Author's Note: Firstly, I'm very sorry about the phantom update at the start of the weekend. I thought I removed a chapter by mistake and uploaded the same document under different names for whatever reason. Not a good idea to do anything after finishing two midterms.
Secondly, I'm sorry that this came out a good month behind schedule. I know I promised I would adhere to the original update frequency of once every two weeks, but between school, looking for stuff to do over the summer, and everything else in life I didn't find the time to think of ideas.
Yeah, it didn't help that this chapter gave me several solid cases of writer's block. Thank you to my friends and co-author Flying Chariot for helping me resolve that or this would have taken even longer to finish.
"Morning," Sonic greeted Rock as he joined the former, Link, Zelda, and Pit at the breakfast table. "Got any plans for today?"
"Not really, is there anything interesting going on?"
"I'm getting Lady Palutena back for last night, if that's something you define as 'interesting,'" Pit chimed in.
"Er...Pit, no offense, but that sounds like a personal problem. And seeing as she thinks she's getting away with it, I'd imagine that you'd be better off not retaliating."
The angel looked sullen. "Fine."
Rock turned back to Sonic. "So what do people do when there's no tournament?"
"Other than the little games that Master Hand has set up, most people do friendlies with each other. Technically it's against the rules, but Master Hand hasn't had a problem with it so long as they remain friendly."
"I see. I was thinking about trying out that Target Blast game later, wanna come?"
"Nah, I'm going to save those for when friendlies start getting boring. I've got a match against Sheik later. Where is she, anyway? I never see her around since this tournament started."
The android looked at him incredulously. "Seriously? For all of your orders to to research you seem to do very little yourself."
Sonic chuckled. "Guess you did what I asked after all since you seem to know that Sheik is really - hyy!" He abruptly cut off as Zelda kicked him under the table, despite facing the opposite direction and immersed in animated conversation with Link.
Rock snickered. "What is that old saying about a woman scorned?"
The hedgehog switched tacks instantly. "Sooo...any suggestions about what to do?"
"Aren't you supposed to have more ideas than I?"
"Well, the movie theater got some new films recently. We could go see one," Pit suggested before the argument got any further.
"I'm down," Sonic replied.
"We should ask around to see if anyone else is interested," Rock suggested. "We can't be the only ones with a boredom problem."
"I can talk to Ness and some of the other younger Smashers," Pit volunteered.
"Zelda and I can ask some of the other veterans," Link responded. "I'm sure Ike wouldn't be opposed to it."
"What about newcomers like Lucina?" Sonic asked.
"I can ask them," Rock offered. "Speaking of her though, has anyone seen her since last night?"
"Now that you mention it...I don't think I have."
"I haven't see her yet, either," Link replied.
"Most odd. Is she training?" Zelda pondered.
"Certainly wouldn't be unlike her to," Rock mused. "Should we ask someone else?"
Sonic leaned back in his chair. "Nah, she'll turn up if she wants to. No point in forcing her to do anything if we want to stay her friends."
"That may have been the most intelligent statement you've said to or in regard towards Lucina yet."
"Man, are you ever going to let that comment from last night go?"
"Until you stop being insensitive towards others like that, no!"
The hedgehog raised his hands in defeat. "Alright, alright, sensei, I am not worthy of your teachings; I shall endeavor to improve myself before seeking your wisdom again," he replied with a straight face and even tone.
Rock planted his face in his food out of frustration. "Someone remind me of why I befriended this creature." The others just laughed.
Across the room, the Fire Emblem heroes were in a very different discussion.
"Out training, and for that long? But the next tournament isn't for a week," Chrom observed. "She certainly is diligent."
"Yes...well, Lucina seems to be taking yesterday's loss very seriously," Ike replied. "I didn't want to embarrass her so I didn't say anything - "
"It's fine, Ike. I appreciate you informing me, but I will not dictate what she can and cannot do; she is an adult, or, at the very least, more than capable of making her own decisions, and making good ones too."
"Indeed, she seems to have found herself a group of friends a lot faster than I did," Marth remarked. "Of course, there were fewer people back when I joined, so perhaps she had and easier time finding people like herself."
"Considering that she is a bit younger than most of the veterans, I would agree," Robin commented. "She seems to have befriended mostly the younger fighters."
"Are you implying that she is childish, Robin?" The Radiant Hero asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I said nothing of the sort, I was merely making an observation about Lucina's friends," the tactician retorted. "Regardless, she has her father's talent for making allies of nearly everyone she comes across."
Chrom dismissed his statement with a shake of his head. "I might have it, but I can't call it mine. That was always...Emm's way."
"...Anyway," Ike said after an uncomfortable silence, "I have a friendly with Samus soon, good day to you all." He stood to leave, though in truth, he had nothing of the sort planned.
While he had no criticisms about Chrom letting Lucina be her own person, the Radiant Hero knew firsthand exactly how driven she was. The fact that she didn't seem to have taken any of his words yesterday seriously was indication enough of that, despite having trusted him dogmatically on everything since they had started training together.
When he knocked on her door, she answered after a pause, to his surprise.
"Is there something you need, Ike?" Lucina asked, poking her head out of the door.
"No, nothing in particular. I saw you training earlier and I merely wanted to make sure you weren't pushing yourself too hard. You remember what I told you last night, right?"
"Yes, of course, and I appreciate your concern. I train every day out of habit." Suddenly she looked suspicious. "Did my father put you up to this?"
Ike raised an eyebrow. "What gave you that idea?"
"I...well, it's just that nobody has previously shown this much concern over my well-being except my parents."
"Friendships that you form in peace are very different from those formed in war," Ike commented in response. "Chrom had absolutely nothing to do with me coming here."
Lucina dropped her gaze slightly. "I see. My apologies. I thought he might be reneging on his promise from earlier."
Ike gave a casual wave of a hand. "Nothing to apologize for, although, if I may ask, what did he promise?" A thought suddenly occurred to him and he held up his hand before Lucina could respond. "Wait. Might I come in before we discuss this? We won't have as great a chance of being overheard; I'd imagine you want to keep this private."
"Oh, well...um..." Lucina turned scarlet. "I-I just got out of the shower..."
Ike winced in embarrassment as he felt his face react similarly. Now he noticed that her hair was indeed still damp and he could see a little of her bare shoulder. How had he not noticed any of that before?
"I can get dressed quickly and let you in," she offered hastily to fill the awkward silence.
Ike nodded, still too embarrassed to say much besides a "thank you." He put it from his mind as Lucina darted back inside her room.
"Gods, how did I miss that? I hope Lucina didn't take that the wrong way, especially since apparently nobody's been this caring of her - "
Her voice interrupted his thoughts. "Ike? Are you still there?"
"Yes, I am."
In response she opened the door. He stepped inside and waited for her to close it before saying anything. "Picking up where we left off..."
"After the incident with Captain Falcon on the first day my father asked if I wanted him to protect me. I turned down his request; I was expecting him to say I had no choice in the matter, but he promised to oblige my request."
"Ah, yes, I recall you were rather uncomfortable with the fact that he forced Falcon to apologize for that."
"Well, it gives the impression that I can't look after myself so I - "
"You don't need to explain anything to me. I understand now."
The room's air conditioner suddenly started up, sending a draft at them. Lucina shuddered involuntarily as the cool air swept through her wet hair. "Ooh..."
"I'm sorry, did my visit prevent you from drying your hair?"
"It's not a problem, the day is warm and I was planning to go outside afterwards."
"The air conditioning in here can still give you a cold," Ike reminded her, indicating for her to move away from the vent. "Wait there." He ducked inside the bathroom. Among the things Master Hand stocked every room with was a hairdryer; he'd never touched his, but he was guessing Lucina probably hadn't either. His hunch was correct when found it in the first drawer he looked in.
"Ike? Are you alright?" The princess' voice came from behind him as she peered in to see what he was doing.
"I was merely searching for something that would make your life easier." He handed her the hairdryer. "Use this. I am afraid I am not well-versed in how to use it as I never had the need to, but I am sure one of the other women could help you." The Radiant Hero glanced around out of habit before continuing in a lower tone. "Or Marth, but do be aware that he thinks nobody knows that he uses it."
"That's hardly a nice thing to - " Lucina suddenly stopped herself and looked down. "My apologies, I'm still used to taking everything literally."
"Well, you're making progress," Ike commended.
"Evidently not enough though."
"You're being too hard on yourself, it's been only a week."
"But I'm trying so hard not to make a fool of myself and I still am. I'm afraid it might be something I just can't do."
The Radiant Hero chuckled in response. "It's okay to not be good at a few things. That's why we can do more as a group than as individuals."
"But who can I confide my weaknesses in besides Father? You know as well as I that we can't aid each others' worlds, and I don't have the luxury of dogmatic trust."
"I'm afraid I can't answer that question for you. All I can try to do is convince you that it is possible to trust people and be cautious at the same time. I must be going now, see you later."
"Farewell, Ike." Once the Radiant Hero left, Lucina briefly scrutinized the device in her hands out of habit before walking back into the bathroom and setting it down.
"Don't be paranoid; did you really think Ike would have tampered with it in some way?" she chided herself as she plugged it in and turned it on. Putting a hand in front of the hairdryer to feel the stream of warm air it produced was enough to ascertain how to use it. "Why would he ever seek to harm you?"
She really wanted to kick the habit of being suspicious of everyone and everything. It wasn't necessary here and on top of that it was embarrassing. But she hadn't lied when she told Ike that even her best efforts to were for naught. Sure, she could see herself being paranoid or literal in hindsight, but never in the moment. By that point, any realization was of no use.
"Why must the nuances of social interaction always escape me?" Lucina heaved a frustrated sigh that was lost in the whir of the device. Improving her social skills was one of the few things she'd been dead set on accomplishing, perhaps even what she'd been most motivated to do in a long time, and hadn't seen some sort of improvement on immediately.
This wasn't a feeling she was used to. "But," she thought as she put the hairdryer away, "I won't allow myself to concede defeat so easily. If I need practice to improve my social skills, then practice I will. I just need to talk to more people, how hard could that be?"
Resolving to follow up on her thoughts, the princess left her room to find out what her friends were up to. With only her intuition to guide her, she was praying she wouldn't get lost...
Mega Man watched as his charged shot launched the bomb into the amalgamation of blocks and targets in front of him, noting to his satisfaction that the explosive had soared right along the path he calculated would cause the most damage. When it went off, the android watched the score counter climb rapidly. Just as it started to level off, a secondary bomb embedded in the structure exploded as well. It was a few more moments before the debris finally settled.
"A new record!" Master Hand's pre-recorded voice proclaimed. De-armoring, Rock waited for the force field dividing the bomb-launching platform to drop before walking over to the console. The display was currently flashing his score with the text "new record," but he paid it no mind. Of course it was going to be a record; this was the first time he'd tried it after perfecting his technique.
He switched to the tab that showed his Global Smash Power. According to the explanation provided, it was a measure of how well he stacked up against both the other Smashers and those who could play an exact replication of the game on a game console. Right now the number was in the six digits; Rock had no idea what the total player pool was, but he took it to be a good result for his relative inexperience.
"Damn, is there something you don't get the hang of immediately?" Sonic asked from the stands. Apparently Master Hand had saw fit to erect a half-Coliseum for spectators despite his declaration that Target Blast would never be an official tournament mode. "Took me a lot longer than that to even figure out how this game works."
Rock shrugged as he walked over. "Nah, there's some game that everyone in my world is obsessed about that does pretty much the same thing, so it wasn't hard to figure out. Plus, this is a lot simpler than that. How'd your friendly go?"
The hedgehog grumbled sourly in response. "Stupid tier lists..."
"Um...aren't those formed by community opinion?"
"Hey, someone at the bottom or top of it got there for a reason, don'tcha think?"
The android shrugged. "Maybe. I take those with a grain of salt anyways; those are meant for one-on-ones, and from what I've heard the Hands want to make this tournament more team-based. Speaking of which, apparently Crazy is picking our partners for the next one."
"You went and asked him?"
"So what if I did?"
Sonic chuckled. "Rock, there's no need to be that serious." When the android just shrugged noncommittally the hedgehog continued. "One would think the Hands are not-so-casually trying to ship some of us together, and the fact that teams in the last days of the previous tournament were decided by popular vote doesn't assuage my fears in the slightest. I'm just glad that most people are interested in shipping me with someone from my own world rather than someone from here if they see me as shipping material here at all."
"Being rated towards the bottom of that tier list probably helped you there." The remark earned something between a glare and a quizzical glance from the blue blur. "Hey, I never said that tier lists were useless, just that they aren't necessarily indicators of how a match should go."
"Yeah yeah, just enjoy your grace period from the rabid fans before they start pairing up the newcomers. Once that starts you are never going to want an interview by the Smashville newspaper ever again; better get the mandatory one out of the way."
"Wait, what? I thought that was a suggestion, not a requirement!"
"They'll start hounding you an only you if you're the only one who didn't take it; Snake lasted the longest under their badgering before he gave in, and that was only a month." Sonic leaped off his seat and landed lightly besides his friend, who was now staring at the ground in horror.
"There needs to be some sort of rule around here that stops them from hounding us."
"Paparazzi and gossip will always find loopholes to feed off of, it's how they work. Best you can do is roll with the system, unfortunately."
"Rrgh...and just when I thought I would be getting away from them..." Rock slapped one hand on the wall and leaned on it.
"Hey man, be grateful any limits the press has is on what they can publish - "
"Does suggesting you are involved in incest with your sister count as within those limits here?"
"WHAT?!" Sonic cleared his throat. "I mean...that sucks for you. Didn't realize media left a bad taste in your mouth for that kind of reason."
"Nobody does," Rock grumbled.
"Hey man, don't get sour with me over that. How am I supposed to do anything about it? Anyways, you probably feel better about it now that you've found someone who sympathizes with you rather than ogle at the headline."
"And?"
"It's only going to get worse. We've all complained to Master Hand about it, but apparently he's not at liberty to stop them. The good thing about that is since everyone is victimized by this garbage at some point, nobody's laughing when it happens to others and we just all avoid the topic. When you're among us, you don't have to keep your anger over that kind of libelous crap to yourself, we can all sympathize."
The android stared at him. "Who are you and what did you do with the animal that was teasing me at breakfast earlier?"
Sonic smiled with satisfaction. "Told ya, I'm not all bad. Seems like sensei still has a bit to learn himself."
"Will you please stop calling me that?" Rock protested.
"Only if you take back what you said at breakfast. And hurry it up, will you, time's wasting and the others are probably getting impatient."
"You realize that will make me want to renege on that statement even less, right? And you mean to tell me that you delayed retrieving me just for that?"
"Nah, we're not meeting for a bit, Sheik bodied me a bit more easily than I thought she would. But all the same, we're due soon." Sonic stretched his arms and started for the exit. Sighing with exasperation at the conversation that had just taken place, Rock followed.
Lucina was lost.
It was foolish, humiliating, and should have happened under no sensible circumstances, but nevertheless, the princess of Ylisse couldn't navigate through a building without losing her way. She cursed her lack of foresight to bring the map Peach had given her: after checking the few places she knew how to get to, she'd taken to wandering around in the hopes of finding someone.
So much for that working. Apart from seeing absolutely no one, she had no idea which side led towards the center of the building, which had open-air areas that she could use to find her bearings. No, of all places she had to get lost in, it had to be a maze of windowless corridors, devoid of clues to help her figure out where she was.
"Think," she told herself. "There has to be an exit otherwise I couldn't have entered here."
A sharp pain seared her forehead. Lucina looked up through the stars dotting her vision to see she'd run into a low ceiling. She took another step forward and almost fell as her head throbbed again.
"I should wait for it to subside, it's not like I won't be able to backtrack later, the passages are lit."
However the torches went out in the next instant, leaving her in total darkness. Lucina fought the sudden urge to panic and forced herself to take a deep breath. "It's the same corridor, just without lighting. There isn't anyone else here - " Something suddenly echoed from further down the corridor, causing her to jump. She backed away slowly from the direction it came from, hand on Falchion's hilt.
Remembering that the passage turned right in the direction that she was headed, she changed course cautiously, her right hand on the wall to confirm her memory. A brief flash from behind her caused the princess to whirl around, looking for the source of it. After a few moments she gave up and resumed her slow walk only to promptly slip on something and fall hard.
"What the - " her hand quickly found the culprit. "A banana peel? That wasn't there when I entered." Suddenly she heard light footsteps from the direction she had come; just as quickly as they had reached her ears, they faded away. She tried to keep her voice calm as she got to her feet, but, truth be told, the darkness and sudden noises were beginning to scare her.
"Don't let it get to you, remember that there's no one else here," she told herself. "You're just hearing things. Focus on getting out of here."
"Then who dropped the banana peel?" Another part of her asked. "You can't let your guard down."
On cue she felt something cold touch the back of her neck. Lucina yelped and scrambled away, drawing her weapon and aiming it down the corridor. There was no mistaking it now; someone was here with her! "W-who's there?! Show yourself!"
Supreme Hierophant's Chambers, Plegia Castle
"Heheh...nobody in particular, princess..." Grima muttered with a smirk. He briefly switched focus to the courtyard to see what the Hands were up to before returning his attention to controlling the bot Donkey Kong he'd summoned.
It had proven the most difficult test yet, but while Tabuu had noted that they might have issues with controlling them, the Fell Dragon had experienced nothing of that sort, despite Tabuu recording in his notes that it would be harder to control a larger one. Grima had also decided against taking the easy route and summoning it on an empty stage before teleporting it to wherever he desired; that was looking to be the wiser decision now that summoning them outside of the arenas had turned out to be easier than expected. There was also the less strenuous exercise of summoning some items for his little ambush, but that was trivial by comparison. So, too, was doing simple things like cutting power to the artificial torches on the walls.
If he were completely honest with himself, the temptation to ignore the remainder of the tests that Tabuu had planned and simply proceed with his own plans of wreaking havoc was only increasing with each successful test. Now was also a better time than ever since there were only two of the Hands and the stability engines were offline. Projecting his influence was also only going to get harder once they were re-activated.
But at the same time, he couldn't torment his princess too much in short order or else it might arouse suspicion, and he would have to carefully plan out each time he did in order to minimize traces back to him.
Courtyard, Smash Mansion
"You doing okay, Crazy?" Master Hand asked as they briefly met in the courtyard. "I appreciate you helping me with this, but it wasn't necessary."
"Yes, yes, just fine, I must admit this is a lot more exciting than sitting in the office organizing the tournament."
"Glad to hear it, although don't think I'm going to exempt you from your ADHD meds forever. I'm going to quickly check on how the Waddle Dees are doing with the stability engine upgrades, think you can hold things down?"
"Count on it - " Crazy suddenly whirled around. "Wait, I sense an external influence."
"Now that you mention it...I feel it too. But how? Normally this reality exerts influence on any other worlds, not the other way around. And this has happened twice in two days now."
"Maybe Tabuu isn't as finished as we thought. I think it's coming from the stage selection catacomb we used for the Melee tournament."
"Lead the way."
"Crazy's hyperness is reaping more dividends than I anticipated. It's a good thing I brought him back for this tournament."
Lucina scrutinized the darkness, simultaneously straining to make out any sounds of movement, but it remained as black and silent as ever. Now that she was certain there was someone in close proximity to her, though, she couldn't shake a sense of claustrophobia as she slowly backed away.
Her back collided with something solid. Cautiously, she reached her arms out to search for the direction the corridor turned, thinking she'd hit a corner. That notion was dispelled a second later when the object she was feeling seized both of her arms.
Plegia Castle
Grima gently closed his eyes in concentration. Now that he was controlling two bots, independent of each other, the workload had gone way up.
Suddenly the connection cut. "What?"
A glance through his viewportal showed the two Hands approaching one of the entrances to the catacombs. The Fell Dragon cursed. Reaching a hand for a sleeping tome that he'd kept handy for just such a contingency, he shot the magical bolt through the viewportal. Without waiting to see its effects, he dispelled the two Donkey Kongs and lit the torches with a wave of his hand. Finally he teleported Lucina back to where she had been before his experiment began and shut the viewportal.
Not a moment too soon; the Hands had come into view of the entrance an instant after the torches lit. He was lucky that the tactician within him had saw fit to erect a magical "trip wire" to provide him with early warning of any intervention and taken all the other precautions. Even so, it looked like that hadn't been enough. Only his own proficiency had saved him from being caught.
"It seems a lot more planning will be in order before we meet again, princess."
Smash Mansion
"Crazy? What's wrong?" Master Hand asked as his brother suddenly stopped.
"They got away, the sneaky bastards. We'll never catch them now; whoever did that was not only smart enough to cover their tracks, but proficient enough to do a complete job of it in seconds." The other hand started swearing up and down in frustration as he paced the hallway.
"...If it isn't too much to ask," Master Hand inquired after a while of this, "Can you return to patrol duty? I'm going to finish checking on the Waddle Dees."
"Huh?! Wha - !" Crazy spun in a circle before focusing on his brother again. "Oh, it was you. Sure, I'll get back on it."
Master Hand shook from side to side in exasperation as his brother flew back down the hall in the direction they'd come from, humming to himself as though nothing had happened. The fact that they were polar opposites and yet got along so well never ceased to amaze him, and the creator was not a being easily impressed.
"Uhh..." Lucina groaned groggily and opened her eyes to find herself laying spread-eagled on the stone floor. "What? Where am I?"
Immediately she sat upright, head on a swivel for any interlopers. Pain seared through her head and stars erupted in front of her eyes at the sudden motion. She grit her teeth and put an arm behind her to remain sitting upright, the other hand instinctively rubbing her temples.
"Don't be silly, there's nobody else here," she reminded herself as she waited for it to subside. "But...then who grabbed me while the torches weren't lit?"
A fresh, although weaker wave of pain struck her. "If it still hurts this badly, then there was no way I could have walked around like this before now. It must have just been some strange dream then." She tried to recall the sequence of events that happened in the darkened corridor, but it was hazy. That in itself was puzzling; usually her memory was quite clear, even with regards to dreams. "Perhaps I should go see Dr. Mario if I hit my head hard enough to be knocked unconscious, but first things first, I need to get out of here."
She slowly got to her feet and was relieved when nothing seemed to happen for the worse. "Backtrack, Lucina. There has to be an exit somewhere otherwise you couldn't have gotten in here."
Somehow, despite her aching head, she managed to find her way out. By this point her headache was almost gone, but she headed for the infirmary anyways to check with Dr. Mario.
"Pardon me, Dr. Mario, but I was wondering if you had a moment?"
"Of course, Lucina, what brings you here?"
"Well, I just wanted to make sure I didn't injure myself earlier in training."
"I see. What in particular are you concerned about?"
"I got hit in the head and, well, it just seemed to be abnormally painful, and it lasted oddly long."
"Hm, you said you were training? Did you keep yourself hydrated and your electrolytes replenished?"
"Er - not really." Truthfully she had no idea what 'electrolytes' were, but she hadn't drunk much water since she returned from training so she had answered no. It probably wouldn't matter; the entire scenario was a cover-up she'd rehearsed on the way to the medical ward because she was too embarrassed to admit how she'd actually hurt herself.
"Well, that might be a contributing factor, especially on a day like this. Is it still hurting?"
"Not really."
"How long has it been?"
"About twenty minutes."
"And did you have any other symptoms besides a headache?"
"A little bit of dizziness, but it passed quickly."
The "doctor" was silent for a moment as he contemplated the information. "Well, I suspect that there isn't anything permanent, but if you feel a need to verify that, I can get an X-Ray of your head. It shouldn't take too long."
Lucina pondered the matter for a little bit. "Alright. I'm in no rush."
"Oh, hello there, Lucina," Ike greeted as she left the medical ward ten minutes later. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine, I wanted to check with Dr. Mario about something."
"A wise decision. You can never be too careful when it comes to caring for yourself."
"What brings you to this part of the mansion?"
The Radiant Hero sighed. "Business, I'm afraid. I just returned here after receiving payment for my last contract." Off her confused look, he explained, "Now that the conflicts in Tellius are settled, I have been traveling the world looking for work as a mercenary."
"That must be awful, having to worry about your survival day-to-day."
"It's not all bad, in a world with no shortage of brigands, there will always be someone who needs protecting or wants something protected."
"I see." Lucina sighed with relief, the awful thought of her friend being forced to steal for his survival disappearing from mind.
"Did I say something?"
"Huh?" She didn't realize she hadn't contained her sigh. "Oh, I was concerned that you might have resorted to...unsavory methods to survive."
"Come now, Lucina, just because I live the life of a mercenary does not mean that I am not allowed to have a conscience."
"But what if you can't find any work?"
He chuckled. "Your concern is quite endearing; thank you. But let me ask you this: you heard of me before you came here, did you not?"
"Y-yes, I did."
"Then what makes you think that people who are in need of the services I provide will reject the Radiant Hero himself?"
Lucina lowered her gaze. "Forgive my insensitivity, I didn't know - "
"You needn't be sorry for everything, not everything is within your control. Have you any plans for the remainder of the day?" he asked to change the subject.
"Well, I was hoping to find the others and I got...erm...lost..."
"It's not hard to, between Master Hand's continual expansions and his blocking of Crazy Hand's attempts to demolish older parts of the building, the mansion and grounds are only going to keep getting bigger. Not to mention that Master Hand keeps renovating older parts to make them bigger as well." They were just entering the mansion's foyer and Radiant Hero gestured at the tall ceiling to prove his point. "It was a lot shorter and the decor more subdued when I first came here - "
"There you are, Ike! You even brought Lucina with you; well that makes our job easier!"
"We've been looking for both of you," Rock explained.
"For what, may I ask?" Lucina replied.
"Pit's organizing a group outing. Ike went looking for you because he thought you might want to go with us as well after we asked him."
"So are you in?" Sonic asked.
She nodded. "Well, that sounds interesting. If nothing else, it's something to do."
"Where are they? It's not at all like Sonic to be slow, or Rock to not be punctual," Link remarked. "Even if this outing was organized on short notice it shouldn't be that hard to find Lucina."
"Maybe they decided to skip and keep playing Target Blast?" Pit suggested. "I saw them go off in the direction of that arena."
Zelda shook her head. "That's not like either of them. Regardless, we are running out of time; should we leave without them?"
"Nah, we still have a bit. Besides there might be more people who just want to tag along; we already got Ness, Toon Link, Villager, and Shulk to join us," the Hero of Hyrule replied.
On cue, the two blue warriors emerged from the interior of the mansion, with Ike and, to everyone's surprise, Lucina trailing behind them.
"Hey, hey, everyone, sorry we're late," Sonic greeted as he waltzed up. Rock and Ike nodded in greeting at the others while Lucina gave a shy wave and a quiet "hello".
"So where are we going?" the hedgehog asked.
"We were thinking of seeing a movie in Smashville! I heard the theater got some good films recently," Pit explained excitedly.
"Pardon me, but...what is a movie?" Lucina asked.
"It's a collection of images strung together to look like animation," Ike explained to her. "Sort of like a moving picture or a story told visually, but they have sound to go with it too."
"I'm still not sure I fully understand, but it sounds intruiging," she replied, glad that her friends were understanding of her general ignorance of the technology of the modern day.
"Well, if we're waiting on nobody else, we should go." Link motioned with his arm for emphasis.
"So which are we thinking of watching?" Sonic asked as they passed the mansion gates.
Immediately argument broke out amongst the group members, though Rock, being his usual self and willing to roll with whatever film they decided on, along with Lucina and Shulk, with no knowledge of films at all, were left out. The instinct to isolate themselves from the debate led to them trailing a little ways behind the others.
The princess spoke first. "Er...is everyone usually this heated over something so trivial?"
"Cultural matters can be serious business to some people," the android replied absentmindedly, more interested in keeping tabs on the debate. "Have you ever heard a particular story that resonates with you, so to speak? That stuck in your mind, served as an inspiration, or something along those lines?"
"Even so, I still don't see how that explains...that." Shulk gestured at the group in debate up ahead, though by now it was an argument between Pit and Sonic with others backing up one side or the other.
The android sighed. "How to explain this..."
"Hey, Rock, help us settle this!" Sonic suddenly dropped back and started dragging him towards the others.
The android yanked his arm away. "Argh...why do you always tap Link or I to resolve your disputes? Settle it yourself for once, it won't kill you!"
"Um, perhaps I could assist in his stead?" Lucina inquired just as Sonic was about to retort.
"I'll go too," Shulk volunteered.
The hedgehog shrugged. "Sure. Extra voices are extra voices."
Rock said nothing, though his expression clearly said "good luck" to both of them.
"Ugh..." Lucina rubbed her temples as they entered the theater some minutes and an arduous debate later. "Now I see why Mega Man refused to do this."
"Well, you still did me a favor, and I greatly appreciate it. By the way, you can just call me Rock." Off her confused expression, he continued. "It's my real name, 'Mega Man' is just an alias I use. I think I told you where I derived it from, right?"
She nodded. After a brief pause while they waited in line the princess spoke again. "It must be nice, being able to don and shed an identity at will."
"Er...it's not quite that easy, and it's only on account of my ability to change appearance that I can get away with it at all. Keeping my separate identity secret brings almost as much trouble as it saves me. Back to the topic at hand, are you hungry? I'll buy you something as thanks."
"Oh, that is most generous of you, but I am fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Rock, I am."
"Aw, come on, why do you insist on looking a gift horse in the mouth?" Sonic complained.
"Why do you have to continually criticize other people?" Both Rock and Lucina retorted simultaneously. Upon realizing this the latter rounded on him. "For the umpteenth time, I don't need you to defend me!"
"Aaaand there you go stomping on other people again," Sonic drawled. "Also, I'm pretty sure you've only told him that twice, unless you two are up to something secretive - "
Rock merely rolled his eyes and left to join Link at the head of the group, but the princess turned red. "Wh-what? Th-that's nonsense!"
"If it has no basis in fact, then how did I get a rise out of you so easily?"
"Y-you didn't!"
"You're as red as a tomato and stammering. I think I definitely rattled you." When she tried to object again, he held his hand up. This continued for a little while before she ignored his gesture for silence which resulted in him pinching her lips shut.
"Mmmph!" She tried to demand that he let go of her, but all that came out were a series of unintelligible mumbles. After a few moments of struggling Lucina yanked herself free. "Sonic, I've had enough of this, please stop."
"Oh? Whatcha gonna do, if I don't, walk out on me? Too bad, it's not me that's apparently in love with you."
"Sonic, please..." she protested weakly, too overcome with embarrassment to say anything more. Not helping was the growing number of people listening in on their squabble, both group members and complete strangers.
Unfortunately for Sonic, the line hadn't moved much and thus the others further up in queue had heard the whole thing.
"For someone who hates shipping, you seem to enjoy teasing others with it a disproportionately large amount of the time," Rock commented, his arms folded. Flanking him were Link and Ike, wearing similar expressions of displeasure. "One might even say it's to the point of hypocrisy..."
"Eheheh..." Sonic rubbed the back of his head.
"Next," the ticket vendor called, silencing Link and Ike's additions to their friend's comment.
"Do not think we're done with you," Zelda scolded as Sonic visibly relaxed, holding up her right hand to show the spread of six needles she was holding. Visibly paling, the hedgehog swallowed with renewed nervousness. Satisfied that he would say or do nothing else out of turn, Zelda collapsed them into a stack and they disappeared in the next instant. "Toon Link, do me a favor and keep an eye on him."
"Sure thing!" he replied, still grinning from Sonic's reaction.
"Um...Zelda, where exactly did you put those?" Rock asked.
"Wherever she keeps the remainder of her stuff when she trans - gwaugh! Zeld - oof! Agh! Ow!" Sonic went rigid before doubling over as the princess subtly but painfully stepped on his foot, followed by Toon Link, Ness, and Villager each smacking him in turn from a different angle with a different object, causing him to lost balance and fall.
"Ahem...thank you for the help, you three, but I think he got the message the first time," Zelda said lightly, turning to face the three younger Smashers. Turning back to Rock, she added, "If you're still curious, I'll explain when we're in a more secluded setting."
"Give...me...a break...everyone knows already..." Sonic wheezed as he got back to his feet, but nobody paid him any mind.
"Come on guys!" Pit called as he and Link left the ticket window, gesturing for their group to move to the side.
"Hey, can't you see the line's moving?" A child shouted at Lucina, breaking her out of her embarrassed stupor.
"O-oh, I'm terribly sorry - "
"Thank you for pointing that out, we'll be going now," Ike told the youngling as he appeared at his friend's side. "Though I would encourage you to be a little more polite towards your elders, young one."
As his arms were each about as thick as the child's torso, the Radiant Hero wasn't surprised when the former adopted a much more submissive stance. "Y-yes sir. I'm sorry."
"There you go. Come, Lucina." He guided her in the direction of the others with a hand on the shoulder. Once they were out of earshot of the crowd waiting in line, he spoke again. "Don't take Sonic too seriously, he likes a laugh but goes way too far for one."
"I figured as much when the others hit him..." Lucina kept here gaze fixated on the floor slightly ahead of her.
"Did you not hear what I just said?" he asked when her mood didn't improve. "Or is something else troubling you as well?"
"Well...they're related..."
"About what you told me earlier?" he guessed, handing her a ticket as he got a pair from Link.
She nodded. "I - How am I supposed to improve my social skills if people make a mockery of my inexperience?"
"Come, now, surely you can't set so much store by just one joke - "
"It's not things like what just happened that I'm referencing. Nobody save you wants to have a 'normal' conversation with me, everyone talks differently around me, as though they're speaking to a child."
Ike was about to reply, but, thinking there was more to it, held back on a response.
"You think they're right, don't you?"
"What? Of course not! I simply thought you had more to say."
She sighed. "See? This is why I think others might be correct in branding me a child..."
"Whoa, you never said anything about that until now. It'll make things a lot less complicated to just say it outright the first time."
Lucina buried her face in her hands. "I rest my case."
"You guys coming?" Pit asked, holding the door into their room.
"Give us a minute, Pit." The angel looked startled by the request but complied wordlessly. When Ike was sure nobody else was present, he continued. "I'm sorry if you feel like I dragged you along or made you uncomfortable - "
"It's not you or anyone else, it's me, can't you see that? I - I'm so frustrated by all this, I'm trying my hardest and yet I'm still clueless as ever! I just don't understand...why I c-can't...augh!" She pounded her fist on the wall.
"Hey," he told her soothingly, putting his arms around her shoulders. "What's important is that you let this frustration out; everything will come in time, but if you're too impatient or frustrated to learn the lesson, then you'll only prolong the process."
"I-Ike, wh-what are you doing?" she hissed anxiously. "People might get the wrong idea - !"
"Why do I care what they think? If it makes you feel better, I'd say it's worth it."
"But - " she looked into his reassuring gaze and slowly allowed herself to relax. "You're right; I did need that. Thank you."
He let go of her with a chuckle. "Well that's a relief, to see that my efforts are being appreciated."
"And a relief for me...to see that you care so much," Lucina replied, hoping the low lighting would hide her blush.
"Of course I would; you mean a lot to me, so making you happy makes me happy. Come, the show's about to start."
The two took their seats, but Lucina was more interested in the Radiant Hero's last words to her than the movie as she sat down.
"Ike...I hope you know that you mean so much to me as well..." She was snapped out of her thoughts by Pit offering her a bag of popcorn, which she politely refused. Fortunately, Shulk took it in her stead, avoiding any commotion.