A/N: Sorry this took forever. My old computer died so I lost what I was writing. Then I was computerless for almost a month. But now I'm back.

This chapter's kinda violent, I don't really describe anything in detail, but it's still hella violent. I was originally going to mix flashbacks and trials, but I'm glad I didn't because this chapter's so damn long.

Class trial is for the next chapter, but there will be special appearances in this chapter. Yay! There's one appearance I'm really happy I managed to get in.

Also, a reminder that in this AU, SSB is replaced by Super Bash Sisters which is just SSB but genderbent. So, when the characters are talking about Ult and Melee, they're not talking about the two games we know and love.


Zelda: Hello and welcome to the review show!

Zelda: BornToDream03, thank you. Neither Kirby nor Marth have been buffed since last chapter. I've lost all hope in them.

Zelda: Perhaps, I wish I knew where all these ideas came from. They just come out of nowhere like Lucas.

Zelda: Derick Lindsey, changing the Mastermind was easily the best decision made. Peach got some moments in this chapter. Still don't feel like it's enough, but we still have two chapters left.

Zelda: Time to start the show!


Despair nothing but despair. All that mattered was despair. Love was despair. Life was despair. Everything was despair.


Every spring, all the classes of Hope's Peak two branches would compete in a week-long sports festival. Most of the students were excited for the event, but none were as excited as Princess Zelda. This was her chance to carefully observe all the classes and select one to conduct experiments on.

Zelda was walking around campus when she spotted Link. She waved to him before asking him his thoughts on the event. Link didn't appear to have much faith in his class, just what Zelda needed.

"So, who do you think will win?" the princess asked as she faked a frown, "You better have a good reason for not having any hope in our class."

"It's either going to be class M63 or B3," the Ultimate Puzzle Solver replied, "They're full of so much talent. The only competition we're winning for sure is the martial arts one."

"Between class M63 and B3 who do you think is most likely to win?"

"Um, I guess class M63. Based on all of Twilight's stories, that class is insanely talented. Most of the students are worthy of more than one Ultimate talent."

"You can say that about our class too! Fox could totally be the Ultimate Melee Player! I'll show you I'm right!"

Zelda grabbed Link's hand and led him to the recreational room. It was full of students watching Fox facing off against Marth in Melee. The situation was completely against Fox's favor, he was three stocks behind and in death percents.

"You can do it, Fox!" Zelda yelled only for Fox to get KO'd.

"In your fucking face, Fox!" Falco popped off, "I told you you weren't going to win at all this year!"

"Shut up, you lost against me!" Fox snapped back, "If Puff wasn't sick today, she would have destroyed everyone."

The two argued while everyone else celebrated or left the room. Thoughts rushed through Zelda's mind as she made her way out with Link, she had made her decision. She knew which class she was going to experiment on.

"So, you were going to show me you were right?" Link teased.

"Fine, you win this time," the princess pouted, "But next time I'll win!"

After many sleepless nights, Zelda had finally settled on a plan. She spent a week preparing everything she needed. She had interviewed all the students from class M63 to prepare a killing game for them and made sure to ask them if they'd kill to achieve their dreams. She had also had the opportunity to test Hope's Peak virtual reality project.

All she had to do now was break the class she despised with all her heart.


Zelda couldn't wait, she could hardly contain her excitement as she sat in the bleachers watching the sports festival. A racing event was going on and Peach was participating in it. Zelda was looking forward to the outcome of the races.

Peach was stretching, she couldn't afford to damage her body in any way. There was still an entire week of events for her to take part in. She refused to disappoint her classmates, she was winning all of her races whether her opponents like it or not.

"Oh, did I win?" Peach taunted as she crossed the line to win her final race.

All her classmates ran up to her to congratulate her on her victory. But Peach was more interested in congratulating her fellow competitors for giving her a great experience.

As she made her way to them, she stepped on something. The princess looked at what she had walked on, it was a phone. Peach picked it up, she wasn't sure who it belonged to. She pressed the "on" button hoping the wallpaper would give an indication as to whose phone it was, but the wallpaper was just a bomb.

As soon as Peach turned the phone off, she saw someone walk towards her. A beeping sound was coming from them.

"Is this your phone?"

The person nodded and retrieved their phone. They took a few steps before stopping and looking up at the sky.

"Boom!" the person laughed as they turned their phone on, "Go boom for her! For despair!"

"Are you-" Peach asked before being cut off by the sound of an explosion.


Peach couldn't stop crying. Someone had died right in front of her and it was all her fault. Maybe if she hadn't given them the phone, everything could have been avoided. She was sure all her friends were disgusted by her even though they kept insisting nothing was her fault and the incident would have happened anyway. Link would never give her a chance now. Sheik would never want to associate with her ever again. She'd never get to play any of the Super Bash Sisters games with the rest of her classmates. Her father was going to be so disappointed once he heard the news, he was going to disown her.

"Peach, you shouldn't think those kind of things," Zelda told Peach as she gave her a hug, "The police already said you're innocent."

"You don't know what it feels like!" Peach snapped as she pushed Zelda away, "Having someone die in front of you after they just talked to you in front of everyone you love!"

"All right, I guess you just need to let out all your frustrations right now. What are you feeling right now?"

"I'm a disgusting human being and no one's ever going to love me!"

"Aren't Bowser and Mario head-over-heels in love with you?"

"I don't care about them! All my friends have great relationships, heck you're in a relationship, and I'm sitting here all on my own! What's the point of being loved if it's by people you don't love back?"

"I don't-"

"What can I do? I'm so lost and hopeless."

"Why don't you just give in to despair? Despair accepts everyone."

"It does?"

"It does! You know what, I'll give you a high ranking position among my followers. People will love you! No one will care whether or not you've ever killed someone!"

"Really? So, there's still hope for me? Zelda, you're a goddess!"

Zelda didn't do anything but smirk. She finally had her first loyal subject that wasn't a completely idiotic blind follower with no talents. But part of her was disappointed, Peach had accepted her too easily.


Peach being so accepting of Zelda's plans turned out to be a huge asset for the princess of Despair. This made it much easier to plan her next move.

Class M63 had decided they should gather every evening to discuss strategies to guarantee their victory. They had already had an amazing first day full of victories.

"Tomorrow's the e-sports day, right?" Falco said, "Half of us are going to play Melee and the other Ultimate. Naturally, I'll win the-"

"No, you won't," Sheik interrupted, "I am winning this year."

"Jigglypuff destroyed you last time you played," Marth reminded her, "We need to make sure Puff faces Fox."

"Um, maybe you guys can discuss your strategy among yourselves?" Dr. Mario suggested.

"Sorry… Anyway, Peach, we're counting on you to win the Ultimate tournament."

"I'm not entering it," Peach frowned, "I… I'm still not over today's incident… Sorry."

"It's okay, you have no reason to apologize."

"He's right," Mr. Game & Watch, "Roy, Pi and I will make sure to make you proud, right?"

"But what if-" Roy started only to get interrupted.

"We're gonna win this!" the yellow pokemon cheered.

Everyone was in high spirits, everyone except Peach. Peach only had one thing on her mind, her mission.

Once the gathering was over, Peach confronted Pichu. The princess told him she had something to show him. Pichu, having no reason to not trust his friend, happily followed her.

The two arrived in a basement. Pichu wasn't sure what Peach could be keeping in the basement. Maybe it was a huge surprise for him? Oh, well, what was the worst that could happen?


Pichu woke up to a blinding light. When had he passed out? He was with Peach, wasn't he? He couldn't recognize his surroundings. He had to make sure Peach was okay.

But he couldn't move, he was tied up to a pole. The pokemon wanted to cry, he was scared. He didn't know if Peach was safe or not. He was stuck by himself with no one to help him.

Suddenly, a door slammed open. Zelda entered the room and Pichu smiled, she must have come to save him!

"Hurry up!" Pichu shouted, "Get me out of here!"

"Don't you find it strange your parents named you Pichu?" the princess asked as she stood still, "It's like they didn't believe you'd ever evolve."

"What?"

"They had no hope for you." Zelda pulled out a knife. "They probably thought you were going to be a self-harming baby for your entire life."

"No, that's not true!" the small pikachu sobbed, "I proved them wrong! They love me! They were proud of me when I got into Hope's Peak!"

"They only care about the money you'll bring them. Now, what kind of torture do you want to go through? You're related to Pikachu, so I'll be nice to you."

"I don't want torture! What's wrong with you? Did someone evil brainwash you?"

"How dare you assume someone would be capable of brainwashing me, the Ultimate Despair? You must have killed all your brain cells with all your electrocutions."

"No, I don't want to be in pain! I hate pain!"

"Enough stalling, Peach, get me my tools."

"Your wish is my command, Zelda," Peach said as she entered the room carrying a box.

"Peach, what happened to you?" Pichu screamed in shock, "Why are you helping her?"

"Don't worry. It will only hurt a bit, but you'll be enlightened afterwards!"

"P-Peach? Peach? Peach! No!"

All Pichu could do was scream in pain.


Pichu was surrounded by pools of blood. He didn't know who the blood belonged to anymore. He couldn't remember anyone's names or faces, just their screams. He had tortured them. None survived. Why did he do it? He couldn't remember but it felt horrible and amazing at the same time.

"Had fun?" Peach asked with a grin on her face.

"I don't know. Do you think I did?"

"Let's see… At first, you were crying but by the end, you were laughing. I think you did have fun!"

"Yay, I had fun!"

"Now remember to keep this secret from everyone," Zelda smiled as she patted the pokemon's head, "Don't forget about your mission tomorrow."

"I won't!"

Pichu ran off full of joy. He couldn't wait to start his mission, it was going to be so much fun.


Falco was confused as he looked at the Melee tournament's bracket. Everyone from his pool had dropped out for personal reasons. Falco was sure he would have destroyed them but making it past pools because no one was there didn't feel satisfying.

"Personal reasons strikes again, huh?" Zelda commented as she looked over the bracket, "I wonder what happened. If I find out, I'll make sure to tell you."

"Whatever, I don't care."

"Hm… I wonder if they all died or something. Would you hurt someone to succeed?"

"I don't know what you're on, but you should stop."

"The only drug I'm on is despair."

"Your sense of humor is shit."

All Zelda could do was smile as the bird walked away. He was going to be a tough one to break. Peach and Pichu had been way too easy, she needed someone strong-willed on her side.


After what had seemed like an eternity, Falco finally got to play. However something seemed off about his opponent, they appeared uncomfortable and nervous. Falco assumed it was their first time competing.

But midway through their set, they stormed out of the venue shouting something about needing to vomit and never returned. Falco was declared the winner of the set and despite him knowing he would have won anyways, he couldn't help but feel ashamed.

Every set Falco played ended with his opponent leaving midway for unknown reasons. But he couldn't let this get him down, he was going to win the tournament. Sadly for the bird and his fellow competitors, the tournament ended up getting postponed due to all the dropouts.

"All right, tell me everything you know," Falco ordered as he confronted Zelda, "You must know if there's some weird virus floating around."

"Oh, I know a lot," Zelda smiled, "Rumor has it, there's a serial killer here. You know Link, the one from my class? He told me he thinks this serial killer might have a thing for you. It's like they're trying to help you win by getting rid of all your competition."

"Then they're an idiot, they'll never get my heart by making my life boring. I live for the competition and I'd never want my opponents to die no matter how much I hate them."

Falco went to the cafeteria where all of his class had gathered to celebrate Mr. Game & Watch winning the Ultimate tournament. Having the cook be the cook for his own victory party felt wrong, but the 2D man insisted only he could be the cook for his own party.

"So, you think there's a serial killer who's in love with you?" Duncan asked Falco as he ate his pasta.

"I don't, Zelda does," Falco corrected his friend, "Or more precisely, her little boyfriend, not our Link, thinks that."

"You shouldn't give it much thought," Hunter barked, "You know those two are into weird things."

"Nah, you two are the ones into weird things. Those two love creepy stuff."

"They never gave me that vibe."

"I live with Time and he has this creepy mask collection," Link told the dog, "The first time I invited Roy over he screamed like he was getting murdered when he saw the masks."

"Huh, I guess people aren't always what they appear to be."

"No shit, Sherlock," Ganondorf replied, "Those masks are another reason I despise everyone in Link's family."

"Well, I don't think you should worry about anything, Falco. Let's just focus on doing a good job in the sports event and let the experts handle this 'serial killer' with a crush on you."


The next two days of events were filled with many victories for class M63. Everyone was winning because they deserved it, everyone but Falco. His competition was literally dying off.

On the fifth day of the sports event, Falco's most important race was about to take place. He had to show the world he was worthy of his title as the Ultimate Pilot. But he didn't want the killer to strike again, he was sure they would target his two biggest rivals.

Falco was feeling uneasy before his race and decide to go for a walk. He needed some fresh air to calm him down. As he walked through the campus, he got a text message from an unknown number.

We won't kill anyone today. Good luck with your race, you'll need it.

Falco resisted the urge to throw his phone on the ground. As he made his way back to where the race was going to take place, he heard someone talking on their phone.

"I'll be there soon," the person said, "With this new technology, Fox is going to win for sure! It will be the only of it's kind."

Fox winning over me? In a race. That can't happen! I need to keep my winning record over him.

Falco stared at the person as they continued their conversation oblivious to their surroundings. Falco listened carefully to every word that was being spoken waiting for the conversation to end. He spotted a wooden plank and he knew what had to be done.

Falco picked up the plank and swung it at the person knocking them out with one hit. Falco knew there weren't any cameras in the area so no one would know he was the one who had knocked them out.


"God, damn it!" Falco yelled as he exited his plane.

It took all his willpower to not punch the vehicle he had just left. He was completely infuriated, disgusted. He had played dirty and of course, karma got the best of him. His plane ended up having an engine failure forcing him to drop out mid-race.

Falco's friends tried cheering him up but he didn't want to face any of them. He had ruined everything for the most selfish reason possible. He had hurt someone he didn't even know just to end up failing. He didn't want to see the results, he knew Fox had won.

Falco walked back to the dorms on his own. He wasn't worthy of being with his classmates. They were the coolest people he knew and he was the lamest person on Earth.

"I'm assuming the killer didn't help you today," Zelda frowned as she walked up to the bird, "Maybe Link was wrong about the killer being into you."

"Go away," Falco glared, "You shouldn't hang out around people like me."

"It's okay, I'm friends with a lot of killers!"

"You really need to learn proper humor. Princess shouldn't joke about killers."

"I'm not joking. I mean, you're a killer and you're the friend of my friend. I suppose that makes us friends. Follow me, I've got something to show you."

Falco knew he shouldn't follow her but he didn't have anything else to do. He didn't want to think about his loss. Hanging out with a weird princess seemed more appealing than sitting alone and depressed.

The princess led Falco to a basement he didn't even know existed. He didn't question how Zelda knew about it, that was the least of his worries at the moment.

"Ta-da!" Zelda cheered as she opened a door.

"What the fuck!?" Falco shouted, "Why the fuck is there a dead body in here? Did you fucking kill someone?"

"You can't even recognize your own victim?" Pichu smiled as he jumped from behind the body, "That's so mean!"

"You should have checked to make sure they were alright," Peach giggled, "Turns out you broke their neck resulting in their death."

"I suppose being dead is better than being a vegetable."

"No, you guys are wrong!" Falco yelled, "I-I wouldn't kill someone. That's not me! You guys are the one who-"

"Who what?"

"You guys are responsible for all my opponents dying! What the fuck is wrong with you!?"

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Zelda smirked, "You're acting like you're some saint when you're just as fucked up as us."

"No, shut up! You're lying! I'm not like any of you!"

"Ooh! I just got a notification! Turns out Wolf won the race. I guess even if your plane hadn't malfunctioned, you wouldn't have won."

"No!" Falco cried, "I didn't fucking kill someone for nothing! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! What the fuck is wrong with me?"

"Oh, don't cry. You're not the only messed up one in this world. There's a place for people like us."

"T-there is?"

"Yes, all you have to do is accept despair."


Duncan was worried, Falco had been gone for hours. He didn't expect the bluebird to get as upset as he did. Usually Falco would be angry for an hour before going back to practice.

"Do you think Falco will be alright?" Duncan asked Hunter, "I have a bad feeling about this."

"This is Falco, we're talking about," Hunter smiled, "He's probably out training somewhere! You need to stop jumping to the worst possible conclusions."

"Yeah, you're right! Starting today, I'm going to be more positive!"

"That's the spirit!"

Later that evening, Duncan got a call from Zelda. She said she needed help with something and Duncan, being the Ultimate Assistant, naturally felt it was his duty to assist her.

"I'm so glad you're here," the princess smiled before making a dark expression, "Someone's on the school's roof. They're threatening to kill a lot of innocent people!"

"I-I don't think I can-" Duncan started before remembering Hunter's words and filling himself with determination, "Is there a way to contact that person?"

"They left a walkie-talkie but I'm too afraid to speak to them."

Duncan walked over to a walkie-talkie that was lying on the ground. He picked it up and introduced himself to the mysterious person on the rooftop before asking them to stop their madness.

"I will leave if you kill them for me," a distorted voice replied.

"That's not happening," Duncan quacked back, "No one is going to die here."

"I'll start killing everyone one by one in that case!"

"The cops will be here before you even lay a finger on somebody."

There was nothing but silence for around a minute. Zelda approached Duncan and told him he was doing a good job. The duck was determined to save everyone.

"Fine, you win," the voice broke the silence, "I'll let everyone go."

"Really?" Duncan quacked.

"On one condition, make me jump off."

Duncan dropped the walkie-talkie in shock. This wasn't the happy ending he was expecting. He didn't know what to do anymore, this was beyond him. He was just a small duck, what was he supposed to do in such a situation.

"You have to do as they say," Zelda told Duncan, "If you don't, many innocent people will die."

"No, I can't!" the duck shouted, "I can't kill someone! No, it's not that I can't… It's that I won't!"

"So, you'd rather innocent people die?"

"No, I'll find a way. Is there not another condition? You don't want to go through with this, do you?"

"I-I…" the voice stuttered.

"Everything's going to be fine. Nothing bad will happen to you."

"Okay…"

Duncan sighed in relief. He was thankful for Hunter's pep talk earlier, without him, there was no way he could have gotten through to that person.

Duncan turned around to face Zelda expecting a smile, but instead, he saw a knife pointed towards him. Duncan was confused. What had happened to her? Why was she radiating a murderous aura full of despair?

"You are going to talk that person into killing themselves," the princess glared, "Otherwise, you and all their hostages will die."

"Z-Zelda, what's wrong with you?" The duck took a step back. "This isn't like you."

"This is me, the true me. If you don't want all those people to be the side dish next to your roasted body, you'll do what I want. I'm the Ultimate Despair and I always get what I want."

Duncan was too scared to talk back to her. He picked up the walkie-talkie and spoke to the mysterious person. He did nothing but lie. He felt like a complete coward, he had given up so easily. But at least, he would have saved many innocent lives. Hopefully, those people would be thankful.

As soon as Duncan put the walkie-talkie down, he heard a scream followed by the sound of a splatter. Duncan didn't want to think about it. He just wanted to go back to his dorm room and wake up. He wanted everything to just be a twisted nightmare.

"I-I… I did it!" Duncan shouted, his voice full of nervousness, "You won't harm them, right?"

"Of course…" Zelda replied before turning her grim expression into a psychotic one, "Not!"

"What!? But you!"

"I'm just joking! Can't harm someone who's already dead, after all!"

"Y-you... How could you?"

"Feeling the despair yet? You actually trusted me! Your life is mine!"

"N-no… No! That can't be possible!"

"You're not the first, I've gotten to others. I'm sure you'd love to meet them! They thought the same as you before they turned."

Duncan turned around and saw Peach, Pichu and Falco covered in blood. He could tell it wasn't theirs, he could tell something was wrong with them and he could tell he couldn't do anything to turn them back to normal.

"Welcome to the club, I guess," Falco chuckled.


The next day, Duncan arrived barely in time to catch the grand finals of the Melee tournament. Hunter appeared upset by his friend's strange behavior.

"Duncan, did something happen?" a concerned Hunter asked.

"I followed your advice," Duncan replied, "So, I decided to try a beer. Turns out alcohol isn't for me and my parents weren't happy that I took one of their beers."

"If you say so. You shouldn't get involved with things you know are bad for you."

"Yeah, I'm definitely never drinking any alcohol ever again. Who's playing?"

"It's-"

"In your face Puff!" Fox shouted as he got on the stage, "I told you you weren't going to win!"

"We're in the same class!" the pink puff snapped back, "How can you root against me? There's still one game left."

"I'll always root against you, Puff. Especially when you're the one who sends me to losers. Marth's gonna kick your ass."

"Get off the stage!"

After only three minutes had passed, all the class M63 students that were in the venue found themselves celebrating another victory for their class.

"Congrats on your win, dude," Hunter barked, "You were awesome, right, Duncan?"

"Yeah, although I didn't really understand what was going on," Duncan quacked.

"Thank you, guys," Marth smiled.

"Hey, Marth, want to come over to my place?" Roy asked, "I'm not going to let you celebrate your own victory all alone in your dorm room with takeout."

"But Roy, don't I come over way too often? Isn't your mom sick of seeing my face all the time?"

"No way! You're like a second son to her. She likes it when you visit, it gets lonely with just the two of us. Let's go get your stuff."

"Well, if you insist," the prince sighed before facing Hunter again, "See you guys tomorrow."

"See ya," Hunter greeted, "Have fun, you two."


Roy was waiting for Marth to finish gathering all his belongings. The prince sure liked to take all of his time. Roy, bored of waiting, decided to walk around the hall in the hopes that something interesting would happen.

"Hello, Roy," Zelda smiled as she walked by.

"What do you want?" Roy frowned.

"Okay, what if I told you I was going to kill your father right now?"

"You don't even know where he lives."

"Perceptive like always… Now, imagine your mother is walking alone and some random guy attacks her-"

"Good luck."

"What?"

"You think my mom wouldn't be able to take some dude down?"

"I-"

"I'm done," Marth interrupted before directing a quick glare at Zelda, "Hey, Roy, I'm really hungry. Let's hurry up and go, your mom must be tired of waiting."

"Gee, I wonder whose fault that is," Roy rolled his eyes.

Zelda did nothing but glare in disapproval as the two teenagers walked away. She needed a better plan, one that Roy would actually fall for. Having him join her side would make her plans much easier.

"Having trouble, Zelie?" Peach asked, "I know something that might be able to help you."


The following morning, Roy and Marth were walking back to Hope's Peak. Marth told Roy he needed to buy a shampoo and urged the redhead to carry on without him. Unable to change Marth's mind, Roy had no choice but to continue.

When he arrived at Hope's Peak, he was confronted by Zelda. Roy didn't know what her deal was but he decided he'd rather just deal with antics than have her annoy him even more later on. So, he followed her to what appeared to be the school's warehouse.

"Why do you have the keys to this place?" Roy asked.

"Hey, I'm the one who's going to ask the questions," Zelda replied, "Question one, would you let one person you love die if it meant saving a group of people?"

"What's this all about?"

Zelda pulled out a laptop and showed some footage to Roy. She explained that someone who was working for her was sending live footage.

"Ah, there's Marth!" Zelda pointed, "Completely oblivious that he's being followed."

"Oh, wow, you're having one guy stalking him," an unimpressed Roy frowned.

"I have a whole group of men following him and they're armed with tasers. They just need to corner him to catch him. You don't want to know how they want to ruin his pretty little face. Hell, I don't want to know what they want to do with him."

"Tell them to back off."

"I will but you're going to have to do something for me. Bring them out!"

Falco, Peach, Pichu and Duncan appeared followed by a group of people. The group appeared to be scared of what was about to happen to them.

"So, you're asking me to either kill them or let Marth die?" Roy snapped, "You actually think I'm going to go through with your bullshit?"

"Oh, no. Marth's not going to die, Altea is. If you don't kill all these people, my men will make sure he's scarred for life. He'll be so traumatized he'll be a completely incompetent king and his kingdom will fall. He'll likely hate you for it."

"No… That won't be enough to-"

"What's your choice? Some random people no one cares about or Marth and an entire kingdom?"

Roy slowly unsheathed his sword before walking towards the group. Zelda ordered her four Remnants to let the group loose. Despite having the option of being able to run away, group stood in place, shaking.

Roy could barely bring himself to look at them, but he had to. If he didn't see where he was swinging, he'd end up killing them slower which would be much more painful. He swung his sword at the closest person to him and they collapsed instantly.

The warehouse was filled with screams and the group scattered. Roy chased after the slowest people, quickly ending them. But the fastest ones were determined to escape.

"Don't run away, you're making this more painful for the both of us!" Roy shouted at a person he was chasing.

"No, I don't want to-"

The person was slashed but their vital organs remained intact. They screamed in pain as they continued their escape only to get stabbed to death.

"Do you guys really want to feel pain as you die?" Roy yelled, "Wouldn't you rather have a quick painless death?"

"I-I guess not," one person said as they approached the redhead.

"Good, you get it." Roy swung his sword but the person's instincts yelled at them to try and dodge it. "You said you wanted a quick death?"

"I-I'm so sorry! I-I just got s-so scared. My body moved on its own."

"Oh, I think you just want to leave this world at the pace of a turtle."

"N-no! Help!"

But no one came. They were mercilessly stabbed for a minute before being put out of their misery.

"If we stay quiet, he won't find us," a person told their friends as they hid behind a stack of boxes, "We will make it out alive!"

"If we climb, he won't be able to reach us."

The small group climbed as high as they could. They all felt relieved once they reached the top of the stack. But they quickly came to regret their decision as the smelled some smoke and looked down to see the stack burning. The stack collapsed and the group slowly burned alive surrounded by flames with no way out.

"Only five left," Roy told himself before yelling, "You better come out if you don't want to end up roasted alive."

"We're going down fighting," someone said as they charged towards Roy only to get punched in the gut.

"I'll finish you off later. Where are your friends hiding?"

"I'll never tell you!"

"Fine, be that way."

Roy grabbed the person and slammed their head against the ground until they died. Another person tried attacking him but they ended up getting stabbed to death in the most painful way possible.

"At least one of us has to make it out alive," one person said, "We'll distract him, try to escape."

"Come and face us, coward!" another person shouted.

The third person ran away, finding an exit was the only thing on their mind. The warehouse was like a maze and they were sure they had run past the same places multiple times.

After what had felt like an eternity, they found a door. They tried opening but it was locked, so they slammed against the door hoping to break it.

"There you are," Roy said as he slowly walked towards the only person left.

"No!" the person cried as they tried to desperately open the door, "Please, someone!"

And as if an angel had been sent down from the heavens to save them, the sound of a key being inserted into the keyhole was heard. The person smiled, they were going to live!

Right as the door was slammed opened, the person's head was separated from their body and blood splattered against the wall and the person who had opened the door's face and clothes.

"R-Roy?" Marth stuttered in shock before collapsing and dropping the box he was holding.

Roy dropped his sword and caught the prince before he hit the floor and reality hit him as Zelda's laugh replaced the silence.

"Oh, my god!" she laughed, "That timing was so perfect! I-I can't!"

"W-why did I do that?" Roy cried, "Marth's going to hate me."

"Man, I knew you really didn't care about Altea, it was all about Marth not hating you. There's one way to make him not hate you."

"No, I won't listen. I can't kill anymore."

"Oh, you won't have to kill anyone unless you want to," Peach smiled.

"Although, killing is quite fun!" Pichu added.

"Gets easier with every kill," Falco chuckled, "You're pretty good at it."

"Come on, Roy," Duncan quacked, "Join us."


Zelda had gathered her five Remnants in the basement to plan her next move. This was going to be her most complicated plan and she couldn't afford a failure.

"Here's Marth's phone," Roy told Duncan as he handed him an iPhone, "Find something and send it to his parents."

"Okay."

"Why does he get a fun job?" Peach complained to Zelda, "I want to look through juicy stuff too. And what on Earth is that machine you're looking at?"

"It's a machine that erases memories," Zelda giggled, "I'm going to test it on Marth. I never expected everything to go so well for me."

"It's great everything's working out. If we keep this up, despair will rule the world in no time!"

"It will. When you're done here, start packing. We're leaving for early in two days. I don't want any of you to be late. I doubt you'll have time to pack tomorrow. Your disgusting class just had to win the most events."


When Marth opened his eyes, he was surprised. What was he doing in the infirmary? Did he get his hit really hard during the swordplay event that his memory had been wiped?

"Finally awake, sleeping beauty?" Roy smiled, "It's almost six pm."

"W-what!?" Marth replied in shock as he got up, "How long have I been out?"

"Since ten am. You were taking a long time, so I went back to look for you and you fainted for some reason. Did you eat something weird?"

"I don't think so. I feel so bad I missed your- Wait, did you even go to the swordplay event?"

"I didn't want you to be alone."

"Damn it, Roy! What do you do when you go back home at night and I'm not there? Do you have to spend a certain amount of hours around me in order to stay alive?"

"..."

"I was just so sure you were going to win… I even got you a cake to celebrate, but it looks like it got completely destroyed."

"You dropped it when you fainted but I'm sure we can eat what survived."

"How are you feeling Marth?" Dr. Mario interrupted the conversation.

"Confused," the annoyed prince replied, "I don't need to spend the night here, do I?"

"No, but the school contacted your parents. You need to go back to Altea in two days."

"W-what!? So, I faint and my parents can't be bothered to visit me?"

"To be fair, they said they had planned your visit before they heard the news."

"God damn it, I'm dead meat… Ugh, I know what this is about."


Marth arrived in Altea in the late afternoon. If he was being completely honest, he hadn't missed the royal palace. The palace was huge and Marth would always get lost in it. Not to mention he had bad memories associated with it.

"Alright, Marth, you can do this," Marth told himself as he looked at the place he called home.

"Who are you talking to?"

"R-Roy!? Oh, god… Don't tell me my parents are dragging you into this too. This isn't how I wanted all of you to meet..."

"I'm sure it's not what you think," Roy reassured the prince, "I mean, my parents said they paid for my ticket."

Marth sighed in defeat and told Roy to follow him. The palace was empty, not a soul could be found. The prince was getting more and more worried by the second that by the time he arrived in front of the throne room's door, he couldn't bring himself to open it. His hand shook as he reached for the handle.

"You know, you're going to have to go in there sooner or later," Roy sighed, "Want me to open the door for you?"

"You're the guest, you shouldn't… Um… Yes, please."

Roy opened the door and Marth took a deep breath before stepping in. This was it. He was going to tell his parents everything he had always wanted to tell them.

"Mother, Father, I want you to know that I-" Marth started before screaming in horror.

The prince rushed to the two bodies lying in front of the thrones at the back of the room. He shook them begging them to wake up but there was no response.

"T-This is just a prank, right?" Marth laughed nervously, "Just a really bad prank, right?"

"Marth, it looks like they wrote a letter for you," Roy told the prince as he handed him a letter.

"Dear Marth, congratulations…"

The prince broke down into tears as he noticed the rest of the letter was covered in blood and unreadable. He couldn't believe his parents were dead. Everything had to be a bad dream. The palace was supposed to be safe.

Marth stopped crying when he heard footsteps. He turned around and saw two masked figures covered in blood. The sight sent the prince into a fit of rage. He unsheathed his sword and charged towards the mysterious people.

"You fucks can die!" Marth yelled as he slashed at his two enemies, "Shits like you don't fucking deserve to live!"

The prince made sure his enemies couldn't walk by slashing at their legs. He wanted them to suffer, they were going to regret messing with the Lowell family.

Marth went to the palace's secret armory and grabbed as many lances as he could find and a few other things before rushing back to the throne room. He sprayed them with a strange gas making them cough.

"I bet you're wondering what this is," Marth frowned as he threw the empty can before kicking the two people he had sprayed, "Let's just say, it's something that would make even a feather's touch feel painful."

The prince picked up the lances and stabbed the people laying on the ground with them. He didn't bother taking them out of them, he couldn't have them dying on him yet. He still wanted to try one more thing.

"You two must be in such excruciating pain," Marth laughed, "I'm sure my parents felt the same way when you killed them. I'm about to make it worse, much worse. You two are going to wish you were never born!"

Marth slowly took out each lance one by one before taking out a taser, switching it on and repeatedly hitting the two people he hated with it.

"Die! Die! Die!" the prince shouted increased the speed at which he was hitting the two bodies.

The teenager carried on for three minutes before dropping the taser due to exhaustion. He took a few deep breaths before walking back to the throne.

"Mother, Father, I've avenged you," Marth smiled as he sat down next to the corpses.

The prince's clothes were drenched in blood. He could barely feel his arms and he was still out of breath. All he could do was stare, he didn't have much energy left.

As he looked at the lifeless bodies, he noticed something odd. He pushed them a bit and realized they were fake. They felt like hard plastic not like flesh and bones.

Marth couldn't believe he had actually thought they were real. He had been so blinded by the possibility of his parents being dead, he didn't bother to check if it was really them.

He slowly got up and walked back to the corpses. He reached for the masks, hesitating for a second, before taking them off and breaking into a burst of psychotic laughter.

"Of, course this had to happen to me," the prince laughed as he threw the masks against the floor, "I killed my own parents! I enjoyed it… What is wrong with me? Why did I do it?" The prince's laughter was replaced by crying as he fell on his knees. "Mother… Father… Why? Why did it have to end up like this?"

"Shh, it's okay," Roy said as he hugged the shorter teen, "Everything's going to be okay."

"Roy… I killed my own parents. I-I was so cruel… How are you not scared of me? Why are you so calm?"

Roy let go of Marth and smiled at him. It took the prince a few seconds to realize what that smile meant. Within seconds, the prince was surrounded by the four other Remnants of Despair.

"You knew…" he cried as he looked into the taller teen's eyes, "All this time you knew… Yet you didn't stop me from killing them..."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Roy mockingly patted Marth's head,

"Sorry? That's all you can say? After everything that's happened?"

"What? Do you want me to bring you some roses? The severed head of your worst enemy? A handwritten apology? I guess I can start it now. My dear beloved totally not guilty-"

"Shut up! How could… Why? I..."

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

"I… I want to hate you…" Marth glanced at his parents' bodies. "All of you… But... Why do I still care about you?"

"It's despair!" Zelda laughed as she appeared from the shadows, "You can't bring yourself to hate the ones you love even though they've betrayed you. You're the one… You'll be the one to break everyone! There's just so much a puny person like me can do alone, after all! Upupupu!"

"W-what?"

"You love your friends way too much. You'd do anything for them, even if it meant destroying the world. After all, if the world falls, you'll be able to do whatever you want. You won't be known for your talent, but for what you accomplished. You'll be the one remembered for ruining this world while all of my hard work will remain forgotten. How despairing, right?"

Everything was silent for a moment. But then, Marth's laugh full of conflicting emotions killed the silence.

"I never thought I could hate someone so much that I'd actually want to murder them," the prince yelled as he stood up, unsheathed his sword and pointed it at the Ultimate Despair, "You've ruined my whole life, ruined my friends, made me kill my own parents. I hope you get crushed to death!"

"Upupu! That's a pretty good idea, I'll make sure to remember it. Since you've lost everything, why don't you help me?"

"Fine…" The prince put his blade away. "I'll help you destroy the world and once you're dead, I'll destroy everything you stand for. It's part of my talent after all."

"That's even better than what I had hoped for," Zelda grinned, "Wouldn't expect anything less from you, Ultimate Prince. Or maybe new Ultimate Despair would be more appropriate."


Class M63 had gathered in their classroom. The outside of the school was full of chaos. Screaming could be heard. But none of it matter to all but one of them.

"Let's destroy the world!" Marth started.

"Yeah! I'll make sure to kill more than anyone!" Roy cheered.

"Anyone who's against us will rot to death!" Link smirked.

"I'll poison them all!" Mr. Game & Watch yelled.

"Electrocute them!" Pichu shouted.

"Have them die in an unfortunate accident!" Bowser roared.

"A very unfortunate accident!" Ganondorf smiled.

"Oops! Sorry for hitting you with a hammer!" Nana giggled.

"How about making them kill each other?" Popo suggested.

"Yes, we've already done that before!" Peach agreed.

"Now that sounds like a plan!" Falco chuckled.

"How boring…" Dr. Mario complained, "Don't you know that pain causes more despair than death?"

"Physical torture!" Sheik replied.

"Mental torture!" Mewtwo added.

"Who cares as long as there's despair!" Duncan finished.

The fifteen Remnants laughed unaware that Hunter was hiding behind a table crying his heart out. He didn't know what had happened to them, but he knew he had to get them back to normal.


Duncan's eye's shot open. He remembered everything. All the joy… All the pain… All the despair… So much despair.

His body felt different, it was bigger. He looked at his classmates and noticed they all had changed too.

"Wow, you took forever," the Zelda AI complained, "The commercial break is almost over. What side will you choose?"

"What?" Duncan asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Hope with the people who keep lying to you or despair which was your normal life before this, duh."

"I… I don't know."

"God, you guys are so indecisive. That's why I hate you all. Oh, well! Time for my favorite people in the world to join us! Say hello to the seven survivors of the first killing game ever!"

Smoke filled the room. When it disappeared, Duncan noticed the walls now looked like digital patterns from video games. A door appeared out of thin air and as it opened, he spotted seven people.

"Your despair ends now, Zelda," the Ultimate Puzzle Solver announced, "We've taken you down in real life. So, we sure as Hell can take down an AI of you."

"And there's the Link I know and love. But this won't be as easy as last time. No matter the outcome of this trial, there will be consequences that are sure to fill you with despair!"

"We won't lose. We'll get all the Remnants back to normal."

"How cute! Even if you do succeed, you won't be able to stop the people who want them dead. But enough stalling. Time for Part Two of this trial to begin!"

Duncan didn't know what he was supposed to do. Were he and his classmates going to participate in the trial? Were they just going to be spectators? He didn't know what side he was supposed to choose.

It's your story now. Don't ever give up hope!

Feeling the despair yet?

Hope. Despair. Hope. Despair. Neither.

Choosing despair meant becoming a mindless Remnant again and seeing more people suffer. Choosing hope meant losing all his memories again and living a lie. Duncan couldn't choose. No, he wouldn't choose.

This wasn't Zelda's story. This wasn't Link's story. It was time to say goodbye to both hope and despair. It was time to see what the future had in store.

This was the story of him, his friends and their messed-up world.


Deleted scene:

Marth: No, I can't do it.

Roy: It can't be that hard. You just open the door and tell your parents how you feel.

Marth: Roy, they're going to hate me.

Roy: I'm sure they'll understand.

Marth: No, they won't.

Roy: Let's practice, pretend I'm your dad.

Marth: Um, Father?

Roy: What is it now, Marth?

Marth: I-I… I-I love… No, I can't. You pretend to be me, I'll be my father.

Roy: Father, I have something very important I must tell you!

Marth: Does it look like I care?

Roy: Don't use a voice that sounds exactly like my dad's! Okay, imagine I don't know anything about you. How would you tell me this news?

Marth: Roy, I love Melee more than the new game and I threw away the controller you sent me for my birthday because it was a shitty cheap third-party controller that breaks after two days of playing. I can't even wavedash with it and I'm a god when it comes to wavedashing. It actually managed to reduce my grab range which is impossible-

Roy: Just open the door.


A/N: Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!

There were more things I wanted to add to this chapter but it's so long. I feel like Peach and Pichu's parts were really short, but then again, they were the ones who turned the quickest. Duncan's a bit in the middle. Falco's part is slightly longer than Roy's which actually surprised me. I almost considered skipping almost all of Roy's kills which probably would have made his part about as long as Duncan's. Marth's part is really long, but he's the mastermind and the Remnant's leader.

Planning for the next story is going well. I've got the entire first half fully detailed and I even have the April Fools special planned. I'm also working on its cover. Since it's based on Ultra Despair Girls, it's gonna be more of an adventure story with maybe a bit of horror. I'm not quite sure what horror exactly means since I'm not scared of text, but whatever. I'll make sure there are lots of mysteries to solve.

The deaths in that fic will only happen in the second half of the story, so hopefully, I can improve when it comes to character development and characterization. I feel like I'm pretty bad at it if it's not a crackfic. I hope I don't end up with severely underdeveloped characters in that fic.

Inb4 Ike steals all the screen time despite me purposely setting up the next story in a way to avoid that /s

The character I was really happy got an appearance is Fox. It was short but I'm still happy. I kinda wish I had gotten into competitive Melee when I started planning the series. I wouldn't have made him a killer. I probably would have given him a similar character arc to Leffen's where starts out as a villain/anti-hero and later becomes one of the good guys. Fox will forever be my biggest regret.

Next chapter won't take as long and it will be the trial. I already have the epilogue fully planned, next story starts the same day the epilogue comes out. This story is finishing in March at the latest. Imagine if the April fools chapter ends up being the second chapter of the next story. Oh, god…

See you guys next chapter!