, resting his head on Ike's shoulder. He closed his heavy eyes and slowly drifted to sleep.
Ike gently stroked Marth's straight hair. "Tomorrow is going to be a very exciting day." He mumbled to himself.
Author's Notes: Stupid Roy. That's all I can say. At least Marth was found.
YESSS! I finally manged to post this chapter! School did start, so I am going to be a bit busy! I'll try to upload a chapter weekly. Hopefully, no one isn't loosing interest in this story. (This isn't my best ones. It was a bit rushed.) This story will be completed in a chapter.
Also, I opened another poll. Like the last poll, you don't need to vote. I'm just curious on what you think. It's regarding on what should I start on after this story is completed.
Who do you prefer: Marth or Lucina?
What would you like to see in the next chapter?
(You don't need to answer it): If there was an anime or cartoon based on my fanfics, which brawler should be the mascot? (I'm just curious. My fanfics aren't going to be an anime. It's just one of my crazy dreams, haha. xD)