Disclaimer: All right, this is going to be one hell of a disclaimer. I own, by my count, absolutely none of the characters in this chappy. Lindsay belongs to Lindsay Vinsick; Rhia to Winkybunnion1; Zyuiu Dbyu and Ymota U to Zappermon; Prince André to Warstock-Leonhart; and Rowrun to OmniGaruGreymon.
Now. Shiek, Zelda, Link, and Ganondorf are all Mr. Miyamoto's. And, um, I don't know which SuperSmash Brothers characters I'm going to use, sooo: everything from the Mushroom Kingdom is not mine, including DK and Yoshi. C. Falcon, Fox/Falco, Pokémon, Ness, Iceclimbers, Samus, the Fire Emblem characters, and anyone else I'm forgetting ARE NOT MINE!!
I know I get everything about Young Link wrong, but please don't tell me that, I need to fix him for the story. And forgive me if I get background facts wrong on SSBM characters. And I swear, most of the descriptions of special moves are from the little SSBM handy booklet thing. NOTE: If you don't want to read the descriptions of SSBM characters when I get to that, skip down to the 4 who are not SSBM, the first 4 above.
Um, now that that's done…on to the story!! biggest disclaimer EVER
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Forsaking all I haveRunning from the guilt in me
Numbing my mind to all I see
Don't want you to see how I'm guilty…
My demons come up close
Running me up against a wall
Of spikes, and, then again not at all
Push me, here I fall…
Whispering my lies back to me
For that lost innocence here I grieve
It's come to this: my own lies I now believe
I am forsaking me…
Forsaking all I have
Running from the guilt in me
Numbing my mind to all I see
Don't want you to see how I'm guilty…
Don't want you to see the guilt in me…
I run because I can see the lies
But it comes as no great surprise
The guilt is driving me away from you
It won't surprise me to find you're guilty too…
Forsaking all I have
Running from the guilt in me
Numbing my mind to all I see
Don't want you to see how I'm guilty…
Forsaking me…
*
Link stood on the steep hill edge. Before him stood the Tourney, the pride of Odnetnin. And before him lay the clear tracks of Shiek, Rhia, and Lindsay.
When he had begun, Link had been driven by murderous, insane rage. His sight had been clouded in red fury. But the farther he got from Hyrule Proper, the harder he found it to keep the rage murderous and insane, the red clouds in place. His rage had become controlled, Zelda's death not accepted but not turning him into an animal ravenous for revenge. The red clouds had turned black, content to wait for the time Shiek could be killed.
Link knew the way he could take revenge on Shiek. She would not have come all this way just to watch the Tourney. No, she—and her two friends—would join. And Link would, too. Everyone in the Tourney fought everyone else—or, everyone else, if they didn't die. In the arena of the Tourney, killing was different from cheating. People came to the Tourney to settle scores, just like Link and Shiek.
A small voice in the back of Link's head asked why he wanted to kill Shiek when she had no desire to kill him. She was an assassin, a murderer, and yet…she didn't care to kill, him or anyone else. He knew what was wrong here, he just didn't know why.
Shoving the voice back to where it stayed most of the time, not bothering, Link started down the hill. The Tourney was not slated to start for over two weeks, and anyone could join in from the end of one Tourney to the day before the next.
The voice in the back of Link's head was his conscience.
*
There were over 27 regulars to the Tourney. These were the people who lived in Odnetnin, either in the Tourney's housing system or nearby. Every year, semi-regulars showed up. These were the ones who lived further away, but still made the trek almost every year to participate. And then there were the newcomers; sometimes they came only once; some were new only once and then became regulars or semi-regulars. Some newcomers had scores to settle, either between them and an enemy also partaking in the Tourney, or simply against the world.
*
The Tourney had a secret it kept from all the world. Located below the middle of the center arena was a mirror. The mirror was a gateway between worlds, universes, dimensions…so people from other worlds could participate too. These people were the pride and joy of the Tourney, and were what drew most people back year to year.
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MarioMario was from the Mushroom Kingdom. No one who came to the Tourney knew where that was. But he was one of the regulars. He lived in the Tourney's housing half the time, somewhere in the Mushroom Kingdom the other half. He was an incredibly short man, being not quite five feet when he wore thick shoes and a big hat. He had curly brown hair, a black mustache, and big, bright blue eyes. He was a plumber at one point and had kept the clothes: red cap, red shirt, blue overalls, white gloves, and brown shoes.
Mario relied mostly on his punches and kicks, but he did have several special moves, which were named by his fans. There was Fireball, where he shot fireballs from his hand in rapid succession. He had his Cape, which was bright yellow and abnormally powerful; if struck by it, enemies were spun around 180 degrees. He had a cutting Jump Punch, which was a punch under the enemy's chin (if they had one) and then a superhuman jump, injuring the enemy. The Jump could also be used to get back on the arena. The final special move was fondly dubbed the Mario Tornado. Mario, with fists akimbo, spun in a fast circle. If an opponent was caught in the Tornado, he/she was thrown upwards and out.
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PeachPeach was the Princess of Mushroom Kingdom, and she and Mario were in love, chiefly because in the Mushroom Kingdom some time before, Mario had repeatedly rescued Peach from similar life-threatening disasters. Peach lived the same way as Mario (with Mario might be more appropriate), living half the year in Odnetnin and half the year in her own castle in Mushroom Kingdom.
Peach was a foot and half taller than Mario. She had long, thick, wavy blonde hair, upon which a small gold crown with one ruby rested. She was paler than Mario, and also had big, blue eyes. She wore dresses; mainly ones with puffed sleeves, tight waists, and belled out in the skirt. She wore high-heeled shoes that matched her dress; it was a wonder she could fight at all.
Peach's direct moves were not strong. She relied on her special moves heavily, all named by her fans. There was Toad, a defense which blocked attacks. The Toad who did it—a walking mushroom wearing a vest—enojyed protecting his princess, so there was no real harm done. Her most powerful attack was the Peach Bomber, where she jumped up in the air and tossed herself sideway. If she collided with an opponent, an explosion went off and the enemy was sent flying in smoke. A move that was both offense and defense was the Parasol. When she jumped up and opened it, she could catch an enemy and they would go up in the air with her, being repeatedly hit with the parasol. When it was opened, she could gently float back down. Her last special move was Vegetable. She literally plucked vegetables from the ground and tossed it at an opponent. From the vegetable's countenance, ranging from happy to angry to insane, it could be told how much it would injure an opponent. Occasionally, Peach would draw a gold club, tennis racket, or frying pan and bludgeon others with it.
*
Bowser Bowser was big. And from the Mushroom Kingdom. And a large dragon. It was from him that Mario rescued Peach continually. Bowser was a regular, but hardly lived in Odnetnin except around Tourneys. Bowser's scales were generally green, and his belly yellow. He had bright orange eyebrows and tufts of hair. He had orange eyes. He had a turtle-shell covered with huge spikes. He had two horns on his head. On his arms he wore black bracelets with seriously dangerous spikes.Bowser was not at all fast, weighing several tons as he did. He did, however, have pure power. He had no reason to rely on special moves but for enjoyment. His moves were names by his fans—of whom there were not many. The first was obviously Fire Breath. He breathed fire (what did you think he would do? Brush his teeth?). There was also Koopa Klaw, which was used in two different ways. If an enemy was only just within reach, Bowser would slash viciously at them. If they were closer, the enemies were grabbed and bitten by Bowser's large fangs. There was Whirl, where Bowser retreated into his shell and spun around, his dangerous spikes catching anything in his ways. The final was Bowser Bomb, where Bowser jumped up and sat on his enemies. He was heavy and sat down hard—try to imagine this.
*
YoshiSeveral participants of the Tourney were species, with many that came to participate or watch. Yoshis were little dinosaurs that came from in and around the Mushroom Kingdom. They were two colors: One on their heads, backs, tails, arms, and legs, white from the throat to the belly.
Yoshis could jump surprisingly high and were powerful with their kicks. They did, however, have special moves, which were named by other Yoshis. The first was Egg Lay, and was not nearly as disgusting as it may sound. Yoshis stuck out their highly adhesive tongues and swallowed enemies, laying them seconds later and large eggs. The eggs could then be generally harrassed, which injured the enemy until they broke free. There was the Egg Roll, where a Yoshi enveloped himself in a large white-and-green speckled egg and rolled around, crashing into enemies and knocking them off their feet. There was the Egg Throw (note the pattern), where yet another egg, similar to the other two kinds but smaller, was thrown, hitting enemies as effectively as any projectile. The final special move had nothing to do with eggs. Called the Yoshi Bomb, it was similar to the Bowser Bomb. Yoshi jumped up and sped back down to the ground. Even if he didn't sit on an opponent, little yellow stars were shot out and hit enemies within a five-foot radius.
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Donkey KongDonkey Kong was a large ape. He hailed from the Kongo Jungle, which was presumably somewhere near Mushroom Kingdom, judging by the way he seemed to know the others from the Mushroom Kingdom. Donkey Kong wore a necktie which changed colors when his fur did.
Donkey Kong, like Bowser, did not really have to rely on special attacks, but he had four as well: Giant Punch; Headbutt; Spinning Kong; and Handslap. The Giant Punch was like it sounds: a gigantic punch. The longer Donkey Kong readied his punch, the harder it hit. The Headbutt was a very ape-like thing: he hit opponents with his head and drove them into the ground. The Spinning Kong could be used as an attack or to get back on an arena stage. He jumped and flew like a helicopter propeller, his hands smacking anything in his way…hard.
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LuigiLuigi was Mario's older brother. He, not surprisingly, came from the Mushroom Kingdom. He was taller than his brother, but looked the same. His hat and shirt were green, and that and height were the only real differences. Their special moves were almost the same. Luigi's Fireballs were occasionally green. Instead of the Cape, he had the Torpedo. He launched himself at enemies, and if they were hit were engulfed in flames.
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PikachuPikachu was another one of those species. Pokémon were from a world unknown to anyone who came to the Tourney. There were hundreds of Pokémon, which were divided into evolving species, of which Pikachu was mid-evolved. Pikachus were built like over-sized rats without the long tails. They had black, bead-like eyes and red pockets in their cheeks that contained electricity. They were bright yellow; their tails were shaped like lightning bolts.
Pikachus had many adoring fans. They named his special moves. Pikachus sent out lightning balls that hugged the ground with the Thunder Jolt. Using the Skullbash, a Pikachu could headbutt an enemy. The Quick Attack allowed a Pikachu to jump up in two different directions. Finally, there was Thunder, where the Pikachu called lightning from the sky.
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PichuPichu was the first in the evolutionary stage of electric mice. A Pichu could evolve in a Pikachu, and then into a Raichu —although no Raichus came to the Tourney. Pichu was a smaller, paler version of Pikachu, and much, much weaker. A Pichu had all the same moves—except that they injured him as well as the opponent.
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JigglypuffAnother Pokémon, Jigglypuffs were round and pink, with tiny hands and legs. They had huge turqouise eyes and little pink cowlicks. Jigglypuff fans named the special moves. There was the Puff Roll, which was much like a Yoshi's Egg Roll. However, the Jigglypuff first charged up and then let go. The amount of injury the opponent received depended upon how long the Jigglypuff charged up. Another move was Punch—a punch. To jump and get back on stages, a Jigglypuff could inflate to several times its size and float up.
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MewTwoMewtwo was a unique Pokémon—he was the only Mewtwo. He was a genetic creation, created from the fossil of an extinct Pokémon called Mew. He—it?—was a ruthless fighter, willing to kill to win. His fans were almost all from other dimensions. Several of his moves were: Stare—if he stared into an enemy's eyes, they fell into a trance. Another was the Flip—Mewtwo would flip his hand and the opponent would do the same. Shadowball—balls of electric-like shadow grew in his hand and he flung them with general painful accuracy. He had several more, which often changed. He came to the Tourney only for the Tourneys, and lived somewhere else the rest of the year.
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Fox McCloudFox was a fox (this should not come as a great surprise). He talked, thought, and acted like a human, to the great surprise of many at the Tourney. He came from the Lylat System, and was a sort of vigilante. With several like-minded and equally unhuman companions, he patrolled the Lylat System for an archenemy, among other things.
Fox had an interesting variety of special moves. His Blaster gun fired out laser shots that harmed the enemy but did not stop them. He also had a Reflector Shield, and the Fox Illusion, where Fox dashed through his enemies, leaving behind an illusion to attack them. His jump move was Fire Fox—he charged up, fire literally building up underneath him, and then he blasted off in any direction like a rocket.
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Falco LombardiFalco was surly. And a falcon. Honestly, after 'Fox' that should not be too surprising…Anyway…he was Fox's main pilot and good buddy. But surly. Let's not forget surly.
Falco's moves were almost exactly like Fox's, only his Blaster was slower but more powerful; his was 'Falcon' Illusion (or so I gather). He was also faster and lighter than Fox, which was surprsing because before Falco started coming, Fox was one fo the fastest regulars in the Tourney.
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Captain FalconCaptain Falcon was a bounty hunter. He had two main recreational activites when he didn't bounty hunt: the Tourney, and the F-Zero Grand Prix, where many people just as tough as he raced around in flat-ish little cars without wheels. Seriously, it looks cooler than it sounds. It was also dangerous. There. Very cool.
Captain Falcon's moves were all focused on fire. The Falcon Punch released a powerful and fiery punch, while the Falcon kick released a powerful and fiery kick. The Raptor Boost cut the enemy an fiery uppercut. The Falcon Dive grabbed enemies in the air and released them into the air, on fire.
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NessNess was a an incredibly short little boy from a place called Onett. He did many fun things like defeat aliens and find little pets with gigantic Jewish schnozes, all called Mr. Saturn (the pet not the nose, and I'm allowed to say such things as 'Jewish schnoz' seeing as I may not have one but I am a Jew). He also had amazing psychic powers, which were his special moves.
His most distinct was PK Flash. He thought up a green flash-electric explosion that sounded like thunder. There was also PK Fire, where a column of fire shot out from his hands. With PK Thunder he struck himself with lightning and became an electric missile, and with PSI Magnet, he absorbed energy attacks.
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Ice Climbers
The Ice Climbers were sister and brother, Nana and Popo. They wore parkas all the time and always looked ready to climb an icy mountain, which is why, I suppose, they are called Ice Climbers. Their special moves were all about ice.
With Ice Blocks, they sent out sliding ice that tripped and numbed enemies; and with Squall Hammer they whirled about in a sort of windmill, waving their mallets. With Blizzard, both breathed out freezing wind that occasionally encased enemies in ice, and with Belay, Nana threw Popo up, while she attacked enemies and Popo scrabbled to stay on the stage.
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KirbyKirby was from the planet of Pop Star. And he was round and soft and cuddly (or so I've heard). He had tiny arms, huge feet, and was maybe a foot tall if he stood on his toes. And, as you are about to find out why, his fans, who had named his moves, were skilled in the Heimlich.
Kirby's most famous move was Swallow. He would suck in an enemy, let 'em digest a moment or two, and spit them back out—with one of their special moves copied. He also had a large mallet, dubbed the Big Hammer, and Final Cutter, where Kirby would jump into the sky, and then come back down, hitting the ground with a sword that sent out menacing shock waves. Another move he had was Brick, where he jumped into the sky and turned, briefly, into something very, very heavy on his enemies (think Wile E. Coyote and Acme here). Like Jigglypuff, he could puff up and jump five times that way.
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Samus AranSamus was an orphan, the only survivor of a Space Pirate attack on her home colony. Some years later, after receiving a special Power Suit and enhanced blood from a race called the Chozo, she did great things like clear the planet Zebes of an infestation of Metroids, which were very evil and terribly annoying (I'm sure I'm understating things here)
Samus had a wonderful arsenal of weapons. The Charge Shot was a gun that could charge up laser balls almost as big as Samus herself. She had guided Missiles which exploded upon impact; and Bombs, that exploded quickly but did not harm Samus. Her Screw Attack dragged opponents up with a spinning attack, and could also be used to get back into the arena.
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Mr. Game & WatchMr. Game & Watch was…um…old. Older than any of the other regulars. He did not age though. He was a rather 2-D stick figure. No one knew where he came from; he couldn't talk. But for some strange reason, he had the most fans, and most of them were female.
He had very *interesting* special moves. Frying Pan was a move where he took out a skillet and flipped painful, burning sausage thingys onto the enemy. Trampoline—well, two more of him appeared, took out a trampoline, and he flew upward. So near as I can tell, at any rate. He has more, but the teller of this story cannot at this time remember any of them, and is far too lazy to go turn on the GameCube and check. Next character.
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MarthMarth was a prince from the kingdom of Altea. He had been betrayed and had been forced into exile. He was a hero. (This is all the trophy of SSBM tells you, so this would be all I know) He was tall and pale and had blue hair, through no fault of his own.
His moves were all about his sword. There was the Dancing Blade, where Marth performed an intricate set of steps, whirling and slashing with his sword as he did so. The Dolphin Slash was an up jump where the enemy was slashed upwards. The Shield Breaker could be charged so that it grew more powerful; Marth raised the sword above his head and brought it down in a powerful strike.
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RoyRoy came from the same continent as Prince Marth, but the teller of this story sadly has no idea how they are related in any way. Roy was the son of the lord of the Pharae Principality, and had at one time assumed control over its' armies. He was shorter than Marth, with thick red hair.
Roy's special moves were very much like Marth's. The Dancing Blade and Dolphin Slash were very much the same as Roy's moves, but his fans had named them differently. Instead of the Shield Breaker, he had Fire Blade. He did the same thing as Marth did for the Shield Breaker, but his was more powerful and involved much fire.
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Fyre—Young LinkThough his name was Fyre, his fans called the fourteen-year-old boy Young Link. His fans all knew him from when he used to live in Hyrule Proper with his elder brother, Link. Fyre looked like his elder brother in every way, though he was smaller. He had the same mop of blonde hair, the same big, blue eyes, the same clothes and hat. He had a sword, a bow and fire arrows, small bombs, a boomerang, and a grappling hook just like his elder brother.
Fyre had heard of the Tournament when he was very young, and had grown up hearing about it. When he was ten, he ran away. Many components had gone into the decision to run—among them, a fight with his family about everything he wanted to be. He wanted to fight, like Link did. Link the Hero. But his family would not allow it; they were already to terrified or losing Link. So they lost Fyre. He had nowhere to run; he wandered around Hyrule and the surrounding area for a year and a half before accidentally stumbling onto the Tourney. By that time he was eleven, and when the Tourney came that year, he was twelve. The Tourney had no age limits and allowed him in. He was as skilled with his weapons as his brother was.
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Zyuiu DbyuZyuiu was seventeen, with bright blue eyes and short, spiky gold hair. She had a red triforce tatoo underneath her right eye. She wore chainlink metal armor, in a body-hugging jumpsuit style. She wore a thick, white strip of cloth that draped over her back and the fron of the armor. It had gold runes embroidered all over it. A thick belt belted the strip of cloth. Stuck in the belt was a fencing sword, and several weapons were hidden within. She was quite skilled with the fencing sword, and was a good gymnast. She was strongly against cheating, which was not as common as it should be in the Tourney. She had a sister, also in the Tourney. Long ago, they had made up a language that only they knew. When they trusted a person completely, they would speak in Common to them.
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Ymota UYmota U was Zyuiu's twin (they were not identical). She wore chainlink armor also, but wore a soft, worked green leather tunic over it. Her brown hair was longer than Zyuiu's, and hung to just below her ears. She carried a jousting lance, and was amazing with it. The saying in the Tourney was that Ymota U left no enemies alive—opponents, yes, but if you made her your enemy, you were done for. She secretly studied magic—dark and powerful—in her room at night. And, in a complete twist from Zyuiu, she would cheat to win.
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Prince André of OdnetninAndré was the prince of Odnetnin. His father the king had fought in the Tourney often when he was younger, and loved the idea that André was part of the Tourney. André was already a regular at the Tourney, though he was only seventeen. He walked and fought with a royal mien, and always had a smile. He was tall and muscular from training so hard to be in the Tourney every year. His eyes were dark blue, and as deep as the oceans. He had spiky brown hair. He was brave, and outside of the Tourney, only fought if there was cause to.
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RowrunRowrun was a nobleman of Odnetnin's son, and Prince André's best friend. He and André had made a pact to be in it every year together or not at all. He was a year older than André, but it had never mattered. His almost white blonde hair was cut short, and almost certainly by someone inexperience. It was jagged and spiky, giving him a look of a fighter. His eyes were on the opposite end of blue's spectrum from André's, ice blue. When he fought he wore a plain, white shirt with a gold wrought belt. He wore brown cloth pants that tucked into brown leather boots with the tiniest heel. People who did not know him gave him a wide berth, believing him to be slightly insane. He was smart, though, and was amazing at swordplay.
*
"Name?"
There was no kidding, the registrar was bored. Lindsay stepped forward. "Change the clipboard, we're participating," she said. The registrar looked the three girls over, shrugged, and took out an old, weathered clipboard. "Name?" he repeated.
"Lindsay Vinsick," Lindsay said. "Eighteen."
Rhia stepped forward. "Rhia D'nalz," she said. "Fifteen."
Rhia and Lindsay pushed Shiek forward. "Shiek," she said. She mumbled out her age. "Listen, bud," she said. The registrar looked up. "Can one person sign under two names?"
"Depends on if 'one person' is two persons," the registrar said.
Shiek looked at Rhia and Lindsay, who nodded. Shiek changed into Zelda. The registrar did not look surprised. "I don't want two different schedules," Zelda said. She changed back into Shiek. "I just want to be able to change in the middle of a fight."
"Sure, that's a weapon, ain't it?" said the registrar. "Scare the hell outta the opponent, that's for sure." The registrar leaned back in his creaky wooden chair and poked a sleeping boy of maybe ten. "Hey, Mark, gittup and show these ladies to the fighter's quarters."
"Thanks," Lindsay said. Mark stood up, yawned, and ambled off. The three shrugged and followed him.
*
"Name?"
At first, the young man in green was just another wannabe, coming to fight. But then the registrar recognized him. "Hey, you're too old to be Young Link!"
"Name's Link," Link said. He was trying hard to be civil, when he was really in a bad mood. "I'm apparently Young Link's older brother."
"Link, eh?" The registrar licked dry lips and hunched over to write that down. His quill ran out of ink, he cursed, and he dipped in ink, then scratched Link's name down.
"Tell me," Link said conversationally. "Did a redhead, maybe eighteen, a fourteen, fifteen yeard old girl with brown hair, and a blonde girl in a skintight jumpsuit sign in? And as what?"
"Fighters," the registrar said. He looked at the clipboard. "Lindsay, Rhia, and Shiek, not necessarily in the order you said."
"Thanks," said Link. The registrar leaned back and poked Mark again. "Mark, take 'im to the fighters' rooms."
Mark muttered something entirely too profane for a ten year old, stood up and yawned, and led Link down a maze of corridors and stairs.
*
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Was that long enough for all you peoples? And nothing even happened! Woo! I finished it!
Lil' Blue Muse: I'm baaaaaack!
Me: Oh man…where were you?
Lil' Blue Muse: Well, first I went to visit Warstocky and Dark-Link, and then I stopped by with Soda. Did you miss me?
Me: You hit me with things.
*Lil' Blue Muse proceeds to dump about seven tons of ^full^ soda cans on Simi, from canihavea-soda's place* *looks around and gasps* she redecorated when I was gone! MEAN!! MEAN! Ssssimi, we hates it, we hates it!
*Simi, waking up* Lil' Blue Muse, I hate to tell you, but you're *not* Gollum….
*Lil' Blue Muse beans Simi squarely in the face with a can of Diet Pepsi* Bye all, stop around when Simi's awake maybe!
signing off…REVIEW!