Learning The Ropes

Claus was excited to see the place in its entirety, but he was worried about Lucas freezing up earlier. He wanted to go back to him, but Ness dragged him outside.

"You're gonna love this, buddy."

Ness stopped when they got around 100 yards away from the mansion. He pointed into the sky and Claus saw the selection screen. He saw all the characters on the roster, from Mario, all the way to Isabelle.

"That's crazy. How many characters are there?!"

Ness had to think about it for a moment. He remembers the first game; it only had twelve. Many more were added each time.

"There are over 70 characters in total. It was lonely after a while, but Brawl changed everything. Lucas came in and I was overjoyed to have another person from our series to enter."

Claus became a little perturbed. "I bet he was scared to death once he saw what everyone goes through."

"He made it through just fine, actually. We don't get picked as often as we'd like to, but the breaks are well enjoyed. Some of the people here, like Link and Samus, will get used around four or five times in succession. We have parties all the time, and we eat like kings!"

Claus snickers. "Well, I can tell why you joined."

"Are you making fun of me again?! Well, I can laugh at the fact that you aren't in the game."

"I'm a color palette for my brother, so technically I am."

Ness rolls his eyes and sees Kirby running towards them with a letter. He skids to a stop and hands it to Ness. He runs back to the mansion and Ness opens the letter.

Claus wants to look at it, but Ness is still reading it. "Come on, I wanna see it!"

"Hold on; I'm not done yet!"

Ness finishes reading it, then hands it to Claus.

"An invitation... to what?"

"Well, only a select few characters are invited to a special banquet. At that banquet, the sixteen characters fight to see who is the winner for the month. It's just a fun tradition we started recently."

"Sounds fun. I hope my brother made it."

"Trust me; I think he'd rather not be invited. It can get brutal at times. Last time, Pikachu and Villager fought each other the entire time, and made a huge mess."

He gives the paper back to Ness, and they head back to the mansion. Several Mii fighters are walking around, getting everything set up. Claus sees Princess Peach talking with his brother, so he goes over and joins in on their conversation.

"Hey, what's going on over here?"

Peach is a bit surprised when Claus joined in, but she smiled upon his arrival. "Oh, you must be the older brother Lucas was talking about. I'm honored to finally meet you. I only got to see what you looked like through the color palette, but seeing you in person is more enjoyable."

He turns red at her comment. "Aw, thanks. So Lucas, why'd you freeze up like that earlier?"

"Huh?"

"You know, when you saw me in the door, you just stopped. I was worried that you didn't want me here; is that why?"

"Well... um..."

Claus punches Lucas in the arm, playfully, and gives a soft chuckle. "There's nothing you have to be worried about, bro. Seeing everything that goes on here has been great. I'm honestly jealous of what you get to do every day. Ness got an invite to a banquet; did either of you get in?"

Lucas lowered his head. "No, and I was really looking forward to it this time."

Peach brought out a piece of paper. "I was accepted. I wish the best of luck to everyone else, though, as I rarely make it past the first round."

"Are they tough on you?"

"Everyone fights for first place, and it's a free for all."

Hearing about this event that takes place is making him excited. "Oh, I really want to be a part of this thing..."

Lucas sighs. "It's best that you just watch from behind the screen."

Claus grabs Lucas' wrist and drags him away from Peach. He takes his brother over to Ness, who was playing with his yo-yo.

"Ness, where would you find the bathrooms?"

"Oh, they're on the next floor. The signs will tell you which is which."

"Thanks."

Claus takes his brother into the bathroom on the second floor. He takes them into a stall, and closes it behind them.

"Claus, what are you doing?!"

Claus, all of a sudden, is furious. "I don't get what your deal is here, Lucas. This place is great, but you don't seem to care."

"Is this why you're so mad, because I'm not enjoying myself?"

"Lucas, I want you to be happy. I know it was hard getting mom's death off your mind, but ever since then, you've been treating everything like one big joke."

"No I haven't. Now let me out of here!"

Lucas pushes his brother back and he hits the stall door. Claus pushes his brother in retaliation, and Lucas falls onto the toilet lid.

"Lucas... I'm sorry if I hurt you, but I want to make sure you're doing OK. I'm really predictable at times, but I'm being honest. Dad wouldn't want you sulking around any longer; he'd want you to make a difference."

"But Claus, I can't-"

"That's what you're telling yourself. You think that you're not good enough, but you are. Overcome your fears, and make me proud."

"I can't overcome my fears if I'm stuck in a bathroom."

"Oh, hehe, sorry about that."

Claus unlocks the stall door and lets himself and Lucas out. They exit the bathroom and Ness is waving at them. They wave back and he runs off into the dining hall.

Lucas smiles. "I guess it's about to start."

"Yeah, let's go after him."

The twins run down the stairs and stare into the dining hall and see all sixteen people ready. There are plates stacked with food on every inch of the table. The aroma makes Claus hungry, but he knows he can't enter. He sees Ness on the far end of the room, with Peach right across from him. Pikachu is there, but Villager isn't this time, making Lucas relieved. The other thirteen eye each other as one of the Mii fighters puts the whistle to his mouth. He blows the whistle and the banquet brawl gets underway.