There were just three more battles before the first round was over: Luigi and Bowser, Fox and Ness, and Samus and Kirby. True to his word, Marth took a brief nap in his room in the half-hour intermission everyone was allowed between fights. His nap didn't seem to last long enough as Link woke him up for the battle between plumber and Koopa King. Bowser came out on top (which greatly worried the Mario Bros. and Peach) and would move onto the second round. The semifinal fight between Fox and Ness was pretty epic; Fox would fire his Blaster, which Ness would absorb and then use his PK Fire technique, which Fox would reflect...a good five minutes or so passed before anybody hit each other. Ultimately, Fox won the battle.
It was nighttime outside the academy by the time all the battles were finished. According to Marth's clock, it was nine o' clock. He was bushed and exhausted, but still looking forward to the party he had heard about only a couple of hours ago. He felt a small sense of relief when he learned that Fox, Falco, Ganondorf, and Mewtwo were also clueless as to the party's existence.
In his room, Marth could hear everyone bustling excitedly downstairs. The party was going to be on any minute. The kitchen's cooks--Peach, Zelda, and Donkey Kong (who had displayed a previously-unsuspected talent for cooking, especially recipes involving bananas)--had been very busy, just as Mario had said. Peach in particular was very picky about this, that, and the other: "We don't have enough dip!" or "Red and green! Red and green balloons! Not yellow!" Kirby had wanted to be a cook as well, and although he was quite good at it, when it came to light that it was next to impossible for him not to eat what he just created, they decided to pass him on that offer.
Mr. Game and Watch wandered into Marth's room. He was invisible for a second as he came in sideways, then turned again so Marth could see him. He rang his bell excitedly.
"What?" Marth asked. His only response was another unnaturally-loud bell ring. "What's happening? Is the party on?"
Mr. Game and Watch went through a complicated series of 2D movements which he shifted between in the blink of an eye. Marth had no earthly idea what he was trying to say. It was times like these that he sorely wished he could speak.
"You want me to go somewhere," Marth confirmed. When he rang his bell again, Marth assumed he had gotten at least one thing right. "Is it downstairs?" Another bell ring. "Does...does it involve the party?" Mr. Game and Watch rang his bell ecstatically. "Is it the party?" He shook his head left to right. "Do I have to go into the kitchen?" A final bell ring. Marth got up off the bed and walked downstairs, then turned into the kitchen. Peach and Zelda were placing decorations and balloons, while Donkey Kong was carrying a glass bowl full of things that must have been potato chips in his huge arms.
"Did you guys want me down here?" Marth asked.
"Oh, you're here!" Peach exclaimed. "We were wondering if we could use your sword as a decoration. Just temporarily," she confirmed, "but we're putting up little items of the various fighters that went on to round two. We have Mario's hat, Link's shield, Fox's helmet...we've already asked Roy about his Sword of Seals, and he said it was fine."
"Sure," he said, and took his sword out of his sheath and gave it to Peach. She put it up on a wooden plank jutting out from a wall next to Roy's Sword of Seals. She frowned and began readjusting it until it was to her liking.
"Um, Peach?" Marth asked. "Why exactly did you send Mr. Game and Watch to call me down here? He isn't exactly the best communicator."
"Because he was close by," she replied. "The party should start within twenty minutes or so. We're almost done. Donkey Kong! Don't eat the muffins just yet! We're saving those for everyone else!"
The big ape grunted and tossed the muffin back onto the plate it was on. Peach began scolding him about how disgusting that was, and DK pretended to listen. That was his most effective technique for whenever Peach got mad at him; look at her and pretend like he was listening but honestly not absorbing a word she said.
"I think Peach has gone a little wild with the decorating," Marth noted to Zelda.
"I'm going to be glad when we're done," she sighed. "She is really picky when it comes to cooking, cleaning, and decorating."
The Meeting Signal went off again. Marth trotted out of the kitchen and into the Meeting Room. After awhile, all the fighters congregated there and stood before Master Hand.
"Today ends the first round of the Ultimate Tournament," Master Hand said. "I have decided that we will have the second round two days from now. The same rules apply: I don't want any matches in between then except for those who did not move onto round two."
"I guess our match is postponed," Falco muttered from behind Marth.
"I have gone over who moved on and who stayed behind, so I have updated the charts I gave you a couple of days ago," Master Hand continued. The robotic arm came out of the wall again, holding twenty-four more sheets of paper. "Even though only twelve people will be fighting, everyone has a right to know who will be fighting who. Go ahead and take a look at them."
The names had been rearranged on the chart. Those who had lost remained on the bottom, but those who had won moved up to a higher level next to another fighter. Marth studied the pairings closely:
Battle #1: Yoshi/Ganondorf
Battle #2: Ice Climbers/Donkey Kong
Battle #3: Mewtwo/Roy
Battle #4: Link/Mario
Battle #5: Marth/Bowser
Battle #6: Fox/Kirby
"Since there will only be six fights instead of twelve," Master Hand explained, "we won't be using up so much time. We will start just slightly later into the day and hopefully finish up somewhere in the late afternoon. That is all. Commence with your party."
--
Marth only had a few minutes to himself in his room. The party was ready quickly. Marth went downstairs and into the kitchen to find the place completely decorated. Instead of having the individual tables and chairs, carpets had been laid down to make the kitchen a little more comfortable and homey, and there were only a few low wooden tables with snacks on them. The chairs were lined up against a wall, so whoever wanted one could just take one.
Twelve items lined the wooden shelf Marth had seen earlier. From left to right, they had an egg Yoshi had created, some of Ganondorf's armor, the Ice Climbers' hammers, Donkey Kong's tie (which he had parted with reluctantly), what appeared to be a small, hovering Shadow Ball Mewtwo had created, Roy's Sword of Seals, Link's shield (apparently, Peach had removed Marth's sword in order to do everything numerically), Mario's hat, Marth's sword Falchion, a Koopa Shell representing Bowser, Fox's helmet, and Kirby's large hammer.
"The party's ready!" Peach announced when everybody came. "Now, there are a few rules I'd like to announce. First of all, Kirby, restrain yourself." Whether the eight-inch-heigh ball of pink heard her or not, Marth didn't know; he was concentrating intently on the plate of chocolate chip banana muffins. Peach frowned and continued. "Secondly, don't touch Mewtwo's Shadow Ball up on the shelf, because it'll zap you." Peach rubbed her gloved hand gingerly where she had likely been zapped. "Only Mewtwo can move it. Don't make the same mistake I did. Thirdly, leave some snacks for everybody else. And fourthly, have fun!"
Out of the corner of his eye, Marth noticed Kirby sneaking towards the muffins. Marth lightly placed his foot on Kirby's head. "Going somewhere?" he asked rhetorically. Kirby grumbled, thwarted, and turned around.
"Alright," Roy said from beside Marth, "I talked to Samus earlier, and she suggested Peach and Zelda put out a bunch of snacks you haven't tried before. We've got pretzels, 'cheese puffs,' chocolate chip cookies, and then, best of all," Roy said, adding fake drama to his voice, "the grape soda."
There were snacks as far as the eye could see. Marth decided to try the pretzels first. They tasted like dry, crunchy bread; Marth grimaced at the thought and decided he didn't like pretzels. The cheese puffs were completely the opposite; Marth found himself nearly hooked on the orange-powdered balls. He also went on to try tortilla chips dipped in spicy salsa, various kinds of cookies, and other snacks, avoiding the grape soda for as long as possible. When Roy's urging became impossible to ignore, he grabbed a plastic cup, poured some of the purple-colored liquid into it, and held it up.
"Is it like juice?" Marth asked cautiously.
"Kind of," Roy replied. "It has more of a kick to it. Makes you hyper."
Marth turned to dump the soda into a potted plant, but Roy caught him and held the cup. "But not that hyper. Not like coffee. Just drink it, it'll be nice."
Marth stared at his own reflection in the grape soda for a good minute or so. The bright purple color made it look like a potion that would turn him into a bat if he drank it. He was starting to think that anything Roy enjoyed eating was something dangerous. He lifted the cup up slowly, then took a tiny sip out of it.
"This tastes nothing like grapes," Marth complained.
"Yeah it does," Roy protested. "It just has that kick to it. You only took a small sip. Take a big gulp."
Marth hesitated, then lifted it up and downed the whole thing. To his surprise, he found that not only did he remain a human being, it actually tasted good. He lifted it up again and drank the last couple of drops.
"Well?"
"It's good."
"Told you."
As much as he enjoyed it, he made sure not to drink too much of it for fear of turning into Hyper Marth, and later, Zombie Marth. He was surprised to find that not only was there grape-flavored soda, but there were orange and strawberry flavors as well, not to mention "root beer." The root beer he thought was disgusting and avoided completely.
"How's the party?" Peach asked.
"Pretty good so far," Marth admitted. "I'm currently trying every last bit of food I can find. I think you, Zelda, and DK did a good job."
"Thank you," the princess smiled, flattered. "Do you like the color of the balloons? Do you think the green goes well with the red, or should I have made it a different color?"
"No, they're great," Marth said. "I think balloons go pretty well with anything."
"It appears that balloons are very versatile," Luigi said in an unnaturally high-pitched voice. He was holding a deflated balloon in his hand.
"Oh, sweet! I have to try that," Roy exclaimed, and dashed off to find a balloon.
"Don't take any of the decoration balloons!" Peach called. "By the way, Marth, you might want to go over and see Link. I think he's doing something strange for his younger self."
Marth walked over to a table where several people sat around. Young Link was among one of the spectators, standing eagerly over Link's shoulder. He didn't know what was going on at first until he saw Link staring into a styrofoam cup. Was he drinking soda? Marth stood beside Link and looked into the cup.
"Hey, what are you--"
His eyes widened as he realized that the cup was full of salsa. Link was staring into it with a look that can only be described as procrastination. Young Link had a wide grin on his face.
"Um, Link? Are you going to...?"
"Yup," Young Link said. "He said he'd do anything at all during the party to make up for me losing at the tournament. And so now...."
"He's eating salsa," Marth finished.
It wasn't just a small cup of salsa, either. The styrofoam cup was of medium size, and it was filled halfway to the top. It was quite a lot of salsa to chug.
Finally, Link swooped the cup up to his mouth and started drinking it. Young Link's smile and Marth's eyes grew wider as the red stuff went down his throat. When it was all gone, Link slammed the cup onto the table. His body shivered once at what he had just downed.
"I did say anything," Link croaked.
"I wonder if Dr. Mario will be seeing you in the Recovery Room anytime soon," Marth muttered.
--
The party was excellent. Food was eaten, jokes were told, food was eaten, tournament battles were recalled, and food was eaten. By the end of the party, Marth was completely stuffed and wishing he had not tried everything on the tables.
Everybody else had left the kitchen. The food had been packed up and stored as leftovers and future desserts. Everybody had been given back their items, and Mewtwo had removed the dangerous Shadow Ball on the wooden shelf. The balloons and other decorations remained, and they were going to be taken down the next day.
Marth sipped on a small cup of grape soda he had poured for himself. The stuff wasn't half bad, actually. He leaned against the edge of the counter behind him and recalled the day's events. The Ultimate Tournament seemed ages ago, and yet it had happened only earlier that day. Marth was to be fighting Bowser in the next round, and Roy, Mewtwo. They were both very powerful fighters. Only three people could make it to the finals, and of those three, there could only be one winner. Marth likely didn't have a chance, but it was nice imagining what he could do with the money.
A clanging sound made Marth jump. It sounded like a pot falling off a counter from the cooking room. Only the cooks were allowed in that room, so whoever was back there was getting into trouble. If there was anyone back there at all, of course; maybe the pot had just been badly placed and had slid off the counter. Suspicious, Marth walked into the cook's room and looked around the dark place.
"Anybody in here?" Marth asked. He didn't expect an answer, of course, because if somebody was back there when they shouldn't be, they weren't going to give themselves away so easily. It could always be one of the cooks, though. No response came, so he suspected it was somebody sneaking around. Kirby, maybe, trying to steal all the food while no one was looking? "Hello?" he called again.
He wandered around the kitchen for a little bit more, checking every corner. He found no one. He decided that since he wasn't allowed back in the cooking room anyway, he should probably leave before he got into trouble. And if somebody really was doing something they shouldn't be doing, it would all become evident in the morning, right?
Marth walked out of the cooking room, out of the kitchen, and up to his room. He was completely tired. He laid down on his bed and fell asleep very quickly.