Leo had to stop himself from getting emotional as he stepped through the door of the Smash Mansion. Almost everything came rushing back to him. Memories, battles, friendships, and many more all crowded against the forefront of his mind as he looked at the familiar crowd of Fighters before him.

One of them spotted him, and a huge grin took over her expression. "Hi!" she said to him. Leo recognized her as Zelda. "You must be new here! I'm Zelda."

Leo remembered Zelda. She was one of the first to suggest that he was too good for the Smash Mansion, and that he should be cast out. Before that, he rarely talked to her.

"Hey," he replied. "Name's Leo. And no, you're not Zelda. You're beautiful, that's what you are."

Zelda blinked, clearly shocked. Then she blushed and averted her gaze. "Why, thank you…"

Leo knew he never would've done that before. His heart had belonged to someone else in the past. Unfortunately, his love was nowhere to be seen at the moment, and he wondered if he would even see her at all.

That made him wonder if she would still recognize him in this disguise. If Master Hand didn't see him for who he really was, then what were the chances…

He mentally shook himself. He just needed to be careful. That was all.

"So, yeah, like you said, I'm a bit new around here. Mind showing me the ropes?"

Zelda smiled. "I'd be more than happy to do so. Follow me, Leo."

Leo let Zelda guide him through the halls of the Smash Mansion, not really paying attention to what she was saying (which wasn't hard for him in the first place), seeing as how he already knew his way around. He felt a small ache in his heart when she showed him where the Training Room was. That was where he spent a lot of his time during his previous stay. His non-stop training was the reason he became so good at battling.

Which was the reason he'd been kicked out…

"Hey," Zelda said. "Are you alright?"

Leo blinked. He didn't realize he'd been scowling. "Sorry, just…a little hungry. Where's the kitchen, if you guys even have one?"

Zelda chuckled. "Ah, yes. Did Master Hand's little training exercise work up an appetite? I could go for a small bite myself. Follow me."

Once again, Leo didn't actually need to follow her to the kitchen. Nevertheless, they got there pretty quickly.

"As a Fighter, you have full access to the kitchen at all times. Whether you wish to cook something up or grab a snack from the fridge, you only need to come here."

"As long as I can get pizza here, it's fine with me," Leo said jokingly.

Zelda smiled. "As long as you do not touch Kirby's food, you should be fine."

"Oh, yeah, where is that guy? I've kinda been wanting to meet him."

Zelda looked around. "I am surprised he is not here in the kitchen. He was in here even more than…"

Her voice trailed off, and her expression became one of slight sadness. Even though the rest of her sentence never came out, Leo was pretty sure he knew what she was going to say.

Even more than Angelo was in the Training Room.

"You good, Zelda?" he said.

Zelda blinked, seeming to come back to reality. "S-sorry. I…Anyway, let's…continue."

Leo decided to keep his mouth shut. The less he said about a subject that he wasn't supposed to know about as Leo, the better.

They walked towards a room filled with portals. "This is the Stage Select Area. These portals lead to the stages that we fight on. Every stage is unique and offers different and exciting challenges to the battle."

Zelda got a dreamy look in her eyes. "And…some of the stages provide the most lovely views. If you're not looking to battle, you can simply come to a stage and enjoy it."

Leo laughed. "That sounds cool and all, but I highly doubt that any view that these stages can offer could be more beautiful than you are."

Zelda looked at him again, shocked. Her face seemed to be unable to decide between a frown or a smile, but her cheeks went apple-red. "Are you…flirting with me?" she asked.

"That depends," Leo said, stepping closer to her. "Is it working?"

This seemed to leave the princess speechless. "Is it…I…Well, I…"

"I just think you're more beautiful than any treasure, any view, any other creature in this world. Is there a problem with me saying that?"

Zelda's eyes widened. "No! No, I just…I–"

Leo cut her off with a kiss.

He pressed his lips against hers, stopping any words that might've been coming out of her mouth. She gasped at first, seeming like she was about to pull away, then melted into the kiss, moaning slightly. Her mouth was slow, yet eager against his. Her arms wrapped around his torso, pulling him in.

Leo felt nothing from this kiss. He had no feelings for Zelda, then or now, but he knew that he would have to leave his former persona of Angelo behind in order to blend in here. He wondered how Zelda would feel about this, though.

Finally, Leo slowly pulled away. He looked into Zelda's sapphire eyes, which had a dazed sort of blissful quality to them. "Did you like that?" he whispered.

Zelda bit her lip. "Ah…I…I've never encountered one so…bold, like yourself."

Leo tilted his head. "I'm not hearing any complaining. Is that a yes?"

The princess seemed to consider his words for a moment, then nodded. "It was…heavenly."

He gently stroked her cheek. "Maybe you can get more if we see each other another time. Don't know if it was obvious or not, but I enjoyed that."

Zelda laughed. "Well, then, I suppose I will see you later."

"I look forward to that."

Leo laid in his bed, thinking about the day's events.

After he'd kissed Zelda, he wandered through the Smash Mansion, re-familiarizing himself with the layout and locations of everything. The other Fighters welcomed him warmly, voicing their excitement about getting to face him in battle in the future. He tried not to talk too much to those he knew, lest he lose it and blow his cover. He'd almost broke when he saw Meta Knight flying around, rushing to get somewhere.

Did Meta Knight ever think of Angelo? Did any of his former friends remember him? Judging from what Zelda had almost said, he figured that some of the Fighters must have remembered the Fighter who'd been banished.

He went down the list of Fighters he was closest to: Meta Knight, Mewtwo, Terry, Anthony, Mario, Captain Falcon, Pichu, and almost too many others to name.

Sighing, Leo closed his eyes. Today had been a little rough for him, but he knew he could shake it off by tomorrow. He would have to, in case Shade gave him something to do.

Speaking of his mysterious partner, he came to him almost instantly after Leo had fallen asleep.

"How was your…'first' day?" he asked him.

Leo smiled. "I kissed someone. Zelda. Thought it might be necessary to keep everyone else off my trail."

Shade gave a full-on laugh, a loud chuckle that startled Angelo. "Impressive! I don't think I ever would've taken you for the romantic type! What did she say?"

"She liked it. Pretty sure she's mine now, but I'm not 100% sure. I'll see tomorrow."

"Very well, then. I have a task for you tomorrow as well," Shade told him. "When you wake up, you will find a special package in your room. I need you to put it somewhere it will be…the most effective."

Leo frowned. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

Shade only chuckled slightly. "You will know what I mean when you see it. I'm depending on you, Angelo. I hope–"

"It's Leo, now," Leo corrected him. "Angelo's gone, remember?"

Shade gave a small "mm." "Well, of course. You'd be foolish to present yourself as Angelo now. I'm glad you thought of that before it was too late."

Leo nodded. "Thanks to your, uh, alterations, no one recognized me. Still, I gotta be careful who I talk to."

"I hope you don't try to get too close to your former friends. That would make the mission much more difficult now, wouldn't it?" Shade told him.

Leo laughed. "It'd be worth it to see the look of betrayal on their faces when they realized that I've returned. But yeah, it'd be too risky to get close to them."

"Well, if that is all that happened today, then I suppose we should part ways now. Get your rest, because I have a feeling my task for you might take a little brain power."

Leo felt Shade's presence fade away, leaving him alone. Then he started to dream.

In his dream, he was battling Meta Knight in the Training Room. He remembered every detail of that battle, from the clashing of their swords to his heavy breathing to the end where he pinned Meta Knight down and held his sword at his eyes.

He laughed. "Looks like I win again, huh?"

The other Fighter simply glared into his eyes, past his irises and directly into his soul. "And that is why we had to cast you out, Angelo."

"Wait, what?"

Meta Knight disappeared in a puff of blue smoke, leaving Angelo alone in the Training Room. Seconds later, every other Fighter surged into the Training Room, weapons drawn, fists up, magic flashing.

Angelo recognized every single Fighter before him. He saw his friends in the crowd, along with…along with her.

Before he could say anything to anyone, he gasped.

A golden sword appeared from his chest with a spray of blood. His blood.

Then he heard Meta Knight's voice, right next to his ear, speak in a deadly quiet tone: "You were foolish to come back. You will never be welcome here again, Angelo. Begone."

Meta Knight pulled his sword back out, and Angelo collapsed. The other Fighters crowded around him, preparing to strike him with about a thousand different attacks, ready to make sure he would never again–

For the second day in a row, Leo gasped and bolted upright in bed, finally escaping the clutches of his nightmare. His heart was absolutely pounding.

He quickly felt his chest, which was covered in sweat from his sheer fear.

But no blood.

He almost laughed out loud when he realized he was alright. No one had discovered him yet, and he was indescribably happy about that. No one knew who he was.

Taking a deep breath, he remembered what Shade had told him.

You will find a special package in your room. I need you to put it somewhere it will be… the most effective.

Leo looked around, trying to find the special package Shade mentioned. His eyes landed on a large orb sitting in the middle of his room. It was massive, about the size of King Dedede when he inhaled air for his jumps. The whole thing was silver, glinting in the morning light streaming in through the window, except for a red X painted in the middle. Two handles stuck out on both sides, looking like they were for pulling open the orb for…Leo didn't know.

He had no idea what the heck this thing was, but judging from its shape, Leo guessed it must have been some kind of bomb.

The idea made him grin. Shade wanted to see the Smash Mansion go kaboom? He was 100% ready to make that happen.

He got out of bed and examined the bomb again. He realized that he had no idea what to do with it. The thing was huge. It wasn't like he could lift it up and carry it to an ideal spot. Not to mention that he didn't exactly have a place to hide it in his room. He would have to make sure no one went into his room until he figured out where to put this thing.

He got dressed, putting on his new clothes, the blue uniform of a blue Mii Swordfighter instead of his former red clothes, and walked out of his room, ready to start the day.

A fraction of a second later, something slammed into him with the force of a King K. Rool Dash Attack.

"WAH!" the stranger cried as they tumbled over Leo.

He grunted as they rolled to a stop, feeling something settle on top of him. He heard the other person groaning in pain as he himself sucked in his breath, wincing at the hurt all over his body. That had been one tortuous tumble.

Leo slowly opened his eyes, trying to see who had slammed into him.

His heart stopped as two golden irises squinted back at him.

It was her.

Mythra.

The other Fighter had ended up on top of him in the fall, and their noses were practically touching. Leo could've kissed her at that very moment if he wanted to, but he held himself back. Mythra didn't know who he was, and he very much wanted to keep it that way.

The swordswoman seemed to take a moment to process what just happened. Then her golden eyes widened and her cheeks reddened. "Oh! I-I'm sorry!"

"Breathe," Leo croaked.

"Oh! Right, uh, let me just…" she said as she carefully stood back up.

Mythra held out a hand for Leo, and he accepted it, letting himself get pulled back to his feet. He was too shocked at the moment to have been able to get up by himself, and when their fingers touched, he felt an electric charge pulse throughout his entire body. He realized that their hair was the same color, but did she notice that?

"You alright?" he managed to say.

Mythra nodded, still looking a little shaken. "Sorry about that. I sometimes forget that I need to be careful when I speed down the halls like that."

"Nah, it's alright. Although if you wanted to kiss me, all you had to do was ask."

Her cheeks turned apple-red again. "I…take it you're new around here?"

"Relax," Leo replied. "I'm just kidding. But yeah, I'm new. I'm Leo, a Mii Fighter. And you are…?"

Mythra snorted. "Mythra. Welcome to the Smash Mansion, Leo."

"Thanks."

Leo didn't know what to say afterwards. After all, it was her. The partner of his heart. The one he cared about the most. His love.

His former love.

He quickly remembered that he wasn't Angelo anymore. He was Leo now.

Which meant he needed to do or say something that would further distance his new self from his old identity.

"Nice chest, by the way."

"Leo! Leo, wake up! Leo!"

Leo groaned and slowly opened his eyes, wincing at the pain. His face felt like it was on fire.

"Oh, thank Hylia. Are you alright?"

Leo recognized that voice. It was Zelda.

"Ah…I…My face. I…I hurt. A lot."

Zelda winced. "What has happened to your face? Your cheek is…bright red…Is…Is that a hand mark?"

Leo's eyes shot open. "What?"

He pushed Zelda back slightly, who was kneeling down on the floor in front of him, and summoned his sword. The polished steel blade was reflective enough that he was able to see his reflection.

What he saw made him wince.

There was indeed a bright-red hand-shaped mark on his right cheek. The fingers stopped just short of his eyes, and it still stung a little.

"Ooh. Well, uh…I kind of ran into Mythra earlier, and…"

Zelda's eyes narrowed. "You…didn't, did you?"

Leo nodded. "Sometimes, I just blurt the first thing that comes to mind when I talk to people. So when I saw her and noticed her, uh, figure…I guess I kind of did deserve that."

The princess gave him a smug smile. "Well, I hope you learned your lesson for now. Mythra is…a little sensitive about that."

Leo smiled and leaned forward, giving her a peck on the cheek. "Don't worry. I think I'm past her now. Besides, why bother with her when I have you?"

The other Fighter blushed, still smiling. "Oh, my. So quick to assume I'm yours already? How bold."

"Well, I still haven't heard any complaints from you. Is it safe for me to say that?"

Zelda rolled her eyes and pulled him to his feet, her hands lingering on his. The red in her cheeks deepened as she pulled away.

"Are…are you coming to breakfast, Leo?" she said.

Leo nodded. "I've been craving some scrambled eggs. That is truly the best breakfast."

Zelda nodded. "Then let's go."

Ouch. I'd hate to be on the receiving end of that slap.

How does one sweep a Hylian princess off her feet so easily? I don't know, but it would seem Leo has this whole "new identity" thing on lock for now.

I'm just hoping he can keep this up...