Disclaimer: I don't own Smash.


Sonic the Hedgehog was running as fast as ever across the land. He was feeling in a very good mood. No matter how much the air whipped at him as he ran, it couldn't blow off the smile which was on his face.

The blue hedgehog was on his way back from playing some games which he had been a part of for a while. It had given him a chance to do what he did best, as well as meet you with some old friends of his. Friends which the blue hedgehog went back a long way with.

Sonic had highly enjoyed spending some time with his lifelong buddies. Now he was about to meet up with his pals in Smash. He hadn't known his fellow fighters of the tournament for as long, but he valued their friendship just as equally.

Being the super fast hedgehog he was, Sonic didn't take long to reach the Smash Stadium. He darted in through the entrance and headed speedily towards the training room. The moment he zipped inside, he stopped upon seeing all of the other competitors. The smile widened on his face as he glanced around them as they put themselves through their paces for the games. He was sure they would be very pleased to see him.

"Hey, guys!"

The others stopped their training upon hearing the blue hedgehog announce his presence. All eyes turned to him - but the sight of Sonic did not bring a smile to anyone's face.

"Oh there you are, Sonic!" Solid Snake scowled. "Finally decided to show up, did you?"

"Of course I did!" Sonic grinned. "Did you guys miss me? Not that you had time to since I came back very fast, of course!"

"You're right, we didn't have time to miss you…" Pokémon Trainer murmured bitterly.

"Since we've been too busy sweating away through our training for the tournament…" Mega Man huffed.

"While you've been goofing off in those other events!" Fox grumbled.

"What?!" Sonic's smile disappeared. "What are you guys talking about?!"

"Don't play dumb with us, Sonic!" Ryu said sharply.

"We know you've been shirking your Smash training to go to those other events!" Ridley added.

"What events would those be?!" Sonic asked, bewildered.

What followed was a chorus as every one of the other Smash players (as least all the ones who could speak) shouted the name of the events Sonic had been sneaking off to).

"SUPERSTARS SHOWDOWN!"

Sonic gasped. He was horrified to learn everyone else in Smash was aware of what he had been up to for the past several weeks. Given how quickly he had been running to the other events and back, he thought for sure nobody would notice his absence.

"You all know about the Superstars Showdown?" he cried.

"We've known since you begun it," Krystal said.

"You have the privilege to be in Smash, which many video game characters would love to be part of themselves," Zelda put in, "and yet you choose to go and sneak off to some other gaming events."

"We're all very disappointed in you, Sonic." Peach scolded with a shake of her head.

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu shouted. The frown it had on its furry face showed now even the yellow electric mouse wasn't pleased with the antics of the blue supersonic hedgehog

Sonic sagged his shoulders. He hadn't mean to disappoint his fellow fighters in Smash. All he'd wanted was to join with some friends in another series of games in which he could do what he was best known for. Given how fast he was, he hedgehog had thought for sure he could be in two places at once.

"I knew you were a-trouble, Sonic!" Mario marched up to the animal he had a lifelong rival with, sending a deep scowl directly to him. "I knew we shouldn't have-a let you joined Smash! I say we a-kick him out!"

"Hear, hear!" Luigi called in support for his brother's suggestion.

"No!" Solid Snake countered. "There will be no kicking anyone out, but Sonic does need to be punished for betraying our trust. The best course of action would be to send to spend a couple of hours in the timeout room."

"The timeout room?" Sonic repeated.

"That's right, Sonic," Snake affirmed. "With hardly any room for you to run around in there, you'll have time to think about what you have done."

"Mamma Mia…" Mario muttered as he clenched a fist, annoyed at the opportunity to get Sonic banished from Smash foiled. "One day I'll get-a that hedgehog a-kicked out. One day…"

So Sonic followed Snake out of the training room and through the stadium corridors. He wasn't happy to be spending time in the room where the more troublesome players were often sent to, such as Bowser and Donkey Kong. As far as the hedgehog was concerned, he hadn't done anything wrong. What harm had he done by bonding with old pals in another set of games he had as much right to be in as Smash?

Once they reached the timeout room, Snake stood by the door, pulling it open before gently pushing Sonic through it. "Here! You've got someone to reflect on your wrongdoings with! Maybe you can both work out together what was so bad about what you did and become better Smash players for the future!"

As the door slammed shut behind him, Sonic saw that he was not alone in the timeout room. He sighed upon seeing who was sitting on the bench at the wall on the far side, his face partly concealed by an open magazine. It wasn't the first time he had seen this player today. He had met him earlier at the Superstars events. They had both had such fun at the games that felt close to home for the two of them. Neither of them had any idea that it would make their fellow Smash fighters so unhappy with them.

"So you got caught sneaking off to the Superstars Showdown too?" Sonic asked as he sat down on the bench next to the other player.

"Yep - and I can't see why the others are being so uptight about it! Those games are being held where our roots are!"

Lowering the magazine he was holding over his face, Alex Kidd looked up at Sonic with a weary shake of his head.

"Guess there's no place for Superstars in Smash!"


The end.