A Walk Among Giants, Chapter 33: The Best I Strife to be.
Hey I just met you. And this is crazy! But here's my fanfic, so read it maybe?
And the award for best commenters goes to:
UltimateCCC! Give it up! ok, ok hold the applause for a sec… I SAID HOLD THE DAMN APPLAUSE!
AHEM
Oh Peach, she has her wake up call coming oh boy she does!
Heh we'll see…
TheShadowStarr23! Hold the- you know what screw it go nuts! *blows air horn*
Yes poor Raven however things should shape up for her, and eventually don't we all…
Yes Chicken Nuggies are like gold to take one's nuggies is a crime! Shame on you Link!
Well remember that everything isn't always what it seems, in this place everything you think you know about yourself, the world, even reality itself all this and more will be challenged!
And come on cliffhangers brings you back for more! Hehehehe!
"DARK PIT!" Peaches' voice suddenly came booming through behind him. He turns and sees Peach on a small screen wedged into the wall. He just smirks while placing the hammer over his shoulder.
"You enjoying the show, your highness?" he says, watching her turn red in the face from anger.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?!" She begins, "just solve the puzzle, it's that simple IT'S SO SIMPLE!" She says in frustration.
"What do you think I'm doing?" He responds, "you demanded a sacrifice so I'm giving you one…" He says nonchalant while holding up his hands in a shrug. Peach then begins to rant at him but he just ignores it when something catches his eye. Ironically next to the screen was a fusebox, a grin appeared on his face while he weighed the hammer in his hands. "Hmm I'm sorry I think I'm getting some connection issues." He says while his grin grew, and instantly she knew what he was about to do.
"DON'T YOU DARE-'' She began but was cut off when he slammed the hammer into the fuse box. Sparks fly in every direction and he hears machinery powering down throughout the vicinity before the lights go out. Shortly after the emergency lights kick on flooding the vicinity with red light.
"Ohhh Lucy!" Pittoo called out with a grin…
*control room*
Peach just stared at the blank screen, she quickly begins to flip some switches but she just gets an ERROR code. "Peach…" Zelda says from behind her but Peach just stood there leaned over her controls with clenched fists.
"I'm gonna kill that kid…" She whispered to herself with wide psychotic eyes.
"Peach it's over," Zelda said, crossing her arms with a stern look.
"It's not over till I say it is," Peach said, taking her frying pan out of her magic pockets. She was about to stomp out of the room until Zelda took hold of her arm.
"I don't think so Peach, you are done here. You have broken several of our codes the Elite Six vowed to abide to. One of which is the most important 'endangerment of a fellow smasher' code." Zelda states firmly while Peach had a conflicted look on her face. "I'm sorry Peach but I'm afraid I have to take you in." Zelda says, dragging her away while she mumbled incoherently.
*back in the escape room*
"You think they bought it?" Pittoo says while staring at the broken fuse box that sparked from time to time. He slightly shifted his gaze to the side, seeing Luicna emerge from the shadows perfectly fine.
"I sure hope so, otherwise you gave me a dead leg for no reason." She said while rubbing her leg and he smirked.
"Hey you said make it look authentic" he responds.
"Yeah nice touch with the hammer and all, but next time give me a little heads up." She says as they walk down the dark hall together.
"So now what?" He says placing an arm over her head.
"Well now we wait, give it some time it should all be crashing down as we speak." She responds while looking at her phone. They make it back to the beginning room, opening up the room with the key they forged earlier that she kept.
"Fyi I wasn't improvising about the part where I'm hungry, I mean Peach just dragged us here without even getting to eat breakfast." Pittoo says as they sat on the round table where they got their first note.
"Don't worry I ordered something before we were trapped here." She assured him then looked at her phone again. "In fact it should arrive right about… Now!" She says as a person comes tumbling into the room from above. They had a striped red and white shirt with a cap of the same colors and a little basket.
"What the?" The kid exclaimed as he got up rubbing his bum. He just sees the duo sitting on the table lit by candles.
"Hey sorry about the drop, I gave you an extra tip for the trouble." She tells him, handing him some money as he awkwardly takes it and hands her the basket.
"Well that's all well and good but how the hell does he get out if we can't?" Pittoo says while she walks to the back. She lifted up the mattress on the bed and revealed a secret passage.
"Take this path and it should lead you back onto the path and you should be on your way." She says as he turns to the duo again.
"Are you guys forest folk?" He asked utterly confused as to why this room was just hidden here in the forest.
"No we're actually prisoners here" Pittoo admits kicking his feet up.
"Wha?" He says while Lucina shoves him along.
"It's complicated…" She says before closing the door and setting the bed back down.
"If that thing was there the whole time we didn't we just escape instead of playing this charade?" He asked as she walked over and took her seat.
"Because if we just did that we wouldn't get Peach off our back and she'd just done something more irritating." Lucina states and opens up the little basket.
"How did you know about that anyway?" He asked curiously as he sat upright.
"Well despite what everyone should think, this place was in fact not built by Peach, Link and Marth did, Link mainly for his experience when it comes to dungeon puzzles, and Marth for his then knowledge in Strategies. Before we set off he sent me a file with the original blueprints and all the hidden knowledge only he and Link shared. Not even Peach herself knew about that secret path, and in the end ironically Link was the first to have to go through this with Ganon." She informed the dark angel while she set the table. When she finished she set the basket off to the side while Pittoo looked around.
"Where did you order from exactly?" He says taking a handful of fries into his hands.
"Oh that sandwich shop Terry told us about," She responds after taking a sip of a smoothie.
"Oh hell yeah" he says taking a big bite out of a sandwich, "real food!" He says while savoring the flavor.
*meanwhile*
Peach stood in front of the desk with her head hung low in defeat. Samus stood behind her with her hands having a firm hold on the princess's shoulders. Zelda had just finished her report to Master Hand who sat at his desk tapping his fingers on the table. Everyone knew this was a very bad sign so in the case of Peach she was in deep shit.
"You're fired!" He states slamming a stack of papers.
"What!?" Peach exclaimed in shock.
"Nah I'm just kidding you," he says waving her off and she sighs in relief. "However!" He says while pointing a finger at her, "you are going to be suspended until further notice, in fact I have your replacement right here!" He says while motioning behind him only for Rosalina to step forward.
"Hello" she said plainly while waving with her fingers.
"You can't replace me!" Peach says, "I'm the one keeping this whole mess intact!" She adds.
"Actually you've been getting a little too power hungry" Zelda speaks up.
"What? Nonsense!" She states.
"I don't know, you have been a little dictatory recently…" Link says rubbing his chin in thought. Just then Peach shoots him a look making him shrunk in fear.
"Maybe they're-a right, maybe you need-a some time off" Mario quickly adds before she gasped and turned to him.
"Mario!? You traitor!" She gasped in shock.
"I'm-a just being-a honest!" He says turning around and brushing his mustache to comfort himself.
"No matter their opinions you broke our sacred vows, that cannot be overlooked Ms Toadstool." MH says getting up from his desk. "Take her to the cells she needs to reflect on her decisions, and someone please go and retrieve those poor souls locked in the forest. Who knows what's going on in there." He finished as Samus took Peach away.
"I-I did nothing wrong, I was doing my jooooooob!" She exclaimed as she was escorted out of the room.
"I'll go…" Marth said plainly while shrugging his shoulders.
"I'll come with" Zelda says while Marth gives her a nod and they head out.
"Alright then" Master Hand says, turning to the cosmic princess. "Can you cook?" He asked knowing they just locked up their only cook.
"Um I've tried making a few meals from time to time, I can say with assurance that for the most part they were edible." She says while Master Hand looked in thought.
"Ok good enough" Master Hand says "ok off you go" he says waving her off.
"You're awfully calm about all this?" Zelda said as she and Marth walked down the halls.
"Well I have faith in her, she can handle herself. I'm pretty positive about it," He states knowing she had the secret blueprints.
*the escape room…*
"I'm starting to have doubts" Lucina says while resting her head on the palm of her hands.
"No no, I've been sweet talking Link from time to time, and according to him Peach has been rumored to be abusing power and Zelda has been looking for anything to take her down. Since then I knew this would be the perfect opportunity to bring her down. This will destroy her with how well of a show we put on." He explained while chewing on a toothpick.
"Maybe this was way too over the top, I think we probably went too far…" She says shortly after followed by an obnoxious scoff from him.
"Are you really going to say that after what she put us through?" He asked. "That lunatic needed a wakeup call, thinking she was unstoppable and such. No-one gets to boss me around and get away with it!" He states as he flung his toothpick away with a sincere look.
"This is starting to sound more like petty revenge, and I don't know about you but that's just not my style." She said but he remained silent casting his gaze off to the side to avoid her. He mumbled something under his breath before finishing off his smoothie, as indicated by his loud and obnoxious slurpin. Most likely to deter her from pursuing the conversation any longer.
She remembered vividly about how he brought up the topic at dinner. He claimed he had a rock solid plan on how to get Peach off their back. At first she was disinterested but the more she thought about it the more his words became more appealing. Besides that she had to admit that Peach's sessions were making their relationship more unstable than it already was. "Just one more fuck up from her and shes out!" She recalled him saying so vividly. Looking back she had to have guessed this egotistical maniac was just looking to settle a score, he dropped hints left and right biding his time until it was the right time to strike. It was so typical of him, Dark Pit wasn't one to just leave well enough alone. She glanced back at him watching him shaking his empty cup back and forth as if he expected there to be more. "You gonna finish that?" He asked, pointing at her cup. Before she could respond however he takes the cup and throws her straw back at her before inserting his own.
"No, please help yourself," she says sarcastically. Truth be told she barely drank hers anyway she felt it was a tad bit too sweet. Although it didn't seem to bother him and he gulped it down like his life depended on it.
"What flavor is this?" He asks stopping mid drink smacking his lips as he tries to figure it out.
"Kiwi and lime apparently" she shrugged.
"What a boring drink" he says but continued to sip it anyway.
"Yeah… Must be awful," she again said sarcastically while rolling her eyes. Lucina sunk in her seat getting bored out of her mind, how long would it take someone to get them out? Just then Pittoo stood up with a grin on his face as an idea popped in his head.
*in the mansion*
"What exactly are you doing?" Zelda asked, watching Marth hook up a machine to a pad on the floor. It almost looked like those little platform smashers appeared after being KOed.
"Well," he began with a wrench in his hand. "Since the power is down I can lock onto their specific energies and bring them here." He says wiping his brow with the back of his hand.
"How'd you learn to do that?" She asked, a little amazed while he kinda smiled sheepishly.
"Roy…" He admitted flatly before activating the machine. They see light shoot up and begin to form figures while a loud whirl fills the room. As soon as the light fades they see Lucina laughing aloud while Pittoo stands as if imitating a lady. He had a hand on his hips and he stood in a peculiar posture with his other hand held out in front of him all ladylike.
"Would you like some tea?" He said in a high pitched mocking voice while he walked over to Lucina. The bluenette however went pale when she saw Marth and Zelda staring at them with blank expressions. Her voice got stuck in her throat but of course the clueless dark angel hadn't noticed the change of scenery. "Oh no I spilled some… Let me pull out Toad from my ass he'll clean it up" he continues in his same mocking voice while leaning forward and sticking up his rear end. Lucina just cleared her throat while nudging him hoping he would turn around and notice his new audience. But he just snickered to himself while shaking his butt back and forth. It wasn't until he saw Lucina looking stiff as a stone that he decided to turn around. He just stood up straight and started to turn red in the face from the awkwardness.
"Weren't you two supposedly killing each other?" Zelda asked while she crossed her arms.
"Yeah… we were taking a break?" Lucina squealed out.
"You know forgery is a serious offense no matter the circumstances!" Marth said very sternly, placing his hands on his hips. Lucina began to shrink in spot until Dark Pit stepped forward.
"So what just because one of us isn't dead you're going to throw a fit? Talk about being hypocritical." He states while the other two look at each other.
"Oh no you're not getting off that easy" Zelda says but Marth held up his hand.
"Well they aren't entirely in the wrong, while yeah it was a charade they were still in immediate danger. There was the possibility of one of them accidentally walking into that contraption." Marth says while Pittoo smiled smugly to himself.
"I guess you are right," Zelda says, brushing her hair aside. "However don't you dare pull a stunt like that again you hear" she says sternly.
"Yes ma'am," Lucina says, lowering her head.
"You both aren't off the hook either!" Marth adds, "as soon as Peach gets her head screwed on right it's back to therapy for the both of you." He informed the duo.
"WHAT?!" They both shout in unison.
"Marth, are we sure that's the best course?" Zelda whispered to him, "I mean we literally took her away from the post seconds ago for going too far." She tells him in a hushed voice but he just turned to the duo.
"Go while you're still off the hook" Marth says motioning towards the door with his head. They began walking out and when they were almost out the door Pittoo started walking in his mocking ladylike fashion again. Lucina tells him to stop it as she keeps from trying to laugh even giving him a playful shove.
"I can't believe I'm saying this but… Hell Peach was right, her escape room really did work even if it was in an unintended manner." Zelda says as she drops her shoulders.
"That is why Peach must be reinstated as their therapist, her methods worked. Now she just has to make sure she doesn't step out of line doing it however." Marth says
"We can't let her know however, or this will all go to her head and give her even more power since she was 'technically' right" Zelda states.
"I doubt they will stay this friendly with each other too long so we have nothing to worry about." He adds before walking away.
"I sure hope so, otherwise Peach will give us hell" Zelda sighs before following suit.
"Marth, it's time!" Samus says as they exit the room. He nods his head and bids his farewell to Zelda before they head off.
*meanwhile…*
"That was so embarrassing you idiot!" Lucina stated while giving him another shove.
"Yeah, yeah, deep down we both know they enjoyed the show." He grins to himself, placing his hands behind his head.
"You should've seen Marth's face!" Lucina stated with a giggle while he chuckled.
"Are you scheduled for any matches today?" She asked as they entered the room.
"Nope, Peach practically erased our schedules, she had a whole day of hell planned for us apparently." He says kicking off his shoes carelessly. "Now I have time to finish my dungeon crawler and beat out Dark Links record," he says, turning on his game system and sitting on his bed. She just sat at her bed staring at the screen to try and understand what was happening. Pittoo's character was holding a torch and he was walking down a dark hall with a large red blade in his other hand. A horribly contorted monster came tumbling towards him and he just decapitated it effortlessly. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?" He asked as she scrambled out the door.
"There is something I must do before I forget and before it gets delayed any longer." She said and closed the door behind her going down to the first floor. As she reaches the end of the hall she sees Link there leaning on the wall next to the door. He held Inigo in his hands and he was scrolling through his phone. As soon as the piglet sees her it wiggles out of Link's arms and runs over to her, nuzzling against her legs.
"Well he seems very attached to you," Link said, pocketing his phone. "Well it's time he goes home now" Link said motioning her to follow, she picked up Inigo and they were out the door. They head back to the clearing with the cave before Link blows on a blade of grass. Making a sharp whistle, which was responded by a loud grunt from afar. They hear loud stomps from behind and turn to see King Bullbo emerge from the tree line. He huffs out angrily before he spots the piglet in Lucina's hands, he stomps his front hooves before letting out a loud roar that echoes. "Alright a deal is a deal you get your kid and go home, and don't worry the true perpetrator of the kidnapping will be dealt with accordingly." Link said before tossing a disk into the cave and opening up a portal. "It's time" he whispered to Lucina who slowly nodded and looked down at Inigo.
"Well it's been a weird ride huh… but without you I don't think I would've gotten my answers… So I guess I owe you my thanks, but now you must go back where you belong." She said, petting the piglet who snorted happily. She slowly set him down to the ground where he shook himself. King Bullbo let out a deep grunt and the piglet began walking towards him but stopped halfway before running back to Lucina. "What's wrong?" She asked but he bit her sleeve and tried to drag her along. "Inigo… I can't go with you, I have to stay here" she said, pulling back her sleeve. He squealed at her as she ushered him along back to his father. The Piglet began to slowly walk over to King Bullbo with his head hung low. When he reached the enormous boar Bullbo nuzzled him glad to see the piglet as well. He picked Inigo up by his tail and began walking towards the portal. The piglet looked back at Lucina and began to squeal out. Bullbo turns to her and lets out a loud huff before nodding at her and stepping into the portal.
"He said thanks, for keeping the child safe" Link said, patting her on the shoulder. "By the way I'd thought I should inform you that the child's name was actually Prince Bubbo." Link said before he too stepped into the portal and it disappeared.
"Goodbye friend I'll miss you too" she whispered as she stared at the now empty cave. She sighed and began to slowly walk back to the mansion, the mystery of the piglet was solved and now it was finally dealt with. Now the only question from that messy night is, what the hell happened to Dark Pit?
*meanwhile in Hyrule*
"Are you sure this is the only way?" Toon Link asked as he was binded down to a small pony that was blindfolded. He looked at his tiny sword and shield then back at Link.
"Well it's either this or they split roast you" Link shrugged while motioning to the other side of the bridge. Bulbin and Bullbo stood on the other side with wide psychotic grins while Toon gulped. "Alright up and at em!" Link said before he slapped the pony's behind that charged forward. Bullbo huffed loudly before he began to charge at Toon Link with full force.
"OH FU-"
*outside the mansion gates*
A motorcycle whirled loudly as its rider was coming upon a large mansion on a hill. The instructions he had received said to go to this location, it was still early morning so he figured whoever was there must be asleep still since it looked so empty. As he neared the golden gates he saw figures standing in front of them waiting for him. This was it, it was time to finally find out what all this talk about a tournament was about. There was a man with azure hair and a woman with long blonde hair tied up into a ponytail.
"Cloud Strife I presume?" The woman asked while he unmounted his bike.
"Yes that would be me, which one of you is this 'Master Hand' addressed here?" He says holding up his letter.
"I'm Marth, this is Samus. We'll take you to Master Hand, we're associates of his" Marth says.
"Sorry to have to intercept you like this, but the last two arrivals we received caused quite an uproar upon revival. We were sent to make sure there wouldn't be any misunderstandings. All your answers will be revealed once you meet Master Hand." Samus said as they led him through the gates.
"Don't worry about your vehicle, we have a vast garage for storage, I'm sure you'll come across it on your tour." Marth assures him while some Miis take his bike away. As soon as they entered there was excited and shocked whispers from those he walked passed. Eventually stopping at the large doors leading to Master Hand's office. They are pushed open and he is ushered inside. He sees the large desk with the man with a right glove for a head sitting at it. Next to the desk stood four others, a woman with a turquoise dress and blonde hair that covered one of her eyes. A short man with a bulbous nose and mustache wearing overalls. And lastly an elven man in green and woman with a purple dress. Marth and Samus go and stand next to the other four attentively while the gloved head man stands from his seat.
"Welcome Cloud Strife, to the Super Smash Brothers tournament! So glad you accepted my invitation though I apologize for its delay, it was supposed to arrive much earlier." MH says while Cloud looks around.
"Is this some sort of cult?" He asked somewhat confused. The Elite Six kinda glanced at each other and shrugged while Master Hand chuckled to himself.
"No we are in fact not a cult" he states while shuffling some papers.
"What's with the weird mask then?" Cloud says motioning to MH's head.
"Ahhh, well you see this is my head" MH responds while Cloud looks at the Elite Six as if to say 'he's joking right?' But the look in their faces said otherwise. Master Hand then began to glow and he grew in size as well until he was nothing more than a giant disembodied floating hand. "I hope this can clear up some confusion, that was just my human form I attain for casual matters." He says before he shrinks back down to his human form and then just adjusts his tie. "Let's get started shall we?" He says clicking a pen before taking his seat. Cloud just shrugged and approached the desk.
*Later*
"OM MY GODDESS, IT'S CLOUD FRIGGIN STRIFE!" Pit screamed like a little girl while hopping in place and squealing.
"Alright everyone settle down, yes we have a new smasher in our ranks. Cloud Strife!" MH announces as the lobby erupts into cheers.
"Look at the size of that sword!" Toon Link says with wide sparkling eyes admiring the weapon.
"Pfft, big deal..." Ike and Shulk say in unison.
"Sign my hat!"
"Sign my bow!"
"Sign my poster!"
"Sign my mask!"
"Sign my forehead!"
"Sign my butt!"
Yeah the crowd went wild at the man of the hour who was apparently well known throughout the multiverse.
*later*
"I'm starting to wish this was some elaborate trap to try and end me!" Cloud sighed, after what felt like hours of being bombarded by questions and requests he managed to give the crowd the slip. He now found himself walking down a random corridor. He took out a map to try to find the dormitory so he can get a moment to himself. He scratched his head as he flipped his map upside down, he had no clue where he was and what was what. To say the mansion was huge was an understatement. He folded up his map and pocketed it deciding he would try to find it by trial and error.
He opened a random door and stepped into a random common room, one of many littered around the first floor. The dorms were in the upper level so he had to find a staircase while avoiding the crowd. He carefully closed the door behind him and moved on seeing large doors to the side of the room. He thought he'd go there next. It seemed like there was an interesting room behind those doors. Why else would there be large wooden doors? He pushed one of them open making it creak very loudly. He peered his head in to see a vast library with bookshelves that looked like buildings. Someone sitting on one of the tables with a large book in hand heard the door and turned to face him. He swore he saw this guy before only now the guy was a girl, and his hair was in pigtails now. She gasped upon seeing him setting her book down on the table. "The rumors are true!" She squealed and jumped out of her seat.
"Aw crap…" he muttered and quickly slammed the door behind him, placing his back against it. "Maybe she didn't notice" he tried to convince himself while taking a large wooden pole placing it through the door handles. Something pushed against the doors from the otherside but the pole prevented them from being opened. He then heard a thud coming from the other side, confused he placed his ear to the door but the noise stopped. He breathed a huge sigh of relief figuring she gave up and left. Until an axe came crashing through the door sending wood chips everywhere. He backs away from the door as the axe dislodges from the door and the woman peeks in through the hole.
"Could I have a small moment of your time sir?" She said, smashing her head through the hole.
Cloud just screamed and bolted the other way seeing a run down door to the other side. "Wait up!" She called while breaking down the door with a fire axe. He enters the other room and slides a large bronze statue in front of the door that weighed a ton. The people here sure are crazier than he thought. He was in another corridor where he had the option to go through five different doors. And he picked the 3rd to the end and swung it open slamming up behind him and breaking off the doorknob. He turns around to see a woman with long blue hair sitting on a sofa in the back. She just stared at him with a puzzled look and he swore she looked eerily identical to that Marth guy he met earlier.
"Oh I didn't think anyone else would be here" she said, closing her book and getting up. He just groaned to himself but at this point he didn't care about the rabid fanboys/girls anymore.
"Alright get it over with, oh my its cloud!" He says in a bored tone while pointing at himself with his thumbs.
"Uh, never heard of you…" She flat out says and he gives her a blank look and the room goes dead quiet.
"Ok that's a good one, but come on seriously" he says while motioning to himself, "I'm getting all this unwanted attention and you expect me to believe you don't know who I am?"
"I'm being sincere, I have no idea who you are, in fact I've never seen you before. Are you new?" She admits and he goes quiet again.
"Cloud Strife, ex soldier, ringing any bells?" He says and she thought for a minute before she shook her head. "Really? Nothing?" He says pointing at his face in a circular motion, "nothing at all?" He asked.
"I thought you didn't want people to recognise you?" She responds.
"I don't, it's just I'm actually surprised there is someone here who doesn't recognize me." He says while she slowly rubs her arm.
"Yeah I'm still trying to catch up with everything new around here, I mean it's all so much. There's still a lot I don't know." She stated.
"Oh yeah you don't have to tell me this place has a lot to take in." He said placing the palm of his hand on his forehead.
"Yes this place can be a handful but you get used to it eventually" she says thinking back to her first days, the shenanigans she got into, and fainting in front of Marth. They hear a loud crash from the hall he entered from and he stiffens up.
"Can you possibly do me an enormous favor?" He asks.
"Um sure what's up?" She responds curiously.
"Get rid of that psycho chasing me with an axe!" He says while jumping over the couch and hiding behind it. Before she could ask, the door was kicked open and there standing in the doorway was Raven, who was dragging along a large fire axe behind her.
"Raven, what are you doing?" Lucina asked, completely surprised. Raven however was quickly scanning every inch of the room before her eyes settled on the bluenette.
"You wouldn't have happened to have come across a tall man with spiky blonde hair by any chance have you?" She asked sweetly.
"Uh…" Lucina begins while giving the couch a quick glance. "Yeah, I actually saw Palutena take him down the hall just now. Possibly to give him a tour?" She says while Raven scowls.
"That bitch!" She says, "I had first dibs on him for my experiments!" She adds before turning around and heading out dragging along the large axe. They hear the grinding of the axe get further away until the noise eventually disappears altogether. Cloud let out the breath he was holding and stood up from behind the couch.
"Thanks, I seriously owe you one" he says while wiping his forehead.
"Oh you don't have to worry about Raven, she's completely harmless! Mostly…" Lucina informed him but he didn't look convinced.
"Yeah somehow her wanting to use me as a lab rat doesn't help her case." He states while she waved him off.
"Oh that, nothing to worry about, she just has a very curious nature." Lucina assured him but he only raised his eyebrows.
"Oh really, then I guess she would've done these 'experiments' on you?" He asked but she kinda just gave a weird look.
"Not exactly she didn't necessarily need to" she admits.
"Why's that?" He was very curious.
"Well she would've just been assessing your weaknesses" Lucina informed him.
"What for?" He says somewhat startled.
"Well she's a tactician, and we're in a fighting tournament. So you can expect her and her twin to be observing you for some time." Lucina tells him and he groans to himself.
"As if I wasn't paranoid enough in this place, and I'm guessing Marth is your twin right?" He asked while she lightly shook her head.
"Actually no, I'm just a descendant of his, our family line just shares very similar looks." She informed him and he looked shocked.
"Well damn how old is Marth then?" He said completely surprised.
"Oh nono, we come from completely different periods of time. And no I don't know how and why and it's best not to think about it." She says.
"Well I couldn't possibly ask you for another favour could I?" He says while she shrugged.
"I don't see why not?" She agreed while he rubbed the back of his head slightly embarrassed.
"Well you see I'm actually lost…" He admits.
"Oh say no more I know all too well how much of a maze this place can be, you would not believe how many times I got lost in my first few days here." She says while motioning him to follow. "I'm guessing you're looking for your room right?" She asked as they continued down the hall.
"Yeah pretty much" he says with a sigh.
And after traversing through the mansion's corridors and taking long routes to avoid attention they find his room. She stared at his door for a moment as it had the same symbol as her door did, meaning he was partnered with someone from her dimension. But as to who was anyone's guess, Marth was with the Six, Robin was with Ganon, Raven with Shulk, Ike was with Little Mac, and lastly Roy was with Ryu. And she of course was partnered with Dark Pit and there was no getting rid of him. So unless Master Hand had rearranged partners it was a total mystery on who it could be.
"Right so your I'd acts like a key card too so you'll need to have it on you at all times." She says motioning towards the little card reader next to the door.
"I can't thank you enough for all your help. I really appreciate it," he says, scanning his card, "oh and I didn't even catch your name?" He adds turning to face her again.
"Oh I'm Lucina, and you are very welcome" she says.
"Cloud Strife, it was actually a pleasure to meet you" he says while they shook hands. "Hey, maybe you could give me a tour sometime? You seem to know your way around, if you don't mind that is. Plus you are actually quite normal compared to the others." He says while she chuckled to herself.
"I know what you mean, and I wouldn't mind giving you a tour" she says while he nods before disappearing into his room.
"Hmm, interesting fellow" she thought to herself as she walked back to her room. She looked down at her book titled 'angel lore' while looking in thought. "He definitely ain't a regular '' she whispered to herself. As she entered her room she saw Pittoo in deep concentration, he leaned forward and gripped his controller tightly. She just tossed her book on the bed and headed back out. Marth did say he wanted a word with her in an hour and it has been roughly an hour since then.
"What an afternoon huh?" She heard someone behind her snapping her out of her thoughts. She turns to see Dark Link sitting on the steps of the stairs she was passing.
"Uh, yeah…" She said, confused looking around her to make sure it was indeed her he was addressing.
"Where are you off to that had you so clueless of your surroundings?" He says while smirking.
"Huh?" She asked.
"I've already passed you twice now and you didn't even notice" he informs her.
"Oh well I actually don't know, however Marth said he needed to speak to me about a very urgent matter." She says while he gets up.
"Ooooh sounds serious," he said, waving his arms around.
"Well I think I disappointed him earlier with a charade Dark Pit and I pulled." She admits.
"I heard about the giant middle finger you two practically gave Peach." He says now with a grin, "and I must say nice touch!" He adds while holding up an ok with his hands.
"Right well I better go before I get into more trouble" she says and begins to speed off.
"Would you like some company?" He calls out, making her freeze in place.
"What?" She said turning around.
"I'll accompany you there" he said, shrugging his shoulders with his hands in his pockets.
"That's fine, and I mean why would you want to?" She says while he just shrugged again.
"Eh Dark Pit locked himself in today and DTL went out into town with his partner." He begins, "besides from what Dark Pit told me you sound like a fun person to hang around!" He states and gave her a warm smile that actually felt genuine.
"I don't know about that, I've never been known as a 'fun' person to be honest." She responds.
"Well I'd say whoever thinks that never got to really know you, and I feel like I really misjudged you with our first encounter." He added while they approached the rec room.
"Well I'll be back in a bit" she tells him and heads in. He just hummed to himself and watched her take a seat across from Marth on a table in the back next to the window. He grinned to himself again before walking off down the hall.
"Before we begin I just want to apologize for any nuisance I may have caused for you." She quickly begins while Marth just handed her a large binder.
"This is nothing of the sorts" he assured her, "I'm not here to scold you I'm actually here to offer you an out." He begins and flips open the binder to a sheet of blue paper with a highlighted clause. "Article 13 of our charter states and I quote "participants of the tournament who cannot cope despite outside interference must be removed from one another. Furthermore should these individuals be partnered up due to an abundance of participants, the Elite Six should only require four of the six members to vote to reassign the troubled pair.' So there it is." He finished while she sat in silence reading over the highlighted text again.
"I… Don't know what to say…" She breathed out, there were a million thoughts racing through her head at that moment.
"Think about it, Peach would no longer be an issue and I can get Dark Pit off your back forever." He says turning the page over and seeing a reassignment sheet with his and Link's signature. "Link and I agreed this is the best course when Link discovered this information. We could easily sway Samus and Zelda for their vote and since Master Hand is all about going by the book he'll have to-"
"No"
"Excuse me?"
"No" she repeats firmly.
"Lucina I don't think you realize what you are doing here, if you refuse you'll just end up back in an endless loop. And I meant it when I said you'd still have to mandatorily meet with Peach again." He states and crossed his arms but she shook her head.
"No I don't need this" she said sternly sliding back the binder towards him.
"Lucina we can't go on like this anymore, you both just cause too many problems for the rest of us!" He says frustratingly.
"Well have you ever stopped to think that maybe we are not the problem? If everyone would mind their own business and leave us alone there wouldn't be so many problems, ever think of that?" She flat out retorts.
"That is preposterous, you both-"
"No it's not! I can handle myself pretty well. Why can't anyone see that? What kind of warrior would I be if I couldn't even handle a moody manchild. And on top of that all of you looking down on us don't know him like I do, don't think I don't know about the looks you give him." She says but he stays silent for a moment. She just scoffed and got up and began heading out.
"Lucina!" He calls out getting up from his seat, "LUCINA!" he shouts but she is out the door.
She pondered on what just happened as she stormed to her room. Did she really just defend Dark Pit? Dark Pit who wouldn't show the slightest bit of courtesy to anyone. But she knew she made the right call, they had their downs but when it came right down to it they actually made a pretty good duo. And lately they have both felt that it was pressure from the outside that had been tarnishing their relationship. As she rounds the corner getting out her keycard she sees Dark Pit coming down the corridor from the opposite way.
"Where were you?" He asked while she unlocked the door.
"Marth just wanted to show me something but it was just a waste of time, '' she said, pushing open the door. "And where are you coming from?" She said, setting her things down the dresser.
"I went to go look for Dark Link so he can give me the game I lent him back since I beat this one" he said.
"Yeah well I need a nap" she said, throwing herself in bed and hiding under the covers. Dark Pit just headed over to his bed and took out his phone placing some earbuds in and blasting music on them drowning out all other sounds.
*meanwhile...*
Marth placed his id on the palm of a statue that then scanned his card. Its eyes turn blue and it slides into the ground revealing a secret room inside. Marth takes a deep breath before he enters the room. It was small and dark with one large overhead lamp sitting in the middle. There was a large marble table in the middle where Link, Zelda and Samus sat conversing with each other. As soon as Marth stepped in they all turned to face him and stood from their seats.
"Ah he's back, well Zelda and Samus have decided to side with our case." Link begins while motioning to the hylian princess to his side. "They will sign the reassignment form" he finished while Marth placed his binder down and leaned on the table.
"She declined our offer…" Marth breathed out.
"She did what?!" Link exclaimed.
"She must have her reasons," Zelda said sternly while placing her hand on Link's shoulder.
"Well she believes everything can work out fine if we stop pushing them." Marth said, taking a seat.
"Well the hell with what they think when has this stopped us before?" Link said while looking around for support.
"Why are you so invested in this?" Samus spoke up eyeing Link.
"I took significant time out of my day for this only to find out they backed out, it's like what the hell? I could've gone bowling with Pit!" Link responded while flailing his arms.
"No point in fussing about it," Zelda said.
"So he refused as well?" Marth asked while looking up at Link.
"He practically told us to take our form and shove it," Link said, crossing his arms. "My statement still stands the hell with them. We got our signatures, we're set." Link said waving the paper around.
"Yeah but you forgot the sub clause which states our signatures are completely void if said partners don't agree to the split." Samus states while Link just throws the papers into the air.
"There is also sub clause two which states that if any party fails to come to a solid conclusion Master Hand himself can make the final decision." Zelda adds while Link snapped his fingers.
"Well there we go let's just take all this to him, problem solved!" Link said but Samus held up her hand.
"No, we're not going to go crying to Master Hand over such a futile matter." Samus said then turned to Marth, "however if they continue to make our jobs harder I'll make sure to return the favor and make them just as if not more miserable." Samus warned before she picked up her helmet and left the room.
"It's settled then, by next week we should get a progress report from Peach. Till then let's focus on the flock of guests that are due to arrive tomorrow." Zelda said and they all nod and head out the door.
As soon as they exited the statue rose from the ground again concealing their meeting room. Link eventually split from the other two who were busy conversing about the guests. As soon as he was clear of anyone he flickers a bit before the image of Link is replaced by Dark Link. He slams his fist against the wall while gritting his teeth. "Those idiots!" He exclaimed before heading out the mansion into the woods eventually coming across a run down wooden shack. He takes out a key and opens the door letting the sunlight pour into the pitch black shack. There was a staircase leading into a stone cellar. He walks down, taking out Link's id and throwing it into a dark corner. "Well that was useless, I have to say you're becoming more useless by the second" He said with a huff. Some shuffling came from the corner and a figure slowly scooted into the light. It was Link himself who looked worn out and dirty, his arms and legs were bound and he was gagged. He gave Dark Link a look and the dark hylian chuckled to himself. "All this has me stressed out so I came for a little stress reliever" He says cracking his knuckles. Link tried to shout but the gag muffled it so it was drowned out, and it was quickly followed by the sound of heavy blows being dealt...
*later that day*
"Alright everyone settle down I know we are all excited," MH began as he stood at the front of their vast auditorium. "As we all know tomorrow the visitors will arrive and will be staying with us the whole weekend. So family and friends can get an exclusive experience into smash life. However beware if anything happens occurring with your guest it will be on your head, and this is your first and only warning." He says while glaring at everyone before he clears his throat to continue. "And most important of all NO pets or otherworldly possessions that can upset the balance" he says wagging his finger about at everyone.
"Get to the point!" Someone in the crowd shouted.
"Ok just because we will have visitors it doesn't mean the rules are out the window, ROY!" MH retorts and the redhead throws up his hands in confusion. "You know what you did, no need to bring up the great landmine incident of melee." MH says while Roy sunk in his seat smiling sheepishly. "And don't get me started on the great firecracker scare of brawl, Toon Link." He said, giving a hard stare to the cartoon hero.
"If we're not meant to blow stuff up with them then why were they so fun!?" Toon protested.
"Alright that is it! pamphlets about the events set for the weekend have been handed out already so be sure to read up, and remember I got my eyes on you!" He said pointing two fingers at himself and then the crowd. With that he disappeared and everyone stood and slowly piled out the room.
"Why wasn't Cloud here?" Raven asked with a pout.
"Something about him being with the Six about them making a special arrangement for him to bring a guest." Lucina tells her and Raven then cocks her head to the side.
"How do you know this?" She asked the bluenette.
"He told me" she said before the reality of what she just did hit her. Now Raven knows she is acquainted with Cloud.
"The next time you see that man you'll tell me right?" Raven asked very sternly while getting uncomfortably close.
"Um, sure…" Lucina said with a nervous laugh.
"Good!" Raven said before walking away, "he can't avoid me forever!" She proclaims jotting something down in her book.
"This is all pointless crap anyway!" Pittoo said while they walked down the hall. He crushed the little pamphlet in his hand and tossed it aside.
"It's ok to admit that you're just mad because you're feeling left out of the festivities" she said ruffling his hair.
"I could give less of a rat's furry ass about festivities" he said, pushing her arm away.
"If it's any consolation you may join me at the festivities so you don't just sit in your room and mope." She tells him but he shrugs her off.
"So you want me to join you, for your whole weekend of 'mommy and me' funtime?" He said sarcastically, "pfft nah I'll pass." He waved her off.
"Well I mean it's better than the alternative, being stuck with Pit and Palutena all weekend having them drive you crazy." She insisted as she swiped her card to unlock their room.
"Ok fair point" he sighed and immediately and carelessly kicked off his shoes.
"As long as your mother is nothing like you we'll be fine, I mean being coped up with you all day is bad enough. But now it's going to be you and the woman who birthed you." He said throwing himself in his bed face first.
"She's… something else I'll tell you that" Lucina said while sitting on her bed.
"Well I'm turning in. I'm going to need all the energy I can tomorrow to handle the load of bullshit coming our way." He said while turning to his side and facing the wall.
"You're over exaggerating, '' she tells him while slowly shaking her head before shutting off the light and settling into her bed. She would be lying if she said she wasn't a tad bit nervous, it has been almost a year and a half since she's last seen her family. And with Robin having invited her father both her Parents will be present tomorrow. It is probably going to be hectic and something will go wrong, she could just feel it, something always goes wrong.
The next morning…
A loud alarm blasted through the mansion very early the next morning before the speakers came on. "Those of you with guests coming report to the cafeteria!" MH said before it went quiet again.
"Did he really have to go making all the damn noise?!" Pittoo exclaimed before placing his head under the pillow.
"Oh just go back to sleep!" She tells him and splashes water on her face to try and wake up. She grabs her id card and heads out the door heading to the cafeteria. Once there she spots a few other smashers who looked dazed and tired. It was very early and a few of them weren't exactly the early bird type.
"Remember to hand these over to your guest immediately after they arrive, they must have it with them at all times otherwise we will find ourselves in a very difficult situation." Master Hand rambled on while the Six handed out the guests id for all access a normal participant would have.
"Here you go Lucina, your guest is Sumia right?" Marth said, sliding over an ID to her.
"Yes that's her, thank you" she responds while looking it over, it looked almost identical to hers except there was guest sprawled in big red letters on top.
"And Raven here you go your guest is Lissa?" Marth asked while sliding over and id to the tactician.
"Yes Sir" she said, taking it into her hands.
"Alright I'll personally be in charge of the portal to our dimension so after Master Hand dismisses us come find me." He said before walking off.
"I get everyone is excited but-" Raven began and took a quick pause to yawn. "-but did we really have to begin this early?" She said while placing her head down on the table.
"Well we want this to go smoothly don't we?" Lucina said while Raven just groaned.
"I guess" she responds followed by another yawn.
"Didn't you go to sleep early? It was specifically requested to those who invited guests" Lucina said while Raven groaned as she sat up again.
"I tried Lucy I tried…" she began while rubbing her tired eyes. "But Shulk kept me up all night going on and on about his girlfriend or wife I can't remember…" Raven stated while sliding her hands down her face. Lucina turned to find Shulk leaned backwards in his booth completely out.
"I didn't have that problem surprisingly" Lucina thought aloud, it was just like Dark Pit trying to keep her up out of spite. However, aside from fighting, sleep was one of the things Pittoo actually enjoyed. He would've even slept in and missed important events if it wasn't for her.
"Lucky you…" Raven breathed out slamming her head on the table.
"Coffee?" Rosalina asked while setting down a large pot.
"Yes please!" Raven said, lifting up her head and taking a cup.
"I'm fine thanks, '' Lucina said while Rosa nodded and moved on to the next half awake group. Raven downed the beverage without adding anything to it, while Lucina stared with wide eyes as she downed the pure black coffee. She then sets the cup down and shakes her head while making a face.
"Alright enough dilly dallying around it's about time the guests start to pour in, places people places!" MH shouts while clapping his hands.
"Come on Raven it's time" Lucina said, dragging along the dazed tactician.
"Shulk, wake up, you're missing everything!" Ike says while slapping the monado wielder silly.
Lucina then heads over to Marth who has a small crowd with him. He was looking over a clipboard and checking his list with the crowd. "Alright everyone with a blue slip follow me!" He says raising his hand up while holding a blue slip himself. They head outside to the front, the sky was a dark blue with a thin orange line outlining the horizon. There were a few portals lined up and Marth instructed who waited by what portal.
"Lucina, Robin, your guest will come through here" he said, motioning towards the last portal and marking something down on his clipboard. He moves on shortly after leaving Lucina and Robin in awkward silence. When was the last time she spoke to him, was it good or bad? She couldn't quite recall, she turned slightly to face him and he met her gaze. They both kinda smiled awkwardly at each other and looked away. As he turned his head she noticed the bandage on his neck and she got embarrassed again. Of course! How can she forget, the last interaction they ever had she savagely attacked him.
"I-I'm sorry" she murmured.
"Pardon?" He said, turning towards her.
"I'm sorry for the… Um you know…" She said awkwardly while pointing at her neck.
"Oh think nothing of it you weren't yourself" he said. Somehow she didn't like his answer, but why? He said he was fine with it so what's the problem? The look in his eyes, that look in his eyes said everything. She knew being angry with him was pointless since she was the one who attacked him after all.
"You don't have to be so modest just say what you mean" she mumbled.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He said while raising an eyebrow.
"You know what I mean!" She retorts, jabbing a finger on his chest, "and guess what nobody told you to stick your nose where it didn't belong!" She said, turning her back to him.
"Why are you so hostile? I swear you get more violent with each passing day." He remarked while shaking his head.
"And you become more of an ass," she fired back quickly.
"Maybe he was right, you are under a very bad influence" Robin thought aloud.
"Oh there we go, don't go dragging my partner into this he's done nothing wrong!" Lucina says while Robin scoffs at her.
"You're defending him" he began while pointing at the mansion. "Really? Him?" Robin retorts.
"Well maybe if you weren't so quick to judge you'd truly understand him and see how much he is misjudged." She said but he chuckled at her.
"I see you're also delusional now" he remarked.
"The only one here delusional is you, you and your stupid face!" She said, giving him a hard shove.
"Well let's see here, who is the one yelling and causing a scene and more importantly getting physical?" He said while she noticed they were drawing attention. She just spat at him and walked away while he sighed. "Oh right, real mature!" He says while taking out a handkerchief and wiping off his shoes.
Just then the portals started to flash and flicker and two silhouettes began to form. This was it, they were finally here after a week of anticipation. After a while the flash stops and standing before them were Chrom and Sumia in the flesh. "Lucy!" Sumia squealed and rushed over to the bluenette embracing her in a big hug.
"Chrom" Robin said while giving him a nod and extending his hands.
"Come now Robin," Chrom said, giving the tactician a big hug.
"Robin, it's been so long since we've seen both of you!" Sumia said while joining Chrom and sandwiching in the tactician.
"Don't think I forgot about you!" Chrom said while picking Lucina up and twirling her around like a kid while they both laughed.
"Wow look at the size of this place!" Sumia said with a sudden gasp. "I think it might be bigger than the castle back home!" She added while looking the mansion over.
"Believe it or not it's much bigger on the inside" Robin said while Chrom whistled just as the sun started to peek over the horizon.
"Oh what a beautiful morning!" Sumia said as the mansion seemed to glow with the rays of the sun.
"You've actually come at a good time, it's been really cold and snowy lately but I think the weather is finally letting up." Lucina said.
"Well aren't you two going to give us the grand tour?" Chrom asked while Robin suddenly jumped.
"Oh that reminds me, you'll be needing these just so there isn't any confusion." Robin said while handing Chrom his guest id.
"And here's yours, mother." Lucina said, taking out the id and handing it to Sumia.
"Yes, those also double as keys to the rooms, and also keep you from being flagged as an intruder." Robin explained.
"Wow, keys sure have come a long way!" Sumia said while flicking her card.
"Well we best head inside there will be an introduction speech given at the auditorium by Master Hand." Robin said motioning towards the mansion with his head. He and Chrom walk ahead with Lucina and Sumia following behind.
"So how's your new life treating you?" Sumia asked while putting an arm around Lucina and leaning her head on her shoulder.
"Well it was rough at first. I had to make a lot of adjustments" Lucina admits.
"I'm so glad you asked me to come, it hasn't been the same at home without my two babies." Sumia said while pinching Lucina's cheek.
"Speaking of which, how is Cynthia doing?" Lucina asked while Sumia sighed.
"The usual, driving your father crazy, and trying to aspire to make great things for herself and others." Her mother said.
"Sounds about right," Lucina chuckled along with her.
"Ah Tails you- AHHH!" Sonic exclaimed while standing in front of a portal, only to find Amy Rose coming through.
"You think you can escape me? Think again you little turd!" She said while putting her arm around him tightly practically strangling the poor hedgehog. "Yeah Tails told me about your invitation but due to circumstances I came instead!" She tells him while he flails in her hold.
"Peppy!" Falco said, patting the old rabbit on the back.
"Ah Falco, it's great to see you again, and it's great to see this fascinating place again." He replied while placing his hands behind his back while taking in the sights.
"And how have you-" Fox began before he choked on his words.
"For me? You shouldn't have!" Wolf said, taking the rose Fox held up with a toothy grin.
"Wha… What…" Fox stammered.
"Oh yeah jr got sick so my old pal and team member asked me to come in her place!" Wolf said looking smugly.
"Where's Slippy?" Falco asked, "Why didn't he come?" He adds.
"You mean the guy taking care of hundreds of kids?" Wolf said with a smirk. "I'm all you got!" Wolf said holding out his arms, "besides I know my way around here already and your old lady asked me to look after her little foxy." He said, grabbing Fox in a hold. "Now I want to see who's the chum Master Hand sent in to replace me?" He said with a wide grin. "Who's the new rival that's the talk of the town?" He says letting go of Fox who dropped to the floor.
"That would be Dark Pit" Falco said while rubbing his chin in thought.
"Pah, Dark Pit, how original!" Wolf remarked. "Well boys, let's go make our entrance!" He said, grabbing the still stunned Fox and heading towards the mansion…
Alrighty Bs and Gs that concludes this chap, review if you wish. Also I think I may have catched up with all the requests I've gotten. If I've missed yours let me know in any way, shape or form… Just don't cause a wildfire that'll be on national news… NOODLES!
Next Chapter: Yesteryear…