Actually wrote the second chapter before even posting this. Enjoy!

Sitting alone in the cafeteria, Shovel Knight chowed down on the nice Salmon that had been made for dinner. It wasn't common for the cafeteria to be so empty and honestly the little knight relished the moment. Then the barking started.

At first, Shovel Knight thought it was just the Nintendog making all that noise. It was literally a dog after all, it was adorable sure but he had heard that all the fighters had complained about it being a part of the third tournament. So it was removed from the official assist trophy roster since then. Master Hand had a soft spot for it, and it was still allowed to stay as Crazy Hand's pet since then.

The hand took surprisingly good care of it. Unlike his normal erratic and dangerous behavior, he was controlled and gentle. Treating the dog better than many others would.

It would be touching, if Crazy Hand wasn't… well.. Crazy Hand. If he didn't assault everyone in the mansion constantly. It was rather… Random.

Donkey Kong has been slapped exactly 23 times, Alucard had all his dinner replaced with tomato products, Snake's box had been flicked like a paper football with the mercenary still inside, tried to take a lawn mower to Lynn's hair…

While in the first week it was shocking and concerning for Shovel Knight, he had followed the other's example and simply accepted the Crazy Hand would do what Crazy Hand would do and there simply wasn't much anyone could do to stop him.

But never once was he like that with his precious dog. Only when the canine was not around were the only times the left hand prone to go on a rampage.

So when Shovel Knight turned around to see if it was another wholesome moment between dog and hand he was very horrified to see that it was…

Duck Hunt Dog.

The little knight was sure he saw his eyes pop out of his skull when the left hand rocketed around the corner, a giant golf club in hand.

Suffice to say that Shovel Knight did not get to eat the rest if his dinner as he was busy extracting himself from the tree on the front lawn that the deranged hand had whacked him into/

More often than not, a 'dream vacation' was something different based on the person you asked. For example, Mario wouldn't call fending off an evil paint doppelganger and being arrested for his idea of a vacation, nor would Luigi call searching for Mario in various haunted mansions/hotels either.

Someone like Ness' idea of a vacation might include eating his mother's homemade steak and Wario's probably would be eating garlic while counting the treasure he had gathered.

For Shovel Knight his vacation included getting out of the mansion and into one of the local ruins. He was a treasure hunter at heart and hadn't been able to dig up gold in much longer than he cared to admit.

It still gave him a rush to this day, even when he had dug up his first gemstone at 15. The little knight permitted himself a small whistle as he held up the beautiful emerald, the verdant light shining in his eye. He pocketed the gem before moving on.

Luigi had told him about a mine the area that the smashers had passed through during the 'Subspace Emissary'. When questioned more about the lithe plumber simply shook his head and said he would rather not talk about it.

There were apparently a few enemies hiding away in here from that time. Strange bipedal monsters that he recognized as 'primids' from the spirit list in the Mansion's rec room. They weren't very strong and thus were easily dealt with by a few shots from the Flare Wand and few good Shovel Drops.

Another chest was found and opened. The jewelry, gems, and gold inside promptly scooped up into the treasure bag.

As the little knight wandered deeper into the mine, he couldn't help but let his thoughts wander. He didn't dislike being at the mansion. It was just the mansion residents reminded him of Baz.

Doubly so for Falcon. He was sure they would be best friends if they ever met.

Living with Corrin as well had been… interesting. The silver haired woman had seemingly lost the interest she initially had in his shovel. They had small talk about their days sometimes when they both happened to be home. She had gotten better at picking up after herself, but whether or not that had been because he had spent less and less time in their shared apartment was unknown. He mentally shrugged it off. Master Hand had not cared what he did with his spare time as long as he was available when needed for matches.

Actually now that he thought about it, he hadn't spoken with anyone baring Luigi at the mansion since after the third week where he decided to go out treasure hunting to scratch that itch.

It probably didn't matter, with how badly most of the smasher's treated him and the other assist trophies he really only felt obligated to let Luigi know what was going on. Even the supposedly overly friendly Peach treated him and the other assists as she would her Toads. Corrin didn't exactly treat him bad either to be fair, but she definitely still felt more like a stranger than a roommate. Maybe that was his fault, Shovel Knight mused as he used the Propeller Dagger to cross a large gap. He wasn't exactly the most talkative person he knew.

He had even barely conversed with his fellow assist trophies. He had sparred with Lynn once or twice, avoided Waluigi like the plague, and sometimes exchanged greetings with Barbara and Mr. Wright.

The blue burrower struck another dirt pile sending the gems skittering on the floor in front of him. Gathering them up, he tied the yellow bag shut, content with what he had gathered today.

There was a place in Smashville where he could trade in his gold for Gold Coins, the currency of this world, but that could wait until tomorrow after his shift helping in fights were over.

Exiting the entrance from the mine after a short walk, the treasure hunter readjusted his bag over his shoulder and began the trek back to the mansion. Luckily it wasn't longer than a half a day's journey. Quite small compared some of the travels he and… his partner had gone on.

His mood slightly diminished, the blue knight marched on. The bag of treasure clunking pleasantly against his armor. Struggling to think of something to think about besides for her, the knight plodded on as the sun set behind him.