A/N: Okay, everyone! Here is Part 2 of Newcomer Madness! This includes the last two stories of the chapter, which is Richter/Chrom/Simon and Ridley/Dark Samus! And yes, I did cram 3 newcomers into one story (kinda because I wanna get this chapter over with and write in other characters lol). Speaking of other characters, I know y'all want to see your favorite character in this story, and I just want to tell you that they will be in the next chapter. But regardless, I hope you enjoy this one! Also, there will be cursing (censored, of course), specifically in the Ridley/Dark Samus story. So, if you don't like reading through a bunch of censored words, I suggest you skip the part that does have it.


Episode Three: Newcomer Madness (Everyone is Here! Part 3)

Description: Each team sets off with determination of recruiting the newcomers. But, it turns out to be harder than expected when old AND new rivalries appear among some of them.


Simon, Ritcher, & Chrom

Of course the vampire hunters had to live in a haunted mansion. Of course. And it had to be huge, since Luigi had been wandering around its halls for a while. Shortly after the Telebeamer teleported him there, Luigi had been walking through the mansion, with his special ghost capturing equipment at the ready, and scared out of his mind.

He hadn't encountered anything yet. But, it was only a matter of time. Luigi only hoped that he would find those vampire hunters before then. Because he knew that most ghosts were scary, obnoxious, and wanted to kill you. He knew that from EXPERIENCE.

"M-Mama Mia…." Luigi said timidly as he gulped.

Luigi turned down a hallway, and looked around. Against the left and the right wall, weird sarcophaguses were standing there, closed. Luigi blinked at them, a little nervous. It seemed to be out of place in a dark-academia styled type of house like this. The decorator must have some sort of odd liking for those things.

As he approached the end of the hallway, Luigi found himself in another room. But then, to his horror, he heard the groan of doors opening. He slowly turned around to see the sarcophaguses opening.

It wouldn't have scared him that much if mummies didn't come out of them, and shuffled towards Luigi.

"Uh oh…." Luigi squeaked.

Quickly, he raised his flashlight, and flashed it, attempting to blind the mummies. But, they didn't seem affected at all, and continued to walk towards him.

"Stay back! No!" Luigi said, trying to seem threatening but failing.

As he took a step back, he shot a plunger from his Poltergust at one of the nearest mummies. But, it wasn't as effective as he hoped, as it simply stuck to the mummy's face for one second before plopping to the ground. Even though it didn't have a face, the mummy gave him a bored look, and Luigi nervously smiled.

"Oopsie daisy?" he said.

The mummy didn't seem to appreciate what he said, as it shuffled closer and swiped its hand at Luigi. Luigi screamed as he bolted. He ran for a while before stopping in another room, which only had a statue head sitting on a small table.

Luigi wiped his forehead when he knew he got away. "Whew. Tough crowd."

Just then, he heard something move behind him, and he turned around to see the statue head turn towards him. The statue's eyes flashed open, revealing glowing red eyes.

"GAH!" Luigi shouted as he jumped.

Suddenly, something came down from the ceiling. It was a bunch of snakes and bugs, to Luigi's disgust. Quickly he avoided them, and made a run for it.

"I HATE THIS HOUSE!" he screamed.

Luigi ran blindly, until his foot caught a dislodged tile, and he tripped. He skidded through the hallway, and flipped on his butt.

After getting up slowly, Luigi rubbed his head. But then, he saw a shadowy figure in front of him. Slowly, he used his Poltergust to turn on the flashlight and directed it up. And when he did, he froze with absolute terror.

The shadowy figure was a floating SKELETON, with a black hood, and a scythe. It looked at Luigi with its creepy, piercing eyes. Luigi let out the largest scream he ever screamed, and his eyes rolled back in his head. The skeleton swung the scythe and hit Luigi, separating his soul from his body.

The skeleton grabbed Luigi's spirit, chuckling. Suddenly, there was a whooshing sound, and the skeleton turned around, only to get hit in the jaw with a whip, making him drop Luigi.

After hitting the skeleton, the whip came back to a hooded person. When he brought it back, he took off his hooded cape, and it dropped to the ground. It was a man, with long golden hair and a hunter's attire. It was Simon.

"Hello, Death. SURPRISED to see me?" Simon declared.

He didn't wait for Death to answer, before throwing his Cross weapon at him, which made Death drop his scythe and fall to the ground. Luigi, who was a ghost now, looked at Death then Simon with wide eyes.

Simon sprinted towards Death, as Death tried to get up. But before he could, Simon threw his Axe, which chopped off Death's hand, making him vulnerable. To finish him off, Simon doused him with Holy Water, creating a blue fire that burned a screaming Death into ash.

With a victorious face, Simon put all of his weapons back into his belt.

"Didn't stand a CHANCE." he said.

While this was happening, Luigi just floated there, staring in fear and a little awe. That is, until Simon looked at him. Then, he panicked.

"GAH! DON'T HURT ME!" he shouted.

Quickly, Luigi flew to a corner of the hallway, trying to hide himself. But, he was easy to find without trying, since his luminescent ghost glow was easy to spot. Slowly, Simon approached Luigi's dead body, then looked at the ghost.

"Is this yours?" he asked.

Luigi blinked, a little nauseous at looking at his own dead body. But slowly, he nodded. Simon looked at the body, and took out a vial filled with some glowing liquid. Silently, he unscrewed it, and Luigi started to sweat (even though he was a ghost).

"Hold on… what are you-"

Luigi never got to finish, before Simon spilled a drop into Luigi's open mouth. Suddenly, it felt like a humongous vacuum was turned on, and Luigi flew into the air and shot into the body while screaming.

Now in his body, Luigi sat up with a gasping yelp. He looked around wildly, confused and disoriented. He smacked his lips a few times, tasting a very weird aftertaste.

"Huh?!" he squeaked.

Simon closed the vial with a smile. "Don't fear, little green man! You're back and safe in your own body."

Luigi looked at his shaky hands with wide eyes. "But… HOW?!"

Simon showed him the tiny bottle he held. "You see, this is a special potion that has been cultivated by only the most brilliant minds in the field of medicine. It acts as an anchor for a spirit to be brought back into its body! I call it the… "Spirit Bringer Backer" elixir! A clever name, I know."

Luigi blinked, then stood up. "Well, thank you for bringing me back! Being a ghost was SCARY."

"No problem, my friend! Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go and defeat that CURSED Dracula." Simon said, growling at the last sentence.

Luigi immediately went pale. "D-D-DRACULA!? HUH?!"

Simon looked a little confused. "Yes? It's the main reason I came. This is the residence of the infamous Dracula. The evil and devilish being that I have sworn my life's PURPOSE to destroying."

"Hold on… you mean this ISN'T the house of Simon and Richter Belmont?" Luigi asked timidly.

Simon looked offended. "What?! Of COURSE not! How could I live in such a haunted and scary place like this. And as for Richter, he equally hates monsters as much as I, so I doubt that he'd stay in a place like this."

Luigi frowned, not getting why Simon was talking about himself. Then, it hit him.

"Wait a second… what's your name?" he asked.

"Me? I'm Simon Belmont of course. The famous and renowned vampire hunter!" Simon declared.

Luigi's eyes widened. "Ohhh! I've been looking for you!"

Simon arched an eyebrow. "You HAVE?"

Luigi nodded. "Yes! My name's Luigi! And I've been wanting to tell you and Richter something-"

Suddenly, a loud scream echoed throughout the house, making Luigi and Simon freeze.

"Hold that thought, green man! By that scream, I can determine that someone's in DANGER!" Simon said, as he ran towards the sound.

Luigi jumped up, and ran after him. "HEY! Wait for me!"

Together, the two of them ran through many hallways and rooms, until reaching where the scream came from, which was a large room filled with paintings and art. And what they found there was someone that they least suspected.

"FOX?!" Luigi screamed.

Sure enough, Fox was laying on the carpeted floor, his eyes completely white, and his face forever stuck in an expression of terror. Simon's eyes widened.

"You KNOW this humanoid vulpine?" he asked.

Luigi raced to Fox, and dropped to his knees. Using his two fingers, Luigi tried to feel Fox's pulse on his neck, only to feel nothing there.

"NOOO! HE'S DEAD!" Luigi bawled.

Simon came up behind him, a hand on his chin. "Not entirely. From those white eyes, I can tell that the body's empty. His spirit was torn from it."

"WHAT?! LIKE HOW I WAS?!" Luigi shrieked.

Simon nodded, then frowned. "But, how? The only being who can tear away souls is Death. But, I'm pretty sure I killed him back there! Unless…"

At that moment, Simon's eyes widened, then went back to a furious glare.

"That demonic TRICKSTER!" he cursed.

Luigi looked back. "Wait, what?!"

"It seems that the CURSED Death had made shadow clones of himself! And what I defeated back there was just a DECOY! Ooh, I KNEW that something was up! Death doesn't get defeated that easily! That bastard!"

Luigi started to shake. "So… D-Death is still OUT THERE?!"

"Yes. And it seems like he got your friend, and took his spirit." Simon said, lowering his head.

Luigi turned to Fox, and screamed, "NOOOOO!"

Suddenly, he held Fox by the shoulders and shook him.

"DON'T DIE ON ME, BUDDY!"

Then, Luigi dropped Fox, and started to do CPR frantically.

"HANG IN THERE! I WON'T LET YOU LEAVE!" Luigi screeched as he thrusted his hands on Fox's chest, making Fox flop up and down.

Just then, Fox's spirit peeked out of the wall of the room, panting.

"Finally. Lost him." he sighed to himself.

At that moment, Fox noticed Luigi, who was holding Fox's body and slapping it.

"DON'T *slap* GO *slap* TOWARDS *slap* THE LIGHT!" Luigi shouted in between slaps.

Fox flew over. "Luigi?"

"Um, green man?" Simon said slowly, pointing towards Fox.

Luigi didn't seem to hear either of them, as he dropped Fox's body and sobbed.

"No, no, no! Why'd you have to GOOOO?! You had so much to LIVE for, buddy! You had so much left to enjoy! You had so many candles left to SMELL! Think of the scents you have to enjoy, like Super Stardust or Pecha Berry!" Luigi sobbed.

"Luigi, I'm not dead-" Fox started to say.

"FINE!" Luigi shouted, interrupting, "I know how to bring you back. And it's with… true love's kiss! And I know you have a girlfriend, and I have Daisy, but we are true friends, and therefore, true LOVES!"

When Luigi puckered his lips, Fox shouted, "LUIGI!"

Luigi finally turned around, glaring. "Not NOW, Fox!"

When he turned back around, he finally realized who he was talking to, and turned around to see an impatient Fox as a ghost.

"Fox?! You're ALIVE!" Luigi said happily, as he ran towards him with his hands outstretched.

But, as Luigi ran to Fox and tried to close his arms around him, Luigi flew through Fox, and hit the wall, falling to the ground. Fox shook his head, and sighed.

"Not exactly." he said, as he floated over.

Together, Simon and Fox looked down at a dizzy Luigi.

"Is… your friend… um… always like this?" Simon asked Fox.

"Nah, he's just weird sometimes." Fox replied.

Luigi finally regained consciousness, and jumped up happily with a smile.

"Fox, I'm so glad that you're okay!" Luigi said.

Fox rubbed the back of his head and shrugged. "I mean, as a ghost, I guess I feel fine. Other than a very weird empty feeling, and what I think is nausea. Man… being a ghost is weird."

"Allow me to fix that, my vulpine friend!" Simon declared.

Quickly, he took out the vial, unscrewed it, went over to Fox's vacant body, and poured a drop into Fox's mouth. Suddenly, Fox's ghost was sucked back into his body while screaming. Now back in his body, Fox shot up with a gasp of air, eyes wide. After realizing he was back to normal, he smiled.

"Oh yes! I'm back in my precious body!" Fox exclaimed as he hugged himself, "I'll never leave you again you handsome space pilot hunk of a man!"

Simon put the vial away, and put his hands on his hips in a confident pose. "Glad I could help, fox man!"

Luigi rubbed the top of his head, a little confused. "There's one thing I don't get, though. How and why are you even here? I thought you went after Chrom?"

Fox stood up, and sighed. "I did. But, here's the thing. When the Telebeamer took me here, I saw Chrom heading inside this place. So, I followed. But then, out of nowhere, all these ghosts and monsters come to attack me. I tried to fight back, but there were too many so I had to retreat. Then, I came into this room, and I found Chrom. I was about to go up to him when this dark SKELETON dude came out of nowhere, and swung his pointy sword thingy at Chrom. Then he threw it at me, and everything went dark. When I woke up, next thing I knew, I was a ghost, Chrom was nowhere to be found, and the skeleton guy chased me around, until I was able to lose him. And that's around the time I came back and found you slapping me silly."

Luigi chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah, I think I overreacted."

Simon, meanwhile, looked grave, as he directed a steely look around the room.

"This is worse than I thought… it seems like Death is after us all."

Luigi gulped, now fearful again. "Oh no! I don't wanna die! Not like this anyway! If I had it my way, it would be in a nice mushroom cottage when I'm old, and a loving Daisy right by my side, along with some nice classical music and…"

Fox waved his hand side to side next to his throat, signalling for Luigi to quit it. "Dude. Not the time."

Simon started to walk towards the exit of the room. As Fox and Luigi followed, Simon looked over his shoulder.

"Be warned, green man and vulpine. We must be cautious from here on out. Who knows what chaos and unpredictable madness can ensue if we become reckless." Simon warned.

Just then, they heard an evil, maniacal laugh echo throughout the house, making Fox and Luigi jump. Once Simon heard it however, he immediately charged out of the room, his Vampire Killer raised.

"DRACULA! I SHALL VANQUISH YOU, YOU FOUL BEAST! AND I WILL NOT BE RATIONAL OR CAUTIOUS WHATSOEVER WHILE DOING IT!" Simon shouted.

Fox sighed. "I feel like that 'cautious' warning he said earlier was purely for contradicting purposes."

Luigi and Fox chased after a furious Simon, trying to calm him down

"SIMON, COME BACK!" Luigi screamed.

Just then, in a corner of the hallway they were in, a swarm of angry bats attacked. Fox knocked some down with his stun gun, before the swarm flew away towards Simon, who yelped as they came down upon him.

"NO! DRACULA!" he shouted.

In a flash, Fox and Luigi rushed over to help Simon. But, to their horror, the bat swarm disappeared and so did Simon.

"HUH?! WHERE'D HE GO?" Luigi screamed.

"I never knew that this sentence would come out of my mouth but… I think the swarm of bats took Simon away so that he would be um…. 'you-know-what' by Dracula." Fox replied.

"... what's 'you-know-what'?" Luigi asked.

Fox took his thumb and dragged it across his throat, making an exaggerated cutting sound.

"WHAT?! No way! That won't happen. After all, this is kid friendly anyways!" Luigi protested.

Fox shrugged. "I know. Why do you think I said 'you-know-what'? I don't wanna be demonetized. Anyways, it's not even going to happen! Why? Because we're gonna help Simon kick some vampire BUTT!"

"Can we PLEASE save the butt-kicking for the tournament?" Luigi squeaked.

Fox cocked his space blaster. "Nope!"

With that, the two raced through the hallway. However they were stopped in their tracks, as a specific monster blocked their way.

"Ugh. Death." Fox groaned.

Luigi shook violently. "You know, maybe we're in over our heads…"

Fox got into a fighting position. "Relax, Luigi. There's only one Death here. We can handle this easily. Yep, we got this in the BAG!"

Just then, other figures that looked EXACTLY like Death spawned around Fox and Luigi in a circle, their scythes ready. Fox and Luigi froze in complete shock and fear (Luigi may have peed his pants even).

"Huh… so, on a scale of 1-10, how badly do we need these newcomers?" Fox said.


After hearing bats flap their wings and demonic screeching, as well as seeing darkness, it was definitely a relief for Simon to finally be put back on the ground and have the bat swarm leave him. However, when Simon took in his surroundings, the relief did not last long.

A tall, scary man loomed over Simon like a building. A man whose name struck fear into the hearts of civilians. A sadistic monster that had horrific abilities. The Belmonts' lifelong enemy, and the person that Simon truly despised.

"Dracula." Simon growled.

Dracula showed an evil smirk. "Simon Belmont. I knew you would come here. After all, you are the foolish type."

Simon stood up straight, his Vampire Killer raised. "This is the end for you, Dracula. Whatever you're planning in that dastardly head of yours won't work. I know you Shadow Cloned Death to capture spirits."

Dracula chuckled darkly. "Realized that, eh? Well, I'll be honest for once. Yes, I had given Death the ability to produce Shadow Clones. And, he will capture each and every soul in this house. Some of them will come in handy, I believe, especially that muscular sword fellow. Battled him, actually. He was a formidable foe. Not nearly formidable enough it seems, since his spirit was swiftly taken once I had achieved victory."

Simon gritted his teeth. "You're a monster. Capturing innocent souls that have done NOTHING wrong to deserve this fate, just to add to your personal collection. I won't stand for it!"

Dracula walked forward, his cape swishing with the movement. "Then fight me, Simon. If you win, I'll give you back your little friends. If I win, then I will claim your soul, and claim the Belmont clan souls as well."

Simon extended his Vampire Killer, glaring. "No way will I ever let that happen."

With that, Simon lunged at Dracula with a battle scream. But before Simon could get near, Dracula disappeared into a swarm of bats that dodged the whip that Simon swung. When Simon stumbled, Dracula materialized behind him, and shot a fireball, which Simon narrowly dodged.

After dodging, Simon quickly pulled out his Holy Water, and tried to throw it on Dracula. But, Dracula was too quick, and some of the Holy Water ended up on the ground. With an angry yell, Simon threw some Axes. As he expected, Dracula dodged them, giving Simon the opening to throw some Holy Water.

Although most of it missed, some of the Holy Water hit its mark, and stung Dracula on his cheek, making him growl in rage and pain. Just then, he was in front of Simon for a second, and seized him, throwing him a few feet away afterwards. And before Simon could get up, a barrage of bats overtook him, knocking him back even more and giving him a few bites and bruises.

"DIE!" Dracula shouted as he released a huge burst of fire towards Simon.

As Simon got up on his knees and looked at the ball of flames coming towards him, he had no doubt that the blast would burn him alive. Or at the very least, give him a whole lot of scars so bad that the idea of enduring them could potentially be worse than being burned alive. As the fireball got close, Simon closed his eyes and braced himself for the worst.

Suddenly, the fire separated away from him, and flew in different directions. Simon opened his eyes with confusion and shock. Someone was in front of him, using a Vampire Killer to deflect the fire. It was someone he knew well, someone that was his vampire-killing partner in crime.

"Richter?!" Simon exclaimed.

Richter looked over his shoulder with a smile. "I hope I didn't miss out on the action, my friend."

As Richter helped Simon up, Dracula fumed with rage.

"Of course another Belmont shows up… you guys are like pesky ANTS; endlessly annoying and hard to exterminate!" Dracula growled.

Simon and Richter got back into fighting positions, glaring daggers at Dracula.

"Be GONE! You don't belong in this world, monster!" Richter shouted.

Dracula stepped forward, with a cool and calm expression now on his face.

"Maybe so. But I bet we'll also agree on the fact that I will take BOTH of you out of it." Dracula said.

After he said that, another wave of bloodthirsty bats were unleashed towards Simon and Richter. Together, the two fought them off in sync, like a well oiled machine. Every time a bat got near Simon, Richter would take it down, and the same went for Richter.

When the last bat dropped to the ground, the two Belmonts didn't stop there. They sprung towards Dracula to fight him. Although Dracula was strong and managed to land hard-hitting hits, Simon and Richter quickly overwhelmed him.

Dracula skidded backwards, almost falling fully to the ground. He crouched to his knees, trying to catch his breath.

"Curse you, BELMONTS! I, the almighty DRACULA, will not lose to YOU!" he shouted.

Just then, Simon and Richter both took their Vampire Killer Whips, ran towards Dracula, and swung them upwards into Dracula's jaw, knocking him upwards. Dracula collapsed on the ground, writhing in pain, and Simon and Richter landed on the ground with ease.

"You just did." Simon said smugly.

Slowly, Dracula sat up, a dark shadow crossing his face. Then, he turned to Simon and Richter.

"Oh… did you?" Dracula said in a surprisingly humorous tone, "Well then, you'll simply have to ask your little friends about that."

After he said that, Dracula disappeared into a red mist that slunk away, leaving a shocked Simon and Richter.

"Our little 'friends'? What is he talking about?" Richter asked.

But unlike Richter, Simon knew what Dracula was referring to. And that was why Simon sprinted out of the room.

"HEY, WAIT! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" Richter shouted as he followed.

As they ran, Simon said, "There's people in danger!"

"But, who? I thought we were the only ones present in this manor?" Richter replied.

"No we're not. I encountered a green plumber and a werefox earlier. There is also a strong sword fighter. The last time I saw the first two was when they ran off to save the third guy. Death must've swooped in, and taken their souls!"

Simon and Richter turned around a corner, and faced a shocking sight that confirmed Simon's suspicions. A group of Death Shadow Clones were fighting Fox, who was kicking and throwing random punches as he desperately hoped that one of them would find its target. And as for Luigi, he was clutching a bottle that held a soul (most likely Chrom's), and running for his life as two Deaths tailed him.

The two Belmonts wasted no time in jumping into the fight. They quickly helped Fox mow down the Shadow Clones to clear a path to escape.

"You and your friend, go! Leave the mansion! We'll hold the Deaths off!" Richter shouted to Fox.

"But, wait! We can't!" Fox protested.

"Why not?" Simon asked as he slashed through another Death.

Fox simply pointed straight. Simon and Richter looked in the direction he was pointing, beyond the army of Deaths was a dark heap lying on the ground.

"Is that… your sword fighting friend?!" Simon exclaimed.

"Yeah! These stupid Shadow Clones are preventing us from reaching Chrom!" Fox explained as he jumped out of the way of a swinging scythe.

Richter looked like he was deep in thought as he fought. Suddenly, his face brightened, as an idea struck him.

"Quick! Fox man! Listen to me very carefully. I want you and the green man to run down the hall, and lead all of the Deaths away." Richter said.

"WHAT?! B-b-but, what if they get us?!" Fox squealed.

"Trust me, I won't let that happen." Richter promised.

Simon looked at his relative, frowning. "I do not know what you are thinking, Richter. But, you are always the one who makes up great plans, so I do not doubt you!"

Fox sighed. "Well, I guess since viking man over here trusts you, then I guess I do too."

Richter sighed in relief. "Good. Now, run for your LIFE, Fox!"

Taking a deep breath, Fox bolted away. The Deaths that Simon and Richter were fighting immediately stopped, and chased after him. Quickly, he rushed to Luigi, and tugged on his arm.

"Come on, this way!" Fox shouted.

"HUH?! FOX?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU'RE LEADING THE DEATHS TO US!" Luigi screeched as he got pulled in Fox's direction.

"That's the goal! Just trust me! Simon and Richter's got a plan!" Fox reassured him.

Luigi never got the chance to reply, as one of the Deaths swung a scythe at him. Thankfully, Luigi ducked away from the slash. But, the experience was more than enough to encourage Luigi and Fox to sprint away from the crowd of Deaths chasing them.

"I DON'T GET PAID ENOUGH FOR THIS!" Luigi hollered.

Meanwhile, Simon and Richter were able to get to Chrom. Simon hoisted him onto his back, while Richter got some bottles of Holy Water ready.

"How ARE you planning to save them?" Simon asked.

"You'll see. Now quickly, get Chrom outside before the Deaths come back!" Richter replied.

As Simon went away, Richter sprinted in the direction of where Luigi and Fox ran. As he got close, he saw that the Deaths had forced Fox and Luigi into a corner and were now closing in on them, as they screamed.

Richter suddenly sprang into the air, and soared over the crowd. As he flew, he took 2 bottles of Holy Water out and unscrewed the caps, unleashing a storm of Holy Water that rained down. Each Death started to spontaneously combust into purple smoke, until none were left, and the only indication of them being there was purple glitter.

Richter landed on the ground gracefully, as he put the empty bottles back into his pocket. As he combed his fingers through his hair, he looked at Fox and Luigi, who stared at him with a shocked expression.

"Told you I wouldn't let your souls be taken." he said, a bit of smugness in his tone.

Fox let go of Luigi, almost falling to the ground in relief.

"Thank GOD that's over. I'm never coming to this creepy mansion ever again." Fox sighed.

"You said it." Luigi said as he closed his eyes.

Suddenly, the jar in Luigi's hands began to rattle, drawing everyone's attention to it. The light inside was swirling and knocking on the glass.

"Hey… what's up with Chrom?" Fox asked slowly.

Luigi looked confused as he peered down at the jar. "I don't know…"

Just then, the light in the jar shot straight up, and bursted out, bringing the jar cap with it, which bonked Luigi on the nose.

"OWWW!" Luigi screamed.

Fox and Richter paid no mind to that, and instead stared as Chrom's soul shot out of the room.

"Chrom must be reconnecting with his body! Simon probably gave him the elixir." Richter mused.

Luigi rubbed his nose. "Yeesh, couldn't Chrom simply have ASKED to be let out of the jar, instead of rushing out of it like a maniac?!"

Fox looked at Luigi with his arms crossed and his eyebrow raised. "Hmm, gee I don't know. What if you were to be separated from your body for a long time, chased by floating skeletons with scythes who actively tried to harvest your soul, and trapped inside a jar, huh? Would YOU have asked politely to be set free?"

Luigi blinked. "Good point."

After that, the trio followed Chrom's spirit through the hallways and all the way out to the front porch of the mansion. There, Simon was helping up a now alive and very disoriented Chrom.

"Ah, yes! Good to have you back, my friend!" Simon said proudly, as he patted Chrom's back.

Chrom looked around, bewildered at his surroundings. Then, he blinked slowly.

"Um… I have a few questions." Chrom said softly.

"Of course, noble warrior. Ask away." Simon replied.

Chrom then frowned. "Okay. Where am I, who are you, and what is going on? Also, why does it feel like I ran a marathon twice, then did a thousand push ups, swam a few laps, biked a hundred miles, and ran ANOTHER marathon?"

"Hmm, well I guess the best answer is to tell you everything that happened to you from our point of view. You had wandered into this place, only to have your soul stolen by Death. You've been distant from your body for a long while, until my partner and I, along with Green Man and Foxman-"

"For the LAST TIME, I am Fox and he is Luigi! Our names aren't Foxman and Green Man!" Fox complained.

Simon rolled his eyes slightly in annoyance. "Let me finish, Foxman! Anyways, we were able to vanquish Death, and get you back! And now, you're here, alive and well!"

But then, Simon glanced at Chrom and his seemingly sickly expression, and added more to his sentence.

"Erm, I'm not entirely sure that you are well, but hey, you're alive, and that's what counts."

Chrom nodded a little, grimacing a little at the movement. "I… guess that you are certainly correct. But, compared to many physical exerting activities I've done, this seems like the worst one."

Richter put a hand on Chrom's shoulder. "Well, that's because you were a ghost for longer than you should have. Most would've been knocked into a coma in your situation, but you seem very fit and strong."

Luigi shook a little. "Wait, if I was a ghost for longer, I would've been UNCONSCIOUS?!"

Fox patted his back sympathetically. "I'm guessing you need some more therapy after this ordeal, don't you?"

"YES! I need more than an HOUR for my next session. And Mario better pay for it!" Luigi replied.

It was then that Chrom noticed that Fox and Luigi were there, and his expression looked more happy at the sight of them.

"Oh! Fox, Luigi! You're here! It's been a long time!" Chrom said happily.

"Hey, Chrom! It has been! How's Lucina?" Fox asked.

Chrom then looked a little disappointed. "Lucina's fine. She says she misses you and the others. But lately, I haven't been able to see her as much, due to the fact we are from two separate timelines. It's been a little hard for us both."

Just then, Chrom realized something. "That's the reason I came here actually. I had received a letter saying that a being with the ability to time travel lived here. I came here to look for them, but then that skeleton attacked me!"

Simon scowled. "Dracula, that foul beast! He must've been exploiting your need to see Lucina to lure you to a trap! Just when I thought that insufferable fool couldn't stoop any lower!"

Chrom looked sad. "So, there isn't someone who can time travel residing here?"

Richter shook his head. "Not to our knowledge."

Chrom looked down at the ground. "Oh."

As Fox and Luigi looked at the sad scene, Luigi sniffed.

"Oh no… he looks so sad. If only we could help him!" Luigi cried.

Fox looked at Luigi, frowning. "Um, did you forget why we're here, Luigi?"

Luigi raised an eyebrow. "No? What does THAT have to do with-"

Just then, Luigi connected the dots. "Oh… OH! Yeah, yeah, I know what we have to do!"

Fox smirked. "Then, let's go make Chrom's day."

Together, the two walked over to Chrom.

"Hey, Chrom. Maybe you can see Lucina again." Fox said.

Chrom looked up. "Really? How so?"

But before Fox could speak, Luigi butted in.

"By inviting Lucina here to the mansion and live as a happy fa-"

"Luigi, what are you talking about?!" Fox groaned.

"That's what we're here to do, right?" Luigi asked him cheerily.

Fox smacked his forehead. "No! We're here to invite Simon, Richter, and Chrom to Smash!"

Luigi's eyes widened in true realization. "Ohhh!"

"Wait… you're inviting us to Smash?! Isn't it over?" Chrom asked, surprised.

"Well, you see, another tournament is coming up! And no one's getting cut!" Fox explained.

"Which means Lucina will be there, as well as Robin and Corrin, and all of the other Fire Emblem people!" Luigi added.

"You mean it?!" Chrom asked excitedly.

To confirm it, Fox and Luigi passed out the letters to their respective recipients.

"We mean it!" Fox and Luigi said in unison.

Suddenly, they both got tackled into crushing bear hugs by Simon and Chrom.

"Thank you, Green Man and Foxman! For once, Richter and I shall do noble things that are not vampire slaying! You are our angels!" Simon exclaimed.

"I agree with Simon! You are blessings from the heavens!" Chrom agreed.

"Y-yes, we are blessings. Now let us go! We can't breathe!" Fox squeaked.

Richter chuckled at the sight. "This sure was an interesting day."


Ridley & Dark Samus

Mario looked out of the window, and watched the stars passing by. It was a beautiful sight, one that only space could produce. If it weren't for the circumstances of their mission, Mario would have spent his whole time just stargazing.

Unfortunately, his responsibility to monitor Samus had to be the first priority.

Mario sighed. He didn't want to have to watch Samus the whole time they were on the recruiting mission. But, he had to. Otherwise, the chance that he would have the blood of a certain Space Pirate on his hands would be VERY high. And the chance that Samus would be deemed a bloodthirsty avenging murderer would soar through the roof.

Or maybe not. Samus had been surprisingly quiet and obedient. She even complied with Mario's rule, which was that he would take her Power Suit and hold it until they reached the destination. But, the one thing that Samus did not comply with was Mario's rule that required her to give over her Stun Gun. However, Mario didn't mind that. It would be unfair to provide Samus with nothing that could be used as a comforting object, since the stun gun apparently serves that role. But, the way that Samus sat in her chair, polishing the gun, sent nervous chills down Mario's spine.

Silently, Mario thanked the stars that Mega Man was here with them. When the Telebeamer teleported Mario and Samus, it strangely teleported them to the location of Mega Man instead of Ridley. It turned out that Ridley lived in an area surrounded by dangerous asteroids and obstacles that even the best space travellers would have a rough time with. It was also a dead zone, which meant that Telebeamers couldn't go to that location. And apparently, Mega Man was the only person who knew how to get there, since he had multiple experiences of space travel.

Mega Man's knowledge of space travel isn't the only thing that Mario's grateful for. He was also really good friends with Samus. Often, he would crack jokes that even made Samus laugh. Mario was glad that he was able to do that, because it easily took Samus's mind off of Ridley for a while. But now that they were nearing the destination, the jokes weren't working as well. Eventually, Mega Man stopped telling them, and they were in dark uncomfortable silence once again.

"Hey, Mario. Come and check this out." Mega Man said, disrupting Mario's thoughts.

Mario tore away from the window. "Coming!"

As Mario jogged over to the spaceship steering controls, where Mega Man was driving, he saw that Mega Man looked worried.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Mega Man pointed towards the window. As Mario looked, he saw the view before them, and his blood instantly froze.

"... I'm guessing that this is where Ridley and Dark Samus is?" Mario asked nervously.

"Yep. And it doesn't look inviting." Mega Man answered.

In front of them appeared to be some sort of space station. Only, it looked partly destroyed and its structure was rusty and decayed. Debris and asteroids surrounded it closely, like rings on a planet, along with other unrecognizable objects.

"So, this is where the bastard was hiding…" a voice said behind Mario, who jumped in surprise.

Mario turned around to see Samus staring at the space station, a dark shadow across her face.

"Um… yes. But, remember what I said, Samus. No hostility." Mario replied shakily.

Samus rolled her eyes slightly. "Loosen up, will you? I'm weaponless and completely calm. Calling Ridley what he is should be the least hostile thing that I should be allowed to do."

Mario gulped. "Uh… I guess so."

Meanwhile, Mega Man frowned as he slowed down the spaceship a little.

"Hmm, seems like I'll have a hard time getting through. I can deal with the asteroids, but I believe the biggest problem would be those spiky things floating around. We have no idea what those are, so the best thing to do is to avoid it."

Mario nodded. "Agreed."

"So, can I have my suit back now? It looks like you guys need help blasting away the asteroids." Samus asked.

Mega Man shook his head slightly. "I don't think that'll be necessary. I don't wanna be blasting asteroids left and right, unless it's the last resort. Otherwise, that sends more debris flying everywhere. Best case scenario is that we weave past with ease."

Instead of arguing, Samus nodded, which made Mario even more grateful for Mega Man. Because he knew that if he was the one to give the answer, he would have to deal with a snappy Samus. But with Mega Man, Samus could be easily shut down.

"Alright, bossman. I'll go when you give me the word." Mega Man said to Mario, as he adjusted some controls on the control panel.

Mario looked back up at the asteroids and spiky objects circling each other. Then, he got into his seat next to Mega Man, while Samus sat in her seat on the other side of Mega Man.

"Go ahead." Mario said with a nod.

Mega Man flicked some tiny levers, and held onto the steering wheel. "Okay, people. Better hold onto your seats."

And with that, the spaceship moved full speed ahead towards the space station, and reached the outer ring of obstacles.

"Now, we've got 5 sections to get through, so this will be a long ride! Hope you don't get spacesick!" Mega Man shouted over the loud whir of the engines.

After he said that, he turned the steering wheel to the side, making the spaceship turn left to avoid an asteroid. Mario held on to his seatbelt, wide-eyed, as the spaceship turned and dipped around the asteroids. Soon, they passed through the section with no problems.

"Alright! Section 2, here we go!" Mega Man exclaimed.

Yet again, the spaceship moved in a strategic pattern to avoid obstacles, even doing elaborate tricks and flips to dodge. Everything was going well until the spaceship flew into the trajectory of a spiky ball while dodging.

"LOOK OUT!" Mario shouted.

Quickly, Mega Man directed the steering wheel upwards, narrowly missing it by a hair. Once that happened, Mario and Samus sighed in relief.

"That was close." Samus said.

Suddenly, the same spiky ball changed directions, and barreled into the side of the spaceship, making it spiral. When Mega Man got it back in control, he cursed under his breath.

"Crap," he whispered.

"What?! I thought we dodged it!" Mario exclaimed.

"We did. But, it changed direction. Like it was following us!" Samus said, her eyes narrowed.

"It was. That was a homing mechanism. Called a Wasp Asteroid." Mega Man hissed.

Samus raised her eyebrows in recognition. "I know those things. They destroyed more Bounty Hunter ships than I could count. They're a big pain in the ass. But, aren't those manmade?"

Mario frowned. "If they're manmade, then that would mean…"

"Ridley probably made them on purpose to attack space travellers who would get too close." Mega Man finished, as he directed the spaceship safely past Section 2.

"Of course he did." Samus growled.

As they got into Section 3, the spaceship did another elaborate dance to get past asteroids. But, that didn't stop 3 Wasps from hitting them. And when they came out, a total of 8 asteroids, including the Wasps, had damaged the spaceship.

"How much can this spaceship take?" Mario asked worriedly.

"Don't worry. The Neoship can take on a lot of space debris. Hopefully, she won't be too beaten up when we get through all five sections, if she's going to make the trip back out safely." Mega Man answered, as he swerved out of the way of an asteroid.

"Can you just give me back my suit, Mario?! If I don't blast a safe path for us, we're going to be more likely to end up in a smashed up tin can!" Samus said exasperatedly.

Before Mario could say anything, Mega Man answered. "I've got it under control, Samus! Trust me, if you go out there, YOU'LL end up in a smashed up tin can!"

Samus glared, clearly frustrated, but sat back in her chair obediently. Mario looked back at Mega Man in surprise and slight wonder.

How does he DO it?

As they went on, it was starting to get harder and harder to dodge, since it seemed like the asteroids were more tightly packed together. After Section 4, a total of 15 Asteroids and 10 Wasps had damaged the Neoship.

"Okay. One more section to go. This is it, so you guys better pray that we get across in one piece!" Mega Man shouted.

The spaceship blasted through quicker than before, spinning and flying haphazardly to dodge. Soon, it came across a Wasp bigger than the others.

"What is THAT?!" Mario squealed.

Suddenly, pointed projectiles blasted off of the Wasp, as it spinned rapidly. Mega's eyes widened in fear.

"Oh no…" he whispered.

"What?" Samus asked.

"STING ROCKETS!" Mega Man shouted, as he yanked the steering wheel.

As the spaceship jetted away with the Sting Rockets in close pursuit, Mario screamed, "HOW BAD ARE STING ROCKETS?!"

Quickly, he got his answer as a Sting Rocket hit a wayward asteroid, and destroyed it, along with 6 other asteroids in the area of the explosion. Mario's jaw dropped as he witnessed it happen.

"VERY bad." Mega Man replied.

As the two Sting Rockets chased them, Samus turned to Mega with an idea.

"Quick, Mega! Direct the rockets towards the Wasp, and pull off at the last second!"

"I don't think I can, though!" Mega Man said frantically as he turned around a corner, "there's no space for me to!"

Just then, Mega Man's face dawned with an idea. "Unless…!"

Quickly, he turned to Mario.

"Mario! Do you see the button on the wall next to you?!" Mega asked.

Mario turned to see a deep red button in a glass case a few inches above him.

"Yes!" he answered.

"Okay! Open that case, and when I say so, press the button! But, do it when I say so!" Mega explained.

Mario nodded. Quickly Mega Man turned the Neoship around to face the Wasp, which was still spinning. As he did, he pulled a lever on the control panel. Suddenly, the Neoship's engines went on overdrive, pushing them ahead faster than before. As they got closer and closer to the Wasp, Mario started to get very nervous.

"Uh, Mega? MEGA?! YOU'RE GETTING A LITTLE TOO CLOSE! MEGA!" Mario yelled.

But, just as it seemed like the Wasp was about to crush the ship, Mega pulled the steering wheel up. The Neoship zoomed upwards suddenly, and climbed high above the Wasp, just as the Sting Rockets crashed into it and it exploded, sending spikes flying everywhere, with most of them rocketing towards the Neoship.

'"NOW!" Mega Man shouted.

Wasting no time, Mario pressed the button. Blue light enveloped the outside of the Neoship, creating a force field that deflected the spikes away. As the spaceship flew through the rest of the section, it deflected away any asteroid or Wasp that came near it until they made it all the way to the end.

When they made it through, Mario almost collapsed in relief and happiness.

"We made it… hah… WE MADE IT!" Mario sighed.

"Er… not exactly." Mega Man said.

Mario immediately tensed up, and so did Samus.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"When the force field got put up, it decreased about 40% of the ship's power. The other 59% was used by dodging. So that means…"

Just then, the force field disappeared, and the Neoship started a fast descent towards the space station.

"WE HAVE 1 PERCENT OF ENERGY LEFT?!" Mario screeched.

"Yes. I've got enough juice to direct us to the landing pad, but after that, we'll be on our own from there." Mega Man said, already resigned to what was going to happen.

To cement his point, Mega Man positioned the ship to a landing area to their right before a flashing red hologram of a sign showed up.

"NEOSHIP ENERGY DEPLETED, CRITICAL IMPACT IMMINENT." a feminine voice said.

"Yup. Now, it's time to scream." Mega Man said softly.

"Agreed." Mario squeaked.

As the ship descended closer and closer to the landing pad, Mario and Mega Man screamed loudly. But just before they crashed, they lurched to a stop, sending Mario and Mega flying towards the window with a splat. Mario wrenched open his once tightly shut eyes and blinked with confusion.

"Huh?"

Mario and Mega Man stared in shock at what was outside the window. It was Samus in her Power Suit, holding up the ship with remarkable strength as she grunted from the pressure.

"What?! Samus?! How did you get out there? And WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR POWER SUIT?!" Mario screamed.

"The closet," Samus answered nonchalantly, "You REALLY need to get better at hiding stuff."

Gently, Samus lowered the Neoship to the ground. And after a lot of rustling and banging, Mario and Mega Man came out, disoriented.

"Hm, maybe you guys would've been fine if you had let me out with the Power Suit to BEGIN with." Samus scoffed.

"Yeah, you're right. Sorry. There's no reason why we couldn't let you have it, I guess." Mega Man replied, leaning on the side of the Neoship.

Samus then looked towards the entrance with a dark expression, and cocked her Space Gun.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to make Ridley pay for almost killing us for the 100th time already."

As she stomped away, Mario sighed.

"I'm guessing THAT was the reason, don't you think?" he said.

Quickly, Mario and Mega Man raced after her, and into the space station. Once inside, the three of them looked around the dark room. Suddenly, the door closed behind them, and an eerie red light turned on. In front of them, a circular door stood, with an elaborate keypad on the circular wheel handle.

"Please state your name and what you request to do here." a British female voice said.

Before Mario or Mega Man could stop her, Samus marched over to the keypad, clearly not calm and very murderous.

"I'm an old friend. And I'm here to take care of unfinished business. And I'll be damned if you think that I'm going to request for this moment!"

After she said that, Samus blasted the keypad, and destroyed it. The red light turned off, as the robot voice shut down. She wrenched the handle, and opened the door to a dark hallway, motioning for Mario and Mega Man to follow her.

"Let's go." Samus barked.

Neither Mario or Mega Man had the guts to defy or stand up against her, so they feebly obeyed.

"Okay." they both squeaked.

Cautiously, the three of them travelled through the hallway. For a few minutes, they journeyed in a cramped environment. But suddenly, the hallway seemed to open up into a large metal room. They were now standing on one of many metal pathways, with all of them leading to different places.

"Woah… this place is bigger than it lets on…" Mega Man whispered.

Now silent again, the group made their way across the pathway. They walked with no interruptions. That is, until a dark shape suddenly came out of nowhere and jetted across the pathway, taking Mega Man with it. Due to Mega Man not having the time to scream, Mario and Samus didn't notice, allowing the mysterious figure to quickly silence any more sounds that came out of Mega's mouth.

After walking some more, the dark figure darted across the pathway again, this time taking Mario, but leaving his hat. Before Mario could scream, the figure silenced him too, leaving only Samus.

But, as she walked, Samus realized something. She couldn't hear Mario's or Mega's footsteps behind her. This made her stop with fear.

He's here…

Slowly, she took a deep breath, fog condensing against the visor of her helmet. Then, she whirled around and aimed her Space Gun menacingly. That was when she found Mario's lone hat.

Suddenly, a thump came from under the pathway, making the metal bounce. Samus stepped back a little with caution, and crouched. Then, another much noisier thump came that made Samus step back even more. The metal started to rumble like an active volcano about to explode, as a low and threatening growl echoed through the cavernous room.

Just then, something bursted through the pathway, making Samus trip and fall backwards. As she fell, she saw the figure coming out of it, and gasped. It was the face of a monster she knew so well, a creature that she was silently wishing would never show up. It was Ridley.

As Ridley fully emerged, he let out a threatening roar that shook the atmosphere.

"I'M BACKK!" he shouted.

As he landed onto the pathway, as it made a metallic screech, Ridley came across the Mario hat, picked it up, and twirled it tauntingly.

"Looking for this?" he sneered with a chuckle.

Before Samus could even react, Ridley tossed away the hat and launched towards her. With his gnarled hand, he grabbed Samus's leg, and tossed her into the air, sending her crashing onto the pathway.

As Samus shakily stood up, she then saw a huge beam of fire hurtling towards her. She quickly shut her eyes, as it collided with her, sending fire flying everywhere.

Smirking at the grim sight before him, Ridley flew towards the wreckage and looked at it with an absolutely evil smile.

"Pathetic. Didn't even have a chance to attack!" Ridley shouted mockingly.

Just then, he noticed something flicker in the wreckage, which made him narrow his eyes and look upwards with a growl. It was Samus in her Zero Suit launching high into the air, and lunging towards Ridley with a bloodthirsty look in her eyes.

"RIDLEY! I'LL KILL YOU!" she shouted very loudly.

Before Samus could land a strong kick on him, Ridley got out of the way, as Samus landed on the ground. His eyes widened, and his jaw dropped.

"Samus?! What are you-" he started to say.

Ridley didn't get to finish as he narrowly dodged a plasma blast. Samus was shooting like crazy, not sparing many openings. But, Ridley was a skilled dodger, and successfully dodged each one, knowing that if he wasn't, he would already be a pile of ash.

"Stay STILL, WOULD YOU?!" Samus hollered as she threw a bomb.

Ridley wasn't able to dodge this time, and the bomb hit him full on, which made him crash and skid across the pathway.

"Wait, Samus! You don't understand-"

Suddenly, Samus was on top of him, punching his face into a pulp.

"Oh, I understand PLENTY! Of course you try to kill me and my friends! Can't expect any more from you!" Samus roared.

As Samus pulled back for one big punch, Ridley blocked his face with his hands.

"GEEZ, woman! Let me explain, before you beat the crap outta me!" Ridley whined.

This didn't even make Samus flinch, as she hit Ridley, her punch turning into a full on slap.

"OW! THAT HURT!" Ridley exclaimed in a VERY uncharacteristically squeaky voice.

Samus didn't even care as she grabbed Ridley's throat, and attempted to strangle him.

"I HATE YOU, YOU B****! GO TO H-E-DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS, YOU M***********!"

Ridley sighed. "Okay. I gotta knock you out until you break the swearing filter. Seriously, I don't know HOW all of this is getting censored."

With that, Ridley's tail pricked Samus's leg. Immediately, Samus slumped, her eyes partly covered by her heavy eyelids.

"I'm getting sleepy…" she whispered.

After she said that, she collapsed on top of Ridley, unconscious. Slowly, Ridley pushed her off him and sat up.

"That's SO much better!" Ridley sighed in relief.

Suddenly, Samus sprang up again with a furious roar. Startled, Ridley didn't hesitate to use his tail to prick her harder this time. This seemed to be the trick, as Samus collapsed faster than last time. Ridley panted, clearly scared.

"My god, what did the past Ridley do to HER?" he whispered.


Samus laid asleep in a nice bed, snoring softly. She turned to the side to get more comfortable. Slowly, she opened her eyes, a soft smile on her face. She blinked in the sunlight that covered her face, and let out a yawn.

"Ah, a nice morning at Smash Manor-" she started to say as she sat up.

But, Samus immediately stopped talking as she surveyed her surroundings, all traces of the calm feeling earlier disappearing instantly. First, she wasn't in Smash Manor. She was in some sort of a bedroom with metal walls, in a moldy twin bed with ratty covers. Second, the "sunlight" on her face turned out to be light coming from an old lightbulb dangling from the ceiling, not at all sunlight. And third, it definitely wasn't morning, as she was in space.

Space… spaceship… Ridley.

Immediately, the burning rage she felt when she fought Ridley last time came back with full power. Samus ripped the sheets off of her, and stomped towards the door, determined to get her Zero Suit (which had strangely been replaced with pajamas that were her exact size) and kick Ridley's ass. But before she could open the door, the door swung open, and hit her in the face, sending her falling backwards to the ground.

"OW!" Samus shouted, rubbing the new bruise on her forehead.

The person who opened the door, who was Mario, winced as he opened the door fully.

"Ooh. Sorry." he apologized.

As Samus got up, she realized that it was Mario, and her eyes widened.

"Mario!? How did you get here?" she exclaimed.

Mario shrugged. "To be honest, I don't know. All I remember is being thrown off that pathway we were on, and next thing I know, I wake up in these super comfortable pajamas in a bedroom."

Samus sighed in relief. "So, you're okay! But, what about Mega Man?"

"Same thing happened to him apparently. He's in the living room right now." Mario answered.

That made Samus frown with confusion. "Um… 'living room'?!"

Mario flashed an awkward smile. "Yeah, here's the thing. We're apparently at Ridley's place."

Samus's eyes widened. "WHAT?! RIDLEY?!"

Mario nodded slowly. "I know. It's weird. As soon as Mega and I woke up, Ridley's been strangely… nice. He gave us this yummy porridge and hot cocoa. He made sure we were comfortable, and turned on the TV for us! Sure, there's no cable, and we can only watch PBS, but that's pretty good for space TV…"

Mario trailed off as he noticed that Samus was starting to sway. Then, to his shock, Samus started to fall and faint. But, he quickly caught her.

"Samus! Are you okay?!" Mario asked worriedly.

But, all Samus could do was mutter, "Is this a dream? Or is this a weird simulation? AM I IN A VIDEO GAME?! IS MY LIFE A LIE?!"

Mario gently positioned Samus so that she was sitting upwards on the floor.

"Samus, you're going crazy. I think we'd all know if we were in a video game… but trust me, this is real."

Samus shook her head stubbornly. "No, no. There is NO reality in the multiverse that has a nice Ridley. No way. I know that because it's a scientific FACT that the universe is incapable of creating a Ridley that's friendly. Look it up."

Just then, a familiar yet strangely unfamiliar voice called out from outside the room.

"Mario, is your friend awake? The eggs are almost finished on the griddle, and I'd hate it if she missed eating it when it's finished."

Mario then looked at Samus with a smirk. "Really? Then, who's in the kitchen right now, making us eggs and bacon?"

Samus looked wildly at the doorway. "No way was that Ridley's voice. I KNOW his voice, trust me. He doesn't sound like ~this~. He sounds more like THIS."

Mario sighed. "Look, I know for a fact that I will not be able to convince you myself. So, at least let me let you see it for yourself."

Before Samus could object, Mario had her standing up and pushed out of the room. And once she was out in the open, Samus was definitely in for a shock.

The sight before her seemed VERY out of place in a space station out of all places, and would be described less as a simple astronaut living quarters and more as a condo interior straight out of a home catalog. Because that seemed to be what it is. A condo interior straight out of a home catalog.

There were hardwood floors in a dark mahogany color, and the walls were white, even though they were made of metal. Bright and pastel decorations were spread out accordingly across the "apartment", and nice furniture much unlike the beds added a nice touch to the scene. Not only that, but there were lights strung about that worked better than you would expect lightbulbs to work in space. The only thing that was missing was the windows, which was understandable, considering that they were in space.

But what shocked Samus the most was not the nice place that Ridley seemed to live in, but Ridley himself. The Ridley that she knew for a long time prior seemed to be a vicious and bloodthirsty Space Pirate who thrived on chaos, destruction, and massacre. The Ridley that she was seeing now seemed to be a kind and generous person, who was cooking eggs and bacon, with a "Kiss the Cook" apron draped over his front. Even a 3 year old could easily differentiate the two, and tell that there was a TREMENDOUS difference between them. There was even a high chance that a person who would happen to witness both Ridleys would instantly conclude that they weren't the same person, and were two different people instead.

Which, coincidently, was what happened to Samus. Or at least she thought that this "nice and innocent" facade is some sort of charade. And that was the main reason why Samus was not relaxed and was quite the opposite: furious.

Ridley, meanwhile, seemed to be chipper as he turned around with his greasy spatula and showed a smile, which was VERY unsettling more than calming.

"Oh, Samus! You're awake! Don't worry, the food's almost ready." Ridley said in that light friendly voice that seemed to really irk her.

Instead of being nice and friendly right back (which she would've done if this was any person other than Ridley), Samus shot a steely and menacing glare.

"Oh, I wish I WASN'T awake." she growled.

Mario showed his gritted teeth nervously, as he knew that Samus was still keeping up the cold personality. And he didn't blame her, considering what Ridley had done in the past.

Ridley, unaffected by Samus, set down his spatula, and looked towards another part of the room.

"DS! Can you watch the eggs for me? I need to talk to Samus." Ridley called.

Samus raised an eyebrow. "DS?"

Ridley waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, that's what I call Dark Samus. Calling her Dark Samus all the time gets too repetitive, ESPECIALLY when you live with her, am I right?"

Just then, there was a loud POP, and Dark Samus (or DS as Ridley called her) appeared in the room. Silently, she floated over to the kitchen and took Ridley's spot. Ridley flashed another wide grin.

"There we go! Hey, DS, try not to burn down the house again! HAHAHA!" Ridley joked.

DS slowly turned her helmeted head to look at Ridley with a blank expression. That seemed to make Ridley bent over with laughter.

"Oh, man! DS, you're hilarious! I always say that she should be a comedian, but she sees herself more as a 'singer' type of gal." Ridley cackled.

Ridley then lowered his voice, and talked out of the side of his mouth. "And between you and me, I don't think that's a good idea. Her singing sounds like a cat dragging their claws on a chalkboard."

Mario chuckled a little at the remark, while Samus narrowed her eyes more. If looks could kill, the ones that Samus were giving Ridley would've just turned him into dust.

As DS took over the cooking, Ridley led Mario and Samus over to the living room. Mega Man was there on the couch, watching a documentary while drinking his hot cocoa.

Once he noticed the three of them, Mega pressed pause on the TV, and smiled.

"Oh, hey Samus! You came just in time to watch 'The Storm of the Krakatoa'!" Mega said happily.

"Ooh! Save me a seat! But before we do that, I need to talk with Samus for a few moments. So, do you mind going to the kitchen for a few seconds?"

Mega jumped off the couch with a friendly smile. "Not at all! Take all the time you need!"

Ridley smirked as he snapped his fingers and pointed at Mega. "You're the man, Big M!"

As Mega walked away, Samus stared at Ridley with an almost disgusted look.

This bastard's got EVERYONE under his spell!

After settling on the couch, Ridley took a deep breath.

"Alright. I see we have some unresolved tension between us, Samus. I know you want closure. And so, that's what I hope I can give to you. Here, you can ask me anything you want, and I'll answer to the best of my abilities." Ridley explained.

At first, Samus hesitated, taken aback by Ridley's politeness. But, that didn't last long, as she glared even harder.

"Oh, I've GOT questions! Why are you acting like THIS?!" Samus almost shouted.

Ridley raised an eyebrow. "Um… please elaborate on that."

"I MEAN LIKE THAT!" Samus shouted, then put on a goofy voice to impersonate Ridley, "'Uh, please elaborate on that, dur.' Why are you acting so POLITE?! You're a bloodthirsty, destructive Space Pirate, who gets gleeful at the sight of people DYING! And yet here you are, cooking eggs, giving people hot cocoa, and giving them nicknames like 'DS' or 'Big M'! Whatever the frick that is!"

Ridley sighed. "Firstly, I understand your frustration. Considering what I've done in the past might lead you to see me as untrustworthy. Which leads me to secondly. I USED to be a bloodthirsty, destructive Space Pirate, who gets gleeful at the sight of people dying. I'm not that person anymore, and I never WILL be."

Samus scoffed. "Yeah, as if I BELIEVE that! You know what, I know what you're trying to do, but it won't work! Why?! Because you're a LIAR and a shifty, slimy, little SH-"

Suddenly, before Samus could go off into a full on rant, all the lights flickered, then went out, plunging the room into semi-darkness. Ridley groaned.

"Oh no… not THEM again." Ridley sighed.

Mario blinked. "Um… who's 'them'?"

But, Ridley was already up off the couch. "DS! I need you to get a flashlight, and a pack of dried mouse jerky! Also, throw in the new cans of mace while you're at it!"

Mario and Samus jumped off the couch.

"Ridley… what's wrong?" Mario asked.

Ridley waved a dismissive hand at them. "It's nothing, really. The power went out again. You guys stay here, while DS and I go out to fix the electrical board."

Samus stepped forward, snarling.

"You can't POSSIBLY think that I'm that STUPID to let you and Dark Samus run off with each other. For all I know, this is a trap, and you guys are going to flee the space station while blowing us up with Wasps!"

Ridley turned to her, eyes narrowed. "First off, no I'm not. Second off, even if I was trying to kill you, that would be a horrible way to do it. Trust me, when I come up with plans, they're smart and lethal."

"Even MORE reason why I'm going to come with you. If you guys are truly going to go fix lights, then it'd be no problem for me to go along." Samus shot back.

"No! Listen, you don't know what's out there! It can pose a danger to you and your friends-" Ridley replied frantically.

But, Ridley didn't get to finish, as Samus stuck her fingers into her ears, and sang obnoxiously.

"LA, LA, LA! I CAN'T ~HEAR~ YOU!" Samus shouted in a sing-songy voice.

As Samus walked away, Mario sighed.

"You might as well let her come along. Once Samus has her decision made, there's no changing her mind. Mega and I will come along to keep an eye on her."

Ridley blinked, then finally relented.

"Okay. Fine. Just as long as you keep her from cussing me out and slapping the wits out of me."


Together, the group of five ventured out from the cozy apartment to the depths of the space station. Dark Samus took the lead, directing everyone through every turn and dip of the dark hallways they went through. Mario and Mega Man were in the middle, being extra wary in case anything jumped them like Ridley did. And finally, Ridley and Samus were in the back, with Samus being one step behind Ridley, and pointing a Stun Gun at the back of his head.

"When will you stop aiming a Stun Gun at me, Samus?" Ridley asked casually.

"When I can trust you. In other words, never." Samus answered.

Ridley sighed. "Look, I thought that by now, you realized that I mean no harm, especially since I've been friendly to everyone here, including you."

"Oh really? Friendly? Golly, I never knew that attacking Mario and Mega Man by spearing your tail into them was 'friendly'." Samus growled.

"That was because I thought they were just rogue space burglars that just happened to get by my security system. I never knew that they were good guys, which I specifically mentioned in my apology towards them. Plus, my tail doesn't kill anymore. It tranquilizes people."

Samus glared, not taking that as a sufficient answer. "You say that, and yet you spun Mario's hat on your finger. How would ANYONE not recognize Mario out of all people when they see his hat?!"

Ridley glanced over his shoulder. "I don't know if you know this. But, lots of people wear red hats with an M on it, more people than you realize."

"Hmm, okay. Then explain the 'security system'. Is that what you call the huge circle of death surrounding the space station? Do you have one to protect you from the people with SENSE who want to get rid of you?"

"No, actually. My security system protects my home from space hazards that try to obliterate it. You've seen it coming in. Even the slightest breeze could knock over the whole thing." Ridley answered.

Samus snarled. "Am I supposed to believe that bullcrap excuse?!"

"Believe it or not, Samus. It's the truth. Yes, I know I've deceived you many times before, but now, I always swear to tell the truth. I would not lie to you again." Ridley replied.

Samus rolled her eyes. "Again, am I supposed to believe that bullcrap excuse?!"

But before Samus and Ridley could continue their conversation, the group stopped by a dark room. DS looked back at Ridley and nodded. Ridley narrowed his eyes, and pushed to the front of the group.

"We're here." Ridley said softly.

Mario took a peek inside the pitch-black darkness, and gulped.

"It… looks a little dark in there." Mario squeaked.

Ridley put out his outstretched hand to DS, who dumped a backpack into it.

"That's why we have flashlights." he said, as he took the flashlights out and tossed it to everyone.

Once everyone had a flashlight, Ridley turned to them, looking serious.

"Alright. I think you all should know this. Usually, when the lights go out, it's because of some wayward monsters that chewed through the wires. Hopefully, it's just a short-circuit problem, but I just want you guys to be cautious, okay?"

Samus scoffed. "Oh please. If there were monsters in there, then you'd obviously throw us to them as a midnight snack. We'll be fine unless you think about double-crossing us."

Ridley ignored Samus's obviously snarky comment, and turned to the doorway. Then, together the group walked inside. With the flashlights on, the room was now illuminated to show that it was filled with wires that stretched across the floor and hung from the ceiling. They all seemed to be connected to a way too small control panel that seemed to control the output of electricity for all of the space station.

Ridley walked over to the control panel, and tore the lid open. As he surveyed the beeping technology before him, Ridley waved for DS to come over.

"Okay. Good. Seems like it's a normal short-circuit type of situation. DS and I will handle it, and you guys can… I don't know, do whatever, I guess." Ridley said to Mega, Mario, and Samus.

Slowly, the three separated to explore the room more. Mario went to a corner of the room to look at the wires with his flashlight. But as he looked at it, Mario saw something that made his blood chill.

"Um, guys? You might want to see this." Mario said to the others.

Curiously, everyone else walked over, as Mario pointed his flashlights up to the wires. They all looked mangled, and huge teeth marks were embedded on them, like something tried to chew through the wires but gave up halfway.

"Oh no, no, no. This is not good." Ridley frantically said.

"But, the monsters can't be here. No one's here but us!" Mega protested.

At that moment, something dripped onto Samus's head. Disgusted, she touched her hair and brought her hand back. The consistency and the appearance of the liquid made Samus figure out what it was.

"Drool…" Samus whispered.

Slowly, everyone looked up at the ceiling, terrified. Among the wires, something huge and hairy stared at them with beady eyes and flashing teeth.

"GET AWAY! QUICK!" Ridley shouted to everyone.

Everyone scrambled away just as the hairy creature jumped down to the ground. Others just like it came out from their hiding place until there were about 20 of them. The creatures looked like overgrown rats/weasels the size of a small car. They had large and sharp teeth that couldn't even fit in their mouth, long spiky tails, and their eyes looked like little black dots nestled in their black, stringy fur.

"What the HECK are those?!" Mario shouted.

Ridley glared. "It's hard to tell. It may be a rat, or a bat, or a weasel. Maybe all of those things. I just call them Nightcrawlers. Big pain in the ass, with their acid spit and venomous tails. Chew through all of my electricity wires."

"ACID SPIT?!" Samus repeated, as she frantically wiped her hair.

"Don't worry. You can tell the difference between regular and acid spit, and that was regular spit. Trust me, you'd KNOW when acid spit lands on you."

The crowd of Nightcrawlers stalked towards them, snarling and growling.

"What do we do?!" Mega shouted.

Ridley fished around in the backpack, and took out the mouse jerky.

"We don't have to do much. Some good old mouse jerky will do the thing and lure them away. Nightcrawlers go crazy for mouse jerky for some reason."

With that, he threw the bag all the way to the other side of the room. Once it plopped, the Nightcrawlers looked back at the bag. But, that quickly ended, as they resumed snarling and growling at the group, even more agitated.

"Strange. That usually works. Well, you better put up your dukes and fight, since we can't get out of here without one." Ridley sighed.

Samus sighed, then cocked her gun. "Of course we have to clean up your mess."

With that, the group and the Nightcrawlers sprang at each other, attacking. Dark Samus blasted some Nightcrawlers away using her gun, clearing a whole group away. Mario and Mega Man teamed up to take on a large group of the creatures, with Mario using a Fire Mushroom powerup to blast them while Mega blasted the ones who got too near with his arm cannon. Samus proceeded to use hand-to-hand combat to knock each Nightcrawler away, occasionally using her stun gun to paralyze them.

Once a Nightcrawler was attacked, it would run away squeaking. But, it was always replaced by another one. Soon, more Nightcrawlers came in, even when one wasn't hurt, increasing the number of Nightcrawlers. Together, they started to overtake the 5. Mario was knocked into a wall by a swinging tail, while Mega was cornered. The Nightcrawlers sprang onto Dark Samus, taking her down to the ground. The same was done to Ridley, pinning him onto the ground.

But, most of them were coming for Samus, as she was the one who managed to wipe out most of the Nightcrawlers. She did her best to take them out, but soon they overpowered her in a wave of brown fur. As Samus tried to kick them off, one of them bit her leg, making her scream.

Samus's scream was heard by everyone, including Ridley. And when he heard it, Ridley snapped. With seemingly no effort at all, he lifted the Nightcrawlers off of him. He then flew over to land in front of Samus, and roared.

This roar was unlike any roar Ridley ever did. It was so loud it sounded like the screech of metal amplified a thousand times, so loud that it shook the whole space station, and so loud that it scared away virtually every Nightcrawler in the room.

With no Nightcrawlers on top of them, everyone got up, panting. They looked at Ridley almost fearfully, especially Samus, who backed away towards Mario and Mega. Ridley stood up straight slowly.

"Dark Samus," he said darkly, "take everyone else back to the apartment. I'll fix the lights myself."

With a solemn nod, Dark Samus led everyone out of the room, the latter following gratefully. As Samus walked as best as she could towards the door, she spared a look at Ridley, who had his back turned. She hadn't seen that side of him ever since his Space Pirate days.

When Ridley turned around, Samus looked away as she exited, knowing that she had absolutely no idea what kind of person Ridley was now.


The once happy and playful air in the apartment was now full of uneasiness and tension ever since everybody came back. Mario and Mega Man sat in front of the now-working TV, watching the rest of the Krakatoa documentary, while Dark Samus sat next to them finishing a blanket (it was quite a sight to see a once murderous alien clone crocheting a blanket).

But, the tension mostly came from Samus and Ridley. Once he had come back from fixing the lights, Ridley went to his room and closed the door behind him. He hasn't been back out since. And it was driving Samus crazy.

"What is he DOING in there?!" Samus asked exasperatedly, as she paced around the room.

"Why does it matter? At least he's not bothering you anymore." Mega replied, as he turned up the volume.

But, this wasn't true. In fact, Ridley being in his room and not talking to anyone drove Samus even crazier than the nice "act" he put on earlier (she still had no idea if it was genuine or not). And that's what she told them.

"Wow. So if it bothers you that much, go and check on him." Mario suggested.

Samus almost laughed at the idea. "Me? Check on my sworn enemy to see if he's okay?!"

"Well, yeah. I mean, you're here talking to us about why Ridley isn't talking to anyone. It seems like you're worried for him." Mario pointed out.

That made Samus go still in shock. "I'm not WORRIED about him! Why SHOULD I? If anything, HE should be worried about ME! I'm the one who got bit by a Nightcrawler." she said the last sentence, as she gestured to her bandaged leg.

"Yeah, true. But, he saved you. If it weren't for you getting bitten, he would've never gotten up and roared like that to scare the Nightcrawlers. At the very least, if you're not worried about him, you definitely want to know the reason for Ridley's change-of-heart." Mega said.

Samus opened her mouth, making a squeaking sound, but then closed it again, knowing that Mega was right on the dot.

"Fine. You're right. I want to know. And I will find out right now!" Samus finally said, as she walked away.

But, as she reached the door of Ridley's room, she started having second thoughts.

This is STUPID! THIS is how I'm gonna find closure?! Just knock on his door, and ask why he saved me after all of his attempts to kill me?

After a few moments, Samus knocked on the door and opened it. She walked inside and towards Ridley, who was sitting on a chair with his head in his hands.

"Why did you save me after all of your attempts to kill me?" Samus asked.

Ridley looked back at her with a dull expression. "Hello to you too, Samus."

Samus frowned. "I'm serious. Most of our past had to do with you trying to kill me. Hell, even when I was a kid, you tried to kill me. Those Nightcrawlers could've done me in, and you know it. Why did you save me?"

Ridley sighed. "I told you. I'm trying to make amends."

"Why?! It's not like you have to. You could easily remain your bitter self. No one's putting a gun to your head, and forcing you to change."

Ridley narrowed his eyes. "Why do you always think that I'm doing this for any reason other than the fact that I want to?"

Samus raised her arms, then dropped them again. "Because you're not that kind of person, Ridley! I would know! I literally DEDICATED my career to stopping you, and now what? You suddenly decide, 'Nah, I don't wanna be evil'?!"

Ridley was quiet, making Samus shake her head.

"Look, Ridley. I know you're the same guy. If it wasn't for what you did in the electrical room, I would've believed that you were a clone that didn't want to be like his predecessors, since it's clear that the original Ridley would eat his own TAIL before apologizing. But, when you roared to scare those Nightcrawlers off, I knew that you couldn't be a clone. I've heard that roar before when I fought you. So, what made you change?"

Ridley was quiet for another few seconds, then finally talked.

"You want to know why I changed? Fine. It's because I saw the error of my ways."

Samus glared. "You must get me messed up if you think I'm gonna take that as an actual answer."

"I know. A while ago, back when I was still a Space Pirate, I got a mission. I don't remember what it was; all I know is that things didn't go as planned. Next thing I know, I wake up on some hippie planet with no idea of who I was. A group of peaceful guys found me and brought me back to their village. It turned out that they were a missing Earth colony that isolated themselves far away from people to live a 'peaceful' lifestyle.

"I don't know how long I lived there, since time moves differently there than here. But, in that place, I lived there for about 6 years. They taught me many things like how to farm, how to fish, how to stop monster fleas from eating all of the grass."

Samus frowned in confusion at the last one, and Ridley rolled his eyes.

"Don't ask. My point is that they taught me how to live like one of them. Most importantly, they helped me with my spirituality and how I should live with no regrets. It was more helpful than you would think, because that was how I got my memories back.

"And… now that I look back at what I've done, I was a monster. I killed so many people, and used people as pawns in my little game. When, in actuality, I just happened to be the king piece to control the pawns. I'm not the guy who's actually playing the game, I just happen to be one of the more important pieces. After that, I left that planet to make amends to people. That's why I came to the Hands, and apologized for what I did in the Subspace Emissary incident. That's why I'm apologizing to you, Samus."

Samus blinked, taking it in. "So… because people were nice to you, you realized that you needed to change?"

Ridley looked at Samus. "I know you're salty about that."

Samus frowned. "Salty?! How am I salty?"

"Because you did the same to me when you were little, and I ended up killing your mother. And father. And your whole colony." Ridley answered.

Samus was quiet, and after a while, said, "I'm just… mad, you know? You gave me PTSD about that moment, and you messed me up more than you realize."

"And again, I'm not expecting you to forgive me for that. But, at least acknowledge that I'm trying to make things right. I can't bring people back from the dead, so it's not like I can fix what I did to you. But, I want to take up accountability for it. I'm sorry, Samus."

Samus looked at Ridley, and the smallest of smiles was on her face.

"And if you want, I'll allow you to beat my ass in the Smash tournament as much as you want. Just, don't touch my face. It's my greatest feature." Ridley said.

Samus's eyes widened. "How do you know about the Smash tournament?"

Ridley smiled sheepishly. "I saw them a little while ago. I may or may not have been snooping through your stuff." he then saw Samus's slightly annoyed face, then shrugged, "Hey, I may be willing to not kill people for a change, but that does not mean old Ridley's gone just yet."

Samus smirked. "I figured."


A/N: And that's all folks! Finally done with the Newcomer Madness chapter! Look forward to the next one, coming soon!