Heya guys, it's time for the moment you have all been waiting for! The conclusion of the pool party! What will happen? Will people admit their feelings for each other? Will relationships be started? Ended? Rekindled?

Boy, this is starting to sound like a soap opera... with talking hedgehogs and bounty hunters.

Also, due to popular demand, I will be making a Sonamus Christmas Carol!

And now, the conclusion of the party!

Being positive was hard when you were dateless. Sure, you didn't have to deal with the slight chance of your date being a class A jerk, but still, it would be nice to have someone with you, to laugh at your jokes and complement your swimsuit. Loneliness wasn't very fun at all.

Amy held back a sigh as she stirred her fruit punch with her straw before taking a sip. Almost everyone seemed to have a date but her, something she always had hated. You know, Sonic and Samus were together, Peach and Kirby were together (though Peach seemed less than thrilled with it), and that pointy eared guy in the green swimming trunks was dancing to some weird tune called "The Song of Storms" (whatever that is) with that gothic-looking woman in the black and blue green swimsuit.

Now, that wasn't to say that Amy hadn't gotten looked at. A few men had stared at her (including the penguin from the other day) and she couldn't blame them, because she did look good. However, despite that, and the pride of being admired, she still felt like someone should just ask to dance with her or something, at least ask her her name. However, said desire had yet to granted.

Amy felt her stomach grumble. She hadn't eaten anything yet, although she was on a diet, so she was trying not to eat to much. Then again, the reason she started the diet was to impress Sonic, so what the heck?

Amy pulled herself out of her beach chair and walked to the buffet table, eager to sink her teeth into something; preferably something not healthy.

As she walked to get her food, a gust of summer wind blew past her, tearing her sunhat of her head. Amy cried out indignantly and chased after it. The hat blew into a tall, grey wolf who had ben talking with a shady looking chameleon. The wolf let out a growl as the hat landed on his head, causing the surprised chameleon to smirk.

"Sorry!" Amy cried out, running up to the wolf. "I lost my hat in the wind!"

The canine muttered something under his breath and handed the hat to Amy. "Here," he said. "Now don't lose it again. The next guy may not give it back."

Thanks! Amy said. "I'm Amy!"

Yeah, I heard. You're Sonic's friend." He held out his own hand. "Wolf," he introduced himself.

Amy shook the hand. "Nice to meet you!"

Wolf grunted in response. "So, here alone right? Guess Sonic didn't tell you about Blondie, huh."

"No," Amy admitted, trying not lose her positive attitude. "But I don't mind! I can always find someone else." Amy was surprised when she found herself winking. "Uh, if you know what I mean," she said.

Wolf was about to respond when the song changed from, "Song of Storms" to "Never gonna give you up" by Rick Astley. Wolf groaned, but Amy grinned. "Oh, I love this song!"

Wolf groaned. "You can't be serious. This song is putrid."

"Is not!" Amy said. "Come on, let's dance!"

Wolf backed away. "Uh, yeah, I wish I could, but me and Leon have some, uh, you know, swimming to do, right Le... Leon?"

Wolf's chameleon friend was no where to be found. Wolf gritted his teeth and sighed. He looked at Amy, who was staring at him with that hopeful look.

Blech.

He forced a smile. "Well, I guess I can spare some time."

Amy grabbed his hand an dragged him to the dance floor. Wolf felt ridiculous, and he would probably hear about it later.

Well, at least the girl was nice, if not overbearing.

"And so I say 'hey, if you think he was bad, you should seen the ape who took me out'!" Pauline said, finishing her joke.

The other Smashers, minus Donkey Kong of course, started laughing at the table. Yoshi was laughing so hard he accidentally shot fruit punch out his nose.

Needless to say, the party was in full swing.

The burgers were done, and most of the Smashers were out of the pool and eating. R.O.B. was doing an excellent job as the DJ, making sure to play songs that everyone enjoyed. The weather was nice, and the burgers and other foods were cooked very well, just like at Dedede's Diner. Kirby would have given it five stars if he wasn't too busy stuffing his mouth with cheeseburgers and kabobs, with an unhappy Peach sitting across from him. She was beginning to wish that she was still with Mario.

Zelda was trying hard to have a good time, but she was still wishing Pit had shown up. However, it soon came to be that Amy was very, very happy. She had managed to bump into a certain grey wolf fellow who was actually kind of handsome and managed to make small-talk, though he was pretty reluctant to try to dance.

Sonic and Samus had barely left each other since the party started, though Sonic left once to use the bathroom. The two competed in every water based sport that there was to offer, even though Sonic's inability to swim handicapped them occasionally. Despite that, they were having fun together, though if you teased them about coming together, would just kind of sit there awkwardly before changing the subject or challenging you pool volleyball. Everyone thought it was hilarious.

Except the awkward couple, of course.

Samus held back a sigh as she chewed her burger. The taste of deep-fried meat topped with cheese and veggies did little to sooth her depressed feelings as she sat under an umbrella at the picnic tables. Sonic and her had barely been able to spend any time together since they had arrived, besides for sports. And she felt like she had been avoiding him out of sheer embarrassment.

Samus felt a nudge on her shoulder. She turned to see Zelda and Peach, who were wearing sympathetic looks. "Hey," Samus greeted. "You're dates show up yet?"

"No," Zelda replied. "Pit is still missing," she said, sighing.

"And Kirby is still a hog," finished Peach. "I don't know why I even care anymore. I had this coming, didn't I?"

Samus smiled sadly. "Yeah, kinda," she said, though not in a mean way.

Peach sighed. "Well, if I'm not going to have a good date, I might as well have a good time, right?"

"Yes," Zelda said. "I think so, too."

Peach managed a smile. "I suppose so. So anyway, how is your date with Sonic going?"

Samus shrugged. "It's been okay, I guess."

"'Okay' is never good when on a date, Samus," Peach replied in her know-it-all voice. "Have you and Sonic even danced yet?"

Samus shrugged. "Dancing never been my thing. And it hasn't really been Sonic's thing either."

Peach shook her head and said, "No, no, no. This is a date, Samus. Act like it's one."

"Dancing isn't mandatory one dates, Peach," Zelda pointed out. "But this is a dance, and you should try to do it, Samus."

"Who's side are you on, anyway," Samus grumbled.

"I'm on both your sides," Zelda replied. "And I say that you should go and dance with Sonic."

Samus sighed and glanced over to Sonic, who was getting some punch for the two of them. "Alright," she muttered. "I'll ask."

Peach grinned. "Good, and be sure to tell us how it goes!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," muttered Samus, sighing. "Just don't let it go to your head, princess."

Peach nodded and crossed her heart. "Good. Now go and talk to him!"

Sonic nearly jumped when someone tapped his shoulder, and he turned around, expecting Samus, but was greeted only with Captain Falcon (who despite wearing a swimsuit was still wearing his mask) and Falco (who was eager to get away from his date) standing behind him. Playing it cool, as usual, Sonic asked, "What's up?"

"Nothing much, we just noticed that you've been hiding for a while now," Falco replied.

"Have not!" protested Sonic, angrily. "We've been in the water for a while, and we ate together!"

"Uh-huh," Falco retorted, unimpressed. "Yeah, so what? All you've done is eaten, and you had a couple of great chicken fights, but I haven't seen much interacting between you two."

"Gee, that's funny," Sonic said. "Because I haven't seen you interacting with Kat that much, too."

"That's different!" said Falco. "Kat's crazy, and I don't like her like that. Samus is legally sane and you do like her like that."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Good point," he said. "So me and Samus aren't interacting enough, huh?"

"Nope," said Captain Falcon. "You've been avoiding her, man. Out of all the guys who can get with her, you want to be away from her?"

"No!" Sonic said. "That's not it!"

"Then why are you over here? You're not shy are you?" Falco teased.

"I am not!" Sonic said.

"Are too," Captain Falcon said. "If you weren't, you'd be with her right now."

"Oh, shut it," Sonic said. "Don't you two have anything better to do?"

"Nope," replied Falco. "We're yours for the rest of the party!"

Sonic groaned, but Falcon placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're not a chicken are you?"

"No!" Sonic said, angrily. "I am not!"

"You want to make Samus happy, right?"

"Yeah, I do!" said Sonic.

"Then go over there!" Falco said.

"Right!" Sonic said.

"And talk with her, and don't care what the others say!"

"I will!"

"And you're going to ask her to dance with her!"

"Yeah, I... What?"

"Too late!" Falco shoved Sonic in Samus' direction. The hedgehog cried out indignantly, glaring at the two, before growling and walking in Samus' direction again. Falco and Captain Falcon simply grinned and went off again, to go and play water-volleybabll with Luigi and his girlfriend.

The strong sea breeze, summer heat and the scent of ocean salt filled the air. The sky was getting steadily darker as sunset drew near. And as the dying orange sun shone upon the edges of The Halberd, illuminating its edge with light as the darkness began to shroud the seemingly wrecked vessel. The air was silent and tense. No sea-birds circled the ruined ship. The air was still and quiet, until a whizzing glowing arrow pierced it's hull, exploding in a small flash.

His injuries sore and his wings tired, Pit swallowed as he flew towards the crashed ship. He had hoped that he would never have to visit this horrible machine again, to never have to run through it's primid infested halls, jumping at every shadow. However, duty called, and his spirit was in peril. Taking a deep breath, he landed on the ship and searched for an entrance. While he found none visible, he faintly noticed that the ships weapons were a bit shiny, considering that they had been exposed to the elements for months now. That couldn't be good.

Stay focused, Pit, he thought. If there's no entrance to be found, make one.

With a small grunt, he pulled his bow apart to form two blades and he shoved both into the hull. His last remaints of magic dwindling without his spirit's energy to flow through him, as he used light magic to cut through the ship's hull. When the cut metal began to fall, he pierced it once more with his blades, impaling it and lifting it up before it clattered on the ground and alerted anyone. He jumped down into the hole, and glided down on his wings.

Then, it was time to find Palutena before anything bad happened to her.

Ignoring his own nerves and pains, Pit quietly slid through the ships many halls, searching for a clue, a sign. He knew he couldn't shoot another arrow to find her. If he did, it could not only dwindle what little energy he had left, but also could alert the enemy, whoever he or she was.

His didn't know which way to go, which was a large problem. The ship was large, and without a map or know-how, impossible to navigate. However, after about an hour or so of painful sneaking and creeping, he saw his lead. Hiding in the shadows and corridors, he saw a line of red-eyed, green machines, hefting large boxes and walking through the halls, without speaking.

Primids? thought Pit. I thought we destroyed them all!

Despite his belief, however, the Primids did exist still, as they walked through the halls with their cargo. Pit decided to follow, figuring it was the best lead he had. So he stayed in the shadows and followed their every move, watching and waiting. His patience and daring was well-rewarded. He found himself in a large room, with large metal doors guarding it, and followed the Primids inside. And there, in a large tube of some sort, chained up, was his spirit. Pit wanted to call out her name, but knew he was in no condition to battle so many Primids. Deciding to play it safe, he hid behind a pile of large crates and watched as one of the Primids reported to a strange alien creature who had been tapping on a control pad.

Then, a voice came over the ship's intercom, booming from the speakers: "Frag! Is this generator finished yet?" an angry female voice asked, before making a hissing sound.

"No ma'am," the alien, Frag apparently, replied in an emotionless voice, dry and sandy. "We are almost finished. We may take off in five minutes."

"Well, hurry up!" the voice replied. "I've waited long enough for this to end. I want to go now!"

"As you wish, ma'am," Frag replied. He turned to the Primids. "Load those power converters, now!" he ordered. "The Lady wants to take off at once."

"This is madness!" shouted Palutena. "Let me out, creature! You must know that you are disposable to her! She simply wants her revenge on who knows who! She'll get rid of you as soon as she's done!"

"Don't be too sure, spirit," hissed a voice. Pit felt his blood boil as he saw Ridley emerge from the shadows. "Me and Frag have a plan, just in case our dear delusional friend does try to dispose of us."

"I can still here you, idiot!" the female voice said over the intercom.

Ridley snarled. "I don't care!" he snapped. "I know very well that you'd like to get rid of us, witch. I'm just preparing for the inevitable; your defeat at the Hunter's hand!"

The woman made a fake laugh. "Very funny, Ridley. However, just because you're incompitant doesn't mean I am. The Hunter will fall, as well as her friends."

"Who are you?" snapped a weakened Palutena. "What gives you the right to destroy and kill people? Who do you think you are?"

"My name," the voice hissed, "is none of your - or anyone elses - concern, for now. But don't worry, you'll find out soon enough. Provided you survive, that is. But that doesn't matter. Soon, this world will now my vengeance, and that ungrateful little murderer, who took everything away from me, will feel my wrath and despair!" The voice made an angry hiss. "Frag! Are we ready?"

"Yes, ma'am," the pirate replied.

"Then start it up! Justice is to be served today."

"As you wish."

Pit wanted to save her. He wanted to help her. But he could only watch as Frag, protected by dozens of Primids and Ridley, began to tap on the controls. And he could only wince as Palutena began to scream as the energy was forcibly taken from her.

It took Samus a minute to reply to the request. The request she would wanted to deny, out of sheer humiliation, was now being offered. She just didn't know how to reply to the question. All she could do was stare at the offering hand, and say, "Excuse me?"

Sonic swallowed. "Uh, you know, dancing. Just us two. You wanna?"

Samus smiled, but she wasn't sure if it was real or not. "Sure," she managed to say.

"Oh, cool," Sonic said nervously. "Well, uh, come on, if you want."

"Yeah, sure," Samus muttered. "Let's go."

The two walked awkwardly to the dance floor, getting a few chuckles from the onlookers, and tried to dance to a slow, soothing song began to play. Just what I needed,Samus thought. Slow music.

Sonic had the same thoughts on his mind. Why'd it have to be slow music? I can't even dance!

Despite their lack of dancing know-how, the two tried their best. They placed their arms around each other and began to slowly spin, just hoping not to step on their partner's foot or to bump into anyone else. However, honestly, Sonic wasn't shy; he was just confused. Unable to understand how he was feeling about her, about why she made him smile, even when she was destitute, how he went out of his way to get that gift for her...

Finally, when they had stopped dancing and managed to get away, Sonic said, "Samus?"

Samus looked at the hedgehog. "Yes?"

Sonic swallowed. "Samus... I think I-!"

"Aaaaaiiiieeee!" screamed someone. Samus and Sonic turned to see a very pale Peach, who had her hands covering her mouth and her eyes wide. People began to gather around, confused looks etched on their faces.

"Peach, what's wrong?" asked Mario.

Peach pointed. "L-look!"

The Smashers and their guests turned around, and they saw it. Coming from the horizen, flying at high speeds, was a ship - a ship they had hoped never to see again. A ship that had been damaged beyond repair. A ship they had all but forgotten.

The Halberd.