Robin would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the time he spent with Dark Pit. Granted, the angel did end up tricking him in the end by making him trip and tumbling down the floor. "Come on, you can't expect me to change over night," he said with a laugh.

As irritated as Robin was, Dark Pit did make a point. Rome wasn't built in one day.

During their lunch, the Tactician decided to take a risk into bringing up the mall incident by asking about the items and if a business like that is linked to the tournament in any way. Dark Pit looked at him like he was nuts and told him that items out of the tournament were forbidden and getting caught with one could instantly gives you the boot. Robin, mortified, insisted that they alert the authorities immediately and Dark Pit only waved his hand and said, "Do whatever you want but don't bring up my name. I don't have time to deal with questions and people. If you ask me I think you just over reacting."

After lunch, Robin went straight to his room and pondered on his next move. Should he tell Master Hand straight away? Maybe not. These days the hand has no time for anyone and if Robin really were over reacting then he'd end up wasting his time. So perhaps Samus is the best option.

He called her up and when she answered he didn't know what to think when she promptly told him to see her at once, as far away from the mansion as possible. The garden was a wonderful sight. Each square of soil belonged to someone. Peach's daisy blooming brightly, Olimar's Pikmins heads was showing up from the top, there were Palutena's strawberry bushes, some of Lucina's dandelions and sunflower. It helped him through the conversation he had with Samus.

Samus wore a simple long blue coat with tight yoga pants. Her hair was tied in its usual ponytail and the wind gently blew her bangs. Dark bags circled her eyes. "Tell me everything," she told him, getting right to the point.

He explained as best as he could (leaving out the fight he had with Pitto). He found it challenging to look at her directly. Cold eyes locking on his face made it difficult to focus. "And then we went home. I didn't really know items weren't allowed outside of brawl."

He liked to think he was good at deciphering face expression but couldn't even take a guess at what she's thinking.

What if she kicks me out? He thought. He should've read through the Smash manual (even though no one else bothers since it's stupidly big). Or worse would he be arrested? Can Samus just say something before he gives himself a heart attack?

The bounty hunter kept staring at him closely as if deciding what to do with him. When she spoke, her voice was low. "What I'm about to tell you should not be shared with another soul."

Is she even aware by how frightening she is? He's pretty sure he won't be able to tell anyone even if they torture him. "Of course."

"The tournament is at a risk of shutting down."

He felt his breath stop. She said it with such ease that made him wonder if he misheard her. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I think you need to sit down for this."

She told him everything. Everything that he didn't ask for. From the horrible restaurant experience Dark Pit and Lucina had with Rekushawa, Crazy Hand incident, malfunction portals, Dark Pit nearly getting killed again (the curry part the day after the accident fight when Lucina and him were arguing) and finally the cherry on the top, items that are mysteriously disappearing out of thin air and somehow managed to show up in an unknown shop.

Robin was thankful for sitting down. He couldn't trust his legs to stay still. "This is madness." His words were barely audible. He had his head in his hands as he stared down at the emerald grass waving in the wind.

She shrugged. "Pretty much. "

"Why are you telling me this?" He raised his head, feeling his heart about to explode.

"Because you're in this already and I've seen you're portfolio. You're a Tactician, right? The best in your world from what I've heard. You could help us solve this."

He wasn't sure if it was a request or a demand. His stomach lurched as a new weight tied down his shoulders. He could only hear one thing on his mind: the tournament is shutting down.

"What's happening to the tournament?"

She placed her hands on her hips and looked at the range of bright flowers. "Rumors are being spread. No doubt it's culprit's doing. People heard how a curry made its way out in the open world and the almost frequent malfunction of portals and worse of all about Crazy Hand. It might not seem a big deal but these things never happen and we pride ourselves with the best security anyone could ever dream of.

"Now the public think we have a problem and they don't trust us with protection or entertainment. That's a stain on our reputation and the Creator of Nintendo isn't too happy. Master Hand has been trying to settle things with him but the big guy wouldn't have it. He values safety above all and if we can't get it together we have to close the doors."

Robin leapt to his feet. "But that's too rash!"

"That's the way things are right now." She looked at him and he saw something change in her eyes. Something in those blue orbs didn't quite match her tough personality. "Will you help us?"

Robin glanced up at the sky where the cloud broke and freed the sunlight. This tournament, everything it offers, would it really come to an end? He thought about the times Shulk complained about the noises, the fights and arguments but despite all that he seemed happy here. Was it so selfish of Robin to come here away from his responsibilities as a Tactician? All he simply wanted was to breath and relax. Away from war and all the suffering that comes with it. To get away from all that only to have this mess thrown on his hands.

Samus may act intimidating but she knew she couldn't force him to help if he doesn't want to. They don't owe him anything. They're the ones who invited him. It's not his problem. He could just go along his merry way in life and forget what she told him.

But what kind of a Tactician would he be if he just left things the way they were?

"I'll help," he found himself saying.

Samus nodded. "We should go. Link found something big in the storage room that you need to see."

Samus was pretty sure Link has no say in her bringing Robin. "Samus, you can't be serious!" He yelled. "I mean he's just newcomer! He shouldn't be involved in this!"

"Oh can it, fairy boy. You had your little sidekick and I have mine."

Robin flushed, stopping himself at the doorway. "If it isn't too much of a bother, maybe I can be of use?"

Link turned to him and softened. "Don't get the wrong idea. It's just that this isn't your fight and I don't want to see you getting hurt."

"With all due respect, I'm more than capable of handling myself."

Link started to say 'but' when Peach moved him out of her way, looking at Robin with a gasp. "What are you doing here?"

The newcomer blinked. "I should be asking the same thing."

Samus raised his hands. "Alright, settle down," she said. "I'm sure we all have something to say especially you, Robin, so how about what Peach and Link discuss what they discovered in the storage room?"

Peach sat down and brought out a brown duffle bag. "We found these items stacked at the storage room. The culprit must've hid it there."

Robin went over to see for himself and was met with a wave of heat from the curry. "Why the storage room?" He said hiding his disgust.

"It's the only room in the mansion with no cameras," Link explained. "No one else knows this except for us old veteran and someone else placed in a higher position."

Peach nodded, looking a bit sick and had to zip up the bag. "There's also the part in the mall where this big security guy showed up."

Samus nodded. "Robin just told me something big but first tell him that part."

Robin wasn't sure if he wanted to hear any part and did himself a favor by grabbing the nearest seat. "I'm listening," he said dutifully.

Peach huffed out air to prepare herself. "While me and Link searched in the storage room we found footprints and they belong to this adorable brand. Oh, they were really expensive and I just was about to buy pink but they didn't-"

"Peach, focus," Samus said.

"Right. The shop was called the Shaky Shoe Shop."

Now where did I hear that before? Robin thought.

Peach continued on. "I wanted to explore more of the mall but this huge Mii told me not to enter to this certain area and I just had to leave."

His brain ticked down the name of the shop and it suddenly hit him. His breath hitched. "The shop was next to the costume shop," he said, stunned.

Samus frowned. "I don't think there is a costume shop in that mall."

"And that guard was watching it," he continued on, not listening. His hand was stroking his chin as he often does in military discussion back at home. They were all looking at him now with curiosity and waited for him to share his part of the story. He figured that all the attention from such high Smashers would be nerving but it had the opposite effect. He felt that he's doing something useful and realized how much he missed cracking his brain to find answers and having intelligent discussions. Perhaps he really can't hide from being who he is.

He told him what he and Dark Pit were up to in the costume party (save for the disgracing fight they had of course) and watched the expression on Link and Peach's face. R.O.B brought in refreshment that no one bothered to take.

Link clenched his fists. "So they're trying to profit out of everything that were doing?" His tone was dark and made Robin's skin crawled. He's never seen that expression on the hero's face before and knew that if Link were ever his enemy he would be completely destroyed. "Why didn't you report this immediately?" He wasn't accusing him of anything, only simply asking.

The newcomer shook his head. "I really didn't know it was forbidden. The items itself weren't that dangerous. In fact they were pretty weak that they barely did any lethal damage so maybe after using them until they're drained out, the culprit decided to sell them." Then paused for a moment. "We didn't see that huge Mii you were talking about, Peach, but I did think he was there. There was this feeling - how should I put it? - that something out there was watching us. Why it didn't show up, I don't know."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go." Samus already swung her bag on her shoulder.

Robin didn't move. "Let's just think for a minute."

"We need to check out that costume party."

"Are you sure the culprit is after Dark Pit?" His question stopped everyone from getting up and joining Samus.

The hero looked a bit pallid. "How could they not? After everything?"

Robin stood up and walked in front of the room, pacing around with his hand still on his chin. "Their plan is a mess I have to say," he started, as soon as he did everyone took a seat. "One minute they're after Dark Pit and the next they do something to damage the Smash mansion. None of it makes any sense."

"What do you mean?" Peach asked, her fingers fiddling with each other.

"I think it was a different person that night in Rekushawa place," he proclaimed, turning with the group with his eyes brightening. "Just think about it: everything the culprit has and more and the only thing they chose to get rid of Dark Pit is by using curry in a public area. It doesn't make any sense plus it doesn't look like its been planned properly. Almost random, like once they saw an opportunity they immediately jumped to it. From all the other things I've heard, this culprit is always one step ahead and would never make such a rash decision on the last minute."

Samus had to stop him. "But using an item like that in public is a great way to ruin us."

"Yes, but like I said it didn't feel as though it was planned enough because if it were then Lucina would've also had her dose. It feels like whoever done this was after Dark Pit alone and even failed by not adding enough curry. How is it that you don't have enough when you've been stealing it for the past week?"

He is making good points here. Samus already knew it was no mistake inviting him in here. He may be a newcomer in the Smash Tournament but he is by no means new to tactics.

Link raised his hand like a student. "What about the second time Dark Pit had curry in his dessert?"

Robin took less than a minute to think. "It could be the first person trying finish what they started or the very same culprit that stole the items. No actually it is the culprit since the second time had enough curry to kill him off. Yes, I'm sure of it."

"Hang on, time out," Samus said, rubbing her head as if afflicted by a monstrous headache. "How are you sure there's more than one? Are they even working together?"

"My first assumption is no they aren't working together because on one hand we have a manipulative, incredibly genius culprit who could hack into security and steal items, one the other hand, we have someone who is perhaps bitter towards Dark Pit and has it in for him. They both have different ways of thinking and I'm sure someone as clever as the culprit would never work with someone so reckless and impulsive. So lets assume they aren't working together. I think the person who is after Pitto – let's call them A - happens to find the culprit's items by complete chance and decided to use it when they wanted. That would explain why A didn't have enough curry to finish Dark Pit the first time.

"Now about what you said, Link, now that I think about it the curry was found on the cake both Dark Pit and Lucina were sharing so lets make another assumption that the culprit is trying to help A finish the job and that they end up knowing who the other is. It could be that or A must've really messed up the plans the culprit had laid out so the culprit tried to get rid of any loose ends."

He had to stop to take a mouthful of water, quenching his thirst. "Now, about Crazy Hand, I think that was the culprit's doing. Mostly because it was perfectly timed with all the Smashers inside so excessive damage was guaranteed. But there's one thing I don't understand. Why was Crazy Hand so preserved with Dark Pit? Could it be that the culprit tried to manipulate him into finishing off Pitto? At this point the culprit must have manifested an obsession with Dark Pit and maybe they teamed up with A to get rid of him once and for all. Or maybe A decided to call it quits?" He was mostly asking himself than the group.

"Anyways, I think it's best not to go straight into the mall without a plan. What I said before about A and what Peach said about those footprints, I think they're connected. The culprit trimmed off videos and shot off cameras so I'm pretty sure they wouldn't leave their tracks behind."

Link's jaw clenched. "So A's clue might be in Shaky Shoe Shop."

"And the culprit in the costume shop," Peach said in a wonder.

Robin nodded firmly. "We should split up and try to find what we can about both. They might be working together or not but one thing's for certain: they both have it out for Dark Pit. The culprit also wants to ruin the tournament while they're at it by malfunctioning portals and releasing Crazy Hand. I have a bad feeling that they're about to do something big."

As he said this, he shivered. There's no way the culprit would rest after failing so many times. Or could they be called failures? After all they did manage to cover their tracks perfectly and they did do a good job at causing trouble for Master Hand.

It's not good enough though. They're planning something major; they aren't just trying to close down Smash but after something more. What could it be? What do they really want? And how is harassing Dark Pit part of the plan? Why does he have a terrible feeling that something horrible is about to take place?

"We should go," the hero said. "We have to put a stop to this."

"Tomorrow." Robin wasted no time in getting everyone's attention at once.

Samus' eyes could kill someone. "What? Do you really want us to sit here and do nothing?" She demanded.

"Tomorrow is the party," he said calmly. "It's the best time when everyone's busy to notice us gone plus we need to be careful on how we do this. The second the culprit suspects that we're on to them the worse it can be."

Link shook his head. "I get what you're saying but to stay here and do nothing?" His hands were already shaking. The hero looked restless.

Peach agreed. "We need to find them quickly."

Robin kept his calm. "And I understand that but please listen. We can't just jump at the first opportunity we get," he said urgently. "The culprit has so much power its ridiculous. They're always one step ahead. We need to think and play smarter if we want to take them down and not by blindly going to what could be a trap. Lets wait and go tomorrow morning where it's less crowded and that lowers the chance of anyone getting hurt and us getting recognized. We go in and learn what we can find and get out before the culprit even knew we were there."

His plan sounded so simple, so easy. The way he explains everything without a moment of hesitation or panic gave them reassurance. Link has to admit that Robin is more capable than anyone of them so far. He's got a sharp mind that's for sure.

But that could make him an easy target so they all exchanged phone numbers and agreed to follow his advice save for Samus who looked like she was ready to bring the army. She was out numbered and had to work with what they all agreed.

Cream failed miserably at her attempts to figure out what Adams was hiding. She accidently fell asleep when she should've been pretending. Now she roamed the hallway tired and worn out from a brawl, carrying a box of her books she got from the library. This was starting to get to her. She's supposed to know what's going on with him and she can't even figure out that part.

The worn out carpet had a curvy lump that took her by the foot. The books she carried flew out on the ground only adding in more stress. She cursed at herself and hissed in pain at her knees. This day just keeps getting better and better.

She reached over to grab the book but a hand beat her to it. "Are you okay? Do you need help?" Asked a Smasher with blue hair and bright eyes.

Lucina bend down to grab more of the books. "These are pretty heavy."

"Yeah." Cream felt her heart pound. Not sure if its out of fear or hatred. This is really awkward. She remembered how she trashed their date at that sushi place and avoided the Smasher's eyes. Why is she bothering to help a Mii anyways?

"I can handle it though," the Mii insisted, then winced as she felt her back ache.

"I'll help out."

"It's fine."

"Really."

Ugh, she's really persistent. "Do what you want."

Lucina smiled and carried more books. They both walked in silence through the hall. Cream could feel her head pounding in panic. Should she feel angry that a Smasher is taking pity on her? Or maybe the fact that Lucina stole Dark Pit from her?

He wasn't yours to begin with. She scolded herself.

"You Miis are pretty cool you know."

The compliment was sudden and unexpected. "Sure. Who wants to be a Mii?" Her tone came off as sharp and cold.

Lucina glanced at her. "You guys can literally be anything you want unlike us. I mean I can't be anything other than a swordswoman."

She never thought of it that way.

Cream sighed. "It's not as great as you think it is," she said, surprised that her voice gotten soft.

"I think everyone has their ups and downs," Lucina trailed on, giving her a smile. "It's all about over coming it the way I see it."

They arrived at her room at last and Cream took the rest of the books from the princess. "Thank you."

"No problem. What's your name by the way?" Lucina asked.

Her question seemed small but not to the Mii. Perhaps it's the fact that she isn't being treated like a second choice or a disposable player but an actual person. A smile played with her lips. "Cream."

Lucina held up a hand. "I'll see you later, Cream."

"Sure."

It was an unusual encounter that left the Mii happy and confused. Shouldn't Smashers despise Miis though? After all they're just replaceable. Not even worth it. But Lucina treated her like she's something more. It felt silly. They only knew each other for a minute but it meant more to Cream than anything. To have someone look at her without disgust only with respect and kindness is enough to bring her to tears. She spent too much time by herself with a secretive servant without anyone else thinking she's fine on her own.

Maybe Smashers aren't that bad.