Anonymous reviews:

Agent 4: I see. I believe I've mentioned it before, but my plan for after "The Rainbow Squids" is finished is to have a story centered around New Agent 3 and Splatoon 3's story mode, with some characters from "The Rainbow Squids" appearing as well. Not everyone, but quite a few. It would depend on Splatoon 3's DLC, as well. That's still a while away, so I have plenty of time to think about it.

Onto the story. Pearl and Marina's dialogue is from Splatoon 2.

Yuri's PoV

Huddled around their table, the Rainbow Squids watched eagerly at the giant screen plastered on the front of the Deca Tower, awaiting the announcement of the next Splatfest theme. Yuri felt as if he would splat in his seat from the anticipation. What could the theme possibly be? There were so many possibilities!

When the banner of the Splatfest displayed on the TV behind Pearl and Marina, Roy stood up from his seat, slamming his hands down on the table. "That's-!"

"Super Smash Bros.?!" Inigo followed up, his mouth gaping.

"Yeah, yeah!" Yuri confirmed, a big smile on his face, his leg bouncing under the table. When he was younger, he and the other boys played Super Smash Bros. Brawl all the time. And even today, he played the one for the Squii U with his siblings a lot.

"Yo! Yooo!" Perry exclaimed, also standing up from his chair. "That's sick!"

Off the Hook seemed the share the boys' excitement, screaming upon seeing the banner. Ecstatic, Marina declared, "A Super Smash Bros. Splatfest?!"

"Yesssss!" Pearl cheered. More serious, she adopted a tone similar to that of an announcer. "In this corner, the brave fighters who battle the forces of evil... Heroes!"

"And in this corner, the fiends who stop at nothing to get their way..." the dark-skinned idol continued. "Villains!"

"Heroes versus villains, eh?" Geneva commented, smirking. "I guess you can play both heroes and villains in that game."

Meanwhile, Pearl wasn't impressed by Marina's team of choice. "Yo, are you seriously about to represent villains with a straight face?" She scowled in a way Perry would find endearing. "Villains are bad guys! No one likes bad guys. Not even bad guys like bad guys!"

"Villains aren't bad guys," Marina argued, frowning. "They're just...misunderstood."

"I don't know..." Bonnie spoke up. "Some villains really are bad guys."

"And some are misunderstood," Inigo countered. "There's two ends of the spectrum there." He looked over at Geneva. "Right?" She didn't answer him, simply huffing and folding her arms over her chest. She lifted her legs, placing her feet on the table.

"Villains know what they want and they go for it," Marina elaborated, the news going on without any notice of what was happening in Inkopolis Square. "I can respect that."

"Yeah, but what they usually want is to destroy the world," Pearl pointed out.

"Pshh... That's just what they want you to think. Villains want to fight the establishment and topple the status quo. But they're branded as 'villains' just because they want to change the world."

"Yeah... They want to change the world from not destroyed to destroyed. Which, by the way, is sooooo overdone. Why villains gotta be so boring? Like, can you please find some more interesting life goals?"

"Ooooooh, you wanna talk about boring? The hero of any story is always the least interesting character! Heroes wouldn't even exist if there were no villains to shake things up!"

"Villains wouldn't exist if their parents hugged them when they were kids!"

Yuri winced at Pearl's statement. Even if his dad was around for a good chunk of his childhood, he was still no longer around. And his siblings barely even knew him—York and Yana didn't know him at all. None of them are villains. Not to mention Perry: perhaps he wasn't the nicest squid around, but he was in no way a villain, even with his mom leaving him as a baby. Heck, as far as he was aware, most of Octa Prisma didn't even know their parents, and they aren't villains, either!

"Ouch..." Marina echoed his thoughts, her tentacles curling up.

Pearl's gold gaze focused on the camera. "What about you at home? Head over to the Splatfest terminal and pick a side!"

"And once you vote, make sure to pick up your Splatfest tee!" Marina reminded the viewers.

A transition played, and the duo proceeded to announce the stages for the current rotation. However, the Rainbow Squids paid no attention to it, instead focusing on each other, excitement radiating throughout the group.

"Dude, a Super Smash Bros. Splatfest is so fresh!" Perry continued. "The fresh characters on the banner? The fact that the new game comes out on Friday? This is gonna be so freaking awesome!"

"I know!" Roy agreed, beaming. "Your copy came yesterday, yeah?" He nodded in conformation. "We could go play it right now!"

"I can ask Alexis if she wants to come," Octavia interjected, holding up her phone. "If she hasn't found out by now, we can fill her in."

"I don't get it," Bonnie started, "why are you squids so excited?"

Yuri blinked, surprised. "Have you seriously never played Super Smash Bros.?"

"No..." she admitted, blushing as she became flustered. "M-My parents only let me have a DS when I was younger. But even then, they only let me play on it for an hour a day. Sometimes I tried playing in the middle of the night, but whenever I heard something in the house, I got scared and went back to sleep. And other times, I was too tired to play more than a few minutes at a time."

"Well, the past is the past," he said, pounding a fist into his hand. "Today, we're gonna fix that!"

Inigo looked over at Octavia and Geneva. "You've played Smash before, right?"

"I've literally played it with you," Via pointed out, eyes narrowing. "Multiple times."

"O-Oh, yeah," he chuckled, giving a half-hearted smile.

"I've played it too," Geneva replied curtly, "but the last time I played it was before I moved to Inkopolis."

"Well, it'd be fun to play it again," Octavia commented. "But I'm warning you—I'm pretty good!"

She gave a small laugh. "I'm sure you are."

"Well, I gotta get ready," Perry announced, putting a hand on his hip. "I gotta tell my dad that y'all are coming, plus I gotta make space in the game room. I know someone will get cranky if I leave it as it is."

Via raised an eyebrow. "You talkin' about me?"

"Maybe..."

"Seriously? Ugh, I can only imagine what's in there."

"Ha ha, don't worry. It'll be spotless."

"I'll be the judge of that."

"Well, I'll be off now. I'll let you squids know when I'm ready." Perry turned around, walking away from the table. "See ya later."

"Same goes to you!" Yuri called as he disappeared.

Now that they had no reason to stick around, the Rainbow Squids said their goodbyes, dispersing through Inkopolis Square. To pass the time, Yuri decided to do some ranked battles, though he hadn't paid attention to which mode was currently in rotation. Thankfully, he had an app for that—pulling his phone out of his pocket, he opened up SplatNet 2, displaying various statistics regarding ink battles, including Splatfest information and the current rotation.

Splat Zones, he learned. Should be simple enough.

Walking inside the Deca Tower, he proceeded to go to the Rainbow Squids' storage room, grabbing his Heavy Splatling Deco from inside. From there, he entered a ranked battle elevator, and for a few matches, he stayed inside the lobby and battled. Though some matches were very close, he managed to win all but one match, something he considered a victory. He even went up a rank! Still in high spirits, he left the Deca Tower about an hour later, the sun already starting to set. The sky colored in golden hues, he checked his phone for any texts from Perry. Nothing.

Well, whatever the case, he had to be ready soon, right? After putting his Heavy Splatling Deco back in the storage room, Yuri jogged to the nearby parking lot, locating his car and climbing inside it. He started it up and drove off towards the direction of Perry's mansion. Yuri couldn't contain his smile as he drove, excited. He couldn't wait to play Super Smash Bros.!

Soon enough, the mansion came into view, grand and imposing as it stood in the center of the street. The lawn was freshly cut, not a single weed in sight. Some cars sat in the driveway, including Perry's. Being his best friend, he had to make sure he arrived at his house first—he was sure that was the case today. He parked in the driveway and climbed outside, walking along the pavement to the front door. He rang the doorbell and hummed to himself, waiting for an answer.

Perry's dad answered the door. "Oh, Yuri!" he exclaimed. "Are your other friends with you?"

"No," he replied. "They'll be coming later."

He paused briefly before giving a shrug. "I'll greet them when they come." Stepping out of the way, he smiled. "Perry's downstairs."

"Thanks," Yuri said, entering. He took his shoes off and strolled over to the stairs, descending to the bottom floor of the mansion. The room was split into two paths, one leading to the laundry room and storage, the other leading to an open area, where Perry would definitely be. Thankfully, he knew which path to take, taking a left.

The open area served multiple purposes. While for today it would allow the Rainbow Squids to play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate together, it was more often used by the adults for parties. A pool table was pushed against the wall, a dartboard cabinet hanging above it. Towards one end of the area stood Perry, who was setting up a Nintendo Shift, placing the dock on top of his SplatStation 4. He pressed the power button, and the TV flickered to life, showing a black menu display. Colorful beanbags surrounded the low table the TV sat on, and some boxes were stacked up off to the side. On the other side of the room, opposite of the gaming TV, was a small bar with locked cabinets and chairs pushed against the table.

At the sound of his footsteps, Perry lifted his head, looking over his shoulder. "You're early."

"Of course I am," he boasted. "Why would I be late for this?"

"Well, I almost got the game set up." He glanced over at the TV, nodding in confirmation. "I only got two controllers though. So, we'll have to take turns."

"There's a new tournament mode, right? We could do that."

"Is there?" He rubbed the back of his head. "I've been so focused on unlocking everyone that I haven't paid much attention to anything else."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure."

"Guess we'll see." Perry picked up a controller and started up the game. The screen went dark, and after a few moments, an orchestral theme began to play, sending chills through Yuri's body. Just as a woman started to sing, though, he pressed a button, immediately skipping to the title screen.

Yuri frowned, disappointed. "Aw, I wanted to watch the whole thing."

"Maybe another day," he teased. "Now, let's see here..." Navigating through the menu, Perry reached a red-colored menu, displaying various options. He scrolled down to a button labeled 'Tourney,' and selected it. Another menu popped up, asking how many people were participating in the tournament. At that, he paused. "You know if Alexis is coming yet?"

"No. But, if she doesn't come, maybe I can play twice."

"You?! What 'bout me!"

Yuri laughed. "Just kidding. We'll figure it out later."

"Aight." Perry sat down in a beanbag, sinking into the cushion as he navigated away from the tournament mode, to the standard versus mode. He reached over to the other controller and tossed it over to Yuri. "Wanna play while we wait for the others?"

"Oh, you know the answer to that!"

"Mhm." Nodding, Perry navigated to the aforementioned mode and selected a random stage, bringing them to the character select screen. If Perry hadn't mentioned he hadn't unlocked everyone beforehand, Yuri would definitely think that he had unlocked them all—there were so many characters to choose from! Even more than the full roster of the Squii U version of the game!

Yuri settled on playing Mega Man, while Perry decided to play Sonic—just as he did when they were kids. They ended up playing on one of the Pokémon stages, though he had forgotten the name of it. The stage was split into two levels, pillars rising into the air on the upper level. The lower level was a cave with several crystals, glowing dimly. The characters Yuri and Perry picked arrived on the stage, and the match proceeded to begin.

Sonic was immediately on the offensive, Perry mashing the B button as he jumped into the air and dashed towards Mega Man. Yuri's mouth gaped open as his character of choice was thrown around the stage, relentlessly pursued by Perry's character. But he couldn't falter here. His hands tight around the controller, Yuri managed to escape, giving him a chance to attack. Now Sonic was the one being thrown around the stage, the various projectiles Mega Man shot stunning him as they hit, preventing him from making any moves. But the tides quickly turned as a monstrous Pokémon colored light pink arrived on the stage, roaring before slicing through the center of the screen, turning the stage upside down. Yuri muttered a curse under his breath as he accidentally let Mega Man walk off the stage, falling into the abyss and losing a point. Sonic ran off the stage as well, and while he tried to save himself, Perry ended up guiding him away from the stage.

When their characters respawned, they waited for the stage to turn right side up again before resuming their match. It took a few seconds, but once the stage shifted, their characters were battling each other once more, constantly spamming their special moves at one another.

"Got anything more interesting?" Yuri taunted as Mega Man threw more projectiles.

"Says you!" Perry fired back. "How 'bout you get up close and personal!?"

"That's not even how you play Mega Man!"

"Is it? I've watched plenty of people do sick combos with him."

"Well, uh..." Blushing, Yuri rubbed the back of his head. "I don't play him very much." He shook his head, leaning forward in the beanbag. "Well, I know how to play him well enough."

Taking in mind Perry's suggestion, he made his character run towards Sonic, grabbing him and throwing him up into the air. Jumping up and mashing the A button, Sonic was sent flying through the air, smoke trailing behind him. In the meantime, a blue, monstrous Pokémon had spawned in the center of the stage, firing a laser through the right side of the stage. Unfortunately for Perry, his character landed right in the beam, and with a red flash, he launched off the stage, Sonic screaming as he was KO'd.

"Booyah!" Yuri declared, pumping a fist.

"Dang it," Perry grumbled. Nonetheless, when Sonic respawned, he immediately went back to spamming special moves, though this time, Yuri was prepared. He pressed the shield button, successfully blocking the hit. But then Perry had the clever idea to grab Mega Man, tossing him behind him before going on the offense once more. Soon enough, Mega Man was flying off the stage, but thankfully, he managed to recover, climbing onto the bottom floor. Sticking his tongue out, Perry guided Sonic to the bottom floor, but Yuri was prepared. With a smash attack, Mega Man knocked Sonic away and jumped up to the top floor. Meanwhile, the light pink Pokémon appeared again, and with a roar, the background turned blue, and suddenly, both characters were falling more slowly, allowing for better maneuvering. Sonic jumped up to the top floor and chased after Mega Man, who proceeded to kick him and launch him off the stage, scoring a point for Perry.

Soon enough, a countdown began to play, and in the final ten seconds, Yuri KO'd Perry once more, pumping a fist in triumph. Now, he was certain he was going to win! When Sonic respawned, he immediately ran towards Mega Man, but the match ended, stopping the characters in their tracks. The screen faded to white, and a theme began to play as Mega Man shot into the air before striking a pose, denotating him as the winner of the match.

Perry held out a fist, looking towards his friend. "GG, Yuri."

They bumped fists, and he smiled. "Same goes to you."

They moved past the results, and suddenly, the screen was red, playing a siren sound as a silhouette of a human appeared in the background. When the stage loaded, Yuri found himself fighting Robin. They were on a castle with red roofs and a flag, the sun rising in the distance. The CPU immediately ran towards Mega Man upon the match's start, swinging at him with his sword. He took the hit, and determined, Yuri made his character grab Robin, throwing him off of the stage. Mega Man threw a sawblade at Robin, interrupting his recovery. In a bold move, he jumped off-stage, and Yuri mashed the A button, hoping to hit the new character. In an instant, Robin was flying away, ending the match, and before he knew it, a blue screen was displayed, indicating that they had unlocked Robin.

"Easy," Yuri declared, smirking. "We're gonna get them all in no time!"

"There's not much left," Perry commented, holding his phone out in front of him. "We just gotta keep at it."

"Yeah!"

While they waited for the other Rainbow Squids' arrival, Yuri and Perry continued to play matches against each other. While the latter consistently chose Sonic, the former experimented with different characters, primarily ones he often played as when playing against his siblings. While Perry did end up winning most of the matches, Yuri still won a few, and they were in the middle of unlocking the Duck Hunt Duo when the yellow-haired inkling heard footsteps from behind him, piquing his interest. While Perry fought against the duo, he looked behind his shoulder to see Octavia, Alexis, and Bonnie, their eyes focused on the television screen.

"Hey," Yuri greeted. "We've been waiting for you."

Bonnie jumped, snapping her attention to him. "Oh! Hi!"

"Hi," Alexis followed, waving a hand. She didn't seem very enthusiastic, donning a poker face.

A fanfare played, and Yuri looked back at the TV to see that Perry had successfully unlocked the Duck Hunt Duo. Looking back at the girls, Via's eyes were scanning the room, and soon enough, she nodded.

"Well, Perry, consider me impressed," she remarked, grabbing the purple-haired boy's attention. "You really did make this place spotless!"

"Told ya I would."

Bonnie looked over at the TV screen, eyes wide. "That's a lot of characters."

"Well, it has every character from past games, plus more," the purple-haired boy explained. "That's why it's called Super Smash Bros. Ultimate."

"It's got most of the stages, too!" Yuri added. "Isn't that fresh?" The girls agreed, nodding their heads.

They sank into the beanbags, watching as Yuri and Perry played more matches against each other. After another match had passed, more footsteps sounded. Another glance behind him told him the newcomers were Roy and Inigo this time.

"We're here," the latter announced.

The former punched a fist into his hand. "Now, let's get smashin'."

"Not yet!" Octavia insisted. "Geneva isn't here."

The newcomers' eyes scanned the group. "You're right," Inigo realized, frowning. "She isn't here."

"She's usually the last to arrive, isn't she?" Alexis inquired.

"Yeah," Perry confirmed. "Give her some time."

"I guess she's not that late," Roy remarked. "Could be worse."

"Y'all can warm up," the purple-haired boy suggested, raising his controller. "I think Yuri and I deserve a break."

Via reached over to him and snatched the controller out of his hand. "We got here first," she said, donning a sly smile. "So, we play first."

"Aight, aight," Perry conceded.

Yuri looked over at Alexis and Bonnie. "Which one of you want this?" he asked, holding out his controller.

"Me," said the short-haired inkling, grabbing it out of his dark-skinned hands.

"Then it's settled," he declared. "Let the match begin!"

The sisters began their match against each other, and just when they got to the results screen, Geneva arrived, catching her breath. At her arrival, everyone turned around to face her. Bruises were present on her arms and legs, and the edges of her shorts had a few tears in them, though she otherwise seemed fine.

"Sorry I'm late," she apologized.

"Holy carp! What happened to you?" Via gasped.

"Yeah, you look terrible," Alexis added.

"Emergency call to Octo Canyon," she explained. "I was about to leave to go here when I got it. So I went back, and low behold, some Octarians were trying to break DJ Octavio out of his snow globe."

"Huh?!" she fretted. "Why didn't they call me?"

"Cap'n was attacked in the middle of the call—don't worry, he's fine. He just didn't have time to call anyone else. Agent 1 and Agent 2 dealt with the Octarians, but I had to deal with Octavio himself. We basically got into a wrestling match." She sighed. "I really hope I don't have to do that again. He's stronger than he looks, y'know."

"He's back in the snow globe again, right?" Alexis questioned.

"Yeah, Agent 2's working on fixing it. Don't worry, I knocked him out cold."

"Suddenly I'm glad Eight didn't have to deal with that. Would've been real awkward."

"Yeah."

Perry cleared his throat, bringing everyone's attention to him. "Now that everyone's here...it's time for a tournament!"

"A tournament?" Bonnie blinked. "I know I'm not winning that."

"Hey, don't be a pessimist," Yuri chirped. "Maybe you'll win; you never know!"

"Thanks, but I think you're being a little too optimistic right now." She frowned. "I've never played Smash Bros. I'll lose for sure."

"At least try," Octavia encouraged her.

"Alright..." she said with a sigh.

Perry took Octavia's controller and navigated over to the tournament menu, setting it up. The rules were clear: three stocks, no timer, and only Smash Balls were allowed. There would be seven battles each, each battle consisting of two people. Everyone picked a character from the selection screen, except for Bonnie, who decided to pick a random character. When the bracket was displayed, she discovered her chosen character to be Falco.

With the press of a button, the tournament began. After a brief transition, Roy and Geneva were pitted against each other, gripping their hands around their controllers. Ike and Samus spawned onto the stage. It consisted of platforms made of wooden logs, a waterfall present in the background. A cannon spun around below the main platform, moving from left to right. While Geneva tried to keep her distance, Roy's character started to run after her, landing a nasty hit on her. Samus fell to a lower platform, but she got up, and she started to charge up a projectile while she had her chance. Ike leaped up into the air, grabbing his sword, but instead of landing on solid ground, he plummeted towards the abyss below, causing him to lose a stock.

"Carp," Roy snapped, eyebrows furrowed. Samus jumped back onto the stage, firing the projectile as soon as Ike landed on the main platform. Ike fell to the edge of the platform, but he quickly got back up, swinging his longsword at her. Samus jumped over him and fired a missile, exploding in Ike's back. He flew over to the other side of the stage, but with Roy mashing a few buttons, Ike was able to recover, launching up into the air and slamming his sword into Samus. She launched off the stage, losing a stock herself. Geneva seemed surprised, but whatever she was thinking, she made no comment of it, hardening her gaze as Samus respawned.

Another flurry of combos later, Samus launched off the stage again, though this time, she was saved by a cannon, launching back onto the stage. She swung at Ike, sending him flying. Yuri almost thought he would lose a stock, but before he knew it, Ike was back on the stage, blue flames rising from his sword as he rose it into the air. Taking notice, Geneva tapped the B button, and Samus was charging up yet another projectile, standing on the opposite end of the stage. Roy sighed and released the move. Ike charged after Samus, jumping over the projectile she fired. When he approached, Geneva's character curled up into a ball and spun into the air, sparks flying off of her body as she collided with Ike. The swordsman flew up into the air, and when Samus landed on the ground again, she jumped up into the air and fired above her, sending Ike off the screen and causing him to lose a stock. Now, Roy and Geneva were evenly matched. While the former had the lead, it could change at any moment.

Roy followed up on his attacks, however, and now Samus was in the one in the middle of the air, vulnerable as Ike rushed towards her. He slammed his sword down on her, and she crashed down towards the abyss as if she were a volleyball. The announcer proclaimed the match's end, marking Roy as the winner of this round.

"GG," Geneva commented, clapping. "You were good."

"Same goes for you," he remarked.

The next match pitted Yuri against Bonnie, located on a sci-fi stage with an alien creature in the background. When it started, the blue-haired girl stared at her controller, puzzled. She pressed on the joystick, and Falco moved from left to right. Ryu merely stood in place as Yuri waited for her to figure out the controls, his yellow eyes focused on her controller. Pressing the B button, Falco shot some lasers from his gun, hitting Ryu and making him flinch, though the blasts themselves barely did any damage. Yuri returned his attention to the TV and advanced towards Bonnie's character, trying to close the gap between the two characters. But the laser blasts proved effective, knocking Ryu back further and further with every shot. Eventually, instead of firing a laser, Falco sped forward instead, much to Bon-Bon's surprise. Using her bewilderment to his advantage, Yuri made Ryu grab Falco and throw him backwards, and with a hurricane kick, Falco fell off the stage, and without a way to recover, Bonnie lost a stock, much to her dismay.

Should I go easy on her? he pondered as Falco respawned. It would be more fair, but at the same time, he wanted to win. Suddenly, the lights of the stage began to flicker as a siren sounded, and in an instant, the stage flipped upside down, both fighters managing to make it onto the flipped version of the stage. It was steeper than before, but it also seemed a little larger. After both of them got adjusted to the new layout, Falco started to fire his gun again, laser blasts hitting Ryu. Since the new stage was no longer flat, though, Ryu managed to duck in the small ditch between the two ends of the stage. Frowning, Bonnie guided Falco towards Ryu and started hitting him, knocking him back. Ryu got back up and with an uppercut, Falco launched into the air, but ended up dashing off the stage, causing Bonnie to lose yet another stock. Yuri couldn't help but feel bad for her—she was new to this game, and he was absolutely destroying her in this match.

When Falco respawned, so did a Smash Ball, changing colors as it floated around the stage, leaving a trail behind. The lights went out again, and the stage flipped once more, returning the layout to its original form. The Smash Ball still remained, hovering between the two fighters.

"Grab that!" Octavia directed Bonnie. "You could gain the advantage that way!"

"Not if I grab it first!" Yuri declared. Ryu jumped up towards the Smash Ball, and so did Falco, the fighters' moves colliding with one another as they fought to gain control of it. With a kick, the Smash Ball broke, and a rainbow aura floated off of Ryu, his eyes glowing yellow. With the press of a button, Yuri activated the Final Smash, Ryu sending a huge wave of blue energy towards Falco. He was caught up in the blast and launched off the stage, ending the game. Yuri had won, and now Bonnie was eliminated in the tournament.

"Sorry, Bon-Bon," he apologized as he passed the controller to Inigo, who was fighting in the next match against Alexis. "I didn't give you any room to breathe, did I?"

"It's fine," she assured him, clasping her hands together. "I didn't expect to win, anyways."

"Well, with enough practice, you'll beat me some day," he encouraged. "York put this game on his Squidmas list. Maybe in January or something, we could play again some time."

Bonnie nodded. "I'll think about it."

"That's the spirit!"

Yuri turned his attention back towards the TV. The next match had begun, with Inigo playing as Meta Knight, and Alexis playing as Pikachu. They battled on Onett, leaping from rooftop to rooftop. The younger inkling continuously mashed the B button, Pikachu sending bolts of electricity at its opponent. Meta Knight was also spamming special moves, though Inigo had more of a plan in mind, his character spinning rapidly towards Pikachu. Pikachu landed on the other side of the house before being hit by a car speeding by, sending the Pokémon off the stage, losing a stock.

"What?" Alexis cried out. "Seriously?!"

"All's fair in Super Smash Bros.!" Perry declared. "That's part of the fun, y'know?"

The match continued, though as time went on, Yuri paid less and less attention to it. He still had a while before his next match, so for now, he could relax. Super Smash Bros. tournaments weren't exactly the most interesting—he always preferred watching tournaments for more traditional fighting games. He would feel too guilty if he just pulled out his phone and started scrolling through Squidsagram—he had been the one to suggest the tournament, and surely someone would be disappointed to see him resort to such a behavior.

The announcer's voice brought him out of his thoughts, sitting up in his beanbag as Meta Knight was announced the winner of the match. Alexis merely sighed, shaking her head in disappointment.

"You win," she said. The bracket displayed on the screen again, and she handed the controller over to Perry. "Your turn, now."

"Yes!" He glanced over at Octavia. "Watch out, Via! I'll crush you!"

"All bark, no bite," she teased. "I think I'll be the one crushing you."

"We'll see about that," he sneered. The match began, and the characters Octavia and Perry had chosen, Zelda and Sonic respectively, spawned in on a train stage, and once it started, they immediately charged towards each other, dishing out attacks.

Again, Yuri spaced out, the events of the match flashing by him. But Perry's cry of dismay snapped his attention to the TV screen, where Sonic had rolled onto the train tracks, leaving him behind and causing Perry to lose a stock. Zelda fell onto the tracks not much later, Via losing a stock as well. The battle only got more intense as the layout of the stage continued to change, various vehicles ramming into the train in an attempt to halter it. Yet, the train proceeded to chug along as Zelda and Sonic battled, the former summoning multiple phantoms in an attempt to ward the latter off. A Smash Ball appeared near Zelda, and eyes lighting up, Octavia guided her characters towards it, breaking it and summoning a rainbow aura around her. Activating it, Zelda summoned a vortex and pulled Sonic inside it, exploding and causing the loss of yet another stock. She had sustained a large amount of damage, though, and with a spin dash, she lost a stock as well once Sonic respawned.

Now that both fighters were on their last stock, Perry and Octavia went silent, their eyes focused on the TV. Silently, Yuri cheered Perry on, wishing to see him succeed. A Smash Ball spawned onto the stage, but something seemed odd about it—the thickness of the two lines that crossed on the glowing orb were inverted. Seeing his chance, Perry went up to attack it. As soon as it broke, however, instead of granting him a Final Smash, the Smash Ball blew up instead, launching him to the sky and ending the match.

"I did it!" Via exclaimed. "See, Perry? You didn't crush me at all!"

"It was close," he argued. "If I didn't break that, I'm sure I would've won. Or maybe you would've broken it instead!"

"Rules are rules," she jeered. "I'm moving on to the next round."

Finally, it was Yuri's turn once more. Octavia handed the controller to him, while Perry gave his controller to Roy. Now, Ike and Ryu were pitted against each other, arriving on Flat Zone—a stage Yuri loathed. Judging by the expression on Roy's face, he shared the same sentiment, grimacing as the chiptune theme began to play.

Well, there was no use pondering on the stage choice. As long as he could avoid the stage hazards, then hopefully, he could win.

The stage itself was pretty flat at first, allowing for a fair battle. While Roy tended to dish out larger amounts of damage at a time, Yuri used combos to his advantage, slowly racking up damage on Ike. But with one lucky smash attack, Ryu was sent flying through the air. A projectile from the stage rammed into him, only sending him even higher into the air, and consequently, he lost a stock. The stage transitioned to a jail of some sort, two people moving up and down on opposite sides of the stage. Ike and Ryu were locked in-between them, and before he knew it, they were flying off the stage once more, both of them losing a stock. Roy cursed at the TV, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his controller even harder.

Even when the situation seemed dire, Yuri had to keep his cool. He could still win. Even with the disadvantage, he's seen people pull off comebacks before—it was true in real life, and it was true in Super Smash Bros., too. He just had to play smart. Keeping his distance, Yuri opted to just use his special moves, Ryu firing blue blasts of energy at Ike. Ike pulled up a shield, absorbing one blast, and before Ryu could send out another one, he dashed towards him, swinging his sword and launching him up into the air. The layout of the stage changed once again, this one resembling a kitchen. Ike flew through the air, and Ryu reached up to land a final punch on him, but just as it connected, a fish collided with Ryu, launching him off the stage.

"Game!"

Yuri stared at the TV. He lost. He was now eliminated from the tournament. As much as he would like a rematch, he had to accept defeat. He turned towards Roy and held out a hand.

"Good game," he said.

"Good game," Roy said back, taking the hand and shaking it. "Sucks it had to be that stage, though."

"Yeah," he agreed, "but the past is the past. Good luck in the finals!"

"Thank you." Roy handed the controller to Inigo, who was set to fight Octavia.

Once the two had a hold of their controllers, they started the match. Meta Knight and Zelda were set to fight on a pirate ship, the waters colored a bright blue. The Smash Ball spawned pretty early in the match, and Zelda was quick to grab and activate it, sealing Meta Knight away and causing him to lose a stock.

"Already?!" Inigo cried out. "Oh, it's on!"

Meta Knight's attacks became more aggressive, trying to close the gap between the two fighters, but Zelda merely stepped back, waiting for a chance to attack. As Meta Knight tried to swoop towards her, she sent out a magical flame, exploding upon contact. He flew off the boat, trying to get back on it, but he collided with the hull, sending him down under the waves. Upon losing another stock, Inigo's attacks only became more and more frantic, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. The entire time, Octavia remained calm, leaning back in the beanbag as she racked up more damage. Finally, with one smash attack, Meta Knight was flying off the stage, bringing an end to a rather short match.

"GG," Inigo muttered. "Guess I got too carried away."

"You know, I didn't expect to make it to the finals," Octavia commented. "So, go me!"

"Go Via!" Bonnie quickly followed.

Inigo handed the controller to Roy. "Good luck."

The red-haired boy closed his eyes and smiled. "I don't think I need it."

The final match of the tournament began, displaying Ike and Zelda on a versus screen before spawning them in on a long, beige bridge, the sky a vibrant orange. Yuri remembered this stage quite well, but its name was on the tip of his tongue. The bridge stretched across the entire stage, with not even an edge being visible. Once the match began, Zelda immediately fired some magical fire towards Ike, but pulling up a shield, he managed to block it. As he ran up towards her, she summoned a phantom in an attempt to ward him off. Ike attempted to counter it, but it failed, sending him up into the air. He recovered before he hit the ground, and he dashed towards her, knocking towards one edge of the stage. Repeatedly, he attacked her, and eventually, she was KO'd, bringing Octavia down a stock.

Zelda respawned and jumped down towards Ike, swinging her arms towards him. Eventually, she grabbed him and threw him towards one end of the stage. Roy caught on to what Via was attempting to do and had Ike roll away as soon as he had the chance. He struck Zelda in the back, knocking her over. He rose his sword into the air, becoming cloaked in blue flames. He slammed it down on Zelda, launching her into the air. He leaped up and crashed into her, scoring another KO. Now Via was the one losing her cool, beginning to take more risks. A lucky Phantom Slash managed to launch Ike off the stage, Octavia cheering as a result.

Suddenly, a bomb landed in the middle of the stage, blowing up the bridge and creating a chasm between the two ends. Zelda fell through it, and while she attempted to recover, she failed to grab a ledge, falling into the abyss. A blue geyser of light spouted from where she fell, and the match ended.

"Game!" proclaimed the announcer.

Roy stared at the TV, dumbfounded. "I won?"

"Heck yeah you did!" Yuri exclaimed.

After moving past the results page, another transition played, and with some flashes, a large image of Ike stood in the center of the screen, proclaiming him the winner of the tournament.

Roy threw his hands in the air, cheering. "Booyah!"

"Booyah!" followed everyone else.

"We should play again," Via suggested. "Maybe I'll win this time."

"H-Hey, you just got lucky," Perry rebutted.

She chuckled. "We'll see." The other Rainbow Squids laughed, and immediately, they went on to do another tournament, playing into the night.

But, it didn't matter who won. Playing against each other was always fun! And having fun was the most important part.

A/N: Sorry this is a day late. I didn't really like writing this chapter, to be honest. But, I wanted to have Super Smash Bros. chapter for so long, and now I had the chance to write it. I thought it would be fun to write, but that was not the case. Once again, I'm sorry if this chapter was a little boring or confusing. I know not everyone plays Super Smash Bros., but hopefully, I conveyed it well enough to you. The next chapter, on the other hand, I'm looking much more forward to! Fun fact for this chapter: I actually did a CPU tournament in-game to determine the results of this chapter's tournament. The characters and stages were used are the same (except for the last match. That used a DLC stage, so I replaced it with a base-game stage similar to it for the purpose of this chapter). Here's the stages for all the matches, in case you weren't able to figure it out:

Yuri vs. Perry was on Spear Pillar. Roy vs. Geneva was on Kongo Falls. Bonnie vs. Yuri was on Frigate Orpheon. Alexis vs. Inigo was on Onett. Perry vs. Octavia was on Spirit Train. Roy vs. Yuri was on Flat Zone X. Inigo vs. Octavia was on Pirate Ship. Roy vs. Octavia was on Bridge of Eldin.

See you next Sunday, and Branchwing, out.