Someone save me from my exams, please. I'm not prepared for them.
In other news, I have decided to answer to the reviews here, mostly because I might even answer some questions some other people might have, but don't review for n reasons. They aren't going to be as lengthy as my PM replies, but whatever. The answers will be at the end of the chapter.
With that said, I hope you enjoy it.
"Okay, Rock, I'll need you to test and see if it's working," Shulk said as he held the blue robot boy in front of him a dummy.
"I hope it does."
Mega Man threw the dummy in the air and tried to use Spark Shock on it with very little success. Something in his wrists were still malfunctioning and impeding the shock sticks to replace his hands.
"I don't know what else to do," the robot mumbled.
"Give me your hands," Shulk took his hands into his own. "You won't be able to activate any electrical attacks if the sticks don't pop out, so the problem is really on your wrists."
Shulk grabbed the screwdriver that was placed on the floor and turned his attention to Mega Man's wrists. He was pretty sure something was loose and the only reason why his Spark Shock didn't work was because of his body's safety system.
"Thank you so much for helping me out, Shulk. I owe you a big one."
"Not a problem. I'm glad I can be of use."
It was not uncommon for Shulk to transform his own hotel room into a personal lab whenever the opportunity arrived, especially when said opportunity came by helping a friend out with malfunctioning problems. It wasn't usual for Mega Man to show problems with his mechanical body (R.O.B. required way more assistance), but every once in a full moon he would visit Shulk asking for a fix up after an intense battle.
Truth be told, he just liked talking to Shulk. Most of the issues Mega Man had he could fix them himself. He always found it fascinating how the Homs' eyes seemed to take a particular shine when he talked about all the scientific discoveries and newest technologies from his home world and this current one, he couldn't help but listen to his monologue. It sure beat having to spend time in his room alone and fix his problems in silence.
Except this time he really needed Shulk's help.
"Hey, Shulk, can I ask you something?"
"What is it, Rock?"
"You're friends with Lucina, right?"
"We're good friends, I think."
"Do you know what was going on with her today?" Mega Man asked.
"What do you mean?" he raised his gaze in surprise. "Sorry, but I haven't seen her today. What did happen to her?"
"I don't know, that's why I was asking you. On my way here I saw her walking all funny and Peach having to support her, because I'm pretty sure she was one step ahead from falling down. But it was only briefly and I kinda didn't want to interrupt whatever was happening between them."
"Do you have any idea where she might have gone to?"
"Probably her room. She didn't seem too well. Kind of tipsy, you know?"
Shulk might pay a visit to her later then. Whatever happened to Lucina, by the way Mega Man described her, something good it couldn't be.
"Yeah, I can have an idea. Thanks for telling me that, Rock."
"If you see her, can you tell me what was her problem later?"
"Well, aren't you nosy."
"Ah, well… I'm curious, that's all," if it was physically possible for him, Mega Man would have blushed.
Shulk let out a heartfelt laugh and proceeded on finishing his work.
"I'm never drinking," Lucina moaned with her paled face turned to the toilet. She had her mouth hung over and eyes were as lifeless and dull as they could get, all while she just kneed closely to it. "Ever, ever, ever again."
"No need to exaggerate," Peach said, patiently waiting for Lucina to show signs she had already puked out all the toxins, one hand holding her hair and the other gently massaging her shoulder. "I mean..."
"How could you let this happen to me?" there was another wave of nausea. "I told you I couldn't handle alcohol that well and you still wanted to see me like this?"
"You said you didn't like the taste, not that you had low tolerance," the princess explained, albeit a little irritated by the accusations. "And, yes, I wanted to make you get just a little loose and happy, because you're always so stiff and serious, Lucina. I wanted you to let go a little, I never wanted you to almost enter in an alcoholic comma."
"You should have..."
"I tried, trust me."
Lucina could feel her throat burning and her stomach twitching as that wave of nausea got bigger. She got a little closer to the toilet just to make sure she wouldn't make an even bigger mess than what currently was, but it was all a false alarm.
"I think… I think I'm going to be fine now," she said in a weak voice. "I don't feel like wanting to vomit anymore."
"Are you sure?"
She slowly nodded and tried to get back on her feet, but still had some help from Peach just in case. Her bathroom now reeked and there were still a few chunks on the seat of the toilet that made her feel even more nauseated, yet it could have gone a lot worse. As much as she was still bitter at Peach for letting her get into this state, at least she was there for her and would not leave her side until she had gotten one hundred percent better.
Truth be told, Lucina felt exhausted and cold, she could not stop shivering. As much as she wanted to just fall asleep there, maybe a good hot bath would be enough to renew her spirits. And maybe brushing her teeth to take out that horrible taste too.
"Listen, why don't you hop in the shower and I'll wait for you outside?" Peach suggested, almost as if she had read her mind. "If you need anything, just shout my name."
Lucina had no objections and agreed with her friend's suggestion, giving a small thank you to Peach before shooing her away and closing the door. Peach decided to wait for her to finish by watching some television, as she really had nothing else to do. She flopped on the girl's bed and grabbed the remote, ready to turn the device on, when she heard knocking on the door. Peach mentally cursed whoever decided to show up just now and headed towards the door, wondering who was the unfortunate soul that decided to pay a visit to Lucina while she was still in a hangover.
Wait, was it because she was drunk that they decided to visit? If that was the case, she was ready to smack some sense into whoever had ill intentions towards her. She opened the door and was greeted by Shulk's friendly face, which made her lower her guard completely.
"Shulk, hi," Peach said a little more brightly. "What brings you here?"
"What are you doing here, Peach? I thought this was Lucina's room."
"It is," she gave the bathroom's door a glance before turning her attention to the seer again. "Listen, now it isn't a good time for you to be visiting her. She hasn't been feeling well."
"That's the reason why I came," he said, trying to look over her shoulder and spot Lucina somewhere in her room. "I've heard she wasn't well. I was wondering if there's anything I could do to help."
"I've got everything under control here," Peach tried to subtly close the door, only to decide otherwise once she realized who she was talking to. "Saaaay, Shulk?"
"What?"
"You usually hang out with the girl Robin a lot, am I right? Are you good friends or something?" she gave extra emphasis on the friends part.
"Why do you want to know?" Shulk tilted his head in surprise. "I mean, yeah, we are very good friends. But where did this come from?"
"Do you happen to know if she has a certain crush on Lucina?"
"W-What?! No, I mean..."
Peach rolled her eyes and pulled Shulk inside. Oh, his reaction told her she was in for an interesting ride. Peach hasn't spend a lot of time sticking her nose in other Smashers' lives to not be able realize when a good drama was about to burst. She was pretty sure it was all a misunderstanding, that Robin didn't actually have feelings for Lucina, but she still loved a good drama and watching the circus catch fire.
She lost so many friendships because of that. Honestly, she was surprised at how Zelda and Captain Falcon could stand her for too long. Even she could not stand herself sometimes.
Focus, Shulk had important information! She had to help Lucina above all else, selfish motivations aside!
"So, what is it that you wanted to say?" she asked once she closed the door and forced him to sit on the bed.
"Why do you want to know if Robin has a crush on Lucina?!"
"Because Lucina stuffed herself silly with alcohol because she was so nervous about it," it was technically true, even if the triggering point for her getting drunk was Peach's insistence. "She couldn't stop mumbling how wrong it was and basically was a mess. She's taking a bath right now after having puked everything out."
"That's terrible..."
"And I tried telling her that that might not be true, that that was probably just some rumor spread by the guy Robin, so..."
"Wait, it was Rob who told her that?!"
"That's what she said to me."
Shulk shook his head and tried to not slap his forehead with his palm. Why would Rob tell Lucina something as ridiculous as that when, according to Robin, they had kissed? It had to be lie, he was pretty sure of it. Or else, he would have known, right?
What a mess.
"No, Robin has no interest in Lucina, at all," Shulk said. "Listen, can we keep what I'm about to say to you between us?"
Peach nodded a little too eagerly, but didn't say a word. This was so much better than just watching television.
"Robin… Um… She's already in a relationship," the seer hesitated, and for good reason. Something about how Peach looked at him made him really uncomfortable. "I can't really say with who, I'm not sure if she would like for me to go around announcing this to everyone, but she's already taken and seems to love him above all else. I don't know why Rob would ever lie to Lucina, but it's the truth."
"Already in a relationship, uh?"
"Yes."
"With an actual guy?"
"Yes."
"And it's not with you?"
"No."
"Well, there it goes option one. That's a shame, I always thought you two would make a cute couple," Peach clapped her hand together. "But I KNEW IT! Robin has no interest in Lucina, just like I said. So, tell me, who is the lucky guy?"
"I-I'm not sure I'm supposed to say that. I mean, if Rob lied about their relationship, then he must have a reason for that."
"Why did you bring the guy Robin into this is if I'm asking about the girl?"
"I..."
"I mean, it's not as if he has anything to do with her being a relationship, right?"
"You see..."
"Right?"
She knew something was up. That cheeky grin, those sparkly blue eyes full of glee and mischief and hands clasped together like a child who was just waiting for their birthday present to be handed, Peach was just waiting for him to confess everything.
He just wanted to see if Lucina was doing well. He didn't sign up for this.
"For the love of everything you hold sacred, you PROMISE me that you won't tell anyone?"
"My lips are silent like a grave," she made a zipping motion over her mouth. "My tongue was practically built over a graveyard."
"… Right," he sighed. "Yeah, it is Rob. They started dating in the beginning of this week."
For a moment, Shulk thought Peach would scream in glee, but the Mushroom princess actually had quite the posture for someone who had been pressuring him into spilling out every bit of gossiping she wanted to hear.
"You know what's funny?" she simply asked. "I already had a nagging feeling they would end up together."
"You're joking."
"No, I'm really not. They are pretty subtle about it, but I've already talked to them a few times and got to observe how they acted around and looked at each other. It was pretty adorable, to say the least," Peach giggled and covered her mouth. "There was no way that there wasn't a spark between them, even if just tiny."
Peach sure was an interesting person, indeed. She was more observant than she let herself look.
"But, between us," she whispered. "Isn't it a little..."
"A little?"
"Incest-ish?"
"How so?!"
"Ah, well, they may be the same person, but doesn't that mean that they share the same blood and come from the same parents? Wouldn't that make them sort of siblings?"
"Don't we all come from the same creator, though? As far as I know, we were all created by Master Hand and share the same essence."
"Touché."
They were interrupted by a clicking sound coming from the bathroom. Both blondes turned their heads and saw Lucina walking towards them, dark blue hair completely damp with water and a modest white towel being the only thing covering her body.
"Oh, hi there, Shulk," she greeted him casually.
"Hey, Lucina," Shulk greeted her back. "Heard you weren't feeling well. Are you okay now?"
Peach couldn't stop blushing. From what, she couldn't know, but she had no idea how Lucina could act so cool over the fact that Shulk was suddenly there and seeing her wearing just a towel. And then there was Shulk, acting like that there was nothing to it. Really, who acted like that?
"I'm much better now, thank you for worrying," Lucina smiled..
"Okay, seriously?" Peach blurted out, all of a sudden. "Lucina, go change into some clothes already. Shulk, have some decency and stop staring!"
They had absolutely no idea why Peach was so annoyed all of a sudden, but did as they were told. Lucina grabbed the first pair of casual clothing, while Shulk decided to wait outside, still confused at how flustered Peach was. She sure didn't act like that when he decided to show up in battle in nothing other than his swim shorts.
"I-I'll wait outside too," the Mushroom princess announced. "Take the time you need."
"Peach, wait," Lucina grabbed her arm.
"What is it?"
"Listen, I've asked to meet the other Robin after dinner at the lobby," she bit her lower lip. "Do you think you can come with me?"
"What for?" Peach smirked. "Aren't you the one who will supposedly break her heart? Why would you want a shoulder to cry on, then?"
"Right… That did come out kind of wrong, didn't it?" Lucina let go of her arm. "Never mind what I said. I can do it on my own."
"I'll be there for you, don't worry," she smiled as she saw the expression of relief on her face. "Just, ah, keep in mind that anything can happen, okay? I still believe you're making a storm in a glass of water out of this situation."
"Ah, there she is," Robin waved at the two princesses that approached them. "Wait, what is Peach doing with her?"
"Does it even matter?" Rob asked. "Let's just get this over with. We still got a fight tomorrow and I just want to rest."
"Well, it's your fault we're in this situation."
"Yeah, I know. No need to keep rubbing it on my face."
They walked towards the nervous swordswoman. Peach preferred to stay behind and watch it from afar, though Rob couldn't tell if the smile she gave Lucina was of encouragement or if she was just enjoying the soap opera unfold. Probably both.
"Hey," Robin awkwardly greeted.
"Uh, hey," Rob said in the same tone.
"Hello Robin and… Robin," Lucina took a deep breath. She could do it. "Listen, may I speak with you in private?"
"Lucina, Rob has something to tell you first," Robin lightly elbowed the hesitant tactician by her side. "Go on."
"T-Tell me what?"
"Lucy, I'm really, really sorry, but I lied to you," Rob said, avoiding eye contact with her. "I kinda… Robin is not interested in you, at all. I said that because I panicked."
For Lucina it felt like the ground bellow her has just disappeared. Lied to her? Why would he even do that? No, she must have heard it wrong, somehow. "I'm sorry, what?!" she asked in disbelief. "Please tell me this is some sort of sick joke! I don't find this funny at all!"
"It's true," he didn't know where to put his face, he hated seeing Lucina this distraught. "I didn't intend for things to escalate this horribly. I was planning on telling you sooner, but..."
"How could you?!" she yelled, giving him a strong push on his shoulder. "How could you say this to me?! Do you have ANY idea how worried I got?"
"Lucy… The reason why I did this was because I panicked at the time and was afraid of you knowing the truth," Rob pointed at himself and then at his lover. "Lucina, Robin and I… We are sorta dating."
"Sorta?" Robin asked in disbelief.
"Okay, we are dating."
For a moment, Lucina didn't say a word and just kept switching glances between the two tacticians in front of her. Dating? So, the other Robin had no interest in her because she was already in a relationship with her best friend? What? Just what? The corners of her lips twitched nervously as she gritted her teeth in anger.
"What is wrong with you, Robin?! What gives you the right to screw with my feelings like this?"
"Whoa, okay," Robin tried to calm her down. "I know that what he did was really screwed up and all, but there's no need to..."
"Don't," Lucina stepped away from her. "Just… Don't. I don't want to talk to you. Neither of you! Stay away!"
"Lucina, you're throwing a tantrum,"she frowned and tried to take a step forward, which only made the princess give another step backward.
"I am not!"
There were a few curious looks from the passerby people, most of them wondering whatever could be happening for the usually collected and calm Lucina to become so tempered. Peach herself stood so far that she couldn't make out what they were saying, yet even she didn't dare to step in and get in the middle of the crossfire.
"Well, it's not like we talk a lot anyway," Robin mumbled. "Seriously, what is wrong with you? Even I didn't get this upset."
"What is wrong with me? What is wrong with you?!" she shrieked in a shaky voice.
"Excuse me?"
"I thought… Gods, why are you even here? Why must there be more than one Robin? How did this even happen?"
Had she been more calm, Lucina would have thought twice before letting her feelings out like that and she was pretty sure she would regret those words in an hour. Yet, at the moment, nothing else really mattered. She just wanted to scream in anger, frustration and despair. She had no idea why her heart hurt so much. Or, rather, she did, and that was what scared her the most.
"Why there must be more than one Robin?" she repeated and brought her hands close to her chest. "Why did Master Hand create you? Wasn't one good enough?"
"Lucina, you take that back right now," Rob growled as he brought Robin closer to him. "She has the right to exist as much as I do. How would you like if people said you had no right to exist because you're too similar to Marth?!"
"You're kissing your female self, you narcissistic dolt!"
Robin was shaking in anger and Rob wasn't fairing any better, gritting his teeth with such strength that he might snap them. Who did she think she was?
Regret hit Lucina sooner than she thought, though, and she decided to back off before things got even uglier. "Listen, I'm not in the best conditions to discuss this," she murmured and turned around. "I'm sorry, just… Leave me alone. I want some time to think about everything."
"You can have all the time in the world," Rob said, putting a hand on Robin's back. "Let's go, Robin."
They went on their separate ways, Lucina walking towards the entrance door and both Robins walking towards the elevators. They passed by a rather worried Peach, who ran towards Lucina in concern, only to be shooed away by her and quietly go on her way, like a puppy who had just been kicked.
The trip back to their room on the fourth floor was silent, with neither of them in the mood to speak to each other, while they had their minds deep in thought. Robin didn't know what she had ever done to Lucina to get such a strong rejection. Apart from existing, that is. Why did she dislike her so much just because she was the same person as Rob? Or was it because she was the same person as Rob? Or was it because she was in a relationship with said tactician that set her off? It couldn't be, because Lucina has always acted kind of distant towards her, and Robin was sure that was not one of her cases of naive jealousy.
Why did Lucina hate her, then? What did she do?
Rob regretted ever opening his mouth. Sure, one moment or another Lucina would have discovered about them, but still, he felt miserable. Worse, he never would have expected for her to lash it out on Robin. On him, of course, considering he was the one who put them in this situation, but what did Robin ever do to her? He was the one who lied to her, so why did Lucina decide to take her frustrations out on her?
Unless… She was upset that Robin wasn't interested in her?
He seriously needed to have a word with Lucina. Something told him that it wasn't the lie in itself that made her act that way.
They arrived in their room with the feeling of that they were ran over by a horde of horse riders. Rob flopped on his bed, emotionally and physically exhausted and just wanting for the day to be over. And maybe for the next day too. And the other, and the other, and the other one…
"I'm so sorry," Rob covered his face with his pillow. "Robin, I'm really, really sorry. I never expected Lucina to get such a negative reaction."
"She would have discovered about us being together anyway," Robin mumbled and laid by his side. "I just wish it wasn't like this."
"She'll get around soon… I hope."
"Umm..."
Rob threw the pillow behind his head and as she wrapped her arms around his waist, too tired to do anything else other than take comfort in him. "Tomorrow is the big fight," she said, nuzzling her forehead on the back of neck. "Promise me that, whatever it happens, whoever gets the position of default, nothing will be different between us, okay?"
"Robin, I was willing to give away the position for you. I really don't care who gets to be the default at all."
"You do a little, don't even try to deny it," she let out a cocky smile, one that Rob didn't need to see to know it was there.
"… Just a little," he admitted, a little embarrassed. "Still, I would gladly give it up just to see you happy."
"..."
"Robin?"
"Gods, Rob, this way it gets kind of hard to get mad at you for long, you know that?"
"Yeah, it's all part of a big scheme to make you not get mad at me for my fuck ups. You've figured it all out," he let out a small chuckle, but found no energy to continue joking. "Really, I'm sorry for..."
"Let's… Not. Not now."
A shiver went down his spine as he felt a soft kiss being planted on the back of his neck. It didn't feel lustful or needy, it was just a simple, chaste kiss. "We can discuss that later," she yawned and began to drift off. "Much later..."
Rob had no energy to contest back and just nodded his head, too tired to pronounce a word. He just took comfort in his lover's arms and fell asleep not long after.
Next chapter is finally going to have the last fight and we'll get to see who will be chosen to be default. I have the feeling you guys already know where this is going, but my focus here is not on the choice itself, but rather on how they'll deal with this. Besides, we still got more stuff to resolve besides their competition, so it's not like this story is getting close to its end (though it definitely is more than half done, I don't plan on making this one a 30 something chapter long story).
Who do you think will be the default, Rob or Robin?
LegitElizabethWWEFan: Yeah, Rob was kind of an idiot. I personally think that Robin didn't mind as much, because she's a little more tolerant and is more confused as to why he lied like that than angry. I hope Lucina's outburst here makes you feel better, though! Snake deserves a slap for thinking Lucina should get drunk more, but in their defense, they didn't expect for Lucina to get drunk this fast and with so little. I think you're the first person I've heard say that voted for Lara Croft! She would be pretty awesome in Smash, but I kind of fear that third party characters (besides Ryu, who's rumored to appear as a dlc character) are out of question.
Smash King24: Peach just has the habit of appearing in my stories out os nowhere, be it as a cameo or a sudden secondary character. I don't know why, but I really like writing about her. She really was just there to take care of Lucina, because Rob was unavailable at the moment. Master Hand is always so busy that it would take a while for him to find out about their relationship, even if pretty much all the Smashers knew about it. But yeah, if only close friends know, then the chances of him finding out are a lot smaller. If they made Young Link come back, it would be great if he had a move set inspired by Majora's Mask, I'll give you that! Especially after the release of the remake, now would be the perfect time to try to incorporate this. I don't know anything about Star Fox, but Krystal seems nice too.
JV: Actually, even if it's hormonal, you can control the need to kiss or fuck just as well as the hand holding. And it can be kind of hard to make some guys pull away, even if he's just trying to hold your hand, trust me on that one.But that's a nice theory, because at the same time, there are people who will flat out say "I need to make out with/fuck someone", but you never hear "Oh my god, I need to hold hands, I'm so thirsty".
Guest: You don't understand, I want his trophies of Classic Mode and All Star Mode, even if I don't like him.
Guest (chapter 4): You're completely right! I mean, about me being a filthy Melee casual, not about Roy being worse than Marth in every way. I'm surprised they haven't thrown me in the trash for sucking so bad at this game. Roy will always be my boy.
Anon: Drunk Lucina is always fun to have around. I don't believe gay women are more accepted than gay men, not at all. A lot of lesbians are still expected to end up with guys and their sexuality are usually discredited and seen as just "titillation" for the straight male gaze. It's a different kind of prejudice, but no less harmful. In my view, holding hands is not a really intimate act, I've hold hands with my friends plenty of times and never wanted anything more than that, but that's just me. That's why I made that question, because I'm sure there are a lot of different views on this. I've noticed you review every chapter, and you don't need to put your real name if you don't want to, but I was thinking that maybe you should create a nickname so it would get easier for me to answer you. Oh, and yeah, I'm really excited for Lucas, I like him a lot!
Archangel's Blade: I really didn't understand your analogy in the first answer, I'm so sorry! I'm not sure if Chrom would get in, considering he's already in Robin's Final Smash, but having Cordelia in it would be pretty cool! I'm just wondering how her pegasus would fit in, lol.