Changed
Where did I go wrong?
I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness;
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life…
-The Fray
Night had fallen in the Smash Mansion, a calm night to end a tense day. A soft wind blew as daytime flowers closed their buds and nighttime flowers opened theirs. Crickets sent up a chirping harmony as a crescent moon presented a luminous sliver and stars formed themselves into constellations.
After a quiet dinner, the Smashers were more than ready to hit the sack.
Mario knelt at his bedside, saying a prayer to the Stars to watch over the Princess and her people, to keep her safe. After a quick reflection on the day's events, he added a prayer about his little brother. He then climbed into bed and stared out the window until he fell asleep, dreaming about Italian cuisine.
DK chatted with Cranky, Dixie, Diddy and the rest of his family over the phone, telling them that all was well, and that being ranked tenth wasn't really a bad thing. He was out in seconds, dreaming about crushing K. Rool once and for all.
Link recited an incantation to Farore, the Goddess of Courage, to keep watch over him while he slept after having a long heart-to-heart with Zelda. With her never-ending wisdom, she was able to further calm and comfort him. As he slept, he dreamed about boyhood memories.
Samus changed into a blue nightgown with Chozo markings all over it before hopping into bed. Gently, her pet Metroid climbed into bed with her, and she hugged it to her chest, kissing the top of its head. "It'll be okay, little guy," she whispered as she drifted off.
Yoshi lay awake for several minutes, thinking about everything that had happened. A tear seeped from his eye as he recalled what Luigi had been subjected to most of the day. Hopefully, it would fade into oblivion by tomorrow morning. The green dinosaur turned over, closed his eyes and nodded off.
Kirby, wearing a light blue sleeping cap, was already asleep, bubbles slowly drifting from his mouth.
Fox made phone calls to Falco, Slippy, Peppy and Krystal, still boasting about his good progress, before quickly dropping off.
Pikachu received accolades from his trainers when he told them about his high ranking. After the conversation, the electric mouse curled up and was snoring in no time.
Ness lay on his bed with a few Mr. Saturns tucked under his arm, easy listening tunes on his radio. He figured that hype like this wouldn't last long, and that the Smashers would wake up in the morning with their friendships as good as new. The psychic child closed his eyes, lulled by this optimistic thought.
Jiggs used Rest. It's super effective!
Captain Falcon was splayed on his bed, passed out from ego and the alcohol he'd consumed, drooling. The horrors he'd awaken to tomorrow…
Luigi was the only one still awake.
He was seated at his computer, fingers flying across the keyboard, blogging like crazy. Still wired from the incident that afternoon, the adrenaline morphing from action to words. He minced no words in describing the "pecking order" which Smash had turned into, with him in the position to be "pecked" the most. He detailed the burning anger which had engulfed him, amplified by Falcon's antics. He wrote about the pain from what the spectators were doing to him. He lambasted the burgeoning community for turning backs on friends they'd made days ago and accused the gamers for placing him last for the sole purpose of tormenting him. He thanked the fans who hadn't abandoned him. His words sizzled into the computer screen; his posts were paragraphs long. They could be dissertations! There was no keeping quiet now. Everything tumbled out of him in waterfalls. He continued to type until his fingers went stiff, and still, he couldn't sleep.
Luigi turned off the computer and wandered to his window, staring into the night. His fingers gripped the windowsill as Falcon and Fox's words echoed in his mind. So, he was they prey, and they were the predators? Well, one of the "predators" was currently conked out in his room, mottled with the largest bruises you'd ever seen. The other was kinda scared to go near him now. What was wrong with those two? Why couldn't they just be like the lovable duo of Kirby and Pikachu and maintain their new bonds? Once upon a time, they could be in the same room with certain fighters and not feel repulsed. But now—getting wasted, trying to intimidate him and push him around and calling him names? Luigi had come in second for as long as he could remember, but there was only so much he could take!
"Let's see how high you are," he hissed as he marched toward the center of his room, suddenly wheeling on his pillow, grabbing it, slamming it down and then punching it angrily, pretending it was one of the A tiers. By the time his rage attack had subsided, the pillow looked rumpled, but was still intact. Luigi placed it back onto the bed, climbed in, drew the covers about him and tried to make his mind go blank.
He didn't succeed. Silent tears seeped down his face as the last of the adrenaline wore off and the impact of being called those names registered fully inside of him.
The game of Twister that morning seemed lifetimes ago.
Aww, poor L! But he'll pull through. Review, please!
