Ok, it's time for another match. Let's get started.

Feelings Revealed and a Meeting of Plans

After Solo had left the room, a very tense silence fell over the room. After a bit, Master Hand announced the second match of the day. "Zaria Celest and Jennifer will now be facing Pikachu. Unless," Master Hand said, turning to Z, "you would also like to fight with Sarah at your side."

"Uh, Master Hand," Samus said. "Is that really fair?"

"Yes, actually. Young Zaria here is very much like Geo and Solo. Except that she can merge with multiple wave beings at once. So, it is, in its very essence, fair. As long as neither Jennifer nor Sarah choose to become tangible during the match." He turned to look at Jen and Sarah to make sure that his point came across.

"No need to worry about that," Sarah said, as cheerful as ever. "We won't interfere like that. Right, coz?"

"Right," Jen said.

"Alright then. Please, step onto the pad." The Smashers did so, reappearing on a stage that seemed to be floating in space. There were two columns in the center of the stage, stone platforms around the stage, as well as a lower level, and had a very creepy feel to it.

"This stage gives me the creeps," Z said, now in her multi form armor. Or at least her armor that she wore when wave changed with Jen and Sarah.

"Pika? Pi pika," Pikachu said.

"Ummm…" Z just looked at Pikachu, then to the Jen in the scope of the rifle. "Either of you have a translation for that?" Jen shook her head and Sarah appeared in the visor on her helmet to do likewise. "Yeah, didn't think so."

"Are the Smashers ready," Master Hand asked from the auditorium.

"PI," Pikachu answered, jumping up and down.

"Sure am," Z said, switching her rifle out for the star on her back.

"Then begin," Master Hand said.

***

THUNK

Z landed back on the ground, dodging a bolt of electricity and dashing for her star that she had thrown at Pikachu, who just missed out on having her tail lose two inches. Off screen, Max and Eva had decided to watch the match when they heard who was next, stopping their training to give her support. "When did Z's armor change," Eva asked, looking at Max.

"Remember when Sarah joined us," Max asked, using the question to begin his answer. "Well, there's something about Jen and her cousins that, until recently, was not known to them. There were only four people who knew about it. Me and the three uncles. Jen and her three cousins all share the same frequency."

"That is unheard of in our zone," Reaper said, her eyes on the match still. "Is it common here?"

"No. I think this is only the second case of such an event. Anyways, because Jen shares the same frequency with her cousins, Z can wave change with them as well. Either individually or in combination. A.k.a., the multi wave change. Her powers also change with each cousin." Max went quiet for a bit, then suddenly spoke the thought that had just occurred to him. "It may be worthwhile to find Z's other two cousins."

"The multi wave change," Eva said, looking back at the match. "It sounds kinda like the dragon harmony that Rena and I can do with Yami and Awai. Except that-"

"Yami and Awai are digimon, not wave beings," Max finished.

"Yeah." Eva seemed to ponder something for just a bit and then focused on the match. "It looks like fun."

"I'm sure it is." Max returned his attention as well, in time to see Z get hit by one of the earlier bolts of electricity, stunning her for just a bit.

"Ow!" Sarah exclaimed, wincing in the visor. "Man, that hurt like hell. I think that's the one downside to wave change. What one feels, the other does too." Suddenly, an item appeared that none of the new Smashers had seen before, but the veteran Smashers recognized it in a heartbeat. Pikachu broke the item and promptly turned invisible.

"I feel sorry for your friend," Samus said, walking over to join Max and Eva. "Pikachu visible is trouble, but an invisible Pikachu is absolute mayhem."

"I wouldn't count on that to save Pikachu," Max said, a smile touching his lips.

"Alright Sarah, time to get some more time in with this visor. Switch it to infrared," Z said, pulling her rifle from its spot on her back and putting the star in its place. She brought the scope up to her right eye and began tracking Pikachu with the muzzle. "Alright, let's see you dodge this one." She pulled the trigger, hitting Pikachu dead center, knocking her toward the edge. Pikachu managed to grab onto the ledge, just saving herself from a defeat. She started pulling herself back up, her invisibility wearing off as she pulled herself all the way onto the stage. "Darn. Should have followed with a second shot."

Off screen, Max was smirking and all of the veteran Smashers were getting out their wallets, grumbling. "Max, won't Z be angry that you ran a pool on her being able to hit Pikachu while invisible," Eva asked.

"Naw," Max said, then seemed to change his mind. "Well, it might be a good idea to give her half the money."

"Pika…PIIIIIIIII!" Pikachu closed her eyes, hunching over as electricity began to build around her body. Z heard what sounded like thunder, looking up in time to see a bolt of electricity coming down at her. She jumped to the side, just dodging it, but was still singed on her leg.

"OWW!" Z yelled, holding her leg. She took her hand off of the burn to get a look at it, discovering the armor had been turned black in that area. Her skin had a burn blister rising quickly on it.

"Pi?" Pikachu came closer to look at the wound and Z raised her rifle, thinking that Pikachu was going to attack again. "Pika?" Then Pikachu realized what Z had planned and quickly began waving her two front paws. "PI, PI! PIKA PI!" Even if Z couldn't understand what she was saying, she got the gist of it and lowered the rifle. Pikachu then stepped the last few feet between them to take a look at the wound.

Master Hand turned to Crazy Hand, who was sleeping. He knocked into him to wake him up. "Crazy, have you been tampering with the controls again," Master Hand asked his brother.

"Nope," Crazy Hand answered and promptly went back to sleep.

"Hmmmm." Master Hand turned to the computer, looking over it. "Everything seems to be normal. But with all these malfunctions, I can't be too sure anymore. And this very well may be the work of Erazor." He turned back to the match and spoke to the fighters. "I am going to call this match in Pikachu's favor for now. The system seems to be experiencing some difficulties with the environment of the stage. We will set up a bed in the infirmary for you, Zaria." He hit something on the computer's keyboard with his index finger, but nothing happened. "Uh oh," he said, turning back to the screen. Over the fighters, dark clouds had started to gather. Rumbles began to spread out from the cloud and lightning strikes were now hitting everywhere, but seemed to be getting closer and closer to the fighters.

"Shit," Max said, vaulting himself up onto the stage. "Can you still send people in there?"

Master Hand checked the screen. "Yes, I can."

"Hang on, I'm coming, too," Eva said, joining Max, who was in armor. She did a quick wave change. Both of them disappeared and reappeared on the stage.

"Max!" Z exclaimed, wincing as she moved her burnt leg. "What are you doing in here?"

"Helping you," he said, picking her up, trying to avoid the burnt area.

"How can I help," Eva asked.

Max looked at the strikes as they came closer and then looked at Eva's scythe. "You know how a lightning rod works?"

"Oh, duh," Eva said, smacking her forehead. She took her scythe in both hands and jammed it into the ground as hard as she could.

"Blade Fusion." Max was surrounded by a glow and when it was gone, he was in armor that resembled Blademan's. Readjusting Z to his left arm, he drew his katana, the katana morphing into a naginata, this time with a spike at the other end of the staff. He jammed it into the ground a little ways from Eva's scythe, looking at the lightning strikes once more. "We may need a few more metallic items." One of the strikes hit one of the two columns, snapping it in half. "And maybe a couple of barriers." He tried to think, which wasn't easy when you're racing against the clock. He then got an idea and for a second, a lightning strike fell at just the right angle, looking to the other three like a very strange substitute for the proverbial lightbulb. "Eva and Pikachu, I suggest you get closer to me." The two did so, Eva picking up Pikachu, now standing right next to Max. "Electric Aura, download." A yellow aura appeared around the four of them, just managing to cover them. Trying to use an aura with two people was difficult, but to get four in there proved to be easier if two of them held the others. A lightning strike suddenly hit them and Eva shrieked, effectively deafening Max partially in his left ear. When she noticed that no one was hurt, she noticed that the outside of the aura seemed to be wrapped in electrical currents. "Please don't scream in my ear like that."

"Sorry." They all stood there for what seemed like hours, but was really only a few minutes. Off screen, Master Hand was trying his damned best to get them out, but the system was glitching again.

"Damn it," Tabuu said, watching from his access room. He had hoped that by using the electricity from that electric mouse, he could cause a chain reaction in the stage, setting off a sudden electrical storm. But he hadn't counted on Master Hand actually sending people in to help.

"Having trouble," Erazor asked, coming in.

"What do you want, Erazor?"

"Nothing much. Just coming to check on your progress. But it would seem that there isn't much progress to speak of." He looked at the screen, smirking at Tabuu's failure. "Master Kalar won't like that."

Tabuu just glared at him. Erazor returned the look and then left. Tabuu turned back to the screen to see that the scythe and naginata were now taking most of the lightning strikes. "I really hate those people." He began to type furiously, seeing if there were some way he could get rid of the aura, when two roars made him look up. "Uh oh."

"What was that," Max asked, looking for the source of the two roars.

"Pi…" Pikachu began to shake, obviously scared of something. Suddenly, between the two columns…or rather, the one and one half columns…two much larger and definitely more intimidating pokemon appeared. The first one was a blue and silver color, standing on four legs. The second was more of a light red and silver color, standing on two legs, with a tail and two arms. They looked around at the sky, roaring once more.

"This can't be good," Z said, her leg still in pain. The two pokemon suddenly looked at them, as if just noticing them. They then turned their attention back to the sky, opening their mouths. A ball of energy began to build up at their mouths and they suddenly fired them, the balls releasing beams of energy that lanced into the clouds. The clouds seemed to change color and suddenly began to dissipate. "Or maybe it is." When all of the clouds were gone and the pokemon were sure they wouldn't return, they suddenly disappeared.

"Well…that was…," Max said, not able to finish the sentence. Suddenly remembering that they were in an aura, he released it, going over to pick up the naginata and reverting it back to its katana form. He then switched back to normal, Eva picking up her scythe. "What the hell was that?"

"Those were Dialga and Palkia," Master Hand said, his voice seeming to come from everywhere at once while they were still in the stage. "But those weren't the data versions. I am not sure how or much less why, but the actual pokemon came to fix the glitch somehow."

"NO!" Tabuu yelled, slamming his fist down in frustration. "Damn those two legendaries. Damn them. I was so close!" Tabuu slowly began to calm down, his fist relaxing, slowly, but still relaxing. "Ok, I can fix this. I can fix this…How do I fix this?"

"Ok, the system seems to be back to normal. I'm going to try bringing all of you back."

***

"Thanks again," Z said, reclining in one of the Smash Manor's infirmary beds, her leg wrapped in bandages. When they were brought back from the stage and Max brought her to the infirmary, the medic who treated her discovered that the burn had been much more severe than first thought. It had done a fair amount of damage, even with the armor protecting her. She would be out for the remainder of the tournament, as well as have to use a wheelchair for about a week before the medics would even consider giving her crutches.

"It wasn't a problem," Max said, sitting just to the side of her bed. Z looked at him and gave a small laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing," she answered. They remained quiet for a bit, a somewhat awkward silence filling the room. Z was the first to break it. "You know, you always seem to be there for me when it really counts." She looked at Max, who just returned the stare. "Ever since the first day I met you, you've been saving my ass when I'm close to death."

"That's no-"

"It is true," she said, interrupting him. "Don't you remember the first time we met? I would have been killed if you hadn't shown up when you did. And then, more than a year ago, before you disappeared, there was the thing with Mr. Meda before he broke Kalar's hold over him. And just now, when those lightning strikes could have killed me. And I don't know how many other times there have been." Max looked down, not offering any reply. "I owe you my life I don't know how many times over. And there's no possible way you can deny it." Another silence filled the room. It was fortunate that the room was empty, because this conversation would have been very difficult in the company of others. Even those who they knew very well.

"Z," Max said, breaking this silence first. "You're right. I can't deny it. It would go against every fiber of my being to let a person die, even if they're someone who doesn't deserve to live. And when I think about it, maybe it was that weakness that allowed Kalar to survive that blast. Maybe it was my lack of killer instinct that weakened the Forbidden Advance's power. I don't know. But like I said, I've never been able to go against that little voice in my head saying save them." He stopped for a bit, perhaps to let what he just said to sink in or perhaps to figure what he was going to say next. After a bit, he began speaking again. "But whenever I see you in trouble…I can't really explain it, but seeing you in that kind of trouble…it awakens something in me. But the first time I was sure of it was when Mr. Meda nearly killed you. I'd been angry before. I've gotten stronger with that anger, but that was adrenaline. When you nearly died that day, it was more than just adrenaline. It was the suit itself. It was…a different power than I had ever felt before. But like I said, I can't explain why." He looked at Z, who was just…staring at him. She suddenly leaned closer to him, embracing his neck, which surprised him.

"I'm pretty sure that I know," she said, her head resting on his shoulder. She then moved her head back to look at him. "And deep down, I think you do, too." She then closed the gap between their lips, which surprised him even more. Poor Max wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. But suddenly it didn't matter. In his mind's eye, he was watching fireworks. But if the kiss itself was surprising, the broken contact a few seconds later was just depressing.

"Uh…" He couldn't speak. Z giggled at his expression.

"Hey, Max," Sonic said from the doorway, making Max leap. Max looked down from the ceiling, his hands currently holding onto the holes that his fists had made in the ceiling, his armor now up out of reflex. "Master Hand wants to talk with you. Come on."

"Alright, just let me get down," Max said, releasing his hold to land in a crouch. He stood up, dusting his arms and legs off, his armor still in place, partially because he wanted to absorb as much of the shock of the fall as possible and partially because he was blushing. "Anyone ever tell you it's rude to sneak up on people like that," he asked, following Sonic out of the room and down the hall. Z listened as they walked down the hall and when she couldn't hear them anymore, she lay back, gave a content sigh, and tried to go to sleep.

***

When Max arrived in the study that doubled as Master Hand's, he saw that Sasuke, J, and Will were also there. "Ah, here is the final person," Master Hand said. "How is Zaria?"

"Mending," Max said. "Turns out the only thing that saved her leg was the armor. But she's gonna be out the rest of the tournament."

"Hmmm…a shame really."

"So…why did you call us here?"

"Because of these glitches," Master Hand said, getting straight to the point. "I highly doubt that these glitches are random. They are much too…coincidental, shall we say?"

"I agree with Master Hand on this," Sonic said, Shahra appearing from her ring. "The match that I had with Lan. You remember it, I'm sure. Well, let's just say that I saw someone who I recognized from my past."

"His name is Erazor, a djinn. An extremely dangerous, very powerful djinn."

"Hold on," Sasuke said. "Am I correct in assuming that you have called us here to discuss the possibility of this…djinnn…tampering with your system?"

"Yes, you are. That is why I have called you here. You, William, and J are the technical geniuses in your group, as I understand it.

"Well, yes," Will said. "But what are you suggesting?"

"I am not suggesting anything. Rather, I am asking for your help in discovering how he did this. My skills are rather limited when it comes to technology. I can give you access to the system. But that is the only help I can offer."

"Then why am I here," Max asked. "I'm not exactly genius material."

"Oh, but you are. That leg gear of yours is nothing short of a technological miracle."

"But that was when I was Walter, not Max. I don't have access to that kind of knowledge. And I'm pretty sure that I got lucky with this stuff anyways. No, I'm not the one that you want." The room went quiet, the other three considering. Suddenly, Max remembered someone that he had met over a year ago, someone who may be willing to help. "I do know someone who may have the technical know-how. Two, actually. We can bring them here." He turned to Sasuke. "If that remote is still working, that is."

"Yes, I believe it is," Sasuke said.

"Alright then. I'll give them a call."

Phew. That was a long chapter. I threw in the thing with Z because I felt guilty about not doing anything for Valentine's Day and because I felt guilty about setting up most of the other characters. Anyways, you know who belongs to whom. Please Review.