Of all the possible people she could meet from back home...it had to be Bowser.

Still, it was good to see a familiar face. So she didn't protest when he shuffled up to her and gave her a crushing hug. "Nice digs, huh? But let me introduce you to the others! Listen up, everyone, this is Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom, and a finer lady you won't find anywhere. Peach, the gorilla dude here is Donkey Kong. Doesn't talk much, but he's a nice guy. The kid with wings is Pit. He's an actual angel, in service to a goddess. The other kid is Ness. He has these crazy psycho powers..."

"Psychic powers," said Ness.

"What he said. The one in the robot armor is Samus, he don't talk much either. And last but not least, a princess like yourself...her name's Zelda."

They all agreed they were glad to meet. "There's a lot more," Bowser informed her, "but they're staying in different quarters. We only see them when it's time to fight. And we get switched around sometimes. But this is a pretty sweet place, you gotta admit. And the food! There's actually enough to fill my belly for once!"

"So...about this fighting thing," Peach said. "How often does that happen?"

"Oh, you get notice, don't worry," Bowser assured her. "There's a tourney schedule posted every day. We're done for today, so you can just relax. And that Safe Zone thing really works! So you don't have to worry about getting hurt. Hmm, maybe I'll ask Master Hand if I can be your first fight. Show you the ropes, you know?"

"I...appreciate it," she said, relieved at least that she would not be alone in a group of strange fighters. "I really need to rest now, though."

"Competitor, please follow me." A little grayish robot about half Peach's size came out of the kitchen. "My name is R.O.B. I will show you to your room."

"Oh yeah! Almost forgot! You need anything, you just ask Robbie here," Bowser called after them as the little robot led her down a long hallway.

Peach's room was on the far left-hand side. She opened it to find the entire room decorated in pink. A pink four-poster bed, pink vanity table, pink overstuffed chairs and ottomans, with the bathroom striped in pink and white like a candy cane. The huge picture window and balcony overlooked the swimming pool. She flopped down on the bed. It was surprisingly comfortable. "Please join us for dinner, in three hours," the little robot said, and closed the door as he backed into the hall.

She didn't realize she had fallen asleep until she woke up at a slight knock. Stumbling groggily to the door, she opened it to find Zelda standing there.

Before Peach could utter a word, Zelda apologized softly for disturbing her, then asked, "Is Bowser a friend of yours?"

"Er...well, he's usually a big pain in the neck, but he can be really nice when he wants to...when no one is looking..." Peach blinked. "He's really more of a 'frenemy'. Why do you ask?"

Zelda answered as if she would have made the same reply regardless of what Peach said. "You must be careful not to show too much concern in the Arena. Pit would not fight his goddess, Palutena, and Master Hand moved her to another room." She flicked her eyes back to the main room. "I must go. We can speak again, after dinner."

Peach stared for a few moments at Zelda's retreating back, then pulled her head back into her room and closed the door. If Pit was being forced to fight when he didn't want to, why was he here?

Why were ANY of them here?

Not knowing what else to do, Peach took a bath, to freshen up before dinner. As she scrubbed shampoo into her scalp, she tried to get a grip on what was going on. Bowser seemed totally at ease; but then, he liked causing trouble, so he was not really a good indicator of what kind of situation she was in. She didn't know Zelda at all, but she certainly appeared to be giving Peach a warning. Peach wouldn't have minded if Bowser was moved to another area, but experience had taught her that a frenemy was better than nothing.

There didn't seem to be anything else to do but go to dinner, so Peach styled her hair, put on a clean dress that had mysteriously appeared on the bed (hopefully supplied by R.O.B. when she was in the bath), and walked to the dining room.

Zelda appeared to be deliberately ignoring her, and she had people sitting on either side of her anyway. Bowser, at the head of the table and downing shovelfuls of food, gestured for her to come over. "Try the roast, it's amazing," he said with his mouth full.

Peach served herself a bit of the roast, some potatoes, and a slice of cherry pie. "Samus isn't here?"

"I'm not sure he needs to eat," Bowser replied. "Don't worry about it."

At the opposite end, Donkey Kong made a series of gruff hoots. His plate consisted entirely of bananas.

"He says Master Hand is going to bring a lot more people soon," Ness translated.

"Oh, you can speak gorilla?" Peach asked.

Ness shook his head, then tapped his temple. "Telepathy."

"I see..." Peach looked around at the empty chairs. "Well, it does look like this place is set up for more than we have here."

"Do you have a rival, Princess?" Pit asked. "I have one – though I haven't met him before. Palutena says it's my destiny to beat him. That's why I'm here."

Peach puzzled over the idea of a rival one had never met. "I suppose Bowser is, sort of...but not enough to fight a tournament over...why are the rest of you here?"

Zelda shot her a warning look, but any replies to her question were drowned out by an irritating, high-pitched signal. A holographic projection of Master Hand appeared on the table, bowing and removing his top hat. "Evening, my fine warriors, and how does the day find you?"

"I'm ready for tomorrow!" Pit exclaimed with gusto. Kong hooted and banged the table, sending some of the silverware flying.

"Hey, let me introduce Peach to the Arena," Bowser said. "We've competed against each other before."

"Of course, of course!" Master Hand replied. "How about going head-to-head first, then teaming up?" He turned toward Peach with an expectant expression.

Peach turned on her cheeriest happy-smile. "I'm looking forward to having lots of fun!"

"Excellent! You should all retire immediately to your rooms after dinner. Oh, I know, I know," he said as Ness and Pit objected. "It's well before even little boys' bed-time. But I've got a whole group of new people for you – so get some rest! Ta-ta!"

Peach breathed a sigh of relief as he disappeared. Turning back to her dinner, she ate as much as she could. She had a feeling she would need it.

When Peach stepped into the Arena the next morning, her eardrums were nearly shattered by the loudest cheering she had ever heard. She glanced around to see seats full of people. Who were all these people who had come to see her fight? Were they even real, or another illusion like the stage itself?

Bowser had explained the stages to her over breakfast, along with the fighting props. "If you manage to get your hands on an object, use it! Some of 'em are booby trapped...but most of 'em will give you an advantage!"

As she walked up to the middle of the stage – again, made to look like a slice of the Mushroom Kingdom – she could see Bowser walking forward, waving to the crowd. The multitudes vanished as she came to the middle of the arena, with an illusion of more grass and hills taking its place.

"And now, for the benefit of our newest competitor, we'll go over the basics!" Master Hand announced from some hidden space. "Every touch is a hit, though stronger attacks cause more damage! If you're thrown out of the ring, it's game over! If you fall through the cracks, it's game over! If you accumulate enough damage, it's game over! Now...START!"

Bowser rushed toward her with such force that she instinctively dodged out of the way. "C'mon, don't be shy!" he called out. "This is the only place where you'd be able to beat me anyway! Ha ha ha!"

She crouched down and pulled up a convenient turnip, then bounced it off his face. "Good one!" he encouraged her. "Now it's my turn!"

He pulled back his hand and raked his claws against her shoulder. She spun in the air and landed flop on the floor looking rather surprised. "See, doesn't hurt!" Bowser called as he slashed at her again. "Go ahead, give it a try!"

Peach gave him a slap across the face and was surprised to see him stagger back a step. She summoned her umbrella and dealt a few more blows, startled to see him thrown back quite a bit. "Doesn't matter if the attack makes no sense!" Master Hand called out over the roaring crowd. "Each person has their own set of moves, and all can work equally well when done right!"

Peach felt a surge of confidence. She could never take Bowser on in a real fight, but if umbrella-slapping dealt this much damage, she might actually hold her own. She swung with a golf club and a tennis racket, though neither one seemed to have a greater effect. She leaped in the air as he spun under her, and opened the umbrella to take her time coming down.

In the middle of a slap-fest he breathed fire into her face. She instinctively staggered back, even though she felt neither heat nor pain, and fell into one of the bottomless pits.

A moment later she was kneeling, gasping at the side of the Arena. The stage disappeared and Bowser walked over. "You did pretty good, for your first time!"

"Uh, thanks," she said as she staggered to her feet.

"This game goes to Bowser!" Master Hand announced, and the cheering crowds came into view again. Bowser waved and blew kisses to his audience. "But this is a newcomer to watch, ladies and gentlemen!" Then, in a voice only Bowser and Peach could hear, he added, "So now Bowser will go onto the next fight, and you'll retire for now. Just go back the way you came and you can relax until the next match."

Peach did as she was told. Pit was waiting for her inside the living area. "So how did it go?" he demanded. DK clapped excitedly.

"It was fun," she said, a bit out of breath, "but...I've never done this sort of thing before...if had been someone I didn't know, I'd have no idea what to do..."

"Zelda can help you with that!" He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the dining room table, where Zelda sat with about a dozen cards scattered about. "She's been helping me too...I have to make sure I can beat everybody else before I can go up against my rival!"

Peach sat down across from Zelda and gave her a nervous smile. She picked up a card and saw it had Donkey Kong's picture on it. On the front were what looked like baseball card stats, with labels like Strength, Defense, and Special Moves. On the back was a web diagram with the same information.

"I've been putting together profiles of all the competitors," Zelda explained, "Based on my experience, and from what the others have told me. Of course, there are new people coming in soon, but if you look at these you won't be caught completely off guard."

"What a clever thing to do!" Peach exclaimed, and she meant it. Looking through, she noticed some of them were for people she had not seen yet. "These are people staying elsewhere?"

Zelda nodded. She gave Peach a significant look, and handed one to her of a tall, green-haired woman in a white dress. Reading the description, she realized that this must be Pit's goddess, the one he wasn't allowed to see because he wouldn't fight her.

Shuffling through the cards, Peach found the fox, pink blob, and lightning creature she'd seen on the train ride in. Her heart racing, she flipped through more. If Bowser and I are here, she thought to herself, there has to be a chance...a chance at least..."

But when she got to the last card, she thew it down and frowned. "Really? Really?! You've got to be kidding me!"

Zelda craned her neck to look at it. "You know Wario?"