AN: I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING. It's just that I was so stressed from all the cramming I had to do for the exams. But it's finally summer vacation for me! Now that I don't have to worry about school, I'll try to update as soon as possible. Peace!

Chapter 12: A Warlord's Trial

Wait.

Andie noticed something odd. The garden's sky was a light blue, indicating that it was day time. There was also no trace of a storm whatsoever. She rubbed her eyes as she looked out of the mansion's window. The sky was cloudy and dark, the rain pounding against the glass. There was a flash of lightning, soon followed by a loud boom. She was currently resting in the living room along with most of the Smashers.

Two more weeks before the tournament officially starts. Andie grumbled under her breath. She still had no trainer, and she barely knew the inhabitants of the mansion. The only ones she acknowledged so far were Peach and Zelda. She didn't really know Samus' personality; she had a feeling that the woman was more of an introvert. She preferred swords over fists, but she was still well educated on close combat.

She thought about having a swordsman as a trainer. She knew at least one Smasher who wielded a sword; Meta Knight. As eager as she was to be trained by the third tournament's champion, he already seemed to have his own charge. She took a quick glance at the table the two puffballs shared, and only spotted Kirby. Once again, a large portion of food was stacked on the plate he was carrying.

She watched in amusement as Kirby practically ate it in one bite.

She drove her attention away from the puffball and continued racking her brain for at least one logical thing that happened during her stay in the mansion. She stared out the window once more, her eyebrows furrowing in contemplation. She glanced at a large clock to her left, the hands reading 9:47 P.M.

She sighed and dragged a hand over her face. It was late, yes, and she was sleepy. She couldn't even get a wink of sleep due to the storm. She was a very light sleeper; it was useful whenever there were emergencies during the night. It was also a nuisance whenever there was a storm.

"I'm getting lonely. Could you just come back here?"

Aside from being sleepy, she was also extremely annoyed. Red kept on tugging at their link, and it was really starting to get to the warlord. Imagine being lost in thought, and all of the sudden you're being yanked back into reality. Sure, it was a decent distraction to keep her awake, but no one could deny that it was annoying.

Be more patient, she thought. Red whined in protest, but thankfully kept her mouth shut. Andie closed her eyes and groaned when their link was tugged at again. She knew Red was bored, she could feel it too, of course, but she did not want to entertain the dragon. Not right now, at least. She was rather busy contemplating about what her life would be in the mansion.

She held back a growl as she felt another tug. What, she snapped.

"Entertain me," Red said. Andie decided at that moment to bombard the dragon with all of her negative emotions. She could feel a spark of surprise, probably from the dragon, and the tugging finally came to a stop. With a relieved sigh, she slumped down the chair. Maybe her own room would be a much more comfortable place to rest, but the young warrior felt inclined to stay in the living room.

Oh yeah, the garden.

As she resumed drowning in her own thoughts, she failed to notice the pink ball waddling his way over to her.

Kirby was honestly curious about the new arrival. He was only able to see her in the training room, and the only thing he was able to tell her was 'hi'. For him, that was simply not a satisfactory greeting. He liked to get to know the new arrivals, it was in his nature. The other Smashers would think that he should stop, just in case another one like Ganondorf was invited to the tournament.

He did not enjoy getting punched in the face.

After that, they presumed that he would stop randomly greeting newcomers, but hey, old habits never die, right? Kirby stopped in front of the girl and smiled. The girl looked deep in thought, occasionally staring out the window with a contemplative look. He jumped and waved his little stubs in front of her eyes.

Andie frowned as something pink flashed across her clouded vision. Blinking a few times, she looked down at the one who had disturbed her. She was curious to see Kirby waving his little stubs at her, a bright smile on his face. Now that she thought about it, everything about him seemed bright. From his pink color to his baby blue eyes, the puff seemed to radiate happiness.

Andie smiled mentally as an image of her little brother flashed across her mind. Soon after, the young warlord frowned.

No, she would not think about that. Not now, not ever.

Huffing, she turned to the puffball with a hollow smile. "Good evening," she greeted. Kirby beamed at her and started saying some words that she absolutely did not understand.

"Poyo, poyo! Poy, poyo poyo!" Kirby chirped. His smile faltered for a millisecond when he saw the warlord look at him with a raised eyebrow.

That was when he remembered that he couldn't speak properly.

He then started to try and make a few "hand gestures". Andie cocked her head to the side at Kirby's actions. She knew that he was trying to communicate with her using hand gestures, but that would be useless without fingers. Frowning, the warlord muttered, "You are a strange one."

The puffball's lips formed a small frown. Opening his mouth a few times, he tried to ask her a question.

"What… what name?"

Smiling at his achievement, he looked back at the warlord. Andie looked at the Star Warrior, a frown plastered on her face. "Name? Ah, my name is Andrienne, Andrienne of Immorta," she said, holding out a hand for the puffball to shake. Kirby reacted with enthusiasm, letting out a joyous cheer as he shook her hand.

So far, the introduction had been successful. He maintained his large smile (one would wonder how his face was not sore from all his smiling), his eyes twinkling brightly.

Andie observed the small puff with a keen eye. His movements were carefree and his actions were childish. He had an air of innocence around him, yet she could feel great potential to become a strong warrior coming from him. Completely unlike Meta Knight, she thought dryly. The (seemingly) older puff had an air of calm around him. But somewhere underneath that calm, Andie could sense pain and suffering.

Something about the knight made it seem like he was holding on to some kind of light, some kind of hope.

"Kirby!"

Andie glanced at the pink puffball. He was so innocent, he almost reminded her of him. Someone she could not protect. Someone she failed. She didn't want to think about it.

The warlord mentally shook herself and steeled herself. She looked at Kirby with a forced, polite smile.

"A pleasure to meet you, Kirby." She said. Said puffball replied with a cheerful "poy". "I wish I could stay and chat, but I have some business to attend to," she added. Kirby looked confused as she stood up and walked away.

"Poyo...?" he muttered. He sagged a bit but after a few moments, he instantly brightened up. He would talk to her next time, which he would make sure of. She seemed like a nice girl, maybe he could make a new friend. With another bright smile on his face, he stood up and waddled away.

Line B-R-E-A-K

"That was harsh," Red muttered as Andie opened the door. Andie sighed and closed the door, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"You never told that to me when I was in the army," she said. Red rolled her eyes at the warlord.

"You needed to be like that so that they would follow your orders," she said. Andie shook her head and flopped down on the bed (hey, that rhymed). Red frowned at her and jumped down from her bed. Moving closer to Andie, she put her head on the warlord's stomach. Andie pet Red and stared at the ceiling, her thoughts going absolutely everywhere, but she somehow managed to keep a straight face.

"Why don't you tell them about me?" Red asked. Andie looked down at the dragon and frowned.

"Why should I tell them?"

Red glared playfully at the warlord. "Because, they're your friends," she replied. Andie hummed to herself and stared back up at the ceiling.

"I'll tell them about you if they tell me more about themselves," she muttered. Red cocked her head to the side at her answer.

"Andie, friendship isn't a matter of give and take."

Andie huffed at the dragon and looked away. "Then what is friendship?" she asked. The dragon snorted at the warlord.

"Friendship is a bond of trust."

Andie stared at Red blankly. She wasn't satisfied with the dragon's reply. "What do you mean by 'a bond of trust'?" she asked.

"That depends," Red answered. Andie looked at the dragon with a pointed look. She hated it when Red got all vague and cryptic.

"Are you friends with me only because I benefit you?"

The warlord stared at the dragon with a raised eyebrow. She had never thought about why she was friends with Red, it just happened out of the blue. She guessed that it tends to happen when you're bonded with someone/something. She wasn't going to lie; Red did benefit her a lot. When you're friends with a dragon, of course you'll get extra strength and protection.

But something else was there, something she didn't really understand.

When she was first acquainted with Red, she didn't quite see it, but after spending time with her she realized that her attitude was somehow endearing to her. She was interesting, and she found herself enjoying the company and short chats, even their bickering.

There was no denying it; she was very fond of Red.

A small smile settled on her face. "No, there's something else. I guess that I felt safe and more like myself around you," she muttered. Red smiled at the warlord, and then proceeded to nuzzle her stomach. Andie chuckled and pushed Red's head lightly.

"That tickles," she grumbled. Red grinned at her. The dragon rested her head on Andie's stomach once more. They both stared into space and stayed like that for a few minutes, until a voice echoed around the room.

"The Smashers are summoned by Master Hand to the living room."

Andie sighed and sat up while Red pulled away. "You're coming with me," Andie muttered. Red smiled at her and nodded, transforming herself into a sword. Andie picked Red up, exiting her room and heading to the living room.

When she arrived at the living room, most of the Smashers were already there. She sat on the nearest couch, which was also occupied by Zelda.

"Oh, hey, Andie," she greeted. Andie smiled politely at her and sat down.

"What do you think the meeting is about?" she asked. Zelda's eyebrows furrowed as she thought of an answer.

"I'm honestly not sure," she said.

Andie nodded at the princess and watched as more Smashers poured into the living room.

"Greetings, Smashers," Master Hand said. Andie then focused her attention on him. "During the mission I gave Samus and the others, they came back with a new discovery." Several murmurs spread throughout the room. "Apparently, thanks to the science of Miss Blue, we found out that the rain outside is some sort of energy drainer. This would explain why Donkey Kong was a bit exhausted after the mission. Normally he wouldn't be tired at all."

More murmurs spread across the room. Andie hummed in thought. Energy sapping? Rain like that would indeed be troublesome. She looked to the side as Zelda raised her hand.

"Yes, Zelda?" Master Hand asked.

"Will it stop any time soon?"

Master Hand sighed and shook himself. "I'm afraid not," he said. "But that is why I will send some of you on a mission. Will anyone be willing to help find out what is causing this rain?"

Almost half of the Smashers raised their hands, including Andie.

She heard some people behind her mutter, "Humph, it's only the beginning of the tournament and there's already a mission?"

Lazy, she thought.

Master Hand looked around the room and picked out a few Smashers. The first one he picked was Mario, next he picked Samus. The third one was Captain Falcon, which Andie reacted to with a sour expression. The fourth one was Meta Knight.

After that, Andie raised her hand more eagerly. If she were to participate in the mission, she would get to work with the masked puffball. Zelda looked at Andie, her eyes sparkling in amusement.

"You're really eager to go," she said. Andie turned to her with an unreadable expression.

"And you don't want to go at all. Why?" she asked. Zelda put a finger to her lips, humming as she contemplated on a good answer.

"Well, there was recently a casualty in my kingdom, so I'm a bit tired and I'd like to rest for a bit."

Andie cocked her head to the side. "A casualty, huh? I know about those all too well," she muttered. The warlord snapped her attention back to Master Hand as he called her name.

"Andie, why do you want to join?" he asked. Andie looked at him with a slightly confused expression.

"Well, I'd like to help. Also, there are not a lot of activities in here," she answered. Master Hand nodded and took on a contemplative air around him.

"I'm sorry, bu-"

He was interrupted by Andie, who immediately said, "Wait! We could make this my test."

The godly being tilted himself to the side in curiosity. "Your test? I suppose that could work," he muttered. "All right then, you can join the mission."

Andie showed no emotions on the outside, but smiled like an idiot in the inside.

"Thank you," she said. Zelda looked at her with a smile.

"Well, I guess that this is your first mission. Good luck," she said. Andie smiled at Zelda and thanked her.

"I believe that is all we need," Master Hand announced. "Now go sleep, it's getting late."

Andie glanced at the clock, and indeed it was late. It was already 11:37 P.M.

"Well, you got your first mission. Congrats," Red said. Andie smiled mentally and nodded.

"Congratulations indeed. I just hope that this won't be too hard…"

AN: And that's it! This chapter was pretty long for me, so I hope that you enjoyed it. Leave a review and please fav!