Fox stepped outside the complex and was met with a bitingly cold wind that cut through his fur.

"Oh, to hell with this," he muttered. He hadn't known it was going to be so chilly today. Despite the clear skies, the sun wasn't providing much warmth.

He stumped back inside. The complex was quiet. Most champions had gone out to the stadium for the fights today. Each step he took up the stairs echoed softly up and down the stairwell. He returned to his room to grab a heavy jacket and walked back down. While he was in the hall heading toward the front door, Zelda opened it up.

She looked more exhausted than she had ever been. The shadows under her eyes were a permanent feature now, and she looked paler than usual. She didn't seem to notice Fox until they were right next to each other.

"What're you doing back here?" Fox asked offhandedly.

"Just needed to retrieve something from Hand's office," she said. Her voice lacked the strength he was used to hearing, and she walked passed him without making eye contact.

Fox turned around. "Hey, are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah…I'm fine. It's not too big a deal-."

"You look terrible."

Zelda paused just as she was reaching the next set of doors, her hand resting against its frame. She looked down at her feet. Fox worried she might collapse right there.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude."

"No, it's fine. You're the first to just come out and say something about it." Fox felt bad about being the one to out her on how she looked, but she seemed happy that someone had at least noticed. "It feels like I've been drowning for months."

"How are we looking?"

"Not as bad as I look, thankfully. Whatever magic we caught with Leaf's story is working, but…"

"But those board members leaving," said Fox.

Zelda nodded. "It took a toll on Hand's morale, I think. He's usually always thinking of something that we can try, but the past few days he's just been trapped in his head. I'm worried there's something else he knows about that he's not telling me."

"Well, he is the boss, there are probably plenty of things he doesn't tell us."

"Is this really the time for keeping secrets, though?" Zelda asked. She looked at Fox with those exhausted eyes that made him feel a great deal of sympathy for her, but still…

"I don't think any of us can really expect to have a better grip on the situation than him. Half a year ago we didn't know a thing about ratings or viewer demographics and all that other stuff. He's been guiding this ship for a long time on his own."

"And when it gets to be too much even for him? Do we just go down with the ship?"

Fox folded his arms. "You haven't done a ton of on-field grunt work before, have you?"

It was a pretty brutal analysis of Zelda's character, but an honest one, honest enough that she could let it slide and answer, "No. I'm usually the one leading. That's why I offered help to begin with."

"It's our job to make things as easy as possible for the leader to do theirs. If they fail, well, that's why people are picky on who they choose to lead them." Zelda looked off to the side and deflated a little. "That probably wasn't the answer you wanted, was it?"

"No," she said with a little laugh, "but…I'd be lying if I said it didn't put my mind at ease some. I've been wanting to micromanage this thing from the beginning, acting like its failure would be my failure. I guess it's a bit of a relief to know that I can only do so much." She looked back at him. "Thanks, really. I know I give you crap all the time, but you are one of the Big Eight for a reason."

"Careful, or you're going to inflate my ego," said Fox.

"Yeah, whatever. That's the second time this week I've had to compliment people against my will. Are you headed to the stadium?"

"Uh, not quite. I've got a few ideas of my own that I need some information on."

"Oh? I didn't realize you had been working on something also."

"Not until after I had settled things with Lucina. It's been easier having that out of the way to focus on the more important stuff."

Zelda raised an eyebrow at the mention of Lucina, but she didn't pester him about it. "Well, good luck. We all need it."

"Yeah, you too."

He went back out into the cold and got on the shuttle as if he were going to the stadium. When he got off, though, he made for the private bar.

Inside, there was a strong autumn ambiance with orange-tinted lights, fake leaves, and a faint scent of marshmallows.

"Someone's a fan of the season," Fox muttered. He found a familiar body at the bar and hopped into the seat next to him.

"Oh? Has the ringleader of the dramatic duo come to pay me a visit?"

"Don't tell me you read Kaitlin's little piece on us as well."

"A lot of people read that 'little piece'."

Scrib gave Fox a knowing look before starting to chuckle. "So, have you two managed to sort things out? I'm sure there are a lot of people around here that would like to know that as well." He glanced back at the handful of other high-profile visitors who were in attendance that day. Most of them hadn't given Fox the slightest bit of attention when he entered.

"You're beginning to sound like Bowser," said Fox. "Are you secretly placing bets on us as well?"

"Do you really think if I placed a bet against you and won I would stay quiet about it?"

"Okay, yeah, you're right."

Scrib ordered Fox a drink. As Fox thanked him and took it, he turned to face him. "So, what do you need from me?"

"How did you know?" Fox asked.

"You only ever come in here after fights, not before. With all that's going on, I assume there's some reason you changed up your rhythm."

Fox put down the drink. He did need something from Scrib, but he was so lost on what that was that he didn't know how to word the question. "Something you said the last time I was in here," he started.

"Just after you and Lucina got cooked?" Scrib poked.

"Yeah, then," Fox said, waving the painful memory aside. "You mentioned something about characters in your writing."

Scrib sat up a little in his chair, and his tiny eyes widened some. "Yes, I was explaining why characters are important."

"Can you explain that some more?"

Scrib turned back to the table, folded his hands, and looked off into the distance for a moment. "Characters, they're how people get to experience the world you created. It doesn't matter how well-constructed your world is, without characters, there's no way for a reader to actually live in it. They bring life into the story, and different characters are like different lenses for your readers. One character might view the world as just and noble, while another thinks it's corrupt and unfair. It's the same world, but with characters, you can show it in many different lights. Readers can get really invested if there is a particular "lens" per se that they can relate to, someone who sees the world you've created in a way they would have seen it. Give someone a character they can relate to and build an interesting story around them, and you've got someone willing to read your story."

Scrib resumed drinking while Fox tried to digest everything he just said. It felt like a lot of abstract absurdity, but he had done a good job of making it understandable.

"So characters are a way someone experiences something that isn't real?"

"Not real to them," Scrib added pointedly. "It can still be something very real, just not something the reader can experience for themselves. For example, historical fiction. The events are very real, but the reader has no way of experiencing that without a character to live them for them. Even in autobiographies and other non-fiction, people are still experiencing events through the real-life characters of people that lived through them."

Gears were grinding in Fox's head. "But isn't world-building just as important? You've brought up several times in years past how long you spend crafting little details about whatever your series is about."

"Of course. Both the world and the characters are equally important, but what makes the story work is how the characters live in that world."

"So, I get the world stuff to an extent, but how do you write good characters?"

Scrib coughed on his drink.

"Oh c'mon, you can just say it's something simple without being melodramatic about it."

"It's the fact that it is very much not simple," Scrib laughed. "There's an entire field of study in writing dedicated to answering that question. Characters are, by far, the most complex part of a story, and it's good that they should be. People are, after all, very complex beings, and the more you learn about them, the more complicated they get. If you go into a story without considering the multitude of facets there are to creating one, your characters will come across as flat or robotic."

Fox's shoulders slumped. "So, you can't even give a broad overview?"

Scrib tilted his head, looking around the room while wracking his brain. "Everything your character does need to be affected by the world and needs to affect the world. Every word that comes out of their mouth needs to have a reason for being spoken, some kind of goal, or motivation. After all, people don't just start talking for no good reason. Communication is a result of people wanting or giving something. Then there's what a character does, how it affects their surroundings, how it contributes to their goals, and what the effect on the world is. Of course, this is just glossing over the fact that characters in general need goals to provoke any kind of action. No one does anything without having some kind of end result in mind, and…ah…" Scrib noticed Fox's eyes were getting wider and wider and he had begun scratching his head. "This is probably a bit much for someone who hasn't so much as dipped their toes in creative writing. Sorry, I let myself get carried away there!"

"I feel like I could understand it," said Fox, "but when there's so much to take into account, how do you handle so many variables at once?"

Scrib shrugged. "How do you manage to fly your aircraft through the core of an imploding planet while getting shot at and not get blown up?"

"Well, in that extreme example, luck, but for most situations, I've experienced just about every possible air combat scenario possible. Even if every mission contains a new challenge, I've at least seen something similar to it and can adapt."

"Well there's your answer," said Scrib.

"What's that?"

"Read."

Fox stared at him for a few seconds. "If this has all been some elaborate ploy to get me to read your book-."

"I swear, it's not!" Scrib laughed. "I'm being completely straight with you here. If you want to learn how to create good characters, you need to read. Reading is like training experience for writers. You can see how others used their unique characters in their unique worlds. Then, when it comes time to write your own characters, you can draw on past experiences to handle all kinds of situations they get thrown into."

Fox sighed and put his head on the table. Scrib was still making sense to him, somehow, but he wasn't too fond of any of the information.

"Why have you taken such an interest in character writing, anyway? Just a few weeks ago you couldn't care less about fiction, let alone want the details on how to write compelling characters."

"I was wondering if there was a way Lucina and I could be characters in our fights. You said people liked characters, and after Leaf's whole thing with the fans cheering for her, it just got me thinking." When he didn't get a response, he looked back up at Scrib. He was giving Fox a shrewd look. "You think I'm being naive about this, don't you?"

"No," said Scrib, "that's actually the best idea I've heard of in a long time."

"You think?"

"Yes, and in fact, it might be a great idea for the problems you guys are having. Now that you mention it, I never actually read that article about Leaf. Would you happen to have a link for it?"

"You read an off piece by Kaitlin slamming me and Lucina, but you didn't bother to read the top story that's come out on any champion this year?" Fox got out his phone to send the article of Leaf done by the dual reporters to Scrib.

"I always read Kaitlin's work. She's rather talented, you know. Now, let's see. Ah yes, got it, thank you."

Scrib began reading in earnest, and within a minute he was smiling.

"What is it?" Fox asked.

"These girls are good," he said with a soft laugh. "No wonder they're such a force in their field. A 'fiery marshmallow'. That's so absurd, yet they make it work so well. But it's not just the nickname, although that certainly gave readers something easy to recall when talking about it with their friends. You see, they didn't just do a basic profile of Leaf. They turned her into a character. She's not just some fighter on the field anymore, she's now their "lens" into the world of the champions."

"Hold on," said Fox, "say that last part again."

"Hm? I said these girls have made Leaf the audience's "lens" into the world of the champions."

Now the gears in Fox's head were morphing into a fully functioning machine. "That…is an idea," he muttered to himself.

"If that's what you're hoping to do with Lucina, I certainly could help-."

"I need your book. Preferably the first one from the series."

Fox wasn't sure what it was with him and blurting out things like that when people least expected it, but it was the only way he knew how to deal with awkward encounters. Not long ago he had done the same with Lucina, and now it was Scrib looking at him with shock and trying to string together a few words.

"Never thought I'd see the day…" he breathed.

"I can't say when I'll actually get around to reading it, or if I'll even be able to finish it, but I haven't contributed any good ideas in months. If I'm a member of the Big Eight, I can suck up reading a single book if it'll help us out in the long run."

Scrib didn't have a response. He just slowly reached into his bag, not taking his eyes off Fox for fear he might vanish if he did, and retrieved the book he had asked for. It was hardback and in brand-new condition. Fox accepted it as if he were being handed a block of glass.

"It's heavier than I expected," Fox said. He opened it and the fresh cracking of the binding startled him. "I didn't mess it up, did I?"

Scrib busted out laughing. "Have you not handled a single physical book in your life?"

"It's not like Corneria is loaded with musty libraries like Marth is always talking about," Fox grumbled. "All of our stuff is digital."

"Your friend Kaitlin seems to handle paper just fine."

"Speaking of news," said Fox.

"Ah, yes that," said Scrib, ordering another round.

The news from Laurissa about two board members bailing on the company broke just a few days ago, and nerves were reaching an all-time high at the complex despite the marked success of Leaf's recent match ratings.

"You actually own shares in the company, quite a few. Surely you'd have an opinion."

"I don't own nearly as many as those on the board," said Scrib. "I own enough to get my complimentary access, not to make money. Their value could go to zero for all I care so long as I can still hang out here and meet champions."

"Have you ever thought of trying to buy more so you can be on the board? I know you've got plenty of funds from your writing."

Scrib shrugged. "Even when those two board members resigned, I was only able to scrape up a handful of their sold shares."

"Wait, someone bought all the shares the two board members sold off?"

"I guess their shareholder agreements are set up so that if one of them resigns, then a certain percentage of their shares must be sold back to the remaining members. It makes it difficult to buy your way in unless you've got the money and the connections."

"Huh…"

"Anyway, Mr. Big Eight, you should head upstairs and get with everyone else. You gotta be present and lead by example, don't you?"

"Are you kicking me out?" Fox asked.

"No, but I'm an absolute bore to have a watch party with, and this little screen isn't the same as being in the club box."

"Alright, suit yourself. Thanks, by the way," he added holding up the book.

"Oh, believe me, it's my pleasure."

Fox took the restricted path out of the private bar and all the way into the back of the stadium where he could make his way straight to the club box without going through any traffic. Inside, the place was packed. Ever since Zelda had been making a note of the crowd's reaction to every match to gauge their standing, and especially after the incredible atmosphere around Leaf's fight with Incineroar, there was a much higher rate of attendance amongst the champions.

Over in his unofficial gambling seat, Bowser was leaning over to Leaf, giving her information on the champions currently fighting. With a few fights, a win, and months of training now under her belt, Leaf was far more apt at understanding what Bowser was saying, and was adding valuable questions of her own to the instruction.

Ike was duking it out against October out on the field. Ike had a significant advantage with his huge sword, but October could make use of some very obnoxious projectile weapons that he had to keep dodging. Fox remembered one clocking him upside the head for the first time, an unpleasant shock when he realized how fast they moved.

"With that speed, I should just stick with Squirtle and dive in, right? He's not very fast," said Leaf.

"It's deceptive. You don't need to swing a sword that big to get a lot of utility out of it. He might be slow to attack, but you have to close down a much larger distance in that time."

Both fighters were aware of this. October kept trying to attack after landing a hit with a projectile, but Ike's huge range with his golden blade was forcing her to bail at the last instant and narrowly avoid being punted off the field. She had already bit off more than she could chew at the beginning of the match and was sent careening across the out-of-bounds line near where the top and side boundaries met.

"He's good," was all Leaf could mutter at some point. October was experienced, but Ike had been a member at the complex for a while longer. He was comfortably moving around the field with his heavy sword, using its weight and momentum to slide around her attacks in a dance-like motion.

WHAM!

The sword found its mark again, and October was tossed out of bounds.

"Experience," Bowser said. "Remember that Link trains against him without his shield, just to show you how much further ahead those eight are from most."

"I what now?"

Link had been close to falling asleep in his chair and was stirred awake by the mention of his name.

"Classy," Corra scoffed next to him.

"All that beauty sleep each night and you're still tired?" said Bowser. "How much can you sleep?"

"You have no idea," Link grumbled.

"So," said Leaf, folding her arms and looking up at Bowser, "where do you think you place among all the champions?"

"I wouldn't assume I know exactly-."

"Tenth," Link tossed casually. Bowser shot him an annoyed look.

Leaf looked around, perplexed. "Wait, is that like an official ranking or…?"

"We argue over it every couple of months between most of the Big Eight."

"And by 'most of' you mean you, Fox, DK, and Samus," said Bowser.

"Last time we brought it up was the end of the summer. We said Mario, DK, Pikachu, me, Fox, Samus, Zelda, Kirby, Marth, Bowser, Yoshi, and Cap for the top twelve."

"You're above one of the Big Eight?" Leaf said to Bowser, looking impressed.

"Very unofficial," Bowser clarified. "If I were betting, I wouldn't use their rankings as anything foolproof. Anyone in that list can beat anyone else, except maybe the top three."

"If we were to remake it right now, I'd probably put Kirby and Marth above me, Fox, Samus, and Zelda. Yoshi would also move back up some now that they're not in that rut from the summer."

Fox sat down by Link. "Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence."

Link shrugged. "It's just two spots, but we haven't been performing as well as Kirby and Marth recently. Even Bowser could take us all on."

"I have always been able to take you all on," Bowser sniped.

"Uh-huh, tell us that after you fight Samus," said Link.

"I'm far more cautious fighting someone intelligent like her than you two morons."

Link was very awake now and looked ready to fight Bowser right there, but Fox yanked him back down. "Simmer down, ya hot head," he said.

Leaf turned back to Bowser once Fox and Link had gone back to being preoccupied with the match. "If you're ranked that high, you must do a ton of training."

"Like I said, don't put too much stock into those stupid rankings of theirs. When you get up towards the top, it's more important who counters who rather than who might be better than everyone else. I'd actually bet on Fox over Mario if they fought right now, but at the same time, I would also take Marth over Fox. Also, everyone does a ton of training. You've seen the place during the week."

"But to be that good has to take a ton of consistent training and always being on top of your game. Are you sure I'm not getting in your way with how much time you spend with me?"

Bowser looked down at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're spending an hour or two with me every day. Isn't that making it hard for you to get more important things done? I know Zelda has been nonstop trying to work on-."

"Watch the match," Bowser cut her off.

"Oh…okay," said Leaf. She lowered her eyes sheepishly and turned her focus back to the arena. She hoped she hadn't just insulted Bowser somehow, but after finally getting her feet under her, she didn't want to be wasting Bowser's time when some serious things were going on.

Meanwhile, Ike began to run away with the match.

"Whatever she's trying to probe his defenses with, it ain't working," said Fox.

"She's trying to knock him off balance with a projectile and then rush in. I do it a lot, but she just doesn't have the execution down," said Link. "There's too much time between when she unbalances him and when she tries to attack, and Ike is smart enough to know when he has enough time to punish her."

Ike won the first set comfortably, three to one. He didn't even look that fazed about it.

"What do you mean execution?" Fox asked. "Is there a plan she's not following correctly?"

"No, it's more like, she hasn't done it enough to be able to anticipate all the unpredictable variables. You know how when you practice a move so many times, you can eventually perform it even when something goes wrong? That's what she's not doing. It's like there's a set list of reactions she's expecting Ike to make, and if his actual reaction doesn't match any on the list she's prepared for, she gets lost."

"So, it's experience," said Fox. This was sounding a lot like another conversation he just had.

"Experience with that strategy, at least. I guess it's something new she's trying."

Leaf was hanging onto every word they were saying. Many of the champions liked to poke fun at each other's intelligence, and these two were by far no exception, but it was undeniable that they were highly experienced fighters. Some of the best teachings she had received here outside of Bowser's were just listening to veterans absentmindedly comment on things during a match. She wouldn't have even noticed October's strategy without them talking about it right next to her.

Ike proceeded to win the second set three to one, and the third three to two. October had made the third set much closer by actually landing a few solid hits with her new strategy, but it wasn't enough to finish Ike off.

"I'm surprised she didn't change things up at the end and go back to something more reliable," said Link.

Fox shrugged. "It's not like she's losing anything outside the match, and there isn't a better place to practice if you think about it."

"You, with me."

Leaf's head snapped around. Bowser was rising from his chair to leave the club.

"But you said I shouldn't train today so I could rest-."

"We're not going to train. Just c'mon. We don't have much time."

Leaf hopped out of her chair. She liked doing that since her legs could really launch her from any sitting position as of recent. When she and Bowser left, she expected him to head toward the complex or the training grounds, but instead, he turned to the locker rooms. The path there was a long way through endless staircases sliding just below the stands all the way to underneath the arena, a hell of a workout for anyone wanting to make their way back up instead of leaving the stadium and heading to the bar or the complex.

Just as they reached the bottom, before they were about to turn into the hallway leading to the locker room entrance where Bowser and Zelda had once stood to meet a distraught Leaf after her first loss, Bowser stopped and signaled for Leaf to wait against the wall. For a few minutes, they sat there in silence.

Leaf heard voices from the locker room, bringing her out of her stupor. Bowser motioned to remain still and returned to leaning against the wall with his arms folded and his eyes closed.

There was a distant bang, and the door was thrown open forcefully.

"You just need to practice it more."

Leaf recognized Peach's voice. She hadn't heard ever seen her before in the locker rooms, and she had only seen her fight once.

"It's just too complicated! I don't know what to do half the time, even when it hits!" October's voice was reverberating clearly off the underground walls. This was another new side of a champion Leaf had never known. October was typically all bubbly and just wanted to have fun when she hung out with her.

"Again, you haven't tried it enough to be an expert at it, and Ike is a very strong opponent. I told you this could happen, but you insisted on trying it out this fight."

"Well, Ike is the kind of champion I need to be using it against. If I can't figure out how to use it against him, then I'm just screwed against good fighters who can space me out," she grumbled. There was a distinct kick against the wall.

"Stop acting so helpless," Peach snapped. "The only reason it won't work is if you keep doubting yourself and whining about it. Thinking you're going to master a new technique within a few weeks and beat one of the better champions here with it is ridiculous."

From the shadows, Leaf's eyes widened. This wasn't the same as when Peach was accosting Captain of doing something stupid or immature, like a parent scolding a child. Peach was really giving October a heart-to-heart smack-around.

They all waited for a minute, Bowser and Leaf still hiding just around the corner, while October took a few deep, frustrated breaths to calm herself down.

"You were right to first suggest this strategy, and we can make it work, but you have got to trust yourself beyond a single bad match that you can master it."

"Yeah, you're right," October conceded.

"C'mon. Let's go relax at the complex. I've already got drinks in the fridge ready, and Isabelle, Robin, and Corra said they could stop by."

"What? When did you-?"

"I knew you were screwed the moment you said you were going to try that idea against Ike. I prepared."

October let out a groan and let herself be escorted out one of the other exits towards the shuttle for the complex.

Leaf looked up at Bowser, who still hadn't opened his eyes, but was smiling a little.

"That was…interesting," she said.

"Not something you expected to see, I bet?"

"No. Peach…that was a different side of her. She acts all motherly at the complex, but there, she really filled the role of a trainer."

"But," Leaf looked around the hallway, "why did you bring me to listen to that? Honestly, I feel kinda bad eavesdropping like that…"

Bowser finally pushed himself off the wall and began to head back up the huge line of stairs with Leaf in tow. "Coaching isn't something I do just to be nice. Sure, I give you newbies a break more than I do those losers Fox and Link, but I'm getting something out of this as well. The better the newbies are, the better the rest of us will become."

"Oh, yeah that makes sense."

"Also, there's a lot more you get from being a fighter here than just getting to square off against other legends. You become part of our family here. It's an oversized, obnoxious, hyper-competitive family, but one that will always have your back. So, when you ask if there's something important I could be doing, I say that coaching you is important, and it's how a handful of us contribute to the family. Whether this company exists in a few months or not is irrelevant. After all, you've got your own world you can go back to and keep competing in, and nothing is stopping me from visiting and giving you some more pointers."

Leaf beamed at Bowser, and her mouth dropped open a little. Stone cold Bowser, talking about being family with everyone else. She could hardly believe the words she was hearing. And the bit about continuing to coach her back home even if this place shut down made her feel positively radiant.

"And if you tell anyone I said that I'm going to tie you up at the top of the high ropes course and leave you there."

Leaf laughed. "Don't worry I won't, but still, don't sound so defeatist."

"Hm?"

"We haven't lost this place yet, and if all the champions are our family, then that complex is our home. As far as I'm aware, no one is prepared to just give it up yet."

Bowser smirked. "No. No, we're not."