"Okay, that costume is freaking siiiiick, man."
Meta Knight chuckled. His usual blue armor was now a dark shade of gray. His purple boots were red, and his body was black instead of the navy blue Angelo was familiar with. His mask had a long scar on the left side.
"Yours as well," he replied, gesturing to Angelo's black ninja outfit. "But how do you know it is me? What if I was actually my Mirror World doppelganger?"
Angelo laughed. "I know it's you because of this!" he said as he pulled out a lollipop.
The masked Fighter's eyes widened. His hands twitched. "Ah, I see you…have a…lollipop. Very…interesting."
Angelo grinned. He knew about his friend's only weakness. His chronic sweet tooth was about to be his undoing.
"What's wrong, Meta Knight?" he said. "You look…mighty tense."
Meta Knight swallowed. "It…it is just that…I…That happens to be…a very good flavor of…lollipop. I am…surprised you have it."
The other Fighter nodded. "'Cotton Candy.' Truly a masterful flavor, right?"
Meta Knight blinked. Angelo was pretty sure he was sweating under that mask.
"You…wouldn't happen to be…willing to share it, now, would you?" Meta Knight asked him.
"Aaaand…why would you wanna know that?" Angelo responded in a playful tone.
"Oh, for heaven's sake, give him the lollipop already," Samus said to him. The bounty hunter was wearing a black version of her Power Suit without the helmet, leaving her grinning face visible as she watched the two swordsmen go back and forth.
"Why?" Angelo said. "If he wants it so badly, all he has to do is aaask."
"Blast it! Give me the lollipop!" Meta Knight shouted. He spread his tattered wings and lunged for the piece of candy. Angelo moved the lollipop out of the way and let the small knight crash into the wall behind him.
He laughed. "Oh, my goodness! I'm so sorry! Are you good?"
Meta Knight groaned as he slid to the floor. "Stupid…lollipop…"
Samus winced. "Well…at least he was wearing the mask."
Angelo knelt down next to Meta Knight and put the lollipop down on the floor next to him. "Really, really sorry about that. Here you go, man."
Samus laughed as they walked off. "Did you really have to mess with him like that?" she asked Angelo.
"Come on, Sammy, you know me," he said, using the nickname he knew she found mildly annoying. "It's Halloween season! Gotta have some fun!"
"Hmph," she grunted.
Angelo snorted and looked at the crowd gathered in the main hall of the Smash Mansion, where all the other Fighters had gathered. Everyone was dressed in some form of Halloween costume for the occasion. The annual Halloween Smash Party tonight, and all the Fighters were excited.
Angelo passed Mario, who had an ax sticking out of his head and his face made up like a zombie.
"Mario!" the swordsman said. "You look amazing!"
Mario grinned at him. "My-a good friend Cappy is-a the ax! See?"
Two eyes suddenly appeared on the ax, revealing it to be Mario's chapeau friend.
"This party is gonna be awesome!" he said.
Angelo nodded to both of them. "Cannot wait!"
Ridley growled at Samus as they walked by him. The dragon was wearing assorted pieces of metal on his body, giving him a cybernetic appearance.
"Still walking around, hiding behind your boyfriend, Samus?" he said.
"Come on, Ridey, chill," Angelo said, feeling his temper rise a bit.
Samus laughed. "It's okay, Angelo. Just don't let him get to you. I think he's just a bit sad that he's got no one with him while the two of us are together."
Angelo covered his mouth. "Holy crap! You didn't have to do him like that!"
Ridley growled again, but said nothing.
They walked away and went up to Roy by the front doors, who was wearing black-brown armor. Angelo remembered that this was one of his battle alts. "What's up, Roy?" Angelo said, holding up his hand.
Roy clasped his arm and embraced the other swordsman. "I am waiting for Marth. He told me he had quite the costume planned, and I can't wait to see it."
He stepped back and looked Angelo and Samus over. "Your costumes are great!"
Samus smiled. "Thank you, Roy. See you later?"
The fire-wielding swordsman nodded.
As Angelo and Samus walked away, he couldn't help but look at Samus's profile in the dim lighting of the Mansion. She was beautiful. They'd been together for about a few months, and those months had been one of the happiest times in Angelo's life.
Samus was funny, great in battle, and fierce. The two Fighters had instantly connected after fighting in one Team Battle one day, and the rest was history.
Remembering all the feelings he'd ever felt for her, Angelo said, "Hey, Samus–"
At that moment, he heard Roy call, "Marth! Is that you! Oh, my what–"
SHING!
Angelo whirled around as the sound of Roy's body hitting the floor echoed through the grand hall of the Mansion.
Every single Fighter stopped talking and turned to face the front doors, where a newcomer who was definitely not Marth was standing.
Their body was covered in a robotic suit of cyan armor that looked extremely technologically advanced. It didn't seem to hinder their ability to move when they stepped forward with barely a sound. On their head, a cyan helmet with a shiny black visor covered their face. At their side, they held a sword. It looked like it was made up of multiple steel plates that locked together in the shape of a sword. Angelo didn't understand how that would make a practical weapon, but he did know what was about to happen to the newcomer.
The other Fighters seemed to register the fact that Roy was dead on the floor, and their reactions signified this.
"ROY!" Angelo heard Lucina scream.
Meta Knight flew above Angelo's head, holding a silver version of Galaixa. "What is the meaning of this!?" he cried.
Every Fighter readied their weapons and fists and forms of magic, aiming it all at the newcomer. Angelo summoned his sword while Samus pointed her arm cannon at them.
Angelo was shaking with anger. The fact that one of his closest friends had been killed in such a quick and almost nonchalant way was outrageous to him. The newcomer needed to pay.
"Who are you!?" he shouted, shoving his way to the front of the crowd. "Why did you kill him!?"
They seemed to zero in on him as he spoke. Their head, which had been sweeping back and forth across the crowd, whipped around to face him. Their sword suddenly opened up, metal plates separating and retracting into the sword hilt, revealing a glowing energy blade that lit up the area with an eerie blue light.
And without any warning, they lunged at Angelo, sword at the ready.
Angelo yelped and blocked the strike, surprised at their speed and the fact that his sword didn't get zhromped in two by theirs.
The other Fighters jumped back as the two swordfighters started battling.
Angelo pushed back and slashed at his opponent, trying to drive them back. The newcomer easily blocked the attack and let loose with an extremely fast series of sword slashes. Angelo somehow blocked all the strikes and stabbed at his opponent. At that moment, Meta Knight flew in from behind and slashed at the newcomer. They simply jumped straight up into the air, assisted by thrusters on the bottom of their feet, and avoided both attacks, leaving Angelo and Meta Knight to clash their swords.
Angelo was stunned. "How did–"
The newcomer landed and grabbed Angelo by the arm. A thruster flared in their elbow, and they proceeded to throw Angelo through the front doors. The swordsman cried out as he crashed through the doors, landing outside and rolling to a stop. Through a haze of pain, he vaguely heard the mechanical footsteps of his opponent chasing after him.
Struggling to his feet, Angelo instinctively held his sword in front of him to block an attack. He blinked when his opponent wasn't there.
Then he looked up and screamed.
He jumped back as the newcomer landed with a thump! that jarred Angelo's soul. The Fighter attacked again, this time slashing horizontally, only for his opponent to block the strike seemingly without effort.
"Who are you!?" he said, pushing against the sword hold.
The newcomer didn't respond. They just pushed back using a thruster on their back, causing Angelo to slide back. He growled and dug his heels into the ground, trying to keep himself steady.
And then behind him, he heard a sound he knew all too well.
His opponent's head snapped up to look behind Angelo. Their black visor had gained a purplish tint from what was back there, confirming what Angelo thought was behind him. He took the chance to push back with all his might and send the newcomer reeling a bit. He quickly turned and ran towards the Nether Portal that Steve just built.
Meta Knight and Samus were waiting for him. "COME ON!" the bounty hunter screamed at him, aiming her arm cannon at the swordfighter behind him.
Angelo poured on the speed, feeling his heart rate kick up when he heard the footsteps of his opponent behind him. Steve then ran past him and built a wall of Iron Blocks, preventing the newcomer from reaching Angelo.
Angelo ran towards the Nether Portal as fast as he could. He didn't care that it led to the dimension of fire and lava, he just knew that it would lead away from his opponent.
"Get in!" Meta Knight shouted.
Angelo hesitated. "What about you guys?" he said. "That guy is good! Come with me!"
"We'll be right behind you!" Samus shouted, keeping her arm cannon pointed in the direction of the newcomer. They were still trying to get around Steve's wall, who was frantically placing blocks down faster than Angelo had ever seen him move.
"Alright," he said. "Come on!"
Samus took his hand as Meta Knight jumped through the portal first, followed by the bounty hunter and the Mii Fighter. The moment their bodies came into contact with the purple portal, they disappeared, vanishing into the Nether.
Well, that escalated quickly.