Author's Disclaimer: I do not own Super Smash Bros or any of the characters involved in it. I am earning no profit from this story, other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others! I hope you all enjoy reading it!

"It's a lot to take in, I know," Marth said. "The mansion, the rules, the people. But never give up hope. Someday, we'll all get out. We have to believe that."

Cloud nodded numbly.

"Why don't you forget about all this and come play cards with me?" Snake offered. "Fox and I usually play with a few others. If you used to be a merc, I assume you've played cards before?"

"'Course I have," Cloud said.

"Want to play, then?" Fox asked. "Our usual game is poker."

Cloud had never been all that great at poker. But he supposed giving himself something to think about other than this situation and no doubt how worried Tifa was for him would be good.

"I'll give Master Hand the questions," Palutena volunteered. "See you boys at dinner." She took the clipboard from Peach and left the room, leaving the door open. Cloud glanced around his surroundings a little more carefully now. If he was stuck here, was this his room? His eyes widened when he saw a blade leaning against the far wall. Two blades. Both of them his. The first was the one he'd been using lately. The one that could be taken apart into other smaller swords in emergencies. The materia slots were noticeably empty, and a quick glance at his bangles told him that those slots too were deprived of materia. Master Hand had stolen Cloud's magic. But the other sword in the room was far more interesting than Cloud's newfound lack of magic power. The Buster Sword was leaning next to Cloud's usual sword, its unmistakable gold-rimmed hilt glinting in the light of his room. Cloud's lips parted slightly and he approached the important blade almost reverently. He...he'd left this sword in the church. How was it here now?

"Is it important to you?" Fox asked, gesturing to the Buster Sword.

Cloud nodded.

"You're welcome to carry it around the mansion," Marth said. He pointed to the sword he had clipped to his belt. "We're all fighters. The comfortable weight of a weapon by your side is something we understand."

"Especially if it's important to you," Shulk added, gesturing to his magical sword.

Cloud nodded. He glanced between his two swords, but ultimately picked up the Buster Sword and slung it over his back. If this place was truly as hopeless as his new friends made it sound, he'd be needing a reminder to protect his honor and embrace his dreams in the days to come.

"What does that sword mean to you?" Peach asked.

Cloud glanced at her, but didn't answer. He barely knew her. And that was a very long and personal story.

"Don't push him," Snake said. "Come on. Let's go play, yeah?"

Cloud nodded. "Lead the way." He followed Snake and Fox out of his room, down a short hallway, and then down three flights of stairs.

Snake gestured to the room they were now standing in. "This here's kind of the main room. You can see the table we all eat at over there. And there's a TV there, a fridge, some smaller tables, you get the point."

Cloud nodded again, paying more attention to the room's current occupants than the room itself. The fighters that had been with him when he woke up, sans Fox and Snake, walked past him and all returned to their own group of fighters. Young Link approached the other boy in green and the woman in the white and pink dress. Peach headed to a table where two middle-aged men were sitting. One wore green and the other red, but they both had on overalls. Palutena crossed the room and sat at the dining table next to a young boy with wings. An angel, if Cloud had to guess, based on Palutena's true identity. Marth approached a ring of men, all of whom wore similar medieval attire. And Shulk too followed Young Link, the two of them quickly engaging in a conversation with the young woman. She listened intensely, her eyes landing on Cloud more than once.

She wasn't the only one eyeing him with interest. Almost everyone else in the room-and there were a lot of people and creatures in the room-was staring at Cloud. He wasn't self-conscious, and the attention didn't embarrass him. But he did have to wonder what was so interesting about him.

"Don't mind them," Snake shrugged. "It's not often we get new company around here."

"Not to mention nobody has ever fought back the way you did," Fox added. "The way your body was glowing all blue...Wow! It was pretty awesome. Almost everyone was impressed."

"Nobody bothered to help me," Cloud said dryly. "You just stood and watched."

Snake and Fox shared a nervous look. "Er, we knew we couldn't win," Snake said. "And nobody wanted to get punished."

Cloud gave him a look of disbelief.

"We're serious!" Fox said strongly. "It's not like we haven't tried to fight back! It's just...every time we do it ends up failing. And then somebody gets punished real bad. Usually Robin or Young Link or whoever takes credit for the plan."

"What kind of punishment?" Cloud asked. If the fact that a single cut had earned him a full-body beating was any indication, the punishment was likely nothing short of torture.

Another nervous look was shared between the two. "We can't tell you," Fox said simply. "It's a secret until you earn it for yourself."

"If we tell you what he does, he'll just punish all three of us," Snake agreed. "So just stay out of trouble and you'll never know."

Fat chance of that happening. Cloud knew he wasn't going to just submit to one of these fights. Maybe Young Link couldn't fight that drug, but he was just a kid. And he also wasn't powered by Jenova. Even if Cloud's inhuman abilities were borne from a rather disgusting source, he couldn't say he wasn't grateful for them. With his strength, it might just be possible for him to resist being controlled. He was going to try, at any rate. Regardless of the punishment.

"See anybody you want to introduce yourself to?" Fox asked when Cloud stayed silent for a long while.

Cloud scanned the room, but he didn't see anyone he immediately thought he'd get along with. He shook his head, and his two companions turned and led him down one more flight of stairs.

At the bottom of this staircase was a door that Snake pushed open, stepping aside and letting Cloud in first. The ex-mercenary relaxed somewhat as he beheld the familiar environment of a bar. One of those white robots sat behind the counter, but other than that it was a setting that Cloud was perfectly comfortable with. A pool table sat in one corner, occupied by a tall, dark-skinned man, that monster with the green spiky shell, and a bipedal wolf. The rest of the bar had haphazardly placed tables, as if they were moved around all the time. Some tables had five chairs where there were obviously supposed to only be three, and some had no chairs at all. It seemed that a lot of fighters came down here and rearranged the seating. There were a couple fighters, humanoid and animalistic, milling about the bar now. Some had drinks sitting before them, and others appeared to just be chatting.

"Give us a deck of cards!" Fox called to the bot at the counter. The machine immediately set down the glass it was polishing, dug around in a drawer for a few moments, and then rolled over to Fox with a deck of cards held in its metallic fingers.

Meanwhile, Snake secured a table for himself and his two companions. Cloud sat down beside him and Fox brought over the cards. "Let's see if we can't get ourselves a few more players," Snake said. He glanced over at one of the other fighters' tables. "Hey, Samus!"

A blonde-haired woman wearing a tight cyan bodysuit turned around in response to the name. "Yes?"

"We're playing poker with the newcomer. You in?" Snake asked.

"Sure," Samus agreed, standing up and bringing her drink over to the boys' table. Another woman followed her. This one too had on tight clothes with a white bandana wrapped around her face and covering her mouth. Hair hung over one of her eyes, but the visible one was red. The only way Cloud dared assume her gender was based on the long braid that hung down her back. Without that small indication, Cloud probably would've just assumed this was a man.

"I'm Samus," Samus introduced, holding out her hand for Cloud to shake.

"Cloud," Cloud answered politely, shaking her hand. He turned to the other woman, offering his hand to her.

"Sheik," Sheik said, shaking his hand as well.

Introductions complete, Fox dealt out the cards and the five began to play. As expected, Cloud didn't do all that well. He didn't bet much, and just let himself try to relax. He'd been pretty high-strung ever since getting here. And for good reason too. He just couldn't believe he'd ended up in such a crazy place. All these fighters from different worlds, heroes and villains, mortals and gods, kings and princesses...it was insane. Cloud's own story was pretty unbelievable, but this was just on another level. And the nonchalance that they all talked about it with was appalling. As if it was just a fact that Master Hand couldn't be combated in a spur-of-the-moment battle. That was the part that irked Cloud the most. Marth had said to never give up hope, and yet most of these people seemed perfectly hopeless. 'We knew we couldn't win' Snake had said. He hadn't been the only one to believe it. Nobody had stepped up to help Cloud in his rash assault. The only one who'd dared had been Young Link, but he'd been held back.

Shaking his head, Cloud refocused on the game. He wasn't here to continue worrying. That wouldn't do any good if it wasn't backed by action. For right now, he needed to calm down. Thinking too hard was starting to break his Limit again. But it wouldn't be any use at the moment. He'd best calm himself down before he broke it for no reason.

Studying his cards closely, Cloud had a hard decision to make. They were pretty good, but Snake had confidently raised. Very confidently. The spy had seemed to be a timid bidder most of the game, but this bet had been made before Samus could finish her statement to fold. Could Snake have cards better than these? Or was he just bluffing? Cloud wasn't sure. He'd never played with the man before, and had no idea if that was something he'd do. Well, he'd better play it safe. He was already running low on chips anyway. Better to just duck out of this round and try again the next.

Don't do that, a warped, vaguely masculine voice interrupted before Cloud could vocalize his conclusion.

Cloud froze, his grip on his cards tightening. He glanced at the four other players, but they were all absorbed in their own cards. None of them had spoken aloud.

Behind you, the voice supplied. Cloud leaned back in his chair and glanced behind him. Leaning casually against the wall in the furthest corner from the door was a strange being. It stood on two legs and had smooth skin that was colored mostly white and violet. A thick tail devoid of fur was held high behind its back. And it was staring directly at Cloud.

What does it want? Cloud thought to himself.

I'm simply trying to help, the being assured him. Solid Snake is bluffing. His cards are worse than Samus Aran's.

Cloud returned his attention to the table, unsure what to say. Now the others were staring at him, expecting him to make a move. None of them had been playing fast, but Cloud now was taking an excessively long time. Should he trust the strange, telepathic creature?

Deciding there really wasn't any reason not to, it was just a card game, Cloud raised. When they all revealed their cards, the being was right. Snake's cards sucked. Cloud won the hand and recovered a good amount of his chips. He glanced back towards the corner where the strange creature was, but it wasn't there anymore.

Turning around, Cloud resolved to look for and thank it later. How it knew that, Cloud had no idea. But if it could get into his head, who's to say it couldn't get into anyone else's? Shaking that aside, Cloud drew his new cards and-

Something touched his shoulder. Cloud kicked his chair back and stood up in an instant, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade. He hadn't heard anyone approach, and he was taken completely by surprise. The violet creature he'd been communicating with stared at him with an unimpressed expression.

Sheik watched the exchange with intrigue on her face. "...Mewtwo. Are you interested in Cloud?"

The creature, Mewtwo, didn't appear to answer her. The curiosity in Sheik's eyes was not alleviated, so Cloud doubted Mewtwo had spoken with her.

"Don't mind him, Cloud," Fox suggested. "Mewtwo never says anything. Usually he just hangs out in the corner over there all the time. I'm not sure why he's bothering you."

Cloud was given the impression that Mewtwo was displeased. A general sense of discontent drifted into his brain that wasn't his, and his gaze snapped back to Mewtwo. "Do you...need something?" Cloud asked, trying to be nice. He was unnerved, but didn't dare show it. More than anything, he felt that Mewtwo was offended, and didn't want to become the offender. Not when the creature was broadcasting its feelings onto him.

Mewtwo glanced at him, the upset in its expression easing. I wish to speak with you, clone of Sephiroth.

Cloud balked. "What do you know about that?"

Now the others startled. "Did it talk to you?" Samus demanded.

I mean no offense, Mewtwo corrected himself quickly. I just...he trailed off. For a moment, Cloud wondered if Mewtwo just wasn't going to explain. But then Cloud hissed as an image pressed into his brain. An image of those testing chambers that he was all too familiar with. One of them, the largest one in the very center of the room, was filled with a thick blue liquid. A smaller Mewtwo sat contained within it, wires running through most of his body and binding him to the cage.

Cloud's lips parted in surprise. "You mean you're…" he trailed off now, not wanting to finish that sentence out loud.

Like you. Yes. I've never met anyone like me.

Cloud sighed heavily.

"Cloud, are you talking to it?" Snake asked. "You've been staring into space for a long time."

"He," Cloud corrected as Mewtwo again broadcasted irritation. "Not it."

Snake stared at him like he was crazy.

"...That's how you knew to raise," Sheik gathered. She glanced at Mewtwo, the corners of her lips pulling over her mask, giving the impression that she was smiling. "You told Cloud what Snake had, didn't you?"

It seemed that Mewtwo still didn't answer her. But Sheik had the right answer, and she knew it. She turned to Cloud now, cocking her head. "And just what is so special about you that Mewtwo is suddenly willing to commune with people? He hasn't said a word to anyone since getting here."

Cloud stared her down, keeping his mouth shut. He really would rather not answer that. Mewtwo assured him that his status as a clone was nothing to be so horribly ashamed of, and Cloud turned on him. "Can you get out of my head now?" he asked. "I get it. We're similar. You like me. But please stop just taking in everything I think."

Mewtwo's indifferent expression faltered.

"He can't, Cloud," Sheik said softly. "He can't get out of your head."

Cloud glanced back at Mewtwo. "What do you mean?"

I am not just in your head. I am in everyone's head. Everyone in this room, I can hear their thoughts. I know everything about everyone here. Most of us have secrets that would best be left unspoken. Which I suppose is why I don't talk much. I've never shared anything that is meant to be kept secret.

"Oh, but helping me cheat with cards is alright?" Cloud challenged.

I wanted your attention, Mewtwo protested weakly. I...I wasn't sure how to get it.

Cloud sighed. "Can you tell me why you can't get out of my head?"

I am telepathic. But to a much more extreme degree than my creator intended. I cannot control it. Within a certain radius, I am instantly connected to everyone around me. I have learned to deal with the constant information. But I cannot shut it out. I understand that the idea of something like me knowing everything about you is...unnerving. Which is why I don't tell most people about things like this. But I...I thought you might be different.

Cloud really didn't know what to say to that. On the one hand, the mere idea that Mewtwo knew exactly who, or more accurately what, he was, was not a nice one. He hated what he was. He hated that he owed all his strength to Jenova. But he couldn't change it, so he made due by just not telling anyone. But on the other...Mewtwo didn't seem to care. Cloud would never verbally admit how similar they were, but the image of Mewtwo in one of those testing chambers was one that Cloud was familiar with. The only difference was the person in the tube. Out of everyone here, Mewtwo would not care about what Cloud really was. If anything, it showed the creature that he was not alone. All of Mewtwo's telepathic words were backed by a prolonged sense of loneliness, as though he had no real experience with talking to another living being.

"...Alright," Cloud decided. "So you can't get out. But could you...maybe not tell me everything you're feeling?"

Is it too much for you?

"Yes, it is. I don't need another person's feelings to contend with my own."

Not again? Mewtwo finished for him, broadcasting images of Zack across their connection.

Cloud nodded, clenching his fists.

Very well, Mewtwo agreed, and most of the connection felt terminated. The emotions in Cloud's mind were now his and his alone, and he felt a lot better.

"What are you two talking about?" Fox asked.

"Private things," Cloud said simply.

"What does he want from you?" Samus questioned.

Mewtwo looked at Cloud for an answer to that question. Cloud shook his head slowly, mostly to himself. He supposed that Mewtwo really wouldn't be the strangest companion he'd ever had. "He just wants a friend."

"Out of everyone here, why'd he pick you?" Snake asked.

Cloud sat back down in his chair, picking up his next set of cards casually. When it became clear that he wasn't going to answer Snake's question, the others followed suit.

"No cheating, you two," Sheik said firmly.

None at all? Mewtwo asked Cloud.

"No, none," Cloud confirmed. "I can play cards just fine."

Suit yourself, Mewtwo decided. Uninterested if he couldn't help Cloud cheat, he turned around and left. Cloud watched him go, realizing why he hadn't heard him approach. Mewtwo did not walk. He just hopped into the air and hovered across the floor, his violet eyes glowing slightly from the minimal use of his immense psychic power.

Cloud sighed contentedly. Mewtwo was just trying to make a friend. There wasn't anything wrong with that. And the two of them truly were similar. Not that Cloud would ever admit that to anyone, but it did indeed feel nice to know that he wasn't the only one like that.