KT – DA: Wow, I'm so sorry! That took me a lot longer than I thought it would!

Karanos/glares/ You said you would update WEEKS ago.

Roy: Yeah, you did.

KT – DA: Uh… heh heh… sorry?

Marth: I'm sure she had other important things to do.

KT – DA: Thank you, Marth!

Link: Alright, look. Do I get to answer reviews today? You said I could.

KT- DA: Yes, yes, but do the stuff first.

Link: Yeah. Kuroi Tenshi – Dark Angel does not own SSBM in any way, nor any of its characters… er… 'except Marth'… right…

KT – DA/grins/

Karanos/rolls eyes/

Link: Okay, time for reviews.

Rain4life – Yes, Roy feels very stupid about his mistake. Now, I'm not sure what you meant with your comment about Marth, but since Marth is a wussy... (KT – DA: he is not!) /ahem/ I agree with you completely.

Daikonran – We find Roy-bashing to be quite enjoyable around here. I suppose you could say it is a past-time. And yes, of course I'm looking good. I'm Link!

Max Fuchs – Ah, the old I-Was-Kidding-About trick. You are wise… KT says she saw your story, and that she'll get around to reviewing it… sometime…

Ledzeplisa – Of course it's a good start, and yes we'll keep going. What's with the order? You think you're her mother or something?

Dragonpurity – Well, seeing as how KT and Karanos go into some back room and lock the doors when they work on their plotlines, it is the unfortunate truth that the boys and I don't know where this is going. (Roy: 'the boys and I?' Marth, did you hear him? Marth: Yes, I heard him. It's best to ignore it.) I think you may be right, though.

Karanos – Um… yeah. Just give Roy back soon. We kinda need him over here. Sometimes, anyway.

Tymaporer – Sounds like a plan to me. Just make sure to review. A lot.

KT – DA: Oh yeah! I almost forgot! Karanos is now going to be referred to as 'Captain.' By all of us.

Marth: Why, My Lady?

Karanos: Muwa-ha-ha! I am the Dread Sky-Pirate Captain Karanos! Fear my ship, La Esquelta!

KT – DA: That's why.

Roy: Look! The chapter!

Everyone: ooooh…

In Midwinter's Stillness – Winter Maintenance Chores

Roy sat in the kitchen with the other Smashketeers, munching on a piece of toast. Sarah bustled around the kitchen preparing lunch while the others talked. Roy didn't join in the conversation much, feeling that he didn't feel much like being made fun of this morning. He was glad that Sarah had not told anyone about his blunder with the notebook. She, at least, didn't make fun of him unless it was truly harmless.

This fact made him think of the new girl, Jasmine. Roy gritted his teeth in anger. Where did she get off smirking at him all the time and calling him 'Roy-Boy?' She was the worst of the whole lot!

"All I ask is that I not have to clean bathrooms, or dust rooms, or clean floors. In fact, don't assign me to anything that will get me too dirty." Peach's words brought Roy out of his thoughts. He popped the last bite of his toast into his mouth with a grin at the princess.

Sarah turned around, moving on to another station of her kitchen. "Don't worry, Peach. I've already posted the Winter Maintenance Chores List in the main hall. I made sure to give you a job that won't get dust on your dress," she said with a smile.

Link looked up at Sarah. "You did?"

Sarah blushed lightly. "Well, actually, I made Jazz do it."

"Sarah, we've been through this before," Marth said with a smile. He guided Sarah into the dining hall, and the others followed. "You hired Jazz to help take some of your work load. Stop feeling guilty about making her work!"

Peach and Zelda laughed as Sarah hung her head.

As the others sat down, Roy turned toward the door. "I'm going to take a look at that chores list," he said.

Link nodded and waved. "Tell us what we all do."

Roy said he would, and made his way to the main hall. When he got there, he was alone. Since he could actually hear himself breathing, he assumed that the hall was empty. Sometimes even one Smasher could be so loud.

Roy scanned the list, using his finger to mark his spot. Marth, predictably, had been assigned an easy job: vacuuming carpets. Roy laughed out loud when he saw that Link was in the bathroom cleaning group. Zelda and Peach were in another relatively easy group, taking out trash. Peach wouldn't be overly happy, but even she had to admit it was better than dusting.

Then Roy found his own name, and he felt his blood run cold. Sarah had put him on a stage cleaning crew, and not for just any stage. His group had to clean Termina Bay, and that meant that he'd have to help with the pool. That meant water. Roy felt like he was going to faint.

"What's the matter, Roy-Boy? Don't like your job?"

Roy whirled around to face Jazz, startled by her sudden appearance. "What? N-no, I… I thought…"

Jazz smirked. "You thought you were alone? Silly Roy-Boy, I've been here the whole time. You've been pouring over that list for nearly five minutes now."

Roy regained his composure and scowled. "Yes, I thought I was alone Jasmine," he snapped. "You could have said something earlier and spared me the heart attack."

Jazz laughed. "So I really scared you? Roy-Boy, you're so easy."

"You did NOT scare me, you simply startled me. And I thought I told you to stop calling me Roy-Boy!" he shouted, completely losing his cool.

Jazz looked hurt. "You don't have to yell at me. Now look, in case you hadn't seen, we're in the same work group, so let's kiss and make up before we get to work."

Roy, in his flustered state, was confused. She didn't really expect him to kiss her, did she? Suddenly, his mind was filled with images of himself and his friends in the schoolyard, screaming about girl-cooties. These were immediately followed by a picture of himself kissing Jazz, an image which, upon later contemplation, Roy found wasn't so bad. It wasn't an image he particularly wanted at the moment, however.

"Uh…buh…gig…" Apparently he'd lost the ability to speak. Great.

Jazz rolled her eyes. "It's just a figure of speech. Don't get too excited, and try to keep from jumping on me. Certainly don't drool on me." She turned and walked toward the dining hall. "See you at Termina Bay stage."

Roy stood still for a moment, staring after her. He then turned to the wall and banged his head against it several times. He wasn't sure that he quite understood what had just happened.

Trudging back to the dining hall, Roy ran his fingers through his hair in an attempt to cover the red spot on his forehead. He just knew that his friends would laugh at him yet again if they knew he'd actually hit his head on the wall.

Breakfast was over when he finally arrived at the dining hall. The Smashketeers were still there, talking over by the kitchen. Roy went to join them.

"We should all get to our chore groups," Sarah said.

"Yeah, tell us what our jobs are, Roy," Link agreed, turning to the redhead.

Roy sighed. "You're doing bathrooms, Link."

Link howled in anger, and the girls laughed at him. "Sarah! I thought you liked me! I thought I was your friend!"

Sarah was shaking with laughter. "You are my friend, and that's why I gave you that job. I trust you to actually do it, instead of sluffing it off like someone else might."

Roy was paying little attention to the conversation by now. Talk about the chores was making him think of his own job. He felt the first tinglings of fear coming back to him now. He was sure that if he held his hands cupped together, sweat would pool in them. The worst part of it was that those tingles would grow to buzzes, and eventually earthquakes of fear, the closer he got to the job.

Roy realized that the others were leaving the dining hall and quickly moved to catch up. The Smashketeers were going their separate ways. Roy took a deep breath and headed for the stadium. His hands became clammier with each step. By the time he reached the stage, they were trembling.

The stage was set above a giant pool. The water wasn't horribly dirty, but it definitely needed cleaning. Roy groaned as he realized that their lack of proper technology would require them to drain the entire pool, scrub it by hand, and then fill it up again.

A small crash from on the stage alerted Roy to the fact that he wasn't alone. Captain Falcon popped his head out from behind a pillar after a moment. When he saw Roy, he grinned.

"Look, Jazz, it's Roy-Boy! That's what you call him, right?" the racer said as he leapt off the back of the stage. Jasmine emerged from behind the same pillar and jumped down next to him. Roy ground his teeth, clenched his sweaty hands, and said nothing.

Jazz laughed. "That's what I call him. He doesn't seem to like it too much, though."

The group of three started working straight away. Roy stepped gingerly on the stage, very aware of the water below him. Jasmine took charge quickly, and started doling out specific jobs to everyone. Roy was told to fetch the broom and dustpan and sweep the whole stage. Captain Falcon and Jazz picked up some polishing supplies and set about making the metal dome shine again.

Roy swept, trying desperately to ignore both his nagging fear and the outrageous flirting going on by the dome. The racer was really putting the moves on Sarah's assistant today, and she didn't seem to mind too much. Finally, as he was dumping his pile of dust and dirt into the trash, Captain Falcon made The Suggestion.

"Hey, why don't we take one last swim in the pool before we drain it? It'll be fun!" The racer was grinning pointedly at Jasmine as he said this.

Jasmine giggled. "Ah, that's a good idea! Let's go change, and then we'll swim. Come on, Roy, you too!"

Roy felt his heart begin to pound again. "Oh… that's… that's alright. You go ahead; I think I'll skip it."

"What?" Jazz scowled at him. "What do you mean, you'll skip it? Afraid to be seen in a bathing suit or something?"

Roy glared. "No, I just don't feel like swimming. It's the dead of winter, you know."
Captain Falcon tried to steer Jasmine's attention back to him. "Forget about the swordsman. You and I can have a great time without him." He raised his eyebrows, trying to enhance what he was implying.

Jasmine ignored him and stalked over to the redhead. "What's wrong with you? It's just a little fun in a pool. Who cares if it is the dead of winter? We're inside, stupid." She grabbed his arm and started pulling him towards the door.

Roy struggled. "I…don't…wanna…"

Jazz pulled harder. "Yes… you do!"

Captain Falcon sputtered. "Jazz… just leave him…"

Roy gave one final pull. Jazz chose that moment to let go of his arm. Roy's momentum carried him backwards a few steps. He lost his balance and fell into the pool.

The water closed over his head, and his panic spiked. He opened his mouth to try and get air, but only sucked in water. Fully clothed, choking, Roy sank. He'd never learned how to swim properly, and he was thrashing around. It only made him sink faster.

Then, miraculously, he was out of the water, lying at the side of the pool. Jasmine and Captain Falcon were beside him, telling him to breathe. Roy was horrified to find that he was shaking so hard he thought he might fall apart any second.

The redhead closed his eyes, water dripping from his hair and clothes, and cried.

KT – DA: There we go! Gosh, that took me so long…

Marth: You did such a good job, My Lady!

Link: You're such a pansy, Marth.

Marth: I am NOT! YOU'RE the one who wears tights!

Link: Oh, is that it, huh?

Karanos: KT, you take so long to update next time, and your head is mine.

KT – DA: I… I know, Captain… I'm sorry. It won't happen again.

Karanos: Now, get to work, you scalawags!

Roy: Somebody should make those two stop fighting. /points to Link and Marth/

KT – DA: Ah… LINK! DON'T YOU DARE MESS UP MY MARTH!

Roy: Um… review… please…